Duel What's that over the Hill?

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jedha
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da | Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Malvora

"Am I really going to do this?" Lily asked herself with a deep sigh, her hand placed on a pillar. Feeling the stone, ancient and rich in history as Lily thought about the fact that she was truly planning a bold new step forward that was not what she had intended when leaving Naboo. This trek across the galaxy, visiting different spots. Meeting people. It hadn't been anything wondrous or deeply insightful in what Lily needed to be doing. But one thought nagged at the back of her mind. One that would linger for a long time as she continued to ponder over what she needed to find as her new path. No longer the Battle Master, no longer part of the High Republic, Lily was feeling a lot of loss in her life but one answer came to her and it was now trying to find the right place to do the work.

Hence her return to Jedha.

It was a tricky location, rich in Jedi history and with ideal locations to create an enclave that would not be immediately spotted and attack. However, it was bordering with the Sith Covenant and she knew that there was a deep sense of impending doom. Lily did not hold hope that she would organise things quickly enough to fight back against the Sith Covenants. Her duel with Arris reminded Lily a lot about what she had not only to lose but also how far she still had to go. Didn't matter if she could fight Sith Lords in their prime, that even the most evil of Sith noted her skills. Lily wasn't slowing down the Sith, not by herself at least. Something needed to be organised, something far larger.

Perhaps right on the borders with the Sith, that would be the ideal stand against them.

"Or perhaps it shall be an invitation for the Sith Covenant to just bombard the planet from orbit... There are others..." Lily thought aloud as she walked through the silent halls of the temple, listening to not only her own steps but feeling like she could hear the memories of Jedi long gone roaming the halls. Inspired and feeling like there will be no limit to what they could achieve. It was bittersweet to think about all that. Especially seeing the disarray that the Jedi were currently. Her mind was lingering in her mixture of memories but also nostalgia for a time that Lily did not even know of anymore. "We need to feel safe but confident. Not here, we could not train here without the fear of an attack forever looming over our heads here..." Lily confirmed to herself.

It was time to find the next spot.

 

[Darth Malvora]

Location: Jedha
Armour: Ashen Bulwark
Equipment: Cybernetic Arm, Krayt’s Lament Crossguard Greatsaber
RPers: Lily Decoria

---

The winds of Jedha swept endlessly across the barren dunes, carrying with them the dust of forgotten centuries. Countless pilgrims had once crossed these deserts in search of enlightenment. Now, only the Force remembered their names. A lone figure walked steadily through the shifting sands toward the silhouette of an ancient temple upon the horizon. Draped in flowing obsidian robes, her hood concealed pale features save for the faint crimson glow of her eyes beneath its shadow. At her hip rested a standard-issue lightsaber, hanging like any other Jedi or Sith weapon, though its crossguard was hidden beneath a seamless casing of dark, forged metal—giving the impression of a solid, physical guard rather than the vented design it concealed. Her right arm, a polished cybernetic construct of blackened durasteel and refined Sith engineering, moved with quiet precision, each joint too smooth, too deliberate to be natural. Beneath it all, her armor was both physical and something more—layered plating reinforced through Sith alchemy, as though a living darkness had been bound into the very material, clinging to her form like an unseen second skin.

Darth Malvora had been sent by her master with a simple directive: recover whatever relics of the old Jedi Order still lingered within the ruins, and eliminate the Jedi scouts who had been reported arriving at the temple not long before.

Even from across the desert, she could feel the presence ahead. Bright. Resolute. Familiar. Another guardian of the Light. And yet, it was not distance that defined her approach—it was inevitability. As she walked, the Force itself seemed to bend subtly around her, the dark side unfurling like a slow, suffocating tide across the dunes. It did not rush. It did not strike. It advanced. The temple ahead, once steeped in echoes of faith and memory, began to feel it first: a pressure at the edges of awareness, like candlelight dimming beneath an unseen eclipse. The ancient stones seemed to grow heavier with each passing moment, their long-held serenity disturbed by something patient and absolute pressing inward from the horizon.

Closing her eyes for but a moment, Malvora reached out through the Force, feeling the echoes embedded within Jedha's ancient stones—faith, sacrifice, conviction... ideals she had watched crumble beneath crimson blades time and again. Yet this presence was different. Beneath its certainty lingered doubt, a fracture hidden beneath serenity. The smallest crack was all the darkness ever required. And as that realization settled, the encroaching shadow of her will deepened, the temple's light within the Force growing dimmer still, as though the very air around it had begun to forget how to shine.

Without quickening her pace, the Sith Lord continued toward the temple's weathered entrance, the ancient structure growing larger with every deliberate step. There would be no reckless charge, no needless announcement of her arrival. If the Jedi remained within, they would meet soon enough. If not, the relics of a forgotten age would still await their new master.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jedha
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da | Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Malvora

"Ahhh..."

She sensed it. The unmistakable cold, the fury that echoed through the temple. There was a Sith here and they were seeking something. A deep sigh escaped Lily's lips as she unclipped her Lightsaber from her belt. Her thumb teased over the ignition button, another fight, another Sith who only sought to destroy and corrupt all that surrounded them. Stepping through the halls, Lily knew that she could not flee from this encounter. Lily did not recognise the presence in the Force so it was not a Sith that she had previously encountered. That meant that Lily needed to take more precaution as this Sith could fight in a number of different ways.

As Lily approached the entrance, the presence of the Sith was far more clear in the Force. Lily focused on creating a shield around her, Lily did not wear infused armour or heavy armour. She fought in a manner that embraced the Echani ways of combat. Utilising the Force to compensate the lack of armour defences. Rolling her shoulders, Lily used Force Valor to bolster her physical traits. The two Force powers in tandem were the staples in what Lily leaned on when in combat for the most part and the strongest powers that Lily had.

"Seems the Sith arrived here sooner than I expected." Lily stated plainly towards the Sith, breathing in deeply there was a slow exhale. "So, what is it that you are seeking? I am guessing that you do not wish to be dissuaded from this path?" Her thumb continued to hover over the ignition button but Lily did not ignite her blade yet. This was someone new and Lily was not sure if this would be a Sith that could not be reasoned with or someone that would be more interested in hearing what the Echani had to say.

So she stood there, blocking the path forward, in a defensive stance. Ready for anything that came her way.

 

[Darth Malvora]

Location: Jedha
Armour: Ashen Bulwark
Equipment: Cybernetic Arm, Krayt's Lament Crossguard Greatsaber
RPers: Lily Decoria

---

The ancient doors groaned softly as Darth Malvora crossed the temple's threshold, the sound swallowed by the silence that lingered within the forgotten halls. Dust drifted lazily through fractured shafts of sunlight, yet the encroaching shadow of the dark side seemed to dull even their warmth. Her measured footsteps came to a halt as crimson eyes settled upon the lone Echani standing between her and the depths of the temple. Calm. Prepared. Shielded by the Force. The corners of Malvora's lips curled ever so slightly beneath the shadow of her hood.

"So..." she murmured, her voice carrying effortlessly through the cavernous chamber. "The scouts were correct."

For a long moment she simply regarded the Jedi, her gaze lingering upon the defensive stance, the hand poised over an unignited lightsaber, the familiar resolve worn like armour. It was a posture she had witnessed countless times before—one forged from discipline rather than hatred. Predictable. Admirable, perhaps... but ultimately fleeting.

"I seek what your Order abandoned long ago," she replied at last, each word measured. "Knowledge. Artefacts. Power left to gather dust beneath the bones of a failed legacy." Her crimson eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "My master has little patience for relics remaining in the hands of ghosts."

The temple itself seemed to grow heavier as the dark side continued to seep through its ancient walls, pressing silently against the sanctuary's lingering echoes of peace. Malvora made no move for the lightsaber resting at her hip, its unusual metal guard gleaming faintly beneath her robes, nor did she shift from her relaxed stance. There was no urgency. Not while her prey still believed words could alter destiny.

"You ask whether I can be dissuaded." A quiet, almost amused breath escaped her. "Tell me, Jedi... after all the worlds your Order has failed to protect... after every temple reduced to ash... do you still believe conviction alone changes the course of history?"

Her cybernetic fingers flexed once at her side with a muted mechanical hum before falling still again. "Step aside, and you may leave this place with your life. Continue standing between me and my purpose..." The faint smile disappeared as her crimson gaze hardened into something cold and absolute. "...and you will become another echo these ruins will remember long after your Order has forgotten your name."

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jedha
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da | Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Malvora

Lily shook her head, "those are not for you. This place is not for you. Sith are never going to be welcomed here." Lily spoke with a firm, commanding presence, she was not intimidated by the Sith she saw and she would not back down in the face of them either. Lily knew how to hold her ground and was always far too stubborn to back down to a challenge. "Clearly your master has made an error, one of many I don't doubt. The Jedi are not ghosts and our Order is not a failed legacy."

The powerful cyan blade ignited, repelling the darkness and the Dark Side energies. Lily was a beacon of Light and she held firm in that position. The room feeling warm, illuminated and pushing back against Malvora. There was a scoff from her lips, Lily did not believe her words were going to work, this Sith seemed far too deep in her own delusions that a fight between the too was inevitable. However, surrendering the lie that Lily believed that her words could have any influence could offer something. A delay in the plans, a misdirection in where Lily was going to be more proficient. This one did not realise that Lily was a warrior, one that fought with everything she had.

"You act like the Jedi are basically extinct. But we thrive, we exist in large numbers. You just fail to look outside your small echo chambers." Lily pointed out sighing deeply as she held a firm gaze, "failure is on you Sith. Never completely destroyed us, never stopped us from growing even when we are at our weakest. You are claiming victory and declare us dead but the Sith have always been the ones who face near extinction. Not the Jedi." Lily sneered, almost goading Malvora into attacking with her words. "People will always seek the Jedi out, desire the freedoms and liberties that the Jedi offer, not the oppression and enslavement that the Sith demand."

Breathing in deeply, "you will leave with nothing, you will gain nothing and you will be thankful that I am going to let you live. Turn around Sith, leave and understand that this is not a fight you wish to undertake." The power from her crystals poured into her body, sharpening her abilities and building the strength in her body.

 

[Darth Malvora]

Location: Jedha
Armour: Ashen Bulwark
Equipment: Cybernetic Arm, Krayt's Lament Crossguard Greatsaber
RPers: Lily Decoria

---

The temple answered the Jedi's defiance with silence.

Ancient walls that had borne witness to countless wars now stood between two philosophies as old as the Force itself, the air caught between Lily's radiating light and the slow, suffocating tide of darkness that continued to seep from Malvora's presence. Her crimson eyes remained fixed upon the cyan blade, its glow spilling across fractured stone as though attempting to awaken a sanctuary long abandoned. For a fleeting moment, the Sith Lord simply regarded it—not with fear, nor admiration, but with quiet familiarity. She had seen that light reflected in the eyes of Masters, Knights, and Padawans alike before it was extinguished.

A faint smile found her lips.

"Every Jedi believes their temple is sacred," she replied, her voice low and unwavering. "Every Jedi believes the light they carry is eternal. And every age leaves behind ruins such as these to prove otherwise." Her gaze drifted briefly across the weathered carvings lining the chamber. "These halls do not belong to you, Jedi. They belong to history... and history is written by those strong enough to seize it."

Her cybernetic hand slowly settled around the elongated hilt at her hip. The weapon's dark metal guard concealed the crossguard emitters beneath seamless cortosis-lined plates, giving it the silhouette of an executioner's greatsword rather than a conventional lightsaber. For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then came the roar.

Not the familiar hum of a lightsaber, but the deep, monstrous bellow of something dragged from the abyss itself. A violent crimson blade erupted from the emitter, stretching into the length of a greatsaber as the corrupted Krayt Dragon pearl within awakened. The sound reverberated through the temple, rolling across the ancient stone like the cry of a dying beast, while crimson light washed over forgotten murals and fractured pillars. The concealed guard remained locked in place, the weapon appearing almost archaic despite the immense energy contained beneath its forged shell—a deception Malvora had grown fond of.

She lowered the immense blade until its tip hovered just above the cracked floor, the unstable energy casting jagged reflections across her blackened armour. The darkness pressing against the temple's lingering serenity deepened, meeting Lily's radiance not in a violent clash, but in an oppressive contest of wills.

"You mistake persistence for victory," Malvora said, taking a single measured step forward. "The Jedi endure because the Sith permit hope to survive long enough to be crushed again. Generation after generation, your Order rebuilds the same fragile dream... and generation after generation, someone like me arrives to remind you that dreams bleed."

Her crimson eyes narrowed beneath the shadow of her hood, the abyssal howl of Krayt's Lament continuing to reverberate through the forgotten sanctuary.

"You offered me mercy." Another step echoed through the chamber. "Keep it. You will need every illusion of it before this is over."

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jedha
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da | Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Malvora

"Sith never have ruins or lost temples?" The sarcasm was heavy in Lily's tone, she was not blind to the hypocrisy that this Sith was spouting. Time creates ruins and lost knowledge for all. Even Non-Force Users. Rediscovering such things were never feats of strengths but determination and endurance. "Sometimes, sometimes history is written by the victors. But victory is not always achieved through strength or seizing it." Lily countered, "being able to think, observe and display mental acuity is just as important to win."

Sometimes it is far more valuable. Lily had already noted the heavy armour, heavy armour was rarely something worn that allowed for plentiful movement or speed. There were ways to circumvent the restrictions but it was not always possible.

When the Sith's Lightsaber activated, Lily remained stoic, as if nothing had happened. The way the blade howled upon ignition, Lily knew it was meant to draw a reaction. One she would deny the Sith the satisfaction of. Lily had seen atrocities, monstrosities and all manner of evil from the Sith. She knew how to be still, stoic even in the face of it all. Lily just burned brightly as a beacon of light. Her Lightsaber feeling stronger, deeper connected in her hands. The Solari crystal was one of the crystals inside her Lightsaber and it only empowered her and the Lightsaber blade more in the face of Sith. The deeper they were involved in the Dark Side, the stronger her blade would be.

"Is it the Sith permitting though? Are you truly so blind to think that the Sith allow risks of being wiped out to persist and push back?" Lily mocked, "it could take one Jedi, with enough charisma, enough determination and the right skills to bring the Sith down to their knees right now. These alliances, cooperation that the Sith are doing, it's weakened you. Deluded you." From her left hand, she pointed a finger at the Sith, "it has only ever taken one Jedi to bring down empires."

A smirk on Lily's lips as she moved carefully, making sure her guard was ready. "It is a shame that you don't see the error you are making travelling this path." A disappointed sigh leaving Lily's lips as she waited, knowing that this Sith was going to strike at her.

 

[Darth Malvora]

Location: Jedha
Armour: Ashen Bulwark
Equipment: Cybernetic Arm, Krayt's Lament Crossguard Greatsaber
RPers: Lily Decoria

---

The corners of Malvora's lips rose ever so slightly, though there was no warmth behind the expression. Only quiet contempt. The crimson blade of Krayt's Lament remained lowered at her side, its abyssal howl reverberating through the forgotten sanctuary as if the temple itself mourned what was to come. Around the two warriors, light and shadow wrestled for dominion, neither yielding an inch.

"You speak of victory as though wisdom alone has ever stayed a blade," she replied, her voice calm enough to be unsettling. "You speak of the Jedi as though they stand above history... as though your Order has never mistaken righteousness for justice." For the first time since entering the temple, her gaze drifted beyond Lily, unfocused, as though seeing another place entirely. "I once believed that." The words hung in the air longer than they should have.

"There was a village... hidden far from the wars your Order claimed to fight. Families. Children. Refugees who wanted nothing more than to survive while the galaxy tore itself apart." Her cybernetic fingers tightened around the hilt of her greatsaber. "Rumours spread that a pair of Sith acolytes had found sanctuary there. Your precious guardians of peace came hunting." Her crimson eyes settled upon Lily once more, colder than before. "They found them," A slow breath escaped her, "And when the hunt was over... they left behind a pyre."

For the briefest moment, the fury buried beneath years of discipline threatened to surface. The darkness surrounding Malvora deepened, shadows stretching unnaturally across the fractured stone as memories she had long since embraced as fuel clawed their way forward: burning homes collapsing into ash, the smell of scorched timber mingling with flesh, the cries of those too wounded to flee. A frightened girl buried beneath rubble, abandoned alongside the few survivors deemed too broken to matter.

"They called it collateral." Her voice was almost a whisper now. "Necessary. Acceptable losses in pursuit of a greater good." Silence reclaimed the chamber.

"You stand before me convinced that the Force has divided us into heroes and monsters." She tilted her head slightly, studying the Jedi with unwavering intensity. "Tell me, girl... when Jedi ignite their blades and innocent people burn alongside their quarry..." A faint smile returned, sharp as broken glass. "...who teaches those survivors to believe in your light?"

The crimson blade slowly rose until it rested across her body, its unstable edge crackling violently against the suffocating silence. "You speak of Jedi bringing freedom, Liberty, and Hope?" Her gaze never faltered. "I have seen what those words become when spoken by Jedi who believe the ends justify the means."

Another measured step echoed through the temple. "So do not presume to tell me I chose the wrong path." The blade angled forward, the concealed metal guard gleaming beneath the crimson glow as the corrupted weapon gave another guttural roar. "Your Order built the road that led me to it."

She moved—not in haste, not in anger, but with the same inexorable certainty as a collapsing star, as though the outcome had been decided long before either blade was ever drawn. Each step rang through the ruined temple like a final judgment, the Dark Side gathering around her in suffocating layers that pressed against stone, air, and spirit alike. Dust lifted without wind, shattered fragments of masonry trembled and rose, and the shadows between broken pillars stretched toward her in silent recognition. The crimson blade of Krayt's Lament remained low and steady, its constant, guttural howl filling the space like a warning that inevitability itself had taken form.

Malvora's gaze never wavered from Lily. There was no rush in her advance, no wasted motion—only the slow, crushing approach of something that had already accepted victory as fact. The Force coiled tighter with every step, bending the atmosphere until even sound felt strained, as if the temple itself were being forced into submission. Her cybernetic hand flexed once, and the darkness answered, stone fragments beginning to drift and orbit in violent suspension.

"You still think this is an error in choice," she said quietly, almost mournfully, as she came to a stop just beyond striking distance. "It isn't." For a heartbeat, everything held—light and shadow locked in fragile balance—then the Dark Side broke it as Malvora struck, either unleashing a crushing telekinetic wave meant to shatter Lily's stance and hurl her through the ruins, whilst striking her crimson greatsaber forward in a brutal, executioner's arc to end the debate in one inevitable blow.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jedha
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da | Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Malvora

"I have know words to be powerful enough to end wars. To prevent them from even starting." Lily stated, countering the argument that words hold no meaning, though Lily did not view herself powerful with them. She had seen others demonstrate far more skill with them. "Jedi stand above nothing, they are not gods or better than others. That is never the way that a Jedi should truly ever conduct themselves. Doing the best that one can do, that is all we should do." Lily could see that Sith lies were coming to the surface on what the Jedi do or how they act.

Then came the story. It did not seem an obvious lie, probably something that was not the entire story. It was not something that sounded like the Jedi that she knew would do. Sacrificing everything to protect the lives of the innocent, doing what they could to keep others safe. That was the Jedi she was raised to be. "That is terrible to hear, a Jedi should never accept the allowance of collateral loss." Lily stated, her voice soft and deeply saddened, "that is not the type of Jedi I am, nor is it the Jedi way that I have been taught to be and not the type of Jedi that I teach."

"Tell me, if you hate the Jedi for what they did to your home, why support the Sith? The Sith have committed multiple genocides, slaughtered thousands of villages, enslaved those who dare to survive. If what the Jedi did to your home was so terrible, then why do you support people who do worse?" Her gaze was firm, seeking understanding on this blatant hypocrisy that was being thrown her way. "Does that excuse what the Jedi did to you, no. I would not welcome nor reward the Jedi who killed innocent lives so unnecessarily. But to be the change, to create better Jedi, killing people, ripping other families apart... You are going down the path that just creates more tragedy, not solving it."

Shaking her head, "you blame the whole Order on the actions of a few. A few that I do not even know. A few that I would never consider approaching things the way I believe a Jedi to be. This is why you are blind, you have deluded yourself, listened to lies poured into your ear that you must blame all the Jedi for the actions of a few." Lily stated firmly, holding her ground and prepared for the Sith to strike at her.

"I do not need to presume anything, I know you took the wrong path. You chose destruction, hatred and pain. You chose to only add suffering in the galaxy. There was opportunity for you to realise that you could do better, prove the Jedi that failed you that they were wrong, they needed to be better and be that presence. Demonstrate to them what a Jedi should be like." Lily pointed out, "instead you come here and believe yourself righteous when you are so far from it."

Lily observed every step, every movement and waited. She did not react to the presence, there was no cowering, there was no fear. She was still, stoic and disciplined. A warrior composed for the inevitability of what was to come. Sensing the drawing of the Force to send a powerful Force Wave, Lily grounded herself firmly, placing a firm barrier in front of her that the Force Wave would crash into. She could feel her feet slide a little but Lily held her ground enough to not be thrown around by the Sith's opening move. Lily saw the heavy slice of the large Lightsaber coming her way. With the energy pooled into her legs, Lily waited until the final moments and with unnatural speed, zipped to the side of the Sith.

Her Lightsaber sliced at the wrist, a disarming strike. But also one that was seeing how the defensives of the Sith were. She remained silent as she fought, watching, reading and understanding. Those were her primary goals in the fight. She was going to understand the ways this Sith fought and know how to end the fight.

 

[Darth Malvora]

Location: Jedha
Armour: Ashen Bulwark
Equipment: Cybernetic Arm, Krayt's Lament Crossguard Greatsaber
RPers: Lily Decoria

---

The cyan blade scraped across blackened metal with a shriek that echoed through the forgotten sanctuary. There was no severed wrist. No triumphant disarm. Lily's strike had found its mark precisely where Malvora had intended.

The Sith Lord had withdrawn her lightsaber arm at the final instant, allowing the slash to crash against the polished black cybernetic forearm instead. Forged from Phrik and refined through Sith engineering, the metal endured the lightsaber's edge with little more than a shower of incandescent sparks that cascaded across the ancient stone between them. The impact rolled through the cybernetic limb, servos whining softly beneath the armour plating, but the arm never faltered.

Her expression never changed. "So..." she murmured, crimson eyes meeting Lily's without even a flicker of pain. "You read your opponent before committing." There was something almost approving in her voice. "Good."

Her cybernetic hand snapped forward. Not toward the lightsaber. Toward Lily herself. The Force answered with brutal immediacy. Invisible pressure seized at the space between them, erupting outward in a focused concussion rather than the sweeping wave before it. Broken stone exploded from the floor, dust burst from ancient cracks, and the air itself seemed to fracture as the telekinetic blow sought to tear the Jedi from her footing and hurl her backward across the temple, buying the Sith Lord the distance she desired. The Dark Side did not rage. It imposed.

As the Force surged from her outstretched hand, Malvora flowed backward in the same motion, boots carving shallow grooves through centuries of dust before settling into a wider stance. Krayt's Lament rose once more, its crimson blade describing a slow arc through the air as its abyssal howl reverberated through the chamber like the growl of a hunting beast denied its first kill.

"You mistake understanding for absolution," she said, her voice carrying effortlessly through the settling cloud of dust. "You claim those Jedi were not the Order... that they failed your teachings." A bitter smile crept across her lips. "And yet they still carried your banner." Her crimson gaze remained fixed upon Lily, unwavering.

"You speak as though I should have sought comfort from the institution that buried my family beneath ash." Her tone remained calm, almost conversational, which somehow made it colder. "You ask why I stand beside the Sith." She slowly lowered the tip of her blade toward the fractured floor. "Because when the Jedi left us to die..." A pause, "...it was not the Light that reached into the flames." The darkness pressing against the temple deepened once more, wrapping around Malvora like a living mantle. "It was the Dark."

She shifted her footing almost imperceptibly, the greatsaber held in a disciplined guard rather than with reckless aggression, her cybernetic arm held slightly forward now that Lily had revealed her preference for precision strikes. "You see hatred. I see truth. And truth is forged far more often in fire than in prayer."

Without another word, the Sith Lord began advancing once more—slowly, methodically, every measured step carrying the same crushing inevitability as before. She no longer sought merely to overpower the Jedi. She sought to dismantle her, one exchange at a time, until conviction became hesitation, and hesitation became defeat.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jedha
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da | Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Malvora

Lily did not the specific metals of the arm but it was something that resisted Lightsaber. It was unlikely to be Cortosis, while that was a material used to disrupt Lightsabers, it was fragile and would be too risky to have an entire arm made of it. Though Lily could not be entirely sure since she had designed her Lightsaber to resist the effects of Cortosis so it was not something that the Jedi Knight was concerned about. But Beskar, Phrik or Songsteel were much more likely metals to have been used. However, Lily was prepared for this, her aunt designed prosthetic limbs out of Lightsaber resistant materials so the Jedi Knight was not unfamiliar with this.

And Lily had not long ago fought against the cyborg Sith Arris Windrun so Lily was very familiar with the limitations and expectations that can occur from this type of fighting.

Adopting the Ataru form, Lily moved with expert grace. The Force boosting her movements as she steered clear from blast of dust, stones and debris. There was no panic, no desperation or fear in her body language or eyes. Just patient, calm and understanding. This was brutalism on display. Nothing was subtle in the way this Sith fought, it was all or nothing. Attempting to probably overwhelm Lily and break down any and all defences in as few moves as the Sith Lord could. However, such exertion of power could only go on for so long. Exhaustion hit even the most powerful of warriors if they constantly went all out.

"And every Sith acts the exact way that you believe they should or follow the path that you do? They may claim themselves Jedi, but that does not mean I must recognise them as that. Especially if I do not believe their actions follow the Jedi tenants." Lily responded, "it also does not mean they cannot be corrected and made to see the error of their ways. Redeem their past mistakes."

Shaking her head, "no. I did not say you must become a Jedi, you are jumping to false conclusions once again." There was another disappointed sigh to her voice, "there is a middle ground between rushing off to join the Sith or the Jedi, one where you can demand to hold those who hurt you accountable but not add to the suffering in the galaxy like you are." Lily pointed out.

Lily noted the shift in footing, the change in body language. The Echani never missed anything when it came to a person adopting a new way to fight in melee combat. Breathing in deeply, Lily did not find concern with the change, just acceptable and continued to dodge attacks, moving around the room in a dancer fashion. In some ways to antagonise Malvora that Lily could read the attacks coming her way so clearly but also to demonstrate that her conviction could not be struck down in the style that Malvora was attempting.

"Truth is a fickle thing, not forged in fire or prayer. It is something one must preserve, protect. It is all too often abused, twisted and contorted until it is no longer truth but deception under the guise of truth." Lily countered as she continued to observe the way that Malvora was fighting. Not attempting to strike or fight back for the moment, there was still much to learn before Lily attempted her own attacks. "Do you think the Dark reached out to help or guide you, or merely manipulate you into becoming a new puppet for them to show off?"

Looking at Malvora, "look at what they have forced you to become, what they are stripping away from you under the guise of becoming "powerful". You are losing yourself, not becoming better." Lily stated, sympathy heavy in her voice.