The Battle of Delphi

Jas

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Odin laughed, a deep hearty laugh that resonated within his chest. "You think that your avatar could beat my own? He couldn't even take down that pesky blood elf."

Zeus' adonic face contorted, as though he'd bit into a lemon. "Without a doubt. Zane started with a topological disadvantage, and he underestimated Asher. I think that if the fear of... well, me... was struck into him, he'd have no problem at all."

"Care to put your drachma where your mouth is?" the norseman retorted. "We can arrange a side match. I'll even let you choose the field."

Zeus stroked his fluffy white beard. "Alright, fine. I have just the place. A proper arena."



The sun beat high in the sky over Delphi, the proud ruins standing watch atop a mountain. Wind whipped through the mountains surrounding the site, over the temple and amphitheatre, weaving throughout the shrines dotting the path to the temple, and finally across the grass to the nearby Stadium of Delphi.

The stone stadium seating surrounded an open dirt track, typically used for foot races. The track was the very meaning of the unit stadion, measuring about 600 feet from end to end.

On one end, a boy, no more than 16, materialized. Zane's spiky hair blew in the refreshing breeze, and his blue eyes scanned his surroundings. At first, there was not a soul in sight. However, about halfway down the stadium, a woman materialized, bearing large draconic wings and foreign battle attire.

"Champions! Welcome to Delphi!" Zane had been in a similar situation before, and while he forgot about the experience in the interim, the memory of his last battle against the blood elf came rushing back. This voice was different, though; no modulation covered the voice, which boomed like thunder. "You have been called forth to settle a wager between myself and Odin! Zane, my champion! This is your second chance to fight for my glory! If you do not prevail this time, I'll ensure you will not get a third."

"Oh, come off it, codger." A second voice boomed from the heavens. "Mistress, as my champion, I have complete faith that you will not disappoint."

The disembodied voices were silent for a moment, the wind rustling the grass the only sound. Then both voices returned in unison, "FIGHT!"

The trivial impetus of this deathmatch aside, it had begun.

@Jas @Mistress of Anarchy
 
"Fool. I am the ultimate champion." She mutters to Zane. She lets out a war cry and takes to the sky. A column of water erupts from the ground and restrains him.
 
A jet of water burst out of the ground at Zane's feet, basically at the same time as the sky-voices called, "FIGHT!" Unlike a typical stream of water, he could almost feel this one trying to grab at him. He turned his palms downward and shot a medium-strength ki blast at the ground. The ground around the geyser crumbled, scattering the stream, and the recoil sent Zane about ten feet backward, where he landed deftly on his feet.

"Hah! You'll have to do better than that!" the elemental called out to his foe. He closed his left fist and a saber born of energy materialized from it, as though he were holding an invisible hilt. "Care to try again?" he taunted.
 
MoA, eyes glowing a brilliant white and muttering, summons a greater demon from the deepest pit of Hell, and orders it to annihilate him. The demon leaps at him.
 
As the beast charged at him, Zane zipped to the right and gathered energy again for another ki blast. As the beast closed in on where he used to be, the young man swung at its gut and released the ki blast through the blade, creating a massive shockwave. He'd timed it precisely such that it should knock the monster away, leaving the energy arc aimed directly at the Mistress, overhead.
 
MoA quickly flies out of the way, but in Zane's distraction, the demon leaps on top of him, pinning him down, making him vulnerable for her final attack. "Sword of Chaos!" She yells, stabbing him and the demon through the heart.
 
Zane's elemental nature has gotten him into some tight spots in the past, but it had also gotten him out of some.

As a defense mechanism, Zane's mortally-wounded body was absorbed by the elemental bound to his soul. The mass of his body converted to pure energy, and the sudden release of that energy triggered an explosion of plasma centered on Zane. The corpse of the demon, having been immediately on top of Zane, took the brunt of the blast and vaporized, but some of the energy wave continued through.

The winged woman's sword, having been within Zane's body as he transformed, was now buried in the electrical chaos of the elemental's body, the result being an electrical shock sent up through the blade. The elemental, now essentially pure electrical energy bound to a soul, dashed about 20 yards away and started charging up a ki blast, which in this form was akin to a ball of ionized plasma. He released that energy directly at the Mistress.

EDIT: Grammar fix.
 
MoA Recoils from the attack. Nobody has ever survived, let alone destroyed, her blade. She knew this was going to be a tough fight.
 
The elemental's glowing yellow "body" narrowed his eyes at the Mistress and charged at her. As he moved through the air, he ionized the gas, creating a front of plasma in front of him, like a shockwave. His incorporeal form was poised to enter MoA's. He was attempting a possession of her body.
 
In Zane's elemental form, he was little more than a soul connected to electrical energy.

Now, air is a remarkably good electrical insulator. Typically, the only way an electrical current can bridge even a short air gap is by first ionizing the gas in the way.

Such was the situation Zane now found himself in. He collided with the solid air wall. The initial brunt of plasma he bore in front of him tore into that wall, halving the thickness, but the elemental was still blocked from advancing. If he shed his energy, his incorporeal soul could pass, of course. But without his energy, he would be ineffectual.

He beat a tactical retreat and began concentrating on gathering energy.
 
MoA laughs. "You know electricity is a chaotic element, right?" She begins to harden the air all around Zane. It is at least 3 feet thick in 4 seconds.
 
The distinction between "chaotic" and "non-chaotic" elements was arbitrary; the lightning that formed Zane's body was as much a part of him as the Mistress' wings were a part of hers, and to attempt to control that energy would require a battle of wills between the two players.

Zane did not react whatsoever to the rigid air surrounding him. Instead, he continued to gather energy, absorbing electrons from that same air and converting what was there into a cloud of charged ions.
 
As the air compacted around Zane, it was brought closer to him and hence made it easier to pull electrons from it. As he pulled electrons from it, he was able to build a plasma tunnel through the hardened air, allowing him to arc across it. Simultaneously, his charged body moving through the air pulled electrons from the surrounding atoms and caused an avalanche effect. The sudden expansion of charged plasma gases within the contained volume caused the entire mess to explode milliseconds after Zane emerged, his glow brighter than ever.
 
MoA materializes another Blade of Chaos. She could block his attack, and while doing that, slice his body in half. She draws dirt around her, controlling the air around it, rather than the dirt itself. She makes a subtle come at me gesture and readies herself.
 
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