Welcome to Gaia! ::

All there was for moments on end. Was the rustling sound the tree created as branches rubbed against branches. This was only to last so long however. For this small moment of tranquil silence was broken by the fierce aggravated yell from the young Festus.

I don't-

Her right fist went flying through the air. Aimed at the mans face.

give a-

Her right foot went for the mans right side.

DAMN ABOUT-

Her tail; barb and all; went on a mission to wrap along Maximo's anckle and remove it from underneath him.

THIS FORSAKEN LAND!

If there was a letter lower then "Z", that would be the grade Festus would get upon her patients test.

Yike!

::Maximos hadnt expected an attack. Believe it or not this happened more times than he cared to mention. He'd be doing just fine and then all of a sudden...he's getting attacked. He never understood why. And yet here it was. Instinct acted before anything else.

His right arm rose up to block the punch to his face. It was a standard defense, his right arm rose beside his face. While his right leg moved to stop the adventuring tail by simply stepping on it. Unfortunately this left next to nothing for his side and so he immediately took the hit to the side, grimaced just a bit and then jumped back.

Funny. That smile seemed someone absent.::

Well Lady Festus, that wasnt very lady like of you. But if we need to do this...

::His right hand slipped behind his back, while his left hand slide forward its palm open. His feet were wide and angled slightly toward her.::

Then lets do it right.

---

::This unamed man was fast. Maximos could easily tell that if he was mortal. Or flesh and blood for that matter he wouldnt have caught even a glimpse of this mans motion before it was too late. For fights such as this he was very thankfully of his more...supernatural nature.

Maximos's left hand swung to the side to catch the oncoming blade stopping it in its tracks. He wasnt aiming to grab the blade itself but rather he grabbed the wrist of its wielder. With a flick of his own wrist he tested to see exactly how humanoid this opponent was. He twisted to the side, thusly pushing the mans wrist against its normal bend. He was surprisingly strong for someone his size. He wasnt going to be lifting any mountains, but he was no wimp. This position usually causes something of a discomfort for the average human as it threatens a sprain or break in the wrist itself.

As Maximos had no idea what this man was he could only guess the effect. Though the intended goal was for the man to drop his sword. For the entire time Maximos's eyes stood locked on his opponents. Never flinching, never blinking, not even a bit.:

::Maximos was never one to be halted so easily. If anything his track recored proved he was made for taking quite the beating. A fight with Maximos usually starts off at its worse, and then endures.

Maximos wasnt going to play defensive all day, but he needed some idea of what this man was wielding in order to effectively combat it. He felt the sting ripple through his finger tips to his glove...and then stop. The Lunoc Replication Seal stood yet still on the back of his glove, thus the earlier spark in the palm of his hand. His attacker would feel the electricity surge into Maximos's hand as per normal. Though Maximos would feel it instead surge through his fingertips and into the palm of his glove where it was absorbed.

Without the stunning pain, he was given time to act. At such close range, Maximos pulled the grappled arm inward giving a very quick jerk aiming to displace the wrist. And in the same motion he sent his head forward, aiming for a quick smash of his forehead into his opponents. By pulling the stranger in it'd make it rather difficult for the man to swing his sword should he choose to drop it and catch it again, as he would be too close for the proper arm motion.

Damri might notice also that Maximos's right hand had begun to spark with rich violet sparks, each arching from his fingertips to around his shoulder and back down.::

::In the time it took Damri to launch both bolts and soar off, Maximos's tail flicked up the sword and it now rested comfortably in his left hand. The sparks from his arm danced up and down the blade. And as the third bolt came, it found itself absorbed into Maximos's arm.

The arm itself was a thing of much interest to the Shadow Warrior. It might be odd to see a man analyzing his own arm so closely as if it was something alien to him. But while surging with an alien and new form of shadow replicated energy it was infact something new to him. As was this sword. And it was so finely crafted too.

Enthralled by his own arm, and newly acquired weaponry, Maximos didnt even hear the man speak. But he could be heard saying.::

Amazing...amazing indeed.

::As his eyes seemed to be locked on the weapon, and the powers he found himself wielding. His right arm yet still rested behind his back, and his tail gently swayed in the grass.::

::Maximos was so caught up in the moment he nearly missed the sound of the lightning cracks. The pillars themselves did catch his eye though, but he was more expecting a thunderbolt to come from the pillar rather than a full person. Whats more, he really honestly couldnt tell which pillar the attack was coming from until it was entirely too late, and then he found himself caught in a sea of impacts.

As each clone kicked him and sent his rather light framing soaring. He did however notice in the split seconds before they reached him, what was missing the all of them...an aura. He did however notice while his body was kicked toward the final pillar that an actual aura was being emitted from it.

He made an assumption, he couldnt be sure what it meant, but he went with it. Due to the direction of the last impact he was flying backwards at the last pillar. He loosened his body, and whiplashed around aiming to slash with all his body wieght and built up momentum at the first thing he saw moving. In this case it would his nameless opponents swinging fist, or more specifically his arm, likely at about the elbow. Needless to say, he was moving very fast, and this sort of sudden motion was likely not expected, or prepared for.

In all honesty, Maximos had no idea what was in this last pillar this was a pure instinctual reaction. He judged the just distance before he reached that final tower and then timed when he would need to slash, he had no idea what he'd be slashing at, it might just be another clone. But he was hoping otherwise.::

::And it connected. Maximos' only defense was to pull his head a bit to the side so that instead of crushing his face it was slice past it. Needless to say, this caused alot of cosmetic difference in the attack, but physically, much was the same. Streaks of black blood dripped from the wound all over the glove as Maximos' body was sent back several feet and skidded to a roll, a roll which quickly gave way to a flip. And there Maximos stood a good 10ft away back on his feet, admiring his opponent sword.::

Thats a fancy sword their Friend, but it looks like it cant cut....I guess its no good.

::With a flick of his arm, Maximos tossed the sword at Damri. Not at him, in an attack but rather toward him. With a few deft flips it stuck in the ground not but 2ft from the man.::

Your pretty good, but sadly I think I'm going to need to be getting back to my map shopping now.

::Maximos's cheek....it should have been gushing blood but instead it was clean, from such a distance it might have been hard to tell. But the blood found itself lifting from the open wound and overing atop Maximos's head. From a distance it looked like a black ring. But from close one would see that it wasnt infact a Halo as much as it was a grouping of what looked to be 2inch long black thin pins, the size of touth picks. They seemed almost completely harmless.

About then Damri might notice Maximos's eyes spark, and a similar spark appear on his glove. The glove which sliced Maximos's face only...the black blood was missing. Instead there was a gooey if not sticky feeling of something seething around the inside of the glove....but what. Maximos began steadily walking back toward Damri. It wasnt a intimidating walk, or a slow run, but a steady step by step gait.

About half way Maximos could be seen drawing something from his pocket and running it along his wrist. He was a bit far to make out details, but as he walked his right arm did infact seem to be dripping some sort of thick black liquid.

Most odd.::

::And he did so just in time to see a blur of black slither up his sleeve. He'd feel it as it glided up, past his bicept and to his chest.

The moment he looked down Maximos defly swung his right arm sending what seemed to be a small wave of splatter directly at the mans chest. It'd be like flicking a wet hand at someone, hand having a few thick drops fly off and sprinkle on them. It'd seen harmless enough, and Maximos would continue his slowly steady walk.

The pins floating above his head would begin sparking with a rich violet charge as he walked. And about 4ft away, he would simply stop moving. His arm still dripping and a smile still on his face.::

::Have you ever sat in really sweaty armor? Thats what Damri's nice chest plate felt like right now as the blood sitting on the outside of his armor seeped inside through the smallest of joints and cracks and built on on his chest.

As for the blinding light, Maximos's glasses as only those close to him knew...were for show. Maximos was effectivelly blind, he saw he spirit forms, and moving energies. A bright light really didnt show as anythin more than a blimp of energy in the distance.

As for Damri's kick, Maximos simply took a step back and flicked his right hand again aiming to flick more of the black liquid onto Damri's body, where really didnt matter. But at nearly point black range it really didnt matter. Also at point black range the pins forming the black halo above his head each simultaneously launched forward while Damri was at the peak of his flip, each flying at his back, and splattering on his armor making further mess.

Maximos's eyes simply sparked as he adjusted his glasses ever so slightly, still smiling. Being as tall as he was, a good step back put him a good 2ft away, and he again let both hands rest at his side and simply waited.::