Grand Reopening!!

[Tempest]

21st of Cylus 719

Aliron walked out of his office popping his neck. He had been neck high in paperwork. Soon it would be time for the arena to open its doors for the first tournament of the season. He hoped it would help ease people’s nerves and minds to come in and relax some. There was so much going on already in the season that the man was pushing to have the renovations finished. Walking out on to the top ring of the arena, he looked down and watched as his best spotters moved several weapon racks into the ring.

Moving away from the ledge, he hurried down to main entrance level to work on making sure everything is ready. There was still so much to do, the seating needed to be cleaned and readied. The boxes for those with enough money were being made more comfortable for longer viewing times. There was several of the servers moving around helping getting everything cleaned up and ready for the opening.

The man could smell the fire in the back. Moving towards where the kitchen was located, he poked his head in and looked around. Several of the cooks were working on prepping food and getting the fires going to cook with. Nodding, the gentleman retreated and went to check on the woman who was preparing the betting books. Aliron decided that the first fight would be the instructors showing off for the crowd. After the first battle, then the general populace will be encouraged to sign up for fights.

He saw it as the best way for the fighters in the city to make a name for themselves. It would also help cut down on the dead bodies found in the city. The spotters that moved around in the arena barracks were some of the best fighters he could find. They had trained with the instructors so that during the practice fights; the other spotters were taught how to safely break up a fight without getting injured.

“How is everything going Merisa?” Aliron asked the woman.

He stood before her little window where bets could be placed before a fight began. The woman behind the window was short possibly five feet five inches with beautiful red hair and green eyes. She had a fair complexion that caused her to have freckles going across the bridge of her nose. A bright smile appeared on the woman’s face as she looked at her boss.

“Everything is ready. Do you want betting open during the instructor battle or just afterwards?” Merisa asked.

“After. I want everyone to come in and enjoy the first fight. It will also help us get new fighters into the arena,” Aliron stated.

“Yes, sir. I think Oblix and Baxter wanted to talk to you about the fight,” Merisa stated as he prepared to leave.

“Thank you, I am headed that way right now,” Aliron acknowledged the woman.

Walking quickly, he noticed that soon the doors would be open to the public. The last thing he wanted to do was delay it. The man walked into the barracks seeing the brothers preparing with their armor and even getting their weapons sharpened.

“Ready to go boys?” Aliron asked with a smile.

“Yes, sir. This is just a normal duel nothing special? No single weapon, or a no weapon match?” Oblix asked looking over with his steel gray eyes.

“Just a simple battle. This will be the first match in today’s tournament. I hope to have enough people sign up we can have several different battles in it. However for now, let’s focus on your match. The spotters Brenil and Kertwo will be watching you guys. I hope your competitive nature will not cause any altercations,” Aliron stated.

The two brothers specialized in different weapons but had a horrible competitive streak that had caused several deep scars. A few were deep enough they had nearly taken off appendages. Once they were prepared to go; the man hurried upstairs and took a deep breath. He had sent out several apprentices t spread the word about the anniversary tournament to be held at the middle of the day. Walking to the double doors, he forced himself to calm down before walking out. Two of the servers opens the doors of the oldest structure in the city.

“Welcome! We are celebrating the anniversary of the arena’s original opening!” Aliron called as he stepped out.

The young apprentices had told anyone who wanted to watch to wait in front of the doors for the opening. The building had been closed for a while in order for it to renovated. There were several rooms that were not being used or there was not enough instructors that used a wide range of weapons. When Aliron took charge of the facility, the man closed it to the public for several seasons to make necessary up grades and finding new staffing.

“Please, enter. Our first battle will begin shortly, our servers will come around and make sure you have food and drinks while you enjoy the fight. After the first match, there will be a special announcement,” Aliron said with a smile, “Welcome to the newly renovated Crimson Arena!”

The man moved out of the way and greeted as many of the people as he could while they entered the building. He had been trying to keep the news out about the grand reopening in the ears of everyone that passed by or who resided in the city. Now he hoped it would not come back to bite him in the arse.

[Kisaik]

Kisaik clanked along on his trusty steed, the indomitable Slate, who was barded in fine cobalt plate, enameled with light gray and bronze filigree.

Kisaik himself wore a plate of the same colors and composition, a masterwork set, complete with a knightly helmet and shield. There were fine etchings in the armor in Xanthea, calling upon the various spirits that the Tunawa knew of.

Every piece and part of the armor had been done to Kisaik’s specifications, where it could be allowed. The would-be tunawa knight deferred to the smith’s skill and knowledge where necessary, of course. But he was very pleased when finally the armor was completed and he beheld it. Complete with the green silk padded fauld and tunic underlying it, on a 10 inch tall mannequin. It had beggared him twice over, and he had to do more hunting to make up the slack for Slate. Even so, he felt thinner, and Slate himself had cut a bit of weight, which the cat was not too pleased about. In any event, that was the suit he now wore.

In one hand, he held a two-foot long lance forged masterfully from embersteel. It may have looked flimsy, but the quality of the metal as well as the forging and design made it ideal for thrusting and mounted/aerial charges. In the other hand, a round metal shield, polished to a mirror shine. Slate, despite wearing all that extra weight, seemed pleased with himself as he trotted through the entrance to the arena.

Kisaik bore his armor with purpose. It was slightly heavier load than he was used to bearing. Even so, it was much smaller yet no less durable than the suits the big folk wore, and not nearly as heavy as those.

As he strode through the entrance, he lifted a hand to his knightly visor, to view the man welcoming people into it. ”Hail!” Kisaik said brightly, then trotted onward, mounted atop his cat.

He wasn’t sure if he’d be fighting today among the others, but definitely came here as a spectator and possibly train under some of the masters.

[Praetorum]

21st of Cylus, Arc 719

Praetorum stood before the Arena entrance with the other would be spectators, idly taking note of the people around him. All Yari were warriors, to some degree or another, but it was interesting that Praetorum could see quite a lot of mercenaries around, more than he'd expect given the size of the crowd. They seemed excited too, for the most part, chattering amongst themselves in the still half incomprehensible Yari dialect. It was the Common tongue, to be certain, but there really was nothing common about it. 



From what he could make out, though, it seemed that this arena had been closed for quite some time, and at least the people around him were excited by its reopening. Why, exactly it had closed down in the first place, he hadn't the foggiest idea. Well, he decided as the doors began to open, he supposed it didn't matter now.


As the crowd began to move forwards into the building, and Praetorum with it, he spotted a flash of flame out of the corner of his eye. Frowning, he turned his head, only to realize that it hadn't been fire he'd spotted, but embersteel; an embersteel lance, to be precise, perhaps two feet long, in the arms of a Tunawa half that height, if that. Curious, Praetorum wandered closer, gently easing his way through the crowd, mindful of his size. He arrived in time to see the Tunawa cheerfully greet the announcer, and ride inside. 



He was riding a cat, Praetorum realized, trying to hide his smile behind his shield. Both he and his mount were kitted out in plate, a beautiful outfit of embersteel and bronze filigree. It was elegantly crafted, almost certainly more expensive than the armor Praetorum wore now, despite the difference in size. It made sense, in a way; anything so tiny would have to fake the trappings of a true warrior to survive in Yaralon. But mimicry and disguise would only go so far. 



A few long strides had him catching up to the little faux cavalier. "Hail." He said, heroically resisting the urge to pick up the cat, rider and all, and pet it. "I don't believe I've ever seen such fine arms or armor on one so small before." He smiled. "Here to spectate, or are you planning on entering a fight?"

[Tempest]

Aliron smiled and greeted each person as they entered the building. His heart was going crazy as the people of Yaralon entered. With how long the arena was closed, he was nervous to see how that would effect their reaction to the repairs that had been done. The man was shocked when he first took over the maintenance because the building was crumbling in some spots and fallen in others. As the crowd filtered in, the man was shocked to see what appeared to be a little tiny warrior riding an armored cat. Hiding the shock quickly, he cleared his throat before responding.

“Welcome little knight. Please have a look around and ask any questions you may have,” Aliron said with a bow at the waist.

The crowd had began to dwindle down as the visitors moved around inside of the arena. The last to enter was a male Ithecal that looked to be just as deadly as the little warrior who had previously entered. Aliron knew there was a good bit of diversity among the residents within the city. Shaking off the shock, he walked in leaving one of the workers there to greet anyone else that decided to enter as well. The man moved among the visitors answering questions as to what materials were used within the walls to make repairs as well as upgrades to the seating. As everyone made it to the seating area to watch the upcoming event, Aliron moved to stand before them.

“I hope that you have all enjoyed what you have seen so far. Our wonderful chef is making food as we speak to be ready between rounds. Our competitors are two brothers that have helped do extensive work on the arena, they are also two of our instructors. Please everyone grab a seat and be ready to enjoy the show as Oblix our spear master takes on his brother Baxter the resident shield and long sword instructor,” Aliron called.

As he called their names the brothers stepped out accordingly. Oblix was a large man with steel gray eyes that seemed to hold many secrets behind them. He wore normal plate armor with a unique helmet so that he was distinguishable from his brother in a wrestling match. Baxter stepped out across the arena from his brother and banged his sword against his shield before letting out a battle cry. They would wait simply taunting each other until the match was officially started.

“Before they start pounding the crap out of each other. Please know that during the first round of fighting, our betting area will not be open. When the fighters have shown you what they have, then you are welcome to place a bet on them between rounds. With that out of the way let the match begin!” Aliron called and Brenil slammed the doors leading out closed.

With the signal to begin the pair charge at each other going full steam. Oblix was the first to make a move swinging his spear around trying to knock the shield off his opponents arm. It was clear he would be more of a brute force fighter early on. Baxter braced himself when he saw the spear coming towards him. The man knelt down just enough to keep his balance, but to also protect his head. When the weapon bounced off, he pushed out of the crouch knocking into the big man off his feet. Oblix cried out in surprise when he landed on his back end. The man growled and swung the spear again to get some kind of separation from Baxter.

Baxter moved out of the line of fire from the weapon. He stayed back and circled Oblix as the big man tried to get up off his back, though his larger size seemed to be causing a problem with that. As he turned on to his side, Baxter tackled him against him behind this time in an attempt to get the spear out of the big man's hands.

[Kisaik]

The tunawa knight saluted the announcer, lifting a hand to his visor by way of saluting them. He turned to the large, very large Ithecal that had initially greeted him. He was hard to miss, with a booming voice and commanding presence. The Tunawa thought instantly he could learn a lot from this armored warrior. He would have to keep tabs on him.

"Greetings! My you're a large one! I almost mistook you for a dragon." He smiled in response to the compliment on his armor and weapons. "Thank you. It was made by the smith apprentices of Aeva's Temple. Finest armor to be found in Yaralon. They have something for warriors of all sizes." He said the last thing with a wink.

"I'll mostly be spectating here, although I would like to train as well, maybe learn a thing or two about how to fight larger enemies." He looked around at the field, seeing if he could spot any tunawa among the other warriors. Kisaik reached for Slate's ear, and gave him a little scratch, which prompted him to purr. "Slate here is a fine hunter, but I fear he may not be up to the task of taking on one of the big folk."

He turned upward at Praetorum, and smiled again, "So what of you? Plan to fight? I fear for your opponent, Sir if that is the case!"

So saying, soon enough they were set to watch the bout unfold. Kisaik took up position on the outskirts of the ring, keeping close to Praetorum so they could chat while the latest match unfolded.

[Kisaik]

There was a long wait between rounds, as the shield-bearer faced off against the spearman. Kisaik was happy to endure it though, as his companion appeared to have gone silent beside him. Kisaik watched the fight with some interest, and decided although the shieldman had yielded and surrendered to the Spearman, that he’d prefer to learn the style of the shield-bearer. Although a sword wasn’t quite as amazing a weapon as a polearm, it was versatile, and being able to carry a shield along with it was a boon that he couldn’t deny.

So, he approached the shield-bearer after that round, and tipped his visor to the large warrior. “Hullo! I’m Kisaik, the Tunawa knight!” Kisaik craned his neck to look up at him. “I greatly admire your fighting style, and would be honored to train under you. If you’ll have me.”

The shield-bearer looked down at the tunawa, and Kisaik almost expected an incredulous bit of scoffing. But to his surprise, the warrior seemed to take his words at face value, seriously. Afterall, there were a share of tunawa who could hold their own in Yaralon, by various means. Who’s to say Kisaik wasn’t one of them? “First, my name is Giorj. Honor to meet you, Kisaik.”

Kisaik reached up his hand to shake with the warrior, extending his arm by feet much to the warrior’s surprise. Yet he took the tunawa’s hand and gave it a firm grip. “I wonder if you might show me how to best use this shield I’ve acquired recently…”

The tunawa showed he shiny cobalt shield, which was the color of bronze. It was around six inches in diameter in total, covering about half of the tunawa’s body. Small by any other metric, but large for the tunawa to hold. Giorj scratched his chin as he watched the Tunawa, as Kisaik showed him his fighting stance. It was… unrefined, to say the least. But workable enough that Giorj thought it worth to impart a few tips and tricks.

knelt down, and adjusted Kisaik’s stance, to show how he ought to hold his shield when not fully engaged in combat with an opponent. Kisaik took the instruction and adjustments readily enough, holding his shield off to the side but ready to intercept an attack at any moment.

”The first tip, is to not entirely keep the shield between your visual range and your opponent’s weapon. Tough for one as small as you, yet not as much as it is for one of larger scale with a similarly scaled shield… You’re quite different from my other students, you understand, so a lot of this will be based on trial and error.”


Kisaik nodded, understanding fully the challenges of teaching one much smaller than themselves. Perhaps he’d be able to impress upon this Giorj that it wasn’t all disadvantageous. He hoped to give a good accounting of his kind, at any rate.

So they got to sparring fairly early on, as Yaralon mercenary trainers didn’t like to bandy about with instruction without practical application. Giorj approached gingerly, even for that, swinging his sword down at the small tunawa, who brought his shield up to intercept with the weapon. As the sword came down to hit him, he allowed it to follow its course, deflecting with his shield and then pinning the point against the ground.

Giorj grunted, “Good!” He shouted in surprise at Kisaik’s fighting instincts, yet he pulled the sword from its purchase without the slightest effort. Displaying how precarious a position that left the Tunawa in should he try that in a real battle. “But mind that you keep moving after the opponent has tried to strike. Grappling with their weapon, when they have room to leverage a slice or strike, is not a good idea.”

Giorj tried a horizontal slash next, almost like he was sweeping away at the tunawa on the ground. ]The sword blow came in low, lower than the middle of the shield of Kisaik, so he had to leap over it. He opted to flip to the left, attempting to position his shield under his head as he flipped end over end, to protect against any attacks of opportunity from the sword.

The rest of the sparring went at a leisurely pace, set for Kisaik’s skill level and to buil dhis confidence in dealing with a larger opponent. Kisaik never quite got a chance to get a hit on his opponent, but felt much more prepared to deal with them now that he’d experienced combat with someone of unusually large size.

“Thank you for the training!” Kisaik said to Giorj, and then excused himself from the training field, to watch the rest of the Cylus festivities, so well lit by the Cylus moonlight.

[Winston]

Review & Rewards

Name: Kisaik

Magic xp: N/A

Skill Review: Appropriate to level.

Feedback

Hello! I love picking up Kisiak's threads, you always paint such great images and Kis is always such a gem to follow.

Kisiak's knightly behaviour always makes me smile and I found your writing of the training he received to be clear and easy to follow.

Nice writing!

I can see this is an abandoned Modded/Collab thread (thanks for the note with regard to this), but I feel you concluded it well and completed it perfectly acceptably as a collab at the very least. As such, I have issued you an 8th knowledge (as requested).

Rewards

• XP: 15

Knowledges

• Combat: Shields: Maintaining an opponent-appropriate stance when holding a shield
• Combat: Shields: Moving your shield in such a way that it doesn’t obstruct or impair visual on the enemy’s weapon.
• Combat: Shields: Intercepting an attack meant to cut vertically.
• Combat: Shields: Most attacks from larger opponents are going to be angled awkwardly toward the ground, allowing for some interesting defenses that involve use of the environment.
• Combat: Shields: Keep mobile while defending, in order not to open oneself to an attack of opportunity.
• Athletics: Leaping while fighting with a shield can be difficult to maintain balance on the air
• Combat: Shields: When using acrobatic maneuvers, position your shield appropriately
• Combat: Shields: Numbered (x1)

Winston's Catch of the Day is YOU!