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 SocraticBrony as the victor by Violent Weapon Deconstruction.

743166

((I am battling illness today so my responses may be short or delayed, but I am ready))

743173, 743183
((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, Virgil and Powderburn... 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.

743950

A tired Powderburn rested a moment in the tunnel leading to the arena. That last battle had been far too close for his liking. A quick sip from his beaten flask helped to calm his nerves and still the slight shaking in his claws. Some good old liquid courage to steel his nerves. Now was no time to be getting shaky.

The aging gryphon quickly reviewed what he had heard and seen of this newest obstacle on his path. Another senior competitor who had used his experience to overcome the youthful zeal his previous opponents had fought with. This was sure to be the most difficult fight yet.

Dwelling on the problem too long wouldn't help. Powderburn took a deep breath to brace himself and stepped out into the arena. The bright sun clearly illuminated the stadium, though everyone's focus was drawn to King Aurus. Powderburn tipped his hat to his opponent as he emerged from his tunnel. The burning determination was clearly visible. This was sure to be one heck of a duel.

Powderburn started when the King mentioned his name, paying attention to the speech just in time to hear the name of the place they were to fight in. Ghindrav. Not a name he was familiar with, but all the same, something about the name just unsettled him.

A flash of light, then darkness. Powderburn's vision quickly adapted to the low light, revealing the ruins around them. A pale purple light emanated from nowhere and yet everywhere at once. Even with his hawk-like vision, his opponent was now only a dim smudge across from him. Everything about this place just unsettled him. It didn't feel right, it didn't smell right, everything about this place was just wrong. Powderburn had no desire to stay in this place any longer than needed. It was time to fight, time to win.

((I'm cool with you taking the first turn if you'd like. Just hit me up on Skype if you have any questions regarding the fight. Good luck to you bro!))

744282

Judge: Nathan Traveler
Health: 100% Stamina: 99%

Powderburn wasted no time in worrying about his surroundings or his opponent's plans. The last several battles had been trying because of his adversaries' tactics. Rather than allow Vergil time to close the distance with him, Powderburn opted for the more direct route. A rubber bullet to the neck ought to slow just about anyone down. Quickly whipping his rifle into position, aiming at the fuzzy form of his enemy, Powderburn squeezed off a shot at him. As the gun roared, the normal crack seemed even louder in the silent atmosphere. Though the bright flash from the muzzle flare was dimmed to little more than a spark. Things were not normal here for sure. Powderburn only prayed that whatever magic was affecting light would not affect his bullet's flight.

744719

(( woops! I misunderstood that in the intro. I'll head back and fix that in my last post. Just a cosmetic change so it won't really affect anything. Thanks for the heads up bro.))

Judge: SwiftEthan
Health: 100% Stamina: 95%

Reaction:

Powderburn wasn't all that surprised that his opponent had dodged, the shot hadn't exactly been a surprising move. The old gryphon shifted his stance slightly as Vergil charged at him in order to be ready to move. The high blow sailed over his head, and the follow up attack missed as well as Powderburn leaped backward into the air. His wings flared open, beating against the dark atmosphere to propel him back and away from his adversary.

Action:

Rather than get into close quarters combat with an unfamiliar opponent in an unfamiliar environment, Powderburn opted to retreat slightly, staying close enough to see Vergil, but high enough to be out of easy reach. The old gryphon cracked open his rifle, the spent cartridge clattering off the stone ground beneath him. A new bullet was inserted, and Ol' G was ready for business once more. Even as Powderburn reloaded mechanically, his gaze never shifted from his enemy.

745845

Judge: Nathan Traveler
Health: 100% Stamina: 93%

Reaction
Powderburn squinted, trying to make out what his opponent was doing over there. Unfortunately the same distance that kept him safe from Vergil's staff also kept him from clearly observing his adversary. He appeared to be fiddling with something he'd pulled out of his saddlebags, but with the dim light, it was difficult to tell.

This guy was far too tricky to be taken down by one gunshot. Powderburn's rifle chamber snapped closed, loudly announcing that it was ready to attack. Powderburn himself, however, had other plans. Powderburn flew away.

Action
As the old gryphon flapped off into the darkness, he called out to his opponent, "I know I did shoot first, but I don't suppose that it is too late to ask you to give up? I'd really rather not have to hurt ya, and I am sorry about shootin' without any warning. This here tournament has really gotten me on edge."

Powderburn stayed on the move, not wanting to allow his opponent to be able to find him from his voice. He didn't really expect Vergil to give up, but perhaps he could learn something of him.

((P.S. I'm not trying to metagame. I had actually planned on this well before you made your last move. Just a heads up. ))

Judge: Nathan Traveler
Health: 100% Stamina: 91%

Reaction/Action

The old gryphon grimaced at the sight of Virgil's weapons. That staff certainly was quite the marvel. He'd certainly love to have a look at the inner workings, and perhaps under different circumstances the two older competitors could have worked together to create incredible works of engineering. Unfortunately, now wasn't the time to talk shop.

Powderburn glided down to the ground a good 30 feet away from his advancing opponent. Stopping to look him dead in the eyes. His rifle pointing at the ground rather than at his adversary.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way." Powderburn sighed and continued, "However, I am not about to let anyone stand between me and my family. So I'll ask you once more to stop this now."

The gryphon tightened his grip on his rifle, ready to react at the slightest provocation. Something prevented him from attacking outright though. There was some connection he felt with his competitor. He spoke up again, "I'm sure you have some reason for being here. You wouldn't have gotten as far as ya have without a good one. I know I certainly do. I've got two of them in fact." Powderburn maintained his eye contact with Virgil, wanting him to feel the truth in his words. "I will do anything to reunite with my wife and daughter, and this here tournament is my best bet."

((Thanks for clearing that up about the lighting. I really thought it was nearly pitch black for some reason. I am very much looking forward to Virgil's response.))

748106

Judge: Twilight at Dusk
Health: 100% Stamina: 91%

Reaction/Action

Powderburn's keen gaze picked up on the slight falter in Virgil's step at the mention of his own lost family. However, that slight hesitation did not last as the fire in his opponent's eyes redoubled. There was suffering in those eyes. The pain of loss. So, you're fighting for family as well, Powderburn thought to himself.

"I can see you've been through an awful lot. Maybe as much or even more than I have... I hate to have to add to that suffering, but ain't no one gonna keep me from my family."

Powderburn cocked his rifle, the noise resounding unnaturally in the stillness. He then aimed the rifle at his adversary. The old gryphon's eye burned in the dim light with his passionate determination.

"Don't make me do this."

749243

((Which side did you move to? I think you're on my right side judging from which weapons are attacking where, but I could be wrong.))

749464

((Figured as much. Just wanted to make sure we were on the same wavelength. ))

749483

((Gotta do dinner with family. Will post ASAP when I get back. Sorry for the delay. ))

749522

((BTW, quick note unrelated to my post-in-progress. A weapon with a blade made of titanium isn't actually all that good. While titanium is lighter than steel, it will not retain an edge and will hold up in actual combat about as well as an aluminium sword would. The only "advantage" to using titanium is that it makes nice, flashy sparks. Just a little heads up. Titanium isn't really the mythical metal movies make it out to be. The metallurgical fact doesn't change your action though, so I shall return to post-crafting!))

749767

((You have no idea how much of a relief it is to see that you have studied metallurgy at least to some degree. Thank you for explaining that. I hadn't considered that you would go that route due to the high melting point, but you are correct. In a fantasy setting, this is right at home! ))

743166>>749767

((Due to a multitude of factors, the foremost of which is my current involvement as a storyboard artist in an animated movie, I hereby resign from the Unity games and forfeit this fight and award the victory to SocraticBrony. Had I the needed time to devote to this, I would. I wish you all the best in all that you take part in.))

752102

((The same to you, my friend! ))