Duel:Belphesius v Kuzial

Duel Info

• Judges: Jerralith, Kasyr, Sanlig
• Stakes: OOCFC semi-final advancement
• Assigned Duel Details: Deep dragon master terramancers, one miscellanous magic item.
• Rd/time: 3rds / 12 min
• Date: 08/05/2012
• Venue: The Pit of Despair
• Decision: Belphesius

Venue

Pit of Despair
The mass of this room is hard to believe, the walls open up like a stadium underground, it took skilled craftsmanship to build this place. The smell of death and decay fill the air as you look about at the scattered, ripped, and partially consumed corpses of former adventurers. Pieces of armor, finely made with the strongest of materials as well as blades of every shape and size litter the floor, some looking as if they were never given the chance to be used. One set of armor particularly catches your eye, its sterling craftsmanship extraordinary as is the longsword laying nearby with a silver gemstone placed into its handle. Then, you notice the remains of a skeletal structure inside of this artistic piece, and the bony digits still clasping onto the blade, though the skeleton is far from connected or complete. A very large and ominous dragon lies apparently sleeping near the corner of this place. The extent of your mental faculties and instincts tell you to turn back now before you wake it up on accident.

Kuzial vs. Belphesius

Guarlairk enters the hideous pit with the rumbling thunder of a gigantic and altogether enraged deep dragon. The beast is huge, and when his long neck tilts upward to the cavern's ceiling the bellowing roar of challenge he releases into the dark room causes stones and dust to rain down from the roof. This was his domain, none would take it. Eyes that are blind on the surface but see with startling clarity so deep under the earth shift left and right until the dragon spies Belphesius. With another roar of primal rage the huge beast - from tail to snout over eighty feet long - begins to charge directly at his opponent. Bodies and weapons are crushed beneath clawed feet, but all this is ignored as the dragon bears down upon his saurian challenger. When almost near to Belphesius, Guarlairk focuses his mighty will upon the stones beneath the dragon's feet. He doesn't attempt to match terramancy with terramancy, instead all he does is cause the ground below his opponent to quickly soften; like a pool of quicksand. This is more to evade evasion than any attempt to drown the beast before him, for within moments his true attack is giving life: From within his body he readies his most powerful weapon, before drawing in a deep breath through his nose then expelling right at Belphesius a large cloud of caustic gas. It is highly potent, and would within moments begin to devour any living tissue it touches... this, Guarlairk was sure, would end this content before it ever began...

Belphesius snaps an arcane gaze toward the mass rumbling upon the instant of Guarlairk's arrival, the ancient nemesis finally daring to invade his homesteaded turf, this shall not stand. Nary a moment is offered for preparation as the elder foe begins rushing headlong toward Belphesius; the initial shifting of his feet is sensed within moments, though no arcane response may be offered with adequate celerity as he faces the oncoming assault of Guarlairk's caustic breath. A putrid belch of similar force is offered in a direct intercept vector with the rushing gas as Belphesius ushers forth a might <flap> of his wings, stirring dust and aggregate from the ground below. The airborne cloud of particulate matter is guided with what innate terramantic ability Belphesius can instantly muster to aid in defending Guarlairk's deadly assault. Mostly met with equaled force, a small quantity of remnants still penetrate and begin a sizzling corrosion of Belphesius ancient form. A howl of pain and aggression rock the very foundation of this venue as Belphesius wing's unfurl to full width, lifting his feet from the loose soil below as he takes to the air with a series of might sweeping gesticulations, massive plate-like scales flexing with saurian grace as he soars through the capacious venue, the dragon's odious target now focused within his arcane sight while utterances of ancient tongue now slip from his massive toothy maw. Within mere moments, the entirety of the cavern's aggregate roof begins a mass transmutation into a mud-like state, moving along the lofty surface like an ocean of slurry before Belphesius swoops under and outcropping and the entire roof suddenly descends. The lake of thick mud aims to coat everything in it's path before the final command ushers forth from Belphesius mouth, sending the mud to a hardened state that instantly cracks and fissures in every direction, set to tear anything within it's confines limb from limb.

Kuzial || Guarlairk snarls with the deep primal rage of his kind as his opponent takes to the air before sending down his attack. The terramantic dragon would not follow suit, though. Instead he continues on the path he was running, driving himself through the remnants of his own attack with sizzling consequences as scales and flesh alike begins to burn. As the mud and stone rains down from above, Guarlairk jumps upward, before diving head first into the pool of quicksand-like stone he made where once Belphesius stood. Within moments he vanishes into the earth, swimming like some would beneath water within the rocks that make up this underground pit, and leaving Belpheius's attack to instead tear apart the many rotting bodies on the floor. The soothing stone soon stops the burning his and Belph's breath was causing, but the pain isn't forgotten, nor is his desire for territorial revenge. So he 'swims' himself around to the outcropping where Belphesius hid from the dangers of his own attack before erupting from the wall with all the speed he can muster. Stones and dust flies in every direction, but the will of Guarliark is enough that they do not fall below. Instead they attempt to make a barrier behind Belphesius to stop his retreat, before the larger dragon snaps out his cavernous mouth at his opponent's throat. Not satisfied, he twists his body beneath him so his sharply pointed tail snakes up from below, aiming to tear into Belphesius's softer underbelly and silence his mighty heart once and for all.

Belphesius snarls with frustration as the cowardly Dragon takes to the sea of earth below, he should have expected as much from the likes of Guarliark. Carefully attuned senses make constant assessment of the softened floor as he attempts to track his opponent's movement though the soil. Noting the motion but not exact location, he prepares for Guarliark to emerge in the general location where he breaches the surface, though in his attention to Guarliark's movements, he'd neglected to notice the impromptu wall which has formed behind him. Backing into the surface he suddenly must take an unexpectedly defensive stance as Guarliark surges forth from the earthen confines below. A massive clawed appendage rushes out to push Guarliark's rushing maw away, though unfortunately his massive teeth land fully within Belphesius flesh, causing a flood of mystic blood to rush down his opponent's cheeks. As an instant reaction, Belphesius pulls hard on his arm in attempts to jerk the trapped appendage from within Guarliark's grip. The motion succeeds in both pulling Guarliark close enough that his tail swipe can't suitable meet Belphesius underbelly, while also rending his damaged hand from his opponent's mouth. The ancient responds with a spate of desperation as he attempts to grapple the massive dragon and pull him close whilst a dark and melodious chant emerges from his lips like an arcane dirge. Dust from every facet of rock within the venue is rapidly coaxed from it's place, taking air at the command of Belphesius arcane demand. Forming a large snake like tendril, the wispy tentacle of clouded dust begins a rapid stalking motion toward Belphesius ancient foe. Finally striking forth like an assaulting cobra as it seeks to rush down Guarliark's throat, filling him from within with a choking aggregate cloud of death.

Kuzial feels the savage warmth of his opponent's blood flowing down his throat, filling him with an animalistic joy that only a true hunter can ever appreciate. But his joy cannot be basked in long, for soon enough Belphesius tears his wounded arm free and manages to grapple him, stopping the enraged deep dragon from finishing off the meal. The beast erupts into savage rage, thrashing his huge body around, causing massive chunks of stone and earth to be torn free from the earth and also causing his makeshift barrier to fall to the ground. But just as Guarliark opens his mouth to let out an enraged roar the snake-like tendril of dust nad earth enters his mouth, stopping the roar before it could be released. The chocking, filthy dirt makes breath impossible; the sudden startling feeling of no longer being able to draw in air ends his great rage almost instantly and instead replaces it with a clarity that is only ever enjoyed by those who face the grisly prospect that their last breath taken could well be the last ever enjoyed. So with speed born of desperation uses his innate powers to shift his body entirely. Many of the ancient deep dragons have this ability, some even use it to get into the drow cities within the Underdark and live amongst those evil ebon elves sometimes for centuries at a time. And it is too that form he does go: turning himself into a robe wearing dark elf that is easily small enough to slip through his opponent's grasp and stand upon the floor below. Still unable to breath, he acts quickly: From within his robes he pulls forth a small amulet. It was part of a much larger hoard he keeps hidden deep within the earth itself, and though it is beautiful to look upon, its nefarious nature is more what interests Guarliark. Using his immense will and fierce intelligence he drives his consciousness into the item, before hurling it to the ground below with all his formidable strength. It shatters instantly into a thousand tiny pieces, before Guarliark raises his hand and points at his large opponent. The tiny shards of amulet rise with vicious speed; they travel through the air right at the dragon Belphesius, before they would attempt to enter into his body through any available orifices. If they manage to do so, they would begin to seek his heart; to travel through his body before finding the mighty organ that keeps this dragon alive. And only then would the amulet begin to put itself back together. To form a within the rumbling, beating heart a stone large enough to block an artery and hopefully cause the muscle it to beat its last ever beat. With white light dancing before his eyes, the elf-dragon Guarliark takes a step back into a small cave made by his earlier thrashing before he begins to violently throw up a disgusting mixture of earth, dust and bile until eventually he can manage to draw a ragged breath again...

Belphesius watches as Guarliark once again resorts to cowardly tactics, taking on the form of a lesser race in the heat of battle... what a disgrace. No pause is given however; as the rapid assault from his opponent comes rushing forward without any semblance of warning. Struggling through the relentless pain within his appendage, he lifts has hands suddenly in a motion akin to flipping a table as a massive wall of earth responds by rushing up like a curtain before him. The bulk of Guarliark's crystalline shards become embedded within this impromptu shield, though the few that pass rapidly achieve their intended goal. Finding the most tender of openings, the tiny pieces of crystallized earth begin coursing their way through his body, rending wounds from the inside as Belphesius lets loose a mighty blood laced roar. Fighting back the pain, the master terramancer attempts to gain rapid control over the invading bodies which now surge through his veins. Tremors of pain shudder through his entire being as he finally senses the offending objects within him and begins attempting to guide them to his will, having no choice but to cause an expeditious removal, he carefully guides them to his lungs whilst spitting up a small pool of blood onto the earth below, finally feeling Guarliark's crystals in place, he prepares for a final onslaught to end his damnable opponent, snaking his neck around the previously formed wall as he targets Guarliark. A spew of the crystalline pieces along with a torrent of what remaining caustic gas he can muster, is directed fully upon the supple Drow form of Guarliark which lies beneath.

Kuzial || Guarliark rests within his cave as his body finally stops throwing up the digusting dirty bile, and once again he can draw in breath. A slender hand touches against the wall beside him and even shifted into this elf form, he can so easily lose himeslf to the serenity of the stones; to be at one with them. Unlike most dragons, deep dragons find little discomfort in the forms of lesser races, so without even shifting his body back to its large, saurian form he deflects the onslought of breath and crystals in much the same way Belphesius did his own attack. He simply allows the stones above the cave to fall down, blocking the only entrance with a wall of stone. This stops the gases from eating through his now more fragile body, though he wasn't fast enough to stop the shards of his own amulet from flying at him. Hands quickly raise to cover his face within the darkness, blocking the worse of the attack from tearing into him, but it is not enough to stop many of the shards from striking his body; tearing through its length with wicked ease to leave jagged lacerations in their wake. This agony is immense and he emits a cry of hideous anger and pain, though in his drow body the sound isn't enough to even pierce the stones that protect him within this small cavern... and there he would wait, gathering his strength to see if he can finally end this fight and lay claim to this large cavern so deep underground...

Autohit
Belphesius smirks to himself as the Drow-formed saurian seals himself within the confines of the small cavern to block his offending gas, elongated digits proceed to dance through the air, coaxing earthen energies about his form. Snarling through the pain of his gesticulations, he builds the stoic energies of terra within him, filling his ancient form to near capacity out of site from his accursed opponent. Finally, the palpable force reaches a crescendo within his elder body as he thrusts both palms toward the self-made prison in which Guarliark has held up. Crashing down with an epic torrent of terramantic force, the cavern collapses with the might of a true master upon Guarliark's form, grinding his transformed flesh into a pool of pulverized flesh and bone which oozes out sickly between the aggregate cracks as Belphesius looks on approvingly.