Training Time

Hey everyone! On Sunday I posted about the Psionics powers. I want to follow that up with a short story. This, I hope, will tie in the Codex entries with a fun little story, exampling the powers or items, or even racial abilities, that are available here.

A Mystic Short story

With a twist of her torso, the blade sung past Amakihal.  In retaliation, Amakihal thrusted her fist out, channeling her Chi into a forceful blast at the attacker.  The Chi bursts out and knocks young Imal onto his back, the sword clattering out of reach.  Amakihal then focused her Chi to lift herself off the ground for a moment, moving her over Imal.

“Watching your attacker’s form allows you to predict their movements.  Relying on Chi to sense their movements tires you out faster.  The body has natural tells, how you distribute your weight when preparing for a strike, which muscle group tenses and twitches, and how you stand are all tells,” she said to the surrounding students.  “These can be a trap for you as well, especially if your opponents know the signs of movement.  I’d say it would be best to feint every action, except that would throw you off balance as well.”  She helped Imal off the ground and patted his back.  “And you, my student, remember that reflexes are key in a battle as well.”

Imal frowned and said, “but aren’t reflexes part of the tell? How one reacts to an incoming strike?”

“True, but if one’s reflexes are honed, they can be faster than any tell.  And besides, these fights are more about predicting the moves, rather than the actual moves, and how to best counter them.”  Imal seemed confused for a moment, so she added, “meditate on this, and perhaps practice some chess with your friends.  When you do, try to think of their movements, and what possibilities those movements could be related to.”  Imal nodded and trotted off to a circle of children.

Amakihal stretched out for a moment as the bells rang throughout the temple, children filing out of the training yard.  The summer breeze felt nice, cooling her muscles as she stretched out.  These practices would help the young mystics in the larger world, where danger laid out in the wilds and cities.  

“Getting tired of sparring with kids, or getting out of shape, Ama?” Kili’s voice was much louder than his footsteps, but Amakihal wasn’t surprised by his appearance.  

“Neither, it is good the young understands how to defend oneself.  Let Master Zhi teach them about peace and balance.”  

“Well, Louis asked me to check up on you.  Make sure you’re ready for the run,” Kili stepped into the middle of the courtyard and stretched.  “Come on, you know you want to,” he said with a grin.

Ama groaned to herself, “Damn.  Alright give me a moment.”  She took a few swigs from her bottle before walking to the center.  

A moment of silence, Kili poised with his arms stretched out, palms opened, feet firmly grounded.  A stable stance, Ama noted, but one that won’t allow him to move easily.  She chose for herself a more mobile stance, dancing on her toes.  With a swift movement, Kili punched at Ama, sending a blast of energy at her.  She deftly dodged to the side, channeling her Chi into her muscles to give her a boost in speed.  This proved useful when she moved in to strike, Kili seemed to be using more force than finesse.  His strikes, while powerful, were sluggish, she was able to get a few blows in.  These blows, however, did not phase Kili.  He simple took them, focusing on the powerful blows.  

Kili then surprised Ama, instead of trying to hit her when she came up, he chose to raise his Chi into protecting his form, and her light blows weren’t able to penetrate his shield.  Catching her off guard, Kili then swept around, sending his own Chi out to bind Ama.  Fortunately for Ama, she was able to resist the binding.  Her retaliation came not as a blow, but as a trick.  Her chi creating a distraction, which Kili fell for, leaping a kick to the right of Ama.  Using this opening, she made four quick strikes, two of which made Kili grunt.  

Kili’s left arm dropped as he jumped back, then he fell onto his knee panting. 

“Damn.  Fell for it again,” he said, then started laughing.  Ama dusted off her hands and looked around in surprise, many of the children that she thought had left were staring in awe at Amakahil. She then looked down at Kili with surprise.  He looked around and shrugged.

“Uh, well I hope this was an excellent demonstration of why you practice,” she said almost sheepishly, “but remember, fighting isn’t the main reason you are here.  You are here to focus on your studies and better understand the universe.  So go to your next lesson!”

The children seemed slightly disappointed, but filed out of the training yard.  Ama helped Kili up, rubbing the Chi points that she struck to open them back up.  

“And that’s why Master Louis asks for you to do these runs by the way.”  Kili pointed at her as he limped by her side out of the courtyard, “be sure you’re ready tonight.”

Ama sighed and nodded.  She didn’t like these runs, not because they were dangerous, but because they were not a good thing she was doing, yet they were also necessary to keep the temple running.