[center][h3][color=green]Lewa[/color][/h3][/center]

Lewa had very little experience fighting humanoid opponents, much less ones possessing martial skill. When his adversary shifted his stance and his grip on his polearm, the Toa of Air read it as a preparatory move for a strong technique that he needed to stop in its tracks. Accordingly, he put his substantial weight into a strong two-handed axe chop, hoping that even if he didn’t connect with his opponent’s body, the heavy blow would at least hack apart his weapon’s shaft. After all, he’d noticed that this glaive, unlike solid protodermis toa tools, incorporated a length of wood into its design. And what were axes for, if not chopping wood?

Needless to say, things didn't go how he planned. His enemy caught him mid-swing, intercepting and deflecting his weapon. Even if it wasn’t a battle axe, a hatchet in motion had a lot of momentum, and to the braggart’s credit he possessed the skill to turn that inertia against its wielder. Lewa suddenly found himself exposed, fast enough that he was left wondering what just happened, and before he could come to any conclusions the Raven Herald delivered a counterattack. The polearm’s glinting head thrust into the thick, rubbery cable mesh around Lewa’s neck, getting about an inch in before the material’s resistance and it stuck against of the metal with the armor around Lewa’s collarbone. Just as quickly as he stabbed it forward the man withdrew his weapon to prevent entanglements, and as he did Lewa jumped back, spurred to action by the pain.

The toa winced, suddenly worried. His enemy, knowing that his weapon probably couldn’t pierce (and might actually break against) solid metal armor, had aimed for his heartlight. It was a small and high target to hit, but the fact that he’d gotten so close was a cause for alarm. This man’s attitude wasn’t just empty egomania; he had the skill to back it up. Lewa knew he couldn’t fall prey to strategies like that again. He needed to leverage his own talents in turn. 

Lewa changed his grip, releasing his axe with his left hand and sliding the right further up toward the head for better control. With how long his foe’s polearm was, a little extra range for the axe wouldn’t make any difference. That also opened up his hand for air manipulation. After whirling his left to whip up the wind, Lewa thrust his palm outward to summon an air current that blew from behind him, plowing into his opponent -as well as the lackeys behind him- head-on. That resistance would make it harder for him to move forward, orient his glaive, and attack. It also tugged at his fancy cape, increasing the chance that it wrapped or tangled, and even made it harder to hear as the wind roared in his ears. At the end of the day it was just a stiff breeze, but all the little disadvantages it imposed would add up, even if the Raven Herald’s pride convinced him it was nothing to worry about.

This tailwind offered one other boon for Lewa: it would speed him on his way when he moved forward. For a moment he remained on defense, compressing air into an orb in his off hand. If his adversary thought this was to sustain the wind, he would be surely mistaken. Then Lewa burst forward, much faster than a ‘golem’ of his size should be able to, and as he closed the distance he brought his off-hand forward to unleash an explosive blast of air from just outside melee range. Depending on how that went, he might then follow up with a one-handed axe swing, ideally at his enemy’s weapon itself.