Solo The Axe in my Hand

[Lenz]

31st of Spring, 514 AV

The sky was blue, the air around her suffocating her lungs. The lucid hands of intangible substance swarmed into her lungs and punctured holes with their fangs until Lenz was blue in the face. Boredom had increasingly been playing over her for the past few days, lingering on her emotions like a dog who needed to be petted.

The morning wasn’t being kind to her. She was lying in her bedroll, her dagger held in hand as she practiced new techniques. She held the hilt and twisted it in her hand, her wrist cracking in protest until she used her other hand to lightly flip it over to the other.

She tried to catch it a few times, using the tent floor as the catch and not her abdomen. When she knew her palm would grasp the blade, she retracted her reach and let it fall. She did this a few times before the moment struck. She grabbed the hilt in the middle of the air, surprised at her skill. She praised herself before slowly growing bored once more.

She didn’t wish to bother the child that slept beside her, so she kept her words to herself before an epiphany ignited inside her mind. Nothing was exacerbated, for she tossed her weapon to the side and reached for her boots. She thrust her one arm through her coat sleeve and the other through the other hole. She slipped on her shoes and proceeded to evacuate the tent, making sure to nudge Ipisol as a sign of her leaving.

When she emerged from the cave lacking of all oxygen she took a deep breath and opened her chest to the world that stood before her. Instantly, air entered her lungs, filling up the open wounds and carved holes, masking them with their protective arms.

She could have swooned at the invigorating scents that infiltrated her nostrils and blundered through her mouth, but she didn’t. Instead, she blanketed herself in the warmth of her arms, crossing them over her chest and set out for the city with only a few spare mizas.

She kept them lodged in the sole of her boot, and although there were more than a short supply of spares, she still remained aware of the circumstances she could be putting herself into.

As she wound through the tents of the outskirts of the city, she watched as many people were bustling away trying to tie down loose strings to their shelters, lighting up new fires and telling stories to the scummy children of poverty.

She sighed, realising that she had withheld Ipisol from becoming something more than this. She noticed a man blanketing a child with a face full of dirt and couldn’t help but hold back a tear or two. Was this what she was doing to the child she cared for? Was she doing this on purpose? Why of all places was the sun’s berth where she wished to raise a child of which wasn’t hers to begin with? Did the girl even care or mind of the situation she was thriving in?

She writhed in her cloak, bowing her head down as she quickened her pace and scuttled closer to the city’s reaches. Once she had arrived on solid soil, the alley ways closing in on her sides, she let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding.

What was her point to this? Where was she going? These thoughts pummeled into her heart and decapitated the base of her stomach, retching at the thought of all misunderstandings. Was she a bad guardian?

She shook her head, trying to focus on more important things. She wished to cease her boredom and broaneding her knowledge was an alternative to sitting in a tent and playing with a dagger for the rest of the day.

Many days ago she had witnessed a man chopping a tree down. She couldn’t recall where she was or why she was observing said individual, but she could recall what intrigued her most. The way his hand fitted perfectly over the handle part, the axe glistening intently in the spring sunshine. She couldn’t help but flush herself with curiosity as she watched him pull the head back and connect it into the stump of the tree. The sound was astounding and lit her mood to its highest extent.

It was brilliant to see how much damage it did to the plant and so it pressed her to see if she could attain said weapon for future use.

It wasn’t that she was becoming bored of her small dagger, for it was a heirloom and she would treasure it, cherish it for as long as she could remember her mother’s words when given the device. It was because she needed to change of scenery, a feel for something else. A contingency plan, if you would.

And this is why she was marching through the streets of a slummy city, her mind flaming with intent and her eyes scarring the surface of the earth with motivation. Her shoe burned as the money bored holes with their heat. She had to start running to prevent burn marks from marring her fair feet. She sprinted through the city, rounding corners and picking up speed.

She felt the wind on her face and this caused her to momentarily close her eyes. She was on fire; chasing the sun without bounds to the amount of freedom she had been given. She embraced it with an open hug, clasping onto it as if it was a life line and she, under a thread of danger. What more fun could become of such? Her heels clapped the ground, resounding echoes through the alleyways as she continued to run frantically through the city. All of the sudden she then stopped, halting in the midst of the Seaside Market.

Many memories placated the roaming thoughts of aggression. Her morals elicited conscious remembrance at all the events that took place here and would continue to take place here unless she move away.

-~-

[Lenz]

31st of Spring, 514 AV

She took a step forward and merged with the group of people in front of her. A mob of customers and locals were scattered throughout the street, purchasing various items from various stalls. She too would become one of these individuals as she bent down to retrieve her currency from the base of her shoe.

She peered over her shoulder then, cautious and a little wary of those around her. She hadn’t been in the thick of much tumult lately, although she had been last season. With this held in her mind, she was pensive to keep the streak continuing.

She walked a straight line, bordering the middle of the street with the money held tightly in her closed fist. She traipsed the perimeter, glancing at the stands to her left and the people to her right. She searched for the stall she needed and upon finding it, she fled to the scene.

It was a weapon smith of sorts; a wholesale man who sold cheaper weapons and tools to those in need of them. She was grateful for this seller for one thing and one thing only. He gave people such as herself the right for defensive properties. To those that used them for harm, she cringed at the thought of. She needed something besides a small dagger to protect herself if the time called for it.

She walked straight up to the man, forcefully sidestepping a woman whom was already ordering something of unfathomable taste. She rushed to the front, nudging her aside. She wasn’t normally so provocative, but her mind was reeling with motivation and she needed for the idea to suffice before she lost it entirely.

The woman let out a grunt and was near close to initiating an aggressive response when Lenz turned around and gave her a hard, cold stare. She intimidated her further by raising her upper lip and narrowing her eyes. She let her right hand lower to her waist line, daring the lift up her shirt as if to prove the woman that she was armed which in fact, she was not.

This managed to keep the woman’s reeking vengeance at bay. She silenced herself and crossed her arms, muffling an insult too vulgar for any ears to hear. Satisfied with this response, Lenz turned back ‘round and faced the dealer with a feigned smile.

“Hello there,” she said to the man.

“What can I do you for?” he asked in reply.

Lenz placed her index finger on her chin and ground her teeth with her jaw. She searched the premised for something that resembled the instrument that male had used when chopping down that tree. Finally her eyes grazed something similar, and she called out the name immediately.

“I would like to purchase that axe,” she stated definitively.

The man nodded his head and went to retrieve the weapon. When he returned he set the axe on the counter, his hand already extended in terms of being awarded penance.

“That will be ten golden mizas,” he said between clenched teeth. Lenz didn’t understand as to why he was gritting his molars, but whatever the case may be, she knew she needed to finish this transaction quicker than she would have liked.

However, she was surely not going to purchase anything for such a steep price. She would wiggle her way through the debt, for she only had eight mizas or less. She would use every bit of knowledge she had to lower the fee.

“Ten? That’s outrageous!” she said, lowering her eyes. She attempted to be more persuasive, neglecting to flutter her eyes and twirl her hair in between two fingers. “I’m sure your customers hold high distaste for your shop with these prices in mind.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sir, if I may, this axe isn’t worth the price your selling it at. You see the scuff marks on the head? Do you notice the crack in the handle?” She decided to point out a flaw, and although it wasn’t a crack, but a splatter of paint that had been chipping off for who knows how long, she tried to make him perceive things like she was.

“I urge you to lower your price, bargain with me something more suitable, for I do not carry with me ten golden mizas.”

The man thought this over, obviously appearing more intelligent than the woman had initially assumed him to be. He dwelled on a new price and finally, after coming to a logical and fair conclusion, he trilled out another number.

“Does eight golden mizas suite you my dear?” he asked through pressed lips. Lenz noticed the rose colour fading from their vivid red to an off white. He must be displeased with having to go so low.

Lenz still wasn’t happy with the price, so she reached inside her mind to retract something of more dire expulsion. She fled her mind of all thought, holding the idea of what she needed in her mind by imaginary pins and tacks. She retraced her steps inside her brain, searching through the unimportant things before she willed Djed to come from the centre of her body up into her head. She lead it down into her eyes before she forced it through, connecting the latent brain waves of hers and his. She could feel his current thoughts although they remained vague and indecisive. They were cloudly and although she picked up on his current disposition of confused, defiant and enraged, she tangled different thoughts of calm, understanding and persuasive into his mind.

She cleared her mind and continued.

-~-

[Lenz]

31st of Spring, 514 AV

Lower the price, she said to him through her mind. Her hypnotic state was playing with his thoughts. She was spelling out ideas, mere second thoughts into his mind. They roamed through his perspective until they landed on an important vine and continued to grow.

She continued, for she knew the more she tried, the better the result would be. Lower the price, she said. [/i]Lower the price. Lower the price. Lower the price.[/i] Soon it became a chant before she gave up and pulled the useful Djed back into her system.

She tired, but quickly succumbed to full occupancy as she observed the current situation again. He looked a little out of it, clearing confused, yet he seemed without much objection as he cleared his throat.

“Lady, how about I lower it to seven golden mizas instead? Does this sound fair?”

Lenz smiled mischievously as she held out her hand and let seven golden mizas fall into his awaiting palm. She snatched the axe from the table and turned on her heel. It was apparently heavier than it seemed, for it instantaneously fell from her grasp. She picked it up with both hands and held it close, the weight pausing her stride before giving her momentum to walk quicker.

She picked up the pace, her gait now twofold as she retreated back to her tent. Oh, what fun would she encounter for the rest of the day knowing she had new possibilities of infinite imagination?

Her questions were soon answered as soon as she arrived back near her tent. She slid past the shelter without a second gaze in its direction. Her destination was more mysterious than that. She was headed straight for the wilderness of which resided several more yards away.

She crept past the last tent and no longer exposed herself to civilization as she snuck under the first limb of tree. It was budding as was flourishing with new life; this could not go unnoticed. It noticeably slowed the woman down, but did not deter her from what she sought out most during this time.

She finally arrived to where she had been wishing to be throughout all this time. She stood under a few trees, leaves already sprouting from the tips of their bark, shrouding her in the beginning of another green season. She smiled as she looked up at the sky.

Before bowing her head to look at the axe in her hand, she let out a wistful sigh and closed her eyes. What shall she do first? She had no knowledge of the axe. She only knew that the top part was considered the head and the bottom part, the handle. She had no experience with how to correctly hold one let alone use it to chop down something as thick and wide as a tree.

Without sway, she proceeded to glance at her newly owned weapon. She was interested in learning how to use such a beast and therefore, the name dancing atop her head, she would call the axe her beast.

She decided first to hold it by its handle, her hands set closely together. Instantly the top of the axe fell forward, landing with a thud to the soil beneath where she stood.

She let out a frustrated sigh. “Well how do you hold it then?” she asked herself, fuming over a multitude of other possibilities.

She attempted to try another way. She picked up the axe by thrusting her power to raise it into the air and then quickly applied more pressure higher up on the handle with one hand. She then splendid the excess pressure on the bottom of the handle so that the span between both hands was about a foot and a half. This gave her more control over the weapon and in term, made her increasingly pleased.

“Wonderful,” she mused to herself.

Now that she had the basis of holding such an instrument, what would she do next?

-~-

[Lenz]

31st of Spring, 514 AV

She knew exactly what she would do next.

She tested her grip, raising it above her head before she planned to dislodge it from her arms and send it sailing from her grip. How incredulous was this plan exactly? She was bewildered later by her active imagination, for the axe did not leave her hands and sail into the air only to break through the stump of a nearby tree and create a turmoil. Instead, as she raised the axe above her head, she ended up going with it as it started to fall behind her. Her arms were strewn into a strange position as it landed with a thud behind her.

“Stop messing with me!” she shouted at the weapon before anger invaded her calm mood. She swiftly picked up the axe from the ground, detritus from the earth following suite. She proceeded to practice lifting it in terms of strengthening her arms.

She positioned herself so that she was in a relatively balanced stance. She spread her legs so that they were shoulder width apart and pivoted the tips of her shoes so that they were facing directly in front of her. She lowered the axe in her hands, one hand on the head, the other on the handle.

She raised it, huffing in protest as she felt her tendons extend and release the pressure they were being forced to withstand. She lowered it again, letting out a breath of warm air. Once it was fully released from within her lungs, she lifted the weapon again, only higher this time.

She felt her biceps unfurling, rejecting the power they were being assumed to possess. She denied giving them any lenience as she continued to build up more strength.

Once she did this for a few chimes and after she had worked up a sweat, for set the axe down and started to stretch. She raised her arms above her head and pulled her shoulder up so that she was reaching for the sun.

“I need to make this work,” she told herself as she leant to pick up the axe.

She sat herself down with the axe and pondered propositions. She thought over techniques, visualizing them in her mind. Everything the world handed to someone was easier said than done, but Lenz was a very optimistic person or at least she tried to be. With these new found ideas plastered into her mind by adhesive of rough sorts, she quickly stood up.

“I will try this,” she said to herself before attempting to perform a technique with attributes she did not thus far hold.

She gripped the beast with her hands, exactly the way she had the second time she did, after she had correct herself from the first try. They were near close to a foot away from one another before she raised it over her head with precautious predictions. It fell with more force than intended, but this was to be expected. She applied more pressure to her feet, grounding herself against the laws of gravity. She steeled herself and grit her teeth before she regained a decent hold on what she owned.

“You are mind and I control you,” she whispered to the object.

She then proceeded to step forward, driving the head of the axe into the closest tree she could locate. It is it rather hard, more so than she had thought it would, yet it bounced off, rejecting the strike.

She was confused. Why didn’t it create a scar in the bark? Upon closely observing the blade of the axe, she realised that it did not have a sharp point like her dagger did, but instead it had a relatively sharp side, angling so like all axes did.

She mentally slapped her forehead before trying again. She raised the axe at a diagonal position, so that it was in line with her shoulder, picking up on different techniques as she progress. She then brought it down with her ultimate power. It struck the tree, splintering off pieces of wood and eliciting a sound of victory.

She cheered, letting the axe drop to the ground as she thrust her arms into the sky, smiling vividly as she reveal white teeth.

“I did it!” she screeched before settling down. It wasn’t all that hard. One just needed to have motivation and courage to do whatever they wished to pursue in. She had done just this and she had succeeded. However, she wasn’t finished quite yet.

-~-

[Lenz]

31st of Spring, 514 AV

oocI apologise for the length of this post. My computer was acting rather rudely to me and neglected to post all I had, resulting in my frantic attempts to recreate my post.

She was holding the axe in her hand, a frown of concentration on her face. Her eyes were narrowed and her breath was flowing out through her nose like the waves of the coastline. She smirked abruptly as she tried again.

This time, instead of the normal ‘bring up and bring down’ attack, she sidled to the right and leapt, using her jumping movement to create momentum. She brought the side of the axe so that it went behind her back. She drew it forward and watched it crash into the base of the tree.

Triumph rang through her ears as she quickly ran over to observe the damage she had done.

“Beautiful brown covered by moss
What be it that I have come across?
Magic or strength, the power to possess,
A frantic rhythm of a heartbeat to caress.
Or is it fairly intellect that changes the mind
Is it this of which I have to find?
The scar on this tree is from my own hands
The position of which my feet lands
The sound of the thunder creating such crack
Instead, it is I who have created this attack
Marring the plant with my weapon I did
My weakness with no longer be hid
I am powerful and true to my word
Those insults all of which I have heard
They be not true, for I can earn
A rightful name from all I can learn.”

She said these words, the lyrics of her heart through her lips, all in the form of a chant. They dripped from her tongue with more sympathy, more creativity and driven understanding than that of an incantation, yet it remained similar in the fact that it was poetic and justified.

She stifled a giggle from the feeling of achievement as she picked up her axe and held it in a more formidable position and returned home. She would learn more in the future, or so she hoped, but before she left, she made sure to mark her territory or where she had studied this weaponry.

She carved an X onto the tree she had tried to murder using the side of her axe before traipsing back to her tent to rest.

-~-

[Zandelia]

Lenz :

Skills
Weapon: Axe – 2
Persuasion – 1
Composition – 1
Hypnotism – 2
Socialization – 2
Philosophy – 1
Observation - 3

Lores
Hypnotism: Riding Thoughts
Axe Tech: Correct Gripping
Composition: Rhyme And Rhythm

Notes :

Again, very nice. Well done.

Any problems with my grade? Please me at any time. Keep Writing!