After enduring trials, tournaments, battle re-education and mountain climbing with cooking Zendreyu returned to his family ranch with a new perspective on life and he was far less grumpy and taciturn than his normal self. With a distinct focus Magnus and Zendreyu set about the farm feeding all the horses, cleaning stalls, straightening up the chicken coop, clearing and cleaning the apple orchard and setting up a training area in what used to be a corral for the horses. Since Zendreyu was neither going to race horses or strategically breed them for money the corral could be used for more distinct matters. Combat training, specifically the martial arts of Shishi Ryu. Magnus translated the dragon manual so that they could both study it and become martial artists of the highest degree.


Magnus would translate the manuscript and give orders while Zendreyu would follow through and practice the stance, the breathing, the movement, and most of all the spiritual focus of the art. This martial art was created by the Ancient Lion Dragon Shishiryu ((He was known as Leonard to his family and fellow dragons of higher bloodlines))

Magnus was quite the capable instructor as Zendreyu began their new daily routine. Today's focus was on the Shishiryu stance.

Zendreyu took the traditional horse stance to prepare for the Shishiryu fighting stance. First as Magnus went through the manual he realized Zendreyu was no where near strong enough to endure the rigors of this training as he was supposed to be carrying tons of gear to make sure his every movement generated draconic levels of force. For the current Zendreyu that was not possible so the S rank fighting style got stripped down to a D rank fighting style that would reforge Zendreyu's body step by step. Since there was no waterfall nearby to provide constant body hardening pressure Magnus modified the training to start Zendreyu off with 750 lbs of weighted gear that would allow him to simulate the most basic body training possible. Step by step as Magnus observed Zendreyu's muscular resilience and determination he began to think through a schedule for increasing the weight on Zendreyu's body until he could lift the very basic amount of 2 tons which is what baby dragons used to start Shishiryu style training.

Magnus looked at Zendreyu with a smirk... "We have 30 days to get you in shape to master the first stance. Luckily you have me here and I can read dragon manuals. YOU WILL BE READY."

Zendreyu did not mind Magnus taking the lead as he replied, "YES!! Mr. Magnus!!"

Magnus smirked, "Regardless of me being your instructor in this matter we are brothers by blood and battle, just Magnus or Brother will do. I will train with you as well. The lessons of senior Shishi Ryu will make both of us stronger."

Zendreyu smiled even as his body ached already, "Okay Brother Magnus, let's get stronger together."

WC: 485

May Madness 1st Post

Why in the world had she found herself stranded in the middle of nowhere? What was the name again of this country? Bella? No that sounded like a woman's name.... Belledandy? No, that was supposed to be the name of some goddess she read about in a Joyan manga. No, this was the country of Bellum, and she was currently in the region of Ashmavarman, so simply said? The middle of nowhere...

The werewolf child mused softly as she watched the scenery pass by. She had recently booked a passage back to Fiore, which was still far from the middle of nowhere, but at least the caravan was supposed to take her ALL the way back to Fiore. At least in due time. She might require a lot of naps, and the caravan might take a few breaks, okay a lot of them to resupply and such but at some point she would likely be back in familiar territory.

At least that was what she truly believed. Koh seemingly was disinterested in the trip as well, there were neither beautiful or interesting individuals to draw Koh's attention, and as such no need for the spirit to stir. No, for once this would be a very simple and peaceful little journey.

She likely should have stayed in Fiore... Letting out a soft yawn the child curled up on the haystack and gazed up at the sky above when all of a sudden in the distance a loud boisterous voice called out. The voices came from too far for her to make any sense, but it did help her in realizing the wagon had grind to a halt, something that left the child curious.

"Break time?" Kana inquired, to which the leader of the merchant caravan explained with a smile. "Indeed, we'll be taking a break for a few hours to let the horses rest and eat. If you want you can wander around for a bit but there isn't too much to see... only some old farmlands dot the area around here-"

But he needed to say no more, for the werewolf child hopped onto her feet and bounced off the haystack, darting toward the direction she heard the voices from. She had soon found herself in what she presumed to be a farmland, although a most peculiar sight was there: There was a farmer playing a martial artist! But instead of a donkey there was a... lion thingie? Did lions grow wings? No, they usually didn't...

However, as she approached the spot they were at she couldn't help but overhear them mutter some things. "Umm you do realize nearly all the dragons left Earthland, right? Even I know that story without having gone to school." The child remarked in amusement as she heard the last utterance by the farmer? "umu.... you're gonna need a loooooooooot of time to get strong. Because right now Kana thinks you're about-"

She crouched down onto her knees and waved a hand a few inches above the ground. "This strong."

She hopped back onto her feet and tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion. "Why does mister farmer want to become strong? Are wild animals bullying him?" A shift of her gaze as it focused onto Magnus. "Are you... bullying him?'

Magnus laughed long and hard at the words of the young lady that had stopped by their farm. Zendreyu couldn't turn his head due to the amount of weight settling on his body so his eyes only glanced over to see her show with her fingertips how strong he seemed to be to her.

Magnus's laugh came out as a roar but the animals were already used to him so only the chickens got riled up.

Zendreyu could only smile, "Yes, I feel that I am very weak as well. I am training to be strong enough to be an effective adventurer ((and one day avenge my mother and father.))"

Magnus had finished laughing as Zendreyu replied, "Well young lady as you can see we are old men whom need to be strong enough to change the fates of ourselves and others. As far as dragons go, you are right there should be very few in the Earthlands if any at all but I have a manuscript that depicts the fighting style of Shishi Ryu and the steps he took to develop it. If you want you are welcome to learn."

While Kana could see pretty much the entire farm she could also see that Zendreyu's horse stance was bearing an extremely large amount of weight.

Kana couldn't help but tilt her head slightly to the side in bewilderment as she listened to Zenderyu and Magnus their explanations. The first thing she noticed was that in a certain sense she could understand Zendreyu his feelings. The feeling of being weak and having nothing, the desire to overcome that weakness, although that was where their similarities ended.

Where Zendreyu sought power for the sake of vengeance and to protect those dear to him, she sought power for more selfish reasons. She wanted power because she had been powerless, and if one asked her why it would likely have only confused her further because to her that desire came natural.

"Martial arts?" The child slowly tilted her head to the other side in confusion as she chimed softly. "Dragons don't practice martial arts! Have you seen a dragon? Big big dragon doesn't use martial arts! They are by nature magic-inclined, in fact, some teach their powers to people like you and me~ They call such people 'Dragon Slayers'. At least that is what Koh-chan taught me."

She paused for a moment, a step and a hop as she stood in front of Magnus. It was clear from her behavior there was not a shred of nervousness or concern in the child, no the childish innocence even in front of such a powerful majestic creature seemed to do nothing to shake her playfulness as she peeked over the tome.

"Can you read these thingies Koh-chan?"

The girl chimed softly as she could feel the presence of the spirit stir within her. "Ancient dragonian scripture. Dragons aren't wont to write, but their followers from ancient civilizations could have done so. Perhaps among them were some martial artists?"

Koh's suggestion did make more sense to Kana than the concept of a dragon practicing kung-fu or judo. Yet she couldn't help but smile sheepishly at Zenderyu's efforts to train, even if she thought the sheer amount of weight he was using for his training was a bit odd.

"Umu~ training is one way to hone one's body. Although Kana believes that the best tutor is actual experience."

A brief hum followed as she took a step closer to the farmer and mused softly. "Curious~ I want to see what the results of farmer-kun's training will be~ I am Kana!"

The girl exclaimed enthusiastically as she hopped on the balls of her heels and spun around. "So~ Because you want to be an adventurer it is likely you don't know how to cast magic~ But most adventurers tend to borrow the teachings and powers of techniques imparted into objects. Without items you can't use these! Of course you could train your body to be stronger, but even that has its limits without the proper equipment to protect yourself with."

Magnus smiled at Kana. He liked children despite their uninhibited vicious natures most children simply needed someone to care for them and lead them to some place better for their education and health. Magnus began to explain, "Shishi Ryu is a dragon without a true inner nature due to his mixed heritage. He can focus tremendous force throughout his entire body and maintain himself through the gravity of a fallen star. Shishi Ryu is the epitome of natural and realized brute strength. Zendreyu will of course need to gather select items to mimic Shishi Ryu's claws but as for his tail strikes those are easily translated into kicks, his bite attacks become grappling. As far as wings go we will cross that bridge after Zendreyu learns to punch and kick in a manner that even a dragon could respect."


Zendreyu simply focused on holding his stance and allowing his muscles to endure, strengthen, flex, relax, and retain energy. To do this Zendreyu had to use his reinforced body in a new way. He had to breathe like Shishiryu. He had to channel his life energy throughout his body like Shishiryu. Even if he could never be as strong as Shishiryu he had to make continuous effort to be worthy of his teachings. Magnus was naturally worthy so this came easy for him as his body fit the criteria in a much simpler way. "It's all about effort and acceptance of limits, then breaking those limits in a way that you can succeed without destroying yourself. It's still gonna hurt though."

Magnus nodded to Kana to give the stance a try and see how it felt to her without any excess weights. It wasn't like Kana needed to directly strengthen her body like Zendreyu as Zendreyu was rebuilding himself. Kana was still a youth so her foundations were untouched she could do almost anything.

WC: 319

Zendreyu continued his training while Magnus and Kana conversed about training methods. Unbeknowst to Zendreyu his bloodline was reacting to the training invigorating his flesh and increasing his capacity to withstand pain and maintain movement. Zendreyu didn’t notice the changes because he used to be much stronger back before his injuries during his last 2 missions for Sinese Special Reaction Forces. As his bloodline slowly awakened dark energies surged within his flesh strengthening his resolve to continue the excessive weight training that was part of the Shishiryu manuals he had attained. Thanks to Magnus the manuals were easy to translate otherwise Zendreyu would have had to use them as picture books. With each lunging movement followed by a focused punch, forearm strike, or defensive measure. With the weights and harnesses on his body Zendreyu resembled a farmer with heavy farming equipment strapped to his body. His movements were very direct and if anyone were to imagine how these combative techniques would strike a target they were very vicious.

The dark energies within his body were awakening after so many years laying dormant beneath his naturally trained strength. Were it not for his unintentional blood sacrifice that freed Magnus from his seal during his failed mission his cursed bloodline would have remained sealed and incapable of use for power. As it stood Zendreyu’s body was incapable of regular magic training, he could invoke the powers of tools, weapons, and armor but as far as channeling magic by word or handseals it was impossible for Zendreyu.  He was for all intents magically inept. Zendreyu continued his training with a zeal border lining obsession or fanaticism. Zendreyu had decided to regain and surpass his previous strength by any means necessary. Magnus was currently his greatest aid and with him by his side Zendreyu knew deep inside his core that he would one day exceed his past physical capacity and figure out the mysteries regarding his family.

WC: 326