[@Eklispe]

[hider= Sol the Windblade's Exam] 
The Skeleton stood stock still, the red pinpricks of his eyes gazing steadily as Sol rushed towards him. The sword swung and smashed against ivory bone, and stopped. The skeleton merely stared down on Sol, his axe shifting only slightly, to adjust it to a more comfortable position on his shoulder. The Skeleton clacked his jaws, as if making a 'tsk' sound, in absence of a tongue to do it with. Somewhere in the crowd of skeletons, one of them crumbled into dust. The blood on the axe began moving erratically, moving across the surface of his arm, travelling upwards before stopping.
[/hider]
[hr]

[hider= Meruin Hazy's Exam]
Meruin was breathing heavily. Her vision blurred, and her legs wouldn't obey her and stop shaking. And yet . . . and yet . . .

[i]This is so . . .[/i]

"Exciting."

Though her body was had been abused passed its limit, her mind was in rapture. Never had she once been in earnest combat - lessons with Master Reina were focused on research and the perfection of her spells. Application in battle was merely a footnote, and the most she had come across applying them was during her time with Mistress Chase, and those had never gotten too far. Not once had she been pushed to this extent.

Until now.

"Yes," she murmured. "Yes, this is is quite exciting."

So this was battle. The glory that Mistress Chase had spoken of, the violence that Master Reina had condemned as brutish and yet with an undercurrent of longing. This was what it meant to fight in earnest!

Somewhere, in Meruin's luggage, a book snapped open as a marking inscribed itself on the very first page. 

Meruin's answer to her examiners question came in the form of a spell. A bolt of lightning shot forward from a rune drawn in the air, directed at him. The power behind it was unimpressive, but the speed in which it was cast and thrown were that as of true lightning. Meruin, her breathes labored and her shoulders trembling and her knees shaking looked up at her foe, and her face was that of pure, undiluted joy.

With the face of an expectant child, Meruin's eye's shone with an intense light. 

"Please, show me," she rasped. "Show me more . . . of what battle is like."
[/hider]
[hr]
[@Dash375]

The bartender gave Sandra a wide grin, before flicking her hand; out of nowhere, a glass of red wine rested on top of it. With much flourish, the lady slid the glass towards her, without spilling so much as a drop of it. [color=a36209]"Don't worry 'bout the pay, lass, Chen,"[/color] she said, jabbing a thumb towards the boy observing the fight closely, [color=a36209]"over there has kindly paid for a few rounds of free drinks."[/color] She was referring to, of course, the generous amount he had surrendered for a drink.

[color=a36209]"Anyway, that was a good job of the leprechaun. He's not the biggest fish in this sea, but he's still pretty big . . . er, relatively speaking of course."[/color] Swiping a bottle of vodka out of thin air, the bartender took a swig of it, before tossing it backwards haphazardly, where it promptly vanished and reappeared on a shelf three feet away. [color=a36209]"Lotsa you fighting types come this time around, I see. I reckon your batch of students are gonna be a real fireworks factory. Ah well, least it won't be boring all around, and 'sides, fightin's good for business."[/color]