The Next Recreator? [Aegis Bright and Zenshin ; Private]

Zenshin was excited, as he was finally about to get some well deserved weapon training, as he really needed it, seeing as how one of his trump cards was disabling all magic in a certain area, and he needed all the edge in weapons he could get. He had spent quite some time following the wind of a man who was said to be gifted in a very, very unique creation magic, possibly the only one of its kind. Zen wanted to know the power of this particular creation magic, as there weren't many creator mages to begin with, so for this one to be to particular to a single person, this really tickled his curiosity. This could potentially get dangerous, so he left his partner for many jobs, Cymbals, back at home, as he didn't want to have to repair such a costly piece of equipment. His need to know drove him to trail these rumors all the way to the guild, Sabertooth, and to its guild master, who was the one with this rare magic, the magic that he wanted to understand.

He wasn't really sure what to expect, but he had sent him a letter reading as the following, "Dear master Bright, it has come to my attention that you possess a particular kind of magic that is rare nowadays. Creation magic. Please come meet me at [Coordinates] in the Spooky Forest. It's a wonderful clearing for us to meet and spar if possible. I know you're busy with your guild master business, but if you could take time out of your schedule to help me train in the art of swordsmanship, it would be great. ~Zenshin". Normally, Zenshin never, ever gave strangers requests such as this, but this man was renowned in swordsmanship, it was just a surprise when it turned out that he was also the same creator mage that had caught his interest. I wonder if he'll show up. I mean, even if he doesn't, I'm sure I can find something to do in this forest he thought as he rubbed his lower back, feeling a large scar. Damn, it didn't heal as well as I had hoped, oh well, at least the burning is gone he thought while taking his straw hat off and hanging it on a branch nearby.

Zenshin planned on waiting for a day or two for the guild master known as Aegis to show up and either train him in swordsmanship, or not show up at all and leave him training himself in the dark forest. He and this forest hadn't had the best relationship, as it tried to play with his mind, sending him into a state of near insanity, but that helped him in a way, strengthening his understanding of what is and what isn't real and his resolve. Zen was almost positive that such an event would break a man lower than himself, causing permanent mental trauma, or worse... Luckily, he wasn't them, and was completely healed of his wounds, as if he was going to train with the best, he would need to be in tip top shape. Maybe he could even get a chance to catch a glimpse of the magic that was such a mystery that people needed to create rumors in order to explain it.

Excited that he might get the chance to witness something on this caliber, he began training on his own, but not with his swords, with his fists. Might as well, so he jabbed a few times in mid air, after getting into the proper stance, and then threw a cross. He acted as if he was parrying a jab of his enemy's and following it up with an elbow to where the face would be, assuming his opponent was his height. I can feel that this is going to get very curious, very quickly.

"Dear master Bright, it has come to my attention that you possess a particular kind of magic that is rare nowadays. Creation magic. Please come meet me at [Coordinates] in the Spooky Forest. It's a wonderful clearing for us to meet and spar if possible. I know you're busy with your guild master business, but if you could take time out of your schedule to help me train in the art of swordsmanship, it would be great. ~Zenshin"

The knight nodded to himself and put the letter back in one of his pockets.
"Is this an invitation to a Q&A session, swordsmanship training or a duel?"
"I guess it must be something in between the three" he thought, shrugging. It was quite interesting, he rarely received letters, even more so invitations... and never had he gotten such a multi-purposed one.
"I wonder..."
What did catch his attention was the first sentence, it's end to be precise; "a particular kind of magic that is rare nowadays". It was clear that this man, Zenshin, had no clue what his magic was, yet he seeked it. It was as if he was chasing after a myth, a possibility and that made Aegis wonder. Was he, for some reason, desperate, or is it that he was so interested that event the slightest of possibilities was enough for him to search for it? His guts were telling him it was the latter, thus in his own way, he was interested too. What awaited him was a mystery, it's unveiling hinging on his curiosity and good will.
"Haha, guess it can't be helped." -he said, laughing at how predetermined his choice was.

With such thoughts, he approached the meeting location, a perfectly level clearing in a particular forest he was disturbingly well accustomed to.
"The spooky forest, eh? It's like I spend more time wandering about in here than I spend in my own home." -he thought out loud with a rather defeated expression on his face.
"Well anyway, I suppose I'm here."
Within the range of his senses was the presence of a strong mage, most likely the one who asked him to come out here. Thinking that, the cyan knight walked passed the last batch of trees that blocked his way to the clearing... only to see a man vigorously jabbing at the air. He watched for a moment, examining his technique to determine his non-magical abilities before speaking up.
"Greetings. Would you happen to be Zenshin? My name is Aegis Bright, I believe you called me out here."

"Greetings. Would you happen to be Zenshin? My name is Aegis Bright, I believe you called me out here." a man said, coming from the nearby brush. Zen turned to see a man of similar build, but fairly different attire. He, wore a short sleeved t-shirt that was plain white with baggy grey pants with a white trim. The man, now facing him, wore a large menacing gauntlet, Zenshin only wore black, fingerless gloves. Now how I'm I going to strike an opponent I know nothing about. Hmm, oh, I got it he thought while walking towards Aegis, body as relaxed as he could, careful to raise any red flags. "That's me. Thank you for coming Aegis, I appreciate it. Also, I hope you don't mind if I just take a small measurement of what you can do" he said, his right knee pressed against the ground.

"Dark ice, snakes" he whispered, creating a large, darkly colored magic circle in front of him, as his hands were placed on the floor in front of him. Soon, a dozen dark iced snakes were created inside this circle, hissing loudly in unison. He had used his dark ice for this creation, increasing the amount of power he used, but significantly strengthening his creations by making it half of the darkness element. With a snap of his fingers, they all rushed towards the swordsman whom he had wanted to attempt to benchmark, or at least, try to estimate. Eleven ice snakes of various sizes went towards the swordsman, all spreading out to try and surround him before attempting to hold him in place, while the final one, a significantly bigger one, stayed by Zenshin's side while he focused on commanding his snakes I hope he doesn't get too upset, I mean, I told him why I wanted him to come here and I did give him a warning Zen thought as his snakes got closer and closer to their target.

The man, Zenshin, noticed Aegis and approached him.
"That's me. Thank you for coming Aegis, I appreciate it. Also, I hope you don't mind if I just take a small measurement of what you can do."
Not a moment after, he knelt down and whispered something, probably the name of what followed. Sure enough, from his released mana twelve creatures were created, twelve snakes. They appeared to be made out of ice, but what was interesting was the fact they held a second affinity, that being either darkness or shadow. For the cyan knight, such things were an unfamiliar sight. To start with, creation mages weren't many, so seeing an ice-make magus was a rarity in of itself, thus seeing one with a double affinity was certainly noteworthy.

"Heh."
Before the ice mage's newly "born" familiars stood Aegis' amused expression, greeting them.
"So, you're looking to fight, huh?"
The slithering shadows identified him as their target. Hissing loudly, they bolted towards him, each targeting different parts of his body while one, the biggest one, stood by Zenshin's side.
"Well alright then. But first..."
Through Leyline Traversal, the knight transported himself behind his foe and immediately after initiated one of his trademark techniques, Blurry Moonflare.

The whole process only took a third of a second. Through that small fraction of time, all that could be seen were streaks of blue-ish silver hovering in the air and a blurry silhouette, and at the end of those 300 milliseconds, Aegis' blue-clad figure stood 3 metres away from Zenshin, the knight's back facing him.
The cyan-eyed swordsman looked over his shoulder. In his right hand was the sword Serenity, it's blade stained with fresh blood. The reason was simple. Within the single moment of action, he had repositioned himself near the ice mage and dashed passed him 4 times thus making 4 slashes from 4 different sides. Two cleft apart the snake that stood in his defence, one was aimed at the ice magus' abdoment and one at his left kidney, but he probably hadn't even felt it yet.
Looking over his shoulder, the cyan knight raised his left hand and made a carefree, almost as if disinterested, two-finger wave. At that very moment, 10 sword appeared around him and shot at the 11 lesser snakes like arrows, destroying all of them as they converged on Aegis' initial location.

"...I'd like to ask what the conditions of our duel would be. Will we be using skill, magic, would we follow honour or not, things like that." -he finished the words he had started merely a second ago.

What? he disappeared was Zenshin first thought before feeling a slight burning sensation in on his chest and lower stomach. Two small incisions had been made in those two places, cutting up his shirt a bit and the huge, boa like snake to pieces, it dispersing almost immediately after it was "killed". A creation mage that moves faster than I can see. Now that's something impressive. He could've killed me right then and I wouldn't even know it until a few second after. So, he moves fast enough that whatever he's striking to not even be aware until after he's done, he's a creation mage, and on top of that, arguably the best swordsman in Fiore. What exactly is his magic... he thought before turning to his side, facing the swordsman who was curious about what the terms of the impending duel were.

"Just swords. No abilities from the weapons, and regardless of whether I win or lose, I ask if you could tell me about your magic. You can't really trust rumors" he said as he slid Ikari out of its sheath on his back with his right hand and brought it out in front of him, holding it firmly. He wasn't planning on using Ice Shard for this fight, since it had a magical ability to it, and he wasn't very keen on dueling magics with an opponent whose magic is unknown to him. As soon as he got the ready from his sparring partner, he would start running forward, only his right hand on the hilt, moving in an relatively unpredictable path until he reached the man, which he would follow with a quick stab. Prepared for it to be deflected to the side, he would use that for a source of speed for a spin and horizontal strike on the left side.

"Just swords? Fair enough."
Upon hearing the conditions of the duel, Aegis looked at Serenity. True, it was one of his main weapons, but it held a rather unfair advantage, considering it was about as long as some spears. Knowing that, the knight raised his right hand just above his head and swung it down to his right, destroying Serenity and replacing it with a completely ordinary longsword, it's length the same as that of Zenshin's weapon.
"Let's do this."

As Aegis announced his preparations are finished, the ice magus charged at him in a rather strange path in an attempt to confuse him and lunged at him as soon as he was in range. Seeing that, the cyan knight quickly reversed his grip on the longsword and swung it in front of himself, both deflecting the enemy blade with the sword's pommel and slashing at Zenshin's chest. Noticing with his peripheral vision as the ice mage began using his momentum to spin around and strike, Aegis spun to his right while at the same time dropping to a kneel. While Zenshin's slash would be fast, due to holding his weapon in a reverse grip, Aegis' strike would be spinning stab and considering their close proximity, a lunge following a direct trajectory towards the enemy should be quicker than a slash which follows a curved one. Furthermore, Aegis knelt down, thus possibly evading.

Should Zenshin fail to avoid the stab, Aegis would stop his blade just as it's tip punctures the skin and draws blood, before it impales his heart.

The swordsman decided not to use what Zenshin assumed to be a very long, cross guard-less katana and used nothing but an ordinary long sword that seemed to be around the same as he was using. There he goes again, using that curious magic again. What does moving at near light speeds, creating weapons, and very effective in the close range all have to do with each other he thought as he weapon was parried, as expected. Using the force from this swing that Aegis did, Zenshin quickly spun around, expecting his weapon to be stopped in its tracks, since this was the impeccable swordsman, after all. On his first spin around, he saw that the man had ducked, completely dodging his blade completely before a second spin, hitting the long sword out of the way with all the force momentum could give.

Let's see, he's kneeling down. If I go with an overhead, he'll easily block that and push me back with that damn gauntlet of his, if he can't use his sword. If I go with an underhanded swing, it would be weaker, but more difficult and he would probably roll back. Now, if I swung at an angle, I might be able to hit him, but I also might end up losing this for myself he thought, weighing out all the possibilities he could before positioning his weapon on the right side while having his knees a bit bent. Finally, he came up with his sword, swinging in a diagnol path from the swordsman's right side and aiming for the slash on the chest. So many things could be done to stop this, but as far as he saw, this was also probably the best course of action aside from jumping back and gaining range.

Zenshin managed to avoid both strikes but only barely.
'His senses of range and self awareness seem to be quite developed.' -he thought to himself, but quickly his attention was returned to the duel.
The ice mage aimed to execute an upward diagonal slash aimed at the knight's chest, a strange choice, considering that Aegis' opening at that moment was his back.
"Wrong move!" -exclaimed the knight as he grabbed the tip of Zenshin's sword with his left hand and, using his own sword, hit the base of it's base with all his strength. Due to his left hand gripping the tip of the blade, the lever effect would occur, the tip acting as the hinge, thus increasing the force Zenshin would feel in his hands and fingers, further increasing the chance of him dropping the sword. Even if he does not let go of his weapon, Aegis would still use his sword's blade and cross guard to press Zen's to the ground and "lock" it there. While doing that, the knight would extend his legs and send a reverse high kick at his opponent's face before continuing the motion to place the used leg back on the ground. At that point he would use his sword arm and reverse grip to make a powerful slash at Zen's neck which would be more than exposed if the kick had landed.

"Wrong move!" Aegis said as he grabbed Zenshin's weapon with his gauntlet, ugh, damn it, that gauntlet, if I don't do something right now, I'm going to get cut, and that's never fun he thought back to the Haunted Castle and the shadow swordsman. With a sigh, he knew what he had to do, he let go of his weapon before the swordsman could do anything else and raised his hands. "I know when I'm beat. I just didn't expect it to be so soon" he began, letting his opponent know that he had lost the duel. A part of him wondered what would've happened if he kept on holding onto the weapon, but another part was glad that he let go and admit defeat while he still had a say in it. When he saw that the swordsman would sheath his weapon, or send it away, or whatever he did with it, Zenshin would go, pick up Ikari, and re-sheath it on his back.

"Anyways. I got to see your renowned strength in close combat, but I still haven't figured it out. What is it that you use as magic?" Zen asked curiously, as the question rang in his head. Probably the only thing that he wanted answered that he couldn't find out on his own, seeing has how he couldn't make the connections between floating swords that moved like laser, movement faster than he could perceive, and making weapons. It was kinda like reequip, he thought, but it couldn't be, reequip users couldn't move as fast as this man did when he cut Zenshin and his snake.

Surprisingly enough, the ice mage surrendered as Aegis locked his sword. Quite timely, since a few moments later Aegis was going to go in for a fatal wound or at least the equivalent of one in a spar. The knight nodded, acknowledging the end of their duel before destroying his weapon and tossing Zenshin's back to him.
"Anyways. I got to see your renowned strength in close combat, but I still haven't figured it out. What is it that you use as magic?" -he spoke, curiosity in it's purest form written all over his face.
Laughing lightly, Aegis walked over to him and put his palm on the ice mage's chest.
"Restore."
A wave of pure mana emitted out from the knight towards the wounded man and within moments his light wounds had disappeared.
"Well, I suppose it can't be helped. I guess my magic catches people's attention easily." -the cyan-eyed swordsman's voice filled the clearing as he once again created some distance between himself and the curious magus.
"I suppose I will start with it's name. What I use is called Recreation magic, it's a type of magecraft that was not created by humans. Haha, technically, it probably never was "created" at all, since at it's core it's not so much a type of magic as it is an inborn ability foreign to humanity. The easiest way to put it would be that this is the the power of gods, the ability to create something which can be made. The primordial magecraft, everything else can be considered a derivative of it. It is classified as a type of creation magic, but it's principle of work is entirely different than other similar magics. First of all, you do not create magic with it. Second of all, you are not the true creator of the things you make. I suppose you could consider yourself more of a catalyst than anything else, though that is not entirely true either."
Pausing briefly, Aegis looked at a few butterflies as they passed by him.
"To put it simply, Recreation magic allows you to comprehend the incomprehensible so that eventually..."
With a light smile, he raised his left hand and blinked. As he did so, for a moment an infinite number of magical "lines" converged on his palm and as he opened his eyes, on his palm stood a butterfly looking exactly like the ones he saw moments ago.
"...you may create something beautiful, flawlessly." -he finished saying just as the small insect flew up from his palm and towards Zenshin, landing on his shoulder before returning to the "nothingness" it was made of.

While Zenshin listened to the magic, he was more intrigued than he had ever been, especially since a few lines stood out above the rest. The power of the gods... comprehend the incomprehensible... to create something beautiful, flawless. Zen thought back to all those times he had created anything, all of his creations, none of them were completely flawless, he thought that was impossible. But now, after meeting Aegis and hearing about this "Recreation" magic, he knew that it wasn't impossible to create something perfect, it was just a matter of how you created it. Being as curious as he was, Zen realized that this was probably the only magic that could let him understand as much as he possibly could, this power would most likely allow him to expand his mind.

Can I even use this magic? It seems a bit, caster specific. Even if I could, could I even handle it? he asked himself while looking a bit upwards and being completely lost in his thoughts. If I can, I have to try. I have to stray from the family path if it means finding my own. And besides, if I'm not willing to die for this kind of knowledge, I don't deserve to know it he finished, almost deciding on what his next question would be. What you make isn't magical, and what it you do isn't create... even so, that makes it all the more impressive was his last thought before asking Aegis a follow up question. "Say... someone wanted to learn how to use recreation. If it could even be taught. How would they go about something like that"

Hearing the following question, the blue knight giggled.
'So that's what it was.' -he thought, finally seeing the real reason behind the whole meeting.
"If someone would want to learn Recreation magic, they'd have a pretty hard time doing that. It generally is a kind of magic which is lost. Completely lost. Unlike other "lost" magecrafts, there exist absolutely no comprehensible record of it. At best, you might be able to find a few myths about "heroes who could defy gods through magic". The only true record of this magic which still exists in the world... is me." -he replied while walking towards a nearby stone which had a suitable shape to be used as a chair.
"Even if someone were to come to me asking to learn, I can not simply teach anyone. First, the person would need to prove their mind strong enough to withstand the strain of creation. Should they happen to possess the required resilience of mind, they must also have the willpower to go through my training of the body, the magic and the skill. Essentially, they must be willing to become a swordsman, for only one like that can truly be a magus of Recreation. They must learn discipline, determination, honour, humility, patience and self-sacrifice. "Strength of spirit kindled through the peace of mind. Perfect body forged through the pain of devotion. The power harnessed, but not that of magic, rather that of determination. The pride to up above divinities and the humility to to stand down beneath the lowliest of beggars and thieves". That is the definition of a knight and the essence of a Recreationist! The power of the Gods themselves comes with the responsibility to control it! And thus I ask of you."
As if inspired by his own speech, Aegis had stood up and was looking Zenshin right in the eye. He knew what the ice mage meant, he understood his goal and he respected his desire to learn. Only one true question mattered at that time. The only question that remained.
"Are you strong enough to go down this path?"

"Even if someone were to come to me asking to learn, I can not simply teach anyone. First, the person would need to prove their mind strong enough to withstand the strain of creation. Should they happen to possess the required resilience of mind, they must also have the willpower to go through my training of the body, the magic and the skill. Essentially, they must be willing to become a swordsman, for only one like that can truly be a magus of Recreation. They must learn discipline, determination, honour, humility, patience and self-sacrifice. "Strength of spirit kindled through the peace of mind. Perfect body forged through the pain of devotion. The power harnessed, but not that of magic, rather that of determination. The pride to up above divinities and the humility to to stand down beneath the lowliest of beggars and thieves". That is the definition of a knight and the essence of a Recreationist! The power of the Gods themselves comes with the responsibility to control it! And thus I ask of you."
Aegis said, looking into Zenshin's monochromatic eyes.

"Are you strong enough to go down this path?" he finally asked, leading up to the moment of truth for Zen. He had two choices, forget about the whole, recreation magic and don't risk losing himself to madness, as many others probably before him or... Or, he could accept the risks he has to be willing to take in order to cross a huge milestone that separated true knowledge from what has been written. "I don't seem to have much of a choice after such a speech. I accept the risks and responsibilities I have to take to learn, I wish to wield the power of the gods and learn everything I possibly can". So I can pass it to my children and they can pick up from where I left off he thought, taking the idea from his father, who was the one who made him as curious as he is today. "Might as well be a law that everything abides by, and that is, no great good comes without an equally as great sacrifice. I may be prideful, but I can see when a man is superior to me. I am willing to do anything if it means rising above my current capacity of knowledge. So please, teach me, if possible." he said to Aegis, his not breaking eye contact with him.

What Zenshin said to him was probably the most genuine thing he's ever had to express to someone. This was one of his main motivations in life, and with an opportunity like this, it was way to big for him to pass up. He would be the next recreation mage, even if it meant his demise, for that is the cost of the greatest knowledge.[/color]

The two magi's gaze did not shift. They kept on looking at each other. Within each other.
The cyan knight, looking into Zenshin's eyes, the mirror of his soul.
The ice mage, facing his penetrating gaze with no fear, no hesitation.

Unfaltering determination. There was no doubt in the knight's mind. Before him stood a strong man. Strong because he was strong, strong because he had the power to be strong.

"Hahaha... very well."
Aegis closed his eyes and nodded to himself. From here on, what awaited was clear now. The path was laid bare before them both. On one end stood he, on the other- Zenshin. The start and the finish, yet what came after is what comes before. In that sense, what stood before Zenshin was not a path, but a loop. Through reaching the end of the endless path, he would reach his goal, thus his end would be true. And yet... it would not be "his end". Once such a contradiction is reached a single, most important question would remain for him and then the destination would clarify itself.
The single question, the truth behind a man.


"The path before you is now set. What remains now is for you to walk it. Prepare yourself for a journey. Seven days from now at midnight we will meet atop the Phoenix Mountains. Don't be late."
The cyan-eyed swordsman turned his back and began walking away, but stopped a few metres away. He looked over his shoulder, his lips curved in a smirk.

Ooc: If this peeks your curiosity, your more than welcome to follow the thread here https://www.fairytail-rp.com/t4154-contradictions-aegis-and-zenshin-private#61138