Way of the Warrior - Ta'Gaz

[Revenant]

Closed to EI or one of his alts.
The entrance to Ta’Gaz No-shiba’s personal dojo was very different from the elegant sliding door arraignment of the Akashiman trainer Hotouri’s. Where Hotoui used his exotic screen to divide his dojo from prying eyes and casual glances, Ta’Gaz’s door stood wide open, with no barrier whatsoever to close off the fighting master’s abode. The message was clear. Hotouri accepted few to train as personal students, but any member of the Ixian Knights, Sei Orlouge’s personal army, were welcome to test their luck as Ta’Gaz’s student.

Ta’Gaz’s effectiveness as a martial arts trainer in the general training hall, where all of the Ixian Knights received basic lessons, was well established. Perhaps it was Ta’Gaz’s intimidating presence, as the man stood a full head taller than any other member of the Ixian Knights and couldn’t claim an ounce of fat on his muscle-bound frame, or perhaps it was the stories of the fighting master’s brutal method of training, but there were only a handful of the Ixian Knights to date who had dared to brave Ta’Gaz’s dojo. Despite the fact that he would turn no student away, only two of Sei’s personal bodyguards, the Knights of the Apocalypse Stephanie and Jensen, had come back for more than one lesson.

“And anything Jensen can do, I can do,” growled William Arcus, leader of the Ixian Knights monster hunting squad. Though he appeared human, William was a magically created fusion of multiple spirits which his creator had dubbed a revenant. He was a living weapon, powered by demonic rage, and had claimed more lives than he could remember. But following an expedition into the frozen wastes of Berevar where he had been sapped of his powers in the test of the Thayne Goddess Jomil’s Icehenge, William realized that he didn’t really know how to fight. He could claw and crush and break with the best of them, but he couldn’t throw or block a punch any better than the greenest barroom brawler.

That, William decided, just wouldn’t do. On his return to Sei’s Tomb, the underground network of tunnels that ran beneath Corone and served as a makeshift base for the Ixian Knights, William sought out Hotouri, the first of the Ixian Knights’ trainers. Though William learned much in the months that he spent training with the Akashiman, Hotouri’s patient, defensive style didn’t lend itself to the revenant’s fiery, aggressive nature. Perhaps, he figured, Ta’Gaz’s style would be more in line with what he was looking for.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

“No, no, no, no…and still no…” Ta’gaz sighed as his arms lifted up a warrior who wanted to train with him over head like a sack of rice. The boy’s body crashed into several other hopeful students, bearing them all down with his weight as they collapsed. Stephanie sighed audibly, as she rested on the cavern walls looking to the vaulted ceiling of the training dojo. So far, seventeen warriors in the past month stepped forward to learn his ways. Of those seventeen, none of them returned after day one.

She supposed Ta’gaz’s brutal way of doing things was to blame, but honestly how did anyone expect to get away with poor performance? They were training for war, weren’t they? If they were so coward like she pointed them off to Hotouri, wasting the Akashiman’s time. Sighing audibly again she kicked off the wall and stepped forward towards the tangled mess. Ta’gaz looked to her with a smile as she picked one of her wrapped feet up, and then dropped it onto the leader’s head of the group that entered an hour prior.

“You’re all rather pathetic!” She chastised them like a drill instructor, rubbing her foot in the man’s face. “If this is the best the Ixian Knight’s can do, than I fear for the coming war. Now who’s next?” she barked.

There was a long silence, before she realized nobody was going to willingly answer that question. “Dismissed, and get out of my sight.” she muttered lifting her foot off the warrior and turning back to Ta’gaz. The tall warrior looked to her with an inquisitive eye, his smile never faltering. As she saw him gaze upon her face she let out another sigh.

“What’s got you down, Stephanie?” Ta’gaz asked fatherly like as he turned to the training bench and picked up a towel. Though he wasn’t sweating, he at least pretended he put effort into dismantling the soldiers he fought before. He had to admit that while the woman had a point, she was rather blunt about it. True, the warriors were not up to his code of training, and Jensen only barely passed because he was an immortal and could get back up the next day. Still, he never rubbed it in there faces.

“Nothing…” she mumbled sitting on the bench. Ta’gaz had taken Stephanie into his wing to train only because the girl loved Jensen Ambrose, the enigmatic immortal so much she thought if she could be stronger, than she could help him realize what he had worth living for. Jensen, only recently, had begun exploring those feelings with her, but Ta’gaz began to suspect that Jensen wasn’t the ideal boyfriend.

“Oh, come on…” Ta’gaz chuckled punching her shoulder lightly. Though nothing more than a tap, Stephanie nearly lost her balance.

“It’s…” she sighed again. “Jensen.” Ta’gaz nodded and she smiled to her mentor. “He decided he just had to go on some wild adventure one last time, and he left a few nights back. I haven’t heard from him and I…well we have a daughter now and she needs her dad!” Stephanie spoke violently slamming her clenched fist into the wooden bench. Ta’gaz chuckled once more.

“Yes, Stephanie, because that is the sole reason why you are upset he’s gone. Why can you not admit your lonely and you miss him.” Ta’gaz spoke sitting on the bench making it groan under his weight. He had been meaning to ask Sei to order new ones, but kept forgetting to. “You can’t hide things from me, child. Just have faith he’ll return.”

Stephanie was about to reply when her scowl returned. Her hand lifted up and she pointed forwards and Ta’gaz glanced in the direction of where she was looking. Entering his dojo was a brute of a man, easily able to match the girth of Ta’gaz pound for pound. The legendary warrior stood up and crossed his arms as he watched the man enter, his charcoal like eyes scanning back and forth across the room.

“Well, a celebrity!” Ta’gaz said happily. “What brings you in, William Arcus?” Ta’gaz stepped to the center of his room on his padded floor, looking at the warrior with a gentle smile. Of all the warriors in the army of the Ixian Knight’s, the six men under William were the only ones who returned for a few extra lessons before going into their own regimen of training. Ta’gaz had always pondered what it was like to be on the monster hunting team, but he knew his place was in training the halls. So his surprise to see the man step forward bode many questions. He glanced at Stephanie, who rose from her perch and glared to William, but she didn’t seem to hold the intensity of hatred nearly as much as he had seen when Jensen and William were in the same room.

Ta’gaz looked to him and awaited his answer.

[Revenant]

“Ta’Gaz,” William said to the fighter, nodding his head in the respectful greeting that one killer gives to another. His voice was harsh, like the sound of charred wood scraping together, but Ta’Gaz was a knowledgeable man and William was not the slightest bit worried that the trainer would mistake the natural result of his burning soul for disgust or disrespect.

“Stephanie,” he greeted the training room’s other occupant and this time there was no mistaking the scorn in his voice. William held no personally animosity for Stephanie herself, but the woman’s association with Jensen Ambrose put her too far on the other side of a line that William had drawn in the proverbial sand. There had been a time when Jensen Ambrose, whose inability to properly die and stay that way, gnawed at William like a cancerous wound. And while the immortal’s presence during his enlightening expedition to Berevar had lessened his animosity for the man, William still found him and those who associated with him to be extremely distasteful.

“I’m not a rumor seeker Ta’Gaz, but from what I’ve gathered from the whispers floating around this place, you’re an extremely well informed individual.” William doffed his heavy, tattered travelling cloak as he talked, hanging the signature item upon on an odd wooden training mechanism. The device, with its numerous wooden arms sticking out at various heights around the rotating central pillar, looked more to William like a coat rack than a training device, but the revenant had no doubt that Ta’Gaz had some reason for it to be around. Still, until they reached that point, it would serve just as well as a coat rack.

“You must have heard that I’ve been training with Hotouri since coming back from Berevar,” William continued, ignoring the querulous look Stephanie gave him for so informally using the dojo’s equipment in such a makeshift manner. “And I’ve no doubt that you also know that, while I’ve certainly learned from the monk, his style doesn’t exactly fit me.”

William stretched as he walked out onto the thinly padded mats that covered the dojo’s training floor, the black waves of rippling char in his skin clearly visible on his bare arms, neck, and face. The char was a sign of the molten power that flowed through his veins, power which made him inhumanly strong and fast even without assuming his demonic form, something that he could temporarily suppress but never truly banish.

“I know how to kill but not how to fight,” William said, leveling the burning red-orange glow of his gaze, another sign of his true nature, at the muscular trainer. “So now I’m going to use your ‘open invitation to train’ to learn what I need to.”

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Ta’gaz observed the man as he spoke, listening to his intentions. He merely looked to the hulk before him, observing his face for signs of his passion, but all he received for his efforts was a man who stood before him merely here to fight. Ta’gaz shook his head as he lowered himself into his fighting stance, drawing up one knee resting his toes on the mat.

“Why do you fight?” Ta’gaz asked the man before him. A simple question, one he had asked everyone who fought before him.

"Why do I fight?" William laughed, a short barking sound. "You want to know why I fight?" William slid his feet into the centered stance that Hotouri had taught to him. He wore it awkwardly, as if he felt like a stranger in his own skin, but an awkward stance was better than no stance. "I'm not like Sei or Taka, fighting to protect something. And I'm not like Jensen, fighting to define who I am."

"No," William grinned, a savage feral grin, "I was created for one purpose and that's why I fight. I fight only to destroy." Ta’gaz looked to his adopted fighting stance, watching the way he moved, and without warning let out a boisterous laughter that echoed in the vaulted room.

“I’d break you in two hits.” Ta’gaz said evenly. William gave him a dark look, knowing full well the warrior before him was merely taunting him. Slowly the revenant crept forward, inching his way as he prepared to fight. Stephanie watched in silence from the bench, a smirk across her face. She licked her lower lips in anticipation and observed like a hungry cat watching two gladiatorial mice go at it.

When the body of the revenant was close enough Ta’gaz stepped forward and lifted up in a small hop, knee extended forward. William pulled back, but was unable to escape as Ta’gaz lowered his foot landing, twirled into the monster hunter’s body grabbing his head and lunging him up and over his hip with all his might.

Stephanie let out a squeak of alarm as she covered her face, William’s tumbling body crashing into hers and knocking her down and breaking the bench all in one go. The wood fracturing echoed in the vaulted cave, followed by Ta’gaz’s boisterous laughter as he returned his hands to his chest. William snarled getting up, preparing to run forward again before Ta’gaz lifted a gentle hand of restraint.

“Well, it took two moves…One to jump in, and another to hip toss you.” William looked to him before rigidly standing up. He calmed himself down with a few steps before looking back to the legendary warrior. Ta’gaz smiled to William, walking forward.

“I’ll train you, William Arcus. I’ll focus your hands, your feet, and your mind into fighting. But there is other things you must learn that I can not teach. Your good friend Jensen Ambrose had to learn this for himself as well. A warrior must learn why he fights.”

Before William could speak, stating how he already answered that question, Ta’gaz pointed behind him, a brilliant idea surfacing from his mind. “And a dojo needs benches! Your first training lesson, Lord Arcus, is to simply build this facility new benches, as all of them seem to be broken.” Stephanie groaned as she lifted herself from the wreckage, a hand on her head as she willed the world to stop spinning. The demonkin turned to the bench and observed the others.

“Only one seems broken…” he stated. Ta’gaz nodded walking to another bench, taking in a shallow breath before slamming his fist into it, shattering the wood. He repeated this process, destroying all the benches in the makeshift dojo until he stood in the center of his ring again.

William gave him a dark look before scoffing at him. “Woodcutting? Bench making? How is that to train me to use these fists and break apart the people who stand in my way?” His voice had a tone of agitation, grated by the sound of a forge. Ta’gaz merely smiled to him.

“Because you must make these benches exactly the same. Every measurement must be the same as the first one you build, and every nail must be in the same spot. You must hit the nail the same number of times for each nail. If I find any discrepancies from the first I’ll simply…well you do it better than me, but let’s see if I get it right…SMASH!” the warrior smiled to him, a warm, inviting smile.

[Revenant]

There was a quiet moment of supreme tension in the air, as if everything stopped moving for a fraction of a heartbeat. Stephanie stopped brushing herself off, William’s eyes narrowed into viper-like slits, and Ta’Gaz remained perfectly motionless. It was if all of time stopped for just that brief moment, the world waiting to see what William’s reaction would be.

He could feel the demon’s rage boiling inside of him, a hot cauldron of roiling magma that threatened to burst from him like a tidal wave breaking through a dam. But just as he felt this within him, he also felt the power surrounding Ta’Gaz. It wasn’t just that the man had been able to overcome him, and it wasn’t that he had been able to do it so easily despite William’s superhuman physique. The revenant had learned, through his training with Hotouri, how the monk couched his fighting spirit within himself, sheathing it like an Akashiman katana and only drawing it when it was needed. He had learned how he wielded his own fighting spirit like a blunt, brutal club, smashing anything in his way. Ta’Gaz however, wore his fighting spirit like a suit of armor, shielding himself completely with it and keeping it always at the ready. William knew that his club would shatter against that armor no matter how many times he swung it and no matter how much strength he swung it with.

“Fine then,” William said, breaking the tension at last. He was plainly displeased by the fighting master’s task but he refused to fly off the handle about it and he was most certainly not going to give up his training over something so trivial. Besides, a thought occurred to William, he had been a professional wood worker in his human life. Though he wasn’t able to recall all of his skills from that period of time, he knew enough to make identical benches. Ta’Gaz’s first task would be over within a day and they could then move past this farce.


--- Two days later---

“That’s not even close to the same,” Ta’Gaz said easily, the casual nature of his voice matching the casual way with which he scattered the ruined splinters of William’s latest bench. “You’re not really trying are you?”

“Not trying!?” William screamed, stepping up to scream in the fighting master’s face. “That was the seventh bench I’ve made today that you’ve smashed and I can tell you that it was exactly the same as this one.” William thrust his finger out angrily, pointing at the first bench that he had made two days before. “As were the dozen that you smashed yesterday.”

Ta’Gaz shook his head solemnly, “You are mistaken. None of the nails that you used in this bench matched, as if you didn’t even make an effort. If you’re not going to take this seriously, then I’m finished with you.”

“Nails?” William looked at the fighting master hysterically, “Nails?!?” The revenant’s hands twitched spasmodically, as if they itched to leap to Ta’Gaz’s throat of their own volition. William let them continue for several seconds before he closed his eyes and forcibly exhaled to calm his agitation.

“I told you that everything about these benches had to be the same, did I not?” Ta’Gaz continued, seeing William’s efforts to restrain himself. William nodded curtly and turned to return to work.


--- One week later ---

“Thayne damn you Ta’Gaz!” William spat upon the shattered remains of his latest failure. The air in the work shop hung thick with the scent of wood shavings, a product of the ever growing pile of splintered boards and cross-beams. Nearly all other work in the shop had ground to a halt as the Ixian carpenters, much to their annoyance, were forced to make ever increasing forays to gather more supplies and raw materials.

“The pressure you applied on the back end of your third line with the sand paper was different,” Ta’Gaz spoke evenly, maintaining perfect composure.

“The … pressure…” William’s eye twitched and it suddenly appeared that a thread within him snapped. Roaring like a beast, William grabbed the single remaining bench, the first one that he had made and the model which he was to replicate, and hurled it at the fighting master. Ta’Gaz casually shifted his weight, allowing the improvised missile to pass by without making contact before resuming his blank stare at the seething revenant. Behind him, the bench made contact with the workshop’s stone wall and violently shattered.

“Well, at least you get to start a new base model,” Ta’Gaz shrugged, completely unconcerned by the outburst. William screamed in frustration but nonetheless turned back to his tools.


--- Two weeks later ---

Breathe … stroke, the words flowed through William’s mind, breathe … stroke. Each movement that the revenant made was agonizingly slow and calculated, but it was that studious pace that ensured each movement was the same.

It had been two days since William had last slept, had last taken a break. He feared that if he were to rest now then he would lose the rhythm he had established, and that was something he couldn’t allow himself to do. Behind him, Ta’Gaz stood like a man fashioned from stone. For just as long as William had slaved away over his benches, the fighting master had remained motionless and observant.

Breathe … stroke. Another swipe of the sandpaper echoed evenly through the otherwise vacant workshop. William wasn’t sure where Sei’s other carpenters were at this point, but he knew that less and less had turned up in the workshop as his training dragged on. Hell, it could be midnight and everyone could be asleep for all I know.

William blinked, exhaling in exhaustion as he realized that his thoughts had been wandering. He was so close to finishing this and it would be ridiculous to fail right at the end because he was absent-minded. Focus William, focus, he chided.

Breathe … stroke … breathe … stroke …

And then it was over. William blew the sweet smelling dust from the bench top with a heavy exhalation and then looked silently at Ta’Gaz, waiting for a sign of the fighting master’s favor. William saw how Ta’Gaz’s eye narrowed and thought, just for a moment, that his momentary lapse of concentration would send this last bench scattering into splinters. Instead, Ta’Gaz nodded once and then spoke.

“Tomorrow we start your next lesson.”

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Ta’gaz watched silently as Stephanie kicked the training dummy, one leg moving violently around while her other planted her to the floor. She was breathing hard and sweat built down her back and arms, but she never once seemed to complain how tired she was. Ta’gaz had figured her concern for her immortal partner was to blame, considering two weeks had passed by and not so much a word was left for her or their adopted child. Yet he also didn’t coddle her with unnecessary affection, instead training her harder. Jensen was off in the world doing his own thing like he wanted, to leave notes and mail letters was just not part of that plan. Stephanie would just have to trust the immortal.

Apparently that was hard for her to do, so Ta’gaz had her training for eight hours every day. With exhaustion her only companion she would return home to her daughter, play with her, then collapse until the day started again. Once she learned to calm down and accept things for what they were, he would lighten her load. But she was just one person he was to care for, turning around and feeling the palpable heat of William Arcus as he stepped forward to begin his new training session.

“What do we have for me today, Ta’gaz?” William asked. “Perhaps I am to scrub the floors, and clean the walls? Maybe I must train my mind and my muscles to make tiny opposite circles with my thumb and pinky in a sand box.” He pantomimed the action before lifting his coat up and placing it on the training dummy. Ta’gaz noted he had learned the value of repetition, but he still was explosive as ever. He eyed William like he were choice beef, then called for Stephanie to halt.

“Your break.” He said sternly. Stephanie collapsed on the floor, at last letting out heavy breaths as her chest heaved up and down. She lifted the leg she had been standing on to her chest, stretching the muscles while letting the one she used for battle relax prone on the floor. Ta’gaz turned to William and spoke like a venerable teacher, his voice carrying decades of experience.

“Your next goal is to come outside with me and strike five apples as I drop them from a tree.” William looked to him, as if he was about to ask the dumbest question before Stephanie spoke loudly answering the question before it formed.

“He’s ALWAYS serious, William.” She turned her head to look at the revenant, her eyes showing no trace of jokes or jibes. William nodded turning and leaving with Ta’gaz as he led the way.

~*~*~

The outside air was refreshing for an early fall day. The wind blew gently across the land as the sound of children playing filled the ears of the two warriors. When Ta’gaz found a suitable tree, he lifted one hand up, cupping the fruit basket in his hand, and lifted himself into tree with a small hop. William looked to him and Ta’gaz set himself so he was relaxing in the tree. He took one apple out, wiped it on is shirt, and then took a bite.

“I have previously trained you to beat into your body the discipline of patience. Patience in battle is not just a virtue, but a necessity. Now that I see you can demonstrate that patience, I need to see you use it in action. I will toss five apples into the air, strike them all however you see fit, William, and if you can hit all five successfully we will move on.”

William nodded preparing to let loose on the fruit. “Let go of all your frustrations, William, as that will aid you in this test.” That being said, Ta’gaz lifted apples up and started tossing them into the air at different intervals, some far away from William, some rather close. He watched the warrior as he lifted his hands out, and immediately he began to shake his head. If William was lucky, he would strike two into obliteration before the others fell.

[Revenant]

“Just hit five apples, huh.” William shrugged, “sounds easy enough.” Stephanie snickered behind him, but William ignored the female Knight of the Apocalypse. Her approval didn’t really matter to him despite her status as Ta’Gaz’s favored student. There was no chance that this test would take him as long to accomplish as finishing the dojo’s new benches (William swore that his arms had been moving in his sanding rhythm when he had woken up in the middle of the night), and in the unlikely event that it took him more than a day he at least had solace in knowing that he could enjoy the warm fall weather. As a former woodsman, he felt a strong connection to the fresh air and bright, open sky. Spending too much time in the Tomb’s cramped tunnels always put him in a bit of a mood.

“So what are we waiting for?” William asked, smiling up at Ta’Gaz while he shrugged his shoulders to loosen them. “Are you just enjoying the breeze or what?”

Ta’Gaz smiled back as he reached into his fruit basket and pulled forth the first of his apples and tossed it casually into the air. I can’t believe he still has be playing games, William sneered, easily swatting the crimson orb out of the air only to see the second one plummeting to the ground five feet away.

“What?” he spat, jumping into action to knock the apple off course before it hit ground. He hadn’t seen Ta’Gaz take the second apple from the basket, and certainly hadn’t seen the fighting master toss it. The knuckles of William’s leading hand brushed the apple just before it hit the ground, owing more to William’s supernatural speed than to his preparedness, but in doing so William over-extended himself and was unable to recover in time to get back to the third apple, which dropped in the exact same place the first one hand.

“I thought you were here to train, not to stand around and enjoy the breeze,” came Ta’Gaz’s firm, yet mocking voice. “If that was a real attempt then it was the most pathetic showing I’ve ever seen.”

William pushed himself back off the ground and stomped on the nearby apple. “Fair enough,” he agreed, assuming his ready stance again, “no more playing around.”

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Up the apple went. Down the apple went. Out William’s fist went. Out came William’s frustrations as he instead punched the tree, the apple rolling on the ground followed by his foot creating a fine apple sauce from the fruit. Stephanie felt a sort of calm come over as she observed the man beating into the tree rather than his intended targets. His record so far, was two apples. He continued to center his body, then using patience began to swing his arms out with steady motions and breaths. One apple, two apple, turn and punch. Apple sauce.

This kept up for at least thirty minutes before at long last she felt her brain screaming for her to do something to help out William. So, like a good girl, she got up and told Ta’gaz she would make Azza lunch today. She walked away, stopped and turned looking to Ta’gaz offering to make him lunch as well. The man tossed an apple, a bored look on his face followed by a screeching howl of frustration from William’s face. The warrior nodded and tossed another apple up, then another, then a third. Apple sauce.

Stephanie smiled as she turned, began walking when suddenly she felt a nagging presence in her mind. Unable to avoid it as she tried to walk further down the road she sighed, wiggled her toes in the soft grass and turned.

“Hey, William, would you like me to make you a sandwich?” She asked. This time the apple fell on his head, his mind distracted as he turned to look at Stephanie. She suppressed the laugh, but not the motion as she cringed in mirth. William looked down upon the apple with disdain before he let out a wild roar of challenge slamming one fist into the fruit. Apple sauce.

After William took a moment to breath and calm down he looked over to Stephanie with a dark glare, his anger at not being able to hit five apples clearly clouding his judgment. The full fury of his hatred washed onto her and she felt a thrill of terror rush down her spine. Stephanie started pondering which gaze was worse: Cassandra Remi or William Arcus?

He seemed to be judging her with his look, leaning back to get the full angle of her offer, but before she could blow him off he nodded to her, returning his attentions to Ta’gaz who tossed an apple up. The warrior adjusted himself on the tree, feeling a sense of relief in his sore muscles as he watched two squirrels run rampant along the upper levels of the branches. He smiled to them, picking up another apple and tossing it in the air. He reached into his basket, felt around, and noticed he was out. That didn’t matter though, William missed that one anyway.

“Stephanie, will you return with another basket of apples, please?” Ta’gaz called to her. She nodded as she ran into the cave entrance passing the two standing guards. William looked up to him with eyes full of exasperation and rage. How such a simple task was beyond him really chaffed at the demonkin’s bones. Ta’gaz merely shrugged. He didn’t know why William was having trouble either. But then again, he wasn’t really watching.

This test proved to him what path he would take William down next. It all depended on three factors. How fast he could complete the task. How stubborn he was to complete it. And how fast it took him to destroy the five apples. But it wasn’t worth paying attention if William couldn’t hit the third apple. Anyone could smash two apples.

“Rest,” Ta’gaz ordered. Angrily William nodded his head, wishing to continue to prove he was capable of this task, but without any apples he just had to sit and wait. He decided then was as good as any to meditate as Hoturi had taught him and the Revenant leaned against the tree, closing his eyes. After a few minutes of quiet reflecting Stephanie returned with a basket, a plate with sandwiches loaded on it, and a warm smile.

“How is Azza doing?” Ta’gaz asked kindly as he lowered himself down from the branch enough to lift the basket up one handed as well as grab a bite. William took a hungry bite out of his meal, letting a bit of lettuce dangle out the corner of his mouth before he stopped to poke it in. Stephanie took small bites of hers, as she looked up to Ta’gaz and spoke about Azza and how the girl was doing. William ate his sandwich and when Ta’gaz noticed he was done he excused himself and prepared to toss more apples.

William stood ready and he began to attack the apples again. One down, two down. Apple sauce. Stephanie sighed loudly as William gave her a curt look.

“What’s so funny?” William asked her. Stephanie looked up to him and shrugged.

“I just keep wishing there was some way to save all this apple sauce. I think Azza would really enjoy it.” Ta’gaz laughed at her quip and William gave her a gruff send off before focusing again. One down, two down. Yep, apple sauce. “You really need to speed it up, William,” Stephanie said dryly. “You can’t hope to hit them all if you’re going to be that slow.” William snarled as he turned, letting Stephanie step forward and show him, if it were so bluntly easy.

She shrugged stepping forward, stretching one leg up behind her back and reaching over her head to stretch it before she rested on one foot bringing the other up so her front foot rested the toes on the soft grass. She curled her fingers into themselves and nodded. One apple flew down and she back handed it effortlessly as she turned on the spot with a back elbow shunting another into William’s feet. She punched out the third one squarely as it exploded into juicy goodness. She let out a soft grunt as she lowered herself in a tight sweep, catching one apple in the upwards pointed toes of her extended foot, rotating back up to her feet. She did a rolling spin kick, slamming the last apple her foot as the other apple rolled up in the air where she began to play hackey sack with it before bumping it into her hand where she rubbed it on William’s shirt, and took a bite.

“Just commit to the movements. He said let go of your frustrations because you need to just go wild sometimes. Patience is great, but it doesn’t win battles either. Balance isn’t part of this exercise. Just destroy the apples. You can do that right, smash the apples? William Smash!” She joked, laughing as she took another bite. Before William could rebuke Stephanie fell to her knees coughing up the apple and and throwing up her insides.

What came out on the floor was chunks of sandwich, some apple particles, and one tiny worm. Ta’gaz laughed to her as he prepared the next wave of apples.

“Did I mention I asked for all the spoiled apples? I thought I did…” Ta’gaz joked to her, humbling the female knight. She turned back to him, ready to say something before she puked one last time.

Apple sauce.

[Revenant]

Let go of your frustrations because you need to just go wild sometimes. Stephanie’s words rattled around in William’s head. Patience is great, but it doesn’t win battles either. How could he be so dense? Here he was getting all worked up over failing to find the ‘center’ that Hotouri had taught him that he couldn’t hit more than two apples. He had killed knights, and sorcerers, and monsters with his bare hands but he couldn’t hit more than two apples? You just need to go wild sometimes.

Wasn’t going wild the exact thing that he was good at?

“Again,” he called out to Ta’Gaz, signaling for the next wave of fruit. The fighting master shrugged as if throwing the apples was the same to him as not throwing the apples and let them fly.

One, thought William as he leapt to meet the first one, swatting it aside vigorously. Two. He spun out on landing and thrust his leading arm forward, his hand subconsciously opening as if his claws were out. Yes, three, he gloated as he brought his extended hand back around and smashed the third projectile. Ta’Gaz visibly perked up, suddenly taking an interest in William’s progress, only to be disappointed on the fourth apple. The fruit fell just behind William’s shoulder, and try as he might, he couldn’t bring his arms around fast enough to do anything more with it than trail ineffectively.

“Damn you,” he swore at the offending fruit, causing Ta’Gaz to retake his leisurely, disinterested perch. But despite his swearing, William merely reached out and nudged the fruit out of his way to clear a space to start again. Ta’Gaz, looking bored, sent another batch of apples earthward.

One, two, three. One, two, three. William had increased his count by one, but such a paltry gain didn’t matter. What in the Pyre am I doing wrong? he seethed, missing the fourth apple for the fifth time. How could she hit them so easily? Stephanie had said that it wasn’t a matter of balance, but he just couldn’t manage to get himself around in time to catch those last two apples.

Think, damn you, he demanded of himself, going over Stephanie’s demonstration in his mind. How is she doing it? It hit William then, the solution. He was so used to fighting with his hands, his claws, that he was only using his hands to strike out at the apples. Stephanie had used her elbows, her feet, her knees, and everything in between to finish the task. Her entire body was a weapon, not just her fists. That’s it, he thought, that’s how I hit the apples.

“Again,” he commanded of Ta’Gaz, a hint of steel in his grating voice.

“This is the last batch,” Ta’Gaz called out, showing William the nearly empty basket. “you’ll have to try again tomorrow if you don’t get it this time,” the fighting master sighed before tossing the last of the apples.

One. William smacked an apple out of the air. Two. A forceful backhand exploded another fruit. Three. William turned and gripped the third apple, crushing it messily between his fingers. The fourth apple passed behind him, and William knew that there was no way he would be able to catch it in time. Roaring, William spun in place, lifting his bridge of his boot up to catch the fourth apple just before it hit the ground. “Four,” he roared, forgetting to count the apples in his head. The apple hurtled off William’s foot, just so happening to fly in the direction where Stephanie was recovering from her bout of nausea. The Knight yelped in surprise and ducked just in time, covering her head to keep from being showered with applesauce as the fruit detonated against the tree behind her.

A gleam of victory shone in William’s eyes. There was only one apple left to strike and this test was over. But as he turned to strike the last apple, the heel of William’s boot slipped on a patch of wet grass and applesauce, sending the revenant twisting to the ground. Seeming to fall in slow motion, William could do nothing but watch as the last fruit fell right in front of him. But just before the apple impacted the ground, William had a flash of insight and thrust out his neck, catching the rotten fruit in his teeth a split second before it, and his face, slammed into the grass.

“Well that was ugly,” Ta’Gaz laughed aloud, his mirth echoed by Stephanie who didn’t even try to hide it this time. “But as unorthodox as it was, it was effective.” William didn’t move, apparently having unintentionally knocked himself out biting the last apple. Ta’Gaz continued unfazed though, as if nothing of the sort had happened.

“Tomorrow we fight.”

[Enigmatic Immortal]

“You are late,” Ta’gaz said in a tone of deep disappointment as he watched William scuffle in. The demonkin merely gave him a confused look as he turned to look at the room. Most of the training dummies had been pushed aside, the padded mats had grown around the floor to cover more of the area. Stephanie was off in a corner, her training looking to be far more intensive than it had ever been, her breaths labored as she started falling to the side standing on one foot.

“An hour has yet to pass!” Ta’gaz shouted to her, straitening her spine and giving her tired limbs strength to stand. Her kicks came out a few beats faster, before exhaustion came back to claim her. The message should have been clear to William Arcus, the monster hunter of the Ixian Knights: Play time was over.

The legendary warrior turned his attentions back to William, waving his hand over the beasts choice of clothing. Like always, he wore an outfit wholly unsuited to training how to fight. He observed William, watching him as he noticed that the same training dummy he used to place his coat on hadn’t moved. With a practiced motion the coat came off and rested the heavy fabric on one peg. Ta’gaz shook his appointed.

“You dress like you are taking me out to grab a bite to eat. Did I not clearly state today we would be fighting?” William gave him another blink of confusion.

“I would be fighting out in the field in similar clothing, so I-” Ta’gaz lifted his hand up interrupting him.

“You are as foolish and weak as her imbecilic lover, Jensen,” Ta’gaz said darkly thumbing towards Stephanie. That got a glare out of her as she turned on the spot looking at her master.

“Fuck you too buddy…” She whispered under her breath. If the warrior heard it, he gave no indication, instead keeping his eyes upon William. He lifted his hands to his chest, his eyes scrutinizing as he looked to the Revenant. While he could see the demon’s urge to have William charge and rip Ta’gaz’s head off he knew deep down William wouldn’t charge. He was either afraid of Ta’gaz, or simply acknowledged that at this current walk in life he wouldn’t stand a chance. Ta’gaz shook his head again.

“You are not taking this seriously,” Ta’gaz continued on, his anger brimming forth. “You waste my time with your insults and your drive. All you want to do is destroy William Arcus. I am sorry, that isn’t what I teach. I teach people how to fight.”

“Which is why I came to see you,” William pointed out. “To teach me how to fight!” Ta’gaz lifted his hands up into a ready position.

“Stephanie, you are dismissed for the day.” The woman collapsed under her own exhaustion. “I do not want you in here unless you are ready to learn.” Stephanie turned to look at Ta’gaz lifting up a solitary finger.

“Screw you,” she mumbled. “What’s up your ass, Ta’gaz?” The warrior chuckled to himself before he lowered his stance looking to Stephanie.

“You cannot stop worrying about Jensen. He is on your mind so much it is impeding your thoughts and your training. I will not train an empty doll. Leave this dojo and do not return until you are ready to train.” Stephanie used great effort as she lifted herself up and moved towards a bench. There she perched herself as she began lurching forwards grabbing her things.

“Now as for you,” Ta’gaz looked back at William getting ready to fight him. “Destroy me. Show me your power!” Ta’gaz begged him.

[Revenant]

"I've been waiting for this," William grinned, dropping into a low, wide-legged stance. His hands came up into the familiar pattern of leading with his off-hand, holding his strong right further in where it could generate more power. The loose tunic that he wore folded easily around him, doing nearly nothing to hinder his movement despite Ta'Gaz's insolence. He would love to shove Ta'Gaz's smug aggressiveness back into the fighting master's face, but there was no doubt in his mind that he would be the one of the receiving end of most of the shoving today. Soon though, he assured himself.

Across the mats, Ta'Gaz responded to William's stance by taking one of his own. Instead of the mobile, sweeping stance that Hotouri taught to William, Ta'Gaz merely brought his massive arms to protect his head and chest and bobbed lightly on his ankles and knees. It was a simple stance, yet knew that it was no less effective than Hotouri's. The man looked erect and tense, but William knew that he was ready to pounce like a hunting cat in an instant.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Ta'Gaz spat mockingly. "Do I frighten you that much?" The beast within William flared at the taunt, wanting to surge forward and tear the offending fighter limb from limb, but William held it back with a patient hand. Still, he was here to train not stand around posing like an idiot. There was nothing that was going to forestall the angry ass-whipping that he was about to receive. William nodded, his face a stern mask, and made his move to attack.

He came in low, swooping down and in with the fluid, flowing technique that Hotouri had taught him. In an instant, Ta'Gaz's foot came around in a blur. It was almost as if the fighting master exploded into action, one moment he was bobbing gently and the next he was a hurricane of corded muscle and sinew. Only William's superhuman reflexes allowed him to catch the attack in time, bringing his lead arm around in a defensive brace to take the strike from the flat of Ta'Gaz's foot. William's demonic enhancement made him far stronger than any normal man, though the strength was muted when in his human guise. But even so, he could feel the raw power coursing through the fighting master as the two met, more so than even he possessed in this form. William grunted as flesh slapped flesh, but though his arm burned where Ta'Gaz's blow landed his block held firm.

One, William thought, his body reacting without thought as he pivoted and brought his strong hand around in a hard cross. Ta'Gaz, however, had other ideas and easily pushed the attack outside with one of his arms, leaving William's mid-section open. Then, the instant Ta'Gaz's attacking leg recovered, the fighting master sprang forward, leaping like a striking puma and driving his knee into William's gut. William doubled over with a "whuff", as if all of the wind in his lungs were suddenly grabbed by some unseen assailant and torn from him. His defense crumbled and he slumped forward, and Ta'Gaz easily brought his hand around to grip the loose front of William's tunic and sent him flying into the dojo's rough hewn wall with a casual toss. "Pathetic!" he spat again, disdain writ large in every movement he made. "And you call yourself a killer."

A shock wave pulsed from William, a wave of superheated air driven by the demonic aura that poured from the revenant's body. "Is that the best you've got?" William snarled, his burning eyes suddenly glowing with an internal fire. Black lines of power ripples across his body, the herald to the coming of his demonic fury. William noticed the scrap of cloth in Ta'Gaz's hand and looked down to see a hole in the front of his tunic where the fighting master had gripped him. He tore savagely at the remaining fabric, rending it asunder with the vestigial bits of blackened claws that had already wormed through his skin. William glowed with the rush of molten power coursing through him and prepared to rush Ta'gaz, "I want the best you've got, asshole!"

Ta'Gaz sneered and stood casual as William came at him again, a screaming beast from the black pits. He didn't even bother to put his arms up to defend, there was no need. The instant that the beast was within striking distance Ta'Gaz lashed out with a snap kick, halting the charge. Without even bothering to recover, he pivoted and brought his foot around and then down in a falling axe kick, dropping William to the floor. But the fighting master didn't see fit to leave William there, and leapt over the fallen warrior, coming down with a driving knee intended to crush William's head. The attack would have been the end of any normal opponent, but William had the full fury of his demonic power flowing through him now and his reflexes in that state put even Ta'Gaz's to shame.

William rolled out from under Ta'Gaz a second before the fighting master's knee drove a crater in the training floor's weaved rush mats. He spun around quickly, planting his arms and feet on the mats like a savage animal preparing to dive in for the kill. A hiss escaped his lips, and his charred tongue ran over the bladed teeth twisting up from his jaws. But even with his supernaturally enhanced speed he was no match for Ta'Gaz's fighting talent. Never stopping his motion, Ta'Gaz used the downward force of his knee strike to brace himself and pivoted on his knee, lashing out at the crouching revenant with an angled side kick that caught William and hurtled him once again across the dojo. This time it was the many-armed wooden training dummy that stopped William's flight, the same dummy that he used to hang his cloak on. The mobile pillar held long enough to entangle William in its odd assortment of arms and then spun on the base, depositing the demon-man in a hard-landing heap on the floor.

"You don't deserve to see my best," Ta'gaz snarled, his face contorted in a mask of fury. "You are a disgrace, letting your power run roughshod over you like that, and if you do it again then I will kill you!"

Stunned, William lay in a tangled heap, covered by the cloak which had fallen to the floor his him. Consciousness wavered in front of him light flickering lights and the red tide of his power ebbed back into his core, removing the demon taint from his body. Groaning, he propped himself upright only to have his elbow give out and drop him back on the woven mat. Shakily, he regained his feet, looking sheepishly at his trainer.

"I'm sorry," he puffed, trying to calm his ragged breathing, "I assure you, it won't happen again."

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Ta’gaz looked down to William, feeling the energies within him slither away like a snake on its way back to its hole. The man seemed to be aching from the beating, and Ta’gaz lifted his hands up to his chest giving the man an appraising eye.

“What was that putrid garbage you showed me?” Ta’gaz spoke in such a manner it struck William with invisible ferocity. “I see you let loose your demon, and you don’t even have the decency to hit me with it?” With a dark chuckle of amusement the warrior turned his back to the revenant. He looked at the dojo and found himself feeling his agitation grow before he sighed loudly.

“I suppose I am no man to talk,” Ta’gaz spoke gently, his tone reminiscent of a far away time. “I too once fought like you. Savage and unfocused. I may be quick to judge you, William. Yet,” He turned back to him. “That doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you!” With such vindication in his tone he was pleased to see William stand up right, aching and groaning as he quickly got to his feet.

“I have settled on a style of fighting for you. I have used it in our fight to see if the method would be in the realm of capabilities. I shall teach you Muay Thai. It’s brutal combat abilities will compliment you well inside and outside your demon form. However, there is one thing we must first do before we can continue. William Arcus, if you cannot control that temper of yours, and stuff that demon away and be human in this training course I’ll find a means to do so, even if I must consort with Cassandra Remi.”

The name seemed to elicit a soft groan of displeasure, and the warrior noted it for future reference. William lifted up his head and spoke sternly. “I promise you it will not happen again.” Ta’gaz looked to see the truth in his coal like yes, and debated if he should take his word or not. With a satisfactory nod he turned to Stephanie, who had watched the entire fight with confused eyes.

“Well?” He asked her. Stephanie shrugged.

“I thought you wanted me to leave, Ta’gaz,” was her response. She looked at William and shrugged again. “But if I can stay and continue to train then I’d say I would trust him at his word. I’m guessing he figures if Jensen could do it, so could he.” Ta’gaz nodded his head to her assessment.

“Did you know that Jensen Ambrose had studied and learned the reasons why he fought with me?” The Revenant nodded. “Did you know that Jensen Ambrose fought me and lost?” To that, William didn’t reply with any definite answer, just giving him a neutral stare. Ta’gaz let off a vile grin. “Did you know I killed him eighteen times?” That piece of information was news to William, as Jensen skipped that part of the story when he spoke of it. And when he did speak of his time with Ta'gaz, the tone he used was somber. He said he learned some things, and that Ta’gaz was a great teacher. That was all the loudmouth immortal said.

“Do you think you can come back from death William?” Ta’gaz spoke more intently. “Do you think you can pull yourself together and lift your body from the plains of the graves? Can you do it, can you do it eighteen times?” William looked at Ta’gaz, met his intensity and then with a firm confidence he spoke.

“I can do this,” William said determinedly. “And I guarantee you that unlike that idiot, I won't die.” To that Ta’gaz merely chuckled before calling Stephanie to him. He whispered in her ear a few words and she nodded, lifting one leg up in preparation while standing before the body of the revenant.

“Strike her,” Ta’gaz ordered. William looked to her and hesitated, for that hesitation she let out a fierce kick to his jaw that he backed away from. William took a deep breath and then muttered some choice words under his breath before striking out with his hand. Stephanie kicked up hard hitting William on his elbow. The attack curved as his body reacted to the impact, his hand darting low to the ground and over extending his fist. Before he could react Stephanie’s foot rolled over his over stretched hand and landed on the ground where his face rested on her knee. She brought her elbow down and locked William in place holding the finishing blow.

“There are six main schools of thought to defend yourself from attack William. Each one has their own merit, each one has their own unique flavor if you wish. Stephaie is fan of two of them, Jensen is a fan of three, Myself, I like two more than others. You need to find a way to defend yourself first William Arcus. I feel confident that with your innate abilities that if you can learn to defend yourself first the other actions will come naturally.”

Ta’gaz shouted something in a dialect that was unknown to William, and Stephanie released him rising back into her fighting stance. The smoothness of the speech was slightly Akashimian, but it was more blunt than the foreign language. “AGAIN!” Ta’gaz shouted to William. William waited a moment, then struck in with a feint, using one hand to toss out an uppercut before starting a half turn.

Stephanie ignored the feint, instead stamping her foot down and tripping William in his turn. He fell flat on his back and she rolled onto his chest, hands poised to strike his neck. She held the final blow.

“Anticipation!” Ta’gaz spoke evenly. “It’s an art of innately knowing what your foe will do, and countering it before it even has time to start. You strike with your fists, she’ll cap your elbow and knock the strike off. You try to feint and position yourself, she’ll trip you in your move. Try to kick her, she’ll kick the knee you balance on. This is the hardest to defensive style to use, but the payouts are far worth it. To stop your foe dead in their tracks and allow them no momentum not only breaks their flow, but their spirit.” He shouted again and Stephanie stood up in ready position.

“AGAIN!” Ta’gaz bellowed to William. The revenant took a moment to think of an attack, and tossed out a jab to her gut. Stephanie lowered her foot, bringing it into her chest and balling up. She took the blow, but William could feel that the damage did nothing lasting to her.

“Blocking,” William said with a chuckle. “Not really hard to figure that one out.”

“Indeed. Blocking is the most common form of defense in mankind. The simple action of protecting yourself and shielding yourself until the right moment. Blocking is the spontaneous, natural reaction of mankind. I find myself using it from time to time when I am against a wall. Sometimes, you just can’t do anything but block against a far faster foe. Primitive and less fancy…but none the less effective.” Another shout and Stephanie was back to a ready position.

“STRIKE!” William didn’t even wait this time, his body charging forward and tight as he attempted to shoulder tackle her. Stephanie lowered her leg and pushed her hands out to William’s right shoulder, shunting him aside and skipping away.

“Evasion!” Ta’gaz said merrily. “It’s using your own body to avoid attacks by simply not being there when they are about to hit. Taps, pokes, prods to move an attack out of your way.” Another shout and Stpehanie was ready for William. The demonkin nodded as he lowered his hands, this time methodically moving in on her, slowly, carefully. As he was about to enter her personal space she did a low axe kick, followed by a quick sweep of her foot. William darted backwards.

“Disruption! The technique is simple to understand William. Throw out cautionary attacks to scare your opponent away. Nothing to explosive, nothing to fancy. A low sweep will disrupt many incoming attacks.” Another shout in that strange language and Stephanie was rigid again.

William nodded his head, thinking of all the styles he was learning, and noted he had so far witnessed four, only two remained. He move din on Stephanie, letting out a wild haymaker followed by a follow up haymaker. Just a wild swing of his hands repeatedly. As his fists nearly connected with her face she moved that particular part of her body aside. When he tried to hit her arm she turned. When he attempted to slap her knee she moved it away. No matter what William had tried she kept avoiding the attack without moving or losing considerable amounts of her ground. When he attempted to grab her face she brought one hand up in a fierce uppercut, slamming his jaw shut and pushing him backwards as a spittle of blood leaked out his lips. William spat it aside and looked to Ta’gaz, already knowing what this style was.

“Avoiding me and then countering me. I assume each time she avoided she was supposed to hit me.” Ta’gaz nodded.

“Avoidance is hard to time, as you are forcefully trying not to give up any of your ground. Mastering it however makes you a scary opponent to read. Jensen learned this the hard way. I took his life seven times with only a mere three inch gap.” William chuckled thinking of Jensen’s demise and how it could happen with only three inches.

Ta’gaz let out another command and Stephanie was ready. William merely tossed his foot out to kick her extended leg, but he noticed she only pushed it aside. William didn’t stumble this time, looking to her. He did a probing punch and she weakly tapped his hand aside to change the trajectory. He moved in to knee her and she pushed the knee inwards and downwards, stopping the attack cold.

“Redirection. She is shoving your attacks into areas she wants it to land. In this way she can set up counters and moves to use against you, eventually redirecting your efforts so that you position yourself ina way that is pleasing to Stephanie.” The girl smiled as she lowered her foot and bowed to William respectfully.

“You hit like an Ox-driven cart!” She quipped with a satisfactory smile.

“I’d get used to it,” Ta’gaz spoke. “For the next few days you two are sparring partners. William I want you to train with Stephanie, learn to defend yourself from her attacks. Find a method that is easy for you. Mix them up, choose one style, I do not care. I want to see how you defend yourself. In three days I shall have Stephanie fight you. We shall see then if you can outlast her onslaught for five minutes.” Ta’gaz chuckled as he approached his benches and sat, watching the two.

Stephanie was grinning as she turned to William, a sick smile on her face. He gave her a confused look and she decided to answer his question without him voicing it. “I’m smug because Jensen can’t last three minutes with me.” She tapped her finger under her chin. “I’d give you the same odds, demon boy…” She purred before shouting to get him ready.

[Revenant]

Stephanie’s fists flew at William so quickly that they seemed to the Revenant to be little more than a blur. Whatever faults the woman may have had in his eyes, sluggishness was not one of them. Frankly though, William was less impressed by Stephanie’s speed as he was by her stamina. The two of them had been sparring for several hours already, and the Knight of the Apocalypse had yet to show any sign of slowing.

Both of them had been more than eager to begin their sparring when they had come in that morning, Stephanie to test herself against William’s superhuman abilities and William to recover a shred of the pride that he had lost the day before during Ta’Gaz’s demonstration. The fighting master, for his own part, was nowhere to be seen. He had been present when the two of them had begun their sparring session earlier but had only given cursory glances in their direction. Sometime later, he had departed for the regular training room to fulfill his obligation to the Ixian Knights, leaving Stephanie and William to their mock battles alone.

Seeing as the training was being conducted for William’s benefit, Stephanie had graciously allowed the Revenant to determine what form their training would take. As eager as William had been to jump headlong into the thick of a full-fledged battle with the woman, he knew that he had little hope of besting her without resorting to his demonic powers and had wisely culled his desires. Instead, William had Stephanie stand within striking distance of him and asked the woman to attack him without moving her position while William defended himself under the same conditions. Stephanie had agreed to do so, taking a more familiar boxing stance, and had started her relentless assault.

During the first few hours of being bludgeoned, William had focused solely on the defensive style that he knew best, blocking. From what Ta’Gaz had said, William surmised that the fighting master held little love for that particular defensive style. True it was useful as a last resort, but it was extremely limited in what it could and could not do, as William swiftly learned. William knew that he was faster than Stephanie, but the woman’s superior technique meant that, more often than not, he could not keep up with the speed and precision of her attacks. After taking their third break to allow William’s healing to cover over the sore spots and bruises she had left, Stephanie made a suggestion, showing William how the slightest shift of his stance could help him avoid and deflect a good deal of her attacks without having to move his feet at all. William was surprised at her helpful attitude, given the distaste for one another that he was sure she shared with him, but followed her directions nonetheless, finding that her suggestions actually helped him tremendously.

“Much better,” she grunted, wiping away the heavy sweat that collected on her brow. “I only hit you a dozen or so times that round.” William nodded his appreciation at her words, struggling to catch his breath after their latest go at it. Unlike Stephanie, there was no sheen of sweat that would ever glisten over him, his ability to sweat burned away by the internal heat of his power. Instead, a thin dusting of ash spread from him in all directions, settling on every surface around. This, unfortunately, included Stephanie, and the suit of sweat that covered her quickly absorbed the ash, turning it to a gritty mud all over her exposed flesh.

“Wait a minute,” she looked at the gray sludge covering her, seeming to notice it for the first time. “Is … is this you?”

“Uh, yeah,” William said, suddenly feeling embarrassment for the first time in a while.

“That’s disgusting,” Stephanie burst out, suddenly in a fury to wipe all the Revenant-mud from her arms, legs, and face. “Don’t just stand there, grab me a towel you idiot. Ugh, I can feel you between my fingers.”

The complete randomness of her statement caught William by surprise and the Revenant stopped what he was doing to throw his head back and roar in laughter. Stephanie glared at him, pouting, and burst out with “It’s not funny, asshole.” Then, seeming to realize that William was actually, truly laughing for the first time since she had met him, just stopped and shook her head.

“Fine then,” she threw her hands up in disgust and walked out of the dojo, “we’re done for the day.”

William’s roaring laughter followed her all the way down the tunnel.


--- ---

“Ok, new rule, no more covering me in your dust,” Stephanie growled, though William was surprised to find that there was no real animosity to her words, “Azza refused to come near me at all last night because of you.” William found the endeavor slightly humerous, but he promised to keep a better watch over himself as they sparred.

Again, at William’s request, Stephanie added slight movement to their sparring practice. The Knight laid a small circle out on the mat floor, a circle no more than ten feet in diameter and demanded that neither William nor she leave it. William was relieved as the addition of movement and kicks slowed the barrage of Stephanie’s assault somewhat, but his relief was short lived as it swiftly became apparent that his opponent was twice as effective with these small additions.

“You’re hopeless,” Stephanie said, throwing her hands up in exasperation as William called for a fourth break in an hour. “It’s almost as if you completely forgot that you have legs.” Stephanie lashed out with her foot, smacking William on the shin with what sounded like a painful thwack. “Gah!” she grunted turned away, throwing her hands up again.


--- ---

Despite Stephanie’s exasperated musings, however, William showed some improvement in his defense that day and even more the next. But two days wasn’t nearly enough for him to perfect his defensive fighting abilities, especially given the limited nature with which the two of them limited their sparring. Thus, when William called for them to open up their training to a more free-formed area on the fourth day, Stephanie readily agreed. There would be no boundaires for their sparring session, no circle to limit their movements or rules about what attacks Stephanie could make. William, predictably, had a difficult time keeping up with the more experienced attacks of the younger Knight. What was surprising was how quickly William adapted, showing a vast improvement over the previous two days training sessions.

"You're much better when you have room to dodge," Stephanie noted, taking a sip from the training room's water jug during one of their breaks. It was a true statement, for with nothing to hold him close to Stephanie, William was able to use his supernatural speed to keep one step ahead and away from her.

"Yeah," William nodded, taking his own pull from the jug as Stephanie passed it to him. "I finally feel like I'm getting the flow of your attacks."

"Is that so," Ta'Gaz's voice caused both of the sparring partners to jump slightly. The fighting master had been more or less a fly on the wall throughout the week, coming and going as his schedule dictated and never interrupting their training sessions. Neither William nor Stephanie had seen him come back into the training room after he left for his morning training with the Ixian Knight's junior recruits. "It seems William is ready early Stephanie," Ta'Gaz chuckled lightly, as if their conversation held some secret humor to him, "why don't you give him a test run at your full speed?"

"Full speed?" William looked from the fighting master to his partner, his face a quizzical mask. "You're not going at full speed?" Stephanie's only reply was an incredulous snort, as if the question were absurd. "Alright then," William tossed the jug back in the water barrel and walked back into the center of the training mats, taking a defensive stance. "How the hell am I supposed to get any better if you don't show me what you've really got?"

Stephanie looked questioningly at Ta'Gaz who merely shrugged and waved his hand as if to say 'you heard the man.' Stephanie sighed and then stretched her arms out, crackling her neck. "Your funeral Revenant."

It was over in three moves. True to his word William had gotten better, deflecting her first attack and maneuvering around the second. The third however, came so unexpectedly as Stephanie twisted around and swept his leg out from under him that there was nothing the Revenant could do about it. Stephanie straightened and looked down, steeling herself to meet with the inevitable tide of frustration from her partner but instead found him grinning.

"I've got it now," William smiled, holind his hand up.

"Is that so?" Stephanie snorted derisively, grabbing the outstretched hand and hauling William to his feet. "Cause it looked to me like you just got your ass kicked."

"Yeah I did," William nodded, still grinning, "but I figured you out while I was watching. Let's try again." Stephanie cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at him but assumed her offensive stance as requested.

Things were very different this time around. Stephanie used her arms to push William to her outside, maneuvering him into a position where she could hit him with a quick spinning roundhouse. But when the time came and she executed the attack, William was not there. Seemingly vanishing into thin air, the Revenant ducked under the attack and stepped inside, completely unfazed. Instead, as Stephanie finished the kick and came back around, she was greeted with the sight of William's fist stopped just in front of her nose. William grinned, loving the surprised look of shock on Stephanie's face, and taking quite a bit of satisfaction in the cocked look of impressment that Ta'Gaz's face showed.

"Don't feel too bad," William joked, opening the fist that should have struck Stephanie to pat the woman on the shoulder in a friendly gesture. "I'm pretty sure that only happened because you weren't expecting it."

"You're damned right I wasn't expecting it," Stephanie quipped in a light, friendly tone. "Now let's see you try it again." William nodded and walked back a few paces and both of them assumed their stance to continue the day's training.


--- Last Day ---

"Hope you got some good rest, burn boy," Stephanie chided as the two sparring partners entered the dojo for their fifth day of training. "ecause you're going to need all the help you can get to keep me from mopping the floor with you."

"Me?" William laughed, "Don't forget that I got in a few good hits yesterday, toad sucker. Today I'm ready for anything."

"That's good," Ta'Gaz interrupted, instantly silencing William and Stephanie's good natured ribbing. "Because there isn't going to be any sparring today."

"What?" William started in shock, looking back at Stephanie only to find the Knight grinning. He wasn't sure if it was a happy grin or a sadistic one, but neither options filled him with much relief.

"Yeah, Ta'Gaz told me that since you were doing so well yesterday, we're cutting out the last day of sparring and going straight to your survival match." William's eyes widened in shock, further increasing Stephanie's grin. "Still ready for anything I've got, Willie?"

William quickly got control of himself, erecting a stoic mask over his countenance, though he maintained his pleasant tone of voice. "Try me bitch."

Stephanie laughed, "alright asshole, after you." And with a broad gesture, the Knight of the Apocalypse led them both out onto the training floor.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Stephanie licked her lips as she looked to the Revenant, seeing his body begin to tense up and begin shuffling in place. He had adopted over the few days time a more loose fighting form. He Wasn’t nearly as wild and free as Jensen, defiantly stronger and a tad bit faster than she would ever give the man credit for. Yet Jensen had something William didn’t, and that was a style of fighting that flowed from one into the other. William was still just an animal, and she figured if she went all out on him, she could confidently beat him.

When Ta’gaz shouted for the match to start she moved in quickly, the soles of her feet pounidng off the matt in a pitter patter as she charged forward. As expected William took two steps back and braced himself for her jump kick, shoving one fist down hard as she attempted a kick to sweep him. As she connected with the bones in his skin she brought her other leg in, aiming for him temple.

William grabbed her foot and lifted up, bringing her into an awkward hold as he gripped her other leg with his free hand, holding her upside down. He grinned thinking he had her, but the female knight had other plans. Using all her stomach muscles she pulled up and brought a fist to his groin, hitting William hard in the sensitive area.

The demonkin dropped her and she rolled away, coming up to her feet and turning, landing a stiff kick into William’s stomach. When he doubled over from the exertion she jumped inwards, lifting her knee to strike his chin. The revenant snarled, bringing up both hands making an ‘x’ over his face letting her body collide with his. Using all his strength he let her ride inwards before he pushed back, his enhanced strength shoving her farther than she anticipated.

In mid air she rolled, landing on all fours and sliding on the pad, feeling the burns on her finger tips and feet as she raced forwards again. When she was within six paces she began cart wheeling and flipping towards the Revenant. William braced himself again, moving his legs wide to prepare for her impact, but on her final flip pushed outwards towards him, extending one leg and spinning like a tiny hurricane of motion. She rotated four times, one hit slamming into his unprotected face, another hit pushing him aside and the final rotations stabilized her on the ground. To his credit, William staggered, but did not fall.

She lifted her feet up in a vicious axe kick, William darting away, evading the attack as she followed up with a bicycle kick. He shouted her foot aside, making her land square in front of him with her profile body exposed. His arms moved out to grab her, but she slipped down into the splits and rolled away before nipping up to her feet.

She panted heavily, feeling the sweat build around her upper torso and armpits. She wiped the beads off the front of her brow, licking the salty taste on her tongue from the few beads that dripped to her lips. She lifted one leg up, the stance William had seen her take when she was training in the corners. With a cleansing breath she let out all her doubts and clouding thoughts. She focused on the hear, the now, and went on the assault.

She snaked forward, her movemtns more like a darting pattern instead of a run. She took a few bounds forwards before coming back up to one foot. William gauged her, and moved slowly forwards to meet her. Stephanie dashed ahead two more times, coming back up and sending a probing kick to William’s left. With a vicious backhand he swiped at her, but the movement was to broad and Stephanie laughed moving in with a spin until she was in his face.

“You’re all mine!” She taunted. In truth, William was. Soon his body became her personal training pole as she unrelentlessly kicked at him, a few poking punches and jabs as she balanced flawlessly and moved around him. Whenever he attempted to push her away she moved her body and exposed another weak spot. Ash flew off into the air mixing with the sweat creating gooey piles on the mat as the two worked in a fighting rhythm that was almost choreographed. She was impressed as she saw William’s resolve. His right eye was begging to let the demon out, it’s charnal nature to destroy demanind to be let loose. Yet his left eye was focused, determined. He would not go down and he wouldn’t give in. That determiantion gave her a respect from William she hadn’t expected to ever find within the brute. Here before her was the man she thought no better than a mindless barbarian, using poise, patience, and discipline to keep himself standing from her onslaught. She lost track of time, and she didn’t how long he was lasting, but Ta’gaz had yet to call time. With a renewed vigor she continued her onslaught.

“God…damn…pressure…” William seethed at last, his body trying to curl up to block her blows. Her foot she held up kept swiping back and forth, making him unable to bring his arms in as she pushed his chest and punched his gut to keep him from curling up. She saw blood coming out his mouth and knew he was weakening. The sight sent her into a frenzy, and with a quick dash back like a coiling snake Stephanie looked upon William, waved goodbye, and twirled lifting her feet up in a vicious series of cartwheels. Each strike struck her mark, William’s chin, and the demon fell back stumbling and losing his balance. After the third pinwheel kick she balanced on one foot again, lifting her gaze up and looking to strike another vulnerable target. She licked her lips again, noting a bit of William’s blood had hit her. It tasted like burnt liquids.

At last she saw it, the opening she needed and with a hunter’s precision she moved in, foot coming up in a violent arc aiming for his temple in a blinding fast roundhouse kick. William feebly lifted one hand up, but he was to slow, and to weak to stop the attack. Even if he had managed to block it the velocity and power behind it would have just made him smack himself in the face.

Yet the hit never came. Stephanie’s face was filled with confusion as William breathed heavily. Her foot was stopped in mid air, William’s hand resting on her ankle. He had grabbed her ankle to stop it from coming. He had somehow anticipated the move. His feeble attempt to block was instead a desperate grab, and now that he realized he held her foot he was shocked just as much as she was.

William’s experience was the only difference in how Stephanie won the battle. Quickly she tugged on her leg, making the demonkin stumble forwards as she lifted herself up and mule kicked his chest, knocking him backwards, his feet lifting up in the air as he landed hard on his back. William was down, and this time he was out. She panted and felt her chest heaving as she lifted herself up, bowing to William as she walked over to him. The revenant was breathing heavily as well, one hand on his own chest, his body caked in ash. The Knight of Apocalypse lifted one hand to him, and with a hesitant nod he took the grip and lifted himself up to at least a sitting position. They both turned to Ta’gaz.

He was silent, one hand on his chin as the other wrapped around his broad chest. He didn’t smile, he didn’t wink, he just remained silent as he looked to both of them. Tension filled the room and Stephanie could feel the weight of his stare wearing down on both of them.

“Five minutes and thirteen seconds.” Ta’gaz said at last. “Clean my dojo, and I will see you tomorrow William.” Ta’gaz smiled as he turned away. With a triumphant nod William looked up to Stephanie, who gave him a glance with a bit of sorrow in her eyes. On one hand, she had to admit that William was no longer a hulking retard bashing things, but on the other hand…she lost. She didn’t win the fight, she didn’t uphold Jensen’s honor of survival, and she didn’t really accomplish her personal goal of proving she was strong without Jensen.

“I would take careful note, William Arcus. In thirty or so seconds you would have been dead.” Ta’gaz said loudly as if knowing full well what Stephanie was thinking. She looked to her teacher, seeing that he wasn’t just saying things to make her feel better. To that she smiled and looked back to William.

“Azza’s with Anita and Kyla until late tonight,” She said in a friendly manner. “Come on, let’s clean this stupid place up and grab some food.”

[Revenant]

There was a solemn air around William as he entered Ta'Gaz's training room the next morning and hung his cloak respectfully on the appropriate wall peg without so much as a glance at the multi-limbed piece of training equipment across from him. Ta'Gaz, as usual, gave no inclination that he even noticed William's arrival, continuing in his own course of business while William started his routine of warm-up stretching. William didn't even need to glance around cavernous training room to know that they were the only two people present. Stephanie hadn't arrived yet, if indeed she was even planning on showing up at all that morning. William reflected on the events of the previous night while he raised his arms over his head, thinking that he wouldn't be surprised if Stephanie weren't in the keenest mood to see him that morning.

The evening had started innocently enough. After a few minutes of rest, Stephanie had roused William from his crumpled pile on the floor so that they could put the training room back in order. True to her word, Stephanie had repeated her offer of dinner companionship to William, which had come as something of a surprise to him. Neither of them had spent any time together after their training sessions throughout William's term with Ta'Gaz. There was certainly no closeness between the two of them, despite the fact that William the hours they spent together had loosened the hard stance William automatically assumed whenever it came to anything remotely related to Jensen Ambrose. There was nothing friendly in the rivalry between Jensen and William, and William assumed that Stephanie, being Jensen's partner in the Knights of the Apocalypse as well as in bed, had always taken the same view that he did on the matter, keeping him at arm's length and doing her best to ignore everything else about him.

But, William reflected as he continued through his stretches, there was genuine warmth in Stephanie's demeanor as the two of them entered the dining hall. Even an ignorant fool couldn't have mistaken it for affection, but there was definitely something that had formed between the two of them. It was, William tried to pinpoint, a sort of closeness of battle and camaraderie rather than emotion. Stephanie had marveled as William had walked past TSN's wonderful smelling pots of heavenly soup without so much as a sideways glance. He had explained to her later how, despite everyone's apparent blissful longing for TSN's masterful soup creations, he was never a soup fan and hadn't ever given it so much as a sniff. She had just laughed it off as bravado, for everyone knew that only a select handful of the Ixian Knights ever got to taste TSN's soup brilliance, but had nearly choked on her tongue when the soup master rushed over and offered a bowl to William, begging him to just give it one try.

William grunted as he entered a particularly difficult portion of the routine, feeling all of the cords in his neck, shoulders, and back pulling taut at once. TSN's grovelling had been the highlight of the evening, and while everything had been pleasant until then, things swiftly went downhill from there. It had started when Stephanie, her face a stoic mask, had asked William why he hated Jensen.

"You're kidding, right?" William had snorted, though his mirth died when he had looked at the seriousness on Stephanie's face. He had sighed and put down the hunk of bread that he had been absentmindedly chewing through at the time and had looked at Stephanie with fire blazing in his burning eyes. "You seriously need to ask me why I hate that asshole? I should be asking you why in the Pyre you don't hate him." William's voice had risen, driving away the people sitting at the tables nearer to them, but Stephanie's stern face still demanded an answer from the Revenant.

"You really want to know?" William had thrown up his hands in exasperation, it had become apparent to him by that point that the evening wouldn't end well. Then he had told Stephanie exactly what his problem with Jensen was. "Before this happened to me," he had said, gesturing at his burning eyes, "I had a wife. I don't remember much about her, one of the side effects of having my soul torn out and played with, but I remember that she was pregnant with our firstborn when they killed her for sport. I remember that I loved her," his voice had dropped low by that point but he hadn't cared, lost as he was in his memories. "I tried to fight after they killed her, but the caught me, tortured me, and then that thrice-cursed bastard Kal'Necroth turned me into a monster."

William flowed through his warm-up as he remembered, his body just as fluid as his mind. He had told her about the Amran War, about being used as nothing more than a living weapon to destroy everything that he had once held dear. And he told her about how he had waited throughout it all, bided his time while his world burned down around him at his own hands, holding it all in until the time was right and he had taken the infernal sorcerer's life.

"You see," William had told her then, "your little boy-toy isn't the only one who's had to watch everything he cares for taken from him."

Stephanie had spoken then, for the first time since she had asked the initial question. "You don't know anything about him," she had said, with venom in her voice.

"Oh don't I?" Was William's reply. "I may not know everything, but I know enough. I know that he's let whatever it was that happened to him define his existence."

"You did too," she had shot back, and William had had to resist the urge to just walk away right there.

"The Pyre I have," he had shouted back in her face. By that point, even TSN had evacuated the dining hall, grabbing his precious pots of soup as he had ran. "Two years ago I lived like a beast in the woods, killing everyone I came across. You think I'm bad now? I'm a Thayne's blessed saint, Stephanie, compared to what I used to be. I've worked hard to overcome that, to get to there I am now."

"So has Jensen," she had said, and it had been the final straw for William.

"The fuck he has. You really think Jensen really gives a shit about you and Azza? He's the same that he ever was, and the same as he'll always be!"

That was when William had seen the tears in Stephanie's eyes. There had been a moment of silence, and William had thought that the entire affair was over, but Stephanie had spoken again, in a low sorrowful tone. "He's only like that around you anymore because of your stupid feud. Did you ever stop to think that maybe it wasn't about Jensen? He's immortal, so one day he'll have to watch me die, and he'll have to watch Azza die, but that's not the issue. I'm not immortal, William, and every second that Jensen's acting like a dick because of you is a second that I lose with him forever."

The statement had rocked William to his core. When he thought about it, he was amazed that the thought had never occurred to him, though not so surprising when he realized how little stock he put in human relationships. The entire time he had thought that Jensen was the asshole and had not realized that he was just as much at fault for the strife that the two of them brought on everyone else. He and Stephanie had sat for quite a while, alone in the dining room before he had found the strength to apologize. They had come to a sort of understanding, and while they would never be friends, likely never ever as close as they had been before the dinner, they at least had a mutual understanding and respect for one another.

"You going to stand there all day or are you going to learn to fight like a real man," Stephanie's voice broke William out of his reverie. William broke out of his form mid-stance in surprise and turned to find both Ta'Gaz and Stephanie looking at him oddly.

"You've been stretching for almost an hour William," Ta'Gaz noted in a deadpan voice, though a hint of a smile played at the corners of his eyes, "if you're not loose now then you never will be."

Giving off a short, self-conscious laugh, William nodded and headed over to begin the next portion of his training.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

“It’s like he was in his own little world,” Stpehanie teased. “Didn’t even see me walk by him, wave hello, and stretch.”

“I suppose then that would mean you two kids an interesting evening?” Stephanie shrugged.

“All we did was clarify our different…interpretations of fighting.” She gave William a mischievous grin before retreating to her corner where she began to pummel the wooden peg tree. Ta’gaz smiled as he turned to William, opening his arms wide and gesturing to the fighting floor. William stepped forwards, his body looking reinvigorated and ready for battle.

“Today I will teach you some basic fundamentals of Muay Thai,” Ta’gaz said distantly. “You will learn to use your body as the engine of destruction you are fabled for. Currently you know how to swipe your hands around like a maniac, but that is not enough. Eventually you will run into a monster who is bigger, stronger, and have longer arms than even you,” He joked.

“To compensate for this, I will tie your hands behind your back, William. I am restricting you of their potency,” Ta’gaz lifted his hands up showing the rope. William merely looked to them and laughed in mock challenge.

“Those won’t hold me for long,” William said dryly as he gave Ta’gaz a pleading look to see if the man was serious. In response Ta’gaz merely smiled in the child like fashion, the ’I know something you don’t know’ smile.

“I knew this. There is currently nothing really suitable to hold outside metal chains of higher quality. I do not have the time to waste waiting for them to be purchased or made. So, to figure out a solution to this little problem, I had to acquire a little help from someone you know very well,” To this Stephanie cocked an eyebrow as she turned to look into the entrance to the room, seeing something dark and sinister take shape in the shadows. Before long William’s heat vanished in the room, instead replaced by a colder presence.

“BITCH!” Stephanie blurted as a cruel chuckle filtered into the atmosphere, the seventh general of the Ixian Knights entering the dojo. Cassandra Remi looked inside the room with boredom, looking completely out of place in the fighting zone. Her long skirt and tunic top were both tight to her frame, a slit ran down her left thigh and her boots left little indents in the padded sections of the floor. A flick of her raven black hair showed her cold, piercing hazel eyes in their full glory as she glanced to Stephanie with a vile smile. Ta’gaz gave his pupil a stern eye, and the female knight snorted in hatred leaning over to grab her things.

“Stephanie,” Ta’gaz warned her. Irritated that her mentor would bring such filth into this private sanctum that she had no right to be part of chaffed her to no end. She turned back to her training post and began to punch and kick at it with such force splinters began to fly out around her. There was no longer a flow to her pattern, no more efficient strokes. Now there was brutal rage and adrenaline born frenzy of blows.

William was also taken aback. He wasn’t welcoming his fellow general with open arms either as he eyed her walking with a dancer’s grace over the mats. She stepped before Ta’gaz and sniffed the air, making a wrinkly face of disgust as she tried to clear the air around her.

“It smells like a kennel,” Cassandra muttered loudly. Ta’gaz gave her a stern look, but Stephanie broke off her abusive training as she turned to the Moonlit Mistress.

“Oh, then you’re in the right place, you bitch!” Ta’gaz turned his attentions back to Stephanie, giving her a stern glare as she returned to her training. “I can’t wait for the day our no longer useful…” she muttered. Cassandra didn’t seem effected by her words as she turned to Ta’gaz.

“While I’d love to play Neanderthal and beat my chest and grunt and moan like a savage with you big strong warriors, I do have my own duties to attend to. I give you this Ta’gaz.” She lifted up a small vial with a syringe attached to it. “Merely stick this in his arms and he will loose all nerve function in that particular part of his body.” She smiled as she turned walking away. “I thought it would be prudent to also let you know that the one thing Umbra can do is leave the pain receivers active. So any and all attacks against his arm will still feel painful.”

Ta’gaz looked to the vial with contempt, but he gripped it turning to William. Without even flinching or looking at Ta’gaz in horror he merely lifted his arms out, ready to receive the drug. The warrior nodded as he lifted up the needle and injected the poison into the Revenants body. At first there was no pain, but soon, so very soon the tingling sensation of a limb loosing feeling began to trickle down both his arms. William felt all function in his fingers fade, followed by the ability to roll his wrists. In a minutes time he truly had no function in his limbs. The only thing he could feel was the straining pain from the rope cutting into his arms as Ta’gaz tied them back.

“I do not consort with her to find an edge, William. I do so to make a better warrior.” William merely nodded once, accepting the situation with no complaints. “Good. Now that I have stripped you of your hands, I want you to look at your body.” William did so without hesitation. “Tell me all you see.”

There was a brief moment before he answered. The demonkin closed his eyes and began to speak with reverence like he was before Hotouri. “I see my feet, my knees, my shoulders.” Ta’gaz lifted up a hand and patted the man on the shoulder.

“Than you are blind,” Ta’gaz whispered fatherly like. “I see toes, knees, ankles, thighs, shoulders, head, teeth! I see all this and more! Every facet of your body can be turned into a weapon, some more potent than others, but all nonetheless part of the killing machine you are! The feet are carried to battle upon the balls of your sole, the strength of your arms is impacted by the rotation of your shoulders! Your eyes are what let you see, your ears are what let you hear the breath of battle. The rise and fall of the energy inside conflict.”

Ta’gaz lifted his knee patting it twice. “Come! Fight me with all you have, William! Show me how badly you rely on your fists!”

[Revenant]

A single nod was the only response William gave, springing forward with a snap kick at Ta’Gaz’s waist. He accepted the numbed nerves in his arms and the biting pain of the rope on his wrists with mute stoicism, taking a very different approach to Cassandra Remi and her venom than did Stephanie. Though he hated the woman, despised her methods and her attitude, there was something beautiful and compelling about the murderous recklessness that lay just below her marble surface. But this was neither the time nor the place for such thoughts. This was the time for training.

William’s kick was hard and fast, but only a slight shift from Ta’Gaz’s leading knee was enough to push it wide of its mark. “What’s the point of all that stretching if you’re still going to attack like a board,” he said, smacking William’s hip with the back of his first two fingers. “You’ve got fluidity to your motion at all. Not only does it slow you down, it limits how you can attack and makes you incredibly easy to read.”

Ta’Gaz nudged William back a step with his knee and then took the same stance that the Revenant had taken. “I’m going to make the same attack that you just did and I want you to block it.” Ta’Gaz leapt forward, his foot coming up almost too quick for William’s eyes to follow. Still, the Revenant knew what was coming and pushed up and out with his knee as the fighting master had. Just before William’s defense made contact however, Ta’Gaz rotated his hips, opening his stance and bringing his body around so that the front kick instead went over William’s knee and connected as a side kick.

“Do you see how I did that?” Ta’Gaz asked and then reassumed his stance. “Again,” he commanded, attacking with a front kick a second time. As before, William pushed out with his knee to defend, only to meet with no resistance as Ta’Gaz rotated his hips to bring his leg around William’s. “A true warrior never attacks in just one way. Each attack should be fluid enough to flow into many different attacks, William.”

“I think I get it,” William replied, nodding studiously. “But how do I do that? I’m a straight line fighter; it’s all I’ve ever done.”

Ta’Gaz grinned and began to bounce up and down on the balls of his unshod feet. The woven mats rustled beneath his heavy body, and even more so when he started hopping from one foot to the other. “Now you do the same.”

William followed Ta’Gaz’s lead, bobbing up and down on his ankles for a time before switching between feet with a hop. Without warning, Ta’Gaz struck out with a high speed ankle kick, but because of William’s fluid motion the Revenant was able to hop back and out of the way. Another light kick followed, this time aimed at William’s hip, but once again the bound warrior dodged deftly away. “This exercise will help you to learn to be fluid in your movements,” Ta’Gaz said, kicking out again. “For now I just want you to dodge my attacks, but when I tell you to, I want you to start counterattacking after a successful dodge.”

The session lasted for almost an hour, and by the time they were finished William’s legs felt like they were made of stone, gel, and fire all at the same time. Still, he had a better understanding of how to move more fluidly, using his entire body for motion instead of just his joints.

“You have five minutes to rest,” Ta’Gaz said, and William fell into a heap on the mats. Stephanie laughter echoed from across the room as she apparently found William’s exhaustion hilarious.

“Don’t feel too bad bug guy,” she laughed even harder when William glared in her direction. “I felt like I couldn’t walk for a week after my first day,” she said, slapping her legs with a thwack. “But now look at me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” William groused and closed his eyes, trying to make the best of his five minutes before Ta’Gaz’s next torturous lesson began.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Days had passed as William trained, his body stating to change with the new instructions. Ta’gaz had taught him the fluidity of motion, the speed of countering, the grace of feints, and the patience of a hunter in the middle of a torrential onslaught of pressure. He was no longer swinging wildly, he was no longer making crude movements with his feet. Each strike was just as powerful as ever, but now it had finesse behind the blows. Two jabs, striking uppercut into a rising knee. These four moves were once not even a thought in the demon kin’s mind. Now he couldn’t imagine what it was like before he came into the training dojo of Ixian Knight’s most brutal trainer.

As promised however, whatever student could keep up with the legendary fighter became a stronger person for it. Stephanie felt a twinge of pride knowing she had aided William in the process, watching the Revenant easily dispatch the students who wished to study under Ta’gaz two days ago. His power was so much more now, and he grew rather strong. Jensen was in for a real fight the next time they crossed paths.

She also admitted she grew a grudging respect for William. While in no way would she ever invite him over for dinner or grab a bite to eat unless the situation was convenient, she did admit that her hatred for him had waned greatly. When he first entered the dojo, William knew nothing of the term respect, now that he had earned it his fearsome aura of terror was changed into a powerful energy of pure strength. The way people moved out of his way in the hall had changed, the soldiers moving in respect of a fellow warrior who they valued as strong. Not a lunatic demon who they feared.

Ta’gaz was sitting in the center of a stack of woven mats, each one a vibrant color of power. The brown mat had etched into the woven features the pictures of a mountain. The red mat had an active volcano erupting as it’s picture. The blue was a calm ocean with a mighty wave in the foreground, and the green mat held a tornado destroying the land. Ta’gaz meditated in peace upon these four stacked mats. In the center of the mats, the one Ta’gaz meditated upon, was a brightly colored golden sun invading a deep crème colored half moon in the symbol of a yin-yang circle.

Stephanie had seen the mats once. He brought them out for her when he felt she was ready to take the next course of her training. Each mat represented a symbol of power in the fighting world. The mighty Earth, the raging Volcano, the fluid Sea, the powerful Wind. Each was unto itself a path warriors would take. Some would adopt two in their life if they were so lucky. She had taken the path of the Sea when he sat with her. The power of the ocean flew through her veins he had spoken, and with it she would be able to change like it’s ever receding and growing waves.

Eventually she managed to learn that Jensen was given the honor to take a path. The immortal knight had looked upon the mat and with a smile he raised his hands up and fell smack dab on the wind with his arms behind his head and legs kicked up in a relaxed position. His whimsical nature would accept no other for his own. Jensen’s movements were swift, able to perform moves in the blink of an eye.

She watched as William walked into the room, already noting the dozens of incense in the room and respectfully kicking his boots off and taking his jacket, placing them upon one of his benches he had made so long ago. Reverently he looked upon the room, seeing the drapes of cloth hung around the central dais that Ta’gaz had made. When he approached he stayed off the sacred looking mats as he waited. Stephanie was curious to see which way the power would flow through him. Though to be honest, she kind of had a hunch.

“Approach me William Arcus,” Ta’gaz spoke in a stern tone. The demonkin did so. Ta’gaz motioned for him to sit before him, and the man sat crossed legged on the moon. The female knight felt a twinge of excitement to be a part of this. Ta’gaz had insisted she watch. With bated breath she watched the ceremony.

“Before you is the mats of the world’s power. In fighting, the elements that comprise the universe also comprise our beings. The Earth gives us flesh, the Fire gives us blood, the Wind gives us muscles, and Water gives us a brain. Our bodies are driven with these elements, some more than others, but each one encompassing our whole being.” Ta’gaz stood and walked out of the circle. “To take a path of the warrior is not just a solitary step, but the very first of the journey. The first step you took William Arcus, was to accept you are a killing machine. The Second step you took was to deny that you were only meant to destroy, but to also protect!” Ta’gaz spoke with conviction as he paced softly in front of William, who sat with his eyes upon the sun. “ Another step was too enter my dojo and learn these ways. And now another step is added to your journey, for before you the paths are given to you.”

Stephanie watched as Ta’gaz stood on the ocean mat. “Do you follow the water, and let the fluidity of the sea run through your veins and control you? Do you give yourself full mind body and soul to the ocean, and let the currents strengthen you, but also weaken you as surely the tides wax and wane?” He stepped over to the fire mat.

“Do you give yourself to the volcano, giving into its eternal rage and passion. Fire is the strength of the world; explosive, violent, but temperamental and easily fades?” Before Ta’gaz stepped to the next mat William’s eyes opened, his dark coal-like pupils looking at the fire mat without any indication of hesitation.

“I walk the path of the flames,” He said stoically. “No other course will fulfill me as the flickering fire.” Ta’gaz smiled as he nodded, motioning for William to stand and walk towards the fire mat. With a gentle flick of his hand he motioned for Stephanie to rush over. She skipped over in quick bounds and when William had stepped into the center of the fire mat Ta’gaz and Stephanie flipped the other mats.

The picture took the Revenant’s breath away. The Volcano of the fire mat was flooding into the ocean, burning down the earth, and feeding the wind in a tornado of apocalyptic sizes in a fiery twister that ate the land. The moon looked charred and the sun was now a crimson color with lashes of violent whips washing all around the surface. To stand inside that picture made William feel like a god, his inner strength fracturing the surface and creating the charred black lines. He felt an overwhelming flood of power within him, something he had never felt before, but still somewhat familiar to him.

“Power seethes within you, William Arcus,” Ta’gaz said in a crescendo to match the stirring emotions lifting within the Revenant. “From the day you were created you had burned the world, but now your flame burns with purpose! Can you feel this?” William eagerly nodded his head.

“I do!” William said in a somewhat laugh, as if amused to being so powerful.

“Let that power of the fire burn within you, let it flow through your arms, your feet, your chest, your mind. Like a trickling ember catching a blaze, let the fires of the forge of creation burn away your older weakness to give birth to new strength!” William did so, opening his mind and letting the demon infest him. With a loud cry he let the fires engulf him, feeling the energy surge through him in a tidal wave of molten fury, then with a struggling effort he lifted both hands up. “PURGE YOUR WEAKNESS!” Ta’gaz commanded.

With a straining cry of guttural strength the demon-William lifted his hands up and pushed them forward, the force cascading through his body and to his hands where it shot forwards in a mighty ball of molten fire. The sphere flew outwards in a mighty torrent of flames, licking the air and burning the ozone as it collided with the wall of the cavern, making a hole the size of William’s chest three feet deep before it burned away.

William felt the elation of such commanding power, but he suddenly lurched over as the demon half of his body succumbed, a nauseous feeling of exhaustion taking him over as he collapsed over himself. Ta’gaz stepped forward, and with Stephanie’s help they flipped the mats over. William took deep heavy breaths as he looked to his teacher.

“The flames are powerful indeed, but they do not last forever. A raging inferno becomes dying embers, and so to will you, William Arcus. But do not fear, for your power will one day rise again, for to snuff out a fire is not as easy as one would think. You have strength, you have power and the tools to be a powerful fighter. I have taught you everything I know, William, but I can not teach you experience. That is something only the world can offer you.”

William looked to the mat and again he was breath taken by the detail of the drawings. The sea was dried up, the mountain was withered away and the volcanoes flames were wilted into nothing. The power of the wind had become the new destroyer, and the moon was in full, the sun fading in it’s luminescent glory. Just as everything was powerless in the grip of the wind, so to was the feeling William had, his god-like feeling fading away.

“I will let you go, William after one last test,” Ta’gaz said. “Tomorrow, we fight. Tooth and nail, like warriors. I wish for you to bring me everything you have.” With that said Ta’gaz turned and sat in the center of the mat, Stephanie flipping each one back to it’s original resting place.

“Figures hot stuff,” she teased. “I’d say it was ironic, hell I’d say it was even fate, but let’s just face it. With you two, it will always be opposites.” William tilted his head in confusion. “Jensen is your natural enemy, the wind.” she laughed as she pointed to the door.

“Come on, tough guy, you can escort me to pick up my kid,” she said walking towards the door with William in tow.

[Revenant]

There was no incense in the dojo the next morning, no special mats or tapestries. There was only Ta’Gaz and William, attired for fighting, and the fighting master’s favored student Stephanie acting as a spectator. Still, despite the lack of adornments, the air was thick with tension and the shadows in the room were almost tangible.

“William Arcus,” Ta’Gaz began, “this is your final test. The final determination of whether or not you have truly learned my skills and understand what I have taught to you.”

William nodded his understanding.

“Then you are ready to fight me with everything you have?” William’s only response was to drop into his fighting stance. There was no smile on Ta’Gaz’s face, no anger or friendship, nor even a look of focus or concentration. Ta’Gaz’s face was a stone mask, pure stoicism, as he watched William ready himself. Nodding once, so slightly that it was almost imperceptible, Ta’Gaz dropped into his own stance signaling the beginning of the match.

William made the first move, as both he and Ta’Gaz knew that he would. He had learned patience, had learned to guard and to wait, but it was still the fire that owned William, that coursed through his veins. And the fire would never accept another as its master.

He came in fast, but there was no trace of the mindless beast that he had once been in his approach. He was limber and mean, truly the living weapon that he had been created to be. He feinted high, drawing Ta’Gaz’s defense upwards, only to drop into a sweeping slide at the last moment. It was futile though, for Ta’Gaz was not to be tricked and easily hopped away from the attack before counterattacking with a heavy axe kick. William rolled out of the way, came back to his feet, and darted toward Ta’Gaz again like a snake.

Feet, knees, elbows, and fists clashed back and forth in a blur. The two men fought like great cats, savage and primal yet graceful and lithe. Stephanie could feel the rush of excitement from her vantage point, the heat and the fury was an amazing sight to behold. William was not the fighting master that Ta’Gaz was, but he still fought with inhuman speed and strength. It was all apparently for naught, however, as an unblocked kick tossed the Revenant halfway across the room.

“You are holding back,” Ta’Gaz sneered while William pulled himself back to his feet. “Show me your true power.”

“Fine then,” William grinned a savage, snarling grin as the demonic power flowed over him. There were no more words, no witticisms or quirky one-liners. William charged forward, back into the fray, faster, stronger, and tougher than even the mighty Ta’Gaz No’Shiba. If the fight had previously impressed Stephanie, it now grabbed her breath and stole it away. Whatever differences the two men had in ability were made up for by William’s demonic power. The wave of heat that pulsed from the Revenant made her sweat as if she were in the center of the fray, and she could feel her arms and legs bobbing in time with the rhythm of the fight.

“Yes,” Ta’Gaz hissed, darting narrowly out of the way of a razor sharp slash from William’s claws. There was a thrill, a rush, of excitement in this fight; something Ta’Gaz had not felt in quite a while. He was strong, having honed his body to near perfection through years of the most intensive training that he could manage. But even with Ta’Gaz’s strength each blow from William was like the strike of a hammer on an anvil or a wave crashing against a breaker.

William was fire and heat and rage; a firestorm and an erupting volcano, focused and directed towards a single unifying goal. But once ignited the fire within him burned wild, threatening to overcome and consume him with its passion. He could feel himself slipping, losing control to the destruction that he embodied, and he knew that it would overtake him sooner rather than later.

But still they fought like madmen, twirling around and about the dojo like choreographed dancers in a ballroom play. Both had struck and been struck two dozen times, but none of the wounds were severe and neither were willing to admit defeat for something so trivial. For a moment, it seemed to Stephanie that the two of them would continue forever, evenly matched and locked together. But all things end, even the raging heart of the sun, and the end of William and Ta’Gaz’s fight was likewise swift and terrible.

A low kick from Ta’Gaz sent William springing away from the fighting master. But instead of dodging and springing back into the fray, William made a move that caught Ta’Gaz completely off-guard. The swirling combat had taken the fighters back and forth across the entire training room. At that moment, however, the two of them just happened to be next to one of the dojo’s walls, a fact that the Revenant exploited. William’s dodge brought him up against the wall, perched in a mid-air crouch.

Time seemed to still within the chamber as Ta’Gaz’s eyes met William’s. The Revenant’s orbs blazed like the sun, reflecting the amazing power that burned at William’s heart. But, Ta’Gaz realized, there was no love or mercy within those burning sockets, no humanity, and for a single moment Ta’Gaz felt a shiver of fear creep up the back of his spine.

And then the moment was over, and time sped back to its normal pace. William uncoiled like a shot from and Aleran pistol, crashing into Ta’Gaz with such ferocity and force that the fighting master was shunted backwards. Knocked off balance, it was all that Ta’Gaz could do to erect a defense as William attacked again, springing into a flying knee strike from the crouch in which he had landed. Once more the Revenant crashed into Ta’Gaz like a rampaging bull, driving the fighting master back. But what startled Ta’Gaz the most wasn’t William’s ferocity, or the fact that the man had twice broken through his guard. The thing that caused the fighting master’s eyes to widen was the cascading corona of power which collected around William, channeled down into the bone gauntlets which covered William’s arms, and erupted as a burst of magma in front of him at point blank range.

The entire training room was filled with fire and light, and the thunderous roar which boomed down the twisting corridors of the Ixian Knights’ stronghold drowned out even the frightened scream which escaped from Stephanie’s lips before she could clamp down and bite it off. Within seconds, there was a stream of foot soldiers pouring into the room, holding their hands up against the brightness of the light and coughing through the smoke. Several started forward into the light before they were stopped short and called back by a quick barking command from Stephanie. A hush fell over the assembled crowd, broken only the ringing echo which refused to fade away. At last, after a minute which seemed to last an eternity, the light began to fade.

There, in the center of the room on his hands and knees, sat William. His demonic transformation had faded away, leaving him human once again. Wisps of smoke still curled around him, and it seemed as if he were struggling, panting, to draw enough air into his lungs. Ta’Gaz stood over him like the carven image of a god, his hands still pulsing with the power of the molten shot which he had thrown to cancel William’s. Ta’Gaz looked down at the panting warrior, remaining silent. There was nothing left to say.

The remaining onlookers, all save Stephanie, were scattered by a single glance from the fighting master, suddenly finding themselves with better things to do. Ta’Gaz followed them out of the dojo, pausing only to give Stephanie a smile and a nod.

William remained where he was, defeated. Seconds turned to minutes and slowly his breathing returned to normal. A passing shadow drew his attention upwards, where his eyes fell upon Stephanie’s outstretched hand.

“Watching you two got me all worked up,” she said, hoisting William back to his feet. “You feel like you still got any fight left in you?”

“Sure thing,” William said, pulling himself upright, already feeling the strength return to his weary body. “And you might just stand a chance after all of that.”

Stephanie laughed at the joke and dropped into a light fighting stance. “Do you want to start the match or should I?”

William grinned and dropped into a fighting stance of his own. “Why not both?”

And the two of them sprang together into the attack.

[Silence Sei]

As this thread is part of my ‘clean out the que’ crusade, you guys can just IM me with any questions-comments-concerns. No commentary here otherwise.
• STORY ~ 20/30

CHARACTER ~ 19/30

WRITING STYLE ~ 14/30

Wild Card ~ 8/10

61/100

Rev gets spoils approved, pending a journey through the Letho Realm.

Rev also gets 2000 exp, and 500 GP for giving the Knights such delicious applesauce, and such comfy benches.

EI gets 2400 exp, and 150 GP (As Stephanie is a responsible parent and saves up for Azza’s college fund).

I liked this thread, even if the fight scenes drug out. That’s my two cents.

[Silence Sei]

exp-GP added.

Rev is level 5.