Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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On the Prowl

Iziz, Onderon

Officially, Onderon was a world owing its allegiance to the Galactic Republic. However, as far as the Galactic Republic at large need be concerned, Cameron Centurion was but a member of an organization mostly benevolent to the Republic for the time being. As a result, the large Sith Lord walked the streets openly without drawing too much attention.

As the only real settlement on Onderon, Iziz tended to draw all types of individuals. Dressed in merely a pair of comfortable black pants and a sleeveless dark blue overcoat with his Sith Sword attached to his hip, the Priest of Aatrox looked like just another hunter roaming the night streets enroute to the large forests of Onderon. This particular planet had always held interest for Cameron, and he enjoyed visiting when he could to be at one with nature and, of course, visit with an old friend.

Nostalgic thoughts briefly drifted through Cameron's mind as he turned down a small alleyway. He was expecting a woman to arrive today - a woman that had asked for his assistance in learning to employ a lightsaber. Thus far, Cameron had yet to so much as even allow the woman to hold a lightsaber. He'd never been one to merely go through the motions with a student. Asking any warrior to be trained in any weapon necessitated a certain level of reassurance that the student was ready. Zoey Marix was no doubt a capable...even lethal opponent with her Beskad, but that was not enough. Wielding a lightsaber with efficiency and grace required much more...finesse.

What better place to learn than the jungles of Onderon?

@[member="Zoey Marix"]
 
I stepped out of the borrowed ship from the Moross Crusade. Dressed in my simple suit I had my Beskad on my back. The short yet heavy sword felt good on my back. Having some cheep blaster pistol on my hip. The planet Onderon was in Republic space. Yet as we were neutral with them, Anything could happen. I had to be on my best behavior. I still wanted to protect my self though. I had to.

But that was no excuse for how I was to be. I walked the city of Iziz searching in the force to where I could find the man that had already taught me more in less than an hour, than any other man had taught me in years. I looked to where he may be. The night hid me as I walked. Moving from ally to ally. I could feel a slight ping in the force as I walked.

It felt good to have someone close who I atleast somewhat knew. Walking around a corner, I could see a man dressed in black and dark blue. Colors of our God Aatrox. I smiled as I moved the hair from my face. "So what is a priest of Aatox roaming the city of Iziz when he should be spending time in the Temples?" I asked with a Jest.

@[member="Cameron Centurion"]
 
The smirk that adorned Cameron's features had begun to form well before Zoey ever spoke. Turning expectantly, he assessed her appearance briefly before offering a reply. "The moves and machinations of Aatrox are known only to him. I am but an extension of his will."

Turning back to face a portion of the large wall that surrounded the City of Iziz, the Sith Lord motioned in front of him with his left hand. "On the other side of this wall, you will discover the reality of nature. It is as harsh and unforgiving as any tyrant, but it is also as kind and giving as Inari the Reviver. A perfect harmony. A representation of the Force. A representation of what your mind must be to truly excel in combat. Hold allegiance to the dark side or the light side - it does not matter. If you are not centered within yourself, in control, you will fail."

Shifting his gaze back to Zoey, the Sith Lord affixed her with a serious stare, the bright visage of his silver-green gaze lighting the darkness around him. "Keep up, Ms. Marix." Not another word was uttered before the Sith Lord surged forward with the force of a deadly typhoon and a speed barely able to be perceived by the naked eye. In an instant, the dark blur vaulted over the high wall. Allowing gravity to bring him back to the earth, Cameron managed his descent just barely with the Force to keep him from injuring himself.

Once they were in the forest, the Sith Lord would lead Zoey on an extensive circuit filled with numerous abrupt turns, ducking under, and diving over obstacles as necessary. What he did not do was disturb the forest to the point of destroying anything. The rustling of leaves and branches upset the otherwise tranquil nature of the forest, and the sounds of their movement were soon joined by predators and prey alike perturbed by the foreign presence.

Nearly twenty minutes later, the large Sith came to an abrupt, skidding halt at the edge of a cliff in the Onderon Highlands. Breathing hard, sweat was visible on his brow as well as his exposed chest. With a pleased smile, he turned to watch the approach of his pupil, chest heaving up and down as he did.

@[member="Zoey Marix"]
 
I only shook my head as he spoke of Aatrox's will. As much as I liked the man for helping me. I thought that he may have delved to deep in the teachings of the Deceiver. I walked closer to him as he spoke of the way that I should be. on the other side of the wall that we stood on. I was slightly confused at what he was meaning. A forest was a forest. Nothing more, nothing less. Or so I thought.

The man told me to keep up and I tried just that. Jumping after him. I landed down on the ground in a crouched position. as he started to zoom away from me across tree's and the ground itself. I smiled as I had already done this with the God Neth when we had taken down the Sith Spawn on Manpha. Being the Governess of the planet, I smiled at the thought of that while my run after the Sith Master.

I followed him, only by seeing his footsteps and the flap of his coat could I see where he was, but not where he is. I could also see the beauty of the forest. yet the harsh life that the inhabitants had to survive through. Suddenly the man stopped. I wondered why when I finally caught up almost falling off the cliff. I took a few steps back and looked up at the man shaking my head as he stood there. "I stayed with ya, barely."

@[member="Cameron Centurion"]
 
Cameron's pleased smile lingered in silence for the length of time it took Zoey to speak. Then, without warning and in one rapidly fluid move, the Sith Lord withdrew his crimson-bladed Sith Sword. Rather than flourish it or give his opponent the time to set into any type of solid, proper defense, Cameron immediately brought the weapon crashing down towards Zoey's left shoulder. At the same time, he widened his base just enough to support his large frame and provide added strength and speed to the attack.

@[member="Zoey Marix"]
 
The man just simply looked at me when suddenly his arm drew something and came down at me. My instant reaction was to sidestep to the right. Making myself closer to the edge of the cliff. My left hand lashed out at the blade with a force push as I drew my beskad. With the shorter blade it was quicker to draw from my back. I then gave it a one handed grip letting the blade hang at my side as my white shield activated with the prompting of my telekinesis powers. The white Echani Dueling shield lit up to protect myself against the crimson blade that I now noticed.

He was testing my reflexes. Attacking suddenly it was only one of the many ways that I would be tested against. I decided to attack. Thrusting my left hand out again, this time intending to bash the man with the shield as I brought my silver gleaming beskad to cut at his chest.

@[member="Cameron Centurion"]
 
Cameron was, dare he say, impressed by the woman's immediate reaction to create distance. As she withdrew her own weapon and activated her shield, the Sith Lord smiled. "Time, distance, and opportunity." No sooner had the words left his lips than Zoey closed the distance and seized the opportunity to place herself on the offensive. In general, Cameron support this particular technique. There was a time to play defense. However, an integral part of any good defense was an offensive capability.

Rather than provide a counter to the energy Zoey had placed behind both of her attacks, the Sith Lord opted to use her own energy to use advantage. They had both just run the same distance. Regardless of the difference in force ability or physical capability, neither of them would be able to operate at peak performance for very long. So - the next lesson Zoey would learn would be how to conserve energy as much as possible in any fight.

Rolling his body away from Zoey's initial thrust with her shield, the Sith Lord quickly ducked underneath her Beskad before immediately coming back to a fighting stance. At the same time, Cameron oriented his Sith Sword over his right shoulder with the blade pointed towards the ground. The move was purely defensive in nature, designed to create a buffer to slow down the velocity of any backhand attack Zoey might attempt to make as he turned to face her once more.

"Better." The crimson blade immediately leapt back into action. Slowly, the Sith Lord increased the speed of his attacks as he made repetitive strikes at either side of her midsection and head. No particular strike lasted long enough for any parry to matter much and the strike following occurred fast enough such that Zoey would just barely have the time to recover.

He was intrigued to see how she worked her way out of being put decisively on the defensive.

@[member="Zoey Marix"]
 
I smiled as the Crusader commented about time distance and opportunity. and those three words worked into my head about my Beskad style. Time. I needed time to wear the man down before I could close the Distance. And for that I needed the right opportune time to strike. Even as I thought this, my arms moved of the own minds to keep the shield close to me, yet let the sithsword to deflect off when it hit. Keeping my beskade up and ready for anything there were a few times where I simply twisted my wrist to get the effect of a block.

Rather than using my entire arm to block, I used small movements. Preserving my power and energy until the right moment. Even though the man had said better, I may be becoming better, but I could only say that myself if I saw improvement that was far beyond of what I had currently. Once more the crimson sword came in a blur and I decided to act.

Taking minimal movements. I let my shield keep the man's longer blade away from my own. and as he took the sword away from my shield to preform another strike, I followed. Moving after the sword with my shield pressing after it. and when I had come within the man's reach of the blade, I sent out my blade to come at his left hip. I may be small, and less powerful than a man, but that does not mean my speed, and critical thinking can overtake said man.

@[member="Cameron Centurion"]
 
The trained warrior parried Zoey's strike with relatively minimal effort. While Cameron could say that the woman was indeed skilled, he could also plainly see that she relied more on innate ability. It was a trait typical of those that had not fully accepted the reality of allowing the Force to work through them in order to prevail. The Force itself was the pulse of the galaxy. An individual fully trained in reading and manipulating the current of the Force, was note a foe to be trifled with.

Outside of that, Cameron rarely allowed his focus to drift from that which was the most immediate thread. The pointed, deadly weapon in Zoey's hand meant a great deal more to him than her shield. Beyond that, Cameron knew how things were going to unfold before they ever did.

Disengaging from their brief skirmish, the Sith Lord stepped back and immediately sheathed his weapon. As before, he offered no words before vaulting his body over the edge of the cliff, hurtling towards the forest floor below. After making a controlled landing on two feet, the large Sith stood to his full height and waited for his student to join him.

@[member="Zoey Marix"]
 
My form was flawed. He had easily blocked my beskad. and that in itself was a testament of the man's skill. Or I was just poorly trained. Ether way, the man backed up from me then sheathed his sword. I only looked at him with slight confusion when he jumped from the ledge. Looking down, I saw about where he landed, but could hardly see the man at the bottom. He seemed smaller than the dust that floated in the air from this height. I took a step back from the edge and turned off my shield. I changed my grip on the sword to be in a reverse grip, and taking one step I lept.

I let my body fall, seeing that I was moving incredibly fast. I used my abilities in TK to try and slow me down, but it made little effort in slowing me down. I decided to try a different way, I took my blade in two hands and slammed it home into the face of the cliff. The silver blade cut through the rock for a few meters and slowed me down to be about 10 from the ground. Taking a good grip of the handle that stuck out from the cliff face. I moved my body to be perpendicular with it. and pulled with my feet and the force. Yanking it from the wall, I fell the last 10 meters using the force to shield myself. I slammed into the ground.

Standing a good 3 meters from my Master. I rose up and nodded my head as he had waited for me. Seeing if I would take the jump.

@[member="Cameron Centurion"]
 
The sound of Zoey's blade screeching and scraping through rock pulled the Sith Lord's attention to her descent. Narrowing his silver-green gaze at the woman, he watched as she collapsed the remaining several meters to the ground before coming to her feet. Silence passed between them for a few moments before Cameron began to walk deeper into the treeline, expecting Zoey to follow per usual. "You are very adaptive and resourceful for a fighter, Ms. Marix. Unfortunately, that is not good enough."

Pausing, Cameron turned abruptly to face Zoey once more. "You have the ability to sense and manipulate the Force, but I get the feeling this ability has gone without nourishment for too long. Your dedication to the Crusade has been noted by many. I hear them talk of your path routinely. Aesirs, Ms. Marix, discussing your future and potential for leadership of all of the Crusade's militant forces." Turning once again, the Sith Lord resumed his casual pace. "There are obstacles standing in your way, however. A capable warrior does not make an acceptable Lord Crusdar. You must learn to wield the Force as deftly and efficiently as any blade. When you've learned to do this, you will find a lightsaber becomes more than just a weapon in your hands...but an extension of your unquestionable skill and will."

Stopping near a large tree, Cameron crouched down and motioned for Zoey to join him. When the Sith Lord spoke, his voice was softer but lost none of its intensity. "Have you ever seen a predator stalk its prey or move through the jungle? A warrior is not just an individual that wields a weapons with deadly efficiency. There is a clearing roughly ten kilometers from here in a straight line. Your only task is to make it there alive before daybreak. Do what you need to survive, but I can assure you that the night on Onderon is quite unforgiving."

What Cameron did not tell his student, was that she would not be able to reach the clearing by merely traveling in a straight line. Without waiting for a response, the Sith Lord melted into the darkness, walking perpendicular to the path he'd indicated for Zoey.

@[member="Zoey Marix"]
 
The silence was deafening after I had come up to face him. His voice seemed to echo along the ground as he spoke of using the force. He spoke about becoming a Crusader for myself. and how I could have a chance of leading armies. As a little child I never imagined such a thing as commanding thousands and thousands of troops. Sure because of my help with Neth on Manpha I was knighted and given the title of Governess. but that measured up to nothing of what I could be.

I had the ability to use the force. The power to move mountains, shape the skies, and to destroy planets. yet I knew little for my rank as a Knight. Nodding my head as the man now began to almost whisper. Challenging me to reach the end of the ten kilometers. I looked out to the forest that stood infront of me. Knowing that this would be a challenge. And I would push myself further than that was expected of me. Taking my sword I put it in my sheath. I then removed the sheath from my back. Taking my bracer off, I slid it around my sheath and put it on the ground sticking up.

I began to walk forwards with the mindset of using only my natural skills as a fighter, and the force to pass this test. If he thought I would be using my sword, then he was wrong. I wanted to prove that I could use my powers. I had to excel in it. not just be mediocre. Taking the first step of the ten kilometer journey. I had to finish this test to continue, There was no failing for me now.

@[member="Cameron Centurion"]
 

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