The First Judgement

[GraftRaven]

Arxus (http://role-player.net/forum/showpost.php?p=417088&postcount=2)(splicer407)

Vs

Rynn (http://role-player.net/forum/showpost.php?p=419272&postcount=2) (Awean8)

Battle Arena description: A large round field that looks like the bottom of a rocky ocean-side cliff with the water drained away (e.g. large spiky rocks everywhere and a sandy bottom). There are two large rocks in the center, approximately 20 feet apart, that rise above the others and flatten off at the top, this is the starting point of the battle.

Magic/Superhuman abilities allowed: Yes
If so, any specifics: Follow the rules.

Conditions for battle (eg- fight to the death, etc): Fight to the Brink (Just Before Death)
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Arxus walked out onto the field to wild applause from his fans on the opposite side of the arena, after all he never disappointed in providing an entertaining fight. He walked up the path to his starting position, curved spires of granite forming a bare-bones hallway over his head. Finally he reached the top of the rock, pulled the Breaker off of his back and rested it's point on the rock in front of him. Arxus projected his voice around the arena and specifically towards the opposite entrance.

"Whoever dares face me this day let themselves be known now and assume their position!" His voice reverberated around the coliseum, causing a hush to fall over the crowd.

[Awean8]

Rynn (http://role-player.net/forum/showpost.php?p=419272&postcount=2) stepped into the sea crag arena, with his index finger digging into his eardrum, "WOW, that gentleman can sure shout pretty loud."

After he wiped the excess earwax off his finger and onto his cloak, he drew Sparrow and Butcher from their sheathes in a mere flash. He walked slowly but cautiously to meet his undead opponent.

When he came face to face with his opponent he introduced himself, "My name is Rynn, and should I liked to know your name before I slay you?"

He danced around a bit trying to loosen up his muscles, since before Rynn was tempted to join this event he had spent the entire day meditating while his stupid blue imp companion wouldn't shut up about being hungry. He gave a sigh of relief for he was glad that stupid imp wasn't here to bother him.

[GraftRaven]

"It is Arxus, and we shall see who will be doing the slaying." Arxus cracked his neck methodically, the frozen face of his mask unchanging as ever. At that moment an announcement was made that the battle was to begin and Arxus threw up his left arm. A split second later a shimmer of gold flew down the tattoos on his arm and a gout of flame flew out from his palm.

Arxus then dodged off of the rock and into the thicket of jagged rocks, careful not to land on any. He ducked and wove, tracing a random path through the granite. "You'll be doing much wandering here, traveler!" His voice seemed to come from a different direction with each word.

(OOC: going to bed now... 2:40 am o-o)

[Awean8]

With a quick hand motion he sent a burst of Azure Flame to meet with Arxus' flame and quickly extinguished it, since Azure flame was of a more magical quality. Rynn smiled, until of coarse he noticed his dark and brooding opponent heading into the thicket of razor sharp rocks. The undead man's voice trailing off from every corner of his mind.

'This isn't good", Rynn followed into the thicker but than quickly lost him, "Damn, I really don't have the patience for hide and seek."

In a full sprint, keeping his daggers held at his side the entire time, he wandered the thicket in search of his opponent, sometimes see a glimpse of a shadow in the corner of his eye.

[GraftRaven]

"Aww, you don't have the patience." Arxus ducked under a rock, then swung around another and ended up on top of it. He saw the tail of a crimson cloak disappear around one of the crags not far away. "Gotcha"

Arxus jumped over to another rock, ducked around a spike, then skidded onto the sand in front of Rynn. "You've got no patience, come at me!" His voice emanated from his mouth in a shout, the Breaker in his right hand and one of the Talons in his left, its chain hanging slack. Arxus was ready to break an attack or run out of the way of magic if he could.

[Awean8]

"Bloody devils!", Rynn cursed as his opponent startled him. He quickly casted a barrier of blue fire between them, the roar of the flames creating a loud clamor. With the shadows being pierced by his magic's blue light, Rynn turned around and serpentined through the rocks in an attempt to flank Arxus.

OOC// Sorry, if it's a bit short.

[GraftRaven]

Arxus pulled on the chain to the Talon a bit then let go and the knife zipped back to his hip. He replaced the Breaker on his back, then took off over the rocks beside the flame barrier, catching another glimpse of the red cloak flying around a corner, then dropped into a small clearing in the forest of stone. This time he pulled both Talons from his belt and took up a fighting stance.

"And here i thought you didn't have time for games, Rynn!" Arxus began to turn on the spot, trying to expect an attack from any angle.

[Awean8]

Rynn hid from behind a stone pillar, the barrier of blue flame having already faded he was completely shrouded in the shadows. He could see the undead warrior standing in a fighting stance ready for anything.

"And I thought you were the one trying to cause me fear", he said as Arxus span about waiting for Rynn to strike. "Now!"

Rynn burst out from his hiding spot, discharging of Azure Flames from his daggers directly at his opponent. There was some distance between them so hopefully Arxus wouldn't meet him head on too soon. In a physical melee battle Rynn's daggers were useless against his obvious combat prowess.

[GraftRaven]

Arxus heard Rynn shout a split second before he saw the flame and dove to the side. His right arm was caught in the flame and blackened slightly, but the Talon held the azure flame, which turned crimson in the time it took for Arxus to finish his roll. He came out of the roll and pushed off towards Rynn, touching one Talon to the other and leaving them both engulfed in crimson flame.

Arxus crossed the few meters of space to Rynn in just over two seconds, then arced the Talons from either side of his body inwards, looking like he was readying for some absurd embrace, the only difference being that the blades would cross when they impacted Rynn's midsection if he stayed where he was.

(OOC: again, 2:26 am... i should learn not to stay up so late on vacation.)

[Awean8]

Arxus's blades barely caught Rynn's side as he attempted to dash to the side, the very tip of one his blades dug into his skin. The blow sent him reeling to the ground a few feet, but he quickly regained his balance. His blood began to sizzle from the hot and steaming gash in his side, but he ignored the immense pain.

Once he planted his feet back to the ground Rynn took back his momentum, and blasted another burst of fire at his attacker. This time Arxus was right in front of him, and only few feet away like a sitting duck.

[GraftRaven]

Arxus laughed as his blades slit Rynn's side, then toppled as flames licked at his left side, searing the flesh on his arm and burning away part of his shirt, blackening the chainmail underneath. The arm hurt, but he had fought though worse and got to his feet in an instant. Arxus spun on his heel, right eye socket inhabited by a glowing crimson orb. The flames on his weapons had been extinguished by his quick movement, and he began to advancing slowly.

"Tell me, Rynn, are you afraid of the dark?" Arxus' eye flashed violently, and then there was nothing, a complete lack of anything to be seen, but Arxus' muffled and monotonous footfalls could be heard on the sand. A second later even those stopped and a light breeze could be felt blowing through the clearing, or was it the brush of another being?

"Surprise!" the crimson orb lit up just inside of Rynn's right side peripheral vision and all of a sudden the grip of a clawed gauntlet could be felt on the left side of his face.

(Note, in order to avoid the next phase of this plan Rynn must break out of the hold.)

[Awean8]

Rynn didn't expect the darkness. The darkness surrounded every corner of his psyche, he was more than a little startled. In the darkness he span around in the darkness looking for a single bead of light. There was none to be found, until a crimson orb came into the right corner of his vision.

Arxus's claw gripped Rynn's head firmly. In order to break his grip he began to attack with his daggers in the general direction of the crimson orb, although his claw's grip seemed to remained.

[GraftRaven]

(I expect this to end very soon, and it might be a toss up xD)

Death's hand glowed a ghostly green at the same time when Rynn scored a penetrating blow to Arxus' chest, then Rynn went limp, plunged into madness.

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It was a storming day, blood and arrows rained from the walls of a city behind him and he was stuck in the middle of a knot of fighters. Within the next two seconds a head was cut off and two others fell to the Breaker. Then there was a searing pain in his chest and he looked down to see the tip of a broadsword protruding from his midriff, then everything faded into darkness.

The intruding days played in a time-lapse fashion, all taking place in the dark, bloody underworld, and then a seconds pause.

He awakened, and everything was pain and suffering. His lungs burned and filled with air that ought not to be present in them, his eyes sensed light that ought not to have been seen by him, and his ears rung with sounds that were not meant to be heard by them.

And then all was nothing once more.

-------------------------------------

Rynn was brought back to consciousness, still unable to see in the darkness, but able to feel the sand beneath him and that he was flat on his face.

Arxus, on the other hand was in the process of bringing the heavy blade of the Breaker down on Rynn's body and, although Rynn would not be able to see it, was bleeding profusely from the wound in his abdomen.

(hope you don't mind the embellishing, i'd still like to try and tell a meta-story across Arxus' time in the arena. Also, the attack with the Breaker is 1/2 way done, so you've got time to reduce the hit to a clip if you want.)

[Awean8]

(Yeah, we're both pretty wounded at the moment lol)

Rynn gave a scream from all the hellish images floating through the crevices of his brain. He was than suddenly on the ground, and he could taste not only the dirt but his own blood.

He brought himself up to his knees, and immediately he felt that something horribly bad was going to happen. It was the same feeling he had just before he met Death for the first time. He weaved his magic, in order to make his Ethereal Skin. If he was able to see there would be visible runes covering his entire body.

Dropping Sparrow, he used his left hand to hold his side which was bleeding severely causing his clothes to become soaked crimson. He would be unable to avoid any attacks in his current condition, so instead of running he would stay on his knees and take the blow. Hopefully his spell will hold.

OOC// Concerning Ethereal Skin, it will basically absorb any slash damage although any blunt damage you deal out with this next attack will remain. It will most likely break a few of Rynn's bones.

[GraftRaven]

Arxus' attack landed squarely in the sand exactly where Rynn's head had been a moment before. He wanted to feel around for something solid, but then he remembered that he had his eye and it lit up spectacularly. The effect seemed less than it should have been, but it was enough. The area three feet in front of Arxus was slightly illuminated with the traces of red light and he was able to see the faint outline of Rynn, still slumped on the ground.

Arxus' left hand joined his right on the hilt of the Breaker and he brought the sword around in a great vertical circle and down, its leading edge like an axe, in the middle of Rynn's form.

(Check...)

[Awean8]

(How many more turns until the darkness wear off?)

Even though the blade didn't cut due to the Ethereal Skin, Rynn felt as if he was hit with a battering ram. The magical armor immediately deteriorated, and Rynn's body flew a few meters away. Once again Rynn could taste a mixture of dirt and blood as he coughed about a pint of both. He quickly got up in a stumble still not being able to see.

He winced in pain at his almost fatal wound. He readied his most powerful spell. Crimson Lightning. He sheathed Butcher, and prepared the spell. Pure mana began to flow through his fingertips, which was a start but would need more power in order t cast it. Hopefully he'll have the time, so long as that crimson orb keeps to a certain distance.

This spell should end the battle either way....

(Woah, this is intense.)

[GraftRaven]

(It wears off at the end of this turn, funny you should ask.)

Rynn had moved out of range of the light, something that was not hard to do, and the movement from his last strike had opened the wound in his side a bit more. He dropped the Breaker and moved both his hands to cover it, he could feel the blood seeping out. He took a desperate shot in the darkness, seeing a hint of light again, and spit flame at it.

The darkness started to lift now and he could see that his flame was in the correct general direction, but not if it was going to hit or not.

(Short... but it needs to be xD)

[Awean8]

The darkness began to lift, and he could vaguely see again, but as soon as he set his upon Arxus he was struck by a spell. The fire ball hit him in his wounded side, painfully cauterizing a portion of the wound. The steaming scab that was left jutted out and pricked his skin, but Rynn remained concentrated his body filling with pure mana. His fingertips discharged red static energy, as well as his whole body. Rynn had made his body a conductor to magical energy.

"This has to end now", Rynn ran in a sort of limping manner straight towards Arxus. He couldn't afford to miss, his life depended on it. He was drained; his vision became blurred and as he ran he made a clearly visible trail of blood in his wake.

[GraftRaven]

Arxus stumbled a bit as he started moving towards Rynn. "It will, just... you.... wait..." He took his right hand away from his wound and grabbed the corresponding Talon, if he got the chance he would use it to rip Rynn's wound open again, but that chance was rather slim.

The darkness had lifted completely now and the crowd seemed to be in a bit of a shock, the last time the combatants had been visible they had been nearly whole, but now they were tattered and bloody. Arxus was sure that his trail of blood was very similar to Rynn's. As this occurred to him he realized that they were only a few feet apart, Arxus brandished the Talon upside down, then put his last energy into darting forward and slashing at Rynn's side.

If anything this strike would be his last.

(flip a coin best of 5... it solves many issues (like whether you're going to collapse on the spot or play the 'do or die' card) xD)

[Awean8]

Just as Arxus had made a dash, Rynn too dashed letting loose his Crimson Lightning bolt. The red energy that was discharged thundered through out the battle arena, but Rynn could not hear it for he was locked in a single moment that will determine the fate of his life.

He gave a scream, the blade had pierced through his skin still sticking out of his chest as if he was crucified. He was on his knees; not even having the strength to lift his head to see if his lightning hit. He could only assume that he was alive, at least a little, in order to give him a comforting conversation before he died.

"Arxus....This was a battle worthy of remembering in death. I am honored to have fought against such a talented warrior."

He was breathing heavy, as any mortal would under such circumstances. Pint after pint of blood were splattered on the ground as he coughed his guts out. He wiped his chin and thought, 'Death isn't going to be happy with me when he finds out I died again'.

[GraftRaven]

Arxus was nearly blasted off his feet, and he would have been had it not been for the chain of the Talon that bound both of them together. "You won't die..." he hacked and coughed, then spazzed from the lightening for good measure. "The arena won't let you, or wont let you lie."

Arxus gingerly withdrew the blade from Rynn's body and began to stand up. "You fought a good fight Rynn, but you fought it against me." As he stood Arxus dropped a small silver token engraved with the likeness of his mask near Rynn's knee, then finished the motion and raised his right hand, still clutching the bloody Talon, his left still clutching over his own wound and a bit of static discharging through his armor, which had received a new smoldering hole in its left shoulder.

The crowd was ecstatic, but still rather reserved about missing half the match, then Arxus toppled to his left and arena attendants rushed to both him and Rynn, one of them recieving a bit of a shock off Arxus' armor.

(Are we done, or did i interpret you ending wrong? PM if you don't want to clutter the thread.)

[John]

Well fought. Now you shall be forever immortalized in Valhalla. And congratulations on being the first.