It *was* a nice knife.

[G]

Not long after having "acquired" the nice, sharp and well balanced blade that had been hanging on a lovely note directed to him by one of his few actual and threatening rivals, our hero left the Arena while whistling a little tune that may have sounded like a fairly popular pop song about just meeting someone and requesting a phone call. He wouldn't know where he heard it from, but it was a catchy tune. It had a nice beat and you could dance to it.

Or, you could flip the newly acquired dagger in your hands in beat to the music you were currently whistling.

Flip.
Flip.
Flip.

"Hey, I just dueled you. And there's no slashing. So meet my Hammer. I win again." Yeah, that sounded pretty cool, actually.

Flip.
Flip.
Flip.

Little did our hero know, he was being stalked. That's the only possible excuse for what happened next, as he was off in his own world, strolling down the avenue.

Flip.
Flip....
Catch... BOOM!

Boom? Well, it wasn't a super big end your life boom. More along the lines of knock you on your ass momentarily stunned from the concussive blast while it hasn't registered that your hand is currently aflame.

About that. Fire tends to burn if it's not put out immediately, especially if it's started by some sort of chemical reaction and put on the handle of a nice dagger that one had been casually flipping, and thus transferring some of those chemicals onto your hand.

When the pain registered, there was a bit of howling before shoving his hand into some nearby dirt to help smother the growing flames. There were some curses thrown about. And casual onlookers proceeded to wander around as if this sort of thing happened every day. Citizens are so wonderful to offer assistance.

Clutching his now charred hand by the wrist and cursing anew, our hero quickly dashed to the nearest healer to get some attention paid to his poor, damaged hand. There is hope that they would have some nifty little trick or herbs and spices that will fix it up in some good time! And did he hear some malicious giggling as he took off? He may very well have....

All the while, the cursing on his lips were directed to his bitter rival, Rayvinn somethingorother. Affectionately known as "That evil bitch!"

[Talathian]

An eye-witness report has been filed to help clear up any confusion with the recent "assault" on the Duel of Swords Coordinator. The informant wishes to be kept anonymous due to personal reasons however this is their story:

I was strolling through my favorite city on earth Rhy'Din when I happened to spot something peculiar. A dagger, of fine origin and craft was being carelessly lobbed around like a child's play thing. Me, being who I am, a curious individual with a fine eye and sense of pride of my people (the informant did not care to give details, but we assume they were of elvish descent) decided to follow the individual. What I saw next confused me. He seemed to pay no mind to his surroundings and with little tact must have gotten something on the blade. Upon his next lob, it caught fire in a most peculiar fashion.

I was shocked. How does a man manage to make such a timeless artifact catch fire and spontaneously combust? I thought for sure he was a mage of some sort. I was terrified, I could not move. He screamed out in what I thought was some trick, a jest or a ruse to ensnare some poor unsuspecting bystander. I made sure to warn all those around do not fall for the demon's tricks. They all listened and we watched as he did the unthinkable: he shoved his flaming hand in a pile of cow manure. Why would he do this? I fear I may never know the answers. Due to an incident previously in my life I fear I have lost my drawing hand but I have taken the time today to show you what happened in my depiction.

((click for full-size))