aionlogs | Kenoma Team Training

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Kenoma Team Training

WHO: The Kenoma
WHAT: Training Activities
WHERE: Starts at the Citadel, varies per activity
WHEN: Starting on 6/4
WARNINGS: None yet...?

After a period of relative quiet, the Kenoma will receive a Communion post of utmost importance:

"Good day, everyone. This is Ciel. We may have received a passing grade from the Regent following the events in Venera, but they have sorely underlined how ill-prepared we were for a proper mission on Horos. Emet-Selch, Eustace, and I are in agreement, thus we have organized a series of training and teambuilding exercises. We ask that you all please attend, there will be... prizes."

OVERVIEW

When trainees arrive in the Courtyard after the Communion, a plethora of training activities await them.

The courtyard itself is sectioned off into areas, one for each training activity for the day. The activities vary from one subject to another, and still manage to be related to their tasks as a Kenoma while still leaving room for "fun". Weapons training, tag, survival training, and strength training are all provided. Kenoma is also welcome to spar on their own if they so choose. (This is not included as a specific prompt to avoid too much PVP, but you can add it in a TL if you like.)

Instructions on each activity will be provided to the participant before they begin. For those who can’t participate or choose to show up for moral support or to dodge the activities, water will be provided so that you may gossip around the proverbial "water cooler".

Each of the three trainers are on hand in some capacity or another to provide instructions on that activity or training on a specific skill.

These exercises can be done at any point and do not necessarily have to be done on a training day with the group. Characters can return after the crowd has dispersed to train on their own or with a chosen individual. The equipment will still be there and trainers (or fellow Kenoma) can be brought here at their leisure.

I. WEAPONS TRAINING

Racks of weapons are lined up on the far side of the courtyard. These range from swords to polearms and rather sizable knives to swords and tonfas. Feel free to grab a weapon of your choosing and have a trainer engage you to show you how to use it. Or, if they have experience, other students may also advise you!

The intent is to train on the proper use of several types of weapons and how to wield them effectively. It may also delve into how to most efficiently disable/neutralize/injure someone in a fight, depending on which teacher you wind up with.

II. AGILITY

There is an open part of the field that has been roped off specifically for...tag! Rope bridges, mud pits, chest-high walls of rock, and even a large wall of ice (?!) dot the field to give people plenty of places to hide and run. (If you would like your own obstacle, feel free to comment to ask so we can make sure it’s within reason of what our characters could do.)

Participants will be provided with a waxy paint to put on their hands which will stain whatever person it comes in contact with with a very luminescent purple glitter. (It washes out, of course!) The last person standing will get a prize of…dubious worth.

Now get running!

III. SURVIVAL

There’s two locations for this: the outdoor courtyard closest to the main citadel kitchen, and the kitchen itself.

For the outdoor location, bundles of tree branches and firewood are provided if needed, students are expected to start their own fire and cook wild game with what they foraged.

A - Foraging
Time for a field trip to the mountains and woods outside Achamoth! Students will be taught basic survival skills including: first aid without the use of magic, how to find and create shelter from natural terrain, how to identify and forage for food that is safe to eat, and how to create traps to catch wild game. Yes, you too can experience the joy of floor meat!

All foraged supplies can subsequently be used for Home Ec cooking lessons.

B - Home Ec
For the kitchen, there's a dedicated area where several Aions at once could attempt cooking with utensils and more elaborate ingredients. There are some servants keeping an eye out just in case and could be flagged down for help or assistance if requested/needed, but otherwise, Aions are free to make use of everything available to their own ends. Is this really useful for "training"? Cooking is a science that shapes and nourishes both body and soul, of course, it's important enough to have a part in the curriculum!

IV. STRENGTH

Step up to the starting line with one partner. One person will carry the other across a small section of the course to the finish line at the opposite end. There are a few minor obstacles such as walls and puddles. Nothing that you have to put too much effort into getting around. The person who can see will guide the person carrying them to the finish line using only their voice. Try not to bump into anything.

If you feel *really* ambitious, extra weights will be provided. Or you can forgo the rules and carry two people (or more?). Your choice, really.

V. REFRESHMENTS

For those who are not athletically inclined - or claim not to be athletically inclined - a large chunk of ice with refreshments dotted throughout awaits you on the sidelines. They will take a little effort to free them. Most will be freed with a little pull while others are completely encased in ice and may not be worth the effort.

Feel free to hand out refreshments, gossip about the participants, or scheme to your hearts' content.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Do bar owners where you're from make a habit of playing with knives?

[ That languid comment is accompanied by the scuff of booted feet against the ground as Gen steps up to the rack of weapons. Though his gaze does fall upon the row of gleaming knives, it doesn't linger long.

It instead shifts to give Silco a scrutinizing once-over -- the man really doesn't seem the type to dive into the thick of things, does he? Granted, it's hard to be sure given how many people here have ridiculous abilities hidden up their sleeves, but still. He's not sure he's ever seen the guy on the training fields or out in a combat situation before. His eyes light upon the knife in Silco's hand before he looks away; Gen's hands are still shoved in his pockets as he looks back to the row of weapons awaiting them. ]

... got any tips?

[ His delivery is languid, almost casual, but an astute eye might spot the way Gen seems to be keeping the weapons at armslength so far. ]

[ Silco offered him a scoff. ] When in Zaun, one must always watch their back. I may be a bar owner now, but... [ He doesn't show off, because Silco doesn't feel the need. He simply dangled it, for just a moment, a familiar sort of motion, too easy and carefree to not be comfortable with a knife. ]

I didn't start running a bar until I... [ stole it from Vander's corpse as a testament to his defeat ] inherited it.

If you're looking for tips, however, I might give you bad habits. Street brawling is where I cut my teeth, and it's not likely to teach you much more than how to wave it around threateningly.

[ He said that, but... again, too comfortable. Silco was clearly no blade-master, but neither was he entirely incompetent. ]

[ ... okay, yeah, he isn't buying it for a second that that bar was inherited; that pause was just a little too long for the word choice to not have been deliberate. And though Gen raises an eyebrow -- a sign that he caught that -- he doesn't say anything about it for now. The bar was probably scammed off its original owner or something, and not like that matters much to him. ]

Street brawling, huh. [ Gen sounds comfortable enough with the phrase, though his movements remain stiff when he reaches out to carefully pick up the closest knife, a nondescript-looking dagger of some sort. ] That's more my style, but most people didn't escalate to using weapons for those, back where I'm from.

[ A pause before he looks back to Silco, his expression calm enough. ]

Show me anyway.

[ wow look at the manners on this one, just making that demand without a 'please' in sight. ]

[ Silco wasn't keen on "practicing" with weapons, but he also couldn't turn down a challenge. Gen seemed to be from a...similar enough environment, perhaps minus some of the extreme violence that Zaunites favored. Then again, when you were from the Sump... ]

A weapon is a weapon. We're rather...lawless, in Zaun. Whoever has the advantage had best use it, let their advantage be taken.

[ Silco set the knife down, and instead pulled one from within the folds of his coat -- a sharp and wicked looking thing. He'd purchased very little since arriving, the drinks and liquor amounted to nothing, and he'd purchased few clothing, although the majority of it looked fine. This knife, though, had certainly been purchased for a sinister purpose. ]

I can show you what we do, although... [ He looked him up and down. ] Do mind your speed, I'm an old man after all.

[ And an Aion, of course. He's quick, but only as quick as a normal human, when he went for him, a brawl-style moved that was aimed to cut at just above his bicep, quick, but easily dodged. ]

[ He'd been briefly distracted watching Silco pull out that hidden knife, about to be a smartass and ask if that too is something normal in 'Zaun' -- and is almost slow to dodge the sudden slash aimed his way.

Gen's good reflexes and the training beaten into him do save him. His bootsoles scuff against the dirt as he falls back one, two steps, automatically taking a defensive posture with the knife he'd picked up raised to protect himself. But his breaths are coming a little faster than might be normal after that one movement; he can already feel his pulse thudding in his ears, even knowing that that blow wouldn't have done severe damage if it had landed. ]

... that's fucking cheap, old man.

[ Thankfully he manages to keep up that pretense at bravado, his words barked out in challenge, but it's harder than he'd thought it would be. Gen looks from Silco, to that blade, then back. ]

What, is that part of your style, too? Playing dirty?

[ Silco's lips curled into a touch of a smirk, the wicked scar from his lips up through his eye to meet with the streak of white in his hair, he turned his knife over, to look it up and down. ]

You learn to do anything to survive, boy. It's not dirty if the person next to you is bigger, stronger --

[ He doesn't give Gen the chance to lunge again -- Silco knows better -- power, and even the right to live goes to those that can seize the opportunity, no matter how "cheap" the opportunity is. Silco learned from the mines to the Lanes, to the River Pilt, that one doesn't just allow themselves to be jumped. It's another cheap shot, this time for the thigh -- but Silco has at least 30 years on Gen. He knows where to lunge, but he shows his age. ]

-- or younger than you.

[ Silco's probably right to take that cheap shot -- Gen really is young, with a sharp eye and the good reflexes to match. And a quick learner, too, when it comes to this sort of thing; weeks of training under Eustace have drilled into him what to look for, what to prioritize. Already, he's starting to cotton onto the cadence of Silco's movements, and he jerks back from the second swipe of the knife with more room to spare than the first.

-- fuck, this is bad for his nerves, though. He'd steeled himself for a close encounter with knives being unpleasant, and he knows it'd probably be best if he acclimated himself to bladed weapons, but ... shit. Already, his blood feels like it's running a little colder.

To his credit, the only outward sign of that discomfort is the slight pallor to the face, and the way his grip on his own knife keeps shifting uneasily. Somehow he manages to keep his voice at a challenging growl: ]

And then what? You lose that advantage if you can't kill with the first shot, yeah? You just turn tail and run if you blow your cover?

[ Silco's eyes slid to his face, a quick assessment. Gen seems...unused to combat, or nervous around knives. There's something there, but the old man doesn't have quite enough context. He is, however, used to reading people, and preying on weakness, that's how one survives in a place like Zaun.

He smiled, something a little sardonic. He wouldn't admit it, but he enjoyed this. Cheap shots were his bread and butter, after all, being small, lean, and not at all strong meant one needed whatever advantage he could get. After all, power came to those who took it, whether it was a cheap shot, or manipulation didn't matter. ]

I suppose it depends. [ He reversed his grip, blade switched to face the opposite of his thumb. It's a quick motion, but still out of practice, so there's little flourish. ]

If I'm easily overpowered? Certainly. It's better to escape, and survive to attack later, than simply die.

[ Something Silco knew well. ]

If one is...inexperienced? [ He said it, testing the waters, waiting for a reaction. ] I can play a bit more.

[ He didn't attack, but watched Gen, waiting. Closer to a viper waiting in the grass to strike, than a teacher instructing. ]

[ On some level, he knows he's being baited. He knows falling for the provocation is probably a bad idea. He knows that. But even so -- he can't stand being openly derided like that.

The flash of anger in his eyes is bright and prompt, his shoulders squaring with renewed tension as he gives a sharp huff. And though Gen keeps his voice ironed flat, the clipped quality to his words make his irritation obvious. ]

S'that right.

[ There's only the brief grit of dirt underfoot after that as he adjusts his weight, then the stomp of his boot on the ground as he lunges in.

The move he attempts is a little more sophisticated than Silco might have expected -- a feint aimed at Silco's thigh before he surges forth for a harder swipe aimed at his knife arm -- but Gen's execution is sloppy. Far more accustomed to wielding the heft and weight of a mace, his swing goes wide with a little too much force behind it. ]

[ It's quicker than Silco expects. He isn't a warrior, or a fighter, or even a well known brawler among his peers. Even as a boy in Zaun, when he'd ran with other people his age, trying to start a smuggling operation to get out of the mines, he'd been little more than the knife in the dark, leaving the fighting to the...hounds, as it were.

Still, Gen's moves are wide enough, that Silco can lean back -- his own heart thudding in his chest a little more than anticipated, and air burns in his lungs. He isn't good at this, but his hand is practiced with the knife.

He manages to avoid it, but it's too close for Silco's comfort.

In response, he presses the attack, pushed through the burn in his lungs to bring the reverse guard up and go for the throat -- but he stops well in time to keep from cutting Gen.

He isn't trying to kill him, after all. He just wants to make sure Gen knows Silco isn't just an old man. ]

[ He'd thought he could handle knives well enough, but it's like the bottom of his stomach drops out when he sees the blade tracing a gleaming line towards his throat.

His movements are suddenly far less controlled when Gen flinches out of the way of that blow, regardless of the way it stops short of its seeming target. Bootsoles scuff through the dirt as he stumbles back two, three paces, and the defensive swipe of his own knife to ward off any follow-up attacks is clearly more reflex than a deliberate reaction.

It's as good as a request for a stop when he staggers further back, free hand half-heartedly raised in the universal gesture for 'hold on a sec.'

That whole bout lasted, what, thirty seconds, a minute? It feels like his heart's about to explode though, and it takes far too much effort for him to keep his voice flat when he grits, ]

-- fine. Fine. ... I get it.

[ Silco himself is breathing hard, and he itched for a smoke or a drink -- or both. Not likely the right solution, when ones lungs burned all the way down, the way his body twitched and itched, afterward. He straightened, but didn't put his knife away yet.

One lesson that he wouldn't forget is to be without a weapon out when someone else was already heated.

He laughed, softly, a chuff of wry amusement. ] Yes? See that you do. I'm not a front-liner, as it were, but if we're going to engage the other side again, I say we use every advantage possible.

[ He eyed Gen, curious. ] You've had more practice than me at some things, you're rather quick on the dodge, aren't you?

[ Sorry-not-sorry Silco, that advice is going in one ear and straight out the other right now. ]

Yeah, sure. Whatever.

[ His pride's a bit scuffed from getting so easily bested by some smug old man, but for now any indignity is smothered by the stress of the moment. He can feel a bead of cold sweat sliding down his temple, and it's not until Silco straightens up and the dagger's no longer pointed in his direction that Gen lets out a long, ragged exhale.

There's the clank of metal as he immediately tosses his own knife back onto the rack. ]

I'm used to fights. Just with my fists.

[ He's definitely breathing easier without having to hold the knife, and Gen restlessly flexes his hand as he tries to get his nerves back under control. ]

And I've been training a bit [ a fair amount ] since I ended up here. S'just that I'm still getting used to weapons -- figured I'd try something new this time.

Hm.

[ It's a little derisive, as if the fact that he wants to solve problems with his fists is offensive to him. Or perhaps there's something behind that black and orange eye that suggests that there's a deeper disdain, for anyone who did such things. ]

I'm sure you'll be commended for your...willingness to try, at least. [ It's not quite sarcastic. ] Like I said, I'm just an old man, and an out of practice one at that.

[ Silco finally slipped his knife back into somewhere in his long overcoat. Very clearly, there was a space for his knife somewhere in there. ] Some habits never leave us though, hm? I'm not going to be trying any new weapons, however. I should think whoever's training you will be pleased.

[ That derisive tone of voice doesn't go amiss; with his nerves already rubbed raw from handling the knife, Gen is quick to catch that note of condescension. What, does this guy think he's too good for fisticuffs 'cause he knows how to handle a knife? There's a pause as he studies the way Silco slips that knife out of view before offering a snippy retort: ]

Yeah, thanks. I'll tell him you said he's doing a good job.

[ No, he absolutely will not be telling Eustace that he was bested by some scrawny old guy with a knife and given a backhanded compliment for it.

His knuckles crack from how hard he'd been clenching his hand, and Gen idly works the stiffness out of his wrist. ]

So, no other weapons, and you said you're not a front-liner. Then what are you? 'Cause I sure can't imagine those Pleroma just standing around and letting you get close enough to stab'em somewhere important.

[ And surely simply throwing a knife has its limits. ]

[ Silco ran a finger against his chin, considering. Of course, he had started to fade, occasionally, and with a frequency that suggested that he was getting better at it. He'd vanished from sight in front of his mirror -- which was intriguing -- and just went to show that yes, he could absolutely do that if he wanted.

He smiled, and offered a note of thought. A soft 'hm, as he considered. ]

I'm an... ideas type. I'm much more of a planner than a... fighter. [ A smirk, and he spread his hands. ] I'm almost fifty, after all.

I can assure you, though. There's nothing better than a well-crafted plan.

[ Says he, the man whose own daughter ruined his plans constantly. ]

[ 'Planner,' Silco says. And Gen regards it skeptically for a moment before giving a vague hum in answer. Though the noise itself is vague enough, the way Gen has an eyebrow raised in doubt and his posture slouched back make it clear he doesn't hold that much respect for a man who'd hang back safely while telling other people how to fight their fights. It's not even like he can't see the merits of having a plan, but something about the way Silco says it, like he's really so confident that he can pull his weight even while sitting at a safe distance, rubs him the wrong way. ]

So what kinds of plans you got, then?

[ Even the neutral tone of voice he employs can't mitigate the undercurrent of disdain to his words. A challenge. ]

I'm one of those so-called front-liners you'd be bossing around, in theory. You actually got anything in mind, or are you just gonna make things up as you go?

[ Silco released a scoff, half amused, half disgusted by the allegation.

He's not wrong, of course. Then again, Silco was aware that he was mostly dead weight on the battlefield. He remembered when the butt of an enforcer's gun had so solidly hit him in the eye that never closed, and what that had done. Of course, Vander had finished that job, but...

He'd never be strong. Not like the others. Perhaps it's his mindset, that leads him down this path, the way his abilities were starting to manifest. The way he could fade from vision, when he looked at himself in the mirror, and the way he'd started secreting that purple ooze from his fingers. He could guess what that was. ]

I do. We party front liners -- like yourself -- with those with offensive magics, and those who can heal injuries, for starters. We place you...strategically if possible, if we can locate the battlefield beforehand.

[ Silco shrugged. ] All else fails, I think there are other ways to make sure our front liners keep fighting. I hear some of the drugs down in the Entertainment District are certainly...wicked enough to keep one going.

[ Or shimmer. It could just be shimmer from his fingers. ]

[ He could retort that yeah, no shit a front-liner gets paired with some sort of support in any fight. Any kid who's played a single poorly-made RPG on their phone knows that much, and if that's the extent of the planning Silco has to offer, then they might as well just barge into every fight sans planning.

But for better or for worse, he's distracted from that shitty, bad-tempered retort by what Silco says next. ]

Drugs?

[ Gen's fairly street smart and savvy for his age, but even with his family's connections and his spotty history, he has his blind spots -- and hailing from the sticks of Japan as he does, he has a huge blind spot when it comes to illicit substances. Though he doesn't look uncomfortable about the subject per se, he does immediately look a little more uncertain, like he has less of a reference point when it comes to that line of thought. Gen frowns as he crosses his arms, canting his head to give Silco a dubious look. ]

What, so just get people so hopped up on shit that they can keep fighting out there regardless of how hurt they are? [ It sounds dangerous. But also ... maybe a small part of him is curious about the option. Fabric scuffs as he rubs at one arm, eyes narrowed. ] -- s'that smart? Planning on using shit like that. Sounds like it should be more of a last resort.

[ He says, like he knows jack shit about drugs. Maybe Silco can even detect a trace of that youthful, ignorant bluster to his words. ]

That's exactly what it is.

[ Silco clasped his hands together, as if it was a proposal that Gen had made, that he agreed with. ]

You wouldn't bring that out on first blush, but when your opponent has already sniped out your healer, and your support is otherwise engaged, what do you have, but to keep fighting, yes? We should be using everything we have to our advantage. I know I've been experimenting with the substances in Achamoth myself [ Actually, subjecting them to other people... ] to see what they do, and figure out what best works when we'll be fighting.

I have a few... excellent suggestions. Beyond that, I am quite capable of putting together strategies to make our teamwork...effective.

We want to use every advantage we can, when taking on the Pleroma next, don't we?

[ It's not like he trusts Silco at all. It's really not. But ...

Gen might put up a tough front, but he's still young; there are cracks to his stoic facade. Though he scowls in response to Silco's words, the way he lets his gaze slide aside after a moment makes it obvious he's giving the other's proposition some thought. Dirt grits underfoot as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other, and fabric rustles as he winds his fingers into his sleeve. ]

... what kinds of substances?

[ He's only asking out of curiosity, he tells himself. Just figuring out his options. But Gen can't forget the fact that he'd directly made Estinien his enemy -- and since he's not planning on just lying down and letting himself get killed, he'll probably need every advantage he can get.

So Gen gives a low huff, like he's just humoring a line of conversation that he thinks is stupid, before adding, ]

And the hell do you mean, 'experimenting.' You just been fucking yourself up with that stuff and going to town in those arenas or something?

[ Silco snorted, something that sounded derisive to the very idea. ] Of course not. Do I look the type?

[ All that veneer over a tiny man with his hair coiffed back, and a scar so massive across his face that even the makeup he put over it didn't actually cover it so much as make it less... foul to look at -- and then there's the eye, that stared at Gen whether Silco blinked or not. ]

I've offered it to others, of course. [ Silco was an ascetic in most ways. Drugs were not there to be used for pleasure, they were there for there to be used. As a means to control other people, obviously. ]

Some of them do... alright. Most substances will make you forget your injuries, or even think quicker... But none of them... [ His fingers on his good hand rubbed together, almost instinctual. ]

None of them are like the one I brought with me. That is like nothing anyone here has seen before. They make you stronger, faster, impervious to pain...

I've heard it's quite the high. [ He only used it...medicinally. ]

[ So the guy doesn't even use them -- whatever tenuous trust he might have had in Silco fades just a little more. And while he gets it on a rational level, knows that someone of Silco's statue probably has limitations when it comes to actually accomplishing anything out on the battlefield ... that casual way he speaks about 'experimenting with substances,' 'offering them to others' makes his skin crawl. It reminds him a bit too much of the way she had talked about matters back home.

... which isn't to say his interest in this subject vanishes completely.

Even as his eyes follow the movements of Silco's fingers, brow lowered, Gen is only quiet for a moment before giving a deadpan response: ]

And what's the downsides.

[ Fuck, he wishes he knew more about this shit. Trying to maintain this pretense at composed rationality is hard when he knows he's practically blind about the subject. The hard edge to his voice sounds a little forced, his bluster a little too pronounced when he continues quickly. ]

Feels good, makes you stronger, no pain -- sounds like the sorta shit you wouldn't stop taking, if it's as you say. So there's gotta be a downside. What does it to -- melt your brains? Leave you blind afterward?

It depends on the dose. For mine... [ he tapped his eye. ] I used it medicinally regularly with no downsides.

[ One drop at a time, a special solution, but it was still Shimmer. He'd been trying, with his new abilities, to see if they would allow him use against his eye, but it was...difficult to manage. Locking down exactly what it was that Singed had done with the formula to make it work was harder, especially since he didn't... have any to compare. Only over a decade of memory. ]

Some find it addictive. [ Extremely addictive. ]

Overuse of course, leaves some of the effects lingering, but...that only happens if one takes it too often. One of my...long-time associates had it injected through her prosthetic arm, to no downside.

[ To be fair...Sevika is Sevika. ] I suppose it depends on how...strong one is, before they try it.

[ He tries to treat everything Silco says with a healthy dose of skepticism. He treats most people with some level of doubt as a baseline, and with the way Silco looks and speaks, he'd be a fool not to treat everything he says as a potential lie. Gen knows better than to trust the words of a man who carries himself the way that Silco does.

He knows that, truly. But still ...

There's a length pause as Gen mulls over what Silco says while trying (poorly) to look like he's not. He's only a moderately skilled liar at the best of time, and only pertaining to one specific lie; he doesn't exactly do a masterful job of hiding his interest in the subject. And it can't be too surprising when he bites his lip in hesitation for a moment longer before finally deadpanning, ]

And what if someone here asked to try it?

[ 'Someone here,' he says while very transparently meaning 'I'. ]

What, you're gonna go through a vetting process or something?

Kenoma Team Training

OVERVIEW

I. WEAPONS TRAINING

II. AGILITY

III. SURVIVAL

IV. STRENGTH

V. REFRESHMENTS

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