Ryu Vs Red Raven

[GrievousKhan]

Burning Grounds

Mako ran down the hallow halls in a full sprint, his steps echoing through out the halls as he ran as if the nine hells was chasing him. However this was not all together untrue. The building suddenly seemed to shake and Mako almost lost his footing, nearly tripping on his orange robes, but he regained his balance and kept forward. After turning the corner he came to a huge door with several of the temple guards armed with spears each with red plums at the base of the blades.

Upon seeing him one quickly spook up. "What's going on?!" one in lead demanded.

Mako only shook his head still doubled over breathing heavily. "Th- The Temple is under attack!" He managed to spit out. "W-we must protect the elder!" Soddenly a large explosion could be heard from down the hall Mako had just left. The explosions were getting louder and closer, the smell of smoke and the faint hint of burning flesh could be detected in the air.

Mako's head looked behind him his eyes widening before he turned back to them. "Quickly open the the doors the Elder must be warned!" They looked hesitant then as another boom rocked the walls and this one much closer one of them quickly opened one of the double doors. "Quickly then we will try to give as much time as we can."

Each one of them had a steel look in their eyes, each determined to face whatever was to come. Mako nodded at them before slipping through the doors. Inside the main chamber in the center of the large will adorned room sate the elder, the grand master of the temple. A few other monks were already standing around him protectively their weapons in hand standing guard as the walls shook.

The old master looked up as Mako entered, he sat crossed legged and hands on his knees. He was bald with a long white bread. Wearing the traditional Monk robes. But, one of a master's vestments. They were the white flowing robes. He seemed quite old, yet with a certain wistful wisdom and peace even as the very ground shook.

Mako opened his mouth but the old master held up his hand. "I know my son, I am well aware of what is coming.."

Mako stood stunned for a few moment then another violent shaking bright him out of it. "Master we must leave quickly! They seek the-."

But the master shook his head. "No the flames surround us my son, there is no where to run to...one cannot escape fate."

"Bu-but, master there must be something we can do they cannot have it! it would mean the death of us all!"

The old master gave him a half smile. "They will not find it here. It is safe far from this place, the Ginryu has it in his position, Regardless of what happens here. Rest assured in that."

Mako was speechless, but said nothing more. What could he say? The Elder was the wises of them all. But Mako steeled himself, no, he would not run he would do as he was trained to do and face down this evil. Mako walked to the alter that his master sate turning to face the only doors to the chambers.



By now the smoke was seeping through from the main double doors, and the sound of shouting and fighting could be heard then...silence. Suddenly the large shook as if a great force had struck them, then again, and again. Each time turning more inward from each blow.

"Master," Mako said without turning from the door. "It was a honor."

The elder nodded slowly, even though Mako would be unaware of the gesture. Then suddenly the doors blow apart and is seemed the very fire of hell consumed all the chamber in flames as it poured in. Mako never turned away in fear.

------------------

It was some times later Coronna Epitaph stood among the ash of a destroyed section of the the Temple, kicking away smaller bits of falling debris she huffed in frustration. The temple it self luckily had not been overly large. The size of large estate and each room not heavily cluttered. Which had given the place a very spacious feeling. Though it should be mentioned not all of the original temple had even been restored. But despite it's small size she could not find hint nor tale of the thing she sought.

She cursed under her breath at he bad fortune. All this trouble, and it was not even here! Of course she would not dear go back to the bone king empty handed. So she had three of her two of her Imps searching the ruins for any sign of it. After awhile she found herself at the front entrance again, where the slain bodies of several monks laid across the steps. Smiling at her and her minions handy work she found a broken pillar and sat on it for a moment to think. Where in the nine hells would a Monk keep something of such power and value? Coronna feared the answer for the moment eluded her, so until her minions found something she was at a lost of what to do next.

Dame.

[Taoofbalance]

The day was beautiful and though the sun had already passed its peak there were still plenty of hours of day light left. Ryuku enjoyed the warmth of the sun’s rays, the near cloudless skies, and the peaceful nature of his surroundings. It hadn’t always been like this he knew, nearly fifteen years ago he had fled this place as bandits attacked, though now news had reached him of a newly constructed temple and Ryuku intended to pay his respects.

Idly his hand slipped to a small pouch on his side he patted it’s side and reassured himself that the contents inside were still there. It was. He would be happy to return the Idol back to the master of the temple, surely it would be safer behind the walls of the monastery with dozens of trained and disciplined monks guarding it.

As a man trained by monks Ryuku stayed true to his teachings and wore the orange robes the depicted him as a member of the order. Currently he was stripped to the waist, letting his long silver hair cascade down to his shoulders and tan under the suns touch. His emerald eyes looked ahead, his senses tuned to himself as well as his surroundings.

--

Ryuku came to the peak of a rolling hill, smiling from ear to ear, he knew that at the top of this hill he would be able to see over the peaks of the trees and make out the top of the monastery. Memories flooded forward, he remembered his first days there and the training that took place. It had been difficult, but rewarding and pleasant.

That smile faded as his keen eyes first caught sight of a trail of smoke drifting lazily into the air. Worry crossed those features as the wind shifted bringing to him the smell of something burning tinged with blood. Ryuku took off in a sprint, his powerful and well muscled legs shooting him across the ground with the speed and grace only one that had spent the entirety of their life training could hope to achieve.

--

Ryuku took shortcuts, cutting across a field and even scaling a small cliff that would bring him back up on the winding trail that would lead to the gates of what was once his home. He knew the truth of it the closer he got, the smell of death and fire became thicker and as Ryuku pulled himself over the final lip onto the trail his eyes locked onto the destroyed grounds of the temple. The gates had been blown upon, charred bodies laid every which way, carnage was everywhere. Ryuku pitched forward and almost vomited, dropping to a knee as he tried to calm himself.

‘Not again.’ He told himself, ‘Not again.’

Pain showed clearly in his emerald eyes as he realized that he wasn’t alone, he looked to a broken pillar where some sort of creature sat. Judging just by her appearance Ryuku knew instantly she was the cause of the destruction here, of the death that filled this place. Without pulling himself to his feet he let his eyes bore into the thing, pity and sadness filled them as he looked at her.

“Why?” It was the only thing he said as tears freely flowed down his dirt stained cheeks.

[GrievousKhan]

As Raven sat pondering what course she could take next a most unexpected sight came running down the path and through the main gates was what looked to be another monk. This one however was different from the other’s firstly he was not perfectly bald like all the others she had seen thus far. He wore his robes quite differently as well and she sensed something else that made him stand at from the rest.

When he entered the courtyard he fell to his knees in what Coronna judge was despair. A smile spread across her face, hidden under the cowl she wore. It was not long before he spotted her and asked a single question. She slowly rose from the destroyed pillar she had been seated looking down from the top of the stairs leading the temple itself her answer was simple.

“Because my master willed it.” Even as she spook flames were produced from his left hand, her voice taking on a dark edge. “Now unless you wish to join them you will tell me where the Sacred Relic is hidden.”

Her other hand made slight and precise movement with her fingers ready to cast a spell in case this one got smart. Raven was not to worried though, if he was anything like the other’s he would be little challenge.

[Taoofbalance]

Ryuku was angry and he was sad, the monk could feel himself being filled with hatred for this creature of fire. Yet, as quickly as the emotions washed over him they were pushed out with deep breaths. Ryuku had to rely on his training, on hours he spent each day in meditation so that when times like this occurred he could act without being directed by emotion. As he inhaled deeply he rose to his feet, arms held loosely at his side.

His head cocked to the side, a silver lock of hair swinging down in front of his emerald eyes. The sadness and pity that had been apparent were being washed away with each breath, emotion was cast to the void and by the time Ryuku stood to his full height, which was just over six foot, he was calm and serene. There would be time to deal with his emotions in meditation later.

A calm mind and controlled breathing were the first steps of Qi-Gon, which was a state of mind that Ryuku sought to remain in at all times. It was a constant awareness of ones self and by extension ones surroundings, it also aided greatly when it came to harness Qi as the body directed Qi more easily and quickly when the body was in a relaxed and calm state. Ryuku was not yet a master though and such a state of mind had to be actively sought and thought of, though it was quick and he was well on his way when a ball of fire sprung to life in the demons hand.

“There are several, or at least there were. Tell me which one you seek and I shall tell you where it is. You have my word.” Ryuku said flatly.

As he spoke Ryuku harnessed the Qi within him and like the blood that flowed through his veins so too did Qi flow, and Ryuku was quiet proficient at harnessing his own Qi as well as that in the air around him and the earth below him, had there been a stream of water near by Ryuku would have drawn from that as well, where nature was the strongest so were the flows of Qi.

“You will then leave this place after you tell me who you work for.” Ryuku said again, bringing his hands in front of him, interlocking his fingers as if he were a business man preparing to make a deal with the demon before him.

[GrievousKhan]

Coronna raised an eyebrow at how quickly the monk had regained his composer, most would have sought vengeance. But perhaps this one was smarter then the rest. Observing him for a few moments see then answered placing her free hand on her hip. "The relic I seek is said to be held here. It is called the 'Life Stone' now tell me where it is and I might consider letting you live to rebuild your pitiful temple.

While she spoke the hand on rest against her side moved slowly. Her finger's slipping open a pouch at her right side where she kept handfuls of specially treated Acorn's. Her left hand was still held up set ablaze, hopefully drawing his attention there. She did nothing for now but would wait for his response, she knew the relic was here, her spies where never wrong.

"And as for who my Master is, that is none of your concern." She said with a smile. "Just hope for your sake you never meet him."

[Taoofbalance]

There was a moment of silence after the demon finished speaking as Ryuku thought over his next words, or at least he seemed to be. In truth he was just buying time to continue to prepare himself by gathering Qi for what he deemed an unavoidable battle. Yet, he had to give the creature a chance to admit defeat.

“I will find your master after I finish with you.” He said coolly. It was a promise and one that he sounded all to ready to keep.

Ryuku didn’t fail to notice the demons free hand slip to a pouch on her side, combining that with how she so comfortably held the fire in her other hand and the destruction around him he came to one rather simple conclusion, she was a mage of sorts. One that specialized in blowing things up it seemed, deadly at a distance no doubt. With that thought in mind and with only a small idea of what she was capable of Ryuku let out a deep breath.

With his training in Qi-Gong and already being partially prepared for one of the nine aspects of Kuji--In by having his hands in the appropriate position Ryuku shifted his focus solely on the women, specifically her eyes, Ryuku shifted his concentration on the ritual of ‘Kai’ also known as the ‘Premonition of Danger’ as he spoke to the women, finally telling her what she wished to know.

“What you seek was not here when you arrived…” He said slowly. “…meaning your spies were wrong.”

He took in a deep breath.

“Yet, be it fortune or misfortune that has fallen upon you what you seek has now stepped into the light and yet it is still out of your grasp. For no demon may touch the light."

Ryuku would let her decipher his words for a moment before he continued. “In good conscious, despite your apparent heritage demon, I must offer you the chance to lay down your arms and allow me to send you back to the hellish abyss from which you came. Do you accept?”

[GrievousKhan]

Coronna scowled at the monk’s threat, how dare this arrogant fool threaten her? With death no less, but while doing so had also threatened her master, something she could not stand for. To her, his choice had already been made, if he would not tell her what he wanted she would pry it out of him. She would give him his answer though not in the manor he might have expected. In her anger she almost missed the subtle hints in his words but thinking now it made some sense. But there was only one way to be sure and there was little doubt either way this monk knew something.

If she was wrong he would pay for it dearly. Of what she knew of these monks they is that they all specialized in close quarters fighting and from what she could see, with him carrying no visible weapons, she concluded he must be one of the many to fight with his bare hands. This posed little problem to Raven at this distance he was still at the base of the stairs leading to the temple entrance. This put him at a near comfortable distance of a little less than 90 feet. It would not take him long to cover it so first thing first was to make sure he stayed as physically far from her as possible.

“You dare threaten me mortal?” She said angrily. “Well this is the only answer you will receive from me!”

With that she waved her left hand in front of her and in doing so summoned a large wall of fire between her and the monk, covering from one end of the stairs to the next. The wall of fire easily reached 15 feet high and soon waves of heat rolled down the steps, the heat so powerful it was almost physically visible. With that she pulled out of her pouch two acorns brought them close to her mouth and whispered a word of power then tossed them down toward the monk. As they passed through the wall of fire they came alight with flames. They would land close to the monk both exploding in a 5 foot radius explosion of flames that would set aflame anything remotely flammable.

The acorn grenades she thought should do their work well. Choosing them over a more direct attack of flames, those could easily be dodged and the pillar’s that lined the path to the temple courtyard entrance could to easily be used as a makeshift shield or cover. Even as she watched the acorns go flying away out of hand she was already mouthing another spell this one slightly different in nature. No doubt also the two imps searching the ground should hear the explosions and come running to their master’s aid but she was confidante she would never need their help.

fire wall = -30
Two Acorns = -10
Total mana = 410

[Taoofbalance]

As the creature yelled at Ryuku he finished the ritual of ‘Kai’ and the malice and hatred that such a creature gave off was nearly as palpable as the demon itself. There was so much hate that Ryuku nearly lost his focus and state of calm, he wanted to vomit out of shear disgust. Once again training played its part and Ryuku kept his calm and collected state. He eyed her carefully as she yelled from the top of the stairs.

There. Ryuku told himself as he felt a sudden rise in her hatred, though Ryuku didn’t think such a thing was possible. Not half a heart beat later a wall of fire blazed to life, not only covering the entirety of the stairs but also blocking line of site to each other as far Ryuku could reason.

Ryuku leaped backwards into a back hand spring as the two acorns exploded near where he had been, if the heat from the wall of fire hadn’t been enough to deal with the blast that accompanied the two explosions nearly tossed Ryuku onto his face mid hand-spring. He performed one more such maneuver though the heat from the wall of fire was still intense and extremely uncomfortable, had Ryuku remained so close he had no doubt he would be cooked alive.

First thing was first, Ryuku knew he had to find a way to deal with the flames and then seek a way inside the temple. He knew of the well in the courtyard that the monks used to draw their water from, if he could get there than he could use the water to aid him. One step at a time he told himself.

Briefly Ryuku thought of using his Qi to harness a shield, it would allow him to break through the fire. But to what end? The focus and Qi requirement was a hefty one and he had to move smart against such a foe.

Another application of Kuji-In Ryuku decided than, one that would give him a deeper connection and greater understanding of the elements. Ryuku straightened his stance, widened his feet to shoulder width apart and thrust his arms out towards his opponent, he kept his fingers outspread, palms out with the index fingers and thumbs touching. ‘Zai’, the control of the elements through understanding was the technique to be performed. The name was misleading however, as no control was actually garnered from this specific Kuji-In, it was only when Ryuku introduced his Qi with the naturally occurring Qi in the specific element that any semblance of control was achieved.

It would be only a moment later that the pillar the demon was standing on would begin to quake, increasing in tempo with every passing heartbeat that Ryuku was allowed to concentrate the Qi he had been gathering into the ground.

[GrievousKhan]

Raven heard both explosions go off, but a part of her had a feeling it would not be that easy. After the attack had gone off she spoke a few words in some abyssal tongue then slapped both her palms together, not spacing them apart a orb of orange energy formed then elongated forming a staff. When the glow faded it had taken the shape of a staff of dark red and black outlines. It's head was fashioned into that of a devil with glowing eyes. The Scarlet Hand had come. With that done she grabbed it with both hands with it in front of her and focused.

Then slowly as she began gathering the energy for another spell the ground started to shake. But not from her doing of course. As a frown formed on her face she had gathered the strengths she needed as the shaking slowly grow worse. She summarized this was the doing of her opponent no doubt. She could only guess this was the beginning of a powerful attack of some kind. So if she wished to disrupt it she needed to act quickly. So, holding the staff with her left hand, her right had made a few gestures and with a few words of arcane power she raised her staff.

Suddenly a huge burst of fire shot out of the stone floor near the top of the stairs in front of her. The flames took humanoid shape, two arms, a torso, and a head. It's lower body taking the form of a single conflagration rather than separate legs. The lower body one large flame rather than legs. It was 7 feet tall, easily weighing close to 200 pounds. The figure of fire seemed to be wearing a suit of armor and held to huge flaming sword in each hand, the Fire Archon had been fully born.

"Destroy him." And with that simple command it hovered down the steps to pass through the wall of fire.

Fire Archon= -30

Total mana = 380

[Taoofbalance]

Ryuku remained calm and in control as he focused, centered, and directed his Qi into the ground around him, under the fire and into the pillar that his opponent stood on. It didn’t take much time or Qi to perform the desired effect, the shaking of the pillar. But too take it to the next step meant he would need more time. As the Fire Archon came into being the path between Ryuku and Raven began shaking as well, first softly but as the Fire Archon made it through the wall of fire it began shaking violently.

The Zai Kuji-In didn’t require any additional focus for Ryuku, it had been activated and that made two of nine hand seals that he had performed successfully. He would continue to channel his Qi into the ground though, and to do that he had to require a solid connection to what he was trying to control and so even as the Fire Archon burst from the fire wall and directly towards him Ryuku refused to move.

Instead his hands formed the necessary motions for a third Kuji-In, his Index fingers and thumbs extended, middle fingers curled over index fingers with the others interlocked. This was the hand seal for Pyo, a Kuji-In that’s primary use was meant for the direction and re-direction of energy with the added power to increase the users energy. However, unlike the other Kuji-in this one would take effect immediately and flood Ryuku with the energy that had been previously restricted by the hand-seal.

Ryuku’s hands than came up defensively in front of him, he was prepared to battle the fiery creature that had traversed down violently shaking steps to confront him on an equally unstable path. If Ryuku wasn’t so intently focused on the here and now he might have smiled, knowing the fruits of preparation would soon yield to the powerful attack he had been preparing, and he needed only a moment longer.


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Current Kuji-In in effect: 3 of 9
KAI (Premonition of danger)
ZAI (Control of the elements of Nature)
PYO (Direction of Energy)