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Message: <blockquote data-quote="seasong" data-source="post: 785291" data-attributes="member: 5137">Olympiad: Day Two, Other StuffBellos the SlingerOne tournament finally caught Bellos' eye, and Greppa and Merideth cajoled the merchant to let him in. Bellos was a damned fine slinger, able to generate sufficient power to make a hydra feel the impact through its hide, and he hoped to make an impression in the contest.An impression was made on him.Although rarely talked about in the way front line spearmen or shield carriers are, the Theralese slingers are an important part of the military force. A sling stone can crack skulls, has excellent range for mountain fighting, is useful in close quarters, and is extremely cheap and fast to make. The only problem is the skilled required to do any real damage with it... and the Theralese slingers do little else but practice that skill.Bellos had trained his slinging for maximum power; he had honed his skill for short encounters with wilderness beasts. And when it came to that, he could put a dent in iron shields... but the Theralis soldiers trained for accuracy and consistency over the long haul. It wasn't important that they be able to penetrate the hide of a wyvern, or make a hydra feel it... it was important that they be able to hit the much softer head of an orc at fifty paces or more, over and over again.The first few targets were okay, and well within Bellos accurate range, but as the targets got further and further away, he fell rapidly behind in points as the master slingers among the Theralese racked up an impressive number of bull's eyes.Still... many of the slingers came by to admire the force he managed, and complimented him on his swift pull and aim at closer ranges. They talked shop, and Theralese and Bellos both went away with new ideas to train in and try.Merideth the EsperAmong the espers, there is a similar contest to the arcanist conjuring, but its effects are more subtle to watch, less prone to chance wins, and far more exhausting for the competitors. To participate, both competitors summon up their inner energies to create a faint, barely visible cloud of ethereal plasm in the air between them. The clouds, tinted with the color of the esper's soul, begin to interact and, driven by the will of each esper, attempt to dominate the other cloud by sheer force.The espers are typically exhausted within minutes, and many competitions are decided by collapse of one or the other; most competitions, however, are decided by raw will power.Visibly, little happens. Two wispy clouds float together and then, in an almost creepy manner, begin to consume one another. The competitors' brows bead with sweat, their faces taut and drawn, until one collapses or until one cloud envelopes the other. To help see the clouds, the room is typically darkened, lit only by candles, and a ring forms around the two competitors.That evening, Merideth made her way into the small tavern where it was being held, away from the bustle and noise of the majority of the Olympiad. The owner of the tavern was happy to see them (it was a popular watering hole among espers), and swiftly made room.The expected champion was Morphamos, a self-titled master of will and (given his abilities) reasonably arrogant and self-assured owner of a number of vineyards. He had won the past three Olympiads, and had only gotten stronger in the intervening years. Merideth, this being her first year to be old enough to participate in Olympiad, beat him, within seconds, in the first round.She then went on to hammer her competition, stopping only for brief breaks before taking a sip of wine and stomping the next one. Round after round, her slender face tight with concentration, she completely failed to falter.By the end of it, she had a crowd of espers gathered on her side of the table, and she spent much of the remainder of the evening discussing theory and enjoying her sudden popularity and the grape vine wreath upon her head.And Other StuffAfter that, Bellos took his leave of Greppa shortly after spotting the dark-eyed gymnast from the night before, and Greppa took his leave from Bellos to watch a few final wrestling matches. Arkos* had made it into semifinals, and Greppa was damned if he was going to miss that. Afterwards, although Arkos failed to make it all the way to the finals, Greppa took him out for celebratory drinking, and ended up spending the entire night with him.* For those who don't remember, Arkos was one of the Keraunesti who went with the party to hunt for an ancient, lost mine. He was a buddy of Athan's, and Greppa never really lost contact with him. Kyliados, Arkos best bud last year, wasn't around, but he hasn't died.</blockquote>

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