Nari-Lanreth

‘HA! Take that you stupid pile of…’ The voice in Nari’s head cut off as the boulder gave a large cracking sound. Nari saw the top split open and away – not quite breaking into pieces as was required, but clearly close to that point. Against her will, a smile slipped on her face again as she realised just how close she was. Just a few more strikes, and likely the whole thing would fall apart at her feet, and she could be away from this mountain, and this dojo. ‘And put the thought of this whole experience behind me. I cannot wait for that moment, it will be the greatest moment in my life,

"But like, so far as social stuff... Well see, the cool thing about that is like, you can just kinda see it as a battle?" The words rung in Nari’s ears for a moment, seeming to echo. She almost missed the rest of what the younger girl said. Had she – her real name? That…was uncommon around here. Very few did that, and almost never when first meeting someone. “You’re right…Iris. It is just like a battle…isn’t it?” Nari smiled shyly at Astreya – no, Iris. It was a wonder that she had met a girl like her, on a night like this. ‘Perhaps this was meant to be…’ “If…if you want to go back i

Nari sighed heavily. This was becoming quite repetitive, and not in a good way. She was beginning to feel as though she was stuck in a rut – unable to escape. She knew this quest would be trying, but after the success in the first two trials, she had thought that perhaps – just maybe – she could quickly push through the finality of this whole pain. Yet, here she stood, standing before a large boulder – well cracked and splintered, but not yet destroyed. Rolling her shoulders, she wondered if she should try something else. Or if the only option was to continue just pounding away at this st

"Hey... you okay? Seems like you had a little, like, meltdown there. Everything good?" The voice sounded oddly calming to Nari’s ears, and she felt herself flush. Nari wasn’t sure if the low light would hide her features or not, but she glanced towards the ground, hoping it wasn’t obvious. “Uhm…yeah…sorry about that. I uhm…well…I’ve always kind of had a problem with people. Well, not people. It’s not that I don’t like people it’s just – what I mean is that I, talking is hard.” Nari’s words came out haltingly as she tried to force her tongue to say what was on her mind. Taking a deep bre

‘Right, that didn’t work.’ Nari sneered at the voice in her head. It was being super helpful here, providing her with an update on the obvious. ‘I would say time to switch things up, but…let’s be honest. You’re here to punch a rock. You’re stuck between a rock and…well, a rock. What’s your big smart idea here?’ Sighing, knowing the voice was right, Nari slid around the boulder again, looking for anything that could be defined as a weak spot. Settling on one area that seemed to splinter in many different directions, she readied herself once more. Closing her eyes, she let her arms fall for

Nari knew that her spin through the air would leave her vulnerable, a low spin would be the best – the only true way to push against such a reckless attack. With this knowledge, she didn’t let her feet impact with the ground when she landed, instead allowing her momentum to carry her into a roll that would rock her further backwards, tossing her legs back up into the air as she did so. As she rolled over her shoulder – she knew her intuition had been right. She could almost feel the edge of the wooden training sword sail just past where her feet had been just a moment before, missing by

Nari couldn't help but be impressed by his flowing dodge. There was no hesitation, no shock in her feint, he simply rolled out of the way, swinging one leg behind the other in a fluid movement. 'Good. Don't make it easy.’ She watched as his body rolled away, predicting that he would follow through with a strike as he came out of the roll. Determined not to let him get away with it, Nari swung around the opposite side, bringing her blade in a tight sweep, the blade held vertical, so as to protect against any sort of wild strike her might attempt. She could see the faces of the crowd watchi

The slap of her hand against the boulder shook through her arm, and Nari felt her muscles begin to faulter. Shaking her left arm, the numbness running through it, she realised that repeating the same maneuver would get her no where. She needed to change her method, otherwise she would simply be following a line of madness. The line of thought brought a smile to her face, the humour behind it not passing over her head. Stifling a giggle, she side stepped around the boulder, bouncing on her heels so as to let her body relax a little bit – forcing the tension that had built up out. Onc

Amazed that she had managed so well already, the faulter of her following strike didn’t surprise Nari. She realised that she had pushed herself to a limit with her rapid strikes, something that she should be proud of having kept up for so long. Stepping back and letting her arms fall for a moment, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes and letting her mind review the previous attempts. She watched in her mind’s eye as her arms had shot forward and connected with the boulder – the precision in her movements with her success, and the faulters in them that had caused her to miss, or failed to b

Another cracking sound ruptured the air as her hand bounced off the boulder. This time the crack seemed to split sideways, not just through the centre, a spiderweb of cracks appearing across the entire surface. Nari’s eyes followed the multiple cracks, disappearing around the side and behind it. Walking around the boulder, Nari could see where they had spiralled all around the outside, a small cluster appearing to have pushed towards the centre of the boulder itself. It was a sure sign of the progress she was making, and it drove her onwards – realising that this damned quest was nearing compl

Nari watched as the blade spun up and over her opponent’s head, her eyes remaining trained on his, and the slight smile on his lips. She felt herself tense slightly as the blade began to fall. Her heart had slowed completely, her focus entirely on the fight. As she watched, everything seemed to slow down, the blade coming closer and closer to her. “Impressive.” Bringing her blade down towards his feet, Nari will duck to her left, moving down and under the blade swing, feeling the very wind of it sail over her body. Unable to get a proper swing off from the awkward position, Nari will roll

It took Nari a moment to register the soft sound she was hearing, her eyes shut to the world around her. Snapping them open, she spots the figure of the woman from the doorway heading towards the outer wall, the others seemingly preparing to follow. Straightening, Nari hoists the shield on her arm, stepping after NIGHT with limited hesitation. She looks at the other two, smiling shyly. "So, I guess we follow her?" Nari will point a finger at NIGHT as she continues on her way, letting the question hang in the air for a moment before continuing. "I...want to thank you. For. Well, you know.

The resounding crack that echoed through the dojo cause Nari to jump. She had put a lot of force behind her strike, but even she was surprised by the effect it had on the boulder – which now sat with a large crack down the centre of it. It wasn’t quite through to the bottom, but it definitely showed a modicum of progress, bringing another burst of enthusiasm and excitement to the small, purple haired woman. ‘Ha! This is it! The final stretch, I can feel it. I just need to stay focused and everything will fall into place. I can do this!’ The smile, wide on her face, showed more than anythi

Nari felt a smile break across her face as the ginger haired man spoke to her – the words echoing in her ears, yet not fully registering in her mind. Focused on the fight, she watched as his arm and eyes twitched, the tip of his wooden training sword suddenly lashing out towards her. Ducking and rolling upwards and to her right, she bent over backwards, taking a risk and slashing out towards his lower torso, slashing one handed with her wooden sword to strike against his side. Hearing the resounding smack, Nari returned to a standing position, backing off slightly and taking her sw

The sound of palm slapping boulder reached Nari’s ears, and she felt the familiar sting in her hand as she pulled back her arm. The strike itself had been mediocre at best, but Nari could see a small hairline crack where she had managed to split another piece of the boulder. It wasn’t much progress, but it brought another smile to Nari’s face. ‘One must learn to crawl, before they can fly. And this seems to show me that I’m really starting to crawl.’ Shaking her hand, she walked around the boulder, eyeing it up and trying to determine where next to lay her strike. Spotting a shiny

Nari felt the elation surge through her as another crack appeared in the face of the boulder. Her left palm was starting to sting a bit from the constant use, and she considered for a moment whether it would be worth switching up her stance. In the real world, she had never been strong with her right strikes – using them instead as quick jabs to disorient – but perhaps it was different here. Shrugging her shoulders, she shifted her stance around, pulling her left foot backwards and turning herself so her right shoulder and right arm were forward. It felt odd, as if everything was o

Nari’s third strike was far too wild, sliding up and over the top of the boulder as she put far too much swing into the strike. She felt her balance tip beneath her, and threw her right hand out to stop her from collapsing into the boulder entirely. ‘Focus. Don’t let your progress slip now. You’ve done so well up to this point. You can finish this. Just… focus. Don’t let the excitement, or the fear, or anything distract you from your goal.’ Nari cocked her head to the right, eyeing up the boulder. Stepping twice to the right, she focused on a new spot – deciding that perhaps this wo

A soft cracking sound erupted from beneath Nari’s hand, and she pulled it back in surprise. Where her palm had struck, a hair thin split now appeared in the boulder. Elated at the success, she felt herself do a small victory dance, before she remembered this was far from over. ‘Don’t get overconfident now. You’re not done yet. Not until this thing is entirely rubble on the ground.’ Her face split into a smile – unable to subside the happiness she felt at her first success, she rocked back into her fighting stance, bringing her hands up before her once more. ‘I can do this. I’ll not

Not surprisingly, her hand failed to do any real damage to the boulder itself. Nari pulled her hand back, looking at the red mark she had made on her palm by striking the boulder’s hard surface. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. ‘I guess this won’t be as easy as I expected.’ She thought to herself. Shaking her hand, she raised her guard again, thinking back to everything she had learnt about fighting in the real world. Most of it she tossed out – the boulder likely wouldn’t be throwing shots back at her, or at least she hoped. But one thing did stick in her mind – an old say

Nari turned and headed back to the dojo, passing through and looking for the rock in the garden. It didn’t take Nari long to find the large boulder – the big round, grey piece was an eyesore compared to the more traditional tones of the dojo. Pacing around the boulder, she took some time to study it from all angles, looking for any signs of cracks, blemishes or other points of weakness that she could take advantage of. Seeing no major weaknesses in the boulder – which, if Nari was being honest, she hadn’t expected to find – Nari took a step towards the boulder, bringing her hands up

Uncertain exactly whom her opponent would be, Nari picked up one of the wooden swords, testing it in her hand. Finding the sparring area, she wandered of, positioning herself on the far side, facing the centre and waited for her opponent to appear. She held the blade slightly off to her left, her right hand pulled open towards the ground, with her left foot forward. 'Centre of balance, remember.' Nari took a deep breath, watching for who would step up to challenge her. She recognised few of the faces here, so the names wouldn't help much. It didn't take long for an orange haired individu

Even with her head bowed and her focus on the floor, she could still see the smile of the girl – who upon a slightly closer inspection was clearly Nari’s junior – at her fumbling words. Closing her eyes for the briefest of moments, Nari heard the door crack open behind her, and her eyes snapped open again as the girl began speaking. "Hirru! Like, totally nice to see you again!" Nari turned her head slightly, seeing the body of the newcomer blocking her escape. Heart thudding in her chest she shot a gaze between the girl who had just been leading her back outside, and this newcomer.

Time seemed to come to a slow crawl as the water flowed over Nari. The mantra matched the dance of the flowers in the soft breeze, bringing Nari to a moment of relaxation that she hadn’t felt since the start of this game. The water – both the cold feel of it, and the sound of it around her seemed to subside into the distance, no longer pulling her attention. Some time later, Nari felt herself shake to consciousness – not quite having fallen asleep, yet still not entirely focused on the world around her. She had felt a while ago as Master Yunxiang had come to check on her, but the elderly

Nari could feel the pressure of the water on her shoulders, the cold and weight of it all pushing against her already exhausted body. ‘I will not let this simple test be the end of my resolve. I will overcome…I will… so cold… I will overcome… the cold, the frigid…’ She felt the words slip from her mind as she fought against the sudden shiver that ran down her spine. ‘I will… so cold… so… strong…’ Nari shook herself against the cold. She could feel the exhaustion taking over her body, the tiredness dragging against her consciousness. It would be so easy, so simple, just to lay down a

Nari heard the slight hum of the teleporter in her ears dissapate, signalling to her that the shift between floors had finally come to an end. No matter how often she used this system, she still had yet to get used to the blinding light that met her eyes as her form was transferred. Opening her eyes, she was greeted with a beautiful oceanside view. Her breath escaped between her lips as she felt them part. Lost in the view, it took Nari a moment before realising she needed to vacate the pad, lest someone else appear on top of her. Slow moving, she walked down through the settlement to th