5th post
THE WESTERN PIER-FRONT, CORAL COAST,
CINNAGAR, EMPRESS TETA (SUMMER OF 877 ABY)
I can feel it in that gaze....
Something feels different about this one.
Back when he was still forging for his master on Rhigar, Barran never once thought he'd face a warrior like this, as all the stories told of the Jedi, from many brothers and sisters among the Tri-Lunars and fully-fledged Scar Hounds alike, were of mystics who moved with such passiveness that all aggression could be negated effortlessly. Evading and countering with such calm fluidity that the other warriors within the New Jedi Order could be compared to calm woodland streams, it was no wonder that Thomas had preconceptions of facing off against the very image of effective pacifism, but in feeling the soul-deep wrath of his opponent, he knew Ishida's comparison was closer to that of a stormy sea-tide.
Like the tide that rushed the very shore the two warriors were fighting on at the time.
'You don't get to say my name until the end, Thomas.'
That wasn't fear - just look into those eyes, man....
Its time to weather the real storm now.
Thomas was wading into deep waters by then, and likely in real trouble if he couldn't find a way to stay in the fight, and in seeing how increasingly angry Ishida was, everything began to make sense. This wasn't a duel against Ishida the Jedi, this was high-stakes single combat of the heaviest magnitude, a fight for survival against Ishida the Atrisian Warrior - the most dangerous of anomalous encounters.
And after a brief, tense silence of considering their next strikes of choice, Ashina would take the offensive role again by making quick, though long sprinting strides towards him, creating as much aggressive pace as she could from a stationary stance. For what exactly, Barran could only guess, but as soon as he realised it was for a jumping attack, it was already much too late. Not even the favourable low-guard striking would help, as was proven in her ability to roll high over the parry, using the momentum to propel the forward motion, and well enough that the Atrisian landed behind the Woad with just enough space to target the newfound vulnerability. No such blindside tactics would be needed here, not whilst Ishida's lightsabre-katana was poised to strike at the exposed back of the Bloodhound, not whilst the Jedi was on the cusp of returning what was cut on her own back in the previous battle for Empress Teta.
The curse of the torturous V-cut, returned to sender.
'FETHING-'
But instead of the dull, bleeding sting of Beskar's bite, Barran would be embracing a pain altogether more intense, an agony of the likes the Warlord had never known before, the searing burn of Kyber melting through cloth, skin and flesh like cake. And the following scream of the Woad, shrill and blood-curdling though it would've been to anyone's ears, there was no doubt in his mind that the Atrisian would be enjoying their handiwork; but as he sprinted forward to create distance enough for an effective pivot back into the fight, Thomas understood that Ishida's cathartic fury was on an entirely different plateau, fixated purely on the attempt to kill her opponent once and for all. Even as his pained, growling breaths rang out in his attempt to adjust to the pain, the cold stare of the Jedi remained, ready to strike at the first opportunity.
The Warlord needed to stop relying on his signature method and he knew it, the faux-lazy approach wasn't enough to outsmart an opponent as smart as the Jedi, and in this moment Barran was left with no choice but to revert to traditional sword-fighting methodology, left with no choice but to adopt a rather unfortunate stance henceforth. Extending the Romphaia forward with another try for a left-handed stance, the Bloodhound was reminded of fencing-lessons in his first life, and in every instance Thomas had remembered anything from his first life, nosebleeds and migraines always followed in the moments after snapping out from each flashback. Then, without fail, the sanguine escaped in free flow from Barran's nostrils and added to the agonies of the new scar on his back, and as a result, the resulting grogginess would further fan the flames of the Bloodhound's desperation.
'Always at the most inopportune of moments.... THIS CHANGES NOTHING, JEDI!!!!'
Blood was seeping from his ears and tear-ducts by then, but instead of the usual intensity that Thomas was known for, a fury of his own began to take shape in the way his stare held with that of Ishida, a wide-eyed, untamed glare of murderous loathing - awakened from within like the wrath had been unleashed from the deepest depths of his soul.
Even going so far as to clench his teeth in anticipation for the next phase of the fight, the mask of hatred finally washed over the migraine and rendered it irrelevant, goading him into taking the fight to the Jedi this time, fighting in a stance that had more migraines yet to inflict. Providing much more than spurring kicks into action from within, surging his heartrate with such heaviness that Barran could hear it pulsating in his ears, (and with such intensity that all the auditory happenings around him were almost completely silenced by it) the quickness of his sprinting approach looked to be approaching close to those of his Atrisian opponent before, though the Woad's attack was fuelled by the purest of adrenal catalysts. Something Thomas had always kept buried deep for the sake of his faith and his fearlessness in other near-death circumstances, but a man's survival instincts, as much as he would want to kill them, never truly die in times of war.
The first nose-bleeding migraine had been rough, but even though the others would still present challenges to lesser extremes, they would be enough to test his fighting coherence in otherwise-pivotal moments; but a sliver of hope would offer calm out of nowhere, such that would be tempting for any in Barran's situation, but it would soon be clear to see that such temptation would be considered beneath him - and all it took to see it was in trusting his anticipation of Ashina's next counter.
It was little more than a guess, but in understanding the slight change in the fighting posture of his opponent, Thomas was confident enough to test the waters with a lightly-telegraphed stabbing lunge Ishida's torso, pressed forward with just enough feigned exertion (aided somewhat by the pain from the V-cut in his back) that the bait was taken willingly on the Atrisian's part. A small window of opportunity, utilised to great effect through the anticipation alone, and when the katana-lightsabre was drawn across to block in slashing motion, a small aggressive flick suddenly hooked the hilt-end of the lightsabre with the underside of the Romphaia's curvature. Then, after locking his elbow into a hard outward slash as soon as blade and grip latched with a metallic clink, the lightsabre was parted with the hand that grasped it, sending the glowing katana flying inland by about ten yards or so, achieved in a strangely Jedi-like bloodless disarming technique.
Barran understood the irony, but instead of seeing the funny side, this only served to further-infuriate him when he saw that Ashina was still unperturbed, maintaining that same look of loathing disdain as she had in the moment she cut their pleasantries short for the sake of the fight. Even as she backpedalled away from the curved violence of the Woad's sword, it was clear the Atrisian still very much liked her chances of prevailing, lending something of a new understanding to the Bloodhound as the groundwork for her next move was set in place before him; the katana-lightsabre was merely a tool, and as much as Thomas wished this wouldn't be the case, Ishida was the real weapon he had been facing off against from the offset.
He didn't know how it would happen, or what Ashina would do, nor from where it would be done, but Barran knew it would have been hubristic to assume he had the upper hand yet.
Not with the ice-cold venom seen still feeding wrath into the woman glaring back at him, not with the confidence in her stance, not with truth of her true power still being held in reserve against him. This would be the Warlord's toughest fight for quite some time after that, and as he slowly and reluctantly acquiesced to the creeping truth, Barran's perceived margin of error would grow ever smaller along with it, making the fight all the more dangerous for as long as the one-eyed Woad continued to fight.
'I know you're not done yet, Jedi! THE FIGHT CONTINUES!!!!'
Darth Wallgof
/ TEAM DARKSIDE!
