In the Heat of Night

[Izvilvin]

A warrior must endure many things before he can reach the height of his potential. He must learn to separate battle from every day life, to turn off the instincts that drive him when in combat, yet be able to let them take over again whenever the need arises. That was Izvilvin's philosophy, and it had carried him from Alerar to Fallien, serving him well along the way. In that time, he had reached what he believed to be the peak of his own skill with the sai, the loyal weapons he had carried with him since his youth.

But the Drow was not nearly arrogant enough to think he could maintain that skill without proper discipline, and ever since his discovery of the Citadel, he'd deemed it the ultimate training ground to keep his ability sharp.

Training with Laix and Palmer could only do so much to help him. He needed a real challenge, an opponent who wanted to kill him. Thankfully, a servant to the Jya, especially one of his caliber and dedication, was often given time off. Izvilvin took the opportunity to travel to Corone.

The Citadel beamed brightly in the moonlight, the white pillars and cobblestone steps glowing invitingly. He sensed no activity near the entrance, but had no doubt there would be a dozen or more warriors inside, either waiting for battle or participating in one.

"Hi!" A familiar voice greeted him, coming from a monk who rounded a marble desk. He was Olan, the same man who had tended to Izvilvin on his two previous visits to the Citadel. The human knew who the warrior was, and spoke drow to him in order to communicate. "You've become a fan of the Citadel, haven't you?"

Izvilvin nodded and smiled, choosing not to answer. As nice as Olan was, something about the salesman like approach that surrounded him put the drow off. "Have you an open arena for me, Olan?"

"Yes, Izvilvin," Olan replied, fitting his robe about him awkwardly as if he sensed the way he'd come across. "As you can see, there are few warriors using the facility today."

The two passed through the white hallways, but the Drow was not interested in the tapestries as he'd been on his first two visits. They came to a portal, where they stopped to discuss what arena Izvilvin would step into, and when Olan gave the word, he moved.

His senses were overloaded with white light, confusing sounds and a complete lack of smell. It was an odd sensation, for even if he was not always aware of it, Izvilvin was always sensing something.

When he was able to see again, he observed that he was atop a dirty steel grate, and below was a pit of bubbling magma. The grate seemed to extend all the way around the walls, which appeared to be almost like coal in color and texture. When he looked more closely, though, Izvilvin could see that in some parts of the wall, there were passageways. Where they led, he could not imagine. That part of the arena had not been discussed between him and Olan.

The grate rumbled, and the magma below him stirred. Izvilvin looked down to witness the very beginnings of the lava as it began to climb upward, in a swift climb toward him and the grate he stood upon. A surprised gasp came from him, and the Drow leapt to the side just in time. The magma burst through the grate at the spot where he'd been standing, as if something below had decided to strike at him for remaining in one position for too long. This, neither, had been discussed with Olan.

He shook his head. It seemed that the monk did not want him to be too comfortable in the setting, knowing that Izvilvin wanted a true chance to fight for his life, and threw in a few surprises.

Below him, the magma bubbled again. He stepped to the side, and the movement in the liquid ceased. Knowing the secret of this section of the arena, Izvilvin's confidence grew. He was ready.

[AsukaStrikes]

Three tournaments.

The Serenti Invitational. The LCC. The Cell.

Three tournaments that was supposed to bring fame ang glory to the fighter bathed in blood of her fallen foes. Three tournaments that should have given the populace fear and intimidation at the sound of her name.

Three tournaments she had failed to make a mark.

Asuka simply could not understand why she was unable to stand up to her opponents and give them a piece of her mind. True, the lass had made it all the way to the Semi-Finals of the Serenti, but even with the withdrawal of that cursed Letho her name remained unknown to the mass. It irked her so much she was not placed among the top three winners.

I should've been given Third Place, damit! The redhead lass cursed to herself and emptied a beaker of cheap ale, gagging at its disgustingly sweet flavor. Even her drink seemed to mock her efforts in trying to gain fame. If she had it her way, there was no way this swordmaiden would be sitting at the bar of some cheap tavern on the outskirt of Radasanth. Terrapin's Crossing seemed more well-kept than other ramshackled structures in this part of Corone's fair city. The floorboards creaked and whined more than usual in some areas and she had avoided standing too long in a single place. The beer was mediocre, leaning heavily on providing sugar more than alcohol. The barmaids were a bit more lookable than some, but stilol nothing much to speak of. What irked the lass more was that she had to relegate herself down to such substandard services.

What is this... The LCC and the Cell was supposed to help the maiden hone her edges, but the losses eraly on in the rounds dealt a deafening blow to her pride. Have I... Am I turning...

"Soft?"

Asuka's head snapped like a viper, sighting the odd man sipping his drink from a brass goblet not far away at the counter to her right. His shaggy brown locks draped across his shoulders over the tattered leather jacket, partly concealing a sword hilt hanging low on his hip.

So... a sword-figther... The Akashiman's muscles tensed up as her right hand hovered for Kazeryu's hilt. Whoever it was, the man looked like menacing enough for her to keep her guard up.

"Whoa, there, miss Asuka. 'Kill first, ask later' isn't your usual style of fighting, is it not?" His hands went up into the air in one fluid movement, opening his empty palms towards the swordmaiden. "I am no threat to you, i assure."

"Ho -Who sent you here?!" Asuka kept her hand near her waist, glaring into the stranger's eyes. His gruff appearance and hushed but powerful voice was more than evidence he was an experienced fighter. But how would he know her name since they never met? The lass thought someone must have sent him here to dealt with her before she gained more power than she had now.

"Nobody, m'lady. I am a fan of yours." He grinned sheepishly, drawing his stubby moustache in a funny arch. "You must know, you are a favorite of many. People cheer for the fiery underdog."

"Yeah, sure. Cheer for the underdog." Her hand drifted back onto the counter and ordered another helping of ale. The gruff stranger let out a sigh and returned to his drink as well, still keeping up the conversation.

"I said you may think you have gone soft from the last two fights, that is all. Many of us became worried, but not many dare speak up to you. Apparently, I was luscky I am not one." He chuckled and shook his head. Asuka merely took note of his words withh a side-long glance, wondering that kind of idiots would be rooting for her/i] to win. She asked no one for support, but it was good to know some people remembered her brief mark in history.

"You know... There is a place nearby..." His deep voice rambled on, "A special place for fighters to hone their skills and test against others..."

The stranger paused momentarily and glanced at his conversation partner, noticing the mug had stopped short just inches from her lips. He smiled and continued on rambling, aware that he had caught her attention.

"It is called the Citadel, a grand fortress that even the demons failed to breach. A mighty structure indeed, and one can fight it to the death. It is a favorite arena for us, wielders of the life-enders." His fingers toyed with the goblet. "Ah, what a beautiful place for a duel to the death..."

He did not need to turn his head to know the red-har maiden had disappeared out the door, leaving behind a half-filled mug and twelve pieces of gold. The swordman's grin widened as he took another sip of his drink.

"Fair the Winds be, Miss Murakama. May Lady Akashima guide your blade."

~~~

Asuka wasted no time upon her arrival of the Citadel. The lass breezed up the steps of the grand building, past its marbled pillars and plaster-white walls. She was surprised the name of such a grand building hadnot reached her ears until now. This place must be very special to have a steady stream of participants who were also eager and devoted.

Not during the dead of night, however, but at least someone else was here.

"Welcome, miss, to the Citadel." Asuka halted in mid-stride as a studry-looking monk clad in brown robes wandered from around his marble desk. His tongue whipping in full Radasanthian tradespeak. "Came here for a challenge, I presume?"

"Er, pardon?" Asuka tilted her head sideways, trying to understand what the little man had said a moment ago. Despite having travelled throughout the land of Corone, her tradespeak still held a lot of Akashiman accent and speaking to someone else was not an easy business. "Can you slow down a bit, I didn't catch what you said."

"Oh?" The monk scratched his chin thoughtfully, looking the lass up and down before grinning in realization. "Oh! Yes, pardon my speech, miss. It was a while since an Akashiman native visited his arena." He voiced his apology, this time with just a hint of Akashiman accent. "So, here for a duel?"

"Well, that's what [i]this place is for, no?"Asuka stared down at the monk. "So, got any now?"

"As a matter of fact, indeed I do. Please, follow me."

The monk Olan, as she later caught his name, took her down a corridor lined with heavy doors on both sides. The worn walls still echoed battles fought and won during the so-called Demon Invasion long ago, now only a figment of memories from the long-gone past. The two of them soon stopped in front of one of the many doors, opened up to reveal a portal of some sort behind it.

"Step right in, miss. Your opponent awaits."

Asuka nonchalantly moved forward and disappeared into the swirling light, but at that split second hefore her senses disappeared a curious thought entered her mind.

Wait. What did he mean by "My Opponent" waiting for me?!

~~~

Eternity seemed to have passed by in an instant and the next thing Asuka knew she was in an arena full of heat, stone and steel. The burning air around her forced the lass to gasp for her breath and sweat trickled through her pores like minature hotsprings. Wherever she was, it could not have been the Citadel.

Her eyes and ears immediately snapped to alert, Kazeryu quaking in sheer excitement as the lass kept her hand against the grip of the sheathed blade. Someone was here, that she could tell above the bubbling lava below. There was not a lot of lighting in the small arena, most of which came from down under them. The faint orange glow stood against his dark outfit while it just lightened the color of her long jacket only slightly. Still, his snowy white hair was the telltale marker of his position.

"Izvilvin, is it? Of all the people..." Asuka muttered in disbelief. She had seen and heard about the Drow, how he managed to survive in the Cell and actually let with a good deal of reputation. How he turned on her LCC partner, Rheawien, in that tourney and later ran away from it. She had not heard how bad the entire ordeal went down, but running away from a fight was enough reason to hate his guts.

"I don't know if I should be scared, happy or just plain disgusted..." The swordmaiden tip-toed around the outer edge, failing to notice the bubbling magma tracing her footsteps below. "...to fight a Coward who survived the Cell."

Kazeryu remained sheathed with her sweaty palm wrapped tight around his hilt. The lass had yet to fight a drow before, not counting the White Warrior Zephyriah Ablione back in her first tournament. She wanted to forget that disgraceful loss and just be done with it.

No more living in past glories.

Tonight, she will win. She must win.

[Izvilvin]

The telltale sign of his opponent's arrival, a great white light, brought Izvilvin from a brief recollection of his first battle in the Citadel. Compared to how he'd approached that battle, where he'd fought within dank sewers and climbed along overhanging pipes, he was now more relaxed than he'd ever been. The Citadel posed no real danger, after all, and Izvilvin was not the kind of man to allow himself to fear something that could not harm him in the long run.

He did not expect a woman to show up. Really, when he noticed his opponent was a woman, he showed noticeable surprise. Perhaps it was the way life had trained him, but the Drow had come to the Citadel fully expecting to fight a man, not thinking for a moment it would be a warrioress who showed up to face him. He felt foolish at first, but quickly dismissed the trivial feeling.

She was around his height but somehow even more lithe, standing with a graceful posture and oozing of confidence. That alone was enough to make Izvilvin admire her. Her hair, tinted like a fine amber candy, and the haunting look that shot out from her eyes, were enough to make him enamored with the woman.

It was not lust, but admiration, which filled him. Izvilvin was not a man who could oggle a female and desire to be by her bedside. It was always something deeper than that, a profound respect, which brought him to that point. She was the first woman he'd been charmed by since Rheawien, but despite how he'd ended up feeling about her, even Rheawien had not been able to make such a profound first impression on him.

He sighed, wishing he'd met this one in some other situation. Izvilvin did not enjoy fighting women, no matter how skilled they were. Something about it gave him a feeling of disgust. Too late now, he supposed.

The Drow opened his mouth to speak, but she shocked him before he could utter a single note. Speaking his name, the woman opened a dialogue, only to follow up with jumbled syllables and confusing, non-sensical phrases. Izvilvin wished, desperately, that he could communicate with her, if only to tell her that she was the most beautiful thing that he'd ever seen. He had no sense of how she felt toward him, despite how heavy the tone of her words were.

"Usstan xun naut telanth dosst xanalress," he spoke, his voice like music despite how harsh the drow dialect was. He'd explained to her that he did not speak her language, hoping that she spoke his, but spoke to him in tradespeak under the assumption that he could understand. It was a far cry.

He continued anyway, explaining that the magma below sensed if they stood still for too long, and then attacked if they did not move after some time. "L'morn'lo harl kyorlen mumbaro lu' thrityhen udossa ka udos fre'sla whol ichl verve."

The warrior sidestepped, foot loud against the steel grate which seperated them from the unforgiving liquid below. The magma below, which he'd noticed had begun to bubble again, calmed, and no pillar shot up at him. It seemed a simple enough trap to avoid.

Typically a relentless, furious fighter, Izvilvin did not know how to approach the coming battle. Sexism it was not, but he did not want to fight the woman. He would wait for her to come at him.

[AsukaStrikes]

Asuka watched from afar the confused expression upon the drow's face, the limited lighting casting deep furrows against his cheeks and brows. He let out a series of strange words that Asuka had never heard before in her life and it caused the lass to stop walking. She cocked her head sideways, glaring hard through the darkness in hope of punching her sight through his eyes.

"What kind of mumbo-jumbo are you saying?" The lass muttered angrily as her opponent hopped from one foot to another a good ten yards away. "I don't speak drow, thank you very much."

Her feet moved once again, calming the rising pillar underneath as it began to move about as well. Her stride was now more measured, keeping her left arm out in front and leaning onto her left leg. Head lowered and sword shivering in anticipation, she would have her first strike.

"No matter, I came here for a fight, not a song." The steady creak of the steel grate echoed from around her as she circled the warrior, drawing around to his left. "Shut up and fight me!"

The soft clunk ended abruptly with a burst of klank as she pushed off her leg, darting for the drow warrior. She could not see exactly where his arms were - much less if he had his weapon already drawn and ready to draw blood or not - but the snowy locks was more than enough for her to see where the drow stood. Kazeryu flashed out from under the swordmaiden's long jacket and hooked in for a wide slash, her thumb pressed against the sword's ringed pommel and her eyes looking straight forward.

There was no need for a long dragged-out battle, but she did not see the reason to outright kill him even though he ran away from a fight. Seeing his helpless, dismembered body was enough.

Therefore, the lass had no intention of slitting his throat. Cutting off his arm at the shoulder should be more than enough.

[Izvilvin]

Izvilvin sucked his teeth. He'd truly hoped that she would have been able to understand him.

The woman came at him then, the reflection of the orange magma bouncing across her features with each step of approach. The expression on her face was similar as before, but had taken a whole new dimension upon itself that Izvilvin would have loved to admire. She was quick, however, and there was no time for him to dream.

He plucked two sai from his belt, effortlessly spinning them around to face his elbows as the maiden closed out her rush. Her sword shimmered and sung, cutting through the darkness to dispatch him, but Izvilvin saw the reflection well and slid under the blade, sidestepping and ducking at once. He put his weight forward and got a slight angle on the woman, stabbing once just below the pit of her left arm to try and incapacitate her outright. The prong of his sai would easily reach through into her ribs, if the strike hit.

Then he made a stupid mistake. Rather than allow the momentum of the battle to pull him along as he usually did, attacking quickly and quickening the pace ever more until his opponent made a mistake, he tried to keep it slow. He was doing it consciously, though one of his reasons was foolish. He did not want to cause the woman much pain, even though she had obviously come to the Citadel in order to battle.

At the same time, Izvilvin wanted to develop his ability to fight slower. Instead of overcoming opponents with his incredible energy, the Drow wanted to match a slower fighter strike-for-strike.

[AsukaStrikes]

Sonova-!

Asuka had not anticipated the fighter to be as agile as she thought, mostly because she thought she could out-swing anything that got in her way.

Either because her failed attack was of her own misguided judgment or the sheer ingenuity of her opponent, there was one thing she knew she did wrong.

The Swordsmaiden was too eager.

At the entrance of the Citadel, the lass was too eager to enter a fight she had failed to notice the glowing letters emblazen on the wall above the desk monk. Upon following him, she was too eager to find her battle arena she was unprepared to jump into the fray. At the moment she felt steel grates and molten earth underneath, she was too eager to find out who her opponent was.

And upon learning who her opponent was, she was too eager to end the fight. Thus, leading up to the point where Kazeryu flew over her target's head, she was also too eager to gauge her strength and footing.

Asuka had over-extended her blow. A rookie mistake that came back to haunt the lass every time she swung her blade.

Almost immediately after the flash of white disappeared under her left shoulder, blunt pain shot through her lower left body which sent the lass crashing into the arena wall while Kazeryu raked across hardened stone in a bright streak of sparks.

"Argggghhh!" The maiden yowled and tore away from the heated wall, her right shoulder came away with burnt red patterns resembling veins under her skin. Blasted drow! Tears welled up in her eyes as she fought to bury the searing pain on her shoulder and the throbbing pain in her ribs. What the heck was that?!

The whitish hair Asuka managed to see before it disappeared from her peripheral vision hinted to where the drow might have done and she spun around quickly, brandishing her sword in front with her left hand holding up the pommel.

The gleaming prongs flashed momentarily in the dim light and Asuka could draw vague, prong-shaped objects through tearful eyes. S-Sais! The bastard's using sais!

The lass now felt a bit thankful for not being too careless and had worn her leather tanktop all the time. She was sure had the armor not been there, blood would certainly had been drawn. As for now, it was still merely a large bruise where the leather absorbed part of the blow.

The reaction, or more accurately the lack of a follow-up attack, from the drow warrior confounded the swordmaiden.

"Dammit, drow! This is a fight!" She hollered, her voice disappearing upwards and through the unseen tunnels in the walls. "Why aren't you attacking?!"

Why isn't he attacking!? Don't play wuss on me, Drow! Her angry eyes shot straight at Izvilvin, trying to find his through the dim orange glow from below. It became clear she was not going to win this fight easily.

After all, the lass was prone to getting into tight situations where she was hopeless in achieving anything. Still, nothing could convince her to believe it was true.

"No more games, Izvilvin! Prepare yourself!" Asuka hollered and charged haphazardly at the drow, her leather boots raking the steel grates noisily and her right arm extended. What first appeared to be a similar charge that gave her an aching side and a burnt shoulder ended abruptly with her screeching to a stop a mere foot off to the drow's right, her left foot extended past his own by a hair with her right knee inches from his crotch. Kazeryu came flying towards the dark elf's face in a flat arch, intended as a feint strike while her left fist came charging from a different angle aimed to spike into his right flank.

There was no time to think, no time to plan ahead. Asuka was, again, playing a reckless maneuver that could prove painful either way the blows landed. It was either him or herself.

Someone was bound to get hurt more than they wished to. It was inevitable in any forms of conflict the girl knew about.

[Izvilvin]

((Sorry for the wait, shouldn't have another of those again!))

Izvilvin nodded in grim satisfaction as his sai hit home, though that familiar feel of steel through flesh did not accompany his attack. He pulled the weapon back and cast a quick glance over the main attacking prong, spotting no blood. She was armored, which made perfect sense, and in a way he was relieved for it.

He stood straight and took slow, smooth steps about the grate, observing carefully as this enchanting woman dealt with the pain, falling back against the wall. He almost cringed when he heard the incredibly faint sound of burning skin, but fought it off to keep his face expressionless. The look she shot him when she regained her composure sapped a lot of the beauty from her face, though even then he could not deny her magnetism. Were he to really consider it, Izvilvin would have realized how foolish the attraction was.

He raised a sai and stroked the hair from his forehead, where it had stuck itself to his skin. His breathing was thin and labored from the lack of air, but he was used to the heat. Fallien had tempered him into a durable warrior.

It made him angry that he couldn't comprehend what she was saying. He wanted to communicate and let her know that there was no anger in this fight, for him, that it was only a means to practice. The venom in her voice wounded him slightly. Izvilvin wanted to calm her.

She came on strong again, charging in the same manner as before, though the Drow did not suspect she would pull a similar move. He saw both attacks clearly, leaning away from the blade as the woman's fist drove aggressively into his ribs, knocking the wind from his lungs. Izvilvin caught his breath in a gulp and closed his arm upon hers, pinning the limb between his body and arm.

He slid the sai in his free hand back into his belt, and quickly grabbed Asuka's wrist to keep her from striking him. He looked at her, contemplated a swift knee to her midsection, but released her before he could do anything. Something about dealing a blow to her in that situation didn't sit well with him.

The Drow rubbed his side and plucked his sai back into his hand. Izvilvin let out a shallow sigh. Something in him didn't want to strike at her forcefully, and he was beginning to realize how stupid it was. It was only a matter of time before she killed him if he continued to play the passive role.

Below, the magma began to bubble audibly. Despite himself and the action around him, Izvilvin looked down in curiousity. The hot liquid seemed to glow brighter and begin to rise, slowly approaching the grate they stood upon. He observed it, expecting the magma to stop at a certain point, but as he grew hotter and hotter, Izvilvin realized it would soon rise to their grate and burn them alive.

He looked about the room quickly, remembering that he'd seen a few tunnels earlier. Sure enough, in the wall not far from there he was, there was an opening. Not wasting any time, the Drow ran for it. Hopefully the tunnel would lead them to another section of the arena, and not condemn them to a fiery torture.

[AsukaStrikes]

((Sorry from this end as well! Shouldn't have another one of this long waiting periods as long as Master Raven sets his priorities straight!))

Asuka had expected a rapid retribution from the drow as he easily trapped her limbs where she could not use them, but the sudden release felt both refreshing and awkward. What in Kazen's name is that drow thinking?! What's keeping him from hitting me?

"What is wrong with you, drow?! This is a fight, for crying out loud!" She screamed at him angrily, ignorant of his careful observation of the magma below. She came here for a fight to the finish and her opponent simply "let her go?" Something was wrong about his and she did not like it one bit.

Backing away from the drow suspiciously, Asuka halted a few feet from her opponent and fell into her usual fighting stance - Kazeryu gleaming in the orange glow of molten rocks and fists forward like she meant business. She was also becoming aware of the rising heat within the arena, something she had initially brushed off as merely her own exertion during the short-lived skirmish.

And then, she looked down.

A column of boiling orange water shot out from under her as she frantically jumped away, nearly tripping over her own legs in the process. Screaming in pain, she tore herself away from the burning grates with fresh scent of burnt flesh in her nose and more reddish burns on both her exposed shoulders. Argh! I hate this place! Whatever happened to bar brawls nowadays?!

By the time Asuka got back on her feet, the insulated boots thankfully holding its own against the unbearable heat under her, the elusive warrior was already out of sight. The swordmaiden glanced about in paranoia, wondering what kind of cheap magic the drow had used this time and where he would be striking next.

"Sonova- Come out, Izvilvin! Stop hiding and fight me like the man you are!" She yelled at the empty walls, oblivious to the fact no one could have possibly been close by to even hear her. "Don't you run away from me, you-"

A tunnel?!

It took her a while later, amidst the pointless shouting and dodging the potential fiery columns to finally see the odd dark botch within the walls of the arena. The hole itself was unremarkable and easily overlooked, especially in the middle of an intense fight. But there was no fight at the moment saved for against time itself.

Without hesitation, she raced for the hole in the wall and jumped in, seconds before the grated floor of their previous arena started overflowing with glowing molten rocks. With the red-hot river threatening to turn her into charcoal, the maiden clambered through the cramp tunnel on all fours.

Faster and faster, her hands led the way while her feet pushed her forward. Colder and colder the air began to feel, the intense sensation of a fiery death removing itself into the distance. Faster and faster, her pulse raced as her lungs were filled with fresh, cool air.

And finally, after a minute that seemed to last for eternity, light.

Sunlight shone in her face and the lass had to raise a hand to cover her eyes. Sunlight so strong and bright Asuka nearly fell over even as she drew herself out of the tiny hole in the ground. But, nonetheless, the threat of a fiery death was still there.

"Oh, for the love of Lore's name..." She muttered to herself as her eyes finally adjusted to the bright surrounding. "Of all the places this battle could have been on..."

The waves crashed noisily against hardened, craggy rocks some hundred feet below the relatively flat but uneven arena, ridged by a few odd rock formations sprouting from the ground like folds on a silk gown. The dark, solid platform was dotted with numerous holes, some smaller than the one she came through while others were easily twice her height. The scent of sulfur and brimstone fresh in her senses as well.

They were on an island high above the ocean. A shield volcano island. With rising magma from below slowly crawling up to meet them.

But that was none of her concerns. At a time like this, only one thing ran through her mind.

Izvilvin.

The swordmaiden whipped her head about the stark new arena, trying to see where the elusive warrior could have been. She was certain he would not get himself killed from mere molten rocks. If anything, he would lay powerless at her feet by her hands alone.

[AdventWings]

Incompleted and request for removal by the writer AsukaStrikes.

This shall remain in the Unresolved until both parties wish to continue their story.