So it begins.. (open to Makiro & Sihara only)

[Iota]

Iota looks around the training room before abnswering the question.

"now that Makiro will depend on current events and circumstances..i cannot give you a definate answer.. but i can tell you that as a gaurdian, you will most likely be in more engagements than a sentinal or a consular." nods whilst explaining.

"Gaius, my old master and i were often dispatched to hunt down to either convert dark jedi back to the light, or if that failed unfortunatley terminating them.. for when one is corrupted by the dark side it screws up their mind and body.. but do not take pity on these beings as they will use it to their advantage..."

iota raises a slight eyebrow for a moment.

"Who knows what awaits us..the mandalorians could strike..the dark jedi could a mass an army..or worse..the dark lords of the sith could come back to try to conquer the galaxy." iota smiles slightly.

"although the sith part is a stretch as they have not been seen for a couple of centuries..a tad too long." Iota take a deep breath and folds his arms slightly.

"You see.. not many jedi would say this or agree so i would not repeat it if i were you... The sith... are in essence..the sister belief of the jedi.. many people cannot distinguish the differance between jedi and sith.. but they are at one end of the spectrum, and we are at the other.. We use our gifts and the force to help better the galaxy and to help people.. for the sith.. they use the force for pain and suffering..or atleast.. that is what is said in the archives here... Of course i cannot be 100 per cent correct in this instance..because they are not about. We should hope it stays that wayt..otherwise you will be igniting your lightsaber more times than you may wish... "

[Makiro]

Makiro listened to his Master's words and nodded. Yawning widely, he stretched his arms and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Master, but I've been awake for many hours now. May I be excused to rest?"

[Iota]

Iota smiles then chuckles slightly.

"of course... you have done well my young apprentice.. go and rest... gather all your energy as tomorrow is another day and only the force will know what things it shall bring. may the force be with you"

Iota perfoms a kowtow to Makiro.

[Makiro]

Makiro inclined his head towards his Master and hurried gratefully out of the room and towards his dormitory.

Once there, he changed quickly out of his robes and climbed in between his sheets, falling into a deep sleep full of lightsabre's and Sith Lords.

[Iota]

Iota had been up for several hours, it was unlike him to sleep for too long , instead he would often meditate to revitilize his energy. on this particualr occasion he is contemplating the training schedule for his new padawan. He sat crosslegged with his hands on his knees. He uses the force to make several datapads and chairs swirl slowly around him in a calm serene manner. Obviously he is waiting for his padawan makiro to arrive.

[Makiro]

Makiro stood under the hot, clean jet of water from his shower and contemplated yesterday's events.

Once he had finished washing, he donned his robes and made his way to the Dining Hall. There he ate a quick breakfast (of honeycrust and a glass of blue milk) and made his way towards the training room where he knew he would find his new Master.

Entering the room, he bowed low.

"Greetings, Master Iota."

[Iota]

Iota using his powers of telekenisis places all the items that were slowly hovering around him back where they came from.

"Good day Makiro.. i hope all is well?" Iota asks before reaching for his bottle of water.

"If you have anything you want to ask or know..please feel free to ask..." iota takes a swig from his water whilst looking at Makiro. "Then perhaps afterwards, you can show me of your lightsaber capabilities with one of the training droids".

Iota nods awaiting a reply.

[Makiro]

"I cannot think of anything off hand, Master." said Makrio, igniting his lightsabre.

The comforting hum and blue glow of his new blade still made Makiro swell with pride. He had created this thing of beauty, and of power.

Taking the familiar Shii-Cho stance, he waited for his Master to instruct him.

[Iota]

"very well..altho you are young..be wary of such emotions as pride..always remembere...there is no emotion...." Iota walks over to one of the consoles and sets the training droid to low difficulty.

"the droid will attack with relatively easy swings and slashes with a few seconds interval..Remember.. i do not want you to destroy the droid.i only want you to spar with it." Iota nods "you may proceed."

Iota stands still with his arms behind his back awaiting and watching his padawan.

[Makiro]

Makiro nodded at his Master, acknowledging both his reprimand and his command. Setting his feet apart, he waited for the droid to begin.

He waited, and he waited. Wondering if perhaps the droid was broken. In fact, he waited for so long, that he began to lose concentration, so that when the droid's first attack did come, he barely had time to react and parry the strike.

He wheeled away from the droid, dodging a series of easy-to-defend-against swings.

Returning to his original stance, he attempted to make a blow on the droid's featureless head. The droid parried the strike and sent Makiro reeling away to the side.

Ducking to the floor, Makiro rolled around the droid, standing up directly behind it. He thrusted his lightsabre at the middle of the droid's back, the droid lifted its own blade to parry, but Makiro twisted to the side and pushed his blade towards the space underneath the droid's armpit.

He had thought that this simple feint would be enough to fool the droid, and in his moment of complacency, he let his guard down. A mistake. The droid brought its blade up once more and thrust it towards Makiro's stomach.

The blow only winded him, but nevertheless, his pride was dented.

[Iota]

Iota shakes his head slightly

"Concentrate and be patient... do not be eager for the droid to strike.. take head of your opponents posture.. study your opponents stance and moves. Clear your mind, breath slowly... complacency breeds ignorance.. jedi are above such things... try again my young padawan.."

Iota paces up and down watching and instructing his padawan. he stops for a moment to sip is drink.

[Makiro]

Makiro did as his Master instructed and cleared his mind, breathing slowly and calmly. He raised his lightsabre in front of his face and waited.

The droid lunged, but this time Makiro was ready and he swiftly parried the blade to the left. He used the opportunity to swing his own blade at the droid's neck, but his blow too was parried.

The droid angled the blade towards Makiro's face, but Makiro swung to the side, dodging the blow by mere inches. He swung his own blade up and struck the droid on the chin. It was a sloppy blow, and Makiro cringed as the droid reeled sideways.

Regaining its balance, the droid came back at Makiro, aiming for his chest. Makiro parried the blow and struck out at the droid's own chest. The blow missed, but barely and Makiro was filled with renewed confidence.

Rolling out of the path of the droid's next attack, Makiro feinted to the left. The droid, anticipating Makiro's real motive parried to the right. But that was where it made its mistake. In reality, Makiro's blow to the left had not been a feint and he struck the droid's chest hard.

[Iota]

Iota claps quietly

"good..good.. much better.." Iota pauses for a moment "You remind me of..well..me, actually, when i was a mere padawan learner" iota smiles. "it is often wise to take a defensive stance and let your opponent attack for awhile because then you can look at their stance and fighting style and adapt your own ability to counter act theirs.."

Iota nods as he thinks to himself.

"You have the potential to be a great swordsman young one.. but it will take many years of patience and guidance.. follow my lead..do as i do.. learn my styles and one day..maybe one day you could even surpass my skills.. but don't get a head of yourself Makiro.. you still have a very long journey to go"

Iota smiles to Makiro before sitting down.

[Makiro]

Makiro deactivated his lightsabre and bowed, thanking his Master. Then he too sank to the floor and sat, cross-legged, waiting for his next instruction.

[Iota]

Iota looks to Makiro and seems deep in thought for a moment.

"I belive it is time i inform you of the lightsaber form you will first learn under my guidance.. it is Soresu..or form 3 you may know it as." Iota and sips his drink.

"Originally, Form III was developed as a counter to blaster weapons used by multiple opponents. Due to the rise in distribution of blaster weapons, more and more Jedi were forced to adapt a fighting style which allowed them to combat enemies firing from several directions, mostly basing their "attack" on redirected blaster fire. Previous styles had allowed wide, sweeping strokes which left the Jedi open to blaster fire. Form III, however, required maintaining a constant shield of deflectionary strokes by making short, quick sweeps, close to the body, leaving the Jedi less exposed to ranged fire. Form III was the most defensive of the seven forms." Iota pauses as he looks around the room for a moment, an odd habbit he has always had.

"The philosophy of Soresu was described as "being within the eye of the storm." The practitioner maintained a centered frame of concentration, undisrupted by the conflict around them. They did this to maintain the calm center where the outer storm of combat could not harm them. Thus, Soresu commanded powerful defensive techniques that seemed to adapt to almost any circumstance, at the cost of never reaching past the figurative eye of the storm. The Soresu technique used little to none of the attack power needed by those who concentrate on the storm itself. Those who studied this style used the primarily defensive technique to wear down aggressive opponents by defending long onslaughts with minimal counter-attacking. They waited until their adversary spent most of their energy, then employed an alternate, more aggressive attack. They waited for eventual lapses in their opponent's own defense.. then you would apply a more aggressive stance.. Djem-so for example."

Iota reaches into his pocket and takes out a data pad.

"here are all my notes i have written down and collected over the years.. they will inform you on how to stand and how to centre yourself for this particular lightsaber form."

iota hands the datapad to Makiro.

[Makiro]

Makiro listened intently to Iota's words, apprehensive but excited at the prospect of learning a new Form.

He accepted the datapad and began to read, absorbing the knowledge that lay within.

Half an hour later, he was on his feet, attempting to replicate the stance described within the datapad. His body however, seemed too used to the simple postures of Shii-Cho, and his stance was sloppy and unrefined.

Igniting his lightsabre, he angled it horizontally in front of and to the right of his face, both hands gripping tightly to the hilt.

[Iota]

"try to loosen your self up, have a slight firm grip on your lightsaber, but don not choke it by holding it tight. If you do this, you will find it easier, your movements will flow from one to the next.. try to relax and in time it will come to you"

[Makiro]

Makiro did as his Master said and loosened his grip. Relaxing and once again letting the Force flow through him, he discovered that Form III was not as difficult as he had originally suspected.

Granted, it would be a little difficult in the heat of battle, with death staring him in the face and naught but his knowledge of said form to protect him. But here, safe in the classroom, Makiro allowed the smooth motions of Form III to become part of him, as though rehearsing a particularly exquisite dance.

By the end of the day, he felt confident that he had at least a basic understanding of Form III, even if he could not yet call upon it to utilise in battle.

Deactivating his lightsabre, he turned to his Master.

[Iota]

"Ah..getting there.. you are a fast learner.. in time it will be like second nature..you will not need to think about what actions to take, they will come to you instinctively." Iota raises a slight eyebrow.

"But for now.. i must leave, i have something to... attend to.... it is a private matter.. you are free to do as you wish, i would advise you study what i have told you and practise alot, as we may never know what tomorrow brings. Take care my young padawan and may the force be with you".

Iota bows slightly then finishes his drink before walking towards the door.

[Makiro]

Makiro frowned inwardly at his Master's sudden departure, but did not let his confusion show on the outside.

"Very well, Master. Until next time."

He bowed low and waited for his master to leave the room before leaving himself and heaing towards the Dining Hall: he had not eaten all day, and he was starving.