Private The Edge of the Blade

[Zara Saga]

Tags: Kebii'kara Solus​

Zara, all bleach-blonde hair and disarming smile, surveyed the line of Lilaste warriors before her. The midday sun glinted off her vibroblades, held casually at her sides.

These Lilaste, she mused, were an enigma. Their leader, now holding a freshly-minted seat on the High Council, had secured their alliance with the Diarchy, but at what cost? Autonomy within the Diarchy? It reeked of weakness, of a lack of complete commitment. Zara believed in unwavering loyalty, absolute fealty to the Diarchs. These Lilaste, with their whispered traditions and guarded glances, felt like a gamble. A gamble she was now tasked with assessing.

She shifted her weight, adopting the fluid stance of Jar'Kai, her vibroblades humming with barely restrained power. "Next." she called, her voice laced with a honeyed confidence.

One of the Lilaste, a young man barely out of his teens, stepped forward. He was clearly nervous, his hands trembling slightly as he gripped his own weapon. Zara sized him up in a heartbeat - hesitant, predictable, and utterly outmatched. She danced around his clumsy attacks, her movements a blur of controlled aggression. In seconds, she had him pinned, the tip of one of her vibroblades resting lightly against his throat. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple.

"Another." Zara announced, her voice clear and unwavering, as she disengaged. She spared the defeated warrior a fleeting, almost sympathetic glance. He wouldn't last long in the Diarchy's ranks with that level of skill.

She scanned the remaining faces, her blue eyes, sharp and assessing, hinting at the cunning that lay beneath the facade of youthful charm. She needed a challenge, a real test. Were these recruits truly the best the Lilaste Order had to offer? Or had she been dealt a hand of mediocre cards, meant to be easily dismissed?

"Another..." she repeated, louder this time, her voice tinged with a hint of impatience. She hoped, perhaps against her better judgment, that someone, anyone, would prove her wrong. She wanted to see fire, determination, something beyond the bland obedience she had witnessed so far. She wanted to see what lay beneath the Lilaste Order's carefully constructed image, the truth hidden behind their whispers and veiled glances. And she intended to find that truth, one blade at a time.

 

[Kebii'kara Solus]

CURRENT MISSION - Earning One's Edge
Immediate Goals -
1: Best the Archon (optional)
1.1: Don't die (Mandatory)
2: Befriend the Archon (Optional)

FRIEND(s) - Hopefully soon

FOE(s) - Hopefully none

TARGETING ACTION(S) - Zara Saga || OPEN

---

With a wince, the Lasat that towered over most of the hapless recruits sympathized with the human that was the Archon's latest victim. "It's all right Derbroc..." she reassured the young teen. "You'll get her next time..."

But before them, the blond Archon was pitiless, relentless, ruthless. This wasn't a mere test of martial competency, this was a test of resolve. Kebii'kara had been an ardent follower of the Grand Master Laphisto and the Lilaste Order when they were employed in the Empire - but now they had joined their lot with the Diarchy - the newest faction to rise to some prominence, and there was clearly mistrust on both sides. It would be remiss of the Lasat to not have mistrust in kind, not only of the Diarchy, but of the direction of the Lilase Order. Laphisto wasn't averse to... controversial decisions, but he had always done it for the protection of those who couldn't defend themselves, caught between the eternal war of Jetii and Dar'Jetti - yet perhaps it was the nascency of this polity and the loss of the Order of the Sunstar that had the large purple creature's optimism to be shaken.

She took up the vibroblade, and went forward, giving only a polite smile to her would be opponent. The Archon would sense skill, discipline, thrice trained in the ways of Mandalore, Sunstar, and Lilaste - tempered in active combat...

But there was something absent, like a candle-flame holding on by an ember - the zeal she had once scoured the Galaxy with was now fading, and uncertain. Yet still, she stood, limbs ready, eyes alert, and the Force probing the Archon's capacities as she no doubt was doing the same.

Jar'kai, a pure stance, devoid of Niman. She relies upon dexterity and counterattacks, perhaps she intends to use the Force as her shield? Force her into a fencing stance, overwhelm each limb, use her stance against her.

Strangely enough, the Lasat adopted a more defensive, closed stance, her offhand open-palmed on the base of her weapon in a lazy grasp. Perhaps she was hoping to conserve her strength, let the Archon wear her out in conjunction with keeping an eye open for counterattacks of her own.

 

[Zara Saga]

Tags: Kebii'kara Solus​

Zara felt a thrill course through her as the Lasat stepped forward. Finally, a worthy opponent. The sheer size of the creature was impressive, a testament to raw physical power. The Lasat's polite smile did little to disguise the glint of challenge in her eyes. Zara mirrored the gesture with a grin of her own, a genuine expression of anticipation that hinted at the battle to come.

She returned the Lasat's implied respect with a small, graceful bow. This was not just a test of raw skill, it would be a dance, a conversation conducted with blades and movement. Zara began to circle, her boots making almost no sound on the training ground. She needed to analyze this opponent, to find the cracks in their armor, both literal and figurative.

The initial probe began. Zara launched a series of quick, darting attacks, each aimed not to strike, but to test the Lasat's defenses. Her vibroblades hummed as they sliced through the air, a blur of silver against the backdrop of the midday sun.

She kept her distance, respecting the reach of the larger warrior's weapon and the potential force behind each strike. Zara was a whirlwind of controlled aggression, testing the Lasat's guard, searching for weaknesses in its stance, and assessing the speed of its reactions. She needed to quickly understand how she could strike effectively without being destroyed in one fierce blow.

 

[Kebii'kara Solus]

CURRENT MISSION - Earning One's Edge
Immediate Goals -
1: Best the Archon (optional)
1.1: Don't die (Mandatory)
2: Befriend the Archon (Optional)

FRIEND(s) - Hopefully soon

FOE(s) - Hopefully none

TARGETING ACTION(S) - Zara Saga || OPEN

---

A handful of clacks could be heard as the vibroblades collided in a flurry of attacks. The Lasat remained remarkably resolute, the purple alien's blade almost gently kissed the edge of the Archoness' attacks - and a brief vulnerability was revealed. The Archoness' opponent seemed more at home between hefty quarterstaves, or lightsabers, and vibroblades are a foreign weapon for her - secondly, a sense of honor, at least regarding the Force.

She of the Lilaste would not utilize the Force first, despite being clearly trained in it and actively probing the aura of the blond woman. Polite smile slackened to well worn grimness.

There, in her stance, there could be a way - the Lasat is too coiled, too turned in on herself, force her to lift her legs, force her on her back. She cannot be disarmed, so unbalance her. But the Archoness was observed in kind - and in the next beat of the duel, would lurch herself forwards.

Now would be a battle of whom would overcompensate their defense first? Leaping in such a way where a well placed strike would draw blood and victory, or letting their opponent's momentum carry them firmly onto their arse or face first?

 

[Zara Saga]

Tags: Kebii'kara Solus​

Zara felt a bead of sweat trickle down her temple, a stark contrast to the icy focus she tried to maintain. Three skirmishes before this one, each against increasingly formidable opponents, had taken their toll. She needed to end this, and quickly.

The Lasat's defense was telling. She was used to heavier weapons. And a sense of honor, a quaint reluctance to utilize the Force. Interesting. Zara filed the information away, a predatory glint sharpening her blue eyes.

Unbalance her, the thought was a cold calculation. Force her onto her back. A plan formed in her mind, a risky maneuver that hinged on precise timing.

But then, the Lasat lunged. A gamble. A chance for a swift victory, or a humiliating defeat. Zara's eyes widened slightly. The Lasat was good.

Throwing caution to the wind, Zara flowed with the attack. As the Lasat's blade arced towards her, Zara leaned back, her body bending in a near-impossible contortion. The vibroblade sang as it narrowly missed her face. This close, she could smell the musk of the Lasat's fur, a scent tinged with determination.

Using the momentum of the dodge, Zara spun, her own vibroblade a silver flash. Instead of going for a killing blow, she aimed for the Lasat's legs, a sweeping strike designed to buckle her knees and send her crashing. A gasp escaped Zara, a combination of effort and adrenaline. Would it be enough?

 

[Kebii'kara Solus]

CURRENT MISSION - Earning One's Edge
Immediate Goals -
1: Best the Archon (optional)
1.1: Don't die (Mandatory)
2: Befriend the Archon (Optional)

FRIEND(s) - Hopefully soon

FOE(s) - Hopefully none

TARGETING ACTION(S) - Zara Saga || OPEN

---

It was a risky move, one that the Lasat could appreciate - brushing your own face so close to a vibroblade, as well as emerge the other side with barely a nick was enough to earn the Archoness a slight widening of the eyes on her opponent's part. Emerald eyes regarded the slight smirk that carried through on the blond human's face, as the Lasat's blade glided harmlessly above the Archoness' visage, but the Lasat remained resolute. While both warriors had made their gamble, fortune was more in the favor of the challenger than the Archoness - for the Lasat had watched two fights before her, and remained fresh and focused while the Archoness was expending all of her energy to fell the gargantuan purple opponent.

That earned respect in the Mandalorian's eyes, and she adjusted her strengths to overpower the Archoness' weakness.

The Lasat was an arboreal ambush predator - limbs as stalwart as the tree-trunks her species' ancestors would clamber and vault themselves through. So rather than standing still, she risked the stalwart stance by bending and leaping upwards. Well, less of a leap and more of a hasty hop that if she bent her legs just so-

A wince, the vibroblades found purchase by scarring her - but nothing terribly lethal or crippling in the immediacy. With a grunt, the Lasat rose into the air, pivoted, and aimed to restore her stance in a very painful way. Painful in the fact that the Archoness drew first blood, and did so in a dangerous place - panicked medical factoids being forced down under the duty of combat. But it would be far more painful depending on how quickly the Lasat's feet landed, and whether they would connect to limb, to blade, or the floor itself.

Would the momentum be enough, to corner her, force her down into the ground with a strike from the edge of her blade rather than an atypical thrust - the Archoness still had two blades that could counter a lock.

Press the advantage, force her to panic, expend the last of her energy to either press out of the corner or flail about. Maintain your energy.