Seven Seconds 'til The Rise

[Lief]

[Please do not jump onto this thread without first consulting myself/@[member='Dranok Lussk'] beforehand]​

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Father met Daughter in an open field, if one could call the pit such, a dry, arid area of land with natural sandstone spikes splintering the earth to rise several feet in the air. A harsh, barren landscape if ever there was one, the sun which beat against their skin was far more severe than that which plagued Korriban, producing enough heat that it could become quickly dangerous should one strain themselves too much. It also provided a slight hindrance to the young girl who stood before the Master, elsewise known as the Emperor of the Sith, whose sight was sensitive at best. Yet she had been stood beneath the blistering rays for several hours, allowing some degree of adjustment.

Nothing stirred, neither the pair nor the landscape, no fauna, no wind and no audience. Just the two figures, a student and a mentor, blotted the ever unchanging horizon. The conditions were perfect, harsh and testing for both involved. The air was light, or maybe that was a trick of the heat, making breathing difficult to he who was untrained... Which luckily referred to neither of them. Still the silence dragged on, until finally one spoke. "So the Father hath become the Emperor" the young girl breathed, voice barely more than a whisper on what little of a breeze there was. Yet for all the words her chest barely moved, nor her lips. Her body remained as stationary as it had been, as though worried a single movement might shake the very foundations of the desert, disturb the dust which had settled all around. In truth, she was merely waiting...

 

[Judas of Vahl]

@[member="Kära Vi'dreya"]​

A light tingle of sensation bleed its way throughout his veins. The blistering heat bore down upon a pair of figures among the hallucination-inducting visage. A light brown tunic with matching boots were his attire, his earlier choice to relieve himself of pure black garments to save himself from the sun directly above him. Short, cropped, sun-baked hair fell down in little tufts as he stood waiting. Yellow, predatory eyes locked themselves upon another solitary form before him, its shadow stretching little as a result of the time. Rather than the usual Masters or other Knights he practiced with, this opponent happened to be none other than his daughter. Unlike his other opponents, this one had been a part of his life ever since he was 17. A child he'd never even knew existed until she was 7 years old.

A huff of air and a bead of sweat turned his attention outwards. The pair of figures shrouded in darkness had remained still for the past hour. Not a word had been uttered nor any movements made. That was, until a light, girlish voice broke the silence. The Emperor could barely catch on to the words, needing to call upon the Force to aid his listening skills to decipher the wind-carried words.

"Indeed." A single word broke from his mouth, immediately retracting to a swallow, wetting his mouth. Another exhale of dry air passed through his nostrils, every inch of his being focused on the slowness of his heart and the pounding of blood through his veins. For just the slightest of a second, the edges of the Emperor's mouth curved upwards by just a hair before retreating to their stoic nature. The man's legs folded underneath him, his stiff muscles relaxing as he assumed a meditation position upon the dusty terrain.

"Woyunoks hadzuska koshûjontû."

An incantation began. A battle had begun.

 

[Lief]

She watched as he settled himself to meditate before her, and she did not move still. Yet the moment he began the incantation she slipped a lightsaber blade down from her sleeve to swipe it through the air in a flourish. She could not let him finish whatever Sith spell he was summoning, and thus she lunged with the blade, while likewise emitting a powerful kinetic blast at his person, hoping one of the two would knock him off focus long enough for her to lure him into more physical combat, as opposed to metaphysical force usage. She had no hopes of matching him on either plane if truth be told, but spells were not something she was extremely familiar with, and at least she knew how to counteract lightsaber and generic force combat.

Her body slipped back out of the way of his after the above-mentioned attacks, whether or not they hit him. She had learnt by now that remaining in your opponents immediate zone was not a good idea, it gave them a tactical advantage where parrying was concerned, and she had to avoid things such as saberlocks - Kara lacked strength, and Dranok would effortlessly overpower her. She wanted to at least prove herself to her Father, casting aside the fact he was also her Emperor. In his eyes she was likely still that tiny girl he'd met on Ziost, practically dead in the snow and ice, as he hadn't had the chance to watch her grow and develop as an individual. No, she wanted him to see her for who she was now...

@[member="Dranok Lussk"]

 

[Judas of Vahl]

@[member="Kära Vi'dreya"]​

Changing gears was arguably one of the easiest things a tactician does. Dranok's open eyes flashed wide at the spotting of the saber lunge and Force blast rocketing his direction. Rather than sit there and pray that his spell finished to conjure the Smoke Demon, or he jump up to enter the fray. It was a very good first move on her part, though. It was public knowledge that Dranok Lussk was a master with Sith Magic and the Force, his only saber skills falling in the defensive end of such a spectrum. She'd immediately changed her tactics based on his own, very good indeed. She already had the makings of a good strategist.

Dropping his summoning, the environment seemed to brighten. His Smoke Demon spell conjured nightmares and darkness from everywhere, delving into the mind of his opponent to sadistically crush them. Be that as it may, Dranok had no chance to complete it. The Force channeling through his body was already prepared for the incoming strike, his legs moving with liquid motion to propel him away with a military-style roll, avoiding both the blade and the blast. A sigh passed his lips, his figure dropping down to the ground in a lotus position to attempt at his spell again. His legs were positioned differently than normal, though.

"Woyunoks hadzuska koshûjontû."

 

[Lief]

Kara had never expected the two assaults to hit him, but was pleasantly surprised to find that she had indeed managed to break his concentration, at least for now. When he rolled to the side she imitated the movements with a well placed step and kept herself within the optimum range - not too close that she would be open to assault from him, but not so far that she could not assault him should she chose to. It had been one of the very first things she had learnt, of her own accord, where lightsaber combat was concerned, and her tuition in Makashi assisted the notion. To be light on ones feet, to be quick and fluid... You had to keep away from your enemy where possible, especially when you lacked strength.

When he started to chant again she resisted the urge to sigh and instead slipped forth once more. This time she neared him much sooner, and as her blade lunged towards him she swiped a hand through the air and loosed a soft volley of poison-tipped darts, none of which she expected to hit home. Rather than retreating, however, the young girl did something peculiar. As she reached his immediate area she vanished, slipping and immersing herself into the White Current and rendering herself invisible and undetectable - at least for now. Continuing on with her movement she sidestepped him and made her way to his back, careful with her footfalls to avoid leaving marks or imprints. When behind him she loosed another dart, this one aiming for the back of his neck, which would likewise be exposed as a joint-area.

Remaining unseen she stepped back just enough to watch how this unfolded, keeping up the immersion for as long as she could, and thankfully having been at his back meant that her actions would not have given away her position. But Kara had no idea what would happen next.

@[member="Dranok Lussk"]

 

[Judas of Vahl]

A smile crept across Dranok's face as he picked up the sound of movement, his senses notifying him of what was to come. To be honest, he hadn't even started the spell, the chanting was just for show so that the girl would move in once again. Prior to this, he'd even entered his lotus stance with his legs shifted differently than usual. His eyes snapped open the instant he finished the chant, his irises immediately zeroing in on the blade jabs aimed at him. His legs curled up before him, the energy channeled from earlier was pushed into his calves as he propelled himself upwards into the sky.

The blazing hot sun cast down a massive shadow from the rocketing form, lingering in the air for a moment before plummeting back down to the dusty ground. To his surprise, his daughter was nowhere to be found. He frowned, landing upon the arid ground with a hearty thump. Golden eyes scoured the area for traces of her, not even uncovering a single footstep. He still felt she was...near. His hands rose from his side, fingers splaying out at angles. The Emperor sucked in hot air, sending cascades of lightning from his fingers to bath the area around him with crackling electricity.

She was too old for hide and seek.

@[member="Kära Vi'dreya"]

 

[Lief]

All too late the young girl realised her folly... Had she been focusing more then the incorrect seating of her Father may have shown the falsities of his chanting, yet she had become immersed in the darkside, in the thrill of the fight, she had wanted to crush his attempts, and ultimately it had been a fools errand. As it was, Dranok reacted at a much faster rate than anticipated, which threw her off guard somewhat, yet she followed through with the movements all the same. While at his back, and thus unable to see the initial strands of static jump around his hand, the air became thick with the scent of ozone and she shuddered. Oh, how she hated lightning. As the lightning grew Kara pondered briefly, but she knew that this in itself would not end well. For now she brought her blade up into a defensive stance, in case he flooded the area around him in the strands of lightning, hoping to hold off at least a small amount before succumbing to the pain. Fool, you are not weak; pain is the least of your worries.

While Kara waited for the inevitable storm, so to speak, she could not help but monitor him, every inch of his person, every muscle which twitched. Never, since the day on Ziost, had she taken enough care in his presence to really see him; but short of giving up her position there was little more she could do at present. Remaining immersed was a great tax on her person, without the added strain of further mental and physical action. No, watching Dranok kept her focused, while a slight burning hatred bubbled up through her. Dranok, her own Father, Emperor of the Sith... Yet deep down part of her still abhorred him. Whether it would always be this way she could not say, but at present there were a lot of things in her life that could have been avoided had he not made certain decisions. And he speaks oncemore with the likes of Lucien and Shinju. Oh, that would not do.

@[member="Dranok Lussk"]