Roll call

From here

Whispers on the wind circled around her in the blizzard as she walked the lone single lane road over the lake to the castle gates.  As she neared the walls the blizzard abated enough to see a line of people formed halfway down the road to the edge of the lake where she had come from.  A line that seemed to grow rather than shrink as she neared it.  The whispers on the wind blend with the voices of the crowd waiting to get inside the walls of the castle where at least the blizzard is tamed, if not the wilds of the frozen north.

"Is it really that tough?"

"How long?"

"Life?"

"Do they really hunt people who run away?"

Words, questions, statements, thoughts, and fears swirl in the blizzards snowfall, swallowed by the storm as she finds a place at the back of the line which moves ever so slowly forward.  As what seem like hours pass and the sun clears the cloud coverage for the first time during the storm.  Dyn finds herself finally standing just inside the castle's gates looking onto an open courtyard.  Lines of people including those who were just in front of her have formed in the crowd in the center of the courtyard snow falling all around as the stand waiting.

Dyn stood before the man at the gate raising her grandfather's letter, but he waved her through looking out behind her into the storm.

"Just fall in line Miss, everything will come in due time after that. Move along and fall in."

Crisis Rocan wrote:From here

Whispers on the wind circled around her in the blizzard as she walked the lone single lane road over the lake to the castle gates.  As she neared the walls the blizzard abated enough to see a line of people formed halfway down the road to the edge of the lake where she had come from.  A line that seemed to grow rather than shrink as she neared it.  The whispers on the wind blend with the voices of the crowd waiting to get inside the walls of the castle where at least the blizzard is tamed, if not the wilds of the frozen north.

"Is it really that tough?"

"How long?"

"Life?"

"Do they really hunt people who run away?"

Words, questions, statements, thoughts, and fears swirl in the blizzards snowfall, swallowed by the storm as she finds a place at the back of the line which moves ever so slowly forward.  As what seem like hours pass and the sun clears the cloud coverage for the first time during the storm.  Dyn finds herself finally standing just inside the castle's gates looking onto an open courtyard.  Lines of people including those who were just in front of her have formed in the crowd in the center of the courtyard snow falling all around as the stand waiting.

Dyn stood before the man at the gate raising her grandfather's letter, but he waved her through looking out behind her into the storm.

"Just fall in line Miss, everything will come in due time after that.  Move along and fall in."

"Excuse me," She began, even as the man waved her off. "I need to speak with the one in charge of the Academy, I don't have an official appointment, but I have this letter written by my late grandfather who expressed his interest that I should head to this academy." she tried to explain in a formal, polite mannered way. "Might I enter, so I can explain my arrival in a more appropriate fashion?" She asked.

"Fall in line, fall in line, move along, save your questions for after roll call and muster. Once everyone is settled I'm sure all your questions ill be answered."

The man at the gate droned on not really paying attention to her as she spoke, simply processing her as a number and new recruit like everyone else who came to the Gunslinger Academy in the north. They didn't get many normal visitors, and those almost never came in when new recruits were being processed. Something about not wanting to be mistakenly processed and enrolled into the Gunslinger Academy ranks, where the only way to leave was in a casket, or hunted down until the run away was in one. A mistake to be certain, but the gates were already closing as there were no more recruits crossing the lone road of bridges and isle back to the shore.

"Move along miss, gates closing for the night."

That was the last thing she heard from the guard as he watched the gate lower securing the Gunslinger Academy for the time being, and moving on himself.

Crisis Rocan wrote:"Fall in line, fall in line, move along, save your questions for after roll call and muster.  Once everyone is settled I'm sure all your questions ill be answered."

The man at the gate droned on not really paying attention to her as she spoke, simply processing her as a number and new recruit like everyone else who came to the Gunslinger Academy in the north.  They didn't get many normal visitors, and those almost never came in when new recruits were being processed.  Something about not wanting to be mistakenly processed and enrolled into the Gunslinger Academy ranks, where the only way to leave was in a casket, or hunted down until the run away was in one.  A mistake to be certain, but the gates were already closing as there were no more recruits crossing the lone road of bridges and isle back to the shore.  

"Move along miss, gates closing for the night."

That was the last thing she heard from the guard as he watched the gate lower securing the Gunslinger Academy for the time being, and moving on himself.

She chuckled. "I'm not here to enroll into the academy, I'm here to speak with the one in charge. I'm sure there are rules and regulations for this sort of thing now, isn't there?" She asked. "The matter is not completely urgent, and if you deny me entry I shall simply camp here till dawn break," She says, removing her hood, showing off her face:



"This cold air's nothing for me, in fact this blizzard's rather tame for this time of year if I do say so myself." She smirked. "So... am I allowed entry, or am I camping out here on this bridge?"

"In... out... not my problem miss, gates closing either way. You want to talk to the head you have to come in, you don't want to get recruited and sign on you wait outside. Could be days, maybe even weeks to a month before the gates open again though, maybe you get lucky and they let you stand around and not get recruited, can only say I've seen it happen just once in my time here. Well gates closing either way in just a minute make up your mind quick lass. It could be another month before the gates are open to the public at the most."

The guard no longer concerned with whether or not Dyn came inside turned away he had a gate to lower either way. On the other side of the gate a young man leaned against the castles inner wall, half eyeing the bridge back to the frozen wilderness. Half nodding off while the recruits all stood in ranks, waiting for the their days at the gunslinger Academy to begin. He didn't look as though he belonged here, he didn't look as though he particularly wanted to stay either. But he wasn't moving. The guard had looked in his direction when he spoke of a person not being recruited once during his time at the academy.





Half nodding off while standing his head dipped down and he sneezed...





In the blink of a sneeze the entire body of the young man shifted, changing from the dark haired boy to that of a blonde in red. His hand threaded through his now blonde hair as his eyes squinted in a look of irritation. He shook his head his lips mouthing the words "red's just not my color", closing his eyes a few moments passed. With a nod he remained where he was standing but in a more fitting sort of skin to his sense of aesthetics.

Crisis Rocan wrote:"In... out... not my problem miss, gates closing either way.  You want to talk to the head you have to come in, you don't want to get recruited and sign on you wait outside.  Could be days, maybe even weeks to a month before the gates open again though, maybe you get lucky and they let you stand around and not get recruited, can only say I've seen it happen just once in my time here.  Well gates closing either way in just a minute make up your mind quick lass.  It could be another month before the gates are open to the public at the most."

The guard no longer concerned with whether or not Dyn came inside turned away he had a gate to lower either way.  On the other side of the gate a young man leaned against the castles inner wall, half eyeing the bridge back to the frozen wilderness.  Half nodding off while the recruits all stood in ranks, waiting for the their days at the gunslinger Academy to begin.  He didn't look as though he belonged here, he didn't look as though he particularly wanted to stay either.  But he wasn't moving.  The guard had looked in his direction when he spoke of a person not being recruited once during his time at the academy.  





Half nodding off while standing his head dipped down and he sneezed...  





In the blink of a sneeze the entire body of the young man shifted, changing from the dark haired boy to that of a blonde in red.  His hand threaded through his now blonde hair as his eyes squinted in a look of irritation.  He shook his head his lips mouthing the words "red's just not my color", closing his eyes a few moments passed.  With a nod he remained where he was standing but in a more fitting sort of skin to his sense of aesthetics.

Dyn sighed, confused by the guard's words. She thought she had the right of it, so she slipped inside before the gates closed up. She crossed the bridge, her calves and her glutes jiggling as she did, noticing the new face standing by the castle's inner wall thanks to the guard's general nod. They looked young, kind of cute with dark hair-blonde-wait, what? She blinked again, and the young man's appearance was back... sorta. Similar at least.

"Red's just not my color," he mouthed she noticed, close enough to read his lips. She smirked and paused beside him. "Red's not my color either, I prefer green, but blue's nice too." She chuckled, her odd hilt like weapon bouncing off her hip. She turned to him, and noticed he didn't look like the type to brave such cold winters. She placed a hand on her hip and glanced him up and down. "So you're a non recruit too, or another cadet like the others milling through here?" She asked, realizing she didn't have to be immediate with her meeting with the head of the Academy... he was cute after all.

The wind seemed to steer clear of the interior of the open courtyard of the castle, and the snow which drifted into the courtyard melted long before it hit the hard packed dirt  But the temperature was bitter cold on the warmest of summer days, and this was no warm summer day.  The young man shifted his weight as Dyn approached her words catching him as his eyes changed color behind half closed lids.  

Yeah blue is a nice color, kind of fond of it myself really... but this blue ball weather is...

He trailed off as he opened his eyes all the way to look at the person speaking to him, a person not from the academy.  The first besides the old codger flitting in and out of the young man's eyesight alone.  He had a inclination of just who the old man really was, and frankly he wasn't interested in dealing with the patron God of the Gunslingers.  Every time they ran into one another it seemed war and death followed.  But his eyes were caught by all the blue, as she asked him about what he was here for.

I think I'm a little old for their ranks, honestly.  Anyway me, oh, you could say I just kind of fell into being here.  They keep trying to get me to sign on, been here three or four days already, and they don't seem to like the idea of my saying no very much.  Something in the air maybe, they seem to think anyone crazy enough to walk in this weather in this part of the region is hellbent on becoming a Gunslinger.  Not too mention the day after I got here, everyone seemed to be in a different mood.   More serious about their annual recruitment season, like some giant bug crawl up their, well that or someone high up in the ranks of the Association made an unexpected visit.  That might explain the attitude from the head on down the last few days.

He took his time to get a better look at her, she wasn't the typical type he had seen over the last few days, nothing about her said Gunslinger, or even wannabe Gunslinger.  Not the least of which was the hilt on her hip, something stuck him odd about it.  Not many would carry around a hilt instead of a proper weapon so prominently as she did this hilt.

To answer you properly I'm not one of them or even considering to be one of them, just happened to end up in the area as it were, when someone heading this way insisted on bringing me here.  Been refusing their advances ever since, and they aren't to keen on letting anyone who comes inside their gates leave until they've signed on.  Of course that's a life long commission from what I've heard.

Name's Crisis...,  Crisis Rocan, I'm sort of a traveling man, what brings you to this frozen ass crack of the world if not the near mythical skills and wonderful dental plan of the Gunslinger Association.  Miss?  It is Miss I take it?

She smirked at the remark of blue, kept it as he continued to explain his situation to her, once catching his eyes falling upon the hilt of her Frostflower, as well as other parts of her which were welcome. Once finished she chuckled. "Indeed, Miss Dyn Dreyrbyn Srey, of the Pale. I'm from this ass crack of civilization," She says opening her arms wide, her curves swaying as she took a moment to spin around in the frigid air, her cloak flapping around her shoulders, only stilling once she met eyes with the young man again. "not this particular part of the region, but I'm used to cold summers and diamond dust winters, Mr? I assume, right? You're a touch on the pretty side~" She teased, before holding out her hand. "But Crisis you say? Well then, we are well met." She smirks. "And to better answer you Crisis, I'm here since my late Grandfather sent me a letter to come out to this keep and speak to someone about my sword here." She nodded to the hilt on her hip, while her hand was still outstretched for him to shake or what have you.

She chuckled as he took her hand and kissed it, seemingly ignoring his transformations for the moment. "We are very well met, and Dyn is fine, Crisis." She replied. "Interesting abilities you've got there indeed..." She mumbled, unaware she said that out loud, rubbing her chin with her free hand. She noticed his eyes to her hilt, and then he openly spoke about it. "That is a question I ask myself... as for its lack of a blade," She says, pulling the odd hilt up, channeling her energy and releasing a bluish blade that was skinny like a rapier and had glowing butterflies flapping away from it; fading as they fluttered away.

"Its all dependent on me." She tapped the side of her head with her free hand. "I can channel my powers to create a blade of any shape just about. It can even be a two handed weapon if I wanted to... and it hasn't failed me... yet he insisted I come here." She shrugged.

Well I wouldn't exactly call it an ability, more like an annoying hiccup that is..




Insistent upon driving me bat shit crazy. Does this hat look as stupid as I think it does?

For a moment he paused and flicked the hat in question, it really didn't suit him in the least.

I've seen something like your sword before. In fact I dare say a couple of weapons with similar attributes to that. Though I find the butterflies to be a questionable choice for manifesting the blade. Interesting indeed, wonder why they was chosen. It seems almost tailored to...

He trailed off in mid thought allowing his words to hang in the air, considering her reasons for coming and the words hasn't failed me yet. It sounded as though she herself wasn't sure of the blade she wielded. Perhaps that was part of the problem she didn't know of, he thoughts as he looked around the courtyard and the roll call and muster taking place.

Perhaps you are here because the technique that blade requires to use it is similar in nature to one of the highest secret techniques of the Gunslinger Association.

Crisis Rocan wrote:Well I wouldn't exactly call it an ability, more like an annoying hiccup that is..




Insistent upon driving me bat shit crazy.  Does this hat look as stupid as I think it does?

For a moment he paused and flicked the hat in question, it really didn't suit him in the least.

I've seen something like your sword before.  In fact I dare say a couple of weapons with similar attributes to that.  Though I find the butterflies to be a questionable choice for manifesting the blade.  Interesting indeed, wonder why they was chosen.  It seems almost tailored to...

He trailed off in mid thought allowing his words to hang in the air, considering her reasons for coming and the words hasn't failed me yet.  It sounded as though she herself wasn't sure of the blade she wielded.  Perhaps that was part of the problem she didn't know of, he thoughts as he looked around the courtyard and the roll call and muster taking place.

Perhaps you are here because the technique that blade requires to use it is similar in nature to one of the highest secret techniques of the Gunslinger Association.

She smirked at this. "Oh no, it looks absolutely smashing, dear." She hummed in giggling manner as he flicked the hat. Upon him reacting to the blade's unique properties Dyn raised a dark brow. "Yes... indeed you are correct about the butterflies, when my Grandfather wielded the blade it was something else, feathers or..." she trailed off when he brought up his theory. "Secret technique...? Of the G.A.? That's peculiar indeed... perhaps I should join the ranks myself... but I hear they have an awful, dreadful way of making sure you stay in the club once you join up." she says looking from her blade, deactivating her powers so it became a hilt again, her crystal blue eyes falling upon Crisis with a playful and somewhat coy smirk.

Aaahh Aaaahh achooooo…

Oh for the love of…

That’s enough of this fucking flitting around from one form to another.  God dammit.  Enough's enough.  Have you ever tried to make freshly squeezed orange juice… from bananas?  Yeah me neither but I’d imagine it’s not that fucking easy, kind of like forcing yourself to stop changing forms every time you fucking sneeze.





Eh it’ll do, but this coat and hat will need some seeing too as well as my old gun still does.  I suddenly had a feeling that I was going to have to do some explaining if anyone realized these items were supposed to be inside glass cases in the grand hall of the academy.  Well a little stage dressing might be in order.  The tatters would have to be fixed and patched and hell maybe just renew the whole damn thing. I had the time to fix them anyway.

I lost Dyn in the day's proceedings as all the new recruits were getting squared away for their muster. We were disturbed from our spot off to the side and then she was pulled away into the crowd somewhere.  I haven’t seen her since.  But I know I’ll see her again when the time comes, after all I’m the one who forged her sword in the first place.  I just need time to consider what truly needs to be done with it.

I honestly didn’t have an answer for her at the time, so I saw no reason to tell her I was the one she was looking for.  The weapon is unique in many ways and needs to be handled in as unique a fashion.  I had no idea how long it would take me to settle on the how’s and what's of that.

Regardless, I figured I would spend a little time on my old clothes from the days of being the first Gunslinger first.  The hat was pretty easy to fix, but honestly I had little interest in wearing it, but my old coat, well that would be nice if only it was about four feet too large for my current body.  A shame but nothing for it really.  I suppose somebody is going to freak out when they see the first Gunslinger’s gear restored to its original condition.

I spent a considerable amount of time in the room they politely provided for me, mending and repairing the coat and hat.  Of course how I got them out of the Grand Hall is a trade secret, but how I’m going to put them back will be more fun.  It was enjoyable to just relax for a time and do something as simple and normal as repairing old clothes.  I could go into the details but frankly it just isn’t really that amazing of a process.  You get a needle and thread and you patch the stuff up.  Of course the fact that I was altering the materials and thread to match the old thing is just a minor detail.  By the time I finished it looked as good as new, it might as well be new, of course there was nothing special about the hat and coat other than it belonging to the First Gunslinger, me.  But it’s not really about being special, for me I just wanted to fix something that needed fixing.  Sometimes that’s all the reason one needs to do something.  

Once they were finished I returned them whole to the Grand Hall where they could remain for the foreseeable future.  Returned them right under the noses of two Apprentice Gunslingers who were standing watch.  I had also finished repairing my old gun as well.  Funny really, it wasn’t anything special, none of it was.  Just pointless symbols they decided to use out of reverence to a man who did the impossible against even less probable odds.  For no other reason than that’s the kind of guy I am.  I’ll fight a war that’s already been lost just to stand against fate.  To deny…

No, it’s more about just doing what I feel is needed, to be done.  Right sometimes even wrong, it’s just instinct that guides me time and time again.  Most likely why I’m here.  My instincts putting me where I can be of use.  Things of that nature.  


Sometimes they take the new recruits out in the early morning hours before the sun even rises, in the bitter cold even inside this old castle’s grounds.  They don’t touch firearms, probably not for a good while to come.  Maybe even years if they aren’t physically and mentally ready for the rigors of being a Gunslinger.

Now traditionally speaking Masters choose Apprentices to train personally.  But there is a certain level of impracticalness to this process.  The balance of Gunslingers is precarious this way.  And after countless years of Masters dying in the field, and other losses the process had been changed by the current Head Gunslinger, adding the Enforcer rank.  Master’s who do not take Apprentices, who have taken over the role Masters and their Apprentices used to fill as hired guns by outside sources.

They were still in transition, and these fresh recruits were all a part of this new system, of the expanded system to increase the ranks of the Gunslingers as a whole. I started them, you know.  And yet I really didn’t have anything to do with the formation of the organization at all.  It was founded based on me and my actions, but not what I taught them at the time, well not entirely or more to the point not exactly what I taught them.  Things were twisted, and changed over the long years since the Hundred Years of Blood when the First Gunslinger fought for the local people who would have been mercilessly slaughtered without his actions, without my interference.

So I felt a certain responsibility to see this new system brought to life as well.  To see these new changes made real, to see them actualized.  She was here, the latest Head Gunslinger, the one who changed the status quo to maintain the balance in the lives of her people.  To make sure the Gunslinger Association would survive, but more to the point thrive despite being actively involved in the outside world.  And yet these changes weren’t drastic, subtle mostly.  The primary being the creation of Enforcers, but this change would also mean the need for more Gunslingers in general.  Thus all the new recruits.

Not Apprentices mind you but recruits, aspirants if you will.  People seeking to become true members of the Gunslinger Association.  Most of the time their adults, young adults dreaming of fame and fortune and being cool.  Some are older, much older determined to put themselves to the test before their dying days.  And then there is an even smaller number of recruits, young, sent to become Gunslingers because of natural skills and talents or hopefulness to succeed. They get all kinds, from all ages, races, and walks of life, even some who are born into it, though that isn’t something many hear about.  And often hidden from everyone involved except the Masters involved in keeping the knowledge secret.  Many of the recruits are just kids being taught from the ground up, orphans and the like who have nothing else.  Some are scouted by Masters, but most of the ones that here, now, are all just hopefuls dreaming of being a Gunslinger.

I kind of look the part now.  Since I forced my unfortunate sneeze shapeshifting to a stop.  Don’t really like the red hair on myself but whatever, could be worse.

So again you have to understand the mentality of an Apprentice Gunslinger.  They have to be open to the skills and techniques that will be passed on to them.  To be able to learn them, apply them, and ultimately understand them properly.  But the raw recruits were years away from that kind of training, hell they were years away from handling a gun, or even a knife for survival purposes.  These recruits needed to be toughened up for a long time before they would be given real training.  

I felt like just watching wasn’t really going to be good enough, and yet I didn't want to step into a different role.  Despite wanting to see this new process through, I wasn’t sure which side of it to be involved with.  Not really a big deal.  And then again all things considered my size, shape, and apparent age were speaking volumes for this decision.  I mean come on it’s not like you didn’t see this coming.  Still it’s not how I want to handle it, but to be honest it’s really the only logical way.  I’m going to have to be a guy that can be absolutely average at everything.  Well maybe above average.  Yeah that’s probably not going to workout very well all things considered and my track record included.  


It’s life in a nutshell, SOUND OFF!  That’s how it goes, they get woken up before the sun comes up… you know what?  Fuck it, we’ll do this from the center of the storm.  Rewind!

Up and at’em you godless dogs! The voice rings out disturbing the sleep of the new recruits.  It’s not even one of the Masters, the ones who train Apprentices until they are ready to become full fledged Masters or Enforcers; well not strictly speaking.  There are a series of Apprentices that are lined up to train the recruits, and Aspirants.  These Apprentices work directly under a Master. These Apprentices have been selected for their experience, and understanding of the skills they are to teach.  Some have been selected for their sternness of character and adherence to the principals and ideals of the Gunslinger Association.  

The Master who leads the instructions of new recruits and Aspirants alike is given the title of Master Drill Instructor, Mayster Campidoctor.  The ones who took turns waking and drilling us, were far from masters, but they had a certain flair and passion for the work of the instructors.  No doubt most of them would go on to become Masters and take Apprentices to teach, while being available to help instruct the recruits and Aspirants as well.  Under this new system that included Enforcers the bulk of the Gunslinger Association was to be taught one set of Master’s skills as a basic standard for all new recruits and Aspirants going forward.  

A universal standard for the future generations of the GA to learn before being taken on by a Master properly to finish their training and earn their right to the title of Master or Enforcer if they so desired.  Enforcers as well could return to the Gunslinger Association Academies and finish their training if they wished to resign from the mercenary work of the GA to help train future generations, once their training was completed.

Three recruits were dumped from their cots by the Apprentice Drill Instructors.  And everyone who didn’t hustle outside was rushed out by a swift kick in the ass.  Did I say it was raining, yeah it’s probably raining right now, and icy splashes against your half dressed skin sucks.  Freezing rain splashing across our bodies as we start out long before the sun comes up falling into ranks.  But not for long, the ADI’s have us wind sprinting the length of the training yard on castle’s right side field.  While on the left side of the field the actual Aspirants, the new recruits who have sworn their lives away, err I mean taken their oaths continue the drills they were already up and doing before us fresh recruits were rushed outside.  





There is a certain magical protection inside the walls of the castle, but that only dulls the effects of the elements.  We still feel it, we still have to contend with the effects both during and after.  They do keep track of all the new recruit’s health, but that doesn’t mean they stop it from happening.  Some lessons need to be learned the hard way, and some recruits only learn the hard way. Not me, I’m not that lucky,  but it doesn’t change that fact wind sprints are bullshit.  Especially when you’re running the length of a fucking castle courtyard.  Wind sprints more like death runs.  Again.  Again.  AGAIN! Then they start the fun as they call it.  

Half the ADI’s pull new recruits, who are holding up with the running part of the morning taking them into the center of the field forcing the sprinters to wave and dodge around us.  And that isn’t as easy as it sounds, as we are instructed to do blocking drills.  And I mean blocking.  Everything and anything that is coming at us, we are told to stop it all, attacks from the ADI’s, the other recruits around us being attacked, and the sprinters as well.  If it can hit us we are to block it.  This isn’t the first day of training, not for most of these raw recruits.  Sure it might be my official first day, but these guys have been doing it for weeks now.  The ones still running death sprints will be kept at it until they satisfy their ADIs with their progress.  A few will fail out here, not being able to hold up to the minimum standard the GA and MDI have set for their Aspirants, but it could be a couple of years before they are released and allowed to leave.

The same is true for all of the new recruits so long as they have not been officially sworn in as an Aspirant.  They will continue at each stage of their trial training until they pass or fail out.  It’s the way of things.

My training started before the others were woken up the next day.  Two ADIs came to get me, while another small group woke the recruits who had progressed to the blocking drills.  After a couple of death sprints they started their blocking training, while I was escorted outside of the castle and back along the roadway, out into the open fields around the Academy.  Mostly in silence,apparently they needed room for this next step in the training.  Room that the castle courtyard either couldn’t supply or wouldn’t be a distraction for the other recruits and Aspirants.

I felt insulted, I really did, but I didn’t say anything about it, these two were out of their league, but you know I wasn’t trying to be special.  Things just are what they are, and they were sent to sound me out more specifically to start training me for the next stage of recruit training.  So they went slow, god awfully slow.  I could recite the entire contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica unabridged in three different languages before one of their hits landed.  And they said just do my best to block their attacks.  I stopped myself from laughing at that.

They went slow, even slower than we had been going with the mayhem of the blocking training in the courtyard.  At first they were slowly increasing their attack speeds, then they changed pace each moving at a different speed and timing.  I wasn’t phased by this, in fact it was the first entertaining thing I’d done since showing up next to fixing my old gear and slipping it unnoticed back where it sat on display.  I did at least give myself a handicap. I used both hands, as often as I could to block them individually, and I didn’t use my legs at all and only rarely did I use an elbow either.  

You know those good fight scenes where the Aisian good guy is getting his ass kicked, by a half a dozen bad guys or more, and they have to fling their arms around to block at the last second.  Half being pushed around taking more hits than they would be in the next fight scene, or if they got their, I’m the hero and pissed second wind going.  It was kind of like that minus the whole getting hit thing, I don’t particularly care for taking a punch if I can avoid it.  Doesn’t always work out but against these two, even with them constantly speeding up I had plenty of time to block two handed most of their attacks most of the time.  Like I said occasionally I had to throw an elbow to stop them from connecting.  Although a good number of my blocks were fist to fist or forearm to make it feel like they were getting in good solid hits.  

Throwing a fight while not actually losing it isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when it's two on one and there is a third party keeping a close eye on it from the castle wall.  A very close eye mind you.  The MDI was watching, he’s always watching, they are always watching, the current MDI and just as often other Masters are watching as well.  Always looking for a promising new recruit to single out.  

I would have been just such a candidate had I not already had other plans when I finished with my curiosity.  But that's neither here nor there.  Hand to hand combat training basics in the frigid cold.  Not exactly the next step, but I was outside of their expectations, so they wanted to see if I was really above and beyond. But this is just the start of my outside training session.

Cause I’m under pressure.  Somewhere along the line the Master Drill Instructor seemed to decide I needed to be pressed harder than what two of his ADIs could do alone… or is that together.  Semantics right!  Shrug.  So the first ADIs were giving it all they had, and I wasn’t really trying at all against them, and the smug bastard on the wall was the only one of the three of them who realized it.  All things considered they thought they were doing pretty to keep me on my back foot and make me move so fast and so much to keep blocking them.  

Number three came flying in without any regard for the other two fists, feet, head, elbows, and you name it he came in swinging everything he could at me.  Ahh, nope still not enough to make me start taking them seriously, that and the first two were starting to slow down a little bit as it was.  Now I was really starting to contemplate Asian fight scenes.  As the third ADI came swinging in I grabbed one of the other’s arms and pulled him across to block the punch, spinning him into the way of any successive follow up attacks.

So yeah I was starting to have to try a little.  I was still mostly two handed blocking their attacks or using two hands to block with one of them instead of taking the hits.  It was how I wanted to handle this fight, but it was starting to feel a bit obvious that the MDI had other plans, especially when the fourth ADI joined in.  

He interrupted with a drop kick, which I just batted him away with two hands while spinning away toward the nearest ADI, it was about time to take this a little more seriously and stop using just two handed blocking. I hate sweating in the cold, especially where it can snow and blow frigid winds at me.  It’s just downright unpleasant.  And this was going to start getting hectic very soon.  It only took a moment before number 4 was back on his feet trading blows with the rest of them and me.  Four sets of hands and feet coming at me.

It was a blizzard of ows.  Not many of them mine.  And it keeps going, five, six, I swear it felt like ahh two dozen guys were thrown at me.  And there very well may have been so many.  I was starting to feel like Fezzik, you use different moves when you fight one on one.  Hey seriously though, dodging punch to face.  

When do I ever get a one on one fight?  It’s a bit fuzzy, I honestly, kick to the kidneys, ouch didn’t quite dodge that one.  As I go stumbling back toward the castle and onto the frozen lake that is bisected only by the roadway to the castle.  Ice is almost as forgiving as gravel to skid face first across.

The first one to reach me was on top of me in a mere fraction of a moment, pounding away on me as I pushed my way to my feet.  I wasn’t dodging his hits, I was taking them full on face first.  It takes a minute to get your hands up when you’re on the ground trying to stand back up.  The second guy caught with a swift kick lifting me off the ground and sending me back down onto the hard frozen ice.  Ugh, grr.  

Alright enough's enough, and I don’t mean that 80’s spandex wearing glam rock band either.  Slamming my hand flat against the ice I send a wave of pure force into it damn near blasting myself in half.  But more to the point as I intended back onto my feet, and splitting the pair of attackers in the process.  Passing between them.  





Wiping the blood from my mouth I glance up at the wall and see the DI isn’t going to stop this fight short of saving someone's life.  He wants to see what I can really do.  FINE!  Here’s one the GA has never figured out could be done. It's going to leave a trail of devastation but I’ll hold back, it’s not their fault he hasn’t fully understood how far above them my skills are.  I jokingly call it Sparkler because it’s small in scale and damn near undetectable, until you see the damage it can do.  All the bang of Fireworks, but nasty and on the insides of a target's body.  Of course I really don’t want to hurt these guys, they're just doing their job…  

I really fucking hate that excuse!


So I lay into the nearest guy to me slamming my fist as deep into his gut as I can, he crumples onto my fist and arm, but the energy I release explodes through him.  Cutting down everyone on the other side of him as I spin him around to get as many of them as I can in one shot.  My own nasty version of Fireworks the Spakler, to set things off.  But done with pure energy released from my hand into this first guy.  He’s not going to be walking around for a while, but at least his insides aren’t outside.  He can thank me later if they ever realize just how close to permanent internal organ replacement he came.

I fell to the ground, I wasn’t exhausted but I was pissed.  Everyone else fell down as they rushed right into an attack none of them could see.  No chance of avoiding or dodging it, but an overwhelming force all the same smothering them into submission.  Maybe the old DI on the castle wall caught a glimpse of it, I can't say really, as I used the ADI’s body to shield my attack from his view just in case.  Got to hedge my bets, you know, it was my Sparkler into a pure mental short circuit blast of energy to the group.  As I lay there in the moment between being attacked and the last guy trying to get in a finish on me as he stumbled for a moment thrown off by the sudden end of his fellow instructors I had a moment to feel like Yusuke, just one though.





He was a credit to his training, he didn’t hesitate for long, but it was more than enough for me to remember I still had one guy left to put down.  Grabbing his foot I pulled it out from under him as he raised his other foot in a fast stomp.  Down he went, and both of us were back on our feet.  But I was really tired of this test.  He charged, locking up my arms in his, and going for a headbutt.  Dizzying that, being slammed in the face by someone’s head, especially when they have a foot or two on you.  Lifting me off my feet he slammed his head into mine again.  

Grrrrr, growl, deep throated growl of annoyance.  I kick off him with both feet not that I’m going very far, but my legs extend back as far as they can which gives me just enough room to throw my weight into his next headbutt and swing out and around his body slipping free of his grip.  Sliding across the ground I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and try tearing off my flesh, but that feeling can wait a moment.

This guy has priority.  Ah fuck it… Superman punch.  I don’t have time to play with this guy any more.  I think I pissed her off.  I mean with the way that weird ass glow is just leaking off her from her left eye.  I’m pretty sure she’s looking at me like I’m number one with a bullet.  But I don’t turn around to face her, she’s too damn cute to take the first swing at.  And I can feel her glare boring a hole the size of Mt. Rushmore into the back of my skull.