Battle of the Brutes(Damion vs Thamis)

[Aaron Corinth]

Damion was again chancing the dueling ring. He had fought only once prior, and he had faced the Pureblood Sith, Tak. He would bring the same ferocity and abilities to light against his new opponent. The man had answered his call and was named Thamis. He entered the ring he had become familiar with from the past battle and walked slowly towards the center. As usual, Damion had his hooded cloak on with the hood pulled up casting his face in shadow. The time would come when he would reveal himself, but he was not to that point, nor did he wish to do such a thing. He ignited his lightsaber and powered it down to the typical training level, as they had agreed it would not be a duel to the death. He deactivated the lightsaber and clipped it back to his belt and repeated the process for the other lightsaber. He was anxious for this battle, as he knew the man was known to be quite strong with intelligence that could match his own. He chuckled to himself in the center of the ring. He waited for his opponent. As was typical with duels, once the opponent arrived they would either shake hands or bow and begin the fight. He would start holding a single lightsaber with two hands angled from his shoulder to his hip.

 

[Galisdoren]

There was no dark presence, not even a light one. No, his connection to the force was buried, hidden, and as a result, it seemed the Sith had faded from existence itself. His steps made not a sound, as his cloak was drawn around the human's well muscled, armored form so that no gleam of the metal could mark his presence. Of course, he would be locked in a ring with another acolyte, and there was hardly any place or logical reason to hide, but it had become a custom for Thamis, to approach unheard, and unfelt, ever since he was able. Stepping out into the ring, a mysterious aura surrounded the Sith, as there was no part of his body revealed by the thin and firm line of his lips, with not a hint of emotion to be detected, though he was not arrogant, nor stupid. His studious, calculating eyes, both a piercing blue, were hidden by the visors of his cowl, large white orbs that mimicked the appearance of portals to some empty oblivion, and those, combined with the horns of his mask, gave the Sith a menacing and devilish appearance. Beneath his robe, a clawed hand took hold of a cylinder, before peeking out of it's hiding place, and from the hilt, ignited a long and crimson blade, glowing with eerie light, and humming with power. Despite being set on it's lowest setting, the lightsaber still possessed a deadly appearance, and the acolyte brought it up to his face to bathe in the heat it generated. Thamis approached the other Sith with not the slightest intention of bowing, or shaking hands, as what had surely been expected. Rather, he attacked in full force, in the very first instant of drawing into the center of the ring, just a few feet away from Damion. Where a snarl sought purchase upon his lips, Thamis refused it access, and his scowl became a constant and menacing feature as he attacked, slicing out for the torso of his opponent with a swift, forward lunge as his cloak was unfurled and thrown back behind the bulk of lean muscle that was Thamis's body. In a mere second after passing the place where his blade's intended destination would have been, and in a display of both great strength and self control, the acolyte jerked back against the momentum that carried his weapon and spun back around, where his lightsaber sought impact with the side of Damion's head. His attack had been blindingly quick and vicious, as deceitful intentions glimmered within the Sith's hidden gaze of ice, but he knew better than to expect success at the very start of a fight, for he had already prepared for a second onslaught, just as fast and ferocious as the last. His free hand had been tucked close to his waist, his fingers, in the shape of sharp and dangerous talons, spread, as the Sith let his stealth slip, and the force and his attachment to it engulfed him once more, as he prepared to deliver a savage and merciless offense. Only then did he make a sound, a cruel and malicious chuckle, not of mockery or even joy, but of acknowledgement of the failure that surely awaited the other acolyte, or even himself, and within his deep, dark and powerful tone, was a hint of the sinister thoughts that had ensnared the human's tainted mind.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

Neglecting traditions was not a good start to the duel as the man began a furious attack. He looked almost comical in the outfit that he had been wearing, but with armor came the increased burden of movement and reduced vision. He would have to play that to his advantage as the first blow came with a forward lunge that Damion had to jump backwards to avoid. The man was fast, he would give him that, but he knew speed was no substitute for tact and strength. The second blow was headed for his head, Damion brought his lightsaber with the momentum of both hands in an opposite path to cause the blade to bounce away. He stepped back and heard the cackle that the man had made. He had been prepared for a hard fought battle, but the ferocity and speed of the attack was mind boggling. However, Damion was no chump himself, he began an attack of his own. He utilized his favorite power, lightning, as he focused the force through his body and out through his hand directed towards the man's chest the lightning crackled to life and darted the distance towards the man. Following the arc of electricity, Damion rolled into a downward slash aiming for the man's ribs towards his opposite hip. Even with the armor, if the blade was to make contact, he would definitely feel it.

 

[Galisdoren]

One could hardly expect to finish a duel in just a few moves, but Thamis fully intended to win this one. He moved quickly, given that his armor didn't hinder him in the least, as this was exactly what it had been made for, quick and savage combat. It came as no surprise when his fist attack was avoided, and their sabers clashed with a hiss as Damion defended himself against his opponent, but how long would he be able to shave off such blows? Not only was each attack blindingly swift, but each hit possessed a brutal and merciless strength, enough to cause an arm to quiver with the impact, unless Thamis faced an opponent of greater physical strength. As the acolyte prepared for a counterattack, he took a moment to dance gracefully backwards a few steps, immediately taking in and processing the sight of his assailant's outstretched hand. The cackling energy shot out from his finger tips, intent on a greedy and agonizing embrace with the human, but a quick flick of his wrist and the cackling electricity made impact with only his crimson blade, which was quick to hungrily devour the power directed into it. With his sharp gaze still trained upon the other Sith, Thamis made use of his reflex to prance quickly out of harms way as his opponent lashed out, swift and low. As he moved, Thamis threw out his foot, hoping to catch the man in the ribs with enough power to crack one, or even a few. He knew it would take the man a moment to regain his balance and composure from his own attack, and the acolyte took immediate advantage of the situation. His hand, which had been tucked at his side, now raced forth to direct a mighty blast at the Sith, the force push possessing enough strength to fling Damion into the wall of the arena with ease. The savage acolyte took not a moment to allow some reprieve, and, keeping good track of the other human, launched himself forward to deliver a flurry of thrusts and slashes, all directed at different parts of his body. His face was unchanging, a sinister and dark, unemotional scowl, with his goggles revealing nothing of the intensity that shone in the Thamis's eyes, but his intent was clear enough, and now Damion was stuck in a fight, probably unlike any he might have faced before.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The man's kick landed hard on Damion's ribs, luckily he had his usual armor on. Thus the kick would hurt, but wouldn't be a permanent injury. He had just hit the ground when he felt the force push send him sailing towards the wall. He used a force push of his own on the wall to stop him from being injured. He laid on the ground holding his side breathing heavily. This guy is strong and fast, he thought. However, Damion realized the man had since only used the force push in the battle, which meant his weakness must be the force! He had been through training and was quite well in tune with the force and only had 3 abilities, but they were powerful abilities. He clambered to his feet and reignited his single lightsaber. The pain of the rib shot had begun to wear off, he thanked the old man silently for the armor, it would serve him well. The man had begun a flurry of attacks attempting to hit him. However, this time Damion used a force push of his own. He unleashed the push with his offhand aimed for the mid-line of the man's body. It would be impossible for him to keep attacking and would be extremely lucky if he didn't end up on the other side of the arena. However, Damion utilized a pull in mid flight to send the man careening back towards him. He had ignited a second lightsaber off of his belt and swung them both one at an arc from above headed towards the middle of the man's back and the other an arc from below headed towards the man's abdomen. Following the attack he would jump backwards and raise the twin lightsabers in a defensive position. He wanted to tire the man out, there was no point in exhausting his own energy. He would use just enough energy to keep the man at bay and play heavily with the force. The man was weaker than him in that aspect, equal in strength, but Damion was slightly slower than the other man. That would change as the battle progressed Damion thought.

 

[Galisdoren]

His lightsaber flashed in a savage dance before the other acolyte, but before it could so much as brush the flesh of Damion, the Sith's hand had shot out to disrupt the attack with a powerful force push. Thamis was quick to stretch out his own hand toward the blast as it bore down on him, pushing him back several feet despite his braced legs and the human's own use of the force to dispel it. He maintained the defense as the other acolyte attempted to pull him back, with more success than his attempt to keep himself from being launched to the other side of the arena. Getting rather chaotic. Thamis made a mental observation and stored it away in his head for future use and study of the other man. He brought his blade up to intercept the two as they were swung toward his form. The second attack was a close call, as Thamis stumbled back to avoid the blazing sabers as they aimed to carve across his abdomen. That would have been a fatal blow. If the attack had hit, and the lightsabers had been set on full power, Thamis would have very well been a dead man. His scowl deepened, the mistake had been too blatant to ignore. I need to be quick and balanced at the same time. He quickly decided to sacrifice his more unpredictable behavior for much more controlled and disciplined attacks. Rushing Damion, he swung his saber to collide with the one in his opponent's left hand, hoping to force it off to the side and out of the way. Thamis's free hand rose toward the second saber, as he lashed out, intending to slide down the length of the blade by way of the back of his phrik gauntlet, much for the same reason as his first attack, but with a bit more offense. His leg shot out, hoping to catch the man in the side of his knee and collapse the limb, while his fist sailed down the lightsaber and toward Damion's face with enough force to knock him to the ground, if he wasn't there already.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

Damion was shocked the man had been able to block the forward and backward blows. He had however, begun another onslaught of attacks. The first attempting to knock his lightsaber to the side found resistance and maintained its location. The second however was attempting to slide down his saber. He deactivated the second lightsaber to cause the man to stumble. Attempting to take advantage of it, he reactivated the lightsaber and brought it in a lateral fashion towards the man's waist. However, he saw the man's attack with his leg headed for his knee, he turned as the leg struck him in the natural bend bring him to a knee with the attacker's foot trapped between his thigh and calf. With this new unexpected vulnerability Damion swung with the right handed lightsaber again towards the man's waist along with the left hand saber towards the leg trapped by his own. After the attack he would roll backwards back to his feet, expecting at any time the man would begin another onslaught of attacks.

 

[Galisdoren]

Since the entire goal of Thamis's more disciplined attack had been to maintain his balance, that was exactly what he did when his opponent sheathed his blade. His eyes were immediately drawn toward the weapon as it was reignited, as his hand dropped to knock the weapon away with the back of his gauntlet, once more used as a defensive tool again Damion's lightsaber. At the entrapment of his leg, he saw only an opportunity, and twisted his leg around to force Damion's apart, drawing dangerously close to the man, so that their breath caressed each others faces. Once more he intercepted the sabers, the one headed toward his waste clashing with his own saber, and the one that arched toward his leg stopped short by his gauntlet, as Thamis dropped low to throw all his weight at Damion, hoping to send him crashing to the ground, and at such close range that he wouldn't be able to stick a saber in between their bodies as if to impale him. He then wrenched himself free, and skipped away a few steps with a simple slash of his saber toward his opponent's ribs. As he prepared for another intense situation, a burning at the top of his hand became painfully apparent, as he realized he must have calculated the position of his hand wrong, and part of Damion's saber had struck the durasteel there, the result being, of course, the agitating discomfort he now felt in the limb.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

Damion had been prepared for a close range attack but was rather surprised at the man's ability to take advantage of awkward situations. He allowed the man to push towards him, where he used the man's momentum and his own to roll backwards and back onto his feet. He had allowed the man to get away but he had attacked with a simple slash towards his ribs. He used both lightsabers and his strength to slam against the slash in a lateral motion attempting to send the blade back in the direction it had come. After insuring his safety from the blade he would turn one of the sabers back in a lateral path towards the man's ribs. He saw the man had evidently suffered a small burn on the hand from his saber, but was otherwise untouched. Following the attack, he would utilize a force push to move the man away from him as he himself took several steps backward.

 

[Galisdoren]

Though he certainly had the strength to achieve such a task, Thamis didn't resist the pressure placed upon his blade, but instead, allowed it to bounced up and away in a graceful motion that took little effort. He quickly slipped around the sabers aimed at his ribs, offering a small grunt of acknowledgment as he brought his arm back around to cut at the limbs with his own weapon as they passed. Sensing a surge in the force, he nearly went flying across the arena again before stretching out his own hand to dispel the attack, once more sliding back a few feet despite his body's defiance. A silent snarl now marked his features as he leapt right back into combat, swinging his glowing lightsaber toward the hip of Damion. There was no chance of it hitting, however, as, just a few inches away from the human's body, or any defense the acolyte might have put up, Thamis tensed, forcing his limb to cease all movement, and in the blink of an eye and with some muscle stress, he had reverse his direction, spinning a full circle to bring his blade back around, arching through the air toward Damion's knees. At the same time, his other hand had been brought up, and the talons of his armor sought to cut across the other man's face. Thamis's eyes were sharp as he took in the resulting movements of his opponent, ready to halt his attack and leap back at the slightest danger, and dive back in with just as much viciousness as before.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

Taking advantage of both his armor and the lack of full powered lightsabers, he allowed the blow to strike him around the right thigh. The blade struck the armor and bounced back, causing a minor bruise that would hurt a bit, but more importantly it allowed an opening for Damion to attack without retribution. He brought the full weight of his body with the right handed lightsaber to bear at the man's right shoulder. He assumed the blade wouldn't cause damage because of the armor, but the force of the attack might cause a dislocation or bruise leading to decreased use of the right arm. He looked to debilitate the man. The talons were batted away with the left handed lightsaber keeping his face in the safety of his hood as the hand continued past his shoulder. He hoped the blow to the shoulder would at least cause the man to slow down. He was beginning to tire of the constant powered attacks back and forth. The man had become more of a challenge than he expected.

 

[Galisdoren]

As his limb bounced back from the strike, he lifted it back into a defensive position almost immediately, in just seconds following the action, and as the saber of his opponent came down toward his shoulder, he was quick to sheath his own blade, and bring his gauntlet back to knock the weapon aside as the phrik clashed with plasma. He wasn't quick to bring his own lightsaber into play, however, though he had it on hand, ready to fling the blade from it's sheath within the span of just a brief moment. As Damion sought to bat his talons away, a quick flick of his wrist ensured that the lightsaber struck only the back of his hand, and he forced it aside with a smirk, stepping in close once more, so that his assailant's second lightsaber would be of no further danger, and his hand, containing the cylinder that he clutched within the his tensed palm, was held in place by the tightness of the skin there, as his talons rushed to meet with the acolyte's arm pit, where most armor was thinnest, attempting to slice right through the protection there, and deliver a savage ravaging of the tender flesh. He knew exactly where to place his fingers, so that the nerves that resided there, deep within the protection of skin and tangled veins, would be sliced just as easily as a knife through jelly. It would mean the end of Damion's arm for quite some days, unless the force was used to accelerate healing. Following the attack, Thamis moved quickly, determined not to get himself locked in close quarters again, using the hand in which he secured the other's weapon to ensure that he could maneuver safely under it, sliding off to the side and around the human to sling his saber out and ignite the glowing blade, slashing at the Sith's ribs with a growl.

"Fool." His voice was dark, menacing, and unmistakably powerful. It was not quite his common tone, and, despite it's strength and natural authority, it was uttered with a sinister quietness, designed to intimidate, to send shudders up and down an opponent's form, to ice their blood and chill their flesh. "Do you actually think...you can beat me?" Despite it's mocking intentions, the taunt was not of arrogant nor hot headed nature, though it may seem so. It was a ploy, to draw the rage and impatience from the boy, to form it into a weapon of his own desires, used against it's creator. Thamis gave a low, ghastly chuckle, though his lips only twitched in sign of amusement, not the slightest change in his expression passing through the dark scowl that had settled upon his face at the start of the battle. Asides from an earlier smirk, no emotion had since been revealed, and now his piercing gaze, turned void and lifeless by the pale and daunting lenses of his cowl, was trained upon the human with such a fierce intensity, their only purpose, seemingly, to cause great consternation and distress. If one were to look long and deeply enough, the small orbs would appear as conjured gates to some terrible hell, some empty and tormenting oblivion, and perhaps, the thought would cross their minds, as they remembered such words that would remind them that the eyes were glimmering gates to the soul. So what, then, were they peering at?

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The sinister talons had become almost the object of the fight. This man had excellent control over his own body and used both the lightsaber and talons as simply extensions of his limbs. It was almost a beautiful sight watching him twirl around and adeptly navigate his flurry of movements. His lightsaber had been matched with one of the gauntlets the man wore on each wrist. He sighed inwardly as his plan of attack had failed. However before he could again attack, Damion rolled backwards away from any danger. He had to put distance between himself and the man. He had just regained his footing when he heard the man speak. He shook his head at the overconfidence and meaningless attempts to intimidate him. His opponents had never before frightened him and this man would not be an exception. The suit he was wearing that he called armor, look almost laughable. The orbs of the eyes mixed with the tips of his mask. He almost laughed aloud, but managed to control himself with a stifled cough. However, he quickly regained composure as he deactivated one of the lightsabers and again utilized his powerful force lightning aiming towards the man's chest. Following the attack with lightning whichever direction the man moved, he would launch a force push forcing the man to maintain the distance between them.

 

[Galisdoren]

Had it worked? Had his tone convinced the other acolyte of his false overconfidence, perhaps arrogance? The simple thought of one's opponent's possessing such a trait would be enough to shift the battle over to his favor, for it would certainly dictate the moves and reactions of any enemy he faced. Thamis eyed the other Sith with a fresh smirk drawing across his lips. As the crackling tendrils of electricity hungrily approached his form, Thamis's lightsaber rose to dispel the power directed at him, raising a hand to send out an opposing force push that combated with Damion's own. Now, it was once again his turn to go on the offense, and he did it just as savage and brutally as ever. Thamis flung himself across the arena, aiming a few slashes at his opponent's chest before pivoting around his left side and looking to draw his saber over the other male's ribs.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The force push had been unexpected and had matched his own push. However, now the other man was on the offensive, he attacked savagely with cross cuts aiming for his chest which he managed to knock aside and avoid damage from and a third attack across his ribs which he knocked down, but not before the very tip landing a glancing blow off of his armor. The man was truly a skilled opponent, but one with which he felt he could win.

He began an offensive of his own, deciding to stay with the single lightsaber, he began with one of the most powerful moves that he knew, utilizing his strength with the aggressive form V he brought his lightsaber in the Falling Avalanche aimed for the center of the man's head. The blow if it hit would certainly daze the man, but following the downward attack with a bit more finesse he would strike laterally at the man's rib cage and follow the attack with a spin to the opposite side and attempt another lateral blow aimed for the man's spine. He was beginning to tire as the vicious attacks from both sides began to take their toll, but he would never give up, much less give the man the satisfaction of the win.