Xinder

[Vipervertical]

Character Name: Pride
Character Source: SWU (pending on account of WIP)
Character Faction/Alignment: Dark Jedi (EDITED)
Type of Roleplay: Duel
Roleplay Requirements: Um, someone with a lightsaber, I 'spose.
Reason for Request: Well I feel I'm pretty good at posting, and I've done combat scenes before. But all of my previous combat scenes have either been short stories (all by me) or chat rps (really short posts), so I'd like to figure out how to really lengthen those combat posts without godmodding like a jerk. Especially since this character will likely be getting in quite a few fights.
Notes: WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON!? I, THE BIGGEST CRITIC OF THE ROLEPLAY MENTORING SECTION, HAVE POSTED SOMETHING HERE!? CALAMITY! THE WORLD SHALL COME TO AN END! FIRE SHALL RAIN FROM THE SKIES AND-! Oh wait, Jenno still owes posts. We're safe.
Roleplay:

Ah, Korriban. It was good to return home after being away for so many years. Pride took a deep breath of the wonderful Korribani air that felt more alive than that of any other planet she'd been to. There was power here. Power that seeped into every little crevice of rock.

She flicked her head in both directions, her short blonde hair hardly affected by the motion, as she listened to the loud crack of popping joints. It was wonderful to finally get off that cramped piece of crap they called a ship and onto solid ground once more.

With a sigh, she hopped down from the rocky ledge she stood on and down to the soft desert below. Something was bound to happen here. Something always happened here. It wouldn't be Korriban otherwise.

//Yeah, Sith own Korriban and whatever. But this is AU so it doesn't count. Also, I apologize for this short post but making stuff up on the spot isn't exactly my style. I work better when playing off another character or thinking out my posts for a few days beforehand. So let's hope my future posts here are better.

[Jazen]

The woman was not the only new arrival to the planet. The other had arrived only a few days before, and effort of a year long investigation having finally paid off as the young man had finally reached his goal. From the shadows of a nearby rock altar, Jazen watched as the woman descended the landing ramp of the ship she had come on, taking a moment to admire her surroundings before taking steps in the wasteland that was Korriban's landscape.

Jazen hadn't expected to ever see this place, not till he was old and gray and the Jedi were on the verge of destroying the Sith for good. That last part was a stretch, no one could ever think that the Sith would fall so easily or so completely; they had always survived the trials they faced and come back even stronger. But so had the Jedi. And the Jedi always lasted longer then their counterparts.

Fate had decided to play a different path for the young boy. The stalemated war they two sides were locked in was toiling for the Jedi, as much as it was for their foes. Something needed to change, a crucial strike needed to be made, something that would tip the war in their favor. And something had. They had found Korriban. Or rather, his elders had found the planet and sent teams of scouts to investigate what they were walking into. A year later, Jazen and his master had finally set foot on the arid land that dotted the surface, ready to begin the mission that would, in all likelihood, cost them their lives.

But now Locke had gone missing and Jazen was alone, watching yet another possible foe making her way to the enemy ranks. This was good in a way. He could follow her, trail her to where the Sith might have his master...dead or alive. And so, ever so slowly, he crept from his hiding place and dropped into a steady pace behind the woman, keeping to the shadows whenever he could, masking his presence down in the Force as best he could. Whatever cover he could see, he used, always keeping the woman in sight. His hand never strayed too far from his saber though; it would be a miracle if this worked and an even greater one if Jazen didn't suffer the same fate that may have befallen his Master.

And so he followed, ever in silence, into the deepening darkness.

((Like you said Xinder, absolute AU so I can stretch...well a lot xD Have at her my friend.))

[Vipervertical]

The sun had nearly set by now, meaning she had been wandering aimlessly for a few hours now. She hadn’t bothered to memorize any landmarks, certain that she’d find her way back to the ship when she was ready. She needed to get away for a little bit, stretch her legs. She had nothing against her companion; in fact she liked him a lot. He was just a little clingy sometimes. And the cramped ship didn’t exactly mean she had a lot of alone time.

She was still far removed from any sort of civilization when she stopped in one of the long shadows cast by a nearby rock spire, her bare feet slightly buried in the cool sand. In retrospect, she probably should have been wearing her boots on a planet as dangerous as this. There was just too great a temptation to feel the pleasant sand between her toes, like she used to. The boots would be waiting for her back at the ship anyways.

She gave a small sigh as she turned around, running the fingers of her right hand through her hair, as if deep in thought. She stood for a few moments, only making minor motions such as stretching and fidgeting, her face giving away that she was deep in thought, if the movements weren’t clue enough. Eventually she sighed again, both arms moving for her belt, the only area of the loose-fitting robe that was actually tight against her body. On either hip sat four metallic cylinders, their shapes obvious to any Jedi. Seemingly at random, she took one from each side, looking nowhere in particular. An aqua blade extended from the one in her right hand less than a second before an identical emerald blade came from her left.

”Playing spies is all well and good, but I think it’s time we call it a day. It’ll be dark soon, after all. Korriban is terribly dangerous at night. It would be a waste if you were eaten before I had my fun.”

The blades lit up the shadow, and cast a strange appearance of duality on her face. Her right side was tinged with a light blue, while her left was mired in an emerald hue. This made her smirk much more visible, and strangely sinister.

[Jazen]

If Jazen had ever wondered why the Sith preferred to call Korriban home, he didn't need to work his mind over that now. The reasons...and some more apparent then others, were staring him him clear in the face. The planet was harsh, cruel, offering little in the way of mercy or relief for those who dared to walk its surface. In a way, it was an active match to the one's who chose to dwell on it.

The planet was practically barren, much like how many Sith cared not for anything but the skin on their backs. Another symbolic match to the men and women who dared to brave its face. And the planet itself was isolated, far from the eyes of many and even harder to find for those eyes that were looking. A good choice for an order of Sith that didn't want to be found, a base of operations they could always return to to rise again stronger then ever.

And the dark side was ripe with the planet. Even now, Jazen could feel the negative energy tugging at his every sense, at every fiber of his mind. The dark voice, the evil double that he held within him cried louder then ever before here. It was stronger, wanting him to give in to its alluring promise of power at the price of the very morals he spend most of his life trying to uphold. Only the desire to save his master and the lessons he'd learned for many years kept his own personal darkness at bay....but for how long remained to be seen.

He'd shadowed the woman for a while now, using the skills and strategies Locke had taught him to keep out of sight, out of the Force, out of mind. His feet hurt, his body pained from the heat, but he put all that aside, focusing his attention on the woman to keep her in sight. She cast the occasional look around, but by then, he was always hidden, waiting till the Force told him that danger had passed and it was safe to move. Minutes became hours and if Jazen didn't know any better, he'd swore they had walked for days.

Finally, the woman stopped her journey and sought shelter in the shadow of a nearby spire. Taking a spot behind a spire of his own, Jazen squatted down to wait for her to move again, secretly thankful for the rest. At first, he'd thought she noticed him....but she was only just stretching out her body.

He was just about to grab something from his pack to chew on when the woman suddenly opened her robe. Four cylinders hung there, what they were apparent to Jazen the moment he saw them. And when two of those cylinders were drawn and casting two glows of light, one aqua, one emerald, Jazen knew he was in trouble. She had seen him...or felt him rather. It should have been obvious; here in a planet of darkness was a being of light. He probably stuck out like a sore thumb.....or maybe she had seen him and not let it on till now. Either way, his cover was blown.

Sighing, Jazen stepped from his cover, the hilt of his saber already in hand. Icy blue light snapped to life beside him, the hum of their lightsabers the only sound in the wastes. With another visible sigh, Jazen lifted his saber up into a defensive posture, chuckling.

"Well damn....I'd hate to ruin your day by getting eaten. Doubt they'd like me much, I'm too stringy and stubborn to taste good. But I'm sure they'd like to eat something that's as twisted inside as they are.

So, if you want to get your fun in, better do it quick. I have an appointment to keep and your going to take me to it when I've finished putting my boot to your behind."

[Vipervertical]

OOC: I take it by your lack of comment that I have done nothing wrong yet? I guess that makes sense, as we're not in combat yet. But hey, at least I do awesome normally, right? ....Right?

---

With a simultaneous flick of her wrists, the blades twirled once, leaving two circular afterimages for a moment. Her smirk only grew when he stepped out of his futile hiding place. She didn’t even bother to drop into a combat stance.

”So you’re really it? You’ve got a lot of guts, kid. But you’re hardly worth my time.” She flicked the left blade again, this time letting it get low enough to glass a small section of the sand. ”I’m sorry you won’t make it to your little appointment, but I don’t even know where the nearest Jedi baby-sitter is. Instead, why don’t I introduce myself for the unlikely possibility that you survive?” She rolled her shoulders back, still loosening the powerful muscles that she’d been unable to use for weeks. ”You can tell everyone that you were spared by the lovely Pride herself. That is, of course, if I decide to spare you.”

Finally she slid her feet into a more combat-ready stance, the sand parting around the toes. She hardly gave him any time to respond before kicking off of the loose surface, flinging herself at the young Jedi with both blades poised for striking. The Force itself flowed through her, allowing her to travel much farther in a single leap than she would be able to otherwise, and just enough to reach the Jedi’s pitiful defense.

((D: It's already started! See how short this is? It's terrible! *cries in a corner*))

[Jazen]

[Well, no, there's nothing wrong so far Xinder. By gods, your doing great ^_^ And learn my saying "short and sweet" is better then "long and pointless". Length is okay, but its quality that really matters in the end to me.]

Jazen had fought Sith before. Their arrogance and belief in their abilites was nothing new. They believed that just because they used their emotions and tapped the full power of the Force, that they were invincible and stronger then their Jedi foes. And to some level, they were right. The dark side was meant to instill power in one, grant them powers that ultimately were designed to inflict pain and chaos instead of the peaceful powers of the Jedi. But this was not always true; if it was, how would Sith fall to the Jedi? It was simple; dark may devour light...but it is also true that light beats back the dark.

Jazen almost laughed when the woman introduced herself as Pride; a fitting name for a Sith. But her words rang true to a degree. Jazen was still a padawan learner, even if he was closing in on the age of knighthood. Compared to her, a woman who likely had a few years on him in both age and skill, he wasn't much of a threat. And Jazen had never fought someone stronger them himself on his own before. Locke, his fellow knight Master Talau or even Jazen's friend and fellow padawan Elysia had were usually there when such a thing happened. To fight someone older and stronger on his own, Jazen had yet to grace that test.

But that didn't mean she should underestimate him.

His gaze didn't fall from the woman, nor did his stance shrink back from the woman as she finally readied herself. He cautiously eyed those dual sabers, a style he'd come to know well in his lessons against Master Talau and to a degree as of late, his own Master Locke. They both used two sabers after all, or at least, knew the art. It wasn't much, but having faced the style before would hopefully grant him a small advantage. For a while. The sudden dash towards him caught him by surprise though, even as the Force screamed danger to him like a shrilling siren.

"Jazen Solari. I'm "pleased" to make your acquiantance."

And then she was on him, sabers cutting towards his form. But if she thought the dual sabers would grant her the advantage by giving her two angles of attack, she was wrong. Dead wrong. For Jazen had practiced the style that made the number of weapons used against him a triffle thing. Soresu. The defensive combat that called for the smallest motion, the less effort, to parry away attacks while the user waited for their chance. Against an agressive foe like this woman was turning out to be, Soresu was the perfect counter. And in these open plains, Jazen's other form would come in handy later.

Jazen's saber came in swift and calm to parry the attacks that came his way, deflecting them away from his body with the most basic of motions. Never far from his original stance did the saber fall, most of his parries requiring only the twist of his wrist to put it into the path of an incoming attack. And all the while, he watched the woman...and waited for her to make an mistake.

(Okay, there is something I can suggest. Try describing where and how she's attacking. "Pride swung her saber downwards towards the boy's right shoulder, before bringing her left saber up diagonal to strike at his side." It gives your foe something to direct their block to and maybe find a way to counter logically. That is all, keep on trucking)

[Vipervertical]

(((Yeah, you can probably see where I intentionally went very vague there at the end. I was trying to be sure not to godmod and I guess I overcompensated. I'll see if I can get a bit more detail in there. Also, I edited the first post because I moved her app to Dark Jedi. Just a little heads up.)))

The blades met before her feet hit the ground. A flash of light sparked the air as aqua and emerald met icy blue. Pride used the sheer force to shove off and land poised a foot away. She gave him no respite, however, and was instantly on the offensive. Her ambidexterity lent itself well to the use of Jar’Kai, allowing her to use either blade for both attack and defense with equal effect. But for now, both were being used to assail him from all sides in an attempt to get through his defenses. He was surprisingly good at defending himself, but she pressed hard. If she could force him to give up ground, the backpedaling might open up holes in his defense.

She filed his name away for later; her mind was too focused on the battle to worry about trivialities. No matter how hard she tried, the boy was always able to push the attack away at the last second. It was becoming frustrating. The three blades danced in a colorful light show as she probed his defenses with quick yet powerful swings.

After what may have been hours (but likely only minutes, judging from the still present sunlight), she tried a new manner of attack. Without warning, she pulled back from the relentless onslaught. Before he had a chance to breathe easy, she quickly kicked up a cloud of sand, only giving it a minor nudge with the force directly at the Jedi’s face. It was a dirty trick, but battles to the death hardly had a code of honor. Luckily the slight wind was going in the same direction, making the use of the force almost a formality.

Capitalizing on the handicap she was causing, she immediately went to strike again, not waiting to see if the underhanded maneuver was at all effective. The emerald blade moved quickly towards his right abdomen, attempting to run him straight through with a quick horizontal slash. Only slightly behind it, the aqua blade came from high, a diagonal strike aimed at his left shoulder. Providing her trick had caused the Jedi sufficient disorientation, both blades would likely hit their mark, but it was always good to overkill just in case.

A wicked smirk grew on her lips; victory was all but assured at this point.

(((Blah, sorry about that. You're probably well aware of what went down that night, so whatever. But here it is in complete form! I'm pretty proud on the length of this one actually. And by that I mean not crying from brevity, still not long enough to brag about. Anywho, tried to be a bit more descriptive and I hope I didn't go overboard. All yours, Jazzy)))

[Jazen]

((Is okay, still worked. Just be sure to never autohit without permission ^_^ And I see, I see. Still all good))

Jazen never found himself more thankful then he was at this moment for having choose Soresu as a form to learn. Had he only practiced his Ataru or learned perhaps Makashi, the woman known as Pride's relentless assault upon him might have found its mark a lot sooner.

But his understanding of the defensive style, as trival as it was, was saving his life from her blades at the moment. After her first attack, she had broken back from him...for a moment. But no sooner had she landed on her feet did her attack continue. And if anyone could have seen the battle that was taking place on those empty desert plains, their first thought would have been.....beautiful. Not from Jazen's perspective, since he was fighting for his life, but the whirling combination of aqua, emerald and ice would be what many would consider a work of art and beauty.

Time and again, his small yet effective blocks met aqua or emerald light. Pride was skilled, very skilled. With either hand she attacked and in the next moment, used the same hand to block while the other hand attacked in its place. And vice versa. It was a good style; it made it hard to predict which hand she'd use to attack and which she'd used to defend, her constant switching of the two forcing Jazen to stay on his toes. But seeing as he had made little offensive strikes, little stabs when it looked like she had left herself open, it was mostly Jazen who had to do the defending.

Her sudden withdrawal from the assault was surprising, but it wasn't like it wasn't expected. Such a long attack without pause would be tiring. She had probably pulled back to give herself a chance to catch her breath before she dove right back into the flurry. Or perhaps she was plotting a new strategy, seeing as how her previous attacks had yielded no promising results. Either way, Jazen was thankful to have a chance to let his muscles catch a break, if even for just a moment. But he didn't let his guard down, not around a Sith or a Dark Jedi. They weren't exactly one to play by the....

He didn't get to finish his thought, though her next actions proved them true anyway. Sand suddenly sprayed his way, moved both by an unseen force and the wind he felt brushing against his face. He rose his one arm up to try and shield his face from the dirt and sand but alas...he was a step to slow. Some of it splashed into his eyes, forcing them shut as the small grains burned his eyes. Using the same arm that had tried to block the dirt, he rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear them of the foreign matter now impeding his sight.

He didnt need his eyes to know danger was coming though. Squinting through his now blood shot and itchy eyes, he saw the outline of the woman coming in. He could see the light of her sabers, blurred, but still there. But in this state.....he needed to buy time till his eyes recovered. He was handicapped till then....or was he? True, the senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste were important, the first three being the keys to combat. But there was one more sense he could rely on...one both dark and light had. The Force.

And it was the Force he called upon now. Even in this twisted, dark place, Jazen could still feel the touch of the light. It filled him with warmth, with hope....with power. And through it, he let his actions move, let the danger be felt and countered. Almost by instinct, he flipped up and back, avoiding the incoming slash to his body. But the blade coming from above was a threat as well....he managed to deflect it enough to that it only lightly seared his shoulder as he passed, twisting his body away from the weapon. His shoulder burned from the pain, but he called the Force to that too, numbing his hurt as it slowly started to mend it.

He landed on the flat of a nearby rock, the light starting to return to his eyes. If Pride thought he would fall so easily, she was wrong. His Master was waiting for him....and no Sith or what not was going to stop him from getting to Locke. Whirling his saber before him, Jazen brought it down to his side, both hands on the hilt as it pointed to the left diagonal. He didn't wait a second longer then he needed to before launching himself towards the woman. This open terrain, with all the space to it was perfect...as was the rock spires. Here he could use his Ataru to its fullest.

Landing just short of the woman, Jazen rolled and brought his saber up towards her, even as he once again shot into the sky, swinging it from the overhead at her shoulder. He'd land behind her, making sure to deflect any attempts at him while he was in the air, then spin and launch back at her, swinging his saber quickly from the right at her leg, then up at her opposite shoulder. And he'd press into a flurry for a moment, pushing at her with all the force he could muster....all the meanwhile moving a small rock to their side and having it fly towards her head. If this failed though, he'd switch back to the defensive Soresu to save his strength for the next step.

((Very good bro, very good ^_^))

[Mara]

Moved inactive pending. If you wish to have it reactivated, PM FZ or Silas to let them know.