First Reply Lightsabers Clash

[Hwo]

The wind howled, air heavy with the smell of rain. Distant lightning followed by rolling thunder. Hwo moved onward. He was close now, he could feel it. It had never been clear who was tracking who. What was clear is that they had found each other. The familiar hilt of his lightsaber gripped tightly in his right hand, the green blade yet to be ignited. His adversary would soon show their face.





ooc: Old fashioned duel, no need for backstory, short posts. Just working out the cobwebs and scratching an itch.

 

[Darth Reign]

Darth Reign had sensed the Jedi Master long before he saw him. Igniting his crimson blade he took his form V ready stance, this would be his first measure of combat against a true master.

 

[Hwo]

The red glow of the Sith’s blade cut through the darkness before the clouds shifted, the moonlight finally revealing his foe. Hwo ignited his own lightsaber, the familiar green blade snapping to life. He shifted forward on his left leg, extending his left hand as his right arm brought his weapon up and over his shoulder. He readied in a defensive stance, assessing his opponent, then charged. After several steps, he leapt, bringing his off hand up into a two handed grip for an overhead strike powered by his forward momentum.

———
Darth Reign

 

[Darth Reign]

As the Jedi came crashing down in an overhead slash, the Dark Lord recognized his own form. Moving deftly out of the way, The Sith swung his saber around coming at the Jedi master in a downward diagonal slash.

The master was strong, Reign would take this seriously.

Hwo

 

[Hwo]

The Sith Lord moved swiftly, dodging Hwo’s initial strike. His blade nearly made contact with the ground before he reversed the momentum, bringing his lightsaber back up, over, and behind while twisting his body away, turning his back to his opponent. When he felt the SIth’s blade clash with his own just behind his shoulders, he continued the dance, completing the 360 degree rotation while their lightsabers remained in contact. Hwo now faced his dark adversary, nearly close enough to feel his breath, sparks still flying off of their kissing swords.


——
Darth Reign

 

[Darth Reign]

As the Jedi master locked their sabers together, Reign used the force to amplify his strength. Pushing at the other man. Pushing forward with all his might, he broke the saber lock and brought his blade down for a crushing vertical strike. Looking to strike the Jedi in two.

Hwo

 

[Hwo]

Hwo stumbled back a step, temporarily losing his footing from the Sith’s push. Without time to regain his posture, he dropped to one knee to brace himself and brought his lightsaber above him, the powerful strike nearly pushing his blade down into his face. Once the immediate force of the crushing blow was absorbed, Hwo used his crunched position as a spring, pushing upward to his feet with his core. He created enough separation to momentarily disengage, readying himself for the next attack.

Darth Reign

 

[Darth Reign]

Taking a moment to gather himself as the combatants disengaged. Starting in a low guard, Reign put on a boost of speed, coming at the Jedi master with a flurry of strikes, finishing the combination with a flourishing strike in the air.

Hwo

 

[Hwo]

Hwo carefully stepped in reverse, the Sith’s onslaught forcing him backward. The flurry seemed chaotic, but Hwo recognized the control his foe exercised, a careful balance of power, speed, and precision. He brought his green blade to meet the red as the final, most forceful blow came down on him. Attempting to use the Sith’s momentum against him, Hwo angled slightly to the side to let his opponent follow all the way through, bringing both lightsabers toward the ground. He then slipped his blade out from beneath and spun around, using the energy from his 360 degree turn to strike diagonally from low to high.


Darth Reign

 

[Darth Reign]

Having been overextended by the Jedi Masters parry, Reign barely had enough time to dodge the diagonal strike coming up from below. A singed tunic a sign of his overconfidence.

Stepping back he raised his blade in a defensive stance. Attempting to draw the Jedi in.

Hwo

 

[Hwo]

Careful. An immediate follow up into the Sith’s defense was too risky against such a skilled opponent. Hwo instead fell back into his own defensive stance, using the momentary pause in battle to catch his breath. He studied the piercing yellow eyes illuminated by the red hue of the Sith’s lightsaber. Then he made his move.

Hwo rolled the hilt in his right hand, taking a reverse grip as he launched forward, pulling his lightsaber across his body and leading with the green blade horizontally in front of his chest. With his left hand, he attempted a slight pull with the Force, hoping to influence his foe’s weapon to drop below his attack, but knowing such a tactic was unlikely to prevail against a Sith Lord of this caliber.

Darth Reign

 

[Darth Reign]

Reign steadied himself as the Jedi Master launched towards him. Expecting to meet strength with strength.
He suddenly felt his blade fall slightly, Darth Reign allowed the blade to continue falling and shifted his tactic. Attempting to stab straight through the approaching Jedi.

Seeing who would move first. The Sith Lord or The Jedi Master.

Hwo

 

[Hwo]

A deadly miscalculation. Hwo attempted to shift momentum and abandon his attack mid-strike. A follow through could have decapitated the Sith, but it would have left him impaled, a possible draw by the death of both combatants. Instead, Hwo angled sideways, turning to lead with his left side and retracting his right arm back to the same side of the body. The red blade stabbed just in front of him.

Hwo delicately sidestepped and recovered into a low defensive stance. His left hand moved to his abdomen, feeling the superficial burn through the singed fabric of his shirt. But he could tend to his wounds later. Now he braced for the Sith’s next move.

Darth Reign

 

[Darth Reign]

Darth Reign smiled at the Jedi. This was not a duel full of quips or banter.
Two masters locked in a struggle to the death.

The Dark Lord ran towards his enemy, feigning a high strike, and switching at the last moment to come in at a diagonal slash, attempting to remove his enemy's right arm.

Hwo

 

[Hwo]

Hwo did not have to wait long for the Sith to go on the offensive. He rose up to defend the high strike with a one-handed grip, but at the last second, the Dark Lord changed course, instead coming down hard from an angle. Hwo retracted at the elbow and turned his blade from horizontal to diagonal, barely deflecting the powerful blow. He nearly lost his footing in the process, forcing him to again retreat a couple of steps while readying himself for the expected follow-up attack.

Darth Reign

 

[Darth Reign]

The Dark Lord extended his hand out, utilizing the force in an attempt to hurl his opponent.
He did not expect it to work on a master as seasoned as this one, but the ferocity of his strikes were beginning to take a toll on his physical strength.
Reign needed to slow the battle down slightly, to regain his energy.

This opponent was not as easily beaten as some of the others he had faced, the prolonged duel was wearing on him, and he was wary, knowing if he should make a mistake, it would be his last.

Hwo

 

[Hwo]

The Force move was not expected, but Hwo felt the shift in energy before the effects of the motion. Rather than be tossed to the side, he prepared himself for the loss of control and fell into it, turning two summersaults along the ground before rolling back to his feet. The rocky terrain left light scrapes along his exposed arms as he tumbled.

There were now several feet between the men, and Hwo started to circle around to the left, his lightsaber now in a reverse grip in his right hand, his off hand extended forward, acting as a sort of shield against a second attempt to manipulate his body with the Force. Let the Sith rest. Let the Sith regain his confidence. Let the Sith attack. Do not rush this. Hwo had trained his entire life to fight with patience and defense.


Darth Reign

 

[Darth Reign]

It seemed the Jedi was going to let Reign slow the pace down, he should not have been surprised, the Jedi were about patience and calm. But it did unnerve him slightly, the Jedi felt in control, something that Darth Reign did not enjoy. Darth Reign lifted his saber behind his head, the blade angled at 45 degrees, his standard ready stance. Matching the Jedi's movement, Reign began circling to his right, awaiting the opening for attack.

Moving slightly closer, the Sith Lord closed the distance between the two, it would not be with speed that he attacked this time. Taking a page from his opponent's book, Darth Reign came in with practiced and precise movements. Looking to probe the defenses instead of overwhelming them.

Starting with a soft underhand strike coming up from below, testing the waters.

Hwo

 

[Hwo]

Surprisingly, the practiced Sith responded with discipline rather than frustration. Hwo brought his inverted lightsaber forward, meeting his opponent’s blade. The soft strike allowed Hwo to pivot rather than strain to absorb the impact, so he attempted to force the Sith’s weapon down enough to slide past it, taking a shot with his elbow at the Dark Lord’s head, a reminder of the physicality these two large men were capable of.

Darth Reign

 

[Darth Reign]

He was not expecting the elbow, being rocked backward with blood shooting out of his nose the Sith was shocked.
The physicality was not something he had expected. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he used his pain and anger to fuel him. Launching at the Jedi in a renewed vigorous assault.

Hwo