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Tournament of Champions 2 (The game has begun)
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It was true, he had found it. In the chest cavity of the former owner. But since the owner was dead he wouldn't need it. Now if only we knew who killed the poor mage...
I think everyone has a bit of a wrong idea of my character, @Faiths_Guide got a fun sidestory in with my character, thanks!
Name: Ronnie Pervale
Occupation: Recruit / Soldier
Titles: Only nicknames so far, and those are nothing to boast about.
Strengths: Amazing luck and always able to get out of a ratty situation. If he can keep his cool he can think quick on his feet. He also has basic soldier training, so he is not a complete novice and he's not as bad as he might look.
Weaknesses: In a world filled with demons, dragons and magic, it is not so strange to think that as a regular human you could feel intimidated sometime and Ronnie certainly feels that way for now.
Aspirations: His childhood dream doesn't differ that much from what many boys want to become some day. A Hero. The knight in shining armor. Ronnie took his first step towards his dream by signing up in the army.
So while yes, he is not perfect and has his moments of weakness, he is not really a coward either. Without further ado Ronnie's story continues:
As Ronnie walked up to see the match roster a small sigh of relief escaped his lips. At least it's not some giant monster he thought. His opponent looked like a regular human, just like him. Being up against the odds most of his life and overcoming them, this was almost some sort relief. Facing Beasts and Giants as an everyday practice, this was a nice change of pace, even if it was a construct forging god.
Trying to get more information on his opponent, Ronnie had seen Jaholion converse with other figures before. Pele seemed the most approachable, so he went looking for the young pyromancer to see if he could get some insight...
In spite of witnessing the terror of many fighters, with his presence, his opponent appeared not to fear him. He was thinking, the hell has many lords but Abyssal chaos has only one god,would be this a supposed revelation.
This was pleasant in the eyes of Ra'qu-en.
Because the taste of the soul is proportional to the figther's strength.
“I’m sure you’ll find something do do for me in return.”
He slinks off
"My legion," Karnax bellows.
Like usual his four paladins and herald arrive within a minute.
"Yes my lord," The elven herald says bowing to one knee with an umbrella above her head.
"My paladins, accompany me to the training grounds. My herald, you may stay here," Karnax says.
All five of them respond in unison, "Yes my lord."
Karnax and his paladins depart to the largest training ground which is empty, most likely due to the rain, while the elf heads back into the warm tavern. Karnax nods to his paladins. They all begin to cast a spell. After a couple of seconds eight beings made from light and shadow arise from the ground, each one summoning several more, much smaller, creatures.
The paladins point to Karnax at say one word, "Attack."
The larger elementals begin to weave death magic while the smaller one charge Karnax.
Karnax swipes at the encroaching elementals with his claw crushing eight of them. He then covers his head with his wings creating an umbrella of sorts. A mighty pillar of fire spews from his jaws. Although the fire was lessened by the rain it still incinerated three of the larger one and ten of the smaller ones. The five remaining larger one cast ropes of death magic upon Karnax. Karnax was able to dodge two of them and parry one with his gauntlet like fore-arm scales. The two that surpassed his defenses struck his weaker under belly. He roared out in minor pain. Then, with startling agility for a creature of his size, he swung his tail around to the elementals obliterating the eleven remaining creatures. After taking a short breather he nodded at his paladins again. repeating this process until his paladins could no longer cast this spell.
The storm had ceased. Bright morning sun shined in the sky. Countless puddles and rain drops reflected sunlight in Eternstor and the forests around it. Sir Killian had gathered most of the contestants of the tournament and traveled with them to a forest area not too far away from the town. Zintius was given a potion, which protected him from sunlight. Green leaves of the tall trees blocked out the sky almost completely. Blue rivers flowed through the forest all the way to the sea next to the port town. Soldiers were placing temporal, wooden stands around that area while Gaspar and Eetu were speaking with some important looking citizens of Eternstor. Sir Killian turned his head at the contestants, who were looking around the forest.
"Behold, one of the three 'arenas' where some of your will fight in this tournament's first round. Eternstor is surrounded by forests which reach all the way to the nearest cities, towers, and castles, which are many kilometers away from here. Forest roads are rarely used because sailing is the fastest travel method. It's about time these uninhabited areas are put to use."
Ronnie turned his head and pointed at the man behind them with an artificial arm and handguns. "I haven't seen him around here before. Where did he come from and why is he following us?"
"He arrived here yesterday with me," Killian said. "His name is Acyros. He is here to prevent bloodthirsty contestants from attacking the wrong people at the wrong places. No one and nothing has been able to dodge his shots so far. As long as you keep to the rules and only focus on your opponent during your matches, you have nothing to fear."
Nya and Tourach were restless as Acyros was staring at them silently without any emotions. Both of them have done things which have cost human lives. Sylva waved her hand at Killian, which got the knight's attention.
"Ask if you have any other questions."
"Well," Sylva started nervously. "Do we have to fight each other to the death in matches?"
"If that's what it takes to claim your victory, then yes. Most matches usually end in death, but a contender can be defeated even without bloodshed. Simply making your opponent unable to fight or move can make them surrender. But even if you die in a match, there is no need to worry. Our priests will immediately heal you and bring your soul back to your body before they get locked into the afterlife. It's not as simple method as the one we use in the tournament city, but it's the only working way in this world. Once you wake up, it'll just feel as if you simply lost consciousness."
"Blorpity blorp!"
"Don't get too excited," Killian said to Bubbles. "Death is never pleasant, even if your life won't end there."
A female soldier walked next to the talking knight. "Sir, the preparations are almost complete. Lord Gaspar and sage Eetu will commence the first match later today."
"Yes, I am royalty of some kind. I am from the plane of Ravnica and am the soon to be guild leader of the selesnya guild. My father was the first Guild leader Mat' Selesnya and he created me out of some mysterious magics. The kingdom, of sorts, of the sesnyans is the most beautiful place you will ever see, the nature is beautiful and it is so light and pretty. Konus was assigned by my father to guard me until the day he dies he is a shapeshifter and that's why he's a wolf."
The previous night, Coltras and all the other contestants had been summoned to Gaspar's mansion and were told that they were in the tournament. This morning, a man named Sir Killian Flainor had announced the matches. He would be facing Caphira, the angel. And Roland would be fighting Karnax - probably the opponent on whom his guns would have the least effect. Right after, the storm started. Rain lashed at the tavern windows as thunder crashed and lighting flashed. There would be no training today. Coltras wandered into the tavern library, a place he hadn't noticed before, hoping to read about the history of the area or perhaps the angels that Caphira had came from. But there was someone else in the library, a bespectacled, grey-haired man sitting in the corner reading a spellbook. He looked up as Coltras entered.
"I'm Coltras Drasonkai."
"I am Grand Magus Vir Azmani of Stahlthrone. A pleasure to meet you."
"What're you reading?" asked Coltras, sitting down in a nearby chair.
"It's a book chronicling spells of psychoanalytical nexuses in the cognition field."
"Ah, that's an interesting branch. I like the Q-nexus for use in efficient information retrieval."
Vir was amazed that the other actually knew what he was saying. "You're a learned mage, I see."
"I attended the Uswalir University in Jubani. My specialty is defensive and countermagic."
Vir said, "Unfortunately I've forgotten a lot due to becoming the king's advisor for a while. Only now I'm trying to remember my old knowledge for this tournament. I'm not a good fighter."
Coltras smiled. "I felt the same way just a few days ago. How about a little training right here? We'll keep it purely magical as to not make a mess."
Vir got up. "I'd love to practice the spells I've just been reading about."
Coltras prepared his countermagic, waiting for Vir to make the first move. Vir suddenly cast what seemed to be three spells at once - a spell of weakness, one of mindwearing, and finally one of knowledge - one of the psychoanalytical spells he had read, apparently. Coltras's training with Sunex allowed him to counter all three. Vir kept up the assault, casting a huge breadth of spells. Coltras could barely keep pace. If another person had walked into the library at that time, they would have seen a merfolk and a human standing stock-still with flashes of blue light passing between them. Finally, Vir spoke a commanding word after a spell. Coltras tried to counter it, but he couldn't. The barrage of spells hit him. Coltras felt the true power of Vir's magic, but his physical strength was improved by training and he withstood the blast. He brought a torrent of water down on Vir's head, defeating him.
"Good fight," said Vir. "That helped me more than you know." Vir sat down next to the fire to dry off.
"Maybe you could teach me some of those spells," said Coltras. "I liked the mindstone variant with thoughtswitching."
Coltras got a book down from the shelf and began to read, the fire crackling warmly in the background.
The next day, the storm stopped. Sir Killian led everyone to a forested area, where the tournament would begin.
@pakashra
Tai remembered the faerie princess. Azure. The beauty of their land. She couldn’t stand her. Azure was a jerk, a stuck up Faerie who never left her alone. Nya was well, different. She was a friend. She seems gone now. Sylva was gone now. Jaholion was gone too. It was only her and Pele or at least she thought.
Tai spies on the duo again.
“Wow! I really want to see your castle! Can I see the king? What is your kingdoms name?”
Konus stepped inside the dome. Sylva silenced herself. Nya stared at the ground. Tai tensed.
“Talking about the kingdom, eh?”
“Yes,” Nya responded.
“It is quite a nice place you know, Sylva. The king is overprotective but very generous.”
It surprised Tai that Konus said that. Tai wanted to train with Konus, but she couldn’t. She wanted to reunite with Sylva, but she wouldn’t. If there was anything she wanted, she wanted another chance, a chance to renew their friendship and move along. Tai started to cry.
The three found her.
Nya looked disgusted, Konus looked annoyed, and Sylva just stared at her, not knowing what to think.
“Tai,” Sylva said, “what is it that you want.”
“I want you back. At the end of the tournament it isn’t winning, it isn’t glory, it is friendships. If there is anything I want, it is you guys back. I just felt that you left me and I was a terrible friend.”
“Tai,” Sylva managed to say, “I...”
“You’ve intruded twice because of th-” Nya shouted.
“I want to win as well you know. But when it’s over we all-” Tai interrupted.
“Silence!” Sylva shouted, “I can’t take this anymore!”
Tai and Nya glared at each other and kept silent. “Tai is right,” Konus said, “These friendships are helping you grow for Tai would have been no match for me when she arrived and you as well Nya.”
Nya was dumbfounded. For all this time all she showed was happiness and anger, but now she showed grief. Just like that, Tai began to see something, something about Nya she had never seen before.
When Ronnie found Pele she was making ice cream
"Hi" Pele said "Who are you?"
"My name is Ronnie" He replied "I need information on Joholion"
"But that would be betraying him" She said "I can't do that"
Nya felt ashamed. She began to cry, I am a leader, I should not cry! But cry she did. A single tear slid down her creek and fell to the ground. Konus transformed and stood beside her.
"You have all succeeded, I will train all of you," He said as he began to unsheath his sword. "And the first lesson starts now!"
Should've used a cat as my contestant though, for the lulz, lol.)
"I understand" Said Ronnie, "Can I have an icecream before I go?"
"Sure!" Pele awnsered and took a big scoop of ice cream and placed it on a horn.
Waving their goodbyes He went on his way.
Enjoying his vanilla flavored ice cream an idea suddenly popped into Ronnie's head. "Ofcourse I shouldn't ask his friends, but his other adversaries!"
@bnew07 @Faiths_Guide @shadow123
Getting back to the tavern, Ronnie went to visit Kift, Roland and Tai and ask for their opinions...
@sanjaya666 - I don't know where you're going at, but in all contests the winning cards are considered to be good in the eyes of the judge(s). And this Just for Fun Contest is no different when it comes to it.
I like to see balanced and flavorful champions with interesting designs. I like to read the stories where people tell about or role-play their characters and sometimes experiment with other people's characters in their stories. ]
A rider was trotting around the town of Eternstor.
"The match between Vir Azmani and Hukong begins in two hours!"
Enough of this monkeying around, thought Vir with a wry smile, thinking of who he had to face. Of course, there'd be no monkeying around as far as Hukong was concerned. Vir had already conceded the physical battle. There was no winning that. Instead, he was focusing on his strengths in this matchup, trying to find that skeleton key of a strategy that would help him unlock his opponent. Hukong probably had a solid plan. Vir just had to throw a monkey wrench in it.
Vir chided himself. Your puns get worse with age, Vir.
He wasn't sure of the topography of the arena. If there were any trees, Vir would have to be cautious. He just had to buy himself time in the early stages, deflecting the first few exchanges, before closing down Hukong with his endgame. He was planning on using a few neuromotor relaxant spells initially, to slow down Hukong's reflexes and mobility. Some visual distractions would also help, and he was adept at creating those, although illusions were beyond him. Then, when the time was right, he could unleash spells of binding and disarming, before finishing off Hukong with a thought-drain spell, a telekinetic choke, or even a good old elemental blast.
Vir was heading out when he noticed his walking stick. After much deliberation, he took it with him. He never used a staff (it was too mainstream and not his style); more importantly, this wasn't a staff, having as much magical power as a lamppost. However, he had learnt that the threat of a staff was often more powerful than the staff itself, and appearances did matter.
At least it'll help me stand straight, he thought as he closed the door behind him.
On midday, civilians, tournament hosts, soldiers, and the contestants walked to the forest area, which had been made into an arena. Gaspar and Eetu were sitting on their designated benches on the highest row of seats. A young man with white hair and metal piercings on his face was sitting next to them. He had a red jacket with golden patterns and a black top hat with goggles. Vir Azmani walked in the middle of the arena and looked at the audience. Karnax, Threndal, Bubbles, and Gyar were lying on the forest ground next to the wooden stands. He didn't recognize the fancy looking man next to the other hosts.
Is he a host as well?
Hukong, the monkey warrior, jumped from tree to tree on his way to the arena. He could see Vir waiting there already. Killian was standing on a wooden podium, which is placed in front of the audience. Five clerics in white hoods were standing at the side of the arena, ready to heal the injured contenders after the match. A guard was standing at every corner of the stand, where the people were sitting. Acyros was nowhere to be seen, but Hukong had a feeling that he was watching from somewhere nearby. When both Vir and Hukong were standing in the arena, Killian turned around, spread his arms, and looked at everyone who had gathered there.
"Welcome, people of Eternstor! Today you are about to witness something which you haven't seen before! For many years we, the hosts, have chosen the best contenders who have traveled to your home to fight in the tournaments, which have been held in our home! But now, this seventeenth tournament starts on the very soil where you live!"
Vir and Hukong took their places in the arena as Killian was speaking. "These two contestants will fight until one of them falls! Vir Azmani had left his role of a steward to reignite his flame as a wizard! Now he has traveled to compete in this tournament to become a great magus that he once was!"
The audience clapped and cheered, then Killian continued. "The other contender is hailing from the kingdom of monkeys! His strengths and reflexes are beyond any human! The mysterious warrior of a far away world; Hukong!"
The people cheered and clapped again. "Both of these contestants carry a staff and an ambition to become the seventeenth tournament champion! And only the winner will be one step closer to the crown of the seventeenth champion! The loser may fall, but the same saying which we say in our home applies here; Our heroes will never die as long as we have faith in them!"
The soldiers and the other tournament hosts repeated the same saying. Many people in the audience had a slight confused look, but they clapped anyways. Sir Killian turned to look at Vir and Hukong, then he shouted one last time.
"Let the first round and the first match of the tournament begin!"
Konus seemed touched. He really was a nice person on the inside. All of the time Tai had a misperception on him.
“Nya,” Tai said, “My opponent uses vines like you do. I have some experience, but I want to adapt more. Will you help me?”
“Yes,” Nya said.
Sylva, Jahlion, and Pele smiled. Ronnie ran inside and said, “I need information about-”
“Me,” Jaholion said calmly.
Ronnie ran out again. Nya tested Tai with her vines. She tried new excersizes and got better and better. Tai managed to slip through some tight, thick vines and dodge some fast moving ones. Nya taught her to be careful with where the vine erupts from.
“Be careful with your rose. Remain in full control of it. Do not let her control it. You can also tell where a vine is going to strike based on the rumbling. Vines are flexible. A great strategy is knotting them up though by continuously dodging. Use your fire flowers too.” Nya advised.
“Thanks,” Tai said.
Jahlion and Sylva were training while Pele practiced her fire with burning vines and melting metals.
“Let’s watch the first one.”
Arrogance was never Tourach's trait.
A concept why she could achieve many things so far in her life, whether those were unsavory things or not.
Evil? No. Evil was subjective. The whole brainwashing thing was only a side effect of her lifelong dabbling in the dark arts of mind manipulation. It was almost no difference with those so called 'telepaths' in her homeplane.
Her ambition was only to become a leader of her own kingdom, where she stood atop of it.
The reverence part? She actually never wished about it. But if it also increased her power, why not then? But of course her followers almost always went overboard about the 'recruiting' part.
She just wished a kingdom like the others. And with her guidance, nobody would be branded the dark arts as 'evil' anymore, should her Order flourish and grow strong someday. And with her to guide it.
But for the moment, she was about to watch the first match of the tournament.
'The monkey's strength is too unnatural, it's like that a very strong enchantment is placed on him. Another god? A good possibility.' The lich scowled.
'There was no contest. If the monkey could just hit the wizard with his true strength just for once... unless the wizard could dispose the monkey first with his hidden tricks...'
And for the moment she could only wait among the crowds, for she was no temporal mage.
- || -
Somewhere hidden in the arena, a certain immortal black cat with somewhat purple-y eyes was also unnaturally watching intently about the tournament and its undead mistress.
Having seen enough he went on his way to do some of his own training and preparation.
Pele found Ronnie training for his fight and decided to talk to him
"Sorry about earlier" She said startling him "I can't give you information about Jaholion, but I can help you train"
"Thanks!" Ronnie replied
"Here" She said handing him a fire lotus "This will make sure you don't suffer any serious burns"
"O-Ok" He said
"Don't worry" She said smiling reassuring "I can treat minor burns."
(I don't know how Ronnie fights so you can write this part)
Whilst Nya and Tai trained Konus stood there and watched. They have grown stronger but this will not be enough.
"Nya, stand over there," Said Konus as he pointed away from the training area. "And Tai, you and I will train." He unsheathed his sword and held it out towards Tai. They both stood there for a few seconds, then Tai moved forward and shot at Konus with her flower. It looked like a direct hit, but when the dust cleared he was gone.
"Ahem," Said Konus who was now standing behind her, his sword inches away from piercing her. "That will never do, you must be faster than that, come try again." And try she did, she got pretty close a couple times but could never quite hit him, all the while he just stood there.
Nya just stood and watched. Tai was getting faster, both her and Konus saw it. He would have to go just a little faster each time to avoid her attacks, but still, soon Tais speed would rival her own. She looked to her left and saw Sylva sitting there, looking solemn. Nya walked over to her.
"I'm sorry that it had to be like this." Said Nya.
"....( @pakashara your turn.)
Title: None
Friends: None yet, has talked to a lot of people though
Special Powers/Abilities:
--Can fly
--Has a spear infused with the spirit of a demon
--Can summon small demons
--Red/black magic abilities
--Something only @TenebrisNemo will know
Strengths:
--Great eyesight
--Incredibly strong
--Very smart
--Trained by an incredibly powerful demon
Weaknesses:
--Very full of himself
--Very little self control