Demonia Trial: Xeim vs Darkwolf

[Mistress Sheena]

(OOC: Where the traps are, and what affects they carry will be up to the two of you to decide.)

Toph had been assigned to be the mediator and judge for the trial fight that followed her own. She spent many days in a desert and constructed an arena for specific use for this trial. It was in no way an ordinary arena. There were traps she hid in the field. If she were to be the judge of this battle, she would want to see their attitudes toward the unexpected. This was to train their being as a whole, and their fighting skills.

The sun had set and the moon had risen in the sky to cool off the desert. The temperature of the desert had dropped, that was how Toph could sense that it was night fall. She laid on one of the benches and fell asleep after all her hard work was complete.

The day for the trial had arrived and spectators filled up the arena at a gradual pace. When night fell, the arena was packed. Toph had overslept and she sat up from where she slept. When her feet touched the ground she was shocked that the place was full to the brim of spectators. She cleared her throat and bended an earth platform chair higher than the general audience.

She stood on her chair and took a deep breath.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow supporters of Demonia, I thank you for coming all this way. May I now present to you the two competitors for this bout. On the East, we have Dragoth. And on the West, we have Hisaki Akigara. Two of our newest warriors. May your bout be blessed by the Spirits!”

Toph let out a sigh and sat back down on her chair. She bended the wall that separated the combatants areas back into the ground and struck her palms together as a sign to start the bout.

"Oh.. I forgot to mention my traps. Various earth phenomena are triggered by these traps. So watch out for quicksand!"

[Darkwolf]

Dragoth took his first steps on the battlefield when the announcer started talking. He had little time to scan the field, so he began right away. The sand could slow him down, it didn't seem to be a typical arena, this one had some work put into it. After he was done looking over the battlefield, he began to examine his opponent. A katana, and a gauntlet, it seemed to be a fighter that fought just as much with his fists and feet than his katana, although Dragoth knew not to base his fighting style just on this assumption. He did, however, keep in mind to notice not only where this man's blade was, but also his hands and feet. He had just gripped his blade, Akilroth, when he heard something coming from the announcer, a loud noise. A quick note was made about traps, based on this person's ability to move earth, it seems like if Dragoth kept his feet off of the ground as much as possible, he would have as few encounters with these traps as possible.

Dragoth just stood there, gripping Akilroth. He knew that if he was the first to move, it would only lead to a meaningless encounter with a trap. He would have to keep calm for this fight, for if he began to fight with anger only, it would only lead to meaningless annoyances, and he may be weakened by not keeping in mind all of the things he had previously mentioned to himself. This battle seemed to be all strategy.

[Xeim]

The moon shone brightly in the deep abyss of a sky as Hisaki stepped into the arena. It was a beautiful moon that night, and large enough to light the battlefield almost as if it were day. A young woman stood on a chair, high above the place where Hisaki stood now, most likely explaining the fight to come. But, he was much too anxious to listen. He always got this way before a fight, wanting it to start so badly that all he could think about was the joyous feeling that would soon course through his veins as he clashed blades with his opponent.

After what seemed an eternity, the wall in front of him lowered to reveal the man to whom he would soon devote the entirety of his attention to. He was the very definition of night, covered in black from head to toe. Hisaki gripped the hilt of Sokyuu tightly as he realized that it wouldn't be easy fighting him, especially in such a dark setting. The man was an elf, that much was clear, as the sword he had his hand on, was definitely demonic. It would not be an easy win.

Another noise from the announcer caused Hisaki's attention to divert itself away from black clad figure. "Oh.. I forgot to mention my traps. Various earth phenomena are triggered by these traps. So watch out for quicksand!"

As if it wasn't hard enough already.

He took this new addition into consideration. Judging by what she was saying, moving would not be the best of ideas. A blind man could probably see the traps with his mind and soul, but Hisaki was not blind, and was never trained to pretend such a thing. So he stood there, his hand on his sword, ready to strike at any moment, but he refused to move from the spot in which he stood, for leaving it was, currently, not an option.

"Let the games begin," he chuckled.

[Darkwolf]

Dragoth sighed as he realized that this battle wouldn't be going anywhere unless he made his move first, but how should he do this? He would have to keep off of the ground as much as possible, or maybe he could test the ground in front of him before moving first...

Dragoth surveyed the area, and found some obstacles that he might use to his advantage, to keep himself off of the ground, although trusting his weight on them might trigger a trap also, Dragoth was thankful he thought of it, it would've saved him some time, and maybe save him from a possibly deadly blow. Dragoth closed his eyes, although focusing on his hearing to see if that man would take this small advantage to try to attack Dragoth, although it would obviously be very foolish to do so. He raised his left hand, and pressed it on the ground, a heated aura seemed to come from it, until it was obvious he was using his ability to manipulate fire. In one forceful movement, he moved his hand from his side to his front, sending a wave of flames going straight at his opponent, although this did not gaurantee that this path was safe, it could still be a great advantage to him...

[Xeim]

Magic...damn elf!

Hisaki hadn't had much experience fighting an elf, and so dealing with magic was not something he was well-versed in. All he could think to do was to dodge, but that might prove a problem, since it would involve moving. Could he block it? No, the heat would melt his gauntlet if he attempted to block. The only option left to him was to slow it down or divert its path. He could use his Fist of Destruction for this, but in all, it was risky. If he failed, he could be burned alive. Was such a move a good idea this early on in the battle? The entire thing could be decided one way or another with this one move. The nasty little elf had backed Hisaki into a corner.

But, he had no choice but to go for it, so he focused all of his energy into his hand, and formed it into a ball. Then, he pushed this ball of energy onto the tips of his claw-like gauntlet. It was a strange sensation, and it tickled Hisaki's arm every time, but the adrenaline rush that came afterwards, as he thrust his arm out, the green energy pooling eagerly on his fingertips, was worth it. It was what fighting was for him. The sensations. The joy. And so, as he let the energy go, sending a line of it spiraling towards the approaching flames, he felt truly alive.

"Fist of Destruction!"

Green rushed toward red, and for a moment, the green looked as if it would be overpowered by the low, wide flames, but then, in an explosion of color, the fire heading straight for Hisaki was obliterated. Traces of it were not put out, and though they were weakened drastically from the explosion, they managed to wrap themselves around the area on which he stood before dying out.

At any rate, the area he was standing on wasn't as stable as it was at the start of the fight. If the nuisance they called Dragoth didn't move out into the trap filled wasteland soon, Hisaki would have to make the first move from their starting places.

Red sand swirled past his face as a gust of wind disturbed the arena. His fiery ponytail was lifted from his back as the wind had its way with it. The remnants of the fire that had just been burning tilted in the wind, threatening to re-ignite at anytime. Hiskai stood, a solemn figure, bright as the flames surrounding him,

waiting....

waiting...

waiting.

[Darkwolf]

(so he decided to counter my attack with one of his own than simply dodge or block it, this could get intresting)
Dragoth put one step forward, almost certain that there were no traps here. He would have to move forward, so he began to run, putting one foot as far forward as he possibly could, although only a few steps in and he felt the sand sink in, and he ended up falling into a hole. He would have to think fast to escape from here, he put all of his energy into is legs, and jumped as high as he could, as he did he created flames that seemed to twist with his body as he rose from the hole. He quickly located his enemy, and shot all of this energy at the man, turning a liability hopefully into an asset by tricking his enemy, he landed on the ground just a foot or two from the hole, and watched to see if his enemy would fall for his trick.

[Xeim]

Hisaki chuckled as he watched his opponent fall into a hole in the arena. It was a reckless move, running out like that without thinking, but Hisaki wasn't too worried about it. It was Dragoth's mistake after all.

Hm…so it's not just quicksand then. Interesting.

Now would be the time most fighters let down their guard. Dragoth couldn't hurt him from down in that hole, unless he had a lot of luck. However, Hisaki knew better than to let this fool him. Dragoth was an elf. You have to be ready for anything with elves, especially if your knowledge of them is limited. So, he stood, ready for Dragoth to try something.

And, he was not disappointed. The elf soon shot from the hole, already ready with another attack.

What is he thinking?

This attack resembled a fire arrow, and would be easy to dodge. Hisaki ducked, extending his right leg out, and bending his left so that the fire sailed directly over his head. Using his left hand to push him back into a standing position, Hisaki turned to examine the damage. A rather large dent had been left in the wall; the force of the “fire arrow” had nearly punched a hole straight through.

The crowd gasped as they realized that the battle may not stay confined to the arena. Some panicked, others grinned in glee. However, no one left. They all wanted to see what happened next.

Hisaki allowed his eyes to momentarily wander to the excited crowd. How annoying…can't they just leave us to battle in peace? He thrust out his sword horizontally, allowing his left foot to slide back as he thought of what to do next. Dragoth stood near the center of the arena, while he was still up against the wall where he started. The area around him was laden with ash, and the wall was dented and charred. He knew he needed to make a move, he couldn't be on defense forever, but he wanted to play it safe. He was never the type to recklessly run into something. Sure he loved to fight, but fighting wasn't all about the slashing and hitting. Fighting was the strategy in which you went about things. The joy of being able to look ahead and predict movements, the thrill of being able to fully asses a situation; they were all just as necessary as taking down your opponent. If you never thought about what you did, and what you were about to do, you would always face defeat. You would always be the one kneeling at the end of a battle. And so, Hisaki looked around the sandy arena, thinking. Just thinking, nothing more. He still had his guard up, if Dragoth tried something he would know, but Hisaki doubted the elf would after the mishap with the hole.

Holes and quicksand. There may even be some holes with quicksand at the bottom…but where? He took a tentative step forward, poking the ground in front of him with his sword before he moved. One step. No traps. Two steps. No traps. Just a little further…. Three steps. No traps. But, as Hisaki stabbed the ground in front of him for a fourth step, it gave way to reveal a hole. He stumbled back a little to avoid it, and then looked back up to determine the distance between him and Dragoth. Still too far…

The hole was about three feet wide, too far for him to jump. There was about five feet between it and Dragoth's, but they were perfectly aligned. Out of curiosity, Hisaki focused more energy into his palm, and shot it at the ground in between the two existing holes. Another one revealed itself.

Interesting…

Staying close to the hole, Hisaki slowly made his way around it, making sure to test the ground in front of him before putting pressure on it. When he was in the small space between his hole and the middle hole, he charged another Fist of destruction. But, unlike the last one, this one was meant for Dragoth. He pushed as much energy as he could into the tip of his gauntlet, and then, we all the force he could muster, sent it flying towards the black clad elf.

[Darkwolf]

It seemed foolish to use this attack again, as Dragoth knew what it could do. It was a straight line of energy that would be easilly dodged, but that was not Dragoth's plan. He wanted to test this attack, and see how strong it really was, so he raised Akilroth and prepared himself for a frontal block, seeing just how much strengh he would need to parry this attack, and suddenly he felt a great impulse, more than he expected. He had to focus energy into Akilroth to avoid hearing the screams of pain from it, he pushed his energy greater and greater, attempting to tire his opponent when this attack breaks. Instead, he found himself tiring too quickly, so he slowly twisted his wrists until in one great force the attack was deflected into the sand, which gave out such force that yet another trap was revealed, as the grains of sand seemed to sink into the hole, but suddenly an amount of sand burst from this hole, it seems that not only was it supposed to trap the person inside but unleash a burst of earth energy to weaken the fighter, now that this information was revealed this battle seemed to grow even more intresting.

Dragoth twisted his head at the man, he put one foot forward after another, slowly making his way to this man. If he kept on attacking with fire alone, not only would his efforts be wasted as he would just be repeating the same type of move over and over, but unleashing that much energy repeatedly would just be useless, as Dragoth would tire much more quickly than if he tried striking with his blade, and so he did, one strike to the man's left shoulder, (Dragoth's right) and to follow up one strike to the man's right waist (Dragoth's left.)

[Xeim]

The man's behavior became strange at this point. Hisaki knew the attack probably wouldn't hit, but to take that attack head-on; Dragoth probably didn't know a lot about his fighting style either. So, they were on equal ground. Neither knew much about the other, and yet, both were determined to come out on top.

Hisaki watched as the elf's face took on a look of pain; it was obviously too much for him to take. “Fool,” he muttered to himself. The attack took energy molded from the very core of Hisaki's being. Some called it chi, others chakra- but one thing was for sure, it wasn't just condensed stamina. It would take a lot of power to be able to block an attack made of pure energy and not feel the strain. He looked out across the arena to try and find some sort of pattern to the sand. If he could just figure out what the areas traps were located in looked like…

He was startled by a small noise that sounded like someone kicking wet sand. Hisaki turned to see a cloud of sand assault Dragoth before settling back down onto the arena floor.

What the hell…?

Then, Dragoth turned and began to approach him. Hisaki waited rather impatiently, the skin under his gauntlet itching from lack of movement. Finally, they would be up close, experiencing the greatest thrills of battle!

Dragoth was now in swinging range. This is where things would get interesting.

Hisaki tightened his grip on his sword, ready to block the attack. The space they had to move around on was only about a foot wide, so they needed to be careful. No fancy aerial swings for them. Dragoth paused a moment, then swung in toward Hisaki's shoulder. It would most likely be a heavy hit, he seemed to be putting a lot of energy into it, but Hisaki knew he could block it. And so, as the sword swung downward, he raised his katana to take the hit. He felt the other blade clash against his, angrily, but it was brief. Dragoth took advantage of Hisaki's inability to move and aimed a swing towards Hisaki's waist. He twisted in attempt to avoid it, but he didn't move far enough. And, so, with his feet up against the edge of one of the holes, Hisaki's waist was slashed.

The pain was almost enjoyable; it meant he was alive. It meant that his enemy was worth his time; that he wasn't fighting a weakling. Hisaki grinned, making himself look rather imposing with his fiery hair and depthless black eyes. He looked like a skull on fire, back from the grave and ready to smite down those who he feels are worthy of a kiss from his blade.

And so, while Dragoth was still recovering from the damage he had dealt, Hisaki twisted his blade slightly, ready to attack. The movement was subtle, but all the same, Dragoth had most likely caught it. He waited a moment, and while Dragoth was eyeing his blade intently, Hisaki struck out with his gauntlet, ready to swing his sword to follow it up if need be.

[Darkwolf]

Dragoth saw the fist coming, with the joy of battle he had forgotten about what he has thought of earlier, about his opponent using more than his blade to attack. Dragoth raised his arm, to take the hit. The metal protecting his forearm should be strong enough to block this hit, and yet when the steel clashed together, he felt something wrong, a piece of steel had fallen from his arm, small, but it meant that the force of this blow had done damage to his armor, this was something new to Dragoth, having his armor shattered by the force of a blow, it was so shocking, Dragoth could only stand in amazement as the man's arm continued to strike him in his side, although this force wasnt nearly as strong, Dragoth still felt the pain, he closed his eyes for one second, and as he opened them his expression changed, it was anger, yet respect for this man, as Dragoth realized the joy this battle would bring him. He took Akilroth and brought it down, right on the man's blade in another diagonal strike, with much force as he poured energy into this blow, hoping to weaken his opponent as the tension grew as the blades stood almost still, for a moment this fight would turn into a test of strength.

[Xeim]

Hisaki saw Dragoth raise his arm to protect himself from the assault. He was wearing protective armor, armor that Hisaki had not noticed until seeing the man up close. He forced more strength into his arm, in attempt to break Dragoth's guard. And, when claw and armor collided, the armor chipped, startling the elf, and leaving him wide open. Hisaki continued the slice with his gauntlet, managing a precise rip across the side of Dragoth's stomach. The elf closed his eyes, seeming to almost smile, before snapping them open with an evil sneer. His eyes were enraged, and he was definitely determined to end this. But, Hisaki wasn't going to down so easily.

The elf brought his sword down again. Hisaki brought his up, and the two met in a scream of steel upon steel. Immediately he felt the strain of trying to hold the other's blade up, and he wanted desperately to have two hands to use. But, he had no second hand, and would have to rely on the muscles in his right arm to keep him from being overpowered. He knew Dragoth was trying to tire him, he wasn't foolish, and he knew he had to end it soon.

His arm was starting to shake. The elf definately had the upper hand here, with the ability to use both hands. Anyone else may have complained that it was unfair, but Hisaki understood that there really was no fair. This was battle. And, even if they weren't fighting to the death, there were still no rules. This wasn't a child's game of make-believe; this was real.

Hisaki didn't have any more room to step backward, though he wsihed he could. He wished he could lessen the strain on his arm even slightly. But he couldn't stay where he was. The only option left to him was to push forward. He hoped to cause Dragoth to stagger or lose his footing in the small amount of space that they had to move around in, but there was no guarantee this would work. He braced himself for the strain about to be put on his arm, and stepped toward the black clad man.

Please....let this work...