~A call for Blood.~

[Lexxum_Vordic]

(Open to one level 1-2 combatant. First come first served.)

Blood.

It coursed the my veins burning hot like an inferno.

The very rage of Fallien herself.

The blood was my curse, the blood had become my weapon. And now, the blood was calling for more blood.

I thirsted for bloodshed since I was born on the battlefield.

My people were born to combat and bred for warfare.

To die by the sword, that was the credo of my people. And that would become my mantra.

This is my story.

From the dark, Lexxum Vordic detached himself staring at the ugly tribute of warfare that the men of Althanas created. It was ugly in Lexxum's, eyes. The mockery of true warfare and bloodshed. Lexxum looked at the old building, with it's long history of blood, and sighed. If this is what I must do to satiate The Blood God. It shall be done. The tall lizardken maneuvered through the crowd of people. Fanatics all, who worshiped war. It was fitting that the ugly building would continue to host battles for the pleasure of a perverse society. A society that had lost touch with it's basic instincts of warfare and violence.

The need for survival.

Lexxum spotted the tiny monk looking at him with a mischievous smile on his face. Lexxum of clan Vordic looked at the Monk and nodded with false respect. He walked slowly towards him. A noticeable limp on the lizardken's walk. He'd been missing for a long time. Since the old wars of Althanas antiquity. The Monk had a certain look on is face, one that Lexxum did not necessarily like. But he would endure the tiny Hume's falseness for as long as he needed to conduct his business. And Lexxum's business was warfare.

Lexxum paused his gigantic stature in front of the Monk. "It has been some time, robed one."

"Have not seen one of your folks 'round these parts for a long time." The monk said calmly. He was looking up at the massive beast before him. "You used to frequent these parts, my Father told me stories about you." The Monk said, there was that grin again. "You Fallien folks always interested me greatly."

Lexxum Vordic nodded. "I'm not here for pleasantries, robed one."

The Monk kept the smile on his face. "No need for such seriousness, but I totally understand. You want a chamber with your usual conditions?"

Lexxum thought about it for a moment. "Surprise me. I want one challenger, I've been missing a long time. Time to appease The Blood Gods." Lexxum limped after the Monk and kept a careful distance away from him. The limp was an injury he'd recovered from a long time ago. The old warrior was a veteran of his people. His scales were coloured a deep crimson stain as were his glowing eyes. They had a certain consistent fury in them. In all, the massive creature was a sight to behold and he was there for one sole purpose.

To appease the Blood God.

(You are free to make an arena for us. Open to one.)

[jdd2035]

Cain had spent several months chasing a particular Xebec pirate ship before a heavy storm and bad luck separated the two ships. But now he was back in the Port of Radasanth. He felt the need to take his mind off of the loss of his pray and to release some aggression. To that end he made his way up to the citadel with his hands placed firmly behind his back.

He touched his knuckle to his tricorn to a near by monk and the monk bowed. "Good Afternoon!" Cain said in his sea faring voice that could be heard over a full broadside. The monk smiled and said "Greetings to you Captain Jodin if I were to guess you are here to take part in one of our competitions."

Cain smiled "You have guessed correctly. Easy as kiss my hand." He said his mood already beginning to brighten.

The monk grinned "We shall set you up with something...fun" the way the monk said fun was not menacing but felt more mischievous. The monk then promptly lead Cain to a specific door that lead to an arena occupied by...a lizard?


The scene soon shifted from a blank slate to something more fitting the two polar opposite opponents. It was a tattered and ruined Colosseum, the floor was a fine white sand surrounded by marble pillars which were covered in vines. The occasional tuft of grass or weed popped up here or there and the entire setting smelled of olives and grapes.

Cain was ready as he could be in his tricorn hat, number one sea coat. He had around his waste a weapons belt with a pair of flintlock pistols, and a cavalry saber.

Cain considered the options and smiled shouting "Fill your hands!!!" drew his cap locks and fired at the reptilian creature as he darted to the nearest crumbled wall.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

As soon as the magics of the Monks were done, Lexxum took in a moment to observe the world that would become the battle field. Immediately, Lexxum Vordic caught the scent of someone who was one of those daft sea-folks. Lexxum noticed the man was heavily armed, and wore a fancy coat. Never seen that sort of attire of before. But then again, I must appear just as strange to him. The sea folk spoke and Lexxum didn't bother with pleasantries.

Lexxum's burning red eyes locked on the form of his opponent. The man seemed skilled and Lexxum would have to remember to thank the Monks later for sending him a worthy foe. Lexxum kept a prayer to the Blood God in his mind so he could concentrate on the battle at hand. Then, Lexxum noticed the sort of weapon that his opponent wielded. One of them engineered items likely. Lexxum had never actually seen a gun in action before. Lexxum wondered how strong his scales had gotten at that point and decided he would test it. Lexxum's drawing hand went to his majestic sword, Tap Reaver. The weapon was won long ago during a deadly adventure.

At the same time, once his opponent had fired his weapon, Lexxum covered his vitals with his scaled forearm. The steel bullet whistled through the air with tremendous force and ferocity, and clashed against his scale armoured forearm. There was an explosion of scale, steel shell and gun powder. The massive force of his opponent's weapon caused Lexxum to get pushed backwards several paces from the weight of the steel bullet. Black blood trickled down from the injury to his forearm, but in all, his scales had successfully intercepted the bullet. However, the injury to his forearm was quite deep and the bullet's shell still reflected light as it got buried in his forearm. But his scaled armor had done it's job. Lexxum licked his lips at that point.

He drew his mighty weapon, Tap Reaver, the gigantic claymore was strapped across his back.

It had a glow about it's plynt metallic surface, meaning it was enchanted.

Lexxum had won the weapon long since prior.

He held the mighty sword with the tip facing towards his opponent. Then, Lexxum charged forward. He wasn't extremely fast, but it would do. He covered ground quickly between himself and his opponent and prepared to perform an underhanded slash towards his opponent. He aimed for the man's legs attempting to hack at one of them. It was a downward slash, and his weapon glowed with a trail of light. He aimed for the middle of the man's thighs hoping to connect with that so he could begin tearing his opponent apart.

I must satiate the Blood God... The scent of gun powder now filled the air as Lexxum's black blood trickled downward from the injury. Scales were also on the ground from the armoured lizard folk.

[jdd2035]

The bullets struck home damaging the creatures fore arm and wrist but nevertheless it still plodded toward Cain. Had he had time Cain would have reloaded but as it stood even being quicker than normal he didn't have enough time to reload. He ran through his options he could drop his pistols and go for close quarters with his cavalry saber but matching strength against strength against an eight foot lumbering creature didn't seem the wisest move but it seemed like the course of action that the creature wanted to take.

The creature continued its charge with a massive two handed sword razing into the air and down it came right for his thigh. It was a simple maneuver used to quickly cripple Cain and end the fight. It was not going to work this time Cain slid his foot back and turned his body letting the creatures massive sword dig into the sand of the coliseum. Flipping his pistol and grabbing it by the barrel he used the butt of the gun as a bludgeoning weapon hammering the lizards wounded forearm with it. After any damage he could further do to the creatures fore arm was done he scrambled up the side of the wall he had darted off to.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Lexxum flinched as the speedier Hume attacked.

His injured forearm was hurt, but it wasn't a terrible injury. His scaled and armoured hide served well to protect the behemoth. Lexxum narrowed his eyes when his opponent broke off in a dash towards the crumbled walls. Sighing at that point, Lexxum studied the behaviour of his foe. Knowing full well that his own attack had missed...Lexxum decided on a different approach all together. The marble walls and structures of the old building were worn with the effects of time and natural forces. Lexxum watched his opponent scurry up the wall like a rat. Lexxum took a few steps forward, closer towards the wall his opponent currently climbed.

The sun blazed overhead and there were no clouds to provide the cover of darkness.

Lexxum Vordic readied his weapon, Tap Reaver and decided he would test it's power against the time worn marble.

Lexxum pointed the weapon in Cain's general direction and the power from the Tap energies began to build up. It took a moment or two, and his foe had gotten higher up the structured wall. Once Lexxum had gathered sufficient power, he launched his attack...a blast of pure Tap energies and saw the volley flared outwards towards the wall. Lexxum growled as he launched the Tap energy attack at the wall that his opponent was climbing. He expected the old fortifications would fall at the hands of such devastation, considering how ancient the marble was. The blast of energy spiraled forward, through the air, and did impact against the marble structure. There was a moment of silence, and the wind seemed to halt at the presence of such vile Tap energies.

Then, the reaction occurred.

Lexxum smiled when he saw the glowing wall explode from the ferocity of his attack. It was a chain reaction, and that portion of the wall immediately began to fall. Glowing energy and super-heated marbled crumble from the point of impact. At that point, Lexxum readied Tap Reaver once more and waited to see the effects his attack would have on his opponent. Lexxum stared at the rat as he attempted to escape the behemoth's wrath. Lexxum weapon, Tap Reaver, glowed with tremendous energies.

As he stood there, he heard noting but a fire roaring in his mind.

The fires burned.

[jdd2035]

~Well now, this beast is tougher than I thought~ was Cain's first thought as as the creature shrugged off further damage to his wounded arm. The wall Cain was scrambling up was about ten feet tall and and as he reached the summit of it he looked down just in time to see the creatures sword release a powerful burst of energy into the wall followed by its inevitable crumble and fall from beneath him. Cain fell landed on the sand and rolled over the rubble. His back and shoulders were bruised and he felt the stinging of a nasty burn crawl up his face to his already partially blown off ear, but from the neck of his number one sea coat town seemed unscathed thanks to the multiple layers of his number one sea coat.

The fire had spread in between Cain and his opponent temporarily separating the pair and he thought t was time for some sort of caper and even though he didn't have much time to think he still had a moment or two.The lizard had a magical sword a decided trump and if it was using it now it possibly meant that it either felt out class or was more used to sheer brute force. Either way it meant that Cain had to be resourceful to win this fight. Cain shifted his now grim and ugly visage into a fierce grin. Reaching into a spot under his sea coat he produced two white packages of something about the size of his thumb and two inches in length powder charges and tossed them into the fire near the lizard. Moments later there were two sharp loud !pops! near the creatures feat. Sand smoke and flames flew up in a cloud and when the smoke cleared Cain had disappeared behind one of the pieces of ruined building.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

There was a loud ringing in Lexxum's ears after the twin explosions sent him flying backwards.

Lexxum was not terribly fast, he was strong though. At that point, he landed on the ground a few feet away. Standing up after he'd gathered himself, Lexxum considered his options. He knew he would have to focus at that point to do any real damage to the speedier enemy. Tap Reaver will have to wait to be satiated... Lexxum considered. He'd suffered injuries from the popping explosions, but they were not terribly serious. Lexxum felt some sharp debris from the grenade like weapons that his foe had thrown.

He looked down and noticed several small spots were embedded with shrapnel.

At that point, Lexxum placed Tap Reaver in it's scabbard across his back. The massive weapon was not the correct way to approach the battle. Instead, Lexxum opted to use his sharp claws. They were as sharp as steel and would server him well. He extended his claws and felt them grow to their full length. At that point, Lexxum gathered himself and spotted his opponent using his sensory grid. There were some small fires here and there as a result of the blast that Lexxum fired off into the wall.

Lexxum looked up at the sky for a moment...

The afternoon sky was still blue and they had plenty of time before the night time hours arrived.

He returned his hateful eyes back towards his opponent. At that point, he decided to attempt to engage in close quarters combat. Covering the ground between himself and his foe, Lexxum ran as fast as he possibly could given his limp. He was big, and was able to cover some significant distance quickly. Not as fast as the speedier warriors of Altahnas, but still capable of a decent run. Lexxum's powerful calve muscles bulged as he pounded the ground. His eyes were locked on his opponent's position. He didn't need to lock eyes with the warrior, only to know where the man's position was. Lexxum suddenly decided not to run directly at his opponent.

Instead, he broke off into a sprint at a sharp and sudden angle.

Lexxum was attempting to work his way around his opponent....

He could feel his padded feet slam against the ground as he ran. He decided, at that point, he needed to become faster because of his massive size...

And so, Lexxum attempted to reposition himself so he could get behind his foe more or less.

[jdd2035]

Time is what made some one like Cain such a force to be reckoned with. Give him a moment he's good, give him a minute he's great. The creature was hunting him now that meant that the creature could at any moment ambush his hunter. His flintlocks were still loaded and he had the empty powder charge papers in his hand. Cain smiled his charred skin crackling and flaking off he had an idea.

Sliding down to the floor of the Colosseum he filled the empty charge papers full of sand and tucked them in his pocket. Now a predator will hunt and when you run that encourages said predator to make chase. Cain was a predator he hunted pirates and enemy ships in the Riaeran sea and beyond he knew the instinct well. He also knew the instinct of when the prey would turn and fight. It could make an unaware predator pause.

The creature had sheathed its massive sword and began a more carnal kind of stalk for him. Cain drew his cap-lock and cavalry down on his stalker aimed at his potential attacker and fired. The shot was at distance Cain new that his intention to frustrate his enemy just as much to wound it. With the smoke still rolling from the muzzle of his pistol he waved the "come on" signal at his opponent flipped his pistol gripped its barrel and then charged at a blinding speed. He struck with his empty pistol first followed by his saber.

The creature was not the only one with a magical sword Cain's how ever had been imbued with lightning and the creature was going to be in for quite the shocking surprise.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

As Lexxum moved towards Cain, he saw the man begin to prepare his pistol again.

Not...this...time...

Lexxum then decided to do something extremely psychotic. He released the mental locks of his mind, and opened the flood gates of the power that rested in his dark soul. The power swelled forth and Lexxum let out a mighty roar. He is not the only one playing dirty... Lexxum ducked just as he heard pistol's shot fire off another of those damned bullets. However, as he ducked down quickly as he could, Lexxum's physical body transformed. Spikes, armoured and deadly jutted out of his scaled carapace. The spikes were long and thick as Lexxum access his latent ability: The Rage.

As he transformed his previously red scales became obsidian black in colour.

His muscles popped and tore as the spikes jutted out of them making the creature appear even more frightening than before.

Lexxum's clawed talons gripped the hot earth beneath him and he stared directly at his opponent as the man began a run forward.

The bullet, whistled through the air and clipped Lexxum's shoulder. A spike or two was broken off by the powerful steel bullet. But any serious damage was avoided that time as the spikes began to grow and manifest. Lexxum was on all fours as he looked at the man's approach. Play by my rules...creep. The monster within Lexxum thought with psychotic rage. Many men oft accepted a losing battle, but not Lexxum. Lexxum was no ordinary man. No. He intended to win.

And right as the slash from the man's sword was coming in...Lexxum suddenly attacked.

He was on all fours and decided to revert to simplistic and beast like tactics.

Before the sword actually could connect, Lexxum leaped forward with all the might he could muster...he was aiming for the man's exposed neck. He attempted to reach forward with both arms so he could possibly grip the fast running man, if he was lucky. If not, his powerful jaws would grab...hopefully something. He was at such a psychotic state at that point, that he could withstand incredible punishment at that point. The bullet that missed it's mark lodged into a far off marble column.

Lexxum attempted to bite his opponent with anything he could grab...if he was successful.

If not, time was running out and he was in close proximity of that glowing blade. He had managed to jump just above the first swing of the weapon with his leap. Now, if luck was on his side...he could get his massive jaws to clamp down on some portion of his opponent...

[jdd2035]

Cain's plan had worked, it worked well, it worked too well the creature had gone berserk a fit of all out rage washed over it and it was charging blindly at him. Things had to happen on the fly and Cain had to rely on his experience and he remembered a time when he fought an electromancer and how much electricity could hurt especially when he coursed through his opponent and into him or visa versa. So when the creature hit and boy did it hit hard he let go of his saber letting it clatter away from the conjoined pair. He knew what was coming he's seen rabid animals attack before and he knew what they were capable of and if that creature though for one moment that Cain was going to allow it to tear into his throat at will it was wrong.

There was little Cain could do how ever to keep from getting injured but he could control how he was injured and thus he twised and wrung his body shoving his shoulder into the creatures gaping maw filled with large razor sharp teeth and he kept pushing his shoulder in deeper into the creatures mouth. Its jaw was powerful but Cains coat was resilient and Cain could feel that in spite of the creatures teeth not penetrating they still gripped and it's violent thrashing very nearly tore his arm from it's socket. Cain let go of his spent pistol having one left in reserve and gripped creatures nose blocking it off or trying to.

The creature raking claws tore off a chunk of seared flesh from his face and the top of his wrist and in all the writhing and wrestling about there was yet another loud and sharp !pop! What some people forget or do not realize is that unless sinew is cut the arm and more importantly the wrist and hand can still function. During the struggle Cain had presence of mind to grab his second pistol (with the hand attached to the shoulder the creature was biting into) twist it to where the barrel was pointing at the creature somewhere and pull the trigger at point blank range.