Ayero vs. Zai

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The day of her match, Ayero walked into the coliseum holding area looking a bit unsure of herself. It had been ages since she’d visited the arena, and even then it had only been to spectate. But she’d never thought that she’d willingly allow herself to take to the arena herself and fight for sport. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she exhales slowly and wonders if she had made a mistake by coming here. Though confident in her skill, fighting a coliseum match would be different than cutting down a handful of bandits or thieves. Ever since she had taken Vincenzo under her care, the Fanalis woman had to be careful to budget her earnings stricter than usual in order to care for her younger brother. In the past she didn’t think much of it if she missed a meal or two, but she was determined to ensure that Vin had three meals a day and a roof over his head. And this is how she’d come to challenge the coliseum; the odd jobs she took a sellsword had a certain level of danger similar to the arena, but they also had the potential to take her away for days or weeks at a time. At least here she’d be able to make it back to him by the end of the day, hopefully in one piece.


After being ushered out into the area, Ayero is surprised at the sheer volume of the massive crowd around her. Squinting into the distance, she spies another figure emerging at the other end of the arena. The announcer’s voice fades into the background as Ayero’s warrior instincts kick in and she falls into a sturdy stance, eyes glued to her opponent as she sizes him up. Another Fanalis, it seemed—perhaps that was why there was such an impressive turnout—a male, tall and apparently popular if the way the crowd roared when he entered the arena was any indication. From the looks of it, he carried no weapon.


The signal to start was given, and Ayero kept her blade sheathed at her side, rushing forward as her opponent did. More experienced in the ways of coliseum matches, Zai makes the first move and launches a Flurry of Blows and Feints at his female opponent. Prepared for an assault, Ayero uses her Swift Dodge technique to side-step as many of the blows as she can. She successfully dodges the first six, but she’s not quick enough to react to Zai’s following feint. The deceptive move catches her off guard and knocks her off of her rhythm, allowing Zai to deliver three successful blows. Two hit her in her abdomen and the last punch makes contact with her jaw, causing the female Fanalis to stumble back in a slight daze.


The crowd erupts into a roar as the newcomer takes the first hit. Taking advantage of his opponent’s momentary stupor, Zai lunges forward with his Fanalis speed and aims a Bursting Strike at Ayero. The incoming attack pulls Ayero from her surprise and back into the battle, raising her arms in a Simple Block to defend herself. She can feel the heavy pressure of Zai’s strike resonate through the armor she wore on her arms, no doubt due to his Fanalis strength. Exhaling sharply, the young woman’s eyes harden behind her block and she raises her left leg just as she begins to lower her arms. Attempting to catch Zai off guard, Ayero delivers a sweeping kick to the man’s side in an effort to use her own racial strength against him. She could tell now by the way that he had come at her, coliseum matches were no joke.


Her kick sends the man about two meters away, stumbling to the ground from the force of the blow. She quickly closes the gap between them and attempts to swing a punch at he rises, but he seemed to be expecting this and lashes out with his hand in a Bursting Parry. The Fanalis man’s hand slaps away her own and he simultaneously sidesteps her follow-up blow with her other fist. Growing to herself in frustration, Ayero reminds herself not to get too worked up over fighting this opponent. It would do no good to allow her more hot-headed side to come out, especially when it seems like her opponent is keeping his cool. Keeping a sharp eye on Zai’s movements, Ayero notes the man reel back his fist and  digs her right heel into the ground in preparation. As he goes to deliver another Bursting Strike, Ayero performs a Great Leap into the air, successfully dodging the blow. Soaring several meters in an arc above the man as he carries out his strike into the open air, Ayero uses her quick descent to deliver a closed-fist blow of her own to her opponent’s skull.


Landing swiftly, the woman quickly raises her head in time to see Zai’s body hit the ground, still and unmoving. Hoping that she’d just knocked the man out and not caused any lasting damage (or death), Ayero breathes out slowly. The fight was over, and the cheering of the crowds came rushing into her ears as her battle adrenaline slowly wore off. A slow grin settled onto her face as she realized that she’d won and that she’d actually enjoyed the thrill of the fight.

[Stamina: 190/250]

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