The Forgotten Ruins...[Closed]

[Arch_Nemsis]

(Closed to that Lady Gwen)

Nosdyn was making progress.

He found a suitable killing grounds for his venture to inspire Fear across Althanas. As he carved his name from battle to battle, Nosdyn did not hesitate. He longed for more and readied himself for the next challenge, and the next challenge would come. Nervous whispers flowed from the lips of the terrified townfolk. A wayward son of Haidia was once again stalking The Citadel's contenders. Nosdyn was staring at the battlefield before him. The Citadel, and he walked towards the monk who had become his unwilling handler. His battles in The Citadel were growing fierce and competitive, and in that sort of environment, Nosdyn thrived. The monks would provide him the constant battle that Nosdyn needed. He needed it to stay on edge, to keep his killer instinct. Nosdyn narrowed his eyes as he observed the Orc. He wasn't certain what he felt about the large fellow, only that he provided a service. A service that Nosdyn was at least somewhat thankful for. Immediately, the Orc reacted to Nosdyn's approach. Nosdyn watched the Orc take a customary step back. Nosdyn's inferno like eyes glared in the Orc's general direction.

"Show me battle." Had become Nosdyn's call-sign.

It meant he was there for business.

And the monk, keeping Nosdyn at arm's length, went right to work.

The arena was prepared seemingly at random. It would incorporate the principles of close-quarters combat. There was a ruined, abandoned township with buildings made of granite stone. The stone buildings were bleached white from exposure to the sun. Each of the buildings were squat structures and there were several organized like a fort. It was made in the ancient Radasanth architectural style. Nosdyn recognized it from his studying, and hated it just as he had while reading about them. The buildings had markings on the walls, and there was ancient pottery present. Standing in the hot afternoon sun made Nosdyn at least partially uncomfortable. It was a dry sort of a heat, with no wind and no clouds above. A forest surrounded the old, ruined town. Nosdyn could hear a mournful sound emanating from the buildings themselves, the ghosts that refused to let go their former lives. He knew some ancient tragedy surely befell this land once before, and it would befall it at his hands once again. Nosdyn removed his weapon from it's holster and activated the power source. The blade immediately ignited and pierced the air, filling the area around him with a disturbing humming sound. The blade extended to it's full length, and Nosdyn pointed the blade's tip towards the ground as it endlessly hummed. Taunting the Hero that would answer the call of battle.

Nosdyn felt nothing in regards to the victims of the town. In a very true sense, he was glad they were dead so he didn't have to see their disgusting faces. The entire populace of the surface dwellers pissed him off, and that anger would fuel his power. Nosdyn looked around. The area was quiet except for the sound of his chosen weapon. Nosdyn took a few steps closer towards the edge of the building he stood on and looked around. He half expected an army of ghosts to rise up in protest of his very presence on their holy land. The Demon warrior looked down towards the networked streets below him. He wasn't that high up from his position atop the building, maybe three or four floors up. Nosdyn decided it was too quiet and he needed to cause something to make noise. The Demonic warrior looked down at the streets, then skillfully jumped off the four floor building. It was a swift jump and he landed with an audible thud. Dust and debris flowed upward from his leap, he kept a grip on his weapon the whole time. His cloak swished around his body as he moved, his body adjusting back to a full standing position. Nosdyn looked around, the buildings were all empty. Only the presence of ghosts, and shadows of the past lingered. Nosdyn walked forward towards the general direction of the nearest of the towers. An enemy would likely attack from on of those positions. Nosdyn mentally prepared himself with each step he took.

[Green Gwendolyn]

"B-But Ashlaaa...."

"Gwen, if you expect to become a good fighter for your Trading Company, I suggest you test your skills out."

"I-In a rea-al-l battle??"

"Well, what do you expect? A sparring match? Now get in there and kick some butt!"



~~~

Gwendolyn Rose sighed as she opened her eyes, the blasts of heat from the sun breaking out and heating her blond hair like a fire. In all honesty, the warmth felt nice. Gwendolyn, simply nicknamed 'Gwen', removed her heavy cloak so she could keep cooler in this heated time of day. She heard the crumbling of structures around her, and as she stepped on the ground pebbles broke beneath her boots. Gwen reached back to both her bows hanging on her back, making sure they were in tact. She then brushed her hand against the feathered ends of the arrows inside her quiver. The young elf looked around her to see something surprisenly familiar, ruins that resembled something similar to those in her homeland.

Gwen had not been born soon enough to live through the Corpse War, but she remembered many stories her family told her of them around the bright campfires set for the night in forests far away. And living in the same land this war had so brutally assaulted, Gwen still suffered from her races' poorness and lack of order. In fact, that was one of the reasons she could be so anti-social: fear of falling victim to such things too.

But bloodshed had become inevitable to even this youth. The girl had been betrayed, and she had fought to survive it. In the process, she met new people and new faces that became her new family. She owed the Trading Company her everlasting respect for taking her in as the weakling she was. And Ashla Icebreaker not only was her distant cousin, but her best friend. It was Ashla's suggestion that Gwendolyn tried out the Citadel and heighten her competitive skills. At first, Gwen was reluctant, but now...

... Now Gwen was able to see why these monks were held so high. To be able to create such an amazing atmosphere that really had the fresh winds of the wilds, the birds singing bright in the blue skies, and the dust and haunted hollows of these ruins all in such a wide-spread map? This was breathtaking. Gwen was told by Ashla not to make this mistake, as her cousin had herself, but Gwen had completely forgotten about fighting. The child was now walking around on the real life grounds, looking up, left, and right around this vast landscape. She was so caught up in all of this, Gwen was barely able to catch herself when she close to slipped off some sort of ledge. She had briefly felt it beneath her feet before she stepped back, and she could hear it too. Several small stoned had given away right as Gwen had stepped on the edge. After saving herself, Gwendolyn looked down with her lush, green eyes to see a ravine bellow. And in that ravine - a person.

Gwen suddenly remembered why she was even here and snapped into action, She pulled out her oak longbow, strung perfectly for snipping, and laid flat against the dusty, rough ground. She pulled out an iron arrow and with her incredible arm strength, pulled the arrow back in the perfect position and started to aim. She closed one eye and kept a strong focus with the other. While the clouds of dust below may prove hard to see for the normal human being, Gwen's elvish senses of eyesight were superior to that of others, she could see just fine. She could tell that the place this shadowy man was standing on was just some more torn down buildings. He must have been climbing around a bit...

The one thing the pricked the girl's curiosity was his weapon - it was... glowy... and... ... sinister. There was something dark about the lighted weapon she could not figure out. She sighed, letting some of her stresses and nervousness out once more, and then aimed for the easiest spot she could snipe for: his chest.

Gwen took several moments to aim correctly, but her arms never gave in under the heavy strains of her longbow. She took one final check, then let the arrow loose. It was now flying towards her opponent at the normal speed of any arrow. Gwen bit her lip a bit, hoping she was successful in her bowsman skills - she was an expert archer after all! But even here she could only hope...

[Arch_Nemsis]

Nosdyn's heavy boot falls stirred up the air around him.

It was there that he picked up, the sound of a steel-tipped arrow heading right for him! Nosdyn had very little time to react considering the skill level of the sniper. Nosdyn frowned and moved as quickly as his huge figure would allow. He decided that he would block with a leather gauntlet, and knew it would not do much good against the steel tipped arrow. He reacted just in the knick of time to see the sharp tipped arrow arching down towards him. Nosdyn had expected a lot in this match up, but he had not expected Qua'losh (Sniping) tactics from the get go. He'd been caught off guard and would have to hunt down his target through heavy sniper fire. The arrow pierced his leather gauntlet skillfully, but it was enough. He moved his arm in a swiping motion, the almost pitiful leather armor not able to withstand the steel tipped weapon. I will have to get my equipment checked out later... Nosdyn thought to himself as he watched the arrow pierce his arm. He moved his arm in such a way that the arrow would not pierce all the way through and continue on through to vital organs. Nosdyn looked at the quality and make of the arrow and it's aesthetics. He immediately knew what had fired it in the first place.

"Elf..." Nosdyn said with a certain amount of hatred spoken in that word. Demonkind and Elfkind were known enemies of one another, and Nosdyn did not expect to face one so soon. With his hatred fueling him, Nosdyn shut down his weapon for the briefest of moments. Then, he sheathed it. He focused his attention on something he COULD do. His black blood trickled down his forearm. He grabbed the arrow by the shaft, and pulled quickly. Thankfully, the intricate steel tip did not pierce or fracture bone. Nosdyn had a meaty arm, and that had been his saving grace. It was an ugly reaction, but it had gotten the job done. He now knew that the Elf who was his opponent would be using such Qua'losh tactics throughout much the battle. In his current position out in the open, Nosdyn would be a sitting duck. He knew he had to get the situation under control...and fast. He removed the arrow from his arm, flinched only a moment, and investigated the markings on the arrow. He wasn't sure what tribe the Elf belonged to, but it didn't matter. Blue blood would be spilled. After examining the offending weapon, he decided to snap it and break it with his powerful leg. He allowed both pieces of the shaft to fall harmlessly to the ground beneath him.

Then he looked in the general direction of where the arrow's flight path hailed from. Taking his weapon back out of it's scabbard position, Nosdyn turned it back on. He knew his foe was an Elf. He knew his foe would die. Nosdyn walked forward slowly, stalking towards his target. Then he picked up pace and moved at a steady blood, his veins pumping fire through his body. He pondered activating his power just then, but he decided it best to wait until her could make the Elf suffer. As he ran forward, he noticed something to his left. There was a series of buildings that would be ideal for a sniper to pick targets off from. He guessed the sniper would be on the largest of those structures for most mobility offered. Nosdyn kicked the ancient door in and it fell to his massive body weight. He loudly climbed up the stairs, and made his way to the roof of the building. Thankfully, the ancient trap door to the roof section was already opened. Nosdyn leaped up through the adequate opening and landed on the roof. He searched for the sniper. His eyes darting like a mad, caged lion. He spotted the Elf in question actually a rooftop or two away from his current location. He surprised to see one obvious matter...the Elf was a WOMAN. That was one thing that was a mystery to him, surface dwellers had social stigmas in regards to allowing women to become more powerful and earn their rightful place as equals of Men.

Nosdyn was not sure what to do at that point, but he soon realized he was a sitting duck if he would keep standing still like that. His armor could probably withstand a few direct hits, but he did not want to risk that chance. Quickly, Nosdyn moved into a run and leaped from one building to the next. He soon got to where the female Elf was, and upon closer inspection...he saw a thing of beauty. Her body seemed to radiate beauty to his dark and corrupted eyes, he'd never seen the likeness in all his days. Nosdyn stared at Gwen for a long moment and ALMOST forgot himself. He suddenly remembered his mission. He was there to KILL that beautiful thing before him. Momentary distraction aside, Nosdyn looked at the woman with cold and angry eyes. She represented beauty and purity, the things that Nosdyn hated. He was going to mar that pretty face and leave his mark on her forever. Devious thoughts burned through his angry mind as he stalked towards her. He was the lion chasing his meal, his gold coloured eyes narrowing. He would have to remember to THANK the old Orc monk for giving him the chance to corrupt something so beautiful. Nosdyn held his humming weapon, his sinister weapon in his hand and pointed it towards the woman.

"Suitable weapon you will wield." Nosdyn suddenly spoke to her in that horrible, intimidating and raspy voice. "No more Qua'losh tactics." The Demon warrior spoke fluently in the demon tongue. He was certain she would at least understand that he meant no more SNIPING tactics. Nosdyn took his free, injured arm and lowered his massive hood. He revealed his blue skinned person, spikes and horns visible across his head. His exotic black markings were visible even on his face. "Look upon Death." Nosdyn said calmly. But his gold eyes told all, they were filled with a mad fury. An unstable sort of fury that was capable of who knows what. Black blood poured down the gauntlet that was struck by Gwen's arrow. Nosdyn wanted to do more than KILL Gwen, he wanted her completely afraid of him. Nosdyn would not attack her until she drew a suitable close-range weapon. Even a dagger would do. The humming sound that his purple bladed energy weapon gave off seemed to touch the very air itself. His eyes were locked on Gwen as he watched her and waited for her to comply. He expected to her to. But had no idea how she would actually react to his command. Nosdyn mentally prepared himself for any contingency that might occur, even her attempting to continue to use Qua'losh tactics in close range. He waited, with the tip of his blade pointed right towards Gwen. He did not act however, he simply waited, menacing and horrifying.

[Green Gwendolyn]

Gwen had noted immediately when he spotted her, and now it would be useless to shoot from even here, since he was racing to her. When he came up to her, even more dread filled her for a moment. She bit her lips as the shadowy figure spoke in quite the creepy voice. Gwen stood up from her perch as he spoke... then pulled down his hood. This man was rather awkward looking, blue skin and various horns. He then asked to stop these quotro-quetie... whatever word he said... tactics. The young elf could tell he probably meant top stop using these sneak attacks. Gwen scoffed and put her oak longbow away as he told her to look at "death". She scoffed and rolled her eyes. To be honest to herself, the girl was scared; but she would not show it. She had been weak, afraid before. This man looked at her with eyes similar to a certain group she was once in touch with... the exact same eyes. He despised her, rejected her, looked down on her... Gwen would not allow it.

First, the blonde did what she did best... being a blonde. The girl smirked and shrugged, "Sorry? Well, you should be glad the arrow didn't kill you, I mean... One huge crater in your arm shouldn't be that bad." She blinked, thinking that she was being quite clever, "But I suppose some people tend to have worse tempers than others, like myself at times..."

Gwen's smile faded, she blinked innocently. Her messy, blond hair flowing with a sudden gust of wind. The dust of the earth flew up around the two fighters' feet, getting their boots all dirty. Then Gwen smirked again.

Instead of pulling her iron shortbow out and just wasting arrows, she decided to use another form of missile combat. She pulled out a leather sling shot from one of the pouches in her belt, she then bent down quickly, not taking her eyes off her opponent, and scooped up a small rock with her free hand. Then she stood of and tossed the stone in the sling. She raised the sling and began to twirl it in circles, giving it the force it needed for the simple, jagged stone to be an effective projectile. Her smile had faded, replaced with the seriousness of battle. There was something, just something about this man... She didn't want to be anywhere near him! Thankfully, ranged attacks were Gwen's preferred style of fighting. The stone, unless it hit his head or something. probably wouldn't do much harm. However, the stones would be a good warning to this creepy looking man: stay away, or I'll kill you.

She flung the stone at him. Whether it hit or not, it was up to him.

[Arch_Nemsis]

"Lies!" Nosdyn suddenly yelled.

The moment that the small stone pegged Nosdyn's shoulder, the Demon Warrior flinched for the briefest of moment. He was so angry that it the developing bruise had not registered as pain. The rock harmlessly fell off to the side with a clatter, and Nosdyn kept his eyes locked on the girl before him. "You speak of words you don't understand." Nosdyn began. "Do not speak of Death as if you KNOW, child." Nosdyn was inching closer towards Gwen, stalking her. "My people live for war, battle is in our very blood." Nosdyn said. "And I will not have a RAT like you disgrace the my people's ways!" And Nosdyn lunged. He swung his mighty weapon at Gwendolyn Rose, not in an attempt to kill, but in an attempt to possibly sever one of her forearms. Nosdyn aimed for the girl's right arm, and he was swinging the weapon in such a way that it could potentially sever her arm in two clean pieces. That's IF it connected. Nosdyn knew that the blue bloods were fast, the possibility existed that she could completely evade his attack all together.

His energy weapon was massive, and the blade handle was thick. It was a dark purple blade that swung created a mysterious rippling effect as it was swung towards her. Nosdyn put his whole body into the attack, and he was a massive creature after all. Nosdyn intended to take her apart bit by bit, BEFORE going for the finishing blow. I am going to take my time finishing her. She is using Qua'losh tactics, she is no warrior... Nosdyn had a look of complete disdain and wrath on his face. Aside from Nosdyn's skill level as a warrior, there was probably very few saving graces that the creature actually had. The blade's humming sound seemed to pierce and cut the very air itself. Nosdyn swung with all the fury he could muster, if he DID actually sever her arm, he would enable the next part of his plan. He never once took his eyes off of Gwen Rose. The beautiful creature was going to be marred forever by his hands, and Nosdyn did not intend to hold back. Ever. No matter who was the opponent...

[Green Gwendolyn]

He slowly walked up to her, lecturing her, about his 'people'. Gwen's head was tilted at the side, her eyes narrowed. She was nervous, but still up to her personality. Dude, she thought, You are weird arc creepy...

Then suddenly, she was struck with it.

Fear. Paralyzing fear. She could not understand where this sudden angst and terror was coming from... What she did know what that the closer he came, the worse it got. Her enemy was doing this. He was way too close.

And like that he seemed to have jumped to pounce like a cheetah in the night. Gwen's brown eyes widened. She reacted in a natural instinct, an instinct she had come to before. That instinct was to run. Gwen was clumsy enough to trip and fall while doing so, but she had been able to evade the attack he made from the mysterious weapon he had conjured earlier. Eyes still wide in consuming dread, the girl then pulled herself up and ran away until the fear ceased.

She was now staring him down from half way across the roof of the ruble cluttered building. The sun was beating her back like a whip. Beads of sweat trickled from her forehead. She was in a really bad situation, The man was looking at, he was a monster. She couldn't help but ask why! Why did her very first opponent have to be someone like him??

She was still gasping for air. She was panicking. Why? This was the first time she had ever felt that kind of fear in a while. And that last time had been one of the worst experiences she had ever had. She remembered the rangers back in Concordia. They looked down on her, shunned her, spit on her, terrorized her... And then there was her father. He had been the worse of them all; he had lied to her. Just when she needed him most, he found it was the perfect time to say that he didn't even care about the 'burden' she was. Gwen's eyes, in the battlefield, welled up with tears. She was clenching the sling twice as tightly now.

Not again! Gwendolyn screamed to herself, I won't live through...

Suddenly, the girl raised her voice, "I will not live through that again!" She tossed the slingshot aside. It fell silently to the ground like a feather. Eyes that a moment ago were filled with fright were now replaced with a look of hatred. Deep hatred. She clenched her wrists then pulled out her shortbow again. She plucked another arrow behind the string and pulled it back, aiming right towards the man's head.

"Boy," She spoke to him, "I don't know who you are or where you came from... But I will not be taking any more crap from you!" She closed one of her eyes, aiming with the other, Her stance proving years of experience with the bow and arrow. Her back was straight, her arms grasped the bow and arrow perfectly. The wind was giving her sudden release from the heat. Despite the fact that she preferred the cold more than the heat, Gwen did not stop to bask in it. She applied a certain technique.

Spiraling Arrow... She thought, Strike true when you fly across the golden skies. When she released the arrow, it would spiral towards him and hopefully drill into his head. Whether or not this attack would work or not, she knew that she was suddenly ready to kick his butt! He made her remember memories she did not want to remember. He would pay.

She loosened her grip and the arrow was let loose.

[Arch_Nemsis]

"ENOUGH!" Nosdyn was feeling his anger level rising and rising. It was becoming difficult to control his rational thought, what little of it he had. She spoke to him, as if pleading her case of why she shouldn't die that day. Surface dwellers...they are all the same. Nothing but rats to be stomped out under foot... "What!!??" In his moment of distraction, she'd done the unexpected. She'd conjured the will of her people, those blue bloods, and the arrow had launched with an ethereal energy. Of course, it had struck Nosdyn true. The arrow had a long shaft and it pierced his shoulder, striking right through the leather armor. The arrowhead dug deep into his body, pushing almost completely through. The pain burned through his chest, making it feel like his arm was simply going to explode out of it's socket. Nosdyn knew pain, he was no stranger to it. He knew how to control the shock factor there in, and turn it into something frightening, and destructive. The arrow pierced through his shoulder, and black blood poured from the injury.

Nosdyn's massive body moved backwards ever so subtly. Then he turned back towards her, righting his body very slowly. Not bothering to remove the arrow which was the source of his pain, he opted to keep it inside of his body. His eyes were closed, and then he opened them so she could see the insanity that touched them. In that pure instant, Nosdyn had let go of everything that held him intact and felt nothing but pure rage flow through his body. He suddenly cried out like a howling, predatory beast. Adjusting his own physical prowess under the effects of his people's battle rage. As he howled, he lunged. He ran at a full speed towards her, insane and completely out of it. The battle rage had taken over, and his face was literally distorted from the madness. He became less human, and more some monster from children's fairy tales. Haunting, terrifying, even as he howled in the rage that filled his black soul. He prepared his mighty weapon, moving it backwards ever so subtly with his healthy arm. His unhealthy arm was now completely useless and hung limp at his side.

Nosdyn ran towards the target with the rage filling his heart. It pumped the fires of hell through his very soul. Nosdyn's eyes were opened wide with a mixture of the pain he felt, and the supernatural rage that now filled every fiber of his being. In the old stories, in the old wive's tales, the texts spoke of horrible monsters in the world. Nothing in the old stories could prepare ANYBODY for the real thing. It was pissed, more than pissed, and it was coming in for the kill. Nothing and NOBODY, not even the Thaynes themselves would prevent Gwen Rose's demise. As he ran, the world seemed to slow down and he saw red everywhere, hot red, the sort that was a mark of the blood. He screamed the entire time that he lunged at the hopeless, ill prepared girl. Nosdyn WAS fear. Nosdyn WAS terror. He soon caught up to the girl and thrust his weapon mightily towards her bosom. Right towards her Elven heart. He was going to break her, he was going to destroy everything that she stood for.

And as he swung, he felt the rage of his people.

In one single moment, he would decide her fate.

Death.

[Green Gwendolyn]

I meant to aim for the head, not the shoulder! Holy cr-

"HOLY CRAP!!!"

Gwen's eyes widened as the man suddenly became much more... evil... Gwen scoffed in annoyance as he lunged towards her. He provoked fear once again. He was terrifying, the foam from his mouth, the eerie, haunting screeches he let out. Another gust of wind flew across the barren ruins of the homeland of the elder elves. Clouds arose above them, blocking out the sunlight. And just as he lunged towards her.

While, yes, it is the common instinct to run for just about any living creature alive (and Gwen had it too) As Gwen just stood there, gulping every single frightening image of him down her throat, she acted in another way. Once terrorized enough, the fear for running would be replaced with a fear strong enough to cause one to strike back and fight... so once the source of the fear was killed, it could never come back.

Gwen dropped her bow on the spot, and as her blond, long, messy hair became even more tangled within the dreary whether's affects she drew two, hidden blades from under her sleeves.

In an "x" shaped position, Gwen pulled the blades into a reversed grip and allowed her oppressor's mysterious weapon to fall in between them, blocking his attack. Gwen's eyes were wide open, and tears were even developing in her eyes. Was this even worse than her father and the rangers? Was this even worse than those scum??

... If it weren't for her father's betrayal, it could have been.

Gwen was quite strong. Her arms had been built up due to years of crafting and her practices in archery. Gwen was a huntress, she would strike from the shadows then rise for the final blow. She would set traps and delude the enemy in her games. She would mark every target true with her mighty bow and arrow. To be fighting out in the open, especially in these conditions, even this heck of blonde knew it couldn't last too lost.

Gwen was barely able to muster up the strength to block. Her entire body was shaking in the agony of the memories racing through her head, and the terrorizing foe whom reminded her of them.

Gwen pulled the blades away from the man's unique, purple, 'sword', gasping for air between the sobs she was holding. This was all too much. She could remember them... mocking and rejecting her. She remembered their taunts, accusations, and blackmails. It was frightening and enraging her at the same. Gwen knew she should fall back and collect herself, but then more memories struck her.

Even in the outskirts of the rangers' camp, she had never been safe. She would be hiding in the trees and they would pop up out of nowhere to ridicule her. They would take every single kill she made off the wild animals for their own food. They were thieves, murderers, and close to pure evil. Their glares would not flash away from the girl's mind. She felt so alone now, the one person who was still there for her entered the elf's mind in the midst of it.

Gwen growled and called out, "Dang it, Ash! Why did you pull me into this crappy duel?!" Gwen was referring to her cousin and best friend Ashla Icebreaker. How would she be handling this fight? Would she be trembling? Gwen had no idea. One moment her cousin seemed strong and victorious... and other she was this shell. Gwen shared the exact same role, the constant switching of emotions. She only hoped that somehow her mood right now, trapped within the isolated ruins to die of either blade or thirst, could just vanish and be replaced with the ease and excitment she had under a minute ago.

But it did not come.

Gwen looked at her opponent and growled. Her hair in her face, tears racing down her cheeks, eyes red as apples. Gwen clenched her knives and observed her opponent. In this moment, she saw a thief, murderer, and demon. Yes, not close to a demon... He was a demon! Her voice was hoarse as she spoke again, trying not to let any more signs of her defeat sign through, "I'm through with your stupid crap, demon!" She half screamed half whispered, "You and your crap... Your games... Crap..."

She stood there, already exhausted. Her two, assassin knives held in their reversed grips, held in a desperate defense. This could not end like this! It had to end differently... Not like the last time she experienced paranoia and pain like this...

[Arch_Nemsis]

(Conclusion Post)

Somehow...he'd MISSED. In his pure insanity he faced the sudden realization that she was faster than he was. He held his sword in it's previous position and only then felt the calming effects of the berserker rage wearing off. He would have to wait a short while before he could activate it again but the sudden realization hit his mind like a ton of bricks. He'd MISSED... His logical oriented mind had barely registered the fact that she was now attempting to grow a thick pair of hair balls and TAUNT him. Instead, he took two steps back and stared at her as she held her daggers. "Qua'losh tactics..." The Demon said out loud to her. He suddenly did something very unexpected, he started to LAUGH.

And though he was getting a momentary weakness from coming down off his battle-high, she did not know that was the case. There was a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Nosdyn pointed the tip of his blade down towards the ground for the briefest of moment. He saw in her eyes, she'd reached a point where his fear had pushed her over the edge. But again, the single frustrating thought coursed through his mind once more. There he stood, a mighty DEMON, and he'd missed every single attack attempt that he'd done on her. The act of failure was something that Nosdyn was not used to. It affected HIS own mental state in an even more severe fashion than what Gwen was going through.

Nosdyn laughed for a few more minutes. Then he felt the negative effects of coming off his battle high wear off. He could think, he could focus. He'd bought himself a few more minutes. He hoped that was all that he would need to finish his foe. She spoke to him, but Nosdyn opted to ignore her words. He needed to stay angry, he needed to stay cold and aggressive. So he focused on something that could put his mind back to the task at hand. He focused on the PAIN he felt in his shoulder and arm. She'd somehow managed to bloody him up not once, but SEVERAL times. She was making him look like a complete scrub, not the proud Demon Warrior he was.

Nosdyn lifted his injured hand and looked down upon it. He'd lost a lot of blood and knew he needed treatment. The arrow that Gwen had fired, that second one, still pierced his shoulder and that too, hurt like hell. Though Nosdyn wanted his kill, he suddenly realized the most important detail of all. He'd missed. Every single attack had ended failure. He looked at his own bleeding hand for a brief moment and then looked at Gwen. Is this worth it?! Then, the sudden thought came to his mind that he could simply let her walk away. He would simply continue to miss, and that was something that did not sit well with him. Nosdyn then turned his weapon off, the mighty blade vanishing off into that obsidian and highly decorated handle. He looked at Gwen right in the eyes.

"Coward." He said coldly, and walked off into the night. The battle over before it could truly start. He had learned a valuable lesson that night, he would see to his own injuries on his own. He didn't need the stupid monk's help. As he walked away, the sub-reality of the forest vanished away getting replaced with a cold and empty Citadel chamber. The injured Nosdyn skulked angrily away from the Citadel chamber as the monks descended down upon him to tend to his injuries. The first one was punched away HARD. And knocked on his ass. "Stay away from me. Tend to the coward, I am done here."

"What happened?" One of the monks asked of Nosdyn.

"I missed." Nosdyn said coldly and left The Citadel.

~Fin