Reltud Silversun vs. Master Windos

Elevated over a ravine, the Massassi Arena has withstood the tests of time. It is arranged in a circular formation and made by a slab of stone that connects the opposite slopes of the ravine. On its eastern side, the floating arena leads to a staircase and into a near-vertical cliff face. Because of its nearly unsupported vantage that overlooks a several hundred-meter fall, even the smallest creatures can feel the occasional motion the platform makes as the breeze brushes across its cold surface.

Adding to the adrenaline rush of standing within the slab’s concentric patterns carved into the rock, barriers and obstacles echo the Massassi’s commitment to taking every advantage over their opponents. Pillars ring the outer edge without guardrails linking them, some remaining intact and others having toppled into the arena or over the perilous heights to the ground far below. Weeds and other flora cover each surface as nature seeks to reclaim the ravine and eventually send the arena itself to the depths.

A creaky rope-bridge leads away towards another ancient suspended platform with the same weathered, upturned stones. Mossy footing, and uneven ground make each of these platforms unique in small subtle ways. While there is no seating for formal spectators, the ancient stones of the Massassi Arena hold an omniscient, aged wisdom that speak to the things they have seen and the battles fought through history.

A third rope-bridge leads to yet another platform, completing the triad of battlegrounds that make up the Massassi Arena.

The sun sat high above, noon or thereabouts, as Reltud arrived at the Massassi Arena, having issued the open challenge and, to his surprise, having immediately been matched with someone. Reltud's robes clung to his form, his nautolan tentacles feeling sticky and agitated from the heat and humidity. As Reltud approached the rope-bridge, he looked back at SE-2.

"You just... stay there. I don't need to replace my droid in addition to most likely getting my butt kicked."

SE-2's optics blinked once, slow, an acknowledgement. "Of course master," it said, the sarcasm dripping from its voice. "I would hate to be a burden upon you. I'll just stay here. With the beasts, and humidity, and... charming stonework."

Reltud sighed, approaching the rope-bridge, and gingerly testing it with his foot, noting the almost immediate creak of old rope as his weight pressed upon it. "I mean... it's probably not too late to back out, right?" he muttered. As he started to walk across it, he stumbled, nearly falling off, and decided to crawl across, no matter how undignified it might look.

"Please don't let anyone see. Please don't let anyone see. Please don't let anyone see," he muttered. As he finally made it to the platform, he stood on unsteady legs, swaying. "It's just like being on a ship. Just move with it. You can do this. You can... probably do this."

He looked around for his opponent. "I swear to Force, if I die during this, I'm coming back to haunt whoever I'm fighting," he muttered, clearly nervous.

"I saw that," Windos called out. His voice carried easily over the low whistle of the wind cutting through the ravine.

He stepped out from behind one of the massive, crumbling pillars on the central platform. He had arrived well before the Nautolan. The extra time let him acclimate to the midday humidity and the subtle sway of the suspended stone slab. Now, he watched his clan mate haul himself up onto unsteady legs.

"And for the record," Windos added, casually kicking a loose chunk of dried moss from a raised paving stone, "if you fall off this rock, haunting me won't do much good. I have enough ghosts."

Windos stepped fully into the harsh sunlight. His boots found confident purchase on the uneven floor. He could feel the younger Force user's anxiety radiating in waves. The Massassi builders designed this arena to unnerve challengers. There were no guardrails and a sheer drop to the valley floor waited at the edge. Combat required absolute focus. Windos intended to find out if the Nautolan possessed any.

"The rope bridge is behind you, Reltud. The ravine is below you. I am right in front of you," Windos said. His tone dropped the conversational edge, becoming a sharp command. "Worry about the threat that is actually trying to hit you."

With a sudden snap-hiss, the black blade of Windos’ lightsaber flared to life. The blade cast a harsh white glare against the ancient stonework. His light shield erupted to life on his other arm.

He did not give the Reltud time to find his balance. Windos surged forward. He closed the distance between them with a sudden burst of speed. He moved carefully over the treacherous footing to avoid the slick patches of weeds and used the momentum of his short sprint to launch a heavy overhead strike.

He aimed squarely at Reltud's left shoulder. As the blade came crashing down, the Nautolan shifted his weight and rolled out from under the slash.

Windos wasn't here for blood, given who his opponent was. He waited several heart beats longer than he would have given a Sith as Reltud found his feet again and ignited his own saber.

The Miraluka smirked and resumed his offensive.

Reltud's entire demeanor changed as the battle began, no longer making quips or sarcastic remarks. In its place fell a predatory quiet. The kind that comes when a beast realizes it's outmatched, but decides to do as much damage as it can going down. He raised his training saber, blocking the older man's strikes. Barely. His feet scrambled as he was pushed back, further, further, further.

As Reltud was pushed to the edge of the arena, he unleashed as much power as he could behind a force push, a wave that would send a lesser man flying. In this instance, it served only to pause the assault, just long enough for Reltud to scramble past Windos, away from the edge of the platform. "Outmatched. Need to think. Need to think. Need to think," he muttered.

Reltud raised his saber, and began his own assault against Windos, though his attacks were far from elegant. Proficient, yes. But not a skilled fighter, by any means. A wide sweeping strike at the leg. A jab to his torso, and so forth. As he fought, it became more and more apparent he wasn't going to win this way.

Reltud slowly worked his way back, until he was standing just before the rope bridge leading out of the arena. "SE-2, begin plan NS-05," he called over his shoulder.

"Master?" SE-2 called, with none of his usual sarcasm, almost a hint of concern in his voice.

"Just do it!" Reltud snarled.

"Yes, Master," SE-2 said, quietly, resigned. In the background, SE-2 started moving around the platform, cutting the ropes that held it up.

Reltud stayed where he was at, determined to hold the bridge leading out of the arena. If he couldn't win, he could at least try to make sure Windos didn't either.

The sharp snap of a severed rope echoed over the wind. The massive stone slab beneath them groaned and shifted, tilting a fraction of a degree toward the canyon floor.

Windos reached out through the Force. He didn't need physical eyes to see the frayed fibers of the ancient support ropes unraveling under the droid's cutting torch. The Nautolan was actually trying to drop the entire platform into the ravine.

It was a desperate, suicidal tactic. It might have worked against an opponent who panicked or hesitated. Windos did neither. He simply let out a slow breath.

Reltud held his ground in front of the bridge that was beginning to strain as the forces applied to it shifted with the stone platform. He was, evidently, willing to risk a mutual loss.

Windos deactivated his light shield. A second later, he killed his lightsaber. The sudden disappearance of the black plasma caught the Arcanist completely off guard. Reltud hesitated, his training saber freezing in mid-swing.

That single moment of confusion was all the Master needed. He closed the gap in a blur of motion. He ducked under Reltud's delayed, clumsy thrust, grabbed the younger man's wrist, and twisted sharply. The training saber clattered to the stone. Windos seized a tight fistful of Reltud's tunic.

Another support rope gave way with a loud crack. The bridge violently collapsed under the strain of the jolting platform. Centuries-old stone blocks and other debris sliding toward the abyss. The training saber followed.

Windos gathered the Force into his legs and pulled Reltud close. He launched them both just as the platform's final supports gave way without the aid of the droid cutting away at them. They sailed over the expanding gap, leaving the falling platform behind, and slammed into the solid, mossy stones of an adjacent platform.

Windos rolled to absorb the impact and hauled the Nautolan away from the end. With a familiar snap-hiss, his lightsaber flared to life again. The black blade hovered a single inch from Reltud's chest.

SE-2 rushed towards its master, stopping short by a few paces away. Its cutting torch was still smoking.

Windos offered a small smirk. "I think I owe you a new saber." He deactivated his saber and offered his clan mate a hand up.