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Jadenroux - Open Duel (swordsplay)
05.23.06, 19:21:25
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Post #1 (permalink) |
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Beyond the carpets of forests and deep within sloping hills lies barren roads, leading to what used to be a great medieval metropolis, surrounded by a large wooden wall and guarded by a gate. The city of Jadenroux was once famous for its coliseum and the grand tournaments it used to hold. Warriors and the like would come across the oceans to participate in the monthly battles. What grand displays there were! The arena floors would be overflowing with excitement and adrenaline that was quite contagious with the audiences. Peasants and nobles alike would come and watch the tournaments.
However, technology across the sea grew at a tremendous rate and thus made a bigger and better simulated coliseum for more intense battles. Word spread of this and diverted the attention of the fans and the warriors. Alas, before the decade was over, Jadenroux was left with an empty arena followed by empty stands. Business spiraled down from there as the jobs from the coliseum was nearly depleted. Half of the city's profit came from the arena battles. Nowadays, Jadenroux has been flourishing in the smithy businesses. Weapons and armor were expertly crafted by the local blacksmiths and jewelry and the like were carefully worked by the goldsmiths. The city is still fairly busy, but not as much as the old days. As for the arena, it has only been used for practice bouts by whatever warriors happened to be there that day. There are still some spectators, but the paying rates are not as high.
Shenorai Eterna, a bounty hunter working for a guild in the city of Crysta, is taking some time off for herself and exploring other parts of the country. As usual, she takes whatever road is less walked upon. The road she has taken this time went deep into the Shinrin Backwoods and emerging out into the Sanpuku Meadows. It was a suprisingly uneventful journey from Crysta to the hilly meadow she walked across. Even so, she still kept her hood up and made sure her shotgun was still in its holster beneath her scarlet coat. Bandits were quite common where she came from and she found it rather odd that none had jumped her on her way here. Nevertheless, she walked forth and climbed the hill.
Finally, Shen stopped at the crest of a hill and peered down at the settlement nestled at the bottom. She could see several thatch-roofed buildings made of either wood or gray stone. The city seemed busy, but it wasn't exactly rush hour. Shen lifted her head to glance at the sun's position in the blue, cloud-streaked sky. It seemed to be roughly three of the clock, maybe three thirty. Certainly didn't feel like the middle of the day, but indeed it was. Shenorai took a deep breath of the faint, musty, metal-smelling air that seemed to drift from the city. It wasn't her favorite scent in the world, that was for sure.
So, said a calm female voice in her mind, I think I see an arena from here. Think it's worth checking out?
Maybe, thought Shen in response. If that's the case, I hope they're in business.
The voice chuckled. Sounds like you're itchin' for another fight.
You know me well, Leondra.
Well I should, I've only been with you since you were little.
Shenorai smirked at that fact. Leondra was what she liked to call a 'guardian angel', though she was anything but an angel. She just happened to have wings due to her race of winged people. However, since Leondra died long ago, she is but a spirit. Shen found her when she was eight years of age, but that's a completely different story.
She then made her way down the road and to the gates. The gates were wide open and quite welcoming. There were no guards, so Shen walked on in. The road quickly changed from dirt to cobblestone. She spotted a few warriors walking deeper into the city, so she decided to follow. After a few moments, however, she realized they were just windowshopping at the blacksmith shops. Shen gave a hopeless sigh and continued walking.
Finally, Shenorai spotted the coliseum. It was built with grey and brown stones and had a magnificent archway adorned with dueling gargoyles. The stone gargoyles and archways bordered a large oaken door with large iron rings. Shen had to use both hands and a few good tugs to get the door open. The air was a little cooler inside the stone hall. Just about everything seemed to be made of stone in the halls, except for the tapestries celebrating the great champions who emerged from the arenas.
Her footsteps echoed down the halls as she stepped hesitantly inside. There was no map or directory of any kind, so Shenorai ended up wandering about the halls until she found her way to the massive arena. There was no roof to it, for it was the size of about three football fields placed side-by-side (with the longer sides touching). Carefully cordorned off by thick ropes, there were many sections of the arena divided into the different areas of training. This included an archery range for the archers, a ring for martial artists, straw dummies for spellcasting, a small area for jousting, an open area for swordplay, and other miscellaneous training places. Considering the open area was closer, Shen walked towards that for starters.
Overseeing this area of training is a rather burly man bearing a scruffy brown beard. He seemed middle-aged, maybe somewhere in his mid-forties. His muscles are rather prominent, even under his furred arms. Under the shaggy strands of light brown hair, his pale green eyes scanned the sparring warriors carefully. He wore a rather simple tan tunic along with darker brown leggings. His leather boots and bracers here rather snug around his limbs. Compared to everyone else in that part of the arena, he seemed much like some sort of official. Of course he was, but did Shen know that? Not yet, apparently.
Shenorai approached him from behind and cleared her throat. The man turned his head just enough to see her. In a bass, somewhat gruff voice, he said, "Aye? What would a woman want in here?"
Shenorai was a bit annoyed at the remark, but tried not to show it. She merely replied, "For some swordsplay. What else?"
Now the man was interested. He turned fully and gave Shenorai a smirk as he met eyes with her. Shen was unfazed as she waited for his response.
"Swordplay, eh?"
"Yes, that's what I said. Swordplay."
"I see no sword on you."
"That doesn't matter. I'm always armed with one."
The man had to chuckle. He saw no sense in this woman.
"Well, if you say so. The name's Charles. Chuck for short."
Chuck extended a somewhat large, yet dingy hand to Shen. She glanced at it for a moment before taking it in a quick, yet firm shake.
"Shenorai's the name. Shen for short."
Both of them released and Chuck smirked at her.
"Well then, Miss Shen, where would you like to begin?"
Shen gave a shrug. "Doesn't matter to me."
"All right then," Chuck cracked his fingers, then looked to the men who were rooting on the current competitors. "Oy, you!"
A rather scrawny, hook-nosed man looked over at Chuck. "Ya talkin' ta me?"
"Nah," replied Chuck, waving his hand as though in dismissal. "Get me the one beside ya."
The scrawny man nudged the person beside him, pointing his thumb at Chuck and mumbling something to him. With a shrug, the person came over to the two of them and looked to Chuck as though asking what he wanted. Chuck cleared his throat.
"You two will be sparring next. Go ahead and introduce yourselves while I get everything arranged."
And with that, Chuck left the two alone.
((OOC; Swordplay is preferable. Magic is allowed, but only to a certain extent. Throwing weapons are also allowed, but no guns or arrows. That would defeat the purpose of swordplay. Just one to join in; this is a duel after all.)) |
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((OOC: here is a link to my bio if you wan to know about my character.))
A tall dark man wearing a black robe and hood stood a few feet in front of Shenorai, his appearance was hard to tell as the sunlight was bright and the man had his hood pulled down over his face, hiding most of it. He seemed rather construable around Shenorai, not knowing how this man would fight would be a surprise and an interesting proposition... as the man pulled his hood down revealing his face, he smiled at Shenorai with a warm laugh...
"Hello there, I am Iggy Lightjuno of Theebs. And who might you be?"
Iggy then pulled his cloak off revealing his attire, a black tank top and a pair of black pants adorned the Sage. Sitting down on the ground to tie his laces, Iggy attention turns the woman he would soon be facing in a fight.
"So you say you want to fight me with a blade eh? well I don't see no blade"
Iggy then got up and pulled his katana from its holder, the blade sparkled in the misty sunlight as pulled it out whipped it about and then sheath it back... seeing as how she did not flinch when he drew, Iggy knew she was well versed in swordplay.
"I must admit, up till now I haven't had any good opponents in some time. It will be refreshing to fight someone as beautiful and skilled as you"
as the sun beat down upon the people of the coliseum, Iggy's heart started to beat as the time drew near to fight...
Finally chuck returned from the main arena...
"Are you two ready to begin?" chuck asked them as he leaned back against the wall of the building...
"I am ready whenever Miss Shenorai here is"
Iggy said as he pulled a catin from his bag and took a drink...
The three then walked into the battle arena... which resembles an old roman gladitorial ring...
Chuck stood in the center and announced to the combatants.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome two new fighters to the fry!!!"
The crowd went wild as Iggy and Shenorai entered the arena... some of them even through flowers at the two warriors...
the two walked up beside chuck as he interduced them.
"To my left, a woman fire in her eyes and ice in her veins. A woman whose skill shall surely show today, I give you Shenorai!!!"
The Crowd let out thunderous applauds as she then bowed to Iggy and went to the other side of the ring...
"and to my left, the man whose blade is as fast as lighting; I give you Iggy Lightjuno!!!!!"
Iggy then bowed to Shenorai and went to the other side of the ring... the crowd at this point was cheering and yelling at the two as they got into battle positions...
Iggy undid his cloak and let the wind gently carry it away and land on the dusty ground below...
His eyes then locked on to Shenorai, he could tell she was good, but just how good he did not know...
unshealthing his katana, the blade gleatered in the sun as he held it over his head and prepared for battle...
The war drums slowly started beating and chuck then annouced to them...
"When they stop beating, you can attack each other"
Iggy nodded and then turned back to Shenorai... the smell of blood was in the air and this excited Iggy... his heart was racing and he just needed to focus long enough to get the first draw in...
Shouting in a calm low voice Iggy said to Shenorai.
"Good luck Shenorai, I look forward to this..."The war drums slowly stared to beat down...slower, slower they got until they almost stopped........... |
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Sir Iggy Lightjuno ~ of luca spira
 
[C] Band of Mercenaries - member
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((OOC; I like your style. *smirks* This should be good.))
IC;
"Shenorai Eterna," Shen answered simply to her competitor. With a slight nod at her name being called, Shen retreated for the moment to her position upon the arena. She didn't face Iggy directly. Instead, Shen stood somewhat sideways, relative to his position. From under her hood, Shen locked eyes with the man bearing the katana.
Good luck? Shen retorted in her mind. Heh...just hope his skill is good.
So, said Leondra to Shenorai's mind, how do you think this is going to go?
I'm hoping well, Shen thought back. It'd be a pity if the fight wasn't challenging.
The cheers and jeers of the local crowds could barely be heard over the beating of the drums and the pounding of Shen's heart in her ear. The suspense of the battle was already getting to her, even in this heat. Beads of sweat slowly formed upon her brow, for she did not bother to remove her scarlet coat. Not to mention, the sun was now almost directly over the colliseum, even at past three of the clock. This is what she had trained for so long ago.
The drums began to slow and she held her right arm out beside her, her hand in an open palm. To the amazement of much of the crowd and a few competitors, hundreds of lavender, glowing, hair-like strands erupted from her palm and grew. The individual strands seemed to twist and braid themselves into the shape of a longsword. It wasn't easy to observe from a spectator's point of view, but as soon as the strands broke from her palm, Shen grasped ahold of the handle. Once her fingers were wrapped around it, the sword seemed to harden as the strands merged together. Though hard to tell in full sunlight, the blade of the sword kept its glow. In a mere demonstration to show the sword was just as solid as any other, Shen used the blade to tap her boots and get any caked dirt out of them. With a small smirk on her face, Shenorai gripped the sword tightly in both hands and bent her knees slightly as she took up an attacking stance.
The beating drums didn't seem to falter as they slowed in tempo. Out of the corner of her eye, Shenorai could see her ghostly companion beside her, taking up the same stance as she. She bore red braids upon her head, a breastplate and shoulder guards over a chain shirt, and tight leggings hugging beneath her boots and shin guards. Yellowed wings were extended ever-so-slightly upon her back. This be Leondra, Shenorai's spirit guardian. Her image was barely seen upon the reflection of worn armor of the other competitors. Not that they noticed, for they were distracted by the two combatants.
By now, there were barely any beating drums left. One of the smart aleck drummers decided to prolong the suspense as much as he can and slowly beat his drum. The guy beside him was pretty much fed up with it (and to be honest, so was Shen). He used his own drumstick to give the smart aleck a good thunk upon the head.
The drumming had finally stopped. Now was the time for the battle to begin.
Her boots scraped across the ground and a bit of dust was kicked up as Shenorai began her charge, the ripped tail of her coat billowing as she moved. Shen's sword was kept at a low angle, yet it did not touch the ground as she ran. It was quite a level hold, really. As she quickly approached Iggy (whether he also charged or not would not really matter), Shen pulled her sword up in a diagonal swipe, aiming to give him a good cut across the chest, if not nick his stomach as she did so. |
Last edited by Shenorai : 05.30.06 at 16:52:25.
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And so it begins...
Iggy's mind became sharp as his blade when he saw the young girl materialized a sword in her hand. Changing his position to the "ataru" position. Iggy's body became slimmer; his pulse quickened and now he held his sword over his head with one hand with the other arm stretched out in front of him.
"So, the girl knows magic... very well, this I shall enjoy"
Iggy said to him self as the now charging shenorai drew closer to Iggy.
Blade in hand Iggy put most of his Weight on his back leg and prepared to counter attack.
Swiftly Iggy came strait down with his blade in front of him, Shenorai blade clashed with his as the blaze of particles flew from the hit. Iggy quickly pushed forward now gripping with both hands of his sword. His cold black eyes stared into Shenorai as he pushed her back a bit with his blade.
With a smirk Iggy calmly said to Shenorai.
"I see you know magic eh, well... this shall be interesting indeed"
Iggy then jumped back about 2 feet and then held his hand out; with his palm opened he made a slight puching motion with his arm.
I cloud of sandy dusty flew towards Shenorai. Unknown to her at the time, Iggy also knew magic very well...
the Force push Iggy sent out then connected with Shenorai, Sending her flying about 10 feet backwards.
Iggy saw her land on her back and then in a burst speed Ran towards her, his sword in its sheath he ran with the dust flying up behind him.
About 5 Feet away, Iggy leaped into the air. Twirling like an acrobat Iggy came down to the right of Shenorai, his hand n the hilt of his sword.
"You move Love"
Iggy said as he laughed and then walked about 8 feet away from here...
He wondered just how this battle would go, she was fast and strong. But she also lacked the Maturity he possessed.
Iggy The went into his "vaapad" position, holding his sword with both hands, the tip of the blade was strait down and to the left...
as the dusty rolls of tumble weeds rolled by, Iggy waited for Shenorai to regain her composure........ |
Last edited by Iggy Lightjuno : 05.30.06 at 15:57:48.
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Shenorai quickly regained her balance as she was pushed back by Iggy's sword. She was confused by his comment on magic, though.
...magic? What is he talking about?
I think he's referring to the sword, Shen.
Aha...I see.
Before she could attack again, Shen found herself flying hard onto her back. While in the dirt, Shen could pick up a few of the noisy jeers from the male portion of the crowd.
"Ha! A woman doesn't belong in battle!"
"Go home to your mother!"
"Give up now, girly!"
Sheesh, Shen thought to herself, why can't these sexists just shut up?
Bringing her mind back to the battle, she saw Iggy directly overhead, hurtling down towards her. Shen quickly rolled to her left to avoid the blow. Sitting up, she spat out the dirt that somehow made it inside her mouth.
"You move Love," she heard Iggy say. Was he giving her the initiative for the next attack?
In any case, Shen gladly took the opportunity.
Shenorai stood and turned to Iggy once more. He was walking away for whatever reason there was. Speed-walking rather than running, Shen closed in upon her opponent. She didn't attack his back, though. That's dishonorable and downright mean. Instead, Shen moved to his left side and feigned a thrust to his face. Pulling back from her false attack, Shen swiped low in an attack at his side. She was intent on spilling blood, so it seemed. |
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((OOC)) I do like your style  I hope you like mine as well.
Iggy tried to counter attack Shenorai attack but it was too late, he felt the blade of her sword dig into his side and hit one of his ribs.
“Impressive….most impressive”
Iggy said as he took his sword and knocked it away from his now bleeding side.
The pain soon was felt throughout his body; he hadn’t felt such pain in years; those proving hard to control his anger.
Iggy quickly went into his “vaapad” position again, his sword down and to the left.
Shenorai was coming at him again it appeared; this time she would find it harder to hit the Sage master.
Iggy quickly blocked an attack and taking his left foot knocked Shenorai onto the ground.
As soon as she regained her pose Iggy came at her again, this time he had his blade over his head, coming down fast Iggy appeared to do a horizontal cut.
However this was an only a fake ploy to get her right where Iggy wanted her.
She went to block Iggy’s horizontal when all of a sudden Iggy snapped his blade to the side and stabbed her in the lower left part of the abdomen.
Iggy’s expression turn cold and dark as the blood slowly poured from her wound.
The two exchanged quick blows as the sand blew in around them.
Once again locking blades, Iggy saw the determination in her eyes. A sign of a true warrior spirit, a slight sting came from Iggy’s shoulder as he backed off for another attack. The two locked blades again, this time though Shenorai gained the upper hand on Iggy and knocked his sword away just in time to deliver a quick slice to Iggy's right shoulder.
Hitting the bone of Iggy’s arm; he could now feel warm blood start running down his arm dripping from his hand.
“Hmmm, this one is feisty… I like that...ARRRGGG”
The crowd started going wild with the fury of blades clashing and dust stirring on the battlefield.
Iggy had been fighting defensively until his shoulder was hurt, now came the time for the Sage to start playing the offensive.
Running at full speed towards Shenorai, Iggy leaped into the air spinning ever so slightly. He was about over Shenorai when he started a barrel roll in mid air, as he past over her he let his blade slice firmly through her shoulder area near her neck.
Landing behind her, Iggy saw the look of pain on her face as she quickly turned around.
Holding out his left arm, Iggy pointed his index finger at her and said
“Feuerkugelangriff!!!”
A fireball about the size of a small melon erupted a few inches from the tip of his finger and twirled across the battlefield towards Shenorai……
Hoping that it would hit her, Iggy readied his sword incase the fireball missed……. |
Last edited by Iggy Lightjuno : 05.30.06 at 20:40:49.
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Shen, HIT THE DECK! shouted Leondra in Shen's mind.
Not questioning Leondra's quick command, Shenorai dropped down flat onto her stomach. The ball of flames was sent hurtling overhead and flew its way towards the stone wall of the arena. The fire smashed into the wall and dispersed into nothing, leaving a splotch of soot onto the wall. If Leondra acted any later, Shen would've been singed.
Shen pushed herself up into a crouched position and swiped her sword at Iggy's shin. At least he was smart enough to jump back and avoid it. A few bandits that Shen fought ended up hopping on one leg because of that. As she stood, Shen then pressed foreward, aiming a thrust just below his chest. This was no feign this time. Shenorai had the handle grasped in one hand and was pushing the pommel (knob at the end of the hilt) with her palm. She wasn't sure what she'd do after this move, but it was still something. |
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