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Post by Richter Abend on Feb 1, 2015 22:52:46 GMT -6
Richter smirked at Mana as she compared his strength to Wyatt's. He wasn't sure if she was being serious or just trying to get a rise out of him, but Richter didn’t doubt that Wyatt could drive a hit home. He definitely had the bulk for it, but one couldn’t judge striking strength based solely on arm size. Perhaps one day Richter would have to compare his own skills against the well-muscled smith if the latter was up for it. Until then he’d just have to take Mana’s words for what they were worth.
“We up in the north call it daunt,” Richter said as he walked over to his things. He grabbed his canteen off of his pack to pour its water over his hands, then wiped his hands on his face. It was hot out, and he was getting a bit sweaty. “It’s a talent, much like your sword strike, that uses the body’s natural energy, but instead of focusing it in the arm to produce rapid movement, you direct it at your opponent’s mind, making them feel fear. If you're not expecting it, it can be paralyzing.” Richter shook is head. “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like an aura of sorts, a killing intent, and supposedly for full effect you want to catch your opponent’s gaze, but sometime that’s hard to do in battle.” The Ilian lifted his canteen over his head and emptied the rest of its contents. The lukewarm water still felt cool along his scalp and neck. He’d have to make sure to fill up before he left, though, as that was the last of his supply.
“It’s as much physical strength as it is willpower,” he said with a shrug, before putting his empty waterskin away and walking back over to his practice sword, “but it’s not something I’d know how to teach. It’s something you learn by fighting, striving, and killing. In a perfect world, such a technique wouldn’t exist.” Richter pulled the wooden blade out of the ground and gave it a few swings of the wrist. Too bad this wasn’t a perfect world. In a perfect world people wouldn’t break each other’s ribs for fun. They also wouldn’t kill dragons out of needless fear. In a perfect world, Richter would have the luxury of holding a grudge, so in a way, it was a good thing the world wasn’t perfect. In a perfect world no one would ever face the fires of challenge that forged good men, and Richter wouldn’t want to live in a world like that.
The Winter Lion, his fangs no longer bared, walked over to the prone Sacaen girl. He crossed his arms and looked down at her. His face looked cross, as it usually did, but there was touch of concern in his voice. “I hit you pretty hard,” he said matter-of-factly, pointing a single finger at her side. “Are you alright? Do you need me to go get a...medicine man? Is that what they’re called, or do you Sacaens actually have doctors?”
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Post by Mana on Apr 21, 2015 21:24:00 GMT -6
"Yeah, it's just like my earlier attack. Difficult to explain, far easier if we practice it directly. By the way, it was very unpleasant sensation. I won't want to feel it again...ever."
Mana was unsure if Richter himself knew how getting affected by Daunt felt. He would probably agree with her about how it gave the victim very weird and destructing effect. She sighed. The girl had learnt that the famous Winter Lion's skills and overall physical ability were far above her. The skill called Daunt must be something come from continuous training and his vast actual fighting experiences. Like always, the girl didn't like this lose, although she could accept it. Her brain even started to formulate a plan to counter Daunt or his other abilities so in their next battle she would be able to defeat him. But Richter didn't need to know that, he might get cocky if he knew.
Mana watched the Ilian commander when he started to approach him. She originally planning to lay still but then changed her mind when she found out that having him looking down at her like this felt pretty humiliating, as if the winner condescending at the loser. Thankfully, he probably didn't mean it that way, which proved by his concerned tone. "Yeah...But don't worry. I've had worse...like a lot worse. It's probably just a few broken ribs, though." Seemingly unaffected by her injury (but it was only because she was stubbornly holding the pain with her willpower), Mana rose to her feet. Her expression twitched with pain a bit but she then smiled and shook her head in denial. "....It's nothing...really..." Even her voice began to sound like groaning but the Sacaen girl kept trying to look fine and healthy.
"Well, we don't really call them...doctor...That just sounds weird. We usually refer to them as 'healer', or maybe sometimes as 'medicine man', yes. Also, some tribes call their healers as 'shaman' although they weren't exactly elder magic practitioner like those shamans from outside Sacae." Mana had been in Lycia and Bern so she knew about those doctors. Well, how they operated weren't too much different. Maybe only the difference was the healers in Sacae were more expert in herbs and old spells, not sure.
"And....." she spoke in rather teasing tone. "Don't tell me your cheek isn't hurting. I guess you need to see healer too," she said, grinning and chuckling. Although, she probably shouldn't have said that. A hit in his cheek couldn't be compared to the hard blow she had got. In worst case he might use it to tease her back.
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Post by Richter Abend on May 13, 2015 18:41:10 GMT -6
“Oh, believe me it does sting,” Richter replied, allow his hand to rise up and scratch his cheek. He ran his fingernail across the stubble that surrounded the spot where he had been struck, and as he did he could feel blood smear on his fingertip. He hadn’t noticed it until now, but the blow had split his skin. “But not nearly as much as a broken rib does. You look like you’re about to fall over, but that’s not exactly surprising. To be honest, even I would struggle to walk with half my ribs broken.” Event if it was one hundred percent true and completely understandable, the confession of weakness was uncharacteristic given that it was coming from the gruff commander. That meant one of two things: either her sword strike had done more to addle his head than he thought, or he was actually starting to like this Sacaen girl.
Realizing this himself, Richter quickly put an end to the subject, looking up from the clearly wounded girl as he began scanning the nearby surroundings to look for a healer of some sort. It was just… tents. While some were bigger than others, and made out of different materials, they all looked the same to him. Not familiar surroundings by any means. Still, Mana needed medical attention, and he wouldn’t mind getting the gash on his face closed up by someone more experienced in first aid than he was.
“So you're going to have to point me in the right direction," he annoucned, turning his gaze back to Mana. "I have no idea where I'm going."
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Post by Mana on May 19, 2015 6:24:26 GMT -6
Richter seemed a bit...different? Mana wasn't sure what had happened exactly, his action and reply were far off her expectation. She had expected denial and maybe even some boasting but the commander had genuinely admitted that the blow hurt him. It was nice although this unexpected reaction really caught Mana off guard. The Sacaen was about to rebuke at his remark about her falling but stopped when he continued and finished his sentence, ending with saying how he himself would have trouble with broken ribs. Well, at least it wasn't a tease or insult. Also, he didn't seem lying, anyone would feel pain as the effect of this injury, after all. "It's good I am not the only one feeling...ouch...pain," Mana remarked with a forced smile, feeling another painful jolt in her chest when she tried to move.
Mana watched when the Ilian commander shifted his gaze to the tents and began looking for something. He seemed a bit confused for a moment before eventually turning to her again. "You don't?" Now it was Mana's turn to look at the tents. But unlike Richter, being one of the Sacaens made her know of their culture and allowed her to easily spot the healer tent. The tents might look same for an Ilian like Richter but Mana knew how to differentiate them from the shape, color, etc. "But it's there! Don't you see it? Here, look at that one with red and green on the top. It's the big tent with leaf symbol above the entrance." Mana was unaware that they saw things differently so she continued with her poor explanation. There were many tents with similar shape and/or color that someone who wasn't familiar would have hard time finding the right one.
Realizing that it would be easier to lead the way, Mana then looked at Richter and said, "Oh, I guess you can just follow me then." With her hand grabbing the most painful spot, a bit below her breast, the Sacaen girl began walking ahead Richter toward the healer tent, expecting him to follow her. With the sparring ended, the spectators started to disperse as well with mixed expression in their faces. Some left with satisfaction and some other discussed how the battle had gone. Some people who knew and supported Mana looked disappointed with her defeat. Among the spectators were some teens who seemed amazed by Richter's prowess, mostly young girls. He might not like the attention because it was clearly against his intention to stay low but so far no one seemed to notice that he was the famous, or infamous, Richter Abend. Although Mana looked like about to lose her balance a few times, the girl somehow walked in steady pace while suppressing her groaning. "Tsk...This isn't my first time getting my ribs broken like this. Come on, Mana...The healer tent is only a few feet away," she thought. Talking to herself was one method the black-haired swordswoman often used to encourage herself whenever she was in difficult situation. And it usually worked.
The inside of the tent was wider than it looked from outside. It also had relaxing aroma coming from one corner which some kind of potion were being boiled in a cauldron. "Oh, my dear...What happened to you two?" An old woman approached the two warriors when they finally reached the tent. She looked kind. Her gentle tone and those eyes which calm but showed concern gave off motherly aura. The old healer was accompanied by two young girls who seemed to be her pupils. Mana watched them for a bit before she shrugged and said, "Oh, not much. We just had some sparring and..." The swordswoman paused and then groaned weakly when her side ached again. "...he hit me so it seems my ribs are broken or something," she spoke again, ending it with a smile. The healer nodded and looked at them with the same kind eyes, deciding how to treat these patients. "The man has only light wound across her cheek but this girl will need more than just a balm," the healer concluded after short observation. Her two pupils then went to clean Richter's cheek with some kind of alcohol and apply some kind of balm while the old healer went to fetch her healing staff and also some bandages for Mana.
Mana slowly lowered her body to sit on the carpet. Sitting felt really really good at this time. It seemed the pink commander would get treated first so she patiently waited her turn while looking around. "Is it your first time coming to a Sacaen encampment?" she asked Richter. Just waiting was boring so Mana tried to make conversation. "From what I heard, you have traveled to a lot of place."
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Post by Richter Abend on Jun 13, 2015 14:28:21 GMT -6
Richter tried to ignore the attention the two of them, or more accurately just him, were getting from the local girls. It was nice to know everyone couldn’t recognize him on sight, which made sense since most, if not all of them had never seen him before, but he imagined the reception would hardly be so friendly if people found out who he was. Or was the Ilian getting worried for no real reason? When you had been on the side to the enemy that had killed scores of fathers and brothers it hardly mattered if you defected later, but the force that had attacked Salvation Point had consisted of no more than three hundred men. Considering that this was a completely different part of Sacae, these people might not know at all about the Winter Lion and the battles he had fought.
That said, he’d rather not risk it.
When he and Mana reached the healer’s tent, Richter remained silent, sitting where and when he was told, and not making a sound as two younger girls applied some medicine to his cheek. It seemed his wounds would be simple enough to heal, but the healer had gone off to grab some extra supplies to help Mana. When she left, Mana turned to Richter and began asking him questions.
“It is,” he said flatly, trying not to move his face so as not to interrupt the pupils. “And I have. I just don’t make much of a habit of visiting Sacaen camps. Figure it’s probably best for everyone if I spend as little time in them as possible.” While he spoke, the Ilian looked about the tent: a few bedrolls, three foldable stools, and an assortment of tonics and tinctures strewn across the tops of two barrels seemed to cover the extent of the healer's medical supplies. It wasn't much compared to an Ilian medical tent, but if it got the job done then it didn't matter.
"What about you? You get out of Sacae often? You seem to get around enough."
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