Duel:Calen v Kang, Final Match of the 2015 Frostmaw Tournament

From HollowWiki
Duelists: Calen vs. Kang. 
Duel: Traditional 3 posts each, with final defense. 15 minute posting limit. 
Stakes: Magical debt to be repaid. Autohit post. Champion of the Titans of Winter Tournament 2015. 
Judges: Hildegarde, Emilia & Leone



Temple of Judgment

Hildegarde announced, “Welcome to the final battle of the annual Titans of Winter tournament! Today we gather in one of Frostmaw’s most sacred of places. The Temple of Judgement. This is where I personally fought against the Wizard-Knight, Svilfon, and came so close to becoming the Champion myself. While the Temple has many restless spirits, some cruel and some kind, they will not be your primary concern. In order to make this final fight all the more interesting, you will notice the fog that seems to cling to the floor. The acrid red fog that swirls near the left will erode your armour and your weapons before it eats at your very flesh. The seemingly cool and icy pale fog to the right will sap you of your spirit and your energy, making it feel as though you are immensely weighed down and carry the burdens of this world. It is unwise to linger in either for too long. Fight well, brave warriors. Best of luck to Calen and Kang… let the battle begin!”


Calen approached the final battle-ground confidently, striving to hide just how nervous he was, having reached this point. For the moment he did block out the spirits, easy given he hadn't been here long, while nodding to Kang. Once the pleasantries were done, he's now readying the dragon-hide covered shield in one hand and his trusted mace in the other, intent on sizing of the preklek before any actual attack began. The appraisal done, he's then sprinting in earnest, passing right through the blue fog in the process. The shield in front of him, the undead male intended to use the armour as a battering ram of sorts, all his strength put into a forward thrust. As this is done, the club-like weapon is then swung in a right to left arc, aimed to deliver a rather unpleasant strike which would leave Kang winded, and later on bruised. Even as this combination effort is launched, the mage has become aware of the fog's effects, his movements slowed oh so slightly just through that little exposure, along with the growing emotional weariness from both it and the influence of those spirits swirling overhead, vulnerable as he was to them in this place.


Kang eyes his undead opponent without revealing any emotion. Not that the facial features of the reptilian invader would be easy to read to begin with. His bald head, tenuously covered by a tattered cotton hood; brown eyes covered by a furry mask with a rounded nose: a rather lifelike wombat. The preklek has noticed the importance of symbolism in the native societies, and this totemic animal may suggest he is imbued with the positive qualities implied: immovable, self-reliant, and ready to play. Of course, there's only one way preklek play. He draws his sabre, and taps an intense, complicated rhythm on the knotted staff that is ever at hand. The staff obeys and begins shifting, but cannot complete the transformation before Calen begins a reckless charge. The intrepid death knight leaps into the air. Obsessively trained muscles strain to launch Kang far enough into the air to evade the strike, but can't quite dodge everything. The shield thwaps his calf as Kang parts the sea of spirits, allowing them to pass through without letting them affect him. He snaps his wrist, swinging the everchanging weapon down with whiplike precision. The staff stabilizes into a urumi, a segmented whipsword, arcing downward at Calen's back as Kang attempts to control his momentum so as to land on his feet.


Calen strove now to keep his focus, which for the moment was very easy, as the effort to leave Kang disoriented was blocked by the preklek leaping up mid shield thrust. Distracted as he was unfortunately, the Knight of Frostmaw wasn't able to keep up with the speed displayed, his body turning too slow to block the morphed sword. As expected it did connect, digging into his unarmoured back as a gasp of pain was heard. Staggering forward as well, toward the red fog this time, the first victim of the mist is his mace, most of it destroyed along with a good portion of the hand which clutched it. Now, down his right hand until it could regenerate, Calen placed the shield down away from the left side of the room, thereafter moving toward Kang while traversing the blue fog. It's a tactically unsound decision apparently, but the Knight intended to provide a prime target, his mind set solely on reacting when Kang drew close again, since he really had no other option at this moment.


Kang lands with catlike grace, never ceasing the momentum of his whiplike blade. Spinning and arcing the blade through the air faster and faster, Kang steps slowly toward his opponent. They lock eyes for the first time this duel and the preklek flashes Calen a radiant grin. This is more than just combat to Kang, it's play, it's worship, it's what he was born for. The misty fogs along each wall begin to swirl, disturbed by the air currents from the Kang's constant movements. Soon the fogs meet and now Kang's movements are as much defensive as offensive, keeping the mist at bay and taking the fight to Calen. The preklek under the wombat mask takes a deep breath and increases his speed, a single bead of sweat dripping down the left side of his face. His steps become a dance, and he moves faster toward the one-handed knight. A lightning fast snap sends the spiraling sword at Calen's weakened side, along with flurries of combined mists. Whether it hits or not, Kang whips the blade back to maintain control of the air currents holding the dangerous fog at bay.


Calen dared not to move any since it was hard enough keeping the turbulent influence of both the spirits and the fog at bay, while still tracking Kang. The plan which had been largely improvised is then put into action as the reptilian being took the bait and attacked with the segmented sword again, even though it meant having his side cut open. A gasp of pain followed the successful strike, but even as the noise is heard, Calen's already moving once more, having used the mist wielded by the preklek to his advantage. While unarmed, the undead individual is not without weapons, persay, and he now intended to get too close for the presently altered sword to be of any real use, namely by rushing Kang while the weapon was being retracted. The goal now was to push his opponent into the blue fog at last, by tackling the currently masked man and using the briefly earned momentum to propel both to the right of the arena.. hopefully before the fragile mental barrier keeping out the influence of the dead broke and he gave up the will to do anything.


Kang had been waiting for his opponent to close. Without losing any momentum, Kang stabs the unused sabre he'd been holding the entire bout at Calen and pivots at the hip to send both man and blade past into the trail of shredded mists. The change wifts small clouds of fog inward at the preklek, numbing parts and burning others, but it's a small sacrifice. The preklek mumbles a few choice phrases in Cthonic as a result of the pain and changes his swings. Instead of around his body, Kang spin the blade in front of him in a cone-shape. The new air currents fan the fog he'd collected directly at the undead knight.


Winner: Kang


Kang continues the fanning, blowing the fog completely away from the area and steps cautiously up to his opponent. Squatting down he looks at Calen, or whatever is left. Hopefully the undead knight is mostly there. After careful examination, Kang nods and stands back up. He places two fingers to his lips and blows a piercing whistle. With a thunder of hooves, the stygian mare enters the temple. Perhaps it's a violation of policy, but Kang is a preklek and really doesn't care. He whispers something in her ear. She nods like she understands and circles around to lie down next to Calen. He immediately feels stronger and begins regenerating faster. It's a good thing the stygian hadn't been there during the duel, or none of Kang's attacks would have damaged Calen. The preklek taps the command for the urumi to once again become a staff and walks toward the door. He pauses and tosses a silver anklet to the unicorn. "Tell him I'm grateful for his help." Again, the unicorn nods, but Kang is gone now.