Diablo 3: Hell's Eclipse

The day following their venture into the Greathall, and restoring the Loom while gaining new allies, the group headed out into the desert that was beyond where Caldeum rested, the very area they had moved through while they were hunting down Maghda, before Luna stopped them.

"What are we doing out here? We should be inside the city, checking the archives for clues as to where Azmodan might be hiding." Adria asked, because she knew their time would be better spent focusing on the last Lord of Hell and the end of the quest that many of them had been working towards, especially since they were so close with Belial's death, so she was hoping there was a good reason for this delay.

"Luna and Leah are going to train, and this is the best area to do so. Nice and open with little to get in the way." Kormac stated, as he and the others of the group had seen this during their journey to Caldeum, the pair had trained many times over the course of the journey and it always ended with Leah learning more, thus becoming the skilled magic user she was right now, even if she mainly focused on arrows.

"Indeed, plus barriers to keep all of you safe and to avoid breaking the entire area." Luna added, where Adria found that the figure was right, her magic washed over the area and formed a large circular zone or area for their training to take place in, all while another area formed around her and the others, meaning that the observers would be safe from this.

Leah stood off to the side for a moment, as she could tell that this training session was going to be different than the others, she couldn't place her finger on what that difference might be but she could sure tell that Luna was going to change things up on her, especially as Luna set Ashbringer to the side while drawing a spear she had Haedrig make.

"Really? You don't want to use Ashbringer this time?" Leah asked, as she was so used to Luna using the greatsword during all of her battles and during all of their training sessions, but she also knew that part of her training was to adapt to whatever Luna used against her, and this discovery meant she might be having a more balanced session, instead of one with a core lesson like she was used to.

"I don't want to overwhelm you this time." Luna replied, where she stepped off to the side as Leah followed her, keeping her distance from her since it allowed her more time to see what Luna was doing and plan accordingly, while at the same time she casually spun the spear around while they walked, though Leah found magic dancing around the head of the weapon, a sign that their training was about to begin, "There will be no theme for this session, just do what you feel is right, be it going on the defensive or going on the offensive. Now then, here I come."

Adria and the others watched as magic flared to life around the head of Luna's spear, which she grabbed with both hands like it was just a staff, before she rushed forward at speeds that were on par with what she used to bring down Belial, which told her that the session was over without Leah being able to do anything. What happened next, however, was that Leah held out her hand as she accessed her own magical energy, creating a magical shield in front of her, covering a wide enough area so the head of the weapon couldn't slip through her defenses. Luna smiled and shifted her stance for a moment as she delivered multiple thrusts with the magical head of her spear, where the others found that Leah did the same, she held out her other hand and copied her barrier spell, creating a larger shield in front of her without wasting time. Adria was stunned, as she really didn't think Leah had been taught all that much by Luna, just enough to let her daughter fight on the battlefield, and yet here she was, going toe to hoof with a being that was clearly holding back for her benefit.

Leah shifted her stance and went on the offensive, using her magical shields to protect herself, as when Luna attacked from the left she used a barrier there and when Luna tried right the right the same was repeated, the shock of their collisions making the ground around them shake in the process.

"She's stronger than I thought." Adria commented, though at the same time Leah gathered flames into her right hand, using the left to keep a barrier up, before thrusting her hand towards Luna's chest as she fired off a powerful fireball, one that had the side effect of breaking through the barrier Luna was using and pushed her back, but that worried Adria since it meant her plan might actually be in danger.

"Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet." Lyndon remarked, as he had gotten used to this, since the day he encountered the group that came to be his friends, it was odd for him to see them that way, but the training and everything was nothing new to him and the others, in fact they were waiting for things to reach the next level, especially since Leah was constantly growing her powers.

"Your reflexes have improved. Good, let's kick things up a notch." Luna stated, spinning the spear around like it was simply a staff and nothing else, where the others could see that there was some magic lingering on the head, before she brought the base down on the ground below her, causing the ground to shake for a moment as everyone braced themselves.

Adria found that a surge of earth erupted from the ground, spikes that were reaching for Leah like they were enemies on the battlefield, an attack that seemed designed to actually bring an end to the lesson and not give her foe a chance to react, as that was how she saw it. What surprised her, however, was the fact that Leah seemed to anticipate Luna's attack and leapt into the air, she was actually above them and the spikes, where she channeled her power into her flaming bow before she let a flaming arrow fly down into the cluster. Such a thing was followed by the arrow blasting the entirety of Luna's attack into bits, rocks flying everywhere based on what she was seeing, yet the barrier kept them safe and sound, allowing them to watch the 'training' that was going on, as Adria was starting to this as more of a 'mock battle'. Luna, on the other hand, was pleased by this turn of events as she spun her spear around to clear up the smoke that came from the explosion, though as that happened Leah used her magic to grab a nearby boulder and hurled it at Luna, forcing her to swing the weapon and let the tip blow the boulder into fragments.

Leah, however, had been expecting that as she did something dangerous, she used two elements at the same time, fire and water since she had two arrows, and when she let them fly they merged into a shimmering arrow that raced through the air, blasting a two person sized crater into the ground as Luna avoided it.

Luna was smiling as she landed nearby, as letting Leah come with her and the others continued to bear great fruit, mostly in the sense of allowing Leah to get over the obstacles that happened to be in her way, letting her manipulate the other types of magic they had worked on before reaching Caldeum. This meant Leah was definitely stronger than before, and she had a feeling that keeping track of the Black Soulstone, and the souls of the six slain Lords of Hell, was allowing her to expand her powers as well, hence the sudden growth spurt they were seeing. That wasn't the only thing Leah did, rather while Luna was clearing out this latest attack Leah held her hand out and lightning crackled, forming seven thin pillars around the area that her friend and mentor was standing in, before the energy turned into lightning bows with lightning arrows. Luna couldn't help but smile as she witnessed this, because it showed her that Leah was thinking ahead, using her magic in unique ways while observing her for tips and tricks, and it meant that she would be formidable when the time came to fight the forces of Azmodan.

In the following moment the arrows came rushing at her, the bows themselves being pulled into the arrows when they were loosed, where Luna spun around and parried each of them before they struck her, even though it broke the head of the spear in the process, before a light flashed as Leah started to replicate one of her moves, since she was holding her sword in her extended right hand.

"Really? You want to use the condensed mana wave?" Luna remarked, where she held her hand out and Ashbringer came to her, in a matter of seconds, allowing her to spin it around for a moment as the air shook as magic surged out of the blade, just like she had done when she attacked Belial, only this one was less powerful to match Leah's attack, "Very well, let's see if you can handle such an attack."

Luna found that Leah's attack was red colored, just like most of her magic, a fact that caused many to wonder if her demon side was stronger than her angel side, especially with her tail, but this only excited Luna as she found that Leah's energy, while struggling to maintain it's form, was definitely powerful. It was clear that she wasn't used to this type of attack, since her lessons hadn't covered such a thing, but Leah still had enough control to maintain the core of the wave, where it's power rested, which was still interesting to see as Luna stared at her. In the following moment both of them swung their weapons, Leah's imperfect red wave crashing into Luna's perfect lunar wave, though Luna couldn't help but grin as she found that the lesser one was holding it's ground as the two struggled in the air for a time. As she thought about that, however, Leah did something Luna wasn't expecting her to do, she shifted her stance and then loosed a second wave into the back of the first one, creating a cross that smashed through the weak wave Luna had sent her way, surprising those that were watching them train right now.

She was proud of Leah, she was using her mind when it came to training with her, coming up with attacks and moves that a novice wouldn't normally use, but she held her empty hand out and let the cross wave collide with her palm, allowing her to shatter it instantly, blasting the ground around her as a crater formed in front of her, and in the next she rushed Leah with her faster speed, knocking her to the ground in a second.

"Okay, okay, I yield." Leah remarked, though she couldn't help but smile as she looked up at Luna, her girlfriend was simply the best person she could ask for when it came to training, there was so much for her to learn and every time she thought she was catching up to her the more she realized just how much Luna had to share with her.

"You did well... honestly, I never thought of stacking energy waves like that. Keep at it and you'll have a perfect energy wave in no time." Luna said, where her smile was still on her face, Leah was a fast learner, much like Twilight was, and she knew it would benefit her when the main event finally arrived, their battle with Azmodan, though that was when she put her blade on her back and held a hand out, allowing her to help Leah onto her feet, "That's good enough for one day. Why don't we head back to the camp, get some rest, and recharge before we try to track down the last Lord of Hell?"

As Leah admitted that she liked the idea, however, Adria tried to keep her emotions in check as she realized that this was a major blow to everything she had been planning, forcing her to think of new ways to achieve her own goal, all while she had to wonder what the future held in store for them.