[center][h2][u][colour=D2691E] N A Z I H    I Q B A L [/colour][/u][/h2]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/F8XYzkw.png[/img][/center]

[hider=Roses and Neskals]
Nazih took the brief respite in-between the blocking the various balls being hurled towards Secto's roses. "If only I could do more to help, but it would take a miracle for my talents to assist here" he thought, "But still, worth a shot right?".
		
He motioned to Maura to get her attention, deftly slid over to her, and subtly communicated his intentions. With all of the ice escapades going on,  it was easy to get a word in. The idea was to target as many of Afraval's roses as he could with his unique chemical decay. The aim was to weaken them, turning them as brittle as possible, while disguising the appearance of the wood to be perfectly healthy. It was going to take a lot of energy, the range alone daunting, and he had never attempted this magic from such a distance. Nazih had to do something though.
		
He gathered himself, took cover behind one of the titanic chunks of ice on the field, and begun spreading his energy out and rotting the enemy team's roses. Incredibly, whether it was due to the immense amount of magical energy being expelled on the field, or some other grace of luck, he found directing his magic much easier than anticipated. He managed to reach most of the enemy's roses, and spread his decay throughout their structures.
		
He gave Maura a signal from his location, and she understood the assignment. He would point out weakened roses, and whenever she had the ammo for it, she would rocket thumpers and clangers into the dead wood. Not having to worry about precise aim here, as even a glancing hit would completely splinter the rose, she made quick work of several roses. Afroval and Secto were tied for roses in play.
		
The rest of Secto's team had been busy at work sabotaging the Ice King's massive dome. They had chosen key points around the dome to sneakily spot-heat, weakening the overall structure through careful attrition. The grouped together, and let loose as much energy as they could in a final blast to bring down the whole dome, hoping to damage as many roses as possible in the cave-in. The entire arena shook, referees sharing apprehensive looks that the strong wires wouldn't hold, as the dome's roof started sloping downwards. Much like an avalanche, mist and snow spread out over the field. 
		
After the dust settled, both teams realized that no roses remained on either side. Sectoxomactex, a team of underdog newbies, had managed to hold their own against the team of RAS monsters and come out alive.
		
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[hider=A Game of Strength and Wit]
Moli's carnival, a chaotic mass of loud noises and louder smells. Loudest yet was the dirt and grime that persisted throughout the establishment. The figurative walls Nazih built every morning to deal with the natural foulness that seemed to ooze from this planet's surface were usually enough. They might as well have been made out of sawdust now. Sometimes he wished he could sear all the germs away.

Nazih stood at his post, perfectly focused and alert; for the first few minutes anyways. You could say that guard duty was not Nazih's forte, and standing in one place this long, he started to feel his atoms begin to vibrate with pent up energy. The constant reminder of germs laying siege to him from every direction only hastened the impatience. His eyes started to wander, no longer searching for apparent threats, when they landed on a very welcome distraction: a carnival game. Not just any carnival game either, but a test of strength no less?

The premise was simple. Take a hammer, and slam it down. [color=D2691E]"Consider it done."[/color] Nazih thought confidently.

He strode up to the game, and got the operator's attention. The game's charge carried out an almost comical double-take; not only was this unit of a man towering over him like a monolith, but he was also a foreigner; with the looks of nobility at that. The surprise was only noticeable for a second. This operator was a seasoned employee of Moli's, and humiliating a noble was always a rare treat. He wasn't about to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.

"Looks like you know how this game works sonny, why don't you give 'er a try?" The carnie said with a wink, his demeanor slowly taking on that of a cat who had finally found his prey.

Nodding, Nazih thanked the Dreamer for his gloves as he grasped the hammer's hilt and took stance for a swing; and swing he did. A clang as the hammer hit it's mark, loud enough to draw the attention of the surrounding patrons. The marker flew with ease up the meter, but started drastically losing steam the higher it climbed. Too drastically, thought Nazih. He smelled something fishy, and this time it wasn't his close proximity to a fish market.

"That's a 78!" shouted the carnie loud enough to play the crowd, "not bad at all! Almost a prize level!" He hooks his thumbs into his belt. "I'll tell yah what! That earns you a half-off on your next swing!"

Nazih raised one eyebrow, giving the him a look. He stepped a bit closer, a little close for comfort for Nazih, hopefully moreso for the operator. Leaning further in still, Nazih whispered into the his ear, [color=D2691E]"Pretty ballsy to try conning a Firrazene, but I'm willing to let it slide. How about I take the prize for 90, and we'll forget this ever happened. Otherwise, we'll both get to see how your little toy fares against my shiny friend here."[/color] Nazih accented the threat with a subtle gesture towards the hulking shield strapped to his back.

"You callin' me a liar, boy?" the carnie demanded, quietly. "Can't bear it that you don't quite have the muscles you thought you did?" He shook his head and stepped forward again. "I'll tell you what," he announced, turning on the spot to address the growing crowd of passersby, "We'll appoint a neutral arbiter and then you get another swing. You hit an eighty, I'll give you the prize for ninety, just to show I'm an honest merchant, 'spite your accusations. You miss it, then you kindly bugger off." He crossed his arms. "What say you? Or you worried you can't repeat what you're claiming?"

Nazih grinned, a plan slowly forming, and responded while facing the crowd, [color=D2691E]"Why, these are fair terms that only a fair man could offer. Of course, I can only accept!"[/color]

He wasn't going to ignore the carnival's invisible hand though. If one side was cheating, it's only fair that he got to join in. He snatched the hammer from the carnie and stepped up to the plate, taking care to face his back away from the watchful eye of the game's manager.

He raised the hammer high, higher over his head, so high in fact that it just barely came into contact with the shield on his back. Nazih held this position for a moment, putting on a show for the crowd of hyping himself up for the swing. In reality, he was carefully drawing as much of the heavy shield into the hammer as he could using binding. Once he was satisfied with the weight, Nazih swung the hammer down with as much force as he could muster.

Nazih struck hard, much harder than the previous attempt. His strike rang out like a seasoned blacksmith's final blow on his latest masterpiece. However, the little bauble seemed to be moving up no faster and no more forcefully than it had before.

The carnie was beaming, no longer the picture of a cat with it's prey but of a dog salivating at the presence of a perfectly rare steak. He had his cake, and was eating it too.

Nazih knew he wasn't smart enough to decipher the inner mechanisms of the game; he might as well have been attempting to dismantle a Sirrahi device. He knew what would work though. Always the ace up his sleeve, his specialty composting magic.

Still holding the hammer down on the plate, the meter starting to slow just as before, Nazih channeled a bit of his rot magic into the joints of the game. Creaks and groans echoed through the seasoned structure, sounds the operator was not familiar or comfortable with hearing. He was about to shove Nazih away when it all came splintering down. His plans and the game, both in shambles.

Nazih spun and egged the crowd on while flexing, [color=D2691E]"Looks like the game truly can't handle my strength, surely this warrants some sort of reward?"[/color] Glancing towards the carnie, mirroring the initial wink. He also placed the hammer over his shoulder, binding the metal he siphoned back into the shield. He hoped he wouldn't need the shield for anything too important before repairs could be made.

A handful of people in the crowd cheered and Nazih felt emboldened. Covered by the noise, the hammer game's operator addressed him. "Don't think I didn't feel you use magic." Publicly, he feigned a good-natured reaction, though. "Wow! You're gonna make me fix the whole thing!" He made a show of theatrically wiping his brow. "Guess that earns you a hundred!" People cheered louder. He lowered his voice and addressed the youth again. "You take your prize and get the fuck out of here. You stick around and it won't be good for you."

Nazih quickly grabbed a nice looking shirt; it might have been his imagination, but he sensed a trace amount of magic woven into the needlework. With that, he made his exit. He knew the risk he took there and was quick to get out of the public eye, as well as away from the daggers being thrown at him from the eyes of the carnie.
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