On his way back to his guilds homestead from a grueling old school fight with his brother Alex, Daxten was forced to take a mountain path that added an extra days walk to his journey, when he had come to find that the tremors from their fight had destroyed a rather important bridge that he needed to cross to get home. It was a pain, but something he just had to deal with. The one bit of good news, was that Daxten knew this path as well, which meant he knew what was coming up on his path. It was the Weeping Meadow.
The Weeping Meadow is a very rarely seen by normal people, people without magic or deeply important destinies in the world, only calling in those who are worthy of it with its magical power. It was at one point the spot of an ancient temple, where the people who worshipped there, thought that the ground were holy and connected to the source of all magic itself. How did Daxten know all this? Well, he spent most of his time training in the mountains, if he wasn't out on a job. So, after a few months of training in the mountains, he began to hear the call. It brought him to the ruins of the temple, where he found a tablet depicting the day to day life of the worshippers.
It then guided him all the way to the luscious open pastures, which were spotted with wildflowers, the first time he arrived. It had leaded him through the tall grass and flowers, all the way to an unbelievably large weeping willow, at the heart of the meadow. He remembered feeling a sense of right being there next to the tree, as if it filled him with all the courage he would need to take on every wizard in Fiore, at once. And Daxten couldn't help but smile once more, as he stepped off the trail and into the Weeping Meadow, gazing over the pastures to the weeping willow in the distance. It felt good to be back. No, like, literally. As Daxten began to walk through the flowery meadow, each bruise and cut he had obtained from his fight with his brother had began to heal.
"Man, I love this place..." Daxten said to himself, as he examined his arms and his sides as the healing effects took place. It amazed him, since this was the first time the meadow had ever done anything like this for him. However, his amazement was cut short, because as a draft of wind blew over him and a peculiar scent caught his attention. It was unfamiliar to Daxten, and was obviously not naturally from the meadow. This caused him to stop, widening his stance as he scanned the tall grass for anyone. This place was called the 'Weeping' Meadow for more reasons than just the tree. It was said that the land would call in warriors with a heavy conscious or have done wrong in the world, in order to test their right to live in the world and purge their soul of darkness.
"I hate this place..." Daxten said with a bit of anger in his voice. It would figure that the meadow would do something like this to him. Now, it was just a matter of finding out who'd found their way here as well.
Kazuna was returning from some training in the mountains, she'd normally cross the bridge and be home in no time, but when she came to the bridge it was destroyed"Wonder what happened here...great now I have to find a shortcut...I know!"Kazuna sent on of her dolls to scan the area and sure enough a couple minutes later, it returned to her and told her about a meadow a few yards away"A meadow huh...sounds great. Good job Nico"As she pat her doll's head it chirped "Good Job!" in a happy manner, she couldn't help but laugh a bit at the doll's response. it had been months since she had...she had tried to kill her family over a misunderstanding and now she wandered around, trying to repent for her sins...as she thought to herself she came across the meadow"Beautiful..I should tell my dad about this place...too bad there isn't any metal around for him to eat."As Kazuna explored the meadow, she felt a breeze overcome her and she instinctively took a stance, sensing danger"Looks like a get another training session...Nico, Nava, Nona...keep on guard got it?"Her dolls took defensive stance protecting her blind spots as she journeyed deeper and deeper into the meadow when she came across a tall male figure. She slowly walked up to him; keeping a hand on her daggers in case he was the cause of the negative emotion she felt"Hey...who are you?"
"Apparently the one who was meant to do battle with you today..." Daxten said calmly, as he turned to face the sound of footsteps coming towards him. Surprisingly enough, it was a woman, with puppets floating in front of her. Judging from the look on her face, Daxten assumed that she had recently gone through a traumatic experience or had witnessed one. It was the only reason he could think of that had brought her , as Daxten squared off with the woman, he focused his slitted deep blue eyes on her. He was not sure what kind of magic she had, but it had something to do with the puppets floating in front of her. So, he has no option other than to keep a keen eye on her and the puppets. "I do hope you are up for the challenge. To be honest, I am pretty angry about a fight I had earlier, and I need to blow off some steam..." Daxten spoke calmly, but his body said otherwise, because he was pulling tight on his fingerless gloves at the exact same moment his distorted clear magical energy erupted from his magical pressure coming off of Daxten was so intense, that it pressed down on the tall grass and flowers all around him for a twenty foot radius. During his fight with his brother he wasn't allowed to use spells, but now, he intended on cutting loose. "I'm ready when you are..."
Kazuna could sense the young man stare at her with furious intent...the type of intent that she lived for...who was she to say no to a fight."Ok...by the way, the name's Kazuna Kozumi...and since you wish to fight, then by all means...Ladies first!"Her three dolls swarmed around her as she looked at him and took a stance..her magic allowed her to look directly at a person's soul, and as she stared at him, she began to smile"I see...a rather strong power is deep within you...I'm gonna have fun!...Nico, Nona...Line Formation!The dolls stacked atop each other as began to fire a white blast of energy as Kazuna charged at the young mage as she took out her twin foot long daggers, poised to strike him...should he get hit by the blast, it would injure him, not externally, but internally and even if her first attack was unsuccessful, she ready to overtake him amongst his confusion
Watching intently as the woman spoke her commands to her puppets, Daxten smiled somewhat as she began her attack. Beams of energy were rocketing straight towards him, followed closely by the young woman herself, which made Daxten hold both of his handsout in front of him. "This might be some fun after all..." he said, just as a deep purple magic circle erupted in front of both of his hands, only to vanish instantly. It wasn't that Daxten didn't successfully use a spell, he did. It was now that he had used the spell, which he needed to wait before it could be the beams of energy fired by Daxten's opponent entered a 15 foot radius around him, he could do nothing but smirk as they casually passed just over his shoulders and past his head. His spell allowed him to divert the kinetic energy within anything within 15 around his body, effectively letting him push the (what was) forward motion, to the side and divert the beams of energy off course. However, now that they were out of the way, Daxten dashed forward towards the woman and pulled his right hand back. When he did that, he balled his right hand into a tight fist and focused his magical energy into it."Twin Dragon's Drilling Punch!" Daxten roared, just as he threw his right fist forward, releasing an invisible shockwave of kinetic and magical energy from the tip of his fist. The destruction wrought from the release of energy was the only sign of its existence, crushing the ground beneath his fist in a cone shape heading straight for the woman and her puppets. If it made contact with either her or her puppets, it would cause an immense and immediate transfer of kinetic and magical energy, which could shatter a boulder into thousands of small pebbles. Daxten was still warmed up from his battle with his brother, and was finally getting able to release some of the built up kinetic energy from the fight in his spells. So they were going to be a bit more destructive than normal, due to the extra energy.
Kazuna watched as the blast veered off course and hit several boulders behind him, cutting them in half. She then focused on the man before her as he launched his attack...she was thrown off focus by the sudden burst of energy headed for her...she quickly gathered herself and called for her dolls."Nico, Nona, Fly Formation!"The dolls quickly formed together once again in a straight line and lifted her out of the blast's path in the nick of time."Nava...Now...Charge!"The small, yet fast doll charged toward the male's legs, trying to cause a lose of footing, and as Nava attacked from below, she thought about attacking from above."It's funny...you never told me your name, but your magic seems to ring a bell...A telekinetic dragon slayer...it'll come to me eventually..."She used on of her daggers to write a large "貫" kanji in front of her as it enlarged above the sky"Kan...Impale!"A large beam of energy charged toward the young mage at high speeds. The Kan spell was designed to impale a person by disrupting a spell protective properties and going through them...but due to her novice mastery over the magic, all it could do was pierce through barriers, and as far as contact with a person, it would simply strike them causing heavy damage to their nerves.
Daxten looked up into the air as he watched the woman dodge his attack. He could tell it was a last minute improvised thought, which had just managed to work. But, Daxten was already preparing himself for another attack when she sent her puppet down at him. He had shifted his stance after throwing his punch, bringing his right foot forward and his left foot back, while gathering magical energy into his left foot at the same then pushed off the ground, almost as if he was aiming to meet the puppet half way, but he wasn't. Granted, he was going to make contact with the puppet in the air, but his attack would be for the woman just behind it. Because, as Daxten got closer to the puppet in the air, he spun and kicked past the puppet. "Twin Dragon's Crushing Stomp!" Daxten roared as he performed the kick and simultaneously released the built up magic energy from his left foot. The energy immediately shot out 15 feet from the end of Daxten's foot and formed into the shape of a massive square hammer, which swung along with his kick, aiming to slam right into the side of the woman and her puppets. It would encompass them entirely and sending them rocketing away into the ground below, if it made contact. Leaving the woman in a heap of rubble.
Kazuna watched as not only did Nava miss the attack, but her kanji attacked missed as well and she looked at him as he propelled above her with a energy hammer threatening to make impact"Got to time this right...or this is gonna hurt like hell!"Kazuna quickly used a dagger to write out another kanji... a"防", which created a large shield of sorts. The hammer hit her as the mage had wanted, but the shield blocked some of the damage as the blow knocked her out of the sky. As she fell, Kazuna noticed her dolls start to connect by there wings and spin at high speeds."Ok...time for a counter! Baryon Formation!The dolls began to generate a large mass of energy as it shaped into a !The blast was fired and was head for him from above...no matter how strong he was, it would be hard for him to counter the blow, especially since he had just launched an attack and was most likely recovering from the energy used. If it made contact, he too would be sent back down to the ground in internal pain.
Daxten pivoted in the air at the feeling of energy gathering above him, taking note of the energy beam being unleashed at him. He was in a hell of a situation, but it was nothing like what he had been put through earlier with his brother. So, while still in the air, Daxten took a deep breath before throwing both of his hands out in front of him and two deep purple magic circles burst to life just in front of his hands, before vanishing as the beam made was being pushed down by the beam of energy, but not as fast as the woman might have intended. That was because of the spell he was using, which was pushing all the kinetic energy that would have transferred into his body on contact, to the rear of the beam, effectively slowing it enough for Daxten to land feet first while still holding onto the beam of energy. "You want to know my name...?" he spoke through gritted teeth, as he squared off his stance, just as the ground beneath his feet began to crumble from the force of the attack pushing down on , however, was when Daxten's grip on the energy beam got tighter, followed by his distorted clear magical energy erupting around his body once more, fueling him with the strength to push back the beam of energy with his bare hands, crushing the ground beneath his feet even more before pivoting his hips and tossing it off to the side. "I am Daxten Caldwell, Telekinetic Dragon Slayer and Lord of Rage..." he said after he took a deep breath and straightened himself off. Turning towards the direction that the woman was bound to land, Daxten pulled on the wrists of his gloves before speaking once more. "..And I have got a bunch of pent of energy to blow..."With that said Daxten pushed off with his right foot and became a blur of motion as he rocketed towards the woman, only to come to a skidding halt just five feet from where she would land. As the dirt kicked up from his sudden stop, Daxten placed both of his hands on his hips and waited patiently for the woman. He was left with a few scuff marks on his wrists and fingers from initial impact with her energy beam, but his body was conditioned to be smashed through solid limestone rock, so it was nothing he couldn't shake off. However, there was another reason why Daxten hadn't begun another assault on the woman. She had mentioned hearing of a Telekinetic Dragon Slayer before, and he wanted to know if it was him she had heard of, or his brother.
Kazuna was able to shift her weight and land on her feet as she watched as Daxten countered her attack, what surprised her the most was the fact that he had the perfect chance to attack her, yet stopped on the whim of curiosity"Ah...that's where I heard it from...Telekinetic Dragon Slayer...my dad told me about you...you were the first to give him a true defeat since my uncle Taka...your just as strong as my dad said you are"Kazuna placed one of her legs behind the other and crossed her arms against her chest, awaiting his response"I mean, it's not everyday I meet a guy who beat a God Slayer, let alone the Iron one."
"So, you're Zane's child?" Daxten said in a puzzled tone, as he watched the woman ready herself for his next attack. But, it wouldn't come right away, because Daxten sighed heavily and waved his right hand through the air. "This is far too much..." Daxten said calmly, as he closed his eyes slowly. It would be his luck to fight a father and then his daughter. Talk about some , slowly opening his eyes, Daxten focused in on the woman once more, the air around him becoming very serious. "Do you wish to retake your fathers honor? Or is this just a battle to you?" It may have seemed like a stupid question, but it did matter. Because if it was a matter of honor Daxten would not hold back, but if it wasn't, he could show some mercy to the woman. "This is very important..."
Kazuna shrugged her shoulders as she retook her stance as she sensed the change in the air"Nah...I'll let the old man get his rematch when he wants...as for me...Kazuna broke a wide childish smile as her dolls in circled her again in a defensive formation"I just want a good fight, and so far, I've gotten it...I hope I've given you a good fight as well!"
Daxten smiled slightly as he saw how the woman prepared herself with her puppets. She wasn't fighting for revenge, she was fighting for herself and that was what mattered. "It sure has been an interesting one.." he said calmly, as he slid his right foot backwards and brought his arms up in front of his face, his distorted clear magical energy engulfing his body in an instant as he invoked it. He had gotten his answer and now it is time for him to act."Now, let me show you something interesting..." Daxten said calmly yet again, just before he pushed off the ground with his rig foot, shattering it into rubble as his body vanished in a blur of speed. An instant later he appeared to the left of the woman, just behind her line of defense with her puppets, using his immense boost of speed to bypass them rather easily. But, that wasn't all, because the instant Daxten appeared he pulled his right fist back and unleashed a barrage of strikes, all aimed for her head and chest area. If the series of attacks made contact, they could easily draw blood from friction and send the woman rocketing off into the distance.
Kazuna was surprised by Daxten's increased speed, but what he did not know is that when you come from a family of ninjas and assassins turned mages, you learn how to prepare yourself for anything."Nice try, but..."Kazuna used her palms to counter each and every strike at the same speed as him until she caught one of the blows and got closer to his face"...close combat is something is a area I excel at...even more so than my dad...I can respect your power, now I hope you respect mine!"Kazuna jumped just enough so her feet came to his throat before she angled herself, aiming a double kick to his abdomen, she knew that their was a high chance that he would counter the attack, but even if he did, he would put himself at greater risk.
Daxten chuckled as he saw the woman defend against his attacks, even managed to catch his fist in order to pull him in closer, but she didn't take into account that he too was a combat specialist mage. Because as she spoke to him enthusiastically and pulled back to launch her series of kicks, he did nothing at all to block them. He let each kick land. But, this was to show something to the woman, to prove a point of why even a God Slayers force couldn't hurt him. Each kick that landed against his abdomen didn't even any force of impact."I would, but I have stubbed my toe harder than that..." Daxten smirked slightly, before catching the woman by one of her ankles, at the same moment that his magical energy erupted into a maelstrom around him. "I am used to being a living jackhammer. I fought in matches where blocking and evading is not allowed...little love taps like this, won't do much but make me itch!" Daxten roared, as he pivoted on his heel and prepared to slam the woman into the ground to his left with great force. If she couldn't do anything to stop the attack, she would find herself lying in a small crater just bigger than her body, covered in dirt and rocks.
Kazuna began to smile...it had been sometime where she was forced in a position like this, her magic equaled, her fighting skill made ineffective, she loved it...if there was anything she got from her parent besides good looks and skill for battle (orin her words: Brains, Brawn, and Boobs) it was the thrill of being up against a corner"A living jackhammer you say...sounds fun, but last I checked..."As she was throw from the air to the ground, Kazuna used her free arm to balance her weight just enough to roll slightly with the toss and throw Daxten in the air, headed for her dolls"A jackhammer is only effective on the ground!...Now guys...Line Formation!"The dolls responded, quickly forming up on top of each other and launching a wide blast of energy again, this time firing three of them at Daxten. Even if the physical attacks were harmless to him, at such a close range and in such a way in the air, if the attack made contact, even he would be taken back a bit.
Daxten couldn't help but laugh as he was tossed through the air by the woman. She had actually managed to counter his attack still, it was impressive. But as he flew through the air, he felt a very familiar gathering of energy at his back. "You're right there..." he said with a smile, as the dolls behind him fired all three of their energy blasts at the same time. It was one hell of a combination attack, but it wasn't the one that would end the the light from the energy beams highlighted Daxten's body, growing closer and closer to hitting him, he opened his mouth slightly and spoke once more. "But, I lied about being a jackhammer..." Slowly he began to inhale, filling his lungs as he suddenly stopped in mid air, seemingly no longer affected by the laws of gravity. Seconds later all three of the energy beams did the same thing, halting not five feet from Daxten's back, while in front of his mouth a black and purple orb of energy began to manifest quickly, jumping from the size of a softball to the size of a dodge ball in a heartbeat. This was because of Daxten completely absorbing all the kinetic energy coming from all three energy blasts at his back, combined with his own kinetic energy from falling through the air."I'm a dragon...Twin Dragon's Roar!" Daxten roared as he exhaled hard, releasing a concussive shockwave of magical energy from his mouth, which ruptured the large ball of kinetic and magical energy floating in front of him. This unleashed a massive explosive shockwave of kinetic and magical energy racing at the woman at near the sound of speed. Meaning that it would have made it to her roughly around the exact time she would actually hear the name of Daxten's attack. But, it wouldn't really matter if she did somehow react before it made it to her, because the range of the attack spanned out for over a hundred feet on either side of her. Now, if it hit with full effect and no defense at all, it would be equivalent to being hit in her entire body by exactly double the force of her own attack.
As Kazuna got back up, she saw Daxten take in breath of air...she knew he was using his own dragon's roar...she smiled again and began to try and dodge, she knew the blast it's self would catch her, but she was prepared for the blast wave to knock herback."Ok...here goes everything!"Kazuna started to make her move, she noticed her dolls get in front of the blast as it grew closer...she was tore, protect herself and let the dolls and quite possibly the souls within them get destroyed or save them while possibly killing herself"Well...Nico, Nava, Nona...I'm sorry..."Kazuna pushed them out of the way as the impact was inches from her body and looked at them with a child-like smile and a tear in her eye"...you may have to tell my dad I wont be home for dinner.."As she looked away from the dolls, the full impact of the blast struck her with a pain she had felt only once in her life...sheer and utter fear. She knew the risks of taking the attack but she didn't care...she couldn't bare the thought of losing her dolls, which she treated like children. The blast pushed her back far at a alarming speed, the more she tried to fight against it, the more it pushed until it pushed her into a large boulder...the wave alone would have only pushed the boulder along with her, but as she realized on contact, it wasn't just Daxten's force put behind the attack, but her own...the boulder showed several cracks until it finally gave way. The remains of the blast wave pushing into a tree as the attack came to an end; Kazuna was wavering in and out of consciences as she tried to regain her footing
As Daxten finished is spell, the draining effect of his sphere of influence halted and the effects of gravity returned to him, causing him to drop out of the sky and land flat on his feet. He had seen what the woman had done in the last second, savingher puppets as if they were her own children. It seemed that honorable traits ran in this one's bloodline. So, standing up straight, Daxten adjusted his vest before walking over to the woman as she tried to stand."I will give you the same courtesy I gave your father..." he said as he came to a halt in front of her, crossing his arms over his chest slowly before speaking again."This fight is over and I do not wish to take a life today. Earlier I asked if this fight was for revenge of your fathers honor, I said your answer was important..." Daxten's face got serious as gaze intensified on the woman. "If you had been fighting another man's fight, I would have to kill you on morals alone. But, you were fighting your own fight, and there is no need to end your life for that..."Slowly Daxten held out his right hand to the woman, watching her carefully as he did. He could tell that she was fighting to stay conscious, which was a feat in itself, since the roar she took head on was twice the strength of the one her father received." What do you say?"
Kazuna watched as the man approached her, and noticed how he extended his hand toward her...she then noticed her dolls speed toward her and circle around her in happiness as they chirped "Okay?". She then smiled as she shook Daxten's hand and slowly dropped to her knees and laid down, tried from the battle."You know...after he lost to you, Dad told me something about you, saying you looked like you have a lot on your shoulders...if you have any problems in your life, I hope you clear them up in the future...*She smiled again as her eyes were slightly closed* It would be a shame for a strong, nice-looking dude like you to be haunted by things from your past"She grabbed at her dolls as they cuddled next to her bosom as she turned to the side"This meadow is really beautiful...I can feel it trying to heal me already...I think I'll take a little rest...I *yawns* hope I meet you again Dax-san"At that, Kazuna drifted to sleep as her dolls got closer to her...the young mage had finally learned how to relax about life...she had Daxten to thank for that, but fell asleep before she could say it...the smallest doll looked up to the young maleNava: "Thank you"The doll then shifted it's gaze back to Kazuna as she was sound asleep letting the soothing breeze brush over and heal her
Daxten didn't speak at all as the woman spoke, simply nodding as she spoke. It seemed that her father had caught a deeper glimpse into Daxten's mind during their fight. It was true; there was a lot on Daxten's shoulders. He needed to find his parent, reunite with his brother on good terms, and accomplish his goal of mastering his magic. But, it was good to hear that someone wished him luck in the future, hoping that he would achieve his around the Weeping Meadow, Daxten chuckled slightly as he felt unique warmth start to come from the land. He knew that the woman would be fine here. She would most likely wake up feeling better than she did in the start of everything. On the other hand, Daxten needed to be on his way. So, he turned away slowly and began to walk away, only to stop when the puppet turned to him and spoke. It thanked him, which he felt was somewhat odd, but he simply nodded and responded softly. "Not a problem..."With that said, Daxten fully turned away and began to walk away, heading towards the large weeping willow at the heart of the meadow. The path he needed to take to get out was behind it, and it would still be a half days walk to return to his guild. So, after a few minutes, he was nothing but a spec in the distance as he started on the path behind the willow.
