Drifting Pollen

Battle City: The Tale Of The Tournament

@Drifting PollenTheoretically speaking, couldn't Imogen use several flying wolverines as weapons?

@Doc Doctor

Um.

Do you mean ordinary wolverines, or the X-men's Wolverine?

And... getting bonded with them the same way she's connected to her swords would be difficult and impractical, but would still be theoretically possible. But Imogen wouldn't do that. Think of the poor wolverines!

Battle City: The Tale Of The Tournament

There are some lessons all Sirena learn, and one of them is this: if you can help it, don't give your opponent time to think in a fight. Imogen knows it well, and now puts it into practice, reacting to Nicoli's actions faster than he might have suspected.

From the outset, it is fairly evident what he was going to do. Allowing himself to be run through by the swords would be tantamount to suicide, unless he has some magical ability she is unaware of, and drawing his own weapons to block would barely slow her down. Such an obvious attack, he will evade, she is sure of it. The only question is, in which direction will he move?

She does not know, and it is for this reason that she had focused on the claymore while making the attack. That was the blade aimed for his midsection, and also the largest of the three, thus making it by far the most effective in dealing with evasion.

So, as Nicoli ducks downwards, the rapier and the estoc zip over him, streaking towards the other side of the arena. With a quick mental pull, Imogen slows them down before they crash into one of the barriers around the edge, but does not spend any of her concentration conducting the more complex maneuver of turning them around just yet.

This is because most of her focus is on the claymore. To an onlooker, such as she, it appears as if Nicoli simply dropped to his knees for but a moment. As that moment, however, she spins her sword.

She'd sent the swords out points-first, so that they would reach their target around the same time. The hilts, however, would pass at different intervals- simply because some swords are longer than others. Of these three, the claymore is the longest, almost a meter and a half from pommel to point. So, Nicoli ducks, the point passes overhead, and at that moment, Imogen makes the blade swing.

But this is not a swing with the blade. Instead, the point of the sword remains more or less where it was, traveling forwards. It is the hilt of the blade, with its heavy pommel and wide crossguard, that comes swinging down to meet Nicoli even as the point passes over him. Though hardly as deadly as the blade, being smashed on the head with these parts of the sword is no good whatsoever for one's health- symptoms of such a blow include dizziness, bleeding, and possibly unconsciousness. It is these that Nicoli will likely experience, unless he finds some way to avoid or mitigate the attack.

Regardless of the outcome of this move, once it is done Imogen sends another sword forwards. The scimitar, this time. It advances more cautiously, not attacking just yet- rather, waiting to lash out if Nicoli tries to get past it.

Battle City: The Tale Of The Tournament

@Drifting Pollen Question about your character.

You state in her powers that she controls them telepathically but in your history you state its Arcane power she has. Can you please clarify for me, I've always separated the two powers.

@ShidenBlades

Arcane: adjective. Understood by few; mysterious or secret.

Basically she moves swords around with her mind. 'Arcane power' just means 'weird power,' ergo none of her clan really understood how it worked. It's not tied in to a specific magic system or anything.

Battle City: The Tale Of The Tournament

Okay, post is up! Given that Dynamo started the fight without specifying much about the arena, I reckon he doesn't care too much, so I'll just assume it's similar to the picture for now.

Show me your moves, Shiden!

Battle City: The Tale Of The Tournament

With a quiet tap, Imogen's feet come to a soft rest on the hard earth of the arena. There she stands, knees bent, her weight on the balls of her feet.

Nicoli's question comes unexpectedly. Does he, perhaps, prefer not to kill, when such avoidance is possible? Or is he simply seeking an easy victory? Interesting questions, but not ones she has time to answer while facing him down in a deathmatch. Imogen is a warrior, she will not give in to mere threats, and will never let an opponent snatch away victory with so little resistance. She has certain rules, boundaries, a sense of honor- but when it comes down to it, she is a fighter, trained her entire live to do battle.

"We all die eventually," she tells him, her voice barely loud enough for him to hear, "and I would not die a coward." With that, the matter is settled for her. All that remains is to begin the fight, and with her refusal, it does not take long.

The moment Nicoli takes his first step forwards, she strikes. Three of her swords- the rapier, the claymore, and the estoc -fly straight through the air towards her enemy, thrusting forth like great steel arrows. The first is aimed at his head, the second towards his midsection, and the third for his right thigh. They move in unison, and should reach him at around the same time- provided their flight goes unchanged. For Imogen is focusing, particularly on the claymore, ready to give them additional commands.

Battle City: The Tale Of The Tournament

I'm not sure we're actually fighting in that... I figured it was just a cool picture to advertise.

If we are though, that's pretty cool! Open terrain allows for all kinds of fun... last tournament I did was in a literal unbreakable glass box, which didn't exactly lend itself to creative tricks.

Battle City: The Tale Of The Tournament

Also: any details on the arena itself? I know they start forty feet apart... but how wide is it overall? Is it circular? What is the terrain like? What are the walls made of? Is there a roof, and if so, how high up is it?

Battle City: The Tale Of The Tournament

@ShidenBladesNicoli+Imogen 4ever.

@Doc Doctor

Unfortunately, men tend to be less attractive once they've been chopped to pieces.

Battle City: The Tale Of The Tournament

Nicoli did not offer a verbal answer, barely acknowledging Imogen's question at all. A cold, piercing look accompanied by silence was all she received. For her, however, this was as much an answer as any words he might have spoken, telling her all she needed to know about her opponent. This man whoever he was, did not care.

The reluctant killer, the freedom fighter, the hero: none would turn down a chance to know their enemy, not as an opponent, but as a human being. The one who rejected this was one of two things: either too weak to accept what they were doing, or too far gone to even be bothered by their actions, which she suspected was the case with Nicoli. But it didn't matter. Neither kind would fight with honor, and neither kind would be granted any kind of mercy before her blades.

Imogen glanced back at Gonad, with a sorrowful smile. "I thank you for your tale... but I fear the Robey Man and I would not go well together at all. Farewell, O warrior."

Then she turned towards the portal, and leaped through.

***

She arrives in the arena mid-leap, the swords moving in tandem with her. The katana and the zweihänder float vertically in front of her, like a pair of bodyguards, protecting their mistress. The khopesh and the urumi hang behind her, close by. The scimitar and the rapier are to her right, the claymore and the estoc to her left, all of them pointing forwards. The two hook swords she carries with her own hands, each angled downwards and slightly away from her body.

Imogen's face is no longer sad or soft, but focused. She is aware of all of her blades, with perfect clarity. They are extensions of her, controlled almost by instinct, the fingers she will use to pick apart this broken man.

Between Life & Death

Just like that, the woman is found- barely removed from where she had fallen. She had concealed herself somehow, keeping Procella's staring eyes from glimpsing her body- though the imbalance of charge within her gave her away. The spirit's eyes narrow. What a tricky little thing this one is! She will need to be careful in how she strikes- if her enemy is left with no net charge, she might slip into the air, becoming invisible, and attack Procella when she can't see! What a wonderful way of killing... the two might have been friends, if the human weren't such a horrible plaything.

Oh, she can see that Hisame is sad, her ruined body wracked with that horrid shaking, that so often emerges in humans overcome by sadness or fear. It is pleasing to see- but Procella will not be fooled so easily. "Liar!" She spits out the word, suddenly pausing in her whirl as she faces Hisame, eyes narrowing. This is just another nasty trick, another attempt to derail Procella's beautiful work of destruction. The sword is gone- but where has it gone? Is it now invisible too?

Once of the nice things about metal, however, is its conductivity. All the storm spirit has to do is move the negative charges away from her hand, creating a net positive there. And, of course, she does. The negative charges in a metal are free to move, and negatives are attracted to positives- thus, the negative charges in any nearby metals now shift towards Procella, pulled towards the positive charge she is building up. It isn't as powerful as her artificial charges- not enough to spark a lightning bolt -but it's enough of a movement for her senses to register, enough to immediately alert her of any metals present in the area. The spirit, of course, does not see it in these terms. To her, this is simply instinct, just another way of looking around.

Meanwhile, up high above, the clouds are growing thick and heavy. Procella has been toying with this woman for a fair amount of time, now, and a storm is beginning to gather. For now, it remains an embryo, but a fragment of a true tempest. But even an embryo has stages of growth, and so too is this nascent storm becoming more powerful. The first, light drops of rain now fall through the air, diving towards the scene of the battle below.