WMAT A2 Ainsley vs. Theo Morrison

WMAT A2 Ainsley vs. Theo Morrison
Date of Scene:	12 July 2014
Location:	WMAT Arena - Spinach Wastes
Synopsis:	Ainsley versus Theo Morrison in Round 2, Bracket A of the WMAT!
Cast of Characters:	Staren, 151, 152, Theo Morrison

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Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley is fighting a friend. The good thing about this is that it's a tournament, so she should've expected she would run into someone she knows, but she wasn't prepared for her first opponent to be one of her actual friends. She found herself fretting and fidgeting where she stood in the grassy field she chose. She had no ability to enjoy the pleasant scenery, or appreciate the nice weather. She couldn't even spare some time to bask under the sunlight like a true reptile.
No, she was here with her Thaumostatic Harness on her back, and a full-body cloak on her, guarding her from the sunlight. Her leather gloves creeeeak as she nervously flexes her fingers. Her face is mostly hidden under the hood, but this is not at all intentional. In the shadow of the hood, her red eyes glow, giving her an ominous 'dark creature' sort of aura.

Ainsley stands and silently hopes that 'White' mana doesn't count as 'holy,' because if it does, she's gonna come away from this with some very nasty burns. Go figure that she would get into a fight with a huge monster the day before a tournament battle!

Staren has posed:
Theo vs Ainsley! This match actually fit into Staren's schedule, so the family's made an outing of it. Man, Staren is glad his existential hangover wore off. It would suck to be around all this excitement and cheering with a soul migraine.

Aaaand there seems to be some sort of hold up. Where's the commentator? Staren's ears perk up. There... there IS no commentator! Oh no! Well... he knows the combatants, so... Staren flies over to the tournament staff. SOON AFTER:

Staren holds the microphone. Okay. Okay. He can do this. He smiles and waves to his friends on the field. "Okay." Did he say that one out loud? Oops. He coughs and clears his throat. Ahem. Hem-hem. Ahehehehehehem! Deep breath. He picks up the microphone. "..ALLLLRIIIIGHT!" He turns toward the audience as he flies into the air. "Today, ladies and gentlemen, two friends of mine face off in the World Martial Arts Tournament! IIIiiin the one corner, we have the lizard wizard, the supreme scholar, the Chronicler, AINSLEEEEEEEEY!" he waves an arm in Ainsley's direction. "AAAAnd in the other corner," he looks thoughtful, "mean, it's not like we really have corners in these arenas, but you know what I mean," he shakes his head and looks certain again, "IN the other corner, we have the cardstock conjurer, the white-blue wizard, the Deckmaster, THEEEOOO MORRISON! Coming to you LIVE from the Spinach Wastes! Raaah! Raaah!" Yes he's actually making cheering noises. "Tune in to 900.2 and find out WHO WILL WIN and WHAT awesome stuff THEY and their OPPONENT are gonna do to GET there! Raaaah..." He flies down to one of the staff. "How was that? Good? Good!" He waves to the crowd and motions for cheering, before turning back to the fight! He pulls his trusty camera drone out of his bag, where the coconut-sized metal sphere with a lens on one side floats near him, eye on the contestants.

Theo Morrison has posed:
Theo honestly did not expect to run into a friend in this context in the WMAT.

It's not that he's ignorant of the possibility or anything, but what are the odds? The miniscule chance that, of all the people in the Multiverse in this thing, he just /happened/ to get matched up against one of the few other people in the bracket that he actually likes?

Fate is a really fickle lady sometimes.

So, here he is. Theo marches onto the field, a little stiffly but gradually loosening up. Kickotron is with him, allowed into the battle because he's basically a piece of equipment, or a Pokemon: probably necessary and just as likely part of his combat style. As per usual, Kickotron is carrying that tray of a table that Theo has him saddled with, and with Theo's Abstractum, Aetherwright, affixed to the edge.

They stop some distance across the field from Ainsley. Theo's already got a deck out, shuffled up and ready. He puts his hand on top of it. A little awkwardly, he raises his free hand to wave. "Uh... hey. You're looking... ominous." Theo suddenly regrets not wearing the stuff he got in Ravnica. Ainsley has him soundly beat in the cool-looking-competitor category.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley spots Theo's approach, and her mouth pulls into a smile just upon seeing him. She carefully reaches up with one gloves hand to brush the hood off of her head. Her glowing red eyes shine even in broad daylight. She doesn't bother explaining the ominous thing. She doesn't want people at the Multiverse at large knowing that she's similar to a vampire or some sort of blood mage. It carries heavy, spooky implications that could take her down a dangerous road. Instead, she speaks up in a friendly voice, "Hello, Theo."

She reaches into her cloak, and with a sloooow metallic hum, a longsword gets drawn out of its scabbard. "I have seen your magic, and you have seen how I fight. I joined this tournament as a way to test my mettle, and get a chance to practice against a wide variety of opponents in a friendly, but serious, context." She holds the longsword in one hand, and slowly steps forward. Her tail raises and wiggles, preparing to correct her balance for the fight at large. Her steps are light. She has the fighting posture of a dancer.

"You first," she urges, gently. She knows he needs to summon creatures in order to fight, and she doesn't want to get up in his grill before he's even acted.

Theo Morrison has posed:
Theo doesn't ask. She'll say something if she wants to.

That sword, though, is something worth noting. Theo has seen Ainsley fight, true, but he most vividly remembers a shorter blade than that. Maybe he was mistaken. Mostly he remembers the blood...

Theo shakes his head sharply, as if to clear it. He suppresses a shudder.

"Yeah, I'm kind of the same way," he admits. Theo picks up his seven off the top. He glances over the hand, then looks around the field. It'll do. "I always entered local tournaments for, y'know." He gestures at the deck. "I figured, what's this but a bigger one, right? Maybe I'll even with a fabulous prize." He puts a card down.

"Plains. Tap." He turns it, putting another one down, off to the side. The nearby grass ripples in a picturesque wave as he draws on the land's mana. Above him, a portal opens, a glassy, cyan surface to the tear in the air. It shows a foreign sky. "Suspending Knight of Sursi." He glances back at that blade, starting to backpedal as she moves forward. "Um... your go." Now we see if she's going to wait until he actually has a /creature/, or... "I'll have something actually armed for you to face down in a sec, promise."

Faruja (152) has posed:
Up in the stands, Faruja sits cross legged as he watches. He may or may not be waving a very tiny blue flag with Ainsley's face on it. "Go my love! I believe in theee!" Shouts the rat very loudly. He might just be a little intoxicated.

Staren has posed:
Staren floats over the battlefield on transparent orange energy fairy wings. He actually thinks it'd be pretty interesting to fight a friend. I mean, imagine if he fought, say, Kirito. That would be an intense and fun match! So, he's glad for Ainsley and Theo, getting this opportunity to match wits in a friendly context. "Ainsley's waiting for Theo to make the first move. What's it gonna be?" He turns to look at Theo, the little drone zooming in. "A land card! And... a Knight of Sursi! But it's suspended." He turns to look at Ainsley. "Will she wait for the Knight, or will she take the fight to Theo himself?"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley smiles at him. He's a sweet kid, and not someone she wants to hurt overly much. But it begs the question: Will he hold it against her if she fights with everything she has?

Only one way to find out. She's not going to try any lethal strikes, as she knows he's a squishy mortal behind all of his card magic. That is why she allowed him to go first. However, she clicks her tongue. Part of this is also entertaining the masses... and she never really got to see how Theo reacts when he's attacked during a moment where he's not fully prepared. "Alright," she says in a warning voice.

Then she lunges forward. With a quick movement she swipes the blade horizontally, but she doesn't actually aim for him. Electricity whips from the blade and pulses along the ground! The charge travels and threatens to strike Theo in the feet and cook him a little.

Theo Morrison has posed:
Ainsley finally comes at him. Theo takes a quick step back, watching that sword. He doesn't want to get stabbed, especially not first thing in the match. The tactical liability alone --

Kickotron suddenly jumps, springing into the air. Theo looks at him, utterly puzzled, and misses the quick-time event cue.

The electrical pulse hits him from below, causing him to yelp in equal parts pain and surprise. He staggers, tearing his feet from the ground one at a time and then wobbling while he tries to keep his footing. Kickotron lands as soon as the pulse has passed, positioning himself nearby. His cards haven't been even remotely affected by the jump or the pulse.

"G-good one," he stammers. He's still, well, /shocked/ from the hit, at least for a moment. He draws one off the top and drops it onto the tray, clearing his throat lightly. He's concentrating intensely, focusing on where Ainsley stands when he declares, "Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx!"

The field rumbles, and the sky spins. Grasses flatten and part, the terrain rearranging to make room for something else entirely. Stone columns start to shoot out of the ground, weathered and ancient. Some hold busts of what can only be foreign gods, rendered primarily in greenish stone. The gently-sloping grassy hill is quickly replaced with an outdoor, open-topped temple -- and the sky is filled with a brilliant, beautiful night sky, the innumerable constellations twinkling bright.

Ainsley appears to be in the center of the shrine. While this is convenient for getting a look at it, it is /in/convenient when the brazier full of fire springs up underneath her and abruptly flares up, hot and bright.

Theo has taken this opportunity to start running through the shrine, putting some distance between the two of them. He has not stopped playing. With a cry of, "Benalish Cavalry," a knight on horseback appears, with a gold-crested helm on his head and what looks like a glaive in his hand. He's just getting his bearings. Some kind of... summoning sickness?!

Staren has posed:
"Looks like she's not waiting, folks! Ooh, that looks like it stung! Some kind of electrice wave from her sword! I didn't know she could do that! Theo's summoned a temple that... comes with a pretty night sky? Huh... Ooh!" He dives down towards the Shrine for a better look. "Looks like this is now an indoor fight and ooh, Ainsley was standing in the wrong place! Theo summoned a large brazier there! Aaand he's also summoned a knight! And he's still got the Knight of Sursi suspended! Things are heating up fast, folks! *snrk* Heating up... Sorry Ainsley."

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley flinches from the effectiveness of her attack. She hefts the longsword, her gaze dropping to meet the dull neutrality of Kickotron. "So we meet again," she tells the small birdrobot. She doesn't expect a reply. She looks up at Theo directly after that, and smiles brightly at the Deckmaster as he regains his composure following the electrical shock. She's not sure what to expect with him. He is, quite frankly, a wild card.

While she is mentally kicking herself for the pun she ends up being attacked. The shrine manifests below her feet-- and she gets /lit on fire/. She squeals in pain from the awful sensation and leaps out of the fire, bolting up into the air! She uses a combination of fire and water magic to douse the fire, first by removing the actual /combustion/ from her and then dousing the embers. What results afterward is a tattered, scorched lizard woman leering at Theo for a second.

He summons a creature, but she's not polite enough to wait for it to get its bearings. Instead of waiting, she points at it with her sword, and speaks a few soft words of an ancient germanic language.

A bolt of lightning flashes from the sword down at the Benalish Cavalry, like she's some sort of angry thunder goddess! Which is wholly appropriate, because her Harness is suspending her up in the air at this point. An aura of lightning whirrs around her with unnatural arcs, suspending her with arcane electromagnetic forces.

She refuses to allow Theo to gain momentum. She's going to push him back with every ounce of her strength. He can't possibly win if she destroys his key offense tools.

Theo Morrison has posed:
Kickotron regards Ainsley with the same silent stoicism that Kickotron regards everything in. In this, the Myr is at least consistent.

When Ainsley leers at him, Theo can only glance back and give her a slightly apologetic smile. This is a fight, sure, but it's also a game. If she's going to electrocute him, he'll set her a little bit on fire. If she's going to fly...

The knight can't do much about a storm-wielding goddess of lightning. The bolt slams into the knight, and his horse rears, screaming and toppling over with the armored figure on top of it. The two bodies disappear into wisps of misty Aether as they hit the dirt.

Theo's offense is thusly stymied. He's going to have to get creative. He can't let her keep flying around and flinging lightning at him; knights are notoriously ground-bound. He glances at the time rift, the gradually-solidifying hole in the sky still not giving up his newest recruit. "Improvise," he mutters. "What can I..." He draws. Helpful for later, he thinks. Theo glances at his hand, then looks up at Ainsley.

A grin spreads on his face. He puts down another Plains, and taps all three lands. He flips a card onto the tray, raising his voice. For the crowd, right. "Oblivion Ring!" He thrusts his free hand into the air, finger extended. A circle of blue light with a complex white sigil in the middle of it forms in the sky near Ainsley. "Get down here!!"

The sigil finishes. A sudden pulse of banishing magic washes out from it, rushing at Ainsley -- and passing her by. It isn't targeting /her/, it's targeting her Harness. If it can't temporarily pull that out of reality for a little while due to Aura or otherwise, it instead focuses on whatever about it is letting her stay aloft. It is in fact potent enough to strip away a static enchantment or an integral piece of the whole.

Theo expects that gravity will take over right about then.

Faruja (152) has posed:
"Oh that is /HARDLY/ bloody fair!" Slurp beer. Ahhh. Maybe the WMAT isn't so bad. Faruja leans back to watch, waving his Ainsley flag.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
The lizard girl feels triumphant as she slays the magically summoned knight, but she doesn't let it go to her head. She holds the longsword in one hand and stares down at Theo from afar, waiting for an opening or thinking how she should approach the next attack. However, Theo has something creative in mind and so she doesn't have a lot of ways to react. The Banishment of the magic within the Harness is felt by her, and instead of wasting her own innate mana stores, she just lets herself drop. The sword clatters off to the side to avoid impaling herself, but she ends up landing heavily and getting several nasty bruises and bloodies her nose.

She gets up to a stand, licking the blood off of her nose with her long tongue. She steps over to the sword and picks it up, and then slides the tip across the floor as she stalks through the shrine.

The mana in the air from Theo's attacks is enough to power her. She feels it in her blood. There's a faint ache and burn from any White mana in the air, though. She's not enjoying any holy sensations bearing down upon her.

"Now that was very rude," she remarks toward Theo. Then she reaches out with one hand to the fire that lit her up. Her eyes lid as a red energy courses up to her fingertips. Then she sucks up the fire toward her palm, accumulating it in a ball as she approaches. She swivels and then points it at Theo. Her outspread fingers curl all but one, pointing at him. The claw on the end glows for a second.

Then she projects a blast of fire toward Theo. The fire scorches the floor and displays more power and damaging potential than the electrical shock from the start of the fight.

Staren has posed:
Staren floats up to the temple ceiling to get out of the way. "Ooh, Theo's knight doesn't even get a chance -- in retribution for being set on fire, Ainsley sets it on LIGHTNING!" He looks back towards Theo. "Theo scored a good hit, but if Ainsley keeps this up, he may never get to build up his offense! Turn 3: Another land, and Theo plays... Oblivion ring! What's that do? Ohhh... OUCH! It disenchanted her magic jetpack... while she was high in the air! That looked like it hurt!"

Theo Morrison has posed:
Fun fact: Theo is using almost entirely White mana. The shrine seems like it reacts to what's around it, though. The White spells and creatures nearby, however, mean that there isn't a lot of variety...

The Oblivion Ring hangs high in the air, swirling with contained magic. If Ainsley could do something about it, it might restore what it's taken from her. Otherwise, it just sort of hangs out up there. Theo, pretty proud of himself, is not above a wince when she hits the ground.

Then she gets all creepy again, what with the blood-licking and the sword-dragging. He feels like he should make a quip about the dulling of a weapon, but it does not quite seem the time. Instead, he readies himself for whatever it is she's going to do this time. More electricity? It seems like it's kind of a favorite. He tenses --

That doesn't look like lightning at /all/. His eyes flick between the sword and the ball in her hand. "Yeah, well, all's fair in love and WOAH!" Fire lashes out at the Deckmaster. He starts to jump away, but being a mere mortal, all he does he gets mostly off his feet before it hits him in the chest. The blast carries him backwards, lifting him up and casting him down on his back. Theo slides across the paving stones, a scorch mark of a trail between where she's standing and just beyond where he got hit.

Kickotron has, of course, quickly vacated the area.

From his spot on his back, Theo coughs uncomfortably, managing a wheezing, "O-ow... I take it b-back." He rolls over, pushing himself back towards his feet. His coat is burned, but he doesn't seem to be actively on fire. His shirt is... mostly okay. As a result, he is not a mess of burns, but he sure /feels/ like it. Even minor burns hurt way more than they should. And he can't break out the salve until this is over...

"Okay then... my turn." Theo licks his dry lips. Kickotron hops back over, letting him grab his next card. As he does, the hole in the air finally opens, the glassy surface breaking. An armored woman astride a pegasus flies out, a bare blade of gleaming steel in her hand. She starts circling, definitely not as disoriented as the other knight was. "Knight of Sursi plays for free. Then..." He drops a Plains, tapping most of his land.

He puts down another card. With more feeling, he announces, "Knight Exemplar!"

Another knight appears. This one rides in from around the other side of the temple, a helmetless woman with long, dark hair astride a powerful charger. She holds a lance in one hand, and a shield with an emblem in green and gold in the other. Her eyes are intense and fearless, and she's clearly ready for a fight. Her horse is raring to go.

Unexpectedly, the Knight Exemplar speaks, her voice ringing out across the temple grounds. "If you think you are brave enough to walk the path of honor," she calls, scanning the pillars and the sky, as if aware of people hidden elsewhere, "follow me into the dragon's den!"

Theo remarks, a second later, "That doesn't usually happen. Hey Ainsley, you're not a dragon, are you?"

The Knight of Sursi suddenly dives down from the sky. The pegasus rider calls a battle cry, a faint golden glow surrounding her. She seems more steady and more sure -- and that sword of hers leaves a faint trail of holy light as she commences her fly-by attack on the occasionally-ominous Ainsley. She comes down -- and feints, circling again before /really/ striking in a swift flanking maneuver.

She doesn't attack more than once, darting into sword-range and then out of it as she takes to the air again... but with that kind of momentum -- and with the sword bearing that kind of energy -- she might not need to.

Staren has posed:
"Ainsley may be confined to the ground, but this is /far/ from over! Sparks fly from Ainsley's sword, and she mixes it up with some /fire/! Looks like she's getting warmed up now! Ooh..." he winces, "she blasted Theo clear across the room! Both contestants are taking quite a beating!"

"The Knight of Sursi finally comes out! Aaaand another land, and a Knight Exemplar!" Staren stares. "Woah... Theo's creatures can /talk/?!" Staren looks from the Exemplar, back to Theo, to Ainsley, to the knight of Sursi as it moves. "Theo's surprised too... Knight of Sursi dives in and OW! Looks like he got her back good for getting blasted!"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley just isn't aware of how good she is at freaking out people not used to fighting. Also, the sword-dulling comment would be relevant if her weapon didn't have this funny trait where it regenerates on its own. She lowers her hand following the spell, frowning at the results. More concussive force than normal. That's good. But she's not really wanting to break the guy's ribs with a spell. Actually...

Squinting, she realizes that did less visible damage than a spell of that caliber probably should, even if he seems to be feeling it just fine.

The Knight Exemplar is summoned. Ainsley lifts her weapon in preparation for fighting. The other Knight, the one on the Pegasus, is given a wary glance. She frowns at the pair of them, unsure how to handle a little bit of this. But then there are words spoken... and she's called a dragon. Not the kind of dragon that is heroic, but the kind that knights slay. Her knowledge of literature also makes her blood run cold. The word 'Dragon' is associated with a great deal of evil entities, things from Hell and similar.

And then she's attacked. The Pegasus Rider flies down at her, and she tries to hop out of the way-- and fails. The blade strikes her, but the wound is shall. It's what follows that REALLY hurts.

With a flash like thermite going off, her wound bursts into flames, and she SCREAMS from the pain that rips through her body. She staggers and has to prop herself up on the sword. She holds a hand on the wound, as dark mist rises up from it, dark mana leaking out of her body from the reaction. She wheezes for a second, then pulls the sword back up. Blood coats her fingertips.

And she moves to attack the Knight Exemplar. This time, she doesn't bother with magic. She does a quick swing to try and kite the Knight, and then ducks under her and tries to take out the horse's ankles with a vicious spinning strike, caring very little about the brutality she's displaying.

Theo Morrison has posed:
There are reasons Theo didn't immediately burn to ashes. He's taken precautions, like hiding talismans with glyphs of protection and warding under his clothes. Ones that promptly crumpled to dust, when they were guaranteed to last more than one hit. Stupid lousy --

Ainsley then promptly bleeds what is best described as /aerosol evil/.

Okay, thinks Theo. /That's/ new.

"Holy /crap/! Ainsley, are --" Theo cuts himself off, staring at the mist. His magical senses are abuzz, at once seeking and recoiling from what's leaking out of her. He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, the dissonance starting to get to him. He takes a deep breath. When he opens his eyes, he's worried, but not /also/ dealing with untrained instincts going haywire.

He starts to take a step forward to help her, but she clearly doesn't need it. He reverses direction as she attacks, the Knight Exemplar fending off her quick swing with a casual motion with her shield and then looking alarmed when her /horse/ gets cut out from under her. The horse topples, blood spraying gruesomely --

-- and the knight slides out of the saddle, jumping to the ground and landing on her feet next to the dissipating body. She tosses aside the lance, a sword much like Ainsley's coming free with a clear ring of steel. She's been seriously hampered, but she's not quite out of it yet. Without that mobility and the extra height, her combat ability is going to be greatly reduced at best.

"Okay! I'll take that as an -- okay!" Theo snatches the next card off the pile. He nudges all his lands over, dropping two creature cards in rapid succession. "Benalish Cavalry! Knight of the Holy Nimbus!"

Two more knights arrive, riding out of the magically-created night. They charge across the temple, another armored similarly to the one Ainsley bolted down, the second draped in a filmy, ragged shroud and wielding a white spear. As soon as they come into the light, that golden aura rises up around them as well, and that holy determination sets in... along with whatever divine toughness the light might afford them.

The Knight of Sursi swoops down again. Her pegasus dances in and out of Ainsley's reach, the knight taking testing blows with her imbued weapon. The Knight Exemplar, de-horsed, steps up to flank her from the other side. They attack in tandem, trying to wear her down with quick strikes. The Exemplar is more skilled a swordswoman, but the pegasus-rider has the height and that blade. Oddly, the Exemplar's sword and armor don't seem to shine with the same light, making her a less devastating foe to face.

Staren has posed:
"Wait..." Staren stares. "The knight's sword was EXPLOSIVE?! How does that even work?! Oh. OH. That was a weakness hit!" he winces. "That... oww. I'm glad I'm not weak to holy! Still gonna abuse the heck out of it against enemies that are, though.... and she retaliates with a brutal sweep to the Exemplar's horse! It's down! ...But... the Exemplar's still around? Huh. Theo summons two more creatures... one of them buffs his other troops somehow! Is this some kind of lady knight deck? And the Knight of Sursi comes around for another attack... and the Exemplar joins in too! Looks like Ainsley's getting better at fending them off though!"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley is certainly injured but not out of the fight. She lurches about as the horse collapses, and looks at the knight as if not surprised in the slightest. Her comfort with her footing and the position of her targets is pretty much perfect. As the Knight Exemplar draws a blade, it's given a quick look. The next two creatures that appear -- more holy knights, naturally -- give her body an instinctual chill. These are creatures whose very deaths are starting to burn her lungs and eyes. The blood of the horse soaks into her wounds, the primal sensation filling her body. She processes the burst of mana quickly, giving her new vigor.

She reacts much more quickly to the following attacks. She dodges and parries, getting nicks and scratches that burn with more white fire. But now she is prepared for the sensation. She lets out a bloody roar of effort as she knocks aside another attempt to hit her, a spray of black and red lightning accompanying the repelling pulse of electromagnetic power. She just used lightning magic to /reflect the swords/. She tries to take advantage of the sudden and hard-to-explain jerk in their stance, and brings the longsword over her head. She does one powerful slash of one knight, howling behind the power of her strike, and then swings about to try to decapitate the pegasus as it flies by, all in one smooth movement that betrays her ability to see in all directions at once.

Theo Morrison has posed:
She's doing something with all the mana, Theo thinks. He can't think of a way to cut her off from the sources he's tapping, though; he has to use it as much as he thinks she does. He's just going to have to keep laying on the damage, and maybe -- /maybe/...

The swords go wide. The knights, surprised, are left open. Ainsley brings the blade of her sword down, cleaving through the Knight Exemplar's gorget, cutting deep. Ainsley spins as the Exemplar topples, striking at the pegasus -- and resistance suddenly becomes intense as the blade meets the golden field. The more force she puts into it, the harder it gets to move forward. Can it even /be/ broken?!

Behind her, the Exemplar finally perishes, fading into Aether. With her goes the field. Ainsley's sword lurches back into motion with all the force she'd put behind it, slicing through the pegasus and clipping the rider on the strike's ascension. It tumbles, flickering away into the odd mist and vanishing as the second knight is felled.

The golden light around the other two that have arrived disappears. Their charge doesn't stop, the glaive and spear raised and leveled. Theo hastily draws, and sets the knights on the attack with a quick shout. They gallop forward, splitting up to flank Ainsley again, clearly hoping to bring her down with lightning attacks from either side.

Just when they're about to strike, Theo drops a card, slapping it onto the table. "Celestial Crusader!"

Everything seems to freeze for an instant. In the span of a single split second, in the time it takes for a heart to beat just the once, something appears. A spirit composed of golden light flashes into sight high in the sky, a colossal figure wearing armor of gold and trailing a filmy, airy cloak. In that same instant, the head of the spear and the blade of the glaive burn with that same golden light, power coursing through the two knights.

Everything suddenly snaps back into motion. The knights thunder forward, a sweeping slash and a deadly thrust already in motion. The Crusader hangs in the air, the golden-masked spirit watching from high above the sprawling shrine.

Staren has posed:
Staren continues flying nearby, announcing: "Ainsley's getting better at fending them off! They're just nicking her now, it still burns, but ooh! She got the Exemplar... and down goes some sort of forcefield, and she beheads the Knight of Sursi's pegasus! She crashes and burns too! But there are still Theo's other summons to deal with... closing in on the Chronicler! ...! Despite him summoning another creature to buff them somehow, she's still holding them off! This could be a close match, Ladies and Gentlemen!"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
The blood of the two beings she has struck down soaks across her form. The dramatic push she performed slammed through the flesh of the Pegasus. Ainsley's blade is soaked in blood as well. She looks absolutely like a dark and evil creature, the way she keeps striking these knights down in vicious blows that pay no mind to any dramatic effect. She is being vicious and effective. She knows for a fact they are meant for purposes like this, and she can feel that they are constructs of mana and not things given enough of a lifespan to register any remorse for.
The two knights swing at her one attack after another, as she evades them as well. With so much mana, mostly of dark nature, soaking through her body, she emits bright flares of white and trails of black smoke. She is inundated with mana from both natures, one burning and the other maintaining her consciousness and strength.
It's not direct strikes that get her. She's holding them off, put on the defensive, but they can never blindside her. It's very difficult to truly surprise her, and so it's largely kept up to her raw physical capability to respond to their attacks. They're simply faster and stronger than her.

A flash of lightning, and her body is soon moving a little faster. The metallic weapon leaves a streak of white sparks as she uses magic to upgrade the force and power of her blows. The metal starts glowing a bright red as she meets each strike with a parry. Chips get knocked off the sword, but slowly seem to repair themselves. And then she lunges toward one of the beings and goes right for the chest, aiming to impale her enemy with red-hot metal filled with electrical power, then swing the blade, and try to deal with the holy power of the other knight. Her gaze, as if comfortable with this battle as a whole, shifts to the Celestial Crusader... and then over to Theo.

Her eyes are so wide that one should be able to see the whites. Instead, it's all red with slitted pupils.

She's going to stab Theo soon, if she can get an opening. She needs to incapacitate him, or this fight will never end. Not without her compassion, she tries to steel herself and remind herself that she has to aim non-lethally. Knock him out, perhaps, with a pulse of electricity.

Theo Morrison has posed:
They are constructs, yet they still bleed. Do they feel pain? Likely, yes. Are they creatures he's pulling from elsewhere in the Multiverse, or are they wholly constructed for this battle? More importantly, if they live when they're defeated and they /are/ the former, does it really matter?

Philosophy and bloodshed. It's amazing how often the two go hand-in-hand, one after the other.

Theo is on the sidelines, standing beneath a tiered archway with Kickotron and his deck. He can't do anything to help his knights, nothing but wait and see what happens. He should have had some other tricks, some way to keep them up so he can keep using them. He's not heartless, but the violence is visceral and all too real.

Maybe he should stick with golems next time.

Lightning flashes. Ainsley drives her sword through the chest of the shrouded knight, his shroud blossoming with a sudden stain of bright red. He staggers, slumping over in his saddle. The Benalish knight takes a swipe with his glaive, but her literally lightning-fast strike takes the head of the weapon clear off the haft. The glowing blade falls to the surface of the shrine, the gleaming light flickering out of the rest of it. The knight breaks off, backing away from the lizard-woman while he reaches for a new weapon.

Ainsley turns to him, red-eyed. Theo takes a step backwards as the sudden chill of fear hits him again. He misses the step, falling to the slightly lower tier of the temple complex, landing on his ass with a wince. Kickotron placidly lowers the tray.

Theo untaps his land. He draws his next card -- and puts it down with a slightly shaking hand. Land. He has one more trump card, something that he isn't sure will even work. She's been attacking him and his creatures directly, though, so maybe...

Theo reaches out and taps a single one of his lands. "Three creatures... do I..." His muttered utterance trails off. The shrouded Knight of the Holy Nimbus abruptly sits up, rising back to his full height. The bloody stain seems to move in reverse. There's a strange magic at work here, something powerful keeping the knight from the brink of death. They each look to Ainsley, and then to Theo: the two knights, one wounded and one disarmed, and the spirit high above.

Theo reaches out and taps the creatures on his battlefield. The knights and the Crusader, rather than strike, bow their heads. They murmur quietly, prayers in whatever language they favor coming quietly from their lips. They each intone different prayers -- the Benalian speaks of safe passage and the restoration of his nation, the shrouded knight murmurs of causes worth dying for, and the Crusader sings the praises of the honored dead -- but regardless of what else it's couched in, each truly asks for the same thing:

Retribution.

The Planeswalker places the card down, face-up. He meets the lizard warrior's blood red eyes, staring up at her from his impromptu seat. He speaks three words, matter-of-factly rather than loudly and dramatically.

"Gaze of Justice."

The heavens shine with the light of the celestial sphere. A point of light intensifies from above -- and then descends, a beam of pure white clouded in directed and misty White mana lancing downwards. The shadows of the knights that are cast upon the walls are left there, the rest of the stonework bleached white by the sheer intensity of the beam of energy. Theo has to shield his eyes.

One might describe the descending light as something not unlike a spear cast from the hands of a god. In this place, with those words spoken... well, maybe it is.

Whatever the case, Theo dearly hopes that, if this actually works, there are ample medics waiting in the wings. If the /swords/ did what they did...

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley is standing there, steaming like a creature of the night. She does not falter for a second. Her eyes remain fixed upon her target. She's already tensing in preparation of her charge toward him. But then the wounded knight and the disarmed knight back off. They begin to speak words the ring far too loudly in her head. She pauses, her eyes shutting her vision blurring just from the holy energy that courses through the arena. Her body trembles... And this is even before the card is used.
Ainsley opens her eyes and meets Theo's as he lays down the next card. She knows how serious this is. The shining point of light above her distracts her.

She stares up at it, her frown an epic challenge. She dares it to strike her down. She wells up all the powerful and hopeful fury in her heart, a power inherited from Amalthea and Faruja. She holds up the sword, and charges up mana in her body. She then responds to the blast of light by SWIPING her sword as hard as she can! She splits the very sky, casting her own body in shadow as white fire blasts out from around her. Electricity pours out from around her as she uses mana to fight mana, physically blocking the majority of the attack. She screeeeams, but it's a scream of determination, a powerful and hateful sound. She despises ideas of true justice, of unflinching righteousness, because they are so inherently flawed. And that is the raw feeling she pushes into her attack.

As the attack clears, she feels her body ache in the worst way it possibly can, but so much mana courses through her. She lets the sword slip out of her hand, her body lurching as if it wants to collapse to the ground. But she doesn't. Her gaze stays locked on Theo the entire time.

He didn't take her out. But he came very, very close.

Her hand raises. The fires flicker and crackle around them. And her body glows. Her frown is ultimate, seen through the steam and darkness that pours off of her body. She fights through agony and aching, and she uses the last vestiges of her power for a desperate final attack. Hope that she can win wells up within the core of her body. She has to win, or she will lose a second after. This is the last moment.

She has never created such a perfect bolt of lightning, something of such concussive force that it would pop ear drums and render steel to slag. It's so perfect that it would not burn Theo but instead course through his body like a real lightning bolt, if it were to hit him, finding a grounding wherever it can travel. It has such force that her tattered robes are blown back. Her body is a black silhouette behind it with disturbingly clear eyes of red.

Staren has posed:
Wow. Ainsley is soaked in blood. Summoned monsters sure have a lot of blood, Staren thinks to himself. "Ainsley's a whirling dervish of steel, even without using magic! Snicker-snack, she beheads one knight's weapon and stabs another in the chest! But... something's keeping them alive! She looks /pissed/. Theo, uh... now remember Ainsley, no killing him..." Staren turns to Theo, just... surprised to see him stumble and fall. "Theo's turn. Another land. His creatures are doing something, they're... praying and singing? 'Gaze of Justice!' What--" Staren has to cover his eyes. "Holy shit!"

When the light dies down, he looks again. "Oof... Ainsley's still up! That was some kind of holy orbital laser attack, and she's STILL UP! She doesn't look so good, though. Can I get an instant replay?" He's already pulling up and sending the feed from the drone as he says that. "She BLOCKed it! She blocked the orbital holy death beam with her own power! Look at that, ladies and gentlemen!"

And now, for Ainsley's last chance: "She's calling the fire again, folks... she's glowing, there's steam and darkness and fire and magic and--" And then he has to cover his ears, his poor ears! "Ow! F*ck, my ears! Owowowowow..."

Theo Morrison has posed:
The light show is enough that Theo can't look directly at it. Even shielding his eyes, he's flash-blinded by the brilliance of what he brings to bear -- and what Ainsley uses to counter it. He can't watch it, not from where he's sitting, but he can sense it. There's such a confluence of opposing energy that it makes his ears ring. Should they be /ringing/ from that kind of sense?

It finally stops. He's still blinking his eyes when he realized Ainsley is still standing. Not only /standing/, mind you, but /staring/, unceasingly and unwaveringly. Theo is staggered by the prospect. He just looks back, blinking. It worked... almost.

Horseshoes and hand grenades.

Theo starts to get to his feet. He can't call his knights in to attack, or back to defend him; they're tapped, exhausted for this turn of his. He's out of cards in his hand, even if he has all the mana he needs to do whatever it is he could possibly draw. He has no draw mechanics, no tricks, no blockers, no useful artifacts, no field enchantments, no suspending cards...

Theo reflexively grabs for Blue mana from the nearby streams and lakes when he feels her gathering power. He can't keep hold of it. There's no reason for him to have it, and no reason for it to do anything for him. Even if he could try to counter the spell -- he's not sure he has the expertise, but he'd try -- he can't hold enough of it to make the attempt. It slips through his metaphysical fingers like water.

He is flat-out out of options. So, he starts to move.

FACT: Normal human beings cannot dodge lightning.

That one perfect bolt hits him dead-center. His arms flail outward as he spasms, losing his footing immediately and tumbling backwards through the temple. Nykthos dissolves into phantasmal silhouettes and Aetheric vapor, the sky opening up to the sunny day hidden behind the mystical starry night. The knights raise their weapons in salute to the black-and-red Ainsley, the last thing they can do before simply ceasing to be.

As a result, Theo hits soft grass and gently rolling hills when he finally meets the ground instead of old, unyielding stone. He's not moving; it's like a switch was flicked. Kickotron wanders over to him, looking down, and unceremoniously roots through his pockets.

The Myr holds up what looks like a white handkerchief, waving it like a flag. Yup; he's /definitely/ out.

Staren has posed:
Staren needs a moment to recover -- he then floats down over the fallen Theo. He pulls what looks like an Abstractum flipphone out of his pocket and holds it out towards Theo's fallen form. Then he closes it and flashes Ainsley a thumbs-up before pocketing it. "Ladies and gentlemen, Ainsley calls forth a lightningbolt to end all lightningbolts and strikes Theo down! He is K O'd! Ainsley is the winner of the match!" He turns to face the crowd, now that they can see him without the temple in the way. "Let's have a big hand for our contestants for the A-MAZ-ING show they've given us tonight! And, uh, get some medics out here."