You all should know the drill

Arena: Ice Caves

Coin Toss Victor: Heather chooses first post...chooses...Jess-chan?

((I'll let jess chan have the first post?))

((Hi. Been working, sorry for absence.))

::Edmund had been called up again. He shuffled his Tarot deck and replaced them lovingly in their green silk cloth, then slipped them into his leather pocket. His razor deck was in another pocket belowe the first one. They transported him to a cavern of ice. Edmund shivered. To keep warm he would have to keep moving. But he was sure his opponent would keep him on his toes. Kael was to face him, the one who had been defeated by the skinny nymph. It didn't feel right. Kael had powers Edmund hadn't even known existed. That would be his greatest weapon.::

::Edmund began to quickly formulate a plan. To avoid Kael's power he would have to distract him any way possible, and keep moving all around him. His opponent was yet not with him, and Edmund thought back to his Tarot spread. a lot of his cards pertained to strength and change. He had pulled the victory card in his emotional desires, and the Emperor in his mental functions. Further up the spread, he had pulled the Death card, the card of change. It had fallen in his subconcious centre. Edmund held the picture clearly in his mind. Of all the cards in his deck, he considered it the most beautiful. The spectre of death stood with shining sycthe, at his feet lay the four suits of the Minor Arcana. Thw sword, wand, cup and disc lay in a pool of blood. The angel of death bore beautiful black wings. None escaped him.::

::Edmund clenched a fist. In his mind this fight was more serious, even though he had wound up with a giant pine needle stuck in his left leg. That had been a little to close to home for him. Not that he was afraid of death, rather that he didn't come home nuetered. His father would be very upset. Edmund then wagged his tail, thinking of back home. When he came home they would expect a full story, all the pups would gather to hear their big brother tell the story, and his mother and father would listen proudly and cheer at the action-packed bits. Edmund wondered how the tiny pup was, his newest younger brother. Then he wondered if, living forever, his parents would have enough pups to cover the earth one day. They could spread the long, immortal life of the Stirling woods across the world. Edmund wagged harder, then remembered: He had to get through this first. He wrapped his bare arms up and folded them over his chest. He kept his tail wagging and his foot tapping so he would retain movement and not get too cold as he waited for Kael.::

They called him again. They who were at least more substantial then the cold strange new voice called him again. The voice.. in a strange way it was familiar. As if it has always been there waiting for him.. waiting for him to reach the point where he needed it. When he was so desperate he would give in to it and it's whispers.. "pareo ultionis... pareo" it was soft now gentle as if trying a new approach.
Kael who felt cold and dead in his heart.. did his best to ignore it.
He stepped into the ring and the cold of it chilled him to the bone.. but not to the heart for that was already frozen. His hard steely green eyes narrowed. Ice could be to his advantage if he used it right. He placed his bag at the edge of the ring, and then slipped off his cloak like a snake shedding a useless flaking skin.. He didn't bother to seek it's comforting scent. He knew that if he won he wouldn't have to worry about losing a slight trace of her.. he would have her back alive once more.
He opened his pack and rummaged through it. There at the bottom was the rectangular package his mother had given him. He gingerly almost tenderly removed it. He had told himself he would open it on his father's grave.. but that seemed a distant foolish thought to him now. He would need every advantage. He would need all the power he could muster.
with oneclaw he shredded the brown fabric that had wrapped it, and the string that had tied it.
The fabric fell open to reveal a matched set of silver sais. Their handles were surrounded by an elaborate flame pattern and at the base of each was a large blue stone that glowed. As he touched them the blue glow intensifies, flashing white. He grabbed them both in one hand then stored the wrappings away.
Shifting one to his open hand he stood and marched forward until he was once again in the ring.
He would not wait for foolish talk of friendship. Instead he summoned the fire. His heart frozen and dead did not respond. Not even a flicker. Rage cold and dispassionate filled him focused on one goal.
Kill any who oppose me so that she may live.
"pareo ultionis" The promise of his dreams.. of power
"Yessss." He hissed.
He spread his arms wide sais pointing in opposite directions and tilted his head upward. Three large black balls of fire unnatural and filled with dark power sprang into the space between his sais, and the fire surrounded his hands leaving the blades strangely untouched. His eyes filled with the fire and the green of them became tinted red despite being hidden by the black.
His mouth dropped open and goulish laughter echoed forth from his chest.
He then charged forward launching the balls one at his foes head one at his gut and one at his feet.

((Minor alterations. Kael's fire is still burning.))

::Kael appeared with his usual amount of myst and strangeness. He unwrapped a new weapon. Edmund would have admired them had he time. Kael lost none in throwing out the first attack. Fireballs shot out of Kael's hands and flew at him with immense speed. One aimed for his head, the other for his ankles. Edmund drew his sword and jumped off to the side. The one that had gone for his legs flew into a cavern wall and spread a small patch of fire, melting the ice and sending a torrent of water into the cavern floor. It refroze there if it wasn't too close to the flames. They kept burning! Edmund's eyebrows raised. Magical fire? Of course. It wouldn't be easy to keep that at bay. The second fireball he slashed at with his sword. It deflected and hit the will. Edmund tried to aim it at the same area as the first had landed. If too much fire was spread around, the whole cavern would collapse. Then they'd really be in trouble. The fireball caused the metal to glow white hot where it struck. This gave Edmund an idea.::

::Edmund pulled an arrow from his quiver and touched the arrowhead to the metal. In no time it grew white hot as well, and Edmund set the arrow to the string. With inhuman speed and aim he shot the arrow at the wall closest to Kael. As he hoped, the arrow flew past Kael and imbedded itself in the ice wall. The water began to melt and flooded out at Kael. Then Edmund charged at Kael, dragging the hot metal through the wall and spilling water everywhere and creating steam. The steam grew thick and made a good cover. Edmund leapt at Kael through the haze and brought down his cooling sword diagonally across Kael's chest.::

An arrow flew past him as he ran and hit the wall on the far side of him. He was already moving at a high speed and it had no effect on him whatsoever, the water splashing at where he was. Edmund who had used kaels hot evil tainted fire and dug his sword in to the wall, was charging at kale trying to use the steam against him. Kael felt his own taint coming at him in a diagonal slash from above. maintain his momentum he slid under the blow using the ice floor to go completely under Edmund firing another black ball of fire at him from below. He twisted and then used his bladed to dig into the ice halting him and pulled himself to his feet. His taint was on edmunds blade. He could feel it pulsing with his heat. He could feel it on the arrow and in every place his fire had touched. He sneered eyes wide filled with black fire and darkness. He concentrated on the taint in the sword... then exploded it pushing it through out the entirety of the weapon seeking to claim the hands that gripped it. He wanted to consume it all.. to devour everything pure and everything sacred. To destroy the world as his soul died. His fangs extended and so did his claws. He hungered for edmunds blood.. and he would not be denied he leapt forward sais out to scissors slash at his foe.

::Edmund felt the surging heat rise up his blade, creeping towards his hands as they charged each toher. Without warning Edmund realized Kael was sliding right underneath him. Not wanting to lose a favourite part of his body Edmund dropped the sword and transformed. The ball of fire skimmed past his haunches and he leapt over Kael. He landed deftly on his pads and growled at Kael's figure. He changed back and looked at his weapon. Kael's black fire had consumed it, and he could not touch it. Kael would pay for that. Edmund unfolded both decks of cards, his tail stiff, his eyes blazing. He pasued to shuffle his deck once, and threw out a Tarot spread. With a flick of his wrist the cards flipped.::

I see the Loss card, Kael, followed by Desolation, the Tower, and Death! Something you think you know will be changed, and something will be lost. It will be this duel! ::He withdrew the Tarot pack and threw out his normal cards. The 56 cards shot out at Kael, aiming for all his vital spots, wrists, throat, back of the knee, anywhere veins hid under the skin. Some aimed for his eyes, to blind him from attacking. The cards were infused with faery magic, and Kael's fire could not consume them. The were at his beck and call. He would save his sword, he would win this fight.::

Kael saw his foe transform and sneered. It was not impressive. Unblinking he then watched his foe perform a trick with his cards.
"I see the Loss card, Kael, followed by Desolation, the Tower, and Death! Something you think you know will be changed, and something will be lost. It will be this duel"
Desolation, death.. change and loss. What did this.. fool think he could know about any of those things! What had he lost? What had he destroyed?! What did he know of death? How many had he killed with his bare hands? Had he seen his world change and die forever in one desolate moment? What did he have that he would lose his soul to save?
This.. dog that chased after girls and presumed he could read the future knew nothing! His fate was not cast in any set of cards! The black fire in Kale's eyes and around his hands blazed higher and it consumed his arms and legs. Transformation was his power as well. Destruction was his call. Change was his nature, and not for the better. His golden hair blackened as if it was burnt, the fur that arose on his hands and legs was burnt gold as well. His claws grew inches longer like curved blackened knives. His tail grew far longer and became whip like. Six balls of fire blossomed like black roses around him, He roared then, his first words of the fight.
"You know nothing of fate!" his hatred cold and furious was a dark physical presence in the room smashing many of the large icicles from the ceiling to fall randomly at the ring below.
The cards, the things the dog thought he could read fate with were coming at him. Some of them had been caught by the giant icicles that smashed down from above, but most had not.
concentrating his black fury he dug his claws into his palms and felt it in his hands dripping from them in painful black ooze. He focused on the targets crossed his arms then flung the ooze outward. In air the hundred small droplets hardened to dagger points piercing almost all of the cards.
There were four cards he missed. The first struck his right eye. loss. The second hit his left wrist. Desolation. The third hit the edge of his throat. the tower. The fourth his right wrist. All bit deep, but the blood they unleashed was black and it burned them with it's taint. He screamed a high pitched cat call causing more icicles to fall from the ceiling. He barely leapt out of the way of one that fell from directly above him his blood leaving a burning trail.
He felt it then along with the sharp pain that flowed from his wounds. Hunger. hunger for the dog's life.. There was more now. More then just a disire to give his foe back the pain.. He hungered for all life. He wanted to kill and maim and feast upon the flesh of all who lived. All who had what she did not.
The 6 black fire balls that had floated around him launched themselves at his foe each one having gained a gleaming set of yellow eyes. Each flew at his foe from a different direction with a mind of their own. He blood slugish and ozing still flowed but slowly, burning his shirt and the ice floor.

::Edmund drew back his cards and watched Kael's blackness ooze off of them, like water drops off a slanted plane. This was Edmund's only magic, and he would go to any lengths to protect it. Kael was struck in four vital spots, which the bloodflow would soon cause him weakness. The injuries pushed him into ferocity. He launched six fireballs at Edmund. Edmund drew forth the four Tarot cards again and enlarged them to form a shield. He placed it in front of him and knelt down, and removed from his Tarot deck the Empress, who reminded him of his mother and the faery magic put into the deck. He drew the card over his sword and Kael's blackness pulled away from it and dispelled with the holy image on the card. He stood up, sword in hand. Most of Kael's fire had died on his cards, but Edmund withdrew them too soon and was struck. He raised his arm in time to protect his chest and face, but the force of the explosion threw him backwards and into the cavern's wall.::

::Cold and heated pain seared up his back at once. The shock dazed him a little, and his arm was badly burned, as well as a small portion of his face. He ignored the pain and pressed on with his quest.::

I must win. I must live. ::Kael's body had burned black, like his heart and his mood. Edmund half-wondered what happened to make him forget the joys and fun life could hold. Edmund threw a card back out and expanded it to make it visible.::

You missed something, Kael. The Desolation card shows a scene of a graveyard in the dark, with 9 swords as tombstones- and yet there shines a light.. the light of Hope! ::Edmund drew the card back and charged forward in his dog form. Once on top of Kael he could attack with his sword as a hu,man and weaken him further.::

As his foe spouted more useless words he, with one burning claw, cauterized his 4 wounds. The black fire hurt him but it was nothing compared to the cold burning of his heart. There was no pain left in bleeding when his soul had bled out. Then his foe morphed to attack him

It was simple really. So very simple.
"pareo ultionis"
obey.. revenge.
He had been told since he was very young, before he could even climb, never lose control. Never give fully in to the beast. Never ever transform without mother present. For when they transformed alone.. people died. Many many people.
He had never disobeyed her. He had only transformed fully with her, when they could control each other. When they could really be free.
When he last had transformed... she had left him forever chained among the bodies of the people he had killed.
Before.. This had sickened him. Physically made him ill. Killing those who were thinking living creatures. The men who killed his mother, she would not have cared about them... She would have told him to protect himself as she had tried to. She would have never condoned cold blooded murder.

But she was not with him anymore. If he obeyed her.. Obeyed her love she would never return.
The two sais dropped from his hands unnoticed, their burning heat taking them deep in to the ice.

That's why it was simple.
That's why it was so easy.
That's why he obeyed revenge.

The change was painless. Natural. The black fire engulfed him totally as he leapt in to the air to meet his canine foe. His human clothing the shackles of decency were burned away, replaced by blackened gold fur, burnt fur. His arms and legs bulged with new muscle, new strength, lengthening and distorting. His face became the beasts and his jaws once weak became power full enough to crack a skull with ease.
From head to tail he was 6 feet and about 3 feet from paws to head.
When the fire died from all but his eyes and paws there was nothing human about him. He was truly a monster.. and he no longer cared. Nothing in him resisted. Nothing mattered but death. There was no hope, no light among the graves. He collided with his foe while he was still in the air (this part edited from Mid-air) , his claws seeking purchase and his jaws open wide aiming to tear out Edmund's throat.

((mmmm jaguary goodnes.. all the stuff I said about jaguar jaw power and size is true, not just a boost i made up. Do you know other then man there is no animal that is their natural predator? They are the top of their food chain in the wild.. (^*^) ))

::Edmund gasped in his canine form as Kael changed himself into a lithe black mountain-lion. Edmund had never seen one, but his mother had shown him pictures. She had also said they were extremely deadly, powerful, fast, and cunning. Not only that but this one had human intelligence. Kael leapt at him, and before Edmund had a chance to react, they'd collided. Edmund whimpered; those fangs and teeth were too close for comfort. Luckily Edmund's smaller size kept Kael from severing his neck and ending the fight right there. But Edmund had teeth too, and his canine jaw was right by Kael's throat. Edmund sank his doberman teeth into the silky fur and clamped down tight enough to stun Kael. He then wormed his way out of the panther's forearms and dropped to the ground.::

::Edmund quickly assumed his normal form and turned around to face his foe. Becoming a dog would be useless except for quick escapes and the like. He was a large dog, but this creature was at least twice as big, and many more times as powerful. Edmund pulled out his sword, blinking away the mild burn pain that frazzled his nerves in the slightest way. The only way to beat this thing was with blades. Edmund didn't know if the monster lion could use its fire, But he was pretty sure Kael was, in some way, looking out of that body. But perhaps he wasn't. Edmund was facing a wild animal. Not like he'd never encountered strong beasts in the Stirling woods.. he could do this.::

::Edmund knew charging the thing would be a stupid thing to do, as it was likely to pounce and rip his throat out. He would have to lure it, so that when it attacked, it would find itself impaled on a sword. Edmund spied something he could use to his advantage. Kael's sais had fallen from his hands and burned their way into the ice. Shame, really. Edmund sort of doubted he'd be able to get them back while they continually sunk into the floor.::

Kael, I believe you've dropped your weapons. Such a shame.. they are beautifully crafted, and so exotic. Also, they seemed to be so dear to you.. like a present from your mother. ::Edmund was just spouting words, anything to infuriate him. He pulled out his bow, and his finest poison arrows. Lisa Muri may have been able to force his plant-based poisons from her body, but Kael had no such power. The poison would slow him down. Edmund set three arrows to his bow. Two were unpoisoned, and the third was coated in the most lethal of toxins he had. Death would come in three exact minutes without the antidote, which Edmund had. He shot the first arrow, it sped over Kael's head and into the ice wall. That was to get his attention. He shot the second, which grazed his fur and cut several blackened hairs off his side. That was to infuriate him. Steadily Edmund pulled back the third arrow and loosed the shaft, aimed for his rear flank. This one was to strike true. Then he readied his sword, keeping his ground. He would see what the panther would do.::

He felt the jaws small compared to his clamp around his neck, not enough to do any damage but enough to distract him so that the dog could wiggle out of his clawed and fanged grip, and to prevent his head from twisting around and tearing out his opponents throat. He snarled with rage and danced backwards from his foe who assumed a human form. In this form he was rage, power and speed. His conscious that had been a small whisper since the last fight was killed off completely. when he was alone in this form he had no control.
But he had been wrong he was not alone. In this form so close to the dark side of his nature he could really feel it. Feel the depths of darkness that lay on the edge of slumber with in him, feel it's struggle to awaken fully, and feel it's desire for control. Control that he had been giving it. He realized that his hunger was it's hunger. All the things he had been feeling, were feeding it causing it to grow. It was almost there now, it had almost awoken. He had almost become what he was destined to be. Kael Aduro Fas. Kael Fire destiny. Fire destiny.
His destiny was to be the fire that consumed the world. Ironic that he had denied being fated by cards.. when the truth was his fate had been known all along.
In this form however, black became white, white became grey.. and none of it mattered. All that mattered was winning. His foe spoke.
"Kael, I believe you've dropped your weapons. Such a shame.. they are beautifully crafted, and so exotic. Also, they seemed to be so dear to you.. like a present from your mother." He felt the anger then felt it drawn away. The darkness taking it and giving him in return power, and control. He could still think through the haze of black rage. That is what it meant when it asked him to obey. It was helping him. His lips drew back in an approximation of a smile.
Then the dog drew his bow and arrows.
Why was it that all his opponents chose to fight him with their most ineffective weapons? Of course they had no clue that he had been dodging arrows not so long after he had begun climbing trees, and had been trained by his mother to use his senses to avoid them. trained to the point where it was more then instinct. In this form his instincts were at their peak. the dog fired three arrows. The first was to hit above his head. He let it. The second was to skim his flank taking some hairs, but nothing more. Rather then waste movement avoiding it he let that one go to coiling and tensing for the final arrow. The third one set his warning sense a blaze the moment it was set to string. He heard the pull of the bow, saw the angle of it, felt the wind of release shaping the arrow, And leapt with all his speed just as the feathers cleared the wood of the bow. All of this required no actual thought on his part. The arrow grazed the hair of his tail but not his skin. His flaming eyes narrowed and his feline grin grew larger. the ranged weapon of a bow and arrow was not effective against him. He roared his paws engulfed in black flame he opened his mouth as if to roar again but instead black flame came forth in to three more balls each with yellow eyes. The first one he cast at the dogs feet the second he sent to go for the quiver on his foes back.. and the third he sent at the ceiling. The dog had avoided the failing spears before.. but with the distraction of the flame below and at his back he might not see what was coming from above. As his flames moved with intense speed toward his foe Kael began running along the edges of the ring knowing that moving made dodging the arrows easier.

::Kael sprang forth before the third arrow could break any skin and release the crippling poison. Then the damn thing shot more fireballs. If Kael melted any more of the place they were in they'd both be drowned or crushed under falling water and ice. Edmund thought it might be time to find a way out. But he had less time to think now for more attacks were shooting at him, one aimed at his ankles, the other aimed at his back. Edmund leapt out of the way off to the right and both sailed past him harmlessly. Then he heard a rumbling. Delicate sounds like shattering glass came to him and he looked up. The wretched bastard had shot another of his fireballs into the air and sent a few ice stalagtites crashing down. Edmund took out his deck and threw a card, the ace of spades, into the air, creating a shield. The ice spikes crashed on it and shattered. The ones that missed hit the ground and sent ice schrapnel everywhere. Once the mist from that cleared Edmund had an idea.::

::He withdrew his poison yet again, and poured the entire contents onto the playing cards. He gave it one shuffle, ensuring that every card in the deck at least had one drop of poison upon it. Kael seemed to have trouble with them before. This time they would cover him like a swarm of bees, cutting and nicking anything they could reach. Kael was running in circles around the ring to avoid attack, but Edmund's cards were quick, and they would follow. He spurted the cards forth from his hands and they behaved exactly as he wished, like a swarm of flies or bees, attacking and stinging a threat. The flurry of diamonds, spades, hearts and clubs flitted between red and white and followed the inky black form with hellish furvour. Edmund kept just one card, the ace, to shield himself from falling rubble or some other attack.::

The dog, yet again, wiggled out of his attack without taking a lick of damage. If his anger hadn't already been tapped he would have been furious. Then he watched as the dog drew out his deck and poured poison on the cards.
In this form so connected with his true nature, with the darkness he could feel the aura of the cards. It repulsed him with it's purity. Yet the poison was something else. The vile intent of any poison was painful death. His blood sang in response to it. The pure nature of the cards would not allow such a taint to be absorbed in to them.
Then he heard an idea whispered to him by the darkness. One he knew would work...
as the dog released his cards kael summoned a ser of small fire balls one for each card. As the cards flew at him his fire balls flew at them. Each one hit it's mark. They were dispelled almost instantly but not before burning off all the poison. Then the flock was upon him, nipping at him. Small cuts but if he didn't act soon the would drain off his strength. The foot of water his energy had created as it soaked the ring was slowing him down allowing more cuts. Then another idea came to him, whispered to him once more by the waking darkness.
Take it all back.
Why not?
He broke out of his circle and leaped at his foe, a direct attack from above. He opened his mouth... and in no more time then it would take one to blink reclaimed all of his tainted energy from the ring.
It was the second most painful time in his entire life.
So much energy was almost more then his physical body could take. If he held it any longer it would burn him to ash. So he did the only thing he could do, he released it. A gigantic black fire ball larger then even him formed in his mouth and he released it at his foe. The sheer force of it threw him across the ring slamming him in to the opposite wall. So much concentrated dark energy would be near impossible to completely dispel. But the force of the his hitting the wall had damaged him far more then he wanted to admit. He struggled to his feet and fought off the waves of dizziness....

((I have a request. I know we each have not reached out post limit, but this has gotten increasingly hard for me to finish. I do not want to give it up. I don't just want to forfeit. My request is that each of our next posts be the last.))

::Edmund's cards sped toward their mark, however Kael had sent out fire to annihilate all traces of poison on the cards. Edmund growled. The cards, purged of their death-liquid, still persued their mark and sliced into his flesh. Edmund called them back and the deck sped back into his hand. He pocketed it and faced Kael. He was in the air, defying the laws of physics. Edmund watched agape as Kael absorbed his own magic from the walls, reformed it, and began to reguritate all of his dark fire back at Edmund. The ball was roughly the size of a large mother grizzly or a small elephant. Edmund knew there was little he could do to dodge or dispell it totally. So he decided to make his stand, whether it was the last or the first of many. Mom always said to die on your feet, not live on your knees. Edmund smirked.::

::The ball loomed ahead and Kael shot it. Time moved in slow motion as the black ball of fire raged down on him. Edmund absorbed the magic of the faery-queen from both packs of cards and let the pure white force seep into his body.::

Let's see if you can take me out for good, Kael. Titania, queen of earth's paradise, protect me. ::Edmund drew his blade and levelled it to his face. The ball was close to him now and he could feel the searing heat, but Titania's blessings and his family's love would protect him. Edmund did not even close his eyes. The ball came and crashed into Edmund's hardy form. Surprisingly enough, he felt no pain. Rather he seemed to pass into sweet unconciousness and the faces of his family floated across his mind. He saw within his mind a vision of his father and mother, and he. The sight was from some third party's eyes. His father Shiro was seated upon a tree stump, and his mother Eva, sweetly smiling, stood with her arms wrapped around his neck. He recognized his six year-old self, on his knees, "shaking" his father's hand. Shiro smiled down on his first son. That memory faded to a vision of the birth of his first brother. The faeries had delivered him, while he and his father looked on and his sister Celeste wiped their mother's brow. As with her other babes he was delivered easily, healthy, robust and rosy-cheeked.::

::A dozen more memories passed across his mind and finally Edmund dreamed that he was lying on a bed of grass, fresh and cool, and rays of sunshine danced in his eyes. The white, beautiful face of his queen rose before him and smiled. Gentle green eyes beamed down at him through locks of golden hair. She held out her hand and Edmund took it. The warmth spread through him and he rose weightless to his feet. In the ice caverns, Edmund's sprawled form smiled gingerly.::

You must wake, young warrior. Your fight is unfinished. Open your eyes; I will protect you. ::Edmund was puzzled but did as he was told. When his eyes opened he found he was unscathed by the deadly fire. It amazed him so much he nearly passed out again. But he looked up to see what damage the cavern had suffered. The damage and melting was extensive. But his bed was warm and was now covered in field flowers, ivy and grass. It was the mark of pure white magic. He knew no dark warrior could touch him, not when the remnants of even weak white magic could shelter him from strong dark fire. Edmund gathered the flowers it had left behind and tucked them gently into his pouch. Then, with the remainder of his fortitude he gathered all of the light magic that radiated in him and pushed it out of him. It gathered in one glowing ball, and he willed it forward to brighten the cavern and make his final stand to his enemy. Kael lay limp on the other side of the room from the force of his own attack. Edmund strained and pushed the white aura towards Kael, then sunk to his knees and fell once more into a dreaming unconciousness, a smile across his proud face. If it was to be his final stand, he was glad it was a good one.::

The dog had again. again gotten off with not a single scratch or mark or even a bit of ash from the most power full attack he had ever unleashed. Not a blessed scratch. He himself had taken more damage. The shock was so intense he didn't know weather to laugh or cry. This dog was invincible. untouchable. Was he even mortal? Could he even bleed at all? Was he just some sort of illusion not flesh or bone but mearly a vision sent to torment him with his weakness? Was this just some sort of nightmare more powerful then his dark reality? He was afraid to close his eyes because he had no idea if the next moment he opened them he would see himself transformed in to a large pink rabbit.
Had the darkness lied to him when it promised him power? If it couldn't even give him the ability to leave even the smallest of marks on his foe it had to have lied. He had done what it had asked. He had obeyed it. Now it was silent and he couldn't even reach it. Unleashing all his energy had drained it too. So close to waking now it was once again slumbering leaving him alone to face this unreality. And a harsh unreality it was. His unbreakable foe had summoned a ball of white energy to finish him off. He had un transformed no having enough energy to remain in his bestial form. Now covered in his own blood the stench of his taint was almost unbearable. That's when his body decided for him. The tears flowed down his cheeks and he was laughing. He was laughing so hard his whole boddy was shuddering with it. It was so very funny. He had given up his free will his emotions his control for a chance to win. The dog, who had no motivation at all to win, was going to beat him anyway. He would never see his mother again. She would be dead for ever, and it seemed so would he.
He smiled then the tears stopped and the laughter subsided. The ball of light was almost upon him. He had even given up his chance to meet her in heaven. That was the most ironic part of it all.
The light hit him and he felt it. It didn't burn like he thought it would... It was ice cold. cold as death, cold as his heart, cracked with laughter. He had forgotten he could laugh.
It was consuming him.. Then two bright flashes of blue filled his fading vision. Two gems the color of her eyes...
"mother?" he whispered. Then the light faded and only the two sais with their matching blue gemed handles hovered glowing above him. Filled with his mother's love, presence, and light. They had absorbed the attack. She had protected him from the light with her own. Her final gift to him. They fell into his unmoving hands.
It was then he released how wrong he had been, how close he had come to the point of no return. How close he still was. Just because he knew the darkness was wrong didn't remove it's grip from his heart....
Then as the pain from his many cuts found him once more.... His vision fled with all of his thoughts.

((that's all folks!))

((Good fight, Heather-chan.))

((*jugethispleasebump*))

Averages
Heather: 8
Jess: 7.333333

Kael def. Edmund

Edmund is eliminated.