Few obstructions break the view of the horizon in this endless expanse of sand. There is a lack of water here, but not for long. Dark clouds have begun to amass in the sky, and the desert rains are about to bring rise to the annual great flood. Though no rain will fall again until the year after, life can be sustained on what will fall in a few days. For now though, what plants and animals are visible are finding cover quickly. The long shadows across the ground signal the coming of the deluge, and even for animals who have never seen this occurrence before the oddity of the event is enough of a sign that something big is coming.

Wind blows across the desolate landscape, pushing small puffs of sand back and forth. Mostly just the top layer of dust is moved by the thin breeze, as the majority of sand has been packed down tightly over the millenia. A few cacti spot the landscape, but not much else save for dunes will come into view. This arid landscape is to be your battlefield.

Desert. Wonderful.

Valcrist was not fond of the desert. It was hot, dry, and a little sand in the boots could prove most annoying. The environment was not normal at the moment though. Stormy clouds were gathering above, covering most of the sand in shadow. It was still hot however. The heat absorbed in the ground from the constant sunlight would take a good while to dissipate.

Valcrist was in the middle of nowhere. He decided to sit and wait for his opponent, not wanting to waste too much energy so far away from water. It would be a taxing enough battle without beginning tired.

My last battle wasn't so bad. I'd wager this upcoming duel will be much worse. Though I can't say that getting this cut was pleasant. Valcrist's hand went to the area just above his right eye. In his last match with Arion, the ranger had given him a nasty cut which disabled his vision for a short while. It was mostly healed now, but the memory of it was not looked upon fondly by Valcrist. That was an odd duel though. Just when we were getting warmed up it was over. If I had been judging I would have waited longer than that to call the match. Oh well.

Valcrist detected movement from the corner of his eye.

There we go. Valcrist's opponent was approaching. I wonder who it will be this time? I wonder if they're as irked as I am about being in the desert?

Kahlan wiped the sweat off of her eyes with the back of her right hand grumbling about the heat. 'Why in gods name would they put my match in a desert again where my element is of no use, and why do I wear a leather tunic...' she wondered and pulled her leather breastplate up off her body a little, to let the air cool her down somewhat if it was possible.

She continued walking toward the designated spot glancing up at the sky. 'Well maybe I'll get lucky and it'll rain.' She kept walking and finally saw her opponent at a distance. She couldn't judge his size or anything from this distance so she kept walking, thinking or her last fight, she absently put her hand on her stomach where she had been cut.

The wind swirled around her as she was finally able to tell that it was a man sitting on the ground. 'Well of course, I'm the only woman...' shaking her head at how stupid she let the shock be. 'one I've never met before either... what fun this'll be...' Her calm expression slipped over her face.

"Well I'm guessing you're my opponent for the second round. I'm Kahlan Amnell. And you are?" She said looking him in the eyes.

Hm. Direct. And a formal introduction. Sure, why not?

Valcrist returned her stare, then smiled congenially. "I am Valcrist Sid Loreborn, and I can only hope that we are meant to fight each other. Otherwise, this will be for naught."

Valcrist stood, brushed off his knees, then removed his swords from their sheaths. As was common for him, he held his broadsword in his right hand and his rapier in his left. He could use the rapier to parry, it being light and quick, but he had to be careful not to overdo it. Too much stress on the thin blade could snap it. His broadsword was useful for a more direct purpose: whack the opponent. It was heavy enough to receive hits, and to be difficult to parry. It was a tad slower than the rapier, but it's power made up for that setback.

"Pardon my hastiness, but I prefer to be out of this location as quickly as possible. So let us begin. En guarde!"

After giving her a few seconds to prepare herself Valcrist sprang forward at Kahlan, swords at the ready. When he was close, but not enough so to be within striking distance, he quickly turned on his heel while bringing his rapier to the ground. He then flicked the blade in the direction of his opponent while continuing his turn, sending a small spray of sand in her direction. There was hardly enough sand to have much of a chance of blinding her, and most of it did not even make it to her eye level. With luck though, it just might act as a small distraction.

Completing his 360 degree turn, Valcrist brought his rapier back to his body and thrust forward with his broadsword, aiming for the shoulder of Kahlan's sword-wielding arm. Even with a rapier it would not be overly difficult to parry, but at the least it would force Kahlan into an akward position upon evading the attack.

Kahlan stood there feet shoulder with apart and watched Valcrist unsheath two swords. 'This is going to be lovely...' she thought to herself as her mood darkened and her muscles started to tense. She unsheathed her rapier slowly and placed the flat edge of the blade against her forehead closing her eyes for a second, 'Blade be true this day..'

"Pardon my hastiness, but I prefer to be out of this location as quickly as possible. So let us begin. En guarde!"

Kahlan stepped her right leg back as to give balance and held her rapier up with her right hand, her left hand down at her side in a fist as he began his attack.

Valcrist sprang forward at Kahlan, swords at the ready. When he was close, but not enough so to be within striking distance, he quickly turned on his heel while bringing his rapier to the ground. He then flicked the blade in the direction of his opponent while continuing his turn, sending a small spray of sand in her direction. Kahlan's brow drew together at her opponents attack. 'is this a game of leap frog and children playing with sand?' she thought almost wanting to put her rapier down and ask but it seemed odd so she held it up.

Completing his 360 degree turn, Valcrist brought his rapier back to his body and thrust forward with his broadsword, aiming for the shoulder of Kahlan's sword-wielding arm. Kahlan stepped back with her left foot and grabbing the handle of her rapier with both hands and knocked his blow to the left hitting air.

Ok, that was to be expected. Now what should I do?

Valcrist now had a couple options open to him. Since his blow had been knocked aside, Kahlan had her opponent's chest vulnerable. Valcrist could play this offensively, and possibly end the duel quickly but not necessarily in his favor, or he could play defensively, and stay in the desert.

I really want to get out of here...But recklessness won't help me advance in the tournament.

Valcrist brought his rapier forward again, though not at Kahlan directly. He held it angled toward the ground and brought it against Kahlan's blade, hoping to create a deadlock. At the same time he brought his broadsword back down again, against the top of the blade of Kahlan's rapier. He was quick in his action, hoping to break his opponent's sword before she could react. He would just have to hope that she was not quicker, or she might pull out in time.

Kahlan let go of her blade when valcrist went to snap it and instead of breaking it it fell to the ground. Dropping down to a crouch she used her hands to hold herself up and kicked through the back of his legs and grabbing her rapier with her left hand and rolling away in the sand making a cloud of dust behind herself as she stopped in a crouched position.

'Ok now this is just getting annoying...' She looked at her leather armor now with pieces of sand stuck here and there only broken up by the sweat the dropped from her head onto her leg armor.

She watched Valcrist for his next move... mostly his eyes 'I'm never gonna get to use a skill or element in this thing...' she sighed and waited.

She was watching closely for his next movement now. Valcrist straightened himself out and cracked his neck. He knew that this fight would be difficult to win, but not impossible. He was still strong despite the heat, and he was far from giving up. All he had to do what figure out what weaknesses his opponent had, and then expoit them.

Easier thought than done. It's possible that I'm stronger, but this is hardly a boxing match. And I'm relatively certain that she's faster than I am. Hopefully I can make up for that with technique, but I haven't really seen what she's capable of yet. Best to keep analyzing. Let's put her on the offensive.

Valcrist cleared his mind for a moment, then calmed his nerves. He relaxed his muscles, then focused his spirit. A warmth began to emanate from deep in his chest, and it grew until Valcrist could feel a faint buzzing within his ribcage. He then channelled that power, from chest, to arm, to hand, to blade. His broadsword began to radiate with a warm light, the air around it shimmering not from heat but from power. That felt right, I think it worked just fine. I may not have the spiritual fortitude of a ranger, but this should do well for my purposes.

His broadsword glowing with spiritual energies, Valcrist was ready to continue the battle. He approached Kahlan, then brought his right arm across his chest, tensing his tricep to build-up for a powerful slash. At last within striking distance he brought his broadsword in a full frontal horizontal movement, aimed for Kahlan's chest.

An attack this powerful would snap her rapier like a twig. To avoid it she'd either have to jump back or duck, neither of which would put her in prime position to attack. But if she doesn't come at me, she'll be wide open to a thrust from my rapier. If she runs, well...that wouldn't show much in the way of sportsmanship."

A warmth began to emanate from deep in his chest, and it grew until Valcrist could feel a faint buzzing within his ribcage. He then channelled that power, from chest, to arm, to hand, to blade. His broadsword began to radiate with a warm light, the air around it shimmering not from heat but from power. Kahlan looked at Valcrist strangely.. 'what the hell is he up to...' she though still crouched waiting for him to do something but he stood there, with a funny light.'

At last within striking distance he brought his broadsword in a full frontal horizontal movement, aimed for Kahlan's chest. Kahlan dropped down and rolled to the side opposite where the blade went ending only a couple steps away. She came upright with her right leg back and her left leg forward and finally saw her opening to use a skill. Her muscles tensed with the force she was going to put them through. With all her might and strength she swung at his back, her rapier coming around quickly becuas eit was light and not heavy.

Valcrist raised his rapier in defense to deflect the blow, but underestimated the power that Kahlan had put behind it. Valcrist's rapier was pushed back and Kahlan landed a slash across his shoulder and part of his chest. It did not pierce his leather breastblate though it cut partially through it, but his shoulder would take time to heal. As Valcrist's cloak began to soak up blood he cursed, not savoring the pain.

That hurt. And that was a skilled evasion too. I'll have to be more careful. Dammit, I'll have to repair my cloak too. Now isn't the time to dwell on that though. Though strong that slash was still a brave thing to do; it left her shoulder wide open. Perhaps I can exploit this.

While Kahlan was finishing through with her attack, Valcrist initiated an attack of his own. It was a simple but powerful combination of swings taught in training for the Tharkan Army that was also thankfully difficult to guard against. Some of the students had dubbed it 'Fallen Valor'.

Valcrist brought is broadsword down upon his opponent, then from the ground back up in a rising slash. He followed through with a powerful thrust, completing the maneuver.

Valcrist brought is broadsword down upon his opponent, then from the ground back up in a rising slash. He followed through with a powerful thrust, completing the maneuver.

The first slash down caught Kahlan off guard and sliced through her breastplate cutting a long, but shallow cut down the middle of her torso. Small dark spots started to form on the open breastplate, the blood trickling down through the sand that had somehow stuck to the armor. Stepping back from the wound, and the surprise, Kahlan just missed the second slash up. But the thrust she was ready for and ducked underneath. 'I hope his power from the thrust will throw him off since he hit nothing but air... Dear god I hope this works...' She thought to herself the whole time that she was in motion.

Kahlan thrusted her rapier up at his middle, her knees bent, ignoring the stinging of the slash down her middle. Her head was as low as it could be with her eyes still on the target, ready to move at any instance that her plan didn't work or a counter attack was happening.

Valcrist completed the thrust of his combination-attack, only to find that Kahlan was ready for him. Though she had sustained injury from the attack, she had managed to crouch beneath the finishing move and was now delivering a thrust of her own, directed at Valcrist's mid-section. He was able to prevent himself from falling forward onto the blade by stopping himself with his right foot, but he was not able to compensate for his momentum. Instinctually he brought his rapier up to parry the attack, but was not able to follow through completely. A sharp pain ran through his shoulder, halting his arm movement when it was only half-completed - he had already forgotten about the wound dealt to his left shoulder just a short while ago in the match. As a result, though the two rapiers met, Kahlan's was only pushed a small ways down and to the right, running through Valcrist's side. It was not well-enough centered to puncture any organs, but Valcrist's right obliques were severely damaged. Recovery, though possible, would be a long and painful process.

Valcrist dropped his rapier to the sands from the pain in his shoulder, but it now seemed hardly significant when compared to the injury to his side. He gritted his teeth, refusing to go down. The match isn't over yet.

Valcrist reached for Kahlan's wrist, despite the pain caused by the movement. If he could grasp it, he might be able to keep Kahlan from getting very far. Even if he failed in this though, she would have to remove her rapier impaled in his side. This action would take precious time. Realizing this, Valcrist took the opportunity to swing the flat of his broadsword hard against Kahlan's temple. If it connected, she would certainly be out cold, and the match would be over.

Valcrist

Tactics - 9.3 (Well thought out, nice job.)
Regulation - 10 (Fallen Valor and Power Drive, well within your bounds)
Quality - 9 (You had 2 spelling errors, and you followed the "2 actions per post" rule quite nicely)
Fairness - 9.5 (No forced hits, nice job.)
Technicality - 10 (You took hits, evaded hits, countered quite nicely and with reasoning. I also liked your attempt to block the rapier, and still take the hit.)

Overall - 9.6 (Excellent Job!)



Kahlan

Tactics - 8.5 (You didn't seem to have a very well thought out strategy.)
Regulation - 10 (Brave Slash, perfectly acceptable)
Quality - 8 (You copied most of Valcrist's posts and just edited them slightly... And there were 2 instances where you used more than two actions per post.)
Fairness - 9.5 (See Valcrist's Fairness)
Technicality - 10 (You took hits, evaded, and countered very well. Good job.)

Overall - 9.2 (Awesome!)


So Valcrist, by a tight margin, took the event. Although because of the Round 3 Special Rule (top 4 scores move up) we're not sure who it is that will advance. But I commend you both on an excellent duel!

Valcrist + 2 Lvls.