Arian Robert Thomas vs. Argus McFarland
FIGHT!
Arian Robert Thomas vs. Argus McFarland
GTB I. Imported from live Gaia guild archive.
Table of contents
- Tacitus
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- Dominick Kidd
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
- AT da Great
- Tacitus
The roar of the crowds had been silenced in preference for the soothing sound of rain interspaced within gusts of wind that tore through the stadium seating. Despite the wind and rain the elderly gentleman calmly strode forth from the northern gates, a deck of cards in hand -a one handed shuffle in thwe works- and looking the part of a classical dealer, complete with suspenders, vest, and visor. He was slick, old school stylish for this fight. He wouldn't be playing any games of chance this time around, nay, he'd simply watch as his opponent tipped his hand in the progression. An opening flop would reveal to all just what each one held. A turn would heighen suspense and bring peril to one or both of the combatants. However, only one would be able to ride the river through to victory and collect.
.: Nice Texas Hold em metaphor. :.
Flowing shoulder lenght dreads, chocolate flesh and a medium build. 6 foot 2 inches and 185 lbs of pure muscle would move closer to the stadium. Dressed in a black tank top, black sweats, both his hands and feet were wrapped with guaze as he would move with definite steps towards his opponent.
Blade steel sword strapped across his chest and rested against his spine. When he stood 5 yards of his opponent, he would tilt his head sideways as grey orbs focused on his opponent. Basic oxygen manipulation and the air within a three foot radius would begin to swirl around his form, his hair and clothing moving with the breeze.
((Thank you, I try. ^__^``` Though usually only when I'm tired. XDDD I likely won't be doing it again...much. X.x))
Already the man had tipped his hand, at least to a small degree, with the alteration of the air around him. Despite his age the elderly gentleman's visual accuity went far beyond the norm, picking up on the subtle hints that the wind around Arian was not acting the way the storm had intended. Two cards slipped from his deck, swiftly taken by his free right hand, some basis of probability and fate giving him the two cards he required. A smirk came across the old man's lips as his voice rose to be heard over the gentle rain and occasional gusts, "Right dismal day, would ye say? Can't say I be against the rain though, nah' entirely." He kept on shuffling, the two cards in his right hand balancing on a single figer for each. The rain and wind did not seem to affect this balance, nor did the cards get wet.
[Sh, JoR]
No answer really necessary to this point as he watched the man. Shrugging his shoulders, he would place his hands into his pocket as the tempature from his body started to drop slowly, a few degrees each passing second.
Two more cards were slipped from the deck as he shook his head, "Nobody is ever in tha mood ta chat these days." If one had been watching The Dealer through his fights it would be a barely perceptable change, but each time he seemed to be younger at the outset of each. It was as if his winning streak revitalized not only his spirit but his body as well. Instead of appearing in his seventies he seemed well in his early fifties, and fit at that. It was as if he was gambling with his own life, but would he know when to cut his losses lest he lose it entirely?
[Sh, JoR, 8H, 8S]
Right hand raised and the blade in which was strapped to his back was removed from its sheath. Holding the blade pointed towards the earth in his right hand, he would continue to hold his position as his body heat continued to drop. No acknowledgement of the cards nor the words being spoken.
Those cards held in his left hand produced two more which were quickly shuffled into the four dancing about his right hand. As yet they produced no effect aside from a sort of ressonance between them, something that just screamed that Argus had dealt himself a winning hand. It was his job to stack the deck and put up a good face for his employers despite the gratuitous property damage they incurred and the vigilante status of their justice. His eyes remained upon his opponent, ready for motion that might never come. Argus, for one, hoped the lad would keep the blade well away from him.
Seriously, getting stabbed hurt.
[Sh, JoR, 8H, 8S, 8D, 8C]
His body heat dropping constantly with each passing second that moved by. As he exhaled, a frost type of effect would stem from his lips and into the air around him. He wouldnt move from this one spot as instead he would raise the blade and allow it to sit comfortably on his shoulder. Eventually this card trick would have an punchline to it.
10Tacitus
The Dealer could wait around all day, even with the creak in his old bones. The one man saw fit to simply stand and watch as Argus drew his cards and made them dance. Argus, for one, had not a problem in the world with that.
[(Sh, JoR, 8H, 8S, 8D, 8C) 6S, JoB]
The crowd would boo and toss trash towards the stadium in which the two "fighters" stood. Arian would continue to watch the man, obilvious to the wounds made by the small crowd willing to tough out the storm to watch them. The water running down his chocolate flesh, he would begin to manipulate the air around him to keep the water from touching his form and the ground around him.
12Tacitus
With cards in hand, two more being added to his collection, Argus seemed content to see how the game would play out. His body would move forward with speed beyond that usually capable of an old man. A quick feint would send a single card at Arian's lower left side with the force to slice through flesh with ease. A mere bluff, and a damn good one at that, as the cards in his left hand whipped around to slash across the man's chest. As opposed to the single card, each of those in his left hand was charged with magical energy. Their strength far surpassed steel and their edges were as razor blades when used in such a fashion. Something about the whole attack seemed slightly off, as though the bluff were really a game all its own wrapped up in something far greater.
[(Sh, JoR, 8H, 8S, 8D, 8C) 6S, JoB, 9S, 9C]
And thus now the old man would see why Arian had spent so much time dropping the tempature of his form. Given that Arian's main skill was movement at high rates of speed, his movements caused friction to raise highly within his form... which could lead to combustion if gone unchecked. The lowering of his body heat would allow him to move at high rates of speed while returning his tempature to normal. An Ace in the hole if you will.
As he pushed off, he would allow the card to rip through his left side without bothering to try and stop it, he would tilt his body some so that the blade moved to his left side. The card would nick his body enough to cause blood flow, but nothing serious. His movements would place him inside the body of Argus at the three yard mark as Arian would swung upwards and through the form of his opponent. Due to the small distance between them(5 yards), and his opponents forward movement, it would be covered in about the span of a half a second. Diagonal cut from his opponents right hip to his left shoulder with enough depth in the slice to cause serious damange. The wind about his form would continue to move in its swirl formation around his form and Argus.
14Tacitus
The blade came up and made contact with the elderly man's clothing before a blinding white flash pulsed around him. Several cards in his hand were consumed in a blaze of light and discharge of magical energy. The blade would find itself gliding across his skin to little effect, though it did have the nasty side effect of ruining a rather nice outfit. With those cards remaining in his left hand, plus two new additions, Argus would keep close to Arian and try to hook the man's blade under his right arm. Either way he would attempt to slash at the man's arm and wrists with the cards.
[Vital Shield of Greed ||||||||] [Sh, JoR, 8H, 8S, 8D, 8C 6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H]
.: Using main account due to mule being 3 day banned. :.
The cards would be met with a small problem. The fact that Arian was manipulating the air around his form, he would shift it around at a faster rate as his sword was moved to be trapped. The light cards would be met with winds equal to that of a strong gale, enough to push them away from Arian's body as he performed his next action.
The weapon would be twisted as such as that the double edge black titanium weapon would now sit with the flat end pointed upwards. This was done so that if the armor that the old man was using was not underneath his arm, the blade would cut into the flesh and tear at the arteries that underlined the skin. With a quick jerk, he would pull the weapon backwards as he lined up the blade with the form of the old man, his left hand sitting on top of the blade.
The pull back and the thrust would only take a half of second of time as the guaze on Arian's left hand would be ripped apart. A electrical surge would run from the body of Arian into the weapon itself as it was driven towards the frame of his opponent. Arian struck in such a manner that the weapon would cut through the tender flesh of his opponents neck while the electrical current would transfer from the weapon to his opponent due to his will. At the end of the strike whether it hit or not, Arian would end up on the backside of his opponent as his movements would come fast enough to depict him stopping at a distance away.
16Tacitus
Noting his inability to strike the man directly with his cards he became slightly frustrated, but did not let it show. He had a good poker face, if nothing else. As the blade slipped away the Dealer made no move to try and keep it trapped, nor did he seem surprised when it moved to strike his neck and deliver a shock. The blade would slide to one side as the discharge created a brilliant flare that rippled down his body. Streaks of black became apparent in his hair while his body became more defined and his face younger by a good decade or so. Two cards slipped from the deck and immediately burst into flames, the other cards gaining a glow for only a moment.
[Vital Shield of Greed ||||||||] [6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, JH, JD]
No damage had been created during his previous attack and thus he would move back. As the continuing movement of the gale force winds swirled around his body, he would move back a couple of feet as he turned to face his opponent. With a good distance of space between them, he would shift his left hand outwards as he compressed most of the onygen molecules (we will say half) that surrounded his form into a orb within his left hand.
The winds that continued to move within the orb would begin to shift directions till it was no longer headed within the same spin. Instead it would begin spin in many different directions as the winds begin to "rub" against each other. He would lean back his head as he watched the change within his opponent without speaking, the orb starting to take on the form of electrical energy.
18Tacitus
Drawing two more cards Argus regarded his opponent with a rather stoic face, carefully observing the growing orb of air that was producing an electric charge. He would advance on Arian, the gathered cards held before him in a position as if to lash out at the other man.
[Vital Shield of Greed |||||||] [6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, (don't have the card list on me)]
[meh.]
Pushing off backwards as the orb managed to stay above his palm due to his will over the gathering wind, he would allow the energy to continue to build as he moved. As his toe touched down on the ground again, he would immediately push off on the balls of his foot to his right as he opened up more space between himself and his opponent. Depending on his opponents next movements would determine wether or not he would attack or defend as the distance between them was about 10 yards at the most.
20Tacitus
When he slipped two more cards from the deck he would not pause his motion, continuing after Arian with all due haste. The two previous cards as well as the two just pulled would whip through the air towards the elderly man's opponent. Force of wind would seem to fail against them, some force almost immunizing them from the effect, as if abstinence reigned supreme. In fact, air resistance would seem to fall to zero as well. Each of them were aimed to embed themselves in Arian's chest, but would detonate in a furious burst of cold-aligned energy with hopes of forming a solid block of ice around the man to entrap him.
[Vital Shield of Greed ||||||||] [6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, 3D, 3H, 3S, 3C]
Shifting his form slightly to the right as he allowed his left leg to become his front leg, he would move to push off again as the cards moved towards his being. Moving towards his right, he would have figured that the cards were easily dodged until the rupturing of the cards with the production of cold aligned energy would catch him off guard. Now his left leg and arm weighed down by the formation of solid ice around those limbs would cause him his escape to be slightly slower as he continued to move to his right with the two formations weighing his body down.
But in turn Argus would have given Arian a property which he could never truely build on his own without immense concentration.... he had given him water. The moment the ice came in contact with his skin, it had become a part of his will and thus he could freely control it. With his concentration now torn between the ice and orb of electricity in his right hand, his opponent would be forgotten for a brief second as the molecules within the ice would begin to speed up and slam off each other. In turn the ice would begin to melt as the drops of water would splash upon the ground. Arian would continue to move to his right as he concentrated on keeping the ice melting the orb spinning.... the energy ever building.
22Tacitus
The old man blinked as the ice began to quickly melt, something he had not accounted for. Two more cards would slip from the dwindling deck as he moved towards Arian, the rest of the deck released to begin swirling around his right arm. The elderly gentleman kept an eye on the orb of building energy, but his focus remained upon the man himself, darting in with the intent of slashing across thighs with the cards. If Arian moved out of range the two new cards would launch forward with a flick of his wrist, aimed at his chest. Like before, they seemed to almost ignore the wind.
[Vital Shield of Greed ||||||||] [6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, 5D, 5H]
Several things were happening at once, but the shift in the air as the cards moved towards him would throw him off his concentration with the ice that covered his arm and legs. As the ice stopped melting and was only a third of the way done, the pure cold starting to drop the tempature of Arian's body slightly, Arian's attention would shift towards the approaching cards. Noticing that in that brief instant that they seemed to cut through and thus ignored the bases of wind resistance, he would note that no matter what they were still playing cards, thus their weight would have to be somewhat equal to such.
Lifting the block of ice that was his left hand into the path of the cards, the molecules no longer vibrating together to melt it, he would shift his concentration to the wind around him. A little gust of wind on the back ends of the cards would push them upwards so that the flat end of the cards came towards Arian..... not much concentration spent on doing so. If they continued on their normal path, Arian would bat them away with the ice block, something that would nearly wrench his arm out of its socket. If the cards didnt continue on the path, but moved like normal cards and thus spun randomly out of control in the air, than he would keep the air cross in front of his body. Either way the ice would resume melting (upon contact if the cards continued) and the orb would still be increasing in power.
24Tacitus
((I appologize for the extended delay. I thought I had editted my previous post but apparently I had not, meaning it didn't go through at the time.))
The cards were deflected, but only to a partial degree as they continued towards the younger man only to detonate in a shower of crimson without actually making contact with him. As the crimson field expanded magic would drain from the air, any currently active effects currently being purged from the realm. As a side effect the ice would evaporate and cease existance shortly thereafter, any water created by the previous cards dispelled. The orb may or may not be affected, and might even be unleashed in a furious surge with no magic to contain it. Two more cards were slipped from the deck as the elderly man held back so as to not be caught within the 3ft radius purge.
[Vital Shield of Greed ||||||||] [6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, 4H, 4D]
.: Quite alright... I apologize for any delay you might have experienced from your last post to this current one. :.
Strange things were occuring as the ice pretty much disappeared from the air that crossed across his body, and the fact that his leg was now free.... but the effect that the ice would have had on his body would have play the part necessary for the next move as Arian furrowed his eyebrows at the cards were drawn from the remaining bit of the deck. The orb would go uneffected due that it wasn't a form of magic and thus would continue to spin within his right palm.
The ground beneath his feet would rupture beneath his feet as he would push off. Gaining speeds that could be consider instantanious due to the fact that those who held normal optics wouldnt be able to preceive his movements, Arian would cover the 10 feet of ground between them in about the time that it would take to inhale a breath. The orb would be aimmed to crush the ribs of the elderly gentleman as the speed of the approach mixed with the rotation would be enough to tear through clothing, flesh, quite possibly any defense that he may have up at any given moment. If the attack failed, the orb would disperse in a rather violent explosion, pushing Arian away from his elderly opponent... but the electricity would move through the water on his opponent's clothing and the ground around him, and that in the air (remember the rain), possibly killing him in that manner.
26Tacitus
((I had meant that the winds keeping it in check might be affected. XP It is my mistake for not clarifying all of the effects of the purge (all active magical effects are dismissed, including psionic or supernatural elemental control), so I will not press the issue.))
A Raise.
The old man's eyes followed the man with an accuracy that was uncanny, almost as if figuring where he was be before he could possibly arrive at his intended destination. Not only was his visual accuity heightened to a point well beyond supernatural, but his mind was running through probabilities and twists of fate with speeds that put supercomputers to shame. He didn't seem to provide much of a defense against the attack, showing perhaps that his reaction times in terms of physical ability to move could not match his visual accuity. Pain seemed to shoot through his body as the orb made contact with him and a blinding flash spread outward from the point of contact.
A pulse of white light would surge out from Argus, pushing away Arian even if he didn't leap back himself. His shirt seared away as blood shot through the point of impact, red and black bone showing through skin. Lances of electricity danced out from his body, reaching towards the heavens and all around before slowly retreating back to his smoking form. For a moment his elderly frame remained motionless as if held in shock, his back arched with eyes held open wide as he gave a silent scream to the gods above. Slowly he fell to his knees and crumpled forward, the remaining deck scattering on the winds as his head slumped forward. His body twitched erratically from the electrical discharge it had come in contact with, but no apparent burn marks were evident where the electricity would have passed through him and out to ground itself.
Check-raise on the turn with pocket aces. Would Arian go all-in to call the old man's bluff?
[Energized Vital Shield of Greed |||||||||||] [6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C]
Arian being pushed back from the crumpled form of the old man upon contact, would come to a skidding stop about 15-20 feet away. Regaining his balance after a few seconds, he would walk forward to his fallen blade and retrieve the weapon without a word. Moving towards the fallen man cautiously, he would begin to spin a small amount of wind around the blade. Stopping at about the five yard mark, he would look upon the fallen man as awaiting to see if he was still breathing.
28Tacitus
The old man wasn't breathing, or at least did not seem to be visually or by any sense of vibration in the air. This didn't mean that he wasn't breathing or that he was dead, just that he was hiding it rather well, almost supernaturally. When you spend your whole life learning to up the ante in poker against the supernatural you tend to learn a few tricks to bluff your way through just about anything. He drew no cards just the same as he apparently drew no breath, but those he had been gathering maintained their magical charge. The change had been subtle, but where he had once looked elderly he now looked more defined. Salt-n-pepper hair and a full mustache. Strong arms and lithe legs.
He was young again, power flowing through his veins that he'd not felt in ages.
[Energized Vital Shield of Greed |||||||||||] [6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C]
Throughout the match, the elder gentleman had been getting younger and younger... that was quite distrubing to Arian. So of course he wasn't going to move any closer than he was now and in fact, the air around him would start to form and compress into another sphere as he started to back up some, brief sparks of electricity being given off as the air rubbed against each other.......
Why wasnt there a judge for this thing to determine if he was dead or not.
30Tacitus
Edit: ((The strikeout below came after a realization that you didn't say anything. XD Whatever he says there doesn't really matter, so I'm not going to bother putting anything in, because it'll only sound corny.))
Still the man did not move, but his voice came clearly from his body, "There is no judge because there has been no death, nor any incapacitation." A long groan passed from the man with the soudn of cracking bones, giving the impression something unseen had moved to stand. Even the apparent location of his voice had changed to where it would be if he was standing, "I had been waiting for you to hit me. As soon as I saw the gathering electricity I knew I had to let it loose upon my body." The voice seemed to be growing closer and moving slightly to Arian's left, "If you could have known just how much I wanted you to fry me on the spot..." A brush of wind and the voice moved far to the left, ninety degrees from the direction of Argus, "Even now, I'm begging for you to hit me again. Though you can't. How can you hit me when you can't even see me? Oh sure, you can see what you'd think is me, but how will you ever truly find me?"
He was lying out his ass, of course, throwing his voice like a pro. Even to vibrational senses and wind based powers it would seem as if the voice was coming from where Argus wished it. This old fool was damn good at bluffing.
[Energized Vital Shield of Greed |||||||||||] [6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C]
The voice coming from several different directions was freaking Arian out a lot. Looking around, he would furrow his eyebrows together. The wind would begin to increase slighlty as he realized that his body tempature was about norm and he began to drop it slightly. "I dont need to hit you to win this fight... all I gotta destroy what looks like you." He would say as his baritone voice would only reach the elder gentleman without the crowd being able to hear it. Indeed this was all a ploy, a way to buy time and call Argus' bluff all at the same time.........
32Tacitus
The old man still did not move, his body still appearing to be little more than a puppet or a corpse. Now the voice began to move up close behind Arian, "You can't win this, boy. You'd think you can, but truly, what good will destroying an illusion do?" The voice would skip away again, calling from a distance, "Try it. Kill the puppet." Two cards began to move, the black Joker and the Ace of Spades, dancing through the winds to float in front of Arian. Arian's face was clearly displayed on the joker, "I'm playing you for the fool, boy." His laughter resounded through the arena before the old man seemed to be standing behind him, breathing down his neck, "Nothing but a fool."
[Energized Vital Shield of Greed |||||||||||] [6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C]
Anger rushed through is body, but hell this was high stakes poker we are talking about.... the gamble with one life. So with that being said, Arian kept his poker face on as the sparks erupted in his mind, his train of thought focusing on one thing. That voice.
Something wasn't quite right by the fact that he was being talking to and not attacked. Taking one step towards the "doll" of Argus which had undergone so much physical change throughout the match, but yet it wasn't the real thing.... something was off about that. "Well the way I see it. If your having so much fun playing with me... you wouldn't mind in the least if I destroy your doll," he would continue to walk forward while talking, the 20 foot distance being closed rather quickly as he dispelled heat from his form. "And once that is done, I want to see you attack me in such a manner that doesn't include it." The energy that vibrated rather violently in his hand as the strength of the orb started to increase.... Arian would keep his steel Grey eyes alert, his ears open to what his opponent would have to say.
34Tacitus
As Arian got closer he would notice the cards on the ground were not wholy stationary. The symbols for the suits on the cards were slowly spinning while the depictions of people on the face cards seemed to be alive. Whispers floated up from the face cards as they spoke to one another, but their words were nonsensical strings of poker metaphors and terms strung together into a sort of code. Then again, it could have simply been random noise. The voice seemed to follow Arian, laughing softly in his ear, "Kill it. See what good it'll do you. Blast it. Slice it to bits. Rip out its heart. Waste your efforts on a puppet while I gather my strength unseen." It was hard to tell at this point whether he wanted Arian to forget about his body or make some sort of full-out attack. Then again, a masterful poker player is one that can't be read easily, bluffing or not.
[Energized Vital Shield of Greed |||||||||||] [6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C]
On the next step, the strain of constant continual motion at high speeds would begin to take its strain. He had only a couple more times to use this move before his muscles would completely snap, rip and tear.... but the voice gave him the go ahead.
The push off as he performed instantanious movement, would put him right upon the "doll" within the same time frame as an intake of breath. The pain that raced through his form would be unbareable to normal beings, but Arian was far from normal. The right hand that pulsated with the condensed energy would be driven towards the "doll" as he aimmed to........................
No.
There wouldnt be a repeat performance as the energy would instead be dispelled into the air never to be used again. The whole thing was a distraction, a feint if you will make Argus believe that he was a one trick pony and that was the only Ace he had up his sleeve. The attack instead would turn into a elbow thrown towards jawline of his opponent. But the wind around him would shift violently as he prepared a subtle defense against the cards should they attack him.
36Tacitus
There would be a slight pull on the energy as it was dispelled, as if The Dealer was attempting to steal it away before it could be undone, an exercise in futility. The strike against the man's jaw caused the flesh to shift sharply to one side, oddly reminiscent of a stack of cards pushed to one side. Working his jaw the flesh shuffled back into place, quite literally, and he looked up to Arian with a smile, "Hard to know what to believe, isn't it?" All of the cards around him began to spin and rise into the air, his need to hold them now gone. With age came wisdom and infirmity. Now that his years had been peeled away he seemed to have much greater strength within him, much greater power over his cards and his fate. The enchantment from before that allowed his cards to ignore the wind would now only be stronger, but The Dealer would not yet tip his hand. A burst of fluttering cards would send him flying back and up to his feet, cards moving into an orbit around him like planets around a sun.
[Energized Vital Shield of Greed |||||||||||] [6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C]
The body tempature within his form had risen. Such as the cause of the move he was constantly using as well as the stretching of his muscles pass their normal limitations.
There would be no hesitation on the part of Arian. Being a masochist warrior who lived to be hit and deliver a more painful blow than the one he was receiving, when the shock and shiver ran through his elbow and forearm... all those feelings would come back. So as his opponents jaw shifted back he moved to talk, Arian would already be in motion to attack physically again.. the air around him moving to press against the cards to make sure he had a clear path to his opponent.
As his right arm shifted back to a defense position, his left hand would already be coming around to throw a low hook towards the side. His aim was to slam into the fist into the spot right between the ribs and hip bone of hip bone of his opponent. Yeah an evil smile of happiness would appear on the features of the dark warrior.......... and this wouldnt be the end of the onslaught.
38Tacitus
A flare errupted around The Dealer as his shield died away completely, though he was certainly far from defenseless. Arian's strike came in hard and fast, slipping through the 'cloud' of cards that were set in orbit around Argus. Had the The Dealer not been peeling away the years he would certainly have had his gut mixed up a bit, likely with some damage to his kidneys. The one problem with that, however, was the fact that he didn't seem to like the idea of being injured. Arian's strike sunk into his flesh, passing through his clothing like it was paper with a crumpling sound. If Arian knew what it felt like to stick his hand into a bag filled with playing cards he would certainly be recalling that as the man's 'skin' tried to clamp down around Arian's wrist. Dozens of cards would try to sink into his flesh all across his hand and up to his wrist. Between the slight enchantment to help be rid of wind resistance and the force applied Argus hoped to cut right through the wind barrier around Arian's fist. The old man's hands woul whip up and try to grab the younger man's skull with the intent of headbutting him as if his skull were made of steel.
[6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6S, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C]
His hand caught up in the "flesh" of his opponent and in a rather awkward position. Given that the wind around his fist was not as strong as he would prefer, his hands and wrist would be nicked by the cards as small cuts formed on his flesh. As he bleed, the man's hands would be racing up to grab ahold of his skull and bring his head forward for a headbutt.
But he would meet with something that would disinteresting most people. Given that Arian had raised his right hand in a defensive position as he threw the punch, it would mean that it would rest between the two men's body. So as Argus pulled, Arian would switch his arm so that it was parallel to the ground.... just to set his opponent up for a forearm shiver to the neck. But the bad thing was, that Arian would still get a head butt given that a forearm shiver doesn't provide enough momentum to stop such an attack.
His goal was only to lessen it and buy himself some time to reinforce the wind around his form to push the cards away completely as the sharp pain on his left arm was starting to worsen. More than likely Argus' would take the shot in the windpipe/adam's apple..... recovery would be needed if he wanted to continue with the headbutt. Arian would be slightly dazed from such a shot and his wind would falter for a brief second, letting the cards dig into his skin even more before they would be pushed away slowly (given the headbutt occurs, this is what would happen.....)
40Tacitus
The momentum of the headbutt was slowed, but it hit home nonetheless with a sickening crack, not entirely from Arian's skull. He seemed to be breathing fine, but the intake of breath came from all across his body, not simply from his windpipe. Several of the cards dancing through the air were quickly gathered into Argus and forced through his body. With a tremendous blast of sound and corrosive acid the world would go white from the power unleashed in a maelstrom around the two combatants. Pure death would flood into devestating sound waves (JoB/6S) and mix with the ancient magic of wrath (9C/9S). A sort of static interference (6H/6D) would run through with a form of corruption (4H/4D) to dissolve away any remaining defenses (4S/4C). Being at the center of the blast would be detrimental to Argus as well, but the majority of it was being forced into that fist and out into Arian.
If nothing else he'd lose the hand and a fair deal of his arm.
[6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6D, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C]
((Note: If Arian can pull out in the time it takes the cards to enter Argus, which is a very small window, the blast will not occur.))
But there was pain........
There would be a loud ringing sensation as Arian's footing was lost. This in turn would cause him to fall backwards and stumble a bit.... or so it would seem. See the deal with giving such a blow like that, would be that you putting pain upon yourself. So chances are that Argus would be hearing the same ringing sensation that Arian was hearing at this moment, having unstable footing, so forth and so on.
The falling was a way to get momentum going to pull his arm away from his opponent and if his opponent moved with him, than he would turn his hips and torso to the left to swing Argus around his body while the cards would start to move. Granted that Argus took in air throughout his entire body, taking a forearm shiver to the neck was no joke.... especially since such a thing can push the laryngeal prominence into the thyroid cartilage surrounding the larynx (better known as getting your voice box crushed).
The process of the swing was to take Argus around his body in an arc and about 180 degrees through, stop his rotation but allow Argus' momentum to continue to carry him. This is turn would more than likely get his hand free while jerking his shoulder out of socket (granted that there will be resistance to such a move). So Arian was free and had his shoulder out of socket, Argus had cards in his body and was moving away from Arian....
They were back to square one.
42Tacitus
With contact broken the gathered cards would filter back out of The Dealer's body and return to their orbit around him. While it was true that he had more options with his returned youth, the timing seemed to be giving him trouble. Furthermore, the sound of crumpld paper accompanied the return of breath to his lips, a fierce look in his eyes as he slipped two more cards into the mix.
[6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6D, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C, 2S, 2H]
Popping his shoulder back into socket as he winced slightly.... Arian was getting slightly pissed. He was fighting a fighter that got younger with each passing second, was seemingly a doll being controlled by some outside force, impervious to damange, and was using cards to do crazy shit...
Needless to say, he felt it was pointless to attack now. So rotating his shoulder to get use to the feeling of the his dislocated shoulder back its place, he would keep his grey eyes on his opponent.... his vision fading every few seconds due to the head butt. Outside of his body about 3 feet from his form the wind would spin orb like around him.
44Tacitus
Following the previous two cards came their mates, along with what seemed to be an entire deck stocked with similar cards. These superfluous cards did not hold quite the same magical charge as their explosive bretheren, but seemed to remain as sharp and wind-resistant nonetheless. He began advacing on Arian as the cards in orbit increased the speed of their revolutions. A single non-charged card was launched at Arian, aimed for his chest, but the "old" man made no more offensive actions.
[6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6D, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C, 2S, 2H, 2C, 2D]
He would catch the card......
why not? I mean it was only a playing card more than likely meant to attack only when it's master will was added to it. Given that he was unaware of if it was charged or not, he would simply gather it into his hands before it would reach his form. Ripping it..... or aiming to ripe it in half he would toss it aside after wards while still holding his position while his opponent advanced. The air would still move around his form of course.
46Tacitus
The card wouldn't do much when it was ripped in twain, a slight burst of magical energy, but nothing else. Argus, meanwhile, added another whole deck of cards to those charging through the air around him. Among them was a single arcane symbol, the symbol for Destroy. Instead of one card he directed two towards Arian with the intent of putting a hole in his chest.
[6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6D, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C, 2S, 2H, 2C, 2D, De, 101]
Side step.
There would be no need to do anything else except that. But he would make movements towards his swords as the winds kept moving around his form at a faster rate that each second passed by.
48Tacitus
The two cards would whip around, taking a long path around the arena to join back up with the growing cloud of cards suspended in the air about Argus. From within his self-constructed cage flickers of his smile would reach Arian, "You should learn to stack the deck, boy." A surge of twenty five cards would lash out at Arian, not all at once but in groups of five in rapid succession, like five shotgun blasts to the chest. Furthermore, it seemed as though it were only a precursor to what was in store.
[6S, JoB, 9S, 9C, 6D, 6H, 4H, 4D, 4S, 4C, 2S, 2H, 2C, 2D, De, En, 130]