Where It All Began

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka stood back on the sands of Iridonia, atop of a cliff that over looked a seemingly never ending plain of dust and sand that stretched to the horizon and beyond, the flat ground broken here and there by small rocks, nothing as big as the cliff Xavka was atop of. The geography of the area was extremely similar to the location at which he had first laid eyes upon the Rattataki female that would later on become his Master, no matter how distant their relationship was.

This was not a coincidence but was, in actual fact, a purposely created fact, engineered by Xavka. The purpose behind this fact was that he wished to keep the circumstances as close as he could to the first time he fought his Master, Darth Ophidia. He wished to fight her again to measure how far he had come from when they had first met, prior to any true training.

When he had first fought her, Ophidia had toyed with him, barely having to really pay him any attention while blocking everything he had tried and had soon brought Xavka to his knees. This time, Xavka was determined to push his Master further, to prove his worth to her. He aimed to win but, logically, he knew that pure luck would be the only way for him to win.

Dressed in a pair of loose fitting trousers with black wrappings wound his feet, ankles, single wrist, single hand and stomach. No other clothing adorned his body, leaving his tattoo and scar covered torso exposed to the beating sun of the desert planet. Xavka's hair was pulled back into a top-knot ponytail which reached to his shoulders and had a darkened to it, from the bunched up strands.

Strapped to his waist was a sheath on his left side, his armless side, containing a sword while a pouch was hanging on his right side. Wrapped around his waist was a chain whip.

Sighing, Xavka lowered himself to the ground into a meditative position, knees folded beneath him, his one arm in his lap, as he sank into the Force. Awaiting the arrival of Darth Ophidia.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Iridonia, it would seem every time she came here, she was fighting one of her students. Granted, the sandy surface was a superb arena for disciplining apprentices. This time, she was the one who was called by one of her own, and not the caller. Darth Ophidia had not given this one the attention he deserved, yet he seemed to thrive and grow stronger every time she saw him. Which was, most likely, more often than the Iridonian apprentice knew. She watched over him, as she watched over all of her apprentices. Yet, as the Aspect of Death, she had to keep her distance. There were those, within and without the Sith, who would put her seeds to waste to harm her. Trying to get to her through them was an exercise in futility, but she disliked such waste of potential.

Unlike some, who preferred to trek through the desert for hours, the Rattataki had taken her personal Swoopbike out for a swooping. The engine with a seat howled as she split the serene desert with a streak of rising dust. Sand tore at her helmet and wind tugged in her cloak as she pushed the craft faster, faster, faster. She loved to feel the wind pass her and the immediate sensation of danger brought by the unstable craft of transportation. Upon approaching Xavka's place of meeting, she whirled her swoop around and brought it to a halt. She removed her helmet and held it under her arm as she approached the Iridonian's position on foot. Some fifteen meters from him, she stopped.

"Xavka Duquo. I believe you wanted to see me."

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

The rapidly approaching sound of a speeder roused Xavka from his meditation but he made no effort to move nor open his eyes. Instead, he held that position even as he heard the speeder come to a halt, the sound of the engine's echoes rapidly fading as it spread over the large open space before the Iridonian. Even as he heard the steady approach of his Master as the sounds of shifting sand reached his ears as it rushed to slip into the imprints her steps had left as well as being forced up and away from the pressure of her weight. Xavka only moved when the voice of his Master breached the silence of the environment.

For a moment Xavka did nothing but open his eyes, staring over the landscape before him. Eventually, after a short silence, Xavka pushed himself to his feet, the feel of the sand comforting beneath his feet. Turning to face his Master, Xavka bowed at the waist to her, speaking only one word as a greeting. "Master." Falling silent again, for a short moment, Xavka continued to stare at the Rattataki before opening his mouth to answer the, to him, unasked question. "Indeed, I did."

Turning away from Ophidia, Xavka returned his sight to the desert before him, before he made to explain his reason to her. "If you are willing, Master, I would like to see how far I have come by testing myself against yourself." Xavka paused to chuckle darkly before continuing. "I have no doubt that you'll beat me, but I wish to see if I can push you further when compared to the last time we met on this planet." A lopsided and unseen smirk grew on his face at the memories his words stirred.

"What say you, Master?" As he question her as to whether she would fight, his hand dropped to the hilt of his sword, crossing over his body to do so.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

She listened to him speak and smiled a small, wry smile at his near-insolent manner. As he mentioned trying himself against her, she begun pacing to the side. Her feet fell lightly on the sand as she did not suppress the sound. Indeed, it was about time she tested him. She had seen him fight many beings before, but he had grown much since last they exchanged blows. Then again, so had she. Perhaps it was time to remind him of her power as well.

"Yes, I do think it is about time to see your progress, my apprentice."

Her Force-Signature burst into being as she dropped her helmet, grabbed her cloak and pulled it off in a flourish. Underneath, her clothes were fitted around the legs, but breezy about the torso to trap air and keep her cool. Her right hand rested on her lightsabre hilt, ready to draw and activate it in a flash, should she need it.

"Please don't disappoint me."

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka smiled slightly a Ophidia's response, although it faltered slightly as the true presence of his Master slammed into his metal shielding. At her comment about hoping that he would not disappoint, the smile transitioned into a feral smirk while he focussed on her location based off of the footsteps he had been listening to. "Of course I won't Master, I wouldn't dream of it." His tone came out as a mix of a purr and a growl of anticipation for the oncoming fight.

As soon as he finished speaking, Xavka whipped around, pumping the Force through his body to increase his speed, durability and strength as it wound its way around muscle tendons and settled within bone. In the same movement, Xavka pushed his way though the air towards Ophidia and pulled his sword free of its sheath.

The result of his actions was him moving towards his Master at a high speed, preforming the Art of Iai so that his sword threatened to carve a gash over Ophidia's torso from he right hip to her left collar bone. A shot that would finish the fight before it truly began. As such, Xavka hoped that it would not succeed as he held no wish for the fight to end so quickly, before he could prove his worth to his Master, that despite their distance he was an Apprentice worthy of his title.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

He had certainly developed his speed, but she was ready. She watched him as he placed his hand on his blade and as he moved towards her. She had fought faster, and she still lived. He would have to bring something better than speed to fight her.

Matching his speed, she stepped to forward and to the left, putting herself too close for the blade to be dangerous and on the outside of Xavka's arm. Her own hands flashed up to meet his at the elbow, effectively stopping his momentum without exerting much effort. In her right hand, she held her lightsabre hilt in a reversed grip. Which meant the blade emitter pointed directly at Xavka. Her pinky-finger hit the activation button and the scarlet blade emerged in an instant thrust to Xavka's face. It was a flashy move on her part, but no less deadly.

Expecting him to avoid her lightsabre-retort. She released a charge of Force lightning from her left hand to drive her apprentice away or catch him in the torrent of painful electricity.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

As soon as Xavka felt the momentum of his arm draw to a stop, Xavka twisted himself into a spin along the horizontal axis while pushing himself away from Ophidia's grasp along a perpendicular line, leaving him with Ophidia to his right. The result of his push caused the ignited lightsaber blade pass to the right of his shoulder while a few wisps of Lightning caught him along his side and caused him to tumble into a clumsy role upon landing instead of a crouch as his right leg fell away beneath him from spasms.

Twisting around onto his knees, Xavka channelled the Force along the edge of his blade before slashing it towards Ophidia one he was stable, sending a thin wave of Force Push towards her that would cut into her if it made contact rather than push her back. In the next moment he released a wide stream of Lightning from his uncurled fingers as he held it against his palm with his thumb. He directed the Lightning by weaving strands of the Force through it, directing it to strike at his Master's current location as well as on either side of her.

Reaching out with a small fraction of his mind while sustaining the Lighting with the majority, Xavka slowly extended it towards Ophidia's presence within the Force and planned for his next attack.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

The slashing, she had seen it before. Both Darth Ferus and Darth mythos applied similar techniques. While she often preferred to jump over it and come closer to her opponent, this time she blasted through. Stepping towards Xavka, she swiped her arms out to the sides, creating a neutralising push to counteract her apprentice's attack and thereby nullifying its effect.

When the Force Lightning came, she extended her left hand and drew the electricity into her. Employing Tutaminis, she absorbed the energy into her body and used his attack to fuel her next counter-attack. The way she dealt with his efforts had a nonchalance to them, as if she found it all too easy. It was a mask she donned to infuriate and unbalance her opponents and apprentices alike. While absorbing his lightning with her left hand, she set her eyes on Xavka. The usually pale grey irises erupted in crimson and yellow, as if her gaze combusted with hatred. It was an effect that came to her as she worked with the dark side of the Force.

Through locking her eyes on Xavka, her mind spread out like a mass of tentacles to grapple, penetrate and ultimately dominate his mind. She tried to penetrate his mental defences and make him bow down to the sand. If she gained access, her voice would ring through his mind and put his sanity in a chokehold. It was a challenge: Who could defeat the other with their mental attack first? She had much experience with mentalism in defence and offence, but she was not immune. The question was whether or not Xavka could employ his technique while his own mind was under attack.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

A dark growl rumbled from within his throat as Xavka witnessed his attacks be beaten so easily and with such nonchalance. 'Don't!' He scolded himself within his mind. 'Don't let this control you, you've done this before, you know how this works. Channel you anger into passion.' Focussing, weakening his Lightning as he did so, Xavka devoted more and more of his focus towards his mental tendrils until they became a maelstrom of energy. He was about to launch the attack when he felt Ophidia's mind slam into his own.

Flinching harshly, Xavka recoiled in both body, mind and Force momentarily before he focussed and rallied a defence. He was tempted to stop his attack where it was, prevent it from happening and instead using the focus to shore up his mental defences, but he resisted the instinct. Instead he focussed with every will of his being on splitting his concentration on hold back his Master and holding his attack where it was, ready to be used.

It was a few seconds later though that Xavka forced himself to rethink his tactics. Already he could feel his shields buckling, bowing under the mental pressure his Master was forcing upon him, already he could feel the whispers beginning to form, whispers that twisted him mind and turned his sanity back on itself. Growling, and maintaining eye contact with Ophidia, not that he could tear himself away, Xavka's mind began to race as he tried to figure out what to do.

He knew he could not defeat Ophidia, just as he knew that he had never truly witnesses her power and that panicked him as he no longer knew what he was up against, no longer had that illusions of comfort. He began to sink deeper into that panic before he refocused on his shielding and managed to fight it back enough to regain logical thought. He could easily conclude that his Master was more agile, faster than he in both mind in body and he needed to lower the gap to even hope to have a glimmer of a chance of success. That meant, to him, that he only one option to proceed.

Taking a breathe, Xavka dropped his shields almost completely, leaving behind only a sliver which was meant to serve a momentary stopper while he acted. He instead focussed on launching the attack he had build. If he succeeded the tendrils of Force he had built was surge forwards, reaching Ophidia's presence and begin to corrupt it, poisoning it as it seeped deeper while also beginning to corrupt her body. Her reflexes and thoughts would slow as the speed at which her synapses flared would decrees, weakening her, taking away at least some of the agile advantage the Rattataki held.

He hated that it came to that, came to him launching such a desperate ploy so soon into the fight, but Xavka re-aimed the anger, using it to strengthen his attack as much as possible as he laid every hope on it succeeding enough to make Ophidia withdraw from his mind, or, at least, weaken the grasp on it she held so that he could fight to defend him mind once again.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

She wanted him to shore up his defences and try to shield himself. It would have been a defence she could have cracked. Once she had a hold, it was only a matter of time until she inevitably eroded his defences and broke him. Alas, that was not the course of action he pursued. He was smarter than that, so he chanced his own attack. While Darth ophidia had never before been on the receiving end of Force Slow, she could feel the corruption beginning and she would not stand for it. Releasing her mental grip, she instead ran a torrent of Force energy through herself, pushing away all foreign influence. It was much like her mental attack, only limited to the portion of Xavka that tried to slow down her synapses. It was beginning to take, but she still had the will to fight, and so with a single exclamation of fury, she dispelled him.

A smile formed on her lips as she whirled her lightsabre about and pointed it at her apprentice in a standard grip. She had to admit, his attack was effective. None before had ever forced her to release her hold, and now she would have to wait for a new chance to grasp him. With her mental defences fortified, she vanished. It was time she tested his ability to fight what he could not see. So, combining the Art of the Small and Force Cloak, she removed herself from sight, sound and even the Force. Her presence was like a molecule, a very angry molecule.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

As the presence, so very powerful and dominating presence, left his mind, Xavka felt a wave of relief as he realised what had happened. His Master's attack had stopped. He was not sure whether or not to feel proud of such a thing. After all he had no knowledge as to whether or not his attack had been the reason for the retreat, for all he knew his Master had decided to withdraw to draw out the fight so as to test him. So, he forced down the pride that threatened to surge through him and tried to maintain his consciousness.

That fight became a lot easier once he felt Ophidia disappear from his senses. Snapping his head up he confirmed what he feared. He could see nothing of his Master, hear nothing, feel nothing. The only sense that could identify his Master was his sense of smell, but all it could tell was that she was nearby, her scent to scattered for him to tell.

Fighting back the blackness that threatened to consume his vision, Xavka forced himself to his feet and took a defensive stance with his sword. He had been planning on using his Chakrams, but they would have been no use in the situation, especially as he had only brought two. So, instead, he sank into the Force, absorbing it into him to revitalise himself and so that he would be alerted to an oncoming attack, and waited to defend, an aura of the Force surrounding his blade as a sign of his use of Force Weapon.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Invisibility, Ophidia had never used this ability against an apprentice before. Then again, her other apprentices needed to see her defeat them. Xavka had been brazen enough to challenge her to see his own progression. Therefore, she would give him something special. With careful steps, she approached him. She did not have to care about sound, but she cared where she put her feet. Her boots left no new or distinguishable marks as she quickly spiralled in behind Xavka. She carried no intent, keeping herself neutral and hidden in the mundane. She even used the wind to mask her scent. A lesson she had learned by being chased by a Noghri on Onderon.

There was nothing until the last second, when her malice became unmasked like a hammer from above and her bloodshine blade once more erupted into being, breaking her spell of non-existence with the snap-hiss of her blade. Her blade was already pointed to the right of her apprentice's spine. She could have withheld the sound and aimed for his heart, but she was not yet going all out against her apprentice. Ophidia was curious as to how he would respond to such an attack, and whether he would retreat to a distance or keep close. Last time they fought, he had tried to come close. This time, she was practically breathing down his neck.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka stood still, eyes closed, as he waited for his Master to make her move. And he hated it. He hated just standing where he was, a completely open target that could be struck down at any moment with no warning, no time to prepare. Weak.

In that moment Xavka was unable to do anything. He had no possible way to see the Rattataki as she was completely hidden through masterful usage of the Force. He had no way to hear her, once again that was hidden from him by the Force. And the wind flowing around him was working against him, removing any possible chance to track Ophidia through his sense of smell as it refused to carry her scent towards him. He could not track her through the Force either, her presence and intent hidden from him. This left him no avenue to pursue.

Growling softly in annoyance, Xavka's mind turned to trying to think of some method that would provide him with the location of Ophidia. Despite the fact that he had committed the first attack of the fight, the control over the pacing of it had been wrenched from his grasp by the Sith Lord and he had been backing into constantly reacting to her, never being able to act.

For a brief moment Xavka acted as he felt Ophidia's presence appeared behind him, slamming down on his senses like a collapsing landslide. Throwing himself forwards, Xavka went into a roll. A muffles shout of pain escaped through clenched teeth as he felt a burning brand reach up along his spine, the pain matching that of the rituals he had endured during his Res'selenoren, the pain of dyed poison being injected into his body to form his Jat'o and Jat'i tattoos.

Landing hard on his shoulder, Xavka came up facing Ophidia on his knees. Launching his arm forwards, Xavka released his arm, sending his sword tip first towards Ophidida, the near invisible aura of Force still surrounding it. In the next moment, Xavka released a wave of the Force towards Ophidia as well, the push increasing the speed of his throw. It was his hope that even if she dodged the sword, the push would still catch Ophidia, giving him chance to get in close as he was already pushing himself to his feet.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

His frustration was palpable, yet the Iridonian reacted quite well. To strike from behind was a common practice among assassins, and one Ophidia had much pride in near perfecting. Many years were spent in gaining and perfecting the combination of techniques that went into her invisibility. One day, she would pass them onto Xavka. Despite the shallow cut to his back, he got away from Ophidia's assault. A wicked grin was spread over her lips as she followed up to keep the pressure on him.

As he threw his blade, she reacted instinctively by stepping to the side and out of its' path. During her duel with Darth Ferus, he had tried to use his lightsabre to attack her from behind by throwing it past her. She did not want to deal with that situation again, so this time she caught the weapon as it passed her. The Rattataki's fingers wrapped around the grip of the blade and seized it. Ophidia could feel the presence of the Force in it, which told her it was no use in trying to sunder it. Having caught the blade, she had no time to break or avoid the Push, so she let herself be taken by it. Rather than resist, she followed the momentum, landed in a roll and found stillness in a kneeling position. Lightsabre in one hand, Xavka's blade in the other.

She did not go entirely unharmed. The push itself felt like a slap to the entire body, and the landing could have been smoother. Her eyes set on her apprentice as she met his charge with her own.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Pushing aside the annoyance that had flared momentarily over the fact that Ophidia had caught his blade instead of letting it fly past, meaning that the forming though of using it later for a surprise attack and she had armed herself against him even more, Xavka continued to charge, matching his Master's own.

At the last second, Xavka flared the Force through his body, drastically increasing his speed and strength decreasing the time it would take him to react to stimulus. Launching himself towards the left, the right of Ophidia, while punching towards the Rattataki's head. His aim was to get himself behind her, into Ophidia's blind spot before using one of his other weapons, so as to potentially keep what it was hidden from her, making the ways he could use it to fight a mystery. The punch was more of a distraction than a true attack, however, that was not to say that he feinted the punch, he wanted it to connect, causing more of a distraction.

Hidden within the action was a second attack. When he had empowered his body with the Force, he had directed a large amount of it towards his fist and, when his fist was moving towards Ophidia he released it in front of his fist in a constant pulse, extending his reach.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Xavka was aiming to use her blind-spots. Ophidia could see it already when he stepped to the side. He was fighting cleverly. Intelligent fighting was an underestimated pursuit, but one Ophidia found to be at the core of what it meant to be an assassin. Assassins needed to be clever, to see what others could not and to use it to fatal effect. Strength and speed could be otherwise obtained, but an active mind was priceless.

His fist came for her, pulsing with the extra reach of the Force. Ophidia's feet skid to a halt as the Force screamed warnings in her head. Her boots grabbed hold of the sand below and gave her enough of a solid base to shift her momentum. Left foot forward, right foot behind in support. Her torso swayed back, allowing Xavka's fist to pass well over her head. She felt the wind move from the pulsing Force enveloping his fist as sweat was whipped from her face. Turning a her hips to the right, she stabbed the fingers of her right hand into the sand, pinning her lightsabre against the ground below. The Force flowed through her body, strengthening her for the feat of acrobatics to come, and she cartwheeled her body over the one arm. Her left hand, holding Xavka's blade, splayed out to keep the balance as she curled her legs against her and then thrust them back out against the Iridonian in retaliation while she pushed off from the ground with her right. She was aiming to plant both feet solidly in his back to knock him over.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka grit his teeth in annoyance as his attack missed, but was forced to act quickly when he felt two feet slam into his back. Growling, his momentum carried him forwards into a roll and he came up, staring at Ophidia in annoyance. His annoyance was not directed towards Ophidia though, it was directed at himself. While he had attempted to get into his Master's blind spot, he had rushed in to quickly, not thought it through properly and had opened a weakness.

In his rush to hit Ophidia, he had charged to her right, so as to strike at her with his only fist, his right fist, and not have to cross his arm across his chest. In doing so, he had placed the Rattataki in his blind spot from his blind, right eye.

Growling again, especially at the fact that he was without his sword, Xavka moved to his second weapon. Reaching to his waist, he threw his hand forwards and the chain around his waist came with it. With the whispering sound of metal running over metal the thin and long chain whip comprised of nine lengths of metal and a weighted metal dart whipped forwards towards Ophidia's face after running of to the side as centripetal force came into effect.

As the whip flew through the air, it seemed to burst into white, whispery fire as he ran the Force through it. While the weapon was already forged out of Force imbued durasteel, imbued during the forging process, and could withstand a few strike of a lightsaber, he aimed to mislead Ophidia into believing his focus was the only thing that would protect the whip. There was also the fact that, with the Force flowing through the chain links, he could control the whip much more, directing it into manoeuvres that would usually be impossible.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

After planting her feet on Xavka and pushing him away, Ophidia dived into a roll to soften her fall and bring her back to her feat. At the end of the roll she stood up and her boots rooted into the sand. She stared back at her apprentice with a smile on her lips and cruelty in her eyes. She held both the sword and lightsabre pointed down at the sand, but even in their lax position, they radiated danger and channelled her constant threat. She could sense his irritation and how it turned in on him. Would that bring him power? She did not think so. He had to channel his anger out towards her, while keeping his mind intact. His rage was his weapon, but weapons alone did not kill.

"Bring me that anger Xavka. Use it, funnel it, control it, and strike me down."

She swayed to the side in order to avoid the first part of the whip lashing for her face. In a single fluent motion from her sway, she ducked under the links while stepping forward and to the opposite side from where she had swayed to avoid the initial motion of the weapon. The Rattataki brought Xavka's sword up to keep the whip away from her as she continued to advance on her apprentice quickly. She then lunged with her lightsabre, the long, red, plasmic blade making a swift upwards cut before thrusting at Xavka's chest.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Grunting in annoyance at his missed attack, Xavka yanked the whip back towards him, ignoring the shrill sound of the metal links running over his sword as his aster pressed it to the side to keep the chain catching her. Using the Force he had running through the metal, Xavka manipulated the flight of the whip, moving it past the sword after running it past it for a short while, enough so that he could hopefully trick Ophidia into thinking that it had completely cleared her.

Leaping backwards, Xavka created distance between his body and the glowing red blade of the Sith Lord's lightsaber. As he did so, he directed the whip to wrap around the Rattataki's throat. As it neared, Xavka released a burst of lightning towards the pale female from his outstretched fingers. Several, small, bolts of white electricity arced through the air towards his Master while, at the same time, Xavka's grip in the whip channelled the lightning down the conductive metal.

Xavka's goal was to see the metal whip tied around Ophidia's throat, choking her, while the sparks of lightning he was directing through it electrocuted her. The bolts he had arcing through the air where to, ultimately, serve as a distraction more than an attack, but if they hit he would not be complaining.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

As the chain attached itself around Ophidia's throat, she immediately dropped the sword in her left hand and gripped the chain. Her left foot stomped down on the blade of the sword to keep it in place as she placed her lightsabre in the way of Xavka's lightning, gathering it into the magnetic field of the superheated plasma blade. A smile spread over her lips as she charged the chain full of lightning as well. It was initially her counter-attack to his choke, but rather than shock the Iridonian, the torrent battled for dominance over the chain.

Ophidia pressed more and more power into the battle of the lightning, but also had to keep his second torrent focused on her blade. It was a battle of concentration, but Ophidia had experience on her side. She had years of practice in the use of Sith Lightning to rely on for power, and to make up for Xavka's hold on the whip. Had it been a normal weapon, then it would likely have burst into segments from the sheer power that was pressed into it.

The chain was tight around her neck, but she would not let him win this. To put more pressure on Xavka, she anchored her feet into the sand and pulled on the chain. For such a slender figure, she was able of creating a lot of pull.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]