3. [Order of the Second Shadow] The Public Face

[Order of the Second Shadow] The Public Face

  • B

    returning to the group with Pavels return, but looking reluctant and sulky as ever B listens then pulls a face

    What kind 'f f**kwit j'st tries t' do magic w' no trainin'? Be like throwin' a kid in w' a gladiator 'n waitin' t' see 'f he c'n fight.

  • H

    Old Metusalem sits quietly in the corner, eyes closed as usually. He listens the story, then wide and warm smile gets on his face and a whisper with very soft voice that only most trained ears could hear leaves his lips.

    "No eyes, see more. Tee-hee. Soul see more. His journey finally starts."

  • The Halfling Defence League

    The purple haired woman attends some of the lessons, seeming to more or less be already there, only those of shrewd eyes notice her comings and goings.

    Meditation: During lessons on meditation she sits and watches flipping her coin from time to time or rolling it across her fingers, and some times munching on a snack as if to pass the time. She seems almost lazy as she does this and seems to have an obvious lack of discipline and little concentration. However her breathing remains oddly constant and with a minor flex of her body she can be on her feet in a moment from her seemingly overly relaxed position.

    Harbour Stance: She seems to automatically like this teaching, nodding and smiling as their told to dodge, twist and squirm. Her stance is almost like a soldier standing at ease, slight spread to the legs and one hand within the other either behind or in front of her body, it doesn’t seem to matter which. She still seems relaxed with a light smirk and a glint in her eyes, like a predator that is just going to let the prey come close before taking it by surprise. She happily strikes at the combat dummies, showing previous training in the use of her stance, and some decent foot work, but her punches show a lack of training in that aria.

    Stunning Blow: She listens intently, then sits off to one side and thinks for a bit before pairing up with some one to spar. She just dodges at first, not once trying to land a blow, before seemingly letting her guard down and letting her opponent lunged at her and she dodges around it and toward them rather then away only to grab and kiss them full on the lips, and while there still surprised deck them and pin them to the ground. Sitting on their back she casually smiles and remarks, “Well It worked now didn’t it?” She only tries this out once.

    Deflect Arrows: She pays curious attention to this lesson, and spends a lot of time contemplating it, but seems to give up after a while though able to judge the path and where the projectile was aimed, she’s just not fast enough to deflect them she definitely can hit them. But she seems more then happy and finds it easier to block the projectiles with a tower shield.

    The Monkish Way of Life: She sits off to one side and just watches with a childish grin.

    Using tools: She seems to be able to pick up any weapon and wield it proficiently. She does seem to prefer to use an axe, but she still ends up trying everything. Though she also tries to see which out of the dwarven war axe, bastard sword and kattana, she likes the feel of best.

    Candles: She picks out a large purple candle, and takes it to a nearby fire where she melts it down and remakes it using some of her own hair as the wick. When lit it doesn’t really give off as much light as one would expect and the flame burns oddly slow and from time to time a strange colour will rise up through it. It takes more then double the time to burn right through compared to a normal candle of the same size and shape.

    The Young Man’s eyes: This story seems to trigger something, she becomes cranky and distant, as if she’d had simular experiences to the man in the story. “he’s got a few choices, he can get help, live with it or die. A cleric can regenerate his eyes, get on with life with out sight, hopeful he can make it back to town, or he can just give up and die, like any despairing fool would do. He can at least get his eyes back.” She murmurs, she also seems sad, she then leaves and doesn’t come back till the next day, like it never happened.

  • V

    Story: The Young Man's Eyes
    After Tsu Ma returned from a rather lengthy absence, a new kind of lesson is mixed into the familiar trot of physical exercise. With a faintly grim look, and just the occasional grin when his gaze sweeps over the students, Tsu Ma relates a story:

    "Once upon a time a young man took to the traveling the world, he had lived all his life in the same city, barely seeing more than the view off the walls. For him, a tree was something that grew in a courtyard, tended to by special gardeners, or maybe even in a park. But for all he had seen in his life, trees and a proper forest were two different things.

    "When he turned twenty years, he decided that he wanted to learn about all those strange places, that he might have spied from the tall towers, might have read about in the sheltered rooms of a library, or might have heard tales about at night in the taverns. With his heart full of hope, and his head full of ideas, he strung together supplies as strangers and friends alike instructed him over a couple of beers the night before and then he bade his farewell to his family and his closest friends.

    "A pang of regret, and no small amount of homesickness befell him, as he walked away from the city gates. He turned often to look back at what he left behind, and with every step he took, the safety of the walls, the shelter of streets and alleys, of taverns and merchants, of friends and family was shrunk smaller and smaller. At the same time, the homesickness grew in him, but he told himself not to be foolish, and eventually he set his eyes forward, away from his home, his past, and focused just on the future, and on all the great things he would come to see.

    "For a day and a half the sun bathed the land in beautiful light, and the sights the young man's eyes showed him were grand indeed. He came to a forest and saw that it was a mass of tree and a tangle of leaves and twigs, he couldn't have imagined from his well kept trees he knew from home. For just one hour he marveled at the chaotic nature of the trees, and then slowly entered the shadowed shelter under the trees, leaving the road behind to see the wonder of the forests with his own eyes.

    "As the second day neared its end, though, a storm approached and heavy rain began to pour down through the leaves, quickly soaking the young man's clothes. It was then that he remembered a spell to keep him warm, read about mere days ago, yet the young man tried to make himself see it as a different life. This harsh weather was but another challenge, a problem to be overcome.

    "With a few muttered words and some clear gestures he tried to bring about the magic that should find him a safe spot, and keep him dry.

    "But maybe by accident he used the wrong words, maybe a malign spirit was upset about his blundering through the woods, or maybe he was deceived by someone, but the magic did not work as he expected. A fire erupted from his hands, burning straight up, burnt into his unbelieving eyes as they were wide open, watching the heat.

    "As he finally was able to close his eyes, he was blind. The light burnt from them, and all the sights he so much desired to see, closed and hidden away from him in darkness, forever."

    His voice clearly not made for talking, and his presentation lacking in quality, Tsu Ma waits a short while before asking the students to quietly contemplate the fate of the young man.

    ((Again, I invite everyone interested to post reactions, or interpretations or other things either relating to my posts, other people's posts or just monkish training here! Enjoy!))

  • V

    _Seeing Butterfly's glare when she returns the pink candle stub, Tsu Ma just grins crookedly and puts the candle away. He makes no comment either, just seems faintly amused perhaps in those grey eyes of his.

    Metusalem's candle is met with a warm handshake and the same, warm silence, one would almost be tempted to call it a sunny silence. Tsu Ma almost reverently handles that candle stub and stows it away quitely, again without speaking a single word._

  • H

    One day, Metusalem arrives the monastery and approaches Tsu Ma. Wide and warm smile on his wrinkled face he hands Tsu Ma a stub of a candle. He trades no words, just a candle and warm silence.

  • A

    Barek arrives and observes the goings on within the temple. He meditates for a time and has some quiet discussion with others in attendance.

  • H

    Metusalem has become a regular face around. He seems to stay from lesson to lesson, giving very little attention to the topic but only sitting in the corner like an outsider observer. He is mostly quiet and has his eyes closed for long periods of time, always having his ordinary grimace on his face.

  • H

    Elderly looking toothless man with everlasting grimace on his face has lately been actively participating to the lessons. He introduces himself as Metusalem and tells to be on his path to light up his inner sun. He is dressed into yellow and red, and has always something optimistic to say about everything, often reminding how good world this is and how sunny day it is. He is carrying two kamas on his belt, but never uses them, instead of relying only onto his fists and shurikens during the training.

    He speaks with short and unfinished sentences and most of the time he seems to be a bit lost with the given instructions, but like lead by some sort of natural sense seems to find right words and moves to do when there is need for such.

    During the candle lesson he picks up yellow candle that has already seen its best days.

  • B

    The latest student to join the lessons is sullen most of the time.She's uncomfortable, clearly not liking too many people around at once.Also she seems near to angry at being there at all sometimes.She glares at each person when she introduces herself to them over the lessons, daring them to question her name or find it funny.She watches the sensei with an intense gaze and when she does practical stuff in the lessons she shows a degree of previous training.
    She's passable during the stunning fist lessons.She seems able to stun with good regularity when she strikes but is reluctant to hit people in the dojo unless they really annoy her and to swing too wildly when she gets angry to get the stunning blow to connect.
    Meditation she seems to have been taught before too, but there are days when her resentment of anything and everything destroys her focus and it takes her a long time to calm enough to get her breathing right and to relax.
    Lessons on stance though are easy for her.Part of it is her awareness of where she's standing, she always stands where she can use walls and things to cover areas difficult to hit from a standing start.Easy to see from how she does this that it was not all monk teaching and that she learnt to be careful before she got taught how to hit back hard enough to matter.
    At the weapons lesson her answer is given after a very short pause, "If I had to use one of those fking things to hurt someone I'm probably already fked. I'd use the spade though, that way even if all I do is cut 'em once and have to run my ass off to get away the wound'd probably fester and kill the bastard later. It's f**king filthy"
    She snort with laughter at the false beard and fake wisdom expression when she see's it, but with uncanny ease answers every question about what a wise saying means with a wise saying along the same lines with an almost encyclopedic knowlege of them.
    On being given a wax dribbled pinkish candle she pulls a face and sighs heavily.Until she returns it though people in Peltarch or the Red Falcon library see a guttering light in the dark hours of the night as someone reads by it.When she hands it back she glares.

  • V

    Tsu Ma accepts the remains with an oddly soft smile, holding the candle almost reverently and with the same unusually serene expression sets the candle on a nearby table. He nods in acknowledgement to Sara, his grey eyes warm, but not speaking a word either.


  • A couple of weeks later, the swordswoman known to most as Sara, stands before Tsu Ma and bows, palms together, her eyes locked on his. She regards him a moment, then pulls the remains of a thick green candle from her belt pouch and passes it to him with the faintest of nods. She makes no comment, and asks no questions, but with a thoughtful look returns to the back of the class where she is accustomed to sitting.

  • V

    Lesson: Candles
    _Only recently having been added to the things taught, this strange lesson which occurs roughly once a month. Tsu Ma will arrive for it with candles in his arms, no two of which even remotely resemble each other. His arms are usually overflowing with the different candles and he'll spread them seemingly randomly, each and everyone who's there will receive one. Most commonly he himself will take a shorter candle, sometimes one that's barely a stub.

    There's few candles that really look fresh, most appear to have been used and are in different conditions. Some are large or thick, others formerly long and thin and show many lines of formerly molten wax running down the sides, a few are even broken or almost so. Tsu Ma just grins his amused smile to any complaints he hears about the candles.

    Once everyone has settled down and got properly acquainted with the candles, he'll sit down in front of the listeners and light the candle he kept for himself._ "Candles are what we talk about today.

    "They bring light. But by doing so, they are consumed." For a while, he pauses there, just breathing in deeply and concentrated, looking to everyone present in turn. He waits until most have calmed down and joined in the meditative breathing. Only then he'll continue slightly more softly: "Much like life. Once a part is burned, it is gone.

    "I want all of you, to take your candles and keep them with you. And over the coming weeks, burn them. Slowly. Or quickly. But memorize every moment that you light your candle for. Or memorize important moments you light your candle for. Or meditate by the light of the candle. I'm sure you can think of some fitting use for your candle."

    For a long while he pauses again, his breathing regular and deep. He looks in turn to everyone, trying to reassure the various looks he receives, while he waits for his own little candle stub to burn down to barely more than a thin layer of wax. Then he'll put it out and scrubs it off the ground. That done, he lifts his grey eyes up to gaze over the listeners again. "Once your candle has burnt down this far, I'd like you to give it back.

    "And I'd like you to look at me while you do that." He gives a little wink, the familiar, faintly amused grin settling on his face again. "Now, I'm sure you all have lots of questions. Go ahead. Ask them."

    ((Feel free to actually post questions here! Feel also free to interact with posted questions! Lots of monks around lately, let's get some monk rp done!))

  • V

    ((Yes, Tsu Ma is currently absent, but the lessons never were supposed to be ordered chronological, so I'm taking the liberty to add more…))

    Lesson: Using Tools
    One of the more prominent lessons seem to revolve around a big selection of weapons. They're all displayed nearby, swords of various sizes, axes, even a scythe and kama lie piled up on a table. Some of them are shining brightly, almost glittering, while some of the things, like a spade, look dirty and used.

    Tsu Ma will more often than not first wander along the displayed things, examining them thoroughly, waiting for the attendants to even get a bit restless, maybe a murmur starting. He'll turn then and face the visitors, his eyes hard set on a person who was particularly articulate.

    "Quite the choices, eh? Some of those things are great te bash someone's head in. Others te slice them open in cruel an' efficient ways. I guess quite a few came here wantin' te learn on how te fight. An' I figure most of ye can tell the two ends of a sword apart.

    "But tha' not all there is te fightin', eh? Let's make a little question to ye out of it. Whacha think is the best weapon here?"

    Tsu Ma's grey eyes will scan over the attendants and select each in turn, letting each provide a guess on what the best weapon is and the reasons for it. He'll nod to good suggestions, like axes to use against zombies, or clubs and warhammers well suited to crush skeletons. But he also nods approval to other suggestions, like spades or scythes being good weapons for their easy availability. Should someone point out that he'd himself be the best weapon, he'd give a raspy chuckle and continue just like he does as if he had queried all present.

    "Yah. Yer all mostly right. But wha's in a weapon truly? Wha's its essence? Its spirit? Its ki? A weapon's designed to maim, mutilate or slay. But even most magic weapon don' jump people. It's always someone who draws it. Wields it. Uses it."

    Sometimes Tsu Ma will stop for a while here and ask if someone wants to try to use a real weapon against him. If someone is willing to do so, he'll try his best to be inside their guard with blinding speed, grappling and pinning them to the ground as fast as possible.

    "The weapons you see there, they're all tools. The real weapon is you, and yer mind. If ye made yer decision to kill, tha's already half the slayin done. Not one of those tools replaces all others entirely. In the end it's yer trainin' tha' makes a difference.

    "Just consider fer a moment. If ye wanna dig a hole, whacha gonna use? Certainly not a club. Ye'd probably pick the spade. Ye wanna cut down grass, ye'll grab the scythe most like.

    "They're all tools. Yer the one who'll use them. And yer the one who'll have te pick the right one. Ye can't always carry all of 'em wit ye. Tha's the problem. Ye usually have te make yer best bet on wha' te use.

    "Ye want te learn to be ready? Ye need te be aware of wha' tool is right. Sometimes it's just a cold, calm look. Sometimes it's a heavily garlic scented breath attack. Sometimes it's a spade te the neck. And sometimes, it's the fist in the face.

    "It's yer decision. It better be the right one."


  • With Tsu Ma away the silent swordswoman known as Sara continues to give lessons in using swords to any that attend and to take instruction from any who feel able in fighting unarmed.

  • V

    Lesson: The Monkish Way of Life
    _There's a special type of session, or lesson, that happens only very rarely. It's easily recognizable because Tsu Ma will appear to it with a long, white beard badly attached to his chin. If someone asked him about it, he'd just grin a little and nod, maybe commenting what a good question it was. He also wears a badly patched robe, then, each patch a different color which gives maybe the impression of someone painting a parrot who has never seen one, just heard stories about the colourfulness of those birds.

    Unconcerned by such observations, Tsu Ma announces his intentions, though, loud and clearly:_ "Today, ye'll learn about another aspect of bein' a monk. One I could never quite get te terms wit'. An' the women here'll have a real hard time gettin' it done properly.

    "Yah, ye guessed right. It's about havin' a long beard."

    While he gives the fake beard a twirl, Tsu Ma grins impishly. He tries his best to appear ponderously, but probably not only fails because the beard is absolutely horribly fastened to his ears.

    "I like te compare it to a beard. But in truth, wha' it's about is wisdom. Many confuse wisdom an' knowledge. An' it's nay easy te seperate them. Like a beard, it can itch like hell, or get in the way. Or ye can use it effectively.

    "Bein' a monk. An' claimin' te be one, puts certain expectations te ye.

    "One of 'em might be the ability to say stuff like 'The scholar writes down what happened yesterday, the wise knows today is tomorrow's yesterday.'

    "Ye got any clue wha' I just said?"

    _Tsu Ma points to a random listener and makes him explain that sentence, he'll smile and nod to most answers, as long as it's not a simple repetition.

    For a while he'll go on, giving them random wise words and asking the listeners for the odd explanation and rewording of the sayings. He'll conclude the whole play with a faint grin:_

    "I never got the hang of tha'. An' I see most of ye are already better than me at it. I don' really understan' the need to hide the meanin' instead of just simply sayin' wha' needs te be said.

    "There's just one thin' te remember, one thin' tha' only truly wise sayings can do. They'll give ye the sense of havin' achieved somethin'. Once ye figured them out. It's like growin' a beard. It's a lengthy process, requires lotsa attention, an' care. To get a long, an' nice lookin beard.

    "Just make sure the beard ye grow is the one ye wanna wear. All I can say."

  • V

    Lesson: Deflect Arrows
    One of the most curious lessons, perhaps, happens when Tsu Ma brings a selection of ranged weapons to the Order's main training hall. He leans a spear against the table, and a crossbow and bolts are placed on it. With a faint smile, he then turns to the students and visitors in the hall and studies them for a while. Eventually he'll speak up:

    "I explained a lot about fightin in close quarters, in melee. An' I think that's where ye end up, usually. So if ye wanna learn about shootin yerself, better find an elf. Wha' I'm here te explain today is how ye defend against bein' shot at.

    "Tha's right, yer not goin to become invulnerable te arrows. But ye'll be able to survive a little longer, eh. Ideally, yer so fast and movin around so much ye can dodge the arrow. But tha's gettin right difficult if yer tryin to fight off a stinkin hobgoblin at the same time.

    "Keep tha' in mind, though, the faster ye move, the quicker ye dodge, the better yer chance of not gettin hit. With arrows, darts, or knives. Wit anythin, really.

    "I know a couple of people, though, who ain't gonna be distracted, no matter how fast ye move. An always keep in mind tha an arrow can outpace ye most any day. So, dodgin is good, but it's not always good enough. A well aimed bolt can find ye anyhow."

    At this point, Tsu Ma wanders over to the table and loads the crossbow, carefully fitting a bolt in. He then slowly turns back to the people, and gestures someone up, perhaps Nicahh's young girl. With a serious expression he hands her the crossbow and explains that she should fire it at him. For this he stands quiet, watching the crossbow closely and then reaches out just in the right moment, his hand hitting the bolt in fly, taking its momentum and the bolt harmlessly falling to the ground. Most of the times, anyhow. If the bolt whistles past his hand and even manages to hit him, Tsu Ma will still just grin and rarely sustains a wound at all. He'd calmly tug the bolt out of himself, explaining that he's far off from being perfect, and then ask the girl to fire another bolt at him.

    "The trick there is tha I have to hit the projectile in flight. How can I do that? It's a difficult thin te master. It's easy enough to try. Ye can just wildly slash around yerself, hopin tha ye do hit the thin. Might work.

    "Te truly master it, though, ye need to bring two thins. First and foremost, ye need te be incredibly fast. Ye need to be able to move yer arms as fast an arrow in flight. An secondly, ye need to watch closely. I know I keep repeatin tha, and it's important. Ye wanna live, ye need to know wha's goin on around ye and react te it.

    "Even more so wit a bolt comin at ye. If ye saw it bein fired, and ye got some experience, ye can guess it's flight an' know when it'd hit ye. Tha's the moment after ye should have punched it outta the air.

    "The first thin' ye need to learn is to react incredibly fast. There's no time for thought. There isn't. It's either in ye, te find tha thing, or it ain't. If ye get really good, ye might figure out how to snatch an arrow and send it back. But we ain't goin there.

    "We'll start wit ye lot trainin te hit a spear in flight. It's a bit differen' than hittin an arrow, cause an arrow is really light, ye can beat it with just a slight touch. A spear has more power. It's not as easy te get, but it's slower. And easier te hit."

    Tsu Ma will divide them into pairs again, handing out spears and explain how they should throw spears past each other into the wall. And how the other one should attempt to hit the spear while it flies through the air. Tsu Ma will watch the people quietly, observing their attempts closely and occasionally he'll step in and explain a bit about the wavering flight of a spear, shortly describe the path it takes in the air. He might liken it to the flight of a bird and the dive of a hawk, the one chance of the predator to catch the prey. Or he'd compare it to the whistling of the wind, and finding the perfect note to match it. All depending on who he talks to. He'll keep them at it, until everyone at least managed once to hit a flying spear - even though not necessarily deflecting it.

  • V

    Lesson: Stunning Blow
    Occasionally the quiet and steady rhythm of training sessions pauses to let special training lessons begin. One of the more prominent lessons features a very special, very useful attack. Tsu Ma will usually explain its use like this:

    "So. Yer foe brought a large axe. An' is takin' a swing at ye. The trick is reach there, ye step in close an' tha' axe will be bloody useless. There's ways te counter the spells of a wizard, too. But wha' do ye do when ye face someone who's nimble, fast and armed wit deadly little knives.

    "Often ye meet those an' they're top when it gets down te stabbin' ye - or anythin', really - dead. Ye can outrun 'em, probably. But ye might find they're ace shots wit' a bow, too. An arrow through the heart kills as surely as a knife in the gut."

    An oddly soft smile plays on Tsu Ma's lips as he speaks of this, his hands demonstrating a supposedly precise series of stabs.

    "Anyhow, there's a very effective way te handle even tha'. Maybe ye already know wha' happens if ye are punched real mean on the chest. It's like all air leavin' and for a bit yer outta breath. Stunned, eh? Now, to pull tha' off ye need serious strength, ye might. Or ye know how to hit.

    "Sure, there's certain spots tha' can render a victim utterly unconscious. But tha'd require ye to know yer victim. If yer fightin a human, or an elf, tha might work. But if you run into a giant the spots might be similar, but way outta reach. An' if ye face a spider?

    "No, the basics is always the same. Hit someone real hard like. Punch them wit' such force tha' for a moment they're stunned. Often enough time te get away, or te get tha advantage ye need. But ye figured right, I guess. It ain't always just about physical strength, eh?

    "This special kinda blow requires ye te access wha' some might tell ye is yer innate magic, yer Ki. I ain't gonna tell ye crap like that. My own masters used te tell me it's pain ye have floatin around yer hand, or foot. But tha's just another name.

    "Yer just required te hit them, wit more than yer hand. Wha' the more is, tha's a question nobody can really tell ye. In tha', it's maybe magic. But we ain' wizards here, so yer not goin te be able to call on some stored power an' activate it by a phrase or a sign. Instead, wha' ye'll do is te find a part of yerself and wrap it around yer hands."

    Tsu Ma pauses for a while, his grey eyes sweeping over the attendants. He frowns in thought for a while, searching for words, perhaps, or for something to demonstrate.

    "I don' know wha' it'll be fer yerself. But ye will find it. Whether today, tomorrow, or in weeks te come doesn't matter. Fer now, pair up and start throwin punches at each other, stunnin' punches. Go at it slowly, an' wit' thought."

    Tsu Ma wanders amidst the pairs, watching the attempts with curiosity. Occasionally he'd stop someone and suggest quietly that they should imagine the dark, muddy water around their hand, or another time he'll suggest the bright glare of looking into the sun. Yet another time he might suggest the attendant focus on the stillness of the moment of meditation, or the unnerving silence of the deeper caves. The rare participant will just receive a pat on the back and a conformational nod, if they manage to produce an adequate punch already. Only once he's done inspecting every single person present, Tsu Ma stops them for good and offers a few reassuring words.

  • V

    ((I'd like to point out that the monastery is not in any way related to the temple of Oscura and I assume all mentions of temple above were meant to relate to the Order's own structure. Which well… can't be found IG at all. But it's there! <.<))

    Tsu Ma usually makes no move to treat anyone special, though he does bow uncharacteristically deeply to Nicahh. This friendliness however is not transported to the child who is treated like any other visitor. Like all other participants, the halfling, Nicahh and the girl alike receive instructions on how to deliver punches or kicks and are told to train the same move over and over again. Mostly Tsu Ma will stop them shortly after they pressed past their own limit. And if they stop before they are not merely entirely and utterly exhausted but already beyond exhaustion, he'd be there with a firm grip on their shoulder and calmly suggesting:

    "Keep it up a while longer. In a real fight ye don' pick the end either."


  • once the little hin is ready she steps in and also takes part in the drills and things enjoying it and learning form it