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The bard entered the arena, the sounds of his footsteps muffled by the grass as his gaze followed a lightning bolt to its destination. If anyone knew just how much of an analytical thinker Saphen was it would be his opponent and long time friend Spyke.

The baggy clothing that adorned the bard were held down slightly by the rain, which took refuge inside the fabric from the crackling lightning.

Saphen decided to keep using his violin for now to continue to test it's capacity in combat.

Let the thinking begin...

Before his opponent arrived Saphen pushed the tip of his shoe down into the moist grass and pondered.

If his opponent would attempt close range combat the bard might be able to disrupt his footing. With the rain falling it would hinder visibility only slightly and the lightning may be a distraction if it creates a large enough sound.

For now Saphen was satisfied with his analysis and allowed the bow of his violin to run down the metal strings once more.

Beautiful music flew into the air, dancing among the clouds, as the crowd to his surprise did not jeer this time. Maybe he had gain some respect in the first round, maybe the people who did were kicked out by security, or maybe they were just more excited about the match starting soon it mattered not to the bard.

Saphen did not dance this time but instead the heel of his right foot tapped against the ground to keep time as he awaited for his opponent. Saphen had mixed feelings about this fight considering it was possible for him to knock out his friend from the tournament but the thought quickly vanished. Spyke would want him to give it his all regardless and to honor that fact the bard's determined eyes narrowed in concentration.

In any case Saphen was ready as the magic flowed through his body, a grin traced his hidden face as he awaited his opponent to arrive.

Legato: Tied Together "Let the Earth Tear you Asunder!"

Saphen's eyes narrowed as the music crescendo and the notes moved higher and higher into the octaves.

With that...something that did not often happen with Saphen occurred.

Anger...

"DAMN IT SPYKE! Don't give me those self defeated eyes and give me your all!"

As he roared a large cluster of earth rose from the ground. Lightning illuminated the sky and for a moment a small gleam flashed near the bard before he launched the mass of earth at his opponent.

With the rain the earth was not hard in any sense of the word but it maintained a spherical shape until it was several yards away from his opponent.

It suddenly split into 20 or so spheres with some flying above Spyke, some above him, and some to each side (5 for each area) as if to ensure he could not escape regardless of the direction he went. It was a shotgun formation of sorts and like the weapon it was inspired by it was meant to do damage in a slightly larger area.

Saphen remained still as the music continued to play "Show me just how important this is comrade!" he shouted amongst the death screams of electricity.

Legato: Tied Together "Let the Earth Tear you Asunder!"

Saphen grinned but he still felt like his friend was holding back.

When the earth hit the ice wall there would not be a typical dull thud but instead the sounds of cracking ice and clanking metal. Saphen had hidden ten daggers amongst the earth and when they hit the ice it cracked slightly due to their velocity.

They did not remain however and as Saphen's bow slid off a string he quickly whipped it off to his right in a signal of command.

The daggers quickly pulled out of the ice, flying in all directions around the barrier in an attempt to overwhelm Spyke and hopefully cause some damage.

They would simple arc around it and strike all at once but this was not all. The wet earth beneath Spyke opened slightly and his weight alone would cause his feet to sink into the soon to be wet mud causing traction problems. The attack was fairly minor considering that throwing daggers were generally smaller and with less weight than other types of daggers. However, if the bard managed to hit any sort of tendon or merely demoralize his opponent then it would be worth the trouble.

The weight of the water in his clothing was now very evident and while a minor annoyance it made Saphen think. Water, such as a tidal wave, had a great amount of weight and if Saphen could some how harness this power right now it might prove quite useful. Unlike a certain swordsman he knew however, he did not have the ability to control such and would have to consider a more...interesting....way to do so.


Legato: Tied Together "Let the Earth Tear you Asunder!"

Saphen watched his opponent body surf along the ground but he would neither waste time nor amuse himself with a joke about Californians (for now).

Instead as soon as his opponent dove onto the shield Saphen would counter by causing the mud several feet in front of his opponent to rise upward creating a mud pillar. However, as Saphen's bow slid across the strings, the pillar would lean forward and immediately drop directly down on top of Spyke. It was as if a snake was lifting out of the ground and then striking downward at its prey.

All of Saphen's focus was entirely on this assault, since he had only launched the daggers and not controlled them to their destination they most likely were dodged by his opponent's attempt at recreating a slip n slide game for adults. Saphen was sure there was a market for that sort of thing but now as now the time to think about it.

Right when Spyke launched himself onto the shield Saphen considered a few options for stopping his opponent's forward momentum and came up with this option as the best one. The mud should absorb the blow it would take from the sliding warrior since he would not have gained much momentum by the time it pushed up into the air. With the mud flowing upward it should push the shield up slightly making it troublesome for his opponent to scramble away before realizing what happened. The pillar itself did not extend very high (8 ft) and thus as it was continually fed from the ground it self it should be a quick and hopefully successful attempt at binding his opponent or at least decreasing his ability to move as quickly.

Saphen was attempting to study his opponent's movements and skills before he could find a logical way to defeat him. The bard had already discovered several interesting things about his opponent in the few simple attacks he had done.

1. His opponent must prefer close ranged combat. Considering that there have been no attempts at long range counter attacks.

2. Spyke could wield ice but has not attempted to use the rain to his advantage so there may be restrictions on his elemental powers.

3. Spyke might be a west coast guy who enjoys getting tans and catching waves bro!

Saphen slowly began to back step, being careful to make sure each step had traction, as he awaited his opponent to counter. The bard had to consider whether he wanted his opponent in close range for long range combat but at the moment he was not sure. Saphen had spoken to Spyke only once about his new found weapon and the information was vague at best...it may be better to provoke him as he listened to his opponent's words he replied

"If you don't hurry the concert is going to be over before the finale!"

Legato: Tied Together "Let the Earth Tear you Asunder!"

Should have started a long time ago...the bard thought to himself as he stopped playing music for only a moment.

The last note echoed as Saphen kneeled on his right knee as his right hand hovered over the ground. The cuff of his baggy sleeve wafted in the wind and for a moment it appeared as if something was moving beneath it.

After the initial pause, Saphen stood up, taking the moment his opponent allowed him to consider his options.

Spyke was taking his sweet time and Saphen was not sure why. I suppose the fact that he had his armor now might be the reason he waited so long but regardless he was expending energy to defend against each assault.

Something isn't right here Saphen thought to himself as he watched the bionic wolf walk up to him. The bard could not get his opponent to launch a single range attack which made Saphen even more wary of close quarters combat. The rain soaked musician watched each of his opponent's steps carefully, one after another, they pressed into the wet ground and as his right foot touched down he made his move.

Saphen stood up quickly and after he placed his violin beneath his chin he touched the bow to the strings once more. The notes that spread through out the arena were soft and mellow and with them forty daggers also fluttered into the sky spreading out to cover a large area above Saphen's head.

God illuminated the earth with knowledge beyond comprehension, it crackled and roared as the sky wept for the ignorance of humanity. As the daggers ascended into the sky they flashed every so often with a heavenly aura, it was as if they achieved what no man could...enlightenment. Yes...that is why Saphen thought that there were angels floating above him as the music gained vitality in the few moments before rapture.

"I wonder," said Saphen "if amidst the torment in this world if any man has ever truly deserved to go to heaven..."

With those words the daggers launched themselves at Spyke, raining down upon his opponent with grievous intent.

God's wrath had begun...


Legato: Tied Together "Let the Earth Tear you Asunder!"

Saphen watched as his daggers were defeated by the droves, either crashing into the shield or missing all together. If it was divine purpose that sent them into battle well...evil would not be defeated so easily.

No one could really tell how the bard was feeling save for the musician himself. The mask blocked all emotion from the crowd and his opponent but with all of his attacks thwarted one might assume that Saphen was concerned.

They however would be wrong

Spyke was not a hard man to read when you considered his fighting style at this point. While determination could be easily one of his finest attributes it also allowed Saphen to control his movements.

The warrior also had endurance on his side and in the many battles they had encountered before this one had survived quite a number of sinister plots. Saphen wondered if his opponent realized what was happening as the wolf jogged right over where Saphen had placed his hand on the ground.

Suddenly the dirt erupted as the bard's trap was sprung! Saphen had slid a plant, which normally rested on his wrist and wrapped around his forearm, into the ground before he launched his daggers into the air. This particular type of plant was a cactus with long leaves the which were slightly longer than his forearm but they wrapped around the elbow with ease. Since the spines of this plant were only on the edges and the tip of each leaf it did not harm Saphen in combat.

How would this plant help him you ask? I shall tell you

When the plant releases its main spike at the end of each leaf the plant sinew follows with it. A long green cord that was not only sharp when pressed against the skin but also quite durable. The plant itself had ten leaves and thus ten spikes shot out of the ground, with cords attached, and wrapped around his opponent's legs and quickly moved to consume his torso and bind his arms.

It mattered not if Spyke managed to break out of the plant's powerful grasp for that was not the point of the trap.

In fact the main point was to lock him in place!

Since Saphen had set the trap earlier, instilling a small amount of energy into the plant so that it would react when there was pressure on the dirt above it. This meant that Saphen was not controlling it directly and had merely set it up so the plant would react a certain way if something occurred. That is to say that if Spyke had tossed a piece of his armor on the same spot the same event would have happened to the armor instead of to Spyke. Saphen had attempted to see if his opponent would launch anything at him that might make it troublesome to set up such a trap but since he did not...Saphen gambled on the notion that he would charge in.

This freed up the bard's ability to charge energy once Spyke was bound.

The sound that was released from his instrument sounded deep and powerful. Saphen's bow slowly moved along the strings as his gloved fingers moved the strings quickly from side to side to give the notes more depth. For the moment the bard seemed truly happy as his body swayed gently while he played. The energy enveloped him and though there was no visual effect to be seen...it sounded as if there were other instruments playing with him.

The bard seemed to be lost in the music for a moment...what would happen next would remain to be seen.


Legato: Tied Together "Let the Earth Tear you Asunder!"

Despite the giant obelisk of destruction that had ravaged his plant and was looking for seconds Saphen seemed blissfully unaware.

The music continued to play but one would notice that Saphen was spreading his stance. The right leg was forward, closer to Spyke, the left leg behind him in a sideways position. The bard's body continued to sway back and forth but suddenly stopped when Spyke was about 10 feet away from the musician.

Now the fun began...

Saphen had gathered some energy so that the amount of earth he could lift out of the ground would be greater than usual. Not only that Saphen was compacting dirt beneath the earth to soldify into more of a stone structure. With the rain beating down on the ground Saphen had to focus more energy as well as use dirt slightly deeper into the ground in order to achieve this. Mere stone spikes would not do much to push back a man in a large suit of armor but there are cons to wearing armor. Your mobility is decreased and your ability to react to sudden events is also decreased.

Rather Saphen was hoping this was the case as he slid the bow off the strings and swung it skyward in an symbol of command. With that action a large stone pillar (6 feet long, 3 feet diameter) launched forth from the ground but it was not either end that launched directly at Spyke. Saphen created the stone horizontally and so when it launched from the ground, the middle section of it would hit Spyke in the waist and hopefully...into the air. The idea was that when Spyke was almost over it, it would push through the wet ground to slam him into the air, once his opponent was air born that is when the real fun would begin.

Saphen's new found weapon would swing, like a baseball bat, in an attempt to launch Spyke further into the air but not directly skyward but more in an attempt to send Spyke flying farther away to gain distance. If all worked out well, crashing into the ground in armor would be painful to say the least.

Saphen would not respond to Spyke's statement...not yet in any case. Spyke was different, twisted in some form which was not normal. The fighter always loved competition but his eyes had a killer's call to them and the bard knew it. The void that the mask created for his own eyes however might be cold in a similar sense. They both seemed to have lost the humanity in them but for the bard it was only because you had to be close to see the determined gaze that watched the wolf charge him.

Saphen was letting his opponent get a bit too close but it was necessary, ironically one of his closest friends seemed to be one of the people the bard had the least information on. Spyke was different from the last time they encountered each other but so was Saphen.

Saphen had been frustrated with what he considered to be the limitations of his abilities. The bard was versatile sure but he was not a powerhouse in any form of the word. In groups Saphen was amazing but in tournaments a bard can only do so much to increase his own abilities but that was when he realized something. The more versatile he could become the more options he had in combat.

All it takes to kill a man is to strike in the right spot...

Legato: Tied Together "Let the Earth Tear you Asunder!"