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[Ivonos]

30th - Spring - 516 AV



-

Ivonos, as usual, was working out.

Such a thing was not uncommon for the large Dhani; not uncommon in the slightest. For one who revered the body and its power, however, he did put in a slightly unhealthy amount of work. If he felt like thinking about it, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had a day off. He could take whenever to just stay at home and rest, or go out and learn more of the locals, but he never did. Rest was a pretty foreign concept to the constrictor, and it might very well remain so for the rest of his long life.

At this particular moment, though, Ivonos was just finishing his morning dynamic warm-up; something every person aiming to get the optimal work-out should, of course, begin with. He no longer felt the tiredness from before the work-out, and his nerves, joints, and muscles were ready to perform. He fell to his hands, his body straight from his neck to the heel of his feet. His legs were held tightly together, thighs and glutes flexing slightly. Ivonos' arms were pushed straight out, his hands creating a rough diamond on the ground. His upper body lowered slowly, until his nose was a hair's breadth from touching the ground but the only part of him making contact were the tips of his toes and the flats of his hands. He pushed up, quicker than when he'd first gone down, but still quite slow; of course, he was just getting started.

-- A bell and a half later

Ivonos sighed as he pushed himself up to his knees, sweat only lightly beading his form. He rested his hands on his thighs, taking a moment to himself. A hundred sit-ups and a hundred and fifty push-ups later, he was still ready for more. If he ever meant to compare himself to the warrior race of men, he had to push himself. Compared to a lot of them, what made him break a sweat, no matter how light of a sweat it was, his work was abysmal. At least, when it came to bodybuilding, it was.

Wrestling, the combat form Ivonos favored, was a different matter entirely. He could match a good bit more Akalak on the mat, and his enhanced strength helped considerably. While not that impressive next to multi-colored behemoths, it allowed him to lift and slam more than one blue, purple, green, or red warrior. He just needed to get better; he always needed to get better.

Inwardly sighing as he got to his feet, he stretched a bit, nothing too much. He was far from done. Now, he just needed an opponent to match.

[Skyard Underwood]

Hard work and dedication are often thought to be two of the things that were the “keys to success” in life. However, in Skyards case hard work and dedication hardly got him anywhere; what truly guided him was the ability to be cunning. Deception was often what he found to be the most effective tactic available, and he was prepared to use it anywhere at any given time. Casually dressed in a lightweight attire which consisted of a simplistic white shirt, and a pair of trousers without shoes upon his feet. Within the training center he always felt as if comfort was key to combat due to the fact that a failure to be flexible, or avoid an attack with proper timing resulted in a loss. Skyard had not been the most fit individual one would come across; he was fairly slender despite his weight-height ratio. However that did not imply that he should be underestimated under any circumstance. The males cerulean irises set sight upon several combatants simultaneously. His eyes darted back and forth as he observed and watched several teachings occur at once.

One of the instructors proceeded to teach a technique that was “simple” by the definition of a somewhat-experienced combatant. Which began with the instruction for a brief stretch in preparation to learn the “double roundhouse kick”. Skyard had only been at a competent level of unarmed combat, and to him that meant he had a basic understanding of hand to hand battle. Yet, with each and every bodily movement he felt revitalized with energy. He began by outstretching his legs as he reached toward his right leg using his left hand. He bent down slowly, but steadily and felt each and every inch of the stretch progressively. He swiftly grasped hold of his ankle before he released the grip and began yet another stretch to the opposite side.

Out of the corner of his eye Skyard spotted a man with a much larger physique than himself. He was a tall man that could only be described as the “ideal warrior”. Skyard noticed his rather well trained body, and immediately knew that he was a practitioner of body building. He was absolutely massive in comparison to Skyard; despite the fact that they weighed nearly the same amount of pounds. His muscle mass was more well toned than that of The Kelvics. Therefore Skyard thought that he should challenge himself today by taking on a new opponent. He knew absolutely nothing about the blonde haired male, but that did not stop him from approaching the man.

Skyard waltzed forward following his brief stretching session, and he turned back once again in order to see the “double roundhouse kick”. He watched as several of the Akalaks that attempted the move on their first try hit the ground immediately. The move required a bit more acrobatic prowess than the large colorful men possessed. A smirk swept across Skyards face as he turned about and proceeded toward the much larger male in the room. His lips parted and he spoke words of challenge to a man that he did not even know. Skyard did not know whether or not he was being stupid or a bit too confident in himself.

“Hey, you. I want to fight you, and I will not accept no as an answer. You are larger than I am and I want to challenge myself today. Unless of course you are scared, Boy.” Skyard said in an incredibly arrogant tone as he attempted to intimidate him with “empowered” words.

[Ivonos]

Ivonos briefly watched the lesson that was proceeding; some sort of fancy kick was being taught to the Akalak. Ivonos never saw the use of a kick, it was much better to keep one's feet on the ground. It was far too easy to be pushed off balance when you only had one foot on the ground, even if you had a really good sense of balance. An experienced wrestler or even boxer could easily take advantage of such a strike, capturing the foot and throwing someone off their feet. Once on the ground, it was quite easy to finish a bout when you were the one still up. As such, while Ivon respected all forms of unarmed combat, he was never going to learn one where his feet would leave the ground.

As Ivonos was watching the lesson and catching a bit of rest, he noticed out of his peripheral some light-haired fellow walking towards him. Ivonos didn't recognize him, and to be honest, probably wouldn't have even if they'd interacted; this stranger didn't seem like one Ivonos would concern himself with, but that was just off of appearance. The man was tall, but a few inches shorter than himself. Slightly built, he seemed, if a combatant, geared towards agility and speed. While Ivonos was as fast as the average human, but much stronger, this light-haired and light-skinned fellow looked to be faster.

The stranger turned back to the lesson, and Ivonos figured that was the end of him. He turned his back, removing his shirt and tossing it to where his boots were. Now he was only garbed in his black shorts; he would've preferred to have gone naked as he would have in Zinrah, but Riverfall seemed to frown on that.

Ivon removing his shirt was a sort of mind-game with the Akalak. Many of the youngers of the warrior race were aiming to prove themselves, and because of Siasaniassivonos build, more than a few believed sparring him (and in the chance they won), they'd gain a good bit of respect. Ivonos, on the other hand, just wanted to better himself because he felt like it.

"Hey, you. I want to fight you, and I will not accept no as an answer. You are larger than I am and I want to challenge myself today. Unless of course you are scared, Boy."

The Dhani's eyes narrowed slightly as he turned back to the voice; it was the light-haired stranger. His lips quirked in slight amusement; and barely slight, at that. "Siasaniassivonos fearsss only the Godsss. Are you one?" He snorted, answering his own question. "No. And I'm old enough to be your grandfather'sss father, child." His voice was deep and heavily accented, though his tendency to draw out the S at the end of his words didn't seem too out of place.

He moved towards the center of a nearby, empty mat, motioning with his head at the stranger. Ivonos said little as he took his stance. It was that of a wrestler's; his feet were set pretty wide apart, his form was slightly crouched and his arms at his sides, hands up and at the ready. He watched the stranger closely, face passive as he waited patiently. "Begin when you feel you're ready."

[Skyard Underwood]

Skyard observed as his soon to be opponent removed his shirt, and scoffed a bit at the childish motion. Perhaps taking off his shirt was meant to be some sort of scare tactic, and The Kelvic simply stood there unfazed. Skyard was disinterested in battle for a moment, and thought that perhaps his opponent cowered before they so much as had a chance to battle. Skyard observed his gargantuan opposition and waited for a reaction. He seemed to have been in the process of judging and sizing up Skyards physique ; the aforementioned smirk upon his visage grew wider. Skyard absolutely could not wait to strike viciously, and much like a Lion stalking its prey Skyard awaited the opportunity to attack. The Kelvic nodded as his opponent made the swift head gesture toward an empty mat.

He obliged and listened to the opponents voice which carried an incredibly idiosyncratic accent. He boasted the very moment that they encountered one another. Skyard was very confident in his ability to do battle, and deal hefty amounts of damage to opponents even if they were larger than he was. Skyard watched as the boy took up a rather odd stance. His smirk became a vicious grin as he looked for any obvious weaknesses in his opponents stance. As a precautionary measure using his right hand Skyard reached upward and tapped the evantia mark located upon his nape. He had never learned the art of controlled breathing, and wondered why it was important. Breathing was important due to the fact that if an opponent is winded they tend to lose the battle easier. Perhaps maintaining a proper amount of air in the lungs aided in combat.

The Kelvic felt his Evantia aura expand, and he had already grown used to the incredibly odd surge of “energy”. Therefore this time when it did expand he had a much easier time remaining on his feet compared to the several other times he put it to use. Skyard attempted to read both the intentions of his opponent and observed the stance a bit further. Skyard took up a rather odd stance, and raised both his forearms so that they aligned with one another. His right fist remained balled; whilst his left hand flattened out with all of his fingers pointed directly at the opponent in preparation to launch a knife hand.

Skyard chose to “feel out” his opponent by making the first move in the most simple fashion he could possibly think of as he widened his feet until they were at shoulder-widths distance. Skyard noticed that his vision blurred for a moment, and realized that he was not paralyzed with fear. He remained confident throughout the entirety of the situation, and lunged forward briefly with his right leg. Skyard made sure that he did not immediately throw himself into the opponents range. His left foot turned in order to point in the opposite direction. Whilst he “launched” himself toward his opponent he threw a left handed strike toward the boys cranial structure. His actions were all based upon sheer deception, and he intended to await his opponents reaction.

His cranial structure remained fixed in the forward position, and his cerulean irises locked on to that of his opponents own. Skyard attempted to learn several things through the course of a single spar; he questioned himself several times all at once. The Kelvic was absolutely flustered, and wondered what would happen if he paid attention to the direction his opponent looked in. Perhaps he could identify whether or not his opponent would attempt to target a flaw in his stance.

[Ivonos]

Ivonos watched as his new opponent reached up to touch something with a smirk gone grin. The Dhani's eyes narrowed; he didn't like that look not one bit. It seemed far too cocky for someone just "challenging" himself. Ivonos might be big, but he wasn't stupid. He'd have to be a little more careful than usual with this one. His left foot shifted, until both feet were lined up and toes pointing towards the light-haired man; a runner's stance. His hands were still up at the ready, and his torso was still facing the man.

His adversary took up a rather queer stance, but Ivon said nothing about it. He was just waiting patiently; he aimed to capture the offensive from his opponent. The best defense was a great offense, of course. Siasaniassivonos watched as his opponent lunged forward; the Dhani's barely thought about it as he reacted, his upper body leaning forward and lowering a bit in preparation.

The move he'd thought was a kick turned out only to be a step, but a step nearly always came before a strike. And soon enough, the strike came. If he'd been paying attention to arm lengths and distances, maybe Ivonos would have realized that the strike was a false one; but he wasn't, and he didn't.

He lunged forward, close to the ground. A wrestler stayed as close to an opponent as possible, and that was Siasaniassivonos aimed to check off the list quickly. As he powered forward off of his right leg, his arms were outstretched, ready to wrap around his opponent's midsection on contact. They'd be taken to the ground by sheer momentum and weight, and Ivonos' arms would tighten around Skyard almost painfully, right hand clasping left wrist. His feet would scramble to find purchase; if they did before his opponent did anything meaningful to stop him, Skyard would find himself high up in the air for a split second before Ivonos slammed him back onto the ground, considerably harder than the tackle. Ivonos believed in quick, brutal bouts.

If his tackle was unsuccessful, Ivonos would be vulnerable for a bit as he moved back fast as he could, right leg forward and back straight. His eyes would narrow a bit as he watched his opponents movements, waiting for another attack to try and interrupt. Patient as stone.

[Skyard Underwood]

Skyards demeanor changed in the matter of a split-tick, and he wasted no time allowing a malicious laugh erupt from his esophagus as his opponent charged. Skyard could “feel” the opponents motions, and predicted them before they came due to the fact that he “felt” his opponents intentions. He intended to launch a counter-attack in order to thwart the Kelvics equilibrium. However his opponents attempted motions had been cut off; although doing so required a large amount of effort on Skyards part. He had just learned to counteract a counter-strike although it was unintentional. Skyard saw his opponents movements occur in what was essentially “slow motion”. He knew that he had a rather short window of time to act, and he immediately used the flux. The Kelvic refused to look like a fool after he spoke so recklessly, and with such arrogance.

Just as swiftly as he had thrown the “false attack” with the inward step followed by the strike he leaped backward whilst he allowed his opponent to fall forward. He swiftly concentrated the djed within the heel of his right leg, and it shot upward immediately into the quadriceps within his thigh. Skyard grasped hold of his opponents cranial structure with his left hand; meanwhile his right hand cupped his opponents left arm directly beneath the shoulder. Skyard never attempted to “wrestle” before either, and he knew that the battle would end here within a single strike. He drove his right knee upward with blinding speed due to the temporary enhancement of the muscle in his thigh.

He drove the strike forward and with it he carried all of his body-weight at once. He threw all of his strength into the knee strike which aimed to land between the bridge of the opponents nose and his visage. However as the direct result of a miscalculation he struck directly atop the nose. He suddenly heard the satisfying snap of what he initially thought to be bone. He drove the knee upward with such immense strength that it slightly uplifted his opponent as the knee connected. He used the opponents already forward momentum against him, and rotated his hips slightly. Although Skyard had not been the most skilled at wrestling; he still managed to turn his opponent over and slam him upon the ground almost simultaneously.

He watched as the aqua de vitae poured from his opponents visage, and he knelt down at the boys side. He had not even gotten a name out of his adversary yet, and he did not too much care about it. Skyard intended to challenge himself, yet all he got was the chance to mercilessly strike an opponent. The Kelvic tilted his cranium to the right slightly as he looked down upon his opponent, parted his lips, and spoke.

“You are a petchin' fool if you thought you really had any chance of winning this fight. “ Skyard spoke in a hushed tone to the boy as the menacing grin remained upon his face.

oocI was given permission to do this to the boys poor PC

[Ivonos]

Ivonos was far from prepared for his opponent's counter-strike.

One moment, he was charging like he usually did when starting a spar, the next, he only saw blood. He wasn't even sure what had happened, it'd escalated so fast. He didn't even register the pain; his mind was too far gone for that. Far, far too gone. Thoughts traveled sluggishly through his mind. What they were about, he couldn't tell you. He could barely move his body. He didn't feel that impact as the man pinned him. Hell, he couldn't even feel his toes and he'd been hit in the face.

It took only a moment before everything rushed in at once. Pain was all he felt. His head felt as if it'd been crushed by a boulder. His vision was tinted red with his own blood, which seemed to just pour out of his face in waves. He was still for a tick, before he thrashed slightly at the man's words.

He coughed. Of course, his saliva was peppered with the maroon liquid, turning it all red. His body shook, but through an immense amount of willpower, he didn't cry out. His hands flattened on the ground, bracing his body. He didn't even notice the multitude of Akalak rushing around him as they attempted to help, he was too focused on getting to his feet. He slowly pushed himself up, and then was helped up by one of the stronger men. He was unsteady on his feet, but he managed to get the man holding him to release him; mostly through weak struggles and shoves.

He looked to the man that'd bested him. He coughed again, and attempted a step forward. He fell to his knee, and would've fell to his face if someone hadn't caught him and kept him steady. He managed only three weak words in his broken Common before he fell unconscious. "It was honour."

A few Akalak sent Skyard a meaningful look before the calmest of the bunch instructed a few into picking him up correctly so that he would not drown on his own blood, and they left as quickly as possible, carrying him to the healers.

OOCDidn't know it was gonna be that bad, but I did give permission prior. ^.^

[Konrad Venger]

Ivonos Grade Wittheld due to four months Inactivity Skyard XP: Philosophy - 1 Observation - 1 Acrobatics - 1 Unarmed Combat - 2 Flux - 1 Intimidation - 1 Lore: Cunning and Deception > Hard Work and Dedication Acrobatics: Stretching Before Exertion Siasaniassivonos: Fears Only the Gods Unarmed Combat: Feint Kick Masking a Punch The Flux: Knee Strike Intimidation: You Never Had a Chance Click Me! : Not bad at all, dude! I liked that this was as much an exercise in deception as it was in martial arts; the Flux being your secret weapon was a fantastic advantage and you didn't slow it down with too much technical speak and verbose language. This all flowed well and it was almost chilling seeing Skyard gloat at the end. Very changeable indeed... Oh, and please make sure you go back and edit your post in the Request Thread to reflect the fact this one is now done and dusted. PM me with any questions and later 'tater!