[Nero]

Sample duel: Ignatius Vs Delain


[Ignatius tilted his hat back to get a better look at this metal-clad elf creature that stood before him, a morbid grin forming upon his skeletal maw as he settled his sights upon this one. There was no hesitation, the knight suddenly becoming alive with motion as me charged forth towards his unwitting opponent - right hand falling upon the hilt of Alessia that lay sheathed at his left hip. "Venire!" He yelled with a voice that burned with the raw fury of the adrenaline that blazed in his dried up veins. It was only until he was upon this impromptu foe that Ignatius drew his weapon, the sound of bone scrapping on metal as the dragonblade came swiping in a wide arc towards Delain's midriff. The strike was full of raw strength, carried by the momentum of his attacking draw and made even moreso by the latent ability of Alessia to hit so much harder.]



[Delain watches with growing apprehension, the strange formation of his apparent opponent's face as it curled into a smile that would strike a measure of fear into him, had he been lesser of a man. Chilling blood pumped through his veins rapidly the closer his opponent got, time seeming to slow down for him as a series of possibilities lay before him at what he could do. Fractions of seconds were given to each path of action, quickly running through the various outcomes in his mind as he would in a game of chess or a live battle. When it came down to the few last moments when Ignatius brought out his own blade he gripped the hilt of his sabre, the blade facing behind him and running along his arm until he twisted his wrist which propelled the weapon to its rightful position within his grasp. Now the tip of the black metal facing towards his opponent he pressed it to the ground in a diagonal fashion towards himself, the blade striking him jarring his hand, but also the angle of his own weapon forcing his opponent's sword to the ground if the controls was not kept in check by Ignatius himself. At the same time he sacrificed his sabre, the weapon thrown from his grasp by the blow itself, but not entirely a loss as both hands ripped from his belt two of the three daggers covered in rust. A twist of his body and the momentum of his movements carried him into a spin around Ignatius behind him, the tips of the daggers going to strike true to the neck of his opponent, where he could ram them in and then rip free while dislodging the head of his undead nemesis.]



[Ignatius let his blade slide down his opponent's own weapon if only to force more of the recoil of the attack into his opponent rather than split it evenly between the two. Such would have likely thrown him off of his balance and left him open to an attack, which would have been terribly unfortunate for the undead knight. But the moment that Delain was separated from his weapon, Ignatius was moving again - refusing to give a moment's reprieve that his foe might be able to make use of. Ignatius' preference of making these meetings into dances had left the knight-captain uniquely versed in such twists and spins as what this elven warrior made use of, planting one foot as the other slid hard across the ground to keep the undead swordsman facing Delain. While the daggers were unavoidable, the damage was reduced greatly when Ignatius drew his arm up to let the metal plunge deep into his mortified flesh - a sudden twist of this arm is given to lock the metal between the gaps of his bones. As he yanked that arm down towards the ground in an attempt to remove those daggers from their wielder's clutches, Ignatius thrust his left foot forward to place it between his foe's legs. Another wide arc was delivered from that draconic weapon of his, a long upwards slash as he gave one more slide of the foot meant to knock the armored elf off balance.]


[Delain took careful note of the proceedings following each move, how his opponent danced so fluidly, transitioning between stances and steps with an undefined grace he had yet seen in any race or swordsman. He was surprised to find his opponent so willing to allow his blades to sink into the rotting flesh. When however he couldn't budge them he backed away and let go, not expecting the counter attack to be so swift. His weakened legs wouldn't allow him to sustain many blows, Ignatius' mighty sword casting him off like a paperweight with the aid of his opponent's foot. It wasn't even a struggle to remain standing, instead he went straight down into a crash upon his already ruined wings. This did not discourage the fighter however as several small components flung themselves from their pouches. Shakily he gripped a wyvern scale, some of the snow, and then focused. His concentration left him vulnerable but hopefully not for long. A swift incantation and his hand was glowing with blue energy. Slamming his fist against the ground bolts of magic the same color dashed along the ground and bolted towards Ignatius. if left unchecked, the magic would weave itself in between the rot in his corpse, around his legs, between bones if any were exposed, otherwise shortly after the magic began to solidify as ice. The modified entanglement spell would keep going until his opponent was entirely enveloped in the icy claws of the spell or his concentration broke. Whichever came first. In the mean time he was entirely vulnerable, but if he succeeded then he would have the upperhand.]



[Ignatius could not waste any time now, his body slowly being quickly literally overtaken by Delain's icy grip. He had little option but to keep moving and hope beyond hope that his motion would prevent the ice from successfully encasing the constantly shifting joints. In any case, there was the obvious need to finish this as quickly as possible for fear that his foe's gambit might prove unpleasantly successful. He was not too keen on the idea of being rendered a corpsey statue infront of the watching eyes of the people he was sworn to serve, after all. He did as much as he could to keep himself as close as possible to the man, his arms constantly moving to hold the encroaching ice at bay. This ceaseless movement was used to his full advantage however, each downward thrusting elbow serving to give his sword downward momentum in the form of cuts and slashes delivered towards the elf. His feet joined in this onslaught of activity with heavy stomps meant to distract and sudden kicks meant to slam against knees. All the while, Ignatius was laughing despite the situation. His face was a morbid display of joy. "Tu non sei terribile." He'd chant. "Certamente non il peggiore."]