The Contestants |
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The Breakdown |
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Advantages
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Disadvantages
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Disadvantages
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Kills
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Kills
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How we think the fight will go
The first few seconds of the battle were all cold flame and burning ice.
A blinding whirr of crackling blue and crystalline red—that was the boy and his wolf as they launched their first attack on Alvin, their heartfires blazing.
The boy’s sword slashing into his guts. The direwolf tearing his arm.
Alvin had seen their heartfires as soon as he stepped into the arena. Though it was lit only by torchlight, for Alvin the arena shone bright as the morning. First there was the heartfire of the spectators, each one faint and flickering like candleflame. Scanning the crowd Alvin could feel all the secrets of their souls: their restless dread, their excitement for the fight—and above all, the warmth of their love for the boy called Jon Snow. Alvin Maker’s own name was spoken seldom, and only in whispers.
At the other end of the arena the boy’s heartfire blazed from his tiny frame, the sun shining forth from a shard of ice. That’s the boy’s courage, Alvin thought, It’s magnificent. And beside this sunfire, the weird white fire–chill and opaque–of the soul of the white direwolf.
And for a moment, he had a glimpse of why the boy’s heartfire blazed so strong: His mother. His father. His destiny…. Just the dim outlines of what the future held for this young hero made Alvin tremble…
His vision was cut short by the sword running through his stomach. The thrust had tremendous strength behind it—more strength than he would have thought possible from such a slender boy. Alvin saw Jon’s heartfire flaring cold midnight blue.
It is not enough to have power. You must have the will to use it.
His brother Calvin’s words cut into him deeper than the sword, though it had plunged so deep it came out again drenched in blood. This boy certainly has will, Alvin thought. Alvin’s brother would have not have hesitated to make short work of the boy—but Alvin himself had hesitated, and now it left him only moments to reach out to Jon with his knack.
First, he reached out to the boy’s mind, touched it gently, subtly, then to the direwolf’s. Why don’t you put down that sword, brother? Wolf, why don’t you lay down a spell and listen to the greensong with me? Alvin struggled to focus—Jon kept slashing at him relentlessly. The wolf had knocked him from his feet, and was lunging for his throat.
It worked on the wolf first. The creature had been so long in the forbidding north he had forgotten the greensong. The merest whisper of its rhythm lulled the wolf into quietude, the snapping jaws stilled. His heartfire now like a cool bank of snow.
And then he found a quiet, tender spot in the boy’s mind and pressed: You don’t have to play the hero anymore. Haven’t you borne enough strife, enough grief? Let’s end this now. He felt this spot give just a little, like a small, dusty crack in a stone wall.
But then, beyond that spot—that tender wound, where the boy was only Jon the bastard, not the Jon the hero–he found something more, something hard as a sheet of icy Valyrian steel.
“I will not yield!” Jon yelled, as if he had felt the pressure Alvin put on his mind. Alvin was lucky, though, that his meddling had bewildered and slowed Jon just a bit. He plunged his sword to the ground, but missed just as Alvin rolled away.
Once Jon was on the attack again, Alvin lost hold of the wolf; he felt its mind slipping away at the very moment Jon’s had eluded him, chained to the boy’s with some ethereal link. He had only seconds before one of Jon’s blows found him—or before the wolf’s jaws found him.
Alvin reached out again with his knack, this time searching through the boy’s whole being. If he did this right, he could win this battle—and live another day to build his Crystal City—easily, quickly. He had to: his own blood was staining the ground of the arena, the boy and the wolf yet unharmed.
It chilled Alvin to think he was using the very same magic to kill a man that he’d used to save his infant son’s life…and he lost a second to the thought. And to the agony of wolf tearing out a chunk of his arm.
Alvin followed the racing pathways of Jon’s veins and arteries, starting with his sword hand, up through his chest. In the heat of the fight his blood crashed like the rushing whitewater of the Hatrack River. Alvin marveled at the wild strength of the boy’s body, the heat of his blood, the awesome thunder of his pounding heart. The boy’s courage ran deep, was inscribed into the most secret fibers of his being.
But if I can stop his heart…
It was there, vividly before him, angry crimson and regal purple, beating so hard Alvin thought it might burst all on its own. But he focused on it with feverish intensity, on every rope of muscle and knot of sinew and the dense lacework of the veins and arteries. Then deeper, deeper, deeper, until Alvin could whisper, to the little glowing life that animated every particle of the boy’s being, Stop. Stop. Stop.
The boy’s heart didn’t stop.
It wouldn’t stop. It just wouldn’t stop. It fought him. It beat harder and harder, until the sound deafened Alvin. And then Alvin felt the boy’s whole body ranged against him, his life-force blazing and then expelling him, cutting off the connection he’d forged with his knack.
Alvin lay on the ground as if Jon, in expelling him from his mind and body, had literally knocked him from his feet. The arena had yet to focus around him again. He saw nothing but a blinding white light, as if all of a sudden the sky was bright as noonday.
But the light at the center of it, that beautiful, dazzling light…It was the gleaming blade of Longclaw, as it fell from above to take its final strike.
Predicted Winner: Jon Snow
NOTE: THIS MATCH ENDS ON THURSDAY, MARCH 24TH, 2011, AT 5 PM, ET
Jon Snow is a character from the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin; Alvin Maker is a character from the Tales of Alvin Maker series by Orson Scott Card
Jon Snow image courtesy of Michael Komarck. Alvin Maker image courtesy of Dennis Nolan.
So I had to give Alvin a sympathy vote, and give him the only time he will be ahead. First vote to Alvin.
Yea poor Alvin coming up against Jon Snow. I think Alvin could have won the whole thing, oh well.
I wish Suvudu would at least put Tyrion Lannister in the Cage Fights once so then I could at least jump on the bandwagon with my favorite character from the series.
Yawn . . .
Another victim of the unending tides of fanboys. Suvudu should have given Alvin the vote-up, if only to give the real underdog a chance.
@ AHEM:
Whine whine whiiiine. No offense, but have you made it your personal mission to rant bitterly about fanboys on every single one of these things? It’s not like there’s a prize for the victor. If you get to debate who SHOULD win with likeminded individuals and the fans get something to do besides argue whether L+R really does =J, why should it matter? This is just a fun little gimmick.
The ONLY reason I’ll vote for Snow (I’m with Jlingo about Tyrion…) is because of a previous match of Alvin’s:
Thomas Covenant would have never just handed over his ring and given up! (The person who wrote that one should have read the damned series!)
So, I stepping OOC here, and voting for VENGEANCE! (Though I really wish it didn’t involve having to vote for Snow….) oh well…
c mon we already now that the final fight for the suvudu title its going to be the direwolf against the dream wolf jon vs perrin its a fact ;D
Honestly I’m sick and tired of everybody bitching about “fanboys”. Most people are going to vote for the character they like the most. Period. Even those who wish to vote logically are more likely to be familiar with characters from more popular stories. Not everyone has the time or energy to research every single contestant before they vote! I guess all of you like “AHEM” would be happier if suvudu simply picked a bunch of characters, seeded them, decided how they think it should go, and just told us the final result. That’s the ONLY way to eliminate the fan bases of the more popular series as a factor. ASoIaF is a great series and Jon is a pretty badass character if you ask me. Should he beat Alvin Maker? I don’t know. Probably not. Who cares! Not shut up, quit cher bitchin and enjoy the opportunity for fans to discuss PURELY HYPOTHETICAL match ups between characters they know and the chance to be introduced to new characters and great stories. [/rant]
I’m just asking this as someone who hasn’t read any books about Alvin Maker… Is it actually possible to resist his “making” powers, as is done in the write-up?
I like the write-up and I think Jon Snow is a great character so he got my vote.
My vote could have swayed the other way if some of the people who seem so certain that Alvin would win had given some reasoning for it. Im not familiar with Alvin, the write-up doesnt support him but some people are sure hed win. So, why?
Isnt that what its all about here? If you think the fight would go different then please share with us how it would go. Dont know about the other “fanboys” but I try to get some info on both characters before voting. However, the support that Alvin is nothing but bitter defeat so I really cant vote for him.
Alvin can shape matter pretty much however he wants, from whatever distance, his only limit is his imagination. For example, things he might do from a distance of approximately half the united states- swell the waters enough to drown a city. From this, perhaps he could take all the ice at the wall and melt it, not in the books like the above example, but seems possible.
He can make molecules act in ways that they normally never could while still retaining their initial character. Things I think are within his power to do with preparation are create weightless, nigh-impenetrable suits of armor that will consciously defend him if that is the goal he imparts into the material he works with. His much less powerful brother created a bubble of regular old air around himself to protect him from intense heat and an explosion, Alvin could do more. He could increase his muscle mass so that he is as strong as a giant, growing layers and layers, bones to make himself taller etc. None of this is in the books, but his powers encompass it.
He can melt metal as if it were paper without effort, handcuffs, stone walls huge many-ton millstones (this last before he was even ten years old and had mastered his power.)
He can command animals by implanting their desires into their heads. He can heal at a pace (fairly early on in the series, mind you) that a person who takes dozens of bullets through the course of a day long battle survived, without any injury. He can search underground and see everything within miles with his “doodlebug” a sort of sixth sense that he has learned to master. He’s also an accomplished brawler and folksy-style wrestler with massive blacksmith arms – think perrin.
Jon could never resist Alvin attempting to fiddle with his heart. Alvin wouldn’t bother with that anyway. Melt Longclaw in an instant (ok its valyrian steel so maybe it can’t be controlled as easily, so melt the pommel, still unusable) Control over ghost would not be hard to do, and Alvin would not lose control over him so easily. Giant hole appears in the ground under Jon, with spikes formed at the bottom, all in several instants, etc etc.
Think of something, and it can be done. Alvin is like folk-lore Jesus. Granted he doesn’t have the destructive power (ie shooting fire) of someone like Zed or Allanon, but that is not a problem for this fight.
I have to admit, my ambivalence about Alvin Maker really does make this feel a bit dull. On the one hand, he seems powerful, so he should probably be able to take down ol’ Jon (who, as has been amply pointed out by everyone and his grandmother, has no superpowers). On the other, though…what a dumb idea for a character. Everything I read about this guy seems generic and irritating. I can’t look at him without envisioning a score of far superior characters who could have had his slot, thus (even if they had no chance of winning) at least garnering a few more readers for deserving book series.
I mean, Ender was in the last cage match. Why should another Card character be featured here? He’s not a little-known author who deserves better, but neither is he a juggernaut with a massive fanbase who just demands inclusion. Who the hell voted for Alvin Maker to be in this one?
Maybe I’ll just not vote. It’s not like it’ll have any effect on the outcome anyway…bleh.
Alvin gets my vote, but Snow will win, no blaming the fans guys, I can’t since I’m voting for Perrin (Who is one of maybe two who realistically stand a chance against snow, not power wise but voting wise, popularity matters).
Besides, Alvin is pretty much invincible, if he can imagine it, which he likely can, he can do it. His power is the power to change the world around him to what he wishes it to be, and nothing short of his realities Satan can stop him, which is why he really doesn’t fit in a cagematch, they do need to put the demi-gods/Gods in one bracket and everyone else in another.
Where are these Zedd supporters coming from? Last two nights running, a torrent of votes comes in late and in a big jump. Is the whole west coast logging on at the same time?
That said, perhaps the more troubling piece of this is that there might actually be this many Terry Goodkind fans out there.
How can Alvin lose in the prediction? Is this not a battle to the death? Why would he try to make them passive and simply not turn both Jon and Ghost into a pile of goo… Suvudu, you guys seem to have forgotten what a cage match is.
All right. I have at last come to a decision on this match: I’m voting for Beowulf.
Hear me out. As I sat deliberating last night, stewing over my choice (because clearly these are the questions that torture me), I realized something: Jon Snow could not have won his fight with Beowulf. Now, I’m an ardent ASOIAF fan. It’s been said before, but in my case, it’s actually true, not merely a rhetorical device to show off my objectivity. No. I’m the real deal: I bought hardcover copies of all the books, I watch the trailers for the HBO show repeatedly, and I might or might not have felt the prickle of decidedly unmanly tears last year when forced to choose between Kvothe and Jaime Lannister.
That said, Jon Snow hadn’t a prayer. He might’ve had an outside chance of being able to take down the oddball with the Japanese name he was fighting in round one, but against Beowulf? No way. There was literally no way, in heaven or earth, he could’ve pulled it off. It was then that a revelation came upon me like an arrow of light from heaven. Jon Snow as we now know him IS Beowulf! The canny geat, realizing that none of his opponents could be expected to know what Jon Snow actually looks like, has simply donned Jon’s mighty armor of Fan Protection. Burying Snow somewhere out of the way, he came back with a black cloak, a magic sword, and a wolf that might have been Ghost. He then announced that he, Jon Snow, had emerged victorious. And after all, as long as he has those three sacred elements, who’s to say he’s NOT Jon Snow? He’s a brooding northern leader, isn’t he? He kills monsters? Yeah, close enough.
I shall henceforth refer to Jon Snow only as “Beowulf”, and argue his victories accordingly.
I don’t remember Alvin being tutored by Napoleon. I believe that was his brother Calvin Miller, who would be a better contestant in these cage matches. Calvin would most likely clean Jon’s clock, Alvin wouldn’t care to fight anyone unless his Peggy was threatened.
Sorry, I can’t say anything about Jon. I tried reading A Game of Thrones before throwing-up in my mouth a fifth of the way through.
@ Tyler: Yes yes, we all stand in slack-jawed awe of your inability to finish…
…one of the highest-rated and best-reviewed fantasy novels of all time. And while reading Alvin Maker too. Yay. Your pulpiness does you credit.
@ Dunno
I’m in the same boat, and I wholeheartedly approve of (and thank you for) the solution to my own voting impasse. Go Beowu- um… Jon!!
@Dunno – that’s really funny. Who knows how many of the other “winners” are actually impersonated? Go Beowulf!
@Tyler – instead of “hero” cage matches or “villain” cage matches, we should have “ambiguous morality character” cage matches? That could be good. At least they’d be more willing to fight each other.
Along a similar line, I’d be interested in seeing the cage matches done with a couple different weight classes. Blademasters and assassins are a little out of place when fighting against demigods.
To all of those having a rough time with Jon Snow winning. I am not certain if you are willing to take a comment from an old lady, but I seem to have a better grasp of Jon than most of the commenters. Ghost and Jon’s relationship is not just a wolf and his master, but Jon is a Warg and becomes Ghost. Thus, his actions can be directly and very quickly ruled by what ever emotions Jon is feeling. Yes, his brother Bran is better at becoming his wolf Summer, but Jon is learning fast. And as Bran has shown us, Jon also has the potentional of slipping into someone else’s skin, as Bran has done with Hodor. There was also that one Wildling who had changed skins with a bunch of beasts.
So in my mind, along with all of his raw courage and inner strength, and strong sense of honor, his being a Warg makes him almost impossible to beat in a match.
@kellis
“long with all of his raw courage and inner strength, and strong sense of honor, his being a Warg makes him almost impossible to beat in a match”. Um, don’t take this wrong way but can you call us when the shuttle lands? Seriously, impossible to beat?! I hate to tell you lady but any of the remaining characters (besides Martin) would mop the floor with Jon Snow. Hell give me a Katana and some armor and I would have a chance. Get real people!!
You know nothing Jlingo.
GRRM and WoT fanboys just su@%!!!! You have to vote for your Twilight like poster boys!! Curse them!!!!!