Darius rubbed his skull where Nillan' ahead had hit his own. After the whole scene, Alabaun had given both boys a stern talking to, seemingly confused about how they were fighting when they didn't even know one another. Darius insisted he didn't throw the first punch and wasn't even mad, just annoyed. He also noted he was not the one who resorted to magic, of course. In turn, Alabaun had instructed the two to leave one another alone or he'd have to.. how did he put it, "soften their thick skulls"?
Darius had no issue with that. That was his original intention to begin with, but the brat insisted on causing problems. The following day, Darius had all but forgotten about the little skirmish, making his way down the halls as he exited the towering castle out to where he and Alabaun trained.
The mage was already there, standing in the field, his arms placed upon his waist as he breathed in the fresh air.
"Ah, Darius!" Alabaun spoke, turning to greet him as he arrived. "How is your head?"
"All but dented in." Darius answered.
"Well, i hope that will keep any more mischief from happening. Anyhow, welcome! Today will be rather short, at least, depending on how quickly you can master this."
"Master what?" Darius asked, approaching the mage.
"Well, we will behind training you in hand to hand combat today. But first, you should learn a skill called projection." Alabaun spoke.
"Projection? What's that? Some kind of.. illusion spell?" Darius asked.
"No. You'll see. I want you to see it with your own eyes. Now then, imagine you just threw out a conjuration. Now, imagine trying to reach out with your magic and manipulate the spell after the cast. In this case, I am the conjuration." Alabaun spoke.
Darius scrunched his face, confused. But he didn't ask any more questions. He found that, despite how.. let's say odd the mage sounded, he usually knew what he was talking about, and was rather good with training tactics. Suppose that comes naturally with raising two mages from birth.
Darius did as Alabaun asked, reaching out with his arcana. He'd gotten a lot better at focused control, to the point he could keep his swords and manifestations in tact even when Alabaun would use a large amount of force. Though, of course, he still needed work. He knew the mage was holding back, and if he fought a real battle, his enemy would not be so kind.
"Done?" Alabaun asked.
"I.. think so?" Darius said, trying to focus. He wasn't sure what was supposed to be happening.
A moment later, a flash of ethereal light flowed towards Darius from Alabaun's body, the wispy figure moving so fast that he could hardly react. He tried to move aside, but then Alabaun's body caught up with the specter, his fist slamming into Darius's stomach.
Darius curled, clutching his gut as he coughed. "What the hell was that..?" He wheezed.
"Did you see it?"
"I don't know, all I see is stars right now!"
"Ah, I tend to have that affect. Anyhow, you should've seen what looked like some ghost rushing at you just before I hit you."
"Yeah.." Darius groaned, "I saw it, but it was so fast!"
"Well, that can't really be helped. You'll just have to work on your reaction time. Now, time to explain I suppose. What you just did was a projection. Using your arcana, you can see my intentions based upon the flow of my own arcana. The ghost you saw was actually my path of action, but of course, it was much faster. The speed at which it will travel varies on the speed of the approaching attack, but it is almost always around double your opponent's actual speed. The purpose of teaching you this is to give some way of predicting your enemy's movements as you seem to.. struggle with that."
Darius stood straight now, but his hand was still clutched to his aching stomach. "Struggle? What do you mean? I thought I was pretty good at that, actually."
"No. I'm afraid not. When you fought Etto's shadow he managed to hit you many times before you ever landed a hit on him. I notice you tend to just get the high ground and sit there, casting spells almost at random while waiting for your opponent to do something so you can counter. But you aren't fast enough to react in time. Hence why Etto got the drop on you so many times. With projection, you'll be able to see it coming and actually have a chance to do something about it, that way you aren't a sitting duck."
"But isn't the point of all this training to help me get away from my whole high ground, ranged tactic?"
"Sometimes that tactic is exactly what you need. I'm not telling you to drop that form of combat, I'm teaching you other forms so you can be flexible. And even if I did want you to drop it, projection has many uses, but it is limited. It takes focus, which diverts your attention away from spells. It also requires exertion of your arcana, so you cannot have it active at all times. It is simply a situational tool for situations when you are digging up close without magic, or if you are stumped as to what your enemy's next move will be."
"So, let me guess, now you are going to implement this into hand to hand training, right?" Darius asked.
Alabaun smiled. "That is correct. You are skilled with a sword, at least decently, but I've never seen you use your fist for anything other than power moves. I will say the time you knocked Etto's shadow clear through the woods was impressive, but a single punch is not always, if ever, enough, as you saw yourself."
"Okay.. so..?" Darius began, "do we start then?"
"Well, are you ready to?" Alabaun began shaking out his hands, making Darius wonder if he actually was.
"I guess. Ready as I'll ever be."
"Good. Let us begin. I'll start off slow. Make sure to use projection. First, I want you to just try and dodge."
"Alright." Darius responded, putting up his arms and spreading his feet slightly.
Alabaun faltered for a moment, scrutinizing him.
"What? Am I doing something wrong?"
"It's just.. your stance. You know, we will work on that later. For now, let's just see what you can do."
Darius reached out with his arcana. He dropped the stance he was going for, only slightly embarrassed. He saw the shadow rush at him, and he tried to move aside as Alabaun followed, his fist rushing past Darius's head. The shadow stayed, throwing one punch after another as Darius tried to dodge them. Though he did avoid a few, most either grazed him or hit him square in the chest.
The shadow disappeared and Alabaun backed way as Darius rubbed his new bruises.
"Not bad. Could use some work though. Now try to hit me. Don't use your projection for that though. It doesn't work both ways."
Darius nodded, leaping towards Alabaun as he threw punch after punch, but the mage dodged all of them with ease, not even bothering to raise his hands.
"Decent form. Decent power behind the punches. But, again, could use some work." Alabaun spoke.
The two continued this back and forth for some time before Alabaun finally called for them to stop. Darius was coated with sweat as he heaved with each breath.
"Well. I can't say I'm too impressed. Why don't you try it with your veil activated? Maybe that will bring some improvements. This time, I will both deflect and swing back. You can use projection if you wish, but it isn't necessary. It is just a useful skill that can help."
"You want me to use my magic?" Darius asked.
"What, are you worried you will hurt me?" Alabaun scoffed.
Darius shrugged, "A bit."
"I assure you, that will not happen." Alabaun spoke, "Now, let's get this done with. I'm sure you'd like to adjourn to your room."
Darius did in fact. A nap sounded quite attractive at the moment.
Glass spread across Darius's entire body, crystallized points protruding from his knuckles. The glass shimmered and seemed to glow with every color the mind could imagine, as though it contained the universe itself.
Darius charged at Alabaun, the arcana covering his body bolstering his speed as his fist rushed at Alabaun, who slapped it aside.
"Weak." He remarked as his own fist snapped across Darius's shoulder, splintered glass scattering.
Again, he threw a punch as fast as he could. Alabaun deflected this one too. "Harder."
Darius grit his teeth as he became focused. At that moment, all he wanted was to get one good hit. One good hit, and he'd be happy. That was it, just one.
Glass flew as Darius's punches became faster, but still, the mage deflected them all with ease, every time saying "Weak."
Darius dug his heel into the ground, leaning low as he launched himself past Alabaun's side, spinning as his fist flew for Alabaun's back. The man turned slightly, his hand slapping Darius's fist away as his palm crashed into Darius's chin, knocking him back.
Darius, becoming frustrated, swung both arms as glass burst from his feet and he vaulted over Alabaun, spiraling as his spun his heel around, narrowly scraping past Alabaun's head as he came to land. Alabaun threw out a quick jab, but Darius ducked low, letting himself almost fall forward. His eyes were centered on Alabaun's chest as his knuckles swung for it, but then the mage was gone, instantly vanishing from view. In that split moment, Darius projected as he swirled about, seeing the shadow, he tipped his head as Alabaun's arm flew past his ear. Darius grabbed Alabaun's arm, wrenching it down as his his free hand formed a tight fist and swung for Alabaun, but the man folded, letting himself drop as his knees bent.
Darius felt a strong pull as Alabaun yanked his arm, hurtling Darius upwards before launching his foot, the kick slamming into Darius's chest, knocking him up further. Alabaun swung upwards, his fist rushing at Darius's face. Darius struck out his arm, catching the old man's hand and pushing himself upwards, flipping through the air and landing behind Alabaun. As he turned to continue his attack, he felt a searing pain spread through his shoulder blade.
"Wide open." Alabaun spoke.
Darius spun, the crystals across his arm flashing with a cascading light as a strange aura spread across his body. He felt an odd tingle run through him, a sensation he wasn't used to, as his heart raced, he embraced this strange rush. The cascading waves emitting from his arm sent shockwaves as it blasted through the air, careening towards Alabaun as the man raised his arms to block, his eyes wide with surprise as the ground split at Darius's feet.
Darius's fist collided with Alabaun's arms as flowing waves of flame, frost and static flew from Alabaun's body. The shockwave ripped up the dirt as Alabaun skidded backwards, his arms bending into his chest. Strange streks of glistening white energy flew across the air from Alabaun's arms, shaped almost lighting bolts, but not quite. It was as though they were within a prism of glass as shattering cracks split through it from the inside, as though the fabric of reality itself were breaking apart like a splitting mirror. The mage twisted his body, letting Darius's fist rush past him as he stepped forwards, his hand snapping across the back of Darius's neck. In that same instance, the glass about Darius's body shattered as his eyes went wide, dropping to the ground as his consciousness faded.
Alabaun stared down at Darius, panting, his eyes wide with bewilderment. He slowly lifted the arm that had taken the full force of Darius's swing. As he lifted it, it rose slowly, trembling with the effort. Static electricity flowed across it, frostbite gripping at the edges of his fingertips. Blackened skin stretched over crimson burn marks, his flesh seared and torched, while deep lacerations weaved through his entire forearm as though knives or claws had been raked down from the elbow to the wrist. Where Darius's fist had met his arm, the flesh was torn, the bone bent in as purple bruising quickly spread across it.
Alabaun returned his gaze back to Darius's unconscious body. "The point at which all of existence meets, a mirror and connection between all realities across the expanse of time and space. The shard which holds all that exists and shall ever be. To wield it is to hold all of existence in one's palm." He spoke distantly. "It would seem… the Nameless was not simply exaggerating its power.. those cracks.. it's as if.. he shattered the fabric of reality with his own fist.." he knelt down over Darius.
"This.." he reached out with his good hand, rolling Darius onto his back. He pulled down Darius's collar, peering at his chest. It was made of glass, meshed with his own skin and bone. Inside the smooth crystal, beneath its shimmering surface, he could see Darius's heart, a thick shard of glass that expanded and shrank, the shape shifting as its edges folded in upon themselves, collapsing and expanding repeatedly with each beat.
Alabaun sighed, placing his palm to Darius's chest as flowing flames emitted from his hand, a crest appearing across the back of it.
"I do apologize, kiddo. But I need to place a seal on this. Just for now.. at least until you learn more control. Only then will I tell you the truth, and only then will I remove this seal." He pressed his palm down on Darius's chest, and a pulse of golden light flowed through the boy's body. Flaming chains formed around his heart, brimming with light before fading into it.
Alabaun stood. "How to hide this?" He wondered, slowly holding out his wounded arm. "Ah, training will be harder for the both of us now. You somehow managed to seal the magic in my arm, making it impossible for me to cast spells with this hand." He chuckled to himself. "How annoying.."