If both duelists involved would kindly let me know that they are ready, this duel can begin. If one of the dueling parties does not report in (ready or otherwise) before Wednesday [2/27/2013], they will forfeit the match. If neither report in, both will forfeit.

Whether you are ready or not, please make it known in an ((OOC)) post here in this thread.

This duel concluded [3/3/2013] with Nathan Traveler as the victor by judicial vote.

743165
((Ready and able!))

743165
((Snowfall reporting in.))

743191, 743241
((I am opening this duel. You may now fight one another. Please follow this link to see the list of judges.

You must conclude your duel, either by killing blow (judge's rule), forfeit, or voting decision. A vote will be held by default in the event that the duel is not completed by 12:00 a.m. [-5:00 GMT] on Saturday [3/2/2013].

Special Arena Rules:
For this arena, the environment is literally as much your enemy as your opponent. Anything you touch besides the ground itself will damage your character, sapping 3% of all your stats (HP, Stamina, Mana) for each turn you are in contact with the object. This means that touching trees, rocks, anything, will do this to you if it is part of the arena and not your equipment. It must touch you directly.

In addition, your characters are fully isolated, and the lighting is reduced to a dim, purplish magical glow. Sunlight is not possible, and any light characters try to generate themselves (torches, light from spells, sparks) will invariably fail. This means that, even if you conjured a fireball, it would not show up except as a roiling, dim mass of purplish light.

Have fun, and fight with honor!))

Aurus rose from his seat, and the expected hush followed. The eager quiet of excitement, however, quickly faded into the dead silence of worry and confusion, for the normally pleasant expression on Aurus' face was grim, like the darkening on the horizon before a terrible storm. He did not seem angry, or wrathful, but much in his expression bore the signs of something dire soon to come.

"Today is a glorious occasion," he said, and though his words were uplifting, the grim severity of his expression did not change, casting his words in a different light. "The four before us have bested many trials, few more mighty than one another. There is little in this world that could further try their fortitude. But there are still places in this world where the Light will not reach, places where any creature with life still in them would fear to tread."

"Places so grim that I dare not send you there to do battle, for I could not protect you if I did," Aurus admitted gravely. "I once entered that place myself, and left barely alive. I do not envy you your next arena, Champions of Unity, for it comes darkly from my memory. I will conjure it for you here, for all to see... but once the battle has begun, you will not be able to hear the crowd's roars, nor feel the comfort of the sun until it ends."

Aurus turned his voice unexpectedly upon the crowd. "Try as you might, no matter what you see in this arena, the combatants will not be able to hear you," he said with surety. "They will fight alone in the same dark place I once fought in for my very life. I cannot send them to their death, but I can bring that terrible place here, in all it's inglorious nature," he said, his eyes glowing with magic suddenly.

"Prepare yourselves, Snowfall and Ferris... For today you will fight in the Fall of the World. The ancient, ruined empire of the Amethyst dragons... Ghindrav. And there, the terrible magics that tore that mighty world asunder will test you more thoroughly than anything else in your existence."

The place came into being in a flash, the ground seething and roiling as Aurus magic built that terrible, cursed place from equally cursed memories, leaving the duelists alone in the dead silence of that dark ruin.

743822>>743191
Snowfall stood outside the entrance to the arena, calming herself for her next match. It was difficult. Far more difficult than it should have been.

She wasn't afraid of her opponent, not even close. Rather, she was angry. In his last match, Ferris had betrayed many of the tenets that she held most dear in order to secure victory. He placed his position in the area higher than the trust and faith of somepony who called him "friend". She would show him the error he committed that day; exactly what he had lost in order to claim a hollow victory.

As the King's voice finished his entrance speech, she nodded to the changeling at the gate, signaling him to open it for her entry.

As the gates opened and she took her first steps out onto the field......she smiled. The bleak terrain of jagged rocks and broken crystal spires, the tiny creek that seemed to be barely moving, if it even was at all, the dim light casting everything into ominous shadow.

It was perfect.

"Some ponies fear what lurks in the dark. Some choose to become one of those lurkers in order to hide their fear. But the Night Guard walks there willingly to show the monsters that hide there that even they have things to fear." As she reached the center of the arena, standing in a relatively clear space in the shattered terrain, she turned to face the direction where she knew her princess would be, giving her customary salute flowing into a deep bow.

She rose and turned to face the opposite entrance, awaiting her opponent, her dark midnight armor seeming to make her just another one of the shadows in the dim purple light.

743893

Wherever the light falls, so too must a shadow appear. This was an ancient principle of all monks; the belief that all of nature must have a balance to it. Where life was, one could see the destruction it had grown from. Fire would burn a forest to nothing more than ash, and the cold rain would wash it away. All had an equal; all had an opposite. This was simply life, and nothing more.

And as Ferris stepped into the darkness of the arena, he felt a shiver go up his spine. At the sight of the haunting grounds before him, the monk bowed his head in silent respect for the lives that had been lost in what must have once been a beautiful paradise. If this was but a memory, the Jade Dog would have been hesitant to see what horrors the true ruins held. Out of mourning for the lost, the monk found himself reciting an ancient chant, one that he had learned when he was but a pup.

"The candle flame can light the darkest hour.
The gentle wind can tame the fiercest sea.
The mighty stone can stand the test of time.
The tiny seed can grow an endless forest.
The Steel Paw can hold back the storm."

When the final word left his muzzle, the dog felt an old sense of comfort fall over him like a warm cloak in the cold months. His nerves steeled once again, Ferris Candle stepped into the arena, his head held high, and his spirit ready.

Seeing his opponent, he bowed respectfully towards her, completely unaware of her anger towards him. When he spoke, his voice was filled with kindness and sincerity, as he told her, "Hello, fellow champion. Name, Ferris Candle. Am please to be meeting you, in tournament. Very strong and wise to make it. May fight be one of honor and friendship!"

He placed himself in a ready stance, his eyes watching for any sign of movement. He would have to be ready, to face such an armored opponent.

((If you'd like, you can take the first strike. I'd also like to say I'm glad to be meeting you here in the tournament, despite Snowfall's apparent dislike of Ferris' style of fighting . I gotta say, you did good with your fights, especially with your patience in dealing with Fury of the Tempest. Hope we can have a good battle!))

743893
Rapid walks into the arena just in time to hear that all of her cheering would go unheard. She looks to see a darkness over the field, though everything is still visible, like every match has been. "Welp, screw it, yelling anyway." She runs up as close as she can to the arena's edge. "You better show him who's boss, Snowfall! Show that little runt what happens when you mess with the guard!"

Her shout complete, she moves up into the stands, standing near one of the many guards on duty, the one who, unlike the others, had his eyes covered, two crystals floating around his head. She gives him a quick peck on the cheek, then takes a seat near him to watch her Commander fight.

744728 ((non-combat post))
Aurora smiles slightly without turning to look at Rapid. Quietly he whispered, "I am supposed to be on duty, you know. I hear that distracting a member of the Royal Guard while they're on duty is a serious crime."

Though his words may have sounded serious, the slight turn of a smile at the corners of his lips gave away his true feelings on the matter.

744773
Rapid just smirks, whispering without looking at him. "I'm not distracting anything. I'm just sitting here and watching the match so we both get a good view, and I figured a little friendly company never hurt me on my guard duties..." She then stretches, leaning back in her chair. "Besides, if you're looking somewhere you shouldn't be and get distracted, it's not on me."

744779 ((non-combat post))
Aurora responds in his own quiet whisper, fully aware of the fact that she had done that stretch on purpose, "and you say that knowing full well that I see everything within thirty feet of me, whether I try to look or not."

744783
Rapid pouts, looking sadly towards him, and showing it in her body language so he could actually see it. "Oh... fine. If you don't want me around, you can just say so." She says it sadly, but with an undertone to make it fully clear it's playful. "I'll just go and leave you to staring at empty seats."

744052
((Approved by: _Medicshy))

Health: 100% Mana: 100% Stamina: 96%

Action: Snowfall heard her opponent speak, heard him say something about a fight of 'honor and friendship'. Though her outward appearance didn't change, mentally she scoffed. You had your chance at that Ferris. Now you're nothing more than another enemy for me to crush.

Seeing him go into a defensive stance and wait, as she knew he would, she began walking forward, slowly and casually, not making any sudden or quick movements. The dark light of the arena seeming to make her armored body flow as the dimness. As she stopped in front of him, she stood for a moment, impassive and unmoving.

Suddenly, she attacked. She shifted her weight off her right forehoof, as though to bring it up in a punch. But at the same time, she shifted her weight back, also freeing her left forehoof, which she twitched shortly afterwards, as though bringing it up in a left hook, making the right look like nothing but a feint. She had done this attack before, with this exact same tactic, and she was almost certain that Ferris had seen it. It was the same opening move she had used when fighting Arcantos after all.

Or at least, it was almost the same.

Hoping that the dim lighting and the fact that her armor blended in with it would make the real attack harder to detect, she finished the feint. Rather than lashing out with a left hook, as she had in her previous match, this time she never stopped the motion of her right hoof, bringing it forward in a straight punch. If Ferris didn't see through the second feint, and prepared for the expected left hook, her punch would land on the left side of his unprotected abdomen.

((Snowfall's issue isn't with his style in general, at least not as far as she knows. She never met any of Ferris' previous opponents long enough to take issue with how he handled those matches. But she has spent a lot of time with Rapid Fire. And, more importantly, she knows that Ferris spent a decent amount of time with her as well; enough to know exactly what he was doing to her when he chose is tactics in their match.))

((Also, since this may or may not be relevant later, have a preemptive picture of Snowfall's shield))

744785 ((non-combat post))
If Aurora had eyes, he would have rolled them under his dark helm at the sound of Rapid's voice as she said that last line. None the less, he whispers back, making sure to keep his attention squarely focused on his Sight, "why would I want you to leave when the occupied seats are so much more entertaining to watch than the empty ones?"

A quick survey of the stands reveals that her seat is the only occupied one near him. Though the crowds were larger and larger for each match, up this high in the massive stadium that held the Games, particularly this close to the stage that held the changeling King and the Equestrian Diarchs, there was still room to be found, most of the fans wanting to be as close to the action as possible.

744794
Rapid just smiles and sits back down. "That's what I thought. But I promise I won't be too distracting. Just focus on the match." She then leans forward in her chair to watch in earnest, just happy to be giving Aurora some company, even if it's just in presence alone.

744790

((Health: 100%, Stamina: 97%
Approved by: Man Gell))

{Reaction}

Ferris watched warily as the armored foe slowly approached him, his suspicion rising as she came closer to him. There was something in the way she moved, the way she didn't bother to reply to him that made the monk wonder if there was more to her emotions than she let on...Why would she go so slow, if not to lure the dog into a trap? It was a clever strategy, one that was employed by the teachers and elders of the Monastery, in order to show the younger pups the value of patience and the dangers of dropping one's guard.

Snowfall had something in mind for Ferris...the question was simply a matter of knowing what it was.

Despite all of the uncertainty, Ferris knew he had to act, whether it was a simple dodge, or a quicker strike of his own. Settling on a combination of the two, the dog braced himself. The moment she was almost within reach, stopping for an unknown reason, he took a small, almost unnoticeable step backwards, placing himself further away from her.. He was glad he had taken those precautions, watching her throw a couple of nasty swings towards him. Thankfully, they had missed him by inches, passing harmlessly in front of the monk.

Now, though, it was his turn. And his first priority was finding a way around that metal armor she wore...

{Action}

Gripping his staff in his paws, the monk proceeded to step further out of reach, swinging his staff with a lightning-fast speed towards the side of his opponent's head. The longer length of the weapon would ensure that Ferris still had a chance to move, if needed, although Snowfall's armor would keep any damage to a minimum. At most, he hoped to land a strong enough blow to stun her, or at least loosen the helmet. To increase his odds, he made sure to swing at her unprotected side, knowing full well just how powerful her shield could be in a close-combat situation such as this one.

((Thanks for that picture, sure clears up some questions on my end. ))

745010
((what is the staff made of?))

745456
((Red oak that's been inlaid with steel.))

745481
((Is the steel obvious, or in the core?))

745010
((Approved by: _Medicshy))

Health: 100% Mana: 100% Stamina: 95%

Reaction: Snowfall saw her opponent dodge as expected, pulling his staff out and bringing it around in a sweep towards the right side of her head. As with his dodge, a counter to the right side was far from unexpected. Snowfall knew the perceived weaknesses in her defenses better than anypony after all.

Moving her already raised right forehoof, she swung it back, easily catching the monk's attack on her heavy armor and deflecting it over her head. Interesting......he's not as strong as I was expecting him to be.....

Action: As the staff deflected off her foreleg's plating, she took two steps back, raising her shield in front of her to await Ferris' next attack.

745496
((...Honestly, I don't think it matters. It's steel with a wooden core, making it extremely difficult to break, but it still gives it enough flexibility to be useful, if that's what you mean.))

745524
((I was just wondering if the steel would be obvious. It doesn't change anything now, but it might later. Different tactics for different weapons and all that. But steel with a wooden core answers that, so I'm good.))

745518

((Health: 100%, Stamina: 96%
Approved by: Dracmatais, Twilight at Dusk))

{Reaction}

The deflection was hardly unexpected, though the speed she moved at gave the monk an idea. She was burdened down by both a shield, and full armor. She would waste more energy attempting to strike him or dodge, and her reaction time would be as slow as a tortoise compared to the lighter monk. This would have to be taken to his advantage somehow.

Moving with the deflection, Ferris was able to step back with little effort, and regard his opponent with a tactical gaze.

{Action}

Slowly taking another step back, the Jade Monk silently moved into another ready position, moving his Qi within him once again. He wanted to ensure a perfect strike, to line up a shot that would hit with the utmost certainty. While Snowfall waited behind her shield, he himself moved further away, placing himself in another ready stance as he did so.

This would be a challenge, to be sure.

745593
((Approved by: _Medicshy))

Health: 100% Mana: 100% Stamina: 92%

Reaction: Seeing her opponent back away through the gloom, adopting a defensive stance and a look of intense concentration, Snowfall charged across the relatively small gap between them, her shield still raised as though to catch him in a shield slam.

Action: But that was yet another feint. As she reached the last two steps before her opponent, she dropped her shield, bringing her right hoof up from behind it as it fell to throw a cloud of loose dirt at the monk's eyes, hoping to blind him, or at least disrupt him. As she took the final step into range with her now free right forehoof, she brought her shield across in a left hook, aimed to impact on her opponents ribs.

745632

((Health: 100%, Stamina: 94%
Approved by: Twilight at Dusk))

{Reaction}

As his opponent's charge carried her towards him, the monk wasted no time in making a quick step to the side, neatly avoiding her small cloud of dust and her vicious swing. The ploy had been a clever one, but one that the monk himself had experienced several times in his training. Still, he would have to move quickly. Continuing his movements, Ferris noted how her armor moved on her body, trying to spot a weak point.

{Action}

In order to buy himself some time to gather more Qi, the Jade Dog flicked one of his stars directly at the side of her helmet, still on the move. He kept his muscles tensed, ready to act when called upon. With their distance once more furthered, Ferris began to think of ways to find an opening, his mind calculating each strike and dodge necessary.

746238
((Which side did you go to?))

746243
((The side away from her shield.))

746255
((ok.......so.......I guess you went to your right then? That's what I'll go with.))

746238
((Approved by: _Medicshy))

Health: 100% Mana: 100% Stamina: 90%

Reaction: As her left hook misses, and her opponent moves to her left, she stops her momentum on the swing just in time to see a surprisingly large ninja star come flying at her head. She lowered her head slightly, and shrugged her shoulder up to let it bounce harmlessly off her armor.

Action: As the star fell to the ground, she saw her opponent moving even farther away and just sighed internally. I wonder if he even knows how to fight at all.....the way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if I found out he'd never even been in a simple sparring match before.....

While she thought, she reached down to the metal star now lying at her hooves, picked it up, and hurled it far off into the distance. She may not specialize in throwing weapons, but every foal has played with a frisbee, so it didn't take much to get the metal disk far out of the dog's reach.

With that completed, she simply stood in a defensive stance, shield raised, waiting for the dog's move.

746284

((Health: 100%, Stam: 93%
Approved by: Twilight at Dusk))

{Reaction}

As Ferris watched his star fly towards the armored pony, he noticed how she had to shrug her shoulders simply to block the sharpened metal. Considering that his own toss had barely any power behind it, it was unsurprising how easy it was for her to shrug it off. This did, however, give the dog another hint as to where he should begin aiming his strikes. While at first glance her armor did seem to be nigh-impenetrable, there were key spots he could attack.

Not to mention the fact that he could aim strikes at her helmet and further disorient her. There were other places to strike as well, strategic attacks that the monk could easily take advantage of, especially with the Qi he had continued to gather. Ferris was watching her every move carefully, keeping notes of every exposed part of her body, and where he could hope to land a strike when her shield was raised...

Such as her suddenly exposed rear-hooves.

{Action}

Sliding yet another star into his paw to replace the previously tossed weapon, he quickly flung the star towards her exposed rear hoof, angling the throw to appear as if he were aiming for her face again. This time, he made to put a bit more strength into the motion, sending the sharpened metal hurtling through the air with a deceptive speed.

While it flew, he settled himself to move at the first sign of action. He was fast, he knew that, but he'd have to think just as quick in order to find the right strategy to use against the hardened veteran.

((Alright, that's the last post for tonight. Have a good'un!))

746304
((Approved by: _Medicshy))

Health: 100% Mana: 100% Stamina: 89%

Reaction: As Snowfall stood awaiting her opponent's move, she saw him suddenly pull out another throwing star and hurl it at her. He had his body angled very strangely, but that didn't really make much of a difference.

As he released the weapon, she simply left her shield where it was covering the front half of her body, and sat down, leaning slightly to close all the gaps in her armor on the left side of her body. She didn't even bother to watch where it would impact as it, once again, bounced harmlessly off her armor. She noticed that it had more force behind it than before, but Ferris' strength was still nowhere near enough to overpower her own and her heavy armor. Especially not with a little dagger like that.

Action: As the star fell to the ground, Snowfall once again picked it up and hurled it off into the distance. This time though, she turned to face Ferris as she resumed her defensive stance. He probably won't fall for such an obvious ploy a second time. But that's ok. I'll come up with other ways to make him waste those stars of his soon enough.

746322 ((You accidentally gained stamina here. You may want to check your numbers again))

((Health: 100%, Stamina: 93%
Approved by: Twilight at Dusk))

{Reaction}

As the monk watched Snowfall hurl yet another of his stars into the distance, he carefully gauged the time it took her to move with her cumbersome armor strapped to her body. Despite the usual discomfort, she appeared to bear its burden with ease, as if she regarded it as nothing more than a light tunic. In that, however, he began to spot the beginnings of a plan. This would require a precise amount of timing, however...

Slowly walking forward, and never taking his eyes off of Snowfall nor pausing his Qi gathering, the monk was struck with an oddly amusing thought. He began to chuckle, shaking his head by a fraction, before realizing his foe would not understand the sudden laughter.

{Action}

"I sorry," he apologized, still chuckling under his breath. "But I find fight funny. Here, you use shield, retreat from opponent. Yet last fight, I dodge and be patient, make Rapid say it not true battle. I not understand it. Clearly, you use same tactic I use. This must prove wrong, and say how this make great fight!"

All the while, he continued edging his way toward her, his eyes gathering every single detail of her armor they could.

746322
((Sorry, forgot to hit the reply button.))

747367
((Approved by: Razorbeam))

Health: 100% Mana: 100% Stamina: 89%

Reaction: Snowfall made no external show of having heard Ferris' words, simply standing impassively and watching his cautious approach. Internally, however, she scoffed in derision. I bet he really believes that. The pathetic fool honestly doesn't see that the one retreating this whole time has been him, does he?

Shoving such pointless thoughts from her head, she instead returns to studying her opponent's approach. He had retreated the whole time, letting her make the first move at every turn, and yet now he approached her. He obviously had a plan. Her mind flashed back to his previous match, to the part of the plateau he had destroyed despite his decidedly unimpressive strength, the only time he had been the one to initiate an attack on Rapid Fire.

If that was his plan here, she'd be ready.

Action: She maintained her defensive stance, simply waiting. She was tired of chasing him around. She was tired of watching him do nothing but dodge, run away, and try to hurt her with little toy stars. This time, he would be the one to come to her, and when he did, she would make sure he didn't get the chance to retreat again.

747818

((Health: 100%, Stamina: 91%
Approved by: Twilight at Dusk))

{Reaction}

The monk continued to chuckle, mentally realizing that Snowfall seemed to believe the same thing. It would explain her cold demeanor, along with her own defensive strategy. Was she truly going to let her own bitterness dictate her actions, then? Did she too, view him as nothing more than a coward that wished to retreat from all fights? The idea gave the monk a brief flash of sadness. Rapid Fire had underestimated him in their last battle because of this...

Very well then. It seemed that now, he was not fighting just to win the tournament. No, now...he was fighting to prove that a battle wasn't as black and white as his opponents had made them out to be. It was not just a simple duel of strength, of a head-to-head adrenaline fueled grudge match. It was a test of wills, to see who was willing to think outside of their limits. It was an art form, with many different styles and artists who were each unique in their own way. This duel would have to prove that to not just Snowfall, however.

He would prove it to all those who watched from the stands.

He would show them what it meant to be a true warrior.

As Ferris continued to gather his Qi, he decided he would have to add his own action to the battle.

{Action}

Careful not to accidentally release his built up power too early, the monk made a sudden skip to the pony's non-protected side, acting without warning. In the same motion, he sharply whipped his staff, aiming a feint towards her helmet. This, however, was simply just a ruse. With a quick twist of his wrists, Ferris redirected the staff to strike her directly on her flank, ready to react to anything she could throw at him.

747876
((Allow me to repost the exact same questions I had from the last time:

Ok, I get that you're going to Snowfall's right side, but the rest of the attack is so vague it's impossible to plan a counter.

Which hand is the staff in? Is he using both hands? Are the feint and the real attack being made with the same end of the staff, or different ends? What path is the staff following as it moves? Is the feint coming at the front of her helm, or the back? Are both attacks horizontal sweeps, thrusts, downward chops, or some combination thereof?))

747876
((Approved by: _Medicshy))

Health: 100% Mana: 100% Stamina: 87%

Reaction: Snowfall had been waiting for her opponent to make his move, and when it came, she was not caught unawares. As the monk moved to her right side, she turned only slightly after he did, her shield raised in front of her still. He made a feint at her head that she raised her shield a touch higher to block with the top edge as she turned, but instead ended up having the front edge collide with the side of his staff as the real attack that had been aimed at her side was pushed wide by her continuing turn.

Action: As the staff was deflected, Snowfall pushed forward into a shield bash, the staff now horizontal between them in Ferris' right hand.

((Just to clarify, since there seems to be some confusion on the matter from a few people, Snowfall's opinion of Ferris is entirely in character. She has [at least to her] good reasons for said opinion, and they are entirely separate from any opinions I may hold ooc, whether positive or negative. She has her own thoughts, voice, and opinions, and those are the only ones that will ever show up in any in character post.

Given the competitive nature of the Games, it's not unreasonable to believe that ooc feelings might creep into the way a character behaves. But just to clear up any potential hard feelings or misunderstandings on the matter, if I was the one with a beef against you/Ferris, the verbal insults would be much more cruel and vicious. Snowfall is nicer than I am.))

748048

((Health: 97%, Stamina: 89%
Approved by: Dracmatais))

{Reaction}

As the pony before him spun around in an attempt to slam her shield into his torso, Ferris' mind fell completely into his fighting instincts. When the guard's direct shield attack came towards his torso, the monk lightly spun around it, wincing as the shield only partially hit him.However, he was able to transfer the blunt force into his own movement, pushing him even faster. Continuing his Qi build up, he placed himself just a couple of feet away from her.

{Action}

Still ready to act, he adjusted his grip on the staff, allowing him to make his next strike more controllable than before, while also adding additional strength to it. And at this range, he would still be well withing attacking distance of her.

And that was precisely what he planned to do. Everything he had noticed about her armor had pointed out several details to the Jade Dog. Most notably of which were the small openings on her joints, specifically the ones around her knees. Moving as quickly as he could, the monk swung a vicious blow directly towards the back of her rear leg's joint. This would slow her down, or at least help the monk earn the first true damage of the battle.

((Alrighty then! No hard feelings I guess, whatever ones there might have been. Anywho, I'm gonna go to sleep then. It's gonna be one of those days tomorrow, I think. One last thing before I go, however, I'm using the give/take rule in this scenario. Have a good'un!))

((Edit approved by: Twilight at Dusk.))

748096
((Approved by: _Medicshy))
((Edits Approved by: Dracmatais))

Health: 97% Mana: 100% Stamina: 86%

Reaction: Snowfall watched Ferris roll to her right, using the impact of the shield to increase the speed of his movement and place himself farther away from her. She spun as well, to once again get him in front of her, but not before he had Spun his staff around to impact on the back of her rear right leg. Even with the partial turn and her incredible strength, it still stung more than she had expected it to.

Action: As her turn was finishing, she reached out quickly to grab Ferris' paw where it was wrapped around the end of the staff, her shielded foreleg separating herself and her opponent.

((It's not that there were any, but I had someone question Snowfall's obvious hostility towards Ferris so I wanted to just get all of that out of the way before it did become an issue, just in case. Kind of as a blanket statement to anyone who may have felt that her words/thoughts were unwarranted, not so much you specifically. After all that stuff with Arcantos, I really, really just kind of want to avoid even the tiniest possibility of one of my matches taking that kind of turn again, for any reason, no matter how unlikely.))

748212
((Ahhh, I found it. That was totally my bad. It was buried in a wall-o-text and I missed it. Sorry about that. Feel free to ignore the crazy person over here in the corner who can't read......))

748192

the staff glancing off the plating on the inside of her back left knee as she turned

((I'm sorry, but I find that very hard to believe. There's no version of plate armor that allows you to be as maneuverable as Snowfall has been without being loose around the joints. There would be a gap there to strike, and it would definitely do a bit more than 1% damage, even with an S-VIT.))

748219>>748350

((Hey, sorry to butt in, but something is kinda bothering me. In Nathan's post, he says,

the monk swung a vicious blow directly towards the inside of her back leg.

Then in yours, you say,

he had thrust his staff in between her legs in a jab

Not to nitpick, but a swing ≠ a jab, and as such would necessitate a different reaction. Once again, I apologize for sticking my nose into the matter, but it is a pet peeve of mine, so I couldn't let it alone. Nathan also raises a good point about the plating on the armor. It wouldn't be reasonable to have a plate covering the joints, since that would make moving at the speeds which you have been using nigh impossible. Anywho, good luck to both of you in the fight, and I look forward to whatever happens next!))

748458
((Not to nitpick, but when are you posting in your duel?
Jk, jk.))

748872 ((I'm always available.))

748872
((Wish I was, but sadly I'm still at work. If I wasn't I would have tried to make my joke/jab more elaborate and in better taste, but I don't have the time to write something more verbose between tasks. ))

748883

((I know that feeling all too well. Don't worry about it though. The judging issue has been resolved! Have fun at work!))

748350>>748458>>748861 ((If you must know what happened with the judging here, so far as I can tell, the only way you can swing at the inside of the back leg from where he was positioned would be to go through the other back leg, therefore I agreed with Azi that it was a jab, and since it was at the inside and not, say, the back, there would still be armor there, though not as thick.))

749342
((Alright, see, my biggest problem with that is the fact that Ferris is on a perpendicular angle to her already. Not only would a jab be a bad choice, but the swing would still have enough leeway to hit the back of the leg, and it was at the back of the leg. Maybe by using the word "inside" I confused both of you, and I apologize for that.

However, this should still cause more damage than 1% either way. The armor around her legs would have to be thinner, especially around the joints, which Ferris specifically aimed for [There probably shouldn't even be armor around those parts anyways]. Even with an S-VIT, I'd think that there'd be a bit more damage than that.))