Duel:Mathollak v Zahrani, Match 3 of the 2024 Titans of Winter Tournament

Duelists: Mathollak vs Zahrani
Duel: Traditional 3 rounds with final defense, 20 minute posting limit.
Stakes: Standard, autohit delivered by winner with allowance for final reply.
Judges: Meri, Valrae, and Magikrios.

Lake Frysta

After venturing for some time down the path, you finally reach a large clearing as the secretive mountain path opens up to reveal a hidden lake among the frosty hills. Mostly frozen over, the sizable lake surface is spotted by a sparse number of ice fishing huts. It becomes rather apparent that the ice must be of considerable thickness to support these giant-scale fishing shanties; the largest among them lined along the northern wall by various designs of fishing poles which appear to be for sale. To the west, a semi-solid water fall spills over low cliffs, capped with a thin layer of glistening ice.

Environmental

What had gone unnoticed before, thought to be an innocuous pile of snow or sleet, suddenly stirs. The head of a giant owl emerges from the pile, its sharp beak easily as long as an archer’s bow. Even if for a moment, the spectator stands go deathly silent. With the wave of a wand, a sheer veil of magic encases the arena so that the sounds of the audience do not interfere with what is about to happen. With its eyes closed, the gargantuan beast shakes its head vigorously to shake loose the detritus on it. It is not just a giant owl, but a giant snow owlbear. Beneath its feet, several smaller owlbear cubs sleep peacefully, and they disappear beneath the thick fur and feathers as the mother owlbear lays back down. It would seem that this duel will be taking place in the middle of these cranky nappers’ hibernation season. A snow jackalope runs into the middle of the arena from where the magical veil had disturbed it. Not yet noticing the imminent danger, it calls out for its pack, only to disappear within the blink of an eye, leaving a paw shaped gouge in the snow where it had been just a second before. It would seem that these duelists would have to be very careful not to wake the brooding mother, lest they wish to join that jackalope’s fate.

Mathollak is spotted approaching from the east, amid a somewhat sizable procession. A parade, a marching band. The red splatter on the white snow forecasts his arrival, and luckily the vast flowing white dunes function wonderfully as a dampener, and his (no doubt) raucous opening act is hardly able to be heard at all. A scout dashes out to meet him on horseback, presumably to explain the situation of the sleeping owlbear. It is so. The marching band is seen departing back from the way they came and Mathollak arrives alone. He’s got his typical accouterments in the form of a heavy axe that was essentially a cleaving wedge of stone on a stick, and red clothes. In this case, it’s a humbata pelt that stands out, and its mangling front paws and claws seem to wrap around his neck like a scarf. Its furry mane becomes his, and it flares at his collar and trails a little behind him. He’s dressed for warmth, but he’s packing a secret weapon this time, perhaps borrowed from the marching band. A tiny silver triangle dangles from a belt loop at his waist, and for now, it bounces noiselessly against his thick, fur lined pants. ‘For Delishaaaa!’ He ‘shouts’, without making any noise at all. It doesn’t have the same affect though, so he blows silent kisses to the crowd before his fight begins.

Zahrani approaches the lake, donned in the paladin’s platemail armor, the steel trimmed with leather to reduce jostling or cutting. A cloak of gray wolf fur keeps out the chill. A Divine Aura of Cyris enshrouds her further; she is in her full power, compared to her last duel with her opponent. As she passes through the veil that covers the arena, her black jaguar’s muzzle sniffs the air, cyan eyes darting towards the mother Owlbear. The feline steps softly, every movement silent, save for the snow beneath her feet. When Mathollak appears, she’ll respond in one of two ways. Should he also not wake up the creature, she idly points to her shoulder pad, tugging on it as if to wordlessly suggest they could fight without armor to keep things quiet. Such a gesture may or may not be accompanied by a wink, before she assumes a fighting stance with a swish of her tail. Gloves hands are up in a boxing position, though her mace and crossbow are still strapped to her belt.

Round One

Mathollak is happy to see Zahrani (his hero) across from him, on the other side of an enormous friend shaped mound of feathers and fluff naturally disguised as just another snowy dune. While he is more than confident that the creature would love him under normal conditions, most things are cranky when they’re first woken up. He loops his axe around his back, and blows a special kiss just for Zahrani before he pushes off from one of the last patches of snow covered ground, and begins skating across the sheer ice road that covers the lake. It’s extremely inefficient maneuvering, wasted steps that hardly affect his direction or speed at all. Until he decides he isn’t that cold at all, and pulls his claw-hooked scarf from around his neck and slings it into the ground ahead of him. Then he heaves his might against it, slingshotting himself across the ice in a wobbly, accidental drunken monkey stance, beginning to take a scenic route around the bear and approach Zahrani practically from her flank. All the while, his priority is making hardly any noise. It isn’t as bad as it could be in this hidden lake between the hills. The vast open area has hardly anything to slow the winds, and the gusts frequently alternate between whispers and howls that mingle just fine with his soft boots sliding along the top of the ice. But he’s a performer at heart, and even though he had to send his hired heralds packing, he’s here to impress the audience. He slams the raking claws into the ground again, sharply altering his course to now be careening straight toward his special friend on a collission course. He chucks the claws out again, this time only just into the ice in front of him, so when he passes them again, the tension causes him to spin abruptly around, and he keeps spinning on this ice. No one would call it graceful, but mere feet away from Zahrani, he leaps into the air to become an airborn, spinning wrecking ball. A hopefully quiet wrecking ball that might knock Zahrani right through the ice if she wasn’t ready.

Zahrani keeps her gaze locked on Mathollak. It’s nice to see him too, she’ll admit. With only an occasional glance at the Owlbear mother, to ensure she and her young are still asleep, the DeathKnight’s theatrical approach is definitely one the feline paladin sees coming, despite the occasional gust of snow between them. As he closes the distance, her knees bend slightly, and at the last second, she leans back as if she were doing the Limbo. With the jaguar woman’s timing, the two of them were almost nose-to-muzzle as her friend sails across her. With a grin, she reaches up, seeking to grapple onto the man’s clothing and bring him to the ground. Alas, the spinning prevents her from gaining purchase, and she falls to the ground while he flies into a nearby snowdrift. With a soft but swift inhale, the Paladin of Cyris takes the unarmed fight to the ground, running towards the snowdrift. Her goal was to keep him disoriented while she landed some unarmed blows, hoping the snow would muffle them. Not as entertaining or as unorthodox as using her body as a wrecking ball, but she can make things fun in her own way. With a swish of her black tail, she pounces in the endearing feline way possible, diving for Mathollak and intent on pinning him to the ground.

Round Two

Mathollak can’t help that he wasn’t born with wings, but if he had, the excitement of flying through the air would lose its luster. Never knowing how you were going to land was half the excitement. Zahrani would see it on his face as he passes by, tongue lolling in the wind like a mutt out the passenger side window of a speeding carriage. Or more accurately, a mutt in the driver’s seat of the carriage, which crashes. He’s orienting his up and down again when Zahrani pounces and pins him to the cold fluff. He buttons up his guard, squeezing his elbows together in front of his face and curling his arms toward the side of his head. He weathers several body blows, which make it that much harder to regain his tempo again, but at least he keeps his eyes open. Something else happens, something nagging at the tip of his boot. “You got–” He’s perplexed, and being punched. “You got a mouth on your tail I don’t know about?” He’s regained enough of his senses now, it’s time to push back. He takes one more punch to the ribs, and he swears he felt them flex, which seems like something they don’t do normally, and then he snaps his arm down against his side, against her wrist, like a vise. His other hand takes a scoop of of the white stuff in it, and he aims it toward her face to disorient her while he swivels his hips from below. There’s enough force there to push her clean off him, and he rises to his feet. Or to his one foot, while the other is currently being pulled, pinched in the incisive beak of a playful little owlbear cub. The maternal instinct was delayed, but she stirs presently and notices one of her brood missing. The worst of omens. “Oh no. I know you’ll get out of this,” he assures Zahrani, as he scoops up the owlbear in his hands, its claws reaching and hooking, and he hurls it in her direction, believing she would never let it crash on the ice. The mother meanwhile, sees her cub, and sees two strangers. Saw two strangers. Once he lobs the tiny fluffy monster her way, he dives right back into the snow drift and seems to disappear. Even under the snow, he can hear the monster trampling toward Zahrani, its hooting road reverberating the ice and shaking the snow around him. That beak and those terrible claws will tear Zahrani to pieces if she lets them. But…he knows she won’t. He trusts. Hopes.

Zahrani nearly stops when he asks what can only be described as a Previously-Unasked-Question-In-Lithrydel’s-History. She chuffs as her arm is caught by him, before stepping back at the snow thrown into her face. Eyes widen at the sight of the owlbear cub thrown in her direction, but her own instincts kick in. She catches the cub, the youngling scratching her armor and sounding exactly like nails on a chalkboard. Her fur stands on end at the intolerable noise, before turning towards its mother barreling towards her. She had maybe a second to react, and she prioritizes the safety of the cub, as well as her own ears. The paladin tucks and rolls, evading one swipe before putting the baby owlbear on the ground. She turns to face the adult once more, her Divine Aura coalescing into a hard shield of light just as the second swipe impacts. Shards of amber energy go flying, along with the Jaguar woman, who has the wind knocked out of her by the creature’s sheer force. Rani is sent careening into the same snowdrift as Mathollak. A strangely satisfying “DING!” resounds throughout the arena, as one of her plates hits the triangle. It is almost comical, the sound, as if the Owlbear mother just won a prize at a carnival game.

Round Three

Mathollak is army crawling in the direction of mystery when Zahrani crashes into him. The ding that clangs out of the snowdrift is yet another terrible omen, for that was hanging from the front of his waist. All the men in the crowd psychically sense his pain even though they can’t see what happened, they just know. “Not so rough!” He whines as he rubs himself better. But he can hear the mother coming, as she should. Hidden threats are still threats after all. He engages the magic in his golden belt of freedom, and pushes Zahrani off him once more, this time for both their sakes. And though she might land gracefully, he intended to push her clear into the air, high enough for the owlbear to be unable to reach her even on its hind legs. A classic distraction, and then he bursts out of the snow, rushing toward the fur-feathered monstrosity. While its attention is honed in on Zahrani, calibrating the angle it would need to snatch her right out of the sky, Mathollak plants his boot on the creature’s knee and vaults off of it. He lands according to plan, up to its back and just behind its shoulders. He grabs two fistfuls of downy fur to stay steady on his wild new steed. The owlbear pauses briefly, then arches its neck backwards. As it rotates its head and its eyes slide into view of his, Mathollak can sense the incredulity. Those grapefruit sized eyes cannot believe this prey-thing would have the audacity, would dare. New experiences can often be stunning, and he smacks its beak away just as it begins flailing wildly. In some desperate and still impressive feats of maneuverability, Mathollak manages to stay astride the creature. It snaps at him, and he frees one hand so he can dangle out of reach. It stretches those terrible hooking claws, and he kicks it away at the wrist. Finally, the creature hurls its bulk into the ground with the intention of crushing Mathollak under it. Like a steamroller, it crashes into the ground and rolls once over until its on its feet again. Mathollak just then frees himself, and crashes once more into the ground. But he’s still in a fight, and though he doesn’t want to, he’s proven himself capable of throwing owlbears. The giant’s strength bestowed upon him by his magical belt fuels this feat, as he heaves the enormous creature over his head, and lobs it sliding into the snow against where Zahrani.

Zahrani truly feels bad for where exactly she had impacted Mathollak. She gets air back into her lungs after the blow from the Owlbear, before saying to the man, “Sorry-” But it appears that’s all she can get out; she finds herself once again getting sent skyward. The feline figures out which way is up, quickly twisting her body into an airborne crouched position...only to find the Owlbear mother reaching for her. Fortunately, the Delishan bloodknight gets the beast’s attention as he rides it haphazardly through the snow. “Really…?” she says. What a showoff. Alas, she doesn’t even have time to be simultaneously impressed and annoyed at the man’s feat. He’s just thrown an entire Owlbear at her. Rani crouches, pouncing forward to get out of the way of the tumbling creature, placing herself between Mathollak and it. The mother Owlbear has quite frankly had enough of being thrown around; she and Zahrani both could start a club. The paladin waits for the creature to wind up, launching a backhanded swipe at the cat-woman while another ethereal shield deploys between Rani. This time, she’s prepared; the shield absorbs much of the blow, sending the athletic panther forward like a cannonball back towards Mathollak. Her arms are open, a smile forming on her face, ready to catch the man into the most powerful pounce-hug he’s likely experienced. Turnabout is fair play after all.

Final Defense

Mathollak stands on the ice heaving from the effort of wielding giant’s strength in a human body and clutching his ribs where Zahrani got him earlier. And what’s he seeing now? When he was sure it was time for a breath? Zahrani’s angled herself toward him, harnessing the owlbears power in the funnest way possible. He’s impressed, but also weary. And it’s not like the owlbear has stopped, either. Even the cubs are after him, though they seem to think it’s fun, which is correct. Either way, he’s surrounded on all sides, trapped in the middle of the ice. Maybe he could trample over the cubs and get away, but why? Instead, he sidesteps only slightly, and braces himself to catch Zahrani at an angle. When she does, the force of her flying so fast nearly pulls his arms off, but he’s able to hold on even as they’re both sent spinning wildly backwards toward the other side of the lake in some strange blur of movement. As the world in every direction blurs together over and over, he tries to somehow gain some sense of the timing so he won’t be the one getting crushed against something or flung into Chartsend.

Winner: Mathollak

Auto-Hit

Mathollak and Zahrani spin wildly around, each of them holding tight to the other because they both know that as soon as they separate, they’ll go spinning in some wild and random direction, potentially into an owl bear. “Whoever hits the side first loses!” He declares, as they continue spinning toward the side of the frigid embankment. The yellow-black-red blur spins seemingly infinitely until finally they crash into a snowbank in an explosion of dusty snow. When it settles, it’s Mathollak who has Zahrani pinned down this time. Pinned and groggy and dizzy. They both are, but this time he had the advantage. The fights over, and he helps her up, quickly in fact, because there’s still that owlbear to run away from.

Zahrani manages to hold onto consciousness when they hit the embankment. She looks up at Mathollak, feeling the man's wait shifting atop her as he tries to regain his footing. The paladin sits up, her back popping in a couple places, before accepting the knight's hand. A sigh, and a weary grin, before her smile fades at the sound of the approaching Owlbear. As the two of the run together in the opposite direction, the feline asks, "As fun as this is... I don't know if we should do it more often or less."

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