The Honor Circle (IC) [Fa Teen, for language]

[ardaron]

Ardaron watched the battle draw to a close, anxiety mounting as he made the firm decision in his mind that he would be next to fight.  No more watching and waiting; he had learned all he needed, so delaying now would be pointless.

However, before the battle was over, Ardaron saw red lights out of the corner of his eye, and heard accompanying crackling noises.  He turned to see Tock, right as the clockwork construct was making his introduction to Risky.  "I'm Ardaron," the dragon said, joining into the introductions that were already being made.

Looking back at the battle, the dragon watched Keaton as her dark armor peeled off, and Stygian helped her up.  Ardaron had been too far away to hear Keaton's concession of victory to Stygian, but it was all too easy to guess who had won.  Ardaron looked a little disappointed, but not very much, and not for long; the jackal had put up a good fight.  It was hard to be disappointed in someone who had done well, even if they had lost.

The Omni Dragon's attention was drawn by Stalker's activities; he seemed to be writing in the sand, for some reason.  As the sand began to glow and liquify, Ardaron realized it was a spell.  A few seconds later, he realized that Stalker was creating a second Circle.

As Keaton and Stygian re-entered the bar, Ardaron commented, "Excellent fight."  He wore a look of concern as he saw Keaton's injuries, but he wasn't going to worry about that just now.  Instead, he stood up, summoning his confidence, and strode towards the nearer of the two circles; which happened to be the original one.  He stepped over its boundary, and turned back to face the bar, using only his facial expression to communicate the message that he was ready to fight.  His wings flared out slightly as his body tensed, preparing himself for the challenge ahead.

[Sunblink]

Admittedly, Keaton would've had a much harder time walking if it weren't for Stygian's helping hand (well, arm, but let's ignore little discrepancies like that), but even with with his body for support there was an obvious, herky-jerky limp to her gait, a drastic departure from her formerly arrogant stance.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

The Jackal Cubi would've been embarrassed if she weren't too busy focused on drowning herself in alcohol until she couldn't remember the agitation of her wounds--she would probably get those tended very soon, or fix them herself if no medical assistance was provided--and possibly losing any recollection of her name, like she had the last time she nearly drank herself unconscious.

Keaton didn't really learn from mistakes outside of the battlefield.

Stalker had apparently gotten to work, seemingly managing to make yet another circle emerge from the earth. Keaton couldn't help but admire his magical prowess and foresight beyond her astonishment: the presence of another circle would be only practical, as more and more people were trickling into the bar. When helped to her chair, Keaton all too eagerly collapsed in her proper seat, which, ironically, was the very same one she had used before.

"Erf. Thanks for that," she muttered to Stygian, massaging her scalp. "Now if you could magically make a big mug of beer appear out of nowhere, you'd REALLY solidfy your position as my personal hero."

Swerving her stool around, Keaton slumped against the bar, chin resting against the counter, her arms draped lazily over her head. She removed her glasses again by detaching it from the earring the chain of the glasses was connected to, examining the enchanted glass once more for any sign of tarnishment: somehow, Keaton's glasses had managed to blend into her body after her transformation, and it was only thanks to the length of chain that they didn't go flying in the middle of her being knocked around.

Her ears pricked up at the sound of a familiar voice. Head turning to the side, Keaton gazed over at Ardaron with ears quirked, a slightly sleepy glaze to her eyes. "Oh, thanks," she said sheepishly, yet genuinely, as the crooked smirk on her maw attested. She chuckled, "I guess I managed to lose in style, huh?"

Ardaron climbed from his seat and ambled over to the first of the circles, turning around to face the other competitors. Judging by his facial expression alone, Keaton could tell he wanted a fight: and it was obvious that here he would get a good one, as she herself had learned.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had been watching with as fervent interest as the others, the events of the fight moving on a course none too similiar to the plot of a story...beginning, rising action, a very dangerous climax...there was a grimace at the 'Cubi in particular.  The power wielded was more than just a little awesome in its entirety.  Though as the winner, her opponent had proven himself as dangerous if not much more.  A more impressive display of raw energy she had never seen before.

Her crimson gaze followed them as they came back to the bar, with a polite nod of greeting, she added her own congratulations among the others... "Now that was a performance."  Just as I thought, definitely have things cut out for me, the huntress thought, one hand idly stroking one of the bladed edges of the favored weapon hiding at her belt, as well as trailing a thumb over her sword's sheath.

Then she watched as the second Circle came into being, and she had to laugh inwardly, though with slight intrigue at the way it was built.  That will solve the problem of total obliteration, she thought.

[TheGreyRonin]

Syphon noticed Ardaron entering the other circle, paused for a moment, then headed over to it. He stopped just outside, glaring at the dragonman.

He tilted his head, the vertebrae in his neck cracking. "Looking for a fight, lizard? Last man standing?" he asked with a sneer.

(OOC: Think it over; I have to go for the night and won't be back for almost 24 hours.)

At the bar, Stalker slid a huge mug of beer to Keaton. "No magic on my part. My kind can't use magic, though if it's there we can trigger it." He nodded out towards the circles. "They respond to technology and energy as well as they do to magic."

[Stygian]

"Kind of noticed that, yeah... Must be some power," Stygian said, and hummed, thinking secrets to himself as he quickly swept up a bottle, ice and two glasses; a lower one for himself, and a taller one for Keaton. While pouring, he looked a bit at the panthress. Clearly, her definition of a good battle was much different from his.
   "It was a big, gaudy, excessive piece of damnation, yeah," he said, and looked into her crimson eyes, whipping out his own slim glasses from somewhere and placing the black-framed things on the bridge of his nose. "That's very much different from how a battle should be." He chuckled, finishing pouring the despicable yeasty brew that Keaton had requested, and then took the glasses, walking over to the table and setting them down, then seating himself. Casually, he moved some other chairs out, to indicate that those who wanted to could join in.
   "So..." he then said, turning to the jackal. "Darkness. Where did you get that power, and how? There were some interesting things about that... bolt, earlier."

[Gareeku]

Sipping the large glass of beer he had ordered from the bar as he watched the climax to the fight with a grim expression, Gareeku was thinking along the same lines as Aisha was; both of them were powerful, and both seemed to be somewhat sinister.
Something tells me those two should have an eye kept on them... the wolf thought to himself as it seemed that Stygian had become the victorious of the two.

"An excellent fight." the wolf commented as the two returned to the bar, nodding his head as he spoke with a smile on his face. Glancing to the side, Gareeku noticed Aisha, or more precisely, the hand stroking her weaponry. Lifting up his eyes to gaze into hers, he slowly shook his head, looking into her eyes with a serious gaze as he did so.

Snapping out of it, Gareeku then sported a smile as he looked at the pantheress.
"It's been a long time, Aisha. How have you been?" the wolf asked. Though he seemed cheerful and calm on the outside, he had kept an ear swivelled towards the others, interested in their conversation about the dark energy that Keaton and Stygian both possessed.

[Sunblink]

When the mug was pushed over to her, Keaton immediately snatched it up in her hand, once more fishing out some money to pay for it out of her pocket and slapping it onto the counter. Using one of her tentacles once more, Keaton leaned Catastrophe against the counter's edge.

"Thanks," Keaton said groggily, tipping her head back and gulping down a great deal of the copper-hued drink.

She set the mug back down on the counter, wiping away the residue the beer left around the fur on her chin with the back of her leather-gloved hand. Considering how much experience she had drinking, it would probably take her a while before she became as intoxicated as she desired. Not only did someone provide her with the mug, but Stygian took her words to heart and slipped her another, taller drink.

"Hey, thanks!" Keaton exclaimed, scooting the drink a little closer, almost protectively beside her mug, which was now mostly finished. Keaton lifted the mug for the final time and guzzled down the remaining remnants of the beer, pushing the mug away from her once she placed it back down on the counter.

"Hm?" she nearly missed Stygian's question, but the moment she processed it she was more than happy to answer. "Oh, you're curious about that, now? Well..." she idly looked up at the ceiling, folding her arms. "I guess I was born with the potential for Dark Magic, but it was my parents who taught me how to completely harness it. My clan" -- Keaton pointed to the carving on her shoulder, tracing its outline with the blackened nail of her index finger-- "is renowned for their prowess in Darkness."

Keaton puffed up her chest in pride in a manner similar to an inflated, arrogant rooster, as though fondly remembering something. However, it deflated a moment later as she asked casually, "So, what about you? I don't think I've ever seen anybody fight like you did."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Aisha deCabre]

As Aisha watched the Circle, or more appropriately the Circles now, she was wondering who was going to go next, and no sooner than having the words form themselves completely in her mind, the dragon Ardaron had gone to claim the battlefield.  She watched the scene for a moment, thinking that if he went too long without a challenger that she'd oblige...but then someone else had gone in to take the dragon's call.  She leaned her back on the bar with a hum.  Nobody wastes time around here, do they?

When the victor of the last battle had answered her, Aisha chuckled quietly.  "Maybe that's how a battle shouldn't be fought...but then, it depends on the situation, doesn't it?  Nobody was killed, at least," she added, a prospect which she certainly liked, an honorable fight at least without the fear of taking a life or having your own driven from you.

And then finally she turned her head, noticing Gareeku looking in her direction, and giving her a gaze that was very much like him...the wolf had a sort of authority in his eyes, wordless but still effective.  She gazed back to those eyes with a slightly quirked eyebrow and a playful smirk that belonged on the face of a rogue, almost the direct opposite look, for just a moment before taking her hand from her belt and resting it on the bar.  "I've been well, thank you, old friend.  And what about you?  Haven't changed a bit, it seems," she smiled, then ordered another drink while listening to the patrons, and soon what would be going on next in the Circle.

[ardaron]

Ardaron gave Syphon a displeased look at being called 'lizard,' but he'd been called worse.  "A fight is indeed what I'm here for," he replied, nodding confirmation to Syphon's terms.  He took a half-step back, getting into a battle-ready posture; ready to react at a moment's notice.  His wings flared out to their full expanse, lifting upward and back, ready to propel Ardaron quickly out of the way when the first attack came.  His horns seemed to be glowing a slightly brighter orange than they had been a few moments before, as well.  The dragon waited for Syphon to enter the Circle and begin the duel.

[Stygian]

Stygian chuckled, and leaned back a bit, taking a mouthful before looking down at the table a bit and speaking.
   "I was involved in... a bit of a science project, you could say. Not as much more than a specialist, but..." he said, and chuckled. "Well, I won't bother you with the hard details. Short story is I died, found my nightmares, and then I became this," he continued, and raised a hand, displaying as dark cracks spread over it, and something seemed to move under his skin. He played with the black claws his fingertips had become over his glass a bit, looking at the ice cubes in the amber liquid.
   "I kind of foresook my humanity and the light even before I died, but it was that incident that really turned me into something of the dark. So now, I am darkness and nightmares." He drank a bit more, and then smiled. "Of course, there's a much more accurate and complex explanation, but I think I'd have to draw you quite a few formulas and pictures if you really wanted to know," he said, and then looked a bit at the people in the bar, half listening in on Aisha's and Gareeku's conversation.

[Gareeku]

Noticing Aisha's reaction to his silent suggestion, Gareeku smirked slightly.
"I can see you haven't a bit, either." the wolf replied, before taking another large swig of his ale. With his ear still towards the others, Gareeku's face did not give anything away, yet he still mulled over the explanations in his mind.

Figures...so she comes from a clan of the dark... Gareeku thought to himself. But that look on her face as she fought...it was almost insane...a little disturbing...that Stygian guy, too...something about him...

[Stygian]

After that quick glance, Stygian again turned his eyes to Keaton, and pushed up his glasses, examining her. He would be very surprised if that power of hers could be chalked up to black magic alone. Most things that had that kind of power were more than just hexes and formulas, and darkness had a very nasty tendency to harbor many evil wills. He knew.
   "Your family... You come from a magical world?" he asked her.

[TheGreyRonin]

Syphon stalked into the circle, almost marching. He stood with his feet planted wide, arms straight by his side, fists clenched, staring coldly at Ardaron. "Last man standing work for you?" he said.

Risky glanced away from Tock to the circle, then swore under her breath. "Stalker?" she said in a voice loud enough to be heard, "ten Cestan credits on Ardaron."

[Sunblink]

Keaton's rigid facial features twitched into a slight, pouting scowl as her question was either ignored, or unnoticed, but didn't say anything about it. If Stygian didn't want to answer it, it wasn't up to him, and she wasn't going to pry into his family life. If he had dared to do the same to her, she would've done a lot more than simply disregarding him.

Keaton idly scratched at one of the cuts on her arm, which had grown slightly itchy for no real reason. "You can say that," she said, folding her arms before her bosom again. "I'm a Cubi, a Succubus to be specific. We're capable of using all kinds of spells, but my clan and family just specializes in Dark Magic. Guess I haven't really worked on the other basics. We have since we founded it."

Brown eyes shifted for a split second, almost ponderously, up to the ceiling. "It's really no surprise the clan founder was off her rocker."

Snickering, she looked back to Stygian. A black-striped ear lifted inquisitively, then Keaton shrugged her shoulders loosely, nonchalantly, as though what she said was completely trivial. "But what about you?" she cocked her head, examining Stygian curiously from all angles. "Where are you from?"

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[ardaron]

Ardaron nodded again, and said to Syphon, "Yes.  May the best fighter win."  With that, he flexed his wings downward, lifting himself off the ground; at the same time, he concentrated on summoning a breeze, making an accompanying upward motion with his arm, and was lifted higher on the updraft.  A few more strokes of his wings, and he was a good ten feet off the ground.  He knew he couldn't stay in the air forever; hovering in place was much more tiring than flying in a particular direction; but at least until he knew his opponent's capabilities, the air was a good place to be.

The Omni Dragon dispelled the breeze he had conjured, relying now only on his wings to keep him aloft, and instead focused on his primary element; Mind.  He opened his own mind, reaching outward for Syphon's.  Sensing the presence of the man's psyche, Ardaron began to look for anything that would help him; particularly any information about what Syphon was, and what he was capable of.  Throughout this, even though the dragon was having to concentrate on his elemental abilities, he knew enough to keep his eyes open and on Syphon; for all he knew, Syphon was as capable of flight as he was.

((If Syphon has good enough reflexes to keep Ardaron from taking off, feel free, and I'll just delete the second paragraph))

[Boog]

Tock looked up in interest. He was rather curious as to what this thing was all about. He'd seen the rules, yes, but that's not the same as witnessing the phenomenon, and he wanted as much info on wherever he was as possible for Gabriel when he got back. Assuming he figured that out, but then, there's plenty of other spells that he didn't know the effects of.
"Barkeep?" he called without looking back from the two in the circle, "Whatever alcohol you have closest in composition to jet fuel. Then, add some real jet fuel until you have a substance capable of dissolving spoons. Add one spoon, a splash of pinapple juice and one of those humorous drink parasols, if you please," He layed out a $20 on the counter, still not taking his eyes off of the two fighters. At this distance he couldn't make out too much detail, but it couldn't hurt to wait for his drink first.

[Stygian]

"Dyssea," Stygian said, the name short and uttered softly, with a slight intonation on the 'd'. "It's a war-torn world, mostly. Big place, empty landscapes. Abandoned cities. That sort of thing. Not the kind of place you'd expect to be a civilization at its height, but if you live in a city..." He empties his glass, and took a bottle, pouring some more in.
   "It's a harsh place, I'd say, compared to most I've seen. Beautiful, but harsh. Most don't get by without connections or strength. Some have both and never make it alive anyway." He chuckled at that last statement, and thought back to Keaton's previous question. "That's something that guys like me assure." Now, there was a hint if any.

[Cogidubnus]

Cog swallowed the last of his wine, savoring the sweet taste, and let out a sigh. Delicious. he thought, about to relax again, when he jumped in his seat. Giles was looking straight at him, with a diabolical grin on his face. Cog remembered that particular grin.
"I'm not bailing you out if you kill someone." Cog said, and shook his head. Giles left his pipe where it lay on the table, and took three heavy steps towards Moira. He tapped her on the shoulder, his eyes dancing.
"There's a circle left, m'dear, thanks to the grey one there." His grin grew wider still, showing oddly white teeth, and he began to walk towards it. "I'm thinking to claim it a'fore anyone else gets antsy. An' since you were the first to ask to dance, I'm thinking now's the time."

[TheGreyRonin]

As Ardaron lifted off, Syphon moved. He ran across the circle towards his opponent, reaching the center as he felt a presence in his mind. He literally growled as he crossed the remaining space and leapt up to grab Ardaron's foot.

Ardaron got an impression of an incredible amount of pain and rage boiling from Syphon, along with the name "Stasi", as he felt something leaching the energy from him.

Stalker grinned at Risky, showing all of his teeth. "You're on." He turned to look at Tock, then started mixing up something that fizzed, fumed, and smelled faintly of fuels. "Here you go. Coins only, please." He handed the drink across the bar.

[Boog]

"Terribly sorry," he replied, returning the bill to his pocket and placing a large pile of coins on the counter, "And thank you." He took a long swig of the caustic looking drink that had been handed to him and smiled, "You know, it really is quite hard to find someplace willing to make one of these." He leaned back to watch the show, I believe I rather like this place.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha laughed quietly at Gareeku's answer, taking her own drink from the bar and sipping it.  She gave him a smirk after swallowing it.  "Of course I haven't.  As always, amigo, I couldn't resist the call of this place.  I'm not too surprised to find you here either."  She smiled.

With another sip, she as well kept one of her ears on Keaton's conversation with Stygian.  Her eyes were narrowed slightly...though she wasn't as thoughtful as the wolf was on the way that they were fighting, she still couldn't get it out of her head how impressively dangerous it was.  At least the comments about dark magic could be verified...her tail ring had a steady and slight emerald glow to it upon their return.

But the attention couldn't have been held for long, as another battle started in the first Circle, and her attention was turned to it, though one of her ears was still quirked to the patrons of the bar in case she caught something.  The panther was quite content to watch a few of them first, just to get a feel for how the other fighters worked the ring.

[ardaron]

Ardaron was not expecting Syphon to be able to jump that high; in hindsight, he scolded himself for not flying higher.  At the last moment, he tried to move his foot out of Syphon's reach, but he wasn't fast enough, and Syphon's weight jerked Ardaron down out of the sky with a jarring lurch; Syphon was now standing on the ground, holding a still-airborne Ardaron like some kind of draconic balloon.

Ardaron withdrew from Syphon's mind, since he had more important things to worry about right now, and as he did so, he noticed something wrong with his own mental state.  He was losing energy; it only took a second or two to realize that Syphon's touch was somehow responsible, and, somewhat panicked from being taken so off-guard, he followed the first thought that came into his head; FIRE!  A gout of flame flared up in the space between Ardaron's leg and Syphon's grasping hand, and Ardaron tried not to wince; it wasn't like the fire didn't hurt him, but he was in hopes that it would hurt Syphon a lot more.

With Syphon (hopefully) distracted, Ardaron summoned a fierce updraft of wind, filling his wings with the upwelling air.  If Syphon had loosened his grip during the earlier burst of flame, Ardaron might be able to get away, and if not . . . well, then, it was time to see just how much weight those wings of his could carry.

[TheGreyRonin]

Syphon felt the presence leave his mind seconds after he touched the ground. Before he could take advantage, however, a burst of flame enveloped his hand, setting it alight and charring his flesh.

Gritting his teeth against the sudden pain, he absorbed the fire into himself, the flesh knitting across his hand as he continued to drain the life from Ardaron.

He reached up with his free left hand to try for a better grip, but the sudden downdraft from Ardaron's wings threw him off-balance, his grip on the dragonman's foot the only thing keeping him from falling on his ass. "Get down here and fight like a man!" he yelled, his eyes taking on a dangerous yellow glow.

Stalker watched the battle with obvious amusement as he picked a single coin from the pile that Tock had offered. "This will do fine."

Risky listened to the byplay between Gareeku and Aisha and sighed inwardly. "The good ones always have a past," she thought, "and beautiful ones at that."

"I'll take a Flameout, Stalker...make it a double," she said, moving slightly away from Gareeku to give him space.

[ardaron]

The flame-and-fly tactic having not worked, Ardaron tried to think of something else as he continued to flap his wings and focus on creating as strong an updraft as he could manage.  He could feel his mind beginning to cloud over slightly, and he had to resist the growing temptation to simply give up and fall to the ground.  NO!  He had to fight it!  Redoubling his efforts, he managed to lift Syphon off of the ground.  He thought of something, but it would be risky, and incredibly difficult.  And he needed to be higher up; he flapped with all his might, summoning a column of wind that approached whirlwind speeds.  His vision was turning black at the edges, from the combination of physical exertion, mental concentration, and Syphon's energy draining.  But he had to focus; if this worked, then he could rest for a second or two.

Finally, he was high enough; the ground was about fifteen feet from Syphon's feet.  Suddenly, Ardaron dove, straight down.  As he fell, he continued to flap his wings, turning himself in a dizzyingly fast somersault, aided by the wind he had created; as Syphon reached the top of the flip, Ardaron kicked out his captured leg, propelling the man even faster.  Syphon would experience several times the force of gravity, trying to wrench his grip from Ardaron's foot and fling him high into the air.  And, if the man managed to hang on through that, Ardaron was close enough to the ground by the end of the flip that Syphon would be slammed quite hard into the floor.

Exhausted, but not quite beaten yet, Ardaron panted, "Why . . fight like . . a man . . when I'm a . . dragon."

[TheGreyRonin]

Syphon tried to swing his body to throw Ardaron off-balance, but the sudden whirlwind surrounding him made it all but impossible to do anything but hang on. As his arm and shoulder took the brunt of the punishment, all he could do is drain and heal as his opponent took him for a dizzying ride.

Suddenly, he felt himself at the end of a flip that felt like a giant using him as a whip to crack, and he lost his grip. Flying at the edge of the circle he tried to tumble in mid-air, barely managing to hit the ground rolling.

As it was, he bruised at least three ribs and wrenched his shoulder. They started healing, of course, but the momentary pain enraged him. Worse, he was now at least ten feet away from his opponent as he stood up again, fists clenching.

"Dragon, right", Syphon said as he wiped a trace of blood from his nose with the back of his fist. He shifted his feet into a wider stance, left leg foremost, knees slightly bent. He drew back his right fist at waist-level, then held out his left, palm-up.

With a look of pure, smoldering anger, he flexed the fingers of his left hand in a "come-hither" gesture.

[Gareeku]

Hearing Aisha's comment, Gareeku smirked once more.
"You read me like a book." the wolf replied with a chuckle. It was then that he noticed the look on Risky's face as she pulled away from him.
"Something wrong?" he asked, concern evident on his face.

[Stygian]

After casting an interested look at the wolf and the panthress, and an even more intrigued one at the mechanic construct who appeared out of nowhere in the bar, Moira found herself face-to-face with the towering Giles. Smiling at his words, she stepped down from her stool and looked him squarely in the eyes.
   "Allright. But prepare for this dance to be hard, blackguard," she said and walked back over to fetch the packing she had been carrying earlier, before following the armored man out to the circle. "I don't want you going easy on me either."

[TheGreyRonin]

Risky accepted her drink from Stalker as Gareeku spoke, then took a long drink from the glass before answering. "Nope, nothing at all," she replied with a smile, then turned as Ardaron slammed Syphon to the ground. Her smile widened. "Double or nothing, Stalker."

[ardaron]

Recognizing that staying in the air would be too much drain on his precious energy right now, Ardaron landed heavily on his feet, trying to quickly think of a strategy on the limited information he had.  So far, from what he had experienced, Syphon's touch seemed to be his main weapon; therefore, Ardaron made up his mind to try his best to turn this into a long-range fight, keeping as far away from Syphon as possible.  But Ardaron had already seen that one of his primary long-range weapons, fire, had had very little effect, if any at all.

Time to try something a bit different.  Ignoring Syphon's 'come hither' gesture, Ardaron stayed exactly where he was, and reached into a pocket of his tunic, pulling out a small, transparent blue-green stone.  While keeping his eyes on Syphon and remaining ready to move should he approach, the dragon tried to discreetly focus on the stone, using his elemental power of Earth, and the stone grew, building itself up into a long, thin crystal, which then seemed to split apart of its own accord, giving the dragon a multitude of small, but very sharp, prismic shafts.  He then threw the entire handful, creating a spray of the tiny projectiles.  He was able to steer them slightly with air currents, but he had no direct control of their movement once they left his hand; still, that should be alright, because he only needed for one to hit.

[TheGreyRonin]

Syphon saw the spray coming at him, and uttered "Aw, shi-" before moving quickly, using his feet and the backs of his fists to try to deflect the crystals as they came.

Even with his efforts, however, several of the shards sliced into him, bloodying his arms and chest and tearing his shirt in several places. Wounded and angry, he lowered his head and shoulders and charged at Ardaron, arms spread wide.