Intense training (Solo)

Alexander continued to wander until he came across a rather strange sight, a rundown building with a heavily armored man standing on the outside. As Alex drew near the man casted him a quick glance and chuckled. "Beat it small fry, you're no match for the guys in there." Alex just cocked a brow at what the man said and tilted his head to try and glance past him. "What is this place? And why does it need a body guard?" He asked out of genuine curiosity. He'd never even heard of such places while he was in the chapel. "What? You live under a rock you little pissant? This is where you can join The Cursed.. y'know, most bleedin' powerful gang in this damned city! But don't you even bother kid, you gotta go through a damned gauntlet of goons that could squish you with their pinky finger." Alex simply grinned and stifled a chuckle before crossing his arms. "Gang recruitment, eh? Alright. I want in. If I die, I die."

The guard just shrugged as he stepped aside and let Alexander enter before taking his place once more. 'Someone has to stop this nonsense after all..' Alex thought to himself as he found that he was soon in a room with just a few candles giving off light, making the entire room look like a scene out of a horror movie. "Right, to whoever stands in this room, come challenge me that I may show you all what real power is." He said aloud as various shadows began to shift just outside of the candle light. Moments later a small man was shoved into the center of the room, a man who was very visibly malnourished. Despite his appearance however, he was very clearly ready to kill. His eyes had this.. crazed hunger to them. Nothing would talk this man out of the fight.

"So be it. Sorry for your loss, friend." Alex muttered as in one motion he drew his blade and sliced a massive gash into the mans gut, immediately felling him. Hardly a moment later he was dragged away and another stepped in, this man was much larger and wielding a warhammer. "Yer' dead meat." The new challenger growled as Alex flashed a defiant smirk and began to circle around the man. "You're untrained, learned how to fight on the streets. Nothing compared to a professional." he taunted as the man suddenly charged forward, delivering a hard headbutt to Alex, causing him to stumble. "And you're hardheaded.. what a beautiful combination."

Alexander began to chuckle as the man roared in anger and rushed once more, this time Alex ducked to the side and extended a leg causing the man to trip. Alex followed through by quickly rising up and delivering a hard kick to the man's ribs so he would flip onto his back. "Untrained, hardheaded, quick to anger.. easy to kill." he muttered before delivering another kick to the man's head as he attempted to stand and followed up by plunging his sword into the man's chest.

Once more another challenger approached, this one a woman who was covered in heavy armor say for her head, in her hands was a long sword and shield. "And now I have passed the preliminaries I'm assuming?" Alex muttered as the woman assumed a defensive stance, clearly waiting for Alex to strike first. Alex chuckled and twirled his blade so that its tip would scuff the ground, sending small particles of dirt that had gathered up into the air near the woman. Sure enough, for a split second her eyes glanced to the dirt, in this moment Alex lunged forward and delivered a kick to her shield, causing her arm to quickly come in on her body. Alex then continued to press the advantage and pressed his body against the shield as he drove his shoulder into her arm, the force and angle of the hit causing her shield to bend backward and snap her wrist.

The woman cried out in pain as she immediately dropped the shield and took a step back. This time though she struck first as she charged at Alex, reaching out and grabbing him by the arm as he attempted to sidestep away and throwing him to the ground. Repeatedly she began to stab at the ground where Alex lay though each time he'd roll enough so that the edge of her blade just barely scraped him, causing his clothes to rip and tear exposing the chain-mail underneath. "Stay still!" The woman growled just as Alex shrugged and stopped rolling. The woman grinned as once more she stabbed at him, though this time Alex literally struck the flat of her blade with his hand, sending it in a completely different direction as he reached up and grabbed hold of her belt, yanking her to the ground 'above' him as he stood once more.

Once he was up Alex stepped to where the womans head was and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her head upwards so she could look at him. "Armor doesn't do you any good if you leave one of the most vital locations open for attack." He muttered quietly before plunging his sword into the back of the woman's neck. "I want a real challenge, to hell with the lackeys, send in your leader!"
In that moment, two dots in the shadows suddenly lit up a bright blue. "You're good. Damn good. I am Logan. Leader of this little family.. you may have heard of me but I assure you, those are nothing but stories." the man muttered as he stepped into the light. Logan was a literal behemoth of a man, towering above Alexander with rippling muscles. His eyes had a strange blue glow about them, as well as various locations on his body where his veins were clearly visible. "You boast about skill, but I assure you, I will defeat you, unarmed and unarmored."

Alex narrowed his eyes as his skin began to tingle in the presence of the man. Something didn't feel right, but nevertheless he nodded and raised his blade. "Sounds like you're pretty confident. Alright Logan, lets go!" Alex called as he lunged forward in an attempt to run Logan through. Logan simply grabbed his sword and wrenched it from Alex's grip. He then brutally clubbed Alex in the shoulder with the sword's pommel before throwing it to the ground in front of him. In response Alex screamed in pain as his shoulder immediately became black and blue. He growled under his breath as he picked up his sword and this time swung at Logan's leg. Logan then raised his foot and stomped Alex's sword into the ground, then delivering a hard kick to Alexander's head. "Can't you do better? Come on.. HIT ME!"

Alex fell back and immediately stood once more. "What the hell are you?" he muttered as he spat a large amount of blood onto the floor. "I am the pinnacle of mankind. This is all you need to know.. perhaps you will learn more, but for now if you don't strike me, I will end you." Logan responded, grinning as the air around the two began to tingle with raw power. Alex felt a shiver go down his spine as he yanked his sword from under Logan's foot and began a flurry of strikes, each of which Logan knocked aside until suddenly a bright flash shot out from near the grip of Alex's sword. "Gah! What the hell?!" Logan cried as he felt a sudden sting along his side as Alex sliced into him. Immediately after Logan felt another cut form across his eye before lunging forward suddenly feeling an intense burning sensation across his entire torso as well as another slice as Alex cut through the air, catching Logan in the strike as well as sending a wave of fire onto his body.

Logan growled in rage as his vision returned, ignoring the flames that engulfed him and summoned a sword which seemed to be made of raw energy. The two men then began to strike at eachother, most often clashing in the center if one or the other didn't parry the other's attack. With each failed strike each man felt their irritation rise, Alexander putting his all in and Logan struggling to not give off his position to anyone in the entire city which easily was the reason behind why Alex still lived. However, suddenly Logan felt something new, worry. Could it be that if he didn't risk his life with the guard, would this kid off the street take him out?

Suddenly Alex stepped back, breathing intensely as sweat rolled down his skin. Suddenly the tingling sensation of the air reached its peak as waves of blue energy began to resonate from Alex. A sudden glimmer of life flashed across his eyes which seemed to become a lighter shade of blue. Alex once more struck, though now his attacks were filled with an enormous amount of power compared to before, it was as if he became an animal fighting for survival. Logan was forced to step back as Alex continued to strike. [Unlocking Potential]

"What is this?!" Logan exclaimed as Alex went utterly silent and simply stared at him. Blue tendrils of energy rising out of the ground below him and surrounding him, his eyes glowing through it all and giving off a piercing gaze. "Damn you, speak! Speak or forsake your own life!" Logan growled as Alex stepped towards him. "By the blood of my father, I. Will not. LOSE!" Alex shouted as once more he entered an intense flurry of strikes, each of which Logan desperately blocked while attempting to keep his power hidden.

Alex however didn't cease in his strikes finally causing Logan to duck to the side and extend a hand, releasing a tendril of energy which attempted to wrap around Alex, however with one quick motion Alex lunged forward and sliced at Logan's hand, disrupting the tendril just as it would coil around Alex. "You'll have to do better than that." Alex growled as Logan shook his head and let out a sharp whistle before dipping into the shadows.

In response to the whistle another man took Logan's place, this one was easily recognized as the man from the door. "Alright kid, your time's up." The man growled as his body began to convulse, his eyes rolling back as his skin suddenly became a reddish color, horns burst from his skull and a deep laugh filled the room. The man, now revealed to be a demon chuckled as he summoned through a burst of fire a black whip. "You're gonna regret coming here." The demon growled before raising his arm and cracking the whip, sending it to coil around Alexander's blade moments before yanking it from his grip.

The demon then cracked his whip once more, this time across Alex's chest, causing his shirt to practically burst into flames, revealing more of the chainmail as well as a mark on his chest. "The mark of Azeron? My my what a catch I've got.." the demon muttered just before a blinding flash of light would fill the room. "It is not yet your time." a voice would mutter from within Alex's head. As the light vanished the demon was revealed to be laying on the ground dead. Alex narrowed his eyes before suddenly feeling exhaustion wash over him as he dropped to his knees. "Little prick.. I'll make sure you're never seen again"

Later on Alex found himself laying in some foreign location, staring up at the sky as birds chirped around him. From what he could tell he was in an alleyway, somewhere near people as in the distance he could hear talking and footsteps, though he just couldn't bring himself to stand. Finally he decided to succumb to the ever present exhaustion. Maybe when he woke up he would be able to move. At least, he hoped that he would. "You must pace yourself, my son.. go on like that and you shall not live to see tomorrow."

As he heard the voice once more Alex felt shame wash over him.'I couldn't allow that gang to remain in Aramore.. they pollute this city with their presence.' he thought to himself. He could almost feel his fathers gaze upon him, the disappointment in his eyes. "You act on aggression, that is the path of corruption, Alexander. You must fight to end it, not become one with it." Alexander's level of shame only increased at his father's words, though now he couldn't bring himself to form a response.

"You needn't speak, just hear my words. Your destiny has yet to be fulfilled, I have saved you once and that is the only time I shall do such a thing." Azeron muttered. 'What am I to do then? I was cast out on my own.. not a clue as to what I must do.' "Precisely, your destiny is yours to make, my son. You will know when you have completed it, this I assure you." Shame was now replaced with confusion as Alex struggled to understand what his father was saying.

"Do not stress yourself, for now you must rest. In time your path will be laid out before you, and you will make new allies to aid in your cause. Be wary however.. you shall also encounter powerful foes." At this point Alex saw in his mind the image of three women. One had visible dragon scales covering her arms and legs, notable claws on hands and feet. A Tattoo on the arm, shoulder and neck. Red hair and yellow eyes. She also appeared to be wielding a greatsword and boasting a chainmail hauberk.

The second woman was wearing a black heavy long coat with purple and gold accents and a hood on the back under that her shirt was black and gold, coming down below her waist. She had white pants with decorative black buttons on them as well as long black socks that come out past the top of the long brown boots she wears. Her hair was white and her eyes purple. Additionally her skin was a milky white color, though not unhealthily pale.

The final one looked very much like a human, with the difference being pointed ears. She had plate armor that covered her legs up to her thighs on the lower part of her body and on the upper parts covering the arms, chest, and hands say for her fingers, palms, elbows and upper arms and part of the area on and around her stomach. In place of armor in that case was black cloth which was especially baggy on her upper arms. Her backside was covered by something akin to a skirt that was a part of the upper part of her attire.

Finally Alex felt his consciousness leaving him after the images of the women filled his mind. "Seek them out, they may aid you in your cause." Azeron muttered as Alex gave a weak nod. "Yes father." Alex muttered aloud as once more he descended into unconsciousness.

Alexander you gained 11,550 Soul/Resolve and 2,310 Essence!