The Eye of the Storm (Ena Katsumi's Training)

[Malon]

Siri couldn't hold back her grin. Good, she thought. Her Padawan had caught on quicker than expected. Siri pivoted to the right, avoiding the blade altogether. She then decided it was time for a surprise test. Suddenly lunging forward, Siri snapped her blade out and aimed for Ena's outstretched right arm.

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~What?! Ena would later reflect that blocking had been easier with the blindfold, because at least then she didn't have time to be intimidated by a glowing beam of plasma. The padawan was caught completely unawares, without the force in hand - but her natural reactions seemed to, for once, help her.~

~Ena snapped her right arm back to her chest and hopped backwards in pure instinct, and only after that movement flicked her lightsaber down in an attempt to knock aside whatever was left of the lunge.~

 

[Malon]

Siri held her grin as their energy blades sizzled form their sword lock. The Force was guiding her now. The only way for her apprentice to get the feel of lightsaber combat was to spar, but that was enough of that exercise. Taking a step back, Siri switched off the lightsaber and returned it to her belt, removing the blindfold soon after.

"Good. Your instincts saved you that time. They serve you well, but remember, never use a lightsaber without the guidance of the Force. Instinct alone isn't enough, nor is the Force by itself. For your lightsaber form to be flawless, the two must be equally balanced. The Force allows you to sense things before they happen, but does not give you the instinct to react. At the same time, instinct gives you the speed and ability to react, but cannot tell you what is about to happen. The two go hand in hand. When they are not equally balanced, an opening is created." she explained.

"Your lessons are complete for today, but before you go, I have two things I need to tell you; number one is what to expect tomorrow. Tomorrow is a big day for you. It ends your formal training as a Jedi. After that comes your Trials of Knighthood, which I will oversee on a mission we will take together. I will explain more about that in great detail after tomorrow's training session.

"Tomorrow I will be teaching you how to combat a saberstaff wielder like myself. That will require great work, but I feel that you are ready for it. Now then, tonight I want you to take a trip to the archives. I want you to search the library for the lightsaber style that fits you and study a holocron on it. The Shii-Cho style I taught you today will act as a foundation for your learning. Tomorrow during our training, you will use what you've learned against me and I will judge your success. You are dismissed, my young Padawan."

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Ena gulped as she unconsciously deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it to her side. Trials of Knighthood? That sounded...harrowing. She didn't even know how to use the force yet. Everything had been changing so quickly - Ena stopped her train of thoughts, it would only lead to her old self popping back up. And her Master was explaining what the next few days would hold - she needed to pay attention. Find a lightsaber style? That actually seemed like an enjoyable task; Ena had always been a bit of a bookworm. And if she read more about lightsaber combat, hopefully she would get better at it. As Siri informed her they would be sparring again tomorrow, Ena made a mental note to maybe see if any of the training droids were open later tonight. It would mean less sleep but she wanted to be prepared.~

"Thank you Master Siri," ~Ena said, bowing slightly, and then,~ "When should I meet you tomorrow?"

~She silently hoped her Master wouldn't want to start too early. By the sounds of it, Ena still had a good amount of work to do for the rest of the day - but the first thing she wanted was shower, food, and perhaps a short nap. She hadn't slept much since venturing out to catch the gokob, and now that the adrenaline from their short sparring was wearing off; Ena was beginning to feel her exhaustion.~

 

[Malon]

Siri studied her apprentice as she spoke and sensed several feelings of doubt in her. It was a common thing for most apprentices to doubt their readiness, but Siri felt that she would give Ena more of a hint, so as to reassure her that she could be ready for the Trials.

"We will meet immediately following lunch tomorrow here in the grove." she replied. "One last thing, Ena. The archives are open to any Jedi who seeks information. Since you learned the Code, I have stressed Ignorance, yet knowledge to you in the hopes that you'd venture to the archives to seek information you felt I wasn't telling you."

She paused.

"I sense doubt in your ability to use the Force. It is my short coming for not teaching you such a crucial feat earlier on, and I apologize. However, your talent with the Force is already apparent to me. You've used it to guide you in combat and to protect yourself. If you would feel better, I will postpone your trials one more day and expand your knowledge of the Force. Is this something you would desire?"

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Ena bit her lip, sunk her eyes to the ground for a moment. The fact that someone actually paid attention and cared about how she was feeling, thinking, performing was still startling to Ena. She should have expected it by now; Siri was her Jedi Master. She wanted Ena to succeed - it only made sense that she paid attention to her padawan. But well trodden paths are hard to step off of. Ena looked up at Siri and nodded.~

"Yes, I guess..." ~Ena trailed off. Where had her determination gone? She started again.~ "Yes, Master. That would make me feel better."

 

[Malon]

Siri smiled brightly, "Then that is what we shall do." she replied, bowing before she left the grove.

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Ena bowed in return, mirroring Siri’s smile with one of her own. As her Master left the grove, Ena walked over to her bag and picked it up. The gokob she had befriended earlier was snoozing contentedly in the bottom on her extra padawan robes; the wrappers of the other energy bars Ena had with her around it. Ena smiled at the little animal. She hadn’t expected it to stay in her bag through the lightsaber training. Ena stroked it with a finger before putting her backpack on and leaving the Grove.~

~As soon as she made it to the Temple, Ena made a beeline for her room, and showered. Once clean – and free of the stink of the little friend now curled on one of the cushions in her room – she put a fresh set of robes on. That was much better. Now it was time for some food. Before leaving her room, she took a headband from her dresser and tied it so it would hold her hair behind her ears and away from her face. She did plan to train some with the practice droids later; after she read up about lightsaber forms.~

~It was about 1 or so in the afternoon now – they had been in the Grove longer than Ena had thought – but the cafeteria on the first floor was still open for lunch. Ena selected her food and looked across the tables for a spot to sit. The cafeteria wasn’t empty, but it wasn’t all that busy either. Most padawans and Jedi had eaten already, and were studying or training elsewhere. She sat at a table with only a few other occupants, keeping to herself as she ate. Sometimes Ena almost couldn’t believe how far she had come in such a short time. She could feel the mirth and happiness of the other padawans as they joked back and forth and enjoyed her peers; but she could control if their emotion effected her own. She wasn’t controlled by others feelings anymore. ~

~Once she was done eating, she strolled out of the cafeteria. What next? She was tired; but her Master’s instructions came first. Besides, she had no idea how long it would take her to research lightsaber forms, and she did want some extra practice before her saberstaff training tomorrow. Decisions. Ena sighed, forsaking sleep, and trotted off to the archives. As she entered, she approached a librarian.~

“Excuse me, but where are the holocrons about styles of lightsaber combat?”

“Right this way Padawan.” ~The librarian led her through several stacks of glistening holographic journals. Ena had never seen so much information in one place – when she had some free time she would have to explore the archives on Ossus for herself. This was amazing. The librarian stopped, motioned to the ‘shelf’ they stood in front of. “Here you are, Padawan Ena. Just be sure to put everything back when you’re done.”

“Of course, Master.” ~Ena bowed as the Jedi-librarian left. She looked to the holocrons and journals above. By quickly scanning she could see that the shelves were arranged by the different lightsaber forms; it seemed there were 7 forms, arranged in order from top to bottom. Shii-Cho was the first one on the top shelf. Remembering that Siri had mentioned Shii-Cho was a foundational form, Ena reached up and pulled out the holocron describing it. As she held the holocron in her hands, it opened, and a holographic projection materialized in the center.~

“Shii-Cho was the first form of lightsaber combat. It allows novice duelists to learn the basics of attack, parry, and blaster deflection. The main goal of the style is to disarm opponents without severely harming them, but also utilizes the most physical combat of all the forms.”

~Ena watched as the holographic image showed the various ready stances , attacks and defenses of Shii-Cho, and again went through the six body zones her Master had mentioned earlier. Hmmm. Ena certainly would practice Shii-Cho as it featured the basics of lightsaber combat – basics she would need to put extra work in to perfect. But it didn’t quite feel right. Ena wasn’t a very physical person; didn’t intend on becoming such. She put the holocron back, and began going through the others. Ena definitely didn’t find any particular interest in the more aggressive forms like Djem So or Ataru – though the force element in Ataru was interesting. Form 7, Juyo, was something Ena didn’t dare approach – her volatile relationship with emotions would not fit that style of fighting. Form 4 was intriguing; but Ena didn’t have the skills to improvise that much in combat as of yet. Form 2, Makashi, seemed like something Ena might want to come back to later in her studies…but….she picked out the holocron for Form 3: Soresu, and activated it.~

“The Way of the Mynock, or The Resilience Form, Soresu is often considered to be the most defensive form of lightsaber combat. Soresu utilizes tight moves, subtle dodges, and short sweeps to provide maximum defense coverage. Over time it has become an expression of non-aggression Jedi Philosophy.”

~The last bit engaged Ena more than any of the previous forms. Non-aggression philosophy? Defensive combat? That sounded just like what she wanted. She continued listening to the holocron.~

“The core tenets of Soresu encourage the duelist to be in the “eye of the storm” – to maintain a calm center and strong focus, undistracted and undisturbed by the conflict around them. Form III stresses quick reflexes and is effective against single enemies or multiple opponents as well as both blasters and lightsabers. A Soresu user ideally has the ability to gain control of a combat situation, creating multiple options for the Jedi employing the form, such as killing, disarming, or even reasoning with their opponent.”

~The notion of choice struck a chord with Ena as well, and she reasoned that her Master would approve of a style that emphasized control and focus in regards to her over-sensitivity to the force. Yes, this was for sure the style of her. Form III: Soresu. She pulled her datapad out, and downloaded the basics of the form from the holocron before putting it back and leaving the archives. It was off to the training rooms for Ena, to find a free training droid and put into practice the knowledge she had gained.~

…

~Ena trained herself for several hours with a practice droid, and returned to her room after dinner completely exhausted, with several more small burns and scratches from mishaps during her training. She felt a little better about her combat, now, but it still seemed the practice droid had outmaneuvered her more than she had accurately deflected or block its attack. Ena knew she should meditate on the day’s events, but was simply too tired to have the focus to do so. Already in her current state the mental presence of the Jedi in the Temple was a hair away from being too much. Ena was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.~

…

~The next morning, Ena woke, dressed, and went to breakfast. She wasn’t due in the Grove until after lunch; but Ena didn’t want too large of a meal before training. She collected her bag, and grabbed a few water bottles , fruit and small sandwich for later from the cafeteria before trekking off to the Grove. She had several hours before her Master would arrive; so she did what she had neglected the night before: Meditated. ~

~She crossed her legs and sat, back straight, hands palms up on her knees, and closed her eyes. Practiced gathering and releasing the force several times, letting it ebb and flow with her breathing. Ena turned her focus inward, searched her feeling – unaffected by the lifeforms or force around her. The feelings of spite and slight contempt she had harbored towards her family – especially her siblings – were diminished now. Ena didn’t have time to feel spite for them; she was too busy, too focused on training. In the same regard, her training was much bigger than family dynamics and squabbles. Ena was re-making herself; the Jedi order would be her family now, the force her only attachment. She still felt unsure of her abilities, but she had begun to trust Siri’s judgment of her. As for focusing…~

~It was time to test the boundaries. Ena drew the force in, as much as she could bear, and then extended it. She became a part of the flow instead of fighting against it, and let her force sense radiate slowly out as far as it could. As more and more lifeforms popped up on her force radar, Ena maintained careful focus on her center, keeping it separate even as the force continued to feed her information. She was a boulder in the center of a rushing river, letting the force flow around and not through or over her. It was in this meditative state Siri would find her Padawan when she entered the Grove.~

 

[Malon]

Siri arrived in a much different attire than she had during the previous lessons. Instead of the long, flowing brown robes she had worn before, today she wore a simple pale tunic and matching pants, a dark brown utility belt, and the typical dark brown Jedi boots. She had only brought one lightsaber with her today; her own double-bladed lightsaber. Passing through the foliage, she found Ena in the grove in a meditative position.

Siri smiled and tiptoed into the clearing, careful not to disturb her Padawan's meditation. She was going to be training Ena in many things this day, so her Padawan would need all the rest the Force could bring to her body.

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Ena's Sense was deep in the Jungles of Ossus - farther than she had ever dared to extend herself - when she first registered her Master's approach. Slowly Ena began to reel her Senses back to the here and now, and went further, drawing the force inward and holding in the stillness and peace of her mind. She knew the training ahead would be difficult, and readied herself for the day ahead. Once centered and calm, Ena let the force go and opened her eyes. She stood up and stretched out her slightly stiff limbs as she pulled a headband from a pocket and put it on to hold her hair away from her face. Ena looked at her Master.~

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long..."

 

[Malon]

Siri was sitting on a bolder, her head in her hands, watching her student meditate. When Ena came out of her trance and posed her question, Siri only smiled and nodded her head.

"No, you haven't kept me waiting." she said, standing to her feet.

Siri walked over to the front of her Padawan and began her lecture.

"As I told you yesterday, today you will learn the essentials of fighting a saberstaff user. After I discussion yesterday afternoon, I've decided to incorporate some Force training into this lesson, though you'll learn far more about the Force tomorrow. First thing is first, today we will be sparring as a part of your lesson. That means that both the Force and our lightsabers will be used. So, before we get into lightsaber instruction, I am going to teach you how to put up a Force shield.

"When you are in combat with another Force-user, like the Dark Jedi, the Force is both your greatest ally and your greatest foe. If you are unprepared, your lightsaber can simply be deactivated of taken from you without the Dark Jedi having to even lift a finger. That is why most Force-users erect a barrier around them in combat. It wards off Force pushes and pulls, as well as other Force techniques.

"To preform it, you must gather the Force to you like in meditation, then wrap yourself in it. Ever inch of your body and even your lightsaber must be covered in this shield. The shield must remain up at all times. If you lose it or cannot maintain it, you have little hopes of escaping a battle with a powerful Force user alive. Why don't you give it a try?"

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

"Yes, okay...force shield..."

~Ena frowned in thought. She tapped into the force without even closing her eyes; even in the relatively short time she had been here, focusing in had become, well, easy. But how to make a force shield? If she needed to wrap her body in the force...now Ena closed her eyes, visualizing the force like a second skin around her, covering her from head to toe. Oh! Her lightsaber. It was drawn and activated without thought. She held the image of herself, and lightsaber encased in the force, and simply asked the force to make the image a reality. She opened her eyes...she didn't feel any different - except there was perhaps a slight extra strain in her mind. Had it worked?~

"I think...is this it?"

((OOC: Are force shields visible to normal sight?))

 

[Malon]

(OOC: To the naked eye, no. They can be seen by those who are using the Force, though.)

Siri nodded approvingly, "Yes, you are getting it. In time, like sensing the Force, it will become second nature to you and you won't even feel the strain on your mind."

She then held her palm out, open, and, as if an invisible force had thrown it, her lightsaber flew to her palm and both blades ignited, covering the shadows of the grove in blue light. Dropping into her defensive Soresu stance, Siri prepared for combat. She too enveloped herself in the Force before speaking.

"Now we will begin your lessons. You will use the methods you learned form the holocrons yesterday, as well as what I taught you yesterday to spar with me. Anything goes; Force powers and lightsabers set to the training strength. First person to disarm their opponent wins, unless I end the session before then. The only way you'll perfect your chosen style, is by practicing it. If I recognize the form, I will give you tips to help you perfect it as the fight drags on. One last thing, I won't be holding back. This lesson is about learning to combat my saberstaff as well as to put to use your knowledge of combat skills to use. I won't harm you, so be a peace."

She then smiled, "I am looking out for your best interest and I know you don't like fighting, so that's why I'm telling you this. Consider me an older sister or perhaps a younger second mother. I won't let you get hurt, but this will better you. This is, after all, the way of the Jedi."

With that, she bent her knees and beckoned her Padawan to come.

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Doubt. It was creeping up on Ena again, despite her attempts to nix it in meditation. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, I guess? Ena thought as she slid her right dominant foot back, holding her lightsaber in her right hand parallel to the ground. Soresu – like her Master. Funny, that. Ena gave herself a moment, tried to calm her now racing heart. But her new form wouldn’t be as effective if she was on the offense…Shii-Cho it was. Trust the force, trust her Master. Simple. ~

~ Ena dashed forward, covering the few feet between them easily and brought her lightsaber down in a simple diagonal overhead slash at Siri’s head, gripping her lightsaber with both hands.~

 

[Malon]

Siri reached out with the Force, feeling its currents to determine how her Padawan would move. Above. The Force had spoken to her before Ena had even launched her attack, so when the Padawan brought her lightsaber down on Siri, she thrust her lightsaber up, catching Ena's blade on one of its blades. Though they were now locked in combat, Siri decided to give some advice to help her apprentice.

"When fighting against a saberstaff wielder, you will find your mind trying to keep track of both blades separately, doubling the number of possibilities and causing yourself lots of confusion. However, just by looking at the hilt you get your answer to this problem; the two blades are one. If you know where one blade is, you know where the other will be too." she explained.

There was more she wanted to explain to Ena, but she decided to wait until the right time in their sparring to mention it. Withdrawing to break their blade lock, Siri spun her weapon like a disk, keeping the movements tight in the nature of Soresu, and then struck, jabbing at Ena's chest.

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Ena matched the pressure of her Master as they held the block, tried to listen even as she focused on combat, on the force, on keeping her center calm. The two blades were one. Watch the hilt . Okay. As Siri withdrew to break the lock, Ena slid back into her original defensive stance, dominant right side back. The force and instinct. She tapped into the force, tried to relax, all in the fractions of seconds before her Master attacked.~

~Ena’s eyes were drawn to the blur of color on either end of the saberstaff – where was the attack coming? No. She focused her eyes on the hilt, listened to the force. Block! Ena stepped with her right into the jab and flicked her lightsaber down, hopefully knocking the strike away. Then she lunged for her Master’s middle with a jab of her own, saber only in her right hand. So far, so good? Thank God for practice droids.~

 

[Malon]

Siri grinned as her Padawan blocked her jab, only to respond with a jab of her own. Responding on instinct, Siri parried the blow with the second blade of her lightsaber. Good, she thought. Ena was catching on very quickly. Now to test her Force shield. Gathering the Force to her, Siri leaped high over Ena's head, landing directly behind her. Once on the ground, she gathered the Force to her palms and sent a Force push at her apprentice.

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Unused to combat, let alone force combat, Ena was startled when her Master leapt suddenly over and behind her. What was this? She turned – too slow – and realized – again too slow – exactly what her Master intended. Focus, focus, focus ! Ena called to the force and threw it infront and around her; but a hair too late. The force push slammed into her, knocking her back several feet to the grass and sending her lightsaber tumbling from her grasp. Darn. She should have known Siri would test her force shield…~

~Not wanting to be caught off guard again Ena clambered to her feet and extended her hand. Her lightsaber smacked her palm and activated, in the same moment. What? How had she done that? Ena grinned in spite of her situation as she slid yet again into her defensive Soresu stance. She thought, and the force answered . That was cool. Ena waited for the attack, this time. She wanted to attempt to demonstrate the defensive maneuvers she had practiced.~

 

[Malon]

Siri smiled. Her plan had worked; by forcing Ena into a state of necessity, she had learned to do a Force pull on instinct alone. She was learning to use the Force. Lunging forward, Siri tucked into a cartwheel, spinning off to Ena's right. She then spun her double-blade weapon once and slashed in a long, sweeping motion, at her apprentice's abdomen.

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Ena waited, let her Master come to her. Watching the hilt instead of the blades made it much easier to follow her Master’s movement without getting confused; and the force gave just enough hint of the coming attack. Her Master had said they could use force powers...if she could pull her lightsaber to her with such ease…maybe she could also push? It was time to experiment a little bit. But first the block. Ena stepped forward with her right (to Siri’s left) and turned her lightsaber down in a sweeping block intending to use just enough force to redirect the slash to the outside of Ena’s body. As she completed the block Ena threw her left hand and the force out towards her Master’s body in what she hoped would be her first force push.~