3rd of Frost, Year 124, A.o.S
ϟ The Atraxian sun hung high about the training compound of Senator Aya. There, Barakael stood as he checked his armor as he was to be receiving training from Aya herself. It was no secret she took an interest in Barakael and his well-being. Being a former legionnaire herself, who better to temper his fighting skills than her? He was both nervous and excited; he had watched her fight before, and she was as ferocious as the wild beasts she kept as pets.
His head would turn at the sound of footsteps entering the arena, long golden hair tied up into a combat ponytail, her longsword already unsheathed and catching the sun as she walked. "Come my little lion cub, your training begins now." She posed, getting into a fighting position before leaping at the half giant. Immediately, he manifested mace as her blade came slicing upwards across his chest, causing the larger male to backpedal as he deflected her strike. Using her smaller stature and agile frame, she was able to sidestep to his left, bringing her blade down to slice at his neck.
Instinctively, he rolled away from the woman, avoiding losing his head and catching his breath, but only for a moment as she was back on him. She continued to press his defenses as she came with a flurry of attacks, testing how he would react and his next move. Granted his size was both an advantage as well as a hindrance. Where he could catch and parry some of her moves, he also felt the bite of her blade as she left minor cuts along his body. Nothing grievous for sure, but enough to remind him to make better choices while in the thick of battle.
A symphony of steel echoed in the arena as the two continued their spar, and Aya was not giving any quarter to the young lion. "Focus lion cub! If you don't find a way to gain the upper hand when an opponent has the advantage, you will force me to have to bury you!" she said, accompanied by a flourish of sword strikes and spins. Her devilish display had him on the back foot as he was nervous. He knew to face Aya was a ridiculous endeavor, but it was worth the experience he knew he would gain from crossing steel with her.
The clashing of his pact weapon against her guilded blade rang throughout the arena. Fighting Aya got his blood flowing and the warrior's spirit flaring, but he had to maintain his composure and focus to keep up with her and prevent his inner fire from consuming him whole. He was giving it his best defense as well as throwing his own attacks in as well, but in less than six moves the veteran warrior had already disarmed him. With a loud thud, his mace crashed against the dirt arena floor. "That's no good Kael, you know better." she reprimanded, planting her blade into the ground and using it as a podium. "What was the first thing your father taught you when he first started training you?"
His eyes glared right into her as his hand reached out to recall the weapon back to him, lifting it off the ground with staticky sizzle. "Fight as if your enemy looks better dead than you do." he grumbled. "Exactly, you were holding back, you know better than to do that remember." she chastised, catching his as he rolled his in annoyance, "I know, I know" he took a fighting stance, readying to go again with his peerless employer.
"You have to fight as if it's your final battle. You never hesitate no matter who your opponent is. Friends can become foes at a moment's notice." he added, flourishing his blade. "Now come at me with everything you have, my little lion cub." she commanded, entering her fighting stance. By this time the entirety of the Elemental Wave troupe was watching them. It was always something seeing Aya fight, but especially when training those employed under her.
All eyes on him were beginning to make him nervous, but he did not regret taking her fighting instruction. Wasting no time Kael went at Aya again, but this time there was a fire lit in him, the apprehensive and cautious young cub was no longer present. It happened whenever he got excited or passionate about things, his inner flame burning as bright as the atraxian sun overhead. The sound of magical weapons exchanging blows sang across the field as the woman danced and glided around him.
He was doing his damnedest to keep his eyes on her and keep her from getting into his blind spot. Applying some much-needed force to his strikes, he decided to use his strength and size to his advantage, pressing his attack on her. Aya was getting fired up seeing her charge take the offensive, her demeanor ecstatic yet focused, her sword clashing against his mace with a solid downward slam of the bludgeon. In that same motion, he would uppercut the mace vertically in hopes of disarming her, before slamming the mace back down again to crush her skull, though she gracefully lept back to gain some distance from him.
The two were engaged in more than just a simple sparring match, declaring their intentions through words unspoken. The sunborn warrior was impressive, and Barakael was unsure if he was a match for such seasoned skill, but he knew faltering now would not be in his best interest. Their next few exchanges were fierce, neither one wanting to give the other a chance to breathe. It was clear to everyone who knew Aya's skill, knew she was going easy on him, but not holding back enough to where she couldn't push him to his limits.
Barakael, wanting to prove her strength to herself and her brother pressed him further, a flurry of swings, each one easily parried by Hellig. "That's it lion cub, come at me like you are going to kill me!" she rallied, impressed so much so by the resolve of Barakael, burning like a wild flame. His aggressive assault, no matter how impressed she was, was still that of a fledgling. She could however see the small improvements in his form, and it brought a smirk to creep across her lips.
"Envision the one person you hate and unleash all that rage in this battle!" she roared, goading him on to really bring him past the limit. It worked, as he could see him, his sneering face which only made his inner flame explode. "Good now temper that burning passion into this match!" The image of the man who killed his father replaced Aya, Kael putting everything into this, unloading a torrent of attacks. It was definitely unrefined, though still somewhat impressive for someone still learning to win a fight. He was seeing red and wasn't going to hesitate in killing the man he was envisioning, not after killing his father.
Being fueled by determination and resolve along with anger and spite, Barakael swung at her skull, then her torso, then at a leg and arm. If he could take a limb he would, no matter how much his body began to scream in pain from the amount of effort being given, the memory of his movements being etched into his soul. Seeing a chance he slid to Aya's left and swiped at her calf, then to her right to slash at the woman's back. He was fighting like a cornered beast with a mace, taking every chance he could to kill the vision in his head.
Even in the middle of his assaults he couldnt help but admire the effortlessness and fluidity in Aya's parrying of his attacks. A flawless, breathless parry came with each strike, something only a skilled swordswoman could accomplish. However, Barakael could feel his arms ache from the exertion, and he knew he'd have to finish his onslaught and hopefully land a scratch on her body. Unfortunately, he couldn't, the golden lioness disarming him with beautiful precision. As his hand was relieved of his weapon, he found himself collapsing to his knees.
"Don't beat yourself up, Barakael. You showed much promise. Everyone thinks so, see." she whispered, pointing to the other members of the gladiator troupe applauding the grand show between employer and employee. "I am curious who you were seeing, though. If I wasn't careful, you could have managed to land on a scratch on me had we continued." She nudged, obviously lying to boost his ego as he still had a long way to go.
"The gladiator who killed my father." he whispered, a smirk and look of determination on his face. His pact weapon came flying into his hand as he used it to brace himself, rising to his feet. Both warriors began to dematerialize their pact weapons, reliving the match that had just taken place. Aya held a serene and calm look on her face, as this was a breeze for her. For Barakael however, the initial pain was brutal, feeling what a weapon felt going up against a master warrior such as herself. Once the process was done, he fell on one knee, much to Aya's amusement as she giggled.
"Come now let's get you some food and some rest, we start again bright and early tomorrow." ϟ
"Vastian Speech"
"Tallenese Speech"
"Vallenor Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"
