Heart of Stone, Cold as Ice

[Ciato Orlouge]

Ciato Orlouge leaned against the base of the mountain, his fingers busy with the feather between his digits. He looked at the object with pursed lips, unsure as to when or where he would have a use for the magical item. The Mystic gained the strange artifact after a losing fight with a cockatrice, a brawl that would have ended the alabaster bastards life had it not been for the chick he constantly kept on his person.

He chose this setting in order to reflect on his humanity (or lack thereof, the combination of rock and ice that made up the large mountain was a perfect picture of what the dramatic swordsman wished to encapsulate. His opponent would be Ashla Icebreaker, one of the heirs to what was once the throne of Eiskalt. The girl was on a one-woman vendetta against the members of the Crimson Hand, the group that Ciato pledged his unwavering loyalty to.

He needed to take care of this loose end before it became a noose to hang them all.

He smelled the fresh mountain air, his nostrils flared up at the scent of spring rain that was no longer there. There were droplets from the showers still on the blades of grass and trees that surrounded the Mystic. He could hear the birds in the air sing their melodies and even the chirps of their young as they clamored for food. If he had time to find the nest, Ciato would have ensured the avian pests would not survive the day.

“Need to focus,” Ciato shook his head and stood up and reached for his blade. He unsheathed his sword, a blade made of pure stone that glistened from some of the moisture collected from the ground. Ciato smirked as he awaited his foe. Ashla Icebreaker would be the perfect training for the Mystic to once again fight Zack Blaze, the arrogant youth that once bested the marble skinned demon over a blueberry muffin of all things. Both Ashla and Zack swore to destroy the Crimson Hand, albeit for different reasons, and the defeat of the girl would prove the skilled warriors loyalty to the Order.

He spun his sword around a few times, still trying to get used to the hefty weight of the enchanted blade. “My patience wears thin, Icebreaker…”

[Ashla]

Not as cold as Eiskalt, but holy freaking cold!

Ashla Icebreaker pulled her black cloak over her thin body. Her hood was over her head, her eyes and nose hidden. All that could be seen of her face was her mouth. Ashla, the heir of the Icebreaker lineage, as well as a forsaken branch; cut off from the family vine. A member of the Order of the Crimson Hands, aka her arch enemies, has challenged her to a duel. The Crimson Hands was a group of barbarous thieves and murderers that attacked her home country without any good reason at all. Now that her beautiful Eiskalt was in ruins, the cold duchess had sworn her sweet revenue. Today, she was going to achieve part of that goal. She was going to slay a member of that accursed group.

His name was Ciato. Ciato Orlouge. Ashla was close friends with the Kyla Orlouge, so hearing that a possible relative of her's was a part of the very group both girls opposed caused Ashla to throw her cousin Gwendolyn's new glass vase across a room. Now, Ashla was making a steady pace up a crisp mount to the location where the two were to meet up. The thought of killing a Crimson Hand member, it felt so delicious. One life taken for the thousands they took... a crooked smile formed on the Icebreaker's mouth.

Eventually, Ashla got to the location with plenty stamina to spare. Indeed, Ashla saw a man standing across the small clearing between them. He had white hair, yet he looked quite young. Ashla smirked though, young or old this man was going down.

Ashla pulled her hands, covered with cloth gloves and a pair of leather gauntlets, up and removed the hood from her head. Beautiful, black hair swirled in a small but chilly wind. Marvelous blue eyes sparkled with emotionless observation. The Eiskaltian princess was a sight to behold.

However, she was already taken - as the tiny bump on her stomach stated. The only thing that had caused Icebreaker to hesitate towards accepting this challenge was her unborn child, two months developed. The sad thing was though, a selfish desire for vengeance ruled all.

And now Ashla stood here, facing an opponent she had no idea about.

"Hello," Ashla greeted the man, "Ciato Orlouge was it?"

Despite the fact that it was early spring time around here, barely visible snow was slowly falling down. Breath was visible from both people's lips, the birds singing joyfully above serving little distraction from the conflict at hand.

[Ciato Orlouge]

He turned when he heard his voice, his eyes focused on the girl in front of him. She stood slightly shorter than the nobleman with much less weight on her. He raised an eyebrow at the small bulge in her stomach, curious as to whether the ice warrior was pregnant or simply ate too much before this match. Either way, Ciato instantly imagined performing emergency surgery on the Icebreaker’s tummy and pulling out the answer for himself.

“I am,” he said with a nod, “I am glad to see that you are no stranger to challenge, Lady Icebreaker. My niece has told me about your friendship with her and while I cannot promise you will walk out of the citadel in one piece today, you have my word that win or lose, my qualms with you will be buried here.” Ciato gave a slight bow to show his respect to the position more than to his opponent.

“Now, shall we begin?” the pale warrior did not even await his foe’s answer before he raised his sword up and swung it several times through the air. To the untrained eye, Ciato’s motions would be seen as a sign of his arrogance and confidence in victory but in truth it was a precautionary measure. When the sun hit the air at just the right angle, one would be able to see the fine web-like lines that were created from the swipes. Anyone foolish enough to get tangled in the alabaster bastard’s web would find themselves temporarily stuck like a bug on fly paper.

He raised his arms and smiled at the girl as if to taunt her to approach him. The Mystic wished to see just what Ashla could do before he showed her all the cards in his hands.

[Ashla]

Ashla scoffed when the Orlouge twirled his blade around. The Icebreaker crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as he motioned her to come. The girl smirked; before engaging an opponent up close, she would tend to throw a missile projectile at them first. She extended one of her hands and allowed her bloodline to rush through her. This feeling, this feeling of power always exhilarated her. Ashla pulled herself into a position worth throwing what was now a fully developed spear of ice. The Crystalline Spear currently was the strength of damascus, a strong substance for ice. The half elf took a moment to aim at her equally confident opponent. Ashla narrowed her eyes, then threw the spear at him.

After letting the spear fly, Ashla blinked. She was continuously trying to make sure that whatever she did, her child was safe. The Icebreaker sighed, even now knowing she was taking risks doing this. However, the Order of the Crimson Hand had to fall! Ashla hated the idea of raising a son or daughter in a world of bitterness and war, flags of blood hung high for all to see. She knew she was deceiving herself, but she kept telling herself she was doing this for the baby.

The wind howled, Ashla's blue eyes remained locked on her enemy's every move.

[Ciato Orlouge]

Ashla’s spear caused Ciato to take a step back. He did not expect the Icebreaker heir to be able to craft such magic in such a quick fashion. When the girl lobbed the weapon towards the Mystic, he brought his sword up again and swiped at it as though the stone blade were to made ice cubes out of the projectile. Instead, the pole arm found itself lodged in midair much like a fly would be trapped in a spider’s web. The alabaster bastard’s blade met only with the air.

“Well played, Ashla,” Ciato spoke between clenched teeth. He did not expect the sub-zero successor to come up with such a crafty solution to his obvious trap. It was a foolish mistake on the behalf of the Mystic, and one he would make sure not to do again. Now that he was perfectly aware whom he was up against, the pale warrior began to stare at the well covered stomach of his opponent.

“I think it’s time to get serious,” Ciato announced as he continued to look at the woman’s tummy as he spoke, “I hope you have no objections to ensuring that we don’t have any unforeseen circumstances come up.”

He smirked and pointed his blade towards the girl’s stomach. If Ashla looked down, she would hopefully find the stomach area of her clothes turned to solid stone. It was yet another bluff by the clever nobleman, for only Ashla’s clothes were turned to stone. With any luck, the girl would go into a panic at the sight and think her baby was in danger.

Ciato jumped towards the girl before he could gauge her reaction, he attempted to bring his sword straight across the neck of the woman in an attempt to finish the battle quickly. Flakes of snow that formed on the ground kicked up into the air before they gently glided back down to the floor. The sooner he proved that the Icebreaker family was no threat to him and the Crimson Hand, the sooner he could focus on ending most of his own kin.

[Ashla]

Ashla felt something cold against her skin. The young mother looked down to see her stomach area turned to stone.

What?! Ashla thought, starting to panic, eyes widening. If this man was really cruel enough to aim for her unborn child first... but wait. That was easily the feeling of stone against her skin. It was cold, but was not effecting anything aside temperature. Still with butterflies flying rapidly, but heartbeat starting to go steady, the Icebreaker looked up to see her opponent close to right in front of her with his sword swinging!

Ashla had no time to dodge, even with her own speed. She had to rely on her family's skills again. The stone-like sword of her opponent only hit thick ice. Ashla's Frost Armor. Ashla then turned it off and took several feet back, still going. All she could mumble was "Monster..."

Now a good several feet away from him, Ashla squirmed in the discomfort the stone on her stomach caused and pulled out her oak buckler. With that in one hand, damascus sword in the other, she decided to attempt the offensive. Keeping her buckler hovered over her stomach as she engaged, the Icebreaker came up to Ciato slowly... only to suddenly start a flurry of swift swings with the sword. Each swing was meant to outmaneuver him, any chances taken an actual hit attempted. Her buckler came into roll blocking any attacks her opponent managed to throw through the flurry. It was mainly focused on protecting the stomach, but she would lift and lower it to protect all her body, always returning to its perch over the small child afterwards.

The duchess was hoping to land at least a small wound through this. Still trying to protect what family she still had though, only about seventy or eighty percent of her was thrown into the clever swings (her usual being one-hundred.) If these attacks did anything though, it would prove her a strategic and controlled swordswoman, with plentiful skill and even experience for her age.

[Ciato Orlouge]

When Ciato’s sword ricocheted off what seemed to be a sudden wall of ice, he too took several steps back to gain some distance. Ashla armed herself and charged now, a flurry of sword strikes aimed to wound the Mystic. He raised Asterodeia and met each strike with those of his own. Sparks formed from metal on stone flew through the air as Ciato attempted to mount some sort of counter offensive against the girl. Each attack attempt was met with a sudden block from her wooden shield, each strike a new mark upon the oak protection.

The alabaster bastard growled and bit his lower lip as he began to lose ground to the girl. Soon he would be up against the mountain with nowhere to run, and then the Icebreaker would have the advantage. He knew he had to think of something and continue to keep his cards close to his body. He sighed and dropped his blade for a second as he attempted to skewer the Ashla, fully aware the buckler would defend her once again.

Ashla’s sword cut into his cheek, a fine line of azure blood a new curtain upon the tapestry that was his face. He showed no emotion from the cut, and instead attempted a kick to the girl’s ankle in unison with his own thrust attack. Both Ashla’s minor victory and Ciato’s own sword strike were meant to provide a distraction from his true goal. If he could shatter the girl’s ankle, she would be left prone and unable to run from his abilities.

“Not bad, Lady Icebreaker,” Ciato growled, “but you need to do better in order to best me!”

[Ashla]

The combined attack proved affective. In attempts to hit her ankle, and Ashla moving at that same time, the Icebreaker found herself sliding in the slush beneath their feet. However, a thrust aimed directly towards her was blocked by her shield, yet her already staggering legs failed to keep her steady. The Icebreaker was pushed off balance, for a moment all her energy was spent on keeping her footing. While she'd managed to stay upright, the pregnant Eiskaltian's efforts to overpower and corner the mystic were all wasted. She still kept her shield in front of her, sword skillfully pulled aside, as he spoke to her. The girl bit her lip, she couldn't keep her guard off her stomach for a moment, no matter how much she wanted to forget her patience.

She could only satisfy herself by glancing at the one, small cut she landed on his cheek, still bleeding. This man's face was so cold though, like he didn't even feel it. The Icebreaker growled and shifted to move towards attack. She paused though when she realized her ankle did feel swollen. Dislocated, not broken, Ashla realized, But I'll be fine.

She had to shove the question of how long though out before it even entered. The chilly mountains around them was starting to receive light snowfall. More worried than before, Ashla instinctively entered a defensive posture, waiting on her opponent's next move.

[Ciato Orlouge]

The girl seemed dedicated to protecting her child. Ciato could understand; Asterodeia spent her last days defending the Litter (as his kids were collectively known) until she could bear no more. He twirled his rapier once more and used his free hand to rub the scratch across his cheek. Ashla moved herself onto the defense once more and seemed to await the next move of the alabaster bastard. He raised an eyebrow at the gesture. Ashla Icebreaker was more than content to be on the offensive just seconds before, and now she wished to back away once again?

He looked downwards at the girl's legs and found her left foot was much deeper dug into the snow below them than her right. She was nursing an injury and hoped the middle Orlouge child would not catch on. A smile formed across the mouth of the nobleman as he sheathed his weapon and cracked his knuckles. He would not need to sully Asteroderia with the blood of a would-be princess today.

"I offer you the chance to surrender here and now Icebreaker," Ciato said as he examined his nails, "If you do, I promise that no harm shall come to you or your child. You have my honor as the rightful heir of the Orlouge Clan." His eyes shifted upwards and looked at the icy blue eyes of the Eiskalt heir. "If you refuse my kindness, however, I will be left with no choice but to ensure that your family line ends with you."

He pointed at the guarded stomach, a smile upon his face revealed his intentions, "Ashla Icebreaker, I would not want to orphan your child just before I kill it."