Mid-Range Game 61: Shadows and Dust

[Kasimir]

Rule Clarifications:

Spoiler

• Multiple vote manips and multiple redirects on the same target both have the same net effect: they cancel out.
• Anything redirected to an illegal target (the obvious case has to do with protects) will fail. 
• Roleblocked players will be informed they were roleblocked.
• Redirected players will be informed they were redirected, e.g. "You successfully protected Gamma!" when Kas had sent in orders to protect Wyrm.
• In the case of multiple unanswered redirects, e.g. Kas redirects Wyrm who was redirecting Ren who was redirecting Gamma, I will RNG for their order, and then apply them in the following order.
• If you are redirected to yourself, and you are using a redirect, you will be told your action failed.
• Jedi Knights are not included in the Apprentice Doc.
• PMs are closed. Players cannot open PMs with other players for the duration of this game.
• The Apprentice Doc will be pseudonymous: players will be encouraged to stick with an identifier and colour, but not required to use a real player name or RP name.
• Duel challenges are refunded if the player is dead at the point the challenge is issued (challenges are last on OoA.)
• There are no restrictions on Force powers beyond what is written in the rules for that particular Force power, and the action limit. Thus, both Jedi can use Force powers if they do not recruit. The same is true of the Reborn.
• Force Dominate does not require the target to have voted.
• A Desann Reborn using Force Drain can indeed be redirected onto themselves, effectively draining themselves to death. You can thank the Stack for this.
• Force Lightning and Force Sense both cannot be used two cycles in a row, irrespective of target.
• Force Drain and Recruitment are the unique abilities of the Jedi and the Desann Reborn: at most one player on the team can use this power in a cycle.
• If a Desann Reborn is killed, the elevation of a Cultist functionally allows the Cultist only access to Force Drain. There are no significant mechanical implications to this.
• If the successor-Cultist is dead, then the Disciples can appoint another successor for as long as they have Cultists.
• Players with no actions will not be told they were redirected. Players who took an action will generally receive a message from me of this format: "You successfully did X to Y!" Y will tell you if you were redirected. The success message tells you you were not roleblocked.
• Apprentices will flip as Apprentices.
• Force Lightning takes absolute precedence on the Stack. This means it resolves before any redirects, even if they target different players. It cannot be redirected, simpliciter.
• Two duels may take place simultaneously if they involve four distinct players.
• A duel challenge is a free action. It cannot be roleblocked nor redirected, in the same way the Ragnos succession choice cannot be mechanically interfered with.

Player List:

Spoiler

1. @JNV - Jev, a low end smuggler with multiple secret identities
2. @Ashbringer - Kalabel, a young droid technician who found an absolutely innocent red triangle thingy
3. The Unknown Novel - Krisbaan, a bounty hunter with a capital P Past - Settler
4. Mat - Smarts the droid technician, who is protecting you from his real name - Cultist
5. Devotary - Tania! the Terentatek, awoken from dormancy and ready to feast on Force-sensitives - Settler
6. Xino - Nodice the unlucky spacer, who absolutely never cheats and has no gambling problem, you are the problem - Settler
7. @DrakeMarshall - Dr. Dacken Humtumb, the gizka preservationist
8. Haelbarde - HK-47, your friendly neighbourhood non-organic gizka exterminator - Desann Reborn
9. @The Wandering Wizard - Lib Wubum, Gungan bounty hunter, trailing Jede Ratrit
10. The Bookwyrm - Myhar Impay, ecologist who would like to leave to study a more exotic planet, but feels indebted - Settler
11. @Fifth Scholar - Martano Hamartano, an aspiring marksman and swoop ganger
12. Ventyl - Ibonek Naw-ibo, a dude in the wrong place, who totally does not have a Shardblade - Settler
13. Silho - Shil-Ou-Te - Settler
14. Szeth_Pancakes - Seth - Settler
15. @Madagascar - Moff, deadbeat Jedi dropout
16. @Channelknight Fadran - K.D. Tantyck, defected Imperial officer
17. Turtle - Turtle the spaceport mechanic - Settler
18. @Alvron - Nees Bac, Jawa scavenger stranded on Korriban by Imperial forces

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by Kasimir

[Channelknight Fadran]

Nooooooooooooo Matttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt :sobbing:

[Kasimir]

Cycle Six: Duel Beneath Cloudless Skies

Outside the Drunk Side, away from Sajhe's wrath, there is a small, flat patch of dirt.

The gizka scurry away. Perhaps they know what is coming.

A clear day. Cloudless skies.

The swoop ganger, with a blade the same colour as these sunlit skies. The Gungan bounty hunter, electro-spear held at the ready. Circling, like the firaxan sharks of Manaan. Like coiled akk hounds, ready to pounce.

A good day for one of you to die.

 

 

1. This thread locks at the same time as the main cycle thread: on Friday, 9th November, at 0100hrs SGT (GMT+8.) Duel submissions must be in by then.

2. Please refamiliarise yourself with the duel rules before proceeding.

3. Ask me if you are unsure about anything.

4. Be respectful of each other, and remember you're here to have fun  

5. Finally, you should be aware I am willing to tell you if a post counts, or not, and your current state in the point standings. I can't tell you that of your opponent's, but I'm not here to make life difficult for you.

6. May the Force be with both of you, @Fifth Scholar and @Ookla the Myopic.

Edited December 7, 2022 by Kasimir

[Ashbringer]

Alright... now what happens.

Are Fifth and Wiz allowed to react to things said in the main thread while still talking in their duel thread, or should they stay there?

[Madagascar]

*blows smoke off end of plaid lightsaber*

Came here to eviscerate cultists and smoke death sticks, I did.

And I’m all out of death sticks.

[Kasimir]

1 minute ago, Ashbringer said:

Are Fifth and Wiz allowed to react to things said in the main thread while still talking in their duel thread, or should they stay there?

They are. The only line I am drawing is they shouldn't be posting in this thread. They could theoretically even refuse to RP but that'd be a bit sad

[DrakeMarshall]

Oh good 

I was hoping for Desann Reborn, but I’ll take a cultist flip

What’s the deal with a Turtle kill? Did the bad guys maybe think they were an apprentice with a dangerous ability? Kind of surprised they hadn’t tried a second attack on Turtle since C2 or whenever.

JNV.

I’d give loads of loads of reasoning for this vote, but it’s literally just process of elimination, if Fifth’s claims are to be trusted, which I really hope they can be because otherwise what even 

If the Desann Reborn is Wizard, well the thread can’t do much about that right now, it’s in the Jedi’s hands.

With JNV and Fadran as the remaining people I might vote for, I’d wager JNV is a sith over Fadran. Fadran was a countertrain to Matrim, which makes very little sense if Fadran is Desann Reborn. Also, gut. I rest my case.

But hopefully it’s Wizard and the vote doesn’t matter. Edit: we should still act like it does, though

Edited December 6, 2022 by DrakeMarshall

[Channelknight Fadran]

Wizard

[Kasimir]

Rule Clarifications:

Quote

• You do not learn who issued the duel challenge.
   
• Duel challenges are refunded in three cases: i) if your target is dead, ii) if Kas sends a duel challenge to Wyrm, who challenges Orlok, the net result is that I RNG for which order occurs, and the other is refunded, iii) if both of you send in identical orders, and I RNG for which occurs.

 

[Madagascar]

Gather round, gather round! Your seats close to the action, grab you should! Gizka on a stick and sweet sweet Mandalorian ale I have! All onlookers while the duel of the galaxy we watch!

Master Fifth vs Darth(?) Wizard!

The Survivor, a FREE lifetime’s worth of Ultra Strength Death Sticks shall get!* 

If bets on outcome of the fight you wish to place, please to my good friend and colleague Jubba the Hutt you should see.

*due to ingredients, the lifetime of consumers of Ultra Strength Death Sticks may be significantly briefer than galactic average.

[DrakeMarshall]

3 hours ago, Madagascar said:

*blows smoke off end of plaid lightsaber*

Came here to eviscerate cultists and smoke death sticks, I did.

And I’m all out of death sticks.

You’re happy to try and pick a fight with two Jedi at once, but won’t start a fight with little old Dr. Dacken Humtumb and his gizka telling you to cease and desist, hmmmm??? I am offend 

If you won’t face Dacken’s bare fists, than face his scathing and razor sharp wit and tremble! Are you normally this much of a coward, or did you drink up all of your fighting spirit after you ran out of Mandalorian ale???

[Fifth Scholar]

A life attuned to the Force, a life of peace, begins with an ordered mind, Mart. You cannot expect your thoughts to be in disarray and the Force to obey you, for the true Force, the Light, the Living aura which flows through all things, is concerned fundamentally with their order. Everything is to flourish. You are to flourish. And to tap into this, to become more than a thug with a deadly glowstick in your fist, you must respect that order and synchronise yourself with it. It is the only way that uses the Light without inviting the dark to knock. 

So said his master, merely a few years ago, when Hamartano still observed the tutelage of man. 

His was never a life of peace. 

If you were to carve out a living in the harsh deserts of a world like Dreshdae, you did not do it in monkish submission to the elements around you. The elements would laugh at your submission and tear you apart. If you wanted peace with Dreshdae, you had to beat it down until it dropped its weapon and looked up with despair in its eyes. Only then could you choose whether to spare it or not. 

The Force, Hamartano reasoned, was much the same. As the blood pumped through his veins, the adrenaline pouring into his system as he readied himself to face the bounty hunter who stood before him, who threatened, along with all of Dreshdae, to sweep the planet and all that was on it along in its rolling tide of darkness, he knew that someone had to stand athwart the darkness and chaos. To push it back, to master it, to make it hide its face in the infinite sands of the planet. And then, peace would spring forth. The Force could return. And his own mind might achieve the rest it needed. 

Until then? The Force would have to beat at the disorder within him, even as he confronted the disorder within it. Hamartano felt like that was a fair trade. And as if making a deal in Sahje’s bar, he reached out to the Force and seized it, feeling it flow into him and empower his movement. He stopped his circling, lightsaber held in both hands above his shoulder, an azure blue line pointing directly at the sky. Then, with the fluidity and grace born of a thousand jumps off his speeding swoop bike, he launched himself into the air, sweeping the blade in a wide protective arc, directly at the Gungan’s head.

[The Wandering Wizard]

Wubum circles the Jedi, muscles tensing at the slight nearly imperceptible movements. The gungan allows his breathing to speed up to a rapid tempo. Each breath enriching his body with the power of the dark side, tendrils of lightning creeping down his arms preparing to strike. The brutal lessons of Ragnos flow through his mind.

It is not cheating to survive. It is not cheating to hide your weapon inside of something inconspicuous. There are no rules in duels and throwing cats is allowed. Old tricks are sometimes the best. Confuse your enemy by doing the expected. Electrify your weapon, very useful in shocking your opponents. Surprise is your greatest ally, Honor has tried to kill me too many times. Jedi fall because they are too focused on protecting others, go after innocents. Innocents usually scream the loudest too, great for attracting the Jedi.

"I am Darth Wizard! Most Ancient of my people! Last Disciple of Ragnos! Hider under the name Lib Wubum! Terrible deceptionist! Jedi terrorizer! Loser of the most titles to Darth Vader! One who talks too much! The short sighted sith! Master strategist! User of-"

24 minutes ago, Fifth Scholar said:

Until then? The Force would have to beat at the disorder within him, even as he confronted the disorder within it. Hamartano felt like that was a fair trade. And as if making a deal in Sahje’s bar, he reached out to the Force and seized it, feeling it flow into him and empower his movement. He stopped his circling, lightsaber held in both hands above his shoulder, an azure blue line pointing directly at the sky. Then, with the fluidity and grace born of a thousand jumps off his speeding swoop bike, he launched himself into the air, sweeping the blade in a wide protective arc, directly at the Gungan’s head.

A brillant beam of red light bursts from the spearhead, intercepting the Jedi's strike. Wubum flicks the lightsaber to the side and he guides his lightsaber, the glowing arc heading towards the Jedi's head.

 

[Fifth Scholar]

As the words burst forth from the Gungan’s mouth proclaiming himself as Sith, and the red light burst forth from the tip of the weapon, Hamartano felt a current of relief under all his adrenaline. He had chosen rightly. Even if he fell in the lonely sands, he would not be condemning another innocent to die. Sometimes innocents were vocal. Sometimes they held the wrong opinions and supported the wrong people. Hamartano usually had fewer reservations about killing such people. The last few days? With half the regulars at the bar dead, Sahje’s weighty looks had given him more pause about his cavalier attitude. It was the insistence of the council as well. Innocents were innocents.

But this one was not.

The red arc, trailed by a second bronze one sparkling with electricity, were aiming at his skull. Hamartano was surprised for a moment at the suddenness of the parry. It was an effective one, his lightsaber having been knocked aside almost completely, but his Force-heightened senses allowed him to duck beneath the blade, and bring his own back around in a curved arc, driving the electricity-protected base of his opponent’s strange weapon into the dirt. He exchanged a flurry of quick blows, saber meeting saber in loud flashes of light. Wubum had skill, and Hamartano’s Ataru was not as effective against his double-sided weapon, but he pressed on, battering blue against red, searching for how to make an opening in his opponent’s solid stance. Remembering his lessons, he kept his feet loose, looking to gain enough nimbleness for an opening. 

I am Darth Wizard, most ancient of my people. It was an interesting boast, and the only one of his titles that interested Hamartano. Who were the people he fought for? Who were their ancient ones? It was certainly not him. He snapped out of his reverie as the red blade came inches from his face. His people, clearly, were the ones behind him in the bar counting on him not to die, which was what mattered at the moment. He gripped his saber more firmly and spun it around, the force of the manoeuvre sending the Sith a couple paces back. He finally had the spacing he wanted. Feinting at his opponent’s right, he slid with alacrity and then jumped once he was in range, bringing the blade curving back at Wubum’s less protected left. 

[Madagascar]

Oh terribly sorry I am, tweezering shreds of charred cultist flesh out of my ear holes I was. You know, nothing special it was, just the totally evil guy who totally pulled a load of Wookie poo out of his tush to try to frame Moff for being evil, who I just brutally eviscerated. What you were saying, didn’t quite catch. What was that about Moff being a coward, again?

*pulls a piece of shredded Sith out of ear hole and flicks it at Humtub. It appears to be a lung*

[The Wandering Wizard]

It felt good to no longer be hiding behind a mask. A facade that was fading, slowly being dragged through the muck. Being forced to hide from those who he should have been murdering. Forcing the lynching of innocents through manipulation had been fun, but not enough to slake his hunger for violence. His suppressed rage breaks free and he harnesses his rage, fueling the darkness inside. He revels in the familiar dark feelings of anger, hate, and bitterness. Lightning runs from his hand, falling towards the tip of the electro-spear. The lightning crackles to a deep purple, and Wizard grins feeling the pulse of the battle, the heartbeat of the sith. 

Turning to the left, Wizard slams the spearhead into the ground. The weapon gives him a boost helping him jump high over Hamartano, parrying a few blows while in the air. Feeling the balance shift, Wizard shifts to a more aggressive strategy. His dual sided weapon carving two deadly semicircles through the air, forcing Hamartano to move or parry.

"Who is your master young Jedi, so that I might hunt him down next? It's been a long time since I've destroyed a Jedi's legacy. I've been around longer than you can think, these plans are years in the making. And I will not have the Jedi mess them up! For the Sith will rise once more and Ragnos will be emperor!" Wizard's yellow eyes burn with fanatic glee. "For soon you Jedi will be dead and we will reclaim Korriban!"

 

[JNV]

7 hours ago, Ookla the [Redacted] said:

Wizard

Remember you cant vote on Wizard theyre busy fighting a Jedi outside its crazy out there theres lightning and lightsabers you dont want to go waving knives in that direction

7 hours ago, DrakeMarshall said:

JNV.

Im honestly fine with this but for my due diligence Im trusting in the honesty and competency of the Jedi and going Fadran just in case cause like world where Fifth wins and Wizards not the cultist and I get voted the living just pile on Fadran next time but if Fifth loses the problem is Alvron might die now and Alvron might die later and wed have to kill Wizard then Fadran or the other way around and honestly Fadran could say the exact same thing just with the names swapped out and itd do just as much so yeah cause like if Fifth loses the duel and Wizard isnt the Dasann we just lose flat out unless we get this right so actually yeah a bit more passion then before Ive changed my mind in the course of a single paragraph it makes mores ense if you realise the halves of it are separated by a gap of like two hours I spent a really long time editing this quokka

Heres a sniper quokka that took way too long to edit

Spoiler

And in celebration of all the bounty hunters being either caught up in a life or death duel or dead heres some Jev RP 

Jev had planned on slipping out and donning a new disguise, but the duel outside was too eye-catching to be safe. At least pretending to be drunk was easier after the sixth drink. They just had to pretend to be asleep. The big hood hid their wandering eyes. One of the bounty hunters on their tail had died early on, and now, the other one was outside fighting for their life. Even if Lib Wubum survived the battle, he'd revealed far too much. The people in the bar would be on him in a heartbeat if he walked back in. The only risk was if the holo of their face survived the duel. They'd already pocketed Krisbaan's holo, but they didn't really have a way to get close to Wubum before others ransacked the body. Their only real hope was that it would get destroyed during the duel, and with the lightning tossed around, it wasn't that unlikely.

They just had to make it through, and they'd be okay. 

[Fifth Scholar]

Hamartano reeled, driven back by the two crackling orbs of lightning which spun towards him. Ataru excelled at nimbleness and craft and speed, but none of those mattered when you had twin circles of death barrelling inexorably towards you, and when your opponent had a weapon which gave him the same things. He shifted his stance, holding his ground against Wizard and the taunts he was hurling. The clean azure of his blade began poking into the patterns of erratic purple, disrupting the spinning rhythm, even as he felt a stray tendril buzz his arm, tingling painfully. He pressed, alternating the direction of his cuts, left-right-right-left-right-left, then long sweeping strokes for good measure, to gain more distance from the crackling ends of the spear. As he parried, Hamartano felt a sudden flame within him at the Sith's words that drove his zeal more than any mortal peril his weapons could present. Spitting into the dirt, he disengaged briefly, pushing Wizard away and sliding back himself. His speech, when it came out, had the pent-up frustration of the last week behind it. His eyes, brown as the sands, locked with the yellow tint of the Desann who stood before him.

"You know my master well enough to know that finding him would be your doom beyond anything that I could work here," Hamartano said slowly. "But even if you did find him, what will you do? Reclaim this valley? I have watched and tended it for five years, five more than I needed to know that your side of the Force will always be stronger here. Yet still you fail. Still you cannot get past the barest hint of defiance from the Light. If you Sith are our hunters, then we harried heroes have had heart to run longer than you to pursue, and our lust to lose and to stand tall in that defeat will exceed your own will to win. It has always been this way, Sith. Your emperors sit high in thrones when they ascend to power, and they fret and worry at the slightest receding of their authority, knowing it will doom them. But Lord Skywalker, lost from fame, sits in some recluse I know not where, in I know not what mean place, and awaits his death, and still has heart and spirit to be with the Force, and the Light still spreads over all. In the same way my death will not matter. When the blood of the good is spilt, it is a testimony for the Light. But yours?" Hamartano's eyes became steely. "It is the witness and sign against you." 

As he spoke, he flipped through the air with a yell, feeling elation as he became almost weightless, and the Force surged within him, responding as always to his exhilaration. HIs lightsaber became a blur anew, and he, still midair, thrust its length at the middle of the strange weapon Wizard held, hoping to cleave it. 

[Channelknight Fadran]

Aha. I see.

Wizard

[DrakeMarshall]

8 hours ago, Madagascar said:

Oh terribly sorry I am, tweezering shreds of charred cultist flesh out of my ear holes I was. You know, nothing special it was, just the totally evil guy who totally pulled a load of Wookie poo out of his tush to try to frame Moff for being evil, who I just brutally eviscerated. What you were saying, didn’t quite catch. What was that about Moff being a coward, again?

*pulls a piece of shredded Sith out of ear hole and flicks it at Humtub. It appears to be a lung*

Intimidate me will you??? The bold and mighty Dr. Dacken Humtumb is not so easily cowed. He apparently stared down a terentek without nary a flicker of self-preservation instinct!!!

The gore landed on Dr. Dacken Humtumb's shirt, and slowly slid down, leaving a stain in the cloth that he suspected would prove persistent. He tried not to let it get to him too much, of course. Clothes could be replaced. Gizka could too, for that matter: as far as Dacken knew they might be the fastest-breeding vertebrate in the galaxy. But it was the principle of it the thing. Enough was enough. Dacken shrugged, and tried for one of his enigmatic smiles, the very same that he'd practiced while playing correllian spike with Nodice and Tantyck. Unfortunately, after the terentek episode, Tantyck hadn't been feeling up to more card games, and even Nodice had finally kicked the habit for good.

"Certainly, I can repeat myself. Yes, yes, you were very brave. I was of course, saying that nobody should ever call you a coward, after what you've done. Indeed, the only thing about you that potentially exceeds the utmostly unique heights of your valor is the height of your person. I really mean it, you are an exceptional individual."

"Why, I've scarcely ever seen a soul stab a distracted target more courageously!"

"And challenging two Jedi at once? Incredibly brave! Such a shame they so happened to be busy when you so happened to decide to challenge them, I suppose."

"And last but not least, killing a group of poor, defenseless, friendly gizka and then fleeing when confronted about it? Truly, you are an inspiration to us all in the ways of valor, most particularly the better part of it."

5 hours ago, JNV said:

Remember you cant vote on Wizard theyre busy fighting a Jedi outside its crazy out there theres lightning and lightsabers you dont want to go waving knives in that direction

Im honestly fine with this but for my due diligence Im trusting in the honesty and competency of the Jedi and going Fadran just in case cause like world where Fifth wins and Wizards not the cultist and I get voted the living just pile on Fadran next time but if Fifth loses the problem is Alvron might die now and Alvron might die later and wed have to kill Wizard then Fadran or the other way around and honestly Fadran could say the exact same thing just with the names swapped out and itd do just as much so yeah cause like if Fifth loses the duel and Wizard isnt the Dasann we just lose flat out unless we get this right so actually yeah a bit more passion then before Ive changed my mind in the course of a single paragraph it makes mores ense if you realise the halves of it are separated by a gap of like two hours I spent a really long time editing this quokka

Heres a sniper quokka that took way too long to edit

  Reveal hidden contents

And in celebration of all the bounty hunters being either caught up in a life or death duel or dead heres some Jev RP 

Jev had planned on slipping out and donning a new disguise, but the duel outside was too eye-catching to be safe. At least pretending to be drunk was easier after the sixth drink. They just had to pretend to be asleep. The big hood hid their wandering eyes. One of the bounty hunters on their tail had died early on, and now, the other one was outside fighting for their life. Even if Lib Wubum survived the battle, he'd revealed far too much. The people in the bar would be on him in a heartbeat if he walked back in. The only risk was if the holo of their face survived the duel. They'd already pocketed Krisbaan's holo, but they didn't really have a way to get close to Wubum before others ransacked the body. Their only real hope was that it would get destroyed during the duel, and with the lightning tossed around, it wasn't that unlikely.

They just had to make it through, and they'd be okay. 

For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure I read you as village rn? It's not the strongest read I have, but... You seem more village than not, everything held equal.

I also village read Fadran

I just figure, y'know, we probably shouldn't leave it all up to the Jedi. If it turns out Wizard isn't Dasann Reborn, I'd rather be able to say we were doing our best to cover for that possibility this cycle.

EDIT: Ok I just read the part where Wizard claims to be Desann Reborn Which probably raises the odds that neither you nor Fadran are evil I mean, we still probably shouldn't take it 100% at face value, after all, a cultist would have reason to lie about being the Desann Reborn... but also like... If I had to guess, I'd say I'm a good 95% sure Wizard is being honest here, and the village win con is no longer in the thread for us to vote.

...in which case, idk

I guess we should still vote the best way we think, for good measure. Old habits die hard

May I also say that quokka looks positively giddy to be holding a weapon and it is now my second-favorite animal in this game

Edited December 7, 2022 by DrakeMarshall

[The Wandering Wizard]

Quickly shifting his hands, the center grows red as the blue beam blazes through the center. Wizard leaps back narrowly avoiding being cut himself by the deadly blue light. Grasping the spear head in one hand and the now exposed lightsaber in the other.

A memory comes back to him. His master is dueling against him, training him in the deadly dance of combat. He strikes at the center of his master's spear, nearly breaking it in half. His master disengages and he breaks his weapon in half. Leaping about, he then proceeds to beat his student with the two weapons. 

"Always try the unexpected, that will win you more fights than doing what is expected each time. Let your opponent think they've drawn a devestating blow, then beat them."

Ragnos then proceeds to punish him for failing to react properly to the tactic.

"If you are to be a Sith, then you must fight more! Fight more deadlier and dirtier. Or I will have no use for you!"

Wizard grins as he channels some lightning into the cut and the weapon separates completely. Channeling lightning into the spear head, it hums back alive with deadly lightning. Trying a unorthodox method, Wizard spins his lightsaber in a circle, holding the spear head behind it, preparing to strike. He advances on Hamartano, humming and crackling filling the air.

 

[Fifth Scholar]

The shaft of Wizard’s blade clave in two. 

Hamartano looked down, surprised, at his own work—he had intended to allow the Sith to block his obvious strike and then try some follow-up hits from above. But what had happened was clear; lightning sparkled at the fissure between the lightsaber and the spearhead, fully separating the mangled remains of reinforced wire, and Hamartano was barely able to pull his own blade free before the red lightsaber, still intact, began taking swings at him, the electricity-reinforced spear jabbing behind it. He should not have underestimated the frenzy of the Sith—he had made his opponent less coordinated and graceful, but perhaps more dangerous. Reverting to the most basic form—Form One—to bat away the swings of the saber, he kept a wary eye on the spear behind it, still crackling dangerously with that purple force. He berated himself. Precision was always his hallmark: it was what made him excel as a marksman, but he had let the rules of a lightsaber duel, the back-and-forth rhythm, escape him in his time back on Dreshdae where they had fallen into disuse. If he failed to anticipate his opponent’s reaction again, he might pay more severely. There were no easy fights. There was no rest until your enemy was in the dust in front of you, or you were yourself.

Then, it came—the lightsaber withdrew momentarily and the spear stabbed forward. Hamartano barely caught it in time, thanking his master mentally for having trained him against such weapons, but even as he turned the thrust aside with the shaft of his blade, his opponent’s saber came slicing down. There was no blocking this. Hamartano rolled forward instead, keeping the spear at bay, and heard the clean chop and a faint smell of ash as his cloak billowed up behind him and was cut in twain. Skidding, he re-established his footing on his opponent’s left and flowed smoothly into his next attack, blade cutting up at Wizard’s ribcage. 

[The Wandering Wizard]

The smell of sizzling fish fills the air and the spearhead stabs the saber, keeping it from doing more than shallowly cutting him. Wordlessly growling, Wizard slams his lightsaber ontop of Hamartano's trapping it against the ground. Blood begins to seep from his side and the grin fades from his face. The pressure from his saber keeps the Jedi's saber stuck into the ground and feeling safe, Wizard responds to Hamartano's earlier comments.

"You'll have to do more than nick me Jedi. You lie about being able to beat me, don't you FEEL it? The last hope of the light draining away as the darkness grows stronger. Soon, so very soon we will have enough darkness to overturn other worlds."

Time to spread some fear and doubt. Only truth with a single hidden lie. Wizard scoffs, "and even if you can kill me, you will replace me. You have passion, I can see the flickers of purple inside of your saber. You can not deny it, the dark side has tendrils in everyone, including you! No one can escape it, everything is inevitably headed towards decay. Your new order will fall and when it does, we will be waiting. It took thousands of years to overthrow the old order. Your order has the same weaknesses as-"

Wizard quickly jabs his spear towards Hamartano's left shoulder, utilizing the oldest trick in the book. Distract and then attack before you're done talking.

[Fifth Scholar]

Hamartano’s lightsaber continued to cut into the earth, sand flying up as Wizard’s blade pushed down on his, burying the few drops of blood which his previous strike had drawn. The Sith was speaking with those wild eyes again, repeating the same platitudes about decay and emotion he had heard countless times before. When he cut off his speech and swung the spear towards him, Hamartano was ready. The move was clear in his head: extinguish his lightsaber, throwing his opponent’s strike off-balance as he sought to maintain the bind and pushing him forward, then reigniting it and chopping him in half.

It worked. Somewhat. Wizard leaned forward, his lightsaber now meeting no resistance, but the Sith was wily enough that his strike did not go as far amiss as Hamartano had hoped. He pirouetted as he began to lean, and the tip of the spear he held was now pointed at the gang leader’s arm, moving forward inexorably. The blue blade came on too late, and the tip gouged his free arm’s elbow, the electricity making Hamartano howl in pain. His muscles tensed, and his own strike, weaker than it should have been, was batted aside.

As the next thrust of the spear came, Hamartano closed his eyes and concentrated through his exhaustion. He would not allow the Sith’s assertion, that he and the Jedi had gone down quietly, with no fight, to stand. Focusing on the rent piece of his cloak which now lay trampled in the sand, he sent it flying towards the spear-tip. It clung, muffling the electric current as it wrapped itself around the end, and Hamartano, feeling the pain recede, dragged himself back to his feet, deflecting the two blows that came towards him. Drawing his feet together, he began to swing more double-handed, overhand blows, heedless of the blood now flowing from his left arm—not subtle strikes, but also not ignorable. 

“Passion and decay?” he grunted. “Passion and spontaneity leads to decay only if it is embraced as an end, Dark One. When it is kept as a servant to order”—he punctuated the words with a particularly heavy blow and grinned back at the Sith—“it is still life itself. And you will never draw me away from that.”

[Madagascar]

13 hours ago, DrakeMarshall said:

"And last but not least, killing a group of poor, defenseless, friendly gizka and then fleeing when confronted about it? Truly, you are an inspiration to us all in the ways of valor, most particularly the better part of it."

*preens* Truly, I am

Gizka, they had to go. What else going to eat while watching those two at it go?

delicious, toasted over a charcoal fire, they are. Lip smacking good, they taste!

*Moff pulls up an elaborate hologram*

Situation. Here *a hologram of wizard and fifth swordfighting* one Jedi and one reborn (?) is. Only one can live…

Here *a blue hologram of a Jawa pops up* our loathsome little scavenger buddy is. Why him they let through Jedi Academy and Moff, I know not. The force in mysterious ways works.

If Reborn the Wizard is, kill Fifth in the duel he may, leaving Alvron as the last *sigh* “Jedi”. If killed Alvron is tonight, lose the party, the Settlers may. If Desann I was, hoping to kill Fifth in a duel and Alvron at night, my plan would be.

Any Apprentices their efforts to protect Alv should use. But Probably up to the Force it is, at this point.

Also suggest I will to kill JNV, for funsies

anyway, roast Gizka, anyone?

I have barbecued wookkie and Mandalorian spice flavors