Lexa's Secondary Training [Private]

Note: This is told from 2 different P.O.V.


Lexa Grimoire had to abandon her traveling with the caravan when they were so close to their destination. She was extremely worries about the little girl who had gone missing while she was asleep, and absolutely had to find her. She explained it as her having to find her sister, and the men were perfectly fine with her abandoning ship, after all, the kid was just a kid and seemed to enjoy sleeping too much to defend herself. Lexa quickly charged out of the carriage with her sword mounted on her back, running as fast as she could. It was the damndest thing but Lexa couldn't find a that kid anywhere she looked. She'd spent hours on end trying to find her around places that looked fun, places that looked interesting, overall places any child would run to. She even check places that she'd run to if she were a kid but found nothing. Feeling disappointed, Lexa alerted the local guard, and told them a very detailed description of the child. They had a professional sketch artist in the station, and he drew a near perfect image of the little girl. Lexa told them that if the guard found her, that she would be either in or on her way to Era.

Lexa looked around and saw nothing but mountains around the village, probably the reason it was called Mountain Village in the first place. She figured that taking the road would be smarter since she ran the risk of finding less wild animals and she could handle a few bandits on her own. Lexa wanted the fast route, a straight shot through the mountains and up to the city of Era, which is the exact option she went with. Lexa quickly gathered some supplies from town and found a place to sleep in near the local park, and when morning broke Lexa headed off for the mountains.

Lexa was traveling the mountain the whole day, and still could see nothing but the summit seemingly forever and a day worth of travel time ahead of her. She pressed on with traversing the shrubby mountain side, trying to reach the summit. Originally, she'd intended to do little more than walk around the mountain, but climbing it looked like it would be fun, and Lexa simply had to do it. Maybe there was some really cool, old, ancient sword at the top she could claim for a new requip, or maybe there was some super ancient PERSON up there who would unlock the secrets of the universe, and give her a glimpse into new insight. Lexa was growing restless with the thought of what could await at top of this massive mountain. She climbed over dead tree trunks, remnants of a time where trees covered the side of the mountain, thinking back to when the mountain got blasted by some giant freaking magic attack that wipes out all life on it. Lexa hoped that, that kind of magic knowledge wasn't what awaited her at the summit of this glorified hill. Although, the possibility of something so dangerous would only mean that she had to get there to make sure such knowledge would die.

Lexa arrived at the top of the mountain, and realized that it was completely flat, as if someone leveled it for some odd reason or another. She looked around, and sitting on the far end was a strange figure that seemed to be wearing a really big tan cloak. She couldn't see his face, but she could see that the man sitting there was a big guy, or at least he was a monster compared to the little not even five foot woman. The man was sitting facing away from her, but even if he were facing towards Lexa, she doubted she'd see his face under that hood of his. Out of curiosity, Lexa decided to step closer.

The adventurer was taking a small break from a long string of jobs that he'd finally completed. The long stride of turmoil and perdition that gave way to a day of sunlight and warmth, his silver lining in a storm cloud. He'd decided to spend this marvelous day meditating atop a large mountain with a flat peak that he'd spotted several times before, all while going to complete jobs. The adventurer was a rather simple man, who didn't care for the complex comforts of those fools laying around in the cities. He enjoyed sitting out in nature, staring off into the skies and perusing the plethora of possible purposes for his existence. Today, he simply wanted to be outside and enjoy basking in the sunlight, feeling the warmth of day against his body, so much so that he'd forgotten to remove his cloak when he sat upon the mountain top and began his meditation. Before long, he was so engrossed in the world around him that he didn't care for taking the cloak off. He simply used his magic power to reduce the temperature inside the cloak to a more comfortable level, the excess of humidity caused by evaporating sweat under the cloak making such feats possible.

While in the middle of his meditation, he heard the crunch of leaves being crushed behind him, and with mind shattering speed, as if willed by the gods and he obliged with fervor, the adventurer spun around drawing his Thorn of Betrayal and placing it square at the neck of the source of the death of the blades of grass. "State your name and your business." the man demanded with a cold voice, wondering why such a well set looking kid was at the peak of a mountain. The girl was young looking, sixteen at the most, and she was quite short even for her age. The adventurer kept his blade pressed against her neck, awaiting his answer, but still somewhat surprised she hadn't flinched at all...

Lexa had approached the cloaked figure, wondering what sorts of person would sit in the sun while wearing such a thick cloak. She was about to bend over to tap his shoulder, having noticed the man hadn't noticed her as of yet, but was amazed when she saw a burst of spinning cloth and then the feel of cold steel against her neck. Lexa had never once been greeted by an individual so harshly, at least not by a man who wouldn't keep the blade going until her head rolled. She stood with a straight face, a fairly decent Façade to keep the man from locking on to the fact that Lexa would need some new panties, and stockings after this encounter if she lived. She felt the man eye-balling her, his cold expression, the purple eyes of his that seemed as though they were reaching out and taking her very soul, his size and that speed he'd displayed earlier had her overwhelmed when all were combined. The large man in the cloak spoke, asking who Lexa was and what she was doing up here. His voice wasn't horribly deep, but it was definitely deeper than the average male. "I'm L-Lexa. Lexa Grimoire, it's nice t-to meet you. C-can you please put down the sword, I only wanted to visit the mountain's top. I-I can leave if you want!" Lexa said nervously, trying not to say anything to tick off the man, although she probably gave off the fact that she was scared half to death, the other half would be if the big guy actually killed her. Lexa felt the blade of the sword gently lift from her neck, and saw the man put it back into something under his cloak. Lexa felt a slightly cold wind when he moved his arm in and out of the cloak, making her understand that he was actually controlling the temperature under the cloak. 'No wonder he's able to wear that thing...' Lexa thought to herself, gaining a type of enlightenment from the cool breeze.

Lexa saw a small patch of grass where the man was sitting that was flattened out, and even shaped to the shape of the man's rear end. "If... if it's alright. Umm... may I ask a favor?" Lexa said nervously, not sure whether or not that sword was going to flash back out when she spoke. The large man didn't talk much, aside from asked for her name and reason for being up here, the man didn't speak at all. He walked back to where he was meditating, and ignored Lexa entirely. The girl was so angry at him having ignored her like that, that she drew her swords against the man.

Lexa charged at the man, running at full sprint with her right hand ready to grab Gabriel's Blade. She knew that as soon as she touched the grip her magic circuits would all glow, letting her new target know that she was attacking. The man began standing again, but that was all he did. Lexa was a good foot or two away when she pulled Gabriel's Blade and the Human's Incarnation from their sheaths, going in for an initial strike. She accompanied the initial attack by using her Sending a burst of magic power through her body causing her to disappear into a shadow and reappear from the cloaked man's shadow behind him. She quickly made another attack attempt, not entirely sure if the first went through Lexa slashed at the rude man and immediately transferring to her Dark Evade. The attack was used so she could get to the side of the man, knowing a smart opponent would expect the attack to come from behind like any true assailant would do, making her final attack before performing a back flip, landing on a hand stand and then flipping again to land on her feet.

The adventurer heard the quickening of breath, the unease of changing posture, the crunch of grass as the young lady shifted to an offensive stand from his not wanting to speak with her. He began standing up as he heard the girl getting closer, placing one of his hands on the Thorn of Betrayal, the other drawing the Heart of War and sliding the blade to under the portion of his cloak over his back. The adventuer pulled the Thorn of Betrayal and placed it to his front, in case the girl was similar to himself and knew how to spin around an opponent. He heard the metallic sound of metal being fiercely hauled from a casing, and felt the pressure in two spots as the girl's first attacks impacted the broad side of the Heart of War. Keeping his sword in their locations, the man stood in place waiting to see how long before she'd follow up, only to be surprised when she emerged from the shadows below and made an attack at his heart. Had the Thorn of Betrayal not been placed in front his body, the attack would have connected. Seikatsu kept the Heart of war at his back, figuring the girl might have another trick up her sleeve as he simultaneously tried to slash the girl with his Thorn of Betrayal. The black sword made contact with a shadow as a sharp sting was felt coming from his leg, looking to the girl who was standing a distance away now, the man couldn't help but smile.

"My apologies my lady." he said in a humbled voice, now having more respect for the kid. "I am one of the Tribe of Death." he said, introducing himself. The man bowed courteously and flicked his swords, quickly resheathing them. "Please lady Grimoire, state your request. After such show of agility, it would be my honor to entertain a request from such a fine combatant." the adventurer said with a tone that suggested a great deal of respect for the tiny girl.

Lexa straightened herself up upon realizing that the only cut she'd made was on the leg, and an extremely non-threatening cut at that. As the man pulled a sword from behind his back, she understood that he was hiding the other sword in his most vulnerable spot. The sword acted as a sort of armour that kept him safe from the attacks, and she only assumed that he did the same to his front with his other sword. A strange cool feeling left the side of Lexa's neck, her rubbing the spot to get the liquid off, Lexa realized that there was no rain in this area. She looked at her hand in shock that there was blood on her finger tips. She looked at the man who was now introducing himself as 'One' some sort of tribal from what he'd told Lexa. His speech was so long winded and proper that Lexa wanted to throw a few grade school books at him so he might learn how to talk normally. The man used phrases like 'my lady' and 'Lady. Grimoire' which also made her a little bit uneasy. She knew how young she looked, and there wasn't a chance in heaven or hell that the big guy would know her true age. At least, Lexa hoped that there wasn't any chance that he would....

Lexa looked at her own sword and saw that neither had any blood on them, the hit she landed was so minor that even the sword who caused it hadn't been stained from it. She looked at the cut on his leg, and saw that it was indeed bleeding, but it wasn't bleeding much. Lexa looked at the floor and lowered her blades, he signature attack combo had failed her, and the man before her had enough experience with his swords that he could use them as armour.

Lexa tightened her grip on her swords when she realized the man had asked what she wanted to ask of him. Lexa's eyes were still shimmering, but they seemed to illuminate further with the realization that the man actually wasn't going to blow her off. 'I made a good impression? But I made such an awful hit... no one could be that cocky that a small cut like that was enough... could he?' Lexa though to herself, honestly wondering if 'One' was that arrogant. She saw him flick his swords, a practice that she'd only seen in kung-fu shows with terrible dubbing, and other funky stuff like that. She watched the two swords, the one with the less wide blade was pure black, and looked truly pretty to Lexa, but as fast as she saw it, the blade was put away.

"I was going to ask if you could accompany me to Era... I have something I need to give to someone, and it's a bit dangerous going through the mountains." Lexa said, her cheeks turning slightly red at the thought of a mercenary needing to hire someone for any tasks. She realized she was still holding the two swords and quickly went to put them away, but felt a pressure on the arm that was putting up Gabriel's Sword. The large man had stopped her from putting her sword back in it's holder, which was just a loop that held onto the blade, and was intent on not letting her do it. The dots clicked as she'd seen what he did with his own, and she mimicked his actions. This time the two swords were allowed to be placed in their cases, leaving Lexa wondering why it mattered to the large man what she did. Lexa looked up at the man, and got locked in purgatory by those dull eyes of his again, even after showing he had respect for her, the man still looked at Lexa with those terrible eyes...

The adventurer agreed to accompany the girl to Era, as a reward for her show of bravery. "The fact that I was injured holds no significance to me little fighter. A small one such as yourself attacking a larger opponent with no hesitance is the mark of a warrior. My people respect all warrior, and we readily make friends with them." he explained to the girl. One was about to walk in front the girl, but a voice from within had different plans... 'My lord, I desire a conference with the child. I wish to test something with her.' Altsoba said to One in his head. 'Use that rock you took from the Sky Tower to bring her to me if you will.' Altsoba added, not exactly giving any reason for why she wanted to meet with a human.

One stepped to the girl and gently reached into the pocket of his cloak, pulling out a small chunk of the diamond from the Sky Tower, and putting it out. The girl touched her hand to it, and the rock began to glow, sucking the two of them in. Upon arriving, One noticed that the place wasn't on fire like it was the last time he'd visited Altsoba's castle.

Glancing over to the left, the man noticed the queen demon on her throne acting all regal as if she were still a queen. "The wench on the chair wishes to converse with you Lady Grimoire." he said using a harsher tone when he said 'wench' which referring to Altsoba. One didn't listen to their conversation, he merely walked tot he window and began looking out over the town. He saw the people still busy walking about, children still playing in the streets, merchants selling their over priced garbage, and old couples bickering in broad daylight. Nothing seemed any less civilized here than it did in the real world, so he could see why someone would have no trouble living in this place, but from what he knew, Altsoba replayed the same day over and over again... his train of thought was interrupted by Altsoba letting him know that she and Lexa were going to go for a walk, the adventurer didn't acknowledge it in the slightest.

Lexa was about to start walking when she saw the man holding out a pretty good sized rock, a gem of sorts. It shined, and glowed, separating the light from the sun into multiple colors creating a rainbow in his hand. Lexa couldn't help but reach out to touch the object, it being so beautiful she couldn't believe a man with such torn clothing would be in possession of such a thing. Upon touch the gem, Lexa's entire world changed. The top of the mountain turned into a large room with painting on the walls. A long red carpet was spread under her feet, extending from one end of the room to the other. On the far end of the room, Lexa saw a woman on a throne who had two horns sticking out of her head. The woman sat in a very proper position, and seemed to just fine staying absolutely still. At first, Lexa thought the woman was a statue, but then the one who brought her here, Seikatsu, told her to go talk with the woman. Lexa made a few steps to the throne, but then realized that the man called her a 'wench' which from the books she'd read was an insult... 'But you don't insult queens?' Lexa thought to herself while making her way to the throne.

Upon arriving at the foot of the throne, Lexa was confused on whether she was supposed to bow to the woman or stay standing. She looked like royalty, wearing fancy clothes with her hair looking perfect, and even the massive room with the red carpet, all screamed royalty. But Lexa couldn't let go of the fact that the large cloaked man had called her a wench, which was the exact opposite of royalty... "I am Alstoba, the Demon of War, and the ruler of this plane of existence." The woman said with a regal voice. 'Oh god, she's gonna be talking like that guy too...' Lexa thought, wishing she could just muzzle them both. "Come child, walk with me." the woman said while getting off the throne.

The woman wearing the fancy dress walked so properly, one foot in front the other and she never once looked like she would lose balance even with the heels on. "Ummm... y-your majesty?" Lexa said nervously, not feeling too confident after being sucked into a jewel by a man who's face she didn't see yet. "Altsoba is fine. I have long since abandoned such a title." the woman said without turning her head to look at Lexa. "Oh, umm, alright. A-Altsoba, may I ask why I was sucked into a rock?" Lexa said, straining to not show how angry she was. "I was watching as you made that cut on my vessel. I wish to expand you concept of the anima mundi." Altsoba said while passing through the long hall, flashes of light being filtered through large glass windows illuminating the woman. 'What in the hell does that even mean?' Lexa thought, but she made sure not to offend the woman. Looking at Altsoba, she was a good bit taller than Lexa. Lexa saw the heels only gave her a couple inches of height, but even without them she would easily be able to look right over Lexa's head.

The rest of the walk was quiet, Lexa was too afraid to ask the woman what she meant by 'expand her knowledge of the animu-mu-m-something.' Before long, Lexa found herself in an extremely wide open area with tons of people. Some were people selling stuff, others were children running and laughing through the streets, or even old people fighting, and some were young couples on a date. In the middle was a massive water fountain, the water sparkled in the sunlight and reminded her of her eyes when she was fighting. Looking back at the woman, Lexa had noticed that all the people were gone now, and the woman was holding a weapon.

Altsoba waited for the tiny girl to finish ogling her kingdom, and refocus her gaze on her. Seeing the expression of confusion, mixed with fear and shock, Altsoba realized that the girl had finally regained her sense of focus. Altsoba then stepped forward, holding her prized weapon, a scythe, and began talking to the child. "You are not permitted to exit this land until you've learned my magic. I wield the powers of time and space, bending them to my will, and exerting that will on my foes. For the next fort night, you shall train rigorously to learn the magic of controlling space, and then you must defeat me in combat." Alstoba said with a very stern voice, the world quaking as the law was set into motion, the law that held her new toy captive in this toy box of cataclysm known as the demonic plane.

Altsoba's eyes glowed from their normal crimson hue, changing to a bright purple and immediately she disappeared from standing before the small girl. Altsoba rested her hand on Lexa's back, smiling grimly as she poked her ass with the tip of the scythe "Tag." Altsoba said before repeating the action and returning to where she originally teleported from.

"As you may know, demons enjoy playing with mortals. Not just humans, but animals, plants, the natural world, the unnatural world, anything really. Everyone and every thing is our toy for amusement and we abuse those toys to no end. Let us see how hastily you would learn to perform a simple teleportation. But first, allow my to explain how it is accomplished.

You must well up your magic power, using it to alter the unseen world around you. Make the world become a void, and allow your body to be consumed by it. The world will realize you do no belong there, and expel you back to your proper world. By exerting your will on the unseen world, you can command it to expel you at any location you wish, but bear in mind you must know where you wish to go, and you must be able to adapt to the instantaneous effect of entering and being expelled." Altsoba said, hoping her lengthy explanation didn't confuse the girl. "As I've said before. Tag." Altsoba said playfully before teleporting again.

Lexa listened tot he woman, feeling a bit uneasy from hearing she's not allowed to leave. The other thing that made Lexa feel uneasy is that the woman used words like 'fort night' that were only used in ancient times... The only reason Lexa knew that 'fort night' meant two weeks is because she'd read up on ancient civilizations, and even the times where knights fought without magic. Listening to the woman, and trying to keep her focus off of the scythe in her hands, Lexa was shocked when the woman disappeared from sight, and immediately she let out a squeaky "Eeep!" when she felt something sharp poking her backside. The woman had moved from her previous location to behind Lexa, but when Lexa turned around, the woman had already disappeared, and reappeared in the spot she was originally talking from. Lexa marveled at how fast it had happened, and was absolutely elated when Altsoba said she would teach Lexa how to do it too. Lexa listened to the woman talk, putting herself in a state of mind that would permit her to learn this new set of spells. Lexa performed the actions as the woman said, first welling up her magic power, storing the magic in her circuits was the only way she knew how to do it, and hoped that it was the way it was intended to be done. However, Lexa got stop when Altsoba mentioned the unseen world. Lexa paused her train of thought, trying to figure out what that was. She'd read about it before, but that was so long ago it was hard to recall it exactly. All of a sudden, her magic circuit exploded with a bright purple color and she was inside some strange realm, a place that was amorphous, just as fast as she'd entered it, she exited being dropped from the sky.

Lexa heard the woman say the the world she went to would 'expel' her immediately, but she didn't think that Altsoba meant THAT immediately. Lexa got up and began rubbing her backside while trying to forego the pulsing of the slightly sore muscles, just in time for her to realize that Altsoba was quite serious about that game of 'tag' she wanted to play. Lexa stood up and began welling her magic power again, trying to recreate the spell she'd just cast by accident. It took her several minutes to get her mind focused before she was able to recreate the spell, this time landing on her rear again in the fountain. Lexa straightened up and blew a piece of wet hair from in front her eyes with a sour expression on her face, the demon queen laughing while constantly teleporting around. Lexa stood up, angry that her skirt and most of her shirt were all soaked, and wasn't particularly fond of the water in her boots, but she was determined to tag the woman. Lexa focused again, this time it wasn't so hard to perform the teleport as she did it in under a minute. Lexa teleported out of the fountain, and onto dry land but was no where near the small area Altsoba was moving around in. The bright side is that the water didn't teleport with her, meaning her clothes were all dry now. Lexa began teleporting rapidly, each repetition of the spell took less time than the last, until her speed was matching the demon queen's. The only problem now was being able to determine how to control her destination. She tried focusing on an area that was only a meter or so away from her, instantly disappearing and reappearing in the same spot. "Damn." Lexa accidentally said out loud. Lexa repeated the action, seeing that as the only way to get there, every time completely missing the mark by teleporting to the same spot she teleported out of. 'Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!' Lexa thought as her failed attempts began accumulating. Lexa thought a firm thought, commanding the teleport to move her to the desired spot, and upon teleporting out, the portal dropped her off there. 'Yes!' Lexa said from the victory.

Altsoba watched as Lexa failed at accomplishing the technique in between her own teleportations, as if watching a slide show where some annoying kid is pressing the next slide button repeatedly. She also saw the time when the girl fell square in the fountain, getting soaked from head to toe. Keeping her focus on teleportation tag, Altsoba had no hesitation to begin laughing from the sight. After only about ten or twenty minutes of this game, Altsoba saw the girl finally manage a full on teleport. Altsoba stopped teleporting, and decided to kick the game up a few notches.

"Good job, you managed to avoid the water this time." Altsoba joked, immediately giving a small giggle at the end causing Lexa to turn a bit red. "The point of that was to trick you into learning the spell quickly, which your going to need for this next bit." Altsoba said with emphasis on the word 'need' when she said it. "It's called, teleportation gladiators. I'm going to teleport as fast as I can, slashing at your legs, torso, neck, face and any other part I can get my scythe to touch. You're job is to block fifty of my attacks in a row, and also land a hit on me in the process." Altsoba said with a crooked smile on her face, holding the scythe up while gently rubbing the blade.

Altsoba immediately teleported, not allowing Lexa any chances to respond yes or no to her method of teaching. She appeared next to Lexa and slashed at her, immediately disappearing again and reappearing after that for another attempt at a cut. She continued this endless cycle of disappearing, reappearing to cut and the disappearing and cycling the pattern over and over. Each location she appeared in was different, and each location she attacked was a new one. Should Lexa teleport herself to a 'safe' area, Altsoba would be just a nano-second behind her, with her scythe ready.

Lexa took the compliment happily, but then had to double take on that quick part where the demon queen said she was gonna be cutting at her while teleporting. Lexa tried to protest, but before she could the woman had already disappeared from sight. Before Lexa's next thought could even become a though, Lexa had a gash on her leg. Before the cut could finish forming, there was another on her arm, and another on her hip. Lexa saw nothing but flashes, a shadow moving in and out of her field of vision, and the touch of steel as the shadow disappeared as fast as it came. Lexa stood in place, trying to block the next attack, or see where Altsoba would come from, or... or, or something more than being a sitting duck.

Lexa tried to use her Dark Evade spell to get out of the area, but when her Magic Circuits flared, the shadow came out, but she didn't become one with it. Lexa felt the blade slash open her arm, sending a series of bloody polka dots across the cobble stone street. She let out a wince, and allowed herself to crumble to the fetal position. Shaking and shivering from fear, the fear of being absolutely helpless, tears forming on her face, gently trickling down her face, falling from her chin as the cuts continued forming on her back. She didn't know why her legs had no wounds, but realized soon that while the cuts were being formed, Altsoba was closing other ones. That's right... this was her world, and she's the queen here, the queen's word is law. Lexa's eyes were wide as could be, the fact that Altsoba was healing her while cutting her wasn't a comfort. If anything, knowing Altsoba had more power than she thought had made Lexa even more terrified, and reduced her will to move from the position.

A voice inside her spoke out, it was strong, masculine, powerful, and spoke with the authority of the heavens themselves. 'Get up.' the voice said. 'H- Who are you...' Lexa replied in her mind. 'I am the original owner of your sword. I am Gabriel, we spoke last when you acquired my blade.' the voice responded. 'You don't have time for conversation. Get up and fight.' the voice commanded, it's authority seeming to have some effect on Lexa as she felt her body trying to fight her. 'But... that woman... this is her world, she controls it, she's... she's too str-' Lexa was cut off 'LIES! NO ONE IS TOO STRONG! YOU WIELD THE SWORD OF AN ANGEL, FIGHT! GET STRONGER! NEVER STOP GETTING STRONGER!' the voice boomed in her mind, shocking her back to the reality that if she didn't beat Altsoba, she'd be stuck in here.

Lexa welled up the magic power and disappeared from her spot, reappearing on top the fountain. The top of the fountain was too small for Altsoba to stand, so Lexa had an advantage. All of a sudden the cuts began again, Lexa saw that Altsoba was teleporting slightly higher then Lexa to account for gravity. Lexa teleported again, and again to keep avoiding the hits. It was nine teleports, nine dodges and as she appeared after the tenth there was a massive cut on her leg. 'Damn.' Lexa thought, having been so close to victory. Lexa pulled her sword, and continued teleporting around, having avoided another four attacks Lexa wanted to get just one in. She teleported in the same area repeatedly, so fast that it looked like there was two or three of her, four at times. She saw Altsoba stop moving, and begin looking around. That's when Lexa began slashing at her with the Mortal's Incarnation, creating a storm of cuts on the woman's body. Lexa stopped and teleported to a few meters in front Altsoba, breathing heavily, but smiling too. "I win..." Lexa said, and fell to the ground using her sword to keep her from falling over.

Altsoba stood in a daze as the girl had learned quickly to teleport at such rapid speed. The demon was so pleased she smiled as the cuts were being slammed into her body. Once the girl had finished attacking, Altsoba showed her another spell. "This one's a little bit more complicated. It works the same way as a teleport, except you have to exert your will on two different locations, as opposed to just one. After teleporting, you'll immediately appear in the two other locations in a series of quick bursts, then landing in the same spot you started. This is great for confusing an opponent, but keep in mind, if you use it on the same one too many times then even the most remedial of opponents will catch onto the pattern." Altsoba explained, adding the precaution at the end in case Lexa didn't think of that herself.

"However, you can practice that later. I want as much time as possible for you to train in the worst possible thing. You're going to learn how to make an arena where everything is reversed. This is the ability to make your own world my dear, and it's by far the greatest show of power a spacial wizard can ever display. You're not transporting the enemy to another world. You're making an entire world, and transporting that world around you and your enemy. This is the most difficult task, and will require the greatest amount of time to learn. Also, I can only teach you this power to an extent, the rest of the learning is yours." Altsoba said with a more serious tone than she'd ever used before. Altsoba gestured to the world she lived in, saying "This is your example of this ability." with a proud voice, one that suggested even she was impressed when she made the world she lived in. "You need to sit, meditate on who you are. Who you were, and who you will become. Create a single world that can be anything you wish, and create it. Then transport it here, and we'll train inside it." Altsoba said while smiling at Lexa, truly feeling proud that there's someone who'd powerful enough for her to take under her wing.

Lexa looked around at the world she was in... it was so real that she couldn't believe that Altsoba was the creator. 'This magic... it's on par with that of a god...' Lexa said to herself in absolute amazement at exactly what she was playing with. 'No my child, it is even more powerful. Do not think it so limited as to such a small world, as all you know was created using this magic.' Gabriel said to her, calmly, as if it was everyday that someone just up and makes a new world. Lexa looked at her hands, having just tasted the power of this magic made her sacred. 'Show no fear! Your heart is pure, your will is strong, and your mind is stable. I see no other who can wield this without ill intent.' Gabriel said, reassuring Lexa of her ability to control herself. 'But... I kill people. I'm a mercenary after all...' Lexa replied to Gabriel, doubting herself still. 'That is the exact reason you are worthy of it. You know what you are, and already do ill deeds with standard magic. You will use this magic as you use your own magic, I am confident of it.' Gabriel replied, countering Lexa's argument. 'But... what if.. what if...' Lexa said to Gabriel, trying to find a reason the magic was beyond her worth of having. 'No! You doubt yourself too much Alexandria Lexicus Grimoire! Stop doubting who you are, and trust your heart to keep your actions true to the person you are!' Gabriel boomed to her, angry that Lexa was too dense to know to do it herself.

Lexa closed her eyes and took a deep breath and opened them again. "Your right Gabriel... I'm sorry for being weak." Lexa said in a soft, sad voice. The shock of hearing her full name again, the pain of the memory of losing her family, more than enough to remind her why she needed this magic. Lexa sat down, her legs to the side instead of crossed as to not be unlady like, she closed her eyes and began searching within herself.

Lexa focused on the memory of herself as a child, living in the smallest of their group's tents, normally sleeping outside and looking to the stars. Her wishing on the stars she could be living a life where her parents didn't have to do bad things to stay alive. Shifting memory to the scene of her sitting in a tree, watching her group storming through a village, ripping homes apart, killing off people and taking all their possessions. She saw as a large smoking wolf tore through them, killing her father, her mother who was pregnant with her brother, and killing her magic teacher. Fast forwarding to her training constantly through life, working tirelessly to get stronger, faster, better at fighting. She watched herself training her magic, learning to store armour and weapons in other worlds and teleport them onto her body. She saw herself, older, but still shorter than most girls, fighting instead for vengeance but for her friends. She fought in the name of justice, and protecting the weak. Opening her eyes, Lexa put er hands to the ground and took a breath.

The world around her changed slightly. The world turned in on itself, the fountain that was behind her was now where Altsoba was. The people of the town were on her end, but didn't react to the fact that they somehow moved. Altsoba was a bit wobbly, as if something was throwing her off balance. Lexa stood up, and felt wobbly herself, she moved her hand forwards and accidentally hit herself in the chest. 'What... what is this!?' Lexa thought to herself, however she accidentally said it out loud audibly. 'Why did I say that out loud!?' Lexa tried to think again, accidentally saying it. Lexa allowed herself to fall to the ground, laying down seemed to make her feel like she was standing. The world was so strange, everything was backwards. She was looking up, she knew that because her back was on hard ground, but she was seeing the cobble stone below her, as if she were face down.

Altsoba was amazed at the level of power her little apprentice had within her. She saw the circuits glowing, but the girl was wearing clothes that only revealed the lower half of her upper leg, some of her arms, and then her head. On the girl's legs were gold glowing circuits, and they were on the girl's arms as well. "She's a legendary magician..." Altsoba said, knowing almost exactly how far back her lineage traced. Altsoba took a minute and calmed herself, linking her mind and body to the world around her. The reverse world converting the speech to a thought. Her eyes closed, unable to see through the eyes of a she normally used, she began feeling with the force of the ultimate form of being, the one known as the mother, the world itself became her nose, her ears, her flesh, and her tongue. This was the meditative state that dates back to a time where magic had no name, where man was one with the world around them, and was by far the hardest thing for mortals of this era to learn to do.

Altsoba stood up straight, no longer feeling the world around her being unstable. "This world you've created is actually master level magic." Altsoba thought, knowing the thought would take form as word. "This is called a Reverse World, anything you do will be reversed. If you think, you will speak. If you speak, you will think. If you see something in front you, it's actually behind you. Standing feels like falling, laying down feels like standing up. However, sensation remains unaffected. You can feel the ground under you correct? That's because your back is pressed against it, but your eyes are seeing the ground itself. Standing here I see the world is upside down, but I feel that I'm standing with my feet. I've disabled my ability to see, and exchanged it for the ability to feel, smell, hear, and taste as an alternate for sight. See if you can enter my meditative state on your own." Altsoba thought, knowing the thought would become sound wanting to see how strong the girl's will was to master this powerful world of hers.

Lexa shifted herself to siting on her knees, closing her eyes to try and do that weird world connection thing... She tried her hardest to make a connection with the world, taking in slow breaths while emptying her mind of her thoughts. She had the memory of her parents crossing her mind, their loving words, and lessons teaching her that everything they were doing was wrong. She had it flash to her father teaching her how to track an animal, showing how to read the breaks in the twigs and telling her that the location of the break tells you what the animal is. She shook her head rapidly, trying to banish the memory from her head so she could focus on that meditation thingy. Lexa opened her eyes and looked at the ground in disappointment, completely destroyed by the fact that she couldn't let go of her own past for enough time to learn a technique. The reverse world around her vanished as Altsoba walked over and told her to take a rest, saying her work for the day was enough for her to rest on.

Lexa looked at the floor, distraught and confused. 'Why... why couldn't I do it?' Lexa asked herself, punching the floor. A tear formed in the duct of her eye, evolving to a drop the flowed from the corner of the eye down her face, and to her chin. The tear fell to the ground, and soon became two tears and then three. Lexa began sobbing, tired of this world of Altsoba's showing her exactly how powerless Lexa was in the grand scheme of things. She saw that the demon queen had already left, and that the sun was beginning to set on the kingdom. She begrudgingly got to her feet, and continued moving to the castle where a gigantic man in metallic armour had shown her to her room.

Lexa was shown to a room with a massive bed on the far end. The bed could easily fit six of Lexa on it, and still have room for another of her to shuffle around in. There was a window that opened leading to a balcony for her to sit at, and a wardrobe that was to big for her to try and describe. The room itself was as big as a small house's main floor if you removed the walls. This was the same kind of room she wanted when she was a little girl, sitting in the tiniest tent in her bandit group. A tear came to Lexa's eye upon the memory surfacing again, and the fact that she was getting her wish from so many years ago, to sleep on a comfortable bed. The metallic man bowed to her and left the room, his loud foot steps being heard from several doors over.

Lexa closed the door and walked out to the balcony where she sat on her knees and looked at the floor, wishing she could clear her mind without bringing up old memories. Lexa closed her eyes, allowing herself to fall asleep right there on the marble balcony. She didn't feel worthy to be inside the castle, as Lexa was a bandit, a mercenary, and a failure as an apprentice. All of a sudden, Lexa felt something hit her on the head. It didn't hurt but it was enough to shock her into turning about, both fists balled ready to attack whatever it was. To her surprise it was the man who brought her here, how he'd gotten into the room without her noticing... how he got through the locked door, Lexa couldn't figure out. "What? How... w-when?" Lexa said frantically, unable to pick the right question to ask first. She was interrupted by the much bigger man, who seemed to already know the questions before she could fully ask them.

One had activated his Ethereal Form and walked through Lexa's door without needing to open it. He saw the girl sitting on the balcony with a most melancholy demeanor about her. It was as though she had been defeated at the beginning of her encounter with Altsoba, the Demon of War. He'd decided it would be best to aid Altsoba in teaching the child like woman the way of meditation, and walked over to her. It seemed that his presence was yet to be acknowledged, and the tribesman decided to have a small spell of fun with the sad girl. He walked over and picked up one of the small trinkets on the large dresser in the room, looking at the mirror and noticing his reflection was absent. One walked over near Lexa and undid his Ethereal Form. He dangled the minuscule trinket above her head as she muttered to herself, and then let his fingers sprawl out and drop the item upon her skull. The object caused a small thud as it tapped her head, and then a clank as it hit the floor. The surprised girl was quick to get on her feat, her markings glowing brightly to show a readiness to enter combat. Her markings ceased glowing upon seeing One's face, where she had began barraging the man with a plethora of single words, not truly forming a cohesive query.

"Do not cause yourself harm lady Grimoire. I walked through the door in my ethereal form, I understand you are having problems with meditation. Please, allow me to instruct you in the art of calming your mind." he said with a calm, neutral tone. The man sat down on the balcony with the girl, and rested his hand on her, closing his eyes and focusing on the memories of his childhood. He showed her an image of himself as a child, being shoved around and thrown down. He showed her a vision of him being shouted at by what would be called a teacher in outlander tongue, and then a picture of him sitting along under a tree watching the others play. The scene switched to a vision of him being tackled hugged by a young girl, no older than he was, and her screaming his name "Niyol!" the child's voice was so full of joy that the emotion transferred with the memory. The vision switched to several scenes of him enjoying times playing with his only friend, training next to a lake, them going on what outlanders called 'dates' and even him falling asleep on the girl's lap. Then to a vision of him opening his eyes, and running the girl through while inside of a burning building. The final vision was that of a place with massively tall stone walls that looked like they were cut out of a mountain, with hundreds of large ash piles around it, and he walking away with tears in his eyes. One removed his hand from hers and said "Those are the memories I hold. That is the reason I fight, to repent for my actions on that night. Why do you fight Ms. Grimoire? Why are you here?" he asked before getting up, and leaving the room by walking through the wall.

Lexa stayed on the balcony, looking at the stars above and how they twinkled in the night sky. She remembered the first night she slept under them like it was yesterday. Laying down on the tree branch looking up, making wishes on the shooting stars and laughing at her father when he wouldn't make his wish in time. She remembered her mom bringing over bowls of fresh made stew, and her making a wish on the stars herself, always for the same thing... peace. Her mother wanted nothing more than to be able to live peacefully, and not have to move around, stealing from whatever tribe the group had found. Her mother was in the bandit group so she could care for Lexa, and her father was there so he could have money for his family. 'So why AM I here...?' Lexa asked herself. 'What is it that I want from this training...' she added to the questions. It was that moment when Lexa realized that someone else asked her that very same question. Elyx Reiaki had asked Lexa why she joined Black Rose... What she wanted to gain from being in their guild. Lexa scooted over to the edge of the balcony and leaned up on the border, relaxing her head back and resting it on the railing. She couldn't think of any reason, other than the power for revenge, for her to be training her magic. She couldn't think of anything she needed more from a guild aside from the resources. It honestly troubled Lexa that those were the only two things she could think of as reasons... "Mom... I need help." Lexa said in a sad, half crying voice softly. Lexa faded to darkness as she was lulled to sleep by the starry night that Altsoba had made permanent in the sky.