Runtil vs Darth Nexus

Though soft sand muffled the sound of his movement, the force notified Rutil of the approaching dark presence. As it came closer the air grew cooler- a normally unnatural phenomena, made that much more perverse when held in contrast to Tattooine's heat. The cold was a twisted one- one that slipped past cloth as though it was never there.

Then Rutil saw him; a tall figure that stepped out past a wall of rusting debris. This man was not one that was familiar to the jedi's eyes, nor the eyes of most of the galaxy, though his name was a familiar one. He wore no shirt, which revealed a well toned upper body, lined with tattoos; a body which was pale even after exposure to the intense twin suns of Tattooine. The man wore a pair of black slacks, strange black metal gauntlets and matching boots which held a malicious glow, hinting that they were more than simple durasteel armor pieces. The majority of his face was hidden by a pale mempo, which covered from his chin to the bridge of his nose, leaving only his eyes and hair as defining features. Carved from bone, the mempo did not bare any decorative marks, save for the occasional contours; it hid the expression of the dark lord. Rutil could, however, note the man's striking, ice blue eyes, and crow black hair which stretched below his shoulders without bounds, this was the face of a handsome man, yet the eyes were those of a predator. The man in front of Rutil was none other than the Dark Lord known as Nexus, however in the holos Nexus was a brute of a man, with the striking features of an Arkanian hybrid, where as here he was lean and resembled an average human male, save for the eyes, which still carried the fierce nature of the beast which wore this man's skin.

The man walked towards Rutil, close enough for the jedi to note his weapons- two saber hilts at his side, both longer than normal, though one was long enough to suggest that it was a double-bladed weapon. Along with these hilts, Rutil could now see the hilt of an ornate weapon on his back, if the man knew of Nexus, then he would recognize the weapon; Reaver, the ancient, massive sith sword that belonged to the brute.

When he was ten meters from Rutil, the man came to a halt, watching the jedi in silence, before reaching over his shoulder, unsheathing the titanic weapon that stretched down his back. The blade was as wide as a man's hand, and as tall as a short man- a claymore of considerable size. Rather than holding the weapon in an attacking stance, Nexus stabbed it into the sand, planting it in the ground, deep, at his side. Then, continuing with one fluid motion, he reached for the longest hilt that hung on his right hip. Clasping it, he pulled it off with his armored left hand; he did not ignite the weapon, but instead looked at the jedi then spoke out- voice unhindered by the mask that covered his mouth. His voice was deep and smooth, failing to match the man who spoke with it. It was the voice of the dark lord.

"Jedi...I believe you and I both know how this encounter will end."

And with those words, the Dark Lord fell silent, allowing the ambient sounds of Tattooine dominate the setting, though his thumb slid towards the pressure panel on his lightsaber.

The voices in the Dark Lord's mind cheered and roared, filled with blood lust, as the jedi came to his knees. "Kill him", they said; "Crush him", they said; "Destroy him", they said. "Wait", said one voice, that beckoned the other voices into silence- the voice of a master of lightsaber combat, Darth Sanctus, speaking in his element with the authority that could silence the maelstrom of other voices and entities. "Never rush in", the voice said, "Never do what they expect- deceive them and attack them where they least expect it".

The jedi got up, but did not approach, instead choosing to hold his ground- it was no surprise to Nexus; they tended to act as defensive fighters, rather than offensive combatants. He could detect Rutil's harnessing of the force- a warning sign that most, if not all ranged attacks would probably be futile. Even so he could taste his enemy's pain and frustration; it was sweet on the tongue of a practitioner of the dark side.

It was time to attack once more, but Nexus decided against charging his opponent- while he could seize the moment, his opponent would be far from surprised by that course of action. Instead he heeded the words of Darth Sanctus. He flourished his saber in a quick spin, before holding it in a Makashi-like stance.

Turning side-face once more, Nexus' left shoulder was aimed towards Rutil, with his lightsaber held at waist level, angled towards the sand. While the stance matched that of a form II user, Nexus did not intend to attack with the saber form; it was a form of trickery, using the stance to misguide Rutil into a sense of specific expectations.

Taking steady steps, Nexus approached the jedi, bracing himself for an attack with the force or the saber. Closer and closer he stepped, walking straight to Rutil, believing the jedi would not budge, though he was not so ignorant as to be unprepared for unorthodoxy. Three meters, two meters, one meter and a half, all the while his blade poised and ready to ward off an enemy attack. As he came nearer he placed both hands on the elongated hilt of his weapon. Then he was within striking range of the jedi. Unless the jedi had made the first move, Nexus would have.

(If met without resistance) Once Nexus was within striking range, he would move with fluid grace. Rather than going for a typical arcing swipe or stab, as was commonly associated with Makashi, Nexus abandoned the stance and drew back his right arm, bringing his blade from his waist angled downwards, to his right shoulder, angled straight and outward, poised to strike. This switch changed potential targets for Nexus' strike, a switch that required compensation in the opponent's defense.

Ferocity filled the dark lord, as he suddenly thrust the blade outward and slightly to the his left (Rutil's right)in a feinting stab aiming for Rutil's right shoulder. The blade moved no more than three inches before Nexus suddenly altered its trajectory, bringing it to Rutil's left side in short arc which would bring the blade from Rutil's right shoulder, over his head, and down onto his left shoulder in a violent diagonal cleave. The weapon moved in a red blur, striking with well practiced speed. If the blade met it's target it had the potential to rend Rutil in half, cleaving from his left shoulder to right hip.

The jedi surged forward. The jedi attacked?! Yes, that was so- the Iridonian made at Nexus like a pissed off Reek with wings. It caught him off guard slightly. He expected a counter attack, but not one of such an aggressive nature. It would have been the downfall for most enemies, yet Nexus was not most enemies, which made it a gambit of sorts.

While he was not most enemies, he was not perfect. The Dark Lord was fast, and he was agile, yet even so, he had little to no time to react. All it took was a simple side step, and yet in the current situation all Nexus managed to do was a sloppy, lucky evasion. 

As the iridonian lunged, Nexus shifted his right foot. Sliding it backwards and to the side, he attempted to pivot on his heel. He was too slow, however, and instead of making the graceful pivot he had intended, he began to stumble backwards; fortunately luck was on his side.

By an act of chance and over compensation the Dark Lord was pulling his saber upwards in an attempt to strike his enemy from behind if his pivot was successful (which it wasn't), this action, while not serving it's intended purpose, did save Nexus' life. He had pulled up his left arm, with saber in hand, just in time to grant him some protection from his enemy's attack. The red blade slid past the blue blade, though they never kissed. Instead, Rutil's blade met the dark lord's bracer and brushed across it, leaving a light scorch mark in the metal. Had it been any other metal, his arm would have been gone, yet the bracers were wrought of phrik, which saved the Dark Lord his arm, while also granting him some outside momentum to push him further away from the jedi's flight path, while his blade passed over the Iridonian's head harmlessly.

Nexus was falling as Rutil blasted past him- his pivot had been far from graceful and he lost his balance. The ground never rushed up to meet him, however,- instead it rose up in a slow crawl as time appeared slowed down around the Dark Lord. Nexus was no stranger to combat, and his years had given him a killer's instict- he was able to act and react without so much as a second thought. While now things seemed to move slowly, after wards it would have felt like no more than a fraction of a second.

As he fell, Nexus twisted his left shoulder, leveling his torso out so that he would land flat on his back. This re-positioning was not for a safe fall, however, but instead for an attack. As he reached the end of his failed pivot, he was facing Rutil's back (or would be, had he not been following) As momentum brought Nexus to the ground the Dark Lord allowed the force to flow through him and act for him. Instinct.

Instinct beckoned him to loosen his grip on the hilt of his lightsaber- he obeyed, and the weapons shot out from his hand, propelled by an invisible force. The weapon, still ignited, moved as an arrow flying straight and fast, targeting Rutil's lower back as he was descending from his lunge. The saber had ill intent, seeking to cripple, if not kill Rutil. It was out of Nexus' hands, both literally and metaphorically.

Nexus turned his attention to his trajectory with the ground. He shifted as he fell, pushing his weight towards his shoulders, allowing him to roll back onto his feet to face his opponent (back, corpse or face, depending on how fortunate this jedi really was). Nexus didn't mind his lack of grace as he reached for the second hilt on his belt- some times grace had to be sacrificed for survival. He ignited the crimson blade of his second lightsaber, prepared to fight if Rutil had managed to evade his attack.

Disclaimer to Judges/Whills: I made Rutil aware that my gauntlets were Phrik, as I did not explicitly say so here, though I did hint at it. Just so you fellas know.