Their blades clashed for the first time. In that moment, they were both still. Blue eyes locked with yellow. Then they exploded. A flurry of blades as they both sought to dominate each other with their offensive fighting style. Ataru against whatever other-Zylah had been taught. It wasn't a Jedi lightsaber form, but it burned with the same aggression of Ataru, the very same that Zylah used.
Five minutes into the fight, no conclusion had drawn. Neither had felt the touch of the other's blade. Yet Zylah was starting to feel exhaustion upon her body. She had exerted herself, trying to quickly overwhelm her opponent and end it at an early stage. That had not happened. Like a mirror image of herself, her enemy had predicted her every move and countered just in time. The challenge that was becoming increasingly clear to her, was that she was getting tired, slower - her opponent was not.
This forced her to alter her style somewhat. She still clung to the aggression of Ataru, yet all signs of acrobatics were deprived. Instead, she followed the advice of the likes of Kian Karr and Kana Truden. Kian, who had opened her eyes to the various complexities of the lightsaber forms, how one could mix them together, and Kana, who had showed her Makashi. Like that Jedi of old, that Kian had mentioned, Zylah now combined her Ataru with the elegance and precision of Makashi.
She had expected her opponent to be caught off guard, but nothing of the sort happened. She managed to match Zylah's advances, and though she was put on the defensive for a bit, she found her way back into the fight soon enough. There weren't many ways around it. This apparition, or whatever it was, had the advantages of time. Zylah was fighting a losing battle.
As Zylah was forced on the defensive, the strikes against her coming closer and closer to claiming a hit, a series of images seemed to flash before her mind. Of the first time she had sought out Seraphina, and how nervous she had been at the time. She had been scared the Jedi Master would judge her, or not find her worthy, but it had not been the case. She remembered Kian, who patiently had passed on some of his knowledge of Djem So and Shien, while watching over her as she practiced with the remotes. He had not judged her for failure then, and she had found it in her to succeed.
Of course, the lovely kitten Prudence had come to mind as well... That truly had been a wonderful training session, and one of her happiest moments. Perhaps it was? If asked to conjure up a pleasant memory, that would be Zylah's. The Jedi Kitten was a lovely companion. Naturally, clearly before her in her mind, there was Corvus. Not once had she judged her, nor tried to restrict her. When she almost did as Des had done, and stepped onto that ship with the questionable darksiders, Corvus had been understanding and forgiving in her explanation. It was in the past, and she was wiser for it. There were so many quotes that came to mind, when remembering the lessons Corvus had passed on to her. But one stood out... Trust in the Force.
Trust in the Force. This cave was a reflection of herself, and was as dark or as light as her mind. There was always the fear of injury, or falling to an opponent. As all living things, they avoided pain or death. She was no good if she was dead, right? But there was no death, only the Force. Zylah, remembering the lessons of her master, remembering the faith she had put in her, trusted in the Force.
Other-Zylah struck at her, swiping Zylah's blade to the side. It was successful, but beyond that, Zylah let go of her lightsaber and it flew out to the side. From the perspective of the outsider, it may have appeared as if she had been disarmed. However, Zylah had simply let go. Now, she stared into the yellow eyes of her opponent, and smiled. Her smile was met with fury, and a pointed blade, that moved in for a thrust. Yet Zylah did not step aside, nor did she make any other move to defend herself. The Force was with her.
The blade struck Zylah's stomach, and pierced through her. However, there was no blood. Her faith was rewarded. Instead, much like an arm of a ghost, it went straight through her, but made no impact. This wasn't real. This other version of herself no longer found any truth within her, and she rejected it as a reality. The being in front of her, crashed against Zylah in attack, yet dissolved and vanished into vapour.
Relieved, Zylah breathed out. It was over, it would seem. She had passed the test. Had her insecurities, her doubts, been under control then this would probably not have happened. Yet it was a matter of the past, and as such, served no purpose to dwell on. Her shoulders felt infinitely lighter, almost as if she had been purged from the darkness within her. Whether true or not, she didn't know. And really, it didn't matter. She was here, and now more than ever, she felt confidence in herself. She could think of Zylah the individual, and Zylah the Jedi, in the same train of thought without it breaking due to lack of ties to reality. As if purged through fire, or maybe just a little self-realization, she felt better. The Force was with her, and she trusted it completely.
As relieved and pleased as she may have felt, that fight had lasted quite a while. At first, it had felt like five minutes, but thinking back, it must've been longer. Zylah felt absolutely exhausted, as much mentally as physically. With a deep sigh of relief, she part fell, part collapsed, as she sat down on a rock. She knew Corvus was waiting for her, she knew she needed to proceed, but at the same time, she just wanted a quick breather.
Zylah took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax. Again, she felt the Force flowing through the location that was the cave, ambiguous, undefined. Suddenly, she felt a soft hum through the Force. It felt muted, although as soon as she noticed it, she became aware of the fact that it had always been there. She merely had not been able to listen to it before now. Immediately, she opened her eyes. How she had missed it before, she had no idea, but now it became almost embarrassingly obvious. By the place she had lay down, nearly touching the tip of her finger, was a beautiful crystal.
It seemed to glow, though not to the eye, but through the Force. It dawned on Zylah that she had found what she had set out to seek. Only when she stopped looking had it come to her. She had had to listen. And now, it was right in front of her, clear as day. The Solari crystal, although Zylah would be unlikely to identify it as such.
Moments later, Zylah would emerge from the cave and find Corvus waiting. She had collected the training lightsaber she had lost. More than that, she came back with the crystal. She had yet to craft her own lightsaber, and wasn't a hundred percent sure on how the process went, how much was needed, but she could've sworn that the amount she carried would be sufficient for two.
"I found it! Or... It found me. Honestly, I'm not sure which of those are most true. I suppose both." Zylah said, with a genuine smile.
[member="Corvus Raaf"]
