No sooner had the Learanians fired off their own Meteor, a second hail of siege magic was launched from the Sentrian side. Rajin had unfortunately taken a bolt, Isadora was calling for a Silence Staff to shut the enemy caster up, and everything was just in utter chaos. This was war. War was chaos. War was hell. Trapped behind a damnable firewall, being forced to take those Meteors and Thunders and flaming arrows and –
Whelp, that's just too much for the poor cat. Sunil does cat things to help fight and stuff once the wall went down.
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 9:32 pm
The second Meteor was better anticipated than the first; the scrambling was lessened, and soldiers were back into position faster. Amelia gripped her lance more tightly, lifting her lance and towards the Sentrians as the firewall vanished. "Charge!" Her voice boomed above the din, eyes blazing like Calill's magic. The soldiers roared as they charged, weapons clashing as the Learanians, bolstered by the Meteor their lovely new Sage companion had sent crashing down upon the enemy and the sound of Tibarn's battle cry, met the Sentrians in direct combat.
Time to get down and dirty, then.
Amelia lowered her head and raised her shield, barreling straight into the Sentrian line. She pushed her shield forward, using the strength in her thighs to vault her forward as she did so, and managed to slam three swordsmen down and onto the ground. The General didn't see them rise again as she spun her lance in her hand and deftly plunged it into an axeman's throat, swinging the lance to the side and using his body as a bludgeon to knock another Sentrian directly in the way of a Learanian thunderbolt.
"Press forward if you can! Don't let Sentria assume the offensive!" Amelia shouted to her nearby Learanian allies as she smashed her shield into a bandit's face in response to an ax swiping about three inches away from her face. She then proceeded to crash the butt of her lance into his gut to knock him down, using the momentum to spin around and slice the sharp head of her lance through a bandit's gut, stabbing it in deep before ripping it out. "Show these bastards what's coming to them when they mess with us!"
Amelia lowered her shield enough to survey the battlefield, breath coming fast. She glared before raising it again, deflecting an incoming arrow with practiced ease. "Tibarn, you better get him," she muttered, looking back up to the sky for his distinctive form before returning to the battle.
"Casters, I want you to get this formation back into shape pronto! Treat the wounded, we've got company! It's our job to get them back onto their feet, so I want you at your best!"
He had already been at work, trying to take care of the few unfortunates who couldn't double back from their injuries from taking the brunt of the attack. Orders and healers were given and directed respectively, with Ewan leaving the attacking forces to their rightful commanders. That wasn't his field, and he certainly wasn't able to go for a power grab at a time like this, just here to do his job. "Alright, we're pushing them back with a bit of our own siege magic, but they're close to our front door! Healers, you've all been trained and prepared for this! Make sure they don't let this line budge an inch, and be on the look out for preventable casualties!"
Ewan was stopped in his tracks as one of the Sages assigned to the front lines tore through the path, calling out for a silence staff under the request of "Lady Isadora". It was quickly brought front and center, having been counted in their available stocks. Most had set it aside, considering the (usual) lack of magical strength of their enemy, but thankfully it was time for it to come in more than handy. Ewan took it into his hands, taking the sage's mission as his own. "Lady Isadora has quite capable men under her charge, thank you. I'll take it from here, go back and bolster the front lines!" Taking a tight grip, Ewan scanned the battlefield from the origin of the original spell. "You know, the thing about something as flashy as that...All eyes are on you. Leave it to someone who knows how to actually use the spotlight." He muttered, having found the caster, even if she...wasn't what he expected.
Soon his target was practically hog-tied and thrown to the the ground after being blinded and tome stolen, with the said thief, even if that was so one class promotion ago, making a beeline for their ranks. For once, the Sage was at a complete loss to say about the entire thing, beyond a simple "******** it" before casting the spell of silence onto the, rather unfortunate, Melethia.
"I'll take what I can get!"
With his work done, the staff was thrown onto the holster on his back before the tome from his side-pouch was collected, pages thrown open as her tore his focus to the front lines. "Healers, you have your orders. Do us proud, understood?" With that, he tore from his position among the healers, tome at the ready in a practiced and steady position."Oh, source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand.." A rune was thrown down, and then two others to accompany it in a triangular position before being smashed together, the back bone of his amplified spell drawn into the air before him. Two slivers of fire shot from the ground into the rune before him, before shooting out into the crowd of approaching soldiers.
"Elfire!"
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 9:57 pm
xxxxxx"You foolish men who walk the earth like blasted kings!" x "I will collect my trophiessoon."
8===========================> xxJ e z e b e lxx <===========================8
xxxxx Jezebel reclined on their supplies as she observed the battle commence. She shook her head to swing her hair to the side. It had been a while since she had her hair this length; after the Eyris siege, she had to cut it short after the damned Mordacheans nearly ripped it all out of her skull. Snarky looks had cost several oafs their lives during the time it took for it to regrow. She also sported a black gauntlet that covered her whole left arm. The war was becoming intense and she had found herself in need of some extra defense that wouldn't impede her speed or overheat her. Covering her body anymore was out. But she rather liked how effective the gauntlet was at both punching people and shielding her from certain attacks.
As Drake addressed her, she turned to him and smirked. "Fighting fire with fire, huh? Okay... sounds fun."
Jezebel rounded up the slobs that were picked to haul the powder and began moving across the field. Once at the closest she could be to the fire wall, while still safe, she began to fit the slobs with packs of black powder that were then strapped to their backs. "Okay uglies, time to be useful now. You there, ugly number one, two and three... you see that fire wall? Are you ready to take it out?"
"Reeehhhrawflaahhhbuuuh....."
"...Right. Well, get going now!" Jezebel shooed the first three berserkers off and sat back to watch the show. The berserkers ran and ran until they reached three different parts of the fire wall and then ran straight into it. A large explosion followed, and as it died down, the fire wall came down with it.
Jezebel tumbled backwards from the force of the explosion and then began to cackle when she looked back. "Haa ahhhaha ha ha haaa! Okay boys, it's your turn! Don't forget your torches! Let em' have it!!" The remaining berserkers Jezebel had began to run and with no fire wall in their way any longer, they ran straight for the Learanians gathered on the other side. Several explosions followed, and the Learanian troops likely didn't do well against them.
As the explosions died down, the bandits could continue their charge, which they obviously did. A pleased grin on her face, Jezebel followed them leisurely, taking her time as she swayed through the smoke on the field, with her poleaxe over her shoulder. "Oh boys!" she called out to the Learanians. "Anybody want to come out and play?"
"Do not dare believe that I am yours to have!"xxxx
"We can't fall to pieces. Not now, not ever. Eyris will be needin' us to keep the scum off the streets."
x - [Leon Vatara] - x
▧ ▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫ ▩ ▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫ ▨
While Leon's eyes were focused forward on the firewall, he looked skyward as a meteor spell materialized just above him. "Damn, when did they get siege magic?!" he thought. "Get down, everyone! Shields up if you've got 'em!" Leon shouted his orders frantically as he hopped off Anri's back, holding his shield above him just in time for the fire spell's impact.
Boom! Crash! As the spell hit, a wave of debris spread out into Learania's forces, knocking those who were standing off their feet. Leon managed to stay on his knees, coming close to collapsing but willing himself to stay upright. It hadn't took long for the spell to be set and cast. The Learanians were trapped within their own wall of flames - and the enemy's siege magic had done what it was intended to do. They were in disarray, and it was unlikely there would be time to regroup.
"If what I read about magic is correct, they've got four more uses of that thing!" he thought frantically.
Leon stood up as quick as he could to get a look around him. His allies were getting back up, dusting themselves off and preparing for a close-range clash. Another meteor was forming in the sky, but this time he expected it. As it fell and still devastated the ground, the group was able to avoid any heavy damage. While the meteor was powerful, the enemy had lost the element of surprise with their first attack. Leon hoped there was only one Meteor user on the other side. They would be down to three casts then. With Callil stepping forward wielding siege magic of her own, the odds were evening out.
Then, the firewall fell. Leon didn't have to search long for Anri when it happened. Putting a literal spin on the expression "get back on the horse again", he rode and charged to the front lines. "Follow my lead, watchmen! If we rush 'em now, we may send 'em stumbling back!" he shouted, readying his poleaxe for a deadly swing.
▧ ▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫ ▩ ▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫ ▨
x - [Watch Captain] - x
"So don't ya dare give up. And don't go runnin' off seekin' revenge either. Our city - our country needs every last one of us! Do ya understand?"
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 2:32 pm
MelethiaDagon
CrafterofFlames
Melethia saw the small forces charge. Things were now mass chaos. She really wanted to avoid direct conflict with the Learanian forces. That would result in either her death or her capture. Then there was one thing that she saw take off for the sky.
"Oh s**t!" She yelled, "Tibarn's here! I don't have the best means to deal with him properly! I'm really sure he knows I'm here as well. I need to do something." The half-dragon backed up a bit more and was about to cast Meteor on Tibarn when a cloth covered her head. She tried to get the cloth off of her she felt her Meteor tome get taken from her and then was shoved aside.
Melethia got up and ripped the cloth off. Once she saw the color of the cloth, she knew instantly who it was. There was a low growl coming from here. She knew that Legault had betrayed her. She took a look around and couldn't find him.
"Sneaky b*****d make himself scarce very quickly," She said. "I was hoping to get more use out of him. Guess I'm going to have to find someone else." Melethia then noticed that her Meteor tome was also gone.
"He took off with that too. Well that's not good." She realized things now were not going too well for her. Melethia decided to hang back and watch for the time being.
When the fire wall fell, Drake chuckled. As magically potent as Learania's forces were, they couldn't stop his advance that way. He had his own fire, and he didn't need magic to produce it.
Drake eyed Legault as he took off with Melethia's tome. He knew the man's loyalty was flimsy, but didn't expect him to be so suicidal as to attempt such a switch in the middle of a battle where Learania was losing- so much so that they were on the verge of annihilation, even. Drake did have plans for Legault later on, but it didn't matter now. If the bodyguard wanted to die, he was free to make that choice. The likelihood of Learania killing him on sight was extremely high. The tome, on the other hand, was not going anywhere. As much as Drake hated magic, that tome had come from his storage; and Drake did not like being stolen from. "Murphy. Tome." He knew his attendant would retrieve the stupid book.
He then looked up in the sky as a dark figure moved quickly across it. A grin developed that let slip a chuckle and his hand found itself gripping the hilt of the sword on his back. He had expected the dragon to make an appearance, and was prepared for it, but Drake figured that the man whom he considered to be the second strongest of Learania's guild would still prove entertaining. "As for the rest of you, anybody not wanting to die should probably move away" he said, not once taking his eyes off of Tibarn's movement.
As the hawk king rocketed towards him, Drake drew his blade and grew intensely serious. He couldn't act too soon or too late without extreme consequence. He waited and did not move until the very last possible second, when he suddenly dove out of the way as Tibarn soared passed him. He rolled his body and swung his sword at the hawk, but the likelihood of making contact was very low. The king of hawks was as fast as he was strong. It didn't matter, though. Drake had made his point. He calmly got back to his feet and kept his gaze on the hawk, his grin once more present. It had taken significantly less energy to dodge than it had the hawk to navigate the battlefield and attempt his attack. As formidable as the hawk king was, everybody had their limit. Drake could keep this up all day; Tibarn probably could not, at least not by himself. And if he did try again, Drake would have Viscen's bow at the ready.
So much for the epic showdown between two kings. For now.
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 7:01 pm
s**t sure got real when things were pinning against you. With magic and falling objects raining down at you with no cover to hide as well as having so little space to dodge with everyone scrambling around, it was likely that your chance to survive was very slim to none.
Rajin took a barrel roll, dodging the meteorite that crashed down few feet from him. Sand flew everywhere from the crash as if they were waves from the ocean. With so little space, Rajin accidentally crashed into one of the allies. Shaking his head, he let out a frustrated growl as he and the foot soldier quickly got up.
God damnit! If there's going to be another damn rocks falling from the sky, I'm gonna ******** find tha-
BOOM!
Rajin jumped and looked around. What the hell was-
More explosions erupted, hurting his ears. He wanted to lower his head to cover his ears, but if he were to do that, who knew what object would strike him down. He may not be a cat with nine lives, but he liked to stay alive damnit.
The scent of burning gunpowder reached his nose, telling him that the enemies were using some sort of explosive devices. Great... Now they had to deal with bombs. Where was Bomberman to blow them up when they needed him? The tiger still hadn't forgive Bomberman for blasting him the last time they met.
When the explosions died, Rajin looked up to see what happened. He could see that the firewall was no longer there, meaning that they were now able to roam and battle them. Finally! Rajin thought as he charged toward the enemies. Although it was a terrible idea to charge at the enemies head first, at least he would be able to avoid the magic and fallen objects. The enemies wouldn't attack their own allies, right?
While the front line were dealing with the enemies up front, Rajin went around the side, heading straight toward the magic users. Okay, time to deal with these bastards. He growled. It would be a reckless move of him to attack the mages that wielded fire magic. However, if he was able to get rid of them first, then they don't need to worry about dealing with magic. Not to mention, stop whichever b*****d who summoned that meteor spell (which he didn't know it had stopped.)
Rajin pounced at the nearest mage, grabbing the enemy by the neck. For secure measure, he drew out his claws and swung it hard at the mage's jaw, hoping to break it before he could tear the throat out. There would be a chance that the mage may survive his attack, but surely the mage would not be able to talk again.
Once he done with the mage, he continued his assault at the rest of the magic users. Hopefully, he had someone to cover his back if one of them dared to attack him with fire.
"Hold up your positions! We can't let the enemy get to us with their attacks!" Isadora shouted as she raised her shield over her head. Fireballs rained down on her, making her almost lose her grip as her shield shook. Having small magic and arrows flying at them was no big deal, but she hoped that the Meteor caster was silenced. After all, with Meteor raining down on them, it would destroyed their number of armies and they needed as many armies to defend their border. The Dame Knight hoped that the reinforcement would come immediately.
Just then, she heard a loud blast. Sudden wind and dust flew, making her narrow her eyes and turned her face from the direction it blew. Was that a bomb? Just how many explosives did the enemies have? Few more explosions erupted, making the Dame Knight lowered her shield so she could take better control of her horse. When the explosions died, she looked up to where the bombs set off.
Isadora saw that the firewall collapsed, meaning that they had no longer have a barrier to defend themselves. However, with the wall gone, it had given them space to move around, evading whatever spells and arrows the enemies sent at them. She then heard Amelia gave the command. "You heard the general!" Isadora shouted. "Foot soldiers! Aid the front line and defend! Cavalries, round the enemies from the sides! Let no enemy escape!"
The paladin kicked the stirrups, leading the mounted soldiers into battle. As Isadora steered her horse toward the side of the enemies' line, she swung her lance across the bandit's chest before thrusting it at the neck. Once she pulled her weapon out, she galloped toward the next bandit to stab. One by one, Isadora slashed and impaled as she rode on. Twice she stopped to attack the enemies with accurate aim. Once she stopped to defend her ally.
Although she was putting up a good fight, she wasn't sure how long she could keep up. After all, they had very little rest and few armies to defend against the enemies. She wasn't even sure how many of her allies fell now. The Dame Knight hoped that reinforcement would come soon or else they would all be perished.
Murphy took his opportunity to relax at Drake's word, trying not to linger too heavily upon it. We'll talk later. What did that mean? What did he want to talk about? Had something gone wrong? Had Murphy somehow defied his wishes, someone had reported back, and--
Murphy paused behind Drake, eyes widening briefly before relaxing again, if just to maintain appearances. The general. Murphy silently gritted his teeth. I should never have gotten involved. It solved nothing, and Drake knows now. Why else would he want to speak to me later, when we may be in a worse position to speak, or on the defensive? Something's not right. It can't be right...
Murphy's hands tensed on the hilt of his knife, watching Drake from behind. He watched the proceedings so casually while not in combat, only tensing and preparing for combat as a rapidly-approaching shadow signaled the Hawk King's encroaching flight. Murphy didn't so much as move, crouched low in the dirt a ways away from Drake, until he finally spoke up. "Murphy. Tome."
He prepared himself for combat as Murphy rose to his feet, knife gripped loosely in his left hand. "It will be done." He paused, watching as the bandits scattered from around Drake, giving him a wide berth, before slipping into the masses, seconds before Tibarn's plunge towards where the Serpent's Fang now stood.
Legault couldn't have gotten far; the mages were separated into small groups in order to give them a wider berth for their magic, should anything go wrong, and to allow the bandits to attempt to keep them from being actively mauled while busily reading ancient text from old, dry parchment. And that lavender hair of his... A dead giveaway. Murphy dove beneath clashing swords and continued to chase after Legault, drawing a throwing knife and sending it at Legault's shoulder once he was close enough to do so.
"You have something of the Serpent's Fang, Legault. He'd like it back."
Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:58 pm
Tibarn wheeled around, having felt the blade part his tailfeathers on the way past, and hovered for a moment, glaring down at Drake. He quickly came to the same conclusion-- Drake's reflexes made attacking directly a futile effort, and the hawk would wear down much faster than the small human. He let out another piercing, frustrated cry, echoing over the battlefield, and then dove sharply into the bandit ranks, razor talons rending armor as easily as flesh. He grabbed up one poor axeman in his talons, flapping hard just in time to dodge the spears thrown up at him, and rose high into the sky once more, lifting up over the battle and clutching his dying opponent in his talons-- blood was seeping through where the talons had pierced his side.
The King of Hawks hadn't tried this before; he didn't have any expectations of success this time. Still, he was pleased that he managed to sling the dead body down within fifteen feet of Drake, hitting the sand with a sickening thud and reddening the sand. The impact would certainly be enough to kill a man with a direct hit.
Ewan lifted his hand once again, ready to make a rather unpleasant pile of scorched flesh of the next unfortunate to make eye contact with the gung-ho Sage. The last moments, of which had seemed to be a hour, had been filled with pent frustration mixed into his channeling, a very dangerous combination for those on the other end. Emotions fueled the magical energy that he had been taught to channel, and the last day was magnificent fuel. While scanning for his next encounter, he took notice of his helper from before. The would-be deserter, as much as he stuck out like a sore thumb, had drawn some rather unwanted attention.
And Ewan was more than acquainted with his assaulter.
A pillar of flame erupted between the two, as Legault (one way or the other) dealt with the knife that had been sent his way by the young Sage's command, his cloak thrown off to allow him more breathing room. Wallace was overtaken and outmaneuvered by this assassin, so he was not to be taken lightly. "Hello friend. I think we have something to settle here, what with what happened to my last patient and all." The humor was gone from his voice as he attempted to draw the assassin's attention. He shifted his weight, kinectic motion directing the firebolt shot into Murphy's direction.
"Sooner or later, these things come back to haunt you."
Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 8:00 pm
Legault was almost in reach. The knife was flying, and Murphy was about to attempt to lunge forward to snatch onto Legault's long, flying hair... until a tower of flame burst forth from the loamy sand, forcing Murphy to rapidly wheel back and avoid being scorched. The hot air cycling around altered the knife's course, and it soared harmlessly over Legault's shoulder, destined to land without making contact in the dirt.
"Hello friend. I think we have something to settle here, what with what happened to my last patient and all."
Murphy frowned, one hand instantly gripping onto the handle of one of his melee knives, thumb tracing briefly against where the handle gave way to the squared-off back of the blade. "The only thing we have to settle is you getting in the way of my mission," he answered, muscles tensing as he watched the Sage with wary eyes. Magicians were dangerous; they didn't jump into melee combat like other fighters, but their magic could kill a man in one blow if neither party was careful. Finally, as his legs shifted and his hand lashed out, Murphy leaped to the side, barely avoiding the firebolt that would have connected with his sternum if he had waited even a second longer.
"Sooner or later, these things come back to haunt you."Murphy rolled and stopped upright, free hand drawing another throwing knife and launching it in Ewan's direction. Even before it had connected, Murphy launched himself towards the Sage, slashing with the knife at the arm that held his tome before immediately leaping back and away from him. He held his weapon defensively in front of him, like the bit of steel would protect him from a fireball.
"I'd hazard a guess you know nothing about things haunting you," Murphy answered, eyes narrowing. He secured his hood over his head, drawing it over his forehead and barely shading his eyes. "You don't get to tell me about regret or settling animosity."
- - - - - - -
Jezebel's attack was unexpected, to say the least. The use of gunpowder in such a manner wasn't commonly seen, certainly not outside of possible siege attempts. But this is a siege, I guess, Amelia thought wryly to herself. She held her tower shield before her as the explosions began to rain down in higher intensity, hunkering down and waiting out the worst of it. When the smoke cleared, the firewall was gone, and their numbers had been thinned some. But not enough.
Ewan had run off somewhere; Amelia lost him in the din, unable to find his sun-bright red hair in the mess of bodies, blood, and blades. She gritted her teeth, smearing blood on her gauntlet as she wiped away the moisture from above her eye before pushing forward. "Move! Everyone, move forward! Don't give the Sentrians the time to regroup! We have skill to outmatch their numbers!"
"Oh boys! Anybody want to come out and play?"
Her teeth ground against each other as her grip tightened on her lance, enough to make her arm shake for a few long seconds. Finally, she lifted her lance, barking a single word.
"MOVE."
She approached Jezebel slowly, shield at her side. She returned her spear to her back before drawing her sword, holding the weapon tightly in her right hand. The Learanians parted for her; no one wanted to get near Jezebel, both out of fear of her poleaxe, and fear of her. "Jezebel!"
She lifted her gaze and met Jezebel's gaze. Her brow hardened as she lifted her sword, pointing the tip of the blade between Jezebel's eyes. "I see no reason... to send a man in for what can only be a woman's job!" She lowered her weapon, stance shifting slightly as she tossed her hair away from her eyes with a quick flick of her chin. She grinned at Jezebel, eyes still locked on hers, but with the bleeding cut over her eyebrow, the expression like a burning flame... it was anything but reassuring. "Unless you don't think you can beat another woman in a fair fight! Come at me, b***h! We'll see if you can handle playing with me!"
Wyvern Lord Vaida
Just to be sure it's noticed in some semi-decent timeframe.
Just as he thought...His kinectic casting style telegraphed his movements in a manner that put him at a disadvantage, despite the range and destructive power of his spells. Against someone as fast as Murphy, it would take something clever to catch him off guard. The knife thrown in his direction was sidestepped, using the motion that he had finished to roll out of the way, thought not quite enough to avoid the slash that soon followed. Even pulling back, the blade notched a shallow wound into his primary arm, though not enough to impair any motor functions in his arm. "Oh, spare me the lecture!" Ewan yelled back, readying himself for another volley from the half-pint. "Your little venture would be cute, if it wasn't as far away from the truth as you can get." Once more, he thrusted his arm forward, a volley shot into the direction of the Assassin...impacting the ground in front of the boy moments before another bolt shot out from the sand that had been kicked up behind it. "I've been tested, chewed up, and spit out of the desert, so keep that smug attitude to yourself. You aren't the only one who's lost to these harsh sands!"
Ewan lunged out after his last bolt, taking a spot under its path before leaping out towards the Assassin. After a few nicks or two, you start catching on to diverting another's attention. He reached out, hoping to catch him mid-roll, to attempt to secure the recently drawn hood right over his line of sight. His hand caught sort of material, giving it the best tug that he could before rolling away to prepare another volley.
"This is where I call home, so I won't be taken lightly!"
Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 9:38 pm
The little bugger was faster than he seemed. Murphy simply watched as he spoke up, gritting his teeth as his muscles tensed. "Oh, spare me the lecture! Your little venture would be cute, if it wasn't as far away from the truth as you can get." Another blast soared out as soon as the last word left the redhead's lips, and Murphy leaped back, bracing himself on his free hand and knees upon the sand. He waited for the cloud of sand and smoke to clear-- and then another flame emerged. Murphy yelled instinctively and rolled backward to avoid the attack. Still, the flames went across his hood, and Murphy rapidly swatted at it to put out any remaining flames once the magic dissipated, swearing briefly under his breath.
"I've been tested, chewed up, and spit out of the desert, so keep that smug attitude to yourself. You aren't the only one who's lost to these harsh sands!"
Murphy felt Ewan's hand tug over his hood, drawing it down over his face and towards his chin before the weight vanished. The little Assassin simply grasped the charred, torn fabric in his hands and ripped it away from the body of his jacket, letting the fabric drop lifelessly to the dirt. He panted lightly, watching the Sage prepare another round of magic between his fingers. "This is where I call home, so I won't be taken lightly!"
"And how does it feel, huh?" Murphy threw a knife at him, ducking to the side before throwing another. "How does it feel declaring even this bitter, blood-soaked wasteland to be your home?" He threw another knife, rolling away and landing on his feet again, still closer to Ewan. "How does it feel knowing the desert spat you back out?" Murphy paused, bracing his feet against the dirt, eyes narrowed. "The desert let you out. You left. You found your place in the sun and you've been allowed to heal from what you've lost," Murphy hissed, voice low. His eyes blazed, and the anger briefly flickered in favor of something not quite so... outwardly aggressive. Regret? Fear? He sprang forth, sprinting towards the Sage with his knife at the ready. "You don't have the harsh sands digging into your wounds, never letting you forget. Don't you ever imply you would ever understand what these sands can take from you!" With a quick dart to the side at the last second, Murphy leaped towards him, knife flashing in the sunlight, to tackle him to the ground with the blade against his throat.
Ewan fired the prepared bolt, striking the knife flying his way to the ground before bracing himself for the next. The head of his previous strike altered the trejectory of the knife, ripping through the material of his pants as it sunk shallowly into near the side of his thigh, having lost some altitude. Without hesistation, he pulled the knife and discarded it, not wanting his movement hindered. The knife had been designed to be accurately deadly, not much weight behind it outside of a vital spot, thanks to its purpose of being thrown. His weight had to be adjusted, preparing for the Assassin to barrel at him now that his stance had been momentarily broken.
Just find your center, adjust, and control your breathing...
His slightly ragged breathes stabilized, his muscles relaxing before finding his stance once again as he went over the advice of his teacher once more. This was nothing new to him, not this pain. Gerik had broken him, time and time again, made him familiar with what it meant to be a mercenary. And now of all times, he couldn't be more grateful to him. "It spat...me out...Because I was ready to leave! Because I felt that sting, because I left my father, my mother, my home buried beneath that sand!"
He shifted his weight, relying on the uninjured leg, to sidestep the desperate leap of Murphy's finishing blow. Almost at once, he had began to buckle over. "No!" He cried, throwing the weight into a full heave, his fist connecting right into Murphy's face enough to topple the two over in surprise. Ewan sprung to his feet, lifting Murphy to eye level before another contact of his fist was made. "These sands have made me stronger! I've fought with the Desert Tiger, been rebuilt from the ground up by the Chief Elder! And I never, not even for a moment, let that stop me from smiling! So don't you dare take me moving on as a sign of weakness!"
Punch after punch connected, even as Murphy broke his hold and returned each and every one. Neither wanted to give the other a moment of rest, afraid of what the other might do with the chance. Then...Ewan felt a sharp sting at his side, the blade of a knife twisted and pushed into the first patch of skin Murphy could find. Ewan cursed, screaming as his hand rested on the tome at his side. A bright light built up, combusting the bolt that formed between the two as they were thrown away from the center of the blast, Ewan hitting the ground hard as he struggled to regulate his breathing.