2763/WMAT BQ1 Saber of Silver vs Geralt of Rivia

WMAT BQ1 Saber of Silver vs Geralt of Rivia
Date of Scene:	08 August 2015
Location:	WMAT Arena - Spinach Wastes
Synopsis:	Geralt of Rivia meets Saber of Silver in the opening qualifiers for the WMAT!
Cast of Characters:	227, 415, 828
Tinyplot:	WMAT 2015

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Geralt of Rivia (828) has posed:
     This 'arena' is rather idyllic, Geralt thinks. At the very least, it's a significant step up from the swamps and marshes of Velen that he's been trudging through on a daily basis. He's tried not to think about the hovercars - they're odd, to him. How can something made of metal float above the ground if a sorceress isn't involved?

     Speaking of sorceresses, Geralt casts his golden cat-eyes to the stands but there's no sign of any familiar raven hair'd or flaming hair'd women. Hmm, that might be for the best. If he were to fall here, Yennifer would never let him forget it.

     Geralt, in his typical leather and chain armor, riding breeches, gauntlets and heavy boots, with his two blades strapped over his back, stands in the spot where he was advised to stand by some WMAT officials. Some might say that a Witcher shouldn't be fighting in a tournament like this, but Geralt thinks that the payment for winning would be more than enough reason. That's the thing about the Witcher code, it's not so much a code as it is a series of flexible guidelines. And, along those lines, he hasn't ingested any potions - something about it just doesn't seem sporting. He'll prevail on martial skill or not at all.

     The wind tugs at Geralt's white hair, tied back in a messy ponytail that hangs around his ears. The afternoon sun, warm and inviting, beats down only semi-relentlessly.

Saber of Silver (227) has posed:
From the other end of the arena comes a young woman in a kimono, colored beautifully in varying shades of green and embroidered with silver thread. The decorations match her hair as well, and silver strands flow in the wind as she approaches her starting area. She glances toward the sun, squinting slightly, and letting out a soft breath. Not her favorite time of day.

The silver-haired Saber rests a hand on the two hitls of the swords at her hip, fingertips straying from one to the other, as if trying to settle on a decision. Finally, though, she grips one of them, though doesn't draw it just yet.

Light green eyes gaze across at her opponent, and Saber offers a faint smile of greeting. "It will be an honor to duel with you, sir." She inclines her head slightly, then turns to gesture at the overseeing judge, giving them a nod as well to indicate that she's ready.

Kazusa Ujikane (415) has posed:
    Meanwhile, up in the stands, a light-haired girl in glasses is muching on some refreshments with one hand, and very enthusiastically waving a large pennant. The flag is a very dark blue fabric, studded with little white sequins to represent the stars, and bears a single large crescent-moon emblem.

    Wave wave. "SABEEEEER~! DO YOUR BEEEEEST~!"

Geralt of Rivia (828) has posed:
     It's funny. The appearance of his opponent throws Geralt for a moment and, unusually fora Witcher, it might even be reflected through his facial expressions. Silver hair, green eyes... and she would be about Ciri's age, too. Between that, and the nightmare that had haunted him the last time he slept...

     "An honor and a privilege both," Geralt replies, voice gravelly. As he reaches for one of the blades at his back - the iron sword - he puts all thoughts of Ciri, his daughter, from his mind.

     The sword comes free from the scabbard with the soft whisper of metal on metal and Geralt settles into a relaxed stance, sword above his head, point directed at the Saber of Silver. "Geralt of Rivia," he says, because that seems like it'd be polite.

     And then he moves to step around his opponent, sword still raised and ready. He watches her closely and then darts his sword forwards, a quick strike to probe her defences!

Saber of Silver (227) has posed:
"Saber," comes the reply of her name. "Of the Silver." Sometimes a clarification is needed, especially as there are at least three other active Sabers in the immediate vicinity of the Multiverse. And her opponent uses a sword as well... At least she knows what to expect from a sword, except the times that she doesn't.

The first strike manages to land a hit on Saber's leading shoulder with enough force to throw off the balance of her own intended first strike. She seems unhurt, at least, protected by her Mystic Robe. That kimono must be tougher than just cloth.

A quick glance is flicked toward the stands, and she gives a slight not of acknowledgement as she sees her Master... then she darts into motion. Right hand draws her blade in a smooth motion, and despite the somewhat humble appearance of the sword, it also fairly thrums with power. "Haa!" Planting her foot, Saber swings the blade, darting it out in a quick strike toward her opponent's side.

Geralt of Rivia (828) has posed:
     Well, she's certainly quick on her feet.

     Geralt steps back, bringing his sword in close and turning the blade to deflect Saber of Silver's strike, but he's a fraction too slow - evidently not quite prepared for her strike, even with his supernatural reflexes.

     Her blade bites deep into the thick leather and the cloth gambeson beneath at his side. There's a grunt from the back of Geralt's throat, the only indication that the strike connected.

     Geralt steps back for a moment, sizing Saber of Silver up. And then he closes the gap, whirling his blade around his head, and then letting it slash out towards her midsection!

Saber of Silver (227) has posed:
The weapon in Saber's hand may not look impressive, or even meant for quick strikes, but she still manages to swing it back around swiftly. The second strike never reaches her body, as Saber's sword clashes with Geralt's, sending a short of sparks flying. For a few moments, she strains against the force of his attack, but finally pushes back hard, leaping away at the same time to get a bit of distance between them.

Sandaled feet strike against the ground as Saber rushes in again, bringing her sword up in a quick slash, then swinging it downward just as quickly.With each swing, bits of grass fly up from the ground on either side, cut by some invisible force.

Geralt of Rivia (828) has posed:
     Sparks fly as the Witcher and Saber trade blows. Sword meets sword and Geralt presses in with all of his strength, aiming to drive Saber back. She evidently knows the move and leaps back and away.

     It's only been a couple of frantic, parrying moments but Geralt can already feel himself breathing heavily under his armor. As Saber rushes in, his sword comes up and the impact of metal on metal rings across the field. The first blow is deflected but it throws Geralt out for a second, allowing Saber's downward swing to find his left shoulder. The chainmail pauldron there absorbs much of the force but the blow still slides downwards and bites into the thick cloth that protects his upper arm. Geralt swears under his breath, and brings his /knee/ up to slam into Saber's middle!

Saber of Silver (227) has posed:
Even as her sword strikes, Saber begins to press the advantage. She plants her foot and swings again... but is interrupted by a solid strike to the midsection. It's enough to knock the wind out of her, and the Servant stumbles back a few steps, gasping to catch her breath. Against a larger opponent like this, she's at a disadvantage should the battle come to just brawn... so she'll have to make use of some of her other advantages.

Rather than closing in again, Saber draws in a quick breath and blows softly, then slashes her blade three times in rapid succession at the air in front of her. It seems as if nothing has happened.

Then three invisible blades of air converge on Geralt, only a slight shimmering of the atmosphere betraying their location as they fly toward him.

Geralt of Rivia (828) has posed:
     As Saber stumbles away from the knee strike, Geralt moves to circle her again. He's already looking a bit ragged and worse for wear, although his golden eyes still betray a fierce cunning. He's tiring but a Witcher is still formidable even when fatigued.

     When Saber slashes her blade three times, it takes Geralt a moment to realise what she's doing - sorcery! He raises his free hand and his fingers spasm and turn as if making a pattern with each movement.

     A pattern... or a sign.

     The sign of Heliotrop erects a magical barrier, just as the three blows connect. They hammer Geralt in quick succession and lift him from his feet, his sword sent flying from his grip. The Witcher hits the ground hard, rolling for a moment. It even takes him a few seconds to rise, winded and wounded.

     When he does, he spits blood. And when he does, his fingers move again in another arcane gesture - the sign of Aard - and a wave of telekinetic force, a subtle blur on the landscape that ripples over the grass, rips through the air towards Saber of Silver.

     He uses the time that Aard will give him to take up his sword again. No, the fight isn't over yet.

Saber of Silver (227) has posed:
Green eyes narrow as Saber focuses on those hand motions. A spell? It seems to have put up a shield to take the worst of her attack, but what's this second one? Magic is most definitely not her strong point; she's no Caster. And while she may have natural resistance to magic, she's found that more potent spells can still do quite a lot of damage.

Rather than trying to dodge, Saber swings her blade again, aming for that vague incoming ripple. Her sword cuts the force wave in two, though it's uncomfortably close... A few small slices appear cut from the sleeves of her kimono, and a few strands of silver hair waft to the ground. A small trickle of blood streams from her upper arm, where the wave got too close. She can't allow a spell like that to make a clean hit or it could be quite bad.

"Grass-cutting sword," she intones softly as she darts in, trying to close the distance and press her advantage before Geralt regains his weapon. "Kusanai no Tsurugi!" The strike this time is not with the sword alone, but with an extension of it, a blade of razor-sharp air forming around the metal of the sword to greatly increase its cutting power.

Geralt of Rivia (828) has posed:
     Stepping towards Saber with long, half-loping strides, Geralt looks weary, like he's all out of fight already. He's a grey-haired old man, after all - how much fight can be left in him after being thrown around like that?

     Well, as Geralt takes up his sword in both hands and swings for Saber's blade, it appears to be a fair bit!

     He's put all of his strength into the blow - a desperate one, an attempt to simply knock Saber's sword out of the way and even out of her hands. Saber's blow, boosted by her incantation, still /chips/ a section from Geralt's sword and the magical edge lashes across his face, drawing a red line, but Geralt weathers it with only an agonised hiss from his lips.

     Keeping his blade in both hands, Geralt swings four times in quick succession - two high before abruptly shifting into two blows aimed towards Saber's legs!

     At the very least, he's going to need to replace that sword.

Saber of Silver (227) has posed:
Saber grits her teeth as blade strikes blade, trying to force the wind blade of her sword through... but Geralt has the advantage of leverage, and the Servant is pushed back. She doesn't lose hold of Kusanagi, but her arm is sent flying backwards, leaving her open for the following attacks. The green fabric of her kimono tears from the strikes, once near her shoulder and again across her thigh, revealing a bit of skin beneath, and blood begins to seep out into the fabric. Magical armor it may be, but it seems that Saber still bleeds.

The Servant regains control of her weapon, pouring a bit more mana into it, and springs forward, leaping up and over Geralt in a neat flip. The instant her foot touches the ground on the other side, Saber kicks off, blade snapping quickly out as she rushes right for Geralt. One, two, three strikes at the air, each sending a blade of wind flying for the Witcher, followed by a fourth strike with the sword itself, slashing for Geralt's side as Saber rushes past, blades of grass showering in her wake.

Geralt of Rivia (828) has posed:
     That leap right over his head throws Geralt off. He turns with it, but Saber is already striking at him - from a distance. The first two blows connect, slicing through his leather armor and into the flesh beneath. That's another two scars, definitely - blood spraying from the wound to splatter across the grass.

     Geralt staggers back, cursing under his breath, directing his sword with one hand while he makes the sign of Heliotrop with the other. He manages to deflect much of the incoming blows, placing his sword between Saber's own weapon and his side.

     But, as Saber rushes past, Geralt turns to follow - and lashes out with another powerful blast of Aard, hopefully catching her between the wave of force and one of the lines of high fencing or one of the rather tranquil trees that infrequently dot the landscape!

Saber of Silver (227) has posed:
For a brief moment, Saber's back is to the enemy. It was a dangerous attack, but she feels that such a thing was necessary.

In that brief moment, the Witcher launched another blast of force at her. Rather than panic, however, or try to dodge, Saber allows her motion to carry her, spinning slightly. Instead of catching her on the back, the Aard blast strikes her shoulder, forcing her twirl to continue. Silver hair whips up around her as she moves, shifting her shoulder slightly to alleviate some of the pain from that strike. Before her hair has even settled back down, Saber lashes out again with her sword, sending a single wave of cutting air toward Geralt.

Geralt of Rivia (828) has posed:
     Another air-strike, another display of Heliotrop. One wonders if his fingers get tired!

     Geralt is launched off his feet as the force is redirected over his whole body instead of into a cutting line. It still hurts, sure, but it is dispersed over his whole body. Geralt rises quickly this time, breaking into a run, even as his joints and muscles throb in painful protest.

     Still, he picks up enough momentum to raise his blade behind his head as he spins, putting all of his strength through his back, legs and shoulders into the movement, and lets the blade fly out, aimed for a powerful horizontal strike at Saber's middle!

Saber of Silver (227) has posed:
As Geralt rushes in, Saber lifts her sword to parry his strike. Unfortunately, it's a bit lower than it appeared it would be, and Kusanagi merely scrapes along the Witcher's sword as it swings past. That may deflect its trajectory slightly, but not enough, and the blade cuts right across her stomach.

My, that's a lot of blood.

Staggering for a moment, Saber fights to keep her vision from swimming. "Th.. this..." She slowly lifts her head, fixing a wide-eyed gaze on Geralt. For a brief moment, her entire face seems to shine, silvery hair glowing softly.

"...this is nothing!" Gritting her teeth, she drops down, spinning on one foot to kick out at the side of Geralt's leg. Her elbow comes up as she does, striking upward and trying to land a sharp blow on the man's jaw.

Kazusa Ujikane (415) has posed:
    Up in the stands, Kazusa is on her feet, waving that pennant rather emphatically. "SABEEER! YOU CAN DO IIIIIT!"

Geralt of Rivia (828) has posed:
     It's a sharp blow, it's a well-aimed blow!

     Geralt's head jerks backwards, stars spinning behind his eyes. He snorts out a strange, choked breath. Oooh, that was definitely not what he expected.

     But it's something he can deal with. He moves into a loose pose, sword in one hand, and begins exchanging a flurry of blows from his elbows, knees, fists, even the pommel of his sword! He has no such words to give - but his resolve to win is just as evident!

Saber of Silver (227) has posed:
While it's true she resorted to physical strikes, Saber did not expect her opponent to do the same, especially not with such ferocity! The first blow lands, setting her staggering back. The second doubles her over, and the third sends her flying back, landing a short distance away on the ground.

For a few seconds, she doesn't move, blood pooling around her from her earlier injuries. Green eyes glaze over as she stares wordlessly at the sky.

Then, suddenly, Saber lets out a rasping gasp, sitting bolt upright. Her eyes clear and she rises to her feet, murmuring softly. "I saw it... for a moment, I saw it." Saber shakes her head, reaching up to wipe at her eyes. "I will not give up so easily, though." Lowering her arm, she holds Kusanagi tightly with both hands. "Not nearly so easily!"

Saber darts forward, the tip of her sword trailing just off the ground. Even so, it cuts a furrow in the soil as she runs. A flick of her wrist sends a clod of dirt flying toward the Witcher, just a distraction, before she closes in. Her sword moves swiftly in a series of swift slashes, each one leaving just a faint afterimage in the air behind it. And as she adjusts her grip to bring Kusanagi down for a final blow, all the afterimages streak down as well, shimmering with the motion of cutting air.

Geralt of Rivia (828) has posed:
     Geralt steps forwards, half stumbling, half walking. He's favouring his left side, where blood seeps out from between rents in his armor. For those few seconds, he's not sure if he's put Saber down for good.

     But then she starts talking and, while Geralt knows better than to ignore the words of those who have magic (dating a sorceress or two will do that) he still has no idea what Saber is talking about.

     Maybe the trophy? You get a trophy for the tournament, right?

5t She darts forward, throws the dirt up. It gets into Geralt's eyes, causing him to react on blind instinct. Saber's blow land upon him, tearing through his armor and wounding him grievously. As the final blow comes down, it tears through his armor like paper, ripping one pauldron free and sinking in deep. Geralt's arm - his sword arm - goes numb instantly.

     It's a bad wound. Against a monster, it'd be a mortal one. Even now, though, Geralt has one more trick up his sleeve.

     He makes another gesture with his free hand, and points his palm at Saber.

     With a flash like dry wood igniting, a terrific gout of flame bursts from Geralt's palm, a brief but powerful torrent of heat, light and roaring sound! Igni, the sign of fire! At this close range, does Saber have anything to stop it?

Saber of Silver (227) has posed:
Were there a bit more distance, Saber could do something about that flame. Perhaps if it didn't take her quite by surprise, even the proximity wouldn't have kept her from reacting.

As it is, though, the hand is -right there- and Saber has no time to react before she's suddenly engulfed in flames. Almost more out of surprise than pain, the Servant lets out a high-pitched SHRIEK as she tumbles back. For a few moments, she panics, flailing at her kimono to put the fire out... then she grabs Kusanagi and swings it downward sharply. The fire instantly dissipates, swirling away from her body. "Th.. that...."

Saber takes a step forward... then collapses to her knees, just barely managing to keep hold of her sword. She tries to lift her arm, but there's little strength left, and her Master can probably tell just how low her mana reserves are. After another attempt at struggling to stand up, Saber tops forward and crashes face-first on the ground.

Geralt of Rivia (828) has posed:
     It's only a few seconds before Geralt, exhausted and wounded, even more pale than usual from blood loss, with a grey haze creeping into the edge of his vision, falls to his knees and then collapses onto his side. His golden eyes stare ahead, not really looking at anything, although they slowly wander to Saber.

     The only thing Geralt can hear is the pounding of blood in his ears and his ragged, heavy breathing. The grass is soft here and he's just so tired that maybe lying here for a while is for the best.

     "...fought... well..." he manages to gasp out. Time for the medics.

Kazusa Ujikane (415) has posed:
    ...

    ...

    ..."SAAAABEEEEEER!"

    Hop-step-leap-slide scamperscamperscamper. Turns out Kazusa can parkour, at least when it's stadium-esque seats and her Servant has gone down for the count. The nerdy card-user hurries her way down and jumps the railing, landing on her feet and running out across the grass to Saber's side.

Saber of Silver (227) has posed:
On the plus side, Saber is still alive. But both Kusanagi and her still-sheathed sword fade away to conserve mana. "Nnnn...." is about all she can offer in agreement to Geralt, and all she can say to Kazusa as well. One eye slowly opens, looking directly at her Master, and Saber returns to spirit form so her energies have some time to recover.