The knight strides through the dust.

Daniel's boots crunched into the gravel, as if the earth itself was in the mood to fight. He marched in stony composure, unfazed by the raking of the gritty winds. They seemed heavy, as if they carried vibrations of fate-- as the vague, towering shapes of the monoliths slid into view, Daniel's resolve to weather destiny grew solid in his mind.

He stepped some twenty meters into the forest of stone from it's northmost edge, the ground humming with held-back tremors beneath his boots. It was odd, the way the vibrations resolved into steely focus; the area gave off the impression of a graveyard, with a way of whispering to the back of your mind, "Don't stay here. Survive." It was a command that Daniel of Columbia well understood. He withdrew a charge from his pack, primed it, and affixed it to the front of his shield, similarly to the way he had done in his battle with Gonad Yaksplitter. He drew his sword, whipped it to attention, making even the wind part in caution. As he stood among the monoliths, Daniel was filled with determination.

---
DETERMINATION: 1

A slimy liver dripped wads of thick goo to the ground with every bite he took as he wandered about amidst the monoliths. He had heard this place called a graveyard, but lack lack of corpses to tamper with was woefully disappointing. "I ought to find the guy who named this place and nail a piece of him to every one of these damn humming rocks," he growled as he tossed the last bite of liver into his mouth. He noticed that the monoliths were taller than they were spaced apart and debated starting a game of dominoes, but the lack of civilians to be caught in their wake made it seem like a waste of energy.

Then he saw something in the distance. A figure fully armored, cape billowing in the wind, weapons galore. "You're joking!" Talon exclaimed, and he couldn't help but fly over to get a better look. He landed 60 meters away from the figure and let out a rumbling laugh that resonated with the hum of the monoliths. "It really is! A f***ing knight, walking around in this day and age." He called out to Daniel, "Hey, Sir Shitsalot, you get lost looking for the Jabberwocky or something? Don't tell me you came to slay the big mean dragon!" His laughter bounced back and forth across the stone behemoths. "Tell you what, I'll let you live if you get down on your knees and sacrifice a virgin. Unless, of course, you are one, in which case, DIE!" Talon grabbed the spikes on his back and pulled out two boneblades. It was clear that his offer was purely rhetorical; there was no way he was letting prey as hilarious as a knight leave this place alive.

The wind blew rank. The stench of decay, ash, evil heavy on the breeze. Daniel of Columbia savored it. It smelled just like home. If there were any higher powers watching this, he supposed it was a small kindness, a little favor in the face of the incredible bloodlust radiating from up ahead. He adjusted his grip on the sword in his right, hefted close the shield in his left, and turned to face the source of it-- a miasma of hatred that washed over him like heat.

"It really is! A f***ing knight, walking around in this day and age." He called out to Daniel, "Hey, Sir Shitsalot, you get lost looking for the Jabberwocky or something? Don't tell me you came to slay the big mean dragon!"

Daniel waited, silently.

"Tell you what, I'll let you live if you get down on your knees and sacrifice a virgin. Unless, of course, you are one, in which case, DIE!"

It literally unsheathed a pair of wicked looking blades from its back, and stood as menace incarnate. It's scales were the color of gore, it's expression crazed like a warlord who'd gotten too old for his skin. Daniel smiled beneath his helm as it babbled meaningless insults. This was truly perfect. The reason that Daniel had become a knight. He gathered his thoughts and primed his muscles in preparation for battle.

"Verily, a dragon yonder," he spoke, almost to himself, "By Washington, may my blade strike true. And make thee pay for thy sins."

Daniel charged at full speed with the shield Destiny at the ready, closing the gap between him and his foe in the time it takes to gasp.

Never one to pass up on a challenge, Talon met Daniel's charge with one of his own. That shield of his was certainly strange. It would be foolish to wield glass in battle, but perhaps there was some kind of enchantment on it that made it more durable. Talon wanted to find out. So he responded to the strange shield by bashing into it with his right shoulder, throwing all 400 lbs of his mass at the knight. He wanted to feel the shield shatter before him, to see the puny knight go flying into one of those weird humming pillars. But, perhaps the dragon would be surprised.

He was, at the very least, wary of the knight's blade, and held his two blades in front of him in an X as he struck the shield. A cruel grin was smeared across his face. The adrenaline was beginning to pump through his body, rousing the madness that clawed at the back of his mind. "Don't die too quickly now!" he shouted as their bodies clashed. Talon had a feeling that he was going to enjoy this.

THOOM!!

The warriors crashed together with all of their strength, sending an eardrum spliting kaboom bouncing off the rising hymn of the monoliths. The adrenaline pumping through Daniel's body swelled in time with it, the rush of combat pounding in his ears, a hammer shaping his burning resolve. The dragon had stopped his advance full force, with a cloud of dust spiraling into the sun scorched sky. He understood in that sliver of contact that this beast was older, more cunning, stronger than he was; he knew in an instant that this would be a duel to where he would need to strive, bleed, force himself to survive.

As the dragon slammed its right shoulder into Columbia's Destiny, Daniel ground to a stop, giving no ground and less mercy. At the speed of superhuman reaction, Daniel turned his body outward towards his left, and whipped the Manifest in his right over his left shoulder in a deadly arc towards the nape of his foe's neck. If the dragon was pushing hard or would be in short order, Daniel's pivot should tilt the beast's shoulder just enough to make a block from behind difficult. If the wicked looking blades flashed out to test Daniel's swordsmaship, he was prepared to shift his weight back, parry with the shield, and riposte. At the same time he made these preparations in positioning, he readied himself once again to press the big red button. The octanitrocubane charge he had placed on the outside of his shield earlier would yield a greater explosion than any conventional military explosive, enough to snap even Daniel's superhumanly durable body through his shock resistant armor-- were he on the wrong side of it. This time, the dragon had the misfortune of standing on the wrong end of Daniel's shield, and the explosion was sure to deal some serious damage if it failed to assess its threats correctly. As Daniel sliced his blade outward, his fingers tightened on the detonator.

Click.

The mighty crash between the two warriors left Talon legitimately impressed. First, he was impressed that the glassy substance the shield was made out of barely even shuddered under the full force of his charge; second, he was impressed that he hadn't sent the little knight flying in the opposite direction when their bodies met. He sensed no fear in his adversary, not the slightest glint of hesitation in his movements. His attitude was like all those other would-be heroes he had slain, but the difference was that this knight actually seemed to have the tools to do him harm. Finally, a battle that he could take seriously.

Talon felt the knight begin to shift his weight, and he knew that if he continued forcing himself against that shield he would be sent in a direction he did not with to go. He couldn't break the shield, and he couldn't simply trample this knight as he had so many heroes before him, so the best course of action would be to fall back and look for gaps in the enemy's defense. As Daniel pushed off of him, Talon snapped his wings forward and kicked off of the ground to propel himself several feet back. This motion caused the knight's slash to miss its mark, however it appeared that he had a weapon far more dangerous than his sword.

Click.

Even at this distance, Talon felt the energy of the blast. He tightened his guard to absorb some of the impact, but even the Nezgarian was sent skidding back from the force of such a blast. He slammed his tail flat against the ground, dug his nails into the dirt, and gritted his teeth as he skidded back another few feet. Shrapnel battered against him leaving a few cuts along his arms that were more of an injury to his pride than his body, but were at the very least a proof of concept of the bomb's lethality. His assassin tactics had saved him from a serious injury, if not death, and it was unlikely that Daniel would see the dragon being so reckless again.

Even though his ears were still ringing, Talon maintained a sturdy defensive position while his tail curled up off of the ground and seemed to disappear into a tear in space. Reality warped and crackled around his tail, and when it finally emerged from the rift, it was wrapped around a third blade. Thus armed, the Nezgarian curled his tail over his head like a scorpion stinger and waited for the dust to clear so he could begin his counter attack.

As the explosion rocked the ground beneath him, Daniel instinctively folded his body down into a crouch. The blast had sent him skidding back, the bottom of his shield scraping a trail in the ground as he took to one knee, his body well behind the a wall of reflexive diamond. Soot and dust ushered him back, the shockwave still pushing earth up and around in a sandy hail. It pushed him as if with gigantic hands until he felt his back hit a monolith behind him, its shadow looming ominously overhead. The world was lost in a brown gray haze, but even in this brief pause of shallow breath and collecting defenses, the knight knew that the dragon would not fall so easily.

Daniel knew that it was fast, that it was insanely tough, that the ache in his arm was reporting its prodigious strength. In many respects, the odds were against him, but he would fightto his last breath. With one arm holding his shield fast before him, Daniel primed another charge, eight left in his pack, and armed it behind him. The dust was still settling, and he waited for a renewed assault-- with the magic hum of the iron tower behind him, and explosion and his sword ready to meet his foe, Daniel's determination grew.

---

DETERMINATION: 2

Talon once again dashed forward to meet his opponent, but this time he did not intend to have a contest of brute strength. As he approached the knight, he tossed the blade in his right hand up into the air, and used his now free hand to grab the top of that shield and force it down into the ground. This way, if Daniel wanted to maneuver at all with the weapon, he would have to force it through the dirt, an extra effort that was quite possible for someone of his strength, but one that would certainly slow him down. He raised the blade in his left hand in a guarded position to deal with the knight's sword should it fall down on him, but the blade in his tail took another path. His tail whipped back and then curved around Talon's right side and behind the shield, aiming a sideways stab at Daniel's kidney. The shield was made of sturdy stuff, how about that armor? He would have to poke around until he found a gap in it.

Meanwhile, the blade that Talon had tossed in the air made its descent. Unless their positions significantly changed, it would land harmlessly on the ground, right beside the monolith. He also noticed that his opponent had placed something on the giant stone tower behind him, probably one of the explosives he had used before. He would have to keep an eye on that as well.

A burst of speed, and the hulking dragon sped through the wall of dust. The cloud parted like a desert before a nuclear blast, but the knight was used to the apocalypse. Only a second, maybe two to react, but at this speed, it was all the time in the world. Daniel of Columbia clenched his teeth and stood his ground, pivoting his stance down and close, bringing his sword close to his body in a one-handed fool's stance. All he had was a sword, a shield, and grit, but he was going to use them to take the kill if he had to rip it right from the dragon's claws. And that was exactly what he was planning to do.

As the wind from his opponent's wings started to batter him, Daniel noticed a thin crescent of bone fly up into the sallow air, the blade spinning in tauntingly slow arc in comparison to the ferocious assault of its master. It was something to watch carefully in this window of movement, but Daniel had bigger problems. Specifically, almost half a ton of red death was hurtling at him, and it made a snarling grab at the lip of the knight's shield. His eyes narrowed behind his visor as he remembered his last opponent trying the same cheap tactic; they never learn. Daniel allowed the dragon to wrap its foul claws against his shield, nice and tight, easy bait easily taken. It seemed to want to shove his tower shield into the dirt, but the distraction would be to no avail. Daniel obviated the setup by simply pivoting into the dragon's charge, throwing all of its focused weight to his left as he turned like a door, and forcing its momentum back against the pillar behind him. With any luck, the exchange would occur faster than the dragon would be able to collect itself and change tactics, considering that the wicked looking blade it was holding with its tail looked so ready to skewer him. No, Daniel intended to let the dragon keep as much momentum as possible when it decided to commit to latching onto his shield; even if he couldn't win a contest of brute strength, Daniel could definitely manage to yank the dragon back if he had the element of surprise. There was no time to think, but muscle memory honed by rad-scorpions, deathclaws, and super mutants moved Daniel like a machine; as the knight spun to allow the dragon to hit the monolith behind him, he made his riposte in the same moment. The knight had been keeping careful stock of the snakelike bite of the third blade in its tail, the cruel razor of bone the dragon had pulled from its spine. It was meant to be a stinger blow to the vitals, but his well timed change in positioning meant that a blade that was intended to spike through his entrails would have ended up clanging harmlessly against the iron monolith instead.

In that fluid movement of forcing the dragon to impact the wall behind him, Daniel followed up on his attack by sliding his right foot forward and stabbing outward into the dragon's exposed armpit. His sword of course was still in his grip, and in this trade of instants, the Knight of D.C. deftly aimed his own bid to make a shishkebab. As it was, the dragon might have been extended past its center of gravity, ideally with its knuckles pinned right above a packet of itching octanitrocubane. If the lizard had the presence of mind to simply let go of the shield as Daniel made his single move, the initial yank forward would leave it still quite close enough to have a personal meeting with the last foot or so of the sword Manifest. Furthermore, the pivot meant that Daniel was standing within arm's reach of the dragon, facing the dragon's bicep just past the crook of the elbow-- it was an excellent position if the dragon were in the mood for a hug or knew offensive clothesline magic, but not so excellent if it wanted to mount an effective parry to Daniel's sword. The knight had intercepted the complicated series of movements in the time it took for the dragon's discarded sword to drop, and by the time it hit the ground next to the humming iron of the monolith, Daniel would have been watching a dragon bleed for at least three seconds. There would be no last minute jumps this time.

The knight's maneuver was a more costly mistake than he realized. Talon's intention was never to bash into the shield again, it was only to grab it, and by pivoting into him, he made grabbing it only that much easier. With a grip that could crush stone, Talons claws dug into the shield, and with the strength to move boulders, he pushed it downwards. All of Daniel's attempts to manipulate momentum were futile, for there was no forward momentum to manipulate; there was only downward momentum, and that would not send him flying into the pillar. Daniel yanked his shield back, but he had already allowed Talon to close his claws on it so such a gesture would not be enough to rip it from his grip. Nor would a momentary jerk of resistance be enough to overpower Talon's strength, gravity, and a disadvantage in leverage. If Daniel wanted to keep his shield off of the ground, he would need more than one momentary jerk. Even if he failed to resist the downward force, Daniel would be able to pivot, scraping the bottom of his shield through the dirt, but he would find their positioning quite different that he imagined.

All Talon had to do to retain the advantageous position was pivot with them, leaving both of their sides exposed to the monolith and Talon still facing him head on, peering at him over that shield he refused to let rise up from the ground. His strike, should he choose to make it despite this positioning, would be blocked by the boneblade in Talon's left hand, a simple swat to provide just enough force to thwart the blow. And now Daniel would see the folly of trying to dance with the dragon. His tail, elegantly flowing with the change in positioning, would whip around, curving up from under Talon's left and returning the favor of an armpit strike by stabbing at the opening that the knight's own attack had created. Blocking with his sword would require getting beneath Talon's left boneblade, which the dragon had little intention of letting the knight do.

The rush of battle reached a crazed tempo, and the knight of Columbia was forced to the wall. With all his might, Daniel dragged both shield and dragon through the dirt, leaving a rut in the gravel as the monolith next to them screamed in time to this decisive moment. However, the blood red assassin had been well prepared for the counterattack, and its strength proved too much for Daniel to cut off the deadly strike of its tail in time. As Daniel pivoted to face the rumbling tower of iron, the dragon's third talon struck forth to meet him, and the veteran of the apocalypse was forced to grit his teeth and bleed. He realized that the dragon had been too strong, too heavy to be moved-- if it came down to it, he'd have to stay open to the incoming blow, in order to avoid the possibility of getting skewered in a weak spot. The tip and edge of the razor sharp sword scraped across his breastplate and against his side, dealing a nasty gash into the armor across the ribs on his left side. He was silent in his pain, so the monolith shouted for him, its tremendous vibrations all but shaking the ground beneath the two warriors. As things stood, the dragon had sunk its claws into the knight's shield, and one of its blades had tasted his flesh, with yet further dangers ready and waiting. In this moment, it would be the best Daniel could do to fight this losing battle to the bitter end, and punish what he could.

The knight had already committed to a strike at Talon's exposed armpit, which would likely be summarily blocked by the bone blade the dragon kept in its left. This was acceptable, as the well trained warrior could easily shift his weight back and maintain control over his movements in the neutral space between the two swords. However, Daniel had a further gamble to make. As the blade impacted his chest, he pivoted his shoulders further towards his left, turning towards the monolith even further to stand almost in profile to the dragon. This small maneuver allowed him to take the stab from the tail as carefully as possible, reducing the chances that it would puncture vitals. Furthermore, Daniel had more or less completed his most immediate objective, to force the dragon within a human arm's length of the monolith. It had the cunning of communist to be sure, but its speed when moving such a large body would logically be slightly less than Daniel's own. As Daniel stepped forward to deal a stab, he followed through with the momentum by ducking down behind his shield, which had been pivoted outward to face the monolith as well as the bomb attached to it. He held his breath as he crouched on the balls of his feet, leading with his right knee up and his left knee trailing on the ground, his right arm bent to the ready as it pulled back from the extension of his strike and and his left arm strapped behind his shield. While the dragon's tail and the bone blade it held was behind him, another blow wouldn't be faster than an explosion at point blank range. Furthermore, Daniel could use his own sword for defense as well, should the mythical monster attempt to catch him with a stab or a kick for daring to protect himself. Worst came to worst, Daniel also had the option of ripping the straps that secured his shield to his arm, which could be necessary if the assassin attempted to close in with a vicious stab to the back or anywhere near his neck. It wouldn't have been the first time that the Shield of Columbia had to ditch his namesake for the moment to better protect his homeland. Daniel gripped his shield tighter as if it were a bit to chew, ready to release it at an instant's notice. This was gonna hurt, but it had to be done.

Click.

Talon's blade tasted flesh, but not vitals; even so, the Nezgarian Royal Assassins had a technique for making even light wounds deadly. As the blade cut through his opponent, Talon initiated a small scale boneblade detonation. With a light "crack" the top couple inches of the blade broke off and remained stuck in the knight's armor and flesh. From his opponent's perspective, it would appear as though the blade had simply snapped against his sturdy armor, but Talon had something far more sinister in mind.

Talon recognized the knight's kneeling posture from before, the same posture that had been accompanied by an explosion. He had a pretty good idea what was coming. Keeping his claws firmly clamped onto the shield, he pivoted to the right as Daniel turned to the left, placing him not exactly where Daniel wanted him. He would still be closer to the bomb than Daniel, but if Daniel chose to continue facing his opponent, he would now be angled such that his shield would not completely block the blast, nor would Talon's bulky frame block any of the blast from reaching Daniel. Indeed, from this position Talon could launch another attack around the shield, but...

"Click."

As Daniel detonated his bomb, so did Talon detonate the piece of his boneblade that he lodged into his opponent. The bomb exploded on the monolith, causing it to vibrate violently and sending sound waves bouncing about the graveyard in wild dissonance. The concussive force and shock wave of the bomb blasted Talon, peeling away dozens of scales, battering his wings, and leaving a deep gash on his head. At the moment of impact, his grip on the shield wavered, causing the shield to slip from his claws. However, the piece of the boneblade would likely cause substantial damage to his opponent, as it would explode at point blank range with the strength of about 2.5 sticks of dynamite.

Talon shook his head to make the ringing stop, sending a few drops of blood splattering this way and that. "Anyone ever tell you you're a crazy son of a bitch?"

The Knight of Columbia gritted his teeth as he pulled the trigger again, pivoting with the dragon's pull to keep his shield well between himself and the blast he was about to make. Pain lanced through his side as he still felt the weight of one of those damned swords lodged in his armor-- so that was the kind of game it wanted to play. He got a brief chance to glimpse the evil beast's eyes, watched them widen in surprise as he dared blow up another charge. Daniel almost smiled. His grit was brought to bear--

"AAARRRGH!"

Two explosions rocked the world around him, and Daniel went spinning. He slammed against the ground hard enough to shatter a normal human's bones, once, twice, three times before he skidded to a stop in the dirt some thirty meters away from that painful exchange. Silence tightened around Daniel's mind like steel wool, keeping the world at bay for a moment as he lay sprawled on his stomach. With shaky arms and shaky vision, the knight rose slowly onto his knees. His breaths came, pained, but steadily. So the dragon had some explosives at the ready as well. The knight's expression hardened under his visor, he couldn't treat this like some kind of cruel joke, or else he'd probably lose more blood. Yea, that one had punched harder than most of the things Daniel had met so far, the sanguine pool in front of him was a testament to that. Still. He had to be grateful that the blast hadn't separated his ribs, considering that the explosion was pretty much in between them. Daniel was more or less at fifty percent, and had weaker chances of winning this one. Still. This was his reason to live.

DETERMINATION: 0

Daniel pushed the lip of his Destiny into the gravel as he rose to one knee, then the other, and stood tall again. He looked stronger than he felt, human and dragon blood painted in a chaotic spray against his shield. His left side was bleeding profusely, dripping through a fist sized gap in his armor. The wound wouldn't be enough to kill him like it would a normal human, but it did mean a little something more in the dragon's favor. He drew a flask of medicine from his kit as the dust began to clear, the knight and the dragon having collected their bearings.

Talon shook his head to make the ringing stop, sending a few drops of blood splattering this way and that. "Anyone ever tell you you're a crazy son of a bitch?"

Its voice was as harsh as this graveyard's air, but this time the words seemed to carry some note of respect. Daniel responded in kind. Clearly this wasn't just some animal to be exterminated. ... Well, it wasn't just an animal, at least.

"Indeed." Daniel brought his shield in front as he planted his sword in the ground, easy enough to draw in half a blink of an eye. He pushed his visor up to reveal a weathered, sun browned face, his chin dusted with travel and the beginnings of a beard. He took a long swig of medicine, enough to dull the pain, slow the bleeding some, "Thou art a dangerous foe. Prithee, give me thy name, that I may carve it into one of these arcane towers afore I leave this place."

At this, the wind began to scream, perhaps attracted by the weird hum of the monolith graveyard. The chorus of stones was met by the crazed soprano of the wind, and a storm began to brew overhead. Flickers of lightning played high in the darkening sky, though if either fighter looked long enough to catch one, they'd probably be already dead. It was as if the monoliths themselves sensed a change in the pace, and they began to rise, floating with magical energies on clouds of dust. The shadows lengthened as the knight stood, proud.

"I am Daniel of Columbia. Write mine name on yon tower, afore I write it on thy bones."

DETERMINATION: 1

A sinister grin crossed Talon's face when he observed the hole he blasted in Daniel's armor. The exposed, bloody flesh was like a beacon to the dragon, pleading to be torn open further so that Daniels lungs and entrails could be strewn about the battlefield. He had to admit, though, he was surprised this man was still standing after a blast like that. "My name?" Talon sneered, as his hand dropped the broken blade and plunged into another rift in space. "Sometimes it's fun watching the effect my name has on the little apes that claim so much of this world as their own." He pulled his hand out of the rift holding a fresh blade and a vial with a deep red fluid in it. "I'll send a poor fool running into some village or another and have him tell them that I'm coming. Oh, if only you could know the joy of watching them panic before watching them burn!" He tossed the vial in the air and slashed at it with both blades in an X, coating both of them with the red liquid. As it dripped along the blades, it writhed and pulsed, as if it were alive, yet gave no definitive sign that it was anything more than ordinary blood. "Talon. That is the name that will herald your demise, and the name your soul will be crying out for all eternity!"

In the back of his mind, Talon felt the madness creeping in, aggravated by the pain clawing at the back of his skull. The knight couldn't die yet. He hadn't experienced nearly enough pain. On some level, he still respected him. That would not do. No, now that his prey was wounded, he wanted it to despise him. He needed to see nothing but pain and hatred in the knight's eyes before he delivered the final blow. "Daniel of Columbia, you say? Columbia... that sounds like a lovely place. I'll fix that after I fix you!"

Talon calmly advanced on his foe, though now his expression was different. He was no longer curious how strong Daniel was. There was nothing in his eyes but pure sadism. The madness was seeping into him, and in time it would become his weapon, but for now he had something else prepared. How wary would the knight be of the blood dripping from his blades. As Talon walked forward, a few drops hit the ground, soaking into the dirt like any innocuous liquid. No steam or menacing his emanated as it struck the ground, but this liquid had been the gruesome end of countless men and women. Though out of striking range, Talon swung one of his blades, sending a small splatter of blood Daniel's way.