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Trial of the Body

Grandmaster: At the dawn of the second day, again Sati and Silver where woken at first
light. They where allowed to quickly eat and wash their selves, and then where lead
Through the hallways again, this time to a large arena type structure, enough to seat most
of the monks in the monastery, with a small balcony for the Grandmaster, who stood as
Sati and Silver walked into the dirt floored arena. "Welcome! Welcome! Today you shall
undertake the Trial of the Body. We will test you to the limits of your physical
endurance, testing your fighting skills and physical prowness. Now for the first test, a test
of strength." He gestures a little, towards two small round boulders set on one side of the
arena. "You must move those to the other side of the arena, in any way you can
physically do so, as fast as you can." He sits again, smiling a little.

Silver: Silver smiled at Sati, and gestured towards the boulders. "Shall we my love?"

Sati: Sati rubbed her eyes, still not feeling a hundred percent after the previous day’s trials
what she wanted was more sleep, and a proper good morning from Silver. But that was
the point of all this wasn’t it? To prove that she had the strength and selflessness to be a
protector for the other Fa'e and those to come. 'As ready as I will ever be,' she said.

Silver: Silver smiled, and kissed Sati on the cheek. As they got nearer to the boulder, he
noticed the hole drilled through the middle, and started looking around, getting an
idea. "He didn't say we couldn't work together on this one, did he?"

Sati: She stifled a yawn, looking sheepish and shook her head; 'I don’t believe so no.
Why?' she asked as she walked over to the boulders. "What have you come up with?'

Silver: *silver smiles, and walks over to a rack of weapons, picking a stout quarterstaff,
and slid it through the holes in the boulders, a good foot sticking out to either side, like
a handle. "Shall we work together then?" He gives a little mischievous grin.

Sati: She nodded, wiping her hands on her trousers before wrapping two of them around
one end of the staff - she didn’t want to use all four in case she got tired; this way it was
simply a matter of swapping her grip.

Silver: Silver smiles, and grabs his end, and nods, starting to push, the boulders slowly
starting to roll along the dirt floor, creating two small indents as they roll.

Sati: She pushed along with him, feeling the strain all along her arms and shoulders.
Flicking her hair out of her face impatiently, she turned to see how he was faring.

Silver: Silver smiled at Sati, shrugging a little while pushing. "Its hard, but it can be
done. I have a feeling that after today we are both going to be sore.

Sati: 'And not in the good way either,' she said, breathing heavily as her feet dug into the
ground. She smiled faintly.

Silver: Silver chuckled a little "True. Ah well, nothing we can do about it but get
through it."

Sati: 'Uh huh,' she mumbled, concentrating on moving mountains - so to speak.

Silver: Silver nods, and goes back to pushing. They where over half way there already.

Silver: as they reached the last quarter of the arena, it became apparent that it was
slightly uphill, as the going got tougher.

Sati: 'Is - it - me,' she panted, her muscles screaming at her for rest. 'Or is this getting
harder to push?'

Silver: Silver shakes his head. "No, it is. I think there is a slight incline here. We’re
almost there. One last push!" Silver growls a little and pushes hard, the boulders
rolling the rest of the way up the hill and sliding into the indents made for them there.
Silver stands up, groaning a little, panting for breath.

Sati: Sati uttered a little noise as he pushed harder, surprising her. The staff slipped in her
sweaty hands and she stumbled forwards. She landed on hands and knees and poked her
tongue out at him; 'I'm glad we made it but you are sooo going to get it for that.'

Silver: Silver chuckles, and shrugs.

Grandmaster: The grandmaster stood again. "Well done. Now comes the next challenge.
You must show your prowness in unarmed combat in a one on one match with one of the
monks. I shall give you 5 minutes to rest yourself before you begin."

Sati: Unarmed combat? She sat down heavily, trying to centre herself, and she breathed
deeply. 'Combat on tired limbs - this should be fun.' she grinned at Silver.'Of course
you're probably feeling as fresh as a daisy. Mr. Boundless energy.'

Silver: Silver shrugged a little. "I'm defiantly not fresh. I'm all sweaty. But I’ve got
plenty of energy."

Sati: 'I know..' she said, smiling and winking, alluding to their private time together.

Silver: Silver chuckles a little.

Chen: A very young monk walks in, and bows to Sati. "My master has instructed me
that you are to go first. I am to be your opponent. My name is Chen."

Sati: Sati scrambled to her feet hastily, sweeping her hair back and up into a loose
ponytail. She bowed back; 'Hello Chen,' she said quietly.

Chen: Chen smiles a little, and walks to the center of the arena, bowing first to Sati, and
then to the grandmaster before taking up his stance.

Sati: Sati walked into the arena, standing with her feet apart, and her knees slightly bent.
She breathed slowly, wondering if this 'Chen' would strike first.

Chen: Chen stepped forward, launching a punch at Sati's midsection, moving quickly.

Sati: She barely caught his move in time, he had caught her by surprise, and she managed
move back enough for him to graze her before she grabbed his wrist and twisted.

Chen: Chen smiled, and lashed out with one foot, kicking at the back of her knee.

Sati: The kick connected and she fell forward, putting a hand on the floor and sweeping
round to catch his feet from under him.

Chen: Chen was surprised by this move and rolls backwards as he falls, standing up
with a grin. "Well done miss"

Sati: She popped up, getting to her feet in one fluid motion, standing ready as she
nodded; 'Thanks,' she said, grinning back.

Chen: Chen smiles, and runs forward, grabbing one arm, tugging her close, and locking
the arm behind her back.

Sati: Humph, she thought - disarming smile and quick moves. She leaned back into him,
and gripped into his neck with a free hand, simultaneously stamping hard on his right foot
with hers.

Chen: Chen cries out in pain, releasing his grip.

Sati: She kept hold of him, bending forward and pulling him over her, to throw him to
the floor.

Chen: Chen grunts a little as he thuds into the floor, moving, a little stunned.

Sati: She backed up, shaking the arm he had pinned, pacing the arena floor warily as she
waited for him to get up.

Chen: Chen groaned, and stood, favoring his right leg a little, waiting for Sati to make
the first move.

Sati: She clicked her arm, and moved forward, aiming for his left side, a punch heading
for his torso.

Chen: Chen blocked for the punch, moving a little slow, wearing out a little.

Sati: She pushed his blocking arm down, sending a punch at his jaw, with another arm.

Chen: Chen goes out like a light, falling on his back.

Sati: She backed off, shaking her fist. 'He has a hard jaw,' she said, looking down at him,
looking worried. She hoped he was okay, and she looked over at Grandmaster.

Chen: Chen groans, slowly waking up. "You win miss." He holds his head, groaning
again. "That was one hell of a right hook."

Sati: She held a hand out to him; 'You were good too,' she smiled wryly. 'And thanks.'

Chen: He grins, and takes the hand, standing up and shaking it before tottering off to the
exit, holding his head still.

Sati: She searched Silver out, giving him a bashful grin.

Silver: Silver chuckles a little, and shrugs, waiting for his opponent.

Tsunami: As Sati and Silver waited, another monk walked into the circle in the middle of
the room. Standing nearly 7 feet tall, and well muscled, he looked like a miniature giant.
He smiled a little, and bowed to Silver. "I am to be your opponent sir. I am called
Tsunami.

Sati: Sati blinked a little. 'Rather you then me,' she whispered, chuckling a little.

Silver: Silver chuckled a little at Sati, and steps forward, stretching a little before
bowing to Tsunami, and then to the grandmaster.

Tsunami: Tsunami bows back, and then bows to the grandmaster. At the signal to
start, he brings one fist forward, punching at Silver who blocks. While he stops the
punch, silver is blown back a few feet, wincing.

Silver: “Now I see how you got your name. You hit like the wave you’re named
after.” Silver smiles, and launches himself forward, launching a flurry of punches
at Tsunami, getting a few past his guard.

Tsunami: Tsunami grunts a little in pain, and kicks, connecting solidly with Silver.

Silver: Silver just grins, clinging to the leg as he throws himself backwards, tossing
Tsunami over himself to land hard, then standing up, wincing a little. That had
hurt.

Tsunami: Tsunami struggles to his feet, a little dazed, shaking his head. “Come

Silver: Silver nods, and leaps forward again, slamming his forehead into
Tsunami’s, kneeing him in the gut at the same time. Slowly the giant topples, out
cold.

Silver: Silver panted for breath, sitting on the bench to one side, shaking his bruised
limbs. "That was a tough fight."

Sati: Sati rushed over, hugging him, ignoring any stares from the monks. 'Are you ok
Hun?'

Silver: "Yeah. Just a little sore. He hit like the wave he was named after." Silver
grinned a little, waiting for the grandmaster to announce what was next.

Grandmaster: They didn't have long to wait. Soon, the grandmaster stood, and smiled.
"It is now time for you to prove yourself at armed combat. In this, you will be fighting
automatons instead of real people, but they shall fight like a real person would. So pick
your weapon of choice while we ready the test."

Sati: 'Sai's,' she said straight away, stretching her legs.

Silver: Silver thought for a moment, and then shrugged, his wings shifting to his
normal sword, then back again. "I'll use Starfang."

Sati: She pulled her pant legs up and took her Sai's out of her boots, laying them on her
lap.

Silver: The grandmaster stood again, and gestured for Sati and Silver to stand in the
middle of the room. "In this portion of the trial, you two shall be working together to
defeat your enemies. So be ready, for they come soon.

Silver: Silver nodded, holding his sword at guard, putting his back to Sati's, keeping a
look out.

Sati: Sati twirled her Sai's, holding them at her side. She nudged Silver gently with a
heel, feeling reassured that he was fighting with her this time.

Silver: Silver smiles a little, tail brushing across sati's back, as he cocks an ear,
listening. "Something’s coming"

Silver: As Silver speaks, there are 5 explosions of dirt in the arena floor as something
leaps up from under the dirt. As the dust cleared, it showed 5 very large mechanical
spiders, limbs ending in razor edges.

Sati: 'Something’s are here.' she pointed, her eyes widening at the sight of the metallic
arachnids.

Silver: "Yeah, I have 3 over here to. Ugly, aren’t they. Let them come to us, and try to
stick together, kay?"

Sati: 'Wait for them to come to us?' she said out of the corner of her mouth, as she
watched them. 'Unless you have a VERY large magnet or crusher I think we should pick
them off one by one.' she paused. 'If we can.'

Silver: Silver smiles, his sword going out to one side, shimmering as it shifts to a large
maul. "Will this do? How many of the uglies do you have over there?"

Silver: As silver talks, the spiders start to circle the pair, moving quickly and with agility
despite there bulk.

Sati: 'Two,' she said, weaving her Sai's in front of her, waiting for them to move. 'I don’t
see what I can do...' she thought. 'Unless I bait them and you smash them.'

Silver: "Study the enemy. Since they are mechanical, you need to find a c***k in their
armor, especially around where the legs and other moving parts are, and slip your Sai
inside and break and jam the gears and workings. And here comes one! Head to your
left!" Silver jumped to the right, swinging his maul at the spider's legs as it passes,
Wincing as the maul just vibrates in his hands. "Oww. That thing is tough!"

Sati: Sati dived out of the way, rolling into a break-fall. She leapt up, jumping onto one
of the spiders as it passed, grabbing hold and trying to find a gap to slide the tip of her Sai
into. The metal bit into her skin, cutting her.

Silver: Silver growled a little, and shimmered, growing in size to almost nine and a half
feet, turning more feral, eyes glowing a faint silver color as he shifts the sword to its
normal form, hacking at the next spider to make a pass at him, managing to dent in the
armor on top a little, and noticing something. "Sati! Go for the eyes! There made of
glass or crystal!" Silver cries out in pain as one of the spiders manages to slice his
lower leg. He spins, cocking a fist and punching the thing in its head, a cracking noise
and going to one side, but the spider continued on.

Sati: The spider she was on flicked, scuttling and rocking from side to side. She lost her
grip, two hands cut up and she slid along the floor a little way. Stopping she sat up,
wincing as Silver was injured. She leapt up, going over to him, twirling her Sai in her
hand so that she was holding it hilt down. Grabbing the spider's back, she hit downwards,
hearing some of the eyes tinkle as she smashed. 'Get - off - him!' she yelled, gripping
with blood slicked hands as she bashed at its eyes.

Silver: Silver growls again, and stiffens one hand, his claws enlarged in this form, he
ducks under the beast, spotting a weak point in the armor, driving his hand in claws
first, and pealing back the armor as his sword changes to long sword and shield he
drives the sword into the gears and workings inside, which grind to a halt, the spider
stopping, and smoking. "Ummm. We might want to get away in case it goes boom."
Silver waits till sati gets off, then lifts the spider, tossing it at the next one to delay it.

Sati: Sati released her grip from the broken mechanical; 'One down,' she said, flinching
as she flexed her cut hands.

Silver: Silver nods, and summons up 2 pairs of tough leather gloves, handing them to
Sati one handed. "Here. You’re going to need these. I'll keep them busy for a bit."
Silver charges the nearest Spider, bashing into it with his shield, flipping it onto its
back and dodging out of the way as 2 others came after him.

Sati: 'Thanks,' she muttered, sliding them on. She gripped her Sai's again, stalking over to
where he was battling a spider. She ducked as one leapt into the air at her, and she aimed
her Sai at its underside, throwing it into its cogs. She flipped over, getting to her feet
again.

Silver: Silver hopped on the downed spider, dodging its flailing legs, and stabbing his
sword downwards into its underside, causing it to smoke and spark, stabbing until it
stops moving.

Silver: "Two left. Let’s take them down."

Sati: The spider who she had thrown the Sai into came scuttling back to her, creaking and
sparking, and it leapt again, landing on her. She fell back with a thud, smashing at its
eyes with her secondary Sai, as it stabbed her through. She twisted as it stabbed and it
missed anything vital, going through her flesh on her side.

Silver: Silver's eyes go red, and he growls, charging the one going after Sati, sword
leading in a full out thrust, stabbing through the joint around the head, circling to
sever it, then slowly withdrawing the claw from Sati, tossing the spider to one side as he
turns to the last 2 spiders, standing guard over Sati. "How bad?"

Sati: She coughed, sitting up and holding her side, feeling the blood seep through her top;
'It stabbed me Silver,' she grimaced. 'Its bad enough.' she got to her feet, retrieving her
Sai from the broken spider. 'Let’s finish this,' she growled.

Silver: Silver nods, and shifts his sword back to its normal form, charging the nearest
spider, swiping at its legs, bending them at an angle, the spider going over. Ignoring
the one he had taken down, he runs after the second one.

Sati: She went over to the overturned one, stabbing through its gears. Rolling it over she
smashed its eyes as well, dropping her Sai's and holding her side. She watched Silver.

Silver: Silver dropped one shoulder, flipping the spider over before dropping an
overhead chop on the spider, cleaving it in two. He walked over to Sati, driving his
sword into the dirt, tilting an ear. "I don't think this is over yet, but we have some
breathing room for me to at least fix you up some." Silver slipped his hands under
Sati's shirt, covering the stab wound as his hands glow a little, making the area icy cold
and numb as the wound starts to close, healing some, though not all the way. The
wound appears on silver partially, though his body starts healing it partially, stopping
the blood from seeping out. "There. That’s all I can do in a rush job. It'll still hurt like
hell, but your not going to bleed all over the place now" Silver scowls at the floor,
watching a large area of dirt move. "Head to the walls. Whatever’s coming is big. Real
big."

Sati: She bit her lip as he stopped her from bleeding; 'Thanks,' she gasped, moving as
swiftly as she could. Now what? Had they not fought enough yet? She would give her life
for her friends - but she might not even have that opportunity at this rate. She leaned on
the wall, watching the arena floor.

Silver: Silver shrugged a little, quickly tightening his gauntlets, and then staring as a
massive pincher came out of the dirt, clacking. Quickly, a truck sized mechanical
scorpion crawled out of the dirt, clacking its claws at them, its tail waving around as it
looked at them. "God Damn that’s a big bug."

Sati: She chuckled, wincing as the action hurt her side; 'Its not a bug...but yes its big,' she
pulled herself more upright.

Silver: Silver watched the tail weaving back and forth, and at the claws. "This is going
to be one tough nut to crack."

Sati: 'Uh huh,' she nodded, holding her side. She was fighting her pain, and trying to
think how to attack it best.

Silver: Silver glances back at Sati. "I've got an idea. It all depends on if you can run or
not."

Sati: 'I can run - just don’t ask me to run a marathon.'

Silver: Silver nods, and shifts his sword to a Kasuri Gama, tossing the weighted end of
the long chain to her. "We're going to tangle its feet up. So you won't have to run for
long." He smiles a little, keeping one eye on the scorpion.

Sati: She caught the weighted end with her spare hands, nodding at him; 'Okay.'

Silver: Silver nods, and runs forward, dodging low under one of the pincers, chain
catching on its front legs as he runs past them.

Sati: She ran when he ran, the movement jogging her wound. The chain jangled as it
struck the legs and she moved round so that it snagged properly.

Silver: *Silver weaved through the legs quickly, finding a joint in the armor of the
beast and stabbing in the sickle part of the weapon to anchor the chain, running over
to where sati was, helping her hold the chain tight, pulling all the slack out. "Just a
little more and WATCH OUT!" Silver snatches Sati out of the way just in time as the
things tail stabs into the ground. "Too close." Silver tugs on the chain more, moving
with the scorpion, trying to stay away from the tail.

Sati: Sati shuddered at how close she had come to being impaled. She held her side,
shaking her head. 'Don’t know if I can do any good here,' she said, dodging another
strike.

Silver: Silver nodded. "Can I borrow one of your Sais? I need to anchor this Chain on
it so I can dodge and fight right."

Sati: She threw him one; 'Go for it love.'

Silver: Silver smiled, and pulled the chain tight, slipping the sai through one of the
links before driving it hard into one of the joints of the beasts armor, diving backwards
to avoid its tail, snatching a naginata off of the wall. "Well, its tangling up now. Just
need to take care of that tail now. How to do that though?"

Sati: 'If you can get it to stab the wall, or even better, itself,' she said, musing out loud.

Silver: "Hmmm. That could work. Wish me luck love, and be ready to rescue me." He
grins, and dashes at the creature, planting his pole into the dirt and using it like a pole
vault, landing on the creatures back, holding the spear, watching the tail.

Sati: She managed a grin in return, watching him jump onto the scorpion.

Silver: Silver smiled, watching the tail, the claws on his feet digging in a little to hold
him on its back. In a flash the tail streaked down at him as he rolled forward. There
was a sound of crumpling metal, as well as a yelp of pain from Silver as the tail
clubbed him in the head a little as it went by.

Sati: 'Silver!' she yelled, darting forwards and scrambling onto the scorpion.

Silver: Silver smiles a little, shaking his head. "I'm okay. Just got clocked a little in the
head."

Sati: 'Thank god for your thick skull,' she said, smiling.

Silver: Silver chuckled, and as they sat there, the scorpion and spiders just faded away,
as did their wounds. "What the?"

Grandmaster: The grand master came out again, smiling. "Good Good. You have past
the second trial. Now it is time for food and rest, for tomorrow you pass the final and
most difficult trial."

Sati: Sati flopped, laying back. 'Reeeeest.' she said, yawning.

Silver: Silver chuckled, and nodded, drifting off to sleep where he was.