Clahs of the Titans, round I, Always-He-Lingers-in-the-Sun vs Vernon Goldwine. Options

[jack cloudy]

Here it is, the first round. Enjoy and don't forget to vote.




Red clouds blocked out the sun’s light. Lightning crackled through the air, the roar of thunder whipped the ashen waste. A tower stood in this hell, made from the blackest Ebony. Light reflected off it, making it look like a pool of black oil.

In the tower, Mehrunes Dagon paced around his throne room.
,,You and you! Fight!” He shouted at two of his Dremora. The two daedric warriors clashed, yet Mehrunes felt that this would no longer relieve his boredom. What he needed was a world to conquer but the other Daedra had forbidden him to manipulate the fate of mortals for the next hundred years.

,,Something must be done, before I go mad.” The mighty lord thought as he passed a painting of Hircine. The golden eyes of Hircine’s werewolves were like a mirror to Mehrunes’ anger. He stopped and looked at the painting closer.
,,Hircine, companion in the hunt. I remember what you told me a while ago. A new way to pass the time. Yes, I think I’ll give it a try. But, the results won’t be irreversible, the death shall be fake. It’s shallow, yes, but it will do. I hope it will.”

He sat down on his throne, ignoring the two battling Dremora. He saw upon the many worlds, paying particular attention to his favourite planet. He saw upon all versions of Nirn and picked his pawns.

Always-He-Lingers-in-the-Sun regained his balance before he could fall onto the warm floor. The Argonian was confused. One moment, he had been sitting in his favourite bar, the Six Fishes, nursing a nice flin. The next, he was here, in this massive chamber with Ebony walls and floor.
,,That stuff packs a punch. I must be hallucinating.” Always-He-Lingers-in-the-Sun thought, inspecting the bottle in his hand closely.

With a loud poof, an Imperial appeared on the other side of the room. He too looked around. Almost simultaneously, the two looked straight up where they saw a balcony. A grotesque monster stood on it, looking down at them as if he was watching a pair of ants.
,,Hear my call, mortals! I, Mehrunes Dagon, have brought the two of you here to battle for me. The winner shall receive a great reward, worthy of a Daedra. The loser shall receive……….death.” It roared with a thunderous voice.

The two mortals, the Argonian and the Imperial, looked upon each other. The Imperial laughed.
,,You want me to kill a lizard? That will be like hitting a poor dog. Look at the thing, it’s harmless.” He gloated. The man then calmly took a step forward.
,,I am Vernon Goldwine, the count of Kvatch! Bow before me, pest!” He demanded, pointing at the floor with a finger heavily decorated with expensive jewels.

The Argonian hissed angrily in return. Always-He-Lingers-in-the-Sun had no intention of letting that insult slip… yet, he wasn’t to keen on fighting without any weapons. Apparently, only the items he’d been carrying on his body at that moment had been brought with him. His weapons were where he left them, under his stool.
,,My weapons! I won’t fight without my weapons!” He shouted at Mehrunes Dagon. The Daedra looked disappointed, then shrugged.
,,As you wish, I will send over your weapons. But your opponent shall receive his.”

Vernon gave a nasty smirk as he felt the weight of an Ebony Broadsword in his hands. A light suit of platemail wrapped around him and his fingers were covered by a pair of gloves with ebony covering the knuckles.
,,You’ve made this even easier than it already was. This reward is mine!” The Count yelled as he dashed forwards. The Argonian held his position. He too had felt the familiar weight of his weapons. His though, were a bit more sophisticated than a heavy piece of Ebony to swing around. Vernon’s eyes widened as they stared right at the tip of the bolt speeding out of the crossbow.

The Imperial ducked to the side in time to avoid a lethal shot. The pauldron rang as the bolt bounced off it.
,,That was the greatest mistake in your life, lizard!” He growled angrily as he picked up his pace a bit further. Always-He-Lingers-in-the-Sun saw that his shot had failed and turned around to flee. Melee was not his strength. Besides, Mehrunes had said nothing regarding any rules. He ran for the nearest exit, his tail moving from side to side rapidly.

Argonians were not made for running. As such, Vernon caught up with his prey before he’d moved out of the arena. The Count smiled, his hand reached out to grab the Argonian’s tail. He then pulled, making the assassin lose balance and fall on his back.
,,I told you this would be easy.” Vernon gloated as he rose his Broadsword into the air. The Ebony blade was pointed right at the Argonian’s face. Vernon said nothing as he readjusted his aim.
,,But some suffering would be a nice start.”

Both made their move at the same time. Vernon stabbed downwards with his sword while Always-He-Lingers-in-the-Sun rolled away with the agility only an aquatic being could produce. Still, he hissed in pain as the blade cut through his tail’s skin. Vernon’s sword got stuck into the floor and the Count struggled to get it out. Always-He-Lingers-in-the-Sun took this chance to escape into the dark maze outside the arena. He ran past several corners and twisting passages before leaning against a wall to rest.

He looked at his tail. The wound was painful but fortunately not serious. It would heal, though he would always keep a scar there. The Argonian moved on, hoping for a place from which he could ambush the Imperial. There was one thing both combatants now knew. If Vernon could trap Always-He-Lingers-in-the-Sun in a corner within range of his sword, the fight was over. Likewise, a single bolt from the Argonian’s crossbow could decide the outcome of this battle.

Back at the arena, Vernon finally lifted his blade out of the floor. He took a few deep breaths to recover his strength.
,,Come on. The sooner you show yourself, the sooner you’ll die.” He spoke into the air. After a moment’s hesitation, he also ventured into the corridor.

[jack cloudy]

And here we go, the last part of round one! I have to admit I found it quite hard to write seeing as I just couldn't imagine how Vernon would beat Always-He-Lingers-in-the-Sun. It took some gaming to bring me inspiration. (Sanger Zonvolt is so cool. I love his dialogue. Ok, this has nothing to do with it.)




Mehrunes watched the battle from his throne with anticipation.
,,Now, it’s time to make it even more interesting.” With a wave of his hand, a loud rumble passed through the tower, the rumble of machinery beginning to move. Floors vanished, walls shifted, fire shot down from the sky.
The Argonian had to jump away when a massive boulder suddenly came rolling past.
,,This is not good.” The assassin thought to himself as he hurried to a safer hiding place. Yet, he knew that there no longer was a safe place in this plane.

Vernon walked slowly. While he desired to kill the lizard as soon as possible, he knew that charging through the corridors like a madman was asking for a bolt in his back. As such, he exercised patience, no matter how hard that would be. His progress was halted by a large chasm. A bridge was the only way to cross. Vernon took the first step onto the bridge when a sudden movement caught his attention. He quickly stepped away and took cover. A moment later, a bolt struck the wall.

,,Go ahead, lizard. Waste your precious bolts! Once you’re through, I will put you out of your misery!” The Count taunted. At the far end of the chasm, Always-He-Lingers cursed. He’d missed for a second time. Suddenly, the wall behind him rumbled as it began to move.
,,No way!” The Argonian let out a few more curses. The wall slowly progressed towards him, leaving the bridge as the only way out. Yet, on the other side of the bridge the Count faced the same problem as his wall had begun to move as well. The final battle would inevitably begin. Both stepped onto the bridge warily. Always-He-Lingers made a quick count of his bolts. Five remaining, five chances at victory. He loaded the first one and let fly.

Vernon ducked, the bolt making a mess of his hair yet leaving his skull intact. The man jumped up again, breathing more heavily as he began to tire from the constant dodging. The bridge didn’t leave him much room for that. ,,Just give it up, lizard!” He shouted and began to run across the bridge like a madman. The next bolt wouldn’t be dodged.

The Argonian rolled his eyes. The insult was getting old. He raised his crossbow once more and fired one of the precious few bolts he had left. He dropped the Crossbow right afterwards. In the event of Vernon somehow escaping death, there would be no time for a third shot. The Count grinned and simply raised his Ebony blade in front of his face, deflecting the bolt with more luck than skill. The Argonian drew his own blades, one made from Ebony and the other out of Daedric. Both charged and met at the center of the bridge.

Vernon raised his blade high above his head and struck down with all the strength he had. Always-He-Lingers brought up the shortsword in his right hand to block it, Ebony meeting Ebony. The Argonian was driven to his knees by the sheer force behind the blow. Using his own downward motion, he slipped his Daedric dagger into Vernon’s somewhat bulging belly. The Man grit his teeth in pain and felt the lifeforce being sucked right out of him. He too sank on his knees, bringing him face to face with his opponent.

,,You damn lizard.” He forced the words out of his throat and punched the Argonian in the face. Brought of balance, Always-He-Lingers-in-the-Sun never had a chance to stop the Ebony blade from finding his heart. Both Argonian and sword fell off the bridge and vanished in the depths. Veron’s vision began to turn dark when The hulking mass of Mehrunes Dagon appeared before him.
,,Congratulations, mortal. Yes, you have fought well and as such I shall reward you…with your life!” The Daedra roared. The Count’s vision cleared as the wound closed itself in the blink of an eye. Still dizzy from the bloodloss, he stood up and faced the lord.

,,Life? You promised me a reward worthy of a Daedra! I already survived the battle and therefore achieved life for myself. So where is my reward?” He spoke angrily. Mehrunes Dagon laughed.
,,Yes, you survived the battle. Yet, you would have died a moment later if it wasn’t for me. I give you life, the life of an immortal. You will live till the end of time unless you die from whatever wound you might have the misfortune of taking. Now, return to where you came from!” Vernon vanished in a cloud of Magicka.

A Dremora walked onto the bridge and kneeled before his master.
,,Go fetch the corpse down below and resurrect it. Remove any memories of the event and then gently place it back where and when we found it. I don’t want to get Azura angry at me again, or Akatosh or Boethia or Mephala and everyone else.” Mehrunes Dagon ordered and began the long walk back to the throne room. This first battle had wet his appetite. Now, he desired more.