- THE LEVIATHAN -

"Good!" exclaimed Vargas, suddenly pushing upright. His motionlessness had surged into action, and he gestured to Archon as he began to circle. "Now, if you are going to be escorting members of the Forge, I need to know that you can protect them. I need to know that you can fight," he clarified. "Can you-? Can you use those weapons of yours?"

It was partially a test, but that test was for the same ends as he'd claimed. It was his duty to know the skills, capabilities and weaknesses of all the Forge, and he'd been rather lax with some of them.

Time to rectify that--for this one, at least.

His thought process basically went from 'good, yes, okay I can do this' to 'AHHHH?' in the space of a single breath. He stared up at Vargas, hands clenching the sickles.

"I have trained," he managed, at last, and it even sounded calm. It was not. It was panic again, ramped right back up from nothing.

Was Vargas--ten times his size, and thousands of years old--intending to fight him?

Because he--Archon--would fucking die.

costume credit - big-ashb on flickr

- THE LEVIATHAN -

"Good!" Vargas boomed. Then, giving the other little time: "Show me."

He wasn't going to push him too hard. Just see where he stood; get some idea of his skills and his abilities. To that end, Vargas sprang, aiming to knock into Archon, to snatch his feet out from under him with a well-timed grab.

Let us see if he puts those wings to use, he thought.

ROUND 1/5

ATTEMPT: Knock Archon down
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: none

He flinched as he saw it coming, and he did use his wings, albeit not quickly enough. He simply couldn't take flight that fast, either to spring backward from the massive charge or lift up into the air, and so he instinctively tried to turn and half-jump to the side.

He knew he'd take the hit but he tried to take the worst with one shoulder, his wings catching him to avoid outright sprawling across the rock. The sickles he held out now, and to the sides, careful not to slash his own limbs.

Unfortunately, his near lack of real training and his tiny size compared to The Leviathan's ensured defeat from the start: he was plowed into, feet yanked out from under him so that he flew upward, yes--and then careened back down to rock. He landed on his back and momentum flung him heels-over-head backward, his robe half-flipping up around his face and leaving him tangled and flailing.

costume credit - big-ashb on flickr

ROUND 1/5

ATTEMPT: don't get knocked down
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: none

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas followed up, though some distant part of his mind registered that Archon was already in serious trouble. If this were a real fight he'd be dead in seconds; he was tangled in his clothing, probably scuffed by rock.

He made a note to address the clothing thing after the fight; he'd need some way to ensure this wouldn't happen again. In the meantime he pounced, aiming to grapple Archon and simply pin him down. A strike right now, with the creature blinded, was more liable to see him killed.

A pin would make his point well enough--assuming Archon didn't have some sort of trick up his sleeve.

ROUND 2/5

ATTEMPT: pin Archon
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: none

He was briefly dazed, truth be told, flailing while struggling not to actually slice his face open with his sickles while extricating himself from his robes. He came up and out of it just in time to see the Leviathan tense for a leap. Without thinking Archon reached for his magic, instead: to blind Vargas, to buy himself just a bit of time.

One hand snapped up, scythe clattered to the floor, and he winced as he cast Light in a refractive spiral toward Vargas. Images slid swiftly into place, boxing him in--illusory; would it be enough? He rolled, hoping it would be, hoping it'd give him that split-second to get away.

Maybe he could even go on the offensive.

costume credit - big-ashb on flickr

ROUND 2/5

ATTEMPT: briefly trap/blind Vargas with light
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: a bit battered/scraped

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Images of himself spun around him, a dozen Leviathans and shimmering walls blocking his path for just a moment.

No, not blocking.

Illusions. Some facet of his own element he'd never seen. He marked that as interesting in his mind, a point ticked on Archon's favor, and then leapt through.

The instant he found Archon again, he rushed for him, aiming a hit for the arm that still held a sickle. It wouldn't--he hoped--be hard enough to break the bone. But enough to bruise? Yes. Badly.

ROUND 3/5

ATTEMPT: smash into Archon's main weapons arm
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: none

He saw Vargas pause and look around just as he scooped his sickle back up from the floor. An instant later the Leviathan had leapt free, and after a glance he found him and was in pursuit.

It was awful, seeing that massive shape hurtling toward him, and knowing with dawning horror that he had no real defenses. He'd spent so much time on trickery he'd never even considered it. He scrambled backwards, hand again snapping up--not that it needed to--and a blinding-bright beam of light crashing down for Vargas's many eyes.

Do more eyes mean more light sensitivity? He didn't know; it was a half-wild thought skittering through his mind as he threw himself to one side again. His wings helped, lifting him to gain some space, hopefully; if he were lucky that'd mean no footsteps to give his exact location away as Vargas tried to once more close in.

costume credit - big-ashb on flickr

ROUND 3/5

ATTEMPT: blind Vargas temporarily
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: bit scratched up!

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Light flared bright enough to sting his eyes, blinding him completely; he skidded to a halt and then leapt back, wary of a pressed attack while he could not see.

His forearms lifted, thrust before him in a loose X shape, as he readied himself for what he assumed would be a strike.

ROUND 4/5

ATTEMPT: premptive block
DEFENSE: blocking?
INJURIES: none

He was about to charge in and slice when he saw Vargas lift his arms. He caught himself, and realized he only had an instant to decide what to do before the Master regained his sight.

He could attack anyway. He could try to cast himself into darkness to give him the edge, for a moment, while Vargas's eyes readjusted. He could try to lash out with chaotic magic. Or-

His arms snapped out in either direction, wings beating now to raise him aloft. A second Archon--a copy, precisely as himself and formed of magic--rose up too. Together they circled Vargas in two directions: himself left, the other right, both of them closing in.

Fifty-fifty chance, he thought grimly, but honestly--he wasn't sure.

costume credit - big-ashb on flickr

ROUND 4/5

ATTEMPT: make a copy
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: scratched/battered