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Post by Gar on Feb 4, 2018 15:36:26 GMT -6
Gar woke up on the right side of the bed today. Well, it was a straw filled cot in a run-down inn on the isles, but Gar couldn’t complain. No one broke into his room and tried to steal his belongings, so it was a peaceful night. The captain placed his feet on the wooden floor. He rolled his neck, leading to a few cracks. He took a deep breath before rising and washing himself with a pail of water and soap.
Days like today were a reminder that life was good. It had its challenges but those were what made his down time so special. Gar strapped up his boots, donned his turquoise coat and latched his magical axe onto his back. Good Morning June. What should we do today?
The magical weapon responded. Honestly, your training has shown significant growth recently. Would you like to do something, relaxing? But still productive of course. Gar nodded his head. He had just the place in mind. This town had an arena. One that Gar had fought in before. Today, he wasn’t planning on fighting, rather watching the fights. Who knows? Perhaps he could see some new attacks or variants of attacks that one day, Gar could use to his advantage.
The berserker exited his room and banged on the door of some of his younger mates. A solid three knocks led to no answer. Gar assumed they were too groggy to reply. He didn’t particularly want to spend the day waiting for the young ones to awaken. He shouted through the door, certain that they would hear their captain’s voice. “I’m headed to the arena. I suggest you come along too. You might learn a thing or two from watching the fights.” Gar turned and exited the building entirely.
Before he knew it, he was standing outside the arena. It wasn’t the same size as the colosseum in Bern, but it was grand in it’s own right. The captain paid his admission for a spectator and left some money for his mates, should they decide to wake up of course. Gar took his seat. His eyes landed on a man peddling some type of cooked meat. Gar couldn’t tell what it was from this distance, but he could smell it. It smelled good and Gar’s stomach rumbled. Ehh I’ll be here for a while. I can wait a bit for some food.
The captain’s eyes fell to the ring where a battle had just wrapped up. From the looks of it, a cavalier’s horse got maimed and the rider surrendered to avoid any harm. Smart move. Riders typically aren’t used to fighting on even ground, he likely would’ve been crushed. Gar smiled and leaned back in his seat, waiting for the next fight.
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Post by Mila on Feb 5, 2018 20:29:31 GMT -6
Upon arriving at the Isles, Mila quickly got off the boat and lied down on the rocky beaches of the Isle. She rubbed her back against it and scooped up the hard sand with her hands. She may or may not have embarrassingly said "LAND" a couple of times. She remembered thanking every deity she knew that she had survived sailing. And she really wished she would never have to set foot on a boat ever again. After her little bout of hysteria, the sage then went on to orient herself in these new lands.
This was Mila's first time here in the isles and she did her best to try and not to get herself killed or robbed. Oooh, the Isles were just like Yorick described. The Isles were full of people who were hardened by the hardships of life. Pirates. Warriors. Thieves. Sure, there was some honest folk among the crowds. Mothers with children. Miners. But, Mila could feel that everyone in she came across seemed to be looking out only for themselves or their families. Now, that notion was understandable on its own. But, holy hell she was tired of all the seedy looks she was getting. It was as if some of these guys could practically smell that she was not from around here. So the sage made an effort to make herself look frumpy. Unappitizing. As her inner voice put it. She hid her hair under a hood and kept that hood held up with a plain scarf. A simple cloak hid most of her clothes. She kept her coin purse in her bosom. A thief would have to reach in long and hard to pull that from her person. And by that point, that theif might be met with a spell to the gut or a punch to the face.
She kept the straps on her personal bag as tight as she could. So much so that the bag portion rested under her armpit rather than have it dangle on her side. What little pieces of jewelry she owned were tucked away in small pockets. Simple fingerless gloves helped to conceal her well-kept hands. And she opted not to wear makeup. She kept a tiny amount of her coin in a pocket on the cloak. She scoured the town for some sort of semblance of a library but quickly gave up that search. So she went to the next best thing that this society had to offer in terms of education. To the arena. She paid for her entrance as a spectator and took a seat. It had been a good long while since Mila last saw an arena match. Eturia wasn't exactly fond of them. But, she remembered seeing a pit match in Nabata, and that was sort of the same thing. She had a funny dream about being a competitor in an arena once. She fought alongside her friends against an army of candy-coated fiends. It was a strange dream.
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Post by Gar on Feb 9, 2018 18:53:13 GMT -6
The fight in the arena was over. As the arena floor was being cleaned and prepared for the next bout, Gar's eyes wandered to the entrance to the spectator's section. He had expected his mates to have woken up and shown up by now. Perhaps they were still sleeping. They were still fairly young compared to Gar, maybe in their late teens. The swabbies needed their rest. Gar shifted in his seat and raised a foot to place on the bench in front of him. He was making himself comfortable during the intermission between fights.
That was when someone caught his eye. A person entered the spectator section. It wasn't one of his mates though, it was a hooded figure. With a scarf despite the temperature. Gar shrugged, all types of figures traveled the isles. He would've paid no more attention to the figure, but he caught a slight glimpse of their face. It was a familiar face. One that Gar could've sworn he had seen before. He wanted to call out and wave to the figure. But it couldn't have been the person he was thinking of. She can't be in an arena right? She could barely handle the roar of thunder. Arenas can sometimes have even more noise. I must be mistaken. The figure took their seat too far away for him to catch a glimpse for confirmation. Gar returned his attention to the ring. It seemed as though they were prepared for the next fight.
Gar was hoping he could see some ranged fighting. He had plenty of experience up close, but he wanted to catch some tricks of those practiced in fighting at a distance.
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Post by Mila on Feb 9, 2018 23:12:47 GMT -6
She was still a bit bent out of shape due to the whole cyclops and ship thing. She was also full of an odd mix of unexplained annoyance and excitement. The sage suspected, this feeling of negativity was due to a mix of biology and a severe lack of physical activity. That plus a lack of fresh greens and sunlight. Salads and greens were kinda rare in these parts. Most folk lived off the bounty of the sea. As nutritious as it is I don't think i'm desperate enough to eat seaweed. The sage did some quick mental math in her head.
Mila watched the first half of the arena's events in relative silence. The roar and applause of the crowd did not trigger her nerves as she knew where the source of the noise came from. The arena was also in an open space so her mind did not equate it to rock slides and earthquakes. The day was good so her mind couldn't equate it to thunder. But, as she observed the battles she noticed a few things. Most of the arena participants were men. Not surprising. And they were mostly melee fighters. Big guys who swung big weapons. And in this observation, Mila saw an opportunity. If I can beat a few of these lunk heads with some magic. I can earn enough coin to get better food. I need some new parchment and ink for the books. But, I doubt the isle would have something like that.. then again.. ships of all types DO visit these ports. Not all of them reputable. And then there was another roar from the crowd. That snapped Mila out of her thoughts. Looks like the first half of the arena's matches were over and some one had won. At least Mila assumed someone had won the first half because she wasn't paying any attention to the actual action.
The sage got up from her chair and made her way back out towards the arena entrances. This time she agreed to join in the arena festivities as a participant. The rules were briefly given to her. People fight till they can't fight no more or they retreat. Losers lose their wages. Winners get a small profit. The more they won the more money earned. Mila wasn't looking to go all the way in the arena. She just wanted to try her luck with one or two rounds to earn a little more gold. Mila pulled her Volcannon Tome and clutched it close to her chest. She sat in the arena's waiting area. She got some odd looks and stares. People who tried to intimidate her. But, the young sage remained un-phased. She kept her demeanor calm and quiet. She kept her eyes closed as she prepared herself. Then the intermission ended she was called up and sent out to the arena to fight.
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Post by Gar on Feb 10, 2018 11:50:51 GMT -6
Some more fights occurred, nothing special enough for Gar to take note of. Just two ruffians duking it out for gold. At this rate the fights would end for the day before he saw anything worthwhile. Gar exhaled through his nose. It was entirely possible that his swabbies should just stay in their inn today. He saw the meat vendor making another lap near his section. gar raised his hard and beckoned the vendor in his direction. The man claimed he was selling boar and some small bird. Gar paid for a cooked haunch of the boar. He had to sit up correctly in order to eat the arena food.
As Gar adjusted himself in his seat, he saw the hooded mystery figure exit the spectator section. Apparently they had seen enough of the fights. The captain's eyes traced the remaining crowd members, but his attention was really on the haunch in his hands. It wasn't bad, but it was difficult to mess up roasting meat. Gar enjoyed the food thoroughly, eating it down to the bone and wiping his mouth with his forearm as he finished.
He finished eating just as the battles were scheduled to resume. Gar turned his head to the sky, he had a feeling that he knew where this was going. I'm betting it'll be a merc versus a brigand. Gar wouldn't be too thrilled about this but he paid to watch fights so here he was. Gar returned his sight to the arena. What he saw was unexpected to say the least.
The hooded figure from earlier returned. Only now they were standing in the arena as a participant. Gar laughed to himself. Just from the person's build, they couldn't be a melee fighter. Maybe a finesse based swordsman, maybe. But even that seemed like a stretch. Gar mentally boiled it down to a few possibilities. Taguel seems a little far fetched. So we have magic, archer or hidden weapons. No matter the case, Gar was in for a battle that he wasn't well versed in. Gar leaned forward in his seat.
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Post by Mila on Feb 11, 2018 22:11:17 GMT -6
Oh. That one little phrase summed up all of Mila's thought process. The young sage looked up at the walls that imprisoned the combatants. She looked up at the people sitting just above the wall line. And suddenly the sage felt as if she were the size of a child. Looking up at all of the bigger things that were just out of her reach. Amazing what a change in perspective can do. Mila squeezed her tome again. She wasn't sure why Volcannon made her feel better. Perhaps it was due to the fire spell's nature. Flame is often associated with bravery and confidence. And in order to bend flame to their will, one needed to be confident. Fear leads to mistakes, mistakes lead to burns... Lots and lots of burns. Focus.
She stared at her opponent on the opposite side of the field. A young man with a broadsword. Lightly armored. He looked like a crowd favorite. It took the sage a moment to remind herself that this was a normal human being. Not a monster. Mila needed to be careful with her magic. One wrong move and she could maim the man for life. And that might not bode well for her in the future. This man might have friends who would chase her down in the name of revenge. But, then again.. this WAS an arena. Competitors KNEW what kind of mess they got themselves into. What sort of damages they might incur. Ugh. I'm torn.. do I show some compassion or do I just flat out roast him? I want to win.. but I don't want to be branded a witch later. She shook her head. No. I should stand my ground and end it as soon as I can. My opponents do not show mercy. I should know this by now.
Mila cleared her mind. She had recited the Volcannon tome enough times by now to recite it from memory. The sage took a simple stance. She did not need to keep the book open to cast. But, she still kept it close just in case. She kept the book clutched in one hand. Three fingers and her palm held the book in her hand. Her other hand was free. As the man with the broadsword charged at her. The sage quietly let an orb of fire magic appear above her free hand. The coconut sized orb of fire flickered fiercely. She waited for a moment. The man with the sword needed to be at the correct distance for her strike to hit. Mila pushed the orb of fire forward. A stream of pure fire erupted out from the orb. Mila aimed the stream of fire to make contact with the man's chest. She wanted to end it in one blow.
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Post by Gar on Feb 12, 2018 22:01:38 GMT -6
Gar's eyes picked up on the red tome that the hooded figure carried. Books meant magic. Red meant fire. The berserker was quite satisfied that he at least knew that much before the fight had even started. Little things like this could easily save him from becoming a crispy version of himself in the future. The fight started quickly. The swordsman was charging straight ahead. Gar wanted to give the young man credit for his bravado but he certainly lost points for making himself an easy target. He wasn't fast enough to beat the casting time, so Gar would've recommended an angled approach, preferably after the sage had already casted once.
Gar's analysis was correct to an extent. The sage was able to cast a plume of fire directly at the charging swordsman. There was something unexpected though. The plume was larger than Gar would've thought. The captain had to squint his eyes to try to focus of the spell's accuracy without harming his eyes. It clearly wasn't a typical fire spell, but Gar didn't know enough about all the breeds of fire magic to place which one it was. Smoke, dust and flame obscured the target. Gar was forced to look away and wait for the dust to settle to see how this one turned out.
Something else took Gar's attention away from the ring. He heard murmurs of dark magic and witches. Some pirates and sailors knew even less about magic than Gar did. They equated anything surprising with the supernatural and corrupt. Gar turned his head and addressed a couple of the rumor starters. "Fire is a natural magic. Nothing corrupt or evil about it. Trust me, if that magic was born of darkness, I'd be the first to end it." Gar turned his head back to the arena as the smoke began to clear.
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Post by Mila on Feb 15, 2018 21:12:19 GMT -6
Mila kept her pose the same as the smoke cleared. She was still holding the Volcannon spell overhead just in case she needed to cast a second blast. Her hood and scarf served as an effective filter to all of the dust and smoke. She didn't see any movement through the smoke. There wasn't any movement at all. With the smoke and sand gone Mila could see the remains of her opponent. A body on the ground with his sword flung far away from him. An arena official stepped out to check on the status of her opponent. The young man was alive but unconscious. It looked like he tried to defend himself from the blast by raising his arms up over his head and chest. The arena official declared the sage winner of the match.
Mila let out a hard breath. The spell she was "holding" over slipped and singed her fingers. She quickly stopped casting and the orb of orange fire dissipated. Ow. Ow. Ow! She quickly blew on her fingers and shook them to try and cool them down. She glanced at her hand and examined her red fingertips. Yes. I'm in for an uncomfortable two weeks. She put her book away. She approached the arena official, two other folks were carrying her opponent away. Mila explained she could heal the young man, she was proficient enough with the staff to do so. They weren't too many healers on duty so they let her do her job. The sage quietly brought out her staff and mended the young man of his wounds.
"He'll need some ointment for his skin. But, the worst of it has been healed off. He was very lucky." The sage explained. She let out another sigh of relief and returned to the waiting area.
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Post by Gar on Mar 7, 2018 17:26:05 GMT -6
Gar shook his head. That fight was certainly over quickly. Too quickly to really learn anything about sages and their fighting styles. He had already known that running straight at a sage, one on one, with no defense was a poor decision. Still, the burns on that young swordsman served to compound the lesson.
Gar’s nose caught a scent of the burnt flesh. A smell that the berserker would never forget. Smells had a way of triggering memories that were buried deep away. Gar placed a hand over the brand on his abdomen. The involuntary body modification that he received during his stint as a slave. Gar furrowed his brow briefly before he managed to shake the dreadful feeling off. He exhaled sharply through his nose as if to get rid of any of the lingering smell. Xigshaw pulsed with a light.
Remember why we are here Gar. To learn. What do you say we challenge that sage to a battle? Gar raised an eyebrow. For June to offer to partake in a battle that wasn’t entirely righteous. It was growing more and more common these days. Gar nodded. You know, I would like to see how I stack up against a fire spell of that caliber. We just got to be careful not to take any permanent damage.
Gar rose and exited the spectator’s section, returning to the ticketing booth. He spoke to the man at the booth, requesting that the extra funds he left for his mates be used to pay for his competitor’s fee. He also made a request that he specifically battle the sage who just fought. That request took a little extra fee, which Gar paid. It was literally a small price to pay for the experience.
Gar walked straight through the competitor’s waiting area and stood by the entrance to the arena proper. He ignored any side-eyes or empty threats he heard along the way. There was a small lull in the fights. Enough time for the prior competitors to rest and recharge. Then, it was time for him and his desired competition to enter the ring.
Gar entered and drew his legendary weapon. He assumed his resting stance with the large weapon sitting on his shoulder. It was time to learn.
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Post by Mila on Mar 7, 2018 18:25:10 GMT -6
Upon her return to the waiting area, the sage was met with some uncomfortable stares. Those who saw what she had done, did not like the fact that she can manipulate the very elements to her whims. I was prepared for this... but.. not really. Mila did her best not to let the glances and threats get to her. And that worked for a bit, but there was only so much her confidence could take. And eventually, she made her way towards the toilets. The room was questionable at best and unsanitary at worst. But, the sage didn't really have much of an option. Not only did she actually need to go, but she also, needed the moment away from (hopefully) prying eyes. She couldn't let these competitors see her crack. She couldn't let them see weakness. They'll eat you alive. Yorick's words loomed in her head again. Right. Focus. Just brea..
"Urk!" Okay, breathe once we're out of this cesspool. The sage finished with the facilities and rushed outside. Good lord. I don't think anyone has ever cleaned in there. She took in several deep breaths of slightly less smelly air. She leaned her palm on the wall and tried to recompose herself. Note. To. Self. Buy. A. Plague. Mask. The sage rooted around one of her bag's pockets and pulled out a sweet-smelling rag. The rag once held her dried tea leaves. But, the tea had run out in the early days of Gar's boat trip. But, the smell was a permanent part of the rag, the more she sniffed it the better she felt. The sage re-pocketed her things, re-buttoned, and re-tied any loose bits of her attire. People are spooked enough Mila. Don't let em see you. It looked like a few competitors had gone ahead and done their fights. The sage noticed there were a few bodies missing between in the waiting area. Her number was called up and she made her way back into the heart of the arena.
"Oh.. you've got to be kidding me." The sage spoke under her breath. She knew the man in front of her. She knew the weapon he had. She had seen it clobber both goyles and most recently a cyclops. The man who now wielded the mighty blade was the kind-hearted captain that given her a ride to the isles. This is awkward. No. This is bad. Mila immediately weighed her options. She knew she needed this one fight to earn enough gold to get by. But, then again, this was Gar. She didn't want to hurt him or get hurt by him. That.. would mess us both up. I shouldn't do this. The crowd around them clamored for blood. Some wanted to see Mila cleaved in two for what she could do, for what she did. No. Stay calm. Just. Quietly. Make your way back towards the waiting.. The sage turned around. And the gate's already been closed. Great.
"Just. Great." Got no choice now. Mila clutched her Gaea tome now. Probably picked a bad time to switch books. But, screw it. I can lob a few quick rocks. Maybe to trip him up. Or knock him out gently? She'd realize the ridiculousness of that sentence later. Focus! And so she did. The power to bend the earth to one's will slowly crept up her body and tempered her spirit. Do. Not. Hesitate.
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Post by Gar on Mar 7, 2018 20:14:41 GMT -6
The sage showed up across the arena from Gar. For a second it looked as if they were going to turn away from the fight after taking one look at the berserker. Gar smirked, perhaps some of June’s past power of intimidation still lingered. Nonetheless, the fight was on. The berserker inhaled deeply. If his opponent was already intimidated, he would extend that further. He held his hands at his sides, bent at the elbows to enhance the curvature of his arm muscles. He puffed up his chest and stood tall, turning his chin up toward the sky. The berserker let out a booming battlecry with the voice that he usually saved for issuing orders in a storm.
Gar’s head returned to it’s typical orientation. His eyes traced his opponents hooded figure to see if his stunt had any effect. Who knows? Sometimes these mages lost their nerve before battles even started. Unfortunately, the person could be shaking in their boots but beneath the clothes, Gar couldn’t tell. So that was the end of the mind games for now. It was time to begin in earnest.
A sage would never close the distance on a berserker on their own. So that job was up to Gar. He began to jog, not too fast, not too slow. An arcing motion, drifting wide to the berserker’s right side. He allowed his axe to trail behind himself slightly as he moved. He would close the distance slowly, while making himself a moving target for the sage. His eyes searched for the spellcaster’s tome, the color dictated the magic. He expected to find red, but no it was… black? Gar almost stopped in his tracks he clutched his holy axe and gritted his teeth. As he drew closer he gained a better view. He was mistaken. The tome was a deep brown. He had seen it before. Some type of earthen, stone magic. Better that than ice or fire. Gar continued his path to slowly close the distance, anticipating flying boulders or spikes erupting from beneath his feet. At least that was what he had seen this earth magic do before. He didn’t know the other possibilities. He would have to stay on his toes.
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Post by Mila on Mar 7, 2018 21:08:59 GMT -6
Mila was not deterred by Gar's sudden battle cry. If anything she hoped that the Captian wouldn't resort to such brutish actions. But, this war cry seemed to be a thing that most big battle bruisers did. Mila didn't really know why. Perhaps it was intimidation tactic or a means to psyche oneself up. Whatever the reason was, Mila was sure about one thing. She didn't like it very much. Sure, she can tolerate it when her companions did it. But, not when it was being shouted AT her. And she really didn't like anyone shouting at her, to begin with.
Her eyes followed the beserker as he made his way towards her. She noticed his moderate pace and deemed that to be a smart tactic. The last sod that charged at her like a bat out of hell is in the infirmary right now. Gar saw that. He moved at a pace that gave him enough time to react to things. He's testing the waters. Like a good sailor. And she knew that he had SEEN her cast magic before. Magic like Gaea took time to work with, time she didn't really have. It was impossible for Gar to see her expression. She was completely neutral. Stone-faced. Be careful with your movements.
She focused her attention on three key spots in the earth. She channeled the magic of the earth with her hand and arm movements. At the moment both arms were completely still and at her side. She continued to track Gar, she calculated where his footfall would land. She raised her free arm up slowly. The earth responded to her movement, small, hair-like cracks "grew" out of the ground, like long black weeds. The cracks slowly connected one another to the spots she focused on. Essentially, she made a small "line" between her and Gar. This line of cracks was about ten feet away from where she stood. She inhaled deeply and held that breath. 3..2..1..
Now!
The power she had been channeling went downwards into the earth, it kicked up a small shockwave of dust, debris, around her feet. The cracks crumbled and rippled to create a small fissure between him and her. About four feet across and four feet down. She timed the fissure to almost coincide with his running. If she timed it right he'd fall right in. If not then the sudden shock of the earth moving will have slowed him down some. She exhaled through her nose. No time to rest. Be prepared to move.
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Post by Gar on Mar 8, 2018 15:34:41 GMT -6
Gar watched the sage raise their arm. Surely that was a sign that something was about to happen. ‘Something’ however wasn’t much to go on. Gar had to brace himself. Instinct told his to dig in, ground himself and make his base wide and strong. He was dealing with earth magic here though, as evidenced by the small fissures forming in the arena floor. He put move weight on the balls of his feet for quicker mobility. Gar squinted as the earth began to shake under his boots. His sealegs were stable enough to maintain balance through the quake.
What came next was unexpected. The earth split beneath his next step. Gar’s eyes widened as his mind started to analyze the current situation. He didn’t have time for that as he was already falling forward into a pit. Entering this pit could spell doom and the end of the fight. Gar’s axe swung upward in front of his falling body. Behind it, trailed a hardlight wall. It was angled in front of him, so his torso slammed against the wall. He grunted with the harsh contact. The berserker slid down the incline for a moment before his offhand gripped the top of the hardlight construct. He gathered his legs underneath himself and pulled himself over the wall onto the other side of the fissure. The hardlight vanished into sparkling dust behind him.
The berserker landed on the opposite side. He rose with a grin, the fissure served to section off the arena. He may not have fallen into the pit, but had lost time and momentum. The sage could easily recreate the separation. All Gar could do was try to close the distance again. This time however, the fighting area was smaller, and he was aware of the possibility to the earth splitting beneath his feet. Gar initiated his approach once again. He moved in a hopefully less predictable, serpentine pattern to give the sage trouble targeting him. If he could cleanly endure another attack, he was confident the distance would be closed. Then it would be his turn to go on the offensive.
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Post by Mila on Mar 8, 2018 21:17:28 GMT -6
Mila saw Gar fall into the pit. The sage made sure to keep the bottom of the pit very blunt. In combat, that pit would be full of jagged rocks meant to cripple her opponents. But, Gar wasn't a monster. Gar was human. And she needed to keep her tactics humane. Ok. Doubt that's gonna hold him for long. In her moment of exhaling her connection to the earth stopped for a moment. The crowd's roar assailed her ears. She had almost forgotten they were all there due to Gaea's mini buff on concentration.
Her trauma with the earth and it's ability to rumble was mitigated under the effects of Gaea. But, it didn't fully leave her. She knew her pulse was racing and the next set of breaths felt like panicked ones. She clutched the tome close to her chest and forced herself to focus once more. She saw a flash of light from the pit and knew Gar wasn't out of the fight yet. No doubt due to the effects of his magic ax. He's not your average brute Mila. Remember. Magic. Xigshaw. June. Light magic. Willpower.
"Willpower." Concentrate. She steadied her breathing. The sage focused her energy on the earth once more. She had seen Gar pull himself out of the pit. The sage had also effectively cut the arena's area significantly, which meant there was less room to run. Mila wasn't worried, yet. The power of Gaea flowed through her. Gar was once again on the run towards her. He was running in a serpentine pattern which meant her trick with the pitfalls wasn't going to work a second time. But, she wasn't about to let the captain run up to her. Will.. the.. earth. My.. will. My.. manipulation. She raised her arm again.
The pitfall served a second purpose. During the quake, several bits of earth chipped off the sides of the fissure. These were all rocks of various sizes. Freed from the form as the floor, forced to take a new life, as sorta spherical potential projectiles. Mila focused and slowly raised these shards of ground bits up from the pit. She controlled about ten of them at a time. These rocks were all of the various shapes. She did her best to "pick" as many "round" rocks as she could. But, each rock was relatively the same size as a closed fist or the size of a good peach.
Floating these rocks demanded less of her than making a maw out of the earth. Run. Run. Run. Make him run. The opposite way. Control. Control. Control. She turned her head towards the running sailor. She manipulated two fingers and two of those rocks came flying at Gar. They caught up to him with surprising speed. She raised her booked hand the rest of the rocks flew towards her. And then with another movement of her free hand those rocks that closed the distance between gap and sage. Those rocks went straight for Gar's front. Mila would continue to manipulate those same rocks over and over until they crumbled to pebbles. At which point Mila would supplement the rock with another from the pit. Mila's intention was to use the sneaky sediments as a deterrent. To keep him away from her and wear away at his endurance. Mila knew he couldn't run forever. And he knew she couldn't cast forever either. So this battle became one of endurance.
Mila was doing her job at holding back any sort of lethality. She'd refrain from headshots. But, rocks to the body still hurt. She was mostly aiming for softer parts of the human body. The Gut. Hands. Feet. Joints. Places that would cause him to stop for a bit and go ow.
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Post by Gar on Apr 27, 2018 17:55:26 GMT -6
Gar switched his weapon’s power to a strength boost. He knocked the first of the incoming projectiles aside without much effort. More came to take their place, forcing Gar to continue to swing his weapon to defend himself. Still more came flying in his direction. He was given no choice. The battle would soon become a test of endurance. Gar smirked. He could keep this up all day. Perhaps that was just bravado, but he had been practicing swinging this oversized axe for some time now. The rocks gave little resistance to his strength boosted axe. It was good training though.
Although he wasn’t having much trouble defending himself from the onslaught, he was entirely pinned down. Motionless. Gar would have to think of something to get him moving again, before the opposing sage hurled something more substantial his direction. Gar began to think. However, he lost focus long enough to allow a fist sized rock fly into his shoulder. He shifted from the blow, allowing two more rocks to pass by his swinging axe. One to his chest, the other grazed his thigh. If it were a little closer, it had the potential to do some serious damage. The berserker recovered his defensive posture and continued to deflect the projectiles.
“Hah.” Gar exhaled. He was starting to slow down. This battle of attrition may be a losing fight after all. He was in no position to come up with a foolproof strategy. So he resigned himself to a simple plan of attack. Gar allowed another projectile to pass as he swiped the broadside of his axe vertically in front of himself. A trail of hardlight was left lingering in the air. A wall as tall and wide as Gar was himself. Wasting no time, Gar placed his shoulder against the wall and began to run his legs.
The berserker turned himself into a half human half hardlight battering ram. The incoming rocks deflected off the wall as he approached his target. Still, the projectiles served to damage his wall and slow him down. He knew his shield would dissipate soon, he just hoped he collided with his target before it did. With how frail these mage types could be, a good shoulder charge from a berserker could be all it took to win.
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