A Dance with Dragons

[strongworld]

Who: You!
Where: Li Yu Tiao
When: May 24th - 31st
What: The Festival of Dragons!
Status: Open!

That special time of year has arrived when the Typhoon Grips allow safe passage to the Sky Islands. Here on Li Yu Tiao, the Festival of Dragons is about to begin. During this time, the villagers celebrate the koi that pass through their island to spawn and the great dragon that guards their land with its powerful magic.

From the opening, the streets will be filled with music, dancing, and indulgence. Grab some incredible local food and sample the fine alcohol brewed on the island. The hot springs are open to adults in the evenings and offer both separate and communal baths.

From May 25th until the 27th, the Dragon's Judgement Tournament will take place. The tournament is single-elimination, in which combatants can win either by amassing points by connecting with their hits, or by submission. Only nonfatal weapons are allowed and killing is strictly forbidden. The winner of the tournament will gain the title of the "Dragon's Hand" for the next year, and will be gifted with a crimson robe and a golden dragon statue.

On the 30th, a large stage is erected in front of the Dragon Gate. At sundown, the woman decided to be the most beautiful on the island will perform a dance on the stage. She will be dressed in a robe of glittering gold and a headpiece resembling a koi's whiskers. The dance is said to entice the koi into the next stage of their lives. During the dance, a single koi will leap through the gate and be transformed into a great dragon with impressive rainbow-colored scales. It is said this dragon's magic keeps the island tethered to the Dragon Gate and is the source of its wonderful weather. As the dance completes, the dancer's dress transforms into a pair of brilliant wings, and she takes into the air to live as the dragon's bride and protector. The two will then depart together for the mountain's summit. While the dancer is almost exclusively a local villager, it is not unheard of for an outsider to be selected for the role.

Comments

[om_nom_namur]

[The referees might be too busy trying not to shit themselves to do anything useful. One of them still has his mouth agape and his arm partially raised from when he was going to say something before Zoro did a pushup with a fishman on his back- a move that Namur somewhat copies, now that their places have reversed. He already had his hands on the ground, so he surges upward into Zoro's space, throwing his elbow out to strike whatever might still be in the process of falling, and continues the spin on his knee with a downward punch intended to smash Zoro thoroughly into the ground once more.]

[yourotherleft]

[it is very hard to land an elbow on someone who's throwing an elbow right back at you. Zoro does his best to twist out of the way, putting himself in line to get punched instead. He takes it solidly to the chest and flies back, but lands on his feet. Well, it's less landing and more skidding clear across the ring, leaving two long boot-tracks in the dust.]

Damn, you're tough.

[he's not used to fighting like this for so long, it's quite the challenge. From where he's crouched, Zoro explodes forward, fists at his sides as if holding two swords, his momentum on a path to strike right through Namur if he has to.]

Mutoryu...Rashomon!

[his fists come forward at the point of contact, thrusting all of his strength into and through his path.]