Faerie

Fae smiled at the tall ginger who opened the door for her before following him inside her large box in tow "Its nice to meet you Jomei I'm . . ." Fae was cut short from her introduction as the only other guest called out her name, well more accurately a nickname. And with that nickname and that hair Fae knew exactly who this was, even if it had been a long time since she had seen the woman she wasn't so quickly going to forget a friend "Oh, I've just been, around, you know how it is. Its really nice to see you again Nari, and its really nice to meet you Jomei." Fae smiled at the other party goers as they made their way to the stop of the stairs. "I brought some pie, where can I drop these off at?" Fae followed Nari to a group of tables covered in snacks and other desserts before shrugging and placing the box down, quickly taking out the freshly baked apple pies she had made "everyone always has pumpkin pie, but I've always loved apple pie for Christmas" Fae looked over down the balcony at the commotion that had just started down in the entryway there was a man in a green Santa costume carrying a large sack, and Fae couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. It had been a long time since she had spent any time around anyone else, and with the decorations and snacks this was going to be an amazing Christmas party.

Back on her feet Fae looked at her health bar again surprised to see how little damage she took compared to when she had fought this troll so long ago. Back then one hit had brought her to the brink of death and she had had to flee in order to even survive the encounter, now she had taken a hit way harder than back then and it had barely done anything to her at all.

The fear was still strong in her but a new sense of confidence washed over Fae as Nari stepped in and called out to the troll, her scythe resting behind her. The woman exuded a confidence that Fae couldn't even begin to see herself ever exuding standing there as if the troll that had plagued Fae for the last two years was nothing to her which to be fair was probably true.

It seemed like where the troll excelled in strength and dexterity its intelligence wasn't very high. Hearing a voice coming from its side the troll turned its head towards Nari bringing its attention away from the combat. Taking this opportunity Fae launched herself towards the troll slashing her blade towards its side finding nothing but air as the troll brought its attention back with enough time to dodge the sword art.

Fae just smiled at her green haired companion, it was beyond sweet that she was willing to hop into the middle of the combat with nothing in hand. Now holding a whip in her hand Avoryn had some form of weapon to fight alongside Fae with, even if it wasn't the best weapon on the planet. "Thanks Avoryn, I appreciate your help!" Fae tossed the empty vial that she was holding and turned back to face her opponents holding the sword towards them as she prepared herself for another attack. Fae waited until right before one of the boars was about to charge before she launched herself forward pausing for a single moment to let her sword art activate before slashing three times in quick succession hoping to land a solid hit on all of the boars that were left. 

Another one of the porcine creatures exploded into a shower of sparks after her blade pierced its hide falling short of the other boars. Fae didn't have a moment to waste as another boar came charging at Fae. Bringing her blade level with the creature Fae tried to activate another sword art, finding the task to be impossible completely throwing off the strike that she made and giving one of the boars the perfect opportunity to slash its tusk along her side. "Don't let yourself run out of energy Ryn. It will make this a lot more difficult." Fae looked back at her combat partner before jumping back to bring herself in line with her.

Fae listened intently to Nari as she focused on dodging all of the attacks that the troll was sending her way being more patient then she was before not trying to make an opening, but instead waiting for one to open for her. Fae was just fast enough to keep dodging the strikes coming at her, but any mistake on her part could lead to her taking a hit from the massive club the troll was holding.

A large swing of the club came horizontally at Fae, and there was no chance that she could dodge backward. Opting for the only real option she had Fae jumped into the air above the club making it miss her by barely an inch. Fae was completely suspended in the air when the troll let out a roar bringing it's off hand swinging through the air at her. Unable to move out of the way Fae desperately brought her forearms up to block the blow wincing as the slam connected and sent her flying through the air feet away from the creature landing solidly against the stone. Fae shook her head as she scrambled to her feet noting how much damage it did even though she wasn't wearing much armor.

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The roaring sound of fire was all that could be heard throughout the forest as Fae stood opposite the monster guarding the demonic shard that the gypsy women had told her to go get. She hadn't told her that there would be anything like this guarding the fragment of demonic energy, or else she wouldn't have taken on the quest so lightly. The firelight Caused shadows to dance across the clearing as the wind blew through the fiery barrier keeping her trapped in her duel with the guardian. Fae could barely hear the thunderous cracking sound of the whip as the guardian lashed out for another attack, attempting to wrap the flaming weapon around Fae's sword to wrench it out of her hand.

Fae let the whip wrap around her sword, the blade instantly beginning to glow from the heat, the orange overtaking the natural bright blue sheen. Ash and small chunks of molten rock crumbled off of the monster's arm as it jerked the whip trying to pull the length of the fire rope taught. Fae twisted the blade right as the rope stiffened, using the strength of the guardian's pull to bring the sharp edge of her blade pulling through the tangible fire, the flames hanging in the air for only a moment before the scattered in the wind only a hint of smoke being left behind before that too was carried away. The corners of Fae's mouth tilted up slightly in triumph as the final remnants of the whip were dragged away and she was left standing her sword versus the sharp claws of igneous rock on the guardians fingers.

A dull throbbing started up in the back of Fae's head as she grabbed the next arrow out of her hip quiver, a feint ringing feeling like it was attempting to escape her skull. With a sharp intake of breath Fae brought the bow even with her chest, holding the arrow loosely to the string waiting for the signal to draw and then fire, the dull aching and ringing growing every moment as if building up to some crescendo. The customary whistle blew out and Fae drew the bow in one solid motion, only sighting for a second before letting the arrow fly. The ringing seemed almost tied to the arrow growing in intensity and volume as it grew closer to the target. Black was beginning to flake the edges of her vision as the pressure seemed to build until finally, as the arrow hit the target it was gone almost with a pop.

Fae stood, her head groggy as she looked at her surroundings, the weird waking dream was gone, and Fae was again standing in the ring of fire, only one of the gargoyle like creatures opposing her, its body bubbling and bursting, cracked dry magma flaking off as the mass of molten rock writhed beneath it. The creature snarled as Fae tried to gain her bearings. Memories flooding through her mind like a wave, none clear, but pictures of her leaping out of the way of fiery whips and plunging her straight sword into the magma form of one of the beasts the customary explosion signalling that it had died. 

Fae had been fighting the creatures all along, the land she had been in before being nothing more than but in her head. She couldn't understand what was happening or why, but it was clear that she was back in the moment and that she still had another one of those monsters to face before she could fret about it further. Fae readied her blade as she shook away the grogginess.

Back at the starting line Fae held up her bow, pulling the string back and taking a moment to focus, she doubted that the wind had changed enough at this point to make her arrow go too far off stray if she just aimed for the same place she aimed last time. Once again methodically lining her bow up to where she thought she had aimed previously Fae release the arrow, watching as it soared through the air, thudding softly in the distance into the second of the yellow rings, this one wasn't worth as much as the bullseye in the center, but it was still worth a lot for this set. 

After loosing her arrow Fae took a moment to look over at her fiery competitors, their arrow flying similarly through the air, a soft thud echoing through the endless void as it made contact with the target seventy meters ahead of them. It was hard to see from this distance, but the arrow was sticking out in one of the red circles vibrating softly from the impact. The shot wasn't as good as Fae's, but it was good enough that it wouldn't be hard for them to overtake her if she wasn't careful.

Fae methodically lined up her second shot, she had overcompensated last time, but now knowing where the arrow hit the target she could aim for the exact point that would land it in the bullseye. Releasing the arrow Fae held her breath, she didn't want to be shown up by these monsters, and this was a sport that she not only had a passion for, but was also skilled at. The arrow flew being carried by the strong wind, thudding into the center most yellow circle. Fae couldn't help but let out a cheer as a shockwave blew out from her target and caused the guardians shot to go wide.

It wasn't much longer until Fae heard a set of three sharp whistle blasts go off, signalling that they could go grab their arrows. Making her way to the distant target Fae glanced over at the guardians. There were no arrows on their target, meaning that Fae was in the lead, she had won the first set which would be 2 points, she would need 6 to win. Fae pulled the two arrows out of her target and began looking for the third that had gone wide.

It didn't take long for Fae and the guardians to be back to their starting points, each with three arrows back in their quiver. If Fae win the next two sets she would win the third match of the competition, and based on the health bars showing above the targets, Fae was certain that meant she would win the fight.

It was Nari's words of encouragement that broke the spell that had a hold on Fae. she wasn't the same as she was the last time that she had seen this creature, she was stronger and she had people or person behind her that was even stronger. Sliding the blue blade out of the sheathe on her lower back Fae locked eyes with the creature shoving the fear deep down as she charged at it sword drawn.

Fae was hoping that she would be able to use her speed to her advantage with her wearing the lightest of the armor categories and with this creature's size this should be no problem. Fae was proven wrong as she found herself not able to focus on the offensive but instead having to leap and twirl out of the way of the troll's club and clawed hand. Both were completely evenly matched when it came to speed and neither were able to land a blow as Fae twirled through the air, her cloak billowing out behind her making it look like she had wings as she made her aerial and ground based maneuvers. Fae didn't stop looking for an opening as she slowly learned how the troll attacked. 

Fae leaned into where she thought the wind was coming from so that she could make sure that it hit the target even after being veered so off course. Calmly she pulled the bowstring back her fingers lightly gripping the arrow that she had knocked to the string. Breathing in calmly Fae let the arrow fly, making note of exactly how far off to the side she had aimed so that she could adjust if the arrow still missed. Letting go of the arrow Fae concentrated hard to see where the arrow landed on the target that was seventy meters away she would need to know how much to adjust her shot by if it hit too far to the left or right.

A dull thud rang out as Fae's second arrow hit the target in the distance, landing on the far left side of the target, Fae had overcompensated, or the winds had died down, even though the arrow hit the target, it had fallen on the outer area which was not worth any points. 

Sighing Fae grabbed another arrow, the wind not actually being able to be felt made it hard for her to line up her shots, it was impossible to tell how strong the wind was so she just had to guess, if it was the same as it was before than she just needed to aim a bit closer to the target.

The long bow in Fae's hand felt comfortable and it made her smile as she thought back to the first time she had ever learned to shoot one. She had been a small kid, it was after her mother had left her and her dad and she needed something to latch onto in that time of need. An archery camp had put up flyers in their home town, advertising a week long retreat where they would learn how to shoot bows and do other activities. Fae remembered racing home from school clutching the flyer, begging her dad to let her go, and he did. The week long camp wasn't all that great and most of the people there weren't as interested in learning or teaching the craft of archery as they were to just not be in school, but the event sparked a love of the sport in Fae, and it was one she practiced up until Sword Art Online.

Shaking her head for more clarity Fae breathed in and grabbed an arrow from the quiver she attached to her hip, it seemed like they would be following standard rules for competitive archery seeing as she only had three arrows in it. Breathing deeply Fae knocked the arrow and pulled the string to her cheek, letting go with her fingers as she breathed out. The arrow flew straight but steadily started veering off to the side as if there was a strong wind. Confused Fae looked over at the guardian's and it appeared as though the same thing had happened to them, and a laugh oddly sounding like the announcer rang out around them.

Fae stood around for a while, waiting for something to happen as she pulled out another one of the potions strapped to her thigh, downing it in seconds and bringing her health up again by a sizable chunk. It took another couple of minutes for anything to happen until suddenly Fae could see a target appear off in the distance, and next to her was all of the gear and set up for an archery competition. "Welcome once again folks to our third and final round of our competition, it is time to see If Fae can come out on top, or if the guardians intense blaze will be able to take her out." A round of cheers stronger than any other before it rang out for what appeared to be the last contest Fae would have to face in this void.

Fae smiled as she donned the chest guard, wrist brace and glove that had been provided next to the long bow for her. Archery had been the only sport Fae had participated in growing up, and while she was no master of the sport, she had had enough practice to make a decent showing here. The lack of bows in Sword Art Online was one of the largest put offs towards the game for Fae, always having been a fan of the weapon, it was sad that it was not in the game that she now found herself trapped in. Sighing Fae heard two whistles blow, signifying that it was time for them to step up to the line and start shooting.

The void didn't answer to any of Fae's protests as the other guardian stepped forward picking up a ball made to look like the sun, and following the same motions as the other one rolled it down the center of the lane to come crashing into the pins in the same fashion as the last time, again causing Fae's health bar to drop as a shockwave blasted out from the pins. L:etting out a string of curses Fae stepped forward picking up the same green ball that she had last time, lifting it high in the air, and letting go when it was parallel with the lane that she was throwing it down. The ball raced towards the center of the pins, but right as Fae was beginning to hold hope it started curving away narrowly missing any of the pins and diving directly into the gutter.

Fae just sighed and turned away from the lane cursing her luck as the announcer started talking again. "Well folks that concludes our second round, and so far it is looking really bad for Fae, the guardians are up three to one, but don't worry the competition isn't nearly over just yet, we have plenty more planned for you as we move into the third round." The same feeling as if the earth around Fae had been removed, with her stomach leaping into her throat she fell for what seemed like minutes until her feet once again landed on the vastness of the void.

The guardian with the ball took a single step forward, bringing the hand with the ball swinging out behind him before bringing it swinging back in front, letting go of the ball to let it slide down the lane towards the pins set up underneath the health bars of the guardians. Fae watched as the ball twisted over itself countless times before slamming into the center of the triangular set of pins, with a crash all ten of the pins seemed to fall and disappear sending a wave of energy through the air that once again lowered Fae's health.

Cheering erupted from an audience that didn't exist and Fae understood that it was her turn. It had been years since the last time Fae had gone bowling, vague memories of stained 80's carpets and the smell of beer when her father took her to the run down alley in her home town, Fae was pretty sure they had had guards up while she was playing, and even then she never managed to knock over more than a handful of pins. Grabbing a mottled green ball off of the depository Fae tried to mimic the guardians movements, releasing the ball when her arm was high up in the air. Fae didn't realize how bad that was until her ball arced through the air and landed on the lane with a heavy thud, rolling slowly until it finally tilted into a gutter on the side of the lane. "Come on! At least pick a game I am good at!" Fae yelled into the air at whoever was controlling the fever dream of a competition that she found herself in.