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“They made fun of my sword,” Drizzt muttered. “I mean, I guess ‘Twinkle’ isn’t the scariest name in the world, but look at it.” He twirled the scimitar around in his hand, marveling at the balance–the beauty–of the blade.
“And once more I have to ask you to take blood.”
He stood on an island that had more in common with a rock jutting from a puddle than a piece of land where things could grow and live. He had been deposited there by some unseen hand, firmly admonishing him for constantly bringing his companions to the Cage Matches. Even Guenhwyvar was told to stay put, and Drizzt’s heart almost broke in two when he was told that news.
But he was a hero–and heroes were constantly made to do things they had no desire to do. It’s what made them heroic.
As the sun set in front of him, the silhouette of the robed figure did little to put him at ease. Though the man on the other side of the island looked harmless, Drizzt was assured by others that this was no pushover. This was Ged, a wizard of Earthsea, and he had destroyed not only one of the most powerful succubi in existence, but also one of the greatest warriors to ever hold a sword.
I bet Elminster could scrape him, Drizzt thought.
“Hallo, good elf!” Ged called out to him.
“Hey,” Drizzt responded.
“So it would seem we are to do battle on this day,” the wizard said, walking closer. As he did, Drizzt noticed a slight frown on his reddish-brown face “That is, if you so desire it. I give you this chance to leave–I have no reason to destroy you.”
“Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself, mage?”
“Only time is ahead of me–time and shadows. Everything else is irrelevant.”
“Riiiight.”
“Fine,” Ged said. “I won’t get all mystic on you. The fact is, I don’t just go around fighting people–it’s just not who I am. But if you make me do this, I’m going to have to set you on fire, or something, and that’s just going to haunt me. So why don’t you just leave, I move on to the next round, and we call it a day?”
“Because…that’s ridiculous?”
“Good point,” Ged nodded. Raising his hands, he called up a magewind to blow the elf down. But if Drizzt had one thing going for him, it was nimbleness, and although the wind buffetted away at him, he danced about and kept his feet.
“Impressive,” the wizard said.
Drizzt didn’t say anything, but instead spun on his left foot, using his long limbs to close the distance between himself and the wizard while utilizing the wind to propel him closer. Not only Twinkle but Iciningdeath flashed out, turning him into a drow dradel of death. As he approached Ged, he couldn’t help think that no matter what kind of mage this was, his body couldn’t be prepared for scimitars cutting through his torso.
Which is why Ged let the wind stop, catching Drizzt off guard. The elf stumbled just a bit, and that momentary gaff was enough for Ged to run over to the other side of the small island.
Drizzt, once again gaining his footing, looked at the wizard.
“You’re clever–I’ll give you that. But there’s nowhere to run, mage. I’m sorry, but at some point I’m going to have your blood.”
“Or…” Ged said, holding his hand above his head. The sky–clear only moments ago–grew dark, thick clouds plunging the island into darkness.
“Are you kidding? I’m a drow–I was born in the dark!”
“Were you born in lightning?”
“Wha–”
***
Boom goes the dynamite.
Predicted Winner: Ged
(Ged is a character from Ursula Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea series; Drizzt Do’Urden is a character from Wizard of the Coast’s Forgotten Realms series, as written by R.A. Salvatore)
See the video wrap up of the First and Second divisions Round 2 matches!
You aren’t actually voting again–the new system only allows one vote per IP address (when you try, it says something like ‘you already voted’).
Just hit ‘view results’ to see the current percentages.
I had a big long post on a bunch of stuff but the bloody Captcha screwed up my post and I’ve lost everything I said. So I’ll probably try and recreate it again… later.
I bet a lot of people don’t know these matches restated.
Why can’t we see the number of voters this time around?
While the votes are possibly a bit down, they’re still pretty much where we expected them to be with the amount of time the polls have been open.
The reason you can’t see the numbers is because of the new software we’re using.
Personally, I also think people are less inclined to be tempted to try to “make up the votes” if they know the exact number.
In other words–you need to grassroots it if you want Drizzt to pull back into the lead!
Rest assured, though, when we recap this round, we will divulge all the numbers.
Drizzt also can levitate. This is in addition to his Globe of Darkness and the Hunter alter ego.
Drizzt’s true name is pretty long as well. This is why I can see him winning with fast first offensive.
That’s what did it for me.
This stuff about Drizzt’s speed and the time it says to say his name is ridiculous. Ged can shapeshift and fly (Sparrowhawk, anyone) for God’s sake. He can also become invisible (illusion), walk into death and back, etc. for god’s sake.
Drizzt’s was born in the underdark where some of the most powerful wizards in faerun are located and if thats not enuff there is the Drow goddess who also wields limitless power. Drizzt was raised from day one to be a fighter and every drow male fighter after him trys to follow in his footsteps to be the best fighter. It is well know in faerun that 10 drow warriors can fight an army of surface warriors and win. Drizzt has fought Wizards of all makes even dead Dragon liches with the power of a God. The underdark has many wizards and all of them have tried to kill Drizzt at the same time and they all failed. All the great houses of the underdark have tried to kill Drizzt and failed. I know nothing about Ged but I don’t think he can fight an Army of Wizards with warriors to back them up and still win because even if he knew all their names he will die as soon as one came in contact with him. In my opinon a wizard doesn’t have a chance with Drizzt because in all the books I have read about him he has owned them all even Elminister greatly respects Drizzt.
Ged has suffered from a dearth of good illustration. Le Guin is continually frustrated by artists depicting her characters failing to perceive that they aren’t caucasian.
That said, this one isn’t bad, in a vaguely anime way. Ged circa The Farthest Shore:
http://www1.odn.ne.jp/~aau27620/earthsea/the-archmage-ged.jpg
You are very, very mistaken.
Seriously these things shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Unlike stuff in the real world the SHOULD be a popularity contest
Suvudu people, I think we’re getting kind of done with this round. It would be totally fine with me if you closed the voting early, and shortened the time frame for the next round.
Let me add that closing the voting earlier than you said, in an unpredictable way, would provide an additional defense against last minute hacks. The new polling software is a dramatic improvement, for which I salute Suvudu, but any Internet polling mechanism can be beaten. While respecting the need to keep the earlier contests open to allow proper revoting, I’m thinking that closing this sooner rather than later is a good idea. Just my 2¢.
I second that motion
Thirded.
~ “The most noble title any child can have,” Demosthenes wrote, “is Third.”
The way the voting is going in this fight, it’s probably going to end up being Ged versus Rand. Judging from what I’ve seen, Rand is a much more powerful magician, so Ged is going to wind up getting his slate cleaned.
Ya’ll should just vote Drizzt so that we can at least have a fighter versus mage match in which some arguments can be put forth. Cause if it’s mage versus mage, it’s clear who the more powerful one is. Rand.
P.S. Please, no one come in here correcting me, saying that “Rand” technically isn’t a mage, he’s a dragon being reborn of whatever. I’m generalizing.
Also, if there’s a surge in voting, it’s because I just went and rallied some people, so don’t think someone’s rigging the system.
No way Ged can defeat Drizz. The drow is wearing the bracers in the ankles, as usual, making him quicker. Ged’s words are all the warning he needs to react in time and avoid the lightning. Then he uses a globe of darkness, approaches Ged and finish him with the scimitars.
Why on earth would Guenwhyvar just sit back while his friend is in a fight to the death? While I understand the idea behind the whole “one on one” battle, that would hold true with, for example, Bruenor joining Drizzt. However, Guen is a magical item at Drizzts disposal. No different, really, than him using his bracers or his scimitars.
So Guen joins the fight. Drizzt wins.
“The way the voting is going in this fight, it’s probably going to end up being Ged versus Rand.”
I bet on Rand vs Jaime. George Martin has summonded many fans to his cause, including myself…
I voted for Drizzt. He is a drow woth spell resistence. My guestemate is that 25% of Geds spell is simply going to fail to effect Drizzt.
For the other spells? Drow are highly resilient againgst mind control spells, so I doubt using his true name is going to affect him much.
And lightning? Realy? He evades.
Also, his panter can use plane shift, so even though she isn’t there to start with, she will come and rend Ged.
If Drizzts scimitars haven’t finished to job by then.
i don’t know if anyone will agree with me, but i think that voting should be prolonged for at least a day due to new polling system.
i think most people voted on 1st or 2nd day of each round and they plan on coming back on monday or tuesday to vote for the next round, not knowing that votes were reset.
I can tell you exactly how that’ll go-
Rand sees Jaime, blows off his Golden Hand and then challenges him to a duel. Rand “Sheathes the Sword” and they both die. End of tournament.
Nah, I’m hoping Rand beats Jaime, but then again, there are plenty of people saying the exact opposite.
I voted Drizzt for 2 reasons.
1. Popularity
2. Taulmaril + Drizzt’s ridiculously hard to pronounce name = Dead Ged
In Earthsea, “dragonlord” doesn’t usually mean someone who masters or commands dragons — it just means someone whose mastery of the Old Speech makes them interesting enough that a dragon would rather talk to them than eat them. Now it’s true Ged was able to command Yevaud, but that was because he guessed correctly that it was the same dragon that had caused similar problems a few centuries before. He wouldn’t presume to try to bend Orm Embar or Kalessan to his will — those dragons helped him out of mutual respect. In Temeraire’s case, “Temeraire” is probably *not* his true name.
Levitate – is that the d&d type of levitate that can only go up and down and not sideways? If so, I doubt it would be any use whatsoever.
Be that as it may, it looks like Drizzt is going to win (again).
Woot woot! Drizzt is winning!
Drizzt all the way. Could Drizzt beat Elmister is the question. Yup. Wizards vs. drow is always a tough battle. Drow are tough to affect by magic, and after you’ve whooped up on some of the people Drizzt has whooped up on, this should be easy. And silly names? Not even. I love Drizzt, and I love his name. And yes, his sword is named Twinkle. For a reason. And fire will totally fail. He killed a demon and sent him back to the abyss with Icingdeath.
Indeed. I like Jaime, but he has no chance against Rand. But seems proper, one-handed men fight.
Hooray! Drizzt is ahead.
This is such a sad result.
When it comes to Dungeons and dragons characters they are of course ridiculously overpowered. That is the nature of the kind of world they come come from. Like the Raislin vs. Dumledore match, where powerwise Raislin should have won.
But it is still so sad to see good wellwritten characters go down against skindeep cardboard characters whose only purpose is to be cool and tote around overpowered abilities and items.
Reading about overpowered badass characters is of course good clean fun. Nothing wrong with that. I enjoy a good “Gaunts ghost” rumble as much as the next person.
But the real payoff comes when you read books with more realized welldrawn characters.
In this scenario Drizzt has only his scimitars, armor, and his brains. He’s been deprived of his figurine and his friends artifacts.
As I’ve written in a few other posts, Ged seems to need a lot of time to prepare himself plus the long ritual. Drizzt has a long hard-to-pronounce name as well.
So, there is the plausible but, less likely out come of Drizzt getting in a fast, first, and effective strike and winning the match.
someone may have mentioned it but even if Ged can’t pronounce Drizzt’s full name, the names icingdeath and twinkle are pretty easy to get out. I’d like to see that jumped up elf kill anything without the aid of his little scimitars.
Actually, I think you’re right, it is only up and down. And also, Drizzt lost his ability to levitate a few years after coming out of the Underdark. So really, Drizzt couldn’t levitate up the rock pillar. He could probably scramble up reasonably quick, if it wasn’t smooth. And if he couldn’t get to the top, I guess he’d have to use Taumaril.
Icingdeath is not the sword’s true name, Drizzt picked that name halfway through the series. The sword was name Twinkle when he got it, but I somehow doubt that that is the true name of anything.
Drizzt has a high chance to win. He has killed powerful mages, a dragon, and a demon as well. Im not even counting all the dark elfs he killed to get out of the Underdark. Drizzt would have a good chance to win. He studys the enemy, and in the end, rarly loses.
All these wizard/mage people with their true name stuff =/ I just doesn’t seem logical to me that anything would have a “true name” that you could just say and it would be destroyed. But then nothing in fantasy is logical so…hah hah. I haven’t read anything about Ged or Kvothe but it doesn’t seem like an interesting story when they can win so easily. But I guess I’ll find out when I do read those books
“When it comes to Dungeons and dragons characters they are of course ridiculously overpowered”
whaat!? you think the dungeons and dragons characters (raistlin and drizzt) are ridiculously overpowered compared to the other characters here?
“But it is still so sad to see good wellwritten characters go down against skindeep cardboard characters whose only purpose is to be cool and tote around overpowered abilities and items.”
is this something you experienced first hand from reading dungeons and dragons books? referring to characters in d&d books (which is several hundred books at least, i think) as overpowered sounds wrong to me. in part, the d&d books are meant to demonstrate how the rpg rules would play out in a narrative, but if anything, that makes sure that they are *not* overpowered. wizards (until recently, i guess) were limited by spells per day, had to take time to cast spells, etc.
further, there definitely seems to be a range of character power and a progression of power over the span of a d&d book or series, partially due to the fact that d&d is built on a level progression. and as far as i know, d&d books tend to use the character party model. several characters have to work together to achieve a goal.
Disagree. Drizzt is a total Marty Stu character, as most D&D characters are. The DM loads them down with a full kit of magical equipment (aka Drizzt’s anklets of speed, his two magical swords, his powerful astral ally), they make them “special” and “renowned” in every way, on and on. For a D&D campaign it makes total sense. I’m also not saying I didn’t enjoy the Drizzt books myself, they were all quite entertaining. However Drizzt quite simply cannot compare to the depth of characterization apparent in Ged.
He’s also, by now, the most powerful and wise mage in his world. Does some lowly swordsman, no matter how talented, really stand a chance against that? Drizzt wins all of his fights because that is how D&D books are supposed to go, the underdog hero wins against all odds against spectacular opponents in flashy heroic battles. Ged, by comparison, won his battles through fortitude, accumulated wisdom, and ingenuity.
Also remember that in the books he uses his power with extreme restraint, believing that a wise wizard does not interfere unless it is necessary. Where he has used his power you can see how extremely competent he is. Driven by necessity, there is no question that he would overwhelm Drizzt utterly.
He could name Drizzt, and thus hold sway over him. This has been the most common argument. No Drizzt is likely not his “real” name, but remember that Ged is a master namer, and can divine the name of a person intuitively (and has done so on many occasions).
Ged also has command over his own shape, and could morph into any manner of mighty creatures. Perhaps he could take the shape of a dragon, and crush the puny little Drow. Or change into a giant bird, and drop rocks on him.
He also has control over the elements. He could blast Drizzt with overpowering winds, cause the earth to rise up and swallow him, crush him with waves, call upon the trees to grab him, and on and on. He could also call upon any number of these or more to shield himself from the Drow’s measly physical attacks.
Also remember that Ged, AS A CHILD, tore through the barrier between life and death and let forth a horrible evil creature of great power who, as a child, he defeated. Drizzt may be a peerless swordsman, and I would champion him against Jaime Lannister any day, but the highest mage in earthsea?
Not a chance
Ged will own the Drow. I can’t believe The Shrike was defeated, but I digress.
Surely Cullen is an incubus, or is the feminine form a slight on the sparkly one?
Ged will own the Drow. I can’t believe The Shrike was defeated, but I digress.
Surely Cullen is an incubus, or is the feminine form a slight on the sparkly one?
He pondered his fortunes up to this point. Drizzt knew that he had incredible good fortune to this point. His next opponent might not allow for that.
Rand al’thior seemed a demi-god. Drizzt, of course, had defeated such before but, not quite on the scale of Rand. In his home world all of his abilities had served him at least with adequacy.
What to do? He read the accounts of past matches over the last few ten day periods and Rand’s own history. Cadderly had found one such account of Rand at Edificant.
Al’thiors strengths were many.
!. He was a fighter/mage. Both skill sets were of equal brilliance. In Faerun one was primary but, the other usually was secondary.
It was if he had the abilities of Gromph, Alustriel, Zak, and Artemis Entrieri in one being without limits.
Weaknesses:
1. He was missing his left hand and had a wound that wouldn’t heal. Bedeviling that flank might help.
2. It was said Rand was mentally unstable. This had not helped the previous contestants; Drizzt morosely thought.
3. Balefire? Could there be a limit? Don’t count on it.
He needed his Companions he thought with anguish. But you don’t have them! Drizzt stopped his previous self pitying musings. The details of the past ten day encounters came to him.
The first he had been resistant to the woman’s magic. When her mate/Lover? came to rescue her, it was as a wild Berserker not a warrior. Drizzt had easily accessed the Hunter and prevailed.
The second, he wanted to live. Was that monstrous construct even a being? It was dumb luck. The words Hail Mary Pass came into his head. Aegis Fang did work but why and how he didn’t know. Regis had suggested that the construct went out of Cage and was disqualified. Whatever, Aegis Fang was ruined and if he survived this he didn’t know what he’d say to Wulfgar or Wulfgar to him. Would that were his only worries…
ENOUGH!! The Hunter was starting to take over. Time was of the essence. The match started in a few hours…
My fanfic account
Poor Ged–he just gets no respect, I think.
But good for Drizzt–the drow has some skills, and is now in the Final Four, where he faces possibly his greatest foe yet: Rand Al’Thor.
Check out the video recap of this round here:
http://bit.ly/9×9dFi
And make sure to go to the next round, which is already in progress:
http://bit.ly/9StqPP
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