A More Inelegant Weapon

Posted on Mon Jul 11th, 2022 @ 5:55am by Amare & Thane

3,234 words; about a 16 minute read

Chapter: Chapter VI: The Last Bastion
Location: Training Room, Red Raptor
Timeline: En route to Bastion, before "Ghost Ship"

Amare kept obsessively replaying the moment over and over in her head. She snapped from her meditative position with an overhead chop the instant she ignited her shoto. She remembered the struggle, the shock, the fear in the Cathar woman's eyes. Amare threw herself back away, remembering how her quarry mustered a push with the Force to break the saber lock.

Jedi...you die!

Amare recalled lashing out with Sith lightning, middling strokes of energy that they were, and pressed the attack. She whirled, cross-slashed, and delighted in the memory of the swift kick to the thigh that not even the trained Jedi Knight was fast enough to evade. Amare's face was laid bare with a wide toothy grin as she reenacted the duel, and then...she stopped. The grin evaporated and her shoulders slumped. Not because she recalled the fight having been rudely interrupted, but in self-examination of what she had done.

She disabled her shoto and stood in silence, the ambient soft humming noise of the Red Raptor's engines the only response to her sudden pause. She began to see how dreadfully sloppy and aggressive she was. Wild, fury driven Shii-Cho swings, a one-woman hurricane fueled by fear of the Jedi Order having found where she was hiding when trying to escape the Temple. She had no poise, no solid technique other than what little Thane and the holocrons had spared her. She had largely been improvising, just as she had on Korriban when that scum Nala humiliated her in front of everyone. The very thought of another dark side Nautolan out there being better than her in a fight drove far more revulsion in her than Rusasha Lahan. At least the Cathar was reasonable, but that Nautolan...it felt like the Force was mocking Amare. Nala was like a mirror image she couldn't break, no matter how many times she imagined punching the glass.

In a fit of rage boiling like magma from the bowels of Mustafar, Amare felt a shift in the Force behind her, and whirled around threw her inactive shoto at whomever it was that dared to break her solitude. When she saw who it was, she immediately regretted her childish action.

Although a look of mild surprise made it plain that Thane had not anticipated the hurled lightsaber, he had caught it deftly, and quite clearly reflexively, just short of his chest.

"An inelegant use of an elegant weapon," he stated, a dark eyebrow arched as he looked between Amare and the inactive shoto. He seemed to be judging the weight of the smooth hilt, now moving it between both of his hands as he paced closer to his apprentice, stopping just to her side. With a sudden snap-hiss, its stunted chartreuse leaping forward, its tip just an inch away from Amare's face.

The Human then swung the blade tightly away from Amare, performing a few very focused sequences that she recognised as Shii-Cho. Although a little smile had crept onto his face as he performed them, it quickly faded and he withdrew the blade back into its hilt, which he then offered back to the Nautolan.

"You're frustrated," he stated, the obvious observation clearly not meant to be a meaningful insight. "And it's a frustration I know well, and I empathise. You've been exposed to more lightsaber conflict in the past months that I had ever anticipated or intended, despite your relatively recent introduction to the weapon. For whatever consolation it might be; you vastly outperform any Jedi apprentice with a similar length of tutorship in our ways."

"It's not enough," Amare huffed as she raised an open palm and made the shoto leap from Thane's hand to her own. "I keep playing Korriban in my head over and over. I was a dull knife against a sharp axe when I fought her, when I fought Nala. She humiliated me, came close to destroying me. And then later on Mustafar...this weapon. This damn lightsaber...shoto...whatever. I can't explain it, but it continues to somehow fight me. When I dueled you by the river of fire, it escaped my grip by its own power, like it wanted you to kill me. When I train with it, I am distracted with feelings of anguish and regret from its previous owner, her presence still strong in it, buried deep, even though she's dead. It's mine, and yet it isn't. I try to control it with my anger, but it takes energy and focus that I could be using to improve myself. Not even the holocrons will give me the answers I seek. What must I do to rise above this? I'll do whatever and kill whomever it takes, master. Just please teach me. Not Sidious. Not Bane. Not some other long dead Sith who failed in their ambitions. You. The living, reigning Sith Lord with the destiny of the Force in his hands."

Thane was silent for a moment, his inquisitive eyes examining his apprentice and her lightsaber hilt with obvious curiosity. He began pace around her slowly, before taking a position two arms' lengths away from the Nautolan.

"My knowledge of lightsaber crystals is limited to tutelage at the temple on Coruscant and rudimentary knowledge gleaned from tomes and databases," he said, almost casually. "They are attuned to the Force in various and mysterious ways; they can be both connected to locations and people, as well as alignments, deeds and personalities. The first Dark Jedi that turned upon their masters found their weapons were not as swift or precise as they had been, and they turned to forges to craft synthetic ones. There are also more morbid stories of these renegade apprentices using the Force itself to twist and mould these jewels." The former Jedi Guardian pulled his lightsaber hilt from his belt. "You would do well to seek out knowledge on this subject. Perhaps your crystal resents the means it came into your possession."

The violet blade of Thane's lightsaber snapped to life, its tip stretching just shy of Amare's face, casting an ethereal glow across her aquatic features, and making her skin appears as if it were, in fact, an amethyst hue. "Your amber crystal - the one you first showed to me, all of those months ago on this ship - you still have it?"

If Thane was upset about mentioning the crystal, which had been temporarily housed in his own original lightsaber hilt, but was cleaved in two by the cultist Amare had been cursing just moments before, he made no obvious sign of it, although she knew the weapon had held some sentimental value for the young Sith.

Amare kept her eyes fixated on the purple column of death, disciplined enough not to display her fear, but she was considerably nervous on what her master's next move might be. She felt no heat from the blade being so perilously close to her flesh, and yet the glistening blue skin of her face kept warm from her workout, and the temperature wasn't lowering. The energy blade's intense, almost blinding light had the effect of revealing to Thane the hidden secret within her eyes common to her species; the pupil-like spots wrapped within a colourless iris dwelling deep behind the inner eyelids. It almost made her eyes seem less alien and empty, and more... Human. Thane could then see those pupils shift from his lightsaber to his own glaring eyes as his apprentice's left hand rose up and opened to reveal the Dantooine amber crystal he spoke of, still as intact as the day the two future Sith Lords first met.

Amare said nothing as she held the crystal in offering to Thane. She tried to put on a brave face, but she couldn't adequately subdue the slight trembling in her hand. She couldn't tell whether she was talking to the firm and understanding Thane that once tenderly kissed her, or the emotional volcano that nearly broke her to literal pieces on Yavin-4.

Thane let his lightsaber slip to the side, pointed down and away in a manner that risked no-one, as his free hand picked the crystal from Amare's grip. As he took hold of it, the jewel's irregularities began to glow with an inner, mystical yellow light - like the one first seen when Thane had initially sighted the heirloom. There was a current within the Force that became more prominent as the crystal was held in her master's gentle grip. To Amare, the 'aura' of this presence was familiar, and almost comforting, like a sense of homeliness was held within the crystal.

Allaying Amare's fears, the Human smiled very lightly at the glow that grew within the stone. "The crystal is very attuned to you," he said, a tone edging close to reassurance in his voice, and he offered it back to her. "It is a rare thing to find something a lightsaber so... obedient," Thane continued, the grip on his own blade tightening, his hand twisting the hilt just lightly. "Especially as its owner continues to develop, thrive and... well, change so much. You are no longer the young girl that first stowed away on the Raptor all that time ago. Not completely."

His apprentice, pensive in her thoughts as she returned the crystal back into her grasp, scrutinized her master as if desperately trying to decipher his dark intentions.

Thane turned and stepped away from his apprentice, the low hum of his weapon filling the gaps between spoken words. The lighting in the improvised dojo was dimmed, meaning much of the light came from Thane's old Jedi weapon, even as he put space between him and Amare.

"There are stories of techniques to bring a lightsaber crystal to heel, to bend it permanently to your dark will and design," he said, still facing away from Amare. "Doing so changes the energy of the crystal, reforming it. The Jedi and Sith of old called it 'bleeding' - a corruption, to some - a perversion of the natural state of the artefact. It requires great darkness, will and desire to do such a thing, but there would be no mistaking the loyalties of such a weapon it powered." Finally, he turned back. "But, your golden crystal requires no such techniques, I believe, so intrinsically bonded to you, your nature and power, as it is."

It was in that moment that Amare heard an echo deep in her mind, a silky smooth male's voice from a time long past... "The crystal has chosen you to use it, but it calls to another, someone who is or shall be close to you. Trust in the Force, my child. If I am correct, it will guide you to pass this on to its rightful bearer when the time comes. When that happens, you will know what to do..." She could almost see a face behind that voice in her mind's eye, a fair-skinned Human-looking male not much unlike Thane, but with what she thought were eyes of beaming emerald green and a coif of wavy rose-coloured hair. She pocketed the crystal and the blurred image instantly faded as if it had never been there, and she lost almost all recollection of having even seen it, but the voice still hung firmly in her synapses. The Nautolan then very subtly narrowed her eyes at Thane, returning her full attention to him.

With his eyes examining both Amare and her pilfered Rift Jedi weapon, Thane still kept his own weapon pointed downwards, a lazy gesture that seemed unlike the Caanan. "But, I did not come here to instruct you on crystal lore. I believe the time is coming where you must construct your own lightsaber, to be an expression of your own character and will, and to reflect the stances and styles that you best express, but you could change the crystal now. My hilt, for instance, is shorter, narrowed at the centre, and constructed of precious metals. Perfectly balanced for a Makashi style, and the perfect display of my arrogance pretences, or so some of my erstwhile colleagues at the Temple said." The light smile returned to Thane's pale face once more. "Today, we will start to answer some of those frustrations. We will seek to find which stances and styles you do, indeed, best express."

Thane now brought his blade up in a ready position, vertically in front of him, in what Amare already understood to be the opening Makashi 'salute', but he did not let it drop aside. Instead, he looked directly into her eyes, willing her forwards.

"You know the basics of Shii-Cho, a primitive form that echoes the art of ancient metal swordfighting. Slow, ponderous... predictable. In an age of Jedi and cultists, we must rely on cunning and subterfuge to confuse and overwhelm our foes, who greatly outnumber us." Thane began pacing slowly in a circle towards Amare, his footwork deliberate and careful, eye contact unbroken. "You are not strong, Amare, but you could be fast, and the Force is your ally. Defence. Resilience. Speed. These will be your paths to victory."

He then suddenly shifted his blade from his 'salute' pose and brought it aloft behind his head, its blade pointed generally towards Amare, and his offhand palm extended in her direction - a Form largely unfamiliar to Amare, having been exhibited by neither Thane nor Bomoor during her time with them.

"Strike me."

It was a level of bravado that Amare loathed, and so she lunged at him without hesitation, like an angry dog let off the leash. She activated her shoto mid-swing hoping to throw him off guard. She feinted her chest level strike for a stroke to his knees imagining him taking a turn to suffer in the bacta tank. Her cleverness, however, failed to bear fruit as her below the belt assault was easily "chambered"; an attacking swing that Thane artfully morphed into a defensive parry the instant he read his apprentice's meager attempt to trick him early on.

As Amare heavily invested her stamina to press her aggressive offence in an effort to quickly humiliate her master, it only took her five seconds to realize she was at a complete disadvantage, and, more infuriatingly, was being toyed with as Thane had virtually no trouble at all managing Amare's rough Form I katas. Amare was getting her first taste of a former Jedi operating at full lightsaber defense.

Each strike levelled by the Nautolan at Thane was met by his violet blade, its tight arcs staying close to his body and very fluid in motion. Only a few of the rapid blows that Amare sought to inflict forced the Sith Lord to shift his posture or his feet, as he brought his lightsaber round to protect his back from what would have been a lethal blow from a surprisingly deft swipe from his apprentice.

This continued for a minute longer, with Thane working through his own sequences to parry Amare's, a perfect display of both forms being exposed in a working tutorial, although the younger woman's attacks carried a greater level of desperation and frustration to them, which seemed to increase with time. This, in turn, increased the speed of the assault, and Thane had to notably react to keep pace as well, to a point where he finally began taking broader swipes back towards Amare, before finally spinning himself around her, gripping the wrist of the hand that held her weapon, and twisting it behind her back, his own blade pointed down towards her neck.

Within just a second, he released her and deactivated his weapon, taking a few rapid steps back from her, presumably conscious of her quick temper.

"That was the third form," he explained, his voice only betraying a slight degree of tension from the exercise. "Soresu. A defensive form, prioritising tight arcs and the art of parrying. The user conserves energy, keeps their opponent close, and focuses on resilience. No matter the size of the enemy, or their number, Soresu is resilient, and can help you outlast your foes until you are ready to seize the advantage." Thane watched Amare, who stalked the other side of the makeshift dojo, the yellow-green of her blade casting long, shuddering shadows around the room. "If you can stay your rage, Soresu could be a constant ally. Adaptable, suited to your size and your gifts."

Thane examined the room quickly, perhaps making a note of any damage that may have been caused by their small conflict, before speaking again. "My own Jedi Master typically used no other form. 'Excellence is breaking the enemy's resolve without truly fighting', or some-such." Even though his voice was soft as he spoke of the Selkath that had trained him, there was no wistful smile or affection in the tone. "He was fond of his Sotah-isms - but I think there is merit to you mastering this technique, if you would learn it from me."

Amare was nearly out of breath after the first exchange with her master, but the mention of Sotah's name gave her pause and a moment to reconsider her entire approach.

"Sotah...it makes sense," she muttered with eyes leveled to Thane's feet and gazed up at him with an epiphany. The idea of wearing down her enemies was rather amusing to her. The thought of frustrating her foes with effortless parries while she controlled the fight on her terms raised her spirit with such joyous enthusiasm. Suddenly, Shii-Cho felt like such pitiful child's play. "Here I was," she added with a bolstered grin, "just like on Mustafar, raging and pressing back and forth like a doddering youngling leaving myself open to fatal counters who knows how many times over. No...I will not let Nala or anyone humiliate me like that again. Not if I can help it. Teach me, master. This Soresu you speak of, I need the focus it gives you. I want to be unbreakable and unstoppable!"

Faintly returning Amare's smile, Thane nodded and stepped back a little further. "Do not forget the failures and lessons of Shii-Cho, and you are already on your path to being unstoppable." He activated his lightsaber once more and again adopted the 'saluting' posture he had displayed when first exhibiting Soresu to Amare. "As with all things, success will come with practice and putting your skills to the test. Follow my lead now and, one day, even I will fail to land a blow against you, Lady Amare."

With breath back in her lungs, the apprentice's shoto was raised and readied with dogged determination. "A day worth fighting for! Siyaah!" she lunged at Thane with an energetic kiyap. She eagerly crossed blades with the reigning Lord of the Sith as he quickly placed her on the defensive and kept her there without fail or compromise, giving swift and firm instructions coupled with admonishments and subtle praise where and when she failed and succeeded respectively (much more the former than latter). Pushed to utter exhaustion, Amare knew when it was over, she had taken one small yet satisfying step further down the long road towards lightsaber mastery.

END

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Amare
▬ Lightsaber: Form III (Soresu) Increased

Thane
▬ Lightsaber: Form III (Soresu) Increased

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