Excellence is an art to be won

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien felt [member="Azriel Zadimus"] succumb. With the count's mind laid bare there were a great many things he could do Trick his mind, turn his mind to mush and leave him brain dead perhaps even stop his heart. However in light of Azriel's rather admirable defence Lucien opted to leave him be. Lucien released the count "Rest now, you might find the towels a relief" He inclined his head toward the towels "When you're ready we'll move onto sword play"

After an appropriate amount of time lucien stood up taking up his cane like a sword. and he waited once Azriel was ready and appropriately armed they began " We will start with form one Shii - Cho at it's most basic it is a functional form lacking in glamour, but it will do for a foundation, the main offensive play in this is the slash " He demonstrated a basic diagonal slash "The main defence is to well ... but your sword in the way, It's all quite simple" He took stance "Now duel me with form 1"

 

[Narfi Hróðson]

Azriel was panting as the attack subsided. 'What I could do with such a power' He thought and he began to see [member="Lucien Cordel"] in a different light, he was not only a gentleman noble of high caliber but he used the force with such skill and near effortlessly that he couldn't hope to admire the man. Taking a towel he wiped himself with it and then stood up and removed his shirt a as he dried himself of as well as he could. "Lucien as you are intent on teaching me and as grateful as I am I wish to let you know something about me." He said in a calm and respectful manner as he moved to Lucien and stopped a fair distance from him. "I am not human I am an energy vampire." He said as he made his eyes glow from yellow to red and then he let out his fangs and claws to show his mentor purely what he was. "You have nothing to fear from me, since I doubt I could harm you even if I tried." He then chuckled as a droid came to him and handed him a cane as well.
He mimicked the slash and parry that Lucien had shown him and then stood ready to attack in a stance.

 

[Lucien Cordel]

(Sorry for the delay thought I would have wifi on holiday , I didn't)

Lucien reacted in a way that was probably unexpected when [member="Azriel Zadimus"] unburdened his secret. He just shrugged "It changes nothing " He replied uncaring, His close friend Mikhail Shorn had been through a phase of vampirism, his had been far less controlled and significant trouble when he put a fist through a high councillor. It would have been amusing had it not caused a crisis. Lucien rolled his head as Azriel took stance and mimicked the slashes and stood ready to attack. Lucien took up a subtly different stance that being side on, he was going to introduce form II Makashi. Stance ready lucien indicated for Azriel to begin .

 

[Narfi Hróðson]

(It's all right it happens CX)

Azriel found it refreshing that [member="Lucien Cordel"] had shown such little care for what he was as most would turn around and start running until they were off world from him. At Lucien's indication he was ready, Aczriel wasted no time and came at him with a side ways slash aimed at his hip but he kept his movements to a humans standard of speed.
It wasn't so that he'd give Lucien an advantage but rather it was to keep the movements slow enough for Azriel so he could pay attention to every detail and learn just that much quicker, not to mention he could also take in Luciens form and counters.

 

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien watched [member="Azriel Zadimus"]. A side slash ... rather vanilla Lucien observed but a good opening nonetheless. He also observed that Azriel was by no means moving quickly, he thought that odd given the information the count had just shared but perhaps the count was conserving energy. In counter to a side slash there were a few options even without the use of the force but lucien opted to bide his time and followed his own example with a basic nonchalant block, no frills just his cane getting in the way of azrael's. "Strike Again" He said none too loudly. He would up the ante with the next one. "The most important consideration in a duel is not to waste energy necessary flips, dives and general all look very amusing and may even intimidate an opponent until you run out of steam and they kill you ... "

 

[Narfi Hróðson]

Azriel nodded to that as he moved to sidestep and strike a two pronged attack one at Luciens leg and then he'd spin around and strike at his head. [member="Lucien Cordel"] was easily the master dueler of the two and Azriel used his full speed into his next attack to see if speed was a good thing to use against a vastly more experienced opponent.
To say Azriel had adapted to his impending centuries of life and began to think towards the long haul was a correct assumption. Most of his movements were strikes at a rock which he intended to carve out into a statue in his memory, a statue which would be his skill set. To him Lucien was the teacher teaching him how to strike at the rock and how to fine tune the process and make the statue just that much more magnificent.

 

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien watched [member="Azriel Zadimus"] with a practised eye. His use of side step was telling that he would have a natural affinity for form II Makashi, They would move on to that in a moment or two. For now he had a strike to block. This second round came faster, unnaturally so in fact. Lucien chalked that up to Azriel's predisposition to blood sucking. where his first block had been effortless this one took a little effort, nonetheless he reached it and Azriels first strike struck only lucien's weapon. The second strike came toward his head and from the opposite side. there was no guarantee that an attempt to block would be successful, Lucien had no intention of getting hit in the face so he back peddled, Azriel's second strike grazed the bridge of his nose far better than being hit in the head.

It was lucien turn now, leaving little time idle lucien countered with a strike of his own, bringing his 'Cane' down in an arc aimed at the middle of Azriels own cane. Only midway through the arc the shaft of the cane reverted to it's base form as a sword. His strike would fracture a standard cane if it hit. Lucien followed up by asking a few measured steps forward sword pointed at his students throat "Lesson two, nothing is as it appears and people don't always play fair ... now get a real sword, we are going on to form two and that warrants a proper weapon" He lowered his sword to allow Azriel ease of movement.

 

[Narfi Hróðson]

Azriel jerked his head back as the staff suddenly changed into a blade and was now pointed at his neck. He smiled a little. 'Seems Lucian is certainly full of surprises.' He thought before he took a few steps back and nodded to [member="Lucien Cordel"] as he requested Azriel take up a real weapon. With a twist of the handle of his staff he drew out the sword hidden within it. "Seems we both carry a hidden weapon Lord Cordel." He said with a smile as he wiped the sword around a little to get used the shift in weight.
He had been to coruscant recently and had gotten a sword cane and under clothing armorweave during his visit to the lower levels of the planet city.

 

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien laughed a little at [member="Azriel Zadimus"], "It seems we do ... although I'm sure we can both conceed mine is much more impressive" . Perhaps lesser men would have found innuendo in their conversation but lucien was certain the count was above such childishness. Joviality done with lucien returned to his go to opening stance, side on left hand palm out on the small of his back. "Form II was developed as a direct counter to form I, where Shii Cho focuses on brute force, form II takes a more dignified stance that of swift strikes and outmaneuvering" Lucien indicated for Azriel to mirror him "A user of form II should strike only when they think they can hit, they should aim to outmaneuver their opponent" He waited for the count to take position then went on "When a user of form 2 does strike they do so like a viper fast and smart swift strike to the areas of weakness like the knees or wrists ... then when the time comes they go for the kill usually with a lunge at the vital organs in the upper chest" ... He demonstrated an appropriate lunge. That being forward with a perfectly straight arm and the weight pushed onto the dominant knee. Makashi should be graceful in all regards "Now the only duelists who live past thirty know how to mix styles and forms, do this end we will duel for real ... no force just swords and do try not to bleed" Lucien got back into position and allowed Azriel to make the first move it was however the sporting thing to do.

 

[Narfi Hróðson]

Azriel took the stance and listened to [member="Lucien Cordel"] as he explained the intricacies of form II he began to visualize it a bit. Once the strike was demonstrate he mimicked it as he tried to get the feel for it and to see it's functionality. "I think I have the basics." He said as he then took a stance towards Lucien and then looked his stance over. He couldn't really see an opportunity to strike so instead he took a few steps around Lucien and then took a prodding strike at his teacher to test his defenses at the least as he kept his eyes peeled.
To him it seemed like quite the elegant form to use and it suited him, at least Azriel thought so.

 

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien tutted as he knocked [member="Azriel Zadimus"]'s prod aside with a measure of ease. It was a boring opening play. Caution was good but sometimes good was boring. Lucien decided that he would need to heat things up a little. He pivoted to face Azriel head on. And took measured steps forward slashing as he did so. His aim was to push his student back an uneven number of steps and in theory force him into a weaker stance for a brief moment . Then he took a long stride to Azriel's left and slashed at the back of his knees.

 

[Narfi Hróðson]

Azriel backed when [member="Lucien Cordel"] was walking towards him and slashing at him. 'Chit!' He thought as he then saw the change and he used his speed to block though it was barely in time as his clothes were a little cut. He decided to change things around now as he whipped his wrist to bat Luciens blade to the side as Azriel then took two large side steps with his full speed and then jumped up into the air. Spinning in the air he built momentum before he made his blade come down upon Lucien. He was going to fight him like he would fight someone, using everything he had but the force since they had agree'd to not use it.

 

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien smiled inwardly as the blow found traction. It hadn't wounded [member="Azriel Zadimus"] in any real way but it had landed which was more than he expected. He didn't fight back as his blade was knocked aside and watched with some apprehension it was going to be unpleasant. "Tuck and roll" Lucien sighed inwardly. As Azriel brought hi s blade down Lucien rolled underneath him before pushing himself up with a groan. He was getting to old for this. He turned back to face the count. and brought his sword back to him. He knew he had said no force but if one couldn't cheat then what was the point of being a master. He took a few steps back. "You seem to grasp the basics so I think it time we returned to the force" Lucien clicked his fingers and a fork of lightning shot into the ground "Force lightning, quite the nasty attack ... now when you do this it will be little more than a spark lightning takes years of practice"

"Now to muster this you must once again look to your emotions and your memory, feelings of anger are good but the best spark is mustered by focusing on an internal conflict ... find the emotion then concentrate on building a spark then release it. I want you to aim to hit me, everytime you miss me I will fire a spark at you and I promise mine are painful" Shocking Azriel would serve two roles it would work as a motivator as well as catalyzing Azriel's power.

 

[Narfi Hróðson]

Azriel had to wonder when [member="Lucien Cordel"] dodged him like he did and the following groan as he stood up. 'Has he become so old? he doesn't look it at least.' He thought but then he used telekinesis to move his cane to him as he sheathed his sword into it. He used telekinesis again to place his cane against one of the chairs they had been sitting in and then he placed his hand against his chin as he delved into his memory to find one that would spark feelings of anger and resentment.
It didn't take him long as he honed in on the memory of his imprisonment and he grew quite angry.
With his hand extended he tried to channel the force and the emotions into his forearm and let them build as they traveled down to his fingertips, what came out was a simple spark but it didn't really go anywhere instead it just shot out and died a few steps away from him. Azriel had to wonder if it was simply a matter of focusing the force and emotions to do it, there had to be something else to it.

 

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien watched as he lent on his now reformed Cane. The extension of the arm was good, it should have provided a focus point. Lucien tutted as the spark fizzled out. Was he being harsh ? Ofcourse. It was to be expected that a person would fail in their first attempt at a spark. it was a hard application of the force. It wouldn't change what he had threatened. with a lazy gesture he sent a bolt of lightning at Azriel. it was a tame bolt it would hurt a little but it wouldn't floor [member="Azriel Zadimus"], not this time. "Focus your mind, you must discipline yourself the force responds to clarity of desire" He took a step forward "Use your hand as a focus point, then you just need to want it ..." He knocked the end of his cane on the floor "Again, with feeling"

 

[Narfi Hróðson]

Azriel kept himself from vocalizing his pain as he was shocked and he clenched his teeth as he looked at [member="Lucien Cordel"] and his eyes turned red as he raised his hand up towards him. He poured the force into his forearm and mixed it with his resentment, hatred and rage towards those that locked him away. With an inhuman growl he let loose the lightning that he had built up from his forearm to his fingertips, adding the force to it with each centimeter.
The lightning was an ark that shot out towards Lucien but it also burned Azriels fingers as he had just put everything he had into the lightning bolt that caused his fingers to blacken and blister, it was one of the few times he was glad he was what he was as his fingers began to regenerate slowly but visibly.
With panting breaths he looked at Lucien. "How was.... that?"

 

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien lifted his cane in some feeble attempt to block [member="Azriel Zadimus"] 's burst of lightning. The cane absorbed the sith lightning but lucien, having been taken unawares, was thrown backwards sliding across the floor.

"How was.... that?"

Lucien took a moment to recompose then laughed heartily. "That was karking exceptional" He remained lay on the floor for a while cane pulsing in his hand "I wouldn't expect power like that from a pupil of your experience ... now I think I need to sit down" He pushed his fringe out of his eyes and sat up. "Dont touch the cane it will hurt" he sighed as he limped over to the chairs. "I would usually make you conjure a spark 3 or 4 times but ... that seems unnecessary " He thought for a moment "We'll move onto a force choke now", then culminate with a mind attack"

Once Azriel was suitably recovered lucien began his penultimate lesson on the basics "Now choking is not to dissimilar to the standard levitation we began with, focus on my throat then instruct the force to crush it, anger will improve the effect"

 

[Narfi Hróðson]

Azriel smiled and sat down on his own chair next to [member="Lucien Cordel"]'s chosen chair. With a chuckle he adjusted his hair as he combed it back with his un-injured hand. "Well seems we both have our age catching up to us." He joked as he watched his hand regenerate slower than when he was fully fed. With a gesture of his hand a droid came to Lucien and would have a tray that held a few refreshments to help him.

Once Azriel was fully healed and was sure that Lucien had, had a few minutes more to rest himself. Once he was ready he stood up and and inhaled and exhaled slowly yet audibly. With a simple wave of his hand he directed it towards Lucien and his eyes showed he was ready. His intent was simply to allow Lucien to feel the grip around his neck and would be lifted up. Azriel was sure that he wouldn't be able to penetrate Luciens force defenses if this was a duel but given this was a training session he suspected he was allowed to slip passed them to simply achieve the skill being taught.

Reaching out with the force he closed his eyes to increase his focus on his task. Imagining a hand around Luciens neck he reached out and gripped it, using his own hand to mimic the hand in his mind as he then raised it up slowly. It was like using telekinesis with his hand as a point of focus and reference for what was to go against his teacher.

 

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien took an apple from the offered refreshments, Age was indeed catching up on him "There are ways to diminish the effects of age and even reverse it if you've got the cash, Look up Morpho Pharmaceuticals if you interested" Having eaten the apple and rested he was ready to begin. He would no doubt be in pain later but he was fine for now.

He felt [member="Azriel Zadimus"] shift his focus to Lucien's neck, it was at this point that he would usually move to stop him but that would be unsporting in this circumstance. He felt the grip tighten as he was lifted from the chair. He would have smirk were he not being asphyxiated. He was pleased with Azrael's focus. He was significantly better now than he had been when they started. He watched his hand mimic the motions of strangling someone. It was going well. Lucien allowed Azriel to hold him for a minute or two then as his eyes began to cloud his defences kicked in and he dropped back into the chair.

He nodded as he brought his breath under control, he had forgotten how unpleasant that feeling was. In less driven men such feeling might spark an existential crisis but not in Lucien he knew his methods were vile, his motives weren't however. He coughed "Very good .... It won't always ... be so ... easy though" He struggled out before coughing, "I think we can move on o mind attacks now" He sat back "This starts like any other application of the force gather your mind, focus on the target, then visualise an image to attack your enemies mind"

"If you know the person you can use their fears against them but for those you don't know less effective images of weapons, war etc. will suffice. With your image in mind concentrate on 'Poking your opponent's mind as it were, batter away at their defence if they have any then ... we will discuss what to do once your through."

 

[Narfi Hróðson]

Azriel moved to sit down on his chair again, parts of him starting to doubt the validity of [member="Lucien Cordel"]'s decision to be the "Training Target" in this case as he couldn't really but it into any other term. If Azriel made a mistake then he could seriously injure, or even worse, Lucien who had so graciously offered to teach him.
Sitting in a meditative stance he Focused on a picture of Carnage from his memories as it would disturb those not used to it. With that image firmly in his mind he began to concentrate into forming invisible tendrils that he then directed towards Luciens mind, at first skirting the edges of his mind before he tried to drill his tendrils into his mind.
"Is this at all safe for you Lucien?" He then had to ask right before he attacked Luciens mind.