EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Even one with no magical knowledge would be able to identify Teroiah's spell as an illusion, though its purpose was not to be subtle. The obvious solution would be life detection, but Teroiah would know that, and it was a spell that could be fooled with enough skill. As such, Meesei decided to take a different approach.

Meesei hunched over slightly, bringing her self closer to the ground, then held her hand up over her head. At the very least, the effort of maintaining such a powerful illusion would delay Teroiah’s incoming attack enough for Meesei to respond. Planting herself in place, Meesei projected a powerful ward in all directions, enveloping her like a dome. She knew well Teroiah’s reputation for breaking wards, but she had a plan to deal with that particular eventuality.

In her other hand, Meesei began to cast a spell, but then something seemingly bizarre happened: it failed. Meesei, who had demonstrated herself to be nothing short of a master of the arcane arts, was failing to cast a spell in the middle of the duel, and it was not one that felt particularly powerful. Regardless, she seemed undeterred. She sniffed the air to sense Teroiah’s location as she continued to try and cast her spell. Fortunately, her sense of smell would certainly still be reliable. Master illusionists had countless hours of practice fooling the sense of sight and hearing in combat, but there did not exist an opponent who would have a lycan’s sense of smell in a magic duel. Except Meesei.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave a nod towards Siloune. "I can agree to those terms. My kind can survive much greater wounds than Altmer, and I shall be cautious to avoid seriously harming Teroiah." She turned her head towards her opponent. "I can say with honesty that I respect Teroiah as a battlemage. She is fierce and capable, and I doubt there is anyone among you I would prefer to coordinate with in this invasion."

Meesei slowly stepped back towards her original starting position on the pavement and faced Teroiah. "But, I do not want there to be any doubts to the outcome of this duel. I want the Dominion and Empire alike to be completely confident that the absolute most qualified and capable individual is bearing the Axe in the invasion. I do not want there to be any doubts for you or your soldiers, commander, that I am worthy of this responsibility. I want to eliminate any...problems such doubts might cause before they have a chance to surface. For that reason, it is not enough to prove that I can win. No, I must show that I cannot lose. You are an immensely talented mage, Teroiah, and I do look forward to working with you. I do not doubt that you are among the best the Dominion has to offer. But, if I am being entirely honest, you are not even the strongest opponent I have defeated this week." She explained, returning to a combat posture.

Without a doubt, this would be a risk for Meesei. There was no way that giving up a certain victory could be anything less than that. However, she felt it was necessary to minimize issues with the Dominion long-term. And aside from that, she had been observing Teroiah and her magic closely during the duel. In doing so, she had caught a glimpse of what Teroiah could truly do. Her final attack, as short lived as it was, had been motivated by the need for revenge, and fueled by anger. She had brought forth as much magicka as she could, as quickly as she could, and in doing so, had given Meesei a standard to measure her by. Meesei had a reasonable estimate of what Teroiah could do, and she knew her potential was greater. She could adapt to what Teroiah could do, and the fact that Teroiah had been expending a great deal more magicka than herself would give her a greater advantage in the next phase of their duel. As long as she kept her focus, Meesei had no doubts as to the outcome. She just needed to make sure to put on a good enough show.

"I am ready, Siloune." Meesei stated.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Although, by every right, victorious, Meesei could not say she was particularly pleased with the current outcome. Meesei had demonstrated power beyond anything that the Thalmor could have expected. She could already see that fact in the eyes of the guards around them. But, she had not yet demonstrated the true extent of what she could do. She had been conserving her energy as much as she could to wear down Teroiah, and honestly, had not expected her lightning bolt to end the bout so quickly. Were it not for Teroiah's intemperate reaction, they would have continued their fight, and Meesei would have been able to be more complete in her victory. If she wanted to avoid turning Teroiah into an enemy, Meesei needed to make it clear to her superiors that no one else could have performed any better.

"If it is how it must be, I can accept this victory, but..." Meesei began, turning her head towards Teroiah contemplatively. "...even I must admit, this feels hollow as a victory. There is still plenty of fight left in Teroiah, I can feel it. And even more within myself. The terms of this fight were to first blood, and we both agreed to those terms. But, among my people, we tend to fight to submission. Or until one party can fight no longer. Blood can be spilled by a lucky shot, but one rarely wears down an opponent completely by mere chance. I want to see Teroiah's power, to test it, and to overcome it. I am willing to accept victory, but if it pleases you, Siloune and Teroiah, I am also willing to alter the terms to a fight to submission. Or until either party can no longer meaningfully fight back."

Neesa leaned in slowly once more towards the others. "Can I go back to what I was saying before? About her being completely insane?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Much like Marod and Sabine in the audience, Meesei was more than savvy enough to know that Teroiah would not simply accept being electrified in a cloud of lightning, so she prepared for an uncertain attack in the best way she knew how.

Although Meesei's ears could not track Teroiah, the Altmer was not invisible, so Meesei's eyes served that purpose just fine. Teroiah's attack carried with it a veritable avalanche of magicka, enhancing her speed to supernatural heights, and powering her spear into a strike that seemed like it could wound a god. However, all of that effort was for naught when her spear struck forth at a target that simply was not there. It was a pattern so far in this fight that mobility was among Meesei's strengths, and now was no exception. Teroiah's spear struck nothing but a void of black mist. It was Meesei's first time using a spell of its type in this fight, so Teroiah would not have recognized it. It was a teleportation spell that served much the same role as her bolt escape, but without the associated weaknesses. There was no momentum Teroiah could follow, no hint of where Meesei might end up. This time, Meesei ended up behind Teroiah, and since the spell she had intended to use on the steam cloud was still charged in her hand, there was no delay before Meesei unleashed a stream of lightning at Teroiah's back. Meesei knew Teroiah was adaptable, so she had been saving her more impactful spells for critical moments in the fight.

By this point, Neesa had summoned back her Dwemer spider, which had evidently cut off an entire section of a grape vine for its master. Neesa gladly took the vine as she continued to comment on the fight. "Hmm, shadow magic. Haven't seen that for a few eras. Don't know why it mostly died out with the nightblades; it seemed perfectly useful to me. With short-range teleportation, how couldn't it be?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei’s ears twitched, picking up on the noises from outside the arena. Just observing Teroiah, Meesei did not have much of an idea of what she intended to do with that spear, but nothing about her plan for getting around Teroiah’s ward involved getting close, regardless.

From a distance, Meesei extended both hands forward and let loose two streams of fire. Again, they were nothing exceptional in terms of power, but Meesei was not actually aiming for Teroiah herself. The flames spread over the ice, vaporizing it all around her. A thick cloud of steam surrounded her, to the point that it was difficult to see through; warm, though not dangerous.

Meesei bolted once more to dodge any potential retaliation, then immediately extended a sparking hand into the thick, conductive cloud of steam. Teroiah would doubtless see what was coming as Meesei’s lightning strengthened.

With no one accepting what she saw as a generous offer, Neesa quickly teleported away the spider to some unknown destination. She was still watching the fight closely, but she could not help herself from correcting those around her in matters concerning magic. “Technically, lightning form doesn’t actually turn her into lightning. It just looks like it does. Bolt escape does, but only for the tiniest instant. Any longer, and it pretty much just kills you. Now lightning form, it envelops you in magic, basically, like a mix between a shielding spell and a lightning cloak. Also gives magic resistance, too. But, she’s still flesh and blood underneath.”

Relics: Trials of Kheris

At the arena, Jana took little interest in the fighting below. In her feline form, it certainly could appear strange if she was taking the same level of interest in the same things as all of the Humans around her. Fortunately, she had little love for bloodsport, so she was missing little by keeping her eyes, ears, and nose on the people around them. They were keeping to the outskirts of the crowd, as per usual. Jana preferred to avoid being the center of attention as much as possible, though with the god-king Kheris addressing his subjects, that was hardly a difficult task, no matter how exotic of a creature she appeared to be. The crowd was completely enraptured by him.

Jana kept close at Hadar’s side, often enough to brush against him. She was in her usual feline form, with a few “accessories” to identify her as being his. She wore a chain collar around her neck that could be used to bind her, as one would with a tamed animal, along with bags strapped to her back to help carry some of their belongings. Her fur even had the appearance of being painted like a war horse, with colorful, swirling markings, though it was actually Jana herself who had changed the coloration of her markings. It was one of the few chances she now had to express herself in the way she used to.

What Jana did notice, and what caused her to finally glance down towards the arena, was Kheris’ mention of the “demons” that would be fighting. Evokers, just like her, but even less fortunate. Her heart ached for them under Kheris. Even for those that might survive the day, Jana did not envy those who had been exposed to the god-king.

Suddenly, as Jana’s gaze went up to Kheris, she felt…strange; like nothing she had experienced before. She felt a tingling warmth emanating from her relic, which was currently fused into her body beside her heart. The feeling grew stronger the higher she looked, and it took a few moments for her to realize that the source was not Kheris, but a strange bird hovering over him. From what she could see, it was white and black, with bright red feathers on its head. The warmth inside her grew stronger, until it ended just as suddenly as it had begun. It had not been painful exactly, but it had caught her off-guard, and she still appeared visibly uncomfortable.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For Meesei, it seemed that she also needed to be aware of new forms of magic. The essence of it was familiar: dispelling magic, but it was being applied in a way she had not seen before. It still should be blockable with a ward, like virtually any other form of magic, but it would still stress it just like any elemental destruction spell. Perhaps even moreso, given the nature of the magic. Still, Meesei wanted to get a sense of the strength of her magic before trying to block it directly.

Raising up one hand, Meesei conjured forth a portal in the ground, from which a tentacle from Apocrypha emerged and slapped away the dispelling chain before it could hit her, while Meesei gauged its strength. Since the tentacle was just as much corporeal as it was magical, the chain could not simply pass through it.

In an instant, Meesei bolted away once more, this time to the side, and from her new position, she was already prepared to launch a cloud of frost magic towards Teroiah. Then, she just as quickly bolted away again. The ice was nothing exceptional, being comparable in strength to the spells of the average destruction mage, but she was launching them quickly from rapidly changing positions. If Teroiah made a single mistake with her ward's direction, or slipped on the patches of pavement that were freezing around her, she could be in danger. Although, Meesei's movements were not completely unpredictable. While Meesei could vary the distance she bolted, she had to follow the same straight-line direction as her momentum immediately beforehand. Concentrated, precision spells would not be reliable, and the swinging chain was not quite quick enough for Meesei to be unable to react, but Teroiah could launch wider area attacks predictively.

"Ahh, that explains it." Hal-Neesa commented, any hints of potential confusion disappearing from her expression. "Apocrypha: a tool of endless potential knowledge for the willful and talented...or a trap for the weak-minded. Or strong-minded, if Mora doesn't like them. Well that decides it, this fight is only going to get better, even if I can already see how it's going to end up. And I am not going to enjoy the show without food."

With hardly more than a flick of her wrist, Neesa released a spell that summoned a bright violet light beside her. In only a few seconds, it materialized into the Dwemer spider that she had confiscated a few days prior. Evidently, she had some sort of spell or enchantment to recall it to herself at will. "Machine, bring me food. Bring me...grapes. Yes, I would like grapes. Does anyone else want anything? I will not be summoning it back again."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei knew that Teroiah would have to dedicate some of her magicka resources to even come close to challenging the kind of agility that came naturally to a werewolf. If this turned into a contest of endurance, it would be a helpful advantage in her favor. And Meesei was certainly willing to force her to use as much as she could. She lunged forward, dashing back and forth, and slashing at Teroiah with her claws. Even if she could not easily hit the Altmer, just being close to Meesei was enough for her lightning form to start sparking electricity towards her. It was not a dangerous amount of lightning, and certainly would not cause the kind of wounds that would end the duel, but it could be painful and drain some magicka if unblocked.

Of course, all the while, Meesa was keeping a sharp eye on Teroiah's spell. She felt its energy grow, and watched every movement she made. Teroiah was more than able to be deceptive, but there were still signs when she was just about to cast it. Meesei started to charge a strong ward, but its magicka was a mask for the other spell that Meesei intended to use. In the instant that Teroiah fired her spell, Meesei gave her second demonstration of a lost technique. Fittingly, it was bolt escape that she used to avoid Teroiah's attack.

In an instant, Meesei bolted forward as pure energy, passing straight through Teroiah and appearing some distance behind her, imparting some of Meesei's lightning onto her body as well. Again, the shock would not end the fight, but it could stun her, and Teroiah would quickly be forced to react to a physical threat as Meesei slashed at her from behind.

Meanwhile, Neesa let out a chuckle. "Hmm, she had a plan alright. You coy little Breton. Now this might actually be a show worth watching; something actually entertaining for once. Now what I could really use is a snack to go with...hmm." Her voice trailed off as she started to frown, looking around at the others. "Did anyone else bring any food? I don't know why I didn't think about that." It was somewhat strange to hear of a vampire wanting anything but blood, though they were perfectly capable of eating if they chose to.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

So just to clarify, is she using magic to make herself faster to avoid Meesei as she charges her spell?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Based on the landscape, it could be Hammerfell, near the Illiac Bay. Or High Rock. Or the Summerset Isles. Or Elsweyr. Or basically anywhere else.

Really, it didn't actually tell much, except that it will exist.