CHAPTER 17: ANGER MANAGEMENT
"Time for phase two!" Also known as the 'Arcanis tries to not blow himself up'-phase.
Rested and recovered, the aspiring wizard jumped up, energy coursing through him demanding of his body to move. More than usually even. Getting used to the raised stats and energy levels is going to take some time. The old rationale of great risks - voluntary or not - bringing great rewards appeared to be fully applied. Now if only all those adjustments did not have me jumping against trees or tripping over my own feet. "Going to need to add a workout tomorrow before heading out. Just to get used to the new energy ... at least this time I mostly capped out, so it will probably not repeat anytime soon." Probably for the best ... feeling like this could get addicting in a very real and dangerous way.
Arcanis slapped his cheeks and repeated his latest mantra. "Focus!" Book or Resistance? One of which would require a calm state of mind and focus, so he chose- "Resistance."
Using his knife, he cut his own palm before closing it again with another "Healing Touch", while observing the mana. Again he found the energy penetrating his 'barrier', losing much of the energy in the process. Trying again, he attempted to grasp the barrier with his Manipulate Magic, but he failed to find anything to grasp - his attempt ran into nothing, the spell passed through him, the cut closed. Again and again he tried but ... nothing, no result at all.
"Alright Arcanis, maybe it is time you admit that trying half an hour-" probably, no way to measure time accurately "-for no gain is evidence enough that this is not actually mana, so you can't control it with your latest trick?" Pacing in a lengthy circle - the ground at the waterfront really started to show his frequent, circular abuse - he pondered the issue. Fact one: I cannot control it using Manipulate Magic. Fact two: I can control my own mana, and at least touch foreign mana, even if it refuses to budge so far. "Ergo: That barrier is not actually made of mana. Or at least not in its raw, manipulatable form."
Another cycle of pacing followed, the aspiring wizard thinking through the implications. "Why then can I sense this barrier? Sense Magic should only show ... mana. Should it?" No, it also shows magic effects, but ... is this for their effect, or for the mana that empowers them? So ... if it detects mana at rest and mana in a magic effect, and I can control mana at rest, what remains to be seen is whether it is possible to control it after the effect manifests. "It should work without too much trouble, given the observation of the impact of a Firebolt spell ... but I can't risk grasping too early - no need to rush levelling Burnout." He increased the pacing speed, pondering how to not blow himself up ... again.
"I am such an idiot." Arcanis stopped abruptly and covered eyes and forehead with his right hand in false self-disgust. I should be able to touch mana without giving it orders. Trying it with some of his inner mana, it came to him naturally, focusing on the mana without any active intent did the trick quite nicely - the mana particle remained free to move as it would, but there was a definite feedback feeling of ... connectedness. "Alright, with that ... the risk should be manageable at worst."
Ignoring the flag he just raised, the aspiring wizard went ahead and switched to casting Firebolt. A few painful lessons finally made their way into his decision tree and the first few casts were just to observe the timing - he did not attempt any manipulation yet. Getting the timing right proved difficult - his range turned out to be quite short and the bolt left his range in moments - but after another five casts he finally managed to connect to a mana particle in his spell effect. Three more and he had it down enough to try and move the particle, while at the same time diving for cover.
Just in case, you know - Pain Resistance does not actually make it enjoyable.
The caution turned out to be not needed - no explosion ensued. "Looks like I actually can manipulate the energy in my spells once the spell has formed." He tried again, succeeding on his first attempt, concentrating on what was happening, rather than trying to avoid the consequences of his experiment. Surprisingly enough, it again did not explode and the aspiring wizard was able to feel how the manipulation altered the spell shape, from a clear bolt-shape - cylindrical 'body', pointed on the front, rounded at the end - to ... well, to a misshapen blob of mana that fizzled out at half the intended range.
"As it turns out ... not directly harmful, but also not exactly overwhelming." Not trying that with my healing spell though. Considering the results of his experiment, he obviously was able to manipulate mana within himself, as a spell took shape - suicidal as that had turned out to be - or on the resulting spell effect. With practice, controlling mana not his own might become possible, but probably not for now. Throughput ... throughput was problematic at best, maybe there is a trick to that, otherwise it would be unlikely to have a direct combat use. Maybe, once I can move foreign mana, for defending against spells - that last Firebolt probably was a lot less efficient and damaging.
More questions for his first discussion with the Dwarf.
Arcanis moved on but reversed the direction of his steps, his right hand stroking an imaginary beard as he considered the results of his experiments. He could both discern and manipulate his own mana, both at rest and when bound to a magic spell. Foreign mana likely would become controllable as well, with more training and possibly greater stats. So ... if the ability and the skill had perfect overlap ... what was inhibiting his attempts to affect the barrier?
"Argh!" ruffling his own hair in frustration he tried another "Healing Touch" and observed the interaction of mana and barrier. Again, the energy was largely diminished, splattering across his 'barrier' without effect. Nothing new... "come to think of it, I always focus in on the spell locus ..." Once more he went through the motions and cast the spell - at least I get so much practice in, I can safely use it while distracted - but this time, rather than looking at the very place he cast the spell, the aspiring wizard tried to look at his body in its entirety. The same scene ensued once again, but without the straight focus, he finally realized his error: "I never saw the bloody barrier to begin with!" Focused on the locus, he had interpreted into the splattering mana more than there was to see - he had seen the effect, but not the actual cause.
He flopped down onto the badly trampled grass, as if somebody had cut his strings. With that established, he realized how all the efforts on this had been for naught. Mostly, anyways. It felt, as if he were missing that critical piece that connected it all, and without that none of it would work. Mentally exhausted he laid back and dozed off for a little.
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"... what does Resilience exactly give you when unlocked?"
The ranger shrugged before answering. "Well, then it will also add its value to your energy points. Heck if I know why you get an advance on your hitpoints.
"Other than that, it already gives you a benefit to your energy resistance and ability to defend against mental manipulation. When unlocked that gets a lot stronger though."
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Resilience, huh? Right, that attribute was a thing. Almost sounds like magic resistance in general from the perspective of someone who has no contact with it. And if I need to unlock that attribute first ... well, I suppose that's kind of like ramming your head against the walls of Karalis.
Utterly futile.
Sprawling across the grass, all extremities stretched as far way from himself as he could manage, Arcanis stretched, his spine bending and his strength sufficient to lift his torso off the grass. "Hah!" With a loud yell he gave up, released himself from the self-imposed pressure and mentally moved on. Unleashing the coiled energy in his arms, the young adventurer catapulted himself back up, then slapped his cheeks to help clear his head.
"Alright!" his grin returned with his energy. "If that's a dead end, reading it is!" Unable to stand still, he jumped in place. "After a workout, anyway."
* * *
FOREWORD
When there are so many methodologies and practices out there that all use the same label, it behooves us to be precise in our descriptions, for the label has already lost its meaning. Many of the practices found in the world will also lead to the Skill forming and developing. At least to a degree, that is.
Hence in the year 985 a study was commissioned by the Royal Academy of Heranis, to investigate the various practices, isolate the individual aspects that contribute to Skill-growth, both in the early as well as the later stages. The study has taken more than twenty years now and we are not quite finished yet, the final stages still eluding our research teams.
Still, we have been able to isolate and clarify acquisition, initial stages and progression into the high sixties with significant confidence. More importantly, we have identified many falsehoods, misunderstandings and erroneous assumptions, that have plagued our field of study for so long. With this guidance, both acquisition and improvement should be vastly more efficient than any single guidance that has come before.
Preliminary Report on the Mastery of Meditation.
Royal Academy of Heranis
Magister Sirius de Vara
Authorized eyes only, do not remove from the premises, do not copy.
Well, that warning sure worked out well. Arcanis looked up from the book the old Dwarf had given him. The foreword was not exactly exciting, but hey! At least it would not take too much of his time, given the total length.
INTRODUCTION
The benefits of Meditation as the Skill are simple enough to grasp: It increases the regeneration rate of mana. Specifically, each level in the Skill will yield one percent passive regeneration. Entering a state of focused mediation, as recognized by the System, additional benefits to regeneration can be gained. The actual rate of regeneration improvement varies based on technique used (for more details on focusing techniques, see chapter 3).
While the details require more research, it is also known that reaching certain stages in developing the skill - not the Skill - can grant significant increases to both mana and energy regeneration. Those increases have yet to turn up for anybody with less than fifteen levels in the Skill and statistic distributions indicate that focusing on a single aspect of Meditation makes this more likely to occur (more research is needed to establish the actual rules behind the pattern however).
Beyond the regeneration of resources, training specific aspects of the Skill can grant additional, System-support effects in line with other enhanced Skills. Given the many traditions and rumors, limitations to the propagation of accurate, scientific data in the world and language barriers, we can only consider it likely that more aspects to Meditation exist than what we have been able to uncover, verify and investigate, making future revisions of this work a nigh-certainty.
As of this writing, the verified aspects of Meditation are:
* Clarity of Thought
* Astral Communion
* Unity of Body and Mind
* Invigoration
* Combat Trance
Beyond the benefits granted by the System mechanics however, Meditation as a practice must be considered a boon to any researcher and sentient being in general. The core nature of Meditation lies in observation, focus and tranquility. Its practice allows observation without judgement, clarity of thought and giving yourself the space to reflect on yourself without being overwhelmed by the daily needs and disturbances.
Truly, its mastery should be a core requirement for graduation from the academy, not the rarely chosen elective it currently is.
CHAPTER 1: UNLOCKING MEDITATION AND THE ASPECTS
While we are still researching a reliable, reproducible way to acquire and master the Combat Trance - its apparent requirement for live combat making the research more dangerous than sustainable for our efforts - the following simple steps should guide you in unlocking the Skill and the other four aspects.
...
* * *
Whoever thought that having a single chapter span seventy pages was a good idea should study on how to bloody-damned design a book! Mentally exhausted, Arcanis stored the book again, got up and obeyed his body's demand for motion by performing a stretching exercise that swiftly turned into a workout, which then further mutated into a serious bout of shadow boxing. By the time he was done, sweat was running down his back and overall tiredness set in - the lack of any day/night cycle or other way to track time made it hard to estimate when it was time to sleep, but his body definitely had an opinion on the matter.
Deciding to not ignore its signals longer, he took a bath in the lake to clean up and handle the worst of the ... rather ripe smell he definitely was developing away from civilization. His clothes were in a sorry state, given all the combat damage and would need to be replaced, once he got out. While resting in the water at the shallow shore of the lake, he reflected on what his more productive, if mentally exhausting learning had yielded.
Unlocking the skill itself was indeed as simple as initially promised. The aspects had been somewhat more involved, the author strictly assuming an urban, academic environment. Clarity of Thought turned out to be an effective way to limit distractions - it was the first aspect learnt and he assumed there was some synergy with the Concentration skill, as it quite effectively screened out his body's complaints to get moving. The combination might also be somewhat dangerous when used in a non-secure location, such as most of the dungeon.
Invigoration and Astral Communion focused on recovery of energy and mana, respectively, at the cost of most situational awareness - again not something to do just anywhere. His greatest problem had turned out to be Unity of Body and Mind, which had him focus on a single, physical action, improving his control over his body. Which required Arcanis to pay attention to said body. A body that was rather vocal about its need to move - a lot more than what it was getting from the exercise. He persisted with the prescribed balance practice and eventually succeeded ... but was definitely done with studying afterwards.
And of course the one aspect I'm most interested in was 'still under research'! Based on the notes, Combat Trance would remove irrelevant distractions and sharpen his thoughts in combat. "Too bad any experiments with non-lethal encounters such as practice failed to produce results..."
Done with his bath and day, the budding adventurer returned to his 'camp' - if the glorified fireplace with what little luggage did not fit into his inventory deserved the term - set up a small fire to dry himself and his clothes, snacked on one of his remaining fruits and fell asleep, checking his system notifications.
You have unlocked the skill: Reading!
Reading (Level: 1) [General]
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"Food feeds the body, books feed the mind"
You have come to realize, that reading is for more than understanding street signs.
It is in fact one of the key tools to learning from the mistakes of others, rather than just your own.
High time you get started on that, don't you think?
+1 Power, Improved Reading Speed
You have raised the skill: Reading to level 2
+1 Power, Improved Reading Speed
You have raised the skill: Reading to level 3
+1 Power, Improved Reading Speed
You have raised the skill: Reading to level 4
+1 Power, Improved Reading Speed
You have raised the skill: Reading to level 5
+1 Power, Improved Reading Speed
You have unlocked the skill: Meditation!
Meditation (Level: 1) [General]
"Mind over Matter"
Think of your mind as a fortress.
Time to do some housekeeping, cleaning out the rubbish and repairing the fortifications.
Meditation is the art of centering yourself, gaining insight into your own nature.
This leads to a more stable self, moving towards equilibrium of the forces tearing at you from within.
+1 Mana, Improved mana regeneration and inner balance
You have raised the skill: Meditation to level 2
+1 Mana, Improved mana regeneration and inner balance
You have raised the skill: Meditation to level 3
+1 Mana, Improved mana regeneration and inner balance
You have raised the skill: Meditation to level 4
+1 Mana, Improved mana regeneration and inner balance
You have raised the skill: Meditation to level 5
+1 Mana, Improved mana regeneration and inner balance
* * *
Towlar sighed silently as he moved from one stall to the next on this busy market day. Not being the youngest anymore had been nice ... and the youngster with the odd name had been a likable enough addition to round out the team. The mood in the team could use some improvement, and the state of injury demanded more downtime, leaving him with ... well, with training and searching and what time he was able to make for painting.
And colors were kind of expensive when you were not earning an income.
To make his day even better, he was being observed by a street rat - a boy likely no older than eight ... not one of the kids he knew. Really, the kid had no survival instincts to pick him over all the more likely candidates out there - successful pickpocketing was very much a matter of risk/reward management, much more so than dexterous fingers. Well-clothed merchant wives? High reward, moderate risk. Usually. Injured adventurer?
Well, that was another story altogether. The rogue moved on to the next stall, bought himself a meat skewer for lunch and stored his purse in an easy to access pocket, then moved on, giving the brat the perfect opportunity to strike while acting as if he had not noticed the little thief and was kind of distracted. Not much of an act, the skewer was good.
As expected, the rat took the bait, and did so with excellent timing, ensuring narrow traffic pushed him 'accidentally' into his mark. His target selection might suck, but his skills are real. Tow almost did not notice in time the hand entering his pocket, then gave the offending hand a light slap - enough to tell the boy he had been noticed but not enough to really hurt. A light yelp in surprise was his reward and he grinned down at the youngster, who froze for a moment before scurrying away empty-handed.
Humming a cheerful tune, the adventurer carried on with his business, checking his purse in his well protected inner shirt pocket. It would never do to let my sleight-of-hand skills rust, would it?
* * *
His morning practice turned out to be somewhat novel the following day. After a quick breakfast, Arcanis did some stretching and warmup exercises before moving into his old daily sword training regimen. Not that he really wanted to, but ... well, survival first, reincarnation principles second. For this enemy, sword it was.
As it turned out, translating his old practices to his new body ... did not work well. After some near-accidents he decided to give one of his latest tricks a try, and repeated the latest kata while trying to hold Meditation: Unity of Body and Mind in place. Having done his warmup before, he was a lot less distracted and after some initial hick-ups it allowed him to fully focus on his swordsmanship. The improvement was noticeable, and he flowed from one form to the other, repeating one after the other and iteratively correcting and adapting them to his new parameters.
Ironically, while it did not yield any upgrades to his Weapon: Sword Skill, it did grant another level of Meditation. More importantly however, his sword movements were flowing a lot better than previously, something he was going to need later in the day. And once more, skill proves unequal Skill.
A quick breakfast later, and he was off to test out his performance against one of the big felines.
The travel through the inner zone was uneventful, the previous day's massacre not only having significantly depleted the monster population, it apparently also left an impression on the survivors. The only of the cat-like creatures he encountered scurried away the moment it spotted the young adventurer.
Navigating along the primary mana landmarks had already become a reflex Arcanis did not have to spend any concentration on, and only a short time after that curious encounter he passed to familiar runed stone, across the barrier and into big-game country. Where hunter and hunted are a matter of who finds their quarrel first.
He carefully stalked through the forest, looking for tracks of his target while doing his utmost to not cause any noise. The abundance of shrubbery made this a tedious endeavor, every step risking his clothing getting caught or his foot landing on a well-hidden twig. At least my target faces the same constraints ... only more so.
Time passed and Arcanis stalked further and further into the zone, always on the lookout for some sign of the big monsters. But other than the signs of combat in their last location there was ... nothing. As if there were no massive monster living in the forest at all. How does something the size of were-bear not leave any traces?!
Navigating around a huge tree trunk, he passed through a particular thick set of shrubbery, and found himself looking into a clearing. The ground of the almost-perfectly circular area was mostly covered in wildly grown grass, only the center part appeared exempt, though the young adventurer could not make out the details without coming close. It looked stone-ish, but at a rough fifteen meters away, he just could not say more.
Looking across the expanse of grass, he focused on the other side just in time to see a big feline head pass through the bushes on the other side. Their eyes met.
The huge monster recovered first from the surprise and started crossing the clearing in long strides, quickly consuming the distance. Panicked in surprise Arcanis whirled around - the huge tree on his side did not have any branches low enough, but the smaller tree on his other side did. Charging it he managed to jump and run up the trunk and reach the lowest branch before his momentum gave out and gravity - and the tiger-like creature - won out.
It growled while staring at him from the ground, eying him with a gleam in its eyes. Slowly circling the tree trunk, its eyes always focused on the prospective lunch snack hiding in the lower branches. The young adventurer use the short respite to pull himself fully onto the branch and consider his situation. No other branches were in range - he would have to move out further than the branch would be able to bear his increasing weight - so he was stuck on this tree unless he was ready to face the monster. Which really was the plan, was it not, buddy? Way to let reflexes take over.
All things considered, he was likely better off facing the cat in the clearing than in the forest, now that an ambush was out of the question. The trees and bushes would get into his dancing, whirling style of fighting more than they would impede the pounces, lunges and swipes of a massive cat. Also, it was a lot less likely to stumble over roots or other traps, with its shorter length, greater mass and double the number of legs.
Well, nothing f- Arcanis mental train got interrupted with a loud impact against the tree trunk, shaking the entire tree. Disoriented and surprised, the wild motions proved enough to throw him off and he barely managed to cling onto the branch he had been standing on before. "Right, there was that monster waiting on us."
Looking down, he could see the predator moving backwards, building some distance for a second ramming attack. Scrambling to get into a more stable position in time, the young adventurer managed to climb back onto the branch and cling to it as the monster shoulder-checked the tree once again. The vibrations were stronger than before and the cracking sound of breaking would could be heard. This needs to end. "Time to kick some ass and chew some chewsticks. And I'm all out of chewsticks."
Getting up he prepared for the next charge. He did not have to wait for too long as the feline monster decided that if it could not get to its dinner, its dinner would come to it. One way or the other.
He jumped right before the impact, the loud crunching and cracking noise behind him doing nothing to help. Withdrawing the sword in mid-jump, he came down on the creature before it could fully recover. Still, it had its wits about it and managed to lunge aside and prevent being skewered with the extra momentum of the fall. Reacting in time, Arcanis still managed to give it a cut on its flank and draw some blood, but not enough to really hamper it.
Jumping back from a counter swipe he made some distance and the two combatants faced off, Arcanis with the clearing behind him. Approaching somewhat more carefully, the monster stalked closed while the young man gave some ground to keep the monster in front of him and avoid being pushed back into the woods.
He never figured out what was the tell, but ... somehow he realized the moment the cat committed to its next pounce and his body moved almost on its own - the feeling of increased ... solidity? Firmness? Anyway, that extra feeling that maneuver skills granted as he flowed into Wall of Blades, pushing the right paw towards the center, while he moved himself in the opposite direction. The speed surge Dodge provided was almost enough to disrupt his rhythm and making him stumble, but he managed to hang on and semi-fluently transition into a Riposte as he whirled around his own axis.
Almost the exact same maneuver as in his first encounter with one of the beasts, only this time all three Skills clicked together and he was not distracted by a broken arm. The impact was significantly greater than the last time - he had scored a powerful cut. almost amputating one of the hind legs of the monster, which screamed in pain as it turned to face him, its crippled leg dragging.
Arcanis smiled and faced the monster with firm confidence, then pointed his blade at it. "Come and get some!" His Sense Magic noticed an energy leaving him and enter the creature. The flavor was oddly hard to grasp and fundamentally different from his spells' mana in some way.
He did not get to focus any more on the sensation as the monster's scream transitioned from one of pain to one of rage. A weird trembling wave passed over its entire body through its fur, its color turning from green and brown to scarlet and flaming orange. He tried lunging at its head while it was distracted but a roar of rage so loud its sound wave had a physical impact threw him back. Admittedly, it was accompanied by some mana he had no time to analyze, which probably helped with the effect.
Still, his ears rang, drowning out most sounds other than a dull background ringing that was the creatures roar. It appeared to grow a little and its fur stood off, giving it the impression of a huge fluffy plushy. An incredibly lethal and angry plushy. Behind its bulk a red glow started being given off by its tail, flames tingling along its length.
"Damn."
* * *
The team met in their rooms after yet another frustrating day. The training had been as always - slow and incremental improvements that after their next fights might or might not turn into a Skill increase, as was their nature after the heady early rush of Skill levels granted through initial training. Thomas looked around at the rest of the team - Maria sitting at their table doing routine gear maintenance, Ricardo leaning against a wall his body posture screaming for actions ... his bandages screaming for rest. Tow sat at the table, having stowed the new supplies under it, slowly working on a sketch - his usual way of dealing with nervousness, the warrior was glad the kid had at last started doing so outside of his and Ricardo's room. Come to think of it, he first stopped retreating only after we picked up Arcanis.
As usual, Shinji was missing, but Thomas was not worried. The mysterious foreigner had a way to just be there when it really ma- Suddenly the door opened and their Parthian teammate came in, his face unreadable as ever. His posture however was more rigid than usual, causing the warrior to look at him hopefully.
"Any news, Shinji?" Everybody else looked up and turned to them as the smaller man nodded in confirmation. He paused for several seconds before he actually replied "News have I." He shrugged as hope rose on his teammates' faces. "Good it is. Helpful ... maybe not."
Shinji stopped for another pause while the stares of his teammates urged him on. "Live, he does. The Ancestors not know where." He nodded, having said his piece and sat down, while the others stared, obviously having expected more.
"Damn. Tha-at's good, I suppose, but ..." Tow was the first to react. Frustrated he closed his notebook of sketches, stood up, turned towards his room and put his hands into the pockets of his pants in dejection.
Only to notice that there was something in his left pocket. Which should have been empty.
That street rat! The young rogue pulled out the piece of paper, which held only little text, but exactly what he had asked for:
Was taken by strong men in front of in, dragged away into eley. Sem men seen at adventure plaza, with large bag, heding for dungeon.
Towlar looked up with a wide grin while everyone stared at him reading that note.
* * *
Raul was hanging out in the pub within the guild, nursing a stein as his injuries bugged him, treated or not. He was not really concerned with the pain though - the adventuring business came with plenty of that when all was said. No, that bloody dream kept haunting him, nagging at his mind both asleep and while awake.
No work to distract himself with either, something he would have to change soon. Soon ... but not quite yet. His ale would not drink itself and he needed some time to heal still. Solo work would usually mean a guard gig, notoriously bad pay and bad hours, but without a team ...
He took a deep swig and stared into the diminishing content of the container in his hand. Something would have to change, to break himself out of his funk. Who would want a drunk brawler radiating gloom on their team. Especially one who lacked control when angry.
Still, the brat had no business here ... but even Raul knew he had gone too far. Sighing he took another swig and listened in to the conversations happening at the nearby tables. A party planning their next dive into the dungeon here, a trio of spearman arguing about their last hunt, a colorful group discussing gossip and the local politics.
Raul hated politics. The nobles never could let adventurers just do their job and tried to interfere with the guild. From the rumors that was true mostly everywhere and Erfurt was supposed to be actually fairly good for adventurers. Not that he could agree with that given his own recent experiences. What a bunch of cheapskates.
Still, he stared into his stein, cultivating his gloom, as one conversation fragment made it through his fog off discontent and misery. A rumor about a young adventurer-wannabe having gone missing. Some kid old Thomas had taken under his wing.
Memories came back, clearer than ever. Trying to bury them he drained empty his ale, but they persisted. Insisted. With a deep, searing pain he was forced to confront his nightmares. And the fact that they were actually true.
About what he had done.
Unable to deny it any longer and unable to let go of what remained of his identity - of being an adventurer - he pulled together what remained of his pride, stood up, paid off his tab and walked to the reception counter.
* * *
Coughing and spitting to the ground - blood mixing into the spit - Arcanis finished his "Healing Touch" cast that closed his bleeding and smoothed some of the burn marks. With an effort he jumped aside, Dodge allowing him to avoid the burning claws just in time and he straightened back up to face the feline avatar of burning rage.
Note to self: Don't piss off the large kitten.