Rokazu vs Kishi

[Rokazu]

This is NOT an open challenge. My friend has just begun roleplaying and I want her to be able to have a grip of what usually happens in a roleplay. I do not need a judge; you may watch the battle progress, however, please don't spam in the thread.

Kishi:
Basically, regular rules are no PP (power playing) and no Godmod. I've already explained what they are so I believe you would be fine with such. Another point you should know is that sometimes (though not often) people requests these battles to be continuum. In other words, what happens in the roleplay actually affects your character. However, most battles, as will this one be, are non-continuum, meaning whatever happens in the thread does not affect your character's existence in any way.

Choose a setting (where you fight) and whether you want to go first or second. Each person posts once and you alternate (duh). Usually you post your template on upon declaring joining the battle (and accepted by the one who opened the thread). Anyway, here's my template.

Name: Arokan Validus (Solus)

Gender: Male

Age: 34

Description:
Arokan has short black hair and a pair of bright brown eyes. His nose and mouth are small. He stands to about 5’8’’, weighing around 155 pounds. At a glance, Arokan is no more than an average person. He is slightly muscular, wearing a black traveling cloak, inside which is simply a white sleeveless shirt and brown leather pants with a pair of boots on his feet. He wears a pair of gloves that is made of special material, in a large ratio mixture of leather. On his holster inside the cloak, a large boron-silver alloy built blade is sheathed, as long as 4.5 feet, and 8 inches at its widest point. On his belt, he also holds a simple dagger he uses for hunting. Along his forearms, parts of his tattoos can be seen, which in fact extends to Arokan’s back. A separate tattoo is also seen on each of his arms. Arokan wasn’t the strongest man, but he was a fair fighter and very intelligent. In battles, however, Arokan rarely unsheathes his blade at all, using most often magic to attack his opponents.

Personality:
Arokan is a quiet and deep person to most strangers, but in fact has a friendly and merciful conscience deep down. Assaulted by betrayals for more than 3 times, Arokan no longer dares to trust anyone but himself. Once talkative and warm, that part of him is now buried deep down his heart, on the surface remains a cold shell that resists any kinds of relationship with people. He both fears of being betrayed and bringing misfortunes to the others. Arokan is also a very intelligent and strategic person. Having virtually no relationship whatsoever with anyone, Arokan has never shown his anger. However, when he is provoked, which can be done easily when his family is accused and assassinated, Arokan would do anything, even his life, to kill him/her. Arokan also has a weak mind when it comes to emotions. While he cannot forgive the Royal, he is filled with grief and guilt for surviving without his family and bringing grim to those innocent who gave him help.

Background:
Born to the Validus, Arokan’s family was a very powerful and famous family of both magician and swordsman. Since Arokan learned the walk, his parents taught Arokan of many magic as well as swordsmanship, along with their family’s secret ability, not known by most. At age 17, Arokan was given, by his father, the Validus blade, Praesul, and a pair of gloves. Since then, he spent much of his time improving his fighting skills, hoping that one day he would become the most trusted guard of the prince, whom he found friendly with when he was young when his father was on duty guarding the prince.
Fearing their power and growing reputation within the empire, the Royal forged evidence of the Validus attempting to assassinate the emperor. As a result, Arokan along with his family were sentenced to be exiled from the land. Seeking for repeal, Arokan searched for the prince, but to his horror, the prince refused to give help to Arokan’s family. With no one supporting them, Arokan and his family was banished from the empire. On the way however, a group of assassins intercepted the game and slaughtered everyone except Arokan. By first rendering the members of the game immovable (from which no one could break away from except Arokan), the assassins easily killed several warriors. After freeing himself, Arokan ran his way through the crowd, freeing a few others to fight against the assassins. But it was already too late, for most of the Validus warriors were killed and the surviving ones were far outnumbered.

The young Validus sought to fight, but was ordered by his father to leave. “Live!” the man told Arokan, “Live on for us! Continue the bloodline of Validus!” But Arokan was too determined to kill the assassins to listen. Wordlessly he fought alongside his father. Strong though they were, they were unable to save anyone else. To his horror the assassins aimed no longer for him and his father but the unarmed. Arokan struggled against three men as he saw his mother and siblings got killed, their blood flooding out of their bodies before their lives finally came to an end.

Arokan could only scream, though in his terror the warrior found an unprecedented power. With ease he killed the assassins. One, two, three, four…As easily as simply counting each man Arokan faced fell as easily as one stare. He did not know what happened to him, but Arokan was far too raged to care what gave him such deadly power. From seemingly a distant corner of his mind rang the voice of his father once more. Arokan looked over to his right, to find his father surrounded by a dozen men. Arokan stared at his father, and he looked back.

Then the man dropped dead.

Arokan’s heart lost its beat. He didn’t know what happened, but the men that surrounded the now-dead body looked at each other in confusion. Then the warrior realized: he killed his father. Being the only Validus left, the remainder of the assassins charged at Arokan, who simply stood there, being tormented from the knowledge that he killed his own father. His heart beat in panic. One by one the assassins made eye contact with the only surviving Validus, one by one they fell dead. For the briefest moment Arokan enjoyed the taste of murder, blaming the extinction of his clan on the assassins, but his conscious finally knocked into him. Though he knew he was to live on as the last Validus, he no longer dared calling himself a Validus. It was none other than him who killed his father, who killed the last of Validus. While the last of the men who were too late to escape dropped dead, Arokan stood lonely among the field of corpses.

Though Arokan survived the assassination, he was soon wanted by the Royal court as a dangerous criminal. For some time, Arokan didn’t care looking directly into other people, thinking that eye contact would kill the individual. But soon, he realized he had lost the power. With the Royal still hunting him, the wanderer had found shelters in different towns, three of which had sold him to the Royal guards, whom he defeated and fled with ease, bringing him an even worse reputation. Others were beheaded for assisting him. Feeling responsible for others’ deaths and fearing any more betrayal, Arokan began to shut himself from the world, communicating only as he needed. However, when one sought help, Arokan always instinctively and seemingly involuntarily gave a hand. As time passed, Arokan’s reputation increased. To avoid anymore conflict, Arokan often called himself Solus to those he met.

Equipment/Weapon:
Praesul: 4.5 feet in length, and 8 inches of width at its widest point. At the center along the blade runs a spine of solidified silver-mercury alloy that extends to even the handle, and thus making the blade’s thickness to be about 1.5 inches at its thickest. Along the spine, a series of ribs made of also solidified silver-mercury alloy.

The “skeletal” structure of the Praesul gives the blade itself the primary structural support as well as half its weight, the other half roots from the handle. The actual blade that covers the skeletons is made built of silver-boron alloy. Thanks to its material design, the Praesul is extremely light in terms of its size, weighing only about 5 pounds. Praesul’s design is slightly curved near its sharpest point on the end; while the curved edge is also deadly sharp, slicing as thin as 3 sheets of papers. To further ensure the structural strength of the blade, an ultra-thin silver metal layer is carefully added through electroplating.
Being a double handed blade, Praesul’s handle contributes to half a foot of its length. As aforementioned, the handle is in fact the metal spine of the blade that extends externally on this end. To improve hold and strength, about half an inch of silver-boron alloy is layered on top of the cylinder spine. Topper yet, a layer of leather and a Validus-developed fabric are wrapped around the handle, improving comfort of the holder.

Although meant to be a double-handed weapon, Praesul can often be maneuvered as a single-handed blade by a skillful user, thanks to its light weight. Despite its weight, the blade is extremely strong, thanks to its alloy material that contributes to its extraordinary strength. The blade itself is made by the Validus, a family of both swordsman and magician. The blade is thus further strengthened by the magic energy that would flow into the blade and back. Although physically the blade is 4.5 feet, the actual damage range is even further, depending on the strength of the magical aura of its user, in case of Arokan, as long as 6 feet.

Thanks to its strength, most Validus swordsmen use the blade to block most attacks as a shield. In addition to their reinforcement on the blade with their magic aura, Praesul has never once been broken, making the blade both a deadly offense and a reliable and near-invulnerable defense to the user. Praesul’s curved side is painted black, while the other half is left with the silver, both extremely capable of reflecting sunlight. When held by magicians, Praesul can even deflect a magical attack.

Gloves of Validus: Made of the same fabrics as the outermost layer of the Praesul’s handle – leather and a special fabric made by Validus. Thanks to its material and careful crystal-shaped sewing design, these gloves are able to collect, concentrate, and amplify by a great scale – up to 5 times, the magical energy of a magician using it.

Amulet of Validus: The amulet itself (except the chain) is shaped similar to a regular kite, with no points. To most bearers, the Amulet is used to protect the user against magical offenses. This is done by consuming an equal amount of energy of the strike from the user, and thus neutralizing the two forces. When worn by people like Arokan (in other words with Validus descent), the Amulet provides a function that absorbs the needed energy from both the user and the surrounding at a ratio of 1 to 1, halving the energy consumed. Although the Amulet is usually used for defense, when a Validus wears it, the Amulet can also absorb energy from the environment at the same scale for an offense at the user’s will. This, however, requires much concentration, which Arokan has taken more than five years to master. With new enchantments the warrior has cast upon the Amulet, it is able to detect hostility and conjure a protective shield that blocks even physical offenses.

Ability:
Validus members, being both swordsmen and magicians, often employs magic in compliment of their melee offenses, using both to reinforce each others’ weakness, which is why most Validus are known undefeatable in open battles. A specialty of the Validus magicians is that they are “naturally occurring” species that can employ magic without use of artificial devices.

Every Validus is also born with unique patterns of tattoos, signifying the magic energy that is contained. In very rare cases only, these tattoos can grow, such as that in Arokan. Except being an indicator of magical energy capacity of an individual, the tattoo is sometimes known to heal the user, though it’s never been observed, as well as to help analyze the nature of any substance its user comes in touch with. It is almost never involved in any kind of magic, except when a caster is conjuring an extremely powerful strike that would even damage the user, which is strictly forbidden to all Validus.

In addition to his tattoo, Arokan also has an extra complexion stage that allows him to both defend himself and provides offense at any time. The warrior later discovers that he can put the Validus Tattoo into much greater and voluntary use when he connects the shield Complexion on his arms with two scars – one on each arm. Arokan can voluntarily control the Validus Tattoo to protect him after his battle against Charles.

Dark Magic: Arokan combines elemental energy around him with his magical energy to project different types of attack offenses. When combined, both powers are magnified, which is further amplified when launched from Arokan’s hand, wearing the Gloves of Validus. He can produce shockwaves, and elemental spheres for a ranged attack. However, Arokan is also able to conjure a magic-supported dagger that glows golden light and reaching as far as 1 foot, with which Arokan fights most the time, instead of Praesul.

Defensive Magic: Arokan is also able to conjure shields dragging energy from his body, creating any forms of protective barrier, each being able to endure attacks equivalent to the energy used to produce them. Arokan can also strengthen any physical object to protect himself, such as Praesul which he can use as a shield. However, these shields fade as soon as the user stops pouring energy to support it.

Illusive Magic: This category of magic is actually a branch of Dark Magic, also conjuring its effects off the elemental energy combined with magical energy. Using this ability, Arokan can modify the surrounding – including sound and light – by influencing the flow of energy to a desired spot in order to create any kind of image. For an example, he can produce a decoy by redirecting the energy flow in environment, creating illusions as easily as simply changing the course of elemental energy on a desired spot.

Validus Astral Teleportation: Unbeknownst to most, the Validus has two special kinds of magic, one of which is the Astral Magic. They’re able to transport their material body into the Astral Plane for a short moment and reenter the Material Plane in another location. For even Validus, Astral Teleportation requires lots of energy for virtually any distance.

Validus Nerve Control: Another kind of the Validus ability. Upon eye contact, a Validus user, like Arokan, is able to forcibly inject energy into the target’s nervous system, and hence controlling it. With much more amount of energy forced in, it is possible to control movements of the target.

Extinguishment: Witnessed by only Arokan himself, the warrior is able to kill upon eye contacts by injecting a mysterious energy straight into the target’s brain and shutting down the entire body. Till even this day, however, the Validus has not been able to summon the energy, nor had he dared trying it. The man has no idea how he managed to employ this, nor control it. But he believes that when his mind is overwhelmed by anger or frustration, this deadly power would once more appear.

Enchantment Magic: These kinds of magic are rarely used by the Validus, given that they can use magic out of their body. However, this category which Arokan can use is extremely powerful and efficient, taking in its energy from the environment and the caster’s body in a ratio of 9:1 respectively. However, these Magic requires enchantment to activate. Although there are many different types of chants, it in fact employs a unified language, which Arokan has become swiftly in its usage.

Complexion Magic: This sort of magic is a special kind that cannot be done in an instant, but requires a total stage of various marks in order to be activated. The size and complexity of a complexion stage is usually in a direct ratio to its power hence the name Complexion Magic. While it takes much effort to complete such stage, every one of its kinds requires only half as much as Dark Magic and Defensive Magic alike that gives an equal damage, or provides an equal protection. Complexion Magic can be subdivided into Offense, Defense, and Cure. With complete control over his mind, Arokan can activate only the Complexion he designates.

Conversion Magic: Conversion Magic converts matters into their respective elemental energy, or vice versa. It is also one that would cause the Validus tattoo to glow, in other words activate, acting as a barrier so that the Validus would not be able to absorb too much energy and hence bring massive destruction as well as self-deliberation. When reaching the limit, the caster can concentrate the energy at hand, and launch it as an extremely powerful offense. Despite of the limit, Validus fear to use this type of magic since virtually any magicians are able to perform it. But without the Validus tattoo, there is great risk in destruction. After his battle against Charles, Arokan can convert energy into matter into whatever shapes he desires to.

Point Zero Strike: This strike is actually a combination of Enchantment Magic, Complexion Magic, Conversion Magic, and Defensive Magic. Upon creating a complexion stage, Arokan needs complete concentration for the enchantment that requires as much as 3 minutes as the stage absorbs all particles and elemental energy into its complexion and conversion of both kinds initiate immediately. As absorption progresses, Arokan must then drag energy from his body to produce a spherical barrier, which would shrink constantly, compressing all energy, until a point of zero, and immediately setting off an explosion having a radius as far as half a mile’s reach, lasting as long as 10 seconds.

Anti-atomics: This field of study is similar to that of normal matter-manipulating Magic. With a similar nature, anti-atomics deal with manipulation of anti-matter. Upon physical contact, he is able to analyze the chemical nature of the substance dealt with the ability of his Validus Tattoo. Arokan is thus able to create any counterpart of regular atoms. For instance, he could neutralize any hydrogen by drawing upon and create anti-hydrogen. Antimatter is simply a matter counterpart, as its name implies. Upon collision with any matter, both become eliminated, releasing the energy difference of the antimatter and matter. Antimatter can be converted into or from anti-energy, just like matter can be converted into or from energy. However, just like matter needs energy up till an activation point, antimatter needs anti-energy in order for the process to initiate.

Anti-energy: Anti-energy is different than that of negative energy. Just as how a seemingly infinite amount of energy compresses would create matter, anti-energy is a sort of “building blocks” of antimatter, and they have similar properties. When coming in contact with matter, the particles of the matter would simply decompose and release all of its potential energy as – not energy however – anti-energy. When coming in contact with energy, however, anti-energy simply negates it. In a more sensible way, by sending a 500 Kelvin cluster of anti-energy, it would negate equally as much of energy of its target. The anti-energy is a dangerous offense to use. Without precaution even the slightest bit of it could end up annihilating an entire plane of matter, since the slightest contact could set off a chain reaction of anti-energy release.

[Kishi]

Kishi

Ability: manipulate shadows, and any type of energy. Be it thermal, life, even kinetic, she can manipulate the energy to her will. The only thing she can’t stop is a physical attack, but beware of a brush of skin; she might get to your life force.... Since she is part shadow, she can to an extent manipulate her form and force surrounding shadows to push her somewhere else. She can also create shrouds of pitch black darkness to confuse her enemies.
Bio: no one knows much about her, except she had a very dark past. Nonchalance and indifference one moment can turn to a raging temper the next. Some rumors say that part of her polar different powers, is due to the fact of multiple personalities, which some people suspect having something to with the rapid change of eye color. Normally clad in black, with her long, sleek, dark hair, she’s normally an outsider, not that most people notice she’s there anyway.
Rumors have said that she came from a noble line of ninjas and spies, who always have had a knack of magick, some are light, some dark, never a mixture of both. A prophesy foretold, however, that one would be born that’d have the balance of both powers who’d have the peak of each power since the beginning of its creation. Whispers say that, as a child, she already shown signs of developing both type of powers, causing people to say she was the Foretold One. Not wanting any of this, she ran away, not realizing, since her powers heightened, time had could never affect her. You may not see her, but she might be present when you least expect it.

[Lamby]

Uh yes, I forgot to mention. Some might know already. Lamby is Rokazu.

[Kishi]

Setting:
Kishi hides in the far corners of a shady inn

[Rokazu]

The heavy blade of Praesul on his back, the wanderer walked warily into an inn. The memories of his family’s death haunting him, it was hard for him even to speak or look into anyone’s eyes. He no longer had a purpose in living. In the past half-decade that Arokan had wandered among the planes, searching for someone…something to protect. Every time he attempted, failures were all that befell him If Arokan had changed since the death of his clan, the man must’ve grown darker, more reluctant to give help to others. Because he knew, all those he tried protecting had deceased…Worst of all, because of the man himself. Had he not interfere, Arokan had always told himself, they would not have died. Why was he always the fault of…something bad?

Arokan stepped under the cool ceilings of the inn, sanctioned from the hot raging sun that dominated the afternoon sky. The streets outside were busy; compared to that, inside the structure seemed empty, quiet, and deathly. The blade on his back remained motionless; but of course, why should it move, for a blade was not living…was it?

Nothing sus…Praesul told Arokan.

I know what you’re thinking. The wanderer cut him off, we’re one and the same anyway. Besides, we’re in a town, so relax.

The two physically separated but one existentially same conscience conversed with each other telepathically. No one besides them would – or could – ever hear what they were discussing, for there was no sound made. Arokan approached the bar, lay the Praesul blade to his right, and sat down on one of the unoccupied seats. Signaling for a drink, the wanderer waited patiently for his service, staring sightlessly onto the wooden bar table…

[Kishi]

"Hmm," thought a shadow. "Who can this guy be? Must be of the rich folk by the looks of that sword.............let's see his money, shall we?" She touched a small shadow on the corner of the window, and it came to life. Murmuring a few sparks of dark energy into it, Kishi watched it zoom through the room and slip into the shadow of the newcomer

[Rokazu]

What did I tell you? Praesul’s conscience rang into the Validus’s mind once more. Never hurts to be cautious.

Paranoid you mean? Arokan answered sarcastically, come on let me just take some rest here will you? I’m really not into jokes.

Good that you’re not, Praesul answered mockingly, some sort of supernatural energy flux just occurred a few seconds ago.

Had Arokan been in the mood, the swordsman might’ve taken heed to the warning, but he was simply too…exhausted. Taking the drink he ordered, the man gulped down half a cup of red wine in one mouthful. Praesul would never really joke about it when the man was too tired. After all they were one and the same. Spiritual exhaustion would also be felt by Praesul. If it had something to tell, then it was most likely important.

Should that concern us? Asked Arokan.

Eh? The flux wasn’t so strong, but you should know that it merged with our shadows.

If the man reacted in any way physically, then his eyes might’ve opened a few millimeters. Otherwise, the man made no visible motion. Whoever was sneaking up on him was investigating for something; whatever it was. There were dozens of people inside the building, and it could be any of them. Shadow manipulators were usually troublesome; not much of a mortal threat to Arokan anyway but if the person also had other powers would prove…hard to deal with.

Moving his right hand to the blade of Praesul casually, Arokan readied for any sort of offenses anyone may commence. He poured energy into the Amulet of Validus weakly as it began vibrating against his chest beneath his shirt. Though invisible, a thin but effective shield against any sort of magical offenses was conjured, encompassing the man’s entirely as well as his sword, outlining his body tightly that nothing else may enter without the Amulet’s permission.

[Kishi]

"Ahh. A smart one." Kishi whispered to her fellow shadows that enveloped her. She noticed her little darling got left out of the shield. "Aww....thats too bad. But then again, I like a challenge." Dividing half her self into the shadow, her shadow self flashed under the man's stool, slowly absorbing the shield's energy, sending the flow to her hiding self.

She smiled to herself. Fields or any type of magic pulse with energy, she learned over her many years.

[Rokazu]

Now you have to be joking me if you can’t feel this flux, Praesul teased Arokan.

Yes, yes, I feel it.

Well are you going to do anything about it?

That’s your job; I’ll take care of what happens on the physical plane.

Without another word, the…well separated consciences proceeded to what they were supposed to do. Arokan really just had to sit there until Praesul did its job. Until then, the wanderer cannot surely accuse anyone of attempting to…do whatever he or she was doing to him. The Amulet’s shield was slowly drained as energy seemed to be lost to the ground. Indeed the swordsman could feel the drain, but without Praesul, perhaps even Arokan himself would not have been able to root the source of the drainage. The man took another sip, still acting as though he hadn’t realized anything.

Yeah you take your nice drink while I work right? Praesul’s conscience rang sarcastically into Arokan’s mind. But the Validus ignored him.

Despite that, however, Arokan could not help but let out a grin as he swallowed another mouthful of wine, now tasting thinner and thinner as the ice melted in the cup to mix with the wine. If Praesul did not help me live through so much, I would really think I have lost sanity, thought Arokan. The warrior continued to pour energy into his barrier so that the flow of drained energy would not be lost before Praesul could find its origin.

Just as he finished his cup, Praesul rang a brief signal of acknowledgment with the man. Arokan put down his cup and put several coins on the bar as he stood up from his chair, take his blade with him. He still didn’t stop the barrier, though Arokan was quite sure that whoever was doing this must at least be aware that he was leaving. Praesul’s trail followed to a dark corner by the inn, where a figure hid. It was so dark that Arokan didn’t realize somebody had been there when he first entered.

Sending a special flux of energy, the Validus warrior walked briskly toward the figure who had been wholeheartedly stealing his energy. This energy, though detached from Arokan, acted similarly to his Nerve Control ability; when it entered the person’s body, it would easily freeze the target from moving any of the voluntary muscles by Arokan’s will. But of course, he had to let the person declare his purpose before Arokan decided that he left the person alone…or prosecuted him or her.

“Enjoying your energy?” Arokan whispered only loud enough that the thief would hear, as he terminated the energy to the shield.

[Kishi]

Kishi smiled, her shadow self allowing the cursed energy to pass through her. The spell passed into the wall. Her little shadow sphere jumped into the man's pocket, seemingly unnoticed. She sent a thought pulse in a shadow to the stranger. "Of course. Interesting signature energy." Merging with her shadows, she reunited with her other half. Her donned black cape shrouded her face as she approached him. He had a worn look on him as he carried the sword. "Thanks for the drink...." she smiled, jumping into the shrouds of darkness leading to the outside.

[Rokazu]

Arokan caught the face of the thief briefly and realized that it was a woman. Great…

Yeah great, Praesul’s voice echoed with sarcasm, she’s faster than you think.

Whose side are you on?

The warrior hadn’t lost anything of his possessions important anyway. All of his equipments were still with him. Had it not been his curiosity, Arokan might’ve let the thief go. After all, it wasn’t too easy to make a life around here. Many had to resort to stealing, especially if one had magic, why not use it?

Making sure that no one was paying Arokan any attention, the swordsman stepped into the Astral Plane, led by the energy signature that the thief had taken from Arokan. Praesul was doing most of the directions, while the wanderer simply made sure that he did not confuse the energy with anything else. The Validus reentered the Physical Plane several feet away from the thief, who was still merged with her shadow form.

So she’s both a shadow manipulator and energy absorber eh? Arkoan thought, any ideas?

A lot; for instance…

The thought echoed into Arokan’s mind immediately. Without another word, the man whispered under his voice a short spell as bright light began to concentrate into a beam to shine upon the shadow. Slowly, the thief’s shadowed form slowly lightened, becoming closer and closer to its surrounding. Shadow was hard to deal with, but this was its weakness; by the time the shadow became as bright as its surrounding, its existence would cease, and whatever originally not of the shadow would be forced out of it.

Or so you think.

Got any better ideas?

[Kishi]

Light requires energy to shine. So ignorant this one is. But thats ok....

Kishi sighed in ecstasy as the light poured on her face. Energy.... The rays of light slowly crept through her shadows. As she soaked all of it in, she noticed something she didn't before; the man's sword seemed to be pulsing with life, as if it were a person. Hmmm............

As the light dwindled, Kishi released shrouds of darkness from the new energy throughout the whole alley, totally covering her and the stranger. Not that it affected her own sight.

Take care of his sword, won't you, darling? she told the shadow in the man's pocket. It crept out. She began increase the amount of shadows; some of them were beginning to take shapes....

Kishi walked right up to the stranger and reached toward his ear. "Well, its been fun, but I have places I need to get to." She chuckled.

Take care of him boys. Or at least until I'm in the next town... She sent dark energy into each of the largest figures and they began to move like lifelike creatures, all on their own.

"Have fun!" she called. Kishi once again merged into her shadows, flashing away into the impenetrable darkness.

[Rokazu]

Arokan sighed as the woman once again escaped. All she does is run, run, and run.

Well she is a thief, Praesul answered.

So any ideas why she’s doing it? She didn’t steal anything.

Are you telling me you’d rather her have stolen something? What’s wrong with you?

If theft was truly the woman’s goal, then she finally commenced to give a first attempt. The alley in which Arokan and the woman were (until she escaped, at least) grew darker and darker, shrouded in an unnatural shadow of which Arokan could sense that they were not exactly the friendly or the neutral type. The shadows began to split up into darker, but more distinct individual figures. Meanwhile, on his back, Arokan felt something attempting to seize the blade of Praesul from him.

Are you really that beautiful? Arokan joked.

Apparently better than you, Praesul replied as the blade began to deform and lose its shape from that of a…well blade. Else why would she try to steal me instead of you? See, I’m THAT much more attractive than you are.

The wanderer did not answer as the great sword continued to thin out of sight. Eventually it evaporated magically to become an invisible atmosphere around Arokan and the shadows that the woman had probably created. That was a little trick that Arokan and Praesul had always practiced since…well Praesul became stuck with his ectoplasmic conscience. To the shadows, the blade would’ve seemed to just disappear; but even if they did know that it simply evaporated, Praesul was now too thin to even catch with hands. If Praesul was a weapon that Arokan was meant for, then the man might’ve been the person who had manipulated it to an extent further than anyone before him.

What now? Praesul asked the wordless man who was facing the dark figures before him.

You keep track of the woman’s spiritual signal; this energy flux now should’ve been enough to determine it. I’ll do the rest.

If I think as slow as you, we’d have lost her by now. How long would these shadows take you?

Just don’t lose her.

Without another word, the Validus tattoos on both of Arokan’s arms began to glow a warm but yet eerie yellow light. Dark energy, as most might have called it, was just another kind of arcane magic; nothing too spectacular. Controlling shadows with it was perhaps most efficient compared to other ones. However, these still depended on energy for their continued existence. Before even Arokan finished blinking, the glow on the tattoos turned from warm and comfortable to a blinding, yet encompassing light; whatever it touched the light absorbed energy into the tattoo. It did not matter what kind of energy it was. Essentially for the briefest moment in time, everything around Arokan became simply motionless; even atomic motions ceased. To make a point, even the atmosphere solidified. The only thing that protected the man from this, though brief, sudden and deadly cold was his tattoo. However at the very next instance, the cold was gone. Unless the shadows had somehow shielded themselves and prevented the tattoo from absorbing their energy, they should now be neutralized.

[Kishi]

Kishi hopped out of the shadows that carried her. She was already in the mountains barricading the way of the next village. She would have been able to walk there in an hour or so, if it wasn't for this.....curiosity that forced her to look back. Kneeling on the edge of a ledge, she dug her hands in the sandy ground, allowing the sun's radiation soak into her skin and fuel her widening sense toward energy.

She sent out a part of her into the ground, where it is always dark, and locked onto her specific energy signature, the one she sent into her shadow creatures. The first thing she noticed was that her little darling failed in obtaining the sword.

Oh well.

Kishi, all of a sudden, realized there was a huge energy burst coming from the alley.

Someone's going to do a spell of some sort, she realized. My creatures...I need to DO something.

She quickly buried her hands once again into the soil. The mid-day sun beamed down onto her arms as she began the whisper of an incantation. Kishi used the radiation from the hot sun to fuel and sustain her.

She sent a swirl of energy to surround her servants. The energy, she then forced into a protective shield around each of the creatures; it looked as if it hardened into a translucent armor, just like her brother once showed her.

My brother... A tear fell from her eye, a thin drop falling into the dry land. She shook her head, clearing away the 1st emotion in decades.

I'll deal with that later. In the meantime... she redirected her focus to her creatures, let's see this guy beat the sun's energy.

[Rokazu]

The spell took its effect, but just before Arokan could completely neutralize the shadows, a new flux of energy interrupted the absolute zero field. The new energy came just in time to shield the shadow creatures from losing the energy they needed for existence. However, just as quickly as the energy intercepted the absorption, Praesul, now flowing quite literally airily in the atmosphere around it cast a separate incantation spell around Arokan and the shadows. Had it been Arokan to conjure up this new barrier, it would most likely have been too slow for the absorption. Indeed the thief was able to take the energy in, but was she able to both supply her shadows and steal energy simultaneously?

That wasn’t too smart. Arokan commented.

What wasn’t?

The barrier; you know she’s just going to use the energy to supply the shadows.

You think I hadn’t thought of that? Just watch.

No, I don't think we will.

Indeed, even if the thief attempted to use this new source of energy to supply her shadows, it would prove fatal. Praesul had especially prepared the new energy for the thief, just in case, to absorb. Once collided with her energy, the two kinds would, in a sense, clog up with each other and create an explosion where the barrier existed. Indeed there would be a stronger flux for the shadows, but by then the shadows would already have been neutralized.

However, whatever happened, Arokan did not stay to witness. Before the shadows – assuming they survived the absorption – had time to reform themselves, the warrior had retrieved the blade into its solid form and stepped into the Astral, leaving behind an illusion of himself to continue absorbing the energy of the shadows in order to confuse the thief. Following the spiritual signature of the thief, Arokan caught up with the woman in no time. He sheathed Praesul quickly and conjured up an anti-energy dagger by his right forearm.

The dagger was an intricate spell indeed. It took the man several years to be able to swiftly conjure up the magical dagger. Anti-energy had always been dangerous to deal with. Unlike anti-matter, which would only annihilate its counterpart and release energy, anti-energy collided and converted everything that was not itself into its kind. To keep this under control, Arokan had to leave a small, vacuumed region around the dagger itself to keep from spreading. One touch by this blade would annihilate anything, quite literally removing it from physical existence. Without containment, the smallest bit of it could annihilate an entire planet…or even more.

Within another blink, the Praesul bearer reentered the Physical Plane, several miles away from a town.

“One more word or movement I shall slit your throat.” The swordsman whispered as put his arm millimeters away the woman’s throat. She was crouching on the ground, hands under soil. “And I suggest you not absorb this, as you might well know that this is not the energy you would like to deal with.”