Faction The New Jedi Order - Saber Tourney

[Tigris]

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Outfit

Blast.

Tigris' Seyugi training emphasized the perfection of the physique, even as a tool of the Force. It was that intimate familiarity with her body that instantly relayed the failure of the physics behind her move. She had not learned to bring the saber in balance with her otherwise well-trained physique. The strike with her blade faltered and threatened her balance.

She was able to instantly recover in her stance, but not in her weapon. While positioned again for movement, it was too late. Aris again proved agile for his size, just like Taam Moghul had. The teen's blade fell fast and hard. Tigris threw up her own blade to block, but ill-aimed. The heavy blow tore the weapon from Tigris' hand and it clattered to the ground, the partially deflected strike bouncing off of her other shoulder.

A dangerously angry growl of frustration vented between clenched teeth and again Tigris had to hold her muscles from instantly retaliating. Then she sighed and stood up straight. She coughed a laugh at herself. Poor Aris was playing fair and fighting well, and being kind while doing it. Would she ever really understand how to be a Jedi?

She grinned sheepishly at Aris as she stepped back, a small nod and meeting of his eyes offering the respect due him. He had accumulated two points for disarming Tigris, and one more for the contact with her shoulder. That made four points for Aris, next to Tigris' two. The tattooed padawn reached to pick up the training saber and readied for what might be the last round of their duel.


Everest Vale Aris Noble

 

[Aadihr Lidos]

Outfit: Clothes, Earring, Bangle
Weapons: Walking stick / Lightsaber Pike

"Give me everything you've got. Don't hold anything back."

Aadihr's arm twitched at suggestion, eager to escalate. He rejected it. Aadihr forced the hand to comply, focusing on the fight before him, meeting blade with staff and pike blade.

The burn was unreliable, greedy, and frankly, not Aadihr's expertise. Aadihr's unusual proficiencies existed long before Eiattu. The one thing his master found favorable, and what helped carry him through each grueling training session.

Deflection.

A microcosm of the Jedi's avoidant past, Aadihr's capacity for deflection developed unnaturally early. Perhaps at the cost of his telekinetic and telepathic capabilities, or so he had speculates.

He had been too long distracted by the heat of anger and newfound capabilities. A return to form could provide exactly the escalation Drystan sought, what Aadihr needed to get an upper hand.

Wreathing his off-hand in the force with what was akin as a near-frictionless barrier, Aadihr reached for the next slash - halting it seemingly with his bare hand as he simultaneously thrust his pike towards Drystan's midsection with a mid-haft single-handed grip.

Deflecting an attack in melee was difficult, a lightsaber attack rarely seen. Not only because of the amount of proficiency required, but also because there was simply easier means to halt an attack with the force.

Aadihr lacked strength in those easier methods - his surprise at the successful halt of Drystan's lightsaber left him utterly open if the shadow managed to avoid the close-quarters pike-stab, however.

He would have voiced his surprise, were he not straining from the effort.

Drystan Creed​

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x | Companion: Domxite
Interacting with: Iris Arani

Zaiya's stripes flickered with soft grey, a brief ripple of confusion at Iris's words as she panned her gaze from Iris to Corin Trenor .

They used to sleep together? Oh! That meant they had been really close, right? The Lovalla took the term literally. A sleepover sort of close! Maybe like what she had with Domxite, where they'd talk late into the night until exhaustion won over... Her stripes suddenly shimmered with a mix of bright teal and soft gold as an idea popped into her head.

Maybe I should ask Aris Noble if he'd like to sleep together! A cozy cuddle-snuggle party, maybe even make it a movie night? She could already picture it -- pajamas, pillows, snacks...

Then just as quickly, her skin flickered back to a more neutral glow as reality settled in.

Wait, no, focus! This wasn't about her. This was about Iris.

And Iris's aura was shifting, swirling with something Zaiya couldn't quite name. She tilted her head, watching how Iris seemed to wrestle with something inside. Maybe she didn't realize it, but Zaiya could see it, the way emotions flickered around her.

"Oh, so he means a lot to you," she said, matter-of-factly. Her tone was light, but there was a quiet curiosity in her voice. "Are you sure you don't want to go say hi? Maybe you can reconnect again!"

People could just… stop being friends? That felt strange. Wouldn't they at least try?

Zaiya watched her for a second longer before deciding not to push. Instead, she brightened, her bioluminescence warming as she lifted a hand toward Domxite. "And yeah! I've been keeping up with my drills on the daily...Domxite's been observing too!"

She beamed, motioning toward her crystal companion as if to say, See? I'm totally on top of things!

 

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: New Jedi Order Temple, Coruscant
Objective: 1
Tag: Braze

As soon as Braze came at him once more Ko was on the backfoot. Having invited furocity with his words. There was no excuse for it either, he wasn’t shocked, he couldn’t be. He asked to see what the younger knight had been working towards with Form 7. A style that the Sith he’d fought before have failed to show him. Relying more on force abilities and exploiting lightsaber mechanics. Ko tried to see what made it different and distinct from the other forms. The technical aspects of what Braze performed seemed more like an amalgamation of different forms.

Ko had wanted to see Juyo, not just an aggressive display of Niman. Ko almost cursed this under his breath before he remembered that historically Jedi often had to have mastered multiple lightsaber forms to be considered for learning Juyo. Perhaps this was what he was seeing instead. Artifacts from previous instructions that came to light when using the style.

The Kel Dor failed to put up an adequate defense. Too focused on his own desire to learn, rather than a desire to compete. Eventually Braze’s saber clashed fiercely against his own. He was cleanly disarmed, he had no loops or ringes to catch his clawed fingers on. He then felt the elbow dive into the center of his chest. The impact of it was paired with a harsh, sharp whistle from his antiox mask as the air was forced from his lungs.

He didn’t recognize that Braze’s saber had slashed across his chest until it was already done, by then Ko had fallen to one of his knees to catch breath robbed from him. Small streams of smoke wafted up from his burned robes. Ko listened carefully as his opponent was awarded two points, but was also given a penalty as well.

Reminding Ko they could lose via penalties. But that didn’t seem like it would be a very satisfying way to win this engagement. Taking a deep breath Ko pushed himself back up onto his feet. “If that was Form 7, I see that it lives up to its namesake.” It felt distinct yet familiar at the same time. But he couldn’t tell how much of that was thanks to his opponent. “I appreciate you appeasing my curiosity.” Ko then summoned his saber up to his hand from off the ground.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

Braze had reset, though his breath came shallow, and uneven. He looked winded but not rattled. The exhaustion didn't quite reach his posture, nor did it dull the way he loosely held his saber. There was an attempt, half-hearted at best to raise his blade into something resembling readiness.

Then he stepped forward. Not with urgency, with a straightforward thrust. Telegraphing it from a good five feet away.

Not clumsy, nor reckless. Just… like his spirit had gone out of it.

Behind those sharp green eyes, something shifted. Thought, not of fear or regret, nothing so overt. But something was being processed. Weighed, and from the way he moved, it seemed Braze no longer believed he should be standing in this ring, after what had just happened.

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[Aris Noble]

Aris let out a breath as he steadied his stance after the strike. Return to neutral, keep calm and controlled. As Tigris grinned though, he returned it. It was a thrill to fight like this for him. Limitations he wasn't used to, having to think of different ways to fight than he normally would. Return to the center, prepare for the next clash.

Breathe.

He held his blade again in both hands, this time in front of him. Not overhead this time. Neutral, calm. This time when the start was initiated, he struck first. Not once like before, but an overwhelming series of strikes, one after the other with the full intent of keeping Tigris on the defensive now. To keep her from surprising him this time around.

Tigris

 

[Iris Arani]

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"No, not here."

Somewhere else, if at all. There were some things to be said, or not, that could be problematic. She smiled instead, nodding her head to Zaiya. Keeping up on her drills was a good thing. And Domxite watching was even better, in truth. The more Domxite learned on how Zaiya fought, the better they could be working together.

"Good. Try practicing with Domxite at some point. I think it'd be good for both of you."

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Drystan Creed]

CORUSCANT

Drystan continued his part in their dance of blades—slashing, sweeping, blocking, dodging—their sabers clashing with relentless rhythm, sparks scattering with every strike. He lost himself in the swordplay, his body now moving partially on instinct, just as much as it did with deliberate calculation.

His expression was as composed as his technique, a blank, discerning stare fixed on Aadihr as the duel unfolded.

But then, Aadihr's deflection caught him off guard.

With only one arm, Drystan had little recourse. His strike was swept aside, leaving his midsection exposed—and Aadihr capitalized, driving the training saber into it. Two points for his opponent.

Good. That was what he wanted.

"Not bad," he said calmly, the glowing blade still pressed to him. While the training saber hadn't pierced his torso, the blow would have been painful enough to force a reflexive retreat from most. But Drystan only stepped back slowly, deliberately, resetting his stance without so much as a grimace.

The air around him seemed to shift—like something had been unbound, a quiet intensity beginning to stir beneath his surface.

"Keep that up. That's more of what I want to see from you."

A pause.

"My master once told me that we have to accept our limits… if we ever want to surpass them."

His eyes sharpened as he lowered back into stance.

"I want you to surpass yours."

Aadihr Lidos

 

[Tigris]

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Outfit

Tigris took a cleansing breath, her eyes on Aris as he readied. The Noble assumed a different stance. As a neophyte duelist, she couldn't discern what approach he might take this round, but it was definitely different. There was a calm about Aris now. That was the most concerning. The Force would flow through him more readily. She too tried to calm herself and opted to allow the younger padawan to make the first move.

And so he did.

No longer opting for powerful overhead strikes, Aris unleashed a flurry of frontal attacks. He had found the chink in Tigris' agility armor. Up to that point, her prowess in martial art defenses had compensated for her less advanced skills with a light saber. But in the aggressive, rapid succession of attacks that Aris executed, she could not escape them, and had to rely on saber alone. While she held her own for the first few strikes, her blade meeting his with quick reflexes, Aris varied his strikes enough to thwart Tigris' apprentice-level defense.

His blade was forced closer, closer to her as she moved backwards, graceful enough to keep on her feet and force him to pursue her, but the onslaught didn't relent, and the tattooed padawan's blocks became sloppy. Finally, one, two, three rapid contacts by Aris' blade to her shoulders and hip. While she avoided a blow to her torso, he was figuratively cutting her up.

With Aris' points scored, Tigris lowered her blade and took several hopping steps back. Aris had bested her. Tigris wasn't ashamed or angry. The former assassin didn't expect to excel in a duel with a fellow padawan, most who have trained with a saber for years longer than she, and especially against one with a reputation like Aris. She had yet to be taken in by a master to focus her training. This was a learning exercise for Tigris, and she was grateful to Aris for pushing her, allowing her to gauge her limits and weaknesses.

A rare, small smile touched her lips as she looked up to the tall teen after a small nod of her head. She would wait for the official ruling by the judges, but it seemed as if Aris had won thier duel. Tigris would linger, looking to speak with Aris.


Everest Vale Aris Noble