[Bronze Woods] The Brawl of Titans [Dual Training]

[Gravon]

13th Day of Summer, 510

(OOC Note: Dam has agreed to partial bunnying/modding of our characters. Also, for the mods, Gravon will be training in Unarmed Combat, Polearm, Javelin, Shortbow, some Glyping, and Intelligence by analyzing various things in combat.)

With the morning sun breaking through an array of scattered clouds, Gravon and his Akalakian brother finally found them selves riding into the Bronze Woods after having traveled through Taldera since a few hours before dawn. They had moved through the northern country of Taldera for the past couple of years now, rebuilding their lost kinship that had been broken a decade before. So this day was no different as the two titans of men rode through the woodland in search of a proper campsite, Damselian whistling a cheery tune to lighten the solemn journey. Dams was also the first to notice an open expanse near a well running creek, pointing it out through some thick bush, then slapping Gravon across the back with a smile as he rode on forward to check it out in more detail.

Gravon let out a sigh as he slowly trotted up behind him, eyes checking out the parameters of the site out of habit until he deemed it suitable and mostly isolated, except for a few small animals running about. “You know, Dams, familiarity breeds contempt. And right now, seeing all these damn trees is starting to irritate me. You’d think with the amount of trees Taldera has that the world wouldn’t need anymore of them.” The Isurian said, dismounting from his horse and dropping his backpack near a stump.

“Better the beauty of a forest than the homely plains of some wasteland. Here we can breathe cleaner air and rarely go hungry with good hunting.” Dams replied as he waved his hand through a row of wild flowers. Gravon merely growled, pulling out the supplies from his bag and proceeding to lay his weapons about.
“I’m going to go kill some trees. You can setup camp.” Dams scoffed with a wider smile, shaking his head while setting his own weapons beside Gravons’.

Ten minutes pass and the Isurian strolls into the campsite with a few tree trunks over his shoulder about the same time Dams finishes the tents. “We’ll chop these up later,” Damselian nods in agreement, throwing Gravon a waterskin.
“Let’s eat for a bit first, brother. Then we’ll begin.”

After a small meal of dry jerky, the titans finally stand and walk from the center of camp into flat open ground a few yards away. They stretch for a bit, pop a few bones, and finally face each other. “Let’s go, tree-hugger.” Gravon says, the Akalakian still showing off his white pearls.
"After you." Both of them slowly shift into stance.

With an open-palmed stance and his left leg forward, Gravon doesn’t hesitate to attack first. He throws his right fist forward for a fake jab, taking a short step before stopping himself to continue into a left punch with his massive black arm. Round one is underway.

[Damselian]

[OoC: Validating what Gravon said. We'll control each other's characters at times in order to facilitate a smoother narrative. I'm looking to train the skills Intelligence, Acrobatics, Unarmed Combat, Lakan, and Death-Head Stick.]
[Battle Theme: Naruto OST - Heavy Violence]

It had been just over a season since Damselian and his kinsman had set off on the journey of their lives. They had been planning this trip for a long time now, since the day that Dams had returned home from his Rite of Manhood, bloody but triumphant. He stood with his half-brother in the light of dawn, holding the trophy head of his Zith prey. They spoke about the future, and the promise that traveling held. It was their hope that if they could save up enough mizas to wander the world for a while, they could find fame, fortune, and their ultimate calling in life. They were obstinate in that belief, saving thriftily over the months that followed.

When the springtime came, time to set out, Damselian's clansmen gathered around them for what could be goodbye forever. Their grandfather and their uncle each clasped an arm around the warriors, wishing them the best. There was a mischievous smile on the faces of their elder clansmen, as the time came for their surprise. "Oh, and before you leave!" their uncle shouted, grinning broadly. Their cousin stepped out of the house bearing a parting gift for each of the warriors. They bestowed upon them two family heirlooms, treasures of their Isurian bloodline. Weapons that they were familiar with, but could never have hoped to own. Finally the family parted, and Dams hugged each of his clansmen goodbye. He towered over each of the Isur, which presented an amusing sight from an outsider's perspective. They hugged his waist, tops of their heads reaching just below his breast.

Blinking as he parted from a moment's reverie, Damselian nodded in readiness to his Isurian brother. He took on a defensive stance as Gravon moved forward, bending his knees and bouncing slightly on his feet to keep himself in motion. Staying mobile and ready allowed him the opportunity to use his acrobatics for evasion if necessary, to hop or roll away from incoming attacks. As Gravon's right fist shot forward, both of Dams' open hands moved out to intercept it. If he had been paying more attention, he might have noticed the feint. Suddenly the hand stopped, and Dams' would have quirked a brow if Gravon's left fist didn't blind side him in the ribs. With both hands lifted to catch the jab, his abdomen was wide open to the strike. He didn't even see it coming, provoking a hearty grunt from the Akalak. That was the last time he would let that bastard hit him with a cheap feint.

He reacted quickly though, stepping closer. He grabbed Gravon's wrist, completing the grapple he had first sought. Then he pivoted his torso, turning himself away from his opponent. He would execute an abrupt hip toss on his brother, growling in agitation. Throwing a fake to blast him in the ribs had kinda pissed Dams off, so this fight was off to a brutal start. He would thrust his hips backward as he pulled Gravon's arm over his body, providing the leverage to lift the Isur off the ground and send him flying. Dams would release his wrist and allow his brother to crash gently in the shallow grass a yard or two away from him.

Gravon was back on his feet fighting with vigor again in the blink of an eye, proving the Isur's resilience. This time Dams attacked first, using his superior reach to keep Gravon at bay. He utilized a one-two combination, a vertical fist rushing toward his opponent's solar plexus followed immediately with a rugged cross to the jaw. Backstepping, Gravon dipped out of range of both strikes, before coming in to throw his own punches. Dams drew his arms back and shelled up just in time to block a volley of body shots. Gravon's fists pistoned back and forth, slamming against Dams' guard on each side of his torso. Seeing that it was fruitless, he quickly changed direction and sent another jab toward Dams face. With his arms crossed low to guard his body, he couldn't block the quick jab. He leaned back to lessen the impact, though it still tapped his jaw nicely. Head popping back, Dams growled again, really getting into it now.

The Akalak responded with a sudden uppercut, coming from straight below Gravon's jaw to send his chin skyward. Then he stepped back in a fit of laughter, panting for breath. Fights between siblings and friends were always the most bitter, and in their case the funniest. Though tall for an Isur, Gravon's head only reached up to Dams' shoulders. In their younger days, the Akalak brother often mocked that Gravon started using a polearm for that reason, to compensate for his own short reach. Not a bad first round, though he had the feeling that they were going to need to settle down and take it easier when they brought the weapons out. At this rate they would both be a bloody mess before dusk.

[Gravon]

As the two titans went through the motions of their brawl, Gravon let his mind wander into the younger days when sparring meant full-blown fights with either each other or a couple other Isurians. The former generally as brutal as a death match between gladiators and the latter entirely unfair to those who sought to smear their honor. A halfbreed and a giant Akalak roaming the halls in the Silver Tower was an odd sight to behold in Sultros, but neither were ever far apart from one another. Neither was a very welcome brotherly union among the Isur with only their family to keep the elders from sending them to anywhere that substituted the darkest pits of hell. Cruel the brothers were not, but there was always something arcane about their nature.

Crack! Gravon found his eyes looking skyward as the knuckles of Dams' fist threw his head back in a violent motion and a rage flared through his eyes; angering both himself for not concentrating at that moment and the slight pain that jolted through his jaw. His brother's laughter though turned the rage into an aggressive amusement as he quickly regained his senses and brought up his hands. He could taste a little blood already, turning his head to spit it out with a smile.

The Isurian decided not to spare a moment longer though, stepping inwards to throw a left jab at Dams' jaw. It was another feint, something his brother suspected and moved in to grab and try to twist Gravon's arm this time as punishment for trying to use the same trick twice; Gravon had a different idea in mind. He assumed the Akalak wouldn't let such an opportunity go to waste, letting him wrap one hand around his wrist as he moved to do the same, however, he lifted both of their arms enough so that he could lower his body and then dive forward. The Isurian's bulky shoulder would ram into Dams' chest and throw him on his back, a position Gravon definitely wanted both of them to be in.

He quickly fell almost on top of him and straddled the blue titan's waist, swinging a right fist downward only to be blocked by a forearm. In reply, Dam got an arm around his brother's neck to pull downward as he bashed their foreheads together. This hit would prove to be a double edged move with the Isurian's thicker skull pushing some momentum back his way, though it was effective nonetheless. Leaning in, however, the tiny giant would throw a left hook against Dams' right cheek, using his other arm to try and secure a lock.

The momentum of the Isurian's strike this time would be in Dams' favor as he used it to finally roll the heavy bastard off his chest and try to gain the advantage. He was able to get a punch in before his brother pulled his left knee into his stomach, using the leverage to simply push Damselian away.

Both of the titans rolled away this time with a few more wounds now. Sweat was building up as well as the two brother's panted heavily. And both were still smiling. In-between the breaths Gravon finally said, "I think...we're done warming up. Time for hell to break loose."