The Beast and The Mask

[Aaron Corinth]

Damion certainly enjoyed sparring and dueling his fellow sith. This particular spar would be one he would enjoy far more than usual. He had gone with the other sith to Yavin IV to eliminate a certain sithspawn. He did not exactly have a good relationship with non-humanoid sith, but he felt with time he could learn to be more tolerant. He would test his fellow sith's abilities and verify if he was even worth the training he would receive with the sith. He had summoned the other man, unsure if he would take him up on his offer, but he was heading to the location nonetheless.

He had chosen Korriban as the place for their duel, as it was convenient for both of them and offered plenty of security and space. The location was far from the academy near an abandoned section of what he thought must have been a place for expansion at one point. The pillars for the walls had been constructed and lined the four sides. However, the sand had reclaimed the stone that had been set for the floor. He walked slowly into the pillar lined location. It would be time momentarily. If he showed up the acolyte would have a might challenge in facing the crusader.

He summoned a single blade to his hand insuring its viability and operation. He also checked the rest of his assorted weaponry and insured his mask was pulled down over his face obscuring it from view. Anonymity was his friend and he was going to insure it stayed that way. He sat holding the single blade and began to meditate awaiting his opponent.

 

[Bleed Me A River]

It had been a few days since his mission with Damion Corinth, the Human Sith Crusader he had killed a Sithspawn with on Yavin IV. Since then, Grik had been refining his skills in both the use of the Force as well as his lightsaber. Ataru was his preferred style as he was a straight forward fighter and a bit domineering in stance. Damion had invited him to spar with him. Grik never backed down from a fight, even if this one was a casual, as casual as a Sith sparring match can be, sparring match. He ate heartily before joining his counterpart for a match. When he walked in, he saw the masked individual with a saber hilt drawn. Grik tasted the air for a moment with his reptilian tongue, then piped up to say, "I see you carry steel as well. I did not notice while we were on Yah-viin IV. Nothing compares to a good full weighted blade. Played with 'em all of my childhood, into my adolescence when they became weapons of battle." he said, regarding the cortosis woven blade and the dagger he carried along with his lightsabers. "I myself prefer a broader blade with a heavier curve. More dragging slash damage." He stood and extended a hand to the masked individual. "Name's Grik. I won't ask a masked man his full name. Just what you wish me to call you." he said, being moderately cordial.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The other sith had arrived and he was just as he remembered. However, he happened to leave the blaster home today. The sith approached him, speaking all the while. The man commented on his sword and he absent-mindedly reached back to it to confirm ins placement. He described his reasoning for having a scimitar which made sense with his approach. However, this was not a time for talking and he intended to show the man.

Damion was to his feet in seconds leading with a kick to the man's chest. Completely unaware of his launched attack he suspected the sith would land on his back several feet away. He approached and spoke but a word, "Damion."

He backed off for but a moment allowing the man time to stand. The crimson blade shot from the hilt of the lightsaber he was holding with the snap-hiss of activation. He held the blade in the typical overhead opening stance of form V and waved for the man to attack first.

 

[Bleed Me A River]

Grik had been on guard since he walked into the room with the masked man that he now knew to be Damien. The kick was deflected and redirected into another direction. Grik covered out and drew his single crimson blade, and sunk down into Ataru's opening stance, before advancing with a force assisted diagonal slash to the clavicle of his neck. Once his blade connected to Damien's, he raised a foot up, to attempt a leg kick while shoving off, to create space for a second charge or some other strike. His future reactions would depend on what Damien did next.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The other sith wasn't quite as foolish as he had first anticipated as he attempted to slash out at Damion. He batted the blow away as the incoming leg struck his own moving leg negating the kick. The sith sailed back creating space between them. Damion obliged him as he, with the assistance of the force, darted forward simultaneously drawing the blade in an overhead slash aiming for the other sith's clavicle. He also brought a knee up with the momentum aimed for his gut.

Following the attack, hit or miss he would roll once he passed the other sith back to his feet and face any oncoming threat.

 

[Bleed Me A River]

The Barabel was not one to underestimate. He was a capable fighter with years of combat, not necessarily with lightsabers, but with blades and clubs, as well as blasters. He did like, however, how relatively weight one was. Another trick he loved about the lightsaber was that the blade could be disengaged and reengaged on a whim. He had wanted to apply this in combat for some time. As the Crusader darted toward him, he sidestepped, out of the way of the strike and feigned a block disengaged the blade for a brief period, allowing his opponent's strike to fall upon air. Grik would need only to have reignited the blade a half a second sooner and the masked man would have been no more and possibly off balance, depending on the amount of conviction the strike had exerted. He followed up with a barrage of short, heavy strikes, numbering in about 6 strikes with his saber. If Grik caught the Human in a high guard lock, exposing his front, opening up for body strikes. Taking advantage of this, Grik pushed his opponent back with his large thick legs, with a more of a jerky push then a strike. Grik didn't allow for Damion to regain his footing before he was already pressing for the dominant position in the fight.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The other sith had moved to the side narrowly avoiding his blow and the attempted move in disengaging his lightsaber was somewhat ignorant as he rolled away and back to his feet. The other sith marched forward swinging his blade into short heavy strikes. He countered each strike with his own blade with ease. He stepped backwards allowing him to think he was pushing in on the offensive.

Rather than continue backwards, Damion used the force for the first time in the duel. He aimed a large directed blast giving the sith the option of allowing it to take him backwards or rolling to the side and avoiding it. Following the push to halt the man's advance, Damion started an offensive of his own. He moved slowly towards the man pushing his power into the attacks as he started to relentlessly swing his blade left, right, up, down, feints, and counters as he swung repeatedly. He had but to outlast his fellow sith as he knew he was better trained and more powerful. He simply wondered if he could maintain the pace the other sith had set.

 

[Bleed Me A River]

The Barabel was a regular diesel engine of a being. His young life consisted of hunting at a very quick and high energy environment. His speed and accuracy in his strikes was akin to years and years of developing hand eye coordination, least of all in the dark, where it was luck and often muscle that dictated where he struck his adversaries. He allowed himself to be hit by the first strike which sent him about three feet away from a column, which he used as a spring board to launch an aerial En Su Ma based strike, cartwheeling over Damion, simultaneously striking him from above. He landed, on his feet, skidding on the dusty floor, only to gain his balance before re-entered the fray. Distance was bad for an Ataru practitioner. He exerted his speed primarily in controlling distance and his power when his ideal distance was met. He would first, invade the swinging space with his body, under the cover of a feral swing across Damion's shoulders, which would allow him to close in and body check his opponent, throwing his thick scaled shoulder into the chest of the human, following with an elbow to the sternum and a one handed overhead strike aimed to cripple his opponent.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The beast was strangely predictable as most users of Ataru seemed to be. He attempted an aerial strike. Damion rolled forward and away from the blow. The man continued his path skidding through the sand. He closed the distance fast. Damion could not allow him to get too close as the thick hide and muscles could tear into him. He used another calculated force push to keep the beast at bay.

The beast several feet in front of him, Damion summoned his second lightsaber. He activated the blade and leaped to the offensive. He attacked with the sheer power and ferocity of Form V. He kept a single saber back for protection as he alternated his blades. He swung the first from his left hand striking in a stabbing motion towards the beast's center mass. He followed the strike up with an almost instantaneous slash from the saber in his right hand. The power and speed combined had overcome hordes of enemies before. He knew if the blades made contact it would not kill, but it would leave a nasty burn to remember him by.

 

[Bleed Me A River]

Being forced into a defensive position, Grik had to think quickly. He allowed himself to be fought back far enough past the slightly concealed wooden practice swords. After doing so, Grik called upon the Force for the first time apart from his force assisted acrobatics and strikes, grabbing ahold of as many as he could muster and launching them simultaneously at his opponent from the rear, as hard as he could so they'd serve as a painful distraction in one's backside if he missed his opportunity to block them.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

Damion could feel the man's usage of the force and what he was attempting to do. Damion used the force himself and the wood fell to the ground with a clatter. Damion did not relent as he continued the rage filled attack. He swung the left saber towards the beast's feet and the right towards his midsection. He pulled the right blade back for defense and swung the left laterally from the beast's right hip towards the left shoulder. Refusing to give the man even a break, Damion stabbed with the right saber towards the man's midsection drawing the left blade back for defense.

The method was beginning to be predictable, thus Damion followed the stab up with a driving knee towards the beast's groin. If it made contact, the beast would be forced back a few steps and would probably be in a great deal of pain. After, the knee, not pausing even to catch his breath he followed the beast stabbing the left saber towards the beast's chest and swinging the right saber towards the beast's legs.

 

[Bleed Me A River]

A certain rage flowed through Grik after his failed strike. It was not force assisted but it was foreign in origin. It felt... good. Dodging the stab, and the the Barabel simply grabbed the masked man's knee, and hiked it high before going in for a shoulder check once more, knocking him to the ground, he wrapped the man's leg up in his arm, using it to block his right side. He held his saber in his left hand, not commonly known to be his dominant side, and bashed away at his opponents defense.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The beast had grabbed his knee and taken him to the ground. the weight was certainly uncomfortable and he heard a slight pop indicating something had happened. He remained strongly holding both sabers in an X defense as the repeated blows began to wear on his muscles. He had to escape and needed to do something now.

Rather than allow him to continue bashing him into defenselessness, Damion again called on the force, issuing several strong pushes directed at the man's face and body. He slid along the floor with the man as they handed towards a pillar. Another attack struck his blades, he could feel the muscles beginning to fatigue. He disengaged one of the lightsabers and against his better judgement, allowed the force to flow through his hand and crackle to life in the form of electricity. He poured the energy into what he felt was his only escape. It fed through the beast and back into his legs. After a few seconds he felt the grip slacken and Damion aimed to kick the beast in the face as he rolled away. He stood, breathing heavily as lightning took a toll both physically, due to the shock, and through the force.

He could feel what had popped had been a rib that had popped out of place as the beast had landed on top of him. It was a bit painful but certainly not debilitating as he reignited his second blade prepared for whatever attack the man might mount this time.

 

[Bleed Me A River]

The Lightning, while not necessarily done in vain as it had effected Grik to a degree. Because of Grik thick scales, the electricity was dampened, but it still pained him greatly. He hissed in pain, before getting a boot to the grill, which effectively angered the reptilian. Using the momentum from the attempted roll, he threw his enemy like a heavy ragdoll into the column behind them and repositioned himself, feeling now that he had effectively pummeled his opponent into a suitable level of fatigue to stand and fight.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The throw into the column popped the rib back in and Damion landed with both blades ignited, almost reinvigorated. He was beginning to tire as was the beast from what he could tell. He deactivated the twin lightsabers and clipped them back to his belt to join the third lightsaber he carried. Damion waved a sign of withdrawal, nodded slightly, and extended his hand. The duel was over and they would both live to fight again. He hoped it happened sooner rather than later. He felt almost foolish having allowed the beast to manhandle him as it had.

He turned, exiting the columned clearing leaving the acolyte to his thoughts as he headed back for the academy. He made his way to his room and sat heavily on the bed. He started to meditate and draw the force energies he had used back into his body and allow the body to rest. He looked forward to meeting the beast again.

 

[Bleed Me A River]

Grik was ready to advance again, when he saw his opponent's crimson blades ignite, but stopped himself short when they immediately went out again. He shook the man's hand and watched him walk out. After which, he sat in the center of the room, and gathered his thoughts, silently celebrating that he, not only handled himself, but he utterly manhandled a Sith Crusader that was obviously powerful in the force. If it was one thing that he learned from this sparring match, it was that strength and determination backed by the Force is just as effective as the Force backed by strength and determination. He smiled lightly to himself. He may very well have just made his first rival among the Sith. A worthy one at that.

 

[Bleed Me A River]

End​