Shinkiro (Closed)

[Lillith]

Shinkiro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8rti7ZF-aY)

1948

The village of Tokyen stood between the imagined barriers of a northern cliff face and a southern sea. Scintillating waves and harrier heights closed off the rickety wooden palisades and merchant huts between a natural embrace. Lies and magic formed the rural idyll of Akashiman origin, and strange tendrils of sorcery gave the wind movement and the sea a salty twang that sent it's scent into the air through the cold harbouring night sky.

Lillith smiled weakly as she entered the dome and saw the clichéd setting before her. She wore a tight flowery dress and leather breeches and overlays, encompassing in her style the traditional garb of her nobility and the more functional and heat resistant trappings of a farrier. Her high boots clicked on the gravel as she entered the fringes of the environment and her heart beat in unison with the paling waxed moon overhead, which pulsated with a deep, umbra light that defied the eyes with murky twilight.

She watched the flickering flames of hidden candles cascade out of the windows of the huts, but could hear no voices or domestic hubbub emerging from any door frame. It was clear that the village, which was strangely familiar to her, was nothing more than a perceived dream, an illusionary reality. Whilst she was familiar with the machinations of the Citadel, this was her first time actually experiencing it.

Without thinking she pulled the heavy goggles from her eyes and set them atop her erratically strapped hair. In the court of the Scara Brae high society, it would be an elegantly wrought and tightly bound bob, set with chopsticks and adorned with flowers. In the slovenly lifestyle of the Tantalum troupe however it decided to fall in the hectic mess she lived dually in. For the battle, she had chosen a style somewhere between the two, and as she entered the central square and stood next to the great fire pit that marked the ancestral temple of the villagers she drew a thin and slender tanto from her weave.

The steel flickered in the moonlight and the sakura blossoms wavered gently in the breeze. The scene was set, perhaps too carefully so, but the environment was liable to change with that same breeze as the fortunes and cascading nuances of life, war, and the universe too. She smiled, feeling a little more comfortable having gotten a sense of her surroundings, and keened her gaze onto every last inch of her environment.

She was a woman now, after all, and she had to pay homage to the matron and matriarch she was destined to be. Nothing would slip past her, and nothing would strike her lest she give it permission. She took a deep breath, relished the long forgotten gohei of the cherry winds and let the red mist of tyranny descend over her typically serene and austere persona. No simple parlour trick or shinkiro would deceive Lillith Kazumi, no lie or fabrication would phase her desire to succeed.

[SirArtemis]

Artemis stepped through the massive halls of The Citadel, still confused as to the premise of this invitation he had received. Nearly a week ago, Harki, the dwarf barkeep of where Artemis made residence at the time, had informed him that a package waited in his room. When he opened the small box, wrapped in a delicate silk ribbon with a cherry blossom pattern on the milky-gray fabric, he found an unexpected surprise.

In the box sat a mask, painted with the elegant design that a geisha would paint upon her own face using make-up. On the back side of the mask, etched into the porcelain and then filled with ink as black as coal, was an invitation.


My Dearest Artemis,

We have not met, but I have found myself intrigued by your persona. Word of you has reached my ears, and I would like to introduce myself, as I feel you may be a worthy ally in the future. However, I must first test both your character and skill. I have arranged your transport to The Citadel, and would like you to arrive exactly one week from when you receive this message. Upon your arrival, the monks will show you to my chamber, where our arrangement shall commence.


My deepest regards,

Lillith Kazumi

Upon reading the request and intrigued by the prospects, the young man made arrangements with his dwarven employers and scheduled the trip. Unsure of the outcome, the opportunity to challenge himself was always welcome, not to mention that no one could say no to worthy allies.

Stepping through the door into the chamber, light turned to darkness as the lit hallway of The Citadel turned into a moonlit village of foreign architecture.

'Am I really supposed to fight here?'

The elegant structures shone in the dim light of the moon as a beautiful mix of floral and oceanic tastes merged into a cool and delicate breeze that lingered on Artemis' palate of senses. Taking a deep breath, letting the freshness and cleanliness of the air fill his lungs, the warm yet cool air dancing around the curvature of his face, he found himself without motivation to fight. He found himself laughing at the thought.

'Maybe this is their whole plan. Distract me with scenery and stab me in the back.'

Still smiling and amused, he spun around, taking in the environment while simultaneously feeding his own humor. It was a segregated village with a drop on one end, and a natural wall on the other. This was a town that Artemis found himself envying, reminding him of the simplicity of his past. Though that same thought stung at the young man, reminding him of the incredibly poor relationship with his father.

The thought caused the vagabond to let his right hand fall to the dagger at his side, thumb finding its way to the engraving of the word "VIRTUE" at the base of the blade. An odd comfort washed over the man, somewhat overwhelming when combined with the peacefulness of the setting.

As he entered the small village, flickers of orange and red danced around, forming shadows of the several buildings he navigated. Eventually, he arrived at the source, a large fire pit in what seemed to be the center of the village. There stood a beautiful woman wrapped in a flowery dress, standing nearly half a foot taller than Artemis.

Again, Artemis' senses were stuck. This seemed like anything but a duel. The beautiful scenery, gorgeous woman and comforting aura of the world around him almost made the young man feel placid, ready to lie down and enjoy the world rather than fight.

He approached the fire pit, stretching his hands out to feel the heat of the flames and smiling, waiting for her to speak first.

[Lillith]

It was a strange feeling when the kami of pleasure and the oni of pain intermingled and fought in the heart. It had been a difficult task to ascertain the whereabouts of the man named Artemis, but the troupe had stretched it's wings far and wide and snared the information with eager talons. As part of their drive to deal with their internal troubles and to amass the strength and talent required to truly best Lucian Lahore at his own game, they had taken to head hunting anyone who reached their collective ears.

Lillith smiled with a charm and grace befitting of her talents as a geisha and bowed politely as the man entered the clearing. Through the last flames of the ritual fire-pit, she saw a being burning with questions as much as he was burning with the passion and glory of living. A tingle of fear bridled Lillith's stomach into activity, and she adjusted her clothing for comfort as she fought to find the words to muster the conflict into it's opening act.

"I am sure you wish to question this state of affairs, but I bid you save the questions either for the clashing of blades or the last stand of union - time is of the essence, and skills must be measured before truths can be unravelled." Her accent was a simple and muted Akashiman tongue, with the occasional fluctuation in syllable to her Scara Brae upbringing.

"You know my name, I know yours, there is no need for introductions. I welcome you to the eternally fleeting Akashima, a place time has forgotten and abandoned in the wake of the steam revolution." She gestured widely and stared appreciatively at the sakura that surrounded the village square.

In times gone by, the fire-pit would have been a place of gathering as well as a place to cast the dead into the beyond in a pyre bound in hope. Blessings of good will would be burnt here and the messages would fall to tinder and then to ash. Their meanings carried into the ether and then the realms between realms. Lillith hoped that the man would listen to her message, when she delivered it, and fulfil his obligations under the etiquette of receiving an invitation from a woman of such stature.

She stepped to the right and began to circle the fire-pit slowly holding her single blade in clear view of Artemis, so as to show her intent and that she was holding nothing in secret. She hoped her faith in his growing renown would be rewarded, and not simply left to die in the flickering embers of their meeting.

[SirArtemis]

The woman spoke with an air of confidence that ebbed between an educated individual and one of potentially high stature. Artemis knew nothing of who she was or anything of her past, and odds were that she knew far more about him than he of her.

She assumed he had a lot of questions, and though that may have held true prior to entering the Akashiman village, the serenity that this manifestation brought the young man numbed his curiosity and drove him to want nothing more than to find a patch of grass and fall asleep under the moon. Such beauty was unknown to him. Had the woman not pulled out a blade, he may have invited her to join him. However, her intentions seemed clear and reminded Artemis of the purpose of the invitation.

"I envy you if this is based on a memory. It's a shame that blood must be spilled in such a beautiful place."

Artemis stepped back from the fire and unsheathed his twin daggers, bowing politely to the woman before engaging in battle, a sign of respect that he afforded all of his opponents when at The Citadel. After all, they were his opponents, and not his enemies. Though some used the terms interchangeably, Artemis did not. He held his daggers gingerly in his hands, keeping his body fluid and able to react quickly to any incoming attack. Positioned in a defensive stance on the balls of his feet, he smiled to the woman, still admiring her beauty despite the realization that she wanted to stab him. Taking one more deep breath of the floral and salty air, while still able to actively admire it, the man closed his eyes for just a moment before speaking.

"I suppose the test begins now. Start the clock."

[Lillith]

Lillith sighed with relief as Artemis prepared himself for the conflict, and signed in blood the acceptance of his trial. Many things in recent months had been discussed between Duffy, Ruby and the daughter of Akashima, but this was the first she had been reluctant to help with. Whilst she had expected to encourage others to do similar deeds, she felt strangely compulsived to volunteer herself this time. War was a corrupting and verdant force, which took hold of it's soldiers in strange and deadening ways.

She continued to circle the fireplace to draw the two combatants together, watching the flickering flames with a cautionary side glance whilst maintaining her vigil over the drawn daggers. In the background, she heard the machinations of the arena begin to form and smiled as Artemis spoke the most perfect of ironies. "Clock?" She smiled, her walk turning into an elegant gait with arms spread wide and eyes ablaze with excitement.

No sooner had she spoke, a ghostly shamisen formed in the air before her and she dropped to her knees to pluck at it furiously. After thirty or so seconds, she closed her eyes as she fell into a trance and the ghostly menagerie of sounds rolled into a strong and vibrato melody the likes of which she doubted Artemis had heard before. It stormed into a heavy and cacophony pulse, and after forty seconds, it came alive with the fire of passion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1fTbDJiyrM).

Satisfied, she smiled at Artemis and plucked out a last scale. She rose slowly from her kneel and clapped. The sound shattered the ghostly instrument and sent it back into the recesses of The Aria. The heavy sound lingered in the air and permeated magic into the ground, the timber and the trunks of the cherry blossom trees. Silence purveyed for a few brief seconds, before the magic, the hidden way of the village erupted into life.

"It is funny you should mention a clock, so let us begin the passing of time. See Akashima through all the seasons, see it die and be reborn in the glory of the Western Sun and the Eastern Dying of the Light." In the background, the sound of wood cracking and rain falling washed over the village square. Flecks of snow fell on nearby buildings as the maelstrom of time sent sporadic parts of the environment both back and forth in time. Rotten wood sprang back into life, and blossoms died and bloomed on the same branch. The changes came in little snippets, twenty seconds or so of folding ether; as the magic came to life and Akashima changed, it slowly took a hold of the village as a whole.

With the same flex of dramatacism as the arena itself, Lillith charged around the fire place with her tanto held in reverse and made for Artemis.

[SirArtemis]

As Artemis stood, he waited for his opponent to attack. His preference for a combat style based on counters may have cost him dearly as his opponent summoned an instrument and played a tune. He was not sure what the repercussions of the action were, but expected nothing benefiting him.

Once the music had stopped, the world around him began to shift. The world began to move so quickly that night and day swapped almost instantaneously, causing a flickering effect of the world. Not only that, but as the seasons themselves began to change, as far as Artemis could tell, so too did the weather. When he had entered, it seemed that the season was late springtime, with flowers blossoming and the cherry blossom dancing in the wind. Now, time had sped up. Before he could even register the situation around him, spring had turned into summer, causing a tremendous and uncomfortable heat to roll over him beneath the snug leather armor. Eyes darted about in an attempt to understand what was occurring. By the time he realized he was sweating from the heat, fall had set in, with the trees and plants all around him painting a colorful portrait as if the artist had spilled his pallet upon the scenery. The shock continued as snowflakes began to form and cold wind rushed at the vagabond, confounding his senses as the everything shifted so quickly. The ground solidified into something resembling rock, quickly covering everything in powder. Then, as soon as it had all begun, they were back where they had started. Flowers were blossoming, the ground was moist and soft from the springtime rains as it poured down and doubling the effect of the melting snow. All of this, and less than a minute and a half had truly passed.

"Well that's... new."

The wild environment surely didn't help him focus, and this opponent seemed to be quite serious about this battle. His body had no way to cope with the changing temperatures, and he hoped the effects were similar on his opponent. Since there was no way to know, he assumed it didn't, simply because it was a safer assumption.

As the woman sped around the fire toward him, he prepared an attack of his own. Holding his left dagger in a reverse grip, he thrust it toward her abdomen in a quick stab attack once she had gotten close enough, which he quickly followed with a slashing attack from the right using his other dagger that he held in a normal grip.

He wasn't the offensive type, but he would need to learn at some point. What better place to practice than The Citadel, in a world where death was inconsequential.

[Lillith]

Lillith felt the cold pang and the heated schism of the Akashiman seasons but paid little heed to the changing environment. Her eyes remained set deftly on the prize, which was the trust of a new ally in their secret bedroom war. Her feet padded silently across the rubble and splashed through a puddle that swiftly turned to mud as the time chasm sped it away into the monsoon months.

Her tanto struck the first thrust as they met in the glow of the azure fire and knocked it deftly to the side. As his second strike swept in she fell backwards as if she were a reed cut by a katana, severed cleanly and without remorse. Her speed however was no match for the certainty in Artemis' offensive, and she felt the cold cut of the dagger across her cheek form a reminder in her mind of pain and regret.

She scuttled back and turned full-circle to stoop and retreat out of a follow up attack. With several wide and lady-like steps she distanced herself from the man until they were twenty feet apart or so, and she could see the flames flicker behind him, darkening his features and smothering him in monstrous malefic and oni like prominence.

"Graceful and nimble, and done without hesitation," she commented on his ability, and brought her free hand to her cheek to dab the blood as it ran like the rain on a window pane off her face. "Words reach my ears and I create futures of song and culture with them, I can only hope the song I played for you is fitting good sir. Come, we have this gracious land to duel in, let us not settle by the old company of the fire and dwell in anger." She smiled, bowed, and turned on her heel.

As she ran between two raised buildings her heart beat louder and louder and the adrenaline which coursed around her veins began to burn like quicksilver. In her mind she conjured the grace of the shinobi, the shadow walker, and in her heart, the stoic passion and stubbornness of the geisha and shogun. She would need all her nation behind her to overcome this man, and all her passion for it's distant shores to not falter feebly.

Her silk shoes carried her silently up the stairs to the third building she encountered, out of Artemis's sight but set prominently between the fishing huts. It's tall, spire like architecture designated it as a pagoda, with five floors and golden spirals engraved into every surface of it's red lofty heights. As she entered the dusty entrance hall she felt at home and turned to wait. She would offer Artemis an ultimatum before the Master's gong on the fifth floor, after battling through the seasons each of the pagoda's levels contained. Summer, Spring, Winter, Autumn, each a glimpse of Akashiman beauty. Her song at the end of each encounter would reveal the world as a moniker of that season, and break away the pagoda's walls until they could stand as witness to the passing of time in the maelstrom all around them.

She drew the second tanto from her bosom and held them both running up her wrists to conceal them from view. The distant sound of rain running off the pagoda's roof and the temporal crack of time ageing and restoring the wood filled the silence ominously as she awaited his arrival in the greatest shinkiro of all.

[SirArtemis]

Artemis was somewhat shocked that his offensive strike had even landed. He was skilled; there was no doubt about that. Confidence on the other hand was something else entirely. After the attack, the woman put quite some distance between the two of them.

"What, that's it? I barely cut you. I thought this was a fight..." As he was mumbling to himself, the beautiful woman began to speak, complimenting the man and inviting him to follow her to another location.

The environment was beautiful, and though he wished that he could sit around observing every little detail like a curious child, there was no time for such things.

The woman ran off up a set of stairs built into the hilliness of the terrain and disappeared from sight.

"And she's gone."

Following up the steps cautiously, the vagabond focused on his senses, glancing around and observing every detail and keeping his hearing as acute as possible, just in case she planned to ambush him. Looking at the buildings strewn about, one stood out more than the others did.

This building was foreign to Artemis, standing several stories high with tiered-roof architecture. Rain droplets slapped against the black tiles of the roof. Engravings peppered the outer walls, and as Artemis ran his fingers along them, he found that curious child coming out. The intricacy of the markings, replicated countless times along the walls, was so astounding that he lost himself for a moment before remembering why he was there.

Sighing, he stepped into the building and followed the fresh footsteps made in the dusty entranceway, soon finding himself in a large square room. Surprisingly well kept, the room had reddish-brown planks of wood intermixed with gray lining the floor, a shining layer of gloss coating the surface. Kneeling down, he ran his fingers along the surface, admiring the precision of the flawless surface.

"Not a single air bubble... that's amaz..."

He cut himself off, realizing how silly he must look. He stood up, facing the woman across from him.

"Of course it's flawless. What am I saying? It's The Citadel." Sighing, he continued. "This is ridiculous. I feel like I'm touring a city rather than fighting. Can we get this over with?"

With that, Artemis crouched defensively, daggers poised to parry.

[Lillith]

"It is not the Citadel, Artemis. This is a faithful portrayal of Akashima, down to the very last fleck of paint and the finest of hairs woven into the battle mats above us. There is a purpose, a raw and passionate irony in this, but I will not reveal that until we stand before the Master's Gong, and I offer you a reason for being here."

She ran forwards with a strange and unfeminine gait, and flicked the tanto down into a normal grip with two silver flashes of malice. She spiralled them back in an arc and brought them down, locked horizontal and close together like the fangs of a snake and hung momentarily in the air above the crouched and passionately stoic opponent she had ensnared in her machinations.

"You will see Summer's fury here first."

As she lunged, the walls of the first floor burst into life, a passionate wall of fiery hue, a wave maelstrom of ochre, orange, gold and deep crimson spiralling about like an inferno cast and solidified into the wooden panelling of the pagoda. Outside in the village, the storm of time stopped and the sun rose over the tall cliff face which shielded the villagers from the harsh winds, which peetered out in the air and dropped into the sea harmlessly.

The rays touched the wet rooftops and correscending spires of the shinto temples and ornate shrines to Kami lost and Oni feared, and the heat and humidity sweltered and pilfered the atmosphere of all life. Only the cool innards of the pagoda offered protection from the morning dawn chorus of heat, bird song and new beginnings.

A second passed, and Lillith stomped her foot onto the perfect floorboards before bringing both tanto down towards Artemis' daggers; she aimed not for his soul, but for his shield, a strike timed perfectly in unison with a hiss, like a python's battle cry, to dislodge nerves and knock concentration clean from her victim.

She hoped he was as quick and agile as the rumours had indicated. She would hate to have to drag his dying corpse up four flights of stairs herself, not in these heels!

[SirArtemis]

The pitter-pattern of the springtime rains ceased on the black shingles of the pagoda just as the woman began to move toward Artemis. It was as if droplets hung suspended in tension, waiting patiently. Of course, this was not the case, as seasons continued to whirl through cycles beyond their confined battleground.

Though an attacker was on its way, the vagabond couldn't shake the completely irrelevant thought of how well-made this building really was! If this truly was an exact replica, then the architect of this building must be incredible.

Realizing the absurdity of his thought process, he tensed and relaxed within a second, tensing his muscles but remaining fluid and able to quickly adjust to the oncoming attack. The woman seemed like a cobra trying to swallow him whole, tantos like fangs biting down. However, the attack seemed odd; distant almost. There was no way she intended to strike him with something like this. This was simply ridiculous.

As the blades swung down, he simply pulled his arms in to their respective sides and casually took a step back, turning his head in an awkward glance.

"I'm a bit confused. I thought this was a duel. Yet your attack just now was about as threatening as a down pillow. I don't mean that as an insult, as I assume that was intentional. May I ask what you are trying to accomplish here?"

Though it was odd, Artemis almost felt a pang of guilt wash over him for cutting the woman on the face. All previous experiences in combat had begun as counter-attacks for Artemis, and for the first time, he had taken the initiative of first strike. The brief exchange sent the vagabond's thoughts into his past.



Hawk stood across from Artemis, his own weapons poised to engage. This was one of the first lessons his mentor had taught the young man, and one of the most important. It was the root cause of how the young man fought, and why he had chosen the defensive route.

"Remember Artemis," the dark elf began in his native tongue, "there is more value in a counter than the physical ramifications. You may react to their attacks, that is true, and that may give you the advantage given your agility. However, there is something more..."

The thought hung for a few moments, the mentor awaiting a prompt from his students.

"Okay, then what is it?!" The impatient and young form of Artemis replied.

Smiling, the dark elf continued with his lesson. "Intention, my young student, intention. There are psychological reasons behind every encounter, regardless of what they may be. Whether a fighter is protecting something, destroying something, or even testing the opponent, there is always intention. When an opponent strikes, in time, you will be able to learn their intentions as well as their combat prowess. As I strike you in combat, you see that I am testing you and training you. Note where I strike; it is very important. An opponent who is testing you will strike at your weapons, whereas an opponent looking to kill you will strike at your body. Keep that in mind when in a fight, and you will be able to avoid meaningless killing, as well as regrets."

The young man had no idea what was being said to him at the time, and had he been more observant, he may have noticed the painful guilt that washed over Hawk's face, as if this was a lesson from his own heart; a lesson he hoped would help the young man avoid similar mistakes.


Stepping back a few more steps, letting his arms hang as he remembered the lesson, he let the reality of her attack sink in. She aimed for the weapons, not the body, and so he waited, hoping she would give him an explanation.

[Lillith]

Lillith smiled, relishing the exuberant and tactile nature of her opponent. If he had seen through her feint attack so easily, he must indeed be as worthy of her attention as Duffy, the leader of the Tantalum said. Whilst he begged the question of why, Lillith asked herself Why not? She could easily do away with life, twin tanto striking from the shadows and snuffing souls out like a candle dying in the faintest of winds. But where was the fun in that?

"One must learn not to over extend one's reach with careless footing, for it is easy to slip on uneven, unfamiliar ground." She let out a metaphor between pursed lips as she retreated slightly to catch her breath. The swirling patterns on the walls of the pagoda's archaic structure illuminated their faces with fiery hue, and the calming cogitation it offered gave Lillith the clarity she needed.

"Survive the four seasons of the Pagoda, and I will make an offer you cannot refuse. I did not wish to tell you so soon, but here it is - your talent for procuring ore is known to my employer, and he wishes to make use of that illustrious ability. Should you pass the test, and prove your worth to me, and thus to him, we wish you to come to Akashima to oversee a mining operation."

She allowed the words to mingle with the fire and tension in the air, and rested her weapons and hands on either hip with a slight slump as if she waiting impatiently for tomorrow to arrive.

"So prevail, and raise those blades against me - I shall hold back my blows no more, if you die before we reach the top, do not say I didn't warn you!" She roared the last few words with passion, and ran at Artemis with delicate footwork like greased lightning. With a true blue flash of steel, she crossed her tanto across her midriff and spiralled them out to the sides before lunging with both cut close to one another straight at the man; she stomped her foot firmly as she lunged to add distraction and bluntness to her otherwise graceful form.

[SirArtemis]

Artemis was becoming frustrated by his opponent. Her metaphors were difficult to follow, her speech wordy and logic flawed. To even assume that there was an offer that Artemis COULD not refuse was absurd. Of course he could. If it's an offer, then it can be refused. A demand cannot be refused, assuming there is risk involved.

If there was one thing he did follow, though, it was her request for him to raise his blades. He was unsure of why he had received the letter she had sent. Her mention of his mining skills was confusing, as he didn't really have any. Regardless, she had just given the vagabond reason to test his combat skills and he would be happy to oblige.

As her blades made their way toward him, he still wondered why she was using attacks that were easy to read. Though of course, they could be a distraction for something else, just as her stomping foot, which only made her look silly. From his own training, he knew the stomp did little more than impede on her balance, and the double-blade-thrust she was performing made it easier to block the attack.

The attack was simple to parry, but a risky counter would add to the fun for the young man. As the two tanto made their way for his abdomen, he pushed off his right foot, parrying the outer blade with his left dagger as he flew gracefully to her right side. Keeping the metal in contact, he pivoted on his left foot, spinning completely around and just as the connection of the parry broke, he thrust his other dagger in a reverse grip toward the middle of her spine.

Once the spin ended, he would be facing her back with his stance regained.

[Lillith]

The twist and pulse of Artemis's parry and retaliatory strike sent a shiver down Lillith's back. She knew, in the midst of seconds, she had to prevent the side-strike from piercing her spine and ending the conflict there and then. She struggled in that regards on two fronts, the first was with words, which confused her more so than aisled her. She had spoken, as far as she was concerned in all but plain terms yet he did not seem to respond. Perhaps his lack of eloquence was a sign he had understood, and she was simply used to common courtesy to acknowledge her speech - his silence thus perturbed her. Second, she had to survive three more floors for her grand scheme to come to it's ultimate and poignant fruition...

She decided to roll forwards in a neat tuck as the dagger came in to where her spine would have been. With a second tumble she flopped over the met and landed with a heavy thud. Without the grace of the ninja she was trying to imitate, she pushed herself upright and turned on her heel. The distance between herself and her opponent was a good fifteen feet or so, and she smiled weakly at having survived the encounter long enough to be able to say, without trepidation, "Close, but no cigar."

Without hesitation, she turned on her heel and skipped with speed over to the stairwell that span upwards in a grand spiral. As she reached the bottom, she glanced over her shoulder at the recovering Artemis and proclaimed, with a mighty clap of her hands, that the summer was ended. As she fluttered out of sight to catch her breath on the mat of the floor above, the wooden walls gave way.

With mighty clunks and crashes the pagoda opened out on the bottom rung of it's tall heights, and revealed the surrounding village ablaze with the glory of summer. Green tipped sycamore and spruce caught the overhead sun and the birds sang nature's reprise. Ghostly images of villagers went to and fro between palisade and market stalls, and the sound of chatter, babbling brook and life itself drifted into the fighting arena. This was a glimpse of Akashima in summer, and a taste and draft of it's heat and aroma.

Lillith cleared the stairs by thirty feet or so and stood at the centre of the next floor, which was a mirror of the first, except the walls were a dark brown and the smell of dust clung to the air and clothes. She panted, making no attempt to hide her distress, and sheathed both her tanto in her boots. She would need a more competent weapon for the dance of the autumn leaves, one sharper than her wit and livelier than her mannerisms.

[SirArtemis]

To say he was surprised that she had dodged his attack would have been a lie. Artemis expected as much. If anything, the attack hitting its mark would have upset him and caused tremendous disappointment.

However, it was equally disappointing that after a single attack, she had run off... again. This was beginning to feel somewhat childish, and though it was mildly amusing at this point, the reminder of several more floors meant that this could become rather annoying.

As she disappeared from site, the summer scenery had exposed itself in its glory as the walls came crashing down while the building remained steady and standing. Not only that, but the overwhelming heat wave that followed made the air difficult to breath.

Artemis sheathed his weapons and casually strolled over to the stairs to make his own way up. He felt like he was playing some game you would see played in a schoolyard during lunch break with the boys chasing the girls around as they giggle mockingly. The irony that this game ended in death made the vagabond let out a single laugh as he made his way up the stairs, the occasional creaking wood beneath his feet reminding him of how old this building must be, even if it was just a replica.

Though the fighting itself had been brief, the young man started thinking about the attacks that she had made so far. She seemed to be somewhat passive in her attacks, and even as she claimed she would no longer hold back, her fighting style almost seemed novice, at best. Was she leading him into a false sense of security, or was she not as experienced as she implied? There were too many questions and not enough information.

Upon arriving on the second floor, Artemis stepped onto the mat of the room, noticing that it was nearly identical to the one before. Nothing had changed but the color of the walls. Unsheathing his weapons, he approached the panting woman as she finished catching her breath and spoke plainly.

"Show me that this trip was worthwhile. That last attack could have landed if I had not been dancing around you. If you don't step it up, my next attack will be the last."

He took up his defensive stance again, a determined look painted across his face as he awaited her move. He truly hoped this would become more challenging, and soon.

[Lillith]

Lillith relished in the words of her opponent, satisfied at last that he was ready to witness the true providence of Akashima’s power. It lay not in the pagoda steeple, or the wrought iron pumice of a blacksmith’s tools, but in the deep malaise of its people - scorned, vengeful, and eternally miserable.

Pride was Lillith’s salvation and curse and she would not let it falter, even in Duffy’s service, even in the service of salvation and heroism. With slow movements, so as to not attract too much attention or solicit a counter-strike, she pulled her kunai from her waist sash and crossed them together in one hand so that she could utilise the other. “There is a time hopefully, when the hours have dwindled and the stars have died, that you shall understand the meaning of my enunciated…feigned weakness. You are a wise man, Artemis, to discern falsity and malefic where it exists to masque confusion and uncertainty, a wise man indeed.”

She undid her sash with her fingers delicately and nimbly loosening the double loop knot in a second, as if she was well versed in undressing herself, and others, as part of the day to day. She bowed, and as she did so, she looped the red material, a deep earthen shade like the soil of the earth through the kunai’s eye and tightened it securely. It did not pass easily, but it served its purpose and secured the steel tool like an anchor between Lillith’s form and her weapon.

“Come, then. Let us do away with niceties, and unveil claws in the sun!” With a strong motion, she brought the whip down and the kunai embedded itself deep into the polished floor, splitting it with ease and kicking fragments of wood across the wood. With a tug she withdrew it, and held the kunai end of the weapon in her right hand. Luck would have the blade land squarely and true, she knew she would have no such luck flailing it wildly like a scorpion’s sting at Artemis.

The length hung between her arms, which she kept at waist length in front and fell to just above her ankles. The kunai and sash was roughly five foot long, which gave it clear length and reach over her tanto. She began to spin a few inches of the kunai end between a finger and a fore thumb and let the whirl of the heavy blade do all the talking, roaring come closer like an angry, coiled snake ready to strike.

[SirArtemis]

Artemis stood across from Lillith, letting his annoyance with the woman show. He relaxed his stance and let his daggers fall to their respective sides before letting out a sigh. Artemis sheathed one of his daggers, squatted down and picked up a piece of wood from the kunai demonstration. Looking at Lillith, he flicked the piece of wood at her before speaking.

"If you are going to mock me, I will mock you. This is ridiculous!" He yelled in frustration. "You want to duel, yet every time I engage you, you run off."

With that, he unsheathed his weapon again and approached the opponent for a strike. He kept it simple just to see how his opponent would react. He stepped forward onto his left foot and gave a simple lunge with his left dagger.

'Let's see how she reacts this time...' Artemis thought, disappointed and losing his enthusiasm for the fight.

[Lillith]

"Fleeting visions of reality scorn an idle man," Lillith sniped, twitching and snapping out her arm as Artemis lunged. The flash of steel in the dark Autumnal embrace of the pagoda was a brief and momentary illumination of principle - Lillith was biding her minutes before unleashing the sheer fury of a woman at the behest of her wits.

Her kunai caught the blade in the nick of time, and she utilised the leverage applied to it's forward motion to step backwards and to her right, out of harm's way, and out of the limelight. The swirling brown patterns on the walls of the second floor ceased to move, and as Lillith clapped, the walls fell apart once more.

As they shuddered and shuddered, and cast the village in a bright fiery blanket, she made her move. She span the cloth around, and turned her own body into a corkscrew dance. The make-shift kunai on silk span around her body and swung inwards to Artemis's right side. She knew that it was by no means least an ineffective weapon, but the blunt edge of her kunai made for his arm all the same - it would be like a hornet stinging an elephant, but blood drawn and parties dead was not her intended result.

She set her head onto him as she stopped, and time seemed to slow as her kunai moved round towards him with a faint fwoop. The scintillating golds and oranges of the treetops visible from her crested a wave of euphoria in Lillith, and a fond recollection of her village in her favourite season.

[SirArtemis]

The woman easily dodged his attack, but again Artemis expected as much. Then the woman had the audacity to swing the ridiculous "weapon" she had made. As it flew in, he just raised his right dagger and used the sharp edge to slice right through the silk cloth, sending the knife on the end of it flying off into the distance.

"You... are so... annoying..." He mumbled to himself, frustrated with the stupidity of this fight, if that was even an appropriate name for whatever this was. If ever there were a woman that could irritate Artemis, it must be this woman. Her tall and ridiculously skinny figure no longer appeared beautiful to him. On the contrary, it made it appear that she had not eaten well in weeks. Her strange comments seemed so abstract that the vagabond had to question her sanity. She used weapons that by no means could even be considered weapons; they were simply improvised toys. Yet despite everything that irritated him, what bothered him most was her tendency to run away after every attack.

Surprisingly, she had not done it yet, and as her weapon flew off, he could not help but comment.

"Honestly, what is the point of this? I'm sick of this game, and all due respect, we are wasting our time. I'm losing patience for this, and if you have an agenda, I'd prefer you tell me now. Otherwise, I can simply forfeit and walk away. I have nothing invested in this."

Obviously irritated, he pointed his dagger at the woman, giving her a very serious glare and showing his intent. His journey was not pleasant and he had come out of courtesy to whoever had invited him. If this was her way of returning this courtesy then he wanted nothing to do with her. Running around, hiding and playing games, speaking in code. It was nonsense and not worth the time he was wasting.

"Oh, and one more thing," Artemis added, before reverting to his fighting stance, "when you do decide to tell me what it is you want, don't dress it up into some fancy phrase. Speak plainly please; otherwise, I'll simply ignore it."

[Lillith]

"Very well," said Lillith, who stood upright in a calm erection of her elegant form. Finally, she thought to herself, satisfied with his performance and gait in battle. "You wish to acknowledge the reason for being here, so I shall enlighten you, now that you have displayed the required components, the expected traits."

She reeled in the end of her silk, and walked slowly and somewhat seductively across the shimmering floor towards the distant kunai to retrieve it. She spoke even with her back turned to him, something she would never have dreamed appropriate in her homeland. "I require, in the simplest terms, a man who knows mining. Someone," she bent at the knee and picked up the weapon, tucking it into her bosom as she stood, "who knows mining well enough to survive in the harsh reality of Akashima."

The dancing autumnal trees of the illusory village caught her eye and she approached the edge of the pagoda to get a better view. The breeze rolled over the rooftops and bounced on out to sea, carrying with it brief snatches of gold and falling crimson. She had not seen Akashima in Autumn for so very long, it entranced her, taunted her, reminded her of her wrongs.

"I heard you recently acquired mithril from a deposit, and we require someone to do so again." She turned back to Artemis, half expecting him to have stabbed her in the back in frustration. "This...test, has been to see if you can temper your emotion and curtail your anger within the strict hierarchy of Akashima. Half the battle of my country is not fought with a weapon you can decipher, but with words, polite bows," she demonstrated by bowing, "and with cultural observances thousands of years old."

If Artemis was to survive in Tokyun, if he was to be a successful investment for the Tantalum's dwindling coffers and a successful adventure to retrieve the mithril, he would have to act exemplary. "You will be paid, most handsomely, for overseeing the mining operation in Akashima and supervising the miners and the bodyguard until you have sourced enough mithril for the Tantalum's required use - we wish to build an airship, and will need roughly a quarter of a ton of mithril."

She waited for the information to sink in, her hair falling over her face and her dress fluttering as the breeze uplifted her spirits. She had perhaps tempted him too much, and she cursed her egotistical tendencies to make a show out of every little heartbeat.

[SirArtemis]

Artemis' face flashed with annoyance and disappointment, a recurring theme with this woman.

"So this is what all this is about?" He asked, sheathing his daggers. "This is supposed to be some sort of job interview or something? You mentioned this had to do with my skill with mining, but there are a few problems."

Sighing, he rubbed his nose with thumb and forefinger, massaging the bridge between the eyes. This was a ridiculous way to interview someone for a working opportunity, but at least the games were over. However, she was misinformed, and this may prove a difficult scenario to solve. His mind raced with possibilities and explanations, answering questions as soon as they sprung up. Yet there were still points that needed to be addressed.

"Well," Artemis began as he let his hand fall back to its respective side, "for starters, I didn't mine any mythril. I don't even know how to mine. The dwarves I work for mined the mythril, and I just happened to be along for the ride. So if you expect me to do anything, my knowledge is minimal compared to them, which means you'd want them and not me. On top of that, if you are going to pay handsomely, then why not just buy the quarter ton of mythril from the Bazaar and be done with it?"

Before even waiting for a response to his question, the young man continued, as if ranting with the countless problems he had with the opportunity, not to mention letting all all of his pent up frustrations that had accumulated during this brief encounter.

"Which leads me to ask what this airship is for. I'm not the type of person to be used as a pawn for a greater scheme of evil. I would have to know that your intentions are virtuous; otherwise, I cannot help and nor would the dwarves. We have values, and those values will not be forgotten."

As he spoke, his right hand fell to the engraving of "VIRTUE" on the blade of his right dagger, finding comfort and strength in the word.

"You ask me to come to The Citadel," Artemis went on, "Yet I have plenty to ask of you. For example, why not hire a mining crew? Why, instead, do you seek me out specifically? Why use a duel to interview me instead of something more practical?"

Placing his free hand on his hip, he looked back at the woman across from him, her slim figure making the young man want to invite her to The Bearded Gnome back in Knife's Edge for a meal. Harki, the innkeeper, could give her a meal worth remembering. Yet she caused him too much aggravation and made him want nothing to do with her.

As the autumn leaves rustled all around them, the myriad of colors tantalizing the eyes and taking the seriousness out of the situation, Artemis relaxed a bit. He closed his eyes before saying one last thing to the woman.

"Just meet me in Knife's Edge. We'll discuss the details there; with the dwarves too."

[Lillith]

"Oh child, I will tell you all you need to know in intricate detail, laden with brevity and terms of endearment." She strode with confidence over to the stairwell that twisted upwards through the pagoda. She was dissapointed that she had missed the opportunity for a grande finale, and silently measured up a chance to have her way of wondernment with the man one day. "I will meet you in Knife's Edge to discuss such terms, and detail the contract in exquisite, heavy terms. If you think you're being paid with gold, on the one hand, you're mistaken - the Tantalum has so much more to offer, it is certainly," she stepped up onto the steps and began to walk around the spiral..."not a force for evil."

At least, she hoped it was not. It was difficult to tell the moral standpoint of any organisation any more. The City Guard very much viewed them as an evil entity, but when they save Scara Brae from sinking into the sea..."we will save Scara Brae with that airship - a ship you helped build!" She dissipated without further ado up and away into the pagoda's cold heights, where lofty dreams mingled with even loftier pretences.

Alone once more, she continued upwards to the last floor of the fighting tower and sighed at the centre. She readied herself with a calm collection of breathing exercises, and rubbed down her clothes to rid them of the dust which had gathered on the once immaculate fabric of her dress. None of her attire worn outside of the city night life was particularily expensive. She reserved her kimono for the times when glamour was needed over intellect, but she treasured them all the same and silently thanked the seamstresses of the Citadel. They could return any thread bare silk to life with timely hands and twitching fingers.

"Oh well," she declared, and clapped her hands.

The last panels of the pagoda fell away, tumbling in a spiral down to the distant floor. The heavy thud of wood against stone rose up through the seasonal air which twisted and rolled through the time storm that enveloped the village. She traced her vision over the distant sea, set in a gold haze by the last rays of the evening sun and fondly remembered home.

Soon, she would stand at the top of the real pagoda, and look up at the cliffs beneath which the Oni King lurked to claim her life. She would only tell Artemis what was in the mine after one too many dwarven ales, and he would not remember until he was long and far on the road to Akashima; too embroiled in a new destiny he could not escape to have reservations about the danger she would be in without the three warriors she had dreamt of.

To have men follow her to the ends of the earth - that was the power of the shogunate.

To have men fall for illusions, dreams and mirages, to fight them with their own fears? That, she shuddered with a deep loathing for what was to come, would be the power of the one named Shinkiro - the slayer of the Spirit Warders, the six faced bo.

The arena faded and the day fell from memory, along with the crimson scar on Lillith's cheek, and the deep wound in her heart - a prideful hole.

[SirArtemis]

Artemis raised his eyebrow at the reference to him being a child, an obvious insult. Whatever the Tantalum was and their intention to save Scara Brae, her fancy words and empty promises, it all meant nothing to the man. He understood, but it was all still an annoyance. The idea of working for someone as troublesome as her did not seem very appealing, but he would look at the contract along with his dwarves. After all, she wanted the dwarves anyways, whether she understood that yet or not.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, he watched her disappear up to the next floor, but this time he would not follow her. This time he simply closed his eyes, took a deep breath of the autumn air, and took the moment to enjoy his surroundings, wishing he had more time. Yet seconds later, the world around him began to deconstruct. His entire world was a collage of little images, leaflets falling down and catching light, leaving empty blackness. As everything faded and burned away, little scraps of singed paper disintegrating into nothingness, he stood on a small strip of floor made of stone with a door in front of him. Understanding it was time to go, he took his leave, opening the door and entering The Citadel once more. It was the first, and possibly only time, he ever left an arena with both combatants alive.

With a new acquaintance and a possible job opportunity to look forward to, he left the massive building once more, hoping this was his last visit for a long time. He had learned plenty of lessons within these walls, from tolerating pain to inspiration for his profession. For now, it was time to take a break from the violence and live his life.

If only he had known what this woman had planned for him...


Thread done and submitted.

[Revenant]

Full rubric, full commentary requested. Despite being a Citadel thread, both parties involved requested that this be treated as a recruitment quest rather than a battle.

STORY

Continuity (6) – There is enough links in this thread that I get an idea of where your characters are coming from, how they got to where they are, and where they’re going. Still, some of the information that you two provide actually leaves me with more questions. SirArtemis, the flashback you have about your mentor gives some good context on your thought process and why you act the way you do. At the same time I’m left with the question as to why a well-trained warrior is making his time working as an apprentice blacksmith. I know there’s more to your story and an extra hint or two at the right place will go a long way to clarifying the picture of your character’s history. Lillith, you’re so cryptic in places that I’m confused more than illuminated on what you’re getting at. Phrases like “their secret bedroom war” and “when they save Scara Brae from sinking into the sea” go a long way to firmly establish your character in the greater scope of the Tantalum’s overall storyline but at the same time are too vague for a casual reader to have any idea what you are talking about.

Setting (5) – While the scenery is vividly described here, mostly by Lillith, there is little in the way of interaction between you two with it. Aside from a brief mention of how the swiftly changing seasons affect your characters and Artemis’ study of the floor, your characters could almost have been transplanted into any thread or setting and have changed nothing about your writing. Mentioning the scene, even in detail, isn’t enough to get you more than an average in this category. You need to work to actually place your characters into the detailed scene that you have concocted.

Pacing (4) – The flow of this thread felt very up and down to me, an unfortunate side effect of the direction that you two decided to take this in. In a normal battle there is give and take between the two characters, and in a normal quest both characters work together to advance the plot. In this thread however, it felt like Artemis spent most of his time standing around waiting for something to happen while Lillith wavered between actively doing something and playing for time as her internal monologue was played out. As I said, it seems like this was the result of the “recruitment” nature of the thread and your character’s personalities reacting to the situation. You mention that the intent of the thread changed halfway through and here is where I feel that is felt most.

CHARACTER

Dialogue (6) – Artemis really felt polished here while Lillith, as is often the case with your characters, came off as long-winded and overly flowery most of the time. The almost archaic way you write her dialogue certainly gives the feel of a fancy artiste, but at the same time makes reading a chore at times. Still, a lot of your plot is put into your dialogue and you maintain a consistent level. Artemis, your blunt, to the point, sections of dialogue were a welcome contrast to this and I found myself at times, like Lillith, hoping for more from you. Still, your comment here:
"I'm a bit confused. I thought this was a duel. Yet your attack just now was about as threatening as a down pillow. I don't mean that as an insult, as I assume that was intentional. May I ask what you are trying to accomplish here?" Feels too formal to for your character.

Action (6) – As with dialogue, Artemis’ simple, well-thought movements and attacks were an interesting counterpart to Lillith’s complex ones. At one point I read the description of Lillith’s attack then moved to Artemis’ reaction and thought “Was that really what she did?”, having to go back and reread it. Sure enough, my brain glossed over enough of it that I missed a portion of what was written. As frustrating as it was for Artemis to watch Lillith’s cat-and-mouse game, however, it felt very in-character for Lillith, especially given the desired end-result for the thread.

Persona (7) – Again, Artemis you seem to have a better feel for the flow of your character and being able to write who he is. I could almost feel the frustration building in Artemis as Lillith’s ‘antics’ wore on throughout the thread. Lillith, you also have a feel for your character, but there are times when what you write doesn’t quite seem to match the stated intent. Decrying “I shall hold back my blades no more” only to run off again after the attack makes you feel flighty, exaggerative, and untrustworthy, not quite the persona that one would assume goes with recruiting an ally. By the end, I find myself in almost the same position as Artemis thinking “why the hell would anyone follow her?”

WRITING STYLE

Technique (6) – “Close but no cigar.” Try to stay away from these turns of phrase as they are more a product of our society than Althanas’ and not only do they read as awkward coming from a character, they pull the reader out of the flow of your story.

Mechanics (7) – There were too many little errors here and there in this thread to score any higher than this, though it was otherwise a very strong grounding in this category. As frustrating as it can be to read, ‘proofread’ over and over again, taking some time to carefully go over your posts is really the best way to clear these up.

Clarity (5) – Lillith, as I mentioned before there was a time when I started to gloss over some of your writing because, while it is excellent and characterful in moderation, there comes a time when it just gets to be too much.

WILD CARD

Wild Card (5)

TOTAL: 57

Lillith Kazumi receives 585 exp and 190 gp.
SirArtemis receives 1171 exp and 190 gp.

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added.