Duel:Satoshi v Vaelustil
Duelists: Vaelustil (Drow Necromantic spellsword) vs. Satoshi (Kit-vampire Frost Singer). Duel: Traditional 3 posts each, with final defense. 15 minute posting limit. Stakes: Autohit post. Judges: Rheven, Sophie (mid), Aiya
Satoshi takes a brief moment to eye her opponent, mentally logging away facts gained by the once over before she heaves a sigh. "Let's dance~," the minstrel trills, the words quickly melting into a whistle. The tune has hardly left the foxkin's lips when the temperature in the arena begins to plummet, the natural chill of the underground being exacerbated with each passing second. In little time breath will be visible in the air and the beginning of shivering felt by those without a resistance to cold; it's the worst the crowd will feel, as the focal point of Satoshi's frigid song is Vaelustil, and the brunt of her energy goes into attempting to make his body too cold for response right off the bat. The frost beginning to layer upon the ground and over his boots likewise add to this effect, eager to hold the drow in place as the cryomancer's melody shifts into a wordless arcane song. The watery scarf about Satoshi's neck ripples as it spills away from her, breaking apart as it hits the floor and settles into the shape of a trio of frosty wolves. A dulcet cue from Satoshi sends the snarling creatures lunging forward, icy fangs bared as they charge for the drow, driven to claim a hold upon neck, shoulders, arms, legs, anything available and unprotected. Those teeth, of course, hold the promise of an even deeper chill fed into Vaelustil's very bloodstream upon contact--let the puppet strings be placed~.
Vaelustil frowns as he spies his opponent, finally dropping from his casual stance into something of a prepared crouch. Frost stretches across the ground, and the drow can't help but notice that it stops just around him. It's cold, so very cold, and just as Satoshi hopes his movements are slowed. His arm shakes from the frigid air as he draws forth his weapon, a glare sent across the way just in time for the drow to see those three wolves. A growl escapes him as he, rather than rushing forward, falls back a few steps, quickly running through the words of a spell. It ends with his sword shoving into the ground, and by the time he finishes his sword is no longer in his hand, shoved halfway into the arena floor. Another chill takes hold of the arena at that point, one that might even make those in the crowd a bit uncomfortable; the chill of death. It's only a few dodges and twists avoiding Satoshi's wolves before Vaelustil's spell takes effect, and from the remains on the ground assemble a trio of undead beasts of the underdark to keep the water wolves occupied. Rushing to his sword, Vael yanks it from the ground as he makes way to the vampire kit, and finally he gets on with his attack, a flurry of slashes, thrusts, and spinning maneuvers.
Sophie huge gates at the side of the arena open and seawater begins to flood in, soon the combatants assuming they remain stood on the floor of the arena will be about waist deep in the cool liquid. (ooc I will be posting again after the 4Th post)
Satoshi suffers a number of shallow cuts from the get-go and is in the midst of attempting to weave her lithe form around Vaelustil's other wild sword strikes when her foot is abruptly compromised by a flood of sea water, sweeping her legs out from under her. The surprise is a blessing, however, as the rush of water takes her under and away from further attacks by the drow, allowing her to surface some distance away and begin whistling another tune. This music is particularly jovial, the kind that tempts most to at least tap their feet along to the beat if not outright dance. But even if no audience member dances, at least one entity does: the waist-deep water. In little time the flooded arena becomes akin to a storm-tossed sea, save that the waves move with more order than their wild cousins, focused upon rising and crashing down on and around the drow with considerable blunt force. If the environment being upheaved around him isn't enough to stall Vaelustil, perhaps the sudden return of her wolves will--as Satoshi's song coaxes them into abandoning canine form in exchange for the shape of behemoth sharks, slipping out of the grasp of the undead beings with ease and swimming rapidly toward their target with jaws gaping.
Vaelustil is swept to his knee as the water comes rushing past him, many curses flooding from his mouth in the language of his kin. Staggering to his feet, he looks about for his opponent though he's left with little time to do so as the water begins to crash over him. On top of that, sharks of water suddenly assault him, and though he manages to dodge one the other two grab him by the legs and start swimming off with him. Even as the try to rend the armor from his legs to get to his flesh the drow is struggling to keep his face above water, his lips moving to phrase another spell. This one takes some time, and more than once the sharks threaten to take him under, but in the end the drow throws a hand out of the water and points his first two fingers towards the kit woman, a single beam of black and silver streaking her way. A spell of confusion, that ray is, and should it hit Satoshi will find herself without the will of mind to hold or cast spells...or so the drow hopes. If she's as strong willed as she seems, his spell will be just about useless.
Sophie more and more seawater pours in until it is over 10 feet deep, also through the huge sea gates, six, smallish, but very hungry sharks swim in, real sharks, not ice contructs. They are driven wild by the scent of blood from the numerous small cuts Satoshi suffered. and the blood pouring from Vael's savaged legs, three sharks swim towards each comabatant.
Satoshi finds further attempts at spells momentarily cut off by a multitude of events taking place at once. Firstly, the strange bolt sent by Vaelustil sends her instinctively diving into the water to avoid it--although a burning pain in her tails and a fogginess of the mind informs her she hasn't quite escaped unscathed. Follow this up with a rising of the flood and a trio of -live- sharks charging her, and you end up with a very bewildered kit-vampire. Mind befuddled by Vaelustil's spell has Satoshi following the instinct of the living, believing she needs air to breathe or she'll drown. If the water is the trouble, she'll have to remove it. In a state of panic, the cryomancer hums out a wild song, her magic pulsing out through the waters in violent waves as everything begins to freeze. The sharks are the first to feel the glacial bite, their fins suddenly locked in solid ice that rapidly spreads to encompass the entire field. For a fleeting moment, the arena is a cylinder of ice before Satoshi, likewise trapped within her flashfreeze spell, groans out a weak note, urging the minature-glacier to shatter explosively outward from herself. All the minstrel cares for is taking a ragged breath of air as the ice rains down in razor-sharp shards and heavy chunks upon all still living within the battlefield--even the kit suffers for it, albeit less so for being at the core of the spell.
Vaelustil :Sharks. More sharks. What's with the sharks? On top of the two holding onto his legs, he now has three that come rushing in with the rising flood. One arm is bitten, and the drow can only be thankful that it's not his sword arm, which he brings over to stab the shark through it's head. With the scent of the shark's blood, the other two scatter as is their nature, and this, and this alone, is all that saves Vaelustil's head from being bitten off. But then he finds himself immobile, his entire world suddenly turned to ice. He tries to struggle, tries to break free, and what a surprise it is for him when he - or so he thinks - does! He falls from his frozen tomb, falling to the ground through a shower of icy shards, and more blood than just the shark's and the vampire-kit's begins to soak the ground. He gets to his feet, panting with the effort of struggling through the pain of so many injuries. He tries to run towards Satoshi, but it turns to more of a hobble, and even his attempts at slashes are awkward and clumsy.
Satoshi relishes in the sensation of being able to breathe again, focused so intently upon this that she misses Vaelustil's approach until the first strike slices across her chest. With a cry, the kit falls back, searing pain burning away the fog blanketing her mind and snapping her back to attention. Snarling as another clumsy blow cuts across her midsection, Satoshi stumbles back further, letting the sound become a rumbling hum--almost a musical growl--that calls to the shattered ice, willing it to gather around her bleeding form in the shape of a rough crystal globe and sealing her off from the drow. The song of blade on ice echoes throughout her self-made prison while the fox attempts to steady limbs shaking from magic-exhaustion, long enough to get off one more spell if she's lucky...
Satoshi finally manages to gather herself enough to retaliate against the drow harassing her poor ice sphere... by using said ice sphere is a weapon, as her magic is not being particularly responsive at the moment. With a growl of effort, the fox hurls herself against the curved wall of the globe and, in a strange impression of a giant hamster ball, sends the whole affair rolling at--and over--Vaelustil. The drow is likely going to be thankful that neither Satoshi or the ice are very heavy, but a collection of broken ribs are likely going to protest no matter the circumstances. At least he hasn't become a necromantic pancake?
Winner: Satoshi, unanimous.