Voden Vs Marick - Arcona Arena Tourney Quarters

Marick

21-12-2009 16:58:01

The last time Marick had fought against a lightsaber-wielder in the arena was during his qualification. While he had definitely come a long way since his bout with Xathia she clearly had been holding back for the sake of the training match. By the slight grin on Voden's face, the young Hapan had a feeling he wouldn't be extended the same courtesy here.

Voden was no taller than Marick and registered in at a similar weight according to the dosier file he had read. It was hard to tell though with the way he wore his robes. What was evident was the calm aura of confidence that emanated from the Dark Jedi Knight. His posture was relaxed as his eyes scanned up and down Marick's body, studying him intently in a manner that Marick felt a bit odd. It was the same manner he generally associated with or noticed most women doing when ever he walked by or met them. The young Hapan didn't seem to be fazed though. What ever sheltered little bubble from his youth that had once protected him had long since shattered during his time within the ranks of Clan Arcona.

Marick's eyes darted about as he quickly studied his surrounding, calculating the distance between them, debating his first move. His focus always seemed to draw back to Voden's saber, it's glow softly humming throughout the empty mess hall. None of the weapons he carried with him had a chance of withstanding the sting of the sacred weapon and he was fully aware of the futility in bringing the armory saber he had clipped to the back of his belt, hidden away behind his robes.

Time to get creative... Marick mused to himself as he slowly shifted his weight to the balls of his toes.

In one quick, fluid motion the Hapan pulled his dagger free from his belt and snapped it forward with the flick of his wrist. The dagger whizzed quickly through the air poised somewhat inaccurately for Voden's neck. Voden's lightsaber vroom'd as the Battleteam Leader turned his wrist, severing the feeble dagger into two pieces that scattered to the floor in separate directions. Marick figured that wouldn't have worked.

Following swiftly on the heels of his projectile though, the Hapan was able to easily close the gap between the two fighters with his natural athleticism, concurrently drawing his echani knife in a reverse grip. Once in range, however, the Guardian channeled his limited control of the Force inwards and felt a sudden burst of energy wash over him. [BOS]

Adrenaline now pumping and coursing through his veins Marick feinted to his right, planting hard and cutting back to his left while swiping across his body with a slash angled for Voden's gut. The Mandalorian hop-stepped back just enough for the echani knife to tear into the folds of his robes. With a grunt he brought his saber down hard in front of him with enough strength to deflect any other attempt at a frontal attack.

Marick half anticipated, half reacted to the vertical decent of the counter and used his heightened speed to dip to his right, cleaning avoiding the saber's beam. Bouncing off his toes while switching to a regular grip on his knife, the nimble Hapan slashed downwards and landed a clean gash on Voden's tricep, crimson gushing out from the surface wound. The Mandalorian grunted in pain but managed to grab hold of the front of Marick's tunic.

The next two things the young Guardian felt where the top of Voden's head smashing into his own, followed by the odd sensation of sailing through the air and into a bar stool. With a frustrated grunt Marick scrambled back to his feet, hand's stripped bare of his knife in the crash.

"Bollocks," the Hapan noble muttered as he whipped his forehead with the back of his white robe, blood seeping into the material. As he replayed the previous skirmish in his mind for analysis, something seemed a bit off. A typical head-butt generally aimed for the nose, which would cause instinctual tearing, flinching, and the chance of fracture. The Mandalorian had aimed instead for Marick's forehead which now leaked a thin line of blood down the front of his face. What ever the reason, Marick had other things to worry about.

Voden stalked forward slowly, a grin spread wide on his face.

Martumal

23-12-2009 10:55:00

Voden couldn't help but find himself critical of Marick's lack of innovation in the face of adversity. First off, he had thrown his dagger awkwardly towards Voden. This throw had decreased its efficiency drastically and given him the time to easily parry his saber with a simple flick of his wrist. However, the Dark Jedi Knight's underestimation of the man's abilities caused a bit of surprise when he realized that the blade's trajectory towards him was merely a distraction to get his mind working. For close behind the blade followed Marick whom weilded a wicked knife backwards in his hand.

The Mandalorian felt the distinct presence of the force suddenly, and subsequently found himself under attack. The agility that Marick exemplified caught Voden off guard further as the man caught a glimpsing cut on him, tearing his robes along his stomach. He didn't like that. These were nice robes. His immediate reaction -- fueled by anger -- was to swing his blade ferociously down in attempt to slice his opponent from head to toe. However, the traps continued, and in his inept moment where he was controlled by an unjustified emotion, Marick managed to slice into his tricep.

Frustration at his own failure to keep up with Marick made him drastic. In his own display of athleticism (or rather, brute strength), he grabbed the Hapan by the front of his tunic. Quickly, he slammed his own forehead into the forehead of Marick, causing a moment of confusion. In that moment of inaction, Voden found himself capable of easily dispatching his opponent by swinging him up through the air in the direction of the bar. His unguided throw however found a good target, and he watched as his former assailant landed head first into a bar stool. One very visible cut ran down the length of Marick's forehead. As the man elevated his head, blood began to slowly drip from the laceration onto his chest. Drip, drip, drip. For one as sadistic as a Dark Jedi, the rhythym was harmonious.

For some reason, his focus seemed set upon the blood exiting the open wound upon his opponent's beautiful face. It had a strange effect on him; it seemed almost soothing to him. In this provided moment of calm, Voden took a few deep breaths to discontinue the elevation of his blood pressure. If he failed to maintain a level head, he would continue with these embarassing mistakes which could very well lead to his eventual demise.

That ended now, though. Voden was one who prided himself on his uncanny ability to adapt to situations when necessary. Even while training with the Kodiaks, he was commended on his natural affinity for always looking for that way to be one step ahead of his prey. However, he was still a Journeyman by formalities, and despite being one rank away, chided himself for being so far away from the ascension to the coveted status of Equite. If he failed to exemplify a good mentality here, it was possible he would slip out of the habit and fail as a Dark Jedi. His only choice was to not allow that to happen. His mindset was that of victory now; unconditional victory.

He stepped slowly towards Marick, providing himself with time to scan the area between them. Fortunately, this reaped results as his eyes caught the knife which had been laying on the floor. The disoriented Hapan was coming around though, and seemed to recognize the shape between the two of them as his weapon. The man had both a dagger and that knife equipped. It was unlikely -- however a potential -- that he had anything else. With the absence of that blade, it could be assumed that Marick's continued efforts in this battle would be in vain.

The Guardian seemed to deduce the same though. From his spot on the ground, he lunged forward with surprising speed considering he had just been given a proper beating. Of course, adrenaline was a powerful weapon and had a tendency to serve us at the best of times. But Voden was not hesitating in the retrieval of the knife either as he ran with great strides and dove for the weapon. However, it seemed the two were synchronized as they both landed at opposite ends of the weapon, their heads hitting each other like they had early, however it was parietal to parietal this time. Voden's eyes welled with tears, however he felt the knife in his hands. With a death grip, he felt that he had won. However, his death grip was appropriate, as Marick had hold of it as well.

However, Marick's hands were placed side to side on the double edged blade. He quickly gave up his grip though, realizing the foolishness of attempting to engage in a bout of tug of war while holding the blade itself. Voden jumped up to his feet, the blade still in his hands. He quickly rose it up to allow it to be seen by Marick. The look on his opponents face served as confirmation for him that the result he desired had been achieved. Smirking, he allowed a victory chant to escape him, something that sounded like this: "Ha-ha!"

The Hapan had no intentions of losing so easily, though. With a quick flip of his body and the extension of his right leg, he attempted to kick Voden's legs out from under him. Instead, he just managed to knock him off balance. This did give Marick the time to get up though, and to relinquish his CS-12 Stun Master from its concealed place along his tunic. Voden's sight immediately switched to the Stun Master. A slight panic consumed him, but quickly subsided as he used the force to have his lightsaber which he had so carelessly discarded when he had grabbed Marick to throw him at the bar return to him [PUL].

The moment it touched his hand, it had ignited. Not even a half second later, it was swinging down towards Marick whom expertly evaded the attack. In a quick moment of hope, Voden called upon the force once more. With a wave of force energy [STK], Marick was slapped with immense force along the face. Voden then rushed forward and jump kicked Marick back into the bar which he had been thrown against earlier. Voden stood still, honoring his opponent enough to allow the Guardian to regain composure long enough to coordinate his retaliation. Besides, the break was necessary for not only the Guardian, but the Dark Jedi Knight. It was very necessary, no matter how short lived it was going to be.

The next move was going to be decided by Marick now. The aggression Voden had presented had subsided, and now it was time to allow an opportunity to arise as opposed to forcing one. A worthy opponent such as this one would not allow very much without substantial effort, and Voden was just not into that. For now, he would play his part patiently; he would bide his time accordingly.

Marick

24-12-2009 21:21:34

Marick's chest heaved up and down as he climbed back to his feet, a trail of dried blood drawn down his face. With a defiant growl he spat blood out onto the bar that seemed to have a subtle if not magnetic attraction to him. Head bowed slightly forward the Hapan noble looked up through the strands of hair covering his face, his crystal blue eyes swirling with loathe. The only person he let throw him around was his fiancee, which clearly Voden was not.

Logic would dictate slowing things down and calculating the next course of action. Logic hadn't gotten him anywhere yet, though. Clearly he was no match for Voden's prowess and experience. In the back of his mind, however, the young Guardian knew that one the few advantages he had over his opponent was his conditioning. If he let up now he'd be giving Voden time to recover. Figuring that to be poor form, Marick let out a cry of rage and charged forwards, Stun Master in tow.

Proud idiot... Voden mumbled as he readied his saber and slid one foot back into a defensive stance. Marick's steps where quick and nimble, almost as if he where treading air. For what might have been the first time ever in an actual fight, the Guardian reached out with the force, desperately willing it to pull his opponent towards him. [PUL] Voden was caught off guard by the odd sensation and shift in gravity as he felt himself lurch forwards awkwardly. Gritting his teeth the Dark Jedi Knight flexed his corded arm as he chambered his saber over his opposite shoulder and viciously slashed out across his body, azure energy-blade leveled with Marick's neck.

With subtle grace the Hapan ducked under the deadly but off balance slash, planting hard on his right foot while lifting his left knee up and angling it into a crash course with Voden's chest. Voden's forward momentum came to a sudden halt as Marick's knee did indeed connect right below his sternum and into his solar plexus. He gasped silently as air sprinted out of his lungs.

Marick quickly turned his focus inwards as he desperately called out once again to the force to give him a slight boost in strength. [EHA]

Without a second's more hesitation the Guardian continued his assault, grabbing hold of Voden's wrist with one hand while jabbing the end of his Stun Master into the already wounded tricep on the same arm. The muscle jerked and spasmed from the sudden shock and Voden's grip loosened on the echani knife. With relative ease Marick slid his hand back from Voden's wrist, applying enough pressure to the base of the knife with the back of his own hand to spring the blade free of the burly Dark Jedi Knight's "death grip." Now in possession of his original weapon Marick finished his original deed, plunging the tip of the echani knife down into Voden's tricep to completely tear the muscle. The air returned to Voden's lungs just in time for him to cry out angrily.

The other subtle advantage the Hapan had over his more experienced and stronger opponent was the harmony and fluidity of his body. Aside from being ambidextrous, Marick was comfortable with manipulating each of his four appendages and different muscles with equal precision. While not as recognized as raw strength or speed it was something that separated the young Hapan from most of his brethren.

While that was all fine and dandy, Marick forgot that his opponent too had built up a strong constitution, the sudden pain seeming to actually help the Battleteam Leader over come his initial shock. Planting on his heel the Dark Jedi Knight wheeled about to face his opponent, thrusting the butt of his saber square into the Hapan's jaw. Marick felt his teeth crash together as his head jerked violently backwards, finding himself flying once again through the air. This time he sailed right into a series of chairs and a table with a loud crash.

Marick sputtered out a mixture of blood and spittle and coughed. Well, at least it wasn't the bar again... Marick mused as he propped himself up onto his hands and knees. While he had managed to hold onto his echani knife, the stun master was no where to be seen, probably scattered about with the mess of chairs sprawled out amongst the mess hall.

Voden felt his blood pressure surge as his veins began to boil. He had tried to stay calm, tried to hold back as best he could. He wasn't sure that was an option anymore though. The "pretty boy" had crossed a line.

Glancing up at his opponent, Marick couldn't help but swallow a lump in his throat.

Martumal

28-12-2009 11:41:05

Many of Voden's close friends considered him a very tolerant and compassionate individual. Sure, Mandalorians and Dark Jedi had a different standard of that stuff, but that didn't disprove this description. When he went into this battle, his commitment was to avoid anything that could be considered torture. His goal was to win with minimal collateral damage. At this point though, he wasn't so sure he would be able to continue with such a cool resolve. Throughout his body, seething hot blood scolded the veins they resided in. He could feel his face flushing due to the humiliation of having his tricep cut open.

He slowly stalked over to his courageous victim. He stopped over the man and watched as the Guardian gulped. Marick’s eyes locked onto his own. The boy on the ground showed immense fear. He was clearly empathetic, and knew the repercussions of what he had just done. If he planned to win now, he would really have to step up his game. Otherwise, he very well may end up dead. Of course, Marick doubted that Voden would be so underhanded to break the very rules of the Arcona Arena institution and forsake all of his honor in the clan. However, when a Mandalorian Dark Jedi gets furious, self control very well may take a backseat.

With this in mind, he fought past his aching limbs and forced himself up. Quickly backstepping, he avoided Voden's awkward grab and siezed the man's wrist, using his other hand to grab the elbow. With intentions of breaking the arm evident, Voden utilised his superior strength to break free and slammed his elbow into Marick's face. It landed straight in the nose, which began to bleed. Marick's hands reached up to his nose and when brought them down in front of his face, revealed dark red blood streaming copiously from his nostrils.

Voden used this moment of distraction to ignite his lightsaber again. With full intentions of murder, he swung it in a decapitating parabolic. The blade swung just above his shoulders, but adrenaline provided him with the reaction speed necessary to avoid an untimely death. The Hapan nobility needed to find a way to separate Voden from his blade, otherwise this battle would end with no winners -- only a corpse and a disqualified fool. With this in mind, he quickly escaped the presence of his attacker and ran across the bar. If he managed to keep enough distance between the two of them and avoid him, he could attain the time necessary to formulate a strategem to defeat the maniac.

The Mandalorian was not fond of the idea of allowing his prey to escape though. When the man sprinted away, Voden quickly followed, allowing the force to fuel his sprint [BOS]. Hurdling above over turned tables and wrecked chairs, he had nothing in his sights but Marick. Filled by anger at the boldness of the Guardian, he very much wished to see the man suffer. Voden then jumped a large distance, but when he did the table he landed just before suddenly flipped up [TES] and bashed into him. In his descent, he saw Marick with outstretched hands. He had thrown the table into him. Thankfully, tt wasn't hard enough to propel him very far, but it did knock him down and have a table fall on him, ergo knocking the wind out of his lungs. Voden laid there for a few moments, resting himself.

It was then that a moment of clarity approached him. Provided with time to breathe and relax, he used his meditative abilities to calm down. One who studied the arts of strategy such as him was obligated to keep a cool head consistently. Meditation was a necessarily remedial for him then, otherwise he could very well be overwhelmed by his emotions and cast aside logic to fend with a feral instinct. That almost had happened already, but he had not gotten to the point of being totally pulled down by his rudimentary predatory traits. Thankfully, as well, as the punishments for doing something stupid could be your very existence if you were lucky.

With time to calm down, he pushed the table off of him, his toned arms revealing evidence of extensive exercise in the form of sleek muscles and veins moving under the surface upon doing so. He then proceeded to look for Marick, who was not in sight. He could not find the man who was currently hiding behind the bar, ensuring that Voden's lightsaber was no longer on person. He would not do anything to reveal himself prior to such confirmation. Voden's sudden surprise and immediate searching around him hinted to Marick that his task was accomplished, and that his opponent was without his most fatal weapon now. The Mandalorian knew what this meant though as he began to piece together this entire scenario.

Upon revealing his blade previously, he had ensured Marick that he had every intention of homicide. The cunning man had escaped him to find something to be used to give him the advantage in the fight. Or at the very least, level out the playing field. By hitting him with the table, he had distracted Voden long enough to continue with his planning, but had also managed to hit the man hard enough to force him to drop his lightsaber. This level of brilliance was greatly appreciated by Voden, who decided to remind himself later to commend Marick on a battle well done. Before that though, he had to attain victory.

Now calm, he could find the opportunity to do so. His mind moved like a freight train, choosing the best route to take to defeat the Hapan youth... the Hapan. That was it! He recalled being informed that Marick was very fearful of the dark due to the impedance it rendered upon him. If he were to use the force to push all light away from the Hapan, he could simulate absolute darkness for him. By doing so, panic would consume the man. Theoretically, this plan was perfect. In practice, though...

The Dark Jedi Knight decided to forgo the search for his lightsaber. He wouldn't have need of it for this attack. Instead, he began walking around the room, looking very studiously for the Guardian whom had sent him into rage. It seemed to be taking a long time, but the man was not revealing himself, nor could Voden see him anywhere. However... a very good hiding place would happen to be in the bar. It was too obvious though, which is why he had overlooked it earlier. He could not allow any such moments of ineptitude, and decided to cautiously approach the bar. For all he knew, this was merely another trap of Marick's clever wit.

Steps away from the bar, he took a deep breath to calm himself. The acute senses of Marick picked up on this barely audible sound though, and revealed to him the proximity of his opponent. He recalled Voden looking for something upon getting back up after the table attack, and had noticed that his lightsaber was no longer in his possession. He also knew that a lightsaber was all the Judge had announced he had brought with him. With this in mind, he decided to take a gamble. Jumping onto the bar, he angled himself perfectly for his pounce on his opponent.

Caught mostly unaware, his heart almost skipped a beat. Voden stepped up and planted his foot into the ground, pushing off with all of his strength. Flying through the air just shortly after Marick had pounced, the two of them collided into one another. Voden landed on the ground while Marick was knocked away, his back now leaning against the bar. The man couldn't help but think that the two of them had been spending a lot of time on the ground during this battle. He recovered slowly, keeping his hands on his knees when he stood up fully erect. Voden however was still getting up while he did so.

"Ugh," uttered Voden as he got up. "You have a pretty dense mass, Marick."

Marick made a face upon hearing this. Voden then began to chuckle. "Also. Fear the night."

Confusion flooded Marick, but revelation appeared, or rather... disappeared like the light around him suddenly [BLK]. Voden had been quiet for very long in this fight, but decided that the time for his monologue was now appropriate. "I commend you for your brilliance of mind in this battle. Frankly though, I do not wish to lose. This battle has stretched out long enough, and it is now time to end."

Marick started to shout obscenities. He stumbled around in the darkness, trying to escape it but failing miserably. He fell down on several occasions. His obscenities became insults and threats, and Voden couldn't help but smile at the fruition his plan had achieved. Marick's ferocity and angry tone suddenly transitioned to a more fearful and begging tone. He began to plea for Voden to end the darkness.

"Why would I do that? No..," Voden stopped mid-trail, his mind drifting off and his face revealing his thoughtfulness, "I'm afraid I can't do that."

The pleas abruptly halted then. The Guardian had figured out that the previous course of action was not going to work, and decided to initiate his last ditch effort. Suddenly, he began to sputter thinly veiled demands in between a flurry of threats. Voden shook his head and sighed, "I'm afraid you're in no position to threaten me, Marick."

The Dark Jedi Knight reached inside of his sleeve for the item which had been firmly wrapped in place. He walked to the abyss of darkness which effectively housed Marick. "HELLO!"

The darkness immediately disappeared as Voden revealed his lightsaber and shoved his left hand onto the head of his opponent and pulled it towards the blade which was situated just in front of his neck. He then lifted his knee to pin the man's lower body against the bar. For one who had committed his life entire life to strategy in utilization of feints and the greatest tool of deception, he had just proven himself once more in this battle. Upon falling down and being pinned to the ground by the table, he had decided to conceal his lightsaber to make it appear he was unarmed. His intentions were to draw Marick into a trap by giving him a false sense of security, but this had done just as well.

Voden couldn't help but feel a swelled up sense of pride at this moment. Victory was his, and he felt that it was well earned. Through sheer cunning, he had defeated his opponent whom had prided himself for his own innovation. It was almost... ironic.

Lan

29-12-2009 10:53:03

Good writing, both of you. It was a fun battle to read. Marick, Voden posted yesterday so under normal circumstances we would give you some time to write your reply, but the RoS is around the corner and we need to finish this round ASAP. This won't hurt or help the score however, so no worries.

Voden 1 - A simple starting post, the equivalent to a 'pass' starting movement in chess (pawn a3 for example). Nothing wrong with that, but you might want to seize the advantage in the future since it's the first post that sets the initial tone and pace of the battle.

Marick 1 - A few mispellings here and there, like 'dosier' instead of dossier, 'whipped' instead of 'wiped'. It was otherwise a good post with a good level of description: enough to make it colorful while also not making it too long and clogged.

Voden 2 - You begin the post reprising the last few moments of your opponent's post through your character's perspective. That doesn't hurt your "score", but avoid it in the future because: 1) some stuck up Judges may consider it a breach in continuity; 2) picking up from where the opponent left makes for a more fluid reading of the action. It is a good post, but we have some issues to address: 1) there is a breach of continuity here, when Marick's possession of the Stun Master surprises you: the weapons for both of you were announced in-character in the beginning of the battle, and nobody used a standard-issue neuralizer on Voden. 2) Marick puts Voden out of balance and surprises him with the Stun Master. Being faster (DEX 20 vs. DEX 15) and having the advantage of the moment (Voden is surprised and recovering his balance) Marick should've been able to fire at least once before Voden could react as he did.

Marick 2 - Another good and descriptive post, but more mispellings: 'where' instead of 'were', 'over come' instead of 'overcome'. A few issues: 1) Voden reads a little too helpless during Marick's moves to regain his dagger: the PUL didn't have much effect other than distracting him, which is ok in terms of CS comparison; the kick to the abdomen shouldn't have hindered Voden so much as being unable to react to the Marick's next moves, considering your character sheets (Marick's STR vs. Voden's CON). 2) Voden's STR isn't much higher than Marick's CON, so it's unlikely that Voden's non-augmented strike to the jaw would send Marick flying like that. These are breaches in realism: when you write a character doing something he wouldn't able to.

Voden 3 - Marick is holding his dagger. When "he avoided Voden's awkward grab and siezed the man's wrist, using his other hand to grab the elbow", what happened to the dagger? Later, Marick turns on his heels and runs from Voden, who uses BOS to sprint after him. Voden then leaps forward a large distance, when he lands the table under him flips and then he sees it was Marick's doing: Voden was pursuing his opponent, when / how did he lose sight of Marick to allow for such an unseen attack? It was otherwise a good finishing post, making use of the opponent's phobia.

Conclusion - it was a good battle and you are both to be congratulated on your writing skills. I liked the level of detail you both went into. There is room for improvement for both, I feel you just need to pay a little more attention and review everything before posting. Only one of you must go forward: the victory goes to Marick, the key to the decision being the continuity issues seen in Voden's posts.

Well done both of you.