Scene #4312: A Lesson of The Sword

Owner	Pose
Nero	A couple days ago, one Fiora Laurent challenged Nero over Union radio. All too fed up with her constant boasting. Not one to turn away from a challenge, of course, she accepted with much fanfare. Annoyingly enough. And now, today was the day. The Ring of Philosophy was empty. Empty, save for one Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Standing in the middle of the arena floor, dressed in her characteristic showy red dress, she maintained a calm, silent visage. Her eyes were closed as she waited, her sword; Aestus Estus embedded into the floor, her hands resting atop the pommel. At times like these, Nero almost looked like a true knight. A grand example of the Saber class. ...But that was only until she opened her mouth. That was why this duel was even being had anyway. Alas.
Fiora Laurent	Fiora does her share of boasting. Dueling is her forte, and any insults aren't taken lightly, nor are they quickly forgiven. But, in her homeland, everyone is accountable for their words. Even royalty. So to hear such boasting, even from one who claims themselves an emperor, is not something she's prepared to tolerate. And since is seems those in charge have yet to deem to punish her, for constantly doing so.. Sometimes harsher lessons are needed. "Apologies, for keeping you waiting." Fiora states, as she enters the Ring. She stands close to two whole feet above her opponent, but doesn't seem phased by this. "Unless you have additional terms, that you wish to discuss, I see no reason to delay further." She draws her sword, a bluesteel rapier, and brings it up to her face, in a salute. "Weapons are.. well. Obvious. Now, any preference as to location?"
Nero	Nero opened her eyes, regarding to approaching duelist calmly. ...At least before one of her usual confident smiles spread across her face. "Mhmhm! Have no fear. I am a kind and understanding emperor. Your less than perfect timing of arrival shall be forgiven." The height difference doesn't seem to bother the Servant at all, even if she has to peer upwards to maintain eye contact with Fiora. "Our reason for being in this place is all too simple. I have no additional terms to add." She pulls Aestus Estus out of the floor then, gripping it with both hands and holding it back, angled low. Her typical combat stance. "Location? Mhmhmhm! You would ask such an obvious question? Tsk tsk..." Nero shakes her head, blonde locks swaying from the movement. "There can be only one place in the world, where a fated duel between warriors is to take place! The Roman Colosseum!" Oh boy.
Fiora Laurent	"I am not your subject. I do not require your forgiveness. The apology was offered as a courtesy." Fiora replies sharply. "As you wish." With only thoughts and those words, the Ring takes the form of said Colosseum of old. The pair stand on the sandy grounds of that massive arena, as Fiora extends her sword arm, the other tucking itself behind her back. "Fitting. A pit, where people are made to kill one another, for the amusement of others. You are more Noxian than you think. I recall the king's senechal was rescued from such a place." Her hair obscuring an eye, the visible one narrows. "With the choice of the place and time, I elect to make the first move. En guarde!"
Nero	As the ring take the form of the Roman Colosseum, Nero smirks. "Noxian, hm? Foolishness. I am merely Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus!" She lifts her blade and points it at Fiora. "You may prattle on about your Nooxians, but know that my radiance rises far above such nonsense!" And then she lowers back into ready stance, mana particles beginning to swirl around her. "Now! Enough talk, Lady Laurent! Come! Come and show me what you believe yourself capable of doing! Let us engage in a clash of will and steel!" The first move was all hers. Nero was waiting.
Fiora Laurent	Fiora crouches slightly, before springing off her heels, kicking up sand behind her, and in her wake. A blur of silver, that comes rushing straight at the emperor. Mistaking the attack as a single thrust, however, would be a mistake. Her arm coils back like a snake, and lashes out again. "Indeed. Words are quite pointless, when it comes to people such as yourself." Fiora springs to the side, after her attack, once more standing at the ready.
Nero	Fiora launches forward, and Nero brings Aestus Estus up to defend against the deceptively singular looking flurry of strikes. a number of them are deflected, reducing the damage to negligable levels. But one strikes true, right at the side. Nero winces, but stands strong. If this duel were outside the ring, blood would be soaking into her side by now. "Hm! So you possess some skill! Very well. Then I shall respond in kind!" Nothing more was said. The Servant stepped in, then launched forward into a single dash. Mid-dash, Nero's red and black blade burst to life, wreathed in flames as she let loose a single inhumanly fast strike on her opponent. An overhead slash from the shoulder across the torso. A simple attack. Direct. Without any tricks or perceived strategy. How odd.
Fiora Laurent	A lick of those flames, but not much else. Fiora is able to twist her way out of the way of her opponent's sword itself. "And it would seem you, too, are not entirely unskilled, yourself. Very interesting. Your sword, that is." She's standing upright again, now, after bending out of the way of that last attack, and she doesn't seem to want to change things up, just yet. She dashes again at Nero, to lash out with another thrusting attack. But the direction is entirely something else. It comes from the side, and that's actually where Fiora herself ends up. She's standing to Nero's left, sword in hand.
Nero	Another strike lands, and Nero winces once more, taking a step back in the process. Fiora was certainly no one to mess about with. Her strikes were accurate and strong. It would seem that the emperor would need to put in more than her usual amount of attention to skill, rather than flair to see this one through. ...And yet, why is she smiling? It's been some time since the Servant engaged in single combat with a skilled opponent. She wanted to enjoy this. Digging her heel into the ground, she steps back in, sword alighting once more as she gripped her blade, and let loose a furious combo of slashes. A diagonal cross, and then a swift cut through the center. Where one strike fails to land, surely three would ensure that one found purchase, no?
Fiora Laurent	The first definitely finds its mark, but, Fiora sees the rest coming. The second finds naught, as Fiora's sword lashes out again. Not in any attempt to attack, but at Nero's sword. Smaller and lighter, perhaps, but she has turned aside things that one would think impossible with a blade. This attack is negated entirely, while the last again licks flames against Fiora's side. But, just one. Out of three. Fiora is proving a nimble opponent. She lunges, yet again. The tempo of her attacks are steady, but unpredictable. It again seems like she's attacking from a different direction, but nearly at the same time. Her agility isn't just something used on the defense. She's fast. Superhumanly so.
Nero	One out of three. As Nero had predicted. But one out of three was still not optimal. Fiora was a fast opponent. Her speed was not only her offense, but also her defense. Truly impressive, and yet... Nero was just as fast. The third strike finishes, and already, she's moving in accordance with her opponent's lunge. The first strike is parried aside, the second much the same, but the angle finds that sword grazing past her arm and tearing a sleeve. She rolls with the last attack, blade igniting as she lets loose with an uppercut slash. It's wide and unfocused, but the aim wasn't to cleave the woman in two. No, from the movement, and burst to flame rises up, aiming to wreath onto Fiora with it's burning might.
Fiora Laurent	That flaming weapon of hers might very well be a bit of an issue. The fire blusters around her, as intended, but Fiora sees no reason to let up. Turning on her heels, she lashes out with a series of strikes. She aims them carefully, the sword lashing out at more vulnerable areas. She's also still using that speed. Again, from each side those attacks come out. If Nero has been holding back, now is certainly not the time. Her opponent does not appear to have any intention of doing so.
Nero	How bold. How brave. Even if the face of such furious flames, Fiora forges on ahead, letting loose blow after blow. And yet, Nero doesn't simply allow herself to be struck to cripplingly. Blade meets blade, and sparks fly as the two duelists clash. Several strikes nip at the Servant, just missing those vital areas aimed for. And then Nero gets back into the swing of things, literally. After finding an opening in Fiora's flurry of strikes, she drives forward, blade angled back and pointed forward, poise for a thrust. And then there is a blur of red as the emperor lets loose with a lunge, several swift thrusts aiming to strike at the duelist from multiple points. Arms, legs, and torso.
Fiora Laurent	Like before, it's not so much the placement or even getting hit by those strikes, that seems to affect Fiora. The flames wreathing Nero's sword are oppressive. And while that unusual sword doesn't find purchase, the fire doesn't really need to aim itself. Fiora shuffles back a bit, but doesn't stay there for long. She lunges. Several times, even, and each time from a different direction. Each dash past her opponent is a strike, a thrust or sweep of her blade, in flashes of silver that, again, aim for vital areas.
Nero	Fiora dives forward, beginning a deadly dance as she moves back and forth, letting loose strike after strike. And Nero's eyes sweep left and right, taking in her movements. She dodges to the right, but then a slash strikes her in the back. She turns around and parries another, lest it find purchase, and smirks. "Hmhmhm! I believe it is time to take this duel to the next stage." She says, raising her blade as the flames dancing across it intensify, becoming a swirl of multiple currents. And then she bursts forward, aiming a single heavy overhead slash right upon Fiora. "Rosa Icthys!"
Fiora Laurent	An utterly telegraphed attack, is an overhead attack, like that. But again, those flames prove an issue. It's not like before, either. These flames are downright scalding. Nevermind the strength behind the blow itself. Fiora is tossed back by it, but she manages to roll and come up on her feet. "As you wish." Fiora simply vanishes, outright. Blurs of silver, along with the swipes of her sword. She's nothing, if not obliging, to her opponent's request. If it's a dance she wants, that's what she'll get. When Fiora's form does become visible amidst the rapid attacks, they're mere afterimages. If she's just a 'normal' person, one has to wonder how much training she's had to do, to push herself this far.
Nero	Nero relents from the scalding slash of her favored blade technique, and drew back, ready for whatever it is that the swift duelist has to throw at her. She vanishes. At least to the eyes of a normal person. But Nero follows those movements, her green eyes sweeping this way and that. Oh, the woman was still blindingly fast, she raised her blade and parried the storm of blows, turning most aside, save for a single graze. But she couldn't let her focus waver for a moment. It was time to strike back. Aestus Estus ignites, and she steps in, past a thrust that grazes past her cheek. And she strikes. With a powerful combo. One slash diagonally downward, and another diagonally up from the lowest point, forming a V. Pari Tenu Blauserum!" A final, explosive strike is unleashed, cleaving down the middle of that V with fiery might.
Fiora Laurent	Unfortunate, that most of her attacks had been parryed. Fiora is more or less left open, for Nero's next attack. And, again, Fiora is knocked back. "Ngh. I refuse.. to yield to you." She gets to a knee, and then her feet. No worse for wear, either, it would seem. But she's gotten used to hiding that sort of thing. That blow took quite a bit out of her. Not enough to convince her to stop, though, it would seem. She dashes forward, in the air, this time, lunging out with her sword. Her arm twists sharply, as she extends it. She does this to try and help maneuver the strike, place it where she wants it. In this case, somewhere especially vulnerable.
Nero	It's commendable that Fiora was able to take an attack like that and keep going. Nero is silent, though the smile on her face speaks volumes of how much this little duel is entertaining her. A stark contrast to her opponent's steely will to succeed. Truly rousing. Truly inspiring. Perfect for the stage they stand upon! The Servant, winds back from her strike, and angles Aestus Estus to defend. A frontal strike? And not one of her increasingly familiar flurries either. Strange, but it should be simple to dodg- "!?" No. Not quite. Before she realizes it, the blow turns at an impossible point, and rather than go for her midsection, dips low and directly strikes an exposed leg. Nero stumbles a moment, but rights herself after. Having no time to test hher leg, and just bear with the pain. This woman just kept throwing out trick after trick. This truly was far from boring. The emperor grips her sword with renewed vigor, and steps forward, sword held back for a thrust that follows immediately after, aimed for the midsection and unleashing another forward gout of flame in the process.
Fiora Laurent	Fiora is knocked back, once more. When she does stand, and it's a laborious thing, the colosseum fades. "I was right about you, it seems." Fiora sighs. She definitely looks tired, which is why the simulation decided to cut off. Likely a safety measure, put in place beforehand. "I would have preferred not forfeiting." Her distaste is quite evident, in both her tone and her posture. She does, at least, bring her sword up in brief salute, before sheathing it again.
Nero	"......" Nero lowers Aestus Estus, the flames extinguishing off the surface, leaving it red and black as it naturally is. "Lady Laurent, I may be a ruler of men, but I am still a practicioner of the sword." She lets her weapon fade away in a wisp of magic particles as she crosses her arms. Her outfit mends itself soon after. Damn Servants. The emperor then steps forward, approaching Fiora with a broad smile upon her face. "Nonetheless, this was quite a rousing duel! I was on my toes for the entirety of the proceedings. I am most pleased that I have had the chance to have this bout!" Then, she simply moves past her former opponent, intent to head out of the ring and into Njorun at large. "Perhaps next time, we will be engaged in combat side by side, rather than against one another, hm?"
Fiora Laurent	Fiora has literally the opposite expression. There is nothing to suggest that she enjoyed this. She says absolutely nothing in reply, either, save for a soft grunt, and a bow of her head.