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Post by Clair Feldsky on Sept 17, 2012 21:36:41 GMT -6
Clair stood near the north gate. She'd been told she was on deck for the next fight, and when she'd heard that it had come with a mix of anticipation and nervousness. She'd spent the last few minutes readying herself. Burning out the nerves to replace them with focus. Welding in the struts of will that had brought her here. When the announcer began his introductions, she couldn't tell if she was nervous anymore. That had been put aside in favor of lance and blade.
Her heart was beating quickly. Everything felt dreamlike as she watched the gates in front of her open.
[Orange]"Moving on to the next battle! Next is a true clash of magic and steel. On the North side, Clair, the Rising Lance steps forward, wanting to test her mettle in the Bernese Arena. Let her foes beware, lest they fail to measure up to her standard."[/Orange] Clair moved forward, the cheers she was receiving put aside for more important things. Her first few steps felt a bit mechanical, but then something seemed to snap into place, and she was all fluid. She watched the other side, waiting to see who she would be facing in the match.
[Orange]"On the south side of the arena the Rising Lance is mirrored by her opponent. We see the shadows come forth to do battle at the command of the Armani, the Night Lily!"[/Orange] Cheers echoed from the crowd as a small hooded form in dark robes stepped out from the gate. The announcer's introduction had Clair assuming that it was some kind of dark magic user. The figure slipped its hood back to reveal a woman. Her silver hair practically seemed to shine in the sunlight, and her features seemed particularly sharp, as though she was some kind of bird of prey, waiting on her dinner. From where she was, Clair could just make out the quiet grin on Armani's face.
The rest of whatever the announcer said was lost as the Falcoknight began developing a game plan for the fight. It wasn't very complex. It didn't need to be. Whoever could hit the opponent the hardest would win in this instance, and that meant getting to her opponent, preferably without letting herself get pummeled too badly by shadow magic in the meantime.... Dark magic had the most sinister reputation, she remembered as she ran through a quick refresher. It almost always did something more than simply attacking. She would need to be more on guard here than if she'd ended up fighting a sage, for example....
[Orange]"Begin!"[/Orange]
That was what she'd been waiting for. Like a shot, she was off, dashing straight for the opponent magician, iron lance readied for a strike. There wasn't going to be any of the waiting around she'd seen in other matches. She wanted to end this quickly.
The shamaness frowned a bit on seeing Clair charging immediately, and fumbled a bit as she pulled a large book from somewhere in her robes. Trying to appear nonchalant, she flipped the book open, and traced a page slowly with her finger, mouthing words as she went. Clair realized right away that she wasn't going to be able to reach her opponent before the mage struck. Especially when a purple glow began to form in front of her, between her and her opponent. Clair wheeled away, as purple fire spewed from the glow she'd spotted, spinning and plunging off to the side to avoid the attack. Armani continued mouthing her words, and another glow formed, even as Clair was trying to bypass the first fading spell to get to the Night Lily.
More purple fire. The black armored lancer leapt back and ran back the way she'd come, staying away from the magic. She steadied her steps a bit, and came to a halt, studying her enemy and considering her options.... Armani's quiet grin was back.
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Post by Richter Abend on Sept 18, 2012 2:22:17 GMT -6
From his spot in the back, Richter unconsciously leaned towards the arena as Clair entered the field. This should be a fight worth watching. Truthfully, it had been a long while since he had last seen his love fight steel to steel with a real opponent, what with all of the prison, monsters, and magic weapons, and he was definitely eager to see how far she'd come.
But his wish would not be granted it seemed. While Clair entered the arena from the north, a cloaked figure entered from the south, soon revealing itself to be a woman called "Night Lily". She bore no visible weapons, so unless she fought with hidden tools, she looked to be a mage. Richter simultaneously sighed and inhaled with a cautious anxiety. Not only was this going to be the dance of steel he had been expecting, but Clair was mountless. She'd have to end this quickly if she wanted to win. He was confident in her abilities, but as her commander, her teacher, and her partner, he worried nonetheless.
The match begun with great impetus. Apparently thinking the same thing as Richter, Clair charged the mage, her lance aimed and ready to strike. As she ran, Richter could feel himself leaning forward, already getting absorbed into the fight. Yes, end it in one blow.
But the distance between them was too great. Before Clair's lance reached Armani, a gout of purple flame erupted in front of the unmounted pegasus rider. Clair, as quick on her feet as ever, spun away. Richter silently cheered as she avoided the attack, then quickly cursed as she came face to face with another one. The second spell forced Clair to retreat, before bringing her to a stop. She was losing ground, and she had barely gained any yet! Mages always were annoying bastards.
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Post by Valcrist on Sept 18, 2012 2:38:02 GMT -6
Ah, it was that blond girl's turn. He knew he recognized her, so he was looking forward to hearing her name to jog his memory. Oh, these entrances were a little more theatrical then he expected. He assumed that the announcer would just shout names or something. Maybe there were several different ones? It's gotta hurt the throat to do all that yelling. Oh that wasn't important, yes Rising Lance Clair was it? That name felt familiar. Blond hair, lance, Clair, hrm, he could of swore he taught someone like that swordplay... or did he? Was it a dream, or some kind of alternate reality? It felt like he knew her, and didn't and WAIT CLAIR!?
He couldn't even pay attention to the fight were crazy stuff was flying off the hook like it was going out of style. Instead he just grabbed his head and began to freak out. If Clair was here, that meant Richter was probably here. THAT GUY EARLIER. That was Richter! He looked different sure, but he could recognize the actual FACE! Oh many different religions of Elibe, please help him! If they caught him here, knowing he left the army, he didn't even want to think it.
He looked around nervously, catching the eye of the black haired man who he had a strong feeling was Richter and instantly turned his head away and forced his self to watch the fight. It was alright, it will be alright. All alright probably. Calm down, calm down, you aren't Valcrist right now, you're the 'Lost Swordsman' they have no reason to be mad at you. Right?
So, um, what was she doing? Fighting a mage? Those sucked, couldn't predict them like you could with a weapon fighter. Limited by imagination, physical movements didn't mean much, the spells were shaped by their minds. Deadly and incredibly hard to fight if you're up against a good, or crazy, one. To be honest mages scared Valcrist in a way that even Chelsea could not claim. Valcrist in particular had very little experience against, only against the ones in Laus three years ago that almost killed him and the one in... Ilia. Oh god, don't think about Ilia.
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Wyatt
Hero
The Volcano
How can someone win if winning means that someone loses?
Posts: 463
Etruria Fame: 2
Sacae Fame: -1
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Post by Wyatt on Sept 18, 2012 8:46:54 GMT -6
Wyatt had been very excited to see Clair fight. Ever since she'd kicked his ass, he'd been curious to see what she could do in a real fight. He hadn't really gotten a chance to see after all the crap back in Etruria. But now....now he'd really see what she was made of.
And she was apparently made of something really nimble, he thought, as she hopped around the dark magic that flew at her. Pretty impressive really, he'd have expected the armor to slow her down. Hmmm, so he wasn't the only one who had dexterity in a suit of armor, good to know.
Still, Da-er...Elder Magic was tricky. I mean, fire was fire, sure it was magical, but it still burned. This stuff was beyond him, and he counted himself blessed that he hadn't really had to fight it yet. As the druid sat back throwing spell after spell, Wyatt watched Clair. She was staying back, studying her opponents range, her patterns, her weaknesses. With a little bit of luck, she'd find that break she was looking for.
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Aurek
Soldier
I hate the undead just a little more than I hate the living.
Posts: 122
Profession: Santa
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Post by Aurek on Sept 18, 2012 15:53:09 GMT -6
The Rising Lance, huh? Better pay close attention to this one. Might learn something useful. Aurek shoved his way toward a good viewing spot. Then the Elder magic user came forward. She seemed to have a sinister air about her. All three magic types had been displayed today, and Aurek felt this was the worse one. I can learn some tactics against magic users from watching this fight. It was clear who Aurek wanted to win. If this Clair woman won, Aurek could continue to study her and learn more of lance fighting. She was a foot-fighter obviously, since she had no beast with her.
From the start, Clair was closing in on the shamaness. Eliminating the distance was essential to combat against magic users it seemed. Unfortunately, this particular one was able to stop Clair's advances. A long, drawn-out fight seemed to be the order of the first round.
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Post by Tuatara 'Tut' Yamen on Sept 18, 2012 16:46:17 GMT -6
Hmmm, dark magic, why does this remind me of someone... Tuatara thought. I feel like I've been around it before. Oh well, Clair is gonna win anyways. If she's scarey while interogating, she's bound to be scarey with a weapon. I don't see her Thunder Lance, thats a shame. Its really cool.
"Go Clair! If you don't live I can't get my satchel back!" Tuatara cheered. "Go Clair! Go! Fight! Win! Porcupine! Go GO GO!" Man, this would be so much better if I had my satchel. I wonder where Richter is, I'd rather avoid him for a while. I didn't know him too long, but I'm sure he wouldn't be happy to see me. I'm sure Clair told him everything, it sounded like they were close now.
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Sept 19, 2012 18:54:45 GMT -6
Armani was going to be a tough nut to crack. With all of her attention dedicated to getting close to her opponent, the shamaness wasn't feeling any pressure and was more than able to work at her leisure to corner the agile lancer amidst her spells. The way forward would always be blocked, so it was going to be up to the disguised falcoknight to make an opening.
Clair dashed forward again, and predictably, a shower of purple flames cut her off. As the lancer juked to the side though, she watched the enemy shamaness. Clair wanted to see how her opponent was going to react. Another shower of sparks, cutting off her new direction was a given, but this time, a second blast accompanied it, aimed right for her position. Clair leapt back again, avoiding the attack. This time she didn't stay still though. She reversed direction, and as the first cloud of flames faded, she pushed her way past. Running straight ahead again.
Again, she was cut off, but she was a bit closer to Armani this time. She didn't dash this time, instead moving at a quick pace,that resembled a stalking predator. She only jumped and dodged when she had to....
And she had to. She made at least a half circuit around the the dark mage as she pressed in, before reversing and circuiting back around to the other side again. It was always the same approach. Dash forwards, and then jump to the sides. Occasionally, Armani would get clever. Purple flames would cause the Ilian's flesh to tingle, but the worst she'd gotten so far was a bit of mild numbing in the left arm where she'd been clipped by a double blast when Armani had tried to predict her.
The silver haired woman's face no longer bore its grin. Instead, she looked annoyed. The lancer should have been lying on the ground by now, but all she'd managed to do was get the both of them breathing hard. Every time she thought she had a good solid hit, that nimble blond would dodge away, the magic seeming to almost curl away from her. It was infuriating!
Clair, on the other hand, though breathing hard from the constant agility exercises, was seeing her chance approaching. To many, probably all of the crowd, her maneuvers would have become boring after the first bit. They were always the same.... That was the point. She'd steadily been nearing her enemy, working her way closer, and Armani now had been worked into a pattern. It would only take two more forward sprints to reach the Druidic practitioner. Two was a very important number to the Ilian.
Just like before, Clair dashed forward. She saw the sparks of darkness being thrown out into her path, but this time, she gritted her teeth and kept on forward, throwing herself into directly into the magic, and leaning into the swing that she'd prepared with her lance. She should be able to take a good hit. Magic was dangerous, but the flying cavalry of Ilia was known to be naturally suited to fighting mages. As to her swing, well, one good blow ought to flatten this witch.
The Falcoknight entered the dark magic, and immediately knew something was wrong. She brought the lance around in the full swing as planned, but stumbled as she felt an unearthly scream wrenched from her lungs. She did connect with something. The ground for sure. She lay, cringing on the ground twitching from what felt like a thousand knives running in and out of her body. It crushed, and burned and froze at the same time. She opened her eyes, but could make out only darkness. It felt like an eternity, but it could only be seconds before light filtered back into her world. She waited for the spell to stop, only to realize that it had, and she was left feeling the after shock of the pain.
Realizing this, she whipped herself to the side, and pushed herself back up as fast as she could. She fell on the way, due to her loosening, but still stiff limbs and had to push herself up again. Her body was remembering how to move, but it didn't like it. She looked around wildly, and spotted the shamaness still dashing back towards the edges of the arena, where her tome had been sent flying by Clair's missed swing.
That silver hair looked a little mussed, and the cool exterior was gone. Now she just wanted to get the fight over with as quickly as possible. A sentiment Clair could agree with. It was satisfying to see her opponent flipping through her pages so frantically though. She even noticed a decent sized gouge in the cover where she'd hit it.... There was only one magic that could manage what had just happened to her, and it was one of the dirtiest magics there was, as far as she was concerned. Luna. It had been a terrible pain, but the Falcoknight wondered if it could make her crash so badly again now that she knew she really needed to steel herself.
Clair's body was still screaming in protest at what it had gone through, and no doubt she would be dealing with what was left over from it longer than she wanted to. Even so, she started moving towards the shamaness, clearly in pain, but also returning to full mobility.
[beige]" You know, you move quite well, Rising Lance. Are you sure you want to risk yourself here?"[/beige] It was probably a stall tactic. The Ilian had no interest in humoring it. Clair didn't slow down, just kept pressing on, a slight limp in her step.
"I'm fine. I think my foot fell asleep, but my lance arm is plenty awake." Her voice still shook a bit, not quite recovered, but that was only a minor annoyance. She glimpsed Richter in the underground behind Armani, and that basically made her day. Now she wanted to make sure Richter got a prime view of what was going to happen.
Another shower of sparks came in. From the side this time, but Clair still managed to kick off the ground and throw herself out of the way. There was a sharp stab coming from her knee, but it was fading fast. The worst was long gone. And the best was yet to come.
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Post by Tuatara 'Tut' Yamen on Sept 20, 2012 13:37:33 GMT -6
Ah, I remember, Tuatara thought. It was that short guy and that kid. Magoth? Morvick? Bah, who cares. They were both crazy. Oh, nicely done Clair. As a master of dodge, I approve. Wait, what- "NOOOOOO!!!!!" Tuatara yelled out as Clair threw herself into the magic. "Bad! Bad idea!"
Oh no, Clair's dead! What will happen now? The world will end, it will end! Oh wait, she's ok. Wait, she's ok?! Say what? Doesn't magic hurt, like, a lot? Haha, that it, stick it to da man Clair! "WHOOO! YOU GOT THIS! KICK OLE GRANNY'S BUTT!"
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Post by Richter Abend on Sept 20, 2012 13:41:06 GMT -6
"Damn her!"
The curse flew forth from Richter's lips as he watched Clair's body writhe in agony as she was wracked by the Night Lily's magic, and in that instant, he desired nothing more but to charge in lop off the shamaness's head. It had been one thing to watch Clair continually shut down by this bothersome foe, but to see the witch's magic connect, to see the pain on her face, stung at the Ilian's heart. It was not a sight he was familiar with, nor one with which he wanted to be.
But when Clair rose to her feet once again, Richter remembered himself. It would be fine. This wouldn't stop her.
The pegasus knight had come far since her initial, novice days at Salvation Point. Yes, Clair was a full-grown soldier now. She had come through all of the same battles as he had, and had grown into more than a capable fighter. She would win. Richter had faith in that.
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Aurek
Soldier
I hate the undead just a little more than I hate the living.
Posts: 122
Profession: Santa
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Post by Aurek on Sept 20, 2012 15:44:13 GMT -6
That is not what I'm going to do. thought Aurek. He had carefully watched how this Rising Lance was moving, carrying her lance and method of approach. She had been doing great, slowly advancing on the shamaness. Then the lancer had thrown herself into a magic blast to try a swing. It didn't look too particularly effective to Aurek, mostly because, even though the magic user had lost her book, the pain his "teacher" was obviously experiencing was not something Aurek was interested in dealing with. I would have thought diving toward the magic ball to be much more effective. The magic seemed to be high enough to roll under. Obviously I must not be grasping an important concept about magic. Or the Rising Lance just didn't think the magic would hurt her that bad. She can't be dumb enough not to think of diving under, can she?
Obviously, the fight wasn't over yet. The shamaness was running to get her book and Clair seemed to be right on her heels, but she wasn't moving as freely as before. "C'mon Rising Lance, I need you to win!" Damn! I didn't mean to say that out loud.
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Edrick
Shaman
Even in darkness one can devote themself to the light.
Posts: 114
Sacae Fame: 1
Profession: Jack of all Trades
Affinity: Light
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Post by Edrick on Sept 21, 2012 3:33:18 GMT -6
The night lily had delivered a solid hit to the rising lance, it looked as though she through herself into the magic. "Bad idea, none can resist the power of luna." Edrick says with snicker on his face. Too bad she managed to hit the night lily's tome away though or it would all have been over. "Go night lily! You can do it!" Edrick cheered, hoping the female druid would be able to finish the rising lance off.
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Sept 22, 2012 18:59:14 GMT -6
The attacks picked up in intensity and speed. Black flames curled around her but she managed to jump back enough to avoid the worst of it. She raised an arm to shield herself from the darkness, catching the brunt of what hit her on the forearm instead of her face. She felt her arm start to seize up, and gritted her teeth together as she felt the muscles there cramping. She half fell, half leapt back again, arms and legs tingling from the magic which had enshrouded her. Streamers of purple mist followed her as she made it out of the cloud. The magic didn't follow her though. She could see the spells still pounding the area inside, but couldn't make out the Night Lily through the mess of purple and dust.
It was only a couple more seconds before Clair heard the sounds stopping, but the cloud remained. She was breathing hard from all the evasion. Not to mention the magic affecting her. In the game of attrition, she was weakening. But was she as bad off as Armani. That "tantrum" of Luna strikes had to have used up alot of spellpower, and as Clair looked on, she realized that Armani was just as blinded by all the results of the spell as she herself was.
With a growl, she leveled the lance again and pushed forward, picking up her pace to an unsteady, but determined run. She came out the other side of the dust cloud. In front of her, Armani stood, supernatural shadow forming around her. Thin tracings of transparent lilies floated around her. It must be some kind of signature.... It was a mild disappointment to see Armani with spell charged and waiting for her, but Clair took note of how haggard the shamaness was looking now. Anger flashed in the eyes of Clair's silver haired opponent. This Rising Lance continued to evade, repel, or outright take the spells she threw at her. A battle of magic and steel it truly was.
[beige]"Catch!"[/beige] Armani reached out a hand and seemed to grab the lily from the air before slinging it towards the disguised falcoknight. This time though, Clair thought better than to throw herself into it. She moved backwards, again finding herself enshrouded in the dust as the "lily" slammed into the ground and hit with enough force to send sand flying. Sand pelted her face, a few of the grains making her eyes water. The crowd roared its approval over the sound of the dark globe's impact, and left the Ilian working out how she could win this match. Conventional means weren't working.
"Magic...." As she said it, it came out as a curse though.
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Aurek
Soldier
I hate the undead just a little more than I hate the living.
Posts: 122
Profession: Santa
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Post by Aurek on Sept 23, 2012 15:38:52 GMT -6
The female lancer wasn't making any progress, and it was frustrating Aurek. [Yellow]"C'mon! Win, Rising Lance, Win!"[/Yellow] he yelled. The magic user was relentlessly unleashing salvo after salvo upon her opponent. Magic users appeared to be the bane of normal fighters. Aurek slammed his fist against the wall. [Yellow]"How am I supposed to learn if you can't do anything?"[/Yellow] he roared at Clair. Sure, she was doing well at not succumbing to the attacks, attacks which Aurek knew would have him unconscious or dead within mere moments. Still, he was so caught up in the moment that he failed to consider the concept. [Yellow]"Run her through!"[/Yellow]
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Wyatt
Hero
The Volcano
How can someone win if winning means that someone loses?
Posts: 463
Etruria Fame: 2
Sacae Fame: -1
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Post by Wyatt on Sept 23, 2012 22:09:06 GMT -6
Wyatt winced as he saw Clair charge into the magic. That had to hurt! What was she thinking?! He'd always pegged her as a more agile and calculating fighter, and the start of the match seemed to suggest it, but that was a move he would have expected from himself, not from her or Mana, who fought similarly.
Well, she didn't seem like she was going to make that mistake again. Now she was keeping her distance, wearing her opponent out and waiting for her time to strike. In truth, Clair likely needed one good hit to end the fight, just getting it was going to be difficult. Her enemy had range, and Clair was already injured, though one wouldn't guess from the way she moved. Wyatt studied Clair more then her opponent. He was interested in her true abilities ever since she'd completely destroyed him the last time they met. And he could see why. She was quick to react, and quicker to learn. She'd picked up Lily's...wait...Lily? Palish color of hair too, though she didn't look happy and joyous.
Ok, it probably wasn't her, but being reminded of a dead companion did serve to distract him from the fight for a moment. Good thing he wasn't in the ring.
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Post by Valcrist on Sept 25, 2012 7:53:35 GMT -6
Alright, he was finally able to calm himself over all of this. So what if they were there? It was a gathering for incredible fighters, and clearly that's what they were. It shouldn't be that weird, they were coming to Bern anyways. They wouldn't realize it was Valcrist, and even if they did then they probably wouldn't remember him. He didn't speak to any of them at length, and Valcrist had a very small presence. He was worrying over nothing, so instead he focused on the fight and allowed himself to be lost in it.
It was magic versus steel, and steel had an obvious disadvantage. The easiest way to beat a mage is to distract them and close the distance, which is hard to do in a place like this. Not to mention the two start at quite the distance to begin with, a perfect range for a mage to abuse their range and destroy a fighter before they can even fight. Unlike an archer, whose long range ends up being a handicap in a place like this, a mage can abuse their magic from near and far. This would be tough from a purely technical standpoint, and the battle Valcrist watched reflected that. Clair could dodge and weave through the magic, but couldn't get any closer. Every time it looked like she was getting an opening, it was quickly cut off with a blast of shadowy magic. Lily was determined to not let Clair near her, and for good reason, at a close range this was no contest.
From the looks of things, Clair was adapting a pattern of dodge, a tactic Valcrist knew and abused himself. She would continue the pattern until either her or her opponent did something unexpected, which is where an opening is made. Getting your opponent used to a tactic then abandoning it for a surprise in the middle of a battle is a very hard tactic to employ successfully, but works wonders when it was successful. It's like a sneak attack in broad daylight. Just as she was about to exploit this she... ran into her attack. Which was kind of confusing, since Valcrist knew she could of easily dodged it. Did she take the hit on purpose? Against a mage? That was... well... kind of dumb. Especially on a shaman, because who knows what their crazy magics do. Valcrist had even heard that they can steal one's life force to feed their own.
The painful screech that scraped the inside of his mind made him cringe, he could only imagine the pain that caused such a shriek. Despite the obvious pain, she pushed forward and continued to fight, this time dodging the attacks instead of running into them. They were both growing tired, which may be Clair's chance. She tossed some flower made of shadows, for some reason, it didn't seem very effective. The fight was drawing to a close though, he could feel it.
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