A blanket of darkness

[Amber Eyes]

Here she stood in front of the massive building as a chill ran down her spine. The young girl did her best to convince herself that this was merely from the cool morning air. Something about this place seemed familiar and the girl couldn't quite decide if she was ready to find out why. Large groups of people stood along the stone streets and the occasional child would stop and point with the look of awe that she felt as she looked at the intimidating structure. The building could perhaps be refered to as beautiful if a happier person's eyes took it in. Why was she standing here?

Eventually it would all make sense she hoped. "Stop second guessing yourself," She whispered to comfort her fears. After all, Beth had told her to come here; dear sweet Beth and her memory of the girl before she...well.....just before. Beth had told her that this was a place she spoke of with a smile on her face, this place and...him. It had taken weeks for her to find someone who knew anything about her before she lost herself and she could not just let that go.

Like a child before a major change she was both filled with excitement and fear. Perhaps this battle hall would bring back everything or perhaps she may just find a suitable match and move on with her life, either way she had to walk through those doors. A bird sang overhead and the girl told herself that that was her sign, she would find something today.

Presure to figure everything out pushed her forward. The girl brushed her chill-bump covered forearms and took careful steps toward her fate. For such an intense moment everything seemed uneventful, right up until a large gentleman asked her name. "Stephanie," the only one she was sure of found it's way to her lips. The man pointed her down a long hallway and she smiled to herself as she listened to her own footsteps echoing behind her. The irony of it struck chord with the girl, only herself for company and she was unsure of who that even was.

Many doors stood before her, each one less assuming than the last. This halway she'd made magical in her mind was simply just a hallway. Maybe this was all a mistake. Slightly let down the girl saw what she was searching for. The door she had been assigned lay before her and with little effort it opened with a squeak. Darkness stood on the other side and the young girl walked slowly in not knowing what to expect.

Even picking her battleground had seemed to personal to assume. The monk had asked her preference and the girl had simply stared at him stupidly. "It will be taken care of." He had assured her. As she closed the door behind her the darkness seemed to blanket her, offering comfort and for yet another moment the girl feared that bringing light to her past may hurt her more that she knew.

[Silence Sei]

Keeping an eye on an entire army was no easy task. While such things were a bit easier for a man who possessed the gift of telepathy, even Sei Orlouge found the increasingly tedious time he was spending with his Knights to be more tiring with each passing day. The 'Daughters of the Dragon', seeing their patriarch in dire need of some non-Ixian activities, had decided to drag the strategist into the citadel. Sei had attempted to plead with his little girls that the last thing he needed was to engage someone in a fight. It took the brains of the group (Emma Orlouge) to convince her father that this was more of an exercise to train the girls in the way of combat. While Ella and Emma had been around the telepath enough to see how he handled monsters and demons, a humanoid opponent took a much different approach.

Yearning for rest, Sei agreed under the condition that the three girls helped him with his day to day duties for at least a week. With the arrangement made, all that was left was for the Mystic to find an opponent. The new problem, however, was that the citadel seemed to be sparse in open invitation battles today. Sei attempted to use this as an excuse to come back another time, to which all three of his daughters protested. The three went around asking all of the monks that they could find in order to find a decent opponent for their father. The mute walked over to a doorway, closing his eyes for a moment.

Leaning, or rather attempting to lean on the door for rest was probably not the best of ideas. The Mystic felt the wind whip through his form as he fell into the room that was just supposed to be a simple resting spot. Sei slammed cheek first into the surface of the floor, pushing himself up and trying to shake the sleepiness from his person. The whole room seemed to be painted with darkness akin to being blind (or to a lesser extent, the darkness of a blank mind). The mute looked around, attempting to find whomever he was to face in this battle of pure happenstance.

A form of some sort was vaguely made out by the telepath's eyes as they adjusted to the dark. Other than being a tad bit smaller than Sei himself, the Mystic could not distinguish any of the features upon his opponent. The mute smiled, thinking that this battle should be a lot easier than he had planned. Fighting an opponent while looking them in the eyes was a hard thing for anyone to bear psychologically. With the darkness surrounding the field, the youngest Orlouge brother could attack freely without having to see his victim’s features. It seemed like today would indeed be a good one for Sei Orlouge after all.

[Amber Eyes]

Days of travel left the girl a bit tired and she sat down to enjoy the quiet around her. Only moments had gone by when a creaking sound in front of her alerted Kyla to another person's presense. The light from beyond the door as it opened forced her to turn her back as a loud thump resonated off the walls. With a quiet thud the light was gone and an uneasy fear set in as she realized that she would not be able to see her foe. Images of a giant dragon or a two headed serpent filled her mind. Had the monk asked her what type of opponent she would like? The question seemed familiar though she could not remember what she possibly would have said. She was sure that the words 'inhuman' or 'monster' never left her lips. No, these fears were irrational and childish. She would face whatever, no--whoever stood before her without getting all worked up.

As she tried to gather her wits about her, she thought she heard her opponent smile in the darkness, but caught herself quickly. "You cannot hear someone smile, now stop being such a baby!." The words were whispered before she could stop herself. The blanket of darkness around her was no longer safe, someone else had invaded her sanctuary and while she knew it was coming it still upset her very much.

Doubting her own every thought the girl took several steps backward before crouching low in an effort to make herself as small of a target as possible. She knelt there, completely still, waiting for the sound of foodsteps or breathing but she heard nothing.

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Directly to her left, an image lit up the left side of the room for just a split second, allowing the girl to gather an idea of where her opponent stood. Fear gripped as a crack of thunder nearly caused her to pee her pants. If she had not been so focused on the picture perhaps she could have gotten a good look at her opponent, but it was too late for that. The large tree that had for a second engulfed the wall had alerted her to two things. One, the platform made a sudden drop-off only ten feet or so to her left, and two, it dropped off again about two feet behind the shadowy figure on the other side of the room. The girl didn't give herself any time to think before she took off in a leap, willing her steps to be quiet, towards her opponent.

Yes, the other person's location was guesswork at best, and that was only if they had not moved, but still the girl jumped into the air, forcing her feet in front of her and hoping with all that she had that they would meet with something solid. At best the girl hoped to knock the person off the platform. At worst, she hoped to send the message that this was not going to be an entirely one-sided battle.

[Silence Sei]

Rampant were his eyes as they darted around, trying to make out whatever scenery he could. While his opponent had made the arena, judging by the way they stood perfectly still indicated that he or she did not know where they were at either. It was not until a flash of light interrupted this standoff, causing the mute to cover his eyes. The bright light followed by the overwhelming darkness had taken its toll on the Mystic's retinas. As a result, he never saw the charge of his foe.

Even though he should have been able to dodge, Sei's temporary handicap caused the mute to take the full brunt of the charge. The feet of his foe planted square in the chest, throwing the mute back several feet. Unfortunately for the mute, this sent him falling off of the platform, wind whipping around his entire body. Sei bit his lip and closed his eyes, feeling the skin on his back tear away to make room for the large butterfly wings that were now sprouting from behind him.

Making sure everything was now in order, Sei began to flap his wings. The extra appendages quickly began to ease the velocity at which the Mystic was travelling. Eventually, the wings even managed to start gliding the mute back up towards the arena. Surely at this point, his opponent would be overconfident that he or she had won the battle already. The thought of the surprise across their features caused the Avatar of Alerar to smile. It seemed as though the fun was yet to be had.

Each flap of his wings brought him closer to the platform. The Mystic quickly made his way back to the flat surface and smiled, placing each foot carefully on the floor. Sei quickly let out a mute chuckle while carefully shifting his heels to the very edge of the platform. With any luck, his opponent would attempt the same thing once again, but this time the Hero of Radasanth would be prepared. He planned on retaliating in the form of throwing the body of his foe into the utter darkness. Unless his opponent could fly, that would be the end of the match.

Momentum would be the deciding factor in this strategy. Depending on how hard this mystery guest delivered their next attack, it could spell the end for them. If, however, the guest were to even use half of the force they had previously used, the counter would not be sufficient enough. While there was plenty to lose and nothing really to gain, it was all that the mute had at the moment.

But once more, a flash took away Sei's senses and good judgment for just a split second. Looking towards the edge of the platform in order to gain a better understanding of how big the arena was, Sei was shocked to see his nephew just a few feet away. Little Akiv was bundled up in some blankets, wrapped around his form due to the toddler's obsessive need to steal any sheet that was around him. Sei reached out for his relative, a thought of taking him away from this battle passing through the mute's mind. Yet, just as quickly as Akiv had came into Sei's vision, so quickly did he also disappear with the light that illuminated him.

Even when he was expecting it, the shift from light to dark threw made the telepath awry once more. Obviously, lying in wait was not going to be a decent strategy with this particular type of arena. Sei grimaced for a moment before activating his trademark spell. Now, the next time that his opponent would attack, he or she would be met with a hail of glass shards.

Ready, Sei thought to himself as he reached behind him, grabbing the hilts of his Gemini Blades behind him, hoping that he could gain an advantage of some sort in this dark battleground.

[Amber Eyes]

Initially this had seemed like a great idea, but the woman had made a huge error. Her opponent was smaller than the girl had originally assumed and as such her momentum threatened to throw both of them over the edge. The girl grasped for the edge of the platform as she began to fall, hitting her head hard in the process. She pulled herself onto the cool surface, trying to shake the fogginess from her head. She began to pull herself to her knees, her hand slipping for a moment on the drips of blood she had caused herself. A drastic mistake in the first moments of the battle, one that in a less lucky situation would have left her vulnerable.

Doubt filled her mind; what if she could not compete with this person? Only a minute in and I've already hurt myself. The girl ran through her mistake in her mind, she had been told not to assume she had the upper-hand, it had been drilled into her for years. "Wait..." The word came out barely a whisper, Where did I learn that?

One moment a memory seemeded just out of reach and the girl tried to hold onto the thought for as long as possible before it slipped away. She puzzled the idea for a moment, waiting for the lights to come on and someone to announce her victory. When the flapping sound began behind her she almost let it go unnoticed until she heard feet plant firmly upon the floor behind her. She quickly pulled hersef the rest of the way up and put a few more feet between herself and the stranger.

Now she second-questioned her earlier assumptions about her foe. Maybe her original idea of her opponent was right; no ordinary person could fly. Daring a look into the blackness behind her Kyla stopped. As she turned back another flash of what her mind could only process as photo-lightning graced the room with light for a mere moment. There sat a little boy with a mischeviousness in his smile as he pulled a blanket to his chest and smiled with his bright blue eyes reaching out to her. Something inside urged her to go to him, but he was already gone. "Damn." She had lost herself in the moment and had failed to look at the other person who almost certainly knew where she stood now. Kyla ran to the far end of the platform.

The unknown magic she had discovered she held seemed so silly in a moment like this, but she did not know what else to do. "Please keep me safe," She whispered the words as she had the night that some thanye-given power had saved her before, hoping once again her attacker would meet a wall of broken glass once they touched her. She waited a moment for the footsteps but they never came, she looked into the air above her waiting for an attack from above. When nothing seemed to happen she simply began a walk around the edges of the platform, hoping that at least she could have the advantage of knowing how much room she truly had. She kissed her glove as she began to walk and flexed her hand to allow the three long silver blades to apear at her knuckles.

[Silence Sei]

When neither warrior moved for the better half of thirty seconds, Sei began to question his opponent's lust for a victory. If they were in the light, perhaps the mystery foe would have yearned for the win a bit more, as taking down one such as Sei Orlouge was bound to get attention. This time did provide the mute with at least one new detail about his foe. The soft breathing of the person opposite to the Hero of Radasanth seemed to be the same kind of gentle breaths of a female. The Mystic scowled at this revelation, regretting his decision to try and listen out for the other fighter in the first place.

He had to end this quicker than he thought now. As sexist as it seemed, Sei felt that women did not have the kind of pain tolerance that men had. His engagements with his 'daughter', Kyla Orlouge, had been almost enough to change the Avatar of Alerar's views on the matter, but it still was not quite enough. Sei would have to end the battle as soon as possible to relieve this poor soul of any pain that she might have felt. The mute carefully deliberated which one of his many weapons was the right one to complete the task of ending this battle now.

Of all the tools at his disposal, Sei decided that his dual chakrams would aid him the most. Grabbing the two bladed rings at his hips, The Mystic ripped the weapons loose from the string that held them to his sides. He reached each of his hands back as far as he could, and threw the projectiles with all of his might, aiming at the breathing of his female foe. He hoped that the girl's end would be quick.

Yet, when he heard the sound of glass shattering, the Mystic knew exactly why his attacker had hesitated in her assault. Several small flames were launched towards the hero. The mute's eyes widened as the small, fiery glass slightly illuminated the features of his assailant. There was no way it could have been who the Mystic thought he saw. It had to have been another flash of light at that moment. Surely he was not fighting his own blood again!

Only time would tell to answer this conundrum, because if this was truly Kyla that the Mystic was facing, she would recognize his own features when the glass stopped just short of his person. As if answering a calling out, Sei's own Mystic Protection activated, the sound of breaking glass once again filling the room. Sei watched as the shards of crystal that sought to do him harm fell to the ground and quickly proceeded to dissipate. The orange haired youth then looked back to his own spell taking effect, the very air around him seeming to crack open. His own glass shards shot out in their typical dome formation, threatening to shred anything in their path.

Unlike this other Mystic's technique, Sei's own Mystic Protection would not be telegraphed as thoroughly, given their setting. Other than the sound of glass ripping through the wind, the glass would be hard to see. Of course, if another light flash were to appear during this time, it would completely ruin the hidden attack. Sei grinned to himself, thinking smugly, How likely is -that-?

[Amber Eyes]

Waiting for the sound of tearing flesh, the young girl smiled. She had never been the type to enjoy things such as this....or had she? No, there was not enough blood lust in her for that. Still the curve of her lips could not be denied. It seemed like time stood still as the fiery shards made their way toward their goal. When a second shattering noise erupted in the air around her the woman nearly laughed out loud, she glanced down to watch the glass fire from around her and then stared dumbly into the darkness when she realized that it was not her who made the sound. Fear gripped her stomach as she ran through her options; namely nothing.

Alarms went off in her mind. Think you stupid girl, you come in here wanting a fight and now you're going to freak out at the first sign of an actual battle? The girl's heart stood still as a sudden idea flashed in her mind. She quickly squatted as low as she could, hoping she knew what she was doing. She threw herself backwards through the air, reaching her arms in front of her body in an attempt to grasp the edge of the platform. She barely grasped the edge with her fingers and closed her eyes, hoping for the best.

Nothing in her arsenal could have stopped the attack. She could feel the falling shards scraping her back as she hung limp from the arena. While it hurt like hell the girl was sure that it would have been much worse to have taken the full blow. Unsure if it was safe she slowly lifted herself until her eyes peeked over the side.

That very moment another flash produced a girl in a blue dress smiling down at her from the center of the platform. While something about the strange girl made the girl's heart ache she forced herself to look straight ahead into the bright blue eyes of an orange-haired man before they once again plunged into darkness. Her back stung as she pulled herself onto her stomach on the cool marble floor. She pushed herself back to her feet, using the blades of her gloved hand to stabilize herself. Something screamed at her to lay back; something deep inside her mind, but the girl pushed on, afraid that at any moment he would come for her. She pulled out her short-sword and began the walk across the space, trying to picture his location with her eyes tightly closed.

[Silence Sei]

When Sei did not hear the echo of flesh being torn from the crystal defense of Mystic Protection, the mute wondered if his opponent had left the arena. Likewise, the Mystic attempted to hear the breathing of his foe once more, but to no avail. Had he won the battle via forfeit and was just waiting to be brought back into the citadel? No, the effects of citadel battlegrounds typical ended instantly unless otherwise specified by the competitors. The mysterious girl was still alive, but controlling the ways she made noise.

Everything changed the very second that the next flash came into existence. Sei looked past the blue dress and brown ponytail of his daughter Anita to find a lion encrusted glove, brown hair, and the piercing blue eyes of Kyla Orlouge. This was all Sei needed to realize that he was fighting his true relative, and not some copycat. Sophia's Mane, the glove that was currently in his claw form, would never respond to anybody but Kyla Orlouge. Sei reached behind him and grabbed the hilts of the Gemini Blades, unsheathing them to realize that they were emanating their blue aura. This only happened if Sei was currently using the special ability of the swords, or if the swords themselves were within certain proximity of another Zodiac Weapon.

Realzing that he was now fighting his adopted daughter, the Hero of Radasanth shifted his feet, his right positioned in a way that it was pointing perpendicular to his forward facing left. He carefully raised the S-shaped short sword of the Gemini Blades above his head, pointing its long sword brother straight ahead. The light from the swords gave away Sei's position, but also managed to highlight his features so that Kyla could see who exactly she was fighting. The mute could have easily 'spoke' to the girl to detract her from attacking, but perhaps she did not want to.

Even though it pained Sei with every bone in his body, he would have to continue to fight Kyla. If he let her win, the girl would never forgive him, but if he used all of his abilities against her, she would not stand a chance. He reached the decision to defend himself from the rest of Kyla's assault. This way, he would be sure whether or not the woman realized who she was dueling. The Mystic closed his eyes, and prepared for the worst that Kyla had to offer...

[Amber Eyes]

The girl held her sword tightly, its cool magic flowing through her veins. She stepped close to where the stranger had been moments before, ready to strike. Another flash appeared and she ducked low in an effort to conceal her location. Her eyes were drawn into the image, a handsome stranger who looked a lot like herself. She hungrily took in his features, the same blue eyes, the slightly crooked nose, the full lips. He was gone before she could process it all, and she instantly remembered the task at hand. She tightened her grip and brought her sword upwards, desperate to finally make contact.

Only air met her attack, sending a blind fury through her. The young mystic did not stop, instead slashing again and again as she moved forward, bloodlust filling her thoughts. Finally the sweet sound of metal on metal filled the air as her sword met his. He pushed back hard and she lost her footing, stumbling back a couple steps before charging forward once more.

Before she could reach her opponent again a 'voice' filled her mind. "Why are you doing this Kylana?" She stopped dead in her tracks. What kind of magic was this? Who was Kylana? Why did the voice seem to soothe her when it should have terrified her? The girl screamed into the darkness, holding her sword at ready in case this was some sort of trick. "Who are you?"

Even as the words left her lips the girl knew that the answer did not matter. She could trust nothing said in this room. Of course the stranger would want to confuse her. She attacked again, her sword hitting his and being cast aside casually once more. "Kylana, stop this! the voice seemed fatherly, caring yet firm. She shook the thought from her mind, instead answering aloud once more. "I don't know who you are! Stop toying with me and just fight!"

[Amber Eyes]

Another blow was planned. Kyla would end this soon. She tensed her hand eagerly. Suddenly the room lit up. The monks were playing some type of game alright. Before her stood a familiar face. Where had she seen him before?

Lighting changes everything. Suddenly the fear of the stranger left her, replaced with the fear of being lost in the world with no idea where you belong. What if he truly did know something? "Who are you?" She spoke the words slowly. She stared into his eyes in hopes of placing them.

Only his eyes moved as he 'spoke' to her. The man stood stone still. "Kylana, are you truly lost?

No threat seemed present, but the girl's whole body tensed at the words coming from the voiceless man. "If you truly know me. Prove it. Show me who I am.

Everything went black again. The monks had heard her plea. Suddenly the room came to life with pictures, of the girl laughing with girls her age. There she was holding the baby from before. There she was practicing with a sword. There she was with a paintbrush in hand. Finally the images stopped. The picture was clear and Kyla's eyes were bright. She held the stranger in a warm embrace, laughter hiding at the corner of her lips. She was happy. "Can you help me?" The words were out before she could think better of them.


The room began to fade as he replied. "I always will.

[Lye]

Thread Title: A blanket of darkness (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?23175)
Judgment Type: No Judgement
Participants: Silence Sei & Amber Eyes

Silence Sei (http://www.althanas.com/world/member.php?30) Receives:


896 EXP!
48 GP!


Amber Eyes (http://www.althanas.com/world/member.php?14169) Receives:


960 EXP!
72 GP!

[Lye]

EXP & GP Added!