Featherook Training Facility

[Nira]

?/100

What does it mean when an attack is communicated to you? Well, if you see a person pulling their fist back, you'd expect a punch, right? That's one instance of such a thing. We are attached to this one world, we are connected. If you can read the connection of movements, you can see what'd heading your way. A fist building potential allows a kinetic action of a punch. As a leg does it, a kick, dash, or jump is prepared. You can then choose to avoid the path, or interrupt it and tangle the strings.

Hm, weren't you supposed to be doing something, right now? Oh yes, your sister...

---

Kalisa fist shot towards Tarah's nose. It was an odd punch, one that didn't seem to move from its place. A punch that lacked any motion, and didn't register as a threat. All it did was grow bigger, until it had already struck without a trace. Tarah's head yanked back as she fell, and her mind fell into a frenzy. Her leg flew upward during her fall, and struck Kalisa on the chin. Both girls fell away from the other, giving Tarah enough time to regain the steady gaze of her mind.

It didn't register to her, not at all. The punch was something she hadn't experienced before. No time to dwell on it just yet, though. Tarah stood up as quickly as she could, and got back into her stance. She received another mental call of distress, and finally noticed that Kalisa's image wasn't moving. It was a leftover afterimage! Tarah ducked, as instructed by her instinctive voice, and narrowly avoided a kick and that cut through at waist-height. Kalisa balanced on the ball of her foot, and pulled away as soon as she noticed the lack of a hit.

[Father 'Suke]

14 posts with +1 to each

My grade: +80

Total: +94

[Nira]

94/100

Your extra senses warn you about the dangers imposed by others, but not about the dangers we inflict that cause no harm. That is, moving to a position difficult to defend is not something that our instincts know to protect us from. In addition, there's the entire fiasco with elemental attacks. Although ninjutsu manipulates the world to attack us, it's still of the natural elements. The beast in us can not account for the calamities that are not a result of human action. Nor has it ever interacted with the tactics and strategy of warfare.

Beware of traps, as well. Dangers that are set up in advance don't do anything to frighten our internal indicators. If we do not spot the trap, we'll set it off, plain and simple. That could be anything as simple as a mine tag beneath a layer of dust, to one of those tripwire contractions you read about in adventure novels. We never learned how to set those up, despite these two thousand years. We should really work on that. Anyway, yes. We are able to sense so many dangers from humans, yet not from their creations, energy and otherwise. How could this be?

Well, there's one more theory, bloodlust. I know it's a bit out there, since it's hard to recognize it as a force, but we have out methods. Whenever we attack another, our intention is clear in our mind, yes? We have the will to kill when that is our goal. As always, the mind sends all the appropriate signals to account for this desire. The signal to pull the hand back, the signal to close to distance, and the signal to strike with the force to slaughter. But, after these signals are sent, where do they go? If they don't die down at the arm, can other people pick it up? There's that phenomenon with the twins, right?

Well, speculation as always, but a possibility that gives us the capability of an extra sense.

[Father 'Suke]

Learned

[Nira]

Doton no Jutsu (Earth Release Skill)
Rank: "C"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: ---
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: With this skill, or release, the user is now capable of using, and performing techniques that deal with the element of Earth. This means that any NinJutsu or specialized TaiJutsu that deals the Earth Release will need this in order to be performed correctly.
Limit: ---

0/10

We got water and fire, should add another element in. Wind is appealing, but no use for us in the grand scheme of things. The next element most commonly available in our surroundings is earth. Dirt, soil, and stone to be specific. You interact with them pretty much every day. When you are at rest, your body finds a humble spot upon the land. Without it, you'd have no place to stand, and would fall into the endless abyss. How you depend on it will allow you to better synchronize with its proprieties.

Earth is often in a rigid form. When combined with water, it becomes more of a gel, but is still more rigid than raw fluid. When you run your energy through, let it permeate like liquid through a sponge. Saturate the substance you stand upon, and let its bulk find a pattern of control. The earth moves in sudden bursts. It cracks, it shatters, and it hurls. Chakra must do the same when it guides this element. Do not do thing carefully, and do not lay a path. The energy must explode so that the earth is thrust into place.

Solidity is key for both offense and defense. In a physical attack, the rigid structure is able to transfer kinetic energy more efficiently. That means causing more damage to whatever is hit by our strikes. On the opposing end, there is the defensive properties of the earth element. This is more what it's know for. Earth is difficult to move when it finds a root. Without enough force to pierce its stability, a defense of earth refuses to step aside. It becomes an immovable object awaiting an unstoppable force.

The mass of earth determines a lot of its important properties. With increased density, it becomes heavier, and likely more durable. Although you can rely on bulk and thickness, excessive size tends to get in the way of whatever action you're trying to perform. Compression is more preferable in more situations. You have to compress your creations on some level, anyway. That's how you mold it into specific shapes, like weapons or animals. The element of earth requires some level of artistic talent to sculpt all your techniques.

A creation of earth often has an innate defense. Once you're able to properly control the density of an object, you'll eventually be able to keep an permanent external shield for everything that you make. Earth is durability, water is fluidity, and fire is a fleeting flash. Understand their differences to know the proper time to use earth.

[Father 'Suke]

Learned

[Nira]

History, Ancient (2000 to 2500 years ago, Fire)
Rank: "E"
Skill: Skill
Effect: The character has learned a certain specific legends, lore, and history of some ancient time and place.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: The character knows certain specific legends, lore, and history of a particular time and place. As a simple guide, choose 400 to 500 year period (e.g. the last 300 years, 500 to 1,000 years ago, 1,000 to 1,500 years ago, etc.) and one particular nation/region (e.g., Country of Fire, Country of Wind, Country of Sea). This skill gives the character familiarity with the principal historical events, legends, personalities, conflicts, places, battles, developments (scientific, cultural and Chakra), unsolved mysteries, crafts and oddities of the time period chosen. The character can recognize things he encounters from that age with a successful skill check. Each time learned user gets 5 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

0/5
0sp
No bonus

Hey, Vi? A question. What was the Fire Country like back before the cycle of our continuous revivals began? Well, for one, it wasn't really called the Fire Country, though I remember the area well enough. Ah, let's see, it was a lot more lush back then, I guess. The growth of our technology works against the progression of the green world. Well, it doesn't take much growth, actually. Once humans found more effective use for lumber, they carved into the forests with much more vigor. So yes, a lot more trees and greenery back then.

There were quite a few stone-bound people back in my time period. If they weren't within huts or caves, then they were putting together castles of stone. Time consuming, too. They didn't have much in terms of stone cutting methods. Wars weren't as bad, even if they still happened. Armies didn't number as vast as they do now, since people don't gather in such high concentrations. A few dozen warriors was sizable, almost overwhelming. Never mind hundreds or thousands at a time. Much more difficult to kill one another, too.

Taijutsu was a greater focus back in the day, since chakra was a much rarer source of power at the time. Explosions, lightning strikes, and landscape manipulation are terrifying compared to a ground of people armed with axes. Yes, they tend to kill one another pretty quick up close, but there was no great source of range. Sneaking tactics and traps were much more effective back then. They were clever with their architecture, too. The world didn't move aside for them, so they build on and around obstructions.

[Captain M]

It would be an honor to review this.

LEARNED

34/125

[Nira]

ooc: <3 All my love

---

History, Ancient (1500 to 2000 years ago, Fire)
Rank: "E"
Skill: Skill
Effect: The character has learned a certain specific legends, lore, and history of some ancient time and place.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: The character knows certain specific legends, lore, and history of a particular time and place. As a simple guide, choose 400 to 500 year period (e.g. the last 300 years, 500 to 1,000 years ago, 1,000 to 1,500 years ago, etc.) and one particular nation/region (e.g., Country of Fire, Country of Wind, Country of Sea). This skill gives the character familiarity with the principal historical events, legends, personalities, conflicts, places, battles, developments (scientific, cultural and Chakra), unsolved mysteries, crafts and oddities of the time period chosen. The character can recognize things he encounters from that age with a successful skill check. Each time learned user gets 5 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

0/5
0sp
No bonus

Heya! Hm, Vi, Alida, and Elsie have lived about five hundred hears in total, yeah? Elsie and I, Tanni, lived in the following five hundred years. Some changes during then, though it happened so slowly that we only realized it in hindsight. Kinda cool if I'm honest, if we lived day by day we'd never know anything changed at all, haha. So right, metals were a lot more refined during this time. I think they got a decent hold on steel at this point, won out against bronze and iron real quick, very sturdy alloy.

Did we have more lord or less lords at this time? I'm not sure. I was certainly doing a lot of performances for kings and queens, music was becoming a big thing as well. Performers were on the rise, and the arts were being a lot more appreciated. Instruments weren't as awesome yet, obviously, but there a lot you can do with some bongos and a good voice. Music became sort of a bridge between people. I played at a couple peace treaties between rival kingdoms. Food and entertainment, nothing says peace any better than that.

And why peace treaties? Well, with steel came better weapons. Not to mention a major improvement in energy conversion. Chakra was on the rise. When you got arrows raining from the sky and super spies throwing the environment at you, you start looking for solutions beyond brute force. The war to end wars had begun, because people were all of a sudden a lot more fragile. Didn't matter much to me, just meant I could play a hella lot more songs. Oh, lot of propaganda too, I had to learn some newly written national anthems. I wrote some too, but those kingdoms kinda... died out.

Gosh I hope I didn't cause that, my original songs aren't bad, right?

[Solus]

You go to 28 skill points. Sorry for such a mediocre score. I tried my hardest.

[Nira]

ooc: Haha, all good

---

Oto Shouheki (Sound Barrier)
Rank: "D" "C" "B" "A" "S"
Skill: Ninjutsu, Vocal
Effect: Sound waves that alter the trajectory of projectile attacks.
Special: Singing
Drawback: Will not work against melee strikes or attacks anchored to the ground with the exception of whip-like attacks. Will only work on techniques of the same rank as the rank of Sound Barrier known.
Description: The Bard will hold a very low pitched note and after the appropriate amount of time the sounds will begin to form a slight barrier ten meters in front of the bard. This barrier, however, will not stop attacks as a normal one would but will redirect them slightly to the left or right of the user to prevent them from being struck.
Limit: Art of the Bard, 'Singing'.

D Rank
0/10

Blocking and reflecting are difficult, and require a lot of energy. Although they are effective forms of defense, they aren’t very exactly great when it comes to attrition. Diversion is more useful for many situations, as long as you can anticipate an incoming attack. Projectiles, to be specific. As long as you can detect them before they get in significant range, you can divert their course and send them spiraling to the side, away from your soft and fleshy skin.

Quick enough to use as well, just a song and you’re golden. Ah, but which one to sing is a question to be answered. Well, the song of deflection is still and strong. Something with a good bass. That’ll be hard to pull off with our voice, so it’s usually more suited for male singers. Regardless, that’s how it works. A strong, yet still, tone of protection that is place in front of you, so discourage anything that dares to move in a straight line. Channel the world away from you.

When you sing this note, play very close attention to the positioning of the incoming projectile. Remember that this technique doesn’t block or reflect, it pushes attacks to the side. This means you actually have to choose how to part it away. Should it be hurled towards the left, or knocked to the right? That’s all up to you to decide on. It was to be quick, if you recall. Once the attack gets too close, this technique can no longer be operated. Even if you change the center of it.

What I mean by that is, the diversion takes place over time. If you only have enough space to divert a flying axe by one centimeter, in most cases that’s not enough for you to evade the hit. You’ll just be struck as usual. Energy projectiles are among the easiest to deflect. They are practically weightless, so the sound is able to manipulate their positioning in the simplest way. Their flight speed is also usually slow enough for you to notice and counter at will.

Now, the physical ones are much more difficult to account for. Kunai and shuriken, for example, are command and fast. Though thrown by hand, they fly straight and true. In most cases and most distances, you’d have better luck moving out of the way than starting your song. The motions of a shinobi far exceed your capability as songstress, and I’m afraid that will continue to be the case in most combat situations. Arrows, designed to be aerodynamic, are far worse still.

[Captain M]

LEARNED

[Nira]

Dance of Infatuation
Rank: C
Skill: Ninjutsu, Vocal
Effect: Temporarily prevents the caster from being attacked.
Special: Singing
Drawback: Has a chance to fail. Only affects single targets.
Description: A Mind Affecting skill. By singing a sultry tune the user will affect a single target within a thirty meter radius. The song will cause the target to be temporarily attracted to the user, thus preventing them from attacking for three posts. The chance of this technique working depends on class level, starting a 5% for D rank and doubling every time the user goes up in class level with a maximum of 80%.
Limit: Art of the Bard. 'Singing'.

0/10

Something to stack on top of weakness, is absolute attack denial. That’s something of Elsie’s field, when it comes to emotional bard effects. To be specific, there is a technique that makes a person love. Sing an irresistible tune, and watch as the hearts of your enemies become yours. They’ll be able to defend themselves, still, but they won’t be able to strike you down. Their love of you prevents the willingness to harm. It is to take away a sword but leaving the shield behind.

This doesn’t always work, unfortunately, because it requires your energy to overpower the opponent’s mind. As you know, the mind is such a complicated thing. You’re at least powerful enough to overwhelm most, but don’t depend on it. The effects last for a while when it does activate, so you can take a few seconds to be cautious about its effect. It works on one target at a time, so just focus yourself on that single person and let your voice ring out to their loving heads.

To affect love, we must look into the emotional portion of the brain. It’s the part that provides the fuel for most of a human’s most irrational decisions. The joys of companionship and pain of heartbreak are all near to this spot. The irrational action we’re inspiring is for a person to choose not to harm their beloved, even when the love is so obviously one sided. You are forcing someone onto the defensive. For love, people choose to die, so not attacking isn’t quite as extreme as it could be.

Thick attraction when you sing this melody. You want to touch the heart, and spur emotions that aren’t even present. Well, they could be, but that’s not likely. You’re creating fake love, and having it be a perfect imitation for the next couple dozen seconds. Think of what attracts you, and why. What makes a voice sexy? It can’t be too quick, you have to let the imagination run wild for as much as possible. It’s about giving your opponent enough space to create their own target of affection.

Bare bodies are nothing new, and something that everyone could imagine. That’s not something you need to bother with in replication. The perverts will forge those images on their own. Instead, take it deeper. Think of the smoothness of speech, and the gleaming gaze of their eyes. Turn that into a song. Make them feel as if they’re reading the most beautiful confession of love, so that they can’t help but return the feelings despite everything else telling them otherwise.

[Captain M]

Damn Barding is badass...

LEARNED

[Nira]

ooc: Heck yeah! Thanks M :3

---

Fuda Shindou (Seal Temor)
Rank: C
Skill: Ninjutsu, Vocal or Instrumental
Effect: The user's vocals or instrumental cause a tremor in the opponent's hands, making it increasingly difficult to form hand seals.
Special: Singing or Instrument Skill
Drawback: The user cannot perform techniques while utilizing this technique.
Description: The user sings a harmonious melody, creating a tremor in their opponent's hands by resonating with them. This cause the opponent's hand seals to become increasingly difficult to perform, and making techniques requiring hand seal strings or other similar hand motions of B Rank amount or higher to be impossible to perform for the duration. The duration of the technique is two posts.
Limit: Art of the Bard, Singing C or an instrument

0/10

We need some disability techniques. The best I know of is known as the seal temor, a very effective hindrance against powerful ninjutsu users. The concept is easy enough. With this song, you are the disrupt the capability of an opponents hands, in order to make it nearly impossible for them to perform any techniques with decent offensive weight. This disruption also disables your own technique performance ability, but that’s not much of a problem with out fighting style.

Now, to achieve this, we need a melody. A unifying one that resonates with another person’s body. Not enough to stun or hurt them, or rather not designed to do so. The goal of the resonance is to counterbalance your opponent’s hands. They must not be allowed to put them together and form a chakra contract. It’s not possible to prevent the achievement of simpler techniques, or techniques with great progression, but most problematic issues are neutralized.

The harmony of the hands can be studied with your own chakra interactions. When you perform handseals, you understand the tones of energy manipulation as it courses through your fingers. Once you convert that to song, you can shut down the abilities of all other such individuals. Think of the different handseals as keys of a piano. You strike them to form the melody, and do so again and again. Every time you harmonize with your opponent, their own seals are ruined.

There are twelve primary handseals, so there are twelve primary notes for you to color in your disruption. Associate them by their animals, and thus to the sound. Not really a cow goes moo situation, but a soft ballad of purrs. Remember that it must resonate, not attack. The music of this technique is shifting like the performance of a technique. Every step of manipulation can be stolen from them with a coincidental shock. Speak from your own hands to halt the opponent.

You also have to harmonize with hands in general. Remember that it isn’t just handseals you’re eliminating. You’re also attempting to stun the use of all relevant hand motions to the development of techniques. Certain skills, such as those of us soulcasters, depend on fluidity of the arms. Your song must be able to counteract that as well. The melody must be so graceful that any other steady movement is impossible. It must occupy the space of energy, to break all molds that try to form.

[Captain M]

There's a mistake in the translation of the technique's name, oh well.

LEARNED

[Nira]

ooc: Oh yeah, damn. That sucks.

---

Ototon: Zerihagi (Sound Style: Jelly Leg)
Rank: C
Skill: Ninjutsu, Vocal or Instrumental
Effect: The user renders the opponent unable to use their legs.
Special: Instrument Skill or Singing
Drawback: --
Description: The user plays or sings a fast paced samba styled song. The chakra produced from this song will run along the ground in an manner that creates no visible impression. When this burst strikes a target it forcibly vibrates the user’s ligaments and tendons, making it impossible for the user to walk, run, or jump for two rounds. This technique has a range of ten meters, plus five more for every character rank above D the user possesses.
Limit: Art of the Bard, Singing C or an Instrument

0/10

Next on the list is pure immobilization. You wish to root the person in place by breaking a hold of their stride. This is a more generalized hindrance, but also more capable of success. This time you really are using an attack class sound, which traces along the ground and decimates the structure of an opponent’s legs. This skill prevents them from using their legs at all, essentially preventing all forms of walking, running, or jumping. A sitting duck for all intended purposes.

This technique needs a fast paced song. Something that runs along like a dashing shinobi. Once this sound strikes a person’s leg, it begins to target all the vital areas for leg based motion. Though it runs along the ground, it creates no such visible impressions. Only you will know where it has gone to, and only you can have it bring the enemy down. The fast pace is much like a march. The chakra that is produced will sprint forth until it hits an enemy and takes them out.

The parts of the leg are obvious enough. You need to stun the muscles so that they are unable to stretch in any way, which prevents them from pulling their bones around the place. This alone is enough to halt most forms of movement, though you still need to strike particular tendons so that the spring mechanism of those parts don’t allow from slight alternations of an opponent’s leg. Essentially, disrupt any signals from the burst of chakra that is released from this musical skill.

Conceptually, it parallels an explosive mine set to stun an opponent. It’s no use for opponents who exist off the ground. The chakra your produce from this traces along the body like lightning from blow. It seeks the shortest route to jump from the bottom to as high as possible. It’s not a powerful technique, so it sputters out of energy before it makes it too far up an opponent’s charka system. That’s the reason for its design as a leg immobilizer instead of something for the entire body.

You don’t have raiton, so that may not be the best method of explanation. Rather, let’s think of a mosquito’s bite. When you are bitten by this insect, a bump is raised due to the effect of the toxin which spreads to the nearby bodily cells. Usually, if there are no powerful viruses in play, that bump is the only symptom. It’s a foreign substance, much weaker than your own body. Due to that, it doesn’t travel nearly as far, and the damage is limited to that red spot.

Imagine the horror, though, if you were bitten in your eye. That’s the purpose of precision and specificity.

[Captain M]

So jelly

LEARNED

[Nira]

Harmonious Karma
Rank: C
Skill: Ninjutsu, Vocal OR Instrumental
Effect: Returns weapons or items lost back to the owner.
Special: Singing 'C' Rank OR Melody Seals
Drawback: Works on enemies and allies alike. Cannot be used to pick up or find things that are not yours.
Description: When someone has items there is a bond of some sort between the person and the item. This song allows the bard to call any unheld items back to their owners in an act of good karma. This also enables the bard to help find items that have been lost, and re-arm a disarmed ally within battle.
Limit: Art of the Bard. Must have an instrument or Singing 'C' Rank.

0/10

The belongings of a person are vital. Your weapons, if you use them as you should, become an extension of yourself. They are nearly as vital as any other limb, and their worth is multiplied ridiculously when you are engaged in combat. To lose your weapon in the middle of a fight is a hazard that may contribute to your defeat. You can’t exactly lower your defenses to retrive your weapon, either. That may be even more dangerous, and an intelligent enemy would use that opening.

Thus, we have this specially little song. One that touches your own heart to recognize the familiarity of your weapons. When you lose an item, you feel the sense of loss. It is as if you’ve been cut away from yourself, split from something special. To return to the way things are, the path of least resistance must be forged in chakra. The recovery of your lost item becomes the priority of your energy. Sing this song, and the item you lose will come rushing back like a loving pet.

How does it work? Well, it’s like a spring of chakra, you know? Uh, or rather, perhaps bungee jumping. When an object is lost to you, it is like a cord which snaps. There is a backlash of emotion as you lose something that you know belongs in your hands. With the use of music and chakra, you can locate the snapped cord and reconnect it. In doing so, you and the item spring back together. Mostly the item, since it’s the most mobile in many cases of lost things.

When your items fall back into the hands of their rightful owners, the tether is complete and the chakra dissipates. It’s a quick action. Most items do not have minds in which to think, but they recognize the hand print that has held them in place for so long. When they return to their owner, it’s a fulfillment like easing your hunger with a good meal. Everything feels right when all the puzzle pieces fit together in a nice and cozy fashion. The least resistance is as fluffy as a cotton pillow.

But uh, yes. The owner always leaves behind a trace of who they are in what they own. It is shared much in the realm of both matter and soul. We leave an imprint of all we are. It may be my unique fingerprints that are clearly our own. It may be by the dead cells, which build up in residue where they lay. It may be in the field of energy, where an item lives along with you in combat, and has seen all the special techniques you applied alongside it.

[Captain M]

LIVING TOGETHER IN PERFECT HARMONY! <3

LEARNEDU!