[Open] I am Nosdyn 2.

[Nosdyn]

(Looking for one combatant. Level does not matter. I am trying to remaster my basic combat mechanics)

Nosdyn stared forward.

The arena had already been formed to his exact specifications. There was a battlefield all around him. The chosen battlefield was Radasanth and it was being pillaged by a massive, unknown army. Nosdyn specified to the monks that he and his opponent could interact with the raging battle. The assailants were a race of mysterious shadow entities that were very strong. Each of the shadows was armed with different arms and powers. But they were somehow similar. They'd attacked one day simply without warning.

Radasanth had been the target, and they were attacking any who attempted to interfere with their assault. Nosdyn had another mission that day. It was not the defense of Radasanth, but rather he wanted to re-teach himself skirmishing tactics. And his own capacity for survival. Recently, he'd met the boy...Morus...in The Citadel. It had been a lop-sided battle...but the boy had earned Nosdyn's respect. Further in recent times, Nosdyn had settled in Stonevale and had grown attached to that town and her people. Though Nosdyn did not have a mate yet, he had something and somebody to fight for. A reason to fight for Demons was something VERY dangerous. It could change the world. Nosdyn had acquired during the recent events with his second encounter with Jake Narmonalya that he'd grown to love Stonevale. He wasn't sure why or for what purpose. Only that it was his reality now.

The Demon stood on a rooftop of a ruined building. Fires burned throughout the city, smoke rising into the sky. It was mid-afternoon on a Wednesday. the thirty first year of Nosdyn's life. Nosdyn was there on that desolate and ravaged Radasanth listening to the sounds of battle. People were getting killed and he could have helped, but that was not the point. The point was to survive a devastating conflict. Nosdyn turned towards the general direction of where the chamber's gate was and proceeded to wait. He had something to prove. He was trying to bring a peaceful coexistence between Men and Demons. It was a dream and it was a simple dream worth fighting for. Stonevale had accepted Nosdyn for who he was and changed him.

The rest was still evolving, still changing. As Radasanth, the capitol of Corone fell all around him, he was strangely calm. He was at peace on a battlefield. It was more home to him than a warm bed occupied by a lover or three. He was a Demon first and foremost and he was bourne for battle.

To Hell with anything else...

[Hayate_Amatsukami]

“Yes Lord Osiris.” Hayate obediently answered as Shinsou spoke about his upcoming mission. It hadn’t been long since the young Amatsukami boy found himself in the tutelage of Lord Osiris, but it had been filled with excitement. The time that the lord of Yukon spent away from Akashima had all but changed the boy from a board young noble to a full-fledged member of the Brotherhood. Shinsou, the do factor leader of the Brotherhood, had opened Hayate up to the idea that there were people out there in the world that made his measly power and allegiances look positively trivial.

Can we really trust this guy? a voice echoed through the young lord’s psyche like an intercom. It was the voice of his partner Yamato, a powerful spirit bound to Hayate by his noble blood. He seemed concerned and not yet ready to accept Shinsou as a suitable replacement to the Shogun of Akashima. If any of the other houses back in Yukon would find out about switching sides like this blood will be spilled.

I’m well aware of that Yamato.

How can you stay here in Radasanth meandering around like you haven’t a care in the world? the voice intensified. Yamato must have been feeling uneasy since their last Citadel match.

Silence,Hayate barked stopping Yamato’s whining. I am still the head of the clan, you need to treat me as such!The voice in his mind went quiet and the young lord was once again alone with his thoughts.

Hayate had gotten a little distracted conversing with his partner and lost track on what Shinsou was saying to him. The two of them had been walking through the lower district of Radasanth as they discussed the purpose of the brotherhood. Hayate was pleased to hear that they worked on the side of the people, and for hours listened to the laws that governed the group of soldiers. He hadn’t yet met anyone other than Shinsou but from the way he described it the Brotherhood was a decently large organization.

“… It’s your job to deal with him.” Lord Osiris went on and on about a man who had registered in the Citadel. He talked about him like he was a very dangerous man and a sure fire target for the Brotherhood to keep an eye on. Shinsou went on about how this man was wanted across the land for a number of murders, but decided to hold up here in Radasanth for some reason. It was really remarkable the info that Lord Osiris was able to come by with his connections.

Later Hayate found himself standing in front of the large ornate doors of the Citadel facing the same pit in his stomach as he did the first time he was here. He still needed to be cautious about his identity until he could make his way back to Akashima and wrap up the loose ends he’d left there. But until then wore his mask of bone over his face and covered his head with a white hood. The monks of the Citadel must have been used to many other doing much the same thing and never gave him a second glance before the activated the doors.

As the large stone tablets moved apart the young lord could feel the sheer amount of chaos emanating from inside. He could smell the smoke and carnage before ever stepping a foot inside the arena. Then as he took his last breath of fresh air Hayate leapt through the magical portal and was whisked away. He reappeared standing atop a war ravaged Radasanth, burning and crumbling all around him. Hayate was on a large building overlooking a perpetual war zone that stretched as far as his eyes could see. After a quick look around he spotted a figure looming behind him. This was presumably his opponent, and in the back of the young lord’s head he began to feel uneasy. Sounds of battle seemed to fill his ears as the world around him raged on.

“I suppose that you must be my man,” Hayate yelled across the smoldering rooftop to Nosdyn. “Did it have to be so depressing in here?” he said in jest as he pointed all around him.

[Nosdyn]

Nosdyn watched his opponent arrive.

He appeared to be a noble folk of some kind or another...it was all right. Nosdyn walked forward and stood next to Hayate. "The fall of society." Nosdyn began. "Interesting to think about how close to the edge people are at any one point in time. I chose this arena for a reason." Nosdyn said calmly. He looked up at the smoke stained sky. "Death is also something interesting to think about." Nosdyn rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "But I did not request an opponent to discuss world views. I believe you answered the call for the same reason." Nosdyn equipped his weapon, removing the latch portion from his belt.

He activated his weapon, the blade manifesting a moment later. Yet, he did not immediately attack Hayate. "It's interesting to see how quickly empires crumble. We cling and cling to center at the calm of a storm...and in the end it all means shit." Nosdyn had a sad expression on his face. The sounds of the battle being waged and lives being snuffed out were a constant thing in that arena. In the distance, the image of The Citadel was on fire and being pillaged. At that point the shadow men clearly had defeated the forces of Radasanth. The motives of the attack were unclear, but it was clear that they were there to conquer.

Nosdyn looked off to his west for a moment, the shadow men were conversing on a huge estate.

Though normally he would have helped them...he knew it was futile to interfere. There would be another day to fight the shadow men. He turned his attention back towards Hayate. "On your mark, we can begin." Nosdyn said carefully.

[Hayate_Amatsukami]

He is of Hadian blood. Yamato chimed in while Nosdyn was flapping his lips. They are a tough bunch. Shall I take care of him for you?

Not just yet, I’m here to gauge his competence. Why don’t we take it easy for a moment and see what we are getting into first. Remember last time?

Don’t remind me…

Hayate watched as his opponent drew his weapon. It was a strange weapon that gave off a deep purple glow and a slight buzzing sound. The young lord hadn’t seen anything like it in Akashima, assuming it to be of forges of Hadia or wherever he hailed from. Hayate matched the demon as he unlatched his horse killer’s blade and swung it a violent arc overhead. The blade of the weapon was etched with ancient Akashiman runes of power that pulsed with every heartbeat. They both wielded amazing weapons that in all effects were alien to one other.

“I see,” Hayate spoke in a rough voice through his mask. Suddenly without finishing his thought Hayate hiked his leg back before kicking a sizable piece of the crumbling roof at Nosdyn. It wouldn’t do much more than distract the man but never the less it was an opening. Fallowing in the shadow of the debris Hayate closed the gap between the two before droping low and swinging his mighty blade. He aimed to sever both of Nosdyn’s ankles with a single stroke ending this fight before it could even begin.

Don’t get to excited, you know he isn’t going to fall for it. Yamato echoed prepping Hayate for his counter attack. The two of them had been fighting as partners for a number of years and both learned that a frontal assault was never a great plan. In spite of this rash battle tactic they needed to start the engagement by any means.

That where you come in!

“Rise Corpse King.”

[Nosdyn]

Nosdyn was ready.

He observed the giant sword his opponent held in his grip...it was likely an Akashiman curved sword. He didn't remember the actual, "correct" name of such weapons off hand. He'd ever only been to Akashima a few times in his earlier days. He didn't know his propers when it came to Akashiman technology and weaponry. His eyes were focused and he observed every movement his opponent made. The debris that was kicked up with surprising ferocity was smacked aside. A small bruise developed where the larger portion of the stone like debris struck him.

The reflecting light of his opponent's sword caught Nosdyn's attention. He is attacking. Preparing an adequate strategy, Nosdyn felt his skin harden as the rush of demonic blood poured in his vessel. He kept his eyes locked on his opponent's eyes as the man struck his ankles. Yes, the majestic weapon did connect with Nosdyn. However, it was met with significant resistance as Nosdyn's flesh became hard as iron. Nosdyn looked down towards his opponent. There was a trickling of demonic blood as Hayate's sword struck his body. Nosdyn had always favoured wearing leather armour to combat as it did not restrict his movement capacity.

Nosdyn held his weapon aloft for a moment deciding what to do next. The warrior, his opponent, said something about corpse something or another. Nosdyn assumed that he was preparing to use this or that personal power. He didn't mind it really. He tightened his grip on his weapon. Rotating it a moment or two and then he prepared his own strike. Nosdyn skillfully pivoted towards Hayte despite the numbed pain he felt from the curve sword's impact.

Nosdyn had recently upgraded his weapon so that it was the tier of prevalida. The capacity of making adamantium had been lost to history and the ages of time a generation or two ago. Nosdyn was content with the power his prevalida upgrade provided. As he stood there, he swung his weapon. But he swung it in a wide, middle level arcing swing from his ready position. He meant to strike Hayate in the meaty shoulder area of his body. Nosdyn's weapon left a trail of energy as he swung it. He kept his eyes locked on Hayate's own gaze. As he swung his weapon, he vaguely recalled shadow men moving across a nearby roof not yet attempting to interfere with their match. They were distracted by locals they were killing...

[Hayate_Amatsukami]

Sweat leapt from Hayate’s neck as all the momentum he carried was stricken from him. His sword imbedded itself in the leather of Nosdyn’s armor as if it were made of metal. But that couldn’t have been the case. He must have done something to stop Hayate’s attack but it was a mystery to him at the moment. All he could do was match the demon’s icy gaze waiting for Nosdyn’s counter attack, but a lot can happen in just a moment.

As Nosdyn looked down upon Hayate he swung his blade in a violent attack aimed at the young lord’s right shoulder. But in the very instant he dared to strike down Hayate things went from bad to worse for the demon. Hayate’s blade that was once firmly within his grip vanished into a cloud of grey smoke and from underneath him a larger fist broke through the roof sending rubble and cinder flying. Nosdyn’s blade was met with the steely flesh of the Corpse King as Hayate conjured his brother in arms to the battlefield. Blood seeped through the clutches of the Corps King’s fist as it caught the demon’s blade just moments before it would have slain Hayate. Though his titan was strong the demon's strange weapon still cut fairly deep into it's ethereal flesh.

Bring this whole building to the ground Yamato! Hayate screamed telepathically to his partner lumbering one floor below them. All that was heard was a low growling sound in response and just for a moment all seemed to stop. Hayate’s stare intensified as he could start to feel their building quake. Hayate recovered gracefully returning to his feet and shuffled backwards a few paces.

“Get ready for a fight you won’t forget!” the young lord taunted the Hadian as the Corpse King let go of the warriors blade and withdrew his hand back into the floor below. Violently the building began to shake as just below them Hayate’s Avatar began to trash about throwing itself into all the supporting walls and pillars. The suddenly the floor beneath Hayate’s feet began to crumble causing the young lord to plummet down a level. The roof continued to fracture and crumble away spreading directly towards the demon. Below Hayate landed safely on the shoulder of his titan. It continued to thrash about for a few more moments before the entire structural support of the building was compromised.

Through the wall! Hayate instructed his monster and with one final powerful leap the Corpse King smashed though the wall to the outside. It flew through the air for the briefest of moments before sinking its claws into the adjacent building hanging and observing the devistation behind.

[Nosdyn]

Two targets now...

Was the one thought that burned in his mind. The entire time that the corpse king creature destroyed the support structure, Nosdyn had a flash-back. He recalled the first time he met Jake Narmonalya in battle, back in Alerar, back in Ettermire. A different situation that was and Nosdyn had a building collapse around him thanks to Jake performing a specific attack. Even as the building began to sink in on itself, debris crashing everywhere, Nosdyn kept his eyes locked Hayate and his pet. Nosdyn's blue face remained calm the entire time as the building fell. He smiled, sinking slowly with the building.

Glass, stone, mortar flew about everywhere. A cloud of dust and debris came flying upward to obfuscate the demon. Nossdyn still kept smiling. As he sunk below the cloud he acted. Slashing outward, the purple blade emitted a shine brightly through the dust cloud. it created an eerie effect. The blade, sharp as prevalida, shattered the debris coming around Nosdyn. Two can play this game. Nosdyn thought to himself. He was not a fast individual, but rather strong and armed with the capacity to endure.

As he slashed outward, he made short work of debris, stones and mortar. There was a tremendous noise of things breaking apart and being undone. Nosdyn's mystical sword slicing things with ease. Once he cleared a path for himself he stalked Hayate and The Corpse King. The Corpse King had latched until an opposite structure across from the one they were just on. Nosdyn kept that grim smile on his face. The entire time...he smiled as the building collapsed. You are not Jake. Nosdyn suddenly thought of his arch-enemy turned ally. With a swipe of his sword, Nosdyn began to slash at the same wall that Hayate and The Corpse King were hanging on to.

Nosdyn began to slice and cut at it, without warning. Some injuries existed on Nosdyn from the sharper debris that had struck him but Nosdyn barely felt that. Though in truth, the bruises and cuts were quite massive. He could still act through the pain. The pain fueled his power. As he slashed at the stone wall, there were more screams as Radasanth continued to burn. The shadow-men had continued their assault leaving Hayate and Nosdyn alone for the most part. Though Nosdyn knew that was likely to change at some point...

Nosdyn continued to destroy the wall supporting Hayate, waiting to see the effects of the devastating...

[Hayate_Amatsukami]

Surprisingly the demon of Hadia was okay. Through all the rubble and sharp debris the young lord figured it would have been an easy victory. But it didn’t seem like Nosdyn would be giving up so quickly.

Did you just see that?...

Suspending their disbelief the two peered down on the beast of a man as he whipped his violet weapon around like a mad man. They hadn’t much time to think as Nosdyn almost effortlessly cleaved huge pieces of the foundation away. It didn’t take long for the pair of them to feel the building’s foundation rock as it began to lose its’ stability. So instinctively they duo acted choosing to go down to the surface streets below.

The Corpse King loosened his grip on the wall and began to slide down its side until they were roughly two floors off the ground. At which point the spectral titan used its powerful legs to hurl the two of them into the center of the street. By now it was already clear to the young lord that Nosdyn wouldn’t be slain by brute force and had decided that their fight would take a more creative turn. The moment the Corpse King touched the ground Hayate dispelled his magic and his titan faded back into nothingness.

“You’re hard to kill…” Hayate yelled at the demon standing about twenty yards from him. The young lord was looking for some kind of tell, a flaw he could exploit, or something at all he could use. He saw that he was hurt, but his cuts and bruises didn’t seem to bother the brute. Were all demons this resilient or was this one special?

While the two stared each other down there was movement brewing all around them. The shadowy men had finally set their eyes on the two fighters now that they were down and in the open. Almost instantly they attacked from the alleys screeching and flailing their sharp shadow weapons. Hayate was caught off guard a bit and stumbled backwards avoiding the three shadows that moved in on him. As the magic of the Corpse King disappeared his faithful weapon returned to its original form in the young lords clutches. Like a tornado Hayate spun violently slicing at the shadows as the pursued him. As the edge of his blade met with the monsters it passed right throw them like they weren’t even there.

Run my Lord.

Hayate headed his partners warning and turned kicking up dust in his wake. Nosdyn would have to wait to continue their fight until they could get rid of these pesky invaders.

[Nosdyn]

Wind cascaded through the streets of Radasanth, carrying with it the scents of death and blood.

Nosdyn looked around he was prepared to attack the golem-like creature that Hayate had summoned. It was massive, but Nosdyn was ready to do everything he could to defeat it. However, before he could attack it, the creature vanished in a wisp of smoke and energy. Nosdyn did not know why or how...his own magics had a different path of study. He's a crafty one. Nosdyn thought to himself as his eyes twitched. Nosdyn was hurt, but not terribly he would fight as long as he could fight.

He'd requested such an arena to provide a worthy test for himself and his opponent. So far the test has been adequate. He is distracted fighting off the shadow-men. One of the shadow men looked at Nosdyn, their cold eyes glowing with power and energy. Such power...there is no intelligence in those though...such a waste. Nosdyn slowly walked towards the nearest of the shadow men. He was already staring deep into the eyes of the creature. The fall of society...we're all just clinging to ideals, beliefs. In the end nothing matters. Nosdyn smiled to himself as he shut his weapon down. Attaching it back to his belt. He'd already proven enough.

However, before any other chaos could happen, he quickly approached the nearest of the shadow men. Nosdyn was never built for speed, but he did not care. He had other strengths. As he lunged forward, he began to summon his power. The mantle of fear. I have not used it for so long... He was a little rusty using the mantle of fear, but he didn't mind. It would be sufficient to penetrate the mind of the shadow men.

For a moment, reality blurred around Nosdyn's mind. He grabbed the shadow man as it attempted to attack, but Nosdyn's purpose was much more refined. He'd done his technique thousands of times before on many victims. The shadow men would not escape his grasp. Nosdyn's eyes began to glow with the energy of fear. As he grabbed that creature, he entered the mind of it. Surprisingly, there was very little mental protection or shielding within the creatures mind. No protection...is there something they want me to see...? As Nosdyn pierced the outter walls of his defensed he yelled towards the creature. "Show me...YOUR MIND."

And the creature began to reveal it's secrets to Nosdyn in a painfully extracted way...

[Hayate_Amatsukami]

The young lord watched ever closely as one after one the shadow men attacked him. He managed to evade them relatively simply as they attacked in a very forward manner with wide telegraphed movements. All it took was taking decisive backward steps and a bit of swinging his sword and any shadow men that attempted to hurt him were pushed back bit by bit. Hayate didn’t seem to be having the slightest bit of trouble dealing with these all but mindless constructs.

By now Hayate had put about fifty or so yards and about twenty shadows between himself and Nosdyn spacing them out a bit. As he continued his backward march the young lord noticed an alley way to his left and quickly diverted himself into it. About forty feet down the alleyway he could see a rudimentary fire escape that leads all the way to the second floor roof. As his feet carried him towards the scaffolding he could hear the shuffling of his pursuers behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge as a wave of fear washed over him. Was this the shadow men or something else?

The young lord lifted himself up onto the rig and once safely on took his blade and sliced through the weak metal ladder below him. He had cut off the shadows from fallowing him any further for the time being but couldn’t help shake the feeling that things weren’t going to be getting better from here. He turned faceing the main street he left his opponent on and pondered if this feeling that was overtaking him was Nosdyn.

After a brief moment of thought the young lord made his way to the top of this relatively small building. He figured that it wouldn’t be long before the demon showed his face again. But Hayate had to come up with some solution to defeat Nosdyn. He was durable that was for sure, but was he impervious? Hayate didn’t think so and began to plot his next move against the beast of a man.

Let me just get my hands on him, Yamato spoke to Hayate. If I can just get a good grip this fight will be over in an instant.

And what if he doesn’t let you, what if he sinks his blade into your heart? the young lord had already noticed the cut on his knuckles from before when the Corpse King caught the demons blade. He wasn’t sure if Nosdyn had caught on yet or not but the damage inflicted onto the Corpse King is reflected back onto Hayate as if it were his own. Still he knew that if they didn’t do anything and be proactive this fight would be over before they even land another blow.

Then let’s play the long game, I’m sure he isn’t going to be able to keep up with us. We could set up some kind of trap from him or something.

And you call me rash and impulsive… For now we will wait and see what he does next. I don’t want to get caught up in whatever he is doing over there.