A new knights try at teaching (Draconis Caesar)

[Kha'ro Ottosuki]

[member="Draconis Caesar"]

Ten minutes. Kha'ro's new pupil was to arrive in ten minutes. They had sent messages to each other through holo-recorders, and had arranged to meet here. The silver jedi order courtyard. Kha'ro remembered all his master taught him. He couldn't hope to match up to that, but would definitely give this his all. And so he waited, hood off and sabers holstered, seemingly calm as could be. Waited, waited, and waited a little more.

Five minutes left. Time seemed to be moving extra slowly. Four minutes. Three. Two. One... This was time - time for Kha'ro to take on a pupil - time for him to experience being a Jedi Knight...

 

[Draconis Caesar]

Draconis arrived in the courtyard just a few miniutes late. He had been practicing his saber techniques at a sacred Grove he had found and was still sweating from his prior exertions. He was dressed in a simple tunic that allowed him mobility. He spotted his master quickly. The man stood with a sense of authority that said he was a combat veteran. "Greetings master, I apologize for being late," the padawan bowed low "I am Draconis, it will be an honor to learn all you have to teach," [member="Kha'ro"]

 

[Kha'ro Ottosuki]

[member="Draconis Caesar"]

Kha'ro smiled,

"Greetings. No issue with being late. Now I will need to test you, and evaluate what to teach. First of all though, lets get you cleaned up, looks like you were doing some training before this."

Kha'ro beckoned his pupil and would walk to the side, nodding at Draconis to follow,

"There's no point in me testing you unless you are at your best, so let us relax for a moment, and tell me about yourself. A teacher must know his pupil."

He speaks calmly, his voice hard to read. Taking a seat on the ground, he crosses his legs and gestures for Draconis to follow. His robe spreads out behind him and he reaches out through the force, trying to feel the surface emotions of his pupil.

 

[Draconis Caesar]

Draconis followed his master to where he sat and mimicked his position. Draconis was well versed in keeping his emotions in check. His father had taught him a technique in which he burned his emotions in a flame and became one with the void that was left. Draco studied his master for a moment attempting to read his body language, but it seemed his master was the definition of calm and Draco liked this about the man.

"I come from the planet Thyrsus. My father taught me the ways of the Echani martial arts before he died, so many would consider me well versed in hand to hand and bladed combat. I had no mother growing up. I was raised on a farm with my father. Later he joined the local militia and when I came of age I joined too. He was killed by Mandalorian raiders while defending are farm..." Draconis said the last bit a little stiffly, the void in his head threatening to break at the mention of his father's death "I.. I led a padawan to the Mandalorian encampment and we defeated them, the padawan was lost to the dark side and his master exiled him. As I faced this trial alone, resisting many temptations to join the dark side, the padawans' former master decided I qualified to become a knight myself and asked me to join the order. I never looked back," Draconis cocked his head curiously and looked to his new master.

"And what of you master? How did you come to join the order?"

[member="Kha'ro"]

 

[Kha'ro Ottosuki]

[member="Draconis Caesar"]

Kha'ro listens intently,

"Quite the story. I have nothing quite as special. My parents were jedi, and I was taken into the order and trained since being a young child. What happened later... A tale for another time. It's of no importance right now. So it sounds like you already have a good amount of combat and field experience."

He raises up in a single swift motion and draws both his blue sabers,

"Try to strike me with your sabers, non-force enhanced. This first test will be to judge your combat ability, without relying on the force too much."

Kha'ro adjusts to a defensive position and readies himself.

 

[Draconis Caesar]

"All stories are special master," Draconis said smiling at his master.

Draconis stood and placed both feet apart. He raised his saber over his head and placed an arm out as if too touch his opponent. He had entered a balanced lightsaber technique known as shi-cho form. He circled his master slowly looking for a weakness in his own defensive form. Satisfied he found the best approach of attack, Draconis charged forward with a slash at his masters blade. [member="Kha'ro"]

 

[Kha'ro Ottosuki]

Kha'ro shifted into Soresu form and noted the swiftness and efficiency of his students attack. Bringing both sabers forth to block the attack, Kha'ro would use his strength to force [member="Draconis Caesar"]'s sabers back as he went for a kick towards his stomach. This was not with the intention to do any damage, but to knock his student back.

"Good. You found the weakness in my stance. Strike me again."

[member="Draconis Caesar"]

 

[Draconis Caesar]

Draconis stumbled backwards as the kick connected squarely with his gut.

"Oof," Draconis heard his master's praise and smiled despite the pain "Thank you master, but perhaps next time i'll actually land a blow,"

Seeing his master enter soresu form Draco decided to counter with Ataru. He entered the stance and somersaulted over his master attempting a downwards slash as he landed.

[member="Kha'ro"]

 

[Kha'ro Ottosuki]

[member="Draconis Caesar"]

Kha'ro squints, noticing the form change and is surprised by the somersault. Despite this, he brings his sabers up and defends against the attack, albeit he is pushed back a bit.

"You are very acrobatic, but remember that lightsabers don't have weight, utilize that. Somersaults make for strong slashes, and can finish an opponent off with a single slice if done correctly, but they are easy to defend. Feint, and use the enemy's confusion to get them with a somersault, they aren't the best to start a battle with."

Kha'ro smiles and fiddles with a setting on his sabers,

"Alright, now we will leave single attacks. Set your sabers to the low-power setting. Attack again, but continue your strikes. I will fight back this time, and I want you to give defense your focus when I do so. On low power, our sabers will not cut, at most leave burns. This will be your final test for saber combat."

He readjusts into Soresu and prepares for Draconis' attack.

 

[Draconis Caesar]

Draconis nodded his master's advice was sound and it made sense. It was pretty obvious to spot a somersault attack, especially if you led with it. Draconis switched his saber settings to low power and prepared himself for the duel to come. Draconis remained in Ataru form and thought of a combo based on what his master had told him.

Draconis fainted with a stab at his master's chest, but before the blade could connect he preformed another somersault attempting to get behind his opponent. Then he brought his blade up in a quick upward slashing motion. At the height of his attack he would preform a front flip over his master and attempt another slash at his mid section. Keeping his attacks short and light, probing for a weakness in his master's defense.

[member="Kha'ro Ottosuki"]

 

[Kha'ro Ottosuki]

[member="Draconis Caesar"]

Kha'ro moves quickly, treating his lightsabers like an extension to his body rather than a weapon. He moves cleanly, not making un-needed moves. Rather than full-on blocking the attacks, Kha'ro would parry them, every time more impressed by Draconis' speed. While Kha'ro was able to parry all the attacks, if you look closely, you may notice he leaves his left side quite unprotected. He reacts by swinging his right saber to the left, and his left saber to the right, before bringing them together in a motion of scissors. He watches closely, examining Draconis' method of defense.

 

[Draconis Caesar]

Draconis noted his master's switch from defense to attack and quickly switched to soresu form. He let the blades come within inches of his body before blocking them so that his defense would require but a flick of the wrist. By doing so he was attempting to conserve energy as his master was but he already spent to much energy on his attack. As a result he was able to block one of his master's sabers but the other held true and cut right through his right side.

[member="Kha'ro Ottosuki"]

 

[Kha'ro Ottosuki]

[member="Draconis Caesar"]

Kha'ro sees that he has landed a hit, but notes Draconis' method of defense. On the low power, a single hit would not do much more than slightly char the jedi cloak. Kha'ro steps back, and stays in his two-saber form, Jar'kai. He shifts into the Ataru variant, still using Jar'kai as a template for his dual-wielding, and swings downwards with one saber. After that saber was probably blocked, Kha'ro would leap over his pupil, still keeping his eyes focused on his technique, and swung once more with his other saber, horizontally.

 

[Draconis Caesar]

Draconis noticed his master's change in form and decides to stay in soresu. As his master brings his blade downward Draco lifts his blade and blocks the attack. Then as his master leapt over him he would simply roll forward, his shouldering being a little charred where he had to withdraw his upward block. In a real fight it only would've been a scratch as Draco's roll was quick and the blade would not have time to cut very deep. He quickly turned to face his opponent. His master was a better swordsman, but he would not admit defeat.

[member="Kha'ro Ottosuki"]

 

[Kha'ro Ottosuki]

[member="Draconis Caesar"]

Kha'ro lands and spins smoothly, swiftly and quickly, turning to face his pupil again. He notes how effective that dodge was, the roll turning what, in a fight, may have been fatal, into a mere graze. Kha'ro deactivates one of his sabers and brings it to his belt, re-entering Soresu form. He breathes slowly, looking closely,

"Come, attack me, and search for the weakness in my defense. You have to think fast, and adjust during your attack, before I can fix my flaw."

 

[Kha'ro Ottosuki]

[member="Draconis Caesar"]