"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
05-15-2018, 09:14 PM (This post was last modified: 05-16-2018, 02:46 PM by devin.)
Welcome to the Battle round of the Nerischian Tournament.
If possible, each Ischian has been paired against a Nerinian. This round will take place in the format of short mocks. Each participant will post two attacking posts, with the person who posts first also posting a final defense post (Horse A Attack, Horse B Attack/Defend, Horse A Attack/Defend, Horse B Attack/Defend, Horse A Defend). You may use as many attacks or defenses as you’d like, though you will be limited by a 600 word limit, so choose wisely. You will have 3 days (to the hour) between posts, and four days from now (by the hour) until the first person is due to post. Judging will be done with a very similar rubric to the official battle rubric found here.
DO NOT post for these to be judged in the official judging thread when you are finished. They will be judged by Devin & Sid as they conclude.
Wishbone vs Mosrael
Wishbone will post first, unless otherwise decided by the players beforehand.
Jesper vs Leilan
Jesper will post first, unless otherwise decided by the players beforehand.
Breckin vs Viserion
Breckin will post first, unless otherwise decided by the players beforehand.
@[Bristol] vs @[takei]
Bristol will post first, unless otherwise decided by the players beforehand.
traton vs Caw
Traton will post first, unless otherwise decided by the players beforehand.
Even though she is participating in this tournament to prove her worthiness for Nerine, this middle round is different. This middle round is battling and so it frankly doesn't matter what the upper crust of Nerine thinks, because this is about proving herself to Brennen. About proving that despite her capricious nature in regards to her sire's training programs, she's the equal of any of her siblings, or even his new recruits.
She doesn't know the Brother she faces across the field, but she takes a wary look at the twin horns sticking up and back from his head; her only consolation is that to put them to use, he'll have to tuck his head quite far and compromise his own vision of whatever he is striking at. Bristol herself is bearing the short, broad wings in the shape of her favorite bird to watch, the fierce and agile goshawk. And if they're a bright fury red instead of her natural black, well, one could say she's just getting into the right mood.
Picking up a quick canter, the mare comes straight at Takei but only for a couple of strides before she launches herself into the air, gaining altitude quickly but keeping a careful eye on the boy below. She's thankful it's an overcast day, with plenty of light but no direct sun to get into anyone's eyes. She circles once, twice, overhead and then folds her wings, dropping like a stone to where Takei's hindquarters had been the last time she checked before stopping. Her weight lends her to a quick fall, and as she was just high enough to stay out of range of a rear or a leap, she waits only two heartbeats before snapping her wings open, arresting her fall even as she glances at where her target is now and lashes out with her hindlegs, which she hopes will be somewhere right over center mass.
He, of course, would have been free to move, but it had been a nearly miniscule amount of time for him to have done so. Her heartrate is elevated, perhaps 100 beats per minute at this point, so she'd been dropping less than a second. Perhaps add a second for the actual folding and unfolding of her wings, but she has high hopes for taking the pinto by surprise. Her aim is for the big, motion-important gluteal muscles across the top of his hindquarters. Her dull hooves can't rip into flesh in the way her raptor friends' can, but a big enough bruise would affect his movement and give her an edge. If he's moved, she still hopes to land a kick somewhere along his topline; perhaps on his spine, the vulnerable point of his scapula that might be more exposed if he's in motion, or his crest where his weird mane is full of...are those sticks? Even a solid kick to one of those horns, maybe she could break it.
After her hindlegs are at full extension, whether she hits something or not, she snaps them back up to a safer place and lets her wings and her momentum carry her over Takei and a few strides away, where she lands and whirls around to face him, ready for anything.
Takei cannot deny that, while he enjoyed the first round, he finds himself better suited for this round. Feelings of excitement and anxiety roll in his stomach; whether he would admit it or not, this is his first time on the battling field. He’s been paired with a Nerinian with bright, broad wings but even from a distance Takei can see the two are, physically, pretty evenly matched. His own body has sinewy muscle he’s built up over time while his oryx horns reach dangerous ends about 38 inches above him.
As Bristol takes flight, the tobiano also puts himself into motion. He travels at a collected trot, the perfect speed for quick movements, and moves erratically. His ears stay twisted toward his opponent while his eyes dance between the ground before him and her airborne body. He has just darted from a straight line into a right-hand circle when she drops and, thankfully, his eyes are on her. He’s already anticipating an attack at some point so, when she finally does so, he’s prepared.
As soon as Takei spots her wings folding, he pulls to a hard stop. Assuming she’s coming at him from behind, they should be at a slight angle (between 10 degrees and 15 degrees) due to her approach when he had been moving straight and then his sudden turning movement. Making use of his horns, Takei immediately throws his head up and backward while lifting on to his hindquarters to offer more height to his upper body. The act of shifting his weight backwards takes no time, as he has already moved his weight to his hind-legs in his stop.
Takei’s hope is to damage Bristol’s right side with his spear-like horns. In terms of distance, some minor calculations presume that the average back-length of a hybrid horse at 15.3hh is around 32 inches. Even with the angle of their positioning, Takei’s oryx horns should extend past the back region with their 38-inch-long structure. If his counter-attack is successful, Bristol could sustain heavy damage to exterior and interior organs. Not only could his horns pierce through both skin and muscle but also, depending on where his attack lands, any number of right-side organs — the right lung (though this is less likely, with the ribs to protect it) and the right side of the digestive tract are the most likely. Takei doesn’t wish to put his partner in life-threatening condition, thus he estimates on the distance he tosses his head back — enough to hit muscle, but not enough to damage important organs.
Despite the quickness of his thinking, the tobiano doesn’t go without his own injuries. In the process of turning, watching Bristol, and quickly performing his counter-attack, he doesn’t have time to completely dodge his opponent’s initial hit. Considering the angle of Takei’s body from his right-hand turn, Bristol’s hooves find purchase on his left gluteal — specifically damaging the superficial and middle gluteal muscles.
The rear of his counter-attack goes successfully regardless, because the time allotted between their movements doesn’t allow for the pain to fully reach him before he rears. However, as Takei lands with all four hooves on the ground again, the deep ache spreading on the left gluteal is felt immediately. There will be heavy bruising and tenderness to the location of her blow for a decent time after their mock, he’s sure. When Bristol lands, the tobiano is busy testing the severity of his injury, carefully putting his weight on his left hindquarter while keeping his attention turned toward his opponent, waiting for her next attack.
