Chapter 180: Master Avian

Chapter 180: Master Avian

Tala strode off the street and through the training yard with purpose.

After nearly a week of coming back here to train, the guards were once again used to seeing her walk through their midst, and those that werent were quickly informed by some around them that she was expected and a regular.

Most didnt even get up, simply waving at her or calling out some derivation of, Good morning, Mistress.

She waved to those who waved and acknowledged all the others who called out greetings.

It was a pleasant experience, actually, having so many people at least politely happy to see her.

The regular citizenry were a bit more reserved. Or is that just me?

That was an interesting thought. If she waved at people as she passed them on the street, would they wave back? What if she greeted them?

No, there are far, far too many people in the city to make that a reasonable thing to do. She considered. Maybe in the off times, or less populated streets?

-You waste a lot of mental energy on random thoughts like this.-

Its interesting, alright?

-You could be so much more with a bit more focus.-

Tala cocked her eyebrow, though she didnt have anyone to direct the look at.

-Fine, you do do quite a bit. Some random thinking is probably healthy.-

Thats right, it is. Tala strode into the building and through it, down the familiar path to the training courtyard.

The cool air of the winter morning pervaded the open structure and allowed the stone to be cold beneath her shoes, just as with the streets outside. Tala sent a tendril of power through her garments, causing her shoes to connect to her pants, and break apart, pulling back into the other elk-leathers. With a smile, Tala enjoyed the stone against her bare skin, and the temperature wasnt unpleasant to her in the least.

Much better.

She walked slowly, taking a moment to simply revel in the small pleasure of the texture and temperature of the floor with each step. All too soon, she came out of the side hall and onto the open walkway around the training courtyard to find quite a few guards already there, stretching, or moving through some half-speed sparring.

The healer wasnt there, yet. In fact, as she looked around, she realized that while she wasnt the first to arrive by a long shot, she was the first Mage.

Several of the guards greeted her, but no one stopped what they were doing. Tala returned the greetings and moved out onto an open portion of the sand.

She took time to move through a stretching sequence to limber up. While she couldnt count on such being possible before real fights, it let her continue to improve flexibility and keep from straining her muscles. Wait Do I even need to do this?

-Well, you could technically just overstretch and tear your body. Then, you could hold the position until it healed, but I wouldnt recommend it.-

Tala nodded to herself, even as she kept stretching. That would make me more flexible, but take me backwards, strength wise. I need to bring up strength and flexibility together, in tandem, in order to have the best results.The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

-Precisely.-

I guess there arent really any shortcuts.

Alat seemed to pause, something akin to disbelief radiating from within Talas mind. -Well, I mean, you can workout and stretch to your limit every day, rust multiple times per day, and see improvements each time. Thats a shortcut vastly beyond what mundanes can do.-

Tala felt a bit foolish at the moment. Right. She sometimes forgot how much of an advantage that was. We should probably find a way of tracking my improvement.

-Likea system? With statistics and hard numbers for how you are improving over time?-

That might be nice.

-I could even come up with a leveling nomenclature, so that you could track as you progressed through the rankings.-

I think that would be nice, actually.

Tala sensed deep skepticism from Alat. -I think youd obsess over it. Not to mention, isnt that exactly what you were warned off of, when you looked into mana?-

Tala considered as she shifted from a handstand to a floating pushup and back, working and stretching her shoulders. She hadnt increased her weight, as she did for her morning and evening sets, because her main focus wasnt strengthening at the moment. Youre probably right.

-I do try.-

Tala snorted a laugh, blowing sand away with the force of her exhale.

-No, I will not figure out a way to measure how hard you exhale.-

I wasnt going to ask.

-But you were thinking about it.-

Tala rolled her eyes, taking a moment to look around herself once again.

Terry wasnt stretching. Well, he was stretched out in the sun, but that was different.

The guards were mostly warmed up, and seemed about ready to start the days training.

Aproa arrived as Tala was looking around.

Tala rolled forwards, out of the side bend and middle split shed been in, springing to her feet and waving to the other woman. Good morning!

Aproa waved as she walked up to Tala. We missed you yesterday. She frowned. What happened to your inscriptions? Are you alright?

Oh, Im fine. Thats going to trip up some people. I wonder if the through-spikes illusion can be modified?

-Want me to investigate?-

What will it take?

-A small amount of power, and Ill be less responsive.-

Do it. The back and forth with Alat happened at the speed of thought. So, the entire conversation with Alat happened before Aproa finished shrugging and replied, Not really what I asked, but its your magics. So, your friend is joining the sparring today?

Terry flickered into being behind Tala, sized to be just shorter than her.

Tala reached back without looking, trusting her senses to find where he was, and patted the side of his beak. Thats the idea.

Even though Rane and Aproa had supposedly warned the guardsmen the day before that Terry would be joining this day, those already in the courtyard turned warry eyes on the terror bird, a couple stepping back involuntarily.

-I dont think it was his presence, Tala. I think its that he just teleported and changed size. Sure, some have probably noticed him teleport before, but I dont think hes ever grown around the guards.-

Ahh, thats fair. Tala smiled, looking around the courtyard. Lets do this!

Rane arrived at that moment. Mistress Tala! Terry! Ready to spar?

Tala grinned and waved. Absolutely. Youre well?

As ever.

Adam was with the Archon, and he assessed Terry with a critical eye. I think I should fight the terror bird first, to assess the danger of his joining in. He looked to one of the guardsmen, near a side passage. Tras, please go inform the healer that we are ready.

The man, Tras apparently, saluted and ran down the hall.

Tala knew that the healer would be out in less than a minute, if previous days were any indication.

Adam regarded Terry. No cutting or tearing.

Terry tilted his head, considering, then bobbed acknowledgement.

Do you wish me to use a training weapon?

Terry hesitated, then bobbed once.

Tala shrugged. Sounds good to me. She pulled Flow to her hand, verified that the training sheath was locked in place, and sent power down the path that would extend it into the form of a sword.

Aummar tilted his head to one side, examining the clearly magical weapon. When he glanced to Adam and received a gesture of assent, the older man grunted, seeming to decide it wasnt worth addressing.

Are you ready, or do you require time to recover?

Aummar rolled his shoulders and hopped slightly, checking how his armor was situated. With a nod to himself and a smile for Tala, he responded. Im ready.

Tala charged, executing a controlled thrust towards the mans chest.

Aummar barely seemed to move, but they both froze, the match over.

Flow was fully extended, sheathed tip barely missing Aummars shoulder. Aummars training sword rested against Talas blade, deflecting it the barest amount, while its tip was at her throat.

Youve reasonable technique, but you are easy to counter. Easy to predict.

They pulled apart.

Again.

Tala nodded. Dont pull your strikes. I need to feel my mistakes.

He cocked an eyebrow and glanced to Adam. Adam nodded and smiled. With that, Aummar shrugged. As you wish. Healer, be ready.

They moved as one, and Tala felt the lightest tap on Flow as they closed, before pain blossomed from her throat, the training weapon having utterly crushed the front of her neck.

Through the blinding pain, Tala let Flow shift back into a knife and drove it into Aummars chest. She didnt hold back, allowing her agony to add to her strength, even as she sank into the blow, putting her full weight behind it.

Though he was clearly not expecting her counter, Aummar reacted, pulling away from her strike even as she made it. While that softened the blow and might have been enough to counter a mundane strike, it couldnt negate Talas attack entirely.

The impact threw him to the ground where he absorbed most of the force of the fall with a roll. He came back to his feet, somehow having not been hampered by the shield still on his back. There was shock in his eyes, but also resolve.

Tala coughed, using the forceful exhalation to reinflate her trachea, even as it pulled back into proper alignment and shape. How hard did he hit me? My throat shouldnt be that easy to crush.

-Id estimate that hed have partially decapitated anyone else.-

Dangerous.

-A bit, but not truly with the healer ready to hand.-

Tala grunted.

Aummar glanced down at himself and grimaced, sucking in a pained breath. You broke a couple of ribs. Well struck. His voice was a bit strained and breathless. So, a Mage, then?

The healer walked over and tapped the man, causing Aummar to take in a deep, satisfied lungful of air. I didnt see your spell-lines and mistook you, Mistress. My apologies. He bowed.

Interesting. So, he knows his own skill, and is proud of it, but doesnt hesitate to acknowledge mistakes or those who outrank him. Very interesting.

Again?

Over the next four hours, Aummar humbled them all. Even with their magics, and while he was weighed down with armor, he could fight them on nearly even footing.

One on one, none of the Mages could match him, unless they stayed at a distance. His reactions were just too quick, his technique too refined. Hed move the slightest amount, both countering their attacks and delivering devastating damage.

Tala was never able to take a wound to hit him again, after that first time, and Aummar, for his part, treated the Mages with a bit more wariness than hed shown before. Though, to be fair, he hadnt really known her to be a Mage in their first fight.

Maybe being mistaken for a mundane is a tactical advantage in some circumstances?

-Maybe, but those who would trust our outward appearance arent much of a threat, regardless.-

Tala cocked an eyebrow and glanced pointedly towards Aummar.

-Fair point, exceptions aside.-

Tala grinned. Worth considering, I suppose.

After a good number of one-on-on fights, they were able to do more group conflicts with Aummars input, and Terry joined in in a smattering of those scenarios.

In that way, the martial training began to mirror the magical that theyd do later on in the day.

Aummar set the tone, but he slowly participated in fewer fights as the morning wore on.

He had pointers for the three Mages and Terry, as well as for every guardsman who participated, and they all improved at his insight.

As they wrapped up, Aummar approached Terry and Tala. If I may be impertinent enough to ask a couple of questions?

Rane and Aproa were nearby, and they clearly heard and turned slightly to listen in.

Tala smiled. Of course. Thank you for your input today.

It was my pleasure, Mistress. Firstly, does Terry ever carry you?

Terry and Tala shared a look before Tala shrugged. Sometimes, yes.

Then, I would suggest that you practice some mounted combat. You two could definitely use some more cohesion training as well. You are both excellent combatants, but you dont truly fight together as you could and should.

Again, the two of them looked at one another. Terry bobbed and trilled his assent. Tala smiled and turned back to Aummar. That sounds great.

Ill look into it, on your behalf, then. There are some horse tracks and arenas nearby that could be excellent for that type of training.

We look forwards to it.

Secondly, Terry, would you consider using weapons?

Terry cocked his head to the side, then flickered to Talas shoulder and back.

Yes, I assumed that you couldnt carry much, if anything, with you in a teleport, but that isnt necessary.

The bird tilted his head the other way, clearly intrigued.

I believe that if you had a few weapons that you could move between, directing them, throwing them, or using them as you see fit, you could increase your combat prowess considerably.

Talas eyes widened at that, Aproa seemed almost to choke, and Rane started chuckling, adding, Thats just terrifying.

Aummar grinned, glanced to the other Mages. Then it is fitting for our terror bird friend.

Terry seemed quite hesitant, however.

Are you willing to give it a try? It will be clunky at first, but I think you might come to appreciate the versatility.

Tala and Terry, again, shared a look, and something in the birds eyes made Tala think that he was remembering the Leshkin, and how he was all but unable to attack them.

Slowly, Terry bobbed his assent.

Aummar clapped his hand and grinned even wider. Ill see to it that some potentials, in practice weapon form, are ready for tomorrow, then.

Thank you, again.

It was my pleasure, Mistress. He bowed to them all. Mistress, Master, Mistress. Have a wonderful afternoon.

Tala bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet, feeling energized by the mornings activities. Rane, Mistress Aproa, do you have lunch plans?

Rane smiled slightly. I dont.

Aproa shook her head. None here.

Great. Im starving. Lets go.