Tournament Grounds (The IC Thread)

OoC: Okay, okay, I know I'm going a bit slowly with this whole tournament thing as of now, but hell, I'm only one person, so patience is requested. So, to distract you all while I finish all that crap up, I've got two things: this and one other thing I'm going to work on shortly.

First, though, the rules:

1) All Forum Rules apply here, so obey them or be scorned.

2) All posts are to be done in regular post format (I.E. full sentences and in paragraph form). Although this is a place for the characters to hang out, if you're gonna post here, at least take a few minutes out of your day and make a serious post.

3) For people not in the tournament itself, your character can interact with tournament competitors and characters can meet and interact.

4) This is not the spectator posting thread. Separate threads (as far as has been agreed) shall be provided for each battle for spectator comments.

5) Obey these rules and have fun.

Last thing:

The Tournament Grounds consist of the Arena and the area around it. This area has a bazaar where characters can buy, sell or barter goods. Within the Arena itself, the characters can spend their time in the spectator area, looking over the arena or talking between fights. For fighters, your characters can meet within the underground antechamber where fighters can rest, recover, do a bit of training or practice, or eat (given food is provided there).

Also, when the fights are ready to be listed, they will be posted here. That should be up by Sunday at the latest.

OoC: Yayz, I've been waiting for this. Good show, Z. :3

BiC: The first thing Judo did after signing up for the tournament was explore the arena and the tournament grounds. He had to know his way around in order to get acquainted with fellow warriors or competitors, eat if he was hungry, and rest or train if needed. Warriors and individuals of many kinds were already traveling around the area and since Judo appeared to be the only one who came with a horse, he felt it best to leave Duke somewhere safe and comfortable for the duration of the tournament. On that note, the Hylian knight immediately exited the arena to rejoin his faithful steed.

"Hm, perhaps I could at least keep him with me while I explore..." Judo figured as he approached the gray horse.

The area outside the arena was lively and busy. A bazaar covered most of it, carrying many different kinds of merchandise, some of which Judo had never seen before. His curiosity reaching its peak, Judo quickly mounted Duke and began his exploration, keeping Duke at a pace no faster than a trot. Some of the merchandise he passed were items easily identifiable like weapons, armor, clothing, and more. Others were items Judo had seen before, but weren't sure of their purpose or what they were. However, still other merchandise was a complete mystery.

"Heh, I must say, this is the most diverse shop I've ever been to," Judo commented as he eyed what appeared to be some sort of staff with an orb on the tip. Although it felt strange to be the only person on a horse in the entire area, Judo simply shrugged as people glanced at him once in awhile and moved along.

Nikudemon strolled down the mile long run ways of shops. Nothing really caught his eye, but thoughts did wonder their way into his head. It was like nothing he’d ever seen from the dome before. Massive amount of people where gathering for some reason. He restrained himself from asking another; wanting to be left alone and be unnoticed for as long as possible.

He was impressed that with all the people and strange weapons around that no fights had broken out. He wonder if the dome its self had anything to do with this and how many of them where real. He laughed to himself remembering the few fakes that ran around making his life hell when he first came. Making his way out of the weapon section he found himself being graced with the pleased smell of food. All kinds of food was being cooked and made.

Famous food from all around the world had been made and was up for taste test. Nikudemon felt his gut thinking that food would be a good place to start today. He smiled seeming animal flesh being ripped out many different kinds of spices. “That looks good,” he quietly spoke to himself making his way to the strange stand.

“What?” A old rude hurter asking as he carved the back of what looked like a fox.

“Can I get some of that fox meat and some rabbit please?” He asked seeing all the fresh uncooked meat laid on many tables.

“Umm… You got a interesting taste, but I haven’t cooked them yet.”

“That okay. I love raw meat.”

The Coquette's light laughter was muffled by the fleshy thigh of an iban, freshly cooked a few moments before the butcher had began to work on the fox he was currently hacking at, the fragrant oils of the meat staining her lips a light brown that was startling against the stark white of her skin and added a refreshing dose of humanity to the usually cold woman. Swallowing and lowering the piece of meat from her mouth, Vana rounded the corner of the stall to where the man ordering the raw meat stood, her feline oculars glittering with interest.

"You know, eating raw animals usually doesn't agree with one's stomach," she chided, raising her own spit grilled lunch and taking another bite from it, the skin crackling against her teeth loudly, the aroma of sage and cardamum taking to the air. "It really is worth the wait."

Hmm… Who is this now? Nikudemon wondered to himself as he turned his head to glance over the woman. She was attractive like most woman he seen in his time and didn’t seem to be much of a fighter. He turned back at the salesmen waiting for his order. “You might be right miss…” He stopped remember he didn’t know her name.

“Well when you never have time to cook your food… It kind of grow on you this way.” He replied back smiling seeing the man packing up his order. “So, why is a gentle thing like you here today? From what I know of the Dome it only took fighter in.” He said thinking to himself what to do next while he was here.

“Whatever the reason it none of my business. Sorry about that Miss. I’m Nikudemon by the way, nice to meet you.” He said turning around reached his hand out to shake hers.

The cowboy moved along slowly, examining each blade carefully before moving to the next. True, his expertise lay in firearms, but the man knew a quality blade when he saw it. And so he recognized the care forged into the sword he now held, a lengthy affair that reached his mid-chest when planted against the ground. The blade was about the same width of his hand, with both sides straight and sharp. Ace examined the scorpion motif that made up the handle, crossguard, and pommel, finding it to his likely. Bemused, the cowboy set the sword aside and moved onto his next consideration; a pair of knives, each blade approximately six inches long. The handles were curved, overlapping and merging diagonally with the blades. They were shaped into the likenesses of a great desert cat, the curved knives protruding from their mouths. Again satisfied with the quality and artistry, Ace piled the knives atop the sword, along with the appropriate sheathes and belts.

“I’ll take it all.”

Derek was eying everybody suspiciously as he walked through the crowd. Ever since having been brought to this world, or place, or whatever cursed place this was, he had not gotten an hour of sleep, and his eyes were now sunken in and red. Aronin had told him to shrug it off, to grow up… Like that little man had anything to learn him… Humans were so arrogant at times.

He wondered how the tournament would take place. He had never been in one as large as this before and certainly not one where all and everybody were armed to the teeth with swords, bows and things he had never seen before, things he could only imagine what could do. He had tasted some coffee, a strange brew which he had only barely heard about in his world, but seemed like the most common thing in some parts here. It had affected him strangely, in both a positive and negative way; he was so full of energy, but at the same time, he felt more drained than ever. Hopefully he would have time to recover before the tournament.

Heading down below to the training ground, he decided to get some idea of what he would be facing, and perhaps do some training himself. He had a hard time imagine that he would be able to train in such tight confines, but he had nothing better to do, and he could not sleep, so he figured that was the least he could do.

The air was thick, but not as thick as one would expect from a training camp underground, and it was not nearly as crowded as Derek had imagined it to be. There were forges, sales tents, what seemed like some metallic armor moving on its own, without no life or magic animating it. The novelty never ceased, but the shock of discovering so many strange things, things that no one had ever dreamt of in “his world”… He had started to call it his world, as he was pretty sure he was the only participant from that world, or dimension. It was never his strong field, all this plane walking. Perhaps later he would take up an interest in that?

Although it was not shocking to see the different and strange things, it was sure an uneasy thing to witness some of the fighters. Some moved so fast he barely could follow them with his eyes, even when he had dragon eyes. And some had highly advanced weapons and guns, probably fifty generations away from his world’s technology. He hoped he would not have to fight them and continued further in. He had been given a training booth, specially designed for him Aronin had said, which would give him the space he needed. He never expected quite what he found. Instead of a clearly visible booth, he found an arch in the wall, leading to a large outdoor area.

Puzzled, he went out, and found himself standing on a grassy knoll, with no trace of whatever he had left except the arc, which stood in the middle of the knoll, leading back to the hall. Smiling to himself, wings shoot out of his back and he took to the skies. At least here he would find some rest before the tournament.

Bemused, the temptress took the man’s hand, the warmth of another unfamiliar but comforting, this simple greeting practiced across so many places and times she had witnessed often, but within the reaches of her memory could not recall enacting. She found her own grip unsure, loose and perhaps overly energetic, and sought to break the greeting as swiftly as possible, lest some of the mystique she relied upon be shattered upon prolonged contact. Releasing Nikudemon’s hand with a gentle flourish, she retracted the appendage to her side, considering for a moment bringing out a fan to move the heavy air of the arena, before remembering that her other hand still held the remnants of her lunch.

“Pleased to meet you, Nikudemon,” she finally replied, taking a half step backward to return the previous space between their two forms that had been eliminated when she had moved forth to accept his handshake, her slim form receding partly into the depths of the voluminous silken cape that hung from her shoulders, the scarlet of the fabric similar to the thick red veins that the butcher was now separating from the body of another animal. “My own name is Vana Huine, formerly a Lady of the Tasogare and I am charmed that someone sees my softer side these days.”

She took a bite of the thigh, wanting now to simply finish as with cooling and disinterest the formerly complex flavours of the juicy flesh came second place to the need of her stomach. Swallowing, she continued: “I, like you, have come for the tournament. It seems as if I am out of a job in this place, and having yet not returned to my home, I have nothing better to do than test my mettle, however uncouth such a thing happens to be.”

She laughed briefly, bemused at her own predicament before finishing the last of the cooked bird and tossing the bones to a large lizard nearby, the beast catching them with a length tongue and crunching them loudly with the black spikes which peeked from its gums, its owner raised a hand in gratitude to the Coquette that she returned.

“So how is it that one comes to be accustomed to eating raw meat? As you can tell I have not lived a very “rugged” life, but I have had some rough adventures and fire is never that difficult to find,” she questioned further, her voice taking on a slightly teasing edge, for some reason she felt comfortable in the man’s presence, despite him not taking her for a warrior, it was as if the very environment fostered camaraderie, reminding Vana slightly of some of the Merc camps she had stayed with.

Tasogare… The name echoed through his mind remembering back to the days he hung out with the group. He couldn’t believe he meet another member in this place. After a slight shock from hearing the groups name he just smiled listening to the rest. It was fun meeting someone that didn’t seem to want anything from him.

His smile quickly disappeared as he heard that he was going to be in a tournament. He eat some of the meat in his hand an looked at her confused thinking back to all that happen since he came. I left my room, wonder around, strange person asked me to sign something, looked some more, found some food, talked. He thought to himself wondering if that piece of paper was for the tournament.

“Hmm… That has to be when I signed up. I knew I should have read it… Now I’m going have to fight…” He said listening to her last comment about him and herself.

“At least I found someone that was in our old group. Wait. Since the fencer died doesn’t that mean the whole group disbanded? That kind of sucks. I knew I shouldn’t gave him leadership. I wonder where Neko is now.” He said mostly to himself thinking out loud.

“Oh, Sorry about that. Umm… It was mostly a curse that was given to him with my powers. You see back than if I fought too long without eating I would easy pass out. Places I when food wasn’t always cooked and I sometimes would be in the middle of a battle when I was about to lost my strength.” He said pausing to take another bite of his food.

“So, eating raw food and killing on the spot was away around this. Like I said it grows on you after awhile, but I can’t believe I’m fighting in this tournament. Maybe I can give up or something. I really don’t have a need to fight anyone here.”

Zorlo stepped out, looking over a list and smiled as he posted it on a wall. "IT BEGINS!" Zorlo's voice echoed throughout the area as the man smiled. "The first fight shall begin soon!" he commented as people started gathering around the lists.

Heavy Weights Rounds:

Round 1: Derek vs. Brann
Round 2: Nikudemon vs. Alien

Lightweight Matches

Round 1: Judo vs Zyler
Round 2: Amber vs Ralis
Round 3: Valdessia vs Lex
Round 4: Axen vs Vana
Round 5: Cale vs Dybia
Round 6: Golgoth vs Portgas D. Ace

There would be a few hours of time before the first fight would begin so the fighters could prepare. This would be a grand series of battles to come.

OoC: Judo? A lightweight? Seriously? Even though his total weight is over 200 lbs? xP Ah, oh well. I guess it makes sense if there isn't anyone else who could be classified as a heavyweight to go against him, seeing as there's already four.

BiC: As Judo continued browsing the bazaar, a group of people had suddenly gathered around a space on the wall of the arena not far from the entrance. Wondering if it could be what he thought it was after hearing a man's voice shout "IT BEGINS!," Judo trotted Duke over, glad he could use the horse to get a clearer view of what everyone was looking at.

Squinting closely, Judo spotted a poster-sized sheet of parchment stuck to the wall which everyone's attention was focused on. Upon dismounting Duke and almost fighting his way through the crowd, the parchment turned out to be a list of match ups for the tournament. Though there were fewer competitors than Judo expected, he eyed the list in search of his name and found it at the very top of the light weight list.

"Weight classes, eh? Not a bad idea," Judo commented. "It doesn't really make a lot of sense for say, a Moblin or dragon to fight something the size of a child. Even though I wouldn't really say I'm a light weight. Or perhaps the four heavyweights up here are just that much heavier..."

"Judo!" a familiar voice called to the curious knight. Judo turned around to find not only his deputy commander, Conan, but his parents, his wife, and his daughter as well.

"Conan! Kel and May! Hey guys!" Judo smiled. "Mom? And Dad too? Aw really, is this all necessary?"

"Of course it is, Judo!" Kelli, Judo's wife, replied. "Why would Mira and Semus want to miss their own son competing in a tournament?"

"I suppose, but it's a bit embarrassing," Judo admitted. "I'm a grown man after all. But still, there's no reason they shouldn't be here."

"Aw, you know we know that, Judo dear," Mira assured with a smile. "We just want to see you in action for once without there being a war or anything, you know?"

"Yeah, exactly, son!" Semus seconded. "And we don't even get to see you battle much even when there is a war."

"Yeah, true," Judo agreed.

"Hey Dad, I plan to learn from this!" His daughter, May blurted, almost jumping up and down. "I bet watching you would give me great ideas!"

"Oh? That's an excellent idea, May," Judo smiled. "By the way, you all are right on time. My fight is up first. At least for my weight class."

"Really? Awesome!" Conan cheered. "But hey, you're definitely no light weight..."

"I know, but who knows how much the heavyweights weigh," Judo pointed out. "For all we know, one could be a dragon or Centaur or something."

"True, but you can handle anything you're put against," Kelli replied. "You've slayed dragons and all kinds of creatures larger than yourself."

"Yeah, that's for sure," Judo agreed.

"And if you need to, you can call on your power of the ancient knight and obliterate your opponent!" Conan added.

"Ehhh, I'd rather not go that far this time," Judo denied. "Not unless it becomes absolutely necessary. After all, this is a tournament, not a fight to the death. Plus you know very well what happens to me every time I use that power."

"...Yeah, good point," Conan agreed.

"Well, even without that power, you're very strong in your own right," Kelli sweetly complimented, moving closer to her husband.

"Heh, thanks, Kel," Judo replied with a smile. Kelli then brought a loving hand to his cheek.

"And a kiss for good luck," she said and let her lips meet with Judo's in a romantic kiss that lasted a few seconds, Judo navigating his hands to Kelli's waistline. He was left with a fairly large grin on his face afterwards.

"Go get 'em!" Kelli lovingly cheered once they let go.

"With that encouragement, how can I lose?" Judo asked rhetorically. "I need to go put Duke somewhere now though, so I'll see you all in the stands!" With that, Judo remounted his horse, yanked on the reins to pull Duke into rearing on his hind legs, and had him gallop off. Zyler... Judo thought. I'll see you in the arena.

Zyler's ears perked up when he heard that the lineup had been posted.

"Hold that thought." He said, interrupting the merchant he had been haggling with for a very nice looking crown. He knew he could sell it for thousands if he found the right bidder, but he had to buy it from the merchant first, and this merchant was very reluctant to lower his price any further, making the crown hardly worth his time anyway.

He sauntered over to where the match up had been posted. His name was first on the lightweight list.

"Lightweight... meh" It wasn't entirely inaccurate if you took away his dragon, and pretty spot on if the position was really only determined by his weight. He wondered if he'd find any real challenge after he defeated this Judo character, who was easy enough to spot. The old Hylian had his entire family gathered about him. He overheard them talking about how he was going to do so very well. All their inspiring talk didn't make much of an impression on Zyler through. If anything it made him look even more like a push over.

Never a poor sport, Zyler was about to go say his hello's to his first challenger, but the old knight had already rode off on his horse. The dragon rider shrugged and headed towards the Colosseum. He had overheard the first match had two dragon men. That aught to be good.

OoC: Hey now, Judo's not old. xP

BiC: Before he could find a suitable location to leave Duke, Judo forced the horse to a sudden halt. That gut feeling that he was being followed had come to him and after glancing around himself, Judo whirled around to see a man riding a dragon. That was certainly something new to him. Being the only person on a horse was one thing, but a dragon? Could that man be Judo's upcoming opponent? If so, he certainly didn't appear to be concerned about anything.

"Hmm..." Judo pondered. "Just in case, I'd better have you stay with me, Duke. A mounted battle ought to be very interesting if that's the guy we'll be facing."

Of course, Duke whinnied with delight. He did always prefer to be with his master during a real fight rather than be left behind for whatever reason. Before Judo could decide what to do next, however, he saw the dragon rider enter the arena, probably interested to see the heavyweight battle that was about to get underway. Deciding to follow out of curiosity, Judo navigated Duke in the same direction and dismounted him at the entrance. Not long after he had set foot in the area, however, someone had shouted something about two dragon men being the first competitors.

"Holy..." Judo responded, unable to believe his ears. Two dragon men had been pitted against one another?

"Whoa... that would surely be an interesting, but probably intense fight to see," Judo decided. "I'd be better off training though, since I'll be up next. Although, it wouldn't hurt to meet my opponent either. Decisions, decisions..."

As Cale walked onto the tournament grounds, he saw a small group of people that seemed to have been clustered around a wall slowly dissipate. After most of them had gone, he walked up to the small list that had been posted on the wall.

"Hmm... These names seem strange. Well, mine probably isn't common where most of them come from either," said Cale. "Dybia... I seem to be in the next to last match... Maybe if I find him I can find out some things about him, to prepare for our fight. Maybe he's watching the first match..." Cale said to himself. This was all just an excuse to quell his curiosity about the current fight, though.

Cale walked around the grounds for a short while, asking people their names and making conversation. He was having quite a nice time, even though his fight was going to be much later than he would have hoped. The many exotic-looking people fascinated him. He had never seen such a diverse group of people at the same time in the same place before.

I should get something to write my thoughts on... Cale thought. Of course, he wouldn't waste money on anything, he just thought it might be something nice to have. To record his thoughts and the answers to his various ponderings would be something Cale would give a lot of things up to do. I might just have to invest in that... thought Deren as he left the tournament grounds to view the fight and look for Dybia.

"Hm, it's a miracle I found a shop that takes my currency", Dybia said to himself as he brought up a small bag of new toys he bought for the occasion. He began setting them out onto the table in the competitor's antechamber. The bag was completely full of rifle ammunition.

"Took forever to find the right size, so let's try my new trick out" ,he said fitting three bullets in between the fingers of his right hand. He walked over to a nearby punching bag and reared back his right hand and swung at the bag, letting a charge of electricity out the moment his fist connected. As the bag started moving back the bullets in his hand were set off and blew three small holes through the punching bag.

The bag swung back and forth for just a moment spewing out its contents. Dybia had to open his fingers to let the bullet casings fall to the ground. He went back to the table he'd been at before and tied the bag of ammo to his belt.

"Now that's gonna be fun...Meh, too much time to kill though. Guess I'll go eat before I check out the matches", He said walking off to find something to eat.

OoC: That's right, you're gonna be fighting a less Russian Colonel Volgin.

"How unsettling, well, it is good that you no longer have that problem," Vana replied, opening her mouth once again to continue the small talk but was interrupted by the booming voice of the once-dead fencer and his announcement. "Ahh, it looks as if I should go get ready. It was nice to meet you, may you fight soundly."

With that, Vana made her way back into the crowd.

OOC: Lol. Lacklusterrrrrr. x'D

OoC: Geez, more people need to post in here. xP

BiC: Once he exited the arena, Judo returned to the bazaar in hopes of finding a suitable area to train for his upcoming tournament match. As he approached the closest stand in the bazaar, Judo spotted the dragon rider out of the corner of his eye entering the arena, probably to watch the battle currently being fought. Thinking it could also perhaps be a sign that his own fight was due to begin soon, Judo decided it was best to make the training session short. While he navigated Duke down the dirt road and watched the shop stands and passersby, a man garbed in a slightly tattered and long dark gray and green tunic with a sword and sheath by his side stepped into the road. His short and unruly black hair flowed in the breeze.

"Hey! You there!" he called.

"Hm? Are you talking to me?" Judo replied.

"Yeah, you. Aren't you the famous General Judo, commander of Hyrule's Royal Knights?" the man inquired, pointing a finger at Judo.

"Why, yes I am. What's it to you?"

"You and me. Right here, right now," the man said, drawing his blade and pointing it at Judo. "I've waited a long time to have the honor of challenging your skills. An opponent such as yourself would be most perfect to test my heightened skills on." The sword the man carried was a blade of a different kind. While it appeared to be made of either steel or silver, it was somewhat wider than a normal sword in Hyrule. The hilt was more ornamental than a regular sword as well, suggesting it to be a strong and special blade.

"Heh," Judo responded, dismounting Duke and taking a few steps towards the man. "Are you sure it's me you want to fight?"

"Oh, I'm very sure." With that, Judo drew Arion and pointed it towards the man.

"Then I accept your challenge," he decided with a smile. "It'll be good training for the tournament."

"Excellent. By the way, the name's Dante." Before Judo could get in another word, Dante lunged forward and clashed his blade with Judo's within seconds. This guy was fast, faster than any opponent Judo had ever faced. It's no wonder he was so full of confidence. Judo's armor always provided the hint that he wasn't very fast himself. Still, he had the reflexes to reply to a head on attack and smiled at Dante.

"Hehe, you'll have to do better than that," Judo snickered as the two men pushed against one another. Without warning, Judo gathered all the strength in his powerful muscles and shoved Dante with both arms so far across the dirt, he didn't stop sliding until he reached an intersection at least twenty feet down the road. Of course, Judo knew if he'd actually thrown him with his hands, he'd have gone farther. Still, it was a good thing, as an intersection provided more space.

People had begun to gather around and watch the spar as Judo approached his opponent once more. He soon noticed many of his viewers were young women and girls, and merely winked at them. While Judo loved Kelli with his life, he still enjoyed putting on shows for the ladies. Of course, the reaction was a bunch of hollering girls commenting about how strong and handsome Judo was.

Dante had risen to his feet in little time despite having taken quite a blow from Judo's arms.

"My, my. You certainly are as powerful as they say," Dante commented. "But power alone will not earn you a victory!" And with that, they clashed blades once more. However, Dante's sword swipes were so fast and short that Judo was only barely quick enough to block each one. Suddenly, Dante ceased his constant sword swipes and while Judo was still pressing Arion against Dante's blade, the man grabbed Judo's sword arm and used it to slide through the knight's legs at a speed that even Kelli wouldn't have been able to match and she was the fastest warrior in Hyrule. Judo's eyes widened slightly before sneaking his sword's blade into the ground and launching his feet into Dante's gut, sending the man soaring right into the side of a building back first.

"Aarrrggh..." he moaned, the pain in his lower chest stinging uncontrollably along with the blow to his back.

"Hehe, that was interesting You made me discover a new variation of one of my techniques," Judo thanks, bringing his hands to his hips and sheathing Arion. "Still, I have to admit, you almost had me there. You're very good."

"Thanks. Urp..." Dante groaned, slowly rising to his feet and clutching his body. "You are very strong yourself. I commend your skills. I also hope that one day, I may be as strong as you."

"And I wish you good luck," Judo smiled. "If you need help treating your injuries, I may be of assistance."

"Oh, no, that'll be fine. I can do it myself," Dante denied and produced a small blue bottle from a satchel attached to his belt. Judo's eyes widened slightly once again.

"Aha, I figured you were from Altarais," Judo guessed. "That's an elixir. You must have heard about me from Sir Ike."

"Yeah, him and a few other friends," Dante confirmed as he drank the blue liquid in the bottle. "Now you should rest up for the tournament. I have confidence that you'll win. I only came here in search of opponents."

"I see. And yeah, I've got to get a little rest since my fight may begin soon."

With that, Judo made his leave of the young man and returned to Duke.