Corwin Ostavia: Combat Tower
"I-" Corwin paused at this, looking away and rubbing her arm self-consciously. "I don't think I deserve to win, based on how I fought. My spells were basically fireworks apart from the webs and my shield, and I only knocked you down because I crashed into you. It- It doesn't feel good, I don't want to win like that. Besides, you're clearly better at this than me, with your summons. My spells are too..."
She floundered for a response for a moment, before sighing and letting her shoulders sag.
"I knew I'd lose, I'm fine with that, I just didn't want it to be so... clumsy. Even when I tried wrestling I got thrown into you backwards. Chapter of accidents..."
borkWe're Dueling In The Tower
A non-response? Annoying. Ah well, with the gap closed in the aftermath Voron had some more to work with on the actual fight.
"Hmph, how glib."
This was fine, every strike was a dialogue after all and Voron's next 'words' on that front were to attempt to circle around for an opening.
"You know, I feel like you're a pariah around here because you're too close to the truth..."
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.Meriam, standing around awkwardly
Meriam was left alone again Juna quite simply running off from their beginning conversation. She wasn't angry, only her arm started itching again so she scratched it as she watched Juna leave.... Not like she could be angry as her interest would inevitably be drawn to Reid, or more accurately his opponent, she couldn't stand the wriggling of his flesh, but Alicia her body was a wonder to Meriam, as despite the curses laid upon her, she remained human within.
She'd soon become invested in the fight watching Alicia's moves with care as her eyes pierced through her skin showing where the muscles tensed before an attack, and how her cursed thorn travelled through her body... ... then suddenly the fight was over and where Alicia had been retreating towards, she'd suddenly bump into the genus girl, Alicia likely felt as if she'd just bumped into an adult as a child, but instead of pushing her away, Meriam instead put her hands on Alicias shoulders healing her wounds in an instant, though she'd leave some visually displeasing wounds for Reid to see. She doubted the Ego of the Worm skin guy could take seeing his opponent seemingly unharmed. ”You’ve sullied my shirt, Blackwood, I expect that you’ll visit my dorm for its cleaning”
Then she’d step away from Alicia, showing to the rest of class a small smudge on her shirt. “Till then, I wish not to be disturbed from my study by you again.”
Apollyon, Riposte Response 2
“Is that so?”
Even with his preference for silence, such assertion was too enticing to leave unresponded to. Regardless, Apollyon didn’t let up, instead using Voron’s perceived lack of focus to press the offensive with a jab towards the fencer’s chest.
“I figured your liberalism would leave us at odds.”
The Thinker, Call and Response
“Well, Yune, I think it’s a safe assumption that it’s not my last name that matters to you. That’s why I’m here, matter ‘a fact. Bet I could be anybody in the whole world, tell you my name was Joe and we’d be all good. You know how rare that is round here? Lemme tell ya, most ‘a these fellas won’t even say a word til they hear that last name. Sure means a lot. But not to you, eh?”
WITH A HAIL OF HARPOONS! WITH EVERY LAST DROP OF MY BEING!This Tower's Made For Dueling
"Oh don't get it twisted, I still despise Phenemeon's horrific drive; but I see the truth that leads them to it."
Voron feints, but not far enough to avoid the jab. Ah well.
"Zero-one to you. But you see it, yes? Megistos and its gloried Houses are weak. Projecting false strength to keep everyone else in line..."
A mad rush in, another attempt to get a passing strike off.
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.The Thinker
“Does it matter?”
Apollyon
”Tch-“
He felt the blade sink into a shallow path across his flesh and through his shirt.
“Make that one-one. Strength is treated as an imaginary currency by most. Only those that trade in truth can see the weakness.”
He returned to a classical grip and attempted to chase Voron down with his swing, exploiting his opponents extension and movement to land a particularly strong strike.
“Seeing is but half the battle, however. You must be strong yourself to change anything. And your ilk is deluded, decadent and foolish.”
Edited by Yayakuza on Sep 10th 2024 at 2:54:12 AM
WITH A HAIL OF HARPOONS! WITH EVERY LAST DROP OF MY BEING!Reid pulled himself off of the wall, noting the pain from the impact with a mixture of curiosity and intrigue. He stretched and let himself settle down, watching Alicia benefit from the healing from Merry with a detached, odd smile - and then after a moment he looked over at Micaio, who had voiced actual concern for him. Smirking, Reid promptly shrugged his shoulders and said, "Mm, I'm fine, quite fine," he then paced a bit in place, trying to see if there was anything that needed an immediate fix, "I've taken harder hits than that in the Tower Games. My thanks for the concern."
"I'll take a look at the ongoing bouts from the side." He took a seat by the wall, watching the fights with a bemused glance at each. Every one had at least something going on that interested him - whether it be a personal quality, a body of desirability, or something else further.
Marah
She had to stop herself from looking smug as Joaquin reacted in exactly the manner she'd guessed. He wasn't hard to read. She liked that.
Her mothers had impressed upon her the importance of discretion, of hiding one's true feelings, and of caution around men, so of course the moment she found a cute boy who wore his heart on his sleeve she couldn't help but reciprocate.
"Well, that depends on you." Marah replied. "I wouldn't want to rush you into something you're uncomfortable with."
She smiled up at him, and it was genuine. "You're cute, and kind, and I'd be fine just being your friend... but I wouldn't say no to trying something more."
This would require her to tweak her ongoing scheme to tease Apollyon to death, but she could easily pivot from flirtatiousness to more platonic acts of friendship. And given how repressed the kinslayer was, he might still take that as flirting anyway.
"So, Joaquin, what do you say?"
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?Alicia Blackwood
"As Mistress Genus wills it," Alicia said neutrally, even as the healing took place. She knew Merry was trying to help her the best she could, and would put in an additional visit to the Genus dorms to keep up appearances later. However, for now, she wanted to wipe off all the ashes and sweat that had covered her body during her bout with Reid. Stepping over to the water buckets again, she began repeating the process of cleaning herself, watching the other fights progress.
Edited by JumpingFruit on Sep 10th 2024 at 5:44:38 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.Yune
"..."
Yune gave Hey-You a look that wasn't suspicious so much as it was just confused. "I feel like you're avoiding the question," he said. "And I don't know why. Is there something bad about your name? I'm not going to judge you if there is."
"Look inside yourself and to the stars; there, you will find your answers."Joaquin
He was panicking. Well, not really, but you get the idea. Fidgeting, heavy breathing, probably sweating, and his face was still incredibly red. He looked around about 10 times, cause he was freaking out. What do you do? Hide? No, don’t do that. Do shadows give dating advice? Say something! He gulped, and took a deep breath. “Buh-“ He shut his mouth again and took another breath. Had his parents said anything about this?! Only that being nice would surely get him someone. And they were right! Had he read a book about this? Goodness gracious, just SHUT UP AND TALK TO HER-
He closed eyes, counted to ten, and spoke. “Well, uh, looking back on it, I think I have- had?- a crush on you, so… I-I’d like that. A lot. A lot, a lot.” He stopped himself from snapping his fingers, and looked at her. What do you do now? Hug? Kiss? In a flash, he stuck out his fist for a fist bump. People who date do that, right?
It builds character.The Thinker
“Kristen. My name is Kristen. Rolls off the tongue easy-like, so even if you ain’t good with names you tend to remember. My thing is I ain’t like people to remember me, makes it hard to stay below notice, y’feel me?”
He smiled, leaning back with a stretch as he continued.
“Anyway, I figure if you didn’t take that book, you at least know who did, yeah?”
WITH A HAIL OF HARPOONS! WITH EVERY LAST DROP OF MY BEING!Marah
She couldn't help but giggle. Where Joaquin was nervous, Marah was collected as ever, though her heart did flutter a little when he admitted his feelings.
Gently, she grasped his hands, unclenching his fingers for him. In place of a fist bump, she moved his hands to her sides, indicating he should embrace her, and leaned in to rest against his chest. "Like this." She said, and leaned up to nuzzle his neck. "It's better when it's not hot out, though."
Relaxing into his arms, she glanced over the remaining bouts. Part of her wanted to call out to Apollyon, make him look at what he could have had, but strangely she found it hard to muster her usual resentment towards him. Instead, she just sighed blissfully. "Who do you think wins?" She mused, gesturing towards the fight between Voron and Polly. "Phenemeon would obviously have more battle skill, but Baldesion could have some tricks up his sleeve."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?Yune
"..." Yune's stare grew blank. "This is embarrassing, but I don't actually remember."
Then, a thought struck. "But I can take you to them and you can ask. They're all at the...combat tower." He sounded noticeably discomfited there. "Doing combat things."
"Look inside yourself and to the stars; there, you will find your answers."Kristen, The Thinker
“Oh, I know where they are. If you’re headed that way, I’ll come with, but I ain’t in any rush. Your friends’re all pretty predictable folks, even the ones that like to pretend they’re all mysterious. ‘Tween you ‘n me, I think most ‘a these mages’re showoffs and blowhards…but again, if you’re headed that way, I’ll come with.”
As he spoke, Kristen’s head tilted to the side. An unspoken question. Wanna watch the showoffs?
WITH A HAIL OF HARPOONS! WITH EVERY LAST DROP OF MY BEING!Joaquin
Oh okay this was happening yes yes yes yes. He (rather awkwardly) wrapped his arms around her waist. “Uh, sorry, if I’m new to this. The only people I’ve hugged are my parents. And a pig from the palace. Her name was Martá.” He tried to calm himself. Do what your mom said, ten deep breaths, ten deep breaths. He looked over to where Voron and Polly were sparring, tilting his head in thought at Marah’s comment. “Huh, I dunno, when I think ‘bout it. I hope Polly wins. He’s nice. Don’t you think so?” He chuckled a little. “Um… this is… nice. Thanks”
It builds character.Dueling And Rhetoric
Voron acts fast, twisting to take the hit in the shoulder rather than the chest.
"Exactly! They hold a lie: that merely holding magic over the heads of the common makes them fit to rule! For the rule of man to mean anything, it must be tested! I would put to proof the creeping mendacity of this land!"
He stumbles back, flipping his blade and quickly flinging a Verscathe at his foe.
"But. Not how Phenemeon would... My proof is more than 'I am stronger because I can destroy the weaker'..."
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.Yune
"Alright...guess we're going there, then." Yune stood up, gently set his book on the table, and started heading for the combat tower.
As he walked, he couldn't help but ask, "Was me not going to the tower also predictable?"
"Look inside yourself and to the stars; there, you will find your answers."Kristen, The Thinker
“Let’s just say I came here first.”
He playfully punched Yune in the arm as he stood and replaced his seat, hardly turning away from the boy in their journey from the library to the tower. It seemed he always had something to say, even idly, and he only seemed to shut up when they reached the place of trials and he pushed open the door.
Apollyon, Debate Among Swords
“Then even as you posit your enlightenment, you don’t get it.”
As if to physically make his point, the Kinslayer forewent dodging to instead raise an arm and truck through the magic blast, which ripped open his sleeve and sent a sudden wave of panic through him. The Kinslayer swallowed hard. He didn’t care. He didn’t care. He didn’t care. Channeling the sudden shift in emotion, he lunged, attempting to catch Voron off guard by tanking his magic, and threw a sideswipe at the boy with his poleaxe.
“Strength only exists at the expense of the weak.”
WITH A HAIL OF HARPOONS! WITH EVERY LAST DROP OF MY BEING!Yune
Yune found himself drifting off into the clouds again as Kristen talked, occasionally responding with a one-word answer but otherwise mostly silent; partially because he didn't have time to get a word in and partially because he wasn't entirely paying attention. It was nothing against Kristen, just a Yune thing.
He did seem to come back down to Earth once they reached the tower, though, biting his lip and looking at the door with a great deal of reluctance. But when Kristen pushed it open, he followed nevertheless. It did seem like the fighting was winding down for the day.
"There they are," he said, pointing to his spectating classmates. "You can ask them about the book."
"Look inside yourself and to the stars; there, you will find your answers."Juna
She had miraculously somehow hit Brenton with that clumsy, awkward fading strike, and her heart soared for a moment at the first inkling of some victory, but it did not stop him from continuing his assault. Her muscles tightened in panic as feet moved of their own will, sidestepping the downwards swing (just barely), and an attempt to backstep from the pivot into the upwards one traced a long graze up along her torso, sending shivers across her skin. She was falling into the ebb and flow of his movements and her own. He stepped to center, and her body tensed, already sensing what was likely to come in this dance of mock violence. For a moment, her eyes went wide as everything seemed to slow down, her heart giving one, hard BEAT-
MOVE. NOW. STRIKE.
- that echoed through her entire being as he moved for a swing into the midsection, and for a flickering second, she became an electrical blur as the wind kicked up, barely aware of the footsteps taken between where the sword swung at her as she gracefully pirouetted on the spot, back barely avoiding the passing edge and point of the wooden greatsword, and in one smooth movement, put her best foot forward and thrust her blade towards Brenton as she spun back to facing him within that heartbeat. Her best fencer impression.
And then reality came rushing back, the crackling high fizzling out to just a few sparks emanating from her, sound and sight no longer distorted by altered perception, and she heaved heavy breaths.
"Ooof...!"
Brenton grunted as he felt the thrust of Juna's own wooden thrusting sword hit his midsection - enhanced by her magic as it was, it knocked the air out of him and halted his momentum with his greatsword. He had to pause to catch his breath, though not quite as long as most people would need had they been hit with such a blow. Brenton's vitality served him well. As he regarded Juna's position, Brenton decided to bring his own magic into the occasion.
He moved toward Juna, and as he raised his foot to step toward her, he brought it down with a surprising force - bringing up a burst of storm winds from the impact site in a wide cone of aerial force.
Pivoting from this into another magical attack, Brenton gripped his greatsword with both hands - and started a circular series of spinning strikes with the greatsword aimed at Juna, each swing punctuated by an enormous tornado of wind erupting up from around him in tandem. The sheer gale force if anything enhanced the force of his swings - as well as pressuring Juna, threatening to collide into her, the sheer force enough to send most people flying - let alone the damage sufficiently accelerated air could deal.

Cecilia took Corwin’s hand, raising herself to her feet. The expression on her face was one of utter bafflement. Why would Corwin cede the fight now? It had been born from a mishap but she had managed to pin her opponent to the floor, giving her a clear advantage. In Cecilia’s mind, her opponents behavior was a complete non-sequitur. “I won’t continue the fight without your assent, but don’t you want to win?”