Fantasy .: Pentarcanum :. [Close for now]

[Nine of Swords]

"Nothing's wrong!" Arl said, maybe too hastily. Arl looked at Isabelle, then quickly looked down again, staring at a little speck of dust on the floor. There was a moment of silence, then he decided that maybe, this time, it might help to be a little bit more honest. "...yeah, maybe something is wrong," he began, slowly picking his words through. "I don't know. Sometimes I have days like..." he waved his hands, and said, "...days when I feel down. Like today." He smiled weakly, still not meeting Isabelle's eyes. "But I'll be fine. I've always gotten better."

screaming armadillo

 

[AncientBird]

Cadmus looked at Arias. The cold and unnerving glare of the red-headed youth that stared back to the boy made his skin ran cold and legs wanting to stepping away. With their short and straight answer, Arias had also completed their tasks and was probably having nothing to do... A good chance for Cadmus to extend his offer... Well, if he could gather enough courage to do so.

However, guilt had outweighed Cadmus's nervousness this day... After all, he was the one who put this new 'friend' into an unexpected duel in the first place, he would need to do something about it or he wouldn't be able to get rid of this anxiety.

"So... Do you want to go to training hall? I mean, you will have to face off against Lancis tomorrow, right? What better time to prepare yourself than a free afternoon with nothing else to do?" Said Cadmus as he stepped closer, gaining more confidence. "Come on, I can help preparing you." Added Cadmus, twitching a bit as he waited for Arias's response.

Featuring: ScatheAriiasqDrayceon

 

[screaming armadillo]

“Uh huh.” She answered not at all convinced, but also without intention of pressing him for more. The silence that followed incredibly awkward, at least for her. It seemed to stretch on unbearably as the young woman was left to wonder if Arlewen would say anything more, it was almost a relief when he did speak once again.

What he did say was, well, anticlimactic in a way. Maybe she had just been expecting something worse what with Cadmus’ situation and all. “Ah! I definitely get that.” By ‘get that’ she meant understood, however she never thought to clarify. “Like, you just wanna relax in your room for the day and hope nobody bothers you.” She didn’t quite realize the irony in her statement and the situation at hand. “I thought for a bit you were homesick or something, y’know? I mean I guess everybody will be at some point.”

Nine of Swords ​

 

[Nine of Swords]

He giggled when Isabelle mentioned being alone in the room. Yes, that was what he wanted - but he was finding that talking like this wasn't bad at all.

When Isabelle mentioned homesickness, he simply responded, "...I see." The misunderstanding was understandable, given that he had no reason to be so dejected. Still, knowing that someone was worried about him lifted his spirits. "Thank you for your kind words," he said, feeling a little better now. He finished the last bite of his sandwich and stood up. "it helped me a lot."

screaming armadillo

 

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

Arii tilted their head at Cadmus, squinting ever so slightly. Could he even fight? There was a few moments of silence before they hummed noncommittally, unraveling their scarf once more to loop around their arms and wrists.

"Can you even fight? You don't seem the type, at least."

They clicked their tongue, the sound sharp even in the water. After a brief pause, they corrected themself. "Not that I'm not coming, but I fail to see your... ability to assist."

 

[AncientBird]

Cadmus looked back at Arias, his face heated up a bit from embarrassment but they were correct... He had never been into fighting.

"Yes, I am not much of a fighter... But I have known Lancis for a long time. I know what he's capable of, what ability he possesses. Let me at least show you that." Replied the boy and then he turned toward the direction to the training hall.

In a split second, Cadmus transformed and swam off. "Come on, it won't take long. I will not waste much of your time, I promise." Said Cadmus

Featuring: ScatheAriiasqDrayceon

 

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

Arii transformed hesitantly, fins sleeked to their sides. "It's not my time I'm concerned about you wasting," they replied flatly, the urge to pick at their scales unusually strong.

The red was a pain in the ass while trying to hide, but they realized belatedly that their piscine form was quite useful against smaller fish because it was big.

Teal always said that fish forms were a last-resort, and last resorts were only used to run away. Arii decided that was another one of his half-truths.

 

[AncientBird]

Cadmus led Arias to the training hall. The cichlid form of his was much faster than the huge arowana and Cadmus had to slow down several times for Arias to catch up. The immense size and crisp scales of his company slightly reminded the boy of water snake, which made the already intimidating Arias even more so in their fish form. However, Cadmus noticed that they rarely ever used it for some unknown reason... Not that he would be bold enough to ask directly about it anyway.

The building got less people than yesterday as Cadmus expected, probably due to most students still rushing about submitting to classes. Cadmus swam toward a free practice ring and settled. He kept staying in his fish form and began to circle the ring.

"Alright... Well, let starts from the basic info..." Said Cadmus. "You probably had seen Lancis's form already... He is around the same size of your form, so a pretty even match in natural strength if you both decide to stay in piscine form... But that is hardly enough to demonstrate all the advantages, yes?"

Cadmus paused a bit and continued. "Lancis is an Earth magic user, like me... And he prized his magic more than anything else. I know one ability that we both share..."

Finishing his speech, Cadmus began to stirred sand and sediment from the ring's floor. Soon, the substrate began to swirl and clouded the entire practice ring with mist of sand and dirt. Cadmus disappeared into the swirling cloak but his voiced could still be heard. "This is Sand Cloak, a very basic earth magic we use to conceal ourselves from opponent's vision... I learnt it when I was much younger, still living in the college, training with the professors. Lancis had already learnt it too when I first met him and he did it way better than I could... Now that he has been trained by his father for military course, expected it to be even denser and more chaotic than this."

Cadmus then appeared from his sand vortex. "... Also he might has added more gimmick into his Sand Cloak that I haven't know about yet too. I heard many greater earth wielders could add sharp rocks or even metal molding from the terrain to amplify the damage as well... Talking about getting repeatedly cut..." Said Cadmus, shrugged to the gruesome image in his head.

"Now come to the second point I want you to know. Lancis has a special ability he has since birth... His sense of smell... He is likely one of the best sniffer Grand Mbuna has had in a century. Don't you wonder how he could immediately tell where you and the others were from yesterday? He could sniff the scent of dirt left on your body and is also specifically trained by the military to differentiate it by locations from all over Potamos. He has already one leg stepping inside the rank of the military and all else he needs to fully become an official member is to finish the college... That's why he's so arrogant and think of himself better than anyone." Said Cadmus with a slight disgust in his world.

The boy then turned toward his companion. "I am sure Lancis will use that scent ability to his advantage as he hides out of your sight. Then it's only the matter of his bulk to finish the job, unless he packs something else I don't know about." Said Cadmus.

Featuring: ScatheAriiasqDrayceon

 

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

Arias followed along with less enthusiasm, fins sleeked to their form and out of the way. The way the water caught on their scales was thoroughly irritating, and they kept twitching as they caught sight of their own scales. It made them antsy. Much too bright.

The shadows of the building helped, though, and they allowed themself to speed up just a little, shifting back in less than a breath and landing lightly on their feet as Cadmus slowed over an unoccupied area.

They didn't mention that they'd never used their piscine form for combat. "Evenly matched is not an advantage," they pointed out, cocking their head in Cadmus' direction.

They weren't prepared for the blindness.

Sand, silt, and all kinds of things Arii decidedly didn't want to breathe in flew up around them, prompting a harsh hiss and for them to backstep into the cloak as well, all-but silent steps carrying them through the cloak around in the same circle Cadmus had made, tracking his voice. Don't touch your scarf. Don't. He's trying to help you.

If they reached for it, they were going to use it, and they really didn't want to have to deal with such a thing for the moment. Instead, if simply to busy their hands, they brought their shirt up to their mouth, allowing it to filter out the residue as they breathed.

They allowed the dust to settle before speaking. "Pain I can do... scent..." they hummed, pausing to think of their own senses. "Overwhelm them, maybe?" They unraveled their rope-dart all the way to the slip-knot that prevented it from choking them, leaving their shoulders and neck bare for the first time since they'd gotten there. "My weapon should smell just the same as I do... maybe stronger than me, so if it—and I—were moving constantly, theoretically, he should get them mixed up."

They seemed to be talking mostly to themself, repeating the pattern of unwrapping, rewrapping, and folding the rope until they repeated it.

Something occurred to them.

"His bulk, huh? He relies much on his piscine form?"

 

[AncientBird]

"Yes, I think so... At least that is what he always uses when someone tries to stand up to his bullying. Also he has to be in his form if he is to use magic, right?" Replied Cadmus to Arias's question. "I've never seen him use any weapons before, but if I remember correctly, to be in military you have to master both primal combat and weaponry, so..." Said the boy as he raised his shoulders, already returned to his nymph form.

"He is not very agile though, he can get real fast in a short burst but he is no racer and turn like a manatee. I usually escape him in our piscine form... It's the goons that always got me..." Cadmus said and exhaled. "Sorry I insert too much of my life story... You probably want to go do your thing now." Said the boy.

Featuring: ScatheAriiasqDrayceon

 

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

"Oh, well that's positively excellent." They offered Cadmus one of those smiles, the ones that convince people they have no fucking clue how to smile. They caught the tip of their dart in their hand and turned the blade inside out from the sheath, the hook on the end pointed outward. "He probably feels more comfortable in his piscine form, anyway; many I came across did."

They glanced up and wrinkled their nose. "Please, it's fine. Stories make up the world and are built to be told. For your help, I'll explain a little something about the wanderers in the trees; I can only assume you don't get out much." They yanked the cloth away from the rope of their dart to show the nasty, serrated blade that looked much too cruel for common use. On the front was a small hooked portion, and behind it was a larger hook.

The blade was on the opposite side from the hook. "Ever seen one of these?" Regardless of his answer, they continued. "It's a blade used a lot—I was told, at least—by the wanderers. A few, small scales crawled across Arii's arm and they slid the dart against them, not even guiding the blade with their hand. No matter how it landed on their arm, it always oriented itself to catch the scales with the hooks and stop. "It's used for nymph-on-fish combat; hooks into any little nook it can get into." They pulled it carefully from their own scales, folding it back into its sheath and tucking it near their collar-bone, the rest of the rope following easily.

"It's why I carry it around instead of a normal blade... better for taking on something bigger."

 

[AncientBird]

Cadmus looked at the hooked blade that Arias revealed to him. The design alone sent the boy's gut wrenching as he tried to not imagine, but did so anyway how it would cause upon whatever it got it serrate edges into. Not to mention, Arias seemed to be unusually enthusiastic about this weapon of their.

"I... I am not sure if this would be allowed into the duel... I mean, I have never seen something like this before. Again, they never specify which weapons you can't use, just that you can only pick one of your choice..." Said Cadmus, eyes still fixing on the strange and nasty looking weapon.

"Do they use these back in the Flooded Forest?"

Featuring: ScatheAriiasqDrayceon

 

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

"Well, if they don't specify and don't notice, then they shouldn't be able to say anything." Arii shrugged, all-but wiping their scales away as they vanished while making sure they didn't cut themself.

They perked a brow at Cadmus' question, taking a moment to think. "Some did. Many used long-distance weapons. I don't think I've ever seen more of the same make as mine, though... Teal—my brother—made it. The crafty bastard was probably the only one who could carve hooks into metal scrap."

They didn't sound quite as angry with him as they wanted to.