"Guardian, come with me." Lord Shaxx stands, shoulders even, head high. Obeying orders, the guardian follows without question and Shaxx leads them to a tiny private room nestled away near the oher Crucible vendors, but blocked behind red walls. The place feels and seems abandoned, cracks in the wall show its age and betray the cleanliness of the rest of the city. Old dust covered furniture, two sofas and a carpet, date the place further. The only source of natural light is the tiny window, a slit in the faded blood orange walls.
"So, guardian. Do you happen to know why I've call you here." Lord Shaxx stands in front of a table crowded with various weapons, each differing in type and configuration. The shake of the guardian's head says 'no'. Shaxx clicks his tongue and mumbles 'typical' and he passes by, walking towards the window slit.
"Where to start with you. Where to start indeed." He cocks his head to the side - the hornless one - and stands, turned towards the window with nothing to say. Minutes pass until he's finally begun his speech.
"Some have..differing opinions about the Crucible, some think it offensive, abhorrent, needlessly violent, a drag. Yet, to be honest with you, none of those criticisms offend me. People are, after all, entitled to their own beliefs about how we should conduct ourselves with the power we've been given." Lord Shaxx stares at the floating form of the Traveler, strangely transfixed. "We have, indeed, been blessed with great and mighty powers from the traveler himself and we must use them with purpose and respect." His voice grew louder until it echoed, fierce and shouting from the walls and his heavy fist banged on the table with each syllable, some so hard that unloaded equipment tumbled from the sides.
"But - ahem, getting back on track. No spoken or written criticism offends me, what offends me is the lack of effort you have displayed." He quiets himself again, lowers his still balled fist and turns towards the guardian, the very face of displeasure. "I will not tolerate your lacking efforts under my command - at the same time, there is always room for improvement and I believe, beyond anything I've seen, that you can do better."
"So, I've devised one of two solutions. Either you are banned from the crucible until further notice, this is to say banned until I and others can confirm that your combat capabilities are up to par. Or, you can sign yourself into my solo, one on one training regimen." He leaned against the table, arms crossed, voice lowering and rising between ringing disappointment and deep consideration. "I'm sure you're wondering what the difference is. Well, first off, the bureaucracy. While my ban can come into place immediately, each and every guardian trainer would have to sign off on the agreement and that, that could take time."
"If you were to come under my wing however, I could assure you the fastest track back into the crucible. You could even be back in by tomorrow. Its a wondrous proposal, given the circumstances." Lord Shaxx speaks with bolstering confidence before walking past the guardian. "It's your decision. Maybe you need the time, and from what I've seen guardian, that's nothing but true."