World Tree MUSH

     Somewhere in Palamecia, there is a vast, misty valley where gravity works a bit... differently. More specifically, as one enters, one will notice numerous boulders ranging from man-size to the size of houses and bigger floating in the air, and the largest floating structure of all is an enormous tower wrought of ancient ivory and gold, its surface weathered and its luster faded from time. At one point, a great bridge connected this tower to a narrow cliffside path leading out of the valley, but whatever caused this strange gravitational phenomenon has long since broken the tower free from its bindings.

Nevertheless, by cross the bridge, travelers find themselves becoming weightless as well, able to float freely as they please within the valley's confines. However, gravity returns to normal upon reaching the tower proper, so one must keep watch of their height still.

Meia, the tower's current guardian, has chosen to take her friend and pupil (of sorts) to this tower, for it bears another trait well-known among those in Palamecia who seek strength. As the two of them touch down at the marble-clad base of the tower, where a gigantic staircase begins winding its way up the outside, Meia touches a gentle hand to some of the time-worn rubble that decorates the ornate floor.

"Here we are, the Battle Tower. So many uncountable seasons have come and gone here, a place older and more magical than any other in Palamecia... It almost gives me a sense of nostalgia, though even my age is little more than a drop in the ocean by comparison." she says, a smile touching her lips as she turns to Miwa. "We will try training you here. It has served many warriors well since the dawn of Palamecia, and my hope is that it will do the same for you."

As she follows Meia to this new location she's introducing her to, Miwa can't help but gaze in awe at the boulders large and small, and even an entire stone tower float in the air. Upon crossing the bridge and beginning to float in the air, she finds the sensation oddly comforting where others might find it strange. For her, it didn't feel terribly unlike floating in water, just a lot less wet. Unfortunately it seems her tail isn't quite as effective at propelling her forward as it would be underwater. Still, her eyes remain full of wonder as she looks back at Meia. "This is really incredible. I'm so glad you brought me here, though I can't help but wonder what kind of training you have in mind?"

     Meia watches as Miwa takes in her surroundings, seeming to enjoy the floating sensation as well. She can't help but let out a small chuckle. "Having fun?" she teases, though as Miwa asks what kind of training she's going to do, the witch gestures at the wide-open floor around them, thin trees growing at the edges of the marble and poking around the numerous tall sculptures. "Well, this is the first floor, so nothing too rough, I assure you. In any case, there is one thing this place was made for..."

A snap of her fingers, and several black holes open up in the air a few meters away from her and Miwa. As these holes fade, in their place are five legless floating golem-like creatures, three of which bear horns on their heads and curved sword-like stone blades in place of their right hands, and the other two wear what appear to be wizard hats and carry gnarled staves. All of them have a crystalline protrusion emerging from their backs, and they eye the two women with expressionless faces, bobbing up and down in place.

"The training is of a more... practical nature. You will have to fight like your life depends on it, because it does. That is why I'm starting you off easy."

     Miwa nods at the question of if she's having fun. "This whole weightlessness thing is pretty neat I have to say...." She trails off as Meia explains the training, and how serious the stakes are, which certainly gets her attention as her expression grows serious. "So, these things will kill me if they get the chance? I guess you'll have to tell me about how the floatiness works later." She responds as she turns her gaze toward the strange creatures. Meia did say she was starting things off easy, so Miwa figures these things shouldn't be too hard to take out, and of course she wants to save her strength for where it's really needed. 

 She starts off with some of the weaker attacks in her arsenal. She uses Disarming Voice on the dark soldier, directing a painful shriek of fairy energy at the strange golem while she approaches. She then uses Aqua Tail on the two fire soldiers, enveloping her tail in a swirling sheath of water before slamming it into them. Finally she uses Water Gun on the mages, spraying them with a pressurized blast of water from her mouth. Finally she looks on carefully to see how these enemies have fared after her attacks.

     "Unfortunately, that is the case. Those who do not fight will be forgotten... or, in this case, die. You will have to be wary of your surroundings and ready for any threat." Meia explains further, standing off to one side of the impromptu arena.

As Miwa begins her attack, the creatures ("Dusts, the most common and basic of Chaos's minions, formed from the earth itself." Meia explains) move into action as well. They aren't terribly quick, and the Dark Soldier simply falls over onto its face at the vocal assault while the three fire-elemental Dusts crumble, but the Earth Mage is able to weather the Water Gun attack better than its brothers. It's blasted back a few feet, but that doesn't stop it from waving its staff in the air, causing some of the smaller pieces of rubble to launch themselves at Miwa.

"Hm. Perhaps I started you off /too/ easy?" Meia remarks, arms folded across her chest.

     Miwa can't help but giggle a little at Meia's comment about things seeming to be a little too easy. She quickly forms several water balloons however, and hums to control them with her vocal aquakinesis, using a few to block the pieces of rubble launched at her, while the rest are sent flying toward the earth mage as she raises her voice to send them soaring at higher speed only to explode when they reach the earth mage. Finally, taking a moment to look back at Meia, she smiles. "Don't feel bad, you wouldn't be the first to underestimate me... Just ask Raven. I may not be a seasoned warrior, but still, I have been practicing. Hmm, I wonder if the the Island Kahunas back home would let me participate in the Grand Trial? Parts would definitely be tough for me as it's meant for a trainer with more than one Pokemon, but could be fun..." She ponders the idea a moment.

     Meia grins at Miwa's assertion of her abilities. "I see that now. Well, perhaps you can handle something tougher, then." she says, stepping aside as the Earth Mage is sent flying past her by the exploding water balloons to explode into a cloud of dirt as it collides with the wall. "In that case, perhaps..."

This time, a much larger hole of darkness appears before Miwa, leaving in its place a creature that might resemble a dragon, if that dragon's skin were vacuum-sealed to its skeletal structure, and it had a more ape-like face than reptilian. Its body is a black or dark brown, with the orange-yellow glow of heat pouring through in some places, especially its horns, claws, and the spines along the ridge of its back. As it catches sight of Miwa, it lets out a deafening roar accompanied by a magical pulse that makes her feel a little more... flammable.

"Do be careful, dear. I don't want to see your boast go to waste." Meia says, leaning against the wall behind her to watch the proceedings.

     Miwa takes a moment to ready herself after the last mage explodes into dust. She nods as Meia considers giving her something tougher, and turns her attention to the hole of darkness, wondering what she will face this time. It appeared to be only one foe, but this dragon did certainly look rather fierce, if a little emaciated, though that probably means it's also pretty hungry, and she was not interested in being it's next charred snack. She feels a strange sensation wash over her as that magical pulse strikes her, and winces a bit at that ear splitting roar, but strikes back with another Sparkling Aria, creating several more exploding water balloons and flinging them toward the dragon creature's head and body with the power of her voice.

     Those water balloons splash against the dragon's flesh with impressive-sounding sizzles, and although the creature flinches, it doesn't go down. Rather, it rears up and swats at Miwa with its claws, which are now clearly emitting flames! Though, if she's able to take a closer look, the burning orange underneath its skin /does/ seem a bit dimmer after her attack...

     Miwa blinks a bit as her 'signature move' seemed to do little more than cool the dragon off a bit. It would appear that she'll need to try a lot harder to bring this ugly fire breather down. She quickly tries her best to avoid the dragon's claws, but one catches her on the side of her tail, leaving a cut and a burn which on the bright side, automatically cauterized the wound. Miwa winces a bit and lets out a bit of a cry as she's hit, but doesn't let that slow her down. This time she uses Aqua Jet, enveloping her entire body in a swirling column of water as she suddenly flies up into the air, the water propelling her like a rocket, only to come slamming down with a big splash on the dragon's back. At this point, she does her best to hold on as she prepares for her next attack.

     Meia raises an eyebrow at Miwa's tactics, but doesn't say anything one way or the other. She's content simply seeing how the Primarina handles such a foe, it seems. And to Miwa's credit, her splashdown on the creature's back does force it into the ground with a rumbling grunt of pain, steam roiling up from its flesh. She'll have to watch out though, as it begins thrashing about and trying to throw her off, gouts of flame erupting from its mouth as it growls angrily.

     Miwa works quickly, knowing she won't be able to keep this up for long, as flippers weren't too good for holding onto things, and the three primitive fingers at the ends of hers didn't make them much better. She takes aim at the dragon's head and after taking a moment to muster up the power, suddenly uses Hydro Pump, blasting the top of the dragon's head at point blank range with a massive volume of water at intense pressure, making her earlier attacks against the mages look like the spray from a garden hose compared to this cannon blast of water.

     The dragon keeps spraying fire everywhere it can, but no matter how hard it tries, it can't turn its head far enough to hit Miwa dead-on. This is lucky for her, as it gives her the time she needs to start blasting it in the back of the head with enough power to slam its face into the floor, scattering the smaller pieces of surrounding rubble. It starts roaring again, its wings flapping and flailing about, its tail lashing like a whip, forearms trying to claw at Miwa and get her off of its back.

It seems to take forever, but eventually, the creature's struggles weaken, and finally it falls limp as the orange glow beneath its skin turns to a cold, sizzling black. A moment later, this is followed by the sound of slow clapping, as Meia applauds her friend's efforts. "Very well done. That wasn't the strongest creature you'll face here by far, but it was certainly several steps up from the Dusts. I've seen it fell a few Blanks in my time, in fact. It seems you weren't just bluffing after all~"

     As the dragon finally falls limply to the ground and it's body cools, Miwa blinks a bit. As she gets off the dragon's back, she wonders if this creature was similar to some fire type Pokemon back where she's from, in that the fire within their bodies is sort of like their life force, if it goes out, they die. In any case, she was glad that she managed to slay the beast before it did the same to her, and also that it seems to have impressed Meia at least somewhat. 

 She finds herself absently rubbing the wound on her tail with one flipper as she nods back to Meia. "Yeah, he was tough. What's the biggest, baddest thing you've fought in here?" She asks curiously as she moves back toward Meia.

     As the dragon fades into motes of light, its body disintegrating behind Miwa, Meia shrugs and answers, "It's been a long, long time since I challenged the Tower myself. However, I have seen many fierce creatures appear to face the warriors who attempt to climb to the top. Even the Sicarii have appeared, once or twice. Perhaps I will set you against Famfrit when you've proven yourself a little more. He's been itching for a fight..."

     "Famfrit huh? What's he like?" Miwa asks with a tone of curiosity as she takes a moment to rest and recover a bit after that last fight, at this point also wondering how much more Meia has planned for her today. At least after that dragon, she knows that this place really means business and whatever is next, she'll certainly not be pulling any punches. But after a moment she pulls a water bottle out of a small pack she brought with her, pulling the top open with her teeth and having a drink while Meia presumably answers her question.

     "Oh, he's the strong silent type. Doesn't speak much, just fights when he's called and stays dormant otherwise. Rather boring conversation partner." Meia explains, walking over and patting Miwa's shoulder supportively. "I don't believe you'll have to worry about running out of water with him around, however. In fact, the opposite may be true." This is followed by a quiet chuckle and a glance toward the water bottle. Hm.

     "Oh really? Another water type creature? Interesting." Miwa comments with a grin as she puts away her water bottle. "I suppose though that if that's the case, my water based attacks probably won't be terribly effective on him, so that would limit my arsenal a bit. But whenever you think I'm ready, I'd be happy to give him a good fight." She offers with a smile, finally looking around the room a bit. "So, what's next?"

     "Indeed. You might even have a little fun fighting him, although I think he's still out of your league for the moment." Meia admits, stepping back a bit as another shadowy hole opens up. This time, what emerges is... well, a shadow, appearing like a human knight in full armor save for the fact that their entire body is uniformly black. Details can be made out, if one squints, but the knight indeed appears to be a living shadow. With a smile and a wink, Meia says, "We'll call this one the 'boss fight' of the first floor, if you will. Defeat him, and we can call it a day, hm?"

     "Oh, I see, but you'll help me to train so that someday I will be in his league right?" Miwa asks with a smile, turning her attention now to her next summoned opponent. Some sort of shadow night. If this were a Pokemon, it would probably be a dark type, which would make her fairy typing quite the advantage, but Miwa knows better than to assume such things about other worlds, even if sometimes such things still work at least somewhat. She decides to play defensively this time, and watches closely, waiting for the knight to make a move, ready to strike herself at any moment, or get the heck out of the way if needed.

     "Of course, that's what the purpose of this tower is after all." Meia responds, returning to her position against the wall. This time, she raises her hand before swiping it downward, as if signaling the beginning of an officially sanctioned match. The knight, in turn, nods as its draws its sword and takes up a defensive stance, eyeing Miwa warily. Flames begin to wreathe the blade of its weapon, but if not distracted by this, Miwa may also notice a shimmering in the air immediately around the knight's body, appearing for a moment as if interlocking crystalline plates are forming just over its 'skin'. These apparitions are quickly gone, however, and it seems the knight is waiting for Miwa to make the first move.

     Of course the knight would have the same idea, leaving Miwa to either continue the standoff, or attack first. She chooses the latter, and decides to start off with a fairy move anyway, as she hasn't used terribly many so far for one, and who knows, maybe it will have a big effect. She isn't distracted by the flaming sword, but does make a note to avoid letting that get anywhere near her if possible. As she focuses her attack, a likeness of the moon appears overhead, further up toward the ceiling of the part of the tower they are in. At this moment, a orb of light begins to charge just outside of Miwa's mouth, and a moment later, it is fired as a powerful beam of energy toward the shadow knight.

     The knight stares Miwa down, unflinching as the moon appears above her, and even as the energy charges for that beam of light. As soon as it fires, however, the knight moves, ducking into a low charge at Miwa. The beam takes off one of the horns on its helmet, but with the discipline of a seasoned warrior, the knight remains unfazed, the flames around its sword leaving a sizzling trail of embers through the air as the blade arcs toward Miwa's body.

     Miwa is a bit surprised by how quickly the knight can move even as he crouches to avoid most of her attack. It isn't hard to anticipate that he's going to swing his sword at her though, so she quickly switches tactics and counters by aiming an Ice Beam attack at both his arm and the sword itself, super chilling water inside her so that it freezes shortly after it leaves her mouth and coats anything it touches. While firing this she gets out of the way at the same time and prepares for her next strike.

     The knight is indeed quite quick despite his heavy-seeming armor, but it finds Miwa a match for its speed as she nimbly evades its blade. The icy water that coats its arm and sword quickly freezes solid, and for a moment the knight seems surprised... only for it to shatter the ice layer by striking its sword against the ground, the flames roaring to life once again. In fact, they seem to be flaring up larger than before, and this time as the sword is swung, the flames leap forth from it in a burning wave, blazing across the arena and charring the plants growing around the statues at the edge.

     Miwa is a bit disappointed that the ice doesn't slow the knight down nearly as much as she hoped it would. Now he's trying to turn the whole floor into an oven, and she isn't going to stand for that. "Time to extinguish your flame." She quips as she promptly prepares to use Aqua Jet again, enveloping herself in a swirling column of water, which then propels her toward the knight like a rocket, with her body still surrounded by water as she flies through the wave of fire with ease and aims to slam into the knight before he can react.

     It seems the flames aren't enough on their own, as Miwa launches herself like a water-powered rocket once again. As her body collides with the knight, the force of her attack sends it tumbling back, rolling along the floor as its sword clatters away and fades into nothingness. However, at the moment of impact, those same shimmering plates that appeared earlier appear again, feeling less like armor and more like a /wall/, rippling across the knight's body before disappearing again. And as it gets up, not so much as a dent seems to have been made in it... and worse yet, it waves its hand in an arc over its head, five swords made entirely of fire forming in the air. They hover for a moment, before flying after Miwa like homing missiles, curving midflight to track her movements.

     Miwa's eyes practically bug out of her head as she sees the knight get back up and summon no less than five flaming swords which start flying after her like missiles. She tries to move out of their way, only to find that they follow her. For a moment, she considers trying to shoot them down with water, but then she gets a better idea. 
    She uses ice beam om the floor to create a track to slide on, but also to attempt to freeze the knight's feet to the floor. She then leaps and slides behind the knight so that the swords will have to pass through the knight to get to her, unless they can go around him... Still, acting quickly, she charges and fires another Moonblast attack, this one aimed at the knight's back, having tried her best to charge and fire before he can free himself and dodge.

     Miwa's movements are impressive, her ice sliding certainly proving tricky for the flaming swords to follow, and as she slides around the knight's back, it tries to turn to keep its eye on her only to find that it's been frozen to the floor. This doesn't deter it, as it simply waves its hand again, directing the swords to impact on the ice instead of its body, melting it free... just in time for that Moonblast to strike it in the back, sending it careening into one of the statues on the edge of the arena. As it collapses to the floor, the shimmering plates around its body appear again, seeming to crack for a moment before they disperse into little fading balls of light. The knight stands once more after this, summoning one more flaming sword into its hand...

But instead of launching another attack, it simply plants the tip of the sword's blade in the ground, resting its hands atop the pommel and nodding to Miwa. Has it conceded defeat? Judging by the cracks appearing around its body, shadowy vapors emanating from them, this may indeed be the case. And indeed, Miwa's victory is confirmed once the knight begins to crumble from the head down, its body falling apart in shadowy shards which evaporate into nothing before hitting the ground, its sword the last to go as it slowly fizzles out.

"Well, there you go. You passed the first floor. Congratulations, Miwa~" Meia says in a cheerful tone, giving her friend a smile that seems to say 'I never doubted for a moment'.

     Miwa is almost fooled into thinking that the knight is still looking to fight when he gets back up, but is confused when he strikes the sword into the floor, and nothing further happens, that is until the knight falls apart and his sword fizzles like a flame with nothing left to burn. Miwa smiles as Meia cheers for her finishing the first floor of the tower. "It wasn't so bad really, even if this is probably the first time I've fought things that were really trying to kill me, except maybe that one wizard who hit me with a lightning spell, not sure if he was trying to kill me, but he nearly did..."

     Meia nods and approaches Miwa again, arms folded across her chest. "Well, it /is/ only the first floor after all. It's just going to get tougher from here on out, after all. The last time I was here, there were fifty levels to go through..." she trails off, walking over to the edge and leaning over the waist-high protective wall to glance up at the rest of the tower. "On the other hand, I swear it looks bigger than it used to. I wonder if it's capable of changing size? This place is just full of mysteries, even for me."

     Miwa just blinks, following Meia over as she looks at how tall the tower is, though she remembers from before they entered. "Fifty huh? And it might have more levels now? Wow, I was about to ask you how many there were... I guess I have a lot of training to do. But I'm actually excited to see what lies ahead, though, not just this moment. I think I need a break after all that."

     Meia chuckles a bit and nods. "Oh, yes. You've earned a break, I think. Luckily for you, I'm not one of those boring old tower masters who'd make you redo all of your old progress. If you want to go somewhere else for a while, I'll let you pick up where you left off when you come back." Resting her elbows on the parapet, she gazes out at the vast, misty valley surrounding the tower, her smile changing to one a bit more wistful than before. "Aah... it does take me back, though. I remember when I became the master of this place, a few... was it months? Years? Time really means very little here in Palamecia. I unfortunately had to kill the previous master, an old curmudgeon named Voyd who didn't much like the idea of a Heretic like me gracing these ancient halls. Such a pitiful waste of life..."

     Miwa nods and leans against the wall a bit. "Well, I guess some people just can't listen to reason and are too set in their ways. Anyway, thanks for that, I don't think I want to go through all that again next time just to be allowed to take on the next floor. As for the break, want to join me for some lunch or something? Maybe a little relaxing after that, we can talk and such."

     Meia lets out a sad little sigh, her gaze turning toward the darker fog below, where the sun fails to penetrate. "Yes, that is the case with most of Palamecia's residents. They don't wish to listen to reason... or rather, they can't. All because of Vox." Straightening up, she starts to walk back toward the bridge. "However, lunch sounds lovely. I would prefer somewhere that isn't in this world, though. I assume you have some ideas?"

     Miwa nods and frowns a bit. "Well, I hope one day, preferably soon, this 'Vox' gets what's coming to him... Wow, listen to me, I'm even talking violent after all that fighting. Anways, if you don't want to stay here, I'm sure we can find a nice cafe back in Alola, and then hit the beach after lunch. How does that sound?"

     Meia clenches a fist at the talk of Vox getting his just due. "Oh, trust me, I intend to make /sure/ he gets every bit as good as he's given. For all the lives he's destroyed with those honeyed words of his, I will make him suffer tenfold." Her hand relaxes a moment later, however, and she takes a quiet, deep breath before answering. "That sounds wonderful, Miwa. Please, show me the way..."