Learning from the Past [Solo/Training]

Ayero sat hunched over the fire, brushing red strands behind her shoulders so that they would not get caught in the blaze or covered in soot. Kabu was curled around her body in his usual fashion and Tomato had perched neatly on her right shoulder. Three pairs of eyes focused on the amulet cradled in Ayero’s hands, watching as the gem embedded on the front began to flicker as the woman concentrated on pouring her magoi into the magical item. She had only done this a few times before and had been amazed with the results, unable to fathom how a simple piece of jewelry could show her visions of her past, even those that had pre-dated her birth.

Ayero had experimented with the item in the past, the first time she had used it resulted in her and Vin being able to see their parents images once more, albeit much younger. Several times thereafter she had played with the enchanted locket’s power and was able to dig deeper into her family’s past a little further. Much to her delight, many of her ancestor had been warriors of some sort and had wielded swords, spears and the like. Through observing their actions and abilities in battle, the Fanalis woman was able to expand her own repertoire of moves. It was almost like having teachers from the past—though she imagined that learning from a vision was a little trickier than having someone teach you directly. But the warrior woman had a good enough grasp on swordplay to be able to learn from observation.

I wonder… Ayero squeezed the trinket a bit harder, hoping that she could somehow will a certain person to appear on the gem’s surface. Someone in my family has to have been an archer at some point. Ah…! A short breath left her throat as the sudden image of a redheaded beauty appeared before her. A bow was clasped in the unknown woman’s hand, her posture precise and confident as she eyed a deer in a clearing a little ways away.


With the skill that could only come from years of practice, the archer let loose an arrow aimed for the deer’s right leg. At the same time, a hawk emerged from the trees on the other side of the field and shot two hardened feathers toward the deer with a flap of his wings. Startled, the deer ran towards the unseen woman, taking the arrow to his front leg while the bird’s projectile feathers buried themselves in one hind leg each. With a cry, the deer fell to the ground, three of his four limbs immobilized. Smirking, the Fanalis beauty knocked another arrow onto her bow and stepped into the clearing before aiming the tip of the arrow right between the beast’s eyes.

As the projectile flew towards the doomed creature, the vision faded from the gem leaving Ayero to stare in wonder. I’ve never seen her before…how are we related? Is she my grandmother? Great-grandmother? Or something more distant? She peered over at Tomato sitting on her shoulder, the red hawk tilting her head curiously. She used both arrow and beast to down her prey. I should start trying to do that as well. That bird she used had similar coloring as Tomato, and I’ve seen her hunt on her own…

Pursing her lips in thought, Ayero stood slowly so as to not disturb her beasts. She went to work extinguishing the fire before crawling into her tent for the night. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll try to be like that Fanalis huntress.

[Training for Feather Dance: 597/500]

Creeping through the underbrush, Ayero sat silently at the edge of a clearing. She gripped the bow she had been recently gifted from Ariq, an arrow already knocked on the quiver in anticipation. She had directed Tomato to the other side of the small clearing, instructing the bird not to move until she gave the signal to do so. Depending on how much hunting they did together, Ayero figured that Tomato would have to be trained to use her own judgement and not wait for Ayero’s signals to attack. But that would come later, if they ever even got to that point.

The sound of rapid foosteps reached Ayero’s ears and the hidden Fanalis perked slightly, the hold on her bow tightening in anticipation. As the sound drew closer, Ayero’s eyes lit up it recognition of the noise. A deer…!

Shortly thereafter, a panicked-stricken doe thundered into the clearing. Not wasting a moment, Ayero whistled for Tomato. Once signaled, the red bird flew from the trees towards her prey and launched two feathers in a Feather Dance towards the deer’s hind legs. Both hardened feathers sliced along the beast’s hind quarters before falling limply to the ground. Even more startled, the deer changed course and headed towards Ayero.

[Trained: Feather Dance: 805/500]

Spoiler:

Unable to keep a grin from flashing onto her face, Ayero aimed her arrow at the charging creature’s right front leg. Tomato’s feathery assault had slowed the doe slightly and the cuts didn’t seem that deep, but it was likely the adrenaline that kept the beast going. Taking her aim, Ayero released a Nerve Twinge towards the deer. She mentally cheered when the arrow struck the deer’s upper leg and the creature stumbled and cried out from the sudden impact of the arrow.

The Fanalis archer was pulled from her victory when a sudden chorus of growls sounded from the opposite edge of the clearing. Danger sparked in her mind and she turned away from her now forgotten prey to see nearly a dozen wolves slowly closing in, seemingly unhappy that she and Tomato had stolen their meal.

[Trained: Nerve Twinge (Way of Old) 138/125 w/ omega tier amulet reduction (50%)]

Spoiler:

Shit… Ayero paused to gawk at the snarling wolves, unsure of what to do in the moment. She lowered her bow slightly after coming down from the shot, too startled to reach back into her quiver and grab another arrow. The doe took advantage of the momentary standstill and limped off into the woods while the predator’s attentions were focused on each other and not her.

This is…not good… Ayero tensed as the wolves inched closer before she realized that they were fanning out to surround her. She reflexively took a step back, causing the angry beasts to increase their growling while moving closer. Faintly, Ayero recalls a similar time in the mountains where she had unintentionally tried to steal a beast that belonged to another—a mistake that led her to the Cambulac tribe and ultimately to the way of the bow and arrow. The Fanalis took another step back as the wolves began to arc around her, circling their new prey. But the wolves did not like this movement, the four closest to Ayero kicking from the ground and speeding towards the Fanalis.

Ayero didn’t have time to even wince as the four wolves dove towards her. She felt somewhat defenseless while holding a bow, a weapon so foreign to her. Normally the Fanalis would have no trouble fighting off enemies at close range, but she feared what would happen should she try and put away the bow to unsheathe her blade or even take these beasts on barehanded. Stuck, she forced herself to do only what she was able to do in her position. With quick instinctual movements, Ayero reached behind her to retrieved four arrows from her quiver. Trying to keep her attention on all four wolves, the Fanalis archer dug her right leg into the ground and sent herself into a spin before firing off four arrows in rapid succession.

Three out of the four Nerve Strike arrows Ayero had launched hit their marks, each immobilizing one front leg of the three wolves. The fourth arrow missed the last wolf and embedded itself into a nearby tree. The three wolves who were struck yelped as the arrows hit them, pausing or stumbling in their assault. The fourth wolf lunged for Ayero, but the Fanalis woman kicked him away. The wolf cried out as the Fanalis-grade strength behind the kick sent him upwards, crashing into the trees several meters away.

Ayero paused, unsure of what to do while the other three wolves were momentarily preoccupied by their wounds. Should I run….? Should I try and take them out? By now the remaining eight wolves began to barrel towards her, their padded feet kicking up bits of earth as they sped towards the woman who injured their comrades. Okay, run, definitely run— Just as she began to turn, a loud squawk interrupted both her movement and her thoughts. The wolves gave pause as well, bearing their fangs at the red bird who streaked downwards towards them.

[Trained: Nerve Strike 500/500 w/ amulet reduction]

Spoiler:

With a hearty cry, Tomato descended upon the wolves heading towards Ayero. The red mountain hawk had been watching from above, unsure of what to do in order to aid Ayero. On one hand she had both fear and respect for the pack creatures, but on the other had she also had the drive to help protect the woman who had taken her in and raised her. The desire to help Ayero had won out, and so the bird chose to intervene before the wolves had a chance to chase the red haired woman.

Tomato’s shriek had drawn the momentary attention of the wolves who thankfully paused in their approach. The hawk waited until she was closer to her opponents before attacking and let out another screech before flapping her wings violently. Through this motion, Tomato performed a Feather Storm and launched four of her hardened, steel-like feathers down upon her foes. Unfortunately, the feathers began to lose speed after some distance and dropped to the ground harmlessly before they had the chance to strike any of the wolves.

Seeing that the bird could do no harm, the wolves ignored Tomato for the time being and turned their focus back towards Ayero. The red haired woman gritted her teeth and nocked another arrow onto her bow, but Tomato was not satisfied. With a cry of indignation, the irritated bird flew closer to the pack of wolves, determined to land at least one good blow on them. She had spent most of her time with Ayero watching the woman fight. Now that she was grown, Tomato wanted to show Ayero what she could do. She wanted to fight alongside her red haired companion like the woman she had seen in the magic amulet. She wanted to be useful, to prove her worth.

Screaming as she went into a dive, Tomato once again caught the wolves’ attention with her loud noise. Closer to her opponents than last time, the red hawk went through the motions of flapping her wings rapidly, the movements launching four of her hardened feathers down upon the wolves once more. This time the effects were more immediate, the steel-like projectiles raining down upon the canine beasts. One feather struck a wolf along the side of his body, leaving a shallow cut along the length of his body. The second feather stuck into the hind leg of a different wolf, causing the beast to cry out in sudden pain.

The third feather did not hit any wolf, striking the ground and kicking up a small, brief cloud of dust as it did so. The fourth and final feather sliced along the muzzle of another wolf, the sudden unexpected pain leaving the creature to stop in his track and shake his head from side to side, whimpering as he brought a paw up to brush across his wound.

Satisfied, Tomato could feel her chest swell with pride at the outcome of her work. She had done it! She helped Ayero! Looking down towards the red haired woman to make sure that she was alright, Tomato chirped with joy to see Ayero looking back with a look of approval in her eyes. As quickly as that look appeared, it was gone once the Fanalis woman turned her attention towards the remaining wolves…

[Training for Feather Storm: 551/500 w/ amulet reduction]

Spoiler:

Ayero was surprised at Tomato’s sudden intervention, dismissing the whereabouts of the bird from her thoughts once the wolves showed up. In hindsight she felt a bit bad once she realized this, but Tomato proved to be an asset in battle as she confronted the wolves on her own, unleashing a hail of sharp feathers down onto the beasts. I guess she has grown…I shouldn’t discount her strength. Ayero glanced up at the red hawk as she hovered above their enemies, most of them either confused or stationary due to their wounds. A look of pride shone clearly in her eyes before a familiar growl brought the Fanalis woman back to reality.

Turning her focus back to the remaining wolves, Ayero quickly nocked an arrow onto her bow and took in her surroundings. One, two, three, four, five, six…half of the wolves remained, the others preoccupied. But the half dozen that remained bristled as they turned towards Ayero, pearly white fangs gleaming dangerously against dark fur. A red flag raised in the woman’s mind, recognizing the animals darted towards her, snarling as they did so. Holding back a wince at the sudden movement, Ayero unleashed her first arrow followed quickly by a second, attempting to use Nerve Pinch to stop at least two of the wolves charging towards her. The arrows found their mark and buried themselves into the right front leg of one wolf and the hind right leg of another, startling the creatures and effectively stopping them in their tracks.

[Trained Nerve Pinch: 252/250 w/ amulet reduction]

Spoiler:

Still, four angry wolves pressed onwards towards Ayero. Gritting her teeth, the Fanalis woman was torn, unsure of what to do. She might be able to outrun them, but each second she waited decreased her chances of getting away safely. Her hands refused to drop the bow and grab for her blade, a more fitting weapon. Something about the adrenaline of the situation told her that being unable to use a weapon, even if only for a second was not a good idea. My arms and legs…I could use them, but I might get bit. And it would take a few seconds to secure the bow, I don’t want to lose it…

Chewing on her lower lip in frustration, Ayero finally made her decision. Good thing no one else is around here to see me… Figuring it to be the best option, Ayero turned her back on the approaching wolves and sprinted towards the edge of the clearing. She had planned to climb up the first tree she could find and tried to work to her top speed so that she could put some distance between her and the wolves.

Tomato had been watching the battle aloft, circling over the wolves and keeping a keen eye on them. When they began to go after Ayero once more, the young bird let out a cry and began descending at a low angle, prepared to help Ayero if needed. When the woman began running, Tomato sped downwards at a sharper angle and let loose another Sharp Feather, this time only able to produce a single feather due to fatigue. But the projectile struck a wolf in the hind leg, causing the creature to stumble and fall.

[Trained Sharp Feather: 284/250 w/ amulet reduction]

Spoiler:

Sprinting through the clearing, Ayero kept her body moving forward and an ear out for the approaching wolves, not wanting to risk turning to locate them visually and losing speed. She could hear the pounding of four sets of canine feet giving chase behind her and noted how the sound seemed to fan out and separate from eachother. Shit...they’re spreading out. Urging herself forward from the pack animals, Ayero finally reached the edge of the clearing where the forest began. The Fanalis woman slid her bow back into its quiver just as she pushed off on her heel, lunging towards the closest sturdy looking tree. She forcibly dug her heels and nails into the bark and wasted no time in shimmying her was up the tree trunk and out of the reach of the angry wolves.

Catching her breath, Ayero situated herself on a thick tree branch and looked down at her hands, noting the bark that had accumulated under her fingernails. Thankfully it had been a bit softer than expected, having been weakened by the recent rain. The wolves snapping and scratching at the base of the tree drew her attention and reminded Ayero that she was not yet out of danger. Taking a few breaths to steady herself, the Fanalis archer retrieved her bow from its quiver along with a special arrow. Hope this works… Drawing in a breath, Ayero nocked the arrow onto the bow and pointed it down towards the wolves. Releasing the arrow, Ayero fired her Shatter Shot amidst the beasts milling about below.

[Trained: Shatter Shot 250+/250 w amulet reduction]

Spoiler:

Instead of striking flesh, the arrow stuck into the ground near the irritated creatures. But unlike a normal arrow, the specially crafted tip shattered and exploded upon impact, sending pieces of sharp shrapnel in a radial direction. Two of the three wolves received full damage, but the one furthest away from the point of impact received only a few small cuts, not enough to deter him from snarling at the woman perched in the tree. Meanwhile, the pair of wolves who had been injured in the blast whimpered and struggled to move deeper into the forest, their numerous wounds painful with pieces of the arrow head still lodged in their bodies.

But the remaining wolf remained undeterred and still clawed and jumped at the tree in hopes of getting his claws on the red haired beast who had sniped his friends. He also seemed to figure out climbing in a similar method Ayero had—by digging his claws into the bark and working his way up the trunk. Ayero’s eyes flared at the realization that she was not entirely safe on her perch and began to scoot back, wary of moving as she did not want to be caught moving along the branch as it thinned out and eventually trap herself.

Just as she reached for her blade, a shrill cry cut through the air as Tomato appeared. Flying low to the ground, the young hawk let out a screech as she suddenly turned upwards in a sharp Zig Zag movement, right where the wolf was latched onto the tree trunk. Startled by the bird’s sudden appearance, the wolf yelped and lost his balance, falling from the tree back to the ground.

[Trained Zig Zag: 282/250 w amulet reduction]

Spoiler:

With another cry, Tomato continued on her path and flew upwards to eventually hover above Ayero. Ayero tilted her head upwards, eyes meeting with those of her avian companion. With a brief nod of thanks to the bird, the halfling rummaged through her quiver before grasping the feathers of the arrow she was looking for, recognizing it by touch. She was vaguely reminded that she should get around to arranging her special arrows into a certain way where she would not waste time feeling around for them, but now was not such a time. She was running low on stock.

Swiftly nocking the arrow, Ayero released it down towards the wolf, once again aiming for the ground. Growling, the wolf jumped away from the projectile to avoid getting it, but soon found himself engulfed in a thick smoke as the arrow struck the ground thanks to Ayero’s Smoke Shot.

[Trained Smoke Shot: 149/125 w amulet reduction[/b]

Spoiler:

As the plume of smoke billowed up and out from the ground, Ayero grimaced at seeing that she too was in the smoke’s path. Not wanting to become blinded whilst in a tree, the Fanalis woman quickly clambered her way several meters further up the tree. One she was sure she would be safe from the acrid smoke, Ayero leaned against the tree and let out a heavy sigh. A flush of embarrassment dusted her cheeks as she replayed the events of the last few minutes over in her head. She was a warrioress, proud and strong who did not flinch in the face of danger. She had taken on vicious opponents in the coliseum, fought against the invading forces of Kou. And now here she was, chased up a tree by a pack of mangy wolves.

On the other hand, Ayero was used to pushing aside her own inhibitions in favor of survival. Before she had learned to fight properly she did what she had to do to make ends meet, pride coming in secondary after making sure she had enough to eat and a place to sleep. Something in the back of her mind still bothered her though.

Am I getting soft? Ayero would wonder as she shifted to get comfortable against the tree, finding it difficult to lean against the trunk with the quiver strapped to her back. It was then that it dawned on her. The bow…that must be it. As fervently as she practiced, Ayero was still not as used to wielding a bow as she would have liked to be. It was just that different from what she was used to—almost making her feel defenseless, not powerful. I guess I just have to keep going at it until it feels more natural. It’s not like I’m only going to use the bow to fight, right? Ayero snorted at the thought, musing on how her first love was and will always be the blade. The bow, while having potential on its own, was an extension of herself as a warrior.

The smoke below her began to dissipate on its own, leaving a wheezing wolf in its wake. The beast had his eyes squinted shut and was stumbling around, unable to see or move steadily. Now that the danger was over and her adrenaline had evened out, Ayero felt an actual pang of pity for the creature. Just then, a Steel Feather streaked through the sky and struck the wolf in the chest. The beast cried out in sudden pain, whimpers and yelps leaving his throat as he stumbled to the ground, blood seeping out from behind the feather. Ayero’s face twisted into a shocked expression, not expecting that at all. Tomato chittered proudly, descending down onto the branch and looking at Ayero, expecting praise.

When the red hawk saw Ayero’s surprised expression, Tomato trilled and tilted her head. Looking at the bird, Ayero let out a low sigh and patted her on the head while forcing a smile onto her face. While Ayero did feel brief pity for the wolf, Tomato was doing what she thought was right and protecting her friend from an aggressor. ”You’ve done well Tomato, thank you.” Ayero paused to look around the forest, the carcasses of the dead and dying wolves littering the clearing. Now that the fight was over, thing were eerily silent. Maybe I could…collect their pelts? It feels wrong to just leave them…after I...

[Trained Steel Feather: 579/500 w amulet reduction]

Spoiler:

After defeating the wolves, Ayero tried to locate as many of the fallen beasts as she could. Some of them were missing, presumably injured and had limped off into the forest. A few were on the verge of death, their bodies bleeding out on the forest floor. When she came upon a beast that she was sure was beyond help, Ayero would take it upon herself to drive an arrow into the wolf’s skull in order to put it out of its misery. As unforgiving as she could be, the Fanalis woman could be sympathetic on occasion.

After gathering the carcasses, Ayero sat down at the edge of the clearing and produced a flat rock with a sharpened edge and began to skin the wolves. She had never eaten meat from a wolf before as there was often better game available, but hopefully she could sell or trade the pelts she would collect. Perhaps she could even find a seamstress to make her winter clothes—despite it being nearly summer, the mountains tended to remain blustery and cold at certain altitudes. Ayero didn’t know if she would need warmer clothes, she didn’t even know how long she planned to stay here. It was sort of nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of Remano especially after the war, but she knew that she couldn’t stay on this mountain forever.

A sudden rumbling brought the woman out of her thoughts and she immediately leapt upright, dropping the wolf skin and her knife in favor of unsheathing her blade. The ground began to shake and for a few moments Ayero looked around wildly, confused at what was happening. Suddenly, a large boulder came barreling down a nearby cliff heading towards the clearing. Acting quickly, Ayero slammed her foot into the ground to perform Land’s Guard, the force of her foot kicking up a large wall of earth. The boulder clashed with the wall, shaking the piece of raised earth before it began to crumble. Though the wall had fallen, it was strong enough to stop the boulder’s path. Ayero gawked at the boulder, looking up towards the cliff from where it had come. That was strange…

[Trained Land’s Guard: 366/250 w amulet reduction]

Spoiler:

After obtaining what she could from the dead wolves, Ayero hefted the pelts onto her back and began to make her way back down the mountain. She would have liked to of spent more time skinning the wolves and doing a cleaner job, but something was making her uneasy. Despite feeling a little worried, Ayero managed a small smirk at the thought of what Nazgul would think of her work. The Cambulac woman was as much of a perfectionist as she was skilled and would have likely sent Ayero back into the forest to hunt fresh game if she presented pelts so poorly removed.

Ayero grunted as she re-adjusted the sack of wolf fur on her shoulder, not finding the load heavy but still a bit cumbersome. Ever since that boulder had mysteriously tumbled towards her she began to feel wary, and that feeling didn’t go away as she made her way through the forest. Every so often she would stop and look around, thinking that perhaps she had caught a glimpse of movement or heard some strange noise. If there was something or someone following her, the Fanalis wasn’t able to detect them indefinitely.

Tightening her grip on the bag slung over her shoulder, Ayero began moving once more. After taking a few more steps, an arrow suddenly whizzed past her head and struck a tree several feet in front of her. With a solid bang, smoke began to pour from the arrowhead at an alarming rate. Dropping her back in shock, Ayero began to move one of her arms in a windmill motion to Shift the smoke away.

[Trained Shift 270/250 w/ amulet reduction]

Spoiler:

We’re under attack?! So we were being followed…by who? Did they set the boulder towards us? The questions whirred through Ayero’s mind a mile a minute. The panicked Fanalis quickly drew her sword out of reflex once the smoke had been dispersed and placed her back towards the tree, facing the direction from where the arrow had come from. Whistling to Tomato, Ayero directed the bird to stay close. Though she wanted to send the hawk upwards to possibly locate their attacker from an ariel view, a concealed archer would be a dangerous foe, especially for a bird.

A few tense moments passed, silence filling the air as Ayero grit her teeth. She couldn’t see her opponent, and clearly he or she had the advantage. Though the Fanalis woman had grown up in the mountains, she was fighting on unfamiliar terf—had she picked up a bow at a younger age, she might already know how to use the topography of the land to her advantage.

”Show yourself!” Ayero’s voice bounced off of the trees, nerves edging in on her tone ever so slightly. Was it a bounty hunter? Did she even have a bounty on her head? Or maybe it was a territorial hunter and she had taken their prey away. Whoever it was seemed to have something out for her.

A few more seconds passed after Ayero had demanded the unknown archer to show themselves, but still no one appeared. A distant whistling sound could be heard, drawing closer rapidly. Ayero’s brow furrowed for a moment, her eyes widening in realization just as nearly a dozen arrows came into view. Shit! Not having time to re-sheath her blade, the warrioress dropped her blade and slammed her hands together in a clapping motion to create a Mini Shockwave. The outward force creates by Ayero’s hands intercepted the arrows as they nearly reached her, causing the projectiles to lose speed and drop harmlessly to the ground.

[Trained Mini Shockwave: 326/250 w/ amulet reduction]

Spoiler:

A frown creased Ayero's face as no more movement was made. No more projectiles had come her way, and no more leaves had been rustled with movement. Feeling that her presence must not have been wanted, the Fanalis woman hurriedly descends the mountain, wary of what or who may be following her.

[Exit]