016573 vs. Abenaki: Possessed

[Breaker]

The sky held a light blue color, appropriate for the early morning chill.

The air bit like a snapping turtle, misting my breath into tiny wisps of fog which haunted the otherwise clear atmoshere. It was perhaps a half hour before dawn, just light enough to see easily, although the sun had not yet crested the horizon. Pulling my gloves tighter, I increased my pace. The road crackled underfoot, the season's first frost giving voice to the elements beneath my heavy hiking boots. Just two hundred metres ahead my arena loomed, ornate patterns of frozen condensation decorating the domed glass roof. It looked like some odd form of alien technology, placed at the end of a long road with forest surrounding on three sides. I stepped up the pace again, pushing myself to get there faster. Soon my challenger would be arriving, and I wanted to be ready.

No wind moved the long grass which grew around the building, for which I was glad; even the slightest breeze would have added an unbearable windchill to the frigid morning. The still air gave a surreal feel to the area, it was almost like looking at a postcard photograph. Not wasting time enjoying the aesthetic provided by the cool weather, I pushed open the front door and stepped inside.

Few things startle me, but I was so surprised by what I saw that I froze in my tracks; two men were removing all of the iron weapons from the west wall of my arena, laying them onto blankets which would make easy to carry bundles. The men were equally surprised to see me, but they had evidently felt nervous about being caught, for they reacted swiftly. One threw the dagger he had been holding, the straight edged blade spinning towards my heart. His companion moved as quickly, shuffling two steps towards me before swinging the longsword he was trying to steal in a wide beheading stroke. My own well honed reflexes kicked in then, and I dove to the ground, rolling twice before twisting and arriving on my feet, ready for action. Unfortunately, I had not anticipated that the would-be thieves might make a run for it, which they did, dashing out the now unprotected doorway. Cursing, I ran after them, reaching the door in time to see both disappear into the dense foliage.

Chasing them would have been fruitless; I had little to no tracking knowledge, and wasn’t particularly good at running through the forest. In anger I pounded the door, realizing my mistake as my fist smashed through the heavy wood. Swearing under my breath I freed the limb, careful to avoid cutting it on the sharp slivers of shattered timber. “I’ll just have to chalk it up to another training mishap.” I told myself. The Dajas Pagoda was used to repairing my arena; not so long ago a duel against the vampire Lorenor had left the place looking like a warzone. Glancing up, I saw that golden streaks had begun shooting over the horizon, piercing the dull sky like arrows of fire. The glass dome of my arena began to glow like a yellow lava lamp as the sun melted away the frost. Before long, the interior had begun to warm up.

“Shit, my challenger... Jada or whatever... will be here soon. I gotta get this cleaned up.”

Working like a machine, I began returning all the weapons to their hooks on the wall, tracking water across the blue mats at the centre of the arena as I did so. I wondered whether I would finish the task before my challenger arrived in the octagonal building.

“I’ll look real professional, doing housecleaning when he shows up. I should really see about getting some security set up around here.”

[Abenaki]

Underequipped as usual. Jada thought miserably as the cold morning frost melted away beneath his bare feet. Without shoes and shirt the chill in the morning air was especially uncomfortable, yet still the warrior trudged on, his destination within sight. The first rays of sun streaking across the horizon had offered a little in the way of warmth on the warrior’s goose-pimpled arms, and it had also illuminated the odd dome sitting atop the only building in sight.

Here we are again… the voice named Doubt interjected into the warrior’s thoughts as he began rotating his shoulders, slapping his arms and chest, and pounding his feet against the ground. In cold like this, blood flow was essential, and Jada wanted his body warm and ready before he stepped into the arena ahead. We’ve seen how this has turned out before…

That was a long time ago. Jada answered back, and indeed it had been a long while since his last battle. Time spent wandering aimlessly between the city of Radasanth and the area known as Scara Brae. Time spent alone with himself and his thoughts. It was on the latest of these trips that he had come to know of the Pagoda and its warriors, and seeing it as a chance to test himself away from the sorcery and memories of the Citadel, issued his challenge.

This time will be different…

As Jada approached the building, the pack came off his back, and the iron short sword came off his belt. His eyes scanned the edges of the dense foliage around the octagonal walls for danger, and that sinking nervous feeling crept into his stomach and settled there. Of immediate note was the damaged front door, and suddenly eager to be rid of any encumbrance, Jada dropped his pack just outside before stepping in…

One hand on the broken door, the other gripped tightly around his weapon, Jada sidled quietly through the doorway and stopped. Indoors, beneath the gently glowing dome above, it was a bit warmer than standing in the crisp morning air on the other side of the door. While still chilly, the little warmth the room offered was more than welcomed by the warrior's stiff muscles...

“Tkigen iodalo.” Jada said coolly. ”It is cold out there.”

[Breaker]

As I piled the weapons uncerimoniously onto their wall hooks, I could feel myself dropping into meditation. My mind tended to focus itself whenever I performed any kind of menial, repetitive later. My pulse and breathing synched up, and my senses began to amplify. I was on edge from the near robbery, reaching out with my ears to pick up any unnatural sounds. At first, the morning remained completely peaceful. Then, the sound of a man walking came to me.

I had long since shed my jacket, working in my shirtsleeves. I continued the process of selecting a weapon, finding the right pegs for it, and placing it carefully against the wall, all the while straining to hear outside. There was an odd rhythm of footsteps, quick then slower, soft then softer. I wondered if it was one or more of the thieves returning to take me by surprise. Smirking at the idea, I let my righ hand drop to my hip. It was a gesture typical of anyone who had training in small firearms. It was not a sidearm which my hand rested on, however, but rather the hilt of a long prevaldia bayonet. The dagger had cost me a heavy price at the Radasanthian Bazaar, but had yet to spill any blood. Remembering how the bloodthirsty bandits had attacked me unprovoked, I concluded that they would be ideal targets for baptizing my new blade.

"They're here."

The slightest sound of the damaged door being pushed open, followed by a small stir in the air. It was all I needed to be certain the attackers had arrived. I continued moving completely calmly, stretching to place an iron greatsword high on the wall. Coming down from the balls of my feet, I sighed as if content, a man finished with a difficult task. I dusted my hands against each other, once, twice, then changed gears completely. Spinning on my heel, my right hand dipped once more, snagging the combat knife from where it was sheathed on my hip. Finishing the half turn, I got my second surprise of the day.

"A third thief."

This one was some kind of tribal, although I was unfamiliar with the natives of Scara Brae. His strange words meant nothing to me, but the shortsword in his hand spoke clearly. My hand whipped back then forwards, my bayonet flashing across the room like blue chain lightning, its dark azure blade dancing in the fresh daylight. An inexperienced thrower, I couldn't be certain the knife woud land blade first. It was aimed well though, toppling end over end on a collision course with the tribal's bare chest.

[Abenaki]

Fast...

The intact majority of the broken door next to him became Jada's greatest friend as he hastily ducked back into the doorway he had crept through not seconds before, his hand still on the door to keep it from swinging open, and also to help him maintain his balance. Whatever object the man standing opposite the room had just thrown struck the wall next to the door jamb flatly with a metallic clang, falling harmlessly to the floor not a foot from where the warrior stood. He was waiting for me? Jada wondered silently, shifting his grip on his own weapon as his heart raced. With a quick glance around the edge of the door to locate the man again, Jada reached down and picked up the blade resting on the floor.

So fast, the warrior thought again. Back with the arm, and then forward in one clean motion...

The metal along the blade was cold on Jada's fingers, and held an odd blue tint unlike any other metal he had seen. It had an odd weight to it as well, but balanced. Tossing the weapon one-half rotation handle over blade, Jada caught it by the grip. It felt good in his hand, and almost casually he switched it around to a reverse grip. Contemptuously he held the blade up, point down, one finger extended towards the man. "You are a snake." He said in heavily accented tradespeak. "Like the viper, you attack quickly!" The motion was accented with a quick slashing movement diagonally through the air with the blue-tinted blade. "Strike first, ask second, nda?"

I wonder if this man is from the Pagoda. Jada wondered as he spoke. Either that, or I'm in the wrong place, and most unwelcome...

[Breaker]

"Goddamn impulsive. The hell is wrong with you?"

As if from a great distance, I was shocked at my own behaviour. I would normally never throw a weapon away; besides that, I normally reserved lethal attacks for life-or-death situations. This realization did nothing to calm me. I could feel blood pounding in my ears, thick with adrenaline. Every pore of me screamed for action. The tribal had stolen my blade, now dually arming himself. Some distant, calm part of me realized that unless he was ambidextrous he might hurt himself. The thought drifted just outside my core, informing but not really influencing my actions. My mind was a slow boiling vat of anger, building to a destructive crescendo.

The sun seemed to mock me, rising higher and heating the arena. My anger built with the atmosphere, complementing my surroundings. The bare-chested man had chosen the wrong Warrior to attack, and the wrong place to do it. I knew the tricks of my arena, from the octagonal gridwork of iron bars ten feet above, to the steel cage traps I could bring down with the touch of a button. I would need none of this though; I was fully confident in my ability to take the bastard down.

Again the tribal spoke, this time in language I recognized. His speech was thickly accented though, cutting down on my understanding. It seemed clear that he was insulting me, something about a snake. Normally taunts rolled off me like raindrops, but the barb stung my temper, jacking the heat in my mind. Empty handed, I began striding across the arena, locked in combat mode. The normally emotionless void of meditation was packed full of rage, ready to explode in violence.

Many Althanians put too much faith in their weapons, not realizing how dangerous an unarmed martial artist could be. I sincerely hoped the tribal was one of these, hoped he would attack, expecting to slice me to ribbons. My mouth slowly drew itself into a hard curved line, a grin which showed nothing but beastial rage and mania. I was one with my enemy, and with the arena around me. I felt the floor change as I stepped off the hardwood onto the dense blue mats. There was still a solid ten metres between us, but I pressed onwards at a steady pace, unarmed, ready for anything.

"You should have brought your friends with you, Native. Now show me how you work with your blades."

[Abenaki]

This one knows what he's doing. Jada decided quickly. Either that or he's a fool...

While his jibe may or may not have been the factor that goaded the man into advancing, fools generally didn't possess the level of quiet confidence that Jada felt emanating from this man. Raging anger, outlandish boasts, and generally insulting behavior; these were the signs of a fool. None of that was manifested here. Jada seemed to have found himself alone in a room with a silent and serious individual with apparently deadly intent.

Maybe he's insane? the warrior thought, perplexed. No. Crazy people don't calmly lay in wait, striking when the moment in right...

While he might have liked to hang back, contemplating further the questionable stability of his opponent's mind, Jada wasn't about to sit back on his heels and wait for the steadily approaching man to get close to him. Spirits be damned if he was going to allow an unarmed man to take offensive control of the impending brawl before it had even begun. While no master in the art of combat, Jada was at least competent, and if there was any one thing he had never allowed his lack of finesse to dictate, it was whether or not he initiated the first attack...

Iron short sword in his right hand, mystery blade held reverse and in reserve in his left, Jada took two half-running bounds forward, rapidly closing the majority of what remained of a ten meter gap between the two. With the third, almost close enough to spit in the man's face, Jada brought his sword arm up and across his body, a hip-to-shoulder slashing motion that tended to manifest itself as his first attack. It was a move simplistic enough to be pulled off easily, and yet just complex enough that a headlong opponent (especially one with nothing to defend himself) might need to fall back or find some other creative means of avoidance...

Somehow, as he lashed out at the cool exterior of this nameless stranger, Jada got the sinking feeling that this man might just choose the latter of those two options...

[Breaker]

Before I had cleared the mats, the tribal made his move. He flew towards me in long bounding strides reminescent of a hunting dog, blades at theready. I halted, allowing him to come to me, balanced on the balls of my feet. I breathed in once as the native descended on me, weapons flashing, hair flailing behind him. He made an impressive figure, muscle and sinew bulging, glowing like an icon in the early morning sun. I stood ready for him.

The short sword in his righ hand dipped and I shifted my legs, thinking he might try to hamstring me. The sword whipped up instead, a deadly bird taking flight, tracing a line across my torso. I swayed backwards on the balls of my feet, briefly shifting my weight back on to my left foot, then whipping my body forwards again. As the sword cleared my shoulder I struck in the opening he had left, both hands coming into play. With the scum who would dare to attack me in my own arena, I would fight in earnest.

My left hand shot out, aiming straight at his eyes. My fingers were stiff as wood, bent and spread apart slightly. Each made a small slim spike, sent on a mission to blind my enemy. I had not forgotten the prevaldia knife he now held, however. In the same instant, my right hand reached up and snapped down, knife-like in a swift karate chop. It was directed at the tribal's left wrist, intended to disarm him. I wanted my weapon back, more thann willing to take it by force.

I had divided my focus between my two hands, sacrificing some power in the concentration required for a double strike. Suddenly, a third element invaded my mind. A sharp stinging slashed through my left shoulder, accompanied by uncomfortable warmth. My eyes flashed quickly, and my anger doubled. I had been too hasty in my attack, bringing my upper body forwards before the slash had passed by. The tribal's blade had opened a long, shallow cut across the front of my left shoulder. The black fabric of my shirt gaped like a diseased maw, trickling into the material. I ground my teeth, pupils contracting. The tribal would pay for opening my veins.

[Abenaki]

Jada allowed himself a small modicum of satisfaction as his opponent halted his advance to late, just inside the deadly reach of his arcing blade. That satisfaction only heightened the warrior's surprise, however, as the man arched backwards with the same astounding speed he had displayed earlier, leaning just outside the path of the blade as it slashed across his chest. How a person reacting that quickly maintained their balance was lost on Jada as the nameless man whipped forward again like a spring, attacking almost as quickly as he had shirked back.

Moh'-dze! Jada's mind screamed. Shit!

The warrior's hands couldn't react quickly enough, and his head couldn't turn fast enough, to deflect or completely evade the unexpected counter-attack directed as his eyes. Pain exploded through Jada's head as he caught the brunt of the attack with the side of his nose and the temple beside his right eye. The man's two fingers, as stiff and as unrelenting as stone, sent shockwaves bouncing through the warrior's skull, his fingernails gouging twin marks that immediately began to bleed. With his heart pounding in his ears, and blood threatening to cloud his vision, Jada stumbled to one knee with the first blow, completely ignorant of the second strike that whipped just past his wrist.

Reeling from the onslaught, Jada reacted instinctively, wildly; a wounded animal trying to startle back a vicious predator...

Across from the warrior's left side came the shorter blade in a wide stabbing motion. At the same time his right arm dropped and came back as well, slashing from left to right as well. They were panicked swings of desperation, wild counter-attacks with both arms swinging across his body, tipping the young warrior off balance as he lashed out. As sloppy and as primal as the attacks were, however, a predator always need watch out for such reprisals when closing in for the kill. Were the predator not careful, he might just find himself in his own dire situation...

[Breaker]

My opponent reeled, suffering. Tiny droplets of crimson blood dripped from his head where my fingers had just missed their mark. Seeing his pain, I bore down, going for the kill. I stepped forward, but he came back quicly, attacking with both weapons. I may have been able to avoid them, with a quick roll or other evasive tactic. I wanted to stay close though, wanted to finish him quickly. I could take the damage, and power through it. My wounded shoulder was nearly forgotten, pain pushed into the darkest recesses of my mind. I would hurt, but he would hurt worse.

As the tribal struck, I pivoted, facing his sweeping blades head on. My left forearm rose through the stinging in its shoulder, blocking his meeting his right arm and halting the slashing sword. This done, I shifted my focus quickly, sliding my right arm downard in a powerful low block. It was too late though, for even as my arm met his, the prevaldia bayonet pierced my hip.

"Ssssss-hah!"

Air whistled between my teeth as I exhaled hard, imagining the pain flowing out of me in a conduit. Pranic energy flowed in, the pain leaving, and I struck. My left hand stiffened and shot out, a powerful chop aiming the edge of my hand at the tribal's throat. It was a deadly technique, used to crush an opponent's cartilage, ruining their windpipe.

I staggered backwards, leaning heavily on my uninjured left leg. Blood ran down my thigh and soaked into my black pants, practically invisible in the dark material. I needed better defence against the native's edged weapons. Instinctively, my right hand snaked behind me, snatching my nunchaku from its holster. I held both ends of the jointed weapon in one hand, taking up a defensive stance. If the tribal came close to me, I would be ready, this time taking him with the surprising range of the nunchaku.

[Abenaki]

Off balance from his attack, Jada landed heavily on his left side. The floor beneath his bare chest cold against the thin sheen of sweat that was forming all over his body, and that cool temperature against his skin brought the warrior sharply back into focus. Blood from the minor but oozing wounds on his temple and nose was starting to get all over the right side of his face, including in his eye, hindering his vision. At some point in the scuffle he had lost the shorter mystery blade taken from his attacker, but his grip on his sword was still strong. More than anything, Jada took notice of the fact that his opponent was staggering backwards, heavily favoring one leg.

On the ground a few feet away was the mystery blade, its azure tip dark with blood.

Wounded. Jada thought blissfully, hefting himself back up to one knee. His gaze was locked onto his opponent the entire time, tracking his movements as the man materialized another odd weapon from behind his back. Wounded and armed...

Rather than rush to press an advantage he no longer held, Jada took the man's defensive preparations as an opportunity to retrieve the now bloodied short blade before rising to his feet. Blood ran in thick streaks down the side of his face and his nose, falling in thick droplets from his chin to the floor below. Fast. Unafraid. Wounded. Jada ticked off his opponents attributes mentally, trying to regulate his breathing. The Snake's Defiance, the branded rune on the back of his neck, tingled lightly as its spiritual effects cleansed the pain of his minor wounds from his body.

"You fight like the bear." Jada admitted grudgingly. "Relentless and bold." To try and get a positional advantage he began carefully stepping around his opponent in a wide semi-circle, counter-clockwise in direction towards the man’s wounded leg. "Yet even the bear can be wounded, can be defeated."

After a second's pause he added. "And I, Jada, will defeat you."

[Breaker]

"This guy is all over the place. I'm surprised he hasn't stabbed himself yet."

The tribal's wild attacks seemed to be constantly throwing him off balance. In a strange way, he reminded me of a street fighter. The kind of punks who learned to fight just by fighting way too much, ignoring finesse and technique in favour of power. The way to deal with this type of fighter was keep your attack technical, solid, and fast. I felt confident that I could exploit the native's weakness.

I was breathing heavily, I realized, but mostly because of the pain in my hip. The more I focussed on my breathing, the less conscious I was of the blood flowing from my open wound. It didn't feel all that deep-- not enough to bleed me out, anyway. But the hip was slowing me down.

"No problem, I'll let Tarzan here do all the moving."

Indeed, the native began to circle, trying to get on my weak side. He opened his mouth, and again the garbled gobledeygook which sounded a little like tradespeak flowed out.

"What?... no! He didn't just say his name is Jada... it couldn't be."

For a brief moment, my normally confident grasp on reality slipped. I wondered if I had, in fact, attacked one of my students upon his arrival. If this wasn't Jada, then where was he? People often showed up late, but that made a lowsy reason for assuming the tribal wasn't Jada.

"No... that can't be right. None of my students have ever walked through that door with weapons drawn. Besides, he would have spoken to me in tradespeak if he wanted to be understood. This bastard is a much better fighter than those other two thieves could ever be, they must have sent him after me. At the very least, Jada would have KNOWN who I am, would have asked rather than attacking me full out."

The tribal had not identified himself as Jada, it had merely been a sound I evoked from his messy speech. I had probably, on some subconscious level, been thinking about Jada, and that had made me hear the name. Like seeing shapes in the stars.

My moment's hesitation fueled my wrath once more. The sun's increasingly powerful rays was turning my black clothing into a furnace, and sweat dripped onto the well-used blue mats. Again I turned my full attention to defeating the invader.

I stepped forward onto my left leg, staying in good balance. Releasing one end of the nunchaku, I snapped my arm forward, aiming the initial strike for the inside of my enemy's left wrist, again trying to disarm him. The whiplike nature of the chuck gave it both incredible power and speed, and I had barely finished the first strike when I began the second, the steel nun-chuck seeming to have life of its own as it snapped at the tribal's left temple. My arm was fully extended as I delivered the blow, and as I pulled back I aimed the flailing chuck for Tarzan's right wrist, figuring if I could disarm him completely I'd have the fight won. It as a fairly standard triangle attack, out-in-out, a striking combination unique to the nunchaku.

Settling my weight back on the uninjured leg, I curled the chuck over my shoulder, reaching my left hand behind my back and catching it there. Holding one end of my weapon just above my right shoulder, the other near the small of my back, I would be able to attack or defend in a heartbeat, with either hand.

[Abenaki]

Like the viper... That earlier jibe came back to haunt him as Jada followed the odd weapon in his opponent's hand. A single step forward, followed almost instantly by a quick strike, like a snake lunging at its prey. The weapon extended forward, attacking his left wrist. Already moving in a counter-clockwise direction around the man, Jada merely quickened his next step, sidestepping the strike. What Jada didn’t plan for, however, was the quick follow-up strike that would have undoubtedly knocked him unconscious were it not for a reflexive duck. Following that, in a move even more unpredictable for the young warrior, the snake weapon lashed out a third time. Caught fully unprepared by this third quick strike, Jada could only hiss in pain as all strength left his right hand and his iron short sword clanged off the floor...

"Moh'dze!" This time the curse wasn't internal, but a painful yelp as Jada instinctively clutched his broken wrist to his chest, accidently nicking himself across the abdomen with his opponent's blade as he brought his left hand up to support his right. This time the tingling on the back of his neck was more of a cooling wave that flowed from the rune out along his extremities to cool the intense, burning pain in his wrist. By the time his opponent's weapon had coiled itself around his arm, Jada's pain was dissipated, allowing him to quickly regain control...'

A wounded bear with tricks up his sleeves. He thought irately. He's obviously skilled enough with that thing that I can't sit back and allow him to dictate the pace.

With his pain under control, reduced now to a dull ache in the joint, rather than the flaring intense pain of broken bone, Jada lowered his injured arm to his side, and brandished the blue-tinted blade offensively. The warrior figured that at this point in the battle the wounds inflicted on either of them would begin to play a larger and larger role in the outcome, and that any advantage would prove immensely valuable. It was at this point, that Jada had one distinct advantage in mind...

With a wild battle-cry, Jada lunged into a quick and furious charge, the tip of the short blade seeking its former owner's heart in a forward thrust. As he hurtled across the short gap between the two men, his wild cry ricocheted off the walls of their small arena, rising on the air into the sun-illuminated dome...

"Awasos!"

[Breaker]

I felt little satisfaction as the tribal's iron sword dropped from his hand. I was letting the bare-chested warrior get the best of me, allowing his quick stabbing attacks to part my flesh, while hardly landing any attacks myself. I needed to pull myself together, to deal some serious damage. At that point, the fight was not looking good for me, bleeding from two flesh wounds. The blod flow was not heavy, but I could feel the damaged areas weakening, my hip in particular. Luckily, I can balance as well on one leg as most people can on two, and it wasn't like my wounded limb was completely useless. Despite that, I needed to end things quickly.

Drawing on my anger, I lowered myself into the abyss of black rage, feeling more and more adrenaline flow into my veins. I drew on the power it lent me, feeling my muscles harden to superhuman standards as my strength tripled. The next time I struck the native, he would be going down for sure.

"Remember, think of him as a streetfighter," I commanded myself, gripping the nunchaku tightly. "You need to dodge his next attack, which won't be easy with a damaged leg. Watch his muscles, watch his legs, watch his eyes. He will telegraph the move, and you can avoid it easily if you watch closely." I shifted my feet on the hard spongey mats, ready to spring. My pulse pounded like a metronome, counting the beats until the enemy lunged.

His eyes wild like a summer storm, the tribal came at me, a horrid war-cry erupting from his throat. I moved practically in tandem, jumping off my good leg, dodging to the left. The bayonet thrust into thin air, its blade shining like blue fire. I landed on both feet, ignoring the painful jolt which ripped through my hip. I opened my left hand, once more taking control of the nunchaku with my right. It snaped down and across my body, knapping on my left hip before changing direction. I aimed the blow at the back of my opponent's neck, the hard steel of my weapon ready to break the bare-chested tribal.

[Abenaki]

Even as the strength of the bear flooded his muscles, the single word that activated the dormant spirit energies of his surroundings still hanging on his lips, Jada's mind went not to a place of elation, but rather to a place of resignation. It seemed that no matter how quickly he moved, his opponent was always quicker. It seemed that even as the weapon in his hand pierced the thin air where his opponent had stood not a second before, the end was fast arriving. That thin air should have been a man, but instead it was an empty space that spelled the young warrior's doom...

Poor choice... Jada thought grimly. You've left yourself too open...

Something hard struck Jada square across the base of his neck, pain flashing like lightning up and down his spine and down the length of his arms. A sound not unlike a hammer striking a side of meat hung in the air of the small arena as stars burst through the young warrior's vision and his body buckled under its own weight. Were it not for the extra strength flowing through him on account of Summoning the Bear, and the extra height added by rising back to a standing position after lunging, the blow might have struck him higher on the neck, ending his life instantly. Jada almost sluggishly attempted put his hands up to try and catch himself on his hands and knees as he fell, but there was no strength in his limbs and he sprawled face first onto the blue mats on the arena floor...

My turn... His mind intoned, clinging to the seemingly back and forth nature of the fight. Attack and counter, attack and counter had been the pace of the day, and even in the dim recesses of his mind Jada was still trying to muster something of a response to his opponent’s last action. Unfortunately for the warrior, his mind was the only thing still fighting. The vigor in his body was gone, his strength ebbing out of him as darkness encroached on the outer reaches of his vision. The Snake's Defiance was a rune-shaped firebrand on the back his neck, blazing furiously as it dulled the pain. It was an intensely odd sensation, lying there on the ground with relatively no pain, unable to get up and unable to fight back...

Here we are again. Doubt said again from the deepest recesses of the warrior's mind. As the darkness closed over his vision Jada could almost envision the voice pulling up a chair inside his head and settling down to give him a stern talking to. You can't do this, the voice continued, you are no warrior...

[Breaker]

I guess this is my "warning". Good battle, worthy adversary. PS, bunny approved by Abenaki.


A sound like a stone being thrown into a marsh slithered to my ears, the result of my nunchaku finding its mark. The tribal's muscles melted, his body dropping to the mat. The insane vitality that possessed him before had vanished like a wraith, leaving an empty shell which flopped downwards, a discarded rag doll.

The anger possessed me fully, forcing me forwards. With long, smooth strokes I smashed the nunchaku down on the tribal's head, again and again until it was difficult to tell his brain matter from the blood-soaked mats below. The steel chuck dripped crimson, a bone fragment embedded in the leather cover.

[Skie and Avery]

Numbers is red
Abenaki is blue

STORY

Continuity:
8 The way you set this up was genius. The breath of fresh air that was brought to the fight was absolutely amazing, turning this into a fight that drew me in right from the start.
5 There were quite a few things that I would have liked to see from you. While being a Warrior, Joshua had all the reasons he was there explained, what brings Jada here? Why has it been so long since he last fought? What gives him such a bad view of the Citadel?

Setting:
5 I think you’re getting really comfortable with the scene and don’t feel the need to set it up as well anymore. At first you were really strong, but entering into the arena, the description began to get more vague.
6 You used the door as a shield, which was very good, but I felt that you, as well, could have benefited with a more descriptive narrative.

Pacing:
7
9
Well done, though maybe just a tad rushed in the end, on Numbers’ part. I really couldn’t believe this thread pulled me in so easily. It was done before I could believe it, and the pacing, considering it was a battle, would have been absolutely perfect if perhaps the ending had not left off so abruptly.

CHARACTER

Dialogue:
9 Using the difficulty of understanding accents as a plot device was masterful, and while a good one, not one that’s often seen. The use of paranoia and racism ((assuming that Jada’s a native, and thusly can only be a thief if he’s a local)) were also well done.
8 I always like to see a character’s “Other language” put to use in a thread, rather than just simply having the translation typed out with the idea that no one would be able to understand it.

Action:
8
8

Persona:
7 Wow, seeing Josh lose it like that was kinda crazy. Sexy!
7 I really liked seeing your character react to all these things that he’s unfamiliar with, the weapons and prevalida, etc. Sometimes, with all these cultures colliding on Althanas, the wonder of new things get lost in the shuffle. I would like to see a little more internal dialogue, however, that doesn’t have to do with bewilderment and awe. There are other emotions, you know.

WRITING STYLE

Mechanics:
8 a couple of spelling errors. There’s a couple of times when you used your intended word’s homonym, but that’s just one of those things that slip by spell checker and often our minds when we skim over.
9

Technique:
8
7
Both of you have solid techniques, but small improvements couldn’t hurt. More description, a few more turns of phrases, help things move along a little more smoothly.

Clarity:
10
10

Wild Card:
6
5

Total:
76
74
016573 is the winner

016573 receives 1250 EXP and 682 GP
Abenaki receives 300 EXP and 155 GP

[Letho]

EXP/GP added.