Padawans Mark Sage v To'pau Namman

[Coci Heavenshield]

As the combatants enter the arena, a silence falls over the audience of Jedi gathered to watch the tournament. They are guided to the raised platform in the center of the room, and each will turn toward the end of the room and bow their respects to Grand Master Thurion Heavenshield. ​

​

They are reminded of the virtues of a fair fight, of honour, valour and respect. ​

​

When this is completed, the sound of a gong echoes through the Dojo, a sign for the combatants to salute each other and take stance. ​

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[member="Mark Sage"] v [member="To'pau Namman"]​

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

"This is it." Mark thought. "My training and hard work have led to this."
As he and his soon to be opponent entered the arena, he looked round and spotted his long time mentor, Master Avi Merron, in the audience. She waved to him, and he gave a a quick nod, acknowledging her prescience.
They stood upon a raised platform now. Mark bowed his respects to Master Heavenshield, and an announcer spoke about a fair fight and whatnot. With a slight shaking of his hand, Mark prepared his mind for the surely fierce duel ahead of him.
Suddenly, Mark felt Master Avi's presence in his mind.
"Don't worry." Her voice echoed, "You'll do fine. Just go out and try your hardest. Oh, and do try to have some fun."
"She must have sensed my nervousness." Mark thought to himself with a smirk. And suddenly, a gong rung.
It was time.
@To'pau Namman
[member="Coci Heavenshield"]

 

[To'pau Namman]

Taking a deep breath, To'pau tried to compose himself. He was in a dark tunnel and he was slowly being raised to the arena. Soon he would begin his fight. Despite the fact that this little competition was meant to encourage friendly competition and no one would really be getting hurt, To'pau couldn't help but be nervous. His competitive side was eager to begin, and he hoped he would not forsake any of his masters teachings.

As he got closer and closer, the cheering of the crowd got louder and louder. Finally, he reached the top. Gripping his Lightsaber, To'pau moved forward into the light. His eyes were blinded at first as the hot sun beat down on him, but they quickly became accustomed to the scenery. He studied his surroundings while he approached the center of the ring.

Stands had been placed everywhere and people were cheering and shouting. He couldn't make out his Master in the crowd but he hoped that she was there to watch him. To silently cheer for him. 'I will make her proud.' Mere moments seemed like hours, and just when To'pau felt like he was going to faint from the exhaustion; the gong rang.

Without making a sound, To'pau rushed towards Mark. His body moved swiftly like a snake on water, and the powerful muscles in his "tail" propelled him forward. To'pau had his blade raised high up above his head. He closed the distance between the two of them, moving surprisingly fast.

​

As he approached Mark he would attempt to slam it downwards using the strength in all four of his limbs, as well as the burst of energy that the force had given him. His attack would come down with nearly twice the strength of a regular human being due to the fact that he had twice the number of arms. Regardless whether or not his strike succeeded or not, To'pau would bring his blade back, ready for any counterattack that might be delivered from Mark.

​

The movements that To'pau executed were near perfect. Too perfect. As if they had been choreographed for hours on end in the Jedi temple training room. Much of To'pau's knowledge came from books on the various Lightsaber forms. This was both a strength and a weakness that could possibly be exploited.

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

His opponent was surprisingly fast, especially for someone with no legs. As Namman charged toward him, Mark formulated a plan in his head. His opponent obviously outgunned him when it came to strength, but when it came down to it, Mark was faster and moe agile than his opponent was.
He charged toward Namman as fast as Namman came toward him, and, as he predicted, his opponent sliced downwards with his lightsaber. Mark ducked and rolled past the attack. He returned to his feet and faced his opponent.
Now, he shed his cloak and ignited the dark green bladed lightsaber that had been hanging at his belt, swinging it around once then bringing it back to his side
@To'pau Namman

 

[To'pau Namman]

As To'pau rushed at Mark, his eyes stayed focused on him while keeping his breathing calm and steady. Once his opponent rolled out of the way of his first strike, To'pau turned his body to face him while his Lightsaber was in a ready position to defend against any attacks the his opponent might try to send towards him while his back was turned.

To his surprise, nothing came. 'He must be playing defensive. I need to make sure he doesn't tire me out before I can breach his guard.' Gritting his teeth, To'pau sent a flurry of blows towards Mark as he advanced forward. Each blow would be sent out of Mark's range, and would be leveled towards his mid section. This would make the blows hard to dodge but very easy to block or deflect.

His attacks had little chance of breaching his enemies guard, but each blow would wear down on Mark's arms. Utilizing his strength to his advantage, he hoped to tire out his opponent until he could no longer lift his blade to defend himself. To'pau would call upon the force to strengthen each and every one of his attacks to increase the fatigue and weariness that his opponent would begin to start feeling as he blocked every other blow.

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

"Ah," Mark thought, "so it's a game of whoever lasts longest wins then, eh? Two can play that one."
Mark continued his mainly defensive strategy, sending in a quick combination of blows every once in a while. Using his light weight and stamina to his advantage, he would be able to continue blocking and parrying all day long. But, that wouldn't make for a good show for the crowd, now would it?
After a minute or two more, Mark thought to himself, "Time to mix it up a bit."
Now, Mark advanced on Namman, unleashing a flurry of quick blows back to back. Mark hoped that this would help Namman tire more quickly.
@To'pau Namman

 

[To'pau Namman]

As blow after blow landed against his opponents guards, To'pau's breathing began to increase. 'Damn. This guys stamina is ridiculous. He just shrugs off every attack I do like it doesn't affect him. I will have to change up my strategy if this goes on for much longer.' Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, To'pau's eyes didn't waver from Mark's defensive form.

Presumably due to the lull in between his attacks, Mark chose this moment to become the aggressor. As his opponent began to unload a series of blows, To'pau decided that he would use his body along with his opponents forward momentum to his advantage. To'pau twisted his long tail around to sweep Mark's legs out from under him as he rushed forward. While his tail went around, To'pau used one of his four arms to try and force push Mark back. Even if he only took a step, this would probably be enough to knock him over.

If successful, To'pau would lunge downwards with his training saber in an attempt to finish the fight right then and there.

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

"Woah!"
And suddenly, Mark was tumbling through the air. If his opponent's blade caught him now, he was down for the count.
"I got too cocky." he thought.
In a moment of clarity in the blurry slow motion that the world had now become, Mark force pushed himself backward through the air.
"For every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction." he thought. He'd be a bit more tired after slamming into the floor, but he'd still be in. And that meant there was still hope, if he didn't get cocky again that was.
He shakily got up and force pulled his lightsaber back to him, which he'd dropped during the fall. He once again activated the weapon.
"Your move." he said, breathing heavily now. Sweat poured from his brow. This wasn't going to be easy, but he could finish this.
@To'pau Namman

 

[To'pau Namman]

As Mark was sent sailing through the sky, victory seemed to be almost assured in To'pau's eyes. That was until Mark used the force to push himself away from To'pau's Lightsaber which was mere inches away from hitting him in the chest and sealing the win. A surprised "Oh!" escaped To'pau, and he looked to see Mark picking himself up off the floor, Lightsaber still in hand. He was battered, bruised, and tired. But still going.

'Say whatever you want about this man, he is to be respected.' To'pau made a mental note to learn some more about his opponent after the fight, win or lose. He approached his opponent, breathing nearly as hard. As he got closer and closer, different scenarios ran through his mind as he tried to figure out a way for him to close this fight out.

Finally, once the distance between them closed; To'pau would raise his Lightsaber and attempt to slam it downwards exactly in the same way that he'd started the fight off. While he did this though, he remained ready for a roll by Mark. Hoping to bait him into it, if Mark did roll to the side, To'pau would sweep his tail around to stop him. While he did this, his Lightsaber would wheel around to catch him in the back.

If Mark didn't roll, To'pau would continue to strike downwards in the same exact way hoping that each strike would eventually bring Mark down. He put all his remaining strength into each blow, and channeled the force to help increase his strength. He would be sure to use his Lightsabers extreme length to stay out of range of any lunge or jab that Mark might attempt.

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

Mark needed to get some damage done quickly if he was going to win this. His speed and stamina had won out until now, but his opponent's strength was starting to get to him. He needed help. And so he'd get some.
He closed his eyes for a moment and pulled his lightsaber straight up in front of him, inches from his face. He allowed the force to take over. He felt its strength coursing through his veins. He may have been tired, but, while he had the force on his side, he definitely wasn't out.
To'pau moved swiftly towards him to strike what would definitely be a heavy blow down on him to tire him even more, but Mark would have none of this.
He whipped the blade around his head and brought it up to lock Namman's, holding it there, again mere inches from his own face, allowed the blades to crack and sizzle like meat on a grill. Then, through the power of the force, he pushed up. He heaved upwards with every bit of strength and courage he could muster, and, just as he was nearing his breaking point, the maneuver did it's job. He was able to unleash a small burst of force energy that pushed even Namman who was much larger than he, a skinny 15 year old, back a few yards. But, instead of rushing headlong to attempt to finish the job, he waited, standing there in no particular form of stance other than a defensive form. And he allowed his attacker to come at him once again.
@To'pau Namman

 

[To'pau Namman]

The two Lightsabers clanged together. Both he and his combatant were locked into place, each attempting to gain control over the other. Yet it was Mark that won out, and as his Lightsaber was thrown upwards; To'pau let out a shout. Just when To'pau thought his foe would capitalize on him, he was pushed backwards by a push. Apparently his opponent was just as tired as he.

This thought, along with knowing his Master was in the stands watching him, spurred To'pau onwards. He raced forward again, and this time he would swipe sideways like a baseball bat. Knowing that Mark wouldn't be able to block it effectively unless he turned his body; To'pau simultaneously attempted to send a cloud of dust towards Mark's eyes using telekinesis. This dust would serve to blind his opponent which would prevent him from blocking any other strikes.

Assuming his attempt was successful, To'pau would attempt to finish it all with a quick jab towards his opponents chest.

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

Mark was running on the force and adrenilene now. Nothing more. Nothing less. Everything was so blurry and slow, but at least it gave him the illusion of time to think.
Dust flew into his eyes and he had no sense of vision. He knew he couldn't block anything the To'pau sent his way. And then he felt something. It was like he was some cave creature that could see without eyes. A jab was flying towards his chest. He jumped backwards, hoping he dodged it, and, to his surprise, he had.
Wiping the dust out of his eye, he knew he needed a new strategy.
Mark once again locked blades with his opponent, this time from the side. He didn't use his remaining strength to disarm him. Not yet.
This was it. If he didn't do it here, he might not at all.
He prepared for what he was sure would come.
@To'pau Namman

 

[To'pau Namman]

To'pau's movements came almost sluggishly when compared to how he'd started the fight off. As the two locked blades, To'pau felt his strength waning. 'If I didn't have twice the number of arms as this human, I probably would have lost long ago. Oh well. My racial abilities have gotten me this far, let's use it to end this fight.'

Bringing his tail around, To'pau would move to wrap his lower body around Mark's legs. If successful, one of his four arms would move to grab whichever hand that Mark used to wield his Lightsaber. Immobolizing the hand that wielded the Lightsaber, To'pau would move to finish everything off with a quick swipe towards Mark's midsection.

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

Mark had to get this position exactly right if he wanted this to work. He moved a bit backwards, allowing only the tips of the blades to meet. This way, he had more of a chance against Namman's tail, an it would be easier to complete this maneuver.
Namman moved his tail to flip him over again.
"Think again boyo..." Mark murmured.
It was at this moment that Mark knew it was time. He twisted his own blade around his opponent's, hopefully resulting in a disarm. Mark nearly closed his eyes, hoping the disarm had worked. Then, jumped to avoid the tail.

@To'pau Namman

 

[To'pau Namman]

As both To'pau and his opponent moved fluidly across the arena, To'pau's mind raced. His thoughts seemed to go a million miles per hour. In contrast, time seemed to slow down. He watched as Mark backed up, allowing only the tips of their blades to touch. 'Is he losing stamina? What's going on?' To'pau watched as Mark leaped to avoid his tale which raced for Mark's legs as if it was alive. As if it had a mind of its own. That's when everything seemed to go perfectly wrong. Or terribly right. It would depend on who you asked.

Mark's disarming maneuver failed horribly. Backing up had only served to decrease the likelihood of a positive outcome, as To'pau was to far away for Mark to reasonably reach the hilt of his weapon; and Mark lacked the proper sword length and strength to force To'pau's Lightsaber out of his hand. As Mark struggled to recover from his failed attempt, To'pau would lunge forward straight towards Mark's chest in an attempt to catch him before he could fully recovered.

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

Seeing that his first attempt at disarming his opponent had failed, Mark reeled back, anticipating his opponents counterattack.
"Ok," he thought. "Let's try again."
Taking a different approach this time, Mark pushed forward and began landing several stronger blows against his opponent's blade. Locking blades this time head on with Namman, he pushed the blade closer to the hilt. He locked eyes with Namman.
"Now, it ends." he murmered.
@To'pau Namman

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

And then, he put his plan into action. He needed to finish this here and now. Adjusting the knob near his index finger, the blade lengthened slightly and, using all the strength he had left, he twirled the blade right and upwards.
The crowd went silent. There were only two sounds to be heard. Mark's heavy breathing and the insistent humming of his dark emerald blade. And then, one more sound made itself heard: The sound of metal clattering on the floor.
@To'pau Namman