VIGIL 4: Swordfights!!! on Air

[Recaiden]

[Northwest Hills]

One might have thought that Maria wouldn't feel pain at all. Even so, it shouldn't be a surprise that she noticed the damage to the her hand.

The wizard returns the sword to its sheathe once again. No blood to clean, just a few flecks of ash that fell away easily enough. A hint of a smile crosses her lips at the shower of sparks.

The shockwave and its accompanying shower of dirt is less welcome. She stops and brushes the debris away with a scowl. Some of that hurt.

The third one isn't even noticed, her eyes on the one struck down to the ground, growing brighter and hotter. There's a temptation to just watch, wait and see what it does. Is it just going to radiate like a nice oven? Or is it building in a crescendo to a cataclysmic explosion? That might be a bad idea. So might this.
"Poor little stone ♪, so much expected a-♫..."
"Shatter."
The lost potential, the magic, of the words and the tunes snaps out and strikes the white-glowing stone like an unpleasantly pointy hammer.

[Morty]

[Hangar]

Wenomir is waiting for Kalya there. Her necromancy might be their only chance to obtain evidence that they didn't destroy the hovercopter. The warrior's expression looks like it might be enough to chase the dead out of their graves all by itself.

[5a Violista]

[Northwest Hills]

The fallen stone shatters to the magic of the tune. Shattering, all of its explosive and thermal and valcanic and radiative and dormant and volcanic energy is released at once in a chaotic and uncontrolled burst. A very short burst of all kinds of light is released. The air and the plants and the soil immediately around it all burn, but it burns out so quickly that there's barely enough time for anything else to heat up.

Then...there's nothing but ash and empty space just around where it was. Luckily, it had started to roll down the mount so it was far enough to not hurt either Maria or Cleo. (Assuming you define "possibly getting a sunburn from it" as "not hurting", because that much electromagnetic energy could give you a nice sunburn or freckles or a tan if you're not protected by cloth or something in the way.)

During the distraction of the burst, Maria drops the already-used stones in her hand, and reaches towards her own face. She grabs one of her eyes, and plucks that greyish-white thing out. "Can you feel the folding winds dance upon your face?" she asks. The wind starts to pick up, but gentler than the last time it did.

Starting with her feet she starts dissolving away in the wind. Ash blows away at her feet, then up her legs and her dress and everything else all the way up. The ash blows off in the wind as that effect approaches up towards her arms and neck. "Chanting echoes in a breeze, then gone without a trace."

[Recaiden]

[Northwest Hills]

Well, she's got a sort of sunscreen on, if that helps. But with the very air burning up, Cleo is glad not to be too close to the rock anymore. She lifts a hand to her overheated face.

At the witch's might-be question, she nods.
"Gather at crossroads, and in the waves out on the ocean." she bids the witch. It would be a shame if that were really the end.

And then she reaches out towards the witch, carefully, slowly. Should she take the eye? Or is it just another faulty bomb?

[Ashen Lilies]

[Hangar]

Kalya arrives as asked, dressed in a matte black jacket of the style she's taken to more and more since coming to Vigil. A satchel hangs from her shoulder, likely holding whatever she needs to perform her necromancy.

[Morty]

[Hangar]

"All yours, Kalya," Wenomir says. "This is where the Faction's hovercopter exploded. They're blaming us for it, and dredging things up from the dead seems the only way we can stop this."

[Ashen Lilies]

[Hangar]

"Perhaps," says Kalya, though she sounds somewhat doubtful. "I can only make the dead speak what they knew."

Kalya walks around the landing pad as she explains, stopping at regular intervals to extend a hand, letting a rune flow down her arm into the floor. Calling the dead is easy - making them give up information they might not be entirely willing to volunteer requires some degree of... strenuous... persuasion. "And if the pilot knew he would be coming into death, and if I can force him to say the words to incriminate his superiors - I cannot make those you wish to persuade believe those words."

[Morty]

[Hangar]

"I know," Wenomir admits, with a sigh. "But it is the best chance we have right now. If it fails, we'd need to infiltrate their facilities."

[5a Violista]

[Northwest Hills]

Well, she's got a sort of sunscreen on, if that helps. But with the very air burning up, Cleo is glad not to be too close to the rock anymore. She lifts a hand to her overheated face.

At the witch's might-be question, she nods.
"Gather at crossroads, and in the waves out on the ocean." she bids the witch. It would be a shame if that were really the end.

And then she reaches out towards the witch, carefully, slowly. Should she take the eye? Or is it just another faulty bomb?

[Northwest Hills]

((...I thought I had responded.))

Yes, 'sort of sunscreen' usually does help. It generally does.

Faulty bombs? Maria would be offended if she was still around to listen. The only reason those stones were faulty was because they were experimental. She'll have you know she is a grade-I Exploding Witch. Certified. Those stones were the beginning, because she had never tried them out before.

The eye, however, does bring up a good question. What should be done with it? It currently has a faint glow dimmed by a cloak of smoke, and is reminiscent of Balor's eye, except obviously much smaller. For the first day, ferns near it begin to wither. The second, grass will begin to redden On the third day, wood and trees will begin to heat up, until the fourth when smoke comes out of them...until the seventh day when everything around it will catch fire as if it connected the elemental plane of fire to the world around it.

Of course, that will only happen if it remains uncovered. A simple seven-layered cloak covering it can prevent and reset that entire progression. If a wizard like Cleo should study it and how it bends magic and space, I'm sure she'll figure out what to do with it before the end of the third day. Maybe even put it to some good use
Alternatively, she could just throw it away, off the entire skybase and not risk whatever it could possibly do. It's up to her and what she'd likely do with it.

[Zefir]

[The next lesson?]

It has been some time now since Wenomir had made a lesson. Most likly he was busy getting the riverside things done and all. Mia is still eager to learn more and will look out for him, wearing a training outfit with the sword on her back.
Thought anyone can walk into her on her search.

[Halae]

[The Next Lesson]

Shireen will arrive here as well, wearing an outfit much the same as Mia's. She chooses to wear her blade at her hip, though.

[Morty]

[The Next Lesson]

It has been a while. Wenomir has been a busy man, what with the continuing conflict with demons, and the Riverside election. But he's not going to neglect his students, and the next lesson will happen on schedule.

When they arrive at the training grounds, Wenomir seems to be engaged in exercise of his own - on one of his obstacle courses. He's wading among several door-like panels that spin rapidly. Seems they're subtly weighed and calibrated so that they spin at different speeds and intervals, pushed by a breeze of air from outside the course. The warrior, wearing a pair of loose trousers and hand-wraps, is weaving between them... blind-folded. Despite that, they only rarely hit him.

"I'll be with you in a moment!" he calls out to his students.

[Zefir]

[The Next Lesson]

Mia will wait there watching Wenomir . She doesn't got much to say to that or to Shireen.

[Halae]

[The Next Lesson]

Shireen waits as well, finding a place to sit as she watches her teacher move through the panels curiously.

[Morty]

[The Next Lesson]

The panels pick up speed, and make a fluttering sound as they spin. Wenomir seems to disappear among them, moving too quickly and hiding behind the panels. Eventually, though, he emerges on the other side, and breathes deeply. Seems the exercise was enough to strain him. He wipes the sweat from his forehead and takes off the blindfold.

"You're both here. Great. I know it's been a while since our last session, but duty calls. We'll try to make up for it today."

[Zefir]

[The Next Lesson]

"Don't worry Wenomir." Mia says. "I also got some responibilities that keep me busy."
She makes a small break and looks at the device he used befor.
"I hope you don't want us to go through this. At least I already know that I'm not ready for it."

[Halae]

[The Next Lesson]

Shireen grimaces when she looks at the door panels, "Yeah, what's on the agenda today?"

[Morty]

[The Next Lesson]

"You probably won't, Mia," Wenomir says. "Shireen might. Today we're going to focus on your weaknesses, and how to overcome them. So you'll be training individually. Can you guess what each of you will be doing?"

[Zefir]

[The Next Lesson]

"I assume it got something to do with the course from last time?" Mia says. "I would say I leak a proper fighting spirit which causes me to get suprised to easily. And you got something to help me learn that?"

[Halae]

[The Next Lesson]

Shireen frowns, clearly trying to think of what her issue must be, but she's drawing a blank. She's been keeping up with everything, hasn't she?

[Morty]

[The Next Lesson]

Wenomir nods.

"This is true. When you ran my obstacle course, you couldn't adapt fast enough. I need to hone your reflexes and make you more flexible. You need to always be ready for the battlefield to change, in ways you can't predict.

He then turns to Shireen.

"You're not sure, I can tell. Your problem is mobility, or lack thereof. You move in straight lines, instead of dodging or maneuvering. Brute-forcing your way through obstacles might work here in training, but it won't on a battlefield. And it's not what I'm trying to teach you. So I need to correct it."

[Zefir]

[The Next Lesson]

"It sounds like something you learn during years." Mia replies to Wenomir. "I never experienced something like that in my past so I assume you got a crash course."
Mia just looks suprised about Shireen problem. She didn't even note that there is one.

[Deathkeeper]

Yet Another Lesson

At a later date Koshal will arrive to talk to Wenomir as usual, in his training armor and tabard and trailed by Faye, chipper as ever. The only thing different will be his "shorter" weapon.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

And Wenomir is there to greet his youngest student. He's on the training grounds near his home in the commanders' village, leaning against the Answer. He's not wearing armour, though - just a sleeveless shirt and trousers.

"Hello, Koshal. New weapon?"

[Deathkeeper]

yet another lesson

Koshal shakes his head and draws his sword, revealing the trick.
"Nope. Just a trick sheathe. It's super neat, right?" he asks, knowing an old person like Wenomir probably doesn't use the word "cool."

Faye sits down beside Wenomir and looks up at him with happy eyes.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"A sheath of holding? That's pretty practical. Carrying a proper two-handed sword around can be inconvenient. Where did you get that?"

He scratches Faye's head absent-mindedly as he asks.

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Well I was drinking soda at Trog's and this guy came in and said he needed help defending his town so this wizard lady and I teamed up and killed this bug dude that was abducting people and then we went to his tower and took all his stuff. It was pretty heroic." Koshal babbles proudly.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir smiles, with a measure of pride. He's glad to see Koshal bring his abilities to good use.

"Sounds like quite an adventure. It was challenging enough to keep your sharp, I hope."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal ponders.
"Well, it wasn't too hard, but it wasn't really fair. I had a wizard lady and the best dog in the universe with me." he says with a grin. Really, the poor bug got downed ridiculously quickly.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir's smile fades briefly, as he remembers a wizard lady that used to fight by his side. But he banishes the thought quickly. Koshal doesn't need to hear about his personal losses.

"A good dog makes all the difference, I'm sure," he says. "How about I put it to the test? Let's get some practice swords, and you can show me what you've learned. And there's something I'd like to tell you about while we fight."