((Where: The abandoned Echo Base on Hoth.
What: Any three melee weapons and Force powers (no Force speed or illusion).
Who: Anyone of Sith Master Third Degree or higher.
A GM will also be needed, naturally.))
High Prophet Crozeus
((I'd be happy to take you on.))
High Mage Serratus
((Jolly good, now we just need a GM.))
Lord Aequitas
((Hi))
High Mage Serratus
((Jolly good. I will make the first post.))
Serratus stepped through the hangar of the abandoned Echo Base. Dilapidated and dusty ships surrounded him, a mere shadow of their former selves. It was here, over twenty years ago, that Serratus had found the Space Dragon and flown it off-planet, albeit after quite a few attempts.
Serratus was awaiting the arrival of Darth Crozeus. He had not had a duel in quite some time and he had not visited his home planet in many years. Serratus knew that several miles away, his family, his real family, were probably resting in the subterranean ice cavern he had called home.
Twenty years.
Those twenty years had changed him. From an innocent but dangerous boy to a purely dangerous man. A man who had killed hundreds directly and many more indirectly. A man who could and would kill again. Every weapon he carried with him had killed at some point. The staff on his back, Arbiter, had decapitated a group of impertinent Tusken Raiders who simply would not stop trying to shoot down the Space Dragon whenever he left his personal residence on Tatooine. He had flattened and pureed Cthon skulls with the crushgaunts adorning his hands. And as for his saberstaff, who even knew where to start?
Serratus wiped the dust from one of the ships. A lot of time had passed.
High Prophet Crozeus
Prophet Crozeus had not dueled properly in some time. As a result he was a tad concerned about the abilities of his muscles to perform in a combat situation, as most of his time recently had been spent either with his apprentice, at the Moff's Council, or working at the Church. Still, he managed to perform his daily routine of drills and exercises with the blade and without.
He had landed some distance away from Echo Base so as to become accustomed to the environment and to bond with the Force to the life energies around him, a technique that can be most useful. He had started off at a jog across the snowy dunes towards the base, before sprinting a short distance and halting a passing Tauntaun with the Force, mounting it and riding it to the old Rebellion base. After a refreshing ride he arrived and saw Serratus moving around the old ships, looking reflective. Crozeus dismounted and snapped his mount's neck with the Force, relishing the burst of Dark Side energy that was emitted. It was also enough to make Serratus notice his arrival.
Crozeus cast off his robe and nodded to his ally. He did not expect this duel to be too serious or violent, though he was more than aware of the vast weaponry Serratus took pride in his expertise on their use. The last time they had dueled had been a brief battle when Serratus was merely an apprentice under the current Grand Mage, who was High Prophet at the time. That time, Crozeus had won. Both the Sith knew that the other was a great fighter, and Crozeus assumed that Serratus would avoid using a traditional lightsaber, because Crozeus knew exactly how to deal with that.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus acknowledged his opponent with a brief bow before taking Arbiter from his back. He held the staff in one hand slightly behind him, in a combination of the traditional stances of Shien and the spear-style of the martial art of Petranaki, developed by the Geonosians. He lightly tapped the base of the staff off his shoulder blade and a lightsaber blade sprung from its tip. He assumed a battle-ready stance and awaited Crozeus's first move.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus nodded as well and held out a flat palm to his side, and his lightsaber slapped into it and ignited, a source of ruby gold light in the damp hangar. He saluted briefly, twirling the blade around, feeling the familiar balance and weighting. He poised the blade, ready to attack, saw Serratus twitch, bracing himself for the inevitable attack... then he grabbed hold of one of the ships with the Force and sent it flying towards Serratus with blinding speed and power.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus had been anticipating that the ships would not be left to rust in peace and quickly stepped before jumping into the air, spinning and delivering a Force-imbued kick to the ship, sending it right back at Crozeus. As he landed, Serratus crouched low and unleashed a wave of Sith lightning at Crozeus's feet before resuming his stance and then charging forward, keeping Arbiter in the specialised grip he had been developing for over a year as part of Project DarkMage.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus leapt into the air and pushed himself forward, running along the ship as it flew towards him and landing behind Serratus in a crouch. As quickly as he could he stood and span around, snapping his blade around with him to cut towards Serratus' briefly exposed back, though he doubted it would have any effect except delay Serratus for a few seconds and allow Crozeus to get into a proper position.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus stopped as Crozeus landed and turned, bring Arbiter up to chest level and grasping the other end with his other hand, blocking Crozeus's strike. Serratus switched his fighting style immediately to the Rince Bata an Uisce Bheatha style of an ancient martial art called bataireacht that he had rediscovered while researching staffs. Holding Arbiter in a reversed boxing grip, Serratus started simultaneously punching with his fists and jabbing with the ends of Arbiter at Crozeus, his right hand bringing the lightsaber blade with it and his left hand bringing the electrical discharger.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus was fending off the attacks the best he could. He was unfamiliar with the fighting style and so relied on instinct, raw skill, and more than anything else the Force to defend himself. He decided that remaining in close combat with Serratus would not end well for him, and therefore he needed to take the initiative, and get Serratus out of his comfort zone. Therefore, when Serratus attacked with the lightsaber end of his staff, Crozeus batted it down, held it there and threaded his spare arm in between the gap of Serratus' shaft and his chest.
Now the two Sith were locked in a battle of physical strength, a feature in which the two were evenly matched. However, Crozeus noted the crushgaunts on Serratus' hands and determined that a meeting of them and his head, or any part of his body, would not be a pleasant encounter. Crozeus slammed the Force into the ground in a wave, sending both of them flying, and setting the duel out at square one.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus tried to land on his feet but only succeeded in tumbling backwards. He rose quickly and devised a plan quickly. He deactivated Arbiter momentarily and used it to spear a fuel tank on a nearby ship. Serratus swung Arbiter, sending the tank towards Crozeus's end of the hangar, trailing fuel behind it. Serratus stuck the base of Arbiter into the beginning of the fuel and activated the discharger, igniting the fuel and sending a roaring serpent of fire snaking down towards his opponent and to the three-quarters fuel tank, which was now little more than a bomb.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus' eyes widened at the rapidly advancing wall of flame. He slid a box along the floor into the oil slick, though the oil was simply moved around it and the fire continued. However, Crozeus had bought himself a few seconds, and had already started off at a brisk run. He clambered on top of several fighters and ran up a section of wall to a catwalk which over looked the entire hangar. Just as he got onto the metal suspension, the fire trail hit the fuel tank. Crozeus grabbed the tank and pretty much everything in the radius nearby and hurled them towards Serratus with the Force.
High Mage Serratus
The flaming fuel tank exploded in mid-air, destroying the two ships Crozeus had also thrown and scattering their debris through the hangar. The force of the explosion sent Serratus flying into a wall, Arbiter flying in a different direction and sent a wing of a ship right through a section of the catwalk, perpendicular to the one Crozeus was on. Serratus knew that as long as Crozeus had the height advantage, he would be prey to the Prophet's superior mastery of the Force. With a Force-imbued jump, he leapt up the wall against which he had just fallen and used the crushgaunts to dig deep into the wall. He rapidly pulled himself up the wall like a demented spider then kicked against the wall and jumped on to the catwalk himself.
He drew his saberstaff and entered the stance of Djem So, his most powerful form.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus immediately sent a Force Push at Serratus to send him back a bit, from his posture it looked like he was waiting for Crozeus to engage. Crozeus had disengaged his lightsaber when he hurled the tank, and now two violet blades sprang from holsters on his wrists. He was backing up rapidly, and when he was as far as he could be he slashed through the pair of suspenders attaching the catwalk to the ceiling in front of him. Then the box with which he had slowed the oil flow rose up, carried by the Force, and was lowered onto the end of the new section of catwalk.
Instantly it started to bend, creaking ominously, and soon the box slipped off, crashing to the hangar floor below. Serratus was now going to start sliding down his section of the catwalk until he fell off, and fell a good twenty metres to the floor.
High Mage Serratus
((Sorry, but what exactly happened?))
High Prophet Crozeus
((Sorry, I wrote that at 2am so I wasn't exactly clear. We were both on the catwalk, I cut through two of the wire suspensions which attach the catwalk to the ceiling, and weighted the end down with a box. This meant that your end of the catwalk angled down, so you would start to slide down it and you would eventually fall off. Below is a crude diagram. ))
you me
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High Mage Serratus
((Ah. Thanks.))
Instead of resisting the decline, Serratus rode it down before leaping with another Force-imbued jump. He grabbed on to the section of catwalk on which Crozeus was standing but rather than climb up, he used the Force on the ground. As he was most certainly not capable of moving the planet Hoth, Serratus himself was moved and used the pressure this created to pull down on the catwalk, ripping the durasteel walkway from the ceiling and plummeting to the ground.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus leaped off the quickly falling catwalk just before it hit the floor and rolled. He came to his feet quickly and looked wildly around for Serratus. Spotting him on the other side of the wrecked catwalk he advanced, igniting his two wrist sabers again. When he was in range, he leaped across the catwalk and came down on Serratus, bringing his right blade onto Serratus' head and his left towards Serratus' right side.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus brought his saberstaff up to block the blow to his head and grabbed the blade of the other lightsaber with his crushgaunt, causing it to heat up considerably but being made of beskad, it refused to give way. Serratus quickly tossed Crozeus away from himself and blew a hole through a wall of the hangar with the Force, running out to the freezing snow dunes and pushing his hand into the frozen ice to cool it down. He quickly rose again and turned towards the hole he had created, squinting to see through the snow that was ripping through the air and waiting for his opponent to reveal himself.
High Prophet Crozeus
It was an odd sensation, feeling his blade be held by an other. He sheathed the blades and pulled out his double bladed saber, given to him by Darth Celestial on the eve of his final mission as his apprentice. Then he threw it forward, and let it hover in the air, slowly advancing towards Serratus as if it was being held normally. Crozeus had come dressed entirely in white, as was usual for Prophets, so he hoped this would convince Serratus that he was actually there.
Then he made himself smaller in the Force, to disguise his true attack. He Force Pushed a part of the ceiling, opening a hole just big enough for him to squeeze through. He clambered up and out into the open, taking the cold like a slap in the face. He jumped down and landed in the soft snow and crept up on Serratus, waiting for his saber to come in range. When it was, he flicked his wrist and the saber attacked, cutting at Serratus. Simultaneously, Crozeus leaped from his hiding spot, his two wrist blades shining, and attacked as well. Serratus was now effectively fighting four lightsabers at once.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus knew that Crozeus would try to use camoflauge to attack, but Crozeus seemed to have forgotten that they were fighting on Serratus's home turf and it would not be quite that easy. Serratus used one crushgaunt-equipped hand to catch Crozeus's double-bladed lightsaber by one blade, although the momentum of the blade caused it to jump forward slightly and cut into Serratus's hip.
With the other hand, he erected a Force barrier and then pushed it towards Crozeus. Serratus rather imagined it would be somewhat like a wizard on a broomstick crashing into a brick wall that somehow appeared from the exhaust pipe of a flying motorcycle.
Serratus realised he was still holding Crozeus's lightsaber and dropped it to the ground, where it made a hissing noise as it sunk into the snow.
High Prophet Crozeus
((I have to admit, I laughed so hard at that analogy.))
Crozeus fell back into the snow, the breath knocked out of him. Instead of simply attacking again Crozeus charged Force energy and smashed it into the ground. The snow around Serratus exploded out of the ground like it was on geysers and dropped him to the floor, the shock of which meant he could not keep his barrier up. Crozeus instantly charged, his main saber ignited again and coming over his head towards Serratus' prostrate chest, accompanied by a burst of Force Lightning.
High Mage Serratus
((I try.))
Serratus managed to dissipate about a quarter of the lightning, but not being skilled in the area, a sizable charge still shot into him. His vision clouded but the disturbance passed just in time for Serratus to raise his saberstaff in both hands to meet Crozeus's lightsaber.
The two were instantly locked in another battle of strength and were once more evenly matched. Serratus knew a stalemate was not an option.
He kicked off the snow and started sliding down the dune like a toboggan, Crozeus's lightsaber slipping from his and cutting into his leg as he pushed away. Even as he gained momentum he started firing bolts of Sith lightning back at his opponent.
High Prophet Crozeus
The lightning attacks were substantial enough to make Crozeus stop his assault while he fended off the bursts. His chest heaving from the exertion of battling in an area with such thin air he looked around and spotted Serratus coming to a halt at the bottom of the dune, leaving a trench in the snow behind him. At the top of the dune, Crozeus panted and thought about his next move. Stretching out his arm he brought his double bladed saber back to him and held it loosely, thinking hard, while Serratus got back to his feet.
Perhaps, while he held this height advantage, it would be best to let Serratus make the next move, Crozeus thought. Clipping his double bladed saber back to his belt Crozeus started to pace back and forth, surveying Serratus and trying to predict what he was about to do.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus smirked slightly at Crozeus's non-action before raising his hand and grabbing a large chunk of snow from the bottom of the dune and tossing it aside. He worked quickly before Crozeus could grasp what Serratus was doing. Once he had sufficiently undercut the dune, Serratus shot the base with Sith lightning, cracking the base and causing the dune to collapse. Serratus jumped in the air and rode on the avalanche of snow, as he had done many times in the past.
High Prophet Crozeus
Bloody hell. Crozeus was face down in snow and completely disoriented. Igniting a single wrist saber he plunged it into the snow and quickly melted enough for him to slip though. Holding his breath with the Force he plunged into and under the dune, using his saber to melt the snow and his spare hand and legs to haul himself through the dune. It was like potholing, only in snow, and with an angry Mage above him. After much blind writhing around Crozeus emerged on the other side of the dune, caked in snow and holding onto his last breaths. He took a few moments to catch his breath before standing again. At least he had succeeded in evading Serratus, surfing on the avalanche he created.
Crozeus decided that now would be a perfect opportunity to start using Sith Sorcery. Very few modern Sith knew any Sith Spells whatsoever, and Crozeus had been tasked by Dark Lord Praxeum to train the Prophets, and any who were worthy (or paid enough) in the Dark Arts at their facility on Fondor. He used a very simple Spell, conjuring up many images of himself - clones, although they couldn't actually cause any harm. One could walk straight through them.
However, they surrounded Serratus, two dozen Crozeus' all with lightsabers, and all poised to strike. The real Crozeus, no different at a glance to any of the apparitions, hung back, waiting for an opportune chance to strike.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus had heard of Crozeus's duplicate spell before but this was his first encounter with it. He aimed a hand at the ground and Force pushed, sending snow flying outwards. Serratus watched carefully for the one that the snow fell against rather than through. He identified Crozeus and leapt into a powerful, Force-enhanced drop kick.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus, with a cruel grin, held out his hands to take the boot. It still slammed into his stomach, knocking him to the floor, but he held on, slipping his hand under the trouser so he touched bare skin - a requirement for the spell he was about to cast - one Serratus would be familiar with. For sometime in the year before, Serratus had come to the Church with a sword and asked for it to be imbued with Dark Magic. Crozeus had performed an ancient spell on it - the spell of Blight, or Aging. Grasping onto his leg, still on the ground, he cast it, and brought Serratus down with him.
The victim of Blight begins to age at a rapid rate, or suffer the same effects - bones become brittle, organs stop working, the skin becomes pallid and thin, and the target becomes slow moving due to effects like arthritis. The one Crozeus cast was light, though Serratus would think it was much worse due to the effects of his next spell.
He used another simple Spell, known as The Dark Voice. This was effectively Force Persuasion - he went into Serratus' mind and told him that he was going to wither and die unless he surrendered. He knew Serratus was a remarkably strong willed individual, and he hoped his Dark Voice would push Serratus over the edge. If he surrendered, Crozeus could easily reverse the Aging which Serratus had already gone - he was aging at about a three and a half months a second at present.
Lord Aequitas
Re: Serratus's Open Challenge
((
High Mage Serratus wrote:
((Where: The abandoned Echo Base on Hoth.
What: Any three melee weapons and Force powers (no Force speed or illusion).
Crozeus, please edit your last post))
High Prophet Crozeus
((My bad. Edited.))
High Mage Serratus
((What difference is changing the name supposed to make? You're still using an illusion-based attack.))
High Prophet Crozeus
((Actually, Hallucination would be more appropriate in this case as it can cover any part of your body, whereas Illusion is entirely vision based. However if you don't want any attacks which involve altering reality (I had forgotten about the no Illusion rule) I will take it out, it's no problem.))
High Mage Serratus
((I'd rather you did, in the future I will be more specific about that.))
High Prophet Crozeus
((No problem.))
High Mage Serratus
((Thanks.))
Serratus was no fool. He was very aware of Crozeus's proficiency with Sith sorcery and dark side magics and had first-hand experience of the Aging Spell now taking root, owning a sword imbued with it. Serratus's will was too strong to be penetrated by the Dark Voice and he kicked Crozeus's hands away before backing up several feet. Serratus knew it would take some time for the Aging Spell to take serious effect, he was only 33 and very fit, the effects of old age ought not to kick in for several more of the accelerated decades.
He grasped hold of the air immediately surrounding Crozeus and pulled it away rapidly. It took an extreme toll on Serratus, who, though highly and uniquely skilled in the manipulation of air, had not yet overcome the art's massive demand for energy. Because of Serratus's ministrations, no other air entered the vacuum he had created. Instead, the gap sucked up sum of the snow surrounding Crozeus. The Prophet was quickly sealed within a capsule of ice, and with no air to breathe.
Serratus was not foolish enough to think that Crozeus would not escape from his trap but he had at least caused Crozeus some discomfort, disorientation and damage. Serratus held his saberstaff in a Makashi stance and waited, ready to pounce.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus raised one eyebrow while encased in the ice. Fortunately he had breathed in just as Serratus withdrew the air. There was a pause as he concentrated, then the ice shattered as bolts of pure Dark Energy - Dark Lightning, also known as Sith lightning, ripped through it. It emanated from all over his body, not really controlled from his fingers as regular lightning would have been. This was intended to keep Serratus at bay while he prepared himself to be attacked. Dark Lightning causes the flesh to blacken and get ripped apart up to the bone. It is often fatal, though the more powerful the target the higher the chances of success.
High Mage Serratus
((I've always used Sith lightning as synonymous with Force lightning personally.))
Serratus had backed up quite a bit when the lightning exploded from Crozeus. This was no ordinary lightning and Serratus was not going too near it.
Though he didn't know it, he was almost thirty-eight now and rapidly approaching forty. Nonetheless, he held his lightsaber in readiness for Crozeus's next move.
High Prophet Crozeus
((As did I until I discovered they were two different things. I'm pretty sure Count Dooku uses regular Lightning in AoTC, and the Emperor uses Sith Lightning in RoTJ.))
Crozeus knew Serratus was undergoing the effects of his Blight spell, and therefore simply had to delay him for as long as he could. He held his blade out in the style of the first Form, and coincidentally the first Form he had learned - Shii Cho. It was almost purely defensive. Then he decided to... call on some help to defend against Serratus.
For some time, Crozeus had been learning about Sith Necromancy. Blight was a spell that would be categorized under Sith Necromancy. However the one he was about to use was far more... Necromancer like. Under the snow, for thousands if not millions of years, many creatures would have roamed around - of course that would have been the surface when they were alive. Using the Force, he animated the bodies of dead creatures directly under them, and they began to rise through the snow. Giant worms, small rodents, Wampas, Tauntauns, all kinds of creatures that dwelled on Hoth now surrounded a human who had lived there. Most stood limp, powered only by the Force that Crozeus poured into them. A Wampa took a swipe at Serratus with a heavy paw.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus was only too familiar with wampas. He parried the blow without the Force and charged forward, lifting the gargantuan beast into the air and dropping it down on to a couple of tauntauns. He blasted the worm with lightning before jumping on to a tauntaun and slicing it to pieces with his lightsaber.
He jumped out of the way as the worm came back and attacked him but Serratus backflipped and landed on the worm's head, plunging his lightsaber into the back of the beast's neck and sliding down its back, slicing it open completely.
He kicked the head off some of the more decomposed tauntauns and stepped on the rodents, squashing them into bloody red oblivion. Greabbing his lightsaber tight, he leapt at Crozeus and landed straight in front of him.
"Minions, Prophet? I would never expected such cowardice of you."
Serratus brough a heavy downwards strike towards Crozeus's head then changed its course at the last second towards his opponent's arm.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus had perfected Shii Cho to the extent that he could parry both his head and his arm, by holding the blade above his head as if it was a traditional quente parry, but angling it down so any attacks simply slid down the blade and harmlessly away. He backed away rapidly, using a Force Push to try and slow down Serratus as much as possible without actually slowing time - which was against the rules of the duel.
"Not cowardice as such, High Mage. Merely tactics."
High Mage Serratus
Serratus smiled.as did his utmost to resist Crozeus's Force pushes while convserving his remaining energy.
"Some might call it that."
Serratus was about fifty but not ready to give up the fight. He raised several lumps of snow and shaped and compressed them into shards of ice which he sent flying towards Crozeus. While shifting to a defensive Soresu stance.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus held out a flat palm, erecting a simple Force Barrier which shattered the ice shards as soon as they hit it. He stayed in his position in Form I, and for a moment the two Sith stood off in different defensive positions, Serratus quietly aging away. It was surprising he hadn't noticed yet.
Crozeus re-used a move he had done earlier, pushing the Force into the ground to topple them both. Ordinarily they would have stumbled, maybe onto one knee, and then recovered quickly. However, Serratus was now nearing sixty, and it could well have a more serious effect on him.
High Mage Serratus
The effects of the Aging Spell were starting to take their toll on Serratus, who had just entered old age. It was only when the Force push actually knocked him away that Serratus realised how little time he had to defeat Crozeus or perish. Holding his lightsaber out in front of him, he dove into the snow, the lightsaber's heat melting him a path, the weight of the snow above him sealing off his escape. He held his breath for as long as he could, burrowing into the dune. When at last he could hold no more breath, he unleashed the most massive Force push he could muster without outright draining his body of all energy. So powerful was the push that he felt himself being launched into the air along with the top of the dune. When he landed on the snow it was on the hard compacted snow of the inner dune, not the outer. Serratus had blown away the outer layer of the dune and many more besides. He had smashed a riba and snow filled his eyes. He was blind, injured and disoriented, had no idea as to the whereabouts nor condition of his opponent and was still aging.
Lord Aequitas
((You seem to be forgetting that in the SW universie, humans could live well past 100 and still be active Jedi))
High Mage Serratus
((He makes a point. Just look at Shadow. He could hand everyone on the site their asses at roughly 90-something.
EDIT: Make that 105 actually.))
High Prophet Crozeus
((I think the effects of rapid aging are more to the point here. As one gets older naturally, one doesn't really notice it, especially with the Force. However, aging thirty years in a few minutes is bound to have repercussions.))
Lord Aequitas
((I for one doubt the ability of someone of your rank to be able to force somebody to age "thirty years in a few minutes", especially when it seems you haven't weakned at all))
High Prophet Crozeus
((The spell I used was really light compared to what most would use. I said it was three and a half months a second, Serratus has been calling what ages he is passing. From what I understand, a Sith Lord could cause one to age at twenty years a second, and it would still only be a moderate spell.
Also, I have weakened. Quite substantially. As I would have detailed in my next post.))
Lord Aequitas
((Hmm...I'll allow it...but I'm keeping an eye on both of you))
High Prophet Crozeus
((That's what a good GM does ))
Crozeus was flung into the air, the shockwave of the explosion ripping the air from his lungs. As he began to fall adrenaline took over and he pushed the Force to the ground with all he could to slow his fall, at least to prevent his death. He spread his arms and legs to maximize the surface area of his impact and braced himself. He had turned his head so fortunately his nose escaped being broken again, but the same could not be said for his right arm, which had hit the snow first, as the wind and made him hit the snow at an angle.
His shoulder was dislocated and his wrist and probably a few fingers broke. A pair of ribs cracked as did his shin, and he dislocated his ankle. He simply lay there, in pain so unbelievable he dared not to move. After gingerly testing his limbs to see what hurt when he tried to move, he summoned as much of the Force he could and tried to numb the pain. Healing with the Force was not a very Sithly thing, but in circumstances like this, it was necessary.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus shook the snow from his eyes and started looking around for Crozeus, both visually and in the Force and quickly located him trying to heal himself. Serratus was about 90 now and still not giving up. He charged at Crozeus, bellowing through the Force, launching Force pushes like bullets before aiming a stab straight at Crozeus's wrist.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus moaned as he gathered the Force in around himself before repulsing it outwards, knocking Serratus back. Still desperately healing himself he clambered painfully to his feet and ignited the one lightsaber he could, the wrist mounted one on his left wrist. He held it loosely in front of him and saw Serratus barely a few feet ahead of him. Crozeus cast one more spell with what energy he could - Drain Life. He was too weak to cast a Death Field at the moment, so Drain Life would have to do. Energy from Serratus was burned out of him and transferred directly to the shattered Prophet, healing his wounds and powering him on while weakening the wrinkled High Mage.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus felt the energy draining from him but was too determined, ignorant or stupid to care. He started lifting snow into the air but this time all the little balls joined together to make one big ball. When the sphere was roughly the size of himself, he tossed it at Crozeus and erected a Force Barrier to block his opponent's Drain Life.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus' Drain Life kept going even though it was no longer reaching it's target. The sheer power of the Force ripped the ball in half, though it kept going and covered Crozeus with snow. The weight of it forced him to his knees. However, he was restored enough now, his broken bones were together but tender. Aside from one thing.
He grasped his right arm with his left and pulled as hard as he could. The pain was agonising yet he kept going, using it to fuel his strength. He pulled until he could move the ball of his arm around his shoulder and into the socket, which it did with a sickening click. Gasping from the pain Crozeus rolled his shoulder around and swung his arm a few times. All he felt now, aside from the pangs of pain, was tired. Very, very tired. He grabbed his main blade and ignited it as well as igniting his wrist blade on his right arm. Only his third weapon, the double saber, was kept in it's holster.
He looked into Serratus' eyes, daring him to attack.
Venedictos Appo
{Confused two threads, my bad.} ~ Venedictos
High Mage Serratus
((It's cool, it was bound to happen eventually with about fifteen glowing green sabers everytime anyone logs on.))
Serratus twirled his saberstaff like a baton, once, twice, three times before charging at Crozeus. He jumped into the air and threw his saberstaff in a wide arc behind Crozeus before switching to a flying kick.
As he neared his opponent, he grabbed hold of Crozeus's sabers and used them to propel himself into his foe's chest just as his saberstaff finished its flight and started making its way back to its master who had just placed Crozeus in the saber's path.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus could feel the staff approaching very rapidly towards his back. He allowed himself to be pushed by Serratus' kick onto the snow, then he raised a single blade. As the staff came round, the shaft of it bashed against his blade, forcing it to pivot and continue forward - the blade heading straight for Serratus' chest. To aid the process, Crozeus added energy of the Force behind it to increase its speed and ergo the difficulty it would be to dodge it.
High Mage Serratus
Rather than dodge it, Serratus batted the saberstaff aside and made no attempt to retrieve it. Instead, he started pummelling Crozeus with Force pushes while his opponent was still on the ground. Serratus was nearing 120 at this stage and old age was taking serious root in his body.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus was being pummeled into the ground by Push after Push. It wasn't particularly painful, but it felt like there was a great weight above him and he couldn't stand up. It was most infuriating, and that fury gave him strength. He quickly put up a Force Shield, which bounced Serratus' Pushes directly into him. Then Crozeus scissor kicked, trying to knock Serratus to the floor while he stood up.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus was suddenly down in the snow and Crozeus was suddenly above him. The High Mage reached out his hand and summoned his saberstaff with the Force and held it readily. He was well into his 130s now and his strength was starting to leave him but he was as stubborn as a mule and not prepared to give up.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus, breathing heavily, decided there would be no point in attacking with his saber as Serratus would easily block it. Therefore, he decided that a punch in the face would be more effective, as it would be far harder to block. With his other hand, Crozeus let loose a barrage of Dark Lightning.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus reacted as quickly as someone his magically-induced age could react and met Crozeus's lightning with lightning of his own. As the two streams connected, Crozeus's fist made contact with Serratus's jaw, drawing blood. Serratus was getting weak. He had expended enough energy in the fight itself without Crozeus's spellwork doubling the load. His foe's lightning was creeping ever closer to his increasingly wrinkly fingers and Serratus was left with no advantage except for underestimation.
Summoning the Force to him once more, he stared Crozeus hard in the eyes and smiled.
Then he throw his saber at Crozeus before rolling to his side and out of the reach of Crozeus's lightning before launching three Force pushes, one at his opponent's feet, one at his head and one at his chest. Serratus scrambled to his feet and prepared himself for a return attack by Crozeus, this time relying on his skill in hand-to-hand combat, aided and abetted by his crushgaunts.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus raised the Lightning casting arm to shock the lightsaber flying at him and send it clattering away. He could not block the Force Pushes and was sent staggering back, fortunately Serratus did not press the attack, instead standing back and waiting to be attacked.
Not wanting to even attempt to engage Serratus with those crushgaunts, even though he was plagued by age, Crozeus stepped back and sighed. He was stiff from fighting off the Force Pushes and he doubted he could fight for much longer. A small Death Field popped up around Crozeus, draining energy from small creatures around him, bugs and the like, to give him a bit more strength. He looked at Serratus, standing there ready for him.
"Look at yourself, High Mage. If you aren't careful the changes are going to become irreversible."
High Mage Serratus
For a moment Serratus said nothing. Then he smiled and lowered his fists.
"You remember, of course, all those years ago, seven years ago, in fact, that, for a time, I was to join the Church, before I was appointed High Mage. You trained me during that time and I don't forget anything I've been trained to do. When I was under your tutelage, I had a vision, I made a prophecy. Since then, I have not made another. Until recently."
Serratus removed his crushgaunts and stowed them away in his cloak and then summoned his saberstaff to his left hand before raising his right.
"The vision was blurry, vague, unclear, hazy. Immediately afterwards, I wrote some words. I don't remember thinking about them, I don't know they're full meaning. The words were thus;
Unification is the path of the Strange One,
But unification may be beyond him,
And if it is not,
Then he will go beyond unification.
A time will come, in the Land of the Dead
When life begets life, death begets death,
Chaos begets chaos and order begets order.
The tentacles of Fate shall reach far and wide,
They shall touch the Strange One,
And he shall be smote upon the breast,
By the one who knows him best,
The Truly Dark One."
Arbiter suddenly flew into Serratus's waiting right hand.
"I'm going to die soon, old friend, but you shall not be the one to do it, I know that much. You are not the Truly Dark One. You are the Soulless One."
The High Mage strapped Arbiter to his back and put his saberstaff in its holster.
"Heal me Crozeus. You have won the duel. Undo your magics before, as you say, they become permanent."
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus nodded. He sheathed his weapons and stood in front of Serratus' withered form, both his hands in front of him, fingers splayed open, almost touching the High Mage's head. Serratus would feel burning, extreme heat as the Dark Side of the Force cocooned itself around Serratus, seeking out his wounds and healing them. Soon, the wrinkles in his skin began to fade and flatten out. The liver spots faded and were covered with hair, fast turning from grey to brown and lengthening into dreadlocks. His hunched posture was up-righted and he was soon standing tall again. Crozeus grasped his hand, feeling it firm and rough, not withered and saggy. He nodded.
"There you are, my friend. A tremendous fight. And an even more interesting vision. Of course, any Sith who venture to the Wayland Temple, like you did, will still experience the Dark Prophet, whether they join the Church or not. We should both meditate on this, and perhaps meet up to discuss our findings."
High Mage Serratus
Serratus returned Crozeus's nod the sighed.
"Now we just have to remember where we parked."
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus wondered up to the top of the snow dune and looked around. The pure white had been mutilated by all sorts of damage, and the hangar in the distance had apparently suffered a major collapse.
"That may take a while."
It was fortunate he had landed away from all the fighting. He checked his GPS scanner and located his ship... about three miles from his current location.
"Until next time, High Mage."
Then he began to run.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus saluted Crozeus as he ran off into the snowdunes before heading back towards Echo Base, where he had left the Space Dragon.
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