2006 TOA R1: Inferno Mage v. Syzygy

[LocoColt04]

OOC: Again, I apologize for the delay. Have a glance at the Information thread if you're curious about why. In any case, let's get things going. Though it goes without saying, be sure to double check the TOA rules and have another glance through the thread about what we look for when judging -- it should help you out. Since it's already after 6pm CST on the 15th, I will not close the threads in exactly ten days.

Instead, the thread will be closed sometime on 26 Jun 2006. Judging will occur as soon as possible and the quarterfinals will go up immediately afterward.

Keep your eyes on the Information thread; all important updates will continue to go into that thread. If there are any questions, feel free to PM or utilize the Q&A thread, which will remain open. But enough of the formalities.

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The night was calm, but overcast. The moon shone brightly through the thin layer of clouds, rising and fading as the gentle breeze moved southward. The courtyard was quiet. The thin trees loomed menacingly overhead, amplified by the eerie darkness about them. A pair of leaves danced beneath a stone bench.

Much of the ground was covered in stone. It was muggy, but not quite damp enough for dew to form. Each of the courtyard's four small gardens was home to a tree; each garden was located in one of the four corners. The rest of the space was open, aside from a bench here or a pile of leaves there. The only real obstruction was the oversized stone birdbath located in the exact center. (OOC: use this however you wish, but do not destroy it)

Each wall of the courtyard held four small torches. Despite the large, open area in the middle, the lighting was quite fair -- perhaps the full moon could be thanked for that. There were two entrances; one on the east wall, leading into the dining and kitchen areas, and one on the west wall, leading into one of the main living areas. All of the bedrooms were upstairs. The entire first level of the estate was filled with common rooms, furniture, and doors to the outer estate. (OOC: you can destroy whatever you want inside the house, so long as you don't burn the place down)

The wind grew calm. Three figures appeared in a window upstairs. The unknown men, assumed to be the hosts of this tournament, stood calmly, watching over the courtyard. A voice rang out from above. "BEGIN!"

Two fighters stepped into the courtyard; one from the east, and one from the west.

[Let the games begin, cannot wait to see what you have Mage-mai-man.]

Yasu navigated his way through the boxy rooms that led into the fighting area, he passed through a prolonged number of dinning halls that appeared to be very welcoming, his metallic footsteps clinked across the wooden surface of the floor as he continued on, yet it was sometimes muffled from carpets and other such soft surfaces. He slowly raised his hand up to a flickering torch as he passed it, his hand gradually wisped by the flame, making it obscure its own form. He passed by a rack of priceless objects, he couldn’t resist in grabbing the base of the rack and pulling downward, thusly ripping it from the wall.
A loud crash reverberated from the objects shattering upon the hard surface of the ground; he let a smirk slide upon his full lips as he continued on down the opened rooms.

He then entered a room that had many objects used for cooking meals, from the roof were hooks that hung other objects for cooking and cutting; the smell of chicken and veggies still smoldered throughout the air as he continued on, the aroma left his nostrils as he left the final room, which was the kitchen, then on through a corridor.

He opened the door languidly, and then slid it open slowly to reveal a beautiful courtyard before his very eyes. A silhouetted yet beautiful area it was.

The moon’s glow streamed across the vicinity, the warm illumination was of a dim white, but the lighting was added with an assortment of various torches scattered about the fortifications. Upon each of the four corners were lovely gardens that seemed to have taken hours to weed, trim, etc. He didn’t care much for useless plants; he inclined a single brow as he continued to survey the area that lay before him.

He slowly made his way from the door way and into the shadows of the shielding overhang. He gradually closed the sliding door behind him, the door slid shut with a gentle thump. He then walked a little closer to the open, yet the shadows of the overhang had cast a ethereal vale over his character. He took one last glance to the area through his orbs of ebony black.

Yasu had emerged from the east as stated, his façade silhouetted beneath an ethereal shroud of eerie standards from the overhang as stated once; his figure was at the mid-ranged size and his visage appeared to be slightly obscured from what appeared to be an odd mask. Within his taut grip was an undersized spear with a three headed blade. He continued forth into the vicinity, his boots educed an echoing ting reverberation with each facile step he did; the spear was to his side, swerving back and forth as he took each step.

The figure now materialized into valid views, he wore garments of raven that were languidly sewn up from where abrasions were established in past battles. His hair was bound together with a leather strap to allow no obstructions. Beneath the garments you could see outlines of plated armor about on his persona, covering his visage was a mask of spiritual origins, he seemed to disguise himself as a demon to establish a more insane demeanor. To his sides he had various objects, which included cannon with a dragon head at the end of the barrel, which hung to his side, as aligning his belt were canteens of gunpowder, including a duffle bag hanging from his back.

As he emerged thus forth, he became more visible to the spectators and to the opponent he was currently facing. He then ceased his movements, raising his yari to the sky, subsequently lowering the base to meet with the ground. A zephyr of wintry standards wisped by his character, blowing the garments into an undulating dance; he kept his demeanor taut as he would stare toward the gate of his arriving opponent.

He was patient as to starting madness, so he waited with his feet spread apart from each other, his arm hanging from his yari, and his opposite arm hanging to his side. He slowly raised his free hand and pressed his thumb and forefinger together, thusly he elicited out a snap, which caused a spark to illuminate, then descending to the ground as it evaporated from that certain snap; found upon both those fingers were facilely carved thimbles made from flint.

Yasu continued to wait for his opponent patiently, his eyes slowly blinking as he became more relaxed instead of tense and/or nervous from the anticipation of the tournament at hand. With all of this done, he continued thus far to wait the arrival of stated opponent. He rotated his to scan the surrounds, surveying them for any possible improvised weaponry, he saw a bird bath, but it was off-limits to obliterate, but it could make a good obstruction for when his opponent is fighting him.

[King Fenii]

(OOC: Alright, let's get this thing started...)

Kenji was waiting for his opponent in the corridor connected to the courtyard. He had made his way down a long time ago, even before he would be notified. The corridor was long and empty, but Kenji enjoyed the silence. Every now and then he would look at the window of the courtyard’s door and watched the soft light of the torches flicker. The small window had no glass in it; it had only some bars partially covered in rust that crossed each other both horizontally as vertically.

Kenji was leaning against the corridor wall, still waiting for his opponent. Kenji kept looking outside once in a while, disturbed by how the trees’ shadows hit the floor. All of sudden he heard a big crash coming from the east wing. Kenji’s facial expression suddenly changed to astonished. Was someone that loud going to be his opponent?

Either way, Kenji continued to patiently wait for his adversary. He looked at the birdbath in the centre of the courtyard and smiled as two small birds were cleaning their feathers. All of a sudden they flew off when the door at the east side of the yard opened with a brute force. Kenji saw how his opponent entered at a slow pace, looking around and analyzing his surroundings. Kenji kept an eye on him for a while and observed what he was doing. His opponent kept on looking around and saw him try to be patient. After a while he started to raise his hand to snap his fingers. He did this gracefully as the other hand was close to his weapon.

It was this that made Kenji smile even more; he was ready to face his opponent. He lifted his right foot off the corridor wall and placed it on the ground. After loosening his muscles a bit he made his way in to the courtyard. He gently opened the door and his opponent was truly delighted to hear the cracking door knowing he would finally get to see Kenji.

Kenji’s Japanese wasn’t what it used to be, since he hadn’t been in his home country for quite a while, so he decided to start the bout without words. His right hand reached for his katana, which was placed the highest on his back, for it was the overall longest of his two swords. He placed his hand on the long handle and slowly loosened it, and eventually drew it with one quick pull. With his arm stretched, he twisted the blade a total of three times; placing it in his hand as if it were a dagger in the final turn; upside-down.

Kenji then relaxed both his hands and threw his katana over to his left hand, leaving his right hand open. He used his free hand to salute and challenge his opponent at the same time by using two fingers, his pointing- and middle finger, to greet his younger adversary and after that a quick ‘come on’ sign. Kenji grinned as he threw over his katana to his other hand again and crossed his arms, holding his katana at his left side. He was prepared for his opponent to attack, not fearing anything, as he could easily draw his dagger within a split second to defend.

Yasu has sighted his opponent after a second rotation of his head, surveying the vicinity one last time. He inclined an eyebrow to draw out an expression, yet the expression was beneath the strange mask. So all could be seen were the beady eyes that would pierce into his opponent’s soul, hopefully as it were made to do so. He saw that his opponent was a confident elder compared to him; his demeanor seemed kind and gentle.

Yasu kept a keen eye on the persona of this one, he seemed to have protracted a sword from a prolonged sheath as it seemed. Yasu stared at his opponent, a dead silence had now begun to shroud the area, not a peep was echoing from about the vicinity that surrounded him and his opponent. His opponent seemed to have a deft style of fighting from the way he drew out his sword, but no matter, Yasu presumed this would be a great fight.

Yasu saw the first gesture, it was a greeting. So Yasu raised his spear to salute his opponent in response, he then shook his spear to usher a response of good will and good fight. He then slowly lowered his spear to allow the base to tap against the ground, he then observed the gesture of ‘come and get it’, which Yasu knew this valid gesture, so he would do so in responding.

Yasu slowly crossed his yari over his chest, additionally extending his arm out; the yari had a longer reach than his katana had in stating. He then reached out with his free hand and wrapped his fingers around the shaft of stated spear, positioning juxtaposed to his other hand. He begun to spin the spear around within a short radius of liquidated rotations. He spear became a blur to the eyes of individuals around the area, a whoosh sound begun to reverberate as the spear broke through the wind. He kept it gyrating at a steady, slow speed for a little bit.

He begun to raise it and kept its normal path of rotation, it seemed very masterful for him to keep such a revolution in tact. He begun to allow his arms to take the spear back and forth within a languid appearing action, it was a monotonous action that would try the patience of some of the users.

Yasu begun to speed up the gyration and speed of the undulation his arms were going through. His hands were quick in reflex as to grab the adjacent end of their other hand as to keep from his arms from entanglement through such a process. Yasu then deftly begun to step forward, his steps were precisely calculated as to not obstruct the spears rotation by making vibrating actions. Yes, I did use that word.

He advanced closer to his opponent slowly; something wasn’t right about what Yasu was doing. He then stopped a short distance away, but it was far enough so his opponent would have to step forward. He continued to perform this rotation of his weapon; it seemed a trifle pointless in this battle. But within a split second, he made the spear halt skillfully to where the three headed blade was facing out, he let his free hand drop from the shaft adroitly, yet keeping it ready for any trailing attacks his opponent might elicit.

He then began to thrust the spear quickly to the stomach of his opponent by extending his arm forward; his left foot would be positioned slightly out so as to add balance to his attacks. He then would grab the spear with his other hand, his fingers facing the opposite way his other hand’s fingers were, he would then quickly lunge his spear thus forth, the three foot spear head would thrust toward the chest area of his opponent.

Within a sequence of liquidated movements, he would then quickly crouch downward and spin on one heel using a newly found momentum. He would swing the spear to the legs of his opponent, so he might trip him. He would then quickly get up within a single action.

If his opponent did back away, he would begin to step forward, yet he would keep a safe distance from his opponent’s sword. He would do an array of thrusting moves with his spear, consequently aiming the tip to his shoulders, legs, chest, and stomach. But if he managed to bat the tips away, he would swipe with the ends since the spear did have blade edges and three counting, as well as additionally thrusting after each individual swipe as to endeavor a feint tactic.

Yasu would have to see what his opponent would do in countering or defending from this certain chained attack Yasu invoked.

[King Fenii]

Kenji saw how eager his opponent was to strike, and when he started to twirl his spear, he seemed ever more serious. Kenji felt a certain disappointment when his adversary stopped his little show. All of a sudden he realised that he stopped to prepare an attack. Kenji had received the time to react; was this something the opponent did on purpose, or was he just slow?

His opponent then blasted forward with his spear. Kenji had challenged him before, expecting only an attack. With his katana in his right hand, he positioned it before him, reinforced by his left hand. The two blades finally clashed; his katana was screeching between the two blades of his opponents spear. Kenji had some trouble feeding power such an unbalanced position, and he was glad when he saw his opponent change the position of his right hand, with the purpose to unleash another, stronger attack.

With the slight reduction of strength at his opponent’s side, Kenji took the opportunity to draw his dagger from his katana with his right hand. With a brief twist of his wrist, he took his trusting dagger and as if he were brushing his hair, he swept the small blade across his head and quickly delivered the power in to the right gap of his opponent’s spearhead. It was just after that when his opponent delivered his second blow, pushing Kenji a bit back.

The spear was aimed at his chest, and Kenji noticed that his right arm wasn’t aligned with his left. He turned his shoulder in such a matter so that it could cooperate with his arm and apply more pressure in the spear’s right side. After the brief addition of strength, he knew that his left arm would now be too far back. Kenji wanted to apply the same technique but found it too hard, so he decided to use his legs to grant extra power in order to push the spear further back.

These quick shifts had a real function that he would soon present. He reduced his pressure upon his weapons by pulling back his upper body, which made his opponent’s spear press forward. As Kenji was positioned almost perfectly, he used his legs to circulate the slight impulse he had received from his opponent, which in fact created an awesome force that required a certain amount of Kenji’s strength. He had put so much power in his weapons, in order to just push back his opponent.

It was in a split second that this skill was performed but his opponent felt it nonetheless. Kenji roared upon finishing this move, which knocked his opponent back. There was finally some space. Kenji felt no need to waste it, so without delay, he sheathed his dagger and grabbed his katana firmly with both hands as he turned to his left. He held his katana horizontally, in such a manner that he could draw his dagger at any point once again. For commencing to spin on position, he threw his upper body to the left, making his legs follow because of the rotation.

At the moment that he was pointing away from his opponent, he used his left leg to become slightly airborne, and in momentum he changed the position of his left hand so his blade would be extending his arm when stretched, while also releasing his right hand, which he used to grab his broadsword. Kenji peeked over his shoulder to look at his opponent. He would start his attack by continuing his katana’s swipe horizontally, but he would only use this slash to distract his opponent; he would deliver a massive blow with a powerful vertical strike from his broadsword after completing his first swing.

Kenji knew that if his opponent was really in for a good fight, he should easily dodge his first swipe; if not, then his opponent would be less then what he had perceived. Kenji expected much from him though…

[I’m sorry if I don’t post as constantly, just waken up so the post is really bad. I just learned I’ve gotten Carpel Tunnel additionally.]

Yasu’s little show he did was to distract his opponent. The spinning yari would’ve caught his opponent off guard, that was the purpose of it, it seemed to start slow so his opponent would loosen his defense as to thinking he was merely slow and wasn’t in any serious harm.

He would observe his opponent’s moves carefully; he was then pushed forward as his spear pressed forward. Yasu found his arm now stretched outward as his opponent reduced pressure, his opponent then knocked him subsequently back to provide a needed space that his opponent established. Yasu’s was now slightly off balance from this sudden display of movements.

As the adversary pushed back on Yasu, he gradually regained his composure and established another focus on his opponent; Yasu saw ducking as the furthest option to avoid any horizontal swipes his opponent may educe, but he’d have to abrogate his battle stance to do so.

He observed his opponents quick moves as to spinning around. He observed cautiously as he thought of an amount of tactics in avoiding the attacks his opponent might bring forth. His adversary then swung his katana horizontally, it seemed like a blur to the naked eye.

Yasu contemplated quickly as to search for various methods in eluding a yokoichimonji (horizontal cut), which appeared to be in slow motion as Yasu watched the hamon approach at his person. Yasu deduced. As the opponent’s swipe continued, Yasu quickly crouched, then squatted down as to lower his figure so as to evade the oncoming attack; the yokoichimonji had been eluded as it passed rapidly overhead. His opponent was indeed skilled.

He observed his opponent by shifting his optics upward, yet he only saw sections of his opponent due to the face he couldn’t look up, for it’d mean the death of him.

Yasu did see the hint of the large sword; he then took the spear with his free hand and positioned his opposite hand vertically in addition to pressing his elbow to the shaft, so he then shot his spear upward. His broadsword’s dotangiri (vertical cut) had now commenced, the edge of the sword gleamed within the moon light as it descended toward the spear.

Yasu had caught the mid-section of the sword in a gap between two of the blades, sparks sputtered as the metals grinded against each other, he slowly arose from his crouched position. Yasu then applied the needed force in an attempt to push the sword up; he then would liquidly slowly rotate his spear to the right so as to guide his opponent’s broad sword to the right as well

Yasu begun to breathe rapidly as it appeared to be pure luck he had done that, his muffled breathing echoed from his demon mask as he stared at his opponent with little hindrance in that stare. His muscles tensed and spasm as he held his spear without a single shake, yet his muscles had protruding veins and sections of muscles convulsed as he held the spear firmly and deftly.

He would then slide his hand closest to the head upwards so it’d be closest to the spear head; he’d then slide his other hand closer so his arms distance between each other would not hinder his movements that were validly needed for the time being. He’d then shift the head of the spear to where it’d be facing at an angle; the two blades would close against opposite sides of the broadsword. Both the blades would provide an even distribution of friction with which would make it difficult to allow his opponent’s sword to slide out.

His opponent most likely would most likely attempt to use his additional sword. So Yasu use this newly found opportunity to defend himself from his opponents attack using his own sword and/or arm. He would masterfully guide his spear around to where he might swing or thrust his sword, thus his sword and arm would follow, hence obstructing his targeted area, he wouldn’t want to stab or slice his own arm.

Yasu would then begin to walk forward so his opponent wouldn’t pull his sword out so easily. He would still rotate his spear, hence rotating the head, so he would not loose grip on his opponent’s sword, the rotations would keep friction along the sword’s flat so it’d be not so easy to lift his sword and slide it out.

If his opponent used his other sword to provide a greater force upon Yasu, he’d merely guide the spear into the opposite direction so his arm would follow, he then would force his opponent backwards, while pushing back on him, he’d begin a series a kicks that would be centered into his opponent’s stomach, each kick capable of breaking a rib or damaging organs.

If his opponent managed to lift his sword from the spear head, Yasu would swing the end of the shaft to the back of his leg, thusly pulling up on it. This certain thing would otherwise ‘trip’ his opponent or get his off balance. If his opponent tripped and fell, he would then spin the spear around so the blade would be facing downward, he would then plummet the spear’s head downward, and since the middle blade was longer, it’d be able make contact faster, unless he opponent caught the blade with his swords, which he would then lift up his leg and send it down to his stomach area to where he’d receive a constant pounding of stomps with tremendous amounts of power.

If his opponent indeed became off balanced, he would spin his spear head to where it was facing vertically, in sequence he would thrust it forward as an angle to so it’d be stabbing and giving an upper-cut at the exact time. He then would trail this attack with a thrust of deft proportions that would trail with another attack if he would avoid it, he would just see the option of swiping or stabbing at his opponent if he bend his back to avoid it or if he pivoted or anything.

If his opponent would use Yasu’s spear shaft against him to otherwise block his kicks, he’d attempt to guide the shaft away and let it rest against his thigh, and then commence with the continuous amount of kicks centered into his stomach area. This would provide internal bruising or if he’d miss some of his kicks, he’d center them to his ribs.

If his opponent attempted to spin around in hopes to release himself from the spear, Yasu would veer with him, while using his opponent’s own sword and pushing on it, he’d be able to follow his opponent deftly and additionally not being thrown off balance. If his opponent stopped once, he'd kick the front of his knee or the side, this would probably sprain or break it so he'd be hindered throughout the match. If his opponent moved his legs for such a thing, he'd give no choice into pressing forward and thrusting a continous array of centered kicks targeted to his side or rib area.

He’d just have to wait until his opponent actually commenced any attacks, his opponent would probably have to give up his sword, but then again... His opponent did seem to have tricks of his own. He’d be confident in this certain battle; he’d stand strong and bold and let nothing destroy his goals. He knows his opponent might defend most of his attacks, but it would add toward the effect of a great battle.

[LocoColt04]

Okay, congratulations, everyone. These first rounds, overall, were quite impressive. Judgement will come within the next three days, and the second round will start at that time. So, if you would please, just keep an eye on your threads, and the second round will start later this week!


Syzygy has been disqualified due to multiple breaches of the 15 minute edit policy, as well as deleting and re-writing one of his posts. Sorry, but the rule exists for a reason. All posts are to be assumed as written in their final state. ANY edit should technically result in a disqualification, but I allow the 15 minutes just in case.

40 minutes on the intro post, and 36 hours on your third post...


Inferno Mage will proceed to the quarterfinals.