Sivani
This thing is not a man, it is a hollow vessel for something ancient and cruel. I will find the truth beneath that metal shell even if I have to carve it out myself.
Sivani launches herself from the marble floor, her twin blades arcing like jagged teeth toward the neck of Arion’s host. The air in the temple hums with the resonance of the sword, turning the floating dust into sparkling, lethal motes.
Arion Touvengard
Crude, predictable, and ultimately insignificant. The host's muscles are failing under the strain, but the edge of the blade remains absolute.
Arion does not retreat. He tilts his head with unnatural, puppet-like grace, his teal eyes glowing with a cold, ethereal luminescence. As Sivani descends, a shockwave of azure energy erupts from his sword, crystallizing the very air between them and catching her blades mid-swing. The temple floor beneath him spiderwebs outward, unable to contain the sheer weight of his manifested will.
“Deeming his opponents skill not to the level of facing his blade, after deflecting her killing strike Arion resheaths his blade to start instructing her with only his fists.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Melee Combat, rolled -1)
The azure light flares with such intensity that Sivani’s blades shatter against the crystalline barrier, the shards clattering like rain against the temple floor. Arion moves with the practiced, terrifying economy of a master. He slides the blade home, the metallic click echoing through the vaulted ceiling as the glowing energy dissipates.
Arion Touvengard
She is undisciplined, her anger masking a hollow technique. She needs to be taught the futility of this crusade before she bleeds out on these tiles.
Arion steps through the dissipating fog of magic, his movements eerily rhythmic and fluid. He pivots, closing the distance instantly. Before Sivani can recover from the shock of her broken steel, a heavy, gloved hand flashes out, catching her guard and forcing her backward with a calculated shove that sends her reeling toward a cracked marble pillar.
He stands empty-handed, teal eyes burning with a cold, detached indifference.
+ Scene Quest Added
Extract the truth from Sivani and depart the temple
“Arion continues fighting the assassin as an instructor, whike limiting himself to one arm and no weapons. Thinking to himself, she showd potdntial, though she is like clay worked by a novices hands. "Let me make you a deal, make me bleed and you can walk free"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Melee Combat, rolled -2)
Arion Touvengard
Keep your feet planted, child. Your form is like clay kneaded by a novice, full of jagged edges and wasted potential.
Arion Touvengard
She has spirit, at least. It is a shame that spirit is directed at a cage she does not comprehend. I shall prune the rot from her technique before she loses her life to her own incompetence.
Arion holds his left arm behind his back, his posture loose yet impossible to bypass. He moves with a rhythmic, puppet-like grace, side-stepping Sivani’s desperate, wild lunges as if he were dancing in a quiet room rather than a temple of gods. He waits for an opening, a flicker of true intent in her eyes.
Arion Touvengard
You tire yourself with such frantic movements. Let us make a deal, little blade. Strike me, draw even a single drop of blood, and you may walk out of these halls with your life intact.
“Continuing his defensive stance, Arion begins observing Sivani's internal flow of mana, striking the points of blockage to allow her natural energy easier flow.”
SUCCESS (Superb Arcana, rolled +0)
Arion reaches out with a steady, unnatural fluidness. His fingers trace the air in a complex geometric pattern, catching the frantic, jagged mana Sivani emits. With a flick of his wrist, he severs the internal knots binding her flow.
Arion Touvengard
You struggle against your own essence. Breathe, child. Let the current pull you, do not fight the tide.
Arion Touvengard
There. The dissonance fades. Her mana stabilizes like a calm pond after a stone settles at the bottom. It is a pity such vitality is wasted on petty temple skirmishes.
Sivani
What... what did you just do? My chest, it feels light for the first time in weeks.
Arion Touvengard
I unpicked the stitches of your panic. Now, answer me. Who sent you to test the edge of this blade? Was it the Council, or do the shadows of this city have new masters?
Quest Complete
Extract the truth from Sivani and depart the temple
New Gift: Echo of Truth