Chapter 244: Attrition
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Chapter 244: Attrition
Tala leaned back in her bath, luxuriating in the near-boiling heat.
Shed enjoyed one feast, and a team of chefs was methodically working towards the creation of a second, using her sanctums ingredients.
Gotta refill those reserves.
Shed stripped off her iron paint and had been reinscribed before the bath as well. Losing her arms had lost the majority of her rings, and she couldnt let that stand, after all.
Be as prepared to fight as possible.
She stayed in the bath, despite being clean already, and her body didnt really need to be relaxed by outside heat, but it just felt so good.
Glorious. This is simply glorious.
-Ahh, yes. What wonders can be achieved via tyrannical rule.-
When one is on the side of the tyrant, things do seem a lot rosier, dont they? Tala sighed. Now, dont ruin my bath. I fought reality itself, today, then sparred with a crazy elf that somehow made the previous fight seem easy.
-I dont think that a drake made up of fragments of reality is actually reality.-
If I break off a bit of rock and throw it at a pig, has the pig been hit by a rock, or not?
-Fair enough.- After a moment, Alat sent the impression of a wide grin. -Tormenting pigs, eh? Is Terry rubbing off on you?-
Tala ignored the alternate interface, letting her mind wander once more.
She maintained her mirrored perspective, along with those for Alat, and at this point, it was a subconscious action that took almost no effort.
With her mirrored sight, and the little bit of mage-sight that had become naturally a part of that vision, Tala occasionally saw subtle warping in the tub around herself.
There was apparently a large vat of hot water, somewhere, and Kit was exchanging the cooler water in her tub with the hot water in that other source.
I do want my bath to stay hot. The things that Kit was accomplishing were truly spectacular. Kit? Do you want to chat sometime? I feel like you display some intelligence.
The room around her did not respond.
Well, let me know if you change your mind.
Terry lifted his head from where he lay on the bed and trilled questioningly.
Just trying to talk to our benevolent world-maker.
He trilled again in a series of descending notes before curling back up and closing his eyes once more.
Love you too, buddy.
That got his attention. He looked her way once again and tilted his head.
Its an expression. I like having you around. I definitely didnt like our time apart.
He slowly bobbed his head before letting loose a soft, mournful cry. Without further sounds, he settled back down.
Tala had kept her eyes closed, relying on the bloodstars orbiting above the tub to see her friend.
As such, she saw the door to her bedroom open slightly before closing.
That wasnt hard, they were well-hung and opened with the lightest touch, if they werent locked.
She hadnt bothered to lock them.
In any case, she easily saw the intruder.
It was a black cat with purple eyes.
Tala sat up, turning to face the cat.
The feline hesitated, mid-step, when Tala moved.
Hey there, kitty.
The cat purred slightly.
Are you hungry?
A riaow came in response.
Tala smiled and willed for a bit of bacon to appear before the cat. She thought that she might have heard a startled exclamation from the kitchens next door, but Tala was probably imagining it.
The cat scarfed down the bacon, then came a bit closer, seeming quite hesitant.
Everything that Tala could see indicated that it was just a normal cat.
With very pretty eyes.
-They are quite unusual, arent they?-
Her bath forgotten for the most part, Tala carefully got out and dried off, allowing her clothing to re-grow over herself as she bent down, holding out her hand.
Another piece of bacon came into her hand, as she held it out.
The cat came forward and ate it from her fingers without issue.
Tala tentatively reached out and began to pet the kitty.
Soft kitty, warm kitty. She smiled. Little ball of fur.
The cat began to purr.
Youre not some eldritch abomination are you? A void creature in disguise? She kept the same tone to her words as with the first cooing.
If this is a manifestation of Kit, I wish my book to appear beside me. She wished that very hard. Her book didnt appear. So, you arent Kit, are you. Or Kit can selectively ignore my wishes, which would be terrifying.
-Or it cant process if logic?-
Well, that would be less terrifying, then. If logic is really simple, after all. Anything that cant understand it isnt very intelligent.
-Yeah, and wed rather fight a tide of beasts than a few hyper intelligent creatures.-
But when have we ever had the choice?
Terry flickered into being beside Tala and the cat stiffened.
The terror bird tilted his head to the side, examining the other predator.
The cat arched its back, hunching its head low.
When neither animal made another move, Tala sighed. Terry, be nice to the kitty. It was clever enough to make its way in here. Lets let it stay.
Terry flickered to the cats other side, but from the felines perspective, the bird simply vanished.
Good, good! You are adapting to my idiosyncrasies. He chuckled, both his words and his laugh sounding clean and clear, likely the result of having to perfect pronunciation with a less than ideal mouth for the language. But dont get too complacent.
That was his only warning.
Tala slid past him, closer than usual, Flow thrusting forward in the form of a sword. Her aura was hardened against long-range intrusion, and she was focused on the strike. Hes mine, now.
The blood-hand of the protian weapon caught her blade and seemed to break apart like a popped water-skin. The blood flowed down Flows length, locking it in place and forming around her hand.
There was no chance for escape.
Reidh was already pulling back towards himself, moving her bodily. He easily turned Flows blade to the side just enough for it to skitter off his reinforced scaled side.
His other hand came to rest with his natural claws pierced through her elk-leathers and into her abdomen, drawing blood without fully breaching her abdominal cavity.
He was careful not to strike her too deeply, his precision utterly obvious, and the result was clear. He had a clean path up to her heart, and she couldnt have stopped him.
The power looping through the inscriptions in his claws clearly enhanced their cutting ability along with their durability.
Tala sighed, shutting out the pain and uncomfortable sense of vulnerability garnered by the wounds. Victory to you, again.
Reidh shrugged lightly. We do not spar to find the victor, young Tali.
She grinned in return, forcing a jovial tone to her voice. Oh? So, I can state that I have won, because I am learning more?
The dragonling laughed with genuine mirth. You may say whatever you wish, but Id advise against claims that many would misunderstand.
She found herself nodding. As you say.
Again?
Tala nodded. Again.
The third that she fought most often through those days of training was an incredibly diminutive figure, one of the few beast-folk that Tala had seen within Croi.
De-arg seemed to be related to some animal that shed never seen before with large, round ears, a fluffy tail, and standing barely taller than her mid-thigh.
He kept his protian weapon in an odd form much of the time. It was a long staff, nearly twice his own height, capped by a C shape that was affixed to the end of the stave about a third of the way around the curve.
De-arg used the weapon to trap, deflect, and redirect Talas limbs and weapons, while he mainly attacked using his small hands and feet.
Each blow seemed to radiate through her like every ounce of power behind the strike transmitted perfectly through everything it encountered.
The little creature was so light that he shouldnt have been able to do anything to her, but he constantly stole her balance and redirected her own actions to devastating effect.
Even when she did hit him, it was akin to striking a bit of dandelion fluff and didnt seem to harm him in the least.
The result was that she felt like she was fighting with herself more often than the fluffy fellow. It was excellent for the refinement of her techniques because every weakness in her stances and balance was highlighted and exploited more thoroughly than ever before.
So, she fought, watched, learned, and adapted. Her movements were refined, her reactions quickened, and finally, on the third day, they bore fruit.
Tala froze, her chest inches off the ground, balanced on one leg while the other was out behind her in counterbalance to her thrust.
Flow, in the form of a glaive, was embedded through the meat of Meallains upper arm.
Blood was already flowing from the wound and down the shaft. The elfs weapon, in the form of a swordbreaker was pressed against that same shaft, having deflected the blow as it came in.
The elf gave a pained laugh, even as Tala pulled free her weapon and stood.
Fantastic! Well done, Tali.
I was aiming for your heart.
As you should have, but you had more stabilization behind such an unconventional thrust than I imagined. I failed to fully deflect the attack.
Tala felt herself smile at the compliment and the accomplishment. I finally hit her!
-Hey! Good job. Shed still have killed you, but nice job drawing some blood.-
Oh, Im aware.
The woman had never even used her magical abilities against Tala. Though, Tala had seen them used in demonstrations against other Eskau.
It was rude to delve into someone elses concepts, and Thron had only told her, because he was to serve her, and she needed to know because of that.
Even so, the results spoke for themselves.
From what Tala saw and felt, it seemed that Meallain wielded a concept similar to feinting.
Meaning, she was capable of instantaneously convincing even experienced warriors that she was about to do something that she never actually did.
Tala would have thought it was some sort of mind-magic, but the power coming from the woman never seemed to directly act on her opponents.
When used sparingly, it caused those same opponents to make what seemed to be masterful reactions to attacks that never came.
And when Meallain used whatever the magic was freely, it meant that her opponent was fighting their own innate reactions and experience more than they were fighting her.
That was, in the end, why Meallain had refused to use the ability on Tala, after all. I want you to develop deeper, quicker, and more intuitive fighting, not force doubt upon you for the same.
In any case, Meallain was grinning practically ear to ear. That was impressive. Whats more impressive was that it was deliberate. Looking back, I can see how you maneuvered me, and allowed me to deflect your previous strikes a bit more easily.
Tala chuckled. Yeah, I thought that using the blocks to help build my own momentum would aid the strike as well.
That it did. The final thrust was fast and more stable, while coming from an unexpected angle. Truly, well done. I only wish that your She stopped for a moment, her gaze moving to somewhere behind Tala. Well, speaking of which, Be!
Tala saw Be-thric coming out of the nearby building through her mirrored perspective. So, she turned to see him with her own eyes, studying the mixed emotions that were playing across his face.
Meallain frowned as the Pillar joined them. Are you alright? Did the other Pillars need a break?
He shook his head. No, no. Nothing so mundane. The conference is over. We came to an agreement.
Oh? Meallain looked back and forth between Tala and the Pillar. So? You dont look happy. Did they deny you?
A thrill of fear ran through Tala. What? NoThats the plan? Alat? Alat!
-Calm, Tala. Listen to the answer. We dont know, yet.-
But, how can we?
Blessedly, Be-thric was shaking his head. We unanimously agreed that the attempt is in the best interest of the House. I would not let them deny me in that, and in the end, I swayed every Pillar to my way of thinking.
Tala swallowed, feeling a wave of relief. Well, that is good.
She smiled towards the elf, hoping to get some positive response, but Meallain didnt return it. She was still focused on Be-thric.
The older Eskaus frown was deepening. Then, whats wrong? Why do you look like someone took away your dog?
Be-thric grimaced. You always were too good at reading me. There was a condition set upon the venture. I must complete it alone.
As she processed his words, Tala felt like her entire body began to freefall, even as the weight of worlds crushed her chest, and a dull, ringing reverberation filled her head, fuzzing her thoughts.
She barely managed to whisper a single word. What?
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Chapter 244: Attrition
Tala leaned back in her bath, luxuriating in the near-boiling heat.
Shed enjoyed one feast, and a team of chefs was methodically working towards the creation of a second, using her sanctums ingredients.
Gotta refill those reserves.
Shed stripped off her iron paint and had been reinscribed before the bath as well. Losing her arms had lost the majority of her rings, and she couldnt let that stand, after all.
Be as prepared to fight as possible.
She stayed in the bath, despite being clean already, and her body didnt really need to be relaxed by outside heat, but it just felt so good.
Glorious. This is simply glorious.
-Ahh, yes. What wonders can be achieved via tyrannical rule.-
When one is on the side of the tyrant, things do seem a lot rosier, dont they? Tala sighed. Now, dont ruin my bath. I fought reality itself, today, then sparred with a crazy elf that somehow made the previous fight seem easy.
-I dont think that a drake made up of fragments of reality is actually reality.-
If I break off a bit of rock and throw it at a pig, has the pig been hit by a rock, or not?
-Fair enough.- After a moment, Alat sent the impression of a wide grin. -Tormenting pigs, eh? Is Terry rubbing off on you?-
Tala ignored the alternate interface, letting her mind wander once more.
She maintained her mirrored perspective, along with those for Alat, and at this point, it was a subconscious action that took almost no effort.
With her mirrored sight, and the little bit of mage-sight that had become naturally a part of that vision, Tala occasionally saw subtle warping in the tub around herself.
There was apparently a large vat of hot water, somewhere, and Kit was exchanging the cooler water in her tub with the hot water in that other source.
I do want my bath to stay hot. The things that Kit was accomplishing were truly spectacular. Kit? Do you want to chat sometime? I feel like you display some intelligence.
The room around her did not respond.
Well, let me know if you change your mind.
Terry lifted his head from where he lay on the bed and trilled questioningly.
Just trying to talk to our benevolent world-maker.
He trilled again in a series of descending notes before curling back up and closing his eyes once more.
Love you too, buddy.
That got his attention. He looked her way once again and tilted his head.
Its an expression. I like having you around. I definitely didnt like our time apart.
He slowly bobbed his head before letting loose a soft, mournful cry. Without further sounds, he settled back down.
Tala had kept her eyes closed, relying on the bloodstars orbiting above the tub to see her friend.
As such, she saw the door to her bedroom open slightly before closing.
That wasnt hard, they were well-hung and opened with the lightest touch, if they werent locked.
She hadnt bothered to lock them.
In any case, she easily saw the intruder.
It was a black cat with purple eyes.
Tala sat up, turning to face the cat.
The feline hesitated, mid-step, when Tala moved.
Hey there, kitty.
The cat purred slightly.
Are you hungry?
A riaow came in response.
Tala smiled and willed for a bit of bacon to appear before the cat. She thought that she might have heard a startled exclamation from the kitchens next door, but Tala was probably imagining it.
The cat scarfed down the bacon, then came a bit closer, seeming quite hesitant.
Everything that Tala could see indicated that it was just a normal cat.
With very pretty eyes.
-They are quite unusual, arent they?-
Her bath forgotten for the most part, Tala carefully got out and dried off, allowing her clothing to re-grow over herself as she bent down, holding out her hand.
Another piece of bacon came into her hand, as she held it out.
The cat came forward and ate it from her fingers without issue.
Tala tentatively reached out and began to pet the kitty.
Soft kitty, warm kitty. She smiled. Little ball of fur.
The cat began to purr.
Youre not some eldritch abomination are you? A void creature in disguise? She kept the same tone to her words as with the first cooing.
If this is a manifestation of Kit, I wish my book to appear beside me. She wished that very hard. Her book didnt appear. So, you arent Kit, are you. Or Kit can selectively ignore my wishes, which would be terrifying.
-Or it cant process if logic?-
Well, that would be less terrifying, then. If logic is really simple, after all. Anything that cant understand it isnt very intelligent.
-Yeah, and wed rather fight a tide of beasts than a few hyper intelligent creatures.-
But when have we ever had the choice?
Terry flickered into being beside Tala and the cat stiffened.
The terror bird tilted his head to the side, examining the other predator.
The cat arched its back, hunching its head low.
When neither animal made another move, Tala sighed. Terry, be nice to the kitty. It was clever enough to make its way in here. Lets let it stay.
Terry flickered to the cats other side, but from the felines perspective, the bird simply vanished.
Good, good! You are adapting to my idiosyncrasies. He chuckled, both his words and his laugh sounding clean and clear, likely the result of having to perfect pronunciation with a less than ideal mouth for the language. But dont get too complacent.
That was his only warning.
Tala slid past him, closer than usual, Flow thrusting forward in the form of a sword. Her aura was hardened against long-range intrusion, and she was focused on the strike. Hes mine, now.
The blood-hand of the protian weapon caught her blade and seemed to break apart like a popped water-skin. The blood flowed down Flows length, locking it in place and forming around her hand.
There was no chance for escape.
Reidh was already pulling back towards himself, moving her bodily. He easily turned Flows blade to the side just enough for it to skitter off his reinforced scaled side.
His other hand came to rest with his natural claws pierced through her elk-leathers and into her abdomen, drawing blood without fully breaching her abdominal cavity.
He was careful not to strike her too deeply, his precision utterly obvious, and the result was clear. He had a clean path up to her heart, and she couldnt have stopped him.
The power looping through the inscriptions in his claws clearly enhanced their cutting ability along with their durability.
Tala sighed, shutting out the pain and uncomfortable sense of vulnerability garnered by the wounds. Victory to you, again.
Reidh shrugged lightly. We do not spar to find the victor, young Tali.
She grinned in return, forcing a jovial tone to her voice. Oh? So, I can state that I have won, because I am learning more?
The dragonling laughed with genuine mirth. You may say whatever you wish, but Id advise against claims that many would misunderstand.
She found herself nodding. As you say.
Again?
Tala nodded. Again.
The third that she fought most often through those days of training was an incredibly diminutive figure, one of the few beast-folk that Tala had seen within Croi.
De-arg seemed to be related to some animal that shed never seen before with large, round ears, a fluffy tail, and standing barely taller than her mid-thigh.
He kept his protian weapon in an odd form much of the time. It was a long staff, nearly twice his own height, capped by a C shape that was affixed to the end of the stave about a third of the way around the curve.
De-arg used the weapon to trap, deflect, and redirect Talas limbs and weapons, while he mainly attacked using his small hands and feet.
Each blow seemed to radiate through her like every ounce of power behind the strike transmitted perfectly through everything it encountered.
The little creature was so light that he shouldnt have been able to do anything to her, but he constantly stole her balance and redirected her own actions to devastating effect.
Even when she did hit him, it was akin to striking a bit of dandelion fluff and didnt seem to harm him in the least.
The result was that she felt like she was fighting with herself more often than the fluffy fellow. It was excellent for the refinement of her techniques because every weakness in her stances and balance was highlighted and exploited more thoroughly than ever before.
So, she fought, watched, learned, and adapted. Her movements were refined, her reactions quickened, and finally, on the third day, they bore fruit.
Tala froze, her chest inches off the ground, balanced on one leg while the other was out behind her in counterbalance to her thrust.
Flow, in the form of a glaive, was embedded through the meat of Meallains upper arm.
Blood was already flowing from the wound and down the shaft. The elfs weapon, in the form of a swordbreaker was pressed against that same shaft, having deflected the blow as it came in.
The elf gave a pained laugh, even as Tala pulled free her weapon and stood.
Fantastic! Well done, Tali.
I was aiming for your heart.
As you should have, but you had more stabilization behind such an unconventional thrust than I imagined. I failed to fully deflect the attack.
Tala felt herself smile at the compliment and the accomplishment. I finally hit her!
-Hey! Good job. Shed still have killed you, but nice job drawing some blood.-
Oh, Im aware.
The woman had never even used her magical abilities against Tala. Though, Tala had seen them used in demonstrations against other Eskau.
It was rude to delve into someone elses concepts, and Thron had only told her, because he was to serve her, and she needed to know because of that.
Even so, the results spoke for themselves.
From what Tala saw and felt, it seemed that Meallain wielded a concept similar to feinting.
Meaning, she was capable of instantaneously convincing even experienced warriors that she was about to do something that she never actually did.
Tala would have thought it was some sort of mind-magic, but the power coming from the woman never seemed to directly act on her opponents.
When used sparingly, it caused those same opponents to make what seemed to be masterful reactions to attacks that never came.
And when Meallain used whatever the magic was freely, it meant that her opponent was fighting their own innate reactions and experience more than they were fighting her.
That was, in the end, why Meallain had refused to use the ability on Tala, after all. I want you to develop deeper, quicker, and more intuitive fighting, not force doubt upon you for the same.
In any case, Meallain was grinning practically ear to ear. That was impressive. Whats more impressive was that it was deliberate. Looking back, I can see how you maneuvered me, and allowed me to deflect your previous strikes a bit more easily.
Tala chuckled. Yeah, I thought that using the blocks to help build my own momentum would aid the strike as well.
That it did. The final thrust was fast and more stable, while coming from an unexpected angle. Truly, well done. I only wish that your She stopped for a moment, her gaze moving to somewhere behind Tala. Well, speaking of which, Be!
Tala saw Be-thric coming out of the nearby building through her mirrored perspective. So, she turned to see him with her own eyes, studying the mixed emotions that were playing across his face.
Meallain frowned as the Pillar joined them. Are you alright? Did the other Pillars need a break?
He shook his head. No, no. Nothing so mundane. The conference is over. We came to an agreement.
Oh? Meallain looked back and forth between Tala and the Pillar. So? You dont look happy. Did they deny you?
A thrill of fear ran through Tala. What? NoThats the plan? Alat? Alat!
-Calm, Tala. Listen to the answer. We dont know, yet.-
But, how can we?
Blessedly, Be-thric was shaking his head. We unanimously agreed that the attempt is in the best interest of the House. I would not let them deny me in that, and in the end, I swayed every Pillar to my way of thinking.
Tala swallowed, feeling a wave of relief. Well, that is good.
She smiled towards the elf, hoping to get some positive response, but Meallain didnt return it. She was still focused on Be-thric.
The older Eskaus frown was deepening. Then, whats wrong? Why do you look like someone took away your dog?
Be-thric grimaced. You always were too good at reading me. There was a condition set upon the venture. I must complete it alone.
As she processed his words, Tala felt like her entire body began to freefall, even as the weight of worlds crushed her chest, and a dull, ringing reverberation filled her head, fuzzing her thoughts.
She barely managed to whisper a single word. What?
Chapter 244: AttritionTala leaned back in her bath, luxuriating in the near-boiling heat.Shed enjoyed one feast, and a team of chefs was methodically working towards the creation of a second, using her sanctums ingredients.Gotta refill those reserves.Shed stripped off her iron paint and had been reinscribed before the bath as well. Losing her arms had lost the majority of her rings, and she couldnt let that stand, after all.Be as prepared to fight as possible.She stayed in the bath, despite being clean already, and her body didnt really need to be relaxed by outside heat, but it just felt so good.Glorious. This is simply glorious.-Ahh, yes. What wonders can be achieved via tyrannical rule.-When one is on the side of the tyrant, things do seem a lot rosier, dont they? Tala sighed. Now, dont ruin my bath. I fought reality itself, today, then sparred with a crazy elf that somehow made the previous fight seem easy.-I dont think that a drake made up of fragments of reality is actually reality.-If I break off a bit of rock and throw it at a pig, has the pig been hit by a rock, or not?-Fair enough.- After a moment, Alat sent the impression of a wide grin. -Tormenting pigs, eh? Is Terry rubbing off on you?-Tala ignored the alternate interface, letting her mind wander once more.She maintained her mirrored perspective, along with those for Alat, and at this point, it was a subconscious action that took almost no effort.With her mirrored sight, and the little bit of mage-sight that had become naturally a part of that vision, Tala occasionally saw subtle warping in the tub around herself.There was apparently a large vat of hot water, somewhere, and Kit was exchanging the cooler water in her tub with the hot water in that other source.I do want my bath to stay hot. The things that Kit was accomplishing were truly spectacular. Kit? Do you want to chat sometime? I feel like you display some intelligence.The room around her did not respond.Well, let me know if you change your mind.Terry lifted his head from where he lay on the bed and trilled questioningly.Just trying to talk to our benevolent world-maker.He trilled again in a series of descending notes before curling back up and closing his eyes once more.Love you too, buddy.That got his attention. He looked her way once again and tilted his head.Its an expression. I like having you around. I definitely didnt like our time apart.He slowly bobbed his head before letting loose a soft, mournful cry. Without further sounds, he settled back down.Tala had kept her eyes closed, relying on the bloodstars orbiting above the tub to see her friend.As such, she saw the door to her bedroom open slightly before closing.That wasnt hard, they were well-hung and opened with the lightest touch, if they werent locked.She hadnt bothered to lock them.In any case, she easily saw the intruder.It was a black cat with purple eyes.Tala sat up, turning to face the cat.The feline hesitated, mid-step, when Tala moved.Hey there, kitty.The cat purred slightly.Are you hungry?A riaow came in response.Tala smiled and willed for a bit of bacon to appear before the cat. She thought that she might have heard a startled exclamation from the kitchens next door, but Tala was probably imagining it.The cat scarfed down the bacon, then came a bit closer, seeming quite hesitant.Everything that Tala could see indicated that it was just a normal cat.With very pretty eyes.-They are quite unusual, arent they?-Her bath forgotten for the most part, Tala carefully got out and dried off, allowing her clothing to re-grow over herself as she bent down, holding out her hand.Another piece of bacon came into her hand, as she held it out.The cat came forward and ate it from her fingers without issue.Tala tentatively reached out and began to pet the kitty.Soft kitty, warm kitty. She smiled. Little ball of fur.The cat began to purr.Youre not some eldritch abomination are you? A void creature in disguise? She kept the same tone to her words as with the first cooing.If this is a manifestation of Kit, I wish my book to appear beside me. She wished that very hard. Her book didnt appear. So, you arent Kit, are you. Or Kit can selectively ignore my wishes, which would be terrifying.-Or it cant process if logic?-Well, that would be less terrifying, then. If logic is really simple, after all. Anything that cant understand it isnt very intelligent.-Yeah, and wed rather fight a tide of beasts than a few hyper intelligent creatures.-But when have we ever had the choice?Terry flickered into being beside Tala and the cat stiffened.The terror bird tilted his head to the side, examining the other predator.The cat arched its back, hunching its head low.When neither animal made another move, Tala sighed. Terry, be nice to the kitty. It was clever enough to make its way in here. Lets let it stay.Terry flickered to the cats other side, but from the felines perspective, the bird simply vanished.Good, good! You are adapting to my idiosyncrasies. He chuckled, both his words and his laugh sounding clean and clear, likely the result of having to perfect pronunciation with a less than ideal mouth for the language. But dont get too complacent.That was his only warning.Tala slid past him, closer than usual, Flow thrusting forward in the form of a sword. Her aura was hardened against long-range intrusion, and she was focused on the strike. Hes mine, now.The blood-hand of the protian weapon caught her blade and seemed to break apart like a popped water-skin. The blood flowed down Flows length, locking it in place and forming around her hand.There was no chance for escape.Reidh was already pulling back towards himself, moving her bodily. He easily turned Flows blade to the side just enough for it to skitter off his reinforced scaled side.His other hand came to rest with his natural claws pierced through her elk-leathers and into her abdomen, drawing blood without fully breaching her abdominal cavity.He was careful not to strike her too deeply, his precision utterly obvious, and the result was clear. He had a clean path up to her heart, and she couldnt have stopped him.The power looping through the inscriptions in his claws clearly enhanced their cutting ability along with their durability.Tala sighed, shutting out the pain and uncomfortable sense of vulnerability garnered by the wounds. Victory to you, again.Reidh shrugged lightly. We do not spar to find the victor, young Tali.She grinned in return, forcing a jovial tone to her voice. Oh? So, I can state that I have won, because I am learning more?The dragonling laughed with genuine mirth. You may say whatever you wish, but Id advise against claims that many would misunderstand.She found herself nodding. As you say.Again?Tala nodded. Again.The third that she fought most often through those days of training was an incredibly diminutive figure, one of the few beast-folk that Tala had seen within Croi.De-arg seemed to be related to some animal that shed never seen before with large, round ears, a fluffy tail, and standing barely taller than her mid-thigh.He kept his protian weapon in an odd form much of the time. It was a long staff, nearly twice his own height, capped by a C shape that was affixed to the end of the stave about a third of the way around the curve.De-arg used the weapon to trap, deflect, and redirect Talas limbs and weapons, while he mainly attacked using his small hands and feet.Each blow seemed to radiate through her like every ounce of power behind the strike transmitted perfectly through everything it encountered.The little creature was so light that he shouldnt have been able to do anything to her, but he constantly stole her balance and redirected her own actions to devastating effect.Even when she did hit him, it was akin to striking a bit of dandelion fluff and didnt seem to harm him in the least.The result was that she felt like she was fighting with herself more often than the fluffy fellow. It was excellent for the refinement of her techniques because every weakness in her stances and balance was highlighted and exploited more thoroughly than ever before.So, she fought, watched, learned, and adapted. Her movements were refined, her reactions quickened, and finally, on the third day, they bore fruit.Tala froze, her chest inches off the ground, balanced on one leg while the other was out behind her in counterbalance to her thrust.Flow, in the form of a glaive, was embedded through the meat of Meallains upper arm.Blood was already flowing from the wound and down the shaft. The elfs weapon, in the form of a swordbreaker was pressed against that same shaft, having deflected the blow as it came in.The elf gave a pained laugh, even as Tala pulled free her weapon and stood.Fantastic! Well done, Tali.I was aiming for your heart.As you should have, but you had more stabilization behind such an unconventional thrust than I imagined. I failed to fully deflect the attack.Tala felt herself smile at the compliment and the accomplishment. I finally hit her!-Hey! Good job. Shed still have killed you, but nice job drawing some blood.-Oh, Im aware.The woman had never even used her magical abilities against Tala. Though, Tala had seen them used in demonstrations against other Eskau.It was rude to delve into someone elses concepts, and Thron had only told her, because he was to serve her, and she needed to know because of that.Even so, the results spoke for themselves.From what Tala saw and felt, it seemed that Meallain wielded a concept similar to feinting.Meaning, she was capable of instantaneously convincing even experienced warriors that she was about to do something that she never actually did.Tala would have thought it was some sort of mind-magic, but the power coming from the woman never seemed to directly act on her opponents.When used sparingly, it caused those same opponents to make what seemed to be masterful reactions to attacks that never came.And when Meallain used whatever the magic was freely, it meant that her opponent was fighting their own innate reactions and experience more than they were fighting her.That was, in the end, why Meallain had refused to use the ability on Tala, after all. I want you to develop deeper, quicker, and more intuitive fighting, not force doubt upon you for the same.In any case, Meallain was grinning practically ear to ear. That was impressive. Whats more impressive was that it was deliberate. Looking back, I can see how you maneuvered me, and allowed me to deflect your previous strikes a bit more easily.Tala chuckled. Yeah, I thought that using the blocks to help build my own momentum would aid the strike as well.That it did. The final thrust was fast and more stable, while coming from an unexpected angle. Truly, well done. I only wish that your She stopped for a moment, her gaze moving to somewhere behind Tala. Well, speaking of which, Be!Tala saw Be-thric coming out of the nearby building through her mirrored perspective. So, she turned to see him with her own eyes, studying the mixed emotions that were playing across his face.Meallain frowned as the Pillar joined them. Are you alright? Did the other Pillars need a break?He shook his head. No, no. Nothing so mundane. The conference is over. We came to an agreement.Oh? Meallain looked back and forth between Tala and the Pillar. So? You dont look happy. Did they deny you?A thrill of fear ran through Tala. What? NoThats the plan? Alat? Alat!-Calm, Tala. Listen to the answer. We dont know, yet.-But, how can we?Blessedly, Be-thric was shaking his head. We unanimously agreed that the attempt is in the best interest of the House. I would not let them deny me in that, and in the end, I swayed every Pillar to my way of thinking.Tala swallowed, feeling a wave of relief. Well, that is good.She smiled towards the elf, hoping to get some positive response, but Meallain didnt return it. She was still focused on Be-thric.The older Eskaus frown was deepening. Then, whats wrong? Why do you look like someone took away your dog?Be-thric grimaced. You always were too good at reading me. There was a condition set upon the venture. I must complete it alone.As she processed his words, Tala felt like her entire body began to freefall, even as the weight of worlds crushed her chest, and a dull, ringing reverberation filled her head, fuzzing her thoughts.She barely managed to whisper a single word. What?
