1/2 Orc + 1/2 Elf + Saurid Master = Intermediate Shaasskah {Viskyia Team Modded}

[Nydardomond]

5th of Aperitus, Spring Era XIII Post Fractum. Paradigm: New Nation

Nyd had gone over Viskyia's Shaasskah notes extensively and after a bit of searching, discovered that there was a highly skilled practitioner of Shaasskah living in Nexus Prime. It had taken Nyd quite some effort to track down the Saurid Master as few people chose to associate with a half-orc. After asking around at local taverns as well as hanging around the coliseum and bathhouse, Nyd was able to gather enough rumors and some facts to discover that a saurid raptorian, the name unpronounceable, lived in a simple home within the city proper. It was said that this saurid was well practiced at the martial arts of the Saurid race. Nyd decided that the leads he had would have to suffice and he set out in search of the lizard man. It took several days to actually find the creature's home which turned out to be a small hovel in the common part of town.

Nyd tracked down the home and arrived early, just as light began to blanket the land. He knocked on the door of the small, ramshackle home. After a short few moments, the door opened. Standing in view of Nyd was a lizardman of about seven feet in height. It was covered in green scales and sported a tail. Nyd was not sure if he was looking at a male or female nor did he know if the creature were young or old. Sharp talons could be seen and the creature, no matter what gender or sex, looked to be quite dangerous if it wanted to be. Nyd, not knowing what else to do, bowed and said with as much respect as he could, "I am overwhelmingly sorry to be a bother, but I was told that you were the one I should seek to further my studies and those of my comrade, in the art of Shaasskah. My name is Nydardomond." Nyd was somewhat nervous as the creature before him was much larger and appeared much more dangerous than he would have expected.

The Saurid looked at Nyd with reptilian eyes that seemed to pierce deep into his greenish-gray flesh. It left Nyd standing at the doorway for many moments before finally breaking the silence. "You sssseek ssstudy in the artsss of Shaasskah? Tell me orc, why ssshould I even bother with one sssuch as you or your friend?"

Nyd was never sure how the saurid would react to his request or the fact that he was orcish. Nevertheless he spoke confidently and without doubt. "My friend and I have already studied the basics of your art. She and I wish to learn more so that we may better ourselves. Not only in combat but as individuals seeking enlightenment in order to raise ourselves above that which is expected of us due to who we appear to be. We seek a greater understanding of our lives and what we are capable of so that we may one day meet death without fear. I am told that you can set us upon this path."

The saurid stood for many moments more gazing upon Nyd as if to discover something more about the orc through sight alone. This made Nyd feel rather uneasy but he did not back down and stood with as much confidence as he could muster.

"Perhapsss....Tell me, Orc, you ssspeak of a comrade. Where may they be?"
Nyd raised an eyebrow, his head lowered in respect of the saurid whom he heard to be quite skilled in the arts he wish to learn. In a soft voice he said, "Her name is Viskyia and she should be along any moment. When I discovered where to find you, I informed her to meet me here." Nyd was feeling somewhat uncomfortable as he could somehow feel that this creature was older and so much more skilled in things that he could not yet fathom.

"Yesss, we ssshall wait for her then and then decide whether or not I ssshall ssshow you what you ssseek." The saurid closed the door on Nyd and left him standing alone in front of the hovel.

"Viskyia...please get here soon." Nyd whispered to himself.

[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia arrived at a dead run. She'd been running late, and that horrible noble Lady Tal Ovion was at it again. She had sent servant after servant over for sketches, drawings, and estimates for her son's wedding set, more specifically the engagement ring. Everyone was at whits end in the shop dealing with such nonsense and it hadn't been easy for her to get away. And no matter how hard he tried... Master Titus couldn't seem to please everyone involved in the whole outrageous affair. Sometimes Viskyia thought such commissions, while they kept the store afloat, weren't worth the sanity of its workers.

In fact, Viskyia was in such a hurry that she almost missed the house where Nydardomond was waiting patiently on the porch for her. It was fortunate he was a very large very greenish grey half-orc or she'd miss the place completely. She jogged up the steps, stopped abruptly, and bowed to the Saurid who opened the door to rejoin Nyd on the porch as she jogged up.

"Serale, I'm Viskyia Crow. Pardon me for my lateness. My Master needed my assistance at the gem shop." She explained hastily.

The Saurid turned to Nydardomond and stared unblinkingly at him. "Thhissss isss your companion? Sssshe ssseems otherwisssse occupied." Viskyia didn't seem the least bit offended. It was true, and she'd think the same thing if someone was supposed to be someplace at a certain time to beg someone a favor and then they were late. The saurid refocused his attention on Viskyia in that strange unblinking way of his, and then asked of her. "Sssssso tell me. Why do you sssseek training?" Viskyia thought about the question for a few moments and then answered quite honestly. "I seek further training in Shaasskah because thus far, the training I have received has helped me tremendously to get to know my own body better. Before I started on this pathway, I was only living inside of my head. It was like I didn't acknowledge that the rest of my form existed. Now, since I've gotten just a few basic lessons, its like my awareness has moved down, into my stomach here...." She placed her hand over her stomach, and her solar plexus. "And there is so much more room. I want to expand that experience, and keep learning about myself, focusing my energy, and being better able to move. The feelings are incredible."

The saurid nodded at her response and then stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Come, both of you...." and lead the way off his porch and around the back of his house. There was a little gate that lead into an expansive garden in the back of the tiny rundown structure. The garden itself was a masterpiece, and in the center was an enormous circle, filled with soft sand and surrounded by a low stone wall etched with exotic reptilian runework. Everywhere one looked was a sea of candles in a carefully sculpted landscape designed to mimic the dessert. It was truly exotic, the overall effect enhanced by censures hanging from wrote iron poles burning strangely intense incense.

He took them to the edge of the circle, gestured that they were to remove their footgear, and lead them on into it. Once within, he bowed to each of them and formally introduced himself.

[Nydardomond]

"I am called, Soleshmir Sshamossissha in the human tongue." The saurid's slitted eyes examined the two potential students who themselves stood in the center of the circle. "I undersstand the difficulty you may have with addresssing me in sssuch a way thusss you may refer to me asss Ossissha." There was really no way to discern what gender the saurid was as it had no visible signs that would tell either way. It was dressed in a simple robe fitted for one of its kind. Nyd was fascinated by the saurid as he had never seen something quite like it before. "You sssay you wisssh to learn from me the waysss of Shaasskah. Your motivesss ssseem well enough and I may be inclined to teach you. Firssst I think you ssshould know about the art in which you have chosssen to pursssue." The saurid motioned for them to sit and began to walk around them, its gaze not on them but off somewhere else seemingly beyond their ability to see.

"The story losssesss sssomething in the transsslation however it ssshall sssuffice. Shaasskah came about with the intervention of what you may know asss a power being. The powerful being inssstructed the Sssauridsss to obssserve animalsss in the wild and to provide inssstructions to integrate that into an unarmed combat ssskill. In the human tongue it meansss, “Things learned from wild animals” and thisss isss quite accurate and you may learn why later" Ossissha continued to walk around Nyd and Viskyia as they sat in the sand of the circle. From time to time, Ossissha would turn and look at them briefly before continuing.

"Asss you may know already having claimed you know sssomething of the basssicsss of the art, ssstancesss are where everything elssse is built from. The ssstancesss are followed by learning how to punch and kick asss you may well know already. Before I teach you anything, I mussst know that you have a grasssp on the basssicsss. You will demonstrate for me the basssic ssstancesss, blocksss, punchesss, and kicksss. I will know then if you are ready for further inssstruction." The saurid stopped and waited for Nyd and Viskyia to stand and show him what he requested.

As the two stood, Nyd was the first to act. He took a few moments to focus his breathing and clear his mind. He then took the forward stance, he then moved about in that stance for a few moments before switching his footing for the forward stance. He repeated his movement in this stance before finally taking the backward stance. The whole time he shifted his weight to the appropriate foot and moved as smoothly as possible. He followed the stances with the appropriate blocks. He continued his controlled breathing as he demonstrated the upper block; his arms moving quickly and smoothly with only slight variance. He couldn't tell from Ossissha's face what the saurid was thinking but he continued demonstrating.

Nyd practiced the middle block while shifting stances. He did this numerous times and mixed in a few upper blocks. Moments later he added in the lower blocks, shifting his stance yet again. The entire time he tried to keep his breathing controlled, focused, and in sync with his movements. As he continued his blocks, he began to add in a few jabs followed by reversal punches. He had only a few instances of difficulty where he felt that if in a fight, he would not have struck true but he continued undaunted. After mixing in the punches, he finished up with the forward kick and sidekick, displaying them both as he had practiced numerous times before. In all, Nyd felt he performed rather well although he silently cursed himself for the few mistakes that he did make. After many minutes of Nyd's demonstration had passed, Ossissha raised a clawed hand and motioned for Nyd to cease. The saurid then looked to Viskyia.

[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia rose when Nydardomond did, yet moved out of the way when he started going through his forms. She watched with the eye of a student, noting he was getting better and more fluid with the movements. He went through basically all they'd learned in their basic training, reciting it almost day in and day out through the progression. She was impressed. He looked more like a fighter than he had in those first days, when all he'd done meditate and claim to want peace.

When Ossissha nodded to her, she moved into the center of the circle and started her recital as well. She knew the way she looked in comparison to Nydardomond. Her stance was lighter, her motions smoother. She moved like a dancer, into one block, and out into a kick in a fluid motion that Nydardomond had yet to achieve. But, when he had punched and kicked, the force behind his blows was staggering. Her own power was insignificant in contrast. As she moved through the stances, blocking and alternatively punching, she felt the strain of scrutiny and started to sweat lightly. She felt fat, slow, awkward. The longer the Shaasskah Master stared, the more she squirmed until finally he called a halt.

"Enough girl. Come, kneel with me." He beckoned to both her and Nydardomond. "The first thing you must know is that SSSShaasssskah isss an artform. Its not a weaponsss sssstyle or a meanssss of waging battle. Its greatessst sssecret isss that itsss a way to connect your mind with your body and redouble the power both holdssss. In this circle, you will not be conssssidered ssssparring partnerssss nor will you be fighterssss. You will never ever conduct battle here. Instead you are artisssstssss, and what you do together is weave art using our bodies, minds, and the energy that exists in both." He took a breath and licked his snout.

"I will give you the teaching you need to learn to unite your bodiesss with your mindsss and make yourselvesss into living extensssionsss of your will. You, however, will have to be the onessss to apply thisss. Within the firssst few sessssssions of our training, I will know clearly if you have the ability to do thisss. If you do not, it will be a wassste of my time to continue your training." The Saurid said, stroking his chin and looking slightly excited because his blinking had grown far more rapid than usual.

"Now, Firsssst.. Do you have any quesssstions?" Viskyia nodded. "You said Shaasska came from a power being. What exactly is a power being? I've never heard of such a thing... do you mean The Gods?" She asked, curious. When he responded, she asked just one more question. "When can we begin?" The saurid hissed slightly , in what Viskyia took for laughter and said "We already have..."

Next he looked at Nydardomond expectantly. When Nydardomond was done speaking, he invited them back intot he sand circle for the first lesson.

[Nydardomond]

When Viskyia asked her question of Ossissha, the saurid simply turned its head to her and said, "The anssswer to that quessstion resssides in the heartsss of thossse who choossse to ssstudy the Art. For the ancient sssaurids, it meant sssomething completely different than what it may mean to thossse today." Following the cryptic answer, Ossissha awaited questions that Nyd might ask. Nyd too had been wondering about the power being but decided he would not press Ossissha as he did not know how the saurid would react to further pressure on the topic. Instead he found that he could not think of anything to ask and simply shook his head and said, "I haven't any questions at the moment." Ossissha nodded as the two students moved to stand in the center of the circle.

"For your firssst lessson, we ssshall work on increasssed mobility and posssitioning. Underssstand that Shaasskah doesss not only have punchesss and kicksss, there isss a lot more to learn than that. Jumpsss and body movementsss are important in Shaasskah. The jumpsss and body movementsss provide the ability for a practitioner of Shaasskah to be mobile and to give quick and powerful attacksss. Thusss we ssshall begin with your footwork. Obssserve." Ossissha took a basic stance and with speed unlike any the students would have expected, the saurid began to leap from one foot to the other in various directions. Short, quick hops combined with rapid twists and ducking as well as bobs and weaves put the saurid all over the circle. Ossissha danced the amazing display for a few moments before stopping in front of the Nyd and Viskyia.

"Thisss isss what you will work on first. You will ssspend asss much time as needed to learn thisss technique. I do not expect sssuch ssspeed at thisss ssstage however you will ssshow me you can move like that before you are allowed to continue."

Nyd raised an eyebrow, doubtful of his ability to be able to perform such movements yet with a deep breath, he took position on the far side of the circle and began mimicking the short hops and twists that Ossissha had modeled. He had great difficulty hopping and landing with balance and had to stop many times and restart. Nyd's lack of balance and speed was his weakness and it showed in this stage of training. He spent more than a few moments working on just the hops and twists but finally started to become more comfortable. He still had to incorporate the ducking, bobs and weaves but Ossissha held up a taloned hand for him to cease and allow Viskyia to begin.

[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia listened to their Saurid teacher and moved out onto the center. She looked at the Saurid for a moment, focused her attention down to just herself, shutting everything else out in the garden. Then, she began to slowly move through the hops that Ossissha laid out for them. She couldn't imagine how hard this must have been for Nydardomond as she struggled through the patterns. It was like forcing her legs to bend and her bones to twist in ways they weren't exactly designed to. She fumbled, almost fell a few times, and had to start again just as Nydardomond did.

Ossissha stepped forward and held out its hand. "Give me your leg, Vissskyia." She glanced confusingly at Nydardomond then walked to him and lifted her leg, setting her calf down in the palm of its hand. The Saurid gently grasped the limb and stretched it upwards until she thought the muscle in her leg was going to explode. "You sssee? You are bound up, and your musssclesss are lazzzy. You need to ssshow your body that it can and will bend more, ssstretch more, give you more of itssself." The Saurid continued the gentle pressure, and startled Viskyia realized that slowly the pain was easing and her leg was reaching further upwards. "True practicioners of Sssshaasssskah can ssstand with one leg gently wrapped behind their headsss. You will be able to do ssso asss well sssoon." The Saurid released Viskyia's leg gently and held its hand out for the other one. The second one she gave it was far more willing to be stretched than to bear the weight of her entire body as it had for the first legs stretching.

"Each day you will help each other. Nydardomond you will ssstretch Vissskyia. Vissskyia you will ssstretch Nydardomond until you both begin to flex more normally and more conductively to the artform. It will be good for you, Vissskyia to work on your strength. And for you Nydardomond, to work on your finesssse." After Ossissha had her leg stretched upwards almost to the top of her shoulder, it released her and walked over to stretch Nydardomond the same way.

"Now, again... go through the formsss." The Saurid asked when it was done stretching each of them. Viskyia did so, this time side-by-side with Nydardomond. It was easier to move, and her body was starting to feel an almost alien energy flow coursing through it. Ossissha smiled its approval. "Yesss, you pick up thingsss well, you two..."

"Now, we mussst ssspeak of body harmony. All thessse thingsss you must learn before you attempt to massster the true artform for what it isss. How would you, Nydardomond, begin to function asss one unit, not a collection of armsss and legsss and brainsss." The Saurid asked, moving around the two as it kept them moving through their forms still.

[Nydardomond]

Nydardmond watched with a look of an intense interesting; his gaze never leaving Viskyia or Ossissha. He listened just as closely as Ossissha explained and demonstrated the stretching techniques. When the saurid had finished assisting Viskyia with her stretches, he approached Nyd. Ossissha was slightly taller than Nyd and about as bulky yet the saurid carried itself with a unique grace. When the saurid held out its hand, Nyd raised an eyebrow for a brief moment before lifting his leg and resting the bottom of his calf in the saurid's open hand. Nyd grimaced slightly as Ossissha helped him to stretch his leg high into the air. The half-orc had done his own set of routine stretches each brightening after his meditation and before his practice session yet he had not done such an intense stretch before. It took a few moments for him to feel more comfortable with the stretch. The saurid repeated the stretch with Nyd's other leg.

When the stretching was finished, Nyd and Viskyia resumed their intensive practice at the new and strenuous footwork routine. Nyd still found much of it difficult and although he was slowly getting the moves down, his speed was still leaving something to be desired. As Ossissha made his way around the circle, watching and speaking to the two students, Nyd thought about the saurid's question. The answer came to him as he thought about his meditations. "I would focus on my breathing, the beating of my heart, the sounds my muscles made as they moved. I would remove all outside stimulus and concentrate solely on my body and how each and every limb, muscle, and bone comes together to form each and every movement. Only when I have painted a perfect picture in my mind of how my body should feel and move will I be able to open it to my environment and focus on how those two fit." Nyd realized he was slowing down as he spoke and sped back up when he was finished talking.

The saurid did not respond to Nyd's answer but instead turned and asked Viskyia, "It is different with each individual. Vissskyia, how would you, begin to function asss one unit, not a collection of armsss and legsss and brainsss." Osshissa continued to circle the two as they continued their footwork. It was almost as if the saurid were testing them yet again to see how well they could move, think and speak all at the same time. As Ossissha listened to Viskyia's response, the saurid said nothing. The footwork continued until Viskyia and Nyd were both drenched in sweat and they lost track of time. Nyd had finally began to figure out the actual movements rather well and his speed was picking up pace yet he was far from being as quick or agile as Viskyia.

[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia's muscles burned as she moved now, but she understood the wisdom inherant in the motions they went through. Soon, perhaps not today, perhaps not even a cycle from now, but if they kept stretching... soon they'd be able to move like they would never have realized. She smiled slightly at this notion, then kept stretching as The Saurid took over Nydardomond's stretching. She was surprised he could handle the big half-orcs limbs like he did. Then she listened to Nydardomond's answer to Osshissa's question and thought about her own answer a moment before responding to his query.

"Well, I think for me it would be different. Nydardomond breaks himself down into multiple parts, thinking about each one before uniting them as a whole, shutting out the world, and allowing them to function. You'd think with me being a jeweler, I would as well... but no.. I can't. I don't even agree with his disregard of outside stimulus... thats dangerous to ignore the space around you. It could cost you your life." She glanced at Nydardomond apologetically, but she did believe what she said.

"Instead, I would think of myself as one of the gems I cut... shaving away everything that doesn't matter until I'm the perfect faceted stone. Flaws in stones are what jewelers discard when they decide on the cut. The less flaws, the more strength. I would discard my flaws with my cuts... my flaws being aches, pains, wounds, anything that my mind limits my body through acknowledging... and be the perfectly faceted stone, flawless and glittering." She wasn't sure if the two present would understand her meaning as she spoke, but she knew inside thats how she would proceed and the method that would allow her to learn best.

Osshissa nodded, then beckoned them closer. "I sssee your perssspective is unique, Vissskyia. Jussst asss Nydardomondsss isss. Thisss isss a good thing. We encourage diversssity in Ssshaasskah." As they ranged into a loose line in front of him, he took a slightly strange stance... one where he was up on the balls of his feet, toes flexed, and arms up. "Your underssstanding is growing. Thisss pleasssesss me. You will ssstart and end each day with ssstretchesss, and you Nydardomond will focussss on focussssing inward. You Vissskyia will focusss on cutting your inner gem."

Osshissa licked its scaled lips, pleased with itsself. "Now I think it isss time for me to ssshow you sssome intermediate techniquesss. Firssst we will ssstart with the legwork. In Ssshaasskah, legwork isss vassstly important. You ssshould be able to take down your opponent without ever touching them with your handsss. The sssame goesss for keeping your opponent from touching you. Let me demonssstrate... the leg block. Nydardomond, pleassse ssstep forward and attempt a forward kick on me." Osshissa waited for Nydardomond to comply, then lighteningly quick, it blocked Nydardomond's kick with a simple move of its own, using its leg to block the kick. It was so fast, it was hard to tell how the saurid did it. The saurid smiled, then began to break the maneuver down for the pair.

[Nydardomond]

Nyd listened to Viskyia's response to Osshissa's question. Even though she denounced much of what he had said, he had not expected her to think the same as he. Her description though of how she felt about herself in regard to self-improvement and the like was quite intriguing to Nyd and he told himself he would have to ask Viskyia more about it. He hadn't fully grasped what she was saying as he had little to know knowledge of gems yet he felt like he got the overall point. He was sure of one thing though, he had not meant that one should completely ignore outside stimulus but that one needed to focus on their own being first, master it, and then approach outside events from a newer, more enlightened perspective.

When Ossissha finally spoke again, Nyd was sure to listen. He nodded his understand and agreement with focusing inward with each new brightening while also stretching and exercising his body in order to keep it in the best shape possible. His anticipation grew however when the saurid mentioned learning the first lessons of the next stage of their training. Although he felt ready for anything, Nyd had a feeling that Ossissha would make it a point not to go easy on them. When the saurid told him to approach and try and kick, he did so without hesitation as he did not want to disappoint. Nyd took his stance and quickly struck out with a forward kick. The half-orc wasn't exactly sure if Ossissha had moved faster than him or if the saurid just knew how and where to strike. Perhaps it was both but either way Nyd's kick was easily knocked out of the way by the scaled leg of the saurid.

"Your limbsss may ssserve you jussst as well in blocking asss they do ssstriking. An opponent doesss not expet you to ussse your legsss to block and thusss it becomes quite an effective technique. The power of the leg isss sssuch that even the mossst powerful ssstrike may be knocked to the ssside." Ossissha proceded to demonstrate how he watched for the right movements from Nyd that would signal the half-orc's body beginning to twist in just the right direction to allow for the kick. Ossissha showed how as Nyd first moved to kick, the defending kick was unleashed. The blocking leg struck inside the opponents strike and swept outward. The force of the block could even be enough to knock an opponent off balance. The saurid demonstrated it a couple different times at increasing speed before instructing the two students to take their stances. "Now you will do it. Nydardomond, you will ssstrike at Vissskyia and Vissskyia you ssshall block with your leg." The saurid stood back and watched.

Nyd took his stance and tried to focus on not allowing his movements to give him away. He danced around using the new footwork that they had practiced just a short time earlier. He bobbed and weaved, twisted and ducked and finally snapped a front kick toward Viskyia...

[Viskyia Crow]

By the Stars, thats what she hated about Nydardomond. He didn't just make it easy on her and kick at her so she could easily run through the kick block's steps. Instead the big green man danced around light footed so she had to watch for the attack and try to anticipate it. He faked a few kicks at her first, and she was completely off balance and unprepared for his real attack when it finally came. She was late getting her leg up, and didn't quite manage to block his kick. She could feel her cheeks burning as she failed to do as Ossissha asked. It simply said "Again" and set her and Nydardomond circling once more. The second time, she was more easily able to stop Nydardomond's false kicks, and was ready when his real powerhouse sidekick came at her. She blocked it easily, without hurting herself, and looked at both of them astonished. "I... Don't believe that. It didn't hurt at all... I thought that was going to really nail me hard."

Ossissha told them to switch, and now it was Viskyia's turn to through kicks at Nydardomond. She wasn't sure how he'd react, but at least she spared him the distraction of throwing a few fake starts in there. What she did do however was to kick with one leg, have it blocked, then come back immediately with another kick with her other leg to see if he could be fast enough to switch legs and block kick with both sides equally... Ossissha nodded his approval. The Saurid seemed to like it when both of them pushed the lessoning to see what each others strengths and weaknesses were. Viskyia didn't mind it at all either. It made her happy to know she was proving to the Saurid that both her and her partner were willing to be trained.

After the Block Kick lesson had concluded, Ossissha bid them goodnight and asked them to arrive a bit earlier the next evening for their next lessons. He asked them to stretch, and told them to stretch periodically all throughout the next day and all the days after until they were as flexible as they wished. They agreed, and both split up to head home for the rest of the evening.

[Nydardomond]

Although Viskyia had caught on rather quickly to the block kick, Nyd had a bit more difficulty. When she threw a kick followed by another and yet another, Nyd was unable to keep up with her at first. Nyd had become much quicker since he first started training in Shaasskah but still lacked the speed that Viskyia possessed. After suffering blow after blow from her quick strikes, Nyd finally started to find a rhythm and began to block a few of her kicks. After a good amount of time had passed, he was able to finally keep up with her. Nyd wasn't sure it was because she was getting tired and slowing down or if he were actually getting quicker but either way he was learning the technique of watching your opponent's body and predicting how they will act based upon their movements. Although satisfied with his success, Nyd was exhausted. When Ossissha released he and Viskyia for the night, Nyd was both disappointed and relieved.

The next day, Nyd performed his routine meditations that he had done every morning for the past few months. Of course the City Garden served as the location for these meditations. This early brightening, Nyd finished his meditation and worked on his stretching and leg work. He did this for well over a candlemark before setting off for the Baths where he also routinely visited each and every brightening. Once finished, he went about his day while taking a few moments here and there to stretch and remain loose for the next lesson with Ossissha.

He returned a bit later in the day to the old hovel that the saurid called home. Coincidently enough, Viskyia arrived at almost the same time. When they stepped in front of the door and Nyd raised his hand to knock, the door opened and Ossissha motioned for them to follow him around to the garden.

When the two students approached the exotic garden in the back of the hovel they noticed that in the training circle stood two wood posts. Strapped to the posts were two 'dummies' made of cloth, wood, and other yet unidentifiable materials. They were shaped like average-sized humans and even had crude faces painted on their heads. Ossissha entered the circle and stood in front of the dummies as he faced Nyd and Viskyia. Again without waisting time, he said, "Many animalsss posssesss natural weaponsss that grant them an advantage in combat againssst their predatorsss. In Shaasskah, thisss idea isss taken in a sssimilar direction." Ossissha spun around to face one of the dummies and took his fighting stance. Using his hand to form the shape of a blade, he unleashed a rapid strike that sunk his hand into the body of one of the dummies. He pulled his hand back and turned again to face the two students.

Nyd was quite impressed and couldn't hide this fact as he stared at Ossissha for a moment before shaking it off. Ossissha nodded and said, "Thisss technique isss known asss the Knife Hand. It is executed by thrusting one’s hand forward as though the hand is a knife. With practice and conditioning, it will allow even one without clawsss sssuch asss you Nydardomond, to turn their handsss into weaponsss asss deadly asss any metal blade; perhapsss allowing one to ssstrike even through metal." Ossissha motioned back to the dummies. "Due to the potential danger involved with thisss technique, you will practice on thessse. Now both of you try and concentrate on your breathing asss it isss esssential." Ossissha stepped aside and allowed Nyd and Viskyia to approach.

Nyd stepped in front of the dummy. He thought it looked rather silly and thought that such a strike would be easy for him. He had claws after all and what could a simple collection of wood and cloth do to help him learn more. With a shrug he took his stance and shaped his hand so that it looked like a blade, just as Ossissha had done. He half concentrated on his breathing as he felt rather confident in the mastery of this particular strike. After a moment of breathing and a bit of focus, he struck the dummy with his knife hand. The pain that coursed into his fingers, through his hand, and up his arm was intense as his own strike backfired on him. He pulled his hand back and held it with his other, grimacing.

He could hear Ossissha's voice behind him, "You indeed have a ssslight advantage in thisss technique, Nydardomond. However, you mussst maintain focusss asss you would with any other lessson. Look clossser at the dummy." Nyd leaned in and looked at where he struck the dummy. He reached out and felt the chest closer. Then he realized what Ossissha had meant. The dummy's chest was in fact a short, thick log wrapped in some type of metal. Nyd shook his head and stepped back. He took his stance again and focused more on his breathing and how his own body moved. When he struck again, his hand didn't penetrate the metal or the wood though it did leave a few dents. Nyd also noted that the tips of his claws were now slightly blunted.

Ossissha also watched Viskyia to see how she would fare against such a test.