Way Of The Blade [Dalethria]

[Adgertesse]

Having already been trained in the use of melee weapons, Tess wasn't that nervous about today's lesson until she picked up the metallic hilt and felt it's weight in her hand. Much more than she expected for something this small, but the Force was meant to assist in it's use, she knew from all the studying that she had been doing since her training with her master the day before. Dalethria had made it clear that the Force wasn't something to be taken lightly and the assassin from Edan II learned quickly how serious her master was about this subject.

Stepping away from the rack of assorted hilts, the lithe twenty-one year old ignited the blade and felt the power emanating from the handle, it's blade reputed to be able to cut through ship's hulls in the hands of a more powerful user. Something that she was beginning to believe even without seeing. Going through her normal kata with the blade, Tess began to get familiar with the new weapon. Her breath forming a soft fog in the morning gloom of Munto Codru as she moved, Tess enjoyed the pre-dawn hours for her workouts as she had been drilled since a child that starting out the day correctly was how an assassin kept their edge.

This weapon and her training were going to make her an even more lethal weapon, herself.

[Dalethria Kasajian]

"Good. Already here and practicing," commented the Sith Master as she entered the grounds adorned in new leathers that her wife had commissioned. Red and black, the material light as was the red and black duster she was wearing.

"Your katas are sloppy, but understandable. The weight of the hilt in your hand without the weight of the blade is a serious adjustment. One that can harm you more than your enemies if you're unable to master." She unclipped her own lightsaber but left it silent. "Why did you choose that particular blade?" she asked. There was a wide selection of weapons and it was important to have a bond with the weapon that you held in your grasp. It was a conduit between your actions and the power of the Force.

[Adgertesse]

Hearing her master's voice, Tess stopped her kata, turned and bowed to Dalethria, then felt a bit disappointed that she had been deemed sloppy with her workout. Knowing that she was in the presence of a master though, it was understandable. Glancing to the hilt in her hand, blue eyes then returned, "I think perhaps the Force guided me to it. It seemed more slender and lighter than the rest," she glanced back to the rack of available weapons. Keeping her replies short and to the point had also been part of the lessons the day before, another one that she learned quickly.

She also mentally logged the warning about the energy blade in her hand, knowing with some of her moves that the blade was even more lethal than a metal one. Certain moves during a fight couldn't be performed and she would have to keep that in mind as her past had become muscle memory. Time for a new style, she mused.

[Dalethria Kasajian]

Good with that answer, she continued. "I know you're proficient with regular weapons, but a lightsaber cannot be classified as such. It can cut through almost anything with a weightless blade and the only thing grounding you to it is the hilt and the Force. Since the weapon in your hand resonated as such, keep it with you at all times. Become familiar with it, knowing every detail. It will become an extension of your arm and hand."

She motioned for Tess to perform another kata. "Now, with that in mind, show me your kata."

[Adgertesse]

Understanding what Dalethria stated about the saber, Tess then soaked in the Force and used it to help guide her movements as she then went into her kata once more. The movements smooth and purposeful, the assassin did her best to also keep in mind where the blade was at all times, the thrumming sweeps and blocks as well as her fluidity showed her comfort with blades, though came close several times to nearly taking off an arm or cutting other areas. Warnings from the Force kept her from hurting herself, but it was definitely a work in progress.

[Dalethria Kasajian]

"Better." She ignited her weapon and circled her student. "Listen to the Force and come at me."

She wanted Tess' aggressiveness to ooze through on the offensive first, letting the disciple embrace the power and balance that the kata provided. The Master had followed the kata closely, eying the movements and footwork - noticing what had and hadn't worked for her.

Currently, Dalethria kept a one handed grip on her weapon, her stance loose as she didn't require anything fancy with her student ...

[Adgertesse]

The approval from her master went a long way in building her confidence, even though Tess knew she had a long way to go still. It was a start. The invitation then prompted the disciple to go full speed, trusting that her master's ability with the saber was good enough to keep herself from being harmed by the student. Using every trick in the book that she had learned, Tess kept the spar to the lightsaber alone and refrained from using the other parts of her body to attack with. Fluid strikes and sweeps, snapping her wrist from a feint to another strike, the assassin did her best to show how much her father and others in the Nakijat had taught her over the past fifteen plus years.