Welcome to Gaia! ::

Fifteen Bandits, members of the Water and Ice Empire, walked into the clearing around Twilight Lake. The Bandits were a mixture of immigrants of the Dark Empire, Water/Ice Bandits, and bandits from the Desert Kingdoms. The Lake was so tranquil, the water shimmering around the group as they came close. The wagons with supplies in them pulled up as well, and the Bandits rejoiced, taking sips of water from the lake and using it to wash their faces after the long journey. The Leaders of the group began to give orders to the others, and the colonization began with the building of Town Center. Just then, 5 Water/Ice Wyverns flew over head, and landed in the area, acting as watch guards. No animals would dare attack the five mighty beasts.
The Town center was a large building made of a dark blue type of brick, with golden trim around the walls, giving it a quite royal look. The settlers were very happy that their hard work had payed off. They began to build their houses the same way, except with silver trim. After a short amount of time, the Villagers began to rejoice at a tavern they had made, and after a long time of drinking, they sent out 5 designated fliers who were not drinking to ride the Wyverns and search for any potential threats. They had orders from Kira they had to follow. The other Bandits were not too drunk, and made their way to the lake, where they relaxed and swam in its clear waters, enjoying the water fall.
It was not long before the Wyvern riders got back, reporting a variety of wildlife all around the area, but they all seemed peaceful and tranquil, just like the lake. It was an odd phenomenon. They just shrugged it off, and they began to take a nice rest before they continued with Kira's orders.

It was a warm sunny day in the 12th hour. A young mage named Itami Asui finally arrived to his destination after his long journey. The twilight lake is where he would train for 7 days and 6 nights. Since the lake was property of the water/ice empire, Itami would not have any problems or interruptions and can finally train in peace and comfort in solitude. He made his way toward the lake carrying a travel pack, enough food for a week, and a few change of clothes. He set his equipment down and drank some of the tranquil fresh water. It was as delicious as everyone said. If it weren't for the training, Itami might have continued his drank until his stomach was filled with the cool liquid. He began stretching when the 5 Water/Ice Wyverns guards came. They landed about 20 meters from Itami, and began studying him to judge if he was an intruder. After what seemed like forever, the Wyverns flew away, giving the impression of approval. Itami pulled out a scroll with spells he would he mastering during his stay. He sat down, meditated for awhile, and began feeling his magic surface. Mizugijutsu number 1....create, he thought to himself before a gallon of water materialized in his hands. Itami made sure he could hold it for at least 2 minutes before dropping the water and remaking it over and over again, getting familiar with the spell. Within an 3 hours, Itami was able to easily create the water and increase the size to about 1 and a half gallons. Within 5 hours, the size increased to 2 gallons, but left Itami exhausted and starving. He decided it was break time, and casually searched his bag for dinner, which was half a loaf of bread, cheese, and fruit. The meal was finished quickly and the end result left Itami's hunger satisfied. After taking a few sips from the lake, he resumed his endless traning, and burned almost all magic by the end of the night. Not bad for my first day. Hope tomorrow my body will get used to this strain.....

He rested his travel pack and supplies within an arms from his body and laid down on the soft grass. It was a cool beautiful night with stars shining in the sky. The moon reflected off the lake, making it surprisingly bright for night time. Itami reviewed his scrolls and spells a few more times before adjusting his body to a comfortable position, and dosed off to sleep. The Wyverns flew around the lake a few hours later, making sure there were no intruders and protecting Itamis body.

Itami awoke with the feeling of hunger and the rustle of leaves. He felt the presence of small animals drinking from the lake, and smiled at the scene. He lay there for a few minutes, just enjoying the feel and peace. When he got up, his body was not sore anymore, but rather energetic. His stomach rumbled, so he made his way to his food pack. He searched his pack and found dry meat, fruit, and his water bottle. He took his time eating and watched the small animals drink of the water and rub off each other. There were two baby deers, a few ducks, and another tiny creature Itami wasn't too sure was. He washed his face after the meal and meditated. Not long after, magic began to surface and retract into the mage.

He took his scroll and picked out a few spells to master that evening. Mizugijutsu 1, create...two and a half gallons of water snapped into reality. Mizugijutsu 3....block!. The water instantly morphed into a sturdy shield as large as a human torso. Itami poked at it, and smiled as the texture and strength was smooth and powerful. He practiced moving it from place to place, making specific parts stronger and weaker, expanding and making it smaller, and editing its appearance. Itami was satisfied as soon as he expanded it to 1.5x its size. Time for another spell. Lets see....oh, this will do. Mizugujutsu 5, pond!. He pointed an empty spot in front of him and a puddle about 6 feet long and wide appeared. He focused on that water for a few hours and expanded it little by little, ending up with 10 feet long and wide and 2 feet deep.

Blood trickled down his nose from the continuous use of magic. He looked up at the sky and was surprised that it was night time already. Itami stared at the puddle of water he made and muttered "Asuigijutsu 1, freeze" before pointing at it. Within seconds, ice crystals swam all around the puddle and froze the water. He walked over to the puddle and placed his hand on it. It was strong ice, perhaps strong enough to take his weight. He set his foot on it, pressed some weight, and did not so much hear a creak. Itami placed the other foot on it, and began walking around every inch of the puddle until a crack made way. There weren't any. He started to reapply layer after layer of ice on the puddle.

After that, he created his water spike ball twice the size of a baseball and made the ball fly at the ice at breakneck speed with his magic. He ball crushed and sunk into the ice like butter. But the impact left many tiny ice particles everywhere. Thats what I am talking about! I can use my freeze and pond spell in completion and trap my enemy. Perfect!. Itami began to play with the spells he mastered, creating fighting uses for them and making them stronger. For example, he stood behind his water shield while flying multiple pummel spells at it. The shield stayed intact for the first few attacks, but dissolved after the 4th hit. Then he would concentrate on making the shield stronger, and came up with an ice shield. The ice shield was harder and stronger, but slower and lacked flexibility. In the end, almost all his attacks had an ice version.

Itami walked up the lake and took a long drink of tranquil water, which replenished his fluids and motivation. "Mizigijutsu 7: walk", He muttered aloud. He placed his feet on the lake water and walked around rather awkwardly. He decided to train on his water walking, as it may come in handy one day. For the next several hours, he walked, jogged, ran, and jumped around the lake. He concentrated on his hands and performed a handstand on the water. The spell didnt use much magic, and Itami figured he could stay on water for a while. The only worry he kept on thinking about was if he gave into distraction. The spell took a considerable amount of concentration. He shrugged it off and decided to worry when the time came.

Itami made his way toward land, took one more sip of the lake, and laid down to look at the bright stars and the white moon. Like the first night, it was unnaturally bright for night time. The five Water/Ice Wyverns over the lake. Itami closed his eyes and fell asleep.

It was dawn when Itami woke up. Before washing his face or stretching, he meditated for several hours. Before coming, He made a silent promise to not only work on his magic, but too also heighten his other attributes including senses, concentration, knowledge, and other useful skills. By meditating, he cleared his thoughts and stayed in a calm state. Staying calm in dangerous situations meant thinking clearly, which ultimately ended with victory. So, he spent the next few hours trying to comprehend and visualize becoming stronger to help his empire. He asked himself a series of questions on how to strengthen his body and magic.

The objective was to stay calm and not get frustrated in irritating times. Within a few hours, his mind loosened and he saw the world a little more clearly. Several hours following that, he was able to switch from a stressful state to a laid back mode. Itami finally opened his eyes and noticed his surroundings was clear and peaceful. All the scents and smells were now individual, and weren't as tangled up as before. His body was lighter and his eyes were sharper. The far away sounds became understandable. He welcomed the world and took in all the activities. Then, he began his daily activities.

Minutes after that he changed clothes and chewed on stale bread with cheese and dry meat. When he drank the tranquil water, it was cool and delicious. Itami cupped some of the water, shaped it to a small dagger, and froze it. He took the dagger and aimed at a specific spot in the lake. Asui threw it, hoping to get a bullseye. The ice dagger didn't hit the spot, but froze all around it. As soon as it made contact with the water, ice particles attacked the surrounding water and made a 10 feet circle of ice. Itami was struck stupid and sheepishly let out a wide grin. He made his own unique spell!

For the next few minutes, Itami made ice daggers in quick succession and threw them at random spots on both land and air. The results kept on improving until Itami made bullseye nine tries out of ten. The daggers were quick and lightweight, meaning they could serve many purposes. The ice crystals that froze his targets were strong and sharp. He took a 15 minute break before going back to his nifty little ice daggers. With that mastered, Itami continued on to his main spells. Lets see....wheres that scroll....oh here we go! Ok, this spell looks very useful.... Mizugijutsu 8: Water Gatling.

A blue swirling shape of water appeared in Itami's right palm and swirled continuously. He extended his palm and forced magic into it. In that instant, a couple water blast shot out with incredible speed and crashed into the lake, creating large explosion on impact. He aimed his palm towards the grass and let out another barrage. The blast had the same effect on the ground as the lake but instead made small dirt marks the size of baseballs.

He froze the swirling object hovering above his palm out of curiosity for improvement. The result caused the shape to move in a opposite direction and slightly change color from deep blue to blueish green. He shot a few blast, which came out frozen, at the lake and they made a water explosion 1.5x more then before. It gave the impression as a stronger force, which Itami favored despite the heavy cost of magic. The last spell Itami was to master was a counter spell against fire. Itami thought for a few moments and decided he didn't need to spell, given his special powers of water and ice control.

It was evening time. Itami practiced his ice daggers and Gatling spell several more times before giving in to restless sleep. Small animals approached Itami's unconscious body and looked through his equipment. When they found his food, they ate most of the fruits, bread, and cheese but left the dry meat and rotten eats. Asui awoke a few minutes later, sensing something wrong. When his stomach grumbled and he looked through his food, he swore softly. He got up and walked toward the forest. Minutes later he came back carrying several dead animals and built a fire. After the feast, he sat down, reminisced about the good 'ole times, and fell asleep. Again.

Itami decided he was going to leave a day early since he didn't have enough food. He also decided to leave that night, since he was getting a little bored from training all the time. So, he began his usual ritual for preparation. His family had a secret forbidden skill that few people knew about. The power was so strong, if misused, it can cost the users life. It was called blood control, and like the name suggest, it allows the user to manipulate their own blood, along with their opponents. The skill required years of training to master, and thankfully Itami's parents taught him much of it before their death. He decided he was gonna spend his last day practicing the powerful spell. Concentration was key when using blood control, as was magic and obviously blood. He went looking for an animal. After a 20 minute period of searching, Itami caught a tiny squirrel-like creature and sealed it in ice. He went back to camp and placed the ice sealed animal 10 yards east of him. Then, with extreme concentration, Itami summoned his bloodline magic. The creature's blood reacted to his. Slowly and carefully, the mage extended his magic toward the creature. The animal froze when Itami's magic reached its blood. Asui then issued the easy plain command of running in circles to the creature. After melting the ice, the animal reluctantly ran in circles repeatedly. The spell controlled victims blood, and therefore their bodies. The victims however were still conscious. So they experienced everything about the situation, and felt everything involving their bodies. A few harder commands followed after, such as climbing trees, standing them upright, and stopping their lungs. The end result after a few hours left the animal dead and Itami satisfied. He momentarily worried if his victim were to have too much control, and therefore would leave Itami vulnerable for a few precious seconds. With that thought, he set out for more test subjects to practice with. The rest of the night was devoted to giving several creatures different task at the same time. It was very struggling and left Itami sweaty and tired, but satisfied. All the subjects died when Itami stopped their hearts in succession. With that finished, he drank one last sip from the tranquil lake, packed his bags, and left the forest with confidence in his skills. The water/ice Wyverns roared at his departure, some sort of signal of goodbye.

The soldiers proceeded to create the third barracks for the Twilight Lake colony. They had orders to build another barracks, as the Lord wanted much more soldiers for an unknown reason. The soldiers took their tools and began to build up the training facility. They sang a song to keep them busy and prevent them from getting too bored. The new cadets from the second barracks were also helping build the barracks. The military program of the Water/Ice empire was starting to get off to a pretty good start. After a few hours of long hard work. The soldiers celebrated their success.