Grand Battle (S?) (Round 1: SUDDEN DEATH)

The six found themselves, without warning, floating in a void. There was no sense of scale beyond glancing across at the others, no sense of size of the space in which they hung. Other than their eyes, not a single one could move an inch.

The lights came on. Something the size of a universe stared down at them with a million eyes, and somehow (without any clear morphology with which to do so) it bowed to the six.

"Greetings, combatants. This is your Grand Battle, and I am your host."

"You have been chosen amongst trillions for this, a fight to the death. For the one who emerges victorious and is granted safe passage home, this will be the tale of a lifetime."

"Allow me to introduce the players of this tale."

The Gandeer found himself, with less warning than before his sudden abduction, spun around his back to the voice and eyes.

"Volter St. Kepral, a Cloudrest palace guard and master of aerial combat thanks to his Seven-League Boots."

St. Kepral fell back in line, and something armoured and fey and blue took his spot.

"A Sapphire Auracaller Radiant Incarnate, an entity with the singular purpose of advancing the state of Blue. Removed by my summons from its origins, I am intrigued as to its development."

A mighty brute of war was next in the centre, though their host's gaze seemed to pierce right through it.

"Krugrug, a mighty warrior and wellspring of barbaric rage. Beware, he is cunning and prone to moments of genius in a crisis."

Next was another humanoid, neatly clothed and unassuming.

"Tom Jones, a servant and canvas to another. He was built firstly to serve, but with much capacity to fight and destroy where commanded. Unlike others of his kind, he was built to last, but deterioration is inevitable even for him."

The next contestant wasn't held still like the rest, the visage he showed flickering between two men. One body, though.

"Doppelganger is a mystery. His skills of trickery and teleportation gave rise to rumours he can be in two places at once. What can be established is the existence of two personalities. Two fighting styles."

"Finally, we have Kaylee Joule. She demonstrates control over electricity, and enjoys an immunity to its effects."

The lights went out, and there was a distinct sense of whoever owned that voice not being here any more.

The lights came back, and the sky was a piercing blue. The sound of the ocean slowly tuned in, and the contestants were scattered across a large atoll. There wasn't much to look at above the surface beyond, perhaps, another contestant a ways off, or a mangled pillar of coral sticking out of the tropical water. Departing storm clouds still lurked on the horizon.

"Welcome to Matmor Atoll, the former site of the Palace of Anth. The merfolk of Anth are skilled mages, most with an affinity for the coral which makes their home. A recent storm has torn down the palace walls, though the merfolk are busy preparing to rebuild below.

"Busy as they are, they'll likely not have the patience for interlopers. When one of you die, the rest will move to a new locale.

"Begin."

And with that, the contestants were free to explore, or to fight.

Show Content

SpoilerWelcome to round one! My idea for this round was a coral atoll, big enough to give each other some breathing room but not so big you'll get lost looking for each other. The Merfolk of Anth are coralmancers of various power/speciality, who can work coral the way elves in some fantasy settings might work trees. They had a really awesome above-water palace, until a tropical storm wrecked it.

The rest of the details, including what might lie below the surface, I leave in your capable hands.

P.S: The reserve system is good if you want to make a post, but are worried that someone might get one in before you're done and post contradictory information. Reserves are a matter of courtesy, and sitting on one for a week(s) without end leaves you exposed to people getting the jump ahead of you. At this stage, I'd much rather lots of people giving it a go and getting posts in than spending too long agonising over getting things perfect.

Any further questions? Ask on IRC, or over PMs. Let's do this!