Private Among the Eaves

[Travot Ravenna]

Trails seemed to grow out of the Silver Rest's grounds. Some were well-trodden paths that took Jedi learners to well established practice areas or scenic overlooks for meditation. Others appeared to be barely present - a few bent branches from a careless padawan and some trampled grass were the only tell-tale signs that path had (once) existed. Travot strode through one of these latter trails, remembering when it had been more well-established. Unfamiliar saplings sprouted in the middle of the path and Travot had more than once had to travel around a "new" bush. How many years has it been since I was last here? He guessed that it had been no more than two years, but apparently those two years had been long enough for the forest to start reclaim his old stomping grounds. He deftly stepped around and a root and a few feet up dirt-clad slope to enter a small grove which enclosed a green and brown mottled underfloor that was almost perfectly flat.

His eyes darted around briefly before slowing down to drink the whole site in. He smiled. At least this is just like I remember it. The jedi knight cast off his cloak over a nearby stump before strolling into the middle of the clearing. Ravenna began to stretch and run through some simple calisthenics to warm up before Milla Caranthyr arrived. Not nearly as spry as the apparent near-human, his body would some additional work to help keep up with the youngster in their training session.

 

[Milla Caranthyr]

The trails were easy enough to follow for one familiar with the forest surrounding Silvers Rest. Milla herself was was very familiar with the surrounding area, probably spend more time here then in the actual temple. She darted through the forest like a force fueled rocket. Each step was nimble as she wove in and out of the trees, jumped over logs and skipped over small streams. Bare feet scarcely making a sound with each step. The teen came to an abrupt stop on a log. She watched, listened and reached out with the force. There, in the middle of the clearing, was Travot Ravenna . Milla had been offered the chance at learning new lightsaber styles, and best of all, it was outdoors! How could she say no?!

Milla slipped out of the forest and into the clearing. She watched the man run through his stretches for a moment before speaking. "Master Ravenna, you wished to see me?" Milla knew why she was here but she decided to be somewhat formal about it, that even meant keeping her tail from twitching in too much excitement.

 

[Travot Ravenna]

A slow smile crept across his face as the bulky man turned to face Milla Caranthyr . In many ways, they were physical opposites. She was small and lithe. He was large and muscular. His hair dark, her's not so much. Yet he felt something of a kindred spirit, perhaps the result of both being orphans who had had to learn in unforgiving environments.

"I understand that you are looking to learn some lightsaber techniques, and I am need of some practice myself. Tell me, have trained in any lightsaber, formally or otherwise?"

 

[Milla Caranthyr]

He was a lot bigger than her, but still not the biggest person she'd fought against. That title went to Or'Fol Moric. Still, she knew she shouldn't take any challenge lightly. As far as training went... "I've had some. A few formal classes, I've picked up here and there."

Travot Ravenna

 

[Travot Ravenna]

He nodded in understanding. With war so frequent in the galaxy, it was rare to see a Jedi who hadn't had at least some experience in handling a lightsaber. Even at the start of his journey in studying the ways of the Force, Travot had been quickly taught the basics of Soresu by Master Wurth before his late master had passed. Soresu had served him well in the backwoods of the galaxy to the front battle lines near the Core against the One Sith and later on, the Sith Empire. But Soresu was geared more towards protecting oneself.

Admirable from a Jedi's philosophical perspective and highly practical for a survivalist, but Soresu but itself rarely offered outright victory against a fellow Force-user. A few encounters with Sith warriors using Makashi had driven the large man to learn that style as well. While he did not have the typical build for a Makashi duelist, he had found it to be an interesting and fascinating style - though it too had its limitations - especially against large numbers of enemies or those who preferred to use ranged weapons - ironically the groups of opponents where Soresu shined most against.

Travot studied Milla Caranthyr with some curiosity.

"Can you show me your typical fighting stance?"

 

[Milla Caranthyr]

Milla gave a nod at Travot Ravenna 's request. Letting out a slow breath, her right foot slid back a little. Not far enough for a deep stance, but enough to move quickly when needed. She pulled the horn lightsabers from her hip and held them in a reverse grip, the horn encasing the hilt was a familiar feel. The blades ignited in a hiss as blades the color of smoke and ash sprung from them. Milla moved her blades in front of her, one further in front than the other. It was the stance on someone who wished to move quick in both strikes and blocks.

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Interesting.

It was said that the Echani communicated via fighting - every stance, every strike, and every block told them something about an opponent.

A devourer of martial arts lore, the man from Susevfi could not immediately place her stance into a single orthodox school of lightsaber styles - though he thought it closest to Jai'kai Niman or maybe even Shien. That wasn't a bad thing - predictability did have tendency to get one killed after all - but it meant to Travot that she had likely not learned or used a formal style - and that might mean that she might have knowledge or technique gaps which a formal style wouldn't have simply from its long development from hundreds of users from over thousands of years.

Reverse grips is certainly an interesting choice...more unpredictable to many and sometimes quicker on the attack, especially against multiple opponents, but also denying the ability to effectively thrust at range as well as more simple forward defenses...and these are all Makashi's most basic, foundational techniques...

Travot assumed the most basic starting stance of a Makashi artist, placing his dominant right foot pointed forward towards Milla Caranthyr and moving his left foot to a noticeable angle to his right foot. His dominant right hand almost seemed to reach out towards her before he activated his lightsaber. A blue blade sprung out to point at her before Travot angled it slightly down and offcenter.

"This is the opening stance of Makashi," started Travot, "by making my feet almost perpendicular to each other, I narrow the cross-section of my body. That's less target area for someone to attack, which makes it harder for another saber duelist to hit out of sheer luck. It also means that I have less of my body that I have to worry about protecting with my saber. It makes it extremely energy efficient to protect against a single duelist on the battlefield.

But let's talk about movement for a second though, the lifeblood for anyone who hopes to survive on the battlefield.

What do you think the advantages and disadvantages of this stance are to your own?"

 

[Milla Caranthyr]

Milla watched as Travot Ravenna took his stance. She mimicked his stance as he explained the details of it. Then the questions came. "The stance is good for one opponent, but probably poor for multiple ones?" As for her own stance, well....that was a little more complicated. "My stance...is one I've kinda put together from watching people fight over the years. So, it probably catches people off guard, but since it's just a bunch of stuff put together it won't be effective against a trained opponent?"

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot nodded in approval to Milla Caranthyr 's first answer. Makashi's most common opening stance allowed for exceptional acceleration and reach in a single dimension, but it did little for protecting someone from the sides where other opponents might be. He considered her second answer about her own stance with a bit more pause.

"Every stance has a tradeoff," started the experienced knight, "so it is always a matter of choosing the right one for the circumstances. In many ways, your stance and choice of using two blades appears to take inspiration from Shien, and to a lesser degree Jar'Kai - they are both forms that have found much popularity in recent years among some of the more combat focused Jedi and Sith. But they still have issues. In using a reverse grip, you sacrifice reach of the blade with a thrust, and by using two blades, you do not have a free hand that might be put to good use elsewhere - whether as a focusing element for another Force technique or for a two-handed grip to overpower an opponent's bladelock or guard. Most people using two blades in slashing techniques, almost a necessity in reverse grip form, find themselves having to expend a lot of physical energy to keep that offense going. In many ways, the antithesis of the Makashi form that I'm about to expose you to. But sometimes demonstration is more effective in teaching that simple discussion. Try to land a blow on me, and I'll demonstrate the basic defensive technique of this style."

 

[Milla Caranthyr]

What Travot Ravenna made sense. With her fighting style she needed to be quick and agile, which luckily she was. The draws were pretty simple, such as not being able to use most force techniques, but others, such as overpowering an opponent, would be a problem regardless. The need to learn the flaws in her technique was a must, if she ever wanted to get better.

So the easiest way to go about this, was the most straightforward. The small teen brought herself back into a fighting stance and prepared to strike. She quickly drew in on the force before releasing it as she lunged, the little Kiir closed the gap in a hurry. Milla never slowed down as she reached Ravenna. Her right foot hit the ground as she used her full bodyweight to swing her right blade in for a strike.

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot watched as Milla Caranthyr swung her blade around, it seemingly moved abruptly and very quickly, probably due to her lunge and the weapon's light weight. Rather than trying to simply block it with a hard counterattack, Travot caught the tip of her blade near the hilt of his saber and abruptly rolled his saber to the side with a flick of his wrist - a classical parry that knocked her blade off to the side.

"A couple quick points," said the knight, "Makashi doesn't use hard blocks and brute strength, but rather uses parries to misdirect attacks into directions which aren't harmful to you, and may open up your opponent to other attacks. That strategy might work well, given your physical build. Notice that I tried to catch the tip of your blade with the portion of my blade closest to my wrist. This is a simple leverage, requiring less strength and physical effort on my part. This plays into my earlier point about being able to exhaust your opponent over time with a minimal amount of effort on your part. Now, the movement of the wrist is particularly important to work. It's a rolling action, not directly opposed to your line of attack, but rather working on pushing the attack to the side, or up or down depending on the exact position. Do you want to try practicing this parry technique yourself?"