Welcome Rogues! Gather round for the second match in the Roguewerks fighting event! Today, our battle will take place in a gladiator themed arena. Wide open space, about two hundred steps in all directions, and no place to hide! In one corner stands Tende, the ominous fighter. In the other, Maximus, the intellectual swordsman! Settle in Rogues, for this will be a match for the books!

Maximus checks his straps and his gear as he awaits the call to arms and enter the arena. His armor felt good, and his weapons had been honed and polished for the day’s trials. A bonny servant to the arena fighters brought him a caraffe of wine to refresh before the action started. “If I am to die, best die with a belly full of wine eh?” Maximus walks out into the bright noon sun. The matte finish to his armor defied the radiance. He breathed in deeply and uttered a prayer to Ave.

Tende flexes her fingers through the holes of her pulsar knuckles. She checks to make sure tthe monofilament lines are secure and steps out in to the sun and sand of the arena beyond. “ It's a good day for some broken bones” she smiles at her own joke as she jogs out to the center of the arena.

Maximus and Tende stand about ten steps from each other. They stand in a wide open space with sand at their feet. The crowds eyes settle on them as voices turn to a whisper.

“Absolutely” tende crows as she back flip towards the sideline.

With a look of ataraxia, the drabine swordsman stands at the ready, and does absolutely nothing as he eyes his opponent from across the way.

Having the opportunity to Tende falls back against the stone of the arena,melding with the shadow cast by the wall.

Maximus reaches in to his innate arsenal of abilities and rips away all the shadows from the arena playing grounds. All is revealed.

“Interesting” Tende thinks out loud. Taking a step off the wall she bunches her muscles and uncoils a wire from her knuckles attaching one end to the arena wall.

Maximus waits. And watches with patience and analytical processing.

Tende springs forward gathering as much speed as she can in the steps between her and maximus. Ten feet from him she brings forth her mask allowing her a little extra speed. With a final step she seemingly disappears, only to land from her leap just behind her opponent.

Maximus steps forward with a hard push kick to the chest. His hands empty and striking forth into the nerve bundles about the woman’s abdomen. The pain would likely be an annoyance at best but he was just getting started after all. He dives away coming up to his feet in a roll and casting a spray of daggers to ward her off. With some feet between them once again Maximus stands aloof, ready for the next exchange.

Arena grounds begin to rumble. The sand shakes as pillars of earth come forth, extending Maximus and Tende high above ground.

Maximus keeps his feet; after years running along rooftops in cityscapes he was not unnerved to the change in elevations.

Ten is all groans and laughs as she slides down the interior boundary created by the pillars leaping between the four attaching wires as she goes.” Who let's a spider make a web” flattening herself against the pillar closest to the crowd seating she waits and plans as the pillars settle in to place.

“Thing about spiders is; if you don’t bother with them, they simply get fat and grow dull from inactivity,” Maximus retorts as he leaps from pillar to pillar getting into better position.

“Then,if that's how you feel you probably shouldn't have touched my skin while my mask was up” tende calls up as she shifts pillars herself.

Tende takes a quick look at the indicator on her left knuckle to check how much force was stored from maximus’ kick.”should be enough”

“Half the time allotted has passed.”

From the high ground, Maximus assertained that he was in a good location to try a different tactic with this spider. From his right gauntlet he released a device known as a grapnel spear; a unique blade on the length of an intricate chain, that bent and bowed like the coils of a serpent. With a flick of his wrist he sent the chained blade into a series of wide looping arcs. Anything stepping within 10 feet, would be a type of cheese with holes in it.

Amused by the dance of the strange weapon Tende notes its path and begins calculating its intended path. All the while weaving more lines between the pillars. Satisfied that her project was complete enough she strikes the pillar Maximus is standing on releasing the reduble energy bound in her left hand weapon completely shattering a four foot section to dust. Using her boosted reflexes she scrambles under her improvised penumbra taunting Maximus” how's your vision bud,toxins kicking in yet?”. Her face starts to glow.

As someone who was quite fond of the Cersiyan delicacy known as rosebuds, Maximus had built up a high tolerance to toxins. A mild irritation did begin to take root in his gut but with a small sip from his flask, it was washed away with a full bodied claret from the north country. The grapnel spear served a utilitarian purpose as well as being a vicious weapon; the tri-cornered blade with the distinct clip point caught on to the pillar and he swung down from on high. His practiced muscles were aptly able to put him somewhere more beneficial to his plight. Drawing his arming sword in mid swing, he attempted to slice a few of the guidelines the spider had woven to test their properties. The arrows were missed by the swing, aided by the refractive nature of his cloak.

With distinct hiss in the distance, two windows opened. Out of them, fired with the whipping of the wind, a wave of arrows soared toward the pair.

“Bingo” she whispers centering herself she sets off the full 10,000 lumens her Anansi boosted gifts allowed for,matched with the high polished monocellular carbon lines the effect is that of a flash bang enclosed by the pillars. Tende quickly scales what's left of the pillar Maximus descended from grappling the blinded swordsman and sinks her teeth in” you might not be feeling the effects of my god gift from contact but I'll watch you stagger out on this dose” releasing him just as swiftly as she grabbed him ,Tende flattens out and slides back down under her “web”, careful to keep the pillars between her and the in coming arrows. Maximus’s strange sword rebounds off of the specialized lines leaving little more than scuff marks.

His vision did go out. Chthonic people however, did not need to see with their eyes in order to perceive their environs. With a burst of energy and momentum from the swing, Maximus was able to put some distance between them and scale the farthest pillar to regain composure and plot the next course of action. Melee approach would not work here, so now he would turn to the arcane. Sheathing the arming sword, he then drew forth both of his sabers from the baldrics hanging on his back and made the necessary formulaic motions with the blades in masterful motions to enact a powerful blast of eldritch levin (lightning). The bolts reached out and seared the stone of the pillars and hopefully a spider in the process.

“ Thank the gods for Master Kyash’s forethought in commissioning these things” Tende muses as she raises her hands in unison to act as lightning rods and absorb the blasts until the storm of energy ceased now in capsulated and redouble in power within the pulsar knuckles. Tende shifts her weight to dig her feet in and let's loose every bit of magic stored thus far. Hopefully, blasting a blind swordsman away with the rest of the debris that used to stand as pillars above the penumbra.

No other options were available to him. He threw himself off the pillar in a forward heavy pitch. So anything he threw at the spider would come back at him tenfold. He had an idea. Let’s overload the bitch, he thought to himself. Sliding to a halt with his clawed gauntlets, he found his footing and took up both sabers and pointed them dead at the spider. “No hard feelings marra eh?” A full unrelenting torrent of energy came roaring out of both blades. It was all he could do to hold on to the hilts of these weapons.

“Cute” she whispers in his ear. Tende,already being at the peak of physically trained ability boostee by the gifts of the trickster god Anansi found it ridiculously easy to flatten,and throw herself at Maximus’s feet floating under the massive blast and around behind him,her movement hidden by his own attack. Tapping his shoulder as she spoke so he would face her as she kissed his cheek delivering one more dose of toxin “night night big guy”

Maximus grunted from the kiss. It would have been pleasant had she not been so damned toxic, he thought with a smirk. Women for ya, he grumbled. With both blades still well in hand and she so close to him, he forced with all his willpower to surge forward in a dazzling dizzying display of master swordsmanship. He threw the kitchen sink at her. What else did he have to lose after all? His blades seemed like an extension of his being, gliding and weaving in intricate weaves of supreme focus and ingenuity. If he did not cut her, to the Sheols with his sorry arse.

Laughing, feeling not sorry for her opponent Tende twists and backflips just out of range. A slip of the foot however finds a large portion of her beloved afro puff cut off. Rage pooled in Tende but the match was drawing to an end.” I'll be seeing you again...count on it. When you wake up just remember where the ribbon came from…”

Before falling into a deep intoxicated slumber, the drabine swordsman took up his flask once more. “Cheers.” And he fell into darkness.

Considering the level of toxicity from Tende and the energy used by Maximus, I deem Tende the winner by rule of exhaustion.

We could sail our little ships

On tears we've cried all night.

We would sail our little ships

Over lips sadness' puckered tight

We should sail our little ships

Off trembled chins dripped down in drops of fright

We shall sail our little ships

Down heartaches flows crossed paths as strangers in the night

A Writer on his Nom de plume,

On the issue of what to call this idol,they say on that note it's nonvital.To this statement I somewhat agree in that I am he and as such,I'll address my Non vitality.

I'm told I should pick a differen name,it's said my choice is quite inane .you can not turn a phrase with nonsense,but I to wit I've to explain a bit for you to gain the measure of my Non sense.

I feel it when I speak to them, they're lost in nonbelief, the ridged look at life they have is a little sad to me,but I can't go through it for them,they have to learn to see.

No comiseration possible,it's against my Non beliefs.

So for now I'm going to settle in myself ,for me its a nonissue.

I make my way to the beat my own drum,a beat for me alone .Mine to give out or hold on my own truly Non issue.

If nothing else you take from this,I am me and will persist, take a close look to see me anon

Here in Non's house,where I'll ever be .Yes, in this place of words and phrase you will find just me unphased as I stand a Non.

Under my tree, I want you.

In nothing but a bow for me to loose with my teeth.

Under my tree, I want to taste you

I want to savor you by the mouthful,from tip to toe,lingering at all my favorite places in between.

Under my tree,I want to feel you

Grasp firm my hair, as I leave my mark,like whispers of lighting raced through your body,long after I am gone sensation remains, memory borne in flesh.

Under my tree,I want to see you

Etch the sight of your enraptured face on my soul.

Enclosed behind my lids,I still know your beauty with eyes wide shut.

Under my tree I want you

If even it means all our hellos are also goodbyes, still I crave you