The explosion burst out in flames, then suddenly was drawn towards Sereg. The seals he had just made on his hands were lit up, and the blast was being absorbed into the seals. As the remains of the explosions vanished into the seals, the blood on Sereg's hand evaporated into the air, along with the magic contained in them. Sereg remained unharmed, along with the back side of the dragon, and the others nearby.

"I was merely going to put you to sleep, but after that, sleep is to good for you." Sereg licked the bladed edge of the dagger, causing the blood already on the dagger's edge to mix with the fresh blood, turning it to a black color.

Aeryn smirked, "Are you some kind of masochist? Constantly cutting yourself can't be good for you..." he turned to face the elf fully, his eyes glowing in the darkness, "Yeah...you're the one who attacked us, but now I'm suddenly a terrible person for trying to return the favor..." a mixture of mock sympathy and sarcasm evident in his tone.

Spinning his staff around him in an intricate pattern, he added, "Of course, if you're finally feeling agressive, then try to carry out some of those threats. If you're not still afraid, of course."

Sereg snickered, and then the seals of his arms and legs began to glow. In the blink of an eye, he had already covered the distance between himself and Aeryn, and was crounching infront of him. Almost instantly he thurst himself upward and to the left of Aeryn. Sereg's dagger was held in his right hand, the blade pointing away from him. He aimed for Aeryn's arm, intending to scratch any part of it.

OOC: for the sake of trivia...Aeryn is using the spells Stoneskin, Haste, and Fireshield in this post.

IC: Aeryn smiled, just as the dagger bounced off with a dull "Tink!", the half-drow aided by his own enchantments. His movements just as fast as Sereg's as he caught the elf's wrist in his hand, crushing it with his incredible, spring-caused, strength. He knocked the dagger to the ground even as he brought his knee up into the elf's crotch.

The staff in his hand glowed, an aura of white-hot flames springing up around the half-drow's body. These flames didn't harm their caster, but the forgelike heat they gave out made it obvious that they were quite capable of harming anyone else in contact with the spellcaster.

The Sereg that Aeryn held disappeared during the half-drows attack. From above, blood dripped down onto Aeryn. The heat from his spell evaported the blood though, so it never made contact.

Sereg landed several feet away behind Aeryn, his seals still glowing. His palms once again had seals on them, and blood was dripped from his wrist onto the ground.

Aeryn looked at the dagger on the ground, "Can't cut yourself without this, so I seem to have accomplished one of my goals...don't worry, I'll replace it with THIS!" he waved a hand, uttering an arcane word, as a glowing greatsword appeared in the air next to him, hovering there.

Aeryn smirked, the sword turning and darting after the elf, slashing through the air, "Don't worry, it's even better at cutting than your old weapon!"

OOC: The Sereg that attacked was an illusion, as was the dagger.

IC:

Sereg grabbed his bleeding wrist with his other hand, while mumbling his own words. After which, he waved his wrist at the sword, causing gathered blood to fly at it. In mid air it formed a seal, and as it passed the sword it lit up. The seal dispelled the sword, then lost it's glow and splattered on the ground.

Meanwhile, Za'rel returns to the battlefield, this time, fully armored. She returns to take a seat next to the tree she had been sitting at, and watched the mages duel from afar. Aeryn was actually doing some good, it seemed. The reaver was especially intriuged by the elf's fighting style. It was very similar to her own.

Especially suprising was how much blood the elf actually had. Not to mention his wounds seemed to instantaneously heal. He wasn't a bad fighter either, but certainly not top notch, if Aeryn could harm him. He seemed completely undaunted by any form of intimidation. This especially intrigued Za'rel. However, intriuge of the enemy was not a healthy thing, unless it was used to help kill them better. Za'rel was already beginning to plan a way to do this.

"Blood, Runes... Intriuging. Perhaps if his blood was tainted, his spells would fail... Or take on different characteristics." The reaver thought long an hard, while watching the battle, going over situations in her head, thinking... about how she might kill Sereg if the time came.

OOC: IHMN, it couldn't have been....Aeryn cast True Seeing on himself, remember? If it was an illusion, he would have seen through it.

IC: Aeryn smirked, he wanted a better understanding of Sereg's abilities before he started taking this fight seriously. Despite himself, he was beginning to enjoy this farce of a duel.

"Getting tired yet?" he asked nonchalantly, leaning casually on his staff, "Or are you going to bleed on me some more?"

Sereg smirked. "Not at all." he said calmly while pulling an arrow out of his quiver. He spun it around in his hand, then snapped the top half of it off. He used the arrow head to to prick his finger, letting blood cover the arrow head.

"Good." Aeryn waited calmly, the offensive part of his strategy finished. Now, to let the pieces fall into place...

Though outwardly he seemed relaxed, Aeryn's mind was busy analyzing his opponent's techniques, and finalizing his plans to achieve victory.

Sereg realized his opponent must be reviewing his fighting techniques. While Aeryn was thinking, Sereg was spreading the blood that had been leaking from his wrist along the forest ground.

Za'rel watched Aeryn. He was playing with the elf. Playing with the enemy is always the first step to disaster. She clucked her tounge, saying to herself, "Just kill him already."

Meanwhile, Sereg seemed to be doing odd things himself. Za'rel wondered just exactly what they wanted with the group. The Elf's interest in her from the beginning made the reaver uncomfortable, a feeling she had not felt in a long time. He was noticing what Aeryn was doing, also, and adapting just as Aeryn was. A truly dangerous foe, and she could not pinpoint just exactly WHAT he was.

((What the heck is Sereg anyway? Blood Mage/Healer/Arcane archer?))

OOC: he's a member of the Bishonen prestige class...which is part of the reason he must suffer.

IC: Aeryn sensed the magic creeping across the ground below, a sweep of his hand spreading a curtain of fire across the forest floor...the blood drying out, then burning to nothing.

"Can't you do better than that? If you expect to speak to that beauty you set your eyes on, you'll have to prove yourself worthy first..." he smirked...while inwardly apologizing to Za'rel for using her as bait.

While Aeryn was speaking, blood dripped down from the branch above him. Sereg had bleed on it when escaping from Aeryn's attack, and was waiting for it to drop on him. As soon as it landed on Aeryn shoulder, the blood began to swirl around on him, forming a seal to supress his magic.

Blood landed on Aeryn's shoulder, and was subsequently burned to ash by the white-hot flames still wreathing his form. Aeryn stepped out from beneath the branch, chuckling, "Your magic is indeed, quite interesting...but nonetheless flawed."

Sereg knew what Aeryn was planning something, and was either delaying for time, or trying to tempt him. He didn't sense any magic being used, so the half-drow wasn't doing anything. So, Sereg waited for Aeryn to make his move. While waiting, he used the broken arrow to cut his chest, spilling blood onto his torso, forming several seals.

The carpet of flame began to writhe, forming a circle around Sereg...magic flowing through it as Aeryn's will animated the flames, also strengthening them in case Sereg tried to dispell the effect.

Za'rel frowned as the two mages just stood there, waiting for each other to make their moves. The duel had gone on much longer than a great portion of the one on one trials she had experienced. She grew tired, and had examined enough of Sereg's abilities to her liking.

Knowing that jeers and shouts during a trial were expressly forbidden, Za'rel still had to struggle not to yell out, "The two of you fight like inferior old men with broken limbs!" but instead merely muttered it to herself. She did realise that neither of these magi were worthy of an honorable duel, but still, she could not interfere, as much as she wanted to. she merely sat down by the tree, examining the fauna around her, with little interest.

Sereg leapt up and back, landing on one of the higher branches in a tree. He slit his wrist, and spoke some words as he held his wrist with his other hand, letting the blood gather. He continued to do that until Aeryn's next move.

Aeryn chuckled, the fire spreading to the tree, chasing the elf...the flames growing larger and larger. In a matter of seconds, the tree was gone. Aeryn grinned, watching the effect of his spell with amusement.

"Za'rel...there's more to a duel of spells than attack and counter....don't judge until you've been in a few spellduels."