Dio Blackmoon's Training

[Nichos Marr]

Nichos awakes from his meditative trance, happy to see Dio had completed his lightsaber construction with much ease. Nichos had never built a lightsaber in his training, though he had built one and he knew howhard it could be sometimes. Nichos turned around and reached behind the rock. He pulled out a remote droid, looking much like a little ball. Nichos flipped the switch on and watched the droid raise. It began to swivel around the room.

"Now Dio, you must block the blaster bolts with your lightsaber. I set it so the bolts will not actually harm you, just prick you."

The remote droid moved towards Dio, swiveling left to right, then back to left, spinning around. Nichos walked over to Dio.

"The odds will steadily increase once you master each level. Remember to feel the Force and anticipate the droid's moves. Let the Force guide you."

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio concentrated hard on the remote, trying to anticipate what it would do... perhaps this was not the best idea, he thought, as a blast ripped from the remote into his side. Try to anticipate the remote's moves, but not so hard that I would loose control of my motions through the Force. Dio readied himself again, letting the Force track the motions of the remote. He felt a tingling... he spun his saber to the right and back down, and caught a series of bolts as the were fired! He had sensed the the bolts were coming, and when they were released, he had known just when to act. Yes, it seemed very simple, and with practice (lots of it) he could be very good. Not letting his guard down, he parried several more series of remote assaults. It was becoming more difficult with the passage of each level, but he felt that the increasingly difficult exercises would make him a better fighter in general. He continued to parry the attacks with success, wondering when it would end...*

[Nichos Marr]

Nichos reached behind the rock, taking out another remote droid. It was good to see Dio, easily master this level. He clicked the remote droid on, and watched it rush to join the other droid.

Both remote droids, prepared themselves. The level of difficulty slowly increased. Nichos watched as Dio got to work on deflecting. The force was strong in him indeed.

[Dio Blackmoon]

*More remotes?! Good lord! Well, he would just have to concentrate harder. He tapped deeper into his seemingly very deep well of energy, and he could feel the presence of the two little droids flitting about, firing intermittently. He continued to block and parry, defending against the more frequent stun bolts. He felt each droid, on either side of him charging up, and in a split-second, he rolled away from their target area and momentarily watched as the confused remotes blasted a few small pockmarks in the ground. The turned to face him, seemingly angry? Maybe. He continued to roll and block and duck as blasts flew around him and off his saber. The exercise was getting very, very difficult. He was doing well for the time being, but there was no telling how much longer he could keep us his success...*

[Nichos Marr]

Nichos watched from the rock. Dio parried and blocked with much hidden skill. Nichos could see that the Jedi Padawan was tiring. In a split seconds, the remotes shut off and fell on the grass with a clank.

Nichos hopped off his rock and walked over to Dio. He was clapping and smiling at the same time.

"Now this next exercise may seem a little hard, but the worst thing you could do is doubt yourself. Never, ever doubt yourself."

Nichos placed a helmet on Dio's head with the blast shield down, disabling his vision. The Knight instructed Dio to begin to parry the bolts.

"Remember feel the remote out with the Force. Let it act as your eyes."

Nichos turned one remote droid on, putting the difficulty level at 3. He resumed his position on the rock.

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio was frightened for a moment* "But how am I..." *But he thought better of the whine. Better to trust in his abilities. He ignited his lightsaber and could sense the remotes as they started their routine...*

[Nichos Marr]

"Remember Dio, fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. Have confidence in yourself and believe you can do it." Nichos warned.

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Confidence. No fear, no anger. Just confidence in self and abilities. Dio focused on the Force imprints and could sense the movements of the small, floating balls. It was as if he could see the remotes, only more clearly. He sensed the droids firing. He easily deflected the bolts. It was difficult enough without the blast shield, but of course, he had to have confidence in himself. He was able to deflect the steady stream of stun bolts. They kept firing more rapidly with stronger bolts. Dio felt his side get zinged by a bolt, and it hurt like crazy. He tried to divert a bit of his energy, and was able to shut out the pain completely for a while. The steady rate of fire turned into a barrage. He had to focus completely, shutting out ANYTHING that could turn his focus. He was almost a machine now, twitching with the Force, blocking bolts left and right. It was straining him, truly. He hoped that the text was nearing its end.*

[Nichos Marr]

Nichos could see his padawan was tiring from this extensive training program. He quietly used the Force to switch the other remote droid on. Now Dio would have to deal with two remote droids, physically blinded, but not mentally.

"That's it Dio, just a little while longer and we're finished. Remember your strength flows from the Force. Believe in the Force and yourself."

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio could feel another remote suddenly join in the fray. He dug even deeper into his seemingly bottomless well of Force energy and concentrated even harder. He was a robot now, completely under the influence of the Force, not even thinking, just reacting. The bolts came in a barrage, and he deflected and dodged them all. He felt stronger, more in tune with the Force as the exercise drove on, and he began to defend with renewed strength. The remotes were at an absolutely furious pace now, firing constantly, but never able to hit Dio. Even then, he kept up his defense and did not let even one bolt enter his defensive radius. The exercise wore on without any sign of letting up. Was the end in sight?*

[Nichos Marr]

Just when Dio thought the remotes would never give up, they stopped in mid air, and slowly fell on the ground with a soft clank. Nichos got up off his rock.

"You did excellent Dio. Better then I've ever seen before in a long time. Your lightsaber skills are quite remarkable."

Nichos watched as Dio took off his blindfold.

"Now go wash up and come back when you're ready to resume training."

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio was, at the very least, extremely relieved. This test had taken his skills to the limits, but he had succeeded with flying colors, it seemed. He turned and bowed to his master.* "Thank you, master. I will return when I am ready." *He bowed again to his master and exited the training area, heading back to his quarters to wash up.*