Morax ducked down and let out a hiss of frustration as he allowed the Force to withdraw from him, dropping his cover in order to materialize. The mighty roar of the lightsaber swinging over his head reverberated through his ears, affirming the power of the blade and its wielders skill. Surprised by the sudden move from the Rollmaster, the Seer knew he had best not underestimate his foe.
Jumping back, Darkblade was able to clear the pitch black nebula. Past experience had given him enough knowledge to anticipate that the thick darkness was anchored to the user, thus it wouldn’t stretch too far. Darkblade smiled as his hunch proved correct and could see the obscurity had a range of around two meters. This would place Tasha at its center, meaning Morax had a window of opportunity to exploit the momentary blindness the Marauder would have, so long she concentrated on keeping the cloud active. Through the Force he was also able to predict her location well enough to seize the moment and strike first.
Easily suppressing his own presence in the Force, Darkblade would be all but invisible to the naked eye of the Twi’lek until she dropped the veil.
Gathering the Force around him, he forced it through his body, like a rolling wave, ebbing and flowing to gather its power with each flow into his body. The intoxicating effect of power coursing to and from his body only served to fuel his anticipation of defeating his opponent. As the Ragnosian guided the powers to his outstretched left hand, he pointed towards where he sensed Tasha would be. A nagging sensation pulled at the back of his mind, cautioning him not to commit fully to the attack. Darkblade realised he had never reached for his lightsaber, a fatal mistake if the Rollmaster would attack him now.
As Morax reached for his lightsaber with his right hand, Tasha came barreling out of the smog, letting out a blood curdling scream as she focused her rage on the Anzat. Calming himself, Darkblade ignited his lightsaber with his right hand, the hissing sound comforting the Seer as he smoothly pointed his left fingers at the Twi’lek and let loose the harnessed powers he had let into his body.
A cascade of crackling energy leapt from his fingertips, racing towards the Battlemaster as it arched and screeched hungrily towards it's intended target. The unmistakable thunderous rumble created by lightning could be heard from the Massassi arena for miles away. Trees ruffled heavily as hundreds of birds flew into the air, cawing nervously, disturbed from their afternoon slumber.
However, this did not phase the Sith as she lazily whipped her lightsaber up to catch the bolt of energy, dissipating it with a one handed sweep before continuing her running assault on the Anzat.
“You may be able to hide yourself from the Force, but that buildup of energy gave you away,” Tasha said nonchalantly before their sabers made contact.
The colossal forces colliding with each other reverberated out over the arena, stones began to crack and shift beneath them as they deadlocked each other, neither one willing to give ground.
The Force whipped ferociously around them, feeding its energy to the combatants, causing a blood fury to rise from deep within them as energies howled and whistled around two enemies. As they began to sink slowly, inch by inch, into the ground, Darkblade grunted as he pushed as hard as he could, breaking the deadlock and signaling the beginning of their battle in earnest.
Immediately the Anzat noticed their respective forms were evenly matched, both well learned practitioners of their chosen forms. As the Anzat and Twi’lek glided across the arena, Morax’s silver hued lightsaber weaved and danced around him, making near impregnable defensive maneuvers born of skill, agility and years of training. He patiently waited for Tasha to make a mistake, allowing him to strike and end it all in a single blow. Even though Soresu was not an aggressive form by nature, it did have it’s tricks that allowed for a swift dispatch of an uncareful opponent. Morax studied Tasha’s movements, his reflexes taking over and allowing for the small opportunity to assess the situation.
The Seer noticed that Tasha kept her dominant hand high on the hilt of her lightsaber, with her offhand placed on the lower end. This made it easier for the Battlemaster to add additional leverage to her swings mid flight. The onslaught was aggressive, mixed with high and low attacks, jabs and sweeping cuts which kept the Seer on the defensive. There was little time for him to do anything else. Guessing the form was a resemblance of Djem So, Darkblade assumed it would tire her out eventually as long as he could stay one step ahead of her. A single mistake though would cost him his life, as Tasha knew exactly what she was doing. Unfortunately for the Anzat, it seemed that Tasha was nowhere near the point of beginning to feel fatigue of any sort.
Her offensive never wavered, screaming with rage and pushing her body to the max, she had slowly began to gain the upper hand. Realizing she could win, the Rollmaster called upon the Force, allowing it to aid her as it coursed through her arms, infusing her muscles and giving her unparalleled strength with each new swing.
Morax began to feel the power of each blow, penetrating his defenses slowly but surely. The sudden shift in the power between the two caught him unaware, not knowing how to react or what to do. He never realized Tasha had such raw strength in her.
