(CLOSED)The Meeting of Elements.

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

Seigmand had already understood Onyx strategy, and by barring himself in had disabled his ability to pull him close, but Onyx was a quick thinker when the time called for it and had thought up a counter strategy that he hoped would be enough to catch his opponent off guard and stop any would be plans he had put into motion.

Dodging the flurry of spikes as they rolled past him with a agile roll, Onyx sprung to his feet, his hand flowing with soft motions as his arms began to spark and flicker with small bursts of electricity. With a sudden forceful motion of both hands, the large metal foils on his glove sprang outwards and fired a series of magnetic waves at the large pillars surrounding Seigmand. Playing on the polarity he had already placed on Seigmand, the pillar were charged with an opposite dipole, one so strong that the pillars actually started to fracture at the weakest point in an attempt to break apart and slam into Seigmand.

Onyx stood there hoping either that Seigmand would notice the slightly bending pillars as they began to splinter under the force of the magnetic pull, or that he would take to the air, where Onyx could easily pull or push him as he pleased.

[Seigmand Dezmar]

The magnetic waves went by unnoticed as Seigmand was all but ready to strike again towards Onyx, yet the vibrations of the stone pillars shook through his very core. Switching focus to the pillars Seigmand hopped backwards, moving seamlessly into a sweeping kick, his power severing the pillars at their base as they moved towards him. Here goes nothing. He thought as he leapt to his feet in one heavy stride. His hands thrust forward in time to meet one of the pillars, the others mashed together eager to collide with him.

"KIYAAAAAA!" He roared as he forced every bit of his focus into the stones. The result was instantaneous, each pillar shattering into a powder as it clumped against him, reducing any impact to mere irritation. When the dust cleared, he was cloaked in the sandy brown of an earthen armor. In a simple counterattack Seigmand pushed forward and out, causing the shattered ground to spew forth a pair of small boulders.

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

He's good, so I'll need to be unpredictable if I hope beat him," thought Onyx as he watched Siegmand's hastily constructed defense. Hoping to gain an advantage and pull Seigmand into his combat zone, the foils on Onyx gauntlets once again spring out as his arms once again spark with a quick jolt of electricity. With a forceful motion, Onyx emits a magnetic field to pull Seigmand in, only to have the waves meet against the pair of boulders that came screaming towards him.

Having no time to dodge the projectiles, Onyx uses to polarized field that he had fired at the boulders and generates an opposite current to slow the objects down considerably, eventually using his own strength to fully stop the boulders, the force of which pushed him back even with being greatly reduced in velocity.

Placing a hand on either of the boulders that now lay beside him, Onyx fully charges the boulder, effectively turning it into a lode stone. One handing each of the small boulders, he lifts them, with the help of his magnetism, and fires the magnetized projectiles back at their owner before charging behind them in hopes of getting close with the aid of the airborne distractions.

[Seigmand Dezmar]

Seigmand smirked. That'll work. He pulled up a wedge of stone in between him and the lode stones and shoved it forwards, knowing the wedge would push through the attack as a suitable counter. Channeling the earth around him in a meditative state, Seigmand followed up in a double palm strike forward, urging the ground to the left and right of the wedge to launch outwards as flat columns of pulverizing force.

I think I got a hold of this guy's limits now. I should be okay as long as he can't overpower me with my own element. Yet even as he plotted the next attack from behind his rocky assault, Seigmand couldn't help but be bothered by the nagging feeling that there was something he was missing about the mysterious pilgrim. Something that troubled him and put him on edge. He still needed to prove himself to the clan, and with the raving cheers still persisting from the background, he knew he couldn't afford to slip up.

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

Catching a glimpse of the speeding columns as the rushed to strike them from either of his flanks, Onyx performed a quick handspring only to see the two mounds of earth come intersecting in the spot he stood prior.

Things were starting to get ugly and Onyx needed to find a way to get in close or things were gonna remain that way. Onyx was out of his element here, or rather, the problem was with Seigmand being in his element and Onyx not being very will equipped for non-lethal ranged combat. He had been able to cut the distance a bit, but Seigmand was far to good at predicting movement, planning ahead and keeping the pressure on, subsequently keeping Onyx moving and unable to gain a sturdy footing needed to pull his opponent.

It then hit Onyx, that he maybe needed to change his approach to get in close. Instead of pulling Seigmand, he was going to use him as an anchor and pull himself in close. Hopping over the intersecting columns and running quickly towards the wall Seigmand had placed to block the boulders, Onyx vaulted over it high into the air and quickly pulled himself to Seigmand, his body twisting into a flying kick as he came diving down on his opponent.

[Seigmand Dezmar]

Unable to see Onyx till he had cleared the wedge, the speeding kick caught Seigmand in the chest, causing him to double over and grab his stomach in reaction. Or at least that's how it appeared, for thought the kick had indeed hit and he could feel the pain thud dully in his body it hadn't been for nothing. With everything so near his center Seigmand grabbed tightly onto Onyx's leg and sent the stone armor he'd placed on his body mere moments ago to surround it. The earth split inbetween the two warriors, sending a thick muddy wave of dirt to encircle the captured limb and hold it in place.

"I'm sorry, but this goes far beyond a mere match. It was enjoyable." He spoke quickly as he stepped back and slammed his open palms to the ground. The ground all around Onyx quaked and shuttered before rising as a 7 foot cylindrical wall. With a single cry, he clutched his hands into the bare earth and forced out small battering ram sized pillars from all sides, each one aiming for Onyx's center. A knock out blow if successful, something Seigmand was all too certain of at this point.

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

Everything happened so fast that Onyx was a little off put by the tower cylinder that now encircled him, and even more so by the sudden shifting of the wall as pillar after pillar shot out to strike him. Realizing the predicament he was in, his body responded in kind the way it had been trained to; with fire.

Dodging the pillars he was able two, Onyx countered the unavoidable ones with a vicious explosion, causing not only the pillar, but a large exit wound to be blown out the large cylindrical cage that encircled him. In what seemed like a final effort to quell his riposte, the wall bombarded him from every angle, causing Onyx body to brim with a white hot glow before a calamitous explosion consumed the tower, leaving only fine atomized dust and char to fall as Onyx stood amongst the blanketing cloud of debris, his visage visible for only a second before the glowing hue dissipated from his body.

Onyx took a step out of the dust, his head hung low as he quickly dropped down to one knee, his position not that of a fatigued opponent, but a man who conceded.

"Well it appears you have won, King Dezmar. You skills were too great for me to surpass, but thank you all the same for the sparring match," he said, trying to hold back the damage that was done to his pride.

I should've known my skill weren't good enough with my magnetism to stand a chance against Seigmand, but still, my pride is bruised all the same. Even worse, I stooped to using my pyromancy rather than suffering defeat at the hands of a superior opponent. Ugh, I'm still weak, in body and in spirit.

[Seigmand Dezmar]

The flaming eruption sent shards of stone flying all around them, falling all but short of the clan's homesteads. While Seigmand breathed easy knowing they would not be harmed, his attention was drawn magnetically to the rubble from which his foe was suppose to have laid defeated in. As he rose ready to continue the skirmish, he was not prepared for the image that came through the settling dust.

The man had surrendered. Seigmand could tell his final attack had only narrowly scratched him, yet the man laid on his knee showing he had had enough. And while it was enough to make his mind wonder all the more, it was Onyx's words that made it all come clear. It was that that had troubled Seigmand up to this point. The fine tone, the well mannered speech, and now the revealing of a mastery over fire. He had thought it impossible, yet at last Seigmand realized the fallen king of Ignis knelt before him.

Before he could even conjure the words he wanted, an abrupt shout from the near horizon broke the tension. A caravan of steads and wagons led by the leader of the clansmen moved swiftly towards the kings, shouting as loud as possible. "What is going on here? Who dares to strike at the powerful Hawen tribe?" A look towards Seigmand and the color drained from his face, and his mouth clamped shut, worried as to why the King of Roccia had come to his land.

"Forgive me chieftain, I'm afraid I became... occupied while waiting for your return. I come personally to ask for the aid of you and your tribe." Seigmand approached the husky chiefain. The man nodded his head, and bayed the others towards the settlement while he led Seigmand into his hut. Whether it was the sheer demonstration of might or pure luck that had swayed the man, Seigmand emerged shortly afterwards with a smile of relief on his face. His mission was finally on its way. Yet right then, he knew he couldn't savor his victory till another issue got resolved.

"I'm sure quite a lot has happened since last I saw you King Volkanon. A lot has happened for both of us. I don't suppose it was any accident that most of us were led to believe you had died?" Seigmand sat beside Onyx, his tone reserved and unsure.

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

Onyx stood and wiped the dust and grit that had fell upon his body as his eyes met with Seigmand, the Rocian's glare determined as ever. It was no surprise that Seigmand had been seen through his disguise, after all, Onyx was no master of acting or misdirection and it was only a matter of time for someone so observant. Walking several meters back to where the congregation of tribesmen stood while they watched the battle, Onyx picks up the curved metal sheets and attached them back onto his waist.

"You need not refer to me as King anymore. I no longer deserve such a title after what transpired at my homeland. I know wander from land to land, seeking to retrain myself, enlighten myself and hopefully, one day, dispose of that cretin Trucido," said Onyx as his glare focused on Seigmand. "And be advised, King Dezmar, I won't have anyone stop me, not Trucido, not the Sumata and not you, should you decide to try. So unless you wish try and halt my progress, I must take my leave and continue my journey," he said, standing patiently awaiting to see how Seigmand would respond.

[Seigmand Dezmar]

It took everything Seigmand had not to leap to his feet and embrace the fallen fire king upon hearing of his motives. It was enough that he had gathered the beginning of his force to battle against the Sumata, but what's more that he had found a comrade in the barren lands. At first he wondered if he was being led into a trap, but the revelation that Onyx might have left his kingdom willingly suddenly made everything make sense.

"I have no need or want to stop you Onyx. It would seem that circumstances have brought us both to a point where we might be able to gain everything we want with a single choice. The time you'll have to stop Trucido grows short, and you'll need all the help you can get. I do not claim to care about your search for self discovery, nor do I expect you to share my interests. Yet a tyrant stands to take everything we have left in this world, and so I ask you; will you join me?" Seigmand extended his hand towards Onyx, hoping to see a friendly sign break free from the cold as iron expression on his face.

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

Onyx stood still for a moment, his steely eyes giving Seigmand a once over while he thought things over. Onyx was surprised, but only to a small extent to hear Seigmand's view of their "leader." Seigmand was a man who cared about his people, and the very notion of him tossing his kinsmen aside to serve the purpose of some lunatic seemed too far removed from the intellect he so commonly displayed.

Onyx reached out and gripped Seigmand's hand, his face still barring an somber expression as he did so. "I respect you Seigmand, more than I do the other royals, and for that reason and that reason alone, I'm willing to trust you. Perhaps we can be of assistance to each other, after all, the enemy of my enemy is my ally," Onyx said letting loose a small grin. "Now, I believe you have some important business to attend to, correct? Go, and i shall wait here for you. A King shouldn't leave his subject waiting," he said while motioning toward the Chieftain's hut.

[Seigmand Dezmar]

"Don't worry, I've gained his friendship. For now, that is all I need. There are others though that I must still meet with, and I have a feeling that the rest of my meetings will go much better than before." Seigmand chuckled as he looked at Onyx. It was true, he had long since forgotten the ways of the nomads in Roccia. His royal lessons had shown him the power of persuasion through words, but more than anything these people respected power. His fight with Onyx here had proven that.

"Come Onyx, if you will follow me then we'd best be off. I need a powerful warrior by my side, and with your help I think we'll have us an army in no time." Seigmand formed a mound of earth below him and Onyx, pushing it towards the next clan's direction as they rode it quickly to their next destination.