Duel:Kasyr v Soltinn
Soltinn vs. Kasyr
- Judges: Giacomo, Kelovath, and Jacklin
- Winner: Kasyr, split
Soltinn enters the arena silently, clad in his simple garb of leather and duergar mithril. He takes a moment to look around at his new surroundings, emotionless grey eyes sweeping up the rows of seats, taking in the crowd as a whole. His eyelids fall shut for a moment, as if he is mentally preparing himself for the challenge ahead. Then, abruptly, they snap open, his gaze focused solely on Kasyr. His left arm comes up, clutching his long, yew bow, while his right arm also rises, drawing a black-and-white fletched arrow from the quiver at his hip along the way, the sharp iron tip glowing faintly. With practiced ease, the lycan draws back the string, aims, and fires, sending the length of ash singing out across the arena floor, heading right toward Kasyr. In fact, the arrow does literally sing - a shrill, wordless tune that rises in volume and pitch with every inch the missile travels. By the time it nears the tiefling, it is loud and high enough to nearly deafen the nearby audience. Just before the sound reaches the point of doing serious damage, it is replaced by a thunderous roar as the arrow simply explodes, showering the arena with practically harmless splinters. It is then that the ranger's true attack shows for, as the screaming projectile had held the crowd's - and hopefully Kasyr's - attention, he'd released four more arrows: one a foot or so to Kasyr's left side, immediately followed by a second aimed directly at his left shoulder. The third arrow, after a split-second, flies toward the former governor's chest, in hopes of forcing him to dodge off to the right where the fourth, released after a moment's pause, travels on a course sure to end in Kasyr's chest just as he dodges. Swiftly, Soltinn places another arrow on the string, poised on his toes in readiness to retreat, should his enemy manage to come near him.
Kasyr is certainly present, though apparently unarmed, as the trenchcoated tiefling proceeds to greet Soltinn with an emptyhanded wave. And then proceed to break into a bit of impromptu stretching. It's only when the arrow is actually launched in his direction that he snaps to attention- left hand jutting forth towards that initial arrow, as ears flatten back to the unpleasent cacophony caused by it's travels. Which is why the hybrid can't help but grin when the arrow suddenly bursts asunder. Even as Soltinn notches another arrow, the hybrids already starting to move forward- dashing across the arena with every bit of haste afforded to him by his nature as both vampire and tiefling. Curiously, the tiefling doesn't even shift his trajectory as the next arrow is released, merely wincing as it collides into his trenchcoat- the missile colliding harmlessly with the preklek plate woven within the coat. Every moment the hybrid gains speed, seemingly indifferent to the bolts- The second glancing off quite like the first, whilst the third and fourth bury themselves in the hybrids padded vest, and wedge their way into undead flesh. And then Kasyr's within arms reach. The first action taken is a lunge, the hybrid hurling himself towards the lycans body- poised to tackle Soltinn into the ground. Whether or not his foe dodged, the hybrid would extend one arm out- serving as both a means of clotheslining the Lycan should he attempt evasive maneuvers and also providing the Tiefling a means of controlling his forward momentum. After all, Once the lunge ends, the hybrid merely needs to plant one gloved hand into the ground- so that he can skid around in place and promptly throw himself towards a hopefully impaired wolf-kin. The coup de grace of course comes in the form of a handfull of dirt tossed towards his face, the hybrids other hand promptly hurtling towards Soltinns face to knock him senseless.
Soltinn arrow point follows Kasyr's figure as he charges, unable to get a definite shot in before the tiefling is upon him. Gifted with animalistic agility, it is easy enough for the lycan to dodge at the crucial moment, ducking as well to avoid the outstretched arm. The lycan straightens with a smile, just in time to see the dirt flying. He closes his eyes defensively, and receives a fist to the face as a punishment for his negligence, driving him back a pace. Angry now, the lycan fights for control of his own body, the struggle visible in the pained snarl on his face, marred by the blood trickling from his injured nose and broken lip. Only his rigid will keeps his hands from shaking as he draws yet another arrow, the previous one having been lost in the dirt. Lithely, he dances back a few feet to fire, nearly point blank, at Kasyr's torso. This enchanted arrowhead, should it pierce flesh, merely heats up to an uncomfortable degree, but nothing too serious aside from the barbs keeping it in the flesh. It would seem as though this is another distraction, as Soltinn shoots another, and another, both aimed to pierce and hold, both enchanted as the first. These three are all the lycan can manage, however, for as the last missile leaves the bow he throws the weapon aside, howling fiercely as he continues to backpedal, his clawed hands ripping at the leather armor, tearing the mithril shirt from his back with bestial strength. Shocks of grey fur sprout on his body, the patches spreading like rot on a fruit until he is covered over completely, his bones shifting in size and shape as he transforms into his wilder form.
Kasyr's response to the lycan reeling back is altogether bizarre. Rather then press his advantage, the hybrid simply outstretches his right hand across his stomach, balled up hand of his left held up near his shoulder. And then he gets an arrow in the chest~ On the bright side- the subsequent materialization of Gospel in the form of a broad sword serves well enough as an improvised shield. That secondary 'volley' bounces off from the blackened steel harmlessly enough, granting the hybrid the spare moment he needs to bring his right hand over to the 'burning' arrow. And then promptly push fingers into his skin and pull out the arrow with a sickening tear and a spurt of blood. Not that the hybrid really pauses to contemplate the new hole in him. No, that arrow is tossed aside, before the hybrid promptly hops forward and brings down Gospel in a diagonal swing, attempting to hew the Lycan apart from his left shoulder down to right hip. Not that it really ends there. Expecting another evasive maneuver, the hybrid simply advances another step, dragging the blade upwards in a wide swing- favoring the midsection of his foe. With two particular twists~ A simple exertion of his will causes the blade to shift in appearance- the blade thinning out until it looks reminiscent of a Katana; save for it's noticeable six foot long blade. A Nodachi. Secondly, the hybrids swing carried an extra component to it- the energies the hybrid carried from both it's own nature and the mages he devoured. Bearing the simple guise of a distortion in the air which flows out from the path of the blades cut- it would tear through the air, seeking to rend through anything it met with a force equivalent to the blade the tiefling wielded.
Soltinn is in no position to dodge, given the state of mind and body he is currently in. However, he does manage to step back - more of a stumble, really - far enough so that the magical blade merely rips a horrendous gash from hip to ribs, baring the muscle in a gory display, and knocking the lycan back and over, onto the arena floor. Caught, interrupted in the transition between man and wolf by Kasyr's attack, Soltinn's body stops in a mutated, twisted shape; lupine head and bushy tail stuck on a furred, manlike body, arms and legs, ending in clawed fingers and toes, disproportionately long compared to the rest of his body. A bone-chilling howl, filled with pain and hatred, rises and falls, echoing from the surrounding seats eerily and elliciting shudders from some of the onlookers. Leaping to his feet with the speed characteristic of his kind, heedless of the fresh wave of blood that flows from his wound, the werewolf launches himself bodily at his prey in what appears at first to be a plain, no-nonsense frontal assault, powerful jaws snapping toward Kasyr's face. However, at the last minute, the lycan's head jerks down, solid skull moving with the intention of clubbing Kasyr's own. At the same time, Soltinn's clawed left hand swipes toward the tiefling's right leg, right hand toward left shoulder in an attempt to catapult the man to the ground - on top of the 'fire arrow' - whereupon the bestial lycan would follow, teeth tearing and claws slashing in a frantic attempt to rip the very life from his prey. At this point, too, the arrows shot while Soltinn had yet been in his human form reveal their true enchantment: the heat flares up more fiercely, creating red-hot brands that finally burst asunder. Now, shards of searing metal scatter in all directions, some even piercing the lycan's own flesh as they zing around the arena.
Kasyr seems to be taking this conflict altogether casually. Even the spray of blood seems to do little more than elicit a smirk from the tiefling- before the aberration begins to assume a stance more appropriate of trained swordsman. Soltinns sudden lunge forward does little to change this either, the tiefling adjusting to this new development by means of his right hand interposing itself between their chests. It's only when Soltinns all but about to collide with the hybrid that the true nature of this maneuver quite literally manifests; Gospel changing once more. Except, not for the larger. Instead, the hybrid is left holding a pair of Caliginous Katanas, the likes of which seem to ooze dark energy. No motion is taken to evade the lycans tackle, the hybrid even seeming to relish Soltinns head colliding with his chin. A long track of blood spatters out from Kasyrs mouth, and yet; his grasp does not waver. The Katana still resides between their bodies- likely rammed through Soltinns body due to the momentum of the rush and the proximity needed for the headbutt. The hybrid is still bowled over however, Soltinns vicious assault tearing into the hybrids leg and helping the wolfs body heave him to the ground. Mostly. Unforunately for the lycan- the until now unaccounted for Katana-wielding hand has simply taken to reversing the grip- the blade simply driving into the ground and serving to prevent the hybrid from being pinned. Sure, the hybrid still has to deal with the ensuing burst flaming hot metal shooting through his body and lancing through organs and flesh animated by vampirism. And by gods does it hurt. Unforunately, the following attempts at rending the tiefling apart are met by him simply rolling off the blade embedded into the ground- so as to flip Soltinn onto his back and hopefully drive the katana that was wedge beneeath him into the Lycan. As long as the tiefling can get the Lycan onto his back, the hybrids simply going to slip one hand over to his other blade- and proceed to play doctor on Soltinn. Or...improvised drunken Surgeon. Can a Lycan live without both it's kidneys? This and more in...a few seconds.
Soltinn is lucky: the katana slips a bit as he slams into his enemy, glancing off his hip bone instead of the soft flesh of his torso. Natural hunter's instinct saves him once again as, when the lycan detects Kasyr's movement in its beginning stages by way of tensing muscles, he is able to leap back from his prey - evading being flipped over in the process - just as the tiefling whips his katana around again, coming away with yet another gaping wound, this time showing the bone of his ribs in a brief flash of white, before the blood washes over it once more. Stumbling back, Soltinn keeps his distance from his foe, hunched over the wounds in his side, limping on his gashed leg, his strength draining with the blood that stains the dirt floor.
Victory Post:
Kasyr hops back up to his feet in a motion that's pretty spry for a guy with holes burned into and, yes, through him. Mind you, Kasyr is also glowing with a visible amount foe energy, quite likely equating to the total amount of souls the hybrid has ever eaten. It's from that vast reserve of power that the hybrid now draws his strength, to rejuvenate dead flesh- and to augument his strengths. Not that Soltinns going to be consciously aware of this much longer. Falling into a quick spin, the hybrid promptly hurls both Katana's into Soltinn- unnatural strength facilitating their usage as improvised Javelins...and burying them into the poor lycans gut. From there, the hybrids hand simply outstretchs towards the now reeling lycan. "Funny. For what you're worth, I was expecting more." And quite abruptly, all that channeled energy surges forth in the form of a burst of lightning- searing into Soltinn to cook him unconscious. Or well done. You know, Whichever.