Duel Bloody Dunes (Vora Kaar)

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

I view you as an ally, Sovereign Delsin Shaw , and you had my respect until it became clear you don't return that respect. To the best of my recollection, I have never asked to be considered superior. All I have ever asked is not to be considered inferior. When fools have considered themselves above me, I have done far worse than issue a challenge - but for the sake of the respect I held for you, and may hold again once I've educated you, a challenge is what you get. Meet me at a certain set of ruins on Tash-Taral, coordinates enclosed.

ACV

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Ashin sat curled up in the shade of a broken wall. She'd been physically imposing in her youth, but that was decades and lives ago. Now she knew she presented an unimpressive visual: a lean, weatherbeaten woman of late middle age. She'd closed her eyes and leaned back against the rotten sandstone to wait, as if sleeping. No armor, no grand weapons, no particular amulets or trinkets, just a breezy pale robe and a lightsaber.

This was more or less how she'd challenged Moridin for the throne, or gone up against others who disdained her. She wanted to win or come as close as possible - and give them no excuse for however far she got.


OOC/ Any WOTSers who want to observe but not interject or interfere, go for it.

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[Delsin Shaw]

A location enclosed of a notation from a previous open sourced view upon the force. Ashin Varanin, has challenged Sovereign Vora. It was due to his ideals that many would easily label as controversial. If it were a small group, or on a secluded world, it may have not garnered any attention. However, when stated about a wide, and rather encompassing religion of the Force, it grabbed attention easily. However, that is the stature of which Vora would have to learn to live with. Instead of being in the shadows, claimed as a "Heretic" like many who were with the Keepers, ideals would clash.

While Vora had shown some respect to the Sith who challenged him due to her extensive knowledge of the force, it is unsure how much of that respect he still had with his ideals and his take of a Rule of the Few. Of course, every Sith Lord or Lady would have times in which they said or did things that others took offense too. It was with this, that Vora wished to show the due respect of accepting the challenge of one Ashin, but still prove a point he had made. Even should he lose.

The desert ruins upon Tash-Taral were clearly selected for its mix of open spaces, as well as enclosed areas. One that the terrain could be used to one's advantage. The invitation was accepted.

Vora brought only himself, and his typical garb of a simple armorweave, helmet, and saber. However, the cloak he wore was removed from him. Exposing the entirety of his frame to the woman and any who came to watch. The Visor looking outwards toward the challenger.

"Ashin Varanin, I accept your challenge."

The metallic voice ringing out and influenced from the helmet to be much louder than what a normal man would be able to speak. Leaving his saber off, but in his hand, ready for Ashin to make her move. It was she who challenged him after all. Tradition, Heresy, Valor, Honor? Whichever one called it, While Vora had ideas and thoughts of many aspects of the force that would rub the wrong way, one thing he would never accept, is being known to not take a challenger serious when his own Rule of the Few, dictate that only those who were strong enough to thrive, should be the ones to continue the survival of the Sith.

Ashin Cardé Varanin

 

[Darth Immortuos]

He came in thunder. An apparition quayed back to safety.
Immortuos in Tash-Taral, His gazed spanned leagues ahead.
Ruins and what once was.

He knew not their toils.
Cared little for their sins and strife's.
The dry air was thick with tension.

The air took him thereof, carrying him off foot. Airborn he ascended.
In league with the heights of pillars and the ruins, Immortuos found solace.
He was still. An observer and witness for what came next. His reputation spoke for itself and did his presence.
Ashin Cardé Varanin and Sovereign Delsin Shaw should of expected an audience.

Let the game begin.


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[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

Ashin unfolded from her seat against the wall and brushed sand from the pleats of her loose robe. The robe was her one concession to seeking advantage. It had zero armor value, but it suited the desert. She grinned openly at Delsin Shaw 's trademark black ensemble, which had to be hot and stifling even before the duel began.

"I'm not out to kill you," she said, igniting her saber. This was a new weapon with a golden blade and a clean, elegant design. Good ergonomics, a touch of style. "But it's vital to your growth as a leader that you shake off cognitive biases and see clearly.

"Belia Darzu. Anaya Fen. Lumiya. Matsu Xiangu. Sorzus Syn. Taeli Raaf. Me. Any number of women have achieved rank among the greatest Sith Lords despite condescension, underestimation, and opposition from our peers - and our inferiors."

A broad web of lightning exploded from her off hand, and not just any lightning. Virtually all Sith Masters aimed for greater and greater power, but few knew about a specific, narrow, low-powered range - around 100 to 200 milliamps - that would kill a human outright, induce a brutal heart attack. She'd trained hard using specialized tools to pinpoint that range as a practitioner. Today she ran with it.

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[Delsin Shaw]

Not out to kill Vora Kaar. Just to teach a lesson to a person who is arguably, much younger than her. It was no lie, Vora had heard of many of these women and their exploits. What made him question such actions, was that these women were the exceptions to the rule. Not the rule itself. Name the nearly uncountable Sith Lords that have made their mark in history. Compare it to the female sith. Barely a handful could be considered powerful enough to obtain such high of ranks. Either way, the man simply shrugged as the gold blade hummed before him.

What made the man smile behind the mask, was the addition of "Inferiors" to her last words. Electing to send out a blast of crackling lightning towards him. With no chance to state any words he wished, having to act on instinct alone, the sands rose.

While Lightning was a powerful tool that could easily kill any foe, it had to fight through a medium to perform its damage. It wasn't a projectile moving through the "Liquid" air. It was energy lancing out and searing flesh with its potency. Should it loose said strength? Sand was the answer. As if a carpet was being ripped upwards to the sky, the path between the two Sith Lords erupted with a small wave of sand, dust and debris to reduce the power pressing forth towards Vora. While it did reach him, and smacked him backwards with the sudden jolt of pain. It was not enough to kill. Though, It was another lesson quickly learned. Ashin, while a stalwart fighter, knew her way around the electrical persuasion of the force.

No words uttered, but a couple groans of being smacked with the electrical current. Ashin was known to be quite the combatant with a saber. As much as Vora wished to test this theory, he was not so easily convinced. Clearing his throat for a moment as steps were taken to close the gap.

"Clearly according to who? You? Long dead Sith?"

The crimson blades of the Cruciform Forcesaber ignited with a deep hum. The force rippled through the appendages of Vora. The pain seared his flesh. This pain fueled him like many Sith before him. Like those who thrived off of the emotions, the fear, the pain, of themselves and others. Yet, a twinge of doubt in his skills found his mind. One in which was quashed quickly before it grew.

"Shouldn't I respect you more than my other peers, or inferiors, due to the trials you had? Would you really be so quick to discount that maybe, its for the betterment of the Sith? Only those who fight for everything they have taken, or gained, can keep it. Now, I will take everything."

The sand, just as much as it was the tool to reduce injury to himself, was used by the Dark Sovereign to be thrown at the assailant. Grains of sand, and dust were turned into impromptu projectiles. Thrust forward with the force in the fashion a slug fired from a gun. The wave of them closing the distance with little more than a blur. A form of Telekinesis that could alter an item, to be flung at such speeds.

With the Lightning being a test for Vora, the sand was the return to Ashin.

Ashin Cardé Varanin Darth Immortuos

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

As Delsin Shaw spoke, Ashin wrapped herself in well-honed Force protection: a haze of distorted reality clung to her. Bits of her robe fluttered outside the full-body shield. His speech gave her a good deal of time to make the protection good and strong. She had no idea what he'd throw at her in return-

Oh look, sand.

It felt like half the desert was sandblasting her. The sand thundered against her shield and threw her off her feet. Her Force shield failed in a coruscating mess, and the tail end of the ballistakinesis burst drove sand-grains through her robe in bloody pinpricks. Her saber tumbled away.

The kid hits like a rancor. Ah well. Knew this was going to be a lot of work.

She picked herself back up again, much faster than someone her age should've been able to. The saber zipped back to her hand. A good twenty meters separated her from Vora right now, and she decided to close the gap. She dug her boots into the sand and sprinted, calling on the Force to enhance her endurance - she didn't want to deplete her physical stamina. Closing the distance gave Vora plenty of room and time to react, interfere, or reciprocate.

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[Darth Daiara]

Aradia's lithe form might be seen appearing on the edge of the scene, red hair tucking neatly behind the pillar of the outer ruins.

She had spent the short span of her life defying the circumstances of her birth. From slave, to acolyte, to a free standing sith, she had broken all the chains that had held her back.

It was strange, then, to have her sex listed as the next chain in her ascension. She disagreed with the sentiment. For obvious reasons. What rankled her the most was who the statement had come from.

And to think, she was considering Ashin's offer to join under this man.

Ashin disappeared under an unforgiving lash of sand. A shield protected Aradia from the fringes, the girl watching it all as the man's darkness whispered into the edges of her mind. She dug in her heels against the unrelenting storm. Anticipation built in her chest- Ashin burst through the attack, moving without injury as she closed the distance.

Aradia's lips pulled back in a satisfied sneer.

 

[Delsin Shaw]

Wordless after being quite literally sandblasted with an undetermined grain count, Ashin seemed to take it much better than others may have. Knowing she used the Way of the Monolith to fortify herself to stand against pretty much anything thrown her way, Vora would only suspect that the final hits made it through with the saber being thrown to the side. While it did make him feel better about the situation, Almost as though his steps in trying to close the distance were done with more gusto.

It was Ashin who was set to close them.

Drawing the saber once more, its golden glow matched well with the sands of Tash-Taral. However, the Crimson, nearly breaking blade of Vora's seemed to want to defy all that was around him. Black and red in a sea of brown and gold. Standing truly defiant against all that stood near him. Ashin seemed to give plenty of time for Vora to react. Knowing well that this was to make an advance. Create seeds of doubt of a formidable fighter was closing the distance. However, those thoughts were pushed out of his head for the time being. Wordlessly taking his own sprinting steps to close the distance between them as well.

Off hand scraping low, with a swirl of the force picking up more sand from the ground to launch it once more at the woman. Working the first time, it may work a second if not careful. Quite literally acting to obscure her vision so that when the distance was finally closed, Vora's Strong-style swings with the cruciform saber came swinging with power and speed. Cleaving not into her, but intending to go completely through her. Coming down hard from her left shoulder to right hip, with the following backhanded swipe that would come across her chest.

The greater part of this, is Vora loved the aspect of Way of the Monolith. It fit his own fighting style rather well. Standing still and taking blow after blow, while using a stance that could batter his opponents into submission. He was sure Ashin could take it. But how long would she last? Of course, according to him, he should be the more powerful fighter in not just gender, but age.

Ashin Cardé Varanin Darth Daiara Darth Immortuos

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

Delsin Shaw had the advantage of reach - he stood a few inches taller - and youth to some extent, and durability now that Ashin's body wasn't human. But as Irina Volkov had once said, if a Sith is impeded by biology then they are hardly a Sith worth remembering.

Vora's second blast of sand rattled off renewed Force protection like rain on a metal roof. Ashin charged through it unimpeded. The Force filled her, enhancing her strength and resilience like any serious duellist did by instinct. She killed her forward momentum and skidded in the sand as his slash whipped past her chest. A heartbeat later she stepped in close and blocked the backhand by jamming her vertical saber against the underside of his crossguard hilt. She had no hope of shaking the saber out of his grip that way, but that wasn't the goal. Instead she jolted her blade forward.

Granted, she had no idea what his lightsaber was made of. But shearing off the outward blade emitter would make her day. And if it turned out that his saber was alchemy or beskar or some such, the inward-turned side of the crossguard might just become a hazard for Vora.

The maneuver was a simple one, so just on general principle she attempted to step on his nearest foot. He had tough boots, she had tough boots, but nobody likes having their foot stepped on.

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