Round 2: Jedi Tournament Zenduu V Meredydd

[Coren Starchaser]

And it had been a few days, just enough for holos to be reviewed, give the Jedi time to heal, and rest up, revitalize themselves. For those who were wanting to continue on with the tournament, there were more matches lined up. And for others, some had to travel out and others were coming back, the training and sparring grounds were open to all. And with so many missions going on for the Jedi, it was easy to get lost in the lines.

The nice thing about the Praxeum that Ember Farseer helped to establish, was that there wasn’t quite a denomination. Jedi from all over had come to train here, learn from one of the instructors, or another, or help network with another group of Jedi who were leaning in the way they wanted.

Today, the Jedi were back at it. The spar had the same rules, general simple garb, and training weapons of the Jedi’s own choosing, as long as they were of the melee designation, no Jedi popping in with ranged weapons. Occuring in one of the many indoor sparring rooms, the Jedi were greeted by a Sentinel to introduce the rules and combatants. They were also there to call points and assist if there was a dispute.

It was unlikely, because it was the Jed, but it made most feel better.

Round 2 of the Jedi Dueling Tournament [member="Jerek Zenduu"] v [member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

After the same basic things that had gone on before the previous fight, such as security checks, Abigail walked into the fighting area, ready for her next opponent. Her previous fight had been a tough one, but that also meant she had learned from it, and had undoubtedly increased her skills. She had enjoyed it too. Sure, fighting wasn't something she would do just for fun in her free time (unlike her mother), but she still had doing so fun nonetheless.

She had her curved hilt saber in her hand. She had been pleasantly surprised by how the weapon felt, as her previous match had been the first time she ever used one. Playing around with the hilt a bit, she chuckled as she thought back to a comment she had received on her way here. She had put some effort into her looks today, especially her hair. Because of that, someone had asked her if she was going on a date.

Funny thing. This was probably one of the few times where it wasn't really necessary for Abby to make sure she looked good, and it was also one of the few times where she actively did.

After chuckling one last time, Abigail averted her attention forwards, waiting for her opponent with a smile.

[member="Jerek Zenduu"]

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

Somehow, Jerek had come out of his last duel as the only combatant left standing. He still wasn't exactly sure how, but he took it in stride. If he was here now, in round two, surely he must have done something right. Still, it did mean that whoever he was facing now had accomplished the same feat, so the challenge before him now was obvious.

The challenge herself already stood within the dueling area as Jerek entered, attired once more in the provided outfit of the tournament, his particular choices mirroring his customary training clothes. She was standing there in similarly nondescript garb, but that was the only nondescript thing about her. Her hair was made up, her skin seemed to shine, and even the smile she wore on her face was iridescent.

Jerek tried not to let that distract him, choosing to focus instead on his opponent's held lightsaber and form. It was hard to tell in her hands, but the padawan spied a curved lightsaber hilt. A Makashi user? The boy wasn't so familiar with fighting that form, but he knew its users favored a curved saber hilt. Something about advantages to the hold or grace of movement, but he was certain tradition played a large enough part of that. Holding the own straight-hilted saber, also a loaner from the tournament organizers, in his own hand, Jerek moved it into position as he stepped into the center of the dueling area.

Saber high overhead, feet apart but balanced, his open hand towards his opponent. The opening stance of Soresu. He nodded towards his opponent, eschewing the introductions this time.

He was ready, was she?

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]​

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail curiously eyed her opponent as he walked into the dueling area. He looked... very young. Far too young to be participating in such a fight. Or at least, for most of the children who shared the same age with her opponent. She herself knew all too well age sometimes didn't matter. For that reason she didn't think any less of the challenge that stood before her, on the contrary, she was impressed that the child had made it this far. It was quite impressive, especially at his age.

The boy didn't seem to be interested in getting to know her, or at least not before the duel. This was a bit disappointing to Abigail, as she had always valued the small introductions and conversations before a fight, but she figured they could also do it afterwards.

She recognised the boy his stance, and quickly deducted which form the boy would probably be using. Soresu. His defence would probably be quite strong, and he would probably be able to outlast her as well. No matter, she would find a way to deal with him. Probably. Hopefully.

After giving the kid a small nod as a greeting, she ignited her saber as well. She held it in front of her pointed upwards, and then lowered it to aim it towards her opponent.

She was ready.

And judging by his stance, so was he.

She stepped towards her opponent, taking a quick second to look at his stance, and then did a simple thrust with her blade towards her opponent. It's wasn't anything too fancy, as Abigail didn't expect to have any success now that her opponent was still calm and ready for a strike. Because of that Abigail figured it to be a waste of energy to do anything special. Her thrust would be easy to block, but it would start the match, and would undoubtedly be followed by many more difficult moves.

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

Her opening move seemed to confirm his thoughts, a salute and then an aggressive posture, which the boy's opponent turned into a thrust towards him. As she stepped towards him, the woman entered his area of protection, the zone around which he had been taught to protect during his instruction in Soresu. He was already moving, bringing down his saber arm in a wide arc as the foot underneath it followed. The arc seemed to paint the outer boundary of his circle with its tip, and by the time he brought it towards his opponent, his left foot had moved as well, bringing his body out of the area of the thrust's aim, moving his whole self to dodge the strike.

Yet in dodging, he had also brought the saber in an arc towards his opponent's, so now they were perpendicular, and with the weight planted on his opposing foot again, he could lift his saber foot up as he brought the arm down towards the lightsaber blade so that the two of them would collide. Using the leverage he had with his lightsaber blade against hers, Jerek applied a downward pressure as his right foot landed again, giving him the ability to lean into the strike to deflect her blade harmlessly away into the space between them to his right.

This all took place in the space of a second, and in the next, Jerek had spun away, holding his saber arm high and tight against him with the blade pointed down across his back as he circled away from his opponent, his right foot always moving with, or just slightly behind, his right arm. As he completed his spin, his lightsaber came down again, moving only in the newly created space between the two duelists, Jerek had now moved far enough to clear more than a lightsaber's span between them.

With his zone of protection clear once again, the boy faced his opponent. His saber arm began moving in one of the hallmarks of form three, a major orbit; his hand not so much spinning but moving in a tight figure-8 pattern, causing the blade to windmill in front of him. His left arm, still free from holding anything, folded across his chest, its hand not gripping his right bicep but staying close to it. He moved his saber arm side to side slightly to block any possible incursions from the flank, always keeping it moving erratically in an attempt to keep his opponent from calculating an entrance spot.

It would seem to any outside observer that this move would take too much effort to maintain, but like any other activity, it only required the practice and repetition to build up the stamina. And stamina was the goal of Soresu, to outlast his opponent so that he could deliver more aggressive moves later on and finish the match standing. That was later, though, this was now, and Jerek watched his opponent to see what she would do next.

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]​

​

Spoiler

(Some of the moves were taken from the TPLA YouTube Channel's videos on Soresu)

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

As the boy easily dodged and deflected her strike, as she had expected, Abigail followed her blade with her body, letting the momentum carry her forward for a bit. She noticed that the boy had taken a few steps away from her, and when Abigail slowly turned around again she saw him looking at her as he started spinning his saber.

Abigail, still not very adept in lightsaber combat, took a few seconds to once again observe her opponent's stance. He stood defensively once more. It seemed that she would need to think of something during the battle to change roles, because she expected that the boy would try to wear her down by continuously defending himself and deflecting her attacks. The fact that Abigail was often using a mix of the common styles didn't help either, as the boy was probably much better versed on the usage of a lightsaber.

The brown haired woman observed the lightsaber's movement. There was a returning pattern, yet it was never completely the same. While the overarching move was similar, the boy seemed to make new movements every so often to throw her off.

She was still getting used to all of this, as she had learned throughout her life to beat any opponents with wits and tactics often involving stealth. She wasn't very familiar with these duels, where skill was one of the only things that had a big impact on the duel.

However, even through the boy's erratic movements, Abigail thought she could see an opportunity in his defence. She wasn't going to attempt to push her saber completely through it like a madman, but she would attempt to block and hinder the boys defence. If she could just block and then push the boy's lightsaber to the side, she would be able to reach him.

Abigail smiled and she let out a small chuckle as she slightly lowered her saber, before quickly striking forwards with it in an attempt to hit her opponent's saber to the side, trying to create an opening for herself- or at least to break his current defence.

[member="Jerek Zenduu"]