Absolute Power (Rugs, Hotel; closed)

[Karl the Unfettered]

It was drawing toward evening on the dry, dusty planet of Korriban, and tonight was supposed to be moonless and dark. Perfect for private training of a mutually beneficial nature, at least for those involved tonight. Three individuals, among the strongest Initiates of the new Sith Order; a Miraluka, a Rilan, and an Epicanthix.

"Tonight it will be dark," the Miraluka was saying as he led the way away from the Temple, "and this is good. Darkness outside, darkness within... poetic, is it not?" He chuckled darkly, and turned to the left, toward the cliffs. Not for the spot he and the Rilan sometimes shared; that was too private, and too small for three people to engage in lightsaber training.

No, he was leading them up another path, toward a higher plateau. "Don't fall behind, old man," he called back with a laugh at the Epicanthix, who was getting on in years (not that the many he had slain would appreciate the subtleties). The path was not particularly hazardous, but it was long, and the sun was well sunk below the rim of the earth before they reached his destination.

It was a flat stretch of rock, ringed on three sides by higher walls of rock. Long ago someone had thought the same as he; the ground was perfectly flat, and the walls were smooth and worked with ancient symbols. Too, the air was thin, and one had to work harder to breath; it encouraged exertion, and presumably helped one develop a hardier constitution and stamina.

"Well, cullies, here we be," the Miraluka announced, turning to face them. "I, Shard, welcome Visari and Shandari to this little corner of reality." He was grinning in the darkness, though such was of course hard to see. "Blades out, and light up the sky!" He raised his arm; a thin black cylinder flew up from his waist, and from the end an acid-yellow beam shot forth, pointing straight up.

"Now... you and I, first," Shard went on, lowering the weapon to point straight at Visari. "Shandari, you stay off to the side for now and watch. This is merely a training bout, an exhibition if you will, so hold back on your full strength." He assumed a basic Juyo stance, and waited for Visari to prepare his defences.

[Rugs]

It had been with some degree of interest that Visari had taken up Shard's offer not too long ago. The deal had been that, in exchange for teaching him some of knowledge of defensive fighting styles with the Force and with a blade, Shard would teach Visari a thing or two about Juyo. An interesting accord, to be sure. Another had come to join them, a Rilan that Visari learned went by the name of Shandari, who also seemed to be a mute, though with the Force such things weren't too important.

Visari snorted roughly at Shard's little jest. Old man, my old ass, he thought. Sixty three years he'd been alive, though due to the extended life span of his species, and his connection to the Force, he was not nearly as aged as one would think. Truth be told, his hair should still have been the smooth, lustrous black it had been in his youth, but a genetic issue had caused it to go white long ago, back when he was in his late twenties. The cane probably didn't help fight off the image of age, but that was intentional; he had no need of the thing, as both of the Sith with him would know. But truthfully, Visari was still in excellent shape, better than many of those who were half his age.

But he kept whatever comments he might have had to himself and continued along. The night air of Korriban was cold, though such things didn't bother him. After some more time spent trekking, the trio made it to the spot Shard had been seeking. It was an interesting place, and Visari could see how one would find it desirable as a training location. Shard seemed eager to go, though, so Visari decided he'd save his observations for later. A smile touched the edge of his lips when the Miraluka drew his acid-yellow blade, and his emerald green eyes seemed to glow in the dark from the reflected light. The top of his cane popped of after a second of manipulation with the Force, and he drew the hilt of his own blade from within. A silver bar of fire burst forth from it, and he set his reassembled cane back behind him with the Force. He took a Soresu stance, and reached out with the Force, preparing for whatever Shard might decide to throw his way. "Let's commence, shall we?"

[Karl the Unfettered]

((Might as well post while I can.))

"We certainly shall," Shard replied, taking a step forward. His blade was high, held back, pointed at Visari; the other arm hung down, and his head almost lolled, illuminated by the yellow blade as he regarded the older man across from him. Visari was fourteen years his senior, but that mattered not. Not here, not in this business.

"Now... Juyo. In essence, it boils down to one thing; a complete will to eradicate all before you. Not unlike Djem So, though that form focuses more on domination than slaying." Another step; the Miraluka was moving deliberately, sliding forward one foot at a time. "It is a very physical style, not unlike Ataru, though more staccato and less fluid than that form. Not so elaborate in appearance, if you will.

"There is no defense in it at all, unlike Shien or Soresu," the Miraluka went on, taking another step forward. "Not normally, anyway. But due to its nature, you can incorporate defensive movements into it if necessary. Typically the fight wouldn't last long enough for such to be necessary, though. Not on your part, anyway. Let me show you."

He lifted his foot; the tip of his blade wavered briefly. There were still about six feet between the two men, yet it seemed, briefly, as if the Miraluka disappeared. A very brief, very intense surge was felt in the Force, and Shard came back into focus; the tip of his blade was less than an inch from Visari's throat, having slipped through all his defences.

"Assured Strike," he whispered, no longer grinning. "Sacrifice power for accuracy, deadly accuracy. You can end a battle, end your opponent, before they have any chance of mounting a resistance." He withdrew, and walked back to his former position. "Naturally I don't use it often; I enjoy my fights far too much to want to end them before they begin.

"Emotion, Visari," he went on, facing about again and assuming a different Juyo stance this time. "To truly know Juyo, you must let your emotions run free, utilize a broader focus and expend greater amounts of energy. The fine line between control and savagery is very important; you will be crossing over it often, and must be able to cross back or you will lose yourself. And from that, there is no guarantee of coming back.

"You must be graceful without grace, powerful without strength... you must find order within chaos, and chaos within order, and through it all maintain your own sanity." Only then did he smirk once again. "Or, at least... an outer semblance of such."

[Rugs]

Visari listened intently as the Miraluka started his talk about Juyo. It was interesting, certainly, and for a moment, Visari's mind flashed back in time, decades ago to when he'd still been young. He'd been in his teens, and he'd been learning under Karen, the Grey Jedi--who coincidentally, had been a Miraluka. She'd given him in depth analyses of the forms, much as Shard was now. They'd always been interesting, and surely this would prove to be as well.

Shard continued his talk, and suddenly he was gone, or seemed to be. And then he was back again, blade held rather close to Visari's neck. The older man's eyebrows lifted, which to most wouldn't mean much, but it was about as much of an expression of surprise as one could expect from him. Interesting, he thought as Shard moved back and continued on.

Chaos. That's what Juyo seemed to boil down to. Controlled chaos, or just barely controlled chaos. Guided chaos. Yes, that would work. It was an interesting concept, and one that was a bit... foreign to Visari. Certainly, he had his emotions, and he had his moments where they seeped out, but for the most part he was calm, and level headed. Cold, perhaps.

But it would not be impossible. There had been times, in the past, where he'd lost the control that he kept on his emotions. And then, he'd fought much differently than the way he normally did. Soresu was his form of choice yes, but he knew Niman; a form that didn't rely on preset movements and ways of striking, but instead left things up to the user to make up as they went along. It could be, if the user wanted it to, a very offensive form, and during those rare times when he was enraged, Visari could be quite offensive. Perhaps this wouldn't be so different than that.

"I see," he said. "It's an interesting concept, to be sure. I suppose the first part would be drawing out that emotion, yes?"

[Karl the Unfettered]

"Indeed it is," Shard replied. "But therein also lies one of the most difficult parts: drawing it out, without being yourself drawn out. Without proper care taken, Juyo can leave you incredibly vulnerable should your opponent manage to counterattack you, either with the blade or through the Force. The emotional investment leaves you little energy for anything else, yet it is critical to restrain yourself just that tiny little bit.

"People often make the grave mistake of assuming Juyo is pure chaos, Visari," the Miraluka went on, dead serious, "and I do hope you will not make that mistake yourself. Chaos is a great part of it, but so too is Control; they are not mutually exclusive, after all." Shard himself was evidence of that; he was insane on a great many levels, yet always presented himself as much, much less than he actually was. Which made it all the more startling when he did let all his restraint go.

"Juyo is contradictory, yet it is imperative one understands the contradictions. There are no true answers; every duelist must discover his own answers within himself. Because of this, no two Juyo duelists fight quite the same; each style is personal for the fighter, as are their interpretations of the philosophies and the answers they have found. Hence, it is possible to create a defensive variation of Juyo, though it would be difficult in the extreme; defense isn't conducive to the necessary mindset."

During his lecture, Shard had lowered his blade, but did not deactivate it; it gleamed in his hand, a yellow ray of death. "Take me, for instance. Before I learned Juyo I practiced Djem So, Shien, Shien's backhand form, and the dual-saber style Jar'kai; these styles concentrate on strength and agression, confusing and overpowering my opponents. My own Juyo reflects this, naturally. However, as you may know, Shien and Djem So were derived from Soresu; they center on accepting the blows or blasts of the opponent and reflecting the energy back at them, more powerful than before thanks to your own strength and passion. It is quite possible to play defensively with either style, but that hasn't been my preference until now."

Then he smirked, and raised his blade. "Not to say I am incapable of such... and with your help perhaps I can refine my defenses. Anyway, get ready, for I am going to attack you now; track my movements, I will not move at my greatest speed. Keep in mind what I have told you, concentrate on it; you will never learn what I have to teach if you cannot." With that he leaped into the air, swinging back and over with his acid-yellow blade, bringing it down at Visari's head as if to cleave him in two.

A split second before the strike would land, though, the Miraluka somehow flipped in midair; the yellow blade became a blinding wall of light, and the blow honed in for the side of his torso. If this wasn't his true speed, what in all the galaxy was? If these were but basic moves and attacks possible with Juyo, what could an advanced practitioner, or even a master, achieve in a fight?

[Rugs]

{Bleh :/}

Visari nodded his head slightly. Yes, control was essential, needless to say. After all, the form would hardly be as respected as it was if all it took to counter it was a little counter attack by one's foe. No, no, that would be disastrous. And so it reinforced the thought Visari had earlier about the form: it was guided chaos. Mostly chaos, from the sound of things, yet enough of a guiding hand to keep it from spiraling out of control. A dangerous thing, that. Shard's talk continued on, and Visari listened with intent. The man made sense enough, but one could only get so much through in words.

Shard seemed to understand this, and told Visari to ready himself. His own blade of glowing silver hand lowered to his side as the Miraluka went on, and he raised it with a nod to Shard. Immediately, almost instinctively, he was in a void within his mind, and all of his emotions floated around outside of it. Calm. Steady. Focused. It was the way he'd been taught to fight, and it'd served him well throughout his life. But the time might come, as it had in the past, where that void would break, and Visari's emotions would be let loose, turned into a tide of power to send at his foe. And when that time came again, it would be beneficial to be able to control it, to guide it, rather than simply lashing out blindly. Perhaps when all was said and done this day, he'd have a bit of that control.

Shard was suddenly in motion, speeding toward Visari through the air. Visari's eyes were still sharp, and he followed the Miraluka calmly as he sailed forward. His blade was held close to him in the manner that Soresu was famous for, and it was not until the last instant that it moved. However, at that same instant, Shard changed direction, and the strike was coming at his side, rather than his head. Visari took note of the abrupt change as he rotated his blade downward, so that it caught Shard's blow vertically. Silver and yellow met with a loud clash before Visari took a short jump back, motioning for Shard to keep coming. The time would come where he'd crush the void and strike out, but he needed to see more first. But that time would come. And soon.

[Hotel]

Shandari followed the two to Shard's desired training spot, choosing to remain on the ground instead of taking to the air. A silent laugh would leave her at Shard's comment as they climbed. There was just something about the Miralukan that always seemed to bring out the more pleasent side of her. She might as well enjoy it while she could.

Upon reaching the plateau, she stood off to the side as Shard suggested, keeping her blades in her robes for the moment being. She sat down on top of a rock in her usual meditation position and watched the two, taking in everything that was said and shown. In a lot of ways, the way he talked about Juyo, it reminded her of her own Trispzest, which made her think she might catch onto it quickly. Only time would tell though as she waited for her time.

[Karl the Unfettered]

Visari's backstepping, in a true fight, would have cost him much; had Shard truly been of an aggressive mindset he would have surged ahead in that tiny window and done grievous harm to the older man. "Do not retreat!" he shouted, lunging in from below as if for an emasculating blow. Inches from the strike actually landing the blade went wild, and the Epicanthix was in danger of losing his feet to the burning yellow beam.

And again the Miraluka changed direction, altered his entire attack vector; now he simply flipped over Visari's head, too fast to follow by sight, landing behind the taller man. One arm siezed his shoulder and yanked backward, while his lightsaber slid forward and hovered, still a death, a milimeter from his neck. "Always on your toes, old man," he breathed, his breath smelling faintly minty. "Every weapon in one's arsenal.

"But, enough," and he stepped away, deactivating the lightsaber as he did so. "You have much to assimilate, Visari, so now you need time to do so. Shandari!" He gestured Visari out of the way and pointed at the Rilan woman. "Batter up!" He stepped back to the far side and again assumed a basic Juyo stance. "You have heard my lecture already, so as you please."

[Hotel]

The Rilan woman stood with a grin, pulling a single saber from her robe. The brilliant pink beam shot forth from the curved hilt as she walked towards Shard, saluting him. She had been waiting for this moment for a while now, to see him in action with a saber. This was going to be fun.

Not one for defense, she made the first move, her blade swinging towards the Miraluka in the typical Makashi fashion, the pink beam lighting her face of, the glow caught in the black of her eyes.

[Rugs]

The exchange came and went, and Shard called Shandari forth. Visari strode over to a place near where the woman had been standing, and let his thoughts drift to and fro as he looked on. The saber styles where interesting things, truly; often, the choices of the styles one fought with reflected their personality in some way, and it was that particular line of thought that his mind came to rest on.

Visari was a pretty reserved individual; it was common knowledge. He preferred--in all things, combat included--to take a steady, analytical approach, waiting for the best time to strike and then striking, rather than blindly trying to muscle his way through. Of course, he could go on the offensive if he desired; though Soresu was his bread and butter, he had Niman--or even Shii-Cho--if the need or urge to mix things up ever arose. And then there was his exceptional ability with the Force, which, honestly, he was more likely to strike out with if overwhelmed in with passion.

And so his mind returned back to the subject at hand. Juyo. It was very aggressive, and very potent, when used correctly. Though, he found himself wondering, would the things learned from a few minutes here really provide any sort of advantage over some foe who could wield a lightsaber with any degree of competence? He rather doubted that. Sure, he could practice it, but at the same time, he could practice things that were his strong point and get better at those, rather than learning some form he in all likelihood would never have a need for, nor use. So it was, in that moment, that his decision was made; this wasn't something he'd need. Sure, it was generous of Shard to offer it, and Visari was thankful, but at the same time, what purpose would it serve? He'd stay with what he knew, for he was quite good at that. Besides, he had the feeling that if he ever was forced to fall onto some form against he knew little of, he was in trouble anyway. But still, he'd stay and watch what the Rilan woman did.

Or, he thought he would. The subtle buzzing of a comm device in one of his pockets caught his attention, and he removed it. "Sir," came the voice of one of his officers onboard the Ballestra, "one of our business partners is requesting a meeting with you."

Visari closed his eyes for a moment and sighed before going on. "Is it something that can wait?"

"No sir. He's informing us that it is of the utmost importance and immediacy."

"I hope," Visari said flatly, "that he is aware of what happened to the last man that claimed the same thing and ended up wasting my time."

"He is sir. He even mentioned that incident when he contacted us."

"Is whatever this issue he's bringing up good or bad?"

"Forgive me for my sarcasm sir, but are they ever good?"

Visari chuckled under his breath at that. "I've taught you well, then. There might be a future ahead of you, if you keep that head on straight."

"Thank you, sir."

Visari tapped his fingers idly on the head of his cane. These situations were not unheard of, but they often seemed to arise at the most inopportune of times. Of course, he could make the man wait, but that would be wagering that whatever issue the man had was one that could be made to wait. Visari had learned long ago, when he first took control of what was then Netellus Arms that such decisions could lead to days, or even weeks, of headaches, and it was best to deal with whatever the problem might be. And with the way the company had wildly expanded over the last twenty years into the conglomerate giant that it was today... well, such was the price of success. "I'm on my way," he said as he turned on his heel. "You'd do well to inform him one more time that I will not at all be pleased if he wastes my time. I'm in the middle of some important business."

"I will, sir. Ballestra out."

"You will have to forgive me," Visari spoke through the Force to the Miraluka and the Rilan, "but matters of extreme importance have arisen, and I am required to deal with them, lest they grow into something worse." With that, he took his leave.

{Visari exit}

{So, yeah, I'm beyond a little miffed with some things that have to do with this thread, which coupled with my general lack of interest in the dealings therein, has worn my patience to its end. So I'm out.}

[Karl the Unfettered]

Shard was ready, his blade up and waiting to accept Shandari's attack, when Visari was hailed over his comm unit. "Eh?" the Miraluka muttered, stepping back and lowering his blade. Who could be calling Visari at this time of night? And who were they to think they were more important than Shard and these lessons? "What's going on?"

He could have used the Force to listen in on the whole conversation, but that would have been disrespectful in the extreme, especially to Visari; the Epicanthix was one of the few whom Shard considered an equal, and he did not want to incite the man's ire. So, with only one side of the conversation to help, the Miraluka was left with a very puzzling picture indeed, which was only compounded when Visari took his leave so curtly.

"Go in peace, comrade," Shard called half-heartedly, preoccupied with his musings. He knew Visari wasn't one to skip on an appointment, so whatever this was must have been dire indeed; yet, from the sound of things the situation, whatever it was, wasn't passed on in all its details. Regardless, Visari had still left, and this was troubling.

Have I offended him? Shard thought, panicking slightly. No doubt it was something in his teaching methods; he was a very hands-on teacher when it came to lightsaber instruction, prone to showing off and borderline callousness when it came to exhibiting techniques and movesets. Perhaps Visari was unused to such an approach? Even so, it wasn't cause to simply walk off. Was it?

The matter was sufficiently troublesome that the Miraluka, in the throes of an exceedingly rare moment of self-doubt, felt he would not be able to face Shandari as she deserved. "It would be disrespectful in the extreme to continue the lesson without the presense of Mister Netellus," he said out loud, deactivating his lightsaber and returning it to his belt. "I regret that we cannot continue tonight, regardless of our enthusiasm. I trust you can find your own way down, my dear." She would understand that he was not being deliberately curt; he was simply distracted, and unable to properly focus on their duel.

Shard bowed, turned, and departed as well in pursuit of Visari.

((Rugs' leaving sort of defeats the purpose of this thread, plus it killed whatever muse I had for it anyway. I'm sorry, Hotel, really I am. Hopefully they can fight later on, ya?))