Public LOTS │ Tenets of the Lightsaber (Open to all Sith)

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Arcturus," he corrected as he hefted the boy to his feet and then took a step back. "But you can just call me Thesh. Same as the rest."​

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He huffed a slow breath, trying to let his body adjust to the various sensations, his breathing to return to a more neutral state. Did they continue? They hadn't finished the session, Maliphant had not called for a change in partners. Were they permitted a moments respite, or were they expected to continue on?​

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Thesh rolled his ankles, first the left and then the right, and tried to adjust to the sensation left over. While the burns weren't deep they were still there. Nothing a little bacta wouldn't solve, that seemed to be the recurring theme of today.​

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"You want to go again, or you want to pause for a few?"​

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If they paused they could potentially get back to a state where both were able to fight competently again. To go now left one with poor use of their hands, and the other poor use of their legs.​

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He didn't mind either way.​

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Rax Tremira ​

 

[Rax Tremira]

The boy leaned down, picking up the jagged saber with a firm grip. Those light incisions causing his face to contort with what may have been taken with the most miniscule amount of pleasure. The weapon activated in answer to Thesh's question. The saber that was held firm before at first seemed to wobble lightly in his grip, to which he noted the others previous use of the Force to accentuate his moves. In addition to the movements of the others around him. The burns on his wrists were nothing with the Force at his command. Rax seemed to lose focus on the other, staring at the blade that he pointed at Thesh.

"Thesh..." Rax hissed at him, focusing on his arms. Slowly, but surely; that shaky blade steadied up. becoming more and more still as he had time to focus on it. Then, without warning, movement. No movement that Thesh had seen from him so far, this movement was Force-assisted. A light blur closing the distance with a roar of anger. The blade came from above Rax's right shoulder, bringing it down with full Force on what he hoped was an unsuspecting opponent. Hit, or miss. His arms began to shake again, not having the fortitude to maintain his focus just yet.

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"So be it" came his smooth response as the lad ignited his blade once more, and Thesh took up a Makashi ready stance in response. No flourish this time, no salute, just guard up and ready.​

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He kept the Force flowing freely this time, using it to both aid in his movements while also drawing upon the pain in his head and in his ankles to further supplement the innate darkness. That whining song drew through the air like out of tune violins, enough that he grit his teeth against it and channeled it through him.​

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The pace of the youngster was fast, still not quite Alina levels but enough that deflection which followed was hasty, sloppy. He stopped it from striking him full force, but the tip of the boys blade still singed through his shirt and landed a nasty burn upon his chest all the same.​

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With a growl of pain he pushed out with his blade, hoping once more to knock the boy back and keep their blades from succumbing to a continued lock.​

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"You're a fast little thing, aren't you?" he quipped, noticing how the boy shook slightly under the strain of all he had endured, and all he had done.​

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With that push he pulled back, taking a few steps away and shaking his head. He disignited his blade, though kept his guard up through the Force in case Rax chose to continue his assault. "I'm making the call. Take a minute, you're going to start making mistakes shaking as you are. You can't be too proud to know when it's time to step down. That's how you get killed."​

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How many times had Thesh been forced to retreat back on that rimworld? He'd have been nothing more than supper to some of those beasts if he hadn't. Well there weren't the same caliber of wild animals to contend with here, or in civilized parts of society, but that didn't mean they were any less hungry for blood.​

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Rax Tremira ​

 

[Darth Arkanus]

Spinning his blade in his hand, his eyes glanced between Alina Tremiru and The Asphodel taking a deep breath. He would take the brunt of Darth Empyrean 's attack and allow for the two of them to attack with a little more freedom. Maliphant wasn't going to slack at the assault but if he could focus his attention on him then it would hopefully allow for more room for the rest of the team to move.

Readying his feet, he leaned in towards the Sith, then with a blink of an eye the man was ontop of the sith lord, unleashing a flurry of attacks, slicing with the front of his blade and then the back, slicing towards one side then attacking at the other. In this his attempt was to force Maliphant to have to block him whilst his compatriots could attack at his sides.

He flared his blackened teeth at the man as he focused his attention on assaulting the man. Dral knew that the man had an advantage over him, his blade was truly only more effective to those who did not know how to handle it, but with Maliphant's years of experience Dral's double-bladded lightsaber was just as easy as any other to counter.

Spoiler: Teeth

 

[Alina Tremiru]

That brief moment of eye contact with Darth Empyrean as she rushed forward told her immediately that she failed to truly surprise him. The knee cracked into her chin, sending her stumbling back as she tried to clear her head of the sharp pain it brought. She groaned softly, her eyes near watering as she rubbed at the forming bruise.

That certainly hurt a lot. But she'd almost hit him. Almost. They were getting better. Learning how each other moved. She gave a brief nod to Darth Arkanus and The Asphodel before turning her gaze back on the Sith Lord. The same tactic wouldn't work, but she could still use her speed to her advantage. She rushed right in after Dral, purposely moving around him, under his blade, striking with more force against the Lord before hoping back. Dancing through.

 

[Rax Tremira]

Hell, he wasn't wrong. Rax was heaving lightly at this point. Just a tough cookie. As the other made his suggestion, and more importantly once he had deactivated his saber, Rax deactivated his own, and made a controlled collapse down on one knee. The saber was placed on the floor, open palmed placed on the ground as he simply breathed. This training was hard... Harder than he had expected. The people at the academy, the kids his age were easy competition, or at least easy enough for him. This person was well trained, and had battle experience. Perhaps even the killer-oriented experience that Rax had endured in his time on Dromund Kass, and eventually Korriban.

He wanted to roll over, and lay on his back to be very honest; but he fought that urge, instead he focused his mind elsewhere. He has asked him a question hadn't he? Rhetorical as it may be, Rax's eyes drifted to the melee that was taking place between Darth Maliphant, and the three others. It made his own showing look pale in comparison. "I learned it from that woman there..." he pointed at Alina Tremiru . "I must become stronger, to give her a worthy battle. I swore that... I have no intention of failing in that objective." Rax admitted, eyes moving to lock on Thesh. With the same notion of peeling an onion, the more Thesh spoke, and showed sensitivity to Rax, he seemed to open up a little more... More willing to speak, instead of just hacking away at the other with a saber. Leaning back, he would sit with legs crossed, wiping sweat away as he observed the match between the four.

 

[The Asphodel]

Arms Race​

First the ears, now the throat, Asphodel threw himself backward to dodge the saber aimed for his windpipe. Some limbs, quite a few of them actually, were more replaceable than others yet despite that and the added protection of training sabers, his throat was a part of him he'd rather remain unscathed. That didn't discount the rush of adrenaline, nor the smell of burning as some of his hair got in the motion of things. A shame, he quite liked his hair.

Jumping back on his feet, the quick shared glance and nod between himself, Darth Arkanus , and Alina Tremiru had a momentary smirk tug at his lips. It was his turn to be slow to approach, observing both the brute force and the dance before jumping in himself. There was something about the near-miss of before that served as both a deterrent from a similar situation but also an idea. If he could get his hands on the staff - preferably not the lit end - then perhaps it'd slow Darth Empyrean just enough for another to land a hit.

Whether his arms could survive such an attempt, well...Arms weren't the hardest thing to replace.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Alina Tremiru and Darth Arkanus deftly moved between each other in an attempt to capitalize on Maliphant being on the back foot - for at least the moment. The strikes were well timed, but as Dral expected Maliphant knew the secret to his double bladed lightsaber - that where one blade was, the other was soon behind, meaning he only had to mind one of them. Alina, however, through another variable into the mix, dancing between his strikes. For the moment, Maliphant could do little more than hold his ground - dancing around while one foot remained planted, a little test to see if he could keep on at least one solid platform while the three attacked.

However, the sudden attempt at being disarmed by The Asphodel was slightly unexpected - and foolish. He would find a grip on the staff, but the feedback would be visceral and instant; a thousand images flashing through his mind, a violent shock through the force throwing him back, and the hard sensation of durasteel beneath him as he landed. The visions wouldn't stop even as he was free of its touch - constant, pensive, a thousand deaths in the span of a few seconds; but its speed and intensity would fade as it passed. Any longer, and Maliphant couldn't have guaranteed the apprentice would survive his encounter with the staff.

He sighed as he glanced back up - his staff stopping Darth Arkanus 's blade, while his forearm was raised and stopped Alina Tremiru 's from the other side. It seemed they had gotten their first hit on the Sith Lord, and while it was done in his momentary reaction to save the third of them, he couldn't help but feel encouraged their efforts.

"Good.", he said with a smile, but it was short lived.

The staff deactivated and twisted with an unreal speed in the bind, driving the open dragon mouth of his staff towards the jaw of Dral. It would bite and hold, lifting him up and breaching the skin as blood would start to trail down his neck - held aloft by nothing but Maliphant's strength and the phrik core of the pike. Alina would feel the same effort she had a moment before - the Force moving to grip her neck and left her up alongside Dral.

"You've fault well, Acolytes - remember what I've taught you today, and you will yet eclipse the light.", Maliphant offered before the Force released them both from their grip, letting them fall to the floor to join Asphodel.

"And The Asphodel - Don't touch my staff again.", he said plainly.

It slowly misted in his hand, disappearing into a black mist before his hands fell behind his back once more - glancing between those gathered.

"Does anyone have questions?"

Rax Tremira │ Arcturus Dinn │ Grundark │ Velok Brokentusk │ Chasianna │ Quintus Varro

 

[Darth Arkanus]

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TAG: Darth Empyrean | Alina Tremiru | The Asphodel​

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Grasping for air, his eyes widened as his eyes laid upon Darth Maliphant, feeling his blood slowly begin to flow from his neck, trailing down his body as his eyes looked upon the man who held him up. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed Alina sliding into place next to him. Gasping for air as his hands clawed towards his throat attempting to find some purchase on oxygen.​

Not a second to soon, his feet felt purchase on the ground as he was dropped like a rag doll. Gasping and sputtering, Dral took a few deep breaths of air before standing back up and looking at the dark lord, his eyes flaring fury as he held himself back. He was nowhere near as powerful as the Darth and would not stand a chance in a battle against him.​

Looking upon the saber that he had crafted so long ago, he had realized that although it had served him well, in the galaxy they lived in it was almost as worthless as a plain lightsaber. Hooking it back onto his hip he clenched his jaw, it had failed him for the last time, he would not allow for himself to be bested again.​

Dral stood with the groups of Acolytes that had made it, to the assumed end of the lesson, his ears awaiting any closing remarks or questions that he could take and train more on his own time. Although he had gloriously got his butt kicked, he knew that it was more to help them grow stronger than to make them feel worthless. At least, that is what he chose to take from the lesson.​

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[Alina Tremiru]

For a moment Alina looked quite pleased with herself. A direct hit against Darth Empyrean was what the challenge seemed to be, but to actually succeed wasn't something she expected. The moment passed just as quickly as it came, however, when the pressure returned to her throat. Their reward for winning. She gritted her teeth as she was lifted in the air, but she did not struggle. If she needed to break free, she needed to control herself to do so. The seconds passed, and she already started to try and sever the Force crushing her throat.

Then she was dropped. She hacked and coughed, one hand rubbing her throat as she gulped down precious air. Once she did have her breath back, she pushed herself to her feet, glaring at the Sith Lord. Preparing for another round.

But it was over. The tension left her shoulders as she lowered the training saber, letting the blade extinguish. That was it then? No, she wanted to learn more. But pushing her luck would earn worse than a few moments without air. "Thank you, Darth Maliphant." She muttered the thanks before stepping over to drop off the saber where she'd gotten it. There was no more reason to stay.