Arena Match: Shadow Stones 3 vs 3 Flying Fangs
The Grand Arena was packed. Elementals of every allegiance jostled in the narrow stands, filling the air with taunts and cheers as they watched the match above them, as if to match the roaring dragons with their enthusiasm. Beating their wings, both drakes charged, and black claws struck blue.
"OH, and it seems that trashduke's training has paid off! The Azure Dragon is wounded!" Perched at the very top of the Arena's Central Tower, the announcer gripped the railing, his eyes focused at the spectacle barely a dozen feet above his narrow perch. "Have the Shadow Stones done it? Is this the final bout for the Flying Fangs?" he asked, and the assembled elementals let out a great cacophony of noise, some showing their burning approval with fire bolts as others booed and made rude gestures with their toadfishes. A large boom sounded as a few stray spells made it past the barriers at the stands, bolts of lightning striking a pack of devourers and their damselfly foes.
Roving packs of vendors hawked their wares amidst this raucous crowd, proffering their delicacies and souvenirs in vain as the fight went on. "Get your fried cockatrice eggs, only 25 lecs a pouch!" "Aethereal Aires, bottled specially in Atlas! Fifty electrum for three very special vials! Sir, your wife won't regret this purchase!" "Mute's Improved Mutations, make an evolutionary leap today!"
"What a blow! The--"
A crack broke through the din of the crowd, surpassing even the bellows of the feuding dragons for a few brief moments. The announcer tore his eyes from the warring drakes and looked down. The earth tremored and shook, and the spectating elementals gasped as a creature burst from the ground, pebbles and boulders alike thrown into the sky as the hatching graboid made its way into the arena. Rearing on its hind legs, the shrieker roared in triumph. Beside it, a gargoyle flexed its wings, preparing its ascent.
"What an entrance! Spectacular! The Shadow Stones have fielded their wildcard squad, RapidStar's Rowdy Dirt Dragons! With mrpaper busy engaging trashduke in the skies, who will the Flying Fangs send to engage this new threat?" The announcer asked. He turned to the elemental on his left. "Well, Lieutenant?"
Xn0ize brought up his hand, the Titan Pad Device glowing as he slowly brought it up. "Newbiecake. Let them fly." For a moment, nothing happened. Then--
Blurs of red and yellow zipped into the fray, crashing into the ascending gargoyles with gentle trills, the intense heat of the impacts destroying more than a few of their earthen foes in fiery shockwaves. "Ladies and Gentlemen, you see before you the legendary Phoenix Bolts! How the Flying Fangs managed to convince those feathered fellows to join, we may never know!"
RapidStar cursed as he saw another gargoyle blown apart, coughing as the dust and fumes spread in each clash. Their numbers were running low. Phoenixes... where had they gotten bloody phoenixes? The one shrieker he'd sent was cowering in the ground, desperately trying to re-enter its burrow. Only one option left... "RELEASE THE REST!" He yelled, and dove to the ground. An ominous rumble built up in the ground, audible to a scant few at ground level; to the rest, dragons and gargoyles and phoenixes still held their attention. He closed his eyes.
The earth shattered. Shockwaves passed through phoenixes and gargoyles alike, grounding both of them as a high pitched noise pierced through the battle. The wails of a half dozen hatching shriekers sent detritus and debris of varying sizes crashing into the Arena's barriers. Dirt dragons indeed.
"A-Amazing! With the Dirt Dragons on the field, the Shadow Stones currently field a massive advantage." He tuned to his right. "You're still paying for that. Lieutenant, what's your next move?"
"It's over." Aves said. "With that, I think--"
"It's not over yet." Xn0ize interrupted. "I still have my trump card. I'm calling in the Air Nymphs." He brought up his Titan Pad Device.
Ah. Nymphs. Crap. Aves leaned over the barrier, looking worriedly at the battle that was beginning to draw to a close. He held his breath. No sign of nymphs.
"..."
"..."
"So... where are they?"
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