Private The Dance of Blades

[Barrien Siegfried]

Returning from Midvinter was more of a chore than he had expected it to be. These days he found himself somewhat concerned by the development of a centralized government among the silver worlds, mostly because it made him anxious about how they would encroach upon the Jedi. Or, rather, would they demand the Jedi be soldiers for their defense and aggression? At the moment the elected officials didn't seem keen for war, which made him feel relieved because war was a vile thing to engage in. But as he had seen during the Galactic Republic, things could change at the drop of a hat and not necessarily for the better.

He arrived at Silver Rest unceremoniously. No fanfare, just people getting off of a transport and he one of them. At least he had been able to re a t on the flight. Now that his wounds were finally healed, scars still an angry pink, he coukd get back to his role among the Jedi, starting with making sure that his apprentices were all keeping up with their studies. But there was one in particular, Amani Serys , that he knew needed his attention the most. The others were nowhere near being capable of going out into the galaxy on their own. Amani was, and so he needed to hasten her training so Yurb didn't happen to her again. He didn't know if he could take it if she got herself that bad off again.

Reaching out through the Force, he sought her out. Amani, he called to her, meet me outside the temple and bring your blade. If there was anything she needed to work on it was her combat skills. He loathed fighting, but even he knew that they couldn't always get away without fighting. Certain situatioms, such as what they had encountered on Yurb, required it. She had to know how to fight. Currently she didn't. She had spirit and a level of tenacity that proved she could be a good fighter, but she wasn't ready.

It was time for that to change.

 

[Amani Serys]

Barrien Siegfried

Amani had only just woken up, to the sound of Barrien's voice. She jolted up in her bed to the surprise of seeing nobody in her room. A few moments passed as she process what was said, before letting out a groan as she rolled onto the floor and stood up. The padawan had just returned tot he temple late the night before, after yet another one of her secret excursions, though she had no intention of sharing that with anybody. She trudged over to a mirror to examine the serious case of bedhead she had developed, and quickly got to work getting presentable.

Arriving outside the temple, Amani found her way to Barrien, dressed and equipped accordingly, though still visibly sleep-deprived even if she acted otherwise. EmTee followed in tow, insisting on observing juuuust in case she did get hurt. She had learned to give up on trying to make him stop worrying, it was literally his job. He stopped a distance away as Amani approached her master and gave him a short bow, attempting to bend as far she could go without hurting her chest. The seriousness of her injuries was fading, but pain was still ever-present, and she had accepted that it would still be some time before she was back at full strength. "Master." She greeted him, arising from her bow and meeting his eyes. "It's good to see you." Amani gave a drowsy smile and tugged at the strap across her chest, which carried her hilt behind her back. She was both nervous and excited to try some lightsaber training, as she had assumed was the case given his request. Amani knew she was not a fighter, but being a Jedi meant defending both herself and others. And for that, she was ready to learn.

 

[Barrien Siegfried]

When Amani Serys arrived he was surprised to see the medical droid accompanying her. That didn't seem necessary since she wasn't leaving the Temple grounds and since he was with her. That being said, he decided to ignore it as long as it didn't get in the way. He wasn't a fan of droids. The machines rather irked him, especially the humanoid ones. He was used to people being people, not machines. Even the Empire had limited droid involvment on Oaken Dawn.

"Amani," he said after she greeted him. "I told you to just call me Barrien. You don't need to be so formal with me. That said, it is good to see you alive and somewhat well."

He noticed the weapon on her back and his brows rose. This was a new development.

"A saber lance? You didn't choose that because it's what I use, did you?"

Reaching over his shoukder he brought the staff of his blade around and gripped it firmly in one hand. He was certain it was pure coincidence that she had chosen it, but fact she had was outstanding. It would be much easier to tezch her to fight qhen they used the same weapon

"Have you practiced with it at all?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Barrien Siegfried

EmTee just smiled and waved at them from a distance, none the wiser to any sort of distaste at his presence. Amani has gotten quite used to it, and had even begun to find the droid somewhat lovable as time went on. He was becoming better at adapting to her personality and fitting her needs more appropriately, and truth be told she found something about his constant doting to be endearing, in a way.

She rose from her bow and scratched her head, “Eh, sorry, Barrien. Just a hard habit to break.” She smiled awkwardly before her attention was drawn to the weapon. She looked at the strap and then to Barrien’s own lance, realizing the match.

“O-oh. I just chose it because I felt like it matched my own style.” She tapped her finger to her chin, “But, I must have gotten the idea from somewhere. I guess you could say I was inspired.” It would certainly be useful, rather than having to teach a fighting style across two different types of weapons they could make much more progress much more quickly. She grabbed the sling and lifted it over her head, taking hold of the haft which was now at half size. Amani extended it to its full length, and igniting the radiant cyan blade briefly before shutting it off again. It was well crafted, and had a number of personal touches added to it that signified a properly cared for and unique weapon to match its user. “Not very much. But I’m eager to learn.”

 

[Barrien Siegfried]

He shook his head. It was probably going to take a while for her to get used to calling him Barrien instead of Master. Likely there would be more slips of the tongue in the interim. He would have to remember to be gracious about it.

"The saber lance, or saber pike, is a strategically sound choice for someone who prefers not to get to close to people," he said, setting the hilt of his against the ground. "Most fighting done with it is at least at arms length, though some moves can put you closer or further away."

Kicking his foot to the side, he sent the shaft spinning perpendicular to his vision until he caught it with his other hand. He stepped forward as he activated the blade and stabbed the weapon into the air beside her head, close enough the hum of the weapon would be loud but not close enough to harm her. It only took a few short seconds to go from a position of neutrality to a position of attack. Attack where death could have ensued and he was still outside of the reach of her hands.

"This weapon is no less or more deadly than any other saber, but when used properly it can do things a normal saber can't."

He deactivated the blade and returned to neutral, weapon held in one hand at his side.

"Show me your attack stance."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Barrien Siegfried

Amani nodded as Barrien explained the lance, agreeing with much of it as her own reasons for choosing such a weapon. Flinching slightly as he brought the blade near her. The range would allow her to stay on the defensive and read her opponent from a safer distance, rather than getting up close and personal.

“Show me your attack stance.”

She blinked a few times. “Oh, right. Attack stance.” Amani twirled the haft around a few times before gripping it with both hands, placing one foot forward and holding it perpendicular beside her. The back end rested under her arm, with the blade facing straight forward, primed for a stabbing motion. A fairly standard stance, though there were imperfections here and there in the finer details of her positioning, indicative of someone who was not highly trained in blade work. The padawan peeked up at her master for a sign. “How’s this?”

 

[Barrien Siegfried]

Barrien watched her adjust into her attack stance, poised for a forward thrust. It was a fair stance. Too obvious in the likely attack, in his opinion, but that was why he was teaching her. Lances and spears had been his primary weapon choice growing up so he knew a fair bit about them. Which was good for her because she had chosen to use one. If she had chosen a saber then training her to use it woukd be much harder. He had never much liked sabers and one handed swords. They let the opponent too close.

"Not terrible," he said, walking around her once. "The only issue with it is that your attsck is obvious in this stance. A forward lunge or upward thrust is likely your only option and a good opponent will know that."

Stepping off to her side, he activated his blade again. He held it in both hands in front of him with the blade not pointed forward, but pointed backward at his side. Both of his hands were towards the front near the blade itself. It seemed dangerous, but it wasn't for him. The longer part of the shaft was pointed forward towards his opponent, serving as a barrier to keep them at his desired range.

"This is one of my favorite attack stances. Can you tell me what attacks I could make from this position?"

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Barrien Siegfried

Amani shrugged and nodded at Barrien's assessment, taking it in stride and frankly considering 'not terrible' to be a great compliment. And it made sense, her position was safe but also easily readable.

Barrien stepped back and began to demonstrate himself, which she followed closely, mimicking the movements he took though pausing when he asked her to assess the position. "Uhhh," Amani rubbed her chin in thought before giving an unsure answer, "Hit them with the blunt end?"

She was certainly trying, to her credit. This padawan simply was not a natural warrior, even though she had the spirit for one. And her neglect of lightsaber training had not helped improve that. It was something that had come back to bite her on a few occassions, and while she was a talented Force User for her level of experience, there were times that a lightsaber was going to be of more use to her. At least they were here to remedy that.

 

[Barrien Siegfried]

"That is one, yes," he said, nodding. "When I am in combat my goal is not to do lasting harm if possible, but that cannot always be the case."

He stepped forward and snapped the blade around in a quick sweep; a ranged slicing attack. After moving back tohis ready stance, he quickly flipped the blade around and stabbed it forward, allowing the shaft of the weapon to glide through his hand until he was only holding the very end of it. Then he returned again to his ready position. This time he swung the blade low, let it extend, and then brought it upwards in an upward cutting motion
Each attack was different, but they all started from the same position.

"When you have range your goal is always to keep it. These sorts of attacks allow you to do so."

Relaxing out of his stance he turned back to her, motioning for her to proceed.

"Try those."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Barrien Siegfried

Amani gave a self-satisfied smile, happy enough that her guess had been an accurate one. Making an extra effort to watch the subtleties of Barrien’s movements, she took the stance a second time as he finished the routine. “All right. Just… try that.”

The padawan took a moment to hype herself up, breathing out and igniting the weapon. As she followed through with each movement, the lightsaber’s sorian crystal gave the blade a unique glow, leaving a faint trail of light like a swirling flame as it passed. Use of the pike came much more naturally to Amani, the connection between Jedi and lightsaber tangible in a way that had not been present with her previous one. It was certainly not perfect, of course, but the focus and flow of her movements showed a deeper understanding of what she had just observed. She was a quick learner, at the very least.

More so, Amani began to add an extra flair of her own to the routine, occasionally spinning and flourishing the weapon in the way one might do with a quarterstaff, rather than a spear. Her own self-taught practice shone through as well here, before she finished, planting the end of the pike in the ground and extinguishing the blade. Amani turned her eyes back to Barrien, “...Better?”