Guiding the Shadow

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Bastion of Ren
Virgillia, Outer Rim


A stalking Kaalia moved through the hallways of the Bastion. Her presence in the Force was shrunk to a minimum, she wore black robes and boots and made sure she moved without a sound. Step after step and corner after corner she came closer to her target ready to catch her when she least expected it. Stealth came naturally to the redhead, but she had not left it at just her talent. Stealth techniques were paramount to any Ren who preferred working in the shadows, and although she didn't always do so it was a skillset that went far from unused. Today that skillset would once again be applied.

Kaalia's hunt wasn't for an intruder or a traitor, however. It was a hunt for the latest Disciple that was appointed as her apprentice, someone by the name of [member="Ashley Myth'rand"] . She had seen the woman before and to her she seemed a lot less uptight than most of the Ren, which she oddly appreciated. Where most masters would look to cull such a thing, and in all honesty it probably would have been the right thing to do, Kaalia was going to play on that. She would require nothing but focus and seriousness during missions, but as long as progress was made a little humor at times would keep training fresh.

A smirk was plastered on the woman's face as she approached the Disciple, and got ready to strike. An eerily silent leap would propel her to right behind her, where she would firmly grasp Ashley's shoulder to keep her in place. "I heard you required training." Her voice was monotone and deep, revealing no emotion within the words. In reality she forced herself to hold in a chuckle, but there was no need for the Disciple to know that just yet. The jumpscare was first, the laughter was for afterwards.

 

[Ashley Myth'rand]

Ashley had been wandering the entry hall of the bastion, told to wait for the Knight that would be her teacher, it gave here time to finally digest the last few weeks. Life had thrown the former intelligence agent a real curve ball, first was her discovery that she was not only sensitive to the force but had the potential to become very powerful in it, then the Imperial Reminent refused to give her the training her superiors basically stating that her future was in intelligence alone, so she was forced to leave if she was to pursue this talent. Although official records will show that Ashley simply did not sign her contract and initiated the immigration process, what actually happened was much louder, an unprofessional screaming ensued and what followed was Ashley accessing information on every known force order in the galaxy and found that the Knights of Ren fit her the best.

The second suckerpunch life threw at her that finding out that the Myth'rand in the Dominion was her brother, she had written it off as mearly a coincidence and that she was made the sole heir of everything he owned, including his majority ownership the Corellian Engineering Corporation. What bugged her is that he had not thought to reach out to her if her knew she existed, once she had a chance she would have to try and get his attention in some way, but for now she was just glad for things to have slowed down and gave Ashe some breathing room.

Ashley's train of throught was suddenly and violently shattered as a hand was layed on her shoulder, it took all she had to not give into muscle memory and counter the quote unquote 'attack' and instead began to around with a polite smile and said "Yes, I'm Desiple Myth'rand, and you must be the teacher I'm waiting for."

[member="Kaalia Voldaren"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Kaalia flashed the Disciple a smile as she turned around. "Correct." She offered her a handshake. "Kaalia. Good to meet you." She couldn't hold in the chuckle any longer, and a small one came out. "I have to admit that it was a bit too fun to creep up on you, but I promise I won't do it again. Maybe."

She shook off the silliness for a moment. The topic Kaalia was about to address was a serious one, but she had to get it out of the way first. "I'm definitely not the best person to explain all of this, but it's my duty." She motioned Ashley to follow her as she started walking, making their way towards a training room. "In the order it's customary to take up a new name. One to signify your status with the Ren. They do so to show that they are all brothers and sisters by all taking up the name of Ren." She personally thought it was an odd thing, and so she never took up such a name herself. Her name was Kaalia Voldaren, and nothing else. "Taking up such a name is completely voluntary however, and you may also decide to take up a name after an event such as receiving the rank of Knight. It's completely up to you." She looked over to the other redhead for a moment. "I personally am one of the few that have decided to forego such a name. I never pressure any Disciple, either."

When they arrived at the training room the Knight slid the door open, and invited the Disciple in. "After you." She would follow her inside and slide the door back to close it. On a small table against the wall to their right were a small collection of training sabers. The first thing Kaalia wanted to see with new Disciples was their bladework. It was an integral part of a Ren's arsenal, and refining that was always a priority. She pointed to the tabl. "Pick the one that feels best to you." There was a mixed collection of sabers with different hilt sizes and grips, including curved ones. Kaalia had her own lightsabers with her, but she would only use her blue-bladed one. Mirari was the only thing left of her Jedi past, something that she had moved on from fully. She never had a choice in becoming a Jedi, being taken in at the age of three and taught almost immediately. As a child she didn't question and merely followed, but that was no longer the case. She was one with the Dark Side, it was who she truly was. The saber was adjusted to its training mode, making sure to not injure Ashley on accident.

[member="Ashley Myth'rand"]

 

[Ashley Myth'rand]

A bit of a smile touched Ashley's face before she accepted the hand shake, it was good to know that they could have a bit of fun when they weren't occupied. "Ha, it's probably for the best you keep trying, there was two things I was good at, finding people and not being found myself, if this is what I lost in two weeks I'd hate to slip any further."

The pair started to walk and Ashley's new teacher started to explain a few things to her. The big one was the taking of a new name after being inducted into the order, something found surprising since it was similar to the sith's tradition of taking a Darth name, but she assumed it most likely started as a sign of devotion rather than paying homage to the sith. Her suspension was quickly proven correct, she mulled over the idea in her mind while listening, her teacher did say that it was voluntarily and that she hadn't taken a new name.

Ashley interjected as they moved into another room, "I think I'll wait and see how I fit in around here before I take a step as big as changing my name."

The room that Ashley was brought to was a large open area, it looked like it was used for sparring and was proven correct when she saw the table with a variety of sabres waiting on it.

When she was prompted to take one Ashley instead reached back into her robes and pulled a long handled sabre out. "Actually I have one already." She held it out for Kaalia to inspect, "I managed to grab a couple of things on my way out, the records I saw called it a sabre staff. Although I'd like to build one of my own I've gotten used to how this one feels for now."

[member="Kaalia Voldaren"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Kaalia nodded at the reveal of Ashley's own weapon. "Even better. Knowing your own weapon is important." Saber staves weren't the most common choice of weapon, but carried their own advantages. The two blades made it more dangerous despite the fact quicker stabs of thrusts were not really possible with the weapon. The largest advantage was often gathered from the fact opponents didn't know how to attack or defend against it, and even for the redhead her knowledge was limited to what she had read about the weapon. "I don't know too much about the weapon itself, I don't use the type of weapon myself, but I still want to see your form."

A small tug through the Force caused a hilt to fall out of the Knight's left sleeve of her coat. It ignited with a familiar snap-hiss, letting the azure blue color free. She took a few steps back. "Take a few swings at me. Eventually I'm going to strike back, so be prepared." She took a defensive stance, ready to deflect the offense the Disciple would through at her.

[member="Ashley Myth'rand"]