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Center of scholarly knowledge and shipwrighting, Zeltiva is a port city unlike any other in Mizahar. [Lore]
As Tallis waited to see the effectiveness of his attack, he was forced to turn away as a rather strong gust of air collided into him. The attack had been weak, but it had served its job as a distraction. The wall of wind had forced him to look away as it hit him in the face. Blinking slightly more than usual, Tallis refocused his gaze on his opponent.
“I-wh-what did you just hit me with?”
Tallis simply shook his head in derision. “Are we going to make this a habit now? Because, surprisingly, I do grow tired of humiliating you and then explaining how I managed to do so.”
The young mage simply turned to Tallis with wet eyes and muttered a pathetic, “I think you might've broken it!”
Cocking his eyebrows in surprise, Tallis was struck with several emotions. The most prominent happened to be disappointment and anger. Tallis had held high expectations for Calen. Perhaps the feeling of power he had gotten from him the first time they met had been a massive fluke – a misinterpretation. He had expected Calen to at least fire off more than one attack. And if anything, Calen should have at least managed to withstand that last attack. After all, it was a relatively small construct and contained a rather small amount of res. It shouldn’t have been enough to cripple him and take him out of the fight!
“Are you serious!? Two attacks and you’re out of the fight? What happened to the man who was going to ‘wreck my pretty-boy face’?”
But as Calen cowered there, quivering in his boots and almost in tears, Tallis’ feelings of disappointment and anger were quelled by worry and annoyance. The duel wasn’t meant to leave either of them with serious injuries. And he didn’t want to have to drag this sorry wreck back to the city. If he really was responsible for Calen’s broken arm, he’d feel personally accountable for seeing him returned to full health. Tallis was not looking forward to nursing a whiny prat.
And anyways, as far as he was concerned, his superiority had been greatly proven. There was no point fighting anymore.
Dispelling his res, Tallis raised his hands to show that he meant Calen no more harm.
“Here, let me take a look at it. It can’t be that bad.”
Standing a few paces to Calen’s side, Tallis waited for his adversary to reveal his wound. Living in a seaport city, Tallis had heard many a tale where a drowning victim had lashed out and taken down the ones trying to rescue them. In a situation where a victim felt that they were in danger, it was best to stay a safe distance. For all that Tallis knew, this mage had sustained wounds to his body and his pride, and he could still prove to be a surprising threat.
Adding on to his caution was the fact that Tallis had never dealt with a broken arm before and wasn’t even sure if it would be safe to touch.
Choosing to ignore Tallis' taunting, Calen set to work ignoring the consistent throb that was emanating from his bicep; he was going to need to pay close attention to what he did now. Even as he gripped it, he allowed a single finger to loosen it's hold over the needle he had constructed, and shifted his body towards the right, so that his hand would be out of his immediate line of sight. With that done, Calen carefully let go of his hold over the needle, causing it to drop into his sleeve. He only winced audibly as it managed to scrape him during its descent, though he doubted Tallis would ever suspect it was anything else but an exclamation brought about by his jostling of his right arm. To seal the deal, Calen muttered a pained 'Just shut up and help!' through gritted teeth. It helped with the 'pained' infliction in his voice that he was actually in quite a bit of pain. Method acting and all that.
Shying away from his approach at first, both as part of his act and because he didn't quite trust Tallis not to attack him again, Calen winced at what he assumed was an opportune moment. 'I thought you religious people were supposed to be moderate and controlled and all that' he hissed at Tallis as he stumbled slightly, towards the main body of Zeltiva. He was approaching Tallis cautiously, still intent on winning the duel, but first, he needed to convince him that was not the case. And for that, he would need to pay the price in pain. Tightening his grip on the bicep so that he was now squeezing the bruise uncomfortably hard Calen stopped mid-stride and doubled over, managing to mutter a strained 'Why does it hurt WORSE'. He had worded it as a rhetorical question because he knew the answer and he assumed Tallis would not. It really helped his act that Tallis had bruised his arm so extensively; there was a reason Calen rarely left his room and it wasn't because he was a particularly sturdy individual.
Last edited by Calen on February 7th, 2013, 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
With the increasing look of pain on Calen’s face and the fight pulled to a complete stop, Tallis’ thirst for the thrill of battle was thoroughly extinguished. As Calen shuffled back towards the path they had come by, Tallis felt his heart sink. He felt like a schoolyard bully taking advantage of a weaker kid with a strong spirit. He honestly hadn’t expected the fight to be so ridiculously one-sided.
“Look… Calen. I’m really sorry. I thought you’d… I mean, I didn’t think that last attack would hurt you this badly.” As Tallis fumbled with his words, he moved towards the wounded man. “Here, lean on me and try not to move your arm too much. We’ll go slowly.”
Grabbing ahold of Calen’s uninjured arm, Tallis looked ahead for the path of least resistance, hoping to ease the burden of their return trip. All the while his mind was preoccupied with wondering who they would go to get Calen’s arm looked at.
As soon as he heard Tallis begin to speak, Calen knew his ruse had gone over almost exactly as he had planned. The only hitch that he could've mentioned was that he had underestimated Tallis' weariness and caution; he was a much more careful fellow than he had anticipated. However, minor setbacks aside, Calen could do little more than grin a rather broadly as he heard Tallis' apologetic voice approaching from behind. Offering no resistance when he grabbed hold of his 'uninjured' arm, Calen turned away from Tallis, hiding the grin he had yet to wrestle control over. When he did finally have control over his expression, Calen finally turned to face Tallis, a rather strained visage of calm settled over his features. 'You're not a bad guy Tallis, you know that?' Calen asked rhetorically, the corner of his mouth twitching in a way that could easily be an appreciative smile or an impudent smirk. 'But the thing is, I am' and with that said, Calen grabbed hold of Tallis' wrist with his right hand, before tearing his own arm out of his grasp, making sure to use his nails to scratch Tallis' ungloved hand along the way. Sometimes, not trimming your fingernails WAS useful. Stumbling back with the sheer inertia that came with such a high-speed exertion ' First blood drawn; I win.' Calen attempted in vain to speak calmly, but his voice shook with the sheer joy that was flooding his body from head to toe. Grinning at his enemy, Calen nodded his chin in the direction of the discarded needle he had constructed; it had flown from his sleeve as he had torn his arm away from his helpful nemesis' grip.'Original plan called for me stabbing you or something; but, things change I suppose.' He ignored the strange moisture he felt in his sleeve and the pain from when his needle had injured him earlier.
Pulling his hand back in pain, Tallis gave Calen a bewildered look before pure unadulterated rage took over. The boastful little swine had tricked him! He had faked his injury the entire time! Tallis should have known to be less trusting, he had always realized that it was one of his faults. He should have properly ended the fight when he had a chance.
Calen had known that he never would have won the duel by regular means so he had taken advantage of the very rules of the fight that Tallis had proposed, securing himself an underhanded victory.
Teeth gritted in anger and brow furled in seething rage, Tallis attempted to control his rage. His first instinct was to blast the little cheat off his feet and send him crashing into the branches above, leaving him to find his own way down and back home. But a part of him acknowledged the fact that, under the technical rules that he had proposed, Calen had garnered a legitimate win and continuing his attacks now would be far from honorable. Calen might resort to deceitful methods, but Tallis still had his dignity.
Grasping Calen by the collar and dragging him in till the two men were almost touching noses, Tallis hissed the words, “You. Little. Bastard.” through clenched teeth, before tilting his chin towards the sky and leaning his head back before bringing his forehead crashing down smack-dab in the middle of Calen’s forehead.
Wincing and taking a few faltering steps back from the blow, Tallis furiously rubbed at his forehead, blinking away the tears that clouded his eyes and trying to see through the dizziness that was probably the feeling of his brain ricocheting within his skull.
Stumbling through the forest back towards the Storm Shrine, Tallis didn’t even bother turning back to give Calen a second glance. Before their noggins had collided, Tallis had decided that their match was far from over. If anything, the animosity Tallis felt towards Calen had grown slightly larger. He was done with the sneak today, but he’d find a way to settle things another time.
There was a joy in winning. A sort of thrill that came in conquering your foe, in spitting in the face of defeat only to savagely grab hold of victory. There was a joy in knowing you were a conqueror. The realization was accompanied by a flood of excitement which made your heart race and set your soul alight. Calen had been sure of his defeat only minutes before and now, as he saw Tallis' bewilderment shift into rage, he knew that he had won. Tallis and Calen both knew that Tallis trumped Calen when it came to the discipline of magic; he was clearly more creative than Calen, he had the courage to utilize that creativity and though he could not confirm it, Calen was willing admit he was probably a superior reimancer. However, Tallis lacked the essential qualities he needed to be defeat a man like Calen.
He lacked the cruelty and the initiative to FORCE Calen to admit he had lost. Oh! It was true that Calen knew Tallis would beat him in any head-on competition, but if the rules were not set in stone and there was wiggle room? Calen was fairly certain he would come out on top each and every time. It was not a question of understanding whether or not he had or would lose, it was a question of forcing him to acknowledge there was no other path to be taken. Calen knew and understood this, and now, he was fairly certain that Tallis did as well; he felt simultaneously perverse and deeply sated in knowing that he had taught him such a crucial lesson. It helped that he was clearly aggravated.
Even as Tallis grabbed hold of his collar, Calen's grin did not falter. If anything, he looked even more pleased. Unfortunately, that swiftly changed as Tallis' forehead smashed into his own. Yelping in both surprise and pain, Calen stumbled backwards after he had been let go, his vision uncomfortably unsteady and his forehead notably light and painful. Blinking rapidly, Calen attempted to say something but all that came out was 'hugh'. He punctuated this incredibly intelligent response to Tallis' assault by falling flat on his bottom, still blinking rather quickly and rubbing where Tallis had managed to plant a rather nasty bruise. He really did bruise quite easily, it seemed. Strangely enough, Calen noticed that the moisture he had been certain was simply his imagination was still there, and now, it felt rather sticky.
Perhaps it was due to the potential concussion he had recently sustained, he doubted Talllis had managed to give him a concussion but, nonetheless, or perhaps it was the now bittersweet taste of victory, but Calen decided to undo his leather jacket and examine his arm. What he saw caused his jaw to drop and his expression to shift from pleased, but pained to confused and annoyed. There was a dried trickle of blood emanating from where he had felt his needle scrape him.
Lores Reimancy Spell: Dusty Stoneball Reimancy Spell: Wall-Shield of Air Reimancy Spell: High Speed Air Bullet Reimancy Spell: Magic Mud Bomb Reimancy Spell: Distracting Gust of Air Reimancy Spell: Needle of Stone
Miscellaneous Djed Fatigue: A Spell or Two Away from Mild Overgiving Superficial Injuries
Comments This is in addition to your individual awards. This is as good as teaching each other since both of you learned a lot from this!
Regarding the Djed Fatigue, I won't impose any numbers on you guys because from what I've seen in this thread the two of you have been playing remarkably well to your skill levels. This is exactly how a non-fatal magic duel between two competent reimancers should be like. So use your own judgement to decide how much and how long you'll need to rest
It's probably immaterial, but obviously the two of you suffered some physical, glazing injuries that would disappear in a couple of days, unless you wish to make it more serious. It's your call.
Tallis :
Experience Points +1 Brawling
Lores Magic Duel with Calen Trash Talking in a Duel Reverse Res Layer Calen the Reimancer Calen the Trickster Proving One's Superiority in Reimancy Losing to a Technicality
Comments "Would they take turns exchanging vulgar insults about each other’s mothers?" This here, is a gem.
Calen :
Experience Points +1 Acting
Lores Magic Duel with Tallis Trash Talking in a Duel Tallis the Reimancer Feinting in a Magic Duel The Power of Underhanded Tricks Winning with a Technicality
Comments Aww so sneaky!
In Conclusion I really liked how you guys used the Overgiving incident in a positive way to fuel a misunderstanding/rivalry towards each other. Most people would whine and sulk, but you guys took it and continue running with it. I commend your adaptability
Great job here guys. You know I agreed with Calen when he said "You know, if things had turned out differently, I think we might have been friends". If there was no underhanded thing there things might probably turn out differently between you two. But hey, I liked the twist at the end where it only further deepened their rivalry.
I hereby dub this the "Zeltivan Magic Frenemy Bromance". Hehe. Good job!