Oku leaped into the dueling ring from her hiding spot behind the chimney. She slowed her landing at the last moment with her signature cackling black lightning. She maintained it for a moment, floating just above the ground on streams of shrieking Teotl before settling on the earth with a swooping gesture. Immediately she went into an energetic kata, revealing a treasure spear and twirling it with clear skill. She wore the same black chitinous armor as before, maybe she always wore it. Chachi had to keep herself from smiling in approval. What drama, what showmanship! She expected her sister to just stomp in and curse, but clearly she's fought in duels before and knew how to play it up for the audience. She must think it would help when she becomes Matriarch, but it served Chachi's purposes fine.
With the same drama in mind, Chachi quickly imbued her tasteful robes to give off a soft blue glow. She lifted her arm and the Cosmic Forge appeared above her head, to awed murmurs from the audience. The Forge was an impressive sight. At the bottom it was a mass of machinery whirling to some unknown purpose. The machines were connected by a piping system to barrels, casks, and vials, her essence storage. Moving up there was the forge proper, geometric lines of power around a flat surface, a crystalline hammer inscribed with runes suspended in the air above it. At the very top a tiny planet spun, connected to the machine with rivers of power. Her Teotl storage was a genuine ecosystem, complete with white mountains, green trees, flowing rivers, and drifting clouds. Chachi took a moment to admire it herself. There was something special about the Cosmic Forge. It didn't feel like she'd created it, it was more real than that. It could also somehow store Essence and Teotl on its own when she dismissed it, and that was beyond any of her Pillar Techniques. It was like she was only summoning it from some other place. Heaven maybe.
She had other concerns today. She held an image in her mind, a simple object with a complicated network of waterways, and willed it to be. Sharp, Stone, and Shadow Essence pumped up from the containers to the forge's surface and pure Teotl flowed down from the planet. The hammer struck once and a wave of pressure pushed back the audience. Twice and they felt like the whole estate was being pulled inward. The hammer struck a third time with a ring of finality.
Chalchiuhxochitl dismissed the forge and lifted her hand. An onyx saber fell into her waiting fingers. Just for fun she fed it some of her own Teotl and activated its core. It seemed to devour the light around it.
All of it was strictly unnecessary. This was her first idea to beat her sister, a saber perfectly designed to devour her signature Teotl attacks. She'd discussed it with her mom, but together they realized it was too risky without perfect knowledge of Oku's abilities. Besides, the family needed more than just one win in a duel, and an internal conflict at that. They needed someone in Transformation.
Chachi didn't believe in the myth that she had 50/50 odds to survive Transformation. Sure, yeah, half died. Can't argue with the numbers. The weaker half, the half without Heaven's blessing, they died. She was destined for something greater. She had no fear of the leap and had always planned to do it when she got her father's blessing. Now he couldn't give it, but her mother and brother gave it in his stead.
The saber wasn't necessary, but it was very cool. Even the arbiter, a round faced woman in Imperial white, had an appreciative expression. Then she returned to a flat mask of neutrality and did her job.
"This is an official duel between Chalchiuhxochitl and Okuillin for leadership of the Atlahau mercantile organization. It is a test of combat ability. You will fight until incapacitation or surrender. This is not an official dueling ring with proper safety precautions, so watch your strikes. If either of you wound a spectator or willingly step out of the ring that is an automatic disqualification."
That audience shuffled back a few more feet. Chachi rolled her eyes, they were in no danger while she was here.
"Are you ready?" the arbitrator looked at both fighters. Chachi gave a gracious bow, Oku a curt nod.
"Fight!"
Oku struck instantly, a black bolt of lightning firing from her fingers and hitting Chachi faster than her eyes could track. Chachi faked a pained grimace. In truth, it didn't hurt in the slightest. Tickled a little, maybe.
Chachi activated her saber, drawing the harmless lightning into its hungry depths. Her sister frowned and cut off the attack. Instead of firing bolts, she channeled Teotl to her spear. The same lightning arched through the weapon, but it also glowed a fiery red. An aura of more natural white lightning, not the putrid black she used before, cloaked her body. She must be using a body enhancement technique, powering the weapon's core and channeling a technique through it. She planned to fight with three distinct techniques active at once? Impressive Teotl control. If she completed her Pillars, Mastery wasn't far behind.
Not wanting to look like she was mocking her sister by just fighting defensively, Chachi rushed forward. Saber met spear. Where they touched, the black lightning snuffed out but waves of fire spilled over the weapons. If Chachi didn't have crystal rivers, it would have burned. Instead, the flames washed over harmlessly.
Oku's black eyes widened in recognition. To her credit, she made the best tactical choice she could under the circumstances. She dropped both techniques on the spear and dedicated her Teotl to body enhancement and her concentration to the physical conflict. In a furious series she stabbed, cut, and swirled, looking for an opening in Chachi's physical defense.
This was the hardest part for Chachi. Diamond Spirit granted her powerful defenses against Teotl based attacks but did nothing against a simple spear. Her superior cultivation base lent her greater speed and strength, but her sister more than made up for that with the enhancement technique. Gamely, she tried to match her sister in pure martial arts skill. She barely blocked a twirling slash and tried to dodge the follow up. Oku effortlessly matched her footwork, striking her in the ribs with the butt of her spear. Chachi flinched, feeling real pain for the first time in the fight, and her sister immediately pounced on that moment of weakness with a low stab, scoring a thin line of blood.
Ok, time to cheat. She wanted to play her sister up, not embarrass herself. With an overly clumsy swing, she batted at her sister's spear. Her sister spun to take advantage of the opening… And stumbled. With a thought, Chachi's clear domain disrupted her sister's enforcement technique. The sudden loss unbalanced Oku and left her back open.
Chachi was ready for it. She was already channeling the Touch of Destruction and feeding the core in her robes for a burst of speed. She tapped a snarl in the waterways of Oku's armor, a remnant from some clumsy repair. The plates shed from her sister's body like dandruff. Another touch, and destructive Teotl snapped a sensitive vertebrae.
Her sister threw herself back to create distance and warded Chachi off with her spear. Chachi lowered her saber and spoke, loud enough for the audience to hear, "it's admirable that you fought so hard and so well, even after you realized the truth. But it's time to end this."
She fully unveiled her spirit. The air became crisper, the sound of fountains clearer, the earth cleaner. She expressed her aura, and the natural blue-green of her power sparkled with crystalline perfection.
The pure spiritual pressure shook Oku, but she steadied her spear. They both knew she was still a threat in physical combat. Chachi nodded respectfully at that show of will and courage. Then she lifted her saber. While she was talking, she was also tweaking its waterways with basic imbuement, reversing their flow.
She fed the core again, and this time it didn't suck in. It shot out. All the lightning it absorbed raced at Chachi's sister. Oku cycled defensively to reabsorb the lightning before it did damage. Normally assaulting someone with their own technique was a fool's gambit. Normally. Chachi reached out again with her clear domain and disrupted her sister's spiritual defense. The lightning struck hard. Oku screamed and charged through what must have been debilitating pain.
Chachi neatly stepped aside and struck her sister on the back of the head, hard. She collapsed. Her sister's black lightning didn't just attack the body, it weakened the spirit. With that reduction in strength and speed. Oku wasn't a match for Chachi. Not that she ever really was.
The moment the arbiter declared her victory, Chachi reached down and healed the damage to her sister's riverways. She couldn't do anything about the physical damage, so she waved over the volunteer healer.
"She'll be fine?" It was more a statement than a question, and the healer nodded, "she'll be good as new in a few hours."
Chachi turned back to the awed crowd.
"Good! She fought well. This was an enlightening exchange of techniques. My clan will need warriors like my sister to protect us."
Her mother kneeled on both knees on cue and proclaimed, "thank you for your wisdom, Matriarch. Thank you for guiding us in these difficult times." She pressed her forehead to the ground. The clan followed suite. Chachi noted that her older brothers went to their knees, but kept their backs straight. Was that correct? She honestly wasn't sure. It was fine, it was hard enough to watch her mother grovel like this. But Itstlixochitl had insisted. It was part of being Matriarch, and her father would have been shown the same respect on formal occasions.
1. Chalchiuhxochitl has done little else except cultivate, but no one can cultivate non-stop. What was her non-cultivation hobby?
[] Pets!
[] Gardening
[] Painting, Sculpture, and other fine arts
[] Fashion
[] Playing games with her friends. Well, her servants. Her friend/servants.
[] Write in. It doesn't have to be useless, but learning the family business or skills that compliment her techniques isn't a hobby.
I posted the character sheet. Here's the transformation section:
Transformation - Diamond Spirit
Aura of Purity – Undead, Abominations, Abyssal Beings, and other foul creatures are grievously harmed by your presence. You have a mild purifying effect on your environment.
Cleansing Touch – You can heal poison, disease, and spiritual damage with a touch.
Clear Domain – With a simple act of will you can disrupt all Teotl effects below transformation level and weaken all effects below Lord level.
Crystal Rivers – You are immune to anything that may cause harm to your spirit below Lord level. You are immune to poisons and diseases. You are resistant to all harmful Teotl.
Shining Fate – Fate will bend slightly to shield you from humiliation and degradation. People will find it easy to recognize your value and difficult to insult you.
Rigid Spirit - You cannot use normal techniques, limiting you to Foundation, Pillar, or Master techniques.
