A Tournament of Sorts
 

A new thread, for a new RPG. This RPG has a little different flavor though. Participants will be controlling a team of warriors that are taking part in a tournament.

I haven't composed the tournament rules 100%, but I think there will be teams of 2-4 members (depending upon how much or little the poster wants to become involved in the story) and the members will use only weapons and martial arts styles. NO MAGIC!

There has got to be at least 4 people involved in this thing to get it off the ground, but more like 8 is preferable. Characters and the storyline can be developed in and out fo the ring, this isn't going to just be a hack and slash story. I

'll post the exact tournament rules if I get enough interest in this project. Thanks for taking a look.

Team Light

Member 1: Matt is a well-rounded fighter with skill in grappling, boxing, karate, and other martial arts. He uses no weaponry. His main ability is in his ability to take hits. He is one tough motha. Matt always does what is right, but he is definately a no-nonsense type of guy.

Member 2: Eldaire is what most would imagine as a medival knight. Though he does not wear a suit of armor, he does carry a broad-sword and a shield. Also in his inventory is a bow and arrow set, but he rarely uses them. Not the fastest guy around, but his arsenal of weaponry and great strength make him a tough foe. Eldaire is the essence of pure hearted. He has an intricate honor code and is obsessed with doing the right thing.

Member 3: Amarth is more like a samurai. He uses a long katana and is unsurpassed in the department of speed. He is a dark mysterious person with little regard for the feelings of his opponent. Though he usually winds up on the side of good, it seems that his alliance with the forces of light are shakey at best.

Member 4: Heero is a calm fluid fighter. He is a monk and uses a bo as a weapon. He practices the sei chi style. This warrior doesn't seem to talk much, but in the fighting rink he lets his fists speak for him. (He speaks softly, but he carries a biiiiig stick! :D)

Sounds good Amarth...let's get some more people interested, then we can start.

Team Awesome

no i'm just kidding

Team Lahrien

Ass-kicker #1: Lila
Short, freckled redhead. Rocks out with some martial arts skills (I guess like karate. yep, karate.) She's quick due to her size, good-natured, somewhat naive and klutzy.

Ass-kicker #2: Ageha
Very tall, extremely long legs (think those things on that planet that make the clones in star wars.) Piercing black eyes and long silver hair. This chick's a ninja-ette (cool mouth-covering cloth thing included.) Awesome kicking abilities plus some sweet skills with the nunchaku, shuriken, and a sweet-ass ninja sword.

Ass-kicker #3: Nienna
Elf. Long brown hair, brown eyes, flawless form (more like Arwen than Galadriel). Ridiculously skilled with a bow. Very serious, eloquent, awesome.

Ass-kicker Numero Cuatro: Serendice
3 words: Really. Big. Sword.

Thanks for posting Dixie....need at least one more to get started. Tournament rules will be posted after.

Team: Jesters

Jokester 1: Harliquin
Leader of the group, fast and nimble. Modified form of Martial Arts and Gymnastics (GymKata - ouch, what a bad movie)
Costume of Red, Blue, White Diamonds. Carrys a mace that he talks to all the time. (Anyone played Pandemounium? (which I can spell) )

Jokester 2: Prankster
Babe (as in female) of the group. Carrys Yo-Yo's, marbles, and other types of gags. All are weapons. Likes to torment her opponet.

Jokester 3 & 4: Comedy and Tragedy
Twins, but you would never know by looking. Comedy is about 5 feet tall, fights with two rapiers. Very defensive. Tragedy is about 7 feet tall, and best described as a mountain. Carries a really big War Hammer he named TREE. They like to fight tag team.

All of the team wear masks, and look like a bunch of clowns (like the Harlequins from War Hammer)

dragonhawk, that's awesome, i'm very excited about your team.

Thanks.

I played a team like that in a PBM game a long time ago. Had a lot of fun with them.

Team Enishi

Member one, Tarrae - Age 21, Bit of a medival fighter. Wears a full suit of armor and carries a large Zweihander (large two handed sword). Because he is wearing armor and carrying such a massive sword he makes every one of his strikes accurate and powerful. A focused swing can cut through several trees.

Member 2, Jeriyu - Age 20, The complete anti-verse of Tarrae, he is quick, nimble, wears no armor, and two daggers for weapons. Instead of killing an opponent with one shot he opts to roll and jump around an opponent making little cuts with his daggers. But the pain from these cuts is no less painfull and the pain adds up until his opponent bleeds to death or just collapses.

Since this team is only of two members both of them are twice as well trained and twice as deadly.

Background : They we're best friends since thier childhood, they would always spar with eachother. Always gaining more power and strength. They know eachothers styles perfectly and can almost predict their partners next move. They can fight in unison, playing off of eachothers, making them deadly alone but much more so together.

ALRIGHT!!!! I'm going to have my team and the tournament rules up very shortly, just have to finish them up. Right now we have 5 teams, not an even number, do you guys want to start the tournament now, or wait to get a few more participants?

Uhm hmm...With 5 teams it could have an interesting kick off because one team would get a Buy...Hmm...I'd hold out for 6 just to simplify things. Or you can have an NPC team that is just kinda there. OR several so that things could get really interesting.

I want to see how this works out.. afterwords I'll possibly create a team. I just don't understand how it works.. so those of you that understand this reallywell.. I'll read the rules, and watch a battle, and hopefully Jump in somewhere.

rules will be up later today man.

sorry all! i'm home for break and got to caught up in things to post my team and rules. they WILL be up tomorrow

Team Disgrace
[girl power!!!]

Claudia - don't let her porcelain doll-like petite exterior fool you. this girl's the biggest time bitch. and why not? trapped in a child's body for 3 centuries can do that to a person. very alert vampire senses, fights like a cat. think teeth, claws, incredibly speed and agility.

Annika - tall, chic. black hair. form-fitting clothes. the epitome of grace and beauty. deep emerald green eyes. and an extremely long fencing sword.

Freya - extremely pretty redheaded girl. she'll sit down, cross her legs...give em a glimpse of the alabaster white thigh...garter belts strapped on each one...holding two razor sharp throwing daggers.

DaraXdeath - this girl's almost as tough as the music she listens to. prefers to fight with her hands, you know...karate-type jujutsu stuff...but if need be she'll get out her switchblade. bitches get stabbed.

Team Ohtar

Member 1:

Name- Amras
Sex- Male
Age- 20
Height- 5'8
Hair Color- Light Brown w/ dirty blonde tips- shaggy and unkept
Eye Color- Silverish grey
Weapon- a two-handed Chinese gim (Tai-chi sword)
Fighting style- great defense and parrying skills. not the fastest, but his attacks are fierce and extremely powerful. motions are graceful and precise. Good in armed and unarmed combat. Prefers melee to ranged fighting.

Member 2:

Name- Aranel
Sex: Female
Age- 21
Height- 5'5
Hair Color- Dark brown- almost black, kept long out of ring- in braids while fighting.
Eye Color- a deep blue
Weapon- kunai (small scyther) and chain with metal dart fixed to other end (think Sango's brother's weapon from Inuyasha)
Fighting Style: Fluid motions, very graceful. Attacks are quick and timed perfectly. Attacks from the outside with long chain, but not afraid of hand to hand combat. Uses opponents own energy and motion against them (think Spike from Cowboy Beebop).

Member 3:

Name: Elrohir
Sex: Male
Age: 20
Height: 5'11
Hair color: blonde that is unkept and spiky (think Vash but shorter)
Eye Color: Vivid red with flecks of yellow.
Weapons: Poison barbs, shirukens, stars (anthing that can be thrown), and a 4-5 foot staff.
Fighting Style: OFFENSE, OFFENSE, OFFENSE! Attacks are relentless and aggressive, but at the same time precise. Fighter never works himself into a rage, but never stops attacking. Distracts opponents with ranged attacks then moves siftly in for close combat.


Background Info: All members are best friends since they all started training at a Tibetan monastery. They are half-elves but have embraced the discipline of Hsing-I. Hsing-I is an internal art of kung-fu that emphasizes ying and yang, both hard and soft. The I in Hsing-I means 'mind' or 'will', and attacks are belived to be projections of minds focus, though damage is caused by vertical attacks. All movements are graceful and controlled. Techinques are based off of five Chinese elements: fire, water, earth, wood, and metal. Three fighters' eyes reflect the element they represent: Aranel- water, Elrohir- fire, and Amras- metal. The team is very unified and gel as one unit, they are always there for one another, and their feelings could even be desrcibed as love for one another. Their skills are extenseive in both armed and unarmed combat, and they use each together with weapon and physical attacks. While they are not invincible, they are certainly great advesaries for all.

sorry for the great delay all. tourney pairings and rules will be up soon.

I'm going to wisconsin, so I don't know when I'll get to post things, but I'll have Net Acess at my uncle's place. On the trip up if I'm not sleeping I'm going to make a team.. so sometime I should have something up.. might not be till a week from now though.. Time will tell.

Tourney Rules:

1. Teams will consist of no more than 2-4 members.

2. Participants may use any weapon or fighting style they want; with the exception of magic and energy attacks. Only armed and unarmed combat.

3. Teams will compete in tournament fashion. This entails 1 on 1 bouts between teams, witht he winner advancing. This is a single elimination tournament, with the two unbeaten teams meeting in the finals.

4. Winning a bout between teams: The bouts between teams will be conducted as a series of one on one bouts between each teams members. In order to win a bout, a team must win a number of matches equivalent to a majority of the greatest number of members on one team in the bout. Confused yet?
-If the highest number of fighters on one team in a bout is 4 members, 3 singles matches must be won by a single team for that team to adavnce.
-If the highest number of fighters on one team in a bout is 3 members, 2 singles matches must be won by a single team for that team to adavnce.
-If the highest number of fighters on one team in a bout is 2 members, 2 singles matches must be won by a single team for that team to adavnce.
A team bout cannot end till everyone has fought at least once, even if a winner has already been decided.

5. Winning a singles bout. In order for a winner to be declared winner in a one on one battle, they must either kill, KO, or cause the other fighter to move out of the 30x30 fighting ring.

6. The champion team of the tournament will recieve whatever it is they want- money, power, weapons.....antyhing.

Fight well, and ask questions if you have any.

OK guys, I'm going to put this to a vote. Right now, we have 6 teams ready to roll., with one that may join in later. We can either move ahead with six members or wait for Gakface. Your call guys. I need some responses though.

The other thing is whether we want the tournament to start out as a 16- team tournament with 9-10 filler teams, or an 8 team tournament with 1-2 filler teams. In the 16 team tourney we could get some practice beofre fighting one another, but it would be longer. So the 8 team tourney would pit us against each other int he first rounf, which is inevitable in the long run, but hey. So let me know your thoughts. And post or PM me if you have questions about the rules.

You don't really state a clear protocall for winning a match. Alot of people are stubborn and if you say you stabbed them in the neck they'll just say...dodges it. So please adjust your rules to be more clear.

Still room for one more team?

more than enough, losthellhound. welcome to the tournament. just post your team and i think we can get started, right roche?

Team : Verdan's Dragoons
The Dragoons, under Thomas Verdan, are a mercenary company now numbering in the hundreds. They have sent a four member team to investigate a skirmish. Thomas, restless from countless negotiations has decided to lead the team himself.

Leader: Thomas Verdan
Thomas is a tactician by nature, but since he had to fight to get what he has, he is strong, quick, and knows how to use his longsword with stunning skill. His only weakness is Katrina, his wife. He never wanted her to get into combat, but he cant control everything

Katrina Verdan
If Thomas is the master of the longsword, Katrina is a goddess with the daggers. With no less then ten on her at any time, she is always prepared. Her speed is legendary, and training with several adept schools has taught her that she can bring down most opponents with a single strike, if placed well.

Ulgar Tresk
One of the members of the team not from the Verdan family, Ulgar is faced with the reality he will never be in command. This doesnt bother him as he has served Thomas for years and shows more loyalty then people would think. He is big, or huge, depending on whether he has knocked you down yet or not. Armed with a two handed battle-axe, he may not be quick, but more people then Ulgar can count have been bested by a well aimed blow.

Simon Verdan
Somewhat the black sheep of the family, Simon (son of Thomas and Katrina) trained not under weapons masters, but under an order of monks who saw weapons as a flaw. Simon is a martial arts master, and has honed his body and mind to knife edge accuracy and lethalness

I understand that this is going to be diceless, who is going to govern who hits or not? To name a simple example, "Guns & Robbers"... no one really one except for the guy who got bored last (as the other guy would finally just say "Fine I'm hit, no, I'm dead!") Some people are honest and will take hits, but alas we won't always take the hit the opponent wants, which won't help things. Beyond that, how do we knock them out of the ring?

Basically are you going to GM each round to say what happens?

Just start without me... I won't be able to post anything until Tuesday Night at best. All my ideas are in the car, and the car is at the other side of town (I'm at my uncle's, car is at my grandma's).. Busy all tomarrow, and driving home Tuesday.... Aside from that I'd really prefer to see a match. Heck you could even have you and another stage a match... Either way I really want to see how it works so I can Role Play this to maximum efficiency.

Oooh! I forgot a question, very important and I may have to change character designs depending upon it. What is the fighting ground like? Well lit, flat area with no terrain? or will it be dim? maybe dark? what about well lit in the center, but dark and shadowy on the outskirts of the map? Will any of them be walled in? Jungle Setting? Airport Setting? I'm just curious if we'll have anything to fight around/with.

Thank,
-- GakFace

ummm... hey guys. first off, i just wanted to say that ya'll rock, thanks for posting and showing so much interest and stuff.

i'm obviously not the moderator, so i don't have the authority to answer ya'lls questions, but i did want to let ya'll know that SSJwrestler might not be able to post for a couple of days. I might could just ask him some questions for ya'll and post his answers myself. yea, i think that would work.

so, i'm gonna go ahead and get some answers to the questions that have already been posted for ya'll and if you have anymore questions, i'd appreciate it if you just PMed them to me and i'll ask him for you.

sorry for the delay and such, we love you guys and i promise on robert e. lee's grave that this tournament will be under way shortly! thanks ya'll!
- dixie

OK! Sorry for the wait. Here are some clarifications. For weapons, there are no guns or nukes or modern weaponary. Only medieval weapons. A warrior could use a series of small bombs since they existed in China at the time, but nothing thats gona make to much of a boom. The battle ground is in an arena, and the surrounding island is covered with four different terrains: forest, meadow, mountains, and a swampy dark area.

As for how matches are to be decided. As a poster you cannot control you opponents moves. Thats really the only stipulation, that and knowing when youre defeated. I don't want this to be a great area of distress, but I mean don't be so completely stubborn that you will never admit defeat. You can dodge and such. As a poster also know that you are not invincible, if you were there would be no point in fighitng.

I hope this answers questions and I apologize for taking so long. If there are anymore concerns then ask me. Although I must say I'm at my wits end right now. Terresque....this could be where I need some help if there are an more questons.

PLEASE KEEP INTEREST!!!

Questions:

-What does it matter what the ground around the arena is like if you lose when you're knicked out?

-Are we thinking DBZ World Tournament here?

Reccomendations:

-Let all of the non-competing members judge who wins a match if it carries on for too long.

-Let's get started already! We'll fill in the holes as we go along. Write up a bracket.

yay! :::kisses:::

Okay, I'm gonna get this started. If you have any objection SSJ, feel free to change this, but you're taking too long. I'm putting in other teams for the first matches and the people who fight them can decide exactly what their fighters are like. For when two npc teams fight one another, I'll designate a winner ahead of time. Players should always beat npcs and whoevers fighting them can dictate their actions.


Team Verdan's Dragoons
vs.
Team Lancelot
---------------------------------
Team Ohtar
vs.
Team Tiger Claw
---------------------------------
Team Disgrace
vs.
Team Nutsy
---------------------------------
Team Enishi
vs.
Team Ruroni
---------------------------------
Team Jesters
vs.
Team Gigantor
---------------------------------
Team Lahrien
vs.
Team Rivendell
---------------------------------
Team Light
vs.
Team Dim
---------------------------------
Team Huffelpuff--__
vs......................> Team Gryffindor
Team Gryffindor__--


To demonstrate how the Bracket works (for those of you who aren't familiar with the process if there are any of you since I couldn't draw a good one), I will go ahead and give you what will happen next round. The Dragoons and Ohtar will advance and fight one another. Disgrace and Enishi will also advance. The Jesters and Lahrien will advance too. And Light will advance to face Gryffindor (I promise I didn't give myself and NPC on purpose, I went in reverse order. Besides, Gakface can put his team in place of Gryffindor if he sees fit and that will give us a nice even bracket.) As for my questions and comments above, the surrounding landscape is told for training purposes. It is kind of like the budokai, but more like Yu-Yu Hakasho dark tournament. We will allow non-competing members to judge who wins if the fight drags on for too long.

The arena itself was huge, at least the size of a football stadium, but with much more seating. All sorts of creatures were in the stands. Angels, Demons, Aliens, Humans, Elves, Mexicans, everything you could imagine. They were roaring in anticipation of the fight. The 16 teams stood anxiously in their designated areas around the ring. They were all preparing in their one way. Team Lancelot was reciting their vows. Team Ruroni was meditating quietly. Team Huffelpuff was cringing in fear. A strange looking creature that seemed to be half cat and half woman came in from the arena entrance. She stood in the middle of the 30yd x30yd ring in the middle and adressed the roaring crowd through her micrphone.

NOW! WELCOME EVERYONE TO A TOURNAMENT OF SORTS! REMEMBER FIGHTERS, ONE FIGHTER FROM EACH TEAM IN THE RINK AT A TIME! WINNER OF THE MAJORITY OF THE MATCHES BASED ON THE LARGEST TEAM WINS! FIGHTING RULES ARE... ANYTHING GOES! LET'S BEGIN SHALL WE?! ROUND 1! VERDAN'S DRAGOONS vs. TEAM LANCELOT! READY? FIGHT!

The cat creature walked off the middle ring and stood next to it ready to call a KO, Surrender, Ring Out, or Kill (and if she got bored a win by judges decision).

(Again SSJ, this is just cause you took so long. I didn't mean to put words in your mouth, but I think this fits what you wanted anyway, but if it doesn't feel free to tell me what to change or if you want me to get rid of this post and I'll quickedit.)

woohoo! rock and roll, gentlemen!

well...i guess since ive been ousted from my spot as monerator....i guess things can go smoothly now. please, lets proceed.

For reference, this is my description of Team Tiger Claw, who my team's been paired against in the first round.

Team Tiger Claw:

Member 1:

Name: Sensei
Sex: Male
Age: 42
Hair Color: Black flecked with greyand white
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 6'0
Weapon: Metal claws
Fighting Style: Swift, possesses the fighting spirit of the Tiger

Member 2:

Name: Taka
Sex: Female
Age: 19
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Green
Height: 5'5
Weapons: Sais
Fighting Style: Pupil of Sensei. Pairs stabbing attacks of sais with kicks.

Member 3:

Name: Van
Sex: Male
Age: 25
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Height; 5'9
Weapons: Two katanas
Fighting Style: Pupil fo Sensei. Attacks and defends with two swords. Known all throughout the land for his Twin-blade strike, supposedly invincible when used.

[OOC: Guess I'll start things off]

In the area cordoned off for the Dragoons, the members sit casually and talk. They keep thier weapons close by, but are generally relaxed. After speaking with several other teams the night before, Thomas breifs his members. After speaking for several minutes after the cat-woman speaks, a member walks towards the centre of the arena.

I am Ulgar Tresk! Pride of the highlands, blood of fire and arm of steel! I bear the colors of the Dragoons, may my enemies know before they meet my weapon! Now come and get me!

He then brandishes his weapon and waits...

[OOC: At this point in time losthellhound I believe that you are controlling both teams.]

[OOC: Alright *cracks knuckles* hopefully I dont loose against myself. I'll introduce the first fighter then the rest of the team]

As Ulgar screams out his challenge, the crowd erupts with cheers (obviously expecting a good fight). Several fighters notice groups of spectators exchanging money for betting stubs, and a giant chalk board appears with odds and winnings. After a few minutes the crowd grows silent as a man kneeling in the Lancelot cordon stands. He is dressed in ancient chain mail and garbed in a flowing white tunic emblazoned with a blood red cross. In one hand he holds a dark iron footman's mace, and a giant kite shield rests on his other arm. His features are hidden by a visored helm but long golden hair can be seen escaping beneath it. He walks calmly towards the centre of the arena and stands opposite Ulgar. He speaks softly, but due to the design of the arena, his voice carries even to the far reaches of the stands.

I am Sir. Gendan of the order of the crusaders. I meet your challenge Ulgar Tresk. May the light prevail. You may have the honor of striking first

With that the knight steps back and readies his weapon and shield. Ulgar nods and saultes the knight, then with a mighty roar he leaps forward and brings his axe down with a rush of force and ferocity that momentarily stuns the crowd.

[OOC: So, if Im controlling both of them, can I get another player or a mod to tell me when I hit, just so Im not just telling a story where my own team just kicks the crap out of the knights? *g*]

[OOC: If thats what you really want. I believe that the teams are just filler and we are just getting the hang of controlling numerous characters. Personally, my battle is going to be rather quick so that the real tournament will start. But, I will be more thn willing to help your cause. Just describe the other teams characters, so I can see what I have to work with, and I will control them in battle. Sound good man?]

Team Lancelot

Team Lancelot, named after a legend of lost tales named Sir. Lancelot.. Are a group of Crusaders who for thier own reasons, are fighting in the tournament. It is often described that when they win the tournament, they will use the power to disband it.. Others state that they want to win to bring reknown to the group..

Sir Valadeen
- The leader, both spritually and tactically, Valadeen is an older knight who has seen many battles. His strength however has not waned at all. Armed with a giant staff ending in a wickedly heavy cross, Valadeen has a long reach, keeping even multiple opponents at bay

Lady Catherine
- The idea of a female crusader is a new one, and many of the order do not pay her the respects she deserves. Catherine is a member of a holy order of nuns devoted to defending the faith (at all costs). Like all holy orders, she will not use bladed weapons, but her ball and chain is renowend (and named the "fist of heavens")... Catherine fights in a heavy suit of brass plate carved with a relief of the great battle of Ton'Gerlor.. (though only she remembers anything about that fight)

Sir. Gendan
We have already met Sir. Gendan.. He is the youngest of the order, and the first to step in. Armed with a footman's mace and a well used kite shield, Sir. Gendan is young, brash, and cocky.. something his opponants are good to exploit..

Father Devonis
The Father, known the world over as "The sword father" is something of a mystery. He wields two swords, something that sets him apart from most every other priest (as bladed weapons are not allowed on men or women of holy orders). He is however, the master of those two blades, and often he trains other sects' warriors in thier use. Despite his bulk, Devonis moves quickly, and the swords are almost as sharp as his insults..

[OOC: Team sounds great! I'm not gonna make them the biggest challenge, so we can get things moving, but I'll do my best. Should be fun! Let's get started.]

Slightly stunned at the ease with which Ulgar swung his heavy axe, Sir Gendan hesistated in his reaction and almost paid dearly. However, he was able to raise his kite sheild in defense in time, but the impact of Ulgar's blow moved him many feet backwards and caused him to slightly lose his balance. This meant no counter attack from his mace. "Damn!" Sir Gendan cursed himself, he had missed his opportuntity. Ulgar now stood where he had come down form his assault and waited for Sir Gendan to ready himself.

"You know warrior, you swing that axe with a mighty force, but you will lose. I had the power of God on my side and I will not be defeated." Sir Gendan roared. He then raised his shield, which was restingon the ground, and lunged forward with his mace ready to strike. As he neared Ulgar, he lowered his stance and swung his mae upwards with tremendous force. He prepared himself for the impact...

[OOC: nice to get some other teams commentary too, either cheering, jeering, or just contemplating their battles against who is fighting]

Knights, always talking about god, never paying attention

Ulgar waited till the last minute, a well calculated look of shock on his face, then as the knight moved past his centre of balance Ulgar knew his time was now. Sidestepping the blow, he kept the haft of his axe against the ground and forced it against the knight's leg as he dove past..

Ego..

'Nice move,' Nienna thought, arching an eyebrow as the oversized brute swung his axe toward the unsuspecting knight.

Leaning over to Ageha, Nienna whispered something to which Ageha nodded and smirked icily.

Lila cheered and whooped unreservedly, commanding an irritated stare from Ageha. Nienna laughed warmly and turned back to the tournament.

From Team Ohtar's area a loud gasp was heard from Aranel, who was seated cross-legged with her back leaning up against a standing Elrohir's legs. She was rather shocked at how swiftly the large man maneuvered around the knights attack.

"AHH!" An ear piercing cry of pain escaped Sir Gendan as he fell to the ground, dropping his shield and mace and clutching his right knee.

The warriors knee had been dislocated by the blow from the axe's shaft, and the leg now lay in a verr peculiar position.

With smal tears of pain forming in his eyes, Sir Gendan cast off his helmet and picked up his mace as he turned to face Ulgar.

"This can't be!" he grunted as he attempted to stand with the aid of his mace. All the while the cat- judge had come to ringside ans began counting the KO " 1, 2, 3.."

"I am Sir Gendan." the knight continued to grunt as a stuggle to get up, he was now on his good knee. "I won't be defeated by the likes of you!"

"6,7,8.." the judge continued to count.

Then, with one more final effort and a deafening roar, Sir Gendan stood on his bad leg. It crumpled underneath his wieght and he fell to the ground.

"9, 10. You're done! Ulgar from team Dragoon wins!" the judged announced to the crowd. The spectators roared their approval for Ulgars great move. " Teams! Please send you're next fighters out to the ring."

Two members of the Lancelot team came onto the raised battle ground to move Sir Gendan back to the side. Now one member stood at the edge of the ring.

" I am Father Devonis of Team Lancelot. I am ready for battle."

Ulgar walks back to the Dragoon cordon with his arms raised in victory, watching several thousand bets being paid or lost. Thomas watches with pride and claps Ulgar on the shoulder and hands him a waterskin.

Watching the portly father walk out onto the arena floor Thomas looks with concern. Leaning over to his son he whispers..

"I can't fight him. He trained me for a time, and Im sure he remembers how to trounce me"

Before he can speak more though he notices his wife has already crossed the line into the arena branishing two daggers in her hands, her lithe figure and catlike movements causing a redoubling of cheers from the arena

"Well father.. I'm sure that you're out of practise" she purrs. "but shall we dance?"

" Me? Out of practice? Wat gave you that idea my young lady? I am healthy as a mule and I have the strength of five men." the portly father replies with a big smile. " Now about that dance?"

Not waiting for the lady's reply, the father drew both swords and lunged forward in attack position. The attack came in the form of a preliminary stike from a distance and a follow up strike at a muhc closer range and much more strength.

katrina dances backwards, parrying the blows with backhand dagger swipes, then leaping to the side rolls and looks up with a sly smile

"was that the weight of five men and the smell of a mule?"

Not waiting for an answer she draws a third dagger and throws it at his chest

Devonis has no time to block Katrina's attack because it was so fast, so instead the priest moves to the side and lets the dagger take up residence high in his right arm. Smiling back at Katrina without even a look of pain on his face, Devonis replies. "You fight good for a woman, although you know....it is as the good Lord says...MEN ARE DOMINANT!"

With this Devonis, drops his sword from his now useless right hand and lunges at Katrina with a left backhanded sword attack.

Katrina ducks back but is caught in the shoulder by the tip of the blade, spraying blood and lurching her to one side. The wound could have been worse, even fatal, but the damage was done.

Deciding that a ranged or even far attack was useless against the sword, Katrina decides to use a less conventional tactic. Summoning all the strength she can she leaps and grabs onto the large man's armor, tackling him over and retaining a firm hold on his clothing, a dagger held against him... waiting for the resulting fall backwards...

"That's right! Show that chauvinist bastard who's in charge!" Lila whooped, leaning forward in her seat.

cool concept.. too bad i'm not into rpgs.

"It's over!" Amras said in his usual calm voice. Both Elrohir and Aranel looked up at him with looks of cofusion. "The priest is about to gvie."

Team Ohtar returned their attention to the ring to see if Amras's prediction was correct.

Devonis fell with a large thump to the ground, Katrina stil clinging to his chest with all her strength, her dagger still held closely against the knights neck, putting pressure not only on is throat but on his wound his her arm.

"AAHHH!" Devonis screamed in pain as he landed on the ring floor. As soon as he hit, his body became limp and no more words escaped his mouth. He had been knocked out by the schock of the great attack.

The entire crowd lay quiet for a second, letting what they just saw sink in before erupting with great applause. Over in Team Ohtar's corner, Amras lgihtly said "Told you so!"

Team Lancelot looked on in amazement as their second comrade fell and the half-cat judge announced Team Dragon's victory. This time they decided they were going to wait for the Dragoon's to send out their next fighter first.

Katrina took her time getting back to the Dragoon cordon, drinking in the cheers and applause. By the time she got back there were several clerics waiting to tend to her wounds. Thomas spoke briefly to his son before going to his wife's side to congratulate her.

Simon stepped up to the Lancelot cordon unarmed and bare handed. bowing deeply.

"Send who you will knights. They will return bloodied and weaponless. I do so not in anger, nor in malice, but in duty."

Then, crossing the field to the centre of the arena he sits crosslegged, head bowed in meditation.

Without a second thought, Lade Catherine steps forward, away from her team, and makes her way to the center of the ring where Simon is seated. With only a warm look ay her opponent, Catherine heaves her heavy ball in chain into position and readies herself for battle.

The cat-judge steps forward and says " Fighters ready? Begin!"

Immediately Catherine begins to swing her ball and chain over top of her head at an alarming speed, gethering energy for her first attack. At this time, she is about 15 feet away from Simon, just a litle bit out of range for a vertical attack, so she takes a few steps forward and begins to bring the heavy ball down on top of Simon.

Simon does not need to look up, nor even open his eyes from meditation. With a calm grace he rolls to the side, letting the heavy ball crash down where he was seated. Standing slowly, he stretches his arms languishly and tilts his head.

"This should prove interesting."

Then leaping forward, lands precariously on the ball of Catherine's weapon, still imbeded in the ground, and leaps again into a flying kick aimed at her head

Still not saying a word, Catherine watches as Simon flys gracefully at her head. However, before he is able to land his blow, Catherine takes the end of the chain that is in her hand and throws in on the same path that Simon is travellling.

The attack is not meant to hurt Simon, just to make him veer off his current path. Thus allowing her to sidestep the blow.

reaches out and catches the chain, falling with it gracefully. Now with the ball of the weapon in the ground and the chain firmly in his hands he pulls with all his strength, trying to wretch the weapon from Catherine

[OOC: I think this is the part where you knock me down.]

Unable to believe the move that Simon has just made, Katherine easily loses grip of her weapon and also is pulled off balance by the strength with which her opponent pulled her weapon.

[OOC: okay, lets finish it and get on with the next teams]

Simon wretches the weapon from her and leaps forward in a flying kick, connecting with her jaw

[OOC: Hey, how about some way for the "real" matches to decide who wins outside of the roleplaying? Maybe flip a coin even. Then we can act out "turns" through messages.

Oh, I know. Each "turn" we do a online coin flip. Then we act out that turn, knowing who has the advantage. Maybe the best 3 out of 5 turns or more to determine who wins that match?

Just a thought. I am pretty stubborn, and think my fighters are better than everyone and can't lose. I would prefer someone telling me who won a round so I play fair.

What do you think? ]

With the impact of Simon's attack, Katherine is sent soaring out of the ring and lands with a deafening thud. She rolls a few feet and comes to rest face down on the ground unconcious.

Amras who is sitting against the wall with the rest of Team Ohtar gently says, "Well he's a unique one....no weapons and still an impressive win."

"Ring out!" the judge exlcaims "And with three wins, Team Dragoon is the winner and will advance into tomorrows quarter finals. However, tournament rule do say that everyone must fight for each team in order for the match to be officially over. So let's have the last two fighters of Team Dragoon and Team Lancelot to the center of the ring!"

Thomas Dragoon made his way up to the ring, but before he could reach it, he was alarmed to see his opponent walking out of the arena with his defeated comrades.

"Um...Team Lancelot...your final fighter please. You must fight." the judge announced.

The leader of Team Lancelot, Sir Valadeen turns around to face the ring and the crowd. "I am a man who knows when he and his comrades are defeated to fight would be pointless, and I will not dishonor my team or myself in any such way. While you may see it as cowardice I am withdrawing. Good luck Team Dragoon in the rest of the tournament."

"Well...um..okay..Team Dragoon wins!" the judge announced. The crowd went wild and Thomas walked back to join the rest of his team.

"Up next we have a 3-on3 match between Team Ohtar and Team Tiger Claw. Teams please send your first fighters up to fight."

Looking around at his teammates Elrohir said "If you guys don't mind, then I am going to take the first match."

"Be our guest." the other two rang back in unison.

"Alirghty then!" the blonde headed warrior said as he amde his was up to the ring.

"Seems Team Ohtar is sending up Elrohir to fight the first match, while team Tiger Claw is sending Taka."

The two fighters met in the middle with no words. Taka had her sais drawn and a smug smile on her face, while Elrohir slowly pulled out his bo while looking dazily around at the crowd, paying his opponent no mind.

"Fighters ready? Begin!"

[OOC: Not a bad idea Dragonhawk. Let's get some input from others before deciding.]

Taka immediately attacked with a lunge at Elrohir with her sai outstrecthec. Elrohir parried the attack by drawing his bo and redirecting her attack with a sideays blow.

With her side open to attack, Elrohir immediately countered by brnging his bo down hard on her lower back.

"Ahh!" Taka yelled as she fell to her knees for a brief second, vefore getting up and moving towards Elrohir. Evidently trying to move in for a close range attack, but Elrohir would have none of it.

Before she could get in close enough, Elrohir kneeled down and attacked low on Taka's legs. She dodged the attack easily by jumping into the air, thats when she realized her mistake. As she came down to the ground, so did Elrohir's bo in a downwrd vertical attack.

The blow landed at the base of Taka's neck, and Elrohir watched as his opponent's eyes grew misty and eventually rolled slightly back into her head. She had been knocked out. Before she hit the ground Elrohir laid down his bo and caught her.

The announcer then began the count " 1,2,3..". She soon stopped though as she heard Elrohir say. "Don't bother counting, shes out for a while."

He then laid down Taka on the oposite side of the ring and made his way back to his teams corner, followed by the annuncer;s voice saying " Elrohir of Team Ohtar wins! Teams, send up your next fighters."

Sensei looked at his fallen pupil and decided to take it upon himself to get payback for his loss. He stepped onto the raised battle ground and waited for his opponent. It came in the form of a beautiful girl carring a sharp kunai and chain. Aranel had just stepped into the ring also.

"What?" Sensei exclaimed. " How dare you dishonor me by sending out your weakest member. You will pay dearly for this"

Amras and Elrohir said nothing, and rather let Aranel answer for herself. "Trust me. I'm more than enough for you"

With this, Sensei let out a battle cry that sounded like a roar of a tiger. "Insolence!" he yelled thereafter. He then brandished his metal claws and moved swiftly towards Aranel. Who stood in a relaxed stance with her kunai and chain at her side.

When he was about 10 feet from Aranel, Sensei seemed to vanish and reappeared a mere 4 feet from her on her right. Preparing to strike, he was suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and fell to one knee. "What on earth?" he a exclaimed as he looked back at his foot, which was pinned to the ground.

Aranel had used the dart on the other end of her chain to pin Senseis leather sandal to the ground and stop his attack. Now, while he was distracted, she through her Kunai at him in a boomerang style throw.

Sensei looked up in time to see the blunt end of the Kunai before it struck him between the eyes. With his, he fell with a thud t the floor and the judge began counting. Aranel looked on with a slight smile on her face.

But when the judge reached five in her count, Sensei began to stir and slowly struggled his way back up to his feet. He swayed dangerously and had a look of complete anguish on his face.

Rather than attacking, Aranel simply said " You did your best, I can respect that."

Then, Sensei fell to the ground, completely limp, and remained there while the count was completed.

Aranel heard the announcer exclaim "Team Ohtar wins again. Next fighters please, as she picked up her weapon and left the ring, passing Amras, who was headed to the ring, as she made her way back to the teams corner.

I agree about the idea that someone outside the match has to have some input, random or not, as to what happens

[OOC: Yeah, let's get through these preliminary bouts then get things going.]

Amras stepped into the ring and came face to face with Van. Van wore two swords on his back, and a look of shear hatred on his face. Then he spoke, "You know. Your team must think you're really something, they way you've been showboating during this match. But, I'm here t tell you that even though your team may advance, YOUR time is up."

"You think we're showboating?" Amras asked with a bewidlered look on his face. "We're simply up here to win. Anyways, aren't you the self-proclaimed twin sword master with the invincible twin-blade strike."

"Indeed I am!" Van yelled back, even more enraged now. " In fact, let me show it to you RIGHT NOW!"

Unsheathing his two swords, Van held them both outstretched in front of himself in a crossed fashion. He then began moving at an incredible speed towards Amras, who had drawn his own sword by this time.

When he was a mere 4 feet away from Amras, Van lunged at his opponent with both swords fully outstretched. He smiled as he awaited the impact of his attack, but it never came.

Amras had dodged both swords by immediately dropping to one knee, and while Van's body was completely extended and vulnerable to attack, he countered. He immediately side-stepped from underneath Van and brought the butt of his sword handle down hard on the back of his head.

All of this happened before Van had even had time to regain his balance, so he fell to the ground unconcious. The judge started the count, " 1,2,3."

"8.9.10. He's out. Team Ohtar wins and will advance to tomorrows quarter finals." the judges announcement was accompanied by a great roar from the crowd.

"Arrogant fool." Amras exclaimed as he took one last look back at Van while walking back to his team. "So much talent wasted because of overconfidance and pride."

Amras was greeted warmly by his teammates and they sat together as they awaited the match between Team Disgrace and Team Nutsy.

[OOC: Uh, guys? Might I make a reccomendation? Why don't we all post our bouts at once and take it as a given that they're happening at different times. Would make us not have to wait so long... plus I'm bored. Zat okay?]

ooc: sounds good

[OOC: Sounds perfect to me. Let's get his tourney started!]

The girls of team Disgrace *finally* step up. Annika is obviously the leader. They all walk in line to the edge of the field, and stop. Claudia bares her fangs and cracks her knuckles. Annika runs her fingers across the edge of her sword. Freya stands and winks at all the lads watching, pulling up her skirt to finger the hilt of her dagger in its buckle on her thigh. dara just looks pissed [as usual].

suddenly a piercing cry is heard from the opposite end. the girls look at eachother, and Claudia springs into the air, nails bared. Out of the darkness on the other side a shadowy ninja-freak demon springs, landing occasionally to spring back up into the air.

in mid-air they meet, claudia yelling, and she pulls her hand back and scratches him across the face. still clinging to him, they fall to the ground. he tries to out-run her but her catlike reflexes keep her right on his tail. He turns and pulls out a long bamboo pole, smacking her across the face with it and drawing blood.

Team Disgrace gasps. Freya laughs and purrs, 'shouldn'ta done that!'

Claudia stops and touches her hand to her face, her eyes glowing like fire. she smirks and licks the blood off her hand as the gash heals instantly. Then, with a banshee-like scream, she launches off the ground again, bearing down on him with her nails and sinking her fangs into his neck while simultaneously sinking her nails into his chest and back. pulling down, she rips the jugular. After this small taste of blood, she reluctantly pulls back, licking her lips.

As her team members cheer, she walks slowly back to them, turning around and smiling down at the twitching drained ninja-freak demon.

[OOC: I think instant healing is probably borderline magic...]

"Good job, little one." Freya purrs as she pats Claudia's golden curly head. Claudia glares at her and runs her hand over her cheek, where there is a tiny scar.
Annika nods"Right, good Claudia. just remember, you're not invincible. only tiny cuts will heal on you. so don't get cocky.'
'ugh...i WONT! i won, didn't i?!' the little girl says, irritated.
dara rolls her eyes and notices another shadowy ninja-freak demon step into the center of the field, standing motionless.
[ooc: oh yeah, this team that i'm apparently fighting against is made up of all shadowy ninja-freak demons with different skills. okay]
she stops in front of him. he bows. she nods her head curtly.
a voice is heard: 'fighters....begin!' and they step back together, and suddenly quick as lighting are fighting. the ninja demon chooses offense first, and dara defends herself calmly, hoping to tire him out. but he keeps coming mercilessly on, never seeming to tire. this upsets dara and she finally breaks out her real moves. when he finally stops his incessant barrage of kicks and grabs that she blithely defends, she jumps into the air and delivers a tough roundhouse, clocking him on the side of the face. he falls back and gets back up, and she tries to trap his arms. But he counters her, twisting her shoulder until there is a loud pop, and she falls backwards into the dirt. she jumps up, then swan-dives into the dirt, tackling his legs and causing him to fall.

straddling him, she plants her knees on the inside of the elbows ofhis struggling arms. she then delivers a sound chop to his throat and he stops, holding his hands up to signify a surrender.

the voice comes again, 'once again, Disgrace beats Nutsy! back to your corner'
She jumps up and brushes off her knees, smiling only a little, and walks back to her team, rubbing her shoulder.

Cat lady stepped to the center of her ring with her microphone. "Alright now! Team Light will face off against team Dim! Will each team please send one fighter to the ring!" Amarth and Matt were paying little attention to the announcer and didn't hear their name called. As usual, they were fighting.

"This is a waste of my time!" said Amarth. "You're the one I wanna fight!"

"Any time any where tough guy," replied Matt.

Team Dim's representative had already stepped into the ring. His name was Gargoth. He was a large man, standing about seven feet, wielding a huge battle axe. "Look at these weaklings. They can't even coordinate their efforts and they expect to beat us!"

"Last I checked this was a one on one fight you fool!" spoke Amarth as he stepped into the ring.

As he climbed in Eldaire spoke to Heero. "I would almost rather the big guy win this match so that Amarth would learn his lesson. Buuuut, I don't think it's gonna happen today."

"Indeed," replied Heero.

"Weakling. I will crush you!" taunted Gargoth.

"You stupid fool."

"Fighers to your positions! Ready?! Begin!"

Gargoth swung his huge axe at Amarth. Amarth made no movements. As the axe hit him, he was suddenly gone. Gargoth looked around in cofusion. He caught eyes with Matt who made a motion towards Gargoth's back. Before Gargoth could turn around, he felt a sharp pain in his back. He looked down and saw a sword sticking out of his chest.

"No!" shouted Eldaire. "That's not how we fight Amarth!"

"Relax oh noble one. I missed his vitals he's fine. Just in excrutiating pain." Amarth grinned a bit watching Gargoth squirm on the ring floor. "Weakling." Amarth kicked him hard and sent him rolling out of the ring.

Cat lady jumped back onto the ring. "Ring out! Winner... Team Light!" Amarth quietly walked back out of the ring. He gave Matt a wicked look with a sly grin.

"You beat me last time Matt, but as you can see I've been training. I'm taking you down after this."

"You're not the only one who trains you know."

"Hmph."

OOC: eep RPG faux pas eh? i havent done anything of this sort since i was like 15. BUT we have fixed her, my precious. only teeny cuts heal and even those leave scars. ACTUAL hurty things actually hurt her. sorry sorry sorry. -_-;

"Team Gigantor vs. The Jesters" yells the announcer.

Out into the ring, walks one of the tallest men, if you can call him that, ever seen. Weilding a club the size of a tree.

"I am Trollken" yells the man, "Where are puny clowns?" in his most Hulk like voice.

Harliquin looks up and the standing mountain and looks over at Tragedy, who is a mountain in his own right.

Smilling, Harliquin says "Tragedy, go knock him down to size..."

Tragedy stands up, and picks up his hammer TREE.

Walking out into the ring, the announcer says "Are you ready?"

Tragedy nods.

Trollken starts to say something. Suddenly he screams in pain. "Get them off, Get them off!"

Dropping his weapon and tearing off all of his armor he runs from the ring. The closet spectators can see the large red welts froming on his skin as he runs past.

Suddenly the rest of the Gigantors start screaming too... All running for the nearest water.

Harliquin turns to Prankster. "What did you do?"

"Honey, they shouldn't leave there armor unattended. Who knows what kind of critters can crawl into it?" she says with a smile.

The announcer comes back after a while, "Team Gigantor is unable to continue and has withdrawn. The Jesters advance!"

The loudspeaker announces Disgrace v. Nutsy once again.
Freya uncrosses her legs, tosses her long red hair behind her shoulder, and stands up. She walks to the center of the ring, hips swaying, to meet the next shadowy ninja-freak demon, who is holding two throwing daggers attached to chains.

He glares at her, she winks and pouts her lips, her hair dazzling in the sunlight. He doesn't seem effected. She plants her feet, one hand on her thigh.

"Teams ready...GO!"

The ninja-demon immediately throws one of the daggers, as Freya throws out her arm. The chain wraps around her arm, the dagger pointing down.
"Oh, no!" she sighs. "Looks like I'm caught!"
Annika chuckles from her side of the field.
Suddenly, quicker than anybody can tell, Freya pulls out one of the daggers from its buckle across her thigh. It glints in the sun for a moment before cutting through the chain like butter. The dagger falls harmless to the ground, and she picks it up and, holding it by the blade, twirls what is left of the chain on her end in a circle, before throwing it with all her might at the ninja-freak demon.
It catches him right above the shoulder, piercing exactly through the cloth without touching him at all, though he wears his shirt tight. The force of the throw repels him backwards.
*THUNK*
the dagger embeds itself into a wooden post, and the ninja-freak cries out and struggles. He rips the cloth of his shirt and tries to get the dagger out of the wood, but it is embedded up to the hilt. He turns and looks at Freya, fury in his eyes.
She giggles and waggles her fingers.
Screaming, he takes out the other dagger and runs towards her. As he is running, he throws it at her.
She jumps into the air to dodge it, the chain passing underneath her, and when she falls back down, she grabs the chain which is now between her legs.
Apparently, she is much stronger than the ninja thought. His momentum is thrown off and he stumbles. She yanks the chain and pulls him to her [the chains are attached to a gauntlet on his arm which cannot come off]
Pressing her face against his, she smiles and whispers "Looks like I've got you now, huh?"
He doesn't know what she means until he notices that her dagger, which so easily cut through his chain, is positioned in between his legs, at a very *ahem* sensitive area. He begins to sweat.
"Now you can make this real easy for me. You're gonna turn around."
He does.
"You're gonna take off your shirt."
He does.
"Now this'll only hurt a smidge..."
Taking her dagger, she makes a long slash down the middle of his back, only cutting the surface. He screams in pain.
Then she makes two horizontal slashes next to it, making a huge F on his back.
She pulls him close to her again, avoiding getting blood on her dress. She puts her chin on his shoulder and nestles against his neck, purring:"Now you'll remember me forEVER. Oh...I think this is when you give up."
She lets him go and he falls into the dirt, weeping.
"And this round goes to Team Disgrace!"
Freya walks back to her team, chuckling.

"That Freya..." Annika sighs. "She has a way with men."

Her ears pricking up in eager anticipation at the sound of her team’s name being called over the loudspeaker, Serendice runs her fingers slowly over the smooth hilt of her sword.

“Team Lahrien vs. Team Rivendell!” The crackling voice rings through the arena.

Serendice steps into the ring. She is always the first of the girls to battle, as she is the eldest and feels she has earned it.

Kneeling with her tremendous sword vertically implanted in the earth before her, she lowers her head against the hilt for a moment in silent meditation, then raises up to meet her opponent. A dark, foreboding elf dressed entirely in black steps proudly into the ring, clutching in one hand a long iron staff.

When the elf stops a few feet from Serendice, she breathes in deeply and lunges. The elf brings the rod up horizontally to block Serendice’s attack, but Serendice drops at the last second and whips the sword across the elf’s ankles, causing him to topple over and drop his staff. Before he can recover it, Serendice is on top of him, bringing the giant sword down with surprising precision and control considering its size. At the last moment, she flicks her wrist and hits the elf across the head with the hilt of the sword, knocking him out instantly.

Swinging the sword around, she sheathes it and returns to her companions while the elf is dragged from the ring.

Nienna arched one flawless eyebrow as Serendice returned from the ring. Then, in one fluid motion, she flung her bow over her shoulder and strolled calmly into the arena.
Her opponent waited pretentiously, arms crossed, ears twitching.
Nienna smiled. The elf she was about to face had not yet seen the bow on her back and was unaware that she would fall before she could move in for any close range attacks.

At the signal from the catwoman, Nienna drew her bow, snapped one arrow into place, and let it fly before the opposing elf could move to draw her own weapon.
The arrow lodged itself in the elf’s right shoulder and she stumbled backwards, tears welling in her eyes. Unable to draw her weapon, she fell to her knees in pain.

The catwoman counted and the elf’s team members rushed out to attend to her.

“That was too easy,” Nienna sighed, slowly returning to her team.

[OOC: Battles sound great so far guys. Thanks for keeping this thing going and for all your patience. I really appreciate it.]

This time it was team Light's turn to send out the first competitor. Eldaire was too eager to be held back. He rushed out to await his competitor. When the competitor emerged, he turned out to be obviously elven in nature. He wore a green cloak and carried a shortsword. With a single glance, Eldaire could tell how incredibly fast he was. When they were given the signal to go, Eldaire could hardly follow his motions, but he remained clam. He knew he didn't need to. He discreetly reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small round object with a string coming out of it. He struck the string in a certain way and it began to spark. He threw the ball at the spot he anticipated where the little speed freak would show next. The explosion was violent, but definately not life-threatening. The force was enough to briefly stun the elf though. Eldaire, quick as a flash, had his bow in hand with an arrow already pulled from the quiver. He let fly and the arrow hit the string on the cloak, sending it flying off. The elf stood now in normal garb, slightly disoriented, shortsword drawn.

"I didn't need to miss you know."

"I can tell that, and I admire your morals. However, in a tournament like this, they will do you no good. Do not expect me to hold back."

With that, he was instantly in Eldaire's face. Their two swords met just in time to keep the shortsword from Eldaire's heart.

"Yikes!" he cried out. A barrage of lightning-quick strikes came from the elf, but Eldaire countered every one, each time looking as though he had barely managed it. Eventually, the elf got tired and jumped back. Eldaire wasn't tired yet though, he came on with his own barrage. The elf tried to parry, but found he was simply not strong enough. He dodged a few thrusts, but was met by a strong kick to his ribs. This sent him to the ground. Eldaire went to continue his attack but the elf jumped forwards. He looked back to see Eldaire's boomerang just before it hit him square in the forehead. The force combined with the shock was just enough to make him lose his footing and slip out of the ring.

The cat lady ruled a ring out and the elf stood from the side of the ring. "You realize you barely managed to dodge my attacks, and barely managed to knock me out. Hell, you barely won the battle."

Eldaire retorted, "The only way you can be sure to win every time is to be unafraid to fight on the verge of losing." The elf nodded in copmliance with Eldaire's point and they both walked back to their teams. Team Dim was now trying to decide who should go out next...

"Team Disgrace...Team Nutsy...send out your final fighters!"

Annika steps into the ring, walking to the center, the epitome of grace and beauty. She carries her extra long fencing sword with her, the sunlight glinting off of its perfectly polished blade.
The final shadow demon-freak ninja opponent steps into the ring. He is strongly built, and he, too carries a fencing sword.
"I won't be as easily defeated as my teammates, girl." He drawls.
Annika laughs and readies her sword. "Thats what I'm counting on."

"Fighters...begin!"

Immediately she jumps forward, thrusts, parries, knocks his blade away, thrusts, and gets his blade under hers in a position where he can't move it. He looks up, totally surprised.
"What..."
"You said you were going to be a challenge!" She laughs. She spins out, freeing him, and as he tries to attack her, she jumps forward again, overtaking him.
"Now that time I practically GAVE it to you!"
Angry, he pushes against her sword, trying to get out of the block she is holding him in. She doesn't budge. She stares into his eyes, a slow smile spreading over her beautiful face.
Suddenly, quicker than anyone can see, she pulls back, thrusts forward, and smacks him square on the cheekbone with the blade of her sword. The force of the blow knocks him over and he falls, facefirst, into the dirt. At the end of the countdown, he is still facedown.
Annika laughs and cries, "Get a stretcher for this man! And get vodka for my teammates and I! We're moving on!"

The other girls of Team Disgrace whoop and laugh.

"Vodka!" Freya yells. "Shots all around!"

"We're finally up, Tarrae." Pipes Jeriyu

Tarrae stretches his massive arms and pulls his massive sword out of the concrete ground where it had been resting lightly.

"It's gunna be good to get some action at last!" Tarrae seemed excited.

Jeriyu walked in front of Tarrae with the massive man fitting his armored body through the archway. They both got blinded from stepping out of the dark hallway breifly. Then stepped out into the ring. The cat-girl announcer took the mic.

"THIS IS CERTAINLY SET TO BE A GOOD BATTLE. SINCE TEAM ENISHI HAS ONLY TWO MEMBERS THEY HAVE CONSENTED TO FACE OFF AGIANST ALL FOUR OF TEAM RURONI'S MEMBERS AT ONCE! THIS SHOULD BE ACTION PACKED AND CERTAINLY HAVE AT LEAST A LITTLE BLOOD-SHED!!!!"

The crowd cheer at the prospect of blood.

Tarrae grinned and Jeriyu kept his constant scowl. Team Ruroni emerged from thier hallway. All four of them armored in the traditional regalia of a Japanese samurai. The only difference between the four of them was the color of thier armor. One red, one blue, one green, one yellow.

"Look at thier armor, I'll be each one is trained in a different manner, depending on thier armor color. Red, fierce, blue, agile, green, powerful, yellow, fast. I'll take red and yellow." Jeriyu nodded and looked at his companion.

"Power and agility is fine with me." Tarrae was quite ready and move his sword into position.

"THREE, TWO, ONE, FIGHT!!!!"

Jeriyu made a massive leap as two all four samurai charged Tarrae. Jeriyu made his land silent as he leapt, and made a rolling jump unsheathing both of his daggers simultaneously catching the upper thigh of his two marks. They stopped and twitched for a second, then turn to face their assailant. The red samurai started makeing mad slashes at the cat-like samurai while the yellow one ran around making slashes at certain moments. Jeriyu still managing to evade both at once.

"AND THIS FIGHT IS OFF TO A GREAT START WITH THE FIRST BLOOD DRAWN BY THE NIMBLE SAMURAI, JERIYU!"

Green and Blue reached Tarrae proned to strike and that they did. They barely made a scratch on Tarrae's plate. He made a quick blow to the of Green with his gauntlet and swung at Blue with his free hand and Zweihander. Blue jumps away but gets his armor covering his torso cut. Green is out cold from a stiff blow in the face from a metal covered fist. Tarrae starts his assault on Blue with a horizontal strike down and then up. Both get side stepped. Seeing he's getting no where fast with Blue's agility so he decides to back down and go on the defensive to think.

"AND THIS FIGHT CAN GO EITHER WAY AT THIS POINT. BUT TEAM RURONI IS ALREADY DOWN ONE MAN. HOWEVER SAMURAI BLUE IS KEEPING TARRAE OCCUPIED!"

(Tarrae thinking) "Long as she and everyone else including Blue thinks that..."

"You are both formidable together. Now let's see how you do alone." Remarks Jeriyu as he jumps and flips over the two and nailing Yellow in the back and out of the ring as he lands.

"You think I rely on my team mates you are mistaken!" Samurai Red looks around to find Jeriyu and cannot. SKUSH! Goes Jeriyu's favorite dagger as it pierces Samurai Red's flesh and he falls, unconscious.

"OOOOOH! THAT'S GOTTA HURT! PERHAPS THIS BATTLE IS ALREADY OVER, BUT BLUE IS STILL KEEPING TARRAE AT BAY!"

(Tarrae thinking) "A ha! I got it. The next time he charges me to strike I'll use his force against him..."

Not too many seconds later does Blue do just that and at that moment Tarrae side steps and takes a massive and powerful swing, right through Samurai Blue. Tarrae holds his sword up as not to get ichor stained.

"JUST AS I PROMISED, BLOODSHED!!!" The crowd goes wild. Team Enishi simply walks off.

Jeriyu to Tarrae - That was a good warm up.

Tarrae to Jeriyu - Yeah, but we gotta clean off these stains for our next match.

Jeriyu to Tarrae - Yes, we do not want to look like animals like the Ruronis.

Tarraue to Jeriyu - You think we should have left those other two alive?

Jeriyu To Tarrae - It will be fine. They won't be foolish enough to challenge us agian...

All of team light (except Amarth) was disgusted with the performance of team enishi.

"How could they take the lives of the samurai? They never stood a chance anyway!" yells Eldaire. Heero and Matt merely looked down.

"There's nothing we can do Eldaire. These are the rules. We can't change anything but the way we fight. When we're out of the ring, we have no say," spoke Matt.

Amarth on the other hand was about to burst with excitement. "They're great fighters! I can't wait to battle them!"

Heero calculated a strategy, seeing the obvious skill of team Enishi. Matt is far more agile than the blue samurai. Amarth is far faster than the yellow one. Eldaire is far stronger than the green one. The red was just a joke anyway. I doubt the fact that we have far greater abilities than the samurai team provides an accurate calculation though. Team Enishi's victory was not sealed by ability alone. They were also calculating, strategizing, and improvising. We're gonna have our hands full any way about it. They're solid and brutal.

[OOC: Everything above took place after Enishi's match. Everything below will take place during my match.]

Team dim finally sent out another competitor. This one was a fairly large man who came out unarmed.

"He's unarmed! He's definately mine!" called Matt.

Matt leapt high into the air, coming down right in front of team Dim's competitor in the center of the ring.

"My name is Gunther. I wish you luck. May the best fighter win."

"I am Matt. Good luck to you as well Gunther."

By the look in his eyes, Matt thought Gunther could already tell he wasn't going to win. Matt admired his bravery and his honor. Well, we've already won two, and Heero's gonna win. I see no reason we can't afford just one loss. Gotta make it convincing though. When he heard the word fight, Matt instantly landed a fierce punch to Gunther's face. Matt saw the counter-kick coming and made a feigned attempt to dodge. The kick landed in his side and both competitors went to the floor, but only for a moment. An instant later they were both back up and engulfed in a series of punches and kicks. Seeing this wasn't going anywhere, they began moving all about the ring. There movements were near impossible to follow. To an untrained eye, it looked as though they were teleporting around the ring as they fought. Eventually, Matt allowed Gunther to land a solid punch. Matt feigned a stunned look and Gunther followed with a kick that sent him out of the ring. The cat lady quickly called a ring out and announced Gunther the winner. The crowd was going nuts (none of them liked team light and all wanted to see them out in the first round). Gunther was also excited. He could barely contain his joy as his teammates ran out and lifted him on their shoulders. As Matt walked back to his team, he felt sure he had convinced everyone. "Too bad Matt. That guy was really tough," said Eldaire, trying to comfort him. Matt assured him that he was fine. He could never tell what Heero was thinking. Matt went and leaned against the stadium wall a little ways away from his team when Amarth appeared next to him. "That was disgusting Matt. Why did you let him win? It makes no sense. Have you no pride?!"

Matt countered with, "Look over there at Gunther." At the moment, his face was lit up with the biggest smile the world had ever seen as his team continued to poor congradulations on hiim for beating the famous Matt, many time hero who has saved the world time and time again. "There's your explanation." For a brief moment, Matt thought he saw a smile on Amarth's face, but it quickly vanished.

"I still think you're a fool."

Matt only grinned.

Just as the last match got under way, the cat-judge stepped in to the middle of the ring and announced, " At the completion of the prelimiary round of the tournament there will be a great feast given in honor of the advancing teams. All are welcome."

The crowd roared with approval, but they soon stopped after the cat-judge then said, "Oh sorry. Read that wrong. Only fighters are allowed. Sucks to be a fan, but so long as I can go. Anyways onto our last fight."

Team Ohtar listened to this announcement very intently. They had not eaten in a while due to the rigorous training schedule, and a nice feast seemed perfect. They all smiled as they closed their eyes and envisioned mountains of piping hot food.

Heero wasted no time in his fight. He didn't even bother to get a good look at his opponent. He knew his weapon was long, probably a spear. It didn't matter. He saw the blur that some people would have labeled as a weapon coming at him and dodged. He continued the spin into the air and kicked his opponent hard, sending him out of the ring and out of consciousness. Heero paid no attention to the senseless rantings of the cat lady. He merely walked back over to his teammates and sat down. Matt and Eldaire were chatting away while Amarth was training himself again to the side. Heero closed his eyes and began to meditate.

[OOC: I'm done and ready for the feast now! How far is everyone else from finished?]

Team Verdan's Dragoons- Finished
Team Ohtar- Finished
Team Disgrace- Finished
Team Enishi- Finished
Team Jesters- Finshed
Team Lahrien- 2 of 4
Team Light- Finished

Team Lahrien the only one left

(OOC: oops. heh. sorry bout that.)

Lila could hardly contain her excitement (or her appetite).

"I'm fighting next!" She announced, jumping up and darting out into the ring.

Her opponent was a small, befreckled elf with a large toothy grin that irritated Lila for some reason.

So she kicked the elf in the mouth and the elf fell over.

"Yay! I won!"

Back behind the scenes in the hallway team Light stands watching the bout, scout out the competition. Tarrae and Jeriyu approach them from behind. Jeriyu puts his hand on Eldaire's shoulder. He turns around with a start.

"Hello, Eldaire is it?" Jeriyu quizzed.

"Yeah, and lemme tell you that you two disgust me! Those samurai weren't at all up to your level of skill and slayed 2 of them just the same!" Eldaire was furious.


Heero and Matt agreed with a "Yea!"

Tarrae stepped into the conversation, out of his armor now except for his greave, gauntlets, and chain mail. He was only slightly smaller than with his entire armor on.

"We both fight to our fullest, take the strikes that get dealt to us, we do what we must to win. Does that make us evil?" Tarrae asked calmly.

Heero moved in to speak.

"You should watch yourselves. If you do whatever it takes to win then you must be fighting for the wrong side!"

"That's not what I said! You mis-interpret my words, Heero. I said we do what me must, if we are forced to spill blood to achieve victory then we shall! However, I don't think we'll have to spill yours. You're all much stronger than those samurai."

Amarth steps up to Tarrae. "It was an honor to see you two fight. You work so well together and apart. I can't wait to meet you in combat!" He extends his hand, it's met by Tarrae still armored hand and a firm shake.

"i like this guy, Jeriyu. Lemme have first shot at him when our fight comes up!" Jeriyu and Tarrae walk into the hallway away from team light laughing together.

And Ageha kicks some elf ass, too.

Dinner time, gentlemen (and ladies)!

" All fighters, if you would please follow me, thne we will make our way to where the feast will be served." the announcer said still usuing her microphone. In response, all teams stood up and began to follow.

The announcer led the parade of warriors out of the arena entrance down a path that winded through heavily dense forests. The night air was warm, and the smell of the sea filled the noses of the warriors as they walked.

The teams had been walking for what seemed like a while since it was now ptich balck out when they came upon a large clearing in the forest. They were greeted with the sight of many servants graciously welcoming them, offering to take their weapons and armor and cloaks, and a large bonfire in the middle of the clearing.

The bonfire illuminated a large number of tables arranged in the shape of a circle around the clearing. each table had 4 chairs and were piled high with food. The food varied from lush green veggies, to fresh fruits, to deserts, to large turkeys, has, and chickens. The teams stood awestruck at the siight of this spectactular feast.

"This is the payment for you courage and strength. Not everyone can win the grand prize, so this is a slight consolation. Enjoy, and god luck in tomorrows quarterfinals." the anouncer said with a pleasant voice. " O yes, there is an open bar to the right and beverages can be found to the left."

"What a spread, guess this was the right thing to do entering, Jeriyu" Said Tarrae to his friend picking up a glass of sake.

"Yes but doesn't it seem odd that we're eating a gaint meal in the middle of the forest. Maybe they intend to put us through some ordeal while we are here." Jeriyu stated, being cautious and observant like he is. "They took our armor and weapons, doesn't that seem odd?"

"Yeah but we always keep spare weapons on us just in case someone is plotting against us. Don't we?" Tarrae mentioned while taking a piece of turkey.

"I fear that something else may be in the minds of these tournament organizers. Something darker and more twisted." Jeriyu stood up and approached the announcer and questioned "Where are our weapons and armor?" He querried a bit irritated

"uhh...Uhm...We put them away until tommrows events, just so you all don't try to assassinate eachother in the night. You'll be making camp here, we've provided accomodations for that too!" The announcer said a bit on edge. "Please join your friend in food and drink!" She walked away to talk with the other tournament organizers.

"Well *chewing* what'd she say? *takes a drink* AHH! That's refreshing!"

"She said they put our weapons and armor away for safe keeping, I don't trust her or this whole set up."

*gulp*

"Hmm, I say we should tell one of the other teams, just in case there is something up. Sound good?"

"Yes, it sounds sensible, I say we tell Team Light, to show them we aren't really the evil beings we seem to them." Jeriyu a bit annoyed at the whole goings on.

"Yeah, let's go tell 'em now. So we don't get drunk and forget." Tarrae stood up and so did Jeriyu.

They walked over to the table Team Light had placed themselves at. They all looked back at them collectively. Eldaire wiped his mouth and stood up asking "What do you want?"

"We just came to warn you. I smell something odd about this whole takeing our weapons and armor. It hardly seems right. We're all honorable warriors, why would we assassinate eachother?"

Matt stood up "Eldaire I think there may be something to what he says. I thought it a bit strange too. Let's keep our wits about us." He sat back down.

Eldaire and Jeriyu shook hands. "Thank you for the heads up. Perhaps I perceived you wrong at first, Jeriyu. Should it come to pass that we need allies you'll be the first to my mind." He sat down with that and continued his meal.

Jeriyu and Tarrae returned to thier table. "They are good people, and strong fighters at that." Jeriyu remarked quietly. "Let us keep our relations with them on the positive." Taking a drink from his personal flask of water and biting into a carrot.

The girls of Team Disgrace saunter in, Claudia dressed in a white babydoll dress, white tights, and black maryjanes, her golden curls perfect as usual. Her ice-white skin glows in the moonlight.
Freya is dressed to break hearts, as usual, showing off as much skin as possible while still leaving a lot to the imagination. Annika wears a simple black dress that clings to every curve, and dara wears tight black pants, a studded belt, beat-up doc martens, and a tight red T-shirt. They all make their way first to the bar and sit, taking their promised vodka shots.

After 4, Freya stands up, flipping her long shiny red hair over her shoulder, and turns around, facing the other fighters who are absorbed in their feasting.

"Us girls don't like to drink alone...anyone care to join us?" she says, a smile playing on her cherry-red lips. "if we're all gonna be fighting eachother tomorrow, we may as well be friends tonight!"

Annika laughs and throws back another shot, while Claudia looks around meanly at everyone, as is her nature. dara, not much of a people person, looks down into her drink.

Freya cocks her hip to one side and places her hand on it, looking expectantly at everyone.

Team Ohtar still stands at the entrance to the clearing, when they watch Team Disgrace make their way ot the bar. Hearing the girls invite, Elrohir turns around to Amras and says, "Sounds like fun huh? LETS GO!"

However, his progress is immediately stopped by Amras hwo grabs him by the shoulder. "We're hear to fight. Not to fornicate. Keep your focus and think with you head," Then sensing the oncoming dirty remark from Elrohir, Amras added in "The head on your shoulders."

"Let's find a seat and get some grub."Aranel suggested leaning closely into Amras. "Sounds good to me.' Amras replied. The trio then made there way to a table on the side of the clearing, allowing them to watch their fellows fighters.

Freya notices the lad walking towards her and then being pulled away. She frowns a little, then pouts her lip out and lowers her eyebrows flirtatiously, keeping her eyes on the trio for a second, then shrugs, and spins on her heel, walking back to the bar, her hips swaying with every step. She sits down and flips her shiny curtain of red hair back again.

Now that her facial expressions are out of sight, she leans over and whispers to Annika, "as if i'd fornicate with any of THEM!"
Annika chokes and laughs out loud, and they both turn and look at them, laughing.

Claudia rolls her eyes. "come ON, lets eat!"
The girls stand up and walk over to a table near the middle.
"I hope they have RARE steaks." Claudia mumbles, then, finding an entire platter of them, proceeds to voraciously shovel the meat down her throat, sucking it hungrily first to get the blood out.
Freya crosses her legs and sits on the bench facing outward, towards the company. Annika does too, sitting across from Freya. they survey everyone, sizing them up. dara continues to sit quietly, chewing on a piece of bread.

The Dragoons sit down, each watching the other teams with an air of a merchant buying horses.

Simon leans over to his father "You think we'll find new employees here?"

Thomas nods. Then takes a healthy pull on a tankard of something frothy.

"Just keep your eyes open and your senses about you. We'll hire a couple before the tourney's out"

The Jesters pick a table.

Tragedy is quickly on his second turkey, eating like he hasn't eaten in days.

"Leave some for us brother" Comedy tells him.

"There's plenty for everyone." Harliquin tells him, grabbing a leg from the turkey before Tragedy can bite him.

Flipping across the ground, Harliquin lands besides Freya, turkey leg still in hand.

"The lady didn't want to drink alone?"

Freya blinks and looks at the harlequin who has just landed beside her. She smiles a little and takes a sip of her drink, sizing him up, one eyebrow raised.

"Its dangerous for a lady to drink alone, you know", she says, her lips curving into their accustomed flirtatious smile. "Especially around all these big, tough men! Why, I'm just quite sure I wouldn't be able to defend myself!" She purrs, batting her eyes.

Annika looks like she wants to burst out laughing, her ice-blue eyes sparkle merrily.

Freya tilts her head, her long hair spilling over her shoulder to one side, then flips it back. "Drink with me...if you wish it."
She throws back another shot and looks at him expectantly.