The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
Hades was interrupted mid lesson with Alex by a boy who seemed to be transforming more and more into a bird with each step came and well... trilled "Class? Open Class?" This presented Hades with a quandary, personally he would rather just continue training Alex. Already he would have to think about how he could train Alex in the art of stealth and other perhaps more agressive "skills" when at this mutant boarding school. That would depend on when his trial was. As it was Hades was growing to like the boy. He considered it perhaps worth the investment to break him out of jail if it came to that although if it came to that they would probably leave the state if not the country for a while. But bback to the problem at hand, he was to all intents and purposes Victor Wong a martial arts and self defense trainer which meant that he should welcome new students. Hmmmmm. He decided on a compormise between the two. Turning to the boy / Kookaburra mutant, Hades said, in a Chinglish accent (he had to remain in character) [If you want to hear a sound bite pm me].
"Hello there, my name is Victor Wong, a martial arts instructor and self defense trainer hired to teach Alex as a private tutor. To answer your question, I had to get special permission from the school to teach here. I would be happy to take on more students but you would need to get approval from a member of staff and I would have to go talk with the school about turing these private sessions into a formal class." He turned to Alex "Which would mean exams and the like, but I think you should be fine with that yes?" Turning to the Kookaburra he continued. "You are welcome to sit in on this class, see if it is what you are interested in. If so, you will need to get a signature on the special applications form from a senior staff member. What say you?"
Having dealt with that intrusion, he then proceed to continue sparring with Alex. As Alex advanced so too did Hades display more skill. He no longer slowed down his actions to the same degree. He no longer gave obsious hints as to when he was about to attack. One minute he could be steadily circling Alex the next minute he was already mid attack. he attacked Alex a few times enough to knock him off stance and nodded in satisfaction when Alex promptly reset. "You are doing better on your stance resets Alex" said Hades. "You are still consciously thinking about it but that will go away in time and become automatic."
Hades then procedded to launch a flurry of heavy vicious sttacks at Alex. Alex dropped into a bracing stance. Hades struck a few more times then suddenly wheeled around and kicked out Alex's back leg, resulting in Alex loosing his balance and rolling on the ground to find a blunted dagger at this throat and the worlds "Yield" ringing in his ear. As Hades helped Alex up he continued to teach. "Alex, another common mistake people make when they are hit with heavy attacks is to either fight or fly. They either immediately evade which will make the attacker pursue giving themselves no time to rest or they go into a heavily defensive position like you did. This is fine but unless you also reset you end up locking yourself in and limiting your mobility. Better to defend a few then evade and try to land a few rapid strikes on your opponent." He paused. "Another thing, I taught you at least three recovery moves. Once you lost your balance all is not lost, that is what those moves are for. They are legeitimate attack moves, designed to force your attacker back while you get back in stance and to would your attacker if he does not back up. For our next lesson i will continually force you to use the recovery moves untill I am satisfied that you can do them well. It would be best to wear some padded clothes for next lesson." Said Hades tossing a bundle of clothing at Alex. It was a padded training outfit Taylor to Alex. Upon seeing his expression, Hades replied. "You think it was for naught that I had you take measurements? I am not going to pull and punches and I would rather you not get too injured otherwise we would have to pause training. Now any questions?" Once again Hades was continually challenging Alex not just on a skills and application of skills but also on how much he could learn and grasp. He was slowly and gradually shaping Alex into a more skilled person capable of defending himself but more importantly trying instill some discipline so that Alex could continue to learn and grown in skill and knowledge.
Turning to the Kookaburra boy, Hades/Victor said "Now you have seen a class, are you still interested? This is a class to firstly to train your self defense skills independent of your mutation. Too many mutants rely on their mutation alone and suddenly when they don't have it they are worse then helpless. If you pass the first set of tests then my aim is to continue to train skills that you can use along side your powers. I will not pull punches, if you become a student in this class you will get bruises and scrapes etc but I will do my best to teach you what I know. Do you have any questions?"
Hades speaks in #ec4511 Thanks Ghost for the second Sig
I would imagine that anti-mutant hate groups would do a lot of lobbying, threatening and bribing. essentially anything that might help to sway/ revert the cause of justice.
Hades speaks in #ec4511 Thanks Ghost for the second Sig
Evidently Aura was not one for words or pity, as Hades observed her calmly decapitate him, then proceed to carve an "A" into his chest. A little ostentatious perhaps, then again it was to make a point and stake a territorial claim.
>"You have my thanks, your skill is certainly considerable. I don't think I could have done this alone."
Hades nodded at the compliment. "Well fought. I was not expecting them to call reinforcements. Without out help it would have been....challenging."
Personally he would have take a different approach but then again he was a creature of the shadows, whereas Aura was, to couch it in modern day gaming terms, a "tank", a medium to short range troop. Hades tended to perform best at the extremes. He was an excellent marksman and sniper and very deadly in close quarters. With his mutation and constitution though, he was not designed to soak up bullets and conduct headlong charges towards the enemy. Having Aura as a potential asset had a definitive appeal. He would not be hasty however, he knew next to nothing about Aura and so was contented to discover more about her before deciding further. By wordless mutual consent they both ended up walking up side by side away from the battle scene in silence. Broken only by the occasional Pfffft as Hades calmly dispatched any moving survivors with his silenced pistol. IT was an interesting sight, a master of the shadows, an assassin walking side by side with a one woman army.
The drive back to the safe house was made in silence.
>"You are not letting me stay here for free. You've seen what I can do. Let me do something for you."
Hades smiled slightly. "No, apparently I am not. If you do wish to help, here is a disk containing a copy of all that I have collected regarding who might have sold us out. It is possible that after word of their failed attempt has reached them they will slink away with tail between leggs but it is more likely that they will try again. On there are 12 names, 12 potential candidates that could ahve done this. If you are willing I would like to ask you to chase them down, use whatever means necessary, if you need any resources feel free to ask for them. Some of the names on that list know me."
This was an important task. Hades had a trip in the next few days, and while he could investigate the 12 names on that list it would be infinitely more difficult for him to do so undetected than Noel. There was another thing that he wanted Noel's help on but.......
"One other thing, after you have finished that if you are still interested in helping I would welcome your help in a matter that is decidedly more..... personal in nature." He said no more content to leave the topic where it was.
The next day after notifying Noel Hades romptly left for his week long "trip".
Hades stalked forward, shotgun in hand, it was time to end this. He was tired, bruised, bloodied, he had been shot at, slashed, stabbed and what little remorse or mercy that he might have once been capable of was long gone.
They say that Dragon;s Breath shells are intended merely for special effects. That it's uses include distress signals and for amusement. They also say that it is supposedly non-lethal and has no documented professional combat or tactical usage. None of these facts helped those that were on the receiving end of the up to 100ft long spear of flame composed, among other things, of magnesium shards burning at ~ 3,000 °F (1,650 °C). First it blinded, then seared, finally it burned. Three shots, three blinding spears of flame took care of a large number of those guarding the Bossman. Then the mag clicked empty. One thug charged Hades as he was changing clips. He promptly threw the empty mag at the attacker, who batted it aside only to receive a vicious blow via shotgun barrel to the bottom of the chin. He stumbled back only to have Hades kick him back further into another charging thug. They recovered their balance and untangled themselves just in time to hear the crisp sound of a fresh mag being locked into place and the distinct lock and load sound. Any further thoughts that they may have had left their mind along with most of its contents as Hades promptly dealt with them via a series of well aimed solid slugs. Soon there was only Aura and the Bossman left. Hades left they to it as he roamed the battlefield finishing off those that remained. The Bossman was Aura's by right.
Hades speaks in #ec4511 Thanks Ghost for the second Sig
Victor Mikhkail Glont alighted from his car and was surrounded by security forces. For this meeting, both sides had beefed up security. There was always the media trying to sneak someone in and also this time there were disgruntled companies, big defense companies that were ...upset.. that they lost so early on in the game.
Over the years of being an extremely successful assassin, Hades had amassed fortunes that could last countless lifetimes. Some of this he invested and essentially owned a modest number of companies. Not directly of course. These he sometimes used as cover stories, or to provide information or specialized equipment or services. He did not manage them but had others do that for him. Although these "managers" did not know what Hades did for a living of even his true name, they all knew one thing. Keep your hands clean and manage the companies well and you would be rewarded. It was using a small number of these companies that a few talented individuals, hired by Mr Glont, had constructed the now infamous Glont International. A creation that would take an army of lawyers to untangle and an entity that would not stay in existence long enough for them to do so. It had one and only one purpose. To provide a tool to evaluate and meet Mr Ambrose Jagger.
Hades had always had an ear to the ground, more so after the Von Krause incident. He had been hearing things, what Jagger did on the surface and what he did in reality painted an interesting picture. Ambrose was gathering resources, recruiting talented individuals, but for what purpose. Hades was intrigued. He had not been this intrigued by a man/ group since the Kabal, lead by the great Hunter. He felt... interest. So he set about testing the man's reaction. The meeting was at Jaager Worldwide headquarters, home turf for Ambrose and for this meeting it was agreed that any interaction between them would be guarded by security forces from both sides as a precaution. Out of respect for Jagger, Hades came unarmed, in that he carried no firearms and no blades, he was confident that if the worst came to worst he could defend himself or flee the scene.
Hades strode out of the elevator, looking every inch the confident Russian business man, tailored suite, black leather gloves. His security team was small but efficient, more for show this time although most of them were assassins in their own right. He strode into the room to see at last with his own eyes the target. The security stopped at the door as agreed. Hades was just sitting down and the doors almost closed when there was a knock. A elderly British gentleman was allowed to enter, after being patted down by both security teams and scanned by who knows how many of Jaager's security systems. The gentleman with the air of a butler addressed Glont. "A letter for you Mr Glont, priority Alpha." "Thank you Bunter." Said Hades accepting the letter, he cracked the wax seal, recognizing that it was from his research team.
Librarian wishes Reaper ware the angry pilot with regards to operation: Complete.
***** It was written in code that Hades would understand. This code relied on the meaning of the words to the receiver as opposed to numerical encryption or rigid code words. Librarian was the name for his research team. ware was beware, now on to angry. Angry made Hades thing of red, of a being that breathed fire. Pilots were called flyers, so combining the two yielded a flying object that breathed fire = Dragon. There was no operation Complete. To complete was to finish, it was not too much of a jump for Hades to recognize how his chief researcher thought. A Finnish Dragon, Norse mythology, Jörmungandr. His reply was flowing water, that which has no beginning or end, hence don't stop looking. ***** Inwardly Hades grunted with annoyance. His research team should know better than to use his call sign. He was confident that no amount of searching of the name Reaper would offer any conclusive evidence that would connect him to the name Hades, he had made sure of that. Although an astute and intuitive mind might draw the correct conclusions. Regardless, the contents of the letter had no doubt been captured by the ever present security cameras and there was nothing that Glont could do to change that. Glont hastily scribbled a reply
Messenger wishes Librarian, flowing waters.
Bunter took the reply and left. Hades sat down and waited for Jagger to begin. His mind reeling with the new information. He was now in the same room with Jörmungandr. Regardless, would Jagger cut straight to the point or would he play games? Hades took it for granted that Jagger had recognized that the business deal was not the purpose for the meeting.
[OCC: let me know if you need me to edit anything]
(Hope I am not asking for too much) Name: Hades FC: Timothy Olyphant Special Request: Something like a background of faces of great assassins/killers off the ages. i.e Hitman, Jason Bourne, the assassin from assassins creed etc.with text that essentially conveys: the assassin of many faces and just as many ways to kill/ of killing. feel free to play around with the wording and/or omit/edit some/all of it.
Hades speaks in #ec4511 Thanks Ghost for the second Sig
Due to being double teamed by heavy work load and falling ill, I fear my posting will be slow/ nonexistent till this coming weekend. Apologies for the wait.
Hades speaks in #ec4511 Thanks Ghost for the second Sig
Hades stalked towards the remaining Davronski's that were attacking/surrounding Noel. Unlike the team that had attacked them at his first safe house, which were combat shock troops and hence wore full body armor. This group were surveillance and covert extradition. Dressed to be able to blend in and essentially kidnap Noel before anyone was the wiser. This meant light armor and that meant increased vulnerability to electric shocks. From his belt Hades pulled two shock mauls. Aluminium rods with rubber hand grips with heads that were covered in tiny spikes. Inside the handle of each rod was a high capacity battery. At the press of a button a taser class shock would strike any unfortunate body that was touching it. He struck one on the back of the neck and another in the pit of the stomach while pressing the button. There was something satisfying and gratifying to see ones targets spasm and drop. Soon there was only the one that was currently wresting with Noel. Hades cocked his right arm back and delivered a forceful blow to the side of his skull knocking him off Noel. Hades look around and determining that there were no more immediate threats to them both Reached out a hand to help Noel to her feet. "Are you ok?" he asked.
Hades speaks in #ec4511 Thanks Ghost for the second Sig
>You made a lot of really good points. Really true points...I have made some good friends and the teachers and staff are all really good people. And you're right, I am afraid of the responsibility. Because I've only ever been responsible for myself and now suddenly a trial could tip how people view mutants. My trial. I-I don't know how to handle that. And if I'm found guilty...Ha-I mean, Mr.Wong, they put one of those power suppressing collars on me in when I was in the hospital. The damn thing made me feel sick, like I was drowning with my head full of cotton. If I go to jail, I'm going to end up wearing those things twenty-four-seven. And on top of that, people could end up the same because of me. I don't want that, I don't want any of this...responsibility."
Hades,/Kevin smiled at Alex. Well it would be more accurate to say that his face looked momentary less serious and perhaps the corners of his mouth twitched in a slightly upward direction. "Your trial is still a way away so there is no need to rush your decision and in the mean time training can continue. I don't think you will loose the court case. In the event that you do you will not spend much time in prison, not if I have anything to say about it." That would be probably as close to Hades giving his word as he would ever get at the moment.
"Anything else on your mind my young student?" Hades would not perhaps use the word fond of, not at this stage it was still very early days, but he had to admit that for some unfathomable reason young Alex was growing on him.
Hades speaks in #ec4511 Thanks Ghost for the second Sig
At the announcement that training was over for today Alex seemed more than happy to collapse to the floor to regain his breath.
>"Yeah, I guess. Here's fine...It's more like I want some advice anyway. I'm pretty sure by now you've seen the videos. I know you heard the news at least and I just...I don't know how to handle this. I've never been in the public spot light and there are so many people who've seen my face and know my name. And with the house arrest and the trial about to come up, I don't know how to face it all. And to top it all off I have a dream walking, body snatching, roommate that's in my head every night. He's a good guy, I like him but with everything that's been happening...It's hard to keep him from seeing too much. I don't want him to be exposed to my memories. It just feels like I should leave, escape before it all comes crashing down on me. So I guess, what I want to know is what would you do in my place?"
Hades was silent for a minute, he decided to cut straight to the point. "Alex from what you have told me of your past. You have often made decisions on an emotional basis. You are hurt or overwhelmed or scared or in unfamiliar territory and you run. That is what you are feeling now. I would advise you to stay. A life ruled by emotions is chaotic, will limit your growth in all areas and is easy to manipulate. For perhaps the first time in your life, you are presented with a wealth of resources. You are in a school of mutants where you can gain increase the power and control of your mutation which is not yet at combat proficiency. You are in a place where being a mutant is accepted, a place with is not likely to take advantage of you. You are in contact with people of authority who would be willing to fight for you. You have the opportunity to make friends, if you will give them an opportunity."
Hades looked pointedly at Alex. "Alex there are battles that you cannot fight alone, regardless how much of a lone wolf you prefer to be it is always good to have resources to call upon in a time of need. So try to make friends while you can. Especially at this stage in life where all you have to hide are painful experience and not secrets that can kill." This was true, over his multi-millennial existence Hades had learned many secrets that could cause much harm and destruction, it was rare for him to make friends these days, partially for that very reason.
"You are in a stable environment where you can receive other training as well." Again a look at Alex. He had barely taught him self defense. There were many more things that Hades could teach Alex, stealth, tactics, many libraries worth of knowledge of assassination technique, martial arts, the list was endless. "You are neither equipped resource wise or mentally for evading the full weight of the law at this present point in time. And when you are caught you will also loose a lot of the good will that you currently enjoy. Finally, there is a word which terrifies you possibly the most. You are in a position of responsibility. The world as you know it is on a knife edge as regards their opinion towards mutants. The last time they tipped one way the holocaust that was the registration camps ensued. Your case is high profile, no matter if you were legally right or wrong if you run you will have ceded that battle even before it has been fought. You are in a position to perhaps do some good for mutants nation wide if not globally, and through your internet "exploits" you have also built up support among-st the masses."
Hades paused for a breath and to reflect if he had missed anything. "Hence I would stay if I were you. Those are my brief thoughts on the matter."
He waited. How Alex responded to this blunt analysis would give another indication of his maturity and to some extent the amount of effort that Hades should expend on training Alex as it would also indicate to some degree how much he was capable of learning and his potential.
>"No sir, thank you for explaining things to me. I'm glade your here. I'm ready to continue when you are."
With Alex's response to his statement, Hades knew that Alex would keep his cover. It would be a shame to have to remind him or take more drastic action. As Alex was listening to his explanation Hades/Kevin could practically see questions form behind Alex's eyes, however he seemed to want to keep training first. It was the Alex's last class of the day so they could go as long as they wished.
"In stead of defense, Alex lets see how you are at attacking." With that Kevin got into a defensive stance and waited for Alex to attack. To learn how to attack well is sometimes more challenging than learning how to defend well. The tendency of many is to put too much power or movement when attacking, this often throws one off balance and gives your opponent an opening. This was the lesson that could not be learned in one sitting but would take time. Hades also used this opportunity to instruct Alex on some of the form's defensive moves. For example when Alex thrust forward Hades would grab his wrist with the empty left hand (shield hand) and pull him forward off balance while pressing the point of the training dagger to the back of Alex's neck as he fell by. "That is one way to use move 9." He would say.
"Alex the trick to attacking, is control and the idea that "Less is more". Firstly this form is meant to act in stages. It is strong on defense, letting your attackers know that you are by no means defenseless. This should discourage those that prefer to prey on the weak and helpless. That is why you have at least one hand empty at all times. It is your shield hand. It blocks, slaps, redirects, grapples. Half the time your dagger is held point down so that after you block with your shield hand you can counter attack. You use your shield hand to get your opponent(s) off balance then strike. You can then choose the severity of your attack. You may just choose to trip them up." Said Hades demonstrating with Alex as he made a rather vigorous thrust. "If your attackers persist, you can then wound them, shallow cuts that cause more pain than damage, again it is giving them a chance, letting them know that you can strike back." This time after Hades blocked Alex's attack he replied with slashes or stabs to non critical areas. The blade was blunted but was still capable of inflicting pain. However this time Hades was merely making an illustration so he did not strike hard. "Finally, if your opponent gives you no choice you can neutralize the threat in a manner of your choosing. This can be done in your defensive stance with the dagger point up or down or in attack stance again with the dagger up or down." Again Hades illustrated on his unfortunate pupil. After a while it seemed that Alex had burned off some of his energy.
"That should do for today. You are learning well. Now I believe that you have questions for me. Where you you prefer to talk? Here or we can take a walk if you would prefer."
>"Right, uh...why are you here? I abandoned my training, I messed up when I left. I thought I wouldn't see you again. Not that I don't like you here, appreciate it. I just gotta ask."
Hades/Kevin looked at Alex saying nothing for a moment. "Firstly, Alex, when I start something i will aim to complete it until it is no longer viable. I said I would train you, ergo as long as you are still able & willing to be trained, training will continue."
"Secondly, you were never confined to the cabin Alex, I left for a job and you left to explore. During your travels you were ambushed and despite panicking you managed to keep it together sufficiently to survive. How is that..."messing up"? I will not give you a speech about facing your fear, you will come to terms with that in your own time. However history seems to show that despite your fear you have avoided death and/or serious injury twice. Close shaves perhaps but success none the less. Hence well done, although with much room for improvement."
"Finally as to why I am here, a private individual who wishes to remain anonymous has generously paid for your self defense classes till the end of this academic year with renewal thereafter pending. Who am I to turn down a well paying job." Said Kevin with a subtle wink. This was his cover story and he had bank transactions to prove it if necessary.
"Now do you have any more questions? Are you ready to continue training or do you wish to continue tomorrow. Regardless you will find that my class has been added to your timetable under the heading private tutoring."
Hades returned from a job overseas. Well to be more specific he had just made an African warlord "disappear". On his way back to one of his safe houses he was scanning the news feeds when who should he see than Alex. When he got to the safe house he initiated a number of web crawler programs to gather further information.He read the various news reports about the incident, obtained footage from security cameras. He read the AMA session that Alex had done online and even watched the footage of when he had "Skyp-ed" the world. Then after some tracking that did not require much effort he located Alex who was apparently under house arrest in the Mansion.
He felt that Alex had handled himself well but also realized that in the increasingly polarized city of NY, there were those would, and indeed already had, brand Alex as a murder and yet another example of a dangerous mutant that had to be put down. And then there was the issue of interrupted training. Shortly afterwards well qualified martial arts instructor and self defense trainer Kevin Wong requested permission to continue training one of his students on the Mansion grounds. Kevin had many good references, and recommendations from military sources as well. Under that name Hades had helped train a number of special forces units, but which units and for what, well... that was classified. Kevin was duly granted permission to continue training his student while at the school.
Back to the present. Hades/Kevin watched from the shadows as Alex ran through the moves, he was improving. Walking forward into the light he cleared his throat and announced himself. "Good day Alex, I am Kevin Wong your self defense instructor, I am here to continue your training, you may call me Mr Wong." Saying that he tossed Alex a dull and blunted training dagger and said "On Guard."
Kevin advanced towards Alex and started attacking him with the same moves that he had taught Alex albeit slowly. He wanted to see if Alex could figure out the correct response moves. A few times he would stop mid swing and say things like "No Alex, try move 6." Slowly they got into a rhythm. After half an hour or so Kevin started to speed up his moves. He increased the speed so that Alex was not overwhelmed but was continually challenged. Suddenly he launched a triple attack that pushed forward against Alex's stance, then he backed off and repeated. What he was doing was testing Alex's stance and how well he maintained it. Each time he pushed Alex off his stance Alex did reset, which was good, but he did not reset to as good of a stance as before. After the third repeat Kevin saw that Alex's stance was so weak that he tripped Alex with a low kick then immobilized him while pressing his own training dagger to Alex's throat. "Yield" he said simply before helping Alex to his feet. "You need to maintain you stance better Alex. After each successive reset, your stance got worse. Other than that well done, you are learning. "
