Welcome to Gaia! ::

As the kingdom ran a muck frantically looking for their princess a boy no older than 13 seemed calm. He walked with his hands in his pockets with a sword and shield resting atop his back. The sword was quite large considering the boys size and some would probably wager it was too heavy for this young king to wield with an skill. Those onlookers would be wrong, the boy was Ragnar and he had been training with swords of this ratio all his life. His father had always given him larger blades insisting if he would wield something like this effectively he could handle one his own size. The boy had an aura of confidence about him, not arrogance but he stood tall and firm self assured in his own ability.

He continued his walk as if being guided anyone listening closely would hear a soft thrumming that grew and dampened as the boy moved. It was a rune, given to Ragnar by the queen one mean to give him the ability to track the escaped princess. Ragnar had been given his duty only months ago and since he had quickly learned this princess was going to be a pain. "Good thing I have this Dez compass.... else I'd never find her." He thought with a sigh as he moved to an airship. He looked to a nearby airship, of modest size and almost nothing to look at Ragnar gave the man a few coins to take him to the outskirts.

As they went The thrumming grew and it brought a soft smirk to the boys lips. He had guessed she'd leave the city and it seemed today good fortune was smiling down upon him. As it touched down at the edge of the tall grass the boy nodded in appreciation before departing and disappearing into the green sea. The wind swept through the blade causing them to sway and arch around him ensuring the boy quickly lost his sense of direction. Once again his hand Dez sensing compass was there guiding him to her. After around twenty minutes of venturing he stepped into the clearing and tucked the rune into his back pocket to stifle it. There amidst the shade of a lone tree lay his prize.

"Why must you wander? The least you could do is take me with you." He said as he approached acting older than his years. His cheeks were slightly flushed and beads of sweat trailed down the side of his forehead. The heat beating down above mixed with the thickness of the grass had tired him somewhat. Despite his disheveled appearance his mind was sharp, the one he watched was crafty and he dare not let his guard down around her. Else she was likely to slip past him again. Though as Dez would soon learn she would not be able to escape Ragnar, each disappearance would be only temporary.


He moved into the shade and let out a soft sigh pleasantly surprised at how much cooler it was beneath the tree. "So Dezzy, shall we return?" He inquired teasing her a bit with the name. Despite acting mature the boy would not fight what he was forever. A child will always be a child, and a boy will almost always tease a girl when given the opportunity.

She seemed intent on telling him about his inabilities. My this girl was cocky. If he wasn't charge with protecting her he'd be tempted to smack it right out of her. "I suppose she could have given me something. Then again with someone so loud and obnoxious I imagine even an oaf like me can follow along." He said sarcastically mocking himself while intentionally insulting her. "She didn't give me a thing. You're just predictable." He teased once more waiting as she began to draw upon herself. Ragnar never understood it. Marking oneself never solved anything, it was a temporary buff. Something that was fleeting and the enemy wouldn't give her such time as Ragnar did.

When she denied him an answer he shook his head. "Come now, if you want me to forget about it or believe you you'll have to do better than that. I don't buy it. You're an atrocious liar." He said watching her face uncaring of the doodles she made atop her skin. Let her play artist all she liked Ragnar had bigger fish to fry and he would get to the bottom of this conundrum. She slipped up and he wasn't going to let her off the hook. He wanted to hear her say what his mind was already thinking. Despite how impossible it sounded in his head, he had to hear her say it. He may not be a genius but he was not fool. She was crying and then just brushed it away like it was nothing? Dez wasn't like that and Ragnar wouldn't believe it for a moment.

She finished and rose to her feet before drawing her sword and babbling about something before giving him an "order". As soon as she finished her words Ragnar began to laugh deep and heartily, going so far as to hold his sides as it continued before dying down. He rose to his feet and began walking towards her. "I don't take orders from you....." He said stopping just a few inches from her. "What did you mean by the fallen? If you don't wanna tell me, maybe I should ask the one I do take orders from." He said tilting his head and raising his eyebrows to convey the fact her was challenging her. She messed up big and Ragnar was going to nail her for it. Man was the queen going to be pissed with her princess and pleased with Ragnar. He crossed his arms over his chest obviously pleased with himself feeling like he had just laid down his ace and the game was his. He had no idea just how foolish he was.

As she called him a liar Ragnars fist clenched. She had struck a nerve, attacking his integrity was a weak point for the young boy but he resisted the urge to retaliate robbing her of the satisfaction of seeing just how much that affected him. She quickly moved on to insulting his intelligence something he could easily ignore. In fact it caused his fist to loosen into just and open palm and a smile crept across his lips. She mentioned being chosen and it caused the boy the chuckle audibly. "I was chosen because I can keep an eye on you." He said winking in a teasing way knowing that it would in all likelihood get under her skin. As she turned her body he merely watched her waiting he wasn't worried about what she was going to do, she may be an annoyance but she wouldn't attack him without him having a weapon.

She mentioned a wager and he smirked softly, he had the upper hand. She was bargaining with him and that meant he could press the advantage to ensure it was in his favor. As panic set in at the mention of going to her mother he smiled even brighter! Today was his lucky day, she must had royally screwed up for it to be so bad that she would panic. He was really going to press it now. Though all of that faded when her hand moved upward. It paused in front of him and the brow furrowed in confusion. His head tilted as he looked down to see her petite hand out as if to keep him from going any further. His head tilted in confusion studying the gesture unsure as to why she would do such a thing. Then came her words. Softer than before and filled with something he hadn't heard in a long time. His gaze returned to hers and he saw it....fear.

A wave of guilt washed over him after seeing such a thing in her eyes. He was to protect her and he had somehow gotten her this frightened. His face relaxed and soft smile came to his lips as he shook his head and turned around. "I'm too good to you Dezzy..." He said softly teasing her before walking over and drawing his sword from its sheath while leaving it and the shield behind. He grasped it with two hands needing them both to properly support the weapon as he looked to her with a smile. He aimed to rid that fear of her eyes and so he would relent for now. He would play this little game of hers, even if she was cheating with the silly art scribbled about her body. "Ladies first...." He said taking a mocking bow pretending to be chivalrous when his true intentions were to just take her mind of whatever plagued her internally. He didn't know what to expect her move to be, she was crafty he knew that and in turn she could easily had some dirty trick up her sleeve. Those magical symbols always had some hidden feature and Ragnar was wary of her.

He stood with his feet just wider than his shoulders knees bent with his arms close to his side allowing for good defensive reaction. The large blade pointed towards Dez, it was no training sword this weapon was sharp and due to its weight Ragnar would have to be careful to ensure he didn't hurt her if he managed to land a blow. Though he wasn't focused on that right now, he was focused on her. He had been taught to never underestimate an opponent and with her he knew doing so would not only result in defeat but a lifetime of mockery. Something Ragnar wouldn't be able to live with.

Ragnar rolled his shoulders in anticipation, the tension beginning to build. A gust of wind billowed through kicking up some dirt. A fitting sound as it howled softly as if to egg the two to begin. Without warning she was off, darting forward at a speed Ragnar knew she couldn't reach naturally. "Blasted runes, relying on something so fleeting is childish." He mused focusing intently upon her while trying to track those movements. It gave him difficulty to be sure, if his sword wasn't already in a defensive position he would have likely taken a hit. He only had time to twist his blade and place his forearm against the flat of it to reinforce the impending blow.

As Ragnar would have guess she went for a full on attack. His sword was there to block the headbutt, though when it switched to un uppercut he merely tilted his blade down to block hers. The force of the swing served to knock the boy back staggering him. Though he was used to fighting someone stronger than him, he sparred with his father every day. After skidding to a stop he immediately whirled on his heels, fluidly spinning his body and dropping his sword so that it came into the ground. Using his hips, core, and arms he launched his blade upward going for a monstrous swing to knock the girl up into the air. His blade dragged across the earth digging into as it went, as the blade left the ground a plume of dirt and dust would erupt upward concealing Ragnars presence and potentially blinding Dezaira if she had stayed in close proximity.

There was enough force into the swing that if it connected with nothing Ragnar would be left over for a moment though if it caught steel he would be in good position to launch a follow up attack or defend. One thing was for sure despite the hulking size of that sword Ragnar wielded it about as efficiently as one could. The momentum from his swings would surely cause a headache, though he had to ensure spacing was kept or else Dez would easily find an opening. "Keep you space, use your hips, create openings, defense into offense." His fathers teachings rang out in his head as the fight started to heat up.

Dammit! He missed all of her and in turn his blade made a full 180 degree movement continuing up over his head and backwards into the dirt behind him. He grunted a bit struggling to keep from pulling a muscle when he arched in such a way to keep the blade from slipping out of his grasp. He heard her his in discomfort which could only mean the dirt did its job. Ragnar smirked knowing full well her general location through the plume of dirt. He had to act fast, there wasn't time to strategize or think of the correct approach. An opening may have been created and he had to take it.

He once again whirled taking a step toward where she had moved but instead this time his swing was horizontal. From his left to his right he aimed to cleave clear through the plume of dust before it could settle. He wanted to create another opening and another knowing if he backed off she would just get in close again and in all likelihood that would mean his certain defeat. As his blade pierced through the dust he could see her back one coming through now at the opposite direction. He smiled to himself preparing for the collisions. "She isn't running crazy fast this time. My strike should win now!" He exclaimed internally as steel clashed against steel. A clang erupted forward and the two blades cleared the dust with their speed. Ragnars blade weighing more had more momentum and pushed hers back as his continued on.

The blade moved through past Dez and into the ground. He had to step forward with the swing to get that much power and he now was within inches of her and had a window, an opening but he couldn't swing his sword that fast to capitalize. Improvising he through his left shoulder forward aiming to catch her square in the center of her chest and knock the wind out of her or maybe even to the ground. This move was risky through and if she dodge Ragnar would be off balance and rather wide open for a counter attack. He had to take the chance though. The two hadn't fought yet and he needed to learn more about her. She was weakened from the dirt and although he knew those runes were helping her this was about seeing how she would react to something like this. He had made an unexpected move and wanted to see how it would play out. "Focus on winning the war.... See the forest, not just a single tree." His fathers wisdom rung out again and Ragnar knew that was just what he was doing. Perhaps losing their first battle in order to gain insight on how to win the much larger scale.

The more he understood her, the better he could fulfill his duty.

He charged forward and just millimeters before he could connect she side stepped. It wasn't going to be good, he was now wide open and he was sure his opponent wouldn't let that go unpunished. His was planted firmly in the earth next to him and his opponent grabbed his right wrist and yanked whirling him around uncomfortably so right into the butt of her sword. It connected with the right side of his ribs and his jaw clenched as he coughed from the impact. Pain seared through his body but he couldn't let this go. She grabbed his wrist but he returned the favor by grabbing hold of her own.

Falling now from the impact he yanked hard aiming to take her down to the ground with him. He coughed from pain and blood began to trail down the right side of his lip. He likely bruised his lung and now was paying for it. His chest was now tight, he wouldn't be able to last much longer without needed a break. His breathing had shallowed but he would be damned if he went down so easily.

As he pulled her down if she didn't go to the ground his left fist would come whirling up aiming to hit her in the gut to knock the wind out of her. If she did come to the ground he would immediately lift his legs to wrap them around her torso aiming to pin her or move into an arm bar. Ragnar wasn't an expert in hand to hand combat but his dad taught him enough to get by. He knew he needed to dominate with positioning and was aiming to do so fast. His right arm was tucked against his ribs hoping to provide some cushion if she decided to go for a second shot. It seemed she was trying to take it easy on him, a noble gesture but Ragnar aimed to see just how tough she was. So he wouldn't hold back.