Sell Your Cloak and Buy a Saber

[Zak Dymo]

V O S S
The Silver Temple

Overlooking the city of Voss-Ka, high atop the mountains of the Voss Mystics, the ground on which the Order of the Silver Jedi had settled was both hallowed and ancient.

The stones of the temple were old when humanity was still young. Its architecture quite unlike anything in the Core Region. The pathways of the Jedi were winding, curving upward and decorated with hanging gardens that created tranquil pockets appropriate for reflection as one ventured through the heavily forested hills of the Voss. Its landscape carefully preserved by the quiet monk who had come to the frontiers of the Outer Rim in search of respite, and founded a great coalition of worlds.

So, it was unseemly that the sound of blaster fire would echo through these rolling hills. But it was not the blasters that seemed to present the true threat.

The young boy moved like a predator. His movements precise. His strikes sudden, swift, and surprisingly powerful. This was no youngling. This was a killing machine.

In his hands, a creature born of the Yuuzhan Vong's abominable machinations was stretched out as a staff. Energy crackling about its serpentine form as the blue-skinned youth created an effect known among Shien practitioners as a barrier of blades. Absorbed, deflecting, re-directing the training bolts that were fired from the remote or remotes that might have been operational at the time.

This was no passive defense. This was aggressive. Forceful.

He did not merely wait for his opponent to fire, he lashed out. Which explained the amount of droid debris that was collecting around the outdoor training arena where the Pantoran had come for some fresh air and exercise. In so short a time as but a mere minutes of repetition, the youth had already broken into a sweat even here in the higher altitudes of Voss.

The Silver Council had made mention of a Jedi traveling to learn the Preservence Form, the classical style of Form V that had come to be known as Shien. It was the singular style imparted to him by his former master, who -- while not a Jedi -- seemed to leave the Pantoran an able user of its technique.

He wondered what this Jedi would be like.

[member="Ben Corscifine"]​

 

[Ben Corscifine]

Ben knew little of The Silver Sanctum and of Voss. Ever since he left his home on Coruscant to train with the Jedi, The Order and Lothal were all that he knew. A Jedi Order that did not serve the Galactic Republic was a strange concept to him, since the Order on Lothal was very much tied to the traditional role of the Jedi as the defenders of the peace within the Republic. Still, Ben had no personal qualms with going to any lengths to learn new skills from talented and powerful Jedi, even if it meant training with Jedi outside of his Order. After all, he would be bringing whatever skills he picked up back with him to Lothal.

This was actually the first time Ben had been cleared to leave Lothal by himself, and he was emboldened by the opportunity. Not only was he feeling confident and independent, but he was extremely excited due to the reason for his trip off-world: Training in Shien Form lightsaber combat.

Ben had a intense love for the weapon of the Jedi, and Form V was irresistible to him, given his tendency to use his physical offensive superiority in battle. Recently, Ben had begun training in Form III, which he enjoyed for the feeling of invulnerability that it gave him. There was one issue with Soresu for Ben, however: it lacked the sense of strength that Ben could only attain with victory. Sure, a Soresu user could last a long time in battle, but a Soresu user never struck down an opponent using defense alone.

In this way, Form V seemed to Ben the best of both sources of strength: It was both offensive and defensive at once. And, if Ben could learn well from the mysterious child Jedi to whom he had been referred on Lothal, perhaps his training in the Shien variation of Form V could segue well into training in Djem So, which would make Ben much more formidable in one-on-one duels.

Ben knew little of Boo Chiyo, the Jedi from whom he was meant to learn Shien, except that he was a member of the Silver Sanctum, a good deal younger than Ben, and a Pantoran. Ben had never met a member of Chiyo's species, but he had read about them and seen pictures. Hopefully, this little blue boy was all that he was cracked up to be--Ben had heard that he was an expert in Shien, and sought him out immediately for training.

Ben arrived on Voss ready for the training, and as he approached the designated location, his ears filled with the sound of blaster fire. Ben smiled wide.

Perfect.

Ben reached the outdoor training area high in the hills of Voss-ka, he was confronted with a promising sight: A small blue boy with a glowing lightsaber, surrounded by the debris of training droids. The Force rippled with the boy's power.

This was exactly the kind of Jedi Ben wanted to train him.

[member="Boo Chiyo"]​

 

[Zak Dymo]

There was a glowing energy in the boy's hands, but it became quickly apparent that it was no lightsaber.

If it was, then the boy was handling it by the blade. His treatment of it akin to a wooden bo or quarterstaff, even though it cut through air and durasteel as though it were white-hot plasma. Setting one end of the staff to the ground, the electrical energy faded to reveal a black weapon with the head of a serpent, which reflected the light as though it was made of obsidian. Then, in the next moment, the staff became pliable and began to writhe.

It was an amphistaff.

As the living biot began to curl and coil about the boy's arm, the Pantoran looked over toward the presence he'd sensed through the Force. He opened his mouth to speak, but was startled as the amphistaff suddenly lurched forward -- uncoiling as it shot outward to see this new presence for itself.

Snatching hold of the serpentine body, the boy pulled the curious creature back to him. "Azi!" he uttered, clearly talking to the snake-like creature. And, as though understanding him, the amphistaff turned it's head back to the boy. The neck flattened out, flaring out like the hood of a cobra as it bared it's fangs to the Pantoran.

Reaching up one hand, the boy thumped the amphistaff on the nose with one finger.

Shaking it's head, the biot seemed to sneeze twice, before it slowly settled back into coils in the boy's hand. Raising his amber eyes, the snake-handling Pantoran looked up at the young man. "Padawan Corscifine?" the youth asked, even as he suspected the answer already.

Older than he'd expected. And about a foot taller than the Pantoran was.

"I'm Boo," the child supplied in greeting. That was it. Just Boo. Scratching the head of the amphistaff, the boy indicated the weapon in his hands. "You kinda already met Azi."

With the introductions out of the way, the boy thought to ask the most obvious question. "So... why Shien?" he inquired curiously. Skip the pleasantries, get right to the question. That wasn't very youngling of him at all...

He was curious though. He knew why he'd been taught Shien; to cover his butt when running out of an assassination attack, or when an infiltration or exfiltration went south. But, with a Jedi-Sith war raging across the galaxy, why would a Jedi want to learn a technique that focused more on blaster combat than dueling?

[member="Ben Corscifine"]​

 

[Ben Corscifine]

Ben watched with curiosity as the boy's weapon, which Ben had mistaken in the moment for a lightsaber, came to life and--in a moment-- was more pet than predator. Ben had never seen anything like Azi. Nor had he seen anything like Boo, for that matter. Where he came from, children of that age were still just learning. Granted, Ben had started his own training a little later than most Younglings, but he never knew a Youngling who had excelled in his training so early in his life. And Boo wasn't just skilled for his age, he was mature. He radiated a presence that was unmistakable and undeniable. Between this tiny blue warrior and his magic snake, Ben was starting to feel a little self-conscious with his eighteen years of being an apprentice and his silly green training saber.

Still, he had come here to learn. While it wouldn't be a new sensation, it would be unwelcome for Ben to feel as though he knew more than his teacher. And, judging by the pile of droid debris, this little teacher knew a thing or two.

"Yes, I'm Ben Corscifine. You can call me Ben, though." Ben smiled at the blue boy, admiring his direct manner. Ben usually couldn't abide those younger than him, but Boo was more than agreeable. Ben bowed a little, adhering to decorum despite suspecting somewhere in his intuitions that Boo would neither expected nor required Ben to treat him with any special deference. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Boo. Thank you for agreeing to have this training session with me."

Why Shien? The easy answer, of course, was that Ben simply wanted to master all lightsaber techniques. The Force was not Ben's strongest ally at this point in his training, but his blade was. He was naturally skilled in lightsaber combat, and had a passion for it as well. Shien and Djem So were--among the forms Ben had seen in action-- some of the most powerful.

"In ancient times, perhaps it was enough for a Jedi to have superior skills against lightsaber wielders, but the enemies of the Republic are now many. It can be useful to defend yourself in a firefight, but I always like to feel I'm making progress, not just covering myself. Shien seems like an excellent balance between defense and offense."

[member="Boo Chiyo"]

 

[Zak Dymo]

A balance between defense and offense?

"Kinda," the young Pantoran conceded. As the two spoke, the amphistaff seemed to grow restless and started to try and wander away from the boy's arm. It was particularly keen on watching the small mammals that were jumping between the trees of the Voss jungle surrounding the Silver Temple.

"Shien uses offense as defense," the Pantoran opined, contrary to Ben's viewpoint. There was another form, except it was purely defensive. And Shien was basically purely offensive. What was it called anyway? Sosresu? Sesshomaru? Whatever. The fourth form. Or was it the third? Or was that Fast Style?

How did Jedi keep any of this straight?

...and what had he been talking about?

Oh, yeah. Defensive offense. "It's great if you're outnumbered, especially against blasters," the youngling remarked. He wasn't a Jedi historian, he didn't know the origins or anything like that, but blasters seemed to be pretty much the whole point behind a lot of it. Barrier of Blades. Deflection. "But one-on-one? Against a lightsaber?" the boy said, again reeling the amphistaff back in as he tried to contain the biot. "You'll get your butt handed to you with the quickness."

Seriously, a twelve kilo Kushiban had kicked his ass on Elrood.

"You still want to learn it, knowing its weak point?"

Not that the boy was trying to dissuade Ben from his choice. But he wanted to make sure that Ben knew what he was getting himself into. The lightsaber forms were not so easy that they were something that could be picked up or put down on a whim. Each was distinct enough to be like its own martial art. And just like with Teras Kasi, each level of progression from novice to master took time, dedication, and training. Better to know going in what the shortfalls were.

[member="Ben Corscifine"]​

 

[Ben Corscifine]

It was clear that Ben had his shortcomings in understanding both the Form and what it meant to study lightsaber techniques. Boo explained with the expertise of someone well beyond his years, and Ben listened intently. Honestly, it made him a little more aware of his youth and inexperience that a person who used the word "butt" in seriousness was completely refuting--with validity--Ben's intuitions

Offense as defense. This was something he could get behind, given his distaste for the passive nature of Soresu. As far as not being useful in lightsaber duels, Ben had some hangups. Dueling was a favorite part of Ben's combat training. Still, Ben was a very naturally talented duelist using just Shii-Cho and his instincts, and there were lightsaber forms which were designed specifically for lightsaber duels. Perhaps Ben would have to choose to divide his focus between Shien and another form, but this seemed possible to Ben. Especially considering that Djem So--which was meant to use Shien basics for lightsaber combat--was also Form V, Ben would be able to learn skills to cover that which Shien lacked.

Ben didn't ever intend to get his butt handed to him, but he would need to know some sort of technique for protecting against the thousands of blaster-weilding enemies he may have in the galaxy, and Shien seemed more Ben's style than Soresu.

"Every form will have its shortcomings, but Shien seems to be exactly what I need to improve myself as a lightsaber wielder generally."

It was a pretty vague response; not even Ben was fully convinced. Still, it couldn't hurt for Ben to get his feet wet with the little Shien teacher. If he didn't find it useful, he didn't have to pursue it any further. He had come all this way, after all. It wasn't in his nature to simply say that he may have been mistaken and journey all the way back to Lothal, even given his misgivings. He was itching to do some swordplay.

[member="Boo Chiyo"]

 

[Zak Dymo]

And so it begins.

"First thing you gotta do..." the Pantoran boy remarked, taking a step back to create some distance between himself and Ben for the demonstration. "Kiss everything they teach you in Form One good-bye!"

He wasn't a Jedi, but he'd seen how the Silver Jedi trained Shii-cho, particularly with the youngling clans. Which, the Jedi method of training was totally bogus. Where were the pelko bug needles? The electro-shock correction? It didn't even remotely resemble Sith instruction styles. And what did the Jedi talk about? Defense. Patience. Seeking alternatives to combat.

Ain't no one got time for that!

"Shien is about power," the child remarked, as he ran one hand beneath and the other over the amphistaff in his arms. In a snap, the snake-like weapon had extended out like a staff, it's black scales again crackling with energy. "You want to overwhelm your opponent," the tween said, as he positioned himself in an iconic form. Strong leg forward, the staff held overhead, with it's tip angled up and over the Pantoran's head. "The opening stance kinda shows that."

Taking two steps forward, the boy executed a rapid dulon manuever. Shadowboxing with a lightsaber. "It's an overhead swing. You're bearing down on your target," the boy noted, as he stepped back into the opening stance and demonstrated the movements of the introductory dulon again for Ben's observation.

"You don't wait for an opening. You create it." As he spoke, the boy passed the amphistaff off to his left hand, as reached back with his right to the rack of training remotes. With a warbling chirp, one activated and began hovering through the air as the programmed attack sequence began booting up.

Whipping the amphistaff through the air, the boy turned back toward Ben as he said, "The only way to do that..."

Pivoting on his left foot, the Pantoran snapped the amphistaff up into the opening stance he'd just demonstrated. In a blur of motion, the training remote fired as the boy stepped into the path of the bolt. The first half of the amphistaff knocked the bolt aside, sending it into the rack of training remotes, knocking one out of the bin. As the boy carried forward with the momentum, the second half of the amphistaff came around, cutting the remote in twain in mid-air.

"...is to attack."

As the boy's hands seemed the massage the energized weapon, the biot once again became the pliable, animal-like form. Looking at Ben, the Pantoran asked, "You want to go through the dulon for a bit? Or you want to try your luck against the remote?"

Fortune favors the bold.

Were this a Sith instruction, those training bolts would have been lethal. Motivation, after all, was a strong impetus in learning.

[member="Ben Corscifine"]​

 

[Ben Corscifine]

The more this kid spoke, the more Ben liked what he was saying. Overwhelming the opponent with one's own power instead of waiting for an opening that would never come was very much up Ben's alley.

But what really won Ben over was the demonstration. As Boo executed the maneuver, deftly destroying the remote in mere moments, Ben was enthralled. Why--in all his time training with a saber--had Ben never been allowed to do that? To unleash his strength to both defend himself and defeat his enemy. Ben watched intently as Boo demonstrated the opening stance again, and progressed through the dulon. Ben looked down at the sundered training remote, and wanted very badly to jump into a combat simulation of some kind. Anyway, repeated movements wouldn't get ingrained in Ben's muscle memory unless he forced them in by way of practice with real stakes.

And the training remotes couldn't do that much damage to Ben; he had been stung before. He wasn't too worried to take a couple of shots.

Ben pulled his lightsaber from his side and flicked the red activator switch. With a snap-hiss, the verdant blade sprang to life and began its droning hum. Ben assumed the stance Boo had shown him, lifting the blade above his head. Ben felt strong and tall, the blade almost an extension of himself, its song his.

He was ready to get to work.

Slowly and methodically, Ben began moving through the motions of the maneuver Boo had demonstrated. At first, Ben was a bit rigid and self conscious, but he was a quick study. It wasn't the movements that would be an issue for him, it was applying them. Ben was not moving through the dulon before he said,

"If Shien is about overpowering an opponent, I don't suppose it's much use to do this without any pressure from a blaster, is it?"

He smirked, dropping into the opening stance and listening to the beloved hum of his weapon. He motioned to the rack of remotes with his chin.

"Let's jump into the water and let me sink until I start to swim."

[member="Boo Chiyo"]

 

[Zak Dymo]

Jump into the fire, and figure out how not to get burned.

"That's the Sith... uhh..." the boy began, before he stopped himself. It was probably a best practice to not call a Jedi a Sith. Even if Ben was earning major brownie points for jumping into the deep end. "...spirit!" the boy amended a moment later.

Extending out his hand, the Pantoran used the Force in a tenuous, shadowy way. More manipulation than invocation. But, at the ebb and tide of the pull he'd used toward the training remotes, the droids activated. There were three in all, though only one of the three floated out toward Ben.

"Start with one," the Pantoran remarked, giving the man a starting point.

"Then we can work our way up to three."

[member="Ben Corscifine"]​

 

[Ben Corscifine]

The boy had said Sith. Ben had heard it correctly. Was Ben behaving like a Sith with his confidence and eagerness? He pondered it only for a moment, as Boo activated a training droid. Ben didn't have time to worry about it now.

I'll just have to make sure it doesn't become a habit, right?

The droid buzzed over to Ben and began circling. Ben was familiar with these remotes, and he could feel the droid preparing to fire on him. Instinctually, Ben moved to enter the Shii-Cho guard. He had to consciously shift his stance to the opening Boo had showed him, the blade over his head. In an instant, the droid fired a red bolt directly at him. Ben had seen Boo move himself into the path of the droid's blast in order to deflect it, and he attempted to do the same, running through the movements of the dulon.

Ben had timed his deflecting slash just a moment too early--he was eager. He connected with the blaster bold, but sent it flying past the remote. He had intended to hit it with its own blast. Ben stumbled a little and missed the second shot that the droid fired entirely.

Well, at least it didn't hit you.

A third shot came and grazed Ben's arm before he even had a chance to move.

So much for that.

Ben swiftly snapped back into the opening stance and--a little frustrated--felt the twinge in the Force that the droid was about to fire. He was damned sure he'd be ready this time. He flew forward and connected with the bolt, carrying the momentum of the dulon directly at the training remote. The blast missed the remote by a fraction of an inch, but it did not matter. Ben pressed ahead with all of his aggressive energy and bashed the droid with the pommel his lightsaber with a quick backhand. Spinning, Ben's blade met the droid as it flew backward, firing a shot directly into the air moments before being torn asunder by Ben's lightsaber.

That's what I'm talking about.

Smiling broadly, Ben turned back to his little blue teacher as the halves of the droids clattered to the earth.

[member="Boo Chiyo"]

 

[Zak Dymo]

OOC Note: My apologies, this thread completely fell off my tracker... >_>

The Pantoran beamed as he looked over at the padawan triumphant.

"How did that feel?" the tween asked, curiously. Form V was often looked upon as something of the Force Unleashed. Like Ataru, it pushed the physical body. But it was more than dexterity or exercise. It was the nature of the form. To attack. To be aggressive.

What the Pantoran didn't want was for the padawan to follow him down the rabbit hole that was the Dark Side of the Force. "Shien can kinda play with your emotions, if you let it."

Said the kid who survived most fights dancing on the edge of Dark Rage.

[member="Ben Corscifine"]​

 

[Ben Corscifine]

"It felt good! I mean, when I was missing, it wasn't so great, but as soon as I got the hit in the droid didn't have a chance," Ben mused. "Is that how it's supposed to be? Force and opening and then don't let it close?"

Ben was surprised that he didn't feel anger in his aggression. Yes, he felt power. He felt extremely offensive, and wanted to destroy his opponent. He wasn't sure if he had felt any rage, however. He could see why Shien was more often employed by Dark Side Force Users, it would be hard to master this type of combat if one was constantly making sure their thoughts and feelings were in check. How powerful would Shien be, Ben wondered, without moderation.

Ben preferred not to entertain the thought, for his own good.

"How did it look to you?" Ben asked his blue instructor, who seemed pleased. Ben knew that he had succeeded in destroying the remote, but he honestly could not tell how his us of the form had been.

[member="Boo Chiyo"]

 

[Zak Dymo]

"Good!" the boy offered warmly.

The Jedi had a firm grasp of the basics. "Everything pretty much builds on the basic exercise," the youth offered, though it probably wouldn't be all that long before Ben was ready to try some of the more complex maneuvers of Shien, such as Barrier of Blades. "You should practice that until you can block the remote on reflex, then you'll be ready for the more advanced stuff."

That ought to give the Jedi something to work toward. And maybe a future sparring partner for Boo. Which wouldn't be a bad thing either.

"Next time, maybe I can come to Lothal," the boy offered. It was pretty far from Voss, but sometimes it was nice to get away and just enjoy time with Azi and R3. Like the old days.

[member="Ben Corscifine"]​

 

[Ben Corscifine]

It had felt right. Ben was quite pleased to learn that it had been right, indeed.

Ben smiled to Boo and got halfway into the customary bow before he stopped himself, remembering that Boo was not Grandmaster Raaf. He laughed a little. "Maybe I'll replace that reflex with blocking the remote," he half-joked. "Thank you for showing this to me. I do really like how it works and feels. I'll keep practicing and drop you a line when I feel I'm ready for more!"

Ben had never trained with anyone off of Lothal before, but he was glad to have been given this opportunity. After all, there are all sorts of people--Jedi and otherwise--that Ben would never meet if he stayed at the Academy forever. Ben was glad to have met Boo; he seemed to Ben a valuable teacher and ally. Ben would definitely be interested to continue the training simply to maintain ties to Boo.

But what I did to that droid was pretty awesome, too.

[member="Boo Chiyo"]