The Games of Saberhaven
Harry Hindquarters vs. Kkkrawkk
Respect is something Kkkrawkk's opponent has little of, in Saberhaven. The fans are a little unsure of what to expect from someone with such a silly name, but they've also heard that Harry Hindquarters has all the might that one would expect of a demonspawn. Still, there is no end of laughter at the stupidity of it.
Excitement fills the air as the announcers call the names! "What the hell kind of name is Harry Hindquarters?!" some indignant fan screams out. "Kick his punk ass, Kkkrawkk!"
The doors slide open, and at one end, Kkkrawk flies into the Arena with bat's wings, clad in glittering silver plate mail and gripping a light crossbow in his hands. A glowing halberd swings from his hip.
At the other end of the Arena, Harry Hindquarters strides into view for the first time--six images swirl about him. The roar of the crowd hushes momentarily, then low murmurs of admiration stir the crowd as they take in this newcomer's mighty physique, his confident air. The demonspawn stands 7'4", and his huge wings make his stature all the more impressive. Scrawled in silver against the near-black skin of his chest shine the words "Blood War", and silver flames flicker across his huge muscles. Other tattoos blaze across his bare arms and torso. His silver hair swings from its topknot, and his fangs are bared in an evil snarl--the demonspawn is fascinatingly ugly. A huge sword hangs from his belt, the black metal shaped like a bolt of lightning, and crackling with unholy might.
The crowd is at the edge of their seat. From his name, they expected some kind of clown, but from first sight they can tell that Harry Hindquarters can give Kkkrawkk all he can handle and maybe more...
As one, Harry Hindquarters and Kkkrawkk swing their weapons up and fire--the demonspawn launching an arrow from his mighty bow, the tiefling firing a glowing bolt from his light crossbow.
The crowd holds its breath as the missiles pass each other as they zip across the arena. Kkkrawkk's crossbow bolt flies into one of Harry's images--the image disappears, and the bolt smashes into the wall, breaking. Harry's arrow punches into Kkkrawkk's chainmail, blood oozing from the hole.
Kkkrawk grunts in pain, narrows his eyes, and continues to wing his way towards his opponent.
A low rumble of a chuckle is heard as the demonspawn watches the flying tiefling approach. Kkkrawk fires another bolt from his crossbow--another of Harry's images is pierced and disappears.
When the tiefling gets to about 50 yards away, Harry quickly flicks his hands out, almost nonchalantly, and sends a bolt of crackling black lightning flying towards Kkkrawkk.
Kkkrawkk's eyes widen and he twists aside--not enough to completely avoid the bolt, but he takes only a glancing blow.
Despite the lightning strike, the tiefling continues to wing towards the hulking demonspawn. Kkkrawkk grins as he clips his crossbow to his belt with a practiced motion, and readies his glowing halberd as he approaches the utterly confident Harry Hindquarters.
The shoulders of the demonspawn shake as he once again chuckles. He nods slightly towards his enemy. Then, taking a large step back, he twists his hands in patterns and mutters softly in his grunting, native tongue in the act of casting one more spell.
Harry is not quite fast enough to get the spell off before the flying teifling is upon him. Kkkrawkk's glowing halberd spins with deadly precision, and twice flicks out with the speed of a cobra.
"Damn..." Kkkrawkk mutters, as two more the demonspawn's images blink from existence.
The three remaining images of Harry Hindquarter's finishes his spell, and the hulking brute gestures towards Kkkrawkk. The crowd gasps in anticipation... but nothing seems to happen.
Kkkrawkk breathes a sigh of relief and leaps again towards his foolishly named but obviously deadly opponent. In response, Harry quickly slides "Discord" from his belt and brings it up, the dull, dark metal not even so much as flickering in the light. The large, silver letters on the chest of the demonspawn heave as he steps unhurriedly away from the tiefling.
Kkkrawk grins. "Now I've got you, spell-boy," and swirls his halberd dangerously.
Harry smirks, and shimmers once, twice, faster than the eye can follow, and disappears -- only to reappear across the Arena. His bow is once again in his hand, and he begins to knock an arrow. With inhuman speed, Harry Hindquarters launches four arrows at Kkkrawkk, his massive arm a blur of motion.
The first arrow hits, punching into Kkkrawkk's plate mail and drawing a grunt of pain from the tiefling. The second and third fly wide, but the fourth also hits its mark.
Kkkrawk's eyes narrow with anger, and he drops his halberd with one hand while swinging up his crossbow with the other. He has time only from one quick shot, and it is a bad one, plunking into the ground at Harry's feet.
Then, suddenly, a globe of darkness encompasses Kkkrawkk, and he can no longer be seen.
A roar of laughter is heard as the giant form of the demonspawn takes to the air, his massive wings pulling his large frame into the air, where his agility is more fluid, almost as if he is more suited to lifestyle in the sky rather than that down on the ground. For the first time, speech is heard.
He pronounces the words in a drawn-out, blocky fashion, almost as if he is not used to forming the sounds. Perhaps, however, he just mocks the tiefling." 'Spell-boy'?" he bellows. Once again a rumble of a chuckle is heard. "You think your little sphere of darkness will protect you?" He shakes his head, almost as if he pities the simple mind of the tiefling. "You have thrown yourself into my element, now, fool. It is a shame, really. The kind spectators will not be able to see me handle you like the puppy you are."
His large shoulders shrug, but his black, glittering eyes are momentarily doorways to exceptional cunning, and noticeable is that he has been winging his way around the whole time, making himself a hard target. His bow is still in his hand, and in one smooth motion, he draws and fires in rapid succession, sending a barrage of arrows with deadly marksmanship towards the darkness-shrouded Kkkrawkk.
A cry of pain is heard from the darkness--Harry got a lucky shot!
Kkkrawkk suddenly appears at the edge of the darkness, his crossbow pointing towards Harry. He looks in pretty bad shape--an arrow pierces his left thigh, and bright red blood spurts rythmically down his gleaming plate mail.
Kkkrawkk fires a couple of bolts at the zig-zagging demonspawn. The first one flies nowhere close. On the second, he fumbles the arrow as he tries to nock it. Kkkrawkk curses frantically as he tries to get the bolt in, then looks up at Harry before ducking back into the darkness.
The huge demonspawn growls in what seems annoyance, and flies upward to about 30 yards above the globe of darkness, and begins flicking his hands in arcane gestures, drawing and shaping mystical energies. He quickly releases the stored energy in the form of a roiling cloud of sickly green fumes. They billow above the darkness, and settle inside. Some coughing is heard...
As expected, Kkkrawkk half-steps out of the darkness, half of him still engulfed in the inky blackness. His eyes water, and he is bleeding profusely, but still he raises his crossbow and snaps off two quick shots, before stepping back into the darkness. The first shot narrowly misses, the second actually hits the real Harry Hindquarters!
It shatters as if hitting solid stone.
The large demonspawn shakes his head in annoyance, smirking slightly as the shattered arrow falls to the ground. He chuckles even as he begins waving his hands and murmuring in his native tongue. He wings his way upward, still moving in a pattern-less weave, until he is about 60 yards in the air. He points a finger at the darkness, and grins as it suddenly becomes light again.
A little perturbed by the disappearance of his darkness, and bleeding like a stuck pig, Kkkrawkk launches himself into the air. His magic wings flare and bear him aloft. He seems a little shaky, and his armor is covered in blood. He flies towards Harry, firing a couple of shots from his crossbow. The first one flies wide, the second one punctures yet another image. Only two "Harry's" remain.
Kkkrawkk roars as he rockets towards Harry, his glowing halberd spinning into a blur. He rears back and takes a swing at the demonspawn, who still holds his fearsome bow, arrow knocked and drawn.
Again, Harry Hindquarters flickers once, twice, three times, faster than thought. He appears about 50 yards away from Kkkrawkk with a ghastly smile on his face, and he releases a flurry of four arrows, all of which scream towards Kkrawkk. Like a machine he knocks, draws, and fires. His movements are fluid and graceful, and his face is calm, yet malicious.
Two of the arrows glance off Kkkrawkk's platemail. Two of them, however, punch through with spurts of blood.
Kkkrawkk's roar trails off as his eyes roll back in his head. His magical wings stop flapping, and he plummets to the ground. He crashes, bounces, then lays unmoving. A small pool of blood begins to form beneath him.
The demonspawn drops to the ground, landing lightly. His lips are curled into a mocking, venomous smile, which he focuses upon the downed tiefling. He turns away from the defeated with a haughty confidence, gathers his arrows, and then emits a rumbling growl as a warning to the healing priest who begin to enter. Harry Hindquarters sticks his arrows back in his quiver, then turns to face the tiefling once more. He ponders for a moment, and healing priests and guardsmen rush onto the floor.
Harry slowly scans the crowd. The laughter of his name is gone, wiped clean as if off a slate. There is only awed fear, fear of the one who could so easily manhandle the one who defeated the powerful Asharag. The confident, malevolent air shrouding the demonspawn is one to inspire ballads and nightmares.
Finally, Harry begins to move--the healing priests and guards hesitate a moment. "It's over... You've won," one of the priests says.
Unheeding, Harry steps towards the tiefling as his lips writhe and his hands draw arcane patterns in the air...
The tiefling suddenly writhes and morphs into a small grasshopper. One of the priests gasps, and the crowd roars its approval...
The demonspawn, with amazing agility, swipes the grasshopper from the ground before it can hop away. He lifts his right hand, which holds the grasshopper, up to his eye, to look at it. His rumbling chuckle holds no mirth.
"Oh, Grasshopper, you have much to learn, indeed," Harry says in a high-pitched, whiny voice with a chopped oriental accent. "You disappointed me, your sensei, by failing to even scathe my body. You are truly only knee-high when it comes to a comparison of power and cunning, between the both of us. Your mistake was when you thought me weak because of my name. It will be your last mistake, I am thinking...."
With that, the demonspawn plucks the small head of the grasshopper from the body, and pops it in his mouth. He crushes the limp, dead of the grasshopper in a pulp, tearing off legs and ripping the body in half, before tossing the bloody pieces to the floor. He walks out, munching contentedly on the head of the fallen.
The healing priests look on, aghast. The crowd thunders. One of the guards shrugs, and they all turn around and walk out.
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