Through the Fire and the Flames (Mustafar)

[Darth Ophidia]

​

Mustafar​

Once a humble mining-planet in the far Outer Rim, Mustafar was brought out of the shadow of obscurity during the wake of the Clone Wars, several centuries in the past. It's volcanic surface was an impressive sight to any and all, but perhaps especially to Sith for whom it represented the violent nature of the dark side of the Force. Newly appointed Lady of the Sith, Darth Ophidia was one such. She had come to the violent rock to meet with her former master [member="Darth Ferus"]. Former only in the sense that she was no longer bound directly to his service, as she had been in her Apprenticeship and Knighthood.

The Rattataki Knight landed in her Interceptor, preferring the lighter stealth-craft for personal missions such as this one. Her cape swept behind her as she quickly traversed from the landing platform to the main structure. The view was splendid as molten rock fell in like a waterfall on her left and flowed under the gangway. The sky was darkened with ash, creating small thunderstorms that roared with the rumbling of the volcanoes. Everywhere she looked, ash and fire was spewn into the air, and rained down upon the rocky plains. Truly magnificent.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Enjoying the view?" Just like when they first met Ferus would have hidden his signature to get close, though he wasn't going in for a surprise attack like before. Instead, he walked up beside her with both of his hands by his sides. He too enjoyed the view, a smile on his face had he did so. This was a beautiful place after all. Golden eyes remained on the spewing lava even as he continued to speak.

"This is your last test from me. A duel, just you and I. No fancy armor or weapons, just our signature blades and cloth. Defeat me with your skill and your training, and you will pass."

 

[Darth Ophidia]

"It's magnificent."

She did not startle, not as much as a beat in her pulse out of place as she walked aside the Red Assassin. She listened to him speak while her eyes stared ahead, focused on the clash between fire, ash, lightning and thunder that cascaded across the sky in the distance. Darth Ferus spoke of a last test, she had expected something like this to come: A time for her to prove herself worthy of her title as Darth and Lady of the Sith.

"Only our blades and the Force, how romantic."

Her hands were clasped in front of her, already close to her sabre. She was unsure of whether or not Ferus meant they would duel right away, or if they were headed to a predestined location. Still, she was primed and ready.

[member="Darth Ferus"].

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Let it never be said I never treat my woman." There was a faint grin on his lips as he turned to face [member="Darth Ophidia"] . True to his word, he only had his lightsaber and a basic set of Sith Robes. Even his hidden blade was missing, for this was more than the Assassins. This was Sith. There was a light bow of his head to his opponent before his blade came to life, the peculiar golden blade flashing into existence with the faintest flick of a switch.

"Who would you like to begin?"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

She took a few more steps after [member="Darth Ferus"] stopped and unfastened the neckline of her robe. Undoing the fastenings inside, she pulled her outer robe off with a flourish, covering most of her form before she threw it down on the floor in a bunch. In the flourish, she unclipped and activated her sabre. Her scarlet blade emerged in a snap-hiss, the tip landing right next to that of Ferus' blade. It was all the reply her master would need, she was sure.

Under her robe she wore a simple chest-binder in a leathery substance, keeping her already small chest in place. A long skirt draped from her waist to just above her ankles, with a small split on either side for extra manoeuvrability. It was much like the type of outfit she had worn when she first joined the Sith, and stepped onto the beach of Malif Cove for the first time. It showed much of her pale skin, decorated with black tendrils in intertwining patterns. The choice of attire had a purpose beyond being light and manoeuvrable; it also gave a direct association to her beginnings. Meaningful attire was something she had picked up on in the Covenant of the Black Rose, where such things were mandatory.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Taking [member="Darth Ophidia"] 's lack of an answer to heart, [member="Darth Ophidia"] would, after she removed her robe of course, find Ferus's own golden saber thrust right out for her chest. As always, there was the gleeful grin on his face, his golden eyes alight. He may as well begin the fight as quick as he possibly could.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Taking [member="Darth Ophidia"] 's lack of an answer to heart, [member="Darth Ophidia"] would, after she removed her robe of course, find Ferus's own golden saber thrust right out for her chest. As always, there was the gleeful grin on his face, his golden eyes alight. He may as well begin the fight as quick as he possibly could.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Taking [member="Darth Ophidia"] 's lack of an answer to heart, [member="Darth Ophidia"] would, after she removed her robe of course, find Ferus's own golden saber thrust right out for her chest. As always, there was the gleeful grin on his face, his golden eyes alight. He may as well begin the fight as quick as he possibly could.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Taking [member="Darth Ophidia"] 's lack of an answer to heart, [member="Darth Ophidia"] would, after she removed her robe of course, find Ferus's own golden saber thrust right out for her chest. As always, there was the gleeful grin on his face, his golden eyes alight. He may as well begin the fight as quick as he possibly could.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Taking [member="Darth Ophidia"] 's lack of an answer to heart, [member="Darth Ophidia"] would, after she removed her robe of course, find Ferus's own golden saber thrust right out for her chest. As always, there was the gleeful grin on his face, his golden eyes alight. He may as well begin the fight as quick as he possibly could.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Taking [member="Darth Ophidia"] 's lack of an answer to heart, [member="Darth Ophidia"] would, after she removed her robe of course, find Ferus's own golden saber thrust right out for her chest. As always, there was the gleeful grin on his face, his golden eyes alight. He may as well begin the fight as quick as he possibly could.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Taking [member="Darth Ophidia"] 's lack of an answer to heart, [member="Darth Ophidia"] would, after she removed her robe of course, find Ferus's own golden saber thrust right out for her chest. As always, there was the gleeful grin on his face, his golden eyes alight. He may as well begin the fight as quick as he possibly could.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Finding Ferus' sabre thrusting out against her chest, she brought her own blade to redirect the thrust to the side in a small circular motion before near-immediately reposting with a push-cut directed at Ferus' wrist. It was a standard Makashi manoeuvre, and performed swiftly, with expert fluency. She had practised every day since that first lesson in Malif Cove. Many opponents had been faced and felled by the weapon he had given her, and the skill he had taught her. Now she employed both against her Master. A smile formed on her lips, while her burning irises focused intently on the Iridonian in Human skin.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

It was with a large grin the Human atacked, his joy for such a thing practically oozing out of his skin like the black fire litterally doing so. As her wrist turned to knock away his blade he was quick to retreat his own hand, his golden blade deactivating to let him escape what was sure to be a disarming attack. Rather than let her continue with an advantage though, his free hand came around, releasing a blast of the Force to knock [member="Darth Ophidia"] back.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Her riposte was interrupted and Ferus blasted her with a Force Push. Rather than stand in a futile attempt to resist it, she let herself be thrown backwards and used the momentum to flip and land on her feet. Her sabre whirled through the air and pointed at her master as she landed gracefully on her feet. While that sort of acrobatics was not a focus part of Makashi, she had picked up on it from duelling several Ataru users. While she had not adopted much of the Ataru way, she had picked up on that one easy way of working through a Force push.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

There was a slight grin as he watched her jump back, but he wasn't finished yet. His form would dart forward, ever persistent of [member="Darth Ophidia"] . Both hands now rested on the hilt of his saber, the golden blade once more alight as it would bite through the air in a horizontal fashion for a powerful strike on her chest. Yet even as the blade went past he was already taking a step forward, and without warning the single strike would change direction, cutting directly upwards about halfway through the initial strike. Speed poured into his actions, nothing being held back as Ferus fought against one he considered an equal.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

As soon as her feet touched ground, she was ready to fight. She knew [member="Darth Ferus"]' way of fighting well enough to expect his pursuit. As she landed, she immediately assumed a sideface position, and seeing his sabre coming in horizontally she moved her own to the corresponding parry, but as Ferus switched directions, she had to change. With a circular motion of the tip of her blade, she was able to redirect his cut before retaliating with a shallow slash at Ferus' left side while taking half a step to the right. Her red sabre collided with his golden one with a characteristic series of snaps and hisses. In its most basic form, Makashi incorporated mostly linear footwork, but just like when Count Dooku duelled Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, she would change their line to better benefit her.

 

[Darth Ferus]

The true savagery of Ferus's form became clear as [member="Darth Ophidia"] countered his attack. Rather than back off or even attempt to deflect the light slash going for his side, the Sith took it. The smell of burned skin filled the air, and the Darth flinched only faintly, but he did not stop his aggression. Pain lead to anger, anger to strength. Wildly as she stepped to the right he would bring about his own blade, the golden plasma burning through the air. Yet this was not the end. His free hand, the left one, now focused on gripping the arm holding her blade, intent on not holding it, but forcing it to continue the arc it was going on, away from his own body.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

As she should have expected from Darth Ferus, he did not even flinch as her blade carved through his flesh, but used the momentum to his advantage. Forcing her hand away from his next attack, he had effectively disabled her from parrying his next attack. However, Ophidia was not useless without her blade. Stepping back and pivoting, she whirled out of Ferus' attack, but not unscathed. Just like her sabre had cut him, so did his sabre cut her side. The smell of burned flesh surrounded her as his golden blade carved a shallow cut in her side. She would not allow the cut to hinder her but funnelled the pain into the Force and thrust her left palm against Ferus in a violent push. A wave of Force energy would come crashing from Ophidia's hand to knock the Red Assassin back, if not throw him off the platform completely. Her eyes burned with hatred, but her lips were spread in a playful grin as she thoroughly enjoyed the fight.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

The blast of the Force had an.. Unexpected result. Rather than just blast him back or even cause him to stumble off the platform, it sent him to the air, reeling. He looked completely off balance, and his golden saber ended up dropping from his hand and landing right beside [member="Darth Ophidia"] . Panic seemed to set into his eyes as he glanced over to the lava he was about to find himself landing upon..

Except, this was all just a farce. When the blast came, the Red Assassin lept with it, giving himself room after his body was just cut. Despite his unflinching nature, that stuff really hurt. His saber, left beside his opponent, was part of this trap. A grin flicked at the edges of his panicked lips, and without delay both of his hands would come swinging around to point at the Rattataki.

Two different feats of Telekenisis were used at once. The first, his golden saber would spring to life, cutting up in an buzz-saw like fashion for her legs and chest. The second, much more complicated one, was he pulling himself to her. The Force was normally used to pull others towards yourself, Force Pull. But Ferus preferred another take on this. Rather than pull someone to him, he pulled himself to another. Like a bullet he came, lightning sparking around his fist as he channeled the energy within it. He would attack her from two sides, low with his lightsaber.

The other high with his fist, striking for her face. Upon contact, the lightning would blast outwards violently, shocking and pushing back what ever came into contact with it. Savagery was the only clear emotion on the Iridonians face as he enacted his little trap.