Orlouge Training Lesson 3: Ciato Orlouge

[Silence Sei]

"I see you finally decided to man up and come see your dear Uncle Ciato," the condescending cvoice of the self prclaimed 'noblest' of the Orlouge brothers spoke from atop his throne. Though they were plastic, Ciato had had the throne designed to where it appeared he was sitting on the skulls of every species known to Althanas. There was a similar, vacant chair beside him, just collecting dust. There was also a decent flight of stairs one would have to go up just to see Ciato in his 'Game Room'.

The fact that Kyla Orlouge had not only traveled to Raiaera, but managed to get up the stairs, was a feat to be admired.

The man sharpened his longsword on the 'arm' of the throne, a nice little slit having been cut out for just that kind of sport. "I'm not a nice man, as you've probably heard by now. In fact, I think that barbaric younger brother of mine has probably called me every name under the sun."

"I don't think Sei knows any swear words," Kyla said, blinking at her overly dramatic uncle.

"I was refering to Steppenwolf," The man said, standing from his seat and walking around Kyla's form. Ciato had a deep rooted hate for the most lovable of the Orlouges, and nobody really knew why. The Mystic straighted his purple vest, making sure his 'stunning' muscular chest was visible. He showed Kyla the blade of his sword, almost as if he were a sensei to a studying samurai.

"Magic is like this sword. You have to use it every day or it gets dull. Magic is power, Kyla. You have unbridled power within you, and you're just afraid to use it. With your power you could have anything you wanted in this life, anything! You shouldn't listen to Sei and his lectures, or Steppenwolf and his stupidity! The first thing I'm going to teach you is how to use your power!"

Ciato lunged the sword downward, prying it right between Kyla's golden anklet and the girl's foot. The strike was so precise, so clean that Ciato had not managed to draw blood at all from the strike. The tip of the long sword was just barely touching the tip of Kyla's foot, and even then it was not drawing any of her azure blood.

"And the first lesson is getting this thing that would make you 'average' off!"

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla immediatly pulled her ankle up and away from the sword. "They did let you in on the part where I die when its removed right?" The girl glared daggers at her uncle, "If I'd known I was making the trip to be with a lunatic I wouldn't have come!"

Kyla stormed down four stairs before she realized she had wasted this whole trip, "You know what? No! I didn't come all this way for this. I need help and you are going to give it to me."

Ciato raised his eyebrows at his young niece, "WITHOUT KILLING ME!" The girl shouted as she sat upon the top step.

"You say you are such an amazing powerful mystic, then show me!" A smile began to play on the girl's lips, "Unless of course, you think Steppenwolf would be better suited..."

"Steppenwolf could never teach as well as I could." The elder mystic nearly shouted.

"Sei said that you were the best, that's why I'm here." Kyla smiled even wider as she realized just how vain Ciato really was.

"He said that did he?"

The best showboater perhaps. Kyla pushed the thought from her mind. "Yes he did, now do we have a deal?" The young girl stood and held out her hand to her uncle.

[Silence Sei]

"Your terms are acceptable, Kyla Orlouge," the nobleman said, sheathing his sword for the time being. "Magic, like swordplay, requires a powerful person to use it correctly. Without the proper skill, you'll be absolutely useless even if you have the most basic of magic."

Ciato approached his relative, dusting some imaginary dust off of his shoulder as he did so. He then ran his hand through his slicked back white hair. He walked straight past the girl, expecting her to follow him as if she were some sort of wench or manservant. Each step the Mystic took down the stairs just screamed regal, similar to royalty descending a flight of stairs for dramatic effect. It was all about pandering to the little people.

They walked through the dark halls of Ciato's castle, low growls being heard from several of the rooms. There were even a few scratching sounds coming from within some of the rooms. At one point, Kyla attempted to open one of the doors, as she thought she had heard someone whisper the word 'help'.

"Don'," Ciato said, making his way down the long hallway that lead to the courtyard of his home. Though it was supposed to be a courtyard, it seemed more like a bird sanctuary. The calls of the avian creatures were everywhere, and there was thick moisture in the midst of the makeshift forest Ciato had placed in the middle of his castle grounds.

He continued to walk with Kyla behind him until the two made it to a single tree stump. The stump seemed to be the center of the forest, light shining down on it as if it were some holy artifact. Ciato pointed to the cut down remains of the tree.

"You will stand there, and show me what weapons you can crate with your shadow magic. Every weapon you know how to create. I don't care if it's a sewing needle, I need to know what I'm working with if I am to mold you into an acceptable warrior." Ciato did not explain the second reason for the test, as he would reveal that to his niece in time. For now, it was important that Kyla trust her sadistic uncle enough to show case her shadow arsenal.

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla's irritation with her uncle was dwarfed by her need to overcome the anklet she wore, and she did as he asked. The girl climbed the large stump and looked down at the elder Orlouge.

"I feel silly right now." She laughed uncomfortably as she tried to focus.

"As you should if you cannot even draw a sword." Ciato's voice was cold and angry,

The comment made Kyla furrow her brow before she focused her energy and quickly created a basic short sword. As always, it had three knotches near the base. Ciato's face showed no sign of either dissapointment nor pride and Kyla moved on to the next blade. The sword became a longsword which transformed into a small blade. It then became an axe, a throwing blade, a spear, a club, then finally a glove nearly identical to Sophia's Mane which clothed her left arm.

"That's about all I've done so far." Kyla looked down at her uncle with interest. "Anything in particular you'd like to see?"

[Silence Sei]

Ciato watched with intent as Kyla made all of her weapons. He analyzed each one carefully, taking in the small details to them. When she finished, he slowly clapped, a wry grin upon the maniacal Mystic's face.

"Each of those weapons is an indication of how you feel about yourself, Kyla Orlouge," Ciato said with simplicity, "It's not a matter of 'what can I bring out the fastest?', but 'what do i deserve to fight with?'. Would you like to know what I learned from seeing those weapons?" A skeptical Kyla nodded and crossed her arms.

"Please, do tell."

"The short sword means you wished that you could defend somebody that you previously did not. That's why it's not the length of a normal blade, it's dwarfed by your regret. The long sword indicates that you've forgiven yourself of whatever atrocity you think you've committed, and you feel confident in your fighting for the sake of yourself and others. The small blade represents that side of you that you fear, yet still want to hold on to, a little voice that wants you to do something you know in your heart is wrong." Ciato looked at Kyla, her eyes slightly widened by the descriptions, and smiled.

"The axe means you wish to fight so you can be at peace. A woodsman can cleave a skull in two, but he'd rather be at home with his family. The throwing blade is a part of you that you want absolutely nothing to do with, probably the embodiment of the evil you committed against your people. The spear means you want certain people to keep their distance from you, it's a literal metaphor of staying out of your personal space. The club represents you savagery, that part of you that just wants to beat something up when you're angry, the part of you that makes you slap someone when you're fighting with them." Ciato nodded, not even paying attention to how Kyla was reacting to his second assessment.

"The only mystery to me is the glove. It's such an odd design, a weapon I don't think I've ever seen such a thing. I have to ask, what was your motivation behind it?" Ciato stood, awaiting the girl's answer. Once he got what he wanted, he would give Kyla what she needed; training from the (allegedly) best Orlouge there ever was.

[Amber Eyes]

The girl listened intently to her uncle's definitions of the meaning of her weaponry. Most of the information was accurate, though Kyla also noted each definition was vague enough to cover most with the assessment. When he asked about Sophia's counterpart Kyla smiled. The Mane was her very own treasure, and she loved to discuss its powers.

Each of the Generals of the Ixian Knights and a few others had discovered their Zodiac weapons, but not one of the sisters of Sei's Gemini blades held the power of her own.

"It's a copy of this, " Kyla held her left hand out for Ciato to take a look. His eyes lit up as he notices the lion encrusted on the back of her white glove.

"Is that?" Jealousy was evident on his face as Kyla confirmed his suspicions.

"What are it's powers," The envy in the air was nearly tangible.

"Well," Kyla tensed the muscles in her hand and three five inch blades quickly extended from the ends of her knuckles.

"Nice, very nice indeed." The elder mystic smiled, "Though truly not that spectacular. I'm sure there are many more like it." Ciato turned his back and began to walk away unimpressed.

"I've never heard of one that can do all that this one can." Kyla defensively raised her voice a bit.

"Oh," The man turned, with a smile on his face, "Do tell."

The young girl's voice wavered a bit as she began to speak. "Well, when I...When I would normally....kill."

Ciato's excitement rose at the word, "Yes?"

"Well, instead it, well from what we can figure, the glove holds on to the person’s soul. Then whenever I chose I can return the soul to the body as long as it’s intact. It's complicated though."

Ciato smiled, "Little girl you have no idea what you possess. Think of what you could do with a weapon like that. You could force entire nations to surrender with the right soul in your possession. World leaders will crumble to get back a treasured loved one, the possibilities are endless. Can others use it?"

Well, Sei can somewhat use it, and a few others. For the most part though, it only works just right for me."

[Silence Sei]

His left eye twitched at Kyla's information. Why did most of the Zodiac Weapons chose to side with Sei's merry band of do-gooders? There were more people in the world than just Ixian Knights, after all. Ciato scowled a bit as he allowed his jealousy to take hold of him. There was no way he could use the glove anyways, not unless Sophia's Mane willed it so.

"Very well," Ciato said, running his hand through his slicked back hair once more, making sure not a single strand was out of place. "Now that I'm aware of your capabilities, I can find you an adequate sparring partner." Kyla seemed a bit confused at her uncle's words.

"Sparring partner?"

"Did Sei not tell you about the litter?" Kyla shook her head to the Mystic's question. Ciato closed his eyes and sighed, refusing to believe that anybody could keep a secret such as this. "My children, affection ally nicknamed 'The litter' due to my late wife's cat like physiology. How I miss her." Ciato looked up into the air as he thought of his beloved Asterodeia. Even the man's tone seemed to have shifted from 'better than thou' to a caring and compassionate man.

"Due to her genes and mine, they aged quickly. In typical years, they are three years old. In appearance and every other facet, they are five times as such. Now that I have your basic skill set down, I will allow you to spar with the strongest of the Litter, the alpha if you will."

Ciato turned his head and whistled, as if calling for a dog. "Amy, you have a play mate. Entertain her, will you?"

From out of the shadows came a teenage girl, red hair flowing down her black skin tight dress. The leather material flowed down to just above her knees, revealing a milky shade to her legs flesh, mixing in with the brown and white of what appeared to be tap dancing shoes. There was a white frill in the bosom of the dress, which did nothing but highlight the pale girl's red eyes, two black slits in her orbs rather than a 'normal' rounded cornea.

"How do you do?" The girl said, her words sounding strained, as if she had just recently learned to talk. "I am Amy."

"You will spar with Amy for an hour. I've told her not to kill you, but she will be using as much force as she feels is needed for knocking you out." Ciato said plainly as Amy stretched her arms (which had been behind her back) above her head, revealing the scythe that she had somehow concealed. Three feet of a wooden shaft, three feet of a shiny metal blade. Amy twirled the blade around as if it were nothing.

"Come and get me in an hour, if you're still able to," Ciato said, turning and waving off anything Kyla had to say in opposition.

"Enough talk," Amy said, running at Kyla. The dash wasn't as fast as normal person, Amy was still getting used to the concept of running, but with the distance she could cover with her blade, she did not really require speed. Amy sent the shaft of her weapon hurling towards Kyla's stomach, an initial attack made as an attempt to knock the wind out of her.

[Amber Eyes]

As Ciato walked away the sound of breaking glass would greet his ears. Over the next hour several sounds of struggle reached through the halls occasionally accompanied by a high pitched scream from one of the two girls.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Kyla stumbled into the room where Ciato sat eating grapes. "Did you have fun?"

The young mystic glared at her uncle with tired eyes, her hair covering half her face due to the battle. "She's feisty." Kyla plopped in a chair accross from the elder mystic and stared at the claw marks all over her arms. "Thank goodness she tires easily and I had a cat toy from Felicity in my bag. She seems to really enjoy catnip...just though you should know. Now if you don't have plans to sick anymore kittens on me I think I'd like to learn something. I'm pretty sure Sei's plan wasn't for me to learn from your kids."

Ciato raised his eyebrows at the girl, whose retorts were starting to remind him of himself. "Why don't you tell me a bit about your life. I'm dying to know how Niche's little girl grew up all by herself." The man picked an apple from the center of the small table and began to chew on it loudly.

Kyla took an orange and began to peel it. "Not much to talk about really. I was taken in by some people, we traveled a lot. I wanted to find out who I was, met Sei. That's about it."

[Silence Sei]

Ciato smiled at his niece as she gave him the short version of the story. It seemed that there was not a single Orlouge that trusted the refined Mystic. It was a good thing too, because Ciato would have stabbed anybody foolish enough to expose their back to him right through the heart. Out of all of his brothers, however, it was Sei who repeatedly gave the white haired noble man second chances.

Perhaps it was due to his brother's philosophy that there was good in everybody. Why else would he have employed the likes of Cassandra Remi to his 'honorable' Ixian Knights?

"Well then, if you don't want to tell stories while we eat," Ciato said plainly, taking another bite of the apple, "I guess you're on to the boss battle, eh?"

"What do you me---" Kyla had become cut off when the sword of her Uncle pierced through the orange she was just about to eat. The juices from the food squirted into the girl's eyes, causing her to scream, partly due to shock, partly because it burned. She stumbled back as Ciato began explaining how things were going to be to Kyla.

"We're going to be fighting one another, each and every day. Sometimes, you will engage in my children first before you engage me. Sometimes, you will fight me directly. You will fight with everything you have, or risk losing your life to my blade. We stop to eat, sleep, and use the bathroom. You will not be afforded any other luxury, nor will I. I'm not going to lie to you, 'Kylana'," Ciato ended the girls nickname with a spit, as if the pet name left a bad taste in his mouth, "The next two weeks are going to be hell. I will show no mercy, nor do I expect you to. Do you understand?"

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla wiped some of the sticky orange juice out of her eyes and nodded to her Uncle. She opened her azure orbs just in time to see the older Mystic charging at her, his sword raised ever so slightly over his shoulder and coming down at the girl with full force. The Mystic Mother quickly formed her shadow blade and parried the blow, Ciato forcing the two weapons closer and closer to Kyla's throat.

"Is there...anything else?" Kyla grunted during the stalemate. It was meant to be a sarcastic comment, but it was enough to cause Ciato to temporarily pause and withdraw himself from his advance.

"There is, actually," Ciato spoke, reaching towards the table with one of his seemingly delicate hands. Kyla raised her shadow sword to her face, feeling the black flames heat blow through her hair. "Relax, I'm going to give you your limiter."

"Limiter?" Kyla asked, Ciato approaching the girl with a simple necklace. The necklace itself was made of what appeared to be N’Jalian spider silk, holding onto a small blue diamond of sorts. Ciato quickly put the jewel around Kyla's neck. When he did so, the girl nearly fell to the floor. It felt as if she was carrying her own weight. She began to lift her shadow sword up, but realized that it too seemed to double in weight.

"That accessory is going to aide you greatly in your training. You're not allowed to take it off at all unless instructed to do so. Do I make myself clear?" Kyla nodded, and Ciato continued, "Every ounce on your body, that enchanted necklace accounts for an effectively matches it, causing you to feel as though you're heavier than you actually are. You'll see the effects of this at the end of two weeks. Now....let’s begin again!"

Ciato made another dash at Kyla, this time attempting to stab the girl in the gut. Kyla again moved her sword of darkness, allowing it to fall thanks to its weight and derail the momentum of Ciato's thrust. Lifting the sword up, sweat began to pour from Kyla's face as she attempted to swipe the weapon at her uncle, who merely stepped back and waved his finger.

"Tsk tsk, we're going to have to learn to get much better with that limiter on," Ciato said mockingly, throwing an elbow towards his niece's face...

[Silence Sei]

The training went on for two weeks. True to his word, Ciato fought Kyla every moment that the two were not asleep, eating, or having to use the restroom. The first few days, Kyla was sluggish, not used to the combination of an endless training coupled with the extra weight on her shoulders. After the fourth day or so, however, the Mystic Mother began improving in her technique. Her muscles were getting stronger, getting used to the physical burden that she had to carry around.

Today was the last day of the two week period. Ciato stood across from Kyla, his sword standing straight up and held to his side. They had entered the same forest clearing where Kyla had once fought Amy. She had become a different person now than she was then. Ciato could feel the physical and spiritual change in the girl. He had awakened the savage part that lay dormant within his niece. This was to be their final battle before parting ways.

The two simply nodded to one another, and the battle started. Normally, Ciato had made the first move during their altercations, but today it was Kyla running at her uncle. Her shadow sword was pointed for, an attempt to run the Mystic noble through. As Ciato moved his blade towards his navel, he noticed a grin on Kyla's face. Almost instantly, she lifted up the shadow sword, which transformed into its spear form. Ciato raised his blade upwards as fast as he could, deflecting the pole arm to the side. The tip of the student’s weapon scraped the shoulder of the teacher, causing a cut of blue ooze to seep out from the scratch.

Ciato countered swiftly, sliding forwards a bit and landing his foot right into Kyla's shin. The girl yelped, causing a wide smile to form on her relatives face. The look of pleasure soon turned to one of horror when Ciato looked up to see Kyla coming down with her shadow axe, attempting to cleave her family member in twain.

Ciato rolled to the right, the axe making a sizable slice in the dirt floor below. Allowing himself to hold his blade with his left hand, the middle Orlouge brother planted his elbow squarely into the ribs of the mother. Kyla fell to the ground with another sound of pain, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Ciato stood, running his blade into where Kyla had once been. When the dust had cleared, he had seen that his pierce had never met the girl's soft flesh.

Ciato looked around for his target, trying to determine where she could be. He finally found her in a way he had not wished for. A throwing dagger had planted itself in the right shoulder blade of the Mystic, disappearing and letting even more blood pour out from the arm. Ciato spit and grabbed his blade with both hands once more; the stinging pain in the back of his shoulder would have to wait.

Several more daggers came flying in all directions, Ciato quickly began to intercept each one, turning and deflecting the small weapons as they came at him. As soon as each of the daggers had hit the long sword of the elder Mystic, they dissipated. Kyla had fooled Ciato once; she was not going to gain that opportunity again.

Kyla rushed out of the forest, now swinging a shadow club wildly towards her uncle. Ciato ran to meet his temporary pupil, slinging his sword towards Kyla's own weapon and out powering her, sending the blunt weapon to the winds. Ciato followed up with a stab to Kyla's right thigh. This time, he had met flesh, her blue blood splashing onto his face as he drove the blade in as deep as he could. She screamed with pain. Few opponents had actually approached Kyla with the intention to kill, so the fact that her uncle could actually act on such malice was odd.

But not surprising.

Ciato felt a sharp pain in his own leg, looking down; the Mystic had seen the blackness of Kyla's shadow long sword inside of his right thigh. An eye for an eye as it was. Ciato released his blade, noting that it was still through Kyla's leg, and embedded into the ground. Kyla was a sitting duck, but with Ciato's own penetrated wound, he was too.

Kyla took advantage of this, forming her shadow dagger and sending a cut clear across her relative's face. Ciato's features moved with the slice, forming a thick blue line from ear to eye. Ciato raised his fists, two black knuckles forming from the man's own shadow magic. He knocked the dagger out of Kyla's hand, scattering it to the air. Before he could follow up on any more of the assault, he heard the claws for Sophia's Mane making themselves known. Kyla raised her right hand to show her uncle that she had formed its shadow magic match.

Ciato laid into Kyla's face while Kyla laid into Ciato's ribs. Blood and spit flew out from the faces of the two, the3 exchange in blows last ten minutes longer than it should have. Finally, both warriors fell to the ground, exhausted and near death. Kyla's face had become swollen, brown and blue with bruises all over her once pretty features. Ciato's own face was masked with his blue blood, clearly expelling more of the liquid than his niece due to the varying rib shots.

The two lay on the forest floor, each one lying atop a bed of their own blood. Ciato smiled as he heard his children growling. Finally, after such a long and hard fought battle, Ciato finally spoke.

"I'm proud of you..."

[Amber Eyes]

When Kyla had been bandaged up and healed properly by Ciato's children, she was ready to leave. As far as she was concerned, Ciato had taught her everything she could possibly learn from him. As she packed her things, she heard a knock on the door to her room. She turned to find her uncle standing there, smiling to her.

"Kyla, it's time," Ciato said, pointing to the girl's limiter. Kyla looked down and widened her eyes. She had been restricted to take it off for so long; she had forgotten it was even there! The girl nodded and reached behind her, unclasping the two silver hooks that held the necklace together. As soon as the thing was off offer her, she began to pack in silence again. However, something was different. Kyla realized that she was packing at double the speed that she had previously been.

"Like I said, when the end of the two weeks came," Ciato spoke, "You'd see the use of the limiter. When you take it off, everything that you do normally becomes a lot easier. You're faster on your feet, you hit harder with your weapon. It dampens your senses so you have to build them up again. Now when you take it off, you should be able to cut a path through anyone who dares stands in your way. Although, given that you've only used the necklace for a short period, it might wear you out to go on for long without it. Be careful with it, Kylana, for while I detest most of my family, I could tolerate you..."

Kyla smiled at that. It was about the closest thing to an 'I love you' that she would ever get from her uncle. She finished packing and placed the necklace back around her neck. Turning to the older Mystic Kyla gave him a hug. Ciato tensed up at this, his ribs were still pretty beat up, and physical signs of affection were not his forte.

"I could tolerate you too, Uncle Ciato. I'll see you around," Kyla said, walking out of the room to go tell her animal-like cousins goodbye.

"Sooner than you think..." Ciato whispered to himself, a wry smile creeping across his face.

[MetalDrago]

STORY ~

Continuity (6/10) ~

Setting (5/10) ~

Pacing (7/10) ~

CHARACTER ~

Dialogue (7/10) ~

Action (7/10) ~

Persona (7/10) ~

WRITING STYLE ~

Mechanics (4/10) ~

Technique (5/10) ~

Clarity (6/10) ~

Wild Card (7/10) ~

Overall Score - 61/100

Amber Eyes receives 1600 EXP and 250 GP
Silence Sei receives 2700 EXP and 250 GP

Spoils approved, pending RoG review

Amber Eyes requests the following spoil:

The Limiter Necklace: A necklace made of two silver clasps, N'Jalian spider silk, and a single small diamond in the middle. When Kyla wears this necklace, it doubles her natural weight. Due to training with Ciato, she has learned to wear this and go about her every day activities normally. When she takes the necklace off, however, Kyla receives double strength, speed, and defense for three posts. After that, she becomes extremely tired and weary until she can put the necklace back on.

[Silence Sei]

Exp-Gp added.