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Midus Sonners Vice Captain
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 Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 2:11 pm
The fighting area is now much smaller than the previous arena type. 200 ft in radius, with a 100 ft in diameter platform in the center. The area between the platform and the high wall of the stands is 50 ft. There's something lying in this space other than usual sand and hard ground: water.
The water is no out of bounds, only the stands and beyond. However, the 6 ft thick platform is floating on top of water that is 30 ft deep, so the platform is bound to sway in balance whenever shifts of movement occur on its surface. Too much weight on one side can cause that side to become submerged in water for a few seconds before the balance resets itself.
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 8:49 pm
"So, this is cool."
Reyin was chilling on the edge of the platform, pushing down on the edge with his legs, testing out the platform's balance and bouyancy. His shoes were getting soaked, but he didn't seem to mind too much. The blonde had proven that he was a capable enough fighter by passing the first round with a win by judge decision, but the spectators were left to question how much sanity the poor guy had at his disposal.
Reyin's attire for this fight was pretty much the same as the last round, since the kid was notoriously poor he really couldn't have afforded a change of clothes if he wanted them. Tanned leather pants and a white t-shirt with similarly colored shoulder regions. He wasn't the most heavily armored person in the world, nor did the long sword on his back look particularly special in any way, shape, or form.
Aside from his physically fit physique, a lot of people would have probably assumed he was just some fan who ended up on the main stage.
"Hope I'm not fightin' some mermaid or mer...person. That'd be lame."
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 9:46 pm
Saphen traveled to the arena and entered once more. There was no fancy tune vibrating from his mandolin nor his demeanor. Saphen was strictly business now and with the disappointment of no opponent in his first fight he would make this second one count.
Every step was perfectly paced, his feet rolled from heel to toe like a boat rocking in the water, and his body stood up straight with eyes directed forward. If one had ever seen a marching band they would recognize the walk...it was in perfect time.
What time you ask! Some tempo off some song that some lady had once sang in some place during some moment that Saphen just so happened to be in some near by area to hear it. Some might wonder what relevance that had to this fight but it was none.
Saphen was adorned in the normal bard garb, his baggy clothing in mostly black with golden threads etched into the chest and wrist areas and he stopped as he reached the platform.
Wait a second...in an arena full of water what exactly was he walking on? Surely Jesus was not on lunch break while Saphen covered shifts. Saphen's feet were touching the water but barely and it appeared almost as if he was walking on it. But to the trained eye one would realize that he was actually gently gliding over the water and that he was being held up by something...What that something was only time would tell.
Stepping onto the platform leaving all questions to be answered at a later date (mark your calendars) he stared at his opponent, the mandolin strapped to his back and the mask defeating all expression that might adorn his face.
"Let us begin," were the only words that left his mouth and he bowed slowly one hand, the left one specifically reaching for the strap on his mandolin and just holding it loosely in his hands.
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 4:03 pm
Reyin turned at the noise of the crowd, catching his opponent's entrance and shrugging his shoulders in response to the show. It wasn't like he was going to be surprised by the act. People walking on water wasn't exactly uncommon on Gaia. Then again, what wasn't uncommon?
Reyin was more confused by the weapon the man had chosen to bring with him to the arena. A mandolin wasn't exactly the most threatening piece of equipment in the world, and for a guy like Reyin it was almost a laughable instrument to begin with. If anything it could have at least been a guitar. Electric, though. Acoustic was just a little too twangy for his taste.
"Huh."
Saphen hadn't even fought in the previous round, so Reyin had no clue what to expect from the guy. There was no footage to look over, no fighter profile. Just first impressions, and they didn't seem to show too much.
"Alright, let's get this show on the road!"
Reyin, from the opposite end of the platform, drew the longsword from his back and darted forward.
Unfortunately, one hundred feet was a considerable distance to cover. Saphen had all the time in the world to react.
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 8:19 pm
Saphen quickly whirled the mandolin around, the strap remained fixed to his body but the instrument spun underneath his arm and up into playing position. His gloved fingers expertly found their strings, each one dancing in proper order to give life to the blissful melody of destruction.
Todays ammunition was "While my guitar gently weeps," (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9mEKMz2Pv)
A beautiful song and as it slowly matured his opponent continued to race at him. Saphen's muscles quickly tensed and grew slightly. Every leg muscle and arm muscle tightened and formed into what appeared to be a statue carved after Bruce Lee's image. The black fabric pushed out slightly in all areas to reveal the work of a master craftsman. The song seemed to be increasing some physical trait of Saphen...his agility to be exact.
Saphen released the guitar but the music still continued to play. Spinning it back behind him he began to walk slowly forward his hands raising in what seemed to be a boxers form. Right leg in front, right first ahead of left. To any master of martial arts styles (or merely someone who watched Enter the Dragon) they would realize it was the same stance Bruce Lee used, strong side in front.
Saphen smiled beneath his artificial visage he watched his opponent's movements studying every motion and especially studying his weapon. Longswords were...well long obviously but innuendo's aside he had to dodge the shaft in order to stay clean...of blood of course.
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 9:41 pm
Music was an interesting weapon, and while it probably served some purpose for the guy playing it, Reyin wasn't all too eager to let the guy jam out on his mandolin when there was fighting to be had.
Though, apparently, the blonde's opponent was also adept at playing music without actually using an instrument. Reyin was thrown off slightly, but didn't seem to be too phased by it as the musician turned martial artist stepped forward. Now, Reyin wasn't a master martial artist or anything, but he had watched enough movies and cartoons to know what a proper stance was.
Reyin didn't seemed too concerned. Swords were invented for a reason. They were simply better at hurting things than hands were. And as long as Reyin had that four and a half foot sword, he'd use it to its fullest advantage.
Reyin stopped short in his charge, about five feet away from Saphen, and simply thrust forward with his right hand, the sharpened point of his sword aiming to pierce the bard in his chest, just below his right pectoral.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 12:02 am
Saphen grinned, swordsman do the same basic strikes. Thrust , horizontal or vertical slash. Saphen's muscles had been defining in his clothing for a reason. The metal that adorned his chest, forearms, and shins were moving through his clothing and reaching his wrists. While his muscles did grow in reality it seemed like he was this Adonis of physical fitness because the metal was warping and traveling for a purpose.
To help their unarmed master.
Right as Reyin slowed down his charge the metal was now formed by his wrists but with such baggy clothing (especially in the wrist area, was not merely for show of course) it would be a sudden surprise when Reyin thrust.
Judo uses a simple stick in order to counter swords. There was no amazing secret to it. Simply the fact that it reached farther then a sword was enough to get the first strike. With in only a few seconds the metal formed into a five and a half foot staff.
Saphen thrust the staff down at the range of his opponent's face (slightly close to the neck to compensate for possible ducking) and then with a quick thrust forward he would intercept his opponent before his sharp pointy metal thing feasted on his organs.
As most humans know when metal feasts on organs their lives are no longer. To prevent this Saphen decided to use an aggressive technique in order to surprise and shock the mighty swordsman into what he referred to as an "Oh s**t" situation. But as the music played it accented the ravages of battle in the strangest ways, as a child left alone in a war zone can.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 4:17 pm
Reyin would have been offended if he had known the bard had pegged him as just some sort of average, run of the mill swordsman, and any sort of expert swordsman would have been offended at the notion of Reyin having anything in common with them.
A five foot long metal stick wasn't exactly easy to hide, no matter how baggy the clothing was, and the fact that the staff still had to form gave Reyin plenty of time to react. A few seconds was enough time for Reyin, from a complete stop, to burst into a run and be fifteen, perhaps even twenty yards away. Reyin wasn't going to run away, that would be silly, but the reference holds just as well for, say, dodging.
For the staff to be of any use, it would have to have been thrust forward before Reyin had even begun his thrust. After all, the staff's longer range would be useless if Reyin was within range and striking first. That wasn't to say Reyin still wasn't in the motion of preparing his stab, though. The sword was just in the process of being thrust forward when he caught notice of the staff forming.
"Shi-!"
Stab abandoned, Reyin took a short step to the right with his right foot and spun his sword around his middle and index finger, reaffirming his grip only when the point of the sword was now aimed behind Reyin, the hilt now pointing towards Saphen.
Planting on his right foot, Reyin both moved and turned his body enough so that the end of the staff slammed into nothing but air. And before the simple weapon could be brought down or back to a ready position, Reyin's left hand moved up and curled around the staff, with the thumb pointing down towards the ground to assure a stronger grip.
What happened next was quick. Reyin pulled on the staff, practically using the weapon as a support to hold himself upright because his left foot was no longer on the ground providing balance. His right knee was bent and the only planted foot was square on the ground, but the arch of Reyin's back put a lot of his weight behind him, where nothing waited to support the young swordsman.
Reyin was leaning backwards as he pulled, aiming to drag Saphen forward and gut-first into the oncoming left foot. Meanwhile, with his right hand, Reyin practically threw a vicious hook across his chest. The desired effect was soon obvious. With the left foot, Reyin was hoping to double Saphen over as his lungs were exhausted of their air, and with the right hand Reyin was hoping to slam the pommel of his sword square into Saphen's left temple.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 7:54 pm
Saphen in reality had hardly meant to offend anyone's combat styles but rather explain that these are all basic strikes any swordsman would use.
Apparently Saphen's ploy was caught and as he struck with excellent precision at the air's most sensitive areas (which will be explained in more detail when you the reader are older) he noticed Reyin's hand gripping the staff.
Now considering that he only had a few seconds to realize that Saphen had created a staff he may not have realized that he had full control over the metal itself. Right when Reyin gripped the staff Saphen would manipulate the end that Reyin was holding into spikes facing towards himself (that is they were facing at Saphen, kind of like a fish hook's spike faces back towards the handle).
The song continued to played increasing his agility which he had assumed by the sword that his opponent was at least a close quaters fighter in some ways and thus adapted to it. So the moment that Reyin's eager fingers grasped the cold metal they were greeted by spikes which if he remained holding or couldn't react in time would dig into his hands.
Saphen would suddenly leap into a double drop kick intending to push off of Reyin with both feet but at the same time the metal staff pulled itself in Saphen's favor eager to be released from the enticing grip of the swordsman. In other words Saphen was leaping into the air using all force to bail out of the situation hopefully tearing into his opponent's hand.
If he was successful Saphen would continue to grip the staff floating in the air above the water away from his opponent flying up in order to escape any possible range attacks. If his opponent managed to hold on he would double grip the staff and in mid air he would give it a horizontal swipe releasing the piece of metal his opponent gripped sending him flying into the water. In either case Saphen was quickly trying to regain control and range on his opponent before his increased agility would be matched by natural physical skill.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 8:41 pm
Spikes were never a good thing, but it wasn't like Reyin was actually watching the staff the entire time that he gripped into it. The hooks, or spikes, or whatever, would dig into Reyin's hand uncontested, and Reyin visibly winced from the pain. Blood rushed out from the wounds, but for the most part they remained closed due to Reyin's refusal to relinquish his grip on the staff. After all, as a kid the worst part of getting a fish hook stuck in your hand was pulling it out with a pair of rusty pliers.
Reyin's arched back would prove to be a bit of a lifesaver in this situation. Saphen pulled back on the staff, Reyin pulled up just to keep his hand from being ripped to shreds.
With the arch of Reyin's back, he was in an awkward position at best, but Saphen's leap into the air provided Reyin with a bit of leeway. His left foot, which had previously been stuck out in the air, came back to a relatively relaxed position before Reyin jumped off the ground with his right foot, twisting his body clockwise in mid-air while delivering a kick that was initially designed to clock Saphen in the side of the head.
The only problem was, Saphen jumped into the air in order to deliver a dropkick of his own. Reyin couldn't stop the thing by kicking someone in the chest, so if Saphen made no move to dodge, Reyin would be kicked off the staff, a nice series of gashes being ripped open in his palm as he skipped off the stadium floor once before coming to a rest near the water's edge.
There was much cursing to be heard as Reyin rose to one knee, quickly taking stock of the fast-approaching bard.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 1:32 am
Saphen connected but so did his opponent, Saphen's feet pressed to Reyin's chest while the swordsman's kick landed hitting his side right by his armpit. As he pushed off he winced slightly from the pain but it was minor compared to the shredding of flesh that would occur with his opponent.
As soon as Saphen was lifted into the air after the kick he suddenly screamed "I shall not go gentle into that good night!" and in a moment his muscular form was reduced and the music stopped playing. The poem increased in volume as he increased in magical prowess. The poem became more articulated as he became more determined. The poem became more lovely as Saphen became more menacing. Saphen continued the poem and suddenly his ability to control earth was heightened.
As Saphen was quickly raised into the air by his staff and Reyin landed and began to get up the stone platform Reyin stood on attacked. Spikes in a circle around the fighter surged out of the ground and aimed for different areas of his body. Every jagged form howled and crackled in fury as they attempted to pierce anywhere from the chest, legs, and face of Reyin's form.
Saphen was hopeful that the sudden change of pace would help and as he was flying up but not too high (20 feet roughly) the staff slithered back into his clothing and returned to being armor. Saphen floated in the air scanning his opponent but also the water. If his opponent used water he had to keep an eye on it but as far as he knew his opponent could turn into a giant Lewis Black and kill him with political comedy...only time and bad humor would tell.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 6:25 am
It was a good thing rock wasn't exactly very quiet when it shifted form. As the stone platform shifted and suddenly erupted into spikes around him, Reyin's reflexes sprung into action far before he even knew what was going on.
He launched himself forward first, straight at one of the oncoming spikes. However, since the spikes would need to come at a slight angle in order to reach the non-legged portions of his body, Reyin was able to plant the soles of his sneakers against the smooth rounded portion of the spike. His right foot acted first, pressing off against the closest and shortest spike even as he moved to sheathe his sword with his right hand. His left, injured as it was, refused to leave the fist he had balled it up into.
Rebounding off the first spike, Reyin launched off an adjacent and slightly higher spike with his left foot, kicked off the tip of another one as he moved to plant his right foot, and then launched himself straight through the air at Saphen.
Twenty feet, however, was a long ways, and Reyin wasn't tall enough to warrant the spikes traveling any higher than four feet, and Lord knew he didn't have a sixteen foot vertical jump.
What Reyin did have, however, was a sharp rock. The tip of the spike that he had kicked off was now resting in his hand, and as Reyin was still airborne he launched the rock forward hard enough that it caused his body to go into a forward roll.
The rock was aimed in Saphen's general direction, since Reyin lacked any sort of pinpoint accuracy. Still, it was a hunk of rock that used to be the tip of a spike, and armor or not the thing was launched with an impressive amount of force.
Reyin, on the other hand, landed on his shoulders and rolled forward, springing to his feet when the time was right before struggling to determine what was more important to watch, his opponent, or the booby-trapped floor.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 3:51 pm
Saphen had to give it to the guy, when it came to physical form this guy was a pinnacle of performance. Saphen continued to chant "Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight," which later Saphen would consider ironic considering the wild actions and launching objects into flight...but that was much later.
Saphen focused on where his opponent would land as the spike would launch. With his earthly skills increased he quickly formed a nice bed of small but jagged spikes for his opponent to land on. The row was a rough guess of where he would roll but in a decent size area (roughly ten feet by ten) in hopes that when he fell he would fall into it. It was quick and crude but sharp objects were sharp objects and they desired nothing more then to test their might against Reyin.
As the spike (his former friend) was launched and racing towards Saphen with mutiny oh it's mind Saphen had to act quickly. It was fairly close since Saphen had taken the initial time to form his trap on the floor before dealing with it. As it neared him he quickly placed his right hand in it's general direction open palmed and accented the word "Rage," in his next sentence and the spike exploded into sand which merely irritated any open skin with small cuts as it washed over his gloved hand and bounced harmlessly over his armored chest.
Saphen continued to chant his hands held out in front of him preparing for his next attack.
"Rage...Rage against the dying of the light."
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 4:40 pm
"Keh!"
Straining his body to unleash its utmost potential required precious oxygen, and as Reyin bore witness to the spikes awaiting him the expulsion of air came out as a soft noise.
Thankfully the spikes were intended to be placed where Reyin would roll, and not where he was going to land because, let's face it, dying was not on Reyin's list of things to do in this tournament.
The spikes were smaller this time around, which was both a bonus and a penalty. He couldn't rebound off the spikes, but at least they wouldn't put a hole big enough to put a bowling ball through in his torso.
"Pff!"
That noise was not air. That was Reyin trying to avoid cursing as he opened up the palm of his left hand, bits of flayed skin still loosely clinging to the palm as blood rushed out of the open wounds, staining the platform arena and the long sword that both hands rushed to grab. As Reyin went through his roll he grit his teeth and tucked both knees in towards his chest.
As he came to what would have been time to stand, Reyin exploded outwards with both legs, propelling his body towards the spikes. His body was temporarily parallel with the ground, but it soon became obvious that he didn't have enough momentum built up to safely cross the pit and that all was going to be for naught.
That was where the sword came in. As Reyin dropped in altitude he unsheathed his sword and stuck the long weapon's tip into the bed of spikes. It wasn't going to be a platform for him to rest on, balancing on a point like that would have been a hell of a feat, but it provided a nice little push-off point for his arms.
Straining his arms, Reyin pushed off the tip of his sword as the pommel came down near his chest. The push was more forward than up, but because of it Reyin went into a little front flip, landing safely about five feet clear of the pit of spikes with sword still in hand. His left reluctantly gave up its grip on the sword pommel, immediately curling into a fist in defiance of the stinging pain.
Reyin's breathing was noticeable, but it seemed like he was going to be hard pressed to hit the bard as he floated around in the air.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 9:31 pm
Saphen turned his eyes to the rolling and dancing of his good friend Reyin. Every movement after he deflected the attack was studied since Saphen had the time to do such a thing as he prepared his next move. It was amazing how his opponent's physical physique helped him evade the ranged attacks of the Bard but it wasn't over till the fat lady sings he thought ironically.
As Reyin landed to breathe he saw a time to strike. As the sword dropped and clanked the earth right in front of Reyin burst forth into a flurry of small spikes aimed for his general area (chest,face,neck,etc).
Saphen was wearing him down and decided it was best to continue to do so. Any chance that his opponent got in range would be trouble and the last person to take anyone's physical skill for granted was the poet himself. He appreciated the great effort it took to form the body, it was similar to the effort it took to create art forms.
As Saphen continued to do his best to draw out an epic conclusion to his opponent the only sound that was being forged out of Saphen was the continuation of the poem.
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