You must rely on quickness, cunning and, most of all, patience to best your enemies…

[Corvus Raaf]

Spoiler

OOC: No worries — I’ve been busy anyway

Corvus was aware Dune had purposefully altered his style to accommodate her change to Makashi. He had to learn to allow the Force to guide him. But he seemed to recognise the error and re-adjusted.

“Allow Soresu to be Soresu,” she said. “It’s not perfect against every Form, but if you’re strong enough — and trust in the Force — you will be able to ward off most that wield a saber.”

“And the spirit was none other than Darth Zannah. I’ve also met the spirit of Darth Andeddu in my day and the essence of many Jedi of the past through their gatekeepers. It’s very odd to begin with, but after a while you get used to it.”

“But I will admit a small fan-girl moment when I first saw Obi-Wan’s gatekeeper. He is something of an idol of mine.” She blushed slightly. “Silly…but true.”

“Anyhow, we were sparring…” She renewed her attacks. Purposefully picking her spots thus denying Dune the opportunity to build up any momentum.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"Darth Zannah," Dune said attempting to recall. "She was...the apprentice of Darth Bane."

That much he knew but information was spotty for a Padawan beyond names and dates. He also knew of her Master, Darth Bane who had started the Rule of Two which culminated with the terrifying rule of Sidious. Again, mainly histories with little to no investigation into why.

"Darth Andeddu, I'm not familiar with him.

Dune didn't know Andeddu because there was little enough to go on even in Bane's time. Of course, the Bith didn't know that either.

"If Soresu is a delaying tactic, then how did Zannah defeat Bane?"

"At least, I'd assume she did. Did an apprentice not have to kill their Master in their Rule of Two?"

His questions momentarily were halted as the attacks resumed. Dune's movements were becoming more sure by this point, letting technique follow the intuitive quality of the Force.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded. Dune knew more than the average Jedi. She owed her depth of knowledge to the fact that from the age of four to fourteen she was trained as a Librarian back on Corellia. Apart from a few practical lessons, she spent every available minute studying.

"Zannah was indeed his Apprentice. And Andeddu? I faced two Sith Lords on Prakith. It was something of a race to recover a Holocron, when I kind of tussled with the gatekeeper."

"But Bane and Zannah is a good lesson for any Force User. Despite being a Sith Lord, he had many excellent training techniques. Including knowing your strengths. Zannah was a slight young woman. She would never overpower anyone with a saber. Bane knew this. It was in many ways his strength. Zanhah, however, was a natural in Sith Sorcery. Something Bane could not accomplish. His advice and training? For her to use Soresu to keep the opponent at bay. To weaken and potentially open up an opening through a mistake. But more likely allow her to use her Sorcery to prevail. Which is how she defeated Bane in the end. The third Form kept him at bay whilst she used the Force to defeat him."

"So do not automatically see Soresu as a way to win a duel. Rather see it primarily as a way not to lose one. Does that make sense?"

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"It does," he said parrying a thrust. Dune too had spent many an hour in the library. Being a Bith meant you didn't need sleep which freed up many hours. "Sith Sorcery," he said with some distaste as he deflected a horizontal slash. It was a perversion of the Force as Sith Alchemy was of nature.

"The Sith seem to delight in twisting what they cannot destroy."

In general, he did find the Sith rather distasteful. Nothing they did seemed to benefit anyone but themselves. Even the practice of slaying one's own Master. To what point?

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded. ”There’s a reason we tend to oppose them through the centuries. Their selfishness is what sets them apart, in my opinion. Just as we are selfless. And their perversion of the Force?” Corvus shuddered involuntarily. ”But then I remind myself there must be balance in the Force. So we play our part as best we can.”

Now Corvus switched to the fifth Form, the one she used often if an opening presented itself. Her moves were faster and slightly more powerful. How would the Padawan cope with the change of pace and strength. Or would he allow the Force to cope?

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Corvus' strikes became heavy chops, strongly favouring downward blows. Dune could feel the weight as the sabers clashed up through his arms. Djem So was the most intimidating style to face, some Jedi said. The Padawan was glad Soresu taught one to never meet a blow head-on.

Dune bent and thus did not break. Had he tried to out-muscle the Master, it would've ended poorly. Besides the fact that Bith were relatively weak in body, there was also the fact that naturally powerful Jedi could enhance their strength. Still, he had to renew his focus on breathing to not feel overwhelmed.

That was why Djem So was scary. It was like facing down a rampaging river, if you resisted, you were drowned. You had to fight the urge to panic and ride the flow. Eventually, the torrent would die down.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded her approval. "Excellent work. Deflect, don't block. Less likely to get a broken bone from the shock and it's less tiring too."

And her usual banter was slowing slightly as the heavy blows were taking their toll on her stamina. "Don't necessarily worry about winning. Just don't lose. Your opponent will get tired, sloppy or reckless. That will be your moment to strike."

Now Corvus deactivated her saber and smiled. She pulled the Force to her to help recover and then looked at Dune. "Now for the real test. Do you want to don the blindfold again and this time face me as opposed to a remote?"

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Dune audibly breathed a sigh of relief when Corvus let up. Those minutes had been like trying to stand against a gale force wind, trying to avoid the flying debris. It wasn't so physically exhausting as it was mentally. He would even call it nerve wracking, just like trying to avoid those flying chunks of permacrete.

While the Force would guide you, it was still nice to be out of the storm. Or so he thought and then came the blindfold. Steeling himself, he nodded. It was coming to this all along he supposed. Training remotes were one thing but they were just the beginning.

"Yes," he began slowly "I suppose so."

He took the proffered blindfold and once again tied it, obscuring his eyes. Unhooking his lightsaber from his right hip, he assumed a low guard stance and his blade came to life. He trusted Master Corvus and the Force, didn't he? Yes. This really was not much different from the remote and his blade was guided then so it would be now.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

She started slowly at first. She would only pick up pace if and when he showed the ability to defend. The plan was simple - don't make any conscious effort to defend yourself - and allow the Force to dictate your movement.

Simple - yet elusive. It took a while to truly embrace the philosophy. Hearing and a general awareness of the Force tended to take over and before the Jedi knew it, they were dictating the pace and would leave the Force trailing in their wake.

Until they were hit that was.

So she started with single strokes...

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Without knowing how or why, his lightsaber moved to intercept. Certainly her blade hummed but it wasn't that. He'd been tricked before by his auditory senses. His olfactory senses smelled the ozone but it wasn't that either. Dune didn't understand why but it simply didn't matter.

The cuts and thrusts came slowly and he was able to cope. Subconsciously, he knew the offensive would increase in speed and intensity. That didn't matter anymore than how he was doing what he did. There was here and now, that was all. Just his breathing; in and out, deep and steady.

That he'd tightened up his movement, moving so very little he didn't think about. Somewhere he could feel the air stir on his skin as the other blade whistled toward him. The heat of the energy was there too as it passed by and around him.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus slowly but surely picked up the pace. "Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them. A very wise Jedi Master said those words and they could almost have been meant for Soresu. If you can learn to trust in the Force over and above your usual senses, you will do well."

"It can be one thing to practice in private and allow the Force to guide you. Should you be facing a Sith, much more of a challenge. But you will reach the state of absolute trust only through practice. But you have progressed well. Very well."

With a hiss-snap, the blade in her hands deactivated.

"Now, remove the blindfold and I can teach you some specific moves associated with Soresu - if you're interested?"

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

With great relief, Dune removed the blindfold. The Bith was sweating and breathing hard from the effort.

"Thank you," he managed.

"It's a good thing Bith don't see especially well."

He nodded.

"Of course, Master, if you'd show me I'd be very happy to learn!"

 

[Corvus Raaf]

“There are two primarily. The first is deflecting slash. This move affords you the dual purposes of allowing you to redirect the momentum generated by deflecting an enemy projectile into a slashing attack at an adjacent target, and allowing you to advance and close the distance before the attacker could fire off another shot.”

Corvus demonstrated with a training remote, deflecting the bolts to a chosen spot on the ground.

“In time you can redirect the shot back at the attacker, but it may be easier to use Shien for this.”

“And against multiple blaster-wielding attackers, simply set up the circle of shelter. You can hold off as many as twenty shooters by dropping into a moving meditation, relying on the Force to perceive the various positions of the attackers and the necessary movements to evade or deflect their shots. Like you've already practiced. As this manoeuvre is executed while in a meditative state, prolonged use may open your mind up to visions of the future. So be careful.”

“So, any questions?”

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

The Bith observed Corvus perform the signature Soresu skills with elegant precision. He nodded in admiration, inspired to continue his practice.

"I do have a question. You'd said Soresu is a delaying tactic. To me, it sounds like an incomplete circle. So, Master Corvus, what completes the circle?"

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded at the question. Its was one often asked.

"Soresu can be the means to the end. A Jedi's first priority is to protect life. So an ideal outcome might be to talk your opponent into a surrender. I remember on Kashyyyk my opponent was so tired, and realised I was so fresh, that she surrendered. She knew to press the fight was to most likely die. But not always."

"Often I will switch to the fifth Form to end a duel. If an opportunity presents itself and there is no other outcome? Not go for an outright kill, but to disable the opponent to a state where surrender is inevitable. Zannah, albeit a Sith, used it to delay until she could bring Sith Sorcery to bear and win the fight. I often use other Abilities, allowing Soresu to keep my opponent's saber at bay."

"Does this help?"

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"Your duel on Kashyyyk sounds like the ideal outcome," Dune observed.

The Fifth form, he considered that, deciding on no. Besides it just not suiting his temperament, he was slightly built. He would figure something else out. Perhaps Darth Zannah warranted future study.

"Yes, it does help. Thank you for this training, Master Corvus."