Log:Coruscant Fires: Elrych vs Sebek

Elrych vs Sebek

OOC Date: December 15, 2020
Location: Coruscant
Participants: Knights of Ren: Sebek Jedi Order: Elrych Cometburn

[Elrych Cometburn]

See, Elrych Cometburn was cocky and sure as hell like to instigate people. It wasn't a very Jedi thing to do, but he always found it... fun to play with the enemy. A trickster, riding the line, sometimes he crossed it but most times he played on the innocent nice side of the threshold.

Currently our intrepid (anti-) Hero was seated at a table near the burning inferno of the fires. Droid sprayed Anti fire mixtures of foam and water. Civilians had escaped long ago. Elrych was in a chair, at a table. With him was a First Order Officer, dressed in fine black, sipping gingerly on a cup of... tea. This could be discerned because of the tea kettle sitting on the table. There was also a wheel of cheese with a sliver out of it along with some butter, bread, and a bottle of wine untouched. Elrych himself had a foot up, leg resting on the knee of the other. The chair he was in tipped back just a bit onto two legs, and he rocked slightly as he sipped some tea.

What an interesting set up.

[Sebek]

There was a man in Sebek's spot.

The First Order officer, of weak will and weak mind, suddenly found himself lifted out of his chair and covered in the tea he dropped. Then with a shriek he was thrown backwards into a wall, against which he fell unconscious quite rapidly. Standing nearby, having approached with imperious intent, was Sebek of the Desert, Flagbearer of Coret, Conqueror of the Sixteenth Deck, Consumer of Hounds, Wielder of Tei Tenga, He Who Hunts.

"Remove your feet from the table, He Who Brags," instructed his oozing, melodiously accented voice as he righted the chair upon which the First Order officer sat. "It is unseemly." And then he sat, to break bread with his enemy.

[Elrych Cometburn]

Elrych's brows raise in that kind of 'excuse me' look, (You know the Meme). He blinked, half a sip into his tea as the Officer went flying into the wall. "Oh no, Lieutenant Dahn... I'm sorry you had to leave so soon..." He says in that droning, sardonic, sort of way that indicated he was totally nonplussed by the incident. He'd have to check their vitals later. "Ahah, Bone-snapper. That wasn't very nice. Lieutenant Dahn was just telling me about his three children. Now you might have just deprived them of a father, just before Life Day and Winter Fete... that's just not right." He leans over, placing his feet back on the ground. He winces at the crumpled body before looking back to Sebek. "The tea is still fresh... Bread is still hot but if you need it hotter you can just toast it on the fire..." He looks towards the blaze. "About the only thing it's good for."

A couple of people come out of a building, some of those volunteer freedom fighter fire fighters. With them are some injured people who might have been trapped in that building. "Elrych, let-" Pyretta the blond is with them, Elrych sister. She's the one who calls for them... and pauses in surprise at the sight of Sebek. The picture of what exactly Elrych was doing is now clear. Distracting the imperials while the Firefighters did what they could.

"Go ahead Py... he just wants me."

There is a moment of silence before the blond sets her lips sternly, nods, and leads the group away from the two Force Users.

[Sebek]

He Who Brags was not wrong. "What of the Leftenant? He is but a cog in the machine. Irrelevant. His family will mourn, and when his children grow strong, I bid them come for me. Perhaps they will defeat me and claim their vengeance as is told in the Saga of Abhn'ad." This was the part of Sebek that existed outside of the Knights of Ren. The one obsessed with decorum, and properness, and proper culinary etiquette. That smile had the glint of a predator, not the frothing, rampaging monster that did not suffer defeat well.

"But here we sit, above such petty suppositions," the Falleen oozed, skin a deep sea green and hands folded on his lap as he sat. "You and I. Warriors joined through battle. Of two bouts a victor is unclear." There was a brief twitch of the head to one side, and then he started pouring himself some tea. "Naught is more glorious, you see."

[Elrych Cometburn]

"Right, right." Elrych said, putting down his tea cup on a saucer and taking a moment to think about everything the Faleen said. "You might be right. We did just chatter about Philosophy over a dead man like he was some how less than." He glances back towards the body. "At least make sure he gets back to his family. No eating him, please?"

The Jedi sighs, standing then. It's not one of inpatients, annoyance... just likely one of someone who spent a long time in bad situations like this. "We are locked into this vicious cycle, I've come to that conclusion. It seems the only way to stop that is to not participate. Yet... that's not a very good action. Violence seems to be a natural part of life... therefore a part of the force. I suppose it depends on the way in which you initiate that violence and use it." He pulls his lightsaber from his belt, the darkstar and angleshine hilt gleaming just a bit against the bright inferno beside them.

[Sebek]

Sebek's expression brightened. He did not stand, nor did he withdraw his lightsaber nor in fact do anything besides sip the tea that he had so carefully prepared. "Do sit down, He Who Brags. Cease your rudeness," he chastised.

Siiiiiiiiiiip.

"Speak to me of this vicious cycle. It is the least I may offer a man who I would destroy no sooner than a fine stained-transparisteel visage," instructed the Falleen, nodding back towards the chair. "You stand a monument to the Jeedai and a rebellion against their failings. Does this not cause you great pain?"

[Elrych Cometburn]

"You sure?" Elrych asks, shrugging and sitting back down in the chair. He had perhaps figures that the Falleen would want to fight then and there but... perhaps delaying it wasn't such a bad thing.

"I just said... the Cycle of Violence. Between the Light and the Dark. If there is more light in the galaxy, the darkness will rise... and if there's too much darkness then so will the Light. It's balance, is it not? That is how the Force works. Why this back and forth of millennia, how else could it be." There is a shrug. "It doesn't cause me any pain. It gives us a chance to learn for the mistakes of the Order past."

[Sebek]

Sebek's eyes lifted from his tea and he gazed at his opposite number with a narrowed-eyed look of interest. He Who Brags was receiving scrutiny, his claims being weighed and measured. "You subscribe to the idiom of your will not being your own." the Falleen opined, before sipping his tea once more. "Then behold, He Who Brags, your idiom stands true. On Carida all beheld the Jeedai serving as Republic shock troops. Your leader, She Who Inherits, stands not as a guardian of peace but as a conqueror. To break the cycle, one must cease precipitating it."

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip.

Sebek placed the teacup down on the table and placed his hands next to it, to prove that he was, at that moment, honest. "The Jeedai make the mistakes of Orders past, but gaze beyond. For it is not the Jeedai Order they emulate, but the Sith." Shots FIRED. "Are you thus subscribed to this notion, and doomed to the cycle? Or shall you rise above it, breaking free of dogma, taking destiny to the throat, and proclaiming it as for lesser beings."

[Elrych Cometburn]

There is a moment where Elrych smirks just a bit, "No no no. It's not quite like that. We all make our own destiny but sure the Force has a little say. I highly doubt it's controlling me and telling me when I gota take a leak. More like... we're autonomous beings put forth by the Force. What ever roll we choose to play... we do so."

He sits back in the chair, "Things are different. I fight with the republic because I see it as less of an Evil, certainly compared to the first order. While death is a natural part of life, massive scales of genocide all in the name of control and order certainly isn't. It's not perfect, far from it... but the Order doesn't take dictation from the Senate. We were on Carida because we wanted to be, not because the New Republic or Rey told us. We didn't have to go if we didn't want to."

[Sebek]

"You speak in the manner of your traitor cousin, He Who Brags," countered Sebek, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Good and evil remain poorly defined, subjective in the idioms of their wielder. As one who battles and hunts and grows strong, am I not good? But because it is against those under your charge, thus I am evil." There was a pause, as Sebek's hands disconnected to pour more tea. "It is not perceived this way to myself, but it is thus. And thus by the same notion, for opposing me, you are evil. For being a hero aligned with the inheritors of the ways of the Sith, you are also evil."

Sip.

"You speak of understanding the Force and yet you do not understand your place. You are bound to the trappings of an inadequate inheritor, she who inspires the Jeedai into crimes against its nature." The Falleen lifted his hands from the table and laced the fingertips together, planting his elbows in their place. "Greatness lies within you should you reach out and seize it."

[Elrych Cometburn]

"And we're not here for the Republic. We're here because I decided to do something. The Senate couldn't react to this and honestly, if the First Order isn't especially after they caused it... well then that's just plain old stupid." Elrych mentions giving a shrug. "My cousin. I don't have any cousins. You know something I don't?" An odd look to Sebek if not a bit curious. The Falleen spoke oddly, but Elrych did alright trying to understand the Knight. "No, you're evil because you seek it in a selfish manner, Bone-snapper. There's no reason to 'eat' those you defeat. I know Falleen's. They don't need flesh and bone of Sentients for sustenance. There is no need to fling a poor man from his seat simply for having tea."

Elrych motions back towards the Inferno, "How is this greatness. It's not. I'll achieve what I want. I've accomplished things but I don't do them for me. I do them for others. That's the difference. I trust in the Force. And you may be right. I might not know my place in all of it yet. I figure... I'll know when the time comes. I don't bother myself with visions of the future and things of that nature. The only thing that matters is now."

[Sebek]

"I speak of course of He Who Rises, your Kiffar ally who pretended to cast off his trappings to join us. Only after he tasted freedom did he convert to the cause of himself." Was Sebek talking about Syrus? If so, he didn't elaborate, because his face split into a wide, far too wide grin.

"But such talk is impotent. Thus you speak wisdom. Thus I believe a chance is stood in your mind that the Jeedai, who espouse battle and victory and death, are not your friends. They are not your comrades. And even if you will not join us in the way of the self, then you will pursue it of your own accord."

Something changed in the moment. Tension flared, Sebek twitched, and the chair flung backwards as he abruptly shot to his feet. "YES!" he erupted. "This is why you are glorious, COMETBURN!"

whaaaAAAAAT?!

"This is why I will never slay you! Why if our fates are bound to battle until the end of eternity then I welcome it as my oblivion!" There was a horrible snap-hiss noise as the orange of the fire was drowned out by the red of Tei Tenga, humming and hungry and hateful. "Battle me! Bring forth the glory that the Jeedai quash deep inside themselves, and that they seek ever to crush within you!"

[Elrych Cometburn]

Elrych rose quickly, slightly surprised by the outburst. "Whaaa?!" His hands up defensively as the blade of his Lightsaber shot forth its brilliant blue beam. "MY GOONESS, you're bi-polar!" THe Jedi comments. He shrugs off his dark green cloak, letting the wind from the inferno sweep it away and down the streen, probably to be found by someone later on if he were to fall in battle this day. Craning his neck, the Corellian levels a smirk at Sebek. "On the count of three, yeah?" His feet slide into place, the sure stance of Niman forming.

[Sebek] Up and to one side. Elevated and ready to pounce. Such were the hallmarks of Ataru, the only adaptation being the wider grip Sebek held on the hilt of Tei Tenga, itself being the length of a saberstaff. Not the finest tactical design, but it spoke of him as all things did. "Behold the Cometburn! Today we bring forth battle! One! Two...!"

[Elrych Cometburn]

The swell of the wind increases, whether because of the inferno or whether because the two Force Users were gathering that errant energy unto them selves to prepare for battle. What ever it was, it seemed to increase the density of the air as they counted down. "THREE!" Elrych shouted, rocketing forth, sliding across the durocrete and past the table in a full body jab at Sebek. Easily avoided or parried, Yet he spun and swung with a backward sweep of his blade, the weapons VROOOMing gingerly before reverting back to the stillness of a whispering mephite crystal. A moment before the Jedi slashes out once again, crossing from high guard to lower opposite guard, a grand and powerful maneuver.

[Sebek]

"AHAI!" erupted the gleeful Sebek as the battle began! He took one step forward, defying the Ataru predilection for ridiculous acrobatics, and batted the jab aside. A reversed stripe countered his own backward sweep, and before he could land an overhead the high-to-opposite cross sizzled across his robes! Lifting the gently burning fabric, he showed it to Elrych, smiled, and nodded in acknowledgement. "This is what I LIVE for!" he exclaimed, readying the saber to continue!

[Elrych Cometburn]

Elrych gave a smile as Sebek showed him the burnt bit of fabric, turning a bit in his stance, boots scraping the loose bit of durocrete. "It is all you know, Bone-snapper. I would expect nothing less." He offers a nod before striking out again. The lunge was quick this time, less anticipated. Though he follows through with two more dexterous and light swings, more a test of the field than anything and a press despite Niman's lack of any real advantage.

[Sebek]

That first strike from The Cometburn had Sebek stepping backwards, catching it on his blade and locking it to prevent /both/ sabers from going straight through the Falleen. The pressure was on, and Sebek found himself in a pickle. Repelling the probing strikes, Sebek went in with the haymakers. An overhead, and swinging around for one on each side. "Impressive, Cometburn! Best me and prove you have what it takes to take destiny into your own hands!"

[Elrych Cometburn]

Elrych founds the hay makers, much like Ben's graceful woodsmen swings, to be easy to repel. While powerful, and in dire need of respect to the untrained duelist, the Jedi knew that the strength of a lightsaber lay in the finesse in which you welded it. It often was not true for melee weapons. More power, the better, but some... some required grace and poise.

That's not to say Elrych was a dancer... that was more Vhe's thing. There was perhaps a hint that the Knight was holding back, their blades clashing, squealing, sparking, and flashing. "I would not best you to prove anything. I do it because I have to. There is no other reason to do it. The Force brought us here and now here we are." He strikes out again with his blade, another lunge which is put away. yet the finesse comes in as a flick of his wrist causes the blade to slash upwards at the end of the predictable lunge, hard to see and catch. He then spins, twirling the blade about before slicing across mid-guard catching only air.

[Sebek]

The Cometburn was moving like an athlete and the Falleen was trying his hardest not to fall over. This was not his finest hour by any means. His skin flickered, towards yellows and lime-y hues, but his resolve held firm and his technique remained deliberate. Tei Tenga bounced off the blue saber once, before they joined and locked. "I am an enemy and you may lie to me. But I will not permit your lies to yourself!" cautioned the Falleen, before breaking the lock and going back in for another easily repelled overhead.

[Elrych Cometburn]

Elrych pushes the assault once more after deflecting more of the Falleen's own assault. The blade is leveled at mid guard as he backs away, creating a bit of distance between the two Force Sensitive Warriors. "See you're the only one who gets it, Bone-snapper." Starts the Corellian as he strikes forwards, their blades clashing as three maneuvers follow through from the Jedi. "Malik... he doesn't understand me... you do... You get that everything I say is a contradiction. That every word out of my mouth is double speak. You, Bone-snapper... understand the diffusion." There's a smirk then, a wicked ones and she pushes away from their locked blades.

[Sebek] "And that," the breathing room is exactly what Sebek needed. He was starting to tire, but he knew an opportunity when it came. Tei Tenga lashed out in a hard thrust towards where The Cometburn's shoulder was. "...is why you will never be Jeedai!" Finally his stance was correct, and he had advanced. It was possible that the flow of this battle might yet change course. "You stand before me too human!" His next swings were probing at best, to determine where the gaps in The Cometburn's defenses lay. "You can never be their murderer. You are too disobedient."

[Elrych Cometburn]

Elrych was caught off guard for a moment, the red blade slicing through the top part of his tabard, much like his blade had scored the clothing of the Falleen earlier. The other two attacks were repelled, given that he was far more on guard for them. "I'm already a Knight. You can't say I will never be a Jedi." He shakes his head, honesty shining through now, that playful smirk gone for a moment. "Those I trust know me. Hear me. On Corellia you learn to put up walls. To diffuse and control how your enemies perceive you. It's a tactic. Nothing more. It's likely why I'm still alive and the hunters who killed my father never caught up to me." He strikes out again! But Niman is proving far too predictable , the balanced form having its limits.

[Sebek]

Ataru was running out of space to move. Both of their forms had their drawbacks, and Sebek was cursing at the fact that he had not listened to He Who Leads' comments on the matter. Take what worked, discard the rest. After another flurry of missed strikes where he didn't have room to go wide, Sebek's footwork narrowed and his blade came down to a lower guard. Adapt. Improvise. And seize power from the Force. "Jeedai is more than title. It is the ideal. Still you fall short, but less short than your peers! Break away from your trappings! Peacekeeper! Killer! It matters not!"

[Elrych Cometburn]

"The Jedi no longer dabble in the pains of idealism and philosophy, Bone-snapper. That's what lead to their downfall in the first place. We trust in the force, we listen to it. It does not control us but it is out ally... It is your absolutism which narrows your vision of a greater dimension." Elrych says as he lets his blade down into a less defensive lower guard as they two combatants circle each other. The Attacks of the aggressive Ataru form were starting to becomes predictable and he had shown that with the parries against the red blade. Simple movements of the wrist, setting the heavier swings off balance making a follow up harder for the large Falleen.

Niman had it's limits but the fact it combined all the forms was what Elrych likes about it. Yet... there was one form that the Jedi had up his sleeve. Something rare and new, considering it was developed in the latter part of the High republic era. The Knight raises his blade in a high guard, the tip of the blade pointed down ward. The swell of the wind increased, as if the force was gathering even more inside the young Corellian. His eyes, for a moment, flashed blue. Small rocks loosened on the durocrete or from rubble of dilapidated buildings started to float. The immense pressure was palpable.

In a flash, the rocks dropped, the air burst forth in a loud clap, and rocketing towards Sebek was The Cometburn, He Who Brags, Rogue 12, Elrock, Shades... His saber was like a whirlwind of multiple blades, striking this way and that. THe velocities unpredictable, movement loose and fluid yet powerful and direct. It was heavily aggressive, angry almost, yet Elrych's face was set stern and emotionless as he moved like a drunken savant with a light stick.

[Sebek]

There's always talk of tables turning. What no one ever mentions is those occasions when the table is flipped.

The Cometburn hit Sebek of the Desert like a rampaging freight train. Forget counterattacks, this had stopped being a duel of the fates and turned very quickly into a battle for survival the second The Cometburn stopped playing around. If there's one thing that infuriated Sebek, it was knowing just how badly he was outmatched.

Fire and fury were nothing in the face of a lightsaber that was everywhere. Tei Tenga flashed angrily in impotence as it whirled furiously, not even half as fast as its counterpart, fending off one or two blows amidst the waterfall that was Form Seven. The lightsaber pierced the Falleen in one, two, three places, burning and cauterizing, at the same time where it nicked his limbs through only sheer persistence in defense. And then Tei Tenga was flung from Sebek's hands as he was flung into the wall next to the fallen Lieutenant.

The figure that gazed through Sebek's eyes at the man with the blue sword was a beast of pure hatred and anger, so steeped in the darkness that even one who saw good in He Who Leads would write this one off as a totally lost cauze. The beast's skin went from the yellow of frustration to the deep red of furious, unrestrained anger. Eyes glinted with hatred, yellow-in-red amber bursting forth as the darkness fell off in waves, and in sudden realization.

"I am going to hurt you," were the very quiet words from the monster that wore the skin of a Falleen. Tei Tenga snapped into its hands, shut down with a bloodthirsty protest, and in a flurry of darkness Sebek of the Desert, Flagbearer of Coret, Conqueror of the Sixteenth Deck, Consumer of Hounds, Wielder of Tei Tenga, He Who Hunts was gone.

[Elrych Cometburn]

Elrych pressed Sebek to that wall and then he stood at the precipice of the escape route in which Sebek took his defeated self through. Vaapad, known also as Form Seven taught you to relish in the defeat of your enemy and savor victory. To use the violence and anger of combat as a tool and nothing more while being stoic on the outside. Elrych didn't really subscribe to the last part but he knew when to give himself a pat on the back. Shutting down the blade there was a smirk. He placed it back on his belt and started to walk the way the freedom fighters had gone... though the last words Sebek said allowed that smile to falter and that gin to turn into a resolute frown.