"If you're you're feeling imbalance it would not be incorrect to assume that they don't work too well together. That doesn't mean there aren't advantages. First of all, conceal the weapon from your opponents sight."
Logan nodded, hiding his dagger behind his shield as Adi demonstrated. He wasn't sure what Adi planned to do with a physical shield. It wouldn't be able to deflect his strikes.
"Next, step in, and as you do, acquire a target."
Logan flinched as the upperclassman unexpectedly rushed forward. The junior instinctively brought his shield inward to defend himself, but Adi swiftly and efficiently knocked it away and took a swipe at his side. Logan staggered backward, disoriented and thrown off balance. There was a faint tingling sensation in his ribs. Apparently the shield Adi had picked up was capable of interacting with ethereal objects. It must be made of iron.
"Slash, then retreat." The upperclassman continued with his instruction.
"Alright, I'll give it a shot." Logan said, trying to think of a way to catch his instructor off guard since he already knew what was coming. He took up stance as Adi had shown him.
Behind his targe, the junior shifted his hold on the dirk to a reverse grip. He charged forward, twisting his torso in an attempt to sweep Adi's weapons away with his shield. He then brought his arm around, aiming to follow up with a slash to his opponent's sternum.

Adi stepped back as fast as he attacked, waiting for the junior to initiate the attack.

"Alright, I'll give it a shot."

And initiate he did. It was not without rapidity. As instructed, the junior masked his movement of the knife almost completely as he lunged. Tracing the eyes, he calculated that the attack was most likely aimed at his centre line. Dropping to his back foot, he swayed away in the half kneel, keeping the shield as flat as he could, trying to afford no purchase for any attempt aimed at exposing his body. His knife hand had moved behind his back as he did, waiting to counter attack as he shifted grip.

Adi's stance was too sturdy. Unable to remove his shield from in front of his torso. His shield arm flung wildly to the side after the unsuccessful swipe. The junior still had time to reverse his momentum and retract his strike. Instead, on reflex, Logan adjusted the aim of his knife from the upperclassman's sternum to his face. He brought his hand around in a wide arc to build power for the blow.

Junior Douglas errant swing left him wide, and the wide arc of the follow up knife attack was too easy to read and too slow. Adi pushed off his back foot, shield raised as he aimed for the junior's now exposed centre line. It was the shortest distance his knife could travel and since he had mistakenly reversed his grip he would come up short. The pommel of his knife lightly stabbing the solar plexus. It was a soft blow as he felt his shield catch the wide knife struck shortly after.

He stepped back two paces.

"Attack was too wide, and using a reverse grip slash when you don't have the proper footwork to set it up. Get up and try again."

((You can try again or if you want we can just go through a "training montage".))

((One more try methinks.))

"Attack was too wide, and using a reverse grip slash when you don't have the proper footwork to set it up. Get up and try again." Adi instructed.
Logan obliged, quickly returning to his feet.
"Alright, let's have another go." he replied, taking up a stance. He took his instructor's words into consideration, resolving not to make the same mistakes twice. He put his left leg forward, shifting his weight until he felt balanced. He twisted his torso sideways to minimized exposed area, covering most of his upper body with his shield. This included his knife hand. Preparations complete, he rushed forward once more
As Logan came into contact with his opponent's defenses, he pressed upward and to the left with his targe. At the same time, his right hand appeared from behind it, slashing directly toward Adi's side.

((Alright but we're lapsing in to a training montage after this.))

His junior learned quickly, taking his lessons to heart, and attacked again. His eyes were still easy to read though. Their shields crashed again this time Adi stood firm, a mistake in hindsight as his shield was dislodged from the weight that junior Douglas had put behind it. He predicted where the knife was aimed at with greater precision thanks to the movement but it was too late. His attempt to throw himself backwards in to a roll was too late too and if it were a real knife, it would have drawn blood.

He got up from the failed roll.

"I didn't expect you to get me that time, good work though I would have used a thrust there to prevent a timely escape. Also try not to look at where you're aiming. I think you've grasped fighting on equal footing a little bit better now."

He returned to the weapon racks and put away the shield and dispersed his karambit.

"Don't think this is over yet junior Douglas, now we'll get you used to fighting at a disadvantage."

He grabbed a wooden two metre staff and returned to the sparring floor. It wasn't quite the polearm that the ghosts from earlier used but it was much much longer. Adi held the staff pointing forward around his waist.

"Come now, we'll keep going until you can no longer maintain your weapons."

Logan couldn't help but feel a tinge of pride after his somewhat successful assault. However, Adi still somehow managed to find a point to critique. Apparently the junior's eyes had been giving his moves away the entire time. He made a mental note to be more careful to conceal his intentions. He sheathed his knife, wondering if that would be all for today.
"Don't think this is over yet junior Douglas, now we'll get you used to fighting at a disadvantage." Adi said, effectively answering the question.
The junior gave an exasperated moan as Adi withdrew a staff from the rack of weapons. This training was going to run him ragged.
"Come now, we'll keep going until you can no longer maintain your weapons."
Logan nodded, assuming his stance, as he prepared once again to attack.

ooc: I'm thinking I should have Alice just wait in the s**** thing
because the alternative would be to go upstairs and drag August down

OOC: lol I'm coming, I'm coming, I was dragged around again in the middle of a post.

Miss Rachel rolled her eyes, typical fire naturae student, they were always so rebellious, fire and lightning always were the most outspoken with their rebellious natures. Once again, she should have seen this coming, and had she thought about this earlier she would've just used her own abilities to send him down into the s****, though that defeat the purpose of choice. She sighed heavily before standing up straight.

"Very well then" she said with her hands clasped together "However before we begin..."her eyes once again began to glow a luminous yellow "Nothing in this room shall burn" Nothing happened, though she looked like she had accomplished something and her eyes had returned to their regular state. "Now, to address these abilities of yours" she said while facing August "Look deeply into the flame, watch how it flickers erratically, and how the very barriers of the flame look like they want to expand beyond its own confines. Allow your very self to drift into the flame and feel the fire's warmth and pulse of life flow through you as if it were just another part of your body. Now, just as if you were moving a finger or toe, move this new found body part and watch as the fire responds to your manipulation."

____________________________________________________

Evelyn listened and nodded showing that she was fairly interested in learning more about his arte than what she had read from a book. She was intrigued to know that she wasn't the only one to have the ability to fly, even if his levitation required a bit more concentration than her own. She could tell that even though he didn't have that same aura of cold killer that Adi had, Li was also an experienced exorcist.

"That was amazing!" she said "Really all I can do is fly and create these energy wisps" she opened the palm of her hand and a pale white-yellow sphere of energy appeared over it emitting a dim light. "Well I guess I have a very strong sense for spirits as well, my parents think I may develop some sort of "sixth sense" later on in life." she shrugged the notion away, she wasn't all that keen of being able to sense more than she already could, which was considerably more than almost everyone in the room, aside from Li, who would sense things through the flow, and Adi who would be able to sense the slightest taint of evil. "Anyways, it's been a pleasure to meet you, Li. I'm confident that you and the rest of the seniors..." she paused momentarily as she remembered Basil's apathetic nature "will take care of all of us."

_________________________________________

For the remainder of the time, Adi kept the junior in check each time Douglas attacked. The junior demonstrated novel approaches to overcoming the reach disadvantage, such as holding on to the staff but ultimately, he failed to land a clean blow on Adi. That wasn't the point of the exercise though but Douglas was starting to think more than just one move ahead, each attempt being more planned and ultimately getting closer and closer to the target he set himself. Controlling the strength of the blows as much as he could Adi repelled each attack. Hopefully there would be no bruising but with the way they were going at it, the hurt may be felt the following morning.

When the full fifteen minutes were up, Douglas' weapons started to lose solidity, Adi called it a day. Planting the staff by his side, he spoke.

"That concludes the lesson for today. Your homework is to shadowbox for at least 15 minutes until we spar again next Saturday. Until then, you have the week to reflect on what you've learned today. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find a shower."

He had started to sweat by the end of that. So far, only the undershirt was damp so he removed his normal school shirt quickly before it too got soaked. Folding it in to a neat bundle he exited the training area and without much fuss, in to the club meeting room upstairs where he found Doctor Dawn with another student. He took no note of the two, silently slipping out of the room and heading for the shower facilities by the gym.

Evelyn seemed impress by Li's little demonstration. It only does seem impressive due to the fact that this is Li's 3rd year studying the flow. During his first year, all he could do was imbue small objects only about the size of a dice.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it. Right now you may feel your abilities aren't much, but trust my when I say this, they will develop beyond your imagination", Li told Evelyn as he paused for a breath. "Right now though, you just have to get a bit creative with things. Funny story actually, I was training with Adi and some spirits one time and used a piece of paper that I enhanced as a blade".

Li let that thought sink in for a bit. After a the pause, he continued. "I'm sure we'll be able to help you guys in any way possible. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask anyone, even Basil. He may seem cold, which I don't deny, he does prefer to be alone, but he is probably one of most intellectual out of all of us."

Autumn, Monday 12:00 Noon

The rest of the week remained largely uneventful after the initial club activities. Each member of the club was told that they had free access to the s**** where permissions allowed and were encouraged to continue training their abilities. August and Lukas' powers were revealed and ironically their powers were of fire and wood respectively. Miss Rachel was not on the school premises on Sunday, though Sir William and the senior students were capable of monitoring the children as well as answering any questions they may have had.

Monday was the first day of classes, and the students were introduced to their new teachers. There was a brief school assembly given by the headmaster praising the students for being the best of the best and wishing them success in their endeavours this year. He emphasized that the school gates lock at 22:30 (10:30 PM) and that no one was permitted to enter or exit the premises following this set time.

As the bell for lunch rang a message was sent out to the present omnivident members' PDA:



To the members unaccustomed to the practices of the club and those who were not not members at all, it seemed like the Darren Archive Club was simply going on a minor excursion and were getting a lecture. The senior members however knew that this message meant that there was a mission. Their first one of the year.

Oh boy, a field trip! Carter happily thought. As he did infact love going to new places. Wait a minute. If I'd know better, we'd most likely be putting our skills to use. And it last time is was ghosts. Maybe I should read about ghosts. I need to go get some books! And he did, Carter set off to go to the library, once he arrived he went to the once stocking the shelfs, and asked, "Hello, is there any books I could get about spirits, no no, not in the alcholic sense, but the paranormal aspect."

The rest of the week was just training and studying for Johnathan. Mainly because he felt he was behind the other members in the Club, being one of the few who knew next to nothing in regards towards his Arte. And because he was excited about his new found abilities. He had that same feeling when he first drew his sigils when he was studying. That compelling natural feeling. He even looked into his, as well as Carter's, arte. He found out quite a lot of information on the both of them. He even discovered more Sigils that had powers that Johnathan couldn't have imagined. In one way, He was textbook, matching all the criteria of a Notatorum, all of it was Johnathan. He felt as if the Arte was describing himself, from book smart to inquisitive about the mystery of things. Which explained why he was eager to find out what the Darren Archive Club was about. That was only when he was playing nice, however. The past few days he wasn't acting like himself. He was trying to please people. No more. Since he was beginning to settle in and relax, he no longer needed to mask himself. Apparently, there was another quirk, that took another look at this whole thing. Which seemed to be lazy and not quite as disciplined as the other Notatorum disciple's. Johnathan wondered if there was anybody like that. He pictured himself taking no roads himself, only to be in the middle, leaning towards the former side.

Studying the 5 sigil sheets Alice gave him was no challenge, to his expectations. That was another description about him, and his Arte. To be able to memorize sigils, and everything else it seems, with ease. His favorite was a tie between Fragor and Muto. One being able to explode on anything that it was drawn on, and the other to be able to transform anything that was drawn on. Constuare was good too, he figured. To basically make polygons that can be easily transformed with the handy Muto. He didn't know if that would completely transform something, however. Arx was a good defense Sigil. Strengthening whatever it was drawn upon, he could easily charge into battle without getting hurt to much, under certain conditions, until it wears off. Veritas, he considered to be his second best. With that, he could find out the truth to anything, and can tell if people are lying. He did worry, however, about the amount of time it took him to draw them all. But he would like the heat of the battle take care of it and hopefully he'll be able to draw stuff faster under the pressure...speaking of fighting, he didn't have any other training besides his sigils. What if something happens and he can't draw them? He was going to ask Rachel about that later.

Carter's Arte was, to Johnathan's surprise, what he expected. There were some powerful stuff that he could use. He also found that Carter had some sort of crystal that hosts most of his abilities. He also found that Carter too, appeared to be textbook. It also seemed that Alchimia and Notatorum had some sort of rivalry. And ironically, it just so happens that they're roommates. But it didn't seem this way yet. But, of course, it was still early and that could all change in a matter of days. It also appears that he could make some sort of Golem in his upper years. He had to keep that in mind.

His teachers were...a whole other story. Some were erratic while others were simply boring, which kept Johnathan on his toes, not knowing what to expect with each teacher. Quickly, the clock signaled that it was lunch time. This was probably due to the fact that there was an assembly, where the headmaster wished the students all good luck and stuff. He couldn't stress enough that the lock-down for the school was 10:30, which meant people who were inside couldn't get out and vice versa. Johnathan didn't know what would happen to the people who were late, and stayed at the school. Nonetheless he found it quite plain. As he rushed to get something to eat from the lunchroom, he got a message from the Club stating that there was going to be a field trip and someone was going to speak to them. Johnathan's forehead wrinkled at the message. It hadn't been a month, let alone a week, and there was already a field trip? Either this was some go lucky club, or it was a lie. He thought about carving Veritas on his PDA, but was quickly dismissed because it was dumb, and he didn't know if it would work like that. He had to go to the source and find out. His mind cut off from that thought due to his hunger. He then waltzes over to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was filled with various smells as usual. Johnathan nods to the chef, not understanding his language, and looks over the food. Those few minutes of looking over the food seemed like hours, even though it took 5 minutes. He quickly grabs a burger and a bottle of water to wash it down. He couldn't stop thinking about that message. Was it true? Are they not telling them all the information on purpose? Maybe Johnathan was just taking this to far. They would tell the members if they were doing something really important. Unless it's a surprise. He disposes his tray and heads out the door. We must be doing something related to our abilities again. And with ghosts. He analyzed. On that day, he saw Carter and his group face off with some ghosts. Maybe they're doing the same thing, only this time as a whole. Johnathan figured he could manage without the knowledge of the types of ghosts, because of Veritas.

He finds the Darren Archive Club room and enters. It seems he was early again. He then takes a seat, wanting answers he would find in the form of action, and sight.