Swords at Sundown

[Sky'ito Yumi]

The blinding ray from the wall of light subsided over the city, once again the place returning to its dim self. Sukai could see the effects of the power on her opponent, his force powers seemly vanishing for the time being, but that was not all, her own connection to the force seemed to be partially severed, her dark thoughts, emotions and abilities purged from her very being.

The blast from said ray flattened home vaporizing a good portion of the cities CBD, it reminded her of the death star and its first active use against Scharif, according to records anyways, though on a much smaller scale. But why, what reason was such a weapon used, and why had it affected her as well in this way, unless. "This weakness, no void, it feels as if the darkside has been purged from my very being, what sort of attack was that? It couldn't be, the wall of light? but such a technique... oh my.... so much destruction".

[member="Lark"]

 

[Lark]

Lark gazed at the radiant beam of light, a bolt from the heavens smiting them down. It was awe-inspiring, a thing of beauty, so long as one could ignore the massive devastation it caused. Luckily for him and the Jedi nearby, they weren't close enough to be in any real danger. On the rooftop however, they were gifted with a perfect view of the hellish mayhem unfolding in the city.

His laugh subsided, and he turned to the Jedi to give her a snide remark. But upon seeing her face, he silenced himself. She understood all to well the implications of what happened.

"You wish to bring peace to the galaxy," Lark said softly, with a hint of sympathy in his voice. "Sometimes that's what I want as well. And if this is how you wish to accomplish that goal, I am in no position to judge you for it. But I suspect that you're not entirely comfortable with what's transpiring." He slowly let his sword drop to his side as the column of light dissipated, and a dim haze overtook the city once more. He couldn't feel the Force. "If it is you who walks away from here and not I," he continued softly, letting the ambiance set in, "Find another way."

"I'm ready to continue, if you'd like."

[member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Sukai sat on her knees as the light faded away, a bit trouble by Larks laugh, how could one laugh at such an event? Was this was her mother felt, when she witnessed the First Order destroy the Hosnian, it felt horrible, feeling helpless, even though there was nothing you could do, that feeling... was it guilt?

She remained on the ground as the Sith continued to speak, some what now... nicer? That was odd, she was fully expecting him to edge her on, try and guilt her more into more violence, just as others had done in the past. She rose from her resting place eye him closely, giving a small chuckle at his assumption of her life goal, "I don't seek peace in the galaxy... I know such a task is impossible, not with the dark and light constantly fighting, no, I seek to preserve knowledge and history, to keep it safe in-case of a cataclysmic event, and to safe guard it from the Sith".

"No offense but your order does not seem to have much regard for knowledge of the light, though Dantooine may not be as bad as you say it is, I know fully well the Jedi enclave is but a shadow of its former self, and most of the Jedi knowledge left there no longer exists", Sukai ignited her blade again, entering an offensive stance. "Yes I do want to continue, as I said I seek knolwdge, that includes fighting, and as I have stated many times before, I am no Jedi, and do not worry, it would be dishonorable for me to take advantage of you disconnection to the force... this duel will be a test of our skill with a sword".

[member="Lark"]

 

[Lark]

"Perhaps you're right," Lark acknowledged, nodding his head. Since he joined the Sith a few months ago, his primary focus had been understanding the new powers that were awakening to him, to gain more insight when it came to the dark side of the Force. But just like a coin the Force has two sides. He could never practice the light, but he couldn't ignore the valuable lessons he could learn from it. As time flowed on, caring not whether people progressed with it, the Jedi and Sith continued to shift in power, teachings, philosophies, beliefs, and dogmas. The Jedi now are not the same ones I read about back in the orphanage, he thought. Clearly my judgement of them is skewed. That will need adjustment once this is all over.

Lark was a bit relieved when the Jedi said that the duel would be fought solely with swords, as he had lost his connection to the Force. He couldn't say whether or not he would have shown her the same honor had their positions been reversed, but he supposed that didn't matter now. His master had taught him that there was no honor in survival. He'd still use the same tricks he always had, only now he wouldn't have access to the Force. He had beaten a Sith acolyte without using the before he was trained in the Force, but that arrogant bastard had made the mistake of underestimating him. Here, he knew he didn't have that luxury.

Taking her ignited saber as a sign to begin, he took a step forward. His enchanted knife was still strapped to his belt. More often than not the first strike was simply a thoughtless action taken to get the dance going. While nothing Lark ever did was without thought, he was comfortable being the instigator. With a quick swing from his left to right, aimed at the Jedi's torso, the clash began.

[member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Sukai awaited to man to strike first even if he was not your usual Sith she was certain they would instigate the fight by making the first move, she kept her saber forward and straight, eyes focused on the task at hand despite the destruction all around them. The Sith first strike was simple, a test of the water it seemed, but still something that could be used to her advantage.

As the blade came closer Sukai stepped forward, bringing her saber up in a counter swing, from left to right, putting force behind the attack in attempt to back the sword to the side and give an opening, she followed through by raising her left leg up, going for a quick and precise kick at the mans pelvis, before following up with her own horizontal slash.

[member="Lark"]

 

[Lark]

As his sword swung towards the Jedi, he felt it stop mid-air, the small gust of wind he felt as he swung vanished as their weapons clashed. The woman raised her leg in a quick, practiced motion and kicked his pelvis hard. He absorbed the hit, he didn't feel the pain but he felt the air leave his body, and he released a short gasp of air. He saw a subsequent strike coming, and he quickly ducked to the ground underneath the horizontal blow. She's much more refined than I am, he admitted. Without the Force to warn him of any incoming danger, this turned into a battle of instincts, of survival.

Ever since his family's demise, Lark had been awfully good at surviving.

But now, he had found a new purpose. To hone himself as a weapon, to sharpen his mind and body into an armament of power. On the rooftop where they fought were small layers of ash and dust, rubble from the battle in the city that drew to it's conclusion. But this fight was just getting started. He picked up a small handful of this ash in a quick motion, and as he rose he tried to throw it towards the face of the Jedi.

[member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

OOC: I'm so sorry I've been absent for so long

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Sukais leg became tense as it hit her opponents body, though she did not put any force strength into it, continuing to try and make the fight as fair as possible but still being slightly naturally stronger then someone of her size, sending Lark, though her swing missing. Though she was not disappointing, a fight that ended to quickly was no fun and would not be a good test for how far her skill had progressed, one step closer to that of her mothers.

At the apex of her swing Sukai, then attempted to launch a knee and the now crouched man, but is seemed that the Sith had other plans, quickly standing back making her knee fall short her face becoming filled with soot and dust, causing a sharp stinging pain in her eyes, partially blinding her. "ahh, what the...". With burly vision and a less that honorable opponent Sukai performed a back roll, swinging her saber around as she took a defensive stance once again, 'this guy fights like my brother'.

[member="Lark"]