Private A learning experience

[xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria]

Sicaria switched on her lightsabers, ready to go through the pain that would most probably define her future.
Her mentor, Imperius , had decided that she needed to fit into the role of a proper assassin, as he liked to say, and had brought her here to be taught for a bit by the one whom he called the "greatest sith assassin". A scowl emerged on her face. That title belonged to her.
Darth Ophidia

 

[Darth Ophidia]

It was not often Darth Ophidia was asked to meet with another master's student.

Not often, but not unwelcome.

Spying new talent was always entertaining, but sharpening it to the perfect tool for the Sith, that was a calling. There were few in this galaxy who shared her speciality, and even less who shared her degree of expertise. And so, there were times when she agreed to share a piece of her knowledge to the new generation of assassins.

A figure stood before the young Sith, back turned, hood raised, hands hidden in the sleeves. It was a mass of black fabric draped over a slender form, but definitely humanoid.

A raspy chuckle escaped her, echoing off the walls.

"My sweet, I admire your tenacity."

Ophidia could smell the bloodlust on the young woman. She could hear her scowl and taste her hatred in the air. Her arms spread out to the sides, gloved hands turned up, with palms to the sky as if she offered herself as a gift.

"Do it."

xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria

 

[xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria]

Sicaria needed no further encouragement. Her master had praised this woman, so Sicaria would take due caution, but it was time for her opponent to die. Quick as the wind, she brought down her primary lightsaber at waist-length. At the same time, her Shoto was brought out, ready for a follow-up stab- a quick, clean death. Rather merciful, really, considering how much rage was coursing through her veins Darth Ophidia

 

[Darth Ophidia]

xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria

What did the young one expect?

Did she think a Lord of the Sith would simply roll over and allow herself to be stabbed and bisected by some upstart? No, she must have expected that the figure would fight back, to make a display of speed and cunning. One would expect a sabre or two coming into play and, with flash and whirl parry and deflect the horisontal slash and sudden stab in the back, followed by snide comments and mockery of the apprentice's skill and dedication.

Yet, no such thing happened.

The horisontal slash buried itself into the dark figure's side, and the robed form doubled over, almost like clay being struck. It enveloped the sabre as it cut through, sticking to the superheated plasma as if it was some sort of resistant glue. And then the thrust of the shoto summoned from the figure a shrill howl of pain and hate.

A pulse of power pushed out like a powerful burst of wind, and scattered the body to glowing cinders and fine ash as the robes collapsed on the floor. Victory, swift and sudden.

And there was a deafening silence as the room grew dim.

A whisper on the left, footsteps to the right, a brush of fabric behind her. An echo bounced from wall to wall as the air grew cold and rife with the scent of ozone. The whispers and echoes and turned to a sourceless laughter that permeated every corner, but save for the crumpled cloak, there was no other presence near.

 

[Imperius]

accidental post wrng accnt

 

[xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria]

Her heart was racing, her pupils dilated as her eyes flicked from movement to movement, Trying to find a figure to strike. The Shoto was in a low guard, ready to block whatever was thrown at her.
And she had a solution. Sicaria force-pushed omni-directionally, shoving against whatever surrounded her, praying that this worked. Her rage was turning into fear, and while Imperius might be the greater warrior, not even he could inspire the same sort of fear that Darth Ophidia was inspiring in her.

 

[xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria]

technical difficulties

 

[Darth Ophidia]

xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria

As the apprentice pushed out in every direction, the darkness and sound momentarily subsided, as if a fog had been pushed away from her mind and given her a moment of quiet and clarity.

But only a moment.

"What happened to all that spirit?"

The moment of clarity burst as the dark came crashing back in. In the dark came a chorus of snap-hiss as sabres activated. Not one, but five dark-robed figures stepped out of the darkness. They surrounded Sciaria and activated their red blades vertically in front of themselves, before raising their sabres up and chopping diagonally down against Sciaria as they lunged forward.

The attack was simple, but beautifully executed in perfected Makashi form. The lunge extended their reach, allowing them to close to striking distance quickly. And the curved hilts of their sabres made the angle of the attack odd compared to that of a normal sabre.

The blades came down in perfect union from five directions, as if they were all mirages of one attack.

But which one, if any, was real?

 

[xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria]

It was time to stop acting like a warrior, and start taking this fight seriously. Sicaria hadn't, after all, gained her reputation by being dense or headstrong- it was time to beat the opposing Sith at the game they shared.
Darth Ophidia had a particular style when it came to facing an opponent- she used speed and silence and darkness to her advantage, covering her advances and slaughtering an unprepared prey. Sicaria, on the other hand, in what was perhaps Imperius's influence, preferred terror. Even as the five blades closed in for the kill, Darth Sicaria's figure melted into the ground, leaving behind only the aesthetically pleasing yet impractical robes that she had been donning but a moment ago.
And suddenly, fear flooded the room. All but the most powerful would be frozen in place, and even one as powerful and experienced as Op Ophidia surely was would be unable to fight on unaffected- This was, after all, refined killing intent, projected by the force with the sole intention of bringing prey down to their knees.
At he same time, a trap was laid. A figure stood in the corner, seemingly Sicaria with her back to the corner and ready for an opponent to charge her.
Ophidia waited, ready to take out her opponent at the first sign of overextension- she who struck first, struck twice- and Sicaria refused to lose this fight.

Spoiler: OOC

The figure in the corner is a physically similar doppelganger, Ophidia is right above, clinging to the ceiling.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria

The five sabres slashed down until they nearly touched the floor, then stopped as the fabric of their target fell to the floor. In unison, the five figures turned their backs to each other and held each their sabre out near horizontally.

They each looked on into the room, heads turning as one, eyes unblinking.

Then, their blades raised up to vertical, the figures stepped back into a single spot, and whirled to the left. The Sith Lord's body became a mass of swirling black fabric and blurred sabres, merging, melding to the single pillar that is Ophidia's form. The single active sabre was now pointed down at the floor, over her right foot.

"Curious."

Her head twitched a bit against the onslaught on her mind. It was impressive, for a beginner. Yet, this onslaught of fear was still a beginner's game. She could not see any flaw or flimmer in the figure standing in front of her, nor otherwise deduce that it was anything other than Sicaria herself. Yet, Ophidia did not attack.

She was not there to attack - Not yet, anyway.

"In that case, don't just stand there like a coward, strike."

She pointed her sabre at the figure in the corner.

 

[xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria]

The figure stsyed, unmoving, as if having realised that charging in at such sn invitation was folly. The figure would do nothing but defend, only capable of attacking if it’s opponent slipped. Sicaria was careful now- the initiative wilfully handed over to the Sith Lady.
Her opponent would slip, and Sicaria would ensure that it was a hard, hard fall.
Darth Ophidia

 

[Darth Ophidia]

"Ugh, pathetic."

Ophidia extended two of her fingers from the hilt of her sabre and, with a twist of her wrist, closed them again as she willed that Sicaria's image be squished like a grape in a vice.

The force coalesced around the figure in the corner and then pressed in from every side.

If she had meant to kill, it would have been done in an instant, but this was practice with another's apprentice, so she settled for a slower squeeze, giving time for the subject to call for mercy should they wish. That did not mean there was any lack of strength in the crushing power she supplied.

And she appeared to be entirely focused on that pressure.

xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria

 

[xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria]

Sicaria wasn't much of a talker. Even as the other Sith chocked the chit out of Sicaria's figure, She lashed out. A force push against the wall sent her hurtling towards her opponent, both lightsabers ignited, ready to perform an aerial Sai cha. Sicaria could taste the conclusion of the fight in the air, and it tasted of sweet, sweet victory.
Darth Ophidia

 

[Darth Ophidia]

xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria

As her fist closed and the figure was not in fact squished together to an inhumanly small ball, Ophidia grew rightfully suspicious. That was when a bell rung in her head, a warning from the Force of danger incoming.

Instinctively, she stepped sideways and pivoted. Her blade whipped around into a parry, catching both of Sicaria's blades and whipping the tip out to beat Sciaria's blades out to the side with the efficient and fluent motions of a makashi expert. She did not need to use great strength, but employed effective body mechanics and leverage to defend herself seemingly effortlessly.

Every motion was practised to perfection, cutting away anything unnecessary and amplifying the effect. The shape of her hilt complemented her swordplay perfectly,

"That is better."

Her other hand twitched as she brought the force into another burst of telekinesis, seeking to hurl the acolyte across the room.

 

[Imperius]

Her Lightsabers were not quite as suited to this maneuver as her master's spear, but they still worked. Stabbing them both into the ground let her counter her opponents push. Sicaria felt no shame in admitting that Darth Ophidia was stronger than her when it came to the force, but she was confident that her skill with the lightsaber would help her win this. Surprise and momentum were on her side, and Sicaria simply needed to keep the ball rolling. A force push sent her once again flying towards her opponent, starting to execute a textbook Sai cha, only for it to turn into a Cho mai
as she was let inside her opponents guard sure to the instinctive reaction to block the first, blisteringly fast attack. Either way, Sicaria refused to let this fight go any other way.

 

[Imperius]

wrong accnt

 

[xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria]

Her Lightsabers were not quite as suited to this maneuver as her master's spear, but they still worked. Stabbing them both into the ground let her counter her opponents push. Sicaria felt no shame in admitting that Darth Ophidia was stronger than her when it came to the force, but she was confident that her skill with the lightsaber would help her win this. Surprise and momentum were on her side, and Sicaria simply needed to keep the ball rolling. A force push sent her once again flying towards her opponent, starting to execute a textbook Sai cha, only for it to turn into a Cho mai
as she was let inside her opponents guard sure to the instinctive reaction to block the first, blisteringly fast attack. Either way, Sicaria refused to let this fight go any other way.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Like a lanvarok, Sicaria came flying at Ophidia, was sent away, then bounced back. But in Ophidia's own mind, she found the young apprentice to be more akin to a toy than to a traditional weapon of the Sith.

"Your flying assaults make you predictable."

To an experienced sabreur like Ophidia, the fixed trajectories at which the apprentice attacked made the scope of the attack easy to assess. She did not immediately see the feinted behind the Sai Cha coming, as she put her blade up to parry sjhe took a back-step and made a flick of the wrist, turning the strong of Ophidia's blade and the attached cortosis guard covering her fingers, against Sicaria's attack in an attempt to short out her sabre.

Meanwhile, in her other hand, a second hilt seemingly appeared out of nothing, having been hidden in her sleeve. The red blade intercepted Sicaria's Cho-Mai whilst also bursting forward in a thrust at Sicaria's abdomen simply by the merit of being activated.

The speed at which she reacted may have seemed impossible, a fellow acolyte would likely have lost a hand and a head, but experience and practise allowed Ophidia to take shortcuts.

"And your combinations are rudimentary at best."

However, she did not contend herself with a parry and riposte, but took a new step forward to regain her lost ground as she followed up the first stab at Sicaria's abdomen with two flicking attacks. The firs was aimed at the acolyte's elbow as she threw the tip out with her wrist, covering herself with the second sabre. She then switched to protecting herself with the first sabre as the second whipped down in an attack on Sicaria's knee.

Unlike the acolyte, Ophidia's motions had a strong root by swift and steady footwork, rather than rely on acrobatics.


xXDEADXxDarth Sicaria