[LEA] Blitz' Training

OoC: FINALLY! ^_^;; Phew... I'm glad I got that done.

BiC: This place is gonna drive me nuts, thought Blitz to himself as he wandered through the great halls, having long ago lost all sense of direction. He had expected his long-awaited visit to the acclaimed Dome to be enjoyable, but now it was leaning more toward unbearable. Once he had failed to find Ranul in the market, he had wound his way into this place which was supposedly the Dome’s centerpiece. The massive structure’s interior shifted every now and then, walls moving from place to place approximately every ten minutes. Nevertheless, Blitz could not deny the beauty of this place. Red tapestries lined the rune-engraved walls on either side of the hall he now walked through, accompanied by a coat of arms every four tapestries. A plush red carpet also rolled the whole length of the floor, and shifted along with the walls to turn corners whenever this place changed its shape.

Majestic and odd were the two descriptive terms that immediately came to his mind. Never before had Blitz laid his eyes upon a physical structure that could change its makeup—rather, not since the Realm of the Guardians. Yet while the second mirror of the world, in which the guardians presided, was haunting and foreboding, this place seemed much more cheery and light-hearted. The swordsman found himself craving a fine wine for some reason. Hah! he laughed inwardly. I’ve been living in the same base as Viscen for too long. From high above, light fixtures which were installed in the ceiling shone down as a guide to his footsteps, for which Blitz was grateful. He could not imagine navigating this ridiculously complicated world in the dark. In addition, the floor was composed of a rich marble which reflected the light back onto the cobblestone walls. Every inch of the structure was visible at all times.

Just then, the wall to his left dislodged and began swinging unusually to the right, beginning to block off his straight path. “No!” he shouted aloud, racing ahead. But it was too late; the wall completely shut off his path, opening up a new one to the right. Blitz slammed into the wall, beating it in frustration with his fists. “Crap! How in the name of Dierru am I supposed to get out of this place?!” He was almost certain that if he were able to travel in a straight line that he would make some real progress. Yet every time he felt he was getting close to something, the walls changed again. It was as if the entire structure were deliberately turning him in circles. It would be helpful if he encountered someone else in this confounding place, but so far he had not seen a soul beside his own. “I’d better run into someone soon, or I’m going to have to make my own door.” Then Blitz remembered the event with Ranul; even though the half-angel’s intentions had been good, the swordsman’s power had still not fully recovered. It was only so fortunate that the angel had not administered a larger dose of the substance, or Blitz might have been keeling over and dying right now.

Pushing himself away from the stone barricade in dejection, he turned to face the new path left for him by the Dome. Oh, you have got to be kidding me. It was a dead-end, and a rather empty one at that. Desperate not to be trapped, Blitz strode impatiently toward the blank wall. He could see nothing; no door, no other turns, seemingly no way to progress. But just when he had been about to turn around and head in the other direction, he noticed a small indention on the rightmost side of the wall. Hmm… that’s odd. He placed a finger on the indention, tracing it upward and in an arch-like shape that rose from the floor. Maybe this used to be a doorway? Rearing back and scrunching his muscles, Blitz prepared to exert himself. Then, with all his might, he thrust himself at the arch of indented stone. He pushed hard with his arms, throwing his head down to gain some leverage. But the old doorway did not budge. Not ready to cede defeat, Blitz threw his shoulder at it; he succeeded only in bruising himself. Still determined, he forced his back against the wall, pushing as hard as he could with his legs. Still, the structure did not even move a millimeter. Finally, exhausted both physically and mentally, Blitz rested his back against the wall and panted heavily, trying to regain his breath. Alright, calm down… Let’s think through this logically, he thought in an effort to quell the forceful hammering of his heart in his chest. Is there anything I haven’t tried yet? Yes; as a matter of fact, there was.

Swallowing a deep breath of air and feeling his heart beat normally, Blitz walked purposefully from the wall, keeping a skeptical eye on it as he stalked away. Then, satisfied with the distance between himself and the obstruction, he turned to face it again and intentionally triggered an adrenaline rush in his legs. As soon as he felt strength course through his lower limbs, he bolted forward at full throttle and thrust himself with all his might at the wall. “Hah!”

KLONG!

When he could see again somewhat, he was on his back, and his corneas were swimming in the wrong end of his head. As if this affected his mental perception, his jaw swerved awkwardly in an attempt to orient itself. After a few moments when his sight began to return to normal, he gathered himself and tried to stand. Okay… I guess I should have seen that one coming. Still feeling awkward and disoriented, he stepped on his cloak and tripped, landing on his backside again. This time he waited, allowing his body to reacquaint itself with the laws of physics. Finally, his vision became fully steady and he was able to stand. Times when floors should not be blunt and metallic…

This time, Blitz did not plan on sparing any mercy for the sake of the building’s magnificent structure. There was enough fire element here to build up a decent explosion, one strong enough to remove a small wall at least. The only problem would be his current inability to draw it to himself, for his power cells were still under the debilitating effects of that accursed dihydrogen methanol gas. Nevertheless, he took the concentration stance he had been taught in his early training which supposedly focused the mind. Even if it was a technique that only fresh recruits were known to execute, desperate times called for desperate and sometimes humiliating measures. He grunted at the effort he had to exert in order to call the fire elemental energy to him, but felt refreshed as the energy entered his body. However, the resulting tension immediately begged for release. Forcing as much of it as he could muster into a condensed ball, he quickly hurled it at the barrier obstructing his path. At that very moment, however, and much to his dismay, the wall suddenly vanished to reveal an entryway beyond. His sun bomb rocketed through the entryway, slamming uselessly into a corner further in and exploding in a burst of completely unhelpful flames.

Blitz blinked. Then he blinked again. And then, just for effect, he blinked once more. That could not have happened at a worse time, he thought finally. Now, after that exertion, his power cells had expended the strength they had regained; he would be unable to summon the fire element again for quite some time. Nevertheless, the swordsman decided not to dwell and strode into the archway.

As soon as he had passed through the structure, it closed very suddenly behind him, and all quickly became dark. Startled, he whipped around as if hoping that the obvious had not occurred. But there was no denying it; there were no lights here, and the fixtures had been cut off when the archway sealed off. He was left in the pitch black with a sound that he realized was a low growl. Oh, no… he whispered to himself, turning around as slowly as he dared to see a pair of glowing yellow eyes with green irises staring at him less than four feet away.

OoC: Nice job. Very descriptive and well-written. *plops you in the advanced class* Okay, here we go!

IC:

All was quiet and still within the Dome. A pin drop could have been heard echoing throughout the very vacant halls. This was the time when most of the trainees and their teachers were abed. However, inside one of the Dome’s myriad rooms, the sounds of a scuffle could be heard. If an unwary student had stumbled beyond the massive, ornate door that hid the source of the sounds, he or she would have been greeted with an amazing and spectacular sight. Sileya, Elven warrior-summoner and the favored of the Ancient Dragons, was very much awake.

She rode comfortably between the base of Pyria’s, the Fire Dragon’s, neck and the muscular shoulder blades of the Dragon. The Dragonfire, her massive broadsword, was clutched tightly in her hand and was reared back to strike her oncoming foe, a medium-sized, bat-like creature with razor-sharp claws and fangs eager to tear into living flesh. Its mouth gaped wide, dripping with venomous saliva, as it propelled itself using its strong, sinewy wings toward the vibrant Elf sitting ready to defend herself. With a cry of triumph, the blood-crazed creature stretched its silvery claws out toward its prey only to be met by the shining edge of the Dragonfire. A scream of anguish ripped from the creature’s throat and was immediately silenced. Sileya nodded in satisfaction and sheathed her broadsword. Her victory was short-lived, however, as Pyria shouted a warning into her mind.

Small One! Do not let your guard down just yet! More of the foul creatures are coming this way!

Mindful of the warning, Sileya rapidly drew her weapon. A sea of blackness swam on the horizon, covering the sunny, rolling hillsides that formed the scenery of the room. The screeching and hissing cries of the creatures swelled as the massive group drew nearer. Concentrating on the elements raging within her, Sileya called upon the Fire elemental. Separating the burning element from her soul, the Elf stretched out her arm and closed her eyes as the fire came forth in tangible form, leaping from her fingertips and searing into the malevolent mass of screaming black creatures. They scattered, watching some of their brethren fall to the ground, but quickly regrouped and continued to surge toward Sileya and Pyria. A grimace crossed Sileya’s face; this was turning out to be harder than she had expected.

“Pyria, I’m going to need your help.”

And you shall freely have it.

Flying low to the ground, Pyria allowed Sileya to jump easily down from her back before rocketing straight back up into the air. A red-orange glow began to slowly spread across the Dragon’s scaly body. As the horde of flapping, screeching creatures surged around her, Pyria initiated her most powerful ability, Blazing Inferno. Spouts of flame erupted from every crevice of the Fire Dragon’s body, searing the creatures unlucky enough to be near her. As the energy drained from her physical body, Pyria began to revert back to her spirit form, causing her body to turn a blinding white. The flames generated by her initial gush of power closed around her, wrapping her in their burning embrace. When the last of her spiritual energy was gone, Pyria vanished in a flash of red-orange light, and the flames that had been intensifying around her exploded into the mass of blood-thirsty creatures, completely eradicating them down to the very last one. And then, silence blanketed the room.

Sileya, breathing heavily, stuck her broadsword into the soft ground beneath her feet and leaned upon it, attempting to regain her strength. She barely noticed the Dragonfire’s faint glow as Pyria’s spirit re-entered the blade through the ruby pommel stone. She had barely had enough time to reorient herself when the floor suddenly gave way beneath her. She was sent tumbling down for what seemed like ages until finally she landed inside a pitch black room.

“Who’s there?”

Sileya’s ears perked up at the sound of the voice. Apparently, there was someone already occupying this room. She began to wonder why the Dome had placed her here. It was probably some poor new student’s living quarters, and they had just been woken up, frightened, by her falling through his or her ceiling. Sileya opened her mouth to apologize, but she quickly noticed a pair of glowing eyes hovering in the middle of the room. There was something not right about all this, and without giving a thought to voicing her questions, she brandished her broadsword and summoned the light elemental from deep within her soul. Several thin beams of light shot from the Dragonfire’s tip toward the pair of eyes, illuminating the room for a split second before colliding with the eyes’ owner. A howl reverberated about the room as whatever the creature had been died instantaneously. Without further ado, Sileya used the remaining light energy to cause her weapon to glow brightly, granting her enough light to see by. When her eyes found the young man standing to one side of the room, she instinctively knew he was to be her new student.

For now…

Sileya blinked as the voice of the Dome faintly entered her brain. She didn’t know what It had meant by that, but she did find this new student interesting. She could sense great potential within him.

“My name is Sileya. What is your name?”

“Blitz,” the young man replied.

“I do believe that I am to be your new teacher. So…if you’ll follow me, I’ll lead you to your first assignment.”

Without waiting for a reply from her new pupil, Sileya exited the room and proceeded to lead Blitz to the room she had previously been in. As her feet touched the soft, springy grass of the rolling hills, Sileya turned to Blitz to give her brief explanation of what he was to do. Drawing the Dragonfire, the Elven warrior-summoner smiled.

“Your first task is to fight me. Show me what you are capable of.”

OoC: Pretty self-explanatory. We’re going to have a fight. ^_^ Sorry this got long. I got on a roll and couldn’t stop… >_>

OoC: Oh, don't worry about that. I enjoyed your work thoroughly. Length always equals quality when the wording and expression used in the work itself is of good calibur. Hey, my vocabulary's coming back! Rejoice! Alright, now to focus my creative juices into a large enough strain so that I can come up with something good. *Snags MS Word*

BiC:

“E-excuse me?” Blitz said, taken aback. Or, rather, that was what he would have said were he given the opportunity. But he had not even the chance to observe his surroundings before the woman wailed on him. Almost by instinct, the Supernova slithered from his sheath, and he nearly failed to guard against a furious strike from her massive sword. He tried to leap back in order to give himself a moment to take in his environment, but she struck without relent, leaving nary a moment for him to escape her furious onslaught. This woman, Sileya, was forcing him back and there was little he could do against the sheer strength of the broadsword as it pounded against his runic weapon again and again.

Finally, as Blitz was near the breaking point, he saw an opening; she was in the process of angling a fast-paced horizontal slash at his chest, legs parted to hold her ground against the force of her own weapon. There! he exclaimed mentally, ducking and sliding between her calves, and swiping his sword at her as he passed. He felt it ricochet off of her own sword and aborted the attack even as he slid to a stop. Expecting no quarter from the expert swordswoman, he whipped around in a defensive posture. To his utter surprise, Sileya was coming down from above, sword pointed downward like a massive drill. Blitz hurled himself back and out of the way of the magnificent weapon, but the shock of impact threw him off balance, and he stumbled over backwards. He ‘oomphed’ to the grassy ground, completely open to the swordswoman’s next attack. She yanked the massive weapon from the ground with a flick of her wrist, an impressive feat in and of itself, and reared back to drive the blade into him. The motion was driven by pure instinct and without discipline; his sword rose up in defense, blade outright, along with his arm. Both weapons met dead-on at the point, bringing about a shockwave of power as energies rippled out from each of the runic blades.

Sileya’s expression was one of awe as she simply stood on the spot, gaping. The only thing that kept Blitz from showing a similar reaction was the fact that he had narrowly averted a blow which would have inflicted certain death. There was a tense moment between the two as both tried to wrap their heads around what had just happened. Reaching a conclusion first, Sileya leapt back and took a defensive posture with her sword poised diagonally across her body. Such an enormous weapon served the purpose for great defense. She was panting and perspiring noticeably with the effort of swinging around the broadsword, however, and Blitz could feel her fatigue as he also rose to his feet and took several steps back.

After a few moments, a grin crossed Sileya’s battle-hardened mask. “Well, well! And just when I was beginning to think you didn’t have it in you…”

“What!” shouted Blitz, genuinely offended. Here was a woman whom he had only just met, was nice enough to follow her through a dark passageway into a courtyard, and she was insulting him! A sort of righteous fury flowed through him, and he suddenly felt a strong desire to prove himself to this swordswoman. Matching her grin, and reflecting her words with his own, he said, “I’ll have you know that I have been trained in the art of swordsmanship since I was thirteen. I have many years of skill under my belt. But don’t take my word for it; ask my blade!”

He surged forward, exerting every muscle in his body with the movement. The loud whir of wind pounded in his ears as he bolted across the ground, the Supernova outward from his side. CLANG! Metal rang against metal as Sileya guarded his attack with seeming ease. Passing her, Blitz whipped around in the same instant to see her lunging at him again with her sword; instead of taking the defensive again, he slid aside to avoid her vertical slice and thrust the Supernova at her waist. But Sileya was not to be outdone so easily. She bolted forward and out of the way of the attack and whirled her own weapon in a sweeping slash. Blitz ducked this time, and rose up using the force of his crouch, sword pointed upward. “No way you’ll dodge this one!” She simply backed away, and the blow missed entirely. Realizing his own folly, for he was open yet again, Blitz flipped the Supernova so that it was pointed downward, just as Sileya rushed in for another attack. The clashing of swords rang yet again, but this time there was a slight difference.

The Supernova arced gracefully through the air, almost in slow motion from Blitz’ perspective. Penetrating the ground with ease, it came to rest up to its hilt in dirt and grass. His opponent’s move was so swift, such a beautiful follow-up to the one preceding it, that Blitz could not have avoided it even were he were at full health. Sileya’s broadsword slammed into his chest, inflicting a flash of pain and sending him careening across the grassy courtyard. Vision blurred and sound faded for several moments, and then he felt a burning sensation in his back as he slowly skidded to a stop. The sky swirled in lazy circles, a flurry of pigments and hues, as his mind tried to reorient itself. Desperately hurrying the process, Blitz tried to get to his feet, but failed miserably. Finally, vision restored, he focused on his opponent who was now standing over him. Her broadsword was poised for a vertical crushing move, but she did not execute the attack. He silently wondered why as he pondered whether to rise or not...

OoC: I reviewed it and decided that I didn't want to ditch it and start over. So I editted the end a bit to allow a follow-up. By the way, how many posts do you plan on this battle lasting? I could go for awhile without getting bored, but eventually the inability to utilize my elemental powers will affect the fun factor.

OoC: Er...I expected this fight to take more than just one post from you. You're an advanced student, so I may give you prolonged assignments that can't be handled in just one post. This is one of those. I wanted to have a bit of fun myself, you know. So, please revise your post so we can continue the fight. Once you've done that, I'll make my post...eventually... ^^;;

Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I wish ZU had been up earlier, before I poured the remains of my creative juices into my fic over at the old ZU... I have company right now anyway, so I suppose there's not much choice. I'll get to it as soon as I can, believe me on that one. ...Now where's that floppy disk...?

Oh, I forgot to ask--will the battle be done only by me, or with you as well? I feel that I should have all the necessary information before I do something stupid again.

You and me. It'll be just like a standard battle in the BA. You'll make a post, then I'll make a post, etc.

[bump]I editted it. Don't bother re-reading the whole thing; I only fixed the second-to-last paragraph and deleted the last one altogether.[/bump]

OoC: I'm thinking of making this last for only about...8 posts or so. That's 4 posts for each of us, and your most recent one will count as your first post. Unless...we draw this out long enough for Blitz to regain his ability to summon the fire elemental. Then, we might could make it go longer. Alrighty...here we go...

BiC:

Sileya stood poised over Blitz's body, her magnificent broadsword ready to deal a death blow. Instead, she purposefully hesitated, and Blitz used the opportunity to roll out from underneath what could have been his demise. Leaping to his feet in one smooth motion, the warrior whirled around, his weapon, the Supernova Sword, held guardedly in front of him. Sileya, shifting into a more comfortable fighting stance, smiled and nodded once, beckoning Blitz back into the fight.

The young warrior was more than happy to oblige. Bringing the Supernova to bear, Blitz launched himself in Sileya's direction. With great finesse, the Elf side-stepped out of the way of the charge and, in the same motion, struck Blitz a blow to the small of his back with the hilt of the Dragonfire. Blitz oomphed as he fell forward to the ground, but not wanting to leave himself open yet again, he gracefully used his forward momentum to flip his body around and lash out at Sileya with his blade. The surprise was clearly evident on his teacher's face, and to Blitz's great relief, Sileya was only able to partially block his strike and sustained a slash wound to her upper arm, which gave Blitz enough time to regain stable footing and reorient himself. Sileya wasted no time in placing two fingers on the wound. She sung a snipet of an Elvish healing song, and the flesh knit itself back together right before Blitz's astonished eyes. Sileya removed her fingers and turned back to face Blitz, but she could not hide the slight waiver in her balance that occured for a split second. Hiding any more signs of fatigue behind a smile, Sileya stood confidently with the Dragonfire held loose but ready in her hands.

"Very nice recovery. I would not have expected that kind of reaction that quickly from you."

Blitz couldn't help but grin. "You'll find I've got a few more surprises up my sleeve."

Sileya's smile broadened. "Then let's see them, shall we?"

OoC: Yes, it's short, but I'm not going to have Sileya do anything serious until Blitz has recovered somewhat. Then things ought to get interesting... >_> Oh, and also...

1000th POST!!!! YAY!!!!! FINALLY!!!! *dances* *throws party*

Even as he responded to his new teacher’s taunt, the swordsman observed his surroundings more closely and considered what he had already seen of her fighting style. Oddly enough, what had previously been a courtyard, similar to what would be found within a castle garden, was now a wide open field without walls or shrubbery. Forever in every direction stretched a sheet of green grass, and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The Eye of Din shone brightly over the two seasoned fighters, a prelude to the firefight that might just emerge from this fierce test of skill.

Sileya seemed to rely largely on her beautifully-crafted, runic broadsword, but Blitz could tell that she wielded some sort of power over the elements. Her body glowed with energy in his othersight, though it existed willingly within her. That meant that she had no power cells, which did not particularly surprise him. However, the blade of her weapon held a most mysterious aura, almost unperceivable even to an elemental as developed as himself. Then again, that could just be my lack for power cells right now, he thought. It seemed a logical conclusion, but would mean that Sileya contained within her sword a power that he could not cope with in his current state of inability. The full strength of his power cells would not return for days, so the best possible move would be to avoid going all out until he had fully recovered.

“Soon enough,” Blitz replied as mysteriously as he could, choosing his words carefully; eking a pleased smile from Sileya. The motion caused something peculiar on the side of her head to move in a most pleasant way, and Blitz realized with a start that his new teacher was an elf. Her ears perked up when she was amused, he noted; it was such a charming quality. He could tell that he would get along rather well with this girl.

As Sileya lowered her stance a bit, preparing for battle once more, her elven ears turned downward, reminding Blitz of an angry cat. Responding in kind, he turned his body slightly to the left, keeping his eyes on his opponent. Both were ready for one another; it was only a matter of who would make the first move. A gentle wind passed over the picturesque field, brushing the grass and toying with the two fighters’ hair. Under the calculating grin, Blitz was becoming impatient. The swordsman had never been fond of intense face-offs.

Inwardly, he growled as the impatience took hold of him. Unable to stay still for a moment longer, he lurched forward, taking note of Sileya’s sword and its position. It hung limply in her hands, but Blitz knew that she was skilled enough to tighten her grip and swing it up for a swift parry at the last moment. Attacking in such a manner would be pointless; he had to take the elf girl by surprise.

As the gap between them suddenly closed, Sileya whipped her sword horizontally, expecting a head-on attack and immediately following with a parry. But Blitz had not attacked. Instead, he catapulted over his teacher’s head, landing behind her and delivering a lightning-quick thrust with his sword. The blow glanced away with a ringing sound, and Blitz quickly realized that his opponent was wearing chain mail. Crap! he shouted silently. That’s what I get for not wearing protection…

With neck-breaking speed, Sileya whirled around, bringing her oversized sword to bear in a gray blur. There was no time to move, and Blitz’ arm was still on the rebound from his failed attack. A bright, blunt pain flashed in his chest, blinding him. Wind rushed past as he sailed across the landscape again, but this time the angle was too awkward for him to recover. As if from nowhere, a rock appeared in the grass directly beneath him. He grimaced as his back flared on contact with the blunt stone, but the pain served to focus his attention. Quickly bouncing to his feet, Blitz saw his teacher rushing toward him with her broadsword held forward; she was going to gore him!

But then Blitz noticed something about the blade. It seemed to be almost glowing, and the power within it was emerging, taking form outside the weapon. What the…? he thought. She’s going all out? But I can’t even use the fire element yet! At the last possible moment, he sidestepped and the momentum of the elven swordswoman propelled her past him. This is going to put me on a disadvantage…

OoC: You heard me right! I want you to go all out. Usually I fight opponents with statistics comparable to mine. I'd like to see what it's like to be the underdog for once, so give me everything you've got! Besides, there are only two ways to prematurely restore Blitz' power cells to normal: Either send him into an emotional frenzy or make him really desperate.

OoC: Desperate, eh? I can do that.... >_> You want me to go all out? Let's see what you make of this, then.

BiC:

Sileya came to an abrupt halt when she realized Blitz had evaded her head-on rush. Whirling around, she continued drawing on the power of the elements, causing the Dragonfire to pulsate with a radiant glow. By now, Blitz had regained his feet and stood, panting slightly, across from his seemingly inexhaustable teacher. Sileya could see the worry creeping slowly into her student's eyes, and she smiled.

"You've done well so far in physical combat, but I am curious as to how you will react to the power of the elements."

From the moment she had first met Blitz, Sileya had sensed the fire element was prevalent in his body. Nodding, she knew exactly how she would test this young warrior's mettle. Amazingly, somehow Sileya was able to effortlessly twirl the Dragonfire in her left hand while summoning ice elemental energy in her right palm. With a loud shhhiinngg, the ice elemental energy was released in a medium-sized glob of pure power.

Blitz knew the danger he was in. The sheer astonishment was displayed blatantly on his face. As the projectile of his certain doom barreled down upon him, he dove to one side to avoid it. The energy sailed past him at a breakneck speed, and Blitz issued a sigh of relief. He climbed to his feet again and smiled at Sileya.

"Is that it?"

Sileya chose not to verbally respond, but merely continued smiling amusedly and gestured behind Blitz. Confusion was evident as the young warrior slowly turned around to glance behind him. To his dismay, the orb of ice energy was heading straight back for him. He spun back around to shout a question at his teacher.

"What is this? What's going on?!"

Choosing now to speak, Sileya explained. "The ice elemental is homing in on the fire elemental energy signature that your body exudes. You could almost call it a heat-seeking projectile, if you wished. It will continue to home in on you until it either connects with your body or..." She trailed off, leaving Blitz in a rather agitated state.

"OR WHAT!?"

But there was no time for him to receive an explanation before he had to once again dive out of the way of the shimmering ice energy. This time, he kept his eye on it and noted how it wheeled back around to come for him. He jumped, ran, and dodged the menacing energy, which seemed to possess a mind of its own. Just as Blitz was beginning to reach the end of his ability to continue evading, something in the room suddenly shifted. The ground near where he was standing cracked open and a flow of lava emerged, pooling on the green grass and effectively burning it all to a crisp. Blitz's eyes widened, and he had an idea.

He located the ice energy, now speedily baring down on him again, and ran toward the lava flow, leading the ice energy there as well. He stopped just in front of the pool and waited until the last possible second to leap out of the way. The ice energy didn't have enough time to change directions and slammed into the lava flow, freezing the entire thing in less than a second. When the steam and mist cleared, all was quiet once more.

Sileya nodded in approval. "Very good. You work well under pressure, it seems. It's a good thing, too, because you're going to need all the help you can get."

Concentrating on the raging energies of the spirits of the Greater Elemental Dragons, Sileya settled on the spirit of Shilera, the Ice Elemental Dragon. Opening herself to a connection with the Dragon, Sileya poured the greater amount of her energy into the Dragonfire Blade and began the summoning. The weapon glowed with an intense white-blue light, bathing the entire room in a sort of calming coolness. Frost began to appear, blanketing the grass in a thin layer. Without warning, the sapphire eyes of the dragons entwined around the hilt of the Dragonfire gleamed, and a single thick beam of the blue-ish light shot upward from Sileya's broadsword. A massive explosion of bright light ensued, and Blitz had to shield his eyes. When the room's brightness returned to normal, he withdrew his hand and was met by one of the most awesome sights he had ever laid eyes on.

Shilera hovered in the air in all her majestic glory. Her icy blue scales shimmered in the sunlight. Her massive wings were spread wide as they caught the updrafts. Her claws were fully extended and gleamed menacingly. An aura of misty, frozen air surrounded her and added to her awe-inspiring appearance. And she was huge.

Sileya smiled upward at her Ancient Dragon friend. "It is good to see you, again."

My heart is equally glad to see you, Small One.

"If you could, Shilera, please speak so that my student can hear you as well."

It shall be as you wish.

Blitz was suddenly filled with...an awareness...of the Ice Dragon that he hadn't felt at her summoning. The sensation was indescribable; he could not seem to find the words to express what he was feeling. He looked at Sileya was quizzical look on his face.

"What is happening?"

Shilera answered before Sileya could speak. You can now hear me when I speak to Sileya. It is not permanent. I only do this out of respect for her wishes. Normally, I tend not to associate myself with...the unworthy...

OoC: And...that's where I'm leaving off! I'm aware that I wrote your character far more than I would normally do, but I found it necessary to lead up to the summoning of Shilera. And what's more, if a giant Ice Dragon doesn't make Blitz desperate, I also had Shilera somewhat step on Blitz's self-worth. Have fun with that! ^_^

OoC: Very fun; adding insult to injury. ^_^ That should do the trick.

BiC:

“Say what?!” Blitz shouted, quickly taking offense to the ice dragon’s crude comment. “I’ve been associated with dragons for years. My own brother is a half-dragon!” As he said these words, he thrust a finger at his chest to emphasize his point. “What do you mean by unworthy?”

Such a disrespectful soul, muttered the dragon, descending slowly from the sky. But this is the nature of men, is it not? Pride and a glib tongue is what taints your worth, human child.

Blitz seethed at that. His first instinct was to shout, but he quickly bit his tongue to prevent that. Displaying anger would not help his point now. “I am not like them,” he said, every muscle in his body taught and on edge. “I fight to protect those who are afflicted by people who flaunt their power. For years I fought to redeem myself and my brother for the things we have done. Both of us have committed mortal sins; the only way to reclaim our worth is to fight and uphold justice for civilians.”

Then prove your worth in combat, human child. One who cannot hold his own does not deserve to fight the fine fight. Suddenly, the blue dragon fell into a nose-dive, surging toward him in all her pristine beauty. Startled, Blitz leapt away, but the sheer size of the beast prevented him from escaping entirely. Claws outstretched, Shilera clipped his leg with a single razor-sharp nail, tearing away the flesh. Beating the wind with her massive aquamarine wings, she rose back into the air and sailed away.

“Ah!” cried the swordsman, falling to his knees to nurse the wound in his shin as soon as he was out of the dragon’s path. He gripped the opening tightly, cutting off the blood flow. With the speed and efficiency only a soldier possessed, he ripped off a section of his sleeve and whipped it around his leg, giving it a sharp tug to secure the knot. Blue fabric was instantly stained crimson, but that was the least of his worries. The whole process had taken less than five seconds, which was fortunate because Shilera was circling for another run. Blitz rose to his feet once more, turning to watch the blue as it flew closer and closer, growing from a small black dot in the sky to a raging cataclysm headed in his direction.

This isn’t good, he thought. My teacher’s lost her mind, pitting me against this thing! There was no way he could possibly defend against a dragon in his current state, more the less an ice elemental dragon. He had had enough trouble fending off Sileya’s furious broadsword, and now he was up against a gargantuan more than five times his size in height alone. Either my power cells are gonna have to kick in, or I’m going to have to think of something. In truth, the former seemed more likely, despite the blatant near-impossibility of such an occurrence.

Still distant in the sky, but perfectly visible, Shilera opened her gaping maws and let out a deep, powerful roar that rumbled across the field. Then, there was a bright gleam from her open mouth. For an instant, Blitz thought it had been her teeth shining in the sunlight, but he was wrong. A stream of icy energy ripped through the air toward him suddenly, shattering the sky with freezing temperatures. Time seemed to slow tremendously as the desperate soldier dived out of the way; his own reflexes surprised him.

An icy sheet smeared across the grass where he had been only a moment before, killing the rich green foliage instantly. Averting his eyes momentarily to the ice gleaming brightly in the light of the sun and trying to regain his footing, Blitz missed Shilera who was heading right for him. As soon as the swordsman saw her, he realized that it was too late to dodge. Adrenaline surged through his legs, and time almost seemed to stop altogether. Each movement of every muscle was calculated consciously, to his complete surprise, as Blitz pounded the ground with his feet once, and then bolted straight up. The massive dragon missed him by inches, and then time returned to normal as he descended, landing directly on the blue’s back.

A frustrated growl escaped Shilera’s snout as she dove in for a landing, and Blitz braced himself for impact. Raw power rippled through the creature’s muscles as she slammed against the ground, sending a shock through Blitz. Ripping a line of upturned soil through the ground while she skidded to a halt, she surprised the swordsman by whipping her long neck around and snapping at Blitz with her sharp fangs. The soldier nearly lost his footing on the dragon’s slippery back when he backstepped to avoid her fierce jaws, and found himself falling over the dragon’s side. He landed back-down with an oof on Shilera’s wing, much to her annoyance. You cannot run forever, child! bellowed the blue as she again snapped at the swordsman; he pushed off of her thigh muscles and slid across the extent of her wing, barely avoiding having his feet devoured. He had hoped that she would bite into her own wing, but apparantly this dragon was too smart for that. It would take much more tact to defeat her.

So far so good, thought Blitz to himself, pleased with his success in avoiding the beast's powerful attacks. But she's right... He knew that he could not keep up this deadly dance for much longer. Without the added strength of his power cells, he was beginning to grow weary. The cool surface of the ice dragon kept him from perspiring, but he could feel it affecting his body in a most negative manner. If the creature’s body alone was so cold, Blitz could only imagine how effective her icy breath would be against a fire elementalist like himself.

OoC: ^_^ Hey, that turned out rather nicely. Anyway, here's the deal. I plan on bringing back Blitz' power over the elements in my next post; however, in order to realistically achieve this, he needs to be in a position with absolutely no hope of escape. Perhaps you could use another of your ice projectiles and then attack him directly in conjunction with Shilera. That seems feasible.

[EDIT] Please, tell me... when reading my first post in this thread, did you laugh at any point in time? Or is slapstick not your thing? It was intended to be humorous in a sarcastic sort of way, but that sort of humor may not appeal to you. I was just wondering if you thought it was funny.

OoC: Sorry about the delay. College and real life in general does take precedence over ZU. Anyway, on with the fight!

BiC:

Shilera roared as she writhed sharply in mid-air in an attempt to shake off her annoying burden. Her powerful, muscular tail beat the air and swung around to her back in a sweeping motion. Blitz was caught full in the chest; the air was knocked out of him as he tumbled to the ground. To his surprise, the room once again shifted slightly, and a thick patch of soft, moist moss suddenly covered the ground directly beneath him. He landed gently, the springy mossbed cushioning his otherwise deadly fall.

Meanwhile, Shilera had wheeled about and began to head to where he rested upon the ground. Her icy breath formed inside her gaping jaws again, and Blitz leaped to one side, narrowly dodging the perilous spew of frosty projectiles. He rolled to his feet and spun around, frantically searching for Shilera's whereabouts. He was so focused on locating the Dragon that he forgot about Sileya. Suddenly, the Elven warrior-summoner slammed hard into him, knocking him to the ground. Within nanoseconds, she had Blitz pinned underneath the flat of the Dragonfire's blade.

"Do it now, Shilera," Sileya said calmly, almost with a hint of casualness.

But, Small One! If I... You'll...

"Shilera! Do...it...now!"

Without further protest, Shilera aquiesced, and a brilliant icy-blue glow shimmered around her body. She was going to unleash her most powerful attack: the Glacial Spear. With a roar, the Ancient Ice Dragon beat her wings once to propel her into a graceful mid-air backflip. An orb of pulsating blue light appeared in front of her body and grew larger as the seconds passed. As the orb increased in size, it began to shape itself into an elongated spear of ice that radiated with frosty energy. Shilera's body burned with light as she released the last of her energy and dissipated into her spirit form. The spear of ice energy hurtled downward toward Blitz and Sileya, who obstinately continued to pin Blitz to the ground.

Come on, Blitz. I know you've got it in you to stop this, save yourself, and save me as well.

What the Hells is she thinking?! Blitz cried inwardly, watching as the enormous frozen dart hurtled through the air toward both he and his captor. She’ll kill us both! “Sileya!” he shouted aloud to his somewhat extremist teacher, making no effort to hide the franticness forming in his face. “Get off of me! You’re gonna kill us!”

But the elf did not remove her broadsword, and continued pinning him down. Her expression was stern, giving the impression that she had a death-wish. She remained silent.

Adrenaline began to surge through Blitz’ body as his surroundings seemed to blur. Something within him was stirring, coming to life. “Sileya, let me go!” he shouted again. But the woman showed no discernable reaction to his words. Her face was a hardened mask of iron will and what might have been lack of sanity.

The icy projectile was almost upon them now, descending like a rocket from the high skies at speeds unfathomable. It was too close; only a few seconds remained before it would pierce them both! “Don’t do this!”

His chest heaved and eyes bulged as that something within him sprang to life, emanating a rich red glow that seemed to surprise his teacher. An involuntary cry tore through his throat, and with that burst of sound came a wave of fiery energy that rippled from every millimeter of his body. Sileya was hurled into the air by the sheer force of the explosion, and then the projectile was consumed within the fiery radiance. It promptly dissolved, passing from solid to gas in the span of a split-instant.

Surrounded by a thick cloud of dust, Blitz breathed heavily. He had not realized that he had been holding his breath, but now his lungs burned for sweet air. Even the dust that filled his lungs would not keep him from sucking in the oxygen. Judging by the fact that he was still alive, Blitz deduced that his power cells must have been reanimated. Thank God, he thought, sighing in relief.

Finally the dust settled and Blitz could see again. Sileya was sitting up several meters away, clutching her head with one hand and looking a bit dazed. Her sword was lying unguarded next to her. Having seen what she was capable of, Blitz felt strongly that she would not hesitate to take advantage of his moment of weakness, and so the swordsman rose to his feet with haste. He stood over his teacher, sword pointed at her chin, and gave the elf a look of incredulity. “What the Hell is wrong with you, you crazy *****?!”

OoC: ^_^ Ah, me and my twisted little sense of humor. Have fun with your newly renewed opponent, Milady!

A smile wisped across Sileya's face, and she closed her eyes, emitting a soft chuckle. The deadly weapon hovering mere inches from her neck did not phase her in the least bit. Blitz gripped the hilt of his weapon as his indignation rose. His teacher was laughing at him! He growled his question at the Elf once more.

"What...the...HELLS...WERE...YOU...THINKING?!? !

Sileya's smile broadened. She opened her eyes and fixed her penetrating emerald gaze on her raging pupil.

"You don't understand, do you? I'm amazed at what happened myself..."

Blitz was shaking now. "You were amazed at WHAT happening?!" It then dawned on him suddenly, and he relaxed visibly. "Oh...you're talking about the resurgence of my power cells...right?"

An approving glint appeared in Sileya's eyes. "Yes, that's exactly what I meant. I wanted to see your full potential, and I had to put you in a dire enough situation to see exactly how well you would respond. I had no idea you had that kind of power in you. You've exceeded my expectations as a student."

Blitz was taken aback by the suddenness of his teacher's compliment. He found himself relaxing his sword arm, and he was about to thank Sileya for her kind opinion of his prowess, when the Elf took advantage of his moment of hesitation to dive toward the Dragonfire. Her slender hands closed around the Dragon-entwined hilt, and she flipped over onto her back, bringing her broadsword around swiftly to block Blitz's attack. Allowing no time for him to collect his thoughts, Sileya kicked herself off the ground in the opposite direction from Blitz and channeled the ice element through her body. A barrage of medium-sized icicles streamed toward Blitz, but he wasn't about to run away this time. Using the energy from his newly restored power cells, Blitz shot a basketball-sized fireball at the oncoming ice projectiles, which created a small explosion between the two combatants.

Sileya had regained stable footing several yards away from her pupil, and she nodded in satisfaction at Blitz's reaction.

Good, now this should turn into a more interesting fight. The only problem is...I am not at my full potential, thanks to the summoning of Shilera, while he has just regained one of his main strengths. This should turn out to be interesting indeed.

OoC: There you go! It's not much, but at least it's a post. ^_^

OoC: Whee! Time to blow crap up! *Scribbles furiously in MSWord*

BiC:

This woman’s completely nuts, thought Blitz to himself, bounding out of the way of another furious downward slash from Sileya’s broadsword. The weapon slammed into the ground, and a shockwave rippled outward from the point of impact, disheveling dirt and grass and kicking up dust. Blitz was thrown off-balance by the powerful attack and toppled over backwards. Sileya was upon him like a basilisk, slashing with all her strength and fury. The younger swordsman could hardly guard against the reckless onslaught, but held up his Supernova in constant defense nonetheless, feeling pain shatter his arm with every lightning-quick attack.

Geez! What is she, PMS-ing? thought Blitz, struggling to gain an edge so that he could escape. But every time her blade struck, he would barely have time to recover from the shock in his arm, raising the Supernova again to defend himself. CLANG! She struck at just the proper angle, and suddenly his weapon flew out of his hands. It half-submerged in the dirt to his left, too far away for him to reach from here. Sileya was already maneuvering her broadsword for another attack. Frantic, Blitz called upon the fire element and a collection of flames coalesced in his hands. A look of surprise flashed across Sileya’s face, interrupting the entertained grin of concentration. Blitz unleashed the fire energy in a stream directed toward his teacher; she threw herself to the side just in time to avoid the searing heat, but now she was flat on her back.

The Wielder of the Sword jumped to his feet, dashing at his teacher who was just about to rise dizzily. Pouring energy into his legs, Blitz leapt at her, arms outstretched and feet at their full length. To her surprise, Sileya saw him just before he was above her, and threw up a foot beneath him. With a simple rocking motion, she tossed him over her head, noting a rather out-of-place grin on his face. Meeting the ground on his outstretched hands and somersaulting forward, Blitz landed directly next to his sword. He yanked it out the ground, shaking it free of the dirt that had latched onto the surface with a subtle motion, and then gave his teacher an expectant look as she completed the act of standing.

“Well, how was that?”

OoC: Sorry. It's a bit on the short side, but for some reason it's all I could manage to get out. Maybe I'm out of practice. I wish someone would post in one of the battles I'm involved in...

Sileya smiled at Blitz. "That's good enough for now."

Blitz stared quizzically at his teacher. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I've seen enough of your skills for now. You did very nicely. For now, you may return to your room and get some rest. I think I'll have something else for you to do in the near future."

OoC: Ugh...I can't seem to think of anything to write... I feel so uninspired right now. But as things stand, all you need to do right now is have Blitz get back to his room. I'm thinking of finally starting a joint assignment for my advancies. All...two of you at this point... Perhaps my creativity will kick back in soon... V_V

OoC: Slapstick will never die!

BiC:

Immediately after giving that command, Sileya turned and began to walk calmly away. Blitz sheathed his sword and began to ponder what she had said for a moment. Suddenly, he realized that he had no idea where he was or how to get to where he needed to go. Not wanting to be left behind, he hurried after the elven woman. Thrusting out a hand, he cried “Wait!”

Sileya stopped and half-turned to face the swordsman with a sly grin on her face. He narrowly avoided slamming headlong into her. “What is it, Blitz? Don’t you know how to navigate the Dome?”

He flinched at the condescending tone, but kept in mind that she was only trying to be helpful. Inwardly he frowned. “Uh… no,” he admitted with an embarrassed expression, his gaze wandering down to his boots. Asking for help was not something he had ever been good at. “Can you help me get out of here?”

With an amused laugh and a good-hearted smile, Sileya took him by the hand and led him forward across the seemingly empty prairie. “Of course!” Blitz nearly lost his balance when she lurched forward, dashing across the endless fields of grass. He was not entirely sure what happened after that, but shortly after she took his hand they somehow ended up back within the halls of the ever-shifting construction.

I don’t understand this at all, thought the swordsman in exasperation.

“Now,” Sileya began, releasing his hand and facing him, “you must find the room marked with your name. The Dome knows you are here and will have a room ready for you. All you have to do is find it.”

The prospect of getting lost in this gigantic complex of complexity again made Blitz sick to his stomach. “Er… couldn’t you just lead me there instead? This place is kind of confusing…” he muttered, giving the hallway a thorough look.

Sileya leaned close and gave him a knowing grin that gave Blitz the impression she thought he was inexperienced, but he came to the conclusion that he was only being over-sensitive. This usually happened to him around women, especially attractive ones. Poking at his chin with one finger as though he were child, she said, “Sorry, but you will be on your own for a while. I have other things to take care of, so just don’t worry and you will find your way eventually.”

Blitz had been about to ask how long eventually might be when she took a few steps back, and the Dome suddenly shifted again. “Hey, wait!” But it was too late; Sileya had disappeared from sight behind another wall. “Grr,” growled the swordsman anxiously. He did not enjoy wasting time, and wandering around the Dome looking for a room that might not even exist seemed an awful lot like wasting time.

A deep, relaxing breath calmed his still-racing nerves from the battle before, and the anxiousness floated away. Now that he was calm once more, Blitz found his eyes wandering the hall he was now in. There had been a door behind him to whatever world he had fought his teacher on, but now that oak barrier had vanished into thin air. Sileya had vanished behind a wall to his left, and the hall seemed to continue on the right. “I guess that’s where I’m going, then.” As he casually strode down the hall, he noticed that the decorative tapestries and the carpet were gone. Also, the floor, which had previously been a marble textile pattern, was now plush, thick, and velvety. Of course, that was nothing to complain about; it would feel comfortable on his bare feet.

As Blitz sat down to remove his traveling boots, he found his thoughts turning to the elf’s words of earlier. What did she mean by the Dome will have a room ready for me? he wondered. Was the Dome some sort of higher sentient being in the form of an erected structure? But that was a ridiculous notion! How could a being exist as a building? It made no sense whatsoever.

Tying the laces of his boots to his belt, Blitz wiggled his toes on the soft surface of the carpet. Satisfied with the tickling sensation, he stood and continued his trek down the hallway while his boots bounced gently against one another, creating a soft clatter. The sound was almost musical in conjunction with the sword sheathed to his back. He was paying so much attention to the sound that he failed to register an almost inaudible rumbling.

KLONG!

Gripping his nose tightly and screaming into his hands, Blitz tried to quell the dread that he might start gushing blood. Carefully removing his hands from his face to see that he was all right, Blitz looked at what had knocked him down. There was a wall in front of him, and he was one hundred percent certain that it had not been there before. A wave of irritation washed over him as he rose, delivering a swift kick to the solid wall. “Argh!” he cried out, gripping his foot in pain and hopping around to avoid applying unnecessary pressure. He had forgotten that his boots were not on. Tumbling over backward, Blitz let his foot rest idly on the ground. He tossed an angry glare at the wall that had offended him and realized with a start that there was now a door on the wall. It had appeared while he was dancing in circles on one foot.

The door was a simple one, composed of aged oak with graceful lines running through its smooth, polished surface. Simple, but remarkable nonetheless. What Blitz found most intriguing about the door, though, was the fact that a bronze plaque was placed just above the halfway point. The plaque bore five letters emblazoned into its surface: BLITZ.

“Huh,” muttered Blitz thoughtfully, propping himself up with his arms. This Dome was definitely trying to get on his nerves. His eyes came to the wall next to him, and he gave it a cold glare. “What, are you tying to teach me patience? ‘Cause it won’t work! My head is way harder than yours!” he scolded the solid surface.

Then, fearing that his room might disappear in resentment, he quickly rose to his feet and whipped open the doorknob. Well… time to see what I get to look at for the next few hours. Careful, expecting the unexpected, Blitz walked cautiously into the room. But what he could never have predicted what awaited him within these four walls.

Every inch of every wall was lined with portraits, paintings, photos, all imprinted into the surfaces. Each one of those pictures depicted a single person: his late wife. In the center of the forty-by-thirty room was a small pond lined with ivy. In the center of the pond was a statue depicting Amy dancing in a long, flowing gown. Her right arm was outstretched, and from it spouted a constant stream of fresh, clear water. The floor itself was plush and velvety, much like the carpet that lined the halls outside his new room. Several translucent tapestries hung from the ceiling, bearing black backgrounds with flames emerging from their tops; it was Blitz’ favorite design. Off to the side, in the far left-hand corner, was an ornate king-size bed fitted with thick comforters and a plush pillow. He walked toward the bed, noticing something that lay atop the pillow. With a single hand he scooped it up to find that the object was a doll—an Amy plushy.

Blitz raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Creepy.”

OoC: I actually had this idea a while back, and it was just so funny that I couldn't resist. ^_^ You have to admit, that is really creepy. Even if it is charming... well, for Amy anyway. I based this idea off of the concept that the Dome's private quarters are designed to fit the individual's personality. Since Blitz' love for Amy is a very dominant quality, this sort of thing is only natural. *Deranged grin*