@Sohtem@Rai@Vesuvius00[A/N: Towards the bottom you will find a bit of dialogue with brackets separating some of the sentence. This represents the Soron’s technique being activated]
The young dragon made his announcement and after he helped the servers made his way outside with the rest of the crowd, gathering any bets that came his way, not failing to mention that a percentage of the earnings would go to the Rest Easy for further entertainment or events. A way of saying thank you to Velai for offering her company, along with Alexis. Womanizer or not, he thought of others before himself, a rare feat amongst the dragonkin, much more so full blooded ones. Offering both Velai and Alexis his hand, he would walk them out simultaneously, a unwavering grin on his face.
Pardoning himself, he would lead the two towards the front for the best view. His head cocked to the side as he watched Soron Dragonbane, slightly confused about his actions and the motives behind them. This was one side of his friend he hardly saw. Most of the time it right into a sword drawn followed by a bombardment of slashes to his body or at least attempts as Suley would fly away, leaving Soron wherever. Mostly due to him either annoying him to the point of anger or just a simple prank of throwing him out of a perfectly good tree with some wind magic but nevertheless it peeked his interest.
For a moment he lost sight of the two female characters. He wondered where the seraphim had gone to in the crowd but caught sight of her on the left towards the front. Turning to the two ladies he pardoned himself as he made his way over to Serena. The dragon quietly stood next to the seraphim for a moment before glancing down.
Don’t worry too much about him Mrs-?” Now he looked, awaiting her name.
“Searstra, Serena Searstra. And it’s miss, not misses.”My apologies, Miss Serena...What a fitting name. But yes, Soron knows how to yield his strength. He wouldn’t put your sister I presume in harm’s way.” He offered a calm smile before looking back towards what was brewing. His smile quickly faded.
“I’ll gladly step in if he tries to push things too far, I let my sister make her own decisions, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let harm come to her,” Serena responded, momentarily glancing at the man next to her before returning her attention to the fight.
”Of course. That would only be natural. But let me warn you. Should you put him in harm's way-” He turned now to fully face her as he let his shapeshifting magic loosen slightly, revealing the scales underneath that faux skin and just enough to draw out his true draconic voice.
”I’ll guarantee that even your soul will burn to ash in my flames, ever barring you from that forsaken, ascension you Seraphim hope to gain…” His eyes dilated and glowed bright. His voice still held that smooth tone but just barely under the surface an overwhelming threat, no, a promise. Within a moment that whole aura he gave off disappeared without a trace, his calm almost care-free nature returning as he turned back to face the fight.
Serena glanced over at the man revealing more of his true form once more, though she didn’t let any emotion show on her face, not that she really did with anyone, save for her sister, but she made sure to keep a mental note of him, knowing he could be trouble if they ended up on each other’s bad side,
“Understood.”
Soron watched her as he lowered into his stance. Wait...
’Did she flinch? Good...She knows a sense of fear. That’ll protect her in the future as it did me.’ He thought as a twitch of a smirked played on his mouth be fore hardening once again. Just like that night, the wind subsided before the combatants began.
Ava initiated the fight, lunging forward in the air. Soron remained in his spot, inside his boot, the runes on his foot glowed dimly from inside as he felt the ground around him become his. She was closing the gap and when the time was right he reared back and brought his leg high into the air, before slamming his heel down onto the ground, a pillar of stone seemed to jump out from the ground beneath, aimed for Ava’s head. His stance dropped low to the side as he shifted his weight to roll left, placing him on her right. Figuring the speed she was moving and his timing, the attack would connect in the abdomen, hopefully.
Ava gave a scornful look when he managed to avoid her attack, she was preparing for another swing when he slammed his foot down, forcing a stone pillar to emerge. She managed to force herself to fly up and then back, just narrowly avoiding the attack,
“Damn, thought I had him,” she spoke to herself with a grin; she was glad she fought with her sister so much, otherwise she wouldn’t have the reflexes she has now. Once more she let the wind catch her wing, flying towards Soron with incredible speed, thinking he might try that move again, she feigned a head on approach once more, then darted to the right, circling around to his back and then went in for an overhead swing with her scythe,
Let’s see you avoid this one, she thought to herself with a smirk on her face.
Coming out of his roll, he locked onto her again, watching the second approach. His blade was at the ready and he swung, just as she darted around him. The second he lost sight of her he spun to be met with a raised scythe. Narrowing his eyes, raised his blade to meet the strike but he smirked as she came down with the blade. The sound of chirping came through strong as sparks flew off his free wrist before thrusting his arm forward with two fingers out as lightning erupted and shot from his fingers in the form of a jagged bolt. After the lightning left his arm, Soron smacked the scythe back quickly before he reached for his black bag. Pulling out a small onyx colored rock with a second falling to the ground from the bag’s opening, Soron chucked it into the air, and within a moment he burst into a cloud of smoke, only to appear above her, his body turning and his blade already in mid swing towards her back. His free hand reach in for more stones, scattering them around the field.
Ava hadn’t expected him to be so quick with his defense, let alone parry her attack, she barely had more than a moment to react to his follow up, seeing as she was too close to him to avoid this one, she used her left arm to block the lightning, though her scales weren’t as tough as more pure blooded dragons, it did the job, but made her recoil in pain, gripping at the fresh wound the lightning left behind. She didn’t have much time to tend to her injury when he released a cloud of smoke into the air, making her cough and squint as she tried to find where he went to. At the last minute she spotted him above her, she flipped her weapon behind her back, blocking most of the swing, but still getting cut in the process.
Over on the sidelines, Suley stood with a light smirk and a bit of nostalgia in his eyes as he remembered the time they first fought and just like now, it begun with him teleporting around in clouds of smoke.
”Figured he would do that…” The young red dragon sighed as he seemed to sway back and forth in slight amusement. He glanced over to Serena to see how she was holding up. Despite his cruel words, he too had planned to intervene should Soron fall back into his old methods of combat. But in his natural way of doing so, he decided to speak more about Soron.
”Serena, Are you curious about Soron here? I would doubt you wouldn’t be just a bit interested about his past after seeing just a bit of his capabilities.” He glanced over with a smile at her before looking back to the fight.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed with his abilities, then again when he first approached my sister and I, we were already eyeing one another and determining each other’s skills, based on what I’ve seen so far, he seems to be an experienced veteran at combat, perhaps even more so than I am,” Serena honestly admitted; and though it didn’t show, she was also hiding her worry, it may not have shown on her face, but it showed in the way she gripped one of her arms that she had folded.
If the slightest sense of fear couldn’t have been smelled, Suleykaar took quick notice to her body language and smiled. Nothing that held any hostility, but something akin to empathy.
”Have you ever heard of the Slayer of Basille? It’s a small town west of Twilight and home to a fierce family known as the Dragonbane, skilled combat mages meant to handle dragonslaying in those areas. Some having even gone on to become members of the Sureyia, powerful members nonetheless.” He looked over to her before back to the fight.
”Well, it's said there was a man within the family who was to be wed on a moonlit night, only for a basilisk to come through and terrorize the small town, killing the man’s soon to be. Parties were sent out to find the basilisk but no one ever returned. Eventually the grief-stricken widower stepped up and took on the quest. For about a week he trudged through the Nero landscape in search for the damned serpent. He soon came across it and with a lovers rage, decapitated it after hours of relentless fighting. From there he returned a hero, his story slowly making its way out to the rest of the world. Time progressed and he eventually made a name for himself and earned the right to take on the name of his family, something that was very difficult to do. His name was Soron Dragonbane, Slayer of the Basille Basilisk.” He glanced over at her before facing her directly.
”He further earned his title when he joined the Sureyia and more so when he took on one of the hardest quests a Sureyia could ever take on. Kill the crimson dragon of Eagle’s Peak, the dragon named Suleykaar, the Fire of Fotia.” He gave her a knowing look.
“Well, that certainly is an impressive tale, I guess I was right when I had him pegged as someone quite skilled in combat, but I wouldn’t count my girl out just yet, she’s got quite a few moves she has yet to show; and just a guess here, but I’m assuming you’re the dragon that he went to kill?” Serena responded with a slight smirk appearing out the corner of her mouth.
”Indeed! Funny enough I gave every one of those foolish slayers a chance to leave and even offered coin in exchange for leaving in peace. But slayers have an unyielding stupidity and unwavering pride that ultimately ended their lives, save for Soron. I knew there was something different about him when I first met him and the way he looked at me…” the smile became a thin line.
”He has the look of a man with nothing left to lose. He doesn’t care who challenges him or who he challenges. But one thing he does have, is the will to survive. Almost draconic in a sense as it came down to a stalemate between me and him. If i closed my mouth, he would have ran his blade through my head and vice versa. So we agreed to end it on a draw. Though he never claimed the prize, it was around then that he gave up the dragonslaying business.” A slight smirk etching its way onto his face.
“Hmm, reminds me of my sister in a way, not such a grand tale as Soron’s, but I too see in her a will to live, especially after all she’s been through and especially with my family,” Serena commented back, thinking of all the abuse Ava had to go through when they were younger, something that still ate at her to this day.
Ava winced as the blade still managed to cut her back, some of her thicker scaling took the brunt of it, but the more tender skin was cut and she could already feel the blood running down her spine,
“Damn it, he’s really good, I need to make some distance between us and think of something else that will work,” she spoke softly to herself. She noticed the other stones he threw on the field, but more worried about any additional attacks currently. She quickly glided back, hoping to make some distance between the two of them, if only briefly, her charging in wouldn’t work, something she cocked a grin about in irony when she thought about the fight she had with Serena and how a blunt charge didn’t work on her either.
Seeing how Soron was stuck to the ground and she didn’t trust whatever it was he threw down, she decided to take to the air, once more going in with her scythe cocked back, ready to swing at him, she was hoping to get passing hits, a ‘death by a thousand cuts’ sort of attack, if she could stay in the air and avoid his attacks, she might win this yet, she could only try.
He felt the blade connect with her scales with an audible clang as steel met stone hard scales. His descent came and instead of falling down to the ground he disappeared in smoke and could then be seen on the ground only looking up to grab the stone that fell. But this was a mistake, taking his eyes off her for a moment cost him as he soon felt steel slice into his side, causing him to hiss in pain as he quickly searched for her in the sky, only to be met with another slice to the arm. He had to act fast so he brought his guard up despite the bleeding as his eyes darted around to find her, just in time to block the next strike and the next. Ava seemed to be on the offensive now, bombarding Soron with an onslaught of hit and run tactics. For now this was the best, simply follow her and block, follow and block. Once in awhile an attack would get through but that didn’t stop him as he thought up a plan. He thought about it for a bit until something dawned on him. In the bar, when he looked at her sister, she seemed to get on the defensive.
...An idea came through. Amongst the attacks he yelled out to her. What would follow he could only blame Suleykaar for.
”I figured out what’s going to happen should I win! I think I’ll take your beautiful darling sister on a date! Maybe to a show and dinner. Of course you would have to stay at home since you seem incapable of handling yourself in public! This being so far a prime example! Fighting over your sister? I would think you had some kind of admiration for her that borderlines incest!” Within the crowd, he heard Suley roar in laughter.
This should get her attention…’ He thought. He was calculating on her charging at him at full speed but had a backup plan just in case. While holding the small stone, he retrieved a small orb of azure a color, holding the rune of water. He was ready.
Ava was hovering in the air when Soron began shouting at her, making her stop in her hit and run tactic. When she heard that he was gonna take her sister out on a date, she was instantly filled with anger,
“What!?” she shouted in pure frustration, glaring at the man as her breathing increased. However what really hit a nerve was his guess that Ava had a thing for her sister, looking over at her in the crowd, a streak of crimson went across her face, thankfully because of how high up she was, Serena couldn’t see her face turning all red.
“I’ll kill you for that!” Ava screamed at him, pure rage filled her head now and she blindly went charging towards the man, it was one thing to take her sister out, but revealing her secret, she wouldn’t allow anyone to get away with that. As she got closer to him, she cocked her weapon back as far as she could and then swung it full force at him, intending to kill, her secret about her sister was very dear to her and she wouldn’t let anyone other than herself reveal it.
“Don’t fall for it, don’t fall for it...” Serena whispered to herself, then closed her eyes and let out a sigh when Ava took his bait and began charging him head on. Whilst Ava’s hit and run strategy wasn’t the most effective, Serena saw that it had been working for her and knew that she should’ve stuck to it, now with her enraged, she was sure that she’d waste all her stamina and if Soron was the capable warrior Serena believed him to be, then this fight would be his.
“I don’t know how many times I told that girl not to be goaded by things like that, but she just never seems to listen,” Serena spoke aloud, though not to anyone in particular, her worry more apparent now as a slight grimace came across her face as well as a tighter grip on her crossed arms.
Suleykaar on the other had was on the ground, clutching his sides, not because of what was said, but what he saw in Ava’s face that Serena couldn’t see and that was the response he saw in her face. A womanizer and a slight ass, but knew that this had become Soron’s game once again.
”This is amazing! Heheheheh! Oh I’m sorry heheh Serena but I couldn’t resist.” A slight uproar in laughter from him once more before it settled down. He regained his composure and cleared his throat from whatever giggles or chuckles still remained. He looked over to Serena with a smile before it faded.
”This is a learning experience for her my dear. One has to learn how to control their emotions in a fight, if not, there is no chance for success. But sadly, this will be a lesson your dear sister will have to learn the hard way I suppose.” He said with a shrug and a sigh.
Soron once again gained his wish and that was for her to lose her composure and give into rage. As she drew close, He chucked the orb at her, causing it to break across her face. If one looked closely, they could see the rune activate, causing water to saturate her body. His wrist built up a charge once more, now even closer, he shot another bolt of lightning which connected with her body. The water acted as a conduit for the electricity, sending a powerful surge through her body, causing her to start her descent but it wasn’t over just yet. Soron threw the stone he held into the air one final time just as she was about to pass, placing him directly over her. He funneled his mouth with his hand and sent a blast of wind into her back, sending her crashing to the ground with a sickening thud. Soon he to landed on the ground and backed up as he watched her lay there, unmoving.
”It’s over...You lose...Next time you will watch who you talk to…” With that statement, he sheathed his blade, and begun to walk away. Unbeknownst to him, the fight was still yet from over.
Ava had been surprised by his sudden barrage of attacks, letting out scream after scream as each one hit, she didn’t know how much more of this she could take and then the final blast that sent her into the ground, unmoving in the newly formed crater. She laid there for a few moments, listening to the man declare his victory and then a fire grew in her, one that refused to let her be defeated, slow she got to her hands and knees, coughing up blood and water that had filled her lungs, shakily she managed to get back on her feet, slightly slumped over.
”Looks like it's over…” Suleykaar smirked as he nodded and went to turn around and head back in before his ears began picking up movement from within the crater, peaking his interest.
“No...I’m not finished yet…” Ava panted, slowly walking out of the small crater her impact made, her crimson magic aura becoming visible around her body.
“What...is she doing?” Serena asked quietly, squinting as she tried to figure out the aura around her sister’s body. The dragon glanced over at the seraphim with squinted eyes and a raised brow as he then focused on the field.
Soon scales began forming around the softer parts of her body, enveloping some of her face as well, Ava closed her eyes, focusing her magic, building it greater and greater until it was at an exploding point.
Serena with wide eyes finally knew what was about to happen, she tried to make her way through the crowd of people,
“No! Don’t do it Ava! You’ll destroy the whole town!” Serena screamed to her sister, but it was too late. Suleykaar immediately reacted, he pushed people aside with a blast of wind in order to clear a path to get to Serena, sensing the danger that was to come.
“Dragon’s...Wrath…” Ava said in a low voice, her eyes shooting open to reveal them being like that of a dragon’s. Taking in a large amount of air, she released a huge blast of fire from her mouth, capable of destroying not only the town, but anything beyond it for at least two kilometers.
”NO!” He yelled as he threw her back and shot his hands up in front, diverting the explosion away in an arch, up and out of the area and into the dim sky, momentarily lighting it up. Unknown to Serena and the rest, Suleykaar could feel searing pain on his body. Had the flames touched him, no, but they touched Soron, and the screams of pain that came from them echoed through the night’s sky. Soon enough the roaring flames died down, revealing a simmering Soron, still holding his ground, but down on one knee, his blade red hot from the fire. The pain...The pain was unbearable but even worse was the fact that Ava didn’t put him down. Sully looked on into the battlefield as Soron struggled to stand, fighting through the blistering pain. Even though Soron attempted to block the blast himself, the explosion was overwhelming and he would no doubt be burned in the process. But what made it worse was Soron’s next few actions. He slowly stood and with drew his short sword, and dagger, flipping the smaller of the two around to face behind him. Suleykaar’s eyes widened.
”Soron it’s over...consider [it a dra-oh no]” Suley had begun making his way over to his companion, yelling out to him as he did but suddenly he could hear nothing, not even his own voice. He could feel his vocal chords moving but nothing came out, this caused him to turn towards Serena with a slight bit of fear before pointing back to Soron and Ava. Before anyone could react, Soron was next to Ava, the dagger pushing against her side before spinning and disappearing, leaving a nice laceration along her side. He appeared from behind, a slice to the back, disappeared, slice, reappeared and slowly built up momentum. Despite this, Suley called for Serena, unsure if she would notice.
After the massive attack that drained both her stamina as well as her magic, Ava was barely standing, but as she was ready to topple over, she suddenly felt a surge of pain from multiple attacks that seemed to come as quickly as they went. She lent out a blood curdling scream as she was continuously attacked over and over again.
Looking to Suley and then to where he was pointing, Serena’s eyes widened and then seeing Ava who looked to be screaming in agony, she couldn’t sit back any longer. Calling her spear to her she launched herself into the one sided battle, getting between Ava and Soron, she did her best to block the incoming attacks, but even her best wasn’t doing the job, she still saw her sister getting hit every now and then. Worried that her sister would die, she enveloped Ava in her wings, casting her magic that would reduce her weight as well as increase her offensive and defensive capabilities.
“This isn’t good, we won’t last much longer if this continues, I need to get us out of here,” Serena spoke to herself, grimacing each time she felt Soron’s blades slice into her skin. She took a deep breath and then launched a lightning bolt at Soron, not caring if it hit him or not, just looking for a momentary reprieve and then fly her and Ava out of the weird dome the man had produced.
The bolt had missed but it wasn’t for naught. That time was enough for Suley to close the gap, waving them to move. The dragon had been watching the way his friends movements were and they seemed to have a rhythm to it. Front, back, angle, side, side, angle, back, front, back, angle, side, front. He would alternate, repeating the former attacks before sliding the first position to the last, letting the second position take its place. Soon enough he got the rhythm down and marked his next spot with a concentrated blast of wind, sending him flying out of the dome. Suley moved forward and to their behind to cover their flank, eyes darting around for any glimpse, or lingering scent of his friend from within that horrid dome of his but as they moved, sound began to penetrate their ears. The dome must be subsiding, the dragon thought. Though muffled he spoke to them.
”I’m sorry Serena, I didn't expect it to go this far. A simple fight for fun. I hadn’t expected Soron to go into his old methods…” She would be able to hear in his voice the sadness and defeat when he spoke. He sighed in frustration. He moved quickly toward the two, helping them stand as he helped them back to the bar. Soron laid there for a moment, his sight flittering in and out.
Ava and Serena both crashed into the dirt, thankfully away from whatever that magic was that had made it impossible to hear anything. She lifted up one of her crimson dipped wings to look at her sister, there were lacerations all over her body, she needed to get her some help quick before she died. She weakly looked up when Suley approached them,
“Yeah...well Ava went a little overboard herself, almost blew up the whole town,” Serena chuckled weakly, coughing up some blood in the process. She was grateful when Suley offered his assistance, whilst Serena was in pain, she could still walk, but Ava on the other hand was out for the count, so to have someone help carry her back inside, she happy about this,
How did things end up going this far? Serena asked herself in her thoughts, a trail of dark red blood being left behind as the continued on.
Suley helped Serena and Ava into the Rest Easy, which thankfully still stood thanks to Suley’s attempt at blocking the blast. He would help situate them before returning to fetch Soron from the street...All the while praying that his little nightly romp was still on despite the carnage that transpired. Such is the life of a womanizing dragon to which he sighed.
