The Duel(Orgoth)

Moments after leaving the Gala, Octavia made a beeline for the Eerie where she passed through without slowing down longer than nessassary to grab Saelie from her paddock and fly out to her little hide away, where she vented her rage to the sleepy Wyvern well into the night. Saelie eventually got fed up watching her pace and pinned her to the ground with her massive head, and forced her to relax. But she couldn't relax, thinking about that bastard hitting Eliza. She knew she'd made a mistake though, attacking him, and it was likely going to get her in serious trouble with Hargan when he found out, which didn't take long, considering he was waiting for her when she finally returned to the eerie.

"I heard what happened at the gala from the Primoris Rex. I warned you to keep away from Armagand Kor, Octavia." He said. "Sir he attacked-" She started but was cut off. "I don't care what he did. I've seen how he treat's Eliza, do you think myself and the Primoris Rex weren't going to handle it? But oh no, you know best right?" He Glared. "Get to bed. You need to be up early." She barely slept, and ended up crawling in beside Saelie before finally getting some rest. When the Wyvern nudged her awake the next morning, she was feeling more apprehensive, but she wasn't about to back down. So she grabbed her weapons, donned her gear and headed to the Arena, located in Eapara city near the oculi stronghold. While these things were not private, they were usually quiet, the crowd consisting mostly of judges, ranking officials and off duty soldiers. There was plenty of duels, it was the most common way to settle serious disagreements, but there was more people present then she expected.

Hargan was waiting for her. "Good morning. I hope you're well rested." He said. Octavia nodded, though she didn't really feel it. "Mhm. Right, well I spoke to the judges, and since neither of you have had been given the chance to declare a champion. The judges will ask when you both enter the Arena. Ask, and I'll do it. I can beat Kor." He said to her. Octavia slowly shook her head. "I know you can, but that won't prove anything." She said. "By the rules of the duel, your word against him will hold greater weight. His actions will be punished more severely, you'll get exactly what you want."

"It's not just about that though. If I don't fight him, he'll be right about me being weak. I want to prove him wrong, and take him down." Hargan shook his head. "Very well Octavia. Atleast think about it, ok?" He said. Hargan didn't wait for an answer and left her alone to her thoughts. Half an hour passed, and a Soldier entered the room. He saluted her. "Rider Octavia, your match is about to begin. Please follow me." He said. Octavia followed the man to the portcullis gate leading into the large round arena. "Good luck, ma'am." He said, staying behind as she walked forward across the coarse sand to where a referee waited in the middle. The portcullis behind him opened.

Eliza watched in silence as her opponent stepped back and yielded, before the stranger complimented her skills. The Asentari looked around the room, as if suddenly aware of the devastation their fight had caused. Eliza noticed that the stranger was looking around the room also, before looking back to Eliza. The Asentari was about to speak, before the stranger suddenly snapped her fingers and reassembled the room and everything in it. Eliza's belongings gently returned to where she had left them, and the Asentari stared at the stranger wide-eyed. The stranger then spoke again, telling Eliza that she had already surpassed her father, and that this was the message that Octavia had been trying to send her. The stranger bowed, and Eliza looked down at her hands for a moment, still clutching her sword. "Who are you?" But when Eliza looked up again, the stranger was gone.

This encounter had been strange in so many ways, but the stranger had a certainty in both her gaze and her voice that gave Eliza pause. She didn't fully believe what the stranger had said, but it was enough to make her think. As she collected her belongings and headed for the barracks, Eliza's stomach began to crawl as her thoughts turned to the duel coming up. While she knew the rules of the arena outlawed killing, accidental deaths have happened, and Eliza had no doubt that her father's anger very much increased the risk of Octavia being seriously injured or even killed. Eliza had no desire to publicly show disloyalty to her family by intervening, but if she were to intervene to enforce the rules... Eliza would need a plan. Heading for her cousin's house, Eliza knocked swiftly and requested to speak with Kora. Kora was a talented mage, and her powers would greatly help Eliza's plan. Eliza bowed politely to Kora when she emerged. "Kora, I need your help..."


Armagand Kor was stony-faced as he put on the various pieces of his signature heavy armor. His expression hid the joy he felt at the prospect of finally silencing that worthless runt Velerius, in front of the people of Edia no less. The only drawback was that he predicted very little challenge, but the satisfaction of putting a mouthy runt down was sufficient. Nylara Kor waited outside, a cold stare fixed on her son as he emerged in full battle-garb. "I hope you know what you're doing." Armagand snorted in derision. "Hmph. That whelp will be no trouble." Nylara shook her head and turned away. "Just make sure the Kor name is spared any further embarrassment." Armagand nodded curtly before heading for the entrance to the ring. He curtly dismissed the attending soldiers and took up position behind the large portcullis. When the portcullis was raised, Armagand stepped forward into the ring. A pair of soldiers ran up beside him, holding up his Sky Piercer halberd. Armagand took up his weapon, spinning it menacingly before thudding the butt of the weapon into the ground, leaving a crater in the sand. He looked upon his opponent and his eyes widened with malice. "Are you ready for the pain you've earned, runt?" He pointed his weapon at Octavia and grinned maniacally. "WELL?! DO YOU THINK YOU PROVIDE A DECENT CHALLENGE?!!"

Kora was just about to get into bed when there was a knock on the door. She opened it to find one of the doormen. "Sorry to disturb you so late miss, but your cousin is at the door." He said. Kora nodded, though she was confused as to what Eliza could possibly want at this time of the night. "I'll be right down." Most likely it had something to do with the duel tomorrow. She put on a pair of fluffy slippers and headed down to meet Eliza.

The house was quiet now, compared to a few hours ago when the Gala was still going. She emerged from the front door, and Eliza immediately asked her for her help. "Of course, anything you need. Come in." She said.


Armagand Kor entered the ring in his full armor, two soldiers handing him his halberd as he crossed the sand. Octavia fingered the hilts of her weapons as she watched him approach, head held high. He seemed to ignore the referee who had stepped in between them, just in case they started fighting before they were told to begin. Octavia felt somewhat apprehensive, until Armagand spoke to her, and set her teeth grinding. "Ready? No, I should have worn ear plugs." She retorted. "I'll likely end up deaf if you keep squawking like that."

The referee looked between them. "Bow to your opponent." He said. Octavia did as asked, never taking her eyes Kor. "Ready?" He asked, looking between them. Octavia drew her weapons, flicking out the blades. "Begin." He said, jumping back twenty feet in an instant. Octavia moved, dashing to Armagand's left while keeping her distance and immediately attacked with a ball of energy that would deal weak damage and double Armagand's weight if it hit him. She followed it up with Feather and a double blast of gust from her feet, launching her over Kor's head. Activating her Kama's chains, she lashed downwards at the warrior's armored head and shoulders before flipping in the air to land on her feet about fifteen feet from him.

Eliza sat patiently in the stands with her cousin, watching the entrances of the two combatants. Octavia seemed unperturbed by the fearsome presence of Armagand Kor. Eliza's father boomed his challenge to his opponent, drawing a thunderous cacophony of booing and cheering. Eliza marveled at Octavia's courage and defience as the Eyrie-keeper responded to Armagand's bravado with sarcasm and insults. The silver-haired Asentari peered to her right at Kora, and nodded solemnly. Their plan was ready, she only hoped they wouldn't need it.


Armagand sneered at the whelp's response. "THAT'S IT! KEEP BARKING LIKE A DOG! THEN I CAN PUT YOU DOWN LIKE ONE!" He gave the referee an uninterested sideways glance, before simply inclining his head. When Octavia drew her weapons, Armagand sank into a power stance, teeth bared and eyes maniacal. The word to begin was given, and Octavia made her move. The whelp shot to Armagand's left, before firing a ball of energy at him. With a roar the colossal soldier swept the ball away with a one-handed flick of his weapon. "HA! PATHETIC!" Before he could retaliate however, he moved to take a step forward and noticed that his weapon had somehow become... heavier.

Armagand looked at his weapon with anger before locking eyes with his opponent once again. "YOU THINK YOUR TRICKS WILL SAVE YOU FROM ME?!" The whelp suddenly soared over his head, firing her weapons down at him from on high. With a roar of defiance Armagand put his strength and mass into a two-handed swing, battering the weapons aside. The runt landed about fifteen feet away, and Armagand decided to up the ante, his throat glowing bright crimson. He fired off his Dragon Breath, waiting to see how the runt dealt with that.

He knocked her weapons away, though she noticed he was put off by the increased weight of his own. She spun around and snapped her weapons back to her hands with a firm tug of the chains as she landed, and Armagand turned on her, his throat glowing. She took a deep breath of her own, throat glowing silvery, before unleashing her own dragon breath in response. The two blasts collided with violent force, but contrary to popular belief, there was no strongest element. Octavia was still forced back a few feet by the blast, but held her footing as they cancelled each other out.

The two forces threw up a cloud of snad, a handy side effect, and before it began to settle Octavia moved. She dashed head on towards Armagand through the cover, throwing one of her Kama past him and embedding it in the snad. She suddenly dashed to the side, grabbing the chain of her kama and using it as an anchor to swing herself around to Armagand's back side. Her would be anchor slipped slightly in the snad but held, and she found herself exactly where she wanted to be as she dashed towards the armored warrior's back, slashing at the back of his knee with the Kama in her hand. She retreated quickly, whipping the chain of the grounded Kama to pull it from the snad. A quick spin sent it flying in an upper cut towards Armagand's head before she pulled it back to her hand.

The weapons scattered and were recalled rapidly to the runt's hand, before she responded to Armagand's impending Dragon Breath attack with one of her own. Armagand couldn't believe to impudence of this brat, daring to defy his power, but the resulting explosion proved that they were matched in that particular aspect of their Draconic power. The thought needled at Armagand, and his anger began to increase. Before he could dwell too long on it however, as a kama flew past him from the dustcloud, and lodged in the sand behind him. This was followed by the runt flying out of the dissipating cloud and shooting around to try and get behind him, using her weapon as a grappling hook. Armagand tried to slamm the blad of his halberd down on the chain to try and disrupt the maneuver by damaging the chain, but his weapon was now returned to it's normal weight and he nearly unbalanced himself when he put his full power behind the swing, causing him to miss his target.

Armagand then saw his opponent coming in fast, aiming for his knee. Armagand's eyes began to burn with crimson embers, as did his right fist as he shifted his weapon to his left hand. As Octavia came in, Armagand raised his right fist and punched the ground, unleashing his Dragon's Inferno. An eruption of fire erupted from the point of contact, immolating everything in a 15 ft radius of Armagand's fist and dealing Average fire damage, though the physical force was minimal. He followed it up by launching himself after Octavia with a powerful leap and attempting to bisect her with his halberd with a savage downward strike. He then used the momentum to bring the weapon around his head one-handed in a giant horizontal swing at head-height.

Armagand tried to strike the chain of her weapon as she swung around behind him, but the effect of her gravity ball had worn off and he swung too hard, missed and staggered himself. However he countered her attempt to strike at the back of his knee by slamming a burning fist down into the ground. If she kept going she would likely land her blows, but she decided in a split second that the pay off would not be worth the damage she received in return. Octavia activated feather and jumped, firing two gusts of air from her feet to give her extra lift as she lept over Armagand's wave of fire.

Armagand tried to leap after her and swat her from the air with his halberd, and a swift tug on the chain of the Kama in the ground dragged her from the path of the attack. She hit the ground and rolled, scooping up the weapon as he attempted to cut her head off. She raised her kama, blocking the attack. She didn't resist, instead jumping with the swing as the Kama caught the blade, and let the momentum launch her away. As she sailed through the air she flipped herself around and threw both Kama down into the sand to create an anchor point, and used a double burst of gust to reverse her trajectory back towards Armagand. She whipped her weapons back into the air and spun them on their chains, slashing repeatedly as she sailed back over the brute.

Octavia snapped them back to her hand, before firing another gust to force her back towards the ground, landing on her feet in a crouch. As she landed, she shot one last gust towards Armagand's head and let it carry her away, but also launched her Kama out to the sides before swinging them in towards Armagand. With a graceful flip she landed back on her feet a good distance away and pulled her weapons back to her hands before waiting the see what destructive powers he would respond with.

As expected, the runt Velerius chose to avoid the inferno produced by Armagand's might and soared over the blast and to relative safety. She avoided his follow-up attack by pulling herself to the ground with her chains. When Armagand attempted to decapitate her with his horizontal swing, she simply leapt away with her weapons up and rode the attack, using the power generated to get airborne again. The runt then anchor the ground with her weapons and used them to catapult herself back towards Armagand, who readied his weapon, his expression conveying his seething anger. The incoming Velerius spun her weapons wildly, and Armagand spun his own weapon in front of him to parry. When the runt was close enough, Armagand used his Dragon's Roar, his defiance echoing around the arena. "RAAAAAAAGH!" The roar would send a blast of concussive force billowing out, dealing only Weak damage itself but packed with enough force to send all but the most sturdy opponents flying.

If it failed to knock the runt away, Armagand would simply raise his hand and weapon to block the side attacks. In either case, he would launch another assault. He began with a vicious thrust of his halberd towards Octavia's gut, before transitioning into a spin that brought the weapon around for another horizontal head sweep. As he advanced the spin continued, this time with a shorter range two-handed sweep at chest height. He continued with one final spin, this time with a backhand with his left hand that was immediately followed by a downward smash that sent snad flying everywhere.

Mid flight, Armagand opened his mouth and roared. Octavia used her last gust to change trajectory, launching herself out of the way of the attack so that she landed in the sand a few feet away from her original spot. She didn't have another blast to carry her further away, but still attacked with her Kama only to have Armagand block the attacks. Armagand charged in and drove a thrust at her gut. She side stepped the attack and closed in on him as he went into a spin. She slid across the sand, his double spin going over her head. He tried to back hand her, but she was already moving, slipping behind him as he slammed his halberd down. She snapped one of her Kama closed and swung at the back of his knee in it's axe form.

Octavia was exactly where she wanted to be as she followed up her attack by activating her gravity well, which extended a yellow dome around both of them. While she was unaffected, Armagand would feel twice as heavy, as would his armor and weapons. She jumped away from him just in case he collapsed under his own weight, before snapping her second Kama closed. Then she rushed back in, aiming an uppercut with one Axe for the chin, before slipping around to the side before he could react and trying to smash another into his ribs. Another attack to the knee, followed by a jump back to avoid a potential backhand. "I'm going to teach you to keep your hand's to yourself." She snarled, before closing in again and hacking at his left hand and arm with both axes before again retreating.

Armagand's roar attack was evaded which added to his growing frustration with this fight. The runt was never supposed to be this difficult to batter. She deftly avoided his blows, ducking and weaving around the weapon strikes. "ENOUGH RUNNING! STAND AND FIGHT ME!" The runt avoided the remaining attacks and Armagand felt a bang on his leg as Octavia connected with a hit from her weapon to the chainmail on the back of his knee. Though the armor wasn't breached, there was enough of an impact that it registered with him, and it enraged him. "YOU LITTLE BITCH! YOU THINK THAT WILL STOP ME?!"

Before he could react, Armagand found himself in enveloped in a yellow energy dome. The colossal Asentari began to move, but found that he was now being slowed again, similarly to his weapon earlier, but this time it was everything that was heavier. Only for his physical strength and toughness, Armagand would probably have collapsed to the ground. He looked at his foe as she skipped away and clenched his jaw as he adjusted to the higher exertion that he had to expend to move. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR COWARDLY TRICKS! FIGHT ME LIKE A WARRIOR!" The runt charged back in, aiming a strike for his jaw. He mustered the strength to move his head to the side so the blow glanced up off his cuirass, before using the added weight to lower his weapon rapidly to block the smash to his ribs. He felt another blow to his other knee, before the runt jumped back to talk more trash. "ENOUGH BARKING, YOU WORTHLESS DOG!" She jumped back in to attack his arm, so he moved his hand and attempted to grab one of the weapons. If he succeeded, he would then attempt to grab the runt by the arm and level her with a lariat. If the first grab failed he would simply try and swing a labored kick at her before putting his weight and force into a giant sweep of his weapon at the runt's body.

"It's not my fault you're too slow to keep up." She replied when he told her to fight him like a warrior. He didn't take kindly to her promise and told her to stop barking.
"Say's the yapping mutt." She replied. When she jumped back in, he managed to react enough to catch one of her weapons, and she managed to land the strike on his forearm. She let the weapon go before he could grab her arm, but not before hitting the trigger to open the blade of her Kama in an attempt to make him drop it by reflex. She spun away and snapped her arm out, letting the other Axe fly straight from her hand in an attempt to clock him in the face with the shaft of the weapon, before using the ethereal chain to yank it back to her hand.


Kora sat in the stands beside Eliza, watching the fight below with great interest. Eliza had been so worried about her friend that Kora had genuinely believed this would be a very one sided affair and they would be attempting their rescue rather quickly. But by the looks of this, Octavia was more than capable of dealing with Eliza's father. Kora noticed that the large man seemed to have gotten even slower as Octavia created some sort of bubble of energy. She was curious about the nature of the girls powers. "I don't suppose you know what that dome does?" She asked Eliza, who she knew had spent the last few weeks doing joint training sessions with the flighty Asentari.


Armagand was struggling to adjust, and Octavia was not about to let the oppurtinity go to waste as she immediately began attacking again. Gripping her weapon with two hands, she dashed in and aimed a strike for his leg, before moving around and striking at the first exposed body part she spotted. She did not stay in one place long, dashing left or right and maneuvering around him to attack the back of his neck with a heavy blow, before striking at his elbow, an upward swing to his armpit and so on. She did not stay in one place long and kept up her strikes in an attempt to overwhelm him.

Aramagand's anger began to visibly manifest on his face, and though his helmet concealed most of his seething visage, his eyes shone like mad embers through the eye holes. The runt delivered some more trash talk, but his defense of her attacks meant that he also shipped a hit to his forearm, the impact shuddering through his vambrace. He did manage to grab one of her weapons, though he was made to flinch slightly when the weapon's head popped out just as the runt released it. Nonetheless, he had a lighter weapon to use now. He used the acquired weapon to deflect the runt's attempt to throw her other weapon at his head. He began to stalk towards his foe slowly but with malicious intent.


Eliza was absolutely gripped by the action. For the moment, Octavia had made a very good accounting of herself so far. Eliza knew of course that it would be this way, with Octavia running rings around Armagand initially. Armagand's lack of speed was well-documented, but he overcame this weakness with pure power and endurance. While it did look to be a very one-sided fight, especially when Octavia's energy dome was deployed, Eliza was a keen enough student of the game to also recognise that Octavia was not really inflicting any real damage. Eliza was broken from her reverie by Kora's question about the energy dome. Eliza spoke without taking her eyes from the fight. "I'm not sure how it works exactly. It seems to increase the weight of everything inside it, besides Octavia herself." Eliza looked at her cousin with worried look. "Please, I must ask you to stay focused. We may need to move at a moment's notice."


Armagand brandished the stolen weapon as Octavia moved in again. She aimed a strike for his leg, and he put considerable strength into raising his leg so the blow ricocheted off his shinguard. He tried to follow her around, but he was still too slow and he shipped another hit that cannoned off his fauld, leaving a dent in the metal. She began to barrage him with strikes, and his increased weight meant that he was not dealing with them effectively and he was shipping hits all over his armor. In a fit of rage, his throat began to glow and lowered his guard to fire his Dragon Breath at his now close-range opponent. He followed it up with several big swings of the stolen weapon, aiming for any part of the runt he could reach, and advancing the whole time.

Armagand held onto her weapon, stalking forwards and countering her attacks with it. His throat began to glow, and Octavia was ready for it this time, dashing towards him and sliding through his legs as he fired the blast of flames. She felt the heat as she barely made it out of the way, and activated the enchantment on the Kama he was holding. A chain appeared, running between Armagand's legs. He spun and began to attack her, slashing wildly with her Kama, while Octavia ducked and dived and attempted to tangle him further in the chain by dodging past him and forcing him to turn.

Whether she successfully tangled him or not, she would follow up with her own breath attack, at relatively close range while yanking on the chain as hard as possible, in an attempt to knock him over. If she actually did succeed in knocking the giant over, she would lunge forward and first attempt to reclaim her weapon, deactivating the chain, before assaulting him with a barrage of slashes from one or both weapons in axe form to the torso and face. If she failed to knock him over she would instead retreat and prepare for his follow up.


Kora found herself fascinated by the big dome. She would have to ask Octavia about it when the fight was over. Eliza told her to remain focused and Kora nodded, though she was capable of maintaining focus while also speculating on the fight, she didn't want to distract Eliza who remained concerned for her friend. She watched as Octavia did her best to tangle up Armagand with the energy chains attached to her weapons, and hoped that the girl noticed the dangers those chains posed to her if Armagand managed to grab one.

Armagand's breath attack erupted from his mouth, but Octavia had managed to evade it once again, this time by sliding low and through the colossal warriors legs. A chain appeared from the base of the weapon he had taken, and it followed his foe between his legs. Armagand did not notice it immediately, turning and swinging wildly with the implement but never connecting with any strikes. Once he noticed the chain, Armagand dropped the runty weapon and hefted his trusted halberd. It was then that he also noticed that the yellow energy dome had disappeared, and his weapon had returned to its usual weight. He also noticed that he was tangled up in chains from the midriff down. His foe appeared in front of him and Armagand saw her throat glow, while he felt a sharp tug at the chains that bound his legs. Armagand braced and hunkered as low as he could, attempting to lower his center of gravity as much as possible. The attack hit, buffeting him hard and causing his armor to creak alarmingly, but he stayed on his feet.

When the torrent dissipated, Armagand stood up straight and watched Octavia retreat. The colossal man was stewing as he used the blade of his halberd to smash the chains at his feet, causing them to disappear from around his body. Staring a hole through his foe, he came to a decision. As much as he hated to admit it, the whelp was forcing him to exert himself far more than had would have liked. So be it, he thought, if that's what she wants. Armagand activated his halberd's enchantment, Overwhelming Might, causing the weapon to double in weight for everyone except himself. Lunging forward, Armagand launched a fierce thrust at Octavia's gut. He then spun through and brought the weapon around for a massive overhead downward strike, aiming not for Octavia but the ground beside her and causing a blast of concussive force with a 10ft radius that deals no damage itself, but sends packs enough force to send people and things flying. He then swung the weapon around his head, aiming sweep after sweep at Octavia's body. After two sweeps, he suddenly lunged forward with the spin and threw a straight right hand at Octavia's face. He continued through and transitioned into a spinning back fist before aiming another halberd sweep at Octavia's neck.

Octavia was slightly disappointed, but not altogether surprised that Armagand managed to stay on his feet. He smashed apart the energy chains, and Octavia took the chance to reclaim her weapon, creating a new chain before snapping it back to her hand. She let the chain vanish again and prepared for his onslaught. She sidestepped the initial thrust easily, dancing away from the attack before he started the second one. She seen the downward swing coming, and easily avoided it, readying her weapons to go on the offensive. The blast that followed hit her from the side as she moved forward. She was thrown off her feet and hit the ground in a daze.

She rolled towards Armagand as he swept his weapon towards her so that the swing went well over head, before quickly regaining her feet. The second sweep she lept over with the help of her feather ability, going into a backflip and landing on her feet. She was ready for the next swing, but was almost taken by a punch to the face. She must have been still dazed from the blast, because she misjudged his reach, or maybe she expected another slow swing from his halberd but she was caught by the backhand, the blow easily sending her flying across the sand out of reach of the follow up sweep.

Octavia landed in the snad with a grunt. She didn't give him a moment to take advantage of her prone state, jumping to her feet quickly. She shook herself out, then charged forward, chains forming as she lept into the air. A gust of air carried her up and over Armagand, and she launched her weapons towards him, before spinning them to barrage him from above with a flurry of strikes. She snapped them back to her hand before landing on the ground and spinning, sweeping her weapons out towards his legs. With her chains she had more reach than him, and she didn't intend on getting close again. Instead she kept her distance, swinging the Kama towards his elbows, throat, and knees in rapid succession, attacking any weak point she could spot.

Armagand nearly grin as his onslaught forced his quarry to duck and weave desperately. The blast from his Overwhelming Might had taken her off her feet momentarily, and though she regained her feet quickly, the subsequent flurry from Armagand had her scrambling. She managed to evade most of the offense, but she was caught clean by the spinning backfist, sending her sailing into a heap in the snad. Again though, she regained her feet rapidly, this time launching an offensive of her own. Armagand growled and readied his weapon, spinning it deftly to parry the barrage of strikes from above. The runt landed and then aimed for his legs with her chains extended, but Armagand merely swatted them away with a quick sweep of his weapon. The runt began another barrage of attacks, but made sure to keep her distance and use her chains to manipulate her weapons. Octavia was safely out of range but the potential damage she could inflict was also lessened as the colossal Asentari had slightly more time to deal with incoming blows. Armagand used a combination of weapon and armor to deal with the next flurry, before launching into his own offensive.

Surging forward, Armagand attempted to grab one of the chains with his left hand, while aiming a thrust with his weapon. His aim was to try and force Octavia to retreat towards the arena boundary and cut off the space. If he succeeded in grabbing the chain, Armagand would instantly yank violently on it, either pulling his quarry to him or forcing her to let go of the chain. If he failed to grab the chain, he would simply advance forward as rapidly as he could. Either way, he would aim a few speculative swings in Octavia's direction, aiming to connect if he had pulled her closer or just giving her something to think about if he hadn't.

She unleashed her flurry of attacks and Armagand used his large weapon and distance to his advantage as he managed to knock away the weapons easily, or simply let them bounce off his armor. He snatched the chain out of the air, and Octavia knew what was coming next. She jumped forward as he yanked on the chain and let him pull her in closer. She disintegrated the chain and shot towards him, avoiding the thrust and snatching her weapon out of the air as she ran past Armagand and took a swipe at his leg.

Armagand followed up with several swings that she easily avoided by ducking and weaving and after his last attack she moved in closer to get inside his weapon's effective area, and attack back. She kept striking and moving, not standing still long enough for him to strike back. Then she raised one hand, and fired her Heavy Ball at his chest from point blank, hoping to do significant damage, before leaping out of his range again.

Armagand managed to grab the chain, but when he yanked on it the chain dissolved quickly. Octavia was still launched towards him rapidly, but she evaded his weapon thrust and retrieved her weapon on the fly and forcing him to sidestep a quick slash at his leg. His follow-up flurry was also dealt with deftly, with the runt ducking and weaving around his speculative swings. She closed after the final swing and began to pepper Armagand with strikes on the move, staying very close to him and preventing effective use of his halberd. He used the long handle of his polearm to deal with the strikes, though he still got tagged on his armor a good bit.

Becoming even more enraged at his inability to smash the runt properly with his weapon, Armagand used his Dragon's Roar ability, letting out a giant roar and exploding with enough force to knock back anything within 10 ft of him with significant force, though the blast itself only deals Weak damage. Whether she dodged or was blasted, Armagand would follow his foe with three quick two-handed halberd swings, followed by a large pommel thrust on the end of the last swing to try and mix things up and throw off his opponent.

Octavia landed several hits, but when she went to fire her heavy ball at Armagand the man let out a roar and hit her with a blast of energy. She was tossed away but flipped around in the air to land on her feet, and fired her heavy ball at him. Then he was on her, attacking with three quick swings of his halberd. Activating Feather, Octavia danced around the strikes, her last step slightly slow. She felt a tug at her clothing as the tip of Armagand's weapon caught on her shoulder. Divinium scraped across dragon skin, leaving a shallow cut, but her reduced weight meant she was pushed away from the blade more easily. Which almost left her off balance when come the next attack. Armagand spun his weapon and tried to thrust the pommel of the weapon at her, but she managed to correct herself with a blast of gust aimed to the side, pushing her from the path of the weapon.

She jumped upwards onto the shaft of his weapon and ran along it, driving kick towards his face. She used a blast of gust from her other foot to push herself up after the kick aid her as she flipped over his head and landed behind him. Spunning she aimed a double strike with her Kamaxes in axe form at the same point on his side, hoping to atleast bruise his ribs through the armor, or maybe get lucky and draw some blood. She was quick to move, spinning to the side and aiming another double strike to his lower leg on the opposite side, before attempting to backflip away.

Armagand managed to knock the runt flying with his Dragon's Roar, but managed to remain on her feet. The runt fired another energy ball at him, which he swatted away with his weapon. When Armagand went to continue his assault and feed Octavia some shaft, he found that his weapon had become weighed down again, and the runt simply danced around his labored swings, though he still managed to nick her with one on the shoulder. The pommel strike also missed the mark, and the runt used the opportunity to run up the weapon and hit him in the helmet with a punt kick. Turning to to face his foe as she flipped over and behind him, Armagand felt a hard impact in the side of his ribs as the runt hit him with dual weapons. The weapons did not penetrate, but they did deform the armor and most likely bruised the bones beneath.

Enraged by having his weapon fucked with again and sustaining damage, Armagand dropped his arm rapidly and aimed to trap the weapons between his arm and his side, regardless of the pain caused. Whether he succeeded or not, he cast aside his weapon and aimed a straight punch for his foes face. He then used his Dragon Attack on his gauntlets, causing them to ignite with fiery energy. Very Weak fire damage was added to his fist strikes, and he doled them out liberally. He lead with a right-left combo, before aiming a left body shot and finishing with a massive right uppercut.

Her hit landed, and she seen the plate give slightly. She went to continue attacking, but never got to take a swing at Armagand's leg. His arm clamped down against his side, trapping her weapons, and he took a swing at her. Octavia twisted and got her shoulder up and was sent flying by the blow. She regained her feet quickly as he came at her swinging his fists. Either he'd gotten so angry he had resorted to trying to beat her to death, or he had figured out that he would never land a direct hit with his weapon. She was going to bet on anger, based on the color of his face. She could think about how it was doing him no good, but she was more worried about his gauntlets suddenly bursting into flames. Octavia started to back away, dodging the punches as they came. Even so, she had started to slow down. Those hits were building up, and her strategy of not getting hit was only effective if she didn't get hit.

She took a few light glances from his fists, and was singed in places. One blow left a nasty burn across her arm, and another near miss told her her leg had been seared. But Kor's attack's subsided, and out of sheer defiance Octavia jumped up, spunning around so that she would slap him across the face with her tail. She went straight into a handspring and bounced away, landing in the sand.


Kora watched as Octavia drove Mr Kor soft in the head, dodging his every attack and foiling him again with her weight shifting powers, so much so that he dropped his weapon and started swinging his fists. Flaming fists. Octavia avoided them well before attemping a tail whip and jumped away. Landing upright she held herself defiantly, and Kora couldn't see how Mr Kor could possibly win this. She was still ready to help Eliza intervene, but would it even be necessary?


Octavia was fucked. She was starting to hurt, even though she stood straight backed and defiant. She also didn't think she had much left in her, but Kor didn't look phased. Enraged, sure. But she couldn't even tell if she'd hurt him. She was not about to give up though. She had one last chance to take him down. Octavia charged towards him and activated her heavy dome right when she was infront of him before snapping both of her Kamaxes into Kama form, and attempted to slip around to his side, aiming another double strike with both weapons at the place she'd damaged earlier. She would atleast draw some blood from him. He would learn that she was not weak.

Armagand managed to trap the runt's weapons against his side, ignoring the pain shooting up from that area due to the damaged ribs. The follow-up punch also connected, though the runt managed to turn just in time to take the blow to her shoulder rather than her head as intended, sending her flying. Armagand's pursuit found her quickly, and though the barrage of punches failed to produce a solid hit, he was close enough with the swings that the flames themselves were causing damage to the runt. As a last act of defiance, Octavia leapt up and whipped him across the face with her tail, causing him to stop in his tracks and consider the absolute gall of this runt.


Eliza sat up straight in her seat, trying to digest what she had just witnessed. Against all odds, Octavia had actually hung with Armagand to this point, frustrating and eluding her colossal opponent. However, Eliza's keen eyes told her that Octavia had not entirely avoided damage. Not only that, but Octavia was breathing very heavily now, while Eliza's father looked a bit fresher. Eliza knew this was the endgame now, as the slightest dip in performance could be fatal, and Octavia looked to be the one that had lost half a step of pace at the moment. She kept her eyes on the spectacle, but whispered to Kora. "Get ready, Kora. It's almost time." Eliza knew that Octavia had acquitted herself well, and she had proven her point that she was not as inferior to Armagand as the big man would have everyone believe. Eliza just hoped that Octavia realized that before things went too far.


Armagand stared a hole through his foe, as she stood before him with her chin up defiantly. Before he could enunciate his anger however, Octavia charged directly at him and the dome of energy reappeared around them, forcing his limbs to strain again under the increased weight. The runt began to move around him to attack his flank, but Armagand had had enough. The flames on his right gauntlet intensified and fire began to emit from his eyes as he activated his Dragon's Inferno, and he brought the fist down into the ground, causing a fiery inferno to envelop everything within 15 feet in crimson flames that would deal Average fire damage to anything caught in it. Whether the inferno hit or missed, Armagand followed-up with another fire-assisted barrage of punches, aiming a left-right combination at Octavia's body, before aiming an overhand left into a right uppercut.

Octavia swung as Armagand turned, blazing fist lighting up even further. She knew something was coming, but she did not pull back. This was her last chance to do something besides leap around, so she swung, her Kama striking the weak point on his side before Armagand's fist struck the ground, and fire rushed past. Octavia refused to scream, but even so the pain was enough to blur her vision as she staggered away from Armagand. A heavy blow hit her in the gut and she was flung away, hitting the sand and rolled several times, putting out her smoldering clothes. Armagand advanced on her, and she knew she was spent, but she still stood up as he took another shot at her body. She back stepped it, a shade slower than bafore, lashing at his arm with her Kama as he dropped an over hand on her. She barely avoided the punch, only to get caught back the uppercut, which hit her hard in the body and sent her flying again.

Octavia landed in a heap, dazed, winded and really starting to feel the pain now. And she almost stayed down, as the crowd watched on in silence. But out of stubborn stupidity she refused to let it end here, and activated Feather, then used a blast of gust to push herself back to her feet. Her legs nearly buckled, but she managed to keep her footing long enough to unleash her dragon breath one last time, before going down to one knee.


As the fight continued, Eliza noticed something that Kora likely missed, and told Kora to be ready. She nodded, and summoned her staff with the flick of her wrist. Concentrating, she watched as Octavia landed a blow before getting hit by a blast of flames. Armagand sent her flying, and Kora suspected that it was over, but Octavia got up again, only to take another heavy hit. Somehow, the Asentari righted herself, and unleashed her dragon breath, before dropping to a knee. Kora prepared to throw open her portal infront of Eliza and Octavia, if Eliza said the word.

Armagand's fist struck the ground, but the resulting inferno did not deter the runt, and she bore the full brunt of the fire. When it cleared, Armagand commenced his attack. It became clear that the runt had reached her limit, as she had lost enough pace for Armagand to begin connecting properly with his blows, something he had failed to do in the duel so far. He relished in the impacts he felt through his gauntlets as he scored a body blow, though she still managed to avoid the second body punch. The runt parried the overhand desperately but felt the full force of the uppercut, which sent her sprawling again. He saw her throat begin to glow as she got to her feet, and this time it was Armagand's turn to return fire as his own throat glowed and he unleashed his own Dragon Breath, the flames clashing with the wind and nullifying the runt's attack.

As he approached, Armagand watched with satisfaction as the runt collapsed to a knee with sheer exhaustion. "Hmph. Pathetic." He aimed a kick the the chest to knock Octavia down, before retrieving his weapon from the ground nearby. As his adrenaline level began to fall, Armagand realised just how much the fight had taken out of him. He was not far from exhaustion himself, and he looked down to see blood trickle from the rend in his side armor. But he was standing and his foe wasn't, that was all that mattered. As he approached his fallen foe, he relished the opportunity to snuff out this annoyance once and for all, whatever the legal ramifications may be. At least he would prove his might and ruthlessness. He stomped menacingly towards the runt, and hefted his weapon.


Eliza's eyes widened as she saw Octavia finally run out of steam. She had managed to finally inflict visible damage to Armagand, as evidenced by the damage to the side of the colossal man's cuirass, but her body had given out. Armagand now stalked his opponent, and Eliza knew exactly what was to come next. While fatalities were outlawed in the duel arena, punishments were most likely the least of Armagand's concerns at this moment. Eliza stood up from her seat. "Kora, now!" On cue, the portal appeared in front of Eliza, and she stepped through the shimmery surface into action.


Armagand grinned maniacally as he raised his weapon. "Time's up, runt." But even as he saw umpires and officials protesting and running towards the ring, there was one source of opposition he did not expect. As his weapon fell to claim his foe, a blade intercepted his weapon and knocked it aside where it lodged in the ground beside Octavia. In shock, Armagand turned to see the impassive face of his own daughter. Spitting in disgust, he turned to face his worthless offspring directly, rage in his eyes. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, YOU WORTHLESS SCUM?!" Eliza stared back with a neutral expression, spatha in her left hand. "As a member of the Elite Guard of the Oculi Draconis, it is my duty to enforce the rules and regulations of the duel arena."

Armagand made to step towards Octavia again, but Eliza put herself between the two combatants, weapon gripped tightly as arena officials and guards flooded the ring. "Imperator Kor, the duel is concluded. You have won." Armagand spat again, this time at Eliza's feet, before stomping away towards the exit with a gesture of impudence to the booing crowd. Eliza took a deep breath before turning to Octavia. "MEDIC! TO THE RING!" She knelt before her friend and surveyed the damage while holding back tears.

Octavia dropped to a knee, and everything went black. When she resurfaced, she was rolling to the side as Armagand's foot flew past. She had passed out at just the right time it seemed, but her body may have given up at the wrong time, for even as an offical called the duel in armagands favor, the large man was moving for his weapon. As conciousess began to fade, she knew what was coming. But atleast she shown the people here just how much of a monster the man was.


The fight ended opposite how it began, with Octavia using her breath attack and armagand responding with his own to counter it. Armagand approached as Octavia went down to one knee, and attempted to kick her, however Octavia flooped to the side out of the path of kick. She did not rise againd, and Kora guessed that she had passed out finally. Armagand turned to retrieve his weapon, and Eliza gave the order. She was through the portal as fast as it opened, and came to her friends aid, blocking Armagand from Octavia. With the portal still open, Kora could hear the exchange between the two, with Armagand shouting at Eliza but getting a cold, Imperial response.

Armagand Kor seemed to make the right choice, and turned and walked away. Kora nodded with satisfaction, before following Eliza through the portal. She had some healing knowledge, so after carefully checking Octavia to make sure she was breathing, and wasn't bleeding severely, she moved her into the recovery position until the medics could get there. She cursed her lack of knowledge. She noticed the teary eyes of her cousin, and gently took Eliza's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "She's going to be ok."



Hargen watched the entirety of the fight from one of the gates into the arena. It had ended as he had expected, but not as quickly. Octavia had put the lumbering giant through his paces, and Hargen could tell he was close to exausted. He had stood there, waiting for the moment Kor might try to do something stupid like kill octavia when she was down and out, and had been about to move when Eliza appeared between her father and Octavia. As Kor made his way towards him, Hargan straightened and started walking towards Octavia. He stopped next to Kor and nodded. "Congratulations on your victory, Imperator. Go and have a nice long rest, you look like you need it." He said with a smirk. "Oh, and I'd suggest you keep away from my riders, because next time there's an incident like last night's, it'll be me you face. And I assure you, the outcome will not be the same." Hargan said. He waited to see if Kor had anything to say, before walking on.

He approached Eliza, Octavia and Kora, as medics and other officials arrived. Nodding to the portal, he looked at Eliza. "Thank you for you're timely intervention, Eliza, Miss Merciallus." He said, as two medics loaded Octavia on to a stretcher. "You saved me a headache. I wouldn't have been so calm headed as yourself when dealing with Imperator Kor's breach of conduct." The medics hoisted Octavia and headed off. "You can go with her if you want. Or I can send you a message when she wakes up."