The Krayt Dragon and the Mynock

[Undine]

The Rodia Jungles
~ Theme Song ~​​

Spoiler: OOC Info: Read

Participants:
[thread=48630]Minion Holphee[/thread]
[thread=60799]Jade Evoyn[/thread]
[thread=55542]Arrat Khor[/thread]
[thread=64794]Khivas Carrick[/thread]
[thread=66098]Sil Ruloyor[/thread]

Rodia was beautiful, it was dangerous as well but Jade let her senses drift out. melding her sensory perception of the Force and the lifeforms around her. The pantoran Jedi Knight stood on a thick tree branch a few dozen feet from the ground. Her silver silk robes flowed gently in the wind as she twisted and turned, dancing gracefully along the moss covered trunk, letting it's softness kiss her bare feet. With the headphones to her holorecorder planted in her ears, Jade let the Force guide her footsteps. The many sensations around blending and swirling along with her. Letting the music's beat permeate around her, the vibrant ebb and flow of the Force seemed to dance right along with her. While non-Force Sensitives uses drugs to alter their mental state, Jade just used the Force.

The tree branch in question was perched above a small clearing where Jade would be meeting with a few fellow Jedi. Jedi Knight Minion Holphee was a wookiee Jedi that specialized in the fifth form of traditional lightsaber combat, otherwise know as Djem So. Jade on the other hand specialized in form three, or Soresu. Their different specializations seemed to be the exact opposite of each other, while Minion's form focused on aggressive tactics and brute force, Jade's form focused on defensive tactics and tranquility in both mind and body.

The two Jedi Knights had agreed to hold a sparring session with each other, but they had also agreed to use the opportunity to teach a few Jedi padawans the basics of their respective specialties. With this in mind, Jade had brought her three marksman-H combat remotes with her to the clearing, as well as a small collection of training sabers ranging in color, and a few blinder helmets. Having left the equipment at the base of the tree, Jade sat down on the branch next to her personal hookah. After taking a drag from the vaporized tea leaves inside and waiting for the others to arrive. She wasn't much worried about the health risks typically associated with smoking only because she only smoked tea leaves instead of other more dangerous products.

The wookiee Jedi Knight named Minion Holphee was not a Jedi Jade was familiar with, but she had no reason to deny his sparring request, nor would she even if she had. Sparring with one's peers was a practical if not necessary aspect of progression when it came to such skills as lightsaber combat. But that wasn't the only reason Jade had accepted his request, other than the fact she was always willing to help a fellow Jedi, the opportunity to showcase two of the lightsaber forms to a group of padawans was something no sane Jedi would pass up.

This was way she sat above the clearing, high up in the trees, waiting for either her fellow Knight or one of the padawans to show up for the sparring and instruction session. Taking another drag of the delicious floral tea, Jade turned to look in the distance behind her, the Force alerting her to the presence of of a Force Sensitive being. Jumping down from the tree, hookah in hand, Jade landed next to the equipment she had brought along with her, pulling out the earbuds of the holorecorder moments later before standing and waiting to welcome whoever was just about to arrive. However it was, Jade had never met them before as their Force Signature wasn't one she recognized.​

 

[©razy Man]

This place, Rodia, reminded Minion of his home planet. The vibrant and lush jungle gave way to many Force Signatures. Minion had realized this long ago on his home planet. Everything had a life, a purpose, and a connection to the Force in some way: why even the trees gave off a faint Force Signature if one would only look. Sadly, Minion was not here to admire the jungle life or bring up the memories of old. No, he was here for a greater purpose. The newly promoted Jedi Knight Jade Evoyn had accepted his suggestion of a class and spar of two of the five lightsaber forms. Minion's form being the Way of the Krayt Dragon, the Perseverance form, or better yet Djem So/Shien; a form requiring every ounce of brute strength and endurance he had. While his fellow Jedi Knight use Soresu, a form known for it's ultimate defense but the Jedi that used this form were also non-aggressive.

Jumping up into a tall tree, Minion began working his way to the meeting place that Jade had provided. His initial request to duel her was to gauge her knowledge on the form and how capable she was of using it in combat, though to his surprise it turned into more. Deciding long ago he would devote his time to restoring the Jedi and training the future of it. Showcasing the two forms in a spar, and then teaching them to Padawans, would be priceless knowledge to them. Not only them but also the two Knights also.

Minion realized the clearing was coming up and decided he should take to the ground now. Walking to the edge of the clearing the Wookiee caught his breath for a moment, and then continued out. He instantly noticed the equipment sitting there and then saw Jade come down out of a tree. Using his telepathy Minion communicated, in Basic, to the being, "Hello, Jedi Knight Evoyn. It is nice to finally meet you." He smiled but he wasn't sure if it would be seen from the distance they were at.

Studying his opponent he could see why she decided to use the Way of the Mynock, it suited her slender body giving her a chance to use the acrobatics to enhance her chances of dodging attacks. Just like Minion's physique complimented his, though he knew brute strength alone wouldn't be able to help him in this case. She would only use that as an opening to dance around him and slice him up, even though they would only be using practice sabers it would still hurt to get hit by them. He already knew she would also dodge him, tiring him out fast. So, he would have to use an assortment of his Force Powers along with the Djem So, though not enough to hurt her obviously.​

 

[Khivas]

It wasn't long before Khivas returned to the city on Rodia after having a very....unique encounter not too long ago out the jungle on the planet, him and a group of padawans being tasked, rather randomly and mysteriously, to go out and find lost holocrons and other precious things the Order had at one point but lost over the years for obvious and not-so obvious reasons. Upon getting back, he had a few messages on his datapad, all of which were from the Jedi in some way, but two stuck out to him the most.

The first was from his Master, Rane Vastra, telling him that the two were to head out on a mission together on Mon Calamari, something about missing persons, but the mission itself was not to launch for some time. The other was from the training knights in charge of setting up classes for the Padawans and all that, saying that a sparring session was to be held on Rodia, the planet Khivas was already on, but wouldn't start for a few days as the Knights, as well as Padawans, had to still travel there to join in. At first thought, the message didn't seem to really matter to Khivas; He was already well versed in Lightsaber Combat, extremely so one could say as being good with a lightsaber was one of the few things Khivas could honestly say he was a natural with.

Yet, for some reason he could quite put the datapad down, couldn't bring himself to hit "Decline" on the invite to join in on the sparring session. In the seat of his captain's chair, Khivas stared long and hard at that message, thinking back to the Battle of Naboo, how he was nearly killed multiple times by the Sith Warriors there, how their skills made his natural affinity look like a sloppy drunkard. He also thought back to the meeting in the woods not too long ago, about how suddenly he was now tasked with going out into the galaxy to retrieve lost relics, and no doubt he would come across some truly dangerous things during those encounters.

"Hmm....." The idea of at least brushing up on his saber skills couldn't hurt, could it? Certainly Khivas could stand to perhaps learn some more about his own preferred, and now altered form of lightsaber combat, perhaps refresh himself on the basic fundamentals and maybe learn an ancient technique? "Or would that be asking too much, heh." He said to himself, his eyes still glued to the screen, but his mind running elsewhere. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to attend the class. Perhaps I can practice using the Force a bit before they arrive, since I'll have a few days to myself. Need to get better at that anyway."

And with that last bit said, Khivas would set out to spend the next three days practicing with various skills as he waited for the two Jedi Knights and whoever else to arrive for the training session. Spending the first day trying to hone his Telekinesis and Sense skills, sitting the the cargo hold of his ship meditating hard on the surroundings, and focusing even harder on the tools around him, lifting them into the air and making them spin and activate, all a bit of a warm up for the main act; taking each one apart and then putting it back together again. Needless to say, as Khivas was not the most adept student at using Telekinesis in such a way, it took him from sunrise to well past sunset to reassemble his tools properly, but he did do it, the effort drawing a wide smile out of him.

On the second day, Khivas would train and hone his abilities involving Force Speed and Leap, and more to his agenda, Valor. Known to some as Force Strength, Khivas possessed the ability to enhance his body using the Force, basically doing the same thing as Speed or Leap did, only with his physical strength, something he found out on accident and would no doubt suit his particular style of fighting. Only problem was he couldn't do it for long, and his issue wasn't his inability to do it, but rather his stamina with the power. When he did use it, he couldn't use it for long, and today, again from sunrise to sunset, his aim was to hone that particular ability, to have him learn how to use it without draining himself so quickly, especially while using a weapon. And boy did he work out that stamina, but not to much avail. "Holy....hell...." Khivas would say to himself as he crawled back to his ship, his body worn out and beyond the usual levels of tired, but he hoped in the future this day would go towards Khivas being able to use the skill with less strain.

And on the third day, Lightsaber Training with two Jedi Knights and a few padawans.

After resting and recovering his strength, Khivas stretched good and long, loosening his joints and muscles for the day. He would have to trek through that hot ass forest again, the only real downside to this whole day really, but it was something Khivas was prepared to deal with, and after preparing himself and reaching the edge of the city, Khivas uploaded the meeting point into his HUD and set out on a Force induced hike to find the location, practicing his parkour and free running acrobatics while in full armor, an excellent workout and warm up for the coming day's events. Eventually Khivas would find the location described in the message, and upon arrival find that he was the first of the Padawans to arrive, and the two Knights had already met and been waiting.

Strolling up to them casually after dropping from a tree and slowing down, Khivas would greet them in a cordial manner, and bow in his introduction to them. "Good day to you guys, name's Khivas, pleased to meet you."

 

[Elijah Brockway]

Arrat Khor had taken to the world of Rodia rather well. Sure, it was nothing like his home - it was slightly similar to Arbra, with the presence of forests, though those on Rodia were jungles and rain forests, interspersed with swamps and oceans. Still, Arrat found it a very interesting world as well, and beyond that, there was a good amount of hunting to be done - a pastime that Arrat was rather fond of, both from a sporting perspective as well as from that of gathering food.

And hunting was what Arrat was doing currently. He had a class to attend soon, but before that, he would spend time hunting. And this time, he wasn't hunting for a brace of rabbits - he was hunting the large Rodian Karstag, a large, quadripedal beast, one and a half meters tall at the shoulder, and nearly five meters in length. And covered in armour. Arrat, of course, had nothing with him but a simple vibrosword, while his torso was completely bare, his only covering being his breeches, and the belt that held his lightsabers and the sheathe for the vibrosword.

He had been on the Karstag's trail for some time now, using his senses to carry him along its earlier path. The creatures were large, and when they travelled on land they left deep, wide, webbed, and plodding tracks, unless they were spooked and ran. Arrat had also caught marks caused by the Karstag's tail or its teeth and claws, various trees having small amounts of their bark ripped off at the base, and, once, the corpse of a smaller animal, relatively fresh.

Arrat's enthusiasm for his hunt dropped, however, when he came upon a large swamp, wherein he no longer had any tracks to follow. He hissed loudly and cursed, annoyed at his hunt having been foiled. It would take him hours or more in the swamp to try and find the Karstag, if ever he managed again, so now he had to give up and go to his class. He hissed once more, shook his head, turned around, and quickly jogged back.

It didn't take him very long to come to the location of his class, the clearing being easily reached; he sheathed his vibrosword, no longer having any vegetation he'd need to cut out of his way to reach the area he was supposed to attend. He looked around, seeing three beings present; obviously, he was not the first Padawan to arrive. He nodded to Khivas, before stepping towards Minion Holphee and Jade Evoyn.

"Massterss Evoyn and Holphee," he said, giving a small bow; as usual, he was still taller than both of his teachers, although the Wookiee at least came close to his height. "I am Arrat Khor. It iss a pleassure to be here today."

 

[CSantanna]

Sil was spending his time under the shade of a very large tree that taking a nap on the soft grass. When the alarm on his data pad went off a sharp beep waking him up from a pleasant nap. As glad as Sil was that his dad had put his old data pad in his bag he wishes that it worked a bit better. It had the most annoying habit go going off for any and every little thing. Pushing himself off the floor and on to the trunk of the tree, the bark of the tree. The area he was rest against had been stripped off just leaving the smooth trunk.

The little pile of the soft grass and leaves he was using as a pillow blowing away in the wind. He loves watching the wind as it blew around leaves and flowers, to him they appeared as though they were dancing. He stared to drift off back to sleep the wind and the dancing of the leaves almost putting him to sleep, when his data pad beeped again. Right, he had to check his data pad see what was happened.

Pulling the old pad of his beat up bag, the first thing he sees is that there is a possible training session on the planet Rodia. Rodia was a jungle planet and was the not a planet he had even been to visit. Usually he would just accept the training but it was on Djem So and Soresu, and he specialised in Ventress. Djem So as far has he understood it was a form that relayed on great strength, why Soresu was a form that relayed on outlasting your opponent. He wasn't so great in either of those things, so he planned to just hit decline and forget about it and return to his nap. However, a memory popped into his head, it was a lesson that his father was trying to teach him in their make shift class room. That a jedi Knight must be able to do three things. They first must be able to fight the enemy. They must be able to heal those who are injured, and they must be able to defend those who can't defend themselves. Soresu was said to be the great of all the forms for being able to defend. If he could learn it even just a bit he would be closer on this path to becoming a good knight.

So he accepted the training request. Now he just had two days to get there so he wouldn't be late to the training. He booked passage on a smuggler ship that would be going pass the planet. Not one of those slave ship just one that was looking to make a little more money. Selling a few off market part to a few not happy citizens of the empire. He was even willing to offer Sil a few supplies for his trip, for a reasonable price. Under the hull had enough space that he was able to a bit of training. Not of the force however but to train his body, in the words of his mother “ Turn your weakness into strength”. Wise words to go by. So he trained to increase his strength, two days just lifting weight strength training. Time past so fast in the hull that when they finally reached Sil got caught unaware.

He didn't expect the planet to be so hot, he knows it was a jungle planet. So he was prepared of it to have a high humidity but the blazing heat was a
different story. As soon as he got off the ship he sought sheltered in the shade of an extremely tall tree. It seems to be twenty feet tall with broad leaves. “Well at least the plants were beautiful” Sil though as he wonders through the jungle towards the meeting stop. He didn't really have a clear idea where it was however so he just stumbled through bush to bush reaching out with the force to guide his way. Sil was in no rush to get there as the ship was on time, so he spent many minutes just stopping to sleep the flower or watch one of the native creatures from the planet pass by. He kept wonder around until he came to a river, he could feel that if he was to follow the river it would take him extremely close to where the group was meeting.

“Wait why should I walk when I swim ?” Diving in to the turquoise water, he headed towards the heaviest concentration of force signatures in the area. Staying under the water until he reaches the area. Now this was the way to beat the heat and get there on time. Seeing that he was the last to arrive, Sil leaps out of the river and on to the bank running the through foliage around the clearing trying to put his robe back on before reaches. He only half successes in getting it on but not being able to close it. stopping on the outside of the group a sheepish smile making its way onto his face as he looks at the collections of Knight and Padawans. “Sorry my new friends and teachers, I got slightly lost on the way here.“ Giving a small bow in apology and greeting to the group