Pride Castle: The Dojo

[Balthazar Black]

3rd of Vhalar, Arc 719

“Pin me?” Balthazar’s face contorted in confusion for a moment before he rolled backwards and popped up onto his feet. He rarely wrestled, most of his combat was strike based, so he was unfamiliar with the idea. He was also fairly unfamiliar with the idea of points but that was easier for him to figure out. Once Balthazar was up on his feet he bounced back and forth slightly- thinking of ways to counter Prae’s more solid stance. “We’ll stick to points. Body strikes and tripping yield points? Five points then we take a break?”

Balthazar wasn’t too sure about including tripping to yield points because he felt that lent advantage to those fighting with grounded stances while penalizing those using a more fluid one. Then again he knew many variations of the leg sweep that swam through his mind as he sized up Praetorum again. This time he would let the Ithecal come to him.

Prae nodded his agreement to Balthazar’s suggestion, considering his opening move as they started the match up again. He felt fairly confident that Balthazar would expect him to take up a Solum stance again, as that had become Prae’s own default style. But he had learned, recently, to diversify his skill set.

Which was why, when Prae launched his first attack, he twisted into a back kick, his tail and foot lashing out at Balthazar’s torso in quick succession. His tail was aimed at the human’s chest, trying to entangle the man, while his foot was aimed at his head to try and knock him over. He didn’t have Balthazar’s speed, but he was hopeful that the surprise of the attack would make up for it.

[Praetorum]

3rd of Vhalar, Arc 719

Balthazar was indeed fast and unfortunately for Praetorum he was entirely waiting for an attack. When Prae’s tail and leg came towards him, Balthazar parried the tail with his left forearm and he parried the foot upwards with his right forearm to force Prae’s legs wider apart before he’d attempt a swift sweeping kick to the foot Prae was standing on.

Balthazar’s quick response knocked Prae off balance, and he knew what was coming almost before it happened. But in his precarious position, all he was able to do was swing his arms down to try and catch himself as he fell.

“Oof.” Balthazar’s sweep dropped Prae to the mat, and he only just avoided smacking his muzzle on the ground. “That’ll teach me to be hasty.” He laughed, rolling over and pushing himself to his feet.

Steadying himself, he took up a wider stance, and settled back into his defensive stance, this time letting Balthazar come to him—and come Balthazar did. Seeing that Praetorum was waiting for him to strike, Balthazar sized up his opponent’s weaknesses. His tail could save his balance in a conventional sweep but it was no longer only about tripping the Ithecal.

With his decision made Balthazar stepped forward calmly- he did not charge in head first nor did he readily weaken his footing. Balthazar stepped to Prae with an equally grounded stance and began raining blows with his hands. His fists came quickly, lashing out with strike after strike intended only to overwhelm Prae. Balthazar’s strikes would progressively become a little wider to force Praetorum to spread his defenses and if an opportunity was provided, Balthazar would drive his elbow forward towards Prae’s heart.

[Balthazar Black]

3rd of Vhalar, Arc 719

Praetorum blocked, dodged and parried the blows Balthazar rained down on him, his concentration pushed almost to its limits as he tried to predict and respond to every successive attack before it could land. And yet, a small part of his mind could not help but step back and simply admire the craft on display here. Balthazar’s movements were precise and unhurried, the goal of every blow not to land, but to bring Balthazar just a little bit closer to victory.

Praetorum had the advantage in limbs, strength, and tactical experience, but in this methodical focus, he found himself humbled. So when a parry finally had him overextending his reach, and Balthazar’s elbow slammed into his chest, he could not find it in him to react with anything but a deeply impressed grin.

Unnoticed by the Ithecal, a shadow on the far wall now displayed the numbers “1 - 1”

As masterful as Balthazar’s technique was, however, Praetorum was still ultimately an ithecal, with a constitution to match. So even though the blow sent him back a step, in the next moment, Praetorum was stepping back forwards, hips twisting as he sent a kick flying at Balthazar’s head.

Balthazar was just a little too slow to parry the kick. He brought his arm up and it absorbed the majority of the kick’s impact, but he was unbalanced by it due to Prae’s larger size and weight. Balthazar stumbled back, trying to watch Praetorum for his next strike was also trying to regain his footing.

[Praetorum]

3rd of Vhalar, Arc 719

It took a moment for Prae to get into position for his next attack, but he followed up his kick with a sharp jab to the shoulder, before launching into a flurry of punches, mimicking the move Balthazar had successfully demonstrated on him just a moment ago. He didn’t quite have Balthazar’s speed, still focusing on keeping his blows accurate, but each landed hard as Prae tried to force an opening in Balthazar’s defenses.

With the sharp jab to his shoulder putting Balthazar on a defensive backpedal, he didn’t think about much other than blocking every strike he saw coming his way. But when Balthazar’s arms seemed to widen more than he was comfortable with- he abandoned blocking altogether and took a blow to the side — '2-1', the shadow reported — before he dropped into a sudden leg sweep.

Still inexperienced at the breakneck speed of hand to hand combat, Praetorum didn’t register the counterattack until it was already too late; overextended from his own blow to Balth’s ribs, Prae was just off balance enough that he was swept off his feet, landing awkwardly on his side. On the wall, the shadow shifted, now displaying ‘2-2’. Rolling away from Balthazar, Prae hopped to his feet with a grin, and came back in for another attack, this time a twist that kept his feet on the ground, but sent his tail whipping at Balth’s knees.

Balthazar was still on the mend from Praetorum’s blow to his ribs when the Ithecal came at him again. Balthazar readied himself for a strike from Prae’s hands but his Rupture spark warned him of a different encroaching threat- the tail.

[Balthazar Black]

3rd of Vhalar, Arc 719

Balthazar raised one of the knee’s Prae was striking towards just enough to get leverage and then shoved his foot down at Prae’s tail to try and pin in. If he succeeded, he’d quickly attempt a chop at Prae’s chest but if not he’d likely be unbalanced by his effort.

Prae let out a sharp yelp of surprise at the feeling of a foot coming down on his tail; it was only in the last cycle or so that it had been long enough for that to happen, and this was the first time it was anyone but him treading on it. His first instinct had been to dodge the chop Balthazar sent his way, but with a trapped limb, that was far more difficult than Prae cared for. Instead, Prae parried the chop, knocking it upwards and back, while simultaneously jerking his tail backwards, hoping the combination was enough to unbalance Balth.

As Praetorum parried Balthazar’s left hand chop upwards Balthazar drove his right hand forward at Prae’s chest, giving no time or quarter between his blows before suddenly Prae’s tail slipped out from beneath his foot and caused Balthazar to wobble. The end result was, somewhat predictably, an unbalancing on both sides; pulling his tail out from under Balthazar’s feet had unbalanced the human, but left the ithecal unable to use it as a counterbalance in those vital few moments when the martial artist’s fist slammed into Prae’s chest, sending him stumbling back a few steps to keep from falling.

Here, Prae’s much larger bulk worked against him, and he was unable to steady himself before Balthazar did, if only by the span of two or three heartbeats. Ample time for a fighter at their level and Balthazar meant to use it.

Recovering a little more quickly from his wobble, Balthazar advanced towards Praetorum with a three strike combination meant to drive the Ithecal backwards and keep him on the defensive. Each strike seemed like a simple jab but they were meant to make Prae guard his head and neck area. Then, quite suddenly, Balthazar would bring his leg up in a roundhouse at Praetorum’s stomach, kept low in an effort to avoid his guard.

[Praetorum]

3rd of Vhalar, Arc 719

Harried as Prae was by the speed of Balthazar’s blows, the ithecal didn’t notice the trap he was falling into, keeping his arms up by his head. But long honed combat reflexes kicked in at the first flash of movement out of the corner of his eyes, and Prae’s tail came down to brace against the ground, helping him to balance as he raised his own knee, blocking Balthazar’s leg with his own. Then, he kicked out, trying to unbalance the martial artist and buy himself some space to maneuver.

And it worked, when Prae blocked Balthazar’s leg, his agility failed him and he wobbled backwards. Balthazar’s arms seemed more ready to move than his legs in the stumble.

Pressing his advantage, Prae let the momentum of his kick bring him closer to Balthazar, then planted that foot even as he continued to spin around, letting fly with a back kick aimed directly towards Balth’s chest. 

Balthazar’s arms came inward, his forearms making a sort of shield against Praetorum’s kick but his weakened stance gave way under the force. Balthazar fell backwards, onto his backside and attempted to roll backwards and back onto his feet. Without defiance to make him lighter, the result was more so that Balthazar rolled backwards and stumbled then rolled a little more on the floor before pushing himself up with his arms, but by then Prae would have had time to act.

Knowing an opportunity when he saw one, Prae barely gave himself a moment to stabilize as his feet touched the mat again before springing forwards to press his offensive.

[Balthazar Black]

3rd of Vhalar, Arc 719

He closed the distance between them just as Balthazar got to his feet, and, imitating Balth’s earlier attack, shot his right hand forward in a chop towards the human’s chest.

Balthazar saw Prae’s hand coming in to strike at his chest and with no time to try and block, Balthazar pivoted his hip and brought his leg around to try and strike Prae’s side as Prae’s hand came in towards his chest, hoping the reach of his leg would be superior to Prae’s arm- but Prae had already gained much ground and Balthazar would only strike him at the same time at best, if that.

Here now, was where not stopping to stabilize came back to bite Prae in the tail; still unbalanced in his haste to attack, Prae found himself unable to block Balth’s kick.

The two attacks connected within moments of each other; Balth’s leg caught Prae just below the ribs, while the blade of Prae’s hand connected solidly with Balthazar’s sternum.

The momentum of his leg colliding with Prae as Prae’s hand chopped his sternum caused Balthazar to fall onto his rear but a gong-like noise rang throughout the room as the score on the wall read 3 - 3. Balthazar turned his head to the sign and then to Praetorum.

“Well done.” Balthazar said.

Prae grinned as he righted himself from the kick, gingerly touching his side. “Thanks. It’s certainly a different experience without the elements, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. Normally I can rely on the elements to make me a little more agile.” Balthazar admit though he did not consider how the elements made him more lethal. He was only thinking of how he used the wind to make himself lighter on his feet.

Prae rolled his shoulders, then glanced at the score as it reset. “How about we take a few bits to recover and stretch, and then give it another go? See if we can break this draw.”

[Praetorum]

3rd of Vhalar, Arc 719

“A fine idea.” Balthazar replied as he sat on the mat with his legs stretched out in front of himself. He reached out to touch his toes and felt the small stretch. It was a cathartic pain that released the tension in his muscles. Even in this dream. “How have you been since we last met in the waking world?”

Praetorum rolled his shoulders, electing to stay standing while he stretched out his sore muscles. “Well enough, for the most part. Travel has lightened my soul in a way I hadn’t expected, as have my companions.” Prae smiled a little at that, lingering a little on the memories he’d made on the road. “I hadn’t traveled much past the borders of the empire—” not in peacetime, anyways—”and the journey has certainly been interesting, especially as one of my companions is devoted to Cassion. Never a dull moment.”

His tail twisted as Prae stretched out, then coiled back around his waist as the ithecal lowered himself to his knees to sit. “What of you? You always struck me as more scholarly then I am; does Viden and its academy suit you?”

“It’s nothing like Yaralon.” Balthazar replied with a forlorn look on his face. He could feel the ground trembling around them. This dream was ending. He was waking. “The books are nice but I need more action in my life. Anyway it seems like this place is falling apart. I’ll see you around?”

Praetorum nodded at that, and reached out to clasp Balthazar on the back. “Yeah. See you around.”

Neither dreamer noticed the brief glow underneath Prae’s hand—but as the two fighters parted ways, each returning to their waking lives, Prae’s desire to keep in touch with his friend coalesced into a small, luminous brand between Balthazar’s shoulderblades.

[Doran]

Balthazar:

Knowledge:
Tactics x 5
Acrobatics x 3
Detection x 3
Strength x 3

Loot: Branded by Praetorum
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

Praetorum:

Knowledge:
Endurance x 1
Strength x 4
Tactics x 4
Unarmed x 5

Dreamwalking Brand: Balthazar Black

Loot: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

- - -

Comments: Emea is a great place to practice and learn, and it’s so much more versatile than the waking world. I like that Balthazar and Praetorum actually talked a bit before they began to fight. Such things make what would otherwise be a pure combat thread more interesting. Changing your post templates when the fight began was a great idea in my opinion. The fight itself was well-written and entertaining, and I had no problem understanding what was happening. I would have liked to see you two react to being hit a little more though. Being kicked is probably painful, for example, but you just mentioned that your PC was unbalanced, Balthazar.

Anyway, I definitely look forward to your next fight!

Enjoy your rewards!