HomerinNYC: It's the last week before the final exams. Tensions are high. A number of students have been on edge, trying to avoid maiming and such, to be well for the tests. And here you stand, in the dojo, as the entire class prays that they're not the one chosen to face off against Tsung Lain. How he found himself in the Spiral Academy is a question many have pondered, and none have adequately explained, but be that as it may, he is six feet of joint wrenching, bone-snapping Water-Aspect fury.<br/>Dullone598: Amaya paces fretfully, knuckles white around her satchel's handle.  She's desperately praying for an easy fight, someone she has a chance against or (more likely) someone who at least won't hurt her too badly.  Which is most people, since most of her classmates like her pretty well, but right now that's not too encouraging.<br/>HomerinNYC: " Chang and Wi'n. Mallow and Rue." Names are counted off, and neither your name nor Tsung's have been called yet. The groups face off against eachother in the spacious dojo.<br/>Dullone598: She listens carefully, not liking the way the odds are narrowing down.  But she should probably be okay...<br/>Dullone598: (by the way, are the duels random or actually chosen by someone?)<br/>Dullone598: (also, which is the dude's given name and which is his family name?)<br/>HomerinNYC: ( Random. And in his case, given is Tsung, family is Lain. His family is probably from a Western archipelago.)<br/>Dullone598: (Shit.)<br/>HomerinNYC: " And finally... Amaya, and Tsung." Tsung walks out to the field, and stands quietly, grinning, going down into a low stance. He usually doesn't use the charms that he knows, as it tends to be overkill... but he seems to have an unusual extra glint in his eyes today.<br/>Dullone598: Amaya nearly chokes, taking a step back and looking around wildly for a moment, as though she hopes there's another Amaya in the class that she didn't know about.  After a moment, she sighs in resignation, and hands her satchel to Vel.<br/>Dullone598: She hangs her head as she walks out onto the field, going into the best approximation of a stance she can come up with.  Which is a lot better than she thinks it is.  "Um, Tsung?  Can we talk about this...?"<br/>HomerinNYC: Tsung grins quietly, and you remember a visit to the Imperial Zoo when you were younger. Your family visited the Aquarium, and one of the new arrivals to the Aquarium was a River Dragon, grinning out through the glass, the vicious teeth gleaming through the murky water. Tsung's grin reminds you worryingly of the grin on that predator, as he moves into the Terrestrial Hero Form, his body moving in sudden, unexpected directions, a chaotic mess of a form, that promises a LOT of pain.<br/>Dullone598: Amaya takes a deep breath, preparing for the mauling of a lifetime, and looks like she's about ready to cry.<br/>Dullone598: (Breath and Essence Control.  Join Battle roll is automatically 5 successes.  Personal motes now 11/14.)<br/>HomerinNYC: ( Going to use the Form, or?)<br/>HomerinNYC: ( Alright.)<br/>Dullone598: (No.  No real use here, and it takes motes that are better spent attacking in this case)<br/>HomerinNYC: ( True.)<br/>HomerinNYC: Tsung gives a cocky grin, standing in his form, waiting for you to make an attack.<br/>Dullone598: Amaya blinks, starting to take a cautious step forward -- and suddenly the terror in her eyes is replaced by a scintillating white light, her anima suddenly roaring up behind her like a great tsunami.  All at once she's moving, hands ablaze in red and green, and lunging to the attack as the bizarre light show flickers through the crashing waves around her.  She spins, faster than anyone's seen Amaya even think about moving before, raining brutal knife-hand blows on the poor unfortunate sadist in front of her.<br/>HomerinNYC: ( One die stunt bonus there.)<br/>Dullone598: (1m into Gruesome Wood King Revelry.  1 WP to declare Wrath of Heaven's Chosen.  4m for Flashing Zephyr Speed Stance, splitting 3 ways.  12m for Fiery Garda Force Attack on each, 12m for Deep Cut on each, leaving 9 peripheral motes left.  2m each to add 4 dice to each attack.  Taking back 2m if the stunt succeeds, for 5m peripheral left after the fact.)<br/>Dullone598: (1 WP to channel Conviction on the first, so attack pools will be 15, 11, 10.  Also, she stops if he's going to actually die, but not before.)<br/>Dullone598: (6, 7, and 5 successes.  What's the man's DV and/or soak?)<br/>HomerinNYC: Dodge DV of 4, Soak of 2 Lethal, 4 Bashing.<br/>Dullone598: (No armor involved?)<br/>HomerinNYC: It's Martial Arts class, so nah.<br/>HomerinNYC: Nobody's been able to do the level of damage that would require armor reliably to him, anyway.<br/>Dullone598: 2 hit on the first, 4 on the second, 3 on the third.  3L, then 5L, then 4L (it matters for Deep Cut to keep them seperate)<br/>Dullone598: (Bet he rethinks that now.)<br/>Dullone598: (6L, crippled twice, severed once.)<br/>Dullone598: (Also Amaya gets 6m back from Wood King Revelry)<br/>HomerinNYC: He stands still for a moment after you've passed by him, his form stopped for a moment, one arm in the air. He stares around a bit, momentarily shocked, and then his right arm falls off, cleanly sliced through at the bicep. His legs, viciously cut by the knife-blade hands, crumple, and he falls backwards slowly, screaming for a few seconds before the shock knocks him unconcious. The entire dojo goes quiet, everyone staring as a pool of blood forms around him quickly- he may very well die if he doesn't get some help soon.<br/>Dullone598: Amaya lands in a crouch on the opposite side of Tsung, anima dying down slightly but still roaring powerfully.  The blood that's splashed onto her arms is already soaking in, leaving an odd green residue for a moment.<br/>HomerinNYC: The water pouring out of your anima slams against the ground, splintering several sections, and there's going to be some severe water damage before it's finished, the raging tsunami of your Essence clearly not finished with it's rage.<br/>Dullone598: She blinks after a moment, looking around, her face the perfect picture of confusion.  She can't even remember the last time her anima looked like this.  "Um...what just happened?"<br/>HomerinNYC: Nobody answers for the moment, though a few of your friends look distinctly disturbed by what just happened. Tsung coughs slightly, the blood mixing with the water seeping off of your anima. He'll probably be rethinking his personality a great deal, if he survives.<br/>Dullone598: Her breath catches in her throat as she turns and catches sight of her opponent.<br/>Dullone598: (Does the DB anima die down to the point where it won't hurt other Exalted after an action?)<br/>HomerinNYC: ( Yea.)<br/>Dullone598: "Tsung?  What's going on?"  Panicked, Amaya drops to her knees, heedless of the fact that he probably would have done something just as bad to her.  She tears a strip of his sleeve off, trying to tourniquet his arm so he doesn't bleed out and die.<br/>Dullone598: (4m personal into 1st Medicine Ex.)<br/>Dullone598: (10 successes)<br/>HomerinNYC: The wound is simple to tourniquet. The cuts look practically cauterized. The teacher quickly strides next to you, kneeling and handing you your satchel. " The healers are on their way. I believe that we will be ending class early today..."<br/>Dullone598: "But...I don't understand," she protests helplessly.  "Did I just do that?"<br/>HomerinNYC: " I'd recommend not thinking about it for now." The look he gives you, though, is quite odd... Half suspicious, half fearful.<br/>Dullone598: "But..."  Her voice trails off, staring down at the fallen Tsung.<br/>Dullone598: Not thinking about it for now is, of course, a completely absurd request.<br/>HomerinNYC: " He'll survive. And I believe we'll be ending class early. You are dismissed!" he calls out to the assembled people. They seem rather eager to leave, though several of your friends stay back to see if you'll be alright.<br/>Dullone598: Amaya shakily gets to her feet, fiddling with her satchel.  "We should, um, apply the instrument of regrowth right away," she suggests, trying to focus on something she actually knows for a change.  She glances around at the others, but finds that she doesn't have much to say.<br/>HomerinNYC: " If it's worth anything to you, May, he deserved it." Mallow smiles a little bit, patting you on the back.<br/>Dullone598: "Nobody deserves that," she whispers quietly.<br/>Dullone598: She extracts the instrument of regrowth from the satchel, still set with the monkey stone from her family's manse on the east side of the Isle, and sets it carefully around the stump of Tsung's arm.<br/>Dullone598: "And, I mean...how did I do that?  I barely know how to throw a punch!"  It's an exaggeration, but not by much.<br/>HomerinNYC: " May, we all know you can heal it." Rue sits nearby. " He probably would've done worse to you, and you can't afford that with the Final Exams coming up."<br/>HomerinNYC: Mallow raises an eyebrow. " I thought you'd been training in secret, or something. Isn't that the Even Blade style?"<br/>HomerinNYC: " Students, I believe you have finals to be preparing for. I need to have a word with young Yan Sing." Master Jen Rie Su. Master of the dojo, and trained in the Immaculate Martial Arts. The others quietly gulp, and leave, though not before whispering some words of encouragement.<br/>Dullone598: "Um...that swordfighting technique?"  She looks down at her hands, utterly confused.  "Master?  What's going on?"<br/>HomerinNYC: " You're related to a... Balaz, yes?" he asks, quietly helping you up. The arm appears to be regrowing well enough, Tsung will probably be fine.<br/>Dullone598: "Um..."  She thinks for a moment.  "Balaz?  That was my second cousin's name.  But I've never even met him, Master.  Didn't he disappear five or six years ago?"<br/>HomerinNYC: " He was a brilliant fighter, and an imbecile at the realities of life." He quietly rubs his chin. " He was also a master of the Even Blade Style. Are you certain you never met him?"<br/>Dullone598: Amaya nervously runs her fingers through her hair, not that it changes much.  "Yes, Master.  I'm certain.  And even if I had, I couldn't have learned it from him.  I wasn't Exalted yet before he vanished."<br/>HomerinNYC: He pats your head. " You are a good thinker, and a great healr. I'd recommend that for the time being, you concentrate on your final exams. Young Tsung will heal, and I think that what you did to him will do him a great deal of good."<br/>Dullone598: She looks down at Tsung.  Right now, the fact that he'll heal -- as good as new, in fact -- isn't very comforting.  "Yes, Master," she says quietly.<br/>HomerinNYC: He smiles. " Now, be on your way, the healers are here." Several men and women walk in, looking over the scene. One of them looks up to you as he checks the items. " This your work? It's exellent."<br/>Dullone598: "Um...thank you."  Amaya looks disturbed, as though she shouldn't be taking credit for fixing what she broke in the first place.  "He'll be all right, won't he?"<br/>HomerinNYC: " Yes. Do you mind if we leave this on him until his arm has regrown? It can be a bit dangerous to change a healing satchel while a limb is being regrown..."<br/>Dullone598 signed on at 2:12:38 PM.<br/>Dullone598: "Of course not."  Amaya looks down at her satchel, disturbed.  "I...I don't think I'll be needing that Essence for a while."  Hopefully not ever.<br/>HomerinNYC: They carry him out carefully. " Amaya, fixing a thing you have broken is still a good thing to do. It's important for people in this world to know how to fix their mistakes."<br/>Dullone598: "But isn't it even more important to know how you made the mistake in the first place?"<br/>HomerinNYC: " For now, it seems that is quite unlikely. We must change what we can, help where we can, and learn to live with what we cannot yet."<br/>Dullone598: She nods, unhelpful as that is right now.  "All right.  I guess I'd, um, better go study."  Not that exams are all that hard with Charms at hand, but right now it seems like a great excuse.<br/>HomerinNYC: Four experience for showing up, and one experience for maiming the school bully.