The two return to the shaman's cave, they finally decide to take a break and go to their seperate rooms.

In his dream, Kitharsis continues to train...

(ooc: sorry bout the last post, couldn't think of anything to say but wanted to move the story along...)

Kitharsis lies motionless in the bed, apparently the rigorous training has caught up with him. His chest rises and falls as he breathes. The burnt scar no longer resides on the surface of his skin. It had been thrown aside, along with everything else his old body once had. The hair on his head was hard to get used to. It kept swaying and tickling his head, something he was not used to at all. Luckily it only grew in a mohawk, or else he would have been driven mad by it.

He still only wears the cloak given to him by the shaman from one of his earlier walks in the sand. It is tattered and beaten with holes strewn across its surface. His body does not really require armor. His new smoothe skin is so hard that to the touch it feels like the surface of a solid statue made out of some sort of concrete, but it is much harder than any concrete could ever be.

A hand nudges his shoulder, waking him from his deep sleep. Slightly groggy, Kitharsis opens his eyes, meeting the shaman's face illuminated by the red glow of his eyes.

A new cloak is lying folded next to the bed. It looks exactly the same as the one he is wearing, except, of course, for the holes and smudges.

"Come, get some breakfast. Then we shall start training again."

The shaman walks out of the room, allowing Kitharsis to change into his new clothes in peace. Once he has switched cloaks, Kith makes his way to the table where food is set out for two. The two of them eat their fill, then clear the dishes off of the table.

Standing in front of the door to another room, the shaman signals Kith to stop.

"Now, find me, but do not leave that spot. Concentrate, use what you have learned so far and find me."

In a flash of green, the shaman is gone. He hides somewhere in the seemingly endless cave system. All Kitharsis has to do is to find him... Without moving...

How the heck am I going to do this? I can shapeshift like I used to...

Maybe its time to test my tattoos...

Kitharsis looks down at his arms. The tattoos snake around them, each at varying widths. He positions his arms away from his body, so that the energy can come freely out of them. Trying to grasp the energy inside of him once again, he concentrates on it, feeling it move throughout him.

There!

He connects with it, letting it course through his body. Relaxing, he lets the energy run freely, drenching him in its power. Concentrating on it, he starts to move it around.

Once he brings it to his arms, the tattoos start to faintly glow red. He lets it build up in his arms, the bulk of it split between the two. The tattoos glow brighter, dislplaying their patterns on the walls surrounding him.

Feeling brave, he lets some of it escape from a tattoo on his right forearm. A bright red BEAM[ shoots out of it and pierces into the ceiling.

"Oops!" He whispers.

Using more concentration, he eases the next bit of energy out of the same tattoo. This time it slithers out like a snake crawling out of a hole. It stops once it is about two feet long. A smile crosses Kith's face.

The strand of energy lengthens and starts to travel through the corridors of the cave. Kith can feel what is around it as if it were an extention of his body.

The energy strand continues on its search of the hiding shaman.

The red stand of energy reaches the only room unchecked. The glow it emits is slightly dimmer than before, a sign that Kitharsis is getting tired and frustrated. His concentration is waning.

The door is pushed open easily and the energy rope lights up the room as it enters. Kitharsis smiles as he feels the presence of the shaman. He can almost see his smiling face as it stares down at the energy strand that had found him.

"Good, you can control a single tattoo. You will get better at it with time. Lets move on."

The room becomes dark once again as Kith retracts his energy back into his tattoo. He lets out a sigh, clearly relieved that he had found the shaman before he was too tired to control the strand anymore.

Kith starts to walk to the room where the shaman was hiding, but after taking two steps he finds that the shaman is already in front of him.

"Lets go to somewhere that we can see more clearly."

They find themselves in a brightly lit room after a short walk. There are no lanterns or electric lights to illuminate it, it is just full of light somehow.

"I've noticed something about you that seemed odd to me. One of the tattoos on your left arm, it is in the shape of a skull. I would like to find out what it does, wouldn't you?" The shaman asks.

"Yes, it does seem to stick out, lets see..."

Kith focuses on the energy inside of him once again. This time it is easier to grasp ahold of, but it still takes a considerable amount of time. He brings it to his left arm, lighting his tattoos with a red glow. Now comes the hard part, focusing it on the skull.

Gradually it starts to glow brighter than the tattoos around it, and after a good while, it is the only one shining.

"Now, release it. These walls are reinforced with an anti-magic field, it won't harm them if it shoots out."

Kith lets out a quick, "Ok," not wanting to break his concentration.

He breathes in a short breath, then lets the tattoo open to let the energy out.

The parameter of the tattoo glows, then pin sized BEAMS of energy, all side by side, jut out of the sides of the tattoo. They bend outwards at about a 45 degree angle, then stay stationairy. In the middle of the outline of BEAMS a faint skull appears. With time it becomes more opaque, revealing that it is ancient and decaying. A backbone and a set of shoulders come into view, as faint as the skull was when it first appeared. They too become more opaque, and eventually an entire skeleton has formed above Kitharsis's wrist. It is only about a foot tall from head to toe as it rests limp and lifeless in the air.

"Necromancy..." The shaman whispers under his breath.

"What should..."

Kith begins to speak, but he trails off as the tiny skeleton starts to move. It moves its tiny limbs and looks around the room. Finally its eyes meet Kitharsis, and its little head bows in recognition of its master.

Kitharsis blinks, not believing what just happenned. His fragile concentration breaks, cutting off the flow of energy to his tattoo. The red pinstripe BEAMS blink out, leaving the tiny skeleton to fall onto the floor, and that it does.

The tiny undead lands on its feet, with its palm resting on the floor for more support. It then stands straight, looking at Kitharsis, awaiting its first order.

"It would seem that you have a new friend. I'd assume that you could absorb it back into you like you did with that strand of energy if you wanted to, or you could let him follow you around. Perhaps he knows how to fight."

The tiny undead nods, revealing that it indeed does know how to fight. But considering its size, it would seem that it would be too weak to do any real damage.

"Once I learn to master my new abilities, I will be able to create much larger and stronger versions of him. I think I will keep him. He might prove useful." Kitharsis states.

"So it would seem that you are beginning to learn about your abilities. Good..."

The shaman looks into Kitharsis's soul once again. It still lies pure next to the evil energy flowing through his body. The shaman nods ever so slightly, assured that Kith will stay true and noble.

"Time to hone your skills. You take much too long to utilize your power. Come with me."

Follow me, pet. Kitharsis directs his thoughts towards his little skeleton. It nods in recognition, and clambers up his body to rest on his shoulder.

Kith shrugs and follows after the shaman. He wonders what is coming next, figuring that after this, nothing would surprise him all too much.