Solia Tala versus Ardeo Sophos (Kenobi Padawan Tournament)

[Kian Karr]

KENOBI CLASS PRAXEUM SHIP
TRAINING ROOM

[member="Solia Tala"], [member="Ardeo Sophos"]
Judge: [member="Corvus Raaf"]

This was the highest training room on the Praxeum ship. It was a large circular training room, set down into the floor. Along the front and back were a series of seats raised up on platforms for other Jedi to watch the dueling occur. There were a number of younger Jedi present, waiting eagerly for the match to begin. ​

​

A small circular droid hovered down to the center of the training circle. It twirled around for a moment and then a small port opened and a blue light shown out of it. Within a few moments, the blue light took on the form of Jedi Master Kian Karr. He glanced around the room looking first to those waiting to see the match begin and then began to speak. ​

"My fellow Jedi." Kian began, clasping his hands behind his back and pacing back and forth as he spoke. "Today we kick off the Kenobi Padawan Tournament. Today's match is between Padawans Solia Tala and Ardeo Sophos and is being overseen by Jedi Master Corvus Raaf."​

​

"Before I turn the floor over to Master Raaf, allow me to remind everyone that this tournament is about broadening relationships among your fellow padawans and about striving to hone your abilities with a blade. Don't lose site of the importance of having fun. ​

​

"The nature of a tournament such as this means that there will be a winner and a loser. But remember, that in both victory and loss, there are important lessons to be learned!"​

​

"Good luck, and have fun!" Kian said bowing to them all before the image faded away and the droid returned from whence it came. ​

 

[Ardeo Sophos]

Master Karr was right this tournament was about learning and having a bit of fun. but I couldn't help but long to hold that prized lightsaber, and be victorious. I am young I can't help, but want to win. Who wouldn't. It was a competition. Of course I would never rub a victory in. I was humble, and I would respect my opponents skills, and status as a fellow jedi. As Master Karr finished I bowed as he did, and when his hologram disappeared I waited patiently for master Raaf to start. [member="Kian Karr"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Solia Tala"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus indicated that both Padawans should join her in the middle of the room. She bowed to both and then spoke softly to them.

“As we stand here, I am reminded of the words of Jedi Master Repka De. Do not see a lightsaber duel as a choice between winning and losing. Every duel can have many, many outcomes. When you concentrate solely on winning – in lightsaber duels as in everything else – you sully your victory. Winning becomes worse than losing. It is better to lose well than to win badly.”

“So, with that in mind, I ask you to honour each other, your Masters and the Jedi Order. And also have some fun.” Her face cracked into a smile as she finished and she pulled a violet silk from her pocket. “I shall drop this, and when it touches the floor, the bout shall begin.”

[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Ardeo Sophos"] | [member="Solia Tala"]

 

[Ardeo Sophos]

When Corvus finished, I bowed to her, turned, and bowed to Solia. "It is an honor to face you in combat. I hope this will be a learning experience for all of us."

I activate my green lightsaber. and start in a offensive Shien attack stance, but am equally prepared to shift into defense. I don't know what Solia's main saber form is, so Shien/D'jem so, which combines defense and attack seemed my best option. It would allow me to fend off attacks, and quickly counter, or break into a full assault. If her attack is strong, and her defense is lacking, then one well placed parry repost, will set her down, or at the least off balance. Then I can pus her back with my attacks, which are built for not leaving a lot of open area on my body. There is some, but not as much as in forms like Ataru. I can feel my saber hidden in my belt at the small of my back. waiting for when I need use of it. It's time will come, if I can't make can't prevail in this fight with my single blade. I slightly ponder if that is considered cheating. I don't think so, becasue entering in this event I had specified that I dual wielded lightsabers. I shrug. It seems to me to be a clever battle tactic, not revealing all your weapons, and keeping an ace in the hole, to when you need it.

"I am ready when you are Solia."

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Solia Tala"]

 

[Solia Tala]

[member="Kian Karr"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Ardeo Sophos"]

Personally Solia was just hoping not to under perform so badly she ended up an embarrassment. Not when so many other padawans and two rather prestigious masters were watching especially. Still, she felt excited a little now that she was actually here. She felt as though she hadn't prepared nearly well enough, and she was lacking in many regards she knew, but still she was feeling just a bit giddy all the same. Maybe it was because even though she was doubting herself, it was actually really great to have an opportunity to fight with someone under the circumstances where no one would really get hurt. It made her feel much more relaxed about things as she drew forth her own lightsaber, finally hers truly after finding a crystal on Illum under Master Karr's guidance.

"The pleasure is mine, may the force be with us." Bowing to her opponent, Solia smiled warmly as she stood up and took a basic Ataru posture. Having taken Master Raaf's words to heart, Solia awaited for the Jedi Master to officially begin the match. In all truth Solia hardly cared now if she lost, she wanted to just do well enough to feel as if she hadn't wasted the opportunity to participate.

 

[Ardeo Sophos]

I watched Solia intently. She carried herself well. She took on a basic, but well executed Ataru stance, that showed her comfort with the form. So this means she is probably a close combat type, definitely offensive. I need to stay away from Ataru. Matching forms is never a good strategy. Mikashi, Shien, and D'jem so are gonna be my arsenal, but I should only use those if she gets in close. Since she is a close combat type I should keep my distance, use a few force abilities to try to throw her off balance, and then go in for a precision strike. Her Saber wasn't a standard issue hilt, so she must have already made her own saber. I wish I had already, but I still needed a few more parts. I was using a complicated build schematic, so it would take some time. I still wasn't sure if I would need my second saber, so I still kept it hidden behind my back secured in my belt. I formed a plan in my mind. I had practiced a lot for this tournament. I was ecstatic that it was finally time to show everyone what I am capable of. I watched my opponent, and waited for Corvus' signal to start.
[member="Solia Tala"]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

And without further ado, Corvus dropped the silk and stepped back...

[member="Ardeo Sophos"] | [member="Solia Tala"] | [member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Solia Tala]

[member="Ardeo Sophos"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

A large part of Solia had contemplated gathering the force while they waited for the signal to begin, but that felt too much like it was possibly cheating, and she hadn't sensed any such action taken by her opponent either, so she wanted to face him fairly. There of course times when it was hihgly necessary to take advantage of knowing a battlefield and gathering one's strength long before a battle started, but she didn't think it really seemed all too fair to try and gain en edge like that in a tournament of honorable duels such as this. . . . not to mention her grasp on the force was lacking and she knew it, she was still rather clumsy, but there were still somewhat simpler things she could do with the force, especially since the fight started. Solia highly doubted she could figure out how much strength she needed to use the force to propel herself forward without throwing herself too far or hurting herself in the process, but she knew she could bring the force into herself just a little.

And she used this concentration with the force around her in her relaxed and eager state to form a center of balance before moving forward, using the force to help her keep her motions tight and refined, so as not to lose balance in her charge or give unncessary openings. It probably wasn't as impressive or flashy as moving lightning quick like Knights and Masters, but she was a Padawan after all, this was enough for her who wanted to learn to become someone someday with a talented skill in swordplay. So she moved, the force supporting her as she kept a grip on her lightsaber, keeping the blade low in her initial motion, intending to make a gentle flick to test the other padawan's defense while not overextending herself before she tried anything too aggressive.

Ataru was offensive, she had to gain momentum if she wanted to win, but she couldn't just let herself be beat in the first few opening moves either. She would make this small move at him and see how he reacted, then she would increase the range of her movements and the weight of her attacks.

 

[Ardeo Sophos]

Solia made the first move, which I was waiting to see if she would, but I had figured she would. Her Ataru style usually entailed a fast acting nature. The attack came with some speed. She seemed to be balanced, and she wasn't over committing. I acted fast, not wanting to give away my strength yet, I side stepped out of the way, bringing my saber in with my right hand and curling it up near the left side of my face. This coil like position gave me all the momentum I needed for a precision jab. I struck out aiming for her left shoulder, because it was closest to me, and offered the easiest target. It was a simple maneuver, nothing fancy, or energy consuming. my right leg shifted forward as my arm extended, planning to end in a horse stance when the jab was finished. I watched carefully to see what her next move would be. I was making sure not to use my future sight ability. For a tournament like this I not only didn't want to start with it, because it was sometimes draining to maintain, and I didn't want everyone in the tournament to know I could use it, but I wanted to have a fair fight, I would only use it if I was being pushed back without it.

[member="Solia Tala"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Solia Tala]

[member="Ardeo Sophos"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

Solia felt a bit nervous as she made her attack, this was really going to be her first really take at fighting someone else who used the force and despite her energy she did still feel nervous. Really she had hoped that her first motion would illicit much more of a response from the other Padawan, but then this was mostly a tournament on the skill of one's bladework so having the proper stance and footwork was also basics to be expected. Still, his movement was way too exaggerated when she was making a simple pass to gauge his defenses. Choosing to sidestep the short flick of her lightsaber as she passed, and then jab at her while planting a foot forward, Solia didn't see how that was going to work since she had momentum in her movement to carry her away.

Regardless, Ataru was all about offense, she had no intention of getting distance and giving the advantage back to the other Padawan. Stepping out with her left foot and shifting her weight to turn on it, the white haired girl turned, moving her lightsaber moving to swipe her opponent's jab upwards while her right foot landed back on the ground. No sooner had it touched and halted her momentum than Solia bounced her leg forward, keeping the energy in her motion, keeping the force to keep her from becoming a clutz as she stepped forward, her foot planting next to Ardeo's as she began her assault, keeping her lightsaber in a high guard ready to strike down and to keep the other Padawan from bringing his lightsaber she had purposefully deflected upwards from coming back down directly without being easily intercepted while she could just move forward.

She was going to be here to stay, close and aggressive. She had his weapon in her guard range and his body within striking distance.

 

[Ardeo Sophos]

I may have slightly underestimated this padawan. She had locked my saber in place, bringing us to a standoff. For a split second my hand went for my second lightsaber, but I quickly thought better of it, realizing I wasn't that stuck yet, and that I had better save that for a real problem. I stared directly into her eyes, and began to formulate a plan. I would grab her saber arm by the wrist. Once I had that secured I would deactivate my saber for a split second, and reignite it under neath her blade, now free. Then I would strike for her center chest. I could play close combat too. I wasn't about to give up just because I was a little stuck.

With great speed I enacted my plan. I shot out my hand and grabbed her wrist, then deactivated my saber, letting it pass through her blade, and positioned it in front of her chest activating it again. She still had one hand free, and I was keeping an eye on it. Let's see how she responds to this.

 

[Solia Tala]

[member="Ardeo Sophos"]

((YOu didn't ping me))

Solia's eyes widened in surprise as, for a moment, her opponent let go of his lightsaber with one hand to grab her own, not realizing what he was intending to do until his weapon deactivated so it was no longer stuck above hers. She let out a small squeak of panic as she bent backwards when his lightsaber turned back on, aiming for her chest, at the same time also kicking out with a leg for the one weak spot all male combatants had, especially those wearing just robes. It was only half planned too since her leg went up as a result of her throw herself back to dodge the lightsaber strike, but she followed through on it, her hand with her weapon twisting to swipe at Ardeos own holding her arm while she reached out back with her other hand lest he let go so she fell to the ground to catch herself.

 

[Ardeo Sophos]

((OH! My bad! Nut shot huh. low blow, low blow, but I will deal.))

I'm not sure how, but she managed to twist her lightsaber, even with my hand holding her wrist above her head. I wasn't so much worried about the lightsaber as I was about the kick heading toward a spot I really didn't want to be kicked in. I released her arm, and pushed backward, and up with my legs. This gave me enough lift and distance to avoid Solia's leg, and a lot of pain, but in that action my mind had strayed for a moment from the lightsaber. I remembered to late though. Her saber grazed my left leg, in my effort to avoid her kick. It wouldn't have been too serious, maybe a shallow cut, and since we were using trainers it didn't cut, but it hurt like crazy, and my leg was gonna be a little numb. I was still in this fight, but I had a disadvantage now. I needed to inflict damage first before she continued to gain on me. It was time for me to go on the offensive, instead of defending.

I concentrated for only a moment, until I felt the force flow through my legs, and up into the rest of my body. I let out a breath. This is it. I bolted strait for her, lightsaber at my side, and slightly bent to gain more speed. This needed to be precise. I stopped in front of her for a split second, and feinted towards her right leg, but with all the momentum I had gained, pushed myself up and over her, in a flip. I watched her the whole movement, and then landed behind her facing her back. I chose the fastest attack I could make. A jab to the center of her back. Lightsabers weight was in the handle, which made it hard to generate powerful slashes, but made stabs, extremely fast, and powerful. Knowing this I selected this attack just for that reason. Hopefully this would ether finish it or cause some damage.

[member="Solia Tala"]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Solia Tala]

[member="Ardeo Sophos"]

Well the end result of her lightsaber motion wasn't what she had planned for at all but it was probably a lot better than having landed the kick in the long run since the pain could have been shrugged off. Getting hit with a training saber really smarted and numbed up the region hit, hopefully that would slow her opponent down a little. At least that's what she thought to herself as she shoved off the ground with her hand and throwing her body weight forward to stand up once more, only to see Ardeo charging her. Caught by surprise, Solia didn't think about being fooled by a feint as the other Padawan's attack didn't follow through.

However, that was where he made his mistake. Had he just made a quick jab from the front the time she spent correcting her defense would have had meaning, but by jumping over instead of taking that opportunity he gave her time to react to his more drawn out movement. Turning around and catching his weapon on her own as she spun, trying to deflect its course, though in the end it still grazed over her upper arm. Flinching at the pain, Solia grit her teeth and grabbed his wrist in a reverse of his early move. She couldn't really strike at him with her blade, nor could she really do a lot of damage with her frame, but she could take him by surprise and disorient him for a moment to try and get an opening.

So she pulled on his arm and threw herself forward aiming to give Ardeo a solid headbutt!

 

[Ardeo Sophos]

She was good. I could see that now. This was no push over padawan. not only was my leg throbbing, and numb right now, but it had slowed down my jump, and thwarted any chance I had at reacting to Solia's counter. Her move was cleverly similar to my own previous maneuver, but instead of using her saber, she was going in for a solid headbutt.

This was an extremely direct move, which seemed to make up her general style. I could react well enough to her direct move set, but my leg was slowing my movements down. I was not going to waste any force foresight on this match. I was still holding to the notion that I could win without it, but I was starting to consider using it. I also thought about using my second saber, but I wasn't sure.

I could think of 2 maybe 3 things I could do to try to counter the headbutt, some better than others, but I didn't have time to think. So I channeled the force into the front of my head to try to give a little absorption for the imminent impact, using the little knowledge of force shield I had, then instead of waiting for her to come to me, I met her half way, and rammed my head at her at the same time. I was about to get a good thrashing, but I hoped to at least cause the same to her. I prepared for what was to come, and held a single thought in my head to try to anchor myself to reality. One idea. One plan. My next move. My next attack.

"This is going to hurt." I muttered.

[member="Solia Tala"]

 

[Solia Tala]

[member="Ardeo Sophos"]

Solia was very direct, and in fact wasn't entirely thinking everything through, acting on instinct and what seemed best at the moment she had to act. Perhaps that was her strength, or her weakness if one considered if someone were to set everything in place before a battle to dictate its progression without her knowing, but for now it seemed to be a strength where the tournament just came down to one's skill with a lightsaber and pure fighting drive. At least, until her headbutt backfired on her. Ardeo deciding to meet her halfway took some of the momentum out of her move, giving him less pain to deal with, while increasing the amount she had to now bear with herself.

Having really not anticipated that, Solia grit her teeth in pain as her head throbbed with the impact, offhandly pulling on the other Padawan's arm again as she swiped her foot hooked behind his own in a bit of irritation and slight anger. After all that wasn't supposed to hurt her much and hurt him more, at the very least he needed to hurt more than her right if it was supposed to work? Past that was too much to act on since Ardeo would undoubtedly act in response to this though her next move was already in mind.

 

[Ardeo Sophos]

((Please forgive me I have been really busy with Fencing, and AP testing in school.))

I could feel Solia's leg snake behind mine. I didn't quite know what she was doing yet, but there was no time to waste. I need to get her off me. She has my saber hand, so I grab hers. She has her leg behind mine, but that doesn't stop me from throwing y weight back, and holding on tight to her. I brace myself and prepare to roll, so to bring her up, and over me. I need to get her off, and then get some distance. I need to employ some force techniques. I begin to fall and stare into Solia's eyes as we go.

[member="Solia Tala"]

 

[Solia Tala]

[member="Ardeo Sophos"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

Solia wasn't ready for Ardeo to throw his weight backward so that he fell towards the ground, the stance her legs were in making it much easier for him to drag her with him, her own pull on his arm at the same time not incorporating enough strength behind it to halt his momentum. Blinking in surprise she fell with the other padawan until his leg connected with her body and she realized what he was doing. From that point Solia braced herself as she was put into the air briefly, his intent to launch her away from himself made true. However, the white haired girl was much more concerned with how she was going to respond.

Normally one might think she would throw out her hands and push off the ground while throwing her legs momentum to turn her fall into a cartwheel, but Solia hadn't exactly trained enough for that yet and she knew her control over the force wasn't that fine to make it happen at a moment's notice. Still, she did have another choice, and that was tucking her body inward so that she turned her fall back to the floor into a roll that brought her to her feet in the end. Ardeo had gotten some distance between them, he had to be uncomfortable with the close ranged fighting becoming so chaotic then.

So that was what she needed to keep up. Taking a breathe, Solia turned as she stood and held her lightsaber in both hands, holding it parallel to her in a defensive posture before pushing off her back foot and making a controlled dash to get near her opponent once again.

 

[Ardeo Sophos]

This padawan was clever to say the least. She was reading me quickly, and forming plans accordingly. She made less than graceful, but effective roll out of my throw, and made it back to her feat quickly. I was breathing heavily now, crouched down low to the floor, poised to counter. This entire match she has never used a force power, grant it neither have I, but that was because she as on an offensive rampage. So given that she has initiated most of the battle choices I believe it's time I take a stand.



Coming out of my deep contemplation of life, oh and this battle, Solia has gone on the charge, but this time I won't make it so easy. She is running, but I just leisurely walk towards her. Step one. I extend my hand ever so slightly, and use the force to throw one of Solia's legs out from under her. hopefully this will bring her down, because how she reacts determines whether I take plan A or plan B, both being equally effective depending on her move choice.

[member="Solia Tala"]

 

[Solia Tala]

[member="Ardeo Sophos"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

There sadly just weren't many force powers that Solia had familiarized herself with yet truth be told, though she wasn't exactly going to tell anytime soon in the middle of this tournament. Clumsy as she was too, the young girl was at least fairly satisfied with her athletic level. Plus it didn't take much to just be simply aware of when someone right in front of her was using the force. Like if Ardeo were to reach out to push on her right leg to throw it out from under her. The quick thought flash through Solia's head no fair, but while it was a battle of skill when it came to wielding a lightsaber, what kind of Jedi didn't use some force powers to back their ability up.

Ending up taking a hop forward on her left leg to avoid falling to the ground, Solia halted her charge to regain her balance and posture so she didn't leave a huge opening or look like an idiot.