[IC] The Everlasting Arena: Main Thread

[LeeRoy]

Across the far reaches of space, time and dimensions. Television screens, viewfinders, crystal balls and seeing pools all flicked on at once. Strangely in sync, despite the differences in time between them.

Folks gathered around their viewing tools, gazing into them with awe and excitement. They all knew what was coming, they all knew what time it was.

They knew and were so very happy to see it once again.

The Everlasting Arena was Open!

The screens all came into focus on a grand being, draped in alabaster cloth that floated unnaturally around his form. Silver eyes and silver hair, his form was borderline angellic. Salarus, the God of Champions and Heroes. The host of the Everlasting Arena himself, for untold millenia he has hosted this battle royalle with all of his power. Now, once again, he appears before all that is, was, and ever will be with the greatest spectacle ever hosted.

The camera panned away, zooming over a crowd of powerful beings and normal folks alike. Thousands of warriors bunched together before Salarus, some were already trying to make themselves noticable. Breathing flames, cracking knuckles. Some even shoving other warriors aside to get closer to the front of the pack.

There was much bustling and chatter, those warriors in the back jumping up and down to get a better view of the stage. A quick hush washed over the crowd as Salarus raised his hand.

Again the Camera panned away, further from the crowd and to a landscape view of where Last Year's tournament was held. The competitors were instructed to wait at the last Arena every year, the dramatic change of scenery as they announced the new Arena was always eye catching. Last year's Arena was simple, a massive 15 mile wide dome with three primary biomes. A forest that was scattered across the landscape, a small northern frostscape, and a southern desert.

Finally the camera returned to Salarus's face, the hushed crowd was intently staring at him.

He spoke, after a long silence. A voice unbefitting of his gentle form, it was deep and heavy, echoing across the landscape and surrounding every combatant with his words. "Welcome once again to the Everlasting Arena." With a small pause he turned his head from his far left to his far right, looking at the crowd in a wide sweep. "My pride and joy has entertained myself and viewers for countless millenia, showing the pride and honor of warfare without the unfortunate loss of life and love. This Arena has served a second purpose. As a prison for those who are deemed unfit for the real world but unable to die by normal methods. This place binds them and allows them to release their so-called urges in a safe environment." Again he paused, raising his hand once more to form a dim fog before him. It showed the faces of a few of the bound warriors, ensnared in the Arena permanently. Forced to fight until they die of natural causes.

Upon lowering his hand the fog faded and he began to speak once again. "I love this tournament dearly, it has changed things across so many worlds and touched so many lives. Most especially the lives of those who have won in the past. Speaking of, let us welcome back the previous winners of the Everlasting Arena!"

With five consecutive explosions, a group of five warriors materialized on the stage beside the lithe figure of Salarus. A colossal woman, standing a head above Salarus himself. A thin girl in a machine suit, towering above all but one figure among them. Beside her was the largest of the group, a massive automaton of metal. Glowing brightly in the center was an average man with a not so average appearance. And finally was the elderly warrior so heavily encumbered with weaponry. "Jean, Crash, Lob, Martin, and Solomon. The aptly named 'Five Extremes.' Let's have a round of applause for the previous champions!" The crowd burst into an excited roar, for a moment you could hear the screams of a thousand warriors. The sound was remarkable.

As the crowd hushed itself, each of the five took their bows and sat down in their appointed seating. "Let's see if they maintain their title, or if they're usurped by an upcoming band of warriors." Salarus raised his hand to his chin and rubbed it down to the point and back up to his ears. "Now, just what am I forgetting?" He snapped his fingers, feigning ignorance for the sake of his own amusement. "Oh that's right!"

An bright luminescent white orb formed before him and exploded outwards, enveloping the crowd and the entire Arena itself. As the orb's light faded a vast sprawling landscape, at least 40 miles across was presented to the viewers and warriors. Seven vastly differing terrains, dragged from some of the most shocking places across time and space.

North

To the North was a vast field of tall golden grasses. Rather uninteresting until you were to walk into it. The grasses themselves are not grass at all, they're something similar to Saffron except standing up to four feet tall in some places. The scent of spice is so strong here that some might be overpowered by its stench. Others might find it the safest battlefield, it is perfectly flat and difficult to hide in.

Northwest

To the Northwest is a stark transition from the golden fields, an immediate plunge into a wedge shaped valley of grey crags and ash. Spikes of stone, pitfalls, black caves, and echoes of battles long since passed. Descending into this place is as treacherous as the battles that take place there.

Northeast

To the Northeast is the swamps, leaking just over into the edge of the grasslands is the swamp. A thick slop of muck and plant matter, this place is unfit for those who do not have the will to battle on unsteady ground. The stink of ichorous earth is prominent here.

Southeast

To the Southeast is the field of bone. The field of bone is a wasteland, dried earth and a beating hot sun over a fetid landscape. Dotting the empty fields are the corpses of thousands of warriors passed, in some places the bone coverage is so intense that caves of human and alien remains alike exist. Built up around the bones of a great beast, the skeletons of fallen warriors have created walls of decay.

Southwest

To the Southwest are the most standard battlefields among this year's Arenas. A wide berth of land, mostly forested area. This forest is thinly spaced but provides enough cover for those sneaky sorts to get around. Within the forested area there are a few old abandoned houses, some more decrepit than others.

South

To the far South is the red sand desert. This desert is unique in that its sand is not in fact sand, the gritty substance that goes on for miles is pure rust. High hills of rusted iron flow across this landscape. Watch your step in this land, sinking into rust can cost you your life.

Center

In the center lies a massive mountain, taking up fifty percent of the Arena itself. The mountain is twisted and jagged. It is a frozen waste and not for the weak of heart. Those who come here are certainly the bravest of warriors, or the most foolish.

The Camera panned back inwards, returning to Salarus' face once more. "This year I have provided a wide variety of combat areas to allow for unique combat. Variety for all involved, makes for entertaining combat and television!" Salarus chuckled, covering his mouth a bit to hide his smile. "As you know, by the end of the tournament the number of kills you have on your record are all that matter. At the end you will be rewarded based on the number of kills you have, last year there was a five way tie. However this year I'm hoping for more adversity!"

"Now!"

"The stage is set, my combatants! The bound warriors have been released! Be free! Go, now, and fight for great hon-!" Just before the fireworks were set off, as is customary every year to signal the beginning of the Everlasting Arena, a charcoal grey hand reached from the ether and wrapped itself around Salarus' mouth. Silencing him before the final words were spoke.

The five extremes leapt from their seats, as well as hundreds more warriors, bum rushing the stage. They slammed into an invisible wall, some kind of barrier that prevented them from getting to them. They banged on the walls as a figure began to take shape. "Now now, kiddies. I'll just be a moment, I need to speak with my old friend Salarus."

This mysterious figure emerged from nothingness behind him, futher entangling him in his arms by wrapping his lower arm around his gut. "I'm very sorry for the rude interruption, but this time around I've decided to change things up a bit!" Salarus struggled in his grasp, muffled shouting was heard. He could not break free, this incredibly powerful being was held at arm by a lithe figure with skin as craggy and dark as charcoal. "Sshh, Salarus. Shhh. You must really understand my position. When you started this Arena, senseless violence dropped to an all time low. So many people who fancy themselves strong came here, and now they've vented all of their senseless fury. And now here I am, a being that loves war and turmoil with nothing to feed off of." As he spoke he raised a third hand, the third hand of four apparently, and began caressing Salarus' cheek.

"This time around, I'm going to enter five champions of my own. Five beings of uncontrollable violence, with a long history of murder and torture. I've made sure that two of them stay back until later, when all of the more powerful warriors begin stepping out from the shadows. But three of them have already been released into the Arena, and they're ready to 'take home the gold.' If you know what I mean." He nudged Salarus in the side with his fourth and final arm, raising his eyebrows up and down to taunt him.

With his speach completed and his five champions lurking, hidden in the shadows, the charcoal figure released Salarus and faded into nothingness once again. "Ciao! I hope you enjoy my friends, I know I'll enjoy the pain they bring." The last thing that disappeared was his smile, absurdly white despite his craggy grey appearance.

With the mysterious figure gone, Salarus fell to his knees, taking in a few long deep breaths before rising once again. The barrier had fallen and dozens of warriors flooded the stage, trying to see if he was alright. Salarus waved his hand. "I'm fine. I'm fine, the only thing hurt is my pride." The god brushed himself off and the cloth around him began floating once more. It had gone placcid while the other being had been near. "That was Tarvin, one of the many gods of War and Turmoil. While some feed on individual armies, or countries, so on. Tarvin is one of the most powerful. He feeds across all time and space, using their pain and suffering to feed his power. He is barely a god, his power is too similar to lesser beings. However his power is great enough to usurp mine own, even in his starved state."

Turning his head upwards, he raised his hands to the heavens above. "Well, I suppose there is not much I may personally do to stop him. However, he said there were champions out there that would 'feed' him. So, let's be a bit cheeky, eh? The price on the heads of his champions is thrice that of a normal warrior. Where you would walk home with the equivalent of 20,000 gold pieces from one kill, you'll walk home with the equivalent of 60,000 gold pieces from his champions."

Salarus smiled, even though he wasn't as powerful he was certainly more cunning. "That should give you plenty incentive to hunt them down and prevent him from feeding!"

With that, the crowd began cheering. Their passion burning bright, they raised their hands and weapons to the sky. "Let this year's Everlasting Arena, begin!" Fireworks exploded from behind him, flashing brightly into the sky overhead. Sending luminescent sparks showering down over the heads of the warriors.

The crowd dispersed into the huge battleground. Choosing the locations where their first battles would take place.

Within minutes the sound of sword against sword, gunfire, and explosions began ringing out.

Salarus opened a doorway, leaving the Arena to observe from an outside perspective.

Where will you begin your first battle? Who will you fight? Who will you work together with? That's up to you.

The Main Thread IC will be set in the Mountains Area of the Battlefield.

[Schradinger]

Arthur watched the events unfold as the shadowy figure momentarily took control of the introductory stage of the tournament, then returned to his own thoughts as the figure vanished and a great many of the contestants began rushing to the stage to discover whether or not their patron had been hurt. Truth be told though, Arthur didn't care one way or the other. He was no fan of the "god" that had arranged to bring him here from his own world, plucking him out of his life and away from the people who depended on him just to participate in some game to entertain the masses. Had he been the sort to ascribe emotions to such events, he might have called it a despicable and disgusting gesture. Instead, he had begun studying the landscape of the arena the moment it was revealed.

The mountain would be the best location to begin, as the cold there would do little to bother him but it might deter some of the others, and that would make it worth its weight in gold for what he had planned. He avoided most of the fighters he encountered on the way, either hiding or breezing past too quickly for them to catch him, and within an hour he found himself standing at the entrance to a cave, halfway up the slopes of the towering peak. It was a small entrance, but expanded greatly once inside, with enough room for a large family to live quite comfortably, given the right accoutrements.

Reaching to the collar of his suit coat, he pulled what appeared to be an oddly shaped button free of its anchoring and placed it within his ear, then set about making a call. This was not his first foray into the dangers of trans-dimensional travel, and after the last he had taken the liberty of devising precautions, in case it should ever happen again. As it turns out, the lining of his jacket is not the sort that one would normally find in expensive clothing, but instead is a high tech trans-dimensional cell phone with a persistent connection to his home dimension. Sometimes, it pays to be paranoid.

"Are you there, Phillip?"

"Yes sir. You're coming through quite clearly. May I ask what happened to you? When I returned to your office with the evening meal you had become quite undetectable."

"Remember that thing that happened seven years ago? It happened again."

"Oh dear. It seems you were right to take the precautions you did, Sir."

"It certainly does seem so. The jacket should be sending you the data on my current location now. I need you to send me crates one, three, four, five, and seven."

"Absolutely. They're on their way."

Ending the call, Arthur removed and folded his jacket, setting it on a small outcropping next to himself, then waited for the dull grey crates to appear, flashing into existence with all the ceremony of a grenade, though thankfully quite a bit less noise. Once all five had arrived, he began the process of unpacking. There was a lot of work to be done before he could go home.

[drallinix]

Emerging in the entrance of the cave Adrian stared Arthur Greystrokes in the face. With him he had two other fighters. The first was a demon who had quickly joined him out of respect for his title. The second was a strange woman with unknown intentions. Adrian let his wings fold behind him as he glared at Arthur.

"Arthur Greystrokes......do you remember me? I should hope so. An innocent boy desperately fighting against his very nature. You attempted to kill me in that forest, but my father rescued me on that day. By rescue I mean he drugs me down into the pits of hell and tortured me for twenty thousand years! However fear not Arthur I slew him. YES!, I killed my own father and now I am the monstrosity you see before you. This time when I go back to hell you can be assured your going with me, and when we get there we are going to have a good time." finishing his speech Adrian let out a roar.

The boy was suddenly engulfed in black flaming armor made from hell energy. A helm of hell matter covered his head, and all that could be seen of his face was burning scarlet eyes. His mace began glowing with an ethereal red and he got into a powerful stance. The head of this mace was behind him and his feet were set in a backstance. He was ready to leap forward into a boneshattering strike.

[Lalliman]

Gregor, already in his beast form, prowled beside Adrian, ready to aid him in combat. Since he, as a werewolf, fought best in a pack and was here to hone his fighting skills over anything else, he had welcomed the opportunity to work together against a more powerful foe. Besides, even as just a half demon, the devil lord’s commanding presence hadn’t escaped him. For now, he’d decided to follow his lead.

When Adrian took a battle stance, Gregor did the same and began channelling energy into his claws and fangs, gradually heating them to lethal degrees. He didn’t attack yet, however, as he was curious to see the reaction of the man they were about to fight. Besides, the chokepoint that was the cave's entrance might be very disadvantageous to them if they simply charged in.

[Goldeagle1221]

Ug Nug lazily strolled by the enterance to the cave, merely associating the dark pit with a possible sleeping space. However, when he noticed the small group in the tight quarters his thoughts buzzed.

One was an animal, possible meal, the other two were not prime mates or food and therefore competition.

Now Ug Nug paused perplexed behind the squad,letting his tiny intellect figure this complicated problem out. The beastly man scratched his pronounced forehead with the end of his massive club, this certainly was going to take a while.

[ImportantNobody]

Evvie let out a cheerful, playful sounding battle cry and a breath of fire into the air as it was announced that the arena as officially underway. She was pumped for all of the awesome combat that was to follow, but in all honesty she still wasn't quite sure exactly how it was supposed to work. Should she just run up and start punching random people? She supposed it would be best to issue a formal challenge to them before doing this, but then who should she challenge? There were so many people around that it made it all the harder to choose. She could maybe attack the person who looked the most powerful. She didn't care about the prize money, so rather then defeat all of the small fry for an easy buck she'd much rather have fun against those who would cause a thrill to run up her spine as she fought. Someone who can take her abilities to the limit in a do or die situation. She wondered if there was anyone around capable of such excitement. That really tough group mentioned in the introduction? She'd want to take them on eventually, of that she was certain. But who else of note was around to fulfill her immediate urges?

While looking around with a confused expression as she pondered such a question, a small group of people perhaps noticed the look on her face and came up to her, asking if she'd like to join them for an upcoming fight. The man who asked, apparently the leader, surprised her because he looked sort of like a half dragon such as herself. Only he felt...different. That same feeling extended to his monstrous companion. They were certainly of some interest to her, but how much she was uncertain. If they were teaming up then the opponent most be pretty powerful. That could be fun. It was at least a good start.

"I'm in! For this battle, at least," She said with a nod, then quickly followed in step behind them, wondering where they were going. It ended up leading them to a cave where some other man stood. This appeared to be a personal vendetta as the winged man let out a rant once they had come face to face. From what she could understand it seemed like their opponent had done something really bad. Rather than a simple fight for fun, perhaps she could help teach this guy a lesson at the same time!

Despite being in tight corridors that restricted her movements, including her flight, she wasn't really considering this problem as of yet. A battle was a battle so she didn't really care much where it took place as long as it wasn't too freezing. Besides, it may even be fun having to fight differently than normal.

During the moments before the battle she breathed fire onto the gauntlet on her right wrist, causing it to glow and expand over most of her body in the form of cool looking armor, the only type of armor she'd be willing to wear because she'd prefer not wearing any restrictive clothing at all if she could help it. Due to this armor very fitting for her, designed specifically with her in mind, she made an exception and would wear it with pride. She could have it cover her entire body but in this case she left a few parts bare for various reasons. She didn't materialize the helmet, allowing her freedom to blow fire and look around easier. Her wings were left bare just in case she would need them. Her feet were left bare out of personal preference, much preferring to feel what she was walking on, which would help getting a better footing, and in general she just really didn't like having to wear shoes. Her entire body, including her feet, had greatly enhanced durability so had no problem walking on any type of rough terrain, even the rocks of this cave.

She twirled her staff in her hands and then got into a battle stance, right foot behind the left and the tip of the staff pointed towards her opponent. She was standing to Adrian's right and was ready to spring into action the moment the battle began. For right now she would wait and see how the opponent would respond to this, but she didn't have much patience so would strike within a couple of seconds should nothing else happen.

[Schradinger]

"It's Greystoke, actually." He stood from the crate he'd been working in, an upside down five clearly legible on the open lid, though the contents would be obscured by said lid from the view of those at the cave's entrance, and closed it carefully before walking around it and toward the group that had assembled to oppose him. "I remember a child dedicated to violence, and I see now that twenty thousand years has done little to change that. One would think that suffering would beget wisdom, but clearly it has had the opposite effect." He stopped then, no more than twenty feet between himself and Adrian, and a wind with the force of a hurricane suddenly blossomed around him and rushed toward the mouth of the cave, where it would strike the assembled trio and in all likelihood hurl them out onto the small plateau outside the cave. The tight confines of the cave itself would render an attempt to avoid the wind fruitless, though it was possible that one or more of their number would have the means to resist it. If so, it would be those individuals he would engage first.

The wind, while powerful, would be exceedingly brief, due to the limited amount of air the cave could contain, and it would be followed immediately by a backdraft of air rushing in to replace that which had just vacated. Those thrown clear of the cave would be unaffected by this backdraft, but anyone able to resist the initial wind would likely find their efforts turned against them when struck by its equal and opposite reaction.

In the event that all three of his assailants were thrown free of the cave, he would continue to the entrance and halt just outside, waiting and watching as they recovered.

[drallinix]

Adrian felt the maelstrom of wind hurling at him and spread his wings allowing himself to be thrown backwards. However instead of landing on his back he allowed the wind to carry him backwards while he struck the ground with the head of his mace burying it in the rock and using it as a brace. He remained on his feet outside the entrance of the cave and ripped his mace free from the rock.. Quickly folding his wings behind himself again he smirked. He allowed his link to hell to deepen as he began to concentrate on manipulating the energy. He smirked at Arthur while charging.

[Lalliman]

Instinctively, Gregor dug his claws shallowly into the rocky floor to keep from being flung off his feet by the gust of wind. It was, however, still powerful enough to send him scraping backwards across the ground and back into the open air. When the backdraft followed, it tugged on his fur, but his claws provided sufficient grip to stay in place. When he saw the devil lord not yet attacking but instead concentrating on something, he decided to take action instead. "Enough talking." he grunted in an animalistic voice, before opening his jaws and releasing a jet of flame into the opening of the cave, forcing Arthur to go right through if he intended to get out. Even if his allies were questionable, Gregor was glad not to have to question what side was the right one for once. Here in the arena, he could let his claws do the talking.

[ImportantNobody]

Evvie handled the attack the least gracefully of the three, the wind unintentionally getting caught inside the folds of her wings, which parachuted backwards and forcefully jerked her small body back out of the cave as if she was a piece of tissue paper on a particularly windy day. By the time her wing muscles were able to find the strength to snap closed she was already tumbling onto the rough grown below. She slammed down back first, scratching up the bony part of her wings a bit but otherwise leaving her rattled but unharmed thanks to her armor. She instinctively tilted her head forward to avoid smashing her unprotected skull against the ground as well. She did a single involuntary back-flip from the bounce before sliding further backwards on her stomach side this time for a couple of feet, finally skidding to a halt and throwing up a fine layer of dust and pebbles around her as she did so. As she lay there for a couple of seconds her wings gave a couple flaps to test them out, sending minor pain coursing through them that would probably make it hurt to fly for a bit, but otherwise wasn't anything she couldn't block out if she just chose to ignore it.

The beast ally let out a stream of fire, which helped cover her while she got back onto her feet, brushing herself off. She then realized that she was no longer holding her staff, she looked behind her, her face taking on a "you have got to be kidding me!" look as she noticed it bouncing and rolling it's way down the side of the mountain before lodging itself behind a large boulder, going out of her view within the rocks. She stood in silence, looking back and forth between it's resting place and the battle. Her shoulders were drooped in realization of her failure. Hoping they didn't notice, she turned back to the fight and got into a similar combat stance as before, only this time raising her fists up at chest height.

[Goldeagle1221]

Ug Nug was sent flying backwards as a gust of wind blew him off his feet, where he was still contemplating the cave. The sudden interuption sent a red irritation down his spine and he began grunting wildly like a stressed feral beast. He had been insulted, and this insult shall not stand. Beware, cave, for you have made a terrible enemy.

Ug Nug lifted his thick club and with a wild roar he charged at the lip of the cave, swinging like a mad man. His club connected, and a stray rock was loosened but otherwise the shock was sent to his shoulder, causing him to cringe, the cave had retaliated, a further insult. Now Ug Nug was quite angry, what nerve, what audacity! The beastly caveman decided to throw the caves own rock at itself, a true rebuttal to the array of insults bestowed upon the proud man.

[Schradinger]

A second gust sent the flames back at their source, bursting free of the mouth of the cave and almost instantly melting a significant portion of the snow that rested on the plateau. Unless the wolf-man had managed to move himself, the flames would strike him as well, though Arthur held little hope that they would cause any damage. If he could harness that much heat from within himself and not combust, it was hard to imagine that the outside was any less inflammable.

Even before the flames had died, Arthur burst forward in the wake of his counter-attack, using his ability to grip the walls, floor, and ceiling of the cave and pull himself toward the wolfman at a pace that a human eye would be unable to register, in spite of the intense backdraft that would be occurring. As he neared, his hands reached out to grasp both the bottom and top of the wolf's jaws and pull them closed, cutting off the flames before they could do anything more than burn a hole through the suit vest and dress shirt he wore. Hot as they were, he had little fear of damage from such brief exposure, even at this close a range. If the grab was successful he would deliver a small electrical charge, one meant to render the other man's limbs rigid and unresponsive in order to prevent a counterattack, and fling him bodily back into the cave by the muzzle.

[drallinix]

Before Arthur emerged from the cave he would be met with a solid wall of black flaming spikes that materialized, but were hidden by the flames. Adrian had summoned this wall with of spikes the minute the flames had hidden the mouth of the cave, and they were able to pierce tank armor. At the rate Arthur was moving he was in deep shit if he collided with it. Should that happen the spikes would travel through him with ease. However Adrian did not underestimate this opponent and was waiting with mace at the ready to intercept the man should he come out. Even if Arthur managed to burst through the wall Adrian would be mid swing with hi enormous mace.

[Lalliman]

Though the flames couldn't harm him, Gregor jumped back in shock when they were blasted back at him, cutting off his fire breath attack. The reflected flames washed over him like a tide of water, melting the snow around his feet, but he was left unharmed. When the fire cleared and he gained sight of the cave again, the entrance was sealed and an angry caveman was hacking away at the opening. Unsure about who summoned the obstruction, Gregor hesitated for a moment.

He didn't dare approach, lest he be singled out against such a powerful opponent. Besides, he had no idea whose side the crazed caveman was on, if anyone's. So instead, he filled his jaws with fresh fire and held it there, forming it into a fireball. If the wall of spikes was Adrian's, it would give him time to charge a more powerful attack until Arthur emerged again. If it was somehow Arthur's, he could use the fireball to blow it up, or at least try. For now he just charged.

[Goldeagle1221]

Ug'Nug pounded the cave with powerful swings of his club, his opponent was weakening, and he could tell. A smile hidden behind a bushel of raggity hair crescented on his face as his swings grew tactfully placed and aggressive.

The cave howled in pain as rocks began to grind against each other. The howling grew into an out right roar as the final powerful connection of the club sent just the right bit of rock loose. The cave shook aggresively and began to fall upon its own self in defeat at the cavemans hands. A strong gust of grey dust shot from the cracks and crevices of the once mighty cave as it slammed against its owm rocky floor with a loud, ear shattering bang, followed by smaller bangs and crumbles.

The dust covered caveman hollared in absolute victory over his conquered opponent.

[drallinix]

Adrian froze as the cave collapsed utterly stunned. He turned and faced the caveman who was yelling and prancing in his victory. Suddenly Adrian was overcome with rage that was literally tangible. His entire being let off a sickly red aura that showed his anger. "I have been waiting twenty thousand years for that satisfaction that you just took from me." Adrian snarled to himself. Lunging forward with his wings spread moving at his full speed he brought the mace in a horizontal arc at the caveman's head with blinding speed. Adrian was roaring in anger as he brought the mace to bear upon his opponent his eyes blazing with fury.

[Schradinger]

The gust of air struck something solid instead of forcing the remainder of the fire out onto the plateau, and the cave began to creak and groan under the stress of the sudden buildup of pressure. Arthur backed away from the entrance as dust began to shower down from the cave roof, and it wasn't long before the entire entrance caved in completely. A hand came to Arthur's forehead and he pinched his temples with his thumb and index finger. "Fantastic. Utterly fantastic.

"I'm sorry, Sir?"

"Nothing, Phillip. I need you to pull me back, then deposit me on the plateau just outside this cave. It seems I was a little too enthusiastic."

"I... Very well, Sir. One moment."

The air contorted around Arthur, momentarily seeming to both stretch in on itself and expand out and away, then the form of the man disappeared in a flash of light and the air rebounded back to its normal consistency. This phenomenon was almost immediately followed by one of the exact same nature, save that this one was performed in reverse, just outside the mouth of the cave. Immediately, Arthur's senses told him two things. First, there was a strange looking primitive with a club standing in front of him and covered in stone dust, apparently cheering his victory over some great opponent. Second, there was a human-sized mass of bio-electricity hurtling toward him from behind. It was the second of these two revelations that he opted to pay the most attention to, and momentarily gripped the ground to spin himself in place. The sight that greeted him was one of the enraged demon prince charging headlong toward him with his mace poised to strike. Though in retrospect, the strike was likely meant for the primitive.

Reacting on instinct, Arthur's right hand came up as a brilliant white-blue sword appeared in a crackling instant, sweeping up to catch the mace just under the flanged head and halt its horizontal swing, as well as pull it further behind Arthur. His left hand moved simultaneously and drove forward in a straight punch at Adrian's solar plexus, aiming to use the man's own momentum to compound the force of the blow and cave in or shatter the ethereal chest plate of his armor, likely causing significant damage to the man underneath. To further cement the likelihood of that goal becoming fact, Arthur anchored his feet to the rock beneath, making it impossible for Adrian's momentum to unseat him.

[drallinix]

As Arthur appeared and punched him in the chest Adrian could feel the energy from the attack and was sent flying backwards. He had felt this pain before and he dug the back of his mace into the ground to act as a brake. Then swung himself upward and began to fly about six meters above his allies. His mace was at the ready and his armor was already repairing. Thanks to its ability to regenerate automatically he didn't have to much to worry about. He began charging his hell energy once more. "Hey dragon girl feel like participating?" Adrian yelled down to her.

[LeeRoy]

A caveman, a demon, and a cave in. Not worth his time. Thought the Headsman as he passed the clusterfuck on the mountainside. Too much noise, too many people, not enough time. He needed a quary that could survive a fight with him, he needed someone he could bring the absolute greatest amount of pain to without killing them. Headsman needed someone that he could make suffer, none of those people he just passed would prove to sate his bloodlust.

Especially the two fighting outside, what kind of idiot holds a grudge in this particular setting? Even if you get revenge it doesn't last, the only thing one can hope for in the Arena is to make your foe suffer. If they do not die, they can feel so much more. You can get as much pleasure from your grizzly task as you like. "What am I doing? Oh, right. Climbing. Let's not think about that, not yet. I don't get to have a taste of that fun until I get to the top."

The tip of the axe scraped across a patch of exposed stone, sparks emerging from its metal tip and scattering to the winds. Headsman trudged upwards, dragging himself up the mountain until he reached a sheer cliff. Rallon's right arm swung upwards and slammed the blade into the side of the cliff. With his free hand he reached up and grasped a jutting stone. It gave under his weight and dropped to his feet. "I'm too heavy for small stones, got it." He reached up again, sticking his hand into the gap where that stone had been. This process went on for a solid thirty or so seconds, he scaled the cliff in what would be record time for a normal human. At the top he saw a huge tract of land between him and the top, looking down he hadn't made much headway from the caved in location down below.

"Mountains are hard." The axe was frustrated, it had never done this before. Mountains were always obstacles to avoid, rather than scale.

Nonetheless, it needed to be done. The Headsman was going to grab the attention of every warrior in the Everlasting Arena at the same moment. They would come to him like lambs to the slaughter.

Time passed, every time the Headsman looked forward he was close to his goal. The mountain's peak came into shape ahead of him, scraping the clouds with its intimidating height. What seemed like hours passed for the Headsman, and likely hours did pass, time is convoluted here.

Twelve more steps to the peak, it plateaued outwards at the top. Flattening into a somewhat smooth surface, although it is rougher than sandpaper to the touch. "I am here." The words passed his lips, turning to steam as they touched the air around him. It was cold up here, very cold.

"Cold is uncomfortable, but it does not hurt. Cold is tolerable." He lamented, pacing around the edge of the mountain's flat peak. Looking down on the fights below, some more impressive than others.

None would be more impressive than his.

Glowing brightly, the axe trailed its energy around Rallon's body. Its intensity grew, eclipsing the area around him in its light. "Come to me." Its light shrunk to the edge of the axe, his arm lowered allowing its edge to scrape the ground for a moment. Rallon howled, throwing his head backwards and raising the axe to the heavens above. "Come to me!"

A lash of crescent energy erupted from the blade, firing off into the skies. A beacon of crimson white and gold. It parted the clouds and shined its crimson light over the peak of the mountain, its influence shown even to the cavern below. The light would be impossible to miss, even to the farthest reaches of the Arena.

They would see, they would come, and they would suffer.

[Lalliman]

Confused by the events going on before him, Gregor stood back with the fireball growing inside his jaws. Did the caveman just really collapse the cave? He might be more dangerous than he looks. But whatever, they could deal with him when and if he becomes a problem. After all, he had shown no hostility to anyone but the inanimate cave. For a moment, Gregor considered launching his fireball at the mysteriously reappeared Arthur. He knew little about Arthur, but Adrian had told him enough to know that he needed more firepower still. So he kept charging, in the hope that the dragon girl would cover them.