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 [1/9/2013], 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 was concluded [1/14/2013] with NightmareDash as the victor by majority vote.

((Checking in. Two questions: What is the arena like (including weather)? And how much do our characters know about each other?))

((Ready))

Snow Fort looked into the stands as he took his place. They were so numerous, so diverse. Nothing like this had ever happened before, certainly not in Stalliongrad. It was wonderful, really.

And nerve-racking.

Snow Fort stretched and let out a deep breath. This was unlike any other battle he had fought. He wasn't here to protect anyone, and it wasn't life and death. This was pure competition. We'll see how it goes, he acquiesced.

Snow Fort put on a smile. Mama would want him to smile. He chuckled. Yes, whether he won or lost, this should be fun, or at the very least, interesting.

((Alright then, game on))

Emerging from the darkened tunnels into the arena, Eclipse quickly adjusted his eyes to the glaring sunlight. He had to admit, he was impressed. Back when he enlisted in the Academy, they taught him that the changelings were mere vermin who had no motivation beyond the primal instincts of feeding and obeying their hive monarch. Mindless, shapeshifting, emotion-sucking insects, they said. And look what those mindless insects had done here. Whoever this Aurus Marz was, Eclipse decided, he deserved a great deal of credit for his leadership abilities. If those abilities were to be turned towards military purposes, he could be a powerful ally, or... But the mental wargames would have to wait. There was a battle to be won.

Eclipse tightened the strap on his katana sheath to a snug fit and tensed his wing muscles, feeling each throwing knife perfectly interlaced with his feathers. He bit down and quickly unsheathed the katana with flourish, slicing through air several times to regain a feel for the weapon's balance. Though he went through knives like Twilight Sparkle went through books, his sword was probably the closest friend he had. Presented to him upon acceptance into the Nightwings, the blade was by no means ceremonial: made of carbon steel, it had been enchanted to never lose its edge. He and that blade had seen each other through war, peace, and times which could be considered neither of the above. Together, they had carved a legacy worthy to stand alongside his father's. To win this tournament would cement that legacy, not to mention advancing the goals of the Nightwings. And who knows, he thought, if I play my cards right, I may even get to find Twilight Sparkle here. Resheathing his katana, feeling the cold metal of his magical choker around his neck, Eclipse calmly stepped towards the center of the arena, ready to meet whatever challenges this battle might face him with.

601680, 601728
((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 [1/12/2013].

Fight with honor!))

Aurus rose from his seat suddenly, drawing a hush over the crowd and ready combatants alike. His smile was one of excitement, and it was clear from the tone that ventured forth from his throat that he was just as eager as those in the stands who were barely repressing their words to hear him speak.

"It is clear that you are all excited to see this match, and I an right there with you! Lets not delay, and commence the battle, one which I am sure will be monumental. This duel between Eclipse and Snow Fort should not be taken lightly. Not now, or ever in the future, as this will be a moment of history to be remembered gloriously for ages to come!"

The crowd roared in excitement, stilling once more for Aurus' final words before the unleashing of this once-in-a-lifetime event.

"Begin the match!"

The deafening roars that followed drowned out the trailing of even his mighty voice, and any hope that the clash of steel or a blast of magic had to be heard.

601856
((Approved by: Crafter))

Eclipse walked cool-headedly across the field, staring down Snow Fort and assessing him. Earth pony, light armor, no large weapons, appears to have knives and shruiken. No slouch, and since he's got the guts to enter these games without serious weaponry, I'm betting he's martial-arts trained. Nothing I haven't seen before, except for that stupid grin. Think I heard his name mentioned a few times from Stalliongrad contacts. That was as much as he could gather from a glance, but he'd learn more as the battle went on.

"You're awfully far from Stalliongrad, Snow Fort. And so lightly armed? I'm almost insulted you expect so little a challenge of me. But let's see if you can back up your reputation fighting a true warrior, instead of that superstitious and cowardly lot you're used to battling."

From the center of the arena, Eclipse took off towards Snow Fort in a full gallop. But just before reaching him, Eclipse flared his wings and pulled up into the air. He beat his wings towards the ground, sending a gust across the earth. Picking up topsoil, it did just as he had hoped: a potentially-blinding wave of dust was launched in Snow Fort's direction.

603734
((Approved by Nathan Traveler, Crafter))

When Eclipse started shifting his wings to take off, Snow Fort reacted immediately. He leapt forward, avoiding the majority of the dust.

“Sorry to disappoint, I’m poor!” Snow Fort shouted, turning to his opponent. He quickly threw a shuriken, aiming for his center of mass, which would be harder to shift and dodge.

((You'll have to forgive my slowness as I get accustomed to this))

603863
(Approved by Chainlinc3)
Quickly shifting the aim of his beating wings, Eclipse batted down the shruiken with a gust of wind, and it dropped to the earth below.

"Nice toss, but flying things are my department."

Eclipse grabbed his katana from its sheath and swooped down towards Snow Fort in a short power-dive. As his hooves came only inches above the ground, he made a powerful slash with his blade, aiming for his opponent's center torso, between his shoulders.

((Don't worry about it. FYI I'm in school most of the day so almost all responses will come after 4 p.m. central time.))

603963
((Approved by Nathan Traveler, Crafter))

Snow Fort didn’t take the time to respond when he saw Eclipse’s hoof go to his katana. Katanas from the open sky were bad news. He threw himself down and to the side to avoid the powerful slash.

Scrambling to his hooves, Snow Fort ran to a nearby cluster of rock spires. This should be a bit more like the city. There was no way he could win if Eclipse could just fly in circles around him.

604045
((Approved by Twilight at Dusk, Crafter)

Feeling the lack of contact as his sword cut through only air, Eclipse immediately veered skyward and turned to see Snow Fort sprinting into a grouping of rock formations. His quarry out of sight, he resheathed his katana and began thinking of a way to shift tactics. He wants close quarters, and he'd know better than to trap himself in a corner in there. That means plenty of angles for him to watch. Interesting opportunity. Eclipse felt a plan coming on, and as he shouted toward the rocky labyrinth, he reached back to the ground and picked up a small, baseball-sized rock.

"Where am I, Snow Fort? Which way am I coming from?"

Eclipse knew Snow Fort could tell his location from his voice, so as he flew towards a group of clouds overhead, he carefully hurled the pebble toward the outer face of a large rock spire. By the time he grabbed hold of a cloud, a resounding crack! reached his ears. Perfect; that ought to keep him on his toes. Using the clouds for cover from being spotted as he towed them around, Eclipse began to assemble a thunderhead above the spires.

604204
((Approved by Chainlinc3, Garion, Kapuchu))

“From the sky, no doubt!” Snow Fort navigated through the thin forest of spires, staying out of the open as much as possible. He took out a knife and a shuriken on the go. Best be prepared.

Snow Fort was studying the gathering clouds above before a crack of rock on rock caught his attention. Something’s up. He started towards the sound, staying alert. Watching his back was what he did best.

605353
((Approved by: Crafter))
His small floating island of clouds assembled, Eclipse made two laps around the darkening platform, each step a quick, light stomp. Finishing with several short jumps in the center, he could tell by the familiar moist scent permeating the air that his goal had been achieved: the storm cell was producing a localized torrential downpour. Giving his creation several seconds to completely soak the spire field below, he poked a hole in the clouds to spy Snow Fort, still investigating that little distraction. Eclipse withdrew from his vantage point and ran to the position he projected to be directly above his enemy. Training came back to him as he prepared to make his move. Plenty of smaller blows to a cloud will give you a rainstorm. If it's cold enough, you'll get snow, sleet, or freezing rain. But your most direct offensive capability with a cloud requires only a single, powerful strike. . . A single, powerful strike. Eclipse drew back his front left hoof, readied himself for the shockwave, and brought his punch down with immense force. If his trainers at the Nightguard Academy deserved half the salary they made, this would loose a lightning bolt directly on top of Snow Fort, especially with all the metal he was carrying in his knives, armor and shruiken. And even if it didn't connect perfectly, the rain-soaked earth and rock formations would conduct electricity, giving him some margin for error.

605871
((Approved by Crafter, RainbowBob))

Snow Fort saw it coming. The gathering clouds was the warning, and the rain was the cue. He dashed into cover, a small depression right next to a particularly large spire.

He was immediately thankful as there was a bright flash. Lightning struck the spire looming over him and the following sound was deafening.

Wasting no time, Snow Fort ran over to the next spire, nearing the edge of the cloud cover. “That was pretty damn unsporting of you!”

606133
((Approved by Twilight at Dusk, Crafter))

"Well, one of us is going to have to land a good hit on the other sometime, and given all that metal armor makes you essentially a walking lightning rod, I just couldn't resist!"

Poking his head through the clouds again, Eclipse spotted Snow Fort scramble under the cover of another rock spire, near the edge of the thunderhead. Now that he had set the storm in motion, it would rage on as long as the clouds could feed it water, at least several minutes more. The grass was already growing muddy, and small puddles were forming around the rocks. I've got the tactical advantage of the high ground; better to watch and wait, see what Snow Fort exposes himself to before making a move.

(([Nightmare Dash]: this is a warning for a godmodding post.))

607404
((Approved by Chainlinc3, Twilight at Dusk))

The rain subsided as Snow Fort got out from under the clouds, into the open. He shook himself, luckily his short coat didn't hold much water.
“I could hide like you are, but no. I’ll be the better pony. Come and get me!” Snow Fort widened his stance, ready for the worst.

608942
((Approved by Crafter, Twilight at Dusk))

"Who ran away from the other? Here's a hint: it wasn't me. But war knows no "better ponies", only living ones and dead ones. I intend to be the former."

Barely even using his wings to decelerate, Eclipse dropped from his cloudy perch to the ground below. He imagined it must've looked dramatic. Snow Fort was about 50 hooves from him, and they were both out of the spire field; no obstacles, no cover, nothing between them. You're not slipping away this time. Eclipse brought his front left hoof to the handle of his sheathed katana, but before he even tugged at it, his right wing snapped open, faster than a blink. At equal speed, a throwing knife was now spiraling towards Snow Fort's chest, almost imperceptible as it sailed in the direction of its mark.

609285
((Approved by Crafter, Nathan Traveler))

By the time the knife left Eclipse’s wing, Snow Fort was already moving. He reacted on pure impulse, not taking the time to think as he moved himself to the side. The knife reached him not half a second later, grazing the light plate on his shoulder. Crisis avoided. Damn, that was close.

Nearly as fast, Snow Fort responded with his shuriken, already in hoof. He followed his projectile, closing the distance as it raced towards Eclipse’s head.

609995
((Approved by Crafter, Twilight at Dusk))
Eclipse's hoof never left his katana handle. Noticing Snow Fort's hoof rear back for a throw, he quickly drew as he watched for the shruiken. Head shot? All the easier to spot and block. He twisted the katana diagonally, giving it more surface area as he lined it up with the inbound throwing star. With a resounding clang!, metal met metal and the shruiken ricocheted off his blade, tumbling through the air towards nowhere in particular.

So now you want to fight? It's about time. With a flick of his right hoof, Eclipse extended three hooked crescent blades from his right Equinox gauntlet, then switched his katana to the same hoof. Taking to his wings, but staying low to the ground, he charged towards Snow Fort, and just as his enemy came in range, he dropped back to his hooves and made a rising thrust, swordpoint aiming for Snow Fort's neck.

610190
((Approved by inoeitall, subjekt omega, SwiftEthan))

Two stallions charging one another made for a fast moving katana. Snow Fort’s foreleg shot up, his bracer protecting him as he averted the blade.

With that parry, He was inside Eclipse’s reach. Snow Fort moved to bear hug his opponent. One hoof was coming down, aiming between the wing and the shoulder with the knife. The other moved up, prepared to meet Eclipse’s hoof, or continue and hook under his leg. Now barely a hoof apart, collision was inevitable.

((Two questions: first, how are you holding a knife (and earlier a shruiken) and running around at the same time? Second, what do you mean by "prepared to meet (my) hoof, or continue and hook under (my) leg."?))

612302

((Indeed, how can we be holding anything at all? Imagine having a wooden dowel, an inch or so in diameter, attached to the bottom of your shoe. Annoying, not a major impediment though. Ask a judge if you like. IMHO you need to overlook a few things when writing combat for ponies (I think fencing in particular would be awkward)

As to your second question, I should probably find a way to clarify that. What I mean is that my hoof was on the ground, and I am bringing it up to grab you under your (for lack of a better term) armpit. As my hoof is moving, its path will bring it between your hoof (the one without the katana) and my body at which point it would be able to block a melee attack if decided to attempt one.

That's pretty bloody convoluted, isn't it? I'll be at work for the rest of the day, so I'll clarify the actual post later.))

612601
((I'm fine with the first thing, but let me be sure I have this straight. I made a rising thrust at your neck with my katana in my right front hoof. You pushed it sideways with a bracer on your left(?) front hoof, which is also the one holding the knife. You then grabbed around my left upper forehoof with your right hoof, and reared back with your left hoof (holding the knife) to stab me in the back between my right shoulder and right wing. You are on your back two hooves, I have my right front hoof still extended with blade in hoof. Is this correct?))

612625
((Yes, I pushed it sideways with my front left hoof. (I'm left-handed, so I think of Snow Fort as left-hoofed) No I did not grab your left hoof. My right hoof is in the process of rising to grab you under the armpit (I need to find a better word). Because of this, it would be easy to change my mind and block your left hoof. I didn't so much rear as simply throw you a left hook with my knife. Yes, I am aiming between your upper right shoulder and right wing. I didn't specify anything about my rear legs, but considering I am galloping, I will say now that they are about to hit the ground. Yes, your front right hoof is still extended with the blade. Since we are so close it is above my shoulder. Finally, we were both just charging each other; we are on a collision course.))

613590
((Approved by Chainlinc3))
Eclipse knew he couldn't expect a perfect victory every time. Sometimes, you have to give a little to gain a lot. So he took the stab with little regret. Did it hurt? Yes, but that was not an issue. Eclipse had been stabbed dozens of times, in places a lot more painful than his shoulderblade. When the blade made contact, he barely winced. But he could not prevent a wry smile from creeping across his face. Because as the knife dug in, he was twisting his katana in his right hoof. It was still out at Snow Fort's left side, and Eclipse had positioned the blade horizontally, point no more than an inch away from Snow Fort's side. Ready to sate a bloodlust that had been growing in him since the first attack, Eclipse drove his faithful katana towards its mark.

613614
((So is the blade parallel or perpendicular to my body?

EDIT: That is, the length of the blade.))

613634
((When I lunged, the face of the blade was facing you (edge pointing down), like you would hold it if you were jousting. But while you grappled me and stabbed, I twisted the blade so it was pointing at you, face towards the ground and edge outward. I then thrust my right forearm inward (towards you) driving the blade's tip towards the side of your ribcage. FYI I talked with Razor about the concept and he was good with it, I'm still waiting for an "official" approval, but it may not matter since I think we hit the time limit.))

613668
((The time limit isn't in 24 hours? 0:00 Sunday UTC-5?

I'll be writing a response just in case.))

613689
((I'm not sure. I figured when he said 12:00 a.m. Saturday, he meant the preceding midnight. Who knows.))

613715>>613689

((Check his blog, guys. Extended to tomorrow evening, cause Razor had family stuff come up. Chrysographis, I'm looking over your post right now.))

613715
((Approved by Twilight at Dusk, Nathan Traveler
Note that I specifically asked about being stabbed in the flank rather than the ribcage as you specified in your comment.))

The collision was too fast, they were too close, and the katana too long to stab Snow Fort's anterior, anything vital. Snow Fort whinnied as the blade pierced his flank.

His left hoof still had the knife in Eclipse’s upper shoulder. His right foreleg still had a firm grip underneath Eclipse. With practiced quickness and precision, Snow Fort brought his knife to Eclipse’s neck, about to slit it. Despite the fire in his backside, Snow Fort sprung with his rear legs, adding that force to his knife strike. If he blinked, he would miss it.

616727
((Except I didn't stab you in the flank, I stabbed you in the ribcage, in the middle of the body. And a katana being "too long to stab anything vital"? You're going to have to explain that logic to me, because last I checked, something could be too short to hit a vital, not too long.))

617417

((Again, I specifically asked about that, since in your judge-approved post you said side, and in an OOC comment you said ribcage. By too long to stab anything vital, I don't mean that it can't penetrate deep enough, I mean that you couldn't stab me towards the front of my body. Both judges approved and this is my argument:

1) Ponies have pretty short bodies (lengthwise). A katana would be at least the same length, if not longer. If my character is basically hugging yours, your hoof holding the katana must be at least above my shoulder. The blade would probably be extending past my entire body.
2) In a collision, our bodies would stop, while the katana would keep going due to inertia. If you let go, it would only change in orientation due to gravity and air resistance. Since you held onto it, there is a force holding the handle back, and the blade would tend to straighten (become parallel to my body) and hit farther back on my body.
3) Considering we are so close and so many things could happen at once, etc, the 'time step' of your move wouldn't (or shouldn't) be great enough for you to pull the katana back and stab my ribcage (which would be pretty awkward anyway with a long blade at such a close range)

I apologize, I need to get better at clarifying things like this...))

617417

((Obviously, we both have different interpretations of what has been written. I think that is inevitable, especially in this close combat where the precise positions matter.

I suggest you write a response or an explanation and argument for your interpretation of the situation. Then, since we are near the time limit, we can let the voters interpret the situation however they want, and vote accordingly.

Or not. It doesn't matter to me. Also, a Derpy face for good measure: ))

618898

((Definitely. Here's my logic:
1. Before I made the rising thrust at your neck, I had touched down on my hooves, greatly reducing (if not completely eliminating) my forward momentum.
2. In the time it would take for you to block a katana with your bracer, then use the same hoof to stab me in the back, you would have covered the distance between us necesary for you to be able to block my katana, so we would have collided before this move even occurred. Thus, by the time it did occur, we would be deadlocked against each other, and my move was written under this perception.
3. Eclipse has a great amount of experience with his katana, and he'd be skilled enough with it to have expert control over it. While the blade ran (nearly) parallel to your body immediately after blocking it, I swung my right hoof outward (away from you) and at the same time twisted the blade so it was perpendicular to you, point towards your ribcage.
4. I specified that my blade's tip was close to an inch from your side. Even if there was momentum between us, it would take a ridiculous amount to shift a one-inch thrust from aiming at the ribs to hitting at the flank.
5. No matter where the katana hit you, it would've been long enough to hit a large amount of tissue, and possibly stab clean through you. Either way, IMO it would not be an injury you could so easily bounce back from.

I put up a post about this on the Judges Bickering forum, and both _Medicshy and ShadowBro read through our battle and agreed that there was enough loss of momentum for Eclipse to target properly. Like I said before, Razor gave me an informal approval on the move, but for obvious reasons, he hasn't sent official approval on it. Just to cut down on backtracking, I think the only change necessary would be how much this took out of your health stat. You'd need to negotiate this with a judge (I'd suggest Twilight at Dusk, since he/she's heard both sides of the issue). I don't think you need to change your move, and since we're so close to the time cut-off, I'll go ahead and post my response.

In response to your Derpy face, I suggest we let the voters decide what they will on this , and proceed on in combat!))

616727
((Approved by Twilight at Dusk))
Locked against Snow Fort, Eclipse felt the blade in his shoulder withdraw, meaning only that another attack was coming. At this close range, it had to be a neck slit. It would be the most logical move to end a battle against a normal opponent. Normal, anyway.

Shifting his head back slightly, Eclipse watched the slashing knife come from right to left. Its tip made contact, not with flesh, but with his metal choker. The knife scored the neckpiece, leaving an unsightly scratch mark, but the tip stopped as it hit the one ornamentation extruding from the choker : Eclipse's amulet. Seeing this, Eclipse took a split-second to cut his eyes triumphantly up at Snow Fort, then focused himself on the amulet, as he had taught himself to do so long ago. This focus enabled him to turn his emotions into drive; not just competitive spirit, but pain, as well as hatred. Such powerful feelings fueling his mind, he shifted his focus to a spark of lightning, then back to the amulet. With that, Eclipse turned it into a focal point for his magic, loosing power into the knife in the form of high-voltage electricity.

Voting:
NightmareDash

Voting:
Chrysographia