Gaian Combat League

Nathan Hill vs. Ezra Crane

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Table of contents
  1. KD_Everett
  2. KD_Everett
  3. Dr Queensborough
  4. KD_Everett
  5. Dr Queensborough
  6. KD_Everett
  7. Dr Queensborough
  8. Dr Queensborough
  9. KD_Everett
  10. Dr Queensborough

1KD_Everett

Mon May 30, 2016 3:47 am · id 1 · page 1

[center]Men's Room

Doesn't matter if you're a female contestant, this dirty, dingy place is requiring a new fresh paint of red on the walls. Some random derelict bar let its nasty Men's Room be used as an arena. They can use the extra cash to fix the screwed up piping.

Terrain General: This place is nasty. Most of the stall's doors are about to fall of the hinges. The urinals haven't been cleaned in years. The middle toilet is clogged. There's holes in the walls where duct-taped pipes are visible. The one of the sinks is on the ground. The whole space is 50-by-25 feet. Not much space. Weapons: Toilet seats. Piping. Broken sink.

Bonus Features: None.[/center]

2KD_Everett

Mon May 30, 2016 3:58 am · id 2 · page 1
Dr Queensborough Wrote:

Nathan found himself walking toward a bar, of all places, for the upcoming fight. He had been directed to come here, a place with a sign that was so screwed up you couldn't tell what its name was, but looked around only to see bikers and other sorts that were always foul tempered. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt this time around with matching colored cargo pants cover his lower half. He wore brown boots that fit perfectly. Other than the grey gauntlet that ran the length of his left arm, from shoulder joint to each finger tip, and the sheathed sword it clenched at a half way point within its hand he was a very unassuming fellow. He stood at five foot eight with short cropped brown hair that barely hung down past his ears, hazel eyes, and youthful features with an athletic build. As he approached the front door of the establishment he'd open it and step inside, allowing it to close behind him, as his eyes adjusted to the change in lighting. Going from bright sun to dark bar was always a rough transition.

After a few moments of getting glares from multiple bikers and other unruly looking fellows he'd make his way to the bar. The barkeep didn't say much, a man of few words but of stocky build with a receding hairline and a goatee, but he did gesture toward the hallway not too far from the bar on the left side. There was a sign across the entrance hanging from a string that read "out of order" and above it, on the wall, was the symbol for a rest room. With a sigh he began to walk, ducking under the sign, until he found himself at the door to the mens room. His right hand reached out once more as it turned the rickety doorknob to open it, creaking through the whole motion, so that he could step inside. The soft thud of his boots could be heard from the tile floor and if he was the first one there he'd merely step inside and wait, taking a look in all the stalls so that he could get a good feel of his surroundings.

If his opponent arrived after he did he might find Nathan poking around the sinks, merely investigating.

3Dr Queensborough

Fri Jun 03, 2016 11:04 am · id 3 · page 1

The wait would prove short as the bathroom's door was kicked off its hinges, the old door sliding across the wet floor with a long fracture at its center that nearly separated the object in two. Ezra stepped into the Men's room, scrunching up his nose in distaste as he looked around. He didn't look at all dressed for the occasion in his navy suit and striped tie, the tail end of his trench coat dangling just past his knees. Facing his opponent, Ezra dropped his large haversack (fitted with various weapons) and pulled his sabre from a rigged sheath with his right hand.

He pointed the blade's tip at Nathan.

"I hope you're ready," he said before taking off, leaving the rest of his haversack behind. Crossing the distance, Ezra made use of his range, lunging with his right leg and bending his knee as he leaned forward and thrust the blade towards Nathan's center mass.

1/20

KD_Everett Wrote:

4KD_Everett

Sat Jun 04, 2016 4:44 am · id 4 · page 1
Dr Queensborough Wrote:

Footsteps coming down the short hallway which lead to the men's room would alert Nathan to someones approach. He didn't know if it was his opponent or not so he stood up from his inspection of the broken sinks so that he could face the door. It was a good thing for him that he was far away from it since it was kicked in off of its hinges. With barely any time to react he managed to step to his right with enough momentum that he hit the wall with his shoulder, putting a crack in it due to the poor upkeep of its structural integrity. He was quick to push himself off of the wall as the door settled, seemingly no worse for wear after the impact, so that he could find better footing. As the haversack was dropped Nathan was reaching for the hilt of his sword, the left hand maneuvering the hilt toward the right so that the action would happen quicker.

Hilt met hand in line with Nathans diaphragm about six inches away from his body, bringing the tip of the sheath into a position that found it pointing out to Nathans left and slightly toward the ground. As the sabre was pointed at him Nathan pulled forth his longsword, holding it at his right side on level with is rib cage. It's point was aimed vaguely in the direction of Ezra as Nathan settled into a stance as short words were exchanged. His left foot quickly found itself placed in the front while his right slid back for balance with a heel slightly raised so that the ball of the foot held his weight. The sheath in his left hand was spun so that the gauntlet covered limb gripped it as if it were a secondary weapon despite being made of thick leather. Ezra would realize immediately that the sheath wasn't flimsy, it stayed stiff even without the sword in it.

Nathan didn't really have time to utter a word before his opponent suddenly lunged across the gap in a calculated and professional manner, despite what attitudes might dictate. Nathan suddenly found himself in a flurry of movement in order to avoid being run through. A quarter step back was taken as the sabre's tip came in. His body simultaneously shuffled to his right, Ezra's left, while the sword quickly dipped its tip down so that it'd be on a lower level than the incoming sabre. As the nose dipped it moved from Nathans right to his left, sweeping across his form, while the sheath wielding arm lowered and tucked in with a clockwise rotation of the wrist to bring the sheath tucked in against his form at about the diaphragm level. What would happen would be Nathan's longsword sweeping across his form to parry the sabre out to his left side (Ezra's right), preventing damage that might be sustained due to the changed course by also moving to his right (Ezra's left). The sabre, if not retracted, would sail past the gauntlet covered left arm with but an inch or less space between the two objects.

But in the parry came a counter attack. As the parry happened the sheath was tucked in against the body which would allow the parrying longsword to sweep through a space not but an inch or two ahead of it. As the swords would meet, the sound of metal on metal echoing off tile, he'd take a quarter step forward and swing that sheath horizontally across the distance between the two. The intent was to smack Ezra in the general rib cage area of whatever side was closest, left or right rib cage, with force equal to that of someone being struck by a kendo stick. It'd bruise if he wasn't wearing protection and lacked proper physical training, sting and hurt, but otherwise 'might' cause him to fall back. So what happened to the longsword? As the sheath fired out in its attempted rib cage strike it was raised so that his right arm covered his mouth and nose despite being about 3 inches away from his face. This put the longsword in an almost perfectly perpendicular position to the floor with its point aimed down and one side of its edge lightly sliding along the armored gauntlet of the left arm.

But it didn't stop, not completely, and would continue its motion as it was quickly raised up above his head. The sheath wielding arm pulled itself and the object it carried back as the longsword suddenly dropped in a dangerous vertical slash aimed at Ezra's left shoulder, leaving about an inch or two of the sword's length past the projected impact area. This gave Nathan a bit more room to land a strike, even if it was only a flesh wound, since Ezra would have to make sure he moved past that extra inch of weapon if he chose to pull back or roll his shoulder. If he blocked then it wouldn't matter really. But this would all bring the left arm and the sheath it wielded back into a defensive position, left elbow pointed out to its respective side so that the sheath held guard at an angle to the body. Leaving the point of the sheath to rest an inch or so away from his lower right rib cage.

(OOC: Any issues let me know, been some time since I last saw melee combat like this.)

5Dr Queensborough

Sat Jun 04, 2016 10:55 pm · id 5 · page 1
KD_Everett Wrote:

((No worries. Just remember to mention which foot your character is using when he advances, backs up, etc. Otherwise, things could end up pretty confusing.))

The familiar sounds of metal upon metal echoed throughout the cramped restroom as their fight began. A chorus of cheers erupted from the barroom in response, presumably the bikers were watching the battle ensue on cheap television sets. Ezra figured he would give them (and the rest of the TV audience) quite the spectacle, and was grinning fiercely as he found himself in the midst of competition once more. With practiced ease, as his sabre was displaced, the hunter dragged his lead foot backwards, unbending his knee and curling his arm so his sword would return to a defensive position. He leaned his weight on his back foot, and stood straight once more. However, what Ezra did not do was stand still.

Immediately, he pivoted his lead foot (the right) to the left and shifted his back foot behind it, which turned Ezra in the direction of his opponent as he moved rightward and launched himself into an attack routine. It was a dangerous two-pronged attack indeed. Nathan's sheath being swung powerfully towards the left side of his rib-cage while his sword loomed menacingly. In most circumstances, the hunter would have moved his blade to counter such an attack, though he feared that if he did that he would only open himself up to the opponent's long sword. Instead, Ezra had to be creative and willing to take a hit, and the veteran soldier certainly was willing to hurt and be hurt. Ezra exhaled deeply in unison with the impact of the sheath against his flank, preventing the oxygen in his lungs from being vacated by force. Pain instantly radiated from the area struck, and though he knew instinctively that nothing was broken. He definitely knew that one hell of a hematoma would develop. Fortunately, though his side hurt, it would not be for nothing.

Ezra burst into action just as he was struck, his free arm —which in a skilled sabre fighting stance was often tucked safely behind one's back— lashed out and pressed itself along his left flank, likely trapping Nathan's sheath between his torso and left arm in the process. His calloused left hand would grasp the sheath, keeping it in place despite its user's wishes. He didn't know whether Nathan would abandon the sheath or try to pull it from Ezra's own grasp. But he knew two things: 1) holding onto the weapon was going to be awkward for Nathan considering it was being held like a short, diagonal tug o' war, and 2) judging by the comparative heights and sizes, Ezra doubted he could lose in a test of sheer might.

As Nathan would attempt to pull his sheath back and elevated his sword overhead, he would find suddenly that the sheath would not budge and that Ezra was prepared to meet him and his sword head-on. Muscle memory and his sword training drove his sabre forward as he saw Nathan lift his weapon; his right leg lunging forward and bending as his arm extended at the elbow in a vicious thrust towards the right side of Nathan's chest near where the pectoral muscles bordered with the armpit and shoulder. It wasn't as safe as an actual parry, though Ezra hoped that his attack would suffice as long as his attack struck first. Fortunately, there were reasons to believe that would be the case. Firstly, in raising his sword overhead, Nathan had wasted valuable time which Ezra took advantage of by performing a more straight forward attack. Secondly, considering a sabre fighting stance that required the user to protect their mid-line by turning their body sideways, the left shoulder was one of the furthest targets possible.

Ezra did realize that the attack could be dodged possibly, though it would likely require abandoning the sheath and granting the hunter partial disarmament.

If the attack succeeded, Ezra's sword would pierce Nathan's breast, severing flesh and muscle alike. The force of the blow would push up against Nathan's chest and shoulder, likely knocking his sword swing off course if not right out of his hand as some of the muscles necessary for cleaving and gripping motions were likely torn asunder.

2/20

6KD_Everett

Sun Jun 05, 2016 8:30 am · id 6 · page 1
Dr Queensborough Wrote:

Both fighters knew what it was like to adapt to an ever changing situation. In most cases it didn't matter how much you planned out what you want to happen, something was going to ruin your plan in one way or another. Nathan was no stranger to this aspect of combat, as was Ezra no doubt, and their ability to adapt to the ebb and flow of combat would be what brought them all here into this fighting tournament. It didn't seem that everything was going to go as planned, despite the fact that the sheath struck home and landed a square hit upon Ezra's body. The experienced fighter was quick to react after taking the blow which allowed him to succeed in trapping the sheath between his left arm and body. Considering how motion worked in a human body the fact that he was not able to pull back on the sheath hindered the actual power behind the follow up downward slash with the sword. He didn't relinquish his grip on the sheath which stopped his shoulders from adequately rolling, since pulling the sheath back would pull the left shoulder backward which would send the right shoulder forward slightly for the strike.

It was true that he was in a dangerous situation, one that afforded him little time to think, so he just acted. Even though he didn't relinquish the grip on his sheath at first, and actually tried to pull it from Ezra's grip only to fail, he quickly let go of it in the scant moment that followed as the sabre came forward while the longsword was dropping from above. The left fist would quickly rocket straight up at a slight angle so that he could plant that gauntlet covered fist firmly into the arm pit, a sensitive spot on the body. Despite the height advantage Ezra would have had to slightly pass over the left arm in order to fully thrust and the arm pit was a very soft area that was hard to strengthen. The intent of this was two fold 1) To knock the thrust off course, up and to the right (Ezra's left) so that it wouldn't strike true and 2) To hopefully injure the shoulder in some capacity that might make his sabre play slower or otherwise compromised. Considering that on a full swing Nathan could deliver 760 pounds of force into a human body he'd be issuing less than half of that into his opponent's arm pit. Roughly 300 lbs of force in the quick strike.

While this happened, since the second part of his plan went completely awry, Nathan abandoned the downward thrust mid-way through. His right arm was still dropping, sword in hand, but it's path was altered as his right shoulder started to roll backward as the left fist aimed to drive up into Ezra's arm pit. Hopefully the two actions combined would avoid the full measure of the thrust, and instead carve a dark red line through the shirt across the flesh of his upper right breast that traveled across his shoulder. A wound that cut past flesh and down into muscle, decorating the edge of Ezra's sabre with a lovely crimson color. An unfavorable wound but hopefully it wouldn't hinder him too much. The right hand and the longsword it held would have dropped wide to Nathan's right (Ezra's left), but not to a point that it'd over extend his arm, only for the arm to rotate counter clockwise. This would flip the sword to that it was at an angle, held low, with its point aiming off to Nathan's left (Ezra's right). If things had gone right, and Ezra scored that minor cut and drew first blood, Nathan would quickly raise his sword and aim to collide the bottom 1/3 of it's surface against the sabre.

The intent was to deflect it up and away from him, while positioning his longsword in a favorable position in front of himself, while his gauntlet covered left arm pulled back from its strike. At this point he had abandoned the sheath it seemed. His stance found his left foot forward, toes pointed toward Ezra's body, with the right foot in the rear but on the ball of the foot. The right arm was bent so that the elbow was about six inches from his rib cage, holding his sword in a manner that caused it to cross his body diagonally with the point more toward Ezra while the hilt was closer to Nathan. The left arm, should things have gone well up until this point, would settle in at diaphragm level with the hand open in a position befitting of a hand to hand combatant. His left side was closer to Ezra than the right, Nathan's knees were slightly bent for a good center of balance, and his eyes seemed focused and intent watching the Center of Ezra's body.

"I have to admit, you're pretty big." He wasted not time after he spoke. Ezra would find Nathan striking out in a thrust with that sword aiming for the lead leg, the general knee area, as he took a quick quarter-step forward with his left foot. The thrust itself, although having commitment to strike, was mostly to get Ezra to move and respond so that the second exchange could begin. Ezra would probably realize that Nathan could pull back from his thrust at a moments notice.

Soul Reserve: 100/100

7Dr Queensborough

Mon Jun 20, 2016 7:48 pm · id 7 · page 1

Ezra grinned victoriously as he felt the familiar sensation of his blade tearing through flesh. It didn't give the hunter any particular joy, as he wasn't a sadist, but it was the object of their game and therefore apt for celebration. He couldn't celebrate for long, though, for Nathan's gauntleted fist had struck his armpit. A stinging sensation erupted under his arm, turning his fierce grin into a grimace. Fortunately, the trade was extraordinarily uneven with his sabre finding its mark, and the heavy fist (while causing Ezra some pain and mitigating the worst of his thrust) unlikely to dish out any lasting damage. On the other hand, the punch distracted Ezra long enough to prevent himself from drawing back his sword of his own volition. Instead, Nathan parried from below and sent Ezra's sabre rocketing upwards.

While Nathan adopted a fighting stance, the hunter quickly entered into one as well. He retreated fully from his lunge, his legs returning to their proper position with the right leg leading, and both feet (toes pointed towards Nathan) firmly planted on the ground. The weight was distributed more or less evenly between both feet, giving Ezra the ability to adjust as he pleased. His right arm remained with the elbow bent, his sabre arranged in a middle guard with the point aiming above and the blade itself slightly slanted to the left. Meanwhile, he rotated his new weapon (Nathan's sheath) so that he was grasping it near the opening. He leveled his left hand with the left thigh, keeping the opposite end of the sheath pointed towards the opponent, but in a position where it wouldn't serve as an obstruction for sabre swings.

"My lady has reached similar conclusions," he joked in reply, an amalgam of cheers from boisterous bikers still reverberating within their ears. There was no time for laughter, however, as Nathan immediately began a new attack routine and Ezra had no choice but to react. As the blade soared towards his knee, preternatural force guided the hunter to safety as his right leg took a full step backwards, pulling it out of the range of the opponent's attack sword. The sudden motion caused his left leg to become the new lead leg, and rotated his body to the right so as to position himself on the outside of the longsword. While he shifted position, Ezra positioned the sheath so the end was pointed towards the dirty tiles, and moved it from left to right in a parry aimed to deflect the attacking blade to the inside. The collision of sheath-on-blade, empowered supernaturally, would likely cause the sword (flexible as they are) to vibrate in the opponent's grasp, sending vibrations that would prove painful as soon as they reached his damaged muscles. That said, a parry was only half the reason for the action. Even if Nathan managed to pull the sword away before the two could connect, Ezra wouldn't allow the sheath to pass underneath or over. Instead, it would remain extended and act as a barrier between Nathan's sword and his outside angle.

Simultaneously, Ezra turned his right wrist and elbow in a graceful moulinet, causing the sabre to twirl swiftly in a clockwise direction. The blade's arc (which rotated above the sheath) would bring the blade's edge to the outside angle of Nathan's, giving Ezra ample opportunity to launch a horizontal cut towards the opponent's right bicep/triceps. With Nathan's arm extended in a thrust to such a low target, his upper arm became an open target for reprisal. Ezra had no doubt that Nathan would do everything in his power to remain from being slashed to bits. However, a combination of a simultaneous parry and counter, surprising heightened speed and strength (as Ezra seemed to be reacting much faster than he had before), Nathan's own damaged pectoral muscles, and the positioning of the sheath as a barrier would make such a feat quite difficult for Ezra's opponent.

Could Nathan with his damaged musculature be fast enough to bypass the sheath and block the incoming blow?

Ezra couldn't know. But if he couldn't, the blade would likely bite deeply into Nathan's upper arm, severing very important muscles (in terms of holding a sword properly). Severing the arm entirely was a possibility, but Ezra would save his breath. The hunter would gladly settle for disarming his opponent instead.

show spoilerhide spoiler

Infernal Power Wrote:

> Fiendish Force: On activation, this is a temporary buff (instant/1 post) to both strength and speed (50%). It adds explosive oomph to several of Ezra's commonly used techniques. For example, push kicks and especially throws can be empowered to knock away opponents up to 10 feet. While slams and single/double-legs are empowered to be swifter and cause more damage. > > > > Cool-down: 2

Fiendish Force CD: 0/2

3/20

8Dr Queensborough

Mon Jun 20, 2016 7:53 pm · id 8 · page 1
KD_Everett Wrote:

9KD_Everett

Fri Jun 24, 2016 7:36 am · id 9 · page 1
Dr Queensborough Wrote:

The jest, Nathan should have seen that one coming as soon as he spoke, but alas his mind was too focused on the fight itself. That didn't mean that he didn't internally laugh at the 'that's what she said' humor of it all. But internal dialogue aside there was a series of events playing out that he had to pay attention too. When he had used his sword to thrust at that lead leg he had accomplished exactly what he wanted, getting his opponent to move. The strike itself, although legitimate, was meant to miss and/or be met with reprisal. Not to mention his opponent taking up his fighting stance with sheath in hand told Nathan that he planned to use it in a similar manner that Nathan did. He immediately took notice of the fact that his opponent moved a lot faster than he did before. Luckily Nathan was effectively two or three times better, in just about all areas, than a normal human. That didn't mean he could move his extended arm out of the way. So what did that leave?

His left arm, which had been staying at about diaphragm level close to his body. Said arm was covered in a metal gauntlet and would be instrumental in the coming exchange. Nathan didn't move as fast as Ezra as he started the sheath parry and Moulinet combo, but he didn't have to be. The moment the moulinet started Nathan figured where his opponent was going to strike, especially since the body had turned to align to the outside of the longsword and the arm that held it, and started moving his left hand in kind. Since he couldn't get his right arm out of the way in time the left was going to act as a shield as it shot, full speed, across his body. It was angled so that it slid over his right bicep, against the skin and shirt fabric, with the fingers extended and wrapping so that they came down over the outside of the arm . But that wasn't going to be enough so Nathan tapped into his Ars Anima abilities. A, white, spiritual projection of his hand continued to follow the route that the left hand would have taken, wrapping down and around the upper arm on the outside. Instead of hitting flesh the sabre would hit said spiritual projection, which is equivalent to high carbon steel, and stop with a metallic sound ringing out upon contact.

Nathan would recover from his thrust over the course of these events. If he had waited until the Moulinet finished he wouldn't have been able to achieve the desired result of blocking the strike. He'd finish getting his sword back into its previous position while taking a quick step to his left while turning to his right, shifting his position less than a quarter step away from where the sabre had struck the spiritual projection while making sure he faced Ezra. The fact that he lost his sheath was a nuisance, especially since his opponent used it as a weapon. His left hand would fall back in at diaphragm level as he'd strike once more, but this time at the left hand holding his sheathe. It was a quick strike with the longsword, from his high left to low right, that didn't take much commitment at all. He either had to strike the hand to make it drop the sheathe or get the sheathe out of the way.

Soul Reserve: 97/100

[spoiler] Ken: A branch of the Kenatsu skill. Instead of utilizing a weapon the spiritual energy is gathered into a fist. The energy is then projected forward when a punch or strike is given, taking on the shape and size of the hand it is cast from. The hardness of the spiritual projection is also determined if the hand is covered in some kind of armor. A blunt attack in nature it can deal light to moderate damage, depending on the position struck, and effectively doubles striking power in a single move. Much like Kenatsu this is a very close range skill and requires the fist to make contact.

Cost 3 points from his Soul Reserve Cooldown of 1 turn. [/spoiler]

(OOC: It took me so long to respond because some family came into town which had me busy for awhile. They're gone now so I should be able to post regularly again.)

10Dr Queensborough

Fri Jul 01, 2016 7:49 pm · id 10 · page 1

((No worries. I take way too long to post anyways.))

The hunter's mouth hung open, watching as a magical projection was issued forth and deflected his sabre away with a metallic ring that reverberated off the dirty restroom tiles. Finally! The very reason he had entered the GCL in the first place, access to the greatest fighters in sanctioned duels, and the ability to catalogue their preternatural skills as the event dragged along. It was an interesting force that had met his blade, though it was unlikely to be the strongest spell in Nathan's arsenal, but it intrigued Ezra in any case. His sorcerous power was far more internal, whilst his opponent's seemed to want to burst outwardly at a moment's notice. Unfortunately, both video and Ezra's own recollections would have to suffice for study, as he had no intention of simply daydreaming away and losing the battle while he pondered the intricacies of the esoteric battle arts.

Instead, Ezra's mind roamed back to his training; his body instinctually reacting to the magical parry. He used the momentum of the deflection to send his sabre into a whirlwind of a moulinet. The bade spinning in a counter-clockwise circle overhead, bringing the blade to bear back towards his right side. The motion was fueled both by the power of Nathan's Ken and the rotational force of the hunter's shoulder, spelling doom for his opponent were he to be struck by an attack with such powerful and building momentum. While Nathan stepped slightly to his left and lifted his blade to strike, the opponent had stepped into the circular arc of Ezra's sabre as it came around like a deadly merry go-round. In time with the leftward swipe of his sword, the hunter took a lunging diagonal step to the right (with his right leg), and slid his left leg in a semi-circle until it settled behind his new lead leg. The latter movement caused his left hand (currently wielding the sheathe) to retreat, moving that area of his body away from Nathan's incoming attack, before raising the sheath overhead (with the end of the sheath pointed towards Nathan) in the beginnings of an attack. An attack that looked all the more imminent when instead of attacking for his body, Ezra's sabre whizzed past Nathan in an attempt to overlap Nathan's sword.

In choosing to launch his diagonal cut from his left shoulder, Nathan had left his sword's back edge open to the incoming onslaught of Ezra's moulinet. The blades clashing and diverting Nathan's attack to the right and away from Ezra's body.

However, even as Ezra's attack proved to be a powerful parry, an attack never came from above.

And for good reason.

In the last moment before blade contact, Ezra turned his wrist to the left, causing the back edge of his sabre to bind with the back edge of his opponent's own blade. The act's objective was twofold. Undoubtedly, even the false edge of a sabre would prove effective for parrying, but it was also efficient in dealing a sneak attack. Ezra would use the inner-curve of the sabre, having it snake around Nathan's straight-blade and to the left (Nate's right), and leading its wicked point into an immediate and simultaneous thrust attempt against his opponent's right pectoral muscle (near his other puncture wound but closer to the sternum.) The genius of the attack was multi-faceted. While an attack loomed overhead, Ezra's parry would have seemed like nothing but a parry until the very last split-second as the sabre was turned, and the parry became both deflection and counterattack. Additionally, with the proximity of both swords, any attempt to parry the sabre would inevitably also effect Nathan's own weapon. Especially if another magical projection was used. Would the injured Nathan be able to keep his grasp on his blade if it was struck by his own magic, or pushed away by the force of his own gauntleted hand?

He couldn't know if he would succeed. Nathan's gauntleted arm was still an issue. But he hoped that the feint in conjunction with the small window of time set by his sneak attack would make it incredibly difficult to respond in time. If he couldn't, the sabre's tip would strike true, likely severing muscles and flesh. If the previous thrust hadn't wrenched the blade from his grip, the second would probably succeed in just that, as important muscles would no longer be capable of moving Nathan's arm. Moreover, a second thrust would likely usher in an issue with blood loss. Gradually as blood continues to spill from his current and prospective wounds, Nathan would find himself weaker and weaker.

Fiendish Force: 1/2

4/20

KD_Everett Wrote: