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 [1/10/2013] with SentientPixel as the victor by TKO.

Half-wing looks at the tournament roster. His gleeful smile lasting only a few seconds after seeing who he was to duel.

"Liu. So it shall be." Half-wing said, letting his head droop down. "I'll give it all I've got."

He moves to the waiting room for the tournament, staying eerily quiet while he stretches his limbs.

((Ready and a-waiting, ser Razor.))

((I DONT KNOW WHO TO CHEER FOR!!!))

601769
((I'd cheer for Liu, myself.
wait-))

601773((lol, OHKAH))

601531>>601751
Liu pulls away from the roster listing, a mixture of shock and eagerness plastered across his face.

"Half-Wing? Huh, Fate wants me to fight hard for the first round?" He takes a seat in his part of the waiting room, unsheathing Cháng Fēng to check its sharpness. "So be it. I just hope he doesn't hold back..."

A gentle smirk peels across his lips, mirrored slightly in his blade. " ...because I won't."

((Ready when you are, Razor and Man.))

Mark found his way through the stands, and then loudly cheered for Half-wing. "LET'S GO, HALF-WING! I'M EXPECTING YOU TO WIN, YOU HEAR!?"

601836, 601751
((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 Liu and Half-wing 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.

601836
((Give us a reply when you're here and ready, then we'll go around getting a judge.))

604925
((Just finished college, should be available for most of the night (4:45-10:00 max.) unless something comes up.))

Liu enters the arena, taken aback by the immensity of the crowd. He didn't see anyone he recognised in the stands, but they were most likely readying up for their own fights. Making his way past the stone pillars to the centre of the arena, he took in a slow, but heavy breath, and gently shut out the crowd.

A soft voice whispered in the back of his mind, singing to the samurai. He felt relaxed by Calaria's voice, the one he had associated as a mother-figure for his whole life, and subconsciously began to hum to the lullaby from when he was a young colt.

605000
Half-wing looked onto the arena, making his way straight to the middle of it.

The spires that lines the arena would be well to his advantage, he noted. The sand below his hooves as well. Standing by one of the spires, he waits for his opponent.

As soon as he notices Liu, he moves over to him, sword sheathed and expressionless in face.

"It's time, Gēgē Liú,"

(("Brother Liu"))

((Now to find a judge! ;D. I'll be here around the same times, give or take half an hour for dinner.))

605012
"It'll take a lot more than words and guns," he continued to whisper,
"A whole lot more than riches and muscle.
The hooves of the many must join as one
And together we'll cross the river."

He opens his eyes to see Half-Wing and gives a small smile. "Hâoyùn, gēgē Half-Wing," he says, taking a few steps back from him.

((Good luck, brother Half-Wing.))
((You get first strike, btw. Whenever you're ready!))

605051
((I need to find a judge D:))

605056 ((you rang?))

605071
((Yaaay xD. It seems if I say it enough, one will appear!
Do you mind doing our match? I've started writing already.))

605073((not at all, send me yo posts))

605051 (Approved by Crafter)
Half-wing nods to Liu, stepping back a few paces himself, before using a mixture of his grappling hook and some speed to get himself up on top of one of the spires.

After the hook retracts back to its clip, he unsheathed his knife from its scabbard on the side of his barrel, and starts to goad Liu into fighting.

"You better be ready, Liu! There's 3 more matches after you, and I'm not wasting my time with you!"

605075>>605106
((Getting tea, be back soon.))

605075>>605106
((Back! Just waiting for Crafter's response.))

605221
((Damnit, now I have dinner. THIS IS SO AWKWARD.))

605231
((Don't worry, I can wait! ))

605106 ((approved by Crafter))
[Reaction] “What? I’m not good enough for you?” he replied in a joking tone. Looking up, Liu notices that Wing has a height advantage, but he couldn’t care less: he’d dealt with worse odds before.

[Action] Liu unsheathes his katana with a single hoof, holding it horizontally about half a meter from his chest. “There’s no way I’m climbing up there to whoop your flank, Wing. I’d rather keep my hooves on the ground.” He stomps a rear hoof for emphasis. “If you want a proper fight, come and get it!”

605252 (Approved by Crafter)

[Reaction] "Too chicken to get up here? I don't have to be a pegasus to be comfortable in the air!" With slow diliberation, Half-wing walks down the smooth stone.

[Action] Half-wing fires his grappling hook towards Liu's hooves, intended as a warning shot. As he activates the button to drag it back to its holster, Half-wing starts to gather speed, preparing his blade in his teeth.

((Sorry for the wait.))

605324
((No problem, although now I'm using my phone, which seems to hate FIMfic's PM system. Because of this, responses may be slower.))

605324 ((approved by Crafter))
[Reaction] Liu barely reacts to the warning shot, bracing himself for Wing's head-long charge.

[Action] Liu breaks into a powerful stride towards Half-Wing, not as fast as the wingless pegasus due to him holding a sword in one hoof, but the force in his steps soon compensate. Once in range, he turn his blade to the right and delivers a decent-sized sweep, hoping to catch Wing in the chest mid-sprint.

605402 ((Approved by Crafter, Garion.))
[Reaction] Anticipating a sword-blow once he was in range, Half-wing moves his blade to block the sharp end of the sword by tilting his head to the left and skidding to the right. The force behind the swipe, however, still breaks through and manages to gash on Half-wing's chest. Half-wing cries out in pain, unanticipating the strength behind Liu's sword-arm.

[Action] Half-wing skids and turns to face Liu, barely a few hooves of distance between the two. Half-wing keeps moving, shifting the blade end to the left of his teeth, and gallops to the right of Liu.

605480>>605402
After the shenanigans she had pulled on him in the Hog's Shed with Candy, Snowfall couldn't help but come to see if Half Wing was any better at fighting than he was at sneaking. She takes her seat in the audience shortly after the match starts and Liu had drawn first blood.

605480
((DAMMIT! Crafter dropped offline. We need a new judge!))

605566
((Try Garion, he's online.))

605573
((Just sent him a message. If he doesn't reply in half an hour, we'll search for a new one.))

605573
((Just got a message from Garion: he's agreed to be our new judge for the next hour I'll be online. Just waiting for confirmation on my next move and we can get the ball rolling again. ))

605480 ((Approved by Garion and Crafter))
[Reaction] Liu turns to the right to keep Half-Wing in view, bringing his katana to a more vertical angle to prepare for his next move.

[Action] Liu takes a few steps forward, closing the gap between the two as he raises his weaponised hoof to deliver a swift overhead strike.

605656
[Reaction] Half-wing dodges the vertical strike by dashing to Liu's side, moving past him to the left side of Liu.

[Action] As his blade was pointed in the right direction, he attempts to slash across Liu's exposed back.

605708 ((Approved by Garion))
[Reaction] "Argh!" Liu winces as the unexpected dagger cuts a shallow gash in his back, shaving off the nearby fur. He lowers himself to the ground to avoid a second swing, thinking of a way he could use his moment of vunerability to an advantage.

[Action] Liu swings his legs at Half-Wing's in the hopes of tripping him up, while giving himself momentum to pull himself back up onto his hooves.

((Last post for tonight. If you respond to this, I'll try to reply as soon as possible tomorrow.))

605735
((I'll leave it there for tonight. Next time on Unity Tournament - Half-wing trips up spectacularly!))

605735
[Reaction] Half-wing's back legs get swept up from behind him, causing him to slide on his front legs on the grisly sand. The hot sand grates against his legs, creating a lot of friction on his legs. He attempts to get back on four hooves in time to meet Liu's preemptive strike.

[Action] Tired from the constant movement, Half-wing stand his ground to meet Liu head on, keeping his eyes on his blade, bracing for Liu's attack.

((Whenever you're ready, dood!))

608408
((Just found an online judge. Waiting for a response.))

Ditzy frantically cheered for both combatants, both being good friends of hers made it difficult to decide who to root for.

608408 ((Approved by SwiftEthan))
[Reaction] Now back on his hooves, Liu stares down Half-Wing, noting the wound he caused earlier on around his neck. I can stare you down for seven minutes straight if I have to, but this isn't that kind of endurance test.

[Action] Rising up onto his hindlegs, Liu now grips the katana with two hooves and powers forward with an angular sweep over the shoulder towards Wing's exposed chest. ((Similar to a baseball player.))

608489 ((Approved by SwiftEthan))
[Reaction] "Exactly what I wanted you to do, Liu." Half-wing thinks as he attempts to jump back, lowering Liu's slash wound down a few inches lower on his chest. The slash still has some power, though, causing blood to splatter with the swords movement. "But not that hard." he rethinks as he coughs up a bit of blood.

[Action] Half-wing spares no expense in waiting for his demise, as he moves his hook into a slightly long chain, spinning it around a hoof before aiming the swirling chain towards Liu's hindlegs, intending to bring him down while he was still bipedal.

608579 ((Approved by Crafter))
[Reaction] With no time to react, Liu feels the hook wrap around a hindhoof, catching him off-balance and into the floor. His heads begins to grow dizzy for a moment, but the pain of the hook digging into a hoof brings him back into focus. So much for strategy, he thinks to himself during his moment of diziness, time for some improvisation!

[Action] Liu shifts his weight into his shoulders and pulls backwards. Kicking his himdlegs into the air, he throws himself into a handstand. While like this, he pulls his tangled hoof backwards in the hopes of dragging Wing with him, despite the burst of pain the maneuver caused with the hook in his hoof.

608652 ((Approved by Kapuchu))
[Reaction]: Half-wing doesn't have the time to release his hook, so gets pulled off of his hooves towards Liu's standing body, he still regains his grip on the blade in his teeth.

[Action] Half-wing pulls on the chain still wrapped around Liu's hind leg, pulling himself forwards, and tries to point his knife towards Liu's front legs.

((Damn all the judges logging as soon as I type my response xD))

608702
((Need a new judge? Why not Crafter?))
((If you get this joke, I will give you a moustache!))

608734
((A certain woop'ing surgeon from the year 3001 comes to mind.
Why not Zoidberg?))

608748
((
Here, take it. I am no longer in need of its services anymore.))

608749
((I shall take it, and shall treasure its existence. Are you waiting for a response or something?))

608756
((I thought Crafter was online, but it seems I sent him the message too late. Looking for a new judge now.))

608763
((On tablet for the next half hour, slow responses.))

608789
((Just messaged Garion, waiting for a response.))

608789>>608794
((Man...my fight seems so boring compared to you guys'....actually, it seems boring in comparison to everybody's....))

Snowfall sits in the stands, continuing to watch with great interest. Both Half Wing and Liu were putting on quite a show for the audience, that was for sure.