Locke
Manakete
"I am the Guardian of the Sanctuary."
Posts: 152
Profession: Disguised Dragon
Affiliation: Arcadia
Guild: None
Affinity: Anima
Dragon Element: Earth
Profile: Locke
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Locke on Jul 22, 2016 19:12:27 GMT -6
The sands of Nabata were quiet and still. The moon and stars cast a cold, blue light upon the endless dunes and the darkened and silent settlement nearby. The humans were asleep, and those few who might be awake would not be bothering him.
The man with green hair raised his arms, lifting an oversized mace above his head. It was heavy for a human, likely unwieldy for most, save the strong Berserkers of the Western Isles, but for the thin, wiry man it posed no problem. He swung the weapon with ease, using the momentum of each swing to charge forward, turning and whirling like an improperly weighted dervish. The result of each swing was a faster rotation, until the green-haired man slammed it into the ground and was pulled over it by his own momentum, until his feet touched the sand and he wrenched his body upright, bringing the mace back over his head and into the ground at his feet with the wet sound of a heavy object slamming into sand.
Xerxes Locke’s eyes slowly rounded, their third lid disappeared, and the scaly sheen his limbs had taken on faded away. The Manakete breathed once, long and slow, and then lifted the mace once more. He needed to practice. He was still far too dependent on brute strength and powerful swings, and it unnerved him. A fast opponent would be able to dodge and poke away at him, forcing him either to entirely abandon his cover or retreat. Those were both unsatisfactory solutions.
Growling, he lifted the mace and then twirled it around his head, dropping it again and cursing in a language that seemed to be entirely made of rough, guttural growls, before picking it up and trying a more conservative flair. He couldn’t look impossibly strong. That would blow his cover. But how to use a large mace with delicate touch and finesse? It seemed impossible. The axe and the mace were intended for bludgeoning combat, for hard hits and full-body swings. He would need another weapon if he were to fight with grace and precision.
So decided, he focused on making each swing count, improving his control, and using less of his inhuman power. He lifted the mace, nodded to an invisible foe, and charged, leaping into the air and bringing himself down with the mace, like a hero would descend with sword extended upon an enemy.
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Locke
Manakete
"I am the Guardian of the Sanctuary."
Posts: 152
Profession: Disguised Dragon
Affiliation: Arcadia
Guild: None
Affinity: Anima
Dragon Element: Earth
Profile: Locke
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Locke on Jul 24, 2016 14:29:49 GMT -6
The best way to incorporate the mace into his fighting style, he decided, was to use it initially. To make use of his martial arts, he needed to be unencumbered, and so would need to abandon the Guardian Mace. That was not an issue, because of the weapon’s prohibitive weight for most humans. But in order to make use of it in his opening, he would need to close distance and then try to hit hard and fast. Causing the foe to take injuries from the mace’s sharp spikes, or forcing them to expend their energy ducking and dodging, would then allow him more free rein in a close-combat fight. That advantage was everything. However, it would be simpler altogether for him to simply eliminate them with the mace initially. His fighting style would be brutal and power-focused with the mace, and defensive and control-oriented with his limbs.
Locke focused his mind, aiming at an assailant rushing towards him, and then brought the mace upward and outward, blocking the strike, as he stepped to the right with his swing to give the block a solid foundation. He then wrenched his body left, swinging the mace in a horizontal slash, and allowed himself to continue the turn, then thrusting his right leg out in a high side kick. Returning to an upright, ready stance, he swung the mace upward, like a golf club, and then allowed it to fall as he pushed it forward like a spear. That would be easily dodged, so he pivoted, sidestepping a downward chop, and then retaliating with a quick grab and an armbar. That would take care of that invisible attacker.
Locke smiled, dusting himself off. He was starting to get more ideas.
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Locke
Manakete
"I am the Guardian of the Sanctuary."
Posts: 152
Profession: Disguised Dragon
Affiliation: Arcadia
Guild: None
Affinity: Anima
Dragon Element: Earth
Profile: Locke
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Locke on Jul 28, 2016 20:47:12 GMT -6
There was a rustle behind him, and Locke turned to see a small dog standing behind him, looking with a mixture of what seemed to be confusion and condescension. Locke sighed. He looked at the dog, his eyes staring at the canine, who couldn't quite figure out what wasn't right about the man. He smelled funny. Like a big lizard.
"Run along home, boy. Nothing out here for you. Just an old dragon with an old mace. Nothing too fancy."
Quietly, the dog whined, staring at Locke. The manakete shook his head, slowly, but with an expression of definite finality. He knew what the dog was trying to figure out, but he could not oblige. Transforming was too much of a risk. So the manakete raised his club, swinging the mace up into a ready position, and then gave a grunt as he swung it, feeling the tug of the weapon as it swung through the air and the jolt as it buried itself in the sand.
The dog gave a single, unimpressed woof.
Glowering, the manakete raised his mace once more and then turned towards the dog. His eyes looked moody, like a grumpy old man who had been awoken from his slumber. With a slow smile, the dragon-disguised-as-a-man began to run, first slowly and then faster, charging across the sand like some sort of futile attack on enemy lines. If he were watching himself, he would call it idiotic. And perhaps it was.
But Locke was too busy running across the sands, glancing back every so often to look at the dog that was following him. It kept pace, and the manakete maintained his jog, not sprinting, but running, his feet pattering over the dunes as he ran through the night. Time passed almost without notice, and through it all, the little dog stayed beside him, never losing pace.
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Locke
Manakete
"I am the Guardian of the Sanctuary."
Posts: 152
Profession: Disguised Dragon
Affiliation: Arcadia
Guild: None
Affinity: Anima
Dragon Element: Earth
Profile: Locke
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Locke on Aug 15, 2016 15:37:49 GMT -6
The running ceased, and Locke turned to face the little dog, which still stood staring at him, panting, tongue hanging out of its mouth as it sized up the green-haired man. Locke smiled at the dog, dropped his mace, and turned around, surveying the scene and verifying that no wandering eyes were observing him. Satisfied with the remoteness of the location, he bent, drawing power into his body as he straightened up, extending his limbs and expanding his form in a burst of light that glowed golden. His very outline seemed to wobble, wavering and bending, and the human was gone, replaced by the form of the Earth Dragon who now crouched upon the sands.
The dog had initially backed up, its hair raised and teeth bared, but after the manakete revealed his true form, it calmed, approaching the transformed manakete carefully and sniffing. Yes, indeed, this made more sense. He smelled like a lizard, and that was because he was a lizard. Now it all was okay.
Locke gave a low, quiet growl, stretching his wings and giving them an experimental beat. Satisfied, he jumped, pushing the air under him and rising low into the sky, his wingbeats stirring the sand as he began to glide in wide circles. Opening his jaws, he unleashed a stream of breath, a concentrated blast of earthen energy that took the form of a stream of sand, sharpened rock particles, and draconic power. The Earth Dragon gave another, louder growl, and then a roar, which echoed through the night before falling away, absorbed by the sand and the wind.
There was a moment of silence, and then the sound of rushing wind as Locke dived down, the draconic form hitting the sand and burrowing beneath in a swift motion that left little more than some furrows and a valley on the desert surface. All was still, and then he erupted from the sand in a burst of earthen particles, taking once more to the air and swooping about like a playful gull. The dog barked, running about to follow the airborne dragon, and Locke came to an abrupt landing, curling into a ball of spines and hard scales and plummeting into the earth. Stretching out upon the sand, Locke gave a long yawn, and then lowered his head, beating his tail contentedly upon the Nabatan desert.
All was still as the little dog curled up next to the large Earth Dragon. The manakete rested, enjoying the freedom of his true form, and the dog enjoyed the safety and security that the oversized lizard provided. The two rested until near dawn, when Locke opened one Labradorite eye and slowly let his body collapse, the outline shrinking like a golden plant wilting under the sun, until he had reassumed his human form.
The Guardian of the Sanctuary picked up his mace and began to trudge back towards the town, his steps rhythmic and his mind wandering over new ways of using his mace. There had to be more efficient manners of fighting, that he was sure of. The question was simply how to employ those manners.
[End Thread]
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