Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ryugi trekked across the Plains of Gaia as he headed towards the small town of Reen. There had been reports that the small town had come under attack by some strange and unusual baddies, and as Ryugi was never the type to sit back and do nothing when there were people in need of assistance, he'd set off to the small town to try and render aid.

He'd been walking through the plains for several days now, and he couldn't help but think the countryside looked absolutely breathtaking. Rather than make his way through The Dead Forest, he figured the plains would make a much nicer and less bothersome route to the small town. Little did he know that things weren't always as "un-bothersome" as they might appear...

A group of four lost traveler find themselves suddenly lost in the great Plains of Gaia with little to no recollection of how they arrived from their home world. For ease of conversation, we'll just say it was maaaaaaagic, since that also bypasses any logical or canonical anomalies they might otherwise run into.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?"

A look of disdain was worn on the paladin woman's face as they climbed. Though a cool autumn breeze comforted them, it was clear by the sweat and panting that Alexa was well over-dressed for the sort of climate they were experiencing. Thick clothing, a heavy cloak, and a long skirt to shield her from her cold, Nordic weather. Heavy plate armor and chain mail to protect her from attacks.

No matter the weather, she wore the attire at all times in public keep up the respectable appearance of a Paladin of Favia.

"We're heading towards the North East. There's a town in that direction not too far from here. It's closer than that coliseum when you factor in a trek through the words.

Looking out from the top of the hill was the gruff Ra'Fiig. Not one to care for his appearances, the were-tiger brawler wore nothing but a grey shirt and white sparring pants, which happened to be tied to his waist with a red rope belt.

"What the...?"

Ryuma suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring hard at the approaching figure in the distance. Being a monster hunter and dragon slayer by trade, he was endowed in a full suit of Red Dragon scale mail and eel leather. This afforded him a certain level of protection from both heat and electricity, not to mention conventional melee weapons.

"What is it?"

Lynn, noticing her companion's hesitation, shot him a response. The half-elven girl was the only non-warrior of the bunch, carrying only a crossbow meant for hunting. Unlike the other skirted woman, she was appropriately dressed for the climate and traveled quite comfortably.

Still in disbelief at his own revelation, Ryuma stammered a response.

"Unless I'm mistaken, I think... that's... a dragon."

This prompted an eye-roll from the his traveling partners.

"You're an idiot. There's no way that's a dragon."

In their home realm, While there were a couple of more humanoid-dragons in existence that shared a resemblance to elves, there was no species of dragon that could assume true human form. After all, while dragons possessed great power, they weren't capable of casting true magic.

"No, unless I was hit on the head on the way here or something, I'm pretty sure it's a dragon."

Ryuma stated that quite firmly. While he may be an average guy all around physically, he had a sort of knack for discerning the hidden nature of other beings. This half-elf lookalike thought he had what was called a dragon's eye, an ability not unheard of among half elves. Being the unknown son of a half-dragon, he had no idea that his eyes were truly draconian.

Of course, without being gifted the innate abilities iconic of dragon-kin or the elven race, there was no way for him, or most anyone else, to tell.

"Then we'll confront him as such."

Without wasting time, Alexa charged towards the front of the 'party', prepared to confront the on coming traveler head-on.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a second."

Ryuma, still apprehensive and confused about their situation, halted her with one arm.

First off, we're not equipped to take on a full-blown dragon. Swords won't do anything to a flying target, Lynn's wouldn't be able to penetrate it's hide, and I sure as hell don't think Ra'Fiig could Kung-Fu an 8 ton Reptile."

There was a gruff huff from the were-tiger as his fighting style was referred to as 'Kung-Fu', but otherwise raised no objection. Alexa scoffed, however, refusing to let the matter go so lightly.

"What about you, oh Monster Hunter Extraordinaire? Isn't this the sort of thing you were hired for?"

Ryuma simply shook his head, forgetting what his second point was. Something about "strength in numbers" and all that.

"I'm only carrying my sparing equipment, remember? I'm sure just throwing my sword or flail at it will be effective. In case you've forgotten, I'm also carrying the rest of our gear and food, which I'm sort of getting tired of hauling around..."

"Ugh. What good are you if you can't even handle the first monster we happen upon?"

With a loud "Ahem", Lynn interrupted the pair.

"Anyways, we don't even know if dragons are of the hostile in this realm, much less if Ryuma's... abilities function properly around here. I don't know a lot about magic, but I don't think we should simply attack the first passerby on the vague suspicion that he might be a man-eating reptile."

Lynn was always skeptical about her companion's abilities. Being the only completely powerless member of the group, she mistrusted and doubted the extent of her compatriot's supernatural abilities. While discovering the true nature of any living creature was Ryuma's only ability, she didn't exactly have a lot of faith in it; she always assumed his experience as a monster hunter was clouding his judgment and causing him to double guess themselves.

Besides, Dragons couldn't assume human form... right?

"There's one way to find out."

Now that the traveler was within earshot, Alexa suddenly pushed to the front of the group, shouting a challenge to the innocent bystander as she drew her claymore.

"You there! Draw your sword!"

No one seemed to notice poor Tilly.

Her eyes narrowed as she took a powerful fighting stance, leading with her left. Her Claymore would have looked rather unwieldy on any other woman her size, but her extensive specialization and experience with the holy weapon allowed her to carry the weapon efficiently.

"Yes you, Dragon. Do you see any other idiots with swords around her?"

Ryuma was about to chime in, but thought better of it.

"The challenge has been struck. Prove yourself to me in a battle of strength!"

Still suffering from the 'heat', a generous bead of sweat ran down Alexa's face. While Alexa half-expected some sort of idiotic back up, the rest of her companions backed away; this was no longer their affair. Rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably, Ryuma could hardly help but to comment softly to his other compatriots.

"Man, she's touchy today."

While she still faced her 'opponent', Alexa's eyes shot back towards Ryuma dangerously.

"I heard that."

Whether she'd admit it to herself or not, this was more of an excuse to vent her frustration at the situation than to 'prove his intentions'. She hated the climate, she hated sorcery (sorcery that caused her existence in this plane, mind you), and most importantly, she rather distrusted intelligent non-humans. It was a barrier her compatriots often found hard to get around.

"We're NOT Plains People!"
"No."
"Not a chance."
"Sorry hon, she's a psycho."

Simultaneously, the party responded in a cacophony of confusion. Seething in anger, Alexa shot a gaze back at her compatriots that could pierce concrete.

"You're twits, the lot of you!"

Still unconvinced, Lynn tried to dissuade her allies from continuing the confrontation.

"Alexa, I don't think he's a dragon."

"Sure he is. My eyes are never wrong."

"Your eyes said that woman was a man!"

"But it WAS!"

"I thought Alexa was a man at first myself."

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!"

Visibly upset, Alexa was about to reach her breaking point and kill, both literally and figuratively, everyone in her own part. Massaging the vein in her forehead with her right hand, she calmed herself down and started talking in her regular, dignified manner of speaking instead of shouting at everyone as she has been.

"Anyways, you dense b*****d, I issued you a challenge. Battle is the only greeting we need."

With that, Alexa took up her stance again.

Actually, Ryugi wasn't far off in his summarization of the paladin. As she was taught as a child, "Sharp swords settle scores." Unfortunately for everyone involved, not a single member of their group had the ability to detect magical signatures. Alexa had the potential, but as a paladin, she was disallowed from practicing any discipline of magic that wasn't granted from her 'deity'.

At least, not intentionally.

"...."

Ignoring Ryugi's slight, she charged in at her opponent head on, closing the gap between them. Her weapon, given the lavish sheath the sword was endowed, was clearly considered a powerful relic or magical item of some sort. At first, it would probably seem magical to Ryugi indeed, as the sword began to draw more and more power into Alexa as the area around it become more saturated with magic. Upon close inspection, it would be obvious to any serious magician that the Claymore was nothing more than an arcane crucible; it was intended to be used in a magical ritual of some sort. Which would explain it's ability to draw in magical energies.

Coincidentally, that made her weapon anything but holy or magical.

Subconsciously, Alexa was a trivial amount of that charged energy to cool her body, preventing her from suffering the effects of being over-dressed. It would be a shame if she were to fall to the dragon due to something as trivial as heat stroke.

As the energy surged forth, Alexa brought her weapon down in front of her with a swift vertical strike.

"Shimmer Strike!"

Extending from the tip of her claymore, a thin lance of silvery-blue energy erupted forth in a dazzling display of cold and holy energy. This attack was less of a 'wave' as it was a momentary, exaggerated extension to her weapon. Needless to say, Shimmer Strike would part the energy around her safely while threatening Ryugi if he remained immobile.

This did nothing, however, to protect her compatriots.



The group didn't need to be told twice; they weren't stupid. Ra'Fiig grabbed a hold of the less-agile Lynn, easily leaping to the side and out of harms way with his cat-like reflexes. Ryuma, on the other hand, braced himself behind his shield with all his weight. He figured it would be enough for him to stand his ground.

It wasn't. He was sent flying backwards a good distance by the surprising force of the attack, but was otherwise unharmed.

"M-Magic!? Is he really casting magic?"

While Ryuma was rather worried at this revelation, Alexa kept her cool. Considering the fact that dragons don't have magic in their home world, she gathered he must have an artifact similar to her own. Which meant that he should be more or less 'powerless' without Ragnarok. Though confident with her new 'knowledge', she still kept her guard up.

"You'll need to do better than that."

Without wasting a moment, she slid the Cosantóir behind her after the strike in a fluid motion. With the weapon now trailing behind her shoulder, she effectively switched stances.

Ryugi grinned. His test had served him well. He'd gotten data about his opponent's energy use, ice and holy, as well as her basic reaction speed. It would surely prove useful later down the line. But now, Ryugi was curious to test something else about his opponent...

He pulled Ragnarok out of the ground as if the sword was as light as something half as heavy as it was. Ryugi then placed the sword on his shoulder and began to walk towards Alexa, still pulling in energy for his own uses as Ragnarok's gem glittered with its own power.

Do you always fight so defensively? Are you afraid of me?

Ryugi's eyes never left Alexa's as he continued to close the distance...

In an instant, Ryugi had ducked slightly and turned Ragnarok's edge so that it lay flat against his shoulder, the blade easily holding off the assault from the emotional and prideful paladin. Her strength wasn't much more than the average human. Trained, yes, but not enough to best him in even combat. And her pride would be the perfect tool for getting her to react if he needed to do so...

However, a simple block was not all that Ryugi had in mind. His red eyes caught the moment of the blade before it even happened, and as his right hand turned the handle of Ragnarok to intercept the blow, his left hand shot out and gripped the very blade of the sword in a vice-grip.



And in a swift motion, Ryugi would spin his body, jerking his left hand off to his left side, still holding her blade in its grasp as his right leg came up to deliver a powerful kick directly into Alexa's midsection with as much force as he could muster.



As she was left-handed, Ryugi's jerking motion would serve to pull her midsection directly into range of the kick, despite the length of her sword, and if that wasn't bad enough, it was very likely that she was about to lose her grip on her weapon, as well as receive a very damaging strike.