Darion chuckles, the first time she heard him laugh, but it was a rather dry laugh with a sardonic undertone.<br/><br/>"Certainly, milady. You are the entertainment of the day, the star of the show. Everyone will want to have as best view of you as possible, Im sure. The whole dayis available, and whether you fight or fall, Im sure our participants will take absolute care that no accidents will happen to your person. After each fight, our clerics will heal you up, refreshments will be provided, and the show will go on. From my understanding, the main limiting factor tends to be the mind and ability of the participant to focus. Do remember that Aquilion has a lot to gain if you manage to persevere."<br/><br/>Darion places the temple model in the arena and looks at it. He is available for further pleasantries if she wishes, but when that is done, the servants take her back to her resting place for the night, leaving him alone with the model.<br/><br/>=======<br/><br/>That night, Annette would experience strange dreams. She might or might not remember it in detail, but she saw Aquilion under attack, enemy soldiers running through the street. She watched her father and brothers die, and she and her mother and sisters were put up on display in the city square and brutalized by the soldiers. The unspeakable things they did to her, but she enjoyed it somehow. And then the people came too, the people of Aquilion who had survived. And they cursed her for letting them down as they made use of her worthless form. Yes worthless, for she had failed them. She deserved it and enjoyed every moment of her just desserts. It was fitting, in every way, in every orifice...<br/><br/>When she woke, her sheets would be a mess of sweat, and probably not just sweat. Yet somehow, she felt oddly refreshed, and her muscles felt rejuvenated, and her mind liltingly sharp, her body primed for action. Any sort of action.<br/><br/>The servants waited for her to get ready then brought her to the arena. Along the way was served breakfast, and she remembers gulping a lot of water to make up for lost fluids.<br/><br/>=========<br/><br/>Annette Gabelle, scion of Aquilion, stood in the middle of the temple edifice. She could see the crowd, and they could see her, unobstructed - the 4 pillars Darion had shown her were but round circles sticking 1 foot up from the ground, they would probably rise later to their true height.<br/><br/>The top of the temple was a square of 65' (13sq) across or so, largely flat terrain with a slightly indented inner square. Each "pillar" was a circle of stone 10' across, their edges 10' from the 2 closest sides, thus allowing a 20' unobstructed square area (5x5) in the middle. The stairs down each side were about 50' long leading down, making the entire pyramid about 165' across. It seemed to be made out of solid stone, but theres no way it could be put up here in one night... right? In any case, the arena "field" itself was sizeable, about 270' by 320' across, but part of it was blocked off. Some clear greenish fluid seemed to fill the intervening space between the base of the "temple" and the stands, leaving her on a literal island, but the 'water' was no more than an inch or so deep.<br/><br/>She would have to strain to see the crowd that occupied the seats, though perhaps due to the nature of the edifice, it looked like the lower half of the seats were left empty. The "crowd" were wearing various clothes, and was small in number for such a huge arena. The spectators were spaced out about 5 seats apart, though some were clusters of two, three or four people. Perhaps friends, or with bodyguards. As servants come and walk by with refreshments, it would be clear that those watching were those privileged, but even so, that was a lot of nobles and merchants for an island nation like this to have.<br/><br/>Under one section flying the flag of Aquilion, she would even recognize Radek in one of his frumpy colorful doubloons that he likes to wear for important occasions. However, all the spectators wore masks, glasses, of some sort. It would be when she saw some people with telescopes that she would realize these gadgets allowed the audience to see the action up close.<br/><br/>The announcer introduced her in a dramatic fashion, but she could recognize it as Darion's voice with stylized showmanship, proclaiming that Lady Annette Gabelle has deigned to hold this edifice against those who would despoil it. There were some scattered applause, notably from Radek and some of the viewers around him.<br/><br/>In any case, her first opponent would be brought over via an extendable bridge. She saw a man walking over with determination, wielding a sword and a shield. His face was behind a helmet, hiding all but his eyes, and he wore scale armor, bearing no colors, but he had a black and red sash about his shoulder to waist. He strode up the long stairs, taking his time to the top, and the four pillars rose up to about 20' high, their now exposed lengths shimmering slightly oddly.<br/>Her opponent reached the top, nodding to her with a raised sword as a sort of salute, before she heard Darion's voice. "Begin!"<br/><br/>OOC: the enemy's initiative is 7. Annette has time to position herself anywhere on the centre, since she can see where he is coming up. You can describe her armor in more detail if you like. She can attack once ready, and describe how she lands her hit if any. His AC is 14.<br/>Remember you have the feat Single Out.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">Summary: At 2017-05-20 06:07:47, Melendrith (uid: 61033) rolls: 1d20a3 Result: 8 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=103297)<br/><br/>Full Result: Melendrith rolled: 1d20, adding 3 to the total<br/>Comment: Annette Enemy Init<br/>Result: 5, <br/>Total: 8<br/>Remark : -1, was using a 4E value<br/></div></div>