A Dragon's Heart (Part 1)

Kronos took a walk from the camp. A long one. Already had it cleared through the proper channels for a break about a week after the Battle of Medin Taji. He still felt stiff from that ordeal. He just needed some time to think and train on his own. The unit was solid, and his skills were being appreciated...he had no reason to say no. And yet...he still felt inadequate for them. The red head had been acknowledged as part of the inner circle, and yet it seemed like he barely did anything to earn that spot. Perhaps this was a time for him to dwell on his own merits, and what he brought to the table. Both good, and the bad. He was, after all, a wanted man. He half expected to be attacked outright at Eldaria. Though he was with a unit, he knew how tenacious and even borderline suicidal assassins can be. Even Rex was a devout follower of the Primoris Rex. Spineless as her decision making is...she was someone that deserved to be feared by.

Drawing his sword, he saw traces of someone or something nearby. Even irregular tracks. He started to follow them to at least see what they were. If they were a threat, he'd eliminate it. If not...well, what was the harm in leaving it be.

The stranger watched as the young man and his company milled about their camp. Not long after, the young man left the camp and went for a walk in the forest. The young man seemed to be at a crossroads, and he was doing a healthy amount of reflecting and analyzing. He had expected to die, being a fugitive of the Oculi Draconis, and he was seeing assassins everywhere. He also questioned his actual worth to the mercenary organization he now served in, and this only added to the young man's introspection. Smiling to itself, the stranger left a easy-to-follow trail for the young man to follow, and waited for him in a small clearing. It was time to test the young man's worth, for himself as well as the stranger.

As the young man entered the clearing, the stranger stood before him in the form of Kairi Thorne, complete with spear and shield. The stranger spoke, and it was with Kairi's voice.
"Hello again, Kronos Lohengrim. It has been a while." The stranger stepped forward and smiled, in a rather un-Kairi-like way. "What better way to prove your worth than a rematch against the woman who kicked your ass in Yoniva Town?" The stranger adopted a combat stance, shield up and spear ready. "Well? What say you? Will you fail your current company like you failed your former one?"

When Kronos emerged, the last person he expected was Kairi Thorne. But something seemed...off to him. The weapons were there, as was the appearance. Even the voice. It wasn't tuntil she smiled and stepped forward did it occur to him. Kicked his ass? She also seemed eager for a fight. Just what was this? From what they've heard...Kairi should be at the Hold. "It was a closer match than that, and you know it. Or do you? You might have her weapons, her looks, even her voice. But do you have her skills?"

With a "punch" down, his shield clicked into place. His weapons were both new to Kiari, assuming this was truly her. "Failure can be attributed by a lot of things. Including a commander's reluctance to listen to their subordinates, a failure to adapt more readily, and a commander's own madness. What do you desire, imitation? Just play twenty questions with me?" Not that he cared that much. It was just an oddity...and he circled her with his left arm facing her. Almost like he was analyzing every little detail. He also almost added onto another descriptive term...athough, could he really call himself a proud Asentari warrior?

The stranger-with-Kairi's-face watched and listened as Kronos defended himself. A smile spread across Kairi's beautiful but strong visage. Kronos was being truthful as he knew it. His confrontation with the real Kairi Thorne in the desolate streets of Yoniva Town had been a close affair, as Thorne herself would no doubt confirm. It came down to Thorne's greater focus, and the support of her allies, that ultimately decided the fight. Thorne had entered the fight with complete confidence in herself and her companions that day, while Kronos had been bereft of the same confidence, given how easily Thassa had overruled him when planning the defense. Thorne and Kronus were closer in ability than it appeared, but this confrontation was not about reveling in the positives. If it was, what would there be for the young Asentari contender to learn?

"Indeed, your self-belief is admirable. Perhaps it was the fault of your allies that you met with defeat that day. But then again, why pick such poor accomplices to begin with? Does Kronos Lohengrin not dream of being more than a simple sellsword? Or is he happy with mediocrity?" With that, the stranger charged forward, aiming a couple of probing spear thrusts for its opponent, nothing too lethal but something for Kronos to think about and get him moving. Then the stranger switched to sword form and unleashed a trio of horizontal slashes aimed at his extremities, testing the young Asentari's defenses and seeing how he reacts.

Kronos snarled at the imitation. "Excuse me for paying a debt! What other choice do I have? A spineless, if powerful, leader back in Edia, not being chosen to be in the Oculi Draconis, and my own achievements not being recognized. Oh, and I left them by killing my entire patrol and Kelari and moved on. I'm wanted there. A sellsword is all there is to it right now, but they can be renowned as well! Mediocrity? Guess we'll see if that's what the Black Lion and her troops are like. Though our mission showed otherwise." His defense was still up, shifting his shield to block the probing thrusts.

She collapsed her weapon to its sword form and started to slash at him. The red head avoided the first, knocked the second away with his shield, and matched with blades. He locked them, and lunged both weapons up and out of the way. He "this is Sparta" kicked at the imitation. After that, he stayed on the defensive, just watching. Seeing if she can match the style and skill and grace of the real Kiari. Or if she had a rebuttle to what little honor he had. The main reason he stuck with Thassa for so long...

The stranger smiled as Kronos offered a passionate and sterling defense of his story. To be fair, Kronos definitely seemed to believe what he said, and to a point the young Asentari was correct. Now that Kronos had decided to stick to his guns, the stranger could appraise him in earnest. Kronos dealt with the opening salvo of thrusts handily, deflecting all of the jabs with his shield. When the stranger continued with its assault with its sword, Kronos was still equal to it. Steel clashed with steel as Kronos stopped the third attack in its tracks with his own weapon, before suddenly shoving both weapons upwards with good strength and poise. The stranger just got its shield up in time to block the sudden front kick that followed, but the force was still enough to send it sliding back a couple of feet.

Smiling, the stranger raised its shield up again, so only its eyes were visible over the top of it. "Impressive. But this is not an assessment of your judgement and intelligence. Rather, this is an appraisal of your will. In a world as chaotic as this, true steel is what seperates those destined for greatness, and those destined to fall by the wayside before them." The stranger advanced, before lowering its shield suddenly and revealing a glowing throat and then a cone of energy consisting of all four Asentari elements erupting violently from its mouth towards Kronos. The cone was as strong and large as the Dragon Breath of an Asentari of Kronos' power level, but with all four elements instead of just one. The stranger then led with a straight thrust with the edge of its shield towards Kronos' head, before ducking low and attempting a low sweep with its weapon. It them continued its spin and went high with a slash, before transforming its weapon into spear form again and thrusting powerfully over the top of its now raised shield. Though the stranger vaguely followed Kairi Thorne's fighting style and form, there was a distinct malice and savagery behind the attacks that was very much added on.

The stranger managed to take him on. But it was the rebuttle that took Kronos by surprise. That...actually made him stop and think. Though he couldn't think for too long as the stranger's shield moved to show a glowing throat...of an unusual variety of colors. The blazing red head jumped back, shoving his shield forward, the jewel in it glowed green, creating a pair of green shields in front of him. The four elements smashed the shields, but did provide him enough time to get out of the cone of attack. Just what in the hell was that? What was this imitation?!

While he was good enough to avoid getting a spear through the head or throat, he did get a cut along his jawline on his right side. Luckily, he was already low with knees bent, so when the low sweep came, he just jumped, but also tried to stab at the stranger's head. Upon landing, another sweeping strike aimed for his head, only to meet his shield and a slash from his own dark blade. It made the transition smoothly, and thrust the spear at him again. It may held true to Kairi's style, but it had a certain savagery and will to do legitimate harm that she lacked. And that made it exciting for him. He knocked the spear down and into the dirt, stepping on the shaft and jumping into flip spin slash at the head.

Landing a bit far, he held his sword with both hands, extending its length to the fullest, and swung downward at full force.

The stranger was satisfied to see that its words had the desired effect, and that the gears in Kronos' head were set into motion. That was good, the stranger thought, at least he is being receptive. The Asentari put up a pair of green shields to allow him an oppurtunity to evade the blast. The young man wore an expression of shock for a moment, but he recollected himself very quickly in time to deal with the follow-up. He ducked and weaved around the spear thrusts, though he did catch a slight nick on the side of his jaw. Kronos was much more aggressive in response to the low sweep, leaping over the weapon and forcing the stranger to lean back dramatically to avoid getting a sword through the face. Kronos used his shield to deflect another blow, and the stranger was forced to evade another quick riposte from its obviously skilled foe. But the stranger saw something else in the expression of the young man. He seemed to realize that this was going to be one of the most important confrontations of his life, and he seemed to relish that fact.

The stranger smiled, and leaned back to avoid another slash at its head, this time after Kronos had knocked its spear down and deftly launched himself up off it. Kronos then landed cleanly just a bit away, and extended his weapon out to its fullest length. The stranger admired the young man's chutzpah, knowing full well that the young man was nowhere as skill with his weapon in that form as he was in its smaller, one-handed form. He came at the stranger with malicious intent, bringing the weapon down with full force. The stranger dive-rolled to the side and threw its shield like a discus, aiming for Kronos' stomach in an attempt to surprise and wind him. The stranger then dismissed the shield into thin air and gripped its spear with both hands. With a grin, the stranger's eyes began to glow. After a second, the glow suddenly intensified into a blinding flash, a technique that Kronos will have been familiar with, having been subjected to it during his fight with the real Kairi Thorne. The stranger then stepped in, regardless of if its foe had been blinded or not, and swung its weapon like a glaive, restricting its targets for the head and torso. A trio of slashes were followed with a two-handed thrust aimed for the throat.

The imitation dove rolled away from the strike, then threw the shield like a discus at his abdoman. The red head moved his right arm and elbow to block the strike...but the pain he felt was enormous, letting go of his sword so his shield arm was the only one holding it. He didn't think anything was broken, but it certainly made him clench his teeth. He turned to face the stranger, only to see her eyes glow. Shit! Even as moving as stiffly as it was, the Asentari was able to move his right arm in the way of the flash to avoid being blinded. But that was the least of his worries.

Kronos matched blades with the initial swing, but had to use his footwork to avoid the next two slashes. Then came the thrusts to his throat. The first he parried upwards, then brought his damaged right arm up and used Explosion from his hand to blast away the second thrust, and moving forward with his sword horizontal. It wasn't really a swing per se, just him charging forward to try to cleave or slice open her belly. Whether he missed or hit, he would grip the sword again with his right hand and shrink the blade back down to normal. Moving to face his opponent again, he spoke. "You know, that's a really good point. Though there are a myriad of ways to test one's will and resolve. Even if this way is the most fun..." And he was ready for the next exchange.

Kronos managed to get something in front of the shield before impact, but it clearly came at a price as the young man slightly favored his arm from the force. He did, however, hold his focus as he avoided being blinded by pseudo-Kairi's Solar Flare, and he dealt with the follow-up attacks with even more focus and determination than before. He swatted the stranger's first swing away, before evading the other slashes. He dealt with the thrusts just as deftly, before forcing the stranger to evade itself in order to avoid being fileted by a slash. The stranger watched as Kronos retracted his blade and offered his opinion on what had transpired so far. The stranger smiled as it readied itself.
"Of course. I knew you would say that."

With that, the stranger's shape shifted, becoming slightly in bulk but more masculine in frame. After a second or two, a facsimile of Rex von Broven stood before Kronos, complete with scythe. The stranger grinned, spinning the scythe extravagantly.
"Well, rival. Maybe it's time I carry out my mission." The stranger advanced quickly, leading with a trio of flowing scythe slashes from odd angles, aiming for the throat. It then stepped back and offered a retaliation-welcoming "bring it" gesture, before settling into a combat stance reminiscent of the real Rex von Broven.

As the stranger started to shift forms, Kronos knew what it was going to do next. "You may mirrior his appearance, his abilities, his skills, and even his fighting style...but this trick has already told me you're not him." And his arm was hurt...he wouldn't be able to match swings with it at this point. Rolling his eyes, he knew better than to pay too much attention to the man directly in front of him. Even so, on swing nicked him, even as he tried to parry and defend more on his weakened arm.

If the stranger wanted him to bring it...

Kronos threw his sword at the guy to make him flinch, the action made him cringe as he darted to the right at an angle, throat glowing as he spewed out his Dragon's Breath. Even if the stranger can copy enchantments, and sent his own attack back at him, he'd have the strength back to avoid it using the same enchantment as before. But for now, he closed, keeping a close eye on that scythe on what it'll do next.

As the stranger expected, Kronos had mentally adapted to its shape-changing abilities, and was thus steeled against the stranger's latest form of Rex von Broven.
"Indeed. Well in that case, you should have nothing to fear. So show me what you have." The stranger analysed Kronos' physical status, taking on board the various nicks and scrapes inflicted so far, as well as the damaged arm. It began to formulate a plan, in case young Kronos refused the proffered bait, but it needn't have worried. Kronos opened with a sword-throw, which the stranger batted aside almost with amusement, though this left him momentarily open. This fact was exploited when Kronos dived in at an angle and unleashed his Dragon Breath suddenly. The stranger was forced to activate its Unbreakable Spirit, and a barrier formed over its body as the fire from Kronos' attack claimed it.

Once the fire cleared, the barrier dissipated and the stranger decided to up the ante. Activating Tempest Blade, the stranger's weapon was cloaked in an aura consisting of the four major elements of Eldari magic: ice, fire, lightning and stone. If it managed to actually land a hit, a random side effect would afflict Kronos from the first three elements, with the increased weight of the weapon from stone being the only consistant (OOC if you get hit, you decide which effect to use). The stranger then advanced, taking up a low stance and aiming quick and powerful sweeps at Kronos' legs, tying to force him to jump or retreat, before following up with a trio of powerful overhead swipes, utilizing maximum reach and power with each.

So the stranger still had some tricks left. Even bathed in fire, the newly blonde opponent had formed a barrier to protect itself. Kronos closed the distance, seeing the scythe glow with an aura. When the stranger swung, the Asentari darted more to the right. But wasn't quite fast enough as his left lower leg and foot got encased in ice, numbing it almost immediately and increasing the weight on that leg. That made him stumble and just sit and wait as the stranger closed in low for a leg sweep.

Kronos balanced himself on the leg encased with ice, hoping the sweep would knock some of it off, and kicking at the guy's head with his free leg. After a brief, if awkward cartwheel, he was back on both feet, the rest of his left leg starting to numb up and relying on his right to stay upright. He ducked to avoid the first strike, knowing some of his hair got chopped off. Kronos used a combination of an Explosion from his free hand and his shield to parry the second one, and then used the shield to block the third blow, but not fully as he had to spin a little bit, getting a light cut across his shoulder blade. But he also grabbed onto the scythe's shaft.

At this point, he wasn't going to win a strength test. But if he let himself get pulled closer, he could jab with an Explosion to the face and punch with the shield at the ribs. And just stay close and pound at close range like that...so long as he could stop himself from stumbling for not being able to feel his damn left leg!

Kronos defended against his assault well, and managed to grab hold of the haft of his scythe. The Stranger pulled free a longsword and used Kronos' grip on the scythe against him by pulling him in and swinging the sword, which slammed into the shield that had been aimed for the ribs. Kronos was quick to release the scythe and unleash a explosive blast of fire into the Stranger's face. The stranger back peddled away, fire reddening his face and singing his hair and grinned Rex's grin. "Not bad." He said, getting out of Kronos' reach before he could continue attacking. With a quick movement he flipped Kronos' sword up onto the toe of his boot and kicked it towards him, before beginning to circle him.

When Kronos had weapon back in hand, the Stranger would charge, opening with a sweeping swing of the scythe, breaking it into its 3 segments to get a nice wide swing with lots of reach, before pulling the weapon back and extending the second blade. He spun, creating a whirling vortex of scythe blades around him before coming to a stop, weapon snapping back together before it could cut him. "Your rival has interesting taste in weapons." The stranger said.

The result was only partially a success. His rib jab getting knocked away. After a compliment, the stranger backed away to where his sword was, kicking it up and throwing it back at him. Kronos had to twist with the blade to catch it at the handle. As soon as he did, the stranger closed, circling around him. Only to find that the stranger had separated the scythe into three parts and whirling it around in a dance of death. Taking a single step forward, it was with his encased ice foot. With the entire leg numb, he crumpled to the ground, needing to use his sword to actually keep himself up.

His shield glowed green as a pair of shields resembling the one on his arm materialized, blocking the strikes. As the guy put his scythe back together, Kronos pushed himself towards the stranger with a stab, both hands on the hilt, extending its reach to the full length. Only to decrease it back to normal for a second, horizontal swing to slice open the belly. "I know. He likes his tricks and makes the impractical practical. It's kind fascinating to watch." Pity he was used to such things at this point. The blazing red head tried to lop off the Stranger's left arm. But the creature could easily control the range of this fight. Kronos had to practically move and balance on one leg. While he was managing, it was clear who had the advantage here.

Kronos managed to block his attacks, and even countered with a thrust. Not expecting the weapon to extend, it caught him on the side as he backstepped. He managed to avoid having his guts spilled out. Kronos had managed that with a single leg, earning a not of respect from the stranger as he stepped back, ignoring his wound. He knocked aside the attempt to lop off his arm. "I'm impressed. Even outmatched, you don't give up. No wonder you managed to get onto the goodside of one of the most mistrustful Mercenary leaders around. That might keep you alive in the future, if you ever face your rival again." With a nod of his head the stranger vanished without a trace, not even a drop of blood left behind.

(Tier up approved.)