Drummen leaned on his earthern staff panting heavily. "Give... me a... a moment... to catch... my breath..." He grabbed his wine skin and emptied it, and looked up at his father in law. He then looked at the bruises on his arms and legs. "You're lucky that robe protected you... Or you'd be covered in more than just those bruises."
Drummen smiled, nodding and put his wine skin away. "I know... I'm lucky I know a good armsguard that can look after me like this..."
"Yes... That's a good thing, however I do have a question for you." Drummen sat down on the stone ground, leaning on the wall. "Shoot... What do you want to know?"
"Why are you either fighting with your staff, or fighting using your abilities... Can't you do both at the same time?" Drummen looked at him for a moment, and hit his head with his hand, cursing loudly. "Why didn't I think of something like that?"
"Easy... You have a one tracked mind... You need to focus on more than one thing if you want to do something like that." Drummen nodded in thought. "Don't worry brother in law... It took me a long time to be able to do that as well... If you're not focused enough on one thing, than it becomes weak and falls apart... Which leads to death." Drummen nodded. "I still want to try and learn... How do I start learning."
"Hahaha... Stubborn. I like that in you son in law... The first thing is simple... Form two staffs and spin them in opposite directions." Drummen smiled. "That I can do... I've been spinning staffs all my life... Or as far as I can remember." He formed the two staffs and started to spin them in his hands. "In different directions... Spin one towards me, and the other towards my son." Drummen nodded, and started to spin his staffs. He watched as they fell out of his hands and cursed. He picked them up and started to spin again, cursing. "Its harder than it looks... Come on brother in law... You can do it... Eventually."
"Drummen growled. "I don't have time to do this eventually... I have to be at least able to do something as simple as this." He dropped the staffs again, picked them up and started again. He looked up and smiled. "I see they've stopped beating you up husband... What are they making you do now?" He smiled, spinning them staffs slowly around his fingers. "They're teaching me to split my focus, so I can use my abilities and my staff fighting at the same time... At the moment I can only do one at a time, which can be seen as a weakness."
"That's good training father... He needs to be able to fight to the best of his ability, but if he's just able to do one thing at a time it'll cause a lot of trouble in the future." He cursed as he dropped the staffs. "Blasted staffs... They can go rot in hell..." He picked them up, and started again. "You can get there husband... Father, can I take him once he's completed the start of this training? I have some ideas, that can help him also improve in this skill."
"Are you talking about holding and fighting at the same time?" He saw Raven's smile. "Something like that... But it'll help him split his focus... Guaranteed." Drummen looked at his father in law. "I'll do anything, if I can learn this, than my skills in the battlefield will improve a lot, and I'll be able to protect many more people."
"Husband... If you're teaching him to split his focus... I should be the one teaching him that." He cursed as he saw Daikish walk behind Raven. "Since I'm the most skilled in this ability..."
"Yes, you are wife... Fine. I'm hungry, come son, daughter... Lets go enjoy some delicious food, and leave son in law to your mother... She knows best." Drummen cursed and shook his head, watching his father in law wave his hand at him. He dropped the staffs, and started to walk after them. "Raven..."
"Stop there apprentice..." He froze mid step and turned towards Daikish. "Yyyes... What devilish means do you have in store for me this time?" He saw her smile and felt a shiver down his back. "I'm going to be fighting you... The thing with you Drummen, is that you learn by fighting... No point in teaching you this, if you're not in a fight... You're different than the others, and you learn differently... So all we're going to do is fight, but you'll need to be holding a large piece of stone while you fight me... Each time the stone falls, or breaks, I'll add another bruise to your already bruised body... Easy..." He watched as she formed a staff and stood looking at him with a smile. "Since I've been away, it seems you've needed to be beaten black and blue... So. Now's the chance..." He frowned as she pointed to a large stone boulder near her. "You need to keep this in the air... Its not heavy, so it should be easy, while you're fighting me."
Drummen nodded and looked at the stone boulder, watching as it rose in the air. He looked at her and formed an earth staff.
"BANG!"
He looked at the boulder, as it fell back to the ground, and his staff as it crumpled in his hands. He cursed, as he felt Daikish punch him in the ribs... "Try again... You can't fight me yet, until you can do those two simple things... Hurry up, we don't have too much time left, or are you going to show that our family is the weakest?"
He shook his head, and started again. "Still stubborn... You're really like my husband... Good... Raven will teach you well in the future... Maybe even your future daughter as well. Hahaha." Drummen cursed, as he felt his face becoming red. He took a long drink from another wine skin, and started again. He watched as the stone rose, and the staff formed in his hands. He smiled at Daikish and jumped towards her.
"BANG!"
He cursed, as he felt himself fly backwards through the air and crash into the stone wall behind him. He dusted himself off, and took a step towards her. "How long did it take you to learn how to split your focus?"
"It took me about a year to get the basic idea of how to do it." Drummen watched as she formed five different earthen staffs, and the stone boulder. "See... I can attack and kill you, while also have time to talk to you, and have all of these things running around." He cursed as he was surrounded by the staffs, boulder and Daikish. "See... Just these things turn you in an unstoppable destroying and protecting force... No one will ever be able to get past you..." Drummen nodded. "You had a year to learn mother in law... I don't have that much time... How do you expect me to learn that?" He saw her smile, and instantly regretted asking her the question.
"That's why I'm the one teaching you this... We don't have that much time... So again, Raven will want you in one piece, for what she has in store for you, and you're needed above with the fields... So we need to hurry... Come show me your stubbornness and strength...The key is to empty your mind... Don't tell me you forgot your training... One with staff... One with earth..." Drummen nodded, and formed the staff in his hand, and lifted another stone boulder. He looked at his hands in confusion, and a smile started to form.
He closed his eyes. "Become one with the staff... Become one with the earth... Empty mind... No distractions..."
"That's better... I'm still waiting." Drummen started to move in the forms he learnt in the dome. "One with the staff... One with the earth... Feel the earth grow up inside of me..." He stopped at the final form, and breathed. "I can feel them... I can do this." He opened his eyes and stared at Daikish. "Looks good so far... Lets see if you can keep your mind empty, while fighting me... Come at me." Drummen smiled and felt the stone boudler start to wobble. "Empty... One with the earth..." He watched as it settled, and jumped at Daikish with his earthen staff attacking and striking her as strong as he could. He rolled out of the way pushing his hand at her, as the stone boulder went into her direction. He jumped back in as she struck the stone boulder. "Not while I'm holding it..." He lifted his hand as warriors of stone appeared behind the smiling Daikish. "Good come..." Drummen smiled in his empty mind, and jumped in attacking her with her staff. He felt as the earthen statues also started to move towards her. "They all look like you son in law... It seems that you listened back then... Proud of you."
"BANG!"
Drummen stopped attacking in surprise, and watched his empty mind crumble at her words. He stood up and looked at Daikish smiling at him. "Still it seems you're weak to words... You almost had it... Rules are rules Drummen." He cursed as he was once again sent flying through the room. He slowly stood up with a smile on his face. "I now know what I need to do... Especially when I need to focus..." He picked up some stone and filled his ears with it. "Now I can't hear your words... Here I come Daikish... Empty mind... One with the Staff, and one with the earth."
He felt that tingle in his body and ran at her forming two short staffs, with a row of earthen statues running behind him. He looked up as he lifted his hand as large stone boulders started to float around Daikish. He smiled as he felt his heart sing. "Lets return the favor..." He jumped and started to strike Daikish, forming more staffs to attack her back, as the earth warriors also struck. He ducked letting a stone boulder fly into her. He jumped, landing on a floating boulder before jumping again with his staff out aiming for Daikish's head.
"AHHHHHHHHHH"
He jumped back as she turned into her dragon form with orange eyes. He smiled as he ran at her again. Dodging the tail and claws, while sending more and boulders in her path. He saw her mouth open and touched his ears. "Sorry can't hear..." He cursed as he saw her claw come to slash down at him. He jumped and landed on another boulder, drinking from his wine skin.
"I'll show you that I've been practicing... And practicing hard..." He jumped back in front of Daikish and started to move around in a drunken state. He looked at the earth warriors, as they also started to copy his movements. He fell forward letting the staff hit the ground, slapping Daikish in the face. He rolled forward pushing with his hands as large boulders followed through with smacks to her face. He jumped and struck her in the side, as the warriors of earth struck her face again.
"STOP!"
He stood up, and wobbled leaning on one of the earthen staffs. He shook the stone from his ears and looked at her with a red face, as she turned back to her normal form. "You've picked it up... You really are a genius son in law..." He smiled and looked at his hands, as blood leaked out of his ears. "Why?"
"Because someone was a stupid idiot and filled his ears with stones... You need to learn to tune out the sound, if you want to perfect splitting your mind..." Drummen nodded and took another drink from the wine skin. He turned, watching the earthen warriors return to the stone ground, and the large boulders fell around him.
"BANG!"
"Good control... You just need to practice more... Come lets go eat... We still have a lot to do after you master this skill..." Drummen nodded, touching his stomach. "I'm feeling a little hungry..."
"Just share the wine... Hurry up..." He smiled as he threw the wine skin at Daikish, and saw the bruise on her face. "I was able to get a hit on you..."
"I let you... Next time, you won't have a chance..." Drummen winked at her. "We'll see... I'll be stronger than you all, and protect my family..." He saw her cheeks redden. "You're learning well... Now stop talking, and lets go."