RP:The Tar Monster

Summary: While out patrolling the Western Lands, Syrri Darkfoot and her aide come across Aoife who is immediately attacked by a monster in the tar pits — only for said monster to actually be Jin Feng, long-lost monk and nibling of the pixie herself. Pledging to help, Syrri guides Jin to the Warrior's Guild headquarters, and along the way, learns all about Breath, a mystical energy she's not entirely convinced isn't just magic with extra steps.

Tar Pits, Western Lands

Jinfeng had disappeared quite thoroughly after the fight where he'd been knocked down into the tarpit on a wake of fire. The flames had died down... eventually, but the Monk had never really reappeared after that. Most people probably assumed he was dead. That said, the pit he'd sunk into had started to... revolve? recently. This is concerning because it's tar. Tar doesn't tend to have currents so much as just sucking everything heavy enough to break its surface tension down into its infinite depths forever, and it's certainly not supposed to be spinning with sufficient velocity that the resulting vortex is -visible to the naked eye-. So certain parties had decided to put out requests to investigate why that was happening. Jin didn't know this, he was busy meditating in seclusion down in the bottom of the tarpit, cycling the qi inside his body and in the tar around him in increasing mass and velocity, which was the reason, incidentally, that it was now doing its best Torino impression.

Aoife knew exactly why the tar was doing a maelstrom impression. Not that she'd told anyone. Hua Po Aoife wasn't the most sociable of faeries. In fact she wasn't strictly speaking a fairy if you asked her. Not that she hadn't been active during the months her would-be ward had secluded himself literally at the bottom of a pit. She was just fine with isolating herself in the wilderness and coming around only to brawl with sailors and drink all their rum. And playing occasional pranks on locals and the strange creatures in the wild lands of venturil. Speaking of said creatures, during her... bi-monthy? Whenever-she-felt-like-it-ly visit to the tar pit to check if Jin was done marinating yet, she came carrying some kind of feathered lizard under her arm, carried the same way one might handle a bundle of groceries. A powerful contrast with her child-like looks, long silken black hair and her dress seemingly made of white and black petals folded into cloth. Fairy princess by way of martial arts and eastern mysticism. Minus the way she bit into a shelled fruit like you might an apple. Silently chewing and watching the unnatural flow of dead matter and boiling mud. Unimpressed.

Syrri was out on patrol, sitting comfortably alert in her bespoke saddle atop the back of a dappled silver pony. The pony wore a set of dark blue barding that matched the armor of her rider in both substance and design, while her mane and tail were braided through with emerald-green and silver ribbons. Syrri Darkfoot's own silvery hair was also braided, but lacked the festive strips of cloth; instead, she sported the bright green of the Warrior's Guild in the form of a uniform that was draped loosely tabard-style over her Nightstone leather armor. At her back was a light pack with more equipment stored in saddlebags; a short sword had also been secured to the saddle on the left side, while a pair of weathered axes were secured to either of the halfling's hips. Syrri wasn't alone in this survey of the land, and a few paces behind her was a larger equine with a full-sized human, who wore the silver-inlaid black leather suits of Clan Skjoldet. The human was tawny-skinned, with closely-cropped dark brown hair and quick sky-blue eyes, and his lips were generous but pressed into a reserved line. A broadsword hung from his saddle on the right side as he stole his attention from the clan leader to sweep his wary gaze around the area. Cracked and dusty plains gave way to desolate and sparse tree cover, and he mentioned quietly, "Used to hear stories about this place." Syrri's dichromatic eyes were scanning ahead and aside them as she nodded. "Yep — perfect place for this, I think," the intrepid warrior replied, her voice also low and careful. "We'll be lucky to see one, but let's hope we don't see more than that." What they saw instead was, however, rather unexpected: ahead of them loomed the tar pit with its cyclical behavior, churning and bubbling and brewing. "Was it doing that last time you sent a team out here?" Syrri didn't answer her clan member, she was too busy trying to push up in the stirrups to get a better view as she cautiously guided Quicksilver closer. One hand on the reins, she gestured with two fingers up and then left to her companion, who guided his bay steed in a wide arc to flank the pit from an angle. A few paces closer and Syrri found a sturdy enough-looking tree to tie her pony to, yet she remained at 'Silver's side and began to rummage through one of the saddlebags before tucking something between the banded leather of her armor along her side. Satisfied the pony would not be bolting with alarm should some tar monster emerge, the halfling approached with slow, wary steps and dropped a hand to the pommel of one of her axes. Coming into range, she saw that they weren't alone, and she lifted silver brows, azure-and-chestnut eyes settling on the … child? Syrri's hand tightened around the axe, yet still, it remained attached to her belt. No one had reported a lost child out this far, had they? She scoured her memory of the missing persons posters all over Venturil, and her usual cheer faded into worry. The halfling, worried? That was rare. Nevertheless, something was definitely NOT right. She had expected dinosaurs not … Aoife. Yet, perhaps she might have seen something? "Hello there!" Syrri Darkfoot suddenly called out, empty hand raised high and flat to catch her attention as she moved through the desiccated land toward the pits. Throughout this greeting, the halfling's human companion remained a distance away, watching the scene from the vantage point of his saddle. Near enough he might attend to any combat needs, far enough away that he could rush off to get help.

Jinfeng was, honestly, almost done. He hadn't planned to be in seclusion this long, but he'd somehow not expected a place like this to be as thick with Negative Breath as it was, which was honestly a rather large oversight, given that his method so far had focused exclusively on refining Positive Breath, and the two energies were too tightly entwined to be reasonably seperated. The reasonable reaction to this would be to just cut out early and take it as a loss. Jin, apparently, was not being reasonable, and had instead decided that the correct action was just to respire them together, which given that the two tended to react to each other rather violently when not controlled would probably be fine. Or he'd explode, but that hadn't happened yet so it was probably fine. It -had- meant he had to alter the way he Breathed basically on the fly to force the two opposing energies to course through his body together without reacting, which at first he'd intended just to use to build momentum so that he could peel off the Negative Breath on the other end. This had, ultimately, not happened, as the energy making contact with the energy seed inside his body had resulted in it, completely unexpectedly and with absolutely no possible warning beforehand, reacting incredibly violently and attempting to mutually annihilate with the energy already stored here, which had forced him to force the energy to flow even faster in response, which had resulted in an opposing force to be applied to the seed in his body, which had very nearly resulted in both energies being ejected from his body before he managed to reel them back in like a particularly angry fish, possibly some kind of shark or catfish, adding even -more- energy into its flow as it circled back into his body and drawing even more Breath in its wake... which made re-establishing his previous Seed essentially impossible, given that now his energy was just as mixed in with this brackish mess as the energy that he was trying to draw in. So rather than simply letting go and either accepting death or, worse, MUNDANITY, Jin had chosen to instead do something reckless, stupid, and quite possibly insane, and just... refine both of them. At the same time. So that was why he'd been down there for... a year? two years? He'd lost count given that most of it was spent without thinking other than fine-tuning the advanced Breathing method that he had been expressly told was only taught to him for the sake of completeness because -who would do that-? Anyway, eventually he'd run out of the energy near him, but on the upside, the fact that he'd had to draw in so much energy would eventually end up pulling in the energy further away from him through the wake of what he'd already pulled in, which had only made the process take longer in a process that Aoife almost certainly could have warned him about if he hadn't just decided that he was gonna go into seclusion without talking to her. She'd probably have tried to stop him though, so obviously he couldn't have done that. Anyway, that energy had finally calmed down now on account of him managing to respire all of it, so he was no longer in threat of killing himself. At the moment. He -did- have to keep his core revolving constantly lest he be annihilated in a flare of cold fire and searing frost, but at this point that was basically as natural to him as breathing after having to do it for so long. it did take some time for the tar to finally stop spinning, though, the momentum of its travel keeping it going for a revolution or two before it slowly starts to wind down, returning once more to a placid, ripple-less surface, which would indicate that either he was done or... well, still done, but in a more final way.

Aoife me seemed rather focused on what was going on in the... tar-strom? Maeltar? Goop-go-round. Either she didn't notice the halfling and her companion at first or she pointedly ignored them. Once approached and addressed, her attention shifted to the living person that wasn't at the bottom of a small lake of dead things. Her expression was dull, bored almost, but her eyes held a kind of energetic intensity to them in spite of the pale color. Chewing, her voice came out somewhat muffled. The distinct lack of manners cutting against the sheer natural elegance of the creature, “What are you supposed to be?” She garbled, “Junior Juju?” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other to stare past Syrri to the man on the horse, “That your dad?”

Syrri worried face split with the blossoming of a broad, crooked grin. "My da'?" she guffawed, hand relaxing around the axe at her hip, while her other hand lifted to dab a knuckle to her brow. "Gods, no, I'm older than he is." She grinned toward her companion and then at the stranger, her head tilting to the side and revealing the thin white scars on her right temple, and the partially missing ear tip. "Name's Syrri Darkfoot, leader of Clan Skjoldet and soldier of the Warrior's Guild." Her hands settled comfortably on the front of her belt as she took a slow step closer. "Whatcha doing way out here?" Her dichromatic gaze drifted past the fairy to consider the tarpit, fairy, tarpit again. As she spoke, her clanmate alit from his horse and ventured a few paces closer; all the while, still keeping his distance but making sure he could maybe learn a thing or two from his leader. Syrri's dual-hued eyes were firmly on Aoife now although her steps had resumed and were in a wide arc that mirrored that of her subordinate officer. She very much wanted to get closer to the settling tarpit, but a backward glance quickly over a shoulder revealed much of her gear remained with Quicksilver, including her pitons and ropes. At least, for now. A-spelunking she would go, if necessary. In fact, she lived for it. She needed more information, though, first. She'd not have a repeat of last time. Directing her words to Aiofe once more, this time her gaze was sidelong toward the pit. "I don't s'pose you know what's goin' on with that thing?"

Jinfeng needs a way out. Tar is close enough to solid that he could just harden it beneith him and... walk out, but that'd probably be less efficient than just... ah, there we go, dinosaur bones, that will work. A shock of positively-charged qi goes out, connecting him to the bone and locking it in place against the current. More bones collide with the one he'd initially locked in place, and the golden lightning spreads to them as well, locking them together until he'd formed a ramp that led from the depths of the tarpit and up into the open air, capped off with an entire skull of what appeared to be a tyrannosaur, whose jaws open wide to allow Jin to walk through them and onto the shore. He, er... she... er... Okay, so Jin had *always* been a pretty sort of guy, but he had suddenly gone from 'clearly male but with a sort of refined, graceful beauty about him' to 'legitimately the only reason you can be sure they're actually male is that their pants were incinerated when they fell into the tarpit and they weren't particularly in a hurry to restore their modesty.' Of course, they didn't really look like a -woman-, either, just... very confusing. Too feminine to really read as male, too masculine to really read as female, like someone had taken a kind of ideal average of the two and built a person based on that, then fine-tuned the results for maximum appeal. Technically this was because his, or, perhaps more accurately at this point -their- meditation had caused them to balance out and mediate the masculine and feminine energies within their body into a near-perfect equilibrium, which had also resulted in their body changing to match, but to be honest it was unlikely that anyone outside of Aoife would really get that at a glance. Speaking of the Hua Po, she would get a cheerful wave from her student, followed by a sprightly "Ah, Auntie, would you happen to have brought a change of clothes? mine seem to be... gone, likely on account of the fire." At that point they'd then notice the other two, turning their head slightly to look at them, though not quite all the way. "ah, and hello to you two as well. Apologies if I can't greet you properly at the moment."

Aoife pulled her lips up and sideways into a child-like skeptic expression that turned her mouth into something like an arrow shape. “Tongue twister of watchamacallit of too-many-consonants.” She affirmed, “What's goin on?” She shot back and crunched her fruit before throwing it aside, “What's goin' on is an idiot I'm responsible for is having history's loungest spa-day.” She barely finished saying so before the.. thing happened. Promting the pixie to turn on the spot and watch with the attitude of a less-than-mollified elder sibling watching their younger ward stumble home drunkenly in a stupid hat. “Sure.” She said, voice dripping acid, “You stayed down there long enough I learned to sew and tailored the finest robe in all the jade empire.”

Syrri stumbled back several steps when a monster DID, IN FACT, rise from the tarpits, and her hand dropped quickly to the pommel of Eggs. "Watchout—" the halfling warrior started to say to Aoife, but she cut off any following words as a figure emerged from the muck. "Aramoth help me." The curse was scarcely a whisper and suddenly her protective, helpful instincts kicked in and she was in guardian mode, surging forward with purpose. "Jamie, quick! Code four!" Her companion was sure-footed as he moved to gather coverings for the newly-appeared Jin, while Syrri twisted around to rummage in her backpack, pulling out a canteen of spring water. "Gods above, are you all right?" To Aoife, she shot a look of disbelief. "This is your ne…ni … nibling?" This was going to be so much paperwork. "Syrri at your service—" Jamie joined them with flame-resistant blankets from his saddles along with a pack of hardtack secured in brownish-green paper. "This is one of my cadets, Jamie." The human bowed, offering the recovery kit to Jin, or Aoife, whichever looked like they needed it more at this point. Syrri stepped forward with the canteen, which she was a little tempted to just toss at Jin, although she doubted the droplets would help their disposition or appearance much. "How did you come to be in the pits? There have been no reports of missing persons out this far, not for …" Well, years.

Jinfeng smiles a little broader when he's assured that his teacher has picked up a new skill, and one that would no doubt be quite useful in their travels - well, actually he was quite aware that she was speaking sarcastically, but really the only way to deal with this kind of thing, he'd learned, is often to simply refuse to acknowledge that it is, in fact, happening, and thus derail the attempt before it can begin. "Ah, yes, that's very convenient, I was worried we'd have to get new clothes made, or perhaps requisition a uniform from Martial Senior Kasyr, given we were intending to assist his organization in any case... Ah, yes, this will do for now." Taking the blanket that had suddenly been offered to them, Jin begins to carefully wrap and fold it about their person until eventually it becomes something similar to a garment, at least, if a rough one. "Thank you, Syrri. I entered seclusion there following a tournament some time ago after detecting large concentrations of the Breath within the tar. There were complications, but they're handled now. I am correct in assuming that you are a senior member of the Warrior's Guild, given the fact that you possess a cadet? I suppose that would make you my elder sister, or at least you will be in the future. A pleasure to meet you. I've no need of food or drink, by the way, the Breath within the tar more than sufficed."

Aoife waved any supplies offered to her way, redirecting them to the naked prettyboy from the tarpits, even as he spoke overly formal nonesense. She joined in the process of handing him things, in fact, by handing over the still live lizard she was carrying with all the air of passing a piece of wood. “Student, more like.” She corrected... well, both of them really. “Well. Since you lot are making friends I'm going back to my own business.” She said, turning on the spot before popping into a small white light with gossamer wings and zipping off into the distance. Leaving the rest of them behind with nary a word.

Syrri's hands settled on her hips as she lifted her dichromatic gaze to Jin. "You're so very welcome, um … actually yes and no," she replied somewhat sheepishly. "Jamie is my cadet, yes, but of Skjoldet, the clan I lead. Although I'm sure he'd be a fine addition to the guild, too." The guild's colors still swathed across her torso in that familiar emerald. "A lieutenant once, although I take on the role of a soldier in the guild now, it holds similar duties under Ser Kasyr these days." With Aoife's abrupt departure, Syrri was left to consider Jinfeng on his own, although she had so many questions still bubbling up, much like the tarpits beyond. "Breath?" Such a term did not fit in this context with her, and her head listed to the side, eyes shifting as she internally tried to account for the phrase. Focusing on Jin anew, she continued, "We can give you a ride back to Venturil — if you desire one." Although he'd probably do better on Jamie's steed than her own Quicksilver, which nickered calmly a dozen paces away. "Do you have someplace nearby to stay? If you are in need of a bath and warm lodgings, we have plenty of room back at Vigilanti Semper." She would have offered a bed at the clan headquarters, but it was still in preconstruction shambles.

Jinfeng inclines his head after Aoife as she departs, wordlessly indicating a farewell, then turning back to Syrri. "Ah, I see! Just Syrri, then, I suppose. We travel, for the most part, so anywhere is as good a place to stay as any other. I really should make my way back to the Warrior's Guild, if you can assist with that in any way. As for a ride... I don't believe that will be necessary, I should be able to keep up well enough. As for the Breath... It is... energy, perhaps. The Breath of the World that flows through all things. I'd be glad to discuss it more in depth with you if you'd like."

Syrri hooked her thumbs around her belt and shifted her boots so that they pointed toward where Quicksilver remained posted. Jamie, meanwhile, hovered dutifully by, having retreated a few steps so as not to crowd Syrri as she spoke to her new acquaintance. "And what should I call you?" she continued. "Oh sure, I can definitely guide you back to the 'Semper — making sure you don't get too distracted by any tarpits on the way." She was, at least mostly, joking, as evidenced by the goofy grin she gave Jin. At the offer of info-dumping about the Breath of the World, Syrri admitted internally that it would most likely go right over her head. That didn't stop her from saying, "Oh sure, I'd love to hear more about it!" After all, it was clearly important to Jin and she saw no reason why she shouldn't take the time to try and learn something new. "I'm afraid I don't know much about all of that," she shyly explained. As she spoke, she began picking her steps carefully toward 'Silver, who neighed softly as they approached. Once Syrri was near enough to her pony that she could unleash it from the tree post, Jamie moved to climb astride his bay steed and follow dutifully after them.

Jinfeng tilts his head slightly as it's pointed out that he truly has yet to introduce himself. "Ah, I apologise. My name is Jin Feng, and I can at least promise you that I have no interest in secluding myself again quite so soon." As she and her subordinate mount up and get ready to leave, he'd fall in next to them, and should they begin to ride, they'd find that he keeps up with them easily enough, as long as they don't take off at a full sprint or anything of the like. "Breath, then. I suppose a good place to start would be a general overview, so... Put simply, everything in this world contains the breath. it is, generally speaking, simply... energy. The heat of a fire, the light of the sun and moon, the vital energy with which your body is given life, all these things are the Breath. It changes forms, it moves between states and forms, but is neither created nor destroyed. Does that all make sense, so far?" This explanation would occur pretty reliably whether they'd begun to ride or not, their rate of travel not seeming to affect Jin's ability to speak, his breathing not picking up in the slightest from it.

Syrri adjusted the axes hanging from her belt before pulling herself back into 'Silver's saddle, and at this point, she's much more on an even level with Jin, allowing her to bob her head at appropriate intervals from a reasonable position in his periphery. "It is an honor to meet you, S— Jin Feng. And that is good to hear. I'd have dove right into the 'pit after you, and then gotten this beautiful uniform all dirty." Cue that toothsome grin again. She kept the dappled mare to a steady but comfortable pace, keeping much of her attention on her new acquaintance while Jamie guarded the rear. This allowed Syrri to afford a bit more focus so that she might absorb some of the details of this Breath stuff. "Is it like … magic?" she asked, a certain guarded edginess curling around the boundaries of the question, protective like armor.

Jinfeng has to legitimately think about that for a moment. 'is it like magic'? Well, he'd heard about the magic that's used in these parts from a few people, though he'd never had time to look into it much... He supposed it was honestly a relatively valid question, when he really thinks about it. "Hm. Honestly, that's a good question. It is -like- magic, I suppose, in that you can use it to do things similar to what people in this land call magic. That said, by my understanding your understanding comes in the form of a blessing by a god which bestows the ability to manipulate certain energies. By contrast, the Breath suffuses everything, whether they be specifically blessed with it or not. It is in the motion of the wind, the plants which grow up to the sky, and so on, and these things are not miraculous. True, with the proper skills one can learn to gather and harness the Breath for truly miraculous things, but the Breath itself is not magical, at least not in any way that the world around us is not."

Syrri shook her head, "Oh no, there's plenty of magic that don't involve gods, although I reckon the god-gifted magic does seem to be much more potent." She grinned suddenly again, cheeks reddening underneath the millions of freckles that dotted her pale skin. "At least, that's what I'm learning." She considered Jin's reply more thoroughly, lips twisting into a thoughtful pucker. "So … what do you do with this … Breath? Do you use it to grow things? Do you make unliving things living? Do you fight with it?" It was her lattermost question that held the most weight of her curiosity, and although Jin still looked like a tar-monster, she wondered what a person might be capable of who swims in the muck and speaks of Breath. They were a lot of Big Thoughts, and although Syrri didn't consider herself particularly stupid, she wasn't particularly educated, either. At least, not in such Big Ways. "I don't use magic," she clarified, "it doesn't use me neither, though. But I'd be curious to learn more about this Breath stuff an' how it works. Maybe you could show me some time — if you're willin'."

Jinfeng smiles wryly, almost teasingly, as they begin to ask many questions, eventually explaining that they don't use magic or anything like it, but were curious regarding the breath, and would be interested in seeing it. "Well, I am using the Breath at this very moment. Specifically, I am circulating the Breath I have gathered through by body, and letting it flow through my muscles and bones, eliminating fatigue and... ah, I've just realized that I've neglected to actually cleanse myself. I must look somewhat of a fright." And with that, he alters the way that he circulates the Breath, explaining what he does as he does it. "To say there are two, or five, or any number of 'kinds' of breath is reductive, and just as true as saying that there is only one, but the method that I use classifies different kinds of Breath into two forms. Positive or Active Breath, or yang in the language of my homeland, acts upon the world, energizes it, and brings forth life and vitality. Yang exists in all things which live, in the light of the sun, and in flames, among other places. Its counterpart is negative or passive Breath, Yin, which subsumes forces, stills energies, and brings about enervation, stillness, and death. It exists in the frost of winter, in the moon, and in the water which flows following the course of the land. Allow me to demonstrate: First, I circulate Yin through my skin and into the tar, hardening it and loosening its grip upon my body..." He does as he states, and faint traces of cold blue, barely visible, race through the covering upon his skin, leaving it hard and brittle in their wake. "And then I follow this with Yang, energizing the resulting material to push it away from my body, leaving me cleansed." And so it was, golden sparks following the blue, the now-crystalized tar falling from his form to reveal unblemished, perfectly smooth skin behind, completely unmarred by time or injury, and from his long hair, over a year of growth leaving it hanging well down his back, raven-black and looking perfectly healthy, both features likely well outside of the expectation one would have of someone who just climbed out of a tarpit. "Is that sufficient example?"

Syrri ; Breath did not make her uncomfortable, yet … as Jin began to illustrate its use with straightforward explanations, she might have moved herself and Quicksilver just a few inches farther away. Just a few. Almost not worth even noticing. It seemed the smart, or polite thing to do, giving him room to do … whatever it was he was doing. In truth, it looked like Magic, just a type that was certainly new to her. She wondered what the Archmage might have to say about it. Still, she was certainly fascinated by its display, dichromatic eyes wide with wonder and quiet respect. Jamie remained a stoic sentinel behind them, his presence indicated only by the gentle plod of horse hooves echoing 'Silver's smaller shod quarter. "How very— well it's kind of awesome? How did you— Were you always capable of doin' stuff like that?" Her chin jerked toward Jin. "Or was it somethin' you learned?" With the tar bits fallen away to reveal more of Jin, she found herself studying him with the quiet reservation of someone always a bit on her guard, even through all the jovial camaraderie she projected. Had this Breath kept him safe however long he was down there? Was he a good person? Did he use this Breath to upset whatever scales might be in play? Should she keep an eye on him? It wasn't her nature to suspect ill of anyone, but she wasn't so naive that she didn't do her due diligence — especially as she was leading him right to the WG headquarters.

Jinfeng continues to be asked many questions. That is fine, he's meant to be a teacher in any case, so this is good practice. "It is a skill, not a blessing. To my knowledge noone is born with the ability to sense and draw upon the Breath. it's something you have to learn, through long practice, study, and understanding. I have been studying since I was very young, however, and I've still only just begun down the Path. I look forward to my work at the Guild. I have heard teaching is a path to knoweldge all its own, after all. Really, what I've done isn't that much more spectacular than a good bath, though I suppose tar would be rather difficult to remove with anything so simple."

Syrri's features brighten with the advent of another face-wide grin. "Teaching is perhaps one of the best things, really. I'm constructing an academy in Venturil to teach. Well, I'm not building it myself, just funding it and will be teaching in it. Are you planning to teach for the Guild?" She realized she was assaulting Jin with an onslaught of questions, and smacked a hand over her mouth, chuckling in spite of herself, and behind them, Jamie chuckled too, rather used to the halfling's logorrhea when she got going. "Aramoth help me if I won't just talk your ear off and you just freshly from the pit of despair." She guided Quicksilver out of the desolate wastes and across the western plains, maintaining that slow but steady pace in a direct route back to civilization. "Have you worked with the Guild before? Are you a member? I admit I don't know all of our faces, my clan work keeps me pretty busy whenever I'm not otherwise invested."

Jinfeng nods. "I was planning to teach for the guild, and I believe I was to be a member to some degree, yes, following my examination by Martial Elder Kasyr, though to be fair this information is somewhat out of date, given that I was forced to remain in seclusion significantly longer than I had originally expected, so I've no real understanding of how my return will be seen. I fell into that tar pit following a match in a tournament I entered at one point... I believe at least a year ago, so I am rather tardy. Still, I wll do my best to impart what knowledge I can, so ask away. After all, if I do not know what knowledge you are lacking, it will be harder to fill that void, yes?" He'd continue to keep pace with pony and horse, despite his unshod state seeming to pass over the ground as if barely touching it. "Of course, there are secrets I can't reveal, even this far from my home, but that aside, I will answer as many as you'd like."

Syrri lowered her chin in a deep nod. "Oh, I bet we'd really benefit from more knowledge on the Breath and how all that works. So you're a duelist?" It was this topic that inspired her to sit up a little straighter in her saddle, a retired duelist among peers. "I haven't been in a tournament in a real' long time, but I used to do the Titans each year. Almost won once, too! But gosh, that was so long ago. I mostly teach these days, but hey, if you're lookin' ta join the Guild and you need a sparring partner, we can go! I'm sure Ser Kasyr is pretty busy these days runnin' things." As for the list of questions that were evermore bubbling forth in the halfling, some she kept to herself; especially if there was a potential for a spar in their future, she didn't want to give away /all/ her weaknesses. She nodded again, this time with a deeper understanding. It was smart to keep some things to oneself. "I mean or even after you officially join our ranks, we can go in the training yard — maybe we each will have something to learn and something to teach."

Jinfeng was honestly liking this woman more and more as they continued to talk. "I believe that was the idea, yes. While I can't turn all of you into Cultivators, I can certainly teach some basics that may help enhance your existing skills. I have dueled. I am a martial artist, it's part of training, and of course I would be happy to exchange pointers with you whenever you wish. To be honest, there are large gaps in my knowledge and understanding that I will need to fill, so making use of my new capabilities will be more than appreciated. And... Titans... Titans of Winter? I believe that was the tournament I had joined that resulted in my seclusion, in fact. It must have been... at least a year ago, I think, they may have held another since then. I've never had a particularly strong showing, I believe I was eliminated in the first round by a rather skilled shadow-user the first time I entered, followed by a defeat in the second round my next entry that resulted in my becoming... indesposed."

Syrri's toothy grin renewed itself, complete with a couple of dimples. "Hey, it sounds like you will fit right in, Ser Jin." It was a leap, calling him 'Ser'; she poised in anticipation at a potential correction. All the same, she soldiered on with a series of nods. "Yeah, they do something every year! I haven't been involved in a few years but I love going to watch. They're so exciting! Plus, it's such a thrill watching them all get CRUSHED by that Shishi fellow in the championship." She said 'CRUSHED' like she might have a professional crush on the mythic vampire. She hoped it didn't show. It would be so unbecoming. Anyway. "Maybe once we get you back in tip-top shape, you'll be ready to join a tourney again, with a few new skills to help you last longer. Or at least put on a good show!" Her expression shifted a smidgeon toward empathy, the smile fading a few degrees as she nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I get that — I haven't won a match in ages, decided to just retire on focus on training other people who have the gumption for it. Oh and adventuring. That's a lot of fun, too. And bouldering, oh I really love to climb things! The guild should really do more hikes. It's great for one's spirit." She was, perhaps, rambling just a bit as the pointed palisades of outer Venturil came into sight. It was about that point she detoured north of the city so that they could head toward the cracked cliffs of the gulch and their destination. It wouldn't be long before the stony parapets of the guilded fortress came into view. "I'm sure Ser Kas' won't mind you're so late to your appointment, by the by. He's sure patient with us when there's room to afford it." She was, clearly, speaking from experience, being the least-active active member of the guild.

Jinfeng chuckles. "Ah, yes. that was his name. Shishi. He is an admirably strong individual. Our fight was quite enlightening, even taking into account how it ended. I had not expected a shadow-user to possess so much physical power once he stopped holding back. Generally they tend to be more... subtle types, in my experience. and the next year, my opponents were both capable of feats and tactics which were quite difficult to work around, and I learned important lessons from them, too. Perhaps I shall have to enter again, should I have the occasion, yes. Though of course that would depend on the fruits of my training. I have much consolidation of my gains to complete before I can consider that. And... thank you for your reassurances regarding Martial Elder Kasyr. Patient is... not the experience I had of him, but in fairness the mages guild guards were being rather rude that day."

Syrri cowed a little bit, embarrassed at her outburst about the vampire yet charmed by how smoothly the conversation continued. "Yeah, he was … oh boy." She was still a little starstruck by the former Titan of Winter himself, even if they'd never said two words to each other since — she'd heard stories he had talked about her a time or two. It made her eyes little stars when she thought about it. Mutual fanship. Back to the current company, Syrri's chin moved through a few nods, and she piped up with, "If ya go against him again, you'll know not to underestimate him though! I've always found those shadow-stepping vampires to have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. In a good way!" In a naive way, perhaps, too. As for Kasyr … "Well, he doesn't seem too impatient either? Maybe overwhelmed by himself and what he's capable of. It's a lot to shoulder. There's a lot to 'im." At least, so she'd heard. "Are you in the Mage's Guild?" Beat. "-Do- you use magic?" Her mismatched eyes were slanting toward him in a way that was half-suspicious, half-teasing.