Nikolai Geanovof's Story

When Nikolai told the two thugs he was Desert Triad, the predatory look turned to disappointment. These two had obviously hoped to find a victim, they did not know how lucky they were that he was not their enemy. The larger of the two, a man with a big face a rather vacant expression, and a large war hammer strapped to his back crossed his arms and said in a challenging manner, "Yeah, an why should we folla you? Why don't you just move along and do your own work?" He took a step closer and leered at Nikolai.

"I am so glad you asked, my good friend." In one fast motion Nikolai grabbed the nape of the man's neck with his right hand and punched him straight in the throat with a strong, straight punch from his left. His right hand kept the man from moving backwards, making his throat take the full brunt of the impact. He felt the delicate bones in front of the windpipe snap and crumple inwards, simultaneously severing and crushing his windpipe. Nikolai released the man and he fell to the floor with his hands to his throat, spitting up blood and frantically trying to draw breathe through his now-defunct wind-pipe. After a number of seconds, the man stopped struggling and lay still, dead.

Nikolai turned to the other mercenary, a young woman not much older than himself with a scimitar strapped to her back. There was very real fear in her eyes. Pointing down the hall Nikolai said curtly, "Walk."

Tears formed in the mercenary's eyes. "Don't kill me! Pleasepleaseplease!" She dropped and lay prostrate on the ground. "I'll do anything! Anything! I wasn't going to hurt you! Honest! Cedon was just an idiot and I didn't want to follow him around anyway! PLEASE don't kill me!"

What an annoying girl. "Get up, I have no wish to kill you if you will only help me with a task." The female mercenary got up and tried to regain some semblance of dignity and composure. She began walking back down the hallway she had just come down, Nikolai following a few steps behind. Now they were in the area where the combatants rooms where. Nikolai quickly pointed out the door he wanted. The girl went up and tried to open it.

"Its locked." The mercenary reported. Nikolai just continued to stare at her. She and the man had been thieves, she could get through a locked door. After a few moments the girl sighed and said, "Well maybe I can use my lock picks..." She had the door open in under a minute and they filed inside.

Nikolai was pleased to see the still unconscious Michaelis in his bed. Apparently his display earlier in the competition, paralleled with his unstable physical state as a result of the experiments had left him quite weak indeed. Nikolai grabbed the scimitar from its holding on the girl's back, and as he pulled it out he kicked the girl in the back, sending her sprawling forward onto the floor. With a startled cry. Nikolai quickly strode to the bed and turned to face the young mercenary girl and directed her to stand in front of Michaelis. In meek silence she did as he commanded. In a swift motion Nikolai, standing behind Michaelis, brought the scimitar down on his throat, cutting almost the entire way through his neck. The girl's eyes widened in shock and she again cried out as blood splashed across her face. Nikolai tossed her scimitar back to her and walked past. "Oh and one more thing..." He turned and drew his tanto in one motion, aiming to slice at the girl's neck. However, the girl blocked the strike with her scimitar, a smirk on her face.

"Now I have you right where I want you," She said. "I was just waiting for a chance to draw my weapon without you killing me and you just handed it right over!" She laughed in a rather deranged manner, something seemed a little unbalanced in her eyes. She came at Nikolai with a number of rapid strikes and they danced around the room, tracking the blood that had shot from Michaelis's throat all over the place. The girl looked positively deranged as she furiously slashed at Nikolai with blood spattered across her face while sporting a psychotic grin.

As they continued moving about the room, smashing woodwork, toppling furniture, destroying pictures, and generally making a mess of the place, Nikolai laughed and said, "That should do it." The girl laughed incredulously at his apparent disregard for the perilous situation. Nikolai continued, now seeming to parry her attacks with much greater ease, "Yes, this should do it. Thank you for helping me, it is quite difficult to make it look like there was a struggle in a room without actually having one." The girl's eyes widened, the psychosis seeming to recede as she realized Nikolai had been playing her, setting it up to appear as though she had killed Michaelis. Nikolai delivered a slash to her arm, cutting across her hand and with a cry she dropped her scimitar. He put a hand to the beak of his mask, imitating someone putting their finger to their lips in a motion for someone to keep quiet. "This can just be our little secret hmm?" He chuckled ominously as the girl whimpered on the floor, the will to fight having fled her. In one swift motion he lunged forward, taking the tanto simultaneously into and across her throat, severing an artery and receiving a nice coating of blood in the process. Alone in the room he remarked to himself, "Oh well, good thing I brought a change of clothes."

He heard a sound of fighting coming from where Prince Vincent had been going to take the princess. Well, might as well go lend a hand, having a prince in his debt certainly would not hurt.

Nikolai heard sounds of fighting up ahead of him in the hallway. He picked up his pace. Rounding a corner, he saw a number of dead mercenaries on the floor and heard footsteps down the hall. They were heading towards the nobility's chambers. Nikolai broke into a run, if the mercenaries managed to kill any of the nobility, it would really put the prince in a foul mood. He heard fighting further up the corridor, but decided he would have the best chance of finding the prince if he headed to the nobility area.

Chasing down the footsteps, Nikolai rounded a corner and saw Prince Vorgoule outside of one of the rooms. He was given pause for a moment. Had the prince really killed the people in the hallway back there? He had not struck Nikolai as the fighting type, clearly the prince had some tricks up his sleeve. Nikolai hailed the prince, "Sir these bandits are all over the place! Are you alright? What of your sister? I came here as soon as I could, I didn't rescue her from that madman Bryden for her to die at the hands of these fools!" He said this last with all of the passion and apparent frustration he could muster, selling his apparent anger at the invasion. A little favor with the prince would go a long way. He also wondered briefly how Cane and Ivy were faring. Fine most likely, these mercenaries were nothing the two wouldn't be able to handle.

“It appears she’s safe and undisturbed.. luckily. I couldn’t bare her dealing with any more of this mess..” "Well that is good. She has had a very trying day already." A moment passed and then a sudden pulse of anger emanated from the young king. “Where is that fool of a man Bryden?!” Nikolai guessed he felt very betrayed with by the man's actions. It was not tough to understand why. "Your highness, I left him under the care of five palace guards in the guard outpost on the west side of the palace." The king confirmed his anger, saying, “Good man, please watch over my sister for the time being then afterwards.. I want that fool ready for me in the coronation room when all of this blows over.. I shall go sound the horns.” It spoke volumes about the man that he placed his sister before his desire for revenge against the man responsible for a great deal of his grief that day. It would serve Nikolai well to remember that. "Of course your majesty, and you may call me Nikolai if you wish. I assure you I will guard this door with my life and shall only depart after the horn has sounded and a significant number of guards have arrived to take my place. No harm shall come to her majesty while I am here to defend her." On that note, Nikolai turned and stabbed a mercenary who had just come running around the corner. The tanto plunged up underneath his sternum, forcing its way into his heart. Pulling the blade from the dead man's chest Nikolai turned to the king, saying, "Take care good king, not sure how many more rescues I have in me today." Giving his best approximation of a friendly laugh, still sounding strange through his mask, he watched Vincent depart. He then turned back to the corridor, ready for any bandit that might come. Sure he may not actually care about their well-being, but being in the good graces of the leaders of the Belauricen Kingdom would certainly have its benefits. And so to that end he would act with the respect friendliness expected of him in a roll as friend to the King and Princess.

A brief time and a few mercenaries later, the horns sounded throughout the castle. That should about wrap things up, Nikolai thought to himself. Over the clamor of the small fights that still seemed to be going on, he heard Ivy calling someone's name...Willow? Ah yes, the girl with the VERY interesting darkness manipulations. He would have loved to go see her during this battle, but Michaelis had been his mission and their just hadn't been time for anything extra. Oh well, she was a Belauricen knight, so he could always ask the good King Vincent about her whereabouts later. Still, it sounded as though Ivy was making her way closer, to both him and the late Sir Warm-Handed as Michaelis had taken to calling himself. And where there was Ivy, Cane inevitably followed, no doubt with lots of bothersome questions. It wouldn't surprise him at all if Cane had actually started letting Ivy in on things she had no business knowing about, things that would lead to some tough questions from her as well. Best to have answers ready to deal with any uncomfortable situations should they arise. He was saved from having to deal with that sort of encounter then by an arriving contingent of twenty guards. Using his status as a skilled combatant and his directive from the king, he ordered ten of the guards to remain and safeguard the princess. Six of the guards would stay in the hallway, the remaining four would barricade themselves in the room with the princess until the all-clear was given. This seemed somewhat excessive, but Nikolai wanted to take no chances of harm coming to the princess. Looking down the hallway, he saw a window that looked out towards the palace grounds. It gave a clear line of sight to the guard outpost where Bryden was being...detained. The drop to the ground was only ten feet, easy enough. He received a few skeptical looks from the guards as he sprung out the window, hit the ground with a roll, and continued on towards the guard outpost as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Upon reaching the outpost he walked in and managed to alarm the guards, already on edge from the sound of the horn but unable to leave their dangerous prisoner unguarded, with his bloodstained clothing. He assured them that firstly, the crisis in the castle was under control, and secondly that none of the blood on his clothes was actually his. With that cleared up, he relayed the orders to transport Bryden to the coronation room. With little concern, Nikolai removed the knives and rope from Bryden's body, thought still left him chained up. The man still seemed to be unconscious. Getting him on a horse, Nikolai walked with the five guards back towards the castle, Bryden fairly swaddled in heavy chains. It turned out the guards recognized him from his occasional visits to the kingdom, he made a point of being cordial to the guards in the places he visited as their favor could be beneficial indeed. As it were, the guards seemed to admire his combat prowess, and the respect he gave them, so it seemed he was on good terms with this bunch. The guards, it turned out were rather observant, swapping news and details of what combatants had done what, who went where, bought what from what stores, frequented what bars, and a number of other innocuous bits of trivia and gossip. He even heard a rumor about Miss Willow's wild side, that was a surprise. Nikolai listened, chiming in here and there, getting familiar with the guards as they walked. When the group reached the palace, they made their way to the coronation room, two of the guards dragging the prisoner between them. In the coronation room, the guards secured Bryden's chain to a large, exceedingly heavy, sturdy oak table. Nikolai continued to make small talk with the group, passing the time and idly wondering what he would say in the hard conversations he saw coming in the future. However, once Bryden was secured, he realized he really felt quite tired. Seeing one of the guards sitting on a bench against a wall, Renault was his name, Nikolai went over and sat next to him. He leaned back and said, "My good man Renault, I am afraid I won't make it through the night if I don't catch a quick bit of shut-eye. Would you be so kind as to nudge me when the King Vincent or some other combatants drop by?" Renault was happy to oblige, clapping him on the shoulder and saying "Of course buddy! You've really earned it today, no doubt about it!" "Thank you, thank you so very much Renault." With that, Nikolai rested his head against the wall, closed his eyes, and was asleep in moments. It was a light sleep, he knew the others would be coming soon and that the guard would wake him on their arrival.

"Nikolai... We need to talk..." Well that had been a short rest. Every little bit helped he supposed. Still...Renault nudged him and he stood up and rolled his neck a little to stretch it. He had really hoped Vincent would get here before Cane or Ivy. Well at least it was just one of them. Looking at Cane, it was clear he was hear to ask the hard questions. Unfortunately, he did not have answers, good or bad, for some questions he figured would be coming. Well, time to face this and hopefully bring the matter to a quick resolution. Maybe Cane would actually come around to his side.

And maybe pigs would spontaneously develop the power to levitate.

Nikolai walked towards Cane, standing ten feet in front of him. "Cane, my friend." He allowed weariness to tinge his voice. "It is good to see you alive and well. What of Ivy and King Vorgoule? Are they in good health too?" Glancing down briefly at his blood-soaked garments he continued, "This day has been entirely too long. As soon as this idiot" he gestured towards Bryden, "is dealt with, I plan to get some real sleep." Nikolai looked back towards Cane. "But you have no interest in that. I know that look. What did you come here to talk about?"

"Oh Nikolai how your lies taint the life of the man you slaughtered. Michaelis was obviously killed in his sleep and I could easily tell it was done by your hand with clear intent." Cane, while his fighting prowess may be exceptional, he was just too bullheaded at times. It was as though he was trying to make himself look like an idiot, or a psychotic nut job, in front of all the guards. Fine, it made things much easier for him. "Nikolai, your fucking lies will not stop my questions nor will it stop me from getting the truth. I know better than anyone your true relationship with Ragnarok, you know my past with them... So how about we just forgo that and agree that you don't have to let all these people know how little you actually care about the Nimoan government. Now tell me what you know about my family and no lying Nikolai! Did Ragnarok sell me out? The truth..." And so it continued, Cane really was playing right into Nikolai's hands. Now was the time to act angry, just like an officer of the court being accused of such things would be. "That is Sir Michaelis to you! And he was my friend!" Nikolai put special emphasis on sir and friend, continuing to play up the anger, the hate someone accused of murdering their friend would display. "How dare you accuse me of murdering him! I was the one who went to wake him! I was only seconds too late to stop that bitch from killing him!" Yes, that was good. These weren't even the things Cane really cared about, but they were the things that would seem most important to an outside observe, like one of the guards in the room.

But there was more. "And where do you get off downplaying my care for the Nimoan government? I swore an oath to protect the court with my life! To uphold justice! Don't you dare slander an oath that you know nothing about!" The guards would like that, they had taken similar oaths to the Belauricen rulers after all. And to seal the deal, "I see what you are doing here 'friend'. You are trying to paint me as the criminal!" Nikolai straightened up, assuming an air of the authority that came with his 'official' job. "I don't know what has happened to you, but I will not let you threaten myself, or the Nimoan nobility! Its not too late Cane, stop this madness! Don't chase away the one friend who has always been there for you!" "You know Nikolai I had truly wished that our friendship would always remain the same, that you would have remained the kind man whom I could trust with my life... My brother... But we changed, both of us did. You became a cold man driven by an evil purpose, hell I walked that path with you for a time... But then we diverged... You kept going, farther and farther down that path to the point where turning back is probably impossible... I managed to stop, I paused and took a few steps back and now I think I finally found my way to a better path. It may not be righteous and it most certainly isn't a pure path but I believe that if I really work hard that I can walk this path with someone I have come to care a great deal for, someone who, much like you use to, can really make me appreciate life. So I will walk this path, I will protect Ivy and live my life and neither you nor Ragnarok will ever stop me. So goodbye my old friend, let our blades finish what has been started countless times." So that is it then? Nikolai thought to himself. "Your hate cannot save you Cane. And it can not protect Ivy from Ragnarok either."

As the senbon soared towards him, Nikolai reached up and drew his tanto with his left hand, dodged the first senbon, and allowed the second to be deflected by his mask, drawing a deep gouge in the ceramic. As his tanto blocked the slash high, Nikolai said, audible only to Cane, "We are still very much alike Cane. The only difference between you and I..." He threw a rapid front kick at Cane's abdominal wound. "... Is I can save Ivy from Ragnarok." He continued to press towards Cane, refusing to give him the room to wield his weapons effectively. It was too bad the poison had worn off the weapons he had used in fighting that day.

Cane countered his kick more swiftly than Nikolai could react to. The two prior battles were wearing on Nikolai, he needed to rest. He dropped the leg back with the stab, taking the senbon in in the thigh. As Cane leaped back, the senbon embedded itself in his thigh. Fortunately, his leather armor kept it from going critically deep, it still hurt though. Hopping back, Nikolai evaded the upward slash and ducked underneath the left slash. Seeing the roundhouse, Nikolai brought his arm up, the armor and bracer absorbing some of the impact, but his arm stung from the impact.

Just as Nikolai was going to begin his counterattack, a voice called out, "Enough fighting please.." It was Vincent, he had finally shown up. He jumped back, disengaging from Cane. He did not stop looking at the man, he did not know whether or not the man would stop fighting just because Vincent asked him to. Still on edge he said to Vincent, "As per your order, I have delivered the criminal to the coronation room." The man was showing signs of battle wear from the day's events, blood and grime on his royal garments. "So tell me.. what is this Ragnarok you speak of?" Nikolai suppressed a sigh. Now was not the time he wanted to be dealing with these questions. "Well, long story short your honor, they are a criminal element currently under investigation by the Nimoan government." He reached down and firmly grasped the senbon, and pulled it straight out, making sure to cause no additional damage to the tissue. "My good King, what do you wish to do with the prisoner?" Nikolai wished to bring the day to a close quickly, he could really use some rest. And he didn't particularly want to discuss Ragnarok with the king, especially not now.

"He slights you prince with vague information, Ragnarok is the organization that no doubt sent these men to you castle, a sick and twisted group of powerful men and women who want nothing more than complete dominance... They are a group which this man works for currently..." Cane just couldn't seem to help himself. At every turn he continually overplayed his verbal attack. It was really too easy, gifted as Cane was, he was simply out of his depth in a fight like this. "That is a very heavy allegation.. do you have proof of this?"

The look on Vorgoule's face told Nikolai he already had the advantage. Cane just did a good job of landing himself on the reluctant king's blacklist. All he needed was a small nudge in the right direction. Nikolai was still cautious though, it was his to lose at this point, but he thought he knew a good angle to take here. After the king had disposed of the annoying kidnapper he made his own case. "You already know he has no proof your highness. I have never acted to the detriment of your kingdom. I've had numerous opportunities to cause great harm to your kingdom. Instead I took those great opportunities for such foulness and worked to preserve your kingdom." He turned towards Cane, he had a pretty big ace in the hole here. He supposed he owed it to the townspeople, and their celebrity status as tournament contenders. "Oh and Cane... How was your shopping expedition this evening? Not too strenuous I hope?" It probably didn't hurt to point out, indirectly, that he had saved Vorgoule's sister and Cane had spent the time shopping instead of aiding the search. Nikolai stayed on his toes. He didn't know for sure how Cane would react, but he hoped he would know to quit now before he got too far in the hole. He wanted words alone with Vincent, and he had nothing more to say to Cane. That guy just couldn't leave well enough alone.

Nikolai watched Cane exit the room. His words meant nothing, he was quite certain the prince would not take Cane's side in this. As Cane left, Vincent took his place on the throne. Well, it was time to call it a night, the day had dragged on entirely too long. And there was another round, the final round tomorrow.

“Thank you for all you’ve done Sir Geanovof.. if I’m not mistaken.” Vincent said, still seated in his throne, putting his sword back in its sheath. “I will have a word with the match handlers to give you your promised points in the tournament and call it an ‘extra round’. If there’s anything else I can do to make your stay more comfortable just let me know and I will see what I can do.. "Please, Nikolai your honor. And I am much obliged for the extra points. I am in no need of anything else, though your hospitality is appreciated."

As Bryden II entered the room, Nikolai concluded his business with the Vincent. "Sir if you require more assistance, you need only ask of me. And for what it is worth, you have handled these trying times far better than many others could in your shoes." He turned and left as Bryden II began to inquire about his father.

In the hallway Nikolai spotted the note Cane had left him, reading it in a glance. He suppressed a laugh. It was really too funny how misguided Cane was. He hoped he would reveal himself, throwing himself on the sword to protect Ivy. Nikolai could almost imagine the look of despair, or would it be rage? On Cane's face as he realized the futility of his actions. The man really didn't have a clue when it came to these things. Dropping the paper into a wall torch to burn to ashes, Nikolai continued back to his room. Inside, he locked the door and went so far as to lean a chair against the handle to keep the door from opening from the outside. It was time for rest.

Looking around the room, Nikolai removed his battered, blood-soaked armor. His skin was pale and slick with sweat due to his constant use of the leather armor. Rather than a bath, Nikolai decided instead to pour most of a pitcher of water on a towel and used it to wipe away the sweat and blood accumulated throughout the day. Not as good as a bath, but he honestly wasn't too picky about these things. Now he was finally able to take time to bandage the light wounds he had received during his fight with Bryden. It did not take much time, the wounds were not the sort to give him much trouble. That left the puncture wound on his leg that Cane had dealt him. This one would be a little more troublesome.

Sitting on his bed, Nikolai pulled out the notebook he was using to record data on the members of the competition who possessed special powers. He had a few more notes to add. The first note explained the death of Bryden the First. The second note detailed Cane's now apparently active hostility towards the organization, and the possible information leak to Ivy. He recommended a hold on action until after the tournament in order to accurately assess the damage potential of the leak. He advised that there was little potential for harm, Cane had no proof other than his word, and attempting to kill him off would only lend credit to claims he would make. There really wasn't much to be gained in silencing him or Ivy who also knew nothing. However if Cane wanted to continue going around trying to make trouble for Ragnarok, Nikolai doubted the organization would refrain from taking measures to silence him regardless of what assessment he provided. Well, the outcome was more or less up to Cane at this point, nothing to do now but rest.

Flipping to a blank page, Nikolai removed the vial of spinal fluid he had extracted before the fighting had broken out. He poured it on the page, it soaked in and on a dry corner, he wrote down "Sample 1." Setting his finger to the puncture wound on his leg, he got some blood and traced a design on the side of the pages. After setting the open notebook on the ground, Nikolai took a nearby candle and held it to the pages, lighting them afire and watching them burn away to ash. Ragnarok would receive the report soon. The symbol, and the blood contract that he had entered into with Ragnarok for the purpose of this scouting mission allowed him to send his reports through incineration. A handy trick to say the least, especially since it cut out the messengers, potentially unreliable middlemen.

Now there was a tingling in the puncture wound. It rapidly evolved into an itch which turned into a painful burning sensation. And then the wound was gone, replaced by normal looking skin. The side effect of this method of reporting was that the wound used was cauterized magically, it wouldn't be much of a scouting technique if it left the user bleeding all over the place. Though it was limited to closing smaller wounds, not more serious ones. Still, it did the job here.

Wiping off his hands, Nikolai lay down and slept. He needed it after the day he had had. And tomorrow wasn't going to be a walk in the park either. The final round, what was the game going to be this time?

Bryden entered the area where the combatants were at an interesting time, to say the least.

It all started when he was leaning against the far wall nearest the entrance and noticed Nickolai when Bryden entered the area. Instantly, Bryden's neck hair stood on end and stared at the guy. He wasn't sure whether it was his cocky, cowardly attitude or just how he seemed to be in league with shady people, but it made Bryden cautious now, like a mild form of paranoia. While his ears were better than a humans, it didn't mean that he could hear what he was saying when - shock of the day - Willow Reed showed up. They started out talking at a normal tone, and it was merely pleasantries and such, but then Nickolai peered around and got too quiet for his ears. Midnight would be able to hear, but Bryden had no idea how to speak the tongue of the felines, so that was useless to him. His eyes narrowed as the masked one talked to the opponent that he defeated in the last round. Bryden was starting to get highly suspicious of Nickolai's actions, they seemed to be extremely goal oriented, but he couldn't figure out what. The guy was always around other combatants, whispering things and seemingly spreading gossip or information. It didn't help that both Cane - who Bryden didn't like anyway - and Nickolai were under his suspect list for yesterday's attack, but neither of them seemed to give off enough information, with Cane being all love stricken and Nickolai continuing to be secretive. With that in mind, Nickolai went up a little on Bryden's probability of being shady scale.

When the parted, Bryden felt it to be in his best interest to speak to Willow. From what he could gather, she didn't seem to be entirely up to date with recent events, as Nickolai seemed to only tell her the vague information and nothing more. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to be on other people's nice sides. Since when did I ever care about that...? This tournament was starting to make Bryden doubt his normal composure and even his own personality. He was starting to forget who he really was, turning into something that he couldn't understand. Shaking that thought away, he approached Willow and cleared his throat a little.

"Glad you weren't dead, Miss Reed." He isntantly adopted the formal tone, as he did when speaking to everyone. It was how he was brought up: talk to others with formality, and kill them with strategy. "Judging by the fact that you were missing for quite some time, I can only guess that you hadn't been informed of the details of the kidnapping and attack on the castle?" He looked over to where Nickolai had went, and his eyes narrowed. He probably told her everything was fine and dandy. What a liar...

"I wish I could say the same, for the familiar faces I have been seeing aren't the ones I was hoping for." He said dryly, and pushed forward. "Judging by your vague answers, Nikolai seems to have missed out on some key pieces of information, such as how the kidnapping of the princess was orchestrated by Bryden the First of Belauricen." Her eyes widened a bit at the news, his father had been behind it? Does that mean Bryden...? "And before you ask, no, I had no part in it. Nikolai may have also forgotten that he was the man who brought him down, but also in a very... I guess cruel and arrogant would be appropriate, way." She hoped the relief didn't show up so obviously in her face as she nodded a bit, not knowing what else to say. Nikolai HAD skipped over a couple of things, what else hadn't he mentioned?

"Oh, and that isn't even the best part. That man Cane seems to know Nikolai quite well, enough to talk to him frequently enough anyway. To what they discuss, I do not know, but only a fool would realize that they didn't have some form of history between them." Her eyes swiftly darted over to Nikolai briefly as he strolled around before bringing her attention back up to him. "Hmm you don't say.." She murmured more to herself as Bryden continued, capturing more and more of her attention as he gave her the details of what happened.

"The attackers on the castle were a mercenary group, yet one I haven't seen before. Employed by a group that I haven't hear of, even the name escapes me. One word, like Cragrocks or something obscure like that. I heard that my government was investigating a mercenary group with a weird name, so I can only guess. Then again, they are not my government any longer, for I am no longer truly Nimoan." She heard him curse under his breath as she gave a slight tilt of her hand. "No longer truly Nimoan?" She repeated in question, one eyebrow raised as she left room for him to either explain his meaning or ignore that she ever asked the question. After waiting for his response, her brows furrowed a bit in deep thought, thinking about what had just been revealed to her. If Cane and Nikolai seemed to know each other so well, why was Nikolai trying to pin everything on Cane?

She shook her head a bit, dislodging some leaves that had been stored there and remembered how she seemed to appear to the male before her. "Crap.." She muttered, brushing some matted strands from her face and back, hoping to look a little bit decent but it was a lost cause. For a moment, she offered another glance at Nikolai with narrowed eyes, trying to figure him out. What did he have planned? Or was he true to his word? Then, she slowly turned her gaze back to him, questioning for a moment. Or was Bryden trying to confuse her too?

Bryden watched her reaction as he had spoke, taking note of her facial expression in response to his words. Judging by how her eyes were getting quite wide, Nickolai had left a lot of the important details out. She seemed to murmur something, but he ignored it. He noticed that after he had finished his speech, she looked at him funny and said No longer truly Nimoan? He nodded his head, a little sadness actually seeping through his normally lifeless face, and looked away from Willow. "Too right. With my father being of Belauricen decent, that makes me more Belauricen by birth than Nimoan through my mother. You should know that bloodlines travel through the father, no?" He didn't really expect her to answer his question, for it was common knowledge. Or maybe that was just how his family ran things: The father was the head of the family, and therefore his offspring carried his name, meaning that Bryden II's actual name was of Belauricen heritage. It made him want to throw up in his mouth a little at the disgusting irony of it all - Bryden the First, who hated the Belauricens and taught his 'only' son that same ideal was actually of the thing he hated.

After she repeated his question, he looked back to her and noticed she was shaking the leaves out of her hair and attempting to make herself a little more presentable. An actual laugh rang through his throat, he couldn't help it, it was absurd that Miss Willow would actually care what he thought of her. "You do not need to make yourself more presentable for me. You forget that I'm used to such wildness." He smiled in a weird sort of way. It looked like a genuinely happy smile, but it was a little too toothy to look normal. A little sinister and wild, if you may.

Bryden watched as she looked back from Nickolai, which is where he trained his eyes to look when she looked back at him. "I do not know if this is some conspiracy or plot by either, as it is too early into the game to know that. But know this." He turned his head back, his long white hair flowing in front of his face until he brushed it aside. "I share what I know simply so that you don't go chasing after another person's ambitions. Take what I have told you as you like, even if that means ignoring me completely. I have done what I set out to do, which was inform you of the circumstances Miss." He gave a little bow, but did not turn away, for Midnight came out of his little carrying case and sat on his shoulder. Bryden couldn't contain the soothing happiness that overwhelmed him as he scratched his little furball under the chin. Bryden would rather not have people seeing him like this, for it was a major weakness, but as stated before, he couldn't help himself. The little thing always made him smile.

Cane kept his eyes closed until he felt himself on solid ground again, immediately sighing as once again he found himself surrounded by pure white nothingness. It was as unnerving as the last time and he had to remind himself that there was something solid beneath his feet as he took a few steps forward, mostly just testing to help reassure himself since there was nothing to be seen in any direction to walk towards. With those few steps he stopped moving, listening for anything such as another combatant or creature, ready for action and the very last round of the tournament. He took a deep breath, pulling out his Senbon and flipping them between his fingers, checking the tips to make sure they were sharp before he put them back away underneath his coat. He knew his Kasurigama and Katana were ready to go but he didn't draw either of them yet, instead he stayed vigilant and waited. He was a bit confused when he looked around and didn't see Willow, she had entered in to the portal before he had and he couldn't help but feel a bit worried immediately. Just the thought that she would be lost again right after she appeared freaked him out again, once again his concerns mostly for Ivy. He could have chalked it up to the wizard separating them if not for who came right through that portal, Nikolai. Cane had to stop himself from drawing his weapon right there and charging the bastard but instead he kept his cool and kept his eyes on the first arrival, giving Nikolai an opportunity would be a mistake. It still made him worry about Willow but he could think about multiple things, and besides, maybe this was some sort of sick joke, maybe she had just been split and he had been placed with Nikolai due to recent turn of events. That was until Ivy came through as well and then he could only sigh. "Well damn..." He muttered.

He continued to keep a close watch on Nikolai but he approached Ivy, "Long time no see beautiful." He laughed and tried to ignore the Willow situation until he knew the specifics, seeing that the Bryden character was missing as well helped him not to worry too much. He was a bit curious about what this next round would be but the fact that Ivy was around was something, at least it hadn't just been him and Nikolai because that would not have been pretty at all. Besides, it would be no fun if Ivy and him didn't get to complete their bet, this was a winning situation no matter how he looked at it. There was also the idea of the prize at the end and if he could take Nikolai out he still had a chance, because as happy as he would be just coming out of the tournament alive and with Ivy, a life altering prize didn't sound bad at all. Of course that meant defeating Nikolai with all his dirty tricks and skills but it wasn't impossible and he wanted to take his old friend down anyways. He just hoped it all ended alright because that wasn't even a certainty at this point. There were so many uncertainties, ever since the tournament started. He was beginning to think of different things at this point though, now that the round wouldn't end with going back to the castle he had other ideas in his head. First off was to see what Ivy decided but then the first thing on his list was to go back home and see what was left of his family, visit their graves and try and make his peace, and hopefully introduce a certain woman to them. Then of course he would go on vacation, somewhere remote and once again hopefully with a specific someone. Hell, he could just as easily die in this last round but in the spirit of positive thinking he just smiled and kept his eyes on Ivy, sticking as annoyingly close as always.

Unfazed by both the necessity of portal travel and the journey itself, Nikolai looked about the new area he had arrived in. Another blank space, a void of some sorts. He found himself curious despite himself, wondering just where they were. Areas like this certainly didn't exist naturally, so where did the sorcerer keep sending them? The scenery wasn't the only thing that was the same as last time, the crowd was the same too. Cane and Ivy. Cane was already moving over to talk to Ivy, who had arrived momentarily after Nikolai. No surprises there.

What threw Nikolai was the absence of Bryden and Willow. They had both entered before he had, and yet they were nowhere to be found. It was possible they had been transported to a separate area, but that didn't really make sense. He had been expecting some sort of head to head competition, and the last round definitely wouldn't be team based like the last time they were here. Perhaps the combatants were just separated into groups to fight each other, with the victors from each area moving on to fight each other elsewhere, with Nikolai having the unfortunate luck to be paired with two people who would likely team up to kill him. Still, these theories were rather shaky. Could the missing pair have disappeared in the magical portal somehow? Unlikely but possible. Just his luck to lose his potential ally, Willow. He didn't care at all if Bryden was gone, but Willow would have been a valuable tool to use against Cane and Ivy, but it looked like that wasn't an option now. This was not a catastrophic loss though, Willow had been a bonus weapon, nothing more. Her loss was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Though he could still play this to his advantage. There was a chance Ivy could break down when she realized Willow was missing again, so soon after their reunion. It was a potential weakness worth exploring and capitalizing on.

As Nikolai stood by waiting either for further instructions or the arrival of the missing combatants, was content to passively observe Cane and Ivy while he planned out a way to best the both of them in the final round.

Nikolai looked on impassively as Ivy and Cane continued to converse. He couldn't really hear what they were saying, but they were doubtless engaging in pointless couple talk. That and how they were going to get rid of him. He found himself content to sit and wait. When Bryden was propelled their way by some strange force he braced himself, knowing the final round was about to begin.

As Bryden came closer to them, Nikolai found himself picked up and buffeted around by bizarre gusts of wind. The winds turned him around and sent him hurtling in the direction of the others. It didn't take long for him to realize that this was the sorcerer's doing. Though that went without saying, everything in this place was that man's doing. He finally came to a rest against the back of one of the other competitors. Turning to look, he found himself mask to face with Ivy, having turned to look at the same time she did. At this time he saw Cane was similarly back to back with Bryden. Ivy looked to tense, but the sorcerer spoke up before Ivy could do anything and before he could make a comment. "Well welcome back to the fun kiddies!""And so it begins..." Nikolai said, mostly to himself referring more to the madness that the sorcerer was bound to create rather than the combat itself. He doubted that they were meant to fight just yet, every other round had a lengthy buildup before the actual fighting. The sorcerer continued regardless, "Now then.. stay put while I set the stage.. or you can keep moving and die if you want to. Don't say I didn't warn you. It's not safe.." At least he didn't need to worry about Ivy attacking right off.

When the cracks began to form, Nikolai stood still against Ivy, impassive as the stage was formed. Nikolai remained impassive as they shot up into the air. As they continued to go higher and higher to who knew where he remarked to Ivy. "Well Ivy, I am glad you and Cane are so happy. Whatever end may come, I hope you won't hold any hard feelings. It's just business after all." Saying his piece he returned to silence. Contemplating how he would deal with Ivy and Cane. They made a good team, and they would most certainly be gunning for him, so his first order of business was to neutralize their numbers advantage.

As they finally came to a rest, the sorcerer started talking again. "Here's the goal... listen carefully because I won't repeat myself. If you recall the first round.. You had to eliminate the competition until only a few left... so in this round of mine.. there are too many of you." Always a catch. They weren't even to the final competition yet it seemed... Some of the others would have to go.

One of you must go.. and remember, if you don't want to do the dirty work yourself.. you could always push them against the edge of the platform." Only one hmm? Well, he would just have to make sure it wasn't him then. Though Nikolai was left to wonder what the old man meant by 'against the edge,' at least until the snowy white barrier flashed into existence before fading from view.

"There is a forcefield that when touched by even a finger will disintegrate any living thing from molecule to molecule until they are no longer...a thing... cruel but at least.. you won't have blood on your hands. Chop Chop.. time is a wasting!" Well that was an interesting twist. A deadly forcefield that would tear a competitor apart at a molecular level. A neat trick to be sure. Nikolai resolved to take care to avoid touching it, though it would probably be interesting to knock someone else into it...

As the sorcerer egged them into battle, Nikolai felt Ivy disengaging from his back and dived to the side away from the competitors and rolled to his feet in an attempt to preempt an early strike against him. As he was rolling to his feet, Nikolai drew his tanto and a dagger and moved to position himself on the other side of Ivy from Cane. He opted for a series of rapid strikes towards Ivy with the tanto, keeping his dagger back as a guard. His strikes were light and quick, more to feel out Ivy's skill than anything else. He knew it would be a mistake to let her get range and pull her bow, but he also knew from past battles that she was a incredibly swift and agile, making her dangerous close in. But then so was he.

Bryden had originally been just roaming around the whiteness, trying to not get too far from him original starting position, but expanding his line of sight to see where everybody else had gone. That was until a massive wind blew in. Bryden yelped as his feet were nearly lifted off the ground, and he was flung in a direction he did not know, all the way towards Cane, Ivy and Nickolai. Still not comprehending everything, Bryden was suddenly halted from the wind gust unexpectedly. He quickly began to look around, until he felt the heat of another body on his back. Instead of flinging himself away or around, he simply used his peripheral vision to realize that he was now back to back with Cane, something he would have rather avoided. At least he wasn't Ivy with Nickolai, but that was besides the point: Bryden knew that if they decided to gang up on him, he would be screwed. With no sign of Willow anywhere, Cane and Ivy could team up against him and Nickolai and probably crush them. The reason? Bryden would be trying to take Nickolai out at the same time they were trying to take him out. He refused to become a partner with a man he couldn't see, let alone trust. Ivy also would kill him at long range if she had the chance, which was probably what Nickolai had already deduced. While his brain flung into battle mode, a familiar old voice rang through.

Well welcome back to the fun kiddies! Not sure if you can call this much fun anymore. Killing people should not be fun, its a necessity. Bryden's eyes narrowed at the thought, staying a little too stiff against Cane's back for his own liking, so he slowly and subtly began to relax himself. If he remembered the rules correctly, he could easily jump away from them all and plan from a little farther away, until the sorceror's voice stopped him before he moved. Now then.. stay put while I set the stage.. or you can keep moving and die if you want to. Don't say I didn't warn you. It's not safe.. Bryden's eyes once again narrowed at the thought of being killed by magic. It sounded absurd. What was worse was what the floor was doing next: It decided it was a bird and catapulted him along with the others straight upwards, making Bryden brace himself closer to the ground. He was already shorter than Cane, and getting lower to the ground made Cane seem like a massive tree. Bryden didn't like magic, not one bit, and this rising floor thing wasn't going over well for his mind, and Midnight sure wasn't enjoying himself either.

Here's the goal... listen carefully because I won't repeat myself. If you recall the first round.." "You had to eliminate the competition until only a few left... so in this round of mine.. there are too many of you. Bryden paused to listen to the damned old man's ramblings, and didn't like what he was hearing. In the first round, things were a little too chaotic and messy for his likings, and they were going to repeat it with four people? One of you must go.. and remember, if you don't want to do the dirty work yourself.. you could always push them against the edge of the platform. Only one huh? Bryden liked the sound of that, but hated what he heard afterwards. He gave a little snarl to emphasis his distaste for the idea of pushing people into a barrier to kill them. Not only was that cowardly, but to Bryden that was like the worst possible death imagined, besides death by dog. There is a forcefield that when touched by even a finger will disintegrate any living thing from molecule to molecule until they are no longer...a thing... cruel but at least.. you won't have blood on your hands. Chop Chop.. time is a wasting!" <Bah... damned man and his games> Bryden mumbled during his final speech, and then stared at where the barrier had been. He would seriously need to watch himself about that.

First thing Bryden did was get the hell away from everybody else. Before Cane swung around, Bryden was already low to the ground and jumped away from the other competitors. He landed what he assumed to be near the portal, and to find out just how close he quickly ripped off some heavy fabric from his shirt and threw it. A few feet later, it disappeared. He swore a little, and then quickly began to formulate a plan. Cane had nearly hit Bryden before he had gotten away, which wasn't good: Cane already had plans to take the Whitefang out early to end this round quickly. Bryden decided that he would play this round extremely smart, and very defensively. He would rather wait the round out for somebody else to getting killed or knocked into that infernal barrier than try to take somebody else out. Cane's fighting style was still an unknown from here, even though Bryden had watched him fight Nickolai. The same actually went with Nickolai and Ivy - there were too many unknown factors about their powers and such for him to make an accurate assumption about them, so he simply kept his mind blank and wary of the three other candidates. Midnight made a little growling noise, but Bryden kept him in the pouch. It was too risky to have him jump out and assist.

Bryden's eyes narrowed as he drew his 2 daggers and poised himself in his ready and defensive stance: For his luck, he would accidentally swing his claymore and half of it would 'disintegrate', or whatever that meant. <And so the games begin. I would rather call them the sick version of training.> He said to himself, loud enough for Cane to hear if he was really listening, but not loud enough for Ivy or Nickolai. Let the Crap begin.

A mischievous smirk stretched across her face as she managed to pull her weapon out before Nikolai did. The masked man, fellow comrade of Cane moved away just in time before her sword could touch him. What a shame.. no matter. she thought, her smirk unwavering as she held the sword steadily in a horizontal fashion beneath her strong gaze. She felt like she had the final round all figured out. Looking back, the very first tournament round was as the sorcerer said an elimination and this was a repeat. The barrier seemed to be a twist but nonetheless minor especially as she didn’t understand most of the wording. In her mind, there was a barrier in use during the first round too. It was just a fence but the guideline was the same, to stay within a certain area or else. Maybe the final round was a repeat of everything they had already been through.. it seemed highly likely at this point. Maybe this pattern she noticed would be enough to keep her alive and more alert compared to the others. At least she had an idea of what to expect in the future magical rounds should she manage to endure it. She watched as her current opponent for the moment; Nikolai drew two weapons. One was obviously a dagger but she wasn’t sure the name of the other blade. Either way… Her grasp on her sword tightened as she observed for the few quick seconds she could spare as Cane went for the attack on Bryden. Looks like he’s mine for the taking.. don’t get jealous Cane. she teased in the back of her mind playfully as her eyes returned to where Nikolai was just in time.

Nikolai swiftly moved in, the longer blade reaching for her while the dagger remained in his hand unused for the moment acting like a backup option. As Ivy’s sword repeatedly managed to hit against his blade creating a series of ringing clash sounds in the echoing whiteness of the magical world, it still felt very wrong. He wasn’t applying any strength in it or at least she couldn’t feel any as she continued blocking making it too easy on her side to avoid. He’s not going for the kill? she thought gritting her teeth. If there was anything that annoyed her, it was when competitors went easy on her. Maybe Nikolai was planning to go for Cane as well and wasn’t taking her seriously. The battle is here bastard.. she thought as she swung her sword viciously, pushing the last of his strikes off aim and to the side before disengaging from his personal space entirely. “Hmph..” she murmured to herself back flipping away to a fair distance but still wary of the invisible barrier in place. She just wanted room to build up momentum for her next move. So he had two weapons.. no biggie, she did too. Without leaving room for more thought, she pulled out her bow and grasped it tightly in the opposite hand of that holding her sword. She would pull off using both at the same time.

Lets go! Ivy started running as fast as she could. It made her flashback a little sentimentally to when she was a little girl running through the forests, pretending she was a dashing hero running after a culprit. She would keep running till her shoes were worn out. The forest breeze, the calming sound of water travelling from one point to another and the blessed tune of birds singing in the background. In time she got better at it, the branches were no longer leaving cuts on her cheeks and she would jump over fallen trees and other obstacles in her way with ease at the right moment. Ivy never got to be a hero.. or save someone the way she imagined. In fact she thought she had given up on saving anyone but herself since the day she was abandoned by the people she cherished the most. Despite her mindset, her goal in life being purely to survive for herself.. she had attempted to save Cane during the palace invasion and she had worked in a team with Cane and Nikolai in the team round. She had done things she never thought she would do.. and it had made her happy to contradict herself. Hyahh! As she leaped in the air at a good height, she threw her sword upwards and used her recently made free hand to grab an arrow from her arrows holder for her bow. As she managed to shoot a barrage of arrows in Nikolai’s direction making good use of time, the sword started tumbling downwards for her and she caught the sword familiarly in her mouth, much like the apple she had with Cane only more carefully making sure the blade went nowhere near her lips by gritting tightly with nothing but her teeth. As she put the bow back in her arrows holder, getting closer to the ground where Nikolai stood.. she pulled the sword out of her mouth holding the hilt with both hands. <Hold still please..> she mocked in Nimoan as gravity pulled her back to the ground, her sword coming down strongly with all her might and with the added pressure from such a height to where Nikolai was. There was always the chance he would move out of the way despite all the arrows she had done ahead of the move to try to pin him in place.. but Ivy believed she was ready for anything.

It seemed that his early moves, the non-committal strikes meant to test Ivy's style yielded two products. In addition to testing and gaining some insight into her reflexes, it seemed to Nikolai that he had also managed to aggravate the forest woman. That was good, he could use that.

Still, her reflexes would prove to be a problem. As she flipped away and began her attack, Nikolai wondered if there wasn't something he could do about that. He smirked underneath his mask, already knowing the answer. Nikolai watched as Ivy pulled out her bow and kept her sword out, then launched herself into the air, with a certain fire burning in her eyes. Unlike her, Nikolai was not motivated by sentimentality, heroic thoughts, love, or any other foolish notions. He had gathered the data he needed, now he was here to tie up loose ends. If he could win the tournament, that would be a nice bonus, but now he had a naive young woman to kill. A pity really, he had nothing against her personally, but there was nothing to be done about it now, it was just business really.

As the arrows rained down, Nikolai did a good job dodging out of the way, but Ivy was rather an expert shot with the bow, and in order to make his counter-attack work, he had to take a hit. He took an arrow in his right side, but it didn't feel like it was a lethal hit, more of an inconvenience really. Though he definitely had a cracked rib to deal with later. He didn't have time to do anything about the arrow now, instead he made his move. As Ivy started coming down, in the process of putting her bow away and getting her sword out of her mouth, he opted to give the forest child a brief education in physics. See, jumping attacks were rather risky. On one hand, they could provide a great deal more power, and range too. On the other hand...it is awfully hard to dodge with no surface to push off of. All of the acrobatics in the world couldn't change that simple fact. He threw the poisoned dagger straight at her center of mass as she came down towards him.

<Hold still please..>

"As if." And now she was still committed to a downward attack, she wouldn't be able to change direction until she hit the ground. Still, it would pay to be wary of her sword, he had caught sight of her balancing tricks before and knew he wouldn't have much time before she could contact the ground with her sword and use that to regain mobility.

Nikolai easily slid to the side of Ivy's downward trajectory, out of the way of her sword, slicing at her arm with his poisoned tanto as she went past him. He didn't stop there though, he continued moving past her until he was at her back. But now she would have landed and he moved in again, throwing a number of rapid strikes at her. He would not allow her to get range on him again.

Bryden could instantly tell that Cane didn't like him. The way he looked at him, almost like the guy thought he was superior in every way to him. Well, it was somewhat true in the vertical section, but that was besides the point: Bryden hated those eyes of his. That was all there was to it. When Cane smirked, Bryden simply seethed a little at him. It was as if Cane was predicting Bryden's own demise without truly letting him do anything about it. Like his father always had. That pissed Bryden off. So when Cane readied his own sword - Bryden did marvel at the sword however, for it looked quite majestic, yet deadly at the same time - Bryden instantly readied himself for anything. He knew that his back was only a few feet away from the barrier that could easily kill him in a second (somehow...) with his claymore being less than a foot away. He instantly started formulizing a plan to dispose of his claymore so that it wouldn't become a burden, but before he could continue thinking Cane rushed him.

Now, Bryden was quite surprised by the rush. Either Cane was being foolhardy, or he didn't think Bryden had any skill whatsoever and that this would be a simple match up. As he ran, Bryden shifted his feet to move himself slightly to the left as Cane came at him. What made Bryden completely sure to kill this man off was the arrogance in the comment he made as he got closer. There was even a pinch of hatred lurking in there somewhere, but Bryden hadn't a clue why. Nothing personal but I have to kill you before something bad happens to those two, I have a score to settle with one and a question to be answered by the other. Bryden snarled at the comment. How dare he assume that I would just let him win just because he has a score to settle. Bryden snarled as Cane slashed with two hands over head right down on top of him, but he was ready. Instead of blocking the attack, for that was too obvious, he shifted himself to the left completely and hit the sword with both of his daggers making it go past him. It was, in essence, a form of parry.

What Bryden couldn't see coming was the well placed kick to his stomach area. He had assumed that the man would be a little off balance from the maneuver that Bryden had performed, but he had underestimated Cane's abilities. Being now out of breath, Bryden narrowed his eyes and slashed at his leg before falling to the ground. Not wanting to know how close he was to the barrier, Bryden instantly rolled a little to evade Cane, pulled himself up and dove left. Not directly left, but behind where Cane was now to the left. Since Bryden assumed that the barrier was circular in shape, going directly left would be highly fatal. Once he regained his composure, he stood back up and noticed Ivy and Nickolai once more. Ivy didn't look like she was doing very well, so all Bryden had to do was simply hold Cane off until his opponent either decided to go assist his girl or one of them were to die.

"Nothing personal, but I have to live." He snarled out to Cane, using his own words against him.

The senbon caught Nikolai in the back, but did nothing to halt his attack. He saw with satisfaction that his dagger had struck home. His follow up strike failed, but he was in good position now. Ivy doubtless knew about his use of poisons, she had to know her time was limited with a wound like that. That effectively forced her to fight aggressively, and Nikolai planned to use that to his advantage. As their skirmish-style combat wore on, he landed a light hit to Ivy's cheek, and she finally seemed to go over the edge, laughing and shouting at him. Some people had interesting reactions to imminent death, Ivy seemed to be taking it well at least.

Briefly, Nikolai entertained the thought of putting her in a grapple and cutting her neck, then promising Cane to cure her and prevent her from dying of asphyxiation as her airway was paralyzed, so long as he killed himself first. It was a good plan, and it would take out his strongest competition here. Unfortunately with Ivy's newly enthusiastic assault, it just wasn't feasible.

As she swung at his face, he dropped to a crouch below her strike and as the blade passed over him he threw a side kick at her torso, putting all of his power into it. It was a risky move, but if it connected it would send her backwards, even if she anticipated it, all he needed was for her to dodge backwards a little bit. He had been paying careful attention to their surroundings and knew they were quite close to the nondescript barrier, but given Ivy's current state, he was willing to gamble on her being unaware of what could be called the fifth combatant immediately behind her. The barrier, enemy to all, ally to those with the wherewithal to use it.

Fortunately the kick hit her square in the chest, hurling her backwards.

"You will die like all the rest."

Ivy hit the barrier.