Kaz was set to train with Shimura. The young knight had definitely impressed Kaz with his ambition and combat prowess in Era. Now was an opportune time to hone the man's skills and perhaps he could come up with some other spells.

He headed out beyond the great walls the surrounded the city of Crocus. They were immense in size and insurmountable for most. Kaz gazed at the grand structure but something about being out in the wild felt so much freer.

The sun was shining high and made the chill of winter much more bearable. The light shimmered off the snow that covered the grass and trees. It piled up on the sides of the street that led into the city. Foot traffic and hundreds of carts had carved a path into the road.

With a deep breath, Kaz walked up the path. Some of the officials in town had told him about a house in the mountains that was free to use. It was rented out in the summer but no one used it when the snow began to fall.

He left instructions for Shimura to meet him there and how to traverse the path. There was a small signpost the pointed up a winding path.

It was mostly clear aside from a few fallen branches. The further he marched the more this place seemed like where someone would go to escape the pressures of the world. It was more than an hour's walk until he arrived at the small shack.

It had a thatched roof with a wooden door. A small pipe ran through the roof for a single metal fireplace within. It was big enough for three people and had three cots on the inside to sleep on.

Around the home were stacks of uncut logs for firewood. Trees surrounded the home and behind it was a drop off for the side of the mountain, leading down into a valley.

He walked around, examining all the things they could use for training and then he found the warning post to the side of the house. It read

-Beware Danger beyond this point-

"That will work perfectly," he said to himself.

Kaz was placing a few pieces of wood into the metal fireplace. The flames licked across the wood slowly until they emitted a gentle heat. Kaz held his hands in front of the flames and then rubbed them together. The door to the shake opened as the man he had waited on arrived.

He was going to remind the man that just Kaz was fine, and there was no need for such a formal name. But he left it as just the kind of person Shimura was. He stood from the fire and slid his gloves back on. "Hey, Shimura. So this is where we can come to take breaks." He spoke as he grabbed a small hicking pack from his cot and slung it over his shoulder. Kaz approached the man with a smile, "excuse me," he said stepping past the man and out into the snow once more.

"We'll begin training with the cliff. The goal will be to get to the bottom by any means," he spoke as he got closer and closer to the edge. "How has your magic been coming along?" He dropped the bag at the edge of the cliff and reached inside to retrieve a long piece of rope and set it down followed by a metal grappling hook. He slammed the claws of the hook into the ground and tied the rope to it. Grasping the rope he tossed it over the side and let it unravel half-way down the cliffside. As he set things up he kept listening to what Shimura would be saying.

Once Shimura finished talking or asked about what they were doing Kaz would stand up straight and step his toes over the side of the cliff. "Down there looks like a valley...but its the reason I chose this place. That's the eternal frozen lake. You focus on fire and I focus on quick movements. Water and Ice should be a difficulty for you and accelerated movement will be tough for me on ice," He let the whip of wind hit his face, "Should be exciting. Don't land too hard when you get down. Only the top layer if actually froze. Land to hard and you'll fall right through."

He gathered wind around his body, it bundled around his legs. With a powerful stomp of his foot, wind shattered bits of the ground at his heel. The force shot Kaz 40 meters straight out in less than two seconds. He was hovering over the grand frozen lake and felt weightless for a moment. His hair wafted upwards, and he plummeted towards the lake but he seemed unworried. As if he was lost in the currents of wind.

wc 450

Kaz couldn't help but smile as he thought about Noyiah when Shimura brought her up. He stayed fixed on the fire and prodded it with the iron poker. The light of the flame danced across the contours of their faces as Shimura sat next to him. "I suppose I should one day. although," he stopped to look around the shack at the walls and the roof. "Perhaps somewhere with a bit more solid of a structure," he replied with a playful smile before standing up.

As tossed the rope over the side of the cliff he peeked over his shoulder, thinking he had heard a silent grumble. it would be well placed, especially once the real training began. Kaz put his hands on his hips to admire the view and answer Shimura's inquiry, "You know me all too well already. It's good you've already done some cliff training. Because that's the least of our worries. But no matter what happens I'll do my best to make sure you don't get SERIOUSLY injured," he put an eerie emphasis on the serious part but said it with his usual calm and relaxed demeanor.

"I wouldn't want to disappoint you. So let's see," he shrugged and listened to Shimura as he kept speaking. "I can't wait to see it in action. That would be some really impressive progress if you've grown already since we last met." The magma posed an interesting thought about the ice that was below them. Kaz knew it would be disadvantageous for him, but he wanted to see how well Shimura could react to and deal with an environment that was opposite of what he was and how he fought. "Let's get this started then."

leaped off the edge and spiraled downward, riding along with the wind. Shimura grabbed hold of the rope and began his descent. Kaz was floating downward and kicking of the wind at different angles to keep in line with the speed that Shimura climbed down at. The gusts sending him rocketing from one direction to the other and at varying distances.

Once they were halfway, Kaz brought one of his arms back and swiped it forward creating a tornado of wind to clash into the cliffside a few meters from Shimura. Debris burst out and fell towards the lake. "You ever hear of diggers?" Kaz yelled out.

In a matter of less than a minute, the side of the cliff began to rumble and pebbles were shaken off. Suddenly giant worm creatures exploded from the cliff sides. Mouths big enough to swallow a man whole with pincers on the sides. They let out a hissing gurgled sound and dove back in and headed for Shimura. They moved by weaving in and out of the rock wall towards their target like huge dolphins diving in and out of water.

Kaz dashed across the sky just as one emerged and sent a blade of wind ripping into its hard leather-like body. "The real training is taking these out while not letting them send you falling to your death," Kaz hollered out between flinging gusts of wind and evading the green spital that the diggers spat from their mouths.

WC 550
Total 1,000

Kazimir glanced from his peripherals at Shimura when he heard the bitter snap in his voice. He wasn't sure what it was or where it came from but would be something they may need to circle back to later.

As they made their way to the cliffside and Shimura gritted his teeth once more, Kaz knew there was a misunderstanding. He shook his head with a smile, "I don't think you are weak at all Shimura. On the contrary. My words were for anyone I would travel with. I chose this place because I think you are strong and we'll need to watch out for each other's lives." And he meant those words. He knew Shimura was strong. And with what the wind mage had in store it would threaten the life of any mage.

He fell through the sky and smirked to himself at being called a show-off. He was only just getting used to the new magic. Falling was easy, but it took every bit of his concentration to control himself when he dashed. His vision became blurred and he could barely make out the precision of stopping. He dashed to the side and smirked smiled at the spewing insults but then saw the swaying rope that Shimura held onto.

"Sorry about that, still getting used to it." he would say before he launched the tornado.

After the flurry of cursings hurled at Kaz, he watched Shimura leap from the cliff and spiral downwards engulfed in magma. It lit a fire in Kaz's soul seeing his fearless resolve.

The diggers sprang from the cliffside and Kaz dashed towards one. He overshot and went past it nearly crashing into the wall. The digger launched forward to bite Kaz's leg. With another dash, he shot himself downward as their maws closed without latching onto him. Shimura was below him ripping into diggers with his magma covered body.

Kaz lifted his head and let out a loud roar. A white tiger appeared behind him roaring with him. The sky turned dark and the wind whipped to life. A dozen tornadoes descended on a 32-meter area, engulfing part of the cliffside with diggers swept away in the attack. The spell was miscalculated and dug further into the cliffside than expected. "Well, that was off,"He said as the spell dissipated and the skies cleared.

Rocks and boulders began to fall and Kaz swung his arms forward to send blades of wind-shattering them so they didn't fall back on Shimura as he fought off the other diggers.

Kaz kicked off the air and sent himself hurtling down towards Shimura, the two of them almost reaching the base of the cliff and the ice-covered lake below.

Shimura rushed through the enemies as easily as Kaz would have expected. He couldn't wait to see what else he had come up with, in his arsenal of spells. Kaz hopped that Shimura didn't think he was still a show-off, he wouldn't have done so if it wasn't a spell he was still perfecting.

WC 400
Total wc 1400

Debris fell around the wind mage. Small rocks cascaded toward the magma mage. The heat from Shimura's lave disintegrating them as they grazed his molten exterior.

Two massive boulders broke free from their earthen restraint and rushed towards them. The storm had shaken them free and they threatened to bury the two mages beneath and send them to the pits of the ice-covered lake.

Kaz spun around in the air. The wind continued to rush around hos body. His focus was fixed on the rocks. The bodies of the diggers fell by him motionless and bloodied.

He felt a roar in his soul, bringing him to life. His blood pumped through his veins. The wind felt like a small pocket of calm air around himself, enveloped in a savage force.

The collar of his jacket fluttered and pattered against his neck. He lifted his arms. One hand facing each of the rocks. His mind flashed with the vision of all the techniques he had used in the past. This magic wasn't completely new. There was still a single moment. A single current felt. just harnessed in a different way.

The wind raged around his arms and focused in the palms of his hands. Thrusting both hands forward, a column of compacted wind shot forth, one from each hand. The columns spiraled through the air, following the path that Kaz's palms faced.

The columns of air collided with the boulders. The impact sheared the hard exterior of the stone. The force of the strikes tore into the boulders with a great concussive and slashing force.

Bits of rock flung wide like a forest canopy covering them. The spell decimated the boulders high above them. The columns of wind still roared and twisted in the air like snakes on the hunt. Waiting to be directed at something new.

Kax swung his arms and palms downward and the wind spell followed along, crashing into any stry boulders that were getting away.

WC300
Total wc 1700

The rocks and debris cascaded around the two knights. The boulders now turned to pebbles, speckled across the frozen lake. The two mages landed and Kaz tucked into a roll, skidding across the ice as he caught himself.

Rocks and debris rushed past his face and his sleeved arm shot up to shield it. The pebbles still rained down across his sleeve and he squinted through the onslaught. Once the dust cloud was settled the mighty bodies of the slain beast burst through the ice, leaving giant holes and sending cracks reverberating across it. Kaz stumbled to maintain his balance. Kicking into the ground once more he sent himself hurtling backwards and off to safety. Wind pressure caused small cracks in the ice from the force of his magical push. he dashed dozens of meters backward. Farther than he had ever moved before, but everything seemed to be in focus now. He could see clearly, what once was a blur of speed.

His feet slipped on the ice, his body arching back to find someplace for balance. His hand shot out with a small burst of wind in the opposite direction to bring back some stability.  

The ice was much thicker than he initially thought and the cracks only spread out a few feet from the thunderous impact of the diggers while water splashed from the cold depths and drenched the cold icy top of the frozen lake. Pneumonia inducing cold waters showering the two mages through the tiny rainbow of shimmering light that was cast.  Kaz blew a mild gust of wind to knock away the falling waters and keep them relatively dry.

He crossed the small distance between himself and the magma mage. Their first test was behind them now and it was time to embark on the next. He braced himself for a world of complaints to come his way. "Well. Off to the next stage then. Right?" He spoke casually as he gathered his mana for the training session to come.

Exit

WC 320
Total Wc 2,020
810/2400 words towards Fearsome Descent
1200/1200 towards consuming wind