Semblance Training!(Private|Revan)

It had been many months since Revan had been to Syne academy, and while he had gotten a chance to roam, he had yet to meet any new faces. He hadn't even found time to set up his own lecture hall before his first assignment. It was a one on one teaching session with a student by the name of Zan Drack. Revan knew the name and face of the student he would be mentoring, and little more. Revan actually preferred to not look into his students, he saw it as a form of practice for battle. Though he tended to keep any detailed explanation for such reasoning to himself.

Revan had set up the location for the meeting with a pot of tea. He nearly always had a glass of tea near him, and thus decided that leaving a pot of tea in the room prior to the meeting would make things easier. It was a pot of Chai tea, a blend which went well with more lively activity, something that might be required during Semblance training. The tea may have been left in the room, but Revan was nowhere to be found. At least not until after Zan had arrived.

"Tea?" Revan inquired as he strolled into the training hall. Even having not seen the training hall in months Revan remembered it perfectly, little had changed, but Revan made sure to note everything that had. He had scouted a fair portion of the school in the few days since his return, however he could only adventure so much in so little time. After a quick nonchalant glance around the room Revan shifted his attention to the reason he was here: Zan Drack.

Revan took one look at Zan. While he didn't much care for judging people by their appearances, Revan understood that a cursory glace could provide more information than the average person might think. Zan was prepared. His clothes, while looking fancy, were also armored for battle. It was likely that he cared at least some amount about his appearance. Contrary to Revan, who looked not entirely disheveled, but he certainly didn't spend any large amount of time or effort to improve his appearance.

Revan shifted his eyes from Zan to the tea pot near the edge of the room. He had elected to prepare the chai traditionally, which meant brewing it with a half and half mixture of water and milk. Brewing the tea in such a fashion generally took longer and required more attention, but tended to taste better. "Don't worry I can assure you that the tea is not poisoned... Unless you poisoned it." Revan chuckled as he poured himself a cup. His own glass was a high quality red wood mug, which might look like it was made for drinking ale rather than tea.

Of course there was more reason to Revan having setting up the pot of tea, than just to have a drink. He began to pour a cup for his student, but what he didn't do was stop. He continued pouring the tea as it overfilled the glass and flowed onto the table. While Revan hated to waste good tea, he would put his students education over a single pot any day. Revan hadn't even bothered to introduce himself before he began his first test. It was Revan's style to catch his students off guard.

"There are few things I take pride in, one being my ability to brew tea." Revan boasted. He had spent a fair amount of time making sure the tea was brewed properly. His list of priorities generally had teaching at the highest, and his appearance at the lowest, with food and tea somewhere in between. It was certain that Revan was not the most professional looking professor on campus, and he might have certainly been the most eccentric. However he tended to do his job well enough. Which was made evident by the fact that he hadn't been fired after almost a year of absence, even if half of that time off was in summer.

"Training? I was intending just to sit around and drink tea all day." Revan joked in his usual less than serious fashion. Intentionally leaving the tone of the situation somewhat lighthearted was a specialty of Revan's. It was difficult to get a straight answer out of him, unless the situation truly required such a response. This one certainly didn't. So Revan would keep his laid-back attitude, and let the pieces fall where they may, though he might give a little push in the right direction whenever it was required.

Revan's specialty was in semblances, a fighter skilled in the use of their semblance could turn the tides of battle. "I teach my students to be more effective with the powers they already have. I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10,000 times." In this particular instance Revan was being purposefully enigmatic. Carefully chosen words allowed him to weave a net of secrecy. It was a test, as were many things that Revan did.

"A simple attack improvement? Often underestimated. Certainly less versatile than others." Revan spoke, stroking his clean-shaven chin, whilst examining the pistols which his student wielded. "Use that to your advantage. If your enemy thinks you weak. So be it. Let him trap himself in his own arrogance. Strike when his guard is down." Knowledge was power on the battlefield, and Revan knew his way around most battles. "That or keep your abilities secret until you require their use. Often times the less your opponent knows the better. Unless you can feed him knowledge that might allow you to control or alter his actions." It was quite possible that Revan was the most combat experienced professor in the school. It was one thing to be able to strategize and win theoretical battles, or to spar with a partner. However it was far more difficult to be able to thrive in a real battle. In true combat there was no regulation, and no honor. Sometimes winning required using every dirty trick possible.

"Remember the Faunus Rights Revolution? General Lagune assumed superiority to the Faunus. He saw his opponent as so far beneath him, that he assumed victory would come easily. His arrogance and recklessness lead to his own destruction… If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. But if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." Revan paused allowing his words to sink in. "You cannot assure that you will succeed in every battle. This is because the enemy provides the opportunity for your victory, but you can secure yourself against defeat."

Revan had spoken seriously for a short while before returning to his usual jaunty tone. "Damn! I should teach battle strategy. Probably better at it than whoever they hired for the position." Revan may not have taught the subject, but that didn't take away from how much he knew. Since effective use of one's abilities was part of battle strategy, Revan tended to explain parts of it when advising on the use of Semblances.

In all honesty Revan didn't care if Zan paid attention to his lectures, but a student who paid attention often understood that they have much to learn. While some students learn much faster than others, and may not need to pay attention, there was no guarantee that a such a student truly understood the topic at hand. "I'm sure you've considered upgrading your weapon to have a melee form of some sort. That is if you haven't done so already. While pistols can be used effectively in melee combat, an opponent can far too easily render your pistols useless with proper technique at such a range." Revan specialized in semblances, but he tried to make sure that his students left with a more comprehensive understanding on the essentials of battle. "In your case you need to either, be able to effectively battle at extremely close range, or learn to keep constant distance from your enemy. The opposite is true if you have a melee weapon. You must learn to close the gap, or find a way to attack at range."

Revan absorbed the spicy aroma of his tea, as he took a long swig from his mug. He was ready to teach his student more than just strategies for how to fight. "Please take a shot at those targets. No semblance." Revan invited gesturing to the far end of the training hall. "Oh and I'd ask that you don't use any dust either. I don't want to burn down another school." Being an expert in semblances, Revan didn't need to see Zan's ability to understand it's potential power. A single, non-semblance attack would give him enough information, at least for the time being. However seeing the semblance in use would provide higher accuracy statistics.

Revan shifted to the side allowing for a clear shot at the targets he had set up. There were three different targets, of large, medium, and small size. The large target would be an easy shot, equivalent to a foe at average pistol range. The medium target would be suited towards rifles, and somewhat higher accuracy weapons, though a skilled pistol user could make the shot. And the smallest target was about the size of the bulls-eye on the larger target, it would require precision to hit, akin to a shot that a marksman rifle might have to take, though still not entirely impossible for a pistol to hit. The three targets were a test. The target that Zan aimed for would tell a little more about him and his battle style.

"That's just fine, use some of this." Revan extended a vial of wind dust. It was a less potent variant, which the academy had for training purposes. He had chosen wind dust since it tended to be the easiest to clean up after. Revan was prepared for the situation in which his student specialized in the use of dust. The exclusive use of dust likely did mean that Zan was limited by number of attacks, and not just range. While limitations certainly aren't always an issue, It's usually good to have a back-up plan. Especially with something like dust, which is in somewhat limited supply. "I'm sure you know that dust isn't the easiest thing to acquire. While it's useful in attacks, It's better to have some cheaper, or easier to acquire alternatives if you ever run out. You can't assume that you'll always have enough dust in a battle."

"Take a shot with that." Revan once again removed himself, allowing for a clear shot. Using more specific instruction allowed Revan to learn a little more about his student than he might without doing so. In this particular instance, Revan had learned about Zan's almost exclusive use of dust. He was certainly interested as to which of the three targets Zan would shoot for. If no other complications came up, Revan would soon gain the information he wanted.

"Learning hand to hand combat isn't such a bad idea. There's a certain joy that you can only get by knowing that you beat your enemy senseless with little more than your own body." Revan laughed as he spoke. "In all honesty I'd like to see how well you fair against a melee opponent, since you don't seem to have as much training for that range." Revan wanted to learn as much about the student as possible, and his stellar memory would aid in such ventures.

"Well you know what they say… Nobody likes a show off." Revan scolded, his voice holding a tone of faux seriousness before slipping back to a more excited tone. "I guess they were wrong. I like a show off. It's not every day that I see someone redirect bullets like that. Even less often do I see the shooter retain their accuracy after doing so." The wording used by Revan implied that he had seen a skilled user of similar techniques before, and he had. It was a pistol wielding polarity user, who was able to redirect bullets mid flight.

Zan's shooting gave Revan far more information about his skill and personality, but it also told about his weapons. Revan had used the time while Zan was attacking to get a better look at his pistols. They were somewhat unique in that they only shot dust bullets, but if used properly could be difficult to fight against. "You're a skilled marksman. Interesting attack technique." Revan made sure to make a metal note of Zan's weapons, as he did with all students. "The weapons suit you. A little more practice and you might have been able to hit both dead center, or perhaps all three… More tea?" Revan had already poured another cup of the chai for Zan. His own mug held more, and would not need a refill for quite some time.

"I'd challenge you to a duel, but I fear your skills would outmatch my own." Revan joked, obviously downplaying his own battle prowess. There were few students who could best him in battle, and that is without him using his weapon. Many students were technically stronger, or as strong as Revan, but strength alone meant very little in combat. On the battlefield, strategy and knowledge were worth far more than brute force. If Revan did use his weapon... Well simply put, no one had seen his fully drawn sword and lived to tell the tale. Which was why Revan didn't have his weapon on him, since it would more than likely be unnecessary, however in the case that something did happen, he made sure it was at least nearby. None of that was to say that Zan couldn't beat Revan, just that being more experienced often gave Revan the upper hand. He would not make the mistake of underestimating his opponent, even if his joking statement suggested otherwise.

"It may not be my teaching specialty, but learning to fight up close might need to be your highest priority. Sure learning to use your semblance more effectively, or with less aura, might be useful. However learning to handle yourself in any situation is key for a huntsman. You can't always control the battlefield." Revan lectured, it was likely that semblance training was not what this student needed, even if it would be useful. "I'd suggest at least learning some hand to hand combat, if nothing else."

"I don't have to teach you for you to learn, I just have to point you in the right direction, and you'll learn what you want to. Makes being lazy far easier. Plus the old woman doesn't get on my case about not doing my job. It's a win win" Revan used a joking tone even though he was rather serious in his reply. If a student chose to learn. Seeking out knowledge on their own. They would likely find more use for it than a subject that they were forced to learn. Odds were that  Zan scheduled a lesson with Revan just to gain credits for school, since few students even knew who Revan was.

Revan sipped his tea as he considered his options. "Those are just my ideas. What do you think that you can improve upon?" Revan always welcomed input from his students, it made things more dynamic and less constricted. Most lesson plans only bothered to do what the teacher thought that the students should learn, or what was required to be taught due to school rules. Revan however, tended to be skilled at bending rules as far as possible without technically breaking them. Not that he wouldn't break rules, just that it tended to be more favorable not to.

"You don't need to be a jack of all trades. Maybe you won't be the best melee fighter, but that's what teams are for. Likely if you join a team, one of the members will be able to handle themselves well in close quarters. Still. learning the basics isn't a bad idea."  Revan made a point of mentioning teams, since most huntsmen would join one sooner or later. He did not intend to tell Zan how to act, but instead Revan wanted to give him ideas, and let the kid choose his own path.

It was rarely effective to force a student to follow a particular approach. To Revan, the role of the teacher was not that of a teacher at all, more a mentor. A guide who might help out, but did their best to not make a decision for their student, or to force them into a frame of mind. "I will not tell you how to approach your problems. I'm a crafty person. I'll make you find your own solution. I assure you that your answer will work better for you than anything I could come up with."

"Though in all honesty if you ever want to spar. Feel free to ask. You might be surprised at how much you can learn from just one battle. You seem to take in knowledge quickly. Such an experience might be beneficial to you." Revan offered, since he always enjoyed a friendly—or in some cases not so friendly—sparring match. And as he said, there was a lot to be learned from a single battle. Some people even claimed that you never truly know a man until you've fought him. Whether that was true or not, the idea behind it was solid.

[Exit]