Flashing lightsabers — red, blue and green — slice the air.

Layla, an 8-year-old Jedi knight-in-training, collapses, the latest victim tagged in a free-for-all battle between Jedi and Sith sparring for control of the intergalactic battlefield.

More than two dozen young Star Wars fans celebrated the premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” with lightsaber-dueling lessons at the North Suffolk Public Library on Wednesday. Members of the Tidewater Alliance Star Wars Club were on hand with lightsabers and fighting tips.

“Choose your side: Jedi or Sith,” said Allen Townsend, a robed Jedi with a booming voice and a flashing, 42-inch lightsaber. Townsend — a diehard Star Wars fan, mechanic and martial arts instructor — armed his students, taught them basic fighting skills and put them in the ring.

“Feet together. Sabers up. Don’t destroy each other. Go!” Townsend said. Kids — ranging in age from 8 to 17 — wielded the flashing sabers at one another for nearly two hours, in freestyle battles and more organized one-on-one battles. Every battle began with the challengers bowing to one another.

Lightsaber battles are fun, said 11-year-old Logan Hobson.

“I like going around killing,” Hobson said, waving his saber. “You also have to respect you opponent, especially if they are better than you.”

Layla Miriles, 8, who has watched the first six Star Wars movies and had tickets to Thursday’s show, said she was already schooled in the ways of fighting evil.

“I already knew how to block a Sith. My dad taught me that,” she said. “This was fun.”

Vinny Ambrosino, 17, said the experience was a reminder to stay focused and positive, even during battle.

“You have to stay calm and not get mad,” he said.

“I want them to take away of love of Star Wars,” Townsend said. “But I also want them to respect the sport and realize that even if you are a fighter, you still need to be respectful.”

Tidewater Alliance member Andrew Robb, also a martial arts expert, said lightsaber combat is good for kids.

“It’s activity, movement,” Robb said. “They are not sitting in front of a computer and they are engaging in conversation with their family.”