One-on-One: Hunter Phoenix and Sophidian

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén practiced for several more minutes and then stopped when he turned and spotted Shie watching him. He smiled and looked down, surprised that he hadn't heard her walking up.

"Good morning Shie, how are you? Did you sleep well"

He was blushing a little bit, he didn't have the top part of his robes on and he was covered in sweat.

[Sophidian]

In her wrinkled clothes, she gave a shrug. "I slept outside. I'm still...a bit asleep." She ran a hand over her messy hair and yawned. "What are we doing today?"

She stretched her arms out, making another squeak of pleasure at her back cracking.

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén smiled to her

"Maybe you should go to the inn and sleep for a little while longer yet? I will go and finish the batch of swords I started yesterday and then I could meet you at the inn for a drink before we push on with the day?"

[Sophidian]

She went to speak but ended up yawning again. "That... That sounds like a plan." She rubbed another hand over her hair. "Now to just...manage to walk back up to the inn." She laughed a bit and held a hand up.

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén smiled and walked over to Shie, carrying both swords in one hand, he placed his other arm around her waist and gently led her back to the inn so that she wouldn't fall asleep and land flat on her face.

Once they were back at the inn, he led her up to her room and closed the door once she was inside, he smiled and then went downstairs and out to the black smiths and welded the blades of the swords to their handles and then put them back into their basket, then he did some other light work around the place, cleaning it up a little and then he headed back to the inn, it was still early and the cock hadn't crowed just yet so there was time yet.

He headed into the kitchen of the inn and cooked up breakfast for Shie and made her a drink as well. He placed it on a tray and took it up to her room, opening the door quietly and placing the tray beside her bed, he smiled and brushed a lock of hair out of her face and then he silently left and went back downstairs.

[Sophidian]

The smell of good food roused her from her sleep, making her turn onto her back and reach out for the plates. Pulling them close, she begins to eat and drink, finishing the meal in short time. A quick bath followed, then dressing in warmer clothes as she headed down the stairs, depositing the plates in the wash basin.

"I slept late," she commented, glancing out the window. "Are there swords for me to engrave?"

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén nodded

"There are currently twelve in the basket back at the black smiths, I think it is a good number to have for training at the moment, I will have to go to another town and get some more metal, we are beginning to run low"

He walked and looked out the inn window, it was light outside now and people were already heading towards the wall to work on it, they were determined, which was good, it was likely that they would survive this ordeal and the village would flourish.

[Sophidian]

"Not too many then." Shie found her engraving tools, hooking them around her waist in the pouch she'd made. Yawning into her hand, she sat for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "I think that four runes may be the max. Any other symbols seem to be too many. They don't...well, you know, feel any different with five."

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén nodded

"Yeah, four is a good amount to have, maybe three, three has always been my lucky number, maybe it will hold true for everyone else, I shall leave it up to you"

He walked over to her and smiled to her

"Your doing really well and so far there haven't been any more demons around, so things should pick up soon, although I do fear that this is probably just a calm before the storm, so we best press on"

He walked out of the inn with her to the black smiths, he sat on the bench and pulled the basket of swords towards them.

"Maybe you could show me how to engrave symbols onto the swords"

[Sophidian]

She pulled a sword out and placed it before him. "It's burning into the blade, really. First you use this," she held up a sharp blade and began to draw into the metal, delving past the first layer until the inner metal was revealed, "to make the design. Like these three runes." She drew them.

Rising with the sword, she moved over to a vat that she'd put there a day ago. Taking the tarp off, she revealed a sharp-smelling acid. "Then, just this." She turned the sword around and dipped it into the acid, waiting a moment before removing it. Putting it in another solution moments later, she laid it on the bench.

The sword now had lighter runes permanently etched into it. "We could paint them," she said. "If you wanted them to look nicer."

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén watched her as she worked

"Thats quite smart actually, I never thought of doing it that way, no wonder my engravings always failed and looked back, this is masterful work"

He smiled to her

"At the moment there isn't really a need to paint them and make them look pretty, but maybe after the battles are over and we are successful, they could be used as decoration in each villagers homes as a trophy of their deeds and the source of a story that they can tell their children and pass down through the ages"

[Sophidian]

She agreed, nodding over to him before bringing another sword over. "Without the acid, it doesn't sink all the way in. If you just etch the outside, it can rub away with age." She finished another two swords, able to draw rather well.

After an hour's worth of work, she stopped and cleared her throat. "I think we should try to find the demons to the east."

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén looked at her, this was a little sudden for her, wanting to find demons already.

"Are you sure? The defence of the town isn't finished, no one but me can wield a sword properly, are you really sure?"

[Sophidian]

"Oh, after you train them, of course. I just meant that, when we do go, I think we should go east." She gazed down at the swords, fingers traveling over the hilt of the nearest one. "Because if the scrolls were there, and we've not had any new visitors, it had to be a man traveling in this direction. Maybe in the caves?"

She stood and put the swords away one by one.

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén nodded

"That's good thinking, I like the idea, maybe I could give everyone a quick run down of training today and tomorrow, get them through the basics and then we could possibly let them get on with the wall while we go and look in the caves, does two days sound alright to you?"

[Sophidian]

A nod accompanied her smile. "Two days sounds fantastic. I can't stand the thought of sitting here, doing nothing to try and stop them." She turned, motioning to the closed door as if they'd come bursting through. "Nothing besides defense. Sometimes one must go on the offense." Tossing the last swords into the basket, she sat on the table, crossing her legs at the knees. "It's like we're afraid."

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén smiled

"Sometimes, you have to play defence first and weather the attacks of the enemy before mounting your own offence and striking back while the opponent is recovering from their losses, sounds crazy I know, but more often than not, it works"

He picked the swords up out of the basket and put them under his arm.

"Shall we go do some training then?"

He smiled to her and then headed out of the black smiths and over to the wall.

"I need fifteen men to come with me for the first lot of sword training, please, follow me"

He then led the first fifteen people over to where he usually sparred by himself and gave them a sword each, for half an hour they followed his movements slowly, then he set them up into pairs to see how they would fair, he told them not to hurt one another, but just take it in turns to attack and block. After a few hours he told them to stop

"Good, you are all doing well, I am very proud of all of you, if you keep this up, and take these swords and practice whenever you can, you will soon be able to do pretty much anything with a sword and if you look at the markings on the blade, these were engraved on by Shie, they have strengthened the sword so that it will not break when a demon bites it, they are also marked with a symbol that means the demon will be hurt a lot more by the blade because of the holy power bestowed, treat these weapons well and they will take good care of you in return"

He then bowed to each of them in turn and picked up his own swords.

"Now I know you have only had a few hours practice, but I want you all to attack me in groups of two or three, this is to show you what it is like to be attacked by a group of demons, I shall not hurt you, but I want you to try and get past my defence"

He then stood ready with his swords, the villagers attacked in groups of two or three, throwing their all into it, a couple of times they came close to getting past his defence and beating him, but he would pull a trick and send them sprawling, inviting more of them into the fray, when they had all had a go, he asked them to stop, he smiled to them and told them that they had done well and they could all rest.

He smiled and walked over to Shie.

"They show promise, those fifteen alone could defend this village against many demons, we could probably set off tomorrow if you wish, before everyone else wakes up"

[Sophidian]

Shie leaned back as he came in, swinging her legs where they couldn't touch the ground. Smiling up to him, she nodded. "That's good to hear. If you think their ready, I'll trust you."

She sighed and looked up at the ceiling, seeing the sun shining through in some places. "To think it may be over soon."

[Hunter Phoenix]

He nodded

"Indeed, peace shall reign once more, I think we should go through the remainder of the books and scrolls, to see if there is any specific way in which we have to end this, just so we are prepared for everything"

[Sophidian]

Bringing her eyes back down to him, she nodded. "Perhaps that's for the best." She inched to the edge of the table, pushing off after a moment until both of her feet hit the ground. "Shall we split them up?"

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén wondered what she was talking about for a moment, then he realised she was in fact talking about the books and scrolls.

"That could be a good idea, we would get through them quicker that way"

They walked back to the inn and pulled the pack of books and scrolls out and shared them between them and started reading, they devoured the pages from all of the books finding nothing, then when it came to the scrolls, they read them slower, making sure they read every detail, the scrolls had more specific information on than the books.

[Sophidian]

Nodding over the scrolls, she began to scribble on a piece of paper. "It seems they're made from fire. Actual fire. So it would explain that if they burn a body, they go back to their source." She hummed to herself and pushed the scroll aside. "Maybe if we managed to find the cave and the source and light that on fire? I wish my powers weren't with plants and glowing light..."

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén nodded

"Maybe if you try, you could turn your powers to more than just plants and light, maybe if you think about it, you could create fire and hold it in your hand, why not have a try now while we are doing nothing? Just hold out your hand flat and think of a fireball that will not burn you and that you can hold and control"

He sat back a little bit to give her some space and stayed silent for her so that she could concentrate without his interruptions.

[Sophidian]

She closed her eyes and concentrated. Repeatedly she thought of fire, over and over, of fire that wouldn't hurt her, that wouldn't burn her, that wouldn't...

And another shot of light appeared. She gasped, jumping back as it nearly hit her in the face. "I guess," she said once she calmed, "that I'm going to have to practice..."

[Hunter Phoenix]

Lièrén shielded his eyes as the light flew up, when he looked again, he moved back over to Shie and put a comforting arm around her.

"You'll get it eventually, you just need to practice, you'll get it in the end, no one ever said anything was easy"

He hugged her and then went and fixed them both a drink. He handed one of the cups to Shie and sat back down.

"I never thought anything like this was possible, magic and demons, up until I came to this village I have never been anywhere near magic or anything supernatural, there were always stories and legends of strange creatures and dragons flying around, but now that I'm living it and being a part of it, as much of a danger as the demon part is, I find it all to be fantastic and wonderful, seeing your powers is just so amazing"