Round 1 Veteran: Lye Vs Silence Sei

[Silence Sei]

Battle begins tonight at Midnight CST. Good luck!

[Silence Sei]

The rain fell onto his head, bringing his orange locks down around his face. His wings, illustrious and bright as they were in the day, were shrouded in the heavy rain and night sky. The water always made the rooftops of Radasanth slicker. The Mystic had a bad episode with storms and rooftops during the war with Phoenix Ascendant, and it was a lesson the strategist quickly made sure to remedy.

The mute had been invited by an anonymous party to join the Magus Cup tournament. Not wishing to let a fan down, the leader of the Ixian Knights registered for the competition. The Magus Cup had always been known to showcase both veterans and newcomers in fierce fights. It was the very same Magus Cup that Sei had decided to test the mettle of the latest batch of rookies. Passing the torch to the new generation had always been a dream of the Mystic, usually acted upon by battles with his daughter Kyla. The girl had always failed in these lofty expectations set forth by her father, so perhaps here in the Magus Cup was someone who could prove the new generations worth.

However, tonight was not about the Magus Cup.

Sei swooped down onto the rooftop, careful to set his feet gently upon the ground so he did not slip. He walked to the corner of the small building, one of many that lined this side of the Radasanth street. Jumping from roof to roof was easy enough during the day on this road, but the rain provided a unique challenge to both Sei and the man he had come to meet. He approached the corner of the building with silent, deliberate steps, thunder booming overhead as he reached for the shadow figure in the corner.

He gripped the shoulder of the man and spun him around, releasing his hold when his contact was looking him squarely in the eyes. He stared into the green eyes of this young upstart, lightning crashing down a mile or two behind the Dragon of Drantrak’s form. Sei bared his fangs as if he were a wolf about to dig into a carcass. “We. Need. To. Talk.”

Lightning cackled again behind him, this time appearing as more of an emphasis on his anger.

[Lye]

He tailed her shortly after their gambling session in Scara Brae. He stuck mainly to the roof tops since the last thing a busy person does is look up. Extra care was taken to ensure his black combat boots did not click against the tile shingles - especially with the steel blades fixed to the heels. Kyla was an intriguing character. She was one of the rare mystics of Althanas and daughter to the esteemed Sei Orlouge to boot. After challenging her to a game of liar's dice, he not only discerned her skill with the mind, but he gathered that Seth Dahlios may be within their ranks. By tailing her, he hoped to gather more info on this mysterious woman and perhaps learn some secrets of the Ixian Knights.

For hours he tailed her from shop to bar. Occasionally, she took interest in the wares of a street vendor. Lecherous older men jeered at her sensual curves, but nothing of value to the assassin. As time elapsed, his steps grew heavy, and his patience waned. She was as normal as any Althanian, and her venture to Scara Brae was nothing but a casual visit. While irritation began to set into his bones, the weather complimented the deterioration of his nerves. Large bellows of cotton stretched across the sky and grew ashen. The humble bellows of thunder pulsated throughout the air. Just as he had given up on his reconnaissance of the attractive mystic, sheets of nature's tears spilled upon the city of Scara Brae.

"How useless," he mumbled in defeat to the crimson vlince about his neck and face.

A gloved hand met the slick surface of a rooftop niche to one of the many residences. The hiss of the downpour ruined any chance he would hear the conversion below. This did not matter, for many of the civilians who pushed and shoved their way through the streets and opted to seek cover in the nearest establishment. Through matted strands of platinum grey hair, his emerald irises fell upon muddy and empty streets below. Kyla was no longer to be seen.

Lye was at a dead end.

He let out an aggravated sigh and twisted the tension from his neck with resounding pops and crackles. His session of relaxation was rudely and shockingly interrupted with the pressure of a man's grip upon his shoulder. A crackle of the storm's fury arched across the sky as speech echoed within his mind, not his ears. This phenomena echoed deep into his core, and the assassin immediately spun about with twin titanium blades at the ready.

His heart dropped. He was not ready for this. Things could get ugly.

"Sei Orlouge," he muttered barely audible past the sheets of waters falling from above. "What do I owe this pleasure?"

Thunder punched through the sir, penetrating the killer's core. Lightning gave but a brief reveal of Sei's intimidating stature. The assassin, although uncommon, felt intimidation for the first time in years.

[Silence Sei]

Starring at the man before him built up a rage in the Mystic’s body. The cold night air mixed with the chilling rain would have produced shivers in a normal man, but Sei was kept warm by his resolve to teach this man a lesson. He could see the fear in Lye’s green orbs as the assassin tried to match the stoic posture and features of the Ixian leader.

“Ciato and Kyla Orlouge,” Sei ‘spoke’ into the mind of the frightened man, his arms crossed like that of a disapproving father meeting a child’s new boyfriend, “Whatever games you are playing with them, you will cease immediately. If I even so much as think you are going to incorporate them into your little schemes, I will make your life a pure hell. You will relive the most painful memory of your life over and over again; unable to move, unable to speak, unable to do anything but feel that raw, unadulterated pain. I will make sure you know the meaning of suffering, Lichensith Ulroke.”

Sei paused for a moment, letting it sink in that he knew the identity of the cloaked man before him. Lye’s Order of the Crimson Hand was not the only organization with secrets, or with undercover agents for that matter. He rolled his shoulders before the man, his very form the same that had kept many a war criminal awake at night. This was the man who had united Radasanth, the man who had cleverly used the Cell to accomplish his own ends, a man who knew more than enough about strategy and fighting to make good on his vow to the other clan leader.

He turned, the rain now becoming more of a torrential downpour than a raging storm. In this weather, Sei knew it would be difficult for anyone to see even a few feet in front of their face. His body brightened, the light magic within him shining hard to give him some sort of vision among the dark rain. The storm had arrived at Lye’s door, but the lightning would soon leave him. Sei looked behind him one more time, his gaze still that like an eagle looking down upon a mouse. “By the way, Seth Dahlios sends his regards.”

[Lye]

His blades rung out like chimes with every chilling drop to kiss its polished length. The assassin felt... violated to hear these words within his own mind. Disgust, mixed with the twinge of fear and hate, spread across his unseen features.

"You think I'm just some dog for you to whip into shape?" he seethed at Sei's commands.

Little did the mystic know that Lye had already secured a position in a living hell. He breathed regret into ever pull of his lungs and he seethed unresolved hated into every exhale. Everything that was once important to him was already lost. Life, as fleeting as it is, was the only thing he had to cling onto. That being said, he had little regard for his own.

"Do you think that a few words will stop me?" He boldly remarked to a foe that he knew could crush him on a whim. He did not care.

"Ciato came to me of his own volition," he continued, returning the blades to their lacquered sheathes at his back. "He wants to serve. He wants to put an end to the filth that taints this world."

His boots made progress to near the mute even through animal instincts told him otherwise.

"Filth like you and those that the Ixian Knights protect."

Lye felt the words "Seth Dahlios" penetrate to his very core. The bones within his body began to shift only on those words themselves. He tried to command his will over his own primal instinct to lunge for the mystic and, for the meanwhile, he was successful.

"I will chase him down." The assassin let the venom drip from his tongue with at words. The static of falling rain could not dwindle the conveyed hatred. "And if that means I have to slay each and every one of your whore daughters... I will."

Tension had spread to every inch of his being. His ability to manipulate shadows echoed to his cause, and five steel needles became possessed by darkness. They rose to the midst of the maelstrom in protest to the silent opponent and poised to strike - invisible to the naked eye. Blades still sheathed, he approached the mystic, and his poise changed to that of determination and defiance.

"You are but a man," Lye continued. "One that hides behind a mask of good intentions. One that lives a life fearless of the horrible fate the world has intended for you."

The thunder and lighting cackled in support to the assassin's prodding.

"You are a coward Sei." He forced a grin through the anxiety of inevitable conflict. "And you will do anything to preserve your slice of paradise."

The assassin kept himself tense. He knew what rumors and legends breathed the name, "Sei Orlouge", but every man had a weakness. Lye wanted to make this man understand his mortality. Even in his inability and lack of support, this would not deter him.

"Whether or not you choose to accept it, I will find a way to cause you nightmares." A gloved hand spared the assassin from mumbling into the damp, crimson vlince. "I will rip your Knight apart from within..."

He let the anxiety turn to madness.

"And you will know what it is like to lose everything."

Lye let out a cackle to rival the strike of lighting in the distance.

"I want you to show me how low you will stoop to. Go on. Let's see how brutal the great Sei Orlouge can be."

The assassin lost his regard. and possibly his mind.

"Kill me Sei. It's the only way I'll stop."

[Silence Sei]

He closed his eyes and smiled. Sei had always wondered why it was always the darker ones that tried to bring the personal affairs of his daughters into question. There had been a time where simply hinting that the girls were ‘whore’ would send the Mystic into a blind rage, turning around and attacking. The strategist easily saw that younger version of himself lopping the head off of the assassin with no more than a second thought. Memories of his family flashed in his head as he reflected on Lye’s taunt. Kyla’s strength, Anita’s loyalty, Emma’s patience, and Ella’s innocence; each of these traits in one way or another had been passed on to their father. Just as Sei taught them how to become better people, they did the same for him.

He reached into his pocket, his ears picking up Lye’s shifting feet thanks to the splashes they made on the rooftop. Rather than reach out and grab one of his Gemini Blades, the mute instead withdrew his folding fan, the Hyakureiki. He unfolded the unique weapon and turned to the man who would possibly one day become a problem for him. The fan covered the Mystic’s features, granting him a better poker face than he would have had without it. He could smell the sweet aroma of freshly baked cupcakes waft off of the fan and dance around his nostrils.

“It’s amusing that the snake feels as though he can fight the dragon.” Sei shifted his head to each side of his shoulders, popping his neck on each side in the process, “No matter how much venom you spit at me, ‘Viper of Salvar’, it will not stop my ascension. For someone who prides themselves on knowing everyone’s secrets, you seem to have a lot of misinformation. I’m afraid you will find that I’m no longer afraid of my nightmares, and the ‘filth’ will always have the Ixian Knights protecting them. If you think you can break our family apart, I invite you to try.”

Sei stretched his arms out, two large blue and orange butterfly wings sprouting from his back. “I would be careful to whom you trust. Aurelianus and your female friend seem to have taken quite the liking to each other. Noir, I believe was the name that my people said? I wonder how you would take it if you failed to protect her as well? But that is it, isn’t it, Lichensith? You despise me because I have repeatedly succeeded where you failed. You detest what you cannot become, and as long as that hate is in your heart, you will always remain a serpent groveling on his belly for the next meal to just happen by.”

In truth, the Mystic would never actually use his Knights to endanger someone in no way involved with the issue at hand. Even if the Noir girl was part of this ‘secret’ organization of Lichensith, she would remain unharmed. What had started as a simple warning had now become a battle of wills. Would the dragon come down from the sky or would the viper continue to envy what he could never obtain?

[Lye]

The pelting rain could not detract from the audible scoff he pushed through the damp vlince about his face. Both the object he produced and the attempt at noble poise disgusted him.

"All this talk about dragons, and this false sense of security..." He desperately tried to restrain his bestial hunger to lung at the mute. He knew he did not possess the strength nor the number to fell him - today at least. "I accept your challenge."

Lye sheathed his bladed against his primitive desires, and screaming bloodlust. He had grown much since the days atop the Onyx Tower, and if Seth had taught him anything in that memorable battle, it was to numb the screams of emotions coursing through his veins.

"I will never bow to any man. You or that scampering fool that calls himself a man. I do not claim to know all of the world's secrets, but I know enough, Sei Orlouge."

The assassin felt his heart race. The exhilaration to face someone so worthy of his hungering bones and resist the urge to sink them into his carcass... it was maddening. Lye held strong.

"All kings fall and to those beneath them goes the crown. How sure are you that your crown will fall into pure hands? Your brother is one such man who will always be tainted. With or without me."

The attempt to prod at Noir was laughable. In fact, he dry chuckle seeped through his lips, but was stifled by the static of rainfall.

"I'm honored that you keep me so close in your mind. It's exactly where I want to be, but Noir is of no consequence to me. And you?"

Lye spread a cheshire grin, the blood sped in his veins begging him to lash out at the near immortal god.

"I do not despise you any more than I despise this cliche weather. You're nothing but an obstacle. An egotistical, soft hearted husk of a man that used to strike fear into people like me. You have an image to uphold now, and that is your flaw. You have honor, I do not. You have limitations, I do not. We are opposites you and I. Because of this, I will see you fall and watch your crown become tainted. I guarantee you this."

Adrenaline gave him a euphoric high. He prayed Sei would make a scene. He hoped that there would be blood. At this point, it did not matter if it was his or his opponent's. Lye itched to get under his skin, either figuratively or literally. He wanted to show the world that even gods can bleed.

Thunder was the only break to the silence.

[Max Dirks]

Lye, I was unable to count your last post as it clocked in a minute after the deadline.

Silence Sei advances to Round 2!

Lye is very much alive in the Loser's Bracket.