Post by Celerous on Oct 19, 2017 18:56:47 GMT -5
(Thread Power Level: 74,361)
(I've been granted permission by Galen to learn the Intermediate Tier of the Kikoukenjutsu Sword School via scroll)
Celerous knew that he shouldn't have been here. The Tower was Galen's home, and it wasn't around just so that he could intrude upon it. But the hybrid couldn't find the swordsman anywhere else on the Earth, and if Galen had survived what had happened to Earth, then he would eventually return here. Still, Celerous knew there wasn't much of a point in hoping. The interior of the Tower looked like Galen had left it in a hurry; he could an uncleaned plate on a table in one of the corners. Even the Senzu Bean sprouts looked as though they hadn't been tended to in sometime.
Not really sure as to why, Celerous grabbed a watering can he spotted nearby, and trickled a little bit of water into the soil of the potted sprouts. As he set the can down, Celerous spotted a scroll laying next to the pot. He grabbed it, and without thinking, unrolled it.
He blanched as he realized what it was. It was one of the scrolls detailing the Kikoukenjutsu Sword School style, and from the looks of it, it seemed to teach some of the more intermediate techniques and stances that Galen had yet to teach Celerous himself. Galen must have been refreshing his memory, before the double assault on Earth.
Or maybe he was just messy, or forgot, or a myriad of other possible things.
But maybe, just maybe, it was a sign from whatever existed beyond the mortal realm. Galen was gone, and with him went the teachings of the Kikoukenjutsu school. But here was a scroll, a scroll teaching the more intermediate techniques of the Kikoukenjutsu style, laying around to be found. With Galen gone, who else could make use of it but him? As far as Celerous knew, he was Galen's only student. At least, Galen had never mentioned teaching his sword skills to anyone else. Celerous turned, with the scroll still in hand, and climbed the stairs to the upper floor of the Tower, where Galen had once trained him.
His eyes scanned over the scroll, gleaming as much information as he could from it. The first technique in the scroll seemed to describe a rapid flurry of furious blows, that retained almost perfect precision. It was supposed to be followed up with a much harsher strike, more akin to an attack he had already been taught: The Shining Sword Attack. Though, there didn't seem to be any jumping involved in this one.
Celerous rolled the scroll back up, and tucked it between his cloth belt and his curled tail. He dropped down into the Kikoukenjutsu Sword Stance, taught to him by Galen many moons ago. He drew in a deep breath, and stared off by going through his normal exercises. He began with simple, but powerful, sword strokes, before that turned into mocking the more powerful techniques he'd learned. He did these slowly, as to practice the precision of the movements so that he wouldn't forget, until his body was limber. Satisfied now that his blood was pumping, Celerous closed his eyes and tried to visualize what he had read. He held his stance, low to the ground, while his mind procured an image of himself. He imagined his body mimicking the motions described on the scroll, first slowly, and then at proper speeds.
Celerous exhaled, and opened his eyes. He forced his body to be still, before he began. Like with his movements before, and in his imagination, Celerous started slowly. He arced his blade through the air cautiously, as he repeated the pattern of sword strokes over and over again. If he found himself to be an inch off of where he'd slashed before, he would stop and start again. Slowly, very slowly, Celerous let his blade pick up speed. His blade began to cut through the air with a shing sound. Celerous has to force himself not to laugh at that description.
To others, the sword strokes he practiced might have looked like any old style of dueling. After all, using a sword was simple right? How could there be unique teachings? But Celerous understood. He could not only see, but feel the careful deliberation that went into each and every strike. This wasn't the half-assed work of a bored sensei; it wasn't a style that had just been cobbled together. This was a school and a way of fighting, no living, that had been refined to perfection before it was ever put into practice. Celerous felt silly that he hadn't noticed such subtitles sooner. But then, perhaps he wasn't meant to notice it until now. The masters of old had very roundabout ways of doing things, and considering how old Galen had told him the Kikoukenjutsu Sword Style was, he wouldn't be surprised if deep understanding was meant to come as his martial prowess grew.
"Alright," he spoke to himself, "let's do it for real this time."
He ended his slow movements and dropped into the starting stance. He waited, for one breath, then two, and then he was off. His blade moved faster than it ever had before, cutting through the air so quickly that it was just a blur, even to him. But the strokes were precise; they were perfect. The flurry ended, and Celerous flourished his blade, before bringing it down on his invisible target with so much force that it let loose a gust of wind inside the room.
"Okay," Celerous nodded to himself, "okay, that wasn't a bad start. Time to move on."
He unraveled the scroll once more, and his eyes traced the worn parchment. Who would have guessed, he thought to himself, that he'd been teaching himself from a scroll in the same way that Galen had.
The last technique on the scroll was something that Celerous would call out of the ordinary. It wasn't a sword technique, rather, it was a technique that taught a unique way to utilize one's Ki. Celerous found himself gaping as he read in detail. The idea, to him at least, seemed to be that he was expected to expand his Ki around a certain spot, or person. Yet, instead of utilizing it as weapon, like say in an explosion, the point was to force his Ki to increase the air pressure around that spot. Like, manipulating gravitational forces in a minute area. His eyes widened as he understood. The point of it wasn't just to put more weight on an opponent, the point was to surprise them with the extra weight, and use that opening to either strike or flee.
Celerous sheathed his sword, and adjusted his weighted gi real quick. Then he closed his eyes, just like last time, and began to visualize the technique in his mind. The first thing that came to mind was a house of cards, funny enough. It stood tall, and stable. Then, he imagined it falling under its own weight; toppling like a king from his throne.
And admittedly, a small part of his mind imagined the Vampire girl from Namek suddenly collapsing. A small smile graced his face.
His eyes snapped open, and Celerous placed the tip of his middle finger on the pad of his thumb. Pressure, that was what he was after. He didn't need to make a spot full of volatile Ki, he just needed it to be palpable. The hybrid's eyes narrowed, and his hand raised ever so slightly. He could feel his own energy leaving his body, and swirling like an invisible mass over a spot five feet in front of him. Weight. He needed weight. With a grunt, he increased the pressure, by forcing his Ki to collapse into a smaller spot.
And then, with a shout, he forced the pressure down. It crashed down onto his imaginary foe's shoulders, and the sheet weight of it, Celerous knew, would have left him hunching over had he been standing in the spot instead of nothing.
Still though, that hadn't been quick enough. In the time it had taken him to gather and compress his Ki in that one spot, his opponet would have had plenty of time to strike. Once, for sure, but maybe even twice. If Celerous couldn't master using this technique in an instant, then he knew it would be worthless to him. So he tried again. He forced his Ki into a single spot above his opponet, and then forced it into a smaller pocket of air. Then he forced down.
It was better, but still not good enough. And so he did it yet again. Gather. Compress. Down. And again, and again. Celerous didn't know how long he stayed in that one spot, exhausting himself by attempting the technique, but by the time he'd finally gotten it down, his legs were shaking.
The hybrid let out a wheeze, and gasped for air, greedily filling his lungs with it. He coughed, having drawn in the air too quickly, but it almost felt good. Panting and trying to suppress his coughs, Celerous smiled to himself. It might have taken a little while longer than he'd expected, but he knew he had Gravity Break down. It might not be as direct as a Ki blast, or a sword stroke, but it would surely come in handy.
"Thank you Galen," his words were soft, only meant for the wind to hear, "I won't fail you again, I swear it."
And he stood, with the scroll in hand. He needed to find a safer place to hide it within the Tower. Leaving it out on the table was just begging for someone to come and steal it.
But that, Celerous told himself, could come later.
WC: 1616
Learning the [IN] tier of Kikoukenjutsu
Asking Pl + LWC bonus
(I've been granted permission by Galen to learn the Intermediate Tier of the Kikoukenjutsu Sword School via scroll)
Celerous knew that he shouldn't have been here. The Tower was Galen's home, and it wasn't around just so that he could intrude upon it. But the hybrid couldn't find the swordsman anywhere else on the Earth, and if Galen had survived what had happened to Earth, then he would eventually return here. Still, Celerous knew there wasn't much of a point in hoping. The interior of the Tower looked like Galen had left it in a hurry; he could an uncleaned plate on a table in one of the corners. Even the Senzu Bean sprouts looked as though they hadn't been tended to in sometime.
Not really sure as to why, Celerous grabbed a watering can he spotted nearby, and trickled a little bit of water into the soil of the potted sprouts. As he set the can down, Celerous spotted a scroll laying next to the pot. He grabbed it, and without thinking, unrolled it.
He blanched as he realized what it was. It was one of the scrolls detailing the Kikoukenjutsu Sword School style, and from the looks of it, it seemed to teach some of the more intermediate techniques and stances that Galen had yet to teach Celerous himself. Galen must have been refreshing his memory, before the double assault on Earth.
Or maybe he was just messy, or forgot, or a myriad of other possible things.
But maybe, just maybe, it was a sign from whatever existed beyond the mortal realm. Galen was gone, and with him went the teachings of the Kikoukenjutsu school. But here was a scroll, a scroll teaching the more intermediate techniques of the Kikoukenjutsu style, laying around to be found. With Galen gone, who else could make use of it but him? As far as Celerous knew, he was Galen's only student. At least, Galen had never mentioned teaching his sword skills to anyone else. Celerous turned, with the scroll still in hand, and climbed the stairs to the upper floor of the Tower, where Galen had once trained him.
His eyes scanned over the scroll, gleaming as much information as he could from it. The first technique in the scroll seemed to describe a rapid flurry of furious blows, that retained almost perfect precision. It was supposed to be followed up with a much harsher strike, more akin to an attack he had already been taught: The Shining Sword Attack. Though, there didn't seem to be any jumping involved in this one.
Celerous rolled the scroll back up, and tucked it between his cloth belt and his curled tail. He dropped down into the Kikoukenjutsu Sword Stance, taught to him by Galen many moons ago. He drew in a deep breath, and stared off by going through his normal exercises. He began with simple, but powerful, sword strokes, before that turned into mocking the more powerful techniques he'd learned. He did these slowly, as to practice the precision of the movements so that he wouldn't forget, until his body was limber. Satisfied now that his blood was pumping, Celerous closed his eyes and tried to visualize what he had read. He held his stance, low to the ground, while his mind procured an image of himself. He imagined his body mimicking the motions described on the scroll, first slowly, and then at proper speeds.
Celerous exhaled, and opened his eyes. He forced his body to be still, before he began. Like with his movements before, and in his imagination, Celerous started slowly. He arced his blade through the air cautiously, as he repeated the pattern of sword strokes over and over again. If he found himself to be an inch off of where he'd slashed before, he would stop and start again. Slowly, very slowly, Celerous let his blade pick up speed. His blade began to cut through the air with a shing sound. Celerous has to force himself not to laugh at that description.
To others, the sword strokes he practiced might have looked like any old style of dueling. After all, using a sword was simple right? How could there be unique teachings? But Celerous understood. He could not only see, but feel the careful deliberation that went into each and every strike. This wasn't the half-assed work of a bored sensei; it wasn't a style that had just been cobbled together. This was a school and a way of fighting, no living, that had been refined to perfection before it was ever put into practice. Celerous felt silly that he hadn't noticed such subtitles sooner. But then, perhaps he wasn't meant to notice it until now. The masters of old had very roundabout ways of doing things, and considering how old Galen had told him the Kikoukenjutsu Sword Style was, he wouldn't be surprised if deep understanding was meant to come as his martial prowess grew.
"Alright," he spoke to himself, "let's do it for real this time."
He ended his slow movements and dropped into the starting stance. He waited, for one breath, then two, and then he was off. His blade moved faster than it ever had before, cutting through the air so quickly that it was just a blur, even to him. But the strokes were precise; they were perfect. The flurry ended, and Celerous flourished his blade, before bringing it down on his invisible target with so much force that it let loose a gust of wind inside the room.
"Okay," Celerous nodded to himself, "okay, that wasn't a bad start. Time to move on."
He unraveled the scroll once more, and his eyes traced the worn parchment. Who would have guessed, he thought to himself, that he'd been teaching himself from a scroll in the same way that Galen had.
The last technique on the scroll was something that Celerous would call out of the ordinary. It wasn't a sword technique, rather, it was a technique that taught a unique way to utilize one's Ki. Celerous found himself gaping as he read in detail. The idea, to him at least, seemed to be that he was expected to expand his Ki around a certain spot, or person. Yet, instead of utilizing it as weapon, like say in an explosion, the point was to force his Ki to increase the air pressure around that spot. Like, manipulating gravitational forces in a minute area. His eyes widened as he understood. The point of it wasn't just to put more weight on an opponent, the point was to surprise them with the extra weight, and use that opening to either strike or flee.
Celerous sheathed his sword, and adjusted his weighted gi real quick. Then he closed his eyes, just like last time, and began to visualize the technique in his mind. The first thing that came to mind was a house of cards, funny enough. It stood tall, and stable. Then, he imagined it falling under its own weight; toppling like a king from his throne.
And admittedly, a small part of his mind imagined the Vampire girl from Namek suddenly collapsing. A small smile graced his face.
His eyes snapped open, and Celerous placed the tip of his middle finger on the pad of his thumb. Pressure, that was what he was after. He didn't need to make a spot full of volatile Ki, he just needed it to be palpable. The hybrid's eyes narrowed, and his hand raised ever so slightly. He could feel his own energy leaving his body, and swirling like an invisible mass over a spot five feet in front of him. Weight. He needed weight. With a grunt, he increased the pressure, by forcing his Ki to collapse into a smaller spot.
And then, with a shout, he forced the pressure down. It crashed down onto his imaginary foe's shoulders, and the sheet weight of it, Celerous knew, would have left him hunching over had he been standing in the spot instead of nothing.
Still though, that hadn't been quick enough. In the time it had taken him to gather and compress his Ki in that one spot, his opponet would have had plenty of time to strike. Once, for sure, but maybe even twice. If Celerous couldn't master using this technique in an instant, then he knew it would be worthless to him. So he tried again. He forced his Ki into a single spot above his opponet, and then forced it into a smaller pocket of air. Then he forced down.
It was better, but still not good enough. And so he did it yet again. Gather. Compress. Down. And again, and again. Celerous didn't know how long he stayed in that one spot, exhausting himself by attempting the technique, but by the time he'd finally gotten it down, his legs were shaking.
The hybrid let out a wheeze, and gasped for air, greedily filling his lungs with it. He coughed, having drawn in the air too quickly, but it almost felt good. Panting and trying to suppress his coughs, Celerous smiled to himself. It might have taken a little while longer than he'd expected, but he knew he had Gravity Break down. It might not be as direct as a Ki blast, or a sword stroke, but it would surely come in handy.
"Thank you Galen," his words were soft, only meant for the wind to hear, "I won't fail you again, I swear it."
And he stood, with the scroll in hand. He needed to find a safer place to hide it within the Tower. Leaving it out on the table was just begging for someone to come and steal it.
But that, Celerous told himself, could come later.
WC: 1616
Learning the [IN] tier of Kikoukenjutsu
Asking Pl + LWC bonus