Fast and Furious (Almech)

by **Eridanus** on January 15th, 2012, 3:43 pm

Eri's opponent seemed to realize that this was going nowhere, and he suddenly changed tactics, withdrawing his scythe in order to grab at the shaft more securely. Eri saw the polearm dig into the ground, and a brief flash of memory hit him. That of Zenai doing exactly the same thing with his hands, and of him doing the same thing on a bandit leader back in Sunberth when he realized that he had been outclassed then.

It was another irony that his opponent, upon realizing that he was outclassed in standard battle, would use the oldest trick in the book on him. A trick that he had fallen for and actually used before. He would not be deceived this time, and he quickly side-stepped, making sure to leap a distance large enough so that the sand would not disable his vision.

The gladiator did not press on and instead used his scythe to vault over Eri to land behind him. Well, or at least where Eri should be if he had stayed still. The vantha rushed towards the man's new location and swung a blade at his torso, hearing the familiar clash of metal when he was blocked.

Mirroring his opening move, the gladiator aimed his scythe in a wide arc intending to hook Eri's legs but the vantha would not allow his mobility to be damaged, this time timing his reflexes carefully and jumping over the scythe as it swung over where his legs used to be. When he landed, he would be in between the business end of the scythe and his opponent, for Almech had used a back-hand swing with the huge weapon.

Changing his grip on his off-hand weapon as if he were going to stab with a dagger, he plunged it downwards into the ground slightly diagonally to his side, angling it forward to meet the scythe should the gladiator intend to swing the scythe inwards.

He was in a much closer range now, and he swung his blade at the man's head. He could have done it quickly given his competency with the weapon, but he purposefully reduced the speed of his swing, allowing the man to dodge or react. That was exactly the point for he did not want to kill him, defeating his opponent was enough.

If the man dodged he would slam down hard using the hilt of the weapon, for the slower speed of the swing allowed him a much lower investment in the attack than if he had used all his strength, and this gave him more power and speed in the follow-up bash.

by **Almech** on January 15th, 2012, 4:17 pm

He noticed the man change up his grip again, Almech knew an attack was coming, he jerked his scythe simultaneously loosening his grip, so the the shaft slid down his hand, he held it now right at the blade with his dominant hand. As the sword came at his head he positioned his scythe in such a way that it caught in the grooves, it still managed to land a cut on his forehead, then Eri rapidly pulled his sword downward. Almech shifted his foot behind the ground end of his scythe and essentially kicked it toward's Eri's face, while letting out an ear piercing battle roar if he moved out of the way he would use the same momentum to spin in circles blade facing out as he approached the man, he spun three times. He was running low on energy now, this weapon was heavy, this armor was heavy, his breath was heavy.

Fluidly after the spinning, he would twirl his scythe in in vertical circles as he switched hands with it, causing it to go from side to side, the strikes aiming downwards, he could kil a 100 foot long snake man after being thrown around like a rag doll but he couldn't touch this guy? He felt the warm blood run down his forehead changing direction at his eyebrow and ran down the side of his face, he could smell the metallic scented liquid intensley. What luck, upon finishing his maneuver he'd practiced over and over again his scythe fumbled out of his hands shyke he swore at himself in his mind, with all the speed he could muster, he tried closing the gap between them and sent a powerful heel palm jab towards eri's stirnum, just a drop, just a drop of blood will do.

by **Eridanus** on January 15th, 2012, 4:36 pm

The kelvic somehow managed to bring the scythe in and he used it to parry the weak attack that Eri used, an attack that still left a cut on the man's forehead. The vantha could see a motion below as his opponent kicked the wooden end of the scythe, sending it flying towards Eri's face. Out of pure reflexes he kicked the shaft back down, but due to him being in mid-attack with his sword his timing was slightly off, instead the shaft slamming into his shin as he winced involuntarily. Better his shin than his head.

There was no reprieve for the gladiator let loose a powerful roar that made the base mortal instincts within the vantha shiver. He would not be affected in his ethaefal form, but now in his human body he was subject to the instincts of mortals, and fear of predators was one of them.

The gladiator followed up by twirling the scythe towards Eri, and even an inexperienced onlooker can tell that - though practiced - it was a shoddy technique that betrayed the user's inexperience with the weapon. The sudden shock that came from the pain from his shin reduced his concentration, and so he had barely enough time to parry the twirl, instead choosing to leap backwards in a crouching position, using his free left hand to support himself as he executed a ground-hugging flip to dodge the twirl. He had to do so to compensate for his currently numb shin and so used his left hand to do so.

His opponent was not done, and he continued to twirl the scythe towards Eri. The vantha had more time now and he used the hand on the ground to push him upwards into a standing position, swinging his cold-iron blade hard in a diagonal motion from his lower right to his upper left, deflecting the scythe so hard that it caused a high-frequency screeching sound that made Eri wince because of the proximity of the noise.

Suddenly, the scythe flew out of his opponent's hands again without provocation, and from his heavily breathing form Eri could see that the armor and the sheer weight of the huge weapon was taking a toll on his physical form. This also meant that he had not yet adjusted to the weight of his weapon while in combat, while in contrast Eri had been using these same blades for so long that they almost felt like an extension of himself.

The feeling was beginning to come back to his shin and he realized that the steel sword he plunged into the ground earlier was behind the panting gladiator. It would be quite impossible to retrieve his weapon. He was fatigued as well, but he controlled his breathing with the meditative techniques he learned so that his body would not wear out so quickly.

The gladiator rushed towards him, arm outstretched to deliver a blow. Eri responded appropriately, plunging his cold-iron blade into the ground, arms raising and body squaring into a Sanctus Peccator stance. He moved his body so that his arms would be 'inside the body-box' of his opponent, flicking his wrist as he met the incoming strike and deflecting the blow just enough to avoid the hit. The momentum of the rush as well as Eri's redirection instead of a full-frontal block would bring Almech's mass stumbling towards him, and he made use of this momentum by slamming his elbow into the man's head.

It was not a very powerful blow, but combined with the man's incoming momentum it would be much more painful than if it was delivered while both combatants are standing still. The force of the attack should careen his opponent away from him, and he continued with a snap-kick to push him further away. He chose a snap-kick for it had the fastest execution time, preventing the man from responding appropriately. No doubt the man would have fared better if they had started out fighting unarmed, but the wounds Eri dealt him as well as the heavy physical exhaustion from the armor as well as wielding such a heavy weapon would have greatly reduced his efficiency in combat.

Using the distance and time he earned, Eri would draw the cold-iron blade stuck in the ground and raising it to face Almech.

Using both hands to grip the hilt of his cold-iron long sword as if it were a two-handed sword, he slanted his body in a forty-five degree angle, both hands gripping the handle close to his body. His hands were not fully straightened but slightly bent, only slightly tensing so allow ease of movement, and he stepped out slightly to balance his posture.

"Pick up your weapon," Eri grunted, taking the moment of reprieve to stabilize his breathing and his body - essentially recovering as much as he could before the next engagement.

by **Almech** on January 17th, 2012, 7:56 am

oocYou metagamed me, i'm metagaming you, it's only fair

He blasted the scythe towards Eri's face, he was maneuverable, Almech could give him that, he tried knocking it back with a kick of his own but his shin took the blow instead It's a start. He could tell it had an effect, the crowd was roaring by this point, well, what little audience there was were roaring, Eri leaped back crouched, and performed a waist level backflip. Eri pushed himself back up into a standing position, their blades met and the metallic screech pierced his ears, it struck in his ears, tingled his eyeballs and scrambled his brain. He forgot where he was and what he was doing, the scythe flung from his hands, he attacked, Almech was surprised, Eri's hand to hand stance was eerily similar to his own.

He pushed Almech's attack away to the side, and Almech's footwork came into play as one foot crossed behind the other, rather than stumbling forward, he spun his body, and the momentum of the elbow blow sped up the precedure . He was now feeling a new trickle of blood in his hair, just above his ear, he threw a spear hand diagonally toward's Eri's face, just barely grazing his cheek with no effect since Eri fell back into a roll simultaneously picking up his weapon as he regained posture. Again the man told him to pick up his weapon, it was then he noticed the rising and falling of Eri's shoulders, he hadn't seen a person with such a calm breath after strenuous activity. Almech then became aware of his own breath, maybe there was something to what Eri was doing.

He picked up his scythe and tried to slow down his breath, but it was alot harder than Eri made it look, his heart was pounding, he could feel his heartbeat in his eyeballs, he was becoming more aware of his body. Who would have thought Almech would learn something from a man who only said 1 phrase to him, twice now, Eri's breath didn't sound natural either. It simply didn't make sense for a man's heart to be beating that quick and have such deep calm breaths. He watched the man intently trying to calm himself. In his current state he couldn't afford to dish out onslaughts like he had been, usually if an opponent was stronger than him he'd tire them out and go for the kill, a hunting technique his father taught him.

He stared daggers at Eri took a deep breath in through his mouth and exhaled out his nose, he took his defensive stance he'd been working on, gripping his scythe at a little above the middle of the shaft with his right hand. His left hand was about two feet below that. He held is diagonally bottom to his left, blade to his right, the blade was diagonal, from Eri's point of view the blade would be across Almech, pointing down and to the left. Eri would recognize this effort as a hybridization of Almech's hand to hand techniques into his scythe technique, as it seemed both their defensive stances in hand to hand were quite similar. His eyes showed courage and determination, he was ready, hid body language told Eri it was his turn to take the offensive, as he'd been playing on the defense this whole time as Almech initiated every exchange thus far.

by **Eridanus** on January 17th, 2012, 11:31 am

Eridanus watched his opponent pick up the scythe, and there was a moment of silence as both combatants stared intently at each other. It seemed that Almech was scrutinizing him, while he kept his gaze on the gladiator, constantly forcing his body to calm down. Adrenaline was good, but not when it was in excess for it would mess up one's concentration, and so keeping it in balance was key for optimal combat efficiency.

The crowd seemed to be holding its breath too, and the silent pause from combat was charged with even more tension as it should be. If looks could kill, from the look of it Eri would have been killed several times over the way the gladiator stared at him.

The vantha tended to keep things impersonal, even in combat, so as not allow his emotions to screw up his logic and tactics. Grinning slightly sheepishly to the gladiator, as if to tell him that there were no hard feelings on his end, he understood the man's defensive posture to mean that he had no intention of landing the first strike.

He was more of a defensive person himself, but he understood that the ringmaster was more interested in a good show, and he probably owed the gladiator more effort on his part. Noting the position of the man's scythe and where exactly each limb was, he inclined his head slightly to inform the man of his intent to attack and remarked, "Here I come."

Keeping his posture stable as he slowly inched his way towards the gladiator, Eri ensured that even in motion the distance between his legs remained constant, for if at any moment he was attacked he would be able to ground himself and respond to the attack more efficiently.

When he was barely within range he would use the leg at the rear to push off from the ground slightly, at the same time the leg at the front landing hard on the ground. This caused him to leap forward suddenly, but sliding on the ground as he did so in a controlled motion. At the same time, he would launch a textbook overhead strike from his long sword, though he did so with only moderate strength.

He did not commit all his resources for it was more of a introductory strike that he fully expected his opponent to block or dodge, but needed enough strength for his opponent to register it as a threat but also little enough for him to be able to muster enough resources for a response to an inevitable counter-attack.

by **Almech** on January 17th, 2012, 9:21 pm

ooclook really close at my sig you'll see what i mean by divots in the blade, or grooves persay

This man was beyond Almech's understanding completely He's warning me? what was this? it was absolutely absurd in his mind, but then again, he'd not once been treated with any kind of courtesy like that. You could have cut the tension in the air with a knife as Eri slowly approached Almech, with each step Eri took Almech got a little more giddy and anxious, he tried to calm his nerves, empty his mind. If he was going to draw blood the animalistic approach wasn't going to work if it hadn't worked yet, his entire battle mentality was flipped upside down. He gripped his scythe tighter, he would not drop it again, no he wouldn't allow his inexperience to cause the loss of his weapon again, he'd embarassed himself twice now, he didn't plan on doing it again.

Then came Eri's lunge and downward vertical strike, this confused Almech as well, it to be a distraction of some sort, it had to be, Eri was an intelligent opponent and his sword had already gotten caught in the divots in his scythe once already. On top of that his scythe was in the perfect position to catch Eri's blade with minimal effort, Almech's strategy now was not to use his scythe as a weapon, but as a defensive tool, if Eri got cut in the process, it would be a plus. The sword slammed into Almech's cold iron with a clang and a few stray sparks flew through the air, Almech had to conserve his energy, no more fancy moves. He pivoted his scythe basically clamping Eri's sword and pulled it down to the left, while throwing a jab aimed at Eri's chin still gripping hie scythe.

This would be difficult to dodge, unless he ducked, as even if his fist missed the blunt end of his scythe could easily bash him in the side of the head with the extra 3 feet or so of the scythe protruding from the pinky end of his fist. As this occured his scythe let go of Eri's sword, giving him use of his weapon again, a second jab came from his other fist, this one was much more deadly, as instead of a blunt object protruding out, it was a large very sharp blade. Almech wasn't trying to close in on Eri this time, he was trying his hardest to stay calm and think strategically, after this second jab would come one more, but it wasn't to aim his fist at Eri. Instead, his attempt was to pound onto Eri's foot with the blunt part of his staff, if it was successful Almech would aim a heel kick for Eri's chest as his body reacted to the blow.

If not, Almech would use the scythe to spin and lift his body into the air as if pole vault again, but instead used it to increase his momentum as he sent an edge kick(kicking with the outer side of the foot) for Eri's ribs. Once he'd land back on his feet, he'd squat down fluidly and swing the staff end to try and sweep Eri's legs with it, he was taking deep breaths, trying to controle his body. His armor and weapon were starting to quicken in the tole they were taking on his body, he just wanted to draw some blood, he wouldn't allow himself to be insufficient, he would be strong. He would prove his worth to anyone and everyone, especially himself, he valued himself by how well he could protect himself and others, and as of right now, it would seem that this was a hopeless battle for the young kelvic.

by **Eridanus** on January 20th, 2012, 11:42 am

When Eridanus was in the midst of slamming his blade down, it was then that he realized that his sword would end up in the grooves in Almech's scythe, effectively trapping his blade like a sword-catcher would. A small part of him wanted to abort the attack, but he knew that he had invested too much in it to stop now, he would have to rely on the concussive effect of the impact to stagger his opponent.

As expected, his blade got caught and as Almech twisted his blade to Eri's right (oocAlmech's left, duh), he was violently forced to move along, for the leverage granted to Almech with the maneuver far exceeded Eri's own raw strength. However, he released his left hand from the handle, gripping the blade tightly with the right as it was forced harmlessly to the side, and when he saw the blow coming he merely had to bend his left arm such that the bottom of his forearm faced his opponent, for his arm was already in position.

It was hard not to block the huge mass coming his way, but it was even harder not to feel the pain as the solid wooden stick slammed into his arm. Even with the fleshy part of the bottom bit of his forearm to help cushion the blow, the move was designed to block punches and not weapons, and the blunt weapon managed to effect some damage, possibly causing bruises that Eri will only notice after the fight.

His eyes watered slightly, and when he saw the staff pull back he knew that the other part would come at him. It was after all simple logic that he learned back in Zeltiva regarding one of the tenets of gadgeteering. The tug on his right hand proved to warn him as well, and due to the drawing back of the scythe he had to release his sword or risk having his arm torn out of his sockets.

As Almech aimed the second blow at him, Eri stepped forward even closer and raised his right arm such that his elbow to palm was parallel to his body, with the elbow to shoulder area parallel to the ground. His fingers were relaxed and facing the sky, and when the inevitable blow came his eyes watered again. It would be difficult not to escape the battle without bruises.

The scythe was halted and thus did not touch Eri due to his intercepting action, though his sword was released and flung somewhere behind, clattering noisily on the ground. Immediately, he twisted his torso slightly backwards and flung his body back, escaping the attacks that Almech had prepared for him, tumbling into a roll and recovering in a crouch, frantically looking around him for his sword.

He quickly grabbed the weapon, slamming it into the ground quickly just in time to block the sweeping blow from the scythe. oocSince eri tumbled away, I skipped the unarmed combat bit since the two of them would be far away, and went straight to where Almech swept Eri. He was getting used to this form of attack, having blocked it two times already, and when he saw that scythe coming at him at that low arc his natural response was to repeat what he did.

The scythe clanged against his blade as his fists gripped the hilt stubbornly, refusing to allow the scythe to pass by. He had to fight properly or risk receiving a fatal wound. Before Almech could react, he pulled his blade out of the ground and leaped a distance behind, settling into the basic stance and raising his blade again like beforeKendo stance.

by **Almech** on January 20th, 2012, 6:57 pm

Eri switched his grip and blocked Almech's first blow with his forearm, Almech was surprised, maybe Eri was getting tired, he felt the ripple effect as it slammed into Eri's flesh, he saw the effect it had on Eri as well. Almech smiled, his endurance was paying off against this much more skilled opponent, but now Almech was beginning to understand Eri, as he was confused about why Eri hadn't finished the fight yet. It was a challenge to the Vantha, nothing more, he was testing his skills while honing them at the same time, Almech could relate to that, but he still wanted to draw blood as badly as ever. Almech dismissed his irritability at Eri's taking it easy on him, he was no longer offended by it, but it didn't make his desire to prove himself any less strong, he his grin grew wider as Eri's eyes began to water.

He was inexperienced that was for sure, as Almech's excitement caused him to forget his effort to try and control his breathing like Eri was, he was a dog and his attention span wasn't that great, atleast not at his young age. He was happy too that he caused Eri to let go of his sword, and then he sent his second attack so Eri closed distance between the two and blocked again in much a similar way as last time. Almech wondered why he would take hits like that, but the thought disappeared as quickly as it formed, the sword has flung out of his hand as well immediately after he would fall backward rolling into a crouch position. This was the most emotion he'd seen come out of his opponent so far as he desperately looked around for his weapon, it made Almech chuckled with glee as he sent the sweeping motion eri's way.

Again his opponent stabbed his blade into the ground, blocking the sweep, and followed this up by jumping back and apparently preparing for another charge from the Kelvic, Almech pounded the bottom of his scythe onto the ground sending out a loud thub. He smiled at Eri and lifted his weapon up, he swung it in an arch over his head and planted the blade into the earth below, his arms disappeared within his sleeves you could hear the tinging sound of metal against metal. Almech flung his arms outwards and his vambraces flew several feet out along with his joint piecemail, next were his rerebraces, he bent over, unstrapping his greaves he pulled them off and tossed them to the side. He knew this battle was going to end soon and he didn't want his armor hindering his movement anymore.

He raised his arms and bent backward, stretching his sore muscles, this would be their final bout, and Almech was going to give it his one hundred ten percent, he hopped around lightly, flailing his limbs about, loosening up. He threw a several quick jabs and kicks into the air, the crowd had fallen silent in anticipation, he gripped the shaft of his scythe and yanked it from the ground, he held it in his right hand. He rested it over his right shoulder sickle pointing behind him as he analysed Eri's stance, it was a solid one, he took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his heart and his mind. In his final effort Almech rushed forth, his body lighter now without his armor, he lunged into the air and positioned his scythe with both hand, he swiped at Eri, sickle pointing at him, underhanded trying to bypass his sword's defense

oocYou can finish it with your post if you'd like, metagame me if you want, i feel like i didn't get hurt enough so by all means cut me up lol

by **Eridanus** on January 21st, 2012, 9:02 am

As Eridanus took up his highly defensive stance, he watched his opponent choosing to retreat a distance as well, putting his scythe on the ground and systematically removing the pieces of armor that had been weighing him down earlier. The crowd was silent as it watched the preparations between the two, and it seemed that the crowd had grown larger. Shale had expected this fight to be a typical fast one where the arena regular triumphed over the rookie, but things were not going quite as expected and he had sent messengers out to drum up excitement for this match.

Several more people streamed in, eager to see what the fuss was about, but there was a more or less deadly silence, the audience holding their breath to see what would happen next. What would break the tension.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

The steady sound of metal reverberated on the ground as the gladiator removed his armor piece by piece.

Eridanus took a moment to gather his strength, then even as he watched his opponent divesting his armor he began to pull his focus deep into his mind, bringing out a djed map of his astral body in his mind's eye.

"Fifth, seventh, twenty-eighth nodes. Blossom at my command, flow against the natural order," the vantha stated calmly, more to himself than to anyone else. It would naturally not be noticed, but with the ominous silence in the entire arena and the excellent acoustics due to the arena's architectural design, his voice was carried by echoes throughout the building.

The words were not meaningless nor random, for they were words that were meaningful to the vantha in coming up with the required imagery to work his flux more efficiently. He had done it before, and used an informal form of neuro-linguistic programming to associate the words to his actions while meditating, thus using the incantations now helped him to remember the efficient way of doing so.

"A star shines in the heavens, mocking as it gazes," He continued, each word pronounced carefully as his mind worked furiously to match his intention. The djed streams from the lower part of his torso began to stream upwards, and he placed his focus first in the middle of his chest, acting as a magnet to all the currently moving djed streams.

"Like rays of Syna, distributing hope into the hearts of the needy. The fortress awaits," He intoned in a measured tone. As the djed streams gathered in the vicinity of his heart, he stopped pulling on the djed streams from his lower body, instead now concentrating on distributing the gathered djed throughout his upper torso.

"The enforcer, steel of Isur. The wife, valiant support. The prince, noble determination," The vantha continued, watching steadily as his opponent began removing the last bit of his armor. The djed were being distributed, and he mentally guided the flow to his sword arm, a little lesser to the forearms of his other hand which would support his main arm in holding the sword in a two-handed style. The rest of the djed he guided in as equal a manner he could throughout his shoulders and chest to provide the necessary strength to support his augmented power.

There was still time, and he decided to continue the process.

"Only perfection allowed, a tranquil scene from choppy waves, broadening the coast," the incantation continued, and Eridanus now focused on mentally smoothing out the djed streams in his body. Whenever he worked flux, the efficiency ratio was usually not a hundred percent due to the 'kinks' in his streams when directed. This was due to his lack of complete familiarity with the workings of flux as well as with his astral body. This additional measure in his technique allowed him to detect and tweak the djed streams in their new locations to optimize djed allocation, and as he did so he could feel his upper torso further increasing in strength and power.

"A path behind the woods, you may retreat mournfully," He ended, finishing the process by setting a slow flow from the djed-augmented parts of his body to his heart, then from his heart to the parts of the lower torso where he took the djed from. This would allow his body to naturally regulate the redirected astral streams back to their original course and thus acted as a failsafe against accidental overgiving. This method was also less damaging to the harmony between the physical and astral body, but the downside was that his augmented strength would only last a while as the failsafe slowly and surely restored his body to its natural processes.

Almech was ready, and he rushed towards Eri, swinging his scythe in a much faster manner. It was to be expected, despite his fatigue, for all that armor played a huge difference in slowing him down and the vantha could see how the gladiator was much more dangerous without all that metal clasped on his body.

He was prepared, and he swung his blade down to meet the scythe, though he simply placed his blade there and added strength in the opposing direction rather than blindly swinging. This caused the scythe to be merely halted in its place, losing its momentum in its process, which was exactly what he wanted.

Fresh from his the unnatural strength granted from flux, the vantha quickly raised his blade a little, and slammed further to the side with proportionate power, using the rebound to gather more momentum and slamming it again so fast that the metal and sparks created were a blur. It was not normally possible, but with the additional astral energy coursing through his upper torso he now had the physical attributes required to pull this off.

Eri's sword crashed with Almech's scythe several more times in that direction, and the force would be enough to force the kelvic to release his scythe or risked having his arms either flying off together with the scythe in that direction, or his entire body if he had centered his body mass before that attack.

MetagamingPermission granted by Almech in the interest of efficiency. How the PC takes the hits and what wound he gets will be decided by Almech.

Regardless, Eri took several steps forward in the aftermath of that surprising attackyou'd be surprised if your opponent suddenly increased in strength and speed xD and, still holding his sword he brought his right elbow up to slam into his opponent's face.

The kelvic careened to his left (and Almech's right) and he brought the hilt of his blade up along with both hands and bashed his shoulder down with the entire force of momentum, gravity and magically enhanced strength. He could have attacked the neck or head, but he had no wish to destroy his opponent for he bore the gladiator no hatred.

Almech was not one to defeated so easily, for the determination continued to burn in his eyes even as his physical body began to fail him, and he responded valiantly, claws out as he attempted to engage in unarmed combat.

His opponent disarmed, Eridanus stabbed his blade on the ground slightly behind him to get it out of the way and also to prevent the kelvic from accessing it, and he deflected the blows away easily, reaching forward to strike him in the chest.

The blow staggered the kelvic back, who might be confused as to how such a strong blow can be generated with what seemed to be little space and execution time (secret: flux). It was time to end this, and the vantha approached, his heart lighter as he sought to end the entire battle.

The cunning kelvic had one more secret up his sleeve, and as Eri reached forward to deliver a kick, Almech leaned forward, taking the snapkick in the gut but still having the focus to grab onto Eri's knee, reeling him in and swiping at his face. The claws gouged into his leg and Eri winced in pain as his body was brought forward due to his own approaching momentum and the kelvic's ingenuity. In reflex he brought his left arm up to fend off the surprise attack in an amateur-like move that looked like a schoolboy blocking his eyes from a hornet attack, and he felt warmness envelop his cold skin (it's winter, after all) as the claws cut into his skin, drawing three lines of blood as his arm slammed into his opponent's strike.

That was apparently his opponent's limit, who took the gamble at receiving all that damage just to draw blood, and Eri drew his leg back, hopping back with his arms up in a defensive unarmed stance. The two combatants stared at each other, accessing each other's ability to continue the fight.

The crowd cheered when their favored arena gladiator drew blood from the unknown rookie, though it grew silent again when the full brunt of exhaustion and damage returned to take its toll on the kelvic, and Almech collapsed to the ground, though using his arms to prop himself up to maintain his dignity and honor.

Eridanus glanced at the wounds in his hand, and he admitted that he had indeed been taken by surprise in a courageous last-minute gamble by the gladiator. His opponent may be inferior in skill and conditioning as compared to the battle-hardened vantha, but he definitely did not lack of ingenuity and courage. The fight was over.

Turning around, the vantha walked away from his opponent, bending down to retrieve the steel sword that had been left on the ground, neglected from the second half of the fight. He strode to his previous position and pulled the cold-iron sword out from the ground, and he approached his opponent, stopping a distance away.

The crowd began buzzing, for it seemed that the triumphant new-comer had picked up his weapons and planned to execute the defeated gladiator.

Instead, Eridanus sheathed both blades carefully into the back of his weapon harness, and giving a slight bow of respect to his opponent, he looked around the whispering audience, turning in a circle to face each and every one seated up there to get their proper attention.

"I have lost! My opponent is the victor!" He announced loudly, his clear voice booming.

The was a moment of stunned silence as this declaration was processed in everyone's minds, and suddenly there was an explosion of noise as the audience began shouting, some clapping, some disagreeing, others arguing to each other what he he should do.

Amidst the cacophony, he grinned sheepishly to his opponent, then turned around and walked out of the arena. He passed by Shale, who dropped a handful of gold mizas into his hands as payment for the entertainment, and the ringmaster called out to the vantha's figure as he left.

"Caused quite a stir, boy. Coming back for more? Prime-time slot this time, higher pay!" The ringmaster shouted.

"Maybe," the vantha said, waving his uninjured hand as he continued walking, not turning back.

Time to visit Ionu's Mercy to get these wounds looked up, and then perhaps time for some meditation and reflections on the events that occurred today.

Almech was not the only combatant who learned from this incident.

by **Almech** on January 21st, 2012, 5:56 pm

Almech listened to the man as he spoke, what was he doing? reciting poetry? his words were beautiful, Almech wished he was capable of speaking in such a manner, and he grew all the more envious of his opponent. Their blades met with a loud crashing sound, Almech gritted his teeth Flux? it was obvious, this man was suddenly stronger than he was, he wouldn't have known had Kale neglected to inform him of such magic.

His scythe stopped then as if getting ready "let go" of the "stalemate" but quickly slammed his blade down "Shyke" was uttered in Almech's surprise then several more blows into his pole arm sent it skidding across the ground several feet from the Kelvic. Almech could barely see what was going on, he couldn't see Eri's sword but merely a tracer of where it once was as it passed, then an elbow came, slamming into the left side of Almech's jaw.

Almech stumbled to the right, in a daze, this was it, then Eri performed something of the opposite of an uppercut, using the hilt of his sword instead of his fist, hitting Almech directly in his shoulder muscle. A few more inches to the side and he'd have probably recieved a broken bone, "It's not over yet!" he shouted as he bared his fangs and snarling as he attacked at the Vantha with his claws.

His right shoulder had been hit, he was trying his best to block out the pain but none the less his right arm was useless right now as it flopped like a rag doll in tingling pain and temporary partial paralysis. Almech stabbed at Eri with his left spear hand, in a desperate attempt to wound his opponent he forgot about trying to keep calm, he knew he had lost which was shame enough but he'd be damned if he didn't get a drop of blood out of this guy.

As events unraveled it was as if this person could simply blow his hand away with the breath of his mouth and just as Almech thought he'd make contact he recieved a fist in his stirnum, knocking the wind out of him. He took some steps back as he choked and gasped for air, finally he was able to inhale and he was able to think for the first time in the last few seconds before the next attack came at him.

A foot came as his stomach, and he smiled, he knew he couldn't stop the kick, but he could do the next best thing, taking the blow in his stomach Almech tried his best not to vomit as the blow hit him hard, the pressure on his flesh caused hairline fractures in a few of his lower ribs. He grabbed Eri's knee and pulled the Vantha forward while slicing for his face, he was a quick one, bringing his arms up Almech scratched his arms just before his claws dove into the Vantha's leg.

Almech grinned happily as Eri hopped backward, Almech began chuckling at first, it was satisfaction that drove him to this state and then his chuckle turned into a laugh half of satisfaction and the other half was relief, he wasn't as weak and unskilled as this battle had led him to believe. Regaining his composure he looked up at his opponent, the smell of his blood was intoxicating and he couldn't help but lap up the warm liquid from his fingers.

Now he could lose this battle happily, he wouldn't recieve his pay for the day, but that didn't matter, this battle was fun, he hadn't had this much difficulty striking an opponent since his first spar with Kale, well, a blow that had an effect anyway. The crowed roared out for him as they were also happy for their carnivore, he fell to his knee and held himself up with his left arm, his right arm was getting it's feeling back, but it was still as of now a useless limb.

He breathed heavily with that smile on his face although each breath he took in he could feel the pain in his cracked ribs, he didn't care, the adrenaline was still flowing and acted to dampen his pain, atleast for now. Eri gathered his weapons and approached him, and Almech closed his eyes, ready to die, he had fought courageously and proved his worth, and to him that was worth much more than merely winning a fight, his only regret was he couldn't grant Kale a fare well and he hadn't recieved his revenge on the zith colony who killed his family.

Then he heard something that surprised him, he was sheathing his weapons? Almech opened his eyes and looked up at Eridanus with eyes that showed confusion, then he bowed to the Kelvic a gesture Almech had never recieved before. "I have lost! My opponent is the Victor!", Almech thought he was hearing things, as he was clearly the one to lose this battle.

The crowd exploded, most cheering "Car, ni, vore, car, ni vore" but others jeered in disgust, Almech winced as the noise was hurting his ears, his animal instincts told him to be frightened, but he was used to this by now. He opened his eyes to see that Eri had left the "stage" and the audience, in their arguing began to riot, people were falling into the arena from the balcony and he could slowly begin to smell the shedding of blood, this made him angry.

With his last bit of strength Almech stood up wobbily "SHUT UP AND GET THE HELL OUT!" he shouted and like a shockwave everyone's eyes reverted to him "It's not a big deal, don't wreck the stadium for everyone else, if there's no stadium, how're you going to watch me fight again?". He had a point and everyone knew it, and they clapped for him and his outburst, Almech was able to move his right arm now.

He removed his robe men and women all through the stadium whistled at his naked form, he placed his armor on the cloth as well as his scythe and knotted it up so they wouldn't fall out. He did this slowly as his adrenaline was gone and the full pain of his wounds hit him, he shifted into his dog form and bit onto a piece of his robe now converted into a bag and he limped out of the arena dragging his belongings with him, he was truly happy he was able to live to fight another day.

End