His last citadel fight... for now ((closed))

[Amaril Torrun]

((closed to Banda Utako))

The Citadel.

It had been a long while since Amaril’s last visit to the large complex, resembling an invincible fortress of stone from the outside. Indeed, by what he had heard from other combatants, the place had been the single last standing structure in a long forgotten war, outlasting the vast, opposing army until reinforcements came to drive the attackers back. This however, was merely a legend passed on by travelers with a desire to be a part of something honorable and noble.

Presently, it was just a place for training.

Inside, one would immediately be in awe of the beautiful marble interior, with stunningly artful columns holding the roof of the entrance hall in place. This room’s accessories were predominantly for show, with large vases of unique flowers, walls lined with gold, and paintings of things far from warfare; not quite the layout thought capable of withstanding a powerful onslaught.

This was the area where rival soldiers, mercenaries, and warriors of all sorts glared at each other with eyes gleaming with assumed superiority and, for the most part, inexperience. The half-dragon had quickly learned during is first venture to this place that those hanging out in this part of the structure were rarely up for a real challenge and should be left alone. As his final organized and planned form of training before leaving the continent, Amaril would accept nothing short of a real fight against an opponent with ample skill.

Thus, when the first available monk came into sight, the half-breed rushed up to him before anyone else had the chance to sign up for the next room. The short, stocky man in front of him looked up, bleary-eyed, and Amaril could tell he was under some sort of alcoholic influence. He started to turn, to look for someone more capable of meeting his demands, but the short, bearded man placed a surprisingly firm grip on the much taller being’s shoulder, a somewhat remarkable feat for a person his size.

“Excuse me mister, hic, but getting my attention and then walking away is pretty rude, hic.” Removing his grasp from Amaril’s shoulder, the monk grabbed the “rude” man’s hand before continuing, “Now, let’s get you into a room, hic, there’s too many people waiting for us to be just dilly dallying around all day.”

Amaril tried to release the monk’s hold and escape to someone more reliable, but the effort was fruitless, as the short man’s hand seemed to take the solid form of stone. Resigned, he followed pursuit and was quickly led to a door, similar to hundreds of others numerating the halls.

“Here you go, and enjoy, hic, hic.” Without another word… or hic, the monk opened the door and practically threw Amaril in before closing it. Once the door was shut, he could have sworn he heard the sound of a body collapsing to the floor, the monk passing out most likely.

They’d best have someone else keeping an eye on that guy, because I don’t feel like waiting for hours in order for him to wake up and find my opponent.

Turning his attention to the room, he realized that he could see almost nothing due to seemingly infinite dust particles floating in the air. So we aren’t going to be able to see each other unless we’re practically on top of each other. I hope my opponent is a strong melee fighter. Amaril almost immediately retracted this thought. He wasn’t exactly an expert with his sword, so why wish for someone who might be?

Shrugging to himself, he started to walk to where he presumed the center of the room would be, when suddenly a stone column jumped out at him from the dust filled air. Further exploration revealed large indents all over the column, and upon even further exploration of the room he discovered that the place was filled with similar columns.

Leaning against one of them he muttered to himself, “This should be interesting.”

[streak101]

Banda grinned with excitement when he stared at the Citadel. It was here where he fought a very unique person, and that very unique person had happened to slice his body in two. He entered its walls and was familiar with it's majestic feel. He always wondered why a place where bloody battles occured almost twenty-four hours a day, had the look of a castle from a fairy tale book.

Now, which one of these monks should I bother? Banda looked around, there weren't that many monks available for help, and those were already being taken by others. There was a loud thud, and Banda turned around to find a monk collapsed on the floor. He hurried to help him, "Are you alright?" the monk stared at him red faced, and then smiled and laughed, "Oh so *hic*, you...you need a room too huh?" Banda sighed, this man isn't red faced because he's embarrassed, he's red faced because he's drunk!

Banda fumbled with his words, trying not to offend the monk, "Actually, I um, I could go find someo-" The monk interrupted, "Nonsense! *hic* I'm the best of the best! I'll find *hic* you a worthy adversary! Why, look! *hic* Here's a door! *hic* And inside is someone perfect for a man with your skill!" The monk pushed Banda towards the door, "But how do you-" Before Banda could finish his sentence, he was tossed into the room. He heard another thud from the outside, That guy can't hold his ale, boy did he wreak of it!

Banda sighed, "Guess I'm in here now." He said to himself, the room was barely visible, all one could see was the floor two feet in front of them, and their own shoes. He tried to see past the haze with no success, and decided to walk around. "There has to be something in here..." He put his hands in front of him, and walked around in his usual pace, reaching out for something, and hopefully someone. He found a stone pillar, okay, so there's a pillar. Usually, there are more of these in a room... He walked parallel to the pillar and sure enough found another.

He continued to walk around and look for them, he found another only this was softer than the other ones. Banda prodded it twice, then realized it was breathing. That's not a pillar. He jumped back, and slid across the floor, "You must be my challenge today good sir, my names Banda Utako, mind telling me yours?" Banda quietly drew out his sword from it's sheath, he knew he couldn't be seen by his opponent, and that would mean relying on hearing. He would have to do the same if he hoped to win. Banda drew his boomerang out of his sling as well, he had to be ready for anything.

[Amaril Torrun]

His muscles flexed unintentionally as he heard a short exclamation and the heavy door come to a thundering close. So he’s here.

Amaril wasn’t prone to biased opinions, but whenever fighting an unknown individual, he automatically viewed that person as a male in his mind. This could, in large part, be due to the fact that most opponents in his past had been males. In fact, he was almost certain that he had never fought a single female in his life and hoped to keep it that way, as he had a deep respect for the fairer sex.

His assumption was proved to be correct, as the man slowly came into sight. Upon first glance, he saw tanned skin, revealing a life of possible hardship and labor. At least he’s not one of those teenage nobles always looking for nothing more than play fighting with “lesser” citizens. Of course, the dust could just be hiding his true skin color, and the young man might very well be one of those weak children.

His opponent proved to be quite unobservant when he proceeded to poke Amaril in the chest a few times, as if the half-dragon were nothing more than one of the surrounding obstacles littering the room. This was a forgivable offense though, as he could understand that the floating dust and sand would hinder the young man’s sight. Amaril had simply been given the advantage of hearing his opponent enter, and might have otherwise been just as blind.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Banda Utako. My name is Amaril Torrun.” He watched as a faint gleam, revealing a drawn blade, came into view. He also noticed that Banda’s other arm drew something else, but his sight was completely blocked off as to what it was.

“It looks like you’re ready to get down to business, which is good. Please, give me the most challenging fight you can, as I do not wish to waste my time here.” The formalities now done, the battle could ensue.

The winged warrior, not wanting to lose his first opportunity to strike, quickly pulled out a steel dagger from a sheath attached at his right hip and threw it with full force. His aim was typically devastating from such close range, but the dirty air, eradicating clear sight, would most likely deter the attack slightly from its target, his opponent’s chest.

Without waiting to find out if the initial attack was a hit, he doubled back around the adjacent column, blocking the path between the two warriors, and drew his own sword, a prevalida long sword of alarming proportions. Not quite as skilled as one might hope to be with such a massive weapon, Amaril decided that he would rather train with it here, at a place where he could be healed or resurrected, rather than out in the real world, where death was an unwelcome permanence.

Inching back to the next furthest column, he awaited Banda’s counterattack, breathing in the filthy soot all the while.

[streak101]

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Banda Utako. My name is Amaril Torrun.” Banda could hear him loud, and clear. He hasn't moved from his original postition, this is good, I should be able to get a clear shot with my boomerang, or maybe - He felt an object brisk past his arm, he let out a short shudder. He touched his arm, and felt blood, the object nearly missed, and it still was able to scath him. Whatever it was, it had to be sharp.

He never turned his face away from his opponent, Banda began to slowly walk forward towards the presumed area where Amaril was. His ears pricked up quickly, he turned to the direction of the sound, he was almost sure that Amaril had taken out his weapon. Banda grinned, "Don't try and hide..." He muttered under his breath. He side-stepped to the direction of the sound, and banged his head on a pillar, dropping soot from the roof on his matted hair. For the love of...

Banda closed his eyes, and held his breath. Doing this, he heightened his other senses, and was able to hear for Amaril's breathing. The breathing was ragged, as if something were entering him as he inhaled. He was near, Banda could feel it, Well, let's see if I can do some reconnaissance... Banda gripped his boomerang, and threw it far behind the pillar, he then rushed around the pillar, and as he expected there was no one there.

"You can't hide forever Amaril. Eventually, our blades will have to lock..." Banda kept silent about his boomerang, there was no need to tell his challenger about his arsenal. Banda faced the flat side of his blade in front of him, and placed his other hand a few inches from the tip of his sword, he was going to be ready for Amaril's next attack.

[Amaril Torrun]

The counterattack never came. Rather, a sickly bone-crunching sound came from the column he had earlier leaned against. Was his opponent truly so blinded by the sand? Could he be acting out an elaborate show of ineptness in order to bring Amaril into a false sense of security?

Hesitant as to what might be the wisest course of action, he suddenly saw something flying through the air from the right on a curved path. Pushing himself as far backwards against the column as he possibly could, he watched as the foreign object came within a mere inch of his soot covered face before continuing on its circular path

What was that? Amaril had never seen such an oddly shaped object. It had appeared to be a crudely crafted weapon of some sort and the unusual path it had taken in the air suggested magic… or science. It seems there is more than meets the eye with this one. I wonder what else he is capable of. He imagined having some sort of enchantment on his daggers, allowing them to fly through the air in different directions other than a straight line. Such a weapon would truly be beneficial.

Once the item, whatever it had been, left his sight, Amaril heard Banda’s attempt to bring the half-breed out of hiding. The remark was one of impulsiveness and possible inexperience. He was a patient warrior however, and would not simply lunge out at his opponent just because the young man called out to him.

“The battle has just begun and already you wish to jump to the end.” Amaril would allow no such thing. He was here to train and would savor his time in such a unique place as the Citadel. One must be more vigilant when dealing with death; else it could be dealt to oneself without remorse or pity.

His position now compromised by speaking, Amaril once again fell behind the column, but this time he didn’t continue to run away to the next one. While rushing into battle wasn’t the wisest action, running wouldn’t solve anything and he need to further explore his defensive and offensive abilities. His past experience with strange cultures had taught him long ago how perilous his situation in the world was due to his monstrous appearance, and the tribes of Salvar would treat him with lethal suspicion.

It was time for a real attack.

Holding the prevalida blade in front of him, the bluish hue reflecting in identically colored eyes, Amaril rounded the column, sure that Banda would be at the location the half-dragon had spoken at in order to continue the hunt. Using the flat of his blade, he cut the air with a downward swing. The strike would teach the young man a lesson in waiting for the opportune moment, causing only a significant bruise and possibly a few cuts. If he miscalculated his opponent’s next move and the man wasn’t there however, he would look foolish indeed.

Either way, as he swung, he rolled to the side and dashed away, almost colliding into another column as his adversary had accomplished not too long before. The half-dragon did bang his knee against the stone though, and gritting his teeth, he limped to the side of the column in case Banda fell into pursuit.

This folly was why Amaril needed training. He assumed that with his prolonged age, he was entitled to deeper thought and a more critical approach to situations. He had a hard time admitting it to himself, but he was similar to those in the entrance hall, full of thoughts of superiority over his enemies. He recognized this for the weakness it was, came close to death on several occasions because of this weakness, but had yet to conquer it.

[streak101]

Banda reached out for his boomerang, certain that Amaril would not be stricken by it, after all, the purpose for throwing the boomerang in the first place was to get a clue of where his opponent was hiding. This of course, failed to work, but Amaril let his position go by replying to Banda's taunts. Sure let's have some fun then...

Banda grabbed his boomerang as it flew by, and ran towards Amaril's voice, he ran only a few feet when he skidded to a halt, as the flat-side of what looked like a blue blade, swung down with a great force. Banda looked up, trying to catch so much as a glimpse of his opponent's face, but Amaril was gone in a flash.

Banda looked around frantically, He's somewhere near my position, waiting for me to move so that he can swing at me, and possibly cut me down a peg! Banda turned around, making sure that no one was trying to sneak up on him. Suddenly, one of the pillars shook, and Banda heard soot falling down, and heard a sound similar to the one Banda had made when he smacked his head earlier. Or he could be over there.

Banda turned towards the shaken pillar, and switched his boomerang to his left hand, and his sword to his right. You can dodge an attack from one direction easily, but I wonder. Can you protect yourself from an attack coming from two directions? Banda threw his boomerang in a path around the stone pillar, and whilst his boomerang was flying in it's circular path, Banda ran towards the other side of the column, keeping low to avoid his projectile, and switching his sword to his left hand.

As he reached the side of the column, he knew that Amaril was not in front of it, Then, you must be... Banda walked a bit more around the pillar, and swung outward towards the side of it. If he did his thinking right, that was where Amaril should have been hiding.

[Amaril Torrun]

Amaril remained in his position, massaging his knee, which felt as if a light hammer was slowly, grudgingly pounding into the aching bone. He hoped that his opponent would be slow to attack. The sound of rushed, padded feet told him quickly that the hope failed. Gripping his sword more tightly, he focused on Banda’s hurried steps and realized that the young man was on the opposite side of the same column.

The hair on his neck prickled up in anticipation as he heard the rustling footsteps against the dirt layered floor. The attack that followed was predictable; a wild swing, in Amaril’s opinion, which was easily parried, even for the inexperienced blade wielder, with a downward swing of the prevalida.

“Is that all you’ve g-…” The half-dragon was silenced because at that very moment, he felt a blow from behind, striking hard in his back, between the large wings. He lurched forward, roaring with pain, and almost tackled right into Banda on accident. In an attempt to avoid a collision, he rolled to the side, causing him to crash into another pillar with even more force than his previous impact against the hard, cold stone had been. His breath escaped him and as he gasped for air, he instead sucked in dust and soot.

Choking and gagging, he exclaimed, “I’ve had enough of this. It is time for a real fight where we can actually see each other.”

Spreading his wings, causing pain in his back simultaneously, Amaril began pumping them back and forth, turning in a circle slowly. The air cleaned up remarkably fast since there was no other wind to oppose his. Soon, the two were in an area completely devoid of any dust particles. The clean area was roughly fifteen feet from the half-dragon in every direction, but beyond that, the dirt was even thicker. East to move, but apparently impossible to get rid of, the dirt almost looked like it had hardened into a wall, besides the fact that small gaps could be seen every foot or so. It would be easy to suffocate in there.

The columns looked different as well. The crevices Amaril had noticed earlier were actually a part of some sort of design. He guessed these designs were from some sort of ancient tribes, worshipping the figures, mostly animals, carved into the stone. Each artistic pillar, with its own spark of rugged creativity, also had small footholds leading all the way to the top, merging with the ceiling. These holes were obviously put in place by the Citadel for the purpose of allowing combatants to climb great heights during battle if they so chose. It was a shame that the totems weren’t left in their natural state; they would have been much more beautiful that way.

I’m not here to dwell on ancient art. It is time to start up again. He turned back to his opponent. “Now we can continue un-handicapped.”

Amaril dashed toward Banda, using both hands to keep his large weapon steady and under control, as it loomed over his head. The warrior imagined himself quite a sight with such an intimidating and possibly monstrous physique, wielding a massive weapon like a ferocious barbarian. Wait! A barbarian? He wasn’t some battle-driven creature, without a thought of anything else. Within a split second, he chose to attack with more elegance. The amateur sword fighter replaced the attack he had already packed so much force into by swinging the weapon in an arc, causing it to instead strike at the young man’s left side. The change in motions felt awkward and he nearly fumbled the blade even before reaching his target, but he managed to hold on.

((The edit was just to add a "[/I]"))

[streak101]

Banda grinned, the clanging of two blades echoed the room for a short time before the dust, and soot enveloped it. Does that mean he dodged my boomerang too? Banda stayed in his crouched position, waiting for a smart remark, or a counter-attack. He probably wasn't in the best situation to defend himself, but he had gotten out of stickier situations. Amaril began to speak, but stopped abruptly. There was a thwack, the sort of sound made when a ruler hits a wooden surface. Bingo.

Amaril made a strange roaring sound, Not something you'd expect from a human... A thought had struck Banda, what if his opponent wasn't human at all? His last opponent was a strange creature called a Silvet, and surely with his roar, Amaril was not human.

Banda could feel Amaril's body shifting near him, dealing with the pain his weapon dealt, there was another crash, and Banda's opponent began to cough, and hack. His voice rang out, “I’ve had enough of this. It is time for a real fight where we can actually see each other.”

Banda felt wind, and the sound of Are those...wings? Banda felt a strong gust surround him, he faced his back towards the stone pillar he ran to earlier, and braced himself, holding his sword up to protect his eyes from the debris. When the wind stopped blowing, Banda looked up, he saw that Amaril had cleared an area to duel with no obstacles, but what intriqued him was the opponent himself.

On first sight, Amaril was no ordinary man, he was tall, but it was his wings, that made Banda gap his mouth. His tail was also astounding, both of these made Banda cock his head in a strange gesture. Wake up, your not here to gawk at the half dragon, your here to get better. He told himself. He shook his head, and looked straight at Amaril. "Here I c-" His opponent dashed towards him without hesitation, raising his blade into the air. Banda cursed, Why am I always interrupte- The half-breed changed his swing in mid-attack, aiming for Banda's left side.

Nearly dropping his sword, Banda managed to parry the blade, but the flat-side of his was smacked against him from the tiny amount of pressure he applied to the parry. He cringed, he looked down carefully at his side, his clothing had ripped, and through it, he saw the dark crimson color of blood. Banda side-stepped to the right, freeing himself from the column, and rolled behind Amaril, he swung his sword horizontally, aiming at his opponents back, where his wings would be located, if he were to injure a wing before Amaril used it in battle, then maybe he could have a better chance of winning. Then again, Amaril had been fighting without his wings. Oh, I hope I'm right...

[Amaril Torrun]

The surprise in Banda’s eyes revealed that the change in attacks had caught him off guard. With both weapons wielded without much skill or planning, mistakes were inevitable. Banda’s result was too receive a blow on his left side, similar to what Amaril had attempted earlier. The half-dragon lost something much more significant than a few drops of blood. Though he may have initially been able to hold onto his sword to perform the attack, the impact between the two blades shook his hands and rattled against the claws, allowing for the hilt of his sword to slip away.

Forgetting his opponent during such a dire situation, he dropped to his knees in an attempt to pick up the weapon that had heavily clamored to the floor. Then, just as his fingers touched the slippery hilt, he felt an excruciating pain behind him. Biting back the tears fighting to emerge from their ducts, he turned around to see what was wrong with him. Banda had quickly recovered from the half-dragon’s attack and now a forth of his right wing was dangling dangerously by a thin layer of skin. Almost immediately, his nerves were sent into shock, tightening all his muscles. A small pool of blood was dribbling out of the thin, ripped membrane.

He needed to keep moving, otherwise his shock would spread through the body, locking it up completely and leaving him kneeling on the stone floor, at the mercy of his attacker. Shuddering from the immense pain shooting up his spinal cord, Amaril forced himself to stand and face his opponent. His sword remained on the ground, completely forgotten. It is time to fight with what I truly know how to use.

Amaril’s entire body began to tingle, as all predators feel just before a hunt, a feeling that merged with his pain and temporarily conquered it. His tail, seemingly a creature on its own, began to slither on the floor in anticipation for the devastation it would cause. His claws began to crave Banda’s blood, yearning for it to soak them entirely. A growl formed in his throat, and the beast inside of him pinned his soul to the bottom of his stomach, lost to the truly monstrous creature it now resided in. His inhuman glands near the lungs began to secrete a chilling liquid, sending it up his throat where it began to take form.

He slowly began to circle Banda, no longer feeling the need to run up to his opponent. The man wouldn’t run. He was here to harm the half-breed and was already quite successful at it, but he would not end Amaril’s life. The half-breed no longer thought about the Citadel’s capabilities of returning those that died back to life. All he felt was a desire to kill this small boy before he could raise another finger to prevent it and kill him.

His senses focused on his prey as his ice dart formed. He finally charged with a full onslaught of natural weapons at his disposal. The movement bounced the dangling wing, but the pain was lost in his offensive struggle for survival. He reached out with both claws, hoping to sink them in to Banda’s arms and bring him closer. Then he would spit the icy weapon directly into his face. His tail began to whirl around him, wanting to cut the young man down from the back, but Amaril’s human side told it to stop. It would have to wait until truly needed.

[streak101]

Banda grinned once again out of sheer enjoyment, he managed to seriously injure his opponent. Amaril's right wing was hanging by a sliver of skin, and Banda's morale had increased by a large amount. Let's see you run away now.

Banda tilted his head, Amaril rose up, and faced him without retrieving the blade he had dropped. His tail began to move, and Banda swore he could hear a growl coming from his opponent. Banda followed Amaril's gaze as the half-breed walked around him in a circle, this didn't intimidate Banda in the least, he had gone up against five men at once, how hard could Amaril be to defeat? Banda tensed his muscles, preparing for an attack.

Finally, Amaril charged forth, with dragon-like claws extended towards Banda. Banda quickly sheathed his sword, and held out his left arm, allowing Amaril's claws to sink in. With a scream, he pulled his head back, and dodged the icy projectile that had seemingly come out of Amaril's mouth, but made a low painful scream as he turned his head, and looked at his right arm, where the projectile had struck itself onto.

Banda freed himself from Amaril's grip, the man has become a beast! Banda grabbed his left arm, heal, his arm began to glow green, and quickly, the wound on his arm had disappeared as if it was never there. Banda gripped the ice shard on his right arm, and pulled it out, letting out a few tears in the process. He twirled the shard between his fingers, "So you wanna play rough huh? Okay then," Banda pulled his blade back out from it's holster, "Let's play rough! Sly Striker!"

Banda closed his eyes for a second, then reopened them, the world through his eyes seemed to move slower. Of course, it always did when he used his Sly Striker technique. Banda quickly rushed towards Amaril, Let's see you find a way out of this one! Banda stabbed towards Amaril's abdomen, and threw the ice shard towards the half-breeds shoulder. I could have had fun with him, but its getting way too serious to let him keep battling me. Time to end this.

[Amaril Torrun]

He should have let his tail finish the job.

The results of his attack were hardly significant enough to defeat Banda. Only one of his clawed, outreached hands had made contact with the man’s arm and he had escaped the hold rather quickly. His ice dart equally failed to accomplish what needed to be done, sinking into the other arm instead. Though his opponent was finally wounded, gashes in one’s arms could hardly bring someone to their knees. Amaril cursed himself for having lost control and for attacking so wildly. I’m lucky that he sheathed his sword for some reason, instead of cutting me down.

Suddenly, with the return of thought and reason, the pain from his injured wing attacked him just as hard as before. The only reason he didn’t yell about the pain was because he had already expected it to come back to some degree, though maybe not as powerful as it did. All of the movement of fighting was slowly tearing the miniscule amount of skin keeping the wing attached. The immense pain he now felt dulled all other senses and the dangling flesh agonized him to the point where he no longer thought himself capable of continuing the fight.

Can I simply give up? His pride quickly reproached himself for even thinking of quitting. The answer, of course, was no and an idea made itself known in his mind. The monks of the Citadel could return one’s body back to normal, no matter how mangled.

Glancing over to see Banda tending to one of his own wounds, Amaril’s jaw clenched. A tooth can only be decayed for so long before removal is necessary and the half-dragon would apply this logic to the current situation in order to relieve himself of the worse part of his ache. His clawed fingers touched the crippled membrane behind him gingerly, as if to assure it he meant no harm. Then, with absolute determination, his hand wrapped around the loose skin and jerked it as hard and quickly as possible, ripping the loose skin from his body. A roar erupted throughout the room as more blood spurted into the air. His entire body trembled in realization of what had just happened, but he would now be able to move without the constant pang caused by the flap.

Though his wings were too thin for him to collapse from blood loss in such a short time span, Amaril did begin to feel dizzy. He was now fully in control of his thoughts again. The monster inside, which rarely took over, would not return with a second wind. That moment had passed. Hiding the throbbing from his facial expression, the half-dragon spoke. “You truly are a skilled warrior Banda, but you will not…”

He was interrupted by the young man’s abrupt charge. One moment he had been standing almost ten feet away, but in the next instant he had closed that distance, coming within striking range. Amaril barely escaped the sword thrust by shuffling to the side, and felt a sharp, passing pain from a light wound on his left side. He never even noticed the ice dart Banda had decided to return and it landed square into his left shoulder, thought it didn’t sink too far in as it had already begun to thaw. Warm blood was released from the small gash, soaking the dart and melting it rapidly. He’s slowly tearing me apart, the half-dragon thought as he winced yet again from new injuries.

With his enemy still in range of a counterattack, Amaril quickly reached out again with his claws, this time seeking to clench the tender throat in order to drag Banda closer. His other hand reached for his second sheathed dagger, whipping the light, deadly weapon out and driving it toward the man’s stomach. This time, he could not let his foe escape. Swinging his tail around his own body and the body of his opponent, the half-dragon would have just enough length left to drive the sharp material into Banda’s back if his initial pull of the neck succeeded.

Damn being honorable. In a battle, only one survivor could remain.

[streak101]

Banda scorned when his target moved out of the way, his sword might have won him the match, but Amaril was quick enough to dodge his main attack. His second manuever though, had proved successful, the ice dart now lay in Amaril's shoulder, melting as it were, but it did not matter to Banda, if he couldn't seriously wound his opponent, then he would have yet another loss at the Citadel. Yeah, not going to happen.

Without his boomerang, Banda was forced to fight in close combat, the only thing left that he could use would be his sword, and shield. Let's see if I can put it to good use.

Banda reached for his shield, but was caught off guard by Amaril's counterattack, while assessing his situation, he forgot how close he was to his enemy. He was grabbed by the neck by the giant claws, Banda reached for his shield, he couldn't grasp it directly from the back. Come on, come on! You damn piece of crap! To make matters worse, Amaril's tail began to close around him, attempting to hold his body in place, his opponent also decided to pull out a dagger, and stab towards his stomach. Banda was running out of time, and air, he tried grabbing his shield from his side, and finally was able to latch it off. Finally, I find a worthwhile oppurtunity to use you!

Just as Amaril's tail closed the distance between the two fighters, Banda slammed his shield onto his torso, he closed his eyes, too frightened to see what happened next. There was a cracking noise, No! It's breaking through! The cracking continued, and the blade drove deeper through the blade, but stopped, an inch through Banda's stomach. The injury, though not as bad as it would have been, was slow and therefore painful. He looked for a way out, and found it.

Though his right arm was trapped between his shield and torso, his left arm was free, and so was his sword. He gripped his sword tightly, This is going to be painful for him, no matter what I decide to aim for first. If I hit him that is... "Sly Striker!" Banda closed his eyes and re-opened them. The world seemed to move as it did previously. Banda quickly swung his sword vertically behind him, his blade faced towards his back, if this attack hit, he'd wound the tail. His second swing was towards the front of him, horizantally, switching the way his blade was facing whilst moving towards the second target. This attack was meant for his arm, which was gripping Banda's neck rather uncomfortably.

This is gonna be one bloody floor.

[Amaril Torrun]

Amaril’s series of attacks were exceedingly successful, compared to the rest of the battle. He was able to grab Banda’s neck and drag him a bit closer, causing small bloodied spots where the tips of his claws resided. His dagger, while blocked by a shield, somehow found its way through the wood, dulling the weapon and shortening the length of the injury. The knife blade cut through the tender stomach, blood flowing freely from the puncture wound. This was the point where Banda chose to draw his sword.

Amaril didn’t notice his prey closing its eyes or the sword entering the free hand, until it struck his powerful tail in mid-swing. The weapon glanced off his scale-coated tail, only knocking it an inch or two off course, though possibly saving Banda’s life. Just as his tail was sinking into the man’s lower back an inch away from the spinal cord, the half-dragon experienced a brief shock and the feeling of scalded water pouring onto his arm. The feeling quickly died, replaced by bitter cold as he looked at his hand, still clasped, though loosely, around his enemy’s neck. He pulled back to release Banda, but instead a fountain of blood escaped the half of the wrist still attached to his body.

My hand!

The blade had easily sliced through skin, bone, and ligament, leaving him with a bloodied stump at the middle of his wrist, causing massive bouts of pain. He tried to pull back and escape his deadly assailant, but his tail was still lodged in his foe’s back. With a vengeful twist of the large arrowhead tip, he wrenched it out of the flesh and fell backwards. Lying on his back, resting on the elbow of his good arm, Amaril’s eyes darted wildly around the room.

Need to stop the bleeding. Need to stop the bleeding… He kept thinking this to himself, fighting to stay conscious after all his wounds and blood loss.

He looked first at the pillars, no longer beautiful in the fearful eyes seeking nothing other than continued life. They wouldn't be any help at all. He couldn’t lay on the ground with the exposed area pressed against the floor forever, with his whole body open to an attack. He could only think of one logical way to stop the bleeding and escape Banda, if the man was still capable of combat. Using his legs and one good arm, Amaril pushed himself across the floor, wings crumpled under his body, increasing his already devastating pain. The skin that had begun to mend itself on the torn membrane now opened up once again. His tail dragged along the floor following the body’s trek.

He found himself at the edge of the dirt barrier, the material he hoped to use to block the blood flow. Reaching out, he grabbed some of the gritty substance and pressed it against the dismembered wrist. It immediately stung, but the loss of his hand outmatched such a minor pain. The dirt turned muddy, soaked in his blood. Packing more dirt onto the wound, he wondered just how infected it might become, had he not been in the Citadel.

The dirt wasn’t working as much as he hoped, and Amaril quickly ripped a large portion of his pants from his ankle. He then tied it around the wrist, causing even more stinging. The blood was slowed, but continued to seep through in small amounts. The wounded warrior grew even colder, the most frightening experience he could possibly feel. The half-dragon, immune to cold elements, now felt the most chilling event of all. He felt the chill of death creeping over him, and an indestructible desire to sleep. He fought desperately, knowing that this was the end, but the struggle didn’t last long and he finally succumbed to the false demise.

----------------

Amaril awoke with no idea where he was. The memory of the Citadel battle slowly returned to him as grogginess wore off. Only after he tried to stretch sore arms, sending a pang of pain from his wrist, did he remember everything that had happened. He slowly inspected each part of his body, seeing faint scars from the where he had been wounded. Everything was intact, but past experiences with the magical place reminded him that he shouldn’t have any proof of having fought. Peering down at his wrist, he saw dark brow spots underneath the skin.

“Sir, I’m sorry about that.” Amaril looked up to see a tall, thin man dressed in a white robe. “The monk who led you to your arena volunteered to heal you. Only after he finished did we realize that he was… a bit under the weather. It was then we noticed remnants of your battle ingrained into your body.” The half-dragon simply looked down at his wrist once more. “I assure you, we have removed him from the premises until he is well again.” The man briskly walked away, seemingly fearful that the brute in front of him might attack out of anger.

Amaril stood up, ignoring the dizzy feeling, and collected his weapons laid neatly on the room’s only table. He slowly walked out of the room, through the entrance hall with the roaring combatants, and finally down the steps, returning him Radasanth’s city streets. He took one last glance at the magnificent structure. “Good bye Citadel, stronghold of cocky young men and drunken employees.”

((Good battle. I’ll submit for judging after your conclusion.))

((Spoils: Amaril now has a negative impression of the Citadel. The massive intake of dirt during the first half of the battle, along with the remnants of soil under his skin have had some sort of reaction to his elemental scale. He will gain the abilitly to manipulate earthy materials such as dirt, soil, etc... He is unaware of this change and once he does realize what has happened, he will need to practice in order to move anything other than a handful of dirt.))

[streak101]

The end had come.

Banda had managed to loosen the tail's grip on him, and felt a feeling of relief, as his blade cut his opponents wrist. I did it! Never knew I had it in me! Amaril let go of Banda's neck, and a bloodied mess insued. The tail unwrapped itself around the two warriors, and Banda fell to the floor. He quickly recovered, and stood up incase his enemy had fight left in him. But, Amaril did not counterattack, the half-breed looked frantically around the room, Is he scared? His opponent half-walked, half-crawled across the clearing, and stopped near the hazy aurrounding.

Banda grimaced when Amaril began to stick the hazy mix into his wound. That's gonna be infected. His opponent continued to do this, and in the end tore off a sleeve of his clothing, and tied it around the wound. This didn't end the bleeding though, and soon, after struggling to stay awake, Amaril, as they say, took a dirt nap. "Well, that was strange, still," Banda touched his neck, he felt blood dribbling down to his shoulders, "He put up a good fight, my neck feels all tingly, and where the heck did that ice dart come from? Anways, the monks will fix him up, unless he gets healed by that boozed-up one."

The door back to the Citadel showed itself, the haze now disappearing due to the end of the duel. Banda stepped through the door, and was greeted by the short monk again. "Oh hello! *hic* You look a tad beaten up! *hic* Don't worry though! I'll heal ye!" Banda stopped the monk, "No way, not from you good sir, maybe there's someone else who needs to be patched up by your er...superior skills." The monk looked at Banda and smiled, "Of course! *hic*Theirs probably some bloke torn up in two who needs my help alot more! *hic* Good bye stranger!" Banda kept an eye on the drunk monk, and found another one, "Excuse me, but can you heal me?" The monk nodded, "Of course!" Within minutes Banda was back to perfect condition, "Keep an eye on that monk." Banda pointed towards the drunk, "He can't hold any of his ale. Hint, hint."

((Spoils: None))

((Ready for submitting! I don't care what option you choose.))

[Karuka]

Right, this has been in the pile for way too long, and I'm throwing you both some extra GP at the end for such a long wait. Anyway, I don't like having to put on 3-d glasses to read a judgment, so no red and blue numbers. Amaril's numbers are in green and Streak's are in purple.

Continuity: 4:2

Amaril - All I got from you was that you were leaving the continent right after this. There was nothing else of note in your first post, like where you came from, what you'd been doing prior, etc. I got that you wanted to train a little more, but remember that a battle does not take place in a time void for your character. Later on I got that he was going to Salvar, but that could have been put earlier.

Streak - I got the generic "going to the Citadel, gonna have a fight" from you, with no knowledge of Banda's storyline or reasoning up to that point. I don't even know why he felt like going into the Citadel in the first pace.

Setting: 4: 4

Amaril - Yay for dusty darkness and pockmarked pillars! What about the dust, anyway? Did it get into your nose and mouth? There was a little light, obviously, so where did it come from? It got a little better after the air cleared...but why was the dust in the air, anyway?

Streak - Same for you. The bumping his head on a pillar was a nice touch...but how did he do it without running whole-heartedly into the thing?

Pacing: 6: 6

Amaril - You guys kinda dragged into the fight and rushed the end, but the pacing was pretty good.

Streak - See Amaril's comment.

Dialogue: 5: 5

Amaril - you talked too much. Seriously, it's a battle, no need to try to break off and go "you're an honorable/strong opponent."

Streak - your outer dialogue was better, but your inner monologue was redundant.

Action: 6: 4

Amaril - Again, the rushed ending killed you here. I gave you an extra point because ripping the wing off sounded painful.

Streak - Remember that a thrown object will travel faster than a walking one, unless you're charging in the dark, which you weren't. That boomerang should have come back to smack you in the face. And it's not about winning IC, it's about winning OOC. Keep level in mind and remember: ice daggers are dangerous.

Persona: 6: 4

Amaril - letting the beast loose really helped you here. Amaril's pretty bland, but that helped define your character a little more.

Streak - I don't know Banda any better now than when he stepped into the Citadel, personality wise. You could both improve by not becoming fighting machines.

Mechanics: 7: 4

Amaril - Your biggest problem seems to be that you use participles (-ing verbs) where regular past tense would be a little less clunky.

Streak - Again with those commas, man. Sometimes you don't need 'em, and sometimes you need 'em where they aren't. The same stuff that applied to my judgment of your quest still applies, I won't repeat it.

Technique: 5: 4

Amaril - Nothing special here

Streak - Don't repeat dialogue! React to it, but don't repeat it!

Clarity: 6: 5

Amaril - I still don't get what was happening at the end of the battle. You swing for somewhere, he says it lands somewhere else, and you seem to just be like 'whatever' and go with it. Communication would help you both here.

Wildcard: 7: 7

A valiant effort from the both of you, considering rust and age, respectively. An extra point for the long wait.

Total! 56: 45

Amaril wins! Congratulations.

EXP:
Amaril Torrun gains 1050 EXP, 500 GP, and his spoils.
Streak101 gains 200 EXP and 500 GP.

[Letho]

EXP/GP added! Added additional 28 EXP points to Streak so he can level up. Streak101, welcome to the next level.