DING!

The clash of metal upon metal rang out as Dean parried the blow to his left side. The other man was a strong one, toned over his entire body with nothing but a lean coating of pure, unadulterated muscle. Dean marveled at how someone could become so massively bulky and still have the mobility to fight in an enclosed space like this. He didn’t even wear a shirt when he fought, probably as some sort of macho-intimidation method, or simply to pick up one of the many women who had gathered around to cheer and cast their bets on the fight. He smiled a sickening grin, showing a row of teeth that was missing a few members from its ranks. Dean grimaced, pushing off the man’s blade and backpedaling, sizing up the situation before making another attack.

He leapt forward, slashing a feint to the left followed by a double-take to the right. The other man was not fooled, sensing his second intention and hurling his blade off to the side. Dean felt his hands vibrate painfully as the parry sent shockwaves down his arms and extremities. He turned, pressing his body up against the man and twirling around, trying to gain the upper hand by throwing his opponent off-balance.

What he got was a brutish shove, which sent him sprawling. He recovered, somersaulting and landing on his one knee. His opponent ran forward in a blindly rage-fueled attack. Dean waited until the moment was right, and then he struck, bending back and throwing his force into his weapon. The grip of the weapon caught the other man in the gut, sending him flipping out of the ring with momentum. Dean smiled. He had forced his competitor out of the ring, which was one of the ways to win the match. Money quickly exchanged hands as bets were fulfilled, and Dean quietly waited for his next challenger.

The skies were black as charcoal, and rain was beating down relentlessly from the encumbered, grey clouds. The air was heavy with fog and mist, and not one single breeze could be found. The terrain of the Taurerosa Rainforest had been reduced to naught but mud and water, mingling together in a mixture that would result in the loss of footing. The only sounds that could be heard were from the rain, and the rapid advance of figures in the distance… One could be seen, obviously the frontrunner, but there was something odd about him or her… It was certainly not a human, perhaps a creature of the rainforest. All four of it’s’ legs moved fluidly together in a sprint that could not be matched by that of an average human. Its distinguishing characteristics could not be seen from under the vision-impairing fog, but anyone could tell from the shape of its body that it had no lack of muscle power. The men running behind it were all of average build, and were of the shady, burly stereotype. Carrying an odd assortment of weaponry, from swords to maces, one of them barked out harsh orders at the rest, classifying him as the leader of the group. The animal could roughly make out what they were saying, and knew that they were above-average intelligence, and that they were no amateurs. But what they didn’t know, was that they were chasing a Nightsaber, one that was not submissive.

And that Nightsaber’s name was Arganol Deathstrider; Acolyte of the Wind and Air.

Two of the group split off to the right, to try and head him off if he decided to turn sideways to continue. Luckily for them, a dead-end was coming up, so he had to scramble off to his right. Arganol desperately looked out behind him and noticed that he still had a good lead, but he needed to make sure. The path he was running atop was like the rest of the rainforest; muddy and hard to keep your footing in. Many a time had he slid across the ground accidentally, and almost was caught because of it. Unfortunately for him, he placed his front-right foot too far back, and it collided with his back feet, sending him sprawling out forwards into the sticky mixture. It splashed all over his blue-grey pelt, staining it dark-brown. At that very moment, the two hunters that broke off emerged in front of them, one of them loading a bow with a blunt arrow, and the other preparing a magical spell.

Arganol stood up as quickly as possible and kept sprinting towards the bow-and-arrow wielder, and leapt high into the air from about three yards away from him. The man fired the arrow and it embedded itself into the ground with a splutter, while he quickly drew a dagger from a side pocket. The Battlemage, however, was too quick, and unsheathed his claws right before contact. His lips grew back into a snarl, showing his offwhite colored teeth dripping with clear saliva. With intensity that could move a mountain, he hit the man, claws outstretched and teeth ready. His right paw made a quick slash at his shoulder, while his left impacted the hunter’s chest, ripping right through the cheep leather garments. His bluish eyes darted around as he sank his teeth into the man’s neck for the killing blow, biting down and ripping with all of his might. The man barely had time to scream before he was mercilessly slaughtered by the seemingly-harmless animal. The other one, though, was ready for the attack, and a magical, weighted net darted out of his right palm, going directly for Arganol.

Before he could yelp, he felt his body being dragged down by the heavy weights attached to the neck, while corded rope was being withdrawn from a rucksack. Arganol blacked out from a large blow to the temple, conducted by the spellcaster, of course, and everything that happened from that point on would be a mystery to him. The other group of hunters caught up and assisted with the binding of the Nightsaber, making sure that he couldn’t use his teeth or sharp claws to escape. They loaded him into a holed-box and then dragged him off to places unknown to him. The next thing Arganol knew, he was in a dark cell, somewhere other then the rainforest he had called home for the past week and a half. It was very dark, cramped, and dingy. Grime and dirt had been strewn about uncleaned, and the whole thing smelled terrible. Arganol had absolutely no idea where he was as of the moment, but before he could do anything about it, the cell was opened up and he was thrown out into some sort of arena, probably intended to fight some man that was standing before him. Light blinded him temporarily, and his body was limp for awhile, until he began to stir and notice his surroundings…