TOA Quarterfinals: Atobe v Senna v Psychosyd

[LocoColt04]

*sigh*
Please read everything I have to say, or I'll have to beat all of you severely.

Round three is the three-way, so we have to work in a timely manner. I'm gonna list some stuff that I'd like you to follow. Lists are easier. Read it. From here on out, I will use letters to refer to the three people.

(A) - First person in chooses scenery
(B) - Second person in shows up, acknowledges first person
(C) - Third person in sees first two, makes the first attack on one or both

*If C does not intro within two days of B's intro, A is free to begin the attack phase; consequently, if C shows up after A's attack but before B's attack, s/he must wait for B to post.

(Your letter is not your order in the title. It's the order you arrive.)

The round will follow a strict posting order: A B C

Each person must be given two days to make his/her post. However, when the time runs out, here is an example.

C attacks A.
A does not post in two days.
A automatically takes the hit at full strength; B watches (and writes about) the attack, and makes his/her own attack post.

However, there's nothing that says you have to attack the person after you, or a single person at all. Other examples of this follow.

C attacks B.
A does not post in two days.
B can dodge C's attack if s/he wishes to do so.
B continues on with his/her attack phase.

B attacks A and C.
C does not post in two days.
A can dodge or take the hit, and also has power over whether or not C takes the hit.
A continues with the attack phase.

But what if you're all active? How does an attack toward the person before you work? Yes, that's a difficult one to figure out, isn't it? Well, here's where a slight bit of godmodding comes in, and will be allowed in this round only SOLELY for the purpose of continuity and ease.

B attacks A.
C posts in time, leaving A out to dry.
C has two choices: C can force A to dodge the attack, or force A to take a slight portion of the attack, inflicting no damaging injury (like a glancing blow compared to a full thrust, resulting in a cut or bruise at most).
C then continues on with the attack phase.

And of course, if you attack the person who follows you in the posting order, there's nothing confusing to figure out, is there? But hey, there's no fun in that.

The thread will be closed on July 25, between 4AM and 7AM GMT (London). In America, it's Sunday night. In Asia/Australia, it's midday Monday.

In any case, this is now officially yours to handle. I hope you all understood my little mini-rant here. Three-for-alls are always so hard to write, much less judge. Good luck to the three of you, and here's to an active battle.

[psychosyd]

The sound of the horses shodden hooves echoed on the cobblestone pavement of the streets of Valencia. The black horse snorted as it continued down the street, expressing its discomfort to his rider. Atop the stallion was a heavily cloaked figure, and despite the summer heat, he wore black. All that was visible was the top half of his head, his mouth covered. He had an pale olive skin color, and straight silver hair which was cut to the length of the ear. What was odd about him was that he wore a blue strip of cloth around his eyes. As the man and beast passed through the streets toward Northface Castle, the people continued to stop and stare at this newcomer. Roumers quickly spread like wildfire as to guess who this mysterious stranger could be.

"Is it true? It must be Lord Vargo, all know he is a vampire and cannot be seen in daylight." one informed young man said on the way to the butcher.

"Actually, I happen to know that is the great Desert Warrior Maldren, notice the insignia on the blade he has strapped to his horse. That would be the symbol of the northern tribes." Another said to his friend, who only snorted at that comment.

"You fool, that insignia happens to be the crest of the elven royal family, only a great warrior from Uthulan could carry that mark" The elder man said.

"Let me tell you this, when he passed me the wind blew, I saw the tips of his ears, and they were POINTED! I bet he could also be one of those southern traders from the jungles. Nasty types those are." One woman said.

"No, no! It cannot be, its actually a troll from the north in disguise, here to kill us all!" A young boy said as a matter of fact to everybody who would listen.

Whether vampire, warrior or troll, the figure said nothing as he passed through the streets, leaving only a dark memory in his wake. Of course, telling people the truth of his identity would meerly cause more roumer than to continue to let them dream. Reaching the palace gate, the figure slowly dismounted and silently handed his horses reigns to the small paige before stepping inside.

A fat greying man sat behind a desk in the entrance to the castle, attempting to make himself look busy by shifting through a stack of papers. After a momment, he looked up pompously at the figure.

"Yes? State your business." he said with a note of pride, thinking this to be some vagabond from the streets.

Slowly the figure withdrew a piece of parchment from the folds of his robe, and handed it to the man, who noticed this figure had long delecate fingers that moved rather gravefully. Taking the piece of paper and looking at it, the mans face paled and he began to stammer a bit. The words on the paper said the following.

"You, Sylius Margrave, are formally invited to the Summer 2004 Tournament of Arms. We ask you to participate because your reputation proceeds you. Each and every one of you competitors is skilled in his or her own unique ways, and we have compiled these skills in the best way possible. You will be tested on all of your strengths and weaknesses throughout the tournament as your opposition challenges you to his or her fullest capabilities. We ask that you join us on the fourteenth of June in the year two thousand four to partake in this monumental event. Each fighter is required to check into his or her quarters by the twelfth of this same month in the town of Valencia, near the Galan Sea. Perhaps you are wondering why you should accept this offer. The secondary victor will receive a large sum of gold, and the Champion of Arms will also receive a hefty monetary reward, as well as the legendary sword Illumina. We look forward to seeing you at your fullest potential.

"Y...y...ye...yess... of... c... course M...Master Sylius" the man said, clearly shaken by this man's identity. Swollowing he took a deep breath before continuing. "You are staying in the Golden Lion, House number 4. It should be about 3 blocks back and 2 to the right from the Zennousha" he said pointing to the door.

Without saying a word the robed figure nodded slightly then passed him towards the apartments. Sitting back down at his desk, the man sat in silence as he thought over what had just happened. Could that really have been Sylius... the great elven warrior? He could remember with exact detail that the Sylius he remembered was a known elven warrior, with blue eyes and a very pale blonde hair. He had been to the New Years TOA just about a year and a half ago... was it possible this was really the same man? This elf had a sense of darkness to him, quite the opposite of the proud elf from Saphery, and this elf was... BLIND.

---------------
Sitting down in his apartment Sylius slowly withdrew the hood of his cloak and let it hang on a peg in the corner of his room, then took in his surroundings. It seemed to be a simple room, with a bed and chest to store belongings, a washroom and proper equipment stocked for the elf.

"Its been quite some time since I was here last, and a lot has changed." The elf thought grimly to himself. Unstrapping his katars from his side, he locked them, along with his daggers into the chest at the foot of his bed, and then laid himself down on the bed and fell into a tortured sleep.

The following morning Sylius reported to the main office again to find out who his opponent would be.

"Im sorry to report sir, but you have recieved the first round as a bye, so you will face..." the attendant said, shifting through some papers "... ah, unfortunatly both participants you would face have not reported in. You already will advance to the quarterfinals. My reccomendation to you is to meerly hang out and report back then."

Sylius sneered with contempt, what an unfortunate turn of events, he would have to wait until he could be on the field of battle once more. The weeks passed quickly fortunately and Sylius soon found himself on the day of the quarterfinals.

Rising from his bed that morning, Sylius rose and looked himself in the mirror. A futile effort seeing as he was blind, it was a habit that remained despite the darkness of the past year.

"A parting curse from my last battles..." he would sneer to himself every morning, an eternal darkness that no healers art, nor magik spell could break. He was a lean elf, and the years told of many fights, and a few injuries along the way. Despite the scars that were quite visible across his torso, he carried himself with pride still. As he pulled his black under tunic on over his head, he thought of what the upcoming battle would hold. Both Sayako and Alexia were new entrants that Sylius was not familiar with, so he was going to have to be careful. He put on his mail and belted it at the waist, strapping his katars to his side. Hopefully, after the weeks of waiting these opponents would not prove to be a complete dissapointment. The desire for blood sent a shiver of sheer pleasure through his body.

After sliding into his black hose and boots he grabbed his dagers and tested the edge of both of them. They seemed sharp enough, he thought as he hid them onto his body. Grabbing his cloak, he pulled it over his head, and with a final tightening of the straps on his ghauntlets, he set out for the castle. His particular match would be taking place on the Southwestern tower of Northface Castle. It was not a match Sylius was particularly keen on participating in. The small size of the arena and the open area would mean he would have to be on the very tips of his toes the entire time. Not the best situation for a blind man to be in.

Reaching the castle he was stopped by the guards at the gate.

"State your business" the one to the right said, lowering his spear to glare at Sylius. Without even flincing he reached out to grab the spear by the blade. The guard screamed in pain as his spear turned dark blue and the chill burned into his hands.

"My name is Sylius Margrave, and I am going to my match atop the southwestern tower." He said.

"Y..yes sir, please, pass on, forgive me for not recognizing sooner." The guard said, tears forming in his eyes as he struggled to hold onto his deathly cold weapon. His partner quickly opened the door to the castle and Sylius passed through, leaving a shadow of cold as if a reminder of what happened just momments before.

Reaching the top of the tower, Sylius quickly walked across the edge of it, getting a feel for his boundaries. It was built of sturdy stone, and was about a half acre in size. The only sort of wall that was present was the occasional stone edge for archer cover to break the semi morning wind. The air had a slight musty feel to it as the rain from the day before had passed, and the world had been washed clean. Though most of the platform was dry, there were still a few remaining puddles in some of the cracks. The stones seemed dry enough though, so there was no worry of slipping.

"Alright then, bring on the challenge." Sylius announced defiantly to the open air, loosing his katars in their scheathes while waiting for the arrival of his opponents.

I have waited long enough, don't dissapoint me...

[LocoColt04]

Ick. You people disgust us.

Kevin and I were really hoping that this round would being about all kinds of crazy ideas and some really great fighting.

Instead, you presented us with inactivity.

I'm not even waiting for sunrise to close this beast down.

The semifinals are trash, and we're going to have a regretful three-way final.


James, I'm sorry that you have essentially gotten a bye into the finals. I know that's not the way you would have wanted it because it doesn't showcase your ability. And it's really not a good thing for you, either. You're diving into the finals with rusty writing. Good luck.

For the record, what you've written is actually pretty nice.
I can tell you're a just bit out of practice though.