The Shadows' Favored (Puck)

OoC: Part of me wanted to wait to do this battle after HR was finished and I could give Cadenza her post-HR upgrades, but I didn't have the patience to wait until then. X3 We can always battle again after that. ;P

(Also, let me apologize in advance for sticking some of Cadenza's world's backstory into this, but it seemed like a good place to do it, and a nice opportunity to set up a future storyline of mine. I hope you like it--or at least don't mind. ^^;; )

IC:
When the gypsies of the Earth were nomadic, as they still were on many other Earths, they began to make observations about the world during their extensive travels. Their scholars began to note universal constants; these were not like those of gravity and biology, but constants of the nature of magic and about the elements each wielder of magical energies was born with a bond to. Despite greatly differing genetics and environments, they learned that the same basic elements appeared, and magic developed in similar stages and behaved in similar ways all across the globe.

In these old times, the gypsies came to explain this with the idea of gods—immaterial forces, more commonly called “spirits”, whose energies composed the world and the magic within it. It was said that these spirits rarely ever appeared to any one individual, but rather guided their people’s lives and created the magical energy that coursed through their veins. Often there was an event in a magically-inclined human’s life that indicated which spirit was aligned with them; the others lived their lives unaware of their patron deity, but were helped by them all the same.

These beliefs were carried down through the ages, recorded first in the gypsy language, and then the Old Rubatoian spoken in the land where many of the gypsies made their first sedentary settlements. They were taught to and followed by generations of magic-users, who respected and obeyed the tenets that were passed down with this knowledge.

One of the core tenets of the gypsies’ tradition was that any one magic-user should not strive for mastery of their element; the practice of training in spells granted to others of one’s same element, or of learning more skills than those that one learned naturally was seen as a sacrilege and an attempt to rival the spirits’ power. Most of the magical community followed these rules to the letter, and dared not share their knowledge; others tried to defy the tenets and amass skills, but were consumed and corrupted by their own lust for power.

Cadenza Madrigal, descendant of the line of the Navarre gypsies on her maternal side and an innate shadow magic-user, did not fit into one of either of these cases. Her collecting of additional spells stemmed from a desire to avenge her family, something still very much in keeping with Rubatoian and gypsy tradition, but she had grown far too strong in the shadow arts for her actions to be ignored altogether by the spirits. She was a person of great interest to the spirit of shadow; she was deeply entrenched in magic and it ran pure and potent in her veins; she had access to other worlds and universes, and was a respected figure in the great Dome that connected them all; and she was a gypsy who had familial connections to gypsies aligned with other elements. She could not simply be left to her own, nor weakened by any power the spirits possessed—she had elevated to a level beyond their reach, and it was a concern that could not be left unaddressed any longer.

And so, the only choice was to try and assimilate her and make her a part of the very spirit of shadow itself, returning her energies to the world. But, problem was, Cadenza was not a woman known for her cooperativeness. The attempt would have to be made when she could be taken unknowingly.

Like in her sleep.
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The wooden table rattled with the force of an earthquake, and Cadenza’s chin knocked against it twice with a bony thud before she was roused rudely awake. Her eyes turned skyward to see the disc of a faint moon shining wanly down upon the landscape. Beside her, her dragon Avello was in the throes of a nightmare, and his mighty tail struck the underside of the picnic table with thunderous blows.

Sluggishly, she nudged him with the toe of her boot and frowned at him when he finally came about.

“Quit shaking the table or I’ll cut your tail off. There was a guy back in Agra that was interested in buying it—I’m sure I could still find him.”

The dragon gave a feeble whine of protest and cuddled his tail close to his wildly-thumping chest, where his heart still beat feverishly from his frightful dream.

“So we both fell asleep after the Malmquists left, eh? I thought I told you to keep watch while I got a little rest.”

Avello gave another defensive whine as his master narrowed her eyes at him.

She laughed and her glare relented. “I’m surprised they didn’t take the bounty back from me while we slept—they could have had their man killed and their money back in hand.”

Avello gave something very close to a human shrug.

“Well, I guess people who ask to make their deals at picnic tables aren't the brightest of the lot, huh? No loss on our part, though. Anyway, come on, we should be going.”

As the gypsy gathered her belongings, a strange feeling began to come over her; there was an odd, pervasive sense that the place where she stood now was not the place where she had fallen asleep hours before. It was similar, no question about that, but there was something…different, about it all; a full moon was in the night sky, but hours before, when she was conducting her business with the cattle traders, she could have sworn it was a bright, waning crescent; the tree the bench rested near was originally one with full, lush green leaves, but now it bloomed with blushing cherry blossoms; and the very bench itself where she had slept had been distinctly reddish in color before, but now it was unmistakably the hue of an old oak.

Something was undeniably amiss.

Skepticism coloring her every action, Cadenza called over her dragon and began walking down the path on foot that she had flown over before, trying to retrace her steps. If this world was truly a mirrored version of the place where she had fallen asleep, as she now suspected, then the road she was following should wend its way back to a town where she could get some more answers.

Master and beast hurried along without event across the rolling plains until they came to an old bridge stretched across a frothing river. There was no river in the world she had left, and while at first it seemed to simply be a trick of the light, a closer look revealed that the water gushing under the rickety wooden bridge was black.

It was absorbing all of the moon’s pale light.

Warily, Cadenza and Avello continued across this river and to the path that resumed a few meters down a small hill. They hadn’t been walking for much longer when they came to a fork in the road; dividing the two branches of gray, sandy path was a purely black, adamantine blade that swooped up from where it was lodged in the earth like a pirate’s cutlass with a great, basket-shaped, defensive crossguard that would protect much of a human’s hand. The sword gave off a pulse of magical energy, its effect much like a sort of pheromone beckoning the gypsy and dragon closer; and as they drew nearer, the words “Conquistatore da Luz”—“Conqueror of the Light” in Old Rubatoian—could be seen gleaming brilliantly in the center of the curving blade, glowing with a dark energy that could only be seen by those who could see perfectly in the night.

Cadenza’s hand gripped the sword and pulled it from the ground—and as it whipped up and struck something unseen before it, she was instantly drawn into the blade itself, as if she had used her skill to jump into the shadows without being conscious of it. She emerged at the tip of the blade in a matter of nanoseconds, finding herself on the other side of a once-invisible barrier that had blocked both forks of the path. Avello still stood on the other side.

“Go back to the Dome—I’ll create a door for you.”

The dragon gave a cry, as if to ask, “What about you?”

“I refuse to leave without finding out where this is and how I came here. But there’s no reason you should be stuck here with me, so head back and take the bounty money to my rooms.”

Avello gave another squeal of protest, but it was in vain; within minutes, he was leaving this strange world of shadow through a door that materialized at the mouth of the old bridge.

His master, however, forged on. The first crimson rays of morning were peeking out over the horizon now, but the blade in her hand remained as dark and powerful as ever. She walked for hours, not seeing a soul, and didn’t come to a stop until she reached the ridge that overlooked the town.

Or what had been a town.

Twilight was approaching and bathed the scene before her in a glowing, violet light; evening had come far quicker than she imagined, only four hours after day had dawned at most. It seemed time passed quickly here.

And yet, the scene before her complicated matters even more; crumbling, Greco-Roman style columns built on an expanse of marble lined the clearing before Cadenza, drawing a perimeter around a strange mix of Egyptian white stone obelisks and Greco-Roman pavilions scattered about the tile-covered space. Every inch of stone was open and subject to the weather, light, and shadow, and appeared older than history itself; and in the center of this ancient group of architectural marvels was a battlefield drawn out in a black, conté-like substance that didn’t smudge when the gypsy’s boot slid over its surface.

It’s obvious that this all was laid out for me—there was the sword with Old Rubatoian, and then the barrier, and now this…a battlefield standing in the same spot where the town I was searching for once was. The only question is: why?

OoC: If any of that confused you, let me know. <_<

OOC: I think I understood >_<, Sorry if I seem to be rambling at parts, I just like rambling XD:

BiC:

The essence of the shadow is not that of darkness. While the everlasting darkness, though brother to the shadows that creep along side us, they are not the same. The Darkness, is always assimilated with evil, and thus with the horrors of life, and the absense of light, in a usually unnatural, or chaotic way. While the aspect of creation known as 'shadows” lives in conjunction with the light, as a reflection of the world if you will. As the sun grants light upon the world, and all its masses, the shadows are formed as the rays of light energy hit a object such as a Human, and subsequently place that humans figure on the ground, in a darkened form, and as such Shadow's cannot Truly be evil, unless we as humans claim ourselves to b evil.

No there is in fact the problem when talking about the nature of the world, with the metaphorical shadow. A shadow is in excess the same as what produces the shadow, with the use of light, therefor a Shadow is only as good, or evil as the thing casting it. Now those who live, with, and in the shadows, are often hunted as “evil” beings, now this is not true. As I have so explained for when those who have shadows in their veins, appear to be evil, it is only because the balance of the world, the eternal spectrum of good, and evil has shifted to the evil side, so in turn those who hunt the shadow's they call 'evil” are in fact are the only ones guilty of such a crime.

Then on the other hand the spirits who control the shadows then try to seek balance, and when they feel that people who have too far indulged into the shadows, so much they match the spirits themselves, they should be brought into them, till eternity, and sleep. Those who are only reflections of the living world, often give it, the world, a dark tone by their own actions, and this only adds to the shadow spirits reasoning. All must be in balance, and the world should know well enough of its actions without other interference. In the end all beings only want peace, how, and when they achieve this is entirely up to the person, and persons pending.


In the blanket of the suns shadow, a singular figure rustled endlessly. It had been a long time since he found sleep, and though ever once in a while he wished for it, his mind was usually content with his dreamless world. Life is much easier without dreams after all. Of course then the obvious question is why is he trying to sleep at all, or in reality, why is he resting when he knows that sleep had lost all favour for him? The answer should be obvious, and that is his companion, and friend, Maria, unlike him she needed sleep in order to function, and well live.

And as usual with stories of all kind, this one had something unusual happen (if nothing out of the ordinary happened, then this story would be long, boring, and pointless). As the man who cloaked himself in black stared at the cloudy night sky, he casually blinked his eyes, and when again they did open, that sky was a lit with stars. Even the moon which before had been curved in the o-so famous quarter moon style, was now positioned in a full moon shape shinning its reflected sun down upon the darkened world illumination it.

Now to a normal human being at the dead of night they probably wouldn't have noticed the subtile difference, however Tsuukai, who by all means was observation noticed immediately. It wasn't even the moon, and stars that caught his attention (though he did make note of them) as he sat up in wonder. It was something else, a disturbance in the world around him, though he couldn't put his finger on it, he knew something was drastically wrong.

Twisting his body, to check on his companion, he found quite possible the meaning of the disturbance, as his partner, Maria, was no wheres to be found, only folded down grass that seemed to match her description. With a heavy sigh, more of annoyance then worry (as he knew Maria was capable of taking care of herself in nearly every situation) he got to his feet, and looked around. Something seemed amiss, it was like the world he was looking at didn't fit the mental picture he had made earlier, as if he was in some foreign land.

Of course there is the other hand, where this world did seem to have the same hue, or vague description that the other had. Grassy fields lined with great oaks, Maybe he had just remembered I wrong, or never looked at it from this angle...impossible. He had a keen eye for observation and if it really was this different, he would have caught on, “I suppose I am to go somewhere,' he mused to himself. Obviously someone, or something had set this up, and expected him to do something, what he didn't know but that in essence is entirely irrelevant.

Taking a few casual step forward, he made sue to take note of everything, then taking ore, and more he began a slow walk backwards the way he had came. If his suspicions where correct the answer to the disturbance would be found be returning the way he had came, of course that was only a guess. As he walked swiftly down the dirt path he made careful note to not leave any foot prints, if this was a trap then it may help.

The path was straight, and narrow, only turning when a thicket of trees blocked its path, then it turned and continued straight. As he walked further he got to a fork in the road, or more a sword in the road. There before him shimmering with an unearthly white light was a long white double edged blade. Its length was at least six feet tall, and it looked like something of the gods. Of course the master of Shadows, as he was called, saw this weapon as an interesting phenomenon, but when his hand reached out to grab the blade that seemed to call for, it vanished a second before he could reach it, “What?” He murmured to himself at the odd apparition, a mirage, no that's physical impossible, maybe a vision. Whatever it was, it didn't matter, for when he looked at the two roads that split off the main one he already knew which one to take.

Simply taking the right path, he was already conscious of the barrier that seemed to surround the road, simple enough he slipped into the shadows, and simply emerged, A test? Perhaps but if this was et up for me, surely they would know it wouldn't work. Never the less... Turning to the road ahead of him he once again continued down the seemingly endless road. As he walked he noticed that the sun seemed to move at an accelerated pace, by his mental calculations almost three times as fast, as the sun was above him when he finally reached where he was going.

A large Greco-Roman style ruin, complete with large pillars, and a battle field drawn in black. Surely this is where he was supposed to be there was no questioning that fact, but what was he supposed to do? He could not answer. For the best he decided to wait, and with a jump he landed smoothly atop one of the large pillars, and sat crosslegged waiting for whatever it was he was supposed to wait for.

It was nearly night when she came, a women engulfed by shadows, almost, if not more then he was. Undoubtable she was why he was there, standing up, he called out to the young women, who seemed to be surveying the surroundings, “So...I suppose you are the one I am to wait for?”

OoC: The rambling was good! ;P

IC:
The gypsy had heard the dark figure atop one of the looming, Egyptian-style pillars call out to her, but she didn't respond; her mind was too abstracted by the sudden, abandoned feeling that crept through her as she approached the battleground, sending chills up her spine. It felt like gravity itself had left her, or breathable air--one of those external constants a person would take for granted until it was stolen away, and they were left to a terribly disorienting experience without.

On an impulse that strangely seemed to come from outside her body, Cadenza glanced at the cutlass she still grasped in her hand; and as it whirred and rang with the sound of the wind resounding off its surface, a realization passed through her mind; the presence she had become conscious of since she had awakened in this world, and had only become more conscious of since she found the sword and came to this battlefield, was, without question, a gypsy spirit. It was as familiar to her as anything could be—it was the force that had guided her throughout her twenty-nine years of life, from Rubato, to the Dome, and everywhere she had been beyond, and in everything she had done since birth. And now, it seemed a definite change in that relationship was about to begin.

The gentle, but ever-present pressure of the spirit just dissipated, like smoke in a vacuum, leaving Cadenza viewing the world through new eyes.

And yet this disoriented feeling did not last long--as soon as the woman's gaze trailed back up the obelisk and to the coal-black eyes staring out of the menacing, cruelly-set face, the cutlass in the woman's hand let out another pulse. The magic reverberated throughout the open area, silencing the wail of the winds, but it was all merely the calm before the tempest that would follow. Cadenza felt a sharp pain shoot through what almost felt like her soul, and then all at once, the force that had left her moments before rushed to fill the area, dropping her quivering to her hands and knees as the energy overtook the battleground.

The man atop the pillar was knocked from his perch by the wave of magic, and he fell, rolling violently along the marble tiles until he struck another stone obelisk and came to a jarring stop. Both mages' eyes met and expressed their utter confusion at what was happening.

When the energy finally died down, they stood, both at a loss for words. The hand of some lord of shadow very clearly had a grasp on this battleground, and this world, and they were the players this deity had chosen for this field. As a barrier materialized around the tiled expanse, it become obvious that the two were meant to prove themselves through battle--but for what reason, they scarcely knew.

OoC: Yay, rambling is my seventh favorite thing to do XD.

Bic:

Why does she not respond To truly under stand the world, one must first understand people. Of course such a taste is impossible for anyone in this world, for to understanding of people has nothing to do with knowing of the circulatory system, or the like. No. To under stand people is to understand motives, the driving force that tells us what to do, and when to do it. Now although this sounds simple, it isn't. For in most cases their is more then one motive, and often the two are so highly linked its hard to tell them apart, and as such we can never understand people, or why they do things, we can only give a wager, which more often then nought is wrong. Unfortunately for Tsuukai, he wagered that the women simply did not hear him, which is in fact wrong, it was something much more. A path that he was forced to follow, and the reason why he was there, that is why she didn't answer, of course till the end he would remain unaware.

Something hit him but a second later. His long cloaked blew back, flapping as did his long purple hair. It wasn't wind, though it seemed to sound like wind as it whipped around him it was not. No wind was like that, as soon as it hit he felt his heart race, faster, and faster. It was some sort of God-Like power that was striking him, a level of power that he had not felt in a long, long time.

Then whatever it was, it had left just as fast, as his heart slowed to normal. Though it was not to be, he wagered. It was far to calm, far to peaceful.

Then as he predicted something came, a wave of magic far beyond anything he had witnessed. He was thrown off his perch. As he fell he would swear he had no control over his body. It was like he was falling slowly to his death, and yet could not move, could not alter that path. Slamming into the ground he shattered the marble he landed on, and then continuing to slide across the Arena's Floor, tearing up everything in his wake, until his limp body finally came to a stop as he smashed into one of the pillars, his back serving as a method to put a huge crack in the ominous stone structure.

With his eyes wide opened, he slowly regained his sense, and got to his feet, making sure to keep his night-black eyes deadlocked on the mysterious women, who seemed to share his sentiments. Tightening his grip on his sword, which he had instinctively grabbed, he stared expressionless at the women, “Then I suppose the gods have chosen,” Drawing his Sabre he pointed it at the mistress of shadows face, “Tsuukai...Tsuukai Ita, now tell me yours, I do not wish to fight a stranger.”

The air was positively electric. Every breath that Cadenza exhaled was like an outflame of magical power, a static shock in a charged field of shadow; in it too, she could feel the energy of the man, a foreign feeling mixed with the magic rising off of her and the power the whole battlefield had just become steeped in. Originally she had thought the man--Tsuukai Ita, he called himself--to be a creation of this shadow world she was in, but now, it seemed both were just humans drawn into this realm to fight.

And Cadenza hated being dragged into doing something against her will.

"My name is Cadenza Madrigal," she said, in answer to his question. It seemed pointless to conceal her name when they were the only two in this world--or the only two corporeal beings, anyhow.

She took the Conquistatore da Luz firmly in her hand, the blade gleaming with a sinister light, and gave the barrier behind her a swift, shadow-charged kick with her heel. Her foot sprang back off the wall, magical energy rocketing back to bounce off the four sides and ceiling until it finally dissipated into the static air. It reflects everything, including magic. We're completely contained within this.

That made things infinitely more dangerous--all of her destructive powers would be contained within a small area, and whatever he possessed would be as well. The twisters of Gloom Tornado; the blades of Razorfeathers; the dancers of Dance of the Shadows; all would be constrained to one relatively small area, causing more concentrated devastation that one could imagine.

This fight would truly be serious.

And what or who decides when it ends?

The man known as Tsuukai watch cooly as the girl swiftly kicked the wall, sending a magical blast shooting off. Just by looking at her he could tell her power was unbelievable, finally he would be able to stretch his wings without fear of getting them caught. Tsuukai calmly brought his saber down, as he waited for the girl to make the first move, (even though he was sure that she would never do such a thing.)

A little more then a minute passed without so much as a flinch from either side, Tsuukai duly noted the confident look on Cadenza's face, she seemed to be aware of the situation, and had probably already decided her plan of action. Judging from her appearance the women appeared to be approximately 25-30, about 5'6, and somewhere between 110-120 pounds. Tsuukai calmly deduced that she probably relied on speed, and agility rather then power, or strength, most likely a hit, and run type battling style, coupled with the odd magical attack. Her apparent style seemed to stand boldly in contrast to the large Tsuukai, who more often then nought depends on sheer physical strength, and explosive attacks in order to get his job done. Of course all of these observations where purely based on her appearance, and where only used to get a better feel for his enemies style before he ran into battle.

There was no point to wait for her to make a move. Tsuukai moved his own leg back as if to go for a running sword strike, but with his left hand, he opened it palm first towards his opponent. Just as it looked like he was about to take flight, he shot off five shadow blasts, at blinding speed. Three of the four magical attacks hit directly, the others smashed into the barrier, creating a thick smoke around Cadenza.

Less then a second later the smoke screen seemed to swirl into an opening, as Cadenza charged forward, not even her clothes seemed to be signed by the attack. Tsuukai quickly shot off another blast, which merely blasted off the ground as the gypsy easily dodged it. Tsuukai could hardly she her as she moved, and was shooting blindly, hoping to knock her off her trajectory. Shooting another blast straight forward, the wild gypsy quickly flipped over the attack, and with her sword ready, struck down at Tsuukai at the end of her Flip. It seemed Tsuukai was in luck, the Gypsies dodging maneuver slowed her down enough for the master of shadows to predict where the attack would hit, and subsequently block the attack with his own blade.

OoC: Thank you for saving it <3

OoC: Just one thing I'd like to comment on--"the girl"? She's twenty-nine. Tsuukai's only six years older. XP

IC:
Shadow magic--then it really is confirmed. We're both shadow magic users.

The man's attacks had done little but confirm that in the gypsy's mind; shadow and dark magics hadn't affected her since she first summoned up her first bit of magical energy so many years ago, as a child who would have never dreamed they'd be in such a place. She had played around with the idea of Tsuukai being a light-magic user, or user of some other opposing force earlier, even though light magic did not hold any special power against her, but those attacks had proved her wrong. Still, this Tsuukai appeared to be a formidable opponent, and he blocked a strike from her cutlass without so much as a flinch.

She landed on even footing with him, pressing her blade against his until a point where both of their arms slightly quivered under the pressure; she noticed then a brief flash of surprise in his dark, piercing eyes as he realized that, despite her appearance, her physical strength was proving a match for his. Then, there was a gleam in both of their eyes, and legs swung out blindingly fast to kick the other fighter off-balance--but instead they met with a shooting pain against the other in a standoff. They were left in an strange stance afterwards, with neither backing down, but neither in an ideal position for a grapple between swords, and with a calm exhale, they rested their blades and their boots back in neutral positions at the same moment.

It wasn't until their swords were replaced back at their sides that Tsuukai Ita noticed the gash across his left leg, and the drops of blood from a dagger concealed in the gypsy's boot. He glanced up, and found that the woman was smiling at him, although it was without much mirth.

"It looks like this might only be won by subtle strikes," she said, readying her cutlass again. "But... before this goes too far, can I ask you--how did you come here?"

OoC: Sorry Super-Aiko-Chan V_V I guess I'm just used to every character being a teenager XP

IC:
Tsuukai couldn't help but marvel at the gash in his leg, if only for a second, some how she had managed to strike him, so fast that his brain didn't pick up the pain till after they had both stopped moving. An amazing feat in Tsuukai's eyes, as he looked back at her, to answer her question, “I am not to sure. I came upon this world as I awoke, and this place within a hour of travel. That alone gives me reason to believe our meeting is something predetermined by fate.”

“Perhaps...” The gypsy said quickly, musing to herself for a second, before Tsuukai interjected.

“Though, I cannot say it is entirely disappointing.” Tsuukai replied callously, “Its been a good while since I have fought such an impressive opponent, I hope you'll at least be able to take the rust off my blade,” Tsuukai commented coldly idly spinning his blade in his hand, before putting himself in a battle ready position.

Tsuukai waited cooly for his opponents next move. Thus far her movements where to quick, and fast to decipher properly them, and form a working strategy, as his initial assumptions where already proven wrong. She was far stronger then he had assumed, and a tad bit faster, and he still was unable to get a full grasp on her magical abilities, as he had only seen a quick strike, not even aimed at him.

His black eyes peered closely as the girl prepared for her next attack, Even though Tsuukai was eager to see what the woman had in store, he was also preoccupied with coming away victorious, so without so much as a flinch or distracting movement, Tsuukai already formulated a quick plan, or attack, that had the potential for some serious damage, and in the meantime could properly test the gypsy's skill.

The Plain white obelisks that lined the arena where tall, and sturdy, and probably centuries old. Yet as the Master Of Shadows shot two quick blasts of shadow at a selected two of them, they cracked at the base and the top, now awkwardly leaning, became to heavy for the broken base to hold, and the rentier structure came down, two of them. Both descending towards the Gyps who was standing battle ready. Tsuukai could only watch coldly as the two Obelisks came crashing towards her, his mind remembering every detail to analyze later.

OoC: Edit: 5,500 Posts...>_< I'm such a post whore.

OoC: *nudges you towards Cadenza's post-HR, upgraded profile*

IC:
This is what he calls a subtle strike? a bewildered Cadenza thought as she held up an arm to block the initial spray of dust and stone fragments. Either that, or he just disagreed with me altogether about that, it seems.

The obelisks were dropping like felled white trees in a forest of architecture; and if these trees fell, they certainly would make a sound; never mind if someone was there to hear it. Cadenza imagined it would be something like a squish!--but she wasn't about to find out.

The two pillars eventually would come to a point in their earth-shaking descent where they would strike one another head-on; but before stone could even graze stone, a little feather stole into the sliver of night air between them. Tsuukai merely had shut his eyes to blink then, unsure of whether or not the little violet plume was really there or if it was a trick of the light, when he heard a concussive blast; and when he opened his eyes again, there were a million shards of pearly-white stone erupting from where Cadenza had stood, and flying out along with them, murky razor-like objects shaped as feathers. Twisting his body into a dozen different angles, he managed to evade the worst of the remnants of the magical attack--but he wasn't as lucky with the stone fragments.

Just when he thought he had survived through the first rocky onslaught, the pieces were swallowed up by the deep shadows cast by the remaining obelisks, and somehow re-routed through them to his temples, eyes, and chest--the gypsy's doing, some distant part of his mind later realized. The pieces drilled against his head, beating out a high, staccato rhythm of shooting pain; razor-sharp pebbles and bits tore into the spaces between the chains of his armor, nicking and cutting him all over his torso. He fell to one knee, bleeding from small but numerous wounds, but still far from out of this fight. Cadenza had to admire his tenacity.

"And so the property damage begins, eh?" she said, smirking as the other mage brushed obelisk remnants off his cloak. "If this was anyone's property."

The dark mage could not help but smiles as he, slowly got back to his own two feet, that last attack gave him enough information of her magical abilities to at least give him a Silhouette of her talents, “They can always rebuild,” He commented calmly whipping off some blood that had started running down his face, “Impressive, I must admit. I can hardly wait to see what other tricks you have.” Putting his right hand on his blade, which he had seethed before he dodged the rocky barrage, he continued, “Let us continue, before I find myself bored,” His cold eyes looked forward calmly as he drew his blade.

The arena itself went deathly quiet, as the battle lines where drawn. The master of shadows watched his opponent closely, choosing not to make a move himself. He could tell she wasn't about to hold back, as previously shown by the numerous gashes that laced his body. Enough time wasted, and yet nothing was gained, no battle could be won through silence.

The Master of shadows Started the endgagement attacking quickly to her side, which of course she easily blocked. At this point he cared very little for actually striking his opponent, that would come later, he was still trying to get a feel for her style, only a few more minutes, and he would be able to lash out at full strength.

The swords clashed against each other in rapid succession, each blow quickly blocked, and followed by another. The combatants used preliminarily tactics, and simple dodges, for those blows that where to fast, or to awkward to dodge, but in the end not a hit was pressed into the other, and both were just as well as they where before. Tsuukai at this point had believed himself knowledgeable enough to determine the abilities of his opponent to a small degree at least, as he blocked another blow, and quickly gave her an opening for the right side of his chest.

The Gypsy couldn't help but be lured into the attack, stabbing forward with a good portion of her strength towards the exposed lower ribs. As he had planned, he quickly switched the grip on his blade, pointing it down in the common “Defensive grip” Pushing her blade away slightly, the right handed gypsy moved forward with her blade, as Tsuukai, with his sword pointing down, and pushing her blade out (As she pushed it in, it seemed he was stronger, at least a little), used his other hand to steady his blade by pressing it against its flat at the tip. As she ran by, the Master of shadows turned, and slashed quickly, causing the Gypsy, to duck, and move back, giving them about five feet apart in dead silence.

“This battle will only be won by subtle strikes...Such knowledge...” Tsuukai said with a laugh, holding up his left hand, and the dagger in it, shinning red by the moons light, “I must agree, that is how we shall fight this battle.” It seemed, that as the Gypsie passed him by, his left hand left it posistion and moved upwards as he unconcealed a dagger, and dragged it across her cheek as she ran by, as could be clearly sown by the long gash across her face, that sparkled with crimson.

OoC: Did that make any sense at all? it made sense in my head, but I'm also crazy.

Edited: Fixed...Sorry >_<

With the sort of astonishment a parent shows when their child replies back with their first witty, searing bit of backtalk, Cadenza raised a hand up to her face, and gently touched the gash on her cheek. Tsuukai waited, watching as she realized that it was, in fact, there.

"Well," she said, smiling dryly as she summoned up a bit of healing magic to treat the wound, "I've got to say, you're the first man I've ever met that would dare harm this face. You're really serious about this."

The man just laughed. There was some impatience to be found in the sound; he clearly didn't mind exchanging a few snappy comments, so long as the battle resumed soon after. This time, the inaction between the two was dragging on a bit too long for his liking.

Fair enough, Cadenza thought, starting a song low under her breath. Dawn was approaching, and she wondered how the light would affect her opponent. Some shadow users depended upon the dark of the later hours, or were weak to light. Was that the case with him?

As the last notes left her lips, shadowy figures shimmered into being, forming a ring around Tsuukai. He tried to take account of each one, counting their numbers and estimating their heights and masses as if it would help, but before he could get ahold of anything in his mind, the bodies were careening into him, and knocking him into the obelisks and pavilions and slamming his face against the cold, hard marble. For anyone else, this could have served as more than enough for a principal attack--but Cadenza was merely using this as a diversion, focusing Tsuukai's attention on the bodies that couldn't be avoided and the wounds he was sustaining while she leapt into the circle faster than his eyes could follow and cleaved off parts of his chain-mail with her adamantine cutlass.

After countless minutes of this, the man fell to the stones with a clang, finally free of his attackers, but trying desperately to regain his breath. Upon realizing that huge sections of his armor had been cut away and destroyed, his black eyes began to smolder at the gypsy.

Enough was enough, the battle was now beginning to bother him. She was far stronger then he had anticipated, and he wasn't trying nearly hard enough to even scratch her, it was time to take of the shackles he had put on his power, and show her, his true strength. It had been a while since he had needed to.

“I hope,” Tsuukai said, after a short coughing spurt that caused a little blood to spew from his mouth, “Your ready to die,” Like a flash of lightning, he was already upon her, his sword clanging, and striking against hers, locking the two blades together. As slight sadistic smile sparked across his face, as they pushed their weapons against each other, he channeled his energy through his blade, causing it to glow slightly purple. The with a sudden burst of strength he pushed her blade back, and caused her to jump away from the blade, only to be stricken by the swirling energy blast that erupted from his blade like a volcano. The Blast struck her at merely point blank, causing an explosion to rip up the arena behind her in a hellish fire, and smoke to cascade around them when the fires finally subsided.

Tsuukai has slipped away through the shadows just as he released his attack, as to not be hit with the recoil. He watched the spectacle from atop one of the remaining obelisk structures, his enraged eyes subsiding once again to their usual cold demeanor. The Shadow Master didn't get hi title for naught, he already knew that she had survived the attack, and if anything was still faring pretty well, and he wasn't about to wait for her to catch her breath.

His fingers tensed as he drew his bow string, the arrow quivering slightly between his fingers. As he watched ever so closely for any signs of movement, he couldn't help but notice that the sun was rising on them and muse the fact that maybe his opponent was weaker during the day, as a lot of shadow users are. Of course, that mattered little at the time, soon enough all would be revealed, as he saw a slight Silhouette of the women, and quickly rained arrows down at her, one after another. As they flew, almost faster then the eye could see, a purple aura, could be seen swirling around them.

Five more explosions laced the ground before it was over, ripping the marble floor, and sending dust, and rock shards high into the air. Tsuukai sighed confidently, if nothing else then he had to have at least weakened his opponent. One minute Later, and nothing. Two minutes, still nothing, just an Erie silence. Suddenly the silence was gone as the cock ticked three minutes, dust still swirling around the battle field clouding it from view, the silence was smoothly cracked by a soft voice, a melody almost. She's singing...Something's not right

OoC: Extreme blahness ahead, but I owed you a post, so...yeah. <___<;;

IC:
There was dust everywhere. Shards of marble were still plunking onto her back as it was.

But, to her surprise, Cadenza found that she didn't really feel angry, or annoyed, or anything like that. That was the thing about this place; she felt utterly calm...and, if she was being honest with herself, sort of...at home. There was a sword in her hand, a head on her shoulders, and magic coursing through her blood, and at the end of the day, that...that was all she needed. Let the day come, she thought somewhere in the back of her mind. It wouldn't bother her any.

An arrow landed somewhere, but missed its singing target. Several other arrows followed and failed. Right now, the gypsy seemed untouchable.

And grasped in her hand, exerting its influence, Conquistatore da Luz decided it liked this train of thought; this feeling of comfort in its powers. Soon, these powers would return to it, when this battle was over and the absorption could truly begin. But, for now, it simply gleamed in Cadenza's hand as the song of Revoada das Sombras echoed throughout the battlefield.

Dark figures appeared in the sky, blotting out the light. A flock of dragons, big enough to make Avello look like some runt of a salamander with butterfly wings, stared down at Tsuukai Ita's body, and then, their magic frames resounding with the last note from their creator, they burst forth into dangerous life. With admirable reflexes, Tsuukai leapt from his perch atop the obelisk, running, swerving, trying to dodge; some part of him wondered why the gypsy didn't seem to make any effort to stop him. But soon that wonder was answered; dragons loomed up behind him, and then in front; and suddenly, without ever having made a wrong or stupid step he could remember, he found himself trapped in a circle of the beasts, with more dive-bombing towards him at speeds that'd make even a jet seem like it was barely going the limit on a country road by comparison. He dove through the first of them, running through it like a sort of magical blood vessel, but as he came out of a shadowy wing, he was struck by eight (or at least, it appeared to have been eight to his dazed eyes afterward) of the dragon's brothers, and claws, fangs, and gloomy fire hammered him into the ground.

As he glanced up through the haze of blood running down his head, he could see boots clicking along on the marble, approaching him.

Tsuukai felt himself getting bashed from place to place, the dragons assault felt like it was never going to end. He was able to block most of the attack with various shadow shields, but he wasn't able to block them all, and the ones that did hit where beyond painful. He landed on the ground with a soft thud as the dragons where finally called off. He was smiling. The whole time he spent dodging, and blocking the attack he couldn't help but smile. Even as he laid on the ground blood pouring down his pale face he was smiling. The pain it was exhilarating in his mind, ever shot was like a blast of adrenalin, he couldn't help but love every minute of it. It had been a long time since he fought an opponent who could even scratch him with shadows, and with such unique moves to boot. He was in his own version of heaven. Destiny smiled upon him that day.

As he watched her get closer he was only buying his time, at the right time he leapt to one knee as a Spear formed itself out of shadows into his hand. At point black he through it at her chest giving her little time to react. The spear stuck her armour doing little stabbing damage, due to her armour, but it was thrown with enough power to send her sliding backwards across the marbled 'playground'. As she moved farther back Tsuukai got to his feet, and quickly snapped his fingers at his side causing the Spear to explode in a feirce explosion sending the shadow gypsy backwards in a blast of fire.

She flipped backwards and managed to land on her feet, though she did look visibly shaken by the attack. Tsuukai gave a sadistic smile as he charged towards her, trying to catch her off guard, she caught his blade with her own with such force the two blade sparked as they hit the other. Tsuukai ducked her high counter attack, slashing for the stomach, but his blade merely bounced off her heavy diamond hard armour, giving her warning to jump back before continuing the strike.

As she faked an attack to the left, she changed course and instead jabbed forward at a remarkable speed, Tsuukai saw her hesitation at the false attack, and knew her plan almost instantly. Jumping to the side to dodge the jab he had full chance to strike again. His shadows didn't seem to work against her, which posed a problem, but it was no matter he had his own skills that he could draw from. As he reached inside his cloak he spun a dagger straight towards her face, as she turned to face him. The dagger just scrapped by her cheek leaving a sizable gash, and kept going till it hit one of the remaining Obelisk structures.

Jumping back Tsuukai kept his smile as he blocked the attack and he pushed her back. He had a plan. “Infernal shadow binding,” he said loudly as he struck her again, locking their blades. He did he could see clearly the seven tentacles of darkness reach from the depths engulfing her, and holding her still. Even though she struggled Tsuukai knew she wouldn't be able to escape, and then with a snap of his fingers a loud explosion was heard from behind the women.

You see the dagger he threw was charged with shadow energy, and most of the time when he charged things with shadow energy they exploded. Since the dagger was implanted into the side of the large pillars, it felt the damage causing it to topple over, directly towards her. Tsuukai quickly moved to a safe distance and watched, he figured she would escape, but he wanted to see how.

OoC: Sorry If I was powerplaying too much.

OoC: No, it was fine. ^^;; Sorry if this post is blah, but I'm still a little tired from yesterday.

IC:
The tentacles were holding her in place, right before the dropping pillars. The world was shaking. Cadenza struggled a foot to loose the daggers in her boots, and they dug in and slashed at the arms, but without much effect; still, this was only to give her some leverage. Now, with her grip firmly on these tendrils, she could begin to take them over. This was the sort of thing the spirit of shadow was waiting to see--it wanted to know whose grasp over its magic was stronger.

The tentacles were fading fast; the gypsy could feel their energy waning. There was probably only a limited time they could be out; and she just hoped it would be enough. The arms flipped her over, struggling against the will to do the original orders given to them by Tsuukai, and the impulses sent to them by this woman now. Magic pushed against magic, sending shivers down through the tendrils. Eventually, time ran out, and the obelisks crashed down--

--only to meet a dome-like entanglement of the tentacles, formed overhead to protect Cadenza. The structures crumbled on contact with the magic, a few orbs from the gypsy below helping to speed the process along, and a breath later, the tentacles were destroyed along with the stone. If only through greater proximity to the arms, and therefore a greater ease afforded to control them, the woman had won them over.

Cadenza took a deep breath, wiped a few pebbles off her shirt, and stood.

"Good trick," she yelled. Tsuukai just smirked and leapt down from his perch.

The two shadow mages strode to the center of the battlefield again, and readied themselves for another round.

OoC: Yeah I saw that....It was crazy...

BiC:

Impressive, she was not something to be taken lightly, or ignored. Her power was much more then I had initially expected, she seemed to handle my trap with the greatest of ease. Though I assumed her actions looked easier then they actually where, none-the-less anyone who is able to stay calm in such a position was worthy of being weary of. It seemed as though large attacks like that would do very little against the women, she was far above the level of those who fall to such tactics, no to beat her I would need to draw on her weaknesses and exploit them. Now if I could find her weaknesses it would make that task a lot easier.

Dropping down to the ground lightly, I watched as she approached me. She was smaller then I, and lighter too. Her strength was impressive, but comparable I was much stronger, however her speed seemed to stand a head and shoulders higher then mine. Strength means nothing if you miss. Judging from the sound as she moved I could tell that she wore some form of body armor underneath her clothes, and if it was anything like normal armor then it means I would have little chance breaking through it, so I had to resort to attacking her weak points where she was vulnerable. Hand, and feet where obvious targets, slowing movements, and impairing sword skills was valuable to pulling out a victory. Other vulnerable spots would be the arm pits where there could be no armor without severely weakening her arm movements, and her head, both would good choices but hard to execute. She would guard her face and the other was a hard target. It seemed like I was in trouble, almost all weak points where covered up, leaving me with very little options to presume, the only other choice I had was to try and dent her armor into her chest hopefully stifling her breathing enough to weaken her.

I side stepped her blade as she moved in for the attack, my blade still intercepting to point her's in another direction. Slashing quickly for her chest I heard the clink I was looking for, just as she pushed me blade away, allowing me to jump back for a second. It sounded tough, and knowing her it wouldn't be an ordinary metal, however even magical metals are not immune to physics. The energy I used to attack would have to be transferred somewhere, and eventually the metal would have to give and cave inwards, I just needed to use enough force.

An idea struck me as our blades clashed together. With my left hand I created my patented shadow chain, and as I fought for control with my right hand my left shot out a burst of shadow. The rope like form wrapped around her torso, and quickly tightened, I would just squeeze, and Squeeze until her armor broke, then I would have an opening.

OoC: I'll switch over to first-person too for the sake of continuity with your post. ;]

And sorry if this is blah, but I haven't done much fictional writing in recent weeks and I just cranked out three essays for my AP Lit exam this morning. @___@

IC:
Mythril chafed. Bloody chafed like sandpaper grinding on you as hard as diamond, if you can wrap your head around that feeling. It reminded me of old thrift store sweaters I was given as a kid, made of fabrics you couldn't pronounce without five degrees in Useless Prefixes and Scientific Nomenclature. As the chains tightened like a giant metal fist around me, I could feel my skin where I wasn't covered by some undergarment burning--but even so, the mythril was flexible, like a second skin. It'd rub me raw, but it wouldn't snap. I'd snap before it snapped.

Tsuukai watched and waited expectantly, with something of the manner of a hunter waiting to see if his trap would be sprung. I was too overwhelmed by the desire to pummel his face into something that could be passed off as abstract art at the moment to admire the patience in that stance, but respect was certainly warranted. No need to rush and sloppily run into things, that attitude said--he'd wait it out and attack at the exact perfect moment, when everything came together and he could deal the hardest blow. It might have been something that came to him with age--there was none of the restlessness of the younger fighter, who'd waste their energy by hammering away at a boulder if it meant they could throw punches at something and didn't just have to stand around anymore. He hated inactivity, but at the same time, he understood how to use his motions effectively. He wasn't an idiot.

When I could finally focus on something aside from the chafing, directing the one little part of my mind that wasn't screaming words that would just be a long series of beeps on a TV show or hadn't just shut itself off until I'd woken up somewhere it actually felt like dealing with, I wrapped a quivering hand around one of the chains, and squeezed until my hands went numb. Blood that had taken the highway to my midsection suddenly took notice, and floored it on wild, speeding U-turns back up to my hand and wrist, where pressure like hazard lights was wailing for attention. Back with the blood came a surge of magic; so much that the chain I was gripping seemed to blur and then shudder at my touch. Slowly but surely, it loosened; others followed, uncoiling like snakes called off by a charmer.

Tsuukai blinked, and tried to reassert his control on the chains--but they were shaking now, ready to burst at even the touch of a feather. I squeezed on the one grasped in my hand one last time, and my other arm flew up just in time to block the shards of magic that erupted and flew like bits of magic shrapnel.

Panting, I fell to the ground, but rose a hand that stopped the shadow energy dead still in its wake. My eyes darted around and found Tsuukai, and then I let the magic shards loose, and they rocketed towards him in a flurry of hail-like bits along with a flock of my shadow orbs. They didn't have to hit anything--they just needed to buy me a second to breathe again.

OoC: Super-Boss-Lady-Aiko-Chan (XD) I have finally posted, YAY. I got a little lazy editing it, so excuse whatever mistakes there may/will be. Also sorry about the random Physics stuff...I had a physics quiz today so...yeah.

IC:

Finally- It seemed as though the entire match up to that point consisted of only me dodging attacks, and maneuvers to very little gain. My body was already feeling weary, and fatigued from battle as I took careful note how my rate of breathing was rising steadily, it was times like these I damned my age. That was not even the problem however, it was the fact that since I was just out of my teens I had been fighting nigh everyday, my body was eroding faster from extended wear and tear and I could feel it, but none of that really mattered right then. I could see an opening like a welcoming mat beckoning me onwards, if I could charge her now she would not have chance to recover. There was no holding back.

I bolted forward my black eyes staring forward as the world blurred on either side of me. The shards of shadow magic blasted into my body and armor to very little effect. The pain I felt was minimal to what I was trying to do, so I simply ignored it, not even flinching for a second as they struck. Then using my sword as a bat I struck her hard in the chest with both my hands grasping tightly aginst the handel of my blade.

It was physics after all. Newtons laws. Energy cannot be created or destroyed it can only transfer into other forms of energy. Thus the strength in my blade would not stop at her armor, it would push her mythril into her chest and send her flying backwards until the energy was expended into the air, ground, or transferred into sound. Not even mages can deny the laws that bind this world, and knowing this I could use that raggedy old scientist's work for my own gains.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, the first of many laws any young physicist much study. The amount of force I used to kick into the ground would be the exact amount of force propelling me forward to catch up with her as she fell, and when I leaped over her body I knew that however hard I kicked her down into the rubble, the rubble would hit her back with the exact same amount of force, and knowing this I held nothing back as the heel of my foot pressed against the cold metal of her chest causing the energy to be expended into sound as she hit the earth with a resounding thud.

'No hesitation' I thought to myself as I counted the beads of sweat dripping down my face. When my feet touched the ground I was already off, if I hesitated she would have the advantage and I could not give that to her, for I knew what would happen if I gave her the time of day.

Before the dust had settled I already had a plan in action, as always. Shadows twisted and turned until they formed into spears in my hand and as I threw them at the ground where 'Denza was two more formed. By the time I had leaped over the dust cloud, which now held a dim silhouette of the shadow gypsy inside, four spears already found themselves lodge in the torn ground around her, and two more where soon to follow. As the two cracked into the marble floor, creating a hexagram, my feet touched ground without a sound.

Taking two steps forward, as the spears cackled with electricity connecting one to another, I snapped my fingers and like magic they erupted into flame, and energy behind me tearing the earth asunder. However, to an untrained eye it would have looked like I took the fight, I knew that even if she was caught in the centre of the blast like I had planned, she was far from dead, if anything all it did was make her angry. Which could only be a good thing.

There's an old thieves' fable in Rubato about a desert panther that outwits a hunter into getting stuck in his own trap. He lies there on his belly, the cage falling, the hunter clenching his fists in anticipation--and then at the last second, slips out and shoves the hunter inside. Some say the panther disappeared into thin air, and reappeared, without any time passing, behind the hunter to push him. Others say the panther cheated by (and they say this with strong disgust, apparently thinking it's the most unsportsmanlike thing in the world to want to avoid being captured) being a god. Still, others say the panther just got lucky and the hunter happened to get his shorts stuck on a cactus, making him trip and land inside.

Whichever way you believe it, the outcome's the same--the hunter's hurt both in pride and in body. Being able to execute this sort of thing has always been the mark of a clever criminal. And...well, damn me if seeing the angry and mystified look on the victim's face when it was all said and done wasn't worth half the effort itself.

Looking back at Tsuukai as the crackles stopped and the last of the flames faded, I tried to keep myself from smiling a stupid, self-satisfied, Broccoli Head-like smile. Sure--in a matter of seconds, I had managed to drop down into the shadow realm at the first spark of the spears, mostly un-fried, and reappeared to dropkick the mage forward and send him tumbling over into his own hexagram of fire--but this was no time to feel smug. This was a time to capitalize, as he had tried to do. Compound the damages. As he was still trying to distinguish what was ash from what was skin on his face, boulder-sized orbs of debris swirling in magic fired at him, the first few striking him full-on in the head and knocking him onto his back. The onslaught continued as he tried to rise, and he found himself standing in another shower of Razorfeathers and real arrows.

Someone like him might have been able to shrug off the ever-intensifying hail of pain like it was a simple swarm of gnats, but he couldn't ignore the slash I scored across his back with the Conquistatore da Luz as it gleamed with magic. Whirling around, wincing at the projectiles raining down around him, he managed to draw his saber before falling to a knee, a bloody mess.

OoC: Meh, but this needed to be revived.

A clever trick, yes I should have expected something the like from her. The flames of my attack barely touched me, they merely swirled around me in a sea of read and yellow, however what was to come next stung. I just managed to bring my hand in front of the first boulder, thought the impact would send me scrapping across the ground I remained for the most part unharmed. By the time I got my sense back I found myself staring at yet another magic charged boulder I barely had a chance to react as it crashed into me sending pain stinging to all the way to my extremities. I tried with all my might to return to my feet, but before could have the chance I was struck again, and again with boulders, and then with arrows and feathers one after another the waves of attacks came piling down on top of my threatening to crush me whole underneath their weight. It was about time. I hadn't felt that way in a long time, as that women's newly acquired blade slashed through my thickly woven cloak and into my back, I loved that feeling, that rush. Yes. This is what I had been waiting for.

The was smiling, no, what ever smile she did have was brief and lasted only a second, to believe she was proud of what she had done, she would learn, in time. Though I must admit I must have looked something of a mess as I struggled to my feet, pushing the pain to the back of my mind, I could smell the stench of the blood that poured from my wounds, and I could see my arms shaking, but her. No, she stood strong and proud as the rising light danced around her creating a Sillhoulet of strong proud warrior, “Don't look so happy,” I said drawing my saber and buckling down to one knee, Picking myself back to my two feet I continued, “Don't think you have won. Allow me to explain something to you, I have only one reason for existence, and that is to fight and get stronger, if I cannot win then what good am I? I wont lose to you, because I need to exist, you understand? Right now I can feel it, your lust for blood, and I can feel my own lust for battle, and this is allowing me to keep going, I love this feeling, it gives me a sense of prolonged euphoria, so don't think you have won. You wont win unless you carve a bloody crest into my heart,”

I waited, I knew she would make the first move. With a thud I slammed my blade into the ground, I would not be needing it. Three, two, one, she took off in what can only be described as a mad dash, her blade shimmering with magic. I Slid one foot back, and blasted off a magic blast that crackled through the tense air. As I had expected the gypse leapt into the air spinning as she soared over me. Then it hit her. She rolled onto the ground, sending dust into the air as she quickly finished her little tumble by landing on her feet. I didn't react, only lowered my newly created bo-staff. This was going to be fun, since I knew blades couldn't make it through her armour-though I wondered how she managed full body armour, without leaving and opening sans her face, and still managed to be so quick- I decided I would simply bash her bones into dust.

I ran forward, my eyes set dead ahead ignoring the dust in the air, as my opponent to charged her blade drawn. At the last second I use my six foot long shadow staff as a poll vault, leaping over her head and bring my weapon up to strike her back as she skidded to a stop. No time to falter, I quickly spun my weapon for her ankles, to hit nothing but air, still I did not stop as I spun the weapon towards her face only to her the clink of the two weapons connecting, she was quick. Yes very quick, but I vowed to defeat her, and kill her, so I did not stop. With a Quick back Flip I distanced myself from her, and without a second thought whacked the end of my weapon into her shoulder causing her to stumble backwards only slightly, but it was enough to feed my lust for battle.

I moved like a flash, my weapon striking her gut as I rushed beside her, without losing momentum I spun on my toes allowing the other side of my weapon to meet the back of her head with a resounding crack causing her to drop to a knee, but not without shooting my a death glare out of the corner of her eye. Perfect, I wanted her anger. Leaping to a safe distance I twirled my weapon in my hand as I watched her struggle to her feet as deep red blood poured from her head and onto the battle worn ground.

OoC: Omgomgomgomgomg posted.

I am trying to see if I can break my Hiatus...so I wrote something...It's not that good...but i wrote it! i didn't think I could [/Is proudfornorealreason]