The battle raged on. By Serek's estimate the night was nearly over. The advantage offered by the Night of the Hunt was dwindling, soon his guise would be fighting on an even playing field. Occupied as the God of Blood was, he had no way of knowing how the conflict across Reket had fared. He didn't have the luxury of giving it thought now, distraction could easily spell death in this battle.

Calling up a globule of blood from behind Graug, Serek managed to pull it forward to batter the back of her head, then melt forward to subsume her helmet. It did not last long, between the god of war grabbing swiping it again and giving a great snort of air that blew it in every direction, the blood did not last long, but it allowed Serek to get in a blow. The sharp edge of Ryūketsu dragged along Graug's heavy armor and sent out a shower of sparks across the battlefield, but only managed to find a small gap in the armor to lightly graze Graug's upper arm. Still, that wound trickled freely.

Across the horizon the glow of the sun grew brighter and the sun rose higher and higher. The two warring gods continued their exchange of blows. Incrementally it was becoming clear that Graug was going to be the victor of this fight. The god of war's physical prowess overshadowed Serek to such a degree there was just no chance of beating her in a head to head battle. More concerning, the god of war hadn't displayed any divine powers, she'd strictly been relying upon her physical prowess.

Movement appeared at the edges of the arena. A handful of mortals appeared. They were the hulking inhabitants of Reket. More appeared on the western side of the arena, then to the north, then the south. Soon they fully encircled the battlefield. Many of them bore wounds, some had crudely patched cuts, others were missing an eye or a hand, but there were still a great many of them. What had become of Serek's assault team? It was a question that Serek didn't have the luxury of answering. The only thing that Serek could tell in this moment was that this was a bad open.

Serek had to tune his focus on only the battle infront of him, yet questions wanted to spiral around his head of his mortals. Especially once many of Graug's came forth from the woods. What had become of the Guise? Were they all defeated? Shaking the thoughts from his head, Serek continued to think of his current duel with Graug. As things were now, Serek had no way of winning, it would take ingenuity to overcome it or walk away alive.

Pulling at the blood around him, Serek brought it against his flesh and up to drink. For a moment the bleeding wounds halted for as he consumed the spilt ichor he collected from Graug. The God of War was just that an embodiment of war in many aspects. A frightening thing when honed to this level of skill and strength. His own constitution and will to fight was what had saved him yet. There seemed to be little hope for victory in a this bout.

Yet, while fleeing was an option on the God of Blood's table, giving up just yet was not. They had honed their body to such a degree, yet he wondered how much they had honed their mind? A challenge he had yet to see displayed as he delayed Graug from it with his own challenge, trying to beat them at their own game.

Graug had yet to display their powers if there weren't any flowing through her currently. They would probably be as strong if not stronger than her. Sending his talons forth at Graug from behind, he aimed a borrowed power true as he defended her focused assault. Serek's other moves were inconsequential towards her, so he hopped that this one was not.

Serek's options had yet to be cut further, however this would decide the match for him finally. Rather than focus on defense, he would switch to offense. Blocking strike after strike, Serek loosened all of the sutures around his body. Waiting for the right strike from Graug, allowing it to pass through his body and minimize the damage by separating it momentarily. Powering through any pain as he feinted a fatal blow upon himself, the God of Blood dashed closer to her as he did. Pulling all of his strength and momentum to whirl the scythe from underneath, bringing the haft up as the blade arced behind her. Aiming at her head cleanly. This strike would not slick off her helmet as the other did on Graug's arm, preparing to cut cleanly through the defense of her blade and armor. It was an Infallible Strike, one granted from Antiok. Readying to Bloodlet the wound as he pulled the blade out, allowing Ryūketsu to further the heaviness of the blood spilling forth from the war goddess. Continuing forward, he slide around Graug, pulling as much of the ichor to coat the sanguine blade as he freed it. Ready to attack with the blood or consume again, Serek prepared himself to defend an antogonized onslaught. Unsure of what powers laid dorment within the beast if he provoked them at all.

Incidental Power: Infallible Strike used up.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:52, Wed 10 Aug 2022.

Drawing upon his borrowed divine power, Serek reinforced his blade with weighty blood. Then when the moment was right, he swung with all his might. Ryūketsu hissed through the air towards Graug's head. Guided by a divine hand, the blade found a perfect chink in the God of War's armor and Serek felt the blade sink in firmly where the helmet met her chest plate. Pulling loose the blade, blood began to flow freely down the front of Graug's chest and the god of war reeled back a few paces punch-drunk from the blow. It was the first truly meaningful blow Serek had landed upon her. (-3 HP)

Then she began to laugh.

Starting as a faint tremor, it grew and grew till all of Graug was shaking from the deep belly laugh. "You might be some sport after all!" The God of War said, deep pleasure evident in her voice. Reaching up a hand she wiped the blood from the seam of her armor, though more simply bubbled up to replace it. Then the God of War lunged forward again.

She did not swing her blade this time and the change of tactics caught Serek off guard. Instead she grabbed him, her fingers were like steel bands as they closed on his shoulder. They plucked up the god of blood as easily as a child would a doll, then she slammed him into the ground, and again, and again. Dust began to fill the air while the ground cracked and buckled, a new crater carved out, this time with Serek's own body.

Graug finally released him by spiking Serek into the earth. (-2 HP)

Graug 7/10 HP

Landing a definite blow on Graug, Serek did not grow complacent. He didn't find their laughter unsettling, infact it felt right all things considered with the God of War. Though the sentiment of pleasure wasn't wasted on him. This fight was an uphill battle with the power of a mountain, it made his blood beat faster than his heart. Excitement and fear of death mixed into his ichor as he staked his very life on the line, fighting his first true battle and possibly the hardest yet that he held the slim chances of winning. "I doubt that. Though you might be a worthy prey after all."

Prepared to meet Graug's blade again, Serek was taken aback as she grasped his shoulder tightly. Without time to react properly, they gripped him tighter than a vice as she flung him through the air and repeated to bash him into the ground. All Serek could do was try and match the paces of the blow to not wind himself or allow more damage. As he was spiked down into the newly formed crater, his body didn't bounce from the force. Letting out sighs of pain that had thundered through his bleeding body and rattled his bones, Serek swallowed them down. Calling back his winged armed, Serek pulled himself up and leapt back through the dust, flapping his wings against the air and distanced himself from the God of War.

Pulling at his blood, liquid strands stretched around the field as they collected the spilt and free flowing ichor. Focusing on gorging the divine sanguine fluids to revitalize himself as Serek continued to beat his wings in the dusty air, keeping away from the battle on the ground. The God of Blood would withhold the vial from Ch'ich Āmēyal-li as a last resort, if it even survived their clashes. Staying ready to defend from a throw, strike, or leap, Serek held some mobility advantage within the sky if she joined him above the ground. Though he could not afford to underestimate her speed.

Dawn was approaching signaling the close end to the Night of the Hunt. The moonlight shined against Graug's armor, an armor Serek would have to fray from the God of War if he wanted to properly injure them. Gathering his freely flowing blood, Serek continued to retreat towards the edge of the arena, closing the distance to Graug's injured mortals as he faced her, trying to prepare for another engagement. To Serek, this war was not to see who was right, but who was left and all was fair in a fight to the death.

Morning had already fully arrived, Graug's mortals hadn't shown up till the Night of the Hunt had ended. Seeing the assembled mortals as another potential tool to be used, Serek tried to retreat to the edge of the arena. That was when he discovered an alarming fact. When he tried to withdraw more than a few dozen paces from Graug it was as though he encountered a wall. It was not solid, he could try to push through it, but it would impede him enough that with Graug attacking it would surely come with grevious injury. It seemed he'd discovered one of Graug's divine powers.

Divine Power Known: No Quarter - Someone engaged with Graug cannot retreat. (They can, technically, but pushing through the divine impediment is enough of a barrier it would leave one relatively defenseless.)

"No changing your mind now," Graug said, the smile hidden behind her helmet coming through clearly enough in her voice. She must have sensed her divine power pressing back against Serek.

This fight suddenly became that much more dangerous as it became clear that once Graug was engaged then one was forced to fight on her terms. It cut down a number of strategies that could otherwise have been employed. Hit and run tactics, range, even maintaining distance was difficult. This divine power ensured that Graug forced fights to play to her strengths. Abandoning the realm entirely might still yet be possible, or opening a portal to bring further assistance.

As Serek was grappling with this new information Graug landed another blow with her great two handed sword squarely in Serek's side. (-2 HP)
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:26, Sat 13 Aug 2022.

Serek's back was slammed as it pressed against a divine barrier, a power Graug employed that kept him closer than he liked to the hulking muscled warrior. Anything that the God of Blood could do about it would leave him too open, an unfitting end to the fight. Yet the damage was already done as his mind paced with the information and how to handle it. The God of War's great blade slammed into him as it whipped through the air past Serek's defenses. Spitting up blood from the wound, Serek shot it onto Graug's helmet with intent like venom from his beak. "I tire of this."

Serek didn't hesitate as Graug pulled the blade through to reenter a stance for attack or defense. Activating the second gift given to him, an incidental power granted by Annastarria, using Contemplation. Pulling his only vial from the Bloodspring, Serek splashed it over himself quickly bathing himself in the renewing fluid. +5hp Grasping all of his blood and that he could off of Ryūketsu, Serek coated Graug's armor and seethed it through her armor working to expell the defenses and slow the God of War. If the ability worked, Serek approached her back quickly as he removed the helmet. Sliding the sanguine blade at the bleeding gap of her neck, putting a hoove in the center of the back. Driving down his beak into the expossed neck, tearing at the vessels and muscles as he devoured IT. As he did, the bloody divinity kicked the massive body forward while pulling Ryūketsu back through the Graug with as much strength his wounded body could muster, a paling effort in comparison to what his foe could muster.

If it hadn't worked, Serek would need to gather reinforcements or leave quickly. Opening a portal was an option, there were few options on where and Shezmu was not one he wanted to expose to this beast of war.

Regaining much of his spent vigor from a vial of rejuvenating blood from the Blood Spring, Serek called upon the second power gifted to him by one of his fellow gods. The power from the god of eternity struck Graug and the god of war faltered. Reeling on her feet she clutched at her head as divine power sent her into a stupor. It created an opening for Serek. Lunging forward he pried off the god of wars helmet, it wrenched free to send a cascade of red hair tumbling down. The God of War, despite her mannerisms was actually attractive in solid, stern featured sort of way. With a newly created opening, Serek tore at her exposed neck with his beak. He tasted of divine blood and it was a far more satisfying meal than the thin vitality of a mortal (+2 HP to max for Serek) (-1 HP Graug)

Pulling herself upright, Graug threw Serek away like a pebble. Wobbling on her feet, the god of war pulled the silver spear loose from her back and hurled it at Serek. It flew wide and posed little danger of hitting him. Shaking her head vigorously, the god of war drove back the intrusive thoughts. Her eyes regained their focus and settled on Serek. Then she raised a hand and snapped her fingers. Serek wasn't sure what was coming until he felt himself knocked forward a step. Looking down, the silver spear was protruding from his left leg and impaled into the earth. It seemed it had returned to find its mark. (-1 HP)

Stuck to the earth from the silver spear impaling him, Serek wasn't able to dodge as Graug marched up and brought down her mighty two handed sword in a sweeping overhead blow. It struck Serek with enough force to send a wave of dust out in all directions. A less hardy god would have been dead. Serek's tough hide spared him that fate, but it was still a crushing blow by the standards of what he'd taken so far. (-3 HP)

The borrowed powers that Serek had brought with him had allowed him to land several blows he may not have otherwise. They had helped to offset some of Graug's overwhelming presence, but the bag of tricks was now spent. They were back to exchanging blows and stuck in close quarters combat. The odds were not in Serek's favor.

Graug 6/10

Stripping flesh from Graug and having removed their helmet, Serek was sent flying easily from the stupered divinity. The God of War did not take long to gather themselves from the last of the God of Blood's aces. With the spear piercing through the back of Serek's leg, he was pinned to the earth without enough time to free or pry himself. The rush of pain arched through his hardy body as it absorbed the impact of the massive overhead strike.

Holding Ryūketsu tightly with a pair of arms the others stretched forward pointing to the ground between the pair of divinities. Opening underneath them a portal to Shezmu. Manipulating his bleeding ichor to remove the silver spear as it coated the divine weapon. An armorment most likely made of essence or garnered from Lenacles considering their crafting potential.

Falling through the portal, Serek aimed to pull Graug with him. "I am done here. If you want to finish this, then come meet your death."

A portal opened with a hum and flash of divine power. With Graug's great strength there was little hope of dragging the God of War through against her will. Working the silver spear free with his blood, Serek retreated towards the portal. Graug made no move to stop him. "See you soon, little bird." Graug said and flashed a cool smile.

Returning Serek to Shezmu

"Serek." the God of Blood gazed at Graug with some respect. "You are formidable. An amusing battle while it lasted."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:06, Sun 14 Aug 2022.

Another portal opened in Reket and Serek stole through. It had only been a scant few moments since he'd been forced to retreat from the battle with Graug. This time he was not coming seeking conflict, but answers. He began to search across Reket.

The hunt started at the villages, there he found a number of bodies strewn across the fields. Reket mortals, giant beasts and guise, all were intermixed in the muck. There were a number of losses on both sides, it seemed the battle had been hard fought. But this was only a part of an answer. Sticking to the undergrowth, Serek found tracks that were leaving the village and he followed them. They eventually took him close to another of the Reket mortal hamlets. Here was a very similar scene, though the mortals in the village hardly seemed phased by the recent violence. Those he spied from a distance were living their lives much as when Serek had first spied them. Though now some of them had guise bodies hung up boulders and were throwing rocks at them for target practice.

Still, not an answer.

Searching further the lands were wild and the forests tangled. These were areas that the Reket mortals did not visit often. There Serek found his guise. They were in a clearing, many of them were missing and many of those who were there were wounded. Their once fine and polished armor was now discolored, bent and marked by the signs of battle. A handful of them even wore new forms, the mortal bodies of the Reket natives. The surviving fighters roused themselves as they saw their god return.

"Lord Serek!" they said, limping forward to meet him. "We... have failed you." They went on to recount the night. "It started quite well. In the dark with the beasts of the Night to set upon them we had an advantage. While the beasts were strange to us and quite dangerous as well, we know those Nights well. We may even won if it had gone longer," though on this point the warrior sounded more hopeful than genuinely convinced. "But then the sun rose. The beings here... they're monsters! Such strength! And wounds do not discourage them! We could stab one, but it would just keep fighting. They fight with the strength and ferocity of beasts, but move with the cunning of a pit fighter. They seem to bear no fondness for one another, but in a battle they fight side by side as though they have one mind. For every one of them we brought down during the day, we lost four of our own fighters." The warrior shuddered at the memory of the previous battle. "If it weren't for our metal weapons and armor we wouldn't have been able to meet them in the field at all."

From the story, it was just as Serek had discovered with Graug. This was a society was one that had specialized. It had worked only on advancing itself in warfare. Craftsmanship, culture, societal developments, all of these had been ignored. For these mortals war was their natural state. It was little surprise that in an even fight they had been near unbeatable.

Stalking through the realm carefully on the tracks to uncover the happenings of the Guise and their fight with the Reket mortals. It seemed the fights were not one sided but consisted of heavy loss for the Guise hunters compared to Graug's children. Going through the verdantly layered forests, Serek Eztli found what remained of his people. Listening to them, he brought forth a cask from the Bloodspring, offering it forth to cleanse their damage and sate their hunger. "Do not worry about failing to win outright my Guise. Let this remain a lesson to be learned to not be over confident and assured in our victory, to not underestimate our foe or think defeat wasn't a possibility. We must adjust our tactics and choices in battle according to how the battle is playing out. Let us learn from the blood soaked lessons we earned from War and let them help carry us forward. To a our next battle and into victory. For now we shall head to Shezmu! Share our tales of our new rivals and prey. Our new challenge to overcome and indulge in, let us work and forge ourselves to be stronger in the mastery of blood and flesh." The God of Blood hoped to help boost their moralle rather than injure it further, it was important to instill heart among them.

"Is this all that remains of our invasion forces, or should I continue to look for more to bring back?" depending, Serek Eztli opened a portal back to Shezmu for those gatherer around or waited to after going out to recover any other Guise.

"There may be others, when we had to retreat we took off wherever we could," shared one of the guise. Hunting across Reket, Serek would indeed find other survivors, whether singly or in small groups, the God of Blood put his skill at hunting to good use and tracked them down to the small corners they'd found themselves. In his skulking across Reket he found that the mortals of Graug were busying themselves. Clearing the battlefields, they were collecting the bodies of the guise and taking them away, though they seemed to have little regard for their own dead. These mortals seemed to have no rituals for honoring their dead, and really little else in the way of culture. But finding the answer to where the bodies were going was not Serek's current goal. He eventually was confident that he found all the guise who had survived.

The God of Blood could feel weariness settling upon him. He'd been quite busy this long era, leading his people on expeditions to foreign worlds and engaging in battles with other gods. Within Shezmu Serek would soon sleep.

Serek nodded to the Guise in understanding, "You did what you had to survive, that is okay. I will gather the rest."

Tracking across the realm of Reket, the God of Blood used his skills of the hunt keenly to locate any survivors. Confident that all the remaining Guise were found, Serek could feel the weariness on his divine form and essence begin to take hold. If he left this instance of Reket, there would only be slumber within Shezmu. Bringing all of the Guise together, Serek spoke plainly, "I fear that I will soon return to another slumber to restore my energies and meld with Shezmu once again. I will continue to remain here and keep a watchful eye on the brutish mortals. Their actions interest me as they have been gathering our dead. If I can, I will reclaim them if I can see what they plan. I shall say my final plans in Shezmu before my rest. For now treat your wounds both body and mind, gather yourself and make sure the Guise understand the enemy we now face. It is imparitve we grow to be prepared to meet their challenge and overcome it. Get some rest, you have earned it my children. Let the Herald of Blood know that we must prepare for war." Opening the portal through to Shezmu, Serek remained as he sent an instance through alongside his mortals.

Re-focusing himself on the happenings of the mortals of war and what they were up to with a cautious eye.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:20, Wed 24 Aug 2022.

Opening another portal the last of the guise were whisked away back to Shezmu and away from this terrible realm of unconstrained violence. Serek remained. He was not yet done with this place. His interest piqued, Serek followed after Graug's brutes to see what was being done with the bodies of the guise. This took him back to the center of the realm, there he found Graug was back upon her throne of bones, though the rest of the arena remained cratered and shattered, every shattered stone a testament to the battle that had unfolded between Serek and Graug. The large arena, reshaped as it was, still didn't provide any cover to approach without being seen. Hidden on its outskirts, Serek observed from the undergrowth.

The brutes were tossing the bodies of the guise into a careless pile at Graug's feel. It grew into a sizable heap until Graug seemed satisfied. Then the god of war climbed down from her throne and began to pluck up the bodies. In her gauntleted hands she began to fold, to stretch, to twist those bodies much like when Serek worked with his blood-steel. The first she planted into the earth. The next she shaped and fixed to the first, then the next to after that, gradually forming a solid line. Each body contorted and reshaped into a material rather than a person. Gradually a shape became clear. It was an archway. One formed of dozens upon dozens of guise bodies. As Graug wove the last one into place and completed the arch the interior filled with black light.

Graug cleaned the gore and visceral from her gauntlets by wiping them in the dirt, then she returned to her throne, evidently satisfied with her work. Several of the brutes who had been nearby trotted over curiously, then one stepped through the archway. Several heartbeats later he reemerged and spoke excitedly to the others with him, then they took disappeared through the gate.

Stalking through the underbrush just outside of the arena within the center of Bloody Fields of Reket, Graug's mortals gathered the dead Guise before her throne. There were plenty of fresh signs within that stood to mark their battles, however the pile of his dead children brought satisfaction to Graug. Peering curiously as his eyes narrowed, Serek witnessed the God of War shape the dead bodies into materials similar to his Hemocrafting. Then it took final shape as an archway, and humming within it a portal.

Taken by surprise, Serek's eyes widened as he came to a conclusion of what Graug had actually accomplished. She made a portal to Shezmu using his mortal children to connect the way. The mortals gathered, came and went excitedly as the path was made and safe.

Inaction now would do the Lord of Blood no good. Instead, he readied himself to go back into the fray of battle. This time he couldn't leave the bodies of his people behind. Serek needed to find a linear path through the brutish mortals to the gateway. Graug held advantage in both speed and strength but she still held wounds from their previous bout.

Circling around the arena for a good point to set off from, Serek bolted through the arena out of the brush. Focusing his blade through the mortals along his path and gathering what blood he could to rush tendrils over the bodies and carry them alongside him. If Serek could not retreat from another fight with Graug, he needed to gather fresh bodies and sanguine fluids before they engaged. The goal was to try and destroy this gateway at the least. If he could eliminate Graug's way to make another portal by retrieving his dead Guise, then they would be forced to either meet him in his realm while he now slept or await for him to open the way again. The God of War however would not let him act as he pleases.

Piecing together what he was observing, it suddenly became quite clear why Graug had been so willing to open up her own realm. She had a way to circumvent the natural barriers that kept gods out of one another's realm. It seemed Serek had discovered another of one of the God of Wars powers. It explained why she hadn't utilized more divine powers during their fight. Suddenly the promise made by the god of war seemed all too real.

Driven to action by the urgency of the situation -and while Serek slumbered in his realm no less!- the god of blood skulked about the edge of the arena to try to find the best point to approach. The gateway was not far from Graug's throne of bones. That meant he had to cross most of the arena to reach it. So be it. He took off.

Slashing through a few mortals on his way, they fell before him with ease. Serek charged towards the gate. But his approach hadn't gone unnoticed. He was only about halfway to the gateway when Graug reached him. Her superior speed and strength continued to be highly vexing when it came to physical confrontation. Even still bloodied from their previous fight, the god of war was an incredible foe.

"The little bird remains. You should be home now. Now I am teaching you the lesson you asked for," the god of war said through the helm she'd readorned. They met with enough impact to send out a fresh wave of dust. Graug this time did not swing a great blade, but grabbed Serek by the throat with a gauntleted hand. "Should visit your realm too. That was the sort of war you wanted to wage, yes?" With that Graug drew her arm back, Serek still firmly in hand, then hurled him forward. He flew several hundred feet, several tree trunk trunks shattered as his body met them. Luckily all this damage was superficial given how tough Serek's hide was. (-1 HP) Climbing back to his feet, Serek's quick mind quickly put together the reason for the attack. It was not to do damage. It was to create an opening. Far in the distance he caught a glimpse of Graug just as she passed through the gate.

The god of war was loose in Shezmu.

Another version of Graug appeared on the far side of the gateway. But already Serek could feel her presence in Shezmu, even as he slept.

OOC: Updating Shezmu now as well.

Serek cut through a few of the mortals barely making it halfway to the gate before Graug already clashed alongside him. Serek was grabbed by his throat rather than clashed against in arms and Graug spoke. Only receiving a strained reply from underneath her grip, "Can't blame a bird for trying." Bringing up the Sanguine Blade to retaliate, he was flung across the arena through trees. The damage was minor, yet as he shook it off and went to re-engage. It was obvious Graug's goal as she went through the portal.

Serek released a howling caw of frustration at his helplessness on the matter. He couldn't afford to let Graug roam free on Shezmu yet he slumbered within. Raising his scythe high, Serek turned his turmolate frustrations and angers out on any remaining mortals. Harvesting their lives and blood for his own. Bringing the accumulated blood into a massive blade to sever the arch to Shezmu. Turned loose within Reket, Serek's hooves imprinted on the dirt. "Run and hide or fight, it does not matter. In the end I will hunt you until you taste my wrath as I reap your life from your flesh and veins. If the lessons of war are blood, death, and destruction. Then tell me how the Lord of Blood fairs as I drain this world of every drop."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:04, Sat 27 Aug 2022.

Gods can be in two places at once. While Graug was invading Shezmu, she had not left Reket. She did not leap to intervene as the god of blood slew the nearest mortals in a fury, she seemed to have little regard for her mortals, but she did begin to close the gap between them. Step after step she approached. "Hunt? We are not hunting here, we are making war." Graug replied to Serek's speech. "If you wanted to hunt you've made a mistake. I am here to break bone, spill entrails, burn home and salt the earth." Graug informed the god of blood as she casually swung her massive blade in hypnotic swirls and closed the gap between them with her measured stride.

Serek let out a gutteral laugh within his blood-crazed fury, "Bare your fangs as deep as you can; break your bones, spill your guts, and I will rend your ways when I break those fangs."

Lowering himself, Serek prepared all of the blood he could alongside the blade of Ryūketsu. On guard now for another unarmed attack by Graug, Serek would not let his enemy grab him unimpeded a third time now, trying to grow accustomed to the mixture of hand to hand with their weapons. He did not put it past the beast to use both at once either.

As Graug speedily closed the distance, Serek dashed aiming to meet their blades against eachother. However, his counterattack to her efforts did not end there. Unleashing from his blade or haft with every strike was an out reaching blade or spike of blood, aiming for the armored god's vulnerable spots and to grip and tear off any pieces of armor. Graug's strength went unchallenged, and even his blood could not overcome it, using the sanguine fluids instead to retreat him with every recoil of his blade or grap. The moment Serek caused Graug harm again, he would Bloodlet the wound for more damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:07, Sat 27 Aug 2022.

Rejoined in battle, the clash between Serek and Graug began again. Much like the first time it a cataclysmic clash. Day turned to night and back again. There was no tenuousness in the battle this time. Both gods had stock of one another and were wise to the movements and style of the other. Serek managed to dodge a few more blows this time around, relying less on speed and more on his ability to predict them based on his observations, but Graug had a similar advantage and without any other gods tricks in his pocket the god of blood was struggling to land any meaningful blows upon the god of war. Graug was not struggling with that issue. When her blows landed they made the land tremble and shake. (-2 HP)

The fight in Reket was not in Serek's favor, he was steadily losing it. Of that he had no doubt. But this was only half the battle. Another fight was unfolding in another world.

Serek decided that playing too defensively was getting him nowhere. Within his realm, Graug unknowingly has Serek backed within his restorative corner. Serek needed to change his tactics to half-aggressive. Time passed freely as days came and went, their focus solely on eachother in the here and now. Clashing blades and figuring out each other's styles with observations. Serek no longer held the advantage of tricks up his sleeve. The only one he held now was the power Jezeleth provided him.

An ability that opened them up to amenable discussions the longer they were within each other's presence. Activating it, Serek kept his focus on the battle as is. Time would pass and remarks could fly. Serek's divine body was hardier than most, if any could survive this turmoil out of any of the gods, Serek believed it was him.

Yet while he had issues landing meaningful blows, Graug would make the earth tremble when she connected. If not for his powers and constitution, Serek would have fell like one of the trees did to her swing. This was only half of the battle though, and currently Serek had the opportunity to deliver decisive strikes with Ryūketsu.

Currently they had studied each other's forms quite well. Serek had one or two mistakes that Graug would capatilize on. All he had to do, was clash until another opening on his side gave way for Graug to attack. Splitting his body apart pre-emptively instead to let the blow swing through him as unharmed as he could allow. Serek followed just behind Graug's attack with the large blade from his scythe, coated in the flowing bloods, ready to expell themselves within the wound for more damage and to bloodlet any as he recovered from the attack. Serek needed to work with the opportunities granted in the fight and create openings to fall upon.

The half of the battle raging in Reket was going poorly for Serek. He had no advantage here. It was his speed, strength and skill of battle pitted against Graug, and the god of war was superior in all three measures. The long speech Serek gave in Shezmu was answered, in part, here. "Wars are not to protect, they are to destroy." Graug replied as she narrowly missed Serek and cleaved an eight foot deep gash into the earth. She seemed to contemplate his next statement a heartbeat longer. "Fighting a war alongside another god may be amusing. Perhaps one day." The metal booted kick she delivered to Serek's torso that sent him spinning and tumbling seemed to add 'but not today.'

Leaping through the air to close the gap, Graug brought her blade down onto Serek's chest and tore open another wound. (-2 HP) No the battle in Reket was not going well. It was fortunate that Serek had maneuvered the battle in Shezmu to a favorable position for him.

It was hard to measure precisely how long this battle had gone on. Did you measure by the days in Shezmu, or those of Reket? Did each passing second occur the same way from one world to the next?

"Why do I care what other gods think? They may try to avoid wars, yet you are my third war to wage. Fights are not hard to find, whatever the other gods may say." Some of the words were nearly lost to the crashing of stone and sound of tree roots rending as entire trees were knocked over. "You wish to make war against others? Who would you turn your blade on?" From Serek's many interactions with Graug now and his sharp insights, he knew that the god would respond best to a concrete name. A hypothetical foe was the same as no answer at all. If Serek intended to actual impress the god of war with his willingness to wage war, he'd have to declare his hostile intent regarding one of the gods he'd met so far during his new life.

Serek's fight here was more of a liability than he originally thought. However, he could not walk away from it, it was he who started this and Graug accepted. He would have to see it through to the end what ever outcome that follows may be. The God of Blood paled in comparison to Graug's skill, strength, and speed. Listening to his opponent as they fought, Serek was sent twirling through the air as an answer seemed to be delivered. Despite the damage, a smirk stretched from his beak. Graug was returning the chatter finally, even their blows seemed to be a response.

Yet it did not last long as Graug closed the distance and aptly carved another wound across Serek's white and bloody feathers. Words were lost as Reket ruptured under Graug's strength and their clash. "I am your third war?" Serek seemed to consider this carefully as he stalled to answer the other's question, knowing the importance and repercussions of its' answer. Bringing Ryūketsu up, Serek feinted the blood coating it to continue his strike as he changed the direction of the blade. "If Wars are to only destroy, than I truly doubt you do care what anyone else thinks or if they even live." Serek whirled his control of blood to surround them lightly as it spun in movement. "You don't question why or who stands at the edge of your blade, only that you deliver it. I shall remember this." Retreating deeper into the brush edge from the center arena as they clashed, Serek aimed to keep Graug moving or at least his body aimed that direction.

Giving a slightly mad laugh through the sounds of battle and the surrounding destruction, Serek continued, "Who would I turn my blade to destroy in War as you do, Lady Graug?" Serek was not quicker than his opponent, however if he could use any land to his advantage that was his aim. Moving in and out of the jungle terrains to keep his speed and power was something he was used to with acrobatic flairs. The forests lacked that kind of adversity, but when knocked to and frow it gave Serek options to traverse through. The God of Blood manipulated his blood to coat his form, then leave behind a shell of himself within.

"I fear that I would only have one target in mind currently, the killer of the God of Fire Jannik." Serek had no such ill intentions for any of his siblings, infact the one he had them with most was now Graug. Even then Serek reassed those, he was not Graug and he doubted the way he would carry War would ever be to the same extent that she does. Afterall he is the God of Blood and she is the God of War. The only reason they fought now was because he allowed Graug's boasts to goad him into it after he had asked to exchange knowledge or skill. Yet here those lessons were infront of him.

Serek smiled slightly, hoping his answer was good enough. Afterall he was serious, overcoming the Primordials was his goal to some extent. "Them and their siblings, and after fighting with them? Well, let's just say the only thing I fear about you is the set backs you've caused me in that War. Not that I didn't ask for these damned bloody lessons, its' price has just been a bit too steep. Not that you seem to care about your losses. War is do or die, all or nothing and I see that now."

Serek's awareness within Reket after Graug's departure was immediately hazed. Yet snapping back to it after her death across all instances, the bloody god regarded what to do now.

Walking towards the portal between the two realms and all of the collected dead Guise, Serek began to lift and carry them through with his blood. All to be returned home properly. Any of Graug's mortals who got in his way where killed with prejudice as he knew there was no way in beating them into submission or leaving him alone once one started. They feared not death after all as he witnessed within the challenge and they would not stop until dead afterall, anything less than would be a waste of effort.

Once he finished it was then he considered what to do with this place, the portal, and Graug's mortals. Letting them live as is helped prove a challenge later for his people and strong flesh for them to possess. Yet that was only if peace truly wasn't an option between them. As they were the children of war, much like their divine parent.

Leaving the portal intact was not a smart choice, as it would allow them to sow chaos and war on Shezmu as his people rebuilt. They lived and breathed fighting wars between eachother since their birth, his people would be no different if they were an option much like any others.

This place would be a hard earned fruit, in any way it came with benefit and loss. Instead before irrevocably destroying the portal, Serek spoke aloud to the mortals should they have gathered. "I have fought past many seasons and years alike with your goddess, all to a standstill. Our kin have fought in a war I would now see over. Your goddess lays dead by my blade and her blood courses through my very veins. I offer now the chance for any of your people who would bend the knee to give to me their undying loyalty and place their faith in me, Serek Eztli God of Blood. I will see you welcomed as one of my own and to take your place as carrier's of war within my home realm Shezmu. You are welcomed to train and fight endlessly within my army and gladiatorial arena. To enjoy the bounty of food across my rain forests. Our foes would be your foes, and your foes ours. For all who do not, know that only death without victory nor purpose shall await your future. "

With that, Serek took any mortals who accepted him through the portal then worked to destroy it before ending this paradoxal existence.