Telrenya

Her eyes went wide and her body twisted, but her reaction was too slow. She winced as his blade cut deep into her side and she was awarded another bright red, festering wound upon her avatar. Unable to force her own counterattack, she scrambled to leave his range. The color of her health bar shifted to red even before the lingering burn and blight stole away a bit more of it. Telrenya felt backed into a corner. Her opponent’s words edged on taunting in her ears. For every single strike he landed on her, Telrenya had to hit three, all while clawing past his armor and gritting her teeth thr

”Oh…oh!” The name was familiar. Then so was he. Telrenya perked a bit, a shine coming back to her eyes. Bialas, her first boss fight. She’d been terrified, but she didn’t regret showing up and contributing. She briefly wondered if it was the same crowd toiling away on the frontlines. How many new and old faces appeared at those meetings. Would she recognize any of them? It seemed so long ago that she could hardly remember all of the people she fought alongside that time. The smile froze on her face and her heart sank into her stomach. Of course Jomei was there. Hirru mentioned a couple of

While the air was thick with tension is when comedy struck. Telrenya matched his pause, blinking in confusion when Vigilon ate concrete across from her. She gave a quick glance to either side of them, then uncomfortably flashed her free palm out as if to deny any accusation that she might have tossed some paraphernalia onto the battlefield. Though no accusations came her way. Her opponent seemed just as confused as she was. Was it poor form to strike at this moment of uncertainty? Maybe. But the dwindling effects of her second wind made Telrenya feel jumpy. Eager. Impatient. No sooner was

Telrenya shifted to plant her elbows on her knees and place her head in her hands as she sat on the stairs to the monument. She briefly wondered if her bids for conversation were disruptive or unwelcome, though based on his polite demeanor she was already sure that he would deny any such suggestions. Each time his music paused, she vaguely hoped that she wasn’t being too intrusive. The sounds of the harp were nice–angelic, even, with how their light tones bounced off the polished stone walls. Maybe she would ask if he’d made any recording crystals for his music. It had been a long time since s

Sweat beaded on Telrenya’s forehead and was quickly wiped away by the side of her hand. She pulled her wavy blonde hair back into a round bun to let the back of her neck breathe, but it would never be enough. The hot air was already making her lungs feel heavy, and the ash irritated her eyes as she carefully climbed over the edge of the pit and slid unsteadily down its side. She coughed once, then twice, and waved at the particles in front of her face in what quickly became a futile fanning motion. Fighting in this heat was going to be the absolute worst. Her eyes landed on Hirru on the o

Her breathing became a little steadier. Cardinal was easing up on the signals of fatigue the more her quantified energy regenerated. She hadn’t expected all of this to be so hard. The prospect of a tournament didn’t sound easy, of course, but it wasn’t supposed to be this. It was supposed to be like those sparring days at the park in Taft. ‘First one to tag Jomei wins’, she remembered the game they played in order to train their combat skills. Friendly competition, a quick bout, a test of skills, and then one person would emerge the victor. So then why was this all so difficult? She didn’t hav

The two competitors were left there, huffing and puffing and struggling to push themselves and keep going. How long had it been now? Telrenya knelt with one foot planted on the rough tile floor, hunched over herself after having just narrowly escaped one more of Vigilon’s onslaughts. Memories of her very first match came back to her involuntarily. Would they be called for time? She glanced between the health bar in the upper corner of her vision and the one that hovered in the air, wrapped around Vigilon’s side. It was hard to tell, but she thought his was more full. If they timed out here, he

Telrenya twisted her body, dodging to the side with a spin to avoid Vigilon’s burst of speed just in time. She only wished she could have remained as graceful. The force of her opponent shooting past her, stabbing through the air where her body had just been, and the panicked speed at which she dodged left her off balance, and she tumbled to the ground at the same time Vigilon’s attack found the arena wall. She let out a pained grunt as the last of the burning, noxious damage worked its way through her system and she was allowed the relief of a clear status bar again. She panted, propping

Another deafening clang of metal rang out as Vigilon’s counterattack batted away her rapier. Her arm swung up with it, refusing to let the weapon slip from her hands, but the momentum left her vulnerable. Wide open. She winced hard as his attack was just as intense as the first: another critical hit that left her with twin status effects. She could have stuck it out through the art, but her opponent drove the point home by sinking a knife into her back. ”Great minds…think alike.” She tried to quip back, but her voice was strained. The buzzing in the back of her head was distracting and un

They were hardly left waiting, with Telrenya turning to see Yue Hua’s approach moments after she felt that she’d settled into her arrival. A smile tugged at her lips, one that was less awkward than it had been a second ago. ”Pollux!” She called to the woman brightly. Then her brows turned up slightly with hesitation. ”Or–sorry, do you go by another name?” She swore she heard something to that effect during the introductions of their fight. But since then, having only seen her username, she was regret to realize she hadn’t the faintest idea what that other name was. Pleasantries aside, Tel

Their banter had stopped now. Each of them were embroiled in the fight, concentrating on the other’s movements, straining to make their own as perfect as possible. The enjoyment of a friendly skirmish drained away and they were left with two competitors who were equally desperate to win. Clawing at the promise of victory, Telrenya’s blade connected with another empowered attack and she once again felt the bite of his crystal’s burn. Their avatars wore scattered slashes and pinpricks of bright red battle damage, reflecting the damage they took like scars, and the noise of the crowd came in inco

The crowd buzzed with excitement when a blow had at last been struck. As intense as their duel had been thus far, stalemates could only be so entertaining for an audience. Telrenya’s eyes landed on the belt buckle he presented as the cause of his improved defenses. ’Of course.’ She’d remembered seeing the item in this week’s shop, but she’d put all her eggs in one basket by spending her precious tokens on the glass mirror. Adding more buffs on her end would have only complicated her plan, and risked handing her opponent an advantage when she’d meant to turn the tables. ’Well, at least now I kn

morningstar receives a second favor quantity of souls TBD

Despite their lengthy and grandiose displays of combat prowess, Telrenya’s stamina had barely been scratched. Each sword art she threw out had fizzled without a target, and so Cardinal hadn’t deemed it necessary to present any symptoms of fatigue. So she continued, another quick turn, a dash and a parry. ”Oh, of course not!” She shot back with a smile. Just as soon as she’d quipped back, her eyes lit up as she spotted an opportunity. An unmistakable chance to slip past his defenses, just once. ”But neither are you!” Her voice came with emphasis as she lunged deeply, dropping her stance an

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