Duel on Dantooine

[Louise]

While Karin delighted in suffering that she was clearly inflicting upon @[member="Diana Moridena"], the twisted pleasure was cut short by @[member="Daella Apparine"]'s fortitude. This woman was strong and it had been so long since Karin had last engaged in proper combat, in fact, the last time that the Sith had properly fought she had lost, she had died, gutted at the hands of the now Emperor Zambrano. Was it her destiny to elevate those intended for greatness? Should she be ignoring the seeds of doubt and paying attention to the blades vying to cleave her in two?

Yes.

The Sith had to dive off to the right to avoid her destruction, perhaps she could have regrown more of her body had she lost it but Karin had no intentions of finding out. Landing on her stomach hard, she was taken aback, usually one to stand in the back and cast the spells she was out of her element. Close quarter fighting. This was not her strong suit.

It didn't really aid the sorceress that she had just performed two higher end force abilities. A storm was one thing, but regrowing an entire limb was a different kettle of fish. The way Karin was breathing hard and ragged was testament to that.

“Oh my...”

The book worm of the Sith Lords was hit with a terrible realisation, she had been rash, unlike herself and had charged into to an unfortunate situation. Was the price she paid for immortality her mind? Getting back up to her feet and holding a touch more composure than previously, Karin dusted herself off. Change of pace.

“Give up,” she hissed, wearing half a smirk and half a sneer, “you may strike me down now but you cannot stop my return. Your efforts, though both vicious and admirable, are ultimately futile.”

If it didn't deter them, at least she was given a small breather.

 

[Soeht]

Once @[member="Karin Dorn"] dove to the side, the Force Storm subsided. Now without electricity ravaging her body, Daella stood in place with her right arm still extended. With heavy, taxed breathing, she glared at the Sith Lord as tendrils of smoke emanated from her body. The lightning had charred most of her clothing. Most of her electrical equipment had been rendered useless. She would be suffering from blisters in the upcoming weeks - perhaps even a month. She might need a skin graft where metal touched her body - one place especially being the palm of her right hand, which was now cracked and slightly blackened.

The yellow-bladed lightsaber continued to spin in the air. Eventually, it boomeranged around and back toward Daella. The hilt landed in Daella’s hand with a thud. She hissed as her grip tightened. Her eyes blinked for a second as her face winced. Then, she centered herself and locked her eyes back on Karin.

Taking quick steps forward after Karin’s taunt, Daella retorted with, “Nothing is futile, Sith.”

Then, Daella bent her legs and crouched down in a ready stance. Before bounding forth with her legs, Daella then said, “I can only do what I will least regret.”

With a charge forward, Daella sped toward Karin. With a fire in her eyes, Daella did not seem to have any desire to yield. Not yelling or saying anymore, the Jedi Knight intended to impale the Sith Master in the chest with all her might.

 

[Cedric Dorn]

As Karin leapt to avoid the two bisecting lightsabers the lightning finally ceased, much to the pleasure of Diana. As soon as the blue purple sparks stopped scourging her body she seemed to relax slightly, her muscles loosening and her jaw unhinging in sheer relief. The fight was not yet over, but the lightning that had ravaged her body had done its due course. Smoke rose from the Jedi Knight as her lightsaber flew towards her.

She caught the weapon, barely and it made a slight slapping noise as it touched her palm.

As soon as the weapon was in her hand Diana stood to her full height, smoke coming off her in droves. The force rushed through the Jedi, imbuing every muscle and bone with light. It was not healing, there was no such thing in combat, but instead it was a way to keep her going.

Like a Siamese twin Diana moved at the same time as @[member="Daella Apparine"], bounding forward with her two lightsabers. She sliced Tyrfing towards Karin's two legs, hoping to sever both at the same time while bring her lightsaber in an upwards direction in an effort to slice off her right arm.

 

[Louise]

Not this time.

They say third time's a charm but it wasn't to be for @[member="Diana Moridena"], every time that her determined blonde companion attacked she would rush in alongside, seeming to be the quicker of the two Karin swiftly directed a palm towards her, an incredibly focused force push would have been enough to keep the Jedi from taking any more limbs. Hopefully this time she would crack her head open against the Enclave walls.

Karin hadn't completely lost her mind, the Sith hadn't forgotten of @[member="Daella Apparine"]'s existence.

The yellow lightsaber sank into her chest with ease, it felt as if the sun was burning within her chest. It was time to put this plant body to the limits. The first thing that the Sith did, almost instinctively was to grab onto the woman's lightsaber hilt, to prevent the Jedi from simply flicking the blade upwards and through her head.

“EVERYTHI͜N͢G! ”

Karin stared straight into those determined eyes of Daella's, face contorted into a mask of lunacy. The anguish of being impaled through the chest was again the perfect fuel, alongside her loathing and personal terrors the Sith Master began to emanate the dark side.

“I̶̛S̴͘!̡͠ “

Her aim was to sap the will of the woman, to rob her of all hope and courage and to fill her mind with all the horrors and anguish of the galaxy. Snuff out the lights. This was not an aura to affect them both, but a concentration of Dorn's infernal will directed straight at Daella. She longed to see her wither in madness, to be left in a catatonic state, a mere husk of the tenacious woman that she was at this moment.

"F̶́̕͟͡Ų̸̶̴̕T̀͘Ì̕L̶̴̴͜͝E̷!̢̢̛"

 

[Soeht]

As Daella’s lightsaber pierced @[member="Karin Dorn"]’s chest, Daella did not slow down. She continued until the hilt pressed against the charred sternum of the Sith. She seemed oblivious to @[member="Diana Moridena"]’s plight. Daella’s immediate reaction to Karin’s continued life was to recoil. Yet, she could not pull her lightsaber out as Karin grabbed the hilt. Despite her prowess as a duelist, Daella was physically weak. One could assume that she only fought as direct and aggressive as she did due to Karin’s disposition.

Now, Daella could not execute Karin in her current predicament. She also refused to be liberated of her lightsaber - which she made herself. Daella’s blue eyes peered toward Karin’s as the dark side of the Force enveloped the pair.

At first when Karin attempted to instill fear into Daella’s heart, she remained resolute. Daella maintained a tensed face with focused eyes. She bared her teeth as she physically struggled to pull away from Karin.

Yet the moment Karin uttered her final word, Daella’s face relaxed as if numbed. Her jaw slightly dropped - leaving her lips just slightly parted. Her eyes widened and pupils dilated. For a moment, Karin could peer into the abyssal depths within Daella’s eyes.

Since Daella had been taken to the Jedi Order, she seemed to be isolated from the rest of the Younglings. She always maintained an icy demeanor. At first, instructors believed this to be a grievous fault and a sign that she was not fit to be a Jedi.

Yet during what should have been a routine journey, Daella’s Initiate Clan, Wampa Clan, had been captured by a dark side acolyte that used the underworld of Coruscant as a base of operations. For days, the Younglings faced torture - mostly mental - at the hands of the acolyte.

It was not as if all the Younglings turned to the dark side, yet many had broken down during the ordeal instead a helpless state. The rest either did not have the strength to face, or in the case of Daella stood against their captor.

Rather unmoved by the acolyte’s attempts to mess with the Youngling’s minds, Daella managed to bring about his defeat with only the tools available to her - and she did so alone. It had been noted since the beginning of her Jedi training that she was precocious in terms of combat skill - yet fighting what likely was a man just below the level of a Sith Apprentice boggled the minds of the Jedi Instructors once they discovered what happened.

Wampa Clan received Daella warmly since the event. Yet, Daella remained at a distance. Even for those that sought advice from her, Daella never seemed to give much in the way of socializing.

Even for her supposed Bladesister Diana and Padawan Sopher, Daella hardly gave a friendly face to them. Her focus remained on the missions they were given - as always.

So, whether Karin realized it or not, she had faced a Jedi that isolated herself from the galaxy - and in return, removed unnecessary outside influence from hindering her thoughts. Daella actively sought to remain as an island - independent and steady.

Daella’s fears were her own. Her thoughts were her own. Her desires were her own. She kept her own counsel and remained focused on what she needed to do - keeping the window to her heart locked and her feelings suppressed.

Yet in the heat of the moment as Karin lashed out with the dark side of the Force, Daella’s eyes opened. Through the brief flash of memory that pierced the void in her pupils, a figure she viewed as her father appeared. As she claimed when the Jedi questioned her abilities, the man trained her - hardened her heart. At the same time, he had set a high, almost unattainable example inflated only by the passing of time - to the point that Daella still maintained that she was a weak, powerless girl.

More remained within Daella. Karin might have been able to uncover more and push it out to the point of instilling lunacy in the girl. Yet as Karin and other Sith that have tried done so before, they blindingly lashed out with the dark side hoping to hook onto something. As Daella claimed earlier, it seemed misdirected.

Several seconds had passed. Daella’s pupils contracted once more - cutting off the Sith Master. Thus, Karin could see nothing more within Daella.

Once again, Daella’s face tensed up. She returned to glaring at the Sith Master with focused determination.

Just a foot or two away from Karin, Daella yelled, “No more!”

Without a second more, Daella drove her lightsaber forward. She would continue to drive her feet into to slam Karin into the Jedi Enclave wall behind the Sith. Just as she did as she charged at the Karin beforehand, Daella did not yell nor scream nor say anymore.

 

[Cedric Dorn]

Diana was struck by the wave of the force like a brick wall. In the shock of it she lost her grip on her lightsaber, the blade shut off and the energy spider carapace hilt fell on the floor, rolling towards @[member="Daella Apparine"].

At the same time Diana flew back against the Enclave wall, thrashing her against the heavy stonework and causing the concrete to crack slightly where her back struck it. She let out a silent moan in pain as she felt a rib or two break. Her eyes popped open and she fell to the floor. She shivered slightly as pain ran through her body, unable to stand up. She couldn't move, hurt ran throughout her entire form and she whimpered slightly.

It was up to her bladesister now to slay the Sith(@[member="Karin Dorn"]), she needed time.

 

[Louise]

Again, a fleeting victorious moment.

Karin truly believed that she had got the Jedi, like a fish caught by the hook of despair. To keep up the analogy I guess you could say that Daella was just too big of a fish, the Sith saw it in the woman's eyes before she even said a word. The line had snapped, the fish, gone.

The tables had turned so swiftly that there was danger of emotional whiplash, the battle that took place between their stares was the proof of that.

So far the Lady Dorn had been making the decisions of madness, a far cry from the usually calm, cold and calculated Karin Dorn. There was no chance in Chaos that she would have usually gone chasing after unknown hostile forces on her own with murder on the mind. It was doubtful that in her usual state of mind that she would have even entered the enclave. No, no. Send in the troopers and manipulate the atmosphere from afar.

Am I losing my mind?

A realisation was made as the Sith Master smashed into the wall behind her. This was the price of immortality, the punishment for her once careless application of Sith sorcery, her mind. Karin had committed years of her life to the pursuit of knowledge and now it would simply slip away, leaving her like a petulant toddler, incapable, ridiculous.


No, take my sight, my touch, my life. Leave my brain, don't take my thought. Please.

Her mental begging would fall on deaf ears. This was her ultimate fear, the Sith wasn't even concerned by the lightsaber that was still stuck in her chest, pain be damned, this was even beyond concerns for her daughter The terror was pure on the face of Karin Dorn.

“...help me."

@[member="Diana Moridena"], @[member="Daella Apparine"]

 

[Soeht]

@[member="Karin Dorn"]’s whisper did not seem to reach Daella. As soon as she forced Karin against the wall, she pulled back on her lightsaber and escaped Karin’s grasp. She looked back toward @[member="Diana Moridena"] for a second. Then, she stretched out her blistered left hand. Diana’s lightsaber then flew from the ground into Daella’s hand.

A bright blue blade ignited in Daella’s left hand. Daella gave no word of peace to Karin. She raised both arms up - a light, greenish light shined upon Karin as their colors combined.

Then, Daella slashed down on Karin. The blades sliced through the fibers of Karin’s neck. The lightsabers seared the tissue and severed it. It would normally have been a lethal for a humanoid as Karin was beheaded. Daella continued to look into Karin’s eyes as she held her pose - arms crossed and lightsaber blades pointed to the sides.

After several seconds passed, Daella stood straight up and deactivated the lightsaber.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered just below a volume that Diana would hear.

 

[Louise]

Not only did Daella not hear the Sith's plea for help she unfortunately did not believe that killing her was futile. In the seconds before her decapitation, Karin wrestled back a part of herself, a certain look, a glare if you will. It was the eyes of the disapproving mother, a shrivelling gaze that communicated one simple last message:

You stupid girl, do you not listen?

Funnily enough, the spirit of Karin Dorn did not stick around to observe this scene's aftermath or even to see if how many times her decapitated head rolled. This was a pity actually, for the woman wished to know how many times the eyes could blink after the head had been separated from the body.

There were no dramatic scenes, she did not encounter the demons of her past once more, there was also to be no gloating of her eternal punishment. One second she was a plant-woman on Dantooine and then a blink later a force ghost on Thule. What a dreadful planet it was, to think that she had once resided there. She had spawned back in front of her statue, her original death tribute.

Usually at this point a dry quip would be made, something snappy yet appropriate for the situation.

However, she was still emotionally stunned. The revelation that a lifetime of learning was to be wasted, that at the end of the day she would eventually become some kind of husk of the dark side, cackling and talking in demented clichés or perhaps something even worse. What a thought.

The Sith stalked through the castle, choosing to be invisible in the glorified brothel instead of having to deal with those who chose to dwell there. Down down down. To the oft abandoned basement that she had spent so much time reading in, there in her old chair, flicking through her old tomes was a young Devaronian woman.

“It is time, my child.”

 

[Soeht]

As soon as @[member="Karin Dorn"]’s spirit passed from the planet body, Daella dropped to her knees. The suffocating sensation of the dark side of the Force faded away. Both lightsaber hilts fell from her hands and deactivated. Blood dripped from her cracked right hand. Her head leaned down. Smoke from the barrage of lightning still emanated from her body. Her eyes remained on Karin’s body for several seconds. She kept her silence.

Noticing a ornate necklace draped over the headless corpse and still untouched, Daella stretched out with her hands and took it. No trace of the dark side of the Force could be felt from it. The necklace had no outstanding properties except in its unique design - set apart so much in its looks from other necklaces that those intimate with Karin might have recognized it. Daella stored the necklace in a pouch secured to her Jedi utility belt.

Clenching her hands and teeth, Daella hissed in apparent pain. She pressed her knuckles against the metal floor and pushed herself back onto her feet. She turned back to @[member="Diana Moridena"] with her back hunched over. With her right arm limp to her side and shuffling steps, Daella made her way to her fellow Jedi.

Once near Diana, Daella looked down at her comrade. Her breath was heavy as she looked at Diana with a relaxed face. For a moment, Daella turned back to Karin’s body. After a long sigh, Daella turned back to Diana.

Bending her knees, Daella reached down to lightly place her left hand on Diana’s head. After a gentle nudge, Daella calmly told Diana, “Get up.”