((OOC: Only one fighter please, and the name will be inserted above! Also don’t vanish on me, please! Spectators are welcome, but I may not reply to those posts myself. AD tends to ignore spectators. The challenger is fighting a summoned creature that will only be here for 7 posts. You can pick which creature(s) you are going against. Feel free to have the announcer state it for AD! Thanks!))



The arena was slowly filling up, though it was nowhere near full. On far left of center a young lady, dressed in a black riding dress, stood calmly and completely still. Her deep wine colored hair was tinged red where the sunlight hit it. Behind her the wall was darkened with shadows. The other competitor had yet to make an entrance, but she knew that this was not a normal fight and anyone going to fight would be briefed first. So she waited in silence for whom ever chose to step up to her challenge to appear.

It had started not long after first light. She had arrived promptly at dawn and requested to speak with the person in charge. Who she was looking for was not there yet, so she had to wait to present her idea. She wished for people to fight her summoned creatures. She had explained how it was difficult for her to learn new summons, so she felt this would be a good way to hone the skill. She explained that summoned creatures don’t die, but are simply sent back to where they come from, and that they don’t stay permanently, so the competitor had to beat it before it vanished on it’s own. There would also be a call for her to cease any attack, the word “Halt!”. She would be the winner then though, as it would be forfeit.

Her left hand twitched slightly and settled on her blade’s sheath. Her wand seemed to only be a decretive part of that sheath, but she was now griping the wand, ready to summon the directed creature, a roc, a pair of hellhounds, or a demonic panther. It wasn’t her choice what her opponent fought, but she was ready for the choice to be announced.

(OoC: Hope this is okay! :))

Shadeen stepped into the arena, jade eye’s taking in her surroundings and the layout of the area. Her sable hair snapped in the wind as she stepped forward, catching the figure in black. She walked forward at a slow, easy pace, but held her head high so that she wouldn’t seem weak or fragile to this woman she strode towards. She was garbed in a simple dress, the top layer had been discarded for less weight. The material hung around her legs and moved whenever she took a step. A katana rested at her side, slapping against her hip and thighs as she moved. After her fight with Fehade she hoped she could handle a few summons.

The sun had reached up over the top of the walls by now and she walked directly into it. The beams made her wince as she walked and made everything a little more surreal. Once she reached the woman in black she dropped to one knee and announced her name.

“My Lady, I am Shadeen Altessa.” She spoke with her face towards the earth and remained there for a moment before she rose and curtsied to the woman, almost as it was an afterthought. “I understand that the rules would be explained upon my arrival?” She asked it as a question hoping that it hadn’t made her seem as though she was unknowably entering into this fight. It had taken a few nights for her to work up the composure she was sure she would need for this and she had left anything childish or shy about her behind.

AD's emerald eyes watched the woman stride toward her and for a moment she was confused. What was this? Hadn't she explained herself well enough to the man who said he was in charge of this arena? Then, much to AD's surprise, the woman bowed and then stood and curtsied also. She was taken aback and a slight tinge of red colored her cheeks in embarrassment. After hearing what the woman had to say AD knew she was going to have to talk to this so-called owner...

"Don't do that." AD whispered through clenched teeth. Then she closed her eyes for a split second before opening them again to focus on the woman, Shadeen.

"Alright, I can summon a Roc, 2 Hellhounds, or a Demonic Panther. You get to pick one of them to go against. It will only be around a short amount of time, so you have to beat it before it has to leave. If you need me to call off the summoned creature, it is considered a forfeit. If you don't kill it before it leaves on it's own, you loose. So the goal is to kill the summoned creature, though it will not really die. You are simply forcing it to return to whence it came. Does that make sense?"

As she was explaining it once more her mind puzzled over ways she could enact revenge on the man. She wanted to do something that wouldn't kill the man, but to let him know it was not a good idea to mess with people like herself.

Shadeen had never done anything like this before but she quickly stood up and straightened herself when the woman whispered to her. “Sorry, I’m new to this,” She whispered hurriedly. Hoping that she hadn’t done anything to annoy the woman in front of her.

"Makes sense,"

She pondered over the choices she had to fight. She wasn’t sure which would be best, but since the fight with the sand worm, and her adventure with Varonen she thought she’d do okay. If things ever got to be too much for her she could always retreat and forfeit. Roc. 2 Hellhounds. Or Demonic Panther. She didn’t want to keep the woman waiting and so she just picked one, hoping that it wouldn’t be too much for her to handle

"Roc.” She said with a little confidence trailing into her voice. “If you please,” She smiled, and took a few steps away from the woman, drawing her katana out of its sheath with a swishing sound. She would have to be on her toes for this, and so she held her katana out in front of her body, ready for whatever happened next.

AD was glad of Shadeen got up when she did. It was the strangest thing for anyone to bow or kneal to her. Well, bowing wasn't that bad, but she always felt compelled to bow back and it only seemed to work with introductions.

The Roc. She could handle that easily! "You might want to move further back then." AD said and pulled out her wand. As she drew the summoning circle deftly in the air, the shadows seemed to pour from where they were by the wall to for a circle identical to the one AD traced, but on the ground. She glanced at the circle; saw that it was right, and knelt down. The fingertips of both her hands touched the edge of the shadow circle and she focused on it for just a moment before standing up and taking a few steps back. The magic flowed across the circle and the shadows merged together and rose up.

"Ready or not, here we go!" Aether Draka said with a grin as the shadows seemed to solidify and a huge bird materialized. The bird was larger then any horse. The bird's gaze found Shadeen first, and then went to AD for but a moment. "Go on." She urged her summons and the bird turned its attention back to Shedeen. steeped forward and lowered it's head. Then the huge Roc opened its beak and let out a deafening screech.

AD took a few more steps back so that the shadows from the wall behind her now cast over her. There, she stopped and vanished from not only sight, but any sort of detection. It was from there that she chose to watch.

Shadeen moved back when AD requested it of her. She didn’t want to be at a disadvantage for the fight. Once she had moved back about ten feet she readjusted her position and gripped the leather hilt of her Katana. Her experiences in Imythess should be enough to help her through this. Shadeen watched with curiosity in her eyes as AD put her hands on the ground. She felt more than saw the magic that radiated from the woman.

The shadows around AD moved and twisted, as though there was a fire flickering in front of them. They moved, danced almost, until they solidified into a giant bird. Shadeen was very glad she had backed up. She watched the bird’s eyes meet her own and they caught and held for a moment. The Roc’s eyes drifted back to AD and Shadeen heard her encouragement. The bird moved closer to Shadeen, and screeched. She covered her ears until the sound was cut off. She was so absorbed with the bird that she didn’t notice AD disappear into the shadows.

Shadeen was glad that the man standing at the gates had agreed to let her horse in if she requested it, and she thought she might need Fury now. She whistled and waited. Fury plodded over the ground and nudged at Shadeen’s back. She swung herself up into the golden quarter horse and took up the reigns. She pulled out her sword. She tightened her legs’ grip on the horse’s girth and waited. . . She would let the Roc make the first move, and take it from there.

AD watched as Shadeen let out a whistle and a horse came out. She wondered for a moment if she would get a chance to make another Centaur. She had never seen a female one and there had to be some. Perhaps she could use Shadeen, though it would have to be in a different place then this one. Even though AD felt it was a fact that Centaurs were created when both a warrior and their mount died in battle, she didn’t want to get banned from the arena for killing someone. For some unexplained reason, they said it wasn’t allowed…

But then she only got of the horse and drew a blade. She didn’t charge or move either away or to the bird. The Roc didn’t seem to happy about this. Its eyes flashed golden and it snapped open it’s huge wings and flapped them hard. Dust and sand flew everywhere, so that even AD had to shield her eyes. A movement that would have given away where she was if anyone else could have seen clearly. The roc itself had taken to the air, it’s huge shadow crossing over not just the arena floor, but the gathering spectators who looked up at in and some even ducked down in their seats. The bird circled, gaining height in its spiral upwards. It drew attention to the arena as it did so and AD grinned. The girl may or may not be a fighter, but if the roc was getting the first move against both horse and woman… AD wondered if she was going to have to call off the huge bird soon…

Perhaps Shadeen wasn't a real warrior after all.

((OOC: *hates her short post* <_< ))

((OoC: Sorry all my posts are gonna be a little on the short side. I’ve been pretty busy lately and I wanted to post before the end of the break. Sorry for making you wait for so long. ><))

Shadeen shifted her position on the horse’s back and settled deeper into her seat. She tested the weight of her katana, lifting it up and down. It was light in her fingers and she held it loosely for a moment. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, smelling the dirt and sweat of the crowd.

The bird rose higher into the sky. Shadeen waited until it reached its pinnacle and then she tightened her grip on the sword. She backed up her horse a few feet then pressed in her heels. The horse whinnied and its front feet rose up off the ground. His feet pounded down on the ground and he thundered forward. She had a plan to meet the bird head on, or almost head on. She would try and move out of the way and slash at the roc’s side as it dove by.

Dirt flew from Fury’s hooves as he pounded forward across the arena. Shadeen had lost focus of the shadows in which AD stood. She had blocked out the crowd, the sound of Fury’s breathing. She had her eyes focused on the roc and her body was focused on the weight of the katana in her hands and the movement of the animal beneath her. She wouldn’t lose. She wouldn’t! It was all she told herself as the pair moved towards their competitor.

Aether Draka looked over at Shadeen and her horse. AD had no fondness toward horses, or any other animal really. She had Turin, which was a small dragon and could speak so she didn’t consider him an animal. Animals can’t speak anyways. You had to boss them around and half the time they didn’t listen. Summoned creatures listened at least, and you didn’t have to feed them or take care of them. They weren’t pets. But that wasn’t the reason AD was learning how to summon. She was learning how to summon so that she would be able to be strong enough, powerful enough, to summon her own grandmother, who was a demon in the pits of Hell. She had been told by her grandmother that her soul belonged to her grandmother. That was something she didn’t like one little bit. So, she was trying to find out how to be the only one who owned any part of her. She didn’t know if this was the best way to do things, but it was worth a try. She let her eye travel up, but she couldn’t see the roc without moving her head, so her gaze once more fell upon Shadeen and her horse.

The roc rose above the crowd and looked down at its foe. The horse, the horse would have to go down first. It made the little one much to big and fast. The bird folded its wings close to its body and began a dive headfirst. Unlike most birds, a roc is large enough to easily carry passengers. It is also bigger then a horse, though perhaps not much heaver. As it came closer it let out another screeching caw and set its talons for the horse’s nearest side. It wasn’t just going to rake the animal with this attack. The roc was hoping to knock the animal over and be standing on it. This huge bird was basically body slamming the horse feet first.