Shipwrecked!

It was at this point another daydream would take its toll on Jaina's expansive mind. As follows, it went accordingly. Almost two and a half hours into dusk, Jaina continues to smash away at a large canyon, brutally crushing her knuckles with each blow. Each tear that fell from her face was just another sign that she was getting stronger. Dark lines formed around her eyes from lack of sleep over the days. Still, continuing to punch away at the stone, she finally got tired, after digging out a twenty-foot deep tunnel with her bare fists. With that, she walked out; blood dripping endlessly from her shattered hand wounds.  

[ltr]Reaching the outside, she dropped, from extreme exhaustion. She had completed all of her weekly training except for a single necessity, that must be carried out in order to test how powerful she really had gotten. Turning around after falling against a tree like a worn-out klutz, she held her hands at the massive canyon that was at least seventy-five feet high, and contained minerals that were said to be able to withstand multiple energy blasts by the inch. With that, she channeled the remaining small amounts of mana she had left and intensified the pressure inside of the trinkets that rooted out to her palms, suddenly; an insanely large wave of pressurized wind generated from the concentration point from within her chest sliced through the grounds around her, creating a riveting shockwave clap that echoed throughout the surrounded boundaries with supreme force, creating a large hole in atleast thirty feet in all directions. The canyon however, was nearly annihilated. Obliterated to the highest point possible. Rocks began falling off and clashing into the ground, smashing the grounds below, creating a large dust cloud; water becoming corrupted by the falling dirt.  
 
Tired, completely; while having a massive desire for water, she fell against the tree once more and began breathing heavily, looking up at the canyon that was destroyed completely. Smiling under the mask that bear the insignia of the country Midergern which covered her mouth to her nose, and wrapped around her face. She laid her head back against the wooden bark of the tree, hardly satisfied by the display of power that she exercised during this entire week, though she hoped her mother would be proud of the results. She looked at the masses of the clouds, which were streaming with strange hues of oranges and reds of all kinds of pristine colors, reflecting from the sprayed water and sunlight granted by the God's from above.. She sighed.  
 
A man wearing a white cloak that cover his face walked up behind her. He then stood over her and looked at the Canyon. "After all these years I left you to train by yourself and you do this. I wonder sometimes why I didnt just let you fall off the mountain." Voltaire said grinning as he looked at the Canyon. "Oh. Yeah the hood covers my face you don't even know who I am yet." He would then remove the hood. " Does this face ring a bell. Voltaire Uzugara, the Paladin you fought long ago, back on your regiment when you were being trained by the Grand Templars." Voltaire said looking at her. He then noticed she aged and changed alot. She seems to hate him maybe for leaving her alone by herself to train and work on her own. "Eh...Sorry I never came to visit or look for you. Your not mad at me are you? If so I'll gladly leave." He says nonchalantly with a confused expression on his face. Voltaire then thought to himself wondering if what he just said was true that she turned all that the power he'd bestowed within her had formed into hatred. She didn't really have a social life after all. It was a life dedicated to training, and he knew this. 
 
Looking up at the slightest little gesture of someone speaking, she was curious to find out who the mysterious man was as he spoke of a fight the two shared a long while ago, and being the Warlock who trained her to use the Spellplague. After the man removed his hood she stood up and simply hugged him. Saying nothing at all, no tears shed, and there was no wind blowing. It was completely silent. It certainly was not hatred. It was more like sorrow. ".. Voltaire.." She whispered, as the wind began to blow gently, brushing her ocean dyed blue hair about. The dust cloud was gone now, for the most part, and the mountain that was crushed beneath the raw power of the young warlock could be clearly visible. A disastrous sight it was, certainly a deadly one. She buried her head into his chest and began to talk ever so lightly. "Where did you go.." Her voice was slightly broken, she had not cared about anything for so long she simply forgot how to be emotionless in a situation such as this. ".. You said after my mother died that you'd take care of me and help me kill those responsible.." A small teardrop fell from her eyes, and she began to tighten the grip around him. 
 
The wind had stilled now. All of these mixed emotions gravely affected Jaina it would seem, and she was both surprised and scared at what might happen if she began to let Voltaire take her under his wing again. She did however wonder what he may have planned to do to rectify the situation, since he was rather comely as he spoke. Still, nevertheless, she backed off and let her grip go, leaving the mans body completely. And as always, as she was trained, continued to display her signature intrepid and daunt personality. "Actually," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder "I've come to seek you out personally." Feeling him hug her sent an all too human chill up her spine that made her body quiver and shake with inner happiness. She was curious as to what Voltaire might have been talking about when he mentioned that he actually came in search of her. She sat down in front of him, and pulled him to the ground easily. He handed a scroll to her. 
 
"What.. Is this?" She laughed lightly, remembering the scar that had previously cursed her face, she gently ran her hand across the place it had been in the past, remembering the way she got it all too clearly. Still, trying to mindlessly brush off the pain that beset a mysterious mist upon her past, in which she held many burdens, she masked it with a happy expression with the cheerful personality she placed over herself for her lover. Then, putting her hand back down and helping to elevate her body by holding her torso up from sitting, she began to put her curiosity into action. She smiled as he explained himself. "That scroll was given to me by your mother a long time ago, with instruction to give it to you when you become a Warlock, or when you were prepared enough to handle such a spell." She looked at it. "Spell?" With that, she looked back over, and he was gone. Disappeared from the face of the canyon just as the dust went away. [/ltr]


[ltr]With mentor's approving nod, I'd smile at his approval. "Next, we are going to learn how to block both outside and inside attacks." he'd tell me as I nodded. Watching mentor first get into his stance, he'd motion me to send a barrage of punches at him alternating between attacks to show each defenses strengths. Nodding, I'd learn through practice against the defense. Starting out softly, I'd smile and throw some light punches at first to get a feel for how they were blocked. Starting with two punches in succession, one from the front and the other from the side, mentor would flawlessly block them. Taking note of how he did, I'd notice that he used the principles of the 360 degree defense but not the Inside defense which baffled me. Trying it again, I'd throw a side punch with my left and an uppercut with my right. Noting his style, he'd shove off my uppercut with his left arm and block my hook with his right. That was a combination of both, but it wasn't much. 
 
Speeding up, I'd throw a punch every two seconds. Seeing mentor's defense flow smoothly, I'd get the pattern for how he defended. Sending in a flurry of punches, I'd watch intently at mentor's defense system since that was my main objective. The mix of the two types of blocks were evident in the freeform low of mentor. With a smile, I'd slightly increase the attack speed to about once every 1.7 seconds to see how he'd react. His flow of defense was not disrupted which I hoped my form would be like when it came time for the true test. However, I needed to see how good mentor was to gather more data. Mixing it up a bit, I'd throw in two low punches simultaneously to see if he would dodge how he told me. Deflecting my left punch with his right elbow, he'd twist to the right to dodge the other one. 
 
Thinking that I could disrupt mentor's flow, I'd increase to about an attack every 1.5 seconds. However, mentor was good and kept up with it. Needing a sudden change to be able to see if mentor was as great as I thought he was. Increasing it to a punch per second, I'd smile as I saw mentor's flow wobble for a moment. It then began to fluctuate between stability and instability. With a smile, I thought I could break his concentration as I began to increase it a bit to 0.7 seconds and noticed him wobble more. With a smile, I'd notice him wobble until it turned to a frown when he started to regain control. I wanted him to give in first as I increased it to two punches per second, about 0.5 seconds per punch. With a smile he'd begin to wobble however, he seemed to be giving up as I hoped with this next few punches he'd break as I saw an opening. 
 
With a smile, I'd stop my fist an inch away from his torso while noticing mentor's stern face. Retracting my fists and bowing, he'd return the bow with his own. "Mentor, may I see you and another person spar like the way we did? I think it'd do me some good if I saw it from a third party's perspective." I'd ask as mentor nodded and motioned another student over. As they both got into stances, the student would initially start with simple attacks against mentor. With a smile I'd watch intently only about a foot away. Watching the slow start, it would only add to the excitement and knowledge I hoped to gain from watching this semi spar. The female student then stepped it up, striking slightly faster with each soft punch she threw at mentor. With longing eyes, I'd watch the spectacle that was playing out before my eyes. 
 
The flurry of strikes flew at mentor as I took mental notes in my head as I watched mentor's defense flow like a stream without anything blocking it. She tried to stop the flow of the stream but it was too strong of a current to be stopped. All the strikes were rejected almost instantly. To try and stop it, she sped up to about one attack per second. However, mentor learned from our spar and blocked each with fluidity. With a smile, it'd turn to a puzzled look as she slowed to a halt. They nodded to each other after the cease fire before mentor started to attack his student. Realizing that they swapped it up to show me two different sides of it, I'd see how she did it. After a minute, I'd see that, compared to mentor, her form was rather sloppy but better than mine. 
 
Watching mentor throw soft punches, I'd notice he was trying to build up her rhythm. After a few minutes, I'd notice her change into a fluid motion of blocking. Mentor then sped up his assault and her rhythm faltered. She struggled to block it all but I'd see her improvement and form that was used. Taking note of how she gained the fluidity of defenses, she conformed her body to a better position before adjusting her arms. Mentor did it the opposite way from what I saw in our spar and the spar I was watching. A good balance of both, from what I thought, would be the best solution and way to integrate this kind of defense into battle situations. With a smile, I'd see mentor increase his flurry to a strike a second. Her defenses faltered quite a bit, but I saw her fluctuate between getting better and worse. Wondering if she could pull off a stable return to defense, I'd watch intently, learning with every punch thrown and punch blocked. 
 
With one last block, her defense was shattered as mentor's next strike broke through her defenses. Mentor stopped about an inch from her gut before retracting his fist and bowing to her. Nodding at mentor, I felt like I was ready. "Mentor, please allow me to try it." I'd tell him with enthusiasm as I got up from my kneeling position. With his nod, I'd get into the proper stance and prepare for the flurry. As mentor started off, he'd send a punch every two seconds to allow me to get my flow. It all seemed like it was hard to start with, like everything, but gradually got easier with each punch deflected. My eyes were getting used to predicting and then defending against the attacks. After about a minute, my peak flow had been reached and deflecting the mixed flurry came second nature to me. It was like taking candy from a baby it had gotten so easy. 
 
However, just as I had gotten used to the rhythm mentor had, he stepped it up a bit to throw punches at me faster using a more random pattern to strike. Was this a test to see how well I could adapt to such a changing format? Or was this to get me ready for real combat? Both of these questions went through my mind as I lost concentration for a bit, slowing down my reaction time. Trying to regain it as well as my focus, I'd watch his movements carefully in order to use the correct block. With a smile, I felt myself regaining control over this little exercise as his attacks were once again melting away into my quick adjustment to my defense. I felt like I was regaining control over his attacks as another trick was pulled from his sleeve. He attacked faster and aimed for visible weak spots. 
 
The new attack pattern was about once every second and slowly going faster. It was enough to make me lose my focus as well as lose my concentration with the attacks made for my weak spots. Mentor was trying to get me to be able to withstand any barrage. My body flowed out of my control into a more focused flow from what it seemed like. With a smile I'd wondered how this was possible as I regained control but not focus or concentration. Building up my concentration, I'd focus on trying to see his attacks before they came after me as I smiled. I was gaining both concentration and focus simultaneously as I felt his attacks becoming slower than my reaction time. However, my joy was shortlived as he went into overdrive to try and get me to be knocked over. With a nervous smile, I'd try to compensate for the difference in our speeds with multiple blocking, however I was losing. I needed to pull it together as I noticed a few attacks headed for my blind spots. 
 
Stopping his last blow, he'd smile and stop the flurry. As he nodded at my success, he'd waste no time moving on. "Next, you must learn to escape from a wrist grab of the mirrored side. Come, try and grab my left wrist with your right hand." mentor said as I shrugged before doing so. As I followed orders, I'd grip his wrist with my mirrored hand. Almost immediately in the blink of an eye, mentor had escaped my grasp. My hand was floating there and I looked like an idiot with his hand out. Wondering how he did it, I asked for a step by step demonstration after I tried to mimic what I could see. Nodding, he'd grip my left wrist with his right hand. Trying to just yank it out, I saw it wouldn't work so I tried doing what I remembered and twisted my elbow towards his. As I did I felt the grip loosening as I took a step forward with my left foot to fully escape it while I punched my chest. Wondering how that works, I'd wait for the explanation. 
 
As I gripped his left wrist with my right hand, I'd wait for his step by step explanation. "If you grab my wrist, I am limited by what I can do right? I can't really make hand seals or punch you or whatever. It causes a blind spot in my performance. To escape this situation, however, I want to make sure I have more power pulling away than forward." he'd say as he twisted his elbow towards mine. "Here, I can move towards myself instead of towards you. Most people will let go if you put enough force since they may think you will punch yourself. However, you avoid this by controlling your strength. It also puts less pressure on your wrist to allow for more flexibility." he'd tell me as he could wiggle his wrist in my grip now before pushing towards himself, breaking my grip. "Now, try it slowly by going through all the motions." he'd tell me as I nodded. 
 
Holding out my right wrist, he'd grip it with his left. Remembering the explanation I just heard, I'd go through it step by step first to remember why it went that way. "First, I loosen the grip or pressure the opponent has on my by pushing towards him with my elbow. If I need to I could step forward with the same foot to give myself more maneuvering room unlike if I used the other foot." I'd say in my head as I slowly performed the first step, moving my elbow towards his as I felt the grip loosen a bit. On my way to his elbow, I'd review the next step. "With my wrist loosened, it doesn't guarantee I'll have an easy time escaping, but it gives me a better shot." I'd say in my head again as my elbow was an inch away from his with plenty of room to maneuver my wrist in. Pushing towards myself with my whole arm, I felt like I could power through his grip as the seconds passed by, the moment of truth arriving. 
 
With a smile, I'd free my wrist with ease before backing up so I didn't hit myself. Mentor gave an approving nod at the end of my slide as I smiled. "Alright, now you must learn how to escape from someone grabbing the opposite side. Grab my left wrist with your left hand." he'd tell me as I approached him following orders. Watching him intently this time, I'd blink once and he was free from my grasp. Shocked, I'd look at my hand and his arm to notice any differences from when I grabbed it. I saw no differences in the way he had his arm to the way I gripped it. However, the simplest thing was off and I couldn't recognize it until I looked carefully. Instead of his fist being horizontal, it was now vertical. This subtle change baffled me, but to get a clearer understanding I'd ask mentor to explain it. 
 
"Mentor, mind explaining what you did while you do it like last time?" with a smile I'd walk over to him as he nodded to my question. As I gripped his wrist like before, he'd begin to explain."To escape this, you can't pull the same trick since the elbow won't reach that far in this far of space. You use your thumb in a hitchhiking motion to escape." he'd tell me as he pointed out his thumb and moved it across to under my wrist. "You go for the weak point in the grip, usually the opponent's wrist, to be able to give enough room to escape as so." he'd say as he escaped my loosened grip. Wondering how that works, I thought about what it would do. Perhaps it would make the opponent arc their wrist to not be touched. That way, the grip would be loosened just enough to escape. Nodding, I'd be ready to try this out on mentor. 
 
"Mentor, I'm ready." I'd tell him holding out my right arm for him to grip. He gripped it with his right hand and I'd go over the steps and think of an easy way to remember them. "So first I need to give myself breathing room. To do that, I 'hitchhike' with my thumb to give myself room." I'd say as I stuck on my thumb, rotating my fist and thumb to under his wrist. As I did, I'd put into my mind that this is the hitchhike escape. "Next all I do is pull out in the room I created, but how do I do it without him regaining control. Perhaps my thumb comes out last." I'd say to myself as I slid my arm towards myself, keeping my thumb up to allow myself to keep this loose grip he had on me. With a smile I'd see it coming but I was slowing down. Perhaps he was regaining his grip as I gave it one quick jolt back, hoping it'd free me from his grip. 
 
As I slipped my arm from his grip like slipping out of a bottle, I'd smile at how easy it was in the end. However, training would roll right into the next spell. "Alright, now you will learn to escape from someone who holds both wrists, at least one way. Hold my wrists up." mentor would say as I nodded and followed command. Holding his wrists up, I wonder what sort of special way he would escape. Perhaps just like the same side escape? Or maybe a mix of both ways. However, I'd be dead wrong as I noticed him rotate his arms, his left clockwise and his right counterclockwise. As he did that, he lowered his head and I thought he was going to headbutt me. Not wanting that, I'd release his wrists and skip back, wondering what the spell was here. Perhaps headbutting the opponent was right, but I needed to ask. 
 
"Mentor, how exactly does one escape?" I'd ask as I repeated my earlier actions to hold his wrists up. "Weren't you watching? I just showed you but I'll go through it once again." he'd say sighing as he looked at me seriously. Was there something I missed? Or maybe he did it and I wasn't really looking for what he did. "First, you rotate your arms inward. Meaning your left arm goes clockwise and your right goes counterclockwise." he'd say as he slowly rotated his arms inwards and down. "As you do that, you drop your head down to your chest to make it seem like you may headbutt the opponent. If he's close enough you will end up headbutting him." he'd tell me as he made the motions. So that's what the secret to it was. I was scared that I was going to be headbutted that I stopped and backed up. However, I knew mentor wouldn't allow it. Nodding, I'd think of a way to escape as we swapped positions, him gripping my wrists high. 
 
Wondering how I would, I'd concentrate for a second on how to get him to release me. A headbutt would be too extreme, but perhaps I'd be able to hit somewhere else. Thinking of where to hit, I'd begin the starting movements of rotating my arms. In the time it took them to get below the mark for the next step, I'd search for a weak spot, a kink in his armor. Spotting a potential spot, I'd smirk on the inside as my arms kept turning. When the next step came, I touched my chest with my chin hoping he'd release me, but he didn't. I needed to go for somewhere I knew I could hit as I thrust forward, my head aimed at his chest to knock him off balance to release my wrists. This was a gamble on my part as I made contact with his chest. Hopefully the blow would make him release me. 
 
As I hit his chest, I knocked him off balance just enough to free my hands as I jumped back a foot. With applaud, mentor smiled at me and I returned it. "Good. Now I will show you the proper way to escape someone holding your hands down via your wrist. Come, hold my hands down." he'd tell me as I complied. Holding them down below his waist, I'd wait to see the response I got. In the blink of an eye, mentor started to move faster than I could track. When he finally stopped after taking a step back, I'd wonder how he did that. From the blur that I saw, he had done the exact opposite of holding them up, but I needed to clarify this with mentor. Could it be possible that simply doing a reverse motion could allow one to escape such a grip? It didn't seem like that was all to this escape. 
 
"Mentor, please repeat the gesture with pointers and explanations please." I'd say as he acknowledged the request and accepted. Going over to him, I'd hold his arms down with a puzzled look as I glared intently as his movements. "Remember that to escape the previous type of hold, what did we do?" he'd ask me. It was a simple question, so he responded immediately. "We rotated our arms inward and down while using our head to intimidate the enemy a bit to release us." I'd say as he nodded before beginning to move. "The last one, we had our hands held up instead of down like now. To escape this one, one must do the opposite of the hands held up release. You rotate your arms inward and upward in a mirrored motion." he'd say as he slowly began to do so as my arms got closer together. He then curled his fingers so he wouldn't poke his eye from observation before my grip got too far away to hold and I released him. It seemed easy enough. 
 
"Mentor, its simplistic nature seems simple enough to do. I'd like to try." I'd say as he sighed before grabbing my wrists and holding my arms down. With a smile, I'd remember how simple the instructions were as I reminded myself in my mind. "Okay... So I mirror the last spell so instead of rotating inwards and down, I rotate inwards and up." I'd say as I slowly took a few practice rotations before I felt I was ready. After, I did a few quick snap rotations to increase speed to see if it helped any, and it did. Taking a few deep breaths, I felt confident in it as I then started to try to escape for real. Snapping my arms inwards and up, I'd almost forgot to curl my fingers so I don't harm my eyes as I jerked my arms feeling his grip loosen. I then tried to jump back hoping I was free of his grip. 
 
As he loosened up, I'd free myself and make sure he couldn't get me by stepping back a bit. With his smile and nod, mentor would be ready for the next escape as I was also ready. "This is the final basic one for your belt. Grab one of my wrists with both hands." he'd say as I nod getting closer and grabbing his left wrist with both hands. Watching his movements to see how he'd react to this type of situation. He couldn't really just escape using the trapped arm, so I wondered how. Getting my answer, he'd reach over with his right hand. Not noticing his left hand had been made into a fist, my attention was fully on his right arm. He then grabbed his left fist as he quickly rotated his left elbow up. Wondering how this would work, I'd notice how it did but not sure why it worked like that as I watched mentor escape. 
 
Mentor knew the drill as he beckoned me to grab his wrist again like I did. Waiting for him to start, I'd take a deep breath in the meantime. "As you already noticed, you can't simply escape this with the caught hand. Therefore, you use the other hand..." he'd stop as he moved his right hand to cover his left fist and hold it up. "to grab your caught hand which is turned into a fist. You then raise it above the wrist line of the opponent. After that, you rotate your elbow..." he'd say as he slowly rotated his caught arm's elbow 180 degrees so it faced upwards. With that, he then put it back down. "quickly to allow yourself time and room to escape." he'd tell me as he quickly snapped his arm up as I felt the rotation speed heat my hands and loosen them. He then escaped as he said previously. It is such a simple escape but the way it is performed is pretty complicated. 
 
Sighing, I'd try to understand its complexity as I held out my right arm as he grabbed my right wrist. Going over the instructions and steps he just said, I'd take a few sighs before I began. Reaching over with my left hand, I curled my right hand into a fist as I grabbed it with my left hand. Raising it up above his wrist line, I'd try to get this next part perfect enough to be released by taking a few practice swings. Slowly rotating my elbow up, my right elbow would be getting used to the motion as I smiled. After doing this three or four times, I'd snap it up another three times before finally thinking I could get it. The snap use of my elbow was to gain speed so I could. With a smile I'd be ready as I snapped my elbow up, feeling his hands loosen their grip on me as I attempted to flee in my moment of chance. 
 
After escaping, I'd wonder what we were going to do next as mentor beckoned me to follow him. He walked to a training dummy as I stared at him with a puzzled look. "Now that the defense portion is taken care of, we will move onto some combat. This is a basic attack so watch carefully." he'd say before turning to the dummy as he got into his stance. Noting his stance, I'd see how he was. His left side was facing forward closer to the dummy rather than his right side. Personally, I was stronger with his right hand but I needed to be ambidexterous I suppose. With a sigh, I'd only see his hand return to where I saw it before the sigh. Wondering what had happened, mentor noticed my cluelessness and reperformed this spell. His fast was too fast for my eyes but I caught a blur. His attack was so fast that I could only gather an outline of the spell he did. 
 
"Umm... mentor. Mind giving me some tips on this?" I'd ask him as he was ready for this. "You only saw a blur right? Well its just a simple punch, similar to the jab boxers do. Just as fast as well. To make it faster, one must put his whole left side into the punch. However, this is also the body as well. It puts more power into the punch as well if you put your body into it. It also helps to curve your fist a little as well, making sure to make contact with the first two contacts of your fist. Also make sure to keep your head close to your chest and roll your shoulder to cover it as well. It helps a lot like so." he'd say as he slowly made the punch to the dummy. I'd watch seeing his body move with the punch as it flowed into the punch. The dummy bent back about ninety degrees before returning up right, mentor dodging its retaliation. 
 
Nodding, I'd take mentor's position as the dummy stopped moving back and forth. Taking the same stance he took, I'd make sure my chin was against my chest and my arms were bent at the elbows to guard my face loosely. As I took a few practice punches, each one was a slow punch to make sure I would get the right motion down. Next, I'd take a few more practice punches, only this time adding in my body to add power to it as the dummy bobbed a little toward the left and right. Believing I got this punch down, I'd take a few deep breaths before finally being able to be ready. Beginning the motion, I'd throw the punch towards the punch, rotating my hand until the knuckles were horizontally aligned. Throwing my body as well into the punch to add power and speed, I'd make contact with the dummy hoping it was as powerful, if not more, than mentor's punch as I threw my body into the punch. [/ltr]


[ltr]The young stranger, formerly know as Jaina, had retired to the woods outside of Midergern to better attune herself. Out in the dense woods and green meadows there was little that could distract the young woman from her endeavor. She had been tasked by her mentor, Akima Nabuto, to refine and increase her mana pool. If she was to be a decent medical warrior, she would be in need of much mana to heal those wounded in battle.  
 
She had delved deep into the woods and had found a natural spring. The small brook that ensued from it would eventually join a river. The cold water was a good medium by which Jaina had to concentrate her mana. He sat cross legged in meditation on top of the shallow waters. She exuded, and gathered her inner senses to further let the mana develop and refine itself; feeling as mana rushed through her thighs and legs so as to stay above water. If she ever lost concentration or was running low on mana, the cold waters would let her know with a shivering reminder. To further deplete her reserves, she would perform intense calisthenics and perform mana consuming spell. She would draw just enough mana to make her pass out but not put her in any form of danger. After all, she had been tasked with increasing her mana reserves, not with dying in the least. Perhaps one day she would have to make the choice but at the moment her mind was filled to the brim, if not overflowing, with ways to produce satisfactory results. Even if it meant an eternity. 
 
Three weeks have passed since Jaina had arrived at the natural spring. She slept under the stars and she hunted for her food. To any passerby she would have looked like a feral human. Her hair was much longer than her normal shoulder length. It was even unrulier, if that was even possible. Her clothes and shoes were worn and torn where she had snagged a tree branch or scraped a clothed substance against a rock in her constant chase for food or on her ever changing self imposed physical training routines. The days had started to merge one with another. She only stopped her training to answer nature calls and to hunt for her food, or to gather supplies necessary for everyday survival as a warrior. As a proud warrior of the Proudmoore clan. There were times she was so exhausted that she did not know if she was dreaming or actually performing the task that she saw herself doing as if it was an outer body experience. Another unique form of astral projection.. 
 
She had trained her mind to sense when she was starting to be at the limit of her mana reserves; her system was trained to alert her body in case of an emergency - sending electromagnetic shocks to her brain telling her she must back out of the battle and recouperate before returning to the frontlines. She would feel the strain her body felt as she tried to produce just an ounce more. Because the mana lines were connected to vital organs, she made sure not to strain her chi or concentration regarding it too much to avoid certain danger. After all it wasn't like it is not unheard of somebody dying due to the severe effects of mana exhaustion. Still, she did not care to be another statistic if it made her mother happy. Years could pass at these beautiful springs and she wouldn't leave until she felt she met the quality her mother would approve of. She had a promise to keep. A vow, spoken in true words of divine and devout righteousness and faith. If she was to become a good Medical Nin and a superior, if not the best solo support team in the warrior world; there should be nothing that she would not be willing to accomplish no matter the cost.  
 
There were times when doubt started to settle in. She wondered if all this was even working. She did not feel any different. But one is not able to see the small changes because they are just the same as the day before. Only those seeing from the outside, seeing with fresh unbiased eyes can truly say when a change has happened - the eyes that Jaina wanted to really experience the thrill of her prowess were those of her mother. She'd do anything to make her proud of Jaina; even if it meant giving up her happiness and her childhood. Jaina would just have to trust that her mentor was correct and that exerting the mind, body and spirit, would lead to a more vast mana reserve and further improve her knowledge and grasp on controlling her mana to the characteristic aspects and ratios comparable to kings and Captain warriors she admires so dearly.  
 
It was not until the next to last day that she felt any true change. She was chasing a rabbit that would hopefully be her next warm cooked and hearty meal. Her muscles were crying and screaming out for rest but she could not let her first substantial meal in days escape. The animal headed for some rocks and she just knew that if she let it near one of those holes she would not see the rabbit again. Chances are it would burrow deep underground and remain there until Jaina was asleep. [/ltr]

[ltr]She tapped into the expanded mana pools from deep within her and miraculously produce enough mana to send a bolt imbued with shadow magic mana flying towards the ill fated rabbit. The immersive and unforgiving attack was strong enough to stop the poor creature’s heart but in doing so, it made Jaina’s own race. She had finally achieved what she had set out to do it would seem. She slept peacefully that night, her belly full and her mind at rest knowing that she could go back to her mother and have her be proud of her completing the task she was assigned. [/ltr]

Menelmacar had tried his best to stay awake during her story, he wanted to learn the Orgin's of the land, the tales it had to tell, but the pain from the wolf bite was taking its toll on him now, his eyes would flutter about the time she cleaned his wound, he took in a sharp breath, that would wake him up for some time, and that was good, it allowed him to finish through her story, and when she was done, He would slowly stand and bowed to her say "Lady Jaina I am happy to hear that extravagant tale of how the land came to be, but this wound is taking its toll and I must go to get some sleep" Menelmacar would go to where he would be pointed to by the lady, and he would wait till she left and he would lay in the bed she offered him, and he would fall asleep, the next day would hold much for him.

What exactly was not yet known, but he planned to ask the Lady Jaina for a Horse to head into the closest town, he wanted to learn all he could to protect the Lady Jaina, and the full details of what his new title entailed, His dreams that night where of his future life, the life he was to live, the life he wanted to live, and oddly enough, for someone shipwrecked and so far from home, he did not wish it, did not desire to return home, he felt more at home here then when he ever stayed anywhere else, he was able to sleep with a smile on his face.

His dream was one of grandour, not physical, but mental and emotional grandour, He was standing beside his Lady Jaina, she was doing her queenly things, and he was standing close by offering advice to her when she asked, he was dressed, not like most knights, but like a lord, but still ready for battle, two swords on him, one on either hip, it was tasteful.

(TWC-9450, Claiming 189 stats)

well, that's a lot. Approving mene, and will approve Jaina when she exits. I'm fairly certain this doesn't apply to this topic, but for topics where you don't do any sort of training, you can still gain stats, but only for patience and memory. Where as in topics where you do training, you can gain all

Okay, she edited. Approved.

Congrats, Jaina. You know hold the record for longest post on the site at 6,709 words.

Really? Cool