A Training Session in Shadow

[Thresh Sken]

[member="Samka Derith"]

I felt the right blade connect with [member="Mael Ren"] 's wooden stave. But not for long. The Knight of Ren spun out of the way in a circle, which continued as he came back for a counter attack.

The swing was going for my legs. I had to readjust my position since the long sword crossed my body, so I twirled it up and around my head so it was now perpendicular with the ground, ready to fend off the low attack. But that was not to be. At the last moment, I saw the blade change direction and head for my hands gripping the middle of my double bladed stave.

I tried to bring up the left blade to deflect the attack, but it was too late. My eyes widened in pain as the sword batted across my left hand's knuckles. I let out an exlamation of pain as my left hand dropped from the sword. Now holding it with one hand, I spun away, hoping to avoid a follow up attack.

Thankfully, [member="Wolf"] came to my rescue, wether he knew it or not. He had closed the distance between himself and Mael Ren quickly, sword already swinging. This allowed me a moment of respite to readjust my left hand back onto the sword. I was angry now. Angry at myself for not being quick enough to see that attack coming. Rage flared in my eyes for a second and the Dark Side in the room flared momentarily, but I pushed it off. I had to fight with a level head. I couldn't hope that reckless determination would amount to any good.

I moved again to reengage in the fight, this time slightly more wary, starting my slow circling again.

 

[Visser Chernykh]

Kreiger robbed Mael of a sure victory with his intervention. The disciple had made to follow-up a blow that would've severed fingers. Finishing Thresh would've been elementary. He ground his teeth in frustration as he pulled up.

A duel was a far cry from a melee. In a duel your opponent could be led about. Even a pair of opponents could be managed if you had the skill. But an open field was chaotic and anything could happen from any direction.

They made a quick exchange before they broke off. Wraith and humans began to move with wary steps. Mael decided to change tactics. Bulling his way through this situation hadn't worked.

An opponent was at his back every time he tried to commit to offense. He was trying to make a melee into a duel. The realization of another presence had struck him just then. "Wait," came his voice to the others.

He turned his attention to the dark rafters. "Join us, [member="Samka Derith"]."

[member="Wolf"] [member="Thresh Sken"]

 

[Samka Derith]

"Ah I was wondering if anyone would notice," Sam smirked from the shadows then leaped into the fray. She landed as elegantly as she could before the other acolytes. She drew out her lightsaber, igniting it and giving it several twirls and spins between her fingers to show her control but she was not here to fight. At least not yet.

First she approached [member="Wolf"], "Glad we could meet again under cleaner circumstances, the both of you," she added to [member="Mael Ren"]. Sam turned off the lightsaber, allowing the blade to retreat back into the hilt. She then flipped the lightsaber in her palm so the blade was facing her and held it out for Wolf to take. "Go ahead, take it." She snatched the wooden stave from him with her left hand at the same time.

She addressed the whole room when next she spoke, throwing and catching Wolf's old stave as she did so. "Wooden sticks make decent play things but do not presume for one moment they are the same as a lightsaber," she turned to Wolf again. "Feel the difference in weight, how it slashes and stabs differently. That blade is tailored for my strengths, I doubt your own would be the same when you build it, but you get an idea. The lightsaber is much more elegant weapon and one far more deadly."

Allowing him to get a feel for the weapon a while longer, she walked up to [member="Thresh Sken"], the only one she did not know. "You, shadow, what is your name and why did you allow an opportunity to pass you by?" She referred to how he had merely circled his opponents rather than attack them when they were occupied. "Honour is good, it is one of the things which seperates us from crminal scum when we fight but if your code of honour allows an opponent an opportunity then it is time to revise it. A dishonourable victory is always better than an honourable death."

Finally she turned to Mael, "a compitent showing," she began then her face stretched into a smile, "for a stormtrooper." Sam circled around the the man as she continued to talk. "Don't just be content with a block and a swing, you had the upper hand here but it would be another story against more senior duellers. Feel the Dark Side as you fight, focus it. Remember it is your tool to use just as much as your eyes and ears." She looked over at the wraith, Sken, "That goes for you as well! I felt the Dark Side's power overflowing from you just now! Don't quash it like a weakness! Harness it!"

Sam walked over to the side of the room, using the Force to snatch her lightsaber back from Wolf while throwing the wooden staff back at him. "Remember what I said and continue," she would not join in yet unless attacked but her saber was set on its training setting just in case any of them got ideas. On this mode it would not cause serious injury nor cut their training weapons but it would certainly sting.

 

[Thresh Sken]

[member="Samka Derith"] surprised me as she stepped out of the shadows. Normally, it was me hiding in the shadows as a wraith, waiting for the opportune moment to emerge. She evidently had met my fellow apprentice [member="Wolf"], because she talked to him familiarly. Critical. But providing helpful advice, at that.

Addressing me, she gave the same amount of pointers, but asking my name and my hesitancy. Bearing my teeth in a somewhat defensive manner I replied "My name is Thresh Sken. As for my code of honor, I did not see it fit to attack my opponent from behind when he was occupied. It would bring no honor to bring an enemy down while he is engaged in an honorable duel with another."

I listened to her logic. I was not sure if that was the case, but I would meditate on it more. [member="Mael Ren"] was next in her sights, as she targeted him for what she saw as a poor performance. Facing me again, she said to use the Dark Side. To harness it. I would definitely use that piece of advice, although hopefully not at the expense of my fingers again.

I brought my double-bladed stave up to my side in a neutral attack/defense posture, ready for anything. Samka Derith was in the corner of the room, all but looking like she wasn't going to fight. Maybe it was a ploy. I needed to keep her in mind when I was fighting. I crouched lower, prepared to leap into action at any moment.

 

[Visser Chernykh]

Use the Dark Side...

The little girl presumed far too much. Both hands came up and he sent a hard Force shove in her direction. He would show her how to use the Dark Side. He unhooked his hilt and it hissed to life.

He came forward with blade poised above his shoulder. The classic opening posture of the fifth form. He was ready to smash her for her insolence. Mael Ren snarled silently while his crimson blade hummed....

[member="Samka Derith"] | [member="Wolf"] | [member="Thresh Sken"]

 

[Wolf]

[member="Mael Ren"] | [member="Thresh Sken"] | [member="Samka Derith"]

Wolf watched with interest as the newcomer jumped down. None other than Samka Derith, whom he had met working together on Anoat with Mael Ren. Wolf said nothing as she handed him her lightsaber, and he inspected it carefully. It truly was an elegant weapon, and one he desired to one day wield himself. He smiled as she began lecturing the room on how they should improve their fighting technique. He found it amusing that she presumed herself their elder, when she was clearly younger than all of them. Wolf did not doubt she was more skilled than him with a lightsaber and with the Force, Wolf being inexperienced in both. However he did not think Mael Ren would take so kindly to such lecturing. Wolf watched as the lightsaber was returned to Samka with the Force.

True to form, Mael Ren was not amused. Wolf smirked as he saw Mael strike out with the Force, before drawing his own lightsaber. Wolf would honestly also have attacked Samka if Mael had not done so first. If this girl wished to presume some teaching authority over them, she would have to prove her worth. How good was she, to lecture them so? There was an unspoken sense in the room that this was between Mael and Samka alone. If Wolf attacked Samka as well, it would clearly be an unfair fight, and he did not think Mael would appreciate it one bit.

Wolf wanted to just stop and watch this unfold. If Samka did indeed draw her lightsaber and fight Mael, Wolf might have to stop what he was doing and watch for both the entertainment and experience. But for now, he was not going to give up his own training that easily. He brandished his stave, facing [member="Thresh Sken"] and smiling. He charged, before lunging forward, so that his back leg dropped and his right leg stretched forward, bringing his body down low as he thrusted his right arm forward to stab at his torso.

 

[Samka Derith]

Sam stumbled forwards, the sudden blast knocking her off her feet. She managed to land on her hands and used her natural gymnastic ability to flip upright and turn to face her attacker.
[member="Mael Ren"] was approaching her, the sound of his lightsaber igniting echoed through the room. She could feel him fuming, apparently it was humiliating for a grown man to be given advice by a teenager. But it had the desired effect. Whereas before he had been holding back now she could see what the man could really do with his blade.
"Good," she smirked, "that's much more like it." Sam turned her own lightsaber back on and stood up straight, one arm bent behind her back as the blade twirled in her slender fingers, showing off her control.
She hadn't expected Mael to utilise a form with a defensive origin so it looked like she'd have to take the initiative first. First she circled the man, her eyes hungry for the thrill of a battle, then probed his defences with a few jabs, cuts and feints.
It had been a long time since she'd duelled a living opponent for training. Sam was looking forward to it.

[member="Thresh Sken"] [member="Wolf"]

 

[Visser Chernykh]

She'd expected him to blunder in head-first. That much was apparent from her slightly delayed transition to attack. It hadn't been more than a second but it'd been there. He bore his teeth in a feral grin under his mask.

He swatted her probing cuts with contempt evident. Sabers hissed as they made light contact. Already the smell of ozone permeated the room. He brought his blade up to deflect another probing cut at his abdomen.

Now he stepped in at an oblique angle. With the step he brought his lightsaber across in a backhanded slash. A simple follow-up attack intended to cut off her circling footwork. A flanking counter to her own attempt at such.

[member="Samka Derith"] | [member="Thresh Sken"] | [member="Wolf"]

 

[Thresh Sken]

The thrust [member="Wolf"] executed was coming at me. Fast. I slashed my right blade across my body, hoping to deflect the lunge directed at me while quickly peddling backwards to keep the tip of his stave from hitting the center of my chest.

It worked, but just barely. I had moved backwards enough that I could catch the end of his stave with my blade as I swung it in an upside-down arc to glance it away. I spun and continued the path that my sword was taking around my body, so I made a 360 degree turn and ended up in my ready position again. The problem with a double-bladed weapon is that you have to maneuver it to get into a good attack or defense posture.

I barely stayed in my ready position for a second. I leapt forward at Wolf, doing two quick swipes with the ends of my sword at either side of his body, directed at both sides of his midsection. I figured that part might be a little more fleshy and therefore hurt more, without having ribs to add support.

[member="Samka Derith"] [member="Mael Ren"]

 

[Wolf]

[member="Mael Ren"] | [member="Thresh Sken"] | [member="Samka Derith"]

Wolf smiled as his lunge was deflected. Well, he could not have expected it to be that easy. He quickly brought his back foot forward to regain his balance and his positioning. Wolf was given no time by Thresh Sken to fully recover however as the stave was coming around to swipe at his left side. Wolf had to act quickly, his muscles burning into action as his right arm came around to his left hand side, stave pointing downwards, to deflect the first swipe.

The second swipe now came from the other end of the double-bladed stave, to the right side of Wolf's body. He grit his teeth, his right arm racing back to the right side of his body to defend that side of him also. It was in vain however, his movement was too slow to catch up with the other end of Thresh Sken's stave, and Wolf growled in pain as the stave smacked hard into his mid-section. If that was a lightsaber, it would not have ended well. Wolf scolded himself for being so careless, his right side throbbing with pain.

With the hit having connected however, Thresh Sken was now close to him, and Wolf's left arm came flying forwards instinctively in retaliation. His left hand curling into a fist, it came around to punch Thresh Sken, aiming to hit his right jaw hard and send him to the ground.

 

[Samka Derith]

Sam nodded in approval as her tests of [member="Mael Ren"] were easily swatted away and positively grinned when he cut her off. She deflect the swipe then took a jump backwards where she could resume circling just outside of the range of his blade.

Now they had both warmed up she could get serious. Sam began to breath and gently rock to and fro in rhythm, something to base her movements and attacks to. She stood like a fencer, sideways and at arm's length from her opponent, ready to dodge and parry any attacks sent her way. Then she went on the attack. As she attacked with jabs and flicks with the end of her weapon, if anything connected it wouldn't be a decisive slice but a nick somewhere on his body. The trick was hitting him enough to weaken him, not at all easy with training blades so whatever happened she doubted Mael would be left bruised and beaten on the floor by the end of this but a harmless graze in training would be crippling wound on the battlefield and both parties knew it.

She attacked with lightning strikes aimed all over the older Ren's body, complete with large numbers of faints. An apparent jab to the chin could turn into a slash to the ribs without a moments notice. All the while she kept moving her body, a hop, a twirl, a jump. It all came naturally to her. This is how it was to fight as a dancer.

[member="Wolf"] [member="Thresh Sken"]

 

[Visser Chernykh]

There was nothing artful or dainty about how he fought. He didn't flit about this way and that. His own swordsmanship seemed almost crude compared to that of [member="Samka Derith"]. The difference mainly stemmed from their views on duelling.

He was there to hurt her and end her. Or he would be in a real fight. There was no pleasure in the fight itself because it wasn't a game. You drew your weapon not to play but to kill.

In a real fight he would've drawn other weapons first. It was so much simpler and faster to put a hole through a being's head. A second compared to needless moments spent posturing. Perhaps even from hundreds of meters away.

There was no 'honour' in it and no 'glory'. Removing resistance wasn't sport but a necessary thing. Which of the Ren did so wasn't important. That they'd fulfilled their purpose was.

She danced while he trod forward doggedly. She thrust and jabbed while he sweep his blade across. There was joy in her eyes and his features were grimly set beneath the mask. Everything that could be different about them seemed so.

With her so focused on darting in and out he saw a possibility. He thrust out a gloved palm suddenly to mime the gesture of a hard shove. Perhaps he could catch her again....

[member="Thresh Sken"] | [member="Wolf"]

 

[Thresh Sken]

I stood close to [member="Wolf"], finishing my stroke to his side. I grinned with my fangs, pleased that I had managed to land a hit on such a difficult enemy. I was not prepared, however, for the fist that came flying out of the right side of my peripheral. I had only enough time to turn my head away so I was knocked squarely in the back of the head.

With a mixture of surprise and pain in my yelp I fell to the floor, sliding a ways from Wolf. My wooden stave skittered to the opposite side of the room, where [member="Mael Ren"] and [member="Samka Derith"] were dueling. I groaned as I allowed myself a moment's respite of laying motionless on the floor.

Warily, I leapt to my feet, albeit slower than normally. I wouldn't pretend that the blow hadn't shaken me, it had, but the trick was to shake it off as soon as possible and get back into the fight. I eyed Wolf as I took my shaky barehanded defence posture. A year of basic training. That's all I had had. And it sure wasn't going to help me out now that I hadn't practiced it.

 

[Wolf]

[member="Mael Ren"] | [member="Thresh Sken"] | [member="Samka Derith"]

Wolf smirked as his opponent fell to the ground with a yelp, though his fist ached slightly from connecting with the skull. He watched as Thresh Sken picked himself back up from the ground, and Wolf winced slightly at the throbbing pain he had in his own right side from the successful hit earlier. If this had been an actual fight, with lethal weapons, Wolf would be dead by now, and Sken the victor. Wolf tried to push the thought out of his head, focussing instead on not letting his guard down again. He watched with interest as Thresh Sken made no attempts to retrieve his stave, and instead adopted a defensive posture, unarmed.

Wolf was tempted to drop his stave and engage in unarmed combat with his opponent. It would be good fun, though Wolf was curious as to how skilled his opponent was at engaging with a weapon while armed. Wolf brandished his stave again, grinning as he leapt forward towards Sken. Raising his right hand into the air as he ran, he brought the stave down and around forcefully in a circular motion as he neared Thresh Sken, aiming a strong horizontal blow towards his left shoulder. Regardless of whether the stave connected or not, Wolf's left arm jabbed forward as he got in close, his fist aiming for Sken's gut.

 

[Samka Derith]

"What a dull opponent you're being. I expected better," a sly grin crossed the teenager's face as she goaded her partner, provoking him into making a mistake then recommenced a flurry of speedy strikes coming tantalisingly close to hitting [member="Mael Ren"]'s thigh. If things kept up the same way, she'd have victory soon enough but what happened next though caught her by surprise.

She had darted to the side, another jab aimed at Mael's left shoulder when he changed tactic sending an unexpected blast of kinetic Force energy towards her. It made her loose her balance but normally it wasn't anything she couldn't recover from the problem was the re-positioning she had to do and lack of awareness of the situation around. She trod directly on the lost stave of [member="Thresh Sken"] and slipped onto the floor giving her opponent an ideal opening and spelling a sure defeat.

[member="Wolf"]

 

[Visser Chernykh]

Your environment could be just as much of a threat as your enemy. Or it could work to your advantage. [member="Samka Derith"] had forgotten that as she stumbled over [member="Thresh Sken"]'s discarded stave. The masked man stood above her in the blink of an eye.

He regarded her coldly through the visor. He let the tip of his training saber brush the side of her neck. Just enough to feel the sting. A reminder that her head would've been rolling across the floor.

With that he withdrew the blade. It surprised him how much his anger had subsided. Mael saw no reason to toy with her. It was not for a misguided sense of honor that he'd gone no further.

There was simply no point when your opponent was defeated. You finished them quickly and without compunction. It was even a kind of mercy to a strong opponent for their death to be so. He stepped back enough for her to stand.

"Stand up," he said without malice.

His blade dipped into low guard or the fool's guard. It seemed stupid to leave yourself so open. But who was the real fool: the one who seemed to leave themselves so open or the foe who didn't see the jaws of the trap waiting to snap down?

[member="Wolf"]

OOC: Do you all want to call it a day with this thread? Wolf and Thresh, you guys could finish up if you like,

 

[Thresh Sken]

[member="Wolf"] crossed the distance between him and I in a second. With no time to think, he was already on top of me, swinging his stave in a vicious arc towards my left shoulder. I had no time to register anything else.

I ducked and Wolf's stave passed over my head with centimeters to spare. I breathed a sigh of relief, only to have the rest of it forced out of my body as Wolf's unseen fist collided with my solarplexus. I was thrown back again, sliding on my shoulder blades to the wall. I lifted my head wearily, seeing [member="Mael Ren"] standing over [member="Samka Derith"] at the opposite wall, my stave in the corner, apparently from someone stepping on it.

I lifted my right hand, trying to use the Force to call my stave to me. It wobbled, skittered a few centimeters across the floor. My gaze intensified. I would do this. No matter what it took. I could do this.

OOC: I'm up for anything! So whatever the rest of you feel like doing. Also, sorry for the long time it took to post.

 

[Wolf]

[member="Mael Ren"] | [member="Thresh Sken"] | [member="Samka Derith"]

His opponent ducked his first strike, and Wolf was not surprised, though was still impressed with his reflexes. Wolf smirked with satisfaction however as his fist caught Sken off guard and connected, sending the Defel to the ground and sliding back to the wall. Wolf watched as Sken outstretched his hand to try and pull his stave back to him with the Force. Wolf closed the distance between the two of them, walking over to Thresh Sken as he lay there, and standing over him. His own right side still stung from earlier, and Wolf leaned over towards the Defel.

Wolf smiled, and outstretched his hand towards Sken to help him back up to his feet. It had been a good spar indeed, and one that definitely got Wolf's adrenalin pumping, not to mention leaving a few bruises. They were young, and undoubtedly all had great potential. The young Disciple could see why they had all been accepted by the Order, and already had a feeling that there would be promising days ahead for them. He grinned at Thresh Sken as he helped him to his feet.

"That was a good spar. You fight well. Indeed, by landing the first blow you won. If that had been a lightsaber, I would be in pieces."

(OOC: Sure, let's finish up here.)