#thread: looks like we're gonna kill these guys veyle

[making-dough]

♠ - Taking out the axeman on the other hand...turned out to be easier said than done. Swooping down at him from what she thought was his blind side, her sword flashed once as she dove in for the kill...

Farina 10/10HP hits Lone-Wolf Blade 10/10HP with Brave Sword and uses Windsweep [Roll: 16+2; -4.5+3+2=-0HP] Lone-Wolf Blade 10/10HP Lone-Wolf Blade 10/10HP cannot counter from the effects of Windsweep. Farina 10/10HP takes -2HP from effects of Sesshoseki. Farina 8/10HP Farina 8/10HP hits and hits Lone-Wolf Blade 10/10HP with Brave Sword. [Roll: 13, 11; -3.5+3+2=-0HP, -3.5+3+2=-0HP] Lone-Wolf Blade 10/10HP Farina 8/10HP takes -2HP and -2HP from effects of Sesshoseki. Farina 4/10HP

...And was met with a dull clanging noise as her sword met the flat of his axe. Further attempts at getting past his guard proved even less than helpful as her the axeman shade continued angling its axe to reflect her blows and continuing to frustrate her attempts at landing a blow. Weapon triangle, her foot! Instead the shade's shadow-y aura seemed to be growing and reaching out towards her and, uh, that sounded like bad news. Better skedaddle while she had the chance.

"What the crap!". Farina loudly complained as she soared once more to safety. "What the hell did you eat for breakfast today? Full flippin' plate mail?" That sounded rough and probably less than healthy. Well, forget this then. Time to swoop around and see if she can't find some easier targets to pick off...and shake some of that soreness out of her arms because dearest legends above, it was like hitting brick wall!

@swordsmanoftranquility

Looks Like We're Gonna Have to Kill These Guys Veyle // Team Two

toa summer arena 2024 | gold round.

[making-dough]

♠ - As the blast of light that engulfed her slowly faded, Farina found herself...strangely aloft. The familiar rhythm of steady wing-beats carrying her into the air. She opened her eyes and found herself on the back of a great beast with huge feather-y wings and a large vicious beak. She couldn't help but grin widely to herself. Ohh, yeah! At long last, she was back doing what she loved, taking flight and taking name!

Speaking of names, she was fairly certain she recognised those shapes gathering below. Looks like this around, the arena has chosen to send in some of their old friends and schoolmates for their foes. All shadow-y and emotionless shapes but recognizable nonetheless. Well, it's not as though she wasn't expecting something like this, anyway. As a mercenary, she really had to expect to be needing to face old friends on the battlefield. Nay, she needed to be ready for that. It could happen at any time.

Her mount let out a cry as if in challenge.

Clear The Way Activates! Unknown Hero and Sorrowful Prince are inflicted with -4 Avoid!

And Farina let out a bark in laughter and swooped down, the sword in her hand flashing once...and the shadow in Pelleas' shape collapses with a puff. As much as his inner courage was impressing her, one day she'll really need to impress on him. On the battlefield, there can be no mercy.

Farina 10/10HP hits Sorrowful Prince 1.5/10HP with Brave Sword [Roll: 15; -3.5HP; Sorrowful Prince 0/10HP] Sorrowful Prince 0/10HP has been defeated!

She'd scarcely had to celebrate before a wild axe came flying up to meet her. She swerved quickly to evade it. Looks like the dour-looking axeman below wanted a challenge. Well, she was more than happy to oblige him in that case. "Alright! Ya wanna go?", she let out another bark in challenge. Oh, yeaahhh! She was lovin' this!

Lone-Wolf Blade 10/10HP misses Farina 10/10HP with Helswath at Ranged. [Roll: 3 -9 = -6; -0HP; Farina 10/10HP] Farina cannot counterattack due to range. Seal Movement! Farina is inflicted with Taunt.

Her mount screeched once more in challenge.

Clear The Way Activates! Unknown Hero and Lone-Wolf Blade are inflicted with -4 Avoid!

Looks Like We're Gonna Have to Kill These Guys Veyle // Team Two

toa summer arena 2024 | gold round.

[making-dough]

♠ - Well, looking for a softer target than that insane axeman-shade was the plan, anyway. Turned out reality had a way of throwing curveballs at her. Curveballs in the form of the said axeman-shade kicking off the ground and practically launching himself at her.

"Wha-No-nonono! You. Stay away!", the mercenary stammered out in panic, desperately trying to fly a path away from the mad axeman. She's seen the grand total of nothing that she and that swordsman - Zihark? - did to him. She wasn't facing that madman if she had a choice.

But, all too often, fate simply has a way of saying that she didn't really have a choice. Unerringly, the axeman-shade simply tossed his axe in her direction, a whirling metal disc of death that she had to scramble to attempt to deflect with her sword.

 Lone-Wolf Blade 10/10HP critically hits Farina 4/10HP with Helswath at Ranged. [Roll: 19 -2 = 17; -10-4=-14HP; Miracle! Farina 0.5/10HP] Farina cannot counterattack due to range. Seal Movement! Farina is inflicted with Taunt.

It only worked partly well. Her mount let out another screech. In challenge or in panic, she couldn't tell but it was really all she could to do to keep her mount in control and not ending up crashing somewhere undesired.

Clear The Way Activates! Unknown Hero and Lone-Wolf Blade are inflicted with -4 Avoid!

Instead, her flight path placed her right back in the path of that axeman and no amount of steering seemed likely to place her in a path that wasn't in an imminent crash course with that axaman. Well... she guessed if it came down to it... She pointed her sword ahead and readied herself for a final decisive clash.

Farina 0.5/10HP hits Lone-Wolf Blade 10/10HP with Brave Sword [Roll: 6 -0HP] Lone-Wolf Blade 10/10HP Farina 0.5/10HP takes -2HP from effects of Sesshoseki. Farina 0/10HP

Instead, she was greeted with a simple backhand as her sword seemed to glance right across his armour and the axeman simply punched her in the face, sending her spiraling right out of control and crashing with a bang right into the walls of the arena.

Farina is defeated!

As darkness swiftly closed in on her, a single thought passed through her mind. Maybe she should be a little nicer to a certain Ostian lordling from now on? She was certainly in no mind to repeating this scenario in real life. Not until she figured out how to overcome such ridiculous defences, anyway....

@misericordel

Looks Like We're Gonna Have to Kill These Guys Veyle // Team Two

toa summer arena 2024 | gold round.

[swordsmanoftranquility]

Zihark can't move his eyes from the shadow holding the axe. No matter how hard he tries to make a move in the direction of one of the other two remaining shades - sorry Pelleas, bit too late for him to even consider you, as you were already a bit... dead on the ground - his body and eyes are drawn right back towards the axeman.

Well.

Did he have much of a choice for his actions right now? Looks like this was going to have to do.

He slashes his blade in his direction, almost certain that he had managed to land a heavy hit only to have his sword bounce off like it was... fucking nothing!

"Shit, man! How much armor do you have on?!" If even he, with every ounce of his strength in the current moment, was unable to crack through it; what did that say for his weaker allies?

Zihark 5/10 HP critically hits Lone Wolf Blade 10/10 HP with Sword of Zoltan [Roll: 16 + 4 = 20 (Crit nullified by Hoplon Guard); -4.5 HP - 5 DEF = -0 HP; Lone Wolf Blade 10/10 HP] Zihark 5/10 HP takes -2 HP from effects of Sesshoseki. Zihark 3/10 HP Lone Wolf Blade 10/10 HP barely hits Zihark 3/10 HP with Helswath [Roll: 9; -4 HP; Zihark 0/10 HP]

Some weird effect sweeps over him, cuts appearing his arms unscathed by the axe blade. The apparition takes this moment to attack, and Zihark takes a knee, exhausted almost to the point of death once again.

For the warrior he was, he didn't seem to be proving himself very well in this illusionary realm. Good for a few hard blows, and not much else. Unable to protect anyone.

What good are you, child, if you're such a failure?

He lays back on the ground, casually kicking his feet up as he took to resting, trying to ignore the voice of a man he tried so hard to forget echoing through his head. He had left long ago to prove himself, and never looked back in the direction of his family's home in Daein. And yet, he couldn't even seem to prove himself to an arena of illusion and trickery.

At least it was good training, for whatever Zihark may face in the future here at the academy. That had to count for something.

Zihark is defeated!

Looks Like We're Gonna Have to Kill These Guys Veyle // Team Two

toa summer arena 2024 | gold round.

[swordsmanoftranquility]

His body can move again, a relief to be sure. But as soon as he stands, observing the enemies, he notices something he never thought would happen again and his hand tenses around the hilt of his blade.

Pelleas?! By the goddess, it was some shadowy version of Pelleas, a man he had not been able to bring himself to fight even in the midst of war. Could he lift his sword against the man even when it wasn't really him? What kind of man fought against his king even when it was a falsified version of him? Was he not still a Daeinite at least in blood?

No, he had to fight. For the sake of the girls that he had been fighting alongside in this illusion.

"Sorry, Your Majesty, looks like I'm going back on my word," Hadn't he once said he would never draw his sword against the man he called his king, even if they were on opposite sides? Looks like he was quite the liar, "Heh, not like you can hear me anyway. It's not really you in there; is it now?"

Dual Assist activates! [Roll: 18] Veyle 10/10 HP critically hits Sorrowful Prince 10/10 HP with Luce [Roll: 18 - 4 = 14; -2 HP; Sorrowful Prince 8/10 HP] Zihark 10/10 HP misses Sorrowful Prince 8/10 HP with Sword of Zoltan [Roll: 1; -0 HP; Sorrowful Prince 8/10 HP] Sorrowful Prince 8/10 HP barely hits Zihark 10/10 HP with Hrungnir [Roll: 5 - 3 = 2; -1 HP; Zihark 9/10 HP] Pursuit activates! [Roll: 4 + 3 = 7] Zihark 10/10 HP hits Sorrowful Prince 8/10 HP with Sword of Zoltan [Roll: 4; -4.5 HP; Sorrowful Prince 3.5/10 HP]

His first strike misses, he can't help but wonder if that is a sign of fate, telling him that this is not in fact the right thing to do. A bit too late to have doubts; wasn't it?

His king's axe, a surprising weapon to see the shadow using, just barely grazes his side, and Zihark uses the opening to land a powerful blow of his own against the man.

Wiping his blade clean, Zihark returns it to its sheath with a heavy heart. A fake, but it shared the same face; so how fake was it really? No, he couldn't worry about that now. There was a battle to fought, and if he had to fight, he would do it with all of his strength.

@making-dough, @lockpicnic & @misericordel

Looks Like We're Gonna Have to Kill These Guys Veyle // Team Two

toa summer arena 2024 | gold round.