Korriban: Where Madness Reigns - Fight Eight

[Sapphire Storm]

Credit for the image goes to Tiberius Viris on ArtStation​

It was the middle of the day on the Sith world of Korriban. The sun sat high in the sky, beating down upon the red, rocky surface of the planet mercilessly. The air itself seemed to shimmer with the heat, unable to withstand the harsh gaze of the sun without losing its integrity. In the distance stood the temple, claiming the lives of the unworthy even now, as two contestants made their way to the battle location and prepared to fight until one was victorious over the other. Rocky outcroppings rose all around, forming a natural arena of sorts. Paving the ground of the makeshift arena were rocks, most of which were little more than pebbles. One, however, stood above all the rest. It stood at waist height and made up the centre point of the rocky, uneven fighting ground, serving as a focal point for the bout.

Two combatants stood on opposite sides of the arena, rock outcroppings rising around them in every direction. Both combatants were members of the Lords of the Sith. Mila Visari, the ill-tempered Lorrdian, against Hetake Irismat, the silent Sith. They would fight in the dust and the heat and dark power of Korriban, and in the end only one would be victorious. Who will it be? The ill-tempered, uncouth woman with all the attitude or the younger, silent one that raged with emotion just beneath the surface?

@Shoggoth @Gamov

 

[Gamov]

A thin wisp of greyish smoke trailed from the glowing end of the cigarette clutched between her fingers, the heat from the midday sun glinting off the tarnished silver of her armor, her saber well within arms reach atop the large boulder at the center of the canyon. Whoever scheduled this damn tourney in the middle of the day was a kriffing moron. Vi made a mental note to hunt the bastard down later and strangle them with their own entrails. For now though, her eyes and mind focused across the rusty red sands as she squinted through the shimmering air at the approaching figure. She didn't know who her competition was aside from a name: Hetake Irismat. It didn't strike any chords in her mind, to be perfectly honest.

But in a place like the Korriban academy, Sith came and went as frequently as the sunrise here. It was a vicious cycle, and unless you managed to earn a little notoriety or infamy, you were less than a footnote to the Brotherhood.

"I'll be damned if I'm gonna be a f*ckin' footnote."

Savoring one last drag from her cig, Vi let the smoke stew in her lungs for a moment before gently exhaling a coil of smoke through her nostrils. Flicking the butt aside, she rolled the tension out of her shoulders with a dull *crack* that traced her spine before collecting her saber from the rock. Eagerly thumbing the activation switch, her vision narrowed into a dangerous slit as Hetake approached. The only regret shifting through the recesses of the Warrior's mind was that this tournament was not a fight to the death. She reveled in such competition, and the opportunity to prove her superiority over another. That and the sight of blood was... exciting, to say the least. Gently biting the inside of her lip to suppress the lascivious little smile threatening to curl her expression, Vi substituted it with a subdued chuckle until Hetake was hardly more than 10 yards from her.

Igniting the sanguine blade at her side, she called out to the other woman, her voice echoing across the empty expanse between them "Ready to get your ass kicked, little girl?" Vi started a slow gait forward, the warm breeze brushing the nape of her neck as locks of red swirled about her pale features.

@Shoggoth

OOC Note: The armor depicted has no special properties or qualities. It is merely there for the aesthetics and "cool factor". I may do a full write up for it in the future for use in threads beyond this.

 

[Shoggoth]

Approaching from the temple, the mirage of Iris' came visible. She could see her opponent bathing in the suns reflection. In her hand she held her one and a half meter long electro-staff. The balanced staff was exsactly two inches below her height, exactly how she preferred it to be, made of phyrik alloy thin enough to be carried lightly by her. But thick enough to not bend when striking. Proper craftsmanship. Having brought nothing of her ordinary supplies she had a lighter build than normal. The only excessive item she was carrying was the stolen lightsaber she always carried with her. She doubted she was going to need it. All she needed was to surpass the opposing one's speed, as she had heard was her opponents ace. Which was why she had tied her robes around her waist, and had taped her breasts. Of course she had her pack of cigarettes in the binds around her chest, what could one expect from her? Her visage didn't show her ready for a fight. But Iris rarely did. Her rugged forelock hung before her eyes, sweat in the heat of the sun.
Due to her proficiency with the staff, Iris would never stop at the distance of only ten yards in between, she stopped at twenty.
There was a silence as they both threw their cigarettes away. The echo of Mila's voice carried through the canyon, she had already ignited her saber and taunted Iris.
"Ready to get your ass kicked little girl?"
She wondered if her opponent wanted her to introduce herself. She shrugged it off. Iris was confident. But she knew she was outmatched in both speed and strength, and having no clue on how her opponent carried her blade only what forms she was prone to use. Iris put her left foot in front, positioning herself sideways, with her right arm straightening out behind her with the staff in its hand. Spinning it in her hand, the electrodes on the staff ignited and emitted streaks of purple. The faster the staff spun, the more it took shape of a coil, electricity was bouncing off the warm dessert sand. Iris was feeling ecstasy. Another female's feelings were easy to predict. Placing her concentration fully in the feeling, she saw the opponent approaching. All of a sudden, blue streaks of light erupted from the right hand holding the spinning staff, conjoining with the purple of the electrodes. The idea was to carry the electricity within her electrostaff with her force lighting, which was exactly what she did.
Raising her left hand towards her opponent, the electricity nullified, then shot out of her left hand in a single lightning bolt towards the approaching Mila, creating a shock wave ripple around Iris.

Iris had to rely solely on her body's capability of containing power and endurance, she went for a defensive style. But was it enough?
@Gamov

 

[Gamov]

Vi's searching eye saw the subtle shifts in her opponent's posture even before Hetake was finished taking her stance. If there was one thing her people excelled at it was reading gestures like an open book, a skill which became even more relevant in the next few seconds as her eyes caught the obvious whirling lights of the electrostaff. The feint crackle of energy seared the air, filling it with the pungent aroma of scorched ozone. Vi half sighed, rolling her eyes at the display, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see what was coming next. Her steady gait evolved into a headlong sprint that covered half the distance between them in what seemed like an instant; truth be told though, things seemed to be moving at a much different pace for the Lorrdian. In that brief span since Hetake had taken the field and issued her challenge, time had become irrelevant to the Warrior. Vi measured her progress not through minutes or second now, but through raw emotion and pure focus.

The Force surged through her body as she slipped well beyond the half way point between them, her mind almost unconsciously recognizing it's cue just as the ear splitting *crack* of lightning filled the air. With all the robotic precision of a fine tuned machine, Vi's saber came to her defense, rising effortlessly to intercept the solitary bolt of lightning with a crackling hiss as the energy dissipated harmlessly against the blade. In the next instant, the Force erupted through the Warrior's body, carrying her forward at blinding speed.

Letting out a blood curdling war cry as she rushed her opponent, Vi came crashing in on Hetake's defenses like a meteor streaking through the atmosphere. Her saber clutched firmly in a two handed death grip, the crimson blade came from left to right in a vicious streak of red aimed at the woman's exposed midsection. Whether she retreated or stood her ground, the speed with which Vi launched her attack would hardly abate as fighting up close and dirty was her preference. Especially against someone foolish enough to bring a staff to a sword fight. In more confined spaces, Hetake would have the advantage in range, but out here in the open, Vi could use her acrobatics and aggressive speed to neutralize that. It was time to see how good the little assassin really was once she'd lost the element of distance and surprise.

@Shoggoth

 

[Shoggoth]

Mila had started sprinting towards her.
The blot hit Iris' opponents blade as it was blocked of its path. Iris' strong side has always been the unique way she handles the force. Being able to channel not only strong emotions such as anger and fear, like common sith teachings. Any emotion was an endowment to her, every single one with a different outcome. And iris was feeling Ecstasy, almost as she could feel the air ionizing from her fingertips. The lighting bolt that had shot out carried so much force that it would stagger her opponent. With Mila slowed down, Iris took the block as a cue to counter the incoming attack.

Using the momentum of the spinning staff in her right hand to turn one hundred and eighty degrees left, reversing her foot hold. She stopped the spinning staff by grabbing the first quarter almost at the heel. Now with both her hands on her staff, right foot forward, left foot back and an incoming slash from her left to right. Iris caught Mila's blade with a dull block, applying force to slow it down just enough to not hit the ground. With Mila's blade on top of her staff, she laid the focus of force on her right elbow to lift it back left in a curve, the weight of the staff was used to Iris' advantage. Pushing the blade down in the sand, now with her staff on top of it. This technique was a simple unorthodox riposte with the idea of making air between the opponent and her. Iris executed it flawlessly. It allowed her some time to pull then push the staff in a quick stab at Mila's face jumping backwards. The stab was more of a push to allow Iris to distance herself. But due to the metal tip of her staff the blow could potentially make Mila loose her balance. Iris would land four meters from Mila, with now her right hand between the second and third quarter, pointing the staff down. Her left hand was free and held at her side. Right foot forward, left foot back. The staff was behind her back. Iris rolled her thumb over the activation switch, and the electrodes ignited once again. A defensive stance.


@Gamov

 

[Gamov]

With her forward momentum not slowed in the least by the harmless dispersion of the lightning against the blade of her lightsaber, Vi's attack came forward with all the vigor and speed she had intended. Closing the gap just as Hetake re-positioned her footing and brought her staff up to defend against the horizontal slash, Vi's saber briefly met the top of the staff just as Hetake drew it up and to the left in an attempt to deflect the blade. In a split-second decision, Vi switched her lightsaber off, the sudden absence of resistance no doubt throwing Hetake's riposte out of balance with what she had intended. While her opponent remained largely static and unmoving save an attempt to parry the attack leveled against her, Vi, on the other hand, still had forward momentum and brute strength on her side.

As the staff continued its quick upward arc without Vi's lightsaber to resist or slow its progress, the Lorrdian ignited her blade on on the opposite side of the staff now. Driving forward with the momentum she still had from her headlong sprint, she was practically face to face her opponent as Vi suddenly threw a vicious, Force assisted left punch directly at Hetake's face at point blank range. The resulting impact would no doubt break her nose and leave her reeling from the sheer force of the impact. But Vi would capitalize like always as she pivoted slightly out and to her opponent's left, locking her right foot behind Hetake's in a move to trip her as she staggered from the violent punch. Simultaneously, Vi's saber would come racing down in a quick arc towards the assassin's exposed left arm, aiming to separate it from the rest of her body.

@Shoggoth

 

[Shoggoth]

Iris's counter was abruptly exploited when her opponent switched off her light-saber throwing her off balance.
Confused, she attempted to regain her balance, when she could not, her opponent had gotten so close to her that she launched out a punch towards her. Had Iris not dropped her staff at this point, her skull could have been fractured open by the force of the blow. But she managed by an inch to evade the strike, bending backwards trying to flip her body in an arc. A hope of making distance between her opponent and herself. But Mila was too fast. With her back in an arc lifting her arms trying to land them on the ground, a sudden pain struck Iris' left arm. It trailed up her nerves, as if she had touched an electric wire. It was warm then abruptly cold. She lost her balance completely, she couldn't feel her left hand fingers any more, just a wriggling thumb.
She hit the ground being knocked to the side by Mila's right foot.
There was no blood only the unfathomable pain. Slowly rising to her knees she held her mutilated hand in front of her face. Crusted black and trembling, her fingers had been cut in an upward streak, the index finger was longer than the little finger which had been cut at the root.
Iris couldn't understand what had just happened. She looked at hand laying in her right palm. Then up at Mila.
I Can't be done yet.
With a quick roll, Iris tumbled over backwards, launching her self in the air aided by the force. Landing four meters away from her opponent, Iris put her left hand on her back, and turned sideways, right shoulder pointing towards Mila. In Iris' right hand she held the lightsaber she had brought with her as a backup. Rolling her thumb over the activation switch, the saber ignited throwing a soaring red blade out from the hilt.


@Gamov

 

[Gamov]

By all accounts, things had gone exceedingly well. Almost better than Vi had ever hoped to expect. In a matter of seconds, she had bested her opponent and landed what would have been, under any other circumstances, the killing blow. Yet even as the dust settled and Hetake found the time to compose and ready herself for another attack, Vi suddenly found that she couldn't be bothered to care for the little whelp any longer. As the woman produced a lightsaber of her own, the warrior seemed to roll her eyes in boredom, letting out a short sigh as her shoulders slumped slightly and she thumbed the activation switch on her own saber. Staring across the empty sands at her opponent, Vi resigned herself with a casual shrug, deactivating her lightsaber and returning it to her belt.

"Ya fought pretty good. Just not good enough." She said, working a little pent up tension out of her muscles with a slow roll of her shoulders. "Truth be told though, I could give a damn about this tourney. There are better ways for a Sith to prove themselves. With hardly another word, save a few mumbled curses at the sheer childlike nature of the tournament, Vi turned on her heel, pulled her hood back over her head and walked off towards the temple.

She paused ever so briefly, calling back over her shoulder to Hetake, "Why don't you take your little staff and your mangled fingers and find something more productive to do with your time, yeah? The next person you face might not be so lenient." Almost at the same time, Vi shook her head to herself. "That was nice. Why? ... ah f*ck it. I need a nap." With that parting advice, and the promise of a good siesta now awaiting her, the warrior strode off the field.

Hetake could have all the glory she wanted in some stupid tournament. Vi was content to find hers elsewhere.

@Shoggoth

 

[Shoggoth]

This wasn't something she had ever experienced before.
Such disrespect, indifference, Mila just simply turned and left after calling the whole set up as a waste of time.
The blade of Iris' saber hissed against the sand before it sheathed itself automatically.
Blackened and sore, her left hand had started dripping of blood as the burn shut wounds had torn open by them selves. Trembling she stood there not knowing how to respond. Mila called her off telling her to find something "productive to do" with her time, openly insulting her.
Iris felt Intimidated, but something reveled for her.
"I won't be facing anybody else in this turnament." Iris muttered.