Markus entered the northern Training grounds of the Dune Prowler's. His uncle, Jack was waiting patiently for him at the entrance. There were a few others there with Jack and they were discussing part of what the Training Grounds had to offer. Markus recognized the individuals that were there, one of them was his wing man from last night, Jasper. The other individual was a familiar face to Markus, memories from his past would flash through his mind. One of his best friends from the early days of Death Hunter Corps; the Great King of Myd'raal Ghan Evotori. There was history with these men, Markus was surprised to find his associate standing by his uncle's side. Another memory flashed through Markus' mind, it was a good one but a dire situation. This was all the comfort Markus would need to ensure his training regime runs smoothly.
"Ahh Markus! Come here boy!" Jack let out a holler at his nephew, "I hear you are acquainted with these men?"
"Oh! 'fer sure, uncle." Markus replied, "My good ol' friend Ghan, and my father's apprentice Jasper the Azure Knight."
"WHAAT!!" Jasper was caught aback by Markus' informative deductions. "Boy! You be that crazy bastard's son!!"
"HAHAHA! It seems your homework is all caught up!" Jack had a hearty laugh at the bewilderment of the Dwarf. "Ewan sure is a memorable monster!"
"Indeed... For better or for worse; he is my father." Markus was a bit distant in his reply as he still had some unsettled issues with Ewan.
"No worries! Brother!" Ghan spoke up, giving Markus a pat on the back, "We are here 'fer you my man!"
"Much obliged Ghan," Markus seemed to have a lightened spirit as the familiarity of Ghan's aura had that affect. "Have you been keeping your skills honed and ready for action?"
"They don't call me the Great King of Myd'raal or the Mad King Evotori, for nothin'" Ghan gave a wink at Markus, showing his talent was still sharp. "I'm not the ruler of nothing... I must be doing something right."
"Huh!..." Jasper's dark skin was noticeably pale, "Mad... King... Evotori..." Jasper was almost gasping for air at the fact he as face to face with two notorious people. "...Jus' my luck; must be the Highland curse..." Jasper sighed and shrugged of the mental health issue that came with the Highland Dwarves of Mount Highmarsh.
"That is but a superstition..." Jack retorted at the Azure Knight, "It is only a symptom of being at higher altitudes and the isolation your kind impose."
"...Aye..." Jasper agreed, simply holding his head for a moment.
"All things considered, we have some training to attend to." Ghan replied, breaking the awkward conversation. "Markus, has your Tao Sorcery been up to par?"
"I'm sure you're gonna find out soon enough!" Markus said intimidating attitude, to coax the rivalry out of his friend, Ghan.
"Enough banter, Lads! We set off to the dummy grounds, time for some practical assessments." Jack spoke like an instructor, with such experience he knew well how to reach his subordinates.
The four men headed down the path, through the gates to the training grounds. The first open area they approached had a small ring in the middle, surrounded on three sides with Practice dummies. There was ten of these posts on either side, and would become part of the first practical aptitude and the harmonious equipment to compliment a warrior's attire. Markus pulled out his deck of Ofuda's, the main tool for Tao Sorcery... This Onmyoujyutsu or Tao Sorcery was made up of a Deck of Ofuda's, a type of talisman card. It is made up of 64 individual cards, housed in 8 branches:
Heaven - 8 Realms of Power:
#1- Light #4- Fire #7- Mountain
#2- Dark #5- Wind #8- Lake
#3- Water #6- Thunder
Earth - 8 Planes of Power:
#1- Attract #4- Fire #7- Mountain
#2- Repel #5- Wind #8- Lake
#3- Doppel #6- Thunder
Water - 8 Levels of Power:
#1- Deity #4- Liquid #7- Disastrous
#2- Emissary #5- Vapor #8- Ice Age
#3- Herald #6- Frost
Fire - 8 Tiers of Power:
#1- Deity #4- Heat #7- Ignite
#2- Emissary #5- Burn #8- Purified by Flames
#3- Herald #6- Smother
Wind - 8 Ranks of Power:
#1- Deity #4- Breeze #7- Disastrous
#2- Emissary #5- Gust #8- Rogue Winds
#3- Herald #6- Whirlwind
Thunder - 8 Degrees of Power:
#1- Deity #4- Storm #7- Chained
#2- Emissary #5- Strike #8- Plasma Vaporize
#3- Herald #6- Lightening
Mountain - 8 Abilities of Power:
#1- Deity #4- Gnome #7- Ogre
#2- Emissary #5- Dwarf #8- Giant
#3- Herald #6- Orc
Lake - 8 Forces of Power:
#1- Deity #4- Pond #7- Swamped
#2- Emissary #5- Pooled #8- Depths
#3- Herald #6- Riverbed
This would make up the basics of all Tao Sorcerers, Ghan included. This was one of the many talents that both Markus and the Mad King were very familiar with, each a master in their own right. Having spend many years in the early times of Death Hunter Corps, both Ghan and Markus could be seen as two sides of one coin. Their synchronicity has fueled their rivalry. Being trained under similar masters, both men were skilled martial artist in Muay Thai. Learning the 10 Khans and the 9 Mongkoi they ended up differing in styles. Markus and Ghan had significant knowledge on the 8 styles of Muay:
Muay Femur - The Technician
Muay Mat - The Combiner Powerhouse
Muay Tae - The Ranger of Kicks
Muay Khao - The Clinchmaster Kneer
Muay Sok - The Elbow Finisher
Muay Mud - The Way of the Fist Counter-Combos
Muay Bouk - The Agility Master
Muay Boran - The 8 Limbed Kaiju
These titles were not permanent and would have changed its name over the centuries. in this era they carried far more potentiality than any legend or myth, this is the origins of heroes. Much was learned since Markus became a Boran master, little did he know Ghan had mastered Bouk. The anticipation in their eyes was building. Jack had noticed their energies change and decided to set up a regiment that had them use all aspects of their training. With Jasper as a wildcard, Master Bruce had an almost sinister smile creep over his face; training had begun. As the four men stepped onto the ring at the middle of the grounds, Jack whispered something into Jasper's ear. The Azure Knight would step down and head off into the back, where a hallway led to an isolated terrain that looked very similar to the Highlands.
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"Now you scrubs!" Jack lashed out his Sensei's tone. "Jasper has more experience and wisdom than the both of yas! Show me what kind of equipment you have harnessed skills in."
"Yes Master Bruce!" both Markus and Ghan stood at attention, shocked at the Sensei tone had come out. Markus was the first to step forward and present.
Markus pulled an Ofuda out of his deck, it was Earth-Attract. A small gust of wind kicked up a cloud of dust and began to swirl into a small dust devil. It began to increase in speed, throwing the dust particles at each other... a moment later the dust settled into a solid form that was a long table no larger than six feet in length. Markus walked up to the stone table and began laying out his gear:
The Sword of the Watermind
Dirk of the Reaper
6-Shooter Revolver - Redeemer
Onmyoujyutsu Ofuda Deck
Enchanted Gambit - Playing Cards
Jack approached the display of his nephew's abilities. "Ahh so refreshing to watch you in action again." Looking over Markus' equipment, Jack would pause for a moment over the playing cards. He could feel an energy that was a bit unsettling, yet Jack was all too familiar with the Enchanted Gambit. Even with all of his dignities and honors, Jack Bruce also had his own demons... The Enchanted Gambit was one of them. A set of playing cards enchanted with luck and deception from some of the darkest forces in all of Theros. Legend has it that the first creation was the deity of the Formless, a truth that none doubted in this age. All comes from the Formless as it was Formed, so will all Forms return to the Formless.
"Uncle..." Markus closed his eyes and calmly spoke, "Are you alright? Must I activate the Enchantment?" A binding spell that would target Jack's temptation centers of his mind, as Master Bruce had once been tainted by the Formless through the conduits of the Enchanted Gambit.
"...Yes... nephew I have trained my mind ever since the taint." Jack took a deep breath, shuttering at the thought; he had built up enough mana to harness several Buffs and Debuffs to help fend off the urge of the Formless.
"Glad to hear it uncle." Mark grabbed the playing cards and stowed them in his satchel. "Now that you know what my gear is...what's the plan?"
"Yes, I will have you practice 1000 sword swings, 2500 Dirk stabs, and empty 10000 bullets from your Redeemer." Jack did not skip a beat, he had laid out Markus' regiment for all of his melee tactics. "Now I will leave the magics to Ghan; I'm off to spend some time with Jasper... We have some business to attend to." Without missing a beat, Jack had rounded the ring and headed to the back where Jasper was waiting.
Markus picked up the rest of his equipment and snapped his fingers and the conjured table disappeared. Ghan was not so easily swayed by his rival, knowing his magic skill was on par with Markus. It all ends up in experience and training, Ghan was ready to run the principles of Tao all over Markus, it was his way of showing his friendship. "Markus, you ready to do some sparring?" Ghan stepped back a few feet from him just opposite the end of the ring. "Tao Sorcery is all about repetition and remembrance."
"The Tao is the essence of Life itself." Markus recited, stepping back on his end of the ring. "It is the Way of Truth in Life..." Markus' aura began to shine, outlining his figure in a green turquoise glow.
"The Tao is energy, the very source of Essence." Ghan also recited, taking his ready stance with his twin-blades at his side. "We are the Spirit of that Essence and we shall bring Light to the Dark..." Ghan's aura too, began to flare up in a shimmering silver gold hue.
"To bring Form to the Formless, and to return the Essence to Energy." Markus finished the verse, cutting off Ghan from having the last word." Markus reached for his Ofudas with one hand, while placing his left onto his sword by his side.
In an instant, there was a great flash as both men drew their weapons and clashed in deadlock. "Mountain-Ogre" Markus chanted, his Ofuda would glow a dark red brown. Another flash of light, and there stood a Mountain Ogre before Ghan while Markus fell back allowing the creation to keep deadlock. Ghan's face showed a bit of a squirm as he was not a fan of such ugly creations. Pushing back against the Ogre, Ghan would reach for one of his own Ofudas. "Wind-Herald" was the chant, having a similar event happen to his own Ofuda. A blink of white light would activate the spell, summoning a winged-beast Herald. Now all creations of Ofudas are like a Shinigami or spirit, they are embodiment of mana that is drawn from within and turned into form via the Ofuda. This is what the Tao Sorcery was made of, Onmyoujyutsu's.
A battle of this caliber would go on for several hours as both Ghan and Markus were always competing to one up, or be the better victor. This was their bond as friends that were rivals until the end of days. Spirit blasts and conjurations would fly from either Ofuda, it was a power that needed great mental fortitude. Each man would show exhaustion on the surface, yet their banter would rile them up once more for another bout of blows and summons. It was all very interesting as if it were a play or concert of skill, knowledge, and ability. After yet another hour, both men were drained and laid on the ground in the center of the ring. It was getting late and the sky was beginning to darken as the sun began to set. The only energy either man had was trash talking each other as Jack and Jasper had returned, all tattered and dirty. They seemed content in the business Jack had spoke of earlier.
"Seems you boys had fun?" Jack joked around, in a more cheerful mood. "Jasper n' I did some hunting! we are gonna have a feast tonight!"
"Aye, I been lookin' forward to tastin' Monster Roast!" Jasper's eyes began to glow with joy and drooled over the prospect of dinner.
"Hahaha, don't get ahead of 'yerself, Dwarf!" Jack chuckled, grabbing the Azure Knight and putting him under his arm, almost holding the small statured man just off the ground.
"Master Bruce! Yer' crushing... me..." Jasper almost sounded like he was gasping for air. "Rune-Enforcement!" The Azure Knight chanted, bulking up to doubling in size. The Dwarf was now a small giant and had pushed Jack back a little, only to be grasped even tighter.
"Now yer' ready fer' feastin' Jasper!" Jack could not contain his excitement, as food was one of the pillars of any aspiring warrior. "Ahem... Now, nephew? Did you finish your regiment I left you?"
"...Uhh... Ghan was putting me through intense mana exercises, I never had the chance!" Markus was sitting up now, after catching his breath. "Forgive me Sensei!" Markus would clue in that he would be scolded by his uncle and assumed the position of forgiveness.
"My bad, Master Bruce." Ghan too sat up after catching his breath, he would put his hands together cross-legged. "Sorry Sensei!"
"I can't leave you troublemakers for a second!" Jack was stern, using his Sensei tone of voice. "Double the workload and be here at the crack of dawn!...Tsk!" Jack turned his back on his students and continued leaning on Jasper and heading back toward the Dune Prowler's Compound.
"EEEEHHHHHHHH!!!!" Both Markus and Ghan were not too happy that the workload had doubled, the price to pay when they get too competitive. All four of them headed back to the headquarters to crash for the night.