As We Were - Elijah vs. Acyutani

[Iriah Caitrak]

Dusk. The sun settled onto the horizon like the arm of a struggling man desperately clinging to his last breath. But like a mortal wound, the orb slowly began to sink down under the weight of the darkness. No longer able to hold on any more it sank deeper and deeper into the earth and the sand absorbed the last day’s light as if were blood. The golden grains glittered as if singing a last farewell, reflecting the light and the colour of the sky, turning orange and pink and red. And soon dusk would creep away and night would take over this vast land of Ranajira. And upon this night no moon would shine and only the lights of thousands of stars high above would light the way. Tonight the battle would grow interesting as the dangers of this place were realized on one unsuspecting man, one warrior; Elijah Morendale.

Acyutani could barely wait. The thrill of another battle thrummed through her veins in time with the pulse of her blood. She needed the next release, the next battle and the next warrior to enter this place. She wanted to test her skills even more, she wanted to push them to their limits and she wanted to do it now. The first had been interesting. The first had been fun. But like everything else, it had ended and she could not wait for the second. And then finally she had received a challenge. A warrior, a name and a weapon, that’s all that mattered about it at that moment. But the name was still not his.

Merely thinking about him and how long it had been since her eyes had fallen upon his face brought back too many unwanted emotions. He had been the one to leave. He could have waited, she would have come back. At most her missions would have taken two months, at most. She’d given him the option to stay. He’d turned and walked away. And without him, she had fallen into this.

Closing her eyes, Acyutani drew in a deep and heavy breath. The deep red shawl wrapped around her face shifted and swayed as she slowly exhaled. No wind swept across the sands tonight and without the gentle sound of it breathing through her ears, Ranajira seemed too quiet. Nothing moved, even the sheer and light material wrapped around her chest and shoulders seemed unnaturally still. It rose and fell as she drew in her steady and deep draws for air, but tonight not even the sands dared to move.

I miss you. When will you come find me? Will you ever step foot in this place or have you forgotten about me? Because no matter what I do, I can’t seem to forget about you.

When her eyes opened, they stared out at the same desert and the same setting sun. Crushing her frustration by the sheer will of her mind, Acyutani put her back to the sun. She didn’t want to watch it anymore. Instead, her black eyes focused on the pillars of obsidian, the claw like and disfigured fingers that rose into sharp points towards the sky. Soon it would almost be too dark to see them. Would they seem like nothing but shadows along the forest floor until an arm or a leg scraped up against the rough and sharp edges. In the middle lay one pillar slightly different from the rest. Along one side the surface gleamed as if shined and polished and was smooth to the touch. Two names now lay along that side, Gareth Vandeburg and Nyadir D’Var. The man she had fought to gain this position and the first warrior to challenge her. Now came the second. She could only hope this Elijah would bring something interesting into her great arena.

Beyond The Valley of the Dead lay a sea of sand. Its waves cut deep and hid many a surprise and many a danger. One of which she hoped would surface tonight, on this night of no moon. For they only ever dared to venture from their caves when nearly no light could hurt them and within less then fifteen minutes, the radiance of the sun would be all but gone.

Shifting her feet in the sand, Acyutani casually leaned against one of the obsidian claws. The rough stone bit through the thin material covering her body and pressed against her skin. She could feel it longing to draw blood from her and maybe it would. But not right now. Her arms folded across her chest in a cascade of material that covered and hid her, not only from the sun and the heat but hid exactly who she was. Acyutani had yet to fight in the Pagoda using her real name or allowing anyone to see her face. She didn’t know why. When she’d first challenge that young man, something within her had provoked her to use a different name before she’d even thought it through. So now she fought under something assumed and now she was nothing more than a faceless warrior. It shouldn’t matter to her opponents what she looked like under this or how she acted outside this place. Here, she was someone different.

With the sun behind her, Acyutani watched and waited for any sign of her opponent arriving.

[Elijah_Morendale]

Sorry I'm late. Here's my lame excuse about having internet problems.

Sweat is supposed to keep your body cool. At least, that's what all the studies have shown. As perspiration evaporates, your skin cools due to the latent heat of water evaporation.

I'd like to meet the schmucks who came up with that crap and kick them in the teeth right about now.

The better part of my day had been spent trudging through the endless sands of a place I've never even heard of. While each step I took was slowed by the shifting dunes below, the intense sun double-teamed me from above, constantly bombarding me with almost unbearable heat. My canteen, which the monks of the Dajas Pagoda ever-so-kindly provided for me, was empty of water an hour into the trek--that was at around three in the afternoon. The sun was only now showing signs of setting; ending its childish bullying of me by disappearing behind one of the towering sand dunes.

At least Nadia didn't mind the journey, the crazy bitch. But then again, it was her fault that I was here in the first place, so she was enjoying every second of it. A couple of weeks ago, we each wagered a run at the famous Pagoda hierarchy over a drunken game of Concordia hold 'em, and of course I lost on the river card. My red-headed friend walked beside me, her black t-shirt and tank top draped over her bare shoulders. Her pasty white skin nearly hurt to look at. Each step she took had a certain spring to it.

"What's the matter, Elijah?" She turned to taunt me with a grin. Her lips were red today; the color that signified that she was in good spirits. "With all your huffin' and puffin', you're going to be tired before you even see your opponent."

I shot her a glare that would've destroyed the soul of any lesser man. "I don't see how you can be so cheerful right now. We've been walking in the blistering heat for the past, what, five hours now?"

"Well, shit, I'm not the one who has to fight after walking all damn day, am I?"

She had a point. In fact, I was willing to bet that Nadia was going to get off on watching me get my ass soundly kicked by one of the six Pagoda warriors. Here I was, some nobody "adventurer" about to take on one of the strongest fighters in the world with nothing but two fists, a shoe blade, and a dagger. Yeah, I know that I have decent command over the magical art of icecraft, but the air was dryer than the martinis that got me here. I need moisture to create ice; and besides, even if there was enough in the air to give me any sort of advantage, the heat would melt anything I created before long.

Maybe what I should have done was register Nadia's name instead of mine. She's pretty wicked with her katana, and she's a hell of a lot tougher than I am... She could've easily taken on anyone in the Warrior level... Perhaps I should look into having her replace me out I make it to the next round.

...Bah, who am I kidding. I'm gonna' lose tonight, I just know it. I'm gonna' lose, Nadia will get her kicks from it, and that'll be that.

The sun nearly disappeared from sight as the towering shadows came into view. Jagged black spires stood haphazardly in a sort of valley between sand dunes. A cloudless sky was freckled with countless stars, their light casting the rocks' shadows across the ground. I slowed my pace as I drew near, while Nadia wasted no time finding a comfortable seat with a good view halfway down the slope. A single cloaked figure stood leaning against one of the black spires--I presumed it was my opponent. Who else would be dumb enough to be out in the middle of nowheres?

I stood there for a few seconds before sighing heavily. "So, what do you think? Should I go down and shake their hand or something?"

The redhead had her head resting lazily on her arms, her unnaturally green eyes fiercely locked onto the cloaked figure. "I think you should go down there and kill the fucker already. That prize for beating Teric Bloodrose senseless ain't going to collect itself, you know."

So, that's what this was really all about.

I clicked my tounge lightly. "If you want money that bad, I know a few good street corners you can stand on." Dagger in hand, I threw my denim jacket aside and half stepped, half slid down the rest of the dune towards the cloaked figure. My free hand fumbled in my pants pocket for the slip of paper that had my opponent's name on it. "Excuse me," I called out as I came to a stop about fifteen feet away from the mysterious person. "Are you..." I peered at the paper in the low level of light that the stars offered. "...Ah... Ah-see-you... Ah-sai-yewt...[/i]"

Behind me, Nadia cupped her hands and shouted at the top of her lungs. "You there with the dumb name! Elijah Morendale's here and he's going to kick your ass!"

I felt my features tighten up in annoyance as I crumpled the piece of paper and shoved it back into my pocket. Thanks a lot, firebush.

[Iriah Caitrak]

Two of them arrived, their bodies looking tired and soaked in sweat from the relentless heat of the desert and the drying sun, but Acyutani only had one challenger for the moment. The woman seemed content to rest herself upon the sand and watch the battle from what she could only assume to be a safe perch. While the male slid down the slope of sand, creating a waterfall of cascading grains as he went that continued even moments after he had walked away. Behind her, she could already hear the name of Elijah Morendale being scraped and carved by unseen chisels and fingers into one of the obsidian stone spires; the most central one that already bore the names of the two she had previously fought in the Pagoda. And now his had been added to what seemed like a growing list. Perhaps she had been wrong for all those years and she belonged in a place like this; making the guilt she felt over killing an inconsequential aftermath that would eventually fade away to nothing.

No, as much as she missed him and longed to see him again, she could never be him and would never want a burden like that. That kind of man was normally someone Acyutani despised and considered nothing more than a rabid beast in need of someone stronger to put them down before they buried themselves under a mountain of bodies. Yet she had found compassion within herself for someone like him, despite how her people look on those ravenous dogs that killed the living. She had found a large place in her heart for one of them in particular, one who had been drawn to her and in return had drawn her to him. The Akhetamikan warrior did not even want to think of how different her life would be if he had never come into it. She was stronger because of him, faster, better trained and far more cunning. But unlike her barbarian she did not use them to satisfy some kind of deep seeded need to take life, no she used those skills to save lives, when she wasn’t using them to beat people into submission in the Pagoda.

He began to approach her and her eyes slowly drank in the smallest details about him, even the manner in which he nervously dug through his pants searching for a scrap piece of paper; his receipt of challenge from the monks. There did not appear to be very much to him, in fact he seemed like a rather scrawny young man but Acyutani knew better than to judge her challengers by appearance alone. For all she knew, he may have hidden magical talents that lay waiting to be released. As far as weaponry went though, she only saw one dagger upon him and mildly entertained the idea of providing him with more. She could do it here or perhaps she’d change this whole scene into Yuddhara and then he would have his pick. The idea remained, but for the moment she made no such move to arm her opponent herself. Instead she quietly listened to him try to pronounce her name and then the yell of the rude female, which seemed to not only annoy her but Elijah as well.

“To someone like you, it is pronounced Ak-u-tawni.” Perhaps she should have chosen a much friendlier name for the common speaking to wrap their tongue around, even if she kind of liked the ring to this one.

Shifting her position, the Akhetamikan warrior pushed herself away from the obsidian stone and moved closer to her new opponent, knowing that it was her turn to make the first move, something she dreaded. Before she could even further analyze his relaxed stance, the last of the sun slipped down across the horizon, casting the desert into a deeper darkness lit only by the stars. They glittered high above them like the call of a thousand crystals shining with a light from within. The stars were not what interested her though. As she moved towards Elijah, an eerie howl filled the night air, a cry of longing and triumph that could send shivers down the spine of even the heartiest of warriors. When it ended, two more joined into the chorus, as if they answered some question that none but them could ever truly know.

She smirked beneath the material covering her face. Stopping a few feet away from Elijah, Acyutani bowed to her opponent before quickly straightening herself. The merriment quickly died within her black eyes as she felt the thrum of the battle to come pulsing through her veins. Shifting her feet in the sand, the Akhetamikan warrior tensed the muscles in her legs and pushed off towards her opponent, her boots gliding across the top of the sand instead of sinking into them like the conventional boots most adventurers wore. In a mess of flowing material meant to confuse the eyes and force them to lose track of her hands, Acyutani lashed out towards her opponent even when seemingly nothing lay within her grip. Then a pair of Half Swallows appeared, forced from the very will within her and the energy that poured forth from her. Twisting the weapon around in her left hand, she placed the long metallic shaft against her forearm as the curved blade protruded out and passed her elbow for nearly a foot.

Less than a foot from Elijah, Acyutani thrust the blunt end of the Half Swallow towards his face, rather certain the young man would move out of the way. If it connected then she had a feeling this battle would end rather quickly. But if he moved back the Akhetamiken warrior would continue through with the thrust, bringing her elbow passed Elijah’s face before slamming the sharpened edge of the blade towards Elijah’s neck and collar bone by pulling her arm back towards her. In her right hand, a second Half Swallow lay, loosely held within her fingers as she waited for a potential counter to her attack.

[Elijah_Morendale]

As I began to half-heartedly study this Ak-u-tawni, a single, bone-chilling howl cut through the night. Two more joined in, creating a haunting chorus that didn't do much to my confidence. As if it weren't enough that I had to fight in the middle of a desert with very little light to see by, there was the possibility that Nadia wouldn't be the only spectator. And who knows--worse case scenario, they're the rowdy kind, like you see at the rivalry games between the universities in Radasanth and Serenti.

I let my eyes wander from the cloaked figure for a split second and looked around the sands for any other signs of trouble. "Nadia, can you keep an eye out for--" Out of the corner of my eye, a quick dark blur headed right for my skull. "Shit!"

Instinctively, I stumbled back in surprise. However, the sands had other plans for me: Without steady ground to backpedal on, my feet came out from underneath just as something came a mere tenth of an inch from taking the top of my scalp off. I came crashing down to the sand, disoriented for a very brief moment. Starlight gleamed off the tips of two very sharp-looking blades; blades that I don't remember seeing her holding ten seconds ago.

This was a bad sign. I was already in a position to get my ass handed to me (or head, depending on how sharp her little now-you-see-'em weapons were). Oh, how I wish we weren't in the desert right now. Send a nice chunk of ice through my opponent's throat and call it a day... But nooooo, things can't ever be that easy, now can they? I get to be the guy who crushes Nadia's dreams by sitting in a sea of sand...

Sand. Of course. By the gods, am I retarded.

I clenched my right hand around a fistful of sand while slamming both of my feet together. A small click sounded off, telling me that my concealed iron shoe blade was out and ready to play. I whipped my arm up at Acyutani, releasing the cloud of sand in the general direction of what I could only guess was her face. Yeah, I know its a dirty trick, but I'm sure that she didn't get her Warrior position by playing by the rules either.

The shoes were part of a backup plan. As my arm flung through the air, I used the momentum to twist onto my left side and brought my right foot back. I cocked and fired it off like a rifle round at what I was hoping was her leg. If I connected, that would buy me time to draw my dagger and make a real strike. If not, then... Well, hey, there's always next time, right?

[Iriah Caitrak]

That lucky bhandakinya. He avoided her entire attack and with no feat of skill or ability. No, he did it by merely tripping upon the surface of the sand. His own feet and uncoordinated movements saved him from the edge of her blade, nothing more. She’d never seen such clumsiness actually work in an individual’s benefit before. Many times during her training with him and even her training from years before had her balance ruined her. He taught her to take advantage of such folly, to strike when a person was at their weakest, their most open and vulnerable. She understood the concept, yet it still took her mind a moment or two before it realized she should be moving in on him and using this opportunity as a quick and efficient end to this fight. Now was not the time to be standing there surprised and utterly flabbergasted. Now was the time for her to be acting just the way he had trained her to do, yet she knew she would still hesitate. Fighting humans was still a growing concept in her mind. She would not back away though. Besides, one could only count upon their clumsy feet to save their neck so many times before that seeking blade finally bite into flesh.

She didn’t want to give him long enough to recover. Despite her slight error and his good fortune, the Akhetamiken warrior was not about to lose focus on the battle to come. He had trained her to be vigilant, to watch her surroundings and never let her guard down around her opponent. He had made sure she would be ready and her Pagoda battles up until now proved the fact that she had learned dramatically. Shifting her Half Swallow within her hand as she brought it back to her body, Acyutani turned the blade around so it no longer lay within a reversed grip. At the same time, her feet shifted through the loose sand, spreading it around her as she moved to advance upon the fallen warrior.

Elijah seemed to have a few ideas of his own. He slammed his feet together producing an audible click that resounded through the empty silence of the desert around them. Unsure of what to expect, Acyutani almost faltered and fell back, yet before she could her opponent whipped his hand around. A cloud of light sand flew through the air towards her head and torso. With most of her face except a slit for her eyes covered in a veil of material, the Akhetamikan warrior did not need to raise her arms to shield herself from the assault; but she did anyway. She couldn’t help it. Even as her mind told her she didn’t need to, it was base instinct to protect her eyes from anything thrown at them.

Crossing her arms over her face, Acyutani did one thing that he had always trained her never to do; she took her eyes off her opponent. It left her completely open and vulnerable to him. Knowing she had to do it but hating it at the same time, she stepped back and away from him, trying to put a comfortable distance between her open front and more of his little dirty tricks. Less than three steps away from him, a sharp pain erupted across the side of her thigh and Acyutani whipped her arms away from her face as released a hiss between her clenched teeth. That little click she heard earlier must have been some kind of weapon that lay hidden within one of his shoes. If she had not moved back then the small blade would most likely be embedded within the meat of her leg right now. As it stood, the sharpened edge left no more than an annoying cut along her skin, which would neither bleed very much nor cause too much of a hindrance. She went with the wound anyway.

Acting as if the wound caused her far more pain and the damage more severe she fell to a crouched position. Dropping the blades, she placed her one hand upon the cool ground and then tensed her legs, pushing off from the ground. In a spray of sand she pounced upon the downed form of Elijah as a small dagger formed itself within her clenched hand. The moment her legs hit the sand around his hips, she planned on plunging the dagger straight into his chest, or the area she could only hope to be his chest. The desert sky had darkened so much that she could barely see details upon the form of her opponent. The light colour of the sand and the thousands of blinking stars above helped but were far from the adequate light she usually fought in. Only her years of travelling in the desert by night aided her now, that and her instinct. The solace in this fact came from the knowledge that Elijah suffered the same handicap that she had. It would truly make the fight more interesting when the Karuka-Tal showed their grotesque faces, spurred on by the smell of her blood as it soaked into the robes covering her leg.