Veteran Bracket: Zerith vs. MetalDrago

[Tainted Bushido]

The match begins at Midnight 7/31/2009 and ends at Midnight 8/15/2009.

Best wishes to both participants!

[MetalDrago]

MetalDrago approached the center of the field of battle with an evil gleam in his eyes. Around him were stones and ancient pillars reaching for the sky with no hope of ever actually making it there. In the crumbling remains of this ancient ritual area, MetalDrago waited for the one destined to face him. The Paladin of N’Jal stood, leaning against one of the crumbling pillars. He looked around him, seeing the remains of this area made him smile all the more wickedly. A darkness had crept into his heart over the years, and since then, he’d become the Paladin of the Dark Lady N’Jal. She was the one who showed him the way to a truer happiness than he had ever known as a being of light and justice. Now, he worked only for himself and the Dark Lady, raising armies and crushing enemies in battle.

He was also a scholar, however, and often remarked to his closest friend, Lord Lorenor, that he was often better at devising strategies and breaking down enemy morale while boosting the morale of his own armies than he was at actually fighting in combat. However, he’d proven his worth on the battlefield before many times, especially once against a creature known only as the All-Elemental, which was still trapped in the hidden Temple of the All-Thayne. The Paladin turned his head toward the sky and smiled. It was a grand adventure in and of itself, being sucked into another realm by N’Jal, only to return with items of power guarded by the ancient All-Elemental. It was only thanks to Lorenor’s infectious bite that they had managed to get away mostly unscathed.

The cape on his back flapped in the wind, and he grimaced. In his hurry to use the item of power that had been bestowed upon him by N’Jal, he’d used a spell of transmutation to change his wings into a cape when he wasn’t using them. However, he hadn’t mastered the language of the book enough to learn how to undo the effect yet, so his wings were stuck as a cape for the time-being, destroying his ability to fly. The Paladin turned and looked behind him to the caked on blood stain on the ground. His former apprentice had died here, and he had chosen this place, where the darkness in his heart was born, to commemorate his ascent to Paladin of N’Jal. He would do this by defeating his opponent. This tournament, the Magus Cup, was chosen as the first major battleground to prove that the Paladins of N’Jal were more than just talk.

MetalDrago moved out of the way as the pillar he was leaning against crumbled upon itself. He grunted in pain as he noticed a part of his cape was stuck under the debris. Growling deeply in frustration, the dragonian ripped the debris off of his cape and dusted it of. The sky was overcast, and it seemed like a storm would be starting soon. Vines of nightshade wrapped around the remaining pillars, their beauty only intensified by their deadly poison. This was indeed the perfect place to start a war against all others in this world.

The only thing missing was a first casualty in this war, and MetalDrago was only too happy to give that honor to his first opponent.

[Zerith]

“You know if you keep knocking down pillars at that rate, we won’t have much of an arena by the end of this.” At first the words would have seemed to have come from the ruins themselves. Yet that was only until Zerith came out from behind the remains of another broken pillar. The warrior had be occupied earlier, offering a prayer to Draconus to ask for patience and the fortitude to endure a possibly length battle. However his pep talk with his chosen deity had to be cut short when his concentration was broken by the sound of these ruins nearly falling on top of him. It didn’t really anger the halberdier, as the arrival of his opponent meant that they could get things started. The sooner this was all over, the sooner Zerith could go back home and be with his family. That’s what really mattered to him.

He had really grown used to his life in Moriah, especially considering the fact that while he had always been travelling beforehand. Yet all that changed with marriage and parenthood. Combined, the two easily convinced the halberdier that it was time to settle down and enjoy his life. Since then Moriah had known nothing but piece. There were no sudden attacks on the harbour, or people trying to overthrow the king. Essentially, there was no need for Zerith. The only thing he really knew was how to fight. And athough having nothing to defend was nice for awhile, the halberdier was beginning to grow anxious. He wanted to keep that thrill that came with fighting on the battlefield alive, for if Moriah ever needed him for fight for her again, he wanted to ensure that he wasn’t some old, rusty has-been warrior.

That was why he decided to enter the Magus Cup. In his mind there was no better way to polish his skills than to fight some other strong individuals, and there was no better place to find some than a tournament, especially the Magus Cup. He remembered that the first one was held in order to find a replacement for the Red Halo, a hero and knight of Scara Brae. Surely this one was being held for some similar reason. Well, whatever the cause was didn’t really matter. Zerith wasn’t really here to win; though winning would really be a nice bonus for all the effort his was putting into being here.

Sapphire eyes looked up at the grey sky. If a storm was coming, he hoped it would come soon. It would make the fight a little more exciting by adding that little touch to the scenery. Ancient ruins, a thunderstorm, it was like a setting from a book where the hero and the villain clashed for the last time. Zerith laughed, at least now he would have a story to tell his daughter when she grew older.

“I guess it’s time we got this fight started, right?” Zerith asked as he casually held his polearm behind his head and over his shoulders. He swung his around and gripped the red shaft with both hands. His feet shifted slightly along with his weight as he took a defensive stance. He had decided earlier he would allow whoever his opponent was the first move. Now he was beginning to hope he wouldn’t regret it.

“Come on now, don’t hold back.”

[Tainted Bushido]

MetalDrago's absence and failure to post disqualifies him. Zerith Advances.