Faction Phantom Limb [NJO]

[Ichika Masudo]

NECESSARY DEPRIVATION

MYRKR ❀ OBLIO FOREST TRAINING GROUND ❀ INNER RIM
Amani Serys • Open

To be here, within the bubble, cut off… was strangely a familiar thing. As a part of her training with the sword as a child and young teen, she was often deprived of her connection to level the field with the other students of the dojo, and at the insistence of her father because of his own experiences as a once-active Jedi. She knew each of her blades, sword and lightsaber, just as well with the Force, as without it. And this had bore itself out, over her years as a Jedi.

But there was a second thing: the deprivation brought with it a sort of relief. Being an empath and by extension, a mentalist, Ichika was more aware of the emotions and thoughts around her without seeking it, and the Force amplified the depth and breadth of what she received, considerably. After forty-odd years, it was akin to breathing to gate the flow, but as a Jedi, she couldn’t engage in wholly depriving herself like this, the broad majority of the time. That would be irresponsible.

That is to say… at least because of her education and lived experience, she didn’t explicitly need the Force to perform her duties, but she was more effective when it was within reach.

“More Jedi could use skills and training beyond what the Force provides, and a further breadth, within it; our Sentinels commonly do this, but theirs is a small number,” Ichika started as she stepped into place alongside Amani to observe the students, though she had none she was explicitly responsible for, folding her arms loosely over her chest and turning her head to offer a small smile, “you’ve done well to arrange this, Knight Serys-Organa.”

It was true that the needs of the galaxy often dictated how Jedi were trained. In times of conflict, Orders past and present focused on the skills of the blade, and the formation of Guardians. That was no less true, here.

 

[Irvelghrikk]

The Kashyyyk Viper
Myrkr
Tags: Gweneth Zarari

​

The World of Myrkr, home to beautiful wildlife - more so dangerous wildlife, a location which produces the Anti-Force Ysalamaris. Irvelghrikk had arrived before majority of the Jedi Visitors, instead the Wookie Master had decided to meditate alone on his thoughts after the dangerous encounter on Rodia, his damage and bruises for the most part healed up. Being a member of a naturally forested species led Irvel to feeling at home, sitting on a treetrunk as the Ysalamaris crawled around him, breaking & re-entering his state of peace.

Some time passed before he exited his state of spiritualism, climbing to his feet and walking along a path out of the deep green area, coming upon laughter and painful 'ouch's, simply watching from afar as the New Generation of Jedi attempted to beat the obstacle courses, simply rubbing his chin in admiration; this new generation were quite different from his own class of jedi from two-hundred years ago, less detached and more Intune with themselves, instead removing the concept of false faces in the public.

Pivoting away, he decided to go to his final and current destination, the training yards where the more martial of the Jedi sparred. Spotting Knights, Padawans, and Masters respectively,he walked around watching, some going back and forth and some standing tall, waiting for their opponent to strike. Eventually stumbling upon a challenger it seemed, Gweneth Zarari , the girl bowing and speaking in his native tongue, Irvelghrikk in return bowing and smiling, speaking a word he did not.

Cracking his knuckles, he analyzed his opponent, noting she seemed younger, reaching down and picking up a small practice-mace - examining it for some moments. <<"I am honored to spar with you, and you honor me by utilizing my people's language.">> He exclaimed in Shyriiwook. bowing deeply once more.

Now standing tall, he placed his right leg some inches forward from his left leg, the practice-mace in his right hand with his left hand gripping the front of his chest. Quite the mad one this fiery haired girl was, not avoiding a challenge, similar to Irvelghrikk in his youthful age.

 

[Colette]

Katherine Holt

This woman had wings. Colette looked at her to assess her before turning back to her stick. It was green-ish, but mostly white. A small laugh burst from the kid's lips as Katherine mentioned Eshan and the couple's proximity there.

"You know they only separated because Val made sure I didn't go back and wear my robes, right?" She shook her head with amusement. "Well, that and some other reasons. Pretty sure they stepped down the ramp with one arm around each other the second we touched ground."

Well, no time to dilly-dally. The stick was done and they were here for a reason after all. Colette pushed from the ground and gently whacked one end of it against Katherine's foot.

"Grab yourself a stick and we'll get to it. No need to peel it, I mostly did it because I could."

 

[Valery Noble]

Myrkr

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Oh chit.

Valery's eyes widened when he caught her leg before her entire stance turned wobbly when he pulled it up to where she was forced to stand on her tiptoes. Then, before she could even hope to try an escape attempt, Kahlil's fist slammed into her gut a second time, resulting in a loud oomph escaping her lips while every last breath of oxygen was knocked out of her lungs again. She was hurting, but her desire to kick her husband's ass was much stronger than the pain.

So, in an attempt to free herself, Valery jumped up and twisted her body to aim a powerful kick with her free leg towards his face. She didn't care if she'd break his nose or knock him out if she even could — she had to get out of this grip before it was too late. Predictable, perhaps, but it took some extreme flexibility to pull this kick off.

Hopefully, it would be enough.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

He could tank a punch if he needed to. A kick, not so much. He let go of her leg in a hurry, barely bringing his arm up in time to at least defend the side of his head. He stumbled back from the impact anyway. He couldn't keep his weight right on his leg. It still hurt. A lot at that. Crap. Rather than focus on the pain though he planted his other foot and brought his fist around again. This time for her cheek.

"You gotta be quicker than that!"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Myrkr

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Kahlil let go of her leg even before her kick connected, allowing her to restore her balance a little and put even more momentum into her attack. Enough that, even with his arm coming up to protect himself, Valery sent him stumbling back a little. His leg was hurt and every attack that forced him to move would put more strain on the knee she had hit.

But without the Force, it was impossible to tell just how much she had hurt him.

So when his arm suddenly moved around, Valery was completely taken by surprise, and his fist struck like a freight train. Her head snapped back and without any grace and no time to catch her fall, Valery hit the ground hard. Kahlil would feel drops of blood on his knuckles after the hit, and when Valery pushed her upper body off the ground, even more, was dripping onto the dirt from her bloody lips.

"Babe..." she said, her voice trembling and her head still spinning. "I-I think you need to call a doctor..."

...

"But not for me."

Valery snapped back around with her blaster drawn and relentlessly pelted him with blaster bolts. They weren't set to lethal power of course, but they weren't on stun setting either. She was deliberately aiming to just bruise and batter his body, and it felt good to try that.

It's totally what he deserved for punching his wife in the face during a spar.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil didn't let his guard down in the slightest. He tested his leg briefly, just to see how much weight he could put on it, but the smirk on his face and his narrowed focused eyes showed just how intent he was on continuing. Seemed to be the same for her. In what she might've assumed was a moment of weakness on his part she reached for his blaster. So he did the same. He drew his blaster, firing twice in quick succession right for her own blaster as she tried to level it for his chest.

"You won't get me twice, you know."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Myrkr

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Oh.

It probably made sense that he expected her scheme. She wasn't the type to cry for help after taking a punch, and he knew her better than anybody else, even without the bond. So it was with a pout, that Valery watched the blaster fly from her hand. Even worse, she'd have to look up into his smug grin, because he knew that it was practically over. But as long as Valery could still move, she wasn't going to give up.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm not done yet!"

Her fingers dug into the dirt, and she threw it all right for his eyes, before getting up and charging at him. The shot for his knee had been a good call, and aiming for his jaw hadn't been a bad idea either. But she needed to hurt him a lot more to win, so this time, she'd try to plant her knee into his liver.

If... she'd even make it there, to begin with.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil laughed. In a mix of annoyance and surprise, anyway. He couldn't see through the dirt in his eyes, and rather than shooting around haphazardly he found himself lowering his blaster as he tried to at least wipe the dirt out of his eyes. Just in time to see Valery closed in and bringing her knee up. He gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to be able to block that kind of blow, nor was he going to be able to dodge on his bad leg.

So, he twisted into it.

Once more he relied on the fact his body could take a blow as he brought around his fist to slam into her gut once more with all his might.

Valery Noble

 

[Katherine Holt]

Objective 1: Sparring
Tags: Colette
​

Katherine raised an eyebrow at Colette’s words, but soon after let out a small laugh. “That sounds about right. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve almost walked in on them sparring at the Temple.”

The Padawan always had somewhat wistful thoughts whenever she watched the Noble’s just be around one another. Katherine’s memories of her past weren’t particularly solid, but she missed her family.

Missed having people that loved and cared for her, and vice versa.

Katherine was broken from her thoughts when she felt something hit the side of her foot. She looked over to see Colette as on her feet, with her makeshift stick-staff thing in hand. The Padawan smirked, before standing up herself and grabbing one of the sticks.

She examined it briefly, weighing it in her hands. Much lighter than the spear she had been training with, so some adjustments would be needed. She also noted the fact Colette had made these with ease, making it apparent it wasn’t the first time she had done this.

Katherine motioned for them to take up one of the free sparring spots, before sliding into a stance. Holding her makeshift stick like a spear.

 

[Rayia Si]

@ those to whom it may concern
Location: Myrkr
Objective: Training and bonding with her soon to be fellow Padawans and Masters

---

As a rumble shook the cabin of the transport ship Rayia was hitching a ride on, she knew she had arrived at Myrkr. She knew she was late, but that had been necessary. Rather than sedating herself, in lieu of the upcoming training, she had asked the pilot to make a real-space stop halfway before completing the hyperspace jump to Myrkr's system. When finally her shoulders had stopped shaking, the beast within had gone back to sleep, and each breath no longer felt like it would split her in two, she had allowed the pilot to complete the final necessary jump. As the transport's doors opened with a pneumatic hiss, Rayia stepped down onto the leaf covered floor of the wooded training grounds. Almost immediately, she felt the mental prickling sensation tingling across her ears and nape to ease. Her ears perked up in relief. 'I could almost cry. Is that what my fellow classmates go through everyday?' Rayia asked herself rubbing at the once affected areas with her hand. Unlike the others here, Rayia had only recently learned of her force sensitivity. And her budding force awareness had left her overwhelmed. A near constant, throbbing pain had beat behind her eyes for the past few days riling up the beast and setting Rayia on edge. Each day, she had grappled with her own internal struggle trying to stop herself from being a danger to those around her. This was the first time in days that she felt her beast half settling down, no longer rising to the fore with every pulse of pain and trying to infuse her musculature with more strength and speed, or fully transform into her war form.

Sharp ears could pick up the thump of feet and exertions of others nearby and Rayia concluded that must be where the others are. Her tail soon prickled with confirmation as it picked up on the displacement of air caused by the motion of roughly fifteen humanoids, mapping their location as they continued to move. Rayia shouldered her pack and started moving in that direction. As she walked out of the tree line, she would be fairly noticeable among the rest of the learners there. Her bestial ears and the fur lining her arms were self evident. But perhaps what attributed to Rayia's growing sense of estrangement was that she did not carry the implements of her fellow learners. She was not dressed in the brown, finely woven robes the Jedi traditionally wore but rather a leather jerkin, leather breeches, and close-fitted red vest coat with white, tribal embroidery. She carried no lightsaber but rather a simple, red, leather drawstring pouch attached at her waist. From this, she withdrew a hilted, bronze colored fang as long as her forearm. 'I do not belong here. I have not even forged my paladin (ancient Weikian word for Jedi) sword yet,' she thought.

Shaking away the thought, she stalked over towards a secluded area and resolutely began to conduct the Greeting of Illuna's Nine Fangs as she turned to face the Myrkr sun. An aerobic exercise to warm the joints and muscles that also helped in controlling the beast within through the calming motion of repetitive actions. Since her insane speed, hyper reflexes and monstrous strength were not a product of Force Enhancement but of her heritage, she blurred through the motions. That was when she caught a familiar flash of blue cloth that stopped her in her tracks. "Hey!" She cried, far more animatedly than when the red-haired Cathar, Jonyna Si , had first seen her.

 

[Resh]

Myrkr
Eloise Dinn​

---

Coming to the Jedi had been a dizzying change in Resh's life. All he ever knew was the embrace of the cult. One that treated him with coldness and zeal in contrasting, yet equal measure. But with them gone, he had nowhere else to go. And any trust he had in his old regent was long since wiped away after the man had revealed the truth; Resh was expendable. And his use extended only as far as he would play into Varick's desires. Desires that only ever filled Resh with conflict to begin with.

He'd kept his distance from the other students since being inducted. Purebloods carried a certain reputation. They shared their named with the Jedi's oldest and most bitter enemy after all. They had a symbiotic relationship with the dark side. And now here was Resh, standing amongst them, trying to be something, anything other than what the cult had entitled him to be.

A need for training dictated that Resh come along to this Myrkr excursion. He was only just settling into his control over his Force-sensitivity, and now it was being taken away for a whole new experience. He understood the importance, but it didn't make him any less nervous. At least not until they stepped into the forest proper. "Huh…" Resh admired the greenery, and the lizards he could see clinging to the gnarled roots of ancient trees. He had never seen nature like this, only the decrepit ruins of the Coruscant undercity. More than that, he felt a peculiar sense of ease without the Force. A quieted mind. A lack of conflict. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

Of course without his sensitivity, Resh nearly tripped face first over a jutting root as he wandered to the open glade. He stumbled into position by accident, finding himself staring across the space at another padawan. A girl who was both older, and significantly taller than him. He swallowed thickly, "…Hi." This didn't seem particularly fair. Sure, he'd had some training from his old cult, but their methodology was a bit different from the Jedi's. That— And Eloise pretty much had twice the reach advantage over him, "So— Do we just—?" He put up his fists unenthusiastically.

 

[Colette]

Katherine Holt

Colette wasn't much for small talk. What she saw was a spear-hold, angled to prevent full-on frontal assault. She could stall and force Katherine to attack her, but that could just as easily lead to neither of them doing anything at all which would defeat the entire purpose of this whole thing.

Well, if both options were bad then they were both equally good. Colette stepped forward with her hands wrapped tight around her impromptu weapon as if she was holding onto a broom. She leveraged the wooden stick's length to sweep at Katherine's weapon and sought to push it firmly aside and follow it up with an equally fierce jab at the redhead's chest.

They had healers on-site, and bacta if things were really bad. No spearheads meant no lacerations, at least not as many. Besides, Valery and Kahlil were practically shooting each other already, and if they could get that rough… Well, the learners could probably bruise each other a little without any greater issue. Surely the masters wouldn't want to be seen as hypocrites.

 

[Valery Noble]

Myrkr

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

More trickery, and again it paid off.

The dirt she threw toward his face stopped him from trying to gun her down and gave her the precious time she needed to get up close to him. Perhaps not the best strategy either, given the size difference between the two, but she was running out of options and had to hit the right spot as hard as she possibly could. Kahlil realized this plan as well, and twisted his body into the strike, thereby avoiding a very painful hit to the liver, but the knee was certainly going to leave a bruise.

But he wouldn't be the only one to get bruised.

To strike with her knee, Valery had put herself far too close to him, and he exploited that with another uppercut into her gut. She cried out in pain, and was going to fall over, but stopped herself by grabbing hold of her husband's clothes. Her fingers dug into his skin, and she was just hanging there.

Out of breath and in quite a bit of pain.

"I-it's a draw?" she tried sheepishly. After all, she was technically still standing.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"No."

Kahlil winced a little. Everything hurt, but he was still standing on his own. He forced a pained grin as he looked down to Valery before raising a hand again. Curled it into a fist, then swung it with all his might towards her chin.

Only to stop just shy to instead flick said chin.

"This is my win."

Valery Noble

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Much to Eloise's annoyance, the chosen boy seemed to have no clue what was going on. He was an alien, of a prickly-boned species she had never seen before, and looked to be at least a couple years younger than her. Certainly he was shorter than she was, but that was the norm for most humanoid students. She shot a look at the instructor who had picked him. Probably he had given up on trying to find a more evenly matched opponent for her.

"…Hi."

"Hi," Eloise grumbled, trying not to scowl. Amani was watching, which meant she had to at least pretend to be nice.

"So—Do we just—?"

"Face each other," the instructor ordered. "Bow."

Eloise obeyed, bowing at the waist. As soon as the instructor cried, "Begin!" and got out of the way, she aimed a kick directly at the boy's face.

Resh​

 

[Valery Noble]

Myrkr

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"No."

Valery closed her eyes, and even though it seemed like he was going to end this pretty brutally, she had quite a grin on her face. This had been a lot of fun despite the pain, and she felt good about the tactics she had used to fight him. Against almost any other opponent, they'd have been more than enough for her to win.

Then, right as she felt the air shift from his fist moving up towards her chin, he stopped. Her chin was flicked up and her fiery gaze met his with a playful smirk on her lips.

"I'm..." she began before she blew him a kiss. "...still standing."

She waggled her eyebrows and planted her forehead against his chest while she chuckled. Like this, she was not going to accept defeat.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

He raised a brow as he watched her. Then sighed as he went to sweep the leg and take her right to the ground. If that's how she was going to have it go, he wasn't about to hold back. Such was how their family was, after all.

Valery Noble

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Myrkr
Tags: Jonyna Si

​

Jonyna was moving slower than she seemed to expect, but decently fast all the same. Jasper was prepared though. It made sense for her to go for his unarmed side. When a diagonal slash came, the knight, rather than turning to block, leapt up into the air and over the blow. It was not as high as a force-enhanced jump, but it was enough to get the job done.

As Jonyna's blade passed under him, Jasper would spin and attempt to strike at her now exposed wrist.

 

[Amani Serys]

Myrkr
Ichika Masudo - Open

Amani had fallen into silent observation of her own padawan, who was beginning a match with a much younger student. She couldn't help but be a bit concerned how it might go, given Eloise's more aggressive philosophy. Just as the sparring began, she snapped out of her focus at the sound of Ichika's voice. The mirialan offered her a smile and a nod, "I figure it more important now than ever. I've lived firsthand without the Force, for a prolonged period of time. In some ways it's-- almost liberating. But if you're not used to it, the acclimation process can be… dramatic." Especially in a life-or-death situation. Which is what these students needed to be prepared for.

"Anti-Force-sensitive activity is spiking in a way we haven't seen before. I fear what would happen to our padawans if they were caught in the middle, without any experience." She furrowed her brow in deep thought. Masters and apprentices alike were taking part in the exercise. Some sparring, others beginning the obstacle course. It brought some relief to see that all had something to gain here. And it accentuated the importance of something like this all the more greatly, "It would be like taking away a soldier's hearing. Or even their sight."