The Character Arena

10/5/09

Well, I'll set it up for right now, and lay out my plans. For this, my plan is to pit two (maybe more later) of my characters (combat characters, mind you) against eachother in a battle in order to practice my writing skills in a way entertaining to me. The characters will be any two, such as Keev and Shadowmoon, or Keev and Leera. The winner will either be my favorite...or whoever is just plain better than the other. I may repeat battles with a different winner.

The battles are fake, they have nothing to do with any story.

Essentially that's it...but I think it'll be a fun way to excersize my writing skills (weak as they are...)

So yeah...write good. (Yes, I know it should be "write well", that was the joke.)

Fight 1
Keev vs Shadowmoon (Gee, who'da thunk?)

Keev cautiously walked forward in the dense, dark forest wary of any and every sound and movement. Each could be the last sound that he ever heard if he wasn't careful. Each tree branch he brushed past felt like an arm urging him to go back the way he came but he knew that that was impossible. He couldn't go back. He wouldn't.

He had heard from some of the scouts there was a hostile presence nearby, and a powerful one at that. It had taken the lives of thirty two good men, and burned twelve supply wagons. It needed to be dealt with immediately, and as the best warrior in Zepora Keev was the natural choice. Keev was only happy to eliminate such a threat from the face of Zepora.

His short brown hair and roughly bearded, adolescent face were unkempt and dirty. Though he was just a boy of seventeen, he was indeed the best swordsman and warrior in Zepora. Because of his great skill, the city-state's army had requested him to join. Keev jumped at the opportunity, not out of the desire for glory, but out of a desire to defend innocent lives.

Out of the darkness came a familiar noise to Keev: the crack of a twig on the ground. Normally, it signalled an instantaneous battle, but tonight it did not. Keev was sure it was his target, but it did not charge him. He didn't know what it was plotting, and that unnerved him. Once again, he was out of control, and he desperately wanted--no, needed it back.

Keev placed his hand on the hilt of his broadsword. As he unsheathed it the metal made a grating sound, like an animal growling in anticipation of a fight. When it left the sheath it rang, as a declaration to the forest that it had been released, and would soon impose its dominance. He held it high above his head, completing his stance, and he waited for the opportunity to let the sword down hard on his foe.

Three sharp objects whistled through the air at Keev who, with speed as lightning, sliced them to the ground. He quickly ascertained the direction they had flown from and charged full forced through the foliage.

That proved to be a mistake. As he burst through a large bush as tall as he was, he was instantly met with a large number of very sharp wooden sticks that had been stuck in the ground. It took all his power and balance not to run into them full force, but he could not escape a few cuts and scratches.

He heard a faint sound off to his right. Listening hard, he recognized them as light footfalls, punctuated with snapping twigs on the ground. He persued them, cautious of another trap.

More projectiles flew, and Keev twirled his blade in front of him, knocked them harmlessly to the ground. As he gained ground on the footsteps he could partially see the black, tattered, and torn cloak of his target. The pursuer and persuee seem to be coming to a final, climactic end.

The cloaked figure emerged from the forest into a clearing speckled with tree stumps, closely followed by Keev. When Keev was two arm-length's away the figure whipped around and performed a spin kick that struck Keev in the hand, knocking his weapon into the air. It seemed to hang in the air for a minute before finally slamming into one of the tree stumps.

Keev flipped backwards, landing in a hand-to-hand combat stance and examined his opponent.

The figure grabbed its hood and threw it onto his back. The man had no need for secrecy now. This was the final showdown between them.

"It's funny," the man said. "We are both major factors for either side of this war, and we've never met before. Then you barge into my territory without introducing yourself. Quite rude, don't you think?"

"Shadowmoon." Keev growled. "It was only a matter of time..."

Shadowmoon laughed. He flapped his draconic wings and cracked his neck, flexing his arms in preparation for the ensuing duel. His shoulder-length, black-as-night hair whipped over his face, which held an evil grin that flashed his fangs. Claws slowly grew from his fingernails. His pupils flattened into cat-like slits. He crouched low, in his own battle stance, placing one hand on the ground, and the other behind him.

"It seems," He began slowly. "that I have the advantage. You are without your weapon, out of your comfort zone. I, on the other hand...claw...well, you understand."

"If you say so!" Keev roared, and he dashed towards Shadowmoon. Unprepared, Shadowmoon lept into the air with the power of his wings to dodge Keev's powerful fist.

Keev took the opportunity to attempt to regain his sword. Shadowmoon, hovering in the air above, grabbed a single glass ball from his cloak and tossed it into Keevs path. When it broke on the ground, it exploded in a cloud of gas that caused Keev to gag and lose balance. Keev retreated and tried to regain his fooring but Shadowmoon dove down and kicked him in the jaw, forcing him to the ground.

Shadowmoon landed about ten feet away and caught his breath. While he wasn't out of shape at all, his smaller wings required him to expend more energy to keep his mass in the air.

Keev, stumbling to his feet, faced Shadowmoon, but inched towards his sword. If Shadowmoon acted, Keev would react, but his main goal was to retrieve his weapon. While he wasn't powerless without it, he was no match for shadowmoon with only his fists.

Shadowmoon saw this and, desperate to keep his advantage, took to the air again raining down knives. Keev caught one by the handle, rolled to the left and returned it. Shadowmoon barrel-rolled then proceeded tossing more knives to the ground.

The two were in a stalemate. Keev could not get at Shadowmoon in the air, and Shadowmoon could not hit the extremely agile Keev on the ground. And during each wave back and forth they were drawing nearer and nearer to the broadsword in the stump. Finally, they were close enough, and Keev made a mad rush for his weapon, followed by Shadowmoon.

They both grabbed the hilt of the blade, and began a tug-of-war. Circling around the stump, they both pulled at the sword. Within seconds Keev gained the advantage. His hand had grabbed the hilt properly; his thumb towards the blade. Shadowmoon had grabbed it backward, and this was just enough of an advantage for Keev to overtake Shadowmoon and throw him from the sword. Landing on his feet, Shadowmoon looked up to see a blood-curdling sight.

Keev pointed the sword at Shadowmoon with a storm to his back. The grey and black clouds swirled and twisted chaoticly in the sky, and lightning illuminated the scene.

"Now," Keev stated, "You shall face justice!"

Shadowmoon pulled two daggers from his cloak just in time to block a devestating overhead swing from Keev. He rolled backwards and Keev stayed on him slicing, hacking, and slashing. Shadowmoon could barely deflect the attacks.

A simple tree stump proved to be a catalyst to the epic duel as Shadowmoon tripped on one and fell on his back. Keev swung down at his foe, who blocked once more, but Keev did not relent. He pressed forward to the ground, giving all his strength into the push. Shadowmoon pushed back. When Keev could push no more he put his boot to the blade adding more strength.

The tug-of-war for the blade had now been reversed, each pushing the blade towards eachother. The world seemed to quiet, watching with baited breath as the two fought in the final battle.

When it seemed as though they might both be stuck there forever, Shadowmoon pulled his blades apart and quickly stabbed Keev in the chest. Keev's sword chopped into Shadowmoon, slicing into him and ending his life.

Keev tottered on his legs for a few moments longer. He saw his blood trickled down Shadowmoons daggers. He looked in horror as they stayed inside him as he walked away from his opponent's body. Injuries had been inflicted on him before but never this lethal. The blood just didn't stop. It just kept spluttering and running out.

He fell on his rear and he saw his life. His friends...his family...his country. He had served them all in his short life the best way he could. He had lived each day as if it were sacred. He had no regrets.

As he lied down on his back, he could hear the muffled sounds of armor. Behind him knights entered the clearing, accompanied by mages. The mages would attempt to heal him, but Keev didn't know what they could do. They gathered around him as the world faded to white.

Author's Notes

Well, I know what some of you might be saying. "Keev and Shadowmoon? Shouldn't that be like a climactic ending to your character arena? A 'final battle between good and evil' of sorts?" Well, I thought of that while writing it and my answer is: It seems like a good starting point to me. If I waited until the very end to do Keev and Shadowmoon I'd never get it done. Besides, I'll always be coming up with new characters.

I start to think, though. The battles aren't the main focus of any story unless they're a T.V show or movie. The main focus of a story is, well, the story. The battles are climactic focal points in which someone might live, die, a side may lose or win, or some dramatic change to the story takes place. Knowing this, I think that maybe these little excerpts might probably be boring to read without the proper introduction and attatchment to the characters. You haven't had time to meet and bond to them. However, I'll only know that when you let me know. Please let me know.

-Brian