"I am no slouch." -- First Trial.

The stories and lives of the Grim. ((Roleplaying Stories and In Character Interactions))
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Mizue
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Location: Chicago

"I am no slouch." -- First Trial.

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The following events occur on December 23, between the hours of 2:00 and 3:00 in the afternoon.

It was cold. Very, very cold.

Despite the ice that froze over the greater balcony outside of the Mogu'shan Palace, Morrigan did not have that difficult of a time finding purchase and landing at the entrance where the fabled explorer Brann Bronzebeard recently had kept himself. Seemingly this locale was one of the better kept strongholds to obtain knowledge about this land of Pandaria, maintained by the Pandaren historians to preserve the history of their ancestors and rivals alike. Thus, Mizue was not too surprised to learn that the dwarven archaeologist would be present there. Though it was not his audience the Field Captain sought this evening; but rather, one of the Pandaren elders who greeted her in the Jade Forest shortly after arriving.

Lorewalker Cho.


Boots make a soft crunching noise against the collected snow upon the grounds as Mizue slips off from Morrigan's back, causing the phosphorescent-hued drake to wield her head back toward its owner, gazing at the hooded paladin through its slitted, violet eyes. Gloved gauntlet slides against the neck of the beast warmly, while the cold winds blow forth across the Vale. Pausing to face one of her many loyal companions, Mizue cups Morrigan's maw to look her friend in its eyes.

“I know it's cold, but wait 'ere for a moment; I shan't be too long. With hope,” Mizue speaks and gets a low grunt from Morrigan in reply. About-face turn leads Mizue through the somewhat warmth of the interior, taking a moment for her shrouded eyes to soak in all of the manuscripts and treasures preserved in this small sanctuary. Bathed in the warmth of a trove of knowledge waiting to be learned; it was hard for an avid reader such as Mizue to focus briefly. As her head turns back forward, she stops in her steps as her covered eyes look upon the recognizable Pandaren seemingly engrossed in one of the many books available here.

Mizue could understand.


“Excuse me, Lorewalker?,” Mizue approaches the foot of the stairs leading up to the dais Lorewalker Cho stood upon while reading. Hating to interrupt the man while he was involved in his book, but considering the need of his knowledge of these lands on behalf of completing tasks to honor a Mandate, she had to disrupt him.

Cho did not look up from his book, but Mizue would continue: “Considering this is the Seat of Knowledge, I have come to req--”

“One who seeks knowledge should not hide their eyes or mask their voice, young one.”

“.. eh, forgive me,” softly correcting herself with an apology while her hand raises up to her hood. Gripping and pulling the covering from off over her head, holding it at her side with her fist. Reawakened emerald eyes look firmly across at Lorewalker Cho as now she meets him with optic contact.

“Ahh yes, I remember those pigtails anywhere. What brings you out here to me on this chilly evening, my paladin friend? It must be rather urgent to come out in this type of weather.”

“I suppose that is one way of puttin' it. I have been tasked by one of the leaders of my new .. association to prove my worth. To demonstrate that I can exert strength when needed, and not be'ah weak link in the chain. Durin' my active duty in Northrend with the Argent Crusade, I have encountered a vast array of things that should have killed me, that should have tore me asunder. Yet I held on and survived--alongside my companions. I stared death in the face countless times, and I proved I could survive then against the Scourge, so now I fear nothin'.”

“But all of this is new territory to me, so that is what brings me to you, Lorewalker. You know much about this isle, so perhaps you can point me into a right direction of some type of challenge that I can try to overcome.”

Cho did not reply for a while, leaving the Seat of Knowledge to be cloaked in just the murmurs of others reading and the faint crackling of brazier fire. It seemed to come as a glint in his eyes as the Lorewalker focuses over on the green eyes of Mizue before speaking.

“.. I'm sorry, young one, but combat is not really my area of expertise.”

“.. great.”

However, I do know of one who is such an expert. But I warn you, young elf, he is a ruthless teacher, yet with a heart of gold, and a belly of iron. And much like your greaters, he too does not reward weakness. If you wish to seek him out, I will tell you where he can be sought.”

Emerald eyes narrow in a concentrated manner upon hearing that, as the ruddy red lips of Mizue curve just slightly upward as a result.

Bring him on.
Last edited by Mizue on Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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`` .. is a world where innocents are the first to die worth saving? ´´
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Mizue
Posts: 70
Location: Chicago

"I am no slouch." -- First Trial.

Unread post by Mizue »

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The following events occur on December 23, between the hours of 6:00 and 7:00 in the evening.

It was still very cold.

“This is it: the Peak of Serenity. Apparently this is wher' the Pandaren have one of their more notable training grounds. According to the Lorewalker, many of the Pandaren elite who 'ave gone on to accomplish incredible feats can be traced back 'ere to wher' they began their training as young cubs.”

“All the way up in these blasted mountains?! By my calculations, it's exactly negative one-hundred and seventy-six Kraklenheit up here!,” voices the seemingly annoyed automaton who trots up behind Mizue as she was overlooking several Pandaren below training with one another, even at this time of evening. “Couldn't we have picked a better day for this hide-and-seek game?”

Mizue rolls her emerald eyes at the ranting coming from G-Silver's mechanical voice down by her knees. “You never complained about the cold back'n Icecrown.”

“That's because Icecrown is like Blackrock compared to this place! You'll be thawing out my gears tonight, missy!”

“I'm actually hoping your mouth gets rusted shut. Come on, let's find this trainer.” Mizue turns toward one of the bridges connecting the landings, where the Pandaren dojos and monasteries were all arranged.


The massive oaken doors lead into the Ox Temple creak open, forcing a rush of winter air to draft in from the outside flurry. Extinguishing the fires from atop a couple of nearby candles lit within the quiet sanctum. Tracking snow in from her heeled boots, Mizue brings her hand up to brush some snow away from her reddish hair, sweeping it down below onto the annoyed G-Silver trailing behind her. A couple of monks sweeping the floors turn to look upon the elven outsider as she stands amidst the dojo, peering her green eyes around the insides. Upon looking at the pair of Pandaren before her, Mizue offers a faint bow of her head to them before speaking.

“Pardon my interruption, but I am looking for one known as Ponshu.”

“That is Master Ponshu, outsider. Approach.” A booming voice echoes out from the darkness upon the northern end of the chamber, followed by the familiar sound of heavy metal from armor grinding against one another. Mizue's green eyes gaze through the candle-lit shadows as an armored Pandaren steps forth into the light, standing atop the dais to look down upon the sin'dorei. Approaching and keeping her eyes focused, both Mizue and G-Silver finally pause at a respectable distance away from where Ponshu stands.

Master Ponshu of the Ox, my name is Mizue Valentine. Lorewalker Cho told me that I should seek your audience if I wish to undergo trainin'. I am here with a mission to prove my strength and prowess to both myself and my greaters, and am prepared to accomplish whatever duties you would have me perform.”

“.. Cho sent you? Heh heh! The bookworm might be well learned of the world, but can at times be a poor judge of strength. From what I can see, you are a frail creature. There are cubs who come here who are larger than you. I am surprised that blade against your back is not crushing you!” The Pandaren who were cleaning earlier were heard to chuckle behind the blood elf as they hear the Master weigh in on the blood elf pilgrim.

“I'm surprised the floor isn't crushing under his weight,” G-Silver retorts softly before he was nudged some by Mizue's foot to silence him.

Keeping her eyes ahead upon Ponshu, Mizue's face did break focus despite the comment thrown at her. “With all due respect Master Ponshu, I am no apprentice to combat. No rookie to the battlefield, nor a greenhorn to protection. My life has been surrounded with both violence and challenge since my home of Stratholme was burned down when I was a child, and here I am still breathin'.”

“You boast as if you are the only one who has encountered hardships throughout their life. Your tale is about as insignificant as one of the many dirty snowflakes that you tracked into these sacred halls with your boots, elf!”

“Easy Ponshu,” speaks another masculine voice that comes from the opposite end of the dojo. Mizue turns herself profile and averts her gaze over toward a sitting Pandaren male dressed in similar armor as Ponshu, just without the helmet. Lifting off the ground onto his feet, Master Hight steps down the steps toward where Mizue stands with her mechanical companion before the Ox Leader. “Respect those from the lands outside the Mists. Many of us are unaware of what these newcomers to our shores are truly capable of. Perhaps you are now being a 'poor judge of strength.'” Ponchu grunts at the words from the Grand Master, but falls silent as the elder Pandaren approaches Mizue.

“Forgive the rudeness, young one. Ponshu means well, but has a rather charismatic way of showing it. I am Hight, elder master here. So you are looking to prove yourself, hm?”

Mizue nods her head once, resting her green eyes upon the Grand Master. “Indeed. I have been tasked by my new superiors to show that I am not a slouch when it comes to the battlefield. As you can understand I am quite unaware of what all this land 'as to offer, but am hopin' to find out more durin' this trial.”

“I see. We here are welcome to help those that seek us out, and strengthen the minds and bodies of our pupils. But I warm you, it is not an easy process, nor short. If you are looking for quick results, I am afraid there is no swift method here.”

“The High Inquisitor of my coalition did not exactly state how much time I have to complete this, so I believe I should be able to endure whatever I must here until it is time to report the results of my actions.”

“And I will be there to record every single bit of it to prove she does it!,” G-Silver speaks out to follow-up Mizue's words, while crossing its arms across its breastplate.

“Oh? – And what is this odd contraction? And it talks?” Master Hight looks down at the small robot standing at Mizue's legs raising up higher than her knees in stature.

“'Odd contraction'?! I will have you know I am what is called a SPARC!” (Pronounced the same as "spark".)

“.. a what?”

“SPARC! A Scene Probing and Accessory Retrieving Companion! Top of the line, and built to last another cataclysm! Accept you substitut-- BLARG! Mizue, hey! Get off me!” The muffled voice shouts from within G-Silver's chest cavity after Mizue had lifted her foot to press the automaton's head down into its body like a turtle as an effort to silence him. Holding him beneath her heel while she clears her throat softly.

“He's my .. pet, of sorts. I apologize for that, Master Hight, you were saying?”

Master Hight would dismiss those past twenty seconds and turn to look over toward Ponshu still standing tall. “In that case, I believe that Master Ponshu here will test you from this point on. Shall you issue her your trial?”

Ponshu would hold a smirk across his furred maw as he nods with a grunt. “Let's begin then!”
Last edited by Mizue on Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:53 am, edited 6 times in total.
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`` .. is a world where innocents are the first to die worth saving? ´´
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Mizue
Posts: 70
Location: Chicago

"I am no slouch." -- First Trial.

Unread post by Mizue »

The following events occur on December 27, between the hours of 6:00 and 7:00 in the evening.

Master Ponshu's Fist of Bulwark
“Before you can prove your strength, you must prove your defensiveness. If one punch can break you, then you have no further business wasting my time! You have to careful of an adversary's tactics, and watchful against their weapons. Show me how aware you are. Don't lose your eyes in the process!”



Mizue's stood amongst the Wandering Saiin and a trio of the Grim's finest, whom apparently wanted to also see what she was capable of. What was left of the corpse of this re-animated lay strewn across the bone-ridden floor of this diseased institution between the quintet of the party. Her duration with the Argent Crusade and fighting the armies of Arthas had provided the Field Captain with a lot of capable knowledge when fighting the undead. As the healing energy from Valindria mend the small nicks that were suffered, Mizue nods her thanks to the Saiin before they venture further into the depths of Scholomance.

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Master Ponshu's Fist of Vitality
“Your blood is part of what keeps you alive, but it also can eat you alive from the inside. It can be the difference between your life and death. Do not let it be the latter, or else the rest of your trial ends here!”



“.. I think I'll be okay .. just need a moment ..”

Mizue clutched a hand over her chest, bloody fingers pressing against her sternum to feel her accelerated heartbeat. Her body felt like it was on fire. Orally breathing from Mizue's throat as her emerald gaze looks at the corpse of that crazed butcher, a bloodthirsty individual with was now bleeding out of his eye holes. Dead. Prying her blood caked palm away from her body, Mizue rises up from her kneel back to her feet again. Taking in both Anaie and Vashni into her sights now, and giving another wordless nod to show she was set to continue.

“Let's go.”

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Last edited by Mizue on Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:55 am, edited 4 times in total.
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`` .. is a world where innocents are the first to die worth saving? ´´
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Mizue
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"I am no slouch." -- First Trial.

Unread post by Mizue »

The following events occur on February 8, between the hours of 1:00 and 2:00 in the afternoon.

Master Ponshu's Fist of Legends
“Your opponents will never fight the same way. Some will come at you from the sides, others from the air, and some even beneath your feet. Pandaria is littered with those that so-call refer to themselves as champions. Some even came out of these halls. Psha! These are not those 'Scourge' you have mentioned before. If you want to test your prowess, try your hand at defeating some of them. – Actually, no. Beat every last one of them. And tell them I sent you to do it!”



Lowering herself to a knee beside the unconscious body of one Yul Wildpaw, Mizue checks for a pulse of the old Pandaren fighter. Alive. Standing tall again, she looks over to G-Silver who was away from the area of combat, taking significant footage into its memory banks of all that transpired.

“Finally .. after two months of looking all over this continent, I think that might have been the last of them on the list. How many was that?”

“By my count .. umm .. wait carry the one. Affirmative, fifty-six is the total!”

“That took you long enough to figure out. I thought you were a super computer.”

“Hey, I lost count when you were fighting those swarms of mantid earlier. Which seemed to be pointless.”

“In any case I believe that might fulfill what Master Ponshu wanted. But now that I think about it, seems he had a personal grudge against all of these individuals and felt I would be a nice way to exact revenge.”

“Sooooo basically he was using you to take care of his dirty laundry much in the way I take care of yours?”

“.. yeah, you can say that. Regardless, this is complete now. Perhaps now all of his trials are complete so I can inform the High Inquisitor. Let's head back to the temple.”

“What about him?” G-Silver motions over to the Pandaren lying out in the grass.

“I'm sure he will wake up at any moment. There's not anything around here too dangerous or ravenous that will think he is a meal. Best to sleep off the pain anyway.”

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Last edited by Mizue on Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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`` .. is a world where innocents are the first to die worth saving? ´´
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Mizue
Posts: 70
Location: Chicago

"I am no slouch." -- First Trial.

Unread post by Mizue »

The following events occur on April 1, between the hours of 9:00 and 10:00 in the evening.

Master Ponshu's Fist of Endurance
“You are going to feel pain. A lot of it. This is the path that you chose, so there is no escaping it. Unless you wish to give up now and go be a farmer down in Halfhill. Without getting yourself killed, show me how much pain you can take. Try not to overexert yourself.”



“Ahhhh~~~~!!!!”

It hurt. A constant and seemingly neverending electric current ripping through her body, as it passes down her spine to the tips of her toes. Slamming her fists against the stone grounds near the body of this Metal Lord, bloodying her knuckles inside of her gauntlets. Hissing out sparks of lightning through her teeth, gripping at the dirty ground while her body felt like it wanted to tear apart.

“Mizue, hold on, I'll fetch aid!”

“.. N-no, stay back! I can .. deal with this! AHHHHHHHH!

Each time her body moved she felt like a thousand needles were performing a sadistic acupuncture ritual down her back and over her limbs. Kneeling on hands and knees amidst a pool of the mogu's blood and her own, Mizue was slowly starting to crawl her way over toward a heap of dirt. Leaving nearby. With a thrust of her legs, she hurls herself into the dirt and starts to roll in it, to nullify that electrical surge that seemed to stick to her body. Turning over onto her back and breathing out of her mouth, strands of singed hair rests across her brow. The currents had broken one of the bands that hold her pigtails up. Staring up into the night sky through one open eye, Mizue would then feel the poking of a prodding finger against her shoulder. Then the face of G-Silver lean over to look down into her dirty face.

“Miz', you okay?”

“... never felt .. b-better.” Coughing up a couple of stray sparks of lightning in addition to blood, which she spit into the dirt. “I think .. I'm going to lie here a little while longer ..”

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Last edited by Mizue on Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:01 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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`` .. is a world where innocents are the first to die worth saving? ´´
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Mizue
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"I am no slouch." -- First Trial.

Unread post by Mizue »

It had been nearly a month since Mizue had last seen the iron-body of Master Ponshu, but he did acknowledge her strength and will as she exercised it around regions of Pandaria. Having corrected himself in doubting her prowess, and having presented her with an ebony sash with her name stitched into it, along with the emblem of the Ox, to show of her completion to his trials.

“There's just one more thing I have to prove.”


The walls underneath Wintergrasp vibrate with the falling mass of stone that erupts an ear-splitting noise. The trio of titans lying crumbled along the hall around Mizue's feet, still towering against the size of the blood elf female. Swiping her hood from atop her head to gaze upon their bodies with her unshrouded green eyes, Mizue nods to herself while strapping Del-Sol+ against her back again.

“.. now I am ready to meet the High Inquisitor.”

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[ This was just extra "flavor" to see if I could actually do it, so included them as well to finish off Mizue's trial and IC-ness. Old content they indeed are, but still the achievements to solo it is not that easy. Maybe for some classes more than others. Earth, Wind, & Fire took three attempts, but Halion only took one. But that one attempt took nearly 20 minutes considering I had to out-DPS his healing factor. All in all, was a fun fight to solo. Both were the 10-man versions. ]
Last edited by Mizue on Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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`` .. is a world where innocents are the first to die worth saving? ´´
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Awatu
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Re: "I am no slouch." -- First Trial.

Unread post by Awatu »

Awatu watched the recordings brought to him by the little metal creature. Had it not contained some relevant information to his Supplicant it would be returned to whomever sent it in many pieces. The odd little moving picture recordings were not new to his knowledge, but he did not really care for them. Especially when moments of conversations came. The tinny echo of the voices grated on his ears and mind. At long last, the recording was over, and he prepared a letter.

"Well fought, Supplicant. You have been busy. Continue your lessons within The Grim and learn of the Mandate. I wish to hear of what you have learned.

Awatu, High Inquistor.

P.S. Do not send the metal creature again.
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Greebo
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Re: "I am no slouch." -- First Trial.

Unread post by Greebo »

(( I know that I myself would be proud and amused by the thought of soloing Earth, Wind, and Fire. Nicely done. ))
Grisbault, Twice-Made.
The p, s, l, and t are silent, the screams are not.
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