#tempestried

her nod is weak, slow. she’s swaying on her feet, the little strength she has left quickly waning after her trip across the sea.

“i..” she beginning, voice quavering - she never did manage to get a handle on how to sound as soft as she wanted, and magic can only do so much. “...i thought i would find at least...something akin to warmth,” she explains feebly. both figuratively and literally, as her cool-blooded body shivers.

“i...wasn’t prepared for war, duma...” she chokes out. clawed fingers dig into her arms and break skin easily, but she barely feels it, she’s so numb. “i wasn’t prepared to watch so many people die...! and i couldn’t...nothing i said could stop it...! the earth dragons, they...they...”

WHO’S UP NEXT? / ACCEPTING.

“Yesterday I think I got a bit too heated while rooting for Naga. I’m sorry... I’ll try not to get so heated today, though Her Holiness is not fighting Grima this time.”

"...Oh! I almost didn’t recognise her for a moment. She hardly looks like the same person, er, dragon with her hair in a braid like that.”

Naga Strike 1: 4 ATT / 7 DEF Quinn Strike 1: 13 ATT / 15 DEF

Both Naga and Quinn jump forward in attempted strikes, but they both fall a bit off course. Naga leaps too far, and Quinn leaps too short. The dragon and taguel take a moment to re-assess their opponents.

Naga Strike 2: 15 ATT / 4 DEF Quinn Strike 2: NAT 1 ATT (trick-or-treat ROWAN disadvantage) / 15 DEF      Critical Opening: 14 ATT / 17 DEF

Naga swings her front leg, catching Quinn and pinning her to the ground for a moment. Quinn brings her legs up, trying to kick at Naga in return, but she fumbles and nearly gets another strike from Naga before she wiggles her way out of the holy dragon’s grip and hopping away quickly.

Naga Strike 3: 18 ATT / 8 DEF Quinn Strike 3: 8 ATT (FAVOR bonus) / 7 DEF

Naga is fast and she uses powerful wings to propel herself towards Quinn and catching the taguel by surprise. She pins Quinn to the ground once more, but Quinn gets her powerful legs beneath Naga and kicks the dragon off in one fell hit, knocking Naga over and scoring a point.

Naga Strike 4: NAT 20 ATT (FAVOR bonus) / 11 DEF      Critical Opening: 5 ATT / 4 DEF Quinn Strike 4: 6 ATT / 18 DEF

Naga charges forward again, the audience cheering her on. With perfect execution, she pins Queen again, and once she has Quinn down, she rolls, bringing the taguel with her into a second strike. It makes Queen a bit dizzy and as she gets up she is off balance and misses in her strike.

Naga Strike 5: 12 ATT / 18 DEF Quinn Strike 5: 7 ATT (trick-or-treat ELM bonus) / 6 DEF

Naga swings her tail to get in one last strike, but Quinn swiftly hops over it, landing then on Naga’s back and getting one last hit in before the final bell.

NAGA: 3 QUINN: 2

"Another close match! I admit, I am excited that Naga won... but Lady Quinn put up quite an exciting fight.”

"At least we’ve finally learned that she is, indeed, a taguel. Gods, how did we mess that up yesterday?”

...that wasn’t possible. Tanith kept her mind open these days - Asheraune knew it was impossible not to, given all she’d seen - but some things defied belief, and the truth was she never expected to see that blade again. 

me binch

seraphina vc why do you think i joined the justice cabal. so i don’t have to look at ur face

"Two more manaketes! This division does seem to be popular amongst the dragon folk. 

“It makes sense to me. I’ve never really seen Nowi or Tiki being that interested in weapons outside of their dragonstones... Speaking of which, isn’t Zephyr related to Tiki? I’m looking forward to seeing if any of her strength was inherited.”

Quinn Strike 1: 4 ATT / 4 DEF Zephyr Strike 1: 6 ATT / 8 DEF

The first strike is met claw for claw. Quinn and Zephyr both strike and growl and back up, gaining some distance before they strike again. Zephyr makes a swing of their tail, trying to trip Queen, but are unsuccessful. 

Quinn Strike 2: 13 ATT (Trick-or-Treat ELM bonus) / 12 DEF Zephyr Strike 2: 15 ATT / 3 DEF

Quinn leaps and strikes, getting a scratch across Zephyr’s shoulder. In retaliation, Zephyr grabs onto Quinn’s leg and pulls, sending Zephyr onto their back for a moment.

Quinn Strike 3: 16 ATT / 12 DEF Zephyr Strike 3: 18 ATT (OAK bonus) / 2 DEF      Quinn nearly reverts to human form, but is saved by their FAVOR bonus.

Quinn, on their back, manages to leverage their legs underneath Zephyr and push up, flipping Zephyr off and gaining a point. As Quinn rolls up, though, Zephyr meets them with a powerful strike to the side, knocking the wind from Quinn. For a moment, Quinn wavers as if they will revert back into their human form, but they gulp it make and stay strong.

Quinn Strike 4: 6 ATT / 19 DEF Zephyr Strike 4: 2 ATT / 8 DEF

Quinn is still winded from the last hit, and when they strike out they miss. Luckily, Zephyr seems to be off aim as well, and they swing their tail too wide, missing Quinn entirely.

Quinn Strike 5: 9 ATT / 5 DEF Zephyr Strike 5: 6 ATT / 16 DEF

Quinn knows the match is almost over and lunges forward with a roar. They grab onto Zephyr and roll, pinning Zephyr to the ground for a moment. Zephyr struggles to get out of the hold, missing their next strike. The bell rings and the audience cheers for their new victor.

QUINN: 3 ZEPHYR: 2

“Quite a match! Two manaketes entered, and only one carries on to the quarter-finals tomorrow. Congratulations to Quinn!”

“That was a close call, and it’s a good thing Quinn was paying attention to the time... Who knows if the result might have changed if they’d gone into sudden death. Don’t worry Zephyr, you still put on an amazing fight.”