Mock Fight Arena

An Arena where players face other players in dream battles to the death!


Mock fight arena
win rate:
· Taethion of Gilfried -
· Iator Legerdemain -
· Asha Ignivora -
· Gale Urovic - 100%
· Pravus the Grave Tender -
· Adrian Retter - 0%
· Jor The Ravager - 100%
· Randionalia Ashengrits -
· Bliston Ascor -
· Rosaline Danielson -
· Sylphine Mistral - 0%
· Lana - 50%
· Arneth Sen -
· Kamlin Milner - 50%

The arena has been set. Five pillars in a circle with a greater stadium beyond. There are metal grates for the blood that will be spilt. Also Slayer is playing Raining Blood in the background like it's a concert. Jor stands in the center, his axe ready. A few meters away, Sylphine is standing with Pirika perched on her shoulder.

Jor screams as loudly as he can, smacking his chest with the axe and building a froth in his mouth.

Though a bit unnerved by this display, Sylphine calmly holds her staff in what seems to be a defensive posture, while Pirika begins to hover above her shoulder.

Thinking that he can end the fight early, Jor rushes forward so quickly that he might have been a blurr swinging the axe full speed at the center of her body mass from the side.

Reacting quickly, Sylphine kicks off the ground and ascends, but the wake of the axe still sends her flight path a bit off course, so she has to stop in the middle of her flight path to make sure she doesn't crash into one of the pillars. Raising her staff, she fires a blast of hardened air in an attempt to stun the dwarf.

Jor takes the blast of air straight to his face. He scowls but is otherwise unharmed.

Surprised that he wasn't even affected, Sylphine starts to fly around the arena, firing attacks from her staff occasionally. She is trying to find if his style has any weak points.

The air blasts all hit their mark as Jor starts screaming louder, pounding his chest in a rhythm. It seems like he is almost enjoying taking the hits.

Getting a bit more desperate, Sylphine gets much more serious. Twirling her staff in front of her, she calls upon a cyclone--not a gigantic one, mind you, for the sake of the spectators (even though we don't even know if they exist). The spiral of air surges towards Jor head-on.

Jor swings his axe sideways through the cyclone, dissipating it enough that it does not lift him. He turns towards Sylphine and draws his dagger, throwing it in a perfectly straight line towards her
.
Waving her free hand, Sylphine blows the dagger off-course, letting it impale itself in the pillar behind her. She then sends Pirika to attack. Pirika descends to 4 meters above Jor's head and beats her wings multiple times, sending blades of wind flying down at the dwarf from different angles.

The wind slices into Jor's flesh causing small streaks of blood to run down. He laughs and rushes towards the closest pillar to Sylphine. He runs straight up and pushes off, attempting to catch her with his axe.

Not having expected the dwarf to attempt this, Sylphine immediately dives towards the ground, with Jor barely missing her. Just before she can make contact with the ground, she uses her abilities to slow her fall, landing gently on the ground on both her feet.

Jor lands with a roll and turns quickly rushing back towards her with a downwards swing.

Using her powers to reduce the air resistance around her, Sylphine leaps to the side, once again avoiding the axe. As soon as she has landed, she unleashes another cyclone, this time enhanced by Pirika's abilities.

The cyclone blasts Jor off of his already unstable footing and he lands on his back. He quickly stands back up and roars.
Seeing a chance to strike a finishing blow, Sylphine kicks off the ground and flies straight at Jor. Swinging her staff down in a slashing motion, she tries to bring a blade of pressurized air down upon Jor. Pirika, however, is somewhere off to the side...
Knowing that they can use wind as a blade, Jor ducks to the side (Pirirka's side, if that helps.), swinging his axe towards the oncoming Sylphine.

Unable to change course in time, Sylphine knows it's over...or is it? Suddenly, Pirika launches a blast of wind at her own master, knocking Sylphine just out of reach of the axe. The tamer is dazed after that stunt, but Pirika is able to go in for another attack and flaps her wings, throwing wind blades at Jor.

Jor sprints through the razor winds, taking cuts all over his body. The more shallow ones seem to heal instantly but the deeper ones leave lasting marks. He charges at the bird and releases another dagger, this one at the downed Sylphine.
Instinctively, Pirika ascends and flies away--she realizes too late that the dagger is headed for her tamer. Sylphine, meanwhile, is just starting to get to her feet, when she sees the dagger coming. She tries to dodge, but it ends up impaling her in the upper left arm. Biting down hard to prevent herself from crying out, Sylphine forces herself to start flying again.

Jor continued forward to the pillar where his last dagger fell and picked it up. He grinned as his deeper wounds began to heal over. "Ye givin up lass?"

No matter what she tries, the dagger won't come out. Against this opponent, the charms Sylphine wears are basically useless; mere wind armor just doesn't stand up to his strength. With her left arm basically taken away from her and constantly causing her pain, Sylphine just doesn't know what to do anymore.

Pirika flies up alongside her. They exchange a look and nod, and then with her right hand, Sylphine points her staff straight at Jor, and Pirika hovers just above the staff, beak opened wide. Together, they call upon an even more powerful cyclone, putting everything they have into it this time. It blasts through the arena in a fan shape, but is it enough...?

The dwarf is pushed back and lifted physically by the wind. In a last ditch effort he swung his axe into the pillar near him and cranked it diagonally so that it wouldn't slip. He held on with all his might, chanting lost words into the strong wind.
Abruptly, the cyclone lessens in power as Sylphine cuts off hers and throws herself forward. Just as Pirika changes the wind she's blowing into a tailwind, Sylphine raises her staff over her head, the crystal set at its tip glowing bright green. The pain from the dagger burying itself so deeply into her arm apparently has affected her so much that the calm look in her eyes has been almost completely replaced by an animal-like desperation, as though she were facing the god of death right now. With a howl, she brings her staff's head down right in front of Jor, hoping he didn't have time to let go of his axe...and blasts him point-blank with her remaining power, sending herself hurtling into a pillar from the force of her last-ditch attack.

The dwarf felt the wind shift and stopped chanting. His entire body shook massively as the rage he had been building was released and his muscled bulged. The dwarf became massive in size, his axe growing to match. He dropped just slightly and received the massive blow straight to his chest. It threw him backwards into the far wall. He landed with a crunch, the wall collapsing under his new weight. He went unconscious for a second and when he came to he began to shrink. He'd lost sight of his rage.

Feeling as though her left arm is entirely gone and hurting all over from crashing into the pillar, Sylphine tries to get back to her feet, but collapses almost immediately. A few moments later, Pirika flies down in front of her tamer, in a protective position. Her eyes are filled with anger that Jor is still able to fight...and fear, too.

Jor walked over towards the girl, his axe on his shoulder. He staggered a bit and felt the places under his skin where his ribs had been broken. "Ye got me good there lass." He said, eyeing the bird. "The rules be tha one oove us haes ta die." He dropped a dagger at her feet. "If ye can kill me, ye best do eet."

Her fingers reach out to grasp the hilt, but they fall short multiple times. By the time she manages to get a hold on it, her hand is shaking so badly that it falls out of her hand. "...I...can't do another one..." she rasps, falling back down again. "It's...your win." The girl tries to smile, but everyone knows it's a fake one that's filled with despair and self-hate.
The dwarf showed no malice, no hatred. He only showed sadness as he raised his axe and finished her off.
Jor wins!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Adrian was standing in front of Gale with his sword drawn, he don't even know why he have to fight. (Because I want to.) He waited for him to do his first move as he can't charge blindly at the man with many forms. -done-

Gale stood on the other side, his hands in his coat pockets as he slowly advanced toward the swordsman before him, carefully watching for even the slightest of movements. He figured he could end it quickly as long as he made sure he was close enough to close the gap once he made his first move - his eyes briefly shone and a hint of green welled behind them - this was something he picked up from a gorgon, whose gaze would petrify anything - of course, this wasn't as powerful and would only encase enemies in stone rather than turning them into stone, but it was very subtle and a good opener for anyone who wasn't aware of what was going on. -end

The man didn't make any move, he has the same thought as him, they were both watching each other for any movement. Seeing this is going nowhere. Adrian leaped off the ground and charged toward him with his sword in his side, preparing to do one big swing that will finish it. -done- sorry not that good at this.

Gale stepped out of his leap's trajectory, and, watching him mid-flight, his stone gaze activated - as the power began to take effect, he swiftly reverted his eyes and changed his arms into golem ones, waiting patiently for the swordsman to land. -end
Adrian, felt his body turning stiff as something slowly coat it and hardened all over him. He fell shortly to the ground encased completely in stone. Doing every small movement he can, he managed to break his hands free and thrashed his arms around in order to break it free as well. With his arms free, he smashed the stone encasing his body and broke free, jumping out of his way. "What did he do?!" He asked not knowing how he turned him to stone. He kept the distance and remained cautious of him. -done-

While Adrian was breaking out of the stone, Gale had already started closing the distance- but not quickly enough to reach him before he came free of it - still, he'd gotten incredibly close, latching on making it hard for him to get away. He kept his head low and took on a sort of boxing stance, dashing in and throwing a fast straight. -done

Gale already closed in to Adrian and was caught by surprise, he tumbled backward, but he managed to dodge Gale's straight with it and rolled out of the way, regaining his stance. He continued charging at him and delivered a wide sideward swing. -done-

Gale took to the skies and launched himself far above Adrian, wings now spreading out from his back. He pulled himself back a little and dropped his wings once he was a reasonable distance away, changing back into his golem arms and coming down for a downward strike. -end

Gale dodged his strike by flying off to the sky. He watched him from the ground and saw him switch back to his golem arms and saw him come closer as he fall down to the ground with a downward strike. He barely manage to dodge it and was only a few inches away from Gale. He used this chance to deliver another slash. -done-

Quickly recovering from the attack he'd just made, Gale made a fragmented transformation to form hardened drake scales around his arm, minimizing the damage from the sword as he blocked it with his forearm - in the same motion, he pushed the blade away and worked up a venom his throat, spraying the black acid toward Adrian at point blank range. -end

Adrian lost his balance as Gale pushed his sword away. He have no way to dodge the acid fired at point blank. He can only jump backward as the acid hit his right leg, and continue falling to the ground. He quickly pushed himself up, kneeling on the ground with his sword at the side of his face and pointed at Gale. -done-

He could tell that he was already getting drained from using abilities so many times so Gale had the mind to end it as quickly as possible by following up with his initial combo - he switched back to his gorgon eyes and attempted another stone gaze while his enemy was inhibited and then quickly swapped to his golem arms again, bringing them down. -end

Adrian wasn't quite looking at his eyes. He was breathing heavily and was losing his focus. Gale swung his golem arms at him again, and he blocked it with his sword and was forced down the ground. He pushed it back with his remaining strength and continued using his kneeling defensive stance. -done-

Gale had about one use left before he was going to be forced to use fragmented transformation for the rest of the fight so he decided not to change out of his arms and held on a while longer unless he needed to change again, quickly circling around working up another venom spray again. It would lessen the duration of his current transformation substantially but it wasn't quite as exhausting as swapping out so he'd have to deal. -end

Adrian placed both of his arms on the ground and launched himself forward, he can no longer swing his sword, but he can just tackle him and hope that it works, it was a last desperate move with high risk. -done-

Not expecting him to throw himself, Gale was caught off guard when he was tackled - if it were a normal person it wouldn't have done much but the kid was strong enough to knock him down hard enough wind him - on his back, he let out the venom spray and shoved him back with his hands, pulling himself up to observe the damage.

Adrian fall to the ground after the tackle and saw the acid above him and right about to fall down on his whole body, he lost almost all his strength can only roll sideward and was already about to faint, with his exhaustion and blood loss from the wound on his leg. -game over-

Gale wins!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The arena is set. Kam enters and sets his spear in the slot in his armor that holds it. He draws his sword and shield, prepared to fight any opponent.

On the other side, Lana slowly lifts her blades up and turns lightly but continuously until embers begin sparking into life, waving her weapons in undulating motions as the flames intensified, swirling around her like guardians. As the movement slowed, she kept a rhythmic pace and walked towards Kam, the flames flowing with her motions.

The captain raised his eyebrow at the sight of the girl but set himself in a defensive stance behind his shield. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I hope we might get to know each other better very soon."

While she could hear him, she did not respond, keeping her concentration at a peak. It didn't look like he wanted to make the first move so she figured she should give him a bit of a surprise. Her profile went low and the flames circled her before dissipating into wisps - when she rose again, she swung her arms up and as she did so, a web of red cracks spider-webbed beneath Kam's position, a pillar of super-heated flames imminent right from under him.

"Magic." He dropped his shield and stood on it, letting it absorb the heat and dissipating it. He drew his spear and threw it at the girl.

Lana spun out of the way and at the end of her rotation, she let go of one of her own blades, sending it flying toward Kam. She gripped her remaining sword with both hands and dashed in, its blade swathed in flames.

Kam dive rolled to the side, grabbing his shield as he went. He placed the shield back on his arm and returned his defensive stance all in one fluid movement. He waited patiently for her attack.

Halfway before reaching him, Lana spun and a spiral of intense flame launched around her in a nova, following the swing of her blade. On her second rotation, she charged up a smaller one that did not follow the same pattern, but rather bolted forward in a white flash, partially screened by her initial attack.

Kam hid behind his shield, letting it take the brunt of the magical fire, any fire that didn't hit his shield was too far away to do any real damage. The rest of the fire licked at his armor and he started to sweat. "Come now. Be fair. I haven't shot one fireball at you."

Expecting as much, though a little surprised that the white fire didn't scorch through his shield, she held her place and made a waving motion with her arms - the flames that she had unleashed whipped back and coiled around, closing in from his back and around his sides.

Kam took the hint and ran forward ahead of the flames. He brought his sword upwards in a diagonal strike and placed his shield to the side and behind him.

The flames dispersed and returned to her sword, which she brought down against Kam's swing in hopes of lodging it into the ground.

The sword was knocked down into the ground and Kam pushed forward with his shoulder, attempting to throw her off balance or make her drop her own weapon.

Lana stumbled back after disarming him, swinging and missing as she attempted to correct her balance.

Kam pressed the attack bringing his shield up to try and bash her in the side of the head.

Eyeing the follow up, Lana let herself fall in a controlled manner so that she could rise again quickly - the shield went over and she used her low profile for an upwards swing into him.

Kam followed through with his swing bringing the shield down hard onto her sword. The two metal objects clanged loudly in dissonance. Kam stepped back, reaching for his sword.

Watching him go back for his sword, Lana pulled her arm up and summoned another pillar of fire by the sword, daring him to take it.

Kam stopped short and shrugged, leaving the sword where it was. Instead, he charged at the girl, his shield right in front of him.

Seeing how her flames didn't have much effect with his shield still on him, Lana pulled her mask over her face, her skin taking on a colder, grayish hue. She seemed to stretch upwards, a red glow settling behind the eye holes of the mask. He flesh seemed to turn to thick hide, some bones slightly protruding out of her body to combine into a monstrous visage. The fires all but completely vanished and she was only left with her sword in hand, charging straight into Kam's own bull rush.

Kam feigned around her without attacking and continued running until he had picked up his spear.

Having fully reverted to her Vasqueran form, Lana turned around and dashed in after him, opening with a massive swing with only slight regard to her own safety.

Kam didn't block the attack so much as redirected it with his shield, letting the brunt of the force go into the air. He jabbed with the spear, aiming towards her abdomen, testing her.

When Lana's attack was redirected, she ignored his spear jab and instead this time, brought it crashing down. The spear pierced the skin, but was met with incredible resistance, making it about an inch through before the toughness of the body seemed to take a hold on its point.

He dived out of the way of the sword, leaving his spear stuck in her. With his now free hand he aimed a solid strike at her kneecap, hoping to hobble her if only for a moment.

She plucked the spear out and snapped it in half, throwing the remnants to the side - she only saw Kam in her peripherals at this point and felt something hit her leg. There was a slight buckle but not enough to put it off balance, using her other leg for a fast roundhouse.

Kam was no longer on the ground by her when she decided to kick. He had rolled away after landing the strike to her knee. This seemed like a foe that could not be easily harmed and he was again without a weapon. He looked around the arena, inspecting the pillars and grates.

That was about ten seconds and she knew she had about another twenty left - but she didn't let it get to that point, knowing the after effects would be too punishing if she let it sit for its whole duration so she ended it early, pulling her mask back up and reverting to her human form. While Kam was looking around, she created a circle of fire around him, one that gradually closed in from all sides - she let that sit and made off for her other sword.

Kam lifted the grate from below him and dropped down into the blood works. He let the fire close in on the spot where he had been and worked his way over towards his own sword. He pushed up the grate and left it half open and made a run for his sword.

Since her Vasqueran form was much larger and bulkier than her current one, the damage was scaled down proportionally - there was a visible puncture in her body that stung and bled a bit but it wasn't any serious liability. She picked up her second sword, wondering if she should all in or try to do something about that shield. She advanced toward him, deciding she'd figure it out as it happened.

Kam picked up his own sword and began circling her, his shield at the ready. "So, are you having fun? I am."
She watched him circle her, standing where she was. He didn't seem to like making the first move so she decided to make things a little more decisive for the rest - Lana knelt down, channeling fire through the earth and a blazing ring of fire and molten lava appeared around them, creating an arena that allowed only a moderate amount of maneuverability and, hopefully, create a situation where Kam would constantly have his back to the flames. She twirled her blades in her hands, slowly closing the distance and watching for his movements.

Kam grinned, noticing that she'd had the same idea as him. He hazarded a glance towards the half open grate that he'd left. It was now behind his target. He closed the distance as well. "I know one of us has to die. But I'm glad that I recieved such a worthy opponent."

Kam made his way toward her as well and used that moment to enter the last step, aptly named 'The Dancer's Blaze' in which she was completely enveloped in raging flames. The arena was just small enough so that when she entered this form, all of her fire abilities would span across the entire space, leaving no places to dodge at all. She spawned an immense pillar of flame under their feet, one that was substantially larger than the ones she'd created before.

Kam placed his helmet upon his head and let the flames wash over him. The pain was excruciating but he wouldn't go out without a fight. He ran towards the girl, shield forward and brought the sword in for a stabbing motion.

While it would only last for a few moments longer, in the short time she'd fused with the flames her body partially took on its properties. While the sword did stab through and damage her, part of her body seemed to shift apart like a blade piercing through fire - she grabbed a hold of Kam's shield and let the flames envelop them both, growing in intensity as she held on.

Kam took her with him, continuing forward with her on his shield. He pressed until she was forced back onto the metal grate or until she let go to be trampled underneath him.

Despite the intensity of the flames, he seemed to endure it and pressed forward, pushing Lana back until she was stopped by something - moments later, much of the flames had died down and the heat evaporated around her body, the sword that was through her now taking its full effect.

Kam's flesh still felt like it was on fire and his eyes had become so blurred that he saw nothing. All he knew was to keep pushing into her with the sword and keep pushing her back onto the grate.

As she smiled a knowing grin, she thought to herself - I still have twenty seconds left. Her body changed again, but it did so as it was being pushed into the grate - as a result, the transformation was a mess, the body ripping itself up as she shifted on it, but there was still enough time. Her eyes a bloodshot red, she now stood taller than Kam and gripped his head with both hands, pressing on both sides with all of her strength.

The helmet didn't do much to stop her and Kam had lost most of his thinking processes in the blaze. His head popped like a water balloon under the pressure of her hands.

As he fell, Lana also fell, staying in her form as long as she could, even though she knew she was only delaying the inevitable. When the twenty seconds were up, there was a massive hole in her chest and she fainted thereafter, dying of blood loss.

Draw!

Pravus the Grave Tender vs Taethion of Gilfried

It's midnight, the moon is full as the light shines down on the mouth of a large cliff side cove. Within the moonlight reflects off the water, casting it's fluctuating glow across the dark stalactite riddled cavern roof. Within the cove on the moist cavern floor a fair distance from the water burns a giant ring of fire, roughly a football fields length in diameter. Standing within this massive ritualistic ring of flame two warriors prepare to do battle to the (post)death.

Pravus stands at the opposite end of the ring, His dark visage made clear by the light of the fire. His shovel in hand, he stands and looks across to his opponent, the holy warrior who had previously been traveling with him in the group. In order for the ritual to come to fruition there could be only one. Pravus's duty on this side of the veil of death was not yet complete. With the reflection of fire dancing in the glass lenses of his mask he awaited his opponent, waiting to see what he does next.

Galloping could be heard from the dark, the ring of fire parted as Taethion came upon his horse Herod. The Ritual has summoned him to do battle with one of his former comrades. Taethion dismounted as he looked to see who it was,and to his surprise it was the one who has never spoken. The Foreigner, the Gravedigger, the Masked Man, whatever you wish to call him by. He patted Herod as he spoke, "Go on now, I will have to do this alone." He spoke, not wishing to involve his oldest friend. The horse made solemn snort as it galloped off, the flame parting once more for the horse to leave. The ring closed for good, leaving Taethion trapped against the Digger. If he even tried to escape he realized the flames would incinerate him on contact. They only parted for his entrance, and they will not part again until one of them has been slain. Taethion wished that it didn't have to come to this, and you would think that, of all people, he would have no trouble slaying one he has spoken no words with. No interaction of any kind, he knows absolutely nothing about him, a stranger, an enigma, it shouldn't be difficult to kill someone you have no emotional connection with, right? Wrong, despite them being hardly anything but aware of each other, Taethion is conflicted with killing one of his traveling companions, even the silent one. "I wish it didn't have to come to this but, I cannot allow my journey to end here...I have a promise to keep." Taethion spoke aloud, not expecting the Gravedigger to respond. Taethion drew his sword as he decided to walk towards the center stage. He might as well meet him in the middle. He awaited to see if the Foreigner would be as accommodating.

Pravus watched his opponent approach. Though Taethion was unaware, Pravus was in no more control of his fate than he was. He was there not by choice but was summoned by the magic which binds this ring. Still, even despite the holy man's kind words he had to continue, to honor his father in death as he had failed to do in life. He gripped his shovel in both hands and slowly walked forward, his approach silent as always. He continued steadily until he reached within threat range. It was beyond striking range but close enough that either one of them could step forward for an attack. He maintained a guarded stance, the head of his shovel forward to intercept incoming attacks and strike back when needed. It was the holy man's stage now, he was to watch his show.

A slight smile came to Taethion's face as his unspoken courtesy was met. He wasn't sure what the Digger thought, he never could with that mask. For all he knew, he was just eager to finish him now, instead of being conscientious. Still, Taethion didn't believe that, a naive part of him believes goodness lies in every heart, even if he has no proof to show for it. Still he wasn't about to let belief stand in his way, he must stay true to his word and to his faith. If it means the death of his comrade, then it seems there is no other option. Taethion went on the offensive as he quickly stepped forward and made and overhead swing, hoping to cut into the side of the Digger's head. Hopefully he will kill him without any pain, if his swing was hard enough to cut deep enough, to the point it would seem like some pressure hit and then nothingness.

Interesting Pravus watched the holy warrior's motions. He was indeed trained in combat but his style wasn't very martial, less structured than the strict regiment his military instructed. While he wasn't coming in wild like the berzerkers from the wilds of Ru'ul he could tell from the man's stance and form that his was less of a science and more of an art. Responding to the holy man's assault brought his shovel up, blocking the blow. His shovel's metal clanged against the ringing iron blade of his foe's sword. The weight of his shovel absorbed a great deal of the force from the hit, weakening the strength of the blow making it easier to block. Not that he needed the force of the blow be absorbed anyways as his arms gave little to no give seeing as it was literally no effort for him.
With the holy man's strike brought to a halt it was time to retaliate. He angled the shovel causing the sword to slide down into the crook between the handle and the head of the shovel. His feet almost seemed to advance forward as though he were going to rush the man but at the last second he swept his front foot to the left which was the holy man's right side, his back foot coming around in a sweeping crescent step. His movements were almost mechanical in precision, his actions all calculated by the top minds from the Tiathan academy of warfare and practiced countless times in battle, in sparring, one on one combat and as a front line spearman which was given only to the legion's best as it was a vital role in the war machine that was the thirteenth legion. Now up close and flanking the holy man from his sword arm he used the sword as a pivot, whipping the handle at a rapid speed thanks to the rigidity of his sword grip providing force on the opposite end of his shovel, accelerating the remarkably heavy tool's metal handle towards his exposed head. Normally this attack wouldn't normally work on most opponents but out of all of the exposures in the holy man's armor he could exploit, the biggest vulnerability was his head. Of course, this was Pravus's own major opening as well but he wasn't given any time at all to equip for this battle or he would have gotten himself a proper spear first.

Taethion noticed the man's block but what followed next he didn't expect. Using some combat technique he's never seen before, the Digger's movements were not easy to discern. It looked like he would charge and then what looked like a sweep was actually a pivot. He now flanked him as an attack came in. The Foreigner was trained in some foreign combat technique, really foreign. In his amount of training, Taethion has no countermeasure for this attack. He must come from some where Ser Quincy has never been himself. He was well-traveled, his grandfather, but even Taethion knows the world is far too massive to be completely traversed in a life time. You never know what's out there. He flicked his head to the side to gain a better sight of his attacker. The handle came in quick, quicker than he thought one could force a shovel to travel. Taethion ducked as the handle breezed over his head. Quickly switching the handedness of his sword, the Paladin came in attempting to pin his right shoulder against the Digger's waist as he attempts to wrap his arm around the Digger's leg. From there he attempts to lift it up enough to lose his opponent's footing as he would then place his weight forward in an attempt to knock his foe down to the ground.

Pravus was impressed with the holy warrior. While he wasn't quite as well trained the man certainly wasn't slow. He was in no way enamored enough to lose focus of the current situation as his opponent retaliated not with his weapon but with his body. He saw him dip down and reach forward with his right arm, foretelling his intent to the ages old soldier that was Pravus. He was not unfamiliar with unarmed combat. The governing body that regulated the military was very thorough with their training, leaving no possibility unchecked. Heck, wrestling was an official sport for the Grand Tiathan sports contest, a grand event where every city would send in athletes in various different fields and compete for golden medals which would earn the contestant wealth, fame and the adoration of many. While Pravus was not on par with any of the professional wrestlers who dedicated their lives to the pursuit of such a sport he would be lying if he said he never practiced it before. Many of the soldiers would spar in unarmed combat out of fun sportsmanship, one of the few pleasant comraderies he's had with his unit, at least before the conflict came into full swing. Afterwords there was little time for pleasantries and relaxation between the blood and death that was the constant struggle with the wild north.
He knew of a reversal to the leg take down. It was one of the few ways he could catch his more enthusiastic comrades off guard. There was an off side to this however. In order to pull of this maneuver he needed his hands which were currently holding onto his shovel. In order to reverse this take down he was going to have to drop his shovel. It was a risky gambit but he was looking at winding up at the bottom of a grappling mach with a man holding a sword. Not fun. With few viable alternatives he let go of his shovel, the adamantium cored earth moving instrument falling to his side. In what would be a rather acrobatic maneuver he first attempted to grab hold of the sides of the holy man's breast plate. Though armor was an invaluable asset in combat they had their limitations. Inflexibility was perhaps the biggest weakness for most armor. The better protected someone was the less motions were available for them to make. Another disadvantage was that the more rigid forms of armor were far easier to grab, plenty of edges to grab hold of. The sides of this warrior's armor was a perfect example of effective armor with great ridges to grab hold of.
If his attempt at grabbing the holy man's armor was to prove successful then he would suddenly fall back, pulling his opponent down over him. He'd then bring both legs up and brace his feet against the holy man's stomach before rolling back. The weight of the man falling over him, his legs pushing the armored man over top of him, would allow him to roll back up on top of him. At this point Pravus would be sitting on top of his chest in a prime location to strike from should his reversal succeed.

Taethion hadn't expected the counter. He would find himself rolling before too long, it would seem the momentum has shifted. Taethion felt himself roll over his opponent and felt a sudden push as he landed on the ground. He found himself outmaneuvered. Worried about the man that sat above him, he attempted to stab at him. He would find that not really any power was behind those stabs. Yet he thought the prospect of being stabbed would force the man to move back, not knowing that he is even wearing any armor underneath that robe.

It was going exactly as according to plan. Though his opponent had kept a firm grip on his blade it was of relatively little use now. A shorter blade would of given him more concern but a long sword like that was awkward and hardly threatening at such a close range. As his foe attempted to drive the end of the sword up into his gut it caught on his plated chain mail, going no further. Using this attack of his enemy to his advantage he attempted to wedge the tip of the blade into the space between one of the plates and the chain it was riveted to so the sword would get stuck. While that was going on Pravus was now on the attack once more. In a moment of ingenuity he removed his hat from his head. From the point of view of his enemy all he could really see was his disheveled hair, all wild and matted with dry blood while his mask concealed the real horror show. What he did next was take that hat and try to hold it directly over the holy man's face, concealing his upcoming attack and smothering the man at the same time. With his free hand he balled it into a fight gloved fist and swung down hard, his knuckles seeking out the holy man's temple. The irony was not intended and was lost on the humor deaf ears of this cold ruthless killer. At this point his enemies main weapon was possibly occupied while he attempted to both blind and bludgeon this warrior's face, the hat making it impossible to see his attack coming should it serve it's new purpose.

Taethion noticed his blade wasn't going any further. That would mean he's possibly wearing armor underneath there. He realized that it would be futile to stab any further but something occurred he didn't expect. He took his blade and then moved it around, the Paladin wasn't sure what he was doing, but whatever it was it disabled him of his sword. He found it stuck pretty nicely. During this time his opponent removed his hat, for reasons he couldn't explain. Yet it seemed he was going to move it in his field of vision. He wasn't sure what the thought behind that was, but blocking his view isn't a good thing. In a rush of fear, Taethion let go of his sword and grabbed upon the wrist of the Digger. He attempted to pry the hat arm away from him by pushing it back. Both movements were fast but the man's speed surprised him once more. His other fist was coming down and in the corner of that hat flap he slightly saw it. He moved his free hand in the way to block the punch, the speed and the closeness was tough to call. It's force was staggering as he felt the strike on his hand. He felt a great pain but forced himself to hold the man's fist in place. He is strong, but how is he so strong? What is he? Things were looking dire, and he knows he can't stay like this for long. He then began to mutter words to himself. He hoped he could hold on to his arms long enough to finish.

The man had managed to catch hold of his arms to his relatively minor surprise. Though his foe was putting up a fight his fatigue would soon get the better of him and that is when he would finally overwhelm him once and for all. Then the muttering began. He was no fool, a man who did little else but boast about his knowledge of his religion and discuss matters of dogma would surely be calling upon the powers of his deity. Heck, this man healed a person back at the fort, a feat of holy magic the holy man was not shy about hiding. He knew that if he didn't do something about it now it would react very badly with the necromantic energy which kept him animated. He was a clever fighter though, a trick such as grabbing his wrists wasn't going to keep him tied up. What he did was pull away, causing the grip on his right arm to shift onto his cloth sleeve. He then pulled his arm up through his sleeve and brought it down through the shirt and out, revealing the long chain sleeve which protected his arms and was part of the main chainmail shirt with plates.
Now at this point he remembered the key principles of grappling: Control, isolate, destroy. In order to grab onto his arms the holy man had released his sword which he had so effectively pinched in his armor. What he did was rotate his body away from the side which had the sword caught in it, causing that side to open up while the other side scrunched up a bit. When the sword came loose he grabbed it, now placing the blade in his possession instead of the holy man's. With his other hand he pulled away from his grip towards the gap between the thumb and the fingers where his grip was weakest. No matter how good a grip he had on him the tips of his fingers weren't going to oppose the strength of his forearm, especially now since he was stronger than him. The grip was still tight on his sleeve though, something he didn't actually mind. Working around the cloth he grabbed the holy man's arm while it was grabbing hold of his loose sleeve. He was able to exert his strength to it's maximum on a constant basis and he attempted to force the man's arm over his head. He was going to try a maneuver where while still holding onto the holy man's left forearm he'd attempt to slip his arm behind his foes head. From there he'd have his foe in what was called a Front Triangle choke hold. It would use his opponents own bicep and forearm to squeeze on his left and right carotid arteries, blocking all blood flow to his brain. Usually this technique would take around ten second at maximum to induce unconsciousness on the victim, around twenty to thirty for death though that last time was rather rough since he rarely killed people using chokes seeing as how most grappling was practiced as part of sparing and sportsmanlike competition.
As he tried to control his opponent it was time to apply the isolation principle. With his right arm now in possession of the sword he brought the edge of the down towards the palm of his free hand and attempted to cut across his hand to disable his remaining arm. After the results of both his choke and his cut it would be time to apply the final principle: Destroy.

To think that this was the end. Despite his best efforts, the man above him had experience akin to that of his grandfather, with the added benefit of the strength of a man in his prime and an instinct to kill. He realized that this man had training beyond his, after all he could tell that this Gravedigger is ex-military. He was unprepared for how tactical and skilled he was, his profession would suggest otherwise. More curious was his strength, it never faltered like his was. He has struggled and resisted against this man, and he was not tiring. Why was he not tiring? Even if he is stronger than him, he knows he isn't weak himself and the Foreigner was practically manhandling him. He must be exerting a lot of strength to do this. He could feel his grip on his left forearm and he could not wedge it free. He was attempting to put it over his head and Taethion did his best to resist it. He noticed that the Digger was going to cut his hand. There wasn't much he could do to stop that. The whole time he never stopped speaking, he knew he had to finish his prayer, but with his strength failing him it would seem his attempt to hold back the choke was doomed to failure. What is his secret!? Something is off here, but it doesn't matter at this point. The choke was to be applied and as he muttered the last of his words, lights began to pop up around the area. He could feel his own arm squeezing on his neck as he struggled to make the last of his breath count before he felt the suffocation. Holy energy began to encircle the two fighters and it grew brighter and brighter. Taethion could no longer speak, but he kept his last moments of focus on the spell itself. The bright lights swirled faster and faster and grew brighter and brighter. Yet his time to remain conscious was up as the spell was launched prematurely. The lights suddenly shone it's brightest briefly illuminating his body then came a shock wave of holy energy. The lack of concentration forced the spell to act rather sporadic.

While it didn't deliver what it should have; the question of whether it was enough to separate the Digger and Taethion was irrelevant. He was unconscious. If only I could have held on a bit longer. He thought. He could feel the emptiness of his mind as he saw images of his past. He remembered his training with Ser Quincy, and what he used to say to him. If he saw him now, out cold on this floor, he would probably scold him for being so foolish. He always warned him of facing those with greater experience and power, after all he sparred with him many times and was a much better Paladin. Even though he didn't make use of his powers for obvious reasons, he would have been able to beat him soundly. He also failed to fully analyze his opponent and while the mask made it much more difficult, there are always some cracks in the shield. Taethion supposes he just wasn't smart enough to figure it out. He maybe he could figure it out now, but how would he act? He's lost in his mind, but it seems death has not yet come...that would change soon no doubt. He could curse himself at this point but abstained from doing so. He should be happy, he did serve Lord Dedarius, and this is the journey all men must take. Death is but apart of life, and through it, a new life begins.

This was a race now. His choke hold was quickly bringing the holy man to unconsciousness but the spell was still in queue. It was time to speed the man's death up. As Pravus pretty much had to be up close to the man's head in order to keep a hold of the choke he couldn't effectively finish him off with his own sword by using the handle. He let go of his sword's handle and instead gripped the weapon by it's blade, not exactly worried about it hurting his hand. Bringing the weapon up he prepared to lay the finishing blow down on this warrior of the gods.

Then the holy man passed out. Pravus knew quite a bit about magic as all children who could afford school did. After all, magical theory was a mandatory course. He recalled a principle that states that when gathering energy into a single area such as a spell should the structure behind the casting fail the energy would either disperse harmlessly or in worse cases wind up expelling from the caster in an uncontrolled manner. This was the latter. The holy washed through him and he immediately felt something that he had not felt since the day he died: Pain. Unable to control himself he leapt off of Taethion as though he were an alchemical explosive about to detonate, his whole body feeling as though he was on fire all over. The magic had struck his magic hard, dealing significant damage to him. Something on him had taken the edge off the attack however. A bright flash of bright emerald green light emanated from the upper center of his chest. He heard a loud crack as he managed to stagger a couple steps away from his opponent before collapsing to his knees.
Pravus was damaged severely. His skin was completely burnt all over, his already scratchy vocal cords were damaged beyond the point of still functioning, his eyes were temporarily blinded and all he could feel was pain. A bit of time passed and so too did the pain. As the bright light in his vision dimmed, his ability to see returning, he saw hanging from his neck what had saved him from even greater harm. The amulet which he was given earlier had absorbed a portion of the holy power from the shock wave resulting in the necromantic energy which kept it sealed breaking. The crystal that was set in the mouth of the amulet was now a dull grey, no use to it whatsoever. What caught his interest more however was what came out of it. From the now inert hunk of stone a spirit rose up. This spirit did not seem like other spirits however. This spirit seemed fragmented, broken, not at all a whole soul but merely a piece. The flickering image he saw was of an older man dressed in quite a mishmash of fashions from different cultures. This man had a long dark beard and a patched up beret. His coat had many pockets, all of which seemed to carry all sorts of trinkets and different sorts of tools. Upon the mans back was a backpack nearly as large as himself, full of books and other scholarly materials. His clothing was definitely designed for traveling and it looked well worn from the traveling that he had done.
Before he could try to speak with this broken piece of spirit it ascended beyond the ceiling, called to somewhere unknown. It was now that it finally dawned on him just what the gems were, their nature made clear. Of course, the roar of the flames which surrounded them kept his head in the current, his foe not yet dead. With several crunching noises as his crispy skin cracked whenever he moved, he stood up and turned to face his prone opponent. Crack! Crunch! Snap! He took slow, heavy steps toward the incapacitated warrior. A rough gasp escaped his mouth as he tried to speak but no words formed. With no ability to speak there was nothing left to be done but to land the final final blow. Raising the fallen holy warrior's own sword up in one big thrust he stabbed his blade into his eye, driving the sword through his brain and into the back of his skull.
He would of frowned but his lips were gone, a horrific row of exposed teeth was all that remained of his mouth. Forced to kill someone for reasons unknown to him he lost so much yet what had the victory brought? Nothing but pain and damage, both of which he needed none of. Slowly trudging his fried corpse body over he picked up his shovel and braced himself on it for the pain was still lingering, fading but it did linger. Before he could try and leave however his whole body started to glow. What is this!? Is this the ritual's doing!? He was greatly surprised by the sudden magic which enveloped him. He started to levitate, his feet leaving the ground. He kicked and thrashed but he was helpless to resist. The flames started to swirl around the arena, incinerating all that was left on the ground. The spiraling flames started to form up in a column underneath the flailing undead, wrapping around him like dozens of fiery snakes. The light glowed bright and brighter before releasing a massive burst of light, dispersing the flames of The Ritual.

When the flames disappeared Pravus was nowhere to be seen. Where he was now the gods only know.

Pravus Wins

Lana vs Sylphine Mistral

The setting is at the bottom of a canyon. There really isn't anything interesting here...just rock, rock, and more rock. The cliff walls are high and jagged.

Staring up at the nighttime sky for a few moments, as though she's looking at the stars for an answer, Sylphine Mistral sighs doubtfully, then shakes her head. Turning back to her opponent, she holds out one hand, and her staff appears in her palm.

Watching her opponent appear, Lana rose to her feet and dusted herself off, pulling her twin blades out of the dirt. She didn't waste any time kicking things into gear, twirling her weapons until they were rapidly spinning wheels of fire, spinning once and letting the fires loose, wrapping around in a coil toward the air mage's side.

Despite the unease she displayed seconds ago, Sylphine doesn't take long to react. Her left hand points, and a barrier of wind repels the flames, letting them crash into the canyon wall. Her feet kick off the ground, and she ascends into the air, leveling her staff at the young girl below her. A cyclone bursts from the emerald at the tip of her staff, slashing down towards Lana.

Sylphine went up into the air and launched an air attack, which Lana sought to repel with a torrent of fire energy, only for the flames to be sucked up and extinguished by the cyclone. She took a firm stance and put up her arms, the strong current of wind carrying her backwards. She lost balanced and tumbled, the spiraling gust pulling her light body off the ground and slamming her into the wall behind her. She took a few moments to recover, too disoriented to tell if there were any broken bones from the impact. She shook herself out of it and gripped her weapons again, figuring she'd have to save her fire for when she was caught off guard. There were a number of stones and boulders around she could hide behind, but the distance between each of them was too far and she didn't have any reliable method of closing distances quickly so she dived for the closest on and waited a bit to see what she would do next.

Seeing her attack had knocked the opponent back and caused her to retreat, Sylphine knows she has to keep the pressure going. Flying towards the stone where she was sure Lana was hiding, she swings her staff several times, slashing with her wind blades.

As soon as she saw the mage coming overhead, Lana knew what to expect. Blades of wind came down and she narrowly maneuverd out of the way, still keeping to the same structure. She angled herself away so that her next attack wouldn't be hindered by gravity, hurling a wave of fire at her and with it, one of her swords - if she was lucky, she wouldn't notice that one of them was missing, hidden behind the bright flames.

Ducking just underneath the attack, Sylphine winces as she felt the heat of the flames--even though she had managed to dodge them, she can still sense the sheer heat. Her staff spins around in her hands, transferring from the right to the left, and she gestures at the ground beneath Lana. Immediately, the air underneath Lana explodes outwards. Expecting that she'd be thrown high into the air, Sylphine grips her weapon with both hands and swipes it downwards, sending multiple air blades at that spot, travelling at several different angled paths.

Lana felt something beneath her feet but it was too late for her to react - she was launched upwards and in a panic, she pulled her mask over her face. When the blades of wind came down on her, she'd suffered next to no damage from it. At her elevated - and closer - position, she made it very clear this time that she was throwing her second sword, only this time it would be traveling three times as fast considering her vastly increased strength.

She wasn't affected?! Sylphine doesn't have much time to think about that before she sees the young girl's second weapon flying straight at her head-on. Quickly, she starts flying backwards away from the weapon, while trying hard to slow it down with another current of wind. Even then, she barely has time to dodge it, and it stilll slashes through one of her sandals, causing it to fall in pieces. The emerald-haired maiden prepares another attack, but then notices her opponent has pulled her mask on. She starts to wonder what it means, but banishes the doubt from her mind and surges forward, powerful wind currents swirling around her entire body. When she is close enough, she throws both her arms out to the sides, causing the air around her to explode outwards violently.

As she began falling, the air mage dashed forward and blasted her with a powerful gust of wind, knocking her backward. The impact with the ground kicked up a cloud of dust and when that dust settled, Lana was still unharmed, taking on a groteqsue, beast-like form. She let out a loud, inhuman roar and looked around her, destroying one of the nearby boulders, taking a massive chunk from it, and tossing it at Sylphine.

Once again, Sylphine finds she is only barely able to dodge the attack. More importantly, Lana has transformed into a dramatically stronger bestial form...suddenly, it's apparent Sylphine doesn't have much more time to find a winning formula. Getting more and more worried, she twirls around twice and points at the area where the beast now stands. Suddenly, the air begins to pull in around that point. Dust and stones are attracted, as the air continues to compress around that point...

After Sylphine avoided the attack, she began channeling a spell that she couldn't quite discern. As Lana moved to grab another boulder fragment, she felt something brushing against her and in seconds, she was smothered in dust and debris, unable to see a thing as it enveloped her. She attempted to peel or brush it all away but it kept coming back to her, unwilling to be shaken off. She thrashed around violently as though her wild swings could actually hit her, not sure how exactly she could get out of this troublesome ability.

With Lana immobilized by the rubble and intense air singularity, Sylphine decides it's time to end this. Her hand reaches out and grabs something that was forgotten about quite a while ago...one of Lana's swords. It's supremely heavy, and even if she tries raising it with air currents, Sylphine feels she can only get it as high as her waist. This was really a bad idea.

A new tailwind blows upon her back, and Sylphine charges forward, the crests in her eyes flashing brightly. In five steps she's flying again, but the sword is too heavy for her to get very high. Drawing it back, she forces it forward as hard as she can with a strong wind, breaking through the rocks covering Lana. She doesn't even care how deep it went, because winds have been swirling around the blade as though it were sheathed in a mini-cyclone. Now, this cyclone unleashes its force, enough to crack the rocks around it even further.

In her blindness, Lana suddenly felt something massive striking her, breaking through the debris and breaching her skin. Even though she was extremely resilient in this form, it actually managed to cut a good way into her waist - she realized it was her own sword being used. Although she was certain that wouldn't be much of a problem to deal with on its own, a torrent of wind energy was swirling around the weapon - it entered the exposed wound and began tearing through and churning up part of her insides - she insinctively swung at Sylphine and backed away, blood spilling from her side in great volumes. The debris was finally falling off, but at this point there wasn't much else she could do in her state.

The strike from Lana only scrapes Sylphine's head, but it still hit incredibly hard, and blood is pouring down the side of her face. She accidentally let go of the sword while she was hit, but Sylphine forces the pain down and reaches forward with her left arm. The screaming muscles are forced to work, grasping the sword's hilt, and she pulls it backwards, propelling herself forward at the same time. The head of her staff is thrust forward towards the wound made by the sword. As the head of the staff makes contact (assuming it even does), Sylphine screams four words, but she can barely even hear her own voice now.

End of the Storm.

The emerald and the crests in her eyes flash one more time, and wind explodes outwards in all directions from the emerald's head. It's as though a mini-hurricane has spawned directly around Sylphine and Lana, slashing viciously with two winds in opposite directions. At the same time, lightning magic that was extremely lacking in practice lances outwards into both combatants. Despite how powerful this sounds, though, it also affects Sylphine, and it isn't long before she's thrown out of the storm, landing hard against a rock. There are cuts across various parts of her body, and stray sparks dance about.

Having taken a big hit, Lana went down to one knee and covered the gash with one hand instinctively put her other arm out in front of her - although the spell had worn off, there was still lingering dust in her eyes that made it difficult to see, making any attempted counterattacks an unreliable decision. A sudden and massive force struck her and a current of lightning struck her - the two simultaneous attacks shoved her back, though it wasn't very far considered her current size. The lightning wasn't as effective as it should have been, but the current was still running by the time she was reverting back to her human form, numbing her limbs and making it difficult for her to move. She closed her eyes and held her breath, deciding to play dead as a last ditch effort, waiting for Sylphine to come check up on her.

By the time Sylphine forces herself up, she feels rather weak, and she has to use her staff to support most of her weight. "...I guess...I still have a lot to improve on before I can use that technique..." she rasps, coughing a little. Her left arm is basically unusable right now...but looking up at the girl's corpse, Sylphine stares. Did she really win? She slowly, cautiously begins to approach. But at the same time, she's creating an air barrier just a little bit in front of her, just in case...

Lana heard footsteps coming closer to her. When it seemed like she'd stopped, she exhaled once and her fingers twitched. In a split second, her entire body was swathed by a raging flame - she quickly lifted herself from the ground, her fiery form untethered by her physical body. The flames spread out and intensified and she made a dash toward Sylphine, blazing through the wind barrier and carrying the force of an inferno with her.

The moment she notices the young girl exhaled, Sylphine realizes she'd been duped--but she didn't have much time before Lana is back up and charging at her, now in some sort of ethereal fire state. The barrier she had constructed was no good...the emerald-haired maiden kicks backwards and spirals into the air again, swinging her staff and using another gust of wind to try and inhibit Lana. She probably can't "blow out" the flames, no...knowing her trump card hadn't worked, Sylphine figures she could only buy time to think of another plan.

Lana scowled, realizing that the mage was simply going to try and evade her attacks until her flames finally burned out. The wind blast slowed her down some and blew away some of the flames, but they rekindled instantly - a ball of fire appeared in her hand and she launched it forward - the moment it left, it split into a dozen smaller fire bolts that arced in all directions, each converging on her. She knew the mage was faster than her with her wind powers so she was just going to have to figure out some creative way to attack her from a distance without it being blown away by the wind.

Seeing the flames shooting at her from all directions, Sylphine starts to consider trying to just block them all, or just block one and get out...but then the thought enters her mind that Lana might already be preparing a second attack. And in this form, as long as she has air, there isn't much I can do... Then a new idea enters Sylphine's mind, but it's not one she likes at all. She takes in a deep breath, closes her eyes...and then the air around her is deprived of its oxygen, causing the flames to die out immediately. And if this plan worked, then any other oncoming fire attacks wouldn't work.

But this only works as long as I still have any breath left! Knowing that she only has a few seconds to take advantage of this supposed invulnerability, Sylphine performs one last desperate dance, and the air around Lana, too, is starting to be leeched of its oxygen. Feeling her lungs start to burn, Sylphine hopes this plan works.

The flames wisped out before they could reach the air mage and at the same time, Lana could feel the flames dissipating from her own body. She was pulled directly out of her form by a sudden oxygen deprivation spell - she fell to the ground and had one hand over her throat, not having had the chance to take a breath before she had cast it and stayed there, starting to feel incredibly dizzy as she waited for everything to end.

Though she can see (amidst a whole ton of red) that Lana was forced to revert to her original form, Sylphine can't stand the pressure on her lungs, and she can't keep the asphyxiation magic up. The air around both of them is immediately filled with oxygen again, and she falls to the ground, gasping.

But the fight isn't over yet...even when she's so worn out like this, Sylphine knows she has to end things now. She's just used up too much of her energy already, and the young girl probably has it to spare. The emerald-haired maiden flies forward and...strikes the Vasqueran in front of her with the head of her staff, enveloped by wind currents.

The breath returned to her lungs and Lana looked up, watching Sylphine come toward her with her staff. You idiot! I'll kill you! She was about to lift herself up and strike her first, but her body refused to move and she suddenly realized that the lightning's paralyzation was still in effect, Sylphine's staff attack hitting her before she could move a single muscle.

The might of Wind Force, upon the staff making contact with Lana's body, forced it hard into the ground, probably killing her from sheer pressure...maybe. Knowing to be more careful this time for a fakeout, Sylphine kicks up into the air and stabs downwards one more time, with an air blade aimed towards the heart.

The blunt force trauma Lana received after the staff slammed her head into the ground knocked her out instantly, nearly killing her as well, and the job was quickly finished with one last stab that pierced straight through her heart, tearing open her chest as the high frequency current tore through it and splashed blood over all over her body.

Aching all over, tired, and blood-stained, Sylphine sinks to her knees next to Lana's corpse, and then falls onto her side. As soon as she's caught her breath and feels strong enough again, she stands up, de-materializes her staff, and quietly bows to the dead young girl. "Sorry about that. And..." Her thoughts drift back to what she had been thinking before the fight began. A strange sense that no matter what happened, she would lose...but it turned out this future had not come to pass. "...thank you. I'm stronger now."

She stands up and stretches a little, before a voice enters her mind. Sylphine?! What have you been doing?! Why did you start fighting without me by your side?!

"Oh, dear..." Shaking her head and sighing again, Sylphine starts to come up with some sort of excuse for her familiar.

Mock Fight- Randionalia vs. Asha

Within the deep and dense forest, there laid the remains of some ancient structure erected by some long forgotten civilization. What the structure exactly was and for what purpose it was made, is unclear to the two warriors that would find themselves traversing the ruins. While the makings of stone walls, floors, half destroyed pillars, archways, and partial roofing and legdes and upper stories could still be found, Nature itself has long since claimed this abandoned work of architecture. As one would see various foliage emerging from the cracks and crevaces in the stone, and vines having adorned themselves across the ancient walls and hallways.

It was cloudy outside if one could tell by looking through the canopy of the forest, besides that not much could be said of the weather. While the ruins and nearby forest are indeed beautiful to see, there was a haunting and chilling feeling walking through this hallowed structure. The breeze that blows in and out of the holes of the building leave the most eerie whistling. The only sound to break the spell is the occasional sounds of birds and other animals. Yet, this seemingly quiet and tranquil place will be disrupted by the sounds of battle as two, equally dangerous female warriors enter the stage.

Within the ruins there are the signs of an old atlasatrium, as a damaged, no longer operational fountain sits within the circular room, with rocky debris, destroyed pillars, ruined ledges, grass, vines and a single tree that has grown from underneath the floor and up into the air, being the only other noticeable decor. As occasional light seeps through the clouds, down through the large hole in the ceiling, an Elven assassin walks in from a nearby hallway. She notices some small birds roosting on the broken fountain. She doesn't take much notice of anything else, with that being the only living things in this room besides herself and Cerin, the Snake. She decided to sit upon a large, rectangular hewn stone that once was apart of a nearby wall. She sits quietly as she analyzes her knives, checking to make sure they are sharp and ready for combat.

Even the wildlife was mostly silent. The sound and texture of grass and dirt crunching underfoot was reassuring, as the swordswoman followed the path that led her to this place. She looked up into the glare of the sun and saw the ruins of an era long past. It would seem that she had finally arrived. She looked forward and pressed on, her footsteps echoing through the empty hallways, turning several corners before reaching the open atrium where someone sat waiting. Without a change in her blank expression, Asha rested one hand on the handle of her sword and with her other hand, she waved once in greeting.

The ever perceptive assassin heard the sounds of footsteps from across the halls. She wasn't quite sure who else would investigate these ruins, but the most important question is, are they here to attack? As she quickly rose to her feet she had her knife prepped for a throw as she saw a Human enter the atrium. She wasn't quite sure what her purpose for being here was, but she looked dangerous. Randionalia was a bit surprised to see the Swordswoman simply wave at her, still pleasantries aside she wasn't ready to be convinced this woman was at all friendly. The way her body shifted into a defensive pose, still kept a degree of fluidity as this Elf was prepared for hasten movements. She stared at the woman for a long time before she spoke, "Who are you, and what buisness do you have here?" She spoke in an authortative voice.

Asha lowered her hand to her hip and slightly tilted her head to the side, wondering what had the elf so worked up. "Just looking for something to kill," she said without realizing how incredibly suspicious and out of context that was. She had come here after being informed of a possible behemoth lurking around the ruins, but it would seem like that was not the case. She started to wonder if this elf had the same idea to hunt it down. That would at least explain why she got into a defensive position so quickly, if there really was something dangerous around here.

The words she just spoke didn't provide any such ease to her suspicion of this woman. She did look prepared to kill something, could that be anything? Is she a hunter, or a violent murderer? So many questions that have no answers, but at least a Swordswoman seemed to be the least of her issues compared to the legends surrounding the area. That is assuming the legends are in fact true. She furrowed her brow as stared pensively at the warrior and spoke, "Something to kill huh? Well, you'll find I'm not so easily disposed of." She spoke as her free hand, surreptiously began to sway towards her back. There she reached for a few knives holstered on her belt, prepared for whatever may happen.

Asha averted her eyes, momentarily reflecting on her poor choice of words. She paused for a few seconds, not sure how to open her mouth without making things even worse. She looked back to her. "I think there might be some kind of misunderstanding here," she said, her grip tightening on her own weapon should the elf decide to act first. "I'm not trying to pick a fight."

At this point Randi is having difficult deiciphering her true intent. She could be telling her version of the truth, which is she comes in peace. Yet that could be lie and this Swordswoman is intentionally trying to make the Elf drop her guard. In any case she noticed her hand on her sword, she could be relying on to defend herself in the event she decided to attack first. Which would be understandable if she hasn't come to harm her, but again she could be planning a preemptive strike. She decided to try and catch her on her bluff, "Oh? Is that so? Then why have you come armed to a lonely place such as this?" Randi questioned. "And don't tell me it's for hunting the nearby wildlife, that sword is clearly not for hunting." She spoke.

"I never leave my sword behind," Asha answered, keeping a close eye on any sudden movements. "And I am here to hunt, but wildlife doesn't quite cut it." She couldn't quite understand what was driving her to act in such a hostile manner, but if that was how she was going to be, she couldn't face her unprepared.

Randi merely gave a hmpf at the Human's answer. It was a likely story but a good warrior never leaves without their weapon. This woman is disciplined as far as she could understand. Yet she claims it is for hunting but her last, more cryptic words is drawing Randi's mind to the legend surrounding this place. She wasn't quite sure if there is such a monster hidden in the area as some locals mentioned, but folk tales are folk tales. Are they really a basis for fact instead of the fiction they are told to either warn children not to enter dangerous areas or for ghost stories? The situation was tense and her words are doing very little to ease that. "Then what, pray tell, are you hunting?" She asked. If it is the creature in question, then she's either gulibile or a liar. From the looks of her, however, Randi assumes the latter.

Telling the elf that she was hunting a behemoth seemed absolutely ridiculous - that's just not the kind of prey you hunt by yourself. Even a seasoned party of veteran hunters probably wouldn't even get within two leagues of one. But Asha was never very good at telling lies, so she simply told her the truth, whichever way she would take it. "I'm here to kill a behemoth," she answered.

That answer did nothing to cement any trust in this woman's words. It was all a lie, how foolish did she believe she was? She wasn't sure if she was trying to insult her or she just has a poor choice in words. Still, there are just too many flaws in this woman's story to make it believable in the seasoned warrior's eyes. Deciding that Human won't tell her anything through speech, then she thought she might divulge the truth through her actions. Having grown a bit agitated she growled, "I've heard enough from you, if you won't tell me the truth then I'll force it out of you!" As she finished she quickly tossed three throwing knives at the Swordswoman. Afterwards she quickly darted about the room.

During the entire conversation, Asha had never let her eyes off of the woman in front of her. She could sense the elf's irritation growing and at this point, she was hardly even paying attention to what she was saying anymore because she was too focused on how she would react. It came quickly, but she was expecting it - Ashe rolled out of the way and immediately recovered into an enhanced dash by warping her aura, reaching the doorway that the elf had left through in about a second's time, catching a glimpse of her back. She drew her sword and slashed in one motion, a wave of energy chasing her down.

Randi wouldn't have been as responsive, if a sudden hint was given to her. The Elf quickly realized the distortion in the Swordswoman's aura. Wait, something's off. She quickly thought as she gazed over her shoulder. She saw the wave of energy coming for her, her head darted about the hall as she found a doorway to another room. She quickly jumped through the empty doorway, narrowly avoiding the energy wave. With little wasted movement, she took in her immeditate surroundings as she performed a wall run and then launched her body off the side once she was in range of a nearby ledge. She landed with a good deal of poise as she backed herself into a corner, as she armed herself with a few more throwing knives. She kept a close watch on the door, wondering the Swordswoman would pursue her. If so she would attack, hoping that the element of surprise was on her side.

Hit and run? She could probably expect the elf to do either one of two things - keep running, or lie in wait. It didn't seem like she had any plans to fight at close quarters and her tactic was peculiar for someone who was so aggressive, let alone the one who had made the first move. Still, she wasn't sure what the next room looked like and the angle of attack was still in question so she'd have to be prepared for an ambush. Asha turned and stepped through the doorway without hesitation, making a quick sweep of the room with her eyes. . .

Randi watched as her opponent entered the room without a single breadth of relunctance. This woman must have some amount of confidence in her abilities, or just foolish. From up above, as her opponent made her sweep, Randi tossed three more knives at the warrior. She wondered if she could dodge this again without much time to prepare.

The elf was nowhere in Asha's immediate line of sight - the one direction she hadn't checked yet was up - it was probably the obvious answer, but even if it costed a precious second, she couldn't ignore any possibilities. She looked up just in time to see three knives flying at her. She might've had some trouble if the elf had tried something new, and she was thankfully that she hadn't. Still, her reaction came a little late so it wouldn't be a perfect maneuver - Ashe swung her blade in an arc, releasing another energy wave. The wave knocked two of the knives out of her trajectory, but the third one hit her in the shoulder after her swipe. The fast, sharp turn made sure the knife didn't bury itself very deep.

This woman must have been trained, especially being able to counter an enemy that wasn't in your field of vision. Still the energy wave came suddenly but her opponents rather clunky movement did help to tip off some sort of attack, even if it was meant to cancel out her own. This woman had mysterious skills, but it seemed to be based off of auras. Randi quickly ducked out of the way of the incoming wave as it cut a bit into part of the wall. Quickly jumping to her feet Randi once again was on the run as she made a sharp turn into another empty doorway that lead into the higher floor that was directly above the lower hallway. She ran until the hallway ended leading to an outdoor courtyard. Since there was no more floor to run upon, Randi gave herself a running start and leapt forth as she reached for a nearby pillar. She managed to grab onto the ledge, as she surveyed the area. It was too open and perhaps not the best environment to fight someone with skill in long range attacks. Although these waves came in quickly and having more room to dodge is nice. Her opponent seemed to be fairly intelligent, she may expect another attack from above.

Randi decided to jump from the pillar on to the branch of a nearby tree. From there she climbed down it's branches and landed on the ground. She decided to take cover behind some stone within the tall grass. She then looked towards the exits she came from, lieing in wait to attack the Swordswoman again. This time she will close the distance between them, making attempts to use that attack again much harder. That is dependent on if she needs that much swinging room to launch her attacks. If not, she will have to act quickly before she could get the chance to swing at all.

Hefting the knife in her hand after removing it from her wound, Asha gave chase immediately, hoping to catch her before she disappeared from sight again. However, the elf was a bit too agile and quick on her feet to catch up to in time, so she was met with only an empty courtyard when she reached the top. There was certainly elevated ground, but any surprise attacks would have to come from ground level. If it were an enclosed space, she might've sent out a wave that covered most of the area, but unfortunately its range wasn't all that long so it wouldn't do much good in this environment. Her previous dash turned into a slow walk, not straying too far from the building so that she would have a wall to her back. Better to have three sides to worry about than four.

Randi watched her opponent from afar as the Human decided to stick to the walls in order to avoid more attacks from behind. It was smart, and Randi could tell that this woman was adapting to her strategies, she doesn't have too many tricks left in her book, but still has a couple up her sleeve. She will need to end this fight soon if she is to survive. In a hushed whisper she spoke to her sleeve as a small, insignificant looking snake slithered out. It was Cerin, her pet. The snake listened to his master as it slithered for, etching it's way towards the Swordswoman. In the meantime, Randi adapted her strategy as she holstered her knives and drew her blowgun. She meticulously loaded the gun with blowdarts that were tipped with a fatiguing agent. It shouldn't kill someone the size of an adult human, but if it hits, it would blurry her vision and her movements would become sluggish.

This would help close the gap between herself and the Human, and it would help stop the woman's assault. Now she gazed towards her opponent as she watched her movements ever so carefully. Usually blowdarts are better for closer range because of the user's sights, but like most Elves, Randi is born with incredible eyesight as she can see with a level of clarity and prescision that some races are without. Soon the snake made it's unamazing trek out of the grass as it moved in on Asha. The snake then slithered over her feet giving a suddenly strange feeling to her nerves. Randi hoped this may halt her movement if only for a second, as she would give a strong exhale that would send the dart flying right at the Swordswoman's neck.

As Asha kept a lookout on her immediate surroundings, she felt something brush against her foot and she kicked it away instinctually, finding that it had only been a snake. Not a second after, something pricked her - she felt around her neck and plucked out a small dart - she quickly realized what this meant for her, though she couldn't be sure what exactly it was tipped with. Tossing it away, she at least knew what direction the attack had come from - it should take some time before it really kicked in, so she wasted no time in advancing, sword readied to deflect any further projcetiles.

Randi had figured out that her position might have been compromised. At least her target hit, and soon her opponent will feel the effects. Of course this isn't a fast acting poison and would take a little time before she starts to feel it. So, all that Randi will have to do is avoid her until that time. Notcing her advancing, Randi abandoned her hiding spot as she bolted out. She kept her senses on the Swordswoman, ready to evade whatever she may throw out here. Out here in the open space will help in this endevaor, and there are some covers behind these pillars as well. Not to mention, Cerin is still out there, and the woman has yet to see what the snake is truly capable of. The Elf assassin decided to move around alot in attempt to get her opponent moving as well.

When the elf came out of hiding, Asha stopped running and broke into her aura-empowered dash to immediately close the gap between them, using her sword drawing slash to initiate the encounter - if the range fell short, the following wave should cover the rest of the distance should she fail to dodge it.

Her movements were fast, as fast as she could sense it. She watched as she drew her sword for another slash as she leapt out of the way of the blow. The Gap was closed sooner than she would have liked, but she tossed another knife at her opponent as it flew for the warrior's side. Meanwhile Cerin slithered outside of the hemisphere of the figthers as it continued to skulk about the battlefield, waiting for his chance to strike.

At this range when the enemy was clearly in sight, thrown knives didn't have the power to break through Asha's defense or the speed to keep up with her enhanced reflexes - she swatted it away with her blade and swung forward, pushing herself forward as well to keep the momentum going with a follow up horizontal slash. The sensation was only slight at the moment, but the feeling of being weighed down was undeniably the dart's work.

The woman's swordplay was still quicker than she would have liked. At least the saving grace was that she could at least predict her attacks by getting a read for her aura. Randi made a quick, tuck and roll underneath the slash and once she was beside her opponent, the Elf quickly popped up and launched a swift kick aimed at the Swordswoman's head. She hoped the strength of her blow would be enough to knock her opponent off her feet.

The elf swiftly dodged Asha's slash, but she expected no less - however, the assassin's attempt on sticking to her target rather than backing away would be one she would have to punish severely. Though the elf moved too quickly for her to retract her swing, there was more than enough room and time for her next move. Asha thrust her free hand forward toward her opponent in a stabbing motion - as the rune on her blade glowed, a second sword materialized in her other hand. This was the activated ability of the Gemini rune, which allowed her to materialize and dematerialize a second Gatekeeper blade at will. The reach and power of the blade accompanied her counter strike the very second that she had made it.

Randi was rather surprised by this sudden change in the development. She didn't realize what powers this woman had beyond manipulating her aura to devastating affect. She was in midair and had no way to dodge the second blade. The only thing she could do was lift her dagger in between herself and the blade in an attempt to block the strike. The clash and clanging of metal on metal could be heard as sparks flew. She managed to not be killed in that attack but the blade did leave a cut across her forearm as some blood was spilt. She decided to use the mometum of the Swordswoman's blow as she used it to launch herself away from her opponent. This wasn't good, she would have to rely on that poison acting soon, having to dodge two swords with that same power would be too tricky. She decided to return to her previous strategy and keep out of reach until she was sufficently weakened.

Asha's attack nearly struck a glancing blow, but the assassin suffered from damage in blocking it before quickly backing away. If she'd decided to use her stinger, it probably would've been over right then and there, but the thought never occured to her as it was strictly a tank-busting skill. Whatever hit her before was beginning to have a more apparent effect now as she felt her grip on her blades beginning to weaken and her movements more and more sluggish. The elf would have to make good use of her time as well, though - Basilisk poison was much more lethal and much more fast acting. She decided to play it safe for now, keeping her distance as she used both of her swords to launch a succession of waves, though they wouldn't be as powerful or reach as far, as her aura's strength was based on her stamina.

Randi began to notice the effects of her poison were taking hold, as she could tell her swings were slowing. Not only that but she could sense the fluctuations in her aura, it seemed to be not as bold as earlier. She quickly went to dodging these lesser waves with more ease than earlier. All the while she was unaware that she was poisoned, a fact she would learn unfortunately later. Soon Cerin was in the nearby brush as he laid in wait for the right time to strike. She reached over to her belt and took note that she only had a few knives left, she will need to leave the last one for good measure. Taking advantage of her opponents slowed movements, she backed away and then tossed a couple more knives at her.

The swordswoman didn't have much focus to deflect the knives or energy left to expend on any more ranged strikes so she opted for rolling out of the way, though her take on it was a little slower than she would've liked. One hit pretty deep in her side and the other grazed past her leg - carefully removing the one that had embedded itself in her, she worked to use her sword to cut off a strip of cloth for use as a makeshift bandage.

Randi watched as her opponent struggled to dodge her current attack. It didn't do as much damage as she would have liked but at least one found it's mark. She watched as her opponent took out the knife and attempted some first aid out in the field. She felt this was the time to strike and then suddenly she felt weird. It felt like a sudden pang of pain and weakness. She wasn't quite sure what it was, and began to assume it was her open cut. Has she lost that much blood? Cerin could sense in his master, what she has yet to realize, his master was poisoned! Cerin slithered out of the brush as he snuck behind Asha and then suddenly the snake grew to an incredible size, as he grew long enough and big enough to fill a large room. The snake lifted it's head above the Swordswoman and then with snake-like reflexes tried to bite her. Randi was a bit surprised Cerin would attack this soon, he's not one to disobey orders...something must be wrong.

Keeping an eye out for any sudden moves as Asha bound the wound, what she did not expect was a great shadow looming over her - if there was anything that big around here, she was sure she'd have noticed it. By the time she turned, the enormous snake came down on her with its jaws wide open. She couldn't gather enough strength for a powerful enough slash that would kill it before it bit her so she used the split-second window to block instead - she'd have to look for the right moment to fire a stinger with what was likely to be the last of her energy before her aura went out. The size difference still couldn't be ignored however, as the sheer force of the attack knocked her down on the ground, which she scrambled to recover from. It wouldn't be unlike her fight against the Basilisk, though at least during that fight she was at full strength and had back-up.

The venom was coursing through her veins, she felt her body becoming heavier and weaker...she deduced by this point that it was poison affecting her. Which means one of her swords must have a coat of poison. The kind it was, she of course had no reasonable idea. All she knew it was fast acting and would have to finish this soon. Cerin on the other hand went forward with series of snap bites, pulling his head forward only to bite at Asha and then quickly reeling back. The snake also kept up a side slithering motion, to keep attacking Randi's opponent a different angles. Trying to force Asha in a constant state of movement to both help the poison move faster, and to keep her from pulling any offensive techniques. While watching Rani had a plan, and it will either work or not.

Asha was far too exhausted to swing two swords in a capable manner so she dematerialized her second gatekeeper blade and gripped the original with both hands. She dodged several of the snake's lunges, but it quickly became clear that this was not something she could keep up forever as her movements became more uncoordinated. Thinking fast, she made her entire left arm wide open for a direct attack on the pretense of it being a poison-related slipup, then instantly switched stances and launched a full power stinger in the direction of where the snake would have to attack in order to exploit the opening using the last of her aura. This risky move would bet on the snake's reaction speed and awareness to strike at a weak spot as soon as it became visible, as well as catching it off guard since she had been focusing on dodging rather countering.

Cerin continued to force Asha into a weakened state as he kept biting at her. She's been dodging beautifully but the snake could tell she couldn't keep up for much longer. After she removed herself of one sword, it gave a hint to Randi that the poison was working to it's full effect. Now would be her chance to strike and not a moment too soon, she felt weak and was beginning to lose her strength completely. Cerin however didn't think upon Asha's next actions as a slip-up, and just thought it more of his prey just trying to fight him. Randi was able to discern for herself that she was planning something but then she realized what she was up to. She felt the sudden well up and surge of the Swordswoman's aura and knew this attack was a big one, she shouted, "Cerin watch out!" And then it went. Cerin prepared to strike again but stopped once he heard it's master, while not in Asha's plan it did help to distract the snake as it tried to dodge. Cerin began to shrink but not soon enough as he felt the stinger rip through him.

Just then everywhere around Asha turned to smoke as Randi tossed a smoke bomb into the mix. It wasn't in time to save Cerin but she could still go forward with her last strategy. She jumped from behind remembering the last imprint of Asha's aura, thus her position in the smoke, and began to slash and stab at her enemy's vitals and weak points. Using whatever stamina she had her attacks were fast and precise, but she knew that she couldn't keep this up forever. Which is why one of the knives in her hand is coated in more of her poison. If enough of this flurry of blows were to connect with Asha and still not bring her down, then the amount of poison she would be exposed to surely would finish the job.

A shout from a distance alerted the snake of Asha's next move, but she couldn't stop her attack - she thrust her blade forward with all of her might, noticing that it had halted and attempted to fall back. I missed? Asha thought, gritting her teeth, but at a second glance she could see that the strike had indeed connected, if barely. Immediately after landing it, a puff of smoke quickly expanded until it enveloped a wide area around her, making it incredibly difficult to see. If she still had some of her aura left to expend she might've been able to disperse it, but that wasn't an option anymore. She put her sword in front of her and waited, listening for the assassin's footsteps. As long as she could discern what direction she would approach from, the smoke shouldn't be too much of a hindrance.

Of course, there was no visual sign of her enemy, but when she felt that the sounds became loud enough, she swung into the smoke. The direction and timing were right, but she didn't hit her - she felt small, fast cuts along her arms before she could even spot Randi emerging from the smoke and quickly fell back. She couldn't hit her because her attack was far too slow - even the sword was becoming too heavy for her so she ditched it and focused on countering her attacks hand-to-hand. She was able to parry several of them, but she took more hits than she would've liked in the process. It was hard to tell if playing the waiting game would be a viable strategy considering the fact that they were both poisoned pretty badly, but until she had a better idea she'd have to sit tight with defending herself for now.

Randi continued her assault with what she could. She was beginning to think she wasn't going to survive this, the poison in her veins, it was strong and she wasn't sure if she could use her vial of antidote on this poisoning. Perhaps, but if her opponent is still fighting she cannot back off, it would provide her no opportunity for survival. She noticed something metal drop and concluded it was the Swordswoman's sword. Funny, it seems she has disarmed her and she has resorted to hand-to-hand combat, an art she was heavily trained in. She knew she would have her at a disadvantage since her primary form of combat is now rendered mute. Yet, the ravages of this poison would soon bring her down to her level so a sword really won't be necessary anyway.

Randi decided to toss in some swift kicks with her knife attacks. Continue to provide more opportunities to attack with different weapons at different angles...it will make it harder for her to block every attack. She did feel some connect and had a feeling her opponent will no longer be able to block, the amount of poison in her system would see to that. Of course she hopes it will be really soon, she's could feel herself weakening so much.

Asha knew she wasn't going to make it at this rate - the only thing she could rely on now was that her opponent would fall for the same trick twice, however unlikely it might be. At least, her poison should slow down her reaction time as well. The thing about the gemini rune was that it was made to re-equip her should she be disarmed rather than for the purpose of dual-wielding - and that meant that she didn't actually have to be holding onto her sword to materialize it. Whether or not she had the arm strength to actually swing the thing was another matter entirely, however - the sword didn't necessarily have to appear in her hand. She attempted to bait an attack from the assassin, though this one was much more subtle than the time she had used it again the snake.

This wasn't good, she was surprised by this warrior's resilience. She was tough and she found herself respecting her in many ways. Despite all of the foes she has struck down, she never expected to be brought down by some wanderer from out of the blue. Yet, her pride as an assassin and a warrior, won't allow her to not have this one last victory, this one last kill. She could see her worn down and by this point began to look more closely at the Swordswoman. She looked for one mistake in her defense, one key opening to make the final blow and end this. She was good at pinpointing these things, she has to be she is an assassin. It was then she might have detected Asha's bait, unsure of things she went ahead and took it, hoping that opportunity will present itself from this action.

Getting to the end of her rope, Asha's eyes almost seemed to light up for a second as the elf attempted to exploit the artificial opening. Anticipating the movement, she weaved around the attack and did something she had never done before - a second gatekeeper blade materialized between Asha's teeth - gripping the handle with her mouth, she shifted her entire body to the side during her advance so that the blade's trajectory would slash right into her. Her arms were almost completely spent, this was the next viable option and she had chosen it without hesitance.

It was a bait, but at this moment there was an opportunity. She didn't have much energy to really dodge her true attack, but she has enough to initate her attacks. Randi quickly spun her body around, facing the Swordswoman with a new sword in her arms. Her swing was slow but so was she and even though she felt the cut during her momentum her arm was raised. Then coming down fast was her knife aimed right for the back of her opponent's neck. She took her other arm and would rest it forcefully against across her shoulders to keep her from standing straight and to keep her neck exposed. If her actions were to become successful then a forceful stab would go straight through her neck.

The moment Asha felt her blade cutting into her opponent, she realized that it was not a killing blow, an irreversible mistake on her part. She had meant to cut her throat, but it seemed like she had avoided quickly enough to narrowly avoid that outcome. As the blade dissipated into glowing particles, she felt her shoulder being grabbed and knew that she did have much strength to struggle free. Knowing that Randi must be struggling with exhaustion just as she was, she let her weight drop so that she would be lower to the ground - unless the assassin had enough strength to pull her back up, this should follow through without problems. Doing that, she would push herself forward in a kind of tackle with what strength she could muster.

Randi thought this was over but it seemed this Human had a little more energy. She flet her stab not hit a thing and then began to feel her weight dropping with her. She didn't have the strength to stop this but in an act of instinct decided to hold on to Asha for dear life. Not knowing what to do to stop this, she allowed her course of action to go through. In her haste, Randi's knife was then positioned between the two bodies.

As the two collapsed to the ground, Asha managed to roll off and put a little bit of distance between them, but looking down she noticed a fresh wound on her stomach - she put her hand over it and looked over to the elf with tired eyes. She couldn't say she really had much of any fight left in her so she simply bided her time and waited to see if her opponent would move further.

Randi lied on the ground and looked up to the sky, she felt the poison working it's deadly wonders. She didn't have the strength left and continued to look around her. She pointed her eyes forward and saw the woman on the edge of her vision. She spoke, "You're good...and resilient...you've lasted longer than most with the amount of poison you've got in your body." Randi's eyes then looked back to the sky. In her hands she felt the warm blood coming from her knife. Her hand shook as she clutched the weapon, she could feel her losing control over her body.

Asha remained silent for a few moments after Randi finished talking, slowly reaching over to retrieve the sword that she had discarded earlier. She turned the blade over in her hands and then looked back at her. "This poison is deadly, but if you've some kind of antidote, i'd suggest you take it now. You might live. Might." She tossed the weapon in her general direction and it clattered loudly as it hit the floor. "There's no point if we both die. If you manage to live, take that with you. I'm sure you'll figure it out." With that said, she laid herself down on the ground and waited patiently until her vision faded to black.

She then laughed at Asha's words, something she hasn't done in a long while. "It's true...no point in both of us dying...but," She then stopped her laughter, "The truth of the matter is one of us will die here today." She dismally spoke as she noticed her toss the sword towards her. She looked at it with a peculiar interest but then towards her opponent who seems content with death...people usually are if they have no options. "Its true...I have a vial of antidote...but, you are the one who defeated me, I can hardly move as it is...but perhaps I do have enough strength to reach for and drink it...but as my show of respect, I'll allow you to take it." She spoke. "That is if you still have enough energy to move on your own. Take it and...decide for yourself whether your mission ends here or not." Randi spoke as she looked towards her.

From her position on the ground, Asha cracked one eye open, as it seemed like she had more to say. "Defeated you? Don't be ridiculous." She faced upwards and closed her eyes again. "If that were true, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Randi laughed again, "I would normally agree...but we have thorougly beaten each other then." She then looked towards the sword. "Still, I think the victor is the one who can still hold a weapon...you were able to lift and even throw yours...I can hardly grasp mine." She spoke as she couldn't lift the bloody knfe to save her life. She then turned her attention towards her pockets. Her arm shakily went into them and retrieved the vial as she held it in her hand. She then rested her hand upon her chest and began to breathe heavily, there was little time left for her it would seem.

"If that is your will, then I won't turn you down." Asha materialized her gatekeeper blade again, this time using it as a makeshift cane to support her as she made her way over. She leaned heavily upon it as she walked, almost giving under it a few times as she did. Dismissing the weapon, she sat down and carefully took the vial from the elf, taking a good look at its contents. "I've accidentally cut myself with this sword a few times before," she commented, prying the top off of the glass. "But as a result, I think my body may have built up some resistance to poison. This fight probably should've ended a while ago." She downed the drink in one go and then set the glass aside. "I suppose I'll take any victory that I can, though."

Randi watched as she came over and took the vial from her. She watched her drink it and then smiled. "Hmph, yeah, I've accidentally poisoned myself a good number of times...I've done what I could to build up...immunities...but even I need antidotes sometimes...," she then looked up back to the sky. "It should have...but...it's what happens when...trained warriors fight...," Randi paused as she looked back towards Asha as she spoke, "Yeah I would too." Randi then wheezed. "What's...your...name?" she asked.

"Name?" she echoed, looking down at the assassin. "It's Asha Ignivora. I suppose I might as well ask you the same." She put her arms over her knees and sighed lightly. "I also suppose you might want to know exactly what kind of poison you're afflicted with right now? I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did as well, that was basilisk poison. It's been known to kill people in less than a few minutes. Some even say seconds depending on the dosage."

Randi lied their and listened to Asha say her name. "Asha?" She spoke as her eyes began to close. "Me?....Randi...Onalia....Ashen...Ashen...Grits...," she wheezed. Her eyes seemed to quickly perk up at the name of the poison. "Basilisk?" She spoke. "That....is...str...ange...it...must...be...weakened....," she wheezed. "...How...humor...ous...," she sort of chuckled as her eyes began to close. "S-sorry...s-sorry, Cerin....s-sorry...fa-fa-father....." she trailed off as her eyes closed.