"Sorry, my good friend, but I have no choice," muttered the scribe. "However, I am guessing you won't mind what I am about to do to you, considering it doesn't appear you have any second thoughts about what you are doing to me. What ever goes down, the fight mustn't affect our friendship. Got it?" Orpheous didn't wait for a response, because he knew Worru understood.

Orpheous backed off again before preforming a few hand motions as if preparing a spell. Then, as he had done with Kasei, he screamed, "Elemental burst - light." As he said this, he released another manifest of light at the boy, aiming for his weak point. He did do Worru the favor of not making the blow to powerful to damage any chance the kid may have of ... well ... reproducing, no matter how many kids, the boy may already had (Orpheous has heard rumors concerning Worru's earlier years). After making the attack the scribe asked the boy, "Do you want to fight this out, or would you like to surrender?"

The crowd audibly gasped as a whole as Orpheous' attack was launched. Not only was magic a deadly weapon, but it was being launched from extremely close quarters--and at an extremely sensitive area. And the light does just as much damage as would be expected--a massive 50 HP are missing from the Sheikah. (W=16) The crowd fell silent, wondering whether the lad would be able to stand after such a crushing blow. Tarlen's mouth opened and closed rapidly in succession, unable to give voice to what he was feeling at the moment.

Worru: 11 HP, 25 SPL
Orpheous: 20 HP, 15 SPL

OOC: That...That's got to be the biggest hit I've ever seen.

The boy laid on the mat for a while, body not even giving signs that it was breathing, nor any twitches to show that he was alive. It could very well be that the boy Worru was dead, after such a huge hit was inflicted on his person, even if the only signs of the attack were burn marks on his pants and lower shirt, and earlier signs of battle had left a few scratches and scars on his arms, uncovered by his shirt.

That was, until, the boy began to laugh.

Slowly rising up, the young Sheikah sat up, his sword next to him, but not reaching for it yet. "Heh heh...Ah'm still standin', better than ah ever did...lookin' like a true survivor...", Worru sang, and once the boy was back to normal height, with both sword and dagger gripped in his hands, he added one last part, with a manic grin upon his face. "Feelin' like a little kid!". He drew his sword in front of himself, hoping to dodge. [[Dodge Check]] Add 5 Will

"Like I said, Worru, I am sorry about the blast, but I guess you choose not to lay down your weapon. Well, I won't either, so prepare for a longer fight," Orpheous spoke these words before readying his staff. It was clear that Worru was tensed to dodged Orpheous' blow. Orpheous wasn't going to waste his precious magic, no.

Brandishing his staff, he thought over the boy's position. He looked like he could last a lot longer, and Orpheous was already feeling very weak. However, he would not surrender. He rushed at Worru, sweat from nervousness and exhaustion was beginning to make itself visible. It poured from his scalp, and ran down his face, the beads of sweat, which could only be seen by an expert eye, dropped from his face to the ground, as he ran. It was also beginning to stain his shirt. He soon reached the destination, and attempted to make a lunge at Worru's chest.

Worru's Dodge Check succeeds (needed 12, got 19) and he easily evades Orpheous' staff. "The boy may very well be in this fight after all!" Tarlen shouts, his voice reaching its peak as the crowd begins to rise even further out of their seats. All eyes are on Worru, waiting to see what he will do now that Orpheous' back is to him.

Worru: 11 HP, 25 SPL, 4 WILL
Orpheous: 20 HP, 15 SPL

The back has the thickest skin, right?, he thought, with a swing of his sword and dagger, Worru made a move as to strike the Scribe's back, smile having dimished, nearly gone, in fact, as he did so. He didn't want to kill the scribe, no, the young boy wanted to hurt him the least amount possible, so he didn't go for the neck, which might've turned out to be a powerful attack. And, in the case any magic decided to come his way, he willed himself to resist it.

OOC: In other words, last 4 WILL used for resistance.

Worru's blades find Orpheous once again (W=16 vs. O=13) and deal another 13 damage, bringing the end of the fight even closer at hand. "Each fighter is teetering on the edge of unconsciousness folks! The next blow could very well be the last!" The Rito cries out above the hysterical crowd, everyone anxious to see who will prevail.

Michael Jackson: 11 HP, 25 SPL, 4 WILL
Child Protection Services: 7 HP, 15 SPL

OOC: Well, Worru, I think I can add that to your resistance check, but I'm not sure. I'll ask Draug whenever he gets on, but for now we'll go with it.

Orpheous too finally decided to smile. He could tell that Worru was tensed for any magic blow, this was something Orpheous knew all too well. He often did this same thing when ever he was walking into a dangerous situation. At the same time, the blow struck. Orpheous couldn't help but almost fall over. However, he had reserved just a small backup pool of magic should things go awry. He had reason to suspect that by simply using another elemental burst, it would knock Worru out. He knew that if he used the life spell, his health would be restored to some extent. He would be revived enough to stand a few more blows, and with this refreshed body, he might be able to defeat Worru.

He shouted something out to the crowd as he cast a life spell on himself, "I want you all to know that Worru is the better fighter. I have only lasted this long and was able to get in one, cheap blow," he shook his head as he paused while saying cheap, "because of luck. However, if I can make it to a higher up place in the tournament because of this luck, perhaps it isn't just luck. Perhaps it is fate. This is the only reason I am still fighting him. I don't want to upset any divine plan. Once again, he is clearly the more skilled opponent in this fight." He looked at Worru, to whom he was already faced, but still addressed the crowd "However, I too have some skill." Finally, he addressed Worru, "Prepare yourself."

OOC: Wow, we're really killing these dramatic speeches with our screwbally-ness, huh?

IC:Orpheous has 16 HP replenished as he gives his monologue, and a few tears are brought to the crowd's eyes. "Clearly, Orpheous has a heart as well as strength!" Tarlen sobs, and the crowd enjoys a nice, heartwarming, reflective moment.

"Somebody hit someone again!"

As you can guess, the crowd was tired of being touched, and aching for the heated battle to pick up where it had left off.

Michael Jackson: 11 HP, 25 SPL, 4 WILL
Child Protection Services: 23 HP, 7 SPL

Worru had his arms at his side for a moment, as the entire world unfocused itself before him, then went back to normal. "You've...Got enough for another Burst, right? You could do that again, and this entire fight would be...over.", he said, smiling only slightly, as his eyes went half-lidded, and then back to his normal fighting stance. "Course, I won't let you do that again.", the boy said with a grin, then dashing, once more, to attack the older man.

Worru's desperate, and perhaps final, attach is successful, the blades biting into Orpheous once again, opening fresh wounds along with some of the healed ones, dealing another 13 DMG. "It doesn't look like Worru wants to go down!" Tarlen stated the obvious, and everyone in the crowd was biting their nails furiously. "Ladies and gentlemen, it all comes down to this!"

Michael Jackson: 11 HP, 25 SPL, 4 WILL
Child Protection Services: 10 HP, 7 SPL

"Well, Worru, I want to say that I am sorry for any pain I that I have or may cause you to have from this fight, both mental and physical. I also wanted to say, just in case one of us gets knocked out at the end of the fight, it was a good duel. You have grown a lot since I last saw you in combat," stated Orpheous sincerely. Other than the physical damage done to his body, Orpheous appeared to be unaffected by Worru's last attack. God, I sure hope this works, because my magic stores will soon be depleted, he thought to himself as he readied an elemental burst - light. Then there might be the problem that Worru might withstand the attack. Then Orpheous' only hope would be physical combat, and he would most likely be screwed. He honed in all his senses into the blast. He aimed it right at Worru's chest.

Then, the orb flew from his hands. Soaring for Worru's chest, as Orph yelled, "Elemental burst - light." 'What would the outcome be?' was the only question in Orpheous' mind.

"This could be it!" Tarlen is now screeching as the ball of magical energy builds up. The crowd sucks in one massive breath and quiets, the only sound being that of the elemental energy as it is fired at Worru. The orb of light contacts his body, and a huge flash of light blinds all who are watching. Everyone loses their sight for a few seconds, and when it returns...

Worru is done. [W=4]

"The inkweaver has done it!" Tarlen's voice rings out above the crowd. "So ends possibly the most exciting fight in the tournament so far!" Medics rush onto the arena to heal the fallen Sheikah, and one of them breaks off to see to Orpheous' wounds as well. "And there's still more to come, people! Don't leave your seats! Unless you need to go to the bathroom, because we just had these put in and we really don't want them soiled! But other than that, stay right here, and the next match will begin in a few minutes!"

ORPHEOUS WINS

OOC: Wow, that was a close one, huh? Imagine if he'd rolled a 20 for the resist...

The second the boy was healed to have one little bit of health left, he dashed away, before wrapping his arms around the scribe. "That fight was great, Orphy! We gotta do it again!", he yelled at the top of his lungs, smiling greatly with his eyes closed. "Hope you luck when you fight next round!", Worru added, letting go of the taller man, and waving to him as the boy dashed off, somewhere else.

"Thanks for the good luck, and yes, we should do this again," he stated to the boy who was already dashing off. He turned the the medics who began to fix him up. He took his seat around his friends, who continued to praise his tactics, and give him their support for the rest of the tournament. However, they weren't on his mind. The boy had accepted the defeat fairly well. Orpheous was glad their relationship wasn't strained.