Azhure Darkstone, training begins

[Sage Hazzard]

Azhure Darkstone, his new Padawan was soon to arrive. Sage being an impatient man by nature, was happy to know that she had previous training by Warren Azalin. For reasons too deep to go into, the other Jedi Master was unable to continue training.

It was a dojo, like most others. The door was left open and in the rafters, just above the door, sat Sage Hazzard. He was waiting for his new Padawan. He'd then pounce on her and fight her in a heated spar. Since she didn't know his face well, she would treat him like anyone else. It was a good test, both sides learning something. Azhure, new skills and old skills honed. Sage, the progress his Padawan had already achieved.

[Azhure Darkstone]

::Azhure arrived on the exact point of time, as usual she lived by the clock. It had once been the only way to survive and win the game played. Her eyes averted around the area, taking note of the place until they caught the eye of her new master. Sage Hazzard. She would miss warren though she had not come to know him well or trust him fully. It took a while to completely trust. Even her past masters would have have struck her in the back for not succeeding, and were hard. This place had been an eye opener. She wondered if he'd ask questions. her last master had not so she had never offered any information.
Her face was passive and determined, a sharp spark in her as she went up to him and bowed, as was the way to honour your master::

I have come

[Sage Hazzard]

OOC - Azhure, look at my post. Sage is waiting to ambush you. He wants to test you. Pretend you don't know his face, or that he's masking his presence and appearance through the Force. :) That way he can see what you've learned. Since you'd fight him like an invader, not a Master testing you.

[Azhure Darkstone]

::Azhure arrived on the exact point of time, as usual she lived by the clock. It had once been the only way to survive and win the game played. Her eyes averted around the area, taking note of the place. Where was he? She could see no-one around much less feel anyone. Her old instincts kicked in as she felt something strange, like a possible attack. Her mind became focused and she stood still, so to hear every rustle, every noise made::

Anyone here?

OOC: sorry, didnt pick that up. I cant edit the last post so this will have to do.

[Sage Hazzard]

"Your fate."

The Jedi Master flipped off the rafters, contorting his body into multiple revolutions before hitting the ground. Facing the Padawan, he laughed maniacly, playing his role.

"You are to die on this day. I murdered your old Master..."

Sage unclipped his sabre, admiring it maliciously as he spoke seemingly in a trance.

"... Oh, didn't you know? I killed Warren Azalin. That's the real reason he isn't your Master anymore. Now, you're precious new Master, Sage Hazzard, has also perished. Pitty, death seems to follow you. Perhaps you should just lay down and die. It'd save many lives, I am certain."

Igniting his blue blade he swung fiercely at Azhure's head.


OOC - Yeah, it's because of the move. You'll be able to edit every post you make from here on out, though. :) Oh, and I just have to say, I am loving this new board.

[Azhure Darkstone]

::The man did not know what the death comment had made on her. Death did follow her, she had killed many tiems, heard voices everyday, endured nights with no sleep for the simple fact of not wanting the nightmares that came from her blood stained hand. All of a sudden everythgin snapped, her natural stubborness and will to survive came through. No one told her to die, especially someone who was threatening to kill her.
She got up, a light in her eyes sparked and she looked directly at him. Her weapon she was more comfotrable with was in her hand,. her blade. She would change to saber later if need be but she wasnt too good at it. Right now her mind was reeling about what he had said though, and she smiled humouressly, almost coldly, but she did not let hate through, she was tryign to eb a jedi and to follow jedi rules::

You killed my master, you killed the one I have never met yet before. I can understand if you are taught to kill without emotion but I have opened up and I do not like it. Don't think I'm going to give up so easily. Im not easy prey....and will not hunt this time.

::She went into a battle stance, her mind mapping in the area, what she could use to advantage, she was half emotionless now, even though anger was raging and being squashed to keep the jedi code. She suddenly flipped behind him, elbowing him in the back, and just missing his attack as she ducked and aimed her blade at his head::

[Sage Hazzard]

She had nightmares? Was it possible he had found someone with his curse? The curse to forever see the deaths of the men and women he murdered, through their own eyes.

Sage arched his back and swung his sabre to block the attack. His blade went over his head, and along his back. He blocked the swing without ever turning towards it, or seeing it. Spinning off the block, he deactivated his sabre.

"You are a fool! I have foreseen your death. Do not resist."

Raising his hand, Azhure started to feel a small pressure on her throat. An invisible grip through the Force. He was slowly choking the life out of her.

"Do not resist, Jedi Padawan. You will only prolong the suffering. Let me end your turmoil. Let me end your nightmares. Give in to the sirene peace that is nothingness."

Soon, she found her feet were dangling a small amount of milimeters off the floor. Her throat was still being compressed by an invisible grip.

OOC - I don't expect your character, being a Padawan, to have the skill to get out of this. It's a phycological battle as well as a physical.

[Azhure Darkstone]

::Her eyes flashed with the anger inside, the pain he had just caused her mind. Her mind did not try to remain peaceful anymore, she'd be dead in just a few minutes if not seconds. Her body screamed in agony for air, she had always been on the giving side, never the recieving side for a long time.

She struggled alright, no one would kill her willingly. If he was a crimsonsun assasin she definantly wouldnt give him the satisfaction of this victory being..too easy. Her arms grabbed his own, her fingers digging into his skin, her eyes alert with the strength that had kept her alive for so long.
Azhure did not ask for help, she was trained not to and would not, even if she could yell in the first place.
She felt the blackness come in, felt the body submit to death even if the mind did not...she would have said something to the man if she had the breath, or mind space to concentrate on words.
Blackness was closing in, but instead of staying alive for a few more seconds she decided to spit in his face, the sign of complete disgust and dishonouring in the crimsonsun guild...just in case he was. There was a light, a light, but red with welcome, oen she did not welcome. A light familiar to one she'd seen before being banished from it.. Azhure hoped this man would one day see faces of death as she did, hoped he found the consequences of his actions::

::Her body went limp, not much air in it anymore, not enough to hold the body up and inside her feet were walking, not very willingly::

OOC:OK, well i didnt win this one, you are higher in rank than I, so hurry and put her down. dont want her dead just yet :)

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage chuckled a malicious laugh. Although inside, he was dissapointed in the Padawan's sudden rise in emotion.

He let go of his Force Grip and she dropped to the floor.

"Come now. No time to sleep."

He reached out with the Force, striking her mind. It was like splash of water. Air returned to her body by force more than anything, the Jedi Master restoring her breath.

"You will never defeat me. Perhaps though, you will give me a bit of fun."

Sage raised his sabre, igniting it. He waited for her to do the same.

"Arm yourself, Jedi. It will be the last thing you ever do!"

OOC - Sage is testing you. Beware. :)

[Azhure Darkstone]

::Azhure got up, her body in a pain for a moment before she ignored it and put it to the back of her mind. She put her hand on her saber, red in colour. Her emotions came down and she banished a lot of the anger, to the back of her mind. It would be pretty crammed back there.
Her eyes glittered, she did not speak. Azhure normally did not speak in a battle and her face showed only a disconnected look, it did not show any of her emotion. Inside she let the force fill her, and she looked at her opponant, becomign disconnected to anythgin else but the opponant, letting her learnt instinct in a bit more. She did not let anger rule her like it just had, he had given her a chance and she would do the best she did. She would die with honour or live with honour, even if it was a very very slight streak::

::Her saber came to life and crackled in the air. She did not know hwo to use it porperly but she would recall her trainign on how to try and handle unused weapons before. use it like a more complicated sword....Her hand wieghed it and as she felt a perfect balance her mind came to life a little more, the anger was squashed slightly by an agressively calm curiosity. Why did he not kill her? He obviously wasnt a crimsonsun assasin.
She remembered the code, and did not attack. Jedi wait to be attacked unless in rare circumstances, but thsi should apply the rule to. Then warrior mode could take over. Her thought she said to herself and no one else::

What jedi am I? A bad one. I am going to have to prove myself here and try and stay alive or give up

[Sage Hazzard]

"You do not attack? Hmph. The best defense is a good offense. To attack me would be to defend yourself in advance. Why let an enemy strike you down when you can defend yourself by killing him first?"

The Jedi Master chortled. It was his actual Jedi outlook. But now it was the evil killer he portrayed.

"Sleep Jedi, perchance to dream."

He struck with a hard slice at her head. It was purposely slower than he was capable of. He'd start slow, working up steam. He'd see how she blocked this swing....

[Azhure Darkstone]

:;Azhure barely blocked it, but blocked it she did.
She have spent her entire life killing, attacking first. It was natural instinct. But a jedi code defends not attacks, and though she do not entirely agree with that she believed she must follow the rules, as her master did not live long enough to correct her. Rules was a way of life , at least it had been. She ha dbroken quite a few since then but the jedi code would be upheld for now.
She did not dwell on thoughts any longer as she did a swerve, aiming an attack at the shoulder with her saber, but at the last minute, kicking him, aiming near the neck, where the spine was connected. This felt more natural to attack, and her mind quickly adapted to the surroundings.
her kick was swift, hard and backed up with the power of the force, and hopefully would reach it's target. If it broke the spine, he'd be paralyzed or dead. She aimed it had enough to be paralyzed, if it got there::

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage swung his sabre up from his hip to block the swing from Azhure's blade. It sent the attacking sabre away from his shoulder, and up into the air. The kick was following.

Quicker than humanly possible, Sage clamped his raised arm down. It forced the kick to strike him in the pit of the arm. His body shook but using his honed Jedi skills, he softened the blow by swaying with the strike. Also, the sudden movement Sage made on her leg was enough to slow it's momentum.

Now, her leg was caught under his arm. Instead of easily slicing the appendage off, Sage struck out with his free arm. Striking her in the chest with an open palmed slam, he let go of the leg. The strike sent her flying off her feet and onto her back.

"What can you do Jedi? Obviously you are unable to fight. Perhaps you would be best suited for a librarian."

[Azhure Darkstone]

::Azhure groaned inwardly, but did nto show outwardly what her body felt. Instead she studied him. He was strong, what was his weaknesses? He was fast alert, faster than a normal human. He was a strong force user, obviously experienced. A big advantage.
Cursing inside for only a second, all she could afford.
Fight till the end, a warrior never ran::

::Getting up, her mind told her to watch out a bit more, though she did not need the reminder. Azhure ran at half pace, which would have been a pretty fast pace for a normal person, flipped just before she got to him and kicked him in the back, hard and straight for the muscle near the left side, hopefully to cause pain to the muscle and give him a disadvantage. If it worked it would even things a bit more.
Her saber clashed with his, and she looked into the eyes of the enemy, perhaps the eyes of death, but did not flinch.::

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage's laugh echoed throughout the dojo as the two lights shone on his face.

"You are weak! The Dark Side is strong! Will you still refuse to walk that path, as your Master's refused before you? Even if it means saving your life?"

Sage clashed down on her sabre again, and again, and again, and again. His power overwhelmed her as the sabre lowered more and more to the floor, her grip failing.

"Give in to the power of the Dark Side!!!"

[Azhure Darkstone]

::Azhure struggled under the attack, barely able to hold on, but willing her balance to do so. Become one with the darkness, she had felt the power of it once, the freedom and the hate, it was powerful indeed, but so too could be the light side.
Oh the hate, the teraing up of all that si good in your soul, becoming a vessel of hate. That is a thing she would rather die than become. Too much blood had been split already... She was now losing the fight with her balance, and her hand failed to keep it's resistance against the man's force::

I'd rather die.

:;This time she did not get angry as she had, sahe had already said her dishonours to him in a different form, already cursed him. She was angry yes, but not this time. It struck her that it was easy to become a vessel of hate, easy to give in. When had she ever taken the easy road? Some how she understood that it was easier to kepe killing than facing the voices and the truth. A lot of anger leaked inside her soul, but also did something else..::

I feel sorry for you

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage finally slashed once more apon the blade. It broke Azhure's grip, leaving her defenseless without a weapon. Holding his blade over his head, poised to slice her head in half, he spoke.

"Die or join me in the Dark Side. Those are your choices!"

There was no way out of this. Sage was making sure she couldn't retrieve her weapons. He had his eye on it and did have the ability to counter any Force telekinisis she used. Any attack by her would be blocked easily. It was a test of will. Would she be willing to sacrifice her life?

[Azhure Darkstone]

::Azhure looked at the weapon at the corner of her eye, and cursed inside but was looking at the man.
She did not want to die, no, death was long lost freind you did not want to meet too soon. As an assasin you were taught to accept it as you dealt it and in the end would be dealt it.

She was not afraid of dying, she was afraid of dying without doing anything to redeem past deeds that would take lifetimes to redeem. But death was here, too early, as was usual and to join the sith. If she joined the sith she may as well have never left Crimsonsun in the first place.
It dealt just as much death as did the other, the only difference being the force.

She did not want to live that lie again...no she did not fear death itself but what had not been done, somewhere she prayed for forgiveness from all those on the death toll, was forced to face all those faces, accusing voices. cries of anger, sadness, of terror and of agony...it forced her to reminisc. Some forgave but most stared coldly at her, unfogivingly. This was what she feared and she had to face it and accept the consequences. Closing her eyes for a second she accepted the hate, knowing somehow she would die now and this would be at least some of the price paid. Tears rolled down her eyes as she accepted the deaths she had caused and it weighed on her soul. I'm sorry, I'm sorry......I know you wont forgive me but I'm sorry. I've changed....

She could still feel their hate and anger and it still burnt like left in the desetrt on a hot day starved and accused. There would be no forgiveness, and she would never forget this feeling.
What had stopped her from reminiscing in a jedi trance broke and she felt the force, felt the light side almost warm the room and knew her decision, and the hard facts and decisions that came with it. Not that she would live long anyhow.

This time Azhure looked into his eyes and smiled expressionlessly, one that did not have anger nor did it have any fear::

Someone once said, once an assasin, always an assasin but he was wrong. An assasin can find their way home, now send me there

::She offered her neck, knowing there was no way out, if there was she'd have tried the stupidist of ways.
There was only one way to die now, with a warriors honour, a warriors death, without honour one was nothing::

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage swung down, deactivating his sabre before hitting. He stepped back, replacing the blade on his belt.

"You did well... Padawan," Sage said with a lopsided smile. "This was a test. Now you are officially under my teaching. Allow me to introduce myself."

Sage bowed.

"Sage Hazzard."

[Azhure Darkstone]

::Azhure looked at him, surprised. not really knowing how to feel. He'd just made a complete fool out of her, showing weakness. Saying something she hadnt wanted anyone to find out until later...forcing her to show emotions such as tears.....Annoyance and embarressment was one word for it. She did not reply for a long time until she gathered herself up again, making the annoyance away.
Looking up at 'Sage' again she did not smile, but her eyes had respect in it, though the test had not been honourable on her part, he had impressed her with his own trickery. Standing she took her sword and bowed her head in honour. I do not like being fooled but it happened. She had passed a test and that was enough and a few things had been learnt, time to contemplate and lick the wounds later.
Azhure nodded at sage Hazzard, he was a good actor and fighter, perhaps a warrior or scholar.::

I apologise for my weakness shown, it will not happen again

[Sage Hazzard]

"Weaknes you say? Weakness?" Sage pounded his chest, near his own heart. "Your unwavering will not to deter to the Dark path was not weak in the least. That is all that matters. If you have the strength to die for your beliefs."

Sage unclipped his own sabre and ignited it. Swinging it around throgh the air, he spoke.

"Do you favor the fighting--" Sage lunged forward, piercing an imaginary enemy's heart. "Or scholastic side of the Jedi, Padawan? Which branch would you have me favor in teaching? I leave that up to you."

[Azhure Darkstone]

::Azhure looked at him considering, scholar and leave behind skills or continue to be a warrior, there was really only one answer. She believed in action::

I was created a warrior of a kind, I shall continue being so

::She unclicked her saber from her belt, she was more shaky on using it, perfering steel. But that was only because she was not used to using a saber, even if the hilt of the saber had been made to perfect balance. Then she also smiled a bit at the thought in her head::

And maybe later on a bit of healing?
I do wish to learn the scholar area but first I feel I must make my fighting better.

[Sage Hazzard]

"A woman after my own heart."

Sage swung a few more parries and strikes.

"Tell me, where did you get your warrior mentality? Your upbringing?"

[Azhure Darkstone]

::This was the question she had been dreading, the one avioded but there was only one answer, the straight answer::

I was once an assasin. Crimson Sun children are brainwashed to no free thinking other than orders and stratigy, and fuelled darker emotions. There was a man who taught some of us a way of free thinking and perhaps hope and though most were not effected he did teach me. I forgot as a child but remembered. We were taught by the guild to be silent warriors, and he taught me how to be a warrior and about honour.

::Brainwashing, sometimes the old lessons came over the free mind now and then but it was not as strong as it once was.
The man that had taught her had ended up dead two years later.
He had taught her of hope and of friends, though she had quickly forgotten when matthias had 'died' it brought back memories, memories that made you think about certain things in your life. Her face was perfectly expressionless, waiting for a reaction, waiting for any kind of reaction. If he denied her training she would understand, here stood now a different person than the one who had once been emotionless and distant.
There was one reson she had not told many and that was the fear of the reactions, the fear of someone putting her past deeds to juedgement where her head was wanted. Which was a lot of planets. And fear generally made her harder and quite defiant. Strength to hide feelings::

I came here for one reason and do not apologise for my past, I came to be jedi and to find a respectful life.