~Flowers in the Spring~ (Basic Sanjiegan, Self-Moderated)

[Hsin]

Third Cycle of Immanis, Era XIV

The weapon was a simple thing. Unneeded complexity ultimately sacrificed effectiveness on the altar of aesthetics; trading continued existence for the satiation of the flesh. Kemite language called the weapon a sanjiegan. Translating the phrase literally quite naturally produced the Medonian phrase: the three section staff. It was a good name, short and yet still informative. And, as implied, three short staves twenty-six inches in length and one and a quarter inches wide formed the backbone. Each piece of wood hailed from a different origin: oak from the forests of Sil’rosia, beech from the Pegasus Woods outside Aelyria Prime, and red maple descended from saplings rescued from the long-lost homeland of the children of Keme. A skilled blacksmith forged the requisite metal pieces from dim gray steel. Two metal caps, bolted firmly into the wood, covered the two outermost ends. The joints between each section also sported their own metal caps tipped with a ball-and-socket joint attached to five inches of chain. Mandate of the Ordained passed from the gauntleted hand of a taller Kemite woman into Hsin’s arcane-enwrapped palm with a curious reverence.

”There,” spoke Miya Gicha in graceful Kemite. ”Another of your dalliances completed and delivered. My, what fickle whim you have.”

Hsin simply smiled in reply. The Kemite Master Mystic intended to accomplish two tasks this particular night. Acquiring the sanjiegan took little effort and only the expenditure of a few hundred crowns to his intermediary of choice. His second task took a good deal more preparation. Before entering the School of the Silent Blade, Hsin procured a not-insignificant portion of crystalline mana impregnated with the psionic essence. It was a familiar matter to Conjure and Alter the impressible material into the simulacrum of a pair of flexible gauntlets. As a matter of fact, it was entirely identical to the stock Animation spell so well known to Apprentices. Here the Kemite deviated and employed a third technique, Divination, in three forms. The first connected the shape of the spell to his whim. He’d chosen elbow-length silk gloves tonight, but weapons and even armor were entirely possible. The second imbued the material with an illusionary form, transforming the invisible into the appearance and texture of black silk. Silk hard enough to turn blade and slice armor, but silk still the same. The last was the far more difficult task of imbuing the gloves with an aura of suggestion. It would amplify the slightest brush to a terrible pain, or impart any other emotion Hsin desired.

The infinitely thin Nightmare Shroud allowed his fingers to feel the grain of the wood and still turn aside Miya’s crimson katana. Hsin allowed each chained section to drop before swinging the middle section slowly back and forth, feeling the joints turning freely in their well-oiled joint with nary a sound.

”My thanks,” murmured Hsin as his illusory eyes turned to Miya. ”And what now?”

”And now, my dear disciple, we practice.” A slow smile spread across the Kemite assassin’s face.

Oh yes. There would be pain.

OOC: Spell approved by GD Grim.

Spell Name: Nightmare Shroud
Discipline: Mysticism
Proficiency Level Required: Adept
Target(s): Self, Others (Single)
Duration: Temporary
Range: Close
Link: Here

Effect / Description: The Nightmare Shroud represents an adaption of the Animation spell to the tenants of K’tesh. Like it’s predecessor, the core of the spell is a Conjuration of Psionic Essence into a physical manifestation and an Alteration to shape the newly-constructed material into it's desired shape. This, however, is where the similarity ends. The core Conjuration produces a far different material; an amorphous cocoon able to stretch and shape at will, yet still hard enough to turn steel and spell. A Divination links the gauntlets to the caster’s mind, allowing him to both direct its shape and impregnate the material to cause any sensation of his choosing.

[Hsin]

”Some weapons are intuitive. Others require understanding to wield in the most basic manner, to say nothing of using it skillfully.” Miya picked idly at a fallen branch heavy with cherry blossoms, her delicate fingers idly plucking the petals from the nearest flower. The Kemite assassin seemed unperturbed by sound of a wooden stave whirling thought the spring air. She’d ordered Hsin to perform a series of complex spinning drills with a normal stave of roughly the same dimensions as the three-section staff. ”The sanjiegan requires an intimate understanding of your weapon’s movements to unlock its true power. Unlike the staff or the spear, strength comes from the swinging motion of the sections. It’s a blessing and a boon. A blow, even from a badly wielded weapon, is enough to cave a man’s skull in. The boom comes from the recoil. Even the best wielders, of which I hardly count myself, must spend precious time recovering.” Suddenly bored, Miya flung the branch away in a manner more fitting an impatient child than a master of the darker arts. ”Pick up your weapon, Hsin, and imitate my position.”

Eyes flecked with crimson and orange observed Hsin’s mentor as she prepared herself to perform the most basic technique. Mimicry was an acceptable method of learning, so long as imitation opened the door for understanding. His feet assumed the forward stance in K’tesh; an all-purpose arrangement used amongst a plethora of styles both unarmed and armed. His hands gripped the bottom of the two outer sections just above the metal joints with the center section held parallel to the ground. Each hand held its respective section perpendicular to the ground.

”We call this technique the Turtle and the Tiger,” said Miya as she lunged with the staff held in her right hand. ”Use your right arm to attack and the left to defend, or vice versa. The center section can be used to catch blows. There must be a balance of the offense and the defense at first.”

It was an exercise in many respects similar to the stick-fights between the Zhou brothers in Demios so many years before. Hsin blocked her overhand blow with the left section before thrusting at her midriff with the right. For his troubles, he received a rap across his knuckles and a rebuke.

”The sanjiegan is a concussive weapon, you young fool,” chided the Kemite woman. ”Strike, do not stab.”

Hsin took a step backwards to rethink his movements. A moment later, he slid his feet forward and lashed out at the side of her arm. Her retaliatory blow, a slow swing to the lower midriff, was warded off by the hastily downturned left section. Their practice continued for candlemarks in an endless ballet of wood and steel. Against a swordsman, or another foe wielding a single action, the defensive hand could be sacrificed for a second impediment. He learned to trap a downward stroke by crossing the sections, and to lash out at the face and the stomach simultaneously. It was all well and good, but the jingling chains served as a constant reminder of the weapon’s true application.

[Hsin]

”You must walk before you can run, and crawl before you walk.” The Kemite mistress circled Hsin with her own three-section staff held in an inverted position. Her steel-ensconced hands grabbed the striking tips of the outer sections and pointed the center section at her student. It quickly became obvious her attention focused less on the wooden portions of the weapon and far more upon the two ball joints. ”Our techniques are powerful, but they take time and room to employ. If you fight an opponent with a smaller weapon in a cramped space, you must learn to strike quickly.” Miya moved quickly towards Hsin, her feet alternating in a sliding motion keeping both feet in full contact with the ground at the same time. ”The Falcon’s Dive allows you a stronger strike at the cost of some flexibility. One iron joint lashed forward in an inverted version of the thrusting strike she’d argued so vigorously against only a candlemark earlier. Hsin employed the Turtle and Tiger technique in a new variation, keeping both staves perpendicular to the ground and pushing away at the central stave. It was a laudable improvisation, but hardly seemed to bother Miya. She simply shifted around the defense by moving forward and slamming the ball joint into the Kemite’s unprotected side.

”We divide the techniques of the three section staff into three distances,” explained the assassin as she waited for Hsin to regain his feet. ”Close, medium, and long. These two techniques are close, but close combat requires more than rote memorization.”

Hsin resumed the Turtle and Tiger stance and motioned for Miya to continue. Now, instead of merely parrying, the Kemite mystic kept the right section parallel to the ground. When his opponent lunged forward, he slipped the section underneath the middle section to strike his mentor in the midsection. Her follow up blow with the joint moved quickly towards his side, but the young man had already begun stepping to the side and away from its intended arc.

Flipping the weapon and grasping the outermost points of the two staves allowed Hsin to measure the different attributes of the Falcon’s Dive. The weapon now seemed heavier with the central section providing added inertia to the strikes of the joints. However, as a tradeoff, it took somewhat longer to swing and strike to its full potential. They sparred for sometime longer as Miya gradually led Hsin through its uses an applications; from breaking defenses to delivering knockout blows.