Drizzt Do’Urden sat at his campsite on the border of the forest overlooking a valley from the top of a cliff face. He looked out as the sun began to set over the distant mountains and smelled the savory venison cut cooking over his campfire. He reclined against his pack resting against the ground, but listened intently to all the sounds around him. Some one – or some thing – had been following him the last several days as he made his way across the landscape. Earlier he had gotten a glimpse of a robed and hooded figure in the distance before it disappeared into the bush, but he could not tell how large it was, or even what it was for that matter…
Darth Maul pulled his macrobinoculars up to face and looked towards the edge of the forest. From the hilltop where he laid on his stomach, he flipped a switch on his macrobinoculars and they switched to heat vision mode. He saw a bright glow and noticed a somewhat lesser glow right next to it – his prey next to a fire. He stood up and walked back to his speeder bike and hopped on…
Drizzt heard a strange humming sound far off that seemed to grow louder rather quickly. He wondered if it was the creature that was following him. He stood up quickly, walked to the edge of the forest, crouched low and pulled the hood of his green cloak over his head. He watched a trail of dust rising across the scrublands before him, getting closer, fast…
Maul’s speeder crested the last hill and came to the edge of the forest just seconds later. He jumped off, high into the air and twisted once before landing right in the middle of the sparse campsite. He immediately scanned around him, not seeing anyone right away. He closed his eyes and reached out with the Force…
Drizzt watched in amazement as the hooded figure jumped high into the air off the loud and strange looking beast it rode and spun before landing on his feet. The creature looked around but did not see Drizzt crouched in the bushes. The creature pulled back his hood and Drizzt stared in astonishment at the creature. He did not know what it was, but it certainly looked evil. He did not want to judge the nature of the creature too quickly, for he too was feared merely when sighted by most others. He couldn’t be too cautious either – the horns on his head and the red and black markings all over the creature’s face were very sinister looking. He notched an arrow onto his bow, took aim and slowly stood up…
Maul sensed the movement right ahead of him through the Force and opened his eyes. He stood looking as the silhouette of a figure pointing a bow at him slowly rose from the bushes. For a second he contemplated his prey and then raised his arm, pointing it at his target and fired the lanvarok on his forearm, the disc flying away…
Drizzt saw the disc flying at him and tucked and rolled to the side as it flew at him. He recovered to a standing position to see a second disc flying at him, but could tell it was off its mark and he did not need to move to avoid it and simultaneously raised his bow at his opponent. The disc suddenly changed direction and he barely moved his head aside in time. The flying disc scraped along his cheek and sliced his ear nearly in half. He fired his bow; his arrow was true and went straight for his enemy’s heart…
Maul sensed the arrow coming at him and clapped his hands together and caught it just before it would have slammed into his chest. He let the arrow fall to the ground and threw off his cloak; it would only slow him down. He pulled out his lightsaber and sprang at the elf, igniting his weapon in mid-air…
Drizzt threw down his apparently useless bow and drew both of his scimitars as his opponent made an impossibly long jump towards him. He dove out of the bushes and rolled into a crouched position. His enemy landed just feet from him. He quickly surveyed his opponent’s weapon. It seemed like some kind of magical sword where the enchanted and glowing blades sprang out from both sides of the long hilt in the middle. He had never seen anything like it and hoped his own weapons would be strong enough to defend against it…
Maul spun his lightsaber in a whirring motion above his head as he stepped towards his enemy. The energy beam smashed into the dark elf’s scimitar but did not slice it in half as he expected it would. These were no ordinary weapons this warrior carried. The other scimitar came at him blindingly fast and the other beam of his lightsaber barely moved fast enough to deflect it. He stepped back to recover himself, understanding his enemy better and giving him the respect he should have from the beginning. He lunged at his enemy again, this time ready for battle…
Drizzt twirled his swords blindingly fast, weaving them together gracefully for perfect attacks that were blocked and countered every time. The Gods would have stared in wonder at the speed at which the two opponents fought. Both warriors were at the limit of their skills, every attack in their arsenals were used up. Drizzt’s enemy jumped away and Drizzt was grateful for the respite. He used the opportunity to cast both of his spells upon his enemy, simultaneously covering him in harmless purple flames and surrounding him in a sphere of complete darkness. His enemy jumped back in fear, but quickly recovered himself. Drizzt could only see the purple flames surrounding his enemy, not his enemy himself, but watched as his enemy raised an arm in his direction…
Maul reached out with the Force, finding his target and then sent him flying backwards. He slammed into a tree and slid down, dropping both scimitars. Darth Maul charged toward him with only the Force to guide his movements. He sensed the danger and dived sideways as the dagger spun through the air towards him. He had not reacted fast enough and the blade sunk into his flesh just below his collarbone. He tore it out and threw it back at his now standing opponent, who casually flicked his sword and knocked it from the air. Maul growled in anger and raised his arm again, this time unleashing a barrage of Force lightning upon his enemy…
Drizzt had never felt pain like it before. It was as if every inch of his body was being stabbed over and over again. He writhed on the ground in agony, not seeing anything but a blinding blue light. It stopped almost as suddenly as it began and Drizzt opened his eyes to see the purple outline of his enemy flying through the air towards him, red-blades prepared to strike. He felt one of his scimitars lying on the ground next to him and picked it up as he rolled out of the way of his enemy’s blade. He swung his sword at the Sith’s legs, but he jumped over the blade. From the ground Drizzt blocked several attacks and then landed a kick behind his enemy’s knee, knocking him off balance…
He felt his knee give way under him and Maul took several steps forward to stop himself from falling over. He turned around, still unable to see, but sensed the presence of his enemy and swung his lightsaber in time to catch the attack just before it would have struck his neck. He countered and his blade cut into the elf’s leg just above his knee. It was not a deep cut and would not bleed since it had been instantly cauterized, but it would still hurt. The elf stumbled backwards slightly and Maul unleashed another barrage of Force lightning. It hit his enemy square in the chest, sending him flying backwards onto the ground. Maul let the electricity flow from his fingertips for a few more seconds and then stopped. He did not want to kill his enemy this way; he wanted to defeat him in physical combat…
The dark elf rolled over and groaned. He felt drained of energy, but knew he was fighting for his life and quickly stood up, gripping his scimitars. The small cut on his knee was in pain, but he ground his teeth and stood up. To his amazement, his enemy was standing, with a twisted smile on his face, apparently waiting for Drizzt to rise. He took up a fighting stance as his opponent dashed at him. He swung his sword Twinkle in an arc and connected with the incoming blade, then swung Icingdeath towards the torso of the Sith Lord. His blade was parried again and he spun away from his opponent, but quickly lunged back at him, both swords swinging at different parts of his enemy – one at his head, one at his chest. Instead of being blocked by blades he felt himself fly backwards again as his enemy stretched out his hand…
The spells Drizzt had cast wore off and Maul watched as his enemy flew backwards and slammed into the ground, sliding on his back for a few yards before coming to a halt in the dirt. He could feel the anger rise in himself. His opponent was the most skilled swordsman he had ever fought, besides his own Master. He was not able to block the last move his enemy tried, so he sent him flying instead, but he did not like it. He wanted to prove he was the better swordsman and resolved himself to limit his use of the Force in the fight only to when it was necessary. His enemy pulled something from a pouch and whispered something to it. A cloud of swirling black smoke suddenly appeared in front of him, and for a second Maul thought his enemy was using magic to escape. Then from nowhere an enormous black panther appeared and looked sideways at Maul, taking him in. It raised its hackles at him and let out a ferocious snarl, and lowered its body as if preparing for battle…
Drizzt stood up behind Guenhwyvar, and gazed into the eyes of his opponent. He hoped the appearance of the mighty panther might be enough to discourage his opponent from continuing the battle, but he did not really hold out much hope for this possibility. His opponent raised his hand again and Drizzt was afraid he was about to receive another barrage of lightning or a push backwards. He felt the air around him seem to move or sway in some way, but nothing happened. His enemy gave a look of surprise that slowly twisted into a gruesome smile. Then he lunged forward in a high arc and Guenhwyvar jumped to meet him…
Maul flew through the air and watched as the powerful cat jumped at him, maw agape and claws extended. He rotated in mid-air, just over the cat’s head as it tried to swipe at him. His lightsaber blades made contact with the cat’s back as he came around, leaving deep gouges along his flank. Once he landed, his lightsaber blades met the blindingly fast scimitars of Drizzt Do’Urden. The blades twirled and slammed against one another and suddenly Maul felt a blade slice his arm and leave a gash beneath his bicep. It was an odd sensation: the pain from the blade felt like a normal cut at first, but then suddenly felt as if there was ice against the wound. It transformed from a feeling of coolness to one of somebody pressing a chunk of frozen snow very hard against his arm. The great cat was bounding towards him, snarling as it came, and he reached out with the Force as it leaped into the air…
Drizzt again felt the sensation of being flung as if by an invisible hand and then felt a huge mass slam into him. He hit the ground and spots of blackness interrupted his vision and then the weight came down on top of him. He felt the air being pressed from his lungs and felt the pain from the gashes that had been torn into his side. Guenhwyvar quickly rolled off of him and he gasped for air as his vision began to return. The great cat hissed and snarled beside him. He sensed his friend did not want to leave his side until he recovered and he appreciated that…
Drizzt slowly stood up behind the massive black beast and Maul watched with pleasure as his enemy appeared to be struggling to stand. He was glad he had not had that cat just take him down; it looked painful. The dark elf patted the panther on the back and it sprang at Darth Maul again. He waited until the cat was right in front of him and then sidestepped, swinging his lightsaber as he did so. The blade sliced along the side of the cat’s face and neck. The cat stopped just ahead of him and began to turn around. Maul was much smaller and spun quicker, plunging his blade into Guenhwyvar’s stomach. He pulled it out and plunged it in again right next to the first wound. The cat let out a sound that was halfway between a growl and a whimper. It reached out with its giant paw and swung it around, slicing open Maul’s back and sending him flying at the same time…
Drizzt watched in horror as his friend was stabbed twice in the abdomen, swatted away the evil creature that did it and then collapsed onto its side. He rushed forward and knelt beside his friend, stroking his hand along the spine of the great cat. It whimpered and purred at the same time, resting its wounded head on the ground and taking rapid wheezy breaths. Drizzt felt the anger rise up in him. He stood and turned on the spot, drawing his dagger. He sighted his enemy, rising and clutching his back. He threw the dagger through the air and as he turned it sunk into the flesh of his enemy’s pelvis, just where it joins the leg. His enemy grimaced and fell over. Drizzt picked up his swords from where he had laid them on the ground and rushed towards his downed enemy…
Maul pulled the dagger from his pelvis and looked up to see the dark figure of the elf barreling towards him. He raised his arm and let out a barrage of Force lightning, knocking his opponent to the ground. Maul began to rise and saw his opponent running at him again already. He ignited his lightsaber blades, but knew with his new wounds, he could not likely compete with the elf in direct battle. He reached out with the Force and grabbed the elf, swinging his arm over his head in an arc and watched as the elf followed through the air. There was a dull thud when Drizzt slammed into the ground. Maul picked him up again and gripped him in mid air, then focused on the dark elf’s neck, slowly constricting it. He watched as Drizzt squirmed in the air, legs flailing as he clutched his neck, trying futilely to break free of the hold. Maul watched with pleasure as his enemy writhed, gasping for air. Maul wanted to make him struggle a bit, allowing him enough air to breath a little, but he could feel his victim slowly slipping towards unconsciousness. Then he felt a presence behind him and looked back just in time to see the great panther leap at him. He was forced to drop his hold on Drizzt to get out of the way of the incoming panther…
Drizzt fell back to the ground clutching his throat. He was gasping for air, but looked up to see his enemy recovering from his dodge out of the way of the path of Guenhwyvar. The cat was very visibly struggling to stand, but managed another jump at the black and red tattooed creature. Drizzt again watched in horror as his enemy sidestepped the cat’s attack and thrust his blade into the side of the immense panther. Guenhwyvar collapsed as he pulled his blade out of the cat’s chest and disappeared in a cloud of swirling smoke. Anger welled up inside Drizzt Do’Urden past the point of control and he let in the Hunter…
Unexpectedly, Darth Maul was struck by a presence of absolute hatred and anger, something he had only felt once before. He could sense that his foe was suddenly more dangerous than before and knew he needed to end this fight quickly if he was to survive. He raised his arm and released a barrage of Force lightning. It hit Drizzt full on, but to Maul’s amazement the elf kept running at him. When Drizzt reached him, their blades connected and sparks exploded where the blades connected. The hum of the lightsaber and the whir of scimitars was music to the ears of any master swordsman, the two great warriors locked in mortal combat…
Drizzt barely knew what he was doing; the anger in him was so powerful. It was almost as if he were detached from what his body was doing. Twinkle arced down and sliced through the hilt of his enemy’s weapon as his kick hit Maul in the chest. His enemy fell backwards and Drizzt lunged, but was sent backwards in mid air by the invisible hand. He went nearly straight up into the air and then fell back toward the ground. The evil creature was already standing when Drizzt landed back on both feet. Twinkle flew from his hand as the lightsaber struck it. Drizzt swung Icingdeath at his opponent and it was deflected. Both warriors moved with astounding speed and the series of thrusts, parries, slashes and dodges that followed were incredible to behold. Drizzt swung his sword at Maul’s side and underneath the parry Maul used. He doubled back and sliced the hilt of the sword where the blade met it and the glowing red blade disappeared…
Darth Maul jumped backwards in surprise as his enemy completely disarmed him. Maul did not fear his opponent. A Sith does not have fear, he told himself. Drizzt swung the sword and Maul moved with incredible speed as he jumped forward and grabbed his enemy’s sword arm. He twisted, rotating behind Drizzt’s back, manipulating the joint until the elf dropped the sword. Maul twisted again and broke the elbow at the same time he low kicked, taking Drizzt’s feet out from under him. The Drow lay on the ground in front of him, his sword lying on the ground a few feet behind his head. Maul extended his hand towards the sword, using the Force to call it to him…
The reflexes of the Hunter caused Drizzt to reach into the air with his good arm as the sword flew over his head. He caught it and sitting up as he did so, swung and sliced it through both shins of his enemy. As his enemy was falling to the ground, the sword was already twirling around and came down with a thud just after the Sith Lord hit the ground. The horned head rolled twice before resting in the dust…
Drizzt limped back to his campfire, pulled out the figurine from his pouch and inspected it. It did not appear to be damaged and he smiled. He sat down and leaned against his pack. He pulled the venison from the fire and sank his teeth into the juicy and delicious meat, as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
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