Corrupted heart, part 2, And I ain't halfway yet, dudes. Options

[jack cloudy]

Alright, I just noticed I breached the 200 post mark at the first thread. So here's the new thread.

No update here yet, though. I'll see if I can edit this post later today.

Edit, forgot the link to the last part. Here it is.

Corrupted Heart, part 1

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Sep 24 2007, 09:30 PM

[jack cloudy]

Northern Cyrodiil

Ra’trith shivered, an involuntary reaction to the chilly water which he viciously suppressed. The pond they were standing in was a circular bowl surrounded by snow-covered boulders. Its water was barely knee-deep, crystal-clear and smooth as a mirror, only marred by the thin sheet of ice on the surface, just thick enough to catch the falling snowflakes without breaking. The Khajiit looked up at the tips of the trees which showed just above the boulders. He was tired, but he wasn’t going to let the old Redguard notice.
,,Half a day’s march, spent running, and for what? So I can stand in a pond and have my toes freeze off! I just don’t understand him!” He thought angrily and twitched with his tail.

Five metres to his right, Revarim Kendri stood in the same pond, dressed in little more than a loincloth and the crimson amulet around his neck. His eyes were closed and not a single muscle of his body moved. A fit body, Ra’trith noted instinctively, as powerful as that of a man half his age and more than capable of heavy exertation. Unlike the furred assassin, the old man showed no sign of discomfort whatsoever, though this was likely due to some form of spell he was using rather than mere strength of will. Where he stood, there was no paperthin sheet of ice, but clouds of hot steam that made him seem like a ghost amidst a bank of fog.

,,Open your mouth, Kendri! Just why are we standing here like a pair of scary snowmen?” Ra’trith hissed. Revarim Kendri didn’t open his eyes, nor did he shift his balance as he answered the question.
,,If you had been more motivated and more successful in your studies, we would be sitting in my cabin right now, by the open fire, rather than stand here bareskinned amidst the snow.” He spoke and chuckled.
,,But since you refused to sit still, we’ll just have to add a physical factor to your training. To meditate, one needs to clear his mind of all distractions, I’ve told you that often enough. And so…observe.”

The Redguard’s Shehai blazed in his hand as he called it and he put a step to the left. The water barely rippled when he raised his foot, but when he brought it back down, there was a splash as high as his waist. Without missing a beat, Kendri sliced the wave in two with his Shehai as he turned around, creating two more splashes with his feet. Up and back down to the right the ghostly blade went, cutting one splash vertically and the other horizontally. Again he moved, creating yet even more splashes. The splashes he’d already cut created new, smaller offspring as they came down. The Redguard cut them all, never stopping to move. It was like some form of mysterious dance.

The old man stopped and his Shehai vanished, though not after he’d cut all of the remaining splashes without moving his feet.
,,That is how we’ll clear your mind. As you move your feet, you will disturb the water. Strike the disturbance, and you will strike the disturbance in your mind at the same time. It is a technique used by the Ansei, long ago. While it is meant to be done with a sword, I’ll permit you to use your hands instead, since theye are what you are most familiar with.” He spoke softly, forcing the Khajiit to strain his ears in order to hear. Then, the Redguard smiled.
,,And if that doesn’t comfort you, just realize that your toes won’t feel frozen anymore once you’ve got the pattern down.” He whispered.
,,Now get started!”

Ra’trith looked down at his feet and moved one to the left, just as the old man had done. When he set it down, a splash sprung up. Instantly, he sweeped his left hand across it with an open palm, cutting it in two. He turned with the strike, causing more splashes. Both hands sweeped, striking and cleaving the water. He grinned.
,,This is easy.” He thought to himself.
,,Faster!” Kendri bade. The Khajiit snarled.
,,I’ll do this just as fast or slow as I want to!” He replied and stopped. He immediately felt a soft tingling, as if his fur had gotten charged by nearby lighting. He looked up from the water and found to his surprise that the treetops were no longer visible. Instead, there was a shimmering dome that covered the entire pool.

,,You can do it at your own speed, but only once you are able to do this at my speed, will I let you out. Now continue!” Kendri said. Ra’trith estimated that the man’s voice came from just outside the barrier.
,,You lousy old man. I’ll kill you someday.” He thought and let out an angry growl. He turned to back to the task and tried again, faster this time. As he went faster, he soon realized that he simply didn’t have enough hands to cut all the splashes, and his feet would only create even more if he tried to use them to kick.
,,This is supposed to be meditation? I thought it was all about relaxing, not causing your heart to explode in a whirlwind of activity!” He tried to keep up with the rapid frenzy he’d called into action himself, only to stumble and trip.
,,You missed some! Start over!” Kendri ordered mercilessly. Frustrated, Ra’trith stared at the barrier that had trapped him in the pond and began all over again. With some sense of irony though, he noted that the Redguard had been right about one thing. His toes were no longer frozen.

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Mar 11 2008, 09:08 AM