Private Connecting on Ank Kit-aar at her Usual Spot

[Xevnlie BrightScorch]

Interacting with Kyyrk

Xevnlie was outside her home, attaching things onto the back of a small speeder. It wasn't the fastest thing out there, but it was all she had. Inside a small metal case, she placed inside her food once she got there, some additional clothes and a communicator. With everything packed, she climbed on and sped off to her secret location. Even though it was only a field outside the town, she felt like it was her place to train and have some peace.

Arriving minutes later, since her home was on the outskirts of the town she was living in, she dismounted the speeder and got her things. The field was fairly large, but her small space in it was cosy. The grass was more short cut, a large singular tree rested in the centre of it and she loved how everything within the force just rested here. Taking some of her food, a piece of recently cooked bread, and started to eat peacefully. Her mind wandered to the previous day. Not much thought went to it before she put down her food and took up her weapon. The dark chrome lightsaber was slightly longer than most, but shorter than some. The golden bands wrapping around the handle were slightly worn looking. Not to mention the material's colouration was starting to chip off, creating some sort of black highlights. She quickly let her hair down covering her neck to her shoulder blades. Her mask, a black and grey face mask with dark tinted eye pieces had silver strips long the mouth and cheek section so her breath didn't cause her to get too hot long her face. She went to the middle of the field underneath the tree and knelt down. Her mind opened has both knees hit the floor gently. Her lightsaber was still gripped in her hand as she felt out with the force. The tree before her started to hum in her mind with the life energy that she so recognised, as did the grass and even a strange bird over head. Her mind was at peace, the feeling of the Force flowing out to the world around her. She was completely and utterly calm. However, she could feel a small presence of the Dark side within her heart. But many shared that conflicting presence in them. She just didn't want to give in to it, like she had done when she got angry. Her breathing was calm and deep, as her mind relaxed in the mid day sun and shade of the tree.

 

[Kyyrk]

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T E A C H​

It was indeed a calm and peaceful day. The sun was shining in the open field, save for in the shade of the tree under which Xevnlie BrightScorch now rested. Voph recognized the act of meditation as well as anyone. As the girl reached out through the Force, she found the presence of the tree, full and blossoming with life. But she would also find another. Perhaps something she had never felt before.​

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As Voph seemed to materialize out of the air, his presence became fully known to the girl. He was, it seemed, a duality. He was strong in the Force, that much was certain. One hardly needed to search to discover his force sensitivity. Not unless he made them. Within him, light and dark moved in equal measure. He was one that had drowned in the dark, and had succumbed to the light. One who had walked both paths, and yet was controlled by neither. Within him there was anger. Loss. Sadness. But also Hope. Duty. Resolve.​

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Voph withdrew his hood, and lifted the helmet underneath from his head. He bore the same copper armor he had the day before in the bar, polished and pristine. And though he only seemed to be a decade older than Xevnlie physically, his aura spoke of untold centuries. "A calm place you have found for yourself, little one."​

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[Xevnlie BrightScorch]

Within her meditative state, Xevnlie felt something shift. Something that felt off. Hearing a voice she opened her eyes and jumped to her feet. With her eyes settling on Kyyrk she tightly gripped her lightsaber as she drew up a defensive stance, her lightsaber still without any blade as she prepared her self. Her left foot was forward, with the opposing one behind her. Both hands gripped the handle of her weapon as she raised it in front of her body down by her gut area. "You?" Xevnlie asked before remembering the feeling she had felt just then. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?" she asked, her weapon now being gripped tighter in her hands. Her mask had made her voice sound a bit robotic, speaking through it reminded her of a certain warrior that she had researched about. The legendary Sith Lord, Darth Vader. But she knew her voice was still coming through more than his ever did according to some old records. She had never seen actual combat, but there might been a first for something.

His face and armour did look familiar, but she still didn't let that over wash her focus. Whilst she had seen him only yesterday, Xevnlie was hardly trusting. She had only seen the Force wielders yesterday as the first on the planet she had been calling home for 4 months. Her bronze and crimson slim robes gave her a fairly recognisable look in the town, but his armour, helmet and even face stood out more. Armour and a face that had seen many a battle. "If you mean me harm, I will defend myself" She said, her voice slightly shaking with her usual shy attitude coming through.

 

[Kyyrk]

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T E A C H​

Voph smiled as he clipped the helmet onto the back of his belt, shaking his head in admiration of...frankly the foolhardiness of the girl. "Be still, child. If I meant you harm, we would not be speaking." Voph's head turned as he looked about the small clearing. He drew a deep breath of the cool air, and exhaled. "Who I am is unimportant. But if its a name and a station that you seek, you may call me Voph. I came back to speak with you. Tis rare to find a Force Sensitive being in Confederate space that has yet to meet another Force Sensitive." ​

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Voph turned his attention back to the girl, smiling at her. In spite of his imposing figure, Voph did not seem to be a threat. Not yet. "I can only imagine what solitude you have sought as you seek to clear your mind. To understand this gift you have been blessed with. I have come to make you an offer. You spoke with Hisashi yesterday. He told you of the Knights Obsidian, yes? We can train you, if you would seek such things. Show you the deeper mysteries of the Force."​

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Xevnlie BrightScorch ​

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[Xevnlie BrightScorch]

Xevnlie's mind was starting to slow down as @Toph spoke. After a moment of him stating that he wasn't a threat, she lowered her stance and belted her lightsaber. Her mask still on her face, she looked at Voph before giving a nod. "I've been traveling for some time. And not many Force Sensitives come here. I can't say why," Xevnlie said, her voice shy again as she spoke to someone she had foolishly called foe only seconds after he arrived. Listening to Voph talk about that man she had talked to, and about the group he had also mentioned, her mind focused. "I've heard of your group. The Knights of Obsidian. It's rather temping to side with you. But," Xevnlie said before looking at the grassy ground, "I'd like to ask some questions first before I consider joining you." Her mask continued to make her voice sound slightly robotic as she spoke to Voph.

 

[Kyyrk]

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S P E A K​

Voph didn't move as the girl returned the lightsaber to her belt. He simply watched quietly as she suggested that she had no idea why she hadn't found any other Force Sensitives. "In this day and age...who can say." Voph turned to look at the tree behind the girl, and slowly walked over to it, reaching out to lay a hand against its bark. "The Force works in mysterious ways. Testing us in ways we never could have foreseen." Voph's hand moved to brush a young sprout near the trunk of the tree, almost in a reverent manner. "Perhaps it is because the Force wanted to teach you a lesson. Or perhaps you are just unlucky. But whatever happens, it is the will of the Force."​

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Voph's hand dropped to his side, and his brow furrowed as he looked from the tree out into the field. It is the will of the Force. A lesson he'd learned the hard way. Voph sighed quietly, and turned to sit with his back against the tree. For a moment, he seemed to move as if with the weight of a thousand sins. An old man who had seen too much, and now simply waited for his day to die. A lifetime of experience and yet the mantle of youth upon his brow. Voph bent his right knee and rested his respective gauntlet upon it. He looked up at the girl, and pointed with the hand resting on his knee. "I will answer your questions, on one condition. There is no need for masks and treachery here. Take the mask off, and let us speak without the pretense of secrecy. After all, what use is a mask against one who can see right through it?"​

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Xevnlie BrightScorch ​

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[Xevnlie BrightScorch]

With Kyyrk moving passed her, she kept her masked eyes on the floor. Seeing this person at a place that she thought was her own private location was unexpected, but not entirely unwanted. Hearing how the force caused everything gave her a feeling of understanding and confusion. Why would the force remove her from other force sensitives? But that would have to wait. In return for answers, Toph requested that she remove her mask. After a moment of her thinking, Xevnlie reached up and removed her mask. Without the eye pieces, her eyes had to adjust to the sudden increase of light across her amber eyes. The skin across her face was slightly paler than the back of her hands, since it rarely got hit by sunlight.

"So," Xevnlie began with her mask now folding itself in a simple eye masks on her belt, "Who are the Obsidian Knights anyway? Everything went to hell before I could get a discernible answer from that guy." Xevnlie wanted to make sure that the people she was potentially going to join were actually good people, and not tricksters. "And, do you all follow the Light Side of the force, and renounce the Dark Side?" Xevnlie added her shy attitude coming from her voice at that last question. Her voice had gotten slightly quieter when speaking. Her eyes shot from the Toph to the ground out of shyness.

 

[Kyyrk]

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S P E A K​

Voph was prepared to answer the girl's question, but then she asked a second one. He opened his mouth to speak, then shut it after a moment's pause. "The Knights Obsidian are the protectors and defenders of the Confederacy." Voph gestured to the planet around them. "Ank Kit'aar is one of the many worlds that have joined our cause. In fact, we had just concluded business on this planet when our paths crossed the first time at the cantina." Voph paused for a moment, still clearly unsure of how best to answer the girl's other question.​

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"The other question you ask is...complicated. The Knights Obsidian do not have a single unifying belief. Not in the Force. We are brothers in arms, defending the citizens of this nation against whatever may seek to harm them. And to that end, our bond is unbreakable. But as individuals, we are allowed to believe a good many things. Some do follow the path of light. The School of Lotus, they are called. They, perhaps, are the most akin to the Jedi of old. But we also have the School of Thorn. Those who follow the path of power. The teachings of the Sith."​

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Voph shrugged as he continued. "Who is right and who is wrong, it is not my place to say. I have seen enough wars of the topic to know I will never live to see the answer. All I ask of them is to unite under a single banner, and defend their people, same as any other." Voph's head turned as he looked out towards the sun. "There are others paths, however. The Mandragora, who follow the ideals of the Nightsisters of Dathomir. Secretive bunch, but...reliable." Voph turned his head to look at Xevnlie. "And the School of Acanthus. For those who walk their own path. Or, even, for those like me who have seen the Force for what it is, and find folly in ascribing light and dark. But, that would be an entire discussion of its own, I feel."​

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Xevnlie BrightScorch ​

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[Xevnlie BrightScorch]

Xevnlie was quiet once again as Kyyrk spoke. Information about the group 'The Obsidian Knights' was interesting to listen to. But also hearing about there being 4 schools that taught the many aspects of the force. One about the light side, one relating to the Sith arts, one about the mysterious magics of the nightsisters and lastly one that didn't stand with any side instead teaching the force from a neutral side. It was interesting to hear about a place that could teach all sides of the force. Xevnlie desperately wanted to enrol in the school called, 'Lotus' and learn the ways of the light side. She did always see herself as a more Jedi like being. Even though her style of combat was considered almost outside of Jedi use, the deadly Form 7. Given her lightsaber type she found it oddly easy to use.

Feeling Voph's eyes on her, she kept her gaze to the ground. Her anxiousness could clearly be felt even through the force as she mumbled, "That all sounds nice." Her voice was fairly quiet and her shyness was evident. "Do you think they'd take me in as an apprentice?" Xevnlie asked, her eyes looking at Voph, unsure about the question. "I mean, I follow the Jedi code and respect the balance that they follow, but their restrictions on attachments and inhibiting their emotions was strange. Your emotions can be used with the force, but you can't let them over run you and falter your decisions," Xevnlie said, stating what she thought of, in her eyes, the strange and harsh restrictions that the Jedi went through. She awaited Voph's response to her thoughts, her shyness creeping back to her as she realised what she had just said. "But I do want to go to Lotus, I just don't want to be held back and stopped from being me." she said, her voice shy again.

 

[Kyyrk]

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S P E A K​

Voph chuckled quietly as the girl asked if she'd be accepted in the Lotus, turning his head to look away from her. She shared much of his same concern about the Jedi Order. Perhaps the reason he'd never returned. Well...between that and the warm welcome they offered him. "I would imagine they'll be alright with it." Voph turned back to the girl with a smile on his face that might have been accompanied by twinkling eyes, if he had eyes. "We're Knights Obsidian. Not Jedi. We do not hold ourselves to the same restrictions that they do." ​

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Voph leaned back against the tree and sighed. "I understand what you speak of. Emotion is the core of who we are. What we do. And you are correct. There is a power there that few see. But only if you master it, and control it. Neither the Jedi nor the Sith knew the truth of this matter. But it is possible to be good, and do good, even if you do not follow the strict law of the Jedi. Or that's what I keep telling myself, even though I only half believe it."​

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Xevnlie BrightScorch ​

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[Xevnlie BrightScorch]

After Kyyrk told her all the answers to her questions about if she would be accepted because of her different views of the Jedi Code and if anyone would accept her as an apprentice, Xevnlie thought for a moment. "Well, if you say that I'll be accepted, then I'll join the Obsidian Knights," Xevnlie said, her shyness still kind of present but it was slowly being taken over with a voice of pride. "I just hope that I can learn from someone who will be willing to have a person who uses one of the deadliest and violent forms in lightsaber history," Xevnlie said, taking her lightsaber in her hand, her eyes moving to it. "Form 7.... A form of lightsaber combat that uses the darkness in your mind to fight at unrelenting speed and ferocity. But I've refined my own version. A version that combines countering my opponents moves," Xevnlie said pressing both buttons with one hand, causing twin golden blades to ignite, as she twirled it around, "whilst also going in for the kill." Xevnlie's eyes reflected the golden light which casted a sunset colour all over her body with each twirl and spin of the blade. Her body was still and motionless as she moved her right arm and hand to make the blade move around her at blinding speeds. With a final flash of her golden blades, they retracted into the handle of the saber. Her right arm slowly lowered down to her side, hooking her lightsaber on her belt before sighing. "But I do have much to learn about other forms of combat and how vast the Force truly is," she said her eyes glancing at Voph again. Her eyes, without the golden glow, returned to her amber eyes. "I think I have much to learn from true masters. All I can really say is that I'm very skilled in combat and partly with the Force," Xevnlie admitted, her eyes falling to the ground again. Still looking at the ground Xevnlie mumbled, "I'll probably take a couple of days to get my affairs here in order so I can go to Lotus, find a master and begin learning."

 

[Kyyrk]

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S P E A K​

Voph turned his blind gaze towards the girl's lightsaber as it activated. The girl certainly knew how to handle the blade, but using a lightsaber in combat was far different than showmanship against naught but the empty air. She seemed almost ashamed to reveal that she practiced the Seventh Form. Voph chuckled quietly at this. "I imagine the Lotus will come to terms with you using such a form." Voph pushed himself to his feet as the girl's saber deactivated. "Even if you are still woefully under-versed in it."​

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Voph took a deep breath in the morning air. "After all, the Lotus answer to one who is quite well versed in its usage." Voph looked back to the girl and shrugged lightly. "Or I was, until I made it my own. Much as you profess to do. Juyo served me well in my younger days. But now I do not fight for my own glory. Only to defend those around me."​

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Xevnlie BrightScorch ​

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[Xevnlie BrightScorch]

After admitting to a person she had only met yesterday that she had practiced the 7th form of Lightsaber combat, a dark secret that she kept to herself, she was slightly taken aback after hearing that Kyyrk said she was woefully unversed in it. That kind of hurt her a little. A form she had practiced for a good while and chunk of her life after receiving her crystal, with years of research before that to learn about it and the moves that one can preform in it, and she was told she was weak in it. "I've practiced Form 7 and 3 ever since I got my crystal and constructed my lightsaber. I'm more skilled at it than some who tried to learn alone. All I wanted was to be able to protect people," Xevnlie said, her voice slightly sounding hurt but still strong, "I saw countless records of Jedi in the past who used every other form of combat die against Form 7. I wanted to be as skilled as I could be so that who ever was going to try and kill either me or someone innocent, I could save them and cause the attacker to flee." Her stance had changed from one of someone incredibly shy, to a tall standing woman who knew her skill was great.

When Voph said how fought for glory and to protect others, Xevnlie looked at him, her eyes still holding her shy gaze, but her stance and voice was certain. "I use form 3 and 7 to protect myself and others. I think it deserves more credit as a form people can use fairly often. Even master it and use it regularly," she said, before turning away, "But that's why I refined a version of it over my years of research and training. I won't allow the darkness in me to control my actions or influence my use of my Lightsaber. I use my focus and clear mind to the best of my abilities instead of that darkness that it requires." Xevnlie sighed before saying out loud, "Who knows, maybe if I become a master and get someone to teach, I might be able to teach them that very same refined version." Her eyes looked slightly happy about one day being a mentor to someone, but she knew her skill in both the force and a Lightsaber had to be up to par in order to have that right. But it still didn't derail the thought of helping teach a new and advanced version of a once forbidden form to the next generation of protectors.

Taking some breaths, Xevnlie turned again to Voph. "I'll be joining Lotus in a few days," Xevnlie stated, her amber eyes moving to the large tree beside them both, "In the meantime, I'll continue to practice and meditate. That should hopefully prepare me for the transition." Her hand slightly shook as she thought about how others might see her. When she showed them her skills, would they outright reject her. Xevnlie had to take some time to throw those thoughts out of her mind. One question burned at her as she allowed her eyes to move to Voph again.

She couldn't keep it in any longer. "When we first met, yesterday, I didn't feel it then. But when you first arrived here I could feel something odd about you. It was like, the light and dark side of the force had marked you. Why is that?" Xevnlie asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. "If you'd rather not talk about it, then I won't press it," she finished, her eyes moving to the floor.

 

[Kyyrk]

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T E A C H​

Voph shook his head softly as the girl cited Jedi killed by Form VII as her reason for learning it. "It is not the Form that strikes one down, but the individual using it. A Master of Soresu is just as capable a fighter as a Master of Juyo. Your reasons for learning it are admirable, but do not delude yourself into thinking that the Form will give you all you need to overcome." Voph did not speak as a reprimand. No, he spoke as a warning. From the tone of his voice, it suggested it was a warning that had gone unheeded by more than one individual in the past. Voph smiled softly at the girl as she continued to speak about one day training her own student. Teaching them the ideals that she held so dear. The spirit was quite admirable.​

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But then she asked about the Force. Voph's smile faded, and he looked away from Xevnlie. Why did the Dark exist in equal measure with the Light? "Some of us are not so fortunate as you. To have a choice to suppress the darkness and strive to do only good in our lives." He spoke so quietly that his voice was barely audible. Quite clearly a subject he did not enjoy talking about, but had realized that it was a necessary topic. Voph was quiet for a long moment, the memories of past wars flooding through his mind. "In all creatures, there is a balance. Two sides to a single coin. In all life, there is a balance. Can you truly know heat without cold? Can you know illumination without darkness? Sadness without first a feeling of joy?" Voph turned to look back at the girl as he asked these rhetorical questions. "There is no dark without the light. And there is no light without the dark. Some may live in perpetual twilight, their beings never amounting to more than a dull glow." ​

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Voph looked down as he held his dominant hand aloft, the shadows cast upon it by the nearby tree seeming to deepen and darken, until a writhing mass of black smoke billowed forth from his hand. For someone as attuned to the Force as Xevnlie, the Dark Side would seem to blossom around Voph at even this meager display. "The Darkness once consumed me. And I let it." And just as fast, the darkness dissipated and an orb of light sat perched in Voph's hand instead. And the darkness morphed to a soft yet warm glow. "Some of my choices were my own. Some were born of necessity. I've done things I would not wish upon my foulest enemy. But in those days...We did what we had to for survival. I pray for a world in which war is but a nightmare. A fleeting memory on only the oldest of souls. But I know it's a fools errand." Voph looked back at Xevnlie. "All I can hope is that my life is given to save another. And, if in my death but one life is saved, then it is a worthy sacrifice."​

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Xevnlie BrightScorch ​

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