Duel:Christian v Nidrali, Match 4 of the 2013 Frostmaw Tournament
Duelists: Christian vs. Nidrali. Duel: Traditional 3 posts each, with final defense. 12 minute posting limit. Stakes: Autohit post. Advancement in the Titans of Winter Tournament 2013. Judges: Kuzial, Kasyr, & Satoshi
Frostmaw Arena
Satoshi, like the rest of the arena's audience, waits, eyes fixed on the collection of large glass panes hanging in the air high over the stadium floor. These panes have only just been brought to life with the activation of their enchantments to reveal them as scrying glasses, a matching set to the ones that surround the snowy bridge just outside Frostmaw's city borders. Thus, the audience is able to watch the battle without being physically present, and the combatants are able to hear and see the crowd cheering--or boo'ing--them throughout. As the panels move to focus on the two opponents, Satoshi stands and gestures for silence, so that she may speak over distance and storm alike, "And now we have our final match of Round One! Christian Saydanas, brother-in-law and hero extraordinaire, will be facing off against the mysterious Nidrali~." Shouts and cheers come from the audience as they eagerly await the start of the fight while placing bets. Satoshi sets her gaze on one of the scrying glasses that shows Nidrali and Riss both clearly, to catch their eye and offer a nod. "When you are ready, let the match begin!"
Snowy Bridge
Here rests the center of the canyon-crossing stone bridge, an immense structure by the Frost Giants, ancient and well-worked. This section of bridge, like the rest, is wide enough for a dragon to perch, so long as they land with care. For the bridge's surface is covered in a layer of ice, compacted into a flat, glass-smooth nature by the many giants crossing back and forth daily. For Frost Giants, it is no danger, but other creatures not of the North might find the footing dangerously slick, with only a few cracks and crevasses in the ice providing anything of a foothold. To make matters worse, there are no proper railings framing the bridge, instead only a meager rope extending from one end to the other. It hardly looks trustworthy, having clearly begun to rot through in numerous spots from the constant presence of snow. It is there for mental comfort rather than true safety. The wind, like the bridge's surface, seems to take a perverse pleasure in trying to knock off smaller travelers, for it frequently rears up and buffets the area in wild, unpredictable bursts. To be shoved off the bridge would spell death for all but those blessed with wings, as the fall will carry one into a great abyss of a fissure in the glacier, the bottom too far down to be seen in the shadows. Knowing Frostmaw, however, one can safely assume the fissure floor is covered in sharp rocks and spiked spires of ice. To the west is the end of the bridge linking back to the city, and to the east is the beginning of the guard camps and prisoner cages.
Christian hated the cold, in every aspect, the air biting clear-through thin clothing to tinge his skin an off-shade of purple; certainly bad for his health. Even at a leisurely pace, it took his utmost concentration not to slip flat on his face, each stride carefully calculated before the Kensai stopped dead in his tracks, right arm flailing to his side. Ethereal light spewed forth from his back, illuminated the snow, constantly adrift around his form, before focusing, floating toward his palm to culminate, ushering Indignation into existence, pulled from the reaches of his soul. Approaching Nidrali was a feat in and of itself, battered, torn sandals lacking the proper traction required to trek such perilous terrain; alas, he'd try nonetheless. Christian's figure seemed to writhe, blurring its outline, before a single dash forward carried him toward the vampire, sword held behind him to build momentum for its swing upon reaching its target; however, the environment held other plans. Along his course, a single mistep sent him into an airborne, haphazard stride, sword-carrying arm flailing forward in attempt to rectify the situation into a legitimate strike, Indignation thrust toward Nidrali's stomach before Christian slipped backward, head making solid contact with the bridge, delivering a stunning blow.
Kirien is late, but only just. Gliding into the arena, the genasi makes his way to the private box and somehow manages to look slightly lost despite the surety of his path. A glance and a smile is offered to Satoshi as he sinks into his seat, leaning heavily against one armrest and settling down in preparation to watch a good match. It's only when he turns his focus to the arena proper that Kirien appears to notice a problem, and he glances at Satoshi again in question. "Chickadee...there aren't any fighters." All of his various perceptions are rendered useless against the scrying glasses, which he doesn't seem to know are there.
Hildegarde had been sitting in the stands of the arena, feeling that it was not her place to enter the private box nor did she know her liege was actually there! The Knight sat and watched the spectacle intently, hand pressed to her healing shoulder as if to offer herself some comfort as she watched the battle.
Satoshi blames Kasyr for that lack of forethought. The glasses were his idea anyway! She can't be held responsible, dammit. Although, the magus does move to rectify things for Kirien, by extending her hand out for his. Like when she'd let him use her sight to see the Aurora, she's offering it again now so that the blind terramancer can watch properly.
Kirien , bemused, takes that offered hand and only then fully understands his predicament. Through Satoshi's borrowed vision, he works out what exactly he was missing and almost laughs at the absurdity of it. Instead of turning to watch the match, though, he stares out across the stands until he finds the presence he sensed, and he squints before lifting an arm to wave furiously at Hilde and beckon her over.
Kirien said, "Hildegarde! You're meant to be up here."
Hildegarde found it absolutely terrifying to be beckoned over to the private box: the place where royalty and other important figures would sit. She, however, was an obedient swornsword and so she made her way up to the private box. She sheepishly stood at the back, as if she were a sentinel ready to protect them from any kind of undue harm.
Nidrali was a suckers for the cheers of the crowd. She waves her hands high above her head, waving cheerfully with a brimming smile hidden behind her mask. The cold clearly didn't bother her at all, even though she wears just enough clothes to remain covered. Her skirt seems more like a loin cloth and her top is merely her cape which drape down over her breasts to hide them. Nidrali in fact wields the spells of ice and cold, mainly to give reason as to why her skin is chilled to the touch. Yes, hiding her vampiric nature is important to her. Snapping away from the crowd as Christian makes his charge, Nidrali stands relaxed, her arms down at her side appearing as if she were not going to make any movement to avoid the attack. After all watching the male have trouble with the icy ground brings a giggle to the drowess. However funny this seems to her she still must act as the sword seeks to impale her through the gut. Quickly her arms above her skull as she turns to left, with the tip of the blade nicking her chilled flesh as it passes. Nidrali raises upon the tips of her toes, twirling like a stage dancer to brush the sword pass her body. This also allowed her to move toward Christian's back, but now it seems as if he was now face down upon the snow. Quirking her brow, the drowess merely shrugs and knees to the ice. Her hand is placed to the ice as she utters a verse in drowic tongues, a chant of arcane. Seem only because of their glow, thin tendrils travel through the ice toward Christian. Armed with stinging cells like that of a jelly fish, the treads seeks to entangle the downed male. First they go for his legs, to make his movements harder than they already are, and then to the rest of his body. Should the male becomes tangled, the treads would then send a paralyzing pain of fire, seeking to set Christian up for her next move.
Kasyr is late, admittedly- a bit of unpleasent vailkrin related business having resulted in an unforunate bit of tardiness. Still, the Revenants a firm believer in better late than never, and it's with this in mind that he's arrived at the arena- racing up towards the private both, with every intention of sidling up near Satoshi's throne of a sorts, if only so he can sprawl alongside it. Wordlessly, the Revenant drops a small bundle into the felines lap- made all but indiscernable due to the large number of blood-stained gray scarves that are wrapped about it. "So. What'd I miss, Cherie?"
Satoshi, to avoid interfering with Kirien's piggy-backing of her sight, doesn't look toward Kasyr when he arrives. Nonetheless, the kit nudges her shoulder against him in an unspoken greeting as her free hand gives a curious prod to the bloody gift he's brought. Claws clink against glass beneath the scarves, and a bit more investigating tells her what he's brought. "Aha~, you know me too well, I think, love. And you haven't missed much, aside from," Satoshi winces, still watching the scrying windows, "Riss causing self-inflicted head trauma. Y'know, the usual~."
Kirien tilts his head back and grins at Hildegarde. He follows it up with, "What are you doing all the way back there?" A come-hither motion is meant to draw her forwards yet again as the empath stands with some effort and, still holding his Kindred Spirit's hand, gestures to his vacated seat. "Sit." He's too focused on his Knight and all the colours of this brief world he's been gifted to really notice Kasyr yet, unfortunately.
Kasyr can't help but sound a touch dissapointed, "I -missed- that? Mon dieu.." That aside, the Revenants fairly content to simply sidle a bit closer to Satoshi, and simply lean back, " Well, hopefully I won't miss the next bit."
Satoshi, with a bit of fiddling and fangs, frees the bottle of blood wine and uncorks it--an easy feat, when you've spent over a year with only a single functioning arm, eh? Taking a sip, Satoshi smiles to herself and offers it to Kasyr next. "I'm sure you'll see plenty of blood. He seems to be having trouble keeping his feet. Sorta surprising, that~."
Hildegarde kept her voice to a relative whisper, moving over to set her hand on Kirien's shoulder and attempt to gently usher him back into his seat. "It is your seat," she explained, "the seat of a prince. Now sit," she told him, smiling somewhat. It had been her ambition to stand here: here in the box of kings and queens; princes and princesses and protect them from all that dare to tear them asunder. Her books had told her how she was supposed to behave, yet Kirien seemed to challenge it every time!
Kirien might have glanced at that bottle, even as his 'eyes' remain focused on the battle playing out, but he's soon speaking to Hildegarde again, drink forgotten. "Yes, it's my seat, which is why I'd like you to sit on it. Would you? I'd be honoured." He's a little bit sly when he needs to be.
Christian could feel his hatred for Frostmaw growing with each passing second, with each pulse of pain firing through his brain from the cold and concussive contact his head had made with the ground; he, however, still had enough sense to get away from Nidrali when she had so gracefully danced behind him. The Kensai recklessly discarded his sword to the side before flipping to his stomach and pawing the ground to slide away from the icy tendrils which sought to capture him. Of course, this didn't come free of charge, the frigid ground searing his chest, ripping through cloth to burn his skin. With much struggle, Christian rose to his feet; it took considerably more effort than it should have, but why? It was at this point, he had realized one of Nidrali's tendrils had made contact upon his retreat, sapping the life from his right foot, yet the numbing nature of the environment made it hard to notice. Childishly, he'd attempt stomping it against the ground to help, yet to no result. Considering his lack of mobility, Christian had no choice but to result to attacking from range -- something he hadn't practiced. From the dragon-tattoo on his left arm, metal formed over his skin, taking the form of a mawed gauntlet which was pointed carefully in Nidrali's direction. Energy channeled directly into the gauntlet's fanged grin before being released, a condensed mass of purity, in its rawest form, projected in the drowess' direction -- while this, typically, was useless against the living, and those born on the surface, it was quite devastating to those sensitive to the lighter elements.
Kasyr 's eyes narrow slightly upon Satoshi's words, his attention fixating upon the panel floating in the air, "Hrm. Too much time spent traveling, et not enough honing himself... or?"With a shake of his head, he'd graciously accept the bottle of wine from Satoshi, if only to take a brief swig. It's only after that he moves to return the bottle to it's rightful owner, "He looks..fine, still." Relatively, speaking.
Satoshi's ear perk forward at Riss' retaliation as she murmurs a soft, "That looks new..."
Hildegarde frowned at Kirien, shaking her head at him, "You are hopeless," she whispered to him, before edging closer to the seat. Her heart pounded in her chest as she edged closer: it was so terrifying to sit there! It was, realistically, just a seat. But to her it was much more. It was a symbol of office, it was a sign of power and benevolence, in the right hands! She pressed a quick and chaste kiss to his cheek, before sitting down in his seat. Her face was much akin to that of a child being given so great a gift, they have no idea what to do with it.
Kirien , eyeing Christian through the scrying glass, mutters, "Huh. It's that guy who said he knew me."
Kasyr takes note of the weapon, and his jaw immediately crooks to one side, a look of distaste flickering across his features before returning to a facade of tranquility. "...That's right... That knight." Only briefly does the Kensai glance over to Satoshi, a softly muttered, "One of Ko'tar, and Indignations siblings."
Kirien blinks. Satoshi likely feels the spike in his emotion when Hildegarde kisses his cheek, the sensation a mental spark of electricity and pleasant warmth, but it's soon evaporating and Kirien responds by flopping across the overwhelmed knight's lap, though he makes sure not to sever his empathic connection in the process. He spends a moment or two making himself comfortable, which isn't difficult for a genasi to do when the surface beneath him is blue iron and living heartbeat. Settled, he smiles, vulpine ears twitching back, contented. "Thank you."
Hildegarde 's silvery scales shimmered across her pallid cheeks as he flopped into her lap, but she felt her arms instinctively embrace him. It was both protective and affectionate; she had missed him dearly. But the movement of her arms caused her to wince, her shoulder still aching from the Drow attack. "Comfortable?" she asked him, somewhat jokingly and somewhat seriously.
Kirien purrs, he really does. He's warm and comfortable, and there are colours in his vision again, and this is a good day. "Absolutely."
Satoshi whispered to Kasyr, "Those two could give us a run for our money when it comes to blatent public affection, no~?"
Hildegarde falls asleep because she's a very sleepy Knight who's been busy rescuing damsels and so on. It's exhausting work that.
Nidrali is delighted to see her treads take Christian's leg, this made things somewhat easier for her. But she sees the male is not out of this fight just yet as he stands. She readies her by stand once more, hold her arms out at her sides with hands open, palms facing thee male. A soft glow of white swirl in her palms as she verses a spell, one that wields the element of frost. Thankfully, with Frostmaw being the land of ice and snow, she can use the land to her needs. Blistering winds rush in from all sides to surround the drowess, carrying with them loose snow that lay upon the ground and fall from the sky. This mix of snow and wind swirl around Nidrali's palms, and as time passes, the collection of snow grow into massive round orbs of compacted frost. Timing is key at this point, for Christian's blast is releases and screaming across the bridge toward her. She lift her left hand, raising the first of her orbs into the blast's path. It takes the blunt of the energy and shatters with a thunderous explosion of icy shards. The force rocks the drowess, sending her sliding back upon the ice where tumbles to a halt upon her belly. She raises upon her hands and knees as droplets of blood fall from icy shard that stuck themselves in her gut, chest, and shoulder. Her left arm now weakened from her shoulder wound, she lets it dangle lifelessly at her side as she raises. She looks out toward Christian, thankful to she her second orb survived it's fall to the ground. Though it is chipped, it's still usable. Hunched over, the drowess, extends her right hand toward the orb causing it to raise from the earth once more. With a wave of her hand, the orb rackets through the air toward Christian, seeming at first as if it were to simply deliver a crush blow to the male. But as it travels and gets near, Nidrali cause the orb to shatter into smaller dagger like shards that spread out to cover a large area. Each move at the speed of an arrow, seeking to plant themselves deep into Christian's body.
Kasyr whispered to Satoshi, "Je pense pas- The madamoiselle seems to be a bit flushed from the prospect, mon amour."
Satoshi whispered to Kasyr, "Well, they can't -all- be as perfect as me~."
Satoshi hisses at the nearest glass panel, clearly riled at someone dipping into Frostmaw's essence. To the magus, it feels like a stranger that invites themselves up and hugs you without permission. A violation and an offense.
Kirien does grimace a touch, but whether it's due to the subtly-felt invasion into Frostmaw's worldly essence or Satoshi's reaction to that violation is wholly unclear.
Christian may have discarded Indignation to the ground, but there was never a moment it wasn't by his side. It would seem that sword, lying lifelessly upon the bridge, faded from existence, returning to the depths of the Kensai's soul; however, it's presence wouldn't be gone for long. Nidrali's magic was on course for impact, yet to onlookers, something about the snow became odd, large pieces drifting whimsically through the air before halting in place around Christian -- if they had taken the time to examine closely, they'd realize: it wasn't snow at all, but feathers, which when aligned, connected themselves with tethers of light, forming translucent plating. As the orbs closed in, they shattered any shielding Christian could hope to offer, some dagger-like fragments embedding themselves within various parts of the Kensai's body -- a secondary effect was achieved, however: as the shielding shattered, mist enveloped the area, cloaking the immediate area, leaving one to question how injured Christian truly was. Within the shroud, Christian was on his knees, his boon of speed having taken its toll: blood streamed from his mouth, being spat upon the ground before proper footing was re-taken. Unable to close the gap between he and the drowess, he had no choice but to resort to his gauntlet's attack once again. Behind Nidrali, feathers began falling linking together, and ultimately, providing the shield which protected him from death, yet they were of a different intent this time: to cut off any escape. Amos' gaping maw lifted to the air once more, still hidden within fog, and all that could be seen: a single light shining through. As a desperation attempt, Christian fired a last shot in Nidrali's direction; his aim, however, was questionable due to his lack of vision. He assumed she hadn't moved much.
Nidrali could smell the sweet scent of blood through the fog, and the warmth of Christian's body in a cold world would not hide the male from her, however, she too was hurt. Though pain with numbed slightly by her vampiric nature, it didn't stop her body from being hindered. She cast one last spell. and holds her hand out over the icy ground. Flakes of ice raise upon from the floor, becoming like a sheet of ice at first. As time passes, more and more ice is pulled from the ground, and before long the sheet now becomes a thick wall of smooth ice. This surface reflective like a mirror, and hard as stone, and Nidrali places this wall before her. She could see the blast as it was fired, but could feel it once it struck the wall. The reflective surface help to shoot the beam off in different directions, but it power quickly eats away at the wall. So with one last effort. drowess waves her hand, sending the wall sliding across at the speed of a horse in full charge. Nidrali knows that should this hit, it would be like being hit Minotaur's head in full charge. But before the wall would hit, the beam eats away at a spot in the wall, and finds it way to Nidrali, searing her flesh around her gut and hip. Thankfully, it cause her to spin and she falls to the ground.
Christian may have been incredibly resilient for a human, but his body could only take so much and by this point, it was ready to break -- willpower alone kept him on his feet. The wall which Nidrali had summoned was near unavoidable, albeit the hole Amos had managed to carve through it, but with his lack of mobility due to the terrain, as well as the foot Nidrali had managed to render useless, hopping to it wasn't a viable option. Instead, he stood still, raising that guantlet-covered arm to shield him from the sudden impact and negate the brunt of the wall's force. Nonetheless, it sent him flailing backward, all but crushing his left shoulder from force alone. There, Christian would lay on the ground, not quite unable, but unwilling to move. He had enough.
Winner: Christian
Christian managed to get to his feet, left arm dangling limply to his side as Amos vanished back into the confines of the dragon tattoo. Feet shuffled over to Nidrali's location, sliding against the slick terrain with every single step, blood left in a trail behind him. Upon reaching her, the Kensai would crouch down and stare intently for a few seconds, right hand raising before being brought down upon her forehead in a single, wordless, harmless tap. Afterward, he'd saunter off, limping into the wilderness muttering something along the lines of "Ice" and "Cold."
Nidrali winces a bit. She cover her wound with her and utters. "Ouch."
Satoshi releases Kirien's hand at the same time she releases the spell maintaining the scrying glasses, cutting off the match for foxkin and audience alike. As with the prior fights, the crowd dissolves into a mass of cheers, howls, hisses, and swears as people celebrate or mourn the results--as much for the show as for bets won and lost. Satoshi settles back into her seat, smiling contentedly, and sips at the blood wine. "So brother dearest will be facing off with our Silver knight then, hm?" The sleeping Hildegarde is given a sideways look, Satoshi trying to calculate the outcomes.
Kirien , who had been watching the remainder of the fight, is a little startled by the sudden severance of his borrowed vision. He blinks a bit at the phantom colours lingering in his sight. They eventually sink back into the grey tones he is more used to and the empath refocuses with a bit of effort, his ears perking up at the sound of Satoshi's voice. "...Hildegarde will win," he answers after a pause and a slight pursing of the lips. Pushing himself into a more upright position, he slides off the throne and stands, stretching, though this doesn't seem to have an affect on his stiff limbs. "Brother. Hrm. He said he knew me - I suppose that's what he meant." It's said in a somewhat distant tone as Kirien turns to regard the empty scrying glasses with blind, curious eyes.
Satoshi says simply, with face and emotions a blank wall, "Suppose that's what he meant, yes."
Kasyr reply is altogether curt, his expression still severe, "He certainly seems out of practice. Though it could merely be misfortune." It's only when the revenant finishes stating this, that he finally seems to take note of Kirien, an altogether fond expression flickering across his features, "Bonne soir, Monsieur- so good to see you attending. I'd stay to chat et catch up, but..well." Glancing off towards the side, the revenant simply intones, "I intend to see where Riss has slinked off to."
Satoshi throws a quick salute to husband and kindred before she takes her leave. There's a storm over Frostmaw still, with the worst of it hitting the ruins, and she wants to be there to hear it sing~.
Kirien finds a grin. “He said I was important. Strange man, really.” A look back to Hildegarde and he makes what might have been an attempt to lift or move her with terramantic magic, but it doesn’t appear to work, because she remains where she is on the chair, comfortable and snoozing. He’s a mite puzzled by this but quick to find an alternative, a sharp click of his fingers summoning a nearby guard to which the empath relays the instructions, “Take her back to her room, hm? And be careful - she’s injured.” Then he looks to Kasyr and the grin widens into something more solid - he can’t resist a gentle tug to the revenant’s calico ear as he passes him, that fond expression mirrored and just as genuine. “It’s been a while. If I remember there’s some...matters I should see you about, relatively soon.” He scrunches his nose a touch. A lot of things about Kirien are different, but much of him is still the same. “But it can wait for now. Do be careful, hm?” That said, and with a wink thrown over his shoulder, the genasi’s following after the giant, and he’s actually walking this time. Stiffly.
Kasyr reaches back to effectively palm the top of Kirien’s head- in an attempt to stop him from simply sauntering off. With an altogether sour luck, the Revenant can't help but intone a quiet, "Go eat." before he simply nudges his fledgeling. With that out of the way, the Revenant simply meanders off, "Take care of yourself."
Kirien resists pulling a face at that and flicks his tail at the revenant. “Sure, mother.” The petulant tone is half-hearted - he plucks a discarded, empty ale mug off the stands as he passes, glances at it, then takes a bite. Mm, glass. Unfortunately, due to a combination of a significantly larger stride and more ease walking, the frost giant guard has already vanished into the caverns with Hildegarde and Kirien is left hurrying to catch up, but not doing a very good job of it.