Training Chambers (Open)

[Ice]

(OOC - Anyone is welcome to use this thread for your training purposes.)

Elona sighed and rose from her seat. This young man needed a lesson and not of the physical sort. His eagerness could be used to fuel good energy, but in this case he was far to reckless.

"Two Knights may spar and learn much from the other, so it is true of Padawans. Never assume there is nothing for you to learn, young one, for each passing day brings forth new knowledge." Elona did not turn away from him, instead she stared into his face. She saw the potenial for greatness, yet there was no way he would reach it in his current mind set.

She shook her head, saddened that she could not help the young man. "I will not spar you, for there is nothing you would learn from it. My reasons for being here are now fulfilled."

It was then she turned her back on the boy, striding away from him and approaching the young Varen. "If you agree, I will take you as my Padawan."

(OOC ---- EDITED ---- I have used a nameless NPC in order to keep my post intact.)

[Meira]

Meira entered one of the training chambers, feeling refreshed but still a little antsy. She had taken the council's advice and had gone to rest and collect her thoughts as they decided what they would do with her. But even after her meditation, she felt the impulse to move. She chuckled a bit to herself, a bit of sadness tied in. Her uncle had always taught her to be mindful of the present and listen to herself. "Your body will tell you when you are hungry, tired, or sick. These are easy messages to understand. Through the force, you will learn to listen to its other messages as well."

Well, right now, her body was telling her she needed to practice. The room was plain and spare, with only a control panel and a few benches. The rest of the room's qualities lie hidden behind panels in the walls. Meira approached the control panel and entered her desired training specifics. She then approached one of the benches and began to remove her robe. As she did, the weight of her uncle's lightsaber caught her attention. The sadness that had so recently accompanied her memories of her recently deceased master was beginning to dull, and was being replaced by fondness. Again his words, so clear and real, found their way through her mind.

"The Jedi teach us to let go of attachment, and they are right. Attachment leads to possession. What we posses can be lost or taken from us. The Kiffar teach us that one's clan is their life, and they are right. Meira, you are Valli. This means that generations have lead to your creation. Our people are a part of us. We are one. Because they are part of who you are, that cannot be taken away. As Kiffar, and Jedi, you and I are faced with the difficult challenge of balancing these two truths."

Meira was beginning to understand her uncle's words. When he died, she felt sorrow at the loss. She felt a hole in her life, and in her connection to the force. But as the days passed, and as she allowed herself to let go of the physical form of her uncle, she began to understand. He was Valli, a part of her. The hole she felt was growing smaller.

She set the cloak and his lightsaber on the bench. She then turned around, taking her own lightsaber, which mimicked his in style, from its place on her hip. A flex in her hand and the violet blade ignated and extended before her with a hum that filled the silent room.

Begin. She said as she took the defensive stance of her now well practiced Soresu form. From small panels high in the walls, four training remotes emerged. The remotes floated through the air and began to encircle the trainee. Meira allowed them to do so and reached out with the force to keep track, she need not see each one directly. Soon, the remotes began to fire and Meira was moving her blade quickly to deflect the bolts. With each move, a hiss and flash could be heard, indicating a successful block. Meira maneuvered the blade fluidly, easily moving from one block to the next, the whole while keeping focused on the movements. She could feel the pulse of the lightsaber as she swung it, always dangerously close to her own body, but also always in control.

"That is the way of Soresu." Her uncle had told her. "You have excelent control and patience. You will learn this form easily." And she had. With no urge to attack, Meira took to form iii with great success. Deflection, resilience, patience. Meira understood what it meant to be the eye of the storm. She could save her energy and watch the seeming chaos around her with a discerning eye.

Soon, she was predicting the movement of the remotes, one, two, three moves before they were made. Now she saw the pattern of their attack. In some ways, it couldn't be entirely fair. Remotes were programmed after all. They would always have a pattern, no matter how complex. With the knowledge of the remotes' movements now fully in her consciousness, Meira now had only to act.

With a fluid duck and step, Meira avoided two shots. Each shot flew over her and collided with a the remote on the other side. The two remotes were hit simultaneously and fell to the ground. Another shot fired, and Meira deflected it, causing it to hit another. Now only the one remained. Meira allowed it to advance on her, and she stepped backwards, gaining speed. At the last moment before she would hit the wall of the room, she spun left and the remote, moving too fast, collided with the wall. Now standing behind it, Meira quickly slashed the remote, causing it to fall in two halves on to the floor.

Disengaging her lightsaber, Meira returned to the control panel and pressed a button. Two small cleaning droids appeared and quickly cleaned up the mess.

[Jenno]

Varen listened as Elona let loose with her words of wisdom. It seemed that with all Jedi,there was a point where they became the ones to lecture the young and inexperienced with their gained wisdom. The young adolescent couldn't help wonder if he too would become like that, a strong and powerful Jedi Knight who could protect the innocent and deal out his wisdom without appraisal.

That's when he was suddenly shocked by Elona's statement, she said it so simply. Yet it revealed to Varen that recently, with the constant swapping between masters for random missions, that the had given up hope. The one thing he had always had, and he'd unknowingly lost it. And suddenly he felt so light, so uplifted that he almost forgot where he was. Had those few words of his been so wise? All this time around the masters, things had just come to make sense when he was out on missions, training seemed to have more of a purpose. And a need to understand the living world and the way things work blossomed inside him and now the words he needed came to him easier. Perhaps he was already on the path to becoming the strong Knight he envisioned.

Now wide eyed in realisation, Varen was speechless for a moment, his mouth moved to speak yet his throat seemed unable to focus properly. Until a few moments passed and he brought himself back to reality. "I-I would enjoy learning under your guidance Master Nubinar" Varen bowed respectfully before standing up straight, he smiled, uncertain of what was to come next.

[Ice]

The sensation of pleasure washed over Elona. She knew she had just made the right decision in taking Varen. She smiled warmly at the young man, sweeping her arm in the direction of the door.

"I believe we should speak with the Council and inform them of our decision." Her eyes traveled to Kesan, who was walking toward them. She knew he would return to his apartment, for he found the Jedi Temple too stuffy and didn't care at all for being under the scrutiny of the Council.

He stopped beside her, inspecting Varen with a critical look that was mostly for show. "Hmmm... I guess he'll do. I'm just glad you didn't pick the other kid and I thought miniature Jedi were supposed to be well behaved." He smirked, nudging Elona in an attempt to get some sort of a laugh from her.

As usual though she just shook her head and ignored his weak humor. Seeing that she was unimpressed, Kesan bid them both farewell and left the Training Chamber.

With him gone, Elona was able to focus on Varen again. "Shall we?" She asked.

[Jenno]

She was serious! Varen couldn't believe it, after all that trying and then out of the blue, and she was actually serious about it! He paused for a moment, realising that his excitement was washing over him, and it was not becoming of one training to become a Jedi. So he steaded his breath, slowly bringing it back to normal, trying out make sure he didn't have another outburst of emotion, for that would only receive strict words. And he needed to able to control himself, not to have others telling him to keep his emotions in check. That was the first step to becoming the Knight he envisioned.

After watching the Twi'lek exit, the young boy looked towards his almost council approved master. Varen bowed his head in response to her question. "Yes Master." he said, unable to stop a smile breaking through, and why should he stop such a small thing, for it was a joyous occasion. But first of all he had a question on his mind. "Master," he asked, his smile vanishing in the search for knowledge, "may I ask who that Twi'lek was, because he seems to know you well, yet he was not a Jedi. Sorry, I am just a bit curious."

[Vreem Took]

"Well done" came the aged and sharp voice of Council member Vreem Took as he moved from his vantage point in the doorway. Having been given this most recent assignment not too long after his return from his previous mission, he was beginning to believe that his role in the council was become a lot more active than many of the other members. True, he preferred to be out in the Galaxy, helping where he could opposed to stuck in a stuff room full of some of the greatest minds of the council, but still he'd like to see some of the other members do as much work.

Nonetheless, he didn't let these thoughts prevent him from becoming psyched up for the upcoming missions. Especially when it involved working with two promising Jedi. His secondary priority would be to observe the Padawan before him, Meira Valli, whom had recently returned to the council bearing grim news of her master. Sadly Vreem had not had the honour of becoming acquainted with him before his demise. Like most of Jedi, Vreem only knew them briefly from audiences with the council, due to his absence during his Jedi career, he had missed most of his opportunities to meet people and gain a known status. That was why to most he was a mystery member of the seated council.

But his thoughts quickly returned to Meira and the matter at hand, after her audience with the council, there had been much debating to whether or not she was ready for knighthood, and so the choice was made to send her on a mission under the guidance of a master, who would inform the council if she was truly prepared for the promotion. However, seeing as there were no available masters for this mission, it was decided that Vreem would go instead. And then, due tot he seriousness of the mission, they would be joined by a promising Jedi Healer, who Vreem still had yet to inform of this mission. Even standing and watching her train, he could see years of dedicated training and wisdom passed down from her Master. She appeared to have a certain drive that few Padawans did, and that made Vreem smile slightly.

"You posses good control of the force, very few Padawan's can perform Soresu at such a high level. No wonder the council was stuck deliberating your case for so long." He moved over to one of the few seats in the room and sat upon the soft round surface. "I am Vreem Took, a member of the council, and I've come to deliver our response to your proposal of Knighthood." He waited to see her response and to gain her attention, and also hoping to see slight surprise at his announcement of being on the high council, for they did not often hold meetings in person unless it was important and there was always his age. He looked much too young for a council member, barely old enough to be a master on most accounts. In fact it often amused him how often he was mistaken for a Knight by those who had not seen him in the council. He now merely waited for Meira's attention.

[Ice]

Elona smiled warmly at Varen's question. It wasn't exactly hard to explain about Kesan, though many found it odd that the two traveled together. She contemplated how to tell her new, or almost new, Padawan, knowing he would need to accept Kesan's presence among them.

"Kesan Si is his name. My former Master, who I was very close to, was sent on a mission to Ryloth and she requested that I accompany her. Though she was killed, Kesan helped to clear my name and solve our mission. He has traveled with me ever since." She studied the expression on Varen's face, attempting to gleen information though his features remained placid. "I hope his presence does not make you uncomfortable."

[Meira]

Meira had not heard the man approach, and was slightly taken off guard when he spoke. She turned quickly at his words, but was quick to calm herself. To be startled was fine, but Meira had no reason to fear inside the Jedi temple. Taking in his appearance, Meira wondered who he was. He seemed young, but with many Jedi, it was often hard to tell their true age. Meira wondered if the force helped to keep them young. It would make sense. Through the use of the force, one could lessen the pains of training. Age would not show itself readily on a well conditioned face.

The man continued to speak, complimenting her form. She bowed at his words, accepting the compliment humbly. He then introduced himself. Vreem Took... a member of the council. Meira's eyes widened ever so slightly, but again, she returned to her calm expression. He had seemed young, perhaps too young to be on the council. But Meira inwardly chided herself for drawing such conclusions. She was a mere padawan and had no authority to make judgment on anyone, much less a higher ranking Jedi. This Master Took continued to tell her that he was here to deliver the Council's decision. Meira's muscles tightened at the sound of these words. He paused, and Meira could see that he was awaiting some kind of response. So again, she bowed, and then spoke.

It is an honor to meet you, Master Took. I thank you for your comments on my practice, but I must say that my skill is entirely in thanks to my former master, Evos. She then took a deep breath, steadying herself and clearing her mind in preparation to receive the news this Master had brought her. Slowly, she knelt down, her head slightly bowed. I am ready to receive the Council's decision.

[Jenno]

(OOC: It's short and sucky, but English exam sucked out all my writing-ness.)

Varen's face was hit with a bit of surprise when he heard Elona's words, he had thought that the Twi'lek, whom he now knew as Kesan Si, seemed rather friendly, however he didn't expect that he'd have done something so gallant for the sake of a Jedi. For some reason, the young Jedi got a sense of easy going and an air of laziness from Kesan, hence the reason he was quite surprised to hear about his actions. There were very few people in the galaxy who would go out on a limb to do such a thing.

So, in response to Elona's question, Varen merely shook his head and uttered a brief "no" before voicing his thoughts. "He sounds like someone with good intentions at heart. I suppose I'll have to wait to judge the rest of his character though." The Padawan smiled now, finally ready to head to the council chambers and to be assigned, at last, to a Master.

[Vreem Took]

Vreem managed to catch a glimpse of the slightly surprised look, and smiled inwardly to himself. Although he had to commend the Padawan on her ability to control herself, as most of the apprentices would often let their jaws hang freely as they gawked and gazed, trying to seduce some reasonable explanation as to why someone who seemed in his late twenties could possibly be on the council. It was times like that which made the Master chuckle at the misinterpretation of his race.

But Vreem became slightly at the modesty of the Padawan, as he was with all Jedi, even himself. It seemed to be the Jedi's nature to praise others for their hard work and claim that they couldn't have done things without others. Yet those that stood before him and said that were often those who truly did warrant praise of their own. Such as Meira.

"First of all young Padawan, you need not be so modest. True your Master will have instructed you well, but never forget that the only reason he is remembered as a good teacher is due to the tasks which you carry out. Learning is a two way thing, and for Master to be considered 'good' the learner must also inherit the same praise." He paused for a moment, letting his small gem of wisdom sink in. "Now, moving on to the matter of your proposed Knighthood," he stopped for a moment, uncertain of the reaction that was to come, "I regret to inform you that the council has not accepted as they know too little of your currently ability. Therefore," he said, lifting his tone slightly, "you will be sent on a mission to the planet of Devaron with both myself and a Jedi Healer. Our primary objective will be to discern the reason for the current increasing levels of tension between the female government and the male rebels. Now, although it is not our place to come between the discrepancies of government on a planet, it is our job to try and prevent bloodshed. So, we will be looking to finding out who or what is behind this and find a way to bring an end to it so that we may arrange a meeting between the two factions in order to resolve the issue as peacefully as possible."

Taking a brief pause to let all of the information be absorbed by the Padawan, who was most likely feeling a mix of emotions right now. After taking a deep breath in, he continued. "Now, even though the primary objective will be to uncover the truth, the reason that I have been sent with you is so that I may observe you and make judgment upon the possibility of your Knighthood. So throughout the mission I don't want to lose sight of the goal, but don't forget that you will be watched. Do you have any questions?" He finished rather casually, expecting a number of questions and queries.

[Meira]

Meira had always been awkward when dealing with praise. She often felt that to accept it readily was dangerously close to vanity. Perhaps it was her introverted nature that made her uncomfortable, she did not know. But she nodded her head in a quick bow, indicating that this small lesson had been received. It would have to be meditated on, however, until Meira could find the balance within herself between pride and vanity.

Master Took then continued on, coming to the real reason he was here, to deliver the Council's decision. He paused before divulging the words that would quite literally decide her future and Meira felt as if a million standard hours had somehow compacted themselves into that brief moment. And then he spoke, she would not be knighted. The Council did not know enough. Meira's stiffened muscles relaxed, her shoulders falling slightly. Though weather this was out of disappointment, or relief, she could not tell. She had to admit that she was both excited and afraid of moving up to the rank of Knight. And if she was completely honest with herself, much of that confusion stemmed from the death of Evos. If he were still alive, she could turn to him for guidance. It was likely that her confusion was simply from the lack of a well known mentor.

She took a deep breath and then looked up at Master Took, nodding her head. She understood and respected the Council's decision. But then he continued, with orders of a mission on which she would accompany Master Took and a Healer. Her ears perked, her eyes widened slightly, and her chin lifted at the words. What did this mean? Surely she could not be apprenticed to Master Took... the Council members didn't take Padawans... did they? But Master Took soon explained why she was to go on this mission with them. It was a test, one that would give the council the information that they needed to make a decision.

A smile escaped her. Sometimes, the course of action in a problem can be difficult to determine, but other times, as complicated as the problem could seem, there were simple solution. This seemed to be an ingeniously simple solution to a problem that seemed galactic in proportions in Meira's eyes. Of course, it could be a matter of perspective. To Meira, this was all very personal and confusing, but the Council was apart from her personal involvement, and could look at her situation without bias.

Master Took had given her the quick details of the mission and then asked if she had any questions. In truth, she had many, most of which she didn't feel she needed to bother Master Took with, for they regarded Devaron and it's inhabitants.

I am not very familiar with this planet or it's inhabitants. Would it be possible for me to upload some information from the archives to a datapad, so that I might study it on our way? Her uncle had always advised Meira to learn as much as she could about the places they were going before setting out on a mission. One of the few possessions she kept, aside from her lightsaber and clothes, was her datapad. It could not hold much, and so had to be cleared after each mission, but she had found it to be vital on their missions, as she was young and knew very little about the galaxy, aside from the places she had been with Evos.

Another part of what Master Took had said came back to her attention.

...we will be looking to finding out who or what is behind this...

Are we to suspect that there is outside involvement? She asked, curious to know if the Council detected more than just a civil dispute.

[Vreem Took]

Master Took watched the Padawan's face with glee, of course it was an invisible to any onlooker. The Jedi trait of showing no emotion was one he had a bitter distaste for. In fact, he often failed to comment on any light show of emotion, as he felt it was often healthy for a Jedi's inner being. It was opinions like this one that had almost halted Vreem's ascent to the Council, but his past gave a strong insight into why his mind was bent this way.

His world turned grim for a moment as his train of thought had brought him to the past, a place he hadn't visited for a long time, and a memory that still haunted him to this day. Would he ever be free? He doubted it. Forcefully he turned his mind to other things, his history was a problem he sought to deal with on another occasion, when he had more free time. Of course, he knew that was just excuse so he would never have to deal with it. An inner turmoil, one which the Council thought he had been through before his return, when in reality, he was afraid to do so. It was apparent to Vreem that he was in fact a danger to the Jedi, for if something were to go wrong whilst trying to confront his turmoil...

Meira, he focused upon her now, stopping his mind heading down the one-track road it was destined to. He listened to her words with some confident and before replying he closed his eyes and nodded his head slightly. "Of course it is possible, and I would both recommend and compliment you on that." And with her question in regards to the outwards source, he shot a quick sly look at her, he was slowly becoming more and more impressed with this Padawan, perhaps she truly was ready.

"Yes," Vreem replied bluntly, there was no point to withhold any information from Meira just because she was a Padawan, "due to the nature and timing of this event, the Council believe that the Sith Empire might have an important role to play in this. And if they do, we believe that it could very well be a plot to leave the planet open for subjugation." He paused for a moment before standing up. "Now, if there are no other questions, or none that can't wait for the journey, I suggest you gather what you want and meet myself and Jedi Knight Niv-taro in the hangars for immediate departure."

[Meira]

Meira nodded as Master Took agreed that a quick stop at the archives would be beneficial in helping her prepare for their mission. He then answered her second question. He was simple and direct in his response. She felt no sense of information being kept from her. His honesty was both comforting and disarming. She was put off by his mention of the Sith. She had yet to encounter this dangerous force, but knew that in order to grow and advance as a Jedi, such encounters could not be avoided forever. This would be a major part of the test, she was sure, and would require some time for reflection if she was to be ready to face the Sith.

Understanding that the time for talking had passed, Meira stood, collected her robe from the bench where it lay, and bowed quickly. I will not take long. Thank you Master Took. And with that, she moved swiftly from the room to collect her needed information as quickly as possible.

[Aeron]

Malus rubbed his growing stubble as he walked into the training salle, smiling when he found it empty. It was a good morning to be up and training, but he supposed that the various Padawans and Initiates in the temple were probably still sleeping.

Striding across to the room controls, he adjusted the setting of the remotes that would come out to that of his level. Shrugging his robe from his shoulders, he tossed the garment loosely to the ground and started to go through a few stretches.

‘Reach down, bob left, bob right, reach up and stre-e-e-e-tch!’ It was the same mantra he repeated when it was his turn to help train the initiates. He repeated the motion a few times before he twisted backwards so far that his hands were touching the ground behind his head, and proceeded to swing his legs into the air, remaining completely vertical.

“Ugh, how the young ones do this as often as they do I will never know.” He had started to walk on his hands, doing a few full laps of the salle before flipped back to walking on his own two feet.

Reaching to his belt, he unhooked his trusty saber and waved his hand lazily at the controls, using the Force to activate the remotes. Spinning the unlit Lightsaber in his hand, he caught it in a reverse guard and switched on the weapon with his pinky, smiling when the familiar snap-hiss reached his ears, and the hum of the weapon filled the once silent room.

The training remotes came forward and began swirling around the Sentinel in erratic and hard to predict motions, stopping abruptly at times and going in the other direction. Malus merely closed his eyes and opened his other senses, waiting for the first attack. The sound of laser fire reached his ears over the hum of his Lightsaber, and Malus pivoted on his heel, bringing his blade up into a basic guard and deflected the bolt. Soon the other remotes joined in, and each time Malus blocked a blast of laser fire, the pace increased.

All six of the remotes fired at once and Malus let out a half as he launched himself into the air, twisted his body so that he was horizontal. Propelling himself with the Force, Malus was easily spinning and he let go of his Lightsaber, the speed from both his spin and with an extra push with some telekinesis made it spin and block each of the shots.

Malus landed lazily and caught the Lightsaber behind his back in a reverse grip. ‘I love that move...’[/color]

With that, Malus moved in and out of the blaster fire, ducking and weaving ever closer to the remotes and cut them down one by one. He waved his hand at the control panel again, and several droids came in from a few panels towards the other end of the room, and cleaned up the mess he had made. Rubbing his stubble once more, he wondered when the next class of Initiates was going to show up. He had no missions as far as he was aware so it would be a good chance to see where a few of the younglings stood in terms of skill. He still needed to find a Padawan after all.

[Jenno]

(It's been ages since I've stretched my lyrical legs on here, and since no one else seems to want to RP, I'll grace the board with my presence )

Basic, basic, basic! Why did he always have to go over the basic techniques. He wasn't some little whelp-like youngling anymore. He'd been out there on missions already, he deserved the right to learn more advanced stuff. Shii-Cho was so boring, a Dark Jedi would be able to break the form in a heartbeat and what did he have to rely on after that? He had a double bladed lightsaber, yet he'd barely received enough training with it to avoid stabbing himself with it. To master the form would take several life times at this rate.

Of course, it didn't help that his newly acquired master had been sent on a mission. That would impede his training for a while. It hadn't been long since he'd even been taken under Elona's wing. And now he was right back where he had been before he'd officially become an apprentice, the training chambers. This was really the only place he could go to learn now. All of the lessons were far too simple for him and he was now no longer to enter the youngling tournaments the Masters sometimes held. He'd tried to ask a few of the Masters for one off lessons, just to divert his boredom and frustration at least. But things were starting to pick up and the free time which Knights and Masters now had seemed to be decreasing with each passing day.

Shining saber swinging like a decorative tassel, Varen strolled through the training chambers, the occasional sound of a burning energy blade would pique his interest. Until he entered the chamber to find younglings attempting to practice. And failing quite considerably.

However, he happened past one room from which escaped a flurry of vicious slicing sounds. Vigourously thrusting his head around the doorway, his unkempt blonde hair swayed to an untidy stop as the impatient apprentice caught a glimpse of the Knight training. As the Jedi performed a maneuver with was coated with acrobatics and control of the force, Varen's jaw dropped a mile as he simply blinked. Without forethought, he simply muttered the words "Now why don't they teach that in basic" out loud. Which most likely reached the ear of the Knight.

[projectsunfire]

Araon laid a gentle hand upon the young boys shoulder and spoke softly so as not to startle him. "Because you have not needed more till now." Araon's familiar smile seemed to reflect the lack the genuine joy it used to have prior to Subterrel. Just in the period of a two years he'd lost a Padawan, a Grand Master, and two comrade Jedi, whom he had been close to.

"You look well Varen. Have you grown a few inches since I saw you last?" He chuckled softly and gave the young padawan's hair a friendly ruffle, and watched the Jedi knight in the training chambers going through their saber Kata.

"So you want to learn some more advanced technique?" Araon watched silently as the Jedi Knight's blade arced gracefully. "I might be willing to give you a little training if you wished. Assuming its ok with your master, though I can't imagine why they would be upset if I showed you a few things."

[Jenno]

(OOC: *Sigh* looks like that’s Varen’s second Master gone (y). I’m really not having much luck with Masters for him .)

Even with the soft hand and words, Varen still found himself slightly shocked. He turned and recognising the voice, couldn’t help but hold back a smile. It had been a good long while since he’d seen Araon, and this was a reunion he was glad to have. They had both experienced loss around the same time, not too long after the esteemed Knight had lost his Padawan, Varen’s Master of the time had vanished on a mission. It was assumed she had become one with the force.

Although is face showed an expression of joy, his eyes flashed with a look of concern. It was painted across his face, all of the pain within him; it was as if they had been ground into his face. It certainly was not similar to the face he recalled from their last meetings. But, of course, it was to be expected. Everyone had heard about the mission which had claimed the Grand Master’s life. Although he knew not what had happened on that mission, Varen still had a wild enough imagination to conjure up idea of what horrors may have claimed the Jedi’s life. And to come back from that, the Padawan had to assume it was similar to the ‘horrors of war’ which he often heard about, when one’s mind would be seriously altered by what they’ve seen and done. But Araon was alive, and Varen was pleased about that.

At the offer of some advanced training, Varen’s eyes immediately brightened. It was a prospect he had yet to be offered. He’d barely scrapped the barrel due to the problems he had with finding a Master. And inwardly he thought he would be falling behind all of the others who were currently his age. It was true he practiced what he knew every single day, but that would still only get him so far. Although it meant his basic skills were above par, it never helped him feel content.

“Araon!” He finally replied happily, “well, she hasn’t really seen me practice or anything yet, so I’d love to be able to surprise her. If you don’t mind of course,” he said, a little bit of his concern flashing through, “I wouldn’t want to force you to do anything you didn’t want to, although a flashy technique would be cool.” He grinned in his usual childish way. He was often like this, two halves of the same page, on one was written his maturity which would often transcend the common Padawan’s and then there was the rough writing of his childish character. Even though he often got spoken to about this second part of his personality, he never changed; he felt that it was a part of what made him different.

[projectsunfire]

((OOC: Honestly I should have apprenticed you along time ago Jenno, we're probably the two most frequent posters on the site.))

Araon sensed the familiarity in the young Jedi, it lightenned his spirits... if only slightly. Though he could sense the Padawan's concern, but for what.

"I wouldn't mind at all, Padawan." Araon said, a little smile growing on his lips. It somehow made his face seem lighter. "I don't believe the force would have urged me to offer you training if it was the wrong thing to do."

Araon's eyes rested upon the Padawan as he thought things through. "You have a great potential locked away inside you young one, as I'm sure you've heard spoken many times. Likely you are sick of it." Araon stroked his chin with his left hand. The leather of his glove made a soft rubbing sound as only leather can.

"I see you've already created a Lightsaber. Double bladed sabers are a rarity among the Jedi." Araon said motioning toward Varen's saber casually. "Very well." Araon said with a matter of fact tone in his voice. "We will begin slowly. Walk with me to an empty sparring chamber and tell me of your skills. Your master was a great believer in the Makashi form was she not?" Araon slowly turned, giving Varen enough time to fall in beside him.

[Jenno]

(OOC: If I'm known as one of the most frequent posters, then that is a scary thought. Think I'm starting to get back into this writing thing.)

“Yes,” Varen replied bluntly, “although being told about my potential is often followed by a lecture on my behaviour and attitude.” He looked away, a look of mild annoyance on his face. The masters did like their lectures; he could easily vouch for that fact. Varen was certainly not renowned as an exemplary student. However, the young Padawan would often claim it was not his fault, there was only much he could learn from reading texts from the Archives and heeding the advice he was given from his ‘Master of the week’, as he liked to put it.

Araon’s comment on Varen’s choice of lightsaber acted as a slight deterrent for the boy. It was true, the art of the double blade was a rare path, it was even rarer for someone of his age to have started training in the form. Still, the Masters all seemed to take a disliking to this abnormality and so he was often instructed to use only a single blade.

Of course, when on his own, he dedicated most of his time to the practice of double bladed combat, for it was a style he felt much more comfortable using. From an early age he had never felt quite confident or secure using a single blade; Varen felt such styles left too many openings in his defence. Usually when a Jedi got that feeling they would slip into the use of dual sabers. Varen had tried it… once, yet the impatient boy found his left side weak and uncoordinated. Sadly he lacked the determination to train his left arm and hand in preparation of the style. It was then, thanks to the Archives, that he discovered the double bladed lightsaber, from there his interest eventually stemmed into a physical trial. It was only a brief practice, but it led Varen to construct his first saber in tribute to the style he wanted to learn.

He did find it ironic, now he was older, how much he used the Archives. As a child he had picked on those who spent their spare time in the Archives reading up on different techniques or even the history of the Jedi. Yet here he was years later, spending most of his free time in the Archives as he had finally recognised its brilliance. In fact, both the Archives and training area had become almost like a second home to him. His days, when not spent on random missions with an equally random Master, were either spent in the Archives researching, in the training area practicing techniques or in his own chambers meditating. His life had grown dull. And yet, the Council had not dismissed him, even with his failure at attracting a permanent Master, and the young Jedi couldn’t help but wonder why that was.

“From what little I could comprehend, I believe she was” he answered truthfully, returning back to the matter at hand. Quickly moving beside Araon, Varen followed his lead before continuing on. “Master Nubinar only had the opportunity to go through the basics, which I’ve been through a number of times” he added with what seemed like annoyance. “Makashi is an elegant style which focuses mainly on precision, footwork and the use of an attacker’s strength. Opposed to the usual strength which is used for other styles, Makashi utilizes the lack of counter weight of a lightsaber’s blade, meaning the wielder can use sharp attacks to strike their opponents’ vital areas.” He recalled the memories of his studies and the amount of times he had gone through the ‘first lesson’ of Makashi. “Also,” he said, remembering a piece of information about the style which had intrigued him, “for more advanced users of the style, they are able to overcome multiple opponents and with the use of the force, some are able to use the precision of the style to deflect blaster bolts. That’s why true Masters of the style are truly deadly.” He smiled cheerfully as he finished, in recognition of his own ability to pay attention and absorb information.

However, this didn’t mean he was a Master of the style, far from it. Due to the repetition of his training, Varen had only grasped the most basic skills required for the style.

[projectsunfire]

Araon sensed the conflicting emotions within the padawan as he mentionned Varen's Lightsaber. He made a note of it in his head to reassure the Padawan that he did not intend to lecture him. Varen's conflict seemed to dissipate as Araon sensed the miriad painting of the Padawan's mind, change focus.

The longer Araon felt the Padawan's feelings, the more obvious it became that he was not being challenged enough. Varen needed a challenge. Inwardly Araon began to comtemplate the depth of challenging one of the Achademies stronger students.

He could sense the Padawan's focus change yet again to the present. Good. Araon thought to himself. Silently, he listenned as the Padawan related what he knew of the Makashi form. He nodded agreement as the Padawan made several excellent observations of the form, though his eyes did not stray from the path they followed.

“Also,” the Padawan continued, “for more advanced users of the style, they are able to overcome multiple opponents and with the use of the force, some are able to use the precision of the style to deflect blaster bolts. That’s why true Masters of the style are truly deadly.” Varen said. The excitement clear on his face, and in his voice.

"Indeed it is a deadly form, Varen." Araon said as they came to the door of an empty sparring chamber."What do you think of it personally? Does the form reflect who you are?"

Not waiting for an answer, Araon entered the room ahead of Varen and used the force to turn on the lights, which quickly illuminated the room. With another casual wave of his hand, he caused the windows to darken, blocking out the distracting hover vehicles from outside. The sparring chamber floor was cushioned with an astro fabric; Soft, but un-yeilding.

With an almost irreverent care, he laid down his lightsaber in a small stand on a shelf that containned practice sabers. He missed the voice of the now silent crystaline creature within his lightsaber. Yet another casualty of his mission to Subterrel.

Blocking the memories from his mind, Araon took two practice sabers out of their charging sockets, and tossed one to Varen. We'll start with Shii-Cho to warm up. Araon picked up a remote and designated Varen as its target before switching it to active. He let it go, and it hoverred in the Padawan's direction. Then did the same for himself.

His Remote lifted off and began to circle him. slowly, not attacking till he ignited his lightsaber.

((OOC: Don't feel like you need to RP this out. Its just a warm up. If you want to Write up feel free.))