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Midus Sonners Vice Captain
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 Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:28 am
Description: The finals are now taking place in the formal tenkaichi arena, a stone platform raised three feet off the ground. A stadium of a crowd surrounds the entire field except for in the north, where the officials of the tournament sit to watch the fights play out in their oriental venue. Field Measurements: Stone Platform - 40 x 40 yards Surrounding Grass - 20 yards between the platform and the audience Ten Count Boundary: As soon as both feet touch the grass, the ring out count begins. Going higher than forty yards into the air starts the ten count.
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Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:35 am
And now, it is time to get down to business.
The swordsman made sure of that, walking into the cheers and the outcry of the spectators as he unsheathed both his blades, not bothering to be formal at all for the wait of his opponent to arrive.
With the cloak and the hood covering most, if not nearly all of his attributes, this fight would have to escalate beyond catastrophic now with the swordsman getting serious. Hell, this is the finals after all -- if he doesn't get serious now, when will he ever?
But for all the foe would know, once he comes in...
This is not going to be an easy fight at all.
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Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:06 pm
Reyin was never the serious type. And that was all too apparent by the show the kid put on when he made his entrance to the arena. He was taking his time, slapping hands, making gestures to those in the stands, and all in all just being a celebrity. And who could blame him? This was a festival, after all. People that were just here to fight could have been better suited to back alleys and mercenary contracts.
Reyin Nova was here to entertain, and that was just what he was doing.
He wasn't wearing his usual basketball attire this go around, though. He had his sword on his back, he had his roughly stitched up t-shirt, and he was wearing his tanned leather pants as opposed to a jersey and pair of shorts. The knife that had saved him against Tres was in its sheathe, tucked away on his left hip. Though to keep the crowd from thinking he was too serious, he was wearing a backwards fitted baseball cap, black in color with the Aekean checkerboard insignia emblazoned across the front and, in smaller fashion, across the back.
He finally reached the stone platform, and with a little hop, made his little declaration of entry.
"S'up, bud?"
Reyin was all about being casual, even just before doing battle with a guy who had both of his swords drawn.
Wait.
Two swords?
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Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:00 pm
There wasn't much to say. A fight between two foes that were almost unknown to the public, it certainly wasn't going to help with a friendly rebuke right before a near death match.
"Well, well."
He tilted his head a bit, the left blade flipped over to a reverse dagger hold.
"I suppose you're the guy I am to fight?"
A sudden chill started to bathe across the arena, the origin no other than the swordsman who stood facing the foe in front of him.
"Well then. Since this is the finals..."
With a raise of his right blade into the air, ice slowly started to expand on the surface of the ground around the swordsman as he finally aligned himself to a left side stance; left blade held gently at hip level, the right held to the sides, some slight reflections off of its lethal edge showing frost covering its sides.
"...Let's give the spectators something memorable to see, shall we?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 3:55 pm
"Eh, yeah...if you say so."
Reyin shrugged his shoulders and thumbed his nose with his right hand.
"Just promise me you won't touch me with that thing. I hate being cold."
He flashed a grin, then reached his right hand up to snag ahold of the hilt of his own sword.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 6:04 pm
"No guarantees."
And with it, the swordsman advanced towards the man with moderate haste, more ice spreading on the ground while he continued the approach.
After a few seconds of walking, it took only a split moment to suddenly dash towards the foe's right side at a slow run, his right blade aiming for a stab right at Reyin's gut.
Surprisingly easy to counter, but is there another motive behind his purpose of reducing his speed?
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 3:42 pm
"Hm!"
Reyin unsheathed his longsword, holding the weapon out to his right side as Snow came barreling inwards. Reyin, not one to really keep people waiting, decided to oblige the ice-cold swordsman.
Doing his best to mimic Snow, Reyin basically completed a circle, with Snow running off towards Reyin's right and Reyin running off towards Snow's right. This kept the two realatively even, and also allowed Reyin to sweep his longsword in, then back away from his body to hit Snow's blade near the hilt and push it away from his own stomach.
Reyin's left hand hovered at his hip, fingers just grazing the hilt of his knife even as Reyin moved to close the distance between himself and Snow, looking to lead into things with a shoulder charge to disrupt the opposing swordsman's balance.
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Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:35 am
Easy for the foe to say, as the swordsman withdrew his deflected right stab quickly afterwards, keeping it relatively close to his own right side. While melee combat wasn't his primary specialty, he can certainly hold his ground against the other swordsman's longsword, especially with...
His left blade, held in that reverse dagger hold, careening straight towards the foe's right torso suddenly in a horizontal slash now as a follow-up.
Whether or not it hit didn't matter to the swordsman. He knew of his own situations in close quarters combat, and while both his blades are long to give him a first-strike opportunity due to length, the swordsman hasn't yet designed a technique with his blades that can tackle against people who are experts in CQC.
If wielding kodachi or medium range blades, then certainly, he has the chance to do so. But katanas?
Not yet, for the time being.
So ignoring whatever that might occur if the slash struck or not, the swordsman has an answer to cope against close combatants.
He'll push away with his left leg, putting him out of distance from the foe getting close, or the longsword coming in to cleave him in half. Of course, he can defend that with his left blade if need be afterwards, but to leave a true surprise for the foe...
The slippery surface that would be spread around on the ground by the swordsman would make balance an issue to overcome.
Not to mention, a simple spike of ice that would burst right up from where the swordsman's left leg would be once he retreats a few steps, aimed as an attack to stop the foe from attempting a rush or anything of the sort. Grazing only centimeters away from his left side that would be facing the foe, and making entry a more than difficult encounter to solve his own problems in close quarters combat.
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 7:17 am
While Snow may have had an answer for keeping Reyin out of close quarters combat, Reyin had his own for dealing with two blades at once: His hunting knife.
The knife was hardly a weapon of war, but it looked intimidating enough to be one. It was also a solid metal, bladed object that, while more useful for stabbing, was pretty handy when it came to deflecting swords. Reyin's left hand pushed out and directed the blade of the knife into the path of the katana's blade, not really hoping to stop the slash, but to 'bend' the sword by applying pressure far enough down the blade that the sword would pass and leave Reyin unscathed.
As for the push off, well...with the ground underneath Reyin all icy and whatnot, it was going to be pretty successful.
Reyin slid backwards until he reached dry ground again, after which he took a single step back with his left foot to prevent himself from stumbling. The spike shot out from the ground, and Reyin stopped himself from charging for a brief moment.
"Alright..."
Reyin slammed his knife back into its holster and spun his sword around in his hand.
"If that's how you wanna dance."
Reyin bolted forward hitting the ice and just trucking his way along. His pace was slowed by the slippery surface, but he was still coming in pretty quickly, hopefully quick enough that another ice spike wasn't going to shoot up into his stomach before he reached his opponent.
He had dealt with spikes beforehand, and he'd rather not deal with them again.
Reyin, being the huge action junkie he was, opted for the least tactically sound option available to him. He left his feet, planted off the side of the spike, and just launched himself at Snow, coming down with his right foot snapping out at the last moment to hopefully catch the swordsman in the face.
The reason he didn't extend the foot before the last possible moment, was because he didn't want to get stabbed in the sole.
'Cause that'd hurt.
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:13 am
(( This would be my final post for the time being before my flight. D: Hopefully gonna get connection back around the 20th of August, EST. ))
The slippery surface paid off, biding more time for the swordsman to regain his posture and whirl to face Reyin directly. Missing the slash was a failure on his part, and it was an irritating feeling, especially after what he has done to get that opening against the foe.
He can't complain though - the foe knew how to handle himself just fine against both of his blades. So cocking his blades in place - the left held back in its reverse dagger hold and the right in normal fashion - once Reyin made the jump at the swordsman, he responded back with force.
By taking a right side step to Reyin's respective left, twisting his torso to the left as well and delivering a slash straight for the body in midair, just prior to the leg extending out to smash the swordsman's face in. Mindful of where the longsword is that Reyin is holding, whether or not the slash would land on the foe's body is of no concern to him.
If Reyin got close enough, the right blade would simply pause in midair to stall off any possible approaches, while protecting his front and right flank from possible strikes by the longsword.
Should Reyin land - and he has no doubt he will - he can always just go right in with another twist of his torso to his own respective right, slashing out with his left blade towards where the foe would land while at the same time pull the right blade back as if readying a stab.
Using the torso as the pivot to wield both the left and right blades back and forth like a flurry of lethal slashes or stabs.
Unlike Reyin, the swordsman didn't watch enough action movies to become a junkie.
Just enough fights to get the point across, and hack at the enemy. If there was time to be gleeful in a massacre or slaughter, the swordsman might have let himself enjoy that moment a bit.
But this is a tournament fight, and he'll have to put all his focus in to beat the foe that - like him - has fought all the way up to the finals of the GTB.
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Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:38 pm
Reyin, right handed as he was, still wasn't completely defenseless. His sword swapped hands, moving from the right to the left across Reyin's back in time with Snow's movement. Reyin's foot was still snapping out, because it was hard to not kick out when he had his mind set on the maneuver the entire time.
Reyin's sword came up, held in a fairly similar fashion to Snow's, and impacted with the katana as close to the crossguard as Reyin could possibly manage. This kept Reyin's sword from being pushed into his own side as he completed the jump, and also acted as a barrier from Snow's slash. The katana sparked alongside the longsword, then would continue through with its slash.
Snow's follow-up was well-timed, but Reyin was landing on ice with one foot.
His left foot hit the icy ground, and almost immediately the sneaker gave way on the slippery surface. His foot shot out from underneath him and Reyin, still going forward, landed hard on his back on the arena floor.
Coincidentally, this also but the slash just barely over Reyin's head, slicing the bill of his baseball cap clean in half and scaring the hell out of the blonde as he watched steel flash past his eyes.
Reyin would slide practically all the way to Snow's starting position before being able to set foot on solid ground, where he'd set his right foot down, use his momentum to pop up, and then pivot around to face Snow.
And if Snow wasn't charging him, Reyin would take the time to remove his ruined baseball cap and toss it to the side.
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Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 6:40 pm
Some water residue was left on Reyin's longsword when the swordsman's sword and his clashed together. Not much, and with little to no effects done to the foe, the residue seems to be harmless.
Seems to be.
Ice continued to expand to eventually blanket the entire surface of the arena while the swordsman turned to eye Reyin with a quizzical look, resorting back to a left side stance for defensive purposes.
Not much to do nor say, a few ideas came into mind before the swordsman pushed off lightly with his right leg, sliding lazily towards Reyin in that defensive stance, coming in for another attack.
With the current temperature of the season, it won't be long before the frozen surface would start to have residue of water coating on top - making fighting on top of such surface more difficult by each passing moment.
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Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:23 pm
"Tch."
Snow came in with his swords raised, sliding on the ice with seemingly little concern for the slick surface. This was the second foe Reyin had to fight that had the power to shape the arena, and this guy seemed to pretty capable at melee combat, to boot. Still, Reyin couldn't help but to crack a bit of a grin, lifting the corner of his mouth in a smirk before he pushed off the last remaining bit of dry ground and launched himself towards Snow.
Again his left hand seemed to be hovering over the knife at his hip as he closed in on Snow, and just before the two got within swording range, his fingers snaked around the handle of the knife and tightened their grip. Reyin, still sliding and showing no sign of stopping, would whip his sword across his body in a horizontal motion, moving from Reyin's right to left, with the tip of the sword just below chest level for his opponent.
Unfortunately with the arena in the shape it was, Reyin wasn't going to be able to actually put a lot of 'oomph' into his swing, but he could only assume that any retaliation was going to be similarly weak. After all, not being able to put your weight behind a sword swing really took a lot of the power out of it.
Not to mention that before, during, and after the swing, the two fighters would continue sliding closer and closer together.
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Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:15 am
The only problem which Reyin forget to add in his prediction, is that with the ability to shape the arena, the swordsman has his ways of taking control over the battlefield.
Like this.
Just as Reyin swung the longsword, the swordsman literally stopped on the ice through means he'll explain in detail later, raising his left blade slightly to block the incoming slash while Reyin slipped in. His right blade needed to be only poised from the sides...
Just as it came hurtling straight for Reyin's stomach for a full speed stab like a spear.
So how did the swordsman stop on ice without any problems?
It was simple; he just needed to thicken the ice slightly to create a dry surface for traction wherever his boots land, so only the area where the boots are in contact with are given traction.
Everywhere else is left unchecked, giving the illusion that he can slide and run on slippery surface without a damn for balance.
Cause he can just change from one manueverability to the next.
In the meantime, his weight is anchored on the left leg, foretelling the impression that he might either evade by moving away from Reyin's slide, or perform other deeds that would put the foe in a tight pinch in defense.
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Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:43 pm
Snow being able to stop himself was all handy and all, but it also helped Reyin. For instance, when his sword was intercepted by Snow's katana, it was understandable if the swordsman was going to put up any sort of additional force to match that which Reyin applied. So when the second sword came in for a stab, Reyin pushed with his right hand, forcing his sword against Snow's and using the force applied to slide himself out of the way. There wasn't a lot of momentum on Reyin's side, so he wasn't going to avoid the stab completely, but at least he wasn't going to be impaled.
Blood shot from a wound on his left side as Reyin unsheathed his dagger and moved his arm out of the way of the incoming stab, leaving his flank pretty much open for the katana. It wasn't the point of the sword that drew the blood, but the bladed edge catching the flesh that did it.
Reyin was moving now, though, sliding to Snow's left side and his own right. And as the two swords on that side continued to be in a bind, Reyin decided to make a counterattack of his own.
Wincing through the pain of shifting his own left side forward, Reyin stabbed his hunting knife down into Snow's closed hand, hoping to not only free his own sword but remove the opposing swordsman of his weapon in the process.
Lord knew that in his current situation, Reyin needed all the help he could get.
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