Avatar vs Human - Fists against Fangs

[AsukaStrikes]

((AsukaStrikes vs Sidhe)

Silence.

The unspoken word hung heavy in the air, permeating the the windless atmostphere and weighing down the very flames dancing upon their small glazed vessels. The ceramic plates in turn stood atop its simplistic metal stands, running along the walls of a spacious arena and lending light to an otherwise gloomy scene. The golden rays glimmered against a gigantic statue, one of a sacred coiled dragon rearing upwards and staring down upon the stage. More similar in appearance as a bearded serpent than a winged lizard of Irakkam, the Emerald Dragon Kazen appeared more golden than green.

But the Warrior of the Dajas Pagoda, an Akashiman by birth and heritage, paid no attention to the unsightly error.

Not while her emerald eyes remained shut, barring any of the golden light from invading into her eyes.

Asuka remained motionless within the still, heavy air. Her breaths paced and deep, shoulders rising and falling steadily and unwavering. Her ears hearing emptiness. Her eyes seeing nothing. Her mind thinking none.

Kreeeesh...

Tok tok tok tok tok...

A lone, robed figure emerged from the darkness beyond the outskirts of the straw-lined arena. His measured steps matching those of the flame-hair maiden's breath. Silently, wordlessly, the monk strode on unrelenting until he appeared behind the cross-legged maiden. His hand bore a scroll, no larger than his arm's width, nearly disappearing between the thick folds of his sleeves. The brown robe waited in the amber glow of the candle lights, silently seeking the attention of the maiden meditating to the Dragon before her.

Kazeryu lying across her lap.

"...What now, Touji?"

The monk cracked a tiny smile, presenting the scroll of paper within his arms to the Warrior as she slowly lifted her eyes.

"The name of your next challenger, Murakama-san."

Asuka heaved a sigh at the rather simple phrase. So many times she had heard this phrase, so many times had she complied and so many times she had fought according to its rules. This time would be no different. Another opponent who wished to challenge the Dajas Pagoda.

Grudgingly rising from the floor with Kazeryu in her hand, the warrior maiden snatched the parchment from her trusted attendant's arms and unfurled with piece with the aid of the world. Staring at the hand-written text in the dim lighting, Asuka wordlessly threw it back at the monk as she headed for the nearest oaken column.

"Sidhe, Avatar of Nature?"

"That is what it is said in the paper, Murakama-san. I cannot protest the legitimacy, as it was recorded from the challenger himself."

Asuka was not amused by the claim, but nonetheless a challenger was a challenger. Whoever or whatever it may be, there was always a fight to be had.

"I wonder who game him that title."

With a wave of her hand, the brown-robed man nodded in acknowledgment and disappeared beyond the sliding doors. With the room now vacated of any soul saved her own, the warrior maiden took one glance around the arena and finished with a task she had meant to do since the arrival of the note.

Planting her right boot against the pillar of oak, The Akashiman Swordsmaiden tied the sheath of her blade against the outside of her shin.

Now, she was truly ready for the fight to be had.

I'm waiting, Mister Avatar of Nature. She frowned against the glowing rays of candle lights. Her eyes trained on the main sliding doors half the arena away. The challenger nowhere in sight, she folded her arms and stared off into the darkness.

Ready when you are.

[Sidhe]

“It should be instructive, don’t you think, Thea?”

A gentle, leather-clad man sat with his back against a tree in the tranquil forest of Scara Brae. He was speaking to a creature in his palm, which happened to be a small black spider from Lindequalmë, deep in the elven lands. His arachnid of a travel companion merely stared back at him with eight shimmering black orbs. Sidhe could tell she was edgy, though, mainly by her stiff posture and twitchy demeanor at the slightest unexpected noise. The avatar supposed this was a sign of his personal tensions rubbing off on her. He’d noticed some time ago in his wanderings that his pet familiars quickly began to adopt some of his characteristics as he attempted to study theirs. The opposite was also true; Sidhe was often catching himself being quite a bit more jumpy in crowds since getting to know Thea.

“It’s there as a service to the people of the land,” he declared to his diminutive friend.

Sidhe’s current preoccupation was the Dajas Pagoda. He’d never been to it or any other combat site managed by the Ai’Bron monks, where combatants were given free reign over the destruction of their foes with assurances of mutual complete reconstitution once the match was over. It was somewhat of a philosophical quandary to Sidhe. As a sworn defender of life, he was bound to do his level best to avoid using lethal force in his travels. Yet, here was a place that allowed anyone to maim and murder without fear of consequence. Did his partaking of this unrivaled opportunity make him somehow a hypocrite? Could he justify his visit as training in preparation for those rare occasions in which deadlier methods were warranted? In any case, would it be wrong if he enjoyed the whole thing for the sheer sport?

It was perplexing, to say the least. Sidhe was not so bothered as to consider backing out from the battle he’d signed up for, but his motives were a mystery even to him. He knew others had visited the Pagoda countless times over the years and experienced the moral freedom of action without consequence. However, this would be the avatar’s first encounter with the monks’ magic and he wondered at the effects of no longer needing to prioritize the sanctity of life in his combat strategy. There was nothing to preserve, since both participants would enter a safety bubble from which they’d emerge unscathed regardless of what transpired. The notion still sent a jolt of excitement down Sidhe’s spine whenever he considered it.

Such release. It seems somehow wrong.

Standing, he grabbed a hold of his talymer staff and set off to the famed landmark of Scara Brae.

~*~*~*~

“Asuka Murakama, huh?”

Sidhe was speaking aloud to himself as he walked down a long corridor to his match. He knew little of the Pagoda-ranked Warrior he’d challenged to a duel. She was a young woman with red hair, from what he’d manage to put together. She’d never won a major tournament but had been a crowd pleaser in several now. The avatar cared little for his opponent’s fame or lack thereof. It was an honest physical challenge he was in pursuit of today. He realized she had to face challengers all the time, but he hoped he still might be able to get her at her best. After all, she’d want to defend her position in the hierarch from anyone.

His thoughts had taken him to the end of the hallway to face a paper sliding door with a red oaken frame. The wood was carved inward showing intricate illustrations of a long-forgotten dragon defending a people living under a mountain from invaders. It evoked a sense of righteous anger from the mythical beast. Sidhe wondered if he could find as much in him for the fight. Here he was, expected to harm and destroy another person for the simple motivation of not being harmed or destroyed himself. He took a deep breath and slid the door open.

What met the avatar of nature was a simple room lined with candles on metal stands and straw mat along the edges of the room. The walls were little more than paper and bamboo. Four pillars of strong oak held the roof up, lined as well with metal stands and candles. Sidhe’s opponent stood beside one such column, emerald eyes trained on the entrance he now filled. Taking a couple of steps decidedly toward the red-headed combatant, the avatar rested his long talymer staff just beside the nearest candle stand and bowed his head low.

“Miss Murakama, I presume,” he voiced reverently. “I am Sidhe, your next challenger. I hope to provide you a worthy battle.”

[AsukaStrikes]

The polite greeting made Asuka chuckle in her throat, the lass in turn calmly watching the druid bow in respect. Had this not been theh Dajas Pagoda and that the maiden was in a foul mood, the motion would have costed him his head. But Asuka was not in such a mood and this was the Dajas Pagoda. In fact, she was more amused than threatened by his presence.

"Thanks for coming, Mister Sidhe. I was afraid you weren't going to show up."

Asuka looked over her challenger, noting the shiny finish of the rod in his hand and the various leather articles that were decidedly fine handicrafts. The aura that seemed to be eminating from his form was also rather curious, a mixture of calm and attentiveness. For Asuka, it was both creepy and exciting. Add to the fact that it had been a while since she had a good fight, maybe this would be it.

Slipping out of her heavy leather jacket, The Akashiman tossed the article against the foot of a candle stand and rolled her shoulders in preparation. Even before she had begun her pre-battle warm up, the lass was already formulating a plan in her mind about how to go about fighting the man before her. Just by form alone, the druid could very easily best Asuka when it came to raw power. But what she lacked in power, she could surely make up in speed. And thus, with the plans coming into vague shapes and directions, the Akashiman warrior stepped forward.

"Oh, by the way." Asuka spoke in nonchalance, keeping a good eye out for any sudden movements from Sidhe across the room. "I already have here a suggestion for your ears. Listen carefully, alright?"

twenty feet.

There was easily seven yards between them now, the lass standing there with her hands on her hip and glaring confidently at her challenger. There was no way the man could attack her from there, even if he was to start throwing fireballs at her. All she had to care about now was the main tactics as to how she could teach him a lesson or two as well as making the experience "worth her time."

"Alright, Sidhe," The maiden began, tossing her flaming hair over her shoulder in the windless room. "So tell me how you want to do this - A good couple rounds of sparring or a single all out fight?"

There was no spite in her voice, only that of confidence. No matter how good this guy was, Asuka was determined to come out on top.

[Sidhe]

“Oh! Well… er…”

Sidhe had not expected this and he trailed off to give himself time to think. Not that anyone had really explained the workings of the Pagoda to him in great detail, but he’d thought their encounter would be tacitly straightforward. Whenever people spoke of their fights against the Warriors, they recounted their best attacks with great alacrity and detail but never bothered with the more mundane aspects of arranged encounters, such as the awkward introductions of two perfect strangers about to do battle or the dialogue that would lead to their clash officially starting. Sidhe could hardly contain a smile threatening to dominate his face. He’d simply assumed Asuka, as the veteran in this arena, would have told him when they had begun and struck out at him. As it was, the avatar was taken aback by the civility and matter-of-fact tone with which she stated her proposal.

“I suppose,” he said finally and very slowly, “I would prefer a solitary death match.”

His words were deliberate and crisp, easily carrying across the room. This was, after all, his only reason for being at the Pagoda. If he was looking to spar or train, there were plenty of places in Althanas where he’d have felt more comfortable. He had absolutely no desire for Asuka’s rank or the prestige and fame that might come from defeating her. The only draw this match held for Sidhe was a chance to fight as if he wasn’t himself. As if moral obligation held no sway over his actions and he could act however he saw fit for his own personal preservation. A small part of him, of which he was uneasily aware, envied those who practiced such freedom even outside the carte blanche the Ai’Bron monks provided. He wanted a taste.

May I prove to be above its taint, he hoped inwardly.

The druid-like Salvaran looked Asuka up and down. He knew nothing about the red-haired girl’s abilities, but her figure, at least, was not too intimidating. Sidhe knew better than to judge on this alone, but her comparatively weedy frame would at least provide some physical leverage in their match. No one joined the Pagoda’s hierarch by chance. There had to be more to her than met the eye. The avatar of nature would have to exercise caution in handling this untested foe. They stood some twenty feet apart and well out of immediate reach. Feeling there was really nothing more to be said, he proceeded with his first move

From a stance of stark readiness, Sidhe was suddenly lost in an explosion of passionate motion. The staff in his right hand swung in an arc away from him. It’s far reach struck the nearest candle stand with a loud clang of wood on metal and sent the dais toppling forward. It hit the stand ahead of it and started a chain reaction toward the lady Murakama’s side of the room. Small flickers of nascent flame could be seen on the straw where the candles met the floor among the clattering debris. Sidhe wasn’t done, however. As the candles continued to fall, he lifted his staff back over his shoulder, readied it, and hurled the steel-tipped device like a javelin towards his opponent. The weapon soaring at the defending warrior was blunt, evidence of its master’s usual unwillingness to do harm.

Today was different; the weapon ill-suited his purposes. Even as the talymer rod left his hand, the appendage quickly began to lose any resemblance to the human species. His leather clothes seemed to melt into his skin. White fur sprouted all along Sidhe’s limbs and forward body, while grey and darker hairs grew densely on his back and face. Limbs adjusted to match each other and the avatar fell forward onto all fours. His nose and mouth elongated to form a snout as his entire form shrunk slightly. Furry ears shifted up the side of his skull and his weapons of choice blossomed in the form of a Salvaran timber wolf’s vicious claws and teeth. He let out a challenging snarl from beneath a newly formed curved lip as the transformation neared conclusion.

[Karuka]

AsukaStrikes has forfieted the battle due to inactivity.

Sidhe is the victor, and may either take her place or challenge a master.

[Sighter Tnailog]

Gold added!