(1911) Duel Arcane - Shodan v Winter
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The words of Truth flow out of Winter's effortlessly. With a nod to the Hierarch, The Guardian steps into the circle, his vision open to the bright flames of the Aether. "You take everything personally. That's exactly your problem", regardless of what Shodan does, the Guardian wants his declaration to be heard last, to give them closure.
1 success
Init = 8+6. Delaying his action so his declaration can be made last
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Presence
Education
Occultation
He rolled his eyes at the Shaman's antics. Not much would be gained by studying the empty space between Shodan's ears, besides, he wasn't going to kill him. Not today at least.
Shodan steps into the squared circle, and it is almost an out of body experience. The cathedral's architecture, the lights and the silhouettes of other mages all fall into the background and soon they are naught but an easily dismissed footnote. The Libertine's attention is fully focused on the Guardian before him, and Shodan shrugs.
"You know how it is, man" He says, relaxed like only a man whose life has been reduced to a single moment can be "I got ninety-nine problems..."
A slight smile.
"... but you aren't one"
His choice of weapons is perhaps not surprising. Arcs of electricity and tongues of flame start dancing between his hands, taking a life of their own. As for what should protect him today - Shodan calls on the gross Arcanum of Stygia to grant him a suit of armor. Not just any armor - but something that reminds those gathered what he is all about. It will hold. It must.
Now is the time for all good men to kick some ass... or fall trying.
Not knowing Winter's Composure, I rolled Shodan's vanilla Manipulation + Subterfuge pool. This probably doesn't make a difference, since it takes only one die taken from the right to reduce the roll to 0 successes. Should Winter wish to engage in a Contest of Wills, Shodan's Composure is 2
Sword: Forces 5
Shield: Matter 2
Willpower: 4/4
Health: 7/7
I believe that is all
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Presence
Education
Occultation
He wasn't good at one-liners. The Libertine, not the Guardian. The Guardian was quite good at intimidating people, one of the few benefits of having spent most of his life trawling the seedy underbelly of Uncle Sam's foreign policy. He wants to give the Libertine a taste, a taste of what awaits him in the place every unwise eventually ends up in.
They say that each Paradox is a sin made manifest, a flaw of One's Awakened soul. If that is the case, then the Sentinel's one is a cracked shell.
Luckily they've all been spared the grim sight.
He glares at his opponent unflinchingly. And for a second he's glad that looks can't normally kill, because he's made a promise to the Hierarch, one that he intends to keep. His jaw pulses, but his gaze never leaves the Libertine's eyes. Then he speaks, his voice comes a few octaves short, to bear the full finality of his judgement.
"You will learn", he says. And whether it's a promise of pain or of enlightenment to come, it cannot be said.
The Guardian's magic is as subtle as he is. A trickle of cackling white energy - prima materia itself - suffuses from his body, tightly wrapping around his frame. His sword is made of gravity. It's a simple non descript sword, but light seems to bend and twist at unnatural angles around its edges, shutting the light away to create a zone of liquid darkness that pools at his feet. Neither the holiness of the Aether or the finality of Stygia are present, just coldness. Occasionally, a black tendril rises behind his head and breaks down in a cloudy cohort of eyes that quickly bleed themselves out in a splash of quicksilver tears.
Winter gets the Edge, Shodan goes first as per p.288 of Core
Prime: Shield
Forces: Sword
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The Guardian's three-word response was genuinely unnerving. On the upside, it triggered some part of Shodan's lizard brain responsible for reflexes in the face of danger. On the downside, it made his attack too weak and unprepared to actually do any damage. Bolts of lightning dissipate upon reaching Winter's armor of energy.
Still, however the Duel progresses Shodan manages to arrive at a certain conclusion - there's something seriously Wrong with Winter, and it is not his complete lack of fashion sense. No sane man has any right to intimidate people this effortlessly, to be this dispassionate and cold like a stone.
And the darkness that swirls around Winter... he's seen that before, in the aftermath of their... investigation in the wine bar. For whatever reason, this part of the Guardian's magical entourage rings sinister, in an extremely unsettling manner. Shodan just wishes he had more theoretical knowledge to indentify the cause.
Willpower: 3/4
Health: 7/7
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Presence
Education
Occultation
The Libertine's attack barely registers as a tickle against the Guardian's armor.
He always found it funny that despite being the weakest of the fundamental forces, gravity was the engine that powered stars and black holes alike. It was the beginning of light and its end.
'Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum and I shall move the world', sayeth Archimedes of Syracuse. Real magic is subtle; drop by drop, trickle by trickle it wells in an ocean. And then, when the tide rises, the dam is finally burst open.
Hand your opponent enough rope, apply a bit of pressure here and there; all you need is a fulcrum and a lever.
Shodan's shield has been already substracted
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The painful pull of gravity employed by Winter is of the 'could be worse' variety, but it's enough to grant Shodan some focus. This time, the firebolt that shoots from his hand has more power, more direction.
Let's hope it's enough to throw the Guardian a little off-balance.
WP: 1/4
Health: 7/7
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Presence
Education
Occultation
Be wary, remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer, triumphant pride precipitates a dizzying fall. He could side-step, let Shodan's attack fly past him. But there's no gain without pain, and he takes the punishment willingly.
The Guardian pushes a hand forward; light escapes his path, soon to be replaced by bubbling darkness. The soot surrounds the Libertine, thousands of imperscrutabile eyes trained on his very soul. An event horizon of tendrils, all ready to lash in unison at the behest of their master.
Then, the die is cast; the Sentinel balls his hand in a fist, and around Shodan a black hole is formed.
The onslaught of darkness pierces his armor, and the Libertine feels the coldness of Winter-made black-hole. Moments later, he realizes he is not just imagining it - the freezing is real. And although not serious yet, it reminds the Prime Mover that everything he feels from this moment is actual damage he'll have to rest off later.
Encouraged by his previous success, Shodan sends some more streams of fire at Winter.
WP: 0/4
Health: 6/7
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