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Knighting; [Quincy]
Topic Started: Jul 17 2014, 07:25 PM (98 Views)
Seraph
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Overlord of the Bishies
The knighting ceremony, in all of his young life Kuro never thought he'd see the day when he'd be inducted formally into the ranks of the quincy order. After life had been disrupted on the island he doubted, doubly so, that he'd ever obtain his knight rank and be allowed to actively take part in missions across the world to slay hollows and serve the order. Though, the idea of world traveling interested him little. It was more throwing his success in the face of his late mother than made him elated. You'd never know that though from the permanent dead expression he wore on hius face. Kuro was a boy of little emotion. Having your mother abuse you constantly tended to do that. Still, he couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of giddiness at the notion of finally escaping from the squire rank and achieving the rank of knight.

The process had been an arduous one, psych, no the written portion of the exam had been laughably and woefully easy. As he sat, waiting for his name to be called so he could begin to practical/combat exam he had to wonder what the point of the written part was. The questions were simplistic, boring, and trite. Though perhaps the point was a test of the patience most quincy needed. That'd make the most logical sense. As he waited Kuro adjusted his uniform, something the squires had all had been insisted upon wearing. The tightness of the squire training uniform made him uncomfortable. He'd rather have worn his normal street clothes than this seemingly ill-fitted garb. Kuro couldn't help but add his scarf to the ensemble. It had become something of a comfort to him.

Regardless of his concerns it was his turn now. His name was called out and Kuro entered into the politburo's gymnasium like training arena. There were several inert artificial hollows, defeated by prior knight hopefuls, strewn about the room. The fake hollows had been a gifted from Soul Society and would serve as his combat dummy for the exam. Kuro's expression didn't change as the proctor activated one of the hollows and it charged at him. Kuro merely took a deep breath and brandished his modified seele schneider. The rapier like blade hummed to life as the hollow bore down on him.

The massive construct swiped at him and Kuro dodged the vicious blow expertly. Of the squires currently on the island he had always had the best foot work. The faux hollow spun in an attempt to back hand him but one more its hand struck empty air. Kuro dodged and weaved around the mechanized beast looking for his opening. There was no need for sloppy, wasteful strokes, he'd finish this with one well aimed strike. The thing roared in programmed frustration and nearly caught Kuro in flurry of swipes.

You should never attack a hollow's mask. It reveals their identity should it break and makes it hard to kill. The front or back of the neck, if you wish to finish the battle quickly aim your strikes there. The words of one of his instructors filled his mind as the young quincy zeroed in on his target, the soft nape flesh of the artificial monster. The thing tried one last overhead swipe...

Now.

Kuro vanished, a perfectly well timed hirenkyaku brought him above the beast and with a single thrust he sheathed Silversting into its neck. The sheer speed of the attack caused the wind pressure to blow a hole clean in its neck causing its head to fall and the beast to cease its movements. As it fell Kuro kicked off and performed a single flip through the air; landing expertly he finished with a flourish of his blade before bowing respectively to the proctor and the assembled quincy who had come to watch the exam. Of course he had never met the Vicereine. He had no way of knowing that such an important figure as the quincy's goddess would be watching him.
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Baal
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The Immortal Coulasour
Today was the first practical exam that Liriel would have been able to see for nearly two years. Due to the low rate of student influx on the island relative to other places, namely like the large hubs in Germany or India. The Politburos for those regional commands often found themselves running in the order of three examinations a year, and the old Vicereine knew that Juujishima's sole Politburo would have no more than a single exam per year. Unfortunately this meant that the students that did not pass would have to apply for special dispensation to take private exams.

There was always the possibility that the special dispensation would be rejected, but as with any logical system, Liriel had set up the possibility for an appeal, where she or a trio of skilled Quincy would evaluate them in a very different method relative to the exam. This year's proctor wasn't Isac, for she had already parsed out her students, so Liriel had heard that Knight Telbran had taken the responsibility for proctoring the exam.

When she had asked to observe, he had only been too thrilled to allow her to do so. That had made Liriel uncomfortable, because he was one of the Quincy that regarded her as an entity above normal humans. No, Liriel knew better. She knew the truth. There was nothing divine about her...

No, as her scars began to ache, she was forced to accept that there was something less than spectacular about her existence. That was evident in every single night she could not sleep due to those horrid dreams, and when she did dream otherwise, they were not usually pleasant. Divinity was not the truth, even if her skill made it seem like it was the case.

Thirteen of the fifty eight students had already washed out, but the next one seemed rather promising, as he manipulated his seemingly customized Seelen weapon easily and with confidence, but Liriel could see the subtle flaws in the technique. Of course time and further instruction would iron those flaws out, but his grip was far too strong, as Liriel could almost see the muscles in his arm clenched.

A well timed Hirenkyaku was enough, and he defeated the dummy hollow.

Nodding to no one in particular, Liriel smiled softly, silently affirming that his performance was satisfactory.

“Wikus, how many other objectives are in this year's practical exam?”

“Only two. A medical stabilization course where they must protect a medic or perform triage if they are capable, and a spar with one of the instructors present. Is this satisfactory, Vicereine?” The tone of his voice was obviously full of respect, but also reverence. Not wanting to diminish how courteously he had responded, Liriel nodded silently.

“I will spar with each student in turn. If they meet my expectations, then I believe that will be sufficient.” Two of the other men in the room nodded at Liriel's assessment. If she was personally going to participate and assist in judging the outcome of the trials, then the Knights would be well taken care of, after all.

The most difficult portion of combat was almost always the stabilization of an injured comrade. When Wikus leaned forward into the microphone, he announced the next test.

Of course, the technology that supported this was a prototype, but if it was successfully hammered out, Liriel intended to implement it in all of the Politburos for the purpose of training new students and allowing those in it to hone their skills. While the technology was made possible by some shared information between Katashi and his twelfth division captain, Liriel knew it was far from perfect. The holograms could only display limited environmental change and simulate danger, for now anyway.

Perhaps in time they would be able to simulate complex environments with full textures.

“You may begin the program.”

Nodding, Liriel sat back in the chair that had been provided for her to rest in.

Eager to see what the students would do, she knew that the test would not involve as drastic a skill to defeat the threat, but to hold off an advancing force while a medic stabilized a comrade was rarely easy. Ingenuity was important here, so as the rough, plastic white environment formed, several craters and large stones were strewn about. Roughly skinned individuals appeared, including one bleeding from an abdominal injury in a mockup of a Quincy's robes and a medic hiding in the environment would accomplish the objective while the Squires defended both individuals.
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Seraph
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Overlord of the Bishies
A live combat simulation where they had to ether protect a medic or perform a triage in the middle of a heat situation; that was to be the next test. Of all the things, of all the tests Kuro knew had been run in the past, he wasn't entirely prepared for this one. Its not that he wasn't confident in his own personal skills to take on the task but his confidence in his fellows was sorely lacking. He'd have, at least, liked it if they had been tested in large groups but apparently it was going to be done in pairs. Kuro rolled his eyes at the wasted efficiency. If this were real combat they'd be in four or five man cells not this paired bullshit. Kuro shook his head disapprovingly but took his place next to his assigned partner.

The spiky red haired boy gave him a thumbs up and Kuro sighed, "Don't get your hopes up too high Shu. They'll end up less mangled in the end that way." Kuro's voice was monotone, deadpan, and a little creepy but Shusuke had gotten use to that by now. After all, he was Kuro's sole friend on the island. Both of them had trained rigorously for this day. Kuro had ensured the training regimen had been both brutal and unforgiving. Both for his own benefit and because he knew his friend all to well. Shu thrived of difficulty.

Kuro could only roll his eyes when his friend responded, "You're happier than usual today. Nice job icing the training hollow."

"Yes well, some of us actually practiced instead of slacking off and napping."

"Hey Hey Hey, the Crimson Dynamo needs his beauty rest" Shu thumbed his chest and grinned.

Kuro sighed heavily, "Don't ever say that again."

Both of the boys took their positions and the simulation started. Immediately Shu charged head first into the front lines, slamming his fist down into the ground, and projection light green barrier, blocking off the attackers, from the point his fist impacted. Meanwhile Kuro walked over to where the simulated medic and wounded knight were. Kuro simply shoved the medic out the way and placed his palm on the wounded knight's stomach.

Black reishi swirled around the palm of his hand before turning a light purple color as it penetrated into the victim's body. Kuro initially wondered if the Accelerated Mitosis Technique would work on something that was technically non-living but it seemed the simulator registered what he was doing and the wound began to seal up. It was a process that'd take a few minutes. These were a minutes his friend seemingly didn't have as the attackers battered against the barrier causing hexagonal patterns to flash against it with every strike. Shu's Spirit Ward wouldn't hold out in the time it took to heal. Worse, he knew that his friend was vulnerable for a split second after the barrier shattered.

Kuro had to focus though. AMT was a tricky technique, not enough power and the wounds would just open again, too much and it would cause cancerous growths to sprout. He'd have to rely on his friend to move quickly. Kuro had very little faith in Shu's ability to hold them off long enough but he had to believe now. It turned out his worries were for nothing. When the barrier finally caved and the attackers went in to strike Shu he stuck his tongue out at them and purposefully fell backwards, slamming his elbows into the ground causing two thin barrier walls to erupt in an X pattern. It cut them off from Kuro and thinned the heard. Only one made it past the barrier and by the time it reached Kuro he had already finished the healing process.

The medic grabbed the formerly wounded knight and ran like hell and Kuro buried his seele rapier into the chest of the attacker, blowing a hole in it like he had the hollow before. He then calmly walked over to his friend and helped him up. "Someone's been keeping a secret. It would have been nice to know you could use multiple barriers now Shu."

"Gotta surprise you somehow." Kuro rolled his eyes again at his friend. Still the fact Shu had improved his ability to the point he could use multiple barriers without lag between them was impressive. He always felt like Shu was well suited for operations in the field like the one this was simulating. With his somewhat thuggish, delinquent appearance most people took Shu for a high offense, low defense fighter. In reality his friend was almost entirely a pure support type. He had a mean hook though.

"How long do you think it'll take for the simulated medic and patient to reach the safety zone?" he asked.

"Another minute or so. Why?"

"Well while I can toss out multiple barriers now each consecutive ones is a bit weaker than before." He scratched his cheek sheepishly.

"Oh good and how long will this one hold?"

"Eh... till now?" the barrier shattered leaving both boys open to the flood of enemies.
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Baal
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The Immortal Coulasour
Having observed at least forty different examinations, Liriel knew that the methods had changed drastically. Most were a matter of survival, leaving a small number of Squires either in the wild or other hostile environments until they either escaped or reached a nearby Quincy compound. Liriel had found such things barbaric, because not every individual would have the same capacity for survival in such situations.

Some of the internal Politburo practical tests were very similar, placing individuals in situations where completion of the objective was placed above survival. Those were absolutely distasteful, but Liriel understood the idea that every so often, there would be confrontations where not everyone involved would survive.

Such was the tragedy of war.

As the simulation started, Liriel rose from the chair to scrutinize the unfolding simulation more closely. When the two proceeded into the simulation, Liriel was greatly impressed by the one that took the initiative to relieve the medic whom was merely holding the patient in stable condition, and proceeded to heal the injury.

Looking at the simulation data, Liriel's eyes narrowed. "Repeat that please." Sure enough, as the telemetry replayed, she saw what she thought she saw. It was an ability for force cells to divide in a target. Instantly understanding what it was, and several possible extensions, Liriel's lips pressed together into a pleased smile as she nodded. "Continue as normal, please."

The simulation continued, and Liriel's senses took in all of the power that was unfolding, but somehow, she felt that something was amiss. He was obviously hiding something, or this would be unfolding much differently. As the simulation began to mount in difficulty, Liriel understood. Neither of the individuals understood the simple rule of battlefield evacuation.

The window was often so small that a single missed thought could close it.

To escape in that situation, the power used by the other to create the barriers would have proven ideal to allow them to cover down behind the stones or in the assorted depressions. Sighing, Liriel nodded. "I am satisfied." As a loud metallic ding was heard, Liriel looked at the two holographic entities that had reached the extraction zone, she nodded.

"You may end the simulation."

At her word, the simulation froze, showing at least seven to one odds of opposition. Such long odds did not sit well with Liriel, but she knew that there would be many situations where a well executed retreat was more important than engaging a superior force. Liriel approached the microphone, and merely leaned forward before shooting Wikus a glance. "I apologize for overruling your proctorship. Would you permit me to render my own judgment on these two?"

A frantic nod was returned, indicating that this knight would probably allow Liriel to do whatever it was that she wished, within reason hopefully.

The microphone activated and her soothing voice came over the PA into the training arena. "That is sufficient. Please take your seats outside the arena. Your results will be made available to you as soon as is possible." Frankly wondering if they would even recognize her voice, Liriel gave few public addresses now, so the newer generation of recruits would have a good deal of trouble recognizing her disembodied, somewhat garbled tone.

At the very least, she was pleased that the next pair had not heard the instruction. As Wikus watched her return to her seat, Liriel indicated that she was ready to see the next pair.
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Isac Skinner
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Isac was late in arriving at the official knighting ceremony. While she needed to be there, both for her position as head teacher and because Liriel had asked her to attend, she'd had other plans. Namely, her own graduation ceremony. While some thought that leaving students to fend for themselves in The Wilds with all sorts of natural and supernatural hazards was barbaric, they didn't spend the whole time watching out for the students from 'behind the scenes', as it were. True, there were mishaps, and accidents happened, but that was the point of instructors like herself silently overseeing the tests. Isac shook her head to remove the weighty thoughts.

She looked down on the ceremony. True, she was supposed to be in the stands, observing, but her stature made it difficult to see over others, and she just ended up levitating anyways. So for now she was laying on her back on the ceiling of the great domed 'Examination Building,' though Isac called it the 'Drone Dome' when she could get away with it. She'd been there for at least a half hour, and no one had noticed her yet. Or at least, she'd not been told to get down, which was almost the same thing. Funny, a white girl wearing white clothes should be more noticeable, especially when on a dark ceiling. But, anyways, this is where all the Quincy students that didn't warrant Isac's personal attention went to take their knighting test. Graduation day, she called it. Her students had just finished their test. Funny, they'd had a smaller then normal number of accidents, and a faster then usual completion time overall.

Sighing, she rolled her neck, which was slightly stiff from laying on the hard surface for so long, then used a nearly instantaneous application of Hirenkyaku to appear next to Liriel, sitting in the vacant seat she was supposed to be in. "Good day, milady. I hope you are in better health?" Isac asked. The last time they had spoken had been a rather heated argument, and several things had happened that would be better in the long run, but now wasn't the long run. Keeping her eyes on the field, she watched the two students attempt the defend exercise. Isac saw flaws, missed opportunities everywhere, but they performed well enough for their age and skill level. Binking a couple times, Isac tried to remember who the two were.

Shusuke , she was pretty sure that was the red one, but the other's name escaped her for the moment. There were so many students to keep track of these days, though Isac knew the Island had a far lower input then most other Politburos. The other was Rokuro, more commonly called Kuro. She didn't recall any specific details, however. She sat in silence as the examination continued, with Shusuke acting the part of defense while Kuro used a healing technique to speed up the healing of the target.

The plan seemed to work, as the injured dummy was healed and the medic took him and sprinted off, while the second set of walls Shusuke had set up were still holding, barely. Seemed like they would succeed. Until the walls failed and the boys found themselves surrounded. Isac leaned forward, interested in what would happen. Suddenly, Liriel stopped the exam, seemingly satisfied. Isac wished she hadn't, she wanted to know how long they could have held out.

"It's just a simulation, right? Why not see how well they can hold out?"
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Seraph
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Overlord of the Bishies
Success followed by inevitable failure, Kuro couldn't help but smack Shu in the back of the head for this one. That's what he got for listening to his friend. He should have done more, taken more defensive action, instead they were surrounded. Would he have to... no... that wasn't an option, not here, not in front so many prying eyes. Not even Shu knew of how much power Kuro held back. If he were to reveal it he'd be ostracized and made an example of. In the puritanical society of the quincy differences weren't allowed. The nail that stuck up was hammered down. You ether fell in line and conformed or you were cut down. That was just the way things were. Despite the best intentions of the vicereine quincy society had long since grown beyond her control. She was a figurehead at best, a relic of the past that was unneeded. Kuro understood that and sympathized.

Well, that was a stretch. Kuro wasn't capable of such complex emotions anymore. He could fake them in his day to day life like with Shu but in reality the dark haired quincy youth was dead inside. He was a zombie, a living corpse animated by the cross fused to his body. At least that was what he had come to believe. Even if he wasn't he chose to believe it because his emotions were just as dead. He'd rather be an emotionless corpse than have to face the reality of being a living being that had died inside thanks to his mom's "tender" and "loving" care.

Yet now he was fully prepared to end this farce of a simulation right here and now. How DARE they force the young squires into such a situation? He was by far one the eldest student taking the test. Most of the squires ranged from the age of eleven to the age of thirteen but he and Shusuke were the eldest two here at sixteen and fifteen respectively. To force the squires into an unattainable, self-sacrifice, situation was barbaric to the extreme. It seemed his sentiments were shared as someone, likely the vicereine, halted the simulation. His theory was confirmed when her voice cracked over the loud speaker. Many saw Liriel as a goddess, an immaculate and angelic being. Kuro saw through all that nonsense. She was a woman, one who bore a terrible sadness in her voice and soul. He took a deep breath, delivered a swift kick to Shu's hind end, walked out of the hall and sat down in the waiting room.




Many hours passed, many long ones. Most of the exams had ended and the sun was just beginning to set. He had been told to wait, he alone had been told to sit here and wait. He could have gone home already. He already knew he had failed. At least, he figured he had failed. By not adequately finishing the simulation by "throwing his life away" as the quincy creed so demanded he had barred himself from progressing for another year. It was off to remedial classes with the duchess Isac and a hellish rest of the summer for him. He sighed dispassionately. Whatever. If that was what it took to pass then he supposed that was what it took to pass.

The examination hall was so empty now. Only the the proctors and a few miscellaneous staff members of the politburo remained behind. One of the secretaries was smiling at him. He refused to smile back. He didn't like being smiled at or stared at. It made him uncomfortable. He just wished whatever the hold up was would just end so he could leave.
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Baal
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The Immortal Coulasour
As the other lead instructor had arrived, Liriel returned to her seat, watching a rather disappointed student leave the arena. Knowing full well that she had ended the test before the simulation would complete, Liriel was satisfied with the result that had been achieved. Those two might have survived to the 'end' of the simulation, but Liriel knew what the result would have been.

Two more defeated individuals were not what she needed.

"Wikus."

Speaking softly, two more Squires issued forth into the simulation room. "There will be a dossier of changes to these tests on Duke Kensit's desk by the end of the day. Please notify him that the tests are being altered."

Such was the way of things. As far back as her own childhood, Liriel had been raised under the idea that 'as long as the mission is completed, victory is the same as life.' No, that was quite false, as Liriel believed that life was the only measure of success. In a rescue, saving an individual but having the rescuer die to do so was a waste of resources.

But these were people, even if the majority here were quite young for the test. There was a need, in the real world, to send people on missions they might not return from, but that was most certainly not the case right now. No new Knight would be assigned to such a preposterously risky mission.

Even in combat, they would be trained to survive the fight rather than to defeat the enemy in every engagement. Wars would always last for a long period, but to so blithely risk the lives of all involved...

Turning as Isac greeted her, Liriel tried to answer the question as non-confrontationally as possible. "I am doing as well as can be expected, thank you for asking." Silence rolled in and as Liriel studied the two new students that were obviously having a much more difficult time with the examination. The slow times showed, but they eventually succeeded and Liriel's calls for the change were implemented.

The end of the test was an alternate program that had been apparently loaded so that there were options, and both students successfully 'escaped' the holographic phantoms which represented enemies.

Isac's next question made Liriel sigh. "To put one's life on the line is always a voluntary choice. It has deep psychological impacts, and can affect the entire psyche of a person. I do not believe that such tests are necessary this early in their career." There was a tiny edge in Liriel's voice that indicated how strongly she felt about this, so as the next pair entered the arena, Liriel was hopeful that they would perform well.

Unfortunately, only thirty seconds into the simulation, the pair was defeated. As one of the holographic attacks had killed the medic and another had killed the injured civilian, Liriel knew why. Both had panicked upon seeing the arrangement of the enemies and neither had been taught properly in battlefield discipline. Fortunately there would be classes for them to rehash those lessons, and they would be fast-tracked towards repeating the test.

As the remaining pairs passed through the test, Liriel nodded her assent. "Please send the papers to the Prefect office. I will examine them there. Come Isac, it will be time for the last test in an hour, and I want to speak to those boys that performed so well earlier."

Standing, Liriel placed the long Quincy cape that functioned almost like a royal robe over her shoulders and fastened the buckle. The back of the observation and control booth held the only entrance to the relatively large room, so as Liriel walked out at a leisurely pace, the steps carried her to the waiting room.

Two sharp knocks indicated that she was going to enter the room, as any sleeping students would wish to rouse themselves. The lock clicked as the door opened, and sure enough, the boy...Rokuro? That was it, wasn't it? He was the only one that was still waiting for her. As the secretary shot to her feet, Liriel waved it off and dismissed her silently. When she left the room, Liriel glanced back to the student. "Rokuro, I am pleased you are still here. I apologize for the delay."

Gliding towards the seats across from him, Liriel sat down in an elegant manner that belied how accustomed she was to acting with regal social grace. Not a bunching of fabric was seen in the ostentatious cloak that the High Command had seen fit to decorate her with.

Disappointment seemed to linger in his eyes.

"You and Shusuke did extremely well in the simulation. I was most impressed with the healing you performed." Taking a guess at why he seemed disappointed, Liriel only wondered if he was prepared for the last of the three sections of the test.

"You don't need to worry about your performance. For now, would you have a moment to tell me a little about your technique? It has been quite some time since I saw a technique of that nature." Her voice was completely civil and calm, and if it could have been any more non-judgmental, it would have. Seemingly curious, Liriel only hoped that he would be willing to speak of it.
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