Breaking New Ground ((Charlie))

[Fromikeable]

Vance ate the last of his eggs before returning his tray to the cafeteria. He had decided to eat breakfast on one of the balconies this morning, just in time to see the sunrise over the cityscape of Coruscant. As the first beams of sunlight had danced into Vance's face, he felt like the world began to wake up (ignoring the fact that Coruscant's constant activity never seemed to stop).

Vance sighed. Tem had told him the previous day to wake up early and join him in the Training Rooms by mid-morning. Being somewhat seclusive, Tem hadn't actually revealed for what purpose, but merely stated that they would be breaking new ground in Vance's training. Up until this point, all Vance had been taught was more in Shii-Cho.

Vance waved to a few Padawans and Knights in the cafeteria before departing. Lately he had met a lot of people both older than and younger than himself. These new acquantinces had revealed more to Vance about himself than he could have found out otherwise, and he was thankful for it. It's a little scary to plunge deeper into yourself, Vance imagined, walking the halls, but it's neccessary, I think, for everyone.

But the time for thinking was over. Vance slowly progressed his way into the Training Rooms. The sound of sabers, false blasters, and hand-to-hand combat lightly emanated from each room, and Vance took his time arriving at his, Room #35. He liked to observe the battles of others; it was the ultimate test of one's knowledge. If he could could spot mistakes and perfections in techniques without actually performing them, he thought, then he could comfortably say that he was experienced enough to say he commanded an understanding of the subject.

But Vance swept such thoughts aside. Today he would know nothing, and venture into the unknown. That reminds me, he thought, entering Room #35, I wonder what I'm learning today.

[Charlie Sharper]

The sun had not yet risen over the Coruscant city-scape when Tem set out for his morning run. He completed it in an average time, not too fast, not too slow. He was breaking some new ground in Vance's training today, up until this point, they had mainly worked on Shii-Cho. Tem knew that the time had come to begin really teaching and training his padawan.

Tem quickly showered, dressed and ate in the mess before proceeding toward the training facilities. As he arrived at room #35, he entered, seeing his padawan in the center of the room. Vance reminded Tem of himself at sixteen, he was exceedingly tall much like Tem in his youth, though Tem wasn't quite as lanky. He was also pragmatic and an inventive thinker, though unlike Tem in his youth, Vance is very patient and laid back, were Tem was passionate though a little hotheaded. Something that, while curbed through training and meditation, still existed in the tall red haired Miralukan hybrid. This also lead to his choosing of Ataru as his favored saber form, it's offensive and fiery nature capitalized on Tem's passionate and strong will. His padawan personality however, made him an ideal practitioner of Soresu, though a bit of training in Shien or Djem So could be useful for the young Jedi hopeful. Lightsaber styles were not the focus of the training today however, instead Tem had something very different in mind.

Tem walked up to his padawan who was deep in thought as he stood in the center of the room. Tem smiled -Now I'll see how adept he really is...- Tem padded quickly but silently toward his padawan, once he was directly behind his padawan, he unclasped his lightsaber extended his hand right over his padawan's shoulder. In one quick and fluid move he activated his saber and pulled the sabers blade within inches of his padawan. "If I were a Sith, you'd be dead." He said ominously. "You must always be on your guard, my young Padawan. Death comes quickly to the unprepared." He then deactivated his blade and pushed his Padawan forward. "Today's lesson will be not be on how you fight with your saber. Instead we will focus on the actions leading up to using it. Are you ready my padawan?" He asked with a stern face. This was the beginning of Vance's true training, and Tem was going to test Vance's endurance and discipline more and more in the days and months to come.

[Fromikeable]

Vance gasped as a blue saber sprung to life inches from his neck. Panic struck through him; he had been aimlessly pondering while waiting for Tem, and had been totally relaxed. As the anxious feelings of danger crept through his body, Vance halted them, and exhaled the air he had so quickly sucked in. With a weapon at his throat, the last thing to do was panic.

"If I were a Sith, you'd be dead," his master chastised in a darker tone. Vance knew he was right; had his master been an actual enemy, Vance would have lay on the floor beheaded. "You must always be on your guard, my young Padawan. Death comes quickly to the unprepared."

Tem pushed Vance forward a little before continuing. As his master spoke, Vance turned to him and bent his knees slightly, allowing his feet to spread into a slightly more battle-ready stance. His body for the most part lay at ease, but Vance learned from his first lesson; he watched Tem intently, and made sure his right hand was close to his own weapon. He stared at Tem; Okay, master. Point taken.

"Today's lesson will be not be on how you fight with your saber. Instead we will focus on the actions leading up to using it," his master lessoned, keeping a stern look about him. Clearly, today wasn't going to be a simple session of Shii-Cho practice. But what does he mean by "the actions leading up to" fighting? Vance kept his stance, but changed his face to a more inquisitive look. His natural curiosity wasn't about to override his thinking, but it was certainly going to help him learn something today.

"Are you ready my padawan?"

"Affirmative, master."

[Charlie Sharper]

Tem could sense that his padawan was a tad confused, he would attempt to clear that up. "Padawan, I can see you are a bit cofused. I will be training you on several things today.. I'm beginning your real training now, but first of all," He reached out his hand. "Saber please."

Tem walked out of the training room, heading toward the main entrance of the Temple. "The Temple, the central location of the Jedi in the Galaxy. It was built over a thousand years ago. It was chosen because of it's strong force presence, due to the force nexus that exists here." Tem looked back at the Temple. It's beautiful architecture and amazing design. It has alway been a home for Tem, even when he left for Dantooine, he still thought of the Coruscant Temple as where he belonged. "It has grown in the last thousand years from a simple enclave to the sprawling Temple that we live in today, it is exactly two kilometers around. So we will have to run it twice." As Tem spoke the last few words, he began to run.

As they ran, Tem kept a quick pace, the years of training in such a manner allowed him to maintain a brisk jog easily enough. Tem spoke to Vance about the various architecture and history of the Temple landmarks as they passed them. From the various courtyards to the spires, the temple was seeped in history and tradition, the same statement could be said of the Jedi, Tem thought.

As they finished their second trek around the temple, Tem came to a halt at the great entrance of the temple. "We made good time, we will be doing this every morning from now on." Tem said as he walked inside the temple, heading toward the training room. Once there, Tem walked toward the center of the room, then motioned for Vance to stand in front of him. "Vance, how would you engage an opponent in combat?" It was an open ended question, but without a saber, Vance's options might be slightly lessened.

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Before Vance could inquire, Tem explained the day's training (if you could call "real training" an elaboration). Vance took this statement a tad better than the previous one; it didn't reveal anything more about the day, but Tem's tone and diction proved that today was not a day for mere frivolity. Today was going to be serious work.

Tem then surprised his padawan by asking for his weapon. Obeying, Vance grasped the odd thing; it still had that eery sense of being both familiar and yet alien. It had become natural to the physical touch, but every time Vance grasped the cool hilt, it was a bluntly obvious reminder that it was not made for him, and would never become his. As Vance handed it over to his master, he made a mental note to ask Tem about making a saber later.

The two Jedi exited the Temple before beginning to run around it. Tem began to explain the Temple's history, location, and significance. His information fell on Vance's attentive ears; the padawan found it quite interesting. As the run continued into a second lap, however, Vance found himself listening less and sweating more and more. By the time the second lap was over, Vance was tired to the point of heavy breathing. Note to self; Tem doesn't use the term "real training" without due cause. If the day was to carry out in the same intensity, Vance was in for a rough time.

The run ended at the entrance to the Temple. Tem seemed almost unchanged from the exercise, and spoke in the same steady tone as before the run. "We made good time, we will be doing this every morning from now on." Every DAY?! Vance leant forward a little, trying to catch his long-gone breath. The exercise would do him well, he knew, but even still, waking up every morning just to sweat his guts out was an uninviting prospect.

Tem didn't halt, however, and soon directed Vance across from him. The padawan, in his exhausted stupor, took a minute before realizing the familiar hum of sabers and sparring. A small jolt of shock rocked him; Tem had just tired him out to weaken him! Second note to self: Tem's a very sly man.

Vance's fears were confirmed by Tem's next question. "Vance, how would you engage an opponent in combat?" Vance straightened out his form. He was still breathing hard, but at least he wasn't beyond moving. Even still, the question was a good one, and had no obvious answer. Vance patted his waist as discreetly as he could; Tem still had his saber. Unarmed and out of breath. That was no way to fight, but the padawan didn't have much a choice. What means minimum effort, maximum output? Attacking was out of the question. A weak punch or kick combined with Vance's poor knowledge of aggressive styles of fighting meant any sort of attack was akin to suicide. On that note, defense didn't sound much better; it took a fair amount of strength to block any sort of attack, let alone one from a stronger, more energized opponent. On top of both of those, Tem was armed, and Vance wasn't

That leaves one option...

Vance spread his legs a little, and bent his knees. His stance lowered a little, and he did his best to form a proper battle-stance. "I can't attack," the padawan began, testing his arms, "but I can't defend either. With that said, I would be an opportunist." Vance put on his best fake smile, and pretended to relax. With any luck, Tem would be unaware of his real plan; his breath was already beginning to return to him. "I would wait for a weakness, exploit a strength, and maybe even try something new..."