View source for 2017-07-21: Alisha versus Garan! Hyland versus Rolance!

*'''Log: Alisha versus Garan! Hyland versus Rolance!'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Character :: Alisha Diphda]], [[Character :: Garan Dantear]], [[Character :: Talise Gianfair]], [[Character :: Thessaly]], [[Character :: Linvidia Diargento]], [[Character :: Matilda Whitehead]]
*'''Where:''' Lacour Coliseum
*'''Date:''' July 21, 2017
*'''Summary''': ''Garan and Alisha meet in the Lacour Arms Tournament. The honor of Hyland and Rolance are at stake! ''

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 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

The fact that so many Lunarians have advanced far in a Filgaian tournament is something between consternation and a source of humor for those who know of such things. The announcers aren't quite aware, though.

"AW YEAH!" Mister Torque screams. "WE GOT TWO BADASS PEOPLE WHO WEAR METAL AND HIT THINGS TODAY! LET'S SEE SOMETHING TOTALLY ROCKING NOW!!"

For once, the loud and crass announcer isn't really on Alisha Diphda's mind. As she stands in the tunnel, her eyes narrow slightly, as she looks ahead. Garan Dantear, she thinks. She only knows the name by the little bit of word that passes around in the upper crust of Hyland's society -- and through the military. A knight of Rolance.

That proves complicated for the princess. She clutches her spear a little too tightly. Did he come over when she did? Does he know anything of home? She doubts that.

And yet... was this a prelude to a war waiting for them, back home?

Alisha sucks a breath in, then steps into the sunlight of the arena. If Garan has seen a likeness of her -- or even the princess herself, before -- she is recognizable. Her pale blonde hair is immediately familiar. Her uniform is, too; however, instead of pink highlights and Hyland's seal, it has blue highlights and the Sparrowfeathers' seal on the back of it. She looks across the sands and waits for her opponent.

She looks nervous. She doesn't wave to the crowd today.

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

"A curious thing," Garan had said earlier, to his virtually everpresent companion, the witch Thessaly. "First, I'm set against one of the Vile Fiends. And now, of all things, a princess of Hyland. Whatever fates govern these sorts of tournaments clearly have a strange sense of humour," the knight remarked wryly, a faint and lopsided grin on his face. "Well, I'll do my best not to create an international incident, at least."

The announcers, even the crowds... That sort of thing had long faded into the back of Dantear's mind. Not that the roar of acclaim wasn't pleasant, in its way, but it wasn't why he was here. He was fighting to test his skills, to see how far he could go with a whole strange world of opponents to face. To win, maybe: Either way, it meant focusing on his opponent first, not the theatrics of it all.

The sunlight glints off of Garan's armor as he steps out onto the sands, the plate lacquered pristine white and chased in silver, over red leather. The colours of his house, the cadet branch of a family that had fought for Rolance nearly as long as there had ''been'' a Rolance Empire to fight for. He's already holding his shield with his left hand, though his sword remains at his hip for the moment, dark blue eyes focused on the blonde-haired princess opposite.

"You're a long way from home, Princess," the red-haired Imperial Knight says, as he stops a set distance away from her. "I hadn't seen your face among the Guard." Despite the words, the implication that for whatever reason she shouldn't actually ''be'' on Filgaia, his right hand lifts, pressing a gauntleted fist against his breastplate as he bows politely to a young woman of royal station.

As he straightens, that hand falls to his sword's hilt, drawing it from its scabbard in a slow, smooth motion, raising it in a warrior's salute.

"Shall we begin?"

 <Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Technically there are three badass people who hit things, but Talise isn't fighting, so we can forgive Master Torque on this one.

Mysteriously, she got to sit with the competitors, despite not actually being a competitor or being in any way geared like one - but she is, at least, carrying a large poster board, which she leans against the empty seat beside her. It depicts a grinning old man holding out a bottle of something. The label of the bottle depicts a grinning old man holding out a bottle of something. The label of the bottle depicts a grinning old man holding out a bottle of something. The label of the bottle depicts a grinning old man holding out a bottle of something. The label of...

In any case, there's also some text:

	OLD MAN ETTLESBURY'S OLDE-FASHIONED HEAL BERRY SCHNAPPS

		Drink Responsibly, Repeatedly!

Crossing her wrists, she leans against the back of the seat in front of her, grinning slightly as she watches the fight begin to unfold. Truthfully she's not sure if she hopes Alisha wins. On the one hand, Alisha's a friend, even if they disagree on the important matter of whether or not Lucia is the Lord of Calamity, and Talise wants the best for her.

On the other hand, part of her really wants to test her skill against a friend - and Garan Dantear is an unknown commodity to her. And after Lady Chloe defeated White Knight Leo twice, a member of Althena's Guard would no doubt be motivated to take revenge.

 <Pose Tracker> Thessaly has posed.

Garan's observation from within his preparation chambers had earned him a smile, hidden as it was by her ever-present veil. "She assumed the risk the moment she entered the tournament," she pointed out, before offering the white knight's sword to him with both hands. "I believe that this allows you to give her no quarter, my lord, at your discretion."

That had been only a few moments ago.

Now, Thessaly occupies her usual seat at the box specifically set aside for members of Althena's Guard, cool violet eyes settling on Alisha from her vantage point. The princess from Hyland is a known entity to her considering the breadth and scale of her education, but the fact that she is here now is startling to her. Lips purse from behind her near-translucent headscarf, though she keeps her thoughts to herself, her thoughts rolling back to Lunar and the events happening there before she and Garan were whisked away to Filgaia.

When Garan finally enters the ring, she abandons her scrutiny of the fair-haired Hylandian princess towards the figure in the gleaming white plate. Long, elegant digits, as pale as alabaster, link together on her lap.

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

The lacquered white is familiar -- as is the crimson. The crimson is especially familiar, because Alisha has seen the red of Rolance more times than she can count. Her squad has skirmished with their soldiers -- or stood with them, in those times where an honor guard for some diplomat or another was required. It draws a long look from her, and then she looks up to Garan's face. She nods her head, once.

"I could say the same of you, Sir Garan," she says. "I hadn't thought that any of the Imperial Knights found themselves upon this world. Of course... you are with the Guard, now, are you not?" She shakes her head. "I travel with the Shepherd. Had word reached Rolance?"

It was something she wondered about.

She nods, though, at the question. Alisha drops her shoulder -- and her spear slides off her back, to fall down into her waiting hand. Her fingers clutch it, tightly, and she swings the spear out to face him. She stands her ground, giving him the chance at the first blow.

"Let's."

 <Pose Tracker> Linvidia Diargento has posed.

Up in her box seat, having shucked her white fur coat FOR NOW in deference to the heat and prolongation of conflict, Linvidia Diargento is having the time of her life. It's so far up here that she can't even see the blood! It's great!

She whistles with blue-tipped fingers in her mouth and shouts out, "Crush her! Beat that redhead like he was a stepchild!"

At least she's unbiased.

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

"Duty brings us all to places we might never have expected," the knight replies, a certain amusement in his tone. Whether or not the news of Alisha working with this alleged Shepherd had reached Rolance or not - or, perhaps more relevantly, reached it before they departed for Filgaia in pursuit of the Vile Fiends - Garan doesn't answer. It was hardly the right place for a lengthy conversation about news from home, after all.

They were there to fight.

The princess doesn't charge, a curious choice perhaps... But with her preference in weapon she'd have an advantage in reach, and the ability to repel an incautious advance. That was what spears were for, after all.

"It seems I must be ungallant from the beginning," Garan jokes, though Thessaly's earlier words about showing the princess no quarter hover in his thoughts.

His shield lifts, raised to guard against a counterattack from Alisha as he advances - slowly at first, but then picking up speed carefully, watching to see what the fair-haired princess might do with her longer weapon until he gets close enough to strike.

There, his shield moves to hammer against the length of Alisha's spear, to keep it out of his way as his blade whistles through the air, sunlight reflecting off of the bright steel as the knight slashes at the princess once, twice, three times in quick succession.

 GS: Garan Dantear has attacked Alisha Diphda with Blade Flourish!
 GS: Garan Dantear has completed his action.
 GS: Alisha Diphda guards a hit from Garan Dantear's Blade Flourish for 67 hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

"So it seems," Alisha answers.

The lack of answers is a passing frustration. After all, they couldn't very well stop a battle to exchange news. That could come later. She blinks, though, at the joke -- before she allows a small smile. She steps in when he does, and catches the way the knight comes running. She has no spear -- and she swings her spear out, and it ''slams'' into the knight's shield with a loud ring. She steps back a moment later, though, and catches the glint of light along his sword. She brings the haft of her spear up only just in time to deflect it from hitting anything more vital -- but the deep notch it leaves in her weapon and the way it rings her arms so sharply worries her.

"You're quick," she mutters. She steps backward. Garan might recognize the motion, as the sword blade-like end of her spear sweeps out. It is a common technique on their world -- and the blade of light that leaps off it shoots across the scant ground between them, to try to force him back.

"Demon Fang!"

 GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Garan Dantear with Demon Fang!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action.
 GS: Garan Dantear critically Guards a hit from Alisha Diphda's Demon Fang for 18 hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

Lemina Ausa is mysteriously absent from this particular match.

Matilda Whitehead, however, is in the stands, watching these strange, foreign swordsfolk compete. She's had a busy few days, but at long last she gets a chance to get away from the hustle of the market and actually watch a tournament match. (For some reason she keeps missing the mysterious Miss Ausa's by a few minutes.)

She's been watching these with greater and greater intent, lately; her eyes have been laser-focused on one competitor or another. Today, she seems to have picked Alisha.

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

"In battle, slow means dead," is the response from the knight; his hearing is, it seems, good enough to have picked out that mutter from Alisha even in the midst of their clash.

It's the simple truth, besides, and the reason that a suit of armor like his is carefully designed for its user, designed in such a way that it spreads the weight of the steel across his body. It keeps the weight from slowing him down, allows him to use the strength and speed years of training have beaten into him.

Even the mightiest armor, if it left the wearer all but immobile, would be nothing but an expensive tomb.

Alisha wants to keep range, where she can exploit her own greater reach, so naturally Garan has no intention of letting her have it: His shield leads the way again, the blade of light she launches at him crashing into the enameled steel, splashing over it like water against the wall of a fortress.

Unless Alisha is light on her feet, that same shield is going to collide with her, the weight of the knight and his armor behind it, along with his momentum. Pushing back off of that initial hit, if it lands, he slashes with his sword again, and a second time, looking to force his way past the fair-haired young woman's guard, and to keep control of the pace of their match.

 GS: Garan Dantear has attacked Alisha Diphda with Knight's Rhythm!
 GS: Garan Dantear has completed his action.
 GS: Alisha Diphda critically Guards a hit from Garan Dantear's Knight's Rhythm for 24 hit points!
 GS: Garan Dantear takes Cover! He gains 50 temporary hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Moistening her lips, Talise sinks back into her seat, shifting and crossing a leg over the other. She curls one hand against her cheek as she watches the pair of warriors hammer away at each other.

Garan's a heavier fighter than she is, she realizes. Prorbably an ideal Waning Crescent user, particularly with that shield. She could never master one herself; he's got that over her, and seemingly over Alisha, judging from how adeptly he's handling himself.

"Quite a guy," she murmurs, closing her other hand tightly and watching to see how Alisha reacts.

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

"The truth," Alisha murmurs.

And she realizes that his armor does not slow him down. It shocks her, because he swings his shield down so speedily and the Demon Fang breaks on it like a wave against the shore. The princess hisses softly -- and then she swings in towards him with a spring. Her spear swings up -- and she slams its blade into his shield with a two-handed swing. Sparks explode and fly when the blade bites into the shield.

But it does something else, too. She pushes off it, to roll around to his side. Garan doesn't have a princess in front of him to swing his sword for. He has a princess at his side -- and she blitzes forward. Her spear has motes of light gather, dancing along the edge, as she steps in closer. But, not too close.

She wields a spear, after all.

She thrusts for his side, this time -- trying to get around his shield, though that lacquered plate may have something to say about her effort. "I shall bear it in mind!"

 GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Garan Dantear with Rending Strike!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action.

 <Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

Matilda shifts her position, perhaps realizing that she's a little ''too'' intent on studying the fighters; she leans back a little, taking a breath and studying Alisha's stance carefully.

"Strange for one so small to use such a large polearm," she muses. "Is she trying to give herself the reach her height denies her -- or is there a story there...?" She crosses her legs, drinking from a large glass of local tea.

 GS: Garan Dantear guards a hit from Alisha Diphda's Rending Strike for 60 hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Linvidia Diargento has posed.

"It's because she's hunting for pigs! Squeal, piggy, squeal!" Linvidia enthuses from above and somewhat to the right of Matilda. Then there's unpleasant cackling.

 <Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Tilting her head back, Talise blinks and catches sight of Matilda. She recognizes her - she met her on the road that time, after all. "I think it's more common in her part of the world," she explains with a wave of one hand. "Plus hers isn't as long as a regular spear would be, anyway - it's only about six foot. The blade's so long that it's not the same as an infantry pike or anything."

She crinkles her noee and leans forward again, scratching at one cheek. "...Wonder if she'll try and jump with it," she murmurs, before Linvidia starts in with that--

That ''cackle.''

Talise closes her eyes and sighs.

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

That defense has served Garan well throughout the tournament so far, his shield and armor having blunted many attacks that otherwise would've defeated him: None of his opponents have been anything even close to a slouch, after all.

And really, it took some work getting his armor back in fighting shape after his bout with Lemina of the Vile Fiends. Thank goodness for the downtime between the previous round and this one.

But it seems like the Hylandian princess is looking to see just how strong the Imperial Knight's guard is, using her agility to get around him, looking to strike with her spear from an angle at which he can't bring his shield to bear. It's a good strategy.

If he didn't move, the spear would've likely gotten through a weaker point in his armor, perhaps slipped under the plate and pierced the red leather underneath: But the knight's situational awareness is frankly alarming, and while he can't get his shield in the way, or even his sword, he does turn, leaning into the strike so that it hits awkwardly rather than precisely, a shower of sparks - and a frankly awful noise - flying off of the white-lacquered backplate as the spearblade scrapes along it, digging a long, straight furrow in the decorative enamel.

And now she ''is'' in close, spear or no spear.

"The danger of the spear outside of a disciplined formation is that once its advantage in reach is countered, it becomes a ''disadvantage''," the knight reminds the princess quietly. "Using it like a sword would be smarter. Or carrying a backup weapon, Princess."

Of course, he isn't just giving her sage advice as a more experienced soldier, no. They're fighting!

Which is why he also tries to bury his knee in her gut, the hard metal kneeguard of his solleret likely to be at least a bit of a distraction going forward.

 GS: Garan Dantear has attacked Alisha Diphda with Rampart Collision!
 GS: Garan Dantear has completed his action.
 GS: Alisha Diphda guards a hit from Garan Dantear's Rampart Collision for 45 hit points!
 GS: Shieldbreak! Statuses applied to Alisha Diphda!

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

His armor is strong, Alisha realizes, and that is an enormous problem. Her eyes widen for a moment as he makes sure it strikes the armor instead of his skin. Sparks fly into the air, but no blood, and her advantageous position suddenly feels less so. As Garan notices -- and says, quietly -- when he closes in.

His knee slams into her stomach, armor driving into the fabric and the chainmail under that tabard. A gasp erupts from Alisha's lungs, and she gets driven backward sharply. She is staggered -- and her eyes lift to meet his, showing alarm.

She manages to mutter -- a simple White Magic spell, granted to her through Althena's Blessing. It infuses her, and she draws an easier breath, then. "Perhaps--perhaps you are right." She adjusts her grip. She isn't so prideful to ignore that.

And her spear is, in fact, shaped like a sword at the end. She comes in close, and she swings the spear blade up in a tight arc. When she does, there is a flash of white light on the ground -- and it drives a spike of earth up between them. And, potentially, at Garan's feet.

"Earth Rave!"

 GS: Alisha Diphda used Mystic on Alisha Diphda! 100 Temporary HP gained! All statuses cleared!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has activated a Force Action!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Garan Dantear with Earth Rave!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action.
 GS: Garan Dantear guards a hit from Alisha Diphda's Earth Rave for 58 hit points!
 GS: Alisha Diphda takes Cover! She gains 50 temporary hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

The danger from Alisha is, clearly, more than just her spear.

In the time she takes to use her magic to recover her breath, the Imperial Knight resettles himself, keeping his shield between himself and the princess. Dark blue eyes watch as her grip shifts on her spear, to take advantage of the long, sword-like blade rather than the reach of the haft... It draws a faint grin from the red-haired knight, apparently glad to see his advice being listened to, opponent or not.

There'd be no challenge if she were inflexible, after all. And there'd be nothing to be gained if there was no challenge.

As she closes, Garan starts backing up, keeping his attention on her footwork, on her bladework. A slash from low to high, but she has no intention of striking with the blade: It's the spike of rock that erupts out of the sand a heartbeat later that's meant to do him harm, but once again the knight's shield - its white enamel now cracked and scratched anew in a hundred places - keeps him from getting crushed.

"I should've learned some flashier attacks, it seems," he jests, crashing through the spike of earth even as it starts to fall apart, using it as cover to get in at Alisha again, his sword lashing out, stabbing forward in a pair of quick strikes... That are meant not to hit, but to draw her guard out of the way before he quickly, suddenly stabs at her again, this time aiming for her lower side, near to where he'd kicked her before.

The wound, if it lands, won't be particularly deep... But it's going to hurt, and keep right on hurting if unattended.

 GS: Garan Dantear has attacked Alisha Diphda with Strike Through!
 GS: Garan Dantear has completed his action.
 GS: Alisha Diphda guards a hit from Garan Dantear's Strike Through for 61 hit points!
 GS: Poison and Disease! Statuses applied to Alisha Diphda!

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

Alisha gasps, when he blocks the spire of rock with his shield. The rock shatters and starts to fall apart almost immediately. "Your attacks are impressive," she answers. "And every style has its own element."

The princess knight isn't always the best at picking up when someone tells a joke. He smashes through the spike of stone, and it forms a cover between them as he closes the distance. Alisha manages to duck a way from those two quick strikes -- though she begins to suspect a feint. She suspects too late to change course from them, though, as the stab comes in for her stomach. She lengthens her grip on the spear -- and catches the blade on the haft, earning another notch.

But she earns a long line of red blood, too, which bites into her skin and draws blood, staining the tabard. She hisses -- and Alisha surges forward.

She staggers a little -- and her thrust is met by dropping the weapon back down in her hand, and then slashing in front of her like a sword-in-hand. She slams it for the shield -- and then briefly drops the spear and tries to ignore the fire in her side.

She catches her spear further down the pole, with both hands, and makes a stab from above with both hands, trying to ram the spear at Garan with all her might.

 GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Garan Dantear with Skewering Spear!
 GS: Alisha Diphda takes 9 damage from Poison!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action.
 GS: Garan Dantear critically Guards a hit from Alisha Diphda's Skewering Spear for 27 hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

It is, all things considered, the most ''amicable'' fight Garan Dantear has ever had with someone from Hyland. Much less life-and-death than the usual skirmish between warriors from rival countries.

All it took to make that happen, it seems, was that they join a tournament on a completely different world!

The princess knight's quick switch of her grip nearly catches Garan off-guard, forcing him to drop low into a kneeling stance, raising his shield again: Once more sparks fly as Alisha's sword-bladed spear, driven by her heroic surge of strength, meets the Imperial Knight's seemingly insurmountable shield, putting a fresh crack in its parade-ready facade. Garan's lips pull back from his teeth as he grits them in his sudden surge of effort, and then he moves again.

The fair-haired princess would feel the slab of metal blocking her spear shift to one side, tilting, and then thrown wide as the Imperial Knight tries to keep her spear entirely out of the equation long enough to lunge at her again... His own sword's blade moving for the side he'd already injured her on, pressing the advantage, working her bad side with short, blunted strikes.

 GS: Garan Dantear has attacked Alisha Diphda with Blade Flourish!
 GS: Garan Dantear has completed his action.
 GS: Alisha Diphda guards a hit from Garan Dantear's Blade Flourish for 55 hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

The shield proves nigh impenetrable. The spear slams into it with another shower of sparks -- and then the shield slams to the side, driving her spear backward. She hisses softly, when the shield slams her spear away from her, and she realizes the problem she has. He comes at her weakened side -- and she can hardly complain. Such a strategy may well prove fruitful. She twists, then. She swings her spear downward, and then raises her armored gauntlet.

The crystalline steel of that gauntlet is eerily strong -- and there is a great, resounding clang when steel meets steel, sparks flying again, as she meets the blade.

She pushes it backward, though her side is stained a deeper red now. Her breaths come harder.

"You're... bloody tough," Alisha manages, lightly.

And then she runs forward and jumps at him. She kicks into the shield with both feet -- and hopes the suddenness of the movement won't give her away, so he could throw her balance off and end it. But, it is a risk she must take. She throws herself into the air, only to adjust her descent, and then comes down straight for him.

"LIGHT BLAST!"

And the spear's blade ignites as she stabs at Garan from above. The spear flashes, light billowing from the blade, and shoots down a burst of energy that punctuates her mighty thrust -- and briefly darkens the entire arena by comparison.

 GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Garan Dantear with Light Blast!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has been weakened by Disease! They take 25 hit points of damage, and burn off their temporary hit points!
 GS: Alisha Diphda takes 5 damage from Poison!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action.
 GS: Garan Dantear critically Guards a hit from Alisha Diphda's Light Blast for 31 hit points!
 GS: Alisha Diphda takes Cover! She gains 50 temporary hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

'You're... bloody tough.'

"I was trained to be a shield for others, Princess," the Imperial Knight replies. "An Unstoppable Bulwark for enemies to crush themselves against in battle, so that my allies can fight unimpeded. Toughness was beaten into me since I was old enough to walk." Garan grins at that, wryly; it's hard to forget the sort of training he was put through, even as a child. There was never any future in front of him except for Imperial Knight. There was never another path available to him but this one.

She runs at him, and Garan sets himself again, ready to take her attack on his shield... Which gives Alisha the opportunity to springboard off of that shield, up into the air.

And then, she's going to come back down at him.

Garan ducks low again, trusting in his shield and his armor to defend him... For the most part, anyway. He can feel an itch on the back of his right hand, something foreign, something alien; he pushes it away, drawing on the Blessing instead, a light of his own spreading from his shield to create a shell against the blast of light and power from the princess.

Around them, a circle of sand is pushed back about twenty feet... Tiny, glittering motes of light visible across the ground where the blast hardened clumps of sand into flawed, dark glass.

"Hah," Garan breathes out, swinging his blackened shield out of the way as he gets back up to his feet, before lunging at the princess again, sword flashing in a succession of scything slashes, hopefully before she can recover from her own powerful attack.

 GS: Garan Dantear has attacked Alisha Diphda with Knight's Rhythm!
 GS: Garan Dantear has completed his action.
 GS: Alisha Diphda has activated a Force Action!
 GS: You have activated the Force Action Guard!
 GS: Alisha Diphda guards a hit from Garan Dantear's Knight's Rhythm for 70 hit points!
 GS: Garan Dantear takes Cover! He gains 50 temporary hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

"I can see that. Not the sort of style I am used to from Rolance's knights..." Alisha says, though there is no venom behind it. She tended to see the soldiers who used the style that Georg Heldalf advanced -- the same one practiced by the Strelka brothers. She sees it more when his own light envelopes him, and together, they blast a circle of sand into so much glass.

But she does not pierce his defenses, even if they may be cracked and blackened. She lets out a long breath, and then raises her spear. She blocks the sword again on the haft, for the first pair of strikes. Each leaves a groove cult into the haft, before Alisha ends up taking a third on her side. The blade slashes into her side below the previous cut, another line of red appearing.

She swings her spear back. Light infuses it -- and then she swings out in her own wide slash. An afterimage of white light is left cutting the air behind her. It all punctuates, though, in a vicious burst of when she strikes -- and it shoots out in a focused blast that threatens to shoot directly into his defenses. "Rondo of Light!" she cries.

Then, follows it with: "But, you fight to protect the Guard, now?"

 GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Garan Dantear with Rondo of Light!
 GS: Alisha Diphda takes 4 damage from Poison!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action.
 GS: Garan Dantear guards a hit from Alisha Diphda's Rondo of Light for 107 hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

The fight turns close, turns furious: Sword and shield against sword-bladed spear, with the princess knight cleverly using the long haft of her weapon as a defense all its own. The clash echoes, again and again and again, and Alisha swings her weapon in a wide slash that's intercepted by Garan's sword, sparks flying where the sharp edges of the two blades scrape against one another... But it's the light that 'follows' her slash that proves to be the true problem, hitting the knight, driving him back in what might be the most solid hit of the bout so far.

"I do my duty, Princess," is his reply to her question. "The Church made certain demands of the Empire, and so here I am, a warm body to aid in their search, as ordered by those above me. I should think that if anyone would understand the way our obligations bind us, it would be you."

There's a faint sigh from the red-haired knight, who switches his grip on his sword to draw the first two gauntleted fingers of his shield hand along the blade.

"I'd hoped to not have to use something like this," he admits; light follows his fingers, a white glow enveloping the blade by inches. "But you know, Princess Alisha, I'd decided to go as far as I can in this tournament. Not for the Guard, just for myself. I suppose I'll have to stop holding back."

He gives the now-glowing sword a casual toss in the air, the hilt slapping back down into his palm, as he settles back into his shield-leading stance, watching the fair-haired princess knight with a fierce look in his dark blue eyes, and a wolfish grin on his face.

 GS: Garan Dantear has attacked Garan Dantear with Bolstering Light!
 GS: Garan Dantear has completed his action.
 GS: Garan Dantear takes a solid hit from Garan Dantear's Bolstering Light for 0 hit points!
 GS: Hyper! Statuses applied to Garan Dantear!

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

"I am more than familiar," Alisha says. "We have many demands placed on us -- and we must follow our duty, whatever may come. We owe that to our people." Nevermind, though, that what she said differs slightly in what he said. Her eyes widen, though, at what he says. Holding back?

Her eyes narrow, and then she nods -- and sees the light that leaps from his fingers and infuses his sword like that. She knows that could very well hurt. She sucks a breath in, as she considers it.

And then she rushes forward, deciding to try to end it quickly before he can bring that glowing blade to bear. "For yourself--it's the same for me! I have something to prove, for the sake of my master and my sponsor!"

She leaps as she comes in -- angling slightly, to come at Garan's side -- and stabs with her spear as she comes close, trying to stab it over the top of his shield this time.

 GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Garan Dantear with Skewering Spear!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action.
 GS: Garan Dantear guards a hit from Alisha Diphda's Skewering Spear for 84 hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

She has something to prove, she says.

"Then show me!" the Imperial Knight retorts, as Alisha charges at him.

Garan takes a half step in towards her sudden angling movement, into her leap, pressing his shield up and forward. there's no time to completely block the attack, but there's enough to make sure that the point of her spear doesn't go where Alisha wants it to go, the interference of the rim of his shield pushing it up, and slightly off to the side... So that the sharp edge of the swordblade-like spearhead digs a shallow gash along his cheek, red blood painting tiny rivers along the steel of the Hylandian princess' weapon.

His shield tugs back briefly, before surging forward, aiming to slam into Alisha with stunning force, Garan taking another step forward, to sweep his now-glowing blade across her midsection, twisting with the momentum as he leaps up, swinging his light-infused sword downwards in a crushing blow towards the princess' good shoulder, the surging energy lending extra force to the strike.

 GS: Garan Dantear has attacked Alisha Diphda with Siege Breaker!
 GS: Garan Dantear has completed his action.
 GS: Alisha Diphda has activated a Force Action!
 GS: You have activated the Force Action Guard!
 GS: Alisha Diphda guards a hit from Garan Dantear's Siege Breaker for 94 hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

Alisha gets moved to the side, though she sees she drew blood from his cheek. That prompts a small smile, but she has no time for pridefulness. That would be her undoing at the moment. She gets slammed into, too -- try as she might, the shield throws her backward, and the glowing blade slams into Alisha's shoulder. All she can do is twist with it.

It sends a flash along with the blow -- and while her armor keeps it from being a grievous, career-ending wound, it still prompts a yelp and nearly drives her to her knees. But, then she comes back up, and Alisha lunges forward. She swings the haft of her spear up -- slamming it for his sword hand.

Then the spear wheels backward -- and she stabs again, trying to push past his guard once more. "So be it!"

 GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Garan Dantear with Whirling Thrust!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action.
 GS: Garan Dantear guards a hit from Alisha Diphda's Whirling Thrust for 61 hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

There's a low, resounding clang as the butt of Alisha's spear hits Garan's gauntlet, but the angle is off; he's moved just enough to take the hit on the more solid armor protecting his forearm, rather than the segmented sections that shield his fingers, where the force of the blow might've been enough to make him drop his sword. It's a good strategy, and under other circumstances he'd have to give her credit for it... But right now, that same light that illuminates his sword is singing in his blood, and with it comes the feeling on the back of his swordhand, creeping up his arm. An itch, almost, but not quite. Something old. Something ancient.

Through the link that ties him to the veiled witch sitting in the stands, his excitement hums, feeds back into her, even while the knight barely gets his shield in the way of Alisha's followup stab, the impact wrenching the shield from his grasp, leaving it to clatter some distance away; he's aware of where it is, but going after it now would be foolish.

Instead...

"I have to say, Princess Alisha, this is the most fun I've ever had in a fight with someone from Hyland." Garan remarks, rather genial all things considered, before he tries to punch the princess full in the face with his now-empty shield hand.

And ''then'' he goes to work.

Alight as it is, his sword paints streaks of white brilliance in the air as he attacks, and attacks, and attacks, a seemingly endless combination of slashes designed to simply crush whatever defenses might be offered, leaving little opportunity for a counterattack, the light leaving afterimages behind, like sreaks of red and blue and black in the air.

 GS: Garan Dantear has attacked Alisha Diphda with Breaking the Unbreakable!
 GS: Garan Dantear has completed his action.
 GS: Alisha Diphda has activated a Force Action!
 GS: You have activated the Force Action Guard!
 GS: Alisha Diphda takes a solid hit from Garan Dantear's Breaking the Unbreakable for 176 hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

"I must agree," Alisha says. "Ordinarily, our people do not fight each other in such pleasant circumstances. Perhaps..." But, no, admitting that here could be dangerous. Rumors about her already swirl. She doesn't need to further them here. After all, her eyes have afterimages as the streaks of white tear through the air, and she cries out.

Her spear swings up -- and she blocks a few of the slashes, but each is punctuated by a brilliant starburst of white light, before they rip through. They cut into her armor -- and leave the tabard cut and tattered, but the chainmail under holds firm.

She gasps at the end of it -- and she parts through the streaks of red and white, to try to slam her shoulder into Garan's solar plexus, before she wheels around. Her spear stabs out -- striking repeatedly, as she launches a rapid series of strikes. Blue-white afterimages glow, too, before motes of white light gather into her spear's blade.

"Light BLAST!" she cries, as she makes a final stab. A huge burst of energy hurls off it, exploding outward, and tries to rip into -- and through -- Garan's incredible defenses.

 GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Garan Dantear with Light Blast!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action.

 <Pose Tracker> Thessaly has posed.

Every emotional jolt from the battlefield rips through her synapses, the eldritch bond tying her to Rolance's white knight fueling her own surge of adrenaline. Out of all of the rounds in the tournament, this is Garan's closest fight yet and before she knows it, she has moved to the edge of her seat. Those long, pale digits twine tighter against one another, holding fast; the better to prevent them from shaking.

It isn't, really, out of fear or apprehension that he would be harmed, though there is a trace of that in there. But with his own battle high and the excitement of the surrounding crowd feeding into her, she feels ''it'' twist somewhere inside her, roused from its torpor by the scent of blood lust. Her heart hammers wildly within her chest.

The witch knows what is about to happen before it strikes, and in one blow, Garan Dantear nearly decimates the youngest princess of Hyland. She is on her feet in an instant, moving to the rails, an impeccably manicured hand settling upon the metal frame as silver-flecked amethystine eyes cast downwards towards the ring below. Black silks ripple at the slightest movement, like shadows come alive; a dark shadow underneath the glaring light of the high noon sun.

She doesn't appear to see, hear or notice anything but the heated bout in the ring.

 GS: Garan Dantear has activated a Force Action!
 GS: Garan Dantear guards a hit from Alisha Diphda's Light Blast for 98 hit points!
 GS: Alisha Diphda takes Cover! She gains 50 temporary hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

In the end, the light fades: Garan can only sustain that for so long, motes of it clinging like white fire to the blade of his sword even as Alisha slams into his torso in a shoulder block, shoving him backwards as the breath leaves his lungs in a sharp &#42;wuff&#42; of air. The spear comes after him, again and again, clashing against his sword, his gauntlets as he furiously defends himself from the barrage of strikes, before he's enveloped by the blast of energy that follows the princess' cry.

"Keh..." the knight coughs, as the bright blast of light fades... And he still stands, if shakily, his armor seared by the explosion.

But Garan Dantear is, as yet, unbowed.

"Almost felt that one," he remarks, with a dry little laugh, rushing the short distance between himself at Alisha again. His sword's point drags through the partially-glassed sand, kicking up dust and malformed little lumps of dark crystal, before he swings it upwards at the princess, letting the momentum mostly play out before swinging it back downwards, a third, horizontal slash followed by a straight stab.

The motions are controlled, still, by sheer force of will more than anything else, much as his body would rather he lie down and take a nice nap on the sand underfoot.

 GS: Garan Dantear has activated a Force Action!
 GS: Garan Dantear has attacked Alisha Diphda with Knight's Rhythm!
 GS: Garan Dantear has completed his action.
 GS: Alisha Diphda has activated a Force Action!
 GS: You have activated the Force Action Guard!
 GS: Alisha Diphda guards a hit from Garan Dantear's Knight's Rhythm for 70 hit points!
 GS: Garan Dantear takes Cover! He gains 50 temporary hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

Alisha takes a few deep, staggering breaths.

And realizes that he hasn't fallen. That he still stands -- and he moves, cutting through the glass. She swings her spear up to catch the upward motion. The downward motion smashes through Alisha's guard -- and she bleeds from it, before the third slash and the stab come in. She staggers, uniform now bloodied and ragged, and she almost pitches forward. But, what did Lady Maltran teach her?

To keep fighting.

She sucks a breath in and then cries out: "For Hyland!" she bellows. She swings her spear out, then, two-handed. The blade dances with light, white surging along the edge of it -- and she swings hard, chopping for his side with a hard motion.

And a final blast of light erupts, trying to pierce through that guard one final time.

 GS: Alisha Diphda has activated a Force Action!
 GS: You have activated the Force Action Lock On!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Garan Dantear with Rondo of Light!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action.
 GS: Garan Dantear used Mystic on Garan Dantear! 100 Temporary HP gained! All statuses cleared!
 GS: Garan Dantear has activated a Force Action!
 GS: Garan Dantear guards a hit from Alisha Diphda's Rondo of Light for 99 hit points!

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

Keep fighting.

It's a sentiment Garan could certainly agree with, having had the attitude of 'just get up more times than you get knocked down' beaten into him the hard way during his training. His father was not a cruel man, but he was a harsh one: It rankled the elder Dantear's pride that his family was considered less than the main branch of the House, and so he would settle for nothing short of shaping his son into a finer knight than anything the 'true' House Dantear could produce.

As it happened, that task would've taken far less effort than had been invested, but by the time that became clear it was already entirely too late.

Alisha's will, her resilience, draws a curious kind of approval from the red-haired knight, one that's part and parcel of his enjoyment of the actual match, the challenge of striving against her.

He hears that cry, 'For Hyland!', before he's blasted again with another eruption of light; the red leather armor he wears under his plate is visibly burned at his side, a hole larger than his fist where underneath a bloodied cut marks the skin over his ribs. The princess is ''pushing'' him, and truth be told it's rare that he's been pushed so far in his life.

This tournament was a good idea, a more bloody-minded part of him decides.

"ROLANCE!" he answers Alisha's battlecry with his own. "ROLANCE! ROLANCE!"

The Imperial Knight throws himself at the princess knight, both of them surely barely able to stand, his sword dancing as he tries to put a final end to their match.

 GS: Garan Dantear has attacked Alisha Diphda with Blade Flourish!
 GS: Garan Dantear has completed his action.
 GS: Alisha Diphda guards a hit from Garan Dantear's Blade Flourish for 72 hit points!
 GS: Alisha Diphda has Fallen! She is no longer able to fight!

 <Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

The two knights throw themselves towards each other. In the end, though, it's a flourish of Garan's blade that decides it. It flashes silver and strikes through her -- and there is a single cry of 'urk!'

She stumbles, then, and falls into the sand in a heap. It isn't a mortal wound -- but the series of wounds have caught up, and she lay still save for her breaths, eyes closed. The crowd, which had fallen silent at the end, suddenly erupts into raucous cheers at the knight still standing.

Alisha, if she were awake, would approve. It was well-fought.

 <Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"Damn," Talise huffs, snapping her fingers and shaking her head.

Then she smiles faintly to herself. On the one hand, she can't stand seeing a member of Althena's Guard win - no matter how skilled he is. And he's certainly that.

On the other hand, her alter ego will get to fight the Princess of Hyland in her own right - and that much she ''is'' looking forward to.

 <Pose Tracker> Garan Dantear has posed.

The ending is, truly, far from a foregone conclusion.

The final clash almost seems inconclusive, until Alisha stumbles from that final strike, falls... And doesn't rise. The crowd erupts in cheers, a sudden wave of sound that the Imperial Knight barely hears, his attention focused instead on the fallen princess, the point of his sword buried in the half-glassed sand to give himself some more support.

"Well found, Princess Alisha of Hyland," he says, quietly, though he knows she can't hear him. He forces himself to straighten up, putting his fist against his breastplate in a salute as he bows to her, unconscious though she is.

Again, he straightens up, half-dragging his sword as he moves over to where his shield fell, retrieving it before continuing towards the side from which he originally entered, with only a brief glance back to make sure Alisha was being tended to by the medical staff.

Once he's out of sight of the crowd, of pretty much everyone really - only then - Garan Dantear slowly slumps to the floor.

"Ow," he mutters against the floor, quietly.

 <Pose Tracker> Thessaly has posed.

In that one last strike, Alisha Diphda falls, and Garan Dantear remains standing.

Underneath her veil, Thessaly's lips turn upwards in a small smile.

She takes one look at the roaring crowd, before she goes and descends down the stairs. He will need medical attention, and she intends to ensure that he gets it.

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Chapter 1]]
[[Category:Chapter 1, Act 1]]