To Cut Through Illusion

[Cortan]

Deep, deep in the valley of Golg...

A Sith Crusader sat, legs crossed, the desert winds that swept the valley blowing across his form. Though not as famous or as frequently traversed as the Valley of the Dark Lords, the blue skinned man merely found that to be to his utter benefit. Here, so far from the academy, there was peace in which to meditate - quite convenient, whatever the code said - and study. There were also untapped treasures here, things that had yet to be recorded and marked down in the Chambers of Heresies. Things found here, if not reported, were unknown to the Keepers, Masters, and Students alike.

Such as the holocron that floated before him, closing after a lengthy session of studying its secrets.

It was here in the valley, in one of the ancient tombs, that Azur had now made something of an enclave for himself on Korriban. A place away from the schemes and ambitions that festered within the academy, and where he might simply blend into the background of the distant senses of others. With his ship to land him here on days where patrols did not wander - for which he thanked the sheer pointlessness Korriban gave to such a task, through its vast wasteland - he had made the tomb of a Sith whose name he had not yet studied into something more fitting, and better equipped. The generator would need refuelling every once in a while, but so long as the door continued to run on that strange, ancient blood seal, he need not worry about its basic security. The only ones who would find it were the obsessive, or those he told of it. And the number he told, might increase by one today, depending on events.

He sat there by the small river that flowed through the valley, his ship resting nearby, awaiting his student for the day.

 

[Flashgordon512]

It had been little over a month since Una came to the Sith academy on Korriban and began her search for a suitable master. After three weeks of frantic searching she had found a potential master that would train her if she sufficiently impressed him. He was known as Azur Zaff, a blue skinned Wroonain who was obviously adept in his field due to achieving the Crusader even though he was younger then her.

That morning she was given a message from Azur to meet him outside the temple in a nearby vally with no hint on how she was expected to reach her destination. "It seems that every teacher in the Sith order has a nasty habit of preliminarly testing their students like this", she thought to herself as she "borrowed" a speeder bike to quickly traverse the barren planet.

After a substantial ammount of driving time she reached the vally where her potential master said he would be next to a small river meditating. Ss she did not want to disterb the man when he was still meditating, Una shut off the Speeder bike and closed the remaining distance on foot. She stood above him once she reached the man "You must be Azur," she stated "Am I your only student today?"

 

[Cortan]

"I am, and you are."

Azur answered solemnly, having not turned his head towards the oncoming student of the day. His breathing was rhythmic, seeming to flow back and forth with the breezes... before at last, he stood, his artificial leg rising first, with the weight of his body then upon it as he came up to full posture. He turned to his temporary pupil, hand resting upon the pommel of his lightsaber, taking in her appearance, stature, and apparent experience, having only previously read her name off a list and read through records. As he had read, she was older than him, and were it not for the incident that had warranted cybernetic implants, she would likely have fit the archetype of the wealthy socialite almost perfectly. Not all her natural appearance had been robbed of her though, and Azur would take some small comforts in that, though he knew of what he would have to do, if she was to catch up on others - such as himself - who had far more time to train than she.
"And you shall refer to me as Crusader, Crusader Zaff, or the Marquess of Corale. My father is the Duke of Tel, and I now bear the right to his lesser titles." Prior to his ascension to Crusader, Azur would not have the clout to call himself a man by the societal standards of Eskabahn, and consequently, nothing of his father's.

"I understand, Miss Vox..." He began, notably not referring to her as an acolyte, apprentice, or any such equivalent, whilst making his way up the incline towards the cliff side.
"That you have not been with this Order for even half a year. You have potential in the force, but, you currently hold no skills of note in perhaps the most essential of a Sith's tools, outside of that which we bend to our will." Still holding the pommel, he unclipped his lightsaber, and then lightly tossed it before catching again so now he held the hilt properly.
"I also see that in spite of that, you have somehow acquired one of your own. Show me." His words straddling the line between a request and a command, he gestured for Una to reveal her weapon, whenever she was ready. Azur would simply stand there, watching, until she did so.

 

[Flashgordon512]

"Show me."

Azur said gesturing for her to show him her newly acquired Saber. "You are correct Crusader Zaff I have no training when it comes to fighting with a lightsaber." Una said as she took her Saber off of her utility belt and held it in her hand. "When he was still alive my father wished that I not be exposed to the galaxy's violent nature; when I realized that I was force sensitive I trained and experimented on my own to the best of my abilities." "But somethings you can not teach yourself, or at the very least are hard to teach in secret, that is why I am here." she said as she levitated the crude Saber towards her teacher.

"It is true I did not craft the blade myself as I should have; about a week after I first arrived I went past the Temple's walls and found a cliff side much like this one." Una said, "I found that leather bound saber laying against the entrance to a cave."

 

[Cortan]

So, the academy's information was accurate, even if incomplete. He watched as Una unhooked her saber, explaining her relationship with her father, however briefly. A strange reversal of his own parental relationship, given that where Una's wished her not to see the galaxy's darker face, Azur's threw him in, and expected something to be thrown back out in return. Brief sympathy showed on his face, but her covered it with a hardened gaze almost immediately after, merely nodding at the summation of the woman's decision to join the Sith.
"Not everyone here has the wisdom to recognise that they need a teacher. A good start." Azur remarked, holding out his hand as the acolyte's saber came to him. He received it, and then began to observe, holding it by the edge of his fingers so he might study it from every direction. His gaze narrowed as it was explained just how Una had come to possess it.

"Leather rots, and if it were meant to be buried, it would have been hidden deeper than the entrance itself." Azur thrust the saber back to Una, letting it fly through the air in a straight line, where it come to rest in her palm, should she react fast enough.
"You have the saber of a dead man; likely one who died recently, without note. Wielding it will not bring you the glory of holding the weapon of some legendary warrior, and nor will you earn anything in their name by doing so. Wield it for the convenience, but know that you should make a weapon of your own in time. Never shall you be a master if you cannot take the first steps of a beginner." He stared down from on high as he made his decree, before unhooking his saber.

It was a simple make, chrome, titanium, and other minor metals put together into a minimal cylinder, that housed all the delicate mechanisms that made their most noted weapon. But most importantly, it was his. It ignited with a hiss, the red blade reaching down to slightly above the ground, the wind beginning to stir.
"Attack." That was no request.

 

[Flashgordon512]

Una brought up he hand and caught the saber as Azur thrusted it towords her, there was ample distance between them and the force helped her react quickly. She listened intently to what the Crusader had to say, soaking in every detail she could possibly get her hands on. Unlike her time spent in the lap of luxury having everything handed to her on a silver platter here she yerned for the opportunity to test what she knew even if she knew little. That opportunity came the second Azur finished his speech and drew his own saber.

"Attack"

One word was all she needed. Una grinned such a grin that was normally reserved for bloodthirsty duels or knowing that you are going to win a high stakes game of Sabacc. Una, knowing full well that she would probably fail, waited for this moment ever since she arrived.

She in turned sparked up her own lightsaber and called upon her will of the force. "But of course," she added before channeling the force to her legs as she dashed forward, striking at Azur. Una held some of her energy back knowing full well that her teacher would block her strike with relative ease, if she hit him with all her strength there was a possibility that her would wrest her saber out of her hands as it collided with a metaphorical brick wall.

 

[Cortan]

"Rule one." Azur declared as Una began her charge, having already made up half his mind about the older woman based on her response alone. That she expressed such a manic smile despite admitting to her lack of experience on any saber matters, either told of reckless confidence, or blind eagerness. Either one was something he was going to have to work on.
"Strike with purpose." As Una's saber swung in, it was deflected, Azur having used his weapon, held in only one hand, to intercept it. Rather than let her pull back, he instead pressed his saber down along the edge of hers, causing both to crackle violently. His intent was to push her weapon aside, and show just how vulnerable she had made herself.

"Rule two!" He raised his left foot briefly, and then thrust it forward, aimed dead center towards the woman's chest. Unless she was strong of body, or managed to evade, she was going to find herself back down that incline very quidkly. Azur stepped back to give himself some room to lower his foot, pulling his saber back close to him to bring up his guard once more.
"Do not forget to be ready to defend, even as you attack. Not every opponent will be so kind as to let you set out the rhythm you so desire." He told her, before drawing out from the inside of his cloak, a blaster pistol. Merely set to stun - and at the weakest setting - he took aim towards the woman, and fired thrice, trying to see how well - if at all - she managed to block the blasts.

 

[Flashgordon512]

Una was taken aback by Azur's foresight as he almost nonchalantly pushed her back and attempted to knock her down with a kick to the chest. She quickly jumped back to the point where her foot almost slid off the edge of the incline. "Do not forget to be ready to defend, even as you attack. Not every opponent will be so kind as to let you set out the rhythm you so desire." The Crusader said before un holstering a blaster pistol and firing off three shots at her in very rapid succession. Una took a defensive stance and deflected two of the electrified blaster bolts, the third one wizzed past her head as she leaned to the left to avoid it, causing her foot to move further to the edge as a few loose pebbles plumited down the incline.

Una enjoyed Azur's teaching style even if she was currently lacking any Saber training what so ever, and was standing with her back against a semi steep drop. If Una was to impress him enough to obtain another class with him she would have to do something unexpected and very very smart soon.

Rule three!" Una called out almost sarcastically as she moved away from the edge. "Position yourself away from environmental hazardsand your enemy's toward said hazards." she said as she charged at Azur as if she was about to strike him head on again; this time, however, she jumped and frount flipped over the crusader and landed now with his back to the drop off. In addition to this she turned off her light saber and used the force to kick up a thick wall of sand, obscuring her location to the naked eye.

With her new location away free from the potential hazard of falling down the incline and looking like a fool, her obscured location to which she could see Azur due to the light of his saber, and the fact that if she closed her right eye her ocular implant could see through the thick cloud of sand without irritation.

 

[Cortan]

Two deflected, one evaded... for someone who espoused no training with their saber, their natural instincts clearly spoke differently. Azur tossed the blaster aside, not caring to holster it in even the slightest, instead watching as Una made her next move. She had to realise now the environmental disadvantage against her...
"Rule three!"
He smirked - she did. When she charged again, he expected her to perform something different in light of the understanding she proceeded to spout off, and was proven correct as she suddenly leapt upward, passing right above him. Azur made no move to stop Una, instead letting her proceed as she wished, which left her landing, and shortly thereafter, kicking up a great deal of the sand scattered around the surface of the valley floor. Azur merely closed his eyes, and turned off his saber, easily deducing what had been the woman's intent. However...

"Rule four." Instead, he began to circle around, knowing exactly where the woman was, despite being unable to see her, both by his own volition, and her intent. Such was the power of the force.
"If you attempt to create an advantage... make sure it stays to your advantage." Briefly, he gathered the energies that lingered all around them into his palm, power lingering at the edge of his fingers. Then, with one quick yell, he thrust his palm forward towards Una, letting the kinetic energy flow in a light barrage. This would hardly do anything but unseat the woman's footing, such was how weak it was, but it was all it needed to be. After all, sand is much lighter than a persona.
With the cloud quickly cleared away, Azur opened his eyes once more, and this time, was the one to rush in. Diving in a roll towards Una, he attempted to sweep her at the legs, before following it up with a skyward kick, aimed towards her stomach.

"Failing to do so, is how I lost my right leg."

 

[Flashgordon512]

Breathing room is hard to come by during hand to hand combat it does not take a battle hardened warrior to deduce that. The small but dence dust cloud Una kicked up was purly ment to buy a small ammount of time to tactically plan. Una paused for a moment and drummed up her options. Azur was skilled where she was not in the art of Saber dueling, if she attempted to take him in one on one combat she would surely lose a limb to Azur's Crimson blade. Her meticulous planning was cut short however as the dust cloud she whipped up was forcefully dispersing causing tiny particles of hot sand to pelt her skin as they flew back and settled into the ground. Una held up her hand to stop the dust and debris from getting into her eye, it was a mild annoyance but one she could do something about.

"Rule four."

Adrenaline flooded her system as Una anticipated another attack from the Crusader as she whipped arround to confront him, sparking up her stolen Saber. The attack was instant and savage, before she could react, let alone block, the Crusader's flurry of blows she was on the ground with her breath stolen from her lungs. Pain flooded her system as she coughed and sputtered trying to get her cycle of inhaling and exhaling back on track. Una sat up clutching the part of her chest that was kicked in by Azur. "Very important rules to follow," she said between a coughing fit, "It would be... unwise for one to ignore such instructions." She paused as she said unwise. Una pushed herself off of the ground and stood up straight to face her teacher, "It would be most benificial to first learn a form of saber combat before engaging In another skirmish with someone as skilled as you, Thank you." she added.

 

[Cortan]

Where Una rose... Azur extended a hand, helping the older woman up to her feet. He brushed her down slightly, clearing some of what he'd blown unto her, before stepping back.
"As I said before, it isn't always that you see a student who recognises that they must be taught. Often enough, they assume that their education is merely validation for existing talent." Azur held up one hand, and briefly, focused. His reach extended from his palm, before the range and limitations of physical form, and then clutched at something. From the base of his ship, came two metal shafts, dull yet fashioned into the rough shapes of swords. Taking them into his hand, Azur then moved one into his sword arm, whilst the other was offered - though with no indication it could be denied - to Una.

"And whilst you have some talent, it is without a focus. You swing a weapon but do not rightly know how." The metal was relatively light, and a feel of its weight would lead to the realisation that it was hollow. Yet as Azur struck the one in his hand repeatedly upon the ground, it was evidently quite durable, and sung with a slight, long whine.
"We shall begin then as all acolytes should - with form I, known by some... as Shii-Cho." He held the blade up now, at first vertically on one side, but then, horizontal across his front. Slowly, he moved the saber around him, falling into a pattern, indicating for his student to follow his movements. They would do this for many minutes, broken up only by Azur's speaking...

"Form I is the eldest of all lightsaber techniques, by proxy of a birth before the lightsaber had risen to prominence. It is therefore the thing from which all others are derived - and so whilst the most developed in how to fight against, remains the core of understanding. It is basic... but easy to learn. Difficult, however, to master." As they went, Azur's movements would gradually quicken, giving Una her first, simple task - keep up.
"The first thing that needs understanding, is not how to strike, or even parry. But how one would move between either of those things. A blaster, you aim without worry. A blade, you must wield, and your body and posture must follow, or all three will fail you."