Cherry Blossoms (Open to anyone, but only one person against me)

[Yukina]

The voice I always hear in my head, the one that's sometimes sweet and melodistic, sometimes masculine and powerful... It spoke to me again. Except in a voice that sounded like mine, except evil, with a hiss and a dark tone.

You're going back there?... You can't resist the bloodlust!

No way, Yumika!
I gasped and held my breath. Did I just say... Yumika?... But... She's not... And why?... I looked around the town and ran towards the ever changing citadel. "A tower!" she smiled and ran inside. A young girl, with brown long shiny hair and a yellow robe greeted her. "Welcome!" I asked her to create something beautiful for me. She all to happily complied.

"Off you go!" she called out. And a black portal, with dark shadow thorns and random shades of a dark black and purple swirving in it opened before me, unexpectedly, I was pushed into said portal, I still didn't get used to it, so of course I was screaming.

"Ah... Ah! AHHHHH!!!" and off I went...

I hear a voice, Hee hee! I hope you like it! It's happy and high pitched, like the girl monk who sent me here. And now a white field of energy goes all around me. And all of a sudden, the area morphs.

The ground is green and grassy, it's a beautiful sight, with trees all around, in the middle, dividing the area, is a river, pure and flowing. There are cherry blossom trees all around, and blossoms floating on the water. Birds chirp all around me, and in the distance I see what looks like a small village, all the houses made of wood. I look into the gleaming sun and smile.

You may wait for your opponent.

So I walked over and sat below a cherry blossom tree. On second thought... I climbed into the tree and made sure I cleared a little brush, so I could pretty much see any opponent who entered through the swirling dark gate opposite the tree I'm in, long before they see me.

And I wait...

[Veatrix]

Veatrix Bane, valiant traveler in search of power and prestige, was bored.

Not that she looked bored. Rather, she was simply just sitting in a tavern, making herself look like the shot glass she had really was that interesting. Wearing her white dress shirt under her tight black corset, black satin pants with Gainsborough the steel sword tied around her waist, Veatrix definitely looked like a valiant traveler. Golden locks looking slightly messy and harried, and purple ballerina flats worn from walking, Veatrix was the epitome of an adventurer with nothing to do. On second thought, staring into an empty shot glass was considered… boring, no matter how busy one seems to look.

Coming to Radasanth had been more than interesting, providing her with her fair share of adventure and excitement. The only place she hadn’t visited yet, surprisingly, was the famous Citadel. At first glance, it appeared to be a simple tower made of stone and steel, but its prestige clearly was unmatched in Althanas. Every Althanian knew what the Citadel was – unless, of course, that person was dim-witted to the highest degree. Maintained both magically and structurally by the monks of Ai’Brone, the Citadel was the perfect place to stretch the Veatrix’s muscles.

I might just need a good fight, Veatrix thought, cracking her back as she walked up the stone steps towards the intimidating tower. It was better to be honing her skills than drowning her sorrows away in a shot glass.

Feeling the small belly forming, a Radasanthian belly many of the citizens acquired after long periods of living in the city, Veatrix sighed. And I do need the exercise.

A yellow-robed monk quickly came up to her after waiting patiently in the atrium of the Citadel, where adventurers, warriors and overconfident teenagers milled, preparing for the possibly fight of their lifetime. Veatrix could easily point out the veterans of the group, the ones that stood proudly, powerfully, without giving away anything that might be useful information in the battle. That was something Veatrix both feared and admired, a trait that she longed to possess – but, that would come in time. Even more obvious were the ones that were wholly unsure of their technique, but brandished their swords and spears anyway, hoping to scare away any other would-be opponents. How… amusing.

Flipping her golden blonde hair to reveal the striking silver eyelashes of her Pharoas heritage, Veatrix was led to a simple wooden door. It was sturdy and unassuming, but once the yellow-robed monk opened the door for her, Veatrix saw a beautiful scenery, a place so picturesque it couldn’t have been real. And in essence, the place was simply Ai’Brone magic, nothing more than an intricate illusion.

With a nod, she entered the place as the door shut behind her.

Cherry blossoms, light and feathery and pink and pretty, began to fall, as if on cue, as Veatrix stepped into the area. Actually… it was raining cherry blossoms, if that was odd. But the strange cherry blossom rain, petals falling slowly yet delightfully, only added to the exquisite splendour to the Citadel arena. Green grass covered the expanse of the arena endlessly, looking and smelling fresh and clean and recently snipped. A small brook gurgled to the side, cherry blossoms floating on the surface, decorating the water like a person’s jewellery. Birds flew atop, chirping their pigeon tunes, while bugs and insect buzzed enthusiastically. Trees danced to one side, forming a small forest, while a village made of simple woods lived away their lives, not expecting anything to bother them. It was a paradise, only because the place looked like a paradise.

Seems like the Ai’Brone monks outdid themselves. Looking around, Veatrix searched the area of her opponent, eager for some blood to be shed. She needed the practice, she was getting rusty.

[Yukina]

I finally found my opponent, a beautiful young girl with silver lashes and golden hair. She looked skilled and powerful, but with my assessment, it didn't look like she had any tactic other then to kill anything that crossed her path before it could try to hurt her.

Now then, I don't want to give off my location, so let's see... Got it! and she snapped, in her mind anyways, she was going to be sure not to give away her location until absolutely necessary. And she didn't want to alert her enemy by using powerful tactics.

She picked a cherry blossom from the tree and threw it through an open brush, as soon as it was visible through the tree, she flew right to a tree beside the one she was currently in, she knew she made herself obvious, but didn't too much give away her location.

The cherry blossom with the thorny stem landed beside the girl's left foot, like a gorgeous rose.

[Veatrix]

Cherry blossoms rained from the blue sky, sun shining down brightly on Veatrix’s golden blonde hair and crystalline wings that she barely looked the part of a power-searching warrior. Cherry blossom in hand, she looked either severely under-dressed for a wedding, or much too classy for a simple household gathering. Veatrix, for all intents and purpose, was gorgeous in the environment, standing out so well that she was slightly surprised nothing had attacked her yet.

Suddenly, a small branch shot at her from a tree, splash of colour so obvious but barely visible. The arrow-like thing buried into the grass, missing her.

Projectile cherry blossoms? Pathetic.

A pretty little cherry blossom embedded itself into the soft soil by Veatrix’s left foot, thorny stem holding the blossom up high, a flower full of pride and vanity. Bending down, the half-Pharoas pulled the stem from the ground, examining it absentmindedly, crystal clear wings unfurling as the full expanse of them was shown. Though she did see faint movement in the trees, she wasn’t sure what it was. A flash of white and blonde and purple, albeit much too bright and juvenile, but she was sure something… holy was hiding in the green. She barely caught a glimpse of it as the cherry blossom came soaring through the air like an arrow. Nevertheless, she hoped that whatever was hiding in the trees reveal itself; Veatrix was too lazy to make the first move.

Letting the blossom go, Veatrix took a few tentative steps forward. There was something in the trees, she was certain. A small part of her wanted to charge with everything she had, but she knew that not only was a very novice tactic, but also very dangerous. What if her opponent was a highly skilled werewolf, or a blood-thirsty vampire or worse, someone like her – a power-hungry human?

Her opponent could have been anything, so readying herself for the worst, Veatrix stood. No weapons were drawn, so spells were being charged, but Veatrix assessed the environment, eyes focusing on the tree that moved just very, very slightly.

[Yukina]

The tree Yuki was currently in was being focused on intently... not too good but she could deal with it, it's not like she was being directly looked at.

I guess I'll make the first move...

Yuki crossed her arms in an X shape and a silver light appeared in front of her, "Judgement." She solemnly said a little quietly. The familiar rune appeared below the the woman's feet and Yuki smirked.

Queen to I1, I've got this like a chess match

She chuckled and stood with her back to a tree, having just descended from it.

[Veatrix]

As the half-Pharoas watched the treetops, trying to locate where her opponent was, a bright silver light shone in one of the trees, giving away her enemy’s location. Smiling widely, a smile filled with excitement and bloodlust, Veatrix slowly drew Gainsborough. The steel sword sang as it was drawn from its wooden sheath, a sharp shing resonating as she brandished the pearl-inlayed weapon. She balanced the weight of it in her right hand, gripping it, holding it, owning it as she readied herself to assault her opponent.

First mistake.

The wings sang, accompanied by the birds and insect, the sun shone and the cherry blossoms rained down. Everything seemed to beautiful to be defiled by death and destruction.

But I’m not here to stop and smell the roses.

Suddenly, a mystic white rune shimmered from beneath Veatrix’s feet, its light making her crystalline wings shine even brighter with reflections. Strange patterns and designs formed in the space around her, painting the ground like a holy goddess at work. Veatrix looked at it and instinctively stepped out of the brightening rune, her instincts telling her that standing there for much longer would not be very good. The rune wasn’t a very effective spell… it was too slow and too obvious for it to work, especially against a mildly experienced warrior like Veatrix.

This is getting boring.

Flipping her golden blonde hair back, Veatrix stood with Gainsborough in a threatening defensive stance. Just as she went backing to watching the trees for any sign of her opponent, the ground beside her exploded, rocks and debris streaming from where she was standing before. A gigantic pillar of holy light thrummed from the heavens, striking down to where the rune was. It seared everything around it – grass, flowers, even the cherry blossoms that blew around the area burned to ashes.

That was unexpected, she mused, slightly put off by the runic explosion. Seems like her opponent wasn’t as weak as she thought it to be. If only they weren’t so cowardly.

But she had to admit, her opponent was a fickle one.

Putting her hand up to protect her face from the debris, Veatrix walked slowly towards the trees, Gainsborough in hand. The silver light came from the, presumably the magic that just detonated before her. Small pieces of rock bounced on the grass harmlessly, while the dirt and dust of the explosion slowly settled. Clenching Gainsborough, Veatrix again put up her defensive stance.

Whatever they are, they better stop being such cowards.

[Yukina]

All to interesting... My opponent is no Mage, for I couldn't detect any sort of magical barriers at work... They're not a Rogue of any sort because I'm still unfound... No, what I'm dealing with is a warrior, and she's rather witty at that...

Yuki spoke in a sing song voice, "Who's in the forest with Yu-uki." She stepped out from behind the tree and drew her blade. "You're a rather interesting one." She took a step forward and extended her hand upward. "Judgement!" Except this time it was different, the runes were drawn on the side of the trunks of two trees opposite each other, one to the woman's left, one behind Yuki.

She then extended her hand forward and assumed a stance with her blade involving her to spread her legs and hold her blade high above her head.

"Your move."

[Veatrix]

“Your move,” a small, girlish voice said, tone seething with insolent confidence, a child showing off her new toys in an arena for the big girls.

Veatrix stared, dumbfounded at her Citadel opponent.

She knew that the Citadel hosted battles for novices, beginner adventurers and warriors, but the sight of her dainty target simply had her flabbergasted. Blue eyes and blonde hair, typical of many stupid girls that Veatrix encountered, were of course, present. Thin and short, the girl looked no older than sixteen, complete with a garish set of frilly purple clothes that the half-Pharoas wouldn’t be found dead in. Towering over her little body was a pair of heavenly angel wings, white and feathery and all holy-like. Legs spread apart with her magical-looking blade pointed up high, she glared at Veatrix. The girl looked like a living angel painting, beautiful but ultimately just a piece of disposable furniture.

Staring at the angel girl, Veatrix laughed. She hadn’t seen anything so laughable as an angel child in a Citadel battle to the death.

What a fucking surprise. This is going to be good.

Her laugh brought tears to her eyes, and even her stomach began to ache with too much movement, but she couldn’t dare to loose control of the situation. Adjusting her stance, Veatrix gripped Gainsborough hard and firm. Already, two glimmering runes with drawing themselves upon two trees, light magic ready to strike fatally at any time. As the last trails of her laughter ended, Veatrix straightened herself up.

“My move?” she asked, spinning her steel blade once, the sunlight bouncing off of the pearl inlays. After a slight pause, she grinned maliciously. “Fine.”

Without warning, Veatrix burst into a quick dash, flashing sword in one hand and shimmering blue magic light in the other. The wind whipped at her face, as did many cherry blossom petals that rained down upon the arena. Trees danced, green grass swayed and a warrior pounded across the small plain separating the two combatants.

Stretching out the hand charged with magical energy, Veatrix yelled a single word before pure ice sprayed out of her fingertips. “Hiela!”

The ground froze instantly, covering the grass with a blue shimmer, making the area around Veatrix’s winged companion slippery and hard. Blue magic crawled quickly from Veatrix’s body to the ground, powerful magic displaying itself for the other to see and fear. Cutting through the ice grass path she made with her feet, the spell parting at the presence of her body, she raised Gainsborough. The sword danced in her hand, it was like a dancer’s outfit, perfectly fit for her. Veatrix yelled a ferocious battle cry as the steel blade came down to slice the angel girl right across the chest.

[Yukina]

What. A. Fucking. Amateur.

Yuki almost started laughing at the sight of someone who looked like they were of such high caliber and skill, using a completely novice tactic, sure she had frozen the ground and it was obvious this woman had some very intricate powers, but charging at your enemy head on when they're in a defensive stance?

Does she not realize I can fly? I really hope she's saving something good for the end, Fine, but if she really thinks I'll fall for such a newbie tactic...

Yuki used the back end of her blade and jolted it to the side, clashing with the warrior's blade. The friction of the two swords pushing against each other apparent by the sparks flying between them. She wondered if her opponent was having as much fun as she was right now. She smirked and was careful to wait for the right moment.

Just as the blade's broke the lock and her life was jeopardized Yuki ducked, and pushed from the ground with her wings, hitting a tree branch and knocking petals and flowers from it, she then kicked off again and landed to a spot right behind her opponent, pretty much where she was standing before the lunge. Yuki waited and looked at her pulsing runes.

10, 15 at the most...

Yuki laughed and called out "Pearl!" and shot an orb of silver light the size of her head from her palm at the woman's back, sure it costed a little extra magic to increase the size a bit, but it was worth it. Yuki was anticipating a witty counter so she pulled an arrow back into her bow ready to call out a piercing shot at any second.

[Veatrix]

She can fly?!

Flap.

Well of course she can fly!

Flap.

She has Thayne-damned wings!

Flap.

Veatrix stood, mouth agape as her opponent soared through the air above her, sunlight and cherry blossom cascading over her beautifully. She looked like a work of art, to be perfectly honest. Veatrix’s silver-framed eyes followed the girl as she came around, completely ignoring the frozen grounds beneath her, not that it mattered to her opponent anyway. Landing where Veatrix stood just before her very novice lunge, sword dancing like a gypsy in her hand, the blonde girl called a single word out.

“Pearl!”

The foolish girl laughed an evil laugh, a head-sized orb of pure and unadulterated light shot from her palm, aimed lethally at Veatrix’s spine. Swiftly turning around, the half-Pharoas warrior shifted her stance, Gainsborough tightly gripped in hand. Powering down the ice spell that uselessly froze the ground behind her, Veatrix drew her magical energies, deep down within her body. Concentrating on the spell, eyes glued to the light orb that quickly closed the distance between her and possibly excruciating pain, Veatrix tapped in her powers. Raising her spell hand, shimmers of light blue dissipated into the air as white light formed a barrier, energy crackling from her fingertips.

“Protego!”

Just as Veatrix’s invisible barrier tiled up to protect her from the Pearl spell, the two runes pulsating on the tree exploded, causing godly white lights to shower from the sky, rocketing the trees into chaos. Veatrix, well away from the runes, wasn’t affected in the least, the debris that came from the explosions simply bounced off the magical shield harmlessly. The Pearl spell hurtled towards and reflected off of the protection spell, exactly as the debris did. The light orb smashed on to the ground with a loud crash, breaking into millions of magical pieces before dissolving in the cherry blossomed air.

Raising her Gainsborough, Veatrix powered up the hand that held it, white energy climbing up from the recess of her soul, transforming into throbbing external force. Fire burned through Veatrix’s veins, blood pumping quickly, adrenaline coursing. The energy travelled up from her hand and into the steel and pearl of the blade, white magic sizzling like a thunder shock, burning like a firestorm. Brandishing the sword, the half-Pharoas aimed the sword at her winged opponent and screamed.

“Illumina!”

The white fire magic let go of the sword channelling its energy and shot at the girl, the energy digging right into the angel’s chest, burning frilly purple clothes and pretty little feathers. The angel girl had her bow and arrow in hand, readying herself for a fatal shot at Veatrix, but the white fire spell came blazing at her much too fast for her to dodge.

[Yukina]

Yuki's attack had succeeded in it's subliminal task and as did the pillars of light, now the new issue was the spell coming at her.

I judge that arte to be a medium... perhaps a small-medium

Yuki inwardly laughed because she had a plan and it was even an unusually intricate one. For now, after all the light attacks, there was such a concentrated amount of Light magic in the area, she no longer needed to draw power from herself. She looked to the left and right, "Good, particles still remain..."

Yuki's eyes glowed white and she called "Holy Barrier!" and the shield erected before her, stopping the attack cold and cracking it. This attack can't take any more, but it won't be around much longer anyway.

Once the spell was stopped, Yuki prepared her second attack, not dropping her bow, she called out "Piercing Shot!" three times, once holding her bow diagonally, once horizontally, and once vertically, completely turning her body each time. There was plenty of distance for her to do her favorite combination.

She drew her book and dagger and drew a rune in the sky. "I summon thee! Come! Fairy!" and a small little blonde girl in a yellow dress with blue luminescent wings appeared. "Fairy! Stop time around the arrows!" and the little being held out her arms and all three arrows stopped in mid air, one behind the other. The fairy dissappeared and Yuki flew at them full speed, grabbing two, she stopped and placed one on the opposite side of the woman and one above. Yuki flew to the sides above-diagonally of her opponent and called out pearl, she did this in four locations and ended with a judgement right on her enemy's current position.

This is a pretty big spell, and it's probably all I'll get out for a while... Oh well...

Yuki pushed back with her wings and shouted, "Radiant Light Prism Cage!"

She smirked and gave the woman a single wave, "The names Yuki."

[Veatrix]

“Holy Barrier!”

The angel’s striking blue eyes disappeared into themselves, turning mysteriously into unnerving balls of white. Blonde hair dancing in the wind, a transparent shield erected itself in front of her, effectively holding back the white fire spell Veatrix had sent. The two spells clashed violently against each other, pure power against pure power, until a loud bang brought the battle to an end. Both spells dissipated into the air.

Slightly aggravated by the pointless perseverance of her Citadel opponent, Veatrix scowled. She hadn’t expected the angel girl to retaliate against her attack. It seemed foolproof – she must have underestimated the sheer genius of many fools. Nevertheless, Veatrix’s battle adrenaline never wavered. The spells had barely scratched the surface of what the half-Pharoas warrior was capable of.

The angel raised her bow and arrow, the tip of the projectile glimmering majestically, and called out another spell. Her voice reverberated through the fields of the Citadel arena, the spell cast three times. Three arrows came flying at Veatrix, all coming from different sides. Reacting completely on instinct, the half-Pharoas brought the protection spell around herself, shielding all her vital areas completely so as to not be hit by any of the incoming arrows.

Acting very quickly, her silly opponent drew out a mystical grimoire and dagger, promptly summoning a tiny fairy, yellow summery dress made of various flowers and vines. Ordering the fairy summon to do the angel girl’s bidding before disappearing into a cloud of puff, something very strange occurred.

Everything literally stopped.

The trees stopped dancing in the wind, the leaves did not shuffle. The grass stood still and the raining cherry blossoms ceased to fall. Trying to raise Gainsborough in retribution, Veatrix’s hands felt extremely heavy. She could move, yes, but moving around was like moving underwater. She swished her arm around, instinctively wrapping her powerful protection spell around her, in case any other spells were unexpectedly thrown at her.

But time did not seem to stop for her opponent, as she flapped around hastily, rearranging her arrows, casting another weakling Pearl spell and placing yet another runic spell on the ground Veatrix stood on. It seemed like her opponent was no mere angel – she seemed to be a god, never tiring. Stupidly, Veatrix watched as her whole body felt so heavy, so inanimate.

But just as quickly the spell fell upon her, it lifted.

Tress resumed dancing, leaves shuffling. The grass bending to the wind and cherry blossom petals floated away.

The time spell gone, her opponent called screamed “Radiant Light Prism Cage,” all the spells casted exploding all around Veatrix. The sound of the spell was unearthly, rocks lifting and grass blazing from the absolute purity and power of her mystical angel spell. It was worse than a trainwreck, or an earthquake or the cry of a dying child. Three arrows dived in for Veatrix, hungry for flesh, while the Pearl and Judgement spells poured with pure light magic.

Fortunately for Veatrix, her Protego spell was all she needed. Being a master at such a simple spell did wonders for her.

The arrows that her opponent shot again bounced off the invisible barrier, landing uselessly on the grass. The Pearl orb smashed on to the ground while Judgement’s ray of light shooting down from the heavens was simply eaten by Veatrix’s shield. The “Radiant Light Prism Cage” wasn’t so useful after all.

While her opponent mocked her ways away by waving and pointlessly introducing herself as Yuki, Veatrix shot out her hand, fiery light travelling from within her soul into the palm of her hand. Calling out “Illumina,” the spell burst from her fingertips, closing the distance between the half-Pharoas and the angel. A simple ball of white fire, it cut through the air so fast, “Yuki” wouldn’t be able to escape.

[Yukina]

Yuki, grimoire in hand turned at the sight of the spell coming towards her, she faced the opposite way and took the spell to the back. She fell towards and tree and grabbed a branch, she used that to push off towards the flowing brook and landed by it's waters.

It's very soothing...

She was huffing and puffing catching her breath after all the magic she had used, even with most coming from the residue of light gathered in the air, and now more than ever, with there being such a large amount of magical energy gathered in her exact position, she healed whatever she could with her healing spell. "Holy Light!"

Yuki stood up with a bit of a slouch and opened her grimoire to the last page. She tried to read from it but all that was legible was "Dragon. Thee. Forward. Rune." and it was nowhere near enough to interperate the words for the final summon.

Now what... I don't have the necessary recourses to engage her physically, and spells are out of the question except for judgement and pearl which wont draw on my powers...I think it's time for the finale... Lunarassault

Yuki stood on both feet, drew her dagger and drew a rune into the air. "From the reflective mirror, I summon thee! Come, by the powers of the Crystallian blood of royal, light of the sacred flame, gimme a hand, Luke!"

A ball of light, with a red center radiating silver and white appeared beside her. It extended in 5 directions, left, right, down diagonal right, down diagonal left and up, to create a sort of stick outline of a person. Yuki stepped forward and this outline gathered around her. Creating a silver shimmering armor, Yuki drew her blade and the red center placed itself at her heart.

It's all or nothing at this point...

Yuki charged her opponent with her blade held up beside her head and at the last second, before reaching her chest, Yuki pushed up with her wings and landed beside her enemy, with her sword she pulled it back and went to sheathe it in her opponent's back, forming a silver crescent in the air. Yuki put her all into a final strike.

[Veatrix]

Yuki’s beautifully frail angel body instantly transformed when the silver shimmering armour from her red-dotted ball of pure pulsating white energy equipped itself on to her. She stepped into the spell, magic clustering around her like bees around a bed of flowers. Not only did she look divinely powerful, she looked more than formidable for a seemingly young angelic being. If Veatrix wasn’t careful, she could well have lost the battle many minutes ago.

But she looked tired. It was more than evident because of the heavy breathing. And yet, her sword still clung to her like a leech, sucking off the common sense in what had become a maniacal Citadel opponent.

Her opponent then charged her, face contorted into a visage of rage and battle fury. Her blade gleamed in the light of the bright sun, raised above her head. The half-Pharoas expected a simple novice tactic, one that was reserved for the desperate, but suddenly, the angel pushed up her wings forcefully. Air lifted, dirt leapt off the ground and cherry blossoms petals swayed as she soared through the air, landing softly beside Veatrix. Raising the blade, she plunged the deadly weapon into Veatrix’s back, right between her two crystalline butterfly wings.

Reacting quickly, mind racing in a thousand different directions, Veatrix shifted her stance, staring the girl right in the eyes. Having an exposed backside was much trouble in a dangerous battle; that was a lesson she had learned many years ago. Drawing upon another reservoir of power stored within her body, Veatrix called upon her magic. Blue energy whipped out of her body unexpectedly, slashing the grass violently. Her free hand charged mightily with energy as it pointed at the small brook at Yuki had fallen in only seconds ago.

“Oceania!”

Suddenly, the water shot up from the puddle, turning the babbling brook into a fierce magical weapon. Her fingers crinkled at the excessive use of power, her fist turning into a tiger’s claw. Aimed directly at the pulsating red spot on the armour, predictably where her heart was, Veatrix dove even deeper into her magic as she called upon yet another spell in her repertoire.

“Hiela!”

Combining the two spells together was surprisingly difficult, as cool blue energy pulsated up her arm and out into her hands. Veatrix felt the wetness of the water and the chill of the ice copulating within her, the spells vigorously making love as they produced a lethal child. Instantly, the water shooting up at Yuki’s chest froze, creating a deadly ice missile. It looked very much like an icicle, the ones found in the deepest recesses of a cold mountain, albeit extremely thick and fast-moving.

The last few moments of battle came upon the two brave Citadel warriors. Veatrix Bane stood in an impressive pose, spell and sword raised proudly. The angel Yuki, before she even hit the ground, had a giant ice arrow, unevenly shaped and poorly crafted but wholly effective, buried into her chest, blood seeping out of the wound.

[Yukina]

And before she knew it, she was impaled, right in the chest, her breathing slowed down and Yuki landed with her back to a small tree. She tilted her head to the side and a small drop, about the size of a tear of blood ran from her lip. She looked down and removed the shard of ice from her chest.

Yuki looked up and a small cherry blossom fell from the tree, landing in her hair. All around her light swirled and danced until she was left in no more than her original outfit, slouched against the tree, she cackled into the sky and a flash of white enveloped the entire area, Yuki drew in a deep breath and before she knew it she lost consciousness.

"Ake---p. Wa--- Up! Wake up!" Yuki sat straight up to greet the yellow robed monk standing over her body, Yuki had been laying on a white mattress in a room decorated almost identical to the battle ground she was just in, her clothing and weapons leaned against the far wall. The monk girl spoke to Yuki, "Well, you're all better! That heart puncture was a doozey..." The girl rubbed her head, "Just be a little more careful!" And with that, a black and purple swirling portal appeared behind the monk and she backed into it, and it dissipated.

Yuki sat up, wearing a long white robe and looked around, she rubbed her eyes and stood up to stretch. She yawned and walked over to her equipment. Yuki changed into her clothes and gathered her possessions together. She coughed and walked out of the door. After a seemingly endless channel of passages and halls she came out to the sunny blue sky. "Mmm... Feels good!" Yuki ran over to the edge of the citadel, but her hand went right through the wall, as it was changing its shape.

Yuki just ran down the street,

Onto my next adventure!

[Veatrix]

When the ice buried in Yuki’s frail chest, destroying her ribcage and puncturing her heart, Veatrix gave a satisfied warrior’s nod.

It wasn’t so much the assurance that she had killed the girl, though she was fully aware of the powerful healing magic of the Ai’Brone Citadel monks. Nor did all the violence and naked fury particularly phase it. It was the feeling of immense satisfaction, like the pivotal moment in love-making, when one knew that she won. The feeling was overwhelming.

Yuki lay beside on a tree, the giant icicle digging into her chest. Her wings taut and golden hair a matted and bloody mess, she looked miserably, a completely opposite to the almost unscratched form of Veatrix. The half-Pharoas simply observed her as she futilely pulled the ice out of her chest, blood gushing out in buckets as the open wound greeted the cherry blossomed air. The sweet aroma of flowers and rusty stench of blood wafted through the Citadel arena.

As if out of nowhere, monks dressed in yellow robes filed out of a door, opening from thin air. They picked up the lifeless form of Yuki and laid her out on a stretches, blood flowing everywhere. Her angel wings seemed to stain in the scarlet, but Veatrix was certain no permanent damage was done. After all, the Citadel had housed thousands of battles much more eventful and much more violent than theirs.

“Congratulations.”

A bald monk, large beads hanging around his neck, walked up to her, bearing a small pouch. Gold coins jangled in the leathery bag, a sweet sound to Veatrix’s ears. The sound of victory.

“You’ve won against Yuki Mashimoto, miss Veatrix Bane.”

Taking the pouch of money, Veatrix turned to the monk. “So that’s her name?”

“Yes, miss.”

“Well then. Thank you.”

The monk then stretched out a hand, his robe flapping the light wind that blew the cherry blossoms around. In the distance, the two other monks closed the door behind them, Yuki very much dead in the stretcher. Cherry blossom petals got caught in her hair as it flapped against the wind. She looked ethereal in the arena, but that day was just another day. Just another battle. Just another victory. Silver-framed eyes scanning the area, Veatrix bade goodbye to the beauty of it all. Giving the angel girl one last look before the door shut, she smiled to herself.

Cherry blossoms, huh?

((SPOILS: Anything the judge wishes to give.))

[Skie and Avery]

Quest Judging
Cherry Blossoms

Yukina is Magenta
Veatrix is Dark Orchid

STORY

Continuity
4 The way you came into this thread confused the hell out of me. I understand that she has a voice, it teases her about bloodlust. It might be her dark side, it might be an evil twin. Other than that, I got nothing. Why is she even in Radasanth?
4 I have the same complaint on your end. Why is your character in Radasanth? Why does she even go to the Citadel. She's bored, wants exercise, and hasn't been there yet. You gave me those, but elaborated on nothing. So, in short, I got the sense that this was a "I'm bored, let's go kill lolololol!" quest.

Setting
4 You have a bad habit of telling what happens, instead of showing it. You can't just say, "this happened, then this happened. It was followed by this, etc." Let's look over a few sentences together, shall we? Or rather, one sentence.

And a black portal, with dark shadow thorns and random shades of a dark black and purple swirving in it opened before me, unexpectedly, I was pushed into said portal, I still didn't get used to it, so of course I was screaming.

Okay. We have our quote. Let's look at what's wrong with this sentence. It's from your first post, by the way. For starters, it's a run-on. Those are bad. Try and read that out loud without taking a breath. Secondly, "swirving" isn't a word, according to my spellchecker...or the copy of the Dictionary that I keep. If you don't have a spellcheck on your computer, you can use for free the one at Spellcheck dot Net (http://www.spellcheck.net/). Thirdly, this is a good example of telling what happens instead of showing. There is some minor description there, yes. It's not as bad as it could be. But I still think this could be written better without having to devote too much space to it. You don't need to make something into a paragraph to paint a picture, so let's see if we can turn this into three sentences that accomplish what we're after.


Before me, the air swirled with deep shadows as wisps of demonic black thorns and bruised purples overtook the space. A door appeared there, gaping open like the hungry maw of so many darker creatures and I felt a gentle touch on my back turn into a merciless push forward. My body seized, a scream ripping itself from my throat as I fell into the portal; even all the knowledge in Althanas of this place couldn't have prepared me for that sensation.

One thing that I do often, that you might want to consider is writing your post and getting up from the computer for a few minutes. Go get a drink, stretch, walk around the room a few times. Then come and sit down and start the editing process. Read everything out loud, rework sentences, see if your writing (and not your intent) can conjure images in your mind of what's happening.

5 I really wish that you had used the area more to your advantage. The first Hiela spell could have been used on any kind of floor. Other than that, you reacted to Yukina's posts and didn't do much outside of your spells to use what she'd given you. By the time I'd read a few of your posts, I was so sick of hearing that cherry blossoms were raining down that I didn't know what to do with myself. Was that the only thing you could think of? You could have drawn the battle into the stream or down to the village. Your opponent could have too, and that was taken into consideration of her scores, too.

Pacing
6
5 I realize you stated that your character was too lazy to make the first move. If she wasn't ready to fight, why even show up? Not doing anything until Yukina was out of the tree was a bad move, in my opinion. She could have picked up stones from the stream and thrown them into the tree, for example. If she's so clever, why did she just sit around?

CHARACTER

Dialogue
6 A lot of characters shout their attacks. I didn't take points for this, but I just wanted to point out that there were moments that I felt like I was watching an episode of Sailor Moon. Even the throwing of the cherry blossom was rather Tuxedo Maskish.
5 My biggest pet peeve here was at the end, after the monk told you you'd won against Yukino, you said, "So that's her name?" Her character introduced herself and told you her name earlier in the thread, when she tried to put you in her prism cage.

Action
2 You played beyond your character's abilities. I checked your character sheet, and I found that everything was just vague enough to get past Witchy and still be powergamed. Now, I'm sure that you had no intention of this minor cheating when you registered your character and again when you started this battle, but let's go over some of the things I noticed, eh? Post 9m - How did she switch from sword to bow so quickly? She would have had to sheathe her sword, draw her bow, and draw an arrow. I read in paragraph four, "Just as the blade's broke the lock and her life was jeopardized..." (There needs be no apostrophe, by the way. "blades" is the correct grammar.) Paragraph five is the next mention of a weapon with, "Yuki was anticipating a witty counter so she pulled an arrow back into her bow ready to call out a piercing shot at any second." There was no indication of a switch between those two sentences. How many arms does she have? Now, with your little stopping time act... shame on you. Seriously. How did you think you were going to shoot three arrows in different directions, pull out a dagger and a book, flip to the right page and summon a faerie and then give that faerie the instructions to stop time before the first of (or you know, all of) the arrows embedded themselves into the ground or a side of a tree? You aren't that fast. The Flash isn't that fast. Just because it wouldn't be surprising to see happen in an anime, (and anyone who sat through the umpteen million episodes of DBZ that it took to count down five minutes in the battle between Goku and Frieza can vouch for the lack of time management found in anime) it doesn't mean that you should bring it here. Just because you can write it down, it doesn't mean you should.

1 Not once, not twice, but three times did you end a post dictating either what damage your opponent took or the fact that she didn't have time to dodge or defend herself. In fact, the last time you did it, she died. Now, if the two of you were talking via PM or IM and had it planned out that last time, there should have been an OOC note that bunnying was approved. I won't take that excuse for the previous two times as you said, "Veatrix yelled a ferocious battle cry as the steel blade came down to slice the angel girl right across the chest." and she blocked it before it sliced her right across the chest. After that you ended a post with, "The angel girl had her bow and arrow in hand, readying herself for a fatal shot at Veatrix, but the white fire spell came blazing at her much too fast for her to dodge." and she blocked it. You did something similar in your next post, which I guess would make your bunny/powergame list come up to four. These sort of movements, where you write for your opponent without permission is against the rules of Althanas. It keeps people from forcing death on others that they don't want to write. Consider this a verbal warning; I don't want to see this again unless it's something that you work out with your opponent.

Persona
5
6

WRITING STYLE

Technique
3 See "Show, Don't Tell" comments above.
6

Mechanics
5 Melodistic is not a word. Perhaps you meant melodic or melodious. When you write in first person, you have to take great care to keep it in first person. There were some moments where you switched to third, like in your first post.
5 I saw quite a few errors in mixing up words and leaving off -s at the end of some words.
I saw some of the same mistakes from the both of you. Not knowing the difference between "to" and "too" is a big one.

Clarity
6
7

MISCELLANEOUS

Wild Card
4
6

TOTAL
45
50
Veatrix is the winner.

Veatrix gains 1000EXP and 600 GP
Yukina gains 300 EXP and 150 GP

[Zook Murnig]

EXP/GP ADDED!