The majority of the night was uneventful and although the need for sleep was lessened due to her bodily changes, the days trek on the rocky terrain was a bit more physically and mentally draining than she would have thought it could be. Scáthach seemed content to rest through the night and Alanna wondered, not for the first time, at the extent of her changes. Pre-dawn something decided to test the vine growth that led into their cavern. Alanna snatched up the spear beside her bedroll and moved toward the tunnel entrance but thought better of it given the room for maneuvering she had in the cavern. She took up a high guard with her spear angled toward the entrance.
A quick look back showed her Scáthach had heard the noises and was pulling her shield and sword from he belongings. She could hear grunting and hissing sounds as something hacked away at the vines. Scáthach moved up beside her with the short sword still sheathed but now on her hip instead of her pack. The warrior listened a moment then pointed Alanna toward the right side of the tunnel while she took up position on the left.
It took a few more minutes but the vines were finally cut through and a creature stumbled into the cavern. She could make out the form of a creature that stood just under a meter in height but given the lack of light that was all she could see. After a strange hissing yip several more of the creatures tumbled into the cavern knocking the first creature down. It righted itself and was facing the direction of Alanna who was fairly certain it was looking at her. A strange hiss sounded and moments later an unfortunate smell hit Alanna's scent receptors.
A flash of light illuminated the cavern and the creatures who all jumped and turned in fright then immediately covered their eyes and screamed. They were some kind of upright lizard people given their strange almost iguana looking heads and faces. There were terrified and only one had a weapon drawn but it was currently clutching at its eyes whole managing to not gouge itself with the large dagger that seemed like a short sword in its tiny clawed hands.
A lough sigh sounded from Scáthach who angled the light emitting sword away easing the pain it was causing the creatures. "They are no threat to us." The warrior said as she walked over toward her bedroll. She bent down and started packing her items which caused Alanna to warily move to her own belongings to do likewise. "What are they?" Alanna asked as she stared at the quivering creatures who managed to shuffle away from them to huddle up against the cavern wall. "No idea." Scáthach replied. "They can be found all over the blasted lands. They are not native to the otherworlds just as this region isn't It appeared with them in the past century. In fact, several new areas appeared within the last century. Everyone I have spoken to is unsure why or how but they are somehow connected to the greater realms. The old ones may know but they are not talking about it."
Alanna packed up quicky and stared at the cowering figures. They were kind of cute but whatever scent they released when terrified was horrific. She had to focus on taking slow shallow breaths through a tiny crack she allowed in her lips or she feared she would vomit. Scáthach did not seem at all affected and Alanna had to ask. "How can you handle the smell?" She asked the ancient warrior. Scáthach's laugh surprised Alanna but it sounded false to her ears. "Battlefields smell worse than that and the smell never truly leaves you." The warrior explained. Alanna was not sure she had smelled anything like that in her skirmishes but nearly every creature she slew faded into dust, Perhaps that was a blessing that she had, up until this point, taken for granted.
She frowned at the realization and quickly packed her bedroll and shouldered her pack. The pair walked out of the now cleared cavern and Alanna called whatever remained of her magic from the vines back into herself. The remaining growth withdrew along with the residual power that had fueled it. Scáthach walked out into the still darkened morning without even looking back at the creatures. Alanna was not so certain about leaving them at her back and cast continuous glances behind her but after nearly half of an hour nothing approached them. The sky on the horizon started to lighten up and with the new day dawning behind them Alanna was able to make out a strange grey haze on the horizon.
She moved up beside Scáthach who was looking ahead with more of a frown on her face than usual. After around ten more minutes of walking the warrior stopped and unslung her pack bidding Alanna to do the same. Once the packs were grounded Scáthach picked up her spear and nodded her head toward Alanna's "Show me." The warrior said which Alanna assumed correctly that she wanted her to go through her forms. The warrior watched intently as Alanna worked through her forms from basic all the way to the advanced forms Sétanta had showed her. Scáthach did not said neither a word nor did her expression give away any thoughts. She simply watched the druidess go through the dance she was taught.
After going through them fully three separate times Scáthach stopped her with a raised hand. "Watch," the warrior said then proceeded to only move through the basic stances. Alanna frowned at this. She knew the basic stances already why was this woman showing them to her. She thought she must be missing something so she resolved herself to watch carefully. To Alanna's shame it wasn't until the second time through that she caught on and it made her breath catch. Scáthach was absolutely perfect in the routines. Her body weight distribution, angle of strikes, and precision of movement. Was so perfect that even at this slow pace the strikes were deadly. Then the warrior picked up the pace after each repetition.
Faster and faster the routine flew yet the warrior was never less then perfect in every way. Alanna felt a chill spread through her body. Sétanta had been fun to watch demonstrate the forms. He was a capable teacher even if he was overly standoffish at first. He was probably quite adept with weapons but what Alanna was witnessing now was true mastery. After nearly ten minutes Scáthach stopped and moved to a position at rest which allowed Alanna to take in a much needed breath. "You have to master yourself before you can try to master any weapons." The warrior said. "Understand that every weapon you use is like your magic. They are just extensions of yourself. If you can not move into the correct positions with the correct fluidity then you are crippling your ability. Surefootedness and properly distributing your weight are just as essential as being able to expand and contract the correct muscle groups in a strike. Everything your body does in each step should be perfect if you want to master anything."
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She paused and looked out to the haze at the edge of their vision then continued. "You have some talent with the spear. It is neither greater nor lesser than any other talented individuals it is simply lacking in bodily discipline. That is something we can fix." She pointed in the direction they were traveling. It will take several hours until we get to the land of mist which we will have to cross on foot. That does not take very long but the land of mist is strange. To cross it means to combat the 7 guardians and only by slaying them will we reach the land under the waves where the old one will likely have sent his chariot to wait for our arrival." She fixed her stern gaze on Alanna. "You will master yourself before we reach the mist for inside you must face the guardians and the rules of the place are strange." She saw Alanna's confused look and clarified with an unconcerned shrug. "Your magics may not work correctly for a powerful hag is mistress of the land and she has blanketed her magics across the land. I have seen others enter who rely on divine gifts rather than their weapons and none have exited to meet me on the other side."
Alanna felt a lump in her throat form. She swallowed it down but she felt a bit sick inside. She thought she would be ok facing everything here but Scáthach's warning seemed quite serious. "Can you not aid me in the mists?" Alanna asked hesitantly. Scáthach shrugged and also shook her head to indicate a negative. "The land of mist is a test and holds vast and strange treasures. If our goals are aligned and all we want is to make it to the other side then we should be fine together. However, the moment we cross into the mist what we truly want is revealed, even if sometimes to ourselves, and then we face the trials alone. I have never heard of anyone other than myself and one other making it across successfully with others." The warrior looked at Alanna and the corner's of her lips turned up slightly. "You should be fine so long as you learn to master yourself before we get there.
Alanna moved through the basic forms of the spear slowly and carefully. The few hours to reach the land of the mist had turned into several hours of her moving forward and then backward through the basic forms until she could do both nearly flawlessly. Then Scáthach would force her to move side to side through the same forms. The sun had passed mid day and was on its decent yet there was still more than a kilometer of travel to get to the haze that Alanna cold now see was a mist like fog that billowed out from an unknown source beyond her ability to perceive at present.
The side to side movements were taking longer to master and fatigue was beginning to make her a bit sloppy in the execution of the movements. She paused and stretched tightening muscles after the kata completed then cast the Land's Bounty spell to quench her thirst. After a deep and cleansing inhalation she began again. She could feel her body tuning itself to the land she was on so that when she stepped down on a spot that gave way to her weight, she naturally shifted balance enough so that her strike would still fall perfectly. A slight shift of her feet was required to properly shift back into balance when she moved back into guard. Everything mattered when it came to mastering the body. The slight increase of wind caused resistance and even if it was minute the pressure exerted on her body required her to adjust. What Scáthach was forcing her to do was to rely on her body's instincts to know naturally how to adjust itself to generate that perfect thrusting strike or deflecting parry.
A perfect strike was something that Sétanta had drilled into her early on. She knew exactly what it felt like when the weapon was in the correct positions. Yet she only ever felt that from a stationary position. Moving through the forms always had her slightly off. It was minor but the vision of Scáthach's perfect piercing strike into the formorian's head indicated that did not have to be the case and Alanna was finding herself perfectly positioned more and more as she trained.
When they reached the border of the area's they paused and set up a camp site. Scáthach set down both her own and Alanna's pack as she watched the druidess continue through the motions of the forms. She was getting better which was a welcomed surprise for the old warrior. Still, she was not yet ready to defeat the more difficult guardians yet. Perhaps if she had use of her powers she could but Scáthach wanted another full day with her before she would risk it. She was not fully sold on the identity of this youngling even if she did recognize an older soul within her. There was still doubt because she was just to inexperienced at everything to be some great old god.
Scáthach would be the first to admit she did not understand the old ones or the means by which Nuada defied his nature to become something else entirely. She may have been considered a deity of sorts but Scáthach never felt like one. She was tied to a clan of old ones to be sure but her blood was not fully of them. What she was and always would be was a warrior and teacher and even with her doubts she had chosen a new student. She just hoped this one would not be as disappointing as her last.
She looked up at the druidess once again and watched her slowly perfect the mastery over her own body. "A few more days at the edge should be enough time." She thought as she gathered up bits of dried wood and long dead branches from the surroundings. "Perhaps less if we can test her magics inside the mists." She considered and nodded to herself. They could test that tomorrow after the youngling had time to rest and recharge. She looked out over the rocky blasted lands they had crossed then focused back on the mists and their destination. "There really is never enough time when destiny starts to pluck its strings." She said with a sigh then struck her flint against a stone striker. It was going to be a long night for the old warrior as she would let the girl sleep tonight. Tomorrow was going to be rough on her but it was for her own good.