RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (Full Version)

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Varin -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/10/2007 19:31:02)

His opponent broke the arm's stranglehold on the heat of his body, a mediocre source to be sure; but, if arms could be said to have feelings, it was disappointed to say the least. Davian spent a moment studying the other contestants in the arena now that he was by himself, his arm still quenching its deep thirst from the adjacent Fire pillar. Davian's concentration prevented it from devouring more of his body, but effort untold did it take.

Davian was next to the wall in between the Earth pillar and the Fire pillar when his former opponent's tornado collided with the Fire pillar. Collided might not be the right term for it, Davian thought absently, but it seemed to fit. Hundreds of chunks of lava went issuing forth across the arena, some arcing as high as twenty meters, some connecting with subsonic velocity clear across at the Ice pillar. Davian might have been slow to act, flummoxed at this turn of events; however, the arm, ever the opportunist, made the most of the situation.

Davian made the mistake of forgetting all he has learned in the past few hours and made the attempt to dodge the clumps of lava coming his way, forgetting concentrating on anything but his survival. The arm attached to shoulder was far more pragmatic; it siphoned the heat from the flaming orbs that were coming towards Davian and slightly redirected them so they would be of no harm to it's host. Of course, with Davian's concentration momentarily ruined, the arm expanded again at that creeping rate, itching all the while. Davian spent a second to marvel at the new inch of burned tunic before remembering himself and willing the advance away, a battle in and of itself.

For the other combatants, it was not such an easy event. Davian kept up the pretense of dodging while the arm did its dirty business. For each projectile that would have approached a person, easily ten more would have passed short, long, or to the side. Davian's arm nudged those that would miss and flared them, making them as warm as the Fire pillar itself and quite on target. The arm wasted no effort, siphoning entirely the energy from the ones that weren't close enough to easily redirect. Davian played the fox by allowing a few cool bits of lava, now rock, to get close enough to feel the wind from them, making this all seem as if random chance went awry. Perhaps the ruse would work, perhaps not, but Davian kept it up all the same. In his mind's eye, it was a great ploy to be sure.




Kellehendros -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/10/2007 21:05:09)

The Champion of Fire had stopped moving, taking up a station near to the wall of the Arena at the midway point between the the Earth and Fire Pillars. Alex hesitated for only the tiniest of moments, before continuing his run, dashing past the no unmoving Fire Champion without a second glance. The man apparently hadn't noticed Alex's passing or hadn't cared, the mage wasn't particularily sure which it was, but at the moment he didn't really care, he had a goal in mind. That goal was the solid protection, or at least, the illusion thereof, of the Great Oak.

Alex reached out with his magic, contacting the Water Snakes, just at the moment that the Wind Archer shattered them with another of her magical arrows. The mage smiled, unaffected by this momentary defeat at the hands of the Champion of Wind. He moved around the Great Oak, placing its reassuring bulk between himself and the Fire Champion. Alex spared a glance for the statue of the Silver Defender of the Earth Pillar, momentarily concerned that the statue might spring to life, as it was reputed to do, and attack him. A second thought made Alex discard the notion, he was safe from the statue as long as he did nothing to harm the tree.

At that moment, the Wind Champion's pet whirlwind reached the Fire Pillar, and the expression that all heck broke loose suddenly became quite appropriate. The now large tornado tore off great hunks of molten lava, flinging them in a wildly indescriminate manner, left, right, and center, at all manners of speeds and trajectories. Suddenly, Alex was very thankful for his position so near the Great Oak. The Pillar's great bulk should shield him from most of the flying lava, though he would have to keep an eye out for anything that might impact the branches above and drop down at him.

That quite settled it, the Wind Archer simply had to go. Well, that wasn't necessarily true, in reality it was the bow and arrows that had to go. If experience in travelling with armies and recording their battles had taught Alex anything, it was that nothing ruined a good bowstring, or a good arrows fletching, like water. Or even better, fire. The mage moved around the Pillar so that he could see both the Wind Archer, and the now frantically dodging Champion of Fire. This revealed him to a quantity of lava himself, so he would need to make this quick.

Giving his wrist a quick twist around the runic symbol, Alex cast a spell that would allow him to communicate a short message to the Champion of Fire. Whether or not he acted on it was up to him though. Alex's voice sounded light and quick, like a free mountain stream tumbling down its banks. "Fire Champion, I am Alex Shiveran, Champion of Water, while our Elements are rarely associated, and this is an unusual setting for such co-operation, I feel that it would be in both our interests to stop the Wind Archer, perhaps by destroying her bowstring or arrows." Leaving it at that, Alex turned and retreated around the Great Oak, shielding himself partially from any unfriendly reply by the Fire Champion.

Muttering an incantation under his breath, and motioning several more runes with his free hand, Alex gathered up the remnants of his Water Snakes. The scattered droplets moved slowly across the soil, gathering into a puddle. The puddle flew into the air at the mage's motion, creating a globe. The globe shattered, sending what would hopefully be a soaking blast across the Wind Archer's position. Also hopefully, this would adversely affect her weaponry, or at least break her concentration so that the cursed whirlwind would go away.




SomThngWickdThsWyCms -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/10/2007 22:00:02)

The red sand tickled at his legs, touched his skin with its rough fingers as it was propelled upward by his feet. Upon his arms his sleeves slid up and down, moving with each pumping motion of his arms, and with each revealance of his skin he could feel the warm sun dance across it; giving his body warmth. But oh how he longed for the shadows. This light, all of this open space helped him naught but instead hindered him: His attacks would have much less range. He longed for the coldness of the shadows but he knew it would not come for some time, and for that he suffered. His gray eyes caught the glare of the rays of light upon his blade, reflecting madly in its descent, as well as the flickers of light from all of the fire; all of the fighting.

All of his excitement, all of his hope, was for naught. Aiden knew he should have waited, should have known better to launch this hasty attack even though the screeching of her winds still resounded throughout the arena. She moved quickly, aided by her winds, he was sure, and his glaive connected only with blood red sands that bursted up around the impact point. His eyes followed her, did not let her leave his sight because he knew that if she did he would be dead. A person who could wield that kind of magic was not one you would doubt of ability, and when he saw the gleam in the center of her bow as she strung it he knew he was correct.

All of the momentum he had began to dissipate into the area around him, feet slipping and sliding as he parted the ground in an attempt to stop moving. He could feel it flow into his boots, trapped beneath his feet and swallowed by his socks, becoming even more of a nuisance as he watched her fingers let go of that taught string that launched the arrow towards him. It was then that he noticed the tornado’s noise begin to dissipate, quieter and quieter until the sound was nothing more than faint howling wind and that is where it mixed seamlessly into the pinging noise he heard before him.

A deep breath, casting his gaze upon the quickly approaching arrow, seeing how with every ping sand was kicked into the air, and with every second, the pinging rang louder and louder through his skull until he thought it might split it in to. But he needed to focus, he needed to keep his mind on right here, right now, if he wished to survive. If he wished to stop this projectile. Slowly his eyes closed and the ringing in his head grew louder and louder, pushing his concentration to the limits when at last he felt the shadow of its tip penetrate his own.

That was all he needed.

In an instant his shadows leaped into the air and grabbed hold of the arrow as its final crescendo reverberated from its shaft. The ring of air tore at his clothes and his hair as his eyes opened to this blast, sand bursting up behind him, thrown into him, bombarding his flesh with the granules, knocking him back a step before he gained his balance once more. When it died down he snapped the arrow in half, taking the end with the tip from its oily body, the other half dropping down onto the ground as his shadow slithered back into place underneath him and his cheshire grin covered his face.

Well it looks like she has a few tricks under her sleeves. He examined the arrow in this break of the action, looking it up in down in an attempt to see where the power comes from but to no avail. It was during this time that he missed her assault on the water snakes – leaving another one of her techniques as a mystery to himself. He palmed the top, it was the only thing he had right now to fight with, and continued on to his target, eying her intently for she was the only one of interest to him right now. His eyes drifted to the tornado and he realized it was no longer a problem, but it was now a matter of retrieving the only weapon he was proficient with other than his magics (something that he could not rely on now).

When his eyes locked back onto her the gap between them was decreasing rapidly, in a another minute or two he would be within the range of attacks, but more to his surprise it seemed like a globe of water burst from the sand without any provocation. It seemed to be acting of its own accord out here where water was hastily gobbled up by the sands and quickly turned into tainted mud. Her attention was no longer on him, but he wondered how long it would remain that way; his decision to act had to be now. The arrow he palmed left his hand as swiftly as his arm could propel it, aimed at her but he wouldn’t be surprised if it fell off course or fell a bit short. But that was why it was a distraction.

The other hand gripped itself onto his glaive as he neared her, pulling it out of the sand with a quick tug as he kept his feet moving, before they left the ground all-together. He attempted an attack that he had tried once before on another man earlier that day, only to fail. His arms brought his weapon upward and the edges glinted with the hint of fire, if only from the bright lights cast upon it, and quickly it was brought down upon his opponent with a quick strike. Aiden hoped for it to connect, hoped for the blade to sink into her shoulder, to do some damage.

Let alone he fail for the second time today.




Zinsho_Lexagen -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/11/2007 13:16:19)

He could not claim that he had expected such acrobatics in an attempt to evade his blow, however be that as it might his charge did not falter. Were it not for her last leap his swing would have had her, her cartwheel to the side defeating any possibility that he skewer her with the tip of his blade. Instead he followed through the blow, diving to the ground in a shoulder roll that nearly killed his forward momentum and changing his direction of travel. As his feet returned to the sand he kicked off, not slowing his rush as he lunged into the air. He was no acrobat, however one could hardly claim to be a dervish, able to strike fear in the heart of friend and foe alike with wild movements without being able to contort and use motion to end up where you weren't expected.

Midway through the lunge he twisted, flipping to land feet first even as he spun about, landing balanced with only the slightest of steps to steady himself. Facing his foe he immediately sidestepped, pivoting about himself full circle to move nearly two meters to the side, neatly avoiding the tip of the attack that had been sent his way. Had he continued his charge he likely would have met the blow head on, the sole risk of an assault such as his.

Balanced once more he shifted his patterns, no longer the flamboyant motions meant to overawe and paralyze foes but rather such actions as to provide him energy and control, while leaving little to chance. Stalking forward he moved his arms in small gestures, catching and releasing his blades throughout to leave them spinning forward and back about his gauntlets, every circuit leaving the blade ready to strike. He would not allow her a second chance to attack his back, nor would he charge headlong at someone who had managed to react and avoid exactly that.

Her death would still be swift in coming, there was little doubt of that in his mind, nor was there any doubt that his next foe would need face a disaster made flesh. It was not underestimation, it was simply fact in his mind, his foe might be the greatest one he would ever face, yet in the end he would remain. One was not a dervish without a large degree of self-confidence. Only one foe would defeat the dancer of death and that foe was death.




Art of Blade -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/12/2007 11:24:22)

The Earth Champion continued looking around, staying as silent as he could. As moments passed and people clashed, he felt that horrible cold seep away, as though whatever was cooling his blood had decided to leave him for something else. Maybe it was the Ice Pillar? Arikard blinked. That should make it more cold. Unless... he grinned. The Fire Champion was playing with his heat? Nah, Arikard thought, shaking his head, that's ridiculous, he can't have that much control over heat, can he? As the Darkness Champion charged at the Wind Champion and the Light Champion slashed at Energy, Arikard grimaced; the pain from the burn on his back just returned, like a monster that, somehow, got released from a recently thawed iceberg. It felt like he was being burned again, but then he got used to it far more quickly than before, which was a relief, if not for the tiny puddle of blood that just formed around his heel. Huh. He stretched his arms and legs, feeling the shirt of his stuck on to his arms and back, and he suddenly found himself struck with the desire to itch at his own body. He ignored it, even though it was driving him crazy.

He paused when he realized that no one was paying attention to him any way, and gave himself a little scratch under the armpit. No point in being needlessly uncomfortable, right?

As he did so, the Wind Champion's tornado stopped screeching, which, of course, was a good thing. Unfortunately, this was only because it landed in a pool of lava, and when a powerful swirl meets a deadly semi-liquid, hilarity ensues in the form of flying blobs of lava flying straight for you. Arikard ducked, his knees straining in pain at the suddenness of his movements, but he stayed his position, perfectly still, as the lava flew harmlessly over his head and smashed into the Ice Pillar. As the burning feeling in his knees subsided, Arikard looked behind him.

Here's a riddle for you: does lava belong to Earth or Fire?

Even before his very eyes, the lava started to cool down, turning into a black rock. It slipped from the Pillar and hit the ground with a soft thud. He leaned against his little pillar, stretched his legs, and- when he was comfortable enough- made his way towards it. He pulled it from the icy pillar. It was, if anything, heavy, and it felt tough. Arikard grinned broadly. Much, much tougher than anything underneath the sands of the arena.

Oh, ho ho ho.

With a single wave, the stone became something like fluid, and surrounded his fake arm, like the dirt in the Spike Arena. Only he didn't cover his hand, and the stone itself was pure black. It almost gleamed in the sunlight. He pulled his sleeve back to admire it before covering it once more. He looked around again, seeing the combatants combating in their dangerous combats, and wondering who he should combat as well. Now that he had a new supply of weapon, stone that- after solidifying from lava, toughened by ice, and hardened by Arikard's own earth- might be as strong as steel. He made a stance, ready to run into any one and start a fight. Or, at least, start making a fight even... fightier? He looked sideways at the Energy and Light Champions and shuddered. He had more than enough of Energy in the Spike Arena. But that would only leave Fire, Water, Wind, and Darkness, which seems complicated enough. He almost whined. This wasn't going to be easy. He almost hoped the Ice Champion really was going to sneak on him, just so he could have a simple battle-

OH NO!

Arikard turned around and found that there was absolutely nobody starting a sneak attack on him. Damn it, he thought. If a dramatic reaction doesn't cause a dramatic action, what is there to live for? He looked at all the combatants again. Maybe he should just attack them all. He looked down at the ground and kicked a bit of sand. Yeah. Just attack them all. Cause general unpleasantness. He could make a massive earthquake, but that would hurt him as well, and probably sap all his energy. Well, not all his energy, but it would make him pretty damn tired.

Arikard rubbed his chin. Maybe he should be reckless again. He slammed his hand on the tiny earth pillar and watched as a stalagmite popped up between the Dark and Wind Champions, like a cat watching the entrails of a mouse hanging from the ceiling with a mild expression in its eyes.




TormentedDragon -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/12/2007 21:00:53)

"The first challenge is to feel the winds. You must be able to sense them, to see through them, or you will never understand them."

Utter chaos. The lava spray was stronger, far stronger than she'd expected. She had miscalculated, but there was no time for self-reproach. As the molten rock flew, it shifted, changed course, each deadly projectile causing such massive disturbance in its path that they were clear as day. Fire seemed the culprit. He was certainly far more deadly now than before, with a mastery of his element that spoke of years of experience.

"Understand the winds, and you will learn how to use them. See through them, and you see anything that passes within them."

It was a simple matter to dodge the missiles, though a number of them passed uncomfortably close. Swift, subtle changes in her own path avoided the larger threats, and the smaller ones were easy to push aside, her armor ringing out in staccato rhythm. Doing so demanded much of her attention, however, and with Darkness swiftly approaching, she needed a more permanent solution. The Energy Pillar was a likely choice.

"This is called wind-sight. It gives us warning, gives us an edge over those who would destroy us. Without it, you will not survive."

As she approached it, however, Water made another move. An orb constructed of his element bursting out of the ground, then shattering, sending a soaking blast in her general direction... which missed, save for the very edge, which washed across her back. He had not lead her, or perhaps had not lead her enough. It did, however, serve to distract her from Darkness, who had managed to close the distance surprisingly fast.

"You must reach within yourself, eschewing the senses of your body. You must focus all your attention on the winds."

But as she turned, bow rising with arrow ready, armor rippling its warning song, a spire of rock shot up out of the ground, interjecting itself between her and the glaive-wielder. She slid backwards, away from the sudden attack and unexpected counter, coming to rest behind the earth pillar. Capriccioso launched with a howl of laughter, the shaft arcing past Darkness' head, a sudden blast of wind flinging copious amounts of sand in his face.

"Once you are focused, you must extend that focus. The strength of wind-sight lies in its range. The experienced can cast themselves across leagues."

The laughter continued as it flew, a horrid cackling that spread across the arena with every random blast of wind the arrow left in its curving wake. As with the winds, the arrow would randomly change its course... though it was always to the left. Thus it laughed its way across the arena, the hideous sound sending shivers down the spines of unlucky audience, continuing to fling the sand beneath it in every conceivable direction. Its mad flight ended near the fire pillar, where the lava flew thick and fast, one of the numerous fiery missiles colliding with the capricious arrow.

A not-quite spherical sphere of rushing wind swiftly replaced the two fused projectiles, the swiftly cooled chunks of lava giving it visible form as it fell down to the ground and began to roll, whipping sand, the occasional lava rock, and every so often, an actual whip of wind in random directions on its mad trek towards the great oak.

"Complete the first challenge, and the doors will be opened. It is the key to all that we do. Learn it well."




Varin -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/12/2007 23:14:39)

Davian did not even deign to answer Alex. Something whispered at Davian that there was not enough benefit to be gained by risking an unlikely alliance of this great an incompatibility. His attention was focused enough on keeping the arm from advancing further into the rest of his body without looking over the shoulder for reprisals from an "ally". The arm did not even bother with the Water Champion, out of sight out of mind as it were, the heat of the stray balls of lava headed in that direction were fed directly to the potential stored in Davian's left arm; perhaps one or two still hit the Great Oak, that was not his concern now. If he tried, he could almost feel that arm, but it was as if it were disconnected, a whole separate entity from himself. Davian did not dwell, especially considering a moment after that thought, all hell broke loose.

At least three champions were caught unawares by the tornado of lava, as if all eyes of the crowd were not riveted onto the once howling annoyance, now a spitting fury. Davian could feel triumph exuding in waves from the arm, almost as if it had a will of its own. The sensations in Davian's skull registered that a largish and a smaller lava globule connected with the Champion of Earth. The exultation continued in the limb as the Energy Champion was struck by a pair of medium chunks of molten lava and the Darkness Champion as well did not avoid the three smaller lava projectiles that caught his body. Davian had not the eyes for the chaos he might have caused as all thought and action were thrown from his mind; one of the Wind Champion's arrows had come his way seeming to knife in for him as the final arrow in the Cellar arena had...

Luck was with Davian, or something more than luck, he would not know; the arrow collided with one of the now unguided chunks of lava. Without so much as thinking, Davian sprinted off towards the east of the arena, braving the twister and all of it's deadly glory. Stepping lightly would have been wiser, but baser instincts trumped wisdom at the moment. A fist, seemingly of righteous fury, lashed out and grabbed Davian's leg, with Davian never knowing it was one of Capriccioso's dying flails of wind. He fell, sprawling to his hands and knees. His forward momentum continued, the flight of fear propelled by a grown man crawling, continuing in this fashion for a half handful of feet before thinking to pull himself up on his. The sight would have been comical if not so utterly depressing.

Concentration, or even the thought of needing it, had fled with Davian. The line of singed tunic advanced across half of his chest now, with Davian oblivious as a deaf-mute in an auction house. The leather armor was spared, perhaps some enchantment on it that Davian was unawares of. Passing through the no man's land between the Fire Pillar and the wall Davian had taken a small globule of lava to the side of his face; an angry black burn the size of a grapefruit marred his face with the sickly-sweet smell of burned flesh in the air. If not for the greed of the elemental arm, who knows how badly the flaming lava would have devoured at his head. Davian made it through the gauntlet more the worse for wear but not nearly as bad as it could have been if not for the elemental arm; but still his resolve was shaken and he did not notice the arm drinking deep of the fire pillar and tornado mix, nor the itching-burn once more advancing across his abdomen and back.




Kellehendros -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/13/2007 17:56:01)

He had missed. The result was not unexepected, but Alex could not help but feel a tad disappointed in the failure of his attack. He turned to check on the progress of the other competitors, catching a glimpse of the Champion of Darkness dashing forward to close on the Wind Champion. Well, at least he had one partial ally in his attacks on the Wind Archer.

Alex continued his scan, his head suddenly snapping back to the left. The Silver Defender was moving. The mage frowned, sadly he hadn't had time to properly research the stories that he had heard surrounding the mythical golem that guarded the Great Oak, as a result his knowledge of the construct was woefully inexact. He had made the assumption that the creature would not attack him unless he presented a true threat, physical, magical, or otherwise, to the Great Oak that it guarded.

Most unfortunatly, the golem was moving towards him, this could only mean that he had been mistaken in his assumption. The creature moved at an approximate human speed, leading Alex to believe that it was probably relatively fast for a golem. Most constructs he had encountered had been of the larger variety, large, slow, and powerful. This smaller construct was more then likely faster. The creature was made of some silver metal Alex couldn't identify, he presumed though that it wasn't silver; the cost associated with building a construct of silver, especially one that might take significant damage in the course of fulfilling its duties, was utterly ludicrious.

Still, the mage would be wary of this unexpected foe. He began to back slowly, and leveled his staff at the Defender. The construct showed no hesitation, merely plodding forward, its spear held before it, pointing towards Alex's chest. Concentrating, Alex felt the power building inside the staff, it was actually physically vibrating in his hands now. With the golem only a spare dozen paces away, Alex unleashed the spell. A jet of solid water blasted out of the end of his staff, catching the Silver Defender square in its chest with a vibrant, ringing sound of contact. The jet's impact was so powerful that it drove the solid metal golem back several paces, its heels digging in to the loose red sand of the Arena floor for purchase.

Alex lifted his staff, swirling it in an encircling motion. The water on and around the golem swirled with the staff's motion, forming watery approximations of chains. With another flick of the staff the mage bound the watery chains about the golem, on contact with the construct they seemed to dissolve, the water flowing down its body to pool at its feet. The Silver Defender made no notice of the spell beyond its physical affect on it. Revealed for the crowd behind Alex and the mage himself to see, the mighty impact of the water jet had created a bowl-like dent in the golem's chest. Yet, even as he and the crowd gaped in disbelief, the hole seemed to magically fill itself, leaving the golem whole and uninjured. "But, but." Alex sputtered incoherently. "That's, that's just not fair..."

The Silver Defender cared not a whit for what Alex thought was fair or not, it only knew its duty. Defend the Great Oak. So the creature plodded forward again, but Alex's spell hadn't been entirely without effect. The constructs movement's were slowed, as though it were slogging through chest deep water, rather then traversing an open, sandy field. The mage grinned, "well, that should hold you a bit." His eyes widened in shock a moment later though, and he threw himself to the side. The golem had raised its spear slowly, and the odd silvery weapon and simply grown, its razored point speeding over the intervening distance to strike at him.

Alex rolled to his feet. "Oh, come on." It was time to go, there was no way he was going to stick around and trade blows with even a slowed golem with odd, apparently regenerating, powers. He had other people that he was supposed to be fighting. Scrambling to his right to avoid another growing spear attack, Alex dashed around the Great Oak towards the back of the Arena. Shadowing the girth of the Pillar, he was suddenly assaulted by a blast of wind that caught him off guard.

Finally a lucky break on his part, though at first it didn't seem that way. Off balanced by the wind's sudden blast, Alex overbalanced, tipping over to stumble up against the Great Oak, even as one of the flying lava missle's cast off the Fire Pillar by the Wind Archer's tornado cut by at what had previously been head hieght. Panting, Alex spent a moment to reflect on his luck, then scrambled to his feet. His luck couldn't be counted on for much longer, he had to get moving. The spell he had cast on the Silver Defender was weakening, he could feel the magic unraveling. Alex didn't plan on being in the area when the golem got free, but the problem was where to go next. He cast a glance beyond the Fire Pillar, the Water Pillar looked nice and safely inviting at the moment, but that meant he would have to run the guantlet of the lava rain's fury.




demonhunter -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/13/2007 21:00:52)

Her spell had missed. Expected, but nonetheless disappointing. At least the Energy champion hadn't made another move to attack her yet... No doubt he felt he had underestimated her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a large chunk of... something... striking the dirt near her feet, accompanied by a burning sensation on her arm. She glanced at it, and growled. Whatever it was, it had burned her upper arm. She glanced behind her, and saw the source of the object: The tornado had reached the fire pillar, and was spewing lava chunks everywhere. What's more, some of them seemed to be changing direction...

The Fire champion... she thought grimly. Turning slightly, so that she was side-on to both her current opponent and the pillar of fire, she raised her staff in her left hand, pointing it in the direction of the pillar. Channeling magic through the weapon, she summoned a wall of light between the pillar and herself, and then turned her head to look at the champion of Energy... But as she did, something terrible happened.

A presence she had barely noticed within her began to fade. As it did, her robes also faded, from brilliant gold to dull grey. She felt... weaker... As if the presence that was gone had been supporting her. It took her amoment to realise what had just happened.

Dejectedly, she lowered her staff, and held a hand out in a 'stop' motion to the champion of Energy.

"Waste your time with me no longer," she told him, her voice tinged with sorrow, "The Lord of Light has abandoned me."

As she spoke, her eyes narrowed briefly in concentration, and then relaxed. She had ceased her forced deafness.




SomThngWickdThsWyCms -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/13/2007 22:28:09)

Failure came in the image of a giant stalagmite bursting up from the ground in front of him.

He watched it with a feeling of impending doom; cursing whatever powers had produced this from the ground. His actions were all instinctual, his mind running on its own as it realized that if it did not react soon he would be impaled upon this spike that materialized from the ground. His fingers opened in a quickness that rivaled the wind, the light; his glaive sailing from his hand to clatter into the rock as both of his hands stretched out in front of him, palms forward.

When he felt the quick explosion of pain time seemed to throw itself forward once more and everything came back alive as his scream of suffering pierced the momentary tranquility in the air. Instantly his feet were pressed against its surface and his hand gripped near the top to keep the weight off of his hand, blood covering it in slow rivulets that streamed down its face with a certain grotesque fluidity. A grimace formed as he tried the best he could to keep him there, to stop the hole from growing, expanding, tearing more flesh.

His eyes caught the glimpse of the arrow and he pulled himself closer, feeling bursts of wind pound his body and sprinkle him with dirt as it passed by his shoulder with a sickening laugh that made him feel like bile was going to be expelled from his stomach, his backbone dancing with chills that covered his skin. He turned over the thought in his mind that if she had struck him directly… none of this would have mattered. Somewhere inside of him he rejoiced for that, only to realize that his situation now was no better.

He pressed his face, his hair, his body, into his own blood and looked over his shoulder. The tornado was wreaking havoc, flinging globs of burning liquid into the sky and into people. It was then that he noticed a man seeming to dodge every glob, redirection their paths, pushing, pulling, bending the balls of flame to his own will. A groan escaped his lips once more as he tried to adjust his body, trying to pull his hand up and over. Freeing himself from this trap that he was in so he wouldn’t be so helple-

His train of thought ceased as he caught the glimpse of something red hot, burning in the sky. “Damn it all!” He cursed aloud this time, planting both of his feet flat onto the rock, pushing outward with all of his force. He could feel his flesh tear and his muscles pulled apart by the object that was lodged within his hand, he could feel the tugging as it refused to give, and then finally, the release of his body from the deathtrap. New kinds of burning pain flourished in the wound like a plant would in fertilized soil. The fresh air rushed in, caressing places it should never had.

Yet… it was all in vain. He could feel the scorching heat as it passed by his side, his body still trapped in its motion backwards, and in the same instant that it grazed his body he could feel thousands of flames lick at his skin. It flared up his side, catching on his shirt, burning his skin with an unforgiving passion. Aiden’s eyes widened as he watched it collide into the rock wall, melting through some before running down like wax. The instant his body collapsed onto the ground he began to roll in the dirt, red sand sticking to the blood that stained his body, getting into his wounds, bringing pain after pain upon his nervous system.

His hands were at work, beating at the flamed clothes until the burning cloth was extinguished, a hole burnt into the side; revealing bright pink flesh that was raw from all of the heat. He rolled on the ground still, clutching at his hand that was bleeding profusely, decorated with granules of sand that bit into him like razors. Somewhere in the distance that heckle still resounded as the arrow seemed to keep flying around the stadium, but that was only a minuscule detail in all of the feelings that wash of him. He pressed his face into the ground and gritted his teeth, feeling the sand trapped in his mouth and absorb the liquid that rested therein.

He began to force himself up, using his shoulders, his uninjured arm, standing up when he knew he could have been down for the count with a simple ideal in mind, the only one that kept him moving. He needed to please the Lord of Darkness. He needed to win.

First he was to his knees, eyes welled with the tears of pain, then slowly upward, rising to his feet with his hand pressed across his stomach, the skin on his side tearing with movement and letting his blood run free, soaking into the top of his pants and the small remainder of his shirt on that side. The scorched edges wafted in the same wind that stung his wounds and cooled his body yet he could do nothing about either. He pressed forward, his speed slow, but the sight of him to his opponent obstructed by the stalagmite that was in their paths.

He hoped she couldn’t see him. If she did… he could very well die now.

The third advancement on her took place when he reached the rocky barrier, the lava that had struck it now quite cool, and he stood in its shadow. Basked in its darkness. At his feet still laid his glaive but that was unimportant now. He focused, focused through the pain, felt the connection between him and his element as he leaned against the source of the shadow. Virulent appearing tentacles ran through the shadow, absorbing it as it extended farther, slowly at first, keeping their appearance hidden, before they erupted into spikes that gradually increased size from the ground, each in the direction of his opponent.

He hoped to god that this, this single attack, would do something to even the odds. To make another at as much as a disadvantage he was at now.

Slowly his eyes slid shut, and he realized that it this could make or break him.




Art of Blade -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/14/2007 2:27:14)

They had come out of nowhere, as though punched through the air with the fist of a most pissed off god. Globules of lava, two to be exact, struck Arikard with (to put it mildly) uncomfortable ferocity. The first, as small as a fist, hit him at his right shoulder. This did not do much, except eat at his sleeve and slowly extinguish itself against the magic of his right arm and the rock that covered it. His sleeve, having suffered far too much damage, slid off into the winds and stuck into the Ice Pillar, leaving Arikard's fake arm for all to see. That, however, did not matter much to Arikard compared to the other blob of lava, which hit the entirety of the left side of his face.

It took him a second to realize what happened, and another second to scream.

The lava burned at his face, ate at it, melting and tearing at his face ate the same time. Arikard made to grab at it, only to burn his left fingers. He continued screaming as he fell back into the ground, rolling around in desperation to get the lava off his face. He grit his teeth as he rolled on to his knees and crawled away, avoiding the ones that came by random chance, clamping his teeth whenever the urge to scream forced its way out of his mouth. When he reached the back of the Ice Pillar, he continued clawing at the lava, and finally managed it when the earth slipped under it and flipped it off like a spatula. It hit the ground with a small, sizzling sound, as if it were asking, 'What did I do?' But when he did so, the pain simply increased as the wind blew gently past, making it seem as if someone were stabbing him repeatedly. His left eye, which was open all this time, was wide open, unable to close. It was the only part of his face that precisely felt like it was on fire, no more, no less. And it was horrible. Arikard tried to blink, but he couldn't. And when he couldn't blink, couldn't close his left eye, he realized the horror of what happened. He glared at the lava on the ground, which was slowly turning into stone.

Somewhere in there, there was an eyelid.

Hands shaking, Arikard stared, in complete silence, this small deformation enough to grab his attention, enough to grab it beyond his pink face, enough beyond the blood that seeped down his cheek and falling to the ground with a loud, singular splatter. Arikard breathed, slowly, letting the air come in and the air flow out. And as he breathed, as he continued his attempts to calm himself down, he found himself failing. In fact, it brought about the opposite effect, his anger rising with every moment. It was not, however, a fiery anger. That one had burned itself out in the Spike Arena. Instead, he felt a cold ripple through the tip of his fingers and down his nerves. A cold anger. An icy anger. One that did not cause himself to spread madly, no, that was for the sake of his beloved left arm. But this, his face... no normal human can forgive such a deforming of their face, not like this. Slowly, he formed a curved shape of earth on his right hand and moved it towards the Ice Pillar, far enough for a thin sheet of ice to spread over it. He then placed that curved shape, quite simply, over the left side of his face. As he did so, in the final second before the stone covered his left eye, he could see his reflection. His face had been split into two colours, brown and pink; his eyes, white and red. The moment he saw it, it disappeared from his sight as the ice-covered earth became a half-mask. This, too, was painful. It was like burning, only magnified through the touch of the cold. But Arikard endured it, he grit his teeth, and he held his knuckles so tightly that their joints cracked and his fingernails drew blood.

Another act of magic, and a hole in the mask appeared, just for his bloodshot eye. He turned around, facing the Ice Pillar, and walked around it. There was some lava, yes, but- like the myth about lightening- none of them hit the same place twice. At least, not from where he was standing. And from where he was standing, he could see his foe, all the way at the other side of the arena. Solemnly, he untied the jacket that hung around his waist, straightened it out, and put it on, moving only to step away from a lava globule that was going for his chest. It was more of a coat than a jacket. As the sleeves, which before were tied around his waist, covered his arms, Arikard continued staring at the Fire Champion. Finally, his hands rose up and, out of the many buttons, fastened only the one on top. The rest of the coat flowed behind him as he took an experimental step forward, and returned obediently into position when he stopped, making it seem as if he had put the effort into buttoning the entire affair.

There was nothing special about the jacket, of course. It was merely a piece of clothing that meant only one thing to Arikard. Wearing this meant that this was business. Serious business. And although he may have recognized it as such before, wearing this coat properly meant that he was going to conduct business seriously.

He coughed and raised his hands, as though he were talking to a large audience. And then he dropped them when he saw the Fire Champion crawling away, as he had done just moments a go. Fist shaking in anger, anger at how the person who had just destroyed his face could move in such a cowardly manner, no matter how justified it was, Arikard screamed and raised his arm. In his hand, the earth moved, and formed a gigantic curve that was a long as a man was tall, edged with the special iced-lava from before. In his other hand, his old fashioned umbrella, and here he used the rest of his special earth to form the very base of its wide center, the bullseye in which nothing could pass, and the tip- a tip that appears when the umbrella is closed- that could penetrate many, many things.

"I have given these two weapons... ridiculous names," Arikard said, slowly, pausing between every word, articulating each syllable as correctly as he could. "The first, the giant... boomerang, is the Toenail of the Lord. One might laugh at it. He would die laughing." He paused again, forming the sentence in his mind. He could imagine this sort of thing coming naturally to the educated, but for him, he needed a bit of time. It was only fair. "This other is an umbrella. I need... not introduce it to everyone. It is my... faithful weapon." It was possible that nobody heard, and that, to Arikard, was fine. He did not say this to intimidate any one. He said this to focus. "You have destroyed my face," he continued. "I can never... forgive you for that."

With a thought, the boomerang pulsed with earth magic. The tornado, which had been spinning for so long, will not affect its flight now. Wind and Earth, of course, were opposing forces, but the wind will never tear away that which is part of the ground. With this temporary surge of magic, Arikard thought, the boomerang can at least pretend it is part of the ground. With a grunt, he spun and threw the weapon. It spun through the air, diagonally, curving around the center of the arena and aiming straight for the Fire Champion, whether he be hiding behind the Fire Pillar or not. And if it missed, well; you know what they say about boomerangs.




TormentedDragon -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/14/2007 21:30:45)

A moment's peace obtained, she turned her attention to the greatest threat in the arena. Her own tornado, overpowered and overextended. She could just halt it, but that would serve only to end its threat to all, and it would be much better to replace it with a different one.

The timing was crucial. She had to thread the arrow through the storm, or else it would not work, something nigh impossible unless she created a window. She reached for the quiver on her hip, its array of death as yet untapped, and readied the arrow, air compressing at the blunted tip the moment it touched string. One breath, two, to let it build, and she stepped out from behind the giant pillar of metal, loosing the Ram to do its work. With the speed that comes only through years of experience, she sent another shaft to follow in its rapidly building wake, the Wolf nipping at its heels.

Ram's power became swiftly visible as all in its path was knocked aside, the battering winds clearing a path to the whirling torrent of lava that was the Fire pillar. Ram met tornado, and the tornado was gone, a final spray of lava coating the sands and the wall behind the pillar. Ram's shaft was swiftly lost to the heat of the lava, but Wolf remained, somehow unaffected as it plowed its way into the arena wall. Its howl rose swiftly, mournful and chilling, a sound designed to unnerve and confuse.

Tasha had followed Ram, taking advantage of the path it cleared, another arrow ready for use. She just needed a better vantage point, and to that end she ran for the pillar of Darkness, leaving that champion's attack far behind.



The defender of the Earth Pillar did not remain under Water's spell for long, the slowing effect soon shrugged off. Yet it had worked, allowing that Champion to escape. And there was another threat to the pillar, in what remained of Capriccioso. The silver guardian whirled around, and leapt as the wandering wind ball approached its beloved oak, its spear extending in a sweeping arc to cut through the center of the sphere. It exploded. Eddies of wind, too weak to do anything, were nothing next to the bits of hardened lava that were scattered about. Those that would have hit the tree instead struck the body of the guardian, to fall harmlessly to the ground.




Varin -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/16/2007 19:09:00)

Davian figured that he was out of danger for the moment, the maelstrom of wind and lava had died down behind him and he thought he was safe. He focused all of his stray thoughts into a single task, fighting the what could only be called infection in his body from spreading further; it's insidious touch had already corrupted a good quarter of his body or more between arm and chest. Ever thirsting the appendage on his left side still tried to gulp for more heat from the fire pillar but Davian denied it with every fiber of his being. Even as it were, it had been feasting for a good amount of time, the potential stored within the limb was vast but Davian decided it was not yet time to loose it. The strain on Davian's mind was great; however, as part of that potential was directed at Davian himself, the Elemental portion of his body wanting more, craving more, needing more. It was an even odds fight at best.

Again Davian violated that first rule of combat, a stationary target is a choice target. The barest of a hint of a rasping sound, the air slicing over the surface of the boomerang, gave Davian enough warning to flatten himself to the ground once more. What would have been a haircut at roughly chin level turned into the barest of scrapes across the scalp, painful but negligible. The icy edge of the boomerang acted as a cold cauterization for the cut, preventing bleeding, for which Davian was lucky. Any slower and a chunk of skull would have parted ways with his head rather than a sliver of scalp. Davian was up in time to watch the boomerang arc back towards it's thrower, his first opponent of the Finals. Strategies came and went in his head, but nothing was he able to formulate that would be effective at this sort of range, his specialty has been melee; instinct may have driven him thus far but tactics would take him the rest of the way. Davian started a slow stalk towards the middle of the arena, assessing threats and situations alike, deciding to stay his arm for the hope of a better opportunity to present itself.




Kellehendros -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/17/2007 19:18:09)

Alex grit his teeth, there was simply no use, he would have to chance the gauntlet of lava. He couldn't stay near the Earth Pillar, and he didn't want to go in the other direction, farther from the Pillar that could be so useful in his own spell casting.

Tightening his grip on his staff, Alex charged forwards, even as he felt the last of the spell he had cast against the Silver Defender slip away. This knowledge spurred him faster as he charged across the back of the Arena wall, scrambling sideways to avoid lava balls, some as big as his head. He ducked and weaved magnificently, but still compelete immunity to the firey reign was impossible. Hissing out another spell between clenched teeth, Alex extinguished the miniature fires that had sprung up on his clothing from the lava's impacts. He cast off his tattered cloak as it burst into flame, still scrambling, he was even with the Pillar of Fire now.

And then the unthinkable happened, to fast for Alex to realize it until it was far to late. There was a screaming howl of the wind in all its primal rage, but it was getting louder. It was coming towards him. No, no, not towards him, towards the Pillar. Did the Wind Archer mean to increase the vortex's size and power? The mage lost the thought as he stumbled and fell to his knees. Muttering a half-spell, half-prayer, he crawled forwards frantically, he had to get out of the way.

It was simply too late. There was a rumbling, as though the ground shook under some great blow, and the Fire Pillar's eternal lava flow seemed to bulge for a moment. Then, the pressure becoming critical, it ejected mass at the point of impact, blasting a scalding hot wave of molten rock and fire back onto the Arena wall, back onto Alex.

The mage twisted his staff desperately, and the solid oak staff snapped in twain like a dried stick, creating a barrier of water between himself on the on rushing lava. The elemental fire vaporized the barrier like the non-issue it was. The last view that any Champion might have had of Alex was of the mage kneeling, his face contorted in a look somewhere between surprise and resignation, a final, foolish spell on his lips, never to be completed.

And then the Champion of Water was gone, and a cold, lonesome howling filled the Arena.




SomThngWickdThsWyCms -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/18/2007 22:15:34)

The tips upon the spikes touched only air, cutting through the nothingness that surrounded it until he knew that his reach ended and still remained ineffective.

Overwhelming pain flourished over his mortal body, a frail helpless shell that bled and could be destroyed. One by one the spikes sunk back into the puddle of black from whence they came – its form slowly traversing backward as well. It flowed around the opposite side of the stalagmite and returned to normal; nothing more than a mere shadow now.

Quickly his uninjured hand went to work at the clothes he was wearing, tearing a large strand from the area where it had been burnt, already stained with blood. He wrapped it tight around the wound in the opposite palm, plethoras of pain and displeasure rising from beneath the skin. He would have gritted his teeth against the pain, clenched them together, but the sand inside of his mouth filled him with another kind of displeasure and he attempted to spit out what he had not before to no effect. New waves of blood cascaded against the white strip of soiled cloth that he used to cover the wound, and he wished for a way to protect his side which burned like a wildfire.

It was true, he realized, that at this moment he was at the greatest disadvantage and a sobering calamity washed over him. His eyes looked down at himself, his hands out before them and they both were discoloured with sand and a red liquid that he knew was his own blood. He could feel his own warm breath dance upon his lips as he exhaled, standing like a revelation dropped into his lap. Somewhere behind him the tornado was stopped but he could not tell as the last few pieces of lava struck the area around him, but none quite close enough to do the damage that had already been dealt to his body.

The woman who he had been fighting with was now far away, treading through the sand in the opposite direction and he sighed; head tilting upward, his hair dripping off of his scalp like water, brushing upon his bare shoulders. As his eyes slipped closed he turned his back to the stalagmite, feeling the gore against his back. Had it gotten in his hair? Most likely. In that case he titled his head back against it farther and from behind his eyelids his eyes moved rapidly because his body would not let them stay closed for long and when they opened he saw a new challenger – a man that seemed to blaze with the fires that ruined his torso.

There was a smile on his face, but it did not belong to a man of overconfidence. It was that of someone who was appreciating the wavering figure that headed this way, a smile that chilled over those with the best composure.

Somewhere near his feet was his glaive, the winds already gone to work with covering it in sand but he made no move to remove it from its grave. He was not yet ready to make such a move, and instead, kept his eyes on the man who was approaching the center of the arena. Beneath him the shadows cried out, their voices dancing upon his ears in voices that were sweet and yet at the same time made him want to carve into his throat.

Put them to an end…

This way your actions you can amend…

Heartily you must believe us, your friend.

To our words… no one can contend.


The smile he had evolved into a howling laughter, his body slowly pulling itself up and off of the rock face now that his break was over with.

”End them you say?”

He shook his head, still laughing and gripping at his wounded hand like the flesh threatened to peel off of its skeletal frame. Below him the phantasm of shadow bubbled like a brew, minuscule bubbles bursting, making room for larger ones. It already started to make itself climb up the face of the rock formation behind him, using its form to slap into it, shattering rocks, cutting deep into its hard skin slowly. The shards that fell off were gobbled up by the shadow waiting below and somewhere deep within they fragments began to clump together, pushed into form by the shadows around it. With every slap into the rock they grew, and as they grew the lump that they were being stored in began to expand as it was filled.

Aiden stopped for the time being, sending the shards to the front of the shadow for the right moment. The rest of it would come later… for he did not want to destroy his biggest source of shadows in this areana for his own good.

“Whatever you wish.”




TormentedDragon -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/20/2007 18:20:26)

Her pace quickened, a sudden desire to put distance between herself and all the other champions her motivation. The sight was beginning to dim, and would soon fade altogether. She needed cover while she renewed her link with the currents, and this arena was sorely lacking. She would have to make her own.

Her bells rang out, this time in a brief, repeating harmony, to which the winds around her responded. Slowly, slowly, they began to spin, her framework of power dissolving into them, enhancing their building strength. As they built, she slowed her pace, devoting more and more of her attention to the whirlwind she was crafting.

She soon stopped, turning to put her back to the nearby pillar of Darkness. She could not be certain where the next attack would come from, but she would have to be alert. As her other sight dimmed, her normal sight returned, and, with a thought, the shielding air around her ears dissipated, allowing her to hear in full again. There was little sound besides the chiming of her bells, not even from her own whirlwind. Both quiet and invisible, none would know of its existence until they felt it themselves. Arrow nocked and at the ready, she waited.




Kellehendros -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/20/2007 20:30:54)

The Champion of Water was dead, or so it would have appeared to any Champion who might have been watching and seen the gout of lava that had seemingly plastered his body to the Arena's wall before melting it away to nothing. Water was a fluid, ever changing thing, exsisting in a multitude of forms and shapes, and Alex had used that to his advantage. He had embraced his element fully, in a very real sense he had died. His physical form had been sacrificed so that he could escape from the life-ending threat of the lava. For all intents and purposes, he had become a water elemental, a being made up of water, with no definite shape or form. Fluid and ever changing like that water that he was now made of, Alex could entirely tailor his look to be whatever he wanted it to.

For a moment, he wondered if it was worth it. He had lost his physical self, the near quintessential determinant of who and what he was. Would he not eventually lose his mind as well for daring to make of himself what he should not be? Failing that, would the Lord of Water accept such a violation of self as His Champion had just wrought?

There was no way to know, not until the next Lord withdrew his support from his Champion. Until such a time, Alex's action was unjudgeable, it simply was, and was his to utilize.

And he knew the perfect way to do it.

The pool of water that was Alex slid through the sands of the Arena, passing under the ground towards the Pillar of Water, a great beacon, a source of water, a source of power. Rising up, the mass of water that the mage had become joined itself to the Pillar, rising invisibly upwards to survey the field; he was hidden from all eyes, just another clot of water within the Pillar, albiet one that wasn't moving, but then, who would be observing the Water Pillar for such a thing?

Slowly Alex sank back into the sands of the Arena, he surged forwards towards the Pillar of Darkness. The Champion of Wind was there, his Water Snakes' attacks had taken her by surprise before, perhaps such a tactic might be effective again. This time though, the attack would be more deadly, guided not by magical direction, but a true intelligence. Moving on an arc that would take him at the Wind Archer from the side, Alex exploded from the ground. A large, frothing mass of water blasting upwards from the red sands to crush the Champion of Wind in the side.




TormentedDragon -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/21/2007 0:34:02)

Movement, off to the side. She turned her head as the water blast met her whirlwind, eyes widening in surprise. The winds did their work, knocking the blast of water off course, preventing it from hitting her full-on. Nevertheless, the impact across her back and mailed arm was enough to cause her stumble, a hop-skip to the side.

She recovered swiftly, turning her stumbling movements into a run, her winds forming around her feet to give her swiftness and stability once again, her guardian whirlwind following, the winds quickening still, but slowly, now. As she ran, she considered what had just happened. Water had disappeared from her perception when she had fired Ram, but he was obviously not dead. Perhaps it was due to her lack of 'sight,' or perhaps he found a way to hide. Regardless, he could find her, and she could not find him. He could move his attacks through the ground, where she could not detect them, and he had enough power to punch through her defenses. This was a problem.

There was, fortunately, a solution at hand. She curved her path around, putting on a final burst of speed, and then leaping, her whirlwind lifting her higher, and sending her flying into the far larger Pillar of Wind. Its winds caught and carried her, the rippling tunes directing the winds so that her ride, while swift, was gentle. Her own whirlwind dissipated, its purpose nullified by Water's attack, making it a nuisance, a drain upon her, rather than the shield it had been meant to be.

Wolf, meanwhile, continued its howling, the sound building, slowly but surely.




Varin -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/21/2007 18:23:19)

A large sigh escaped from Davian's lips. A moment or few to himself, enough to collect his thoughts. Seven had came forth and it looked like three remained, and here he was, alone by his own element's pillar. Their attacks and stratagems played out and he was ignored. Alone once more, except for that pervasive presence that felt like it was casting it's shadow on his soul; it watched, waited, anticipated with bated breath and rapt attention. Davian knew that he should want nothing but to please this presence, to fill it with joy and pride at conquering all others in this arena. Of course it so happened that that coincided with Davian's needs, but would it always? Would it ever again?

Davian hadn't dreamed, hadn't believed, hadn't dared to do anything but accede when that apparition appeared. Was he now regretting his actions in haste? If Davian really thought about it, he would have decided that there could be no regret for his course of action, as without it he would simply not be. Then where would he be, or not be, as it were?

Well if it's a fight they want, it is a fight they will get, one to rock the ages. Davian didn't dare whisper the thought out loud, who would want to bring attention to themselves when so thoroughly ignored. His target had been chose for him since his last arena, even with nothing to be said about the actions in the Grand. His arsenal was different, and far, far more deadly this time. Davian opened himself up to creativity, to possibilities, and to his parasitic left half. His mind raced and reeled as dozens upon dozens of possibilities of death, destruction, and burning flooded his mind's eye. Davian never imagined there were so many ways to set fire to something. The darkest, most disturbing thought that floated it's way through this connection.. that the Elemental essence of his body wanted nothing more than to destroy it's host. To black his skin and ash his bones, to take over what is denied and rampage the realm once more, sowing it's fiery destruction.

Davian blinked, attempting to not allow himself balk at his duty, and duty it was. Perhaps not at first, or second, or more would he dare allow himself to believe, but now he did. And ever scared did it make him. The very thought of beings with so much power taking a direct hand in actions rocked him to his core. But steadfast did Davian hold, never allowing such awful thoughts to shake his resolve. He lifted his arm and studied it, wondering at it. It was one of those ideas that it had that seemed quite effective, if only he could puzzle out...

Davian strode confidently into the open, just near where he came out, just near the fire pillar with which he had so much connection. It's simplistic beauty and over-awing power had not been changed by the tornado that ravaged it's base. Once more did Davian open himself to the Elemental nature in his left half, and half it was, a limb no longer with the volume of Davian's body it has pilfered. He rose the arm and peered at it; it was red and angry, like a man's back left out in the sun for hours too long. The arm shot forward and pointed at the moving archer, following and anticipating her path, not a necessary gesture, but it helped focus. The hand opened wide, then snapped shut, finishing with freezing itself in a position not entirely unlike a pair of fangs. A great roar sounded, reverberating through the Arena and a missile of flame issued forth from the fingertips of Davian's arm.

The roar rushed forth once more as the fiery missile reached it's destination, ten feet from the Wind Champion. It resolved itself into the form of a draconic monstrosity, formed of flame. The slightest breeze stirred and fanned the flames, changing it's form, still identifiable as a dragon. With a beat of it's flaming wings, it surged forward; a swipe of it's claws and the heat of it's breath seeking out the Wind Champion, eager for it's first meal.




TormentedDragon -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/21/2007 22:12:02)

"Oh bugger." Her reaction was swift, her speed her saving grace. She simply dropped, the dragon's strike passing overhead rather than through her body. She did not escape unscathed, however, for the heat of the beast was such that it burned simply through proximity. The pain was intense, but she had suffered worse before. It was nothing next to what would happen if that beast managed to score a direct hit upon her.

The winds twisted to her bidding, reaching down to snatch the red sands from where they lay. A veritable deluge of sand poured into the previously empty pillar, the winds pulling it up to shield their champion. She landed in a crouch, the sands beneath her feet scattered by the her cushion, and concentrated. She needed speed, now more than ever, and the Scout Sphere would provide that. The air around her first stilled, then gathered, primed to move whenever she wished it.

Wolf's howl reached its peak, and turned angry, a menacing undercurrent threading its way into the sound. The air stirred around the shaft, and then, with a snarl, leapt to the attack. The first fang cut through the lava of the Fire pillar with ease, the sharp edge of the wind blast promised swift death to the one unlucky enough to catch it, and with each snarl, another fang shot forth, each one hungry for flesh.




Varin -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/22/2007 0:20:23)

The Dragon had been deterred, for a mere moment. Davian didn't even fumble in his next command; yet he had to resist cackling as the Dragon sped forward, braving the buffeting winds and sands. The sand coalesced around the Dragon, forming glass shards that were whipped around the twister before passing through the flames again, dripping into molten glass teardrops. Davian could not see if the droplets were turned by Tasha's shield of air or not, but he did not care, he could almost smell roasted flesh.

A moment passed, nearly an instant, but it was an eternity. Davian wondered what would happen with the Dragon being battered by the winds, but worry was not needed. The Dragon spun like a top, streamers of flame following the curve of the Wind Pillar's tornado to connect once more with their host, no change witnessed except perhaps they were larger for it. Almost incomprehensibly fast the Dragon advanced, braving the gauntlet and arriving in the eye of the storm, those short few feet being the longest in Davian's life. As if to be a anticlimactic counterpoint to Davian's worry, the Dragon merely obeyed the next command, never questioning. It dropped its "bulk" to the ground, passing through the shield of Air as if it were made of.. well.. Air.

His exultation was to be forthcoming, yet forever silenced as Davian screamed in pain. A rivulet of blood ran its way down his side. One of the archer's "fangs" had ran it's edge along his side, it felt as if the "fang" had threaded the needle ever so viciously through the gap between a pair of ribs. He dropped to his knees, all concentration lost. Of his Dragon, he had no thoughts, just his bloody side dominated his attention. The arm reeled the same as Davian, struck in the same manner through flesh that was its own. The Dragon flared, the arm raging at anything and everything. Who would dare to attack it? It flared further, more and more heat being pushed into the flames of the Dragon. Again did the arm lash out with it's potential, half and half of again was spent, pumping the Dragon to twice it's original heat and more. Of the size, there was no change, but the heart of a volcano would have a hard time standing up to the heat of this inferno.

Ever a pragmatist, Davian wrested control from the arm, fighting through the pain, hoping to save what he could from the situation. Still on his knees, he concentrated inward, threading a small flame through the wound and expanding it slightly, cauterizing the cut from the inside out. It hurt like hell, but it had to be done; Davian just hoped nothing important was hit. Of the Dragon, he could barely see, the light from the fire far too bright to stare directly at. He cut off the connection with it, letting it sit there and slowly bleed heat. It still held it's last command in it's memory, and so it sat still, letting the heat pour through the area. Of Tasha, Davian could see nothing, and he hoped that he saw what there was to see. He rationalized off that something with that amount of heat at that range would not have survived, or would even have much left, but he could not be sure.




Kellehendros -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/22/2007 18:37:38)

Alex had the strangest sensation of turbulence, as though he was being rocked wildly back and forth inside some giant container. He felt part of himself sheared off as he impacted the Wind Archer's invisible defense, an unseen vortex of air that swirled around her, knocking his attack off course. Still though, he felt the impact as his mass jarred off her back, he even felt the wood and fletching of her arrows pass through him.

The sensation was lost a moment later though, as Alex's mass impacted the Arena sands. He lay quiescent for a moment, as if to regain the breath that he no longer had. It came to him that he had just done a very foolish thing, and obligingly, had to pay for it. The direct attack on the Wind Champion had caused him to lose some of his mass to the wind shield that she had created around her. He would need to be aware of such things later if he planned on surviving this ordeal.

The watery mage's thoughts were interrupted by a searing blast of heat. The puddle rippled, as Alex reeled from the shock of the sudden, fiery increase in the ambient tempurature. Using magic, he looked around trying to discern the source of the heat. What he saw was not at all welcome. A veritable dragon created of pure flames and heat, bearing down on the Champion of Wind.

The Flame Dragon moved into the Wind Pillar itself, and suddenly the heat increased. He was literally boiling now, he had to get away before this monstrosity boiled him off into nothingness. Alex sank into the Arena sands, his mass rippling down through the coarse grains to the cooler sand below. He struck out towards the Water Pillar, he would bide his time for the moment, he needed to figure out what was going on, and the protection of the Water Pillar, in which he would be not only invisible, but nearly invincible, would be invaluable to him.




SomThngWickdThsWyCms -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/23/2007 0:29:03)

The man he watched intently halted in all of his movement, looking around him as if trapped within a daze. It seemed that the potential attacker lost his drive to move forward, to move at all. The daze reminded him of how he was seconds before, amazed with the turn of the tide in this battle that he never won; his mind turning over the strange depression he had drifted into.

Aiden shut his eyes and cherished the fact that right this moment he was like he never existed. Blood coursed through his veins, spilling out of the two wounds he had suffered; but now the pain seemed only to wither – the flames slowly being extinguished somewhere within. Even though his eyes were closed he could still see the things that what he controlled ran over gently and their voices chimed in his head, but he longed to be rid of them because of the things they said.

He became lost inward, lost in the perpetual darkness of his mind to drawn out the voices that came there, and yet he was completely aware of the noises that came from the previously hushed silence around him. A furious roar reverberated as the black behind his eyelids lit up with oranges and reds, quickly nullifying back into nothing. Another touched his ears but judging from the dimmed noise he knew it was too far to be of concern.

A smile touched his lips. Still unheeded.

When his eyes opened he was faced with the man ablaze and the work he had done. At the wind pillar a dragon cut through the air with its fiery talons, expressing the fury he had seen within its master. Fire seemed to pulse through the air, creating a warmth that was unwelcome. He saw the discoloration, the difference between his skin and that which the fire was drawn from a wondered what kind of symbiosis was taking place; it appeared that a much stronger being was taken refuge within that of a human. To him that seemed very strange, but now was not the time to question the moral ideals of a creature that controlled fire with such a finesse.

Behind him his glaive was abstracted from the sand by his only friend, its tip raised above his head like it was a flag; his eyes absorbing what went on. Mixed in somewhere was the noise of a wolf, a howling that was unnatural in sound, and yet it grew and grew and grew louder until it became obvious that what ever it was blossomed into a horrifyingly stronger resonation with each wail.

When he saw an explosion of crimson blood he acted. He was not sure what caused it, what injured the champion in front of him, but at the moment he was weak. Not as focused. A hand danced through the air and grabbed hold of the weapon at his side, tearing it from the sand as well as the shadows in a swift motion, his mind ordering them to continue the job they had started earlier. With each crack of their form into the stone it slowly began to become unbalanced, finally tumbling into the extended arms of the shade that had obliterated part of the massive form.

As soon as the tendrils laid their cold fingers upon stalagmite, it was tossed into the air with ease, its tip aimed for abdomen of the fire champion. He jogged underneath it for as long as he could, and when his legs just were not fast enough, he used its shadow to create a buffer beneath his feet, gliding over the small bumps in the sand like they did not exist at all as he sunk into its form, inching into it slowly. It kicked up a trail of red behind him, the sand mixing with the wind and carried off quickly. Trailing behind him were the fragments of sharp rock he so graciously removed as well, ready to be thrown just like the larger one; his body hidden within the folds of a darkness that seemed to stretch on forever.

When he was near he used the shadow to cast himself out of it and into the air as he himself jumped, bringing the glaive up and over his head, its tip pointed for the area directly behind where the rock was supposed to land. This was so that if he moved directly backward, just out of reach of that murderous spike, his own weapon would thrust itself through his soft flesh and hopefully end his life right now. The wind pulled at his clothes as he plummeted from a height much greater than that if he had simply jumped, and from here he let loose his third and final attack upon this man: The fifty or so shards of different sized rock. They were all eager to taste any hint of blood, and it almost appeared that they traveled in a group that looked like jagged teeth. The delay in this was intentional, it was to prevent the man from moving to the left or right without getting riddled with a few of these spikes. The vicious cloud of them was at least three feet across and two tall, its firing pattern much like that of a shotgun. He knew that the centre of the mass would collide with the base of the stalagmite but that was only a small matter in this.

He was not going to let this man get away uninjured.

That was now out of the question.




Varin -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/23/2007 21:14:54)

The wound on his side burned like a forge fire, but did not bleed. Davian's scalp had thawed, and he could feel a small trickle of blood worm it's way through his hair to land on his neck. He was slipping. Davian had taken his mind off of the entire battle to consider his wounds, small as they were. He never even saw the Darkness Champion approaching until it was nearly too late...

Davian was all instinct, this was a type of fight he was familiar with. Granted, he had no weapons in his hands, but that was something he has dealt with before. He spun to his right, barely avoiding the stalagmite spear as it hit the ground. Davian had taken his eyes off of his competitor for a brief instant yet again, an necessary evil, to button-hook around the gigantic projectile and back away, avoiding the hail of missiles in the process. Turning back towards his opponent, he saw a glint of sunlight off the glaive's blade, promising a restful life after this one.

Davian's hand snaked up, grabbing the weapon by the hilt, he would not go so easily. He directed the weapon down towards the ground, avoiding being impaled through the midsection by not even an inch. Davian almost let pride touch his core, before he squelched, pain lancing through his foot and up his leg, begging to be attended to. He could feel the cool metal grating against sundered bone, jarring his entire leg as his opponent landed. Crimson blood leaked around the weapon, warming the metal, staining the sands.

His opponent decided that sticking around might not be the best idea and Davian watched in disbelief as the Darkness Champion left the glaive in his foot and took off, spinning to his left. Davian didn't even hesitate, the pain was ignored for later; he would make up for his lapses of judgment now, and he would start with this one. Davian ripped the glaive out of his foot with his right hand and lifted it in front his spinning opponent, slightly impeding his progress. Rage was in Davian's eyes, his left arm clenched in a fist and shot out like a punch, delivering a pure beam of flame that knifed in towards his assailant's chest. Davian was sure he put every stray erg of potential into the beam, intending to vaporize this fool that stabbed him; wanting to vaporize him where he stood, leaving wisps of hair to float on the wind with clumps of the tousled mess to fall landing on his boots. Yet, the size of the beam was off, Davian knew that before it even connected, perhaps a quarter of half of what he intended went into the beam; yet, no potential was left in the arm, where it went, Davian had no clue. Of course, had Davian noticed the line of red that advanced full down to his left knee, he wouldn't have needed to ask.




Kellehendros -> RE: =Elemental Championships= Grand Finals (9/24/2007 14:27:07)

Alex spiraled upwards into the Pillar of Water, losing all sense of time and purpose for the moment. He could feel only the tug of the water on his "body", hear only the clarion call of the sea. The sensation was so strong that he wanted to lose himself in it forever, he could partically feel the motion of the tides, and the sweet strong taste of salt water.

The sensation passed as quickly as it had come, Alex's mind panicking and striking back the feeling. No, no, he had to focus. He was human, he had been human, but, but what was he now? Some freak creation of his own making, halfway between the striving intelligence of a humanoid and the simple existance of the element he was now made of. It was wrong, simply wrong. He shouldn't have done it, yet, how could he reverse it? This was what he was now, and he would have to deal with that in its turn.

The mage was angry, he felt betrayed, tricked even, by the Lord he had come here to support, but that anger drained away quickly, replaced with a cold practicality and an even colder realization. He had been given the power to do this to himself by the Lord of Water, that was true, but the Water Lord had also given it to him to choose of his own free will. He could have let that blast of lava overtake him, end his life. He had acted instictually to preserve that life, but it was still his to give away if he so choose.

Sometimes one simply had to make due with the unexpected problems of life.

His magical eyes swept the field, the Fire Champion was in distress, the Champion of Darkness had managed to score several hits on him. Perhaps it was time to finish him off, yet, to do so Alex would risk his exsistance. The Champion of Fire could incinerate him with his attacks.

Alex would just have to make himself too large to vaporize.

The mass of water that was Alex's body swirled into the center of the Water Pillar, and slowly began to twist in a circle, like some minature whirlpool. Reaching out with magical tentacles, the mage roped in the nearby water, swirling it around with him to become a part of him. And slowly, he grew, twice, three, five times his mass, and then Alex emerged from the Water Pillar.

The spectacle must have seemed odd to an onlooker. The Water Pillar seemed to strain forwards, as though it was about to burst, much in the same manner as the Pillar of Fire had earlier. The was a sudden deafening crack, as Alex pried his body free of the Pillar, and a great whooshing noise as the Water Pillar reformed itself. Alex was truely in elemental form now, a ten foot high figure of water about five feet across. His watery mass was packed densely to its limits. The great watery beast, Alex, swooshed forwards towards the Champion of Fire, and simply fell forwards to crush him beneath Alex's great wieght.




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