Birdsong's wind is heady and full. The hunter stands tall in his ancestor's form, and the light filtering through the trees dapples across his skin. In the pale shade, Zekiah's smoky black frame is almost delicate, but not without its dark charm. Possessed as he is by such an unshakably free soul, Knox cannot help but feel the weight of his burdens and grief fade. The tasks tossed to him by Archibald have accumulated to a little pile of uselessness. Knox snorts as he looks down at the pile, a dull mess of glitter, glow, and bone. He turns Zekiah's seeing eye to watch them, as if they are a precious child. If only he gave his own son such affection. The cold eye is empty, not unlike Knox's own after his dreadful encounter with that monster in the dark. He twinges at the memory of fire's pain and his new-found hindrance. No matter--all such things can be fixed with magic's fine touch, can't they? He remembers the items, looks over them with curiosity. It will be a pleasure to see who in his herd is greedy, and who is virtuous. But parting is not, for the dark stallion, such sweet sorrow. He is sick of the weight of these things and ready to be rid of them. At Archibald's request, they'll be loaded off on the herd. How, though, has not been specified. So Knox will make his own game of this kindness--better that they not think him to truly be one with a full heart. With a snort of impatience and a stamp of his hoof, Knox lets Zekiah's wild tones rip through the air. "Come, Hidden Falls, and make use of the treasures your sleuth Knox has gathered for you. With the intent to help this herd and through strength or wit against his confidantes, they could all be yours!" A flicker of a grin, a dance of a low rear. Birdsong is high and the thrill of contest is in the air--all is soon to be well. "" Make no mistake I don't do anything for free I keep my enemies closer than my mirror ever gets to me

Full Image

Welcome, members of the Hidden Falls! Knox has, as you may have noticed, acquired some trinkets. He has no use for them, but you might. If you're interested, stake your claim--you'll just have to best him, first.

There are four items currently available:
:: [ Item: Goat Skull | Defensive. Large skull that can be worn on head. (stolen from Waprevah.) ]
:: [ Restrictions | Falls off easily. ]

:: [ Item: Wolf God Fang Dagger | Offensive. Small dagger with the Glowing Black Fang from the Rift Wolf God. ]

:: [ Item: Elk Skull | Defensive. The skull of an elk is held onto his head by his own horns and the elk horns curling around his ears (stolen from Morir). ]
:: [ Restrictions | Easily knocked loose. ]

:: [ Item: Vial of Tiger God Blood | Blood from the Tiger God of the Rift ] Won by Isopia!

To acquire them, you can choose one of the following options:
1. A Challenge of Strength
--three spar posts in the battlefield on a one week timeline, judged by admin; whoever wins keeps the item.
2. A Challenge of Wit
--three IC posts including mock stealths targeting characters within the Falls (other than Knox or yourself,) posted back and forth that you must guess correctly on the first try; whoever guesses the most correctly keeps the item.


RULES:
1. This is first come first serve, and challenges will be done one of each type at a time in the order they are made. Once you challenge here, I'll start a separate thread for you. You are encouraged to be prompt in posting replies so as not to keep everyone else waiting too long. If someone loses, you still have a chance, so don't necessarily give up or not post to try and get an item!
2. You must clearly state at the bottom of your post (as well as within it) what item you are challenging for and by what method. You can only challenge for one!
3. Per site rules, characters under the age of 2 cannot spar. They can, however, participate in this stealth challenge if you would still like for them to have a go.
4. All unguessed stealths will be judged by Time/Archibald at the end of a stealth challenge; if a stealth is failed, it will be detracted from that character's score.
5. When a challenge ends, there are two outcomes:
  a: Knox wins and keeps the item, and the next person in line who challenged for it has a chance.
  b: The challenger wins or ties (close enough!) and keeps the item--under no circumstance should someone else challenge this person for the item, as it is rightfully theirs. If you try to, be warned that Knox will challenge you back for it.
6. Once you have won an item, feel free to modify it as you wish. You are encouraged to utilize herd and allied herd crafters to make them more powerful/effective.
7. You can challenge for an item and give it to someone else, but it must remain within and be used for the good of the herd. If Knox catches you giving it to someone outside of the herd or using it against someone in the herd, he will challenge you back for the item.
8. This thread serves as a challenge watch thread as well as a challenge request thread, so post away!
9. If you have already been offered an item through challenge or IC interaction and refused it, Knox will refuse your challenge for it now.
10. I am willing to make all spars teaching ones and to offer notes on any stealths as well! Just ask.
11. Have fun! And if you don't get an item this time around, never fear! Knox will most likely do this again in the future, and will always be getting rid of the items he gets hold of.

Challengers
ex. X for Y
1. WIT: Lotherarius for Wolf God Fang Dagger
2. WIT: Isopia for Blood Isopia wins!

It had become evidently clear to the blood-red brute that this was a new dawn for him, something that he did not anticipate nor was he sure, after much deliberation, what he was cut out to do. He had been attacked, ambushed, blinded and drawn into a completely unknown territory to be told that he was the one that they sought. Had he been so naive to accept them? Of course he did. He longed for what they had offered and he was now an Illusor of the Hidden Falls, part of the intelligence core of a very unfamiliar herd. Helovia was full of surprises and he was ready to be shown them.

Straying through the terraria he stood proud and handsome, letting the tips of his dark wing feathers brush against the dead leaves that clung to the cold trees. The wind rustled through those few leaves and was coarsing cold shivers through his body as he picked up his daggers slowly. He had no idea where he was or what he was doing, until he had heard the call of an impatient stag through the wind:

"Come, Hidden Falls, and make use of the treasures your sleuth Knox has gathered for you. With the intent to help this herd and through strength or wit against hisconfidantes, they could all be yours!"

Another proposition. He thought he was never going to avoid them. But Lotherarius was curious as ever, and let himself be dragged along to the direction of the voice. And before long there he was, the brute, in the short distance. The mahagony pegasus took one chance to halt and take in the appearance of a dirtied charcoal pelt with short tassles. He moved closer to the stranger that looked like a flash of smoke more than anything to peer at the pools of pure azure, a scar adorning the right eye and on his front pillars. He took his attention of this and gave one glance around his bodice, making sure he was not being followed as he heard the crack of leaves. He was skittish but too curious to leave this alone. And so he continued to move along, letting the figure get larger and larger until he was but two metres away from the creature who stood there, significantly larger than Lotherarius himself. He dipped his cranium in greeting, and spoke smoothly,
"I am an Illusor in your herd and I wish to find out about your treasures..." Lotherarius couldn't tell if this was the infamous Knox or not, letting the name savour inside his velveteens as he wondered if this was the creature who had ordered his blinding, but his azure gaze remained fixed on the brute, whilst his lobes did their own facade of paranoia.

" . "

Oh, there is a light

and it never goes out.

Lotherarius

image credits

[Lotherarius challenges for the Wolf God Fang Dagger by Challenge of Wit.]

@Knox

Isopia           Does your imagination try to make you what you wanted to be? Because I'm sorry I do what I did, but it came naturally There were whispers ... whispers that had caught the attention of the earthen giantess. Whispers of a cloaked being - even ascribing a gender to it seemed improper, though she had heard them refer to it as a he. He lingered faceless in her mind, but that was alright. Something about a duel between the nameless and the faceless forces in the Hidden Falls seemed quite appropriate. Because he had something that she wanted, or at least, this rough shop-keeper of trinkets did. She supposed it made sense that the stealer of the items kept himself hidden away and used another for transactions. In the offing was a vial of blood. One spilled from the Tiger God. A god that Volterra had helped defeat. Something about the thought of pouring that blood - that surely acidic and feral blood - over the statue that Volterra had made of her, and for her - the one which now sat as a pathetic marker over the grave of their murdered dead child, seemed to satiate the fervent blackness inside of her soul. Why such a gruesome and macabre act promised solace to her was something that not even she understood. But that it would help seemed certain. Isopia drew forward, offering herself in her raven form. The death-faced markings on her avian skull displayed her true identity, but if this was to be a game of shadows, better that she show she was at least capable of being a contender. "The blood." She began, her voice sterile and distant. "I would like to challenge you for it. A challenge of our minds. Do you accept?" Hubris slunk nervously on a tree branch. While he didn't quite like what he assumed was about to happen, he couldn't stand in the way of Isopia doing something constructive to try and reign-in her grief.

Iso would like to challenge for the vial of tiger blood, via a stealth challenge please!