Having arrived first Vallen takes the brief opportunity to survey the wide barren landscape. Low ruble lay along the floor everywhere and a foul sour stench hung tightly in the air. He moves cautiously and slowly as his feet acclimatise to the litter of many hardened protrusions breaking through the scarce patches of grainy soft sand. He bends down to examine one such item. The cold earth talked to his feet as he sweeps the arena. The gentle breeze whispered in his ear as he moved around. But it had taken a moment for his eyes to adjust fully to the dim star light. As he lifted that smooth cracked ornament from the ground by its sockets, then he finally truly realised where he stood. A deep still pause suddenly overcome the monk. He manoeuvred his hands to bring the dirt ridden, cold, damaged forehead of the skull to touch upon the warm clean skin of his own. Closing his eyes he said a silent preyer for the fallen. Such death of this magnitude could not simply pass his heart without leaving it somewhat weighted. It was then his opponent suddenly joined him on the battle field. It was ok, Vallen had already familiarised himself and sown his seeds. He drops the skull. Sutemasu had appeared in a familiar flash of bright light not to far away from the monk himself. It was the very same flash of light that brought Vallen here and disorientated him to the sudden darkness. For a split fleeting second the monk considered capitalising on his knowledge and that moment, but his conscious was strong and knew better, allowing the thought to simply drift by passing on the cold breeze. Sliding his left foot out and slightly forward, with a deep inhale Vallen lowers himself into a ready fighting stance. His hands loosely curled and half raised. Intently eyeing every faint motion of the muscular old man before him. While he seemed unarmored and unarmed, his scars spoke of experience. One might guess with muscles like those that he was less flexible and slow but his powers, if any, were still unknown. For that reason Vallen allowed himself no assumptions of his opponent and decided to withhold his own for as long as possible. So he remained, combat ready and waiting. Still and silent in a field of death and decay. [hr] [@Buddha][@Guru][@Rilla]