The Games of Saberhaven
Revorn vs. Seishi Ki
        The doors open for the two contestants at either end of the arena. At the North end is Revorn, a half-elven bard greatly beloved by the fans for his theatrics and cunning style. Revorn is outfitted in glittering chain mail. His quarterstaff is slung across his back, and in his hands he holds a mandolin. The crowd murmurs in curiosity - Revorn's enchanted mandolin was destroyed by Morann, Master of Forces in their last battle. Is this a new enchanted instrument, or merely a mundane substitute?
        At the opposite end is Seishi Ki, a female human monk from a land called Hiwasa. She has demonstrated excellent hand-to-hand capabilities in the past, but her lack of armor has caused her to lose more fights than she's won. Neither opponent is a powerhouse; the fight ought to be interesting, indeed.
        As the announcer introduces the competitors, Seishi Ki bows first to the judges, then to Revorn. The half-elf, in return, bows with a flourish of his hand and strums a chord on his mandolin. Before Ki can move, Revorn suddenly blinks away, and reappears about a hundred feet to the monk's left, clearly getting ready to sing. The monk takes off in a charge at fantastic speed, closing the gap in mere seconds, before Revorn can even apply plectrum to strings. Ki leaps the last ten feet in a spectacular kick directly to Revorn's head, and the crushing momentum knocks the bard onto his back. Ki lands on her feet beside him.
        The half-elf stumbles to his feet. He's clearly dazed by the blow, clutching clumsily for his mandolin and trying to shake his head clear. "You foul bitch!" he cries, but Ki's expression remains placid, even as she strikes too soon after regaining her balance, and ends up dropping her quarterstaff to keep her footing. As a result, her kick attack misses as well, sweeping past Revorn's stumbling feet. "Ha!" Revorn shouts, "You want to dance? I'll give you something to dance about!" The half-elf grasps his mandolin and begins to strum.
        But Seishi Ki is too fast. Revorn barely dodges a kick to the groin, but Ki's punch to the mouth connects, giving Revorn a split lip, and the monk follows up with a devastating knee to the mandolin, a blow that crushes the instrument to splinters. "Oops," Ki says with intentional nonchalance. Revorn screeches in frustration and throws the busted ruins away from him, then pulls the quarterstaff from its place across his back. Ki follows with another combination attack, kicking Revorn once in the ribs, landing a cruel punch in the solar plexus, and kicking him again in the head. Revorn is barely standing, but manages a weak swing with his staff - Ki steps back to avoid it.
        Revorn, knowing that he's on his last legs, takes a step backward himself, and his features begin to shift inhumanly. The monk appears a bit taken aback by this, and as a result her first kick to Revorn's arm misses, and Revorn backs away from an open-hand strike to his shoulder. But Revorn doesn't see the other foot coming up between his legs, to land on the nerve ganglion on the inside of his thigh, a blow that knocks him over for the last time.
        Seishi Ki, completely unscathed, turns to the judges and bows deeply. As the healing priests run into the arena, Ki picks up her quarterstaff and walks confidently out.
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