...And yet, even as she arrived back in Hargeon, the sun slowly setting on the horizon, Alisa opted to head back into the yard once more, from where she'd only just left a few hours ago. She'd went to Worth Woodsea, purchased a brand new cape from a shady, secretive merchant, all in all finding herself quite a bit more prepared for the coming tournament than she did when she started... But she still wasn't done... Not yet. After all, she still had her training to finish. She couldn't get by on a couple measly defenses, no matter how powerful they might be individually. No matter how hard she may try to end her battles quickly, reality has a way of defying one's expectations. No matter what, or who came her way in the coming tournament, she had to be ready for anything and everything.
Of course, preparedness could only get her so far, but even then, the firmer the ground she had beneath her feet, the most solid foundation of power she could build in time, the better her odds would be in the end. Among other things, this meant bringing back as many of her old weapons as she possibly could, with some new ones thrown in the mix. Including one of her most powerful defenses, at one point one of the strongest in her arsenal - before she got the hang of crafting full body defenses at least - now all but fallen into oblivion as she mostly neglected her magic during that period it took her to completely master and stabilize it:
"I wonder if I can still pull it off...", mused the sculptress, clenching her fist, thinking back to how it felt to cast that particular spell. A colossal, glimmering wall of diamond capable of blocking all but the strongest of spells, while still leaving enough crystal intact that she could possibly hold it and wear it as a shield.