The Shield Tourney!

[Zaxton Books]

The Opal Aegis had been moved, and her berthing cradle inside the walls of Castle Besaid converted to bleachers that overlooked a penned-in square of sand. These bleachers were packed with locals come to watch and cheer for the competition, which was the first public event held by Clan Exaegis since they took control of the fort a little over a month and a half ago. Moogles playing pipe and drums heralded as the competetors made their way to the square, and as Lord Bön, arrayed in his ceremonial garb of polished brass and red silks, ascended a dias at one end of the ring. A stand was erected there, holding the tournament's prize.

Eligius, the Fist of the Champion, was a great mace of lead and stone, designed for cracking open even the hardest armour with its impossible mass. Ciel didn't think it was a very good award... it's weight meant that nobody, likely not even London, was going to be able to wield it effectively.

He waited for the competitors to all arrive in the ring before speaking.

[cielo]

Nebilim Teymern was among them, wearing a finely crafted suit of what appeared to be grey steel; however, his movement didn't seem to be as restricted as normal plate armor would suggest. In fact, the limb joints seemed to lack connecting mail and leather entirely; the plate shifted to accomodate his movement. Under the right of said elbows a matching helmet was tucked. The armor served to make Nebilim look somewhat bulkier, though his sharp face still belied his basic elbows-jagged glass-sharp points body structure.

[Aredjay]

Ostor Shayde was also arrived in the ring in short order, walking calmly to the designated spot for the competitors. His hood still obscured part of his face, but he had adjusted it so that his mouth was more visible -- in doing so, he had inadvertently exposed a faded burn mark on his face as well. His staff was attached to his belt on the right side, for easy wielding when it came time to fight.

Though quite a bit of his face was still covered by the hood, an observer would probably be able to tell he was nervous. Melee combat was not his strong suit, and even with magic allowed, he would have to make melee his primary mode of attack here...

[Zaxton Books]

When Ciel spoke, his voice boomed over the audience without seemingly any need for focus, material, or somatics. He was simply projecting his voice... one of the talents that made for a particularly powerful Evoker.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, honoured guests, I give you the Shield Tournament!"

There was a pause for the usual cheers. "The tournament will be held in a round-robin format. Competitors will be asked to meet each other in the ring and offer the sign of peace beforehand. Bouts will be fought from my signal and fought to first down, or first blood from the torso. Magic will be accepted, but in no circumstance shall a projectile weapon, including throwing of a weapon normally wielded in the hand, shall be acceptable. With that, I give you the first bout."

There was a drumroll from somewhere... in the audience, Greta felt her excitement build. "Nebilim Teymern versus Ostor Shayde! Competitors to the ring!"

[cielo]

[sorry guys]

Nebilim stepped forward to the ring, presumably across from Ostor. He double-checked his armor and the few straps it possessed, withdrew a curious green orb from the pouch at his side, and settled into himself.

Zallaurot, sat beside Greta, was struck by how small the first competitor to step forward looked from the audience. He looked like a lanky man thrown into armor he wasn't accustomed to wearing.

[Aredjay]

Ostor stepped into the ring as well, standing across from Nebilim. He tightened his robe's belt, and made sure the seal on one of his staff's enchantments was still in place. He really would rather not zombify anyone here.

He looked over at his opponent, wondering what the green orb was for, then started to focus himself, preparing for the battle.

[Zaxton Books]

"Battle commence!"

[cielo]

Nebilim darted forward more quickly than somebody in armor ought to be able to, holding the orb out in front of him as if it were a shield. As Nebilim drew closer to his opponent, Ostor would likely notice Nebilim muttering something very quickly under his breath, at the same time weaving an enchantment into place around the orb, and more lightly around his armor.

The sword remained sheathed, however.

[Aredjay]

(HAPPY NEW YEA--I'm sorry aaaaa it slipped my mind >_<)

Ostor started to circle around Nebilim, getting the feeling that being touched by that orb was something he didn't want to happen. Drawing his staff, he quickly muttered something under his breath as well, wrapping himself in what seemed to be a protective shell of magic energy while at the same time seeming to move faster. If Nebilim was a good lip-reader, he may have been able to make out the words "Gloria Resulto".