The BlackSand Tournament I: Round I, Duel VIII

From Addanc Manace of Scoundrels

Addanc Menace of Scoundrels (4312)

Darkness and pain. Addanc was standing in front of a black metal gate.

Serving and guarding. It was a full moon night, and it was about to happen again.

Violence and void. Since it started, Addanc had never been the same.

Every month for the past twenty years, Addanc’s master Evil Arcanist Nick would wait for the full moon to repay his life-long debt. A debt that Addanc didn’t understand.

Nick had struck a deal with another sorcerer. In exchange of riches he had given away his humanity.

But understanding wasn’t Addanc’s duty. His duty was executing. So he followed Arcanist Nick’s orders without question, carrying out whatever action.

They had slaughtered entire cities, destroyed relics, and stolen runes. Unforgivable, yet it all felt normal.

No regret ever clogged Addanc’s mind nor mercy ever blocked his strikes. Once unleashed, nothing could stop his crimes. Not anymore.

Every full moon Arcanist Nick acted with such savagery and evil that cruelty had become the norm. Addanc would kill, break, and steal. No woman or man able to stop his rage, only few would even dare stand in his way.

He would charge his prey wearing his dominion plated armor and blood horn helm. He would struck them with his massive Blood Sword. He would feed them to Carantix, his loyal obsidian raptor. Again and and again without end.

Today was no different. As soon as Arcanist Nick came out of the metal gate, the two of them jumped on their mounts and rode into the nearest city.

“The heart of a widow” Nick absently requested, in his usual trance-like state. And so they hunt. They hunt almost as if it was a game.

It didn’t take long to find their prey. Addanc hit with a single blow and without second thoughts. Another victim for his blood sword. Another debt repaid for his master.

As quickly as they came to the city, they left to retreat in Nick’s castle. Behind them they left death, screams and pain.

But none of that mattered. Darkness and void, nothing else was left in Addanc’s mind.

From Tisa Slasher of Torment Manor

Tisa Slasher of Torment Manor (968)

Tisa exhaled and started one last set: Left strike, parry. Right Strike, lunge forward. Dive and strike.

She paused, satisfied. She laid down her heavy Blood Sword on the wooden bench behind her. That was enough training for the day.

It was still early. The sun was barely out and a glimpse of the moon was still visible in the horizon. As part of her routine, Tisa left the training chambers and headed towards the library. There she read up on the latest news from the Syndicate. Afterwards she quickly moved to her room and prepared her bags for her next assignment.

She had been on the move very frequently in the past months. She had travelled back and forth between Torment Manor and Dread Tower to carry out missions for the Syndicate. “The Syndicate…” she murmured in awe. She felt so blessed to have found her calling as Agent for that sacred order. Their vision motivated her: To expand the realm of quantum shadow into the living world.

The Syndicate had welcomed her and her dueling skills with open arms. As Blood Sword bearer, her fighting was unmatched by the majority of Warriors in the Runiverse. Not only that. She knew the Syndicate especially valued her ability to defeat Wizards.

So many of them had already fell to her sword and so many more had converted to the Syndicate in exchange for her mercy.

She smiled. She loved that feeling of power when a Wizard kneeled in front of her. Begging for their life.

Her next assignment required her to recover a set of golden keys that had been scattered around the Wild. She did not know what those keys were for, but the Head of the Syndicate, Sorcerer Remus had specifically ordered that she should carry out that mission. What an honor! She was beyond excited.

While packing, she noticed a small envelope on her bed. She quickly opened it and skimmed it.

It was a letter from Sorcerer Remus himself! She read it again, this time slowly making sure she didn’t miss any details. Those were very specific instructions. She wasn’t used to strict directives, but for him she would do anything!

Her orders were to travel to the city of BlackSand. They Syndicate suspected that some keys were being hidden there. Tisa was to infiltrate the city undercover and no one could know she was there on behalf of the Syndicate. As cover up, she would participate in a fighting tournament. The letter also mentioned she could keep the prize money in case of victory.

Excited, she kept the letter in her duffle bag and headed out of the room. It was time for her next mission.

From Shaman Azazel of the Astral Plane

No results

The time for final duel of the first round had finally come. What a journey it had been!

As Azazel walked towards the tournament arena, he noticed a few kids running around and playing with what looked like dolls. Oddly those reminded him of some of the tournament fighters. But he quickly moved on. It was getting late.

He finally made it to the fighting pit and instructed to start the duel: “Welcome to our last two participants: Addanc Menance of Scoundrels and Tisa Slasher of Torment Manor. Who will join the other champions in the second round? May the best fighter win!”

“Two Blood Sword Bearers!” Someone from the crowd yelled! More gasps echoed.

“An incredibly remarkable weapon” Archmagus Crowley observed from his seat. “A rare artifact that feeds off and grows from the blood of its victims. To my knowledge, the technique required to craft them has long been lost. Only by killing a Bearer you can become one.” He explained.

In the meantime the two warriors had reached the center of the pit. Ready to fight.

They both lifted their swords high to then pin them to the ground and kneel. A highly ceremonial gesture that Blood Sword Bearers performed in the rare event two of them were to face each other in duel.

Despite wielding the same swords, they had drastically different approaches to fighting. Addanc was wearing a full-body plated armor and holding a heavy iron shield. His defense looked impenetrable. Tisa only wore a light leather armor and held her Blood Sword with two hands, no shield. Her speed seemed unmatched.

Tisa rushed forward and started the fight. She charged with her sword raised high. “Eagle form!” Crowley observed. She then swung her sword down with extreme power. Addanc raised his blade to parry, resulting in a loud metallic sound. Red sparkles erupted from the impact!

Tisa didn’t stop and pivoted. She spin on herself and struck back from right to left. “Tornado strike!?” Addanc this time raised his shield to block the strike. Tisa continued to spin and regained a safe distance from her opponent.

It was now Addanc’s turn to attack. He moved his shield to the front and then laid his sword just on top of it. The blade was long enough to function almost as a spear. He could hit his target just by pushing it from behind the shield.

“He has figured out the opponent is faster and more agile.” Crowley note “That’s a typical Shield Wall stance. He wants to get closer to Tisa without leaving any room for her attacks.”

Addanc rushed forward, and from behind his shield, he pushed his sword. Tisa was fast, and quickly evaded. But in that split second, Addanc had time to lunge forward and close the gap between the two.

The crowd gasped! He had moved significantly faster than anyone could have expected.

He pushed his sword forward again, this time aiming to Tisa’s head. She had barely recovered her ground from the previous attack so she had almost no time to react. She immediately lifted her legs up to let her body fall to the ground quickly. Not the most graceful move, but she managed to avoid what looked like a guaranteed hit.

With Tisa on the ground, Addanc tried to complete his attack and smashed the edge of his shield down, going for the hit.

Once again Tisa was just fast enough to avoid it. She rolled to her left and quickly jumped back up. “So so close!” Crowley gasped.

Tisa took a few steps back to assume her defensive stance. She turned her head towards the crowd, seemingly distracted. Addanc took the chance to lunge and push his sword forward again. Tisa didn’t seem to notice the move and the blade pierced right through her shoulder. She screamed in shock!

“What is going on?” Crowley exclaimed. Azazel was confused as well. “She lost sight of the attack?”

Blood started flowing down her wound, Tisa had to jump back to avoid the next attack. But Addanc’s charged again, seemingly excited by the sight of blood and thirsty for more. He disengaged his Shield Wall stance and with a quick step to the left he struck! That strike was flawless and hit Tisa right on the side of her chest, throwing her to the ground. Defeated.

“Ah such power!” Crowley exclaimed as the crowd erupted in cheers for the new champion.

“Congratulations to Addanc Menace of Scoundrels! Welcome our eight champion!”