Battle Type: BATTLE Prize: Bragging rights and XP!
Character #1:Maxence Bonded: nay Magic: nu Armor: nah Weapons: A Bullwhip.
Character #2:AVDOTYA Bonded: nah Magic: Earth Armor: Nupe Weapons: A spear.
MAXENCE
LOOKING UP FOR HEAVEN
While some preferred to spend summer days soaking in any ounce of shade they could find, Maxence had sought to journey south on the heated wind currents until they might place him in the battlefields of the Bellum Steppe. Upon his departure he had called out to any in the Day Court fortress who might be listening and alerted them of where he was headed and when he expected to return as routine demanded. As sovereign he would never leave his people abandoned, not even for an hour or two. At all times he would allow them the peace of mind that he could be reached should something turn awry. "I am headed to the Steppe to train! Anyone is welcome to join me." the King had called back to the fortifications as his wings took him skyward, knees pointed toward the sun. Perhaps secretly he wished one of the warriors might follow - training with his comrades, teaching and learning from them had always been one of Maxence's most beloved past times. He was certainly not one to ever stand still, so time spent in sport with his brothers was always greatly cherished (and now terribly missed).
It still came in dull aches when he remembered what had been, as icy cramps in his heart, a hiraeth for what should still be.
Novus was a continent that was still completely rogue and unfamiliar to him, though still the stag roughly knew the way to the Bellum Steppe - or rather, what it looked like from above when he got there. In the shadow of Veneror he had sailed, a mere ornament in the peachy morning sky that was made all the more beautiful by a passing flock of wetland birds taking a similar path past the mountain over the thin, diaphanous clouds. Below him the valleys were visible through the most pale puffs of cloud, and still he loved to observe how the desert became fields and the fields became forest, foothills and mountain. It was a view he thanked Solis for immediately, his oceanic eyes closing momentarily as he sighed a content breath of blissfulness. Though still, he knew reality waited beneath the cloud cover.
Angling his wings and leaning down against the current, Maxence was soon to aim his landing for the highlands. The sea of grass was easily picked from above and impossible to miss given it's giant expanse. In no time the sovereign had touched down upon the endless fields, his feet landing one after the other while his wings bent each blade of grass with a mighty SWOOSH. An ideal training ground if ever he'd seen one, though so far from Solterra.
Unfastening his bullwhip from it's strapping upon his harness, Maxence was soon to crane his nose over the great expanse of grass and shrub. There might be one or two to challenge for a spar our here, though truly Maxence wished to spar one of his own. Turning his nose over his shoulder in the direction of home, he hoped at least one had followed...
Summary: Maxence flys to the steppe and waits for an opponent (Avdotya can attack first!)
AVDOTYA
they have achieved nothing
altered nothing
and will die for n o t h i n g
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cloaked by the shadows of the imposing pines, Avdotya watched as bodies clashed and bloodied gashes stippled the grasses in dark red. Her mind studied the area with a rare flutter of curiosity that bloomed with every battle she watched, until she felt an aggressive itch to throw herself into the makeshift ring. It was an itch, however, that she found difficult to scratch. Opponents were few and far between, and when the occasional partner became available, she realized just how difficult her fighting palette was to whet in the foreign lands. Perhaps... all she needed was a taste of home.
How convenient, then, that the desert king himself appeared as though he were a pretty painted present delivered right upon her doorstep. Her fiery eyes focused on him intently, noting the bullwhip he had just removed from his harness. She did not recall the stallion carrying it in their past encounters, but his possession of it was intriguing to Avdotya. A weapon like that was not commonly seen.
While Maxence curled his neck expectantly, the woman slithered from the treeline opposite of his gaze. She carried herself much like a hound would stalking its target, head low and nearly level with her shoulders; she was predatory in every sense of the word, and yet, she softened like butter the moment she reached him. An impish smile swept across her lips. "Ah," she trilled, "what have we here?" Her body coiled around him, brushing past the soft feathers of one wing until she had reached the other. "Maxence: Slayer of the Teryr, o' Mighty Sovereign of Solterra." Her voice was a gentle whisper into his ear, every word laced with mischief and scheming. "What other title might he bear?" She wondered aloud, peeling away from the man to pick up an airy trot with which she whirled around him. The ursine skin she wore upon her withers and spine was shirked to the grasses outside their circle and left the woman bare, her spear the only thing remaining in the leather strap wrapped tight around her foreleg. Tail flagged and head held high, she was a sight to behold, the utter picture of primal power.
Avdotya's fluid movement did not slow until she parted her lips to speak, but instead she lunged. As quickly as she leapt, she loosed her spear and aimed the blunt end of it to viciously jab the inside of his front left knee - having come from his right - and surged around him to keep herself in close quarters. A whip was a dangerous weapon from afar, but she sought to avoid the bite of its kiss by staying proximal to him for as long as she could.
Summary: Said some stuff, trotted circles around Maxence, acted like she was about to continue talking as a means of distraction and then lunged towards him. Sought to hit the back of his knee with the butt of her spear w/ hopes of it buckling and is now weaving close to him.
A brontide of hoofbeats snared the kings full attention, the thunder of an approaching rival causing the drum within the Commanders own chest to beat at a clearer frequency. These were footfalls that he had come to recognise; light and urgent, though still inherently threatening. Avdotya.
Maxence had almost begun to roll his eyes at the approaching shield maiden, anticipating nothing more than a snide comment or an exceedingly sincere greeting, the kind both sweetened and poisoned by sarcasm. Instead, the King met his regent with a perpetual scowl, a blink or two, followed by a gruff snort through his nostrils promptly after she offered him words of 'praise' and 'worship' for his part in slaying the Teryr. Casting his oceanic gaze over the rippling fields, refusing to meet her paralysing stare, (he had noticed that she had that effect on him) the chestnut watched her skeleton from outside her sweat-sheened skin, reading her body for a tactical swipe of her hooves or a distracting lash of her tail. To be a step ahead of an enemy was what Maxence had always prided himself on, though it had been months since his last proper brawl; it was not unlikely that the sovereign would be quite out of touch. "What other title might he bear?"
It was these words that caused his glare to crack, a smirk easing out as he stared back with equal intensity. "A common son-of-a-whore" the Commander responded, his spine lowering as he took steps of his own to prepare for battle. He could see how she walked, talked, and sought to own the battleground's favor; there was no guessing whether Avdotya was challenging him to a spar.
Especially after she lunged...
Like a cheetah chasing a dazed antelope she had struck, flexing forward from a strikingly low stance upon the ground, one Maxence really could only compare to a cat. Copping a THWACK to the back of his left knee, a grunt falling with a boom from behind his tight lips, the sovereign sought to turn upon his forehand; the only leg he had left standing by then. As he hooked his back tho legs underneath his ribs and across to where he assumed the regent could not reach, those two oceanic eyes made a cold, seeking glare in an attempt to guess the lioness's next move.
Teeth barred, Bullwhip secured between his tushes, Maxence promptly sent his wings down in an almighty push against the grass below; a plot to send debris into the eyes of his rival and to leave her temporarily blinded. Without any hesitation the King then sought to send the lash of his whip around the front-left pastern of the contender, thrusting his entire upper body, head and neck forwards in a terrifying shake, the kind solely designed to send the bullwhip's lash loose upon his rival. It was then that he began to back up, the entirety of his back and neck arched with the intention of pulling the warrior off balance or even to her knees should the whip find purchase in her leg.
Summary: Maxence copps avdotyas whack to the back of the leg and attempts to dodge any more attacks by turning upon his other front leg, then tries to beat some dirt into her eyes, then tries to whack the lash of his whip around her leg and pull her off her feet/off balance
AVDOTYA
they have achieved nothing
altered nothing
and will die for n o t h i n g
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Her heart pitter-pattered with delight in the early furor of their match, reveling in the familiar rush that single combat brought to her hardened soul. This was where Avdotya thrived.
The moment she felt her spear meet his knee she began to watch him like a vulture would a carcass. She had kept herself in constant motion until Maxence spun away from her and thrust his wings to stir the soil underfoot, attempting to disturb her sight. She nearly chuckled at his efforts; had he forgotten where she was born? Where she trained and grew up? To her, the feeling of sand upon her eyes was as common as heat in the desert and a few flecks of dirt were no different. They were a minor irritation at best, but enough of a distraction to allow him time to reel back. When she saw him, the mare did not follow, nor did she flee to broaden the distance between them. Avdotya did not fear the violent crack of his whip, she welcomed it with a glare that challenged him to unfurl it upon her as she was certain he intended.
The moment Maxence lashed his weapon, she surged forward into the air, wincing for a second at the sting of the leather against her leg. It bit into her skin easily, drawing bright red blood from the fragile vessels that lay below. As it did so, Avdotya pulled the afflicted limb back, further advancing her forward motion towards him. The momentum brought her to the ground hard and fast, but the inward angle of her shoulder and neck supported the manner with which she landed and granted her a planned opportunity to roll with it. Where her shoulder made contact and slowed, her hind end continued to swing around towards the stallion. She kept her legs tucked to the very last moment until they were forcefully sprung loose towards the soft flesh of his chest.
A trail of blood seemed to follow Avdotya, perhaps having had a particularly sensitive vein hit from the lashing. She herself had a smattering of it along her belly, something she did not mind, but it was the intense burning that pulsed in her leg that truly bothered her now. It spurned a seething expression upon the rigid features of her face, lighting those amber eyes ablaze from where she lay. Hidden behind the animosity, pleasure flourished.
How long it had been since she was able to indulge in a duel.
Summary: Got a lil bit of dirt in her eye, jumped forward as Maxence lashed his whip around her leg (now she all bloody ty Max) and used that as a way to help her use the momentum to swing around as she hit the ground. Unleashes a strong kick aiming for the chest.
In no time at all the field had become hot and heavy, the tension of each muscle seeming to radiate outwards into the evolving mess of upturned ground and bloodied tufts of grass. Perhaps it was the flood of blood that stirred a peculiar kind of hiraeth within the warrior, his lips switching into a dickened and brooding smirk - But in his chaos there was calculation, and as his bullwhip coiled around the outstretched limb of the regent, it seemed his plan was falling into place like dominoes.
Now clearly in his element, Maxence allowed the helm of his whip to fall from his mouth as soon as he noticed his rival taking advantage of it's pull. To say he was not impressed with how she had schooled sich a vicious move to her bidding would be a dead, cold lie, though it did frustrate him at how sharp and gods-damned nimble she was on the field. Where he excelled in strength and tactics, Avdotya seemed to be able to run circles around him simply by taking every opportunity that sprung to light. If he had found er strength, had he then found her weakness? Could she be fooled as easily as she could take an opponent's lash and use it as her own? It was a spar after all, so Maxence intended on testing this.
The cheetah landed, and much too close to comfort, though still Maxence was intent on finding her flaw. The commander lay in wait, practically baiting her as she ducked before him and seemingly prepared to barrel her hind legs in his direction. Maxence, luckily, had anticipated something of the sort.
Striding once to his left and turning his own hind end in a sweeping motion to the left, Maxence rose up briefly and outstretched his two front limbs, allowing his rival to strike toward his former location barely a yard away from where he had dodged to. Forcing his legs down, Maxence waited to hear the thwack and crack of bone against bone as he sought to block her attack by slamming her offending hind legs back to the soil with his own, aiming for the soft bones that lay behind each canon.
There was no winner yet.
Summary: Maxie tries his best to anticipate avdotyas moves and dodges, then BLOCKS her kick attack by basically whacking her kicking legs, so ATTACKS at the same time!
AVDOTYA
they have achieved nothing
altered nothing
and will die for n o t h i n g
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The moment he began to react to her motion, Avdotya's mind flipped itself from its offensive lines of thought and took to defense mode. She had taken a risk in throwing herself to the ground and now it was time to save her own hide before Maxence's hooves found their way to the delicate bones in her legs. He did, however, rouse some animosity in the mare's heart, for a broken bone - especially one that lay in her ankle - would have spelled disaster for her. A break like that was no easy injury to overcome, she would have been out for months; that he would so easily chance such a thing in a mere spar left her feeling apprehensive of him. Nevertheless, this was no time to ponder her indignation.
As the stallion heaved his body partway into the air, the desert woman made a swift grab for her spear and gouged it deep into the dirt beside her. She held it firmly between her teeth and forced her strength against the shaft, using that as a way to haul her hind end off and escape his oncoming hooves. Even with her body in the process of rolling away from Maxence's aim, she sought to further solidify her safety by summoning the ground beneath her rump to abandon its stillness; it jerked upwards, without grace or any form of refinement, but it was more than enough to allow Avdotya more speed in the swing of her hip.
Crash.
She felt the thud of his strike upon the earth when he landed, thinking again of what it could have done to her legs and then leapt to her feet. Her ears were already flat against her neck when she spun to look at him, but it was the burning in her amber eyes to truly conveyed her emotions. In spite of the stinging that coiled around her wounded foreleg, Avdotya's focus was set entirely on Maxence. "Are you bloody mad?" She hissed. "That connects in just the right way and I am of no damned use to you or the Court." The regent understood the heat of battle and its ability to hinder one's thinking, though it was no excuse in her mind. She knew not of the workings of spars in whatever land he heiled from, but even in the harsh conditions of the Davke, none sought to truly maim in a mock battle.
With her ire hanging heavily in the air around them, Avdotya turned away from him and started home on a labouring leg. "Fucking clot already, will you?" She muttered angrily to the blood that still dribbled from her cut. Perhaps she would need some time to simmer before their next run-in...
Summary: Used her spear to help roll away faster, then added some extra 'oomph' by forcing the ground up a little from under her booty. Got real mad. sry max ;o;
23/25 -- Based on creativity (originality, imagination, and attention to detail).
1st post: Introductary post, and not judged.
2nd post: I thought it was creative, how he used his wings to beat sand and dirt at his opponent in an attempt to give himself a little bit of time (POCKET SAND!!). Utilizing his whip at this moment was also a good idea!
3rd post: I do like how he tried to literally stomp her out; def kinda cruel to attempt to do to his Regent, but hey, what's game is game ;)
16/25 -- Based on realism (mechanics and whether you accurately reflect your Health and Attack)
1st post: Introductary post, and not judged.
2nd post: I do feel like to get a really good crack in, it might take more than a second or two to ready and pull back the whip. A half-hearted crack might just whip her, versus actually having the momentum (and length) to wrap around her ankle.
3rd post: Very natural and realistic response. She did make a very low-lying kick, so a natural response would be to attempt to kick back to such a prone target. Almost like stomping on a snake in the grass that just tried to bite you. Poor Av!
11/15 -- Based on writing metrics (spelling, grammar, punctuation, run-on sentences, etc)
1st post: Introductary post, and not judged.
2nd post: A few sentences that read oddly, otherwise good spelling and grammar.
3rd post: Very fluid, good sentence structure.
Blocks 25/35
14/15 -- Based on creativity (originality, imagination, and attention to detail)
1st post: Introductary post, and not judged.
2nd post: No official blocks used.
3rd post: I thought it was very interesting to use an attack as a block!
7/15 -- Based on realism (mechanics and whether you accurately reflect your Health and Attack)
1st post: Introductary post, and not judged.
2nd post: No official blocks used, but I do feel that it would be a little odd for Max to take the whack to the back of the knee and use that to spin away from Avdotya. Your knee buckling unexpectedly like that is a very hard and sudden drop to recover from, which is why its such a useful tactic.
3rd post: Seemed like a natural, realistic option to use an attack for a block.
4/5 -- Based on writing metrics (spelling, grammar, punctuation, run-on sentences, etc)
1st post: Introductary post, and not judged.
2nd post: No official blocks used.
3rd post: Very fluid, good sentence structure.
@Avdotya - Total: 73/100
Attacks 49/65
23/25 -- Based on creativity (originality, imagination, and attention to detail)
1st post: Very creative, to use the butt of her spear versus the blade, to attempt to buckle her opponent early on!
2nd post: An interesting way to recover from Max's whip!
3rd post: No attacks.
10/25 -- Based on realism (mechanics and whether you accurately reflect your Health, Attack, and Bonded animal)
1st post: I liked how her initial reaction was to go for the back of the knee, an obvious weakpoint (aside from the heel) that could easily cripple an opponent and make them more vulnerable further into the battle. Realistic choice from the warrior woman :)
2nd post: I was a little confused on how well using the whip for added momentum would work, and to be honest I'm still really unsure! While if the whip was anchored to something significantly heavier or larger, that had an incredibly strong grip, it might work.. but I feel Avdotya putting the backwards pressure by yanking her caught leg towards her might just yank Max's head forward. I don't think it would give her enough momentum to help fling her further forward. Also a little unsure how strong a kick would be, considering her front end was firmly planted into the ground and very low-lying.
3rd post: No attacks.
11/15 -- Based on writing metrics (spelling, grammar, punctuation, run-on sentences, etc)
1st post: Very good; a few errors here and there.
2nd post: A few run on sentences that read oddly.
3rd post: No attacks.
Blocks 29/35
14/15 will be based on creativity (originality, imagination, and attention to detail)
1st post: No blocks in first post.
2nd post: No blocks in second post.
3rd post: I'm quite glad you saved your block for this attack, because having to take this hit would have been brutal and crippling (like Av was griping about!). Def liked how you used her magic defensively.
12/15 will be based on realism (mechanics and whether you accurately reflect your Health, Attack, and Bonded animal)
1st post: No blocks in first post.
2nd post: No blocks in second post.
3rd post: Was a little bit confused on how well she would be able to use her spear to pull her forward, but I can kinda picture it in my head!
3/5 will be based on writing metrics (spelling, grammar, punctuation, run-on sentences, etc)
1st post: No blocks in first post.
2nd post: No blocks in second post.
3rd post: Very good, a few errors here and there. Otherwise, good sentence structure.
Creativity 22/25 First: I like how he uses his wings to try to form some sort of distraction before going straight to his whip! It makes it a little more interesting to read, as there seems to be only so many things he can do with a bullwhip as a weapon. Second: I like how you use a block and an attack in one go! I appreciate that he kicks back rather than just moving out of the way of her hooves
Realism 15/25 First: Because Avdotya was so close, I’m not sure how well he’d be able to use his wings without knocking her in some way or how effective holding a whip between his teeth would be? Though I like that you mentioned how he was holding the whip (between his tushes) instead of using telekinesis or leaving it out entirely! Second: I feel like it would require an incredible amount of precision and perfect timing to achieve what he’s trying to do, but it’s definitely a natural response to kick back at her!
Metrics 11/15 First: A few interesting word choices that kind of caught me off guard (ex: calling her a skeleton) that seemed more for show and didn’t seem to fit as well into the context, but pretty clean grammar and nothing too distracting. Second: A couple strange spelling errors that could have been caught using a quick spellcheck machine or reread, but overall a clear post. Noteworthy: No battle in the first post, but still a clean entrance. I like how you set the stage for him to be there! Overall I like how much of a feel I can get for Max by reading through his posts.
Blocks 27/35
Creativity 13/15
Again, I really like that instead of simply moving away, he hits back in an actual block rather than just a dodge!
Realism 10/15
I’m not sure he’d really be able to stomp her legs to the ground? He might hit at them, but actually pinning her by her legs would be really tricky just based off of anatomy I think!
Metrics 4/5
Very easy to see what his plan is and more or less to visualize it in my head; didn’t see many errors here!
@Avdotya - Total: 81/100
Attacks 53/65
Creativity 22/25 First: I appreciate that her charge actually meant something and had a clear goal, rather than just running at him and throwing around body weight. Bonus points for attempting to distract him instead of just having at it! Definitely helps dress up a simple charge-attack Second: I like how she uses his attack to start her second attack, rather than taking it and attacking separately. The way she uses his whip and its momentum is pretty creative in my book.
Realism 18/25 First: Simple and effective, particularly realistic in terms of Avdotya herself. This attack, with her weaving around him and trying to distract him and being aware of his whip, definitely seems to play true to her character. Second: I like the bit of damage/jarring she takes during her attack, it definitely helps paint a more realistic picture of what’s going on! However I’m not so sure how well she’d be able to kick with her back leg if she’s unsteady on that front shoulder? Seems like she’d be more likely to faceplant than to really get a solid kick in
Metrics 13/15 First: Not many errors that I found, definitely nothing distracting to take away from the post and its effect. Second: A couple of long sentences that may have been better broken up, but few jarring errors. Super clean and easy to read. Noteworthy: I love how much you get to know Avdotya in each of the posts—there’s such a good balance between the physical and internal components, it makes it so interesting to read!
Blocks 28/35
Creativity 13/15
I like how she uses her spear to pull herself off the ground, though I’m not entirely sure how she got there after kicking at him to begin with (unless she became a ninja, but knowing Av that isn’t too hard to imagine). Also, was wondering when her magic would come into play! I love that it aided her defensively instead of offensively, it almost makes me think of baby Moana and the water pushing her around lmao
Realism 11/15
I’m not sure how much time she’d have to get her entire body out of the way versus just twisting her legs or something, but I can definitely see her magic helping with that.
Metrics 4/5
I love her clear shift in thinking from offensive to defensive—also a very creative way to definitely end the fight! Grammatically, not many errors or run-ons that I could find, it was really easy to read through overall.
All damage taken in the thread is still applicable and cannot be retconned!
Participate in a Battle or Challenge: +1 EXP to Maxence, +1 EXP to Avdotya
Win a Battle: +1 additional EXP to Avdotya
Total: +1 EXP to Maxence, +2 EXP to Avdotya
Both Maxence’s and Avdotya’s official experience has been updated to reflect these changes, so there's no need to post in the Experience Updates thread!
