Private Start of Something New

[Darlyn Excron]

"Stupid..."

Darlyn couldn't contain his words or thought processes much these days, spending so much time abroad working as 'Tempest' meant that he had more than the usual amount of stress holding it all in. Under those excursions using the force-null darts, he had to spend a lot of focused concentration on maintaining a mental shield to protect his cover. Which meant these times where he could reserve a bit of time for visiting the Silver Jedi's temple on Commenor's saber facilities even more important for letting him vent that frustration and anger. Getting lightsaber training droids together in larger numbers usually helped mitigate their... flaws, along with setting them up to higher operational standards to more closely emulate proper swordsman. They'd still be pretty easily taken down, they weren't exactly suited to compete with actual combat experience, but usually they were easy to take apart. Today though?

"... Pretentious..."

At least a one seemed to be set to favor something more emulative of Soresu, something Darlyn rarely set them to, which meant Darlyn's high aggression was being turned aside just a bit more than usual. Using a training green saber felt awkward enough, but the way it didn't even manage to break through the droid's defenses meant his frustration was making him fight even poorer against it. The way the droid was just deflecting his strikes like he wasn't a well trained swordsman was infuriating, and to him it seemed pretentious that the droid would 'mock' him in such a way. Of course it wasn't really able to mock him, but it felt as though it were.

"... Soulless...."

Stupid soulless machine didn't have a right to deny him any sort of relief. Especially not today after having just recovered from using those force-null darts. The surge of the Force back through his consciousness was easy to go through now, having done it more than a few times. But getting back into the motions, the movement, the act of say, fighting with lightsabers on his usual level, he was trying to make it easier to recover from the darts into this. Combat was supposed to be easy, as simple as breathing, and this thing was making it difficult for him. Again the green saber was about to come into contact with the other, and this time he turned the saber off, passing by...

"... SCRAP HEAPS!"

... And instead of finishing the "pass the blade" technique, he simply punched the droid. In the closest approximation of its face. Really really hard, with the Force filling his body. The droid would be fine, it didn't break, but with the Force he did knock the bot across the floor. His fist would also be fine, he'd bolstered it with the Force after all, so there shouldn't be a problem. With that settled though, the bots clearly weren't going to be suitable in the slightest, they were too frustrating and yet too simple to confound and puzzle into submission. He really should spend more time with his apprentice, she certainly could prove to be better at this in time. As it was though, it seemed nothing here was good enough.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Walking through the halls of the Silver Jedi Temple still felt very, very weird. Not long ago, or perhaps a lifetime ago, his father brought it under the iron grip of the Sith and erased the Jedi from it's surface. And now, after all this time, the Jedi had come back. He was a Jedi now. But it still felt.. Wrong. Like he was intruding. Like he didn't belong or even deserve to be here. Kahlil couldn't even blend in. His impressive height made him stand out. The natural shield around his mind did the same.

Those two together? Usually meant a Zambrano.

No one thus far had tried anything on him. Years of growing up as a Sith had made him wary of others, even now after leaving them. But the Jedi weren't like that. No one hated him. No one was trying to kill him. He shouldn't feel the way he did, but he did. The saber room was one of the few places he could go to to avoid interaction with others. That, and the library. It's why he stepped into the room Darlyn Excron was currently sparing with some bots in.

The young man in the doorway paused there, watching as the other figure slugged the droid. Momentarily stunned he just continued to watch for a couple seconds more before promptly turning to head out. "Ah, sorry. Didn't know someone was already using the room.."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

It took Darlyn some time to really notice anyone else was near, or watching him slug the droid out of frustration. For the same few seconds that Kahlil Noble was stunned watching him, Darlyn just stood up straight, and breathed heavily. Letting anger take over was exhausting emotionally, so centering himself again was as much a breathing exercise as anything else. This only got interrupted, however, by Kahlil's voice breaking the momentary near-silence. Darlyn's head whipped around, the red curls of his hair flaring out as he did so.

The man who'd come in was tall, impressively so. There were only a few people he'd ever met as tall, and it only took a momentary probing to recognize how his mind felt. More specifically, his mental shielding. Epicanthix, like his niece. Like that woman. That awful woman he had put on his list to end. That Zambrano woman. So who was this man? Epicanthix for sure, he had zero doubt, but was this man also one of the Zambranos?

He simply had to know. Before he could let Kahlil leave, he shut the doors with the Force, fully turning around to face Kahlil. "Well, you can make it up for me by sparring. You'll probably do better than that scrap heap laying on the ground." He plucked one of the training sabers off his suit pant's belt and tossed it at Kahlil. He wasn't really giving him a chance to say no.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil felt the door close before he saw it. A frown settled on his lips as he stared at them. He could already tell where this was heading even before Darlyn Excron started to speak. "Well, having a sparring partner is better than the droids, yeah. So why not?" He caught the saber, glancing it over curiously before flicking the switch on. A training saber? Why did the man have two of these? A question for later. The tall figure shrugged off his coat and set his saber down on a nearby bench before moving into the center of the room.

He took a calm stance, his whole form lax. "I'm Kahlil."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

He watched Kahlil turn on the blade, and join him in the center of the room, commenting on the usefulness of a training partner compared to the droids. Darlyn gave a nod to him, locking his blue eyes on Kahlil's waist-line area. He moved well already, the body had to twist and shift the waist to move any part of the body and he could easily see Kahlil was not untrained in the slightest. Good, good. The tall man introduced himself, and stood in a lax stance, lacking a clear form.

He lifted his eyes up to meet Kahlil's, being polite and all that, taking up his own stance. Right arm outstretched, igniting his green blade and leveling the tip at him. His left hand folded over his chest, in a classic Niman stance, before he too returned it to down by his side with a small flourish, taking a relaxed stance himself. "I'm Darlyn." He smiled, and began to condense the Force into himself. Force Body was more than just a way to take a hit after all, the raw power was like adrenaline, something he needed to really let loose.

The Dark filled him, and once he felt his senses sharpened and his muscle fatigue fade, he moved to strike. Fast and harsh, his first swing came from right to left, as though he intended to bisect Kahlil instantly. However he quite expected to be blocked, or dodged, and so intended the follow up to come immediately on a whiff or block. A quick wrist flourish, and after the swing woudl be a second, much quicker strike on the opposite side, left to right, testing Kahlil's reflexes.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Good to meet you, Darlyn." He'd of said more, but it seemed his new sparing partner wanted to get right into it. Kahlil could feel the dark filling Darlyn Excron , which put the younger man more on edge than it should. His gaze narrowed as his focus and training took over. Minimal effort was put into his defense, not from a sense of laziness. Small, efficient movements were important to a Soresu user who wanted to tire their opponent out. He slid back from the strike, his feet staying on the ground to keep his balance.

The second strike had the giant bring his blade around. Another small, tight movement to catch the training saber on it's edge and send the strike up and over. A simple deflection as he side stepped to keep his 'foe' from immediately counter attacking. The force swelled in his form, pure and light, but with a similar effect that Darlyn had done. Enhancing his body, his strength. Speed. But he made no move to attack, instead opting for defense.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

The first strike was absorbed by the man, and the second was calmly deflected by Kahlil Noble . Minimal movements, lacking in significant momentum, and a complete focus so far on defense. Kahlil hadn't even struck back yet, though he certainly could. It was by no means a complete assurance but, Darlyn was well educated on this particular subject. Darlyn lowered his saber, clutching it in both hands now, before stepping in towards Khalil and making as strong a strike at his midsection as he could with the force enhancing him. He knew by now that the Light was filling the large man, there was no mistaking it.

"Very minimalist. Form three if I'm not mistaken? I would have expected something more, strength based, considering your advantage." Normally, the 'sith art' of dun moch was used to throw people off guard by mocking, angering them. But practice with it had given Darlyn simply the ability to multitask, converse with his opponent. And being so quickly turned aside by Kahlil in the first engagement provoked Darlyn to talk to him beyond probing for weaknesses.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Three, yeah." Kahlil turned his blade around, seeming to put far more effort into his deflection of the next strike. Conserve where he could was the core of his style, but he could feel the strength behind the strike. Two quick steps and a slight angle to his blade and he'd dance around the strike, only to return to the neutral starting stance of Soresu.

"I don't fight to kill. This form suits me best." He took a calming breath as he watched Darlyn Excron closely. Observing, trying to understand and see the style that the man had chosen to employ. Thus far, nothing was clear, though a couple quick strikes weren't enough to see the basis of a form as it was. "What of you?"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Which form?" He chuckled, watching his strength laden strike being deflected by the man had done plenty to prove Kahlil's use of soresu was not for lack of physical prowess. Ideologies might explain choices such as that, but they could also be a way to hide from one's weaknesses, though Kahlil was not such a case. Which was good, of course... it meant Darlyn got to kick it into second gear. He gave a small flourish of the saber, to draw Kahlil's attention to it, before giving the most succinct answer he could to his return question. "Yes."

It was a nonsensical answer intentionally, of course, as the real answer was given when he quite literally leaped back into the offensive. Single strikes wouldn't do, so a flurry of blows would have to be relied upon. For such an occasion, Ataru was the go-to, however Makashi was most suited to fighting a soresu user, in regards to forms he knew. So, he would combine them, opening with a strong Ataru sequence to reposition, before shifting immediately into Makashi cuts and thrusts in an attempt to throw him off guard. From wide swings to precise strikes, the pace of the fight shifting so dramatically surely would cause... something, right?

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

There was a bit of confusion at the answer, but it quickly made sense. First, Ataru, flipping around and over Kahlil to get the better position around him. The tall man kept his calm and his focus, weathering the strikes like a strong oak in a rainstorm. The sudden shift did throw him off guard though. The sting of the training saber glancing over his arm as he tried to accommodate for the switch before he slipped back. He unleashed a quick push, trying to make some distance so he could regain his bearings.

And he was smiling. A wide, happy smile at the fact this fight had taken a turn for something so much more fun than fighting a droid. "Niman. Very interesting." He offered a slight bow of his head to Darlyn Excron in respect before changing his stance to the opening form of Soresu. It was pretty obvious he was taking this far more seriously now. "Do show me more."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn, like a gladiator, held his arms out to the side as he returned both the wide smile, and the nod of his head to Kahlil Noble , clearly acknowledging his small gestures of respect and enjoying the moment. Thoroughly, in fact so thoroughly he simply couldn't continue to disrespect Kahlil by treating this fight as a simple matter. "More? Well, allow me to take this up a notch then." For this, he'd need something specific. He turned his training saber off, and hooked it to his belt, before reaching off to the right side. From the corner, under a suit jacket that had been discarded by him, a lightsaber flung to his hand, and he made it clear he was turning it to a safer mode by turning the weapon on to the low setting, and tapping his leg to show the painful sting but lack of a burn.

The weapon? Exar Kun's Lightsaber, a single bladed hilt in length, but as the second blue blade igniting would prove, not so in design. Even for a double bladed lightsaber, this might be a design Kahlil wasn't accustomed to, since a saberstaff was always made with a longer hilt. This was not a saberstaff after all, and rather than swinging the weapon using his hips and shoulders, he had to use his wrist and deft, dexterous motions to twirl and spin the weapon. The result?

The next assault was filled with rapid strikes, from every angle he could manage without hitting himself. Spin overhead to strike at different sides, and when deflected strike again with the reverse blade. An ataru principle of constant assault was being used to maintain the pressure, with the ultimate goal being simply to pierce right through his defenses with a strong thrust.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil watched in silence as Darlyn Excron went to gather something from his stuff. He peered curiously as the blade was produced. It was.. Familiar. But he couldn't exactly tell why. At least until the second blade came to life. He blinked in surprise, then quickly found himself the victim of a quick, overwhelming assault. His training in Soresu certainly didn't make him a master, though it did help. The core principal of being the eye of the storm would help in his weaving through the strikes.

But only so much. More than once he came across several close calls where the heat the saber was all too uncomfortably warm. Sweat dripped down his brow as he put his all into surviving the onslaught, but it reached a point he needed to do more than duck and weave. At the strong thrust he actively smacked Darlyn's blade away with his own strength and brought his free hand around to unleash a pure blast of the Force and knock his sparring partner back and gain some space.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn's focus on Kahlil Noble was intense, single minded almost in his need to win now. He was clearly able to push the larger man onto his back foot, which absolutely made the red headed man swell with more than a little pride. Even a Soresu specialist, master or not, was being pushed back by him. Something to be proud of, considering his form's usual weaknesses in saber combat. Even the more aggressive swipe away of his thrust didn't make that pride diminish, so much so he almost missed the incoming Force technique. Niman was particularly in-tune with the Force, preaching to keep an open mind of the Force and all possibilities, and here he was almost missing it in practice. He could only manage to lift his own free hand to try and resist some of the push, as he'd seen other people do.

It was, less than successful. In fact he might as well have done nothing, as he was flung back by the blast as though he never tried to resist. Still, he landed on his feet as he skid backwards, giving them both space to breathe a moment. "Oh my, even Exar Kun's weapon isn't enough to fully throw you off is it? I could tell you were struggling a bit, but anyone would encountering something new, even so you kept the defense up entirely. Truly commendable! Need a moment to breathe? I don't wanna overwork either of us too much right now."

Really he just needed a moment to breathe after taking a Push to the chest like that. Lacking much at all in terms of defense meant, well, things hit him hard. He could stop lightning but, that was just because he shot it with his own lightning. He hadn't thought to push against Kahlil's push.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"That's who it is." He laughed as it finally clicked into place. Exar Kuhn, the saber master. A powerful Sith Lord. He stared at the lightsaber for a moment, curious. Was it the real deal? It certainly looked like it. Kahlil was all for the moment to breath though. He lowered his blade, guard, all of it, just smiling at Darlyn Excron with that sort of thrill grin someone gets when the adrenaline was pumping.

"And you. You're the niman teacher that I didn't really get a chance to learn from. I gotta get more lessons about that. I think the only way I'll be able to go on the offensive is why my power in the force."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"That it is, and that I am. Though I'm much stronger than I was back then, much stronger." Darlyn kept Exar Kun's lightsaber by his side, rather casually giving it small flourishes as he paced a bit. Oh this beloved weapon of his, since picking it up so many years ago, it'd always felt like a natural extension of himself, despite how difficult learning to use it had been. Having someone clearly recognize the weapon and name pleased Darlyn in a rather, showmanship sort of way.

"That push of yours was a rather well done Niman technique though, you seem to have the basics down well. Change it to a lightsaber swing rather than a block and it'd be the classic pushing slash. A rather well done adaptation to Soresu, I have to give you credit." Though, he thought to himself, he wouldn't succeed at this forever. Couldn't. A voice in the back of his head was telling him if he just went all out, he might be able to break Kahlil Noble 's defenses. But then again, this was so much fun!

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Ironically I am too." There was a light chuckle from Kahlil as he kept his eyes on Darlyn Excron . He was a good fighter. A good duelist. Someone definitely worth learning from. Though, the knowledge he'd already learned something pretty similar to Niman already? That felt good to know at least. He kept his blade up, lightly twirling it with a turn of his wrist.

"Shall we keep going?"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"You sure that's not your Epi genes? You are quite tall, and I can feel the physical strength, a lot like my niece when she choke slammed me into my desk back in my Minister days." He had a lighthearted, chuckling tone to his voice, like that was a very fond memory (which it was) that he held dear to him (which he did). Naturally, considering Darlyn neither looked like an Epicanthix, nor like a Zambrano, that should be more than enough to disarm any lingering concerns he had about Darlyn not liking him. Strong and tall Epi's weren't negative for him. Not inherently.

He responded to Kahlil Noble 's flourish with one of his own, the two blue blades whirring in delight by his own head as he wrapped his fingers around the training saber at his hip. He paused, before igniting the green blade alongside the two from Kun's saber, and flourished them both into a relaxed posture. "Let's, and this time I'm going to be going all out, aside from my force powers anyways. Don't think Lightning is appropriate here after all."

Two sabers, Darlyn's specialty. If his beloved Auburn were here to watch, she'd be telling Kahlil to be careful, that Darlyn was taking this real serious. For now though, he'd have to take a note on just how naturally the lightsabers were in his hands. "I trust you're going to do the same, yes?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I probably won't, for your safety." Kahlil flashed a kind smile to Darlyn Excron as he lowered into his stance. Keeping his blade up. Relaxing. Breathing. "The Force is my power, but I'm sure you don't want the dark burned from your body." Wasn't too hard to get what he meant. He made no move to strike out though, adopting the defensive posture once again. He really never did start a fight.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Yeah no, I'd rather not. Even if natural darkness is a lot harder to fully burn away than the damed up stuff Sith do." With that small allusion to Darlyn's beliefs, and a hint towards his abilities, he lifted the sabers into a natural stance. Kahlil Noble might not want to use his biggest ability for this, but Darlyn really hadn't meant that.

"Besides, I said I was holding back in the Force too, wouldn't that mean all out with your physical abilities then, not the Force?"

Then he burst forward, augmenting all of his physical traits as much as he really dared. Now the assault on him would be vastly different. each hand was able to wield the weapon almost independant of the other's actions, allowing a constant assault between the two. one saber using heavy swings and rapid cuts before the other would try to take advantage of an opening, and each switching their job.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil's stance changed as Darlyn Excron rushed forward. It was still the pure defense style he'd been known to do throughout their fight, but he only had his saber in one hand. Deflecting any saber strikes it could as they came his way. It was his other hand that truly showed the difference however. Three blades wasn't something easy for him to defend against. Some of the greatest masters of Soresu had a hard time with such a feat, and he was by no means a master.

So he used something to help. A barrier. The strikes he could neither dodge or block with his blade were deflected by his open hand. Bursts of the Force, miniscule enough without being too small to deflect the strikes. Taking the same core beliefs of Soresu to heart. Waste as little energy as possible while fighting.