Blade locked eyes with the Grand Master, grinning on the outside while on the inside a voice screamed and a wave of doubt and fear started to churn in her gut.

Get away now, while you can. Run. Hide. Leave.

Perhaps it was the adrenaline of battle still coursing warm through her veins, but Blade pushed the wave of dread that her base survival instincts were giving off and exhaled slowly. She started to walk towards the long set of stairs that lead to the Grand Master’s box, but stopped when a medical team came running onto the field from one of the entry tunnels.

A trio of Field Medics carrying a stretcher moved smoothly to Aul Celsus’ body. They loaded him onto it, but were surprised to see that his body had already started to mend, closing the scrapes and cuts he’d earned from the fight. With some bacta and rest, he would walk away from the experience with no more than a few scars, both mental and physical. The Arcanist would deal with them in time, and he would get his chance, one day, to get back at the Zeltronian who had bested him.

As he was carted off the field, he lifted a hand towards the audience that contained the gathered collective of Clan Naga Sadow. He balled his fist but left his thumb up as a signal to his supporters, who let out cheers and started a round of applause.

Blade turned her attention back to the Grand Master’s dais. To her surprise, Darth Pravus was no longer there. A moment of panic flashed across her mind as she assumed the worst, but a different man wearing simple robes held up a hand and flashed an easy smile.

Telaris Taldrya Cantor, Deputy Grand Master of the Brotherhood, signaled for silence. Tall and handsome, he ran a hand through his dusky crop of hair, dark eyes alert and calculative.

“The Grand Master has left to handle a situation that has arisen for the fleet,” the Dark Prophet explained. “So, it is with great honor that on behalf of the Iron Legion and Dark Jedi Brotherhood, I declare Blade Ta’var as the Champion of this Tourney!”

Cheers erupted and chants broke out. A lone figure emerged from one of the tunnels, his long strides carrying him effortlessly towards the tattered Zeltron.

Alaris Jinn carried a glass case in his arms. Stepping in front of Blade, he opened the panel, revealing a golden badge bearing the Combat Center’s emblem and the words “Champion” etched in aurebesh. A string of sturdy rope was tied to the top, allowing for flexibility with varying outfit styles. The badge was a symbol, a way of showing the Brotherhood what she had accomplished this day.

“On behalf of the Combat Center, congratulations,” the Twi’lek said with a knowing grin.

Blade returned the smile and lifted the golden plated badge high into the air, turning in a half-circle to display it to the entire arena.

The day belong to Blade, but something in the back of her mind reminded her that she had made a dangerous enemy. The Grand Master was not one to forget and certainly not one to forgive.

But that was a battle for another day.

---

Final Combat - Victor

The Journeyman Tourney (2016) has reached it’s conclusion. In the beginning, 16 Journeyman volunteered to fight for their honor, pride, families, and Clans. In the end, two finalists gave everything they had, and we were treated to quite the show. Both Alaris and I were both taken aback, and I can truly say it was both an honor and privilege to read and then grade this match.

Both writers gave it their all. But in the end, there can be only one.

Congratulations to Blade Ta’var on her victory, and her new designation as the Champion of the Journeyman ACC Tourney!

Aul Celus put up an amazing fight. Make sure you pat him on the back when you see him, as he is the Gladius of the Journeyman ACC Tourney for coming in second place in the Final match.

Aiden Lee Deshra took third place and was one match away from making a play for the championship, but I have no doubt we will see him again in the next major ACC competition tearing up the competition!

(Click here to see the Journeyman Tourney hall, where you can read some stellar matches from our upcoming members.)

Awards

To the spoils go the victors. Wait that’s not right...

To the victor goes the spoils! (Nailed it)

Blade, as Champion, has been awarded the “Champion Badge” Accessory. Aul, as Gladius, has been awarded with “Gladius Badge” Accessory. Both items can be seen on their respective dossieres below, and should stand as symbols of pride that speaks to their accomplishments in this tournament.

Champion

Gladius

A Thank You

I’m going to give the floor to Alaris Jinn now, as this entire tournament was his idea. I want to thank him for coming up with the idea for this Tourney, and for all the work he put into the planning, execution, and grading of the entire event.

Thank you Alaris. We appreciate it.

You Had A Warrior’s Heart, Even Then

Before going into this, I want to explain why the Journeyman Tournament was such an important thing for me. When I was but a Journeyman myself, 9 years ago, I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a club I wanted to be in. I was having a little difficulty trying to find my stride. I was participating as much as I could, but as in everything in my life, if I couldn’t be part of the creation, I would feel a little bit on the outside looking in. An old timer by the name of Braecen (y’all may know him) saw something and took me under his wing.

One of the things he introduced me to, and subsequently taught me the ways of, was the Antei Combat Centre, and it became a mainstay of my participation. I became a regular. But nothing about the ACC was nearly as awesome for me as when my name was called to be a part of building the future of the ACC, through helping create both the new Character Sheet system and being a judge in the new ACC.

One of the things I found as a Journeyman in the ACC was the strength of the other combatants seemed to be a deterrent for most other Journeymen. Eager, young Alaris threw himself into the competition during GJWs and RoSs and often fell on his face, pretty hard. I remember a particularly gruesome match where I made no mistakes and still Halcyon wiped the floor with me. I would have liked a Journeyman competition, myself.

So, six months ago I approached Wally with the prospect of putting together a Journeyman Tournament. “Draw me up a proposal I can take to Pravus and Mav,” he said. Here we are, six months later and I’m happy to announce it was a huge success. We had 75% completion rate, which is outstanding for Journeyman competition, in fact, Fading Light had a completion rate of 67%. So, there are HUGE props to go out to these fresh faces.

But the completion rate isn’t even the most remarkable part of the last two months. The most remarkable part was the fact that these posts were written with the skill that would take taken these Journeymen deep into a field full of seasoned veterans. They had foreshadowing, imagery equalling that which you’d find in posts from Aidan Kincaid or Atty, a firm understanding of how to keep a reader engaged, and most importantly they displayed an incredible knack for telling an interesting, compelling story.

To consider all of this, you can now understand just how impressed I was with our two finalists. The fact that in a field as deep as this ended up being, they came out on top and wrote a phenomenal story to cap this whole thing off. Blade blew me away by defying Pravus to the last, sparing the life of her opponent.

In the end, I want to thank and congratulate every participant (especially Des Crimination, and the other invisible DBers). You made me, your Clans, and the entire Brotherhood extremely proud.

And one more huge congratulations to our Champion, Blade Ta’var!

You can find an archive of my previous Combat Master reports HERE. These reports contain a lot of helpful information, so if you’re a new or returning member, I’d suggest leafing through them.

ACC Links

• Species Wiki
• Disciplines Wiki
• Aspects Wiki
• Skills Wiki
• Force Powers Wiki
• Feats Database -- CDawg

ACC Exams

• ACC Combat Studies
• ACC Qualification Exam
• Lightsaber Combat
• Martial Arts: Form Studies

Thank you kindly. Oh and one more thing:

Congrats again to Blade for earning a promotion to Equite 1 on the same day as her victory. The rank of "Warrior" has never been more fitting ;).

That's all for now.