(( Approved. In all likeliness, I'll stick everyone in a brackets' names into a randomized and we'll settle it that way. ))
[Tobias]
"Northern Mountains... I've been there a few times, I guess. I'm a collector of sorts." I answered, with a shrug. When Zicka explained his issue, I rubbed my chin a bit. It was a bit perplexing — a variant of Magic Withdraw that completely prevented regeneration. It could be a case of an injured Arcolia, a very tiny organ in the abdomen that acted as a sort of tether between your physical body and magic. If it was a minor injury, then it would heal after a week or two. If it was major, as most cases are, then the user would be completely incapable of using magic. For a Fallen Angel, that means certain death. Angels were less likely to injure their Arcolia, though. This puzzle was quite amusing, up until I determined the most likely scenario. If corrupted energy had managed to glaze over the Arcolia, then all of Zicka's current issues could be easily explained.
"When you open a bottle of champagne, you must first remove the cork. Trying to remove the cork by pushing it further in is stupid — you need a way to push it out." I explained, using the form of a metaphor to explain my thoughts. "You could use a corkscrew, break off the neck of the bottle, or have enough built up pressure on the bottle to pop off the cork." Unfortunately, I couldn't help him much more. I had no idea how to use magic when you had nothing in the tank.
That man back there. The one in the black trench coat... I swear, I recognized him from somewhere. I just don't know where from. Still, he's obviously here for the tournament, so I might be able to face him.
"YOU'RE AWFULLY QUIET, TAKRANOS. THAT'S NOT LIKE YOU," Kaiser said to me.
"I know, right? But that man back there, in the black trench coat. Do you recognize him from somewhere?" I replied telepathically.
"I... I DO RECOGNIZE HIM. OR AT LEAST, HE REMINDS ME OF SOMEONE I RECOGNIZE. OF COURSE, IT'S NOT LIKE THIS MAN IS THE SAME PERSON."
"Hm. Interesting," I thought as I purchased a chicken sandwich from one of the local vendors.
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"We must call for aid! Executor, bring out the Reavers! ... What? What do you mean we don't have reavers anymore? Then... send the Dragoons! ... Ugh, then what do you suggest? ... What's a Void Ray?!" -Tassadar, Savior of the Templar
(( This thread has a legacy of cheating death. Heck, several characters from the Original WOTD cheated death. It really has been a long journey hasn't it? Through that single thread, I learned almost every skill for Roleplaying I use today. I'm glad that all of you guys joined up for this wild adventurer, most of you having been part of the Original as well as the Rebirth. ))
((Like others in this thread, the terrors of the American educational system are crippling my ability to post. I'll make it work, though.))
[Garrett]
WHAM!
I slammed into the ground with an audible noise. The rift above that I came through fizzled back out of existence as I pulled myself up from a crouch. I had used both Tobes' aura and the increasing concentration of magically potent individuals to find this location and create a rift to here. I took a look around, examining the stadium which Tobes had set up. It was basically a really big complex of stone.
What caught my attention was the door. It was a simple rectangle topped by a semicircle. I couldn't help but grin. I knew there was a challenge ahead, and there was very little I enjoyed more than a good fight. I am Dimitri's child, after all. Speaking of "family", though she hated me, I never let Kalila get under my skin. I cared as little for her as she did for me. But I digress - that's a story for another time.
[Ivan]
I approached the massive structure with my loyal robot at my side. I was probably as strange a sight as ever to most - a gas mask, pendant, and death machine pet. It was made of stone and really big. I would go into further detail, but I typically don't find large quantities of rock to be particularly interesting. Something else was on my mind, and it had been for the past couple of days.
I was thinking - what was really the motive behind this tournament? It didn't take a genius to figure out that someone ludicrously powerful was hosting this tournament. The odds of the host being human were slim. Then there was the claimed motive - to organize and elite group to wipe out the Tainted. But wouldn't a huge army be better for taking on such a large force? The Tainted were most likely not a factor to whoever this was, and I couldn't help but feel that this "elite group" was to serve a different purpose that had no benefit for humanity.
If that was the case, I wanted to be at ground zero. If the plan would somehow bring harm to humanity, I would rip the operation apart from the inside. Getting there would be tough - no doubt the competition would be stiff, but I was confident that I could take them all. I had tools that nobody else had. I could easily take on any lunk who relied on strength alone, and I was more than properly equipped to deal with mages. I felt confident going in, and that was important. It wasn't cockiness - arrogance was far out of the picture, but in order to battle properly, some level of confidence is required.
((HE IS HERE TO ANSWER THE CALL, BEWARE ALL OF THOSE WHO OPPOSE HIS REIGN BECAUSE HERE COMES THE ONE, THE ONLY, CHICKEN MAN!!))
[Ordis]
"I guess this is where we part ways, at least for now." I said to Lucy as I stood at one of the labyrinth's entrances while she stood a few entrances away from me. "Yeah I guess it is. Try not to get eliminated in the first fight." She said. Nodding my head I turn back to the entrance and remove my pistol from it's holster. "Alright Ordis it's time to shine. I thought as I entered the labyrinth.
The stone grey walls flanked me as I walked down the path. Keeping an eye out for other competitors I take a right in the path and I'm confused to see a dead end. "Wait why would the only path I can take have a dead end?" I asked out loud as I turned around to retrace my steps. However that would be hard considering that a giant pit had suddenly appeared in the path. "Wait, what?" I asked once again as I examined the pit. I couldn't see the bottom of the pit and it didn't look like an illusion which instantly raised some ref flags in my head. "Alright so I guess other competitors aren't the only thing that I have to watch out for." I said as I took a few steps back. Getting a running start I run next to the wall to my right and just before I reached the pit I jumped and planted my feet onto the wall. Pushing off of the wall I flew forward a bit before repeating what i had just did on the other wall. Jumping back and forth between them I pushed off of the wall a final time before I landed on the other side of the pit. "Man I wonder if Lucy is going to have to deal with something like this?" I asked myself as I continued down the corridor
----------------------------
[Lucy]
Okay so almost falling to my doom was not something that was high on my list of things to do. Neither was almost getting crushed by the walls, or almost breaking my nose when I walked into a wall. Okay so the last one might have been my fault but still, this was no ordinary maze. It was quickly apparent that the maze was shifting, constantly changing it's self and the obstacles that were inside of it.
Walking through the stone hallways I came across a path that split itself into 4 different paths. Each of the paths looked the same but it was obvious that each path held something different than the other. Deciding to take the path that split to my right I looked behind me as I walked down the path, the wall behind me sealing itself after I had chosen it. Turning my head forward I narrowly dodge a saw blade that was launched in front of me. "Oh crap!" I yelled as multiple saw blades suddenly shot out from the walls, each of them going off in unpredictable patterns before a new set was launched. Running forward i ducked beneath one of the saws before jumping into the air while tucking in my knees to avoid another one. I rolled as I landed which helped me evade yet another saw. After a few more minutes of running the saw gauntlet I turned a corner and pressed my back against the wall as I waited for the path behind me to change.
After a few seconds I peeked my head out of my cover and sighed as the path behind me was now replaced with a giant pit. "Well at least that's over." I said as I started to walk down the path. "I wonder how Ordis is holding up?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1 Year ago the military was on the losing side of the war. All seemed bleak until one soldier brought a penguin in to training. They had trained that penguin in the use of explosives and sent him out into the field. They had thought that they had won but the agent went rouge. Now he only lives on as a legend, the legend of ShotgunPenguin.
(( That video is, quite literally, the most important part of WOTD. ))
[Demi]
I may have arrived a bit later than I intended. I wanted, if all things in this world were perfectly normal, to get to the Tournament prior to the massive wave of contestants. Getting Tobias alone in order to talk with him would have been nice, but I couldn't detect his presence. He had to be nearby, but I found it to be easier to just enter the labyrinth post haste. The doorway sealed behind me once I stepped through an arched entrance. Although it could have just been my nerves acting up, it felt as if the maze itself was probing me, perhaps to measure my strength. If that was what it wanted, so be it.
"Mare Flammarum." I declared, the name of the spell being a fairly simple incantation. It was the first spell that I had ever created, but it was a collaborative project between myself and Tobes. He found a way to combine a Water Creation spell, which had an obvious Water Affinity, and my Fire Affinity, thus creating a flood of fire. It wasn't that practical, since the flames acted like a liquid and were affected by gravity, but it would do nicely in a scenario where I was in a small corridor, such as my current one. I kept it continuously casting at a rate that would education how much I regenerated, but I was still in the black. I began to make my way through the fire, unphased by the heat, untouched by it's destructive tongues.
After finishing the last bite of my chicken sandwich, I looked towards one of the entrances to the labyrinth and smiled. Clenching my fist, I boldly stepped into the maze, jumping slightly as the wall snapped shut and sealed me in. "I don't even need to ask if you're ready, do I?" I asked Kaiser.
"OF COURSE NOT. IT'S NOT LIKE I HAVE MUCH OF A CHOICE, DO I?"
"Of course you do. But you'd normally raise concerns if you feel hesitant. You didn't."
"FAIR ENOUGH."
I took a few steps forward, and just like that the traps had been strung. A series of spikes instantly jutted out of the walls in all directions, and the wall behind me started closing in. I quickly ran through the gauntlet of spike traps, hearing the sharp SHING of each spike extending and retracting behind me. The wall behind me closed in quickly, but I made it through the corridor of spikes before it closed and leaped to one side into another hall before I was crushed. "Hah! That can't be IT, can it? That was almost disappointing!" I said boastfully.
Almost on cue, the entire corridor was overcome with a hot orange glow as the floor gave out, leaving only a cavern of molten magma underneath me. I anchored myself on each wall to keep myself from, well, being incinerated. "... Apparently that's not it," I said as a drop of sweat fell from my brow.
"AND I WAS THE ONE WHO NEEDED TO BE ASKED ABOUT SECOND THOUGHTS?"
"Hey, I've faced far worse than this. Remember that battle against the Tainted ice dragon that froze an entire island?"
"AH YES, THAT."
"And the raid on that fleet of skyships?"
"THAT ONE WAS FUN."
"And that one birthday party with the inflatable-"
"I THOUGHT WE WEREN'T GOING TO BRING THAT ONE UP EVER AGAIN."
"Sorry."
I then kicked myself off the wall and placed my feet flat against the back of the corridor. I then made an explosion at my feet and launched myself forward, spinning through the air like a tomahawk before landing on the other side of the chasm on one knee, in quite possibly the most awesome landing pose ever.
"SHOWOFF."
"Duh. That's kinda what I do on a regular basis."
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"We must call for aid! Executor, bring out the Reavers! ... What? What do you mean we don't have reavers anymore? Then... send the Dragoons! ... Ugh, then what do you suggest? ... What's a Void Ray?!" -Tassadar, Savior of the Templar
((Yeah, the "Surprise! Gopher" is our mascot. And Obidion, 7th or 8th Grade?))
[Vlad]
Silence. Eternal and, in my opinion, quite annoying. However, I felt a tug. An external force, vast in nature. In my mind's eye, a flash of Lightning tore through my conscious. A surge of knowledge overwhelmed me, and I felt myself be swept away in a sea of power.
'Embryh Girhku Azdetn Šrreache VIFHGUYS!!!'
A pulse of magic, beyond anything I'd ever felt before reverberated all around me. The darkness was illuminated by intermittent flashes of light, and I smelled the scent of charred stone. Millennia of seals came unbound, and Solaire's Magic was banished from my prison. For the first time in centuries, I opened my eyes. It was time.
The man then said he had visited the mountains a few times. Perhaps that was it. He then proceeded to use a metaphor for Zicka's magic problem. It confused Zicka, though he got a general idea of what he meant. Building up pressure was not an option, there was nothing there to begin with. The other two options suggested that perhaps there was a physical problem at play.
Unfortunately, these ideas were not helpful. Zicka didnt know what was meant or what to infer from them. "I understand that last one..." Zicka said. "But the first two confuse me. They seem to imply that something is wrong physically? Im sorry, but i must ask you to be more blunt." Zicka then paused for a half a moment. "Say, what's your name?" Perhaps Zicka would remember them if he knew their name.
((I shouldve posted last night, so much activity. But i had decided to wait cause i didnt want to tennis post. And btw, i will be much less active coming this Tuesday, thats when school starts for me.))
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Puella Magi Madoka Magicka is an awesome, feel-good, cutesy anime. You should watch it!
"It's fairly simple. If your magic is blocked, then surgery is likely required. The 'corckscrew' method, which is fairly safe even if you wouldn't be able to produce even a spark of magic for weeks, is having a surgeon cut off a thin layer of a small organ — well, gland, really — and it should take out whatever is clogging your system." I explained. I had very little medical experience, but I had made it my duty ever since I injured myself with Tesla Cannon to learn medicinal magic. "The 'snap-the-bottle' method would be riskier, but it'd be more effective for short term requirements. A doctor could squeeze that organ, which would cause an immense amount of pain, but it would break up any crusted essence which could be your problem. The 'pressure' idea would require a bit more precise actions of a doctor were to do it. A tiny incision would be cut into the organ and then a burst of energy would be created from within by an external source."
I couldn't tell him about the risk of that last scenario. Depending on how long his tank was clogged, it could be shriveled like a large raisin. A small cut in the Arcolia for a Fallen Angel wouldn't be too risky, but the compact tissue created if it was shriveled would make it much worse. It's the same reason that if you draw a smiley face on a balloon, then inflate it, the face becomes warped. Plus an unhealthy Arcolia would crumble if it was blasted against. That isn't even accounting for the physical pain that would occur. All in all, that method would be insane, but if he wanted to compete, it was his only option.
"My name," I said, after thinking for a little bit, "is Tobias. If you didn't know me personally in Aer, it's unlikely you'll remember. My name was made taboo once I left."
I stepped foot inside the maze, and as soon as the wall shut behind me the entire room filled with fog. My eyes scanned the room slowly and cautiously, carefully observing the room. I lit a small fire in my hand to light the way, but that was clearly a mistake. The instant I started that fire, the fog was ignited and the very air filled with fire.
"Ah crap," I thought as I ran as fast as I could to outrun the flames. The bottom of my coat caught fire as the flames whipped at my feet. As I ran, I constructed spires of ice that the fire would have to melt through. Unfortunately, that didn't do much. It probably would have been more effective to erect towers of butter. The flames were insatiable and unstoppable.
I turned a corner and all of a sudden it turned from blisteringly hot to horribly cold. I looked behind me and found that I was now outrunning a whirling blizzard that was hurling large chunks of ice in my direction. "Oh, come on!" I shouted in thought.
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"We must call for aid! Executor, bring out the Reavers! ... What? What do you mean we don't have reavers anymore? Then... send the Dragoons! ... Ugh, then what do you suggest? ... What's a Void Ray?!" -Tassadar, Savior of the Templar
Zicka listened as the man explained what he had meant. Apparently there was a small organ in Fallen Angels that maintained a connection to magic, and Zicka's mustve been damaged. He had no idea that this organ even existed. The man then suggested a few different potential ways of curing it. One included applying pressure, another taking off a layer, and an incision followed by an energy dump.
But Zicka's mind was taken off of these things when he learned the name of the man- Tobias. Zicka paused a moment at this, shocked. "T-The lightning god, Tobias? ...No, i dont know you personally, but i knew of you, and that you left Aer some time before i did." Zicka took a breath and turned to the giant labyrinth. "I guess that explains why you had such a massive aura, and how you managed to build this. I had thought that it was a few very powerful people at the same time generating that aura... but that raises another question- how did you bypass the barrier in Aer that weakens everyone who leaves?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Puella Magi Madoka Magicka is an awesome, feel-good, cutesy anime. You should watch it!
As the light dwindled down, I took in my surroundings. As my eyes glazed over the labyrinth, I felt a familiar well of energy. Probing it lightly with my magic, the sanguine energy I was composed of was rebuked enormously. A strategic retreat was my attempt, but the energy kept coming. It was just... Colossal! A paragon of magical energy, so utterly infinite it was like dipping my toes in an ocean, and I was just a dying planet swirling in a nebulous Galaxy. I felt electricity pulse through my body. My arm snapped backward 90° as a bolt of lightning tore through tendon and muscle. Arcing upward, my flesh corroded away like someone threw acid at me. An odd siren filled my ears, as the onyx cavity in my chest gradually spread open. My ribs started cracking, and I believe my appendix partially slipped out.
Thirteen and a half seconds passed. My breathing remained even, my eyes shone with conviction, and I was consumed in a cloak of blood. Hardly a moment later, I emerged from my cocoon, totally fine. The perks of being an ancient entity only exceeded by the gods themselves. I had made quite a scene, it seems. With a pulse of magic, I identified eight of my children amongst the maze. Scarlet strings connected them to be, some a darker shade than others. I wonder where Lupe is? I'll get him after the Stormbringer's game is finished. Magic flared around me, and I disappeared in a spiral of biomatter.
[Alice]
Darkness. Just an empty, abysmal void. Surprisingly, she was feeling roughly the same. Instead of rage boiling under her skin like freshly-boiled iron, she just felt pangs of regret throughout her being. Lifting a violet claw to my head, I was careful not to struggle in my cuffs. The last time made me lose 20% of my magic, so I figured if I wanted to ever be free, I'll need as much power as I can muster. Pulling a shadowy tuft of hair out of my eyes, three Crimson irises rapidly examined my surroundings for me. I had gotten a bit... Out of control.
After continuously consuming the Tainted, I had... Evolved? A metamorphosis occurred, is my point. Then, I lost it. I won't go into detail, but let's just say at least a dozen contestants have already been "eliminated". But then, the Stormbringer intervened. With a wag of his finger and a smack on the wrist, I was shackled, isolated, and imprisoned. It took eight seconds. And now, I've been bound below. Maybe he'll bring me out later, maybe not. For now, my most pressing issue is to return to my, more attractive physique.
"Yeah, I was pretty popular until I left." I replied, looking away to reflect on the beautiful past I had thrown away for a chance to grow even more powerful, to learn all this world could provide, and to surpass all of my superiors. If I remained in Aer, then Fiora would have grown to be far stronger than even Quincy was. It was a real shame that he passed. Without a doubt, his murderer would be here. I just needed to know who. "For leaving Aer... That's a bit of a tricky subject. I exchanged my ability to sleep in order to be taught a spell, that will allow me to bypass the Aerial Barrier. I can't cast it in Eternia because the spell only works with a certain amount of essence in the air. There is nowhere on this planet with an atmosphere with a high enough ratio of essence to air to cast it."
I had left Aer years and years ago, but I hadn't slept a single moment of it. It had been convenient at times, as I was never able to be rendered unconscious, but it still felt like a hefty price to leave the prison-like dimension.
[Fiora]
Running along the winding path was fatiguing and bothersome, with having to dodge traps and the like added on. Monsters created to test every attribute of my existence were put before me, standing in my way. Each and every one was destroyed without fail. Frankly, I was quite disappointed with my brother's creatures; I knew if he was capable of creating this arena within a week, he could easily bring to life some sort of demon to pose a challenge. The darkness that sat behind grew larger as I traveled, that which was ahead diminished into the light of a torch. All I could think about was finding Tobes and... I don't know. What would I do with him if I were to find him? Ask how he left Aer? Ask why? Slap him? Little did I know that my chance was just ahead. A large clearing appeared, nearly out of the blue. The interior was that of a wooden building with foam floor mats, the walls decorated with elaborated tapestries of battle scenes.
"I hope you don't mind the decor, I figured having our old training grounds be our confrontation would be suitable." Tobias said, sitting on a crate containing weaponry of all sorts. His hair had, oddly, turned a white color, which contrasted greatly with our formerly shard black hair. We were really brunettes, but he accidentally managed to cover himself in black paint when we were little and it never washed out, so I dyed my hair to match. It was a running joke between us, but I guess that's over now. "I'm not really here, this is just a trick I picked up. By spending a bit of magic energy every few seconds to maintain it, I can have a duplicate version of myself here. When it fade away, it will bring me it's memories. I have yet to fully master it, so all it takes is a simple touch to make it disappear. Getting past will not be easy — you must first defeat my effigy. It can, however, tap into my actual reserves.
"So all I have to do is touch you and I can get by?" I asked, activating Godspeed. This would be a sinch.
"It won't be that easy." The clone of my brother said in the stolen voice, standing behind me and whispering in my ear. How he had gotten behind me without me ever noticing his movement was beyond what I could imagine. "I invented this spell. I can travel at just barely below light speed."
"Never being able to sleep?" Zicka said. "So, you're never able to dream? A blessing and a curse at the same time, i suppose." Zicka then paused a moment. Perhaps, he had never passed the barrier? Maybe the spell made it funnel around him... no, it would break long before reaching this dimension. Perhaps he made a hole? Possible... In any case, Tobias wasnt going to share any specifics.
Then Zicka remembered his original question. "Well, is it possible for you to heal me?" Zicka asked. "If it isnt too much of a bother." Zicka had become a little fearful of Tobias once he learned his identity. Not exactly fear, more like a healthy respect. In any case, Zicka did not want to offend Tobias. Zicka then went through the list of ways Tobias had suggested of healing him in his head, waiting for an answer.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Puella Magi Madoka Magicka is an awesome, feel-good, cutesy anime. You should watch it!
I walked through the stone labyrinth without much excitement at all. I could hear the noises of the other contestants through the walls. They were busy facing whatever challenges the maze threw their way. Bloodhound and I, on the other hand, just kept walking and walking and walking. Honestly, it was rather boring. It was as though my challenge was mental rather than physical. I didn't mind, though. Based on what I was hearing through the walls, I could infer that I had it easy. I continued my trek through the structure, more or less waiting for the hike to end.
[Garrett]
My trip through the labyrinth was going swimmingly. The traps were all easy to avoid or just didn't affect me in the first place. I was blazing through at ludicrous speed without expending really any effort. It was about that point that I saw him. There might not have been anything I hated more in the world then Titaint. I knew it wasn't really Titaint, but just his appearance had me breathing embers. I don't know how long I stood there in silence.
And then, the next thing I knew, he was gone and I had my sword in the wall. Surprised by my actions, I stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. I can't afford to lose control of myself like that at any point in time, let alone if I were to confront Titaint again. I pulled my blade out of the wall and continued down the corridor.
(( Super sorry for holding you up, Scarf. I also hope you forgive the PowerGaming going on in this post, if you'do consider it that. CJ, I just want to remind you that the Labyrinth, while being made of magic and stone, is indeed a "living entity". It's sort of like an incredibly intelligent Golem or Construct. Rani stabbing it won't be very good for him. ))
[Tobias]
"Ah, so it's been working." I commented when Zicka asked if I was able to heal him. He had come to the perfect person, especially after I had been studying and tinkering around with various medicinal magics. "I am currently using something called an Isolation Barrier. It is a sort of force field that will disconnect a segment of space from where it should be. However, anything effected by the barrier will not notice a difference until it is dissolved. I'm able to use a bit of magic energy as a sort of puppet to perform all three surgeries at once. It would be easier in me to not use the Isolation Barrier due to it's cost, but the pain would be so overwhelming that you'd likely develop mental issues. I'm close to being finished."
While I was trying to remain cool and calm, I was really working up a sweat. My arcane surgeon technique was using concepts such as a needle formed from energy to not cause any pain to Zicka. Inside the Isolation Barrier, his Arcolia was being gently cut open with a steady flow of healing pulses being fed into it to balance with the more harmful waves that were being used to unclog his system and being softly squeezed to help break up the built up gunk, all while another set of hands was slicing off larger packets of waste. It was quite a task, but if I couldn't do it, nobody would be able to perform this surgery. The deed, after several secretive minutes of precise maneuvering, was done. And I doubted he knew until I told him. I continued to push regenerative energy into his system to relieve any possibly pain and, hopefully, jump start his magic energy.
"I'm going to lift the Isloation Barrier now. If the surgery worked, then you'll be all set. It'll be pretty obvious if it did, because if it doesn't, you'll be screaming your head off." I added, nonchalantly.
[Fiora]
"HOLD STILL!" I shouted, chasing my brother at what would seem like instanteous movement to anybody watching. No matter how quickly I could manuever around, the clone was always faster. It wasn't obvious at first, but I soon realized how slow I was in comparison. I was pursuing his afterimage. The real fake Tobias was following me. "Stop playing games, you butt head."
"C'mon, all you have to do is touch me. Heck, you can use spells or your staff if you' do refer." He replied, appearing back on the weaponry crate. He had given me the perfect idea. He said he could move fast, but not as quickly as light. Lightning, however, travels at the speed of light, so it was worth a shot. Opening up my palm, I began generating a massive amount of electricity in a ball shape. It was highly unstable which was exactly what I wanted. The less predictable my attack was, the less likely he'd be able to dodge. I released a shotgun like burst of energy, which ricocheted off the walls. I figured I had won when a distinct laughter broke the silence. "I liked that." the clone said, calming down. "You actually made me use it. Ever since I left Aer, I decided that every technique I had was weak and required improvement. I present to you..
((Once again I apologize for not posting in a while. High school's taking more out of me than I thought it would.))
[Ordis]
After I had passed the pit I seemed to face an endless number of traps ranging from saws, rapidly smashing walls and a row of pendulum axes. With each trap that I passed it seemed like the traps were starting to get harder and more frequent than before. "Alright maze what do you have for me now." I said to no one in particular as I walked around a corner. As soon as I was past the corner the path behind me slammed shut as a hidden slot in the wall opened. Out of the slot came a giant suit of iron armor with a stone broadsword in each of it's hands. Before I could react the armor suddenly leaped forward and brought both of his swords down in an attempt to crush me. Raising my new arm I brace myself as the swords impact with my arm, a small cloud of dust rising from the floor. "Is that all you got?" I taunted as I used my other arm to pull out my grenade launcher.
Quickly shoving my arm up I managed to push the armor back a few feet while I backed away. The armor collected itself before charging at me once again, this time swinging it's swords at my midsection. Jumping into the air the blades barely miss my feet before I slam both of my feet into his blades, breaking them both. As the armor drew it's now broken swords back I raised my grenade launcher and aimed it right at it's face. Pulling the trigger a satisfying *THUMP* sound comes from the launcher as the grenade is propelled into the armors face before exploding and and destroying the armors head. The armor stood straight for a few seconds before falling backwards onto the ground. Reloading my grenade launcher I give the armor one last look before proceeding through the path that had just opened.
As the walls closed behind me I grimaced as another competitor stood in my way. He seemed overconfident of himself as he pointed his short sword at me. "It looks like you shall be my opponent, prepare yourself!" With that the man yet out a battle cry and charged at me. When he got close to me he tried to slash at my throat but I simply ducked under his attack. As he finished his attack I swept his legs out from underneath him before quickly bringing my knee up into his back while he fell. He let out a silent scream as I cocked my fist back before punching him right in the face. There was a sickening crunch as his head slammed into the ground. Saying that his face looked like a bloody mess was an understatement, it was all mangled and bloody. "Meh, he'll be fine." I said as I ran through the path that had just opened.
As I was running down the path the floor suddenly shifted from dirt to stone as I came to split in the path. There were 2 paths each and I couldn't see that far down either of them. As I was thinking about which path to take my eyes suddenly caught sight of a familiar red headed female down the left path. "Hey Lucy! Hey! Hey!" She ignored all of my attempts to get her attention as she started to run down the left path. "Hey Lucy wait up!" I yelled as I ran after that, confused on why she would be ignoring me.
------------------------------
[Lucy]
"And stay down!" I said as I stomped on the head of a wolf. Whatever this maze was it was starting to annoy me with all these traps. Wiping the small amount of blood off of my sneaker I cracked my knuckles I continued down the stone corridor. As I stepped into a large stone room the wall behind me slammed shut behind me as a older looking girl walked in through the other side of the room. She was wearing a plate armor chest piece over what appeared to be a sweatshirt with a lightning deign on the sleeves. She had short blond hair, blue eyes and she was wearing a bandanna over her the bottom half of her face. Without saying a word she raised her right arm as blue energy started to crackle around her hand. "Oh crap!"
A blue bolt of lightning quickly shot from her hand as I rolled to the side to avoid the bolt. I came to a stop as I quickly conjured and threw a fireball onto the ground and commanded it to make a giant wall around me. As the flames masked what I was doing I conjured a clone of myself and masked myself as the flames died down. As my copy charged towards the girl I quickly snuck around the side while the girl shot another lightning bolt at my copy. As soon a the bolt touched my copy it exploded into dust as the girl looked confused. Quickly closing the distance between the girl and myself I drop my invisibility as I wrapped my arms around the girls waist. While lifting the girl up into the air I fell backwards causing her head to slam against the stone floor. Quickly slipping out from underneath her I raised my leg above my head and axe kicked her right in her chest plate. Even through the chest plate the force was enough to break a rib as she heaved before I drove my knee into the back of her head, knocking her out.
After I defeated the door the path that she came through opened up. Walking through my path the path closes behind me as I walked down the path. As I was wondering how long I would have to continue I saw Ordis of all people standing down the path with his back to me. "Yo Ordis how are you holding up?" I asked him but he didn't answer me. Instead he took off running down the path without even so much as a hello. "Hey don't ignore me!" I yelled as I ran after him down the hallway.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1 Year ago the military was on the losing side of the war. All seemed bleak until one soldier brought a penguin in to training. They had trained that penguin in the use of explosives and sent him out into the field. They had thought that they had won but the agent went rouge. Now he only lives on as a legend, the legend of ShotgunPenguin.
It had been five minutes since I entered the maze, and I've cheated death more times in here than the amount of chicken sandwiches I eat in a week. Whoever's running this tournament apparently wants nothing but the best from his contestants.
"TO THE RIGHT," Kaiser warned me.
In a split second, I dove forward and narrowly avoided literally being eaten by the wall. From the wall behind me emerged a monstrous set of jowls with teeth bigger than I was. It snapped shut in the middle of the hall, precisely where I used to be, and then retreated back into the wall. "Well... that was a thing," I muttered as I continued onward.
I turned a corner and stopped cold when I saw another person in the room. Without a second thought, she charged straight toward me with maddened fervor. I simply put my hand outward, blowing her clean across the hall and even knocking her through the wall on the other side of the room. But unlike what I expected, she just got up and started charging again.
I could sense that she wielded Rage Magic - an incredibly powerful subset of magic if wielded properly, but dangerous to the caster itself. Channeling Rage Magic utilizes the user's sanity as a catalyst to fuel the spell, and if used for a prolonged period of time it can drive them completely insane. Usually, waiting for a while to cast again can restore their sanity, but if used too much, they descend into utter lunacy. The payoff however is that these spells are incredibly powerful. Usually, they involve increasing physical abilities such as strength, resistance, or speed. Masters of the art can easily lift tanks or only receive a bruise from something that would easily crush bones. There are myriad applications for it, but it's a dangerous form of magic that many misuse and pay for.
She closed the distance between us faster than I expected, and all I could do was erect a shield. She threw a single punch and completely shattered the shield, knocking me back a ways and giving me a pretty gnarly black eye from, well, hitting me in the face.
I had enough. I formed a magical stasis field around her, freezing her in place. I then charged up magical energy in my hand, reaching its pinnacle at the end of my fist, and I threw a solid punch as hard as I could straight into her stomach.
Dispelling the stasis field as soon as the blow landed, my punch more than simply knocked the wind out of her. The amount of magical energy I had stored up in my fist... well, "scattered" her. She practically exploded as chunks of bone and tissue flew down the hallway and painted everything a dark red color.
"NICE HIT."
"Yeah, but she managed to land a nasty hit."
"WHY DID YOU UNDERESTIMATE HER?"
"What do you mean?"
"YOU HELD BACK. WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"
"Because I don't like to kill people. I only ever do it when necessary."
"SEEMED PRETTY NECESSARY RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING."
"Well, I also didn't realize she was using Rage Magic until the point where I blew her to kingdom come."
"REALLY? I RECOGNIZED IT ALMOST INSTANTLY."
"It seemed kind of familiar, but I couldn't quite place it."
"... EITHER WAY, YOUR ATTACK SEEMED TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE, JUDGING BY THE NEW COAT OF PAINT."
"We must call for aid! Executor, bring out the Reavers! ... What? What do you mean we don't have reavers anymore? Then... send the Dragoons! ... Ugh, then what do you suggest? ... What's a Void Ray?!" -Tassadar, Savior of the Templar
((Its not, Ninja, cause i dont mind, and i dont see a reason Zicka would deny the help.))
Zicka had kept perfectly still during the whole process. The Lightning god commented that he had been using an isolation barrier to keep Zicka from the pain of it all. He then said he was almost done, and released the isolation barrier. Zicka braced himself in case something went wrong, but he didnt need to.
Zicka had been healed fully. Not only that, but his magic stores seemed to have refilled instantly. He couldnt help but laugh a little. "Thank you so much, Tobias." Zicka said as he gave a small bow. "Is there anything i can do to return the favor?" With both the surgery and the restoration of his magic, Zicka had forgotten completely about the tournament.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Puella Magi Madoka Magicka is an awesome, feel-good, cutesy anime. You should watch it!
(( Approved. In all likeliness, I'll stick everyone in a brackets' names into a randomized and we'll settle it that way. ))
[Tobias]
"Northern Mountains... I've been there a few times, I guess. I'm a collector of sorts." I answered, with a shrug. When Zicka explained his issue, I rubbed my chin a bit. It was a bit perplexing — a variant of Magic Withdraw that completely prevented regeneration. It could be a case of an injured Arcolia, a very tiny organ in the abdomen that acted as a sort of tether between your physical body and magic. If it was a minor injury, then it would heal after a week or two. If it was major, as most cases are, then the user would be completely incapable of using magic. For a Fallen Angel, that means certain death. Angels were less likely to injure their Arcolia, though. This puzzle was quite amusing, up until I determined the most likely scenario. If corrupted energy had managed to glaze over the Arcolia, then all of Zicka's current issues could be easily explained.
"When you open a bottle of champagne, you must first remove the cork. Trying to remove the cork by pushing it further in is stupid — you need a way to push it out." I explained, using the form of a metaphor to explain my thoughts. "You could use a corkscrew, break off the neck of the bottle, or have enough built up pressure on the bottle to pop off the cork." Unfortunately, I couldn't help him much more. I had no idea how to use magic when you had nothing in the tank.
((Excellent. This is going to be FUN.))
[Takranos]
That man back there. The one in the black trench coat... I swear, I recognized him from somewhere. I just don't know where from. Still, he's obviously here for the tournament, so I might be able to face him.
"YOU'RE AWFULLY QUIET, TAKRANOS. THAT'S NOT LIKE YOU," Kaiser said to me.
"I know, right? But that man back there, in the black trench coat. Do you recognize him from somewhere?" I replied telepathically.
"I... I DO RECOGNIZE HIM. OR AT LEAST, HE REMINDS ME OF SOMEONE I RECOGNIZE. OF COURSE, IT'S NOT LIKE THIS MAN IS THE SAME PERSON."
"Hm. Interesting," I thought as I purchased a chicken sandwich from one of the local vendors.
"We must call for aid! Executor, bring out the Reavers! ... What? What do you mean we don't have reavers anymore? Then... send the Dragoons! ... Ugh, then what do you suggest? ... What's a Void Ray?!" -Tassadar, Savior of the Templar
(( This thread has a legacy of cheating death. Heck, several characters from the Original WOTD cheated death. It really has been a long journey hasn't it? Through that single thread, I learned almost every skill for Roleplaying I use today. I'm glad that all of you guys joined up for this wild adventurer, most of you having been part of the Original as well as the Rebirth. ))
((THE CHICKEN MAN IS BACK?
))
((Like others in this thread, the terrors of the American educational system are crippling my ability to post. I'll make it work, though.))
[Garrett]
WHAM!
I slammed into the ground with an audible noise. The rift above that I came through fizzled back out of existence as I pulled myself up from a crouch. I had used both Tobes' aura and the increasing concentration of magically potent individuals to find this location and create a rift to here. I took a look around, examining the stadium which Tobes had set up. It was basically a really big complex of stone.
What caught my attention was the door. It was a simple rectangle topped by a semicircle. I couldn't help but grin. I knew there was a challenge ahead, and there was very little I enjoyed more than a good fight. I am Dimitri's child, after all. Speaking of "family", though she hated me, I never let Kalila get under my skin. I cared as little for her as she did for me. But I digress - that's a story for another time.
[Ivan]
I approached the massive structure with my loyal robot at my side. I was probably as strange a sight as ever to most - a gas mask, pendant, and death machine pet. It was made of stone and really big. I would go into further detail, but I typically don't find large quantities of rock to be particularly interesting. Something else was on my mind, and it had been for the past couple of days.
I was thinking - what was really the motive behind this tournament? It didn't take a genius to figure out that someone ludicrously powerful was hosting this tournament. The odds of the host being human were slim. Then there was the claimed motive - to organize and elite group to wipe out the Tainted. But wouldn't a huge army be better for taking on such a large force? The Tainted were most likely not a factor to whoever this was, and I couldn't help but feel that this "elite group" was to serve a different purpose that had no benefit for humanity.
If that was the case, I wanted to be at ground zero. If the plan would somehow bring harm to humanity, I would rip the operation apart from the inside. Getting there would be tough - no doubt the competition would be stiff, but I was confident that I could take them all. I had tools that nobody else had. I could easily take on any lunk who relied on strength alone, and I was more than properly equipped to deal with mages. I felt confident going in, and that was important. It wasn't cockiness - arrogance was far out of the picture, but in order to battle properly, some level of confidence is required.
There's no kill like overkill.
((HE IS HERE TO ANSWER THE CALL, BEWARE ALL OF THOSE WHO OPPOSE HIS REIGN BECAUSE HERE COMES THE ONE, THE ONLY, CHICKEN MAN!!))
[Ordis]
"I guess this is where we part ways, at least for now." I said to Lucy as I stood at one of the labyrinth's entrances while she stood a few entrances away from me. "Yeah I guess it is. Try not to get eliminated in the first fight." She said. Nodding my head I turn back to the entrance and remove my pistol from it's holster. "Alright Ordis it's time to shine. I thought as I entered the labyrinth.
The stone grey walls flanked me as I walked down the path. Keeping an eye out for other competitors I take a right in the path and I'm confused to see a dead end. "Wait why would the only path I can take have a dead end?" I asked out loud as I turned around to retrace my steps. However that would be hard considering that a giant pit had suddenly appeared in the path. "Wait, what?" I asked once again as I examined the pit. I couldn't see the bottom of the pit and it didn't look like an illusion which instantly raised some ref flags in my head. "Alright so I guess other competitors aren't the only thing that I have to watch out for." I said as I took a few steps back. Getting a running start I run next to the wall to my right and just before I reached the pit I jumped and planted my feet onto the wall. Pushing off of the wall I flew forward a bit before repeating what i had just did on the other wall. Jumping back and forth between them I pushed off of the wall a final time before I landed on the other side of the pit. "Man I wonder if Lucy is going to have to deal with something like this?" I asked myself as I continued down the corridor
----------------------------
[Lucy]
Okay so almost falling to my doom was not something that was high on my list of things to do. Neither was almost getting crushed by the walls, or almost breaking my nose when I walked into a wall. Okay so the last one might have been my fault but still, this was no ordinary maze. It was quickly apparent that the maze was shifting, constantly changing it's self and the obstacles that were inside of it.
Walking through the stone hallways I came across a path that split itself into 4 different paths. Each of the paths looked the same but it was obvious that each path held something different than the other. Deciding to take the path that split to my right I looked behind me as I walked down the path, the wall behind me sealing itself after I had chosen it. Turning my head forward I narrowly dodge a saw blade that was launched in front of me. "Oh crap!" I yelled as multiple saw blades suddenly shot out from the walls, each of them going off in unpredictable patterns before a new set was launched. Running forward i ducked beneath one of the saws before jumping into the air while tucking in my knees to avoid another one. I rolled as I landed which helped me evade yet another saw. After a few more minutes of running the saw gauntlet I turned a corner and pressed my back against the wall as I waited for the path behind me to change.
After a few seconds I peeked my head out of my cover and sighed as the path behind me was now replaced with a giant pit. "Well at least that's over." I said as I started to walk down the path. "I wonder how Ordis is holding up?"
(( That video is, quite literally, the most important part of WOTD. ))
[Demi]
I may have arrived a bit later than I intended. I wanted, if all things in this world were perfectly normal, to get to the Tournament prior to the massive wave of contestants. Getting Tobias alone in order to talk with him would have been nice, but I couldn't detect his presence. He had to be nearby, but I found it to be easier to just enter the labyrinth post haste. The doorway sealed behind me once I stepped through an arched entrance. Although it could have just been my nerves acting up, it felt as if the maze itself was probing me, perhaps to measure my strength. If that was what it wanted, so be it.
"Mare Flammarum." I declared, the name of the spell being a fairly simple incantation. It was the first spell that I had ever created, but it was a collaborative project between myself and Tobes. He found a way to combine a Water Creation spell, which had an obvious Water Affinity, and my Fire Affinity, thus creating a flood of fire. It wasn't that practical, since the flames acted like a liquid and were affected by gravity, but it would do nicely in a scenario where I was in a small corridor, such as my current one. I kept it continuously casting at a rate that would education how much I regenerated, but I was still in the black. I began to make my way through the fire, unphased by the heat, untouched by it's destructive tongues.
[Takranos]
After finishing the last bite of my chicken sandwich, I looked towards one of the entrances to the labyrinth and smiled. Clenching my fist, I boldly stepped into the maze, jumping slightly as the wall snapped shut and sealed me in. "I don't even need to ask if you're ready, do I?" I asked Kaiser.
"OF COURSE NOT. IT'S NOT LIKE I HAVE MUCH OF A CHOICE, DO I?"
"Of course you do. But you'd normally raise concerns if you feel hesitant. You didn't."
"FAIR ENOUGH."
I took a few steps forward, and just like that the traps had been strung. A series of spikes instantly jutted out of the walls in all directions, and the wall behind me started closing in. I quickly ran through the gauntlet of spike traps, hearing the sharp SHING of each spike extending and retracting behind me. The wall behind me closed in quickly, but I made it through the corridor of spikes before it closed and leaped to one side into another hall before I was crushed. "Hah! That can't be IT, can it? That was almost disappointing!" I said boastfully.
Almost on cue, the entire corridor was overcome with a hot orange glow as the floor gave out, leaving only a cavern of molten magma underneath me. I anchored myself on each wall to keep myself from, well, being incinerated. "... Apparently that's not it," I said as a drop of sweat fell from my brow.
"AND I WAS THE ONE WHO NEEDED TO BE ASKED ABOUT SECOND THOUGHTS?"
"Hey, I've faced far worse than this. Remember that battle against the Tainted ice dragon that froze an entire island?"
"AH YES, THAT."
"And the raid on that fleet of skyships?"
"THAT ONE WAS FUN."
"And that one birthday party with the inflatable-"
"I THOUGHT WE WEREN'T GOING TO BRING THAT ONE UP EVER AGAIN."
"Sorry."
I then kicked myself off the wall and placed my feet flat against the back of the corridor. I then made an explosion at my feet and launched myself forward, spinning through the air like a tomahawk before landing on the other side of the chasm on one knee, in quite possibly the most awesome landing pose ever.
"SHOWOFF."
"Duh. That's kinda what I do on a regular basis."
"We must call for aid! Executor, bring out the Reavers! ... What? What do you mean we don't have reavers anymore? Then... send the Dragoons! ... Ugh, then what do you suggest? ... What's a Void Ray?!" -Tassadar, Savior of the Templar
((Yeah, the "Surprise! Gopher" is our mascot. And Obidion, 7th or 8th Grade?))
[Vlad]
Silence. Eternal and, in my opinion, quite annoying. However, I felt a tug. An external force, vast in nature. In my mind's eye, a flash of Lightning tore through my conscious. A surge of knowledge overwhelmed me, and I felt myself be swept away in a sea of power.
'Embryh Girhku Azdetn Šrreache VIFHGUYS!!!'
A pulse of magic, beyond anything I'd ever felt before reverberated all around me. The darkness was illuminated by intermittent flashes of light, and I smelled the scent of charred stone. Millennia of seals came unbound, and Solaire's Magic was banished from my prison. For the first time in centuries, I opened my eyes. It was time.
The man then said he had visited the mountains a few times. Perhaps that was it. He then proceeded to use a metaphor for Zicka's magic problem. It confused Zicka, though he got a general idea of what he meant. Building up pressure was not an option, there was nothing there to begin with. The other two options suggested that perhaps there was a physical problem at play.
Unfortunately, these ideas were not helpful. Zicka didnt know what was meant or what to infer from them. "I understand that last one..." Zicka said. "But the first two confuse me. They seem to imply that something is wrong physically? Im sorry, but i must ask you to be more blunt." Zicka then paused for a half a moment. "Say, what's your name?" Perhaps Zicka would remember them if he knew their name.
((I shouldve posted last night, so much activity. But i had decided to wait cause i didnt want to tennis post. And btw, i will be much less active coming this Tuesday, thats when school starts for me.))
[Tobias]
"It's fairly simple. If your magic is blocked, then surgery is likely required. The 'corckscrew' method, which is fairly safe even if you wouldn't be able to produce even a spark of magic for weeks, is having a surgeon cut off a thin layer of a small organ — well, gland, really — and it should take out whatever is clogging your system." I explained. I had very little medical experience, but I had made it my duty ever since I injured myself with Tesla Cannon to learn medicinal magic. "The 'snap-the-bottle' method would be riskier, but it'd be more effective for short term requirements. A doctor could squeeze that organ, which would cause an immense amount of pain, but it would break up any crusted essence which could be your problem. The 'pressure' idea would require a bit more precise actions of a doctor were to do it. A tiny incision would be cut into the organ and then a burst of energy would be created from within by an external source."
I couldn't tell him about the risk of that last scenario. Depending on how long his tank was clogged, it could be shriveled like a large raisin. A small cut in the Arcolia for a Fallen Angel wouldn't be too risky, but the compact tissue created if it was shriveled would make it much worse. It's the same reason that if you draw a smiley face on a balloon, then inflate it, the face becomes warped. Plus an unhealthy Arcolia would crumble if it was blasted against. That isn't even accounting for the physical pain that would occur. All in all, that method would be insane, but if he wanted to compete, it was his only option.
"My name," I said, after thinking for a little bit, "is Tobias. If you didn't know me personally in Aer, it's unlikely you'll remember. My name was made taboo once I left."
[Ronin]
I stepped foot inside the maze, and as soon as the wall shut behind me the entire room filled with fog. My eyes scanned the room slowly and cautiously, carefully observing the room. I lit a small fire in my hand to light the way, but that was clearly a mistake. The instant I started that fire, the fog was ignited and the very air filled with fire.
"Ah crap," I thought as I ran as fast as I could to outrun the flames. The bottom of my coat caught fire as the flames whipped at my feet. As I ran, I constructed spires of ice that the fire would have to melt through. Unfortunately, that didn't do much. It probably would have been more effective to erect towers of butter. The flames were insatiable and unstoppable.
I turned a corner and all of a sudden it turned from blisteringly hot to horribly cold. I looked behind me and found that I was now outrunning a whirling blizzard that was hurling large chunks of ice in my direction. "Oh, come on!" I shouted in thought.
"We must call for aid! Executor, bring out the Reavers! ... What? What do you mean we don't have reavers anymore? Then... send the Dragoons! ... Ugh, then what do you suggest? ... What's a Void Ray?!" -Tassadar, Savior of the Templar
Zicka listened as the man explained what he had meant. Apparently there was a small organ in Fallen Angels that maintained a connection to magic, and Zicka's mustve been damaged. He had no idea that this organ even existed. The man then suggested a few different potential ways of curing it. One included applying pressure, another taking off a layer, and an incision followed by an energy dump.
But Zicka's mind was taken off of these things when he learned the name of the man- Tobias. Zicka paused a moment at this, shocked. "T-The lightning god, Tobias? ...No, i dont know you personally, but i knew of you, and that you left Aer some time before i did." Zicka took a breath and turned to the giant labyrinth. "I guess that explains why you had such a massive aura, and how you managed to build this. I had thought that it was a few very powerful people at the same time generating that aura... but that raises another question- how did you bypass the barrier in Aer that weakens everyone who leaves?"
[Vlad]
As the light dwindled down, I took in my surroundings. As my eyes glazed over the labyrinth, I felt a familiar well of energy. Probing it lightly with my magic, the sanguine energy I was composed of was rebuked enormously. A strategic retreat was my attempt, but the energy kept coming. It was just... Colossal! A paragon of magical energy, so utterly infinite it was like dipping my toes in an ocean, and I was just a dying planet swirling in a nebulous Galaxy. I felt electricity pulse through my body. My arm snapped backward 90° as a bolt of lightning tore through tendon and muscle. Arcing upward, my flesh corroded away like someone threw acid at me. An odd siren filled my ears, as the onyx cavity in my chest gradually spread open. My ribs started cracking, and I believe my appendix partially slipped out.
Thirteen and a half seconds passed. My breathing remained even, my eyes shone with conviction, and I was consumed in a cloak of blood. Hardly a moment later, I emerged from my cocoon, totally fine. The perks of being an ancient entity only exceeded by the gods themselves. I had made quite a scene, it seems. With a pulse of magic, I identified eight of my children amongst the maze. Scarlet strings connected them to be, some a darker shade than others. I wonder where Lupe is? I'll get him after the Stormbringer's game is finished. Magic flared around me, and I disappeared in a spiral of biomatter.
[Alice]
Darkness. Just an empty, abysmal void. Surprisingly, she was feeling roughly the same. Instead of rage boiling under her skin like freshly-boiled iron, she just felt pangs of regret throughout her being. Lifting a violet claw to my head, I was careful not to struggle in my cuffs. The last time made me lose 20% of my magic, so I figured if I wanted to ever be free, I'll need as much power as I can muster. Pulling a shadowy tuft of hair out of my eyes, three Crimson irises rapidly examined my surroundings for me. I had gotten a bit... Out of control.
After continuously consuming the Tainted, I had... Evolved? A metamorphosis occurred, is my point. Then, I lost it. I won't go into detail, but let's just say at least a dozen contestants have already been "eliminated". But then, the Stormbringer intervened. With a wag of his finger and a smack on the wrist, I was shackled, isolated, and imprisoned. It took eight seconds. And now, I've been bound below. Maybe he'll bring me out later, maybe not. For now, my most pressing issue is to return to my, more attractive physique.
[Tobias]
"Yeah, I was pretty popular until I left." I replied, looking away to reflect on the beautiful past I had thrown away for a chance to grow even more powerful, to learn all this world could provide, and to surpass all of my superiors. If I remained in Aer, then Fiora would have grown to be far stronger than even Quincy was. It was a real shame that he passed. Without a doubt, his murderer would be here. I just needed to know who. "For leaving Aer... That's a bit of a tricky subject. I exchanged my ability to sleep in order to be taught a spell, that will allow me to bypass the Aerial Barrier. I can't cast it in Eternia because the spell only works with a certain amount of essence in the air. There is nowhere on this planet with an atmosphere with a high enough ratio of essence to air to cast it."
I had left Aer years and years ago, but I hadn't slept a single moment of it. It had been convenient at times, as I was never able to be rendered unconscious, but it still felt like a hefty price to leave the prison-like dimension.
[Fiora]
Running along the winding path was fatiguing and bothersome, with having to dodge traps and the like added on. Monsters created to test every attribute of my existence were put before me, standing in my way. Each and every one was destroyed without fail. Frankly, I was quite disappointed with my brother's creatures; I knew if he was capable of creating this arena within a week, he could easily bring to life some sort of demon to pose a challenge. The darkness that sat behind grew larger as I traveled, that which was ahead diminished into the light of a torch. All I could think about was finding Tobes and... I don't know. What would I do with him if I were to find him? Ask how he left Aer? Ask why? Slap him? Little did I know that my chance was just ahead. A large clearing appeared, nearly out of the blue. The interior was that of a wooden building with foam floor mats, the walls decorated with elaborated tapestries of battle scenes.
"I hope you don't mind the decor, I figured having our old training grounds be our confrontation would be suitable." Tobias said, sitting on a crate containing weaponry of all sorts. His hair had, oddly, turned a white color, which contrasted greatly with our formerly shard black hair. We were really brunettes, but he accidentally managed to cover himself in black paint when we were little and it never washed out, so I dyed my hair to match. It was a running joke between us, but I guess that's over now. "I'm not really here, this is just a trick I picked up. By spending a bit of magic energy every few seconds to maintain it, I can have a duplicate version of myself here. When it fade away, it will bring me it's memories. I have yet to fully master it, so all it takes is a simple touch to make it disappear. Getting past will not be easy — you must first defeat my effigy. It can, however, tap into my actual reserves.
"So all I have to do is touch you and I can get by?" I asked, activating Godspeed. This would be a sinch.
"It won't be that easy." The clone of my brother said in the stolen voice, standing behind me and whispering in my ear. How he had gotten behind me without me ever noticing his movement was beyond what I could imagine. "I invented this spell. I can travel at just barely below light speed."
"Never being able to sleep?" Zicka said. "So, you're never able to dream? A blessing and a curse at the same time, i suppose." Zicka then paused a moment. Perhaps, he had never passed the barrier? Maybe the spell made it funnel around him... no, it would break long before reaching this dimension. Perhaps he made a hole? Possible... In any case, Tobias wasnt going to share any specifics.
Then Zicka remembered his original question. "Well, is it possible for you to heal me?" Zicka asked. "If it isnt too much of a bother." Zicka had become a little fearful of Tobias once he learned his identity. Not exactly fear, more like a healthy respect. In any case, Zicka did not want to offend Tobias. Zicka then went through the list of ways Tobias had suggested of healing him in his head, waiting for an answer.
[Ivan]
I walked through the stone labyrinth without much excitement at all. I could hear the noises of the other contestants through the walls. They were busy facing whatever challenges the maze threw their way. Bloodhound and I, on the other hand, just kept walking and walking and walking. Honestly, it was rather boring. It was as though my challenge was mental rather than physical. I didn't mind, though. Based on what I was hearing through the walls, I could infer that I had it easy. I continued my trek through the structure, more or less waiting for the hike to end.
[Garrett]
My trip through the labyrinth was going swimmingly. The traps were all easy to avoid or just didn't affect me in the first place. I was blazing through at ludicrous speed without expending really any effort. It was about that point that I saw him. There might not have been anything I hated more in the world then Titaint. I knew it wasn't really Titaint, but just his appearance had me breathing embers. I don't know how long I stood there in silence.
And then, the next thing I knew, he was gone and I had my sword in the wall. Surprised by my actions, I stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. I can't afford to lose control of myself like that at any point in time, let alone if I were to confront Titaint again. I pulled my blade out of the wall and continued down the corridor.
There's no kill like overkill.
(( Super sorry for holding you up, Scarf. I also hope you forgive the PowerGaming going on in this post, if you'do consider it that. CJ, I just want to remind you that the Labyrinth, while being made of magic and stone, is indeed a "living entity". It's sort of like an incredibly intelligent Golem or Construct. Rani stabbing it won't be very good for him. ))
[Tobias]
"Ah, so it's been working." I commented when Zicka asked if I was able to heal him. He had come to the perfect person, especially after I had been studying and tinkering around with various medicinal magics. "I am currently using something called an Isolation Barrier. It is a sort of force field that will disconnect a segment of space from where it should be. However, anything effected by the barrier will not notice a difference until it is dissolved. I'm able to use a bit of magic energy as a sort of puppet to perform all three surgeries at once. It would be easier in me to not use the Isolation Barrier due to it's cost, but the pain would be so overwhelming that you'd likely develop mental issues. I'm close to being finished."
While I was trying to remain cool and calm, I was really working up a sweat. My arcane surgeon technique was using concepts such as a needle formed from energy to not cause any pain to Zicka. Inside the Isolation Barrier, his Arcolia was being gently cut open with a steady flow of healing pulses being fed into it to balance with the more harmful waves that were being used to unclog his system and being softly squeezed to help break up the built up gunk, all while another set of hands was slicing off larger packets of waste. It was quite a task, but if I couldn't do it, nobody would be able to perform this surgery. The deed, after several secretive minutes of precise maneuvering, was done. And I doubted he knew until I told him. I continued to push regenerative energy into his system to relieve any possibly pain and, hopefully, jump start his magic energy.
"I'm going to lift the Isloation Barrier now. If the surgery worked, then you'll be all set. It'll be pretty obvious if it did, because if it doesn't, you'll be screaming your head off." I added, nonchalantly.
[Fiora]
"HOLD STILL!" I shouted, chasing my brother at what would seem like instanteous movement to anybody watching. No matter how quickly I could manuever around, the clone was always faster. It wasn't obvious at first, but I soon realized how slow I was in comparison. I was pursuing his afterimage. The real fake Tobias was following me. "Stop playing games, you butt head."
"C'mon, all you have to do is touch me. Heck, you can use spells or your staff if you' do refer." He replied, appearing back on the weaponry crate. He had given me the perfect idea. He said he could move fast, but not as quickly as light. Lightning, however, travels at the speed of light, so it was worth a shot. Opening up my palm, I began generating a massive amount of electricity in a ball shape. It was highly unstable which was exactly what I wanted. The less predictable my attack was, the less likely he'd be able to dodge. I released a shotgun like burst of energy, which ricocheted off the walls. I figured I had won when a distinct laughter broke the silence. "I liked that." the clone said, calming down. "You actually made me use it. Ever since I left Aer, I decided that every technique I had was weak and required improvement. I present to you..
"Godspeed: Warp Drive."
((Once again I apologize for not posting in a while. High school's taking more out of me than I thought it would.))
[Ordis]
After I had passed the pit I seemed to face an endless number of traps ranging from saws, rapidly smashing walls and a row of pendulum axes. With each trap that I passed it seemed like the traps were starting to get harder and more frequent than before. "Alright maze what do you have for me now." I said to no one in particular as I walked around a corner. As soon as I was past the corner the path behind me slammed shut as a hidden slot in the wall opened. Out of the slot came a giant suit of iron armor with a stone broadsword in each of it's hands. Before I could react the armor suddenly leaped forward and brought both of his swords down in an attempt to crush me. Raising my new arm I brace myself as the swords impact with my arm, a small cloud of dust rising from the floor. "Is that all you got?" I taunted as I used my other arm to pull out my grenade launcher.
Quickly shoving my arm up I managed to push the armor back a few feet while I backed away. The armor collected itself before charging at me once again, this time swinging it's swords at my midsection. Jumping into the air the blades barely miss my feet before I slam both of my feet into his blades, breaking them both. As the armor drew it's now broken swords back I raised my grenade launcher and aimed it right at it's face. Pulling the trigger a satisfying *THUMP* sound comes from the launcher as the grenade is propelled into the armors face before exploding and and destroying the armors head. The armor stood straight for a few seconds before falling backwards onto the ground. Reloading my grenade launcher I give the armor one last look before proceeding through the path that had just opened.
As the walls closed behind me I grimaced as another competitor stood in my way. He seemed overconfident of himself as he pointed his short sword at me. "It looks like you shall be my opponent, prepare yourself!" With that the man yet out a battle cry and charged at me. When he got close to me he tried to slash at my throat but I simply ducked under his attack. As he finished his attack I swept his legs out from underneath him before quickly bringing my knee up into his back while he fell. He let out a silent scream as I cocked my fist back before punching him right in the face. There was a sickening crunch as his head slammed into the ground. Saying that his face looked like a bloody mess was an understatement, it was all mangled and bloody. "Meh, he'll be fine." I said as I ran through the path that had just opened.
As I was running down the path the floor suddenly shifted from dirt to stone as I came to split in the path. There were 2 paths each and I couldn't see that far down either of them. As I was thinking about which path to take my eyes suddenly caught sight of a familiar red headed female down the left path. "Hey Lucy! Hey! Hey!" She ignored all of my attempts to get her attention as she started to run down the left path. "Hey Lucy wait up!" I yelled as I ran after that, confused on why she would be ignoring me.
------------------------------
[Lucy]
"And stay down!" I said as I stomped on the head of a wolf. Whatever this maze was it was starting to annoy me with all these traps. Wiping the small amount of blood off of my sneaker I cracked my knuckles I continued down the stone corridor. As I stepped into a large stone room the wall behind me slammed shut behind me as a older looking girl walked in through the other side of the room. She was wearing a plate armor chest piece over what appeared to be a sweatshirt with a lightning deign on the sleeves. She had short blond hair, blue eyes and she was wearing a bandanna over her the bottom half of her face. Without saying a word she raised her right arm as blue energy started to crackle around her hand. "Oh crap!"
A blue bolt of lightning quickly shot from her hand as I rolled to the side to avoid the bolt. I came to a stop as I quickly conjured and threw a fireball onto the ground and commanded it to make a giant wall around me. As the flames masked what I was doing I conjured a clone of myself and masked myself as the flames died down. As my copy charged towards the girl I quickly snuck around the side while the girl shot another lightning bolt at my copy. As soon a the bolt touched my copy it exploded into dust as the girl looked confused. Quickly closing the distance between the girl and myself I drop my invisibility as I wrapped my arms around the girls waist. While lifting the girl up into the air I fell backwards causing her head to slam against the stone floor. Quickly slipping out from underneath her I raised my leg above my head and axe kicked her right in her chest plate. Even through the chest plate the force was enough to break a rib as she heaved before I drove my knee into the back of her head, knocking her out.
After I defeated the door the path that she came through opened up. Walking through my path the path closes behind me as I walked down the path. As I was wondering how long I would have to continue I saw Ordis of all people standing down the path with his back to me. "Yo Ordis how are you holding up?" I asked him but he didn't answer me. Instead he took off running down the path without even so much as a hello. "Hey don't ignore me!" I yelled as I ran after him down the hallway.
[Takranos]
It had been five minutes since I entered the maze, and I've cheated death more times in here than the amount of chicken sandwiches I eat in a week. Whoever's running this tournament apparently wants nothing but the best from his contestants.
"TO THE RIGHT," Kaiser warned me.
In a split second, I dove forward and narrowly avoided literally being eaten by the wall. From the wall behind me emerged a monstrous set of jowls with teeth bigger than I was. It snapped shut in the middle of the hall, precisely where I used to be, and then retreated back into the wall. "Well... that was a thing," I muttered as I continued onward.
I turned a corner and stopped cold when I saw another person in the room. Without a second thought, she charged straight toward me with maddened fervor. I simply put my hand outward, blowing her clean across the hall and even knocking her through the wall on the other side of the room. But unlike what I expected, she just got up and started charging again.
I could sense that she wielded Rage Magic - an incredibly powerful subset of magic if wielded properly, but dangerous to the caster itself. Channeling Rage Magic utilizes the user's sanity as a catalyst to fuel the spell, and if used for a prolonged period of time it can drive them completely insane. Usually, waiting for a while to cast again can restore their sanity, but if used too much, they descend into utter lunacy. The payoff however is that these spells are incredibly powerful. Usually, they involve increasing physical abilities such as strength, resistance, or speed. Masters of the art can easily lift tanks or only receive a bruise from something that would easily crush bones. There are myriad applications for it, but it's a dangerous form of magic that many misuse and pay for.
She closed the distance between us faster than I expected, and all I could do was erect a shield. She threw a single punch and completely shattered the shield, knocking me back a ways and giving me a pretty gnarly black eye from, well, hitting me in the face.
I had enough. I formed a magical stasis field around her, freezing her in place. I then charged up magical energy in my hand, reaching its pinnacle at the end of my fist, and I threw a solid punch as hard as I could straight into her stomach.
Dispelling the stasis field as soon as the blow landed, my punch more than simply knocked the wind out of her. The amount of magical energy I had stored up in my fist... well, "scattered" her. She practically exploded as chunks of bone and tissue flew down the hallway and painted everything a dark red color.
"NICE HIT."
"Yeah, but she managed to land a nasty hit."
"WHY DID YOU UNDERESTIMATE HER?"
"What do you mean?"
"YOU HELD BACK. WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"
"Because I don't like to kill people. I only ever do it when necessary."
"SEEMED PRETTY NECESSARY RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING."
"Well, I also didn't realize she was using Rage Magic until the point where I blew her to kingdom come."
"REALLY? I RECOGNIZED IT ALMOST INSTANTLY."
"It seemed kind of familiar, but I couldn't quite place it."
"... EITHER WAY, YOUR ATTACK SEEMED TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE, JUDGING BY THE NEW COAT OF PAINT."
I agreed.
"We must call for aid! Executor, bring out the Reavers! ... What? What do you mean we don't have reavers anymore? Then... send the Dragoons! ... Ugh, then what do you suggest? ... What's a Void Ray?!" -Tassadar, Savior of the Templar
((Its not, Ninja, cause i dont mind, and i dont see a reason Zicka would deny the help.))
Zicka had kept perfectly still during the whole process. The Lightning god commented that he had been using an isolation barrier to keep Zicka from the pain of it all. He then said he was almost done, and released the isolation barrier. Zicka braced himself in case something went wrong, but he didnt need to.
Zicka had been healed fully. Not only that, but his magic stores seemed to have refilled instantly. He couldnt help but laugh a little. "Thank you so much, Tobias." Zicka said as he gave a small bow. "Is there anything i can do to return the favor?" With both the surgery and the restoration of his magic, Zicka had forgotten completely about the tournament.