An Interesting Trial

[Markus]

((OOC: yeash, sorry about the wait for this. I've been working like crazy lately trying to keep up with stuff. We've been getting a house ready to sell, so it's rather hectic most of the time.))

Rhi's eyes opened suddenly, the restive trance instantly ended as the required time came. She sat up on her bunk and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. I've got the trials today. Her eyes snapped open again. Gotta get ready! she glanced at her chronometer as she grabbed at a towel. Ok, I've still got an hour, I can afford to slow down a bit. Twenty minutes later, fully dressed, she finished combing her hair and grabbed her typical loadout. Shoving stuff in her pockets, she began checking things off in her head as she went. Hydrospanner, datapad, creds, connector, sabers, toolkit... Lastly, she pulled on her gloves, Looks like I've got it all. Now where will Master Vanni be?

She nearly ran down the hallway to the room her mentor usually taught in. Checking the time, she slipped silently into the room. Good twenty minutes still. I'm doing pretty good on time. She thought to herself quietly. Vanni was teaching a group of younglings to clear their heads, allowing them to focus and meditate properly when they grew old enough to concentrate on such things. Perfect! She silently moved towards Vanni, who was engrossed in his lesson. As she moved, several of the younglings turned towards her, the bright orange of her shirt providing a stark contrast to the dimly lit room. She put a finger to her lips in an over-emphasized manner as she continued to approach her mentor.

"RHI!" Master Vanni said loudly. "How many times do I have to tell you to not do that?" Jumping noticeably, Rhi started whistling a classic tune while gazing around the room innocently. The class was loving it and started laughing at her expression. Master Vanni turned around, looked at Rhi for a moment and sighed. "What are we going to do with you Rhi?" He scolded mildly.

Rhi shrugged. "Nothing I guess....." Sighing again and shaking his head, Vanni turned back to his class. Rhi pounced, her arms around his chest in a bear hug; at least, what would have been one if she were big enough. This time Vanni jumped and the class started giggling once more. "I've got my trials today and I just wanted to stop by for a minute." Rhi said quietly, knowing full well he couldn't come to help but wishing it just the same. "And now I gotta go. Wish me luck!" As she started talking she started pulling back, and by the time 'luck' was out of her mouth, she was already running down the hallway. Quietly muttering "There is no luck." to himself, he turned back to his class. "Now, where were we?"

After a few minutes of running down the hall, Rhi slowed to a walk, approaching the gardens where her trial was to be held. One of these days I'm going to learn better. I'll be wise enough to tell myself he's not my father. She sighed. One of these days.... The door slid open to the gardens and she slowly walked outside.

EDIT
((Fixing bad grammar/spelling))

 

[Lavi]

"A little childish to be bothering Master Vanni in the middle of a lesson, you think?" Amaterasu asked as Rhi passed through the doors to enter the garden. She stood right by the frame of the door, like a guard, though her face did not show sternness or amusement.

The knight was waiting there for about five minutes already, patiently waiting for her padawan to arrive for this important day. Tremors through the Force prompted Amaterasu to enter its flow, and felt Rhi over at Vanni's chambers.

 

[Markus]

((I love this char. Her reactions are so amusing ^.^))

Rhi was feeling pretty bad already about her emotional dependency, trying to sort things out in her head, and this further prodding didn't help much. Her lip curled up into a sneer before she regained control and slowly let it back down. She remained silent only because she couldn't think of a retort in her confused state.

A moment later, having calmed herself with a breathing technique and preparing her mind for what lay ahead, she turned to Amaterasu and bowed respectfully. ""Forgive my display, I'll need more time to think about this before I've distanced myself enough emotionally that I can take criticism." She continued her breathing technique and regained the last of her composure, such as she could. "Shall we begin?"

 

[Lavi]

((When you say this, do you mean Rhi? If so, I like this kind of personality too, but uniquely to only a few individuals: brings in much-needed comic relief with little warning.

I'm going to utilize this "trial" to go through the basic stuff that the Council really wants to be seen in a Jedi before Knighthood.))

"We shall," answered Amaterasu. She closed her eyes, clearing her mind of the display that she felt minutes before, then reopened them before speaking. "Tell me your interpretation of the Jedi Code and the Eight Tenets."

((The Jedi Code of this timeline is similar to the most well known version, but phrased as _____, but ____. Example: Emotion, yet peace.))

 

[Markus]

((yeah. I love pulling stuff like this. A friend of mine actually made a trash compactor droid. It spent it's time randomly appearing in people's threads and destroying important plot items >.< Luckily, he only patrolled coruscant :P))

Rhi paused for a moment, thinking about how she was going to phrase her reply. "You want the short version or the long one? Short version is pretty straight forward: don't act without thinking, don't attack civilians while acting in their defense, and try to uphold their social contract to prevent social chaos. Long version is a lot more complex, but states essentially the same thing."

I've had these tenants drilled into me for years now, if I can't give a decent reply by now.... She thought to herself silently as she mentally rolled her eyes.

 

[Lavi]

"I would prefer the longer version," answered the master, slightly tilting her head forward. It was not a way to "torture", as some people describe it, the padawan: a more in-depth explanation would paint out a more detailed view of what she just asked before.

 

[Markus]

((Before you get into this post, this is entirely IC. I honestly don't much care when she makes knight, but it's been a goal of hers for a while now :P))

Rhi sighed anxiously and started reciting, seemingly from memory. "Support the leading government and their social contract to prevent societal chaos. Pretty self-explanatory. When there's a war or two similar or equal powers, pick the one you feel is in the best position or has the morals and social contract closest in line with your own and give them your support. Again, not hard to figure out."

She frowned slightly at the look her questioner gave her but continued with her bored ramble. "Don't worry about your emotions too much, so long as you keep your head screwed on straight and take advice. This is because others tend to see things more clearly than we can in times of emotional upheaval.

"Don't kill if it is possible to avoid it. and always work for the betterment of others." Good Lord, I've got another five of these to go. she thought to herself as she began speaking again. "Don't attack those who cannot defend themselves and try to be in a position to do the best thing for all those involved.

"Don't blindly follow those who lead, but don't openly advertise your disputes with them. If only to keep the peace.

"If you have prior commitments, such as a position of authority, don't abuse the power given to you and remember what you've been taught. Be just, fair, and honest in your duty."

Finally! "And be mindful of the future, remember the past, but never at the expense of the moment. The future isn't yet, the past won't be again, but the present is, and should be treated accordingly." She sighed once more.

"Can we move on now? I've been drilled these things for more than sixteen years. I think I've got 'em down pretty well."

 

[Lavi]

"We can," answered the padawan's teacher, "then again, impatience is not a virtue that the Jedi hold high."

After letting it sink in for a moment, Amaterasu continued. "Draw your blade please. Tell me what lightsaber form that you have studied as an apprentice."

 

[Markus]

Completely ignoring the comment about impatience, Rhi waited until the next directive. "I've studied them all and incorporated aspects of many. The form I use, however, is unnamed and entirely unique. It's closest traditional form is Nimban."

As Rhi spoke, she drew both of her tonfa from their mountings, holding both deactivated blades by her side.

 

[Lavi]

The master ignited her blade, holding it in a traditional defensive posture of the Soresu lightsaber form. "Show me."

Although the tone of her words were commanding in nature, Amaterasu did not intend it to be so. Lightsabers built like tonfa are a rarity, as they are difficult to utilize in comparison to the traditional lightsaber. Niman is a fairly balanced form that Amaterasu has considered herself, but favored Soresu due to Niman's lack of ability to offer the level of defense the knight wanted.

 

[Markus]

Rhi smiled. "Very well."

This is where her patience shined, she could care less what people viewed her as in speech, she was perfectly patient on the battlefield. One following the other, she ignited both blades, sending their cyan blades past her elbows. She left the vibroblade claws within their sheathes, however, as she had no intention of causing her opponent harm.

She began with a simple thrust, the right tonfa handle spinning in her grasp, which led the blade thru a long arc towards Amaterasu's left shoulder. It was followed immediately by a telekinetic push on Amaterasu's right ankle, to knock her off balance.

 

[Lavi]

((I'm not used to fighting tonfa-wielders in general, so bear with me on this.))

Amaterasu parried the initial attack with a diagonal blade, aiming to have the tonfa bounce off her blade as it approached to give her time to deal with the other.

The Force Push forced her to alter her plan: with a twist of the wrist, Amaterasu swung her sword-arm over her head in an arc, bringing her blade to bear against a possible attack from Rhi's other hand. Her body was almost parallel to the ground and her right leg kicked back, making the whole maneuver somewhat awkward. But it should suffice.

 

[Markus]

((Lmao, don't worry about it, tonfa's are actually really hard to get the hang of, but they're flexible as hell, which, coupled with the fact nobody uses 'em, makes for a very interesting fight ^.^ I'm trying to be pretty nice about it too, adding a bit more clarification on how it's happening and where the blades are. it'll give you a bit better picture. If you want further clarification on something, let me know.))

Rhi watched the result of her attack, barely having moved. She slowly dropped into an aggressive looking stance, both the tonfa blades still humming a sparse centimeter from her elbows with her fists slanted downward. Her knees bent and her right leg slide back a practiced foot-and-a-half. From an opponent's point of view, she looked very much like the krayt she'd named the stance for.

Rhi, having fought dark jedi, was familiar with their practice of Dun Moch. She incorporated the spiritual unbalance it was likely to cause on a physical level, which kept her opponents always guessing.

She struck again, a simple push in the small of Amaterasu's back, just enough to draw some of her weight forward. Instead of exploiting this artificial opening tho, she stayed put; she was obviously perfectly comfortable in her aggressive stance.

 

[Lavi]

((I'm pretty much coupling this from experience fighting Talim from Soul Calibur II. The ONLY time I've ever fought anything resembling tonfas. >.<))

The pressing upon her back upset the delicate balance for a moment, but no follow-up came. Amaterasu settled back in a more comfortable stance. Her style suddenly shifted, her blade coming forth aggressively with a vertical slice downwards. A taste of offense followed by one of defense.

 

[Markus]

((well.... it's not so much of a fight, but the first bloodrayne movie, the chick toats a pair of tonfa-style blades not dis-similar to my current setup. You can see a bit about how she wields them in a non-RP (far too realistic to be even close to an RP fight ^.^) style. ))

Rhi jumped back several feet, easily dodging the strike, and lunged forward. Just as she was about to pass her opponent on her left side (rhi's right, Amaterasu's left) She extended her arms, letting both blades slide back until their magnetic fields cackled against one another. With such a dangerous weapon making such a loud noise, it was an easy, and very inviting, distraction.

As she slid by, Rhi slid her right hand out just enough to catch Amaterasu's left arm with the tonfa (not the blade, the actual handle). With her momentum, it'd be enough to leave quite a bruise. Just after she passed, she spun back around into a classic three point slide, her left hand on the ground. She stayed in the slide position after she came to a stop, not bothering to resume a more classic aggressive or defensive position.

 

[Lavi]

Her missed strike did not bother the knight at all. There was no need to pursue, as it appeared that another attack was being brought about. Amaterasu took steps back as Rhi lunged forward. The crackle did little to distract Amaterasu, as her level of concentration is difficult to sway. The sudden strike with the tonfa was expected, as the prior movement did not suggest a bladed attack (since she would have to twist her wrist towards her chest in order to bring the blade to bear) and Amaterasu reacted accordingly through a semi-leap backwards, bringing minimal damage to her arm.

Reaching into the Force to approximate the distance between herself and Rhi, Amaterasu took a step back, since her back is still facing the opponent, and pivoted on her right foot with a horizontal swipe in motion. Where it would have connected with Rhi, it changed direction to follow the padawan (if she attempts to dodge). The possibility of dodging the strike is relatively high, as the swing had strong weight behind it, which would be difficult for lightsaber tonfas to directly parry without placing the welfare of the user at risk.

((How long have you rp'd tonfa-style combat?))

 

[Markus]

((A while ^.^ certainly long enough to know that was on it's way. Let's see how you prep to counter this, I'm sure you can guess what's coming :P))

Rhi jumped as her twin blades deactivated. Pulling a classic ataru flip and essentially ricocheting at an upward angle from a telekinetic wall she projected, she gained several meters of altitude. She repeated this twice, taking her nearly 20m above the ground. After she launched herself from the third wall, she let her momentum take her nearly thirty meters from Amaterasu. A momentary reduction in speed at about 5 meters from the ground landed her in a nearly perfect two point landing. She fell into the krayt stance with her back towards the knight and paused for several seconds to prepare one of her favorite tricks, knowing the distance would limit her opponent's options.

 

[Lavi]

((Sorry about making you wait. I'll try not to make it happen again.))

Amaterasu watched the Ataru-like acrobats that Rhi performed before her, comparing it to the movements she observed from close-hand combat. Then Rhi re-entered the krayt stance (though she did not know exactly what it was called at the moment) from before, which prompted the master that the student was preparing for another display. She twirled her lightsaber and entered a more aggressive stance of Soresu - her left shoulder facing Rhi, her legs apart and bent, her lightsaber hand holding the tip towards the opponent and her other hand raised towards Rhi in counter-balance. And she waited.

((Basically Obi's favorite stance in Ep. III.)

 

[Markus]

((hehe, it's not that big of a deal. I'm patient as hell ^.^))

Rhi smiled. She may have helped me learn how to use this, but I don't think she'll see it coming.

Rhi focused, using the charge she'd built up to make her vital functions accelerate. This was morichro, the ability to affect the speed of one's body on a very high scale. The most common application of morichro was to slow an opponent, but it could be used to increase the speed of one's perceptions as well. Combined with speed, it could make a force-wielder nearly unstoppable in combat.

She didn't bother with speed just yet. It would take time, and time was always a jedi's enemy during battle. Rhi spun around and jumped. She didn't bother to use fancy acrobatics, there was no need. She landed about five meters away from Amaterasu and reignited her blades. This time she varied her stance. Both of her blades extended forward as she dropped into the ancient Mantis form (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/07/0030_stance.jpg only difference from the pic is her hands, which are gripping the tonfa handles, blades forward).

 

[Lavi]

Her stance changed, but Amaterasu continued to wait. Her eyes closed as she centered herself in the Force. The padawan was preparing something, she knew it, though she did not suspect Morichro yet. The Force around Rhi swirled as Amaterasu waited in anticipation.

The Soresu stance did not shift much, though her lightsaber hand came forward several centimeters in preparation.