icekatze wrote:
hi hi
However, whether dual wielding or not you only really need one solid blow to end the fight. When off-hand weapons are used for an offensive move the main hand weapon is generally being a distraction or defensive. One hit from either weapon is enough to be lethal, so its not like you're gaining twice the lethality from having two weapons, rather you're increasing your chances to score a blow (if one is experienced enough to use two weapons at once) Unlike emergent role-playing game mechanics involving hitpoints.
That's actually too simplistic a view and we are not discussing role-playing here. For example, there are many Sai techniques where you need both weapons to disable or kill an opponent and the coup de grace is not delivered by either individual weapon, rather by the two used in conjunction (ie one weapon being used as a fulcrum for the other).
But then, Sai are not blugeoning weapons (not heavy enough) nor are they sharp weapons. They are my favorite because they give the wielder many non-lethal options. Unlike a sword, they are not automatically lethal.
icekatze wrote:
Perhaps Sarine is trying to force Sara to make a choice, preferably to leave. If Sarine can prove that she's Sara's better in combat then it would force Sara to abandon any thoughts of finishing her mission, as defeating the two would seem impossible.
No, the choice has already been presented. That's how we got here. What you are seeing here is Sara's forced status change from prisoner to member.
Why is this possible? Because the Ensigerum has already betrayed her on a few levels by trying to make her kill her brother. That's why Sara's been sulking. She's been working that through. Jon's right, she could have gotten out of those manacles at any time. She didn't because she is still meditating on being betrayed by the Ensigerum. By now, she's figured out that it was indeed a betrayal. Such
Loyalty Tests are all about remaining loyal even if betrayed by the organization.
Their demand that she kill Jon or be killed herself is a fundamental betrayal of her feelings for her family. The implied threat against her life, by her own organization if she fails to execute Jon, is also a betrayal. Like I said, many levels. I think that she's figuring out that the Ensigerum do not deserve her loyalty and Sarine is helping to drive that point home.
Parts of this remind me of historical tales of the time just before the destruction of the Shaolin temple. In fact, the Ensigerum remind me very strongly of the Shaolin monks.