Spoiler (Click to Show)
“I’m guessing you’re the half-dragon?” I nodded in response, and he pulled up a walkie-talkie that was strapped to his chest. “One of the contestants is here.” After a moment the doors opened, and he gestured for me to go in. I gave a nod of thanks and entered. The hall was lit by torches, and the floor was dirt. It was like I’d gone through a portal in time and was walking in the past.
I was soon in a small room, where a man sat polishing the scope of his sniper rifle. His clothing suggested Australian origin, and a cowboy hat sat on his head. He glanced up at me.
“‘Ello mate,” he greeted, lifting his hat. Definitely Australian.
“Hey,” I responded with a nod. The man stood and offered a hand, and I took it.
“Nice to meet you, Dracustos.”
“Likewise, Mr…”
“Call me Steve.”
“Right.” I glanced at his rifle. “You handy with that?”
“Damn right. One of the best around. There are others positioned about to make sure we can get you.”
“Good.” I’d requested snipers to hang around and tranquilize me should I go into Feral State and lose control. Before it wasn’t much of an issue, but this time there was going to be a crowd.
“Best make yourself comfortable, mate. Not only are you early, but your opponent tends to be late most of the time.” He returned to his seat, and I went to a bench on the opposite side. I glanced out of the gate leading to the arena. It was a large, swampy area, dominated by tall grass, reeds, and water, with the occasional dead tree.
I leaned back with a sigh, and we sat in silence for about an hour. A hum had started up as viewers took their seats above. After a few more minutes I became restless, and decided to practice with my swords.
“You protect a town, right?” I paused and turned my eyes to Steve.
“Yeah.”
“So why’d you join the Gladiators? People die in this competition you know.” I was silent for a moment as I lowered my weapons.
“I joined because, frankly, my life is dull. Ever since I scattered The Tribe and Rejection gained a real police force, I’ve been sort of out of a job. Now they only call on me when things get really bad. The RHG also gives me a reason to keep up with my fighting skills and not get lazy. Besides, most of the time the Medics can bring you back.”
“They key word in that sentence, mate, is ‘most’.” A glint of silver caught my eye, and I glanced across the arena to the opposing gate. Sure enough, there was an armored man. A large one by the looks of it. Steve raised his fingers to his earpiece.
“Looks like your opponent’s here,” he said, standing. I nodded and sheathed my swords, turning towards the gate. “A word of warning, mate...” I peered over my shoulder at the Australian. “I know this bloke, and he sure as hell won’t hesitate to kill. I suggest you do the same, for your sake.” I simply grinned.
“It’s the other guy you should be worried about.” Steve chuckled and adjusted his hat.
“Are you kidding? That bloke’s about as lovable as a cactus.”
“So he’s a prick?”
“Ha ha! I see what you did there, you cheeky monkey.”
“Ladies and gentlemen!” An announcer’s voice echoed around the arena, throwing the humming crowd into silence. “Allow me to introduce our Gladiators for today’s battle!”
“Good luck, mate,” Steve said. The gate clanked open, and I stepped onto the battle grounds.
“On this side we have the halfbreed, Dracustos the Draconian!” The crowd roared as I looked around, and got even louder when I unleashed a roar. “And on this side we have the man you all know, and more than likely hate… Light the Paladin!” I gazed at the opposing gate, and out marched a holy-looking knight. The crowd’s cheering wasn’t very approving; most of it consisted of boos and curses.
As the man approached me, I was surprised to find we were eye to eye. His armor reflected the sun brightly, nearly blinding me. And I could sense something… an immense dark presence. Guess this holy knight wasn’t so holy.
“You’re mighty big for a human,” I commented. At first he stood silently, then drew his sword. It was massive, nearly as long as he was tall. Honestly, I was a bit intimidated.
“I am only here to cleanse you of your demon, not make friends,” he stated firmly. I raised a brow. My demon? Was he referring to Feral State?
“I wouldn’t really call it a demon-” I ducked as he swung his sword at my head, then jumped back. I drew my own swords, giving them quick, fancy twirls to show off. “Wow, you are a bit of a prick, aren’t you?” Light responded by swinging his sword again. I blocked it, but he was much stronger than I expected, and my weapons flew from my hands. The attack also threw me off balance, and I fell to the mud with a splash. I rolled to the side, and the knight’s sword sank into the wet dirt. He swung at me again, and again I rolled out of the way. We continued in this manner until I’d gone a few laps around the brute, and the audience was beginning to laugh. I figured I embarrassed the man enough and teleported away onto a fallen tree.
“So… are you actually going to hit me with these attacks or what?” I teased. Light growled, then charged at me, sword poised to strike. I teleported my swords back into my hand and jumped off the tree at him. While in the air I put my weapons together along the long side of the blades, and they fused together into a single sword.
The knight raised his blade, and I bounced off. He stepped forward, giving his sword a mighty swing for my midsection. I dropped below it, then lunged forward and planted my fist firmly into his covered face. He stumbled back, nearly falling, and when he turned back I saw that I had dented his helmet.
I heard him growl again, and suddenly noticed light coming from his closed fist. He raised and opened his hand, and a beam of light lashed out. I ducked to the side in an attempt to dodge it, but felt an intense burn in my arm, causing me to drop my sword. I heard the heavy thuds of Light’s running feet, and he tackled me, pushing me back onto the rugged end of the fallen tree. My scales broke most of the points, but some slipped past and sank into my skin. A pained shout escaped my throat, which changed to a roar as the knight shoved his sword into my midsection. I grabbed the blade and tried to remove it, but Light held it in place. After pulling my lips back in a pained snarl, I opened my jaws and spat fire. The brute stumbled back with a grunt of pain, taking his sword with him.
I dropped to the ground, coughing up blood. I held a hand over my wound as I forced myself to my feet, and glanced up to find a sword coming at me. I jumped out of the way, flopping into the water. As I tried to get back up Light gave me a vicious kick to the ribs, flipping me over. He pushed me underwater, holding me down by my throat. I kicked and scratched, digging my claws into the armor of his chest and stomach, but he didn’t seem phased.
This was bad. My strength was failing me, and I didn’t have the energy to teleport. My lungs were beginning to burn, my muscles were going numb. I couldn’t do anything to get him off.
Just when I thought I wasn’t going to get out of the situation, I suddenly lashed out in an involuntary movement, clawing at the knight’s helmet. My jaws snapped open and white flames erupted from the back of my throat, evaporating the water on contact. The pressure on my neck was lifted, and I was able to break the surface. I could feel the familiar sensation of my horns growing.
“You want to face my demon?” I hissed as I stood and faced my opponent. I looked over his scorched, nearly melted armor, stained red from his bleeding wounds. “Wish granted.” He took up arms as I spread my wings with a roar of challenge. I dropped to a quadruped stance, and we circled each other.
As we eyed each other down, I heard him mumble something, then black wisps materialized around the knight. It seemed to seep into his armor, until it changed from its shining silver to a pitch black. The scales on the back of my neck stood, the dark presence becoming stronger. I didn’t like it at all.
Someone in the crowd began shouting. Other people soon joined in, until I could make out what they were saying.
“Dra-custos! Dra-custos! Dra-custos!” I smirked. Sounds like I’m the favorite.
Light made a move, his running feet splashing thunderously through the shallow water. Taking a breath I reared back, then let out a torrent of white flames upon the fluid. Plumes of steam jumped into the air. It didn’t stop the Paladin of course; I could hear him still charging towards me. What it did do was make it nearly impossible to see; the bowl of the arena and lack of wind kept it inside, letting it get thick and heavy. I silently moved to the side before Light reached me, letting him swing at an empty space. The sunlight made the mist seem to glow, making it more difficult to see, but the Paladin’s dark form was easy to pick out.
“This invisibility can go both ways, beast!” he called. I snarled in amusement as he noisily slushed around.
“You are wrong, knight,” I hissed into his mind, slithering around him. “I smell you. I hear your breath. I feel your air. I know exactly where you are.” At this I pounced onto his back with a raptor-like shriek, sinking my teeth into his neck. The holy knight shouted in pain before reaching up in an attempt to grab me, but I wrapped my tail around his wrist and held it down. I bit down again, tightening my grip as Light tried to get me off. Unsuccessful, he growled in aggravation, then stuck his sword in the mud. He pointed a finger at me, and I noticed a small ball of dark light and quickly released my jaws, moving out of the beam’s way. Before I could bite again he managed to grab my neck and throw me to the ground. I rolled out of the way of his foot and backed away. As he retrieved his sword I glanced around. The mist was nearly gone. I needed to end this fast; I could feel my wound catching up to me.
He ran at me, but I stood my ground. As he raised his sword and went for a swing, I swung my tail at his ankles. He tripped and fell, and as he tried to get back on his feet I wrapped my tail around his throat. With a mighty flap of my wings I jumped into the air, flying straight up. Light squirmed and writhed, grabbing and pulling at my tail as he struggled to get free. By the time I stopped the audience looked like a gathering of insects below. I lifted the knight up to my eye level.
“You’re an ironic one, knight. You claim to be a Paladin, yet you wield an evil power.” I reached for the dark cross that hung from his waist, but my instincts made me draw back, telling me not to touch it.
“Re… lease me... demon!” Light choked. I grinned deviously.
“As you wish, Paladin,” I hissed. I undid my coils, and he plummeted to the earth, the shockwave from his impact sending the rest of the mist out of the arena. I dived down, spreading my wings before hitting the ground to slow my descent, and returned to my quadruped stance. I prowled around the small crater Light’s body had made, watching for any movement as it was slowly filled with water.There was no motion, no sound; he was down for the count.
The crowd began cheering, chanting my name once more. I snapped towards them, letting out a roar, and they fell silent. I managed to hold my instincts back and tried to lock them up.
“Draco?” I turned to find Steve, his gun poised to shoot. “You cool, mate?” The sight of his weapon made my instincts return, and I snarled at him. “Come on you bloke, don’t make me pop you.” I turned my head away, closing my eyes with a deep breath. It took a moment for my other side to leave. When it was gone I raised my eyes back to the sniper.
“Yeah… Yeah I’m cool…” I answered, subconsciously placing an arm over my wound. Steve shot me a grin before lowering his rifle, and lifted a finger to his earpiece.
“Stand down, he’s in control. … Yeah yeah, you can gripe at me later.” As he was speaking, I suddenly felt dizzy, and a wave of fatigue came over me. With a faint groan I swayed before falling to the ground. “Ah shit- Get a medic here now!” I heard running steps, then felt a hand on my back. “Hang in there mate. We’ll get you fixed up.”
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Devi]
Narrator
A herald of god should not have to wait for a bunch of lesser non-believers, well that’s what Light thinks anyway, since he’s been waiting for about an hour now for his appointment with the fighting organizer. Despite his very obvious annoyance to the situation, he couldn’t stop but wonder, what is it the organizer talks about to his clients in there. He doesn’t exactly have long conversation with Light and things are kept brief, yet it takes much longer for the organizer to complete his meetings with other contestants. Does he despise Light, in all his glory?
Light clenched his fist at the thought, rattling his silver armor violently, the organizer must pay for this grave insult to his honor he thought, but he stopped himself from rising from his wooden seat. He remembered the last two fights he had, how low he had been put down, the disgrace he had brought to the pure justice, valor and kindness that was his lord. Punching an official of this fighting system would just bring more shame to his Almighty, a shame that his lord wouldn’t be happy to have.
Light silenced his thoughts and continued his waiting.
An number or so passed by with the small clock, at least, that’s what Light thought as he was looking at the clock object that he was told describes time. The door to the organizer opened dramatically, revealing a robed figure with strange blue horns protruding out of its head. Light’s instincts awoke as he saw this figure, he charged, taking out his sword as he took heavy but quick steps to this creature. This creature had to be a darkspawn, it had the horns of a blue demon drake, unholy creatures of the sea with horrible dark powers. Before he could use his sword against this creature, he stopped at the sound of the Organizer’s voice.
“You gentlemen can fight in your allocated arena, I won’t have you two destroy anything here.” His voice was frozen cold; it alone felt like it was enough to freeze him solid. Light stayed his blade and slid it slowly back into his scabbard. His fiery rage tempered by the cold of the shadowy figure. Silence fell onto them, Light still staring with rage at the horned robe figure.
“So you must be Light? A pleasure to meet you.” The robed figure took off its ominous hood, revealing a blue anthropomorphic dragonhead. The figure raised his hand as so to shake Light’s iron hand. Light’s choler was rising to nearly his limit, barely able to raise his hand calmly to shake the other man’s hand. This thing has to be a blue drake, its just taunting me with its human form. I will destroy this creature in our fight and redeem myself to my god and show him of my worth.
Light was too rage filled to notice that this beast was about the same size as him, both of them being giant in comparison to other people around them. A paladin against a dragon man, a clash of fantasy.
Dracustos
To say that the armored man was aggressive would be a big understatement, I barely saw the guy for a few seconds and he’s already charging at me with his shiny pointy stick. Not to mention his handshake, it doesn’t take a perceptive person to tell that the guy was angry. You could tell he was barely able to hold himself from attacking me, his hand was shaking with rage. He sounded like a bunch of frying pans rattling as he walked out of the building with the organizer following him, must be all that plate armor of his.
Will be interesting to see how he fights against me in our match. For now, anyway, lets just head off to the arena. Taking out the arena papers out of my robe’s inner pocket, I unfold it and read it. Seems like a forest environment this time, nice, means I will have more of a advantage against Mr. Sauce-pans-armor. Turning the page, I find the c