[The Osiris Open] Round 2: Philomel vs Shinsou Vaan Osiris

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Round two begins at 12am EST on Saturday 25th June!

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Sanctuary

It was known as the Sanctuary of the Sky. Built thousands of years ago, before the age of man, the floating grounds served as the ancestral home of the messengers of the god Isa. It was by far one of the most curious and beautiful of the destinations I visited.

When I stepped through the dimensional rift, my feet pressed down on a solid surface. The heel of my shoes pressed into a layer of lichen that coated a levitating limestone walkway, thousands of feet above the surface of Althanas. The walkway itself was almost twenty metres wide and a mile in length, by my estimation, and seemed as old as time itself. Ancient runes were carved into the stone in impossible to reach locations. A cool breeze rippled across the surface of a now still fountain of water that lay in the centre of the walkway on a crystal, circular intersection. Either side of the walkway were grass verges which contained plants, trees and various flora and fauna that seemed bizarrely out of place. It was like a garden in the sky.

I couldn’t help but gaze in bewilderment at the beauty of the architecture as I stepped forth from the easternmost part of the walkway and cast my eyes around. There were buildings floating around the platform on which I stood, each of them now merely crumbling ruins and whose own platforms were within jumping distance. Each one of the seven buildings I counted had two to three floors of shattered arcades. All of these buildings were smothered in the same green moss I had stood in.

Above these awe-inspiring structures were seven rotating discs of gold, silver and crystal; clearly some sort of divine halo for each structure. It dawned on me that these buildings must have been temples once. They lay aghast a background of pure blue, streaked with white wisps of cloud.

This place has been untouched by human hands. I hope, save for my experience, that no-one ever disturbs the peace of this place.

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Good work, Shinsou. You’ve proven you can adapt to even the most challenging and unusual of circumstances. Ruby Winchester was indeed a ferocious and unpredictable curveball to throw at you, and you dealt with her superbly. Now, we have something a bit more tailored to your tastes; something ferocious, something untamed and wild.

Enjoy this fight. We’ll be watching both of you closely.

The Brotherhood’s words provoked thoughts of excitement that flitted around Shinsou’s head like a hundred moths trapped in a lampshade. Ever seeking self-improvement, the Telgradian was always looking for the next challenge and found himself attracted to power in the same way flies were attracted to light; once he had the tempting glow in his sights, he absolutely had to investigate and challenge it. The council of the Brotherhood had been encouraged to find the greatest warriors they could to help their asset grow and mature, allowing Shinsou to reach his full potential. Having proved his loyalty to them time and time again, the Brotherhood had no reason to suspect that they were in any danger from allowing Shinsou’s power to outgrow the movement.

In the end, that will be their downfall. But that’s for another time.

The Telgradian’s eyes gazed upon the rippling surface of the portal opening in front of him. The Citadel’s monks had pre-prepared an arena for him again, this time based on one of the journals of the traveller Lufenia about a mythical place called the Sanctuary of the Sky. The swirling blue mass in front of him hummed and whirled as the plasmatic substance it was comprised of from bent and curved to fit Shinsou’s slender form. Strange tentacles of white and marine blue converged on his body and snatched him into the gravity well, pulling him through sheets of reality before finally depositing him into the artificial, magically created arena.

Everything spun into focus slowly.

Unlike the last time, there wasn’t a two foot gap to negotiate between the lip of the gateway and the floor. The Telgradian realised the portal had placed him perfectly on his two feet and recognised the feeling underfoot to be appear to be that of some sort of wet moss covering a hard stone floor. As Shinsou placed one foot forward, the heel of his boot slicked over the lichen and nearly made him unceremoniously lose his balance. Righting himself, he pushed a hand through hair that was now long, brown and made slightly greasy from days of working missions for the Brotherhood. Shinsou’s white greatcoat hung open from the near fall, revealing underneath a new white shirt tied with a red sash at the waist.

He allowed himself a moment to compose himself. In this time, Shinsou’s soft, golden eyes wandered about the skyline to survey the arena sprawled out ahead of him. The first thing he noticed was that the Telgradian was surrounded by curling wisps of cloud that accented an ocean blue sky.

Whoa. How far up are we?

Shinsou began to pace carefully forward, minding the slippery surfaces. The sodden crust of a mossy limestone path carved a puddle-ridden garden in two and stretched out in a thick, long line ahead of him. The Telgradian noted that the stone slabs that made up the floor were covered with ancient runes that themselves were smeared with grime and watermarks, so much so that Shinsou couldn’t make out any distinguishing patterns as he walked. Fresh leaves billowed in the breeze about the walkway, fallen from healthy viridian trees that formed a corridor at the sides of this levitating sanctuary. As his footsteps squelched over more sodden moss, the refreshing scents of fresh summer air and cool rainwater revitalised the Telgradian's senses.

It’s peaceful here. Shame it’s an illusion, really. I could escape to a place like this once in a while after a long day…Heh. Yeah, right. Like I’d ever have the time.

Just ahead, an ancient, dilapidated fountain stood in the centre of a huge, glass surfaced circle that served as some sort of intersection between the two opposing pieces of the huge walkway. The algae stained and ivy shrouded statue of the goddess that formed its structure stood at least twice the height of Shinsou and there was a wall that encircled the inner pool. The Telgradian noticed that the wall seemed to be topped with some sort of natural crystal material that jutted out and formed two tracks that ran down the sides of the fountain and ran spuriously off in opposite directions down the walkway, embedded into the rock floor itself at surface level.

It was then, as his eyes followed the tracks, that Shinsou paid more attention to the floating temples.

There seemed to be seven of them, all floating in a stationary orbit above and around the fountain area. The two story buildings seemed to be made from the same sort of ancient grimy limestone that the rest of the sanctuary was, and finely carved statues of angels adorned the edges of these temples and their massive, broken wooden front doors. Their more prominent features seemed to be their metallic halos, each uniquely coloured and breathtaking in their beauty and refinement. Unlike the rest of the arena, these seven spinning rings didn’t seem to be worn through age.

Impressive. It seems almost a shame to be testing my powers here, to be honest. I quite like this place.

As if the thought had reminded Shinsou of the purpose of his visit, his wandering mind snapped back to the matter at hand. Other than the whistling of a cool breeze and the rows of trees flickering and rustling their branches in the wind, the walkway was as silent as a crypt. The Telgradian had sensed no presence from the minute that the portal had torn its grasp away from him and deposited him on the platform on which he now stood waiting. Intriguingly, though he was quite clearly alone, Shinsou had started to feel something tickling the pit of his stomach. Powerful threats, or those with a large magical potential, often registered as a throbbing pulse within his body with the intensity and timing of the pulses increasing with the opponent’s power. But this was an odd feeling indeed, something new to him.

As the Telgradian waited, the feeling thickened from a tickle to a sweeping motion within his gut.

Someone’s coming. Someone powerful…

[Philomel]

In that single moment Philomel regretted that she could not fly. As her slate grey eyes focused upwards to the azure blue skies a stab of bitterness shoved its way into her heart. Brutally and honestly, the qualm manipulated her so that her mouth twisted irregularly into a snarl of dismay and irritation, and she cursed darkly in faunish.

"If only..."

Stone and brick lay before her, moulded into a long road that stretched into the horizon beyond, a flat surface surrounded by an unearthily perfect garden. Age had squeezed this arena in his tight grasp, causing the spread of lichen and unkempt weeds to rise up, but they were all part of the supremacy of this place. Clouds were directly level with the plane, causing the odd illusion that they were just soft snow hills that extended beyond where the garden finished, and beyond them floating, spiralling, miraculous towers sat amongst great pillars, and it were these iconic monuments all dressed in sage-green moss that caused Philomel van der Aart to anguish under the element which she was born.

What is it? came a voice in her head. The soft noiseless paws of her dearest companion and best beloved landed from the ether beside her. She looked around to the right to see the intense golden eyes of the fox-form earth spirit Veridian staring at her.

It is nothing, she said with a line of grief.

Veridian blinked long and low, knowing she could have only been here a maximum of two seconds, and before that time he had seen her - and she had been simply battle-ready, good in temper pleasant in emotion.

Beloved ...?

"I said, 'it is nothing,'" snapped the faun, twisting roughly around.

Anger was clear, rage and dissatisfaction. Flicking his eyes around Veridian asssessed the flying sanctuary and sniffed a while in contestation. Confusion came to him, not realisation, for he could not figure out what was the matter with her. Glancing back over to her he saw her begin to prepare for the battle that was to come; out came her shining white blade that mirrored the hue of the swirling gasses and vapours surrounding them, out came the small pine shield that would be shattered in a few hits but would at least hold for a while. There was no attempt with her here to form herself into the mighty form of the goat-headed chimaera, but rather Philomel seemed to want to face this challenge head on, as herself, dressed in the whorish dragon-scale breastplate and the leather shoulderguard that had been with her since the very beginning of all adventuring.

Veridian watched her, analytical in his style, but followed her in a gentle pace as she remained furious and began down the grey-white pathway towards the horizon, ready to meet whatever foe was chosen for them this time. He knew that likely she knew where they were headed, for he trusted in her sense of the earth and her faith in her element, and there was something in the back of his mind that hoped this foulness would aid them in their quest.

As the last of their company thumped into the arena with a terribly confused yowling roar, it was deemed up to Veridian to turn and gesture with a paw to the mottled wingless dragon - the same colour as the variously heavy Age's flora that covered everything - to descend and do his ... 'thing'. Philomel van der Aart hardly seemed to care. Delath the beast of earth and ancient fire shoved his maw into the stone and began to eat, descending quickly into what little or much ground there was to be found in this floating borough, ready to follow his mistress and fox-friend to war.

Veridian twisted back around and padded after Philomel to head into the fray. She had her focus set, her spirit determined, and patiently he went with, steady into the unknown but with great faith - and ready to burst into bright flame upon the first sight of any enemy.

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

We’re in business, my opponent finally seems to have arrived. Wait, what? Why am I sensing two souls? Three? What the-?

The constant vibration in the pit of Shinsou’s gut split into two and then three differently timed spasms that sent a shiver down his spine. The stomach churning sensation then lurched violently downwards as one of the souls he sensed, the furthest away, seem to move down through the platform they were stood on. It seemed to him some form a breach of normal Citadel protocol to bring a gang to a duel, although it was hard to argue that Shinsou himself had asked the Brotherhood to test him and this may have been the result of that rash request. It appeared that Shinsou’s employers were all about delivering results.

The pulsing in the Telgradian’s stomach grew in tempo and ferocity as a figure approached on the horizon of the walkway. For a brief moment, intense light from the midday sun turned the gyrating dot into a silhouette which made it difficult to make out any of his opponent’s distinguishing features. But, as a passing cloud smothered and choked the sun and allowed the ambient light to settle, Shinsou was finally able to make out the finer details of what he knew to be a faun.

Philomel van der Aart. That would make one of the other two souls I can sense Veridian. But, what about the third? Another familiar?

The faun was well known to him; they had met before, but the Brotherhood also kept detailed files on their recruitment targets and Philomel van der Aart was one of the more interesting characters on their shortlist. She ran a franchise of brothels, had influence with the Gilded Lily, and hated the Ixian knights. Those titbits of information, though, were not what Shinsou Vaan Osiris was concerned about today. The information contained within those files spoke of the faun’s powers and abilities; her ties to Dryss, her connection to the earth, her skills with a blade and her monstrous transformations that struck so much fear into some of the ruling council they had labelled her a potential threat.

To get on the threat list was special indeed. Only three other people had gotten on that piece of paper; Storm Veritas, Madison Freebird and Shinsou Vaan Osiris.

A wry smile crept over Shinsou’s boyish face.

You promised me powerful opponents, and you never fail to deliver. I didn’t realise you’d be picking names directly from the “shit ourselves” list, though. This will make for a very interesting test!

The faun was close enough to recognise him now, and Shinsou locked his golden eyes onto her slate greys, shifting his weight from heel to heel. Philomel magnificently wielded her trademark shimmering white blade that expelled some sort of strange vapour. In her other hand she clasped a small wooden shield that looked as if a single one of Shinsou’s strikes would end it. She was wearing something a little more useful than the corset of when they last met; instead she was dressed in what appeared to be a tough dragon-scale breastplate and some sort of leather pauldron.

Standard issue Philomel, huh? I’m surprised she didn’t come here in her monstrous form knowing that I was here. Unless…she didn’t know she was facing me?

“Philomel van der Aart, in the flesh. I’m honoured that the Brotherhood sent one of their best to test me.” The words he spoke were half-genuine – the Telgradian felt validated by the way the Brotherhood had taken him seriously so far. It was also the case that he maintained a cordial relationship with the faun from their two previous meetings, but that would count for nothing until the battle ended.

“The Brotherhood clearly trust you, and I know what you can do, but until you fight me here and give me everything you’ve got I won’t know you from any other stranger in the street. This is your proving ground,” Shinsou widened his arms as if to encompass and embrace Sanctuary, “so don’t disappoint me.”

The switch flicked. Shinsou was now of a transformed personality as his mind scrambled, thinking solely tactics and battle mechanics instead of appreciation for scenery or opponent. The Telgradian knew Philomel’s range and unpredictability would be spectacular, even with the knowledge he had on her abilities. It would be foolish to engage the faun in any sort of melee combat, mostly due to the tough armour she wore and the warlike chassis of her various forms. Shinsou allowed his eyes to steal a glance at her familiar Veridian who followed her everywhere and realised he too would be a problem, not to mention the unknown third participant who he could feel on a lower level than he. Looking around, the higher ground of the orbiting temples appeared appetizing, but leaping there required time.

He would, for now, unleash the magic that his opponents feared the most. Then, he would take it a step beyond.

Enpera Kurohitsugi!

With a wave of his hand, a thick wall of colourless energy boomed into existence behind Shinsou. It began to shimmer and vibrate intensely and shone in the sun like a reflection of summer on a lake. Then, snapping electrical forks of black and purple began to snatch at the cool Sanctuary air, growing in length and power before converging and interlacing around each other to form a fifteen foot wide circular portal of black and purple energy. Within seconds there were fifteen thin, dangerous spears of dark matter waiting to be unleashed.

With the fifteen spears hanging in the void overhead, Shinsou waved his right arm across his chest.

“Enpera Kurohitsugi: Phalanx form!”

The pulsating forms of the spears that hung ominously in the air now started to shake violently. The protruding implements collapsed in on themselves, their dark matter membranes slowly crumpling like paper into shapes that more resembled the blunt forms of dragon scales, not unlike those that made up the integral part of the faun’s armour. As the process completed, each strange dark matter piece finally solidified into fifty centimetres long by twenty five centimetres wide curved dark matter ingots, and each one of the fifteen levitated around the Telgradian in free circulation, moving to his will. Each of these fifteen scales carried the strength of steel. If and when they locked together, their strength would increase.

The Telgradian wasted no more time, drawing Enpera from its ivory sheath as he began working on a plan to reach the temples. As assessed, he would try and avoid close combat, for now, but it would have been foolish to stay his blade.

[Philomel]

Shock was the first thing that grabbed her.

That feeling, when you realise that the ideals you always held close were indeed the wrong ones. Those emotions that hold you in their tight grasp and squeeze when life was never as it should be. That singular moment when all else fails and you have a breath, a second, a moment to acknowledge that you had no idea who he really was, that actually all of your premonitions were right and despite all that they said you went with him until the very last moment when he turned around and shot you in the face.

My darling...

On a rate of one to overwhelmed, she was flabbergasted.

"You..." she whispered as he formalised the meeting. "You."

You, the man who had appeared to her at the end of a great battle above a sandstone city. You, the man who had been more rumour than physicality, who haunted her thoughts and was never actually there. You, the man who stood a thousand miles beyond other men in terms of beauty, power and intrigue and made her heart beat - boom, boom, doki, doki - every time she thought of him.

"This is your proving ground ... so don't disappoint me ..." his lips spoke, forming words and letting the air fill with their energy.

Slowly, the faun breathed in, not knowing what was real and what was not. Was this just another illusion, another dream, of his curved face coming to the forefront of her mind? Or was he really there, and her actual competitor.

Darling ...

"Shush," she waved a hand back to Veridian. He blinked his great aurelian orbs. At least she was not angry any more. Well. As angry as she had been for that unspecified reason.

He watched in a slight but uncommitted awe as the man, the strange Shinsou, suddenly projected around him fifteen or so constructs of a magical order. Devious and dark of hue, they were provokingly of a non-earthy substance. They were arrows in shape, small in size, and rotated around him menacingly, definitely a threat.

Philomel still stood there, sword in hand. Irreversably, she was not interested in the magics, but just inquisitive into the Telgradian.

Philomel ... he tried again.

With a great sigh, on his third insistance, the Matriarch broke watch over the now retreating man - sign of a coward, in Veridian's opinion - and turned back to her beloved.

"What?" she said impatiently, and suddenly, then, what remained of her temper flared. "What?" Provoked by Veridian's apparently annoying questions.

The fox threw his eyes from her to Shinsou the Irritating (and apparently alluring). Frustrated he curlded a growl and shifted his forepaws.

He's ... don't let him distract you.

"He is not," she shrugged.

Veridian blinked. He pointed his nose in the direction of the apparently fleeing man. He is running.

"He is only frightened of me," she rolled her eyes in her explanation.

He is wanting a fight, and all you are interested in his having him in your bed.

Immediately her cheeks rose pink. "No I do not!"

You always go for the powerful ones. Rare is it you want a man, but it is always the powerful ones.

"You are lying!"

He blinked and deliberately yawned. And there you were making the world think you didn't believe in love.

Mouth hung open then. She gasped. "How - how dare-"

How dare I? When you are the one running from this fight.

The words caught her off guard. He stared, though expressing a boredom. His white-tipped brush tail swished. Nibbling her lip her eyes began to wander like those of a besotted school girl who is severely refusing her feelings.

"You -"

Just fucking fight! He roared, and in that moment he transformed. In an instant the feral fox was gone, and in its place was a fiery beast, red of fur and flame, bright of eye and mad of spirit. Gone was the pint sized terrier, here was the pony-sized warrior. His ears pointed up and a tail like a mace he hissed and began to step forwards, singing the ground as he did.

Or I will for you...

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Shinsou forfeits.

Philomel progresses to the final!

Shinsou receives 260 EXP and forfeits 30 GP to the tournament pot!

Philomel receives 315 EXP and 30 GP!

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

All rewards have been added!