Blood and Snow (Open SRP)

[Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian]

Mauritius stepped out of his tent into the frigid northern air of Icecrown Glacier. The Argent Tournament was still in full swing, but the endless training was starting to wear on his nerves. He instead began to stroll down past the coliseum to the training grounds of those yet to prove themselves worthy of public competition.

As he rounded the corner he came across a ring of people cheering and placing bets on what was obviously a fist fight in the center. Mauritius stepped closer and reached a point where he could see a dwarf grappling with what had to be the biggest orc he'd ever seen. The dwarf had a mad look in his eye as he leapt up at the orc, catching a blow directly to the stomach and sending him reeling to the side. As the dwarf rolled to a stop, the orc reached out and picked him up by the hair, preparing to strike the final blow.

Suddenly, the dwarf twisted in the orc's grasp and whirled around to rest on the orc's shoulders, thighs squeezing in a steel grip around the orc's throat. Less than a minute later, the orc crashed unconscious to the ground and a human entered the ring.

"We have our winner, folks! Dagram Stonebeard!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd and Dagram was escorted to a tent nearby, presumably to freshen up and rest after the fight. The orc was unceremoniously dragged into the same tent.

"Now, folks, who will be our next contestants? Who is brave enough to step into the ring?"

Mauritius smiled. It had been quite some time since he'd fought barehanded and unarmored. He raised his fist in the air and strode toward the circle.

"I shall test my mettle, my good man! I am Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian, Knight-Lord of the Crimson Brotherhood and former Knight of the Silver Hand!"

The human smiled as Mauritius strode into the ring, and saluted him with genuine respect.

"Very well! We have our first challenger! Who among you dares challenge this servant of the Light?"

Mauritius stripped his shirt off and folded it neatly next to the circle as he awaited his challenger, whoever it might be.

((Anybody feel free to jump in. Horde, Alliance, or otherwise. If we actually get enough people joining I'll draw up a single elimination chart and we can make a contest out of it. ^_^))

[Deleted]

An ethereal stepped in through the crowd. "What are we all, but servants of the light?" he asked, removing various satchels and hidden blades from his person as he walked. "I will challenge you, paladin." He stepped onto the edge of the ring.

[mosher94]

Rakzor watched from the sidelines. He had been too late to challenge the paladin, unfortunately, but he could still watch.

"My bet is on the ethereal," he said to a nearby troll. "Twenty gold?" Rakzor asked the troll. He nodded. "C'mon, ethereal! Show this human who's what!"

[Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian]

Mauritius started as the ethereal approached the ring. He was familiar with the fighting styles of the races native to Azeroth, but he found his confidence diminishing against this unfamiliar culture.

Snap out of it, Maur. Just because an opponent's capabilities are unfamiliar doesn't mean you should start doubting your own.

Mauritius smiled and saluted the ethereal, as the announcer began to speak.

"It seems we have our second combatant! What shall we call you by, challenger?"

[Deleted]

"My name, elf, is Hallas. Lightbringer, Hallas." He turned to the human announcer. "What are the rules of this... faux conflict?"

[Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian]

The announcer raised his voice so that all could hear.

"The rules are simple! No weapons, no armor, no magic. This is pure brawn and skill. The first combatant to be knocked unconscious or give up loses, while the victor goes on to fight again. So," the announcer turned in a wide arc to regard the entire audience, "This fight is set between the blood elf, Mauritius, and the ethereal, Hallas. Everybody place your bets!"

A low murmur spread out amongst the crowd and coins were tossed in every direction. The betting subsided, and the announcer, almost as if by surprise, shouted out.

"FIGHT!"

Mauritius assumed a defensive position and began to circle Hallas, waiting for the strange being to strike out. If Mauritius hoped to have any chance of winning this, he needed to know how the thing fought.

[Deleted]

Hallas immediately dashed to the left of the elf, ending the run in a slide along the snowy ground, attempting to flank his enemy.

[Spartanoble]

Gretari stared on . ' Comon Hallas , I bet 30 gold on you ' Gretari yelled . He had been low on gold recently and was worried and resorted to betting . He finished the last bite of his apple and threw it at Mauritius ,

'Oi You!' An Argent Peacekeeper yelled
'What' Gretari snapped
' If you dare try a stunt like that again I'll make sure you are removed from the tournament grounds and banned from future events' The Peacekeeper roared .
' Kay Sure whatever ' Gretari replied hiding the smirk from his face .

Gretari watched on

[Deleted]

((I'm off for the night))

[Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian]

Mauritius dodged the apple, but didn't dare move his attention from the ethereal. It moved in a manner unlike any he had seen before, and that made it all the more dangerous.

There's no way I'm going to be able to really learn anything, the way it moves.

Mauritius leapt forward, striking at Hallas' chest, but as his fists moved forward, the ethereal sidestepped, and Mauritius hit open air.

Light! This thing moves with more grace than an elf!

Mauritius readied himself again, trying to fathom how he could possibly beat Hallas.

((No problem. I look forward to continuing the battle. ^_^))

[mosher94]

((eh... "The ethereal sidestepped." God moding, bro.))

[Garots]

((Glad to see you back in the RP scene! We need Vindicator Saakaarang now....))

[Varuni]

Anegua watched as the elf and the etheral danced around the ring, waiting for an opening.

"Come on you etheral, I put 45 gold on you to beat the elf." she muttered to herself.

[Deleted]

((eh... "The ethereal sidestepped." God moding, bro.))

((heh, I don't mind; I mentioned I was off and what he wrote allowed him to continue without adversely affecting me :P))
Hallas continued to sidestep around, leaving phantom copies of himself as he went, that lingered in the air for a few seconds before fading away.
"Clearly, you've never fought ethereals before."
Suddenly, he pounced, dashing low towards the elves legs in a whirlwind of bandages.

[Varuni]

Anegua saw this sudden change in pace, and was trying to mentally tally the gold she would gain if the etheral won.

[Spartanoble]

The odds on Tournabet for the etheral to win the fight were 600/1 . Gretari became excited and was almost jumping . Thinking what he would buy with his winnings

[Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian]

((Does having someone dodge an attack really count as Godmoding? Dodging is usually a subconscious self-preservation tactic.))

As Mauritius saw Hallas attack low he leapt to the side, cartwheeling in an attempt to dodge the unexpected attack and unintentionally bringing his foot within inches of one of the spectator's faces.

He spun to the side and faced his opponent again.

"I've never even set foot on what remains of Draenor. And there's nothing like you on Azeroth."

Light, I wish I had my sword and shield, its been far too long since I've done this.

Suddenly, Mauritius hit upon a plan. If the straightforward strikes of the dwarves he'd trained under were inefficient, he'd have to go far back to the days when he was practicing the Thalassian martial arts. It had been close to 50 years since he'd even thought about using them...

Mauritius adopted a low stance, but with his arms splayed, and began to walk forward. He moved his arms as if they were being blown by the wind, and brought his leg around in a long sweeping arc aimed directly at Hallas' chest.

[Varuni]

Anegua watched the elf strike, and muttered a curse to herself.

I was hoping for a nice, quick match and some easy gold. Ah well, at least I have some entertainment.

[mosher94]

"Go lower than him, ethereal! Don't let me down!" Rakzor yelled.

[Deleted]

The ethereal continued his pounce, sweeping lower than he had originally planned to make up for the elves new stance, now aiming to slide between them.