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Khaos Dionysus Sanguini ⋆⁺₊⋆ Sword Mage
Everything is alive. People are chanting, surrounding the ring, and placing their bets on the final match of the night. The lights were flashing, announcers were calling, people would cheer. The tavern was dimly lit and full, patrons drinking away their hard earned savings. This ring was life. It was the center of Asterath. Even though some didn't know about the ring and its illegal activities, this was the center of the city. Asterath was center on violence. It was run by gangs. One of those being terrible snakes who killed ruthlessly.
A terrible taste filled my mouth. Whether it is bile or not, I can't tell.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa.
Being waken up in a flash by the most pained and heart wrenching scream was terrifying. My eyes opened. My heart pounding. I was up in an instant. My knife on my nightstand was flicked open. In the darkness of our room, my brother lay suffering on his bed, stabbed in the heart. The quiet shuffle of feet drew my attention to the small retreating figure.
The small nimble body struck me. They were young. Had to be a child. And probably a girl at that. The curves of that body would never match a guy. Identifying the person wasn't my priority. Nor was chasing them. My twin brother, my second half, was dying. I was the only thing that could save him.
I cut cloth from my bedsheets using them to soak up blood and plug the stab wound. Every time, it seemed the wound would never be filled. Cutting more and more of the sheet. Turning back to see everything stained red.
He shot into a coughing fit. His body thrashing. Blood spilled from his mouth. His breathing shallowed. His body stilled. I panicked. I'd seen the bleeding stab over his heart, it had probably punctured it. Even worse, it had also punctured a lung. There was no other explanation to coughing blood.
"Kalm, don't leave me..." My voice was cracking. A single tear ran down my cheek. "Please..." My ragged breathing and his shallow gasps filled the room. My voice broke into a desperate sob, "I love you..."
That was the last thing my brother heard before I saw his foggy eyes glass over and he took his last breath. His body had turned cold and lifeless in my arms within minutes. Kalm was gone.
The memory tore through my mind. That scream had been the last sound my brother made. A heart wrenching scream. The last sound the anchor of my life had made before he died. He was my anchor. After we left mom and dad, he'd always been there. We conquered the world together. We were basically attached at the hip. We always supported each other. The other never faced anything alone. Until that day. They snakes had taken my brothers life. He had left this world and returned to the earth. One day I will return to the earth as well.
Today wasn't that day though. The fighting ring didn't allow for complete ruthless murder. It was strictly trained fighters fighting by the rules. Nothing like thebackstabbingheart-stabbing snakes.
The ring thundered as another fight ended. I watched as two animals were dragged from the ring. One fighting fiercely against chains as it was led by a muscular masked. The other was less fortunate, it's dead body was dragged along the floor following them. The blood trail left a stain.
Tonight, I was watching the fight from the sidelines. I usually spent my time in the bars when the ring was open, but tonight was different. I'm not watching a fight. I am the fight. Tonight, the main event was me versus Mina. A sword mage versus a sword fighter. It would be an interesting match. Definitely one to draw attention of high betters.
Ladies and gentlemen...
The boom of the announcer made the ring erupt in cheers. My time was up. From my shady corner opposite the tavern, I could spot the movement on the opposite side of the ring. My opponent for tonight.
It's time for tonight's main event!
Distraction is no more. Who cares about blood stains on the floor? Not me. Who cares about the cheering of the crowd? Not me. I'll savor it after I win. I channeled that rage, staring at the empty place waiting for her to appear.
The myth, the legend, the lady, Mina Lang!
༉‧₊˚. rosalind rostova.
fighting ring; a fight between mina and khaos.
rosalind wrung out her hands and rolled her head back, jumping up and down on the spot. warm-ups were always important, and she had learnt that lesson from a very young age. she had once fought without warming up thoroughly and twisted her ankle within minutes, and her coach had still made her train that day to fully emphasise the lesson. well, rosalind had never forgotten, and taken warm-ups seriously ever since.
today’s match would be an unlikely win for her, and rosalind knew it. to be fair, the matches were never an easy win, but today rosalind was walking in with the prediction of losing. she was only a sword fighter, and khaos a sword mage. but the actual win or loss of the match was nothing to her - the bit rosalind cared about was the entertainment of the audience. more than once, rosalind could have beaten her opponent within seconds of them entering the ring, but then the audience would have paid to watch, well, nothing. so she had purposefully ignored the opening and instead let them go for her, which was always fun, as rosalind preferred to be on the defensive.
she was very well liked within the ring as she always had long and interesting matches. the audience liked watching her, which rosalind used to her advantage. she was good at using things to her advantage and manoeuvring situations which made her a valuable asset to the snakes, and it drastically helped her flesh out every single one of her identities differently and uniquely. at the fighting ring, she was simply mina lang, a sword fighter. within the scorpions, she was rosalind ivanova, their top spy who used sword fighter as her other ‘identity’, and within the snakes, she was ‘lady fortune’ rosalind rostova, where all her identities became one.
rosalind had no idea how she ended up like this, least of all how she managed to keep it all straight. she rarely went to the snake base to report, instead reporting directly to her sister juliette in her house in voxthain, and rosalind knew even that was a potential threat to the security of her identity and the game she was playing. if the scorpions caught wind of rosalind ivanova being a spy but not for them, she was going to face the same fate as her mother, but honestly the fighting ring finding out who fortune was was significantly worse. not just would her secrets spill out into the open, she would not have just brought upon herself her own downfall, but also that of her sister celia, who was starting afresh in the spiders. after all, who was ever going to trust another rostova?
she let out a huge breath, imagining it was the pressure she felt being released into the atmosphere as rosalind practised a couple of parries. not as if septime or octave would make a difference against magic, but it made rosalind feel better to go through her normal routine. after years in the industry, she still couldn’t tell the difference between septime and octave, and even though rosalind knew she was better than this, it still got to her every single time. “septime,” she whispered, followed by a quick “octave. no wait, other way around.” juliette would have gotten it immediately, and that made rosalind all the more annoyed at how she couldn’t remember two simple parries.
the announcer made his announcement. cursing, rosalind sheathed her sword ceremoniously and made her way towards the centre of the arena. she had learnt to shut out the crowds a while ago, but still waved. the fighting ring had become her constant home over the years, and she loved it. the thrill, the adrenaline, it was to die for.
“—mina lang versus khaos sanguini!”
the crowd erupted.
rosalind bowed to khaos.
game on.
Khaos Dionysus Sanguini ⋆⁺₊⋆ Sword Mage
It wasgamefight time.
With a heart of fire and ice, Khaos Sanguini.
My name being called by the announcer was the last thing I needed to hear before I ran from the shadows. Cheering drunks surround me as I close the distance between myself and the ring. It doesn't take long considering my large size. When I make it, I jump the chain fence and land on my feet.
My eyes look up to see a blood thirsty Mina in front of me. She was bound to lose tonight, but that wasn't the goal. Our goal was to entertain, just like everyone had done in the ring. By the end of the night though, I'd be in the tavern after a good win masking in the gifts of alcohol from the patrons. My focus wasn't that it was this fight.
Mina Lang versus Khaos Sanguini!
The crowd was erupting screaming with excitement. They were hoping for an upset but that would never happen. Not on my watch. Mina bowed to me, a symbol of respect before a fight. I never did a full bow, hating how it forced me into a submissive position. Instead, I do a muay thai, bowing slightly with clasped hands in front of my chest. I'm the only fighter to do the gesture and it was another way I stood out in the fight. Once complete, I rose and took a stance.
The fight was about to begin. I stared her down, taking in every feature and transforming it into the girl, the one that had run that night. I had nothing against Mina, but the one who killed my brother? I would kill her in a fucking second. It was a tradition in my fights now to trick my subconscious into thinking I'm fighting her at this point. It was how I'd become notorious for not letting up on the heat. It was because I despised that bitch so much.
Fighters, are you ready?
I took a deep breath, waiting for the countdown. The sword in the sheath on my side was drawn, it gleamed red fueled by my magic. I settled into this magic, drawing attack and defense spells to the surface. As my mind settled, my eyes slowly turned bloodshot, ready for a good fight.
3... 2... 1...
༉‧₊˚. rosalind rostova.
fighting ring; a fight between mina and khaos.
eying khaos from across the arena, it was clear that she was not going to win this at all. the man was absolutely blood thirsty, and there was no chance in hell he was going to let her win this, and he knew it too from the way he looked like he was expecting to win. well, rosalind was going to throw everything she had at him, and her tactic for this game was, well, nonexistent. taking prime when he expected quarte? throwing out lines every now and then? it would both confuse khaos and let rosalind’s instincts play out, which were sometimes better than having a set strategy, because then he couldn’t guess her next moves as she didn’t even know them herself.
“fighters, are you ready?”
a dip of her chin was the only inclination rosalind gave that she was ready. en garde. rosalind drew her sword out slowly, the shine of the rippling red steel reflecting every light beam. her own sword - one celia and juliette had bought for her as a birthday gift together. the sword had rubies encrusted into the hilt and waves of rippling scarlet fused into the silver steel with magic. luminos, rosalind adored it. gods knew how much it had cost her sisters, but whenever she asked, they just shrugged it off.
speaking of her sisters, rosalind could swear she caught a glimpse of juliette earlier. her eyes scanned the crowd, and indeed, the familiar figure had perched herself on the balcony, smiling at her sister and mouthing good luck. i swear to luminos if juliette blows up my entire cover by just being here i will throttle her in her sleep— but that was just stupid. everyone who wanted to came to watch the fights: from scorpions to normal citizens, from snakes to spiders, from voxthain nobles to asterathi councillors. and of course juliette would be here - not just to support rosalind, but to also gather intel, like rosalind herself.
pret. rosalind started circling khaos like he was her prey, because in a way he was. she was crouched low down, sword at the ready. however, both she and juliette noticed the second familiar figure at the same time. celia. rosalind was actually going to throttle her sister if she wasn’t careful, but she appreciated her for coming. rosalind narrowed her eyes, a natural thing when entering a fight, but it was meant to celia as a warning. she quickly averted her eyes before the crowd turned to see who she had been staring at, and fixed her deadly gaze on khaos.
allez. quick as a snake, rosalind made for khaos before he had time to react. she gathered she would start the attack, just to confuse him. usually, rosalind laid back and let them come for her, but today she just needed to do things differently to catch him off guard. she feinted for his wrist, disengaged, beat his blade away and attempted a slash, lunging at the same time. regardless of whether she had landed it or not, she retreated, soft as a panther, until there was a very safe distance between them. now, she could only wait to see what he would do.
Khaos Dionysus Sanguini ⋆⁺₊⋆ Sword Mage
Fight.
The match had begun. I watched her like she was prey. Not letting her out of my sight. She was distracted at first, the crowd stealing her attention. It was a rookie mistake but, I didn't strike. I could kill her if I caught her like that. My goal was to create a good fight, not to kill.
My sword was relaxed in my hands, it glowed with strength. The ruins on the blade glowed red with my magic. I raised it into the middle and waited for her to attack. I preferred to fight defensively, allowing my opponent to wear themselves out fighting offensively, then I take offense to win. It was a simple strategy that always worked, and she took the bait.
She came right for me, using her sword to knock my blade from my middle to my right side leaving my left defenseless. She went for a strike and missing as I backed away for recovery. She also backed off putting enough distance between us. Thank god, that exchange was wild. It was also an interesting move from her, usually fighters would stay on offensive keeping the heat when I ended up in a weaker position. I recovered, pulling my sword up back to middle. The ruins lit once more as I readied myself. The attack had been so seemingly uncoordinated to me it had made my guard drop. Now, it was back though.
Blocking out the cheering crowd who'd begun to go wild from the early upset, I pushed forward slowly closing the distance between us. I readied my magic once more, feeling the firey and icey life in my veins. They were here to see me perform and put on a show. And I was going to give them one.
Neglecting my usual plan, I made a fast strike, using my sword to knock it to hold it out of my way. My non-dominant hand released from my sword as my dominant continued to make blocking moves that forced the tip of her blade to the ground. Moving quickly, my free hand raised and pointed at her as I channeled by magic. Fire streamed from my hand, shooting towards her giving only a second or two for her to reach before getting burnt due to our close proximity.
༉‧₊˚. rosalind rostova.
fighting ring; a fight between mina and khaos.
as per usual, rosalind’s first attack failed, but she didn’t let that baffle her. generally, her first attack was to scope out the opponent, not to actually get a hit, but if she did then even better! khaos’s defense was good, for an uncoordinated attack like that, but he had left some targets open that rosalind could have exploited should she have continued. it was information she was after, not a wild exchange. that would come later, once she had the information she needed to carefully plan out the attack, or in this case, go with the flow.
the crowd had gone crazy again, but rosalind knew better than to pay them any attention. khaos was advancing towards her, and all she could hope was that khaos hadn’t gleaned enough information out of her to know how to end her immediately. whilst rosalind knew watching her opponents fight other people was a good idea, she rarely did it herself, preferring to go with the flow, switch up tactics mid-fight and if she was being honest, she had no time to do so. she had to report to both the night riders and the snakes, and carry out her missions. busy busy lady fortune.
khaos was going in fast. fine. rosalind let him beat her blade before she slid in, quick as a snake, and managed a small cut with opposition on his shoulder. khaos parried stronger than rosalind expected, which sent her reeling back and blade in octave until she assessed the real danger in front of her. using her own magic, she detected the blow coming ever so slightly before it did, and rosalind spun on her heel and circled khaos, attempting a slash at his ankle as she fled to the other side of the arena. where rosalind’s whole body would have burnt, her flight just a heartbeat earlier than expected led to only the tips of her hair being singed and the back of her legs sustaining some minor burns.
the cat and the mouse. rosalind was going to let him come at her again as she bounced up and down on the spot, shaking out her arms and burning legs. if there was one thing rosalind regretted not learning in cogworks, it was how to heal. but for now, she channeled her pain and shoved it away, something she had had to learn over the years she’d been at the ring. but just for fun, rosalind pulled three, not poisoned (surprisingly) hair pins out of her perfect hair, and threw them at khaos. they were small, sharp needles, and near impossible to see when moving through the air. she had thrown them together, each a slightly different angle, so it would hopefully catch him wherever he went. they were around waist height too, so he couldn’t duck, but rosalind had never expected them to hit. they were a little distraction to buy her time, and using it, rosalind darted quickly to the right, blade in tierce. come get me, kitty cat. the mouse always gets away.
Khaos Dionysus Sanguini
The stream of fire dissipated as the hand returned to the sword. The red hot floor where Mina had once took glistened from the attack. The had anticipated her quick reaction hence why he'd endangered he so much. The crowd loved it, cheers were breaking out from every direction. People adored watching and betting on the danger that both were in. Gosh it was quite fucked up.
Khaos spun to keep Mina in his vision watching her every move. The woman had a fierce look in her eyes. One that was calculating and filled with determination. Even with the odds stacked against her, she was still holding out hope. The glint in her eyes fueled his rage. The strength in his bones made it clear if he engaged now, he could over-power her easily: force her back, knock her sword from her hand, force her to surrender. That wouldn't be entertainment though. The crowd wanted to see a fight, something close and one they could bet on. It was his job to give it to them.
Tiny sharp needles flew at him. Two high but the third he didn't see. The first two flew over his head as he ducked. A tiny pain pieced his arm. A quick glance showed him he'd been hit by the third. Without reacting, anger fueled him. How dare she actually succeed in such a harmless attack. The needle hadn't pierced too deep into his arm, he threw his sword to the arm that was pierced and used the free hand the pull out the pin. Once it was out it left a small hole in his arm that bled slightly. The bloodied pin was dropped to the floor.
Khaos tossed his sword back to his dominant hand. The stabbing of the pin reminded him of his brother being stabbed. The rage and the anger seeped into his bones slowly. The crowd wanted a show and he wanted to force Mina to surrender. His vision blurred as his mind imagined Taja's face on Minas, imagining he was fighting the snake responsible for his brother's death.
The leg shaking showed weakness. He couldn't tell if it was from burns or exhaustion. All he knew was that the shaking meant he had an upper hand. His grip on his sword tightened as he pushed forwards to engage in a series of blocks and attacks of their blades. The intensity of the crowd grew as they cheered, screamed, and chanted over the sounds of clashing metal.
༉‧₊˚. rosalind rostova.
fighting ring; a fight between mina and khaos.
rosalind parried, and parried again. she had once considered leaving her blade in seconde as it was easy to parry from there, but it was also easy for khaos to beat her blade and attack her - and there wasn’t much she could do about that, so she was glad she had stuck with common sense and stayed in tierce. naturally, she could have stayed in the en garde position for foil or epee, but rosalind chose to fight in a sabre stance. a sword fight is not fencing, and this she knew, but she didn’t care. sabre was close enough to actual sword fighting that it sometimes helped to surprise her opponent with the occasional through-cut or flêche.
she was quite surprised one of her needles actually hit khaos, but that meant that he was even more bloodthirsty and the look in his eyes read ‘you are done for’. rosalind thought so, too. the needle had enraged the man in front of her, and whilst finding its target alright, it may or may not have been a suicidal move. well, rosalind didn’t have enough time to test out that theory, so hoping was the best she could do. if it had been suicidal… well, she would see, and very shortly.
carte. tierce. prime. septime. circular sixte. parry upon parry was being made, yet rosalind made no attempt to repost - not when she knew it would likely be suicidal. she knew khaos was like her - good at defence - and a parry and repost would be both too much effort and useless. however, it felt like everything she did was what he wanted her to do, so she purposefully switched some parries around just to confuse him, whirling into his blade each time for extra confusion. in a desperate attempt to block one of his attacks, she swept up his blade from septime - or was it octave? rosalind had no idea - and attempted a through-cut, though she didn’t expect it to result in much.
i fence too much, she decided. all of her tactics and moves were unfortunately all fencing moves, and the minute khaos picked that up she would know, and she would also know that she was completely gone. but for now, he remained puzzled due to her constant switch of tactic and unwillingness to attack. rosalind preferred fencing over actual fighting as there was less damage done, but the adrenaline and energy in a fight could never be replaced by a quick fencing match, even if it was sabre, the fast one. she had always been more of an epee person, though, and it was her fencing epee like foil and sabre that put off her opponents, the same way her fighting like she was fencing put off khaos. or at least, she hoped it did.
for what seemed to be the fiftieth time, rosalind backed away. retreat, retreat, retreat. but this time, she knew what she was doing, or at least she hoped she did. a distance trap - very common in sabre, but hopefully khaos wouldn’t expect her to set one up in the arena. she backed off, making him chase after her. and once he got a march on against her, that was when the true magic started. so for now, rosalind just kept running away.
