Ask Ajan Kloss Art of the Blade

[Mila Tesara]

A slight grin formed across the features of the knight, as she heard the words of her companion. It was a nice match, two styles geared specifically for sparing. Style and elegance would reign here, as there was no room for sloppy bladeship within this tango for two. It was like watching two streams flowing into one another.

The blade and footwork seemed perhaps patterned, planed maybe, as there was a follow through and follow up. Dancing with a stick of plasma able to burn through the hull of a star fighter was probably something akin to a death sentence by most people, yet here it was a mix of performance art and martial combat.

Just as Mila thought, Vayla had anticipated her maneuver, the cyan blade followed her strike in nearly perfect harmony. The two shades of color slammed into one another, as the two knights had reached an impasse for only a moment. Vayla shoved back harder though, pushing the blade away as she flowed nearly flawlessly into a lunging strike; a perfect mirror to what Mila had just tried moments ago: Clever girl. It did make her wonder how vast Vayla's knowledge of Makaski truly was, but there was only one way to tell now wasn't there?

Feeling her blade give way, Mila shifted herself to her right side, a half spin side step ensued, as Vayla's blade just narrowly slid past her. Moving to the currently exposed left side of her foe, she brought thr saber back in for a quick slash aimed towards Vayla's right instep. It seemed the best approach would be to keep playing this game, as Mila repositioned herself to the woman's right flank. It seemed likely that Vayla would follow this strike up with yet another counter, so Mila was already plotting her next move. She wondered how long they could keep this dance going, hopefully longer than last time. Another gust blew across the rocks, as the scent of sea washed over the duo in the midst of their spar.

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Music OOC

Spoiler

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Vayla’s jab toward Mila’s shoulder was no less avoidable on the Twi’lek’s part as the latter shifted out of the blade’s path. As Mila's attack came, Vayla retracted her right leg while pivoting on her left foot to both remove her right leg from Mila’s slash and align her front with where her opponent had ultimately repositioned, preventing Mila from facing Vayla’s right flank.

Vayla had not interrupted Mila’s saber with her own. If the Twi’lek had been slashing at any part of Vayla’s right leg then her saber would now be swinging further away through air. Meanwhile, Vayla was already back in control of her weapon. The Pantoran’s pivot had ended with her right foot now positioned behind her left, though the right foot would move again as soon as it found ground.

After her failed jab, and with Mila’s failed slash, Vayla exploded forward in a lunge. Power driven from her left leg, her right leg shot forward, slightly bent at the knee as her saber’s tip angled for Mila’s left shoulder once again, more specifically where it joined with her pectoralis major. With a leftward angle of Vayla's blade, the tip might miss that spot but still snag Mila on her left shoulder if she stepped to her right or even brought her left side backward.

With Mila's failed slash, she might have a harder time bringing it back to block Vayla's in time, who had kept her own blade level amid her failed jab and her new lunge.


@Algarus

 

[Mila Tesara]

In Mila's mind, she had thought this battle might gone differently given the even footing. Her eyes widened as she witnessed her error, seeing Vayla already moving into a position to strike while Mila was still in mid swing. There wasn't alot she could do, save for scrap the Makashi style and shift into Shien form. In that split second thinking, Mila decided to do just that. Her blue blade scratched across the hard earth, it slowed down a tad bit to assist in the maneuver she was planning for. She reversed her grip and seized the blade with sword hands, as she used the strength from her right arm to sweep the blade back between the bodies of the two, aiming to knock the lunging strike aside. At least this was the ideal solution. Mila needed to end this fight and do it fast, as Vayla was showing herself every bit her equal in this encounter.

If the blade had been knocked aside, Mila went all in with a rather daring move. She would step forward now, her blade still vertical to the ground. As she moved into Vayla's open stance, she would turn and thrust the saber underneath her left armpit and across her side, aiming to poke Vayla in the gut. Ideally from the impact of the initial parry, Mila was counting on her parry to have left her opponent at least somewhat open. She was hinging alot on this one strike, and if it failed to land, well, the victory of this contest would be rather apparent now wouldn't it? Mila's back was now facing Vayla as while she now had a fantastic view of the sea, she had left herself quite venerable. It would take only a spare moment to know the result of her blow, and yet it felt like an eternity.

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Music OOC [Recurring]

Spoiler

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Gah! Vayla had almost expelled the word from her throat when she witnessed the movements of her opponent. If this had been a real fight then there would have been no room to wonder and only room to worry. Mila had just done something that Vayla could appreciate to the hand, having fluidly transitioned from one lightsaber form to the other—the forward precision of Makashi to a reverse grip of sweeping Shien. It took a deal of dexterity to switch to a grip like that in the heat of battle, and this Twi’lek was clearly accustomed to the practice.

The Pantoran, though, had not been one to stop and gawk. As soon as her opponent’s saber struck against her own, Vayla did not resist the parry. Rather, she arced her saber downward from her right to left. Because Vayla had lunged, her stomach would be at a slight angle to her left, meaning that Mila would have had to angle her own blade to hit it.

As Mila came into her turn for her backward stab following the parry, Vayla brought her body out of the blade’s path by pushing off her extended right leg. Her right foot would land beside her left. Meanwhile, having ended her lightsaber’s semicircle beneath Mila’s blade, Vayla swung it upward. The middle section of Vayla’s blade would connect nearer the upper section of Mila’s.

From the point of connection, Vayla stepped forward with her left foot, twisting her front to face Mila’s left flank, likely with the Twi’lek’s back still at least somewhat turned to her opponent. With both of Vayla’s hands now on her hilt, she attempted to push Mila’s blade upward from behind the wielder, which could result in one of a few outcomes.

Vayla moved her opponent’s blade to connect with the back of Mila’s shoulder, an action that would cleave her arm off were the stun setting not on. If Mila twisted her wrist to her right, the blade would connect with her back. If she twisted her wrist to her left, Vayla might just end up pushing the blade downward through the air like a propeller until the hilt was forced out of Mila’s grip. Mila had the misfortune of having her back turned, but the price of that was yet to be determined.


@Algarus

 

[Mila Tesara]

She really did have a fantastic view of the sea, but that wasn't going to help the Twi'lek in this moment. Vayla hadn't been caught unaware sadly. Mila felt her stomach drop as she felt her blade not come into contact with anything. Vayla had dodged the strike, of course she had. Though instead of being struck from behind and having this spar come to an end, her partner had chosen another method of attack. Strangely enough, her friend now locked sabers and attempted to yank the blade upwards, making Mila strike herself with her own blade. Rather of a low blow, but sure, two could play at that. She couldn't hold her blade securely in this position, as even as she tried, Vayla was driving it upwards with a strength that the Twi'lek just didn't possess. She was rather trapped it seemed. Unable to pull her blade to the right , or to the left without injuring herself. So Mila selected a third option.

Pressing the ignition button on her saber, as the blade would retreat back into the halt, letting Vayla's blade continue upward until she could regain control of it. With her saber deactivated, Mila leaped forward and spun, as she now was facing towards Vayla, safety out of reach from the woman's saber. Her feet struck the hard surface, meeting the cold hard stone as she tucked and flipped backwards, saber reignited. This was some sort of dance, probably the best performance Mila had done in some time.

With a bit of time and breathing room. Mila switched her saber back on and reversed her grip back to normal, going back into Makashi. She took in a deep breath, a small smirk stretching across her face as sweat began to streak down her brow. "I feel like we can keep going at it for some time." The cold gusts were hardly phasing her now, as her blood and heart were pumping like mad. Mila would wait for Vayla to make the attack once again, hopefully this time things would go in her favor. A small bit of steam seemed to be rolling off Mila's body, as she was putting in the work now. It seemed she had found her designated training partner at the very least. The clashing of the waves, the song of the ocean behind her, it was all quite riveting when paired with the duel that was unfolding at current.

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Music OOC [Recurring]

Spoiler

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Mila was ever one to surprise her opponent. Truth be told, her earlier attack might have worked, but holding a lightsaber in a reverse grip typically reduced the blade’s path to lateral or from below—overhead strikes were no longer as optional. Vayla, then, had brought her own blade in from below, with Mila having revealed her new grip before she had thrust it toward her opponent’s stomach. With Vayla’s right leg having already been extended in a lunge, it had been as simple as bouncing off the foot to bring the front of her body away from Mila’s stab. All things considered, with Mila having stepped and turned, the moments had revealed themselves and Vayla had acted accordingly.

What happened now, however, was a tad more surprising. Vayla’s blade traveled upward as intended but it did not maintain the resistance of another lightsaber. It soared through the air and the instant revealed why: MIla had actually deignited her saber right then and there in the midst of the actions. This time, Vayla’s gasp had been audible, her eyes widening as the acqua blade vanished from view in less than a second. Part of the Pantoran’s awe was knowing in that fragile moment that, if Mila had only intended to, she could just might have landed a blow by angling her hilt against her all too close opponent and reigniting the blade upon her body. Set to stun, Vayla might have been forced backward, with a bruise if not a burn, but nothing lethal.

Mila, however, was apparently the better sport. I might have been devious enough to try it myself! Vayla thought while the two combatants distanced from one another, her fellow gymnast landing on the rock to realign herself with her opponent. A beckoning hum shined from the woman’s hilt, and there Mila Tesara stood, ready and able, as though she had been in Makashi this whole time. Vayla caught her breath and calmed her excitement, the experience having somewhat shaken her in all the good ways. Clever girl.

Tràkata, Vayla had since learned, was not a technique employed often by either Jedi or Sith. As practical as it was, it was not passionate, and as decisive as it was, it was also deceptive. In the right hands, though, a lightsaber could be turned on and off at will, opening the fingers up for Force maneuvers or, in Mila’s case, to break the bind of an opposing lightsaber. Beyond that, as Vayla had imagined in an instant, the blade of a Tràkata user could bypass the opposing blade and reignite upon the opponent’s gut. Thank you, dear, for not going that far. Vayla grinned, clearly impressed and wanting to show it.

Mila, under her spotlight on this stage, appeared more confident in coping with the elements, of which Vayla afforded to look at the skies and the seas as the wind whipped around the arena. “Well, love, we’ve got plenty of daylight left yet.” She found her friend’s eyes. “Cute trick, by the way. I wonder…” Vayla’s lit sword crossed her body, blade’s tip protruding past her left shoulder. “...Can you pull it off a second time?” WIth that, a gust took her back and Vayla took off.

Charging into range, she extended her right leg as before, twisting her front slightly leftward, though this time it wasn’t a Makashi kind of lunge. With right hand over left hand upon the hilt, Vayla swung her saber diagonally downward from right to left, an attack that would see the blade’s tip cutting across Mila’s left shoulder and down to her right hip.



@Algarus

 

[Mila Tesara]

Mila might have been able to seal the deal there, but she just didn't see a reason to do so. That maneuver was a cheap and easy way to best someone, and Mila didn't care for it truth be told. If she was going to best Vayla, it was going to be through her own skill. Vayla surely seemed impressed, which helped Mila's pride just a tad. As the two woman stood across from one another, the small bit of banter helped continue the friendly game of tag they were undergoing. Vayla suggested they keep the gaming going for as long as there was light, and Mila liked the idea of that; though she wasn't sure if her body was ready for such an endeavor. "Time will tell my friend." Mila smirked, as she waited for her opponent to move, and move she did.

This new blade strike she had chosen was unusual, and Mila felt that meeting it head on would be unwise, and yet there was a vulnerability that she would exploit. Mila struck with both hands on her hilt, intercepting the blade at the tip, and dragging her own blade against it so that it would be in the middle. Given this hold, Mila steped forward with her left foot, keeping her own blade vertical to herself, as she sought to interpose between Vayla's stance.

Being nearly shoulder to shoulder with the woman now, Mila's Lekku lashed out at the Twi'leks command, aiming to wave in front of Vayla's eyes, mainly as a distraction, as Mila would use her left to sweep behind Vayla's extended right leg and shove into the knight. Ideally, this combo would lead to Vayla being knocked backwards in surprise, where Mila hoped to land a quick slash to Vayla's leg to draw a close to their second match. Again, this was all in theory.

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Music OOC [Recurring]

Spoiler

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Vayla had attacked from a distance for the very objective of maintaining that distance. With only the tip of her blade aimed to connect with her opponent’s left shoulder, the blade’s reach along with the extension of her arms ensured ample footing between the bodies of both combatants. It was their draw distance that would give Vayla time to move as Mila closed in, the latter having to first bypass the reach of Vayla’s saber in order to get to her leg.

Meanwhile, the Twi’lek had blocked Vayla’s high blow at the tip, and then sought to maneuver her blade so that it would be in the middle of the Pantoran’s. With lightsaber blades not quite able to slide across one another, Mila would have had to disengage hers at least just long enough to bounce it back toward the middle of Vayla’s. It would be that break in the bind that would return full control of Vayla’s saber back to her without Vayla having to disengage first.

Withdrawing her blade from her opponent’s as the bind broke, Vayla went for one of the Jedi’s most famous (or infamous) non-lethal attacks. Both hilts gripped by two hands, she swung the upper portion of hers for Mila’s wrists, her cut coming in diagonally downward from her left to right, away from Mila’s saber. This would be a maneuver to sever the hands from the arms or, as it were, stun them.

The attack would come before Mila’s approach would be nearing shoulder to shoulder with Vayla, thus before her lovely lekku would leap toward the Pantoran’s face, and before the attempt to sweep her right leg. Likely, Mila would now be forced to check Vayla’s lightsaber with her own, potentially blocking the attack to her wrists. Regardless, whether Mila persisted in advancing, Vayla once again retracted her right leg, a partial requirement in order to strike Mila's wrists as she had. Mila would now have to come closer to reach Vayla's leg at a straight stance.


@Algarus

 

[Mila Tesara]

It was a pipe dream after all. Mila's attack was scrapped as she ran into her first problem; physics. Lightsabers didn't slide, they just clung together like the beams of plasma that they were. Mila had this great plan of attack all ready to go, and the friction of her lightsaber foiled it all; who would have thought? Mila was forced to redirect her blade upwards now, as Vayla sought to strike at her wrists; a clever move at that, but it wouldn't be enough to halt Mila. A smile stretched acorss the Twi'lek's face, as she solidified her foot position, building up strength in her left foot, as she had a new plan.

Pushing back against Vayla's, Mila pushed outwards with her saber, leaping off her left foot, she would dislouge her blade from Vayla's and now moved to strike as her wrists were free of the blade fall. Mila rotated her blade counter clockwise, as she now slashed in an outward arc towards Vayla. Given the distance, Mila hoped to at least catch the front of her friends stomach with her blade, as the strength from her overhead slash would carry her momentum forward, right into the path of Mila's aqua colored blade. Least that was the hope. If this strike failed, Mila would retract her saber back towards her body, and pose as if ready for a thrust, her footwork and posture falling back into that of Soersu. This dance between warriors would have to come to an end soon, the only question was who would the victor be?

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Music OOC

Spoiler

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Well, had her opponent done what she had done clockwise instead of counter clockwise, then events might have favored the Pantoran. Vayla, though, was a little too slow on the draw. By the time she maneuvered her blade to parry Mila's, and close though the timing was, time could prove to be more merciless an opponent than a Twi'lek with head-tails. Vayla heard the bzzzzzt! and her own gasp of shock and pain as the aqua blade bit into her stomach.

As it was, Vayla might be left with a bruise, the blade of her opponent having bounced off upon contact, though the jolt itself had been enough to stagger the recipient backward as she winced, then laughed. Her opponent had bested her this round, having been that much quicker and, spar or not, winning was winning, by the minute or the mile, the second or the centimeter. The Pantoran recovered herself, checked her footing and caught her breath, but her lightsaber's blade was pointed to the ground without much combative control. Instead, Vayla stood casually before her sparring partner, smiling with favor.

"Very good!" She drummed her fingers against a mildly burning stomach. "You charged into the fray and it paid off. A little more and I might have had you, but too little, too late!" She shrugged, rolling her shoulders while sampling the ground with her feet, choosing the right position. The round was yet one in a number, and the circumstances had rather invigorated her to keep going, but Vayla would let the winner be the judge of that.

"Well? Ready for another go?" she grinned. "Or shall we find another way to dance?"


@Algarus

 

[Mila Tesara]

Mila had taught her attempt to strike at Vayla might have failed, but as her feet touched the ground, she soon realized that this wasn't the case; she had landed a blow after all! A wide smile stretched across her face, as while the fight might have gone either way, it seemed Mila had emerged the victor. Vayla was a worthy adversary, certainly so. "I agree. I've not had such a workout before. It was rather riveting." It seemed Mila had made a new friend this day, as the wind blew over the pair once again.

Mila shut her blade off, looking towards the fantastic view of the sea, happy to have had a productive day. To her surprise though, Vayla was shifting to take up another stance. Mila grinned, knowing that they were only equal now in terms of score, and Vayla seemed to still want to edge out that lead that Mila had garnered. Another dance? Now she was just getting spoiled. Mila let her blade flare back to life, as she took up a similar stance, feeling the excitement starting to burn up in her chest once again. "Another way to dance you say?" Mila couldn't help but snicker, as there were several ways to determine who the superior was here. "Perhaps it's time I show you my form four technique. After all, who do you think taught it to Brahe?" With that, the pair would be back at it, as it seemed once again, the Force had lead Mila into another new bond.

@Die Shize
/end thread