Zafar VS Caelus

Equipment:

A regular spectator of the coliseum and its matches, Zafar was no stranger to the roars of the crowd. However, this was the assassin's first time being a part of the..."entertainment" those cheers were aimed at as he stepped out of the gladiators entrance onto the battlefield. The iron gate slowly closed behind him as he strode forward smirking ever so slightly. It was surprisingly enjoyable to be the center of so much attention that he had been avoiding for so long. Zafar had spent a long time avoiding the spotlight in Reim, preferring the shadows. But boredom had finally driven him to register as a gladiator in hopes that he might find an enjoyable challenge on the battleground.

As the assassin emerged into the sunlight he lifted his hand and waved to the crowds with a smile. He knew that they cared less about him and more about the blood running through his veins and how much of it would be spilled this day. Even so, a natural showmanship in his blood made it hard not to make a show of the ordeal. He flickered his fingertips and revealed a playing card using slight of hand. It was a Joker, which he flicked into the air to be caught with his other hand before flickering it once more to make the card disappear from view. The little distraction was a simple entertainment offered as he took his position and waited for his opponent to do the same.

Equipment:

Caelus frowned. The information Telleus had brought him regarding his next opponent was sparse at best, and provided next to nothing on their abilities or fighting style. All i really know is that his name is Zafar, and he's been seen in the crowds before. He doesn't have any previous matches either, so i can't look at fight records. His brow furrowed further. Caelus always wanted to go into a fight with as much knowledge as possible. "Knowledge is strength", so his father used to say. But this would be like picking a fight with a stranger on the road. He sighed, and took a deep breath. No use getting any more worked up about it. I'll just need to fight defensively until i can figure him out.

With that Caelus strode out into the arena. His attire would noticeably be different for anyone who followed his Coliseum career, as his usual red and white clothes with silver armor would be covered by the blue cloak of Frost Mantle. It would also help to cover up Life Aura, which hung from a small loop of fabric by his waist, and Frost Prick, which was held in a horizontal sheath on his lower back. He drew Ripple, and got into a ready stance positioned about ten meters from his opponent.

When the bell finally rang, Caelus would run in and deliver two quick slashes, first from above and then up diagonally from the bottom right. This would immediately be followed by a standing front flip over Zafar, and a thrust towards his neck and shoulders. Caelus needed to judge his opponent's fighting style within the first few moments so he could form a plan for the future. More than anything, this would allow him to see how Zafar gauged their skill difference. He would be watching for the reaction on his face just as much as his movements.

Combat Summary:

~WC: 323~

In contrast to his opponent, Zafar found the lack of information about his opponent exciting. He smirked playfully as Caelus drew a short sword from within his cloak. Zafar was certain that there was more hiding beneath the dark blue folds than Caelus was letting on. Warriors didn't wear big loose clothing like that unless they were trying to hide something. The red headed assassin welcomed the surprises Caelus had in store as he rushed forward making an approach. Zafar neither fled nor charged in response. He stood his ground and spent the time of Caelus' approach slowly reaching behind his back to grasp the handle of his Bloody Branch. The assassin drew the crimson blade and then let his arms rest loosely at his sides while he braced himself for the oncoming attack.

The vertical slash cut the air as it flew towards Zafar only for the man to side step the attack dodging it be a narrow breadth. Keeping an ever playful smirk on his lips, Zafar turned towards Caelus' blade slightly as he made his evasive step. When the second slash come sharply cutting towards him, Zafar's left hand snapped into a whip-like motion with the bloody branch in tow blocking it and redirecting the blade's edge away from himself. The act had Zafar taking a half step back in order to absorb the force of the blow from the bigger heavier weapon.

Caelus' next maneuver was a surprise as he leaped upwards and flipped. A thrust came next and the actions happened so quickly that Zafar honestly wasn't sure whether or not the stab had come while Caelus was still airborne or after he had hit the ground. Regardless, the assassin had turned with Caelus' flip so he would be facing the halfling as he landed. Zafar ducked the thrust slightly and shifted to the side, but it was too fast for him to dodge completely. Thought his neck was safe, blood flew through the air as a result and not just from Zafar's shoulder. His right hand had also been cut. Zafar had grasped Caelus' sword in hand and gripped it tightly, his eyes turning into upside down crescents of pleasure as the pain stabbed throughout Zafar's body. Simultaneous to catching Caelus' sword, Zafar slashed out with his bloody branch aiming to cut into the wrist of Caelus' sword hand in order to compromise his grip.

Immediately following this attempt to cut the wrist, Zafar would let go of the sword and perform a side kick aimed for Caelus' gut.

Bloody Branch Durability: 90/100

Combat Actions:

Caelus couldn't help but grin when his final attack struck home.  First blood was his, and the crowd roared in approval.  However his joy turned sour when he landed to find that Zafar was grasping Ripple by the blade, hardly a care for his now bleeding hand.  Caelus' eyes shot to the three pronged knife as it came up towards his arm.  Planting his back foot Caelus managed to deflect the blow by drawing and parrying with Frost Prick, using Sideswipe to throw it just short of its target, holding Frost Prick in a reverse grip like a parrying dagger.  The kick came as a complete surprise however, catching Caelus square in the gut and sending him flying backwards several feet.  Caelus rolled into the fall, coming up and activating both Frost Mantle and Life Aura.  White fog billowed from the folds of his cloak, surrounding him instantly as he came up from the roll, having sheathed Frost Prick to grasp Life Aura.  Before Zafar would lose sight of him, the last thing he would see would be violet light streaming from Caelus' eyes, before they too were covered by the fog.

The fog filled several meters of space, and Caelus maximized the area by running around Zafar in a wide circle.  I can't keep this up for long, but now i have a massive advantage.  Zafar will be effectively blind, but with Life Aura, i'll be able to track him perfectly.  He thought, as he circled the knife wielder.  Caelus eyed Zafar for just a moment, the violet image giving him just enough to work out which way the man was facing.  Circling behind him, Caelus swiped hard at the air with the flat of his blade, creating a current that would try to distract Zafar's combat sense.  Meanwhile, Caelus would move around to his right side and run in low, dropping into his Mirror's Edge stance and bringing Ripple up in a slash from the bottom left, before the copy strike from Mirror's Edge brought Ripple down again from the upper left.

Combat Summary:

Abilities:

Magoi: 110/130
Stamina: 160/190

~WC: 349, 672~

Zafar retracted his leg from the kick and came to stand in a relaxed pose. Having let go of Caelus' sword, the assassin's bloody hand was now dripping blood as he brought it up to inspect with his golden eyes. The cut had drawn blood but little else and judging from the pain in his shoulder the damage had been about the same there. "Unnng...not enough...My tendons are intact...My muscles unsevered...." A perverted gaze peered past Zafar's bloodied fingers towards Caelus as the gladiator ended his landing roll and stored away the surprise dagger he had revealed. "More~ You need to hurt me more or it just won't do~" The masochist moaned the words out in a silky smooth voice ending the sentence with a lick of his lips. There wasn't the slightest bit of surprise on Zafar's face when his opponent revealed some strange orb of light and produced mist from his cloak. He had already been expecting to see something unexpected after all.

Amusement danced across Zafar's lips in the form of a playful smile and his eyes were wide like a beast or a madman, perhaps some mix of the two. He stood there as the fog billowed out past him and swirled about enveloping the local space. At first, Zafar could vaguely tell that Caelus was circling him to spread the mists, but in a matter of seconds the entire world became a thick haze and he lost track of Caelus entirely. The fog made the air become cold bestowing gooseflesh upon Zafar's excited body. These tricks were somewhat petty, but fun nevertheless. Especially considering the counter method Zafar would ultimately employ as a response. He'd already taken Caelus' blade once and knew from experience that it's edge was dreadfully dull. Confident that he could take an attack so long as it wasn't to his eyes or throat, Zafar resolved to simply stand still and wait for his opponent to strike with closed eyes and open ears.

Raising his right arm to cover his neck and his left arm to cover his eyes, both limbs held parallel, Zafar patiently held his ground. Oddly enough he had used sleight of hand to produce a metal playing card in his right hand. Even as Caelus swiped his blade through the air to disturb the mists and make noise, the assassin made no response. Not until he was actually hit. This patience allowed him to hear Caelus' footsteps on the coliseum ground as he moved around to Zafar's right side. But there was no way to know that the man planned on stopping there to make an attack so Zafar's eyes remained closed until the sudden impact on his waist occurred. However, instead of the slicing of blade through flesh one might expect was instead a clang of metal on metal. The swordsman's cloth wrapped around Zafar's waist had taken the blow for him. In that instant, Zafar's golden eyes snapped open and he smiled a toothy grin as his peering orbs gleamed in the fog turning to look to the right.

In order to strike Zafar, Caelus needed to get within 1m albeit not by much. Even so, the man was close enough that his general outline and the movements he was making were clear. Zafar's left hand with the Bloody Branch was already crossed in front of him and on his right side. It was simply a matter of turning slightly and adjusting his arm position to catch Caelus' follow up slash in between the main blade and one of the prongs. Zafar then twisted his wrist allowing his dagger to wrench down on Caelus' sword snaring it so it would be difficult to pull the blade free.

"Found you~ Fufufu~"

Simultaneous to blocking the blade, Zafar swiped his right arm through the air launching the metal card towards Caelus' chest. The sharpness of this card made the man's sword look like a butter knife threatening to leave far less superficial wounds on Caelus than was had been left on Zafar up till now. With the Bloody Branch still torquing on ripple tightly, Caelus would likely find it hard to dodge of retreat from this blow. Zafar watched eagerly to see how he would handle it.

Bloody Branch Durability: 80/100
Swordsman's Cloth Durability: 90/100
Edged Chance Free Ammunition: 4/5

Combat Summary:

Zafar's actions continued to surprise Caelus.  There was no reaction whatsoever from his distraction attempt, in fact the man stood still with his eyes covered in a strange position.  He felt something nagging at the back of his mind, telling him to back out and reevaluate, but Caelus pushed it aside and dove in for the strike.  He was shocked to find that Zafar was wearing some kind of metal band around his waist, deflecting his blow easily, and the second was brought to bear against the sword catcher yet again.  Caelus pulled back instinctively, but found the blade held fast in the prongs of the crimson branch.

Suddenly there was a searing pain in Caelus' chest, right above his heart.  He glanced down to find a playing card of all things jutting out vertically from his ribcage.  Thankfully it hadn't passed beyond the bone, but the pain was intense and blood flowed freely from the wound.  With only a moment to act, Caelus dropped Ripple and retreated into the fog.  Continuing to feed Magoi into Frost Mantle and Life Aura, Caelus drew Frost Prick and resettled his Mirror's Edge stance.  He continued his run, circling around Zafar at high enough speed to make the fog start to swirl.  

From the audience he heard murmurs and uneasy voices, spectators having to guess at the goings-on within the cloud.  However as the fog picked up speed in its rotation, the sound turned to gasps and hushed silence as they waited for the results of the event.

The spiraling fog created an "eye of the storm" effect around Zafar, giving him a 1 meter range of perfect sight while otherwise magnifying the distortion effect elsewhere in the cloud.  As Caelus ran, his mind raced even faster, devising a way to counter attack  while staying true to his fighting style.  I'm not the best with deception.  I've always been a straightforward kind of person.  So i won't try to play his game.  When i engage him again, he's going to see a new side of me.  A strong, steadfast attack should break through his sword catchers guard, and then i'll finish it.

After another moment Caelus burst from the fog, coming at Zafar head on, Frost Prick now glimmering as magoi flowed through it.  Caelus unleashed his fastest Furious Assault towards Zafar's chest, knowing that even one or two connecting strikes could spell his victory in the end.  A series of 8 blows, forming an eight point star, would attempt to pepper Zafar, and a ninth horizontal slash from Mirror's Edge for good measure.  Blood would fly from Caelus' own wounds as he exerted himself, running down his arm and staining the ice of Frost Prick crimson.  Finally, without giving Zafar any time to recover, he would spring forward again, forgoing any attempt to defend himself from a counter-attack.  With a shout, "PHANTOM GAMBIT!", he'd plunge forward with a powerful Mirror's Gambit to the solar plexus, the fog that still flowed from Frost Mantle hopefully giving him even the slightest additional edge.  Whether Zafar blocked the final blow or not, the force of the attack would blow the fog away completely, as Caelus would release his flow of magoi from the Mantle and Life Aura.

Combat Summary:

Abilities:

Magoi: 90/130
Stamina: 75/190

~WC: 546, 1218~

"Wise choice~" Zafar mused as he watched his opponent abandon the dull blade and retreat back into the misty fog. With a smirk, Zafar flicked his blade causing the trapped ripple to slip loose and fall harmlessly to the floor. The sly assassin then reached behind his back and grasped the handle of his Swordsman's Cloth tugging on it with one long smooth motion that caused the cloth-like blade to unfurl from his waist revealing the thin metal barrier between his skin and the weapon that acted as its "sheath" when not being used. The serpentine sword danced in the twisting vortex of mists before being tugged towards Zafar and falling limp at his feet. The man then waited once more, curious as to what tactics Caelus would try next.

When the mist broke directly in front of Zafar his eyes flashed and he swiped his arm through the air pulling the cloth blade up to intercept any incoming attack. His opponent struck the guard but continued on with a flurry of attacks. With each strike Caelus made, Zafar swept his hand again causing another layer of cloth blade to appear forming a Woven Wall of defense. In his left hand however was still the Bloody Branch so when an attack came from the side following the ferocious combo, Zafar moved the crooked crimson blade into position to block the attack. Meanwhile, he was drawing circles in the air with the swordsman's cloth's handle.

Caelus was fond of slashing with those strong arms of his, Zafar was going to make him pay a price for doing so as the cloth drew a wide circle in front of himself large enough to swallow any slashes that came next. Surprisingly, the fool doomed himself with a thrust instead. Zafar's eyes gleamed greedily as he saw Caelus' arm draw back in preparation to stab. Zafar performed a Light Step backwards followed by three more drawing circles in the air the entire time. This caused the circle to swiftly close in on Caelus' arm at the end of his stab, sharp cloth blade edges seeking to dig into his flesh carving out the muscles from his biceps all the way down to his fingertips only to slither off the hopefully mangled arm and disappear into the threshold of the fogs vision impairment.

Zafar ended his retreat after the fourth step and allowed the swordsman's cloth to fall flat along the ground making a line in front of him just under 5m long. From here he would have already escaped the fog's edge having traveled  12m total. Now he stood outside the fog licking his lips eager to see if his attempt to mangle Caelus' arm had been successful or not. In a final fluid motion, Zafar tucked his bloody branch into the hem of his pants behind his back and drew another metal card into his left hand as he waited. There was no cocky comment or passioned shout of some technique name during the entire exchange. Only the silent gaze of a killer watching his prey.



Bloody Branch Durability: 55/100
Swordsman's Cloth Durability: 90/100
Edged Chance Free Ammunition: 4/5
Stamina: 150/210

Combat Details:

Abilities Used:

Caelus cried out in pain.  The ribbon blade tore at the length of his right arm, slicing deep gashes into his skin and muscle.  The bleeding was intense and immediate, followed by waves of pain Caelus had not yet experienced.  As Zafar backpedaled out of the fog, Caelus slumped to his knees, cradling his ravaged and almost useless arm.  Looking down, he tried to move it and succeeded, but the pain was so intense it was almost blinding.

With his left hand he went to pick up Frost Pick, and in the corner of his eye he noticed a glimmer of light to his right.  Ripple's blade shone in the increasing light, allowing Caelus to see it, and after rising, grab it.  The grip felt familiar, pleasant even.  It reminded him of all those hours and days he spent training with it in hand.  He smiled, and settled down enough to seriously think about his next clash.  Zafar relies on switching weapons, and counters to fight.  He has yet to make a single attack first.  I am a better swordsman than he is, but he can read my attacks and adapt to them perfectly.  Ideally, i'd take one of his weapons out of the fight, but with his strange weapons i'd need more time to find their weaknesses.  Caelus stood tall, and wrapped Frost Mantle around  himself to as to obscure his arms.  As if to accentuate the gravity of the coming moments, a stiff breeze blew away the remainder of the waning fog, revealing Caelus completely.

Caelus would start off at a walk briefly before bolting forward.  He'd run all-out, charging in directly and trying to bait out the card Zafar held, but curving around just enough so as not to run on top of the cloth.  If Zafar threw the card, Caelus would block the blow with the flat of Ripple's blade, but otherwise would keep his arms hidden.  With Ripple in his right arm and Frost Prick in his left, Caelus would deliver three quick blows, first a cut down vertically with Ripple, again horizontally across the chest with Frost Pick, and then rotating into another horizontal blow with Ripple again to the same area.  Caelus knew full well that they would be blocked by the cloth or the sword breaker, but he was waiting for Zafar's followup attack.  The moment Zafar moved to retaliate, Caelus would parry it with Sideswipe using Frost Prick, and follow up with a strong bash a moment later with Ripple, to hit Zafar in the base of his jaw with the hilt of the sword.  A well placed blow there would take even the largest man and put him on his ass.  A K.O. button if there ever was one, and Caelus was throwing all of his experience (and luck) into finding it.  If it worked, he'd be able to pin Zafar with a blade to his neck, and call the fight.

Combat Summary:

Abilities:

Magoi: 90/130
Stamina: 35*/190
*Potentially more, based on strength of the incoming attack.

~WC: 499, 1717~

The assassin's eyes narrowed as he watched Caelus come charging forward straight at him. The youthful gladiator didn't seem to notice the cloth blade laying flat on the ground creating a 5m danger zone in a line in front of Zafar. Or perhaps Caelus simply didn't understand the dangerous behaviours of the flexible blade. Zafar could see half a dozen methods to shred Caelus' legs, break his shins, or even relieve him of his manhood in the scant few breaths that it took him to cross those five meters and arrive in striking distance. But Zafar did none of those things. He had come to believe that he was better off planting a seed here. One of hate and regret, watered with sullied pride that might ripen into a delicious vengeance filled fruit some day. A perverse smile danced across his lips as he had the thought.

Zafar lifted his hands in the air and dropped both weapons to the ground. His cold golden eyes gleamed as he made contact with Caelus' own and stared deeply into the approaching warrior's soul. "Become stronger...Much, much stronger~" These words were spoken just loud enough to be heard over the crowds but quietly enough that only Caelus could hear them. Zafar then allowed himself to be struck, eyes rolling to the back of his head in pleasure as the sweet pain of severed flesh cut across his chest in an intersection of love. One wound burning hot with blood, the other feeling icy cold. Zafar let out a deep moan as the masochist savored the injuries and then waited until Caelus' final attack was too far committed to stop in order to shout, "I forfeit!" The blow then struck true and sent the red haired clown crumpling to the floor unconscious.

A slew of boos erupted from the crowd, some upset that Zafar had clearly thrown the match. Others casting Caelus disrespectful looks and making whispers of dishonor to his name for having hit someone who surrendered. A terrible upset indeed. Even as Zafar was dragged off the battlefield, the crowd was still booing, some even coming to throw rotted food into the arena. No one was aiming at Caelus in particular, but some would fly in his direction regardless. A sinisterly prepared scene as Zafar's parting gift to Caelus as appreciation for the match. A gift to remember him by, a wound to the heart which Zafar hoped would fester and turn foul instead of the ones on his opponent's arms. Something that wouldn't be forgotten long after the injuries of flesh had healed.

"DAMMIT!" Caelus punched the wall of the waiting area hard with his left hand. The fight had left a bad taste in his mouth, and the pain was the only distraction. As he collapsed into a chair, the medical staff began to patch him up. Bandages wound tight around his right arm, and the playing card injury carefully sewed back together the slashed skin. Caelus rested his head on the wall behind him and tried to think back, back to what went wrong. Where did everything fall apart?

---

Caelus rushed in, blades hidden in his cloak ready to spring out when he got in close. To his surprise, the cloth blade did not move from its resting position, and Zafar did not seem to react at all when the strikes began to land. It was odd, Caelus thought, that he would choose to receive the blows like that. It was unnecessary, and Zafar had already shown that simple strikes such as those would be child's play to deflect or block. But he couldn't afford to analyze it further. After the third blow landed, Caelus took his position to parry the expected counter-attack... But none came. What is he thinking? Siezing the moment, Caelus threw all of his energy into the knockout blow. Mere moments before it connected, Zafar threw up his hands and shouted his surrender. But it was too late for Caelus to stop. The hammer-fist struck square on the button, and Zafar dropped like a stone.

There was a moment of stunned silence, both from Caelus and the crowd. Caelus lowered his weapons, shocked at what had occurred. He stood with his mouth open, just staring at Zafar. Then the boos and jeers started to cry out from the audience. Some where directed at him, some at Zafar, and some were just generally disappointed. Food and trash was thrown into the arena, and an apple core even struck Caelus in the leg. It was awful, and Caelus couldn't feel more disappointed, and angry, as he did right then.

---

Up until that point, the fight had been entirely one sided. Zafar was playing with Caelus, taunting him and showing off his superiority. The only real strike Caelus had landed was the first, the one that took Zafar by surprise. But in that exchange every strike found its mark. Caelus' brow furrowed. I'm not thinking about this the right way. What was Zafar showing me? What was he doing, instead of what wasn't he doing? The fight swam in his head, repeated over and over again. Caelus remembered something about Zafar's body. He was smiling. He had dropped his weapons. He-

"Become stronger... Much, much stronger~"

The words rang in his head like a bell. Zafar had spoken them moments before Caelus' blade first struck, loud enough for only him to hear. The bastard didn't find me a challenge. Not even a bit. He threw the match because no matter how badly he could have beaten me, forcing me to win in disgrace was so much worse.

Caelus stood, feeling the bandages tight around his arm and body. It was a slow walk to pick up his things from the rack, but he stopped when he looked at Ripple. The blade had served him very well over the years. He ran a finger over the edge, and noted it wasn't as good as it could be. Perhaps his first step forward was to get Ripple touched up. He picked it up with his right hand, wincing as the wounds on his arm pained him. "I'll get stronger. There was never a doubt of that. And the next time we fight, i'll crush you, Zafar. I'll make you regret insulting me like this." With that he turned and exited the waiting area, and walked into the crowd outside.

~WC: 653, 2370~