Zilo shook off the sleepiness from his previous night as he and Leo prepared to walk into the arena. The bard stood nervous as the magus looked cool as could be. The two of them lined up and the crowd cheered ready to see the two friends attack each other.
The moment the fight began Leo whipped out his spell book and quickly cast the Vanish spell before even drawing his blade. Zilo breath deeply, but rather than taking out his blade, he reached for his violin, and began to play, mumbling something like a spell.
The crowd looked on as Zilo let out steady notes from his instrument, then, in a flash Zilo's violin rose up and he spun around taking out his sword and blocking nothing. Leo formed up behind the bard with a shocked expression. Zilo smiled with closed eyes and said,
"Echolocation, shouldn't have told me your plan old friend." Followed by a swift round house kick that the magus rolled to avoid. The two of them circled as Leo smiled and said, "Well good, I was afraid you'd go down too quick, but how about we make this interesting?"
Zilo circled back smiling as well, "I'm listening."
We each take a minute, get out all our spells we need out of the way now before we go all out."
"Sounds fine to me, let's get at it."
Zilo's violin floated to his shoulder, and Leo's spell book flipped open in his left hand. Both casters simultaneously shouted the same beginning spells.
"Haste! Cat's Grace! Bull's Strength! Bear's Endurance!" After those 4 the two casters began to bridge out with their more specific spells and powers with Leo shouting,
"Stoneskin! Tactical Adaptation! Magus Arcana Flaming burst and Accurate Strikes!" Leo's aura becomes visible from his newly found speed and enhanced body, his skin no longer moves like flesh, but armor, and his blade is covered in fire, but the fire doesn't flicker, it is condensed and sharpened to resemble an extension of the sword that would fill the middle of his rhoka. Zilo responded in turn.
"Eagle's Splendor! Heroism! Inspire Greatness! Spellsword!" Zilo's aura equally matches Leo's but his smile and eyes shine with sharpness. His body also looks to gain a golden sheen and his violin begins playing an alteration of his battle tune, but more focused and faster paced, energizing himself further. He finishes by flicking out his wand of lightning bolt and melting it into his blade making it spark with the power of lightning.
The two magically charged warrior stand with their elementally focused weapons intertwined with power. The crowd was worried as they stopped fighting, but now the crowd erupts seeing these two master spell swords stare each other down with the arcane arts at their back.
Zilo makes the first move, flicking his blade out and shooting a bolt of lightning at Leo. Leo jukes to the side, letting his hardened skin absorb most of the remaining electric charge. Leo's blade flies out at Zilo the bard flips up and away avoiding it narrowly, but Leo twirls in return an cuts Zilo with a light chest graze, cutting past his armor like tissue paper and scorching the surrounding armor on the bard.
The bard lands, ignoring the wound as he retrieves his whip in his left hand while thrusting forward with his blade. The rhoka fulfills it's design purpose and Leo catches the blade between the twin edges through the torrent of fire in-between.
Leo goes to punch Zilo's face, but the bard is a fraction quicker as he avoids the fist with a shift and headbutts Leo in the skull. The two split apart and Leo holds his head, regretting headbutting the hardened skin and quickly repairing himself with a Cure Wounds spell.
Leo darts to Zilo's flank and makes a Spellstrike with a casting of Vampiric Touch to regain some health of his own. Zilo is struck and his life drained as the blade hits him with a burning arc. The strike ended up being so accurate that the blaze found a weak point on it's own and blew back Zilo in an explosion.
Zilo flipped through from the attack, but managed to use his skilled acrobatics to readjust and land in the crowd on the stairway down to the front row. He quickly lept into the air and aimed his blade, charging for a lightning bolt. Leo rolled to dodge the bolt, but the Zilo waited for himself to land from his leap to actually fire, surprising Leo and making the bolt hit home and scorch a line along the arena ground.
Leo knelt heavy on the ground before raising his arm prepared for a Fireball, but Zilo snatched his violin out of the sky after sheathing his blade and began to play a mesmerizing tune somber tune. Leo was scared stiff, it was Zilo's Dirge of Doom, meant to strike fear into those who hear it. Zilo advanced ready to strike down the fearful Magus, but Leo had planned for this.
The magus smiled and with a flash he lept up and swiped at the violin, no longer feigning his fear. Zilo barely managed to snatch his instrument from the air with his whip, and spun on the back swing to connect with Leo's blade as he drew his blade again.
Leo caught the attack and charged up another spell in his off hand, releasing it and blasting Zilo back again with a Burning Hands spell.
Zilo was now feeling the pain and his morale spells were waning in the face of Leo's spells, every time he got close Leo countered him. It was then when Zilo's eyes widened and he put away his weapons, taking in hand Harmony, forming it into a bow.
"You have me best with swords, but this is no longer a tournament of only swords!" Remarked Zilo as he flashed with his magically enhanced speed and accuracy to fire arrows quicker than the crowd could register. Zilo's Inspire Greatness tune rose up again, furthering his accuracy and skill.
Leo dodged the first, but the speed of the second caught him off guard, planting itself in his shoulder. Leo's hardened skin was good, but it could only stand so much before being used up, so he charged Zilo's volley avoiding what he could, but half of the arrows hit their mark even as the magus dodged. His stone skin shattered as he approached and charged up a new spell to try and take back the flow of combat.
Leo tried to slip up Zilo with a Fireball but the bard dived off to the side and avoided the core of the explosion, even managing to loose another two arrows as he went. Leo once again was pierced, this time with enough force to send him back and down to the ground fading. The arrows weren't fatal, but they did have the magus out of commission and thinking that Zilo who been the one to pass to the next round.
Leo came to a horrible realization at that. Cruxis would win their bet... Leo would not let that happen. He had enough in him for another few spells and one last attack. After a few moments Zilo approached and looked to the crowd still waiting for a verdict.
He suddenly heard a snap and looked to see his bowstring was cut by a floating dagger from a Mage Hand. The bard shouts in panic, "AGAIN!? BUT-" Zilo turns to see Leo standing manipulating mage hand with the glyph for silent spells in his spell book. Leo smiles and tells the bard,
"Quieting Weapons your Echolocation is void." Zilo reaches for his blade, but Leo is too quick and manages to slash the Bard's sword arm before he can retrieve his blade. The bard reaches for snaps and returns harmony to bo form, but the string remains cut and Zilo has no choice, he smiles to Leo and says,
"Guess I don't notice things, I surrender Leo, well done!" The two friends lock arms and the crowd erupts seeing a display as magical as that was worth forsaking the old rules.
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