Ask Korriban Kicking Sand

[Nevizkas]

Korriban was a place of beauty for the pureblood Sith, something about the scorching sands, the terrible heat, and the painful burn that accompanied each unprotected step. Cyutadakyr was in her natural habitat and she would often come down into a small sandy cavern to practice either lightsaber combat or her developing force powers.

Though she often did this alone, sometimes, like today, she would find someone stupid willing enough to be a victim partner.

Dressed in a long flowing black robe and lightsaber at her belt, she awaited for one such partner to arrive. She'd not heard much about this Acolyte Yana, but the Twi'lek had offered to help each other get in some extra practice in between lessons and that was enough for her to accept.

Once her sparring partner arrived, she would be found holding both hands on her hips with her signature devilish smirk on her lips.

"Was there anything, in particular, you wanted to do first, or are you just content for me to kick your ass however I please?"

@Kippahkid

 

[Yana]

The heat? That was fine; Yana could do the heat. After all, her home planet was a massive cesspool of fetid mugginess. What she wasn't used to was Korriban's dry heat. Feeling as if her lekkus would crack at a moment's notice, she procedurally massaged them while making her trek to the cavern.

She was one of the newest additions to the recent batch of acolytes, so she had to play catchup fast. This meant being one of the only ones brave enough to offer training with Cyu, despite the negative implications of doing so. But hey, that also meant the pureblood held some sway over the other acolytes, which meant an influential person she could buddy up to.

In opposition to Cyu's garb, Yana wore an old worn-out outfit and jacket that's more typical for a spacer than a sith. Albeit, the hip where her lightsaber sat remained revealed to show her true profession.

Upon arriving at their location, Yana couldn't help but playfully roll her eyes at her training partner's commentary. Cracking her shoulders, Yana began to warm up her body.

"Ha, note to self, don't challenge you to a fistfight. Can't bruise that ego of yours by whooping you. But this place looks fun for some Ataru training. Let's see that aggressive side from you; it should be in your blood, yeah?"

@Xorism

 

[Nevizkas]

Cyu looked the Twi'lek up and down, fully taking in her newfound opponent and considering her words. She liked the prospect of fighting someone with some fire in her belly, Yana certainly didn't seem like a pushover and would probably offer a good opportunity to test herself for real, rather than just with training weapons.

"Very well, then." Of course, it was just as likely the evenly matched Acolytes would pummel themselves into a stalemate with neither side having a proper advantage against the other. Cyu eagerly exuded confidence in both herself and the force, but internally she would respect a fearsome competitor who put up a decent fight.

Drawing her lightsaber hilt to her right hand and igniting the blade outward, she approached her opponent with a smirk on her face. Like the flick of a lightswitch, the pureblood changed gear and quickly sped towards Yana, jumping off her left foot forward, slashing the crimson lightsaber downwards towards the latter's upper torso from above, right to left from Cyu's perspective.

Following her landing, Cyu would immediately follow that up with a left-to-right swing at chest height.

Her movement would be enhanced with the speed of the force during the approach, with Cyu interested to see how Yana would respond to the flurry of blows.

@Kippahkid

 

[Yana]

Where Yana grew up, she had to learn how to fight then and there, so she wouldn't soften herself up with the prospect of training with the kiddie gloves on. It seemed her pureblood sparring partner might share that sentiment as well. That was one thing she enjoyed about her new life under the Sith; power should never be limited.

Yana was unsure of Cyu's background and prior training, but she assumed that purebloods were more attuned to the force. Luckily for her, the two were focused more on their saber work today, a skill she was much more confident in.

A hungry smile grew as Yana drew her saber. Oh, how the sound of its activation was music to her ears. Choosing a more offensive style to practice, the young twi'lek wasn't going to let herself get caught a backpedal so soon. Pushing off her right foot, Yana force-charged but remained on the ground. She raised her arm, tilting her lightsaber slightly horizontally, causing the crimson blades to meet.

Albeit, Yana wasn't given any room to breathe as the second Cyu landed, the assault continued. She knew her parry had left her chest open to this strike, so she adapted with a more offensive maneuver.

Yana only took one step back, "Tsss!" she hissed out as Cyu's saber burned against her torso. While the little extra space only slightly minimized the brunt of the assault, it allowed her to shift into a downward swing going from her right to left, targeting the bicep of Cyu's saber arm.

@Xorism

 

[Nevizkas]

It was a beautiful sound, hearing glowing plasma grazing flesh. Cyu couldn't help but smile as the tricky second strike had landed close enough to singe the Twi'lek. If they had been in a real fight, taking such damage could have been a quick route to the grave as more would certainly arrive soon after.

As if proving the point, Yana's blade quickly took advantage of the purebloods positioning and found its mark against her bicep. Cyu winced as the shockwave of pain cascaded through her body, in a real fight she might have lost the arm entirely and perhaps after that her life. Stepping back for a moment, she switched the blade into her left hand while playing with her right hands fingers to ensure they were still alright.

As dangerous as these training sessions were, they were also a good opportunity for the Sith to practice and take real-world lessons that were not confined to a classroom setting.

"Good counter, although it could have cost your life. Let's try to keep you on your toes, shall we?"

Before she had even finished speaking, Yana would feel vicious, dark tendrils of force energy sweeping toward her. There was a sharp tug as they began wrapping around her throat to constrict her airways and soon knock her out if she couldn't stop it. Cyu couldn't help but smile as her force attack would be quite painful, though she fully expected the Twi'lek to counter in some form.

Raising her saber defensively in case of an attack, Cyu waited patiently to see what would happen.

@Kippahkid

 

[Yana]

In the moment of reprieve, Yana placed two fingers from her free hand upon her chest. The pain felt different than the vibroblades she was used to going up against. Cyu was right; she'd have to be more evasive in her future actions. Lightsabers were a far deadlier weapon. Despite these thoughts, a snide remark naturally flowed from her lips.

"Hmm, it seems like I need to get some armor then. Maybe I can rip some off a mando. Wouldn't that be so-?" That sensation that had nestled in the back of Yana's mind suddenly began to take form. A gargle cut off her words as she began to asphyxiate.

This was supposed to be just lightsaber training, but not everyone on the battlefield would honor the rules, so she supposed this was a good lesson. Tapping into her own abilities, Yana rooted her feet and crossed her arms. Simultaneously she stomped with her right foot and uncrossed her arms in a sharp and quick motion, causing a minor force shockwave to dissipate the tendrils.

"Awe, knew you couldn't beat me fairly, huh? Well, two can play that game."

In another act of strategic recklessness, Yana threw her saber at Cyu and channeled lightning with both hands. The pureblood was more than prepared for one of the attacks, but how would she fair with both simultaneously?

@Xorism

 

[Nevizkas]

Yana seemed to be of a similar mind to Cyu, in that an all-out aggressive attack was an ideal way to settle business rather than dance about all day. From her defensive stance, the pureblood was more than capable of defending against a barrage of force lightning, which reached her first.

The malicious burst struck the tip of her crimson blade, arcing down its edge but otherwise not being a significant threat. The second attack was both clever and completely reckless. By itself, she might have been able to bat it away, although that would have been exceedingly dangerous - the best option was to just avoid it entirely.

Cyu reacted as quickly as she could, attempting to dive into a roll to her left which would prevent the lightsaber from coming near her. But in doing so she sacrificed her defense against the lightning, thereby being briefly struck by its current as she moved out of the way. Her roll didn't work as intended, being somewhat knocked over from the hit but all things considered she was alright.

Moving back onto her feet, she quickly noticed the Twi'lek had not summoned her lightsaber back, the hilt now harmlessly sitting in the sand nearby. Almost instinctively, Cyu summoned the other blade into her offhand it before turning directly at her opponent.

"Doubling up your attacks can be effective against an opponent that isn't prepared, but against one that is, could leave you vulnerable."

Enhanced by the force, Cyu immediately broke into a sprint, jumping into the air with a forward summersault and landing in front of the Twi'lek in as little as a second. It was clear that she was just showing off, but the point remained that Yana had yielded her best defense in an attack that wasn't guaranteed to kill her opponent. Without a lightsaber, she was as good as dead in a fight to the death as her force powers were not sufficiently developed to win on their own.

The pureblood felt her confidence building despite the setbacks she had encountered so far. Yana was a strong, tricky opponent which Cyu liked, but in a duel, she believed she still had the upper hand. Throwing the Twi'lek her hilt back, Cyu stepped back a few feet and adopted a defensive posture - blade angled forty-five degrees at chest height.

"Attack me."

@Kippahkid

 

[Yana]

Agressive and crafty as she may be, Yana was still very much green regarding force tactics. Her reaction time bringing her lightsaber back was far too slow, as Cyu had already apprehended it. A slight hiss escaped her lips, frustrated at her own rookie mistake.

"Lesson learned."

The twi'lek folded her arms and gave her opponent an exaggerated eye roll in response to her showmanship before begrudgingly taking her weapon back.

"Heh, yeah, yeah, get your showboating urges out. Talk about things that would kill you during the real deal."

Readying her lightsaber in an offensive position, Yana refused to let round two slip from her. Instead of focusing on her abilities, perhaps she should use their environment to her advantage.

Utilizing her telekinesis, Yana spouted the sand around Cyu up, coating her vision just for a moment's notice as the twi'lek rushed her opponent, dropping down last second, sweeping the purebloods legs with her lightsaber.

@Xorism

 

[Nevizkas]

Cyu admired the way Yana seemed to take her continual defeats in stride. Maybe the pureblood was cocky, overly confident, or perhaps just plain right - it didn't matter. At the very least the Twi'lek was fun to be around and Cyu was enjoying herself thus far.

She watched as Yana approached to make an attack, smiling at her comments. The sand distraction was genius, as it clouded her vision which might also remove her legs if not for how she defended. Rotating the blade downward and extending the dual phase aspect, the blade lengthened into the ground in front of her. Yana would find her blade being stopped before reaching its target, the two lightsabers now magnetically connected for a moment unless the Twi'lek pulled back on it.

Rotating her own blade back upwards, she intended to force Yana's blade back to chest height, withdrawing her own blade back to its normal length during this action. Then, pushing back in a shove against the Twi'lek to separate their blades, now came time for her own trick.

With a flick of the wrist, the pureblood made sure to strike the sand below her. The lightsaber blade with its intense heat caused the sand to superheat and in some cases formed sharp glass or crystal particles. With her free hand, she drew on the force to push this mixture of sand, molten glass and the like towards Yana in the hopes of causing her similar distress.

Cyu then made her own counterattack, with two diagonal swings at each shoulder, in quick succession. Neither was going to be lethal but would leave scorching marks should she not be quick enough to block them.

@Kippahkid

 

[Yana]

Stubborn, scrappy, doesn't know when to quit, whatever you call it, the streets had forged this attitude into Yana. Because if you keep getting up and mask any weaknesses, the opponent will eventually be worn down and make a mistake. What is life if not a war of attrition?

Another hiss of frustration came from the twi'lek as the irritating noise of blade collision rang in her ears. Yana stood up with the momentum of Cyu's deflection, ensuring that her position would not be a compromising one once their blades separated.

Reinstating a battle stance, Yana shifted her boots slightly as she felt the sand heat up. What was Cyu getting at? And then it all became clear. She was taking her strategy and modifying it to make it more painful. Despite knowing what would happen, Yana was not used to sand and its byproducts. She gritted her teeth through the pain, allowing her sparring partner to get a good strike it.

Running off pure adrenaline, Yana managed to block the second swing not even a second before contact. As their blades collided, the twi'lek didn't push Cyu back like what had just been done to her. Instead, she thought she'd try something new. Channeling just a small bit of force into her open hand, Yana did something she was much more familiar with and drilled a punch right toward Cyu's gut.

@Xorism

 

[Nevizkas]

Oh the pure satisfaction that Cyu gleaned from outwitting Yana with that attack was priceless. The molten shards of glass did their magic, lightly cutting and scraping her although in the end the damage wouldn't really be noticeable nor would it scar long term.

Yana's blade was able to sweep into the path of her own, blocking the second swing. The tense duel was heating up as both sides were equally matched and unable to overpower each other without something to tip the balance. That was when Yana decided to do just that, the force coiling up in her hand that would strike Cyu in the gut with a loud thud.

Suddenly Cyu found herself pushed back with a painful blow, the shockwaves of the impact sending shivers up her body and causing her to reel back. "Nicely done. I'm famished after all this training, wanna eat?" she managed to say in between deep, labored breaths.

Assuming Yana wouldn't follow up with another attack which she would try to defend against, the pureblood would deactivate her own lightsaber and point to a large rock nearby for the pair to walk to. There they would find a black satchel with supplies that she had brought along, offering to share a meal with her newfound friend. In between mouthfuls, she expected they'd converse a little and maybe go back to training later.

Cyu found the Twi'lek to be a good sport and she seemed interesting, naturally, her curiosity built with a smile. "So what's your story, how'd you end up at the academy?"

@Kippahkid

 

[Yana]

Yana felt the muscle ache wrack her body once the adrenaline ran out. "Heh. Stopping while we both got a round?" The twi'lek spat on the ground, feeling the dryness in her tongue. "Yeah, I can agree to that." Yana's breathing wasn't any better, so this was a welcome end. After all, she had nothing to prove by demanding another round.

Retracting her saber, she joined Cyu and began scarfing down what she had just picked up. She usually was much more frugal with her food, but since going to the academy, she's been eating well.

As her newfound friend brought up the question, Yana took a moment to swallow before answering. "Well, a hutt took me as collateral for my parent's debt, then sold me the Empire when he found I was force sensitive."

A quick shrug followed. "But hey, it got me off that cesspit Nal Hutta, so I ain't complaining. Bet you were born and bred for this, being a pureblood and all, yeah?"

@Xorism