Post by Orophin on Mar 19, 2008 17:15:19 GMT 1
The Anniversary of Pain
V'icternus strode into the Fire Nation bar, and took a seat at the counter.
"Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" asked the bartender.
"Well, I don't seem to be drinking right now, do I?" came the patronizing reply.
"I see you're in a bad mood, but that doesn't mean you have to be rude in my bar", said the bartender "so either cheer up, apologize, or..."
But V'icternus interrupted him, grabbing him by the neck of his shirt "One year ago today, my parents were killed, so if I want to be in a bad mood, that is my business!"
He pushed him away, then got up and walked out of the bar.
"Did you see his eyes?" one of the people at the bar said softly. "It was like they were empty, there was nothing in them"
"I know", replied the barman, "and he would have killed me without a second thought..."
"Well, I've that's the last I ever see of him, it will be too much. So, are you going to the Clash of the Benders tonight?" the customer said, changing the subject.
"I can't, I have to watch the bar. I can't take time off for an illegal Bending contest"
"Pity, I hear it's gonna be good"
"Are you going then?"
"Yep, got front row tickets. Cost me an arm and a leg to get 'em, but it'll be worth it!"
Back outside, V'icternus was still fuming, and headed down to the villages arena, which had a sign over the door.
It read "Closed for repairs".
He walked in the door, and was met with a rather large man.
"Can't you read! We're closed!"
V'icternus pulled out a small sack of gold coins and threw it at his feet.
"I'm here to sign up"
"Just go round to the back..." said the man, already counting his money.
He walked round to the back entrance, and walked in.
He saw a man at standing next to a sign-up sheet hanging on the wall.
The man had various cut's, bruises, burns, and what looked like a broken nose.
As V'icternus walked up to the sign-up sheet, the man made a motion with his hand.
V'icternus pulled out another sack of gold, and handed it to the man.
"Thank you for your business. Just remember, we aren't responsible if anything goes wrong. Sign your stage name on the sheet, then show up back here for the Clash."
"No, thank you. I'm always looking for an excuse to fight these... other Benders."
"What type of Bender are you anyway...," He checked the sheet V'icternus had signed, "Silverblade?"
"...Earth" Came the reply, before V'icternus walked back out onto the street.
Later, after the sun had set, V'icternus, as well as many other Benders, were gathered in the arena, preparing for the tournament.
V'icternus had already seriously offended three Benders, and they had sworn to destroy him in the ring if they fought.
He looked out into the arena itself, and he saw that the place was packed.
He noticed that people from all over the world had come to see the violent contest.
He knew why. This was one of the only tournaments in existence that allowed deaths in the ring.
Of course, it is up to the winner to decide whether or not to kill his opponent, so the organizer made sure to have trained Waterbender healers at the ready.
He went back into the preparation area, where most of the others were donning armor, showing off, or threatening each other,
He sat alone in the corner, just staring at something he was holding in his hand...
Then, they heard the bell ring, signifying the start of the first match.
The first two competitors, Swirler and Waterburg entered the arena...
When the 42nd round finally came along, V'icternus got up and walked through the entrance of the arena.
Walking alongside him, a Firebender named Burnscar.
"You're going down, I've never been beaten!" Taunted Burnscar as they walked out into the arena.
"Well, it only has to happen once, filth" V'icternus replied, seemingly irritated already.
"Your gonna regret those words in a minute, the crowd has been wanting a kill"
Even after 41 rounds, no one had yet killed their opponent, usually knocking them unconscious or trapping them, preventing them from moving.
"We'll see"
The crowd cheered as they walked into the ring, and went to their respective sides.
"And now, Burnscar and Silverblade are about to go head to head, so get ready to get your money's worth here, at the one, the only, the Clash of the Benders!!!
The crowd cheered, some of the louder and more bloodthirsty ones screaming for a death.
"Fight!!!"
V'icternus drew his sword and began to run at his opponent.
Burnscar had already started shooting medium sized fireballs aimed right at V'icternus' chest.
V'icternus used his sword to deflect the blasts as he ran, still getting closer.
The crowd began to chant and cheer, as now they were both within striking distance of each other.
V'icternus began swinging his sword at shoulder level, while Burnscar tried to avoid the silver blade.
Suddenly, Burnscar rolled along the ground, under V'icternus' attack, then shot a wave of flame along the ground from behind V'icternus.
V'icternus turned and quickly raised a small curved wall of earth at about knee height.
The curve in the wall sent the wave back toward Burnscar, who created a gap in the wave so it went right past him.
V'icternus lowered the wall, and charged at Burnscar again this time moving in lower than before.
Burnscar created an especially long, thin whip made of fire, and whipped it at V'icternus.
It caught him on the left side, but he kept charging, but instead of using the charge to attack, he tackled Burnscar, knocking them both to the ground.
The crowd went silent, as neither of the fighters were moving.
Then, V'icternus stood up, and looked down at his opponent.
He had broken every rib on his right side, and appeared to have a broken arm.
In V'icternus' eyes, there was a flash as a similar scene came to mind, from his last birthday...
"And the victor of round 42 is..." came the booming voice, but before he could finish, V'icternus swung his blade, and lodged it into the skull of his opponent.
The crowd went wild. The cheering, and the booing, was deafening.
"SILVERBLADE!!"
V'icternus went back into the preparation room, receiving mixed looks from the other fighters.
He sat back down in his corner, and turned away anyone who wished to congratulate or threaten him with a cold glance.
His second and final battle came at around ten-thirty.
As he walked into the arena the second time, bringing with him the only other competitor that was still fit to fight, a Waterbender named Whitewash.
"I was hoping to be able to kill one of you here, Waterbender" he said.
"And I was hoping to win. Who do you think will get their wish?" she replied, forming some water into the shape of a question mark, then freezing it.
"Let's find out" he said as they entered the ring.
"Just don't go crying to your mommy when you lose, little boy"
The cheers were tremendous, as both of these opponents had put up good fights, and one of them had made a kill.
"And for your final battle tonight, we have Whitewash, a Waterbender from the distant South Pole, fighting Silverblade, an unknown Earthbender, with a heart of stone!"
The cheers continued, as this would decide who would win all the bets.
"FIGHT!!!!!!"
Whitewash sent two long streams of through the air, to trap V'icternus.
He leaped into the air, and with two swings of his sword, shattered the ice streams.
He began running around Whitewash in a counter-clockwise direction, knocking away or blocking any attacks that would hit him.
She noticed he was getting closer and closer, so she covered her hands in ice, then aimed and shot it all at him at once.
Three of the shards hit him, one barely missing his left kidney, the others hitting his upper and lower left leg, respectively.
He fell to the ground.
She gathered all the water she could, and sent it at him in one massive wave.
He rolled over, and lifted up a large amount of dust into the water, turning it to mud.
He stood up, with difficulty, and began to limp surprisingly fast toward Whitewash.
"You never learned when to stay down, did you, boy?" she said, as she twirled a ball of water around herself before hitting him in the side, knocking him over again.
She formed two large ice spikes around her arms, meaning a punch would go straight through him, and advanced on V'icternus.
When she was almost close enough to strike, he jumped up, using a rock he had picked up with his left hand to shatter the ice on her right arm, then, standing only on his one good leg, he spun around and cut at the ice on her left arm.
She jabbed forward at the last second, which moved her arm into the wrong position, which means the strike that was meant for the ice on her left arm severed the arm itself.
She fell backward, looking at the bleeding stump where her arms used to be.
V'icternus stood over her, his sword pointing at her throat.
The crowd where screaming, some telling him to kill, others to spare, and some still routing for the Waterbender.
He looked at her eyes.
"Please... Please... I don't want to die" she begged.
"My mother is dead" he said
"Wh... what?"
"My mother. Remember, at the start of the fight? Well, my mother was killed by a Waterbender, why should you get a better fate?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know, I didn't know!"
"Well, now you know. Get out of here. Now"
"Thank you! Thank you!" she cried, as she began crawling toward the medics and healers who were waiting for her.
"And the winner, and your champion tonight, Silverblade!!" boomed the voice of the organizer.
The crowd roared, their blood pumping after the violent and bloody fights, all talking loudly as as they began to exit the arena.
The organizer, who obviously never told anyone his name as he was organizing an illegal event, walked up to V'icternus with his winnings.
"Here you go, sir, the 10,000 gold pieces, as agreed. Now, I suggest you go see our healers, you've lost a lot of blood."
"I'll be fine without your Waterbenders, thank you" V'icternus replied curtly
"Fine, your choice, kid"
Later, after he had left the arena and patched up his wounds, he prepared to leave, traveling at night to avoid the rush there would be in the morning, as everyone who arrived for the tournament would be leaving.
As he walked out of the town, he sensed someone watching him from behind.
He turned, and saw a girl, about his age, wearing a familiar looking locket...
"Hello Vic" asked the girl.
"Hello Idril", V'icternus replied
"Don't you 'hello Idril' me! You just disappeared a year ago, I thought you were dead!"
"Idril..."
"No! I don't want to hear it! How could you have just left me? You never even said goodbye!"
"Idril, I..."
"I'm not finished! Do you know what it was like, attending your parents funeral when you weren't there? It was horrible!"
"Idril, would you please just..."
"I mean, we were in love Vic, didn't that mean anything? Did you even love me?"
"Idril, you know I did, but..."
"Then why did you leave?"
"Idril, I have to go"
"And then, imagine my surprise, after thinking you were dead for all this time, to see you in that tournament! You can't run away this time, you have to talk to me!"
"Idril! I have to go, now"
"No you don't, Vic, you... You can't just leave me here! Don't you... don't you still love me?"
V'icternus paused for a moment, then
"No, I don't" he said.
Idril was completely stunned by this response.
"You... you don't?"
"No."
He began to walk of, back out onto the road, not paying any attention to the sobbing behind him...
"Who are you?" Idril said as he walked off, but he didn't hear her.
She ran off, crying, to the house where she was staying, dropping behind her the gold locket that V'icternus had given her, which sprang open, revealing the carving of them on the inside, where they were laughing together...
V'icternus strode into the Fire Nation bar, and took a seat at the counter.
"Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" asked the bartender.
"Well, I don't seem to be drinking right now, do I?" came the patronizing reply.
"I see you're in a bad mood, but that doesn't mean you have to be rude in my bar", said the bartender "so either cheer up, apologize, or..."
But V'icternus interrupted him, grabbing him by the neck of his shirt "One year ago today, my parents were killed, so if I want to be in a bad mood, that is my business!"
He pushed him away, then got up and walked out of the bar.
"Did you see his eyes?" one of the people at the bar said softly. "It was like they were empty, there was nothing in them"
"I know", replied the barman, "and he would have killed me without a second thought..."
"Well, I've that's the last I ever see of him, it will be too much. So, are you going to the Clash of the Benders tonight?" the customer said, changing the subject.
"I can't, I have to watch the bar. I can't take time off for an illegal Bending contest"
"Pity, I hear it's gonna be good"
"Are you going then?"
"Yep, got front row tickets. Cost me an arm and a leg to get 'em, but it'll be worth it!"
Back outside, V'icternus was still fuming, and headed down to the villages arena, which had a sign over the door.
It read "Closed for repairs".
He walked in the door, and was met with a rather large man.
"Can't you read! We're closed!"
V'icternus pulled out a small sack of gold coins and threw it at his feet.
"I'm here to sign up"
"Just go round to the back..." said the man, already counting his money.
He walked round to the back entrance, and walked in.
He saw a man at standing next to a sign-up sheet hanging on the wall.
The man had various cut's, bruises, burns, and what looked like a broken nose.
As V'icternus walked up to the sign-up sheet, the man made a motion with his hand.
V'icternus pulled out another sack of gold, and handed it to the man.
"Thank you for your business. Just remember, we aren't responsible if anything goes wrong. Sign your stage name on the sheet, then show up back here for the Clash."
"No, thank you. I'm always looking for an excuse to fight these... other Benders."
"What type of Bender are you anyway...," He checked the sheet V'icternus had signed, "Silverblade?"
"...Earth" Came the reply, before V'icternus walked back out onto the street.
Later, after the sun had set, V'icternus, as well as many other Benders, were gathered in the arena, preparing for the tournament.
V'icternus had already seriously offended three Benders, and they had sworn to destroy him in the ring if they fought.
He looked out into the arena itself, and he saw that the place was packed.
He noticed that people from all over the world had come to see the violent contest.
He knew why. This was one of the only tournaments in existence that allowed deaths in the ring.
Of course, it is up to the winner to decide whether or not to kill his opponent, so the organizer made sure to have trained Waterbender healers at the ready.
He went back into the preparation area, where most of the others were donning armor, showing off, or threatening each other,
He sat alone in the corner, just staring at something he was holding in his hand...
Then, they heard the bell ring, signifying the start of the first match.
The first two competitors, Swirler and Waterburg entered the arena...
When the 42nd round finally came along, V'icternus got up and walked through the entrance of the arena.
Walking alongside him, a Firebender named Burnscar.
"You're going down, I've never been beaten!" Taunted Burnscar as they walked out into the arena.
"Well, it only has to happen once, filth" V'icternus replied, seemingly irritated already.
"Your gonna regret those words in a minute, the crowd has been wanting a kill"
Even after 41 rounds, no one had yet killed their opponent, usually knocking them unconscious or trapping them, preventing them from moving.
"We'll see"
The crowd cheered as they walked into the ring, and went to their respective sides.
"And now, Burnscar and Silverblade are about to go head to head, so get ready to get your money's worth here, at the one, the only, the Clash of the Benders!!!
The crowd cheered, some of the louder and more bloodthirsty ones screaming for a death.
"Fight!!!"
V'icternus drew his sword and began to run at his opponent.
Burnscar had already started shooting medium sized fireballs aimed right at V'icternus' chest.
V'icternus used his sword to deflect the blasts as he ran, still getting closer.
The crowd began to chant and cheer, as now they were both within striking distance of each other.
V'icternus began swinging his sword at shoulder level, while Burnscar tried to avoid the silver blade.
Suddenly, Burnscar rolled along the ground, under V'icternus' attack, then shot a wave of flame along the ground from behind V'icternus.
V'icternus turned and quickly raised a small curved wall of earth at about knee height.
The curve in the wall sent the wave back toward Burnscar, who created a gap in the wave so it went right past him.
V'icternus lowered the wall, and charged at Burnscar again this time moving in lower than before.
Burnscar created an especially long, thin whip made of fire, and whipped it at V'icternus.
It caught him on the left side, but he kept charging, but instead of using the charge to attack, he tackled Burnscar, knocking them both to the ground.
The crowd went silent, as neither of the fighters were moving.
Then, V'icternus stood up, and looked down at his opponent.
He had broken every rib on his right side, and appeared to have a broken arm.
In V'icternus' eyes, there was a flash as a similar scene came to mind, from his last birthday...
"And the victor of round 42 is..." came the booming voice, but before he could finish, V'icternus swung his blade, and lodged it into the skull of his opponent.
The crowd went wild. The cheering, and the booing, was deafening.
"SILVERBLADE!!"
V'icternus went back into the preparation room, receiving mixed looks from the other fighters.
He sat back down in his corner, and turned away anyone who wished to congratulate or threaten him with a cold glance.
His second and final battle came at around ten-thirty.
As he walked into the arena the second time, bringing with him the only other competitor that was still fit to fight, a Waterbender named Whitewash.
"I was hoping to be able to kill one of you here, Waterbender" he said.
"And I was hoping to win. Who do you think will get their wish?" she replied, forming some water into the shape of a question mark, then freezing it.
"Let's find out" he said as they entered the ring.
"Just don't go crying to your mommy when you lose, little boy"
The cheers were tremendous, as both of these opponents had put up good fights, and one of them had made a kill.
"And for your final battle tonight, we have Whitewash, a Waterbender from the distant South Pole, fighting Silverblade, an unknown Earthbender, with a heart of stone!"
The cheers continued, as this would decide who would win all the bets.
"FIGHT!!!!!!"
Whitewash sent two long streams of through the air, to trap V'icternus.
He leaped into the air, and with two swings of his sword, shattered the ice streams.
He began running around Whitewash in a counter-clockwise direction, knocking away or blocking any attacks that would hit him.
She noticed he was getting closer and closer, so she covered her hands in ice, then aimed and shot it all at him at once.
Three of the shards hit him, one barely missing his left kidney, the others hitting his upper and lower left leg, respectively.
He fell to the ground.
She gathered all the water she could, and sent it at him in one massive wave.
He rolled over, and lifted up a large amount of dust into the water, turning it to mud.
He stood up, with difficulty, and began to limp surprisingly fast toward Whitewash.
"You never learned when to stay down, did you, boy?" she said, as she twirled a ball of water around herself before hitting him in the side, knocking him over again.
She formed two large ice spikes around her arms, meaning a punch would go straight through him, and advanced on V'icternus.
When she was almost close enough to strike, he jumped up, using a rock he had picked up with his left hand to shatter the ice on her right arm, then, standing only on his one good leg, he spun around and cut at the ice on her left arm.
She jabbed forward at the last second, which moved her arm into the wrong position, which means the strike that was meant for the ice on her left arm severed the arm itself.
She fell backward, looking at the bleeding stump where her arms used to be.
V'icternus stood over her, his sword pointing at her throat.
The crowd where screaming, some telling him to kill, others to spare, and some still routing for the Waterbender.
He looked at her eyes.
"Please... Please... I don't want to die" she begged.
"My mother is dead" he said
"Wh... what?"
"My mother. Remember, at the start of the fight? Well, my mother was killed by a Waterbender, why should you get a better fate?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know, I didn't know!"
"Well, now you know. Get out of here. Now"
"Thank you! Thank you!" she cried, as she began crawling toward the medics and healers who were waiting for her.
"And the winner, and your champion tonight, Silverblade!!" boomed the voice of the organizer.
The crowd roared, their blood pumping after the violent and bloody fights, all talking loudly as as they began to exit the arena.
The organizer, who obviously never told anyone his name as he was organizing an illegal event, walked up to V'icternus with his winnings.
"Here you go, sir, the 10,000 gold pieces, as agreed. Now, I suggest you go see our healers, you've lost a lot of blood."
"I'll be fine without your Waterbenders, thank you" V'icternus replied curtly
"Fine, your choice, kid"
Later, after he had left the arena and patched up his wounds, he prepared to leave, traveling at night to avoid the rush there would be in the morning, as everyone who arrived for the tournament would be leaving.
As he walked out of the town, he sensed someone watching him from behind.
He turned, and saw a girl, about his age, wearing a familiar looking locket...
"Hello Vic" asked the girl.
"Hello Idril", V'icternus replied
"Don't you 'hello Idril' me! You just disappeared a year ago, I thought you were dead!"
"Idril..."
"No! I don't want to hear it! How could you have just left me? You never even said goodbye!"
"Idril, I..."
"I'm not finished! Do you know what it was like, attending your parents funeral when you weren't there? It was horrible!"
"Idril, would you please just..."
"I mean, we were in love Vic, didn't that mean anything? Did you even love me?"
"Idril, you know I did, but..."
"Then why did you leave?"
"Idril, I have to go"
"And then, imagine my surprise, after thinking you were dead for all this time, to see you in that tournament! You can't run away this time, you have to talk to me!"
"Idril! I have to go, now"
"No you don't, Vic, you... You can't just leave me here! Don't you... don't you still love me?"
V'icternus paused for a moment, then
"No, I don't" he said.
Idril was completely stunned by this response.
"You... you don't?"
"No."
He began to walk of, back out onto the road, not paying any attention to the sobbing behind him...
"Who are you?" Idril said as he walked off, but he didn't hear her.
She ran off, crying, to the house where she was staying, dropping behind her the gold locket that V'icternus had given her, which sprang open, revealing the carving of them on the inside, where they were laughing together...
