Anna steps aside as Bezaleel leads the outsider god to the arena himself. She wasn't really much of a fighter but it seemed a lot of gods were more accustomed to violence than she. She hangs back for a while and watches Theadeacus's efforts to avoid making a stress mess and chuckles softly. When it seemed he was calm she hobbled over and spoke quietly with him.

"I have a pretty good idea I know what you're thinkin'," she says reassuringly. "I mean, you're Deekin, the god of death! Trust me, it's not as bad as it sounds. I'll explain everything real soon, okay? No more secrets... well, a reduced number of secrets. A responsible quantity of unknowns!"

She offers a hand to him so that they could walk together to the arena, confident that his necrotic contact decay power ability is nullified in the buoy.

Bezaleel's gaze drifted from Theadeacus, turning infront of him. His shoulders lowered some and his tail didn't sway quite as much. Maybe it was a guilty consciousness, feeling more responsible than Anathema for how Theadeacus took it all.

After all, looking at what he said. He already knew the implications of his actions. Sighing Bezaleel waved a hand to the others as he guided Ulfur to the arena.

Standing in it, Bezaleel stretched and jumped around full of agility. Cracking his neck he grabbed his kusari-gama and took stance. "Ready when ever you are."

OOC: I'll leave Empress to dictate the fight and outcome of the actions we take.

"A dream? An interesting thought, though one with perhaps concerning implications. Never the less, from what I have seen thus far, I do not think it has any bearing on whether either tree is more 'real' than the other. The reality of a thing seems to have little to do with whence it came."

Petra turned to address Anathema directly. "Hello Lady Anathema, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. This 'science' you speak of is intriguing. Perhaps even more so than these gentlemen's impending duel, though only just."

Anathema curtsies as Petra finds an opportunity to greet her. "Haha, please no formality. Anna is just fine!" She chuckles happily. "Well, science isn't really all that different from just trying to figure out how the world works normally save for a little extra rigor in the statistics. But if you're as curious to know more about this other-trees business as I am then I'd be happy to have you on board!" She glances to the side. "Soon as the boys stop flexing, of course. Though I can see why that would be interesting too..."

Anna's visible eye flicks up to the light-shadowed goddess' ears. "Those're some very impressive flappers you have up there. Can you fly with those? It looks like you ought to be able to fly with those!" She has to resist giving them an investigatory stroke... or two...

As they walk to the arena together, Anna realizes Ulfur seems to be expecting to spar with her as well. "Ah, I am afraid I'll have to decline a match," she says, flapping a hand like she's trying to fan away the suggestion. "This dress is mortal-worked, we'd tear it to pieces. Plus, I'm not much of a fighter. You'd think the savior of the tree would be a total badass but it was just a fluke, anyone could've done it."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:03, Wed 30 Jan 2019.

"N-no... I cannot fly." Petra eyed Anna curiously as her ears were accosted, though she did not pull away.

"I do find myself quite curious about the nature of the universe, both from curiosity and recent events. So I would be very happy to participate in any efforts to learn more."

She followed after the others towards the arena. "I agree that it can wait, however. I am curious about this duel as well."

Bezaleel looked up at Anathema as his ears twitched and one flopped foward, "Not anyone could have done it. Nor did anyone else. It was just you who did." he smiled up at her.

"Wear it with a bit pride my friend. Besides, it is pretty hot being a badass, I can feel the heat from here" he formed a fan of shadow and waved it at himself, winking at her teasingly.

The fan fell apart into emphereal shadow-stuff dripping to the ground as he released it. Looking back at Ulfur, still ready to start.

OOC: I'm here, I'm here.

The Arena was a powerfully magical area, now that the Buoy had been restored to its original condition. While by default it would serve as an ordinary room, it could also respond to the wishes of the combatants, becoming a pocket space a mile in radius with variable terrain in order to prevent collateral damage to the buoy.

As the challenger, Bezaleel had the right of choosing the terrain and time-of-day.

As the challenged, Ulfur had the right of choosing the weapons and abilities that could be used - major powers, minor powers, artifacts, magic of a specified level, and summons are the categories the arena understood.

Once those were agreed upon, the pocket space would be created and the battle would commence, being view able through a number of scrying fountains near the arena room.

The arena also understood betting and handicaps. Betting would be officiated through Dondarion, and viewing of the match within the pocket space. Souls, Essence, and Favors were the currencies that could be used as bets.

Odds stood at 2:1 in favor of Bezaleel with no handicaps in play and neutral terrain.

Bezaleel tapped his chin as he thought on what terrain. Figuring that Ulfur may use his picks to his advantage Bezaleel decided he would do the same.

Picking a dense overgrown forest at night with a low moon.

"No summoning", stated Ulfur to begin, not even sure what that might entail, and even as he watched the Buoy transform the space to a low-lit undergrowth, "No magic, no artifacts. Any powers..."

Laughing, he added one further clarification, "No eating one's opponent either"

Bezaleel smiled, rolling his shoulders, "Got it. No summoning, no artifacts, and no magic. Any powers. My kind of fight."

Giving a fanged smile, he pulled his scarf up. The shadows wrapping around Bezaleel as he fell into the brush.

Letting Bezaleel fade into the shadows, as he expected he might, Ulfur remained where he stood for a moment, his form rippling with damascene swirls. Idly, he wondered if he should have placed a bet before the contest begun, and if so, who on?

[Private to GM: Activate his Shroud defensive power immediately; if I can, have it take the form of damascene steel, so less visible]

First things first then, he considered, moving off into the brush himself even as he attempting to bring forth a trio of pyroclastic explosions to level the undergrowth in the direction Bezaleel had vanished; if his theories on his own magic and the suppression of the Buoy worked as he hoped, they would clear the cover and the magma that followed would ensure the rest caught flame and made for sufficient chaos that an ambush would be ... complicated

[Private to GM: Activate his Eruption offensive power, at least twice since he wants to test the recharge on it]

Now, the final test, was whether he might bring forth the Dream

[Private to GM: Attempt to Activate the Loup-Garou power of Ulfur Karauntii; expecting this to fail]

Bezaleel assumed his wraith form, flying high in the growth, taking a circled motion around to Ulfur. Ready to raise a wall of hardening shadows to hold off any ranged attacks and defend himself early.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:20, Thu 31 Jan 2019.

Theadeacus recovered, slowly but surely, and turned his attention to the arena projections. He was surprised if he were to be honest. The terms of the fight have equalized the field of battle but Bezaleel wasn't known for dragging out fights; he'd expected Ulfur to be unconscious by now.

Perhaps there was more to this new god. Or maybe Bezaleel had changed.

OOC: Please post your actions in the thread I've created for this duel.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:20, Thu 31 Jan 2019.

Anna smiles at Bezzy's reassurances, giving him a quick peck on the cheek with her cool, shiny lips. "Good luck!" she says, waving enthusiastically as he steps into the arena grounds. She signals to the beacon that she wants to put a hundred souls on Bezaleel. She's not really a gambling person, but the odds seemed fair and Anna wanted to support her little brother.

She seats herself on a railing, crossing her legs and folding her hands demurely in her lap as she looks back to Petra. "Well, since you seem pretty new to this whole gods thing -- don't worry about that by the way, it took me quite a while too -- I guess I should start with what this Blight thing you're probably wondering what the butts we keep talking about is. It takes a bit of explanation so here's the one-oh-one!

We live on a vast world tree called Taeltresin. The tree is kind of a metaphor but it manifests as a tree in what we perceive to be reality. It has branches, and fruits, and seeds, and roots. On the world tree, our reality is. But there's a whole existence outside the world tree which we call the Beyond, where our reality isn't. Sometimes creatures from Beyond infiltrate the tree, causing sickness and corruption. No one I've spoken to knows why they do this, not even the Pantheon, but I've formed a few theories. The pantheon just says they're incomprehensible assholes, but I think that's quitter talk!

The Blight was a particularly bad infection. Instead of being like a virus, it was more like a parasite; it rooted deep into the tree, turning its own power against it, and so was able to spread faster, more insidiously, and more resiliently than ever before. The tree's greatest warriors and scholars didn't appreciate the difference until they had already lost. Innumerable realms went dark, corrupted or subsumed into the Beyond. Creatures from Beyond -- we call them the Mad -- prowled the branches of the tree as twisted abominations, only partially implemented into reality as we understand it. Taeltresin was in a bad state.

But just when all hope seemed lost, Taeltresin began to immunize. With the last of its energy it birthed several new gods and realms -- those you've met here in this drifting buoy -- who were resistant to the Blight. We reclaimed several key fonts of the tree's power, rescued the pantheon, and eventually defeated the center of the Blight's presence on the tree. There were several hard battles that I did my best to stay on the periphery of, but in the end circumstance conspired to see that I struck the final blow. The story of what happened when I did is something I want Bezzy to be here for, but the short version is... I absorbed the Blight. Part of it, anyway."

She coughs softly. "Near as I can tell, travel between trees is all but impossible. If you really are from another tree, you'll be the first I've ever heard of!"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:32, Fri 01 Feb 2019.

Petra listened to Anna's explanation with interest, her ears swaying to and fro as she nodded at the appropriate points.

"Perhaps... Perhaps the trees we perceive are merely branches of a yet greater tree? Perhaps I should pay Myriad a visit again and ask her..."

The talk of the blight was of particular interest, and concern. "This... 'blight'. Could you tell me how to look for it? I do not think Myriad suffers from such a thing, but you say that it was particularly insidious, so..." Petra shrugged.

"As for how you stopped it. You say you absorbed the blight? That sounds... dangerous, and costly. But I'm sure it was necessary. Hopefully it will be unique as well." She smiled.

"I suppose it's possible, but somehow I doubt it," Anna says offhandedly. "Such a model would raise more questions than it answers." She momentarily considers whether it is noteworthy that Petra can apparently converse with her tree whenever she likes, but on further thought she realizes it's not that dissimilar to what Taeltresin gods do in Noor all the time. She'll definitely want to make a stop there sometime.

"Look for oily gray mists," Anna suggests, "or creatures whose only purpose seems to be to mess with your realm in particular. Technically the mists are a symptom; they're not present in realms that have been completely corrupted. In Arthos, my viese -- a small, winged people -- were being systematically driven to extinction by a race of cat monsters. Made it a bit awkward when I first met Bezzy, haha! In any event though if Myriad were under attack there should be no doubt."

Anna shrugs dismissively at Petra's concerns. "I don't think anyone else would have thought twice about simply destroying it, but I was in a unique position and I took advantage of it. It's opened a lot of doors. I don't regret it."

"Ah, apologies, I misunderstood." Petra turned her eyes to the unfolding battle for a moment.

"This talk of dreams... It worries me. I don't fear that it might make Myriad less real, but if I, and Forterra, are a dream, it begs the question: who is the dreamer?" She hugged her arms over her stomach. "Forterra, my home, is an idyllic place. It's wars and conflicts are so far in the past that they are but a vague memory even to me. To dream of such a place so vividly that it becomes real... I fear that such a dreamer may be in the midst of terrible strife..." She fell silent for a moment.

"It worries me..."

The field returning to normal, Bezaleel stood over Ulfur's unconscious body. His wraith form's fire and shadow flickered around as his eyes tightened for a moment.

Landing on his feet he switched back to normal. His hand glowed with a dull grey light. Channeling the positive energy slowly to heal himself back to full health.

When he finished he crouched over on the side of Ulfur, and put his hand on his chest, beginning to heal him as well. Slapping Ulfur in the face a couple times to wake him up as he healed him. "Rise n shine magma boy. You lost, but you fought well. Maybe next time we'll do a straight fight instead of blowing yourself up?"

Standing up he offered a hand, as Ulfur went to take it he turned it ethereal so he would stumble down. Grabbing the back of his arm and helping him up before he completely fell. "Sorry, gotta have fun where I can take it." he smiled.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:13, Wed 13 Mar 2019.

Letting the healing energies suffuse him, Ulfur contemplated the fight and its outcome. He even let the Shadow God slap him around a bit as he did; they had earned that much - that and the prank where a man of the mountain would have let the solidity of their aid show the truth of their trust. But Bezaleel's nature was that of a fish, slippery and needing to be tickled to where you wanted them, so he took the pratfall with grace

When he stood, under his own power, he smiled to show no hard feeling, "I promise not to blow myself up, if you promise a stand-up fight, eh? No fighting from the shadows. With the shadows"

Nodding at the spectators, he hoped that even with his loss he had provided a sufficient demonstration that any incursion into his Realm would be costly. He had yet to have a feel for how internecine the struggles between any of them might become

Instead, he returned his attention to Bezaleel, "Now ... We have fought, we should speak ... of the rebel half-shade who made their way to my Realm, of incursions into your own and, in time, of gifts and emissaries"

Bezaleel put his hands behind his head, "That may be a lot to ask, I am the shadows after all." he stuck his tongue out as he joked. "A squared up, knock em down fight? I'm all for it next time."

Bezaleel's eyebrow raised as he was curious on the existence of a half-shade as well as the fact one got out. "Half-Shade? Invaded your realm? That does not sound good. I hope they did not cause you trouble. I assure you, I sent no such mortal or any out of my own realm. It is a haven for those who are forgotten and forsaken. Those who have lost their lives to find a second one in undeath or for others to be welcomed into the shadowy lands of the eternal night no matter there backgrounds. I leave most of my mortals to their own devices and means. I only see to the more important matters. The laws and rules of my land are made by those who inhabit it. They make their own lives in Erebus..."

"Tell me, is this half-shade still alive? I would wish to know how he went about leaving the realm exactly. It would be most troublesome if the mindless undead slipped from my grasp and ran about devouring what ever they wish. It should be quite hard for mortals to leave via the portals that naturally occur. They are typically one way."

Then Bezaleel's face and tone dropped as he moved to the other point of conversation Ulfur wanted to make. "Incursions into my own? I've but one notable incursion to happen. I have been promptly dealing with the source of that. If you wish to traverse my realm, or have some mortals with you or by themselves. I do not mind. I only ask that you be mindful of your place inside my realm as well as the order of things there. How ever if you have knowledge of a second incursion that has happened or will, I would be most appreciative to hear of it."

Laughing, Ulfur acknowledged the riposte about being the shadows, letting his mirth fade as the talk turned to more serious matters

"His name was Kral, called the Twice-Blessed. He was half-shade, half-Aso, though of your Realm I'm led to believe", and Ulfur's humour faded entirely, as he looked somewhat sheepish, "He was immolated. By me. I had had a bad morning... Perhaps his rebellion was in becoming ... less forsaken, redeemed? I would welcome such in my Realm, were they to ask"

Considering for a moment, Ulfur was careful with his words, "I have taken one under my protection, a pilgrim-hero raised to a demigod. She walks between the Realms, a herald for me now. Before, she gathered those unhappy with their circumstances. Waifs and strays. Her need was that I slumbered. Dreamt. Of the other tree, whose influence had my shadow crimson when I first came to the Buoy. Whilst I slept a Goddess harvested my Realm, my people. Gethu. Do you know of her? She claimed such richs under the name of the Pantheon; I must now seek an introduction to find out the truth of the matter, challenge it. But softly... I have taken one of her lives; I would claim a second, in bondage, not fire, for her to right the evils she has inflicted."

Pausing once more, his next words were soft to match Bezaleel's own, "Ah. You misunderstand. It has been suggested that I visit your Realm, entreat with you on behalf of those ... subjugated. Perhaps learn from you, much as we spoke about before we fought. Though it may be that others of the Pantheon, or claiming to act in their name, try to claim some tithe from you as they have me. Was that the invasion you faced?"

Bezaleel was now more curious, "Half-Aso? I feel like me and Theadeacus must have a discussion now. I am sorry to hear of his demise. He was not mine to call his fate upon. He was brought up while I slept. I would be careful in raising status upon those who you do not know have fealty to you or not. Or if it comes at a whim."

He waved his hand slightly, "Maybe she is just looking for others she can relate to, find a greater purpose in her actions and raise herself along with them. I know of no Gethu, as far as I know the Pantheon itself under Vex does not claim anyone's realms unless you would pose to agress them openly and have with violence and undermining. That is my assumption at least. A tithe however not an invasion. Has occurred. It is to bring back a fighting force of the Pantheon. Those who do not wish to be part of my realm and the fate they were given, I turn to the tithe and Pantheon to avoid my mortals being taken. I do not agree with it. Anathema herself over there had refused if once. You were sleeping and they had not known you. I imagine a tithe on the land was a natural thing for them to take. Tch." his voice sounded more and more aggitated when he spoke about it.

"You can talk to them in the valley divine. Have them returned to you most likely. I would suggest that you create new mortals to trade places with those you lost. That way you do not tip negatively on their scales. Associate with them if you feel like it. They are not exactly welcomed openly by us. If I were to give you my own opinion it would be indifferent. I am stilling sizing up each member and understanding them as different people. Until then, they are an ally when needed, to be kept at arms length. But not an enemy to made of."

Bezaleel rubbed his head some. "My apologies for being misunderstanding your meaning though. If you would like to come to my realm, you are welcome to. If you would want an introduction to the Pantheon, I can grant you one as well."

Waving a hand to follow him he walked to the map in the hub so they can traverse to the Valley of Banners.

Listening carefully to Bezaleel's words, Ulfur considered how he might respond. He pursed his lips, thoughtful, then nodded once, "Perhaps I might request an introduction, then. Clear up whatever misunderstanding has occurred. Ensure I understand the nature of the tithe required and it's purpose..."

Anna had been listening to the two fighty boiz chitchat, smiling genially and taking a backseat. She straightened up some at hearing her name. "Yes indeed! They were so cruel to my little brother, I couldn't trust their judgement anymore."