The Games (IG-RO) - Xantros, Ronovi, Zeak

Vodo

15-04-2011 14:39:44

“The stadium was packed full, brimming with eager, blood-thirsty fans. Antei’s newly refurbished Coliseum bristled with raw emotion. The Independence Games were underway and the audience wanted to see carnage. They wanted to see death. Most of all, they wanted to see victory.

Three combatants entered the arena from the ground-level entrances from different directions. Before them lay the great expanse of the sandy field of battle; already littered with stains of the defeated and departed. Broken weapons, and various traps and obstacles dotted the terrain. The three took their first steps into the Arena; the crash of heavy gates overtook them as their means of escaped vanished. Clad only in minimal leather armor, they would find ancient weapons scattered about the field. Three entered. Only one would leave.

Standing from his ornate throne in the special suite reserved for the Dark Lord alone, the Lion of Tarthos raised his hands signaling for the crowd to grow quite. With a powerful and steady voice he announced, “Dark Citizens, I welcome you! Let the match commence!”

OOC: Each participant will have three posts, one in each round. A round is concluded when all three participants have posted. You will have assigned posting orders in each round listed below

Xantros will post first in Round 1, second in Round 2, and third in Round 3.
Ronovi will post second in Round 1, third in Round 2, and first in Round 3.
Zeak will post third in Round 1, first in Round 2, and second in Round 3.

Each participant has 24hrs to post or they forfeit that round and lose all participation points for this event, though they will still score in Grammar and Contribution categories. Participants may post the moment the person before them fails to post in time. All edits must be made before the next post is up and cannot be made once they are.

The First round begins with Xantros. Good luck.

Xantros

16-04-2011 08:25:33

Xantros entered the arena quickly, but with the dignity reflecting the rank of the Dark Jedi Knight. He did not know what opponents would he fight against. Now, he noticed them. They were Ronovi, a member of Tarentum in rank of Exarch, and Zeak Yuroshima, a member of Naga Sadow in rank of Protector. Xantros nodded to greet them and they did the same. As both Ronovi and Zeak, Xantros was equipped with minimum leather amour only. They had no weapons.

The Dark Jedi Knight looked around. There were some ancient weapons lying on the ground. Proper use of them and of the terain would probably be the guarantee of the victory. However, it was going to be hard task. Ronovi was an obvious threat. She was far more powerful than Xantros or Zeak were. Xantros had to be careful and extremely focused, when fighting her. On the other hand, Zeak was a Protector. He was on his way to the Knighthood and as such, he was determined to win no matter of the cost. Xantros had to be cautious towards the Shi'ido.

However, to ally with him seemed to be the only way to defeat Ronovi. The Protector could be relatively easily killed, despite his shape-shifting abilities. Xantros made an attempt to talk with Zeak through the Force, but it seemed that the Shi'ido was unable to communicate in that way. It surprised the Dark Jedi Knight, as he expected to be able to plan their attacks on Ronovi with no necessity to speak loudly. Instead, Xantros used gestures to show Zeak that their only chance to defeat the Exarch was to join their abilities. The Shi'ido did not show if he even understood, what Xantros meant.

Three Dark Jedi moved carefully around the arena, seeking for a proper weapon. They were aware of the fact that none of them can remain without a weapon for too long. If any of them obtained a weapon before the others, it would cause threat to the others, as their only tool of defence would be the power of the Force and of the Dark Side. Sudden reflection of light brought Xantros' attention. He noticed a metal sword, lying on the ground. He used the Force to pull it towards him and grabbed it with his hand, taking a stance typical for the Makashi Form.

He looked around. Both Zeak and Ronovi found their weapons as well. Now, the real fight was to begin.

Ronovi

16-04-2011 15:45:13

The rusted hilt of the obsidian sword itching against her moist palm, Ronovi clucked her tongue against her teeth at the sight of the Protector and the Dark Jedi Knight in front of her, the two attempting to circle her like pesky gnats. How cute. She normally found herself to be too cocky when facing most challenges, but this just seemed frivolous. Her brain sifted through the Force like thick flour, and even in her weakest spot she found herself superior. While the Duros was more gifted in the Force, the Shi'ido was stronger physically. Basically, where one lacked, the other had. However, their advantages, even when combined, still only served to be a mediocre pulse in the frosty atmosphere, like a single somewhat stronger warrior who still wasn't much of a match for the Exarch. Not even the terrain could give them much benefit; as far as she was concerned, this was going to be an easy victory.

The only obstacle that Ronovi believed she would face, though she considered it more of a minor inconvenience, was that there were two of them. One clumsy move could send her off-kilter, and even if she could recover quickly, she could not afford any mistakes. Grinding the heel of her boot into the gravelly sand and ignoring the tightness of the leather breastplate against her chest, Ronovi brought up her sword in a beautiful arc in front of her face and settled into a standard offensive Shii-Cho stance.

Xantros and Zeak took different sides. Ronovi noticed that the Shi'ido had shifted into a Besalisk, an awkward little four-armed beast that whipped its arms around its head as the blade it wielded spun like a disc. Xantros let the balls of his feet bounce as he leapt toward the Epicanthix, and Ronovi immediately sensed his energy converting into one narrow vacuum of power. Her left arm ripped forward, glancing off Xantros's scarred cheek, a blow just sharp enough to daze him as she readied her sword to strike him across the back of the neck.

Her blade was caught in its descent by Zeak's lunge, and Ronovi allowed herself a small smile. Zeak certainly knew how to carry and wield a sword - his knowledge of sword arts just slightly exceeded Ronovi's. However, his strength still paled under hers, and his arms visibly shook as he attempted to scrape Ronovi's weapon away from Xantros's flesh. Ronovi took the moment to suddenly yank her sword back, leaving Zeak to stumble as he realized he no longer had anything to push against.

With the two Journeymen clustered together, the Exarch acted fast. Their main weakness was truly showing now: One could not afford to lose the other, or else he would be slaughtered in the carnal afterglow. The muscles in Ronovi's legs and arms nearly convulsed as she pushed her speed to the limit, the agility of an Equite coursing through her like salty blood caressing the capillary. Sweat noticeably beaded on her browned forehead and threatened to coagulate around her eyepatch as she launched herself into a Force Leap.

The flat of her boot greeted the left side of Zeak's face as his left leg failed to carry him safely away from the blow. His nose seemed to explode on impact, a large bubble of blood ballooning out from the wound before bursting into a fine spray. As the Shi'ido temporarily crumpled to the ground and lay face-down in his own plasma, Ronovi could hear the roars and screams from the spectators, her ribs burning from the accumulation of lactic acid as she ripped her sword through the thick, buttery air. Xantros was able to parry, but the clang of the blades like sheet metal on stone heated Ronovi's head and knotted her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Her eyes stung from the flying sand of the arena, and the pressure of Xantro's blade moved its way to her collarbone where the tip drew a small amount of blood.

Ronovi let the Krayt Dragon bellow in her veins, channeling the art of unfiltered strength against Xantros's wannabe-Dooku-esque speed. The Djem So strike pushed the Knight back, his heels squealing against the ground. The Duros's eyes blazed, the green skin around where a nose should have been nearly purpling from the exertion. He responded with nearly an exact copy of Ronovi's move, a Tu'rek strike with all the intent but half the strength. Ronovi's eyes darted around the arena. She could barely sense the various indiscrepancies along the terrain. Moving to the left allowed her enough room away from an incline in the ground where she expected, using the Force, was a booby trap.

Xantros swung his sword at Ronovi's torso, this eeth bared in a quiet snarl as Ronovi caught the blade deftly with her own. At this point, Zeak was starting to recover, using two of his four arms to lift himself off the ground. He let his eyes wander across the bellowing audience as the sand on his face grew wet with blood and perspiration. Ronovi felt a pang of annoyance now. Any more bickering of her weapon, and she would expend more energy than she desired to expend. As her shoulders screamed while she pushed against Xantros's blade in order to keep it from her face, Ronovi closed her eyes, allowing her strong hand to focus on the physical and her left hand to focus on the Force. A slight shove was enough to distort the air around Xantros's legs, and as he stumbled back, his eyes floundered to Zeak just before he could barely detect Ronovi's powerful intonations through the Force as her fingers unfurled like threads from the tapestry of her palm.

"Obliterate."

The air was split with double-edged shrieks as Xantros dropped to one knee. His lack of Force defense in that particular moment had betrayed him as his muscles and tendons burst into white-hot pain like a fire chewing at his sinews with red teeth. As he attempted to raise his left arm, he felt the splinters of bone stabbing at his flesh, threatening to burst through like needles tearing through a frail seam. His thoughts pouring through him, nearly dripping through his nostrils, Xantros rose shakily to his feet, his legs threatening to give out beneath him as he delved into a burning state of healing. Without medical attention, however, his left arm would still be severely crippled in the fight due to the pulverization of its ivory framework.

Ronovi watched Xantros's eyes swimming in liquid agony as he worked somewhat to recover, smiled, and turned her head to Zeak, whose cybernetic eyes stared unblinking as if trying to bore into her soul. The minimal exhaustion that had settled into Ronovi's bones lingered for a little while before she allowed renewed energy to flood her senses like deep breaths. She let herself back away from the two, looking at them as if she were ready to scold them like misbehaving children. They stared back at her with fragmented bones and red pulp for a nose, while she traced the outline of the open cut by her neck that still dribbled her lifeforce.

"Learned your lesson, boys?"

Zeak

17-04-2011 01:25:53

Actually, yes," Zeak said in a cocky manner. Then, just as he said that, he turned into a Toydarian and flew towards her with surprisingly fast speed. He scraped some sand from the ground and threw it at the Exarch’s cybernetic patch, expecting the cloud to destroy her vision. To his shock, she just laughed at him.


"You honestly think sand affects this cybernetic? Think again," Ronovi sneered, brandishing her sword.

Zeak then gathered as much strength as he could muster and reached out with the force to strike her as hard as he could. She flew back onto the ground, It felt like a bag of bricks had hit her over the head. Zeak then switched back to his Besalisk form and took up a defensive form with his sword. Xantros by that time was up on his feet again and was ready to go at Ronovi again.

Xantros would have to watch out for the Protector he was not afraid to play dirty in order to win. The Dark Knight was, however, thankful for what the Protector did for him. After all, it had given him the chance to partially heal himself. He didn’t feel one hundred percent, but he felt good enough to continue with the battle.

With that however Ronovi lunged at Zeak. She swung at the Protector who in order to dodge the sword had to drop to the ground. She lifted the sword above her head and tried to stab him. This gave Xantros the opportunity to slash at her arm. The Exarch turned around mid swing and missed his head by a millimeter.

Zeak came up from behind and was about to swing himself. When she put up a barrier just as Zeak was lunging for her chest. The sword bounced off, which gave her enough time to leap out and over the death trap the two combatants had created. It had been far too close for comfort; Ronovi let her cockiness get the better of her, and her guard had been dropped. She'd be sure not to let it happen again.

Zeak

18-04-2011 00:05:59

The crowd was going wild at what had just happened, Zeak and Xantros, mostly through luck, had almost killed the Exarch. Xantros turned to look at his partner-in-crime.
"Let's give this another shot, shall we?"
Zeak nodded in agreement.

"You're hopeless," Ronovi sneered. "I may have let my guard down, but it won't happen again. Don't try to fail again."

"Wouldn’t think of it," Zeak shot back, just as he charged at the Exarch.

Xantros bent down to pick up a small handful of rocks. Then without a moments hesitation, jumped up and with a whirl wind of energy fueled by the power of the force, threw them so fast that no one realized what had happened until Ronovi dropped to the ground clutching her eye patch. To everyones horror she gave a blood curdling scream and covered her face with her hand.

The crowd was deathly silent in anticipation of what had just happened. What had Xantros done? He watched as Ronovi got up, sparks flying from her eyepatch. He heard a barely audible sizzle most likely from circuits fusing and saw part of the blue screen dangling loosely by a thread from its metal frame. A powerful rage brewed deep within Ronovi's stomach and the crowd cowered as ripples in the Force seemed to reach the next planet. She created a whirlwind and lifted the Knight off the ground and spun him around, and around, and around. Then, with every ounce of force she had, she hurled him across the stadium into a wall, knocking him out.

Zeak was paralyzed with fear, especially when he noticed the Exarch charging toward him with rage burning on her face; anyone sane would retreat from her. She leaped onto him, knocking the Protector onto the ground. Gripping his throat and giving him barely enough air to breath, she hissed into his ear:

"You really think it was that easy? I can kill you anytime I want. Notice how I threw your ‘friend’ to the next millennium over there? That was only a small sample of my power. I could see you pissing your pants from twenty feet away."
"Shut up!" Zeak snarled.
Ronovi grinned. "Tell you what. You really want to have a fighting chance here?"
"You’d spare me?" Zeak asked in amazement

The crowd started chanting: BLOOD, BLOOD, BLOOD. Spectators screamed for blood. Feet pounded the bleachers and fists shook in the air.

"They want blood, Protector. I could break your neck and make them happy right now."

"But you wouldn’t," Zeak squeaked out.
In response, Ronovi tightened her grip on the Protector's throat even more.

"WAIT," Zeak begged. "You said you would spare me? What would I need to do?"

"Simple," Ronovi commanded. "Kill that pitiful piece of garbage over there and I might spare your life."

"What guarantee will you give me that you’ll hold up your end of the deal?" Zeak asked Ronovi.

One spectator couldn't seem to handle it any longer, screaming, "If you won't fight, I will!" and leaping over the chairs with a knife in hand. He barely got within five feet of the Dark Jedi and was slammed backward by a wave of Ronovi's hand. The crowd continued to chant...BLOOD, BLOOD, BLOOD...with every word the whole Colosseum shook.

"You don’t get a guarantee, Protector, but if you don’t kill him, I guarantee you’ll die here and now! You really have no choice. Don’t kill him and you defiantly die, kill him and you might die. I could also throw you to the crowd so you can die at their hands? You choose, but choose quickly, my patience is running very thin right now."

"FINE! I’ll do it!" the Protector yelled in defiance.

"Good," Ronovi said with a devious smile.

Xantros

18-04-2011 15:35:53

Xantros recovered. He felt great pain, caused by the Ronovi's attack, which threw him on the wall. He slowly got on his feet. He used the Force to heal himself as much as possible and to control pain. The Dark Jedi Knight looked around. While Ronovi kept long distance, Zeak walked towards Xantros. However, there was something wrong with him. The Dark Jedi Knight suspected that something had happened, when he was unconcious. He instinctively raised his sword and blocked Zeak's attack. The Duro and the Shi'ido fought for a while. Each of them tried to bypass the other’s defence. Powerful blows incited sparks from their metallic weapons. They breathed heavily and sweat due to the exertion, caused by the fight.

Xantros was aware that it could not last for much longer. Even if not wounded, he would be physically weaker than Zeak was. Now, the wounds, he suffered, made him even weaker. He had to finish the duel soon and to learn what had happened to Zeak.

Xantros pushed his opponent with the Force, making him lose balance for a second. However, it was enough for the Dark Jedi Knight to use this moment to gain an upper hand over Zeak. The Duro aimed the strike at Shi'ido's hands. The Protector managed to block it, but he had to cross his hands, what caused sudden pain in his wrists, forcing him to drop his sword. Xantros used all his strenght to topple his enemy. To some uknown reasons, Ronovi did not engage the fight. She possible wished them to get even more tired, so she would find it easier to defeat them without any troubles.

Xantros immobilised Zeak by putting his knee on man's chest. The Dark Jedi Knight asked angrily, "Why have you betrayed me? The only way to defeat Ronovi is to cooperate and to work together!"
"She threatened me. She said she would kill me immediately, if I don't kill you."
"You fool! She will kill you anyway, unless we manage to kill her."
"Wouldn't you do the same?"
"Of course, I would. However, if it was up to me to kill you, I would make sure you don't suffer. Ronovi will tease you to have fun, before she'll kill you. I can promise that you may survive the battle, if you do not betray me again."

The Protector thought for a while. Finally, he made his decision. "I'm sorry...I couldn't resist her, but now, I shall make her pay for what she did to me. I'm with you, Xantros."

The Dark Jedi Knight nodded and released Zeak. However, he noticed something strange in Zeak's eyes. He felt that the Shi'ido lied, so he had to be very catious. Zeak could betray him at any moment. Xantros had to make sure that it was not going to happen anymore. "Remember about one thing. If you betray me again, I shall tear your heart out of your body with a spoon", he said.

If to be honest, Xantros had to admit that Zeak was going to die anyway, either from his hand or killed by Ronovi. However, it was going to happen in more suitable moment, when Shi'ido would no longer be useful. Now, it was the time to join their abilities and to fight together, in order to defeat Ronovi.

However, the Exarch took an advantage from their discussion. She gathered several rocks, making them fly around her, and found a spear. She silently walked towards Xantros and Zeak from behind the Dark Jedi Knight, who covered her from the sight of the Shi’ido. She was very close to her enemies, when Xantros turned back and noticed her. He was a bit surprised, as he should have sensed Ronovi through the Force. However, it seemed that he was to tired to focus enough on this. The Exarch used the opportunity to throw the spear towards the Dark Jedi Knight. Xantros managed to avoid it with difficulties.

The intense fight between the two Journeymen and the Equite started again.

Ronovi

18-04-2011 22:40:35

Ronovi's remaining eye lit like a hot coal as the spear descended harmlessly to the ground. The loss of half of her vision had distorted her aim to a certain extent, and now she had to rely steadily on her other senses. It brought her back to a darker place, back to when she had lost her original eye as a crazed Omwati let purple fire burn out the amber orb before him like a candle.

Her boots dancing against the sand, Ronovi lifted herself onto a large incline, towering over the two Journeymen who couldn't seem to decide just how quickly they wished to die. If it was a slow, painful demise they wanted, then Ronovi would give them that. She yanked the remaining blue shard from her broken eyepatch and twirled it between her fingers.

Nothing like doing a little enhancing for aim, she thought, just as she let the fragment fly from her fingers.

At this point, Xantros and Zeak were racing toward the small hill, Zeak having picked up the fallen spear. The shard spun like a blue light waving its fingers toward the flesh, staining the veins orange with its impact. Zeak's cheek burst open with purpling blood, coupling the now dry clotted mass that used to be his nose. He dropped and resumed his original Shi'ido shape, eyes brimming with pain.

"Traitor or no," Ronovi said sneering, "you will die the same way." She then moved farther up the incline, enticing the two to follow.

"Don't!" Xantros barked. "I sense something up there."

However, Zeak's anger had gotten the better of him, and he charged up the incline roaring as the spear flew from his hand. Ronovi sidestepped to the left and let the weapon drop, just as the ground seemed to give under Zeak's feet. The dirt gave way to reveal steel traps as if for animals, snapping their jaws as the Protector attempted to dodge them. One scraped at his cybernetic leg, and as he yanked it free another bit into his right foot.

A howl burst from Zeak's throat as he attempted to pry the trap off him. Xantros was up there to free him, giving the Force around him a little nudge to let the trap's teeth pull apart from its prey. Now Zeak was nearly covered in blood, as he stumbled about attempting to regain his balance.

With an uncharacteristically graceful leap, Ronovi settled herself on flatter ground again, gesturing with her sword. "Come, now!" she shouted. "If at first you don't succeed..."

"Try, try again, bitch," Zeak snarled, throwing himself off the incline in a fit of power. His fists collided against Ronovi's chest, the Force amplifying the blow. As he wrestled with Ronovi, he saw a rusty dagger buried in the sand at his feet, and he leveled a kick at Ronovi's abdomen while he reached for it.

Ronovi lost the air in her lungs for a long enough time for Zeak to slash at her chest. The leather armor burst open like breaking flesh, blood curdling from what looked to be an old yet majestic scar. Ronovi hissed in pain, clapping a hand against the wound, whipping her sword from her shoulder.

"Idiot!"

The blade missed, but she pulled her arm back enough to bring down the hilt like a knife against Zeak's head. She felt the crackle of bone as his skull threatened to give way, and he stumbled back dazed. Xantros had made his way from the incline, leaving behind the traps now growing rusty with red excess. He let his blade dance around his face and let it clash against Ronovi's, deadlocking with her as their eyes grew black from focus.

Ronovi

19-04-2011 14:08:40

"Why do you even try?" Ronovi whispered, her voice colored with a shade of ridicule. Her arms visibly shook from trying to push Xantros away; while he wasn't as strong, the Force around him quaked with palpitations and kept his weight firm and forward.

"It seems to be working," Xantros countered.

Ronovi glared; she was aware of the blood leaking from her wound, which lay open enough for a small fist to slam into it and tear out the spindly coils of blood vessels like a swollen spider web. Allowing the Force to sift through her once again, she threw her right shoulder into Xantros' elbow, pushing him off balance as he stumbled to the ground. Ronovi took the brief moment to slap her hand against her chest and concentrate on healing.

The gash clotted, but it was still vulnerable and raw to the touch. Ronovi knew what was happening; exhaustion was setting in, and her Force powers were becoming muted and slow. As her knees wobbled, she watched as Xantros stood up, chest heaving as his gray face's knotted up in determination.

"Zeak!" he seemed to call from over Ronovi's shoulder. "Now!"

Damn! Ronovi had let her guard down again. She had forgotten about the bloodied Shi'ido that she figured was out of it enough for her to finish later. Hubris seeped from her nostrils in the form of hot air as she whipped around far too late, as Zeak's dagger slashed out like a hot ribbon and tore away flesh along her jawline.

She screamed in pain, the dying skin dangling from the red strip on her cheek as blood rose up to meet the occasion. She had to move quickly, in order to avoid being sandwiched between her two opponents. Shoving the obsidian sword into the makeshift belt provided with the leather armor, she reached out a large hand and gripped Zeak's wrist that held the dagger, wrestling with his weight and his rather substantial strength.

"Bastard," she snarled, listening to him cry out as he pivoted on his mangled foot.

With considerable effort, she wrenched him forward and around like a doll, until his back was pressed against her chest and he stood facing the Duros Knight. The Exarch's free arm had worked its way across Zeak's collarbone, pressing firmly against the curve of his skin as he wheezed for air. The pain restricted him from transforming properly, and his eyes bulged visibly like two balloons threatening to pop. Ronovi's dominant hand flew back to her side, the blade hissing at her with slippery teeth as she lifted it and let the tip settle on Zeak's cheek.

The crowd had gone ballistic at the sight. Spectators screamed and whistled, spittle flying like wet mist across the arena. Feet rolled up and down the seats as the floors rattled beneath them. The words began in a sloppy grumble before becoming cohesive enough in the fighters' ears...the word Kill. Kill. Kill. Over and over again.

Xantros felt the sweat rolling from his forehead. He pointed his sword threateningly at Ronovi, who held Zeak before her like a meat shield.

"Let him go!" he roared. Ronovi laughed.

"Why do you treat him as a friend, Palatinae?" she asked. "You know exactly what he wanted. Making me angry and vulnerable enough to cripple you and die trying...and then have him slit your throat and become the unexpected victor."

Xantros blinked. "No."

"Don't be stupid. We Dark Jedi are all the same," continued Ronovi. "Taking sides so we can win. Cutting each other's jugulars for fun. What makes you think this little runt was any different?"

"I'll kill you right where you stand!" snarled the Duros. Another laugh. He suddenly felt, for the first time in the battle, incredibly helpless.

"You only have two options, Palatinae," Ronovi said. "Die like a fool or die like a martyr. And the latter takes one first easy step."

The tip of her sword viciously dug into Zeak's skin. More blood to counter his reddened visage. The three bled together, synchronized. Unified. Even Ronovi's eye seemed to brim with fluid as it boiled with intensity, her arm never slackening against the squirming Protector.

"You know exactly what to do," she whispered. "Kill him. And then die at my hand."

Zeak

19-04-2011 22:49:30

OOC
will miss the last 24 hour post window
Took longer to finsih RL quizs then anticipated and need to go to seep for work tomarrow... at least now you can kill me instead of me having to figure out a way to kill myself :P

Xantros

21-04-2011 09:07:41

Xantros finally made the decision. It was his only hope to surprise Ronovi and possibly to wound or even to kill her. The Dark Jedi Knight pushed his sword through the Shi'ido, who was immobilised by Ronovi's grip. He wished to pierce through him and to stab the Exarch at the same time. However, his opponent predicted that and moved back, releasing Zeak. The sword sank into the Protector's body. Xantros pulled the bloodstained blade out of Zeak. Shi'ido's blood leaked out from the wound. Couple of seconds later, the Shi'ido was lying in the pool of his own blood, but still alive.

Xantros turned Zeak around on the back. "I'm not sorry, Zeak. You would die anyway. However, you shall die aware of the fact that it was you, who decided upon the form of your death." Saying these words, Xantros cut Shi'ido's throat. The small fountain of blood splashed on Xantros' hand. Protector wheezed for few second, before he died. Xantros got up and turned to his opponent. They looked on each other in silence. Finally, Xantros raised his sword and said, "Let's finish it as it should be. The crowd demands more blood. Let's give it to them!"

The Exarch and the Dark Jedi Knight clashed in the struggle for victory. The fight was very spectacular. Strikes, blocks, parries, constant movement. The duel was similar to a dance. The spectators on the tribunes of the arena were glad to see the real show. However, Xantros was sure that it was not going to last much longer. He did his best, but no matter of all, he was no match for the Exarch. She was far stronger, faster and more powerful in the Force. There could be only one winner of the duel and it could be only Ronovi. Xantros could only die in an honorable way...fighting till the end.

Few minutes later, both the Dark Jedi Knight and the Exarch were exhausted and sweaty, but Xantros was close to his limits. He could not fight longer. Suddenly, he noticed a breach in Ronovi's defence. He immediately attacked her right arm, but it turned out to be a trick, which was to finish the duel. Shocked Xantros realized that it was a trick too late to avoid his fate. The Exarch used the Force to push him back. The Dark Jedi Knight stumbled and a second later he regained the balance, just to be stabbed with the sword by Ronovi. A grimace of utter bewilderment, pain and anger appeared on his face. Ronovi pulled the sword out and Xantros fell on his knees. He tried to use the Force to heal himself, but it was the mortal wound, far beyond his abilities to recover. He raised his head just to see the Exarch standing in front of him.

The crowd demanded Ronovi to kill him. Countless voices shouted, "Finish him! Finish him!". With no further delay, the Exarch grabbed her sword in both hands. She swang it from the right to the left, decapitating Xantros. The head of the Dark Jedi Knight rolled away. The headless body fell on the ground. Ronovi raised her sword in the gesture of the victory. The spectators stood up and cheered. The fight was finished and the crowd was happy with the bloodshed. The three entered the arena. Ronovi was the only one to leave it.