Duel At the Gates (Blind Prophet)

[Dufflepud]

Rhadriar approached the man known as the "blind prophet" with a smug grin on his face. Apparently this man was a good fighter. As such, the dragon was quite tempted to test his skills. After all, there was nothing like a friendly duel between two equals. Of course, being a dragon(oid), Rhadriar sincerely doubted the man was his equal.

"Hello there, Prophet. I have heard of your prowess in battle. Would you care to test your skill against mine?"

[Jessie]

It had been nearly a days' worth of light as the blinded man made his way to the gates of the City, overlooking the endless plains of gold before him, Namos a thin line in the horizon. Journeying through the Realm of Aedai was a tedious task, but to go from tip to toe in an amount of days before the seventh cycle, it was almost madness to consider such an adventure. No matter, this was nothing more than a chore to the Prophet, a grimace upon his thin cheeks as he took a step forward.

"Hello there, Prophet," the voice emitted, the grimace twisting into that of a crooked smile as the man peered over his cloaked shoulder, exchanging translucence gazes towards the Drake. The stench of its' true nature swirling in the back of the mans' throat, he replied, "Ah...An Ostrich of lightly foot? Its' a beauty, really, the ability to hide ones' power."

Putting away the sack that laid limp across his back, the strange man, known as the Blind Prophet, turned to face the Dissimulative directly, arms still casually laid to his sides. "I am the Prophet of which the crows sing. But hardly is one so eager to challenge out of spur... I accept your terms!" Ending the statement with an out armed praise, the Elvaan took a small bow before raising his read to the newcomer. "As the Guest, I'll allow you to have first swing," Ahlix offered, a twisted grin upon his features.

[Dufflepud]

Rhadriar smiled in return. Evidently there was no need to hide his true form. However, he would keep things fair. he wouldn't change all the way. Rhadriar's hair was the first thing to shift. the "strands" began to collect into two large horns that sat behind his ears. Teeth grew needle sharp, and silvery skin began to change form, from a smooth surface to thick, bumpy armor that glimmered in the sun.

A lashing tail exploded out behind him, and the muscles on Rhadriar's back began to swell, gaining mass until two massive wings burst from openings in his flesh. the dragon gave a massive roar, as that part always hurt the most. Finaly, his legs seemed to snap in one place, adding another joint, and claws protruded from his fingers.

Rhadriar had gone to a half way state between elf and dragon, still bipedal, but barely, and at 7'6", he was a full half foot taller than usual. In a much deeper voice, he spoke once more,

"You're not as blind as you seem, prophet. Are there other secrets that you hide from observers?"

With that, he stepped forwards, lazily strikig out with an armored fist to test the man's reflexes.

[Jessie]

Standing straight as he 'watched', the Elf showed no change in emotion as the Drake shifted into proper form, the roar of a beast only tickling at Ahlix's cheeks if his grin would grow any wider.

"Secrets..." his tongue rolled, "I wouldn't necessarily call them that..."

A seconds worth of silence barricaded the tension between the two before the Drake delivered the first blow, countered by the grip of the boney fingers connected to Ahlix's right arm, "I'd prefer... 'mysteries'."

[Dufflepud]

As his fist was caught, Rhadriar could feel the strenth of the seemingly muscless creature.

"You are most certainly not what you appear!"

Falling into his blow, the dragon bore down on the man, driving his second fist towards his gut, this time with a glistening layer of ice covering it, which would hopefully fragment upon impact.

[Jessie]

The slick grin wrapped around his face quickly turned to something more, a twisted upheaval of an ominous smirk, revealing that of canine-like fangs jagged in the back of the mans mouth, the hidden eyes gazing into that of the seemingly colorless ones of the Dissi.

As the movement brushed the cool air, Ahlix quickly released Rhadriar's first punch, jumping back at a rough estimate of two feet to dodge the second fist. Judging by that of the shifting air and the shattering-like sound that eroded it, it was confirmed that the Drake was already taking the advantage of his gifted element. Something that Ahlix didn't use unless he assumed a serious threat.

"Certainly, no one is whom they appear..." the man cackled. With that, he retrieved that of what looked like a stringed handful of sticks, un-knotting the tie and snapping the object into place, a thin, steel tip glimmering at its' peak.

[Dufflepud]

Rhadriar simply stood still, his eyes flashing mirth that was not shown on the rest of his face. This battle was becoming significantly more interesting than expected! However, a polearm would be difficult to deal with unless Rhadriar reverted to his full natural form, something which he didn't like to do in any but the most dire of situations.

After a moment of concentration on the weapon, Rhadriar spoke once more,

"You might not want to use that blade. I've frozen the steel, causing it to become quite brittle. I'd expect that hard contact between that and my scales would result in shattering of the tip."

At that, the dragon grinned. If he knew anything, it was how to utilize his element to put his enemies at a disadvantage.

[Jessie]

Standing at a distance, Ahlix held the polearm evenly amongst the ground, its' tip reaching over his crimson hair by mere inches. Another moment of silence was caught between the match, a slight chill brushing past his shoulder as the magic took shape around the blade.

"You might not want to use that blade. I've frozen the steel, causing it to become quite brittle. I'd expect that hard contact between that and my scales would result in shattering of the tip."

A slight giggle crossed the mans lips, "Well.. I can truly say this is a first someone has taken Aedai's gift to a fair advantage against my flock... Never the less..." Twisting the weapon in grip, Ahlix viciously scraped the blade into the ground, the ice splintering that of the brittle fragments of steel, leaving only that of the Rosewood base. Then, with no further hesitation, the Elf sprinted towards the Drake, swinging the polearm horizontally, aiming for the mans' sides.

[Dufflepud]

As the man stepped forwards, still intent on using the weapon against him, Rhadriar smiled. Evidently the man did not know the strength of dragon scale. Rhadriar put up one naturaly armored fist, moving his arm and side stepping with the blow so as to absorb the impact of the strike. He grimaced a bit upon contact, but the blow probably wouldn't even cause a bruise.

When the staff slowed to a halt, the dragon reversed his momentum, pushing forwards and along the staff, leaving it far out wide, and putting him inside he opponent's guard. Rhadriar could have lunged forwards then, but he was sure his opponent would have some kind of trick to play if he did. Instead, the dissimulative dragon wrapped his paw-like hands around the wooden implement, before he gave a wrench in an attempt to pull it from his opponent.

[Jessie]

Amongst the Drake's counter, the grin upon Ahlix's jawline only thickened, a light 'tsk' escaping his thin lips before letting go of the wooden weapon in whole, providing no struggle as Rhadriar swiped it away from his grip.

Taking a few steps back to regain distance between the two, "You're no hatching, that's for sure..." he praised, tilting his head only slightly as he stared in the direction of the Dissi. Hesitantly, he pulled up his fist, flattening his fingers parallel to that of his wrist as if to impersonate some fashion of martial arts. He was now weaponless, but that still left room for mere hand to hand, if he so needed it.

[Dufflepud]

Rhadriar began to circle his opponent like a predator observing its prey. This duel was practicall finished. Stepping forwards, the dragon feinted high with a punch towards the head, before whipping around unexpectedly and lashing out with his long, heavily muscled, whip like tail.

[Jessie]

A thin snicker escaped the lanky Elvaan as he stood, holding his position as the Drake made a dash towards him, readying the next set of blows. While Ahlix had no intentions of causing serious injury or negative emotions between one who simply wanted to test, the prophet was left with nothing but his element, which things could grow a bit messy.

It was time to call it even. Inches away from landing the punch, the Elf dispersed into a handful of flame skimmers, the dragonflies scattering as the punch separated the horde of entities. As for the same when the tail lashed forth, the group of skimmers darted in elegance, flying off a good several feet before gathering again, dissolving into an essence that eventually gave physical birth back to the crimson headed man.

"You're good! But, before things get too hastily, let us call a draw, or perhaps another match, another day, hmm? I have a friend waiting in the mist for my company."

[Dufflepud]

Rhadriar halted, standing up straight.

"Very well. It was fun to test my skill against one such as yourself."

With that, the dragon gave a curt bow, before turning back towards the forest. He had heard talk of a fox girl-thief who had escaped the city...

[Jessie]

ARCHIVED
Thread Completed As Of 4/20/12. Continued
here (Rhadriar) →
here (Ahlix) →