Amras The gryphon's gaze focused again and a sense of contentedness washed over his face as Xireidi accepted. An expression that was quickly accented with a quirked brow as the wolf further suggested sparring. Amras said nothing at first but simply motioned to the baked clay mounds and the piles of ash around them. "Are you sure that's really such a good idea?" he asked cynically. "It's true that I've never had the opportunity to try using magic in a combat senario, but if I can then there's no guarantee that either of us would come out unscathed." It would be an interesting experiment, and definitely make the time worthwhile if they could pull it off properly. Perhaps if they did get injured it would be a good opportunity to teach the wolf how to heal his own wounds; that was a simple spell that barely required any shaping. It barely required any building for that matter, if the wolf could just gather raw energy and manifest it with intention it would probably break his mental block on magic usage. Amras felt a little bad at the prospect of hurting Xireidi to assist with his goal, but perhaps it would be for the best? Pouch 1: Black talc stones x2 (medium) Pouch 2: Black talc dust 15 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Quartz spheres x10 (small) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" Tags:

Youthful excitement continued to well up within Xireidi and he hopped back and into a play bow as though facing off against the youth that visited him every once in a while. Well Kyo wasn't a youth anymore but he was still smaller than him. "Who says you'd be able to even land a spell on me?" he barked in a spirited manner, his eyes narrowed.

"Besides, I've only been able to spar against opponents smaller than me. it'll be a nice change of pace to test my skills against a naturally larger opponent."

Just like Amras had a gap in practical application for his craft Xireidi had never been able to really cut loose before except when training on his own. Every opponent either went down too fast or he had to hold back for fear of really hurting them. Even if there was no monster to fear he still wanted to practice to become the best possible version of himself.

"As long as we aren't actually trying to kill each other it should be fine. I've recovered from burns before and you've probably had your share of bruises if you lived in the windy room."

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags:
notes: None

Amras Quizzical grin began to shift back into pure amusement as the wolf's behavior became more and more playful. Was he really the same full grown wolf devoted to training that had been there just a second before? What a strange reaction to an imminent battle with what probably looks like an impossible opponent. Even so Amras nodded and began to move to the edge of his area, starting at the shoreline. With a deep breath he raised a single talon and began to gather raw magic into what might have been considered his thumb and two fingers held together. This was another simple spell taught to him by the Blacksmith, but utilizing an interesting technique that had eventually led to him being able to hold his fire for longer than a split second. As he continued to keep part of his mind focused on gathering energy he set another part to shaping it- a simple twist to make it take on light properties. Keeping both processes going he focused his remaining attention on manifesting a little of the shaped energy at a time and directing it into the ground, creating a bright purple line of light. As the wolf watched him with childish intrigue he walked the line around the perimeter of his area, from one shoreline out past the furthest ash pile and back around to another part of the shoreline. His concentration hiccuped a couple times, resulting in having to go back over a couple portions of the line, but in the end the entire area was encircled by a glowing line that would last for quite a few days. "How about this. The first one to cross this line or fall in the lake loses. Giving up is allowed and if someone gets hurt bad enough to not be able to fight back the match is over." he declared, moving into position faced off against Xireidi with the lake to his right. "The match starts as soon as this rock hits the water" Pouch 1: Black talc stones x2 (medium) Pouch 2: Black talc dust 15 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Quartz spheres x10 (small) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" Tags:

Xireidi nodded with each point as the gryphon set down the ground rules for the sparring match. The line was a clever idea, one made possible by the creature's magical skill. Would he be able to do similar after awakening his magic again perhaps?

One thing was for sure though; he had to start strong if he was going to evoke any kind of serious response from his sparring partner. While obviously the wolf didn't particularly want to be hurt or inflict harm, this would likely prove to be the highlight of the day's excitement. He bowed down low to the ground, muscles coiled as Amras lobbed the stone high into the air.

Splash.

All at once all that energy built up was set loose and the red wolf sent himself piling forward toward the large creature. He would need lots of momentum if he wanted to have even a chance of budging it and needed to act quick before any kind of magic attack could be flung his way.

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags:
notes:

Round: 1/5
Attempt: Try to push Amras up and away.
Defense: None
Injuries: None

Amras Before even having a chance to start gathering magic energy Amras found himself airborne. Ground and sky tumbled back and forth between each other as pain echoed in his chest. He was at least half again as large as the wolf! How did such a small thing have that much strength? The disorientation lasted only a moment as talon reached down and grasped at the sandy soil and the gryphon landed again, much closer to the line than he would have like to be. "Pack a punch don't you?" he quipped to the wolf as he stabilized and began to rush back toward the middle, not wanting to lose too much ground. Even as all four limbs propelled him across the ground he began to gather raw magic in his right talon, ready to fling it in a large shockwave that would hopefully give him some breathing room to prepare a better spell. Pouch 1: Black talc stones x2 (medium) Pouch 2: Black talc dust 15 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Quartz spheres x10 (small) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" Tags: Notes:

Round: 1/5
Attempt: Try to push Xireidi away with Dispel.
Defense: None.
Injuries: Sore chest and slight disorientation

The wolf skidded to a halt as he collided with the gryphon and pushed up and out with his upper neck. What resulted from the attempt was... unexpected to say the least. Instead of Amras being pushed back a few feet and stopping in time for a follow up attack he was sent absolutely flying. Despite the creature being larger than Xireidi it actually felt to be quite a bit lighter than him. The creature was definitely flesh and blood but that flesh was only about a quarter as heavy as anything the wolf had ever encountered, making it a bit floaty.

His surprise cost him though. Had he been quicker to react he would have pressed the assault and won almost instantly. Instead Amras had a chance to recover and began charging back, attacking not with his paradoxically smaller weight but with a much more potent wall of pure force. Xireidi found himself briefly airborne as well, pushed back forcefully into one of the clay mounds.

The landing might have hurt but the clay was fairly thin and the wood inside, while still in the shape of wood, was blackened and crumbly. Not the easiest landing but better than if he'd landed in one that was still hot or one that hadn't been burnt yet.

He lost more precious seconds righting himself from the fall, black wood dust darkening his red fur now. He had to get back in and prevent Amras from using another spell!

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags:
notes: Round 2 of 5

Round: 2/5
Attempt: Try to push Amras back again.
Defense: None.
Injuries: Soreness from impact

Amras The dispel attempt had been sloppy, but it seemed to have worked! Because of the impact with one of his mounds the wolf hadn't been pushed back quite as far as he would have liked, but hopefully it would be enough. As black dust like talc billowed from Xireidi's direction Amras reared up on back paws and as quickly as he could started to gather energy, twisting it and intensifying it with a speed he never would have thought possible before. The layer of protective energy formed under almost unconsciously and the spell was ready just in time. As Xireidi leapt forward Amras was just barely able to lean out of the way to the side, his two-legged stance working in his favor this time. Talon came swiping down toward his opponent's back, ready to manifest the magic just before impact. Pouch 1: Black talc stones x2 (medium) Pouch 2: Black talc dust 15 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Quartz spheres x10 (small) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" Tags: Notes:

Round: 2/5
Attempt: Try to burn Xireidi.
Defense: None.
Injuries: Sore chest

A slight misstep had caused his attack to go wide, allowing enough of an opening for Amras to sidestep. Why or how the strange creature switched from its stable stance on four limbs to two was a mystery to him, but it seemed to have worked out in its favor. Without having any chance to react he felt a hot talon pat down on the back of his fur and heard a deafening sound as a wave of heat expanded out all around him in a cloud of fire.

The ringing in his ears continued on even after the fireball cleared and the heat dissipated with it. Every time he'd seen that fire spell before it had been centered around the gryphon's talons. How could it have had such a massive effect? However it happened he couldn't afford another attack like that.

One thing he had leaned though, his opponent seemed to always use his talons when casting spells. it was a risky strategy but perhaps he could use that fact to his advantage. Coiling his muscles yet again Xireidi spun around and lunged at the hand that had hit him, teeth bared.

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags:
notes: None

Round: 3/5
Attempt: Try to grab Amras by the wrist.
Defense: None.
Injuries: Soreness from impact, minor burns, ringing ears

Amras The magic manifested beautifully as his talon lowered onto the wolf's fur, a flame appearing that would be hot enough to burn him but not so hot as to cause extreme harm. What actually happened, however, completely shattered his expectations. As soon as the flame came in contact with the blackened wood dust powdering off the lupines fur a cloud of smoke and flame erupted. The dust particles caught fire with raging ferocity, the flame spreading across the wolf's back and hurting his ears with the explosion's sound. The wood had already burnt once! Why did its catch fire again? Amras took a step back, reeling from the unexpected effect. Any black dust that had been in Xireidi's fur was now burnt away, along with small portions of the fur itself. The heat barrier Amras had prepared for the spell hadn't been quite enough to protect against the dust explosion, leaving his hand slightly burnt as well. To make matters worse the determined wolf seemed to have recovered a bit faster than he had, circling back around and biting him on the wrist just above where his gem stopped. Brief panic beset the gryphon as he quickly realized that from this grip it would be easy for the wolf to drag him around and possibly throw him out of bounds. He had to respond. Casting a spell as he was being pulled by the wrist would be hard, but perhaps he could make it work. Amras began to gather energy, but this time rather than localizing the flow from his gem into his right talon he tried sending it up the limb through his chest and into his left talon. Another fire spell would be dangerous with what had just happened and frankly he wasn't sure how well he could maintain it left handed. A force spell could work but would probably result in greater injury to his wrist as Xireidi was pushed away. He'd have to get creative with this one. In a stroke of insight Amras placed three of the fingers on his left talon together and began to invoke the process for his pattern painter spell, bringing the soon-to-be-manifested energy down onto Xireidi's head to try to create a bright white light across his face and crossing over his good eye. Pouch 1: Black talc stones x2 (medium) Pouch 2: Black talc dust 15 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Quartz spheres x10 (small) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" Tags: Notes:

Round: 3/5
Attempt: Blind Xireidi with pattern painter
Defense: None.
Injuries: Sore chest, burnt hand, ringing ears, punctured wrist

Finally a real success! Teeth clenched down hard on the gryphon's leathery wrist and Xireidi set himself to gain as much of a grip on ground and opponent as possible. Eye honed in on the shoreline and he began to set himself to maneuver that direction. Amras was light weight enough that he could probably toss him in if he got close enough and end it right here.

There was a light tap on the top of his head and suddenly the entire world went white. His vision was mostly gone, the one eye's view blocked as the unexpected spell snaked down and caused the very lens of his eye to start glowing white. Xireidi almost let his grip loosen as the world was flooded in blinding light that not even closing his eyelids could block.

He could only trust that the spell wasn't permanent. Amras had said not to hurt each other too bad to fight back, and this counted, right? Then again the ringing in his ears was fading and he could still smell. In his mind he could still picture where he was on the battlefield. The match wasn’t over yet.

Not wanting to waste any time before he got disoriented or nauseated by the light Xireidi doubled down on his bite strength and began to rush forward to where he remembered the lake shore was, stopping probably a bit too early to fling the trailing gryphon forward.

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags:
notes: None

Round: 4/5
Attempt: Try to throw Amras toward the lake.
Defense: None.
Injuries: Soreness from impact, minor burns, blinded by the light