Round 1 - Erik vs Zira

[Kender Bard]

Erik blinked and shifted his weight, looking across the bit of distance at Zira. He'd really hoped he'd have gone against someone a bit closer to his age and skill at first draw...

At least it's not Jonathan! he reminded himself and smiled a tiny bit.

"Ready?" the judge inquired. Erik nodded.

[Darastrix]

Zira was at once relieved and disappointed about this match. Erik was very young, nearly ten years Zira's junior if he had to guess, and still rather green. Zira felt his chances here were good, but he would have liked a little stronger opponent.

He reminded himself firmly not to get too confident, though. Even an untrained man with a blade could take down a seasoned soldier if things went a certain way, and Erik was by no means untrained. And he was not a soldier. He did have a trick or two up his sleeves, though.

The "decor" woven into his long braid glittered in the sunlight as he moved his head. The blue was eye catching against his silvery hair, and as the sunlight caught and glittered in the facets, it was distracting as well. And, if anyone was bold enough to use his hair against him by grabbing it (provided they could even reach it past his wings), they would find that aside from being merely a distracting decoration, the bits sticking out of his braid were also pointed. They wouldn't penetrate a leather glove, but they were numerous enough that to get a good grip, a person would find those tips pressing into their hand to be considerably painful, moreso if they tried to wrap the braid around their hand to pull, and if someone tried barehanded, well. Zira was reasonably sure they'd let go in short order.

What armor he actually wore was light, so as not to leave him grounded, and his own blue tabbard was stitched with a pattern of curling white feathers along the bottom. Below that was a few rows of glittering fringe of interlocking rings that mimicked the appearance of chainmail. Zira didn't expect those truly familiar with armor to believe he wore chain, though if any did, they would also believe that he couldn't fly with the weight of such armor. The main purpose of the extra fringe was, aside from being decorative, to attract the eye while being in a spot that wouldn't end up distracting HIM as well.

He firmed his grip on his longsword (he'd considered the great sword briefly since he'd been working with it for several months, but decided to choose what was most familiar to him) and nodded. "Ready."

[Kender Bard]

"Go!"

Why does it have to be winter? Erik thought lamentably. His sign would be useless in his matches. He had to rely on strength of arms alone. With a deep breath, he charged forward, hoping that a sudden, strong offense would tip things in his favor. He put a great deal of power into his opening swing, but was careful not to overextend himself or overswing to the point he would do something foolish, like fall over, on the first move.

[Darastrix]

'Stay calm,' he thought to himself. 'You'll see what an excited opponent doesn't.'

Zira met Erik's sword with his own, being mindful to not stiffen his sword arm completely. The force would jar him, without a doubt. He merely stopped the blade and stepped to the side and turned so that he remained facing Erik and allowed the man's momentum carried him past, their blades sliding along each other's lengths.

He stepped forward to swing at Erik's side, his free hand brushing the sign on his forehead briefly as his eyes took on a light glow. Nothing more. He wasn't going to tire himself this early unless he truly needed to draw on his signs. Zira was simply looking to unbalance his opponent.

[Kender Bard]

Erik twisted around, blocking but a bit awkwardly. He sought to correct his stance, gaze drawn to Zira's eyes for a moment. He blinked, surprised, and missed the opportunity to quickly fall into a more defensive stance.

[Darastrix]

Zira swiftly moved forward, snapping his wings in as he strove to take advantage of Erik's momentary distraction, thrusting his blunted blade at the man's chest. Young he might be, but he was still a Beloved Knight, and there was no guarantee that Zira could use the same trick on him twice.

[Kender Bard]

Erik yelped slightly as he jumped back, swinging his blade up in a desperate parry. The edge of the blunted blade sliced against the side of his right arm; it was relatively painless. The judge apparently deemed the 'wound' not deep enough to merit a penalty against Erik and so the young knight turned to bare his left shoulder and tried to bodily shove Zira back.

[Darastrix]

Zira, being a few inches taller than Erik and some pounds heavier, was not an easy man to push back, and kept his balance well. As soon as Erik stepped back from his push, Zira was moving forward again, swinging his blade at Erik's midsection.

[Kender Bard]

Erik grunted as he managed another clumsy parry. His arm was beginning to feel sore and strained and he was breathing harder. He frowned and observed Zira carefully - perhaps desperation tactics wouldn't work here after all. The man tried to circle around Zira, hoping to get a chance to swing at his side.

[Darastrix]

Zira wasn't feeling tired yet; he'd been conserving his own energy, and to his eyes, it was paying off. He turned in place as Erik tried to circle him, wings unfurling as though he was about to take flight. Then, keeping the actual limbs high enough that Erik would have to get above them somehow to give an effective strike, he moved forward, a mass a white feathers coming to hit the other man in the face and, most importantly, to distract and obscure his vision as Zira thrust his tourney blade into Erik's midsection.

[Kender Bard]

Erik cried out in surprise, backpedaling a bit and slicing his sword upwards to try and help push Zira's wing out of the way. When he felt the sword jab at his torso, he grunted and grabbed at it.

"Fatal blow!" the judge called out. "The match goes to Lord Wintersong!"

Erik sank to his knees, one hand still on his midsection even though it didn't hurt that much.

[Darastrix]

Zira felt a little thrill when he was announced the winner, and couldn't help but fluff his feathers slightly. That has been fun. Already, he found himself looking forward to his next match. Zira found it almost hard to believe that he used to dislike swordplay. It was too bad Zack wasn't there to see, but, well, he could tell him while he watched the other matches.

He sheathed his sword and offered Erik a hand up. "Good fight, Erik," he said to the younger man.

~Ah, I didn't hit you too hard, did I?~ he added mentally.

[Kender Bard]

Erik didn't reply - he took Zira's hand, giving a faint shake of his head to the mental query. Wordlessly, he walked off in the direction he was facing, a hard look on his face.

One of the tournament attendants walked over, offering Zira a mug of some sort off hot drink (cider, likely) and a small wooden token. "This will let you stay one night free in an inn that will take it," she explained. It was a small prize for the first round winners.

[Darastrix]

Zira nodded his head to the attendant. "Thank you," he murmured, accepting both the drink and token. Briefly, he considered going after Erik, but decided against it. He was probably the last person Erik would really want to talk to right then. Jonathan was most likely the best one for that. The best thing for him, Zira decided, was to enjoy watching the rest of the day's matches and preparing for his next round when the pairs were announced.