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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 7:55 pm
Shing!
A failed thrust rang out in the lot as the sword was deflected, sparks flying off the shield where the blade bit it. The shallow split in its edge would be a reminder of how close things had come. It wasn't over yet though, and most of Raphemal's magical tricks were expended.
Instead of sticking around to see what Njora could come up with next, the kid ducked away from the large woman in a quick forwards roll away from her. The broken javelin would fly over his shoulder narrowly missing and clatter against the cement. Not bothering to turn back and engage the fierce warrior princess the 'halfkin' instead made a beeline for his spear.
Provided he could scoop it up in time, he would run to the edge of the arena by a pillar. Onlookers parted quickly for fear of getting caught up in the violence, some taking pictures, others cheering the kid on. He spared a look over his shoulder to make sure Njora wasn't too close.
"Hmmf."
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 4:00 pm
A roll, skip, and a jump later and the little stormcaller was away. Cumbersome and encumbered as she was, the large woman didn't even try to pursue. She even took an extra moment to pause, changing her mind about the javelin as she saw her hand-sized opponent bob off into the distance, and instead reaching for her belt. A short tug later and what had first appeared to be a simple braided-leather fastening with tribal-looking spheres for decoration was actually a fully functional 3-cord bola.
It was starting to dawn on her how unfortunate these sorts of fight scenarios were for her image. Those hooligans who would normally have been frightened of her were now witnessing her struggle against someone half her size. The leering, jests, and boos that followed in the wake of this brief lull grated on her more than she thought possible. Oh, sure, she could put them all back in their place easily enough, but that was the life she wanted to escape. To build a tale so grand that she would never have to return to a place like this again.
Njora's expression remained passive, but the icy look in her eyes was fast returning. She settled the long cord against her shield and began slowly twirling the other two with her left hand, building some steady momentum as she slowly advanced on the boy. Or rather, his general direction. Her actual path seemed suspiciously directed towards the shield that had fallen to the ground at the start of the fight.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 6:04 pm
fwoop fwoop fwoop~Raphemal's eyes widened at the sound of a bola winding up. He recognized the weapon more as a hunting implement. Hunters in the wilds had used similar snares and their effect on prey was memorable. Not wanting to get caught up in that mess the kid sheathed his sword with a dull thunk. Njora would be free to retrieve her shield while the boy crooked the spear against his shoulder and hurriedly worked free the wrapping on his arm. Switching it from right to left, he bandaged the fresh wound in a matter of seconds. " Wog" He murmured, waving the crowd out of the way. They got the general idea as the kid threw himself at the pillar. It was an amazing thing to witness as the small fighter deftly started climbing. Almost supernatural, but not quite, his sandals pinching the edges of the pillar as his hands gripped either side. The spear lay across his arms as he rapidly hop-shuffled up the pillar. Master Climber - The character is an incredibly adept climber, able to scale even sheer surfaces without tools at the same speed they cover open ground.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 8:00 pm
The steady hum of the weighted balls slowed and finally stopped as she reached her destination. A quizzical look spread across her face, starting with an eyebrow and growing from there. The strategy itself was straightforward enough. Staying against a larger surface would make the bolas ineffective, and taking the high ground would more than likely allow him to use that accursed lightning magic again. She could still feel the sting in her hand and soreness through her limb from the first one. Definitely seemed worth going out of her way to avoid those.
Oh but if he wanted a ranged match she was more than happy to grant his wish. Folding the bola together and fastening it to the latch on her hip, she bent down and picked up her shield. By the way she flourished and deftly caught the large, heavy object, it would soon be made clear that this was her primary weapon of choice. By the way she held it and prepared her stance as if she were holding an olympic discus, it would soon be clear that the bronze implement was far more versatile than it first appeared. So very soon, for only a moment later she twisted forward, let out a grunt and a heavy heave, and threw the 30lb hoplon spinning straight at the climbing child, aiming slightly higher to compensate for his movement. It was times like these where her superior strength truly shone. At her best she could toss the tool well over 100 feet. A mere 20 was like nothing. A small gamble, for sure... if the half-kin did nothing the sheer blunt-force trauma of the blow could easily break his back. Certainly far more deadly than anything she'd done to him so far... but much like his previous sword strike at her, it was easy to expect an opponent at this level to avert the "fatal" aspects of these attacks.
Ah, but if he thought she was finished there, he would be sadly mistaken. Upon a simple mental command as the shield left her arm, the boomerang enchantment upon it activated. No matter what it hit at its final destination, the icy tundra winds of home would carry it back to her waiting hands.
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 11:59 am
Raphemal reached a decent height around 20ft up off the ground before locking his feet against the wall and then pushing off like a springboard. He was too busy paying attention to climbing to notice that the bola sound was gone. The little hairs on the back of his neck prickled though, a 'sixth sense' telling him something wasn't quite right. With Epoch in his right hand, the kid-warrior went upside-down in the air like a gymnast and twisted around. His cloak fluttered around as he went, but the whipping of the rough fabric was the least of his concerns. Njora's shield skimmed through his dark reddish hair and smashed into his extended left arm. A sickening crunch could be heard as the bone was split and the shield continued to smash into the stonework behind him. The force of the strike sent him spinning through the air haphazardly. It was all he could do as he screamed in genuine pain to throw the spear, more simply letting go of it as he spun. Accuracy was reduced by the events, and so what was originally intended for her center mass could end up anywhere on her, if not on the ground near her. No matter what happened, Raphemal would hit the cement of the arena with a wet smack. His left arm hung limply at his side with the bone jutting out of it, blood darker than usual splattered across his side. He screamed of course, that was to be expected, a shrill thing full of agony and youth. Just as before, Epoch's arrival would be heralded by a lightning stroke from the sky despite the relatively clear night. Not that the boy was even aware of the crack of lightning or white lance of energy. He was busy laying there trying to come to terms with the fact that he'd almost just had his arm torn right off his body. Cloud Born - The character is fully immune to fall damage, regardless of height. If the character would land on something dangerous like spikes they still suffer piercing damage, but are otherwise unharmed. Note: this includes throws, so a character thrown a distance or against a wall for example wouldn't really be hurt. Note: the character can still be slammed against a wall if they are held, since that isn't really any kind of "falling".
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:17 pm
In the middle of a heated battle there were many equations a warrior had to calculate all at once. A true "warrior's instinct" was one who could make all those calculations without having to pause and think about them. For the young (at least by her race's standards) Shield Maiden, this was a thoroughly ingrained part of daily life. Yet... well, there were somethings a warrior's instinct simply could not calculate.
She saw the boy leap off his bizarre perch, but she also saw the shield connect with a discomforting crack. Considering his size, trajectory, and the jarring distance he had to fall, that deceptive little "warrior's instinct" voice in her head told her the fight was over. Imagine her surprise when she found that dreaded spear still flying right towards her. Due to the stormcaller's fancy acrobatics, it was even closer this time. Dodging was suddenly out of the question. It was all she could do to pull her shield in front of her, set at a sharp angle so the spear could bounce off instead of pierce through. Naturally, that was when she heard the terrible ringing again.
For those random strays with eyes glued to the confrontation in the empty lot, not a one would ever again say that lightning never strikes the same place twice. For those unfamiliar with the particular limitations on this competition, not a one would look in jest upon the large woman who remained standing after practically eating both. Well... remained standing for a moment, anyway. There was one final piece to the miscalculation puzzle that she was missing. While the simple fact that her shield was structured with wood and only plated in steel might make one think of it as a poor conductor (and one might be right if it was an issue of a run-of-the-mill taser), but when dealing with something as large and powerful as a bolt of pure supernatural electric force, even wood was bound to produce some measure of conductivity. If only for the sheer amount of energy being shoved into such a small space at once.
Ah yes, the puzzle piece. Well as it happened boomerang enchantments were exactly the complicated sort that could be stopped mid-rang. The large woman's shield was still returning to her, whether she caught it or not. Which, dazed, deafened, and blinded as she was, happened to be the latter in this case. Her choice of defenses was the only thing that kept her from taking considerably more damage, but a deft clash of metal on metal still rang out in echoed call to the thunder's wake. The heavy hoplon bounded off to clatter against the ground a short distance away while the heavy Norn was knocked firmly upon her back, more wounds opening up in her burnt hand as the tower shield was twisted at an awkward angle in her fall.
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Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:17 am
The ground shook. Cracks angrily split through the concrete in every direction away from the boy, forming deep lacerations in the arena. A spider web of ruined lot reaching a dozen or so feet away from the kid held him at its center like a spider. There he rose slowly, his right hand doing a pushup motion while his right hung at his side. Once he managed to get onto one knee he drew his sword and planted its tip in the ground. Leaning heavily on the weapon he fought to regain his composure. It was a losing battle as the black blood in his arm sloughed down to the concrete. Where it soaked into the cracks of the earth a ruddy fuzz started to appear. It blossomed shortly like an out of control mold, forming little patches of fur stuck in the rock. His body had gone completely pale and when he looked up to regard the female opponent his face was contorted with pain and rage. "ent torro dun"
...
"morn gorran mun dorm!" All signs of youth had left the child's voice, in fact his lips did not even move as he spoke to the woman. Instead the disembodied voice accusing her seemed to pour forth from the floor and walls itself. It spoke with the duality of male and female voices, booming loud enough to break glass nearby and scatter the more cowardly spectators. Its depth rattled bones and shook most nearby causing hearts to tremble. His advance would be slow after regaining his feet. Tyrant Edge held in the right hand would be carried in a reverse grip with the blade pointing towards the ground. Blood dripped off his fingertips as he made each small step towards her, hunched over slightly from the effort of carrying his weapon.
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 5:36 am
Oh mighty turtle, so this was your plight. She could feel the ground shaking beneath her, and quite safely assumed that it was a very bad sign. But with two tower shields obstructing her from both angles she was a bit short on "standing up" power. There was nothing for it... she could already feel her arm cramping after taking two bolts of lightning. It would be useless for shield wielding anyway. With as much urgency as she could muster while she blinked away the daze and bright spots, her free hand quickly got to work on unstrapping her arm from the shield.
Once freed, she dumped her shield to the side and rolled the other way to regain her footing from the front. By the time she managed to stand and twist to face her foe, she found something quite different than what the last light of memory had left behind. In her homelands the shamans were venerated and cloistered for a reason. The spiritual wrath they could rain down upon a foe was nothing short of terrifying. When battle was fierce, casualties high, and hope slim, they were the trump cards pulled out to turn the tide. She may not have understood the ominous words ringing out across the battlefield, but the disembodied voice spoke volumes to her regardless. Brows furrowed with concern and a stern frown echoed her response. She had angered a vessel of the spirits. This fight would not end well for her.
The half-kin's approach was slow, giving her enough time to hop to the side and retrieve her favored shield, that large, round aspis that had caused all this trouble to begin with. Once again she held it by its edge like a disc and centered herself as if to throw it. Coiled and ready to spring into action at any moment, she watched the boy carefully and waited.
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