Retribution

I think that all of them are somewhat bland because of the grayscale on them, the text isn't very legible, and there is a lack of blending. I think you should try to at least add in a background for all of them to make them more interesting, instead of the gray, lined background. The colors of the text are somewhat abrupt and don't mix well with the black-white thing going on. But if it counts for anything, I like the quote "Let red be for repentance."

And here's the late sign up. XD [B]Name:[/B] Kuro Himitari [B]Age:[/B] 16 [B]Gender:[/B] Male [B]Appearance: [/B] [URL=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/mechinfinity/demian.jpg][ link ][/URL] [B]Element:[/B] Tough Mud [B]Personality:[/B] Kuro is a hard worker, trying his hardest to master whatever is set before him. He is humble when people compliment him or challenge him, and would much rather compliment than brag or demean someone. He tried to be a "gentleman" as his father said, by being nice to all his meets, especially girls. [B]Bio:[/B] Kuro was born into a good, study family, with his father making enough money for them to live comfortably, and his mother holding up the other half of the finances by running their own business. His younger brother, Hiro, looks up to him, saying he "wants to get good grades like Kuro does." Which is true, because Kuro is a very smart individual. His mother and father's work ethic rubbed off on him and his brother. Kuro grew up with a facination for Samurai and their Bushido. Shortly after, he took up Kendo, which he tried his hardest to learn. He worked hard, as always, and progressed steadily through the ranks. By age 15, he was very close to mastery, when he decided to take up a side of strategy, in addition to his regular Kendo classes. He studied tactics, and how different battles panned out due to the different tactics employed. He currently still is taking Kendo, and is working hard to get a 4.0 this quarter.

Yeah, if I were to try to resize it, the animation would be lost... I only have Adobe Photoshop CS. Like Ozy said, with the layers it would be possible, but without them, sorry.

On the RPG side of my hate... - People who've mastered all martial arts/gymnastics by age 22. It's impossible to do both. - Silent, brooding types who are devoid of all emotion. They don't exist. - Tough guys who want to revenge bad-guy x for killing his family. Too cliche. - Katanas. There are more swords than just that one people! - People who can't type to save their own lives. Get a dictionary. - People only want to find true love, and are completely afraid of rejection. Too cliche. [B] - People who recycle their characters.[/B] Get creative. This bugs me the most!

ACKT! I told you not to read the letter... xD But yeah, thanks for the ideas and such. I suppose it's high praise for [b]Freude[/b] to be complimenting my graphics. So yes, thank you very much. I don't think it will be the same in sepia though...

She's going to be gone for a week, therefore she will return this friday. Yeah, hello to you, Rhian. I suppose I am new in the RPGs to a few of you. However, I've RPed with several people from this crew thanks to Project. Rhian, it seems you and I have a telepathic connection. I will be utilizing this later...

Rion was stirred from his thoughts when a slave girl walked past. He looked at her once she left, and almost felt like talking to her. However, he needed to think just a little bit more. His mind was confused from the day, and he needed time to sort things out; and the girl wouldn't help him with that. "Maybe I should get up and take a stroll." He said, talking aimlessly around the castle. He ended up in the central court once more, with bards and servants playing music and exchanging stories for the nobles, who seemed quite happy with all of this. Lady Ashrel looked rather disguisted, so he wanted to be as far away from her as possible. "Come, have a seat, sir, and listen ta' an excitin' tale!" A bard said, signaling for him to sit on the steps in the court. He did, and smiled at the man. He was dressed in a cloak of green, and a flute was on his back. "Um... what kind of story is it?" Rion asked. He didnt' feel like listening. "One of... adventure, and sex." the man looked increasingly horny. Rion wanted to get away from him. "No thank you, and goodbye." He stood up, and walked around through the crowd, looking at everyone for entertainment. His eyes laid upon a familar face. [i]Asher! How'd he get here?[/i] Thoughts raced through his mind. Asher's thoughts paralleled those of his own, and gave him a silent signal to talk to him on the fringes of the party. They both made their way to the wall, and slipped out of the hall, and into the courtyard once more. "How'd you manage to get in? I'm delighted to see you!" Rion said with a sigh of relief. He should have known that Asher was tough enough to take out a few guards on his own. "Well, I killed a ... resistant guard. How about yourself?" "I was invited to a royal feast, but the King got angery, and locked us all inside. We can't leave. When shall we move to the next stage. When shall we assassinate the king?" "Soon. But have patience Rion. It may be as long as another few days before the time is right. But I'll have my quiver full and my bow tight for that time. I suspect your rapier will be sharp, as well, hm?" "Indeed it will be. But we must part. We cannot be seen talking. Goodbye, and farewell." Rion and Asher walked away from each other. They hadn't been seen conspiring. Rion walked back into the bustling room, and Lady Ashrel tailed him, tapping him on the shoulder. "Hm?" he said in surpise, then he turned around and saw it was Lady Ashrel. "I grow weary of your persistence." "So cold to me now, Sir Marquise?" She purred. Rion bit his tounge to keep his senses. "You're the cold one. You've lost your heart... please do not speak to me anymore." He turned to walk away, then heard the unsheating of a weapon. He grabbed his rapier, and turned in the defensive position. It turned out that they both had their weapons to each other's throats. Ashrel smiled cruelly at him, Rion stared at her angrily. He wanted solitude, not pestering "Sir Marquise, I suggest you not talk that way to a lady." "You do not act as one. Sheath your weapon, I have no desire to fight you." Lady Ashrel closed her eyes, and shook her head as if to scold him, and then sheathed her sword. The other remained in the sheath. Rion did so too, and sat down on the steps once more.

I would guess you'd have to force them, rather than take torture. I mean, seriously. Your task is probably way worse than the "treatment," I would guess.

Yeah, I had a question and a comment. Question: When will the RPG be put up in the Square? I'm eager to get started. ^_^ Comment: The floor maps are hard to follow... I sure hope we aren't expected to be able to completely understand everything on there. I can get the basic gist of where things are, where the doors open too, and where the stairs go up and down. But somethings are harder than others on there... I mean, it [i]is[/i] a mansion we have there.

Whoa, you've got yourself a very creative archive here. Blew James' out of the water, if I may say so. All the nifty background music, and custom images... you really did it up. Good job. I had fun looking through some of the links, looking back at your work. Good stuff.

Yeah, thank you for all the feedback. I couldn't really decide how to make the text blend into the background, but it still be legible. That was a problem. In retrospect, I should've made the movie film more prominent. Now that I look at it, it just looks... grungy and nondescript.

Yeah... More art. I really think I should just make one thread. Don't hurt me Syk3 *cringe* Anyway, here's some musical art, if you care to gander at it. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/mechinfinity/music.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/mechinfinity/musicbanner.jpg[/IMG]

[b]Tell Her I'm Sorry[/b] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/mechinfinity/letter.jpg[/IMG] Sometimes it's hard to tell someone you're sorry. That was the feeling I was trying to put arcross on this one. Did I succeed?

[CENTER][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/mechinfinity/libraryaltron.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [SIZE=1]What can I say? I suppose I'm a follower... But I just wanted to make a little archive of all my works in here. But I'll at least [i]try[/i] to be different. Since I'm not one to [i]make[/i] RPGs, I'll list the one's I've participated in under the [B]RP Archives[/B]. The [B]Anthology[/B] will be my poems/stories. And [b]Future[/b] will be any work I intend on doing in here. Just so you know, this isn't a chronological listing, but an alphabetized one. I'll just edit the post to change up the information. [SIZE=2][COLOR=DarkRed][B][Current Projects][/B][/COLOR][/SIZE] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45233&page=1]Darkness Falls: The Fall of Man [M-LSV][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45651]Elemental Children [M-LSV][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45530&page=1]Project 2: A Sealed Fate [M-LSV][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45512]Reality of Dreams [M-LSV][/URL] [SIZE=2][COLOR=DarkRed][B][RP Archives][/B][/COLOR][/SIZE] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45540]Graffiti [M-LSV][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45206]Final Fantasy: Quest for the Crystals [M-LSV][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44874&page=1]Project: True Destiny Unwinds [M-LSV][/URL] [SIZE=2][COLOR=DarkRed][B][Anthology][/B][/COLOR][/SIZE] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44544]Azure [E][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44112]Blossomed [E][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45585]Collection of Poems [M/PG-LV][/URL] [I][URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showpost.php?p=637362&postcount=1] - Not Now[/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showpost.php?p=637362&postcount=1] - Heartbreak[/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showpost.php?p=637362&postcount=1] - Obstacles[/URL][/I] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44739]Fake [PG-L][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45476]God of Dreams [M-LSV][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45917]Let Me Rest [E][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44395]Love [E][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44405]Paths [E][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44448]The Test [E][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44569]"This mouth..." [E][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44804]What Went Wrong? [E][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44906]Shattered[/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44564]Sunset [E][/URL] [SIZE=2][COLOR=DarkRed][B][Future Projects][/B][/COLOR][/SIZE] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45575][i]Fantacies Desire/Realities Sin [M-LSV][/i][/URL] [/SIZE]

The quote on the banner is from [i][b]Iris[/b][/i] by the [i][b]Goo Goo Dolls[/b][/i]. Tell me what you think about it. Just so you know, this is an array of all the banner-variations from this project. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/mechinfinity/filmall.jpg[/IMG]

I'd like to fly, and really really fast and agilely too. Like Dragon Ball Z fast and agile. Shooting junk out of my hands would rock too, but I don't think it would be particularly useful very often. Except when saving the world, every now and then. Gotta use that power then... And [b]selective[/b] x-ray vision. For obvious reasons. :animenose

Yeah, I just noticed these new smilies when I was posting in the Arena Underground. Good stuff... yeah, these ones are WAY better than the others. These have motion, and better animation to explain how you're feeling. But I'll always love :p that one. :animesigh :animeangr :animestun Those three are my new favorites. Yay! We all look like n00bs again, using this many smilies. Heh.

[SIZE=1] Hey, everyone. I'm joining the RPG, and I thought I'd inform you all of that in the underground thread. Here we go. [B]Name:[/B] Julius Aurelius [B]Age:[/B] 26 [B]Gender:[/B] Male [B]Home Planet:[/B] Born on Mars, lives on Earth. [B]Apperance:[/B] [url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/mechinfinity/gah.jpg[/url] Imagine him without the flight suit. 5'10", with green eyes. Medium build. [B]Personality: [/B] Julius loves to talk to people, and is usually very personable. He likes to have fun, and enjoy life. However, his job comes first always. Before and during the mission, he will become extremely serious, psyching himself up for the challenge ahead. If the mission fails, he blames it on himself. If it succeeds, he pushes the credit to someone else. One could go so far as to say Julius is humble, but it is not so. While he likes being praised, he thinks that too much of it will make you become complacent, so he shuns it. [B]Bio:[/B] Julius was born on a Martian city. At his birth, he was diagnosed with a special 'gift' which the doctors labled a syndrome. It's medical definition is "Responsive Shell Syndrome," and it was so hyper active in Julius that he learned how to talk nearly a year before the average age of speaking infants. His father took advantage of such a gift, and helped him learn all he could in such a short time as the infantile years. He knew that children's brains absorbed information much faster than an adult, but his child was extraordinary. He had learned multiplication and division in kindergarden. He lived on Mars until he was four years old. After that, his father decided it would be better if they moved to Earth, as there were better job prospects there, and his family needed the money. Once they reached the Earth, his family's situation became much better, and they began to succeed. Julius had become very good in school, mastering information nearly five grades ahead of where he was. His teachers didn't know what to do with him, but the government did. When he was 16, he was recruited by the military to join them in a project which he readily accepted. He hungered for a challenge, wished to better humanity. The government agency offered both to him. So, he joined, and trained as hard as he possibly could, and as a result learned to conquer his previous fears of death, and became an outstanding soldier. He could think much faster than any other soldier in the field could, as his brain soaked up all possible information on the battlefield, and actively applied it to his previous encounters and lessons. Some joked that he had a computer lodged inside his head. All in all, he trained very hard, for he was told that "One day, people like you will save the world. You must bear that weight. You must save us all." His time had come. [B]Weaponry: [/B] [I]- long range weaponry:[/I] Assault rifle, silenced pistol. [I]- melee weaponry:[/I] kodachi [small katana] [B]Gift:[/B] Hyper responsive brain. This means that he has no "powers," but can react to stimuli four to five times as fast as a regular human. Whether learning a new skill, reacting to a new combat situation, or sheer reflexes, his are much faster than normal. Basically, he reacts to things faster than most. [B]Your Greatest Fear:[/B] Bodily mutilation, loss of an apendage, and death of a loved one. He fears death of a loved one because he becomes very attached to them, and if they are taken away from him, he would suffer extreme grief. He is completely afraid of bodily mulitation or a loss of an appendage because he likes to remain mobile, without hinderance of a wheel-chair or some other means of help.[/SIZE]

Rion looked at her for a while, wondering what the purpose of her not escaping was. [I]Just to prove she can do it herself? To prove she doesn't need help? I can understand being prideful, but this is a little too much...[/I] She shook his head, then ran off down the hall before the guards caught sight of him. It was definetly a shame he couldn't at least help her. He got down the spiral stair case, and then walked slower to look less suspicious. The guards passed by him in a slow, causal walk. Apparently, they weren't concerned with him... they had been talking about the King's latest plans. But he didn't pick up much, unfortunately. He decided to go back to the hospital wing, to talk to his body guards whom he had foolishly deserted early in the day. Once he got there, he could not find them, but he did find a note nailed to the door at their post. "Sir Marquise, We could not locate you to inform you, but your knights have been banished from the castle for security issues. I hope you understand, and it is only with the best intentions I sent them away. Please don't take offense at this. Thank you. Sincerely, His Majesty" He punched the door, and gritted his teeth, trying to think of a why they would post a "security hazard." He finally arrived at the conclusion that they were probably going to try to attack him or something while his guard was down. He could only guess it was Lady Ashrel forging the king's signature -- Daimon had more important matters to attend to. Frowning, he walked back out into the court yard, and sat back down underneath the overing-roof just outside of the training grounds, next to the marble stream. He felt relaxed again, and thought of a means of escape.

Rion woke from his light doze in the court yard, and stood up. "I may as well take a walk around." He said, seeing people going to train in the court yard. He wanted to leave, before others challenged him. He walked back into the main castle, and decided to go up a long, dim lit spiral stair case. He also took note that the hallways were now poorly lit and dingy. A definite change in scenery, Rion thought to himself as he walked down the hall. In the distance, he could hear two women speaking. He followed their voices, taking great care not to make any noise. "...it's that damned Ashrael! Who in the HELL does she think she is?!" he caught the sentence amid the other chatting. It's tone was definetly angered, and rose above the rest of the conversation. He nodded in agreement, and was eager to see who had spoken such bold words against Lady Ashrel. He put his back against the wall, and sooted closer to the door to get a better listen on what was happening. He picked out a phrase or two. It was broken... "...some clothes?" "I'll see what I can do... " the voices spoke back and forth to one another. He heard foot steps coming closer to the door, so he crouched, and prayed she wasn't going to walk in his direction. The woman didn't, who turned out to be Ayama. He sighed with relief, then stood up and knocked on the door softly when Ayama was out of sight. "Oh. Ayama, that was fast. What is it?" the girl asked. She opened the door, and stepped back a few feet. Of course, she was in shock. She was expecting to see her friend who was a woman, but here Rion stood in the threshold. "SHhh... Please be quiet. I'm Sir Marquise, but such titles are rubbish. You may call me Rion. What're you doing in such poor lodging?" he asked, trying to see what was happening. "Oh! Um... I'm the king's slave girl. You might want to get away quickly if you don't want to be killed. If we try to escape, we'll be thrown in the dungeon. It's in your best interes---" she was cut off. "No. Who would I be to leave you, now that I know what his majesty is actually doing to his servants. This is terrible, I mean, you do want to at leat try to escape?" He asked the question, hoping that she would say yes. He didn't want anyone being left to die in a dungeon, only being called upon to pleasure the king.

You see, usually group project rock, but sometimes they suck. I'll explain myself... In the early years of school (elementary/junior high), the projects assigned were stupid, pointless, and time consuming. To make matters worse, the teacher would pick our groups, inevitable screwing over me and the rest of the hard workers in the group. And this wouldn't be a problem if everyone in the group got an individual grade based upon how much work we did, but that wasn't the case. We get graded on what the final project looks like, and we all got the same grade. I hated those. Because I'm the type of person who will work hard to get [i]my[/i] grade. Not the stupid, sleeping stoner in the back of the class' grade. But in highschool, the teachers don't assign as many group projects. Actually, only my literature classes assigned me group projects, and those were fun because we got to assemble our own groups. All my friends are [relatively] hard workers, so we got the good grade we deserved. I'll give group projects a [B]6 out of 10.[/B] Heh, now I feel like a videogame rater-person.

Yeah... so was taking pictures of this picture of a sculpture. I dunno who did the sculpture or the picture, but in this brushy script it says "Calder," whom I suppose took the picture. The sculpture is famous... and huge. It's hanging in a location I can't remember right now. Sorry. =\ So I took shots of this, and manipulated them. Tell me what you think. [b]Mechanical Flight[/b] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/mechinfinity/leaves2.jpg[/IMG] [b]Mechanical Leaves[/b] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/mechinfinity/leaves1.jpg[/IMG]

I step up my tripod, and aimed it at my computer desk. Of course, there were papers everywhere, and I thought it would be a cool idea to take a picture of this Sony recorder thingy both closed and opened without moving it too much. So I blended the two images together and I got this... ethereal half-open, half closed, in the middle look. Strange. Tell me what you think. [URL=http://img211.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img211&image=distort4lk.jpg][IMG]http://img211.exs.cx/img211/9264/distort4lk.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] EDIT: I had to change the host because photobucket resizes images up to a certain size. Darn you... *shakes fist*

[SIZE=1]Dude! This is completely awesome! I'm in. The detail of this is astounding. Please, PLEASE let there be devoted members who post well. *crosses fingers* [B]Name:[/B] Sergio Alvarez [B]Age:[/B] 25 [B]Sex:[/B] Male [B]Location:[/B] Madrid, Spain [B]Appearance:[/B] [URL=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/mechinfinity/fuma.jpg][link][/URL] But nix the clothes he's wearing, as well as his eye color. He has light brown/hazel eyes, and wears a gray long-sleeve shirt and gray cargo pants. His chin is less-sharp than what's shown in the picture... the one there could cut someone! Sometimes you can find him with black jeans and a white dress shirt with the top button undone. [B]Personality:[/B] He is amiable and enjoyable to talk to. He can hold an intelligent, pleasant conversation with you for hours, and it'll feel like no time has passed at all. However with his happy, carefree side also comes his berserker, angry side. This doesn't surface out of the blue and unprovoked, but when you have set off his temper, which is usually very forgiving. He enters a berserker frenzy when his life is in danger, preparing to do anything to save his own life, and he people he loves most around him. [B]Bio:[/B] Sergio was born in Castile, Spain, and moved to Madrid when he was seven. His family raised him well, he coming out as an intelligent young man by the time he was 18. When Sergio was young, his family taught him the value of knowledge and what it can get you in life. His mother and father worked very hard at both their jobs and at home to raise him and his two sisters right. They stuck together, and life got easier for the family. His father got a promotion, and his mother got a pay raise. They sent Sergio off to Oxford for college, wanting on the best for their aspiring prodigy. He learned english at Oxford, making him fluent in both languages. He prefers to use spanish, because he feels allows him to portray his true feelings. He worked hard at Oxford to become an aeronautical engineer, hoping that one day one of his own creations would allow him to fly above the world. He recieved a letter in the mail, telling him that he had been selected to live in a mansion of delights and to earn free money. What could go wrong? he thought, so he accepted. His parents were extremely happy for him, hoping that the extra money would give him a head-start into adulthood and establishing himself in the world. [B]Greatest Desire:[/B] To travel in space. He loves the idea of weightlessness, zero G, and the infinite vastness of space. He even wanted to be an astronaut when he was little. [B]Greatest Fear:[/B] Being killed. He will do anything to survive. The survival instict runs strongly in his veins.[/SIZE]

OOC: I'm going to move to the next day... feel free to keep posting on the party night. It's just that I have nothing else to post there. And I tried to include Lady Ashrel. [B]The Next Day[/B] Rion woke slowly, and streched in his hospital bed. He felt much more rested and calm after the night's sleep. He sat up, feeling the slight tugging in his back, and remembered what had happened last night. "I still can't believe it..." he said to himself as he stood up, stretching his limbs. The cut in his back didn't hurt unless someone touched the wound. He felt satisfied as he put back on his washed, dried, and ironed clothes from last night. He walked around for a bit, getting aquainted to the new feeling of his back when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in..." he said. A servant entered, and bowed, then spoke to him in a decreeing tone. "His majesty has ordered that you not leave the castle. If you do, you will be thrown into the dungeon. Please respect his wishes, thank you." "Wait!" he called after the butler. He turned around, not really caring about what he was going to say, but listened anyway. "I wish to go home. This castle is not my home, as you know. The party was grand, but I desire to return to my own quarters." "I'm sorry, Sir Marquise, but I must decline your request. The King explicitly said you were to remain in the castle. However, you are quite welcome to walk around." Rion attached his rapier to his side, and re-inserted his knife in his sleeve again. It had given him enough speed to stay alive last night. "I will accompany you. Could you direct me to the dining hall once more? I wish to eat breakfast." he ordered the servant. He quickly complied, and led him there. It was completely deserted, save for a new nobles from the past night walking through it sleepily. One man was playing chess against his brother a few seats away. "What will your order be?" asked the servant. Rion took a seat. "I'll have toast and orange juice, thank you." He said, turning his attention to the brothers playing chess. The waiter left quickly, and returned with his food just as fast. He sipped on the orange juice while he watched the game. "Poor move, chap. You should've moved your bishop to [i]that[/i] square," Rion remarked. The two teenagers turned and looked at him, both smiling politely. The boy let out a sigh of enlightenment as he saw that the bishop could indirectly support the knight's advance to a checkmate. The other brother quickly blocked the move from happening. "Thank you, sir. That would've been a stunning move. Would you like to play the winner of this match?" he boy asked amiably. "Yes, if you would, thanks." The game was finished quickly, and the boy who Rion had suggested the move to had lost. His older brother set back up the pieces, and the new game started. Rion was black, while his opponent was white. Rion quickly pushed several pawns up to secure the center of the board, then supported his pieces with his knights. The boy, however was quite offensive, pushing up his bishops to flanking positions, slicing through his forces. The game was well played by both, but Rion's age and practice were too much for the young boy, and he overpowered him in the endgame. "Checkmate. Wonderful game" Rion said happily, as he moved the checkmating piece to its square, then offered the boy a handshake. The boy shook his hand firmly, thanking him for the great game in chess. "Yes, you were very good." he said, standing up and walking out of the hall, munching his toast as he made his way to the courtyard. He found his way there by himself, and smiled as he saw it come into view. The grass was a solid, fresh-green tone, and there were several fencers and archers in the green, practicing. He walked out, and drew his rapier, practicing the motions that would traditionally be used in combat. Parries and killing thrusts were the ones he focused on in particular, as they were the most useful in his opinion. Meanwhile, Lady Ashrel looked down into the courtyard from her window. She licked her lips in bloodlust. "Yes... Sir Marquise... kill them. All." She said quietly, wickedly, to no one in particular. She enjoyed watching him practice his killing blows most of all. It was like watching a symphony playing, or a waltz. All very beautiful and methodical to her. "Would you like to duel for practice, Sir Marquise?" A noble asked him. He was about his age, equal in stature. "It would be an honor." They both put on the body-guards to prevent bodily harm to each other, bowed, then began the fight. The man raised his rapier in a defensive position, obviously ready for Rion to attack. Rion lunged in, and stabbed, testing the man's reflexes, which turned out to be superb as he quickly parried the attack, then moved in for a counter attack. He thrusted towards his head, but Rion moved it in time, jumping backwards, then circling each other, looking for an open point. Both found the same point on each other's bodies, and lunged in with no reguard for defense. Both their rapiers rested on each other's necks, both placed there simulatenously. "Draw" they both said together, and stepped backwards. The next point would not be the same, Rion thought. They both raised their rapiers towards each other, and the man attacked first this time. Rion didn't parry the attack, but sidestepped it, ran in one step, and put the tip of the sword against the man's stomach. "The duel is mine." He said, withdrawing his rapier. They both stepped backwards, and bowed. "You are truly a formidable opponent. Were you the one fighting in the central court last night? Quite a show you and your knights put on." "Yes, it was me. However, i'm afraid I was wounded by a scoundrel who didn't follow the rules of engagement. Thankfully he's no longer part of this Earth." Lady Ashrel gave a condescending smile at Rion from her window, then stepped back inside her room. "I will make you mine, Sir Marquise. And you will kill for me. Just wait..." he said, probably plotting some evil scheme while speaking. Rion took off his gear, and sat down on the marble steps underneath the Roman-esque villa covering. The court yard was left open to the sun, and he sat in the shade on the steps next to the man-made marble stream going through the floor, down the steps, and through the training ground in a perfect line. He felt relaxed as he cooled off from the duel, listening to the water gurgle and rush down the chute.