Eclipse of Evil – Ryla Relvinian

[imported_Callista]

Callista Ming inhaled deeply letting her eyes close as she did so. It wasn’t the cool crisp air, the smell of rain clouds rolling in, or the sweet aroma of the wispy vegetation that got to her…it was the Jedi. She could pick up on the foul stench a kilometer in advance and all of her senses instantaneously went rampant. She hadn’t encountered a Jedi in years and had never engaged with one before, but she knew that this day would be different. For the Sith Empire she would seek out the spawn of light and overpower it. That would truly please her Master Shadowtide…and bring Callista closer to her dark destiny.

Her eyes snapped open as she pinpointed the exact location of the Jedi. Icy gray eyes scanned the flat meadow that stretched for kilometers in front of her. They came to rest on the speck of buildings that lay just at the edge of the horizon. There. She would find the Jedi there. It was quite a gait from where she stood and it would no doubt be drizzling when she reached her destination, but that did not matter. Callista was bent on establishing a connection with the Jedi and nothing would stand in her way…

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It was a good hour and a half before Callista halted on the outskirts of town. The clouds had indeed coasted in and seemed to station themselves just above the community before letting loose a monsoon of cool rain. The ebony cloak draped about her shoulders hardly provided shelter and she soon found herself thoroughly drenched.

Most of the inhabitants had scurried inside of their homes in order to escape the shower and it left the streets completely bare of life. Even so, Callista strolled through the roadways until she came upon the opened area that the Jedi had once stood. She made a full circle, looking at the buildings around her, wondering which one the Jedi took cover in.

Would you care to come out and play, Jedi? she condescendingly sent out via the Force.

[Ryla Relvinian]

The rain had long since changed from a sweet mist to a steady shower. I shrugged my cloak a bit higher, droplets falling down my back and onto my neck. I had abandoned my usual training garb for the full Jedi outfit, and now, as the chill blew in from the west, bringing more rain with it, was thankful for the many layers of tunics that warded off the cold. There would be a storm coming soon.

I felt her presence a moment before she sent out her taunt to my mind. I smiled silently in my meditation, legs folded under me, face relaxed but muscles taut, eyes closed but seeing her approach my position behind a lone tree. My back was to her, but my senses were alert. I said nothing, thought nothing in response to her childish call, but simply unfolded my long legs and walked around to the other side of the tree to wait for her approach.

[imported_Callista]

As soon as she had called to the Jedi she felt a ripple in the Force. The Jedi had not gone running into a building after all. Callista idly twisted her upper torso around to catch a glimpse out of the corner of her eye. A devilish grin tugged at the curve of her lips as she watched the woman round the tree, stepping into better view. Turning her booted heel, she faced the Jedi.

Her icy gray eyes stared at the blue figure yards in front of her. The Jedi was a most exquisite color. Callista had seen species upon species throughout her smuggling days, but none with quite the same baby blue pigment. Drawing her attention back to the task at hand, her fingertips deliberately moved to her hip, brushing the cold cylindrical object that graced her belt…

[Ryla Relvinian]

I could see her sizing me up, and I could not help but reciprocate. It wasn't often that I fought, but this one had called me out... I had not heard of her, but by the way she held herself, head high with assumed confidence, she appeared to be either fearless or stupid. I may not be the most well known warrior Jedi, but I was confident with the lightsaber.

I did nothing as she sized me up, but instead leaned against the tree, it's sturdy roughness grounding mr to the earth. I watched her reach for her saber on her belt, and did not let my face show the delight at my new revelation. She is hasty, this one... I thought to myself, mental sheilds as tight as iron, A bit too eager to fight today. Leaning against the tree, I waited for her to make her move.

[imported_Callista]

“Arm yourself, Jedi. ‘Though I do wish to slice you down where you stand, I’d rather work a little bit in doing so.” Callista slowly unclasped the saber at her belt. A bright violet blade protruded from the opening as she thumbed it to life with a snap-hiss. She stood motionless, not attacking quite yet, instead waiting for the light-goer to arm herself.

[Ryla Relvinian]

It wasn't the first time I had fought against a sith, and as I watched her activate her blade I finally let a small smirk show on my face. I made a small mock bow, then reached for my lightsaber. I activated the orange blade and simply stood in a casual defensive stance, waiting for her to make her move.

[imported_Callista]

Callista bit down on the insides of her cheeks, holding them between the top and bottom row of teeth. Her lips pursed as she crossed one leg over the other, slowly taking a step to the right in a half circle around the Jedi. She swung her saber around in an arc, the violet blade crackling through the air. As the Jedi’s eyes trained on Callista, the Sith tried to keep her attention by continually moving, the lighted blade still tauntingly making rings between the two. She kept a level eye with the Jedi.

If memory served her, there had been several small rocks just to the side of the tree. Her mind wandered, searching. To the left, four, small, round rocks sat piled up. As she moved around again, this time opposite direction in her circle, she nudged the rocks from their position, bringing them up to hover just above the ground.

The saber still tantalizingly whipped back and forth through the air and just as she sent the rocks hurdling at the backside of the Jedi, Callista lunged. The rocks proved as a distraction in the end, giving the Sith Warrior just enough time to move in and slash mercilessly across her opponent’s chest.

[Ryla Relvinian]

The rocks were, thankfully, small and fairly smooth. Using the force I quickly formed a small barier behind me, causing the rocks to bounce off of it instead of me. Just as I felt the last rock hit my force barier, I saw her lunge at my chest, and brought my saber up in front of me, striking her blade away and causing her to lose control for just a second. The second was all I needed to to a quick sidestep to the left, where I brought my saber down onto her right upper thigh.