My, what a big tree this is. (closed)

[Rahegalhoff]

(closed as closed can possibly get.)

A man walked up the citadel steps, he had brown hair, and wore common leather armor, a shield with spikes on it strapped to his arm. At his side was belted a sword. Clearly he was a warrior, as his well sculpted muscles testified. His eyes showed hurt, not of a physical kind, but of an emotional kind, the sort delivered by a very personal and horrific tragedy.

He wasn't exactly sure where he came from. He remembered walking down a forest path, but that was about it. It seemed as if it took all of eternity to walk down, and yet at the same time it only took a few years at most, a few days at least. He had alot of time on that seemingly endless path through the forest to think about things, both his past, and his future. He wasn't sure if he arrived at any sort of answers, but he seemed more sure that his past had actually happened, and it wasn't all just a bad dream. His emotional wounds were as deep as ever, but perhaps they could begin to close somewhat.

He walked up to a monk.

"Greetings. I see you have walked a long path indeed. You have however, not even walked an eighth of it's total distance though." The monk said.
Rahegalhoff scratched his head at this, confused.
"What?" he asked.
"It'll come to you in time, meanwhile, you wish to work the rust out of your skills, yes?" The monk asked.
"You know, I've always wanted to fight on a really big tree. Got anything like that?" Rahegalhoff asked.
The monk smiled and lead him into The Citadel.
******************

His opponet had entered the arena. They found themselves literally fighting on a really big tree, but that was a profound understatement to the thing's size. It could've, by itself, been it's own planet. The sky was green, but one quickly realized that was just the thing's canopy. The branch they were standing on, was one of the lower ones, and was as wide as the island of Corone was long. Flowers as big as houses bloomed everywhere, and giant insects went about their business on the tree ignoring the two.

The branch was rough as branches tend to be, which made for excellent footing. Small hills, one foot high, were the exceptionally large knots in the tree's branch. Rahegalhoff sat on an exceptionally large knot, three feet high. He stood, and bowed politely to his opponet.

"I said I wanted to fight on a really big tree, but I never imagined they'd take it to such extremes. I would advise against falling off the edge not to far off over there to my left, your right, It's probably a very long, long drop, as I cannot see the bottom. My name is Rahegalhoff, and I will be your opponet today." he said, drawing his sword and readying himself.

[Koran]

"What do you have for me today Alfred?" The taller of the two smiled wide, his near flawless face creased slightly by the gesture, his gray eyes glinting with hidden mirth. He towered over the stout monk, the shorter having to strain his neck nearly to nearly bending backward to gaze up at the taller, but he stood casually with no hint of an imposing manner. If anything, it was the shorter that was more imposing of the two, as they both knew very well that should anything happen between them, it would be the shorter that would win in a blink. The shorter smiled back, his brown eyes glinting in equal mirth, his chubby face slightly flushed with the effort.

"Well Jordhan, it has come to my attention that a stranger just passed this way, worn and battered by a long journey down an equally worn and battered road. It also came to my attention that, although he was weary from his travels, he came with high spirits and a drive to taste our many pleasures gifted here at the Citadel." The smile grew wider as the smaller gestured to his right. "If it pleases you, I could take you to him, so that you too, might savor these pleasures."

The taller could help but laugh at the shorter, his eyes squinted slightly and his face near to cracking from the smile that now adorned it. He reached down to grip the smaller gently on the shoulder, his other hand gesturing lightly in the indicated direction. "Please friend, lead on."

*~* Moments later *~*

For a moment the cyborg thought he had been shrunk to the size of a mite and placed in a tree near the Citadel grounds. All around him the rough, uneven texture of what most certainly had to be bark, ran for what could only be thought of as miles and miles. His gaze drifted up and for a moment he blinked, unsure of what to think. Stretching for quite possibly an unlimited amount of miles above him, was the rest of the tree. He gulped and looked back down to the 'ground' beneath his feet, making his mind up right then that he would not try and wander toward the distant edges to peer down. He was just about to look around him again when a voice pulled at his ears and caused him to look up.

Ahh, he thought, realizing that this must have been the man Alfred had spoken of. His voice is hollow, distant. I wonder... The cyborg looked around then, conscious only then of the multitude of massive bugs that were making their way back and forth across the bark (but they thankfully paid only passing attention to the cyborg) and quickly found a face and body for the voice in his ears.

He appeared to be a middle aged man, sun faded brown hair with the stance of a seasoned fighter and skilled swordsman. What he failed to hide however, was the drawn look on his face, one of what could only be described as mild depression. He must have journeyed a great distance to get here, for he bears no local features that I have ever seen.

Still, Alfred always seemed to find him the most interesting of places and events, which was why he had come to the citadel this day. He was itching for a good time and aside from frequenting the local bars and scratching out a living at the dice or card tables, this was the next best thing. Testing ones metal by the tip of his sword or the skin on his knuckles was always an interesting way to live and one that the cyborg had lived for his entire existence. The smile that now creased his face was one of both mirth and a sick, twisted outlook on life and the inevitable death that was too quick to follow.

Instantly his casual and friendly demenor dropped away from his body and he began to seemingly radiate death and danger; a skill that came only with long years of practice at the art of killing, and believe him when he said so, he had had many, many years practice. His right hand slowly slipped beneath his white robe to grip the handle of his sword. . .and met nothing but empty air.

Abruptly his mind blanked and he felt himself slipping toward the verge of panic. Shit! He had forgotten that his blade was in the blacksmith getting reworked! Fuck! Fuck, fuck fuck fuck! This was not good. Fucking shit! His thoughts spiked and he straightened his features with a throaty grunt, attempting to temporarily hide his misfortune. Quick! Think of something, anything! Stall god dammit! His mouth opened and words began to poor out. He was careful to lace them with subtle hints of calm, cool and collected mind; not one so near to the verge of panic that it would soon crack if not cured.

"Rahegalhoff, an interesting name." Foreign. "I take it that you aren't from around here, but then again, which of us really ever is?" Not funny; insulting. "My name is Jordhan and yes, I will be your opponent." Stupid; he knows. He forced his mouth to peel back into a wicked smile and he squinted his eyes, forcing them to glint with a brilliant darkness. "That is of course, the monks feel the urge to throw someone else into the fight with us here." I sure as hell fucking hope not! He forced a chuckled, dark and throaty. "But, we didn't come here to talk. Prepare yourself Rahegalhoff, for this fight will not be easy." That's taking it lightly!

Still keeping his right hand hidden, faking that he had a blade hidden away (it was the only thing he could do) from sight, the cyborg slowly began making his way toward the other man. Stepping carefully and with a sure foot the cyborg closed the distance between the two.

God I hope this guy isn't as good with a blade as he appears to be!

[AsukaStrikes]

"I'd certainly didn't hope so, either. But apparently, they did just that."

The voice came from another branch up in the tree, almost five feet above the two warriors. The speaker sat there on a slim branch which looked to be a young green shoot - in comparisoon to the gigantic branches all around them, this one was but a few yards thick. With sunlight shimmering through the thick green canopy, the third combatant's flambouyant red hair stood out vividly as if a flower on a tree.

Asuka stared down at them with her arms crossed, assessing their combat abilities using what experience she had gleaned from traveling the world so far. Her mind momentarily skipped back to when she had suddenly found herself at the steps of the Citadel, forgetting the origin of her long walk nor the reason for her undesignated journey. After having been ousted from the Dajas Pagoda in Scara Brae, the maiden found herself wanting.

That was when the monks proposed to her a fight.

She had been surveying the arena for a moment after the robed man had entered but decided to keep quietly for the time being. She was accustomed to introduce herself before fighting, but the swordmaiden did not feel like going through such pleasantries. She was not in a mood to be courteous about getting into a scramble. She just wanted to punch the lights out of anyone she could get her hands on. Perhaps that would make her feel better.

"I don't suppose you two plan to have fun without me. I need to shake off some of my rust."

The maiden stood up on the tiny shoot and stretched. Just then, a slight breeze swept against her long leather jacket and revealed the sheathed blade strapped across the back of her belt. The maiden merely brushed a strand of hair away from her face, unconcerned with her concealed weaponry.

With a small grin forming across her face, the swordmaiden leapt off her perch and kicked off the sturdy tree trunk, darting towards the sword-wielding knight with a hand resting on her sword.

[Rahegalhoff]

Rahegalhoff had his attention on the taller robed man when he heard a woman shouting at them from above.

"Two's a party three's a crowd one of you people needs to go take a flying leap off the side of the tree and find out just how far down it really is to the bottom." Rahegalhoff said. He was switching his gaze between Asuka and Jordhan. He watched as Asuka leapt off the tree, and so he sidestepped quite calmly out of her way, keeping his shield between him, and his two opponets.

He backstepped to where he could get a good swing at both, and used his Multi-strike the instant either of them got within striking range, his sword swinging at both of them so fast it seemed as if a ghostly copy of his arm and sword followed in the trail of the first. It even did damage, half that of his real arm and sword. He didn't expect to actually hit, it was more of a bluff on his actual level of skill and speed with his sword.

He was glad he had leather armor and a shield, and not just simple robes and a sword. He seriously needed to think about upgrading his armor, maybe getting a horse.

[Koran]

The cyborg cursed, low and under his breath so as the other two (he should have known better than to call his luck like that) combatants closed on one another. What a wonderful time to not have my weapons, he shouted at himself. His anger quickly faded however, after all, he wasn't entirely weaponless. He smiled a small smile as he drew his hand out from beneath his robes, his mind focusing on an image locked deep in his mind as he did so.

To the casual eye it looked like he had simply drawn a steel longsword from beneath his robes but truth be told, it was far from just simply 'drawing forth a weapon.' Matter of factually he had turned his hand into a long slender object that looked and felt like a steel longsword. An extension of his flesh and bone but hardened to the consistency of steel and sharpened to boot. He held his sword hand out beside him, careful to let his long sleeve cover the portion that would have been his hand gripping the hilt and held the other arm in the same position just opposite his other side. After a momentary pause the cyborg refocused the image and presently a second blade, appearing to slide out of his sleeve like some kind of hidden weapon, appeared in his other hand.

He chuckled. There, that ought to even the odds a little. At that very instant the other swordsman performed a rather bizarre dance of some kind with his own blade, the entirety of his arm appearing to be in multiple places at once, almost as if it wasn't made of flesh and bone. Hmm, the machine thought as he resumed his careful approach. Perhaps I should watch out for that.

His earlier jitters now almost completely gone, and his body now armed for combat, the cyborg took his time to study the newest combatant. She (not that that really surprised him) moved like a panther, fluid and with a purpose and judging by the way she jogged lightly toward the younger swordsman, she knew how to use that blade strapped at her hip. But she doesn't plan on using that blade, perhaps not for a bit anyway. She looked to be more intent on simply closing with the swordsman and bashing away with hands and feet. A noble approach, but not the smartest perhaps. Not with her back to a previously unarmed but now armed man who towered over her by several feet and could quite possibly keep up with her as if he were a man of smaller stature and equal build. Oh well, her mistake.

The cyborg smiled wide as he lunged for the back of the passing woman, slicing clean at her back with his left sword hand while at the same time sending his other blade flickering forward to attempt and catch the other mans blade while it was standing still. He danced quickly back, a short hop for each foot and brought both blades to the ready beside him, blades angled out and away from his body and bent slightly behind him. Let the games begin.

[AsukaStrikes]

Asuka should have known better not to ignore the other seemingly unarmed fighter, for the blade ripped a neat hole across the maiden's new jacket. The rogue's blade barely missed her elbow as she ducked and dodged the myriad of flashing swords coming from the knight to her left. She had stepped right into the path of the ethereal sword's path but veered away just as another sliced across her upper arm. On hindsight, as the swordsmaiden rolled to safety with a tear in her wardrobe and a line of blood below her shoulder, her movement was nothing but a foolhardy approach.

Or so it appeared to be.

That was close. Asuka came to a sliding stop a few yards from the large woody hill in their arena, clutching at her arm wound while she remained stretched out on her toes. Both opponents seemed to have a few surprising tricks up their sleeves and the maiden quickly assessed that the one with twin blades was the more dangerous of the two. If she was going to attack for effect, her mind was going to have a hard time keeping track of them both.

Or I could just do this...

Grinning, she once again darted towards the sword-wielding knight, her right hand gripping the hilt while the sword remained sheathed behind her waist. Her ears, however, waited to hear the tell-tale sign of the other's pursuit.

[Rahegalhoff]

Rahegalhoff frowned, not recieving satisfaction from his Multi-slash. Oh well, the other hit her with one of his two swords.

Rahegalhoff shook his head and blinked his eyes, did, did that other man have swords for hands, or was he simply imagining things? For that matter, why hadn't the woman drawn her sword yet? Raggy knew he was in deep waters. He had never fought experienced opponents out to kill him before, and perhaps that's what lead him to sidestep the woman's advances, or perhaps some inner instinct, born of his training, was finally heard for the first time, who knows? What is known is that Rahegalhoff sidestepped the woman's approach, bringing his sword around for another strike on her body. He would've preferred to strike her head off, but restrained, some part of him desiring to see her suffer.

As for the other one, Jordham was it? Yes, it might have been what he called himself.
Rahegalhoff kept his shield pointed in his direction. His focus seemed to be on the girl, so let him chase her down. He thought of the side of the tree, if he could get one of them to fall off...

He decided to edge his way towards the edge of the branch, someone was going down the fastest way possible that day.

[Koran]

The cyborg frowned slightly when his two attacks found no register in either of his opponents, but disappointment from the two failures only lingered momentarily in the cyborgs mind. Despite the failure, he had learned much from his endeavors and now felt more prepared than he had been moments earlier. Unfortunately, now both of my opponents know more of me too. This of course, was an expected set back and one that could not be avoided. Nothing left but to move forward.

The shield wielding opponent had obviously rated the cyborg as the more dangerous of the two (mostly because he was the only one to have attacked yet) and he moved to keep his shield between the two of them, while squaring his sword against the other. Perhaps not the best of plans, but given the circumstances, it was the best possible. I will give the man the benefit of the doubt. Fighting against two opponents is not fun, at all.

Which was why, when the cyborg began to advance toward the two, he focused his attention not on the man, but the female swordsman advancing on the male. She, I think, is the more dangerous of the two here and should be dealt with first. It was still obvious that she was focusing her attention on the swordsman still, so the first few of the cyborgs attacks would be the most devastating.

His small frown slowly transformed into a small smile as he quickly began to close the distance between the three of them.

[AsukaStrikes]

Cha-Ching!

The sound of footsteps alerted her of the dual-wielder's advance just as she expected. The knight seemed intent on doing the same old thing last time as well, making seemingly wild swings with his sword in hopes of catching her unguarded. But the maiden had prepared a trick up her sleeves just for the instance.

Asuka followed Rahegelhoff's movements, tricking the other blader into following her into path. Then she jumped onto the knight's knee - And sprang into the air.

The red hair girl back-flipped into the jade-colored sky as a white glow appeared from the sheathed blade. Twisting her arm out from behind her, Asuka drew the wide blade out in a wide, rapid strike.

"Gotcha-!"

The Okaze Slash ripped through the air at her opponents while the lass was still in mid-air, unbalanced and upside-down to the world. A grin of satisfaction hid the sharp piercing sensation of the cut in her arm, which quickly turned grim as she realized how far the ground seemed to be from where she was. It quickly became apparent she did not think about where she would land after her obviously risky trick.

[Rahegalhoff]

"Yargh!" Rahegalhoff growled in pain as the attack hit him. He seen it coming and turned just in time to save his sword arm, but his other shoulder got hit instead

"Hey, Tall and ugly, grab her and throw her over the side while she's still in mid-air!" Rahegalhoff shouted at Jordham, thrusting his sword at the girl to try and bat her over the side with it. An easy way to get rid of a difficult opponent.

[Koran]

The cyborg frowned. He knew the female swordsman would have to have struck soon, but he didn't expect it to be quite as, Flamboyant. He was caught off guard for only an instant though, quickly falling into a defensive battle stance, both his weapons crossed before him like an X, his feet planted firmly to the ground beneath him.

The sound of steel ringing against flesh hardened to the density of steel filled the air, instants before the startled shout of the knight-a-pult that had launched the woman into the air filled the air as well. The cyborg grit his teeth as he held off the woman's attack, following her flight path with his eyes, calculating her approximate landing area. His mouth pulled deeper into its frown, it wasn't one of frustration or sorrow, but one of determination and cold calculation.

She should land right about... The cyborg tensed his legs muscles and shifted his weight slightly. There! His foot shot out like a coiled serpent, aimed right to where his opponent would just begin to touch the ground, off balance and vulnerable. Not finished! Twisting sharply on his planted foot, the cyborg replanted his kicking foot, lashing out to the front of him, stabbing at the shield of the knight. He hoped to knock the younger man back a few steps and open up the playing field a little. Nothing worse than three swordsman fighting each other with less than two feet open air between themselves.

The cyborg twisted his body to a slowly back to a normal standing position, both resting casually to either side of him, eyes shifting back and forth between his two opponents. A small smile formed on his lips, That ought of stirred things up a bit.