Private Masterclass

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

On the green surface of Azbrian, a fierce fight was ongoing in one of the many green forests that littered the planet. It had been waging for a while now, a back and forth that was proving to be a stalemate up until now. Two individuals, a knight and a master were standing across from each other in the shallow stream that led away from the waterfall to their left. They had both fought valiantly but now things had come to the final stretch, a point in time which would decide who was going to bring home the teasing rights.

Silas had done well to defend many of Valery's offenses so far but was starting to feel the burn of their fight. He was drenched in water and breathing heavily, but he still had energy left in the tank. They had been fighting with their lightsabers for the main portion of their spar, but at some points they were forced to go into hand to hand combat to try and get the edge. If he had the opportunity, Silas was going to try and use that to his advantage. Valery was perfect with sabers, hand to hand however would be something he may have a chance in.

"I've got you where I want you now," Silas said to keep his confidence in front of his former master "You're getting tired and with the age factor in play I'd say I've done a good job in wearing you out" the knight smirked sheepishly while switching his saber to a one handed approach instead of two. The idea was to try and disarm her before taking advantage of the opportunity but he needed to be extremely careful. Valery knew all of his tricks, so he needed to go outside the box.

Snapping forward, Silas slashed at her chest to try and force her into a flurry of blocks. Then, after quickly placing his other hand onto the lightsaber he looked to slam a strong downward strike to force her to lock sabers and suddenly bring it downwards into a rising knee. Hopefully, the knee into their hands would be strong enough to send her saber flying to the bank close by or worse, both of their weapons.​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Even if she had been getting tired as their duel went on, the age comment made her desire to put him face-first into the stream of water burn so intensely in her heart, that she wouldn't allow herself to fail. She kept blocking his strikes and kept pressuring him with offensive flurries of her own. This was just a round of practice, but since it was Silas — her former student who wanted nothing more than to tease her — she wasn't going easy.

She also wasn't experimenting too much, or trying new things.

"Don't be too sure of yourself," Valery said with a grin, as she raised her blade and watched him adjust his grip. She knew he wouldn't just do that for no reason at all. He was planning something, and as soon as he lunged forward to engage, she felt tremors in the Force, warning her about his plans.

The blade lock formed, as he intended, but when his knee began to rise to connect with their hands, Valery phased. She passed through not just his leg, but stepped forward to go through Silas entirely, before dropping down to sweep her leg low across the surface of the water.

With one knee up, she needed to target only one of his legs to bring him down into the water.

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

Of course, Valery was ever the game for some taunting.

When she says something like that it is more than likely she has a plan up her sleeve herself, and believe it or not the master most certainly did. Thinking his knee would slam into her hands, he was surprised to see it go right through her instead. It was the classic phase trick, one that could trick any poor soul into a nasty spot. The quickness of it all made him stumble forward in the stream a few steps, giving Valery enough time to swing her leg and send him face first into the water with a splash.

Considering he was already soaked through the cold water didn't do much to help his case, nor the fact his back was now exposed to Valery fully was more than likely going to pounce on the chance. Due to his energy and situation, Silas didn't have an awful lot of options left. The master was lightning fast, so if anything he'd need to reply with something before she acted.

More so out of desperation, the knight raised his arm out of the water and swung at the same time of him rolling over with a wild swing. He didn't have any specific target other than trying to hit her or stop a saber, something which equally left himself open as well.

If he was going down Silas wasn't doing so without a fight. He wanted to make sure Valery didn't have too much to tease him about in the coming months. ​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery didn't pursue it.

The moment his body struck the water, she maintained her distance and simply enjoyed the sight of him crashing into cold water. They were already wet from having fought inside the river, but nothing quite compared to going down under, even if it was just partially. That should teach him to make jokes about her age.

Not that she expected him to stop.

Silas rose with a sweep of his blade to force distance in case she did decide to attack, but Valery still didn't move. She looked him in the eyes, serious at first, before her lips began to curl up into a grin. She didn't say a word, but her eyes betrayed her amusement at having seen him splash against the water's surface.

"Come on, Silas. Don't give up just yet."

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

The swing of his blade was surprisingly met with nothing but air. Valery had decided to stay back and not press the attack, which in turn allowed the cold knight to recover. Silas groaned and got back to his feet with a sheepish smirk from her comments, ones that were taunting him to push further and not give up so easily.

"Who said I was giving up clanky bones?"

The same could be said for the timeless age comments, they were a classic that would never seem to go away. Nonetheless, he needed to focus on the task at hand now. It was safe to say things weren't over yet and if he was going to make a statement he'd need to get his own back on the confident master stood before him.

Choosing to use the environment to his advantage, he suddenly raised a hand to force push a big clump of water straight into Valery's face to disorientate her. Then, without hesitation, he'd snap forward and raise his lightsaber in the air only to suddenly spin his body and throw a kick straight into her midsection.

It wasn't powerful enough to break or injure her by any means, but it did however have the velocity to knock her back with the wind out of her sails.​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"My my, so cocky for someone who just went for a swim," Valery continued to tease, though without losing her focus. She wasn't grinning or trying to poke at him with her expression. If anything, she wanted him to see just how calm she was, while still able to get the upper-hand with verbal tactics. It drove Silas back into the spar, and despite his earlier tumble, he seemed quite confident about his chances.

With a flick of his hand, Silas sent a splash of water at her face, momentarily blinding her but not enough for her to miss the rising blade. Valery raised her own weapon in response, but as soon as she did, she felt a tremor in the Force. Silas' body spun, and Valery knew it was too late to evade or block with her own arms or legs. So, rather than attempt any of it, she focused on the Force and tapped into her mastery of Bakuuni Hand.

A pulse of Force energy flowed through her stomach right as Silas' foot made contact, and turned her abs to steel. The impact that should have sent her stumbling back now met something harder than rock instead, and Valery didn't move an inch. The blade she had raised up came sweeping down towards his extended leg in response — a strike that could sever the entire limb if it were a real fight.

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

The splash of the water successfully blinded the master for a few moments and allowed Silas to hit his boot flush into her abs. However, it wasn't the result he was expecting. Instead of muscle, his foot crashed into hardened skin which now protected her midsection. Valery didn't move anywhere, and before long she was already coming back onto the outstretched leg to take advantage of the chance. Silas had only a few seconds to react, any more and his leg would be toast.

Opening his hand, the knight managed to halt the saber hitting his leg with only a few inches to spare with force stasis. His eyes briefly locked into hers with defiance before sending her saber upwards and forcing her back toward the waterfall with a swift force push. Silas wasn't going to go down so easily, especially when it was against Valery who brought the best out of him.

"Careful Valery, it would be a shame to see you fall into that waterfall"

Silas smirked and suddenly began running through the shallow water with force speed. At the same time, he'd zig zag in different directions to make his attack unpredictable until he got close. Snapping forward from the right, he'd throw a strike downwards into her shoulder once he was close enough.

Being the aggressor wasn't his style, but he needed to be different when it came to someone who knew everything about him.
​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

With his kick rendered useless, Valery had hoped to open him up to an easy counter-attack, but to his credit, Silas recovered swiftly and some quick thinking saved him from another embarrassing moment. Pushed back, Valery was closer to the edge of the waterfall, but she showed no sign of it bothering her. There were more ways than one to avoid the fall down, and she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her tumble.

This spar was going to end.

"You're still talking?" Valery snorted and immediately looked at him with unshakable focus again. Her eyes narrowed, and much like him, she augmented her body to not just move faster, but respond faster as well. His blade came down towards her shoulder with aggression unusual to him, but Valery had been the Battlemaster for a reason. She could be as defensive as she was aggressive, and she had no trouble tapping into those skills to raise her guard and catch his blade.

Then she spun.

After shoving his blade away again, Valery spun but not just physically. The Force around them moved, influenced by her mastery of Telekinesis, and a huge whirlwind of air lashed out at Silas. Not to harm him, but to knock him towards the edge of the waterfalls instead, and hopefully send him tumbling down into the lake below.

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

Silas slammed his saber down aggressively toward the master with speed, confident that he had finally gotten the jump on her. However, Valery was the sword of the Jedi for a reason. To his surprise, she blocked and spun to influence not only the wind but the force itself to send him tumbling dangerously towards the edge.

The knight dug his feet into the ground and struggled desperately to keep himself from falling off. It was a valiant attempt, but in the end, he couldn't prevent himself from finally going over. Silas yelled briefly before hitting the cold water with a splash, leaving him submerged for a few seconds until his head finally appeared out of the water. Spitting some water out of his mouth, he groaned and slowly swam to the bank where he sluggishly lifted himself out and laid himself back first on the green grass.

It was safe to say the duel was over now. His body was aching and tired from how long they had been battling, so with great hesitance he finally scrunched his fists together and raised them together almost as if he was going to be cuffed "Okay... you've got me Valery" Silas grumbled in defeat, his arms soon falling to his sides out of exhaustion with another loud groan.

"It's clear I've still got a lot to learn huh?"
​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

There was nothing better than this.

Valery eagerly got closer to the edge, just so that she could see him hit the water down below. It was a marvelous sight, seeing him go down under for a few seconds, but the best part was when he climbed back to shore. She looked down with quite a smirk and threw herself off the edge with a controlled jump. She landed nearby with her feet dry and looked him over for a moment. To make sure he hadn't gotten injured during the fall.

Luckily, he seemed to be fine.

"You will always have a lot to learn, and so will I." Valery smiled and extended a hand to help him up to his feet. "But it was a good spar and I liked your idea of trying it in the shallow water. It adds an unusual obstacle, hm?" The way it slowed down movements and the splashes coming up against their faces had made this a unique sparring session.

One worth repeating sometime.

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

"Agreed..."

Taking Valery's hand Silas got to his feet and did his best to fix himself. He was soaked from head to toe, but it wasn't anything a warm fire wouldn't fix at the house. Nodding in response, Silas smiled slightly and looked back to his former master "I thought it would make a nice change doing it in a more unusual environment. Some shallow water and a small waterfall seemed to be the perfect example of that" he said positively before lifting a finger and pointing at her for a few moments

"And next time, maybe you'll be the one swimming in the pool"

It was all lighthearted of course, Silas still had a lot of catching up to do when it came to the skill of Valery. Although, if he kept on the same hard working path he'd be sure to reach it eventually. Silas had to be patient, when the force was ready it would finally allow him to see his full potential. That didn't mean he had to do it on his own, loved ones were the people that made the best out of people. Valery may have been his teacher, but she was much more than that now.

She was family.

"We've known each other for so long that you know every last trick up my sleeve. Long before this session, I was looking into some advanced force techniques to try to expand my options when it came to duels like this. One that piqued my interest was force repulse..." he said with a small shrug and tired smirk "I've studied it for a while now, I just need someone who can give me a masterclass to get me going"

"Would you be willing to take me as your student once more, Master Valery?”
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[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"Next time, you'll be swimming again if you're not careful," Valery smirked and helped him up to his feet before she turned away to get out of the water. Even though she hadn't gone down under, fighting in shallow water still meant she had gotten plenty of water splashed up against her clothing. Her suit didn't soak it up much, but changing into some new gear later would still feel a lot better.

First, though, it seemed that their old teacher/student dynamic wasn't quite over yet.

"Force Repulse?" Valery asked with a tilt of her head. "Well, it's not exactly a skill for duels like this," Valery clarified. "It's highly destructive and dangerous if you throw enough energy into it. Since I stepped out of stasis, I've used it two, maybe three times?" She shrugged and made it to dry land soon after.

"It can still be worth learning though. If you want to Master it, you also need to learn some other skills related to it, and expanding on knowledge like that opens you up to learning even more from there." She paused and turned to Silas with a smile. He was one of few Jedi who she had no trouble teaching these techniques to.

It required a steady mind.

"First, what is Telekinesis?"

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

"I'm more or less using it for situations that pit me against multiple opponents or a powerful enemy. It will be good to know when those situations arise..."

Silas would never use it against Valery or in spars, it would have been too much. However, having it handy when someone similar to Valery's power tries to attack him could be a game changer if used correctly. Valery herself had only used the power a handful of times due to its destruction, the same would apply to him when he finally mastered its use.

His former master seemed to debate mentally if he was the person to teach for a few moments only for her to smile and finally cave into his request. Silas had always been a quick learner and made sure to look at what he got into before even considering the idea. Force Repulse was one of them considering it was no joke to learn. From what he had looked at in the coruscant library if it wasn't performed correctly the side effects were quite heavy. Doing it once was enough, but doing it multiple times could take a terrible toll on someone's body.

Giving her a brief smile back, he lightly nodded and put two hands behind his back

"Telekinesis is the ace in a Jedi's deck, the main foundation so to say. Those who are force sensitive would be gifted with this ability from birth and more than likely learn of its existence as they grow older. They'll find they will be able to push, pull, lift, and throw physical objects without even being close to them and depending on their strength be able to lift heavier objects. There is also the mental aspect, like... <Me talking to you like this through only our brains> or a simple mind trick that can trick a person into doing what you want. There are many abilities to do with Telekinesis, but like most things, you will need to learn how to control such power to get the result you want. If a mental or physical aspect is not healthy in any way, it could very much nullify or hinder a person in performing these abilities."
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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery nodded, "Just know that a Repulse is very demanding. If you use it, make sure that's it. Another intense battle afterward will be very difficult." But he'd find out soon enough. Few abilities compared to a Force Repulse in terms of energy demand, though practice and experience would eventually make it more doable.

Still, limiting its use was important.

Valery then listened thoughtfully to what he explained about Telekinesis and offered a smile, "You're mostly correct. The communication via the mind isn't Telekinesis though — that's Telepathy. A Mind trick is also an extension of Telepathy, and not of Telekinesis." The two were often mixed up, but they were very much different. Learning one didn't mean that you'd be able to perform the other.

"The general definition of Telekinesis is that it's a tree of Force abilities that allow its user to manipulate physical matter around them. This can be as easy as moving objects around or manipulating them, but Repulse and other techniques are more extreme applications of it."

"Before I explain the Repulse, do you know what the Force Wave technique is?"

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

Silas nodded and frowned slightly after getting a minor detail mixed up. It was easy to mistake, but after all that studying in the temple he should have known that by now "Of course..." he said with a light scratch to the back of his head before listening further to what she had to say about the ability. The good thing was that he got the main portion of it hammered down. However, there were more things he needed to prove before Valery was confident in explaining repulse.

The force wave technique was pretty much similar to a bomb but obviously with the force. Less devasting but equally as effective.

"I do, it's pretty much one of the most powerful variations of force push," he said before taking a few steps forward into more open space "To describe it better, it's a wave of pure energy going in all directions. For example, if there were enemies all around me I could use this ability to give me more space, or in short send them flying as far away as possible. That will give us Jedi more time to think about what we will do next or escape with the opportunity we are given."​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery nodded when he explained what he knew about Force Wave, "It's not always in all directions — you can manipulate that as well," she said with a chuckle. "But you're mostly right. It's a more powerful Force Push, in a way, that lets you strike multiple people. You can even target specific people around you but leave others untouched by the wave. How destructive it is, depends on how much energy you use to lash out." In other words, it was an ability that could be used in a lot of different ways. From destroying an entire group of droids, to pushing away specific people near you.

Which is why she mentioned it.

"A Force Repulse doesn't have that flexibility. It's incredibly destructive and it doesn't separate friend from foe. If you use it, it should be because you saw no other way," Valery stressed.

"Do you understand?"

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

Silas nodded again and took in the small mistakes to improve on in the future. Even though he had studied, there were still small holes in the research he had done. Force wave and force repulse were similar as mentioned, but there was a notable difference that separated them from from each other. Repulse was a power that didn't care who was in the way, meaning if a friendly was to receive the unfortunate side of the move they'd be equally as injured as the foe.

"Noted."

Then, the most important part came. Valery stressed to him to not use it all the time and instead use it as a last resort. Silas, who understood the importance of her words instantly agreed to her words "I do Valery" he said with a tone that made her understand what he was dealing with. It was a tough task to learn let alone to teach, Valery trusted him wholeheartedly and so did Silas to her.

"Repulse is no joke and something that shouldn't be taught to any old Jedi. I will not use without a clear reason or purpose" Silas promised, his words stern and true "The last thing I want you to feel is regret. You have trusted me with this power and I plan not to disappoint you..."
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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"Very good," Valery said when he made it clear he understood. Back in the day, Repulse was only taught to Jedi Masters who had shown years of dedicated practice and control with Telekinesis. The Jedi weren't that strict anymore, and it was a lot easier to find teachers even for dangerous abilities. But if someone approached her, she was still quite serious about it. Silas was among the more traditional Knights in a lot of ways. Calm, reserved, polite and always eager to learn.

It was the only reason why she had accepted his offer.

"To start the lesson, a Force Repulse is something that comes not just from outside your body, but from within as well. Through abilities under the aspect of Control, we've learned to draw from the Force that flows through us. Through the aspect of Alter, we learn to tap into the Force within the environment. Now, you draw on both and bring that energy to your center." She tapped her own chest and nodded in Silas' direction.

"Compress that energy and let the pressure rise, until it feels like it wants to explode. When it reaches that point where you can no longer contain it, let it go." She paused and waited to see if all of that made sense to him. Terms like Control and Alter aspects weren't as common anymore, but they helped her explain these types of abilities.

"Any questions? Or are you ready for a demonstration?"

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

Folding his arms and listening closely, he briefly nodded when she pointed to her chest. It appeared that not only did you draw energy from yourself but from the energy around you. There was a fine balance when you absorbed such energy. For example, if you took in too much energy it had a risk of overwhelming your body to the point of exhaustion. The same could be said for too little as it wouldn't have the same impact or radius if you did it properly.

You had to be perfect every time you tried such a move. This was another reason why Jedi didn't do it often, Force Repulse was very much a high risk high reward maneuver.

Silas took a few moments to put a hand on his chest and do a few breathing exercises in aid absorbing all the energy he needed "Not right now, I feel there will be by the time you have finished your demonstration" he said with a smile as he began to back away to a group of rocks that gave him some good cover. Even though Valery was well in control of her abilities, there was no way of knowing if any of the environment had different ideas. Knowing Valery, she'd probably thrive in his misfortune.

"I'm far enough away not to be flung into the atmosphere by you right?"
​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"You won't get hurt," Valery said with a serious tone. In a different lesson, she'd have perhaps considered messing with him somehow. But this ability was too risky and too damaging if anything went wrong. Even a small mistake could cause injury and there was no fun in that for either of them. At his distance with some rocks for cover, Valery felt comfortable enough to show him the ability before he would be allowed to try it himself.

"Watch carefully because it's a quick process."

She stood still and gave Silas a moment to focus his senses. Then, all at once, she drew the Force into herself and channeled it into her core. A sudden, huge rush of energy began to flow through her body, compressed under the forces she exerted on everything she siphoned in. The pressure rose rapidly, as Valery's body closed in on itself, and in the blink of an eye, all that energy was finally released.

A wave of destructive energy lashed out like a sphere around her, destroying rock and earth in its path. The wave wouldn't quite reach Silas, but the strength of its presence in the Force surely would.

When it finally faded away, Valery stood within a cloud of dust, her breathing heavier.

Silas Westgard ​