One must question any discipline that has lethal potential…

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was known to be an exponent of the third Form. But apart from Vaapad, she was competent in all saber techniques.

So she set up one of the training rooms on Lothal to teach her new Padawan a Form she was familiar with, without being anywhere near an expert. She’d learned it from the Master of the Shadows, so she’d had a good teacher at least. So it was by far in a way her second strongest Form.

And there were two variations to learn, both of which she used when she needed to end a duel — as Soresu often lacked the edge to end a bout, especially the aspect of using it to counter-strike.

So she folded her Jedi cloak neatly and placed it on a bench and began to warm up, using one of the training sabers she’d brought along. She’d asked her Padawan to meet her here, so she expected him any moment now.

[member="Ben Corscifine"]

 

[Ben Corscifine]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Ben didn't need any extra motivation to get out of bed on the morning upon which he was meant to meet with his master to do some lightsaber training. Not only was saber training Ben's very favorite discipline, but he had been promised a lesson in Form V combat. On Voss, Ben had had a short, but informative, session with a Jedi by the name of Boo Chiyo, who had given Ben a handful of Shien maneuvers to practice. Ben enjoyed that variation of Form V more than he had enjoyed Barrien Siegfried's introduction to Soresu, because Shien made Ben feel powerful and decisive. He wasn't a boulder with Shien, but a stone axe, striking his foes down with solidity.

But what Ben was most excited for was Djem So. The Shien variation of Form V was great for dealing with foes who wielded blasters, but Djem So was designed for lightsaber duels. That was where Ben felt the most at home, crossing blades with an opponent. One-on-one. The ultimate test of competence.

As Ben entered a training room in the underground temple, he found the Grandmaster warming up with a training lightsaber. He knew it to be a training saber because it was blue, and the usual color for Corvus. She had removed her outer robes, and so, he removed his. Ready for action, he bowed to his master.

"Good morning, Master Raaf. Sleep well?"

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus smiled and deactivated her saber. Bowing politely she spoke, “Welcome. And yes, I alway sleep well. Just not for long. I average three to four hours a day. Probably because I meditate so much. Anyhow, our first practical lesson. Now, I am a scholar at heart, so could talk about the Form for hours. Days even. But not entirely useful and certainly boring for you.”

She smiled again.

“So please, tell me what you know of the fifth Form and save me repeating things you already know.”

This was her standard approach, as Ben would find out. See what the learner knew and build on that, rather than start from scratch and duplicate learning.

[member="Ben Corscifine"]

 

[Ben Corscifine]

Ben smiled. Corvus was certainly observant; she seemed already to know her student very well-- his style and his shortcomings. I'm sure it had been unintentional, but Ben felt a slight pang of remorse when his master casually explained the benefits of meditation on sleep. It was true that Ben himself was something of an insomniac, and perhaps the lack of quiet in his mind was the main culprit.

Another reason to meditate more often and more effectively.

Ben was not by any means proficient in Form V, but he had certainly practiced the few sequences that Boo had shown him on Voss enough times to articulate and demonstrate what he had learned. "I find Form V particularly interesting because it seems at once defensive and offensive, or at least it creates offense by repeated countering of opponent's moves and attempts to open holes in an opponent's defenses. There isn't the sort of waiting around that's required by Soresu." It may be a bit haughty, maybe, for the librarian's liking, but Ben was not considering how his master may react to his sentiments. "On Voss I learned a dulon from the Shien variation of Form V, which has proven very effective in my practice against training remotes here at the Academy. But what I really want is to learn a little bit about Djem So. Shien is fairly useless against lightsaber-wielding opponents, and I know that dueling is a skill I will need in the war with the Sith."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

"Waiting around?" Corvus smiled at Ben's description of Soresu. "The third Form is the one most akin to being a Jedi. We do not attack remember, we use the Force for defence." The look on her face and the softness of her voice demonstrated she was not rebuking him, but he would know her well enough to understand she did not say things for the sake of them. She meant every word.

"And as a practitioner of Soresu, it's rather easy to defeat opponents who rush at you. It's precisely what the Form excels at. Control is key, even with the fifth Form. Do not look to end a fight too quickly, less you end up on the losing side."

"But with time practice and the application of a little patience, we'll get you there."

With that she let loose a training remote. "Show me what you know, we can take it from there."

[member="Ben Corscifine"]

 

[Ben Corscifine]

Ben always appreciated Corvus for the way that she responded to his half-formed understandings. Ben had a tendency always to assume that he knew more than he did. While he had a good mind, it was also a stubborn mind, and gentle guidance in his way of thinking was really the only way to persuade Ben. Corvus did not allow him to get away with saying things that weren't accurate, but she never seemed to rebuke her young padawan outright. The this non-confrontational method of teaching seemed to work best for Ben.

After igniting the training saber, breathing in the whispered snap-hiss of the blue blade, Ben centered himself in the opening Shien position: saber above his head, angled away from the body.

"This the only sequence that Boo taught me. It's Shien, not Djem So, but still Form V."

He sensed the remote moving, and awaited the moment when it reached the height of its flight path. Just before the inevitable moment of firing, Ben launched into the dulon that Boo had taught him. He moved precisely through the sequence of maneuvers, maintaining awareness of the droid as he threw himself into the path of an oncoming blaster blot. His blade moved quickly, aggressively to intercept the shot and deflect it. It whizzed by the remote, missing by a fraction of an inch.

Ben quickly spun to meet two more shots, one of which grazed the training remote. Boo had taught him that Shien was about creating and opening in an enemies defense, instead of waiting for one. Corvus had been correct in her assessment: this was a more aggressive form. As Ben ended the dulon, he propelled himself toward the remote, seeking to deflect a bolt directly back at the droid. Instead, he got too close, and could not react in time to stop a beam of red to strike his shoulder. No major injury; it only stung a little.

Although Ben's pride was a little wounded.

Embarrassed, Ben turned away from the droid and allowed the lightsaber to deactivate. That never happened when he was practicing alone.

"Obviously, that isn't usually how it goes," he muttered apologetically.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus glossed over Ben's mishap. She smiled and recounted a true experience. "When I was first a Knight, the then Grand Master agreed to teach me and some others Force Shield. My first block of a blaster bolt? Hit me squarely in the chest. I woke up in a pool of my own vomit. True story."

"Anyhow...moving on..."

"Understanding the philosophies behind Shien and Djem So are easier then you might believe. The most important tenant of Form V, in both variants, is to take an enemies attack and counter it with an attack of your own. It is offensive in nature but tied into the strong defensive skills of Form III from which it was born. You have used this tenet before. The last time you debated with someone on a topic. When discussing with someone, do you simply repeat everything they say back at you....of course not. You listen to their point and you counter with your own."

She leaned forward and spoke earnestly. "That is the most important tenant of Form V. Every argument gets a rebuttal. Every attack, a counter-attack. It is a simple idea....in truth it is a simple Form....and in that simplicity lies its strength." She waited a moment for what she had said to sink in before progressing onward.

"Now, the secondary aspect of the Form is just as simple. Many opponents can be defeated by simply overpowering them. Powerful strikes can eat away at a defense, can open up weaknesses in one's opponent, and can overwhelm them. So when you strike, strike with strength."

She stopped there. Again she paused for Ben to reflect on what she had said and then finally proceeded.

"Now, take a moment, think on these two basic principles and ask your questions or make your comments. Now is a time of discussion....but don't fear, we will train with blades soon enough," she said, smiling.

[member="Ben Corscifine"]

 

[Ben Corscifine]

Something about Corvus as a padawan, young and fallible, made Ben smile on the inside. His master had a way with calming his self-consciousness. It seemed true, in fact, of most Master Jedi that Ben had encountered in his time. It was clear that their power and presence was not merely nominal.

Master Raaf's metaphor was compelling for Ben, who had quite a fondness for debating with his peers--especially when those debates ended in a "victory" for the young Jedi. It seemed Form V truly was conceived after Ben's own heart, the more he learned about it. Logically following what is thrown at you with an appropriate counter, there was a balance between agility, trust, and cunning. Form V seemed to require both a sound mind and a willing body.

And striking with strength has never been a problem for me, don't you worry. Ben smiled. He knew he was going to enjoy this.

But then he had a vivid memory...On Lothal, when the First Order had come in search of a large kyber crystal, Ben and his fellow padawan, Dune Rhur had been forced to fight a company of battle droids. When Ben employed his Shien training, he had felt himself slip into a sort of rage, drawing on his aggression to defeat the droids. For a moment, he considered telling this to Corvus, although he still was not sure if this had been exactly what had happened. He had contemplated the event many times since its occurrence. He settled for a generality:

"When I was learning Shien on Voss, Boo warned me that Form V presents a danger to Light Side practitioners. He said that there is a possibility when using Form V for a Jedi to fall into passion and aggression. These are more characteristic of the Dark than the Light, are they not? Is Form V something to be cautious of?"

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus cocked her head to one side, as if thinking. Ben’s question was on one level straightforward — but a simple answer wouldn’t do it justice.

“All Forms can be a vehicle for aggression. Soresu training specifically counters this tendency — as it is less effective when a user becomes passionate.”

“It is the same for Abilities too.” Corvus lifted a saber using the Force and brought it over between them, it hovered horizontally at waist height. “I used the Force. The Light-side. A Sith would have performed the same act. Visibly no different. But they would have used the Dark-side. They would have tapped into an emotion to achieve it.”

“And the greater the act, the more power required. For a Sith in combat uses hate, anger, fear. These are the powerful emotions. They connect with the Dark-side and unleash great power.”

“That is why duelling is always precarious for Jedi. It can be a challenge to fight and remain serene. A few can use their negative thoughts and channel them for good. The seventh Form is an option for them. But it is fraught with danger and is taught and permitted only under close supervision. Only one Padawan in my time has been successful in this path, and she is with the New Jedi Order now. But that is a different story.”

“No Form will make you a Sith. Only you will make you a Sith. Learn to control your feelings. Learn to curb your emotions. Have them. We all do. It is a fallacy to say Jedi do not have them. We do. But we don’t act on them.”

“Is this easy? No. That is why so many fall to the Dark-side. Because it’s easier to achieve. Not more powerful. Just quicker.”

“Does that answer your question?”

[member="Ben Corscifine"]

 

[Ben Corscifine]

An easy way out. Corvus, per usual, was correct. Control takes effort, passion takes none. The Light Side of the Force was about control and calm. It was a question of intention, not of action. When Ben acted out of rage or jealousy or pride, he would be touched with the Dark Side of the Force. Only when he championed peace, justice, and knowledge would he be acting as a Jedi.

So, Ben knew not only that he must be cautious in his practice of Form V, but that he must be cautious in his practice of anything, especially when combat was involved. Ben often allowed himself to take the broad, oft-trodden path of passion. Corvus was right, it was indeed easier to do. Ben simply had to accept that he could not settle for what was easy when he could instead do what was right. It was a long road on which both he and his master walked, but it was the right road. He was happy to have such a fine guide.

"Yes, Corvus. That was all I needed to hear."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]