Virtual War Drome 1: Enchanted Forest

by **jacktheriffer** on Mon Jan 28, 2013 10:28 pm

In the middle of the forest, a bright light appeared briefly, before disappearing just as quickly. Left in its wake was a young man that wouldn't be out of place in the '80s, what with his ruffled jeans, T-shirt with a triforce on it, and a power glove covering one of his hands. His name was Jack. He got up, having spawned in a crouching position.The top half of his face was covered in shadow, even though the few slivers of light that came through the canopy of trees hit his face directly. He looked around, and frowned slightly.

A forest, Jack thought, a little disappointed, before looking down at himself. I must look really out of place here. He looked around, expecting his opponent to pop out at any time. After waiting a minute, he decided the best tactic in his situation would be the element of surprise, since his 'gun'-which was technically an NES Zapper that he modified-probably wouldn't do well against someone who used swords. Surveying his immediate surroundings, he found a particularly shadowy place between two trees, and sunk into the ground, practically merging with his shadow, which was near-invisible amongst the shadows of trees and branches.

This'll only last a few seconds, he thought, with a hint of nervousness. So wherever the guy I'm supposed to be fighting is, he-or she-better show up fast...

by **RationalThought** on Tue Jan 29, 2013 8:42 am

In a dark, thick part of the forest, close to Jack's location, a bright light appeared, just as it had to transport the human to this land. Left in its wake was a demon, tall, and with a regal bearing. He was well-muscled, wearing ornate black armor that left his pale grey, muscular arms bare. Indeed, his entire skin was that pale grey color, providing a marked contrast to his glowing red eyes and long black horns. He stepped forward, a crease appearing on his bald brow, frowning above his black goatee. As he stepped, another feature was revealed - his black, hairy hooves.

Not here? thought Mephistroth, the Demon Sovereign, No...more likely my opponent is hiding...perhaps in the trees, or in the many shadows. He held out his hand, and an orb of darkness appeared, solidifying and elongating into a black steel longsword that wouldn't look out of place in a knight's hands, were it not for the grinning demon face on the pommel, the lavishly inlaid rubies forming the horrid eyes of the thing. The demon got into a defensive stance, scanning the trees and ground for any sign of an enemy.

He'll show...no one can hide forever.

by **jacktheriffer** on Tue Jan 29, 2013 8:20 pm

Jack (or rather Jack's shadow) had by then quickly slid up the trunk of one of the trees and onto a sturdy branch, before Jack reappeared, crouching so as to not give away his position. He looked at his opponent with slight hesitation. Never fought a demon before, he thought, as he toyed with the Zapper in his non-gloved hand in nervousness. His eyes widened when he saw the sword. However, he was high up, and the numerous branches of the tree concealed him. I still have another trick up my sleeve, he thought to himself, as he pressed the up button on his glove. He arm suddenly started to change, growing wider and becoming more blocky, until the size of his fist was as big as his head; he was just barely able to keep his balance on the tree branch. I can only use this for 3 hits, then I'm going to have to resort to my Zapper, although it probably won't do much, he thought with trepidation. And with that, he leaped quickly from the branch and towards Mephistroth, his enlarged fist waiting to make a connection.

by **RationalThought** on Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:27 pm

Mephistroth saw his opponent out of the corner of his eye, turning just in time to avoid the brunt of the attack. The fist, however, clipped the demon king on the shoulder, slightly denting the armor and driving him back a couple steps.

Mephistroth smiled venomously, speaking in a deep, intense, authoritative voice. "Why hello. You must be my opponent. A human, I see." He shut his eyes, opening them again, their red glowing suddenly increasing. Jack began to feel the attack the pale demon was performing - a mental assault, battering his mind with waves of doubt, and fear, with just the smallest hint of pain. Probably a strong-willed one. The fighters always are. Better make sure... Mephistroth raised his sword, which began to glow with a purple light, unleashing a barrage of dark energy bolts, which rapidly flew at Jack from all directions.

by **jacktheriffer** on Wed Jan 30, 2013 10:19 pm

Jack got up from the ground slowly, and got up slowly, the weight of his enlarged fist causing him to wobble slightly before he was able to balance himself. This is going to suck, he thought to himself. He looked up when he heard the demon speak, and felt a wave of intimidation ripple over his body from his voice. He shrugged it off, however, confident that he'd be able to find a way to defeat this foe. However, he wasn't prepared for what happened next, as his head suddenly started hurting. Voices in his head started shouting at him; "Worthless!", "Weak!", and various other things. His head pounding, he glared at the demon, realizing that this was probably one of his attacks. Mental attacks. Clever, he was barely able to think while the voices continued to taunt him. His eyes widened when he saw the bolts of dark energy fly at him, and-his heart racing-he frantically started dodging them, some of them hitting the trees nearby, a few of them just barely grazed him, and a couple missed him entirely. However, he was not able to dodge one of them, which hit him squarely on the chest, knocking him backwards, the center of his shirt slightly smoldering. He got up again, using his giant fist to balance himself, as his legs were shaking slightly. He set his eyes on Mephistroth. The voices were still mocking him, making him lose his focus, and he yelled in his head, SHUT UP!, and they vanished. He made a running charge towards the demon, and swung his fist once more, hoping to get lucky and cause some damage to him, or-if that didn't work-at least damage his armor some more.

by **RationalThought** on Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:52 pm

Damn! Too fast to dodge... Mephistroth thought, bringing up his sword to block the fist. Unfortunately, the sheer force of the fist easily knocked the Demon Blade aside. The pale demon tried to move out of the way, but he was far too slow - the man's power fist slammed into the demon's chest, hard. The powerful punch knocked Mephistroth a ways away, bruising him badly and making a small hole in his armor, cracking a few of his ribs. Ouch. If I weren't a demon, that might have done far worse. The demon king stood back up, having been knocked prone by his remarkably quick opponent. Better wrap this up quick - a few more punches like that and I'll have to deal with worse than broken ribs.

Mephistroth raised his blade, hurling it high into the air. Let's see you dodge this, boy. He fired a beam of dark energy up towards his sword, which started spinning fast, launching gobs of darkness throughout the forest. The sword fell back to the demon's hand, as he stabbed the ground, blanketing Jack's immediate area in impenetrable darkness. Now then...can you dodge from all directions, without seeing or hearing the projectiles? Mephistroth flexed has hand, as the hundreds of shadow bolts came careening back at high speed, aimed directly at Jack from all different directions.

by **Lordxana0** on Wed Mar 06, 2013 7:12 pm

Drome reset. Battle Canceled. Both characters live.

by **AMimsyBorogove** on Wed Mar 06, 2013 8:13 pm

The archer slowly opened his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting the familiar air fill his lungs. The rustling of the wind through the branches high overhead, and the old sight of giant trees spreading outward in all directions, were more than enough to tell Borogove exactly where he was. But for this same forest, one he'd obliterated along with the rest of the planet the last time he'd been conscious, to exist once more, in exactly the same state as it had when he had last fought here... Truly, this place's reconstructive capacities were nothing to be laughed at.

In any case, there was no time to marvel at such things. There was only one reason why Borogove would be in this place once again. There was an enemy here, a target he would have to find, do battle with, and kill. He did not have the luxury of time to fritter away with idle contemplation.

The archer's eyes began to dance across the forest, taking in every detail he could as he began his search for his target. At the same time, he reached out to his side, and, thinking back to his last battle, decided upon the weapon he would employ for this fight.

"Celestial Blade: Sword of Hisou," He declared quietly. A flash of gold spread out around his hand as he slowly reached out to his side, then closed his palm around thin air. At that same time, however, the gleaming light behind him resolved itself into a swirling pool of energy, from which slowly rose a simple and yet magnificent crimson blade, golden runes glistening like sunlight all along its flat as Borogove took hold of its handle and drew it forth from the intangible gate behind him, a portal that swiftly closed a moment later.

The Archer smiled slightly. From the moment he had laid hands on the blade, he had been able to feel its power rushing into him. But, at the same time, he noticed something else. A faint flicker of scarlet mist was beginning to rise upward from a spot a short distance away, flowing downward towards the sword in his hand. The spiritual traces of the enemy? It seemed so. In any case, the archer was ready to face this unknown adversary, whoever he might have been. Concentrating his mind, Borogove cleared his thoughts, and began to focus on the sword in his hand, taking it apart, concept by concept, and piecing it back together. But as he reconstructed the blade's nature, he added a little something of his own, a concept that, to his surprise, the blade began to adapt to astoundingly well.

A holy sword, huh? The archer thought, smirking. Perfect. That's just the thing I was hoping for.

by **Endless Sea** on Thu Mar 07, 2013 7:19 pm

Alaki frowned as he shifted his foot on the branch, its metal sole refusing to catch on the bark beneath it. It had been a while since his first match, but he recalled a distinctly different feel to the forest the last time he'd been there. Back then, it had been overflowing with untapped magic, filled with the sounds of rustling leaves and running water and whatever fauna called the arena home. This time around, it was quiet and still enough for him to hear whatever analogue for cardiac muscle he posessed pumped energy throughout his veins, and while he could still detect traces of arcane power in the tree he was standing on, it felt oddly muted, as if the oak was hording its magic, trying to keep it just beyond his figurative reach.

He briefly nursed the idea of the forest reacting to his presence as he finally stabilized his footing- perhaps the trees were sentient? Did they remember what he had done to them in his previous battle? Did they remember his opponent? Was he overthinking the matter, and the muffled feeling was just a side effect of the arena resetting?- and reached out with his powers into the tree's magic reserves. Their response was sluggish, required a bit more focus and patience than he would have preferred, but inevitably the oak submitted to Alaki's will, and he felt his own reserves increase as he continued to siphon power. Soon, he reached out to the trees surrounding his, and they too yielded their stockpiles to the Forged to be used as he saw fit.

by **AMimsyBorogove** on Thu Mar 07, 2013 8:47 pm

Sword of Hisou's Power Level: 10/100
Borogove's Power Level: 1 x 3 Concepts = 3.
Concepts Gained in this post: 3 x 2 x 3 = 18.
Concepts Added in this post: 3 + 4 = 7
Weapons Created in this post: 2 Concepts worth.
End Concept Power Level: 12.
Current Rate of Charging: 3 Concepts per turn.

............................................................................................................................................................

The Archer's satisfaction only grew as he analyzed his current situation. The scarlet mist flowing from a nearby branch of the forest, rising up from within his adversary and into the air, then gathering around the sword in his hand, had not shifted in the point from which it emanated, and, better still, had begun to intensify. Streaming into his thoughts from the spiritual energy that had been copied and gathered by the blade's power came the knowledge of his opponent's temperament, and a vague feeling of his powers. Yes, Borogove could perceive the familiar concept of eight elements from within this man's heart, but there were several things off about it. It seemed that whatever conceptual elements he had ties to were somewhat different from the elements of alchemy that the Archer held a connection to. At any rate, if his power was based around elemental control, that was both an advantage and an issue to Borogove. On the one hand, it meant that, if he powered up sufficiently, or if he used the Sword of Hisou's ability to control the weather, he could defend himself from the enemy's attacks directly, something he hadn't been easily able to do against the vastly stronger Goliath and his titanic powers. But, on the other hand, it meant that if his enemy could overpower him, he would hold that same advantage. In short, this fight would likely be decided solely by the strength of the combatants, unless one of them broke out a trump card the other had no knowledge of and no control over. For the Archer, this purpose would have to fall upon the Sword of Hisou. However, he could vaguely perceive something abnormal, a power beyond conventional magic, emanating from his enemy's very being. So, they were evenly matched in that regard, huh? He'd have to play it safe, or else he might fall prey to this unknown threat.

At any rate, it had become clear that the first order of business was to consolidate his energy as quickly as possible, a plan that also seemed to have occurred to his enemy, as the unknown target had yet to move. Normally, this task of empowering him would fall upon the concept Muramasa, the demonic sword that triplicated the Archer's power. However, in this situation, effectively utilizing that ability would be impossible. As the Sword of Hisou was, quite clearly, a holy weapon, that concept would be instantly rejected by it. But, on the other hand, perhaps that wasn't a bad thing? The enigmatic scarlet mist, the purpose and function of which he had only just discerned, seemed to have much the same effect as the cursed blade the Archer usually favored. From the single concept worth of power he'd just imbued the weapon with, already he could feel at least three concepts returned to his control. So, this sword tripled power even without the influence of Muramasa? How useful. And, better still, it was a holy weapon, which meant that another, similar power that Borogove held would be oh-so-easy to utilize.

"Concept: Masamune." With this quiet declaration, Borogove surged the three concepts of power he now held, condensing them into a single ability: the identity of a peerlessly crafted holy sword, the light to balance out the darkness of Muramasa. While the demonic blade focused solely on power, tripling the energy it was imbued with at the price of either the user's blood or his sanity, its holy counterpart took the opposite approach, maximizing control over the power placed within it, and vastly increasing the efficiency of the energy it was given. Thus, when the Archer deployed this concept, it allowed him to function normally on 1/3rd the power he usually needed, therefore giving him the power to create weapons and concepts three times faster than he usually could. The scarlet mist around the sword emitted a vermillion-streaked white light as this ability became an intrinsic part of the weapon's identity, permanently enhancing its nature. But, it did not stop at the concept's normal function.

The Sword of Hisou, as Borogove had already realized, was a Holy Sword. Therefore, it would have been simple to just add the additional element of Muramasa's efficiency to the already-existing concept, barely expending any power at all. But the Archer wasn't content with just the usual level of efficiency. No, he wanted to go above and beyond his normal limits, breaking through them and attaining a level of unprecedented power. And so, instead of simply enhancing the already existing concept, he chose to create a completely new one, then combine it with the first, effectively doubling the powers of the Holy Sword concept the blade already held. With this power, he could operate 6 times more efficiently than he usually could. But that wasn't all. With the enhancement of the blade's scarlet mist to triple his base energy capacity, he could, in effect, work 18 times faster than his basic level.

Perfect. With this blade, he wouldn't have to waste time struggling to match his opponent's power. Right from the very start, he'd be able to fight on equal terms with his enemy. Even with the trump card that foe held, whatever it might have been, he'd have his own already prepared to match it. But, at the same time, he couldn't risk deploying the Sword of Hisou recklessly. That would give his opponent time to understand, and to counter the weapon. But if the Archer held it in reserve until the time in which it was needed, he would be able to attack suddenly and without warning, utilizing a blade his opponent wouldn't be prepared to deal with.

And so, condensing his power once again, the archer charged another concept into the Sword of Hisou. Almost instantly, the blade set to work, and, within a few moments, it had been tripled, then hextupled in efficiency. When the power returned to him, he had a truly staggering 18 concepts left to work with. This would be the reserve of energy he would draw from to last him while he gauged the enemy's combat style, and discovered how to counter it. With it, and whatever power he managed to deploy during the battle itself, he'd be more than ready to deal with his enemy's attacks, no matter how versatile they were. Reasoning thus, he withdrew his power into himself, and dismissed the scarlet-bladed sword in his hand, allowing it to vanish into the golden ripples from whence it had come. At once, the scarlet mist now beginning to fill the air dissipated, dispersing into the heavens. At the next moment, however, something unusual happened. The previously clear sky clouded over and, tainted by the temperament within the scarlet mist, abruptly changed. A mighty wind picked up, blowing fiercely down upon the thick woods, and carrying with it a sudden torrent of snow. In an instant, the day went from total clarity to a frightfully howling blizzard.

So... This is the weather-controlling power of the Sword of Hisou? Or, more accurately, this snowstorm is the form of my opponent's temperament. Troublesome. Thinking these thoughts, the archer set about creating himself a weapon. Deploying a full six concepts for the job, he created a favorite bow of his, a broad, yet compact armament mounted in a gauntlet on his wrist. (Bow pictured in Borogove's second photo.) Made from an unknown substance that was metallic and hard, yet flexible and limber, the black weapon was capable of folding up and contracting to form a small yet durable arm bracer, or expanding to form a full-sized longbow. Folding it out, the Archer tested the string while at the same time setting about his work. Within a few moments, the bow flashed a faint shade of gold, and the work was done.

One concept for the bow itself, another for the arrow. The remaining four can go to... let's see, I'll need efficiency to continue creating ammunition. Masamune, then. As for the other, these winds might very well prove troublesome for shooting in. I'll cancel that out and increase the shot's power in one fell swoop. Air concept, then. Now, for the arrow... The Archer thought to himself. Setting aside the nature of the completed bow for the time being, he used his last concept to create a final weapon. A black shape took form within the Archer's free hand, forming the handle and blade of a long-bladed broadsword. In the next instant, however, this silhouette shifted and warped, collapsing upon itself and twisting outward, going from a flat edge to a spiraling, serrated drill-shape that was much more compact, and, because of this, much more condensed in its power than the original sword.

The hilt abruptly split to form a notch to fit the string of the bow, and, smiling contentedly, the Archer swiftly knocked the projectile to the unfolded weapon on his wrist, keeping the string taunt, yet not drawing it back. The falling snow whirled around him as the air abruptly began to twist and collapse, then expanded outward rapidly, creating a shockwave at the exact instant that Borogove, bracing himself, leaped upward, kicking up a deluge of white as he rose rapidly into the air, landing in the branches of a tree before repeating the jump. Following the trail of power left by the scarlet mist, he swiftly closed in on his target, already prepared for battle.

Stopping his motion within the high boughs over a small corridor made by the trees, he let his eyes dart keenly about, and, a moment later, he located the target he sought. The sword-arrow gleamed maliciously as he raised the bow, taking aim and drawing back the string. Satisfied with his aim, he held his breath, and then released the shot. With a powerful twang, the string snapped back, and, hissing as it flew, the air gathering around it and propelling it like a rocket straight towards the target's back, the sword rushed towards its intended victim, spinning so quickly that its protruding spikes created a literal tornado of displaced air in its wake, whirling its lethal point with enough energy to have bored clear through steel with ease. He was several dozen yards away, but the projectile, propelled by the air around that, would clear that distance almost instantly. Although he doubted that the surprise attack would do much damage to his clearly prepared target, it would nevertheless do exactly as it was intended to. It would give his preoccupied enemy almost no time to dodge, even if he noticed the shot before it was fired. He would likely, thus, be forced to defend himself, which would in turn mean that Borogove could appraise his foe's powers, and almost immediately act to counter them. And, if everything went as planned, the sword might just break in the attack, giving him a little something else to work with, when the time was right...

by **Endless Sea** on Fri Mar 08, 2013 4:39 pm

Random snowstorm. Not mine. Alaki smiled and extended his left hand forward, a more ornate version of the spear he'd used in previous fights forming in his empty grasp out of stray ice particles on the wind. Good. Whoever the hell I'm fighting has no clue what he's doing. In that case, might as well screw around a bit, savor the futility.

...Futility. When did I start saying stuff like that, again? Hell, when the crap did I start thinking in words, for that matter?

The Forged gave his weapon an experimental swing, and more snow coalesced into an ice bridge to another tree. He stepped on, and immediately the ice beneath his feet began to move at his command, carrying him along the surface of the makeshift structure to its destination; then, its purpose served, it disintegrated back into its component snowflakes and fed itself into the small vortex of snow that had formed around its creator, ready to be absorbed to feed his still-growing energy reserves.

At the edge of his expanded psychic awareness, he detected movement inconsistent with the blizzard, accompanied by the odd surface thought consistent with an intelligent mind- evidently, his opponent had found him.

Sighing to himself, he turned his head, making sure to anchor his feet to the branch with the snow covering it, and was promptly interrupted by the (surprisingly quiet) impact of something sharp and metallic ramming into the tree he was perched on at shoulder level. Blinking, Alaki leaned in closer to the foreign object; despite it being somewhat deformed upon impact, he was able to make out enough of what he assumed was its original design to conclude that someone had tried to fuse as many melee weapons as possible into what could vaguely be construed as an arrow and fired it at him (presumably through means less reliant on aerodynamic projectiles than a bow, because seriously how the hell was that thing supposed to fly at all).

Only half concentrating as he created another ice bridge, he reached out with his free hand and tugged free the projectile, twiddling it between his fingers as he stepped off his branch. Ice-covered, the Forged noted. Not snow; ice. What up with that? Did it get caught in the ice power vortex thingy or something? He frowned. Eh, whatever. If he's just using a bunch of those thingies like this one, probably not gonna have too much trouble dealing with them. Might as well keep charging unless he gets something bigger...

by **AMimsyBorogove** on Fri Mar 08, 2013 7:16 pm

Sword of Hisou's Power Level: 10/100 - INACTIVE
Borogove's Power Level: 18 - 6 Concepts = 12.
Concepts Gained in this post: 1 x 3 = 3
Concepts Added in this post: 2
Weapons Created in this post: 1 Concept worth.
End Concept Power Level: 12.
Current Rate of Charging: 3 Concepts per turn.
Current Weapons: Wrist Bow, bearing Masamune and Wind Concepts, with Lightning concept added this turn. Sword Arrow created this turn, bearing One of Ten concept, added this turn.

............................................................................................................................................................

The Archer smiled calmly. So, this enemy's Temperament hadn't been a coincidence. It seemed his element of choice was ice, if the barrier he'd constructed to misdirect the Archer's magically-controlled sword projectile was any indicator. Yet, it also seemed that his opponent had an altogether carefree demeanor, since he seemed too busy faffing about with Borogove's broken sword arrow, which had, naturally, shattered from the strain of being drawn forth after impacting the tree at such high speeds, to even start searching for his enemy. The Archer smirked. The strange construct before him had been so foolish as to dislodge and pick up a piece of the spent projectile, the blade activating on contact as the enemy broke it apart, and causing a rune to be instantly placed upon his hand as a small segment of Borogove's soul overlaid itself over the reality of that location, then began to spread.

"Sever," The Archer declared coolly, snapping the fingers of his free hand while at the same time focusing on pressing his advantage, putting the energy he'd just charged through his bow to good use. Instantly, the rune now engraved on the palm of the construct's hand flashed and surged its power, condensing its strength to a single point and then lancing straight inward with all of its power, aiming to impale the enemy's arm up to at least the elbow. With all its energy concentrated into a single vector, this would probably be enough to disable the limb easily. And, unless the enemy had some means of blocking an ultra-condensed attack inside of and on the surface of his own body - which would probably tear apart his arm all the same - or noticed the rune and slashed off his own hand in time to save the rest of his arm from damage - a remarkably pointless attempt, in any case - then it was highly doubtful he'd have a chance to grasp the form of Borogove's attack before it hit him, considering the nigh-instantaneous activation time of the "Sever" command. Meanwhile, the three concepts Borogove now held were divided up into equal parts, one forming another sword-arrow identical to the first, while another entered the bow, imbuing it and the projectiles it fired with the essence of lightning. The final concept was then added to the arrow, imbuing with the multiplier "One of Ten," an effect which would cause it to copy itself nine times upon being fired.

Borogove wasted no time. Just a few seconds after his rune activated, while his opponent would likely be distracted trying to deal with the attack suddenly erupting on his own arm, the Archer swiftly knocked his arrow to his bow, took aim, and fired. Contrary to his enemy's expectations, the sword-arrow didn't exactly obey conventional physics. Being imbued with the essence of wind would have allowed just about anything to become aerodynamic enough to fly straight, and, even had it not, the Archer's soul still held enough sway over the projectile constructed from his essence to control its flight. And, furthermore, now the arrow had an additional advantage. The moment it left the bow, it became encased in a bolt of lightning, spiraling and flying even faster than the last shot, piercing straight through the air at a truly staggering velocity, traversing the distance almost instantly. Just as it drew near to the target, however, it abruptly expanded outward, forming an additional nine blades in a small, compact cloud around it. While his barrier might have been enough to turn away the previous shot, turning away ten arrows at once spread over a much wider area, and each moving at such staggering speeds, would require a much greater effort. And, with his concentration likely occupied with the sudden lance of energy erupting within his own arm, this attack would doubtless prove much more difficult to shrug off than the Archer's last.

Borogove grinned, already preparing his next concepts to take another shot from his perch amidst the tree branches. If he could help it, he wouldn't give his enemy any chance to attack. He'd take the offensive right from the start, forcing the enemy to show every last trick he was capable of. Once the Archer knew his enemy, he'd eliminate him in a single shot.

(Before you call godmodding on the rune, allow me to say one thing. The arrow was "deformed by the impact," weakening its structure while at the same time embedding most of it firmly within the tree. It was already covered in spikes and spiraling protrusions, meaning that now it'd largely be catching firmly on the tree. Furthermore, it was rapidly chilled by your defense, which would make it brittle. So, yeah. Drawing it would certainly break it completely, which would in turn engrave a rune on anything it touched: I.E. Your hand.)

by **Endless Sea** on Fri Mar 08, 2013 10:37 pm

Snorting, Alaki tossed the ice-covered chunk of metal into the newly formed snowdrifts below and glanced at the indent in his palm. It wasn't even a centimeter deep, but that was still enough to almost bypass his armor and reach the flesh beneath. That was probably a good reason to be a bit more cautious; considering the amount of damage blunt-force magical attacks usually did to Myrmidons, the fact that the skin wound was as deep as it was said much about the enemy's arcane prowess.

...Come to think of it, I haven't actually gotten a good look at him, have I? the Forged noted. He turned again in the direction that he'd sensed his opponent, his photoreceptors readjusting to better filter out the snow from his vision and extend his sight range. Welp, there he is- oh goddammit another bishonen. Wonderful. Alaki's frown returned as he squinted. ...you've gotta be kidding me. A bow. He's actually using a bow. I don't even-

The core of the archer's weapon flickered with blue light, and Alaki instinctively swung his spear upwards as he leaped backwards to another branch out of his opponent's line of sight. The snow on the ground between the two exploded into an enormous cloud of ice spikes and huge chunks of sub-zero shrapnel, and the Forged barely heard the dull sounds of multiple metallic projectiles being knocked askew and impacting random trees and the ground over the thunderous crashing of the detonated snowdrift. The familiar tang of ozone, on the other hand, was easily detectable, as were the brief flashes of blue that arced between what he presumed were his opponent's projectiles, both evoking fond memories of the last time Mirathos ended up annoyed enough to resort to channeling Darth Sidious as his method of enforcing discipline. Probably could've let those hit me, now that I think about it, he thought. I'm used to lightning by now, and if he's using magic...

by **AMimsyBorogove** on Fri Mar 08, 2013 11:31 pm

Sword of Hisou's Power Level: 20/100 - Briefly active, inactive by the end of the post.
Borogove's Starting Power Level: 12
Concepts Gained in this post: 1 x 3 x 3 x 2 x 3 x 3 + (12 x 2) = 186
Concepts Added to Weapons in this post: 1
Weapons Created in this post: 0
End Concept Power Level: 12 + 186 - 1 = 197 Concepts
Current Rate of Charging: 3 concepts per turn by the end of the post.
Current Weapons: Wrist Bow turned into a sword this turn, bearing wind and lightning concepts. Masamune removed this turn, recycled to Muramasa. Added Void concept this turn.

............................................................................................................................................................

The Archer raised an eyebrow as his attacks were deflected yet again. The barrage of arrows was turned aside, this time by an active magical defense. But, this wasn't what had interested him. The fragment of his soul that should have pierced straight through the enemy's arm inexplicably failed to pierce through. So, this enemy had an anti-existence type defense? How troublesome. The seven major elements, aspects of reality, would have trouble breaking through such an armor. No, there was only one element that would bypass that defense: the power of non-existence, the element that violated reality. The void was Borogove's best chance at actually damaging his enemy, then. Huh. Somehow, this seemed familiar.

Well, at any rate, that meant that his bow would be largely useless, which in turn meant that he'd need more power. The Sword, then. Currently, the area between himself and the enemy was blocked by a whirling wall of snow, but with his enemy's control over this, he'd need to buy himself some time if he wanted to keep the blade hidden from view. But, the target had provided him the exact means of accomplishing this, for there were now ten broken swords lying all across the frozen ground and throughout the trees, with runes formed at each and every point where a mere shard of one of these blades had fallen.

Snapping his fingers once, he declared his command. A moment later, he did the same again, one explosion following another as, to his enemy, it would seem like he was firing blindly in a failed attempt to hit his target. These bursts of power would mask his own surging energy, while at the same time kicking up a whirlwind of dust, debris, snow, and smoke, the shockwave of the continuous explosion keeping his enemy from advancing, and the smokescreen keeping him from seeing or sensing what his enemy was doing.

"Shatter. Now, Heavenly Blade: Sword of Hisou. And, Shatter." He murmured one spell after another, detonating two more runes as he once more drew forth the scarlet saber from within the rippling golden gate behind him. Wasting no time, he began channeling his energy now into both the weapons in his hands, first into the Sword, then, once the energy had been maximized by this ability, into his bow, further increasing the power of the single concept he'd added. The sword's maximum potential, as of yet, was 18 concepts of power. However, when utilized in conjunction with his bow, these 18 concepts became three times more efficient once again, multiplying up to a total of 54 concepts worth of power. This energy joined the 12 concepts already simmering within his soul, more than quadrupling his power level in an instant. Its purpose fulfilled, the Archer hastily dismissed the Sword of Hisou, masking it from his opponent's perceptions. Then, snapping his fingers a final time, he detonated all of his remaining runes at once, freeing up his soul to utilize additional weapons while also scattering the wall of dust and ash outward, buying him just a little more time.

Quickly focusing on the bow attached to his wrist, he swiftly began to alter its nature. With the amount of power he now held, the intense arcane energy filling the forest all around him, and the Scarlet Temperament filling the air, reshaping a single weapon was child's play. In an instant, the bow had detached itself from his arm, and immediately began to change form, folding up on itself, then lengthening, transforming into a long, ornate two-edged sword. But the Archer was far from done, for already, he'd begun to alter the bow's conceptual existence as well as its physical form, removing its Masamune concept just as he hardened its composition into a more effective blade. Taking this freed up energy, he immediately returned it to the blade in the form of its polar opposite: Muramasa. Sliding his free hand's palm along the edge of the sword, he slit open his palm, staining the blade with scarlet claret that it drank hungrily. But he wasn't done. With the original concept that had amplified the energy's efficiency removed, the now-changed weapon with its entirely new concept could serve the same purpose over again. And so, imbuing it with the 66 concepts of energy he now held, he tripled this power again, powering up to a full 198 concepts with of power. Drawing back this energy, however, the Archer remained patient. He didn't want to break out so much power needlessly or hastily. No, this power could wait until he actually needed it. Instead, he'd economize, and imbue the blade with a single new concept: Void. The dark sword flashed with black lightning as the concept became active, its curse screaming for the death of the enemy who stood before it.

The Archer smirked, awaiting the appearance of his enemy from beyond the mist. Perhaps he'd let his foe attack after all? He'd need to analyze his enemy's offensive capabilities, at any rate. This would be a good opportunity to hide his true strength, allowing his enemy to waste his energy trying to kill him, all the while he could continue in his preparations for his coup de grace.

by **Endless Sea** on Sat Mar 09, 2013 6:36 pm

The ever-familiar sound of explosions echoed through the forest, and Alaki glanced back to the tree he'd been occupying during the archer's previous attack, which was collapsing in a cloud of wood splinters and snow, as were several of its nearby brethren. Well, that's new. Beat me to the punch, you asshole. He pointed his spear, and wisps of energy emerged from the debris and joined the snow spiraling around him in being absorbed as elemental power. Well, at least it's still usable as fuel, though I'm gonna have to mark a few more trees now. You'd better be happy, bro- I'd rather be blasting the crap out of the guy right now than running around devising eeeeeeeevil plots and crap. Haven't even tried to freaking shoot him yet.

The Forged's optics refocused themselves, sifting through the dust cloud to pick out his opponent, who'd just abandoned his bow in favor of an ebon broadsword. Alaki felt something vanish in the peripherals of his psychic awareness, and a quick mental probe of the area determined that the enemy's new weapon was oddly resistant to magic, in the sense that antimatter was resistant to normal matter, in the sense that things went screwy just by the two being in the same general area as each other. All right, then, there goes close combat as an option. In other words, keep doing what I'm doing. Whatevs. With that, Alaki turned and bridged his way to yet another tree, making sure to keep some of his attention focused on his opponent at all times.

by **AMimsyBorogove** on Sat Mar 09, 2013 7:28 pm

Sword of Hisou's Power Level: 20/100 - INACTIVE.
Borogove's Starting Power Level: 197
Concepts Gained in this post: 1 x 3 = 3
Concepts Added to Weapons in this post: 3
Weapons Created in this post: 0
End Concept Power Level: 197 Concepts
Current Rate of Charging: 3 concepts per turn.
Current Weapons: Black Lightning Sword (Total energy: 24 Concepts, 3 from its base makeup tripled by Muramasa, 3 from Masamune tripled by Muramasa, 3 from Wind, Lightning, and Void, all tripled by Muramasa, and 1 from each new concept.) bearing Muramasa, Wind, Lightning, and Void concepts. Added Fire, Water, and Aether concepts this turn.

............................................................................................................................................................

Running away, huh? So, he's made the same observations I have. He must be trying to just power up using his own Temperament until he thinks he can overpower me in a straight-out contest of strength. Tch. Well, I suppose I could render all of his efforts useless by just deploying the Sword, but then my little surprise goes right out the window. At any rate, my current power growth is exponential, whereas he's simply powering up at a linear rate. I can easily outstrip him in this sort of contest, no matter what he tries. Heh. It took me 31 Concepts - albeit cleverly worded - to destroy four gods at once. What does he hope to accomplish now that I have more than six times that level of power? The Archer thought calmly, bringing up his new sword in preparation to do battle. At any rate, since his enemy was just going to run away, and he had energy to spare, he might as well test the foe's defensive capabilities, as it seemed like his mysterious armor, whatever its abilities, would be the only thing the cowardly adversary would be making use of. And, since he'd be needing certain... other concepts... at a later time, he might as well start adding them now.

He could strengthen the aspects of his sword later. For now, he wanted to focus on powering up first and actually attacking second. Being hasty would get him nowhere. So, he satisfied himself by simply breaking off the three concepts his sword had just produced, and adding them in the form of water, fire, and aether concepts. The first would, much like his sword from the last battle, absorb all available moisture, while at the same time strengthening his body through the water that made it up. Of course, this time, the concept would be much more dangerous than it had been during the last fight. They were, after all, in the middle of a tremendous blizzard, so the moisture in the air was quite considerable. And, since ice seemed to be his foe's primary element, combining the energy absorption factor with the void concept already present and its anti-magical capabilities, he would be able to break through those whirling frost barriers now with ease.

The second concept, meanwhile, was a more proactive one. Utilizing the heat generated by the lightning surrounding the sword's blade, it would amplify this effect and increase the damage of the sword, while also keeping it from heating up and disintegrating from the energy generated by the air concept's vibration effect and the lightning. Finally, the aether concept would allow him to absorb the Temperament filling the air, as well as the power of the lively forest, and use that to his advantage. And, of course, it would also strengthen his body, allowing him to go even faster. Speed was one of his very favorite things, after all.

These concepts would do. Now, it was time to attack. Twitching his sword slightly to the side, he abruptly slashed across thin air. To the probable surprise of the retreating enemy, the air was cut. Reality split open in the wake of the attack, leaving a gaping black void that opened for a split second, then shut again. By the time the concealing shroud of nothingness had vanished, the Archer was gone along with it. But, of course, the Warforged would have no time to realize that the Archer had disappeared before he had already broken back into reality at another location. Specifically, just a few feet behind his enemy, already continuing his initial cut into a full blown slash. Shrouded in black lightning, he moved with incomprehensible speed, instantly closing what little distance there now was between them and dealing an upward diagonal cut, aimed from the left side of the Warforged's waist all the way up to the back of his right shoulder. He might not even have time to blink - or whatever equivalent the construct possessed - before the Archer was upon him, which would make turning around and defending himself, let alone dodging, rather difficult. But, of course, Borogove wasn't relying on this attack hitting its mark. He knew his opponents well enough to expect the unexpected. And so, as he attacked, the Archer let loose with some of the power he'd just imbued into the blade. With a blinding flash of light and a deafening roar, black fire and lightning, wrapped in jet black nothingness, erupted from the swinging weapon, becoming a rapidly-expanding, shapeless blast of pure destruction. The air screamed and whirled around the explosion, forming a vortex that sent snow and uprooted trees flying outward in all directions.

To the enemy, this might have seemed like a worthwhile sacrifice. After all, since he was absorbing power from the destruction of the forest, this additional devastation would provide him with additional fuel to employ. That is, it would if Borogove hadn't noticed already what he was doing through his runes just as he detonated them, his soul fragments perceiving the energy being drained away and absorbed by his foe just as they themselves exploded. It was for that reason he'd added the Aether concept to his weapon. As it was now, when the Warforged tried to consume the spiritual energy released by the attack, he'd find it strangely... gone. Completely, utterly, gone, already converted into power by the very attack that had destroyed it, and absorbed back into Borogove's sword. But it wasn't just this that was consumed. Oh, no, far from it. Even the snow that Alaki had been absorbing, largely vaporized by the explosion, had also been channeled into Borogove's sword by the Water concept. In short, although the Archer didn't know what the enemy had been planning to do with that power, he'd already found a way to make the enemy's absorption of that energy as time consuming and as inefficient as possible. And all the while, he himself was yet growing in strength...

After dealing his cut, Borogove leaped back, carried away from the enemy by the shockwave of the explosion. Landing in a battle stance, he braced himself, ready to attack again should his enemy reappear from amidst the cataclysm. Swiftly, he set about absorbing the excess heat left over from the blast using his Fire concept, not wanting to waste even a single spark of power.

by **Endless Sea** on Sun Mar 10, 2013 12:05 am

Despite not possessing the power in his inventory of skills, Alaki was quite familiar with portals. Back from his reality of origin, he'd squared off time and time again with his predecessor after having replaced him, and Alton had quickly become a fan of spamming the ability after gaining it. Their first encounter after the fact had forced the Forged to even more quickly familiarize himself with how an opponent could use such a power in combat, and what information he'd managed to glean from that battle would end up helping him score many more victories against his brother in later years.

It was because of this prior experience, perhaps, that when Alaki noticed the gap in his psychic awareness expand to cover his enemy and the second hole open up behind him, he was still unprepared when the archer took one and a half seconds less than the expected two to emerge.

The android let out a strangled yelp and began to shove himself off the tree, but he'd been so focused on activating the oak beforehand that he ended up botching both plans, and the explosion of dark energy hurled him forwards, slammed him front-first through the canopy of the tree in front of him, and deposited him in the branches of another, leaving him involuntarily suspended only by his left arm, which had been trapped between two particularly thick limbs. Behind him, the tree that he'd left behind was left blackened and splintered, some of the fragments retroactively freezing over from the unfinished command Alaki had planned as a counterattack.

After a few moments of hanging limply, attempting to get his thoughts together after the shock of the impact and the surprising amounts of pain accompanying it, the Forged groaned and twisted his hand until he fell free and hit the half-melted snowdrift below him. He took another second to relax as the snow soothed his wounds, then forced himself to his feet, already resuming the process of absorbing energy from his environment as he began to search for his opponent. He found the archer in the opposite direction he'd been thrown in, having landed with little to no damage in the canopy of a tree Alaki himself had visited earlier and marked for detonation.

Right in the middle of the killzone, he noted. Might as well pull out plan B first, I guess.

Summoning his blaster, he took careful aim at the oak his opponent was perched on and pulled the trigger. The typical beam of energy that accompanied opening fire, however, failed to manifest; instead, the archer's perch promptly sundered itself in a flurry of razor-sharp ice shrapnel, as did the surrounding trees, and the trees surrounding them, and every other tree that Alaki had drawn power from in that corner of the woods. In less than a second, an entire section of forest was reduced to a maelstrom of icy blades capable of shredding anything within its boundaries into a fine red mist.

by **AMimsyBorogove** on Sun Mar 10, 2013 4:48 pm

Sword of Hisou's Power Level: 30/100 - Inactive by the end of the post.
Borogove's Starting Power Level: 197
Concepts Gained in this post: 18 x 3 x 3 + (192 x 2) = 162 + 384 = 546
Concepts Added to Weapons in this post: 5 Concepts worth.
Weapons Created in this post: 0
End Concept Power Level: 192 + 546 = 738 Concepts
Current Rate of Charging: 162 concepts per turn during post, 9 concepts per turn by the end of the post.
Current Weapons: Black Lightning Sword x2 (Total energy of each: 29 Concepts, 3 from its base makeup tripled by Muramasa, 9 from Masamune recycled to Muramasa and then tripled by another Muramasa, 3 from Wind, Lightning, and Void, all tripled by Muramasa, and 1 each from Fire, Water, and Aether, as well as from the Light and Ice Concepts added this turn. 3 additional Concepts for the "One of Two" concept added.) each bearing Muramasa, Wind, Lightning, Void, Fire, Water, and Aether concepts. Added One of Two and Light and Ice concepts this turn.

............................................................................................................................................................

The Archer's eyes widened slightly as his sword cut simply through empty air. The enemy had dodged? So, he'd been right. This enemy's reflexes were on a level to match with his current level of speed. He'd need to accelerate then, as expected. But, furthermore, although the explosion he'd just released had hit the target, when the smoke cleared, he found that his enemy had propelled himself away from the attack at the last second, avoiding major damage. But the attack had clearly hurt him. The time it took him to recover was proof of that. So, the Void's power would affect this enemy after all, huh? Perfect.

At any rate, the Archer didn't have time to delay, for the enemy, rising from where he had fallen, summoned some sort of a gun and, taking aim, fired it. Borogove had instantly dropped into a defensive posture, flaring the absorbent shielding he'd created around himself in preparation for whatever attack might follow. It was fortunate that he did this, for, in the next instant, an attack was most certainly made, not from the weapon, but rather, from the entire area all around the Archer. Everything around him abruptly changed form, turning into ice and collapsing inward in a sphere of razor-sharp blades. So, this was the trap the enemy had been preparing... The Archer grimaced slightly as he felt several small cuts beginning to form along the very edges of his body as the overwhelming gale of blades actually managed to force back his defenses. This attack... it most certainly would have been lethal if the enemy had fired it just a few seconds earlier. As it was now, however, the Archer was prepared to deal with it.

Surging his air concept, he batted back the ice that slashed at him from all sides for a split second, then followed this up with a pulse of tremendous heat from his sword. Black lightning, wreathed in destructive flames, lanced out all around him, vaporizing the ice that struck at him and then instantly absorbing its moisture. And yet, to the Archer's surprise, even this was not enough to totally extinguish the attack, even if it did save him from major harm. The ice continued to collapse in from all sides. Just how much power had his enemy put into this attack?

But, still. This was something he was perfectly capable of dealing with. And, with the enemy's line of sight once again cut off from him, and his perceptions being blocked by Borogove's surging elemental power, the Archer once again had an opportunity to strengthen himself. Calling forth the Sword of Hisou, his voice drowned out by the wind, he charged the three concepts he'd just finished enhancing with his Black Lightning Sword into it, multiplying them eighteen times over to a total of 54 new concepts worth of power. In the next instant, he'd banished the Sword yet again, its purpose fulfilled after just a few instants of being present. It was fortunate that it hadn't taken long, he supposed, for his barrier was actually beginning to weaken again. Tch. Well, he'd done what he intended to, at any rate. Now all there was left to do was rid himself of this attack now that he could no longer exploit it.

Focusing on his Black Lightning Sword, he swiftly detached five concepts of his reserves - he didn't want to use his 54 new concepts quite yet - and added them to the weapon. Selecting Ice and Light for the first two - the Ice concept would allow him to destabilize his enemy's ice-based attacks by interfering directly with his control, while the Light concept would allow him to absorb the light in the air, and the radiance of his own attacks, to further strengthen himself - he then took the remaining three concepts and combined them to form a single, greater concept: One of Two. In an instant, the hand that had been holding the Sword of Hisou a moment before now held a new blade: a perfect replica of the first Black Lightning Sword. Into this new weapon, he channeled the 54 concepts he had just gained along with his remaining 192 concepts of energy reserves, using its untapped Muramasa concept to multiply all of these by three times. When he drew back his reserves into himself, he couldn't help but smirk. 738 concepts? That was more than enough to achieve whatever goals he might feel like accomplishing at the moment.

But, patience was a virtue, after all. He'd wait for now, and make sure his enemy didn't have any other tricks up his sleeve. After all, Borogove had yet to see the mysterious power that the Sword of Hisou had sensed. Until he beheld that trump card, he'd wait before making his move.

Oh, right. He was still stuck at the center of a whirling mass of blades. He glanced about him, watching for a moment as the ice was continuously melted and absorbed as it came within range of his barrier, negated before it could even reach its target. It was time to be done with this, he supposed. And so, flaring his power, he released the ice concept of his swords, spreading it across the entire cloud around him and momentarily obstructing his enemy's control of the attack. In the instant when his enemy's ability to maintain the cloud of ice would be obstructed, he released an ever-so-slight pulse of void power, which, striking the weakened ice, shattered it instantly, then sucked it back towards the barrier at the very center of the attack. As the cloud of shrapnel suddenly imploded and was absorbed, the Archer walked calmly out from the destroyed region of forest, raising his twin swords before him.

So... His magic has the power to convert the form of untapped elements around him? How troublesome. I'll need to absorb every last scrap of energy in this forest if I want to cut him off from his source of power. But, I might not have to go that far. He seems to be resilient when it comes to magic, but as of yet, he hasn't engaged me in close quarters, despite the fact that his weapon of choice is a spear. That must mean... is he weak against physical attacks? It would explain why all he's done is run away, and why he blocked those low-level arrows, but didn't even attempt to deal with the rune I grafted onto him. So... that's your secret. Heh. In that case, this might be easier than I thought! The Archer grinned, bracing himself. Well, then. If the enemy didn't want to face him in melee, then Borogove would just have to close the distance. But, with his speed more than doubled thanks to his second sword, that would be no issue. No matter how fast his enemy was, he'd never be able to escape from the Archer just by running away!

A flash of black lightning, and a whirling storm of power, erupted from beneath Borogove's feet, and he bounded forward, traveling more like a descending thunderclap than he did like a Human being. In a split second, he had once again closed in on his enemy, leaping upward at him, his front sword crossed over him to defend against attacks while he raised his back hand to sweep horizontally at the enemy's neck. This time, he didn't release his power indiscriminately in the form of an explosion. Rather, he kept it concentrated around himself, condensed to the point where his blade would likely be able to cut through the enemy like a hot knife through butter, even with the construct's magical defenses. After all, with the void's ability to bypass reality, a mere physical armoring could not hope to stand! So reasoned the Archer, and so he made his attack, now engaging his target in close quarters.

(Epic sword duel, anyone?)

by **Endless Sea** on Sun Mar 10, 2013 6:13 pm

Alaki felt something twitch beneath his forehead plating as the tempest of ice shards abruptly compressed and drained into his opponent, who casually strode out of the newly formed clearing with another sword in hand. Still not elemental power, he thought. Not arcane, either, as far as I can tell. Come on, this is getting ridiculous. Barely a flesh wound? Ugh, this is what I get for half-assing an uber attack.

Still charging power, he focused his mental probe slightly more than before, trying to pick out a surface thought from the sword-toting archer. The results, as well as the sight of the enemy breaking out into a run towards him, were promptly met with the fairly recognizable sound of metal impacting metal as the Forged's right hand smacked into his forehead. Melee while dual-wielding. You're going for melee while- Okay, time out, dude. Now I'm getting offended. He quickly re-summoned his spear and planted it firmly into the ground, and immediately the partially-melted snowdrift around him, including the section that the archer was crossing, instantly erupted into a mountain of ice that dwarfed the trees around it. Flak storm isn't working? Well, how about a glacier punching you in the face?

by **AMimsyBorogove** on Sun Mar 10, 2013 7:13 pm

Sword of Hisou's Power Level: 30/100 - INACTIVE
Borogove's Starting Power Level: 738 Concepts
Concepts Gained in this post: 1 x 3 x 3 = 9
Concepts Added to Weapons in this post: 0
Weapons Created in this post: 0
End Concept Power Level: 738 + 9 = 747 Concepts
Current Rate of Charging: 9 Concepts per turn.
Current Weapons: Black Lightning Sword x2 (Total energy of each: 29 Concepts, 3 from its base makeup tripled by Muramasa, 9 from Masamune recycled to Muramasa and then tripled by another Muramasa, 3 from Wind, Lightning, and Void, all tripled by Muramasa, and 1 each from Fire, Water, and Aether, as well as from the Light and Ice Concepts. 3 additional Concepts for the "One of Two" concept added to each.) each bearing Muramasa, One of Two, Wind, Lightning, Void, Fire, Water, Light, Ice, and Aether concepts.

............................................................................................................................................................

He planted his spear. With what he was doing before... he's transforming the ground? This thought was swiftly confirmed a mere instant later as a surge of power began to build up almost instantly in the earth below him. Yet again, the elements involved were Aether and Ice, which seemed to be the enemy's specialty. Unfortunately for him, however, Borogove already had the needed concepts to counter this attack. Pulsing his ice concept, he infused his own energy into the ground below him, once again counterattacking his enemy's control over the assault rather than trying to overpower him directly. He didn't need to stop the attack, after all - just delay it until he was out of the way. And so, hindering his enemy's creation of the makeshift glacier beneath his feet, the Archer slowed it just enough that it would only erupt from below after he had already made his final leap. With a tremendous crash, the earth exploded outward in a cloud of dirt, dust, and snow that completely obscured the Archer from view. Yet, in the next instant, he came hurtling forth from amidst the debris, having leaped forward just in time to avoid the rising attack. His blades were raised once again in the same offense-defense balanced stance, with his front weapon crossed over his body to protect him from the enemy's lance, while his back hand was drawn back to immediately counter once he got within range. For Borogove, this stance was much more practical than it otherwise might be. After all, with his augmented strength and speed thanks to the concepts he had added, he would easily wield a sword one-handed with same dexterity and power as one might normally wield a single blade two handed. And, with his mastery of weapons by nature, dual-wielding did not present the same hazards as it might to a lesser combatant.

At any rate, there was now no longer any distance between him and his enemy, which meant that the Forged would not have another chance to fire off an attack before Borogove made his move. Likely as his foe was still occupied with drawing his spear forth from the ground, the Archer swept forward with his front sword, slashing horizontally and aiming to bisect his enemy at the waist, while at the same time using this momentum to pivot himself, bringing forward his back sword to slash downward diagonally, aiming from the Forged's left shoulder to his right hip. These attacks, if they hit, would connect only milliseconds apart, as the Archer was now beginning to accelerate to the point where he was little more than a blur, his blades dancing like the lightning that surrounded them.

But he could still move faster. Charging all of the energy he had absorbed using his concepts thus far, he empowered both of his blades, condensing the power around himself even further and accelerating beyond even his current incredible speed as he continued pressing forward, hounding the Forged's every step so as to render backpedaling useless. Reversing the momentum of both cuts, he pivoted in the opposite direction, bringing both blades down in quick succession, slashing from the Forged's right shoulder back down towards his waist with the back blade, then following up with a slightly more horizontal-angled attack with the front sword, while at the same time bringing up the back sword again for a near-vertical cut aimed from the Forged's collarbone and down his torso. Not halting for an instant, the Archer continued his furious assault with another upward slash from the front blade in his left hand, using this same momentum to bring back his right-hand blade for yet another downward cut, which in turn allowed him to spin upward for another diagonal slash with his left hand. Planting his foot after this attack, he struck yet again with an uppercut from the right side, which he then twisted into a horizontal from his left. He reversed his course again, this time striking back from the left with another horizontal before lunging with a stab from the right. Drawing this back, he then slashed diagonally downward again from this side, before following up with a left-right-left-right flurry of four rapid downward strikes. Crossing his swords, he hacked downward from both sides at once, dishing out a double-diagonal X-shaped attack. As though this ridiculous storm of slashes and cuts was not enough, he then leaped forward, slashing upward, then spinning to dish out three more rapid attacks as he landed. Planting his feet, he then spun with the momentum he had built up with his rapid spiral of attacks, and brought up his left-hand sword one last time, lunging upward with all his might, and dealing one last stab with every last ounce of his strength, releasing a condensed explosion of pure void energy as he did so. The sheer force of the attack, and of the power screaming around it, was enough to send snow scattering in all directions, along with large chunks of the ground, as the aether, water, heat, and light within the radius of his furious assault were all converted into raw destructive power, and released at point blank upon the Forged, in the hopes of ensuring that even if he managed to block the entire raging sword combo, he wouldn't escape unscathed.

(OOC: Just a note. For a reference on the massive chain of sword attacks, look no further. Courteous of me, showing you exactly how it's blocked, no? =P

Yes. I just totally used Starburst Stream. Problem? ^^)

by **Endless Sea** on Sun Mar 10, 2013 9:00 pm

The psychic presence of the archer- Borogove, according to the mind-reading earlier- seemed not at all consistent with being tossed a kilometer backwards by a mountain of frozen water hitting him at high speeds to Alaki, instead continuing to approach his tiny sanctuary. Looking up, the Forged felt his jaw fall slack as the archer leaped into view over the edge of the ice cliff, evidently unhurt. There was barely enough time for the former to back himself against his creation and summon a few ice blocks out of the side of the structure as obstacles before Borogove carved through them nigh-effortlessly and began hacking away at his opponent.

By the time the ice responded to his other summons and swallowed him up, Alaki had already suffered heavy damage. The front of his chest armor was covered in enormous gashes rimmed by scorch marks, with wisps of blue-white energy leaking out from where some of the deeper cuts had intersected; the crystal orb set in the center of his armor, right over where the sternum would be in a human, had been shattered, its aquamarine glow extinguished. His right arm, instinctively raised at some point to ward off more damage, was even worse off; the slashes it had sustained were more densely packed together, and all of them were leaking energy, some of the gaps as long as his fingers. When he emerged from the wall, having used it to pull himself to its outer boundaries almost instantly, he ended up being flung almost a meter, barely managing to land on his uninjured left side.

He'd learned from the portal incident from before, though, and although the damage (and pain) was worse this time, Alaki was on his feet again in seconds. Giving his injured arms a few experimental stretches and swipes, he resummoned booth weapons, pointing his blaster forward at the now-resealed section of the wall that Borogove lurked behind while keeping his spear half raised as a backup tool. Above the ice cliff, the explosions of dark energy and steam and various bits of debris finally settled as the archer apparently snapped himself out of his frenzy.

The Forged closed his eyes, electing instead to see with his mind and recharge before his opponent's next move. Might be almost time to pull out plan A, he decided. It's taken long enough.

by **AMimsyBorogove** on Sun Mar 10, 2013 10:36 pm

Sword of Hisou's Power Level: 30/100 - INACTIVE
Borogove's Starting Power Level: 747 Concepts
Concepts Gained in this post: 1 x 3 x 3 = 9
Concepts Added to Weapons in this post: 50 Concepts worth.
Weapons Created in this post: 100 Concepts worth.
End Concept Power Level: 747+ 9 - 150 = 606 Concepts
Current Rate of Charging: 9 Concepts per turn.
Current Weapons: Black Lightning Sword x2 (Total energy of each: 29 Concepts, 3 from its base makeup tripled by Muramasa, 9 from Masamune recycled to Muramasa and then tripled by another Muramasa, 3 from Wind, Lightning, and Void, all tripled by Muramasa, and 1 each from Fire, Water, and Aether, as well as from the Light and Ice Concepts. 3 additional Concepts for the "One of Two" concept added to each.) each bearing Muramasa, One of Two, Wind, Lightning, Void, Fire, Water, Light, Ice, and Aether concepts. Created a custom-model Thermobaric Air Burst Bomb (50 concepts) and added mass-destruction void and fire concepts (50 concepts each) this turn. "Power to create weapons" is a wonderful thing, isn't it? ^^

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As the dust slowly settled, and the explosion cleared, the Archer sighed. It seemed that his enemy had evaded him just before he could deal the final blow. That was regrettable, but not unexpected. And, as Borogove had managed to apparently prove his theory as to his enemy's weakness, he was not dissatisfied with the results of his assault. Still, he'd noticed something else during his attack on the enemy. As he had expected, the magic surrounding his swords had bypassed the enemy's armor utilizing the void concept. As that was the case, Borogove was beginning to understand exactly what he'd need to destroy this enemy completely. He took stock of what he knew even as he began preparing his attack.

1: The enemy was weak against attacks of a "real" or "nonmagical" nature. However, that did not equate "physical." The enemy had, after all, blocked his arrows instead of just shrugging them off. In that case, if the Archer just used attacks firmly grounded in "real" principles, he wouldn't even need a void concept to harm the enemy.

2: However, though a void concept, he could also strike the enemy with impunity. Presumably, this principle would also extend to his runes, although he hadn't been able to test it yet, and... to weapons that already relied on physical principles to function.

3: The enemy had been preparing something for quite some time now. Logically, since now Borogove had managed to land several solid hits on his target, said adversary would wait no longer to deploy whatever measures he had in store. In that case, it would be best to follow up on his previous assault and deal as much damage as possible before it was too late.

Well... The Archer DID had plenty of energy to spare, he supposed. It was an inefficient method of going about things, but, given that it combined massively destructive reality-based principles with massively destructive void-based magic, it might be just the thing he needed to eradicate his enemy before he could even make his move. And, best of all, the foe would almost surely never see it coming. After all, the Archer had only used swords and bows up until this point. What reason would the enemy have to expect that he possessed the absolute power to create any type of weapon? In any case, the Archer had a feeling that a thermobaric warhead would be the last thing the enemy expected to be attacked with!

Raising his swords before him, he surged his reserves of power out from his body and into the earth around him. Considering the magical nature of the forest and the amount of energy he had fully prepared for just such a use, it took only a few seconds to create even something as advanced as the custom-model, high yield missile he had in mind. The earth trembled as, from behind Borogove, a large rocket over thirty feet in length, took shape in the air. Its weight alone probably would have been enough to crush the construct once dropped, but better yet was the explosive potential it carried, equal to almost 50 tons of TNT. Even without the enhancement of any concepts, it would create a blast radius of well over a thousand feet, equivalent to the destructive power of even smaller-sized nuclear warheads. He had, after all, removed the guidance systems and other such unnesecary mechanics built into the original weapon - he could, after all, simply control it with his powers instead of wasting valuable space - replacing them with much more useful things like high explosives when he rebuilt the warhead as his own personal design. He called it the Spanish Inquisition, as it was always the last thing his enemies ever seemed to expect. Usually, it was also the last thing they ever saw.

So, Borogove thought, smiling cheerfully as he began to add concepts to the missile. I wonder what'll happen if I add about a seventh of my total reserves of energy to this thing in the form of pure, destructive power? Well, we can soon find out. Smirking, he split off a grand total of a hundred concepts, and formed them into two staggeringly powerful elemental concepts: fire and void, the most violent and devastating of all the elements. Imbuing these into his new rocket, he at the same time surged power through his swords. After all, there was currently a wall in his way, wasn't there? It would be rather troublesome to give his enemy something to hide behind, even if it would provide little resistance to what was now essentially an anti-matter bomb. Besides... he had something fun planned.

Powering up his swords once again, he slashed forward with both, releasing a surge of void power contained within snapping black flames and lightning, a tremendous blast of energy that slammed against the wall of ice, then began to subsume it, aimed to begin ripping through the giant mountain by absorbing the water that served largely as its composition. This would boggle the enemy's senses, likely preventing him from perceiving the energy signature of the bomb until it was at least close to detonation range. At the same time, however, the double slash served another purpose, to open two gaping voids in reality. Extending his power, Borogove used both swords to take hold of the missile, then, utilizing magnetism via his lightning concept and forcing it along simultaneously with the air around it, Borogove fired his anti-reality type thermobaric warhead straight into the first void, which swiftly shut behind it. Then, the Archer hastily stepped into the second, which closed in turn behind him.

A few moments later, above and behind the enemy, and angled precisely so that the construct would be standing at ground zero of the explosion, another gap appeared. From within this, the missile streaked forth with tremendous speed, descending like the hammer of Thor, wreathed in black power as the overflowing void from within it surged forth in preparation for the explosion to come. The missile was active now, and would detonate well before it reached the ground, which would make stopping it, or even redirecting it, rather difficult, especially since it was set to explode on a timer, one which had only four seconds left on it upon the bomb's emergence several hundred feet above the construct. At the same time, the Archer appeared high in the air above the battlefield - approximately 2500 feet, if he had to guess, which he deemed rather imprudent of himself, as the fire concept alone would double the explosive radius of the bomb, almost reaching his current height. With the void concept added... well, it was probably for the best that he was still holding both his swords, as that would allow him to re-assume control of the energy directed upwards, at least, and would probably protect him from the explosion. Probably.

Oh, how he wished he could see his enemy's face when he heard the tell-tall whistling of a bomb falling towards him. That would be PRICELESS. Still, at least he'd be able to see the fireworks, and in his opinion, that would be just as good.

by **Endless Sea** on Sun Mar 10, 2013 11:30 pm

Any kind of weapon. As much damage as possible. Void-based magic. Wall of fire. Wall of lightning. Portal abuse. Charging up. Confuse and misdirect. Flee to safety. Half a mile. Above and behind. Ground zero. Never see it coming.

A bomb.

Nothing like certain death to make you remember how freaking useful psychic powers are. Alright, time to amend plan A. Here goes, uh, whatever the hell I'm doing now... Dammit, I hate doing this, I really do...

Borogove might have thought the destruction of the ice cliffs would have served as a good distraction, but knowing where to look and what to look for negated that issue quite handily. The volatile energies the archer was combining into his projectile were easily detected behind the wreath of void energies despite their disruptive nature, and when the portal opened up behind him, Alaki had already pointed his spear back at it, then grasped the projectile that emerged with his mind and hurled it towards where the other portal had opened above him with as much telekinetic force as he possibly could without being wasteful- which, considering how long he'd spent earlier on gathering energy, was a fairly large amount.

And then he created an extra-thick bunker of ice and telekinesis, hunkered down, and hoped that he at least ended up somewhat intact when the damn thing blew.

by **AMimsyBorogove** on Mon Mar 11, 2013 12:08 am

Sword of Hisou's Power Level: 30/100 - INACTIVE
Borogove's Starting Power Level: 606 Concepts
Concepts Gained in this post: 1 x 3 x 3 = 9
Concepts Added to Weapons in this post: 0
Weapons Created in this post: 0
End Concept Power Level: 606 + 9 = 615 Concepts
Current Rate of Charging: 9 Concepts per turn.
Current Weapons: Black Lightning Sword x2 (Total energy of each: 29 Concepts, 3 from its base makeup tripled by Muramasa, 9 from Masamune recycled to Muramasa and then tripled by another Muramasa, 3 from Wind, Lightning, and Void, all tripled by Muramasa, and 1 each from Fire, Water, and Aether, as well as from the Light and Ice Concepts. 3 additional Concepts for the "One of Two" concept added to each.) each bearing Muramasa, One of Two, Wind, Lightning, Void, Fire, Water, Light, Ice, and Aether concepts. Custom-model Thermobaric Air Burst Bomb (50 concepts) bearing mass-destruction void and fire concepts (50 concepts each), destroyed this turn.

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It stood at testament to the enemy's overwhelming power that he managed to actually reverse the course of such a fast moving projectile. But what truly astounded Borogove was the fact that he did so without losing any of the missile's velocity, and even under the jamming power of the many void concepts filling the missile's existence. So, it seemed he had telekinesis at the very least, but something told Borogove that wasn't the only ability he had. How had he noticed the missile's deployment despite Borogove's interference, for one? It was only conjecture, but he had a feeling that the enemy had another, more dangerous ability: he was a psychic.

Tch. Cocky bastard, expecting to kill me with my own bomb! Borogove thought, raising his swords the moment he felt the projectile being yanked off course despite his resistance. There wasn't enough time to reach the bomb and reset its timer with his powers, then re-use it, which meant he had only one other option. Slashing downward with both of the blades in his hand, the Archer reluctantly released a surge of void power and lightning. As the bomb's timer reached zero, it was struck by the blast, teleported as close to its original mark as the Archer could bring it - which wasn't saying much, considering the enemy was still interfering - and then violently, devastatingly detonated, the blast incinerating the ground and filling the skies as it formed into a mushroom shape... with Borogove at the very center of the head of the mushroom.

It was fortunate that he'd been preparing to defend himself from the very start, for, had he not, he would surely have been instantly vaporized. But, even though the fiery cloud turned black as its light was absorbed, and its heat - around Borogove's position, at least - was also consumed, the Archer certainly felt the effects of the misplaced detonation. The fire swirled around him rather harmlessly, but the energy of the void, on the other hand... now that was an issue. Borogove only barely managed to slash his blades, teleporting to a point in the now burning forest, before the anti-existence shockwave in the aftermath of the blast would have reached him. Even if his defenses, that explosion surely would have killed him, he mused. And, although he'd managed to yank back about 25 concepts worth of free energy, he had found that destroyed not a second later by the void attack that had nearly erased him from reality. He just hoped his little friend at the bottom of that explosion hadn't fared any better.

Note to self, Borogove thought irritably. Next time you use a bomb, use a bigger one, and deploy it from a safer distance. Sheesh. This is why I like swords. At least they don't kill you if you miss. Most of the time, anyway.

by **Endless Sea** on Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:18 am

The crater, while vast, was smaller than the explosion that had caused it should have made- but not by much. Enormous swathes of land had been dragged up and flung kilometers away in fragments, their edges blackened from the dark energies that had eroded them. What trees managed not to be uprooted were stripped of loose bark and leaves and set on fire. The snow was gone, as was the tempest that had summoned it.

Behind the black flames and smoke was a vaguely humanoid lump of blackened, distorted metal, sections of its body already dissolving into brilliant white energy. The mentally forged force field that had been erected as a barrier had been swept away in an instant when the bomb hit, the shell of ice below it vaporized even quicker. The android beneath them had been pummeled with, for all intents and purposes, enough force and heat and magic to grind him to less than atoms ten times over.

Alaki should have been dead. Alaki should have been past dead, should have been dead ten times over, should have been nothing at all, less than nothing at all.

Alaki stood up.

His right arm dug into the glassy earth, and its plating began to smooth out and bulk up and shine as bright as the energy that had moments earlier been seeping from its wounds, the cyborg muscle and metal bones beneath the armor knitting itself together and expanding. The left arm, bracing his body against the ground as he propped himself up, followed suit, and then his torso once he pushed himself to one knee, and then his legs as he finally dragged himself to both feet once more. Finally, his head indulged in the transformation as well, and Alaki was reborn one last time, his armor restored and enhanced, its surface covered with edges and spikes and orange crystals that shone like the sun, energy seeping out of the joints and seams as if the new bulk had come to exist solely to contain the new energies that the body within was producing but simply wasn't strong enough.

The Forged craned his head up, light spilling from his eyes as they scanned the darkness above, and roared out peals of laughter to the shrouded skies. His body flashed and emitted a wave of power that scattered the black energies to the winds, set the glassed soil ablaze, and reduced what trees still blazed from the initial detonation to ashes. He raised his hand, called forth his blaster, and fired into the air, and a second sun blazed into existence above him, its substance writhing and pulsing as the plasma within, always the hardest element to control, attempted to fight its containment. He looked back down and scanned the annihilated forests for his opponent, and when his mind finally detected that of the archer, he pointed with his spear, and the gleaming ball of pure destruction responded, hurtling towards Borogove at incredible speed, a symbol of the raw fury and agony that had given its creator one last chance at killing the foe that had killed him.

Virtual War Drome 1: Enchanted Forest

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