Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2013 18:03:03 GMT -8
A dull wind blows the sand in waves across the arena floor as the crowd stamps it's feet in impatience to see this match. Normal people taking time out of their day to watch as two men fight and die for their pleasure. There was intensity in the air, an electric feeling of surging bloodlust running through the audience turned mob. The Durasteel walls stand high and strong with Togorian Headhunters standing atop them, more to prevent rioting than to keep cowardly fighters within the arena. Spreading inward from the walls the sands are riddled with rocks of all sizes and shapes, potential weapons or hiding places for some. And in the center sits the emblem of the Xendorian Guard, polished and smooth, visible from any corner of the arena. At either end of the arena doors open to elevators which lead below to the armory and storage area for the arena. Standing out from the seats the judges dias looks down upon the field, obscured in shadow but lurking figures sit in waiting, holding the lives of the competitors in the palm of their hands. This was a place of blood and combat, a place where fate was tested by those who dare to challenge it. This was the Airéine na Comhrac Dorchadas.
|
|
Darian Beviin
Member
Posts: 206 
Affiliation: Kad Ha'rangir
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Darian Beviin on Jul 7, 2013 18:35:47 GMT -8
Praise be to Kad. From one night into the next, through flame and ash, in the throes of war and madness, praise Him.
Those were the words in his mind now, giving burnt offering as thanks for his kill- finally, a worthy foe had fallen to Gorehound, had slaked the thirst of his blade. The tomahawk had since known purifying water and a whetstone, and once more rested at his left hip. He had restocked the six round magazine of his Ripper, now stored safely away in it's hiding place beneath robes that he had once more donned. The chains reeked of charred flesh, blood and death, and now, as the armored body was put to the flame, ash once more.
He had taken the Imperial Knight's sword and driven it into the sand, and atop it now sat the disembodied head of Xeonon Solomon- a man who had proven a great foe indeed. Darian had patched the bloodied wounds to his shoulder with sand and spit, to keep them from continuing to bleed, but he would seek further treatment when finally he left.
His hand was no longer numb, and as he stared into the firelight, eyes glowing softly beneath the night sky, he sharpened the edge of his Khyber knife. As the trumpet call of challenge came, however, Darian rose slowly and stepped away from the fire, kicking sand onto it to put it out. Unnatural light flooded the area suddenly, the son of Clan Beviin squinting it away, and he held the knife low, scanning the area for his new assailant.
The low thrum of his wrist laser's energy cell being fully restored sang a beautiful song in his ear, and Darian kept low to the ground. The newcomer-whoever it might be- would be able to get the drop on him if he weren't careful. The crowd was screaming loudly now, flooding into their seats voraciously, the headhunters barely seeming to care if they went wild or not.
One hand on the ground, his weight evenly distributed between that and his toes, Darian pushed the crowd from his mind and listened for any indication that something was coming.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2013 18:45:31 GMT -8
The door to the elevators opened, revealing the Robot Space Ninja in all his scarred glory. He strode out onto the scorching hot sands of the arena, LeMat in his right hand. On his left hip, in its usual spot, was his unique eralam-bladed lightsaber. Also on the left hip, sitting above the saber's scabbard, was the Colt in a crossdraw holster. At the small of his back was his usual phrik dagger, which would serve as a main gauche should the need for swordplay to arrive.
The Shard was expecting a war, and the Mandalorian in front of him looked ready to deliver. The old warrior had a feeling that this fight was going to be short and brutal.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2013 19:48:23 GMT -8
Eralam let the Mando come to him. His gun hand rested lightly at his side. It could come up quickly enough if necessary. All the Shard did was with it was slide the striker on the cocked hammer to its lower position. When the trigger is pulled, the 16 gauge shotgun barrel that was the ancient revolver's most unique feature would send a pattern of #6 birdshot flying towards the target. Most preferred to use heavier buckshot, but Eralam had long ago learned that birdshot is murderous in the range that his pistol was most effective at. Instead of 6-10 pellets the size of a .38 caliber bullet, the cloud of roughly BB-sized pellets could rip a hole through a target the size of a softball at close range, and had an annoying habit of finding small chinks in armor that larger projectiles couldn't. Sure, the individual pellets weren't generally fatal in onesies and twosies, but a chunk of lead lodged in one's muscle is debilitating no matter the size.
Meanwhile, he began to call upon his ace in the hole: the Force. The torrent of power began to pour through the old Iron Knight. It was only a small fraction of his true potential, but the GBA has rules about that sort of thing. At any rate, he had yet to meet a Mando that didn't have some sort of hidden gadget or blaster or flamethrower up their sleeve, gauntlet, or other assorted accessories. Despite the human's rather odd attire, the Shard had noted that his hands were apparently empty, which meant that he'd be resorting to some sort of trickery. Best to be ready just in case.
|
|
Darian Beviin
Member
Posts: 206
Affiliation: Kad Ha'rangir
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Darian Beviin on Jul 7, 2013 20:05:24 GMT -8
"That's a big gun," Darian muttered as a grim expression took his ash-soaked face, gaze flicking over the newcomer appraisingly. "But I'm not afraid to die." He asserted as much as he took off into a run, no sooner than he had seen the creature. He might have mistaken the Shard for a man not unlike himself, were he not certain something was amiss.
But there was no time for mistakes. No time to decide what the man was, or what he might be. The toes of his boots digging into the sand, his body exploding forward, Darian used the weight of his chain-link robes to exacerbate his interia- after all, heavier things were harder to stop, right?
Right. That was half the battle, right there.
His left side was facing Eralam now, running at a diagonal in front of the Shard, seeking to close the distance without giving him a decent line of fire. But Darian knew better than to think the man couldn't- no, indeed, wouldn't correct, and seek to fire into Darian's path. In fact, he was almost praying for it. The distance between them started shrinking, and Darian made the best estimate he could on the fly.
Rotating his left index finger clockwise three times as he surged forward, an inaudible spooling of cord hooked ten yards- 30 feet- of fibrocord in the launcher in that selfsame gauntlet. His left hand hanging at his side almost limply, right elbow tucking in to his chest, Darian fumbled at his chains, and he took a harsh, deep breath.
Here goes nothing.
Seconds were burning away as he ran, every single movement purposed- the dagger in his right hand had tucked into his belt in the first portion of his run, and now, he kept a tight grip on his chains, blood spilling into his mouth from where he had bitten his tongue to help him focus. No. Mistakes.
Now, to see what the man would do...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2013 20:28:34 GMT -8
Closer and closer and closer...ok, close enough. A man at a full sprint is not particularly difficult to trip. Eralam called upon a bit of the Force and created a barrier right in front of the man's left foot. If all goes well, it should be just high enough to send him sprawling hilariously into the sand. Bonus points because he'd probably assume he had tripped over one of the myriad rocks that littered the arena. After all, everyone knows that droids can't use the Force.
At any rate, if it didn't work, the Shard was more than willing to let him play our his trap. The chances of pulling off something completely unexpected were slim at best, and Eralam didn't want to have to pull out any new tricks if at all possible. Best let the tired and tried methods run their course before the true chaos kicked in.
|
|
Darian Beviin
Member
Posts: 206
Affiliation: Kad Ha'rangir
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Darian Beviin on Jul 7, 2013 21:37:19 GMT -8
Alright!
Well, not exactly. His left foot met with a sudden impact that impeded his motion, and his body sailed forward, pulled airborne by a last second hop off his right foot. Not exactly what he'd been intent on doing, but it still had the necessary badassery- not to mention forward momentum- to help with what he was trying to achieve.
His left hand thrust out toward the Shard- more specifically, the gun-toting wrist- and he fired the cord launcher, intent on whipping the cord around and snaring the appendage. Barring that, of course, he'd try to go for the wider berth around the man himself, but he hoped the trick would catch the bastard off guard. Likely or not.
As he turned head first over himself in the air, pulled along and roughly downward toward the dirt, he pulled his right arm upward- or was it downward, with the body inverted?- and aimed the Ripper he'd pulled at the Shard, firing two quick shots toward the center of the guy's mass. With a little bit of luck, that'd either help the trick along, or do some damage besides.
At this point, Darian wasn't even considering that his opponent was a force user, let alone a droid. Just another enemy. Just an obstacle to be overcome. And as he landed with his back sliding along the sand, chains rattling and body shuddering from the loud impact, the crowd roared.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2013 21:48:57 GMT -8
Well, that was more or less to be expected. As soon as the cord fired, Eralam threw up an angled Force barrier, his standard response to physical projectiles of all sorts. He was mildly amused that his opponent went that route, but he wasn't complaining. Made life easier. And as an added bonus, when the Ripper came out, the wall was already in place. The Shard simply had to hold it up for a little bit longer. The rounds ricocheted wildly off the invisible wall and into the stands, where one killed a rather odd fellow who had been protesting the use of violence as entertainment for the last several weeks.
Meanwhile, his opponent was on the ground and inside the optimal effective range for the stubby little shotgun barrel on the LeMat. Eralam had the barrel up and aimed in a flash, and then loosed the deadly cloud of lead towards his opponent's center mass. The thunderous report echoed off the walls of the stadium and sent up a sizable cloud of foul-smelling smoke to boot.
|
|
Darian Beviin
Member
Posts: 206
Affiliation: Kad Ha'rangir
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Darian Beviin on Jul 8, 2013 10:28:14 GMT -8
Typical. Another forcie.
As the dart collided with the barrier, it subsequently fell to the ground in a seemingly useless fashion, several feet from Eralam's... feet. The dagger-like dart at the end imbedded itself in the sand, and the barely noticable wire lay on the dirt now. The bullets went every which way, loud noises, screams- it was perfect, this cacophony of chaos. Kad would be pleased.
Darian, however, rolled through to his feet and pulled the chain outward from his chest, toward Eralam, very close to ten feet away. The robes fanned out as he tossed them and began to converge as gravity took them immediately, but Darian was just looking to control the severity of what he knew was about to happen.
The man leveled the weapon and fired in one quick motion and, as expected, a large outcry came from the weapon. As well as a hail of bullets, rather than just one. Several flecks of ammunition took hold of the robes and dragged them for several feet through the air before their weight took it to the sand. But Darian was not directly behind it to take the brunt of the impact.
He had kept moving, several pieces of shot ripping into skin, one clean across the side of his naked abdomen, another lodging ripping across the front of his left pectoral. Blood burst outward in spurts, and Darian cussed himself for not expecting spreadshot. He ran now at an angle, rushing toward Eralam's flank- it'd take a second a reload that damn thing, right?
Twisting his left wrist just a hair, Darian drew forward in a crazed blur, firing off yet another burst from the Ripper, looking to drive the Shard back... over the now taut cord that would be coming up behind him.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2013 10:46:33 GMT -8
Eralam steps back with his left foot, presenting his profile to the target. That Ripper could be deadly close up, but even if it were loaded with armor piercing rounds, it stood little chance of punching through Eralam's chest plate without a direct perpendicular strike. And, in fact, a round glances off the hardened durasteel plate with a deafening CLANG that temporarily overpowers the echoing report of the LeMat.
I say temporarily because it sings its deadly song again in short order. While this is happening, the Shard's thumb cocks back the hammer once more, faster than the human eye could truly follow. Most people equate the skill with sorcery or robotic talent, but truthfully, there are "normal" humans that can match the feat. Takes practice and a certain level of innate skill, but it's entirely possible.
On its way up to the spur on the end of the hammer, the thumb also flicks the striker into the up position, and when it falls again, it sends off the first of nine .44 caliber lead balls, screaming towards the now-unarmored Mando's heart. At this range, the shot is an easy one. The bullet will travel the short ten feet in less than a hundredth of a second. The Shard fires another shot off for good measure almost immediately after, aimed directly between his opponent's eyes. Child's play at this range. Han Solo could easily make the shot, and not even Luke Skywalker would be fast enough to stop it. Hopefully the Mando would be in the same boat.
|
|
Darian Beviin
Member
Posts: 206
Affiliation: Kad Ha'rangir
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Darian Beviin on Jul 8, 2013 11:26:05 GMT -8
Darian ripped the cord upward in hand as he closed with the Shard, the bullet echoing off of the armored plating to little effect. While that was a bit of a drag, it wasn't altogether unexpected. As the cord closed with Eralam-hopefully catching against his leg- Darian dropped like a baseball player sliding into home, watching inhumanly as a round rips through the aether above him, just barely missing blowing his head to bits. The man had been aiming for his chest, and that would have been it for him.
Would have, save for pure bloody luck having sent Darian on another path of action entirely. Another round fired off, higher than the last, and Darian felt sand mixing with blood as the coarse grains scratched at his bare skin. He tugged the cord along behind him- hoping that it might actually bring the man down, but also that it would quickly ricochet him back over to him.
Darian had dropped the Ripper quickly now, reaching across his body to Gorehound, which he now ripped free and ready into his right hand. This shootout would go nowhere unless he shifted the paradigm and put Eralam on the defensive. Not that Darian didn't love a good marksman battle, but this bastard had loads of armor and a gun that fired off pure evil. Stacked decks win every time unless you change the game, after all.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2013 11:38:58 GMT -8
The cord trick would have worked, had Eralam been less securely planted. But he wasn't. So, based on the laws of physics, his opponent should effectively be pulling himself towards the Shard. I'll say that again: his unarmored opponent was pulling himself towards the Shard, who still had 7 more shots left in the revolver in his hand, another 6 in the other revolver, and a couple of blades to boot. And he's in a baseball slide, a move that is not exactly known for things like being controllable or particularly maneuverable or easy to stop. Eralam couldn't resist a bit of snark.
"This year's Darwin Award goes to..."
Less than 10 feet away shooting at a prone target. Realistically, all Eralam would have to do to kill his opponent was to fall on him and sit for a bit at this range. Instead, he opts to shoot 2 more rounds, the first towards the man's gut and the second towards his sternum. Both lined up with the center of the body, meaning that rolling to one side or the other would still likely result in a hit, both close enough to the vertical center that suddenly stopping or speeding up wasn't likely to change anything, and both are extremely stylish.
|
|
Darian Beviin
Member
Posts: 206
Affiliation: Kad Ha'rangir
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Darian Beviin on Jul 8, 2013 13:01:53 GMT -8
At this point, it wasn't about control- not anymore. The cord snapped taut, as Darian predicted it would, and his arm snapped to full extension as his body did what he'd been setting it up to do. Flailing in the air and whipping around, his entire body flopping around like a wet towel, he was flung around the Shard at breakneck speed. Now, he wasn't able to escape being ripped into by the first bullet- he didn't plan on coming out of this unscathed after all- and blood from the new wound that was nearly lethal in the intestinal area. Luckily, it had missed any target that would have sent him into septic shock, going into the abdomen and out of the adjacent side, mostly dermal rather than imbedding itself in him. A clean entry and exit, two sizable holes leaking lifeblood on the front of his body.
He hissed in agony as he was thrown through the air, the cord moving in such a way that, hopefully, it would entangle Eralam's legs. Darian twisted as best he could, trying to find a foothold, his feet clambering at the sand as his momentum took him backward, away from the Shard. Now... "Shabla... forcie..." he said, eyes flickering as his rage heightened, blood leaving his body and rushing to his head, adrenaline pumping through his veins at an insanely high rate. "Tratto'ko!!!"
Thrown now head over heels, Darian spun out of control toward the wall, the taut cord ripping toward him as he struggled to stand upright. "Kad... take me in your hands now..." he prayed, blood spilling from his mouth, several impacts having opened a wound somewhere inside. But he did not seem to notice. Did not seem to care. The pain was as nothing. Kad take your damned Science.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2013 13:45:27 GMT -8
"You pray, do you?"
Any hint of amusement is gone from the Shard's voice. This Mando, this...butcher dared to seek divine intervention after committing atrocity after atrocity in the name of the one he called Kad.
"By all means, dear human. Call upon your god. Have him strike me down where I stand."
The cord did not tangle around the Shard's legs. Eralam felt the cord growing taut around his left heel and fired a single round, seeking to sever it as his opponent flew through the air.
"Because that's the only thing that will save you now," he said, his voice a menacing electronic hiss, made audible over the cacophony via the Force. As he said it, Eralam reached out with his mind towards the human's torso, seeking to grasp it as one might grasp a lump of clay in a fist. And then he squeezed. The man was obviously in a bad way. If this worked at all, the Iron Knight figured it should be more than his tortured nervous system could take.
"The talk around here says that you're a priest, some sort of twisted servant of a god of bloodshed and carnage. I'll give you a hint, Mando. Your Kad is dead, and no one cares. If there is a hell, I'll see you there."
|
|
Darian Beviin
Member
Posts: 206
Affiliation: Kad Ha'rangir
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Darian Beviin on Jul 8, 2013 14:38:59 GMT -8
"You see nothing, because you blind yourself to truth."
The cord was severed as the round ripped clean through, the resistance leaving nowhere to go but forward. But that was more than enough. It had been successful enough to get him this far alive. Past the gun, closer and closer, into the zone where he could become a danger.
As Darian was whipped throufh the air like a rag doll, he dug Gorehound into the ground, catching himself and dragging along for several feet. He came to his knees first, his entire body bloodied, dirtied, mangled by his own persistence, but he knew no end. Not in this life, not in the next. His jade eyes beset the Iron Knight with pure and unabashed hatred, and as the pain writhed through his body at inhuman tendrils seeking to crush the life from him, his right hand rose just enough to point at the Shard's head, the left pushing off the ground with force of will to bring him once more to his feet.
"You have no god, so there will be no one to hear you," he rasped as the scream of fire came from his wrist laser, firing for the face of the metal monster trying to end his life. "My God does not help those who do not help themselves. My God IS war. And war never ends."
He felt agony in a way no man should, and yet, Darian was a man besieged. Possessed. Faithful, unto his very end. And if Kad took him now, well, he would die on his own bloody terms. Bloody indeed.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2013 23:44:33 GMT -8
Had he the proper glands to do so, Eralam would have spat contemptuously as the wrist laser fired. Better men than this pathetic wretch had tried to test the Shard's skill with Absorb, and with much better weapons. And yet, Eralam was still standing, while they rotted beneath the ground. The high energy beam may travel at 186,000 miles per second, but the man firing it does not. The distance was too great for more cord tricks, the Ripper was gone, and that tomahawk would be useless at this range. So the old Iron Knight, a veteran of a thousand wars before this miserable cult ever reared its head up, knew to expect an energy attack. Flamethrower, holdout blaster, cutting laser, these humans never learned any new tricks. The laser smacked the robotic face just below the where the nose would be on a human, three centimeters to the right of center. But instead of creating a mess of smoking, glowing metal, the beam simply vanished.
The energy was fuel for Eralam, and he was ever so grateful. The beam's energy found itself poured into the grip on the human's torso, increasing the power applied threefold.
"There is no god, there is the Force."
|
|
Darian Beviin
Member
Posts: 206
Affiliation: Kad Ha'rangir
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Darian Beviin on Jul 9, 2013 15:09:12 GMT -8
An idea can be a mighty thing.
Once, there was a Mandalorian who said as much. "You can kill me, but I'm only a man. Mandalorians- they aren't a species. They aren't something that can just be swept aside- Mandalorian is a culture. An idea. And you can't kill an idea. You can trample all over it, restrict it, forbid it, but it never goes away." The same might be said of poor Darian's fate. Today, I watch one of my most beloved sons wiped away from a galaxy where he could have done great things. Evil is as all other parts of reality, you see. Completely subjective.
Your views tell you there are no gods. You say that his faith was wrong, but in so doing, you attempt to rob him of something he can never truly lose. Your lack of faith does not dismiss the faith he held desperately to, even as the death wail tore from his beaten body, as sinew and bone were pulled under a weight no man could possibly bear. Reality may be subjective, but even I am aware that there is no fairness in it. As you will come to see soon enough.
Do you hear their cries, Shard? The sobs, the litany of woe that comes from the depths of their souls? I know you can- it doesn't make sense, does it? These people came to love Darian of Clan Beviin for exactly the same reason I chose him. He was brutal, yes, but he stood for something in a galaxy devoid of men with purpose. He did what he knew, and he held fast to his path. And now, before you, he falls, but it is a bittersweet victory you have earned.
These people have become as much a part of my congregation as the Priests themselves. He may not have defeated you, but his legacy will burn on the hearts of men for a million lifetimes. His name will last long after you are rust. That is my gift to him, Shard, in reward for his faith. And that, despite your atheism and assertions of superiority, you could not defeat that.
I am not fond of victory or of defeat. The means is all I have ever cared for. For you see, I am as much an idea as is faith. He called me Kad Ha'rangir, but that is only a name. I have had many- Aries, Mars, Michael, Susano- they are all faces of a singular entity. War.
You might feel my touch in your force- it's the only tangible evidence you will ever have of greater power, after all, and I pity you in that. I collect the soul from my son's mangled form, and in a show of mercy, I end his suffering. He would have fought against your injustice until his body shut down, but I will free him of that.
His screaming echoes in the silence that had overtaken the arena now, but Darian- the Gorehound- now stands at my right hand, next to his wife and son, killed in the same manner by the hands of some force adept with delusions of vindication. He may not have taken you, Shard, but mark me- you will fall, long before I ever do.
This is my promise to you.
And now, Darian fights on a new battlefield, in Manda. His glory is eternal.
|
|
Adi
Crew of the Wayward Son
Posts: 1,108
Affiliation: Crew of the Wayward Son
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Adi on Jul 10, 2013 5:44:29 GMT -8
Good day Gentleman and Bot. I am Adieumus Matango, and I am your friendly, neighborhood judge today.
Eralam wins.
Now, Im going to tell you guys, I could see the animosity bleeding through a little bit toward the end. Try to watch that, k? As for the rest of the duel, you guys had some good back and forth...you did well against him, Darian. But, from the point he hit you with the Lemat's shotgun, he had you on the ropes, and you didn't seem to recover any kind of momentum. This was the main deciding factor in choosing Era as the winner.
Darian, you seemed to get a little confused in your distances. One moment, you are ten feet away, the next, you are sliding around him. This takes time, time you didnt seem to account for. You really need to watch that, its the downfall of -many- duelists in the GBA. My rule is roughly 3/4ths of a second per step, unless you are enhanced in some way. Being a non-forcie, and not having any kind of powered boosters, this rule would apply to you.
However, there is one part I want to bring to -your- attention, Era...the crush. The initial crush is ok, but using absorb at the same time? There should have been some kind of drop in the intensity of the crush...even if only for a half-moment. Shard/droid or not, the force isnt processed by the droid brain, its processed by the shard. I know that your character can process things much, much more quickly....its part of you...but that doesnt mean there shouldnt be some kind of drop when one totally different power is used during another.
Other than that guys, good read for being a short duel. Congratulations, Eralam! Darian, we look forward to seeing you in the next go-round! As always, you can PM me about any questions or comments. Cheers!
|
|
