DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 02/13/2020    Duedate: 02/26/2020

DAYLA KIV ARENA

DM-74    TURN-681

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

STOMPER
SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)
(74-4727) [15-2-0,125]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

STOMPER                        POSITION IS EMPTY
SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)        
(74-4727) [15-2-0,125]         

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

MARTIN DENNY                   MARTIN DENNY
SAND DANCERS (251)             SAND DANCERS (251)
(74-4728) [13-8-0,48]          (74-4728) [13-8-0,48]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

SAND DANCERS (251)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)     18
2. SAND DANCERS (251)          -1      SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)
                                       Unchartered Team

                                       MONOPOLY (35)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1 SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)   93  29  5 76.2   1/ 1 SAND DANCERS (251)        6  9 0
 2/ 2 SAND DANCERS (251)       %1547 %1720 51 47.4   2/ 2 SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)   5  3 0

    '*'   Unchartered team                       '-'  Team did not fight this turn
   (###)  Avoid teams by their Team Id          ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank

                                    TEAM SPOTLIGHT

                                    Dark Stoicism

The giant sword cut a furrow into the dirt. The night's light reflected from a few 
patches on its slowly rusting blade, which rose out through an upturned mouth. The 
ricasso head stretched past a crossguard of outstretched hands. The stylized fighter 
handle stood on a pommel skull. Two beefy hands grasped the figure's body. The sword 
was massive, like the warrior holding it, called Stoic. The sword was sleek and 
battle-worn, the warrior was bloated and uncertain. Towering though he was, even under 
plates of armor, fat rolls peeked out. One might wonder if the cook decided to go to 
war while the soldiers stayed in the kitchen.

Stoic looked back. His manager, memory, had been there just a moment ago, but the tree 
line had misted over, obscuring the entrance. He shrugged under the weight of the 
armor and looked through his helmet. The moonlight was bright on a clearing in the 
forest. All was deadly quiet, night mist roiling. His sollrets clunking through patchy 
grass occasionally broke the silence. It would be serene, but he could feel eyes 
everywhere and the promise of death. This was not a quiet forest and certainly not the 
boisterous and sandy arena he normally fought in. This was the Dark Arena, final 
resting spot of the failed gladiator. 

                                        * * *

"I can do better. I can! Please!" Stoic pleaded but memory was unmoved. "My decision 
is final. You don't have the desire to live a life of war. You have not grown into the 
gladiator name I gave you." Stoic was on his knees, begging, searching memory's 
unseeing eyes for hope. Memory's mouth tightened as he let out an almost imperceptible 
sigh. He pulled the hood of his tight black cloak over his head, turned, and drifted 
away. 

"Wyvern, please. Surely you can save me?" The trainer put a hand on his shoulder. With 
Stoic on his knees, he and the diminutive trainer were eye to eye. An immortal warrior 
with many years and many deaths behind her, she did not harbor his fear of the 
unknown. "Today's fight is over. Tomorrow we will train for the next." She locked eyes 
with him, passing on some of her inner resolve. "Come," she bade, as she led him from 
the infirmary back to their training hall.

                                        * * * 

A biting pain seared through an exposed flap of skin on his stomach. His mind had 
wandered away from the fight. His opponent, a Dark Arena champion, had entered 
silently. An elf stood before him, two feet shorter, but standing tall and towering 
above Stoic by confidence and bearing if not physical height. He might have been a 
glimmering angel, moonbeams dancing on exquisite silver mail. The elf brought his 
needle-thin sword up, hilt to face, blade skyward, in honorable warrior salute. He was 
sure he had won, and everyone knew it. He had time to honor the walking dead. 

                                        * * * 

Old Wyvern snaked a short spear under his guard, stopping just short of cutting. She 
always used her deadly spear, even in training, such was her skill and control. He had 
a greatsword, blunted for training, but massive. "I can barely move it. How can I 
train or fight if it's too heavy?" He felt a familiar and painful whack from the blunt 
end of Wyvern's spear. "Don't blame the sword. Desire victory and the sword will 
move." She struck again and he moved to the side, not moving the sword so much as 
standing it in the path of the attack. The parry was unorthodox but successful. 
"That'll do. Now strike!"

                                        * * * 

Stoic tried to recall his training as the fight continued. It wasn't working. He was 
bleeding profusely. He fell back on his reserves of strength and willpower. Slash, 
cut, smash... the elf was striking every weak spot in his armor, inflicting damage at 
will. Circle, stab, circle, slash, circle, cut. Stoic had been on the ground twice 
before struggling to his feet, stumbling and throwing up defenses with little success. 
He felt frustrated and clumsy but kept defending. Maybe the attacks were coming more 
slowly...

                                        * * * 

The arena crowd was restless, only moderately attentive to the morning's rookie 
warriors. The sand worked its way between his toes. He was just a boy. His parents did 
not love their son so much as an arena bounty. Stoic was scared and slow and the man 
in front of him wished him harm. And harm he did. Stoic cowered behind his shield, 
without even a weapon. "It's better this way. Rely on your hands. I want to see what 
you can do," memory had said. Stoic was bruised and bleeding. His opponent was more 
tired than injured, exhausted, really. Under a slowly diminishing rain of blows, Stoic 
heard calls from his teammates. "Now strike!" They were yelling frantically. He peered 
over his shield to see his opponent, sweating, breathing heavily, grip loosening on 
his sword. The attacking gladiator overextended above his head, ready to deliver 
another hacking, unopposed blow. Stoic roared upward to his full height, at the same 
time sending his shield through the surprised gladiator's face. Blood spattered, he 
flipped once and landed face down with a thud, sword flying end over end to land ten 
feet away. The crowd gasped for a moment then roared. His team roared. He looked to 
see memory, gazing forward blindly as always, but clearly smiling at him.

                                        * * * 

Back in the night mist, he was tired and hurt. After a long fight, minutes under this 
barrage. It must happen soon. Stoic knew he would die. But he wasn't dead yet. He saw 
the elf circling, waiting for another attack. He saw the moonlight and the trees. He 
felt the watching eyes. He felt memory and old Wyvern and his team. He knew they could 
see. He felt his opponents and all the gladiators in him for this moment. He felt his 
parents, who only saw in him a mouth to feed. He saw the high elf, still glistening, 
now with sweat -- still looking down on Stoic -- looking down not with haughty 
indignation as before, but the desperation of a man trying to chop down a stone tower 
and just realizing his error. Stoic saw not confidence but desperation. For the first 
time, resignation gave way to fury. "Strike Now," he heard in his mind.

The elf leapt forward, blade flashing. Stoic spun to his right, pulling the massive 
blade in his wake. The elf and his blade shot through the spot Stoic had been, then 
turned back in disbelief at the unexpected life in his easy quarry. "Strike Now," 
Stoic thought, as he continued his spin, continued his fury, pulling the blade full 
circle, letting out a roar that called all the judging eyes to witness.

The blade felt warm in his hand. He struggled to catch his breath. The arc of the 
blade had pulled him another half circle away from his opponent. He looked back at the 
elf, ready for the next attack. The elf's body stood, head lying on its shoulder, neck 
detached entirely where the blade had hewn through. The head's eyes were still open, 
judging differently now, askew. Immortal these Dark Arena champions were, and 
immortality makes death an odd thing. Stoic fell to his knees, sobbing. The fight was 
over. And it might never end. 

                                          -- memory

                                      SPY REPORT

     It's me, The Unknown Spymaster here with my bag to give you the news on last 
week's fights.  Hey everybody, watch out for MR. MAURICE, who flew up 11 points in 
the rankings after mashing MAURICE PELMAN like a melon.  Keep your eye on this guy.  
Ya know, some days it doesn't pay to walk out on the sands.  MAURICE PELMAN was 
bested by MR. MAURICE and drops 5 points.  Well, everybody's pal STOMPER moved his 
record to 15-2-0 by defeating BARTRAN KLEE in the Duelmaster's Title Bout and gaining 
7 recognition points.  An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but an onion a day keeps 
T.P.s at bay.   
     Let's dig a little deeper into what's happening in the DAYLA KIV arena.   
     Death is kind of like a new puppy:  he's always around wanting to play.  (Ha 
Zontani, how's that for a wise saying?).  Knowing when to use the right tactics at 
the proper time is a very important step on the road to Duelmaster.   
     Well, that wasn't too bad; Alarond told me that the people in DAYLA KIV have no 
sense of humor.  Or maybe that they were senseless.  Okay, so I may not be the 
world's best comedian, but then you guys aren't the world's best warriors.  Its been 
fun, and I'm sure you enjoyed it (boos).  Now that I've got you worked up for Snide 
Clemens, I'll be leaving-- The Unknown Spymaster  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 STOMPER 4727                 15   2  0   125       SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)

CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 MR. MAURICE 4682             11   4  2   115       SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 BARTRAN KLEE 4704            16  37  0    85       SAND DANCERS (251)
 MAURICE PELMAN 4749           8   4  0    84       SAND DANCERS (251)
-SPORTACUS 4725                8   5  1    77       SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 MARTIN DENNY 4728            13   8  0    48       SAND DANCERS (251)
 LISA TYL KOHL 4741            9   6  0    47       SAND DANCERS (251)

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 JACK FARMER 4758              4   3  0    27       SAND DANCERS (251)

'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Stomper -- What good would it do to avoid you in an arena this small? -- Maurice 
Pelman

Mr. Maurice -- My insurance has expired. -- Bartran Klee

That dirty ruffian! -- Martin Denny

Dangerous criminals.  Gotta hate 'em. -- Lisa tyl Kohl

They shoulda let me bury Jaguarclaw in the sands.  Maybe he'd sprout. -- Jack Farmer

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

STOMPER devastated BARTRAN KLEE in a 1 minute mismatched Title fight.
MR. MAURICE vanquished MAURICE PELMAN in a exciting 1 minute uneven battle.
MARTIN DENNY defeated STREET SWEEPER in a 2 minute master vs. amateur duel.
LISA TYL KOHL defeated STREET SWEEPER in a 2 minute veteran vs. amateur fight.
JACK FARMER was devastated by DANGEROUS BON LOKAR in a 1 minute bloody one-sided duel.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|STRIKING ATTACK                  2         AIMED BLOW         8 -   1 -  0      89  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   2         STRIKING ATTACK   18 -   8 -  0      69  |
|AIMED BLOW                       1         LUNGING ATTACK    16 -   8 -  0      67  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      1         WALL OF STEEL      4 -   3 -  0      57  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    1         BASHING ATTACK     1 -   4 -  0      20  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      0         TOTAL PARRY        1 -   9 -  0      10  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     0         PARRY-STRIKE       0 -   0 -  0       0  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    0         PARRY-RIPOSTE      0 -   0 -  0       0  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  0         PARRY-LUNGE        0 -   0 -  0       0  |
|BASHING ATTACK                   0         SLASHING ATTACK    0 -   0 -  0       0  |

Turn 681 was great if you     Not so great if you used      The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles:     the fighting styles:          top eleven warriors are:

AIMED BLOW         1 -  0     PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  0         3  STRIKING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK    2 -  0     PARRY-STRIKE       0 -  0         2  LUNGING ATTACK 
LUNGING ATTACK     1 -  1     PARRY-RIPOSTE      0 -  0         1  AIMED BLOW     
                              SLASHING ATTACK    0 -  0         1  TOTAL PARRY    
                              BASHING ATTACK     0 -  0         1  WALL OF STEEL  
                              TOTAL PARRY        0 -  1     
                              WALL OF STEEL      0 -  1     

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
STRIKING ATTACK  STOMPER 4727               15   2  0  125 SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)
AIMED BLOW       MR. MAURICE 4682           11   4  2  115 SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)
LUNGING ATTACK   MAURICE PELMAN 4749         8   4  0   84 SAND DANCERS (251)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is MARTIN DENNY 4728.  The most popular warrior this 
turn was MARTIN DENNY 4728.  The ten other most popular fighters were MR. MAURICE 
4682, STOMPER 4727, LISA TYL KOHL 4741, JACK FARMER 4758, BARTRAN KLEE 4704, MAURICE 
PELMAN 4749,  0,  0,  0, and  0.

The least popular fighter this week was MAURICE PELMAN 4749.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were BARTRAN KLEE 4704, JACK FARMER 4758, LISA TYL KOHL 4741, 
STOMPER 4727, MR. MAURICE 4682, MARTIN DENNY 4728,  0,  0,  0, and  0.

The following warriors will travel to AD after next turn:

MR. MAURICE (74-4682) SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)