March Event Log

[kaisoumods]

March Event Log
Dominant Element: Wind
Waning Element: Earth

Full Moon: March 24th - March 26th

※

Spring is once again arriving in Kaisou. The temperatures warm and the snow begins to melt away in the early part of the month, with it being completely gone within the first couple weeks. Slowly the plants awaken from their slumber and the landscape becomes green once more. In the sky at night, the Spirit Vein is covered in bright hues of greens and emeralds. Thanks to the dominant wind element, it'll be a rather windy month as well. Strong gusts of wind are a daily occurrence, so you better make sure things are well secured if you're going outside. Wind aside though, the weather is a breath of fresh air compared to those cold winter months.

Seasons Turn

As usual, Kaisou is ready to celebrate any sort of holiday and March has two great ones! On the 1st March, you will find celebrations for St. David's Day around the city. Daffodils can be found in plant pots all over, and some over-enthusiastic celtophiles might even try to pin a leek to your shirt. A lot of the trendy restaurants in Brick Alley will be trying their usual trick of selling culturally significant foods to match the energy of the Fae. This time, bara birth, cawl and laverbread are on offer. On the 17th March, celebrations turn to St. Patrick's Day. Where St David's Day was largely about the food, this one is about the drinks. Bars across the city provide special, green beers, cocktails and everything in between. These can come in alcoholic or non-alcoholic fares. For youngsters, they will be encouraged to "follow the rainbow" - where adorable rainbow stickers have been put around the city- all leading to various "pots of gold"- or rather very enthusiastic volunteers with pots of chocolate coins to hand out for a reward. Adults can play too, but they will be judged.

March 19th sees the spring equinox come to the city. Everyone is delighted to see the end of winter and the beginning of spring and all the new life and new hope that comes with it. You can find groups of excited townspeople with stands offering flower pots and seeds to plant- ready for the coming spring. Some stalls in Undertown offer bundles of sage and other various plant life, stating to burn it in your house to cleanse it. The night offers you the chance to go to Kami State Park to stay up until sunlight, to greet the new season. There's dancing (some of it naked), there's drinking, and there are altars- luckily with no sacrifices, though some merrymakers do encourage leaving offerings there for the various deities who are heralds of the new season. Either way, it's a grand celebration to see in the Spring.

The Egg Hunt

Towards the end of the month, you will find flyers put up all around the city, advertising Elisa's Exciting Egg Expedition. It encourages city residents to come on by to Blue Fish park for a very exciting egg hunt- all ages welcome! Going to the park on the specified day will lead you to an excited young witch sitting at a table with sign-up sheets, wicker baskets and paper numbers to pin to your shirt. She explains she really wants to boost some community spirit and thought an egg hunt would really help with that! She is very insistent you join in- the person with the most eggs at the end of the day will get an exciting trophy! The trophy in question is next to her. You're not sure why anyone would want that but she seems so earnest about it! She explains she made the competition as exciting as she could, though does admit she might have gone a little overboard with it all.

You soon learn she wasn't kidding. The eggs you have to hunt a small, brightly colored things- what you would expect in an egg hunt really. Where things get weird is that these eggs have legs. They actively scurry away from you, trying to find new hiding places around the park. Even if you should capture one, there's a chance it will heave itself out of your basket and go running gleefully to a new hiding spot. If you want half a chance of getting that (amazing???) trophy, you will need to find a way to keep them inside your basket as well as capturing new ones. The eggs remain within the confines of the park, at least- but that doesn't mean they can't get into plenty of mischief, disrupting people's picnics, trying to take flight on children's kites, getting into almost impossible-to-reach places and dancing to taunt you. Some are foolish enough to get near the Terrible Geese, who decide to put them into their nests to sit on. Perhaps those ones aren't worth trying to get? Pick your battles and all that. Regardless, they will give you an absolute runaround, but at least they provide plenty of exercises and it is a little fun.

Disappearances and Replacements

In the early days of March, people begin to go missing from the Paranormal community. People stop showing up to work, friends don't respond to texts, and no one seems to be home when you check on them. It's not the first time people have been whisked away, so alarm bells to something afoot should immediately begin ringing for a lot of people. Just where are people being taken this time?

Well, the behaviors of others some folks might give you an idea. While there are some people who are straight up missing, it seems that others are acting very odd. They look like themselves, but their behavior feels more like a mediocre actor playing the most extreme versions of the person. They'll mistake names and not know the answers to really personal questions. If you have any magical sensing or you throw a bit of iron at them- the imposter will reveal themselves to be a changeling Fae. Turns out, they were asked to pose as a person while the Fae courts borrowed people for awhile.

Seems the Fae are at it yet again.

The Fae are at it Again

On March 5th, Zodiac will send out an alert.

ALERT: SPIRIT REALM ANAMOLY DETECTED IN BLUE FISH LAKE PARK.
Element Classification: Wind
Danger Level: High
Designation: Tír na nóg
The realm of the Fae has reappeared in Kaisou. We have reason to believe that like with previous times, the Fae are behind the recent disappearances. We request assistance in retrieving the kidnapped victims. Please show caution with the Fae, as they are prone to curse anyone they dislike or like too much.

Should you visit the Zodiac office, you'll find the staff to be rather agitated. Three years now, they've had the Fae come to visit the city, and three years now they've made a real mess of things. Even worse, they've been experiencing their own bits of trouble lately, though inquiring about those will get the staff to be evasive and say it's not really their place to disclose it right now. It's fine, probably.

Regardless of their agitation, they'll explain the situation. The Fae courts had returned to Kaisou once again, and once again the Seelie and Unseelie were feuding once more. However this time instead of all-out war, the Fae had reached out to Zodiac about helping them with an "Olympics competition" that would help them determine who should lead the realm. Zodiac had declined to help due to the numerous problems the Fae had caused in the past, which resulted in the Fae deciding to go with Plan B: kidnapping a bunch of people to make them compete on their behalf and stack the odds in their favor.

Around this time, you might notice that there's somewhere missing in the office. Rather, the Professor (fuzzy) is nowhere to be found, with his little chair sitting empty. When you bring attention to this, the Zodiac staff member will sigh and say "Yeah. They kidnapped him too."

If nothing else, it seems you'll have to go save the Professor if you ever want to hear borderline-useless history facts again.

Once you've finished talking to Zodiac, it's time to head to the gate. Zodiac will inform you that the gate is located over in Blue Fish Lake park. Once you're are the park, your destination is into the forest grove that the Fae took over last year. Before you reach the forest, however, those kitsune that made themselves at home in the park will intercept you. They've caught wind about what's going on, and they've decided they want to help. After all, this city only has room for one loveable group of magical tricksters (their words). So they will offer up some medallions, claiming that they will "protect" you from Fae magic. Maybe. The medallions look like something cheap you'd find at a party store. They will dismiss any attempts to point that out, and also tell you they got some other kitsune agents inside- so keep an eye out for them! And with that, they skitter away.

That interruption out of the way, it's time to head into the forest. The magic there is still quite active, with the trees and flora having grown much larger than normal, and the whole place looking closer to a fairy tale forest than anything you'd normally see in a city park. There's giant mushrooms, glowing flowers, and woodland critters everywhere. Deep into the forest you'll find the gate: a large circle of mushrooms on the ground. One will only need to step into it to be teleported away.

The Kidnapped

What about those who have been snatched and replaced? Some may recall an altercation with a Fae before they were subdued, while others will simply remember getting extremely sleepy as a sleeping spell got cast on them. No matter what they recall, they will find themselves waking up in a rather posh bedchamber. Fae attendants will come in to check on your needs, checking if everything is to your liking, though any requests to go home will fall on deaf ears. Even though this place is much more medieval in terms of technology, they seem determined to make your stay as comfortable as possible. Anything for their "honored competitors", they claim. They'll even allow you to wander the hall of the wing to visit others who have also been kidnapped, among them including a certain fuzzy professor whose clearly stressed out being here. It's clear you're not allowed to leave. There's magic preventing any teleportation spells, and any people considered to be "dangerous" will have a wood and silver cuff on their wrist that'll limit using their powers entirely.

Around midday, they'll bring the now hungry competitors down to the main hall of the castle for an elaborate meal. Any type of food you could possibly desire, as well as foods you've never heard of, are laid across the giant banquet table. The Fae attendants will highly encourage you to eat, piling food on your plate and insisting you try various things. Among the Fae, the court seems to be a mix of Seelie and Unseelie Fae... in other words, a mix of goth and prep Fae, if you may. The relations between these two Fae types is rather tense, with the two groups sitting in different areas of the dining hall and interacting as little as possible. But considering last year they were actively killing each other -- you have to admit this is a big improvement for them.

Finally, they've made sure everyone has eaten, the leaders of the Fae court will make an announcement. Since the slaying of the Unseelie King last year, the two courts have reached the conclusion that their society can't afford the losses caused by these regular conflicts. Ergo, they've decided to find more a less lethal method to carry out their disputes. After studying modern human culture for ideas, they learned of the Olympic games and were struck by an idea. To settle their disputes, they would be holding a "sports" tournament. And to ensure no precious fae lives were lost in these games (what), they decided to bring in outsiders to compete in the games for them. Since the app users have more than proven their value, they seemed like the perfect candidates for this... high... honor.

As objections get raised, the Fae will attempt to placate them. They'll insist that anyone who willingly competes in the games will be returned home at the conclusion of the game. They'll even throw in some prizes for any of those who do well, whether that be in the form of a new power, to be rid of a pesky curse, or just a cash prize. But that's about where the placation ends. They'll let everyone know that now that they've consumed food of this realm, they'll be unable to leave until the Fae of this realm lets them leave. And for those who plan to refuse to help or do anything to sabotage the games... they will curse them to become fully a monster- which means erasing their memories and sapient mind forever.

Tír na nóg

As for the would-be rescuers? They'll arrive at the gate of the realm. The landscape of Tír na nóg is beautiful, looking like it came out of the pages of a fairy tale. Golden sunlight washes over lush meadows and forests ahead of you. Behind you, are tall rocky cliffs that drop down into the raging sea below. In the distance, there is a castle that stands on higher cliffs and looks like the only place of civilization in this realm. If there's any spot where the kidnapped folks are being held, it's there.

Unfortunately before you can begin the long trek towards the castle, you'll find that the Fae were ready for you this time. A whole squad of Fae soldiers surround you. Anyone who tries to fight against them will find themselves either being hit with a sleep spell, or on the nasty end of a curse. Once the Fae are sure they have apprehended you, you'll be lead to the castle to join the others that have been kidnapped, being filled in on the situation along the way. The march takes so long that you're practically starving by the time they reach the castle, so convincing one to eat won't be difficult. Seems this isn't going to be your finest hours as a rescuer.

However, the rescue attempt is not all for naught. Remember those cheap medallions the kitsune had given the rescuers? About half of them are actually enchanted with a special spell that'll negate the effects of the Fae-realm food if you're wearing it. This means that at least some of those trapped in the realm will be able to escape. It's up to you to choose to save yourself, or give the medallion over to another person so they can be spared the fate of whatever these Olympics will entail.

As for the other half of the medallions? Well. Yeah. They're completely worthless. Thanks Kitsune for half-assing that job.

Training Montage

Now that all the "honored competitors" have arrived, the Fae decide it's time for everyone to begin training. First, everyone is assigned to the faction they're meant to represent. Fire, Earth, and Light characters will be assigned to Team Seelie; while Water, Wind and Shadow characters are assigned to Team Unseelie. Those who haven't found their elemental calling will be decided by a flip of a coin. Each of them are given garments that are meant to represent their associated teams. Team Seelie's garments will be light in color, with a natural cottage core look. Meanwhile Team Unseelie... well "goth witches" is probably the best way to describe your look.

Time moves quicker in the Fae Realm compared to Earth, with several days passing in the Fae Realm while only one day passes on Earth. So for the next several days, the Fae will give various training exercises to help everyone prepare for the games. There's only one training ground, so Team Seelie trains during the day, while Team Unseelie trains at night. At the training grounds outside the castle, there's an obstacle course that looks like it's more out of American Ninja Warrior: Medieval Edition than any normal obstacle course. There's also a combat ring, where you can spar against dummies that are enchanted to move or other Libra App users (the Fae will decline on fighting). Finally, there is space for the most difficult challenge of all: the ribbon dance. For this, the Fae will hand you ribbons and expect you to have a full dance routine prepared for the games. They do not elaborate further to what's going to be expected. It seems they expect each competitor to compete in at least one of the events, but they also will encourage them to compete in all of them.

Of course, while the Fae are famous for being creatures of their words, they are also known for being tricksters and cheaters. So as they observe your training, they may try to "assist" by means of giving curses they think will be beneficial and give you an edge. Or by contract, Fae from the rival court may try to curse you in ways that will hinder your efforts. No matter the case, the Fae as unapologetic as ever.

If there's one mercy, it's that the Fae quickly realize that the Fuzzy Professor really isn't cut out for athletics due to his tiny puppet legs. Therefore, in a rare act of compassion, they allow the Professor to serve as a commentator and expert on the Olympics. If you want a moral boost to hear the insanity that happened during the 1904 Olympics between your grueling training sessions? He's your puppet.

On the final evening before the games, some kitsune will approach any characters they happen across alone. These sure enough are the same kitsune from the park. They'll tell you they want to help you in the games. So they will offer you a golden drought to help improve your odds, before disappearing into the night. If you take it, you have a 50% chance of having your overall ability approve for one of the events. On the other hand... it has a 50% chance of backfiring and making you faint, causing you to fail the event all together. Thanks Kitsune, really.

First Event: Dance-Off

After days of practice, the first day of the Olympics finally arrives. The court area of the castle has been decorated for the first event, with a large stage set up in front of the thrones of the Court. Here, the honored competitors are expected to perform the dance routine they've prepared in front of the Seelie and Unseelie courts. There's a group of Fae musicians, ready to play any medieval version of songs you have requested. Costumes have also been prepared to match the mood of your dance, just to add to the aesthetic.

Just go on stage and danced what you practiced! Should be easy enough, right? Well. Maybe not. While the Fae are paying attention to the normal things dancers are graded on, there's always a chance they might decide to spice things up with a little spell here or there. Footwork is too slow? Well some fireballs being thrown at your feet your way might take care of that. Or the stage might become slippery, just to try to trip you up.

But a true dancer won't let that get in their way! So dance your heart out and try to impress the crowd. At the end, they will give score cards on how you think they did, though it's really hard to figure out what metric they're scaling this on.

Second Event: The Marathon

On the morning of the second day of the games, it's announced you will be taking part of a marathon. You've always heard marathons are grueling, nightmarish things. They require a lot of stamina and strength of body and mind. Naturally, the Fae's version of this is considerably worse, because, of course, it is. If you were expecting a regular grueling cross-country run with perhaps a little swimming and climbing you will find that's exactly what you're in for. Well. That and the head.

The Fae delightfully hands you a decapitated head- it's resting in a pouch with a chain so you can attach it to your belt. The head, they say, is an important part of the process. You must take this head through the marathon course to the end- the head cannot be left behind nor damaged, it's super important it gets to the end unscathed. The head, it turns out, is enchanted and will provide a running commentary on everything you're doing- it might provide some encouragement through your ordeal, but it's just as likely to give you some unhelpful tips or tell you how badly you're doing. Maybe keeping the head unscathed will be harder than you think when you want to punt the thing into the nearest lake.

The marathon sees you racing others across a long, difficult terrain. It starts through verdant forests, with roots and rocks to trip you up, and not much space to maneuver between the massive tree trucks that surround you. It then leads into a bog, where you'll need to navigate through the muck and grime. No matter the time of day, it's dark and gloomy here. These bogs are extra treacherous than normal, as taking the wrong step could lead you to fall under the deep murky waters. Will-o'-the-wisps appear as lights floating over the bog, intent on leading people off the path, and into the waters below. If you're truly unlucky, you might even come across some undead skeletons that want you to join them, or a herd of Kelpies who are keen on drowning you. And if all that doesn't get you - the leeches might.

Finally, you come to a mountain, which you are expected to climb up to the top. Unfortunately, the Fae forgot to mention the fun addition to this climb- a massive red dragon, that is easily a hundred feet in length. The dragon attacks anyone trying to climb past its cave- it breathes fire and will absolutely eat anyone it catches. You will either have to battle it or try and find a way around it through stealth. Make it to the top and place the still obnoxiously chattering head on the plinth and victory is yours!

Final Event: The Duel

The final event, on the third day, is a duel between yourself and another app user. You are first led to a room with racks upon racks of various weaponry. There's everything from swords to hammers, to maces and guns and so on- just about any sort of weapon you can imagine is here to use so long as it's not made of iron. You are told you may pick any weapon you'd like- but they will not tell you what weapon your opponent chose. If you are wish access to your own weapons, they will allow it, summoning it here for you. You're allowed as many weapons into the ring that you can carry on your person, so choose wisely.

You climb a ladder up to a huge raised circular platform, below you is a large body of water, ready to catch anyone who falls. It's high enough the drop won't kill you, but it'll sure hurt all the same if you belly-flop onto the water's surface. Once both you and your opponent are in position, you are told the battle will continue until someone yields - or dies. They don't mind either way, it's entertainment for them however this ends. Other than that, there are no rules - all powers are allowed, as are any monstrous changes you have at your disposal. With that out of the way, a gong sounds and the battle commences. Crowds of Fae and spectators, who are guarded by a magic barrier, will cheer and boo every move- some may have very clear favorites. However the battle goes, it will not end until one of you yields.

Or, again, dies. If you're both too damn stubborn to stop. Once the battle ends, you will be brought back down the ladder and allowed to collect your things- either hailed as a winner or mocked as a loser. If you require healing, you can either seek out a Fae healer or one of the healers from the Libra app who are less likely to curse you. Though some of you don't get to rest just yet, as some may be asked to fight once again should the Fae be rather taken with them.

If you're not currently fighting, you are even welcome to spectate yourself! There is a section of the bleachers set up for the app users to sit and safely watch the fights. And don't worry about not understanding what's going on, as the Professor (Fuzzy) is acting as a commentator on the match, along with the.... severed head from the last event. Oh great, it seems they've bonded. Wonderful.

Though if any parties try to be too cheeky and attempt to yield "too early" to get out of a fight? They'll find themselves in for a nasty surprise, as the Fae will boo before summoning three fire breathing chimeras of varying animal combinations into the ring. These Chimeras will attack the fighters on sight with intent to kill, and your only hope is to defeat them before you wind up as dinner.

Aftermath

After the final event comes to a close, the Fae will announce the end of the Olympics. Between the questionable scoring system and the different Fae throwing around accusations of cheating (you ALL cheated), it's really not clear who is the victorious side. It seems like it's going to be something the Seelie and the Unseelie will be debating for a long while.

But, that's not your problem. You completed the Olympics, and so the Fae are bound to their word to let you go. Those who participated in the battle tournament and gave a good show will be given a boon from the Fae, granting them an ability different from their own element.

[OOC note: please redeem this boon on the regain page. Ability can be from ANY element and worth up to 3 points in value. You must link a thread from your battle, with a minimum of three comments from each participating character. Characters are free to duel as many people as they like, but they are only eligible for ONE boon.]

After the boons are given out, it's time to return home. Either travel back to the gate, or teleport home. Kaisou is waiting for you, and not much time has past since your departure. The Spirit Realm will be available through the end of the month, in case you decide for some reason you WANT to spend to spend more time with the Fae.

OOC Notes

The dominant element this month is Wind! Anyone with an affinity to the wind element will find themselves boosted throughout the month. This could mean a boost to their power, having more energy, feeling more inspired with creativity, having better luck on different attempts -- the boost can manifest in all sorts of different ways. By contrast, anyone with an affinity for Earth will be experiencing the opposite. Perhaps their powers will be weaker, they have less energy, they're having a creative block or general worse luck - again it can manifest in all sorts of way and players are free to play with this mechanic as they'd like.

During the month of March, players can obtain up to 3 free monster regains! Please redeem these regains in the Regain page

The original OOC plotting post for this event can be found here. Another Zodiac Post will be going up March 15th to serve as an intro post for new characters and allow characters to react to developments over the network.

Comments

Beredvyn of Nal (Meredith Nelson) | OC | open!

[thewarriorqueen]

[I. Attempted Rescue]

Meredith, as luck would have it, was not one of the kidnapped. As luck would not have it, however, the same didn't necessarily apply to certain of her friends, on top of the whole general principle of the thing. Which meant here she was at the gate, ready to do her part on the rescue mission.

For all the good that did.

Whether at the spirit realm gate or captured back at the castle, expect to find a somewhat exasperated but no less determined woman doing her best to cope with yet another bizarre situation.

"The Olympics, really?"

Not to mention, she may or may not have gradually acquired a short tail and some fuzzy ears as the days went by, compliments of some mischeivous fae...


[II. In the Arena]

Of course, Meredith wasn't one to shy from a fight. You didn't get caught up in nonsense like HEMA if you didn't enjoy the occasional full-contact spar, after all. So here she was, ready to do her best, whether to support a partner or take down an opponent.

"Let's just keep this friendly, alright? Let the other guy have a chance to yield."

That said, she'd adamantly insisted on having her own weapon rather than one provided by the fae. Not because it was more powerful or anything, but rather the opposite: the sword she was carrying, while definitely a proper sword, had a blunted edge to make it safe(r) for competitive bouts.


[IIa. An Unexpected Opponent - CLOSED to Noctis]

Regardless of whoever else she fought, there was one match that was to end up standing out to her in particular. It didn't start out oddly at all, however: Meredith simply preparing herself and her weapons when she spotted her designated opponent. A friend of hers she'd made since she began using the app.

"Hey there, so you're fighting too, huh?"


[III. Local Festivities]

Once all the fae nonsense was dealt with, Meredith was more than happy to get back to the relatively mundane activities around the city. Whether indulging in some St Patrick's Day booze or giving the egg hunt a suspicious sideye, she could be found out and about, largely minding her own business.

Feel free to interrupt, naturally.


[Wildcard]

As always, feel free to hit me up in PMs or Discord (Altocumulus) or just throw a tag my way! I'm still very open to duels, Meredith is reasonably strong from Earth element buffs... but that also means Earth element, so she's not at her best, either. But if you want someone who can either survive a pretty solid beatdown or knows how to hold back against a weaker opponent, she's your gal! My only condition is no death, please. Coin flip also said she got a working amulet from the kitsune, so if you want one, it's yours!

2a.

[illucesco]

He hasn't picked up any of the weapons here. Whatever's brought Noctis here has severely limited his magic, but that's fine, he's worked with limits on his abilities before. It does mean, though, that he can't just pick up a weapon and stuff it into the Armiger like he usually would, and since he doesn't trust their hosts, he's not about to touch their shit either.

He blinks, and looks up to see—a woman? Who seems to know him, judging by how familiarly she's greeting him. Noctis feels flat-footed, a stranger in his own skin. Perhaps he is. People have known him since he opened his eyes here, people he's never met in his life, and he can't find Luna anywhere. Or his retinue, though he was very much hoping not to see them so soon.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," he says, after a second. "I, uh. I'm sorry, Miss, but we haven't actually met." Or at least Noctis Lucis Caelum hasn't met her, and the difference between him and the Noctis she knows is subtle but there: the regal bearing, for one thing, that the game developer lacks.

[thewarriorqueen]

It was Meredith's turn to feel flat-footed at that reply. What did he mean, he didn't know her? Was this his idea of a joke? Except.... except there really was something that felt off. She couldn't put her finger on it, she hadn't known Noctis long enough to be fully familiar with his mannerisms, but even so, there was a sense of it being Not Right.

Was this some kind of fae bullcrap? Whatever it was, it was already starting to give her a bad feeling.

"Noctis? What are you talking about?"

Her confusion was evident in her tone and expression. If this was a joke, he'd better explain quickly. Especially since the fae were likely going to be impatiently shooing them both into the arena any minute now.

[illucesco]

Fae bullcrap is sort of the right term for this situation, yeah. Noctis shakes his head, and says, "That is my name, but I don't know who you are." He really doesn't, no matter how he racks his memory he can't recall someone who looks like she does. This is...yeah, this is pretty weird, and he's a little bit freaked out about it, but he's going to deal with that later because their very generous hosts are now shoving them towards the arena.

"Okay, okay, I get it," Noctis mutters, resentfully. Don't they give you a break after you're dead? Jeez. "I'm going. You don't have to force us."

[thewarriorqueen]

"If this is supposed to be some kind of joke..."

She didn't believe it was, not really. It was just a stab in the dark to find something, anything, that could explain this. Something besides the vague idea growing half-formed in the back of her mind, the all too logical conclusion of what could happen if someone lost themselves to memories of a prior life...

She tried not to think about it, but the gnawing worry was there. Worry, and a spark of anger at the notion, for how dare the dead take over the lives of the living?

At least the fae provided a convenient scapegoat for that smoldering irritation, for the time being, Meredith treating them to a glare as she made her way to the ring.

[illucesco]

"I'm not joking," Noctis responds wearily. "I'm just as confused as you." He's going to be so embarrassed in a few days, but right now he steps out into the ring and just...looks annoyed as the fae audience roars around them, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Really hope they're not expecting a royal speech out of me," he murmurs. "I'm a little rusty on those."

He looks to Meredith now, and says, "So. Until one of us yields, yeah?" He holds his hand out, and a lance shimmers into existence, crackles with electricity as it materializes in blue sparks. "I'm not gonna go easy on you, Miss."

[thewarriorqueen]

It was a little mollifying to hear that he too was bewildered by the situation, though some of Meredith's irritation at it remained nonetheless. There was nothing she could do about it though, so she merely nodded at his words.

"Right," she said, assuming a ready stance, taking a moment to imbue her own sword with the strength of earth. "And I wouldn't want you to."

Win or lose, it would be because both of them gave it their all. It was only fair. That said, there really was something different about Noctis right now, the way we held the weapon with the confidence and ease of someone familiar with its use. Meredith couldn't let her guard down, that much was certain.

[illucesco]

“May the best fighter win,” Noctis says, putting a fist over his heart and giving her a respectful nod.

The bell rings.

Noctis moves, flinging his lance directly at Meredith with a harsh cry. There’s a flash of blue light, and suddenly he’s right there with a streak of blue energy in his wake, electricity-laced lance in hand and already striking out at her. He’s expecting her to block him—that’s fine, this is just for him to test her.

[thewarriorqueen]

One of, if not the best, defenses against an attack was simply to avoid being in its path. Seeing the weapon flung at her, Meredith immediately did the sensible thing and stepped to the side, pivoting as she did to interpose her own blade inbetween. Even so, it was fast. He was fast. Were it not for her own magically-boosted abilities she wouldn't have stood a chance. As it was, that added momentum meant he hit hard, and Meredith was glad for her enhanced strength as the weapons clashed.

Of course, she had no intention of just standing there and taking it, however, and so she pushed back, putting that strength to use in an attempt to push Noctis's weapon out of line. If it worked, she could then seamlessly slip into the followup attack of her own; if not, well, that remained to be seen.

[illucesco]

Oh, there we go. She takes hits like Gladio does, stands strong and turns them from her when she can, takes them on when she can’t. She blocks the lance with ease, turns it to the side, but Noctis lets a smile slip before the lance disappears in blue sparks and the Engine Blade appears in his other hand.

He moves to avoid her followup attack. Phasing’s not something he can do here, he’d noticed that in a previous match, so he relies on his footwork to move him out of the way. And he’s quick, an agile fighter on his feet even when not airborne.

“You’re pretty good at this,” he says, before he launches another attack at her, this one in earnest rather than a test blow. If he can hammer away at her endurance he can take this match.

[thewarriorqueen]

Now that was a trick she was less than prepared for. Meredith made a mental note to consider him as having a weapon in each hand at all times even as she responded to the attack. It was from close quarters and an unexpected direction, meaning there was no room for finesse, just reaction. So she simply turned as quickly as she could to try to interpose her blade... Then promptly took several steps backward to try to give herself a little more space to work with.

"I try."

He was good too, that much she could tell, though it was still... surreal seeing her friend's face, hearing her friend's voice, but moving and speaking so very differently. Unnerving, really, or it would be, if she had the time to stop and think about it.

[illucesco]

He’s not about to let her have that space while he’s on the attack. The sword drives toward her, Noctis raining down blow after blow, trying to hammer away at her defenses while also trying to keep her from taking advantage of any openings in his own. This is someone who might have first learned to swordfight in a training area, but whose training solidified in life-or-death situations.

It’s a very sharp contrast to Noctis during the marathon simply fishing all day.

He does tire out, though, because this body isn’t quite his and doesn’t have all his same limits, and even if it affords Meredith a chance to hit him for once he’s gonna step back to recover and to switch weapons to the lance again.

[thewarriorqueen]

He was good. It was all Meredith could do to try to defend herself, and even then, she had to rely on using some of the strange magical powers she'd found herself with here, her skin turning impossibly hard for several vital seconds as she tried to reposition herself. That was one of her trump cards shown, and one she ought to be careful of over-using, to boot.

It was looking to likely be a losing fight, she'd sparred with people far above her skill before, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to do her best anyway. Which meant there was only a split-second hesitation before she grabbed the chance to go on the offensive, feinting for the weapon-less side before redirecting her attack, hoping to catch him off-guard.

[illucesco]

Ah. So she can turn her skin hard as rock. That's something he'll have to watch out for.

She catches him off-guard, all right, and even as he hastily pivots on his heel to minimize her attack, it still catches on his side. But he barely even stumbles as he moves, used as he is to battle, the Storm Lance in his hands spinning and crackling with energy as he moves to strike her in the back with it. If it does, he means for it to deliver a shock to her system.

[thewarriorqueen]

It was now or never. Her movements paused briefly, and magical barrier shimmered into existence around her. It was a temporary thing and wouldn't last for long, but hopefully she wouldn't need it to. Because as soon as it appeared Meredith was moving again, going in for a strike with as much strength as she could muster behind it.

If she was going to have to make use of all her recently-acquired tricks, after all, there was no reason not to go all-out.

[illucesco]

Can't warp out. So Noctis, thinking fast, lets the lance disappear from his hand, and brings the Swords of the Wanderer up and crossed as a makeshift shield to block her blow. Damn, she hits hard, enough to stagger Noctis, but he recovers fast and as soon as she's done, the Royal Arm vanishes in favor of the Engine Blade, with Noctis slipping around her so he can chuck the sword somewhere high up and warp up to catch a breath.

Okay. A barrier. Fine.

He has an idea how to handle that.

The little container drops onto the battlefield right next to Meredith, and the second it breaks, ice damn near explodes out of it, meant to catch her in the freezing cold.

[thewarriorqueen]

When Noctis slipped around Meredith of course immediately turned to follow his movement, only to find him suddenly--gone? It took a precious second for it to occur to her to look up, just in time to see the small object falling toward her.

There wasn't time to get away, the best she could do was take a step or two back--trying not to lose sight of Noctis all the while--which only meant being caught in the edge of the ice instead of smack in the middle of it. The cold she could more or less cope with, she was used to bitter winters growing up, and the ice she could use her strength to shatter and free herself, but that took time. Another precious few seconds that couldn't be used towards positioning herself against the next attack.

[illucesco]

Noctis, meanwhile, wastes no time. One second he's dangling from above, the next there's a streak of blue light, and Noctis is crashing down on her with the Engine Blade in hand, taking full advantage of her distraction to strike fast and strike hard. He's trying to end the fight quickly and cleanly, taking her out for the count as fast as possible.

[thewarriorqueen]

Without time to try to dodge or better position herself, the best Meredith could do was a simple block with her own blade. She wasn't yet practiced enough to cast another barrier in time, after all. And even strong as she was, the difficult angle and sheer momentum meant her opponent's blade came dangerously close to a hit despite her block.

He really was good.

[illucesco]

She's pretty good at this, if he had to be asked, being able to keep up with him like this. He's actually enjoying this fight, though it likely does help he's not draining his own vitality with every strike, and so he jumps back once it's clear that he won't be breaking her block that way. Seems to consider her for a second, before he rushes forward again, aiming to strike from the right—

—before he warps left, striking out to smack her on the head with the pommel of the Engine Blade.

[thewarriorqueen]

Not quite good enough, though. She'd been almost entirely on the defense this whole bout so far, and was most definitely not well-suited against an opponent who could so easily and quickly open up the range. Especially one who could do so into the air.

And not to mention the warping. She'd seen him do it several times, was learning to expect it, but there was a difference between intellectually recognizing a thing and overriding all one's existing reflexes. She did manage, more by sheer reflex than anything else, start to try to move away when Noctis suddenly warped to the opposite side, but that only made it more of a glancing blow. Which on an ordinary person may well have been decisive, but being magically sturdier than most it wasn't going to be enough to take Meredith down.

It still stung, though.

That said, given that her own weapon was wildly out of line to counterattack, Meredith responded with what she could. Namely a good, solid kick backed with that boosted strength of hers.