1 vs 1 Battle Arena

[Philote]

(Why are they fighting? Or should we just go head with a test battle and not worry about character traits?)

Zauber flew down from space, the gray mote of wind dissipating from his feet as he landed upon the planet's surface he had been drawn to.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

(Hold on, I just had a idea. Tell me if this guy would be appropriate for NB)

"Zaubar!" Billy says, noticing his old classmate. "What are you doing here. I was following this odd...hmm?"

The air shimmers behind Billy, seeming to ripple and waver like water. Then it stars to glow, a shimmering silver light that seems to fill the whole area behind him. It looks like...a door. A gigantic doorway. Then comes the thunderous slamming sound, so load that echoes take minutes to die away.

And Billy is gone. Before Zaubar stands a grinning gray boy. Well, gray in color scheme, anyway. His hair, his eyes, and the custom tailored suit and hat he wears all seem to be the same color; that of steel. He's leaning on a long walking cane, at the top of which appears to be a door-handle. At the bottom appears to be the head of a key.

He speaks.

"Finally got that slippery git. I been chasing him forever, trying to pin him down. Unique, he is. Well, fairly unique. Lich, okay. Natural lich, a little rarer. Natural lich who spends his time wandering the cosmos doing missionary work? Never heard of that. Had to have him, just had to, you understand. Got to valuable, hasn't he?"

He's looking at Zaubar expectantly.

(Feel free to go all out now, and tell me if I'm doing anything wrong.)

[Marvelous Miscreant]

(You could always just tell me. )

[Philote]

"Billy?!" Zauber yells in distress. A glowing shield forms around his body and five multicolored motes circles his body. Zauber's mage tool, Titania's Prison, is held in his hand like a wand and points towards the newcomers body. "I'll give you one chance to give him back!" Zauber challenges.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Believe me, boyo, he's better off where he is now." The boy says, pointing his cane at Zaubar. "This amazing idiot once crashed a inter-dimensional paladin convention and tried to convince them that messing about with the undead wasn't half bad. Had to fight the whole city to get off world. Eventually that sort of luck will run out, and then he dies and that special perspective he has goes with him! Can't allow that. That's the sort of thing that needs to be stored."

There's a sound like a large metal door, heavy with age and squealing, opening up. Zaubar can see the distortion behind the boy, shimmering and flowing like quicksilver. "Of course, if you want to try and crack me open to get at him feel free. But I warn you: better than you has tried."

[Philote]

Zauber's eyes narrow at the newcomer. He flicks his mage tool forward and three motes fly forward from his side. The three motes, red, yellow, and pink, mix their light together and form into a flaming ring. The Earth below is scorched as the ring flies through the air.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Well, this was going to be fun.

There was a rushing sound, and from out of the door came a torrent of water and what sounded like the wail of the eternally danmed. The water was black and redish, and strange shapes seemed to shift and move neath it's surface. The ring encountered it with a wet fizzle as it rushed forward toward Zaubar.

The boy was standing on his cane, which he had embedded in the ground, like some gray heron.

[Philote]

Zauber smirked. The ring split and a second ring rotated around the first, and then a third and a fourth. The rings spun around each other in the path of the majority of onrushing water. Whatever water flowed into the rings did not escape and eventually the rings of fire had formed a complete sphere that sat in the river, containing whatever water brushed past its flames.

Titania's prison danced through the air again and blue and yellow pair of motes flew through the air until they had formed a ward of water in front of Zauber.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Nice work." said the boy, seemingly unconcerned. "That's called the Well of the Faithful. Stories say that an entire race, tricked into believing that they're god had forsaken them by one f it's rivals, wept and went on weeping until there was a sea made up of their tears. Instead of worshiping another god, they chose to submerge themselves in the waters and drown. It's said that whom so ever drinks of the water shall experience the dejection and sorrow of this whole race. At least, that's what I think the story is. The world was good and dead by the time I snapped it up, this is just what got from what books were left."

The water moved back, as if in reverse mode, flowing back into the gate. All except for that which was trapped in Zaubars ball.

"I'll be wanting that back.' he says, pointing to it. The door ripples, and a long black spear, jagged at the tip and inscribed with horrible runes shot forth toward the rings.

[Philote]

"A collector I see" Zauber commented "Well I promise you've never seen anything like me."

The black spear cuts through the spear, breaking the spell and continues forward. Zauber sends out some shield motes to latch onto the spear while he prepares something stronger.

Zauber lifts slightly off the ground and directs a series of motes into the ground below. A ring of spikes erupts from the ground, covered in red runes, around Zauber and the newcomer. Moments later a second smaller ring forms, and then a third as the spell moved towards the center, the newcomer.

That should keep him busy, Zauber thought. Now, to deal with the spear.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Oh, you have NO idea."

The spear almost seemed to writhe and struggle against the runes to keep it trajectory.

The circle of stone grew ever smaller around the boy as the waters flowed back into the door, which slammed with a heavy metallic squeal. The boy put his hand on top of his hat, held his cane under one arm, a sighed.

The ground under him erupted into spikes, sending him flying into the air with the sound of a large bell tolling. When he landed, the ground cratered and gave way. He slowly pulling himself out of the hole.

[Philote]

Zauber wove together a series of shield motes to create a three-layered wall before him that the spear impacted into and continued to push forward.

Looking down at the ground below him, he noticed the newcomer had escaped his trap. So, he is a study one, Zauber thought.

A red fire mote dropped down and made contact with the red runes inscribed on the erupted spikes, setting of a chain reaction of fire spreading out from the center of the stones.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

This whole area was quite hot enough, it didn't need to be any hotter.

The door opened. The door closed.

The chill in the air was the first thing that was apparent, as the temperature begin to plummet. The wind picked up, until it was a howling gale. Snow began to fall, first lightly, then in great clumps. Soon the ground and the fire were buried under a blanket of snow, and visibility dropped nearly to zero.

Above the wind, Zaubar could hear the boy yelling.

"THIS IS THE FINAL CURSE OF ANCHILLA THE ICE WYRM UPON HIS SWORN ENEMIES, THE PYROMANCERS OF LOS AGNI. THE SNOW AND ICE WOULD CONTINUE TO FALL UNTIL THE CITY WAS NAUGHT BUT A FROZEN MEMORIAL TO HIM. THEY HAD BEEN HOLDING OUT FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS BEFORE I SHOWED UP. THEY ACTUALLY TRIED TO PAY ME TO TAKE IT OFF THEIR HANDS."

[Philote]

"Don't underestimate me" Zauber groaned as he held off the spear, power building up within him.

With a sudden release of energy built up within him, Zauber yells and lighting arcs around his body. "Inscription Table!" the lightning seems to burn the air around him, carving out a hovering hexagon encircling Zauber and the spear. "Spell!" Motes swirl around Zauber and the spear is knocked back out of the hexagon. "Meteor Call!" Five motes attack to points on the hexagon. Earth, Fire, Steam, Arcane, and Shield. The power of each traveling to the sixth point before the spell is released into the sky above.

Glowing, shield covered meteors rain down from the sky and lightning continues to arc around Zauber's body.

(First Overdrive )

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

 The black spear flew away into the storm. The door opened.

It was hard to make out in the blizzard. What it looked like was cylinders, all lined up in rows, pointing toward the sky. Dozens of cylinders. At least until they fired, green jets of light steaming out toward the meteors, each swiveling on it's own to target the closest ones. It took several shots from each gun, but the meteor began exploding into dust. It looked like a fireworks display.

"The Anti-meteor battery of the lost forge world of Gru!" shouted the boy, charging out of the void spear in hand.

[Philote]

Zauber was a former protection student, and as such, many of his spells had traces of his training then. The shields around the meteors reformed to cover the fragments created by the Anti-meteor batteries. The largest fragments collided with the Anti-meteor batteries, resulting in large explosions. The protection spells around the fragments reacted, trapping what had been struck and pulling it back into the center of the collision. Smaller fragments continued to fall from the sky, with the same enchantments as the larger pieces, and just as deadly.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

The boy winced when he heard the explosion.
He took a cautious look back.
The spear began to glow, and whisper.
The boy turned back.

"That was the greatest technological achievement that Gru ever produced."

He redoubled his grip.

"Literally took me me across the universe trying to find Gru, which by that time was a hollowed out shell that the locals were squatting in, and cutting up for scrap."

the spear seemed the wrap itself around his arm. It was growling.

"That battery only survived because it was hidden deep within the planet itself. It is the last remaining evidence of the of the Gru's mastery of engineering."

The spear almost seemed to raise itself. It was snarling.

"That gun battery is worth MORE THAN BOTH OUR LIVES!"

He took of toward Zaubar like an arrow, so fast as to only leave a faint afterimage.

[Philote]

Zauber throws up a series of shields and wards around himself and the hexagon symbol floating around him. The two collide as the final ward gets set in place and face off as their two energies battle out.

"Give Billy back and I may consider repairing it for you" Zauber gritted out.

With his left hand, Zauber flicked another series of motes onto five of the points of the Inscription Table.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

He wasn't going to get through, not like this. But he was close. He reached out with his other hand as he saw Zaubar preparing another tech.

The door opened. The door slammed.

The inscription table was gone.

[Philote]

Zauber screamed and his shields faltered. It was as if someone had taken a bite out of his soul. His motes swam about him without direction.