Match 21065 Manitou Raven vs. Szass Tam

[JohnnyChany]

 

The night was restless. Manitou Raven tossed in his sleep. Sweat dropped from his brow. Dreams unfolded before him. They were vivid and terrible. He saw a skeletal figure cloaked in crimson robes with blazing hollow eyes. Around the figure rose towers of bone. A sea of the dead marching in endless waves. In the distance, a woman screamed. The woman’s voice was filled with both rage and desperation.

Next to him, his wife, Dawn stirred. Her sleep disturbed by visions of her own. The figure of Szass Tam loomed in her mind. A skeletal hand clutching a glowing orb that pulsed with unnatural energy. At his feet lay the Atlantean witch, Gamemnae, bound by magical chains. Her golden eyes burned with defiance even as her power was siphoned into the orb. A cold, mocking laugh echoed in Dawn’s mind, promising death and despair.

They awoke simultaneously. Dawn clutched her pendant.

DAWN: You saw him too, didn’t you? The lich with the burning eyes.

MANITOU RAVEN: Szass Tam. The spirits have shown him to me before, but never like this. Never this clearly or urgently. It was a warning.

DAWN: I saw her as well. Gamemnae. He’s taken her. I felt her power, her pain. He wants her for something terrible I know it.

MANITOU RAVEN: Gamemnae’s magic rivals the greatest I have seen. If Szass Tam means to wield her as a weapon, he could unleash destruction beyond anything we’ve faced.

Their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of a messenger spirit, a hawk formed of shimmering light.

SPIRIT HAWK: Manitou Raven. The witch, Gamemnae, has been taken. She was last seen in the shadow of Szass Tam’s citadel.

Raven rose and grabbed his ceremonial staff.

MANITOU RAVEN: These visions were not premonitions of things to come, but a window into things as they are. 

DAWN: Do you mean to challenge him instantly? As wary as we have been of his intentions, a direct assault without allies has always been ill advised.

MANITOU RAVEN: Time is not affording us such luxuries. We must go to Thay before it is too late.

Dawn stood up resolutely near her husband and donned her enchanted bracers.

DAWN: If we are to face a lich, we’ll need more than the spirits’ guidance. Bring all the enchanted weapons. We will need their full power.

The journey to Thay was fraught with tension. The land seemed to wither away as they approached. Raven and Dawn stood at the edge of Szass Tam’s domain; their eyes fixed on the towering spires of the citadel.

DAWN: This place feels wrong. Like the land itself has been stolen from life.

MANITOU RAVEN: This land is drowned in darkness. The spirits are uneasy. Szass Tam's phylactery is close, but its corruption blinds even the ancestors. We must tread carefully."

A translucent wolf, one of Manitou's spirit guides, appeared at his side.

SPIRIT WOLF: Beware, shaman. The lich knows of your presence. He prepares his hordes.

Inside the citadel, Szass Tam sat upon his throne of bone and obsidian. A towering wight approached him, bowing low.

WIGHT CAPTAIN: My lord, a shaman has entered the outer ward. He comes in the company of another magic woman.

SZASS TAM: Foolish mortals. They are already defeated. Mobilize the undead. Drown them in death’s embrace.

The lich’s laughter echoed as the wight departed. Szass Tam’s eyes turned to a pulsating orb, his phylactery. It was hidden in plain sight but cloaked in wards imperceptible to most.

Manitou Raven stood at the edge of a charred forest. He chanted softly. The earth trembled as spectral warriors rose. They wielded translucent weapons and shields.

MANITOU RAVEN: Rise, ancestors of the earth! Stand with us against this darkness!

SPIRIT WOLF: Szass Tam sends his minions. The time is upon us.

A distant rumble heralded the arrival of Szass Tam’s army. Skeletal warriors marched alongside bloated wights and shadowy specters. As they drew near, Manitou raised his arms, and called upon the elements.

MANITOU RAVEN: Earth, rise and shield! Winds, scatter the soulless! Fire, purify this corruption!

The ground split open and swallowed rows of skeletal soldiers. A fierce wind tore through the advancing army and sent bones clattering and specters wailing. Fire erupted and incinerated the wights.

But the tide seemed endless. Raven gritted his teeth as the strain of his magic began to take its toll.

Szass Tam observed through a scrying orb with annoyance.

SZASS TAM: Impressive. This shaman has some ability. But let us see how he fares against true power.

The lich raised a hand and chanted an incantation. A ripple of necrotic energy surged through the battlefield. It reanimated the fallen undead and strengthened those still standing.

SPIRIT WOLF: The lich is near. His phylactery calls to him. But its power also reveals its location!

Dawn looked over to her husband.

DAWN: Destroying his phylactery is our best hope. Go and locate it through the astral plane. I will keep the hordes at bay.

Raven nodded and shifted into the astral plane. His body collapsed to the ground, lifeless, while his glowing astral form flew toward the citadel.  Dawn raised her totem and summoned a massive storm. The spectral warriors advanced and clashed with Szass Tam’s forces. Dawn used her size manipulation abilities to grow in size and swat away the enemy. Manitou’s astral form soon returned to his body. He rose up.

MANITOU RAVEN: The spirits have shown me that of which we seek. I will destroy it and put an end to this threat.

SPIRIT WOLF: Beware of the lich’s traps.

Manitou Raven turned his body into a flock of ravens and flew toward the citadel.

Inside the throne room, Szass Tam watched as the Manitou forces pushed back his minions. He stood up, his bony fist crackled with arcane energy.

SZASS TAM: So, the shaman dares to challenge me directly. Impudent mortal. Your spirit is strong, but my magic is eternal.

Manitou Raven appeared in the throne room.

MANITOU RAVEN: Your lust for power has made you too dangerous to ignore. You’ve ruled through fear and death for too long, lich. This ends now.

Szass Tam unleashed a bolt of necrotic energy, but Manitou deflected it with a shield of spiritual light. A magical battle ensued. Manitou Raven spotted the phylactery, its wards flickered under the strain of their battle. Szass Tam conjured a barrier of black fire and laughed arrogantly.

SZASS TAM: You think you can come here and destroy my soul? You will fail as all others have!

[Callisto]

Learn More About
Manitou Raven
Read more about Manitou Raven at Wikipedia
Official Site: DC Comics Links: Wikipedia

Szass Tam
Read more about Szass Tam at Wikipedia
Official Site: Wizards of the Coast Links: Wikipedia

[Culwych1]

Awesome setup. 

I don't know enough about Manitou to judge this properly, but he's going to have to be extremely powerful to go against Szass in his own domain. This is the Lich at his most powerful, with all the multiple levels of protection he'd have placed to keep his soul safe. It is as likely to all be a diversion in any case. This is a world dominating Lich who takes on gods, swats demons aside like flies and has legions of undead at his command. 

Definitely leaning towards him.

[leroypowell3]

Manitou never truly got to shine. And I don't think he's up to the task in this match.

I was supposed to have put Dawn Manitou in here not long after I put Manitou Raven in like my first year on here and never really pushed after she got rejected.

[Callisto]

Match Final Results

Member Ratings:
5.00 - Culwych1
5.00 - Boratz
4.00 - Pizza Guy

FPA Calculation:
3 Total Votes cast
14.00 Total Combined Score
14.00 / 3 = 4.67 Final Rating on the match

MATCH SCORE
Manitou Raven: 1
Szass Tam: 5