Training Grounds [Mentor/Eris]

[Saskia]

HP 100% | MP 100%

Guardian - Cavalier - Brewer

____________________________________________________

Saskia rolled over in bed as droplets of drool oozed from the corners of her cherry lips and unto the pillow. She held another pillow tucked between her legs as she snored like a hibernating bear. The warrioress had just recovered from another one of her perilous journeys in the battles on the great Sarum frontier.



As the sunlight from outside kissed her cheek, her eyelids tremored slightly before creeking open.



“Good, you’re awake...” A deep voiced echoed from a stool.



He was a Enchanter cloaked in green robes and had black skin and black dreads that tangled across his face.



“What the hell happened...?” Saskia asked her guildmate as she sat up rubbing her eyes. She didn’t remember much from the last fight other than that the were supposed to be traversing over the desert to explore the lands for their guild expedition.



“Well...you got turned into the human statue by that damn Basilisk...” The Enchanter muttered. “It was over from the jump. I tried to warn you not to look in it’s eyes...but that damn silence spell....”



The enchanter folded his arms and picked himself up to his feet with his staff.



“We brought you here and bought something to make you a little less rough around the edges. Glad you’re back to normal. One of the guys brought Icarus back for you...”



Saskia’s eyes dilated as she blinked.



“Wait, what? Icarus? Shit....how long was I out? I better go find him!” She said as she rose to her feet and pulsed out her palm, thus spawning an intricate web of various data and statistics that manifested itself in the form of a transparent interface menu.



“Whoa, you leaving already? You just woke up...don’t stress yourself out...” The enchanter reluctantly replied.



“You know I can’t afford to slack off.” The cotton candied wolf hair smirked with a confident grin. “Besides my mentor would chew me out if I slacked off on our training routine. She did bother to teach me about swordplay after all.”



“Alright, fine. But if you get your eyes clawed out by a dragon, don’t come running to me.” He sighed.



“I’ll be okay. I’m just going to be training in the marshes again. “ Saskia quipped as she adorned her armor which consisted of shimmering steel platemail.



She headed downstairs and made her way outside into the stables and walked slowly around the corner until she found Icarus.



“Hey there, how’s my boy doing?” She smiled as she strummed a gentle hand through the horses platinum blonde mane. “You ready for our training session, love?”



The gallant war horse rose to his feet, gazing at his master with warm chocolate eyes as he looked over her facial features.



He whine gently and proceeded to nuzzle her as he walked out from his stall.



She grabbed the knob of the saddle and hurled herself upon the mighty colt and took the reins firmly in her hands.



They cantered off to the southern regions of the windsor greatwoods as they trekked all the way into the marshes.



It was there, in the thick of the enchanted forest that the warrioress could be found training against [Possessed Stumps].



Hacking her sword into the wood and spinning around with a bold wind and unleashing a [Sword Rain Flurry] attack that made her slash the tree stump seven times in quick succession, before it burst into shards of anima bubbles.



“Hmph...seems like I’m quick enough to land seven strikes in that short time frame, rather than five....I’m getting better...”
She panted wearily while sweating. 

INVENTORY

EQUIPMENT: Stratford Arms Platemail (Level. 30), Stratford Arms Great Shield (level. 30) , Stratford Arms Long Spear (Level. 30)
ABILITIES USED:
Words: 600
Post Theme Song: Taboo





TAGS: Eris

template by caesar

[Eris]

     ERIS:              

           

                 sorcerer/dancer/tailor

   ~ "Sometimes it takes a good fall to really know where you stand."

     The fact that she was, for all intents and purposes, useless, did not sit well with Natalie. Home, in the real world, she was far from it. Sure, she couldn't take down a squadron of hitmen, but then, not many people could. Not many people even had the need for it. She could scrap, which was enough. Mostly, surviving in her world had involved her brains and her wit. Here? 
      Not so much.

     It was a mixture of frustration and pride that had lead her to finally trying to train on her own, well aware that she would accomplish nothing if she didn't do so. She wanted so desperately to devote all of her time, efforts, and studies to finding Wynn, but after recent events... well. She knew that was an ideal, and nothing more. She had to do something about her own ineptitude before she held any hope of finding her friend. 

     It wasn't just that being such a low level made searching hard - it was that she doubted Wynn was still in the starter city. Her friend had always excelled at this sort of thing, and she didn't doubt that Wynn was far more capable than she was. If she was anywhere, she was probably somewhere far from Londinium - perhaps not in the thick of things, because Natalie highly doubted her issues with people had been even remotely solved by being trapped here, but still. Wynn was probably leagues ahead of her, and Natalie was determined to catch herself up. She didn't know how far she needed to go, but regardless, it had to be higher than level one. 

     If she could pride herself on nothing else, she could at least hold her head high in terms of determination and willpower. It was these traits and these traits alone that kept Natalie in the swamp she'd found, overpowering her disgust and distaste at her surroundings. It was the only low leveled area she'd been able to find, though, and she doubted she had many options. Past mistakes had already taught her the error of wandering around stronger monsters. 

     She'd spent most of the morning here already, taking short breaks between her hunts for things to fight. She was blindly blundering her way through it all, and that in itself was tiring, never mind the issue of using her skills and physical exertion. She'd always thought of herself as particularly fit, but this? It was a whole new kind of exhaustion, one that didn't quite match the drain that came from her usual exercise or dance. Using magic seemed as if it were draining away her soul, or something. It was an eerie feeling, one that she struggled to shake. That was, mostly, what her breaks were for. 

     She hadn't solely been using her magic, though - her crystals hovered in the air around her head as she stood, currently, standing not far off from a cluster of Grimy Swamp Snails. Well - what had previously been a cluster, anyways. With a few focused thoughts, she continued what she'd been doing nearly all morning - bludgeoning the various creatures of the swamp to death. Her crystals bounced from one snail to the other, a swirling vortex of glass and anima bubbles as the creatures's HP bars dropped steadily down to zero. 

     When they were gone, she let out a breath that she hadn't known she'd been holding, calling the orbs back to her. Beating up snails seemed more than pathetic, but... well. She still bore the marks from her encounter with something a little more deadly. She hadn't been able to end the Animated Sludge that had come after her, and it was only a faint hope that guided her delusional belief it was nowhere nearby. She'd run pretty far after hurling a Lava Orb at it, more than a few times. It had given pursuit, but she was sure she'd managed to elude it - and if not, hopefully, something else had taken care of it. She wasn't the only one out here, after all.

     That last fact was something that was driven home as she moved away from where the snails had been clinging to the trees, the sounds of - well, she couldn't identify them off the top of her head, but the sounds of something living coming from off to her right. Not just something living, either - something, rather, someone who wasn't a monster. She could hear a voice, and while she had run into very few monsters at this point, she couldn't recall any who could speak. 

     Curious, and tired of hating herself for the struggles she was having with even the lowest tier opponents, Natalie drifted closer to the source of the noise. She was unsurprised to find an adventurer as the root cause of it all, pausing at the edge of the treeline to study the woman before her. Clad in platemail, she could hazard a guess that this was no magician - so, there would be no help with spells from her, she supposed. Judging by the quality of her armour, too, Natalie was sure she wasn't a beginner - not like she was, anyways. She couldn't be arsed to pull up the information, but she was fairly confident in her assumption that this woman was well versed in the ways of this world - and in fighting.

     She was strangely pretty for what her class appeared to be, and nothing like anyone Natalie would have guessed at seeing in platemail. Then again, though, a lot of people seemed to have succumbed to vanity when creating their characters. This world was populated by insanely pretty people, and Natalie had to wonder at how many of them really looked like that. She could take pride and confidence in the fact that her appearance as as close to 'real' as she could get it, but she knew it wasn't the same for very many others. Was this woman like that, she wondered? Was she this pretty in real life? Or, she thought with a twist of discomfort, was she an overweight creep eating waffles in her (his?) mother's basement? She wrinkled her nose at the thought, shaking it mentally away. 

     Possible creep or not, she was good at what she was doing. Even if she wasn't a mage... Perhaps... Well. Perhaps she'd be willing to share some knowledge. Tapping her fingers lightly against the bark of the tree as she mulled it over, Natalie came to a quick enough decision and stepped out carefully from the shadows of the trees, sure to make enough noise that she would be noticed. The last thing that she wanted was to be run through by the impressive looking sword in the pink haired stranger's hands. 
   
     "Er. Excuse me, but I was just wondering-" Why was her speech so halting and unsure? She cursed herself for this sudden and strange onslaught of shyness, trying to find a little of her usual charisma and confidence. "-Are you  busy? I know we don't know each other, and I understand if you are, but I'm... new. New and shit, really, and I was just wondering - would you maybe be able to help me? I've been trying to figure out how to fight effectively all morning, and all I've accomplished is making myself tired, and sore."

    Hopefully, she thought to herself, this wouldn't end as her last few encounters with other players had. She'd angered more than her fair share of adventurers, and more than one encounter had ended... violently.

  
HP: 76  MANA: 60                                                             WORDS: 1251    

               

notes: C: Thanks again for this thread! I'm really quite excited~ Sorry it took so long to get to it. I fell asleep last night, haha.

tags:  Saskia

  lolly

[Saskia]

HP 100% | MP 100%

Guardian - Cavalier - Brewer

____________________________________________________

Saskia’s militant nature that she had developed over the months of grueling training was beginning to pay off as she shored up her weaknesses. She was now able to unleash a raw power she never could think of. Her mind reflected upon the countless nights she would spend among the warrioress, Pen Ddraigg, breaking away from her regular life as a pop icon and enduring the harsh rigors of labor.



Clutching her weapon in her hands, she paused for a moment, inspecting the rough grooves of her fingers. What was once smooth and delicate fingers, soft to the touch and gentle in it’s embrace, became rough and worn calloused hands. She had become the ever so diligent in her rough tutelage that it began to wear on her physical body. Often there would be nights that she would undergo weeks of sleep deprivation on her journeys. She became knowingly desensitized to the pains of hunger, she learned how to drown out the cries of her chapped lips as they yearned for water or a delicious fruit to quench her thirst.



She had a burning and noble desire to protect the people of the land and become but an humble servant to the people. She often contracted her services to multiple small towns and villages. Rumors would spread about the impending crisis they were dealing with, and she would begin to leave her elegant feminine clothes to adorn the armor of a fierce lioness.



That soft fear that fluttered in her heart months ago still lingered, however now it had been brazened in courage and seasoned with conviction. The stalwart knight had a cause to believe in. She had something more she felt that she had to do in this world. A unquestionable calling to rise to the occasion.



She remembered all too well, the day in the cold cobblestone streets of londiminium where she had first materialized. She remembered how detestably egotistical and snobby she was. She remembered how she thought that the fame and fortune she amassed in the real world would be all that she ever needed to be truly happy.



Life was easy back then, she had a top selling record label, adoring fans, more money than she knew what to do with. She indulged in all the glamourous attractions of high society and socialized with noone beneath her social class. She went to exotic VIP lounges for celebrity nightclubs, acted a role in a movie based on a romance novel. Owned an expensive and luxurious villa with a beautiful and enchanting garden and lived in a fence community on the beaches of Gloucestorshire in the rich and prestigious area of the United Kingdom.



Whenever she went to the studio to do a live performance, she had many civilians who would cater to her every need. People that polished her nails, did her makeup, and styled her hair. If she ever needed an outfit, she either had the option of getting it custom made or imported from an exotic country, such as Italy or France. She even had her own perfume out in stores and had amounted a sum of capital to start using for a clothing line.



The business savvy diva held all the alluring qualities of life that accompanied living in the lap of luxury. When she drove home, she actually had a choice of several foreign automobiles that she could choose from in her seven car garage.



She could remember her last day on the real world very vividly in her mind. She had just gotten back from the studio after a rehearsal for her next album and it was the day of her younger sister, Lacey’s birthday.



Whenever Saskia had her perpetual rise to stardom, she began to neglect her friends and family and cut off ties with most of them as she was a scornful woman, who immersed herself in stubbornness mixed with bitterness. Though, in the spotlight, of her adoring fans, she felt as if she had the world in the palm of her hands. That she was the shining pearl in the oyster of this world.



Howwever, after the ride in her pink Lamborghini was over, and she pulled the house key from her purse and unlocked the door. She’d find herself in a large house she could hardly call a home. Sure, she had a butler that catered to her. Sure, she had a chef that would prepare delicious five course meals for breakfast , lunch, and dinner and would refine this meals to the woman’s picky standards. But they did not do these things out of love, they were like friendliness and respect bought on demand. All she had to do was keep them on payroll and they would smile in her face and curse her out as soon as she walked out the door.





Saskia, in the real world, was the type of detached soul that held no true friendships. Most of her companions were the superficial ones that one could find on a reality tv show. They were all very fickle, conniving, and moody as she was.



Trying to find some type of solace or retribution for her actions, she decided that she would take the day to relax with her shitzu, Penelope. While cuddling her dog, she stroked his head several times.



Saskia always had a warm affinity with animals. It seemed they were the only things close to her as she began to remember that she would have to visit her horse, Butters, in the farms of Scottland sometime soon.



She received multiple texts and calls as her phone kept buzzing. It was already very close to midnight and when she looked at the calls, she realized that it was her sister. She listened to the voicemail and heard that the only thing her sister wanted from her on her birthday was to spend time with her.



While Lacey, the geekier sister, lived with their father in Scotland, she offered that they could hang out on the medium of the game that she played religiously, Elder Tale.



Her butler, Jeffrey soon came in with a box, as she unveiled the contents, he said it was from her sister. It was the game. She had went through this much trouble just to reach out to her sister, Saskia felt brokenhearted and decided to try to play. She went through a skype call to her sister and went through the process of making a character, though she was confused for the most part, She decided to make a character fashioned most likely after herself, with the exception of the pink hair. Her sister was the one who actually designed Saskia’s character through a team viewer application on her computer that allowed her to manipulate Saskia’s screen. Saskia never got to choose her class or subclass. Her only given task was to simply submit a username. A key detail she never shared with her sister, thus preventing them from having any character information knowledge to go off of.



It was in that world, that the world that Saskia once knew would be changed for an eternity.



Everything around her soon crumbled. She became traumatized by the overwhelming sense of grief and loss. She felt as if somehow this was her punishment for all her previous sins in the world. Weeks passed by. Saskia began to stress over how her bills would be getting paid. How she could possibly be evicted from her estate for missing property taxes and paying her mortgage. She grimaced at the thought of her businesses crumbling at the lack of her presence and ability to fund them. She thought about how all her cars were probably now being repossessed.



She worried about her record label firing her and rendering their contract null and void. She began to thing about the giant hole that would be burnt in her credit score. She thought only of herself.



Then it came the time to when her world enlarged, and she started to take into account the many others that would be affected by her plunge into the darkness of this world. How many hardworking employers would be put out of work. How her chef and butler would no longer be able to pay their own bills and provide for their families.



It was a grievous struggle she had to endure as these sins weighed heavily on her heart. She began to miss the family she once shunned away and yearned after them like never before. With tears in her eyes, she cried out to God, praying constantly to be returned home. After a month replied with no change, she became lonely and depressed, she needed someone. Someone she could hold, to comfort her, someone she could cry and spill all her woes to.



Though her first moments in this world was full of snobbishness and pride, he soon realized that this world was much colder than her own previously. There were no adoring fans. This was an entirely different culture, most of which didn’t no who she was or cared about what she thought she was entitled to. There were no free luxurious hotels that welcomed her with open arms and offered extensive packages that would go above in beyond in accommodating her every need.



When the beginner gold ran out, the landers kicked her out on the street.



It was only then that she decided to travel and find her sister instead of sulking.







She journeyed far and wide in search of her.



In her search she did not find her, but her stead, she found friends. In finding friends, she found humility. Working together as iron strikes iron, they built an academy together. She eased her sorrows in this world, and found a place she could call home. However, in the darkness of night, their was still something that kept her up at night. She could never get the pain of her lost sister from the back of her throat.



With a deep hardness in her heart, she set out once more to find her sister, never once changing herself cosmetically or altering her subclasses, in hopes that one day. One of these millions of players would be the diamond in the rough that she was looking for.



Her Lacey McLaren.



This is the story of an unfinished life.





Saskia released several heavy grunts from her sword as she sliced across new stumps. A burning vigor burning ever brighter with a dosage of more fervor with each strike. Her rage started to intensify as she thought about all the pain and struggles she had to endure as she sliced through the canopy of life.



It was a tough thing to get rid of. That gnawing sensation in yout heart when you know you spent so much time in a world trying to accomplish something, but of no avail. As the days pressed on she found herself worrying more and more about training and less and less about finding her sister.



Had the deaths she exerienced in the game started to affect her mind? What the hell was going on? Sometimes, she barely even remembered that she had a sister out in this world. She seemed to avoid the conversation about the real world altogether. Was she becoming so comfortabe in this world that she had begun to neglect the world she left behind?



The thoughts stung like needles as they pierced her trembling skin. Her face began to heat up into a bold read as her teeth gritted and she bore them like fangs as she shouted angrily with a valiant war cry and plunged her sword into the stump where it dug so deep that it got lodged within.





After several huffs of hot air, she stumbled back away from it for a moment and began to feel the rough tempo of her quick heartbeats pounding against the outer layer of the shell of armor that she wore. As she broke out in sweat, and heaved several pants she heard a noise approaching.



“What!?!” She shouted angrily. She pinched the bridge of her nose in pain as she groaned and looked down at the floor.



She didn’t mean to misdirect her anger. The girl just happened to catch her at a bad time.



“Just...just a second...let me catch my breath..” The steamy fox hair said as she fanned her hand at Eris before she bent over with her hands on her knees as if she were going to puke. Fortunately, she didn’t and she rose, retrieving a rag from her satchel and wiping the sticky line of sweat from her brow.



“I’m sorry..what? You said you were new?” Saskia stated firmly as she inspected her, sizing her up. She squinted at her, batting away droplets up sweat from her eyes. She looked broken. Worn out. Tired. Just tired.



“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you..it’s just it gets so hot in this armor when you’re contantly moving about. It feels like you’re going at 115 degrees...” Saskia apologized as she stretched her hands out behind her head.



“But, no I been here for a few hours. “ Saskia admitted. “And no worries, I’m a nicer stranger than most, I suppose.”



“Well, since you put it bluntly, Sure. I can help. It’s kinda what I do anyway as Guild Headmistress for the Vylbrand Academy of Tactics, Mystics, and Trade. But I'm willing to help anyone. ”



Saskia smirked confidently as she walked up an offered an old, worn and tattered glove of her gauntlet for a hand shake.



“My name’s Saskia. It’s a pleasure.” She smiled, gazing into the girls eyes. “Beautiful character design." She added gently.



Her eyes then flickered up to the woman’s status bar.



“You’re hurt...” She said as she held the woman’s arm and examined her injuries.



“Just one moment. This will only take a second.” She said as she whispered a mystical incantation and pulsed out her palms at Eris, illuminating her in an enchanting light blue aura that would have a soothing sensation as some of her wounds would either face or slowly go away, and due to Saskia’s level differentiation, should close completely, fully healing the girl.



“There we go. Good as new, eh? That [Heal] spell works like a charm. And it’s a real life saver. Make sure you grab it.” Saskia suggested as she patted Eris gently on the shoulder.



“Alright..so learning how to fight effectively. Well, first off, tell me about your current skills and subclasses. After you do that then I’ll tell you about the three fighting styles and we can go from there. Sound good?”

INVENTORY

EQUIPMENT: Stratford Arms Platemail (Level. 30), Stratford Arms Great Shield (level. 30) , Stratford Arms Long Spear (Level. 30)
ABILITIES USED:
Words: 2445
Post Theme Song: An Unfinished Life

OOC: I have muse songs that I attach in the link that are on replay loops that you can enjoy when reading the post. I love them. They add a lot of emphasis and emotion to what you read. Hope you're enjoying the roleplay experience!^^ 





TAGS: Eris

template by caesar

[Eris]

     ERIS:              

           

                 sorcerer/dancer/tailor

   ~ "Sometimes it takes a good fall to really know where you stand."

     The stranger's initial reaction was not a good one, and as Saskia snapped at her, Natalie recoiled. Memories surfaced, unbidden, of thrown chairs and snarled words that stung more than any physical slap - memories that made her face tighten and twist into a furious snarl of her own, a reflexive defense mechanism that had saved her from countless questions no one would want to answer. Fear brought concern, brought pity, brought questions. Anger and insult, on the other hand, invited none of the above. Occasionally punishment, sure, but never supposedly caring words and noses that didn't belong in her business.

     Regardless of the reasoning, Natalie's walls immediately went up, and she regretted her actions. She'd asked for help, made herself look even more vulnerable than her shitty equipment already did - what sort of mistake was that, with someone as volatile as this? Had she not learned anything in all of those 'homes' they'd shipped her to? In those shells of safety that had tried to cradle her before she'd been accepted by Zak and Iona. Do not ask for help. Do not show your weaknesses. Chin up, tears in, elbows out in case they need to be driven into someone's solar plexus. She cursed herself plenty, but there was no going back now. Doing so would be worse than asking for help, because it would mean turning her back on this... spaz. More than anything else, Natalie didn't want to do that. She did take a good step back, though, eyes fixed upon Saskia in case she decided to lash out. 

     Instead, and perhaps the most surprising thing of all in this encounter, she didn't. She didn't exactly apologize for being a psychotic spaz, but she seemed to take a moment to collect herself. Some people would have tried to understand where she was coming from and forgive her, maybe, but Natalie was not some people. She could see that the girl had been focused, intensely into her training, and that the aggression had bled from her exercise to her words - knowing why it had happened did nothing for her empathy, though. 

     A lack of forgiveness or not, she did at least wait for the girl to collect herself, still resolute in her desire for more training. She would not, could not, back down in the face of aggression. A part of her hoped that the other woman would throw up, but to her mild disappointment, she did not. Oh well. Perhaps the world would punish her for her douche-baggery another way.

     Her apology slid over deaf and uncaring ears, though you wouldn't be able to tell from Natalie's face or mannerisms. She smiled softly in response, as if she understood, chuckling quietly to herself.
    "I bet it does. That's alright. I should have waited until you weren't so busy." 
     She had decided not to like this woman, but that was no reason to be rude. She still wanted something from her, after all, so she held her tongue and continued to smile, playing the part of an uneasy newbie. It wasn't hard - she was a newbie, and she knew what feeling uneasy was like. It was that quaking feeling from the pit of her stomach as she thought of what Saskia's snap reminded her of, the thing she was trying to hide. Letting it bleed out wasn't much of a problem for her, not after already lowering herself to, ugh, asking for help. 

     She didn't know about this girl being a nicer stranger than most - so far, she seemed like a jerk, but that was bias talking. Natalie's face showed interest as Saskia spoke of her guild, but inside she held disbelief and disdain. A temper like that, in control of a large group of people? Oh, yes. That was a wonderful combination. Regardless of her secret thoughts, she took her hand eagerly, a smile splitting out across her face as if she were relieve to be accepted by this stranger instead of rejected. As if, she thought, she hadn't quietly been hoping that the woman would turn her away.

       "I can't take all the credit for the design." She joked, chuckling lightly. "Nature had a hand in it, after all, but - thank you. I have to say, yours is stunning as well. I love your hair."  

      Rude or not, the glove told Natalie more than enough about her competence - and her lack of care for her gear, she supposed. Things seemed hard to get a hold of in this game, sure, but why let your stuff get tattered? Maybe she was a dedicated warrior, maybe she was powerful, but she didn't seem... responsible. 

     True surprise bled over her easy, genial expression as she expressed concern over the injuries that dotted her form, a result of her run ins with the monsters she'd been fighting. Most of the damage was from that slime, but some were admittedly from a stump like the one Saskia had been fighting. Those things didn't move, but they had good aim, and they'd been able to hurl enough at Natalie that she couldn't dodge it all.

     She was unsure of Saskia's actions as she held her arm, wondering what had made her so grabby all of a sudden. Yes, she was hurt, but why did it matter? What was she doing? All of her confusion showed on her face as Saskia began to whisper, but it quickly turned to understanding. A spell. She was using a spell. 
     It didn't take a genius to figure out what sort of spell she'd be using, but Natalie had a hard time connecting the generous action with the woman's attitude from before, even with her apology. Why was she doing this? Why bother? She hadn't been that low health, and this woman didn't seem like this generous of a person. Was it a trick? Was she trying to buy a better opinion of herself from Eris? What was the catch?

      It didn't occur to her that there was no catch. That some people could have moments of bad judgement and still be perfectly okay people. It did, however, occur to her that the healing felt amazing. She hadn't realized how tired and sore she'd really felt, after her hard morning at work. Blinking away her own confused and stunned expression, she regarded Saskia curiously. Maybe... maybe she wasn't so bad. There was still the possibility she was, though, so Natalie was far from opening up to her. 

      "Wow. Thanks... you didn't have to do that." She meant that last part - in fact, she meant all of it. She ran one hand over her now smooth skin, previously marred by bruises and scrapes that had hurt more than she'd been able to admit. She made a mental note of the spell's name and nodded, filing the information away for later. She hadn't really known what she was doing when she made her character, doing her best and assuming that Wynn would help her learn more about the skills as they leveled up together. Now, though, that wasn't happening.
 
     "My subclasses?" She didn't see why that mattered - the skills, sure, but the subclasses? She frowned slightly to show her confusion, then shrugged and began to explain anyways. "Alright. That sounds... fine, I guess. I wouldn't know if it didn't. I meant it when I said I suck. I have very little idea of what I'm doing..." She flushed, glancing down - she didn't think she needed to say outright that she hated it, feeling that her emotions in that, at least, were vividly obvious.

     "I'm a tailor, and a dancer," She began, racking  her memory for what she'd chosen to do. The former had seemed kind of useful as well as fun while the latter had been chosen purely because she loved it. She hadn't cared what abilities it gave her character, or what it actually meant within the game world - she was a dancer, and nothing else had seemed so perfect and fitting.

     "As for my skills, I have three. Blink, spell walk, and lava orb." Those she rhymed off and counted on her fingers, raising one digit as each spell was named. She didn't have very many attack spells, but then, she'd been focusing on staying away from enemies. Wynn had told her she would be the one in front, soaking up the damage as Natalie worked from behind, so they'd seemed like reasonable choices to start out with. She'd honestly doubted it would take long to level, and had things stayed as a game, maybe that would have been true. They hadn't, though, and here she was.

     "What do you mean, three fighting styles?" She asked cautiously, cringing to know that she was exposing how little she really knew. "You mean, like, how to use your skills?"

  
HP: 100  MANA: 60                                                             WORDS: 1469    

               

notes: I really enjoyed listening to the battle themes stuff. They were pretty cool! 

tags:  Saskia

  lolly

[Saskia]

HP 100% | MP 100%

Guardian - Cavalier - Brewer

____________________________________________________

Saskia had noticed through her coursing sensation of empathy that her sharp tongue in the beginning of their meeting may not have been received well. She did not know why she had been getting so moody as of late. Could it have been the distant memories of lost loved one? Could it be the harsh winters that she had to endure and being forced to fight in the frigid steel of her armor so that she could amass the fortune it needed to run a guild? Could it be the wedge of guilt that anchored itself into her soul for the loss of her kidnapped guildmate that she felt responsible for? Or could it be those handful of lives she failed to protect at grain village as she watched their broken bodies lay on the floor and slowly dissolve back into the lifestream after the port village was laid siege to by Sahagin?



So many thoughts crawled into her mind, whispering and cripplingher heart and cindering her soul. She tried to keep her cool on the surface, but the ideations that wormed their way into her mind, would always plunge her into relapse. Though she tried her best not to display this in front of others, she knew she had her own skeletons in her closet. The pressures of leadership and responsibility were beginning to take their toll, however she tried to keep a clear head and build her resolve to endure.



She didn’t even begin to fathom how much the butterfly effect of her misdirected anger had sewn seeds of bitterness saturated in regret from the girl. She knew that the girl was new and this made Saskia feel even more guilty about the first impression she had given the angelic haired woman who held graceful features. Most MMOs were only as good as their community and so far her public relations abilities were subpar at best. Typically she was much nicer and sweeter, but she couldn’t fool herself by denying that lately she had been on edge.



She didn’t know anything about the maze of thoughts that would be in the girls mind as she would either navigate her way to the path of forgiveness or the darkness of resentment, but she hope that her attempts would be as a beacon to the road to reconciliation. She would try to make her attempts at making amends through subtle interaction, though it were possible that the flood of emotions that surged from the woman would be too great for this to simply be ‘water under the bridge’. As she saw the woman step back, it became apparent that she had entered a state of withdrawal. A negative prelude to her closing herself of slightly. The layer of trust had been slightly wrinkled between them, and like a crumbled up sheet of paper, it was hard to get something like that perfectly straight again.



However, it seem, at least on the surface, as if the woman hadn’t been worried in the slightest about her little outburst. She seemed sweet, angelic, and understanding through the body language of her tender smile. The naive Saskia had thought the worst was over. Little did she know however, the woman before her was simply being cordial. As if their meeting would be a simple business transaction and nothing more. She would get what she wanted out of Saskia, and soon depart with whatever benefits of knowledge she could ascertain and employ for her own self-interests. Saskia mirrored Eris’ smile and her expression seemed relieved to have possibly earned some degree of tolerance from the woman. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as she thought before? Yet, she couldn’t confirm that everything was simply okay just because of a simple handshake.



Saskia tilted her head as the woman spoke of nature laying it’s paintbrush upon the design of her character. “Oh wow, so your character design is modeled after you?” She had been intrigued by that fact, if it were true, and would simply wear a pearly white smile as she shared a little bit about herself.



“My avatar is modeled after myself, my sister designed it however, she has a bit of a knack for things like that. Everything is as it should be though, minus the coloration of the hair and the wolf ears.” She grinned as she ran her tattered glove over her foreign ears. “Makes it a bit weird now to wear earrings. “



Saskia removed her worn glove from her ear and began to gaze at the open cuts across them. In truth, she was constant in her training which led to the rapid degradation of her gear over time as many battles transpired. She often went on long pilgrimages and would return far more beaten and bruised than she would like. Also, the finances it took to constantly began to take to make repairs for this higher echelon of armor was becoming quite costly. Also, with tasks like trying to fund guild academy projects for the students or saving enough money for a larger guild hall spacious enough to hold all of them. She had a lot of financial burdens and would have to make do with putting herself on the backburner for the good of the guild.



This did, leave her at a certain disadvantage however, when it came to fighting monsters her own level, she often found herself in times of crisis. She knew that she was still weak, despite the number that appeared above her head on the status screen. A simple number couldn’t be a margin for measurement or a warrior’s worth. Those virtues were held inside their heart and the fervor they displayed on the field.



She smiled at the subtle appreciation of the woman as she embraced the radiant glow of the effects of her healing spell. As the woman mentioned that she didn’t have to use her mana to provide the healing essence for her, saskia looked at her with her eyes as if to say ‘Don’t mention it..” as she beamed with delight. Saskia knew that the pain receptors in this game was an annoying feature and she also felt that the woman would want to feel relieved of these feelings.



“No problem, I’m just trying to keep Nature’s canvas clean. I’m pretty sure when nature kissed you with it’s paintbrush, it didn’t draw you paint you with so many blemishes. Also, if you’re going to train, it’s much better to do it while you’re at full strength.” Saskia nodded in response.



“Well, don’t worry about it being hard at first, everything is hard at first, but the journey of a thousand miles begins but with a subtle step. You are well on your way. “ Saskia grinned politely.



“Ah, so a tailor and a dancer, my, aren’t you built for finesse?” Saskia chuckled. “Well, with your level one tailor skill, [Needlework] , it makes you extra resilient to dexterity debuffs, which means your accuracy won’t be as hindered by enemy spells. Sometimes they can inflict traits that interfere with your sight or movement to mess up your accuracy in a fight. “ She informed the girl before moving on to the other subclass.



“As a dancer, you having an interesting and charming feature that helps you break out of a bind. It’s called the [Pacifying Dance], whenever you’re in a territory surround by aggressive monsters, just pop that skill skill and anything within about 25 meters is harmless to you. Some monsters will even become friendly and become bewitched by your enchanting dance. “ Saskia smirked.



“Well, those are why subclasses are important as well, they have certain features that can be employed while out in the field. Personally, I feel like that dancer ability is a bit of your trump card. However, thing that sucks about it is, it can be used once youre already engaged in combat.
"


“I know that you’re probably eager to move on, but first I just want to make sure you are aware of how all the skills work in this new virtual environment. It’s not like what you are used to. There are three different ways to activate skills. ”




“The first, is a common form of which you might be used to. It’s manually clicking the skill from the menu. Basically it’s the point and click method. Also known as the Interface Style. Generally more of the spell characters do this, while melee fighters just go with the flow and their own primal instincts.”




“Thus leading us to the second form. Which is basically using hotkeys, which is very efficient. All you have to do is assume or pose or shout a command and the skill gets activated. Also known as the Hotkey style. It’s good for combat on the go. Especially when up close and personal!”






“Lastly, we have a unique style. It’s a bit more fluid in nature and it’s basically like using a skill as if it were second nature, without the need for hotkeys or a skill menu. It’s something you get down with practice as you become more familiar with your skills.”





“Speaking of skills, here’s a bit of a demonstration of the first. ”





Saskia summoned her skills menu and clicked on Ares as a target. She then waved her hand over the [Heal] skill and cast it on her, engulfing her in a soothing bluish green aura.






After the twenty second cooldown she, shouted “Heal!” and aimed her hand at the girl, demonstrating how she could activate the skill through poses and vocal commands.







“I hope that was a good enough explanation for you. I’ll try to get you some hands on training...I know the usual spawn point’s on this map like the back of my hand. Me and the guildies usually come out here to train and on these wooden stumps. This is a spot I bring some of the fresh guys. The stumps are around level one to five. They can’t exactly move, so if you’re a ranged combatant they cannot harm you. They are excellent practice for trying out skills. “ Saskia muttered as she stepped aside for the woman to give it a go.


"Alright, try a few spells." 

INVENTORY

EQUIPMENT: Stratford Arms Platemail (Level. 30), Stratford Arms Great Shield (level. 30) , Stratford Arms Long Spear (Level. 30)
ABILITIES USED:
Words: 1700
Post Theme Song: Mosane







TAGS: Eris

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