Mike73

New Beginnings: Round 1 - Xiah and Dorian

There was a second flash of bright light, and with it came Dorian and Timber. He dusted himself off once he appeared, being not quite used to the experience of teleporting and being a little thrown off, while the wolf shook her body as if she were trying to shake off water. Though with how the skies looked and how damp the environment was, getting wet for real seemed to be a likely possibility here.

Dorian glanced around at his surroundings, noting that the forest seemed to be the perfect battlefield for him. He could even hear animals nearby, and what he didn't hear, he could sense. Well, this was working out beautifully for him, but he was sure there had to be a catch of some kind. The battlefield likely wouldn't only benefit him, no, Xaih surely would have to have an advantage here as well. Though as for how, he didn't know. Speaking of which, he spotted the woman a short distance away, having apparently arrived first.

"You know, that was mighty rude of you to just walk off like that," Dorian sneered at her, "Oh well, I guess pleasantries between us just weren't meant to be." With a quick flourish, one of his many throwing knives was removed from its secured sheath and held firmly in his left hand as he took on a combat stance. Timber followed suit and bent her knees slightly as she let out a growl, ready to act once given the order. Dorian had no idea what Xaih was capable of, so for now he would play it safe until he could learn her powers and limits. He knew that she also was unaware of what his abilities were, so he decided it would be best not to show his hand and use his Nature magic yet, choosing instead to wait for the perfect opportunity to catch her off guard. All that was left now was to start the fight, of which he was itching to get to.

"I'll have no problem tearing you apart, lass," Dorian warned her with a smirk, "You'd best be ready."

New Beginnings Tournament.

I'll have a post up after I get home from work.

New Beginnings Tournament.

Dorian stood up once his name was announced, just like the woman he'd spoken to earlier had. He looked over at her, a grin breaking out on his face once more. Well didn't that just work out perfectly.

"Now ain't this interesting," Dorian commented heartily, "I'm assuming you're Xaih then, right? Unless you're Pumpkin, in that case, lovely name you got there." He laughed a bit at his own bad joke, though he actually had no idea who the hell Pumpkin was. He didn't see a sixth fighter anywhere in that room. "I've gotta say, it's fitting that we'll be each other's first match," he continued, "I was looking forward to seeing what you were capable of, but now I get take a shot at you before the others do. Ha, lucky me." He looked down at Timber and nodded, letting her know that it was just about time to let loose. He then looked back up at Xaih, still flashing that smile of his.

"Let's hope you're good enough to give me more than what I bargained for," he told her as he extended a hand out to shake as a sign of friendly competition, "It's been a helluva long time since I've lost a fight."

New Beginnings Tournament.

Lmao

New Beginnings Tournament.

Hmm. Thought I had a sixth

@Rilla

I think there was at one point but they dropped a couple pages back. Is there anyone from the Discord chat we could bring into this? I've been quiet in it but I've seen a few people new to Arena in there.

New Beginnings Tournament.

"Aye, I suppose it might," Dorian nonchalantly agreed with the woman who replied to him, though the smirk hadn't left his face, "Doesn't change the fact I came here to win, lass. And when I play to win, you'd best believe I won't be losing a fight all that easily." Timber let out a low growl after that, not sounding particularly threatening but it was aggressive enough to get Dorian's attention. "Come on, be a good girl and wait," he told the wolf as he knelt down to be eye level with her, lightly running a hand through her fur all the while, "You'll get the spotlight soon enough."

In reality, this was nothing more than a pre-rehearsed ploy to get Timber to appear more threatening, both to try to unnerve the other fighters and to try to get them to see her as the bigger threat of the two. At the same time, this small relief also gave him some time to think over the situation without it being obvious. He couldn't quite yet tell what everyone was capable of yet, but the lack of visible weapons on the woman made him think she may be some sort of martial artist and likely a magic specialist as well. The silent man keeping to himself reminded Dorian of a monk, and his physique suggested that he would be dangerous to try to take head on in a close-quarters fight, as no one with that kind of build would be a slouch when fought up close. And then there was the knight fellow, who seemed a little too standard and inconspicous to actually be so. All in all, it looked like everyone there would have a trick up their sleeve that he simply wouldn't be able to discern simply by looking at them now.

A little after this, a fifth fighter finally showed up, and Dorian could immediately tell that the guy was quite the character. An old man with a body that would shame most young men in their prime, now that was interesting. Even Timber had cocked her head in interest as the man moved around and talked. Just how did the people in charge around here find these guys, Dorian wondered.

"Dorian, and Timber," he introduced himself simply, first gesturing to himself and then to the wolf, "I'm just as interested in seeing how this tournament plays out as you are."

He didn't get to say much more however, as a voice then began to boom into the room as if from an intercom. Timber tensed somewhat while they talked, appearing to be apprehensive of the voice but didn't react further. Dorian just nodded along, glad to hear it confirmed that there would be a reward for the winner, and exactly the kind of reward he was looking for too.

Two more people showed up thereafter, with much more dramatic appearances than everyone else so far. Dorian cocked an eyebrow as he eyed them in interest, unsure of what to think of them. There was no way they could be competitors, not with the amount of power they were giving off by just simply existing in that room, so it was possible they were the mentors he'd heard mentioned when he decided to involve with himself with this tournament. Very interesting indeed.

New Beginnings Tournament.

Ok thanks, it seemed obvious but it wasn't really clicking in my brain last night.

New Beginnings Tournament.

So my post is pretty much done, I just have a quick question that probably has an obvious answer but it's 5am right now and I'm tired. Is Astor in the lobby with the fighters?

New Beginnings Tournament.

<Snipped quote by Mike73>

I'll teach the boy!

@Zyamasiel

Ayyy, thanks, good to know I'll have someone in my corner.

New Beginnings Tournament.

Ah, ok, just wanted to make sure I wasn't going against any rules here. If someone is available then it would be nice, but since it isn't necessary I don't want to pressure anyone into feeling like they have to.