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28-04-2023, 08:27 PM
(This post was last modified: 28-04-2023, 08:28 PM by Rhysand Sekker.)
Entry II: Shii-Cho and Sith Sarias
Again, the black-robed figure of Acolyte Rhysand appeared in the cyan-white hues of a holorecording. The Acolyte was standing in a nondescript room, hands clasped in the small of his back and head fractionally angled back. A self-satisfied grin pulled at his lips.
“Today was productive. My days are already settling into a steady rhythm that is comfortable enough, I suppose. While the day began with breakfast—or what can be called ‘breakfast’, anyway, I’m already growing tired of that synth food they feed us—it did not truly begin until I came into the Upper Courtyard and found Sith Zevasa doing some kind of training with Amleth and some of the other Acolytes. He was bouncing Amleth off some kind of purple wedge, possibly a Barrier of some kind. Anyhow, upon my arrival, I was told to tackle my cousin—so I tried, as did the rest, which was then critiqued by Sith Zevasa. Once I tried to tackle him, Sith Zevasa told me that ‘stubbornness is a poor substitute for skill’, which is valuable advice. The other advice he offered was detail-oriented and analytical: a trait I need to cultivate myself.
"The Zabrak Acolyte tried to counter him strength-for-strength, without giving thought to his further abilities, which is as can be expected for their kind. Amleth attacked him without seeing the big picture; though he came surprisingly close. And I… I overextended. A retreat would have served better, but stubbornness got the better of me. It’ll get me killed at some point, I’m sure of it. Persistence is a failure of its own: a valuable lesson to learn so early on. In particular, Sith Zevasa said: “In conflict, as in life, dominance is vital. Seek to control the flow of battle, rather than merely throwing yourself at it, and your opponent will walk themselves to defeat."
Rhys adjusted his stance, pushing his shoulders back as he tilted his head to the right, like a corvid finding a particularly fascinating piece of metal. The grin widened even more if possible.
“The next thing happened in the evening, at the Shii-Cho lesson held by Apprentice Daxze Trihza. She summoned all us Acolytes to the Training Room of the Estate and then held a… Boring lecture on the stances and guards of Shii-Cho. She favours that bitch Syllel too much. Far more than she should, even using her as an ‘example’ to the rest. By Mekhath, I see now why Kromus wants to be rid of the aliens so much. But, the Guards and Opening Stances.”
Rhysand stepped to the side and took a training foil offscreen, assuming a low stance. His feet were set shoulder-width apart, his left foot set forward, the right set backwards. The foil itself was held in both hands, pommel near the navel, pointed upwards and to the right at 45 degrees to protect the chest, arms, and head.
“Low Cross!” His blade slipped down to waist height and was pointed down at 30 degrees. The standard grip remained as the blade came to its new position, settled to defend the lower chest and legs.
“Mid Cross!” The blade moved up, settling at chest height, as the blade pivoted up to 30 degrees from the horizontal, though it remained slightly tipped downwards, to defend the chest and upper legs.
“High Cross!” Rhysand called out again, and the blade came up higher before it settled into a standard grip at head height at a 30-degree angle from the horizontal axis, still tipped downwards to defend the head and chest.
“Hasso! Reverse Hasso!” The blade came down, now pointed up vertically parallel to the body to defend the torso and head. Then, Rhysand raised his hands to shoulder height and horizontally slammed downward to rest parallel to the body, now to protect the chest and legs.
Again, Rhysand called out: “Stance one!” He stepped forwards, the pommel lowered to the navel, with the blade pointed at 45 degrees to the right as he faintly extended his arms. Then he twisted again: [i]“Stance Two!” His pommel flicked up to chest height, the blade pointed up at 45 degrees from the horizontal axis to defend the arms, chest, and head. Rhys then stepped back, deactivated the foil and returned it to where it came from. He turned back to the viewer, a confident grin never wavering. “Apprentice Trihza then ordered us to pair up and practice combinations, which I’m glad happened. I faced Acolyte Venesdaii Sutta’Qo, who is… Pitiful. At least in blade-combat.”
Again, Rhys took the blade, assuming a basic defensive Shii-Cho stance, dominant foot back. Then, he stepped forwards and unleashed a flurry of blows on an imaginary opponent. The blade danced in his hands, stabbing up then down and across the imaginary foes’ legs before it snapped up and passed across an invisible neck. “Shiak Zone 1! Sai Tok Zone 4! Mou Kai Zone 5 & 6! Sai Cha Zone 1!” He called out in the steady staccato of a drill sergeant, performing each attack in sequence and concert with the others, each following up the last like notes in a melody or steps in a dance. Eventually, after the decapitating strike, Rhysand lowered his blade.
“He went down in a single combination. I think that earned me the attention of Apprentice Trihza and Sith Sarias, the Sith Alchemist, who summoned me and Acolyte Vaera to the Archives and gave us a task: pick two creatures from the Bestiary, one for offence, one for defence. Present your choices, and explain your reasoning. At first, Vaera and I got along. We picked Vurai, a Nexu, for offence due to the Nexu’s position as the apex predator, infrared vision, and speed. For defence, we picked Agrias, an Akk Dog, due to its previous use as a shield, and that it has an armoured hide, small eyes, and an especially armoured head. Resembles a tank. Sith Sarias asked why we did not pick Anarchus, a fire-breathing toad, for offence, which I explained that due to its personality of wanton aggression, it was unsuitable. If an asset is a danger to both its allies as well as its foes, it can’t be relied upon to function. Then she asked why the Akk Dog, rather than a Yozusk. This was explained by Acolyte Vaera, who then tried to claim that she had done more of the work and thus deserved the reward. In the end, Sith Sarias gave us three days to come up with a question, any question, to ask her. A valuable reward for a half-hour’s work,” He shrugged. “She should know my ambitions don’t lie with her, I suppose.”
“The next day, I sparred with Apprentice Trihza. I suspect I earned her attention by bringing Venasdaii to his knees. Through it, I learned that she is an aggressive fighter, mostly suited to Form IV or Form Vb, Djem So, though she engaged me in Form VI, Niman, indicating she knows all except Form II. She claimed to have earned my ire through cheating—but there is no such thing as cheating in combat. There is only victory and defeat, no matter the cost or road to get there.”
With that, the holo faded from view, though the self-confident, arrogant smirk from Rhysand Sekker remained a moment longer.
Again, the black-robed figure of Acolyte Rhysand appeared in the cyan-white hues of a holorecording. The Acolyte was standing in a nondescript room, hands clasped in the small of his back and head fractionally angled back. A self-satisfied grin pulled at his lips.
“Today was productive. My days are already settling into a steady rhythm that is comfortable enough, I suppose. While the day began with breakfast—or what can be called ‘breakfast’, anyway, I’m already growing tired of that synth food they feed us—it did not truly begin until I came into the Upper Courtyard and found Sith Zevasa doing some kind of training with Amleth and some of the other Acolytes. He was bouncing Amleth off some kind of purple wedge, possibly a Barrier of some kind. Anyhow, upon my arrival, I was told to tackle my cousin—so I tried, as did the rest, which was then critiqued by Sith Zevasa. Once I tried to tackle him, Sith Zevasa told me that ‘stubbornness is a poor substitute for skill’, which is valuable advice. The other advice he offered was detail-oriented and analytical: a trait I need to cultivate myself.
"The Zabrak Acolyte tried to counter him strength-for-strength, without giving thought to his further abilities, which is as can be expected for their kind. Amleth attacked him without seeing the big picture; though he came surprisingly close. And I… I overextended. A retreat would have served better, but stubbornness got the better of me. It’ll get me killed at some point, I’m sure of it. Persistence is a failure of its own: a valuable lesson to learn so early on. In particular, Sith Zevasa said: “In conflict, as in life, dominance is vital. Seek to control the flow of battle, rather than merely throwing yourself at it, and your opponent will walk themselves to defeat."
Rhys adjusted his stance, pushing his shoulders back as he tilted his head to the right, like a corvid finding a particularly fascinating piece of metal. The grin widened even more if possible.
“The next thing happened in the evening, at the Shii-Cho lesson held by Apprentice Daxze Trihza. She summoned all us Acolytes to the Training Room of the Estate and then held a… Boring lecture on the stances and guards of Shii-Cho. She favours that bitch Syllel too much. Far more than she should, even using her as an ‘example’ to the rest. By Mekhath, I see now why Kromus wants to be rid of the aliens so much. But, the Guards and Opening Stances.”
Rhysand stepped to the side and took a training foil offscreen, assuming a low stance. His feet were set shoulder-width apart, his left foot set forward, the right set backwards. The foil itself was held in both hands, pommel near the navel, pointed upwards and to the right at 45 degrees to protect the chest, arms, and head.
“Low Cross!” His blade slipped down to waist height and was pointed down at 30 degrees. The standard grip remained as the blade came to its new position, settled to defend the lower chest and legs.
“Mid Cross!” The blade moved up, settling at chest height, as the blade pivoted up to 30 degrees from the horizontal, though it remained slightly tipped downwards, to defend the chest and upper legs.
“High Cross!” Rhysand called out again, and the blade came up higher before it settled into a standard grip at head height at a 30-degree angle from the horizontal axis, still tipped downwards to defend the head and chest.
“Hasso! Reverse Hasso!” The blade came down, now pointed up vertically parallel to the body to defend the torso and head. Then, Rhysand raised his hands to shoulder height and horizontally slammed downward to rest parallel to the body, now to protect the chest and legs.
Again, Rhysand called out: “Stance one!” He stepped forwards, the pommel lowered to the navel, with the blade pointed at 45 degrees to the right as he faintly extended his arms. Then he twisted again: [i]“Stance Two!” His pommel flicked up to chest height, the blade pointed up at 45 degrees from the horizontal axis to defend the arms, chest, and head. Rhys then stepped back, deactivated the foil and returned it to where it came from. He turned back to the viewer, a confident grin never wavering. “Apprentice Trihza then ordered us to pair up and practice combinations, which I’m glad happened. I faced Acolyte Venesdaii Sutta’Qo, who is… Pitiful. At least in blade-combat.”
Again, Rhys took the blade, assuming a basic defensive Shii-Cho stance, dominant foot back. Then, he stepped forwards and unleashed a flurry of blows on an imaginary opponent. The blade danced in his hands, stabbing up then down and across the imaginary foes’ legs before it snapped up and passed across an invisible neck. “Shiak Zone 1! Sai Tok Zone 4! Mou Kai Zone 5 & 6! Sai Cha Zone 1!” He called out in the steady staccato of a drill sergeant, performing each attack in sequence and concert with the others, each following up the last like notes in a melody or steps in a dance. Eventually, after the decapitating strike, Rhysand lowered his blade.
“He went down in a single combination. I think that earned me the attention of Apprentice Trihza and Sith Sarias, the Sith Alchemist, who summoned me and Acolyte Vaera to the Archives and gave us a task: pick two creatures from the Bestiary, one for offence, one for defence. Present your choices, and explain your reasoning. At first, Vaera and I got along. We picked Vurai, a Nexu, for offence due to the Nexu’s position as the apex predator, infrared vision, and speed. For defence, we picked Agrias, an Akk Dog, due to its previous use as a shield, and that it has an armoured hide, small eyes, and an especially armoured head. Resembles a tank. Sith Sarias asked why we did not pick Anarchus, a fire-breathing toad, for offence, which I explained that due to its personality of wanton aggression, it was unsuitable. If an asset is a danger to both its allies as well as its foes, it can’t be relied upon to function. Then she asked why the Akk Dog, rather than a Yozusk. This was explained by Acolyte Vaera, who then tried to claim that she had done more of the work and thus deserved the reward. In the end, Sith Sarias gave us three days to come up with a question, any question, to ask her. A valuable reward for a half-hour’s work,” He shrugged. “She should know my ambitions don’t lie with her, I suppose.”
“The next day, I sparred with Apprentice Trihza. I suspect I earned her attention by bringing Venasdaii to his knees. Through it, I learned that she is an aggressive fighter, mostly suited to Form IV or Form Vb, Djem So, though she engaged me in Form VI, Niman, indicating she knows all except Form II. She claimed to have earned my ire through cheating—but there is no such thing as cheating in combat. There is only victory and defeat, no matter the cost or road to get there.”
With that, the holo faded from view, though the self-confident, arrogant smirk from Rhysand Sekker remained a moment longer.
