The Exetrius Saga (11): Festival of the Ranks (part 3)

[Exetrius]

Exetrius Saga

1: Fallen leaf

2: Message in Kyrrath

3: Equipment upgrade

4: Subjection of a legend

5: Family Dinner

6: Attack of the Hunters

7: Taking the Runestone

8: Supplies Arrive!

9: Festival of the Ranks (part 1)

10: Festival of the Ranks (part 2)

Episode 11: Festival of the Ranks (part 3)

It is the seventh day of the festival. About three hundred battles have taken place in the arena over the course of the last six days, with day six for resting, recovering and - for those who were still able to - celebrating. The city council had made sure that this year's party was extra grand, compromising a triathlon across the city, a two-course buffet for all of Zotharith and finally, a magical arts and fireworks contest. In addition, many pubs were offering free booze to the participants, which might have been the reason for the half-empty arena the following morning...

Whatever the case, Exetrius wasn't bothered by the lack of crowd at all. The loud folk was absent. A healthy dose of quietness and suspense filled the atmosphere; perfect conditions for concentrating on what would probably be his last chance at a good battle. In his arrogance, he had lost his first fight in the blink of an eye. Even though the team fight had turned out better than expected, especially considering it was only his second fight for the regular combat ranking, it would not effect his rank as a mage. There would simply be no room for another blunder; the only way of compensating the first match and maintaining his upper middle class status was through the upcoming fight. He'd better go for it!

One thing was, probably, in his favour: it was already day seven. The newbies, lower-ranked classes and those in the intermediate regions had all had their battles. Now, a whole different league was about to take the stage. Exetrius was, apparently, deemed worthy enough to enter this tiny pool dominated by big and dangerous fish, like taskforce commanders, dragon slayers and sub-elite sorcerers. If he could win against one of them...

Exetrius and his opponent entered the battlefield.



Like his first rival, this.. mysterious character did not have a visible weapon, which implied that he/she/it either had spells bound to the body, or integrated in the clothing and armour. Consequently, his opponent would always have an advantage in mobility, due to having both hands free. On the other hand, spells bound to cloth and skin are vulnerable, because they could be rendered useless by a small rupture or wound. He decided that he would start with a few energy blasts as a speed test.



"My son, you might as well give up right at this moment, if this is the only technique you are going to use against him." Onicius thought.

Exetrius was struggling hard to keep his rival at a distance. Whatever his opponent was; beast, human, or something in between, it was incredibly fast. He had never seen anyone with this level of skill in mobility and strength enhancing magic. It was using the sides of the arena to gain extra speed forward, at an increasing pace. Exetrius started to loose track, so he created an pillar under his feet to get an overview.

Within seconds, his rival was blasting right towards him. This was the chance he had been waiting for: a full-frontal charge in midair, nowhere to go. He wouldn't be able to dodge this! A giant rock boulder shot straight out of the ground, towards his rival.





But, he soon came to realize that something was not right... His confidence was turned into outright fear, as his opponent's right leg started emitting a powerful green glow, and it was aiming right for the boulder!









The devastating impact of the kick blew the giant rock to smithereens, together with all Exetrius' hopes of standing a chance against this monster...



..who, by the way, appeared to be surprisingly friendly.

This would be as far as it would go, this year. He would stronger next time around! For now, all he could do was waiting for his results, praying that he would not drop down into the lower ranks again...


To be continued.... in the next episode: The ranks are out!

 

 

The much requested overview :

So, I guess that concludes the Festival of the Ranks. I was planning to have a few more exciting battles with interesting characters, but school has started and a lot of other contests suddenly showed up, so those will be saved for another time then. I hope you enjoyed anyway.  This build is also a CBC 2016 entry in the category "The Final Duel".

Once again, if you feel like creating a little magic action scene related to this festival, go right ahead! C&C is always appreciated!  

Edited December 18, 2016 by Exetrius
Fixed broken links

[Garmadon]

Great conclusion, Exetrius, the smashed rock looks superb, and the stands and tower are quite nice as well! The swords on the roof are my favorite detail there (as I have already commented on the stands and flags previously), and my one critique, really, would be that the rest of the tower's roof is possibly a bit over-greebled/textured - I think trying to get a cleaner solution would make that look a bit better. Overall, great job, though, and thanks for finally giving us that overview picture!

[en_zoo]

ahh man, such a pity Exetrius didn't make it! ^^

once again, I really like how you realised the spells and, in this case, the kick into the boulder!

[TitusV]

Some great photos and minifigposing make this an outstanding build!

[Henjin_Quilones]

Your battle-sequence posing and photography are superb, as I think I have said before. The story had me quite in its grip as I hoped with Exetrius that he do well in his fight, and I was sorely disappointed that he lost. Well-done! (And thank you for those overview shots! Finally...)

[Blufiji]

That first shot is money. The way the light comes down and the view point really sets a "final battle atmosphere." Great job man.

[Exetrius]

Great conclusion, Exetrius, the smashed rock looks superb, and the stands and tower are quite nice as well! The swords on the roof are my favorite detail there (as I have already commented on the stands and flags previously), and my one critique, really, would be that the rest of the tower's roof is possibly a bit over-greebled/textured - I think trying to get a cleaner solution would make that look a bit better. Overall, great job, though, and thanks for finally giving us that overview picture!

Thanks for your C&C! I see what you mean for the roof of the tower. I have to say it doesn't come off that well on the image because of lightfall and because my pieces are not perfectly clean, but maybe I should have covered a few more studs.

ahh man, such a pity Exetrius didn't make it! ^^

once again, I really like how you realised the spells and, in this case, the kick into the boulder!

Some great photos and minifigposing make this an outstanding build!

Your battle-sequence posing and photography are superb, as I think I have said before. The story had me quite in its grip as I hoped with Exetrius that he do well in his fight, and I was sorely disappointed that he lost. Well-done! (And thank you for those overview shots! Finally...)

Thank you, all! The boulder is the same build in both scenes, it actually splits:

As for Exetrius... you'll just have to see...

That first shot is money. The way the light comes down and the view point really sets a "final battle atmosphere." Great job man.

That's a great compliment, thanks! I created that solar ray effect by holding my cellphone flashlight just on the border of the camera view.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Exetrius

[soccerkid6]

Really exciting duel for the conclusion of the festival I liked the story a lot, though when Exetrius is planning his strategy, and then it jumps to him thinking he should give up if he doesn't change strategies, I thought I'd missed a section or something. Good to see an overview shot as well

[Exetrius]

Really exciting duel for the conclusion of the festival I liked the story a lot, though when Exetrius is planning his strategy, and then it jumps to him thinking he should give up if he doesn't change strategies, I thought I'd missed a section or something. Good to see an overview shot as well

Thanks, SK! The bit you are talking about are Onicius' thoughts (he's watching the game in the picture above that phrase), but for extra clarity, I'll but it in quotation marks.

[LittleJohn]

As usual, your action shots and story telling are superb, Exetrius As Blufiji said, the first picture is especially nice.

Glad we finally get to see the whole build too!