Rising Forces // Chase

[Veryan Lithônion]

Veryan was in the middle of the woods that day to perfect his sword fighting skills. Ever since the day he met Dante who was like a brother to him, he was encouraged to develop said skills though he honestly never thought he possessed great skill. Perhaps Dante was being too cordial when he said Veryan had talent, but now the more he practiced the more he realized Dante had been right, or perhaps it was his example and guidance what made him learn so easily and so efficiently.

He moved easily, as the wind blew against his body, he was standing on a tree branch in order to preserve his balance for that was key in sword fighting. His eyes focused in the balance itself never looking bellow and so he did for a while, as if to warm up and prepare for the other half of his self-disciplined session.

It was a beautiful day, even though he was immerse in the woods he could still feel the wind blowing and the sun rays penetrated the forest here and there, like small candles spread across a room. It was the perfect day for Veryan to well develop his abilities and he did not necessarily have to train magic at this point. He was now focusing on another aspect he still had to control. He knew well that defence was one of the most important things in sword fighting or any other encounter with any kind of weapon, if you were not alert all the time and your eyes were not looking into those of the contestant you could easily lose your life in no time.

He was a good archer, however, and that was since his family lied hunting and not just any day could his family afford meat. So that was a talent he simply had to practice in order not to lose it and to get better of course.

Right now his target was the sword. And he would make use of his abilities with the wind and earth in order to struggle against them without hurting nature, simply as a means to practice. He needed to make sure he would be ready in case the enemy used momentum against him or simply he stepped on something that made him fall… He had to be ready to confront anything and anyone, though when it did happen he knew he was most likely to react in another way, but oh well.

He skilfully began twisting and turning with his sword, Harbinger, in his hand. It was a blade made perfectly for him, with its red flickering edge and its lightness however strong cut, surely there were few things that could resist such a thing, of perhaps it was simply giving it too much emotional value. He jumped and leapt as if he was eventually in a real battle, sweat running form his forehead and a smile on his lips.

[Chase Caldera]

Chase was walking through the woods wondering in ways he could improve his magics. Trying to think of another thing he could do with his magic. Recently he had begun thinking that he had reached the limit of his elemental magic. It just seemed like all he could do these days was practice the same things he had been practising for days.

He stopped as he sensed a disturbance in the winds around him. He could sense that someone was manipulating the elements somewhere to the east of him. As he approached he could sense the actual magic itself.

Chase murmured "De" and flew to a tree near to the clearing where a teenager who looked to be around Chase's own age was practising sword-fighting. The teen was good Chase had to admit. Not only that but he was doing magic while practising his sword techniques. It must be difficult to concentrate on both. Chase instantly found the teen interesting.

Chase landed in the tree's branches deciding to test the teen. "Forod ar sûl" He murmured taking control of a wind and turning it just slightly to the north instead of to the east. If the teen didn't notice then he wasn't worth the effort of meeting and Chase would slip away.

[Veryan Lithônion]

When it came to training Veryan truly concentrated. It was a gift but also a disadvantage for he would then not come to realize he was being watched or attacked just as he turned to train a flip or simply stop training and take a rest. That could be the most serious mistake ever and could bring him to much pain or even death; he needed to work in developing his senses, especially his hearing sense. So now that he was alone and had a long time to train, why not try and develop his hearing sense?

He looked in his pockets and took out a dark brown handkerchief and once adjusted he placed it on his eyes and tied it behind his head, that way he would be training blind-folded and that would help him be more precise, it would not be easy since he was still making use of his powers to train against them, but it would certainly help him in the near future.

At first he felt rather frustrated and did not seem to get things right, but it was then, when he soothed his body and mind and forgot about everything else, when he finally stopped crashing against trees and dropping his sword. He was holding his ground, aware of the elements of nature around him and could even now tell if an insect was nearby, well those that rattled their wings, that is.

It was then, at that precise moment that he seemed to feel nature communicate to him as it usually did. There was a presence, not one he would usually associate with the wild, but it was a human, just like him. However he did not have much time to think on whom that person could be when he sensed something coming at him. He sensed the wind he had been controlling for a time changed drastically, he stood frozen in his steps and then removed the handkerchief form his eyes as he felt the cold breeze caress his body, how could this be in the middle of Spring?

[Chase Caldera]

Chase found the situation very interesting. It appeared that the teen had sensed not only the wind but his presence as well. Chase could feel the questing magic searching for his exact location. He considered using his own magic to stay hidden but decided against it. After all if he did that then the teen would never figure out what had happened. Chase wanted to meet this upcoming wizard. As annoying as it was if he wanted to beat Dreamer he would need more allies in the guild.

Bracing himself Chase jumped down from his position in the tree using his magic to slow the fall. He probably shouldn't have done it but he couldn't help showing off. Not to mention it was always a good idea to show people just what they were dealing with. He walked out to the clearing where the teen was feeling the chilly wind brush against him. Hmm he hadn't realised just how chilly the wind he had created was. That was an oversight he would make sure not to do again. Now how would the teen react to his sudden appearance?

[Veryan Lithônion]

Just as Veryan turned to look behind him in search of a logical explanation he sensed the source of this was but some meters away from him. Sure he could have seen him in the first place, after all he was standing on the branch of a tree, how often did you see someone doing that? Normally people played and sat on branches but never had such confidence that nothing could make them fall like this young person seemed to possess. Veryan was glad that he had such connection with nature and the elemental forces around him, otherwise he would not have known someone was watching him, even worse, what if the youth had attacked him? Then he would not have been able to defend himself and then where would he be? There was no one nearby to help and if there was how would he know if they were mages or simply common folk?

He looked at the young mage for a moment as he stood on the branch. What could have possibly brought him here? Could it be he sensed Veryan’s powers when sword practicing? Well, he had not expected to suddenly come across someone in the middle of the woods, he had gone as far as possible in order to train at peace. It seemed he would have to be more careful form now on, though if a mage spotted you… you could not stop it, a mage could sense another, most of the times. So it was practically unavoidable.

He was rather shocked and impressed at how lightly the young mage used his powers, he had to be around Veryan’s age and he already mastered so many elements? Could it be the young lad was already a superior mage by far? Surely this young lad had to be so cunning, smart and powerful in order to move wish such grace and diligence and still look rather proud of his own abilities and confident of his powers. He silently looked at the young mage as he now stood right in front of him and then finally spoke, though calmly, “It was you, wasn’t it? The energy came from you… yet I know not who you are or why you are here.”

[Chase Caldera]

Chase examined the teen before him. The teen seemed slightly scared and unbelieving of Chase's sudden appearance. For a second the teen simply seemed to be trying fit Chase into the turn of events. Just from the way the teen looked at him though Chase could tell that he knew Chase was stronger then him. Chase loved it when people acknowledged that fact.

The teen pulled himself together and managed to speak in a calm voice. Chase listened to what he said. Nothing that original just a confirmation that it was Chase who had changed the winds and asking who he was. Chase had to admit he was impressed at how well the teen had pulled himself together and spoken in such a calm voice.

Chase decided to answer the teen's questions. After all he doubted that he could keep up his mysteriously powerful act for much longer. Better to answer the teen's questions while his impressions were still young. He spoke "Yes I was the one who turned the wind. As to who I am that's easy Chase Caldera elemental mage of the guild. As to why I am here I see no reason to answer that. Let me simply say I felt your energy and decided to see who was releasing it. It is always interesting to see how the other members of the guild are doing. Which begs the question who are you?" There Chase felt confident that he had managed a smooth transaction between his mysterious look and his questioning one. Now how would the teen react to the fact that he was a full mage of the guild? After all only a handful of mages reached that level. Chase was probably the youngest ever to reach it. He continued studying the teen gauging his reaction.

[Veryan Lithônion]

The young mage seemed to be examining everything about him, he felt as if he watched his every move, blink, gesture, every breath he took and every time his eyes turned to look back into his. Surely that meant he was also aware of what he could be thinking about him, and as such he made a mental note to be careful, very careful. Why? Well he did not know who he was, his aspirations and if he wished him harm, he did not know the kind of person he was yet, and as such he could not make up his mind about him yet, right? So it was the most normal thing in the world for him to mistrust this young mage until proven otherwise. Besides he had come from far off lands, all that travelling made you weary and in a way tired, for meeting new people was always hard in that accord.

The young lad had an air of deep superiority, it was as if he were an old spirit in the body of a young man, though he also possessed great arrogance by the way he looked at him, acknowledging that importance he seemed to grant himself. However Veryan was a cautious person and until proven otherwise he would be polite to the young mage who just met him that afternoon.

"Yes I was the one who turned the wind. As to who I am that's easy Chase Calder elemental mage of the guild. As to why I am here I see no reason to answer that. Let me simply say I felt your energy and decided to see who was releasing it. It is always interesting to see how the other members of the guild are doing. Which begs the question who are you?"

He made sure his black leather fingerless gloves were in place as he heard the young mage speak, so it seemed he had completed his training and was a mage by now, that was most interesting. He looked into his eyes as he answered his questions, they seemed to be simply and exact explanations however it still made him unable to trust him fully, however he said, “Veryan Lithônion, son of Thalion the blacksmith.” Surely he was most interested in meeting other mages of the guild and it did seem to calm him and make him ease a bit knowing Chase was fomr Merlin’s tutelage, however he wasn’t just as ready to reveal that scar in his hand and so he best keep his gloves well placed. He nodded to his words and said, “I recently moved to Camelot, perhaps that is why I did not acknowledge you, or have not seen you before.”

[Chase Caldera]

Chase continued examining the mage. After all knowledge was power. If he learned enough about the teen, or Veryan as he had introduced himself to be, then he would be able to get him to join him. So he was the son of a blacksmith and had recently moved to Camelot. Chase wondered how good Veryan was at it. Just by looking at him Chase could tell he had the build for it. Still the fact that he had only recently moved to Camelot meant that he couldn't have been training for very long. Which was probably why Chase's assurance he was from the guild had relaxed him so much. After all the forest was dangerous. Even someone new to Camelot would know that.

"What level in the guild are you?" Chase asked "After all I only just met you and can tell you are relatively strong. Much better than the usual annoying bunch we normally get."

A small movement of Veryan's caught his attention. He appeared to be making sure his gloves were still on. Now why would he be doing that? Chase wanted to find out. He would find some way latter to see if Veryan was hiding some deformity under the gloves. After all it wasn't as if Veryan could be hiding objects in them. It would have been immediately obvious. Ideally though Chase would be able to win Veryan to his side without blackmail but it would be nice to have some assurance that Veryan was indeed on his side.