Harkhai Khadath - Conclusion

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Cenyu
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Harkhai Khadath - Conclusion

#1 Post by Cenyu »

This is the conclusion of the Harkhai Khadath Arena of Death which was held during the Ulthuan in Flames campaign.

OOC: I am sorry for the delay but – apart from personal time constraints which kept me from finishing the Harkhai I have to admit that the relaunch of Ulthuan.net and the resulting “tabula rasa” regarding the campaign effectively sapped my motivation to write up the final fight.
But enough with the excuses, here is the last duel.


Final Fight: Ahrtuz, Chieftain of the Bronze Horde (Bron Baraz) vs. Jyrus Yenlukhaesrath (DarkTyranny22)

The green tainted light of the Chaos moon had been all but dispersed by the pure illumion of Lileath which had deigned to show in the last few moments of the last fight.
Thus the conclusion of the Harkhai Khadath would be fought beneath its silvery light which pitilessly illumined the two remaining warriors who faced each other over the black arena strewn with the corpses of the lesser contestants.
Jyrus had not been idly watching Ahrtuz’ dissection of Daedelos but had taken to dressing his wounds as best as he could without removing his armour. A blood-specked patch of linen provisionally wrapped around his right shoulder and arm served to cover up the wounds sustained at the hands of Hans and, more recently, Loki. The white cloth contrasted starkly with the black shell of his armour.
The last fight had turned the Drachau’s face into a horrifying mask: his skin was covered by soot and blood – the ashes originating from Loki’s fiery demise atop Jyrus and the blood seeping from his orifices due to the hellish trauma the Servant had inflicted seconds before his immolation. His talon-gloved left hand bloodied like that of his patron god and his face painted with gore and grime, the Elf more than ever resembled the image of an avatar of Khaine.
His opponent, the Bronze Khan, offered no less fearsome sight. Ahrtuz’ fights had been no less trying and bloody than Jyrus’ and like the Elf’s his armour was battered and rent in places, covered in blood and less savoury substances. The bronze hair of the chieftain was tangled and matted with grime and his face also bore the marks of his conflicts – a bright stream of blood seeping from his broken nose had daubed his lips and jaw a dirty crimson, lending him a ghoulish appearance. Despite the injuries the Khan had sustained he eschewed the application of bandages, trusting fully in the inhuman powers bestowed by the Ruinous Powers. The daemon bound into his sword snarled impatiently, sensing the climax of the encounter and relishing the chance to taste the blood of a High Prince.
“I thank the Gods and their sense of humour for letting you live unto this moment, Yenlukhaesrath” Ahrtuz growled, his voice muffled thanks to his ravaged nose. “I loathed the prospect of slaying another child of Chaos to conclude this matter.” He gave Jyrus a blood-spattered grin, waving Aeklatren in a derisive flourish. The Khan seemed perfectly at ease in spite of the wounds which would have felled a lesser warrior, fully living up to his reputation.
The Drachau regarded him with a burning gaze, his grip around Kheylkhain tightening.
“I will place your head before the Dread Throne of Anlec before I have it impaled on a spit and carried before my warhost.” Jyrus sneered. “All your dead eyes will witness is the annihilation of the Bronze Horde at the blades of the warriors of Nagarythe.”
Ahrtuz’ grin broadened at the Elf’s threat. “Maybe it is rather your delicate skull which will serve as a foot stool for the Everchosen. I will see to it.”
If Jyrus had planned on responding, he was cut short by Aeklatren’s howl which rose to a fevered pitch, accompanying a wide swing of Ahrtuz which opened the duel.
Warned, the Elf could bring up his halberd in time and the imbued darksteel clashed with the writhing hellmetal of the Khan’s weapon.
Ahrtuz and Jyrus faced each other over their crossed weapons, each of the fighters putting every ounce of strength into overcoming the deadlock, their limbs trembling with the effort.
“Say your prayers to Khaine, Drachau.” Ahrtuz scoffed, his biceps bulging with a surge of power which swept aside Jyrus, causing him to stumble backwards.
The Prince rallied quickly, however, lashing out with Kheylkhain to stall his opponent’s advance before reassuming a fighting stance, shooting Ahrtuz a defiant glare.
“Khaine rewards deeds, not idle ramblings. Your blathering makes me wonder what your Gods truly favour.” The jibe served its cause and Ahrtuz’ haughty masquerade momentarily slipped, the Exalted giving in to the rage boiling beneath his composed facade.
Ahrtuz charged and exacted a flurry of attacks against Jyrus’ defense. Fed by his anger, Aeklatren sang a terrible aria written in sweeping blows, accentuated by sharp clangs and thwarted howls whenever the daemonblade was deflected by Kheylkhain’s darksteel haft.
Lulled into assumed superiority by the Elf’s defensive demeanor, Ahrtuz grew careless and over-eager, sending down crushing blow after crushing blow against the barrier put up by Kheylkhain.
Finally, Jyrus capitalized on this and sprung his trap. The next incoming attack of Aeklatren was deflected masterfully, Jyrus’ slanting of the haft causing the sword to screech harmlessly past him, striking sparks from the halberd’s metal pole and catching in the barbed blades of its head. Before Ahrtuz could adapt his stance, Jyrus spun and lashed out with the other end of Kheylkhain, its solid metal pommel connecting with Ahrtuz’ skull in a gratifying smack. The Chaos champion roared with anger as he staggered past Jyrus, momentarily concussed and disoriented. Jyrus took no chances, however, and the blunt end of Kheylkhain jabbed at Ahrtuz’ backplate, punctuating the Chosen’s bellow and, while not penetrating the solid armament, knocking the air out of his lungs.
To Ahrtuz, whose quickened blood was overflowing with adrenaline and raw, unadulterated warp essence, these bruising thrusts served no more than to stoke his already burning anger.
Like an Estalian bull fighter taunting his superior, bestial enemy into a heedless killing frenzy through agility and surgical pricks with his ceremonial spear, Jyrus had managed to scrape off the masque of civility and uncover Ahrtuz’ feral, raging aspect.
Unmitigated by restraint or finesse, the towering Chaos champion rained brutal blows upon his opponent, Aeklatren ringing from Kheylkhain’s steel barrier with jarring force – until a particularly savage, two-handed blow managed to overcome the protective enchantments woven into the halberd’s haft.
With a triumphant snarl the daemonsword bit through Kheylkhain, cleanly severing the pole in a shower of blue sparks. Aeklatren missed Jyrus’ face by a hair’s breadth and resounded from the gorget of his ensorcelled harness with a brazen clang which sent the Drachau stumbling.
Before Ahrtuz could press on an capitalize, however, Jyrus rallied, discarding the lower half of his broken, disenchanted weapon, using the upper piece as a makeshift axe, lashing out to stall the Khan’s advance.
“No Elven trinket can withstand the almighty power of Chaos for long!” Ahrtuz cried, elated, stressing every word with a blow against Jyrus’ diminuished defense which forced the Druchii another step back, sweat dripping from his brow.
“Die!” Jyrus snarled, Kheylkhain flying forward in a decapitating blow aimed at Ahrtuz’ neck. Snaking forth, the Exalted’s left hand gripped Jyrus’ wrist, trapping the weapon before it could end its lethal journey. Grinning, Ahrtuz thrust Aeklatren at Jyrus’ side but like the Khan split seconds before Jyrus was able to bring his off-hand in the way of the blade’s threat. The Nightfist closed around Aeklatren’s flickering blade, the gauntlet’s arcane energies warring with the spirit bound into the sword.
Deadlocked, harness against harness, Jyrus and Ahrtuz faced each other, their faces contorted in grimaces of hate-filled effort. Hot, metallic breath gushed against Jyrus’ cheeks as Ahrtuz emitted a maniacal laugh and put more weight into pushing the Prince’s arms back. Despite putting every ounce of spite and hated into the stalemate, Jyrus could not avoid slowly being pused back. Being mercilessly pitted against the Champion’s warp-fuelled strength, his tortured muscles grudgingly gave way, trembling.
Irritated and short in time, Jyrus noted that despite his exultation Ahrtuz kept well out of headbutting range. The Elf settled for a desperate gambit. With an effort, he opened the fist of his left hand, letting the daemonblade slide past, at the same time frantically side-stepping towards the right, trying to rip his halberd out of Ahrtuz’ grip.
A searing pain in his ribcage infallibly announced the failure of his plan – he had been too slow to evade the snarling daemonblade, which had cleanly bitten through his plate-harness and sunk into the flesh beneath, defeating the protection bestowed by the mail with an ease that caused Ahrtuz to whoop even louder.
Reflexively spitting a thin red mist of blood, the Drachau had to fight hard not to black out from the sudden pain.
Part of him noticed that his main weapon was still trapped in Ahrtuz’ left hand, a black surge of despair welling up in him. It was the prickling sensation of the energized gauntlet which pulled him back from the brink of admitting defeat.
Granting Ahrtuz a blood-specked grin, Jyrus formed a fist and, still impaled on the daemonblade raging against his ribs, let the magic gauntlet fly against the side of Ahrtuz’ head.
The Khan’s triumphant expression turned first to one of disbelief, then pain and finally was lost in an explosion of bone fragments, gore and brain matter as the gauntlet smashed the Champion’s cranium and discharged its energies in a devastating blast.
His head nigh completely obliterated, Ahrtuz’ torso toppled to the ground, Aeklatren’s hungry snarling diminuishing like a seething iron quenched in water as the blade painfully slid from Jyrus’ wound.
Giving in to the agony coursing through his body, Jyrus fell to his knees, propping himself upright on the remains of his halberd, barely managing to cling to consciousness – and life.
Blood flowed freely from his fresh wound and dripped to the ground of the Arena, sating the ageless thirst of the black stones.
It took the wounded Elf every oath, curse and prayer to all the gods of Ulthuan to stay awake and, finally, rise again to make his victorious descent to reciprocate his success in the duel on the larger battlefield of Ulthuan.

Jyrus prevails and emerges as the Champion of the Harkhai Khadath.


Documentation:
Round 1:
Jyrus strikes last due to Great Weapon.
Ahrtuz strikes with Aethersword.
4 attacks hitting on 3s: 4,6,5,1.
3 hits wounding on 2s: 1,3,1.
Armour save of 1+ ignored.
Ward save of 4+: 5.
No unsaved wound caused.
1 wound rebounded at Ahrtuz.
Ahrtuz has 1 wound left.
Ahrtuz’ warhorse strikes, hits, but fails to wound.

Jyrus strikes with Great Weapon.
4 hits wounding on 4s: 4,2,1,3.
Re-roll misses due to hatred: 4,3,3.
2 hits wounding on 2s: 2,1.
Armour save of 1+ reduced to 4+: 4.
No unsaved wound caused.

Round 2:
Jyrus strikes last due to Great Weapon.
Ahrtuz strikes with Aethersword.
4 attacks hitting on 3s: 1,2,5,1.
1 hit wounding on 2: 2.
Armour save of 1+ ignored.
Ward save of 4+: 2.
1 unsaved wound caused.
Jyrus has 2 wounds left.
Ahrtuz’ warhorse strikes, hits, wounds, but fails to penetrate Jyrus’ armour.

Jyrus strikes with Great Weapon.
4 hits wounding on 4s: 2,1,5,1.
1 hit wounding on 2: 1.
No wound caused.

Round 3:
Jyrus strikes last due to Great Weapon.
Ahrtuz strikes with Aethersword.
4 attacks hitting on 3s: 2,5,3,5.
3 hits wounding on 2s: 1,4,2.
Armour save of 1+ ignored.
Ward save of 4+: 3,4.
1 unsaved wound caused, 1 wound reflected.
Ahrtuz has 0 wounds left.
Jyrus has 1 wound left.






On that note, I would like to conclude this belated event and thank all participants. I would like to extend this thanks to all the people who contributed to Ulthuan in Flames and made it an interesting, entertaining and memorable pastime.


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Paraicj
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Re: Harkhai Khadath - Conclusion

#2 Post by Paraicj »

Woo, go Miley! Nice Work DT... :D

And a magnificent write-up, of course Cenyu!
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Prince_Asuryan
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Re: Harkhai Khadath - Conclusion

#3 Post by Prince_Asuryan »

Miley, Miley!! Yay DT!!

Defenders win (again :P)
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Allerion
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Re: Harkhai Khadath - Conclusion

#4 Post by Allerion »

why wont jyrus die????????????????????????? :evil:

at least we won the one that counted :D

nice job, nonetheless.
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DarkTyrany22
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Re: Harkhai Khadath - Conclusion

#5 Post by DarkTyrany22 »

Amazing conclusion Cenyu, thanks for writing this all up. Really, it was great fun. =D

And thanks to Hans, Raneth, Loki and the Bronze man himself for being such pushover opponents. ;)
Allerion wrote:why wont jyrus die????????????????????????? :evil:
That's what you Chaos blokes are for. :P
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Re: Harkhai Khadath - Conclusion

#6 Post by Khar »

Yay for Miley! DT is unkillable :D
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Re: Harkhai Khadath - Conclusion

#7 Post by Tylarion »

Congratulations with your win, Darktyrany22!!
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Re: Harkhai Khadath - Conclusion

#8 Post by Raneth »

Wow, finally stumbled upon it. Great job Cenyu, and congratulations to DT22...
DarkTyrany22 wrote:And thanks to Hans, Raneth, Loki and the Bronze man himself for being such pushover opponents. ;)
Oh, and DIAF :mrgreen:
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