Black Lion Entertainment Presents:
Versus
Drizzt Do' Urden VS The Prince of Persia
PART 2
Both master swordsmen who have taken on and defeated their own fair share of enemies, large and small. But the question has lingered on for quite a time in my mind; if in an arena, who would prove to be the better? My friends, through the course of this event, we will see. Enjoy the show and enlighten yourself with the knowledge of who is the better swordsman.
NOTE: Drizzt Do' Urden is the property of R.A. Salvatore and Forgotten Realms, where the Prince of Persia is the property of Ubisoft Montreal.
Author's Note
You may have noticed the ultimate crappiness of the reason the two began to fight. I did have an alternate reason for them to brawl, but it ended up being even worse. Sorry, it wont happen again.
Fighting the Dark Prince
Drizzt was unprepared for his new adversary. Drizzt whirled and kept himself on his best defensive against his malformed foe, and found himself running short on options. He had previously thought of summoning Guenhwyvar, but did not know how her magical properties would react in this different world. He could give it a try, but did not want to risk her.
However, it soon became apparent that he would have no other choice – that is, of course, if he could distract the Dark Prince long enough to bring out the figurine.
The Dark Prince wielded the chain with deadly accuracy, and never seemed to have an opening for the drow to take advantage of. The chain itself seemed to have a life of its own, and Drizzt found himself deflecting the chain with his utmost skill, many times the blades catching on one of his scimitars, threatening to rip the weapon from his grip. He also had to deflect blows from the eagle sword the Dark Prince still wielded, and the occasional low sweep kick.
Taking a bold initiative, Drizzt jumped at his opponent, stressing all his skill to try to take the advantage from his enemy. With a few improvised moves and some older, tried but true ones, Drizzt was able to take the offensive. Being nearer his enemy, the Dark Prince came to realize that he could not use his dagger tail to its best, and therefore had to rely more on his sword. This did not deter him, however, from landing punches on the drow's face.
On they fought, the Dark Prince beginning to falter, finding himself on his heels more than on his toes. Drizzt began to notice his enemy beginning to tire, as every blow the Dark Prince deflected from the drow pushed his blades around more easily, softening his arms with weakness.
The Dark Prince executed a masterful parry and backed away from his adversary. He clutched his sides as if injured, and bent low over the ground with a growl. Drizzt was ready for a sneak attack, keeping his distance from the human.
Suddenly, the black skin fell away like sand, and the Prince was his normal self again.
Why did it happen, the Prince thought to himself, Why did he arise in me again? Didn't I destroy him after my encounter with the Vizier?
A feral hiss awoke the Prince from his thoughts. He looked up and saw the ranger, blades ready but in a more relaxed pose, but what really surprised him was the companion beside the drow. A large, black panther, much larger than natural proportions. It was the epitome of raw power, but its eyes belied its bestial nature. It studied his every move, scrutinized the Prince like a professor eyeing a new discovery.
The Prince grabbed his blades from the floor, and eyed his adversaries. It was not the first time he had fought more than one opponent, but he also knew that these two were like none he had ever faced.
With lightning speed, the Panther leapt at him. The Prince wisely rolled, knowing that his small frame would not be able to stop or even deflect the huge mass of the great cat. Drizzt rushed in afterward, blades ready for the kill. He deflected the drow's attacks with renewed strength, but knew that the great cat would be upon him any second. With surprising agility, the Prince performed a feat that Drizzt never would have imagined possible. He managed to draw the drow's blades out wide, but instead of stabbing at him, he placed his foot upon Drizzt's thigh, and, grabbing onto his shoulder, launched himself up and over the drow, circling around the air to deliver a vicious downward chop to the back of the drow's head.
Drizzt also saw another source of trouble; 600 pounds of black death were rushing at him. In an almost human fashion, the panther's eyes widened in surprise, and would have been rather comical had they not been in so bad a situation.
Drizzt would have tried to deflect the blade as he rolled to the side, but barely had enough time to safe himself from being sandwiched from Guenhwyvar and the Prince's blade. As he rolled, the point came into contact with Guenhwyvar's forehead, slicing the panthers head open. Had it not been for the panther's magical properties, the gash would have been enough to put the cat down for good.
As Drizzt tried to regain his footing, the Prince snuck a foot into his defenses and gave him a powerful kick to the head. Drizzt felt lightheaded and fell to the ground, dazed and angry at the same time; he was ashamed that such a straightforward attack got through his defenses.
Meanwhile, the Prince and Guenhwyvar battled one another. Guenhwyvar realized the folly in charging or pouncing her opponent, so she tried to swat at him with one of her heavy paws whenever she saw an opening. The Prince was skilled against four legged creatures like herself, and was able to dance around her attacks and sometimes even prick one of her paws with a scimitar slice every now and then. But Guen was no normal panther; An intelligence resided within her bestial mind that allowed her a cunning edge over her opponents. She was able to cut into the Prince once in a while, but still needed Drizzt's assistance.
Drizzt.
She backed off of the Prince and circled around him to the still dazed Drizzt. She reached the drow and placed herself between the two swordsmen, growling at the Prince while blocking the ranger.
The Prince launched a scimitar into the panther's shoulder. Guen roared in pain, and the blade lodged itself firmly between her chest and shoulder. The Prince thought that he had the panther defeated, but Guenhwyvar remained her ground. She was, however, fast weakening from her wound. The Prince slowly advanced, ignoring the feral warnings from the cat, and yanked the blade from her shoulder with a twist.
Ignoring any attacks she may have endured-and did- she swung a powerful blow into the Prince's ribs, sending him flying back. The Prince managed to stab into the cat's ribs with both weapons before being repelled.
As the Prince regained his footing, he saw Guen growling, but she lay on her belly, exhausted from the fighting and her several wounds. Drizzt managed to get to his feet, and that's when something strange began to happen to the cat. It seemed to dissolve and dissipate into black smoke until nothing was left, not even the blood on the stone floor.
Drizzt looked deep into the Prince's eyes, a look of bitter savagery. The Prince readied himself for any attack, a wise plan.
Drizzt exploded into action, unleashing the feral side of him known as the Hunter.
The Prince was amazed at the sheer speed and ferocity of each attack, each blowing ringing his swords, threatening to shatter their blades at any moment. The Prince kept up with his opponent, but Drizzt didn't seem the least stressed from his physical exertion. Through the powerful blows he delivered, not once did he grunt from the effort. Only the savage look on his face stayed.
The Prince and Drizzt exchanged blows, but finally the Prince lost the advantage. Not because he was weaker or slower that Drizzt, but because Icingdeath cut cleanly through his blade, leaving him only with one good sword. Somersaulting backwards, the Prince threw the hilt of his busted sword into the drow's face. The hilt smashed Drizzt's nose, letting blood flow freely.
The Prince immediately charged with a two handed stab. The blade lodged into Twinkle's handle, and with a twist, the Prince disarmed the blade from Drizzt with a slash along the palm.
Drizzt countered with Icingdeath, and the two blades met with such force that neither combatant could maintain the grip on the blades and both scimitars fell away.
Both weaponless and very angry, they began battle as a pugilist would. Fists flew and kicks rang through legs, arms, and ribs, still neither opponent gaining the advantage.
The drow kicked his opponent in the chest, and now both looked at one another with a small distance between one another. The Prince was panting, several bruises along his body. The drow smirked, his nose smashed and a long cut on his palm.
"We could go fighting like this forever." The Prince said, surprising Drizzt.
"Perhaps. But we both know this is the only way we will return home."
"How do we know? We simply began fighting without thinking that was the way out!"
"…and you guessed correctly." Interceded another voice.
Both opponents looked to the announcement, where stood a small, old man, with a simple tunic covering his body and a graying beard.
"Who are you?" Drizzt asked. His question was reiterated by the Prince.
"I am the one who brought you here." He replied.
The opponents looked at one another quizzically.
"I am a lord of realms, and I have many names. But that is not important right now. What is important is that I congratulate you. You two were brought here to fight, for me to know which was the greater swordsmen. I see that I have lost my wager."
"Wager?"
"Neither won nor lost. You are the exact equals, neither able to best the other."
"So we were here for some game? You will suffer for your arrogance!" The Prince roared, picked up his fallen scimitar and chopped it to the old man.
The blade sank into the old man's eye-and kept on going all the way threw until it passed through the old man and lodged itself into the wall.
The old man was unscathed.
"What?"
"That wasn't very nice, but I do understand your anger, Prince."
The Prince scowled.
"I see that you two are the greatest, and therefore wish to no longer hold you here. Goodbye, my warriors."
The old man clapped his hands together and vanished.
The two stared at one another, unable to comprehend what had happened. Suddenly, the drow disappeared, as followed by the Prince.
The room was completely empty.
Drizzt awoke in his bed chamber in Icewind Dale, the cool breeze coming in through his window. He jumped from his bed and saw that his door was shut, his blades Twinkle and Icingdeath remained in their sheaths on the hanger, and the small statue of Guenhwyvar remained on the table. He then heard a groan from his bed, and saw a head of red hair and soft, affectionate eyes turn his way.
Yes, he breathed easily, he was back home.
The Prince awoke back in his chamber, Farah sleeping peacefully at his side. Without moving, he tried to recount the impossible that had just happened. Everything was as it was before the encounter with the strange Drizzt Do' Urden, and decided to let it pass his mind. It might have been all a dream, but he denied it in his heart. He had finally met his match, but would have no chance to ever see that match again. Somehow, in an odd and rare feeling, the Prince felt ashamed that he would never see the drow again. Letting out a long sigh, he crawled back into the bed and closed his eyes to sleep. It would be a while before he realized the small yet distinct claw marks on his leg, the only reminder of his fight.
The End