Sachihiro

I swerve in, side step, stab and step out in a single fluid motion jogging my forward momentum towards his right before bring the shaft of the spear diagonally but having to swerve past a foot coming at my chest instead of finishing my attack. We are passed each other again and circling as I stab stab stab with the spear hitting into Gaia’s artefact shield without a sound heard from the powerful impacts.

He swings his long-sword with purpose slashing at me hard as he tries to keep my spear away using his shield Urmar. I sweep my foot forward in Sweeping Willow using the spear in Moving Serpent lowering my centre of gravity in a pseudo reverse-warrior emphasizing again the subtle relationship between taijutsu and yoga.

Sweeping the spear inside his shield with the flare of my chakra and slashing hard into him for spear-blade to meet sword in a silent clash of forces. Awakened strength against Awakened strength as I apply aura enhanced strength into pushing my weapon against his. I pull back and move into Monkey Feet kicking backwards into him fast, kicking the flat of the blade aside displacing it and connecting with an enhanced foot to his torso pushing him back.

I move in again sweeping low and wide before connecting spear with shield in a silent ring of vibrational frequencies as my spear connects with Urmar again eating up the sound. Gaia comes in swinging his sword in a looping figure eight that pulls his momentum towards me faster than should be possible. The skill a favourite of the Highlanders and quite effective when adopted by us Barbarians with our size and strength advantages.

I pull back whilst simultaneously sweeping a circle with the spear keeping the sword at bay to rattling forearms and silent sparks as the spear eats the sound of every impact. I’m floating backwards and a moment later my back foot has locked solidly into the ground for balance enhanced by a flare from my root chakra as I activate Mu to brace myself from opposing forces.

For a moment I am an immovable force that takes on all of Gaia’s forward momentum and stops it cold in its tracks in what the untrained eye would call an impressive display of strength. The sand at me feet ripples in waves as I hold the big guy’s momentum using frequency distribution taught to me by Honour to displace the pressure of the force of the impact from the spear, arms, through my body and out through the legs and earthed.

I’m slightly dizzy and queasy from the use of a soul art skill without having to rely on Honour to take the brunt of the feedback but I've learnt not to let it distract it. Swinging the rear of the spear to his side I encounter his sword and bringing the spearhead down I encounter his shield, his aura-enhanced boot shoots towards my midsection again and again I swerve past it spinning side-ways but being blocked by his shield again as I bring the spear to bear from a different angle.

We have a similar back and forth for a few minutes as we exchange blows trying to get into each other’s guards using mostly skill and technique more than relying on power and magic. Not that Gaia has magic but I do know he has a few tricks up his sleeve since his Awakening, some literally up his sleeve as the runes on his forearm seem to have taken on a life of their own since his Awakening.

The big guy tries to keep me back because I am faster than he is all things considered, but the reach advantage the spear gives me is something I make full use of to keep him on the defensive. He will eventually get frustrated by how much slower his breastplate, greaves and door shield make him become but the shield is also very effective at keeping most of my attacks at bay.

I spin my body in the air whilst spinning the spear in the air gaining both momentum and power in my thrust before I connect solidly with the middle of Gaia’s shield Urmar. The spear zanpakutō that was once my friend Hiroshi connects with the door shield solidly but again not a sound is audible even though both Gaia and I feel the impacts as they rattle our bones.

*

Almost my entire family is in Sergei’s manor using his heavily warded and enchanted training chamber to test ourselves and what we are all capable off so we are all on the same page. Everyone will spar with everyone else so that the martial pecking order is firmly established before we develop strategic responses to what is to come.

Everything is being rushed since both ma and I feel a sense of urgency or looming threat coming for us faster than we can be ready for. It isn’t all doom and gloom in our lives though as here and now people are enjoying themselves as they test themselves against their peers. Sergei and Hara are present I think mainly because of curiosity and to see how I do considering I’m his student in a way, who he brings with is his own business since this is his house we are using. How is it not a conflict being part of the Conclave and also belonging to Side Carmella? The sidhe are silently possessive, I feel like we're like pets to them though none has said so to me directly.

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Arg, Ambassador Hara's presence is not for me to worry about.

I worry Hara will try to recruit one of my kids for Conclave missions after she sees them fight though and this really isn’t the time for my family to be divided. Dustin and Tea’ are also back from Hilton for Saya’s mating two days ago so it’s convenient to get this done before they have to get back home to their children. Both seem to be in shape and still have that killer instinct, but Dustin is a tier one and Tea’ is yet to Awaken.

Looking at the Awakening of most of the people around me most seem so mundane and boring compared to the mix that my children and my mates’ Awakenings are. Zhen is a pure mage, da a pure warrior, Gaia a pure warrior helped by his family runes at least. Dustin a pure warrior, Ava at least a chakra based warrior but still just a warrior. Kuyoki is fast and full of surprises but also an almost pure warrior.

I’m glad for Master Zaraya and the influence she had in teaching me how to Awaken more efficiently, how to get the most out of all that Awakening mana. I’m glad I had the forethought to share that knowledge with my loved ones. The knowledge that to truly improve one's self while Awakening one cannot keep the reins on one’s own Awakening, to be better you need someone that knows better directing. Otherwise, you will only become a better version of the same self instead of a wholly new and hopefully better self.

Awakening is not easy to do especially in the moment but I use the blind hermit Gorr as an example whenever I explain this to my children. A man that Awakened in complete ignorance of the protocols usually observed by those in the ‘know’ on how to direct their Awakening. He didn’t even try to make himself see again but just let the Awakening Mana ravage through him as it pleased.

To this day no one less than an old and experienced tier two and above has gone past him in the area of the dungeon he controls. Even the new additions to the household are down here, the three earthlings Edward, Max and John, then the beautiful Mirabalis. But I've been avoiding that one because she is only beautiful to the eye not the rest of my senses, a puzzle I've been too preoccupied to solve but Saya vouched for her.

The earthling I've already spoken to about Awakening as well, it gave me an excuse to speak to each of them individually last night. We spoke a lot as a family last night I think to myself as I look at Selah flanked by a scowling Thandeka and bored Isis. She put up a good fight, she’s skilled with the sword but she’s no Nyye.

The elf comes to mind every time I think of exceptional swordsmen, I wonder how he'd do against the best of the soul samurai. I gaze again at the pale beauty that's insinuating herself into my life.

She’s strong with ice magic and creative in its manipulation, that surprised me when she tried to pin me down with it. But ultimately she ended up pinned to a post with her feet dangling off the ground. I’m not sure what to do with her really, none of us do because none of us can figure out what the Jotnar really want. But to be diplomatic and not piss them off she has become a concubine, though one I’m still not sure I will ever touch.

I watch the match-up between Zhen and da with interest and worry both. There is no doubt that da is an incredible warrior and is much better than I am at wielding an axe even with me focusing on the axe as my secondary weapon all these years. Against anyone on the field of battle, he is a warrior with very few equals, but against magic, he is embarrassingly ill-equipped.

I resist the urge to flinch every time he is zapped or fried but it’s evident that he can’t get close enough to do any damage to the master mage with the tools he has at his disposal.

‘’He needs armour,’’ Shea suddenly says through a sending but I can feel that the sending went to more than just me. ‘’He needs magic resistant armour or he won’t stand a chance against mana based opponents,’’ she says aloud.

She’s right of course and I grunt my assent almost at the same time Esuas does and we look at each other a moment before again paying close attention to the fight ahead.

I wonder if I was discussed when I had my little showdown with Gaia, probably. Every single combatant in the family and the friends I've been trying to keep close are here and there is an excitement and nervousness as people that don’t usually fight each other gauge each other for weakness.

I wish I could stop this matchup though, I don’t like my kids seeing their grandfather being embarrassed in this way but what the fuck can I do now. And how on Gaia are we supposed to afford another pair of properly enchanted armour after paying for Deep Keep?

It’s a long thirty minutes of watching da struggle to close distance and lose against Zhen’s lightning, the old man is quite dangerous actually though he doesn’t like to fight. We can use him as a reserve of some sort and a protector at the kids and other none combatants I guess, Zhen will probably want to be close to the action so he can write about it though, peculiar old man.

The next fight is one I have long anticipated but I've never even seen them spar with each other. Mira steps forwards in her slender athleticism and strength, her red hair seeming luminous in the room, her hips swaying as she walks forced by her womanly curves that have only gotten more prominent with childbirth and muscle development. In her hand spinning absently is a beautiful spirit steel kusarigama, a deadly weapon the sickle chain, very difficult to defend against for someone only using a swords.

And that’s all Saya has on her as she steps forward to face her mother for the first time in her life, the rivalry and challenge has always been subliminal between these two. I suddenly feel the urge to urinate.

They face-off without a word, the sword in Saya’s hands I don’t recognise nor can I read it’s frequencies as it’s clad in her aura from me. Saya is a thicker, taller version of her mother but looks is where most of their similarities end because Saya is a true Barbarian and Mira still a mage at heart.

They face off with a twenty-metre gap between them, I know Mira’s weapon has the greater reach but if she makes a mistake and can’t bring the sickle back fast enough then she’s gonna be in trouble. And I really hope she doesn’t resort to those strange dark air magic of her djinns, not when fighting our daughter.