Chapter 13: A Run Through the Higher Bracket; Alwyn VS. Katina
Pathos of the Palashian Premier Arc
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.
Featured Music: "High Score Results ~{Taito Type X²}" - Ultra Street Fighter IV OST. Chapter Briefing.
"Sunshine Coastline" - Falcom Acoustics Album 2. Scene 1 (First Half).
"Character Select" - Street Fighter IV (Vanilla) OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).
"Starry Story" - Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- OST. Scene 2 (First Half).
"Conquest" - Fire Emblem XIII: Awakening OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).
"Give Me a Break" - Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- OST. Scene 3 (First Half).
Having placed their feet squarely within the reaches of the neighbouring kingdom of Palashia, Link and his companions soon find themselves deep in an oddity indeed; when securing rooms for themselves to stay at, they are approached by a nearby miner by name of 'Paul', near begging them for assistance in finding the rest of his missing colleagues.
As expected the heroes take on the duty of finding the missing miners as well as the similarly missing mayor himself; a man by the name of Lavrentius Marino. It is only during their investigation, however, that Link and the suspicious Impa soon come into contact with the less-than-sociable Raynard himself; a revelation that Impa herself cannot help but comment on.
Link, however, as always speaks up for his awkward older friend.
While they rest and relax a Wolfos, larger than any even the Hero of Time himself has seen before, appears before them; whether it was called by their scents or somehow summoned by another party entirely is left up for debate however.
With no other sources of information, the thoughtful Impa can only speculate.
Teaming up with Raynard the group easily put the gargantuan Wolfos to the sword and save what remains of the nearby miners as well as the mayor himself; an act of generosity that is repaid in kind. For their acts, the non-combatants of the group are given close seats to watch the action in full-flow; an act that the group thank him gratefully for, given the tournament's fairly popular choice in venue.
As with the previous national championships, the Hylian Hyrax, Link, Alwyn, Barkner and Raynard all break through the preliminaries with ease; a mere formality that sees the heroes in exceptional shape with which to win the tournament. Rather surprisingly however, it is during the numbering in which they are given that the wide-eyed Hero of Time is lightly surprised himself in the number and 'Block' he is placed in.
一
Translated from ancient Hylian – 'one', in other words, Link is placed into Block 'A', having been placed in Block 'B' in his original endeavour. He is paired with the enigmatic Stralanavian woman by name of 'Amaliya Valentinovna'; like the former Stralanavian in the Hylian Hyrax, Kaiser, Amaliya is also a former military officer and one in a rank even seemingly higher than he.
What follows between them is not a mere match but a slug-fest; in their eventual engagement the pair near kill one another with their sheer stubborn wills, one near as bad as the other before even the audience themselves are shocked by the outcome. In another shocking reveal, the hardened Amaliya agrees to lay down her fists in surrender to the blonde boy; something that not only surprises the co-commentators themselves but her young opponent, essentially allowing him to progress into the next seed of his bracket.
After leaving him with a rather suggestive message not meant for young ears, Amaliya joins the rest of the watching audience in witnessing the next round; another explosive one involving a local Palashian, Katina Agarista and the group's Zoran companion. Alwyn Weirson.
Link attempts, with some difficulty, to rid himself of the embarrassing sensations his last opponent left on him as his good friend's next match slowly approaches...
Scene 1
"If I were just ten years younger... or you were ten years older..."
The little hairs on the back of Link's neck stood on end and he shivered, almost as if afraid of something and yet no fear ran through him, as he thought of the last parting words that Amaliya left him with. It was a special kind of embarrassment and unease that reminded him of his experiences with Nabooru and Shalia of the desert in his first journey across his homeland.
"If only they could be talkin' to you now..."
The Hylian boy, surprised, shot up his red-faced frown only to find the watching Barkner staring back at him in his folded-armed grin.
"I-If only who could be talkin' to me now?" He parroted back, curious. The knowing Goron exchanged his humorous grin with the listening Alwyn whom huffed in his usual hardened exterior, eyes shut.
"Those two girls you're danglin' by your fingers!"
Oh, he thought, wandering his eyes away from the Goron in realisation.
His frustration grew with his companions' need to embarrass and tease him.
You'd think they'd be over it by now, he thought; it's already been over a couple years since they knew one another.
He stopped himself mid-thought however, quickly realising his mistakes in calculating the actual flow of temporal time, soon gaining a grin to his face as he shut his oceanic eyes and shook his blonde-haired head.
"Zelda... you really messed with the time-space continuum in sendin' me back like this..."
Although he knew in his heart that the Zelda from this time would have no recollection of doing such a thing, it was difficult to think of them as different people and yet they were; in so, so many differing ways.
There is one thing though, he thought as he turned his body 'round, his long pony-tail of blonde hair blowing as he stood in the hallway of the competitor's box, his eyes fixated on the far-off girl in the stands ahead.
They both share that look, he added silently to himself.
It was hard to imagine her without it.
She caught his stare and double-took in his direction, seemingly in a discussion with Impa, and she rose up her left hand to lightly wave her fingers at him softly, tilting her head as she did.
He couldn't help but chuckle through his nose, his smile returning to him as great waves of nostalgia filled him; the boy rose up his left hand to salute lightly over toward her in his own display of recognition, his head lightly tilted in a similar fashion.
"That's sweet!" Barkner's commentary added to the situation, drawing an eventual chuckle from the listening Link. "He noticed her lookin'!"
"Come on guys," the grinning Hero of Time batted back as he 'rounded his form on his pair of companions behind him, placing a small hand on his hip as he did. "We're just friends and we're only eleven!" He added, shrugging in his wide smile. "We're just kids!"
"Twelve."
Link blinked curiously in response to the sudden response his Zoran companion gave. "Huh?"
"Princess Zelda is around twelve I believe," Alwyn spoke in his shut-eyed frown, slim blue arms folded as he did. "Not eleven."
The disgruntled youth's frown twitched a little and he wandered his cobalt eyes from the Zoran awkwardly. "Oh," he began in his twitch. "Well, still!" He reinforced his earlier statement in a similarly-posed frown of his own, eyes briefly shut as he did. "Guys and girls can be friends ya know!"
"Yeah we may as well lay off ya," Barkner chortled sagaciously. "You'll only have a few more years to just act like a kid before she puts the chains on ya I bet." The Goron finished, turning a wink this time on the frowning-faced Alwyn whom turned his frown into a swift low-held smirk as he huffed alongside the Goron in amusing agreement.
Link rolled his oceanic eyes but kept the similarly amused smirk he held to join his friends' joy.
At least things are better in this time, he thought.
"I never thought I'd be able to take part in the Prima World Tour when I was workin' with Sheik in the horror days of the Hylianis Militaris Ordinis."
"Don't forget our princess either."
Alwyn's sudden comment, ever firm in its delivery, managed to yank the surprised Link out of his lightly-grinning thoughts. He turned his newly-gained frown up on the Zoran, curious again.
"Huh?" He merely answered with.
"I said don't forget our princess either," Alwyn reiterated, this time in a lightly-amused smile. "She's got her heart set on that sapphire she gave to you as her engagement ring."
Realising the former soldier was referring to his peoples' princess and the young Ruto, Link found his zig-zag-like frown return to him in a weakened wince that flavoured the rest of his words.
"Urgh... don't remind me..." He muttered out.
The listening Barkner reared his rocky-bodied head back and laughed uproariously.
"Hello and welcome back ladies and gentlemen! If you're just joining us we're already one round deep into the Palashian Premier; the very national championships themselves!"
Mr. Marshall's authoritative baritone knocked off the large walls of the tournament arena and of the nearby Palashian palace at that as well, the power of the Gossip Stones he spoke into bold if anything.
"It's ya boys, Tasty Seth and Mr. Marshall!" The self-proclaimed Tasty Seth, a younger man grinned on out next to the contrastingly well-dressed co-commentator. "And we're comin' at you live from Palashia Palace!"
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH
Almost as if a sheer war cry from a battle-hungry crowd, the audience responded in kind to the young man's morale-raising words of wisdom, leaving the smiling Marshall to continue where his young friend left off.
"Last we left we had Stralanavia's mysterious siren on deck... the former soldier herself, Amaliya Valentinovna!" Marshall claimed, ever in his well-natured baritone.
"That's one hell of a mouthful eh Marsh?" Seth laughed next to the man, his jolly and youthful attitude shining the older man on; he chortled and nodded along in light agreement before continuing.
"A fierce warrior to be sure folks but she had the privilege of being paired up with the youngest record breaker taking part within the Prima World Tour!" Marshall smiled on. "The fire-brand Firbrand himself; Link Firbrand!"
YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHH
"Just listen to that crowd Marsh," Seth grinned out, leaning back in his chair as he shook his brown-haired head toward the many audience stands that surrounded them. "They love that little terror!"
"Indeed they do Seth and I can certainly see why," the chuckling Marshall nodded a second time in his agreement. "He's certainly found his foothold within the Prima World Tour as the world martial arts' youngest record-breaker! It's certainly nothing to be sniffed at."
"So he just glides on to the next seed! And we got a special match this round ladies and germs!" The grinning-faced Seth continued on for his older friend. He briefly faced the man and, receiving a smiling nod from him in response, he opted to resume. "You know him, you all love him... it's Alwyn Weirson!"
Just as the audience all let loose their next barrage of cries in approval, one of the many stones of laminite littered around the lower end of the ring all shot up displays of a coloured pictograph on the tournament walls. A slim blue-skinned man stared back at the audience, body leant to the side in his folded-armed frown; obviously a Zoran with the tell-tale fins, his injured head-fin hanging down over the back of his neck.
Noted underneath his pictograph, of course, were his tournament statistics.
Alwyn Weirson
Combination Damage: A
Agility: S+
Punishment Proficiency: S
"This guy's a damn shark Marsh!" The grinning Seth called out, clenching a fist as he spoke, ever in excitement. "In every match he's shown us a new fighting style! I love it!"
"He's certainly a versatile one, that's for sure," Marshall chuckled on amiably. "In his run through the Hylian Hyrax, Weirson left an incredible impression to be sure; only the eventual champion of that particular national championship managed to beat him in the end!"
"And what a set that was...," Seth laughed along, lightly tilting his head as he did. "I didn't even know you could do drunken fighting!"
"Most definitely; it's a fairly interesting style of martial arts," Marshall nodded in agreement, smiling as always. "I imagine it may be a style he'll have to incorporate!"
"And why's that Marsh?"
Just as soon as the two men had finished speaking, the former Zoran soldier's pictograph quickly shifted to another's; a young woman's in a contrasting smile. She appeared to wear a simple loose-fitting white top that was short enough for comfortability in the breezy Palashian weather, shorts, fingerless gloves and simple-enough boots resting on her feet.
Katina Agarista
Grapple Countering: A
Agility: A
Side-Stepping: S
"Katina is a young go-getter with ambitions of winning the Palashian nationals!" The smiling Marshall began, leaning his brown-haired head to the side as he spoke. "Although she may be new at the game, she's no less experienced; in her climb through the preliminaries she's managed to break a few bones in the process with her family's brutal martial arts' style!"
"This match-up sounds like it'll be a fun one Marsh!" The grinning Seth chuckled on next to him. "It's gonna be experience up against youth!"
"It shall be at that, my young friend." Marshall chuckled good-naturedly alongside the excitable young man.
As the two competitors stepped out to the cheering crowd surrounding them, they both swung their heads 'round to give one another a brief look. Alwyn, ever in his tell-tale business-like frown, bowed respectfully forward, drawing a simple-smiling bow of her own from the contrastingly-expressed Katina. She rose up her gloved fists to her sides as if to prepare as the former Zoran soldier set his finned arms on his sides, readying himself. As always, the tournament staff stepped out from the side and rose up his hands.
"Red side, ready!"
The smiling-faced Katina nodded her head in enthusiastic agreement, briefly re-eyeing her opponent across from her.
"Blue side, ready!"
Alwyn, still in his hardened frown, nodded in a slow gesture of his own agreement.
"Begin!"
–
2
Almost as soon as the gong was rung, as per the normal rules regarding the Prima World Tour's tournament matches, the frowning-faced Katina shot up her palms to clap together soundly and widened her deep-brown eyes as she did.
"Aegir Art; Unseen Vapour!"
Her high-toned soprano knocked against the walls of Palashia's palace itself and, just like magic, a small cloud of what appeared to be liquefied mist crawled out from beneath her boots.
Clearly it was an evasive technique.
Thankfully however it also appeared to take time to operate; the narrow-eyed Alwyn noted it and, with a quick lowering of his injured head-fin, he darted forward to launch a quick offensive. Katina clocked him coming and shot her own form swiftly across the newly re-tiled ring, her boots skidding and causing a second smoke to creep out from her as she did.
The former Zoran soldier tracked her movement and furrowed his brow in concentration as he leapt up in a high-rise flurry of kicks; the wide-eyed Katina gasped as she shot up her gloved palms to swat them away in safe success. As Alwyn landed however he grunted as he swung another kick, this one a roundhouse, in a wide and sweeping motion that went over the ducking Palashian woman's head; she deftly shot her auburn-haired head downward to avoid the wide roundhouse before rising up her fingerless-gloved hands to swat away the next series of quick kicks the Zoran threw her way.
She spun her nimble form in a sway around the ring, frowning as she re-adjusted her stance by lowering both arms to rest at her sides. Alwyn narrowed his eyes a second time as he back-dashed briefly, almost as if to create some space between the pair, before he eventually grunted in effort as he shot his boot forward in a mule-like donkey kick filled with physical strength and mingled with sea-blue Aegir.
Katina widened her chestnut eyes as she saw it coming however and twisted her arms together as she wrapped them 'round the shock-expressed Zoran's exposed leg. She let out a satisfied-looking smile and gifted the older warrior with a light wink, before yelling out in effort as she abruptly swung both slim arms 'round in a deft twisting spiral, sending the gasping Alwyn tailspinning madly in the air as a result.
As the narrow-eyed Zoran athletically twisted his slim legs 'round himself in an effort to wake his form up, he used his twirling legs to spin up as he stood to his feet before swiftly diving his lower left leg in a three-kick-assault.
FWIPFWIP
FWIP
The glaring Katina shot her eyes downward as she parried them all fairly expertly before deftly spinning her form into a yelling roundhouse that connected into the gasping Alwyn's torso. As he was sent back into the air, arms and legs splayed out, time seemed to slow down for the watching audience and the competitors themselves. When its flow returned to normal however, the frowning-faced Zoran's form briefly lit up into a lightly-grinning glare before it exploded in a surprising splash of water.
"W-Wha-?!"
Katina's worried cry went unanswered as she watched her opponent's slim form vanish into water itself; almost as quickly as the multi-form copy of Alwyn made of water dissolved back into aqua rain, two tell-tale fins that flew from the former soldier's forearms nicked the young woman's face and body, knocking her off-balance.
It wasn't much, but it was all he needed; the re-appearing form of the narrow-eyed soldier slammed his elbow deep into the young woman's vulnerably-open gasping torso, sending her stumbling back a few steps. She shot her auburn-haired head up and bore her teeth in brief annoyance before driving a fist forward in brief offence; the narrow-eyed Alwyn parried the blow by lightly slapping her fist to the side with his right and moving in with his left to counter-attack.
The young woman grinned this time however and used a combination of the Aegir on her slapped arm and her remaining one to latch onto the wide-eyed Alwyn's arm and, thus, his body itself; the watching audience all cheered in realisation and excitement as they did. As the Quintessence pulled in the wide-eyed Zoran's body, invisible to the human eye itself, Katina grunted with effort as she shot her knee into the gasping man's face.
"What a counter-attack!" The watching Marshall called out excitedly, clenching a fist as he leant forward to narrow his eyes at the action before him. "With her initial assault parried and essentially deflected, a mere feint in and of itself, Katina follows up her attack with another deception by channelling her Aegir as a weapon to draw her enemy in!"
"She's got the touch Marsh!" The grinning Seth exclaimed in a bright laugh.
As the gasping Alwyn was sent flying from the ferocity of the counter-assault, he landed in a side-roll, wincing as he did. As half-expected the wide-eyed Katina grunted as she leapt up high into the air, presumably in pursuit, her long white top billowing briefly in the blowing wind as she did. In a savage descent she plummeted down in a ruthless smash with her fist, easily eating up any white-tiled floor where the wide-eyed Alwyn once was. He rolled swiftly to his immediate left and began a chain of quick-rolling as the growling young woman kept her tenacious offensive up; it was only when the slim blue Zoran's form started to come into view of the edge of the arena, that he widened his ocean-shaded eyes and shot up his left foot diagonally and athletically to slam in his similarly-surprised opponent's face. Having opted to go full-pelt in her earlier offensive, Katina gasped as the Zoran's boot struck her chin; just far enough to send her stumbling another few steps back from her lightning-quick sprint.
Alwyn narrowed his eyes and, as he pushed up off the ground with both arms, he managed to use his Aegir to stand up quicker than it normally would have taken him; an invaluable asset to the fight. Even as the gasping Katina spun 'round in her stumbling however she grunted as she swung a fierce roundhouse in retaliation; Alwyn, granted a mere fraction of a second from his recovery, shot up both arms to block and was sent skidding backward from the comeback she gifted him with.
SKRRRRRRR
Smoke shot up from his boots to join the freshly-laid tiles that flew up into the air from the velocity in which he travelled; always an eyesore for the poor Prima staff members laden with the job of repairing the ring after every match. Katina, wasting no time at all, opted to leap forward toward him in another offensive, twisting her gloved arms around expertly as if to prepare them. Alwyn glared back at her before grunting in effort as he slammed the ring itself below him, Aegir powering his boots and feet, effectively vaulting him high into the air to safe retreat.
Katina growled in irritation as her wide-angle and horizontal haymaker swiped through the air harmlessly, casting her auburn-eyed glare up after the man before leaping up similarly to pursue. The young Palashian woman, with her patience quickly run dry, yelled out in effort as she pulled back her left fist and shot it forward to attack with. Seeing it coming, the former Zoran soldier used his very Aegir itself to alter his flight-trajectory ever-so-slightly; just enough to have his slim form avoid the strike.
An act that looked like a basic side-step, in spite to the great level of command it took in Quintessence control to manage such a technique.
With her arm now essentially exposed Katina widened her eyes as the man above her pulled her in toward him; he widened his own eyes as he began to, at first, spin slowly through the air. Soon enough however his tempo accelerated, and even the watching audience all let out roars of approval as he used the fearsome velocity he gathered to toss her careering form back whence she came.
WHIIIIIINE...
CRRRRASSSHHHHH... RUMBLE-RUMBLE
The Aurelian audience all let out mixed yells of distress and entertainment as they watched the savage clouds of smoke and debris bounce off the invisible walls of Aegir, previously erected by the tournament staff as a measure of protection following the first national championship.
"Oooh that's gotta hurt!" The watching Seth winced out from his seat and table.
"Impressive! Truly impressive!" The contrastingly smiling-faced Marshall began from his own seat, placing his hands horizontally across the table in front of him. "While in mid-air, our challenger Alwyn decided to evade his incoming enemy's assault by channelling just enough Aegir to his form in an effort to alter his relatively straight flight-path," he chuckled. "Truly an impressive display of Aegir-control!"
"You can do that?!"
The frowning Impa and Zelda both swung their heads 'round to find the surprised Malon casting her eye to the sky, high above to watch the floating Alwyn as he slowly descended back down to the ring following his savage counter-attack. The listening Sheikah nodded in response.
"Of course," she answered knowledgeably, armoured arms folded as always. "It's honestly not that difficult once you start to get the hang of Aegir-control."
"Being able to change your trajectory in mid-air...," the frowning Zelda whispered, turning her blue-eyed gaze to the sky as she watched the Zoran descend back down, arms blown upwards by the wind. "I had no idea that was possible."
"You should," Impa countered, this time in a light grin as she rose a silver-shaded eyebrow over at her. "Your particular ability of Aegir-control was exceptional in the training I've given anyone."
"B-But what about Link's-?"
The Sheikah snorted in her amused grin. "Is that a joke?" She batted back. "That boy doesn't have a single sensitive bone in his body; to be able to weave Aegir as expertly as Alwyn just demonstrated is a level I fear he'll never reach. You may though."
The Hylian princess could only stare back in a genuinely-surprised frown. "O-Oh..." She murmured out, lowering her blonde-haired head in thought.
"Why?" Malon shot back curiously, fire-haired eyebrow of her own rising up. "I mean how hard can it be?"
Impa laughed lightly as she turned her head to her right to re-face the young farm girl, grinning on as she spoke. "Administering control of Aegir is a skill comparable to those of a surgeon's or a doctor's; it takes considerable precision and delicacy that some people just don't have."
"Damn...," the foul-mouthed girl blinked back before turning her surprised-eyed frown on the recovered Alwyn. "You wouldn't think that kind of delicate touch would come from a guy that used to be a soldier."
Impa chuckled back, tilting her head lightly in agreement. "Indeed..."
–
3
As the listening audience at last recovered from the challengers' last exchange they were given the time and space with which to move; an act that they did not squander. As opposed to Alwyn's previous defensive play, he opted this time to meet the narrow-eyed Katina's offensive charge head-on with a leap forward himself; the pair met in mid-air and, as they did, their bodies moved at such a speed that even the watching fighters from the competitor's box had a little trouble following them.
An act that was subtle enough were one watching; the frowning-faced Link, Barkner and Raynard alone darted their eyes around the ring in quick succession, attempting to follow the lightning-quick pair.
As Alwyn's new offensive managed to push the surprised Katina back toward the ring's edge, she widened her eyes as she shot her body swiftly to the side in an attempt to evade the Zoran's quick boot. The former soldier used his momentum to continue his blinding offence and landed uncomfortably next to her; the young Palashian woman gasped as he bent his slim body to the right and reached down with his open-palmed hands to grasp at her own.
She found herself unable to respond and widened her eyes back at the man as he inevitably shot up one of his free arms to swipe at her cheek. She growled in annoyance before, this time, responding in kind; in a super-fast whoosh of air she jabbed back with one of her own arms and, like his assault, hers met with success. The watchful Aurelian audience all witnessed on in baited breath as two new freshly-gained cuts formed on their cheeks; marks of their martial arts.
Angered by the display, Katina yelled out in effort as she kicked at the ground in a wide-angle sweep; the glaring Alwyn clocked the telegraphed low assault coming and bent his body forwards as he leapt up to grapple at her. She could only gasp a second time, auburn-brown eyes widened back at him as he held onto her like glue, before eventually his own ocean-shaded eyes widened and he sent both his legs deep into her in a vaulting back-flip kick.
FWIP
"HYA!"
As he flipped endlessly backward to recover in relative safety, the poor Katina wasn't quite so lucky; injured rather inconsequentially by the assault, she instead found herself skidding hopelessly toward the north-west corner of the ring and essentially toward a ring-out disqualification. Although she shot her arms down to rake at the tiles beneath her savagely to slow her rapid motion she widened her eyes in further shock when a nearby pair of blades came boomeranging after her, both on her left side.
Having obviously thrown the blades from his forearms previously, and as a way to prevent her inevitable escape, Alwyn narrowed his ocean eyes forward before shooting both slim arms to his sides. A powerful aura of similarly blue-coloured Aegir filled his form as he glared back at the gasping Katina.
"Ohhh snap!" The watching Seth called out from his table, excited as always; he clenched a fist in display of his endless enthusiasm. "What's this I wonder?!"
"It looks as if our boy Weirson has opted to prevent his opponent's escape!" The smiling-faced Marshall began loudly in response, nodding on as he spoke. "Both with his initial kicks and now with a combination of his forearm-blades and an Aegir technique! But of what kind?!"
"I can't wait for this one!" Seth laughed out. "You in trouble darlin'!"
The young man's humorous shout caused the listening audience to laugh in entertained smiles as they awaited the wide-eyed Alwyn's next move.
Sure enough, the former Zoran soldier at last acted on his next technique; he yelled out in seeming great effort as he slammed both charged arms into the tiled ground beneath him, easily eating up what remained of the poor destroyed ring below, opening his mouth with which to speak his next assault.
"Shark-scale SURGE!"
The listening Katina widened her eyes yet again in growing horror, her arms rose up to block the blades that inevitably came flying toward her. A low rumbling began to emit beneath her and she gasped a third time as she snapped her auburn-haired head down to the source of the noise. Sure enough, it grew louder, and she yelled out in growing terror as she quickly realised she was unable to move, essentially having been pinned in the north-west corner of the ruined ring.
DROOOOOOOM-CRASSSSHHH-SPLASH
In a beautiful display of water and explosive Aegir indeed, the ground beneath the poor young woman blew apart in a glorious show of ocean and Quintessence; numerous huge-sized plumes of water shot up from the ground beneath her and sent her careering vertically high into the sky. Wet and wounded she could only grunt in agony as her form spun endlessly in suffering; eventually, however, the young woman appeared to either give the ghost up or simply had no more Aegir and energy left to give for as she descended back down she made no effort with which to grip at the arena with.
CRASSSH
The listening audience remained respectfully silent as they watched her body slam agonisingly against the concrete ground next to and below the ring itself; essentially out of bounds.
"Ring out!"
The referee's smiling-faced call made the watching Alwyn raise back up his bleeding head to cast his frown forward in similar respectful silence.
"The winner of this set... is Alwyn Weirson!"