Lofty goals and lightsaber duels

[Celiana]

I'd started spending more and more time training on Kasshyyk recently. What with all the invasions and everything going on I figured I may as well keep busy with my training. I had a new goal as of now...to be named as a Jedi Weapon master... As it was I'd been sparring recently against training droids set to Master level settings. It wasn't the same as sparring against a live opponent... To that end I'd put an invitation out on the temple advert boards for skilled duelists to come face me.

As it was it seemed I'd impressed several younglings who'd taken to calling me the bladeswoman of the terrace. Fair title as I did frequently practice on the outdoor terraces of the temple. Now I was dressed down in typical sparring pants , and a sleeveless top, my sabers resting on either hip. The crystals strung along on leather strips tinkled slightly as I moved into the outdoor terrace. I hoped I'd be working out against another Jedi Knight today....training droids were getting old to be honest....

Reaching down to my left hip I unclipped my straight handled saber and ignited the blade with a snap-hiss clearing the blade in front of me I began working my way through a series of Soresu forms. Hopefully someone would show up today....

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

The training rooms were always a hotbed of activity, no matter what time of the day or night you found yourself drawn there someone was always in the room working away. It was a steady constant in the Temple, that constant need to improve yourself, to be better than you were, for some it was a matter of meditation, for some a oneness with nature, but Asaraa had always found the best way for her to relax, to find that inner peace that they were supposed to seek as Jedi. It was ironic that in preparing for a fight she found that peace, but it gave her the confidence not to push for conflict because she knew she could handle it if it came down to it.

The smooth metallic hilt of her lightsaber was cool to her touch as her fingers tapped against it as the door to the training room swung open as if by magic. Funny how that worked, it was almost as if she could trigger it with her mind. The girl smirked to herself, rolling her shoulders to loosen up as she raised one hand towards the only other occupant in greeting before she settled into her stretches.

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

Pausing after finishing a Soresu high-guard deflection I heard the doors whoosh open. Smiling at the newcomer I recognized her, Asaraa Vaashe... word was she was an accomplished battlefield commander. I felt though the truest way to get to know another was through combat though. Continuing the Soresu form I said "After you've finished your stretches don't suppose you'd care to cross blades with me would you?" I was still working through some of the awful things I'd done and endured on Eshan. To me, combat was therapy...it was freeing in its own way.

I kept moving through Soresu though while she warmed up. I'd been gradually gravitating towards more erratic saber forms though....there was one I wasn't sure I'd want to try just yet.....Vaapaad. It was an aggressive form that fed off emotion. Not the best thing for me perhaps.... however I'd need to learn it to become Jedi Weaponmaster. If I were to teach others I needed to know these things... Perhaps my next task would be mastering myself....

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

In the middle of a real fight, you never had a chance to run through a warm-up routine, to loosen your muscles and prepare for a fight. It made learning how to warm up quickly during the initial fencing and probing that much more important, it was the little things like that that could give you an advantage during actual combat. The truth of it was, Asaraa would happily take any advantage she could get, she'd seen what could, and would, happen to those who lost and it wasn't something she was willing to face herself, not with all the friends and family she had collected.

The second part of getting ready for a fight, and she had no doubt one would come sooner rather than later, was preparation, and the chance to actually spar with someone rather than just work on her forms wasn't an opportunity to be passed up. "Sure, if you don't mind eating dirt," the pink-haired Jedi tossed [member="Celiana"] a playful grin as she held out a hand, her lightsaber detaching from her belt, orbiting around her body in slow circles before it slapped into her hand. So, maybe she wasn't entirely above showing off, the girl inclined her head as she took up a read stance, lightsaber held in one hand, angled up across her body as she shifted to face her new opponent side on.

 

[Celiana]

Smiling at Asaraa's bravado I simply sank into a loose ready stance. I saw the lightsaber detach from her belt and orbit her body before coming home to her palm. It wasn't that I was above showing off either but I preferred to let my skill simply show how good I was. Most people were surprised when they crossed blades with me. Now after Eshan and my subsequent return there I'd become even more surprising with my skills... Funny how The Force had altered my body. Aelfin ears, my long silvery blonde hair, and even my reflexes were faster now.

Looking towards Asaraa I ignited my saber and lowered the power slightly. It'd still smart if I landed a hit against her but I didn't want to lop bits of her off either, she was far too pretty to go about doing that. Smirking I inclined my head slightly and said "Good Luck Asaraa, may your skills do your talking for you." I waited for her first strike, I'd move after that.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

A small smile touched Asaraa's lips as she shifted her stance, one foot in front of the other as she slowly started to circle the other woman, her blue eyes never staying still as they flicked up and own her frame. She'd learned that no matter how skilled you were, even the greatest Jedi Master had tells, their body tensing, preparing for a movement and if you could spot that then you had an advantage. So, never stop searching, looking for that opportunity. Only, in this case her opponent seemed content to just wait, so...nothing else to be done at his point. The pink-haired Jedi let the air flow out of her lungs as her blade flicked out, one, two three times, light cuts and jabs just probing [member="Celiana"]'s defences, looking for a hole or weakness in her defences as Asaraa levelled a grin across their crossed sabers.

"That's the only thing that should be talking anyway."

 

[Celiana]

She was eyeing my body, not that I minded however she was looking for tells. Everyone had them, though the true masters hid theirs within simple things. Footwork for example... she moved first. Three varied jabs and cuts each imperceptibly blocked in Soresu blocks. There was one thing I'd learned in terms of saber combat, The Force shall lead. People had the tendency to move when goaded, or they thought an opening was available. True Mastery began where you realized that openings were a result of your opponent overstepping. Move when there was stillness of mind, allow The Force to guide your hand.

Her remark of blades being the only thing that should speak anyways earned a small smile from me. Then I moved, a Makashi step thrust, a back hand strike then back into Soresu guard. Action and reaction.... her move....

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

There was something calming about the essence of lightsaber combat, a purity of expression that boiled the world to an arena, especially away from the danger and distraction of the battlefield this was the purest expression of combat as an expression of a person. Sometimes the Jedi thought that the Echani had it right, it was a really good way to learn about someone's character. For example, the woman standing across from her seemed to be very in control right now, but she had to figure out if it was a mask or the truth, and the only way to do that...stess her and see if she breaks. Asaraa's lips curled up, teeth baring in a grin as she stepped to the side stepping around [member="Celiana"]'s attack. It was only at hte last minute that she let her blade swing up, batting aside the woman's attack as she span on her heel, the crackling energy of her blade dancing towards Celiana's face before she let the momentum of her spin carry her away from the woman, the blade crossed across her body as a guard against retaliatory attacks.