The first trial of The Summoner

[Irene]

OOC: This is open to the very first person to jump opn this thread, possibly first two, as the case might be at the time. My Summons will be used, at some point eventually, I mean, it is the whole point of a summoner, to summon things.

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IC:

Radasanth, in an inn known as The Dancing Dragon slept a woman. To look at her, one would realise she wasn't human, at least not entirely. As her long multi-colored hair cascaded over the bed, it was easy to see how nicely it went with her blueish-white skin. Perhaps she was part Mer-person. But then, her wings, Mer people didn't have wings, and they could've been either Fae or Draconian, provided Fae could somehow be about human sized. Which with magic, it was possible. Her hands were definatly clawlike, a hold over from other ancestors, possibly demonic. All in all, she was quite an interesting person to look at.

All the same, she slept, and dreamed. But her dreams were not normal dreams, for in her dreams, The Gods spoke to her. This wasn't unusual, Dieties spoke to their priests all the time, but this woman, all the gods with a presence in Althanas spoke to her. She wasn't sure why, all she ever knew was, that there was a great darkness in the world that they wanted her to banish. At least that was part of their plans. All that she knew. They weren't very forthcoming with information regarding their plans.

She saw darkness in her dreams, but heard voices. They were speaking to her again, and arguing with each other.

"Her home has been destroyed by fire. It is time she began her quests."Said one god. She didn't know their voices yet, only that they were gods.
"She should be tested first, to make sure she has learned our lessons properly." Said another.
"Haven't we tested her enough as we trained her in our method of summoning?" Asked a third, a female voice.
"Can any of you truely say your on her level? Isn't it true that each of you held back and restrained your full might, even when Hromagh sought to make her earn her first summons? How then can you say she has been truely tested on her level, and not just tormented by higher powers?"Said a voice more powerful than any other she had heard before.
"I see you've emerged to discuss worldly affairs with us at last. What would you suggust?" Asked a malicous sounding voice.
"And who invited you here?"asked the first calmly.
"It is my child too. I shall punish it as I see fit, and if it is to be destroyed, it shall not be by the hand of an outsider. Thus this servant of yours shared by our brethren, is also mine."The malicous voice said.
"Peace. We can discuss this later. I've been asked what I suggusted. In this very city she now sleeps in is The Citadel, and we all know what goes on there. Let her fight a battle there. Win or lose, it should be an accurate gage of her abilities, for she will have fought someone on her level, not a God, or Goddess restraining the bulk of their power, teaching her secrets as she slept." The great voice said again.
"A wise suggustion. Even if her opponet has more experience in the field, they will still be a worthier opponet than we. Let it be so." Said the original voice.

The woman awoke, accepting her dreams as normal. She knew what she had to do. Stretching her wings, a tail unfurled from around her waist. She dressed and left her room.

Several hours and two wrong turns later, she was at the citadel.
Everyone looked at her strangely, even the monks.
The warriors using the citadel, the citizens, and other passerby looked at her strangely, because lets face it, she was strange looking. The monks looked at her strangely because they knew who she was, and what she was. They simply hadn't expected her to show up at the citadel. Proof that even the seemingly omniscient Aibrone monks could be surprised on occasion.

"Greetings Priestess, what brings you to our humble halls on this clear beautiful day?" Asked an old, very old Aibrone monk.
"I have to participate in a battle." The woman said.
"Did you have anything in particular in mind?" asked the monk.
"No, in truth I'm nervous, I don't want to be scarred and disfigured for life." the woman said.
The old monk smiled, and clasped an arm around her shoulders leading her up the steps.
"Perhaps you don't understand the nature of this place. We let you battle in our halls. We have our own reasons for doing so. We can make any sort of arena you can imagine, even if it violates the commonly accepted nature of reality. Trust me on this, we've been tested in this area several times. So, you decide what sort of arena you want, or let us pick, you get into a battle, even if you are totally dismembered, ripped limb from limb and so horribly disfigured, not even the gods would recognise you, you will leave these halls in the same condition you entered them in. Such is our healing prowess." The old monk said.
"Amazing, so really, I have nothing to fear then. in that case, what I had in mind was..." The woman said, and they entered the citadel, while she talked on.

__________________________________________________ _________

As her opponet entered the arena, they found themselves in a palace, made of Marble, made of Mythril, made of Jade. It was definatly an expensive palace. Lining it's halls were statues of the gods, each so realistic and lifelike, it was as if they were merely standing in place, and holding really still. Each of the Thayne, each of the lesser gods, each of The Star Gods, and every other god with influence upon Althanas, each had a statue in this palace.

Vases made of Gold, pots of Silver, all filled with treasure were in each room.
Other treasure far more valuble could be seen as well, but they were all immaterial and unobtainable from this arena, for without their consent, none got the treasure of the gods, and no one would have such permission.

The woman would be standing before a pedestal with nothing on it, except a plague.
It read "To the formless God of Light."

She turned, sensing her opponets arrival, her wings spread wide, ready to take flight if neccessary. Her Red dress twirled in a wide circle as she turned. Her eyes changed from Green, to Brown, to Blue.

"Hi, My name is Irene, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I chose this arena because it's like my second home, for you see, this is The Palace of The Gods." The woman said.

The area around them was a particularly large room, it lead to the outside, which outside appeared to be above the clouds themselves. It was the same time of day as it was outside the citadel, and if one went and peered over the side, one would actually see the island of Corone, not that they were actually in the skies above Corone.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

(Pleasure to rp with you again dude)

Within the Citadel from a previous trip, the apprentice blacksmith was within the many chambers that served as a central place of worship for the Thayne. The statue of Khal'Jaren lurked at the fore front of the chamber in an area of The Citadel distinctively devoted to the Thaynehood. Several individuals were praying before the Thayne, many of them scholars of various degrees. A library devoted to the Cult of Khal'Jaren was located within the room. Alberdyne Cormyr sat in deep meditation with some incense before him. It was myrrh incense. The man kept his chest rising and falling.

Alberdyne was the type of individual that never slept. He was always working in his blacksmith shop within the Peaceful Promenade. It was a small edifice known as the Sleepy Willow. People prayed in silence and a few of the regulars of the Sleepy Willow addressed Alberdyne with some degree of respect. He nodded towards those individuals and returned to his meditation technique. The rest of the individuals in the small cathedral did not bother him at all.

It was a public area really. There was roughly twenty individuals within the room including a Priest giving a sermon. Dyne was not listening to the priest but was rather reflecting on recent events. Most importantly, the Conquest Trials. As a leader within the Power Group known as the House of Sora, Dyne served that group as a patriarch of Lodge Bladestorm. The military wing of the House of Sora. Dyne's loss against his opponent in the Conquest Trials affected him greatly. He reviewed the battle and its tactics.

Conceiving the fact that it was a desperate battle, the apprentice understood he did the best that he could. In the end, he had defeated the leader of the army causing it to fall apart within moments. Dyne had thought about that when there was a pat on his shoulder. It was one of the many Monks of Ai'Bron and a superior officer.

Dyne was an apprentice Monk. He'd reached the status of a layman Monk and was working on his education process. Dyne slowly opened his eyes and spoke with a deep accent originating from the Peaceful Promenade. "What is it?" The Salvarn Lord asked calmly. He'd recently earned an estate and the title of a Lord in Salvar. Without realizing he was following a certain other individual's path closely. Dyne looked up at the Monk for a moment. He was a dark skinned individual, a native Coronian, with brown eyes and brown hair. He had a square chin and wore the robes of an advanced Monk. His weapons were hidden. "You are needed for a battle." The Monk said casually. "There is an individual looking for a fight." Dyne nodded calmly and quickly stood up from his position. He was using his newly acquired acrobatic skills. Swiftly turning towards the Monk, the apprentice nodded. "What kind of arena is it my friend?" Dyne asked casually. "It's a temple devoted to the Thaynehood. It will be an adequate place for worship. It will be right before the eyes of the Thayne." Dyne listened and looked at the Monk calmly. Dyne was a lot shorter than the elder Monk. "Very well. I shall take this challenge."

Dyne said calmly, looking at the Monk. His eyes were narrowed casually and he followed the Monk. Adjusting the headband around his forehead, the psionic walked towards the arena...

...Entering the chamber, the apprentice noticed the description of the Monk was accurate. He walked down the temple and smelled the various forms of incense in the room. Each statue had a small container especially made for prayer candles. Dyne walked passed a statue of N'Jal and pondered desecrating it for a moment. His hand went to his plynt sword for a moment as he unsheathed it, but quickly sheathed it once more. He ignored the statue for the time being having a higher purpose within the arena.

His eyes examined all of the various statues that he came across. Some were members of the Thaynehood and he recognized a few of the statues from his knowledge of the Thayne. Others were members of various other pantheons that the apprentice did not know. Some were local fertility gods, agricultural gods, and gods of war. Dyne paid his respect to all except for N'Jal. Near the end of the hallway was a vast depiction of the All-Thayne according to what scholars believed that it looked like. Dyne nodded his head towards the All-Thayne and looked at his opponent.

She had just finished her pretty speech.

Still pissed from his loss at the Conquest Trials, Dyne wanted to take out some frustration. He looked at the woman before him. His eyes went wide as he was surprised to her, but then they narrowed again a moment later. It was a quick reaction. Dyne's face immediately filled with concentration.

"I take it you're ready for this?" Dyne asked. "My name is Alberdyne Cormyr. I look forward to giving you a worthy battle." The psionic said casually, and drew his plynt sword. He kept it pointing to the ground for a moment as he stared at the beautiful girl before him. His eyes were filled with concentration and he was prepared to go. He would let the girl take initiative attack.

[Irene]

Irene cracked her knuckles, and looked around the great hall. He had a sword. A SWORD! What could she do against a sword? She considered using her best trick now, but no, not yet. She had claws, but she never bothered to learn any sort of hand to hand combat, and her teachers never considered it neccessary, as though such a thing should come naturally to anyone. She gave the statues of her teachers one last hard look, and turned back to her opponet. All in all, six seconds had passed since he entered and asked her if she was ready.

He seemed upset about something, and she didn't know if she should stay and fight, or flee like a coward. What would they say? The statue of Hromagh seemed to glare at her from it's place before the man before her.

She winced, knowing this was going to hurt. She rushed in, her steps clacking on the marble floor as her travling boots hit the marble, proving how inexperienced she was at fighting and made a clumsy slash with her claws accross her opponets chest. Or at least she attempted to. Whether or not it connected was another story. She kept her leather wings carefully behind her, ignoring their leathry scales that could've been used to protect herself with.

Fear raced through her body, evident in her trembling wings. This was her first real fight, and it showed.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

He saw that she was going to attempt to take someone like him in raw melee combat. Sighing momentarily, the apprentice rotated his weapon and sheathed it before she started her movement. She never once drew a weapon but it was clear, by the sharpness of her claws, that she was deadly none-the-less. Dyne's movement caused him his turn of action and she'd executed the initiative attack with all the wild abandon she could muster.

In a moment, the girl with the wings was upon the warrior her claws singing through the air. Nails were as sharp as steel and they had properties to match any steel weapon. The apprentice prepared himself for the hit that he knew was coming. Part of the combat discipline when training with the Monks of Ai'Bron was the ability to stay focused no matter what trials were placed before you.

Dyne wore but a flimsy cloth robes that covered his muscular body from head to toe. The man was heavily scarred and made no attempts to hide his scars except for the mysterious marking on his forehead. This mark was kept hidden at all times by a long, two pronged bandanna. The air in the temple carried the dual tails with it. Dyne stood at approximately five feet, two inches and weighed roughly two hundred pounds of raw muscle. Dyne's pectoral muscles flexed beneath the loosely fitting robes he wore to reveal the strength that the man possessed. Muscles flexed with superior definition. The girl's claws were based upon steel and thusly, were capable of doing considerable damage. It was not the first that Dyne had been struck by such weapons and it would not be the last. Dyne used his growing control of his body to shift the momentum of the attack. She struck and he moved carefully so that the attack did the least bit damage possible whilst it raked across his chest. Dyne's face winced in pain as the previously burned section of his body was opened up once more.

Dyne had received that injury during the Conquest Trials. The warrior planned and constructed strategies. Using his close-ranged aikido training, Dyne saw the slashing arm come within grabbing range. Carefully reaching against her forward momentum, the warrior made a dual attempt to grab her arm. He reached his left arm towards her wrist and his right arm towards her elbow region. Dyne had big hands to work with that were well calloused. The attempt of the attack was to grab the arm and use aikido to effectively break it. If successful, his opponent would be down one arm. Dyne concentrated and tried to keep his eyes away from those luscious breasts of hers.

[Irene]

Irene felt elated, she had caused damage on her own. Her red dress rippled in the air cause by the breeze blowing in from the outside. She had lost herself in the elated thrill of imagined victory. She imagined her opponet desiring to be with her, even after she beat him. She imagined the thrilling roar of the crowds, the conquering hero! She wasn't experienced enough to know such flights of fancy weren't wise during a battle, and often left one open to attack.

Pain shooting through her now broken arm brought her back to reality. She musn't loose herself in fantasy again. She gritted her teeth, and held her broken arm in pain. Tears welled up in her arms.

"This must be a mistake, I'm a priestess, not a fighter. Why do they want me to fight so, if they trained me to fight in another manner? The Gods must be crazy!" she sobbed through the pain.

She let her broken arm hang limply by her side, and turned to strike her opponet again.
This time she aimed for his neck, knowing that if she hurt him deeply there, he would die. She had never summoned Grath before, but had spoken with the avatar of Hromagh when she impressed him with her refusal to give up. He seemed agreeable to his assigned fate, so long as he wasn't abused. But, she had never physically suffered a real broken arm before. She wished she could go home and crawl into her adopted mother's arms. No, not adopted, her real mother's. No real mother would abandon their baby. Her once erect wings began to droop, even as she continued to cry a little. She was loosing heart and determination.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

I shouldn't be here. This shouldn't be me! This battle isn't a fight, it's a massacre! I am desecrating a High Priestess of my own Faith. It's not fair, why does it have to be me!? Of all the blunders I could have possibly committed, why did it have to be this one.

Dyne was in anguish. Seeing the tears and hearing that cry flow from her person, the warrior flinched and felt every single pain that he dealt upon her manifest a hundredfold. Dyne had been through those pains a million times over and over and had grown quite expert at dealing out those pains and, in turn, taking them. So when he saw that she'd adjusted her tactics and televised yet another attack the monk used his control of his body to full effect.

It was almost beautiful watching the smaller man move. Built like a tank, the warrior was in full control of his movements. He understood where he was and what he was doing at all times of the battle. Dyne Corona reacted to the incoming attack and shifted his body weight so that he'd ducked down and effectively performed a backwards slide into a guarded position. His left arm was completely straight and he'd brought up his deltoid perfectly in an attempt to cover his precious jugular veins. His right arm was bent at an angle with the fist pointing to the ceiling and ready for the next movement that Dyne was going to unleash upon the unsuspecting Priestess.

The monk had just about enough of this debacle. Seeing how she attempted to fight with her claws with such wild, untrained strikes, the apprentice carefully reacted once she pierced flesh once more. His deltoid muscle was ripped, and more of Dyne's blood was spilled on the floor. If he wasn't careful he would loose far too much blood. But so far, the apprentice was handling himself adequately considering he wore no armor. The monk's skin was his armor. Her claw raked all the way down to the brachioalis muscle region.

Several, long, bleeding gashes appeared. The blood freely dripped down his arm. On another warrior, those claws might be dangerous weapons indeed, but on the High Priestess, they were just wasted potential. As Dyne felt his own hot blood flowing down his arm, she placed herself in position for yet another attack. Her wrist was well within grapple range. Dyne let precious seconds passed and almost missed the opportunity for attack completely but took it at the last possible moment. He was hesitating. Hesitation could get one killed and it was against the monk's training to hesitate. Is it because she's a woman? Why am I holding back so much? Dyne lashed out with yet another deadly aikido move.

Attempting to grab at her wrist, Dyne started the technique with his left hand by shifting his body weight once more. He brought his arm and up and in a twist to potentially grab her wrist. Bringing his opposite hand bearing down upon her wrist as well by simply adjusting his forward momentum, Dyne prepared to grab her hand with both of his own. If successful with the technique, Dyne could potentially break her hand in several different places along the phalanges region. It hurt Dyne to cause sauce a beautiful woman such pain, but he knew it would all be over soon.

"Don't cry. This will all be over soon enough you are brave for coming here Priestess. Suck up those tears and put on a good show for the Monks. You are stronger than this, you just don't know it yet." Dyne attempted to comfort even as he was giving her the first painful lessons of combat.

[Irene]

Irene looked at the man, She was a beauty in her own right, even if she was a bit strange to look at. She stepped back, the wind playing with her long hair.

Her eyes changed to black, and her entire demeanor changed. Before it had been a fearful woman who had been trying to do things on her own, a woman who wanted to prove her own individual worth. Now it was purposeful, as though she knew exactly what was to come.

"They want a good show do they? Then fine, I'll give them one." She said. She darted around the small man that had hurt her so gravely and stepped back even further giving herself plenty of space. She was upset that this was all just a show for someone else. She had worth, individual worth, and the only two people that knew that were dead. To everyone else she was either a freak sideshow, or to the gods, a tool.

To all appearences, it seemed like she was fleeing, but what happened next removed any doubt.
"Hromagh the strong, God of Vengence, deliver thy wrath upon this mortal man!" she shouted, intoning to the world around her. She winced as she raised her injured arm and her broken hand to the sky. She glowed brightly, and levitated off the floor briefly, becoming hazy and indistinct. The sky darkened, and thunder rolled above the palace. A bolt of lightning shot in and hit the floor in the space between them, curiously, having no force on anything around it, almost as if it were fake. where it struck was Hromagh's symbol, twisted with multiple Arcane symbols. They were glowing brightly, and spread accross the floor adding new symbols as they went. The ground buckled upward and shattered. Rising out of the ground was a creature that looked every bit as Hromagh is said to Manifest, being possesed of the head of a bull, the body of an upright bear, and the paws and mane of a lion. It's breathing was quick, as though angered by something. It reached into the ground and pulled up a battle axe. Afterwartds, in the space of a second, all the glowing symbols drained into the hole in the floor closing it, leaving behind a perfect unblemished floor, and a fully enraged summoned monster.

"You hurt her." It was more of a statement of fact rather than an accusation. The words sound more as a growl, than anything most sentient species were known to make.

The Beast before Alberdyne let out a roar that was dimly heard outside the arena even as Irene, back to normal, stood just behind and to the left of Grath, where he could easily protect her. She smiled at Alberdyne, blowing him a kiss with her tail instead of her hand.

"What was that?" asked a passing warrior, on his way to his own fight.
"Never you mind, it's just a fight." said the monk escorting the warrior.

Back inside the beast, actually known as Grath for it really wasn't Hromagh that was summoned, charged Alberdyne and swung his axe for all he was worth, intending to outright cleave everything in his path in half. He could do it too, for Irene's great spiritual strength in turn caused Grath to have great physical strength equal to her spiritual strength. The steel blade glinted, reflecting a stray beam of light as it sailed through the air seeking Cormyr flesh.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne's eyes went wide when he saw the power that the girl truly possessed. His pupils dilated and his hands shook with fear. I mean how often did someone see a Thayne in person, let alone Hromagh The Strong!? Energy flowed off the summoned and Dyne's situation suddenly began to look very very bleak. The thing started to talk, but the apprentice wasn't necessarily hearing the words that were spoken.

Tensing up with fear and instinct, Dyne knew that his hands would not be enough. Despite the fact that he could kill a man with them. Drawing his plynt sword, the apprentice immediately went into a combat stance. Every movement was controlled and precise.

Despite the fear he felt in his heart at seeing the Thayne gathered before him, Dyne was fearless. A clear and present situation presented itself and Dyne needed to focus. Where others would have buckled when facing such a threat, the warrior prepared himself with strategy in his heart. Dyne needed to be faster than the bulky beast and depend on his growing acrobatic skills.

He needed to be as graceful as a gazelle. The warrior reacted quickly using his fencing skills. Once the bull creature was well within range, Dyne shimmied off to the side and managed to barely evade the incoming attack. A bit of the attack clipped Dyne's deltoid and slashed him with cold steel. The warrior flinched for a moment as blood dripped down his deltoid anew. He was bleeding profusely from one arm. Dyne slid to a stop and ran forward to intercept the incoming bull-man. Using his weapon for added leverage, the warrior dove beneath the beast's incoming attack. Dyne struck towards the midsection of the beast hoping to clip something with his sword.

[Irene]

Grath turned to the side as the sword was swung, and so the cut accross his belly was less than it could've been, for Grath wore no armor, only a loincloth. The cut seemed to enrage Grath all the more. He swung again, a diagonal slash, going from the upper left of Alberdyne's form to the lower right.

Irene smiled as she watched her opponet all but soil himself in fear of her very convincing bluff. Statues and images were one thing, but a physical being was another, only the real Hromagh could be more terrifyingly impressive.

She realised that with the man fully occupied with the beast before him, she could sneak around behind and use her feet and tail to trip him and otherwise hinder him.
Besides, Grath wouldn't harm her, Grath couldn't harm her, it was part of the magic that binded a summons to the summoner.

She moved broadly around the fighting duo, and once behind Alberdyne, used her left foot to try and trip him up.
Meanwhile, she leaned in close even as she tried to trip him and whispered softly in his ear "I'm more of a lover, than a fighter. Perhaps I can show how good of a lover I really am."
She wasn't really a good lover, she had never experienced love of any sort, but really she wanted to throw him off his strategy.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

My fellow monks are testing me! I have to pass this test. And then something happened. Dyne pierced the belly of the beast, enraging him further than he was already. If that were possible. The very air in the temple vibrated against the decibels poured out of the creature's throat. It's head was twisted and vibrated under the weight of the musculature in its throat. Dyne had won part of the battle and was preparing to finish the fight.

He felt a weight against his person, slightly off to the side. The intoxicating smell of perfume filled his nostrils and made sweat gleam on his forehead in rivulets. Her scent was intoxicating and he felt his mouth grow dry, his heart beating rapidly in his throat. Breasts were pressed up against the patriarch's shoulder. His eyes narrowed until they were thin slits. Feeling her bosom pressed against his shoulder was a distraction in its own right.

All at once, she pushed the warrior forward. The movement came as a huge surprise and Dyne reacted as quickly as he possibly could. They are coordinating their attacks! The philosopher suddenly realized as he moved into a forward motion. The entire movement was sloppy, and could have been performed much better. Dyne wasn't really caring much at that point when the solid floor came up underneath him. He salvaged what he could of the maneuver. The roll forward was ugly, but coincided with a large looming shadow over his person.

Dyne desperately turned his body in mid-movement and managed to succeed with some degree of skill. His sword was brought up underneath the incoming axe and the two mighty weapons intercepted one another. Dyne had a satisfied look on his face. "So that's how it is. All right then." He said calmly as he looked at the vibrating blade above his person. Hromagh's axe was eagerly ready to claim Cormyr blood. Dyne looked right into Hromagh's eyes. "I feel sorry for you, warrior. You need the help of a skirt to fight your battles for you." Dyne grinned and prepared himself for what he knew was coming.

[Irene]

The insult had the desired effect, it enraged Grath all the more.
"STOP HELPING HIM!" Grath bellowed at the top of his lungs. He grabbed Irene and threw her out of the temple entirely. Stunned by what Grath did she forgot to use her wings to stop herself into she was seven feet from the temple. she glided another three in a wide turn and flew back to the the temple, barely making the full twenty foot distance.

From the second he threw her, Grath dropped his axe and dropped to all fours, intending to gore Alberdyne to death with his horns, and so he chased the rolling form of Alberdyne, moving as fast as he could, trying to impale the man on his horns. It would be a satisfying victory indeed if he succeeded.

As she landed, on her knees, Irene stayed there panting heavily, it was difficult for her to fly, she almost fell. She saw the cut in Grath's body. It was hurting him, he wasn't as fast as he could be. He needed armor, but the question was, would he accept armor? She resolved to take it up with Grath later.

"At least he's smart enough to get all the help he can. Obviously your too dim-witted to realise this isn't Hromagh. Though Hromagh did indeed make this creature in his likeness, it isn't Hromagh. His name is Grath, and he's a summoned monster, one of several, and the first one I've earned the right to call." Irene said breathlessly, her chest heaving in a very distracting manner. It didn't have to heave so much, but she could tell this man was intrested in her, and so she was going to flirt with him as best she could, to distract him.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

The axe fell to the ground with a loud clanging sound. Dyne had won part of the battle. He couldn't allow himself anymore unsolicited distractions from Irene's behalf. Dyne saw that his opponent suddenly ducked down on all fours turning into a rampaging bull. The warrior suddenly understood that Grath was attempting to imaple him! Dyne would have none of that.

Moving against the minotaur's forward momentum, Dyne threw himself on his back to barely evade the majority of the attack. The horns clipped down along the outer edge of his pectoral muscles. More of Dyne's blood spilled on the ground as the creature moved in a beautiful arching technique. Dyne was pressed completely on the ground and prepared himself to strike against the creature when it came close.

Holding on to his sword, the fencer prepared to end the battle as it was getting fever pitched. Dyne swung up underneath the bull-man striking with the side of his sword. It was a beautiful chopping motion meant to decapitate the bull-man cleanly.

Dyne swung with all of his might and weight. It was pretty impressive for a human being. His hands were both locked upon the handle of the weapon as he swung with his massive upper body. He twisted slightly against the floor as the shadow of the bull passed overhead. Dyne kept his eyes open and moved them away from Irene's person. She was way too much of a distraction in the battle.

His heart raced and sweat poured down his person. Dyne was bleeding freely and needed medical attention. He hoped to take the creature's head off in one clean maneuver. The thing's horns felt like axes were chopping through his flesh and they hurt like hell. They were sharp, and barely missed any internal organs. Seconds flew by as he waited for his attack to connect, or fail all together.

[Irene]

Irene screamed as Grath was beheaded.
"NO!" she cried.

Grath's head exploded into energy, racing upwards and queickly disappearing.
the body fell, and it too disappeared into energy racing upwards. Even the axe burst into energy.

"My creature has been defeated, you, you insensitive uncaring homosexual JERK!" she yelled at Alberdyne.

She stood and rushed at him her wings beating furiously.
"Now he's gone! I can't call him again for three days while he regenerates!" she yelled.
She fell to her knees before him.
"Now I'm weak, defensless, and unable to do anything with these broken arms. I am beaten, I've failed, how can I face them having lost my first real fight? Go on Kill me, end it now." she sobbed.

"That will be quite unneccessary. You've admitted defeat, no more need for bloodshed." An eldery female monk said. She snapped her fingers and four monks came over to help Alberdyne out of the arena and tend to his wounds.

Meanwhile, the elderly monk helped Irene up.
"I failed them." Irene sobbed.
"How can you fail something designed to see where you stand?" asked the elderly woman.
"how, how did you know?" asked Irene.
"Do you think your the only one they talk to? Come now, cheer up, their not all that stern and unforgiving." the monk said.
Irene dried her tears as she was lead out of the arena.

A few minutes later she was healed and ready to go. She sat forlornly on the steps, unsure of where to go or what to do now, her head in her now healed hands. She was afraid to leave the citadel, not knowing how to fight effectivly on her own. That man had disabled her in too swift moves. Tears welled in her eyes, her wings hanging limply behind her as she sat on the steps. She felt lost, scared, and confused.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Leaving the healing center, Dyne silently thanked his superior officers and began to leave the main hospital. The Citadel was divided up into several sections with the main zigurat devoted to combat and warfare. It was an effort to appease the old gods. After the battle, Dyne was patched up and sent on his way, the miraculous healing light serving to erase the injuries inflicted on his person as if they had never existed. However, some of the more serious piercing injuries did scar up despite the monks' best efforts to heal them. They could have erased the scars but Dyne vehemently said no.

Stepping outside of The Citadel after giving his thankful prayers to Khal'Jaren for guidance, the apprentice walked down those famous steps and saw an interesting sight. That woman from the battle was on the steps, sitting down, and obviously weeping. Dyne noticed that her posture was that of complete and utter defeat.

The philosopher within Dyne felt anguish at seeing such a sight. He'd never had the chance to defend himself from her insulting rants. Her words stung like a dagger in the heart and he wanted to rectify the situation. Dyne felt a warm breeze ripple through his clothing as he approached the High Priestess.

"Do you mind if I sit down and have a word with you?" Came the deep voice of the Monk. He was staring at her with those green eyes. Enchanting. Everything about him was attractive and meticulously placed upon his person so that it flowed together like a work of art. His voice was deep and confident as he talked to the High Priestess. "There is much that we need to discuss. Irene."

[Irene]

"Sorry about before. I, I was caught up in the moment, though that doesn't really excuse my words." Irene said softly.

She scooted over to make room for Alberdyne, and patted the pavement.
"But parts were true. You really did kill Grath, and I really can't summon him for three days while his body regenerates. Those were the rules set down to me. Now I'm completly defensless. I can't fight on my own, I was never trained. As sharp as these claws I call hands are, you still disabled me in two swift moves. I'm afraid of what somebody else might do after I'm disabled and unable to summon Grath. I'm scared to leave these grounds." She said a moment later.

A bird landed in a bush nearby as a moment of silence passed between them.

"But here I am talking on and on. I'm just lost. I haven't recieved instruction as to what to do now. I'm scared, and alone. You did help me though. Grath definatly needs something in the way of protection. That cut accross the belly. He could've gored you completly to death if he had been healthy."

People walking by looked at her curiously, having never before seen something quite like her. Her eyes flashed to green, her head in her hands. Her tail curled around her, her wings still hanging limply behind her.

"Go ahead, let me have it." She said knowing he was going to yell at her for her commentary.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Alberdyne Cormyr was not a man who passed down a beautiful woman. He sat down next to her and stared directly in front of himself for a moment. For that brief moment it seemed as though he were lost in thought, thinking about the situation at hand. She'd just finished telling him a great many things. Closing his eyes for a moment he thought back to the last moments of the battle.

His hand went to his chest where those mighty horns pierced his flesh. Dyne sighed calmly. The sound of a head rolling loudly against the ground repeated itself in his head quite audibly. Dyne shivered despite himself. I killed that thing mercilessly. True it was in self defense, but that thing wanted to kill me too. It was either me or him. The philosopher monk analyzed the last few moments of the battle and attempted to pick apart the last few seconds movement by moment. He was his own worst critic.

Dyne looked at her casually with a soft, patient expression on his face. He was full of understanding and extremely relaxed. There was no malice lurking on those well chiseled features. He wore a soft smile on his lips and his eyes were sincerely warm and caring. Worn low on his nose, his spectacles made him look sort of nerdy.

"I'm not going to yell at you Irene. On the contrary. You were very brave for facing the unknown like that. I admire that courage in your heart. You have tremendous potential for power. I was once like you. I didn't know what to do next and I didn't know where to turn. I'm a Corone Ranger, and a Monk of Ai'Bron now." He smiled again, it was a gentile sort of gesture. Dyne wore the clothing of a common worker despite his royal lineage.

[Irene]

"It'd be easier if I knew what the great darkness was that I'm supposed to have been groomed to be apart of some great plan to destroy. But thank you for your kind words." she said. Her tail unfurled and wrapped around his back, as her wings perked up considerably.
"You know, it was hard to get Grath. I had to wrestle Hromagh's avatar for him. I lost, I lost many, many times in a row, but I never gave up, I refused to give up while I could still fight. I never beat him, probably never will, I mean it was Hromagh's avatar. The real Hromagh probably would've killed me just by his presence alone. but my spirit impressed him. I'm not strong enough to undertake anyone else's trial. But soon enough I'll be strong enough to undertake The Sage's and the Hermitess's combined test. They promised me a great bird if only I could prove my knowledge and understanding to their satisfaction. But I'm not strong enough yet." Irene said, regaining some optimisim.

She stood and stretched her wings and arms.
"So, a big strong man like you know where a poor defencless lass like myself could stay for a few days until her protector spirit is back on his feet? Or would you like to be my protector?" she asked, ending her sentence with a highly suggustive smile. Of course, she had to remain chaste, but that never meant she couldn't flirt. Besides, sometimes a woman had to charm what she wanted out of a man. Her eyes held a flicker of intrest, she wanted to learn to fight like he did without his hands, but she didn't dare mention a word of it. Further, unless he was illiterate in the language of the body, he could see the interest she had in him.

She stood there, looking at him, wings and tail held erect behind her, waiting to hear his reply. Her eyes changed to blue to accentuate her blond highlights in her strange multi-colored hair.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Listening to her words, Dyne couldn't help but to chuckle in amusement. She had a brazen air about her that he rather admired. And she was an extremely handsome woman. Dyne found her reptilian features to be quite fascinating. He stood up once she stood up and kept his eyes locked upon her own.

"You don't have a place to stay? You're welcome to stay at my place."

Dyne said casually. "It's not too far from here." He eyed her with a strange gaze, a mixture of curiosity and lust. He blinked a moment later and the expression was gone. Dyne had never seen such a woman before and he wanted to hang on to his find for dear life. His fists opened and closed periodically as the movement served to be a tension breaker. The marble steps underneath them waited to be descended. Dyne looked at her the entire time. He turned his green eyes away from her a moment later, looking at the plaza ahead.

People were gathered in varying numbers. The crowds were riddled from single digits to many hundreds of people. They moved like a ripple through the ocean. The Citadel was a hub for activity. Around its main plaza, people did business with tourists who came to witness the titanic events that occurred within its structure and sometimes to participate. A few came strictly for the thrill of the gamble, a tradition started since the original Lornius Corporate Championship tournament. Dyne observed the various people around the plaza. He had the urge to walk home. His eyes returned to Irene's person.

[Irene]

Bunnying approved via IM
Irene's gaze swept the area around her as he looked down at the plaza behind her.

People going to and fro about their business. So many stories, so many lives. In her heart she could feel Grath's spirit slowly healing, slowly regenerating his physical form. This battle had been quite the lesson.

"So, it would seem your little pet can't even defeat a simple monk." The hideous malicous voice said, ringing in her ears.
"She is young still, she has time to learn, to become stronger yet." Said the first voice that had spoken earlier.
"For as long as she keeps her vows, she will become stronger." A female voice said.
"I will give her a summons. It would seem that it must wait until after my brother and sister give her their promised bird. So it shall come before any others." The evil voice said again.
"It is good that you wish to help, and so it shall be, but I must wonder if you don't have a trick in mind instead."The first voice, and seeming leader of the bunch said.

The words echoed dimly accross her mind, registering, but not registering.
Irene held her hands out to Alberdyne.
"Come then Mr. Cormyr, let us go see this place of yours." Irene said with an inviting smile.
Dyne took her hands, and let her pull him up. Arm in arm, the two left to go to his nearby residence.

The evil malicous voice spoke one more time, making a condition that worried Irene. But as their other words, it didn't completly register.

Arm in arm with dyne walking down the lane, only one thought tugged at her mind, marring an otherwise perfect afternoon. She had to break her vow of chastity, per the words of the evil malicous voice.

"However, in order to get my summons from me, and continue on, I shall prove that I have more control over her than any of you, for to please me and pass my test, she must break her vow of chastity, losing her precious virginity you all ordered her to maintain to be a summoner."

[AdventWings]

And~ Here is the Judgment!

Irene's comments and score are in Blue while Alberdyne's are in Red. Best viewed under "Dark Theme", plus it saves more energy than light-colored screens. (Blackle, anyone?)


Story

Continuity - 5/7

Irene's story, while stated clearly and fairly directly, was a bit confusing as to why she was given this test.

Alberdyne Cormyr's is also relatively straight-forward, although how the repercussions were not taken full advantage of by the writer.

Setting - 4/5

Most of the imagery came from Irene's posts, but neither people took much advantage in using it to their advantage. The most mentioned was through Irene's eyes, but mainly in a passive tone. Alberdyne used more in terms of environmental conditions, such as actually using the ground to portray his fighting position. However, still not very vivid or artistic.

Pacing - 5/7

The first few posts were awkward in their transitions, but Alberdyne had more consistency in keeping the story pacing interesting.

Writing Style

Mechanics - 4/7

Typos, typos, typos. I recommend you run your posts through a word processing program, Irene. The common confusion of Youre and You're is fairly blatant and consistent, so going over the list of basic misspelled words is a suggestion I make to you. For Alberdyne, some of your sentences are too truncated to effectively lead the reader's emotions. True, it's good to portray urgency, but that is when it is most effective.

Technique - 4/5

Not much I can tell. The ones I saw consistently is using multiple variations of pronouns and specific nouns... But I would rather see something more. For Alberdyne, you don't have to go into every detail about how you've been hit. I doubt most people will know that the deltoid is a muscle in the upper arm and the pectorals are the ones on your back. Less technical terms, more layman's terms. Use them sparingly, when the situation demands it. (Such as when a mechanic is explaining the inner workings of a steam engine to a fellow techno-junkie.)

Clarity - 4/6

I had some problem making sense of Irene's posts due to the high incidence of typos. Alberdyne's paragraphs are sometimes disjointed (especially the first few ones) but improved in later posts.

Character

Dialogue - 4/5

For both of you, don't expect your characters to make long-winded speeches in between each other's attacks. Reserve it for stare-down tactics if you can and generally use shorter phrases when you're trading blows.

Action - 5/6

Some inconsistencies between attacking each other, but I attribute this to each writer not communicating with each other to bring out effective writing. Therefore, I really cannot fault you both on this. But it would help a lot if you do.

Persona - 7/6

I find Irene's character to be very dynamic, albiet two-dimensional at the same time. There's a lot of potential in terms of psychological growth for her character, so take your time to get to know and write her. For Alberdyne's character, he's a bit predictable at times - moreso in the earlier sections, but his action conflicted with his emotions. Even when you know you're fighting a priestess of the Thayne, you still went in to break her arm. Perhaps a bit more probing (in terms of writing for the readers to see) into his mind would be adequate when making a decision between these conflicting interests.

Miscellaneous

Wild Card - 6/7

Nothing spectacular, to which I was a bit disappointed. Alberdyne improved a lot since I last saw and Irene improved a great deal in story formation as well. Making them come out in words is still a bit of work, but you're getting there.

FINAL SCORE – 48/61!

Alberdyne Cormyr wins!

((Rewards + Spoils))

Irene receives 100 EXP and 165 GP
Alberdyne Cormyr receives 1,650 EXP and 660 GP

See you again! I'll be looking forward to see your continual improvements.

[Zook Murnig]

EXP/GP ADDED!