Just an average stroll in the woods... or was it? [Social, PVP, Private]

It was a clear night, the moon and stars shining bright in the sky, casting only the dimmest of shadows. Aven twirled his cane absently in the middle of the clearing he'd specified to Markus, a habit of his. He'd practiced so much when he was little, that the object had become a sort of extension of his left arm, a useful trait in battle: and battle was precisely what he'd arrived to do. An intriguing fellow, Markus Eldridge was, though from a glance one might assume him the average wanderer or mercenary. There was a quality in his aura that spoke of untapped potential, the kind of sense that drew unique individuals together. He supposed that was half the cause of their meeting in the desert, though personally, Aven would argue day and night against the idea of fate. Coincidence and consequence, that was what he believed, a function of free will that he'd not yet found a logical counter to.

Darkness magic... he hadn't the correct amount of time to study Markus' technique, only a few snippets of data being gathered in their time at the tomb. In all honestly, he'd half a mind to incorporate some element of Darkness magic into a Circle for his own use, but to do that, he'd need quite a bit more data, and since Markus' spells didn't naturally form visible matrices, he couldn't just read how the spell worked. Annoying, but there was a remedy: prolonged exposure. After all, the best way to learn is first hand, they say.

Markus arrived shortly after Aven, to his delight. There was a hint of uncertainly in Aven about whether he'd actually come, seeing as he was the wandering type. As the doubt was dispelled from his mind, he planted his cane in front of him with a grin. "Pleasure to see you again, Markus. I take it, then, you accept my challenge?" Aven had fought a few wizards in his time at Fairy Tail, but never in a duel. The chaos of the battlefield, the element of surprise, guerilla tactics, all of these things were nearly moot in the kind of scuffle they'd planned. It would come down to skill, talent, strategy, and of course, the aces up both of their sleeves. Excitement welled up in his chest, as he prepared to prove the strength of Fairy Tail.

Aven shook his head lightly as Markus circled around, trying to get a better angle of approach. Smart choice, attacking from the right, since he wielded his cane with his left. "I'm not daft enough to take my eyes off an opponent, now am I?" Markus was making a headlong charge, another smart move. Circle Magic, unfortunately, fares poorly in close combat, at least in pertinence to many other magics. That was where his cane came in.

Before Aven could strike, however, he hesitated, noticing Markus's eyes, focused directly on his weapon. Shit, he's expecting me to use the cane! The moment's hesitation was too great, and while he successfully nudged aside the kick with a swipe of his cane, he was too far off balance, and the jab struck him in the ribs. He danced backward, a slight ache where contact had been made, just as Markus summoned his magic, thorny vines composed of darkness. Likely to enhance his strikes and give him range over the cane... in response, a light blue magic circle appeared in front of Aven, spinning in place, while a grey circle spawned beside it and promptly shattered, causing the light blue circle to pulsate. Aven rocketed his body backward as the circle activated, a light, icy wind blowing directly at Markus.

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Health: 290
Magic Power: 270

Frostbite Circle: 3 posts cooldown remaining.
Destruction Glyph, Rho: 1 post cooldown remaining.

The Frostbite circle hit?! Son of a... I thought for sure he'd dodge. Now, there was a serious problem: that spell had been simply to create distance and distract Markus so that he could establish an advantage, he hadn't wanted it to land. It was a very powerful spell, one that could actually freeze the average civilian to the point of death. He'd like to believe that Markus was more resilient than that, but could he really take the chance? Aven was trying to recruit Markus, not permanently debilitate him!

Aven's thoughts were shattered, as Markus's shadow leapt out from behind him, taking the form of a wolf. He'd introduced her at the Tomb, Hela, wasn't it? He spun to the right, striking out at Hela with the orb of the cane as he attempted to dodge, once again to no avail. Her teeth sunk into his side, and he winced. Markus was closing in as well, with the dark whip-like spell. He needed distance, fast, and with Hela holding tight, there was only one way to accomplish it.

With a flourish of his cane, Aven spawned a purple circle to his left, which promptly disappeared, and him along with it, his body gone in the blink of an eye. He appeared on the opposite edge of the clearing, nearly forty meters behind Markus. He swiped his cane in a line in front of him, as a light green circle appeared on his chest. Markus would suddenly feel the chill on his body dissipate, as though dispelled, as the green circle began to glow brightly.

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Health: 285
Magic Power: 240
Destruction Glyph, Rho: No cooldown remaining.
Protection Glyph, Kha: 1 post cooldown remaining.
Healing Circle: 4 post cooldown remaining.
Blink Circle: 3 post cooldown remaining.

Aven laughed lightly at the offhanded comment as Markus took a small breather. Aven didn't mind, though he slightly questioned the strategical value of giving an opponent time to strategize. As Markus approached, two plans were quickly formulated. "Perhaps not, but I came here to learn more about your magic and you, not to flaunt my magic." There were two possibilities at the current state of the fight: Markus could rush him once more, or he could try casting from afar. Since he was already within even the shortest spell range, it was likely he was going to charge; that said, it was definitely the smartest move of the two, especially since Aven's spells were strictly faster, and he was under no pressure from either of the combatants.

With a motion of his hand, however, Markus pulled out what he assumed to be his ace in the hole, a smile spreading across Aven's face at the move as his vision blacked out. Touché, Markus. But... The intent was too obvious. Because he'd moved closer to Aven when casting, it was obvious that there was a small range on the spell, likely a dome, as that was the easiest shape transformation for most magics. Given that range, and his position in the assumed dome, Markus couldn't get more than 60 meters away simply on foot, and by the fact he hadn't dodged Frostbite Circle with any displacement or movement type spells, Aven could easily track a relative range. He almost immediately pointed forward with his cane, and a pure white magic circle appearing alongside a grey one, which shattered. The White circle pulsed with energy, as it then teleported to where Markus had previously been standing, now a trio of three. The darkness was then lit up, as each circle burst forth with eight bolts of white magic energy, fifteen of them homing down on Markus, and nine of them homing in on Hela. As he did so, something struck his straight across the face, surprising him, and knocking him onto his back.


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Health: 253
Magic Power: 210

Protection Glyph, Kha: No cooldown remaining.
Destruction Glyph, Rho: 1 post cooldown remaining.
Seeker Circle: 1 post cooldown remaining.
Blink Circle: 2 post cooldown remaining.
Frostbite Circle: 1 post cooldown remaining.
Healing Circle: 5 posts cooldown remaining.

A last resort tactic, double edged sword... Aven applauded Markus's foresight, as the blast overtook him, blowing him back into a tree, knocking the wind out of him in the process. As he staggered to his feet, brushing himself off, he saw both Hela and Markus unconscious on the ground. A good thing he'd already primed that healing circle. As he made his way over, the circle slowly reached it's finality, and he duplicated it, one on each of them, and the restorative magic energies flowed into their bodies, reversing the wounds and bruises on their forms (+120 to both). They didn't wake up immediately, however: it seemed they'd taken much more damage than he'd thought, the blast from that spell also affecting the two of them, but he plenty of time, his eyes fixed on their surroundings for any possible dangers. It was a well fought match, the least he could do was return Markus and Hela back to their former states, placing the next healing circle on Markus, empowering it, and once it had fully matured, copied another onto each of them (+240 to Markus, +120 to Hela.)

As they awoke, Aven was lounging with his back against a nearby tree. "Good morning, you two. Did you have a good rest?"He chuckled at his little joke, before continuing. "Kidding, kidding: it was a well fought match, I applaud you Markus. I'd like to thank you, as well, I think I understand your magic a bit better now; as thanks, I'd like to treat you to dinner in Magnolia, what do you say? Knowledge is invaluable to me, I'd very much appreciate you allowing me to repay the favor."

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Health: 300.
Magic Power: 180.

Aven's gentle smile became a grin, almost unconsciously, at Markus's response. It seemed Aven hadn't been the only one analyzing his opponent's magic, Markus obviously having gleaned enough to surmise exactly how the Frostbite circle was neutralized. He'd admit, if he faced a stronger opponent, and they pulled their punches in such an obvious way, even Aven himself would be disenfranchised about the fight. The question was, what should he say in response? His typical response, which would obviously be that he was worried about Markus's safety, sounded patronizing and almost rude as he played it over in his head. Such a comment would certainly be demeaning and demoralizing to an up and coming wizard, like Aven himself, so instead, he opted for a more... motivating response.

Aven's grin widened. "To be frank with you, Markus, there's a degree of fault for both of us in that scenario," He stood, brushing the dirt off the back of his suit, "I assumed you could avoid the attack, and you were unable to. You see, out of all the different magics I've studied, all the strategies and tactics that they employ, there is only one counter to every given situation: that is, of course, to simply not hit." Aven twirled his cane, then brought it down into the ground before him. "I am a man of my word, Markus, and thus, you can surely trust this promise: I will not go easy on you in our next bout... provided you've learned how to dodge." With that, he turned, picking up his cane and motioning for him to follow, leisurely strolling toward Magnolia. "Now, to eat! Healing comes at a price, you know, a portion of that energy stemmed from your own body's latent energy, you'll need to stock up if you want to get anything done the next few days!

Magnolia always had a pleasant feel to it, the citizens welcoming and friendly, not to mention the current season caught the end of the sakura's blooming, so the soothing scent wafted among the breeze constantly. Aven's head turned in delight as they walked, a bit surprised. "Really, now? Well, that's wonderful to hear, I'm sure you'll get in without any issues!" He stopped near the middle of the shopping district, in front of a place called, 'Ya-ya's Eatery'. The scent of sakura was scarce here, completely overpowered by the aroma of cooked meats. Taking a deep breath, Aven turned to face Markus. "In that case, this can be a sort of premature welcome dinner, my treat. Best chicken place I've ever found."