Tournament: Mikage vs Merek

    Merek enters into the place that the tournament is being held, and faces off with Mikage. He nods a bit to her when she comes about, "Well, it looks like you're my first match. I don't do well in tournaments, though I'm hoping that will be fun," he says. Then he takes the time to draw his weapon and take up the stance at his side of the place.

The arena is filled with people, more than a few standing between the stands to be able to get a look at the fight. There are cheers which are nearly deafening when the two combatants are introduced. Merek is well known for his contributions to magical technology and potions, while Mikage had been the previous tournament's final winner.

"As long as you promise not to give up before we're done." Mikage stands along side Rama, on the sands. The Were Fang doesn't usually care for for the spotlight, but tournaments seem to be the one exception to this rule. "Fight with everything you have, and leave it all on the sands."

Waiting for the announcement, Mikage's hand clutches her bow, one hand already on an arrow. As soon as it sounds, she quick-draws it, channeling energy into the elemental projectile, which sails across the arena to impact just in front of Merek, blasting outward with the force of a tidal waves lashing water into his form.

    Merek lifts up his shield when Mikage begins the match. Then he swings up the repelling shield, which does enough to defend him, but it seems like some makes it through. Afterward, he then lowers his stance to begin a chant to summon an Arcane Eye enchantment upon himself. He waits, though as he does... Flames roll along both of his hands, while a light of holy power surrounds him and begins to shimmer.

Silence isn't confirmation, but for Mikage, it doesn't really matter if Merek is as invested as she is. As the water strikes against his stalwart shield, a bit of it splashes back into her direction, ice shards slashing against one of her arms. Even the flicker of arcane magic doesn't really dissuade her from continuing to press the attack.

Aggressive is probably the best descriptor of her fighting style. Mikage is a Were Fang afterall.

There is a sudden aura that appears as she reaches for her sword, the light magic channeling up from her bow and across to the opposite arm as if amplifying it somehow. "Rama, with me!"

The two charge forward together, right into what is likely a trap. Yet with a sweep of her sword and a swipe of Rama's claws, the two aim to strike both high and low, trails of light flickering behind them.

    Merek nods a bit while it looks like Mikage is preparing her next move with her weapons. "Alright, I'll give it my all. If that's what you want." As he lets those attacks wash over him, the man cleanly runs through and forward, before Grand Cross begins to shimmer, infusing his hands and gloves with power, even as Arcane Eye combines to add a boost. And finally, she can tell that there is flame magic that is being used.
    He takes every single hit, and it does a lot of damage, red shimmering, before he swings along into Mikage with the fury of the sun, holy light infused with flame and arcane magic. It's probably fortunate for her, that she has a defense prepared, as what he does would absolutely take most things out.

It is the holy light that hits Mikage first, seeming to overload her own light magic, causing her sword to fly out of her hand in the process, sparking onto the sands. It radiates flame up along part of her body and drives her backwards, even as she throws up a barrier defense a moment too late. Damage radiates from multiple places on her body, glowing red patches where burns have spread and continue to do cause damage over time.

There is a growl that rumbles up from the Were Fang, a flash of her eyes as she channels magic into her now empty hand. With a roar of anger, she charges forward, sweeping a hand out in a clawed motion. It isn't her fingers that strike, however, but large lances of ice that seem to form a 'claw' in the air, slicing towards Merek.

    Merek watches then as Mikage comes at him with the blizzard claws, taking his time to use a basic defense and prepare something from his pocket. He pulls out a signal flare to shoot into her face, only for him to take the claws, managing to take even more damage. In the meanwhile he draws two twin blades, while he begins to swing each of them into her. He settles to a stance.

There is something far more fierce about the way that Mikage is fighting, as if she were giving far more into her monster instincts than normal. It has been nearly three years that they were trapped in this game, and most people have never seen her Were Fang form. Could this be the day?

Drawing back from the slashes of his blades, a pair of glowing lines add to the injuries already taken. This close, it is hard to use certain types of her magic, so Mikage reaches for her bow, pulling free another arrow and firing it point-blank at Merek.

This one seems to have the same effect as before, but the force of the blast of water is enough to push Mikage backwards, riding the energy from it to get distance from Merek, allowing her the benefit of range against his attacks.

    Merek watches as the Tsunami Arrow comes to him, and he takes his time to put up the defense. This does little to protect him, but he won't give up. He is going to see the fight through. He walks forward and lifts up his magic to summon the Thorn Bind Hostage which he uses to seal about Mikage. What better way to fight someone who is landing their hits than to make sure when they hit you, it is returned to them?

All around Mikage, thorns rise up, clasping around her legs and seemingly rooting her to the spot. To escape the reach of this trap, it would surely cause even more pain.

However, the look on her face is intense, already reaching for another arrow. "This isn't going to slow me down." She warns. Despite the pain, she seems to be... enjoying this.

There is a rush of wind which leaves behind another aura around her form, clinging to her arms and radiating power. Pulling against the thorns, Miki grits her teeth and fires off another arrow, this one seeming to draw elemental forces down onto Merek, pummeling him with ice.

Just when it seems he might escape that, though, she claws the air again with her free hand, more blades of ice joining into the fury, even as her motions rip deep gouges into her legs.

    Merek nods a bit to Mikage, "Well. That's good, because I'm enjoying the fight," he says. Then he begins to wait for her attack. He manages to take a fair amount of damage, and it looks like he's about to be on his last leg. Still, he lifts up his potion and begins to throw the bottle. It explodes along, and manages catching the woman on fire. It's not going to win the fight, and he's not likely to win the whole fight. Though, it seems like he doesn't plan to give up. "Let's finish this. No more games, I won't back down like the time before. Even if there is no way for me to win."

Merek had said it: No more games. Mikage replies with a flash of a grin. It seems as if the cheers of the crowd only drive her onward. "Alright then, let's do this."

The Were Fang rears back and /roars/. It's a snarling, gutteral sound that seems to come from the monster within rather than the normally mild-mannered Ranger. Rama snarls at the same time, adding his own call to the wild.

Then, both are charging in Merek's direction, ready to strike with elemental claws and rending feline ones, the pair acting in tandem.

    Merek watches then as Mikage comes at him. He lifts up his weapons, though the magic which she uses means that he will not be able to attack. He thinks for a moment, and comes to a conclusion. If he can't win, he will at least try his best to deal with her his own way as well. He comes about to swing towards the woman, and uses his magic to heal him for a moment, and throws a bottle at her.
    Then he tries to draw a shield about in front of her. If anything strikes him it will likely double back onto her. Nowhere near enough to defeat her, but enough to make her think for a moment he has a trick up his sleeve. He doesn't, as the damage of his reaches down to base. He is defeated.

The defensive layer of stone that Merek casts over himself doesn't seem to be enough to to stop the force of Ranger and animal companion working together.

However, that effect seems to start occuring to Mikage as well, the gray stone slowly moving up along her body, slowing her motions. It seems to stop her mid-slash, freezing her in place briefly with a stone snarl written on her features.

There is a heartbeat where the crowd doesn't know what is happening. Then, the stone starts to crack. It bursts outward and where Mikage had been a moment before, is a monster. A monster that just so happens to be wearing her clothing.

Stone plates run up along her nose and across her cheeks. Horns stick out from her head. Wings flare from her back. Hands and feet have formed into wicked looking talons and a huge, spiked tail lashes out behind her.

Yet, Mikage's blue eyes are the same as she snarls.

The crowd goes wild.

There are many who have been waiting for this for yeras, even wagering on just what sort of beast she might be.

Then, as if to distract from this, Rama just bites at Merek's ankle, doing the last bit of damage to end the match.

Mikage rises back to her full height, shaking off the dust of the stone and grins, her teeth elongated. "Thank you, Merek." He had given her a perfect opportunity to play to the crowd.

    Merek watches when it looks like Mikage is about to transform. He does not know what to do, because Rama is on his ankle. When she's fully transformed, and comes down on him, his HP is completely wiped away. The man rolls about until he's placing his hand to the floor of the tournament arena, and he nods a bit, looking up to her. "That was quite a match." The victory is confirmed and he takes his time to stand up once the battle is over and he is able to return enough HP.
    He then offers a wave to the crowd, and a little nod to Mikage, "Thank you. I am glad to fight you, and without worrying about winning."