THUD

The armored body of a defeated champion collapsed to the ground, as his opponent sheathed their blade and stepped away from the arena's center. Two rather mundane soldiers, perhaps of lesser angels or demons? Either way, their duel wasn't boring at least. A beam of while light cracked from the sky above, bathing the fallen combatant and whisking him away, presumably to his deity's plane.

The open sky allowed the brilliant sun to illuminate the better half of the grounds upon which the fight took place. A grassy courtyard of respectable size, lightly littered with some rocks and trees here and there, but nothing too inhibiting. The edges of the area were walled in up to about 30 feet, after which point there was rows of seats in a coliseum-like fashion up and away from the arena. This was the Castle of Champions, the first and most commonly used area for the duels that took place between the Champions. It was established at the time that the gods banded together to form the Champion system. Each deity would assemble mortals to fight in their stead against other Champions for the purposes of fun, glory, and even conquest. After the Grand Contract, this castle, along with many other arenas across the Earth were erected to house the duels. Tournaments were frequent of course, and the humans of Earth were often allowed to spectate and cheer on the fighters.

After the arena cleared, a humanoid with short silver hair and white robes materialized in the center of the area. This man was well known as Saint Peter, the Gate-Caller. Since the inception of the Champion system, he also has served as a caller for duels. Peter found a sizable rock to stand on - he was rather on the short side - and cleared his throat.

"NEXT," He shouted, his voice would project with a magical aura, but he would always get excited to watch duels, "Mifune, of Ketsueki mūn! And... Otto Aletho, of Die'Erde!"

Peter wove his hands like a giddy child as the two champions he named materialized onto the arena in a similar fashion as he did. "Remember," he said to the combatants. "Standard rules apply: lethal force is allowed, you will be protected from actually being slain. Anything goes as long as is stays withing the perimeter of the arena, and don't fly up higher than the building. Got it?" He asked if they understood, but he continued before either could respond. He waved his arms again, and vanished into thin air as his voice permeated the castle, "BEGIN!"

Otto had to admit, the fighter had done a good job. Unfortunately, he ended up losing and being disqualified. The winner wielded a blade, so Otto could not really learn anything from the fight besides maybe fighting against it. He would have to find away to gain more experience fighting against a blade, hopefully his next opponent was a blade wielder, that would be perfect for him.

Light rained down from the sky, that must have been the his Deity calling him back to his domain to scold him or something. He hoped he would never have to go through that, especially since his Deity was not the friendliest, it would be real bad if he lost. After the man disappeared into the sky, Otto focused on the rest of the world around him. Otto could not lie to himself, the gods really out did them selves, for a battlefield, it was beautiful. Large grass court, high stone walls, seats like the Colosseum in Rome.
After all champions left the field of battle, Saint Peter as they called it, stood on a rock and announced who would be going next. His voice projected through magic.

"Mifune, of Ketsueki mūn! And... Otto Aletho, of Die'Erde!"

Otto sighed, well it was his turn already, Otto walked out of the locker room and out onto the battle field. He covered his face from the the bright sun, and waved to the crowd nervously as they screamed and booed. Saint Peter explained the rules and yelled for them to begun. Otto bowed in respect to his opponent and began to dance and jump around. Waiting for his opponent to strike first.

"NEXT," He shouted, his voice would project with a magical aura, but he would always get excited to watch duels, "Mifune, of Ketsueki mūn! And... Otto Aletho, of Die'Erde!"

Peter wove his hands like a giddy child as the two champions he named materialized onto the arena in a similar fashion as he did. "Remember," he said to the combatants. "Standard rules apply: lethal force is allowed, you will be protected from actually being slain. Anything goes as long as is stays withing the perimeter of the arena, and don't fly up higher than the building. Got it?" He asked if they understood, but he continued before either could respond. He waved his arms again, and vanished into thin air as his voice permeated the castle, "BEGIN!"

His opponent emerged and bowed, possibly trying to imitate his culture? Next the man started leaping around in a ridiculous display apparently goading him. "Watashi wa gōman baka ni shinu tame ni anata ga junbi o negatte imasu" Mifune said smiling revealing wolflike fangs. He spread his feet into a front stance with his right foot forward and rested his right hand on the hilt of his katana. The katana rested on his left hip with his left hand supporting the scabbard and his right clenching the hilt. "Tsuki no hikari wa, watashi no burēdo-jō ni egao mo" mifune spoke again before focusing his gaze on his opponent and stating quite loudly "Come to me when you are ready to die".

Otto observed his opponent appear on the battle field after he did. He was a tall man, muscular with yellow eyes and fangs. He was really unusual for a champion, he liked the man already.

"Watashi wa gōman baka ni shinu tame ni anata ga junbi o negatte imasu"

"Tsuki no hikari wa, watashi no burēdo-jō ni egao mo"

"Come to me when you are ready to die".

The man spoke a language he could not understand, and he could not place the language. It was unusual, he had not idea what the man said until he spoke English.

"Unfortunately, I'm not ready to die, but I am ready to come at you.

Otto sprinted towards the man, mapping and planing out his attack in his mind. Otto rolled and immediately switched into a handstand, followed by a twist of his hips and a split, he performing a downward martelo, aiming for the man's ribs on his right side.

As soon as the boy hit his hands Mifune saw his opening. Such a flashy style and waste of movement was irrelevant and unnecessary. The boy was on his hands and his hips were spinning he had almost no way to dodge and Mifune had reach and speed. Stepping forward at his top speed fast enough to vanish to the human eye Mifune quickly drew his katana in an arc meant to bisect his opponent at the stomach. With the boy wearing no armor should the attack hit it would cut him cleanly in two. The boy was off balance, and even if he dropped from his hands both legs would still be cut off.

Well that was over quick, Otto fell to the ground, unable to feel anything at all. His vision was going black, he could not feel his legs, well that was probably because it was served from the rest of his body. That did not go as planned, unfortunately Otto's inexperience with swordsmans led to his ultimate defeat. Otto would have to be more cautions next time he and the man fought. The light of the heavens bathed his severed body in light as he ascended into his gods domain. Know he would have to deal with that anger of the god of Nether.

Finishing his slash and bisecting his opponent as he expected Mifune flicked the blood from his blade and sheathed it in one fluid motion. Mifune knelt and placed his hand upon the ground "Thank you my goddess for bestowing upon me the power of the moon." was all he said before standing and walking off the field.

The Lyubov twins watched both fights on a large tv, and were astounded by the speed of the second fight. When Mifune reapeared in the castle they hugged each other and quickly stepped out of his way. "chto chelovek strashno" (that man is scary) they said in unison as Mifune passed. They gulped, clearly intimidated, and glanced towards each other.

"ya nadeyus', chto my ne ryadom." (I hope we are not Next) Solnechyn (Sol) said to Piroda. Piroda looked at her, and knodded in compliance. The two twins walked hand in hand down the halls, steering clear of Mifune.

Although he had been from a different time altogether, Herriman considered himself lucky to have been here long enough to have figured out how to work what the arena makers called a "television." Thankfully, he had used magical items to view other places before, so the concept wasn't completely bewildering to him. He sat in his personal chambers, slouched back in his chair in full armor. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why these other champions weren't ALWAYS in their combat gear, but that was an insolvable culture issue. Come to think of it, none of the champions around here at the time actually wore armor period. Herriman had good feelings about this particular series of fights.

He hadn't been paying too much attention to the TV, but when this most recent fight started, he took a notable interest. An interest that lasted as long as the fight did.

Immediately, Herriman broke into a bout of horrible laughter, made further disturbing given his multi-toned voice and the fact that his helmet covered the entirety of his head. This laughter lasted about a minute, before he stopped, slowing down to a mild chuckle. He decided to go for a short walk to the colosseum's shrine room, where he would be able to communicate with The Raven God. On the way there, He passed by Mifune, and couldn't help but to release a short bit of laughter

"Nice job slaughtering a boy with no armor or weapons. Hopefully, you'll get a real challenge sometime." He commented as he passed the half-animal.

The two girls obviously feared him immensely. Sensing their hesitancy of him he smiled at them as he passed baring his gleaming white teeth. As he continued down the hall he walked calmly and confidently. After a short while a large man appeared before him and as they passed "Nice job slaughtering a boy with no armor or weapons. Hopefully, you'll get a real challenge sometime."

"Pride cometh before the fall" Mifune called after the warrior as he walked off. Mifune went to his room and started thoroughly cleaning his katana. Luckily no blood had gotten on his solid white hakama or training top.

Another hearty laugh from Herriman.

"Pride's got nothing to do with it." Herriman said as a parting statement, before both warriors went their separate ways. Pride? Hah! Herriman laughed at the thought. The Raven God had taught him about the champions of the other gods, and this one in particular was on no position to speak. Made a champion for catching someone's fancy? Woe be to him. If they ever met in the arena, Herriman would take a personal joy in severing his head and holding it up for his paltry goddess wife to see.

He finally arrived at the shrine room, waling past the long rows and hallways that lead to the shrines of other gods, until he found the shrine room to The Raven God. From the ceiling, talismans made of feathers and bird skulls hung from sinew ropes, and the floor was comprised of obsidian tiles. At the end of the room, a giant eight-pointed star was mounted against the wall, flanked by braziers that burned with blue fire.

Herriman approached the eight-pointed star, and knelt before it. A blazing blue eye opened up in the center, and the pupil looked down at Herriman. "My lord, I must ask you something, it concerns the next battle..." Herriman started, but the fires grew suddenly brighter.

KNoW tHAT WhaTevEr HaPpeNS, my ChAmPioN, iT Is AlL GoiNg aS PlANneD

Herriman, knowing the meaning, bowed his head humbly, and the fires returned to their normal brightness. Adjusting his position, he sat cross-legged, and went into rest, awaiting his name to be called.

After Otto and Mifune's departure from the battlefield, Peter returned to his rock and threw his arms into the air. "Well that was even less spectacular than the one before it! Hm..." He paused in thought as a roll of parchment appeared before him. He opened it and skimmed down the sheet. Satisfied with what he read, he tossed the paper over his shoulder, and it vanished before touching the ground. He stroked his chin for a moment before calling the next match.

"Herriman of The Raven! And... Solnechynn and Priroda Lyubov of Koinonia!"

Again, the named combatants materialized onto the battlefield, and Peter took a good look at them. "Well, I don't really have to repeat myself every match right? Especially when the last one was only 3 seconds long." He chuckled at his own remark before continuing. "Either way, this fight's a bit different since there's two of you..." he stated as he turned to the twins. "It would probably be fair that you will have to pick one of you to fight, but its up to him really." He added while throwing his tumb over his shoulder at Herriman.

"You guys should figure that out before we start." His arms fell to his side as he waited for the fighters to converse and come to an agreement.

Herriman, upon hearing his name be called, raised his head, intent on hearing the name that came after his.

Or in this case, the two. Just his luck that he called Mifune out for slaughtering an unarmed boy, here he was on his way to kill a pair of girls. As he faded out of the shrine room and onto the battlefield, he sighed. Just his luck indeed.

His form materialized onto the arena floor, and he first looked around at the gathered crowd. Humans, the champions of minor power, and even a couple gods themselves could be seen watching. After that, his head slowly turned to scan the arena before him, before finally falling on the two girls that would be his opponents. He listened to Peter, and stretched his neck.

"THEY WILL FIGHT ME ONE AFTER THE OTHER. I WILL LET THEM DECIDE AMONGST THEMSELVES WHO WILL DIE FIRST!" Herriman proclaimed, bellowing his challenge out loud enough that even those in the highest seats could hear it. He raised a hand to the sky, and in a flash of blue fire and twisting reality, Setrak, his axe, appeared in his hand. Herriman was suddenly wreathed in crackling empyreal energies, the blue, roiling glow rising from his shoulders.

"I'm waiting."

Mifune walked calmly into the stands his katana in its sheath held in his left hand. He heard the names called and Herriman was the first to arrive challenging the girls to single combat. Standing Mifune called "What is the problem oh mighty warrior scared to fight two young girls together? Next time you wish to patronize someone about their exploits on the battlefield maybe you should perform some of your own." Mifune looked displeased with the current match. "At the very least the two of them should be allowed to fight him together. Im sure they have some power being champions of a god, however against an opponent like me or that one their combined strengths may not even prove to be enough." Mufune thought o himself

The girls were roaming about exploring when their names were called. Suddenly, hand in hand, they experienced weightlessness ad te sensation of moving, before hearing their godess whisper "good luck my darlings. I shall be watching you." Moments later, their feet were upon solid earth once more, and they themselves were in the arena. What bad luck! They were hoping ANYBODY would go before them. Oh well, they had practically signed up for this.

"THEY WILL FIGHT ME ONE AFTER THE OTHER. I WILL LET THEM DECIDE AMONGST THEMSELVES WHO WILL DIE FIRST."

"no my vsegda rabotayem vmeste" (but we always work together!) Sol said in protest to the man's request to fight one at a time. Her sister Priroda however, did not seem much to protest. She bravely stepped before her sister, and gave her a hug. Priroda had the more assertive personality, and was always willing for these sorts of challenges.

"Sestra , day mne svoi privetstviya . plokho budet khorosho" (sister, give me your cheers, il be fine.) Priroda stated as she pulled her hammer from its clip off her hip. It had a 3 ft long handle, with a 35 lb brass cylinder at the end, and a few engravings, depicting words of apreciation, placed upon the handle, above the grips. Priroda's pink hair was loose behind her, and her sister called out...

"VASH! VASH!" (Your hair! Your hair!) sol called. Priroda smiled in thanks and tied it up with a blue ribbon before turning to meet the man she would be fighting. "ya ne ub'yu tebya." (I will not Kill you.) she started. "eto ne moy put' ." (It is not my way.) there was a momentary pause, as she rested the end of the hammer upon the floor. "Vmesto etogo vy budete sdavat'sya" (instead, i want you to surrender.) she said in a serious tone. Then she let loose a giggle and cocked her head to the side. "kogda u vas bylo dostatochno , chto yavlyayetsya!"(when you've had enough that is!) afterwards, she seemed ready for battle.

Peter stood silently until the girls finished their discussions. Luckily, he, like most other divine beings and champions, were able to understand most mortal languages. Seeing Priroda step forward and draw her weapon, and Sol step back, he assumed they were ready.

"Alright, ready?" he asked, looking between Herriman and Priroda. After receiving a nod from them both, he rose his arms, his long sleeves flapping about has he flailed.

"Begin!"

Herriman couldn't understand a damned word of what Priroda was saying. The language was beyond him, which was really no excuse for him, given his deity's domain. It was something she shouldn't be putting off, but he'd be damned if he didn't have more important things to do. He did, however, get the general impression. She could have been mocking him, or taunting him, but the serious tone threw off his context. No matter. Before long, she'd be just one more head he'd raise to the sky.

When Saint Peter called for the violence to begin, and promptly disappeared, Herriman started casually walking forwards, giving Setrak a couple of test swings. He held out his free arm (his right arm, Herriman's a lefty), and in quite the gruesome manner, the whole appendage twisted, cracked, and squished as it changed shape. After a few seconds, something akin to a tower shield made of black bones and bluish flesh took up the area below his elbow, and he chuckled. Raising Setrak to the sky, Herriman bellowed a mighty
"FOR THE RAVEN GOD!" before breaking into a full-blown charge.

His intent was to cast a spell upon getting close enough to her (a distance of ten feet or so) which involved him phasing out of the material world entirely so he could pass through her harmlessly, only to reappear at her side and bash her to the ground with his shield.

As Herriman began his charge, Priroda made an upcut motion with her hammer. Herriman was clearly out of reach still, at least 20 ft away. She used the motion of the hammer instead as a catalyst for her earth magic. A platform of sandstone rose beneath priroda's feet, and simeltaneously, brass rose from the earth, to form plated armour around her body.

The platform rose up perhaps 8 or 9 feet skywards, and was wide enough for two people to stand, just past arms reach upon the top. She still had not broken the height boundaries, so really, nobody could complain too much. When alas the platform had reached the desired height, which took just about 2 seconds, she lowered her hammer, and took a stance with her kneese bent, and the hammer on the floor in front of her. She seemed to be either taking stance, or building energy.

Herriman came out of his phase shift, he found himself face to wall with a pillar of sandstone, which was just finishing its rise. Glaring upwards at Priroda, Herriman growled with defiance. It looked to him like she was charging up for something, and the way he saw things, there was no way he was going to scale a pillar of sandstone. That left him with only one other option. Taking a step back, he tightened his grip on Setrak, and the edge of the blade started glowing as gibbering whispers and cackles came from the axe itself.

Furiously, he swung Setrak at a sharp angle, and a wave of energy came shooting out, mimicking the swing. It hit the sandstone and cleaved clean through it. The angle of the cut would lead to the pillar immediately falling down on itself. Herriman didn't stop here, however. He focused his sight on Priroda (who may or may not be falling with the pillar at this point) and two beams of energy erupted from the eyes of the beast pelt around his shoulder. Given her armored state, these lasers were far from lethal, but they could still injure her.

Priroda was astonished by the phase shift, since she expected you to attempt to scale the stone pillar, instead of float through it. She was even more taken back when her oponent actualy cut THROUGH her pillar in a single high powered swipe. Sure enough, the pillar began sliding, and priroda had to change her footwork to keep her balance. During this momentary offset, she could swear she saw 2 beams of energy fly towards her!

Human reaction speed, and her struggling stance found priroda unable of completely avoiding both energy beams, which resulted in a singular 3rd degree burn on her right shoulder. (Im assuming you meant thermal energy, like a laser). "AAAYYY!" (Ouch) She shouted in protest. She flung the hammer over herself, in a verticle overhead swing, burrying the head into the sandstone at her feet. Once more, the motion was a catalyst for her magic.

The pillar suddenly burst out horizontally, releasing a torrent of sandstone shards in al directions, and a plume of dust that surrounded both combatants (reguardles of whether or not the shards landed.) priroda landed lightly on her feet after the reduced fall, and kept her kneese bent and her body low. Her eyes and ears perked up, searching for her oponent, determined not to let HIM get the drop on her.

Meanwhile, Sol saw the beams of energy hit her sister, and nearly ran out to HELP her! "Sestra ! ty v poryadke ?" She shouted. She was dismayyed when she recieved no responce, and she lost sight of priroda in the dust hail.