Garret looked out across the snowy expanse of the Imuchakk nation. The land was incredibly cold; as if he were constantly surrounded by the ice of his spells. The cloud of steam that was created upon each exhalation of his breath only further defined the chilly nature of the temperature of the land he was now treading. Garret entered the makeshift shelter he had set up for himself, just outside of the Imuchakk Village. It wasn't that there were no places to stay, but that Garret refused to share a home with a family. He required the ability to know when something was out of place and, quite frankly, that would take too long if he was in a stranger's home. The clothing he wore was all that kept him from being too cold.
Only a few weeks back, Garret had spoken to Azix on the situation with Takahashi Sato. He hadn't had time to truly consider the gravity of the situation. Knowing that, if left alone, the insecurities that were left within the Blue Magician on that night he had met the Spymaster would blossom into hesitation. That hesitation could, in the worst case scenario, lead to the death and loss of all he cared about. Though he was initially concerned about the morality of his choices and decisions, Garret had already determined to follow Azix's lead. It was something of a cowardly decision, and one Garret would later have to confront head on. At this time, however, his primary concern was not the morality of his decisions, but the fact that he was snuck up on so easily. His skills as an operative were taught at a young age, and yet he had been slacking off on keeping up with his operative training. An over reliance, at first, on his abilities as a Magician had caused the initial decline in the use of those skills. Following that up with his stint in prison had given Garret a certain level of reliance on his capabilities as a Martial Artist who had inherited the River Styx style, it hadn't been until recently that Garret had begun to revisit the training from what had felt like so long ago.
Sitting down on the floor in his make-shift shelter, Garret began the steps to deadening his presence. He slowed his breathing, creating shallow and silent breaths. He worked towards stilling his heart; a difficult skill, that took years of practice. It was much akin to the state one finds themselves in while sleeping. There were difficulties involved in this process, causing Garret to recall the memories surrounding his childhood....
Garret was much different now than he was then. He could accurately gauge Sato's skills. They were quite frightening, to say the least. Unlike the training he had when he was a child, Garret's skill with the ability to lower the strength of his presence had aged like a fine wine. It was due to his much improved control of his body, a perk he had received from the breathing and meditation exercises that Hasan had taught him. The recollection of Sato having snuck up on him without him noticing had only served to give Garret the motivation of renewing his skills in the field of an operative.
Garret practiced for several hours that day, switching between hiding his presence and suddenly entering a flurry of movement, courtesy of the River Styx Style Kata 'Raging Undercurrents'. He was nowhere near the stage of mastery where he could flow through the hidden presence technique, into the offensive technique, and back into the hidden presence technique without pause. Even so, he continued to train the technique in an effort to improve the disparity in timing that he had. Between these sets of flow change, Garret would regain his breath as well as his stamina by entering the state while moving. It sacrificed a level of stealth, as movement did bring attention to oneself, but it was a movement that was mixed with his martial arts style; the fluid footwork of River Styx Style, particularly from the Silent Rapids Kata, combined with the reduction of his presence was able to give him a means of moving covertly. In truth, this style of movement was already one that operatives used, though the exact style differed depending on how they were taught.
That day, Garret only took breaks to eat and allow time to digest before moving overly much.
Garret sat within his shelter, looking at a spread of locks he had bartered for from the Imuchakk peoples earlier that day. He had bartered for a pair from each blacksmith that could create the locks. Having gathered a set of operative equipment, Garret pulled out a satchel and laid it upon the ground before him. He had been relying on spells for everything for so long, that he had lost touch with one of the most basic skills of an operative; the ability to break in and enter the abode of those who attempt to lock up with door locks such as these. He opened up the satchel, revealing the contents of the bag to be a variety of lock picks. He took out the various tools and began to work on unlocking the locks, one by one. He recalled the first time he was taught the fine motor skills necessary to pick through the defenses of a lock...
Garret found himself recalling that tea house fondly, though he idly wondered how much that trip was there simply to mold his love for his homeland. It was true that one of the things he enjoyed the most was food from home; a personality trait that was instilled by the Spymaster of Kou? Garret shook his head, concentrating on the task at hand. Though it had been a great deal of time since he had worked on picking a lock, a skill learned under the tutelage of Takahashi Sato was a skill that was difficult to forget. Garret found himself exploring the locks, working to understand them more than to unlock them. Unlike when he was a child who simply did his best to pick the locks quickly, he took his time exploring and appreciating the craftsmanship of the blacksmiths who had created these locks. He began to have a stronger level of respect for the craftsmanship, and the exploration of their machinations provided a clearer understanding of the underlying processes needed to execute the successful picking of the various locks before him. Including his training with hiding his presence, Garret would occasionally spend a part of his days getting a better understanding of the different locks.
OOC:
Word Count for Stealth Training: 2031/2000
Only a few weeks back, Garret had spoken to Azix on the situation with Takahashi Sato. He hadn't had time to truly consider the gravity of the situation. Knowing that, if left alone, the insecurities that were left within the Blue Magician on that night he had met the Spymaster would blossom into hesitation. That hesitation could, in the worst case scenario, lead to the death and loss of all he cared about. Though he was initially concerned about the morality of his choices and decisions, Garret had already determined to follow Azix's lead. It was something of a cowardly decision, and one Garret would later have to confront head on. At this time, however, his primary concern was not the morality of his decisions, but the fact that he was snuck up on so easily. His skills as an operative were taught at a young age, and yet he had been slacking off on keeping up with his operative training. An over reliance, at first, on his abilities as a Magician had caused the initial decline in the use of those skills. Following that up with his stint in prison had given Garret a certain level of reliance on his capabilities as a Martial Artist who had inherited the River Styx style, it hadn't been until recently that Garret had begun to revisit the training from what had felt like so long ago.
Sitting down on the floor in his make-shift shelter, Garret began the steps to deadening his presence. He slowed his breathing, creating shallow and silent breaths. He worked towards stilling his heart; a difficult skill, that took years of practice. It was much akin to the state one finds themselves in while sleeping. There were difficulties involved in this process, causing Garret to recall the memories surrounding his childhood....
- Hidden Presence:
Garret was but a young child of the age of twelve. Even so, he had been receiving training from a man of great authority within their great land of Kou; the Spymaster, Takahashi Sato. For the past two years, the Spymaster had worked hard to teach Garret the tools of the trade he would be using to defend and protect the people and their Empire. It was something drilled within him since he had left his uncle's "care".
The young Garret shuddered at the thought, silently cursing his fate for forcing him in such a position. Idly, he watched as a small black colored butterfly flew past his face; the creatures interested him, if only slightly. It seemed nobody else in the household could see them, and since Rin had teased him when he used to bring them up, he had stopped talking about them. Still, every once in a while, he couldn't help but wonder about them as they crossed his sight.
A stinging pain. A loud smack. One came immediately after the other. Garret's eyes squinted in pain as he grit his teeth. Takahashi Sato, his adoptive father, had just cracked his hands with a ruler. "Listen up, Iatsu. When hiding your presence, you must completely erase yourself. If you allow your attention to drift at your current skill level, you will be immediately detected by almost anyone worth targeting. Again. This time, focus."
Garret bowed to the Spymaster, apologizing for his inattentiveness. Takahashi Sato was not always so strict with him, but he had been told that his studies were to be taken seriously. Garret focused, once again, upon the task at hand. Slowly, over the course of some time, the young boy slowed his breathing down until it was inaudible. As he slowed his breathing down, his eyelids lowered. He worked to contain and remove emotion from his body; many different emotions could cause the heart to race, and that would cause the breathing to become louder.
Now, there was but one more thing that was vital to remaining unseen. A person found it difficult to catch a glimpse or sighting of a non-moving object. In contrast, movement was known to draw heavy attention at a moments notice. He worked on ensuring that he held himself completely still. After a short period of time, Takahashi Sato nodded. He thrust a fist close to Garret's face, and Garret reacted a moment after the fist had ended it's movement, falling backwards due to the sudden movement of the Spymaster. "Good. At this stage, this is about the best you will be able to handle. You may not understand this, but dulling your breathing and your heart rate slows down your body's rhythm. You will be unable to react quickly, at the beginner stage. Masters of this skill are able to immediately enter and exit this state, effectively allowing them to react, respond, and disappear quickly. Hence your sudden shock at my action, and your inability to react in time."
The Spymaster explained the idea behind the technique, but Garret also knew that it was not only due to his own body having been forcibly sent into a state of near-sleep. The Spymaster's attack was fast, and sudden, betraying the level of skill and technique behind the man's teacher-like nature. Though Garret was still not competent enough to accurately judge the level of skill, he knew that it was impressive...
Garret was much different now than he was then. He could accurately gauge Sato's skills. They were quite frightening, to say the least. Unlike the training he had when he was a child, Garret's skill with the ability to lower the strength of his presence had aged like a fine wine. It was due to his much improved control of his body, a perk he had received from the breathing and meditation exercises that Hasan had taught him. The recollection of Sato having snuck up on him without him noticing had only served to give Garret the motivation of renewing his skills in the field of an operative.
Garret practiced for several hours that day, switching between hiding his presence and suddenly entering a flurry of movement, courtesy of the River Styx Style Kata 'Raging Undercurrents'. He was nowhere near the stage of mastery where he could flow through the hidden presence technique, into the offensive technique, and back into the hidden presence technique without pause. Even so, he continued to train the technique in an effort to improve the disparity in timing that he had. Between these sets of flow change, Garret would regain his breath as well as his stamina by entering the state while moving. It sacrificed a level of stealth, as movement did bring attention to oneself, but it was a movement that was mixed with his martial arts style; the fluid footwork of River Styx Style, particularly from the Silent Rapids Kata, combined with the reduction of his presence was able to give him a means of moving covertly. In truth, this style of movement was already one that operatives used, though the exact style differed depending on how they were taught.
That day, Garret only took breaks to eat and allow time to digest before moving overly much.
Garret sat within his shelter, looking at a spread of locks he had bartered for from the Imuchakk peoples earlier that day. He had bartered for a pair from each blacksmith that could create the locks. Having gathered a set of operative equipment, Garret pulled out a satchel and laid it upon the ground before him. He had been relying on spells for everything for so long, that he had lost touch with one of the most basic skills of an operative; the ability to break in and enter the abode of those who attempt to lock up with door locks such as these. He opened up the satchel, revealing the contents of the bag to be a variety of lock picks. He took out the various tools and began to work on unlocking the locks, one by one. He recalled the first time he was taught the fine motor skills necessary to pick through the defenses of a lock...
- Picking Locks:
Garret smiled, looking up to Takahashi Sato. "Look! I did it!" The young Takegawa Iatsu had just finished picking his first lock. It was troublesome work, but after much explanation from the Spymaster of Kou Garret was finally able to complete the test. Feeling pride at his first steps along that line, he couldn't help but beam up at the Spymaster.
Takahashi Sato patted Garret on the head, smiling down on him. "Good job. Lets say we go and get something special for this occasion?" The man made Garret's eyes light up. It wasn't often that he was allowed outside the estate. Though he was a Magician, and his Borg was able to protect him from most harm, the Spymaster didn't let Garret experience much outside of his direct training.
Garret walked through the streets, Sato at his side. Garret was old enough to not need to hold his foster-father's hand, but still made sure to walk closely beside him. Any rebellious streak that he would have shown, and any sign of straying towards independence, had long since been trained out of the young operative. Garret had been trained to 'understand the importance of teamwork', and to work hard to enforce the 'wa' of their group. The nature of their job required them to work in harmony, enforcing a unity within the ranks of the operatives that created a conformity towards a common goal. To break the value of this concept was to show disrespect to the group; to those who cared for you. This behavior was swiftly punished, as a senior member of the group would not hesitate to correct the indiscretion of such an action.
They had finally gotten to their destination, which was one of Garret's favorite places to go to; a traditional tea house, within a good part of the city. Garret enjoyed the rest of the day, particularly content with having received a reward for a job well done. Garret's appreciation for days such as these was deep, as they were few and far between.
Garret found himself recalling that tea house fondly, though he idly wondered how much that trip was there simply to mold his love for his homeland. It was true that one of the things he enjoyed the most was food from home; a personality trait that was instilled by the Spymaster of Kou? Garret shook his head, concentrating on the task at hand. Though it had been a great deal of time since he had worked on picking a lock, a skill learned under the tutelage of Takahashi Sato was a skill that was difficult to forget. Garret found himself exploring the locks, working to understand them more than to unlock them. Unlike when he was a child who simply did his best to pick the locks quickly, he took his time exploring and appreciating the craftsmanship of the blacksmiths who had created these locks. He began to have a stronger level of respect for the craftsmanship, and the exploration of their machinations provided a clearer understanding of the underlying processes needed to execute the successful picking of the various locks before him. Including his training with hiding his presence, Garret would occasionally spend a part of his days getting a better understanding of the different locks.
OOC:
Word Count for Stealth Training: 2031/2000