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View Full Version : Round 1 Imp VS. X [ J - Mary Sue]



Mary Sue
01-16-2012, 03:56 AM
The sound of striking bamboo rang across a sea of mist. The clouded sky damped the sunlight and produced a canvas of monotone grey.

In a massive body of black-ish water, with no end in sight due to the mist, stood thousands of skinny posts protruding anywhere between twenty-five to fifty feet above the surface of water.

In the very center of the field, stood a post of about forty feet high and ten feet in diameter. It is the largest post in the lake.

The combatants materialized on top of a few of the skinny posts, that shuddered slightly then remained still. On the large, center post, appeared a young girl in a frilly pink dress and a strange looking body guard.

"Welcome to the tournament of tournaments, gentlemen. I am the judge of this match. Introductions aren't necessary.

For this round, you will see that you have materialized on top of wooden posts. You have materialized perfectly balanced. The wood is strong when pressure is applied directly from above. However, if you strike the wood from the sides it will easily break and turn to spikes. Though you have plenty of room as you can see.

You will fight either to the death, or until one of you falls into the waters below.

Do not worry about any injuries you sustain, and do not fear your death. You will be healed and revived the moment a winner is decided....

I will be watching.

Good luck warriors."

With a wave of her hand, the young girl and her strange looking body guard vanished into the mist.

The sound of striking bamboo rang out once more, and the warriors were left alone to fight.



Notes:
At the flip of a coin, it is decided that Imp will post first.
There will be no interference to the arena on my end for this round.

Imp
01-20-2012, 06:02 PM
The surreal environment placed Tal'set into a light addled trance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AawFVtd4heo&feature=relmfu). His senses took in what they could of the profound area. The arena appeared desiccate with the empty grey sky having sapped all color and beauty from the land. The mysterious murky water below was motionless, possibly keeping a dreadful secret deep in the darkness. Perhaps hiding the coming of death if it hasn't already tasted such a thing before this tournament. The wind felt lazy as it brushed ever so softly over the Jotun's flesh, hardly enough to cause one to shiver. It wasn't even cold really, no temperature could be conceivable in this cryptic place.

Leaving the trance, the half-giant tuned into what the odd little human girl was announcing. She must have been the hostess of this particular battle. Seems the Jotun would have to expect strange things to come and go in this tournament. Before the human girl was finished, Tal'set put aside anymore curiosities and like the warrior he was, he went to mapping out the area and his enemy. He knew to never underestimate the target and would always go into defensive to further study whatever he was up against until he was certain of when to strike back and where.

The posts he stood upon were resilient much like the girl said. Tal'set had no worries then of the tall slender poles unless they were to break, which perhaps he could use to his advantage. The target stood on the opposite side of the platform of which the girl was currently on, which meant the calculating warrior needed to take the center ring and gain possible leverage. He would also be keeping away from the fragile posts that surrounded him in case his enemy was planning on cutting them. After that, the Jotun would plan further as he knew keeping a tall order from toppling is hard during battle since anything can go wrong.

Immediately after the girl and her friend vanished, and with a strange striking sound following right after, Tal'set quickly made his way onto the platform, jumping down from the higher posts he originally started on. There was no need to watch his footing on these things as his sandals were big enough(as well as his feet) to cover several posts at once. Looking to his enemy across from him, Tal'set moved into his defensive stance, removing his shield from behind him and planting it perfectly in front to cover him.

The mighty Jotun banged the spiked bottom of his monumental shield against the platform, trying to taunt his enemy and encourage him into battle. Tal'set's guan dao was held pointing outward ready to deliver any swiping attacks. It would be a key tool in possibly knocking the man over with a good whack and breaking the posts with the sharp metal edge. Now that the half-giant made his move, it was time for his combatant to follow in rhythm...

GraftRaven
01-21-2012, 06:00 AM
He had been told to prepare, he had gathered his things from the shelf in the small room, and securely locked up the Codex. He had then stood, ramrod straight and wielding the Kereros spear, and now he appeared in the same position. Asavar Kul's feet were firmly planted together on one post, the end of the spear on another, and his cloak fluttering slightly in the slow breeze that also ruffled its furred collar.

From the darkness under his hood Asavar observed the arena, certainly an odd place, seemingly created specifically for duels. And then there was his opponent, Jotun by the look of him, a Dragon Guardian. Capable, certainly, to hold the rank that he did, and a tough nut to crack judging from the High Guard shield.

Suddenly the local aura swirled and shifted, spitting out a small girl and a rather large bodyguard, both of them distorting the aura even further with their mere presence. The girl explained the rules, where they were, and what would happen to them upon completion of the battle. Death, what a silly notion in a place like this, the magic aura was powerful enough that the air was practically thick with it. Then it was promptly disrupted again as the two vanished.

The Jotun moved quickly enough, taking the large center podium for himself, the most obvious position of power and the only position in which his shield could be used to its maximum potential. "And thus we begin with the most obvious of moves, care to predict mine?" Asavar's voice almost growled from beneath his hood as he picked up his spear and spun it several times before rocketing off to the left, deftly placing each footstep on top of a post.

If there was any chance at all he needed to come out swinging, a show of force, so he did. Asavar pointed his spear at the Jotun and muttered something under his breath, causing a conical stone projectile to materialize at the end of the weapon and propel itself at high speed towards his opponent.

Imp
01-22-2012, 05:55 AM
And thus we begin with the most obvious of moves, care to predict mine?
Tal'set found that Asavar's personality matched the one written down in the Fighter Index which was handed out to everyone in the tournament. It simply displayed only a vague bio and maybe some minor details in other areas of each fighter.

Tal'set knew what to expect from this man's attitude. In response to what Asavar said, the half-giant remained silent and kept motionless in his defensive stance. It wasn't his inability to speak proper English that made him quiet at the moment but rather he cared little of his opponent's words. The Jotun was too concerned with the task at hand in surviving than thinking up a witty retort. That is, if he even knew what that meant.

Gazing strongly at Asavar's every move, Tal'set watched like a hunter following prey. In less than a second after, the Jotun's prey had darted, flanking to one side. With no trouble, Tal'set revolved with his giant shield, following Asavar.

Good thing he wasn't too speedy for the Jotun or there may have been an issue. Quick moves from a distance were nihil to Tal'set. It was only when the enemy engaged with speedy combos up close that would prove troublesome or even a powerful attack. However, the sudden strange materializing shape at the tip of Asavar's spear did catch grave attention. Tal'set steadied himself for what was to come but coincidentally there was no time as the muscles in his left arm were put under immediate stress by some pounding upon the High Guard.

His arm recoiled with ease soon after the exerted force left. To acknowledge what happened, he used the guan dao to slide up the shield's face to feel any for any disturbances. About midway, the long spear was halted by some protruding obstacle. No doubt it was the projectile from Asavar's spear. The piece of stone was stuck in the shield pretty well and no amount of shaking would remove it. This wouldn't be the first time he faced a sorcerer.

Nevertheless, it was imperative that Asavar's spear had to be removed. Taking it away would hopefully cease anymore magical attacks and may force the opponent into coming closer. Tal'set kept to his defensive position while now contemplating on what to do about the spear.

Quickly coming to a decision on taking a chance, Tal'set cocked his right arm to the side with the guan dao held firmy and his shield at his side. He then leaned forward and let loose with a wide sweeping attack directed for the left side of Asavar's abdomen. The strike may not do any slicing damage but the force alone from the hit should hopefully cause some trauma. Everything was slowed down in Tal'set's mind. He watched the blade come closer to his enemy whilst he debated on what to follow if the attack proved successful...

GraftRaven
01-25-2012, 01:45 AM
As predicted the High Guard did its job all too well, now it was time for some more physical responses, but first a defensive strike was in order. He saw the strike coming, saw the telltale movements as he glanced from his own careful footsteps, in less than a second he needed to be ready.

Asavar quickly brought his own spear back around to the front, it was already lengthening in preparation for the next move. With an assist from his magic he pushed the butt of the spear up, causing the head to dip down just after Tal'set's spear passed under it. In an instant the next move had been finished, the Kerberos spear dug into the top of a post just as Asavar jumped and Tal'set's spear grazed his shins with enough force to bruise and propel him over the spear in a pole-vault parody.

With an almost practiced finesse Asavar torqued his body in mid-air as the post snapped from the horizontal pressure, now he was headed towards the center. His spear was also coming around to show he meant business, it was now almost 13 feet long, a formidable weapon. If all went according to plan a heavy strike was in store.

Imp
01-27-2012, 08:40 PM
The combatants finished flaunting their skills and now the gloves were off. The sound of the breaking post acted like the gunshot that signaled the starting of the event. After being propelled from the snapped post, Asavar blitzed towards the Jotun with his lengthy spear looking to impale... and so it did with a muffled groan following immediately after.

Tal'set didn't expect the spearhead to penetrate the thick midsection of the High Guard like it just did. His arm embraced the impact but it ended quickly once the spearhead had completely gone through. Splinters showered Tal'set's abdomen, some bounced off while others managed to become a stinging burden to him. The spearhead made a decent puncture into his side, about three inches in.

There was no time for concern and the Jotun bit his lip from the searing pain that was the vibrating spearhead, tearing at it's surroundings. It was obvious that if Asavar pulled away, then Tal'set wouldn't be as close to his target as he is now. With that in mind, the giant turned his shield a little, catching the pole of the spear and pulled himself away from it, dislodging the tip from his insides.

Tal'set combined the heavy pain with concentration and sprinkled with anger to follow up with a shield bash. He first tossed his guan dao behind him and then grabbed Asavar's spear with the grip of a dead man. With great force, he shoved forth with his shield and pulled on his enemy's spear at the same time, hoping to pull Asavar close for a brutal meeting with the High Guard.

GraftRaven
01-30-2012, 02:42 AM
Asavar was surprised to find that had gone completely through the High Guard, this changed the game considerably and too quickly for him to adjust fast enough. As things were he was basically standing on the shield, held in place by firm footing and his own spear, which was not subject to much movement. Asavar delighted in feeling a heavy mass at the tip of the spear, which was still extending behind him, almost its full length of 18 feet now. However, elation was short lived as the shield twisted, jarring Asavar enough that he lost his footing and hung from the spear with both hands in a death grip around it, a moment later he regretted this decision.

Asavar slammed bodily into the High Guard as the Jotun yanked the spear through, he could feel a bone in his left hand snap and two ribs nearly crack from the impact, but still he did not relinquish his one weapon. Asavar wheezed slightly as he hung for another moment before releasing one hand and placing it on the shield. The next instant it sounded as if lightening had just struck as his hand contorted, then he was blasted backwards, the spear coming with him and the shield undamaged except by the spearhead being forced back through it.

He landed unsteadily on the edge of the center post, again assisted by the pointed butt of the spear digging into the wood. With another gasping wheeze he forced himself back up and swung his lengthy weapon behind him, assuming a ready stance. This was by far not the best position to be in, but not nearly the worst either, he had at least retained the spear.

Imp
02-02-2012, 12:55 AM
Tal'set was shaken up a bit by the sudden blast to which Asavar made his retreat with. Tremors from the force had caused him to stumble back, only to catch himself with the High Guard. Thank the hard working indigenous Jotuns for their craftsmanship in making a sturdy wooden shield. Obviously an upgrade in weapons would do Tal'set well after this fight.

Staring through the hole in the High Guard his foe had created, Tal'set was hesitant in making thew next move. Asavar stood appearing ready and able like a patriot looking forward to being shipped out to war. Obtaining his Guan Dao from a nearby arm-stretch, it was time to make a move and make it quick. It felt like the battle was midway through and so he needed to kick up the beat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzH4excUkQ4) a little.

Back on his feet and into a defensive position was the ready Jotun. Leaving that awful syntax aside, Tal'set started moving forward. A series of combo moves should step up the battle's pace.

He started by shoving the shield forward, mocking a bash and hopefully tricking Asavar to retaliate and present a weakness in the response. Then would come to to actually throwing the shield at the enemy. Not too much force would be applied, rather just enough to deter Asavar for a second s Tal'set would become fully on the offensive, taking his own spear into two hands and delivering an ordeal-worth of swings and jabs.

After all of that being captured in his mind's eye in the time of several heavy steps, he was ready. The fake shield bash Tal'set just dished out was the kickoff into the next half of the fight...

GraftRaven
02-04-2012, 07:03 AM
The next moments crawled by, seemingly in slow motion, as Asavar watched Tal'set carefully, looking for any tells. There was a slight shift in stance, a larger breath, a certain glint in the eyes, his opponent was on the offensive and knew he had the advantage. If Tal'set wanted the game changed Asavar was going to make sure that it did not sway too far to one side.

With this thought in mind he began spinning the Kerberos spear, then jumped backwards with assistance from the spear. As if he had been trained to do it Asavar landed steadily on two posts, then began leaping from post to post once again, though slower this time as he was hampered by both the current length of his weapon and his two cracked ribs.

He needed more time, just a little more time before the Codex hanging at his waist was ready to assist him. Suddenly, out of desperation, madness or inspiration struck and he began to use the weight and momentum of the Kerberos spear to smash posts at random towards the center, it was certainly not the best plan as any damage caused at all would be less than negligible, but facing this opponent on his own terms was not an option.

This was a turning point, strategies were being locked in, and after these few moments the game would change. Asavar only hoped it would not change too much too soon.

Imp
02-04-2012, 09:14 AM
The opponent proved resilient with jumping back much like a cat on the defensive. Retreating at any point of probable retaliation brought unto him. Tal'set's attack became nihil once this happened and from that point he watched Asavar begin recklessly breaking the posts nearby. They became like shrapnel and were propelled towards the Jotun's direction. There was not much of any concern so long as the High Guard stood in the path of danger.

The majority of wooden shards collided with the shield and simply bounced off while others landed on the large platform, rolling aimlessly about. Some made a rattling sound from repeatedly knocking into their fellow posts while falling towards the abysmal waters below. A collection of these broken posts proved worthy as missiles and so Tal'set crouched to switch from his spear to encompassing three spikes from the pile into his large grasp.

Stretching his arm back and preparing for a throw, he aimed for the center mass of the small Asavar to increase chances for a hit. The scatter of the three spikes would also be part of the warrior's equation.

The cocked-back arm released and forwarded until nearly reaching an outstretched overarm position. The grip loosened, launching the volley wooden missiles towards Asavar.

With great haste, Tal'set swiped three more shards that sat idle by his feet. They were thrown with the same accuracy and followed seconds after their airborne partners. From Asavar's direction, looking past the flying shards, one could see Tal'set plucking another wooden missile from the front of his shield as if preparing for another throw.

GraftRaven
02-06-2012, 12:22 AM
Admittedly it had been a desperate move, and now it seemed as though it had turned against him. The first salvo of bamboo rods hit nothing but his spear as Asavar spun it to block, but this move slowed its rotation considerably. The Kerberos spear was swiftly becoming more trouble than it was worth, and so it was cast aside, firmly embedding itself in the side of the large platform.

He felt it, the first lock pin sliding into place, the signal that the Codex was ready to deliver on its promise to him. As the second salvo of bamboo was launched at him, Asavar grabbed frantically at the Codex, whose chains released smoothly as it settled weightlessly into his hands. Two rods missed behind him, but the third impacted on the Codex's solid metal bindings and caused the tome to impact Asavar's side heavily, which in turn broke the cracked ribs there.

Again in desperation Asavar pushed hard towards the center with his legs and, even as he began to fall, knew he would at least land on the platform. While he flew through the air time seemed to slow down, he could hear and feel the many tumblers of the Codex set into their places, the rings full of locks revolve, and then the bolt released as he landed heavily on his back. He wheezed loudly as he heaved the heavy metal covers apart and the thin pages rustled almost calmly.

The calm didn't last long as an incoherent word parted Asavar's lips and the Arcana Codex rent the skies in two with a bright beam of pure energy. An instant after the beam dissipated the wind started, calmly at first, then with greater and greater speed the air in the arena was swept around and around in a great circle. After only moments the winds were taking up arms, snapping poles left and right and hurling them around, suddenly nothing was safe, bamboo filled the air on all sides, and in the center of the wind's fury were the two adversaries.

Asavar, on his part, was content to lie flat on the platform until the last moment, the bamboo impacts so far had not been so bad, but he was ready to move should this situation deteriorate.

Imp
02-09-2012, 01:16 AM
The clever use of throwing the spikes had diminished once the fierce winds arrived, sweeping away the last of the Jotun's ammo. Tal'set was expecting something more lethal from a wizard. Something like a lighting strike or causing him to burst into flames with the flick of Asavar's wrist. Instead, he got massive whirlwind he was stuck in along with his annoying foe. Asavar was like a bug to him: easy to withstand but hard to get rid of.

He patiently watched as the heavy winds ripped apart the surrounding posts, filling the air with shrapnel. Every couple gusts would mist Tal'set with wooden debris. Some stuck into him like splinters, others hit his shield or missed him completely. The problem with the spell is that it appeared most everything was sweeping upwards into the sky and out, only a quarter of the debris swept over the platform.

Then again, the wind was the main concern. Tal'set's shield acted like a kite, just asking to be taken into the sky. Concerned about the guan dao, he looked over to it and attempted to reach for it while braving the harsh wind and standing his ground. His arm extended downward, he could feel it being kissed by tiny pieces of flying wood as he reached further. Once he clenched the weapon, the Jotun forced his shield face-down onto the platform near Asavar.

Raising the guan dao over his target, he prepared to impale Asavar but failed as the wind managed to sweep him off of his feet and instead implanting the blade's end a couple inches into the platform. The giant was down, lying on his shield, and now in arm's length of Asavar's left side. The dao stood tall above them both and it's sharpened edge appropriately faced toward the mage.

The skull-mask proved to be a bit of a burden when lying face down so he usually was on his side. After making the proper adjustments, his arms launched outward, acting like a grappling hook and having both hands latch onto the respective locations. One hand grabbed the leg while the other grabbed onto one of the steel plates of Asavar's armor. Now Tal'set began trying to drag Asavar into the blade with a good amount of strength.

GraftRaven
02-11-2012, 12:05 AM
The winds died down as Asavar felt two large hands on him, after having nearly being impaled and losing sight of his opponent for an instant, it was a surprise. And now he realized that he was moving closer to that blade. As the last remnants of the posts fell from the sky, pattering off the surroundings, Asavar extended his left hand towards Tal'set as his right scrabbled at the ties of his armor.

At the same time his claws sliced through the ties and freed the plates, causing them to tear away and the Jotun to loose his grip, he muttered another word and a blast of flames shot from his left hand. Though he had no time to pay attention to the shot as despite being at a more advantageous angle his side dragged across the spear blade for a moment, leaving a large gash.

Asavar cried out a string of curses in a long forgotten language as he lashed out at the giant's other hand with his free foot. In an instant he began to bleed profusely from his new wound as he reached up and grasped the large spear, trying to free it from the wood.

Imp
02-12-2012, 08:31 PM
After receiving a fireball to the arm and chest, Tal'set released his grip and quickly rolled away. It wasn't the burning sensation of the fire that did the trick but rather the need to once again attempt to take the high ground. The Jotun hadn't noticed the frantic kick he just dodged nor the wound he managed to inflict on Asavar, not even the alien words painted with a painful hue were taken into consideration. What he did notice was the mage's scrawny hands tugging on the guan dao.

A feeling of rage overcame Tal'set since that spear belonged to him. It proved his merit of being a guardian and it was offensive seeing someone not worthy having their hands all over it. Pushing himself to gain momentum, he managed to roll up to Asavar and the spear but then kicked himself up into the air where he would descend at an arc over his lying foe. Beginning to slow in each mid-air roll, he took the shaft of the guan dao with both hands and furiously pulled it from the platform as well as Asavar's light grip. Little pieces of wooden chips sprung up from the release of the bloodied blade.

After one last spin, Tal'set landed on both feet and opened from a fetal position. It took only a second till he lost his balance from being on the edge of the platform. He regained himself but also took to admire the surprise of Asavar's spear being stuck in the side of the large platform. Seeing he had time, he reached down to pry the magical spear from the side and returned to face his rival with a weapon in each hand. Asavar's spear was held overhead for stabbing purposes while the guan dao was kept near the ground for swiping attacks. The Jotun smirked under his mask for the reason knowing the idle High Guard would prove too cumbersome for Asavar to use. Then again, Tal'set was sure the mage knew that and had other plans...