North, in the snow-covered, seaside city of Aerie two warriors were about to clash, the analytical Artemis versus the socially deviant Lina. The chilly gusts howled for the upcoming battle. The frosted roofs was the stage. The frozen waterways were still and patient, waiting for the sound of steel upon steel, waiting for the stomp of heavy feet, waiting for red to paint itself upon the ice. Dawn was upon the city. As soon as the light of day would creep over the horizon the battle would commence. The sky was partially clouded, snow was just raring to fall from them. A downpour would only make the fight more challenging. The air was so called that even rain would freeze and become hail before hitting the ground let alone hit the roofs.

Lina was atop a roof to the northwest while Artemis was on top on one of the houses near the city center. A considerable distance was in between them, 72 meters to be exact. That distance had to be traversed before the battle will start climbing to its climax. The early waking city folk will no doubt catch a glance of these warriors in battle. Would it be wise to avoid or to show off? The bout begins...

OOC:

OOC: Wow, splendid picture, Idelice! Feels so cozy. Too bad we'll probably destroy this place partially while at it :(

Dirk.

-Lina-

Lina sensed her enemy. Not very clearly, but she was sure. No doubts, it was the person who was here to take her head. It's not like she was the first one to try that. In her childhood, she was in similar situation several times, but back then she could only run and hide. Now the situation is different. She will not run, and there is no reason to hide. She will attack instead, releasing all of her feelings with bursts of Yoki, with adrenalin accelerating her blood and mind. She felt great. Its finally her time to fight. No more hide-and-seek. Only battle.

When entering the city, she got an unusual feeling, that later become something totally unexpected, unusual, surprising. But she was glad for this surprise, for this small town gave her a warm feeling, long forgotten feeling of warmth and comfort. Or was it her first time experiencing this? She was not really sure and didn't care this much. All that mattered is that she fell in love with this place. And decided to avoid destroying it. Human causalities are fine, but town shall not be ruined. And for that her enemies head shall fall as fast as possible. She jumped to the ground and began moving towards her enemy.

I'll take Main Guache ^_^
Sorry I haven't posted yet...

-----

The lone-raven haired Claymore stood on a roof not far from the town center. Her raven hair was almost covered with the snow billowing her direction. She exhaled and saw the hot breath evaporate in the seemingly frozen world. Artemis sensed her enemy long ago, and felt the yoki was moving to her at rapid pace.

She's a hot-headed one, the warrior thought to herself, Attacking me will be one part of the job, but finding me will be another!

She began to run in the direction opposite of where the yoki was coming from. She began to leap on top of the buildings almost like gliding and Artemis felt a rush of excitement past through her veins as her hair billowed out behind her. This was her territory.

While Artemis was jumping silently from roof to roof, she was looking for a place where she could launch a surprise attack, maybe somewhere high up.

Results ~’{@

~ Lina ~

The bloodthirsty warrior landed safely on the snow-covered streets. A few people were already up and ready to do morning work. They glimpsed at Lina for a moment. Her black cloak stood in contrast with the cover of white that had blanketed the city. Apparently the people were surprised that someone came down from the rooftops. It was something no human could do, not to mention the warrior’s getup was already suspicious.

”Who are you?” asked a baker with a rolling pin in his hand.



:::OOC:::
Calculations:

• Stumble = No

Status:

• Spotted by people
• Equipped with Dirk
• Healthy

~ Artemis ~

Artemis wanted to play it safe. Knowing that Lina was ill-tempered, she took time to analyze the situation. There had to be a way to deal with her aggressor with the least possible resistance. She jumped from roof to roof, maybe a dozen or so, until she finally arrived at a clock tower several meters away from her original position. It seemed the building was several stories taller than those at the town center, even those at the center were already quite lofty already but this took the cake. She continued to devise per plan from this point.


:::OOC:::
Calculations:

• Stumble = No

Status:

• Undetected
• Equipped with Main Gauche
• Healthy

:::OOC Overall:::

• Distance between combatants has increased to 120 meters
• Lina is still within the vicinity of where she started
• Artemis is now before a clock tower, several minutes before the hourly gong.
• There is a construction site further down Artemis’ bearing
• Winds have ceased, and daylight is prominent
• Temperature is now -4 degrees celsius

-Lina-

This wasn't something a warrior would expect from another warrior to do. She was running away. Like....what the hell? Is it the way for a hunter to behave? Or maybe.... If her deduction was right, this brought up two news - one good one, and one bad one. Second was that Hunter probably showed herself so that Lina would notice, and now is running exactly to the place where trap is prepared, attempting to put herself into an advantage. Good one... well, this part of her calculations could easily be wrong, for it was hard to imagine a hunter being weaker then her prey. If it was so, the traps were not a product of over carefulness, but the result of correct self-analyzes and were set to lower the disadvantage, that was set a priori. This was too good to be true. So Lina casted this thought away and concentrated on the second version - the Hunter is an experienced one, she set the traps to be absolutely sure in her success. Then the second news was bad too. Well, no matter. The goal did not change, only conditions did. Meaning, she'd have to be more careful. And for that the better view is needed, meaning.... At this second she's heard a voice.

”Who are you?” A human asked her, not aware of how much of a danger he has put himself in. "It would probably be a nice picture. Of his brains lying on the tip of my sword.... Ah, no time for this now. Too bad...."

Lina ran for about 30 meters and then jumped on the roof. From here the view will be better, so chances are that she'll notice a trap before getting close to it.

Pursuit continued.

Results ~’{@

~ Lina ~

Lina ignored the bakers question and darted off towards the single presence of yoki she felt. Undoubtedly it was Artemis' yoki. She knew how strategic Artemis was and knew she had to be careful. The baker watched as the rogue warrior ran towards the city center. Thought it was a bizarre meeting, the people who spotted Lina continued with their morning chores ignoring everything that had just happened.

The expanse to traverse had shortened. Lina leaped back unto the rooftops nearly losing her footing because of the accumulated ice. She felt her adversary had gotten closer. Not far from her vantage point was the city center. Apparently the center was already bustling. It was the heart of the city after all. Could Lina spot any traps for her from where she stood?



:::OOC:::
Calculations:

• Stumble = No

Status:

• People are aware of her presence
• Equipped with Dirk
• Healthy

:::OOC Overall:::

• Distance between combatants has decreased to 92 meters
• Lina is close to the city center
• Artemis still at the clock tower, a few minutes before the hourly gong.
• There is a construction site further down Artemis’ bearing
• Human activity has increased
• Temperature is still -4 degrees celsius

This is nice, Artemis thought as she eyed the clock tower. It was nice, firm and steady. It was a good place.

She realized that the other Claymore was reaching her at a fast pace. The icy wind that had once blown had subsided and was replaced with a nice sunlight.

I guess I'll have to act, she thought and decided that if it was possible then she would jump to the top of the tower.

She didn't want to play hide-and-seek anymore. She really didn't want to use her energy to look for the other person, she was going to wait for the other person to come to her. Anyways, it wouldn't be a huge surprise since she could sense the other person's yoki.

~ Artemis ~

Artemis decided to take the battle to the clock tower. She climbed up to its pinnacle as the clock rung signaling the start of rush hour. It would be to her advantage if she went in and studied the mechanism and master the location. It would make a very good strategic advantage. Using the winding gears and cogs could up her chances of winning this battle.



::: OOC: Overall :::

• Distance between combatants is 104.5 meters including the vertical
• Lina is at city center
• Artemis is on top of the tower, option to enter the tower is available
• Artemis’ hearing is slightly impaired by the recent ringing
• Human activity further increased

A group of people gathered at one side of the city. It probably had to do with Lina's grand entrance. Many people weren't hospitable, least to a witch. Malicious intentions were brewing but this was only the beginning of the worst.



~ Artemis ~

Artemis looked over the city from above. The crude clock tower kept ticking and its hinges kept clapping. It was beyond irritating. Suddenly, the silver-eyed blonde noticed she was a bit off balance. The tower was somewhat shaking. It was a foreboding sensation. Something real bad was about to happen.



::: OOC: Overall :::

• Distance between combatants is 104.5 meters including the vertical
• Lina is at city center
• Artemis is on top of the tower, option to enter the tower is available
• Artemis’ hearing is slightly impaired by the recent ringing
• Human activity is at its peak

-Lina-

She could be clearly seen now, her enemy. At the top of the tower she was standing, as if calling out for Lina to go up there. No, this wasn't even an option. Not only that place is not good for fighting, it was obviously disadvantageous for her to go up there, for she was the second one, meaning, her enemy had already made preparations for such a battle. Lina decided to come as close as possible to the tower, while still being on roof, and wait for her enemies actions.

People on streets weer simply abundant. She can use them, can't she?

A crowd of over fifty and still growing was quickly forming around the city center. Each person was armed with either axes, knives, pitchforks, picks and all sorts of carpentry tools thieved from a local carpentry shack. A riot was forming. People were shouting. It would be only a matter of time before the whole place was bound by mob mentality.



~ Lina ~

Lina was rapidly getting surrounded. How much of the populace despised claymores? The fifty head count was getting more and more. It almost felt like a third of the city's population had come to evict the warrior.

"Get out of here!"

"You're not welcome here!"

Accompanied with angry shouts and furious stomps, the crowd move closer and closer.



~ Artemis ~

As for Artemis, she stood her ground seeing the situation was in her favor. The situation would no doubt force Lina of the ground and into the tower but that would also force the crowd's attention to her. Still, it was better that way so she could have the advantage.



::: OOC: Overall :::

• Distance between combatants is 100.5 meters including the vertical
• Artemis is on top of the tower, option to enter the tower is available
• Human activity is at its peak

The angry crowd gathered around Lina. Their eyes glared with rage and disgust. Lina's posture clearly expressed her demeanor. Words were not needed. The mob, though imposing, were merely holding their position as they too were afraid to move forward. The threat of pitchforks and picks were not enough to move Lina. Suddenly a loud crashing sound echoed throughout the city. The clock tower had exploded for some reason. The crowd immediately dispersed like roaches. Eminent calamity was ensuing, its cause yet unknown.

The dust of ruination settled and the clouds of snow faded. Artemis was lying paralyzed on the feet of Lina. It appeared like a convenient turn of events. Even so, the warrior's attention was derailed from the present opportunity as she felt an immense flow of yoki coming from something else.

"Entertainment?" said a young blond maiden as she hopped on shattered bricks towards Lina and Artemis. "What benefit is it to me, Clement?" she asked herself yet again. The girl wore a black dress-mail, somewhat similar to the standard gear of warriors. Apparently, she indeed looked like a warrior for she had silver eyes. The teenager drew her claymore which was less broad than the standard one. "...Now we shall fight," she added.

"Tsk... what is this all about? Revenge or something?" Artemis said, still helplessly lying on the floor.

The maiden wrapped a long, black ribbon around her long, hair and said, "It is nothing so trivial as revenge. We shall fight... that's all there is to it. You will kill me, or I will kill you. It does not matter." Then the silver-eyed witch brandished her blade callously despite its large size.

In a flash, the little warrior instantly appeared right in front of Artemis, a mere foot away. A great bellowing gale followed, forming a momentary blizzard. There was a great crashing sound that came after the sudden gust. It sounded like it came several meters away from the gathering. The crowd started to panic and it frantically dispersed into the townhouses. When the snow cloud settled, there was only the little warrior and Lina left. Artemis was gone.

"She did not withstand that single strike, how about you?" said the little warrior as she disappeared yet again and like earlier a great cloud of white appeared. Lina was in a most dire pinch.

Like a raging typhoon, the little blond trampled over Lina. The attack happened so fast that Lina had no time to react. In a matter of seconds, maybe even shorter, Lina was ravaged. Her right arm was torn off like a tree uprooted by a storm. Her right leg slashed clean off. Her whole right side had been extirpated. After the sundering the little warrior appeared from out of nowhere.

"You blinked..." said the little warrior as she stoically stepped on Lina's blood. She continued to manage her claymore as if it were a mere epee. "Do you have nothing to show me?" asked the little blond as she waved her sword with ease. Her eyes had yet to show her using a considerable amount of yoki to make her move so fast. "Shall I deliver this steel unto your heart?" she asked yet again as she poised to give the final strike.

Lina did not reply. Her mouth was finally sealed with eternal silence as the little warrior struck her in the chest. Her chest exploded, ribs torn open, her inners gushing out like an unstoppable tidal wave of blood and gore. The wound was so beautifully placed that it looked like a rose in full bloom rather than a vomit-worthy scene.

The duel between Artemis and Lina ended with no victor between the duelists.

Only the little warrior stood after the aftermath. Her face was unfazed despite the blotches of red. Slowly, she walked towards the city's entrance; all the while barefooted. The populace gave way to the little murderer, not wanting to end up like the two warriors who had been slain.

"...don't leave the job unfinished," said a person from the crowd. It was a black cloak. It appeared he had been watching all this time.

The little blond witch looked at her handler with the same stoic eyes she wore all throughout the battle. "I'll clean up later... my footwear first?" she said with a smile.







90 Points to Lina
10 Points to Artemis

Errata: These points have no meaning... I just wanted to show my appreciation to the participants of this ES which never got anywhere.