Sjal paced, thinking about a new technique to learn. This one was an easy kick to take out an opponent by sweeping it low. Repetition was the key to mastering it, just like before, so that's what she was going to do. She simultaneously cracked both sets of knuckles and got to work. She walked over to the tree, which now had cracks and dents from her earlier training all over it. With one hand behind her back and the other in front of her, Sjal assumed her posture. The first thing she did was kick the tree with her leg. Leaves dropped, and the area of her lower leg that had struck the wood throbbed.
She gave it another go, bringing her leg around and bending her knee slightly. This time, she struck the tree even harder than before, causing more leaves to fall to the ground, though Sjal was unable to explain why the pain was not as severe. Maybe it was because she would become numb from the training. She felt that she was not making the motion correctly. The dragonbound warrior needed to practice bringing her leg around and locking the knee of the striking knee in order to extend her reach and maximize the torque of her kick. Sjal attempted to strike the tree as horizontally as possible by whirling her right leg around. The thunk was heavier and more powerful when it struck the wood pillar because it made the tree lose more leaves.
She felt that she had the general kick down after a few more leg strikes, so she was now prepared to attempt the following exercise. Sjal lowered herself, bending her left knee to a much greater degree than before, and then straightened out her right leg. She moved her leg forward and backward, bending and unbending her knee. It was time to tackle timing now. Even though timing was something that would require more practice, she was determined to get proficient at it as soon as possible so that she could employ the tactic with ferocity in combat. She bowed again, extending her leg quickly to the side. The strain caused her quadriceps to burn, even though it wasn't pain she wasn't used to.
She could now incorporate the kick's spinning element. Sensing that her timing was decent, she quickly bent her knee and spun around, slamming her leg into the tree with a low, forceful kick that, had it not been toughened by years of training, would have likely left a bruise. A thin layer of green covered the Dragonbound as more leaves fell from the branches and caused them to tremble violently. She shook them off and prepared to hit again. She bowed her knee again and kicked the tree as hard as she could with her extended right leg.
The tree took on the appearance of a formidable foe in her imagination. The opponent's height was approximately six feet and eight inches, and its protruding muscles gave the impression that they could crush stones as easily as dirt clumps. Though Sjal was determined to try until she succeeded, it would be challenging to trip someone as solid as him. She whirled around, slamming her extended horizontal right leg into the tree with one arm behind her back. Even though it was a strong kick, the giant was not overcome. All the beast did was laugh at her.
The kick was nowhere near strong enough in the scenario she was envisioning. She would need to strike faster as well as with greater force. Sjal swung her leg out to strike the tree, bending her knee in a moment. She didn't think it was sufficient, and she could still picture the giant mocking her and her fruitless attempts to topple him. She twisted her body with a sudden lurch and launched herself into a powerful spinning kick, extending her right leg again while bending her left. Upon impact with the tree, Sjal perceived a massive and somewhat menacing adversary, and she could envision him swaying slightly but remaining upright.
That wasn't entirely unexpected, but it was a little disappointing. She wouldn't become an expert at the technique in the first few minutes after all, and this was her first time learning it. But it was fairly easy, and after mastering the basics, she could feel herself becoming more skilled with each kick. Once more, she quickly bent her knee to a low angle and rotated her leg to deliver a potent kick that was capable of toppling even the most formidable and sturdy opponents. With a loud thump, Sjal saw her imaginary enemy's legs shoot up and land on its back. That gave her the boost she needed.
Sjal desired to go on to the technique's more advanced training. She was going to test her level of proficiency with the kick. She bowed low, ready to kick and swing her leg back. When she tried to hit the tree, though, a long arm snagged her leg.
"Huh?"
"Hi there," said a man. She recognized him from Paradise. He was one of the laborers, or so she thought.
"What are you doing here?" she asked apprehensively.
"I saw you training, and I was out on a walk. I thought I would join you," he laughed briefly. Even so, Sjal was taken aback by the fact that her kick was blocked in mid-sweep. Her first thought was to attack, her heart thumping in her chest. It was fortunate for Traeven that she did not have a knife on her.
Reluctantly, she said, "well, I guess that should help," even though she liked to train by herself without assistance, this man's presence would be advantageous.
"Now, try and trip me. I once trained to be a soldier so I know a thing or two about combat."
That being said, Sjal charged forward, landing two fast blows that Traeven parried with his forearms before launching herself into a sweeping spin kick. Sjal was not great at unarmed combat. So, the man successfully stepped forward over the attacking leg and used his momentum to deliver a strong kick to Sjal's's chest, negating the attempt.
After tumbling backward several times, Sjal came to rest four feet away. That hurt a lot. It had been challenged, "Come on. Is that the best you can do?" Now the man was in danger. With a sudden lurch forward, Sjal unleashed a volley of punches that hurt even to parry. Although Traeven didn't appear to be in pain, it was clear that he didn't like how he was feeling because he grabbed Sjal by both arms and swung her back in an attempt to slam her into the tree.
To give herself more power, she kicked off the tree and spun around, raising her leg to a powerful acrobatic spin that was aimed at forcing her body right into her opponent. Naturally, it was blocked, but Sjal took advantage of that. With her hands on the ground, she turned over and pushed off of Traeven's forearms, arching her back. With a sudden twist, she turned around and actually knocked Traeven off his feet, landing him on his back.
Sjal's opponent stood up and cleaned himself off. The older combatant moved away from the trees and toward the middle of the burnt field. He didn't look angry at all, but it wasn't hard to tell that he wasn't happy. Then, he gave her a brief smile.
It didn't take long for her legs to become fairly numb. It was not that she was incapable of feeling her muscles. She could still easily move them around. She felt numbness as the energy released into her legs. Though she was unsure of the outcome, she was confident Traeven would inform her. Traeven removed his hand from her back and cleared his throat as soon as he opened his eyes. "let's go again."
With little effort, she dashed across the vast stretch of burnt grass. Though nothing really happened, she released a burst of energy into her legs when she felt she had gained enough speed. She picked up some speed, but not nearly as much as was necessary. Sjal abruptly stopped and spun around to give it another go. The man said, "More intense."
She launched herself into another run. She shot ahead at full speed. Her eyes squinted to prevent dust or dirt from getting into them, and her hair was blowing back in the wind. She shot a surge of energy into her legs once more but stumbled to a stop.
Though she could sense she was getting closer, that wasn't it. She was ready to give it another go, jogging back towards Traeven. She anticipated hearing the word "faster" from the man. Although it wasn't an easy technique to learn, she would need to master much harder techniques in the future. Sjal continued to run forward. She accelerated as much as she could, propelling herself forward by pumping her arms back and forth. She shot a burst of energy into her legs as she ran across the field, accelerating her pace. She persisted in pushing forward rather than trying again. Her legs suddenly began to cramp, and she fell to the ground with a yelp of pain as she pulled a muscle.
Gradually, Sjal stood up, tightly closing her eyes to conceal any signs of discomfort. "I told you not to push yourself too hard, didn't I?" he chided.
Sjal said, "yes, but it's hard not to when I'm trying to improve." She started to walk slowly back to the other side of the field. For the rest of her training, she didn't want to feel pain like that. She was ready for another go. She started running, albeit at a slow pace. She began with a brisk walk, not particularly fast, but it helped her establish a rhythm.
On her next attempt, her legs were moving so quickly that it sounded like more than one person was running as her feet pounded the burnt grass like a stampede. Sjal shot forward even faster after she started blinking forwards. Then she launched into the air, causing her to leap to great heights before tumbling to the ground and coming to a stop. Although something was off, it wasn't as painful as it could have been. The moment she jumped, she had lost control of her legs.
Sjal felt Traeven pull her back to her feet with a tug on the dragonbound's shirt. With a nod, she turned to face forward. As before, the girl darted forward but she was tired and tripped. She hit the ground face-first, tripping over her own feet in the process and spitting soot and dirt into her mouth. Despite the pain in her legs from the strain, Sjal felt a sense of accomplishment. She was injured, but she knew her father would be able to heal her once she got back to Paradise.
"Good, very good. That was what you need to do. Breathe slowly." Her head was spinning and her tongue was going numb. She wanted to throw up from the lightheadedness and vertigo, but she forced herself to close her eyes and take a deep breath.
After a few more minutes of deep breathing, Sjal stood up. She wasn't sure why, but running that fast startled her body, and if she hadn't calmed down, she might have suffered more. Traeven suggested, "shouldn't we head back to town? I don't want to be responsible for letting you get hurt. Your father would not like to see you injured, I think."
"See you back here tomorrow, then?" she asked.
"Sounds like a plan," he said.
Sjal opened a portal for them back to Paradise and she rested. She'd need it.
The next day she found herself fighting against Traeven. She struggled against a foe as formidable as the one she faced. She worked on tripping him up, but she could not find a single opportunity to do so. That, she assumed, was the training's purpose.
In an attempt to get Traeven's legs out from under him, Sjal swiftly dropped and spun with a kick after ducking under a barrage of blows. The man kicked Sjal's in the face while leaping over it. Even though it required both arms, Sjal was able to repel the onslaught. She pushed back, trying to knock Traeven's chin up and launch him high into the air with a spinning kick with her left leg. That was, of course, also blocked.
She had to make sure she gave it everything she had because he wasn't going easy on her. Sjal struck five times, each time delivering a punch that was extremely difficult to block. It was precisely the diversion she required, for when Traeven struck back with a punch of his own, energy shot through her legs. Sjal blinked into in the air behind him, her leg ready to strike the back of his head. Fortunately for her, the man was forced to the ground, where he ate a mouthful of dirt.
"Very good, very good," he said as he stood up and brushed himself off. Then he launched himself at Sjal, punching and kicking with such force that he could have bruised. Sjal had to take extra precautions to avoid them all since she knew that even one hit would be disastrous. It was very exhausting, and she wasn't sure how long she could continue. But if she could maneuver around the punches, she saw that there was a blind spot behind him that she could exploit.
The Mage dodged a blow to the square of her face, then used one hand to push herself off the ground to evade a sweeping kick. That prepared her for a straight blow to the stomach. Sjal stumbled back, feeling lightheaded from the air being knocked out of her. She was forced to carry on as best she could because Traeven didn't really slow down.
When Traeven spun around to deliver a roundhouse kick that would have crushed her rib cage, she saw an opening. Sjal blinked and burst forth, appearing in an instant to the side. She moved past Traeven at a breakneck speed, and one of her blows struck at him. She was taken aback when an arm shot back, catching her leg as it attacked. Sjal's momentum was redirected and she landed on the crunchy burnt ground before coming to a gentle stop.
"You can't only rely on power and speed," he said. "You ought to be more careful going up against someone bigger than you."
It was fortunate that Sjal could absorb a blow and roll up into something akin to a ball. That throw could have easily resulted in a bruise or dislocated shoulder. Rather, she only managed to get away with a few minor cuts and a partially broken lip with a single drop of blood trickling down her chin. This was no time to fool around, as if she didn't know earlier. She would be out of commission for a while after making one mistake.
Traeven charged at her again, this time with the feral ferocity of a bear guarding its cubs, when he saw that she was alright. But it was a grave error on his part. Angry at the taste of her own blood, Sjal lost her mind. What he believed to be Sjal was struck by Traeven's barrage of blows, but it faded away. With a sudden turn and a forceful jerk of her arm, the Mage lifted one of Traeven's arms and launched him skyward.
A torrent of flames shot out of her mouth and incinerated the man as he shot through the air. Sjal whipped her head around. The man swung around in the air. He was instantly propelled to his feet by his mastery over aether. He was a mage? Sjal was flabbergasted.
Sjal stood up and rushed forward, her fists balled up. Her opponent was now on the floor, clearly having trouble getting to his feet. He'd managed to block her attack, but it'd taken a lot out of him. That made sense to Sjal – strong human mages were a rarity. Or perhaps she should have taken his tiredness as a ruse… but her rage had blinded her to see it.
With his mouth, the man launched a strong breath of wind towards Sjal's's chest. Sjal jumped to dodge it, but it still struck her leg. In an attempt to deliver a knockout blow, Traeven pulled down hard enough to slam her into the ground before yanking on her shirt. He also appeared agitated. Taking a cue from his Traeven's escape, Sjal swiftly drew her sword and cut the part of her shirt that he held. She made use of the fact that she still had forward momentum. She was able to blink and Traeven's punch went right through where she had been less than a second before.
But Traeven was clever and knew she could blink. He'd secretly shot wind out behind him and he used it to aim very precisely at Sjal's new position. It hit her squarely in the chest, and he turned and powerfully pulled her forward as he fell, using all of his momentum. This time, there was no way out, and she was thrust squarely into a double gut punch. Traeven coughed up blood onto his robes, and his legs trembled. Though Sjal could see Traeven's smug expression spreading across his face, she nearly collapsed to her knees. They'd hit each other, in the end.
He relaxed his guard, certain that it was a knockout. That was his biggest error on his part. Sjal surprised Traeven by blinking quickly in rapid succession. He was completely disoriented as he was maneuvering when she landed a right hook. She then used yet another blink to deliver another punch, this time to her left. Although the man was unable to see what hit him, the strike was undoubtedly powerful due to the quickness of the technique. He was knocked out, and she had won.