Heeding the Sword-call

[Pureblood-Sin]

The training room was quiet, lit only by bloodwax candles. The subtle smell of incense wafted in the air, leaving a misty hue within the candle-lit chamber. In front of an ancient Red Sith obelisk stood Sin'ryk with both hands clasped around the upright saberstaff hilt; yet his eyes were closed. He stood in meditation, waiting for the fellow Crusader, Damion Corinth, to answer his Sword-call. The Sorcerer remembered well the explanation behind the Yinchorri Pureblood custom that he gave to the masked Human. It was a martial demonstration of respect, when two warriors would seemingly fight to the death, yet spare the loser from a final blow. The reasoning was simple, the Red Sith of that rocky world believed it to be disrespectful to not fully demonstrate one's abilities, be they honourable or underhand; what mattered was what occurred before and after the duel.

Indeed, after the mission they had together, Sin'ryk wanted to know more about the man he fought beside. "What better way to do so than through combat", as the Echani would say; indeed the Sorcerer had to admit he agreed with the saying. Combat revealed the deepest roots of a person, without them having to give details as to the life they have lived. For now, Sin'ryk waited for Damion to arrive; letting the ever-present energies of Korriban flow through him as he waited.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

Damion sat alone in his chambers. He could feel a certain beckoning as he stood. His weapons were placed in the usual fashion. However, he had decided armor would be left out of the engagement, as it showed a certain weakness. He rechecked his gear including the mask and the cloak that masked his body shape. He headed deeper into the temple. He was drawing closer and he was harboring a certain excitement for what was to come. The crusader whom had joined him on a mission in a similar area earlier in the month had invited him for a friendly duel.

He stepped up to the door, feeling the familiar presence of Sin'ryk the pureblood just on the other side. The door wooshed open and Damion stepped inside, the smoke and haze from the candles causing the chamber to be somewhat dimmer than he was used to. However, he spotted the red sith almost instantly. "Sin'ryk, it is an honor to see you again," he spoke cordially.

He pulled the cloak from his shoulders revealing a black skin tight sleeveless shirt and standard black BDU pants. His sword was set on the ground beside his cloak. "Before we begin, might I ask if you have any rules for our clash," he asked glancing back to where the man was standing.

 

[Pureblood-Sin]

The Red Sith smiled as he heard the voice Damion within the room.

"Sin'ryk, it is an honor to see you again."

He opened his eyes and nodded curtly, giving a salute with his prosthetic hand pounding his chest.

"The honour is mine Damion, to be in such good company once more."

Sin'ryk replied; as Damion was making his preparations, the Pureblood responded by stripping off his cloak and unbinding his crimson hair, letting it collapse in droves. In this manner, it would give the impression that he were tempting fate. Soon enough, the Human had proffered another question.

"Before we begin, might I ask if you have any rules for our clash?"

For the Sorcerer, the answer was very simple.

"The rules of a Sword-call are simple; utilise every shred of ability against your opponent; but this is no Kaggath. There is to be no killing, maiming or mind-destroying; as I said when we arranged this, the Sword-call is an expression of respect, not a bid for power."

After saying this, Sin'ryk ignited both blades of his saberstaff and promptly eased himself into the saberstaff variant of the Soresu opening stance. He had only one more thing to say.

"Any of your own terms you wish to add before our blades meet one another?"

 

[Aaron Corinth]

Damion stood hands behind his back as the Crusader spoke. He nodded his agreement to the terms and brought his hands from behind his back simultaneously igniting the two lightsabers that he now held. He shook his head at the last question and spoke, "I believe the arrangement is fine, though I may find myself outmatched, this will be a good test."

He rolled forward drawing his right blade in an upward diagonal aimed for the man's left hip. He regained his footing and swung his left saber in a powerful downward diagonal aimed for the man's right shoulder. Offensive and powerful, but maintaining his other saber back for defense, in case the saberstaff managed to elude him. He had little practice against such weapons, but he hoped after the duel, if nothing else he would have a better understanding of their fighting style. He stepped back allowing Sin'ryk to push the offensive and see what kind of fighter the man was.

 

[Pureblood-Sin]

The human rolled forth, bringing his weapon to bear in an upward diagonal strike aimed at Sin'ryk's left side. The Red Sith responded by weaving himself towards the right, letting the attack slip past where his torso was. Afterwards, Damion would then proceed to direct his left-handed lightsaber into striking downwards at the Red Sith's shoulder. Sin'ryk flicked his saberstaff to parry the strike, before going into a string of wrist-based whirls that would discourage the Human from training to go back on the offensive.

Deciding to test his opponent's defences, the Sorcerer began to utilise more Makashi-based techniques to carry out the task. He would weave inwards, outwards and side-to side with his footwork; striking at Damion with swift jabs and cuts whilst giving him the impression that the Red Sith was dancing. All this before retreating backwards with another torrent of Soresu saberstaff flourishes, all done with his wrists so as to preserve energy for the fight. After that, Sin'ryk simply held his position, maintaining the opening the Form III stance in anticipation of what is to come.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

Damion watched the all too familiar flashy twirling of saberstaff attacks as the other crusader advanced. He brought his blades up knocking aside and blocking the incoming jabs and cuts either pushing them outside his frame or stopping their forward progression as the man advanced. He is fast, Damion thought as the staff weaved back and forth as if handled by a master. He took his turn and stepped back opening the fight to Damion once again.

Damion did not disappoint, lunging inward similar to a fencing move with his left hand aimed directly for the man's gut. He assumed the saberstaff would bat his blow uselessly downward, where Damion would pivot revealing the incoming lateral slash from his right blade. He followed the attack up with a similar powerful diagonal from the left blade toward the man's right shoulder. He followed this blow up bringing both blades together in an X pattern an issuing a powerful push towards the other man's chest attempting to throw him off balance.

 

[Pureblood-Sin]

After defending himself well from Sin'ryk's probing offensive, Damion launched one of his own. The Human lunged forth at the Sorcerer with a thrust aimed at the latter's gut, prompting Sin'ryk to whirl his saberstaff overhead to knock the blow downwards. After this was done, the Red Sith swiftly wove his weapon defensively backwards; Damion had then pivoted, lashing his right-handed lightsaber around to strike. The Pureblood quickly switched hands with his saberstaff, followed by an underarm inward lash to meet the opposing lightsaber with his rear blade. The human had then followed up with a similar strike with his left weapon, requiring Sin'ryk to weave his body under the blade. Before the Red Sith could bring his weapon to bear, Damion had flourished his lightsabers into an x that sent the Force flying at him. Swiftly, Sin'ryk dug his prosthetic claws into the ground, just as the wave smashed into him. Well entrenched, he slid backwards but maintained his grip, leaving a trail of glowing claw marks in the floor.

Now it was Sin'ryk's turn, responding by raising his hand in a gesture that begin to grasp at the Force, speaking a few words of power to give further strength. He shaped it, creating the visage of an ancient Sith ghost and sent it screaming towards the Human. Regardless of the outcome, the Sorcerer took the opportunity to began an incantation that made the Force sing with power. That power flowed into his necklace, imbuing it with defensive Dark Side energies. After that, Sin'ryk simply maintained his position.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The incoming ghost was certainly unnerving as Damion rolled to the right to avoid it. He could hear the sith continuing to mutter and he wondered what it was he had in mind. He had seen the powerful crusader utilized the alchemy once before and he hated to see it used on himself. He looked over to the obelisk and candles continuing to burn in the room and the image of the ghost that remained at the forefront of his thought.

He took a few steps away from the Crusader and hurled one of his blades towards his fellow crusader. He waited patiently holding the right blade defensively awaiting to see the results of his throw.

 

[Pureblood-Sin]

Sin'ryk held his stance as the lightsaber came for him; unmoving, the Red Sith waited, this next part would play according to his plan. Just as the blade came within an inch of the robe's fabric, an immense flash of Dark Side energies made the Force scream with power. Such power sent Damion's lightsaber flying away; though the Sith ward was now completely shattered, Sin'ryk once more reached out to the Force. Bending it to his will, the Sorcerer channelled it through him; catapulting himself through the air with his saberstaff aimed forward. Regardless of the consequences of the leaping strike, Sin'ryk would then weave himself around the Human, so as not to be caught unawares by a returning lightsaber.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The incoming strike was on him as soon as the shielding had dispersed. He was short a blade, but the more pressing matter was the saberstaff aiming directly for his chest. He swung laterally with his left blade pushing the staff just outside of his vital area with the staff's forward momentum allowing to to singe the robes and leave a thin burn on his right arm. The familiar singe of pain jumped to the forefront of thought as he careened back, away from the other crusader.

Rather than attempt another blade attack, Damion called upon the force to assist him. He pulled power from the environment absorbing as much as he could before creating a massive release, known as a force repulse to give him time to think on what to do next. Nothing would be spared from the immense power of the repulse as he dropped to a knee from the release, visibly weakened by the expulsion. He called his second blade to his open palm and remained on a knee watching carefully and drawing on the energies within the planet to replenish the massive stores of energy he had just used.

 

[Pureblood-Sin]

Moments after his glancing blow, Sin'ryk began to feel the Force swell within Damion. Before long, a great surge of power burst forth from where the Human stood. The Red Sith threw out his hand, drawing upon the Force to absorb what energy he could into himself from the incoming otherworldly tempest. As soon as the gesture was made, it slammed into him with much ferocity; whilst he successfully absorbed some of it, the rest of the surge sent him sliding with much force into a neighbouring wall. The impact caused much pain to flare throughout Sin'ryk's body. He drew upon his anger, using it to expunge his senses and whatever minor injuries he may have from his system.

Throughout the process, the Pureblood's eyes turned red; glancing upon the now weakened Damion, who was beginning to draw upon the power that flowed within the very soil of Korriban. As the Sorcerer stepped forward, he winced slightly. The pain flowed through his left foot; he knew what needed to be done. He drew further upon the Dark Side, channelling all of his anger into using it to mend whatever damage he had taken to his foot. All the while, he kept an eyed on the White Sith; both still had plenty of tricks up their sleeve.