Pushing the Sky!

[baka]

"Can't be helped..." Fitz mutters to Richard at his complaints.

At Cosgrove, he grins, and remarks: "Took care of the Avatar, didn't I?"

He keeps his eye on the "ruske" and looks inside himself for when he kept a hold of the Avatar, proferring this to Selene and trying to form a picture in his mind of a shield that deflects Mystrix magic - from the inside. See how Clive likes it if his spells go off in front of him.

[Carthrat]

Fitz can't access such a spell; the ward granted to him before was designed to protect against the presence of outsiders- those who are not native to the plane. A spell of shielding pops into his mind, that will allow him to protect himself from magic- but keeping it strong diverts his power from other spells. Clive, himself, has clasped his hand together, purple power flowing around them.

Richard unlimbers his sword, which was until now wrapped in cloth- not that he could've hidden it from Livingstone's watchful eye if he tried.

And Livingstone himself... one moment, he stands casually at the foot of the stairwell, hands by his sides.

The next, he is only a metre away from  Cosgrove- to the untrained eye, he practically teleported from one location to the other. He grasps his rapier in his right hand, drawing and slashing in an upward cut with one smooth motion.

[Dracos]

Cosgrove swayed gracefully with his knees, using his short sword to deflect the blow as he moved into a series of lightning quick thrusts with his long sword, moving to keep the fight on his terms.

Dracos

[baka]

Fitz begins to chant, the syllables clearly audible but in no way understandable, an ancient prayer to Selene, trying to bring the shield up around himself. As soon as it's up, he tries to hold it firm while preparing (and not using) an offensive spell.

[Carthrat]

Purple sparks fly from Cosgrove's short sword as it impacts with Livingstone's blade, which glows a soft white in response. Only now does Cosgrove note that Livingstone isn't using his family blade that he has seen so many fights before- rather, a far less elaborately decorated sword.

With lightning speed, Livingstone deflects Cosgrove's initial sword thrust, then backs away slightly, making it more difficult to strike with the shorter sword without closing distance.

Meanwhile, 'Clive' presses his magic-laden hands to the ground, and with a sharp crackle, out of the ground springs a creature- large as a gorilla, and comprised of stone and wood.

"Clive! My manor needs it's foundation to stand!" shouts Livingstone, annoyed. However, Clive pays no attention, and with a gesture, sends his makeshift golem hurtling towards Fitz and Richard..

[Dracos]

"A magic blade, Livingstone?  Instead of your family sword?  How odd of you."  Cosgrove ignored Clive and his golem as he moved forward in a leaping attack, bringing his swords around quickly from either side.

Dracos

[Carthrat]

Livingstone looks peeved at that.

"It broke," he admits, scooting back a step, then leaning forward, coming towards Cosgrove's chin with the tip of his blade.

[Dracos]

Cosgrove twisted in the air to dodge the stab, jabbing upwards swiftly and swinging to the left with his short sword to catch and deflect the blade aside, even as he caried on with his slashing attack with his long sword, using the momentum from the deflection to spin himself into a faster attack.

Dracos

[Carthrat]

At the last second, Livingstone flicks his wrist, and Cosgrove's longsword is diverted wide. Impossibly fast, Livingstone whips around with his left leg, catch Cosgrove's right as he lands and throwing him off-balance. The manouever, however, has left him open wide to Cosgrove's opposite blade.

[Dracos]

Cosgrove spun his short-sword around in his hand, using the force Livingstone had applied to his long sword to power his spin jabbing the sword into Livingstone's sword forearm and yanking it painfully back as he moved with the kick, pulling out of easy range and trying to recover his balance.

Dracos

[Carthrat]

Livingstone tries to twist his forearm out the way, but only manages to transform a punishing blow into a slightly less painful one. A slight drip of blood leaks out his arm as he staggers backwards.

First Blood isn't as important as Last Blood, though, and a look of fierce concentration comes over Livingstone's face as he resumes his stance.

He speaks a Word

---

Whilst Fitz is squaring off with Clive, he feels the tinge of holy power behind him- not just the power of Selene, but a feeling all the good-alinged deities feel.

---

and the white, shimmering light on his blade extends, making the blade apparently lengthen several inches- giving him a small but significant reach advantage over Cosgrove.

[Dracos]

"So that's how it's going to be now, is it?" Cosgrove moved in as fast as he could, working with his short sword and not his long sword as he depended on the greater speed of the smaller blade, striking not at Livingstone, but at his sword as he attempted to bring the fight within the range of the longsword and ruin the effect of the reach advantage.  Not one to spare the chance for a hit, his other hand lashed out, wrapped around the hilt of his sword as he brought his fist towards Livingstone's gut hard.

Dracos

[Carthrat]

Livingstone takes a step forward- bizzarely enough- and jams his rapier against Cosgrove's shorter blade- slamming it right up to his basket hilt. At the same time, his left hand slips to Cosgrove's punch and grabs the fist full on.

[Dracos]

Cosgrove promptly uses the two counter forces that Livingstone is so nicely providing to steady himself as he flip kicks up, bringing his knee, or fail that his foot, against Livingstone's chin.

Dracos

[Carthrat]

As Cosgrove tries to pull out his kickflip, he feels himself being pulled towards Livingstone-

-and feels his foot impact with the taller man's gut as his head is struck by something very hard. Instead of following through and landing on his feet, Cosgrove falls on his back, hard. It's small comfort that Livingstone looks dazed- he's still rushing at Cosgrove, his blade aimed in a stab towards his heart...