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Post by AtraVentus on Jun 29, 2011 8:08:14 GMT -5
Layia had been on her way back to the council chambers when the call had gone out for the padawan selection ceremony. Having no padawan of her own she was required to attend every ceremony, though she never picked one. She had done her duty in the archives and sent the confirmation to the masters. As far as she was concerned her part in that business was over. She was the Battlemaster not a council member, such things were not meant for her. With a wave of her hand Layia opened the entry before she arrived. She did not intend to waste any time as other masters were already arriving.
The ceremonial hall waa humble but large, able to be repurposed as needed. Currently it contained a raised demonstration platform and a handful of hopeful padawans. Some she recognised as new arrivals and initiates, though she didn't recognise the Kel'dor standing near the back. With a sigh of resignation Layia took her seat near the platform and waited for the rest to arrive.
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Post by kiankarr on Jun 29, 2011 8:28:41 GMT -5
Kian was worried, he was older than most of the initiates around him, and he felt that this would hamper his attempts to be chosen. He squared his shoulders and held his head a little higher, hoping he would stand out, not just in appearance, but in promise. He hoped that his training with the Baran Do sages would be apparent by the light blue ceremonial robes he wore. They were relatively plain, but to anyone with any experience with Kel Dorian culture, they would recognize them.
Kian suddenly felt a pair of eyes on him and he glanced to his left to see a human female looking at him. She wore the robes of a Jedi and she exuded a very strong presence in the force. Kian smiled beneath his mask at her, but then stopped, realizing that with his mask on she would not see the gesture. He bowed his head in respect towards her and cast his eyes out over the crowd starting to form. Kian took a deep breath and centered himself. No matter what happened today, he would not give up on his dream to become a Jedi.
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Post by AtraVentus on Jun 29, 2011 9:13:58 GMT -5
As the last of the masters arrived Layia was already becoming uncomfortable. She was a creature of action; sitting and waiting wasn't in her. Most of the initiates were young, Layia would hazard that most hadn't even come into maturity yet. The Kel Dor stood apart in such a crowd. His attire and physical presence spoke of prior training. I'll have to keep an eye on that one, she thought to herself as the presenter took to the floor.
"Welcome my masters of the Order. Today we will have our initiates demonstrate their worth. Judge not harshly but with open minds and I beseech you to see the potential therein." The man gestured to the initiates, signalling them to move into their pairings. "We have sorted them into pairings. They will duel here on this stage and demonstrate their abilities. Watch kindly and remember; Learning as a lifelong mission and you have the chance to help these initiates on the path before them!"
Layia scoffed in response. It was the usual speel and she could recite it word for word at this point. Resting her head against her hand she watched silently.
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Post by kiankarr on Jun 29, 2011 13:14:06 GMT -5
Kian centered himself as best he could and walked off to his training circle. Due to his age, and therefore strength and height advantage over several of the initiates, he had been paired with a 12 year old Wookie initiate who, despite his age, stood several inches taller than Kian. He bowed in respect to the young initiate before him. He had not learned much about the Wookie, due in large part to the language barrier, but he had seen him train the day before. Each initiate had been given some time to train the day before to prepare themselves for this small trial. For many of them, including Kian, it was the first time they had ever held a lightsaber, even though they were just training sabers. Kian had found the weapon, light and clumsy at first, but had quickly grown quite fond of it.
Kian plucked the training saber off his belt and turned to the Master of Ceremony. With an inclination of the head he indicated that they would be the first to spar. Kian turned backed to the Wookie initiate and ignited his blade. He took a wide stance, his training saber held in front of his right breast, his right hand high by the emitter and his left low at the base of the handle. This was ideal for his style of fighting. Kian was a defensive fighter, allowing his opponent to wear themselves out attacking. In this way he would wait for them to leave an opening he could exploit. This style of fighting made him the target of much scorn back on Dorin, where the other Baron Do trainees were aggressive fighters. However, he was one of the better fighters among them, and he credited his style to that fact.
The Wookie initiate ignited his blade, it was an orange blade, while Kian's was blue. With a roar that was both menacing and startling, the Wookie lunged forward with a slash at Kian's left side. Kian chose to drop down and roll under the attack, knowing that the Wookie's strength would making blocking difficult. Kian countered with a slash of his own aimed at the exposed leg of the Wookie, but his opponent's long arms and agility allowed him to come around quickly with a block. Kian dropped back into a defensive stance as his opponent turned around and came at him again. Once more the Wookie struck out and once again Kian ducked away. This continued for several minutes, but after a time Kian realized that he would need to meet the Wookie's attacks if he was to win. Seizing his opportunity, the young Wookie stabbed at Kian's torso, and slashing his blade sideways, Kian batted away the attack and kicked out at the Wookie's left knee. He had not meant the kick to be a particularly violent one, just hard enough to knock his opponent down. With a loud thud, the Wookie fell, Kian kicked again, this time aiming for the Wookie's blade arm and sent the training saber skidding across the floor. Kian placed the tip of his blade just below the Wookie's throat and bowed his head at his opponent. It wasn't until the fight was over that Kian realized how exhausted he was. And it was with a sigh of relief that he realized that he had in fact won. Kian now hoped that his tactics had impressed one of the Masters present. He hoped he had proved himself.
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Post by kiankarr on Jun 30, 2011 7:57:15 GMT -5
Kian meditated off to the side as the remaining initiates paired off and dueled their respective opponents. There were several good fights, but the majority ended in draws, as neither opponent had successfully overcome the other before their time ran out. After the last pairing had finished, the Master of Ceremony announced that they would move to the next phase of the trial.
Kian rose and walked over to his respective area of the training stage. In front of him hovered a small training remote. The spherical device would deliver blaster bolts that shocked if allowed to hit their target. This was the trial that Kian was most worried about. Sword play was one thing, but blocking a blaster bolt was different. Kian raised his training saber and ignited the blade. Closing his eyes he pulled force energy into him and everything in the room seemed to drown out. All he felt was the small amount of energy emitted from the droid hovering in front of him. A countdown began and when the alarm hit 0, the room was filled with the sound of blaster bolts being fired and deflected. The room was also filled with the yelps of initiates who were not fast enough to block the first few bolts. Kian allowed the force to move him and he blocked the first four bolts that flew at him. The training remote was programmed to change its difficulty setting as it's attacks failed. Suddenly the remote went from fire a few bolts ever few seconds to many. Kian was scrambling to block the bolts, after a time he faltered and one came through grazing his shoulder. He suppressed the cry of shock that wanted to escape his lips. Realizing that at this setting he would be hit again, he pulled the remove forward with a nudge of the force and stabbed out, hitting it with the tip of his saber. The training saber did not destroy the remote, but the shock it received sent it whirling away. Kian deactivated his saber and step back. Most initiates were in fact done, however a few still fought with their training remote. Kian payed them no mind and scanned the audience of Masters before him. He was certain that he would not be chosen. Though he had trained with the Baran Do, this would hurt him in the eyes of some of the Jedi. He was not a "blank slate" with which to teach the ways of the force, he had some understanding of it, no matter how rudimentary that was. His age of course was also a problem.
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Post by kiankarr on Jul 1, 2011 19:19:40 GMT -5
After several moments of rest, the Master of Ceremony indicated that they would be moving into their final test. This was not concerned with combat, as the other two had been, but rather was a show of force ability. Laid out before each initiate were six stones about a foot in width. They appeared to be smoothed over by the erosion of water.
"Each initiate is to stack the six stones before them with the force, and only the force." The Master of Ceremony began. Kian dropped his head in concentration and waiting. "Begin" said the instructor, using the force to enhance his voice. Kian closed his eyes and focused on raising the first stone and slowly it floated into the air. He placed it gently down on top of the largest of the stones. It took several minutes to float it into just the right place so that when Kian released the stone it stayed in place. Kian moved to the next stone and repeated the process. Just as he was settling it into place the sound of stones falling distracted him and he knocked over the small stack in front of him. Kian sighed with frustration, but calmed himself. Focusing on his task once again he continued the process. After several minutes Kian had five of the stone piled in front of him, one on top of the other. Kian raised the final stone and very carefully placed it on the top of the pile. When he opened his eyes there was a small tower in front of him. Kian smiled and let out his breath, not realizing he had held it. He had a thin layer of sweat covering him. He felt tired, more so then he did following the duel.
Kian rose and walked over to stand where other initiate were lining up and surveyed the Masters before him. Now was the moment of truth.
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Post by AtraVentus on Jul 2, 2011 9:53:36 GMT -5
((I'm on vaca at family's place, will post in a day or two))
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Post by kiankarr on Jul 3, 2011 0:34:12 GMT -5
((Ok, no problem. Have Fun!!!))
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Post by AtraVentus on Jul 5, 2011 7:43:39 GMT -5
Layia had spent most of the ceremony trying to maintain at least the appearance of attentiveness. None of the initiates ever seemed to catch her interest. She wasn't sure why, maybe she had a subconcious criteria for choosing but it wasn't known to her concious self. The saber duels were usually her favourite part, which wasn't hard to tell given her role at the temple. For this she no longer feigned her interest and leaned forward a little to watch. Her surprise came with the defeat of a young wookie initiate by an older Kel Dorian. Interesting, she thought as they moved on through the remaining excersizes.
When it came time for the Masters to select the initiates to become padawans Layia simply remained in her seat, curious as to whom would be selected. As the number of initiates slowly dwindled down she focused on the Kel Dor. He was older than the others and clearly had prior training. It seemed to her that the various Masters and Knights were avoiding him rather than so much as glancing at him. Once the last Jedi had made their choice and left the room she finally stood. Approaching the Kel Dorian with a calm grace she couldnt help but find herself looking up at him due to the difference in height.
"What is your name?"
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Post by kiankarr on Jul 5, 2011 7:53:48 GMT -5
Kian bowed his head in respect to the human female in front of him.
"Koh-toh-yah, I am Kian Karr of Kel Dor." Kian said, his voice muffled but audible over his breath mask, it was a somewhat formal greeting meant to show respect. Kian was happy to finally be able to talk with a Jedi Master, as others had come to speak with initiates he had been feeling a sense of dread as all seemed to be avoiding him. However, this woman had been sitting alone until all the Masters had made their choices. Kian had gotten the sense earlier that she was not interested in taking an apprentice from the way her eyes seemed to glaze over during the trials, but now here she was.
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Post by AtraVentus on Jul 5, 2011 20:44:44 GMT -5
Layia bowed in return, making sure she bowed deep enough to be respectful while keeping it high enough to indicate her rank and station was above his own. "Greetings Kian Karr. I am Master Layia D'Hara, Battlemaster of this Temple." As she spoke she studied him carefully. It was always difficult to read a Kel Dor, visually at least. Thankfully Jedi were not without other senses.
"Tell me about your training, call me curious." Layia had never felt a need for a padawan, but there was something about Kian. He piked an interest in her that no initiate had so far.
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Post by kiankarr on Jul 5, 2011 20:53:54 GMT -5
Kian felt something in the force as they spoke, as if he were being studied, prodded by unseen forces. Kian hoped that meant he was being considered for apprenticeship.
"When I was 8 years old I began my training with the Baran Do sages. I was trained by several masters there, but never received full rites as a sage of that order. I didn't want to commit, for I hoped that one day I would get the opportunity to come here. While with the Baran Do, I was introduced to the force. Much of my time was spent in meditation, using the force to sense the malevolent sandstorms that hound the capital city of Dor'shan. Also, I trained with staffs and vibroblades. The Baran Do prefer their apprentices to be well versed in combat." Kian paused, not sure how much to reveal about himself, then continued.
"I stayed with the Baran Do for the past twelve years because I didn't want to leave behind my family, however, with the passing of my mother, that no longer kept me there and I decided to come to the temple."
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Post by AtraVentus on Jul 5, 2011 22:31:40 GMT -5
Layia mulled his story about in her mind for what must have felt like ages. Finally she apun about, no emotion showing on her face. "I'd like to meet these sages one day. I like my apprentices to focus on combat as well." Without so much as another word she began to leave the hall before stopping to look at Kian once more. "That means you if you wish it. I'll not force it upon you."
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Post by kiankarr on Jul 6, 2011 7:26:41 GMT -5
Kian was stunned, but quickly recoverd.
"I would be honored Master D'Hara." Kian said accepting her as his master and bowing in respect. Falling in step behind her, he continued.
"The Baran Do tend to be secretive about their ways, but they will admit you to their temple if requested by one of your rank." Kian said. He struggled to contain his excitement. All his hopes, his dreams, were finally starting to come to fruition. He knew of course, that it would be a long, hard road ahead of him, but he was being given the chance to face it, and for that he was grateful.
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Post by AtraVentus on Jul 6, 2011 7:52:26 GMT -5
Layia glanced at her new padawan. She still wasn't sure what had made her decide to do it but it felt good to make someone so happy. She could practically see his emotions radiating from him. "Perhaps we'll visit one day." Leading him from the hall Layia's hand drifted absent mindedly to her saber hilt. She was always more comfortable with the cold alloy pressed against her palm.
"There was an emergency broadcast shortly before the ceremony. I'd like to get an update on that before petitioning the council for an assignment." Gesturing towards the doorsahead they slid apart with a slight hiss as she made her way to the comm centre.
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