[Zorolo] Tatek's Training

It had been a long day, and Tatek was glad that the country he was currently travelling in was so poor, as it meant that the inn he had found was quite cheap. Tipping generously with both his meal and accommodation, he settled down in the corner of the commons-room to rest before he would find his way up to his room.

As Tatek pretended to look around the commons, he imagined that it once belonged to an at least moderately wealthy person, as the room was tiered with three levels. The highest was small, and only contained the bar, a single moderately-sized rectangular table, and a seat where Tatek considered a performer might earn their night. As the entrance to the inn was up here, Tatek had accidentally bumped into the latter two on his way down to where he currently sat.

The middle tier was considerably bigger, consisting of at least six circular tables and one large rectangular table facing perpendicular to the table on the highest tier, all of which Tatek had bumped into, as well as the door leading out to the rear of the inn.

The lowest tier, where Tatek and two drunkards sat well apart from one-another, was merely composed of a few small square tables, with a large space between these and where he had taken to sit. Tatek considered it might be a dance floor of sorts.

When the innkeeper finally came down to drag the two unconscious men up to their rooms, Tatek followed, so as not to walk into a wall or into the wrong room; only by watching the feet of the innkeeper as the man walked up the stairs could Tatek discover inconspicuously where the rooms were.

After soon finding an empty room, Tatek piled his cloak on the floor and used it as a bed, unconcerned about whether or not the room he was in was the room he paid for. Finally ready to recover from his weariness, he fell asleep in an instant.

---

It slightly surprised Tatek when he realised he was sitting up, wearing his cloak, but he did not have time to worry about this considering the huge figure of magic standing in front of him.

Before he had any time to really consider what to do, the figure rose and prepared a punch.

It's pretty slow, Tatek thought as he picked himself up off the floor. Just as the figure started to move its punch forward, the anti-mage gave it a missive qi-enhanced kick, sending into the wall beyond.

What was that thing, iron? My foot's still tingling. Tatek then remembered the sound the thing made as it flew after being kicked. It hit... paper and then a wooden wall? That sounded like the kind of things I'd find in Gangkou or Chengshi... How did I get here so quickly?

Catching a glimpse of a woman who had poked her head into the room, Tatek darted for the door, getting to it just after it closed. Opening the door, Tatek stepped through to ask the woman where exactly he was, but found nobody there.

His Second Sight however, was suddenly shown enough clarity from the latent magical energy around him, which many thousands of people must've given off over an even higher number of years, to discern that he now stood in a hallway, and by the sounds his feet made as he walked through it, Tatek figured it to be marble, or something similar.

<Wood... and then marble? Just where the heck am I?>

OoC: 582 words, it would seem. Looks like that first half was more than just me rambling after all.

Oh, and you probably can't tell, but the magical figure Tatek kicked is the same one as briefly mentioned in Raven's second training post. Yay for intercontinuity! ^__^

EDIT OoC: Adjusted speech to take into account translation convention - Tatek speaks Chinese, not English.

OoC: Hmm... INteresting, I can tell I'm going to like Tatek. Anyway, to get him a better feel for the Dome, I've got a basic assignment for your first one. ^_^

Assignment Time:

For your first assignment, have Tatek walk around the Dome, getting to familiarize himself with rooms that don't move where they are, such as the library, Dome Center, Fountain Room, Garden Rooms, Cafeteria, and Infirmary. During that time, I want you to pick one of these rooms to have an event occur where Tatek is forced to fight something. I don't really care what he fights, just make it a good fight. ^_^

OoC: No word limit! I can't tell whether this'll be long or short.

BiC: Figuring that standing around would not help him, Tatek decided to keep a mental note of the location of the door he came through, and started walking down the hallway. He noticed that the latent magic floating in the air was thickest in the middle of the hallway, where people would most likely have travelled the most, while towards the edges of the corridor were intermittent sections of slightly weaker fields of magic, which, when he looked carefully, seemed to be doors with varying degrees of magical energy. Although he didn't seem to notice due to how random they seemed, each door's magic signature was, in fact, unique, and no two doors shared the same energy.

As he walked the hall, he came across a group of three people talking. The tallest one had a reddish-orange qi, the shortest one had a bright blue qi and a tiny potential for magic, while the other had a blue-grey qi.

Pointedly ignoring the shortest, Tatek asked, <Excuse me; do you know where we are?>

"Huh? I don't understand a single word you said." the red man answered.

<Don't you speak Zhonguen?> Tatek responded.

<Zhonguen? You're speaking Chinese aren't you?> the grey man answered, also translating for his friends.

"Hrmm... Chinese huh?" Red responded. "Okay, here's the deal Chingy: We'll help you, but you'll owe us one favor each as payment."

The man with grey qi translated.

<I'll pass then; I'm sure there are other people who could help me.> Tatek said.

<But you're blind... won't you lose your way without help?> Grey asked.

<I'll be fine.> Tatek bowed slighly to the Chinese man and then walked away. They obviously don't know about my Second Sight.

As the three continued their walk down the other end of the hallway, Tatek slowed, and concentrated on the latent magic, seeing each trail as distinct from the others. Picking up a particularly powerful trail, Tatek charged his qi into his legs and ran after it.

As the hallway curved slightly to the left, Tatek's path took a sharp right turn into a doorway. The faint qi of the plants around him was barely enough to know where they were, and thus stop him from tripping over. Weaving between the bushes of the scrubland, Tatek continued to follow the trail of magic. It was fainter now, but only because it was older; by what it looked like, the anti-mage could tell it was the same being who made the path.

Seeing the trail lead up to a gap between two close trees, Tatek slowed down, brushed aside the leafy branch in the way, and squeezed through, only to find himself back in the marble hallway. Having now lost the trail of the powerful magic, Tatek quickly retraced his steps back to where he began, but when he entered what he thought would be the wooden room, he ended up in a room filled with hundreds of people, many of whom seemed to be eating. A cafeteria, perhaps? I don't see many drunk people, so this probably isn't an inn...

Ignoring the sounds of all the people talking and the man on the far wall playing music, Tatek figured that any help he could get would be more useful elsewhere, as experience had shown him that the average person here would not be willing to help freely.

Knowing that this wasn't where he wanted to be, Tatek left the room the way he came, but again saw different qi around the hallway.

What the...

Deciding that waiting for a comparatively trustworthy person to answer his numerous questions about the maze he had found himself in was no longer the best idea, Tatek picked the strongest trail of qi and followed it. When he reached another door he was hesitant, due to what previous doors had done, but entered anyway.

The room he now found himself in was the largest he had been in so far, although he could only suspect this, not know it for certain. What he did know however was that this was a library of sorts, as he could see countless magical books lined upon shelves without end.

Noticing that the qi trail he had picked up earlier was still present, he followed it further into the library and eventually came to a small room where he saw a short man standing on a magical floating disc.

<Excuse me, may I help you?> The man asked without lifting his head from what he was working on, but apparently still able to know what language would be best to speak in.

Tatek watched the man's qi extend into the spherical object he was studying. <Yes, actually; I was wondering where I am and what's going on. Last time I checked, it was impossible for me to teleport from place to place as soon as I walk trough a door, and nor for anything else to make that happen either.>

The short man released his focus of qi from what he was studying and looked at Tatek. After a short pause of thinking, he spoke again. <Your name is Tatek, isn't it?>

<Uhh... yes. How did you know?>

<Same way I know what language you speak,> the man answered. <We at the Dome have been expecting you.>

<'The Dome'? What's that?>

<A place of training - a school of sorts - only of a sort a bit more useful than most others. The Dome is on every world and on none, in every dimension yet in none, and some even attest that this place transcends time, too... although I haven't yet experienced that. In short, this place just is.>

While Tatek silently processed this information, the man floated out of the room, motioning for Tatek to follow.

<Now, as for your other concern of why the doors can teleport you from place to place, suffice to say that that is just how the Dome works. You'll find out for yourself why it works on you despite your abilities shortly... but before that, I've been instructed to give you your first real test.> The man rose high into the air. "Orchadea, you may come out now."

A small section of floor a few feet in front of Tatek seemed to liquefy for a moment, and and a stumpy little creature climbed up out of it. Around half the height of Tatek, the creature had a distinctly plant-like qi, even though in most ways it was proportioned like a human. From this, the anti-mage guessed that the four weirdly shaped arms were actually vines, that the feet were probably roots, and that the large mouth might have a similar purpose to the insect-catching mouths of the mushiwana plants he had once seen.

As well as Orchadea's qi, Tatek also sensed that it had a small capacity for magic too, and judging by its blue hue, he surmised that it was water-based magic, in complement to its plant nature.

<Your task, Tatek, is to subdue Orchadea. You may not kill it,> the floating man told him. <Begin,>"begin."

Not waiting for Tatek to be ready, the plant jumped at Tatek with its arms gathered together in an effort to punch him. Surprised at its speed, Tatek was barely able to duck avoid the punch and instead got hit in the head by its legs. The plant, unprepared for this, tumbled when it hit the ground.

I've never fought a plant before, so I'm not sure how to merely subdue it... Tatek thought as his foe stood upon its roots once more. But, considering that it seems it's just a magic-using plant rather than a magical plant, my options are a bit limited.

Orchadea started to circle Tatek, slowly waving its vines from side to side in readiness for an attack.

It wants me to attack now does it? I can do that. I'd better be careful though...

When he started a dash to the plant, the plant brought up its two lower limbs to defend its head. Tatek, not one to ever attack directly if he could help it, jumped over Orchadea by focusing qi in his feet when he was just out of range of the upper limbs. As the plant held these up to protect its head, Tatek had landed on the other side and quickly dashed back toward the plant. Orchadea, unprepared for this, was hit with the full force of the attack from behind, unable to get up from where it landed.

<Congratulations Tatek,> the short man said as he lowered himself back to ground level.

<Congratulations? That was probably the most anti-climactic fight I've ever been in. I've seen children stronger than that.>

<No matter. What's important now is that I tell you why the Dome can do what it does to you," the floating man said, "or rather, you can see for yourself. Good morning Tatek; be prepared tonight when you come back.>

<Huh? What are you talki->

---

Tatek woke up in his room at the inn he had been staying the night at before he found himself at the Dome.

<Was that real...?> Tatek asked no one. I guess I'll find out tonight, if what the man said was right.

OoC: ...

It's not bad... but it's not great either. :/

It is long though. Comparatively.

(But yay for twice as much intercontinuity as last time, in the form of Louis playing music in the background of the cafeteria, and the library guy studying Raven's bolo. Although this is probably the last intercontinuity for a while.)

In the next post, I'll just have only one or two paragraphs of Tatek before he goes to sleep, and feel free to dictate where exactly he "wakes up" in the Dome, if you want to.

EDIT OoC: Adjusted much of the talking for translation convention; as I also said in the first post (albeit edited in), Tatek speaks Chinese, not English. Well... Zhonguen. But it's identical to Chinese anyway, so it's all good. ^_^

Not bad. Save for one minor spelling mistake I found, that post was, in all, very good. ^_^

Assignment Time:

As strange as that dream was, it's about to get stranger. This time, after Tatek falls asleep, he'll awaken to find himself in a most unpleasant situation: he'll awaken in a chamber with odd, living statues. Mind you, despite being alive, aside from talking, the statues don't move or act. They will explain to Tatek any questions he has that are within their knowledge. End your post with them glowing brightly before the room Tatek is in simply vanishes. ^_^

OoC: ...It's been a while since I did anything RP-ish; I hope it's more like riding a bike than playing an FPS.


BiC: It had been bugging Tatek all day. What he had experienced the night before had seemed too real to be a mere dream, yet also seemed too detached from where he was sleeping to be real. If it was real, and if what that librarian had said was true, then he would know while he slept that night.

Speaking of which, Tatek had, upon not coming across any place which looked like an inn or hotel, climbed a large tree a ways from the main road, and did his best to make himself comfortable enough to rest for as much of the night as possible. At least it was better than sleeping on the ground and having his money or food stolen while he slept.

---

<Wake.>

A clear, effeminate voice rang through the room Tatek found himself in. Standing up, he looked around the room for a source to the voice and found none. All he found were three strange, small creatures who, while living, did not move. The anti-mage also sensed a small core of magic deep within each of them, albeit of quite different colors.

<Welcome back, warrior. Ask, and we shall answer.> A different voice spoke. This time it was a grizzled masculine voice with what sounded to Tatek like an Okokuen accent; the figure of brown magic. Tatek turned to face it.

<...How did I get here?> Tatek asked after a few seconds.

The figures appeared to be thinking about how to answer the question. A small boy's voice could be heard coming from Tatek's right. <The Dome's current location, in relation to the you who stands before us, is in the same location in the Dream Realm as you.>

<The Dome took advantage of the weakened magical immunity you have while you sleep.> The first voice could be heard coming from Tatek's left.

While not fully understanding the former answer, Tatek accepted the latter and asked another question. <Why am I here?> he asked as he faced the purple figure.

<To learn.>

<Because you have been chosen.>

Turning his head to the green figure while still facing his body to the purple, Tatek asked, <Why have I been "chosen"?>

<Because.>

<"Because"? That is no answer; that is an excuse! Tell me what it means to have been chosen!> Tatek spun around and faced the brown figure; he refused to accept such foolishness from beings who said they would answer his questions.

<It means that you will be assigned to a teacher, who will guide you until you graduate.>

<It means that you are special.>

This time finding the green figure's answer more acceptable, Tatek calmed down as he turned to face it. <A teacher? May I ask what the name of this teacher will be?>

<Yes.>

<A magician named Zachary Leos.>

<...A magician? The person who chose this was obviously not informed about my opinion of such... people.> Tatek said as he faced the purple figure once more.

<Yes.>

<The situation is the opposite, actually. Your opinion of magic is well known by the one who chose your teacher.>

<How foolish,> Tatek responded. <I have one last question though... why is it that those of you who answer me are never the ones whom I am facing at the time?>

The motionless creatures seemed to rumble for a moment, but then stopped. A moment later, their magical cores expanded tenfold.

<Because we can,> they all said together.

Tatek, treating such an action as a threat, picked up the two behind him - the brown and green ones - and crushed them, destroying the magic inside in the process. As he moved his hands towards the purple one, however, it flashed brightly, and disappeared in an instant, leaving the anti-mage in darkness.


OoC: Man, I had fun with this. Namely in deciding how each of the things should answer. There's a pattern, in case you hadn't noticed.

A sharp, magic infused blade rested against Tatek's neck, resisting the attempts of the man's skin to rip the magical essence out of the blade. "These statues may be annoying, but that's no reason to attack them. You just make them worse," Zachary commented as the statues began to rebuild themselves. "In this place, your concept of "magic" and your powers isn't quite as strong as you think."

The Replicator kicked in the man in the chest and spun his single short sword in his hand before creating its other. "Now then, if you want to fight anyone, buddy, fight me. I've got shield right now from your anti-magic touch, so don't think your tricks will work against me," Zachary said, crossing his blades.

Assignment time:

To quell Tatek's rage, Zachary and he are going to have a short fight. Short posts if you want, and we'll have them exchange blows until Tatek gets worn out. So, let the battle begin.