A Madclaw Learning Sane Combat

[Elijah Brockway]

Ziost wasn't a world that was particularly to Yasha's liking.

It was cold all the time, and the air as it blew around quickly served to dry out Yasha's skin - uncomfortable for a Selkath like him - if he spent too long outside; and when he was inside, the furnaces that kept the temple warm did much the same. Still, he did, at least, understand that learning to overcome the physical discomfort was part of what made one a more proficient weapon for the Imperium. So he kept his complaints to himself and worked as he always did.

Now he was engaging in strength training and combat practice. He had yet to move to the combat practice - his vibrosword and training lightsaber were sitting in the snow nearby. Instead, he stood bare-chested in the snow, with his solid durasteel staff in his hands. This wasn't combat training at the moment - the twirls and tosses and swings he was executing, more acrobatic than deadly, would get him killed in a real fight. But as the weapon swung through the air at high speed, one might also notice the Selkath's musculature heaving and writhing as he worked, revealing the true nature of his practice.

While he did that, he kept his eyes closed and his senses focused on other things, both in the mundane and in the Force. He could intuit the durasteel rod's location and speed well enough just from his tactile sensations, while he could smell a coming storm on the air; the howling wind itself was both indicator of that and not enough to hide the sounds of others training nearby, though just out of sight. Some of those others had passed him by earlier, but ignored him. He also kept his senses in the Force open, ready to notice whether or not there was any being coming who he might find it necessary to stop his training for in order to avoid giving offense to those above him.

Or in case some unwanted intruder should come and try to interrupt him. Who knew what might happen.

 

[Phoenix]

Javik stood on a hill that gave him a vantage point over three different groups of Acolytes training on the surface of Ziost. It was a training center primarily for Warriors and so, here he was perusing to see the up and coming possibilities that may be joining the ranks of Sith Warriors. After all, he did have a vested interest in the results.

This was his third stop on his trip across the surface of Ziost as he watched over the other Sith in training. He had chosen to conceal the majority of his presence from the Force so as to not disrupt the training going on, after all, he wanted a genuine view of those he was watching, not something staged for his benefit.

His stroll thus far had shown promise in some and some not so much. To his far right and down the hill was a pair of Acolytes locked in meditation together. Even from here Javik could feel that one of them was having trouble focusing his thoughts and unable to center himself in his own dark emotions, while his training partner was doing much better. Directly below him was a pair of Acolytes making combat through the use of lightsabers. They seemed to be fairly evenly matched and had been going at it for several minutes, striking and withdrawing to recover.

Finally, his eyes rested on the Acolyte to his left. A Selkath, if memory served. He was working with a staff, twirling it and showing off his abilities. Understanding the balance of such a weapon was half the battle and spins such as that were great balance training for just that purpose.

Nearby, Javik could see the hilt of a lightsaber and the outline of a vibrosword lying on the snow nearby. An interesting weapon selection, and indeed the three weapons together reminded him a bit of himself, as he had trained in all three, though he no longer used a staff.

The Selkath’s technique looked impressive and his body didn’t lack in muscle, though he was curious whether or not the Acolyte was capable of handling the weapon – and his body – as well in combat as he could in training.

He made his way slowly down the slope, no longer concealing his presence in the Force. At least that way he wouldn’t surprise the Selkath if he hadn’t previously noticed him standing above. From a closer position he could see that the staff was actually serving as something of muscle training as well for the man, and must have been solid based on how his muscles strained.

He didn’t particularly want to outright interrupt, as that would be rude, but his curiosity had been piqued by this particular man. He waited for the Selkath to finish his routine before finally speaking. “Impressive. Where did you learn to use a staff like that, if I may ask?”

 

[Elijah Brockway]

For the moment unaware of being observed, Yasha continued spinning the staff. Moving at breakneck speeds it started generating sounds of its own, a loud whirr as it flew through the air, but the Selkath still never opened his eyes to watch the weapon, to be sure of what was happening with it, even if it weighed sixty pounds and could easily break one of his own bones by now if he made a mistake, just due to the sheer force it now carried.

After a moment or two he noticed somebody new in the Force, and so he cracked one eye open; a little ways away from him was an armoured man descending the slope of a nearby hill. Yasha then closed his eye again, filling in the time remaining for the man's arrival with more of the same show-offy forms that he was practicing, all to develop his balance, strength, and coordination at the same time. The other man quickly reached him but didn't say a word, allowing Yasha to finish the routine he had just begun.

Then the man spoke, and Yasha turned to him for a moment, now almost perfectly still. The Selkath quickly ran his eyes over the other man, while momentarily feeling him out in the Force. It was easy enough to tell that this was no mere acolyte; therefore, it was somebody Yasha should probably actually respond to. "Here," he said, his voice a quiet rasp now that his vocal chords had dried considerably. "A little back home." He transferred the durasteel staff to one hand, now holding it like it was a walking stick.

Then, in a considerably blunt fashion that was rather true to his general interactions with people, even those higher-ranked than him, he asked, "Who're you?"

 

[Phoenix]

Javik smiled a bit, though it was hidden under his helmet. He actually appreciated directness, at least to a degree. It told a lot about a person. It told you that they had self-confidence and that they didn’t like to waste time, both attributes that he appreciated.

“Javik,” he answered a moment later, “I’m a Warrior here on Ziost, though as a place devoted to Warriors, I’m sure you could have guessed that already. And who might you be?” He waited a moment for a response and for anything else the Selkath may have wanted to say before speaking again.

“I assume you’re looking to travel the path of the Warrior, based on where you’ve chosen to train, but I noticed that unlike most others out here, you’re training by yourself. You prefer self-training? Would you be interested in a training partner?” he inquired. He didn’t know what the Selkath was capable of in combat, but given his fourteen years of combat experience, he figured there was something he could teach him, and it never hurt to keep his own skills honed.

 

[Elijah Brockway]

"Yasha Kheresh," was the Selkath's short reply to Javik's first question. Anything else that he might have reason to say would be obvious, so instead of saying more, he just waited for Javik to speak up again. Which he did, shortly afterwards. Asking as to why Yasha had no partner with him to train with, a question that the Selkath warrior wasn't often asked. He stroked one of his lobes for a moment, thinking on how best to word his answer.

"Few of the Crusaders or Masters have time or want to work with an acolyte on a regular basis," he said after a moment. "And none of the other acolytes are useful for anything that a pell can't be used for." He stopped and thought for a moment on what Javik asked him last, whether or not he'd like a training partner. The offer inherent was obvious, and it'd take only the stupidest of Gamorreans to miss it. He didn't even give a worded response, instead giving Javik a nod for the affirmative.

"What should we use?"

 

[Phoenix]

Yes, it was a problem that one often ran into. The higher-up Sith had no time or patience for Acolytes and it was part of the reason Javik had come here. Whether he would say it outright or not, he was at least partially interested in training some of these up and coming Sith. This Selkath – Kheresh, he had said his name was - might be a decent place to start.

“Hmm, well, personally I’m partial to lightsabers since it’s the standard weapon of the Sith, but I know how to use swords, unarmed combat, and even some staff fighting, though I don’t have a staff with me, so that may not be the best option at the moment. Let’s start with sabers and then we can see how we feel after that.”

He reached a hand down to his left thigh and removed his black bladed lightsaber from its holster. With a few short twists of the knob on the side, he had set the saber to its lowest setting. That way it would only provide a low sting instead of death or debilitation should they strike one another.

Before activating his blade or beginning any kind of combat he decided to talk to the Selkath for a moment to gain an idea of what he was capable of and wanting to learn. ”So what saber forms are you familiar with? Are you interested in learning anything new or only practicing what you know?”

 

[Elijah Brockway]

Yasha heard the words 'partial to lightsabers,' and knew just what was coming next, so he tossed his staff aside a moment later, the heavy durasteel rod landing next to his vibrosword and his training saber. Then, while Javik fiddled with the settings on his blade, Yasha held out a hand, his training saber's hilt leaping into the tridactyl palm a moment later. However, he withheld himself from activating it, until Javik would activate his own.

"Shii-cho," he curtly replied to the initial question. "Either would be fine. Should you have something you wish to teach me yourself, that's your prerogative." He looked over the Crusader one more time. Large in height and stature both, and covered in armour, and with a solidly-built hilt to his lightsaber, with a very pronounced grip. If Yasha had to guess as to Javik's form, he would guess...

"Shien is your favoured form, I assume?"

 

[Phoenix]

Javik nodded slightly. ”Indeed. Very perceptive. Judging from the way you worked with your staff, you have no shortage of strength yourself. Perhaps I can show you a bit of it then.”

With a buzz, the saber activated in his right hand. At least with their current blades, there was no real danger of injury or dismemberment. He let the right arm fall to his side. ”Form V is about strength and power. The footwork usually leaves something to be desired in movement unless you incorporate alternative forms of combat, but it is infallible when standing still or moving steadily forward. It’s highly aggressive and typically doesn’t involve retreat, but can easily overpower an opponent by use of strength and stability.”

He paused for a moment as he let the words sink in. ”Do you know the origin of Form V? What the original intention of those that created the Form was?”

 

[Elijah Brockway]

"Make up for Soresu's weakness as regards offense," the Selkath responded to the question, one of the bits of information he had memorized since joining the Sith order. A heavy focus on everything involving combat, specifically with lightsabers, as that was the most common tool used. Speaking of those, Yasha thumbed the activation stud on his lightsaber, a carmine blade coming into existence at his behest, lighting the snow around him.

Then he stood, again, perfectly still, waiting and listening. He didn't know if Javik had any more he wanted to expand upon regarding Form V at the moment, so he would give the Crusader time to speak. Now, of course, this meant that he was, also, giving Javik the opportunity to initiate an attack, and force Yasha on the defensive, at least for the initial phase of the combat. But at the same time, Yasha wouldn't jump in and attack while Javik might have more to say. That would be unwise.

 

[Phoenix]

He nodded again. ”That’s right. While Form III involves waiting for an opponent to make a mistake, Form V works to create openings rather than simply wait for them. However, you don’t want to sacrifice your defense in order to go on the offensive.”

Javik raised his blade so that it projected up in front of where his right eye would have been. He held back his right leg and awaited the attack of the Selkath. Javik personally preferred to play defensively on the first few blows. Many didn’t like deferring the opening blow, but Javik liked the opportunity to maintain his defense initially and use his opponent’s opening blow and momentum against them.

”When you’re ready,” he said with a nod as he awaited an opening blow.

 

[Elijah Brockway]

Yasha nodded, before bringing up his blade. Where before he had held it loosely in one hand, now his left hand came up to grab it, second finger on each supplying the majority of the grip force - and, ultimately, the striking force - of the weapon. It was a technique developed more for those with five-fingered hands rather than three, but it was still serviceable for a tridactyl being such as Yasha.

He held it in a stance that was different than the average, left foot forwards and right foot back, while his blade - rather than held at his waist or in front of him - was instead held high up, the emitter of the weapon just higher than his eye, while the blade was held above his shoulder, just barely tilted back. He stood still as a statue, carefully watching Javik. Then he made his move.

"Eeeeeeei!" he yelled, springing forwards; his blade imperceptibly rising a centimeter higher, before he brought it down hard on Javik, all his strength in the blow, aiming for a barely-diagonal cut to the neck. Even with the training saber, the blow would prove lethal with the force behind it, and Javik could stand to get a nasty thump from his own blade if he didn't properly brace himself in the parry.

 

[Phoenix]

Both combatants stood still and silent for a moment before, without warning, Kheresh charged and brought his blade down almost straight onto Javik. The move actually reminded him a bit of the D’jem So “falling avalanche” and was something he had practiced defense against many time.

The problem as Javik saw it with the falling avalanche was that, while it had a great deal of power, it left the user open to redirection. Currently though, Javik didn’t think that redirection was his best bet.

Instead he opted to meet up with the blade force-for-force. As the blade came almost straight down on him he decided to lower his body so that he would be slightly closer to the ground. Using the full force of his body to absorb the blow and his own physically enhanced strength, he would have no danger of having his own blade bounce back into him.

His blade was nearly horizontal to the ground and as the blades smashed into each other with a crashing sound, he used the potential energy built up in his bent legs to propel himself slightly upward and force both his and his opponent’s blade upward and then continue that momentum to push his opponent’s blade to Javik’s own left side.

He would then let his saber travel along the inside of his opponent’s blade, which would have been pushed outward by Javik’s block in order to strike him in the chest with a nearly horizontal blow. With Kheresh’s blade pushed to the outside he wouldn’t be able to defend himself or attack Javik.

 

[Elijah Brockway]

Yasha grunted when his blade was blocked, but as he started to raise it back up in preparation for a follow-up strike, Javik's blade came along with it. The Selkath grit his teeth in annoyance, and started moving backwards as his own blade was forced to the side - and as Javik's blade lashed out for him, just barely missing. Yasha neglected any interesting flourish of any sort, instead bringing his blade back into position, this time in a more average forward guard, left foot barely ahead of his right, hilt near his diaphragm and blade pointed for Javik's face.

Then, without warning, he lunged forwards, the point of his blade seeking to slam into Javik's sternum.

 

[Phoenix]

Javik's blow had barely missed and he had let Yasha step back and slightly away. Moments later another lunge followed, this time directed at Javik's sternum. Javik's move was simple and swift. A slight step to his own right accompanied by his saber moving just to the left and striking Yasha's, ensuring that it would not swing around and strike Javik.

The fact that Javik was out of the way of the blade meant that Yasha's momentum would continue to carry him forward and Javik would move his own blade just up the left side of Yasha's blade, preventing Javik from being struck by the other's blade. Yasha's momentum would carry him directly into Javik's blade which would strike at about bicep level on the other Sith.

 

[Elijah Brockway]

Or, rather, it would do so if it weren't for the fact that a lunge didn't mean a full jump forwards, but rather an extension of arm and body. Yasha's front foot had already come down, and he was no longer moving much further forwards; however, that didn't mean that Javik couldn't still attack him. So, instead, he brought his back foot up again quickly, and turned, his own lightsaber blade sliding along Javik's as he did so and forcing it upwards a little bit as they remained locked together.

When the movement was finished, Yasha was now facing Javik head on, his lightsaber in a horizontal parry in front of his face, stopping Javik from stabbing forwards or cutting down to circumvent the parry. However, it also meant that Yasha was open to an easy counterattack, should he attack with the blade. So he didn't.

Instead, Javik would find that, moments after Yasha had changed his stance, the Sith Crusader was now experiencing a Force Push, directed into his ribs, that would likely send him sliding backwards at the least and knock him off balance, if it didn't send him rolling away or flying backwards.

 

[Phoenix]

To be perfectly honest, Javik didn’t particularly like using Force powers during these practice duels, particularly if he was more experienced than his opponent, but in this case, he didn’t have many choices.

He could feel the swelling of the Force moments before the Acolyte let the Force flow out of his hand and toward Javik, but it was all he needed. He let the Force around him come into his own hand. In truth, telekinesis was something of a specialty for him. He had explored all sorts of variations for the ability and was quite experienced with pushes.

Challenging Javik on that particular field would not be one of the best choices. He let the Force flow out of his hand like a wave of pure energy and smash into Yasha’s energy, but continued to push until he overpowered the Acolyte’s attempt, using his own particular skill to turn the tables. Instead of pushing Javik, Yasha would now find himself being pushed back and away, though the full extent of the push was yet to be determined.

He would then take advantage of the off-balance Acolyte and the inability to attack to fully develop a full power blow of his own. With two hands he would bring his blade around from his own top left side and in a diagonal blow down so the blade would end at his own bottom right.

The power of the blow and the fact that the Acolyte would already be off balance meant that he would be unable to dodge and if Javik got lucky at all, the blow might even knock him completely off his feet or bounce his blade back into his own body. Redirecting the blade also likely wouldn’t work given his off-balance position.

 

[Elijah Brockway]

Yasha's eyes widened imperceptibly as he felt himself being pushed backwards slightly, before slipping in the snow and ice and losing a portion of his balance. Just as he tried to regain it Javik slashed at him, and Yasha had to make a choice; either concede in the practice duel for now, or block the attack, fall, and hopefully get up quickly.

He whipped his blade around, his elbow at almost a complete ninety degree angle, his skeleton and muscles aligned so that his shoulder would absorb the blow like a spring, rather than letting his blade come back into him due to a weak wrist or elbow. Javik's blade struck and Yasha was sent toppling downwards, though he transformed the movement into a backwards somersault, coming back upon his feet.

He was currently crouched low to the ground, his blade held slightly in front of him and over his head to parry an expected attack that would come at him from the angle it could reasonably be expected to. For now, though, he didn't press the attack, instead waiting to see what Javik might do.

 

[Phoenix]

Javik liked what he saw. Yasha certainly had potential, but he was still the opponent in this fight. He had managed to keep Javik from straight up overpowering him, but he still didn't plan to let up. His blade was now at his bottom right where it ended after the last blow. From there, he brought it up in another two-handed blow, this time aimed at Yasha's lightsaber instead of his body.

The move would easily catch the saber, as Yasha had no real ability to move given his low position. Furthermore, Javik had full time to form a true power blow that would knock Yasha's saber up and away from his body, leaving Yasha open to a new attack. From there, he would bring his blade down in a chop against Yasha's shoulder, though for the latter part he would only use one hand, since he didn't need great power and then his free hand would be free to use his secret trick to stop Yasha's blade if it came back down to defend.

 

[Elijah Brockway]

Unfortunately, Yasha did have a good eye for angles and distances and the like, even above ground. It was obvious that Javik's attack wouldn't strike at him, so he pulled his blade back in close to his body, letting Javik's whoosh on past. Then he sprung up quickly, his blade held ready to defend against Javik's return strike, but his free left hand doing something more important.

Javik's armour might have protected most of his vital spots, but it still had joints that couldn't be perfectly defended, and one of those was the base of the neck - and Yasha had long and sharp claws, more than able to punch through thick cloth or armourweave. Not that he would currently do so against Javik, of course - it would be pointless to truly attempt to kill his opponent, but if he got close enough fast enough, it would be proof enough that he could've.

 

[Phoenix]

Yasha had pulled a risky move in Javik's opinion, but in this case it had paid off. Javik's blade moved past his opponent's but as Yasha took the time to get his feet under him again - even if it was quickly - Javik was already on to his next attack. He brought his saber down in another two handed blow right on to Yasha's, arching his back to generate additional power. Because Yasha had had to actually climb to his feet from being on the ground, Javik's saber would arrive long before Yasha's strike with his free hand. In fact, Yasha would barely have time to get to his feet and certainly no time to move before the blow came.

If Yasha took his hand off of his saber, his own one-handed defense would be battered through and his own blade would bounce back into his head for a "killing" blow long before his left hand reached Javik. If he kept both hands on his blade, he might be able to save his body, though if he continued to be pressed like this, eventually one of Javik's power blows would tire him out. Regardless, there was no possible way for Yasha to get to his feet and strike Javik in time.