Match of the Millennium

Description: Brothers, Agamemnon and Menelaus are having a quarrel about what they should do next. Menelaury wants to take a boat trip but Agamemnon wants to spend more time exploring the ruins at Hisarlik. As the argument escalates to harsh words and physical fighting, who will get their way?

[ALBERT]
This is where the battle of Troy once took place. Today, another one will take place here -- but thankfully, nothing quite as dramatic or, heaven forbid, as violent.

Well, assuming no one happens to march two opposed armies through here. But what are the chances of that, really? Almost nil. Almost.

The dust cloud that rumbles it's way through springtime Turkey's countryside might be reason to think such an army is about to approach, though. But somehow, inexplicably, this particular dust cloud is caused only by the sprint of one person rather than the march of a thousand pairs of boots.

The dust travels it's way up the side of the hill. And at the head of it, the very being that is causing the cloud to trail behind him simply through the immensely energetic and rapid kicking of feet rocketing him along...

"HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

At the very apex of the uphill incline, where the hill plateus, he leaps up high. The rays of the mid-noon sun glinting brightly off the armor he wears (despite being made of plastic?! hello???) as he sails through the air, and finally, lands right smack atop what little remains of just the base of what used to be a magnificient guard tower.

"I AM HERE!!!" the boisterous young knight declares after his boot-clad feet make their landing on the improvised pedestal -- but his loud announcement of his arrival echoes through the plains surrounding the hill even more loudly.

"ALBERT BRAENDEL...!!" He goes on still, while yanking a (fake) sword sheathed at his hip, to be held high up towards the sky. "...HAS ARRIVED!!!"

That boy must have really strong lungs, huh?

[HENRY]
Henry? Well, Henry's been waiting. His arrival was not nearly so boisterous, and he was content to while away some time in peaceful calm before the match. Seated under a somewhat wind-stunted cypress that clings to the grassy hill, enjoying the shady cover as he reads from a worn-looking paperback. He's not dressed in his school uniform today, instead opting for a simple pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt.

The dust cloud has him raise his eyes, then his attention returns to his book, at least until Albert bellows his arrival.

At which point Henry dog-ears the top corner of the page he's on and sets the book aside on a nearby backpack. He stands and stretches his arms over his head, taking his sweet time as if he's not about to get into a fight, but rather go on an afternoon stroll.

The illusion is only a little tarnished as he picks up his shield and sword from where they lean against the tree.

The sheathe slides of the very much not fake sword with the rasp of leather on steel and he drops the protective cover next to where his book now sits.

"I hope you didn't wear yourself out." He states, just loud enough for his voice to carry across the hill to the other combatant as he gives his sword a few experimental swings before him, then a twirl that's more showy than practical. He finishes his display by knocking the front of his targe with the flat of his blade, letting the solid wooden 'thunk' echo across the ruins.

With no further words he drops into his combat stance, shield raised with the point of his sword hovering a mere inch above, steadily pointed right towards Albert.

One eyebrow arches in a tacit query of 'Ready?' Seems someone is now eager to get this brawl rolling.

COMBATSYS: Henry has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Henry            0/-------/-------|

[ALBERT]
"Of course not!" declares the wannabe-knight, simply watching Henry from above while the other man gets himself ready. The way Henry's settling to wield the shield and sword does make the german boy flash a wide grin at the sight.

"Oooh! That almost makes me wish I'd managed to get enough money for a shield too! Thats stance looks so cool!"

Yes, his eyes are even sparkling when he says that, with an utterly childlike glee.

But having said that, he promptly hops over the edge of the ruined tower base, landing onto the ground a few paces away from Henry with an audibily *thud*, bending his knees to bring him for a second into a crouched posture before springing back upright again, stretching his arms out to the sides with his back arching in a nearly full body stretch.

"Raaah! Yes! I'm ready! I'm pumped up!!"

His weight all but swings forward after that, hard enough he has to stomp one foot to the ground to stop himself from just straight up kipping over.

"Let's go!"

COMBATSYS: Albert has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Henry            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Albert

[HENRY]
"They're useful, if you get one I'll be happy to spar with you and give you some tips." From some that might sound condescending, but Henry is simply genuine in his offer, a friendly smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Though they've had limited interactions, he finds himself liking the would-be knight overall.

He nods as Albert declares his readiness, then he starts his testing. This is the fighter who might be the most similar to him, most of the other sword users in the tournament seeming to prefer more agile swords than the longsword. He takes a few steps, moving in a partial arc around Albert, seeing how he reacts, either adjusting to follow or not, everything is information.

But he only stays back so long before he quickly closes the gap, taking a few quick strides with his guarding shiled still in front of him.

Once close enough, he thrusts the tip of his blade at Albert, now prodding those defenses he was checking a moment earlier. There's little flash to the move, but not everything needs to be a spectacle, and the fans will get their show soon enough.

COMBATSYS: Albert blocks Henry's Quick Strike.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Henry            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Albert

[ALBERT]
Albert's taking another stomp forward in the same moment Henry begins moving. But he halts again right after, when he sees the other swordsman moving to circle along. Eyes flicking to try and keep his sight chasing after him, to keep him in his vision.

And then, when that final distance is closed, the would-be knight suddenly spins right around to fully face Henry all over again, with his other gauntlet-clad hand sweeping right into the prodding blade's side, practically thunking it aside. Yes. WIth his hand.

"Ow," he does actually whine out, giving a brief shake to the very shame hand. "Wrong hand again..." Apparently he *meant* to use his sword hand for that. Which probably would have made way more sense, huh? And 'again'? Is this not the first time?!

"Well, it happens!"

At least that didn't get his mood down? Be as it may, he's suddenly hoisting his other foot up, while his sword is drawn far, far back, though kept at a perfect horizontal level and pointed forward.

Down his foot goes again, stomping his weight forward hard, and the backdrawn sword is thrust forward along with that motion. It's not quite as 'prodding' as it was with Henry -- it is a lunging thrust that should probably be expected from wielding a spear instead of a sword, with no small amount of force behind it.

"RRAAAAA!"

COMBATSYS: Henry blocks Albert's Gutsy Lunge!.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Henry            0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0           Albert

[HENRY]
There's no disappointment on his face when his strike doesn't land true, and Henry brings up his shield in time to catch the thrust, some of the force of the blow sending him back a couple of steps, but the worst of it taken by the wooden facade.

He considers for a moment, while Albert may not seem to have the most refined technique, that blow had some force behind it. Suddenly Henry's face goes from open and friendly, to a grin of enjoyment. This might be more fun than he thought."

He plants his foot solidly to halt the backwards push, takes a step forward and levels his sword to his side, the blade flaring with crimson chi as he moves into a spin.

His blade lashes out in a full arc around him, leaving a shimmering red trail of light behind the circular path of his blade.

COMBATSYS: Henry successfully hits Albert with Lion Rampant.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Henry            0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0           Albert

[ALBERT]
"Eh?!"

It's the flare of crimson light that brings out such a surprised reaction. It makes Albert outright panic, and damn near just flail his arms in front of the arcing of the blade. As if remembering only at the very last second that he is, in fact, supposepd to try to defend himself, he does turn the blade in his hand to spin it around and impose it in the way of the incoming sword.

A fraction of a second too late, however.

The blade sheathed in crimson chi slips right below Albert's own sword, and it strikes straight into his armored(?) side.

"Gaaah?!"

The boy stumbles to the side, hopping on one foot and wincing hard with his hand going to press against where he was struck. "Some kinda sorcery...?!"

Has he... never seen someone wield chi before?

The faux-knight lets out a heavy huff though once his other foot steadies down again. Though he's still wincing enough to squeeze one eye towards being shut, he continues to stomp on to the side and then forward. Trying to make a quick circle around Henry, making a wide but quick swing for the other man's side in turn, before continuign to bounce along in a sideward trajectory to maintain a relatively safe distance between them.

COMBATSYS: Albert successfully hits Henry with Evasive Strike.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Henry            0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0           Albert

[HENRY]
"Sorcery?" Henry repeats, sounding a little dumbfounded himself. Has Albert even watched the previous broadcasts of fighting tournaments, or even the last season? Magic looks totally different, or so Henry thinks, but he's no magic expert.

It's his turn to be distracted by a moment of confusion and he doesn't quite manage to slip out of the way of Albert's attack. Swords don't need to be "real" or "sharp" to hurt, they're still a few pounds of metal being smashed into Henry's stubbornly unarmored side. He hisses through his teeth at the blow, but he's used to getting smacked by training blades, so he doesn't let it bother him long and uses the pain to recover his composure.

"Have you never seen chi?" Again, there's no condescention in the question, just genuine curiosity and maybe a note of surprise.

He seems inclined to give another demonstration though as the glow remains on his sword as he swings it around in a backhanded swipe that first looks to be going for the faux-knight's feet.

Instead he strikes the blade into a rock mostly buried in the ground, sending up a shower of red chi-sparks between him and Albert.

COMBATSYS: Henry successfully hits Albert with Hound Couchant.
- Power hit! -

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Henry            1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\-------\1           Albert

[ALBERT]
"Eeeh...?"

The would-be knight just sounds confused by Henry's question. He even scratches the top of his head while he's recovering from getting hit, before proudly declaring: "I've seen magic!"

He... does not know the difference.


He probably still doesn't get it even with the repeat performance. The sparks just make him yelp and bounce back, only to find them reaching further than he thought they would . And thus leaving him flailing ineffectually at the assault of fiery embers.

"Awawawawawa!!!"

He actually staggers back amidst it all. Partly out of confusion, but mostly pain. He is immensely not used to such a thing.

"Okay, that was cool!" Albert concedes, however, with a wide smile. "How about this though?!"

The 'this' in question turning out to be him launching himself forth with a nearly leaping step. One stomp down two paces away from Henry. Another long-striding stomp to carry him forward further with the continuing momentum, fake sword held up high--

And swung down! A quick vertical "slash" from down above, with a great amount of his own weight brought with it. Only to be lead immediately into another strike when the weapon inevitably rebounds back up, working into flurry of roughly five heavy swings.

"DORARARARA!!!!"

COMBATSYS: Henry fails to counter Gutsy Swings! EX from Albert with Stag Guardant.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Henry            1/----===/=======|>>>>>>>\>>-----\1           Albert

[HENRY]
"It's not.. nevermind." Henry doesn't have the will to explain it, not in the middle of combat. He just acccepts that to the other sword-wielder it looks like magic. Why spoil the fun?

He readies himself at Albert's charge, bringing up his shiled, for a moment the surface of the wooden targe glimmering with the same energy as his sword and then, it blinks. "Ahg.." Maybe he's not as skilled in using chi as he likes to pretend. And distracted in his own concentration he doesn't hold his shiled up properly and ends up having his arm smashed out of the way by the first swing.

The rebounding strike is also unexpected, and the few blows have him stumbling back, wincing in obvious pain from the blows. He has to drive his sword into the ground to keep himself up ad he shakes his head, trying to clear swimming vision and taking a moment to assess if anything is broken, and not just his equipment.

"Performance issues, well, that's embarassing." He says, poking fun at himself with an easy smile that turns into a grimace as he laughs. "Okay.. no laughing."

[ALBERT]
The total measure of the swings from Albert had enough weight behind them that the faux-knight is actually left waveeing on his feet for a few seconds from all the expended energy.

He wobbles back to stability quick enough though with a whoop of "Whooo!" upon taking in a deep breath.

"Not done yet!!"

He comes stomping after Henry still, while he is still leaning upon hus sword. Even if only to sweep his foot in a quick, low arc for the other man's knee!

COMBATSYS: Henry blocks Albert's Light Kick.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Henry            1/---====/=======|>>>>>>>\>>-----\1           Albert

[HENRY]
"Didn't think you were. You're still standing." Henry quips back with an easy, though slight smile, hand still on the hilt of his sword.

As Albert comes stomping in his direction, the blue-haired teen crouches to make himself a smaller target, bringing up his shield to intercept the kick. There's only a little give, braced as he is with his center of gravity close to the ground, only a soft grunt escapes him. That earlier blow to his side is going to be sore tomorrow.

There's no time to worry about that though, and he's quick to retaliate, launching himself from his crouch into a backflip, pulling his sword free from the ground at the apex of his acrobatic leap, sending a clod of dirt flying at Albert just ahead of an upwards swing of the freed sword.

COMBATSYS: Albert interrupts Evasive Strike from Henry with Mighty GUTSY Headbutt!.

[                           \\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Henry            2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>------\-------\0           Albert

[ALBERT]
Albert is persistent. Even after the kick, he maintains his close, stomping approach for Henry. Even when the man backflips, he keeps coming forward.

But when the dirt comes flying into his eyes in the middle of Henry's leap? That's when he stumbles to a stop, and his head actually reels back with a loud "Gah?!"

His eyes squeeze shut by instinct. He probably cant even see the incoming followup swing from the sword.

But then all of a sudden. He actually swings his whole body forth from that leaned back posture, to the point his head is thrusting out well ahead the rest of his body.

His head actually collides with the very side of Henry's sword's tip with a dull sound. Just how thick is his skull?!

"GUUUUUUUUUUUTTSSS!!!!!!"

The shout is loud enough to echo well past the ruins. But only *almost* loud enough to drown out the shockwaving sound of impact when his body, continuing it's full-seight swing forward, actually brings the top of his head right into the top of Henry's before his feet even reach the ground from the backflip.

It is an utterly absurd move without any regard for his own well-being-- and yet, somehow, despite the momentum, his body stops just shory of his forehead slamming into the ground, his forward-slid foot stubbornly pushing into the ground until he is swung back upright again.

"Raah!"

[HENRY]
The crack to the skull is not what Henry was expecting, not at all. And it sets his whole brain case rattling, enough that blood is dripping down his face from a nasty looking split in his scalp, staining his blue hair quite a different shade.

As he drops to the ground his chi flares around him in a crimson swirl that makes that bloody rivulet down his face even more lurid.

He lets out a loud bellow that echoes across the plain, not in pain but in an effort to focus himself.

He stumbles a step forward, but the leans into it, so instead of falling over he runs at Albert, chi flowing down his sword.

He makes a large sweeping slash in front of him, more to knock open Albert's guard than to actually make contact.

Should it would, the next blow comes from the explosive follow up bashing uppercut from his shield, and upwards strike intending to launch his opponenet right up into the air.

He lets his own uppercut bring him into the air as well. He may not be the stronest or most hardy, but he's an acrobatic fighter. Years of stunt and gymnastics training coming into play as he executes a mid air twirl that could make a figure skater impressed, only to bring his sword to bear at the end. Red chi flows off the blade like a pair of wings as he slams it into his hopefully airborne opponent, to send him right back down to the ground from whence he came.

Henry's own landing is anything but graceful. He does not stick the landing, instead he lands in a belly flop that sends a puff of dirt up into the air.

The young swordsman doesn't stir from the landing, the last of his energy spent in that one final display.

COMBATSYS: Henry can no longer fight.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Albert           0/-------/------<|

COMBATSYS: Albert blocks Henry's Phoenix Issuant.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Albert           0/-------/--<<<<<|

[ALBERT]
"Whoa?!"

The loud noise that comes from Henry surprises Albert this time.

And so does the oncoming charge right after. Eyes wide, the faux-knight brings his sword up to brace ahead of him, though the deflection of the blade does make him recoil back some.

"Whoa whoa whoa!!"

He does see the incoming uppercut, though. Halfway into outright panicking, he does manage to force his sword back down, even bracing his other hand against the backside of it to further reinforce his guard.

"Waaagh?!" The chi-empowered strike from the shield that sends Henry flying up into the air clangs hard against his sword, but with him leaning purposefully back, it ends up sending him flying back instead of directly up. And bouncing rather ungracefully off of the ground itself a couple times over with several "Argh!"'s and "Ugh!"'s and so on, before he finally manages to land to skidding across some length over the ground, stabbing his own blade into the ground to further brake himself along.

"Oh heck! Okay!"

He's scrambling to try and get up, though, fully expecting more from the assault--

Just to see his opponent flop onto the ground ahead of him.

"...Ah."

He rises the rest of the way up much more calmly after that. But that being said, he *does* keep his sword raised at the ready while carefully watching Henry's toppled-over form. For several long seconds.

"...Um. You okay?"

COMBATSYS: Albert has ended the fight here.


[HENRY]
There's no response from Henry, he's pretty much out cold once the surge of adrenalin passed and his brain caught up with being slightly concussed from the headbutt.

Fortunately the NFG medic team isn't too far off, after all, this whole thing is being recorded and once it's clear Henry is down for the count they come rushing in to check on him.

Log created on 11:19:27 03/11/2024 by Henry, and last modified on 03:58:16 03/16/2024.