A True test during battle!(Exam Thread Inspirational Quote, Axilmeus Steel, and Linxwire)

The waves around the famous divide island were calm, a white ship, sleek in design was moored to the shore, barely moving with the waves as it moved in an out from the shore. Between the two massive peaks was the only clearing from the islands rolling forest, a small grassy plain forty meters in diameter, at its center sat a man wearing clothing that was unfit for the warm weather, he had shoulder length white hair, a long metal polearm rested on his lap and he was deep in meditation. Kihia, was meditating waiting for the appointment he scheduled on this faithful day to begin. He had left a note on the residences of three members of Lamia Scale, Cyrus Kuma, Ni-ju Haichi, and Xavier Degarande. Three members of Lamia Scales fabled Clustering Wishes, Kihia had been keeping an eye on them as well as personally training some of them, and considered them ready for the next stage of their magic Career. The letters instructed each of them to meet Kihia here on this famous island for one purpose, to test their mettle against their Guildmaster on a three on one battle, and Kihia was waiting for this, silently meditating as he waited for the three Lamia Scale members to make their first move, after all, he did say they could try and ambush him, and use whatever means they have to try and pull it off. This test will be more than just a test of their abilities to fight… it will be about something much more important if they are to succeed they must find it…

OOC: FOr this exam each post has to be atleast 250 words long

Xavier arrived at Divide Island some hours ago, and had been alone for a considerable time with no way of getting back to Hargeon. It wasn’t trouble however there was still plenty of time in the day, and Xavier knew without a doubt in his mind why he was here, and considered just how far they had come. Given the time he had alone to himself he had managed to set up a rudimentary training grounds on the beach, using the materials he could find left around the place. He put together a dummy using branches, and whatever foliage he could find about. When it was first created it looked like it could take a hit or two, and now it was hardly recognizable. Footprints once dotted the sand, had now been upturned in many places the soil exposed and mixed with the pale grains of sand, marking the locations in which he performs several feats. A fallen rotting tree log was left a little inland, and after dragging it outwards near the sea, he planted it firmly and deep within the wet sands to secure its location, and after abandoning his shoes, he ambled to the top. For the past two hours, he stood atop the log balancing himself in silence, on only one foot. His arms were outstretched, and right leg was bent at the knee, and suspended behind him. His eyes were closed, but he was very observant, and also very curious as to when his friends would arrive.

The giant grey form of Sim the roc glided over the waves below at eye catching speed with Ni-Ju snugly seated atop his back. The young mage couldn't help but feel just a bit nervous as he spotted Divide Island coming up in the distance and realized that the testing for Clustering Wishes would soon begin. After all, this would signal the end of being a fledgling mage. No longer would they be considered as being mere students of magic, but instead well trained masters of their own unique arts, armed with the knowledge and the power to do what was needed in the name of Lamia Scale. Shuttling aside the thought as being more harmful to his nerves then not, Ni-Ju instead focused on getting as good a view of the island as possible before they made their landing. The landscape from the air was one of the more beautiful that he had seen in his young life, filled with an almost palpable sense of power that radiated from the very rocks and trees that formed it up. Even the wind passing over the place held a quality of richness that he had encountered briefly and only in places that were secluded enough to not have felt the touch of civilization. Noticing a small flicker of movement from one of the beaches on the south side of the island, Ni-Ju signaled for Sim descend. As he touched down on the beach in the small sandstorm that always sprang up when Sim landed, the moving form was revealed to be none other then Xavier, who must have been waiting for quite some time based upon the looks of things. Slipping down from the saddle, Ni-Ju went forward to greet his friend.

A translucent figured passed through the water at a speed equal to that of a normal person's running pace. The figure displaced water as it 'swam' directly under the surface towards a strange island that had seemingly been split in half by some strange phenomenon. Although it wasn't visible to anyone, the figure couldn't help but crack a smile. Today was the day in which he became a truly powerful mage. His guildmaster and long time friend, Kihia, was about to test him and his team, Clustering Wishes to see if they were ready for the next step in magehood. Ni-Ju, Xavier and him made a good team, complementing and balancing each other well, but he was sure Kihia would have some sort of task in store for them that would require more than just being a good team. After all they individually had to be worthy of the next rank or mage as well.

"You think to much Cyrus, let's get in there, beat the crap out of Kihia and show the world just how capable a mage you are!" shouted the red, bald Venti, Vulturnus, pumping his fists in the air to show just how riled up he was about this trial.

His brother, Favonius, shook his head, "Beat the crap out of Kihia? Honestly, not only would I feel bad 'beating the crap out of' any of our friends, Kihia is our guildmaster and a slayer. He's probably one of the strongest mages in Fiore. I say we should just give it our best and see what happens."

Cyrus didn't respond, but looked ahead. He had come upon his arrival point. Slowly, his liquid form rose from the water and he materialized as the proud cloud mage clad in white which his teammates had come to know. Speaking of his teammates, it seemed both of them had already arrived...

Kihia continued sitting there, deep in meditation, focusing on his inner magical power, setting up mental blocks that he would release one by one as the battle went on. He wanted to give them a chance, a chance to show what they can do together as well as individules, and not have his own magical power overwhelm them, although that is only one of the few plans he had in mind to give this bunch of mages a fighting chance. Kihia had left his clans necklace at the Guild Hall as well as his Ikaro armor, however that was the only two pieces of equipment he had left back in his Quarters, Icarus, the Geruks, and his fabled trench coat.

Kihia then sensed that all three of them had finally arrived on the far side of the island, he knew things should start soon, however, he wasn’t going to make the first move, no that would be left to them, give them any option, any possibility they can use to try and start their attack, whether it be from above from the two mountains, or a straight on attack from the forest. Kihia then instinctively widened his hold on Icarus, Keeping a loose grip on his weapon. Even though he didn’t intend on using Icarus at first, it would provide a unique defensive option that he could use to fend off any attack. Kihia then spoke up, knowing full well their may be no chance of anyone hearing him, “Cyrus, Xavier, Ni-ju, come at me with all that you are… and hold nothing back…”

Xavier hopped down from his water bound log plinth of a stand, or rather stage depending on how you look at it, with a splash. The water got his pants a bit damp, but for the moment he didn’t seem to care. He pushed the log over, and it crashed into the surf with another splash before he returned to the beach to meet his teammates. He gave a high five to Ni-Ju as he approached and fist-bumped Cyrus after he came out of the water, obviously questioning how he had the ability to do so in the back of his mind.

“Alright, we’re all here.” He grabbed his coat and tied it around his waist by the sleeves. “I’m glad you all could make it, today’s an important day and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that.” He found his glasses that he had left behind more carefully about the place and put them on. “Today’s the day we make our name known. We are going to be the most daunting team in all of Hargeon. Perhaps someday even the world. But we all take small steps at the start, and this I can feel is truly only the beginning.” Xavier carefully checked his hand wrappings that he had put on earlier for practice before putting on martial arts gloves over top of them. “I want you all to know, from this moment on, there’s nothing but victory ahead of us!” He put his fist over his heart. “You two do what you need, I’ll engage Kihia first to buy you some time. Best of luck, gents!” With that he turned and made headway for the center of the island without waiting or even listening for as much as a response. Within the next few minutes he made his way to the top of one of these massive peaks, a choice he immediately regretted. He convinced himself it was for the team before going for the dive. “Lightning Dragon: Static Comet, and Lightning Bomb. The explosive comet returns! Let’s start this out with a bang!” he said with that same canine toothed smile. As he shot downwards at Kihia like a star streaking the night sky.

After a short round of greetings were exchanged and a heartfelt speech was delivered by Xavier, the three young mages set off at once to meet up with Kihia. Ni-Ju was more then a little surprized when Xavier volunteered to buy time and took off ahead of his two teammates in order to be the poor fellow who was first to launch an assault against their Guildmaster, but after having spoken so passionately on the subject, it made quite a bit of sense. All of them probably shared at least a little of the feeling that now was the time to prove something something of themselves. Excited as he may have been though, Ni-Ju knew that if he were to rush forward to join him, he would lose out on the chance to scope out the battlefield and choose likely spots for his detonations to be most effective, not to mention simultenously losing any chance of gathering a few extra supplies along the way.He gestured toward the forrest, incling forward so as to appear almost bowing. "As long as we set a decent pace, we should be able to get to the testing ground before Xavier ends up getting too sorely pressed." A halfway intelligent idea suddenly came to mind as the two remaining mages started into the forrest, which he began to explain to Cyrus during the duration of the journey. Based upon the way his magic worked, if he hid out around the edge of the clearing where the fighting was to happen and kept himself camoflaged amongst the undergrowth to the best of his abilities then, it should make it fairly difficult for Kihia to pinpoint his location exactly and would provide a nice and effective way to sneak attack him and possibly catch him off guard enough that at the proper moment so that one of his team mates might get in the telling blow. A decent trek across the island later and both he and Cyrus found themselves approaching the edge of the small mountainous clearing that Kihia had chosen to be the spot for their combined testing and where some type of struggle was ensuing if the sounds that echoed through the edges of the trees were any indication. Sticking with the idea he had decided upon for himself, Ni-Ju gave a short nod of farewell to Cyrus and began to carefully pick his way towards a small stand of bushes that would serve as a perfect hiding spot for the intial stages of this little test.

Cyrus gave a nod to Ni-Ju and returned Xavier's gesture when they greeted each other. After listening to Xavier's speech, he couldn't help but give a little laugh. Of course, up until now, Clustering Wishes had been doing minor jobs. Even in Hargeon they took a back seat to some of the more experienced teams of Lamia Scale. Starting now, however, things would begin getting interesting. The jobs would get tougher, the rewards bigger, the enemies more hostile, and the importance of the outcome greater. Then again, this test by Kihia would also show how much the three of them had grown. Together they would be able to push through any challenge, as team Clustering Wishes they would defeat Kihia using all their strength. Indeed it would take many small steps at first, but compared to before, they'll look like giant leaps, the first of which is this trial. As Xavier zoomed off the white-haired boy headed off into the woods with Ni-Ju.

"Ay, Cyrus, get ready for the fight of your life. You've seen Kihia in action, but never like this. You've never had to fight against him before in all actuality. Do you think you're ready for this?" asked Vulturnus.

Another chuckle came out of the boy, "Of course I am. It's true that I've never fought Kihia head on under this sort of circumstance before... but I have faith in my team. The three of us together are going to be able to do this. Otherwise... why else would we be together as Clustering Wishes?" he said, smiling.

Kihia sat there for a moment longer when his sensitive ears picked up someone jumping off the mountains above him. What he saw caused Kihia to gently smiled, Diving down at him coated completed in Draconic Lightning was Xavier like a comet as his fighting style usually replicated, However there was no sign of the other two mages… This fact made Kihia sigh… Initiation of this fight not the best execution from those three… Kihia then laid back onto his back and started spin Icarus, “Ice Make… Spear Shield!” The shield of holy ice and holy crystal formed quickly as Xavier crashed into the shield with electricity discharging all directions as his spell detonated, Kihia would then try and rapidly sit up to send Xavier flying towards the forest. Whether or not he was successful in this maneuver Kihia would then get to his feet, maintaining his position while doing so. “Excellent Attack Xavier… however… it isn’t enough… Let me show you a new technique that you all will be able to make use of one day…” Kihia then extended out his right hand as a small sphere of magical power formed in it, “By the Spear that pierces the darkness, may you fuse with the freezing wave! Heaven’s Piercing Wave!” As he finished saying this a blast of magical power would shoot from his hand, taking the shape of a large spearhead as it barreled towards Xavier. Whether or not this attack hit would not matter, Kihia would hold his ground and hold the shield across his back, “Now come at me… All three of you…” Kihia didn’t say it at first... but he had heard and smelled Cyrus and Ni-ju approaching…

Crashing head first into Kihia’s defenses didn’t hurt as much as he anticipated. At least at first. The clashing magic’s of the two created a bright light at the point of impact. However the force of the throw greatly outweighed what he could oppose, flying much further than Kihia probably even intended. He crashed against the cliff face of one of the mountains pointing towards the sky, making a visible crack in the surface before he started to fall. With a claw like grip he grasped for a ledge fearing the fall, oddly enough. Just when he looked up from his demise he could see the spear tip of some spell he was out of earshot for slitting the air in his direction.

He had a decent amount of time to move out of the way this time, the destruction of a chunk of the rocks behind him audible for quite a range, as he jumped down. His heart was racing right now, his adrenaline had never been quite so high. “This… this is fun! Come on Kihia, let’s go!” He smiled that same devil toothed grin, thinking of doing something stupid he knew he shouldn’t, shrugging off the possible bruises. He came dashing back out of the foliage and cover of the trees with a look in his eyes that spoke of blood. Not literally, but he was just excited. “Lightning Dragon Claws!” He ran forward giving a passing slash at Kihia’s chest, and whether or not he missed, he’d slide passed him a second time going for another attack.

OOC// Xavier is still providing a distraction... apparently. If you devise a short plan feel free, he'll gladly take a few more hits right now.

Info:

Creeping through the dense underbrush with far more care then he would usually use given the circumstances, Ni-Ju set himself up among the bushes at the edge of the clearing just in time to watch a heated exchange between Xavier and Kihia. He had to give it to Xavier on this one as the young mage seemed to be holding his own fairly well even without the assistance of his friends but regardless of that he wouldn't have long to wait for help if he had anything to say about it. All he really needed to begin his own heavy assault upon their guildmaster was a little space to work his magic in without having to worry about hitting his team mate. Ni-Ju sighed. Sometimes he wished that his magic was a little more group friendly and a little less fire and brimstone but beggars couldn't be choosers. Deciding on a somewhat more contained approach due to the situation, Ni-Ju drew Balin from it's shoulder holster and carefully took aim from the dense cover that he had chosen to secret himself. Given what he knew of the man, Kihia would probably be able to block his shots if he had a seconds notice in which to act but the cover he had taken would most likely afford him at least one or two clean chances at wounding the older mage before he was fully aware and he fully intended to make them count before moving to a new position and giving it a second try. Fully prepared for the talk that he was sure to get later about morally sound tactics, Ni-Ju carefully drew a bead on Kihia and fired three quick shots, centered upon the guildmaster's groin before scuttling to his second cover position behind the bole of a large oak tree.