<div class="floatright">(https://www.animecharactersdatabase.com/uploads/chars/4758-1261081560.png)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Aramis Silverscale<br/>Human Wizard of the Arcane Order<br/><strong>HP:</strong>51/51 ;<strong>Status:</strong>Heroism [+2 to Attack, Saves] (130 minutes), Protection from Energy: Fire [72 damage] (130 minutes)<br/><strong>Actions:</strong>Preparing and also Dueling Lady Justina Brightlance<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Damalla, Thunderdome<br/><hr/><br/>Aramis when they were all dismissed to prepare for the actual duel, felt a small moment of relief wash over him since the spell engine could refresh his magical reserves. True the others could and had taken the time to prepare magical effects as well. But they would certainly have to refresh them since the time taken on the knowledge sections of the trials undoubtably left many of them without their abjurations still upon their being. Also the rules of the next phase of the competition were spoken of since that was important. At the very least those aforementioned protections had to be strained to the end of their duration. It also gave him the time to compose himself after that harrowing trial of several dozen emotional torments. Lily spoke that if Grand Madame Odyessya had no faith in his efforts, he would not be the one on this venture. It did dwell on him that perhaps, rightly so that many wanted him gone from the Order for endangering the Spellpool and nearly dooming Atlenta with his trusting nature. With these thoughts in his head, his eyes shut in reflection and he took a seat. After a deep sigh of cleansing his mentality, he opened the spell book he had in his hands and began studying his notes on incarnum and the experiments involving how one can potentially wield the incarnum of their surroundings or wildlife.<br/><br/>The young mage had a few inklings on strategy and tactical motions but some methods he thought up weren't viable. However, the polymorph spell has recently been quite the versatile tool in the wizard's arsenal and as such being able to cast it would prove quite useful. That would be a prudent and useful spell going forward. Going along this logic, he thinks for a moment about whom he would get first. He imagined that it would be some sort of random chance, and whilst he would have liked to have known whom it was he was facing first, it was seemingly a gladiatorial style combat and he didn't have the opportunity to master manipulation of a spells intended duration. Hindsight however would not serve him well in this regard. However a broader scope could be applied to whom he would be facing. He adjusted his spell selection to accommodate for whom he knew was in the competition.<br/><br/>Perhaps he could reactively prepare. One or two of his spells could be used in order to protect himself from the more basic effects that he could think up. So Aramis took the time to ready a few protection spells in order to better counter some of the deadlier spells that could be thrown his way. Along with a small dose of potent courage to help him become stronger in both resolve and willpower. Much more so than what he had previously demonstrated when being tested within his mind, heart and spirit. And with his spells elected and his preparations made, he steps forward back into the arena awaiting who it was he would be facing in the first round. The arena was remade and a barrier was made to represent a domed ring of sorts that the competitors would stay inside in or be eliminated from the tournament.<br/><br/><div align="center">*******</div><br/>Little did Aramis realize that he had essentially drawn the short straw essentially. Whilst he he knew of Lady Brightlance and her unique aspects being an independent adventurer whom combines both divine and arcane magic and has a tendency for purifying flames, it still didn't do Aramis a lot of good methods to quickly dispatch her. He had an uphill battle. Honestly it felt like the best one that was paired up was Maya. True he knew little of the arcane warrior but he doubted that he was even remotely prepared for the Changeling whom was completely fresh. Before he stepped into his own match Aramis took a moment to have a look about the crowd that was cheering for everyone and for the growing excitement to get to what was probably the main event of this tournament. He held his staff in one and gave a wave of his hand with a smile since he could see a number of face now behind him. He was honestly surprised by people waving about yellow scarfs now and it made him pine for the ability to change his own scarf back to norm. But for now he had it safely tucked away to his side.<br/><br/>Now stepping into the dome appointed to him and Julia Brightlance of Calador. He gave a bright smile and bowed his head when she addressed him and removed his hat whilst they banter between themselves.<strong>"The Divine Flame of Calador. You flatter me with your words."</strong>However he was also aware that she fancied herself as nothing less than a paladin. A holy knight in breathtaking and immaculate form that would show no quarter to her opponent. She made this quite clear with her words.<strong>"I'd be disappointed if you didn't give me your best."</strong>He responded with a cheerful disposition and putting his hat back on his head... which quickly toppled awkwardly to the right with the pointed tip. With formalities over and done with, Aramis lifted up his silver tipped ironwood staff and pointed it towards his opponent to signal that he was ready.<br/><br/>Whilst she was using some kind of enchanted staff to keep her hands free, Aramis was quietly observing the spell she was weaving. Be it divine or arcane in nature made no difference. The real difficulty in this fight would be one of attrition. Being someone of both divine and arcane powers and mixing them together whilst limiting her power scale gave her numerous amounts of magical reserves. She had two sources of power to raw from whilst the Silverscale had but one. And because of her experience, she had more potent magic at her disposal in both divine and arcane. She seemed quite willing to be aggressive and by the scholarly mage's devotion to spell crafting, he was correct in his assumptions. True he didn't have much knowledge in speaking truespeak, but he knew the nuances and verbal ticks of a potent spell. In this case she was starting off with one of her signature spells. Flame Strike. It is deceptively clever since she knows many of the combatants, including himself might wave off her magic as crippling specialization but part of her magic was fire based, the rest was sacred/radiant damage and as such many arcane protections cannot hope to contest it.<br/><br/>It was as if the heavens themselves sought to smite the mage and his eyes glanced upwards at what was coming. A streak of golden fire lances downwards and sought to end the magical battle quickly. However Aramis still remained unmoving as the impending doom came closer with every moment. His eyes were shut as if he was casting his own magic. He was indeed, however as for what it was, not many could say. The Silverscale mouthed<em>something</em>and continued to speak. Then his tapped the butt of his staff into the ground and spoke the final word just as the sacred flame envelopes him. The flames wash over his body but quickly began to evaporate and fizzle out as if the magic failed to sustain it's existence. Julia Brightlance didn't look phased by what the young mage had done as she knew she had the advantage. However she did have a budding question on her lips. "Surely you realize that you cannot outlast the likes of me, Ser Mage. What do you hope to happen?" She didn't buy that Aramis didn't have some plan of action and was merely stalling for time. Aramis merely smiled as he sought to walk forward and close the gap between them. As for the why of it, he was hoping she wouldn't catch onto what he was doing.<br/><br/>His voice rang out as he sought to be courteous with his answer. Much as he might like to try and goad her into making a mistake by angering her, he relented since he already had an idea of what he wanted to do.<strong>"That would be telling wouldn't it Lady Brightlance?"</strong>The faintest smile curved upon her lips as her eyes took a moment to take note of the situation. If he was going to play defensive like this then it would be a perfect time to make him burn out his defensive magics. "Quite." She began casting once more knowing full well that she'll get Aramis to try and counter the spell. Her diversity would rule out a lot of practical solutions to best her. And she had more spells than him to burn through.<br/><br/>Thinking that perhaps the best way was to make sure he could not. She decided to give him a chance, willingly or not to spare himself a considerably painful loss in many facets. Her eyes burning with flame, she evoked her magic, seeking to try and get him to comply. "I suggest you yield before you get hurt." Aramis shook his head, bravely defying her suggestions. Indeed, her compulsion to make him submit to her failed to move in many facets. It was now the Silvermage's turn to go on the offensive and he began weaving a powerful tapestry of magic, his staff spinning slowly before he raised it up high. Several Orbs of azure energy form and then take flight at the opposing Mystic. Unfortunately she had a magic item to make good use of. She raised her right hand which formed a force shield and absorbed the unerring strikes of the Blue Missiles that Aramis tried upon her.<br/><br/>So the Divine Flame of Calador was confident that she would have the victory imminently if things go the way they do. However, Aramis merely waited this time for the spell she picked. And it was a classic one, she wanted to go with and she sought to try and burn out the mage's resistances to boot. So what she did was cast a Fireball spell that shot behind Aramis. The dome would contain the spell but she had the wherewithal and intellect to fire it so that she was out of range but her opponent was not. His eyes glanced backward at the rushing flame. She perked a brow as she didn't understand why he didn't try and dispel it. Either way Aramis ducked and tumbled forward with him clutching his hat as he did so. His protection magics held fast as he picked himself off, her fireball packed a significant punch as it had taken longer than usual to fire off. Patting himself down since his right hand sleeve was on fire, he kept his eyes upon her. He had waited for her to cast a spell again and now he was free to put his own plans into action as he would need the time to cast his magic.<br/><br/>She braced herself for whatever he hoped to cast upon her knowing it could be a number of things that could try and stop her dead in her tracks. Aramis however took some time to cast it since he wasn't drawing his own spells memorized. Instead he sacrificed a spell he had memorized in order to power another, drawing from the spell pool. He had the idea when Ramses the Second spoke of how they couldn't make use of invisibility or flight in this duel since leaving the dome for an extensive period of time would disqualify the offender. For the moment nothing seemed to come of this as Julia Brightlance began floating. She seemed like she was in complete control of the situation and she too was convinced of this assumption.<br/><br/>She smiled a touch triumphantly readying her own magics thinking that something more aggressive. "Your magics cannot hope to take root upon me Silverscale!" Aramis looked a touch stern when she spoke of this. "And know your protections cannot shield you forever!" She started weaving divine magics hoping that this next attack would take root and cause harm to her opponent, or at the very least put him at a disadvantage. However Aramis refuses to simply yield. Searing light streaks down towards Aramis from her hands as she strikes the mage in the chest. His tunic and robes smoke from the sacred light that had marked him. Yet the mage refuses to simply stay down nor does it look like he is going to quit. He growled in agony from the blast and forced himself to fight through the pain. Compared to what happened to the Spellpool being reversed on the mages of the order, this was nothing he couldn't take. He watches as Julia Brightlance rises higher and higher into the air. This makes her eyes widen in shock and surprise as she floats closer to the barrier. He used some kind of spell unknown to her to force her to float out of the dome against her will!<br/><br/>Finally she notices what is happening and tries to correct this. But now that Aramis has her in his trap, he was not willing to simply let her slip out of it. He knew which spell she was going to try and cast and the mage had an idea on how to stop it. The tip of his staff began to glow with an azure hue of light as he began chanting quietly. This dispelled her attempt to escape the situation she was in and now she had slipped out of the dome. Thus she was disqualified from the tournament and was held there by the mage, whom was smiling cheerfully down from below.<br/><br/><div align="center">*******</div><br/>Julia had to physically hold her skirt down in order to keep her decency and looked at him with an incredulous look. The divine sorceress looked a touch frustrated floating about at his mercy.<strong>"Don't pout, you did well. You just read the magic I was weaving incorrectly."</strong>She gave a soft sigh to try and let go of her anger. It would be unbecoming of a knight such as she to not be graceful in defeat. She showed a measure of humility speaking in a decent tone since she was trying to keep herself upright so her robes don't flip over and make her immodest. She was flustered but eventually managed to find her words. "I-I you... mph! Would you kindly put me back down. Please." Aramis sheepishly smiled and does as asked since it seems she was graceful in defeat.<strong>"You were one of the few I wasn't wanting to face directly. I shudder to think what might happen if I didn't have any protections setup for that fireball."</strong>Julia figured to be a good sport and represent her nation well by healing the mage she had just injured with her own magic. She smiled at the mage praising her efforts though since he was being graceful in victory.<br/><br/>Aramis took a heavy sigh as the burns and markings underneath his attire began to soothingly cease and his skin stopped to protest with pain from blistering sores. He smiled in thanks as he watched the remainder of the fights if any were still lingering. He could hear another voice happily cheering from his spell book quite pleased that her master was making it through to the next round. His hand brushed over his well protected spell book in response and spoke to Julia Brightheart more about Calador and what might be going on there. He was trying to make just some small talk to pass the time about this as he looked on at the matches. It looked as though Dask had finished the fight he was in and was reveling in his victory. As he should since it seems like he had the worst match of the lot. Then there was Maya and he was curious as to whether or not the fellow adventurer would be able to come away with a victory. He was very curious about how she would come up with a victory and honestly he was quietly rooting for her to do just that. He'd love the biggest upset victory to happen.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>Round 1:</strong> Aramis delays, Julia casts Flame Strike, Aramis casts Dispel Magic via Improved Counterspell and his Wand-Staff.<br/><br/><strong>Round 2:</strong> Julia casts Suggestion, Aramis succeeds on his Will Save, Aramis casts Blue Missile, Julia uses her Ring of Shielding to stop the Missiles.<br/><br/><strong>Round 3:</strong> Julia casts Empowered Fireball, Aramis is unharmed via Protection from Fire but failed the Reflex Save, Aramis casts Baleful Levitation<br/><br/><strong>Round 4:</strong> Julia casts Searing Light and Aramis is struck for 18 hp. Aramis concentrates on Baleful Levitation sending Julia nearly out of the dome.<br/><br/><strong>Round 5:</strong> Julia casts Fly and Aramis casts Dispel Magic to stop the spell. Julia floats out of the dome and loses.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spells Memorized (Base Spell DC: 14) (CL 10th)</div><div class="spoiler_body">   5th  (2/day) - Azure Ice Shards, Twin Blue Missile (PHB/SRD)<br/>   4th  (4/day) - Silent Dispel Magic, Silent Dispel Magic, Silent Lightning Bolt, Stoneskin (PHB/SRD) <br/>   3rd  (4/day) - <del>Dispel Magic</del>, Fireball, <del>Heroism</del>, <del>Protection from Energy</del> (PHB/SRD)<br/>   2nd (5/day) - Alter Self, Silent Blue Missile, Silent Blue Missile, <del>False Life</del>, Soul Boon (PHB/SRD)<br/>   1st  (5/day) - Blue Missile, <del>Blue Missile</del>, Feather Fall, Silent Mage Hand, Soul Armor (PHB/SRD)<br/>   0 lv (4/day) - Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Read Magic (PHB/SRD)</div></div>