Nymoria

Their path led them to the centre of the temple, and as the Master turned to face her, Nymoria felt a sudden reservation. She couldn't help but wonder if there was another purpose to her being led her, but as her eyes roamed over the room, taking in the few sparse trees and the large boulder in the centre, she couldn't quite figure out what sort of traps or punishments would be in store for her. When the Master finally spoke, his voice was filled with a measure of patience, and Nymoria found herself following the words with confusion. "This is the third and final task. Before you is the

She screamed, the noise causing a disturbance in the area of the waterfall - but not reaching much beyond it. She could see Musei shift, the sound likely reaching his sensitive ears as his companion released everything that had been bottling up inside. She pushed out of the waterfall and dove into the water, deciding that she had enough of the quest. She would simply leave, return home to the inn that had become her new residence, and figure out another way. As the water swallowed her form, she let back the tears she'd been holding in, the feeling of overwhelming loss and despair taking over h

Frigid temperatures were all that came from her consistent thinking, her mind feeling as cold and empty as the water that fell upon her and flowed out around her. If there was one thing she was learning from this quest, it was that she wasn't ready to develop herself mentally - there were too many issues, too many roadblocks and things she didn't want to face within herself. It was better, easier even, to ignore the voice in her mind, the constant thing at her subconsciousness that she wanted nothing more than to ignore forever. The calling that it did, out towards her, causing her to retreat

This isn't working at all. She'd tried for a while to think about everything that she could be trying to avoid, but her mind continuously drifted away any time she came close to the numerous problems. She was aware, acutely, of the various issues and problems she had within herself - a fact that she had been trying for numerous years to overcome without success. No small period of time sitting beneath a waterfall within a video game prison is going to change that. So if that's what the game is expecting of me, it's going to be sorely disappointed and I'm just wasting both our times. She s

Her eyes followed the weasel across the pond and back, watching as it made small laps in the water, playful in nature and yet somehow relaxed and comforting. She'd not yet seen the weasel so engaged with it's environment; it had always been watching her, trying to follow her motions and desires. It was nice to see the change as it floated around as if in it's own natural habitat and world. Eventually Musei noticed her watching him, and twisted itself around to swim her direction. He made no quickening of his pace, instead lazily coming to the edge of the stone she sat upon before twisting agai

Attempting to focus on her breathing proved even more futile than she could've imagined. The beating of the waterfall, the lack of any sensory input aside from her own physical feelings, and the general darkness that she found herself in all led to a single conclusion; she had absolutely no issues losing herself entirely. She awoke, some time later, from her daze with the realisation that she had completely drifted off. Not that she had fallen asleep, but instead, she had simply lost herself into the nothingness that came with deep meditation. Somehow I feel like losing myself isn't act

The water was cold, and as Nymoria's first toes touched it she felt a hiss escape from her mouth, the vibration passed from her tongue to her toes as her entire body shook in response. She'd anticipated the fact that it would be something unpleasant, but as her skin actually came into contact with it she knew that it was going to be brutal. He did say I'm going to have to steel myself, mentally. I guess part of that is going to be heading into the freezing cold water and forcing myself to...stay. She'd sighed again as she realised this was likely to be as painful as the physical training had b

Almost as soon as she'd hit the minute mark, the Master of Martial Arts had returned. His eyes passed over her form, splayed out on the ground and absolutely exhausted. There was no real judgement to them, as if they simply took in her form, and moved on, but his voice was filled with a contempt. "Acceptable, I guess. If this is all you can muster it will have to do. You've prepared your body as much as you can, but you still need to prepare your mind. Strength comes not just from the physical, but also from the mental - and from the looks of you, your mental strength is not only lacking, but

Her hips hit the ground suddenly, and she could feel the sweat pouring down her face. Weird, I didn't know we could sweat in this world. She glanced up at the timer she'd started, wondering how long she'd managed to hold the position. Her eyes widened slightly in shock as she stared at the numbers, feeling the tears beginning to creep to the edges of her vision. Nine and half seconds? Come on...that's pathetic. Elementary school kids can do better than that! That's all you could do?! She berated herself silently as she flopped on the floor, her drive and motivation all but disappearing beneath

Her legs burned, her breath came in ragged gasps, and she wanted nothing more than to simply quit and go home. It became apparent very quickly that her running skill in the real world made little to no impact on her abilities here - especially after she'd already gone through the skipping rope workout. The experience was only made worse when she realised that the entire building was built in an odd way that her feet seemed to impact the ground extremely hard, and her first pathway had led to a dead-end after only the second turn. Tired, frustrated and wanting to simply give up, she'd re

She wasn't sure exactly how long she'd kept it up, but eventually she found herself out of breath, her legs burning from the consistent movement and the snapping of the rope against her thighs and shins every so often. She laid the rope down, before keeling over onto her side and letting out an audible groan. From within her pocket, Musei had shakenly stumbled out onto the floor beside her, clearly still suffering from the experience that he had just endured without any input or questions asked. Oh shoot, I forgot he was in there! She wanted to laugh at the thought, but a mixture of emb

Two jumps. She'd managed two jumps before the rope had slapped - rather painfully - into her shin. It had taken her another five minutes to nurse the wound to the point where it, and her pride, had stopped hurting in a way that prevented her from continuing. She'd sat on the ground, rubbing the shin and glaring at the rope the entire time, thinking back to how good she had been in her school days when she'd been attending her physical education classes, or playing outside. Those were your school days, though...and it's been a long time since you've been in school. It kinda makes sense that you

It was a somewhat out of the way locale, but as Nymoria stepped into the smithy's storefront, she had a feeling she had chosen the right place. No other patrons were visible, and although she could see the smithy themselves, they appeared busy and at work - taking a moment to respond to the presence of Nymoria's arrival. Once the smithy had turned towards her, Nymoria gave a flurry of signs, hoping the system would project her words into the smith's head as it always seemed to do when she conversed this way with others. Good day! I was hoping to get a couple of pieces designed, if you've got t

"You may refer to me as Master Yunxiang. I am the head of this temple, and should you prove yourself worthy, I will teach you a skill that will make you much more powerful." Nymoria listened intently, her eyes never leaving the man's face, as he explained the first step of the process - the necessity of training the body in order to be prepared for the journey ahead. Her eyes had, quickly, glanced towards the trail that had led her up to the temple itself, wondering if that hadn't been training enough, but her unspoken question was answered before she could truly finish thinking it. "The journ

The final leg of the climb had been the most painful. Nymoria had felt the burning throughout her legs and calves, and although she'd managed to push through it, she had nearly collapsed as she reached the front gates of the temple. Deciding that she needed a moment before heading inside, she'd settled onto the steps at the fore of it's entry way, leaning back against the stone of the mountain and taking in the sight around her. There was a crispness to the air that somehow made her think of Mount Fuji back home, and a trip she had once taken to the mountain's trails. A flicker of a smile touc

Her musings had carried her a decent distance, and as she looked up to the peak above her, she noticed that it had grown closer. She could begin to see some of the detail of the structure she was heading for, the form taking a better shape as she grew closer to it. The building appeared eastern in design, similar to many of the temples she had visited in the real world. She wouldn't have been surprised if she reached the top, only to see the familiar face of one of the monks she had come to know at her local shrine. The thought brought a smile to her face, if only for a temporary second.

Her legs were burning again, as she continued walking towards the mountain that would lead up to the supposed monastery where she was to begin the quest. She'd begun a small climb up the very lower edges of the mountain a while after leaving the main settlement, and although she had made some headway, it seemed like the mountain's peak was no closer. Her eyes continued to glance up towards it, the structure towards it's higher portion obvious even from her current position at the base, as if taunting her. The growl in her throat caused Musei's face to appear, and she had to give him a few moti

Nymoria had been tempted to make their daily morning meal pancakes, but she'd fought against the idea knowing that it would only ruin the experience for them both. After a minor amount of discussion - mostly her signing, and Musei swishing his tail in argument - they'd agreed to limit the experience to twice a week, or those days where they had a lot to celebrate. She'd only managed to convince the weasel of the idea due to a promise to find something else that was almost as good, but a bit healthier, for the other days. As well as making a promise that she wouldn't return them to the previous

Nymoria gave a quick wave in greeting towards Ciela as the knightess signed towards her. She giggled slightly at the question, giving a half shrug before signing back to Ciela with quick motions. Wulfrin sent me a message. Said to come because there was something you needed help with, so I came as fast as I could. He never did say what we were doing, though. She turned as Wulfrin began to introduce her to the cowl covered individual standing slightly off to the side. Nymoria gave a bow in greeting to the individual, her hands moving as she stood up once more. She couldn't see his face, ma

The excitement of spotting the cave had erased any chance for Nymoria to properly answer Salem's earlier question, and it was only once they had plunged into the depths that she realised he was likely still waiting for an answer. While not dark enough to impede their movement or sight in any major way, the gloom from the underground cavern would've caused some distortion of her motions, and Nymoria decided that it would be more beneficial for her to simply respond to the question through message. A few waves of her hand and the menu had appeared, her fingers flashing across the virtual keyboar

Breaking the Unbreakable Quest Nymoria's nose itched. It was her first realisation as the morning came about, and she slowly forced her eyes open to figure out what had caused such a strong feeling. It was there, before her very eyes, that she saw the weasel standing upon her chest, it's nose mere inches from her own, and the whiskers spreading from it tickling her nostrils in a way that caused a severe desire to sneeze. Pulling her head back slightly, she groaned at the sudden wake up call that Musei had provided, wanting nothing more than to return to her restful moments. She still felt ex

She'd stumbled upon the kitchen through pure accident, staring at the selection of items on display as she felt herself beginning to salivate. It was only just coming to her awareness of how hungry she was, and as the eyes of the cook eventually turned towards her, Nymoria found herself suddenly rushed to make a decision. Her eyes scanned over the available items, before eventually pointing to one, her silence hovering over the entire area as she waited for the cook to follow through with providing the item. A quick transfer of col, and then she made her way from the area, determined to leave

The creature exploded in a shower of shards as Nymoria's blade lunged forward in response to it's sudden charge. She'd barely had the energy to aim it, instead placing both hands upon the hilt and holding it directly in front of her like some sort of lance or spear. It had been enough, however, as the creature slammed into the point without any attempt at avoiding the attack. Nymoria had seen, in the last instance, a measure of understanding in the eyes of the wolf, an acceptance of it's fate that brought a tear to her eyes as the thing exploded into shards and disappeared from existence. She

Her sabre slashed through the air, driving the wolf back a few steps as it weakly attempted to avoid her strikes. Not that her attempts were overly powerful to begin with, the tip of the blade missing the creature by a few hairs of a breadth and unable to come any closer as Nymoria's arms shook with the effort. Seeing the weakness in her form, the creature took advantage of the situation, rushing forwards and slamming a paw into her side, forcing Nymoria to her knee as she tried to remain standing. In retaliation, she jabbed out with the sabre, managing to slash the front of the wolf and drive

The movement had cost both of them as the sabre slammed into the underside of the wolf, tearing a large slash into it's stomach. At the same time, Nymoria had felt as the weight of the creature fell on her, pinning her to the ground and allowing the wolf to slash at her with it's claws before she could shove it off and roll away. She'd leapt to her feet, intending to rush forward and try and take advantage while the wolf was down, but it had regained it's own balance and stance, staring and glaring at her with a look that appeared both dangerous, and somehow exhausted. She wondered, for a brie