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

Malon

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As the first rays of the sun pierced the Ossus sky, Siri exited the Temple's main gate. It had been a day since she had sent her Padawan off into the jungle on her task, so she should be returning soon. Sure enough, Ena burst through the foliage, a tiny gokob on her shoulder, and began searching for Siri.

Siri approached her Padawan, making her presence known, and smiled.

"From the looks of it." she began. "Your assignment was a success. Good work, Ena. You have done well. I admit, you have done exceptional in your Jedi training, so I have decided to take your training to the next level. I've appealed to the Council to give us a mission offworld, but they haven't deliberated on it yet. So, while we await their approval, I will be instructing you in lightsaber combat. Let us return to the grove."
 

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~Ena's eyes went wide - her skin paled slightly.~ "Lightsaber combat?"

~She squeaked. The rodent on her shoulder scurried into her bag in wake of Ena's anxiety. But it wasn't a protest, more of a rhetorical question. Obviously Ena had to learn how to use her lightsaber...Ena gulped. And exceptional? Her? Offworld mission? Woah. Ena would follow behind her Master to the Grove...hopefully the stink of the critter now curled in her bag wasn't too disruptive.~
 

Malon

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As they walked, Siri felt the need to address her Padawan's apparent discomfort with lightsaber combat.

"As you must know, the Republic is at war with the Hutts and the Dark Jedi. As the defenders of the Republic, the Jedi are often called to the battlefield and must be able warriors. That being said, we are peace-keepers, so our lightsabers should always be a last resort. My master, Haar, was a blade master of the Jedi Order, and I am studying to become one as well." she explained as they finally reached the grove.

"I will be training you in two distinct methods today. With a regular lightsaber, like you have, and you will also receive quarterstaff training. The latter style of fighting, is being able to fight against Force-sensitives that wield double-bladed lightsabers like I do. The reason I want to teach you this particular skill is because my lightsaber type is very, very rare among both the Jedi and the Dark Jedi, making those who use them extremely unpredictable. You have a very rare advantage of being able to be trained to fight against a saberstaff user, and therefore, won't be surprised by one should you ever face one.

"Are you ready?"
 

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~It all made sense, of course. Ena would’ve had to live under a rock not to know of the war of the Republic. She supposed, at the very least, it was good that Siri was such a proficient fighter; that way Ena had to learn. Ignorance, yet Knowledge. Ena had to be willing to learn. She sighed, brushed her hair behind her ears as they walked.~

“Yes, maybe? I have to be, right? So I will be.” ~Ena laid a hand on her lightsaber as they walked.~ “There’s no use wearing it if I can’t use it. I’m ready.”

~Was she still hesitant? Anxious? Of course. But Ena wouldn’t let that matter. Emotion, yet peace. She would find peace, even in fighting…even if it didn’t come naturally to her.~
 

Malon

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Siri grabbed the hilt of her master's lightsaber from her belt and pulled it free from its resting place. Thumbing the ignition, a green bar of plasma erupted from her lightsaber's emitter.

"While we're on the subject of lightsabers, it is important that we cover the seven forms of lightsaber combat. The forms are Shii-Cho, Makashi, Soresu, Ataru, Djem So, Niman, and Juyo. Among these seven, Shii-Cho is the most basic, and all Jedi receive some instruction in it as it teaches the basic principles of wielding a lightsaber. For that reason, I will be teaching you Shii-Cho.

"Most Jedi choose a form and train extensively in it until it becomes their 'signature form'. My master was a proficient user of Soresu and Shii-Cho, as am I. The form you choose will be up to you to pick and train yourself in when you have free time, however, the Shii-Cho lessons I give you will at least introduce you to the basics of these forms so that you get a feel for them."
she explained.

Siri retrieved a cloth from a utility pack on her belt and handed it to Ena.

"This is a blindfold. Put it on tight around your eyes. I don't want you to be afraid, Jedi toddlers even learn Shii-Cho this way. I have adjusted the power settings of my lightsaber so that any strike you take will only sting and leave a burn mark instead of the usual devastation lightsabers cause.

"Usually this training is done with a small remote droid, however, all of the training droids were taken for the day, so this method will have to do. With the blindfold on, you won't be able to see. This means you will have to draw on the Force to 'see' for you. You will also have to rely on instinct. These two elements are crucial to a good lightsaber duelist. I am also doing this to continue working on your control of Force sense. When you leave my tutelage, you will no longer have to worry about your mind being invaded by the minds of others.

"What we're going to do is simple; I am going to attack you with my weapon and you are going to parry and block my attacks. Once I feel that you have the hang of it, we'll switch roles and you will attack while I wear the blindfold and defend.

"Now then, once the blindfold is in place, activate your lightsaber and turn its power settings down to 'training'. Once that is done, get into an opening stance, clear your mind of all distractions both internal and external, and then signal me when you are ready to begin."
 

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~Ena set her bag down near the entrance to the grove and turned her full attention to her Master. She took the blindfold with the trepidation clear on her face. She didn’t have any questions, if she did, Siri answered them immediately. How would she be able to see with a blindfold on? Through the force. Ena should have been glad that her Master was so pro-active in regards to her extreme force sense, though now…Old Ena was trying to rear her ugly head – trying to run away from the situation at hand. But that wouldn’t do.~

~Ena tied the blindfold tight around her face, completely covering her eyes with slightly trembling fingers. She knotted it several times to make sure it wouldn’t slip. She reached to her side to draw her lightsaber – the hilt smacked her palm before she could move her hand. Oookay. She had created her lightsaber in a deep trance with the force; there weren’t any buttons to press. How to turn it on? With the mere thought, a cyan beam of plasma ignited from the tip, power level set to training. Even though she couldn’t actually see her lightsaber, she knew everything about it; just as she felt the heat from the plasma on her face, she felt her weapon thrumming in the force. Cool. But she was supposed to be doing something…ah, focus.~

~Ena held her lightsaber in front of her, and bowed her head towards it slightly. The force crystals inside of it made focusing herself easier than usual. She inhaled, drawing in the slight tiredness of her body, the anxiety over learning to fight. Pushed it away. Then she let the force flow through her, let her force sense spread to the outside. She could sense her Master’s presence – confident, strong, but controlled – Ena tried to limit the range of her sense to contain it; but wasn’t sure if she would be able to maintain such focus once they started the parrying drill. Ena was as ready as she could be. She set her feet shoulder-width apart, left foot a stride in front of her right, and angled her body in a 45 degree angle to Siri’s. Gripped her lightsaber with body hands and held it at the level of her right shoulder. She nodded her head once, sure that Siri would see the movement, and exhaled the last of her nerves.~
 

Malon

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Siri held her emerald lightsaber above her head, clasped tightly in both hands, angling for the strike. She remembered back to her own Shii-Cho training. Finding Ena's body zone targets was second nature to her now. Aiming for Ena's left shoulder, Siri brought her Jedi weapon down in a vertical strike, with the only warning being the humming noise coming from her lightsaber's blade.
 

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~Ena could differentiate the hum of Siri’s lightsaber from the sound of her own, thanks to the force, but just barely. Something…was moving? Maybe? Block. She knew she was supposed to block. But where? Where was her Master going to strike? The force answered. Ena wrenched her lightsaber stiffly across her body and angled it to catch Siri’s vertical strike, shuffling back a step with her left foot as she did so. As it was, she did barely blocked in time and had caught Siri’s attack so close to her shoulder that she singed herself with her own blade. Embarrassing. ~
 

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Siri withdrew and regained her opening stance. Swooping down and then up, Siri brought her lightsaber on her student in an uppercut fashion, trying to catch the apprentice off guard.
 

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~Ena couldn't tell the direction of Siri's attack by the sound alone, and she was forgetting the force a little in her focus on physical movement. Thinking and expecting another vertical attack, Ena thrust her saber out to block - and was thus caught completely off guard by the uppercut. She yelped and hopped backwards at the sting of the slight burn. She was thinking too much, not letting the force work through her.~
 

Malon

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Siri said nothing. She would let her Padawan learn from her own mistakes in this particular lesson. Again she backpedaled, taking on a distinct attacking stance. Then, without warning, she surged forward, slashing diagonally at her apprentice's waist.
 

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~This wasn't working. Ena relaxed her hold on her force sense, let it extend outwards. Instinct, Siri had said. Her first block had been instinct, creating her lightsaber had been instinct. Ena quieted her mind in the space of the few seconds that her Master used to backpedal, sent a single question into the force. Where? She swung her lightsaber down to knock aside the diagonal slash stepping back again as she swung.~
 

Malon

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Siri withdrew approvingly. She took a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow and then began talking.

"Excellent work, my young Padawan. I felt the Force guide you in that one, as well as your instinct. Very well then, your blindfold lesson is finished. You may remove it and hand it to me. Take a moment to rest and then we will begin our next exercise." she said, smiling.
 

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~Excellent work? That hadn’t felt exactly excellent but…Ena had no qualms about taking the blindfold off. She untied it and handed it to her Master, and couldn’t help feeling some relief. Ignorance, Yet Knowledge Yeah, yeah. She was here, she was willing. She didn’t have to love every aspect. Ena took inventory in the small rest break, stretched out her arms and legs, ridding them of any tension left from the blindfold lesson. The burn from the uppercut stung a little, but it wasn’t that significant. Her shoulder was fine; her robe was darkened by her own lightsaber but it hadn’t gone through to the skin.~

~Ena tucked her hair behind her ears again – made a mental note to get some sort of band to put it up for future combat training – and looked at Siri. Not in the eyes – old habits die hard – with her lightsaber in hand. Maybe this wasn’t her forte; but she would work hard.~

“What’s next?”
 

Malon

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"Next, I will don this blindfold and you will do the attacking. However, before I do, I must explain to you the next crucial bit of information about lightsaber combat. It is called 'body target zones'. These are the areas that one must learn to look at when looking for openings in lightsaber combat. There are six zones; Head, right arm and side, left arm and side, back, right leg, and left leg." she explained.

"You must analyze each of these areas in combat to discern proper attack zones, as well as your opponent's openings. Do you have any questions before we begin?"
 

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~Body zones seemed simple enough, and moreover, now she knew how she was supposed to attack. Hit the body zones. Gotcha. Ena activated her lightsaber again, set to training.~

"No Master, no questions."
 

Malon

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Siri nodded an acknowledgement and tied the blindfold securely around her eyes. She then reached out with the Force, touching the environment around her and gathering it around herself in a protective bubble, meant to protect her from other Force attacks. Only then did she re-activate her green lightsaber and angle it defensively.

"You may begin, Ena." she said.
 

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~Usually Ena might have some trepidation about attacking; but her Master had given her the go ahead, told her what to do. Ena stepped forward and slashed her lightsaber for Siri's right side horizontally.~
 

Malon

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Through the Force, Siri saw the blade coming. On instinct, she snapped her blade downwards, catching Ena's blade on her own. It was a good first attempt, she had to admit. Still, she said nothing. Her silence acted as permission for a second attack. Siri knew the Padawan would be unable to hurt her just yet. Her sword training had only just begun. However, this test wasn't about landing a hit. It was about looking for openings. Siri hoped her Padawan would catch on to that.

Freeing herself of the locked blades, Siri stepped back, holding her blade above her head now as she had earlier and putting her dominant foot forward. She was ready.
 

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~With her Master's lightsaber above her head, perhaps it would be harder to block an attack to the legs? The only way to find out was to try. Ena stepped forward to lessen the distance between them and lunged in again, this time slashing her weapon down diagonally on a 45 degree angle for the thigh of Siri's dominant leg.~
 
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