Control and mastery of one’s self…

[Corvus Raaf]

"I never intended to become the GrandMaster. I just wanted to be a Jedi. A good one, I'll admit but no more and no less. It took a ghost to tell me that I owed it to the Order to step out from the crowd. To be a candle in the dark as she put it."

"But I had a choice, and so do you. Do you wish to become a Master? Not for the title but for the acceptance that it places you in a leadership position. We are all Jedi, all of us. None is more important than anyone else. But with rank comes an expectation from the outside world. From Padawans. Ability-wise you're more than capable."

"But you've got to want it. And that's the question isn't it. Do you?"

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus listened to the woman, turning and striking the mannequin a couple of times as he did...

"Plunk."

"Plunk."

The last thing she asked made him stop again, his sore hand falling to his side, shaking it lightly to try and work out some of the stinging in his knuckles. "Do I want it?", he asked in response to her, turning and glancing over his shoulder at her. As he watched her, a smirk slipped across his lips and he relinquished one of the only genuine smiles he had since he raised from his bed that day.

"Of course I don't want it...", he said, finally answering her question, turning to face her with his hands at his sides and his eyes on hers, attempting to appear as docile as possible, knowing he could come off a bit rough around the edges at times like those.

"I didn't ever say I wanted to be a Knight, but here I am... and actually, I don't ever remember asking to become a Jedi either. The only questions that have ever mattered to me were "Do you want to help people?", and "Are you strong enough to protect them?", I never worried about who I was or where I was headed...", he said, shifting his eyes back over to the mannequin. "I just knew that whatever happened wasn't entirely up to me anyway."

"I'm a Knight. I don't make the decisions around here. I follow orders.", he said, glancing back over to Corvus with those now more hesitant blue eyes. "If the Council wishes to make me a Master, I'll become a Master, just like if I die tomorrow defending someone else, it will both be worth it and... it'll be okay."

"It's the will of the force, right?"

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus smiled.

"I meant do you want to accept a leadership position. Do you want the expectation from the outside world."

"But I think you answered that." And then she laughed. "And stop slacking, get punching."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus shook his head for a moment as he watched Crovus, that smirk leaving his lips as he said, "I just want to help people in any way I can. So, if I can do more as a Master, then one day I'll be one, but it's not really up to me at all, is it?", he asked, answering his own question soon after. "I'll let the force decide what to do with me. It'll have it's way anyway, after all..."

Turning, Varus lowered down into the correct stance and took a breath. The next second he threw his right hand at the dummy and knocked it off it's stand, sending it about fifteen feet away and to it's back. He had raw power, but it didn't seem that he had the technique down just yet, and the speed didn't seem to be what it should either.

"Damn...", he whispered, curling up his sore right hand as he took the steps necessary to pick the mannequin up and carry it back to it's rightful place.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

"This is one of those times in training where I can add little. The learning will come from you." She demonstrated how she generated the speed again - how it was the last part of the punch where the kinetic energy was generated.

"Your technique is good. But you can, of course, do better."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Sighing again, Varus eyes grew dull a bit, knowing that this technique, though he was sure it was effective, was almost not worth it. Still, he wasn't the type to give up. In fact, he hadn't ever given up on anything, which was an incredibly frustrating trait to maintain in moments like this. Even though he was tired, frustrated, confused, lacking in form and about to snap again, he didn't give in. He didn't quit.

Some people might not have had it in them to run the twenty some odd miles he did a day. Others might not have had the strength to push themselves, two, even three hours at a time in the gym, more than once a day. Some might have even called it quits when he was performing his usual balancing act about five stories off the ground on a windy ledge, but he didn't. He couldn't.

Quit wasn't in Varus Shatterstar...

"HAH!", he yelled as he torqued his midsection and thrust out his right hand, his body turning parallel as his arm extended and sank into the chest of the dumb, wood cracking as it gave way to his strike.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded her approval.

"Excellent. You know me, I'm a decent judge of people and as long as you put the practice in, you'll be fine."

"Now...the other hand. If your dominant hand gets injured, you need to have a back-up plan. It's as simple as that. Once you've got that down pat, we can test your suppleness."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Sighing, Varus' shoulders fell in something kin to defeat as he straightened back up and turned around. His blue eyes circled with him and found Corvus again before he said anything more, though really all he could think to say was, "What the hell do you mean suppleness?"

He wouldn't wait on her answer that long, though, glancing back at the dummy next to him as he squared off with it, lowered down into his stance and threw out his left hand. The first blow, though hard, hurt as much as any, and the wood remained unchanged, though the dummy swayed backwards before falling back forwards again in position.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus chuckled. "You'll find out if we can make a ballerina of you. But for now..." She pointed at the dummy. "Off you go."

And she took the time to muse his words. She needed to have a chat with Kian about a certain ballot that they should certainly hold.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Whatever enthusiasm Varus might have had still lingering on his face left the moment she mentioned "ballerina" when she responded to his question. Instead, an uncertain look found his face paired with narrowing, suspicious eyes that watched her for a moment before he said, "If you think my ass is getting into a pair of tights you are out of your pretty little head."

He then turned back to the dummy, moved into his stance and reached out, striking it again, a crack filling the air this time as he did, though he wasn't entirely certain that the crack hadn't come from his sore and beaten hands.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

After some time he was almost as good with his off hand as he was with his main hand.

"Good, good, it's about practice now."

Without any warning, Corvus did a sideways flip, bringing her feet down on to one of the dummies three times before bashing it's head with both fists in a vertical fashion.

"Spitting Rawl. The most powerful of attacks, but as you could see, the ability to have flexibility in your legs is significant. So..."

She led him over to the two parallel walls. "Who knows, you might find this easy?" Standing between them she leaped in the air and then the sole of each foot landed on opposite walls about four feet off the ground. Her legs were effectively doing the splits in mid-air. "See how long you can hold this for. Tights are optional." She smiled at him, her face belying the strain her legs were no doubt under.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus watched the woman as she put herself between two walls with only her legs, his eyes growing a bit in size from both surprise and seeing Corvus in such an interesting position. After a moment, he laughed, though, taking a few steps forwards and hopping up into the air, his pair of longer legs raising up and catching him with relative ease, though he was well aware that the difficult part would be holding that position.

"No need.", Varus said, glancing down as if examining his form and then back up to Corvus. "I could just turn this into an interesting Alchaka session, really. Though, I suppose that might take away from the point perhaps."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus smiled. "Except Alchaka requires both rigorous movement and the use of the Force." She continued to hold the position. Was she starting to feel the burn? Slightly...but then she practised this every day and was used to it.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

"Not my brand of Alchaka.", Varus said, glancing up at the woman as his legs held form, either of his hands coming to clasp together above his lap as he took in another deep breath, slowly calming himself as he got used to that position.

"My adapted form of Alchaka training requires balance, patience, resilience and incredible strength. It's about putting your both through as much as possible, yet not moving a muscle.", he told her, realizing that she could laugh at him as if he were a fool or praise him and claim he was a Jedi revolutionary. It didn't matter one way or the other to him, because he was certainly benefiting from such strenuous and rather dangerous training methods, and that's all that really mattered to a man like Varus.

How strong could he become? He was still finding out, but he was well aware that he'd never be strong enough to save the galaxy, just strong enough to save a few, and if putting himself through all of it could help him save just one more, it'd all be worth it.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

She smiled again. "I'll let you have that one."

Then she jumped down, "OK, the moves. You've slowed us up long enough..." This time she let out a little chuckle.

She then cycled through all of the moves, over and over, calling them out as she did. “Aryx Slash…Charging Wampa…Dancing Dragonsnake…Death Weave…Förräderi…Gorax Smash…Gronda Stomp…Gundark Slap…Leaping Veermok…Nexu Grin…Rancor Rising…Riding Bantha…Screaming Squill…Shenbit Bonecrusher Blow…Slashing Wampa…Sleeping Krayt…Spitting Rawl…Steel Hands…Striking Sarlaac.”

Some were simple moves. Others had to be imagined with an opponent facing her, some she performed on a dummy, like Spitting Rawl where she’d performed a sideways flip, brought her feet down three times on it before bashing with both fists in a vertical fashion.

“Just like a saber velocity, practice them in combinations. Use dummies; use imaginary opponents…whatever works for you. But sooner or later the real practice will come with live subjects.”

“But now, we’ll cycle through the moves slowly and you shall copy me. Once I know you’ve gained the muscle memory, we can speed up.”

And so she did just that, stopping every now and then to correct him and waited for him to say he was comfortable with the moves and was ready to increase the pace.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus watched carefully as the quick, tight little frame moved with agility and grace, performing each of the moves as she spoke their names and displayed the style for him to see. As he watched, he couldn't help but to think how precise she was, knowing the woman to be almost cold natured, but always calculating and wise. He didn't know what it would ever take to make that woman feel something more than nothing, but he wasn't certain that he'd be the man to do that job for her anyway.

Perhaps one day her heart would flutter for someone, and that someone would be incredibly lucky, but at this rate he wasn't sure. She was many things, but she didn't seem enamored by the prospects of affection or love. Perhaps she never would be, but that was to be seen, one way or the other. For now, she was continuing to amaze him with practically every encounter they had. He only hoped that when, even if, she chose a suitor, she chose wisely.

She deserved the best there was, and Varus knew the best had yet presented itself.

Adjusting his eyes, Varus unclasped his hands as as he was pulled back to the reality at hand. When he was rescued from the daydream he'd been having he pushed up, hopping in place just high enough for his feet to lose their grips against either wall he was between. His legs then fell back beneath him as he dropped to the floor, catching himself and falling into stride until he stood right next to the brunette.

"Alright then. Let's go.", he told her, taking a breath before he fell into stride with the woman, following her motions as he learned each portion of the technique, one after the other, whispering it's name as he did.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus cycled through the moves, pausing every now and then to correct Varus' form. Muscle memory was easy to build up with repetition and she had to be sure his moves were performed perfectly.

Once she was assured, she picked up the pace. 10% became 25%. Then half-speed before moving at close to three-quarters.

No doubt Varus wouldn't see the increase. His ability was growing at a constant rate and so their mirrored actions would seem to be standard speed to him. He wouldn't be able to tell the difference until he faced someone not gifted at the Martial Art - or at least a Force User. Then his pace would be a blur compared to theirs. Their attempts to hit him would appear like slow-motion - to the point where they'd telegraph their intentions to him.

Indeed, practice had allowed her to predict attacks, regardless of the combatant or weapon. But that would take time - she'd spent a dozen years practicing after all.

Finally she stopped. "That is quite literally all I can teach you. The rest is up to you. To best learn, engage opponents without using the Force. It's the only way."

She snaked out a had towards his chest. One that a day ago would most likely appear a blur to him. Her hand would not reach his skin or bones by design - but she predicted he'd be aware of the strike the moment her hand went forward (there was no back-lift of course) and she anticipated he'd parry the blow.

If she'd done her job properly, he would...

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus shifted slightly, her quick strike only glancing across his left trapezius muscle as he reached out with his right arm with an equally agile movement. Instead of attacking her, however, Varus reached out with his large right hand and gently laid the back of his beaten and raw knuckles across the nape of her neck. He didn't know why, exactly, and in fact he examined the reasons for himself as they stood there in that slightly awkward way, his head tilting to the right as he watched her, a curious gleam in his eye.

Perhaps it was a simple and willing response to show her that he had learned and absorbed what she had taught him, but Varus had never been the type to believe in such simplicity. He overthought, as per usual, and as he stood there he was wondering still what regard he held the young and truly brilliant Jedi Master and leader of the Council.

Was it an endearing gesture of friendship? Maybe a rivals way of showing their equality despite being man compared to woman, strength compared to speed and brutish ways compared to insurmountable grace. Did it even mean to him more than that? He wasn't sure, and likely would never be overly certain of anything in regards to the ever mysterious Corvus Raaf, but he would always have his curiosity.

"Then I suppose I'll put it to the test.", Varus said, stoic blue eyes narrowing upon the young woman's face as he nodded ever so slightly to attest to her his approval.


[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus smiled. "As ever, you won't know how far you've come in this training until you're genuinely tested. I'm not advocating looking for a fight, but I'm sure a peace-keeper can find a reason to become involved in protecting the weak without looking too hard."

She started to tidy things away as the session was clearly over. "Practice and application. It's in your capable hands now. And if you ever need any more training, you know where to find me."

With that she bowed a good-bye and started to wander back to the Academy building.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

When the woman gathered her things, speaking to him as she did, Varus remained silent. There was nothing else that needed to be said, and their lesson had reached fruition. There was nothing else he could learn from her on the subject, and now all that was left for him to do was to sharpen it and hone that technique that she had imparted to him.

Gathering his own things, which really only comprised of his utility belt, sabers still attached, a jacket and a sweat soaked shirt, Varus followed her towards the building and entered in behind her. When he stepped inside, however, he stopped, glanced down the hall towards Corvus as she walked away and smiled. He then turned the opposite direction in the hall and began walking, his head falling slightly, blue eyes watching as white tiles disappeared one by one beneath his feet.


[member="Corvus Raaf"]