The Dark Room, a place empty and devoid of anything visible or tangible. Taliyn would quietly sit in this room whenever he would meditate or fall unconscious at times. It was the place that Dusk would reside if he would ever go unconscious for too long. For even though she was his living Will, she couldn't do anything for long if he wasn't conscious. He hadn't learned out to use any healing spell yet or else Dusk could heal him if he were to ever fall unconscious but felt like it would require his own hand in doing so.
"Well, looks like I am not able to do it. I swear I felt something happen before I was knocked out." Taliyn slammed his fist on the space he was sitting, it was dark and nothing was there, but it made contact with a physical surface. Like his mind would give him a substance to hit while in the Dark Room. He recalled getting so close that he could touch Quincy, but somehow he was blocked or out maneuvered by his Master that he wasn't sure what really happened. That is when Dusk finally appeared in the Dark Room.
"Well you certainly put up a good fight, though it was funny watching you get tossed around like a ragdoll." She covered her lower face and snickered. Taliyn rolled his eyes and crossed his legs resting his head on his arm. She floated over and sat next to Taliyn, "When you wake up, Master Quincy wants to see you. Also I think that man can see me," When she said that, Taliyn looked at her.
"You sure he could see you?" He asked confused.
She nodded, "Seemed like it, or at least the old man could sense me, mysterious individual that one is. Plus," Dusk raised a finger and poked his forehead, "I think you got his attention with your last attack. The fence blew up and the sword glowed with a bright blue light." She looked up, "Said something about his technique or whatever. So, when you wake up you should go talk to him. I am sure he would want to tell you that you passed."
With that all he could do now was meditate until his mind could reawaken in his body. The Dark Room was like a form of meditation that was outside the space of his mind and body. Connecting him and Dusk more directly as she could touch him here and he could feel the contact. It was a weird place as his thoughts could bring up objects but not people. He could spawn a chair to sit in, a bed, table, anything that was not considered alive.
However long it took for him to awaken from his slumber, Taliyn shook his head as he felt better than he did before the fight with Quincy. Standing up from the bed he was laying in he started to jump up and down. Feeling like something had opened up as he was filled with renewed energy that he didn't than before. A guild member in a white robe with light blue trim came in and was surprised to see him up.
"Oh heavens, I didn't expect you to be awake." It was one of the healers, a man that sounded on the young side as he bowed. "I was told to have you go see Master Quincy when you were to awaken, though I need to make sure you are fully recovered." He pulled out a wooden tablet and some papers with a little ink cup attached to the board. The young man began asking some of the basic questions of someone who would wake up from a state inflicted unconsciousness.
"Do you know your name? What was the last thing you remember? Anything wrong with hearing, taste, or smell?" He answered the questions accordingly as they came, the healer finding nothing wrong with Taliyn in the slightest. Other than the fact his sudden surge of energy was an interesting note he had to jot down. The healer bowed and allowed him to leave after doing a Will check on him. For some individuals have lost their Will from accidents and injuries that cost them their power.
Surprisingly, Taliyn was able to draw just a little more Will out from his and Dusk's connection. He had a guess as it was forcing out his own amount of Will during his fight with Quincy that he was able to gain a little more to his own reserves. Dusk even commented on feeling a little stronger as well, for himself having access to more Will meant she too could wield more power in turn. No physical attributes were given to Dusk, just his power over Will and their shared connection got a little stronger.
Heading out of the treatment center of the Guild, Taliyn hurried his way to ask for where Master Quincy was located. "We last saw him heading for the Guild Woods past the training area, check there." He thanked group of acolytes that served in the Guild's ranks for their help and made his way to the Guild Woods. Running through the archway that lead to the woods, he remembered his time with his friends out here.
Memories of hide and seek, tag, and fighting the large beetles that would sometimes make their way into the forest. It all seemed like yesterday as he recalled falling into the hole with Kora and her hug she gave to him for saving her. Well, keeping her safe is more accurate cause he didn't save her from falling for they both did that. But the sensation went away quickly as he noticed the fact he had just come into the presence of Master Quincy who was cross legged and had his eyes closed.
"Distractions can lead one to their demise, so I suggest you focus from now on." Quincy said without opening his eyes, having not moved from his spot under a large oak tree. Taliyn looked at his master what he was doing out here.
"You wanted to see me Master Quincy?" Opening his eyes, Quincy looked at the young man in front of him. Dusk had decided to remain in Taliyn's shadow as to hide her presence from the old man. Gesturing for him to sit down, Quincy pulled out a large cloth bundle.
"I noticed that your sword couldn't withstand the power of Will you put into it." He pulled out from another bundle of cloth the broken sword Taliyn used during their sparring. The blade had snapped and bits of shattered metal were recovered. "You ended up putting a little more than you were ready for. Without proper control, you'll destroy your weapon."
Taliyn looked down at the broken training sword. "Then how would I train myself to not break the sword again?" Quincy smiled as he unrolled the large bundle he pulled out. Inside were several sticks that looked like were gathered from around the forest. Tossing a stick to Taliyn, Quincy had a huge smile on his face.
"With practice of course!" Taliyn raised an eyebrow and then looked to Quincy for answers. Wondering how using sticks were going to help him improve. Shaking his head, Quincy stood up and picked up a stick from the pile. Walking over to a tree he got in a ready position.
Before his eyes, Taliyn saw marking appear up the stick before emitting a glow. Swinging the stick at the base of the tree, Quincy slashed with the glowing stick. It was a quick motion, not stopping till his sword had passed the tree. For a moment nothing had happened, until the sound of the tree crashing to the ground and snapping limbs.
*BOOM!*
Quincy flicked the stick towards the ground and Taliyn could see it had a white aura around it. Turning around and sitting back down looking towards his student, Quincy nodded towards the stick the young man had in his hand. "This is sword magic, it is difficult to master but yields results. Turning a basic utensil or stick found on the ground into a deadly weapon." Grabbing both ends of the stick he used and snapped it in half then tossing it next to the fallen tree.
"You are to master the first step in Sword Magic," raising his hand with his index finger pointed up. "First, Hardening, this allows weak objects to become strong and durable, able to withstand blows that would normally break it." Holding up his middle finger he continued, "Second, Quickening, this allows any weapon to feel almost completely weightless and cut through the air faster than the eye can track."
"Then there is Ferocity, where you pump a large amount of Will into the weapon infusing it with so much power that it can even destroy the blade itself without Hardening mastered. Finally," lowering his hand and looking towards the tree, "Unity, where all forms of the Sword Magic comes together to form the truest blade of Will." He then sat down and grabbed another stick, "You will first learn to harden your Will to withstand my own Hardened strike."
Taking the stick in his hand and holding it in both hands, Quincy demonstrated the look he was wanting Taliyn to do. The stick glowed a orange color as the stick itself seemed to almost shine. Quincy told Taliyn to strike the stick with all his might, not refusing as he raised the stick above his head. Slamming the two sticks together caused not only for Taliyn to be blown back, but the stick in his hand broke into pieces as it sounded like he hit a metal rod.
Looking down at his own stick, Taliyn saw that Quincy's was fulling intact without a single scratch or mark of any kind. "Wow, that is incredible," he then looked down at himself, "I don't honestly think I can do that Master, for my Will is weak compared to most." But Quincy just scoffed, having tossed the stick back into the pile.
"You only say that cause you haven't harnessed your own inner Will yet. Don't rely on any external source that will likely try to help you." Taliyn got the feeling he was talking about Dusk by the way he was talking. "Taliyn, you are a bright young man, your trials begin in three weeks. I want you to leave having learned something no other student I have worked with will learn." Rolling his shoulders, Quincy stretched, "I am getting old child, I don't have an heir of my own so I will pass on my knowledge and teachings to you."
Taliyn sat up and widened his eyes, 'Does he mean that he is passing his legacy onto me?' he asked himself, then getting in a kneeling position, "I will be honored for your teachings." He bowed but Quincy just bonked him on the head with the stick. Wincing in pain as it still felt like a metal rod, making him wonder why the old man always carried the wooded cane with him everywhere without actually using it.
"Sit up, we don't got much time so I will be strict on your regiment of training. I don't want you to be late, nor leave from this spot until sundown." He tapped the ground with the stick, "You will arrive every day before dawn. I will bring you food and water while you train. If you have to take a leak, do so while still practicing on hardening the stick you will not need two hands for it. Just makes the visualization process easier." Taliyn rolled his eyes as he knew what his master was getting at, no breaks what so ever.
Taliyn asked for the instructions on how to harden the sticks. Quincy went into detail about how to imagine a metal rod on the inside of the stick. Make it too thin and the stick will act as it was without enhancing it. Make it too big and the stick would explode in his hands. "Evenly distribute the flow of Will across the whole of the stick, inside and out. Must be harder than an average sword." Taliyn took a deep breath and held the stick in both of his hands.
Trying to visualize the metal rod in the center of the stick and have it expand from within. Pushing his Will out from his hands Taliyn could feel the stick get almost heavier than normal. Accidently, he released too much Will which not only caused the stick to get heavier, but the center of the stick exploded. Showering him with wooden shrapnel all over his chest, hands, and face. Quincy just couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh ho ho, I see you let it get too heavy." He tossed him another stick which Taliyn fumbled catching from the splinters in his hands. "Try again, build up some strength while you are building the rod within. Focus on making it strong and durable, do not let it expand too quickly." Quincy would instruct him on the proper ways of controlling the flow of Will into the stick. When Taliyn would be holding the stick and trying to build the image inside it, Quincy would come over with his own stick and slam them together causing Taliyn's to break.
"Again!" This process repeated for several hours. Multiple sticks broke, new ones gathered, as he continued to fail solidifying the stick in his hands. Taliyn almost went to Dusk to help him, but would receive a hardened stick to the head. "No help... Focus." Taliyn watched the stick in his hand for until night had crept on the daylight sky. Quincy would tell Taliyn to stop for the time being as sleep and rest were important.
Now having a drive to succeed as he was going to be the legacy of a great hero, not only that, but the only one of his students to learn this form of Will power. It was his new objective to learn Will control even more than before. He got permission from Quincy to still attend class with Dirk to learn better control with Will in general. Which was granted without resistance, for Quincy knew better than to take that from Taliyn.
As the night had come and Taliyn had went to bed, Quincy smiled. "You will become a great hero someday Taliyn, you will continue to learn new things about my Sword Magic that even I can't do." He looked towards Taliyn's shadow, "You will be a key in that power, for you can't hide from me or anyone with a high perception like mine. Someday I will even teach you before I leave this world." With that, he returned to the guild and prepared meals for Taliyn for the next two weeks.