Thread of Fate [Pun Intended/Training]

The warrior huntsman, Zadi Medmar, left the newly established camp in search of some much needed training. The latest encounter with Yoshiro's army proved Zadi wasn't quite ready to handle an entire army on his own. Granted, Yoshiro' army is rather strong to begin with and a lone warrior wielding a sword and crossbow wouldn't do anything to ease the tide of battle for one side or the other. Anyway, Zadi simple wanted to train. Any need was assumed by Zadi's boredom aistting around all day doing blacksmith things. Even metalworking bored Zadi after a long enough time, so now Zadi had to force an adventure upon himself while he awaited the fateful final battle of the Kou Civil War, one which Zadi didn't even expect to happen so soon.

On his way through the jungles near the Jade Dragon Mountains, Zadi unrolled some string he recently purchased from a strange vendor. Apparently the string is made from animal guts. Grossed out by the idea, Zadi bought the string and dyed it a dark purple color; sure the idea was gross, but it was also charismatic, in a dark and sinister sort of way. Regardless of the string's origins, the dark purple thread was the strongest Zadi had come across for a while, maybe even the sturdiest string possible! On his way around the jungle, Zadi made several attempts to dandle on a tree branch until either the string or the branch gave way. Case after case, the string won against gravity, the tree branch, and Zadi's boredom.

"Damn, this string is certainly as the vendor described. Impressive, to say the least. Too bad it isn't stretchy enough to fit on a crossbow. Though, I guess the stretchier string is, the less strength it possesses. Shame."

Eventually Zadi gave up trying to break the string and felt like using it for something. The jungle was teeming with small animals, a perfect place to hunt for some grub. Unfortunately, Zadi wasn't the most proficient hunter, unlike his self proclaimed title. Therefore, Zadi decided to not hunt but instead trap, like another type of hunter. In a one-on-one fight against another humanoid, trapping wouldn't be very handy, but scavenging for food forced Zadi to learn over time. Anyway, Zadi brought with him a crossbow with which to set a trap. A bow and arrow are great for quick and accurate shooting, but a crossbow was great for setting traps, among other things. Zadi was only a practiced shot, not a veteran, so a crossbow with easy loading mechanics helped quite a bit. Zadi got out the dark purple string once more and tied it around the loaded trigger of the crossbow, Flair. The loop was made loose but once pulled with enough force, the crossbow would fire in a targeted location. What made this a trap was the use of the string; a trip-wire was placed between two trees, one of which Zadi climbed into and hid within, waiting for the trip-wire mechanism to tighten the string around the trigger and fire off at the desired prey.

Half the day went by and Zadi was able to get the crossbow-string-trip-wire trap to work, but Zadi still wasn't satisfied with the results; sometimes the arrow would land, other times it just wouldn't. The string may have been at fault for being too loose or too tough, "If only I could control the string somehow...hmmm, wait...maybe I can." Zadi just thought about magoi manipulation and how some objects conduct magoi better than others. Perhaps through the use of magoi manipulation will Zadi be able to freely control the movements of the purple string. Only one way to find out, obviously.

"Hmmm, I wonder how far I can run magoi through this...if I can even run magoi through this string. Magoi runs well through organic and metal materials, so let's hope this string is actually made from animal guts, hahaha!"

Zadi spent the rest of the day attempting to flow magoi in and around the string in an attempt to control the string like a natural extension of his body. Surprisingly enough, Zadi was able to run magoi through half the string, but control dwindled quickly. The magoi and overall effort required to maintain the flow and movement of magoi through the string was absolutely tremendous compared to any other effort Zadi had put into other magoi manipulation techniques. Zadi's mind was starting to get blurred from the constant manipulation of magoi, so the hunter warrior decided to simply continue training at a leisurely pace while leisurely strolling through the jungle.

"I should probably stop trying to hard. I can at least somewhat control 20 meters worth of this string...maybe. The response if delayed and I can't made precise movements, but it is a start after training for just half a day."

800~/2,000

Zadi decided his training for the day was done and started to head back to the camp. The stroll back was filled with Zadi mumbling to himself about his techniques and what he could improve about them, specifically the techniques related to magoi manipulation. The purple string was now rolled back on the spool it came with, but the forty meters of animals guts still bothered Zadi to no end; would hard work and determination really allow the blonde warrior to freely control the string using magoi manipulation? Twenty meters was tough as is, but forty seemed like a literal stretch. Then again, why shoot for the full length of the purple string when Zadi could just perfect half? Perfection maybe, or perhaps conviction. Zadi would be able to achieve amazing feats with freely controllable, forty meter long string.

"In due time. I'm just too tired to continuuuuuuuuu- ooph! Ugh, that hurt...where am I?"

A few meters after telling himself to relax, Zadi fell into a rather large pit. So large, in fact, that Zadi had a vague idea about how something so large and shapely came to be. Another thought that crossed Zadi's mind was, "How did I not see this right in front of me?" but such a thought would best be kept to himself. Regardless of Zadi's shortcomings, the blonde warrior had fallen into a very large, square pit. Too big to be for regular animal trapping but seemingly too small for what Zadi thought. Zadi could get out of the pit easily enough using physical strength alone, but there seemed to be more to the pit upon further inspection. THe darkness made inspecting a little difficult, but Zadi eventually noticed another pit, as in, a pit within a pit. Granted, this smaller pit seemed more like a natural cave formation rather than anything related to the square pit, but Zadi wanted to take a look anyway.

"How deep is this smaller pit? I'll need some sort of torch or rock to find out...hmmm, how about an explosi- no, that's not a good idea."

Eventually Zadi settled with a basic arrow with leaves tied to the head. Zadi then took the time to light the arrow's head on fire, subsequently dropping the arrow down the smaller pit in hopes of guessing how deep the small pit was. The arrow dropped way too far to make note of any distance, but some things about the small pit came to light; it wasn't a straight drop down. Zadi took out his purple string, found a nearby root which seemed sturdy enough, tired the string to the root, and used the string to shimmy down the small pit. However, what felt like halfway, the seemingly sturdy root attached to the string started to give way. Zadi thought the root came from a large tree when it actually came from a shrub. Regardless, the root didn't hold and caused Zadi to fall the rest of the way down the pit. Thankfully, as mentioned before, the pit wasn't a straight drop down. Zadi was able to grab hold of some rocks he could barely see and climbed down the rest of the way.

1,300~/2,000

"Hmm, I thought it'd be darker down here considering this place is a pit within a pit. However, I'm more inclined to call this an underground cave, if anything. Anyway, let's see what you have to offer."

The day was getting very late and even darker, but Zadi continued to venture forth into the dimly lit cavern. The dim light source filling this narrow and cramped cave system seemed to be fireflies and some moss. Bio-luminescence is truly beautiful and wondrous. However, such light only served to light Zadi's eyesight for about five meters; the darkness was thick enough to choke the eyes if not surrounded by at least some dim light. Hopefully only moss and fireflies inhabited this claustrophobia inducing cavern for Zadi did not have the practical means to defend himself. His crossbow was too wide to use and his exceptional strength might collapse the cave. If only he could freely control the string still gripped within his hands.

Thankfully, the narrow passage didn't last much longer, eventually opening up to a seemingly larger, but still dark, area. The fireflies and moss seemed to be less abundant here for some reason. Perhaps water didn't reach far enough to sustain much life. Sick of the darkness, Zadi attempted to take out another arrow and light it on fire, but such a task would prove impossible considering the moist cavern air, "Wait, there seems to be enough water here to sustain more life than the narrow passage. Then why-!"

Zadi had to shut himself up in order to understand the new predicament he faced; a terror with a foul breath lurking in the darkness of this cave's expanse. What this terror was or if it was something to fear was beyond Zadi's train of thought at the moment. He felt his life would be in danger if he took another step. Other than the smell, Zadi deduced the reason for less life was the presence of a predator feasting up the fireflies and moss. Insects do tend to be a great source for protein, but enough to feed to human eating machine? Zadi's sense of adventure slowly overtook his sense of fear, finally willing to take another step into the large, dark expanse.

"Let's see if this jolt of fear has helped increase my control of the string..."

Zadi slowly fed magoi into the string, trying to reach the very end of the thread in one go. The adrenaline pumping through his veins would spur the flow of magoi through his body thus aiding in any manipulation. Fear is a great motivator, to say the least, but bravery crossed with foolishness amplified fear's jolt!

The string started to move around Zadi, spinning off the wooden spool from which the thread originated. The darkness certainly didn't help Zadi control the string, but if he could keep the flow of magoi going towards the tip of the string, then he'd be able to shoot the tip to some moss and temporarily coat the string in luminescence. The light wouldn't last long, but any light source would help at this point. Too bad Zadi didn't bring his magic shield with him. Anyway, with Zadi's control over the string increasing, Zadi eventually reached the full forty meter goal he originally intended to reach; forty meters of freely controllable string! With that task done, Zadi slowly continued stepping into the darkness, shooting the tip of the string at whatever moss he could find. The end of the string slowly began to glow the more moss it accumulated. Eventually about 10 meters of string were dimly visible to Zadi. Not much but good enough. Zadi then whistled and waited for the supposed beast within the cave to show its ugly mug!

"Ummm, hello? Hmm, maybe I was overthinkin-!"

Zadi then heard a wet, crawling sound coming from the over side of the darkness. It was close to the ground and inching ever closer. Zadi prapared himself for a slug-like enemy which could grow in size at will, or even a serpent as large as three caravans! However, to Zadi's...dismay, comfort, etc...he could only see a stick-like arm with twig-like fingers. The arm was pitch black, darker than the cave even, but unhealthily skinny and deteriorated. At one point this creature was probably a fearsome hunter, but after eating nothing but fireflies and moss, it weakened to a truly pitiful state.

"I see..."

Two short words left Zadi's mouth before he recoiled his string. Helping the creature would ruin its pride. Killing the creature would ruin Zadi's pride. The still sharp claws on the creature communicated the will to fight, but Zadi could not do so. Did the creature wish to die in combat or live through the hunt? No way or knowing for certain. As the string recoiled, so did the light around the creature's arm. Zadi continued through the cave, using what little light the string provided to reach what looked like the end. Zadi could feel the hunting intent of the creature sloshing through the cave. Zadi gritted his teeth, moving forward always, unwilling to falter in front of the former predator.

Finally the end of the cavern the reached. Zadi felt his path take turns and inclines, as if gradually spiraling upwards. Where exactly Zadi ended up was unknown to the hunter. After all, Zadi wasn't an adept enough hunter to know his location after being practically blind most of the time. However, his blindness would cease as he reached the end of the cavern! A single hole in the ceiling brought with it glorious light. Rather cliche considering what the light was shining upon; a golden weapon stuck inside of a skeleton. Zadi's wasn't enough of an expert to deduce anything from the cliche scene, but that didn't matter once the warrior further inspected the weapon, a sword.

"My favorite weapon. Time for some grave robbing."

Rubbing his hands together in preparation for pulling out the golden sword from the ground surrounded bones from a skeleton, Zadi gripped the handle of the sword and didn't pull; the blade turned to dust upon contact.

"...dammit."

All that was left of the golden weapon was the handle and the guard. Only natural that a weapon here would rust and turn to dust, but how long was this weapon here anyway? Before or after the creature became stuck here? So many question that could not be answered. Anyway, with roughly half a weapon at his disposal, Zadi thought about what he was going to do with said half.

"The blade seemed to be garbage, but his handle seems to be sturdier than whatever I can forge. I can't forge around such art and I don't think anyone I know of is capable of repairing such intricate design, so repairing is out of the question. Hmmm...I wonder..."

Riffling through his kimono, Zadi pulled out one of two palm-sized shards. They looked beautiful, but there are plenty of pretty rocks in the world. Zadi wasn't a collector, so keeping these specific shards was for a reason outside collection; the possibility to control fate! Though, rumors could be wrong, obviously. Zadi didn't know how these shards worked, but he could at the very least try something out.

Taking the shard in his left hand while the sword handle stayed in his right, Zadi literally put the two together. The shard shattered quite easily whereas the sword handle stayed in tact. Rather odd considering the state of the former blade, but perhaps Zadi could fix the sword using the shard. A trivial use for a shard considering the rumors, but rumors were just that. Better crush a shard as an experiment than rely on the power of rumors to save one's life.

"I hope something happens before I get bored...or the cave collapses. I also hope the sword wasn't a keystone."

2,000+/2,000 - Not leaving yet.

One Shard of Solomon Shattered (for better or for worse)

Nothing seemed to happen, like, nothing at all. The shard was broken but the sword's blade was still just a golden dust. Rather irritating to Zadi, "So they were just rumors after all. Hmm, well, rumors tend to sell well, not to mention how pretty these shards are. I could get a pretty penny from selling a pretty stone. Though...I really wish the shard did something to the sword. Shame." Zadi's disappointment wasn't severe considering the amount of Huang these pretty shards can be sold for. The rumors were outrageous and unfounded, but some rich folks were willing to buy them for whatever reason.

"Hehe, changing fate by crushing a pretty rock. If that were the case, this sword would have turned into a magic weapo- wait."

As usual, Zadi rushed into a decision before anything could properly be deduced. If his life isn't on the line, then Zadi won't think things through. Anyway, Zadi started to rub the gold dust off of the remnants of the sword. The blonde had a hunch something might appear if he cleaned the dusty sword. The edges were cleaned, the grip was cleaned, and finally the area where the blade turned to dust was cleaned. Upon one final look-see around the entity of the sword's remnants, Zadi discovered a magic circle akin to magic weapons. A stroke of luck or a twist of fate?

"Hmmm, interesting."

Zadi then fed some magoi into the sword handle in hopes of activating some sort of effect. The magic circle lit up dimly for a second before fading again. Zadi then felt a sort of pull from the sword handle in the direction of the gold dust. Not a strong enough pull to cause the sword handle to jump out of a loose grip, but just enough to know the pull exists. Then, a split second later, the gold dust which was once the blade of the sword seemed to liquefy like mercury at room temperature, eventually gathering towards the sword handle. Zadi could tell what was about to happen, bracing his grip in anticipation of what was to come; the liquefied gold jumped up in and instant to reformed the pristine blade of the golden sword. A true sight to behold, but only for a split second. The sword looked good as new, as if it was never broken to begin with!

"Hell yeah! Though, what exactly is the magic function? Is it just to reform the blade after being broken or is there something more to this beautiful weapon? Hahaha, I can't wait for find out...back at camp. I've overstayed my welcome. The moonlight coming into this cave is turning into sunlight."

Upon realizing what time it might be, Zadi's body became heavy and sluggish. Zadi spent the entire day adventuring and then some. Going without sleep is detrimental to one's performance the next day, so Zadi better head back to camp before he collapses in the wilderness. Getting the purple string out once again, Zadi poured magoi through the full length of the thread. He then attempted to widen the hole in the ceiling. The cutting power of the string was rather impressive, but the ceiling was just too thick.

"Time to put this sword to use."

Zadi then threw the sword like an amateur, hoping the blade would sink deep enough into the rock ceiling to create a good grip for Zadi. The sword went spinning in the air with exceptional speed and strength. Zadi didn't know how to throw a sword straight, but given the current situation, he felt motivated to teach himself once he got back to camp.

Thankfully the sword stuck, barely by the looks of it. Zadi couldn't quite tell how well the sword sunk into the rock ceiling for a multitude of reasons, but as long as Zadi had something to work with...right? Regardless of the danger this posed to the blonde buffoon, Zadi continued to feed magoi into the purple string, this time aiming to use the sword as a climbing hook and the string as a climbing rope. If Zadi went about this the proper way without forcing anything, then maybe the sword would hold under Zadi's weight, plus the crossbow and arrows Zadi was currently carrying. There was definitely a better way to get out of the cave, but Zadi wanted to forcefully improve his control over the string technique.

Once the sword was gripped by the string, Zadi pulled to test the sturdiness of the combination; instead the sword was pulled out and the ceiling collapsed with it, forcefully widening the hole while nearly crushing Zadi. The blonde warrior's control over the string instantly sharpened because his life was in mortal danger. Speed, control, and precision combined to form a defensive measure which involved slicing all the chunks of rock that came Zadi's way such that he'd only be left with bruises and scratches. Injured but alive.

Zadi recovered the mysterious sword and did what any normal person would do in this situation; climb his way out of the collapsed cave. Zadi eventually made it back to the camp scathed, bruised, battered, sleep depraved, but satisfied; Zadi trained a new technique and attained a mysterious magic weapon in the process...if he could get the magic function to work. A stubborn sword for a foolish man.

[exit]