A Wave of God's Hand [P=That Guy]

[That Guy]

"First thing's first... if you're going to learn this technique you have to become one with the sword itself until it feels as much a part of you as your arm. Don't draw your sword just yet, instead feel your the hand and your grip on the sword. Close your eyes and imagine you can never part with the sword, believe that it has always been in your hand jointly attacked to you. If there was ever a time the sword wasn't in your hand, know that you felt like half a man. An incomplete vessel only capable of a fraction you are now. Your sword and everything you do with it is an extension of your true self. Keep your eyes closed and imagine yourself in all the fights you've been in and every technique, imagine the feel of the blade in your grasp until you remember the details nearly flawlessly of every tug and pull of the weight."

Amon walked quietly until he was standing beside Helios, assuming his eyes were closed by now he should hear his voice as a disembodied guide. He needed to make sure Helios was doing as instructed and that the lesson was taking root. Helios was a skilled swordsman in his own right and this step shouldn't take too long but he had to be sure. The mental focus was the issue to summon up the bond of kinship with the sword that transcended physical and mental barriers until the swordsman was on a spiritual plane of existence where the blade had it's own identity and personality. He would then have to merge the two to feel as Amon told him, as though the blade had always been a part of him and that together they were at their full potential.

Amon plucked one of the hairs from the top of his head and held it in his forefinger and thumb waiting silently and listening to Helios's breathing. When he felt that the boy was ready he dropped the hair carefully onto the hilt of the sword where his hand wasn't holding onto. If he was fully attuned with his sword he would feel the air itself fall onto the hilt as though it were falling on his own skin. Amon watched silently for any reaction that would tell him Helios was ready for the next step.

[Guyviroth]

This was it; the beginning of Helios’ training to which he couldn’t help but feel too excited yet nervous all at the same time. However, he had to remain calm and focused if he was going to be able to get this done and dusted quickly. The problem was that Helios was so focused on getting this right the first time that he believed that he was going to end up failing it.

” …become one with the sword itself… Don't draw your sword just yet… Close your eyes and imagine you can never part with the sword…”

[/i]

Those were the words that Helios clung to as Amon spoke. His voice would infest inside the boy’s ears before nesting itself carefully and caringly into the front of his mind. The boy’s eyes closed and as he did he could begin to feel and hear the world around him; the winds brushed over his pale skin, reaching to brush and wave to one side every single hair on his head, caressing his cheeks like the soft slender fingers of a doting mother. Was this what it felt like when one became… clear?

” Keep your eyes closed and imagine yourself in all the fights you've been in and every technique

The thoughts began to turn and twist like mixing paints on a palette, brushed quickly and roughly on an open canvas and yet somehow still creating a vivid picture of color and essence. He could see it all, the battle that he had fought for weeks and all the chores he had done to which he incorporated his teachings into each minor miniscule activity no matter how insignificant they seemed. He could see himself in a first person view, slashing and beating on his adversaries; eight gates, diagonal slash, front thrust, rear thrust, they were all there played out in front of him like a home video.

He could hear something, the scraping of dirt and its compression under such tension that sounded like footsteps. They were so loud though, much louder than he ever heard before or could even conceive to hear if he focused on sound alone. Without sight, all of his other senses heightened but he dared not move from his spot; like a stone statue he would remain rigid as he was but he was not afraid to pounce like a lion.

It wasn’t just the wind and the sounds that tackled his senses; his scabbard began to expand, contract, cool and heat as the changing on the winds began to affect it. He could feel the winds cool the steel of the scabbard in his palms along with the slightest of contractions as metals normally do under temperature change. Likewise as the winds died down he could feel him palm heat up the steel, causing it to expand.

Suddenly he felt something on the hilt. It wasn’t the wind or the temperature but he felt something hit the hilt of his sword. As it touched the hilt it sent of a light vibration that perhaps no normal man could feel, but Helios could feel it; it made his skin tingle as the vibrations travelled across and into his palm. Instinctively he opened his eyes and struck out forwards with a powerful Diagonal Slash to the air in front of him. His eyes darted before looking back at Amon, rather undignified.

”Was that it? Did it work?”

[Jae]

Roth - 63
Guy - 65