<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ivOJI1t.jpg)</div><strong>Name</strong>:  Maya Kritri (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1864703)<br/><strong>HP</strong>:  51/51<br/><strong>Status Effects</strong>: Normal<br/><hr/><br/><div class="floatleft"><strong><em>Maya vs. the Witch</em></strong></div><hr/><br/>The first round of the competition was, perhaps, lucky in how it turned out in Maya's favor.  A fact that was not lost on the changeling.  Deception in one-on-one combat in an open arena was not exactly easy to pull off, and now that she had tipped her proverbial hand it would be even more difficult going forward.  She resigned herself to the likely outcome that she wouldn't win, but at the very least the first round had gone rather well for her...and she was able to thoroughly embarrass the rude Hexblade which had really been her only intent at the outset of that particular fight.  This round placed her against a witch of some variety, her comment drawing a bit of a grin from Maya, "Well, yer a bit nicer than the last fella," she complimented the witch.<br/><br/>The fight itself was flashy, if insubstantial.  They both relied on various arcane tricks to wear one another down.  Maya's, for her part, were a little more lethal than simple deception, which caught the witch off-guard at first, but soon she compensated.  It was becoming clear to Maya that she would not win this fight by simple arcane might, and so rather than relying ultimately on her magical deception, she chose to resort to more mundane deception.  The witch, while skilled with Arcana was less familiar with the social skills that Maya had learned throughout her life as a Changeling.  So it was that eventually Maya feigned defeat at a key moment in the battle which led to the witch letting down her guard for a moment or two, which was enough time for Maya to conjure a large stony hand and push the Witch out of the arena, securing the win for Maya.<br/><br/>Maya, graciously, went over to the witch and helped her back up onto her feet, grinning a bit though she obviously looked quite worn after the combat, "Sorry 'bout that," she apologized with a wink, "if ya want...maybe I could show you a few more tricks some time..." she added flirtatiously, still grinning.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft"><strong><em>Maya vs. Aramis</em></strong></div><hr/><br/>"Bookish sort, ain't ya?" she commented, eyeing him up and down.  He'd done well in basically all of the other parts of the competition, and his polymorphing was also troublesome.  It was less a comment about his abilities and more a comment about his appearance.  Maya took a few extra moments to relax from the previous match, though the preparation room had helped to heal and restore her, there was still a mental fatigue that had set in from trying to keep up with the witch.<br/><br/>Aramis proved to be a very capable opponent, his defenses and offenses were difficult to combat--especially given Maya's relative lack of defensive magics.  She was still able to force him into a number of situations where she had the advantage, mostly by forcing him to defend against a spell that might otherwise lose him the match immediately.  Her magic, while versatile, was generally less powerful than others of equal levels which forced her to rely on tricks.  He had done some similar things as well in his own matches, but at this point it seemed things were leaning more towards a simple show of might--a contest that she would ultimately lose.<br/><br/>When her final high level spell had been spent she realized it would only be a matter of time until he won so she decided to simply end the round, "That'll be enough o' that," she commented, "nice show, I ain't got enough left in me t' keep it up though."  With that she conceded the match with a bit of a smirk and stepped out of the arena.  She'd made a sizeable comeback from her missteps in the first rounds of competition, and so she was content with her placement at the end.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft"><strong><em>Winner's Circle</em></strong></div><hr/><br/>Eventually she was called up as the third place winner, something that had seemed out of her reach at the beginning of the competition.  It was surprising to her that she would have made it quite so far.  She would have been content without the recognition, but at a certain point her pride got the better of her, perhaps when others began to doubt her worthiness of being there in the first place.  She stretched her arms above her head, eventually resting her hands on the back of her head, making a few poses and bowing to the crowd after taking her place on the third tallest step.  With the pointing of her finger towards the sky she also shot off a few minor illusions of flashing lights and minor explosions in the air harmlessly scattering glittering star-like lights.<br/><br/>The prize money was nice, and she watched the other two winners sort through the various magical items that were brought forth to them, watching their reactions to the prizes as much as the items themselves.  Their choices would be, perhaps, telling of their own skills or desires, though ultimately they didn't make a great deal of difference to Maya.  The bookish man, Aramis, took the headband, and the mysterious man who had seemed to have an interest in Maya earlier in the competition took the crystal orb for himself.  Maya regarded the remaining items thoughtfully, looking them each over in turn.<br/><br/>Eventually she settled upon the Ankh, after mulling over the other benefits that were presented to her.  They all had their benefits, but ultimately the Catseye Ankh seemed the most suited to her, and with that the passing around of the rewards had ended.  Maya grinned a bit and offered a bow to Ramses II in thanks.  She then diverted her attention to the final, special prize that was being brought out.<br/><br/>Maya knew of Allurans, but had limited experience with them.  There had been some in her homeland though they were prized beings and she had never had the chance to see one--that she was aware of--much less spend time around them.  She knew of their benefits to the ones they were bonded with, and was rather upset with herself that she wasn't able to secure one for herself.  Perhaps another time.  Familiars, she had decided some time ago, were sometimes more trouble than they were worth, but an Alluran was much different from a regular familiar.<br/><br/>"Huh, imagine that," she spoke aloud, "yer a lucky fella," she added to Aramis after he had commanded the woman to rise up from her crystal coffin.  "Mmm, yes, "talk" in private," she agreed with Aramis's comment to Sasha, grinning all the while.<br/><br/>She spends a few moments after the ceremony talking with Ramses II, though she doesn't try to monopolize the Goddess's time, they could always talk more later after all.  Eventually Maya left the arena, returning to the preparation room to rest a moment change back into her regular clothes.<br/><br/>Maya decided the next course of action was to return to the adventurer's tavern for a drink or two to celebrate her winnings.