Map of the Problamatique: Revelations (3 v.s 2)

[Falcon Darkflight]

Canen raised the veil from his face, the wind now having since halted, and peered over the landscape ahead intently.

The Nocturn kept his eyes open and enjoyed the jolt of sunlight as it bounced off of the golden desert that stretched out for miles around, an endless ocean of beige, yellow and white that rippled in towering waves across the horizon. He enjoyed the pain just as much as he enjoyed the heat on his face, the heavy, hot exhales of breath from his lungs and the warm perspiration on his smooth, pale skin. His sweating, despite fulfilling its bodily purpose, did little to relieve the heat, and the presence of the midday sun made the temperature raise even higher.

Although he was sweating heavily, Canen was uncharacteristically calm. He didn't want to waste his energy worrying about the upcoming team battle he had accepted the challenge of, even with his own team at a one man disadvantage. Not now. But when it was time to fight, when it was time to dive in and make things get messy, there was no one bolder. Even when he was but a boy, Canen had always been more than willing to take on the larger apprentices in greater numbers. Each loss he had suffered was accompanied by a mild oath, never one to accept defeat as a final outcome. Which was why he was here.

He moved smoothly along the wind carved banks of the dunes, proceeding with careful but quick steps. Canen was used to travel in desert conditions since his journey with the drow warrior Izvilvin to Fallien's notorious marble cavern, and his legs and chassis were more than strong enough to cope with the searing heat raising from the sands and the scorching sunlight bearing down on him from above. But as he looked out once more at the blanched landscape, it didn't seem at all similar to his previous visit. It wasn't like the Fallien desert in the south, all sand and dust clouds, shimmering mirages and graceful twisters carrying deadly volumes of blinding sand. It seemed to be an endless stretch of dunes marked with hundreds of tells - mounds of ruins that marked the cites of ancient settlements.

A mark of the Citadel. Not quite what he had imagined when he had asked the monks to create this place, but enough to serve its purpose nonetheless.

Aghast the centre of the towering ruins, Canen came to a standstill underneath the shadow of a tall, worn marble pillar, and felt the momentary void of cold sweep over him, relieving the burning touch of the sun. It was slightly rectangular in shape, widening at the base and seemed smooth and cool to the touch, perhaps a metre by a metre.

There, he waited, his team-mate Banda Utako nowhere in sight, much like his opposition. He hoped the young mercenary would make it out this far.

[Rayne of Fire]

The entrance of the Nocturnian into the ruins was watched by eyes that held intelligence, passion, and boldness. The first instinct of the person who owned those eyes was to rush in and attack, but that would have been foolhardy. Running like a madman down the dunes was foolishness, for it was obvious that this man had previous experience with the desert, whilst Rayne Lunitari did not. Certainly the heat of Haidia had provided him with some experience with keeping alert and aware though the heat fought to make you sluggish and tired, but this was a different sort of heat. Dry and searing, the kind that turned pale flesh dark tan in a matter of months. And on top of that was the sand, reflecting the sun back up into one's eyes. A challenging battleground this would be, thank the gods.

Then his opponent disappeared behind a patch of ruins. Mustering his bravery, he stepped out slowly from behind the ruins he'd been using as a shaded refuge, crossing around in a wide arc until he could once again see the Nocturn, and the Nocturn could surely see him, "I believe you are the one known as Canen Darkflight. One who is to be my opponent in this battle. I asked the monks for a good challenge... and I now believe they have not disappointed me in the least."

Rayne was tall, but this man was taller by a good half a foot. And he did not seem overly muscle bound, so at least the man would not be too easy to catch. And it was obvious that this man possessed the same sort of boldness that Rayne himself did. The willingness to put oneself in harm's way if it meant the win. A truly challenging match this would be.

Rayne smiled, the blood in his veins pumping harder and faster - though not due to the intense heat. In fact he was just glad to be on a battleground with a worthy opponent once again. Too long had he been fighting the dishonorable demon spawn of Haidia. Too long had he been searching for a good fight that would not present itself. Now all that was left was to commence this battle.

Drawing his gunblade with his right hand, and his katana with his left, he stabbed the gunblade into the sand and rested the katana over his shoulder, "I am Rayne Illiarus Lunitari. There are not many who know my name on this planet. I hope that when we are done here today, it is a name you shall remember."

[Falcon Darkflight]

At last, Canen thought with a tinge of satisfaction. The knowledge that he would be wasting no more time waiting for people to show up, cooking in the sun, losing precious bodily fluids to the unrelenting heat of the desert was comfort enough for the Nocturn. Having spent much time in the desert, he knew that his single biggest enemy was dehydration. Even standing in the limited shade wasn't going to prevent that horrible ailment from attacking his body, and the longer he stood there doing nothing the more likely it was going to be that his frame would devoid itself of vital fluid. Canen had been smart and had travelled with three full canteens of water in a hide bag with a thin drawstring in addition to his reserves, but was starting to wonder if three would be enough to cover a fast paced battle like the one he was about to partake.

His other worry was Banda Utako, his young, boomerang toting mercenary friend. They had previously met under very strange circumstances, eventually teaming up to protect a group of women and children from a cave dwelling monstrosity that Canen had eventually destroyed with a Dark Matter orb, but had become trusted friends over time. Canen had been impressed by Banda's determination and bravery but wondered if the boy had the experience to team up with him in a handicapped scenario such as this, especially in these kind of harsh desert conditions, the sort that took a long time to adapt to. It would be a living nightmare if Banda had brought no extra water with him. Canen would almost certainly have no surplus to cover his team mate.

He turned his attention back to the man who had introduced himself as Rayne Lunitari, and sized him up. He was almost as tall as him, equipped with what looked like a gunblade and a katana sword. Two very, very dangerous melee weapons that had almost killed him before now. The Katana was infamous for the ability to cut through tough materials, severing bone from tissue so easily and cleanly the victim would not feel the pain straight away. It was an extremely refined weapon and any wielder was well respected by Canen for their appreciation of the finer things in life. The other, a more crude option, was the gunblade. Although sometimes inaccurate and unwieldy, those who had mastered this beast of a weapon often found themselves at a great advantage in close combat. The times and tales of Letho were proof enough of this, and that thought gave Canen something to watch out for.

"A pleasure, Rayne. I hope for an honourable battle and a challenge. The two weapons you wield...they seem to contradict each other, in terms of style and finesse." Canen paused for a moment, feeling the pulse of his blood flow quickly through his sword arm. "It will be interesting to see how you adapt to me, using those contrasting blades."

He pressed his back up against the marble pillar behind him, looking round one more time. No one else had arrived.

"We appear to be in solitude. Come. We will begin this dance ourselves, the others can begin when they arrive."

He raised The Valiance into a high guard, watching Rayne carefully for any early signs of nervousness or discontent. There were none.

This was going to be an interesting fight.

[Rayne of Fire]

"I use these contrasting blades for two reasons. The first is simple. The ammunition I need for my gunblade is not readily available on this world. The second is that the... katana I believe it is called... is very similar to the swords found where I am from. Light and swift it is, and usefull against very quick opponents."

The answer was as simple as could be, and though it divulged to his opponent more information than he perhaps should, he did not believe it was enough to put him at a distinct disadvantage. What might however was the fact that he had not brought along much water. Though he was familiar with the term desert and had studied them in his training, he'd never been in one. And while this was merely an illusionary one, it held all the aspects of it's basis. A single canteen was attached to his belt, dangling slightly behind him. Rayne could only hope it would last him long enough to be quit of this combat.

"We appear to be in solitude. Come. We will begin this dance ourselves, the others can begin when they arrive."

Apparently his opponent was as eager as he was for battle. This suited him well and in fact caused him to smile once more. Turning the handle of the gunblade slightly in preparation, he nodded briefly.

"If that is how you wish for it to begin, than so be it."

Shifting his hand around the handle of his gunblade, he ran foreward with all the speed he possessed, pulling the gunblade out of the sand and holding it out behind him in what would be called a backhanded style on his homeworld. Knowing that a strike would likely ensue from the blade of his opponent, he waited until he was just in front of his opponent and then struck out with his katana - too high to be an attack, it was merely an attempt to block the larger sword.

Then, pulling all the momentum of his run into the swing, he slashed upwards and at an angle with his gunblade, hoping perhaps to catch the man offguard by launching both attacks nearly simultaneously. If not... well then, time would tell as the sands fall through the hourglass.

[Abenaki]

Citadel monks are a cruel and unpleasant folk. Jada decided silently...

First it had been the magical lake and the flesh-hungry monsters that lurked beneath the surface of its dark waters. Then it had been an unfortunate tournament in which the significantly disadvantaged warrior had relived the worst feeling he knew; the feeling that swamped over you as you approached death. Then, finally, it came to this; a searing hot landscape barren of anything but stone and sand. For some reason it seemed the monks of the Citadel liked to point the young warrior in the direction of fights that were not to his liking...

Jada sat atop one of the various ruins that jutted up out of the sand like skeletal fingers, his back against an old, crumbling wall that stood protectively between his back and the scorching hot gaze of the sun. Even in the shade the temperature was like nothing the warrior had ever felt before, he himself having never ventured before into the desert. Despite that, however, what little comfort the shade did provide was more than welcome.

He'd been sitting for a little while now, toying with his sword. As the sun approached midday the length of the shadow cast by the wall behind him grew shorter. Slowly, bit-by-bit, the blistering hot sun was rising up over his protection, inching closer and closer to Jada. It was close enough now that he had been forced to bring his knees up to his chest to keep his feet and legs out of the sun. So close that he had been passing the time by putting the point of his sword out into the light and twirling the hilt in his hands, making the light dance and reflect off the still semi-smooth surfaces of the mostly rusted shortsword...

Anytime now. Jada thought impatiently. The monks had told him that two of his opponent were already in the arena waiting for him, and that two more were on the way, before using their sorcery to whisk him into this horrible place. The idea of a five person battle hadn't been exactly what the warrior had in mind, but given the size of the place he had quickly found himself in, he could see that if there were only one opponent, more time would be spent looking for that person than would be spent fighting them. As it was, Jada hadn't really been given time to respond and the monks had just sort of *poofed* him onto a dune, where he quickly found himself in pain. By the time he had managed to scurry for cover beneath the shade of the ruins, the bare soles of his leathery feet were red and burned...

This battle better provide me with some answers. Jada thought sullenly, wishing he had some water with him to wet his throat. He looked to the bright sky, almost as though some form of guidance would come drifting down from the heavens. I've been fighting, but I still don't have the answers...

[Falcon Darkflight]

It was times like these that Canen was extremely grateful for the wisdom passed down from his late tutor, and friend, Artremeas. He had been a boy when the old man had taken him under his sturdy wing, placing The Valiance into the shaky grip of the young Darkflight and had taught him the importance of balancing the level of pressure in close quarter combat. One could never hope to achieve victory forever based purely on instinct: it was a reaction that could easily get a person killed if depended on too frequently. Instead, the concept of good swordsmanship relied on unpredictability, the casting away of that initial gut reaction that would send a person into the fray without due care and attention.

Through his travels in Fallien, and more specifically after his bad experiences in Lornius, Canen had learnt much. He knew a physical defense would be fully anticipated as expected from anyone with a large blade threatening their life, and acted accordingly.

Rayne was painfully quick. The rising heat distorted his image as if it were being viewed through a prism, his blades clearly each at different positions as he sped over the sandy floor towards his intended target. Canen, using the pillar pressed against his back to his advantage, quickly rolled his body to the western side of the structure in a sharp movement and cringed as the metallic scraping of a blade against metal shreaked through his ears, the gunblade denting the marble with a deep scar.

He was prepared... Canen panted, observing Rayne's clever tactic to attempt to counterattack by using his Katana as a high guard. Of course, it might not have been his intention after all, but he had enough experience with a sword to know the Katana would never been an effective offensive option held that high. I had better be careful fighting this Lunitari, if he intended to do that as I thought he did.

Attacking options from his position at the left of the small pillar were limited. A blindsided attack with his sword might of worked, but Canen knew it would probably only be a small matter of guesswork to catch him off guard. Just around the corner of the pillar he saw the jagged edges of the gunblade lower from the marble crevice and knew that he only had a few seconds to act. Gripping a fistful of sand beneath his left hand, the Nocturn sprang out from the wall of the pillar and turned to face Lunitari, his sword still in his right hand. A cloud of reddish brown sand erupted into the air and towards the unprotected eyes of the swordsman, and as the dirt settled Canen flew into a whirling attack, spinning from his right side to arc the sharp blade of The Valiance towards Rayne's left leg.

[Rayne of Fire]

Bastard's quick. Too quick. Rayne thought. The gunblade dug into the marble of the ruins and actually stuck there for a moment, so hard was the swing he'd made. It jarred his arm, and sent him stumbling back a step. Groaning, he yanked the gunblade from the marble, just to have a cloud of blinding sand hit his eyes. Growling, he raised his right arm to both cover and wipe his eyes, left hand hanging uselessly at his side.

Or was it useless? As the attack from Canen came, the broadsword met his katana, driving the flat of the blade into his leg and protecting it from the edge of the broadsword. Of course there was enough force to send him reeling to the ground with a heavy grunt. Rolling onto his back, his eyes - now red and a bit sore - raised to see Canen Darkflight once more.

"Turn about is fair play." setting his gunblade down for but moment, the eyes of his pendant glowed white and hot, and a ball of psychic energy flew towards the ground in front of Darkflight, kicking up a wave of sand directly into the Nocturnian's face.

Rayne didn't like using such tactics, but in a battle one must use every advantage presented to you, even unconvential ones. Being in the desert heat like this already handicapped him. Not using the sand as weapon would only have crippled him further, something he could not allow.

Grasping the handle of his gunblade once more, he staggered to his feet. There would be a considerable bruise on his leg later. For now it was just enough to slow him down a little. Grimacing, he strode forward as the sand cloud cleared, and brought his gunblade down from on high and the katana in from the side at where the Nocturnian should be.

[Falcon Darkflight]

Canen winced in pain as a shower of fine sand scattered into the air, the strange projectile striking the floor with quite some force, and embedded itself in his eyes. Startled from the sudden counterattack the Nocturn felt his feet give way underneath him and felt the hot soft grains rub against the back of his neck and spine, opening his burning eyes to witness the full horror of Rayne's speed. Through slit like, teary vision, Canen could just about see the edge of a Katana sword glinting in the powerful sunlight, moving at speed towards him, the razor sharp edge bearing down upon him like the very wrath of Isa himself.

To his amazement, he could still feel the sweat soaked hilt of The Valiance locked between the bars of his fingers tightly, and quickly commanded his right arm to move. The flat blade of the broadsword met the biting edges of the Katana and the gunblade just in time, a horrible metal clang erupting through the silence of the desert ruins. Silvery beads of perspiration trickled in firm torrents down Canens face and created an itchy and uncomfortable mixture of sand and sweat, washing yet more heavy grains into and around his eyes as he used his strength to parry the deadly sword away from his vunerable body.

He knew needed to get out of there. On his back, unable to see, he would be a sitting duck.

Parrying away the Katana had given Canen a small yet useful opening, with Rayne set off balance for just that one small moment. He used it to his advantage. Sweeping his left leg outwards, the persistant Nocturn quickly jutted his heel into the back of Lunitari's right knee, the bone connecting harshly with the joint, and sent him crashing to the floor. This moment provided Canen enough time to log-roll out of harms way, stumbling back to his feet in a sort of drunken swagger, and fumble towards the more labyrinth like, closely compacted stone ruins.

With a moment to spare, Canen unleashed the water flask tied to his side, unscrewed the cap and used a split second's worth of water to wash away the more irritating patches of sand in his eyes. The cool flow of liquid on his face was refreshing but neccesary.

What the hell was that he just did?! Canen internally exclaimed, quickly washing the last of the sand from his eyes as the last of the watery blur came back into focus once again. Banda, you better hurry up...where are you, damn it?!

Determining that he needed to control pace of the fight, Canen decided to buy himself some time before the arrival of his team-mate, to give him a chance to fully regain his focus. Hidden away in the core of the stone ruins, behind huge chunks of fallen marble and rubble, he quietly waited for Rayne to come looking for him, charging a Dark Matter orb in his free left hand. As the orb pulsed and hummed into life, the Nocturn crouched and awaited the arrival of his deadly opponent.

The sound of the pulse was momentary, at best, but Canen knew sooner or later he would have to attack.

[Abenaki]

Waiting for his unnamed and unseen opponents in the stifling heat of his current surroundings was wearing heavily on Jada's nerves and on his patience. He was constantly wiping beads on sweat off his brow to keep them from getting in his eyes, and his small shade sanctuary was slowly but surely growing smaller and smaller as the sun rose higher in the sky. He would have to move soon, but the thought of crossing the hot sand was unpleasant at best. He leaned out from behind his wall and looked around, eyes squinted against the brightness of the day as he scanned his surroundings for another shady perch. Finding nothing close enough to jump to, the warrior scowled, subconsciously wiggling the toes of his already burnt feet in response to the prospect of another trip across the burning sands...

Standing up, Jada raised an arm over his face to block the sun from his eyes and he tried to decide where his seemingly imaginary opponents might he hiding in the maze of dunes and stone ruins. They could be anywhere. The warrior thought glumly. He for a moment pondered just how large the physical landscape of the illusionary arenas of the Citadel might be, wondering if the place had any barriers around the outside that prevented Citadel-goers from going to far in any one direction...

He also pondered, rather grumpily, why the illusion needed to be so real as to allow the sands to burn the soles of his feet...

Jada hopped down from the ruins, wincing as his feet buried themselves in the hot, shifting sands. Standing in the sunlight without shade or water was bad enough, but trying to cross sand that felt more like burning coals on bare feet was worse. Jada began to dance and hop around in pain, trying like mad to keep each foot off the ground for as long as possible, and on the ground for as short a period of time as possible. All the leg jerking and hopping and gasps of pain probably made for a very entertaining sight, were there anyone around to watch. Making an awkward, seizure-like break for the nearest clump of ruins, Jada cursed the monks and their stupid Citadel...

A sigh of relief flowed out of the warrior's lungs as he hauled himself up onto the first of a series of ruins. The wind, hot as it was, felt cool and refreshing on his feet once he pulled them out of the sand, and Jada spent a moment sitting on the edge of the platform-like ruin dangling his feet in the air. It was as he was sitting there, loathing the pain in his feet and the way the open sun literally evaporated the sweat right off his skin before it could bead, that Jada heard something out of the ordinary...

Jada almost looked like an animal for a moment, his head turned and cocked to the side, his mouth slightly open to amplify his already keen sense of hearing. It sounded like voices, but they were muffled by the stones around him and carried away by the wind. How many voices there were, Jada could not tell, but the voices died with the sound of something striking stone.

Other side of the ruins, maybe? Jada wondered, readying his sword in hand. Picking himself up from the edge of the ruin, he moved more towards the center of the stone maze he'd climbed atop, shaking warm sand from between his toes as he went...

[Rayne of Fire]

Going down hard, Rayne dropped his Katana to hold his knee. That bastard was just too damn quick for words. And as he looked about for his opponent, he saw him not. Instead there was a trail of upturned sand leading around him and deeper into the ruins, into a labyrinth of broken stone. Grimacing again, he picked up his Katana, wondering how much his left leg could go through before giving out on him. He could only hope long enough to teach this Canen Darkflight a lesson... and perhaps find out how to contact him. Already the Nocturnian had earned his respect and admiration. Before long they would see if he would also earn a victory over the Illunwe warrior.

Sliding the katana momentarily back into it's sheath, he lifted the gunblade into a high guard and then slowly and quietly followed the trail of his enemy around towards the labyrinth. He stopped just on the edge of the first chunk of ruins, took a deep breath, and then swung around it, bringing his gunblade down at an angle and hoping to contact with flesh.

Instead, it once more clanged harshly against the marble of the ruins, sending up a small shower of sparks and fragments of the stone, and he blinked, looking upwards to see how far his opponent had ventured into this Labyrinth. It was not that far, but it was a bit further in, and he was holding in his hand an orb of energy, as black as his own Aulentora was white. Growling, he charged for the man, lifting his gunblade up once more.

However, he knew this opponent to be crafty and wily, he'd already proved it twice before. Both with the sand in his face and the stiff kick to his knee. He knew now that he would have to be just as cunning and intelligent as his opponent in order to ensure a victory this day. Or to even ensure that this battle was not the last he ever fought.

And so instead of just charging headlong at the man, he leapt upwards and onto the top of the ruins, running along the rough and crumbled stone until he came to where his opponent had been laying in wait. He leapt again and then came down just on top of Darkflight like a falcon in the dive, slashing the gunblade down at his head viciously.

[Darkarcher]

Shadow had been in a sandy arena before but this just was insane. This arena was of a desert and it had all the elements a desert had. It was hot dry and completely quiet, so quiet it gave Shadow an eerie feeling about it.

Shadow felt the heat as he stepped out of the shade of the old ruins and walked out to find his opponents that he had signed up to fight and team up with supposedly the monks had told Shadow that two of his teammates and one opponent were in here. This was a handicap match one Shadow intended to end fast if there was only one here Shadow good take him out while he fights his teammates.

Shadow had walked for what seem liked hours and he was starting to get tired and dehydrated, lucky he had some elements he could use. He figured that seeing as he couldn’t see anyone it would be all right if he used some magic to give himself some water he didn’t think it would be this hard to find three people fighting in a desert.

He first conjured lightning from the sky down to drill into the ground far enough to find moisture, and then he used the moisture to make a water ball then brought it to his mouth and started drinking the cold refreshing pure water from below the sand.

After shadow had drank quite his fill of water he started concentrating on finding these people he would fight and team up with. After several minutes of walking he heard the noise of a battle going on in the background it sounded as if it was happening to the ruins that Shadow was walking towards. He double timed it and as he jumped up on top of the ruins he saw a pretty big man jump into a hole with his what appeared to be a gun blade sticking straight down.

Shadow didn’t want to wait and hear the noise it would make he didn’t want to hear someone crying in pain, so as the man went in the hole Shadow conjured up two fireballs one in each hand and threw them at the hole the man had disappeared into trying to scald them even more then what the sun was doing.

[Abenaki]

Jada kept low, half-crouching as he crept through the old stone remains of a city swallowed whole by the shifting white sands. He kept his sword light and relaxed in his hand, and his eyes and ears sharp. There was another striking of something hard on stone nearby, confirming that he was creeping in the right direction. Jada put his free hand up on the wall in front of him as he crept up to it, and cautiously peeked over the top...

For a second there was nothing to see but bare stone and the windswept dunes in the distance. There were some muffled noises, like people moving about in the ruins below the wall, but nothing Jada could make out clearly. It was as he was about to creep around the edge of the wall and move in closer when everything went from calm to hectic in the blink of an eye.

In a flurry of clothing and metal, another man leapt up onto the stones a few yards from Jada's vantage point, running along the stones and then dropping into a crevice in the ruins, his sword swinging down at some unseen prey. At the same moment, with almost eerie timing, another man leapt up onto the stones as well. Standing farther back from Jada, behind the first man, the second newcomer quickly summoned two balls of flame and hurled them towards the crevice...

More damn sorcery! Jada cursed silently, dropping quickly behind the wall and planting his back against it. His grip was tight now, his knuckles white as they gripped his weapon firmly in hand. Over the course of a couple battles, and in his dealing with the monks of the Citadel, Jada had become quite disturbed by the sheer number of people who seemed to have otherworldly abilities amongst their combat arsenal. Amongst the Kokopelli, only shamans possessed such powers, and the likes of those that Jada had seen paled in comparison to the types of powers the strangers he now seemed to meet every day utilized...

Seeing all these people with such grand and wondrous powers made Jada feel inferior, but it also made him want to learn. He had been chosen as a shaman of his people, so surely he had the potential somewhere inside him to unlock the types of abilities that seemed to plague him at every turn these days...

Someday!, the warrior vowed, Someday they will cower before my power!

Right now, however, Jada did not possess that kind of power, and he had yet again found himself in another predicament. How do I fight a man who can throw fire? The warrior pondered strategically...

[Falcon Darkflight]

Canen's mind tugged at him as he crouched in position around the corner of one of the larger marble slabs, his dark matter orb still charged up for the ambush he was waiting to make.

As he shuffled forwards to finally make his move, he felt a searing, burning pain rip through his left shoulderblade.

He had not heard the quick pattering of Rayne's hurried footsteps up the marble slant behind him, the chunk of rubble far too tall for him to notice any movements from his crouched position in the sand below. He had instead been expecting his witty opponent to traverse the ruins on the ground level, to search for him amongst the maze of marble blocks where Canen would have had the advantage. Instead, Rayne had taken the far more intelligent option: he had scouted above ground, where he would have a clearer view of the labyrinth below. Here, right above the unsuspecting Nocturn, he had vaulted from his marble pedestal and with incredible speed had fed the blade of his weapon downwards, just as Canen was shuffling into an attack position.

The metal edge of the gunblade tore through Canen's clothes and flesh easily, cutting a deep gorge into the skin right up to the bone. A splatter of toxic black streaked over the sand in a dot matrix and the wound began bleeding a stream of inky blood, forking in horrible torrents down his back. Canen cried out in agony, feeling the metal sever nerves from where his newly born wings had sprouted in the cell, where the resulting fractures had weakened the bone.

Anticipation had once again worked against him.

Still seething from the painful cut, Canen reacted quickly. Rayne had landed on both feet very carefully, withdrawing the silver blade of his weapon from the moist flesh of Canen's already weakened shoulders, and had stepped to the side as he attempted to right himself again. Holding the Dark Matter orb tightly in his hand, unscathed from the sudden ambush, the Nocturn raised his open palm towards Lunitari's stomach and released it in a cry of pain. The orb hovered slightly for a moment, rotating quickly on its own gravitational axis before slamming forward in a pulse of energy, burning the air surrounding it and emitting the horrible, nose wrenching smell of ozone into the scorching heat.

As Canen's eyes clouded up with water from the pain of his wound, he looked up to see two fiery, burning projectiles, like burning meteors in the sky. They travelled with great speed towards Lunitari and himself, leaving behind them a spectacular trailer of blazing yellow and white, the cores of the comet like fireballs glowing an impressive and almost beautiful hue of blue and red. Picking himself up, clutching his aching wound, Canen threw himself behind a nearby broken pillar and pressed his painful back against the cool stone, smothered in its shadow.

Canen was now aware of his predicament. Those fireballs were telltale signs of the arrival of another warrior...a warrior that wasn't, to his recollection, his team-mate Banda Utako...

[Rayne of Fire]

Seeing blood the very color of the night sky spill from the wound on Falcon shocked Rayne. Of course, he was used to colors of blood other than red - his own was blue. But what poured from the gash in his opponent's shoulder could be called far more akin to oil than blood. It was almost revolting to watch the streams and rivulets trickle down the man's back and join with the sand.

However, he was left little time to think on the oil gushing from his opponent, for that black orb that had caused him to attack from on high to begin with was swiftly released into his chest. The dark heat that washed over him was excruciating, not to mention the force of the blast was enough to knock all the wind from his chest and send him reeling to the desert floor. His arms immediately wrapped around his body, clutching at his now certainly bruised - if not broken ribs - in agony.

Slowly he tried to regain his feet, but it was a mostly in vain process, for he could hardly find the strength to crawl, much less to stand and fight once more in this condition. That on top of the disorienting heat and the oppressive smell - it was if someone had fired a whole squadron's worth of pulse cannons into the area, burning up the ozone like a candle - and the fact that his entire chest area was scorched put him in a very rough spot indeed. Then out of the corner of his eye he noticed Canen scuttling away swiftly, as if trying to escape something. Certainly not him, for he was in as nearly a bad way as Canen. Then what? Looking to the other direction, the warrior sighed in frustration. Fireballs.

It made no sense though... he always checked up on what his opponents would be capable of in order to see whether or not some advantage could be gleaned from the information. To his knowledge, noone opposing him used such magicks. It could mean only thing. Treachery. Rayne's eyes grew cold, but the Knight would not have the opportunity to act upon this knowledge yet. For as the fireball that was obviously intended for him slammed into his side, he went rolling through the sand, dashing his head on one of the marble slabs. The warrior's head was gashed open, and consciousness left him. Even if it was only for a few brief moments, those moments might be enough for his enemies to capitalize.

[ I'd like the mod who will be judging this thread to note that is is now going to be a 2v2v1. Rayne does not respond well to treachery, and he views this as a treacherous act. Have a nice day! ]

[Falcon Darkflight]

What the hell...?

Canen peered around the smooth edged corner of the stone pillar, leaning his head over his right shoulder to try and catch a momentary glimpse of Rayne's movements. His eyes followed the streaking, burning projectile as its glowing blue and red core struck the helpless body of Lunitari, sending him careering to the floor and dashing his head harshly on the edge of a piece of strewn rubble, one of the many fragments of rock dotted about the sandy arena.

Rayne!

He leant back against the cool stone once more to mask his position from this new, unseen threat, and clasped his hand tightly around the half empty water canister at his side. Canen drank quickly under the glow of the midday sun, using the precious amount of time he had been graced from this sudden unexpected turn of events to restore vital lost fluids to his dehydrated body, and used the remaining trickles to wash away the thick torrents of black oozing from his painful shoulder injury. It stung badly, the burning heat mixing with the pain of the actual injury, but even as excrutiating as the wound felt, Canen could feel something else in his body slip through. An emotion.

His mind flicked back to the motionless form of Rayne Lunitari slumped over the marble morbidly, blood trickling from his head. Canen knew that fiery projectile couldn't have been cast from Banda, and that left only the opposing warriors to account for. Rayne's supposed team-mates. How could they do this to their own partner? Had they no honour?

No. Surely it was a mistake? It had to be intended for me... Canen quickly reasoned, trying to get his mind back on getting up and getting the job done. He looked down at his trembling right hand clutching The Valiance, trying to focus. ...hadn't it?

He panted as streams of silvery perspiration ran down his face and beneath his eyes to his lips, the salty taste rejuvenating his thirst for water. Quickly, he shot his head back around the corner, looking for any sign of the caster responsible for those fireballs. The Nocturn saw none. He could only see the limp, ceased body of his opponent draped over the stone, stripped of his pride and left by his team to rot in the sun.

Canen couldn't stand it any longer. An honourbound man, he got to his feet, using the back of the pillar for leverage instead of using his injured left arm, and sheathed The Valiance quickly. With one last glance around the vicinity he sprinted as fast as he could to Lunitari, kneeling down to pick up his limp body, and carried him carefully back to his safehouse by the pillar, placing Rayne and his weapons carefully in the shade. The Nocturn hastily whipped out his second canister and unscrewed the cap, thrusting the rim onto the lips of his fallen adversary and allowing some cool liquid to flow onto the bloodstained skin, moving the container over to the head wound to wash away the excess blood. It was messy...Rayne had taken a hard hit.

"Dammit. C'mon..." Canen's lips pounded out the words as if it were his own brother lay in his arms.

Momentarily, he had forgotten where he was. This was The Citadel. People were killed every day here in much more brutal circumstances, and were quite easily brought back to life by the skilled guardians of this place.

That's not the point though, is it Canen? He scolded himself, peering at the young, motionless face of the warrior. And you know it...

[Abenaki]

Stop just sitting around! Jada's mind screamed, urging the warrior away from the wall to which his back was firmly planted. He was sweating profusely, from both the heat and his nerves, and he had to keep blinking to keep the salty stuff out of his eyes. He looked all around; searching for something he could crawl behind to get closer to either of his opponents. To his right, a ways down the wall was another crevice similar to the one further down. Jada was willing to wager that the two were connected...

Picking himself up off the ground Jada kept down low and scurried along the wall until his reached the crevice. It was only a short six or seven foot drop down to the sand, so Jada sat down on the edge and then gently let himself slide off. He landed in the sand with a muffled thump, the loose terrain swallowing his feet up to the ankle. Thankfully the sand here was in the shade of the ruins around it, so there was no scorching heat to burn his feet like in the open desert.

It was quiet in the crevice, which seemed odd when Jada thought about it. There hadn't been much noise up atop the ruin, but down here there was a kind of stillness in the air that lent to quiet. Down here the wind was blowing, the sand wasn't constantly shifting across the landscape. It was a serene and pleasant place, all but for the ever present, ever stifling heat...

Jada moved forward, heading in the direction of the spot where one of his opponents had leapt down. Something long ago had split the ruin here, breaking it open to form a narrow passage between the two halves. In some places Jada could walk normally, but he had to turn sideways or even suck in his breath to get through a couple of tricky spots. All the while he kept his eyes moving between what was in front of him, and what was above him. The last thing he wanted while he was trapped in this narrow passage was for the fire-slinging man wandering around up there to find him.

The warrior shuddered at the thought of being burned alive...

Squeezing through the last tough spot, Jada emerged into a relatively clear opening. This was the spot where several ruins came together, and whatever had split the previous one had forced all these apart as well. There were numerous shaded corners, and in one of them a dark haired man was cradling the unconscious body of another man. There was some blood, and the conscious man had some black substance Jada couldn't identify oozing from his shoulder. His sword arm jerked instinctively, but Jada just stood and watched.

The dark haired man was attempting to wash the blood from the other man's face, and it was obvious that the unconscious man had taken quite a beating from someone. The dark haired man was muttering something, but Jada couldn’t make it out. The unconscious one was the same man that had jumped down into the crevice, Jada realized. The one that the fire had been chasing through the air...

"Strange." Jada said aloud, making the conscious man aware of his presence. Both men looked worse for wear, and Jada was here to prove himself as a warrior, not kill wounded men. "He is your enemy, and yet you care for him."

Those words brought to the forefront Jada's own memories own feeding and watching over the half-elf that had been his prisoner for several months. Without that man Jada would never have learned the strange language so many people seemed to know, and he would have never had the courage to leave home in search of his stolen people...

[Rayne of Fire]

Rayne opened his eyes and looked around him. The scene he saw was... familiar. It took him a few minutes to place it, but when he did he gasped. Illun, the Jewel of the Imperium surrounded him once more. The soft blue stone of the buildings, the almost ambient blue light from the windows and streetlamps. The very sight of his home brought him immediately to his knees. To his knees? He'd been standing? The last thing he could remember was the desert battle... and betrayal. No......

Yes Rayne. I'm afraid this is but an illusion.

Rayne stood and wheeled about to face the Voice. Before him a shimmering, vaugely humanoid figure hovered, seeming to weave in and out of existence, "Why? WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU TORTURE ME LIKE THIS?!"

Rayne, be calm. I do this not to torture you. It was meant to calm your mind. To put you at ease. Your body has taken quite a beating... and with you laid out in the heat of the desert I simply sought to prevent your mind from frying as well. But if it bothers you so... I will awaken you...

"NO! WAIT!", Rayne stood there for several moments after yelling the command, gasping for breath. His chest hurt. His head hurt........ His soul hurt. It was not so much seeing Illun, but rather the realization upon seeing it that he no longer belonged there. With head lowered slightly, he turned his back on the Voice and whispered.

"Let me.... let me look upon it just one last time."

With a heavy sigh, he looked around, taking in every last drop of the sheer beauty that was Illun. It's majesty and nobility was breathtaking. He could almost breathe it in. But he knew in the end that is was not to be. With another sigh, this one even heavier - though one that sounded like a great release rather than a burden - the HighGuard Knight turned Wanderer spoke again, "Ok. I'm ready."

The words were barely out of his mouth when his eyes were fluttering open once more to the cold trickle of water. There in front of him was Canen Darkflight and his eyes flew wide. Right hand tightened hard around the handle of his gunblade - it had never even left him - and it was quickly on it's way to cut into his enemy once more. But it stopped as realization entered Rayne's eyes. The man whom he was supposed to be in combat with was aiding him. While one of the men who was supposed to be aiding him had scorched him but good. This battle was turning out rather strange.

Setting his gunblade in the sand - though he kept his grip on it - he reached up with his left and and clapped Canen on the shoulder he hadn't slashed to the bone, "Thank you. Now... let's see what that bastard with the fire is all about... shall we?"

And though he had begun this battle as the man's adversary, Rayne knew somehow that in Canen Darkflight he had found his first friend on Althanas since Zigu Mortier.

[streak101]

((Sorry for the delay, my laptops wireless card has been deleted I have to use my friends PC ><))


Banda stammered across the sands deserts, "Canen...Wait up...." His nocturn pal didn't notice the struggling mercenary behind him, crawling on his hands and knees. Stupid Citadel, I should've never let Canen choose this battlefield! Canen had chosen a desert, the hea was unbelievable, and Banda hated heat almost as much as he hated his father. The young man would have given anything for ten minutes inside an iceberg, or even a cube of ice.


"Canen...Canen?" Banda looked up from the boiling desert sand, Canen had been long gone. He hadn't even noticed me! Damnit! He continued crawling for what seemed like ages to him. "Bah! Forget this! I'm running if I have to!" The young mercenary forced himself up, and ran a great distance, only to be found crawling on hands and knees again. Hold on. If the monk's brought us here from Canen's memory then that doesn't necessarily mean it has to be hot right?


Banda stood up once more and thought of the cold, how it made him shiver. It wasn't helping much, but Banda did not believe so. "Hey it kind of works!" He thought out loud. Banda continued to run, his mind on all things cold. He walked in the same direction Canen had been going, chances are he was already fighting their opponents and he was in trouble. Yes Banda picked up his pace kicking sand back as he charged forth Don't worry I'm coming he thought, as he imagined the scolding Canen would give him for being late.


Though the reasons as to why Canen accompanied Banda was unknown, Banda kept his mind focused on his goal. He wanted to become the best mercenary there was, the man who they would build a statue after, and cheer for him, and call for his aid. A little noble yes, but Banda always wondered what the big life felt like. The Citadel was the perfect place for him to become the strong hero he wanted to be.


At last, he saw Canen, and he as Banda suspected was in the midst of battling. It seemed almost as if he was losing! "Gah! He's gonna kick my ass if I don't get over there now!" Banda charged towards the man who was attacking Canen. Once he was closer, Banda could see Canen's injured arm. That's not good. I need something to get there faster! He pulled out the boomerang he had clipped to his belt, and ran holding it in the air. "I think this is close enough!" He shouted, surely he would be heard by Canen and his attacker.


Yet, he stopped before he let his boomerang fly, for it seemed as though they had set aside differences, the man even put his hand on Canen's shoulder, what interested Banda now was the other two strangers who were both watching the battle as well. He peered over to his right to see a man drinking water, and saw the Canen and his new found friend were both looking towards him. It must be my other opponent! Banda pulled out his boomerang. He spread his right arm straight towards the right, and like a catapult on it's side, pulled back and flung the boomerang towards his target, "Eat yew!"

[Darkarcher]

Shadow sat up upon his little perch and saw all this action happen it was relieving to know he either had killed or severely injuring someone when he knew they would be revived and completely healed soon enough. He watched as everyone had moved into pretty much the same area and was talking. One was just standing there and yelled out something to faint for Shadow’s elf ears to listen two, the other one he had seen out of the corner of his eye had threw something that looked like a boomerang at someone it was too early for shadow to tell. But within minutes shadow knew it was coming straight at him. The only thing about this boomerang was it had to curve some time witch gave shadow a chance to get out of there somehow. Shadow ducked as the boomerang just narrowly missed his head.

He jumped down and took off his staff and walked towards everyone if he needed too he had fire and lightning at his disposal. Shadow sure was glad he had gone out and bought the cloak to conceal his armor it made him look more menacing then he already was.

“ Wow with my armor and sword concealed I wonder what they will look like when I take it off and rush in with an attack ha. Then again I am not a dishonorable man to attack helpless people. ”

Shadow walked over to where he saw the man that he hit with the fireball jump into the opening and he himself jumped down to see why everyone was here. “Hello, everybody I am Shadowcaster and I am here for this so called team fight I am looking for.” Shadow said as he took out a piece of paper and read the two names of people that were supposed to be on his team.

[Falcon Darkflight]

The feeling that coursed through Canen's body was something he rarely experienced, a warmth that pulsed through him with more intensity than the searing heat he was feeling from the sun, yet as comforting as a refreshing stream on a parched summers day. The powerful hand of Rayne Lunitari clasped on his good shoulder was signal enough that his somewhat samiritan efforts in rescuing his mutually respected friend from the clutches of those who might practice the terrible art of trechery had not gone to waste.

As Rayne got to his feet, still partially bleeding form the wound although not as severely as first thought, Canen shuffled his back against the pillar and used his good arm to lever himself back to an upright position, swigging from the hot metal rim of the first canteen until the bottom ran dry. The slick feeling of cool liquid gushing down his parched throat was enough to bring him back to real-time, the Khaian's thirst quenched once again and his eyes now sharply focused on the imbecile who had appeared at the top of the marble.

Lunacy... He thought, listening to the disgustingly stupid dark-elf as he read Rayne's name from the teamsheet he had brought with him. Had it not occured to him to check who was on his side before casting offensive magicks of such calibre?

Clearly not. But whatever he thought of the idiot who had now fully introduced himself to those present, Canen's own opinion didn't matter now. He had work to do.

His own erstwhile partner, the somewhat impunctual Banda Utako, had gone over the rise to launch his patented and deceptivly deadly boomerang attack at the foe, who had evaded it with little effort. As Banda had attacked, Canen opened his palms out to the side, charging and focusing as much energy as he could muster under the pounding assault of the sun's rays on his body. The temperature in the surrounding are began to plummet below freezing, shiny, twisting particles of ice shimmering in the almost platinum rays, and formed into a cloud of sharp needles from glacial dust.

With a flick of the wrist Canen propulsed the Needle Tempest magick straight at Shadow, hoping Rayne was plotting something as a backup. This was not an attack that worked alone very often, but paired with other attacks could work wonders against slower opponents.

He only hoped that having the "surplus water" edge would be enough to give him that slight advantage.

[Abenaki]

Team fight? Jada asked himself quizzically, his head cocking off to the side in a fashion similar to the puzzled mannerisms of a wild animal. He glanced over the man who introduced himself as "Shadowcaster" and then glanced around at the other gathered competitors as the man listed off Jada's own name and the name of one other. No one told me this was a team battle! Jada cursed the monks of the Citadel once more under his breath. In each dealing in which he had involved himself with the monks, something seemed to go wrong. First it had been a magical lake filled with flesh-hungry beasts, then the torturous event that had been the Cell...

Now the five-way battle Jada had hoped to be a part of had turned into a meaningless team battle where the teams were composed of people Jada neither knew nor trusted. A team battle in the most horrendous desert arena ever devised by man no less!

No one said anything for a couple of seconds, and without a word the man Jada had found helping one of the wounded fighters launched a sorcerer’s attack at the man who believed himself to be on a team with both Jada and one of the other competitors. If he wants to believe this a team battle, then fine. Jada decided without batting an eyelash. One less man to stab me in the back then...

Assuming that the man with the sorcery was attacking Shadowcaster because they were not on the same “team”, Jada leapt forward, his sword at the ready. His sweaty, tired, dehydrating body complained at the sudden strain, but with the sorcerer busy with Shadowcaster, this was a perfect opportunity to bring a swift end to at least one opponent.

Ducking in low as he closed the short gap, Jada gripped the short hilt of his weapon as best he could with both hands and swung up and across his body. Should the man casting his magic at Jada's "teammate" not find some way to get out of the way, he would soon find his entrails spilling onto the ground as Jada's blade gorged itself upon the flesh of his abdomen...

[Falcon Darkflight]

Canen was blinking off the vapour trail effects of his magically propelled attack when his keen eyes picked up a scurrying figure to his left. He couldn't see him clearly under the veil of distortion that the rising heat of the desert was casting, but felt there was something horribly amiss.

Damn it! Another one? He wondered impertinently as the man rushed towards him, ducked low under the cover of the shadows of marble ruins. As he started to turn to face the onslaught, the drain on his senses from his magical attack slowly wearing off, Canen noticed the dull edge of a sword arrive to his abdomen. The world around him suddenly seemed to be moving in slow motion. He could only watch on in sluggish horror as this new aggressor pulled back his powerful arms and slammed the biting edge of the blade straight into Canen's unprotected stomach.

The Nocturn experienced a moment of paralytic disbelief.

He felt himself being thrown against the side of a huge chunk of discarded rubble with the force of the ambush, his already wounded shoulder colliding agonisingly with the smooth, cool stone, and dropped to his side. Canen's thinking was scrambled. His brain attempted to work on surveying the damage done to his midriff whilst every vessel of adrenaline in his body pumped furiously to try and keep the Nocturn's body going. The volatile rush that he then experienced went straight to his head, nauseating him and keeping him writhing in pain on the dusty floor of the arena.

When his vision finally came into focus and the sudden rush died a bit, he looked down at his bloodied attire sullenly. The pain was scolding, blood was gushing in lurid torrents down his lower half in free flowing forking streams that formed small puddles at the ends of his feet. The wound was so veiled by the black liquid that Canen couldn't tell how badly he was injured just from looking, although somehow, he already knew. His legs and arms could no longer support their own weight, and before long, Canen's eyes grew heavy, the impending weight of death looming over him like an angel of darkness.

As his last breath drew to a close, there was a flash of light. The heavy, dazzling hue died, and the Nocturn's body fragmented into a hundred, oily winged crows. They took off from the desert floor with a furious beating of their wings, kicking small clouds of dust up, and soon all that was left was a message written in the sickly black of Canen's life stream.

Fear not thou enemy, embrace thine brothers. Unleash the fury thou hast intern. Farewell.

[Abenaki]

The breath was rattling in Jada's lungs as the adrenaline drained away. The muscles in his arms and legs twitched irritably, and his blood covered sword quivered at his side. Black spray covered the young warrior's shoulder, arm, and torso in a fine mist. As the body of his opponent melted away into a murder of crows, Jada could only stare in mild disbelief. It could be said that fighting to the death was a common occurrence in the Citadel, but Jada could only hope that actually taking a life never became a common occurrence as well...

The young warrior had been more than expecting the sorcerer to find some seemingly ridiculous manner in which to escape. He had expected a speedy evasion, a puff or smoke, even a snarling counter-attack that may have ended Jada's own life. What he hadn't been expecting, quite honestly, was for his generic slashing attack to connect...

Whether it had been here in the Citadel, or in the Cell, Jada's first onslaught in pretty much every battle to date had been the same. The young warrior, untrained in the finer points of armed combat, always resorted to an attempt at overpowering his opponents. That meant launching one devastating attack at a time, usually a wide-arced swing with all the power in his arms and shoulders and torso behind it...

And always his opponents had managed to get out of the way somehow...

Always...until now...

"Dead." Jada said aloud, more to himself than anyone else. He still couldn't really believe what he had just done, and was scrambling to collect himself. Dead... He thought miserably...

[Rayne of Fire]

So much happened so fast. So many attacks from so many directions. Rayne had barely made his feet when it seemed as if the entire world exploded around him. Ice crystals launched across his field of vision, Canen using sorcery against the opponent who had chosen beforehand to do so as well. And so, arming both his hands once more, he prepared to back up the magical blast with a flurry of metal. But he did not get his chance, for he was interrupted by a spray of blood across his face and body. Black blood. The blood of Canen Darkflight.

The Knight's eyes turned to see the strange warrior, his new friend's blood dripping from his sword. Turned to see the body of Canen disappear in flash of light and wings. Something inside Lunitari snapped, turned cold and hard, and his eyes reflected this sudden change. Certainly the Partisan of Nocturnis had just been met. But on this world friends had been few and very far between. And the bastard in front have him had just ended the life of one. It never even occurred to him that this was the Citadel, that the monks would simply resurrect Canen. The red that clouded his vision allowed no room for reason.

Gloved hands tightened around the handles of both gunblade and katana, the sound of leather grinding against metal echoing in the now silent canyons of ruins. His heavy boots kicked sand high in the air as he closed the distance between them, gunblade swinging from one side and katana from the other.

The world slowed as his blades arced through the hot desert air and the Knight's mind along with it. His mind's eye saw only blood. Murder. Death. Destruction. So much of his life had focused around those concepts, and for a brief moment he wondered if it would always be so. If he was doomed to simply walk through life, blades swinging, cutting a bloody path towards his destiny, of if perhaps someday he'd be able to relax. Be able to enjoy a moment without blood. If he had the breath for it he would sigh. But there was no time for it.

There would be no quarter for this murderer of friends. No rest for the wicked. Rayne would end his existence as he had ended Canen's. And when he was done with this one... the betrayer would meet his fate in turn. The gunblade of Rayne Lunitari would have more than it's fill of blood on this day.

[Darkarcher]

Shadow couldn’t believe this he had just simply came down and asked for his teammates when he was spontaneously attacked from the front, which was odd for a mage. There was what appeared to be ice crystals fly at him, in a heart beat his own instincts kicked in and he tried to bring a wall of solid earth up from the ground beneath him. It wasn’t easy seeing as it was all lose sand beneath him.

“Aww crud! I’m toast,” Shadow said as he was hit with the full blast of the ice crystals sending him a few feet back. While he was trying to recover from the blast he placed his hand on his chest to see if he was bleeding but only felt ripped leather. “Well I guess it’s a good thing I’m wearing my platemail in underneath my leather cloak.”

When he looked up all he say was a bright light and a flurry of wings from where his assailant had been. The two other fighters that were nearby when he disappeared had purple black blood sprayed all over them as if it was a mist. Shadow couldn’t waste no time here he needed to get rid of as many foes as possible the one that had his sword all bloodied seemed as if he was a teammate so he wasn’t too worried about him.

Before shadow could think the other man in the corner launched an attack at his teammate this attack was more of a rage attack then a well planned one. The man jumped towards his teammate with both his swords coming from both directions almost like a scissor cut. Shadow didn’t want his teammate to be killed so it would be him and this man and that boomerang man that was just outside.

He conjured up his blue and red fireball in his hand and conjured up a lightning ball in the other hand and merged them into one for one blast that would pack quite a wallop when it hits. He fired them and flew back from the force of the attack flying forwards. This made shadow fly into a wall hitting his head first causing him to be knocked out and hunched over in a ball almost as if he was dead.

[Falcon Darkflight]

Hovering above the concerto of chaos below, the lurid black of Canen's familiars momentarily paused before fading from oily black fragments into the pale blue ocean of sky. The Citadel had managed to pull the remains of the flock of crows from the arena, the very remenants of the defeated Nocturn extracted and now in the process of revival at the skilled hands of the Coronian monks. Yet, even as the fine oily shards dissolved into nothingness, a single lone crow swooped down onto the marble below and perched atop the highest pillar of the arena.

It cawed against the wind, moving its golden irises from side to side as it tucked the spread of its jet black wings into its body. Silver markings adorned the sides of its head, running below the eyeline and raising up to the corners of its sharp beak in mystical forks. The markings seemed to resonate from dull to bright in slow intervals and even against the glow of the midday sun seemed to sparkle brightly.

So, Gideon, this is the power you tapped... A voice seemed to echo, inaudible to the combatants below. The power to stow a soul into a familiar. Interesting...

The crow hopped to the side of the cracked marble and peered below, casting its golden gaze onto the fabled form of Rayne Lunatari.

All becomes apparant. I have felt your presence all this time, yet could not find you with my eyes, no matter how hard I tried...there was always a voice. A voice guiding me through right and wrong, not controlling but comforting.

As the crow shifted its weight again to try and follow the movements of Rayne over the battlefield, another voice rippled through the interns of the feathery apparition. The voice, Canen's spirit recognised, as a form of Gideon.

Yes, Canen. My physical presence is gone, but through your memories and loyalty, through your soul, I remain alive. The manifestations you saw of me are simply your mind's way of putting a face to a voice through the powers of magic. The Vampire Blade you see is the same, although it can never be wielded by anyone but myself.

The crow stopped dead. Canen's voice took over.

I should be thanking you for your wisdom. But instead, I find myself questioning your purpose in my body. Why use me as a vessel?

Because, Canen, you are all that is left of a proud and noble people who died for what they believed. You refused to accept the same fate on the principle of upholding all that we ever fought for. You are the only living being I ever trusted after the genocide, and are worthy enough to be a brother by blood, even if this is not so. The least I can do to repay the loyalty you devoted to our people is to grace you with as much as I can give you. Your battlefield ethics, I see, haven't changed a bit. It is a pity more people could not do the same for their enemies...

I am honoured to hear your wise words again, brother Gideon, but I must go. I must watch over Rayne and Banda.

Indeed. We shall speak again soon. Farewell, brother.

[streak101]

"C...Canen!" Banda gasped, unckecked tears rolling down his cheek. Everything, happened so fast. The man Banda threw his boomerang at dodged it with ease, sending it back to Banda, of course he caught it with ease. Canen had conjured another one of his magic spells which Banda had never seen and sent the magician flying. Then someone else, the man Banda ignored earlier, attacked Canen. Canen will parry it, I know it!, but he never did, the man's blade sunk into his abdomen, Banda was panic stricken.

The nocturn fell to the ground his blood spreading onto the floor. If I were here earlier Canen wouldn't have died! If I hadn't ignored the easier target, Canen would have... Banda's thoughts were interrupted by an image of the nocturn blaming his death on him, in his sorrow Banda believed it was so, and slowly lost his grip to reality. "Canen!" Banda screamed at the top of his lungs, though it was a Citadel match and Banda knew he would get patched up afterwards, the sight of his friend dying was too much.

His mind consumed by anger, rage, and hate, Banda turned to the man who had slain Canen, sword already drawn. "I'll kill you! I swear I'll destroy your very being!" Screaming, Banda charged at the man swinging his blade in a wild stupor. "You'll die upon my blade! Sly Striker!" Time seemed to slow down as it always seemed to do when Banda used his ability, but now he would not notice it, he was wild for revenge. His sense of battle was the only thing he focused on, he would make a stab for the man's stomach, and then if it didn't work, he would cut him in half!

[Ashiakin]

Since the alliances changed during this battle and no real clarification was given on how it was supposed to be judged, I wasn't sure how to group the teams. So instead of awarding EXP on a team basis I'm going to award it on an individual basis. The top three scorers will be given winners EXP and the bottom two scorers will be given losers EXP. My reason for dividing it like this is that I felt the top three scorers were the most active participants in the thread anyway, and there was a large gap between the scores of the “winners” and the “losers.” Also, sorry for the wait. This battle has been picked up and dropped by three judges before me for various reasons.

Falcon Darkflight

The main problem I observed with your writing is an over-reliance on clichés. As many people on Althanas do, you jump to melodrama too quickly—from almost the first post or two, it seemed that this battle was being given an artificially inflated sense of importance. Be careful with this kind of thing from now on. There’s no real reason for a normal Citadel battle to be so dramatic, unless something genuinely dramatic develops within the thread. Every time you have a battle, you don’t have to jump into melodrama. Other than that, you’re a consistent writer and I think you’ll improve.

( Introduction - 4 )
( Setting - 5 )
( Strategy - 4 )
( Rising Action - 4 )
( Writing Style - 5 )
( Dialogue - 5 )
( Climax - 6 )
( Character - 6 )
( Conclusion - 5 )
( Wild Card - 6 )

( Total - 50 )

Rayne of Fire

Essentially, all of the comments I made to Falcon Darkflight also apply to you. Stay away from the clichés and the melodrama unless they’re appropriate, because you have the writing skills to really improve!

( Introduction - 4 )
( Setting - 5 )
( Strategy - 6 )
( Rising Action - 5 )
( Writing Style - 5 )
( Dialogue - 5 )
( Climax - 6 )
( Character - 5 )
( Conclusion - 0 )
( Wild Card - 5 )

( Total - 46 )

Abenaki

You were the highest scoring participant in this battle despite the fact that Falcon had a conclusion score and you didn’t, so in my eyes than makes you the definite winner. You stayed away from the clichés that most everyone else clung to and you made your character act realistically and believably. Your writing is solid and coherent. I’ve been impressed with everything I’ve seen by you and hope you stick around on Althanas.

( Introduction - 5 )
( Setting - 6 )
( Strategy - 7 )
( Rising Action - 6 )
( Writing Style - 6 )
( Dialogue - 6 )
( Climax - 5 )
( Character - 6 )
( Conclusion - 0 )
( Wild Card - 7 )

( Total - 54 )

Darkarcher

The main reason you scored so low was because you only made three posts. Still, your writing suffers from a lack of coherence. I suggest checking over your posts before you post them to make sure that you have properly punctuated everything. Try typing up your posts on a word processing program for additional help, also.

( Introduction - 3 )
( Setting - 4 )
( Strategy - 5 )
( Rising Action - 4 )
( Writing Style - 3 )
( Dialogue - 3 )
( Climax - 0 )
( Character - 4 )
( Conclusion - 0 )
( Wild Card - 5 )

( Total - 28 )

streak101

Wow, I’m really impressed. You’ve improved a lot since we had that battle in the LCC. The reason your scores are so low is because you only posted twice. I’m sure it’s not your fault because of your computer issues, but that’s just the way things happen sometimes. I hope you stick around Althanas, because I’m sure you’ll just get better.

( Introduction - 4 )
( Setting - 5 )
( Strategy - 4 )
( Rising Action - 4 )
( Writing Style - 5 )
( Dialogue - 4 )
( Climax - 0 )
( Character - 4 )
( Conclusion - 0 )
( Wild Card - 4 )

( Total - 34 )

( Winners )
Falcon Darkflight, Rayne of Fire, and Abenaki.

( EXP )
Falcon Darkflight gains 500 EXP.
Rayne of Fire gains 500 EXP.
Abenaki gains 500 EXP.
Darkarcher gains 100 EXP.
streak101 gains 100 EXP.

( Reputation )
Falcon Darkflight gains 1 reputation in Corone.
Rayne of Fire gains 1 reputation in Corone.
Abenaki gains 1 reputation in Corone.

( Rewards )
Falcon Darkflight gains 100 GP.
Rayne of Fire gains 100 GP.
Abenaki gains 200 GP.
Darkarcher gains 50 GP.
streak101 gains 50 GP.