The Dragon Knight
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Ed was laughing as he lunged forward, his hammer swinging down to impact the stone floor with the sound of splintering granite. The impact had done far less damage than one might have expected, but that was mainly due to the fact that he had held back on the power he put into the swing. For a foe as small as the tiny Fae, speed was his greatest asset. Power was useless if he could not hit his opponent, and her small size meant that even a swing at a quarter his normal strength would suffice to finish the small woman off. For that reason he had been conserving his strength, rationing it, relying on quick thinking and swift movement instead of brute force.
Even so, perhaps he wasn't putting quite as much effort in as he should; his target had been utterly swept away by the shockwave, colliding with the nearby pillar and falling to the ground in a most comical manner. The Jim grinned, but held back from laughing as he did not wish to embarrass the valiant flamer. This was a duel, after all, and he had a great deal of respect for her speed and ability.
He lifted the hammer and held it lightly as he pulled himself back upright. At that same moment, a new figure, clad in thick armor over top of a dark robe, darted from behind the nearby pillar. The Irregular knew better than to think that this new threat was simply attempting to escape the encroaching darkness that was filling the space amidst the pillars. The man's eyes were fixated on one thing, and one thing only: Ed.
Na'-As-Big-As-Medium-Sized-Jim-But-Bigger-Than-Wee-Jim Jim's expression darkened as this strange figure swept past Ember and headed directly for the man who was known by his family as 'The Red Hammer.' Not only was this newcomer brazen, or perhaps foolhardy, enough to charge in from the front, but he was interrupting a duel. If there was one thing that irritated Ed, it was poor manners.
It was always possible that this man had been watching their fight from the beginning, so the hammer wielding giant figured it would be best to assume that this new foe would be expecting any of the tricks that had already been used in the fight against Ember. That was just fine, though, considering he had purposely held back on a number of his abilities so as not to reveal everything right from the start. In fact, he had held back so that he would still have some nasty surprises for anyone who would do exactly what this spoony warrior was doing.
Unfortunately for the man barreling towards him, The Jim had already guessed that he wouldn't have charged head on from such a distance unless he had something more than that toothpick of a sword up his sleeve. This was the Elemental Championship, after all, and the elements were likely at the beck and call of some of these fighters. Even more unfortunate, however, was that Ed currently had a solid footing, was not already in motion, and had seen the man coming. Poor sod, he should have picked an easier target.
“Interruptin' a duel is bad luck, boy. You won't get no mercy from th' likes o' me!” Ed called out dryly to the man as he approached, that sword held low in preparation for the first strike. It was clear this bugger intended to finish this in one stroke, which meant he was confident in his own power. Well, it was time to see just how confident...
The blade struck true, slashing through the giant's abdomen, gutting him like a fish, and slicing upwards through the chest cavity. The man twisted as he moved, spinning around to The Jim's side as he prepared to defend against a potential counter attack.
It was really too bad that the Ed he was focused on wavered and disappeared into thin air, like a mirage that one almost has in their grasp, only to see it vanish before their eyes. To the honorless ambusher, and to anyone else who may have been watching, including the bite-size pixie, it had at first appeared that Ed had met his end, cleaved nearly in two.
Now, however, the great maul came around from behind the man, the massive spike aimed at the center of his back. Ed, as has been noted in the past, is fast. Very fast. All of the factors of this attack had played into his defense and put his rushing opponent at a severe disadvantage. The distance between the two when the swordsman had started his charge had given Ed ample time to prepare. He had stopped moving, gained a solid footing, and was not engaged in any other attacks during that time. Because of this he could concentrate on speed.
The monstrous Jim had, quite simply, moved several yards to the side of his original position, gripped the hammer tightly, and swung with his full strength. The difference between this simple movement and his previous maneuvers was sheer speed. It had happened in an instant, just as the cold front was beginning to manifest itself to him. Ed's speed was such that the eye could not follow it without proper training. The light reflecting off of his body left an after image on the rods and cones, making it seem as if he had never moved. His opponent's cold air had actually helped Ed in this case, an unexpected bonus. The sharp border between hot air and cold creates a sort of prism effect in the air, a heat shimmer that is often the cause of mirages. This had resulted in the image remaining in place longer, and appearing more substantial, than it normally would have.
Ed was not laughing anymore. His duel had been interrupted by this upstart, and the man had clearly expected to do away with him in a single stroke. Not only was he rude, he was clearly full of himself if he thought he could take down a foe he knew nothing about in one attack.
By the time the image had faded from sight, the hammer was already in motion. Na'-As-Big-As-Medium-Sized-Jim-But-Bigger-Than-Wee-Jim Jim made not a single sound this time. The man had proven to be tactless and without any sense of honor in combat, so it was better to not waste words. It would do no good. However, with the mirrored walls, it was impossible to hide, and Ed was not a fool who expected that his opponent would fall with a single attack.
This was especially true considering the sudden blast of freezing air that had accompanied the man's arrival. Thank goodness it hadn't affected his initial movement or it would have been his real body and not a false representation that had been cleaved. Unfortunately, the shock of the temperature change was enough to jar even Ed's well trained senses, causing his nose to run and his eyes to water from the sudden shift in climate.
His hammer was still on course, but now he found that the moisture in his eyes was blurring his vision. If this blow didn't land, he wouldn't be able to properly defend against the return assault. Luckily he was used to cold weather enough that he was in no danger of freezing to death, for the time being at least. However, the cold was bound to slow his movements down if he remained in it for too long. He's have to end this as fast as possible.
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