Canen vs Dusk

[Kaiser]

((Closed to Falcon))

“so … where exactly are you heading to?” the man asked as he watched the girl stuffing food into a bag, “The Citadel” the man sighed “again” he inquired and the girl looked up grinning, she absently brushed her silver hair out of her eyes as he looked at the innkeeper “Say what you want … but I got something to prove to someone this time” Dusk sounded almost sad when she said it, like she was reflecting on something else as she spoke “what could you possibly prove “ the inn keeper asked leaning against the doorway, Dusk sighed as she zipped the bag up looking at the innkeeper with sad eyes. “I … I … it’s nothing” she then shouldered the bag and walked to the door, the innkeeper moved said for her but spoke as she passed.

“Nothing eh? If you don’t want to tell me then say so” she turned to him with anger seeping from her “ok … its none of your business” she regretted it instantly and loosened up “…sorry” she said before walking down the stairs. As soon as she stepped outside Dusk looked back and sighed, she really felt like a jerk right now, but steeling herself she started to walk for the citadel, which really wasn’t that far away.

The walk was just under an jour long, and uneventful the whole way, her mind was like a train wreck with thoughts, questions, and memories, why had her own father neglected to reveal his past to her, the only thing that linked him to his past was a simple ring he had given her, one with a Red Dragon on it. This ring was proof of Canens story, he had revealed to her, her fathers history, it explained a few things but there were more questions than answers now. This only annoyed Dusk, these thoughts she knew she didn’t need, what was more troubling was that she now felt she was under a shadow, one of her fathers, that could have been the reason he didn’t tell her, because it was tormenting her.

Dusk snapped out of the trance like state when she realised that there was a monk standing in front of her, Dusk sighed wondering why she could not recall admiring the Citadels beauty, nor actually walking inside the place let alone the monk walking up to her. “Erm … did you send that letter” Dusk asked a little sheepishly, she wondered why she felt nervous. The monk nodded “I believe he got your letter … but I highly suggest you call this off, Canen is not an easy opponent, for from it” Dusk shook her head ignoring the warning “No you don’t understand … I will not back down from my own challenge”

The monk nodded seemingly he understood Dusk and silently beckoned her to follow, he led her to one of the many rooms which led to many of the arenas, “you asked for an arena with places to hide behind correct” the monk asked turning back for Dusks reaction, she absently nodded her head, the monk could see her mind was elsewhere.

“in here” he simply said opening a door for Dusk, she sighed before stepping into the arena. Dusk’s body shivered as she emerged, ‘I am never going to get used to that’ she thought, as she fell to he knees, wondering if that was even supposed to happen. Dusk then noticed that her hands were wet, but her knees were dry, she was kneeling next to a small calm shallow river, the streams base was sandy mostly but it had a few rocks, there were also small fish fighting against the current but these fish were not even the size of her thumb, the stream was indeed very shallow.

Dusk leaned back wondering exactly where her cover was, the trees on both ends of the stream seemed to be that cover she wanted, they led straight into a forest, but with the high noon sun overhead it wasn’t dark at all, so moving in the shadows was next to impossible, not that she was any good at sneak attacks. The sky was blue, and Dusk could only see one white cloud that stained the sky, she could guess that the upcoming fight would stay on this river for a time before moving into the calm green forest. She took a look towards the forest, the spaced between the trees seemed wide enough to swing her sword around, but ultimately certain placed were going to be a problem. Dusk leaned back and under her left hand, her sword materialised in its typical fashion of threads of light weaving together, once it formed it rested on the streams bank with the tip dipping into the water.

And so began the part Dusk hated with this whole Citadel bit, the wait, bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them so she could rest her chin there, she looked towards the stream, it soon became a stare though. ‘ Canen Darkflight eh … the closest thing I have to an uncle and the only person I can prove myself too … I swear … dad … the next time I see you were going to have a serious talk’ and the rest of her thoughts carried on like this in a form of brooding, not Dusks favourite pastime.

[Falcon Darkflight]

The sun hang high admist an ocean of blue sky, pouring its radiant light over the magically manifested world below. The thick canopy of the forest deterred most of the light and filtered it into slim threads of gold and as each one slipped through the branches, it caught the rough edges of the leaves and flooded small patches of the undergrowth with a spotlight effect. The rushing stream miandered through the forest slope and wound out of the trees a little more downstream into a lush rolling plain and later a large section of seemingly endless lush grassland for which even the beauty of Althanas's Concordia region could find to be a tough match. A nest of squirrels scurried about, collecting the fallen nuts from the trees above and hording them in small underground burrows like little furry kleptomaniacs. Indeed, it had been said that The Citadel's attention to detail was one of the reasons it was so widely used, although its grand history in the heart of Corone was a far greater reason to admire the magnificant and powerful structure.

Canen found the Citadel to be one of his favorite places in Corone. He often found himself recieving challenges from all kinds of different warriors here, and sometimes came of his own accord to admire fights between others too, but the history of the Citadel itself was what interested him the most. He remembered when he had journied here to accept the challenge of the geomancer Luc Kraus and had lost on his terms, he remembered how the sheer power of the monks who ran this place seemed almost limitless, how this ancient structure had inspired him from the second he had stepped through the portal to the last dying seconds of his defeat. This was the same structure that the mighty raging demon army could not overrun during the trinity of the Humans, Dwarves and Elves. Whilst the city of Teria burned to the ground within a single day to that invasion of hellspawn, the Citadel's mighty structure stood firm and strong, refusing to fall to the darkness. Perhaps that fact in itself was why the Nocturn had been so taken by the aura that eminated from the place, because The Citadel to Corone was like his Canen's willpower to his life. Strong, firm and unwavering in the face of death.

Canen was not afraid of death. He had seen it, caused it and had, at some certain key points in time, he had wished for it. Not a lot was known about Canen's experience with the parasite that took him to the brink of death and his race to extinction but it had been rumoured that the only factor that had saved his fragile life was the sudden realisation that his life did hold meaning, that he had a purpose. In this he had managed to fight off the infection and with the help of Kaiserin Nightwind, his Silvet friend's daughter, he had killed the beast. It had taken him a couple of years to get back to full health but his willpower and determination had seen those dark days through. In some respects, the Nocturn had emulated the power of The Citadel whilst fighting his anger. He had won.

The familiar humming sound of the opening portal sung over the plains and through the white light entity stepped the red and black robed figure. He knelt on the lush grass next to the stream and drew in a deep breath of air, opening his eyes slowly whilst rising to his feet. His red cape billowed behind him like a sail, its black runes creased and rippled in the wind, and his black hair tumbled about his face. In his pale right hand he clutched a folded piece of parchment...it looked tea stained, the handwriting was almost illegible and looked much like hyroglyphics on a tomb, but Canen had understood its message clearly. The black spider handwriting trailed off at the end, and Kaiserin's signiture had sealed the note. His first realisation of the surroundings were that they were much like his homeland...the same beautiful rural scenery, the same freshness in the air. It was like Nocturnis in the golden era where war was a faraway concept and the only worries of a warrior was what he was going to have roasted for his main meal with the family. The memory of such times seemed so distant now that Canen had forgotten the concept of a family meal.

Attempting to distance himself from these potentially volatile recollections, the Nocturn began pacing upstream, where the bed of the stream was shallow and consisted mainly of gravel. His black boots created small ripples amongst the larger foaming rapids of the slope as he stepped over stone and deadwood and it was not long before he spotted his opponent hunched up at the river's edge, a small figure on the background of a larger picture. There was little to distinguish the Silvet from a normal human except for the tail and the unsually designed sword she carried. Eventually he reached a grassy patch away from the water's edge, and stood a considerable distance away.

"...So, you want to know about your father..." The Nocturn queried, his hands steadied by his side. One hand kept very close to the leather and steel gripshaft of The Valiance, the other waited patiently by his left side and did not move. "I assume that was the reason for my summoning. Either that, or you believe that you actually have the skill to put me down..."

His sharp eyes refrained from moving, locked securely onto the still figure of the Silvet. She didn't have the same posture as Kaiser once did.

"...I hold all the keys at the moment. I can tell you anything that I know about him, except where he is. If you defeat me..." He paused for a moment, looking up at the sun as it poured warmth onto his pale face "...perhaps I would be willing to divulge to you some of this...'information', yes?"

[Kaiser]

Dusk was startled by the voice, she had not heard Canen approach and as her form loosened up to allow herself to look back, back to the form of her opponent, the sight churned her stomach. She had seen before how intimidating he can look, but that was when they were on the same side, now Dusk was half wondering why she had not invited him for a bite to eat instead of a duel. His initial guess about her wanting to know about her father was somewhat true, but that was not why she was here, Dusk frowned as she picked herself off the ground whilst loosely gripping her sword dragging it up with her as she stood erect, Canen was right, her posture was different.

“Put you down?” she repeated Canens words that interested her the most, it caused her to lightly smile and the grip on her sword to tighten. “Is that even possible … one … two … no three wars and your still standing here, the last of your kind save one or two others” Dusk sighed knowing that last part to be half true for her, but she was also part human. “My father … I suppose he is in the same boat as you … but where do I stand” Dusk suddenly looked at Canen, her ruby red eyes glaring at him in a false anger.

“I don’t know the whole reason my father would hide his path from me, and you are the only one to know why he would do such a thing” was that false anger directed at her father or to Canen, now that she thought about it … she was not even sure herself. Dusk then thought about Canen’s other words, toying with her as her inclined that if she were to defeat him, then he would tell her some of the information he knew, his blatant challenge amused her, she smiled at him for that, to think that she could possibly defeat him. Dusk was not a fool, if she were to win this it would be by the miracle of the gods, or just a plain old bit of luck, she reminded herself that she did have the means to bring him down, but doing it was a whole other ball game.

“I may not know where I stand against you or my father … but I swear if you toy with my like that again I am going to shove my sword down your throat” she said with a smile, amused by the mental image it provided, despite it trying to sound hostile it came of as more of a friendly warning. Dusk then pulled her sword in front of her holding on tightly to the hilt of her sword whilst settling into a comfy stance and one where she felt sure she could get herself out of danger. “Ok Canen … shows me what you got … I need to see where I stand … and then you can fill in the details about my father over a 5 course meal … your treat of cause”

Dusk was then ready to launch the first attack, but she was hit by a sudden thought and feeling, why should she make the first attack, in all of her fights even in the training sessions with her dad, she had always made the first move, and with the size of her sword the initial attack left her open, that and she questioned herself as to why she settled into this stance in the first place. Her mind could not help but wonder how he was going to attack first, Canen was truly a dark presence on the battlefield, even if this was a friendly duel Dusk felt like taking something a lot less dangerous, she had to control her breathing and tried to focus on something else, she was reminded of the sparring matches against her father, watching his movements carefully, she did the same against Canen although he seemed to have not moved an inch. “Ok … lets go”

[Falcon Darkflight]

Canen stood patiently on the bank of the flowing crystal stream, amongst the longer, riverside grass underneath a small cluster of decidious trees. The wind bristled past him and shook the long, lush blades of the brush and thick leaves and branches of the trees, and tossed his jet black hair to into the air behind the flowing linen of his runed crimson cape. His broadsword remained by the side of him and the leather bound hilt hovered just underneath his half clenched palm, the Nocturn making sure to bide its time until there was a window of opportunity to use the weapon. He carefully observed Kaiserin's stance, pondering the origins of this unusual style with the reaches of his experience with her father Kaiser. He tried to explore the memories of when the Silvet had leaped into every attack with such agility, such prowess and strength trademark of the Silvet heritage. It had made it very difficult for Canen to match, yet here with his own eyes, he could see there was something different about his comrade's daughter. He allowed himself to peacefully drift into the back of his mind and let his natural sword form slip in to a comfortable posture.

"...So, you think that because I have served in three wars, I am impossible to beat?" The Nocturn questioned with an element of suprise in his voice. He had not expected the offspring of Kaiser Nightwind to be so unoptimistic about facing a new challenge. It was very unlike the attitude carried by her predecessor. "...The reason I have survived those wars, lived as long as I have is because I always believed that nothing is impossible. Kaiser was probably the person to thank for that belief. When we were fighting the Castigars, he saved my life on a number of occasions, and it was he who spurred me on to take the last stand...we refused to give in..."

He observed her sharply as he slipped his pale hand around the gripshaft of The Valiance and closed the fingers around the shaft tightly, pulling back to unsheath the blade from its ivory case carefully. The flat side of the blade seemed polished to a fine and smooth surface and shone in the overhead sun, reflecting spots of light over the grass and into the ripples of the foaming river to his right. He raised the blade from his hip until it levelled out horizontally across his chest and then aligned along his line of sight into the figure of the silver haired Silvet in front of him. He noticed her blade was of unusual design: it was marine blue, long but thin and looked comfortable to wield even for someone her size and build. A finned out design at the hilt caught Canen's eye and he became weary very quickly about how light this sword looked to him.

"..So why is it you glorify me, Kaiserin?.." His eyes narrowed as he began cross-stepping over himself to begin his circle around Kaiserin who had seemed reluctant to leap into any attack, probably afraid of making a rash decision too early on in the fight. The speed of the circling increased slightly as he began to put a spring into the stepping, taking jerks to the right and left to try and unsettle her defensive stance and make her flinch. "...I don't know what your father told you about me, but I am hardly a hero. No. Heroes are people like Radasanth the Savior, who inspired the great Coronian uprising that defeated the demon army long ago when all hope seemed to be lost...I have only ever fought for a small measure of peace, not to single handedly condemn the darkness. That is not my place on Althanas..."

He followed her with his eyes and slipped The Valiance lower into his palm, lowering the angle of the blade and prepared for his attack. He stopped his stepovers, and rushed forward with the blade at a downward slant. Canen could see Kaiserin's eyes following his movements and knew that even with all of the experience in sword arts he had accumulated over the years the daughter of a Silvet would be a difficult match. His first objective was to take out the vital part of any fighter - the vertical base. If he could achieve this he knew the battle would not last long, no warrior can stand on wounded and tired legs for too long, especially since the Silvet race tend to lean on their agility and flexibility to overcome obstacles. He was now within a couple of metres of her and neatly, quickly and precisely swung The Valiance from his lower left side in a diagonal arc to his top right, aiming for her unprotected legs.

C'mon. Show me what Kaiser has taught you. Show me that inner fire...

[Kaiser]

Canen circling her had to be the most nerve wracking situation she had been in, the story’s she had heard described him as a cold man with little humour, Her father must have been one heck of a counterbalance in comparison. She took in a deep breath to calm herself down, it was the only thing she could do as he circled around her, often faking a charge which caused her reaction to jump. ‘ Glorify you … wow, did I give the totally wrong impression or what, all I meant to do was show him that I held a lot of respect for him … ’ she shook her head and narrowed her eyes “This guy talks to much” she said under her breath, that was not supposed to be voiced out but luckily she had whispered it ‘ Just like my dad … always getting so dramatic … he is even un-glorifying himself now … hey is that even a word?’

Then Canen made his move, he charged forwards and Kaiserin saw the beauty of letting her opponent attack first, ‘ …Ok … Watch the movement …’ her mind calmly called out to her and her eyes glanced up to the position of Canen’s sword, held low, and with the angle of his arm …

Kaiserin stood back and held out her sword in front of her holding it out perfectly horizontal for now, a part of her was hoping that Canen would skewer himself on that blade, but she knew it was only wishful thinking. Now she moved her sword yet again with Canen almost upon her, she raised the sword up and let the blade point downwards, almost as she thrust it downwards, a little to her right with only inches sliding into the soft dirt under the grass, it offered stability as his attack hit her blade and all she could feel was a sudden vibration.

Hopefully, Canen’s blade would have halted in place after striking her blade, and if that was the case then her counter attack should be, hopefully, be able to hurt her opponent. After the Shudder through her sword that leapt into her arm, Kaiserin took an aggressive parry to her left, letting the tip of he sword stay within the ground so she could get it on an angle quickly, also noting to move forwards a little to keep her opponent deep within the arc of her blade.

‘ NOW!!! ’ her mind screamed as her hands tightened there grip so tight her knuckles surely would have been white under her gloves, If she was right then her blade would be on the inside of his defence, and his own sword on the outside where her block should have left it, she pulled upwards on her sword, letting it glide on an angle, her attack would launch from the ground on her left and sore to her upper right, taking a detour through Canen.

[Letho]

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