[Elric van Maer]

Second Month of Summer, Era XIV - Second Week

The alleyways of Vortex are at best dingy. The very dirt on the walls had collected dirt. While the upscale of the city wouldn't be seen in such areas, the underworld characters of the city could find no better place to conduct their business. At darkening there was no darker place than the alleyways of Vortex. It was as if the dirt on the brick helped hold shadows in place, making pitch dark darker than ever.

During the brightening it wasn't much safer, but at least one could see what was ahead of them. And ahead of Elric was a little target he had fashioned on a wooden crate. He had drawn it out of chalk and stacked the wooden crate on top of others until it was about chest high. This would be his practice block, his "opponent."

He hadn't practiced throwing his knife in some time, but this brightening he had given himself time to do just that. Elric stood back eight feet, a distance he had considered to be ample considering his prior minor experience, and pulled out his dagger from his boot. He left Shadow's Edge at his side because a kris was not a thrown weapon. With his luck he'd throw the kris and hit a wall, breaking the sharp point of the deadly blade.

He turned the dagger around in his hand and looked down at it. The simple weapon was nothing special, just a basic blade on a wooden hilt. It was incredibly sharp, though sharp enough to plant it in a wooden box. Nor was the dagger perfectly balanced. More or less, Elric was practicing throwing the knife because it was what he had to throw. Sure he could have purchased throwing knives, but he was kind of fond of the old blade. He had owned it since he was a young lad and had grown quite attached.

He put his left foot in front of his right and placed the dagger in is right hand. He took it by the tip of the blade as he had seen others do and held the knife up at a ninety-degree angle. His plan was simple... bring his arm down in a throwing motion and let the knife go directly in front of him, so that with the power he put into it, it would fly directly at the box. He winded up and from the waist up, moved to throw the knife.