Tournament of Champions 2 Rematch (The game has begun)

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  • Okar walks back and forth on the boat. They know they will have to be careful if they are to win in the Tournament.
  • @TenebrisNemo when will the bracket be out
  • Pele is at the highest reachable point of the ship, taking in the sights of the sea.
  • edited February 2019
    Tai is over the scary memories at the moment. She is dazzled by the silver light the moon casts down on the the ship.
  • @DoctorFro when the boat docks
  • edited February 2019
    -- || --

    The sounds of clashing steel were reverberating in the air.

    In the garden of an ablazed eastern-style sanctuary, two combatants were interlocked at each other, with blurring movements faster than a normal human could percept.

    Then they both stopped as they were staring at each other in a considerable distance.

    The first combatant was a female samurai clad in a traditional samurai garb with her katana still clean although it wasn't perfect, while her opponent was also a female masked assassin who was also armed with a simple katana, albeit a bloodied one.

    Both combatants were also emitting a sort of dark aura around their bodies respectively.

    Then both of them were prepared for the final showdown as they both sheathed their swords respectively as they readied the traditional quickdraw stance.

    A showdown between swordsmasters.

    A crow flew overhead and landed on a broken wooden fence.

    In a blink of an eye, both drew their swords while were moving at impossible speed towards each other. A shrieking of the drawn steel echoed in the air, then both combatants were standing still again.

    "You're a fool, my dear." Taunted the assassin in a sultry voice as the samurai kneeled. Blood were dripping from her mouth as she was clutching her slashing wound.

    A greenish portal then appeared in a thin air behind the assassin.

    And the samurai could only watch and silently loathed as the assassin slowly went through the portal.


    A particular ronin then opened her eyes with a hard glare as she continued to stand up from her rest in her quarter, and decided to wander around the ship with her trusty katana gripped tightly in her left hand.

    'I need to calm my thoughts.'

    The days were still long after all.

    -- || --
  • While the ship sailed to its destination, Gyar and its handler were below deck, resting from the long journey they had taken to return to the tournament.

    "I truly do have faith in you, Gyar. When this whole thing's over, we'll be walking out of here, stronger than ever." The beast rumbles appreciatively, though it also sounds quite drowsy. The handler chuckles a little and stands up. "Yeah, it really has been a long journey here, hasn't it? I'll let you get some rest, old friend. I'll see what I can find out about the new competitors." Smiling, the young man heads up to the deck of the boat, and the wurm coils up, preparing to slumber.

    The young man wanders about on the boat, observing as much as he can about the other competitors, particularly the new ones, though his gaze drifts to Pele, who was perched at the highest point of the ship.

    "Poor girl... She's been through so much, and at such a young age, too, with no one backing her... I can't imagine what I would've done, had I not found Gyar when I did." The handler sighs and resumes walking.
  • @Everyone - Sorry for the absence. There's been a lot of work lately, and they've taken even longer thanks to the enormous amount of snow around here! But it's cool that you've written a little bit of your characters in the meantime. The ship will be in Avelaide very soon.
  • edited February 2019
    @Lujikul So does the handler have a name or is the fact that he doesn’t/we don’t know it a kind of device within your writing?
  • @AxNoodle
    The omission of the handler's name was, at first, just because I didn't have a name. I've had one for the handler for a couple months now, though, and it's just never really had a good opportunity to show up, especially since my entrant is Gyar. SO I guess to answer your question, the omission of the name was never really intentional, just kinda happened. Maybe that's not quite answering your question, now that I think about it.
  • Tai is looking around the ship’s deck for someone she wants to talk to.
  • I'll talk to you!
  • @TenebrisNemo is the bracket coming soon?
  • @shadow123 - I've been busy lately, and it's still under work. However, I'll publish it once the group is in Legorna, so we can begin the round immediately after its reveal.
  • edited February 2019
    Between Grey Skies and Blue Oceans

    The waves of the Blue Sea flowed below Konstancja as the ship kept sailing to the west. Each day had been almost the same, save for a few changes in the weather and the contestants' activities.

    Day 1

    On the first day when the ship was starting to leave Eternstor, judge Gaspar told Pele, Tai, Sylva, Kift, Koorir, and Gyar's handler that Ding Mettir had not been seen since when merfolk threw them away. The tournament hosts suspected that Mettir was somewhere in Avelaide, and that he might try to interfere with the tournament again. When Sylva asked Gaspar about Merikh, the judge simply shook his head and said that nothing new has happened since the shade crisis in Salaxum.

    When each contestant was on the ship, they were told that the sea northeast of Legorna had become extremely dangerous due to a sea monster. People believed it to be a leviathan infected by the abyss, which is why the hosts decided to first travel into the blue forest’s rivers and through them to the village of Caerul Vicun, then north from there towards Legorna, as told in the letters. The fourteenth champion, Jessica, would keep the contestants company to ensure their safety until they have reached Legorna.

    After leaving Eternstor behind by sailing to the east, the ship turned to the north until the mainland of New Terdea ended. When it did, the sailors could finally sail to the west, where the heart of Great Blue Sea was, and where the portal to Avelaide was said to be. The sunset's orange rays reflected upon the calm sea, and Konstancja kept sailing even when the contestants went to sleep within their own sleeping quarter.

    Day 2

    The large waves and the strong winds rudely woke up everyone in the next morning. The sun could not be seen, for the sky was filled with thick, grey clouds. Though the wind calmed down after several hours, the clouds remained above the blue sea. At some point of the day, Wula started to write letters for her friends about the other contestants, but she was interrupted many times by the noises Braekun made as he tried to get up from his bed within the sleeping quarter. The bear warrior couldn't balance with the movements of the ship, so eventually two tournament guards helped him up after hearing the "donk" for the twentieth time at least. But the grey day was over quickly, and the contestants prepared for another one as they went to their beds.

    Day 3

    Before Pele and Sylva woke up, Tai rose from her tiny bed and flew onto the deck. She gazed at the sea, which glimmered from the orange morning sun's rays. The blue sky was visible on that day, and only a few white clouds sailed above Konstancja. As Tai closed her eyes and wandered into her thoughts, the memories of Mettir's storm and the destruction of her home appeared in her mind. Ringmaster Philibert, who was also on the deck early to look at the sunrise, saw Tai's troubled face as he walked right next to the faerie. He tried to cheer her up by pulling a few storm crows from his top hat, but Tai wasn't very impressed, for they only reminded her of the hawk which attacked her during her match against the elven druid.

    Later, many sailors were disturbed by the spider webs around the ship that Drellen had used to catch some food. He was happy for catching a few terns and storm crows, which Philibert had summoned earlier. Drellen devoured the birds, leaving only drops of blood and a bunch of feathers onto the deck. The sight made some tournament guards sick. The armored men, who watched over the contestants alongside champion Jessica, told Drellen to not to spin webs around Konstancja again, for the ship's cook was responsible of everyone's meals during the journey.

    image
  • Day 4

    Rain clouds accompanied Konstancja from morning to evening, but it didn't stop Pele from climbing onto the "crow's nest" of the ship. She looked at each direction and could only see ocean waves dancing under the quiet rain in the horizon. The water was not fatal for Kift the efreet, but it was still unpleasant, so he spent the whole day in the contestants' sleeping quarter. Many contestants were already bored to death from the journey, but they were happy to hear from sir Killian that they would arrive to Avelaide on that night.

    Many hours after midnight, the sea sparkled under the silver light of a full moon and the countless bright stars of the dark sky. Some of the contestants were asleep, while others were on deck, looking at the direction where the ship was sailing. Each tournament host was on deck as well, and the captain of the ship shouted while steering the wheel a bit.

    "Planar gateway straight ahead!"

    Countless sailors and guards walked onto the deck, then leaned from the ship's railings on its sides to look what was happening in front of the boat. Master Eetu was in the forecastle, channeling mana into the water, which caused two swirling water pillars to rise towards the sky many meters in front of Konstancja. Champion Jessica, who was sleepy for being awakened in the middle of the morning, was suddenly filled with energy when she witnessed what was going on, and the little girl started jumping around the main deck while giggling.

    "We're finally here! I'm returning home!"

    The contestants saw as the water pillars started to curve towards each other when they were higher than the ship's tallest mast. As they contacted, they formed an arch, and a powerful wind flowed through it. Clear water spread between the pillars and formed a thin wall that emitted blinding light. The captain of Konstancja shouted once more.

    "Hold on for your dear lives if you do not wish to be left behind with the merciless sea! Hahahahaa!"

    Everyone quickly grabbed the nearest part of the ship's rigging, and few tournament guards whispered for some goddess to watch over them while performing a praying gesture with their free hand. Konstancja kept sailing towards the arch, and when its bow contacted the bright wall, something powerful started to pull the vessel through the arch. Some contestants leaned on the sides of the main deck to look behind the bright wall and noticed that the ship didn't seem to appear behind it. The yellow light kept consuming the ship and every being on it. Contestants covered their eyes as the strong wind howled and as the water flowed loudly around Konstancja before the large vessel quickly vanished from the sea alongside the water arch and its light.

    A loud splash of water was suddenly heard and the ship seesawed many times, causing some people to lose balance and fall down. Almost everyone and everything on the deck was wet from the ocean water. Many people thought that a large snowball was rolling on the deck, but then they noticed it was just Braekun. When Konstancja stopped wiggling and the contestants on it had calmed down, they noticed the unfamiliar smell of the sea and the different stars in the cloudless sky. A morning sun was rising behind the ship, but this sun had a new kind of warmth in it. The land in the horizon bathed in the golden sunlight and oddly seemed to silently call each contestant by his/her/its name. Sir Killian, who was completely soaked, raised his right hand towards the land before Konstancja while he looked at the contestants, who were on the main deck.

    "Welcome to the world of Avelaide and to the land of Eviera!"
  • edited February 2019
    The Map of Avelaide

    image

    (Created by @Jonteman93)

    The detailed land in the west is Eviera, which is (almost) completely under the rule of Lisakdonia. Konstancja is sailing in the sea east from "The Blue Forest" (dark green area located in the southeast of Eviera). The city of Legorna is located at the shores at the northern edge of the forest. Your ship will now sail by the forest's great rivers to the village of Caerul Vicun, and then the journey will continue from there through the forest and plains to Legorna.
  • edited February 2019
    Attention!

    The tournament has its own set symbol! It's a medal which is given to the one who becomes the single, true champion in each tournament! It symbolizes the duties and glories which will be granted to the best of many!

    image

    -Link to the images-
  • The gloomy faerie truged along the deck of the ship. Yesterday, she finally remembered why her parents disappeared. As she was eating lunch extremely slowly with a concerned Sylva, she heard a loud announcement: “Hold on for your dear lives if you do not wish to be left behind with the merciless sea! Hahahahaa!” She rushed to the nearest wall and hugged it tightly. The boat zoomed into a bright wall and hurricane-force winds. Although the light stung her eyes, she still looked into it as it surrounded the ship. She hadn’t felt this excitement for days now. As the splashed into the water, Tai almost forgot about her past and previous feelings.

    “C’mon Sylva, lets go!” Tai shouted, “What are you waiting for?”

    Sylva just smiled and followed.
  • edited February 2019
    Map of the blue forest, the Akdonian coast and the (Frejdan) Archipelago

    image
    (I accidently wrote "Lalden" instead of the correct, "Frejdan".)

    Since the sea north and east of Legorna is too dangerous to pass, the tournament group will follow another path. In this map it is indicated with white arrows. First they will travel south along the coast of the forest to the Esalna river. From there the crew will make it up past Caerul Esalna until they reach the main river, the blue river. Caerul Vicun is located just north east of there.

    From Caerul Silva the team will walk through a trade road to a small river where they will board a small trade ship that will take them along part of the border river. After they have landed, the path goes straight north to Legorna.
  • The ferry calmly passed Liean Island. It was dark, and night had come early. Suddenly, everyone on the ship started to feel a little tired. That little had grew into a lot, and, counting it down to the tiresome, worrying excitement of the tournament, fell snuggly asleep in their cabins. The captain, also wanting to take a lie-down, just docked the boat on the island, and also dozed off.

    Yet there was one, who wasn't feeling so groggy. You guessed it, the woman, the legend...

    Bab Yagara!

    She was the one to slip that brew into everyone's soup. She only poured a little, so no one would find it suspicious. Rigid, yet somehow elegant, as all her mischievous schemes.

    She herself hurried onto the island. In the deep dark forest, a beacon was beaming. The witches of the multiverse, they have a secret code. Be it telepathy, or ancient connections back from when the multiverse was not split into planes, but when a witch wanted another to find something out, that information will be passed on in some way or another. A fellow witch wanted Yagara to find something on the isle. And she did.

    image

    This was a nest of will-o-the-wasps! (*shudders from incoherent giggling*). They are creatures menacing to all, but their owner. And what's more, these ones didn't have an owner. They all glow with the signature shade of their commander. Bab Yagara knew a witch who had a hive of burgundy-coloured ones. But these ones were gray, hibernating in their nests. A fellow witch wanted Yagara to find them, and take control of them. So she did. With a quick touch, they all began to stir, and glow with the dark green she so loved. She broke one of the hibernation pods with her staff, and out crawled the flying vermin. Then, they all obediently got sucked into the aforementioned staff.

    These will come in useful in fighting.

    Now, off to the ship, for a little lie-down...
  • edited February 2019
    I will now and then tell some of the stories in addition to TenebrisNemo.

    The blue forest

    Aside from the island to the south, the forest covered land of Eviera stretched out in the west. Winds blew in from above the western forest towards the ship. The wind was cold and brought a slight feeling of disgust. Sir Killian and Gaspar lost their smiles that they had received upon their arrival. Gaspar turned towards the crewmen of the Konstancja.

    "Stop idling and get us to Caerul Silva!"

    The crew went back to work and soon later the ship began to turn south away from the cold winds. The Konstancja kept quite close to the shore of the dense forest that upon closer inspection looked like an ancient kind of jungle. They passed a large number of rivers that broke the seemingly unbroken line of trees but none of them were their location. Days passed as the ship continued the path south-west. The contestants had begun to turn restless. Jessica had to at one occasion stop some of the flying contenders to fly towards the forest for a short adventure to break the boredom. Braekun, whenever he was not tripping all over the ship been chopping into an old log making it smaller and smaller for each strike. The old witch was mixing some brew and the young wizard was busy studying some books. the large titan Gorak was picking up wood chunks from Braekun's log, shaping them into small primitive figures. Dostran was flying around the ship trying to avoid Drellen's webs and so on.

    Then finally one day the crew member in the crow nest shouted "Esalna" and soon thereafter they arrived at a huge boulder in the water. A river opening, larger than any before broke the symmetry of the trees. The ship turned into the river that was large enough for a small fleet. Only a few hours later, the ship came to a village where they would stop and gather provisions. A couple of short elf looking people stood at the docks. Before the ship came in to the village, Jessica and Killian spoke to the contenders.

    "I understand if you would like to step of the ship now but I recommend you not to. If you do however I must warn you to not mention anything about the tournament, Lisakdonia or that you are contenders of the tournament." Jessica said

    "I don't get it. Are we not in Lisakdonia?" "What! You keep us on this ship for a week and we are not even allowed to speak?" "What happens if we don't?" and other questions were told by the restless contenders.

    "You are not in Lisakdonia yet! We are in the blue forest which is not controlled by Lisakdonia at all. We should not even be here but a few strings have been pulled to make it possible for our passage. So don't speak about anything regarding you nor Lisakdonia. Also none of you must enter the forest. If you do you might never return. No more stupid questions." Killian spoke in a very unusually rude voice which could be understandable since he had to keep up with sixteen restless contenders for almost a week by now.

    Only a few contenders left the ship for the hour that they were docked before the Konstancja continued further up the river. The travel along the river took a few days more but luckily there was much more to see from the river. Now and they passed by a large number of blue drakes. Onara was sitting on the mast trying to not show any signs that she knew that Braekun was starring at her with his axe in his arms. Sylva and Tai was sitting at the edge of the ship doing something when they noticed something particular in the forest. Movements that looked like people but far less "human" to even be elves. Sir Killian appeared behind the girls starring out towards the beings in the trees. He held a hand on the hilt of his sword as to show a readiness to fight. The beings kept spying over the ship but where soon out of sight again.

    "Caerul dryads. Not very hospitable, specially not towards Lisakdonians or humans in general." He said before he went back to Gaspar.
    The two girls decided to go and speak to Jessica instead since she seemed in much better mood than anyone else on this ship at this point. Jessica gladly answered the girls' questions.

    *See soon-to-be-included instructions for answers or ask Jessica your own questions.

    After even more days on the river they had passed by a quite significant number of elven villages. They finally came out from the Esalna river into an even wider river. Around the rivers were large numbers of drakes that were hunting in the river. One Drake had just snapped up a crocodile and flew away with it.

    image image

    "They won't risk attacking you unless you are alone" Jessica commented.

    The ship went with the flow of the river for no more than one or two hours before they came to a quite large city at the river's side. The ship docked and the contenders were sent off. The city looked strange at first before it was obvious that the architecture of the city was some kind of mix between human and elven buildings and everyone with some exceptions were elfs. Slightly shorter than humans with larger ears and eyes and skin that looked as if it had small scales. The whole tournament team were to sleep in a building specifically for them and them alone.

    The same warnings were given here as before. Don't speak about the tournament or Lisakdonia and never walk into the forest. Also don't start any kind of fight or brawl with the elves who mostly kept themselves at distance from these travelers.


  • Information from Jessica

    The blue forest is home to mainly two races. The elves and the dryads. In the east Evieran languages these are both called "dryadalis" as they are considered the same race for those with little knowledge. Almost fifteen years ago the Lisakdonians began to call the dryads "Dryadalis vetus" as they had done a long time ago.

    Both the elves and the dryads mostly hate the Lisakdonians and most humans because of them. The elves hate is because they were enslaved by the Lisakdonians hundreds of years ago and were not let free until a little more than a hundred years ago. Those that did manage to escape came here, to their home of solitude.
    The elves still feel anger towards the Lisakdonians but many of them have been compensated through the Caerul-Lisakdonian agreements. So the hate have diminished somewhat but don't try to make friends with them regardless unless they come to you. It is best to avoid conflict with them.

    The dryads are quite different. They lived in the forest long before the elves arrived and are more conservative of it. Some of them even dislike the elves for disturbing their forest and building settlements but there have almost never been any active conflict between them since they have the same goals more or less. To be left alone.
    The dryads opposed and still opposes the Caerul-Lisakdonian agreements which they see as disturbance.
    Their hate of Lisakdonia is burred both deep and thin. The blue forest has always been seen as a good source of timber for the Lisakdonians. The dryads have violently stopped every time they came. Until Victor Qentimus came to power almost fifteen years ago.
    He sent an army to the northern border to collect timber and sent it along the border river to Castra Navun where a mighty fleet was being constructed.
    The dryads did not accept this. They brought to arms and attacked the Lisakdonians, something which Victor had expected.
    It ended with a years long bloodshed which did not end until the Lisakdonians left.
    It became so bad that the clans of dryads came together to form an alliance towards anything and anyone human. Humans are in their eyes seen as bringers of disturbance.

    There are countless clans of the dryads and the four largest are the most dangerous. The
    Echulnar in the south, the Malfalrir in the west, the Asuth in the east and Harthuch in the north. If you ever walk deep into the woods and come in contact with any of these we cannot ensure your safety. You might be fighters but so are they and this is their land. They will protect whatever the cost.
  • Towards Legorna

    After being told to be careful, the contenders were left to do what they desired in Caerul Vicun with obvious limitations. The elves, both adult and child avoided the contenders but the children showed interest in the non-human contenders. Braekun, Dostran, Gorak, Kift, Koorir and Tai. They were very unsure about the angel Onara. The children aboided the large wurm Gyar and the spider Drellen most likely of fear. Their parents however tried to keep the children away from these strangers.

    The day passed by and the darkness of night and a cold wind crawled over the city. In the darkness of night something red flew into the city and landed on a tree branch. Pele had noticed the red glow and began to walk away from the building towards it. The red glow began to fly further away into the woods. Pele who was too invested in the glow forgot about the warning and continued after it into the woods.

    The trees were growing large and close to each other. Pele walked for a short while when she heard someone shout from the city but she continued further. It was something about the glow. Good? Evil? After a few minutes she cached up with source and saw that it was a raven with a red mantra. The raven looked at Pele as she came closer. She could hear someone running in metal and seconds later someone grabbed her shoulder.
    "Why are you out here!?" Shouted an upset sir Killian. Behind him was Jessica. Pele who got back her senses panicked a little as she looked at them.
    "I, I followed the red glow." she said as she pointed towards the raven in the tree. Jessica's eyes widened as she saw the raven.

    "Are you watching over us? Where are you? Please tell me."Jessica said towards the raven. The raven looked at her for a short moment before it flew off and away.
    No! Stop! please! Tell me where you are! Let me help you!" Jessica shouted as she began to run after the raven.

    Pele looked at Jessica and then at Killian. "Should we not stop her?"
    "I won't get in her way and also she can handle herself. We just need to care for ourselves now for a while." He said as he began to lead Pele back to the city.


    The morning arrived and everyone gathered around the city entrance. Everyone except Jessica. Two elves stood at the entrance. They nodded to Killian and began to lead the group north along a road that could not be older than a few decades.

    They walked for a few hours when some whistling sound came from the forest. The second later a yellow arrow flew through the woods and hit the road just before the elf who lead the group. Sir Killian and the guards drew their weapons. Soon after a creature existed the woods with an armed bow in her hands. After her came a large number of armed dryads. They surrounded the group.

    image image

    The elf in the front stuttered "Zg zgihana?". The drayad women looked angrily at the group and the elf. "Hegxha hoch machti ele den achun!"she shouted.
    "chi chi efel andachun" the elf in front said before he turned towards Killian. "Someone broke the rule. Two humans entered the woods and disturbed its peace she says."
    The group looked at Killian. "It was me and one of the contenders. The contender got lead there by some magic outside of our control." Killian said while looking at the dryad woman. The elf translated Killian's words to the Dryad. The woman did either not believe him or something else as she did not get any happier. "Harmul!" she shouted at Killian. "Fools" the elf translated. Killian continued to try to convince the dryad that their intention were never to disturb. The woman did only answer with short sentences making Killian unsure if she did not understand or if she did but not care.

    As they argued three more dryads entered the road. These looked more bulky, more male like. The had some yellow spears in their hands. Behind them came a larger Dryad that was much darker that the others. The elf now backed almost behind Killian "Ah Ychman, echa attuch otoducher."

    image

    "Kachun. Disturbance. It is in the air. It is in the water. It is in the ground. It grows. It thrives. You arrive. Do you bring disturbance to our home?" the old dryad spoke in common language.

    Killian lowered his weapon and so did the guards. He then answered shortly. "No"

    The old dryad looked over the group before he answered. "Then go. Leave" The dryads lowered their weapons and began to move back into the woods. The female dryad stood there for a short while longer. She looked at the old dryad who looked back at her. She lowered her eyes and returned to the woods. The old dryad was the last one to leave the road. "Kachun. It is growing stronger and stronger." he said just as he disappeared into the forest.


    The travel continued problem free for the rest of the road. They later arrived at a smaller river where a couple of small almost flat boats were located. They boarded them and set of with the flow of the river. They spent one day on the boat before they got to a location where they stepped off. They were now outside of the forest and the sun was shining. The elves signed good bye and returned with the boats back towards the forest. The group continued north and one day almost on the clock later, the large tower of Legorna appeared in the distance.

    Welcome to Legorna.
  • We're here we're here we're here we're here we're here we're here we're here we're here we're here we're here!
  • This thread became unusually quiet the last week.
  • Seems i am too late to re-enter, too bad. But good luck to the other new contestants :)
  • @barchae I was really looking forward to Tai’s match with Ronnie!
  • Umm....


    so......


    cAn wE pLeAsE hAvE uHhHhHhH

    BRÄKET?..
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