Malik had no more time to ponder about the question; the corrupted one cast another spell his way, forcing him to throw himself to the side. As the magic splashed against the ground Malik struck out at his fallen brother. The corrupted paragon clumsily dodged the incoming strike only to have magic strike him at the back. A screech came from him before he turned, casting a spell at the Wakener as he once more cried out, "Make it stop!"

With a rather swift reaction the Wakener commanded her powers to protect her from the terrible magic. Interesting choice, Malik briefly thought, before having to avoid being clawed by the paragon as he turned. An unexpected kick had Malik leap into the air and the corrupted took his chance as he once again channeled magic. But as he was to cast it the Wakener uttered a spell. Something... happened to the paragon as his spell immediately broke and his hands once again clutched to his head.

Malik could've finished it there, he could've dived down, piercing the other paragons carapace with his halberd, but he didn't. No, he stayed airborne, his gaze traveling between the corrupted and his Wakener as her magic quickly formed a sphere which then split into needle-like shards. Malik watched with a mix of interest and aversion as the shards shot out at the paragon, damaging him before they reformed to a sphere again and blew up at his chest.

Malik touched ground. His brother stared up at him, his wild gaze slowly vanishing with his life. Mantids did not mourn, but Malik felt for the paragon, the thought that he himself had been close to this very state, had it not been for his timely wakening, crept in his mind. Consumed by fear, driven by madness unable to think clear and even defend himself against two opponents.

Malik had not known him, no paragon knew another, but the mere title Paragon wasn't given to anyone. In his time he had been strong, undefeated. Now he had been defeated by a lesser being, his Wakener. This was not a fitting end for a paragon. The Unscathed held his halberd with both hands as he drove it into the dying mantid's chest; he had suffered enough.

As he raised his gaze to the horned creature he realized she had sunk to her knees, looking at the fallen with a mixture of relief and fear. She was... interesting. A good combatant, or rather magician. But she would be no match for a real paragon or the elite forces of the swarm, he concluded. Her methods were powerful as long as she was left alone; had he not been there to distract the corrupted she would surely have fallen to him. Yes, she had chosen to use her magic to shield her instead of moving to allow her a better position. A mistake that would've cost her life if their foe had not been corrupted.

For a moment Malik thought back at her previous battle against the swarmborn and the clutch-keeper. She had shown little to no intention to move from the position she had stood when engaging, only taking a few steps back when they overwhelmed her. And not once had she drawn a weapon. Malik knew she carried a dagger, he had caught a glimpse of it the night before when she was being beaten. Why carry a weapon if you don't intend to use it?

"Your combat style is... insufficient," Malik commented, making the female look up at him. "You carry a weapon, a small useless one, but still a weapon. Why not use it?" Small and useless, yes, at first he had considered her being just that, but as he already had decided she had potential, and Malik intended to get everything he could out of that potential. Yes, he would train her, even if it meant breaking her in the process.

"I'm a mage," the Wakener answered. "We are not close-combatants. We're supposed to -"

"Hide behind others?" The Wakener shot him an annoyed gaze but as she realized he was correct she muttered something he didn't understand. The tongue she spoke in was foreign to him, perhaps it was her native one. It mattered not. Malik shot out with the shaft of his halberd, hitting the Wakener across the cheek.

"What was that for?" she grunted as she touched her soft cheek which almost immediately after the hit had taken on a hue of purple. Interesting.

"Disrespect," Malik answered. "You are speaking in ways I do not understand and that is undoubtedly your reason too."

"I always curse in dreaneic," she muttered. "We mages are supposed to be the backline. Weapons are our last solution. I guess hiding behind others is one way to put it." The last came with reluctancy, she didn't want to admit it.

"A coward hides behind others, a coward hides behind magic." He turned and gazed around him for whatever weapons there were in their surroundings. The paragon hadn't carried any weapon, but even if he had Malik wouldn't allow the Wakener to wield a weapon of a fallen paragon; she was still a lesser being. However the staff of the swarmkeeper she slain was sufficient. He went to pick it up, the Wakener's gaze followed him as he moved. "Are you familiar with any weaponary except that of your useless knife?"

"I have wielded a sword and staves," the Wakener replied.

"I suppose it's too much to hope you have actually wielded them in battle." Malik had no high hopes in this matter, the opposite, only her magic kept her alive and without the means to defend herself from the overwhelming numbers of swarmborn or the inevitable strikes from other mantids.

The Wakener never answered Malik's question, nor did he expect her to. But her silence confirmed his assumption. Picking the weapon from the ground Malik then turned and tossed the staff to the blue creature. "You will use that to finish your other task."

"What?" The Wakener stared at him. "Are you mad?"

"Let us start simple; defend yourself against a dreadsworn with that staff and slay him with it. I want to see how you manage with that."

"And if I fail?"

Now why would she even consider that possibility? "Then you are unworthy and it saves us a lot of trouble."

The horned creature muttered as she picked up the weapon and stood. Malik watched her thoroughly, studying every move, the position of her hands, everything. "Stand before me, Wakener. Pretend I am your enemy. How would you plan your assault? How would you position yourself?"

The first thing he noted was how badly her clothing allowed her to move; the long cloth surrounding her legs was nothing but in the way. The second was the way she held the staff; it was not in an intimidating posture but rather one where she was ready to defend herself against some lesser being. Malik mused before he struck out with the hiltend of his halberd again. A step back and a raise of the staff was her reaction; her step didn't take her far back nor did the raised staff block much of his power but instead caused a groan and a snap in her shoulder. "The trick, Wakener, is to be like water. Do not resist your enemy's force; simply flow with it." He motioned her to assault him and as she did, in her own clumsy way, he stepped aside, demonstrating exactly what he had said. "Let his blows drift past you. Then IMPALE him." He drove the hiltend into her stomach, causing her to bend over as she gasped for breath. "Now... I want you to do the same." He waited for her to recover before he motioned to the other side of the barricade where the polluted Vor'thik mantids strode and worked, unaware of the paragon and his Wakener. Strange, Malik noted, they should've heard their battle, they should know that the paragon had fallen, so why did they seem completely oblivious? "You will take on a dreadsworn – as they call themselves," he explained. "Their mastery of the sword should suffice as your training. You must learn their techniques, see their moves and learn to flow with them. Only then can you become worthy of being our Wakener."

"I didn't ask to become a part of this," the Wakener spoke carefully, the anger seemingly having vanished from her. Perhaps she had some good qualities already.

"Perhaps not, but it does not change what has transpired and what is to come." Malik looked to her again. "I will remain here to oversee this exercise."

"Let me guess, it is the will of the Klaxxi."

What she said made him grimace before he struck her, harder this time, causing her to stumble and fall back to the ground. To speak of the Klaxxi like that was disrespect above all! "Do not push your luck, Wakener," Malik warned. "It is the will of the Klaxxi that you remain here, that is the only reason you are still alive, and it is because of that very reason I have decided to train you. Now move!"