Private Showing the Ropes

[Darth Strosius]

The question and subsequent guess on the nature of Force Lightning actually caught the Knight off guard, looking somewhat bewildered for a moment before he regained his composure. "You are almost correct actually." He nodded as if the Acolyte had answered a question correctly. "It is an easier ability to grasp once you're more familiar with the Force, but in a manner of speaking you're close to the concept." There must have been some good education for the young Sith here on Odavessa after all. "Drawing on the power of telekinesis involves manipulating the Force in the world around you, which is relatively easy to learn."

To illustrate his point he held out his hand, aiming towards the training droid that was still flying around. "An ability such as Force Lightning on the other hand relies on your internal connection to the Force, using it to power and weaponize your will to harm others." With that he fired off a short burst of lightning from his palm, striking the droid and making it fall to the ground in a shower of sparks. "But much like how you must manage your emotions, to draw too much from yourself will weaken you. Especially with new and unfamiliar powers that you have yet to fully understand. Think of it like you were saying earlier, big pay off for a big risk."

Lukas

 

[Lukas]

Lukas seemed to be just as caught off guard as the Knight had been once he heard he was even remotely close. Conceptually, the idea of relying off of any kind of internal connection did confuse him, and he wasn’t even sure where to start with learning that. For the time being, he seemed to be paying more attention than he ever had done before. Once the knight had stopped working, Lukas simply nodded, taking a moment before he spoke or took any action.

“What else can you do with that? The idea of using your internal connection as opposed to external. Can you summon other things other than lightning?” He glanced down towards the destroyed training droid. “Also is it not hard to aim the lightning, considering it could so easily just be attracted to a bigger source of metal, and potentially even hit an ally?”

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

"I myself can't do much other than use it to boost what powers I already know, but I am aware that many Sith use it for more powerful abilities." There were a couple other techniques that he knew, or at least had heard of, but none that he could wield confidently yet. Practice makes perfect as they say. "Something that happens almost subconsciously with your internal power is a boost to your body, making you faster and stronger among other things. Sort of like a more potent and powerful adrenaline rush." Keeping up with the constant, erratic, and spontaneous action of battle had heightened his own ability in that regard.

Alisteri shook his head at the second question and waved off the Acolyte's concern. "You focus too much on the form of it. It isn't lightning in the same way that nature conjures it, Force Lightning is an embodiment of will and power that you direct with essentially full control. Provided you know how to use it of course." Accidents did happen after all. "Attracting to metal isn't something that it does in my experience, the only way you can hit someone you weren't aiming for is if they ran in front of you or if your hand was somehow moved whilst firing off a bolt of it."

Lukas

 

[Lukas]

Boosting his physical abilities seemed easy enough to him, or at least it would be based off how he presumed that you’d do it, but still using force in that manner was certainly worth him looking into. Lightning not behaving as lightning would do also confused him, but he figured it wasn’t worth pressing further, instead he could look into it of his own accord. “I see, that’s interesting.” was all that the Acolyte commented on the matter.

“This may seem out of the blue, but would you be able to spar with me while we’re here? I figure it’s a good chance to test out my style of fighting against someone other than a droid, and besides, I could attempt to utilise the force while relying on my emotions in a situation that at least resembles a fight.” While he was confident it was a very different environment to a fight, a spar would likely create some semblance of frustration, especially if he was to fight someone he knew for a fact was significantly stronger than him.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

The idea of having a little sparring match was certainly intriguing, it would be a great opportunity for the Acolyte to get a small taste of what real combat would be like. Relatively real combat anyway. Of course there was little doubt that Lukas could provide a notable challenge to him but it would be more for his benefit rather than Alisteri's. "Yes I think that would be good, although don't expect me to go too easy on you. I did promise a proper Sith introduction after all."

Without further elaboration he turned and headed towards the sparring arena, raising his hand and pulling one of the training blades from the rack using the Force as he passed by it. It had been awhile since he had last held a nonlethal weapon in his hand. Whether that was an achievement or not was up for debate. "Feel free to grab anything you think will be of use." He called back as he leapt over the small wall separating the arena from the rest of the training room. Using the actual door to it was an option of course, but he figured showing off a little would be a nice change of pace.

Lukas

 

[Lukas]

Lukas hung back for a moment, peering over into the arena to note any kind of objects lying around. “Hmm.” He muttered to himself, wandering back to the weights. Having a few things he could attempt to fling with the force, or utilise in a combat sense would certainly help him, providing that he remembered they were there. The Acolyte hesitated for a moment, before grabbing one of the lighter weights, and lifting a slightly heavier one with the force.

After having grabbed the weights, Lukas made his way through the doors of the arena, dropping the weights beside the door. The Acolyte took a deep breathe, readying the two practice weapons, before simply waiting. He didn’t have so much as an idea as to how the Knight would fight, so he figured being the aggressor would be asking for the fight to end in a singular move, given how head already hinted to how he liked to fight, instead he’d just wait and react.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

The Knight waited patiently at the other end of the arena, facing the doors as he gave the training blade a few test swings. It wasn't nearly as graceful or as light as a lightsaber but it would suite its purpose just fine. He paused his practice swings as the doors opened and his gaze landed Lukas, holding the training blade at his side. The sight of the weights confused him for a moment but he chose not to question it. Perhaps the Acolyte had some kind of strategy in mind with them, one that he was curious to see play out.

Alisteri waited for a moment to see if the other Sith would charge, his gaze narrowing as they both waited for the other to make the first move. He wasn't about to wait forever. Without much warning he pushed off the ground in a sprint right towards the other Sith, his blade trailing behind him. It was a straight on rush that would be fairly easy to counter or avoid of course, but he had a plan in mind.

Lukas

 

[Lukas]

While patience typically didn’t come easily to Lukas, he was sure that it was the only real option for him at this moment to wait, and while the two momentarily were in a deadlock, he rose a few fingers from the hilt of his right blade, slowly moving his hand backwards towards the weight he had dropped earlier. The strategy he had seemed solid in his head, but if the knight was much faster than he anticipated, he may be in trouble.

As the Knight began his charge, Lukas’s grip on his left blade tightened and the weight behind him lifted up suddenly. After yet another moment, allowing Alisteri to close the distance some more, Lukas flicked his arm around to the front, flinging the weight towards the Knight. The weight had been flung at eye level, the aim to have at least momentarily reduced his vision. The Acolytes grip tightened around his right blade, before he sprinted forwards behind the weight.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Going easy on Lukas was admittedly an option, but it wouldn't help the other Sith any chance to learn. His gaze narrowed at the weight as it flew towards him, his grip on his weapon tightening as he moved forward without hesitation. That was a trick that he had tried himself more than once. As such he knew just how to avoid it. Before the weight could hit him he ducked and rolled under the object. just barely getting out of its path as he sprung up again and leapt towards the Acolyte.

Alisteri knew that his attack was still risky and would leave him open, but the unexpected factor of coming down from above would hopefully give him some additional defense. Not to mention his own counters and reflexes as well of course. Surprise attacks and unexpected maneuvers were simply another part of battle.

Lukas

 

[Lukas]

The Acolyte ducked low as the Knight deflected the weight, having expected him to attack immediately after. He frowned as he leaped, raising his two blades slowly. Lukas couldn’t think olf any reason why the Knight should be able to change his momentum to a significant degree while he was midair, so he figured that the Knight was currently quite susceptible to any kind of attack from any direction except directly in front of him.

Lukas stepped off towards the right of the Knight as he leapt towards him, his left blade slashing horizontally across towards him, hoping to catch him across the stomach. His right blade simply remained readied, held slightly infront of his chest, as if he was prepared for any kind of counterattack from the Knight.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri noticed the change in stance and the attempt to counter, smirking at the sight of it. So the Acolyte could adapt after all, that was very good. Now it was time to put that to the test. He swung his blade down and deflected the slash, landing on the ground and springing back onto his feet with surprisingly little effort. "Good move. Now block this!"

He went back on the offensive with a thrust towards the other Sith's leg, his free hand curling into a fist that he punched towards Lukas's stomach. Attacking on two parts at once was all too common in battle. The two blades, if used effectively anyway, would theoretically work even better for defense than a singular one.

Lukas

 

[Lukas]

As the blade was deflected, Lukas frowned beneath his mask, he figured that initial attack would one be one of the better opportunities to land an attack. His gaze drifted towards the curled up fist for a moment, before quickly snapping back to his opponent. The blade would cause much more damage, if he was using real fight logic anyway, and he was confident that he could take a punch from the Knight and continue fighting afterwards. However, he doubted that the punch was all there was to the attack, as it seemed overly risky to punch someone, especially someone with two blades.

The attack to his leg was far from ideal, but his left blade had remained readied, so he simply slashed that black downwards, intending to knock the blade off course and into the floor ideally, all the while shifting the targeted leg backwards slightly. His right blade, the one that had previously been deflected by the knight, swung upwards towards the siths wrist. His eyes flicked around the Siths form as he did so, trying to notice any subtle indication of another attack, or motive behind the punch.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

While his own blade was deflected in turn and his punch having to be retracted to avoid getting hit by a blade, he wasn't worried about his relatively compromised position. Alisteri pulled back both of his arms, bringing up his blade across his front and grasping the handle with both hands. "Good countering." He gave a nod of respect and then took another step or two back from the other Sith before gesturing to himself with his training blade and offering another nod.

"Now come and try to attack me. I want to see how you go on the offensive." Admittedly he could have pressed on and kept trying to find a crack or weakness in the Acolyte's defense, but this sparring match was more of a training session than it was a proper spar. They could go at each other in a real match another time. For now he was curious to see how aggressive the other Sith could be. "Don't hesitate either, I want you to fight me like I'm an enemy on the battlefield."

Lukas

 

[Lukas]

Lukas returned the Siths nod, bringing both of his blades back close to him. The Acolyte took another deep breath, pausing for a moment before he went on any kind of offensive. He rolled his shoulder, before pulling off his mask. He had a rough idea, one that his mask would have prevented him from even attempting.

The boy made a very obvious show of fixing his eyes on the Knights left shoulder, making a few slow steps fowards. After those few slow steps, he suddenly dashed forwards, his attention seemingly focused solely on the knight's left shoulder, and true enough his left blade began a wide, diagonally downwards slash towards the left shoulder. However, this attack would be revealed to be a feint. The real attack was a very simple thrust of the right blade, aiming for the knight's stomach.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri shifted his stance slightly as Lukas slipped his mask off, preparing himself to dodge or maneuver away from the inevitable incoming strike. He noticed the gaze on his shoulder and he moved his blade to cover his left side in response. It was an oddly obvious sign for his intent and his gaze narrowed in suspicion. Surely not even a new or novice fighter would give away their intentions so easily. Something was off about it but he wasn't going to move his defense just yet.

The Knight tensed as the other Sith dashed forward, preparing to deflect the wide slash coming towards his left. Sure enough that wasn't the only attack coming his way even if it were meant to be a real one. The other blade of his opponent was thrusting forward towards his center and coming in fast. A clever move by the Acolyte for sure, and one that he was quick to try and counter with a swing to his right to try and knock the blade off of it's path.

Lukas

 

[Lukas]

While he had never expected for the feint to work completely, he had expected for the Sith to be lured into responding to that initial strike more so that he had. The Acolytes blade was knocked of course, just as the Knight had intended to do so, his blade’s trajectory now directed towards the floor. Due to his blade being knocked towards the floor, his whole body was shifted slightly downwards.

“A shame.” He muttered under his breath, using the downwards shift of his body as momentum to bring that left blade back down with force towards the Knight's shoulder once more, hoping that the knight's attention would still be lingering on his right blade, and wouldn’t expect a second attack to follow so shortly afterwards.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

A smirk crept onto his face as the feinting attack was knocked away, keeping his blade pressed against he right one of his opponent to ensure that it went further towards the floor and away from him. Alisteri then brought his blade right back up and aimed to strike the Acolyte right in the side. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten about the left blade that was still near his shoulder.

He hissed in pain as he felt the training blade hit his left shoulder, reflexively stepping back and causing his own attempted attack to fail in the process as the tip of his blade just barely missed Lukas's torso. "Clever." Having momentarily forgotten about the dual blades, he intended to make up for his mistake and shifted back further to adopt a more defensive stance with his blade being held across his body.

Lukas

 

[Lukas]

As the left blade hit its target, Lukas’s lips curled into a grin, which disappeared very quickly, as the Knight's blade came dangerously close to his chest. He brought his blade back as quickly as he’d hit, watching as the Knight backed off. While all his instincts were screaming for him to continue with the momentum, and charge forward carelessly, he paused for a moment. The success in his attack had stemmed from him having taken his time and following, at least loosely, some kind of plan.


During this second charge, he made no obvious tells or indications of where he may aim, as he had done last time, instead simply charging. Once within range, his right blade raised slightly, but remained close to him, while his left was simply thrust forwards towards the Knights throat.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri's gaze narrowed at the charge and he kept his blade still and steady as he watched the Acolyte approach. There wasn't as clear of a goal with this attack so it was better to play it safe than risk trying to counter so early on. At least it seemed like the hit hadn't made Lukas too confident and prideful, that was a good sign. Hubris was just as swift of a killer as any weapon.

Charging was risky but all risk carried a reward, if one were able to capitalize on it. He readied himself and thrust his own blade forward in a slice meant to knock the left blade away and send it off course. As he moved to counter the thrust he kept an eye on his opponent's right blade, watching for any signs of movement and careful not to extend his own weapon out too far in order to keep it close for blocking.

Lukas

 

[Lukas]

Lukas frowned as his blade was knocked away from the Knight, however instead of allowing it to fly loose and wildly off course, he pushed back against the blade, before swinging his right blade across quickly, aiming to sandwich the Knight's blade between his two, hoping to have locked it into place. While Lukas did almost immediately realise the flaw in this idea, in that he’d almost entirely cut off possibilities for any kind of country, he had too far committed to this plan.

The Acolyte planted his right foot firmly onto the floor, while his left swept across the floor, sweeping slightly back Alisteri’s leading foot. Lukas suddenly brought his foot back towards him as fast as he could, his aim to hook the Knights hood on the way back, ideally bringing him to the floor.

Darth Strosius