GBA: Krest vs Vrag

[Darth Ferus]

As [member="Vrag"] came in close however, the force he had built up had shifted. He turned his form mid fall, forcing his left hand over. Then there was a grin on his face. His left hand had crossed over his stomach, and his palm was aimed right at her. The force became a powerful blast as her lightsaber got close, meant to blow her clear back from him.

That's when the tears started. The oddly shimmering droplets of water would drip down to his arm, covering the gash. They seemed to stick there though, and a slight hiss could be heard as he himself grimaced.

What would happen next would depend on the blasts effectiveness.

 

[Vrag]

The kark?

The Sith had perhaps a fraction of a second to react when his body started twisting, and she did what any self-respecting fighter would do. Her muscles ceased all resistance as her thumb slid across the switch of the lightsaber, and when the anticipated blast hit her upper body, Vrag went with its momentum. Her feet skidded across the meadow for a few inches before she managed to fall into a backwards roll, passing over her left shoulder as she concluded the maneuver. Black boots dug into the untainted soil of Naboo as the woman sprang back to her feet.

Her opponent had apparently managed to aim his — were those tears? — at his burned arm even as he was in the process of Force pushing her away, but the firrerreo cared little for his theatrical skills. If that was supposed to instill some sort of mercy or kindness in her mind, Vrag certainly wasn't impressed with the attempt. Her fingers clenched into a fist as she yanked his abandoned sword from the ground and flung it at the crybaby, charging at him from the side at the same time. Instead of going for a full-body slam, however, the Sith kicked her legs forward at the last moment, for the most powerful muscles in the body were the rectus and the vasti of the thigh, the ones that would transfer the destructive power of two hundred pounds imbued with Force speed and anger.

Her opponent was on the ground, and Vrag was determined on booting the presumptions zabrak into his beautifully exposed head. Or maybe the neck. If she got extremely unlucky her kick would probably meet his glenohumeral joint, or perhaps even the humerus. Long story short; bones would be broken, blood would be spilled.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Those tears had a purpose. After learning a rather ponent and fast acting healing concoction from one of his apprentices, he had literally changed his tear ducks to produce the solvent. As to why they would go on his arm, well. With his sword flying at him from one side, her coming from the other, and him on his back he did the first thing that came to mind.

Catch his sword [member="Vrag"] had so willing given back to him. His right arm, still very much in the process of healing, moved across his chest to where his sword was coming. A light pull, and instead of the blade coming at him, it would be the hilt. Grasping it just as her boot was about to go for his head, he swung it wide and hard, aiming to use her own kick to enforce the blow.

His body would turn so he was laying on his right side as soon as his blade came around, and his left would fire off another push, this one not to push the female, but himself away. Utilizing the momentum, he would plant his hands against the ground after a small distance and use them to leap back. Landing once more in his feet, the force would be channeling around his form. Still he had no force signature however.

 

[Vrag]

Attacking plate armor with a sword is generally a bad idea. Attacking plate armor infused with Force speed is a far worse idea, even. But attacking that same, Force-quickened plate armor at its arguably thickest point, with a massive blow coming from the opposite direction... well. Let's just say that no matter the material of the sword, that blade was toast. A toast shattered to smithereens, granted, but toast nonetheless.

Apparently nobody had ever told this particular fighter that you were supposed to hit plate with blunt weapons. Oh, well.

Seeing as the man was trying to hit something on the right side of his head with a two-handed sword in his left hand, the attack — as one could expect — wasn't exactly well-aimed. Not to mention that its accuracy would be further affected by the speed with which its wielder would have to bring it around, doubtlessly resulting in a rather sloppy strike overall.

It did connect, however, its poorly aligned edge glancing off her armor-clad boot as the armored foot continued towards his head; somewhat lower, yes, but the nature of the attack and its trajectory didn't have nearly enough stopping power to slow down two hundred pounds hurling through the air at considerable speed.


[member="Krest"]

[Post cutting again, lovely. Nobody is that fast. ]

 

[Darth Ferus]

His push, however, was more then enough to send him back. The altered sword the weight of a hammer within the hand of a man augmented with the strength of five men through the force, was enough to slow the kick and let his push send him back enough to flip to his feet. Flicking the unscathed blade in his hand, as the metal was made to be indestructible and a meer kick to it would do little, no matter how augmented it may have been. Asides. The blade was able to cut through metal a light saber could, if not as fast.

Now he was simply on his feet, the force briming thorough his form. The tears by this point had stopped, as there was no reason to use the limited healing solvent any longer. But he was ready for her rush again. If she had proven anything, she enjoyed bursting forward.

 

[Vrag]

The weight of a hammer, perhaps, but certainly not the balance point of one, as its user well should know after wielding it for such a long time. A moot point, anyhow, as his poorly aimed strike somehow still slowed her down, and the Sith unceremoniously ploughed into the field with her boots. She came to an awkward stop some inches in the furrowed soil even as her opponent managed to flip backwards in an awesome display of agility despite the burn in his side. Oh, well. Must be his zabrak heritage, or something. If all the members of his species were as strong and as fast as he, it was high time that she tumbled between the sheets with a few; must make for excellent lovers, with that flexibility and stamina.

She picked herself up with practiced motions, her red blade hissing to life once more as she found her balance again. Had their roles been reversed — quite impossible, really, since Vrag could never hope to do so many things in the span of a second — she would have exploited the window of opportunity, whereas her adversary just stood there, watching her. Not that she was complaining, really; if she'd learned anything about his fighting style since the duel had begun, it was that he lacked technique, but covered for his foolish mistakes with awe-inspiring feats of reflex and speed.

The Sith held her blade in the fourth guard and watched the man with a cool gaze behind her visor, her body relaxed and ready for whatever he would try and throw at her.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

A sigh would escape the lips of the red man. [member="Vrag"] had been a really impressive pest, constantly pushing him to the ground, in a corner. No less then what he should of expected from a Makashi user though. They were always excellent with their footwork and just generally planning out their attacks. His gaze would flick down to his sword in his right hand, then to the saber in his left. Good, he had both weapons again.

Shifting again, both feet would be brought close together, and his torso would turn to the left. With his right foot facing his opponent, he would turn both his weapons downwards, also angling them to the right. Both hilts would be close together, and a snap hiss would have the lightsaber burn back into existence. The burn on his side did little to prevent his movements. Zabrak were born with a much higher pain tolerance then most, and Krest (not by a choice of his own) built up onto that. And what was a burn on his side when he had his heart burned out of his chest once upon a time?

No, a small burn was going to do nothing to him in this fight. Letting pain get in the way of your movements is death. And he simply couldn't afford death. The Force that was brimming around him finally took shape. Bringing his right hand, three of his fingers would lift off of the hilt, and a barrage of electronic judgement would burst out. The emerald lighting ripped through the air for his opponent, but asides from lifting his hand, he did not move from his stance.

 

[Vrag]

He telegraphed his intentions again, and the woman dropped down to her knees immediately, shifting from the quarte to the sixth guard, to defend her head and upper body from any incoming attacks. Her blue eyes widened when instead of a Force push or something similar, the self-proclaimed Sith hunter projected lightning from his fingers, probably betraying whatever order he belonged to.

The first few bolts that hit licked their way down her metal plate and into the earth below, for current has a much greater affinity for metal and wet soil than flesh. As any proper fighter would, she was wearing insulating clothing underneath her armor, both for padding and additional protection. Her paralysis only lasted seconds, however, and the woman yanked her precious picnic blanket up in the air between them, all the assorted food splattering on the ground. Oh, well. She'll charge the damage to his credit account after the day was done.

Fabric, as most people know, is non-conductive, yet prone to catching fire if exposed to, say, electricity for more than a few seconds. The firrerreo threw the burning blanket at her opponent, effectively covering his field of view with angry flames as her lightsaber sang through the air behind it, hidden and deadly as it came in low to sever his spry legs mid-thigh.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Electronic Judgement wasn't the same as lightning. No, it was the lightside version. Of course, light or dark didn't matter to him. He was no Jedi after all. The burning blanket however, now that was something he hadn't expected. He would cut off the lightning as soon as it burst into fire. But her charge forward, something he could feel through the force, was. Her form and attack was very well hidden, but he could feel her being charge forward.

So rather then stay put, he would leap backwards, his saber turning off as he did. Bringing his left hand around, he would send a push as soon as she would get to the blanket. But it wasn't to knock her back. No, he was aiming to wrap the burning cloth around her form.

And then increase the heat. From even before his time as a Sith Krest had an affinity with flame. The deWinter known as Asteria had taught him to control fire, make it his own. His sword was even meant to help control it. But it wasn't his best of his skills. Yet with the fire blanket, he would use this skill once more. The flame would turn from it's glistening red and yellow to a deep purple, the mark of his control of the flame. The fire itself would begin to heat up, burning much hotter then it would without his manipulation. He was going to roast [member="Vrag"] within her armor.

This was, of course, the image that went through his head as the saber that had been expertly thrown at him proceeded to remove his upper torso from it's base. He would die quickly, his last moments of the duel still continuing.

[member="Vrag"]

 

[Vrag]

It was a good thing, really, that she hadn't gotten very far into her dinner before the man had interrupted her, or that half-digested food would be doing its best to make an encore. Vrag swallowed a sudden surge of bile and caught the saber as it returned from its lethal journey, the hilt covered in hot, sticky blood and fat. The blanket, no longer suspended by the Force, fell to the ground, the small flames licking away whatever was left of the charred fabric.

She approached her downed opponent with careful, but quick steps, blade at the ready even though her rational mind knew that he was done for.

Slice and dice, the morbid thought flickered through her head as Vrag sidestepped the mess on the grass and came to a stop a few paces away from the dying zabrak. The fingers of her left hand twitched, and the Sith went to yank his weaponry from his doubtlessly lax grip. She would step down on his left wrist, barely flinching at the sound of cracking bone, and then deliver the coup de grâce with a short, but accurate strike from the first guard.

The decapitating blow would end the last torturous seconds of his existence, sparing him an agonizing death; even if he had trampled her precious sweetroll. Vrag wasn't merciless, just practical.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

[member="Vrag"] | [member="Krest"]​

​

The winner is: VRAG.​

Clearer posts and some KILLER, really smart attacks/counterattacks. THAT BURNING BLANKET.​

Vrag post #10: Nice, nice, NICE. Looking for moments like this – little things, or holes in the opponent’s attack but just little opportunities – are very, very cool and a great start.

Krest post #11: Right off the bat, I see a ton of improvement since the last time I read a full thread from you. This post is clear, concise – I can visualize it easily and I really like the addition of Krest’s intentions post-attack if he gets a chance. I would caution against TOO much planning afterwards though, it can detract from your attack.

Vrag post #12: Nice use of economy of movement.

Krest post #15: Cool, quick application of the Force – I like that you pointed out it probably wouldn’t do much considering you had little time to build it and Vrag is wearing heavier armor, but that its intention was only buying a little space anyway.

Vrag, you have a REALLY great habit of pressing every single advantage you can find both mid-attack and between them, and they all make sense. Relentless as hell, I love it. You paint a clear picture of both the environment and your movements save for a few spots and really strive for economy of movement while delivering the biggest blows you can. My only critique is to keep the ‘opponent’s move was stupid’ stuff light. If the person you’re fighting does something that REALLY doesn’t make sense and it’s to your detriment NOT to comment, I’m in full support. But in general a judge will always pick up on your ability to use another’s mistakes to your advantage.

Krest, this is the best I’ve read from you. I was able to visualize everything you gave me, and you threw a bunch of creative ideas out. I feel you did a good job of saving your more intricate/powerful force powers for later in the fight. My critique for you here, and after reading a few of your duels a critique in general, is pacing. If you read this duel in particular back, you’ll see in the beginning that the beginning had a strange stop-start tempo, not stalling so much as ‘does something for a post, stops doing anything for a post’. This was corrected later in the fight but we see it again when Krest is healing himself/baiting Vrag closer. Generally anything more than one post in one place is leaving yourself open to big damage and you should find another way to make your intended attack modified to work. But like I said, this was a bomb duel to read from you, I enjoyed it immensely. And that ending was gnarly, kudos for taking that gruesome death.

That said, this was really fun to read – great job both of you!