Fate of the Force: The Dark Resurgence: Chapter 8.

Malik, Fate and Sora walked in silence as they approached one of the many Training rooms of the great Jedi Temple, the trio could feel one another’s excitement, anxiety and of course, their worry for one another. In the last few months that Malik, Soara and Fate had gotten to know each other, they had forged a strong bond of friendship.  They teased one another, trained together and shared many things with each other. They were more than friends, they were brothers.

As they neared the Training room where the Tournament was being held, Sora stuck out his hands to his sides and forced Malik and Fate to stop. The Nautolan boy spoke softly. “Before we go in, I want to wish you both the best of luck.” Malik and Fate exchanged a quick, confused glance. “In the super likely event that we face one another, I want you both to try your best, don’t hold back and I promise I’ll do the same.” Sora looked at both of his friends; his gaze was a meaningful one. “Good luck to you two.”

Malik smiled confidently and replied. “There’s no need for luck, Sora, only skill.” Fate and Sora exchanged a look and then, the three young boys burst out in laughter. Together, the three friends entered the Training room and quickly lined up with the other 32 Jedi Apprentices. The young Padawan hopefuls formed two single file lines of 16. There were whispers of uncertainty, of excitement and of fear amongst the young students. Unlike Fate, who had the advantage of already being apprenticed to a jedi Master, they were eager to show off their skills and catch the eye of several Jedi Masters.

Suddenly, the fierce voice of the Jedi Battlemaster Kilai Visir called out. “Apprentices.” She began, instantly, the whispers of discontent and anticipation died down as all the young students directed their attention to the legendary Jedi Master. “As you are all no doubt aware, today we will begin the Jedi Apprentice lightsaber tournament. Today, we will test the skills you have honed since childhood.” The tall Togruta woman’s gazed swept the entire room as she paused briefly. “Today, we will see how you’ve grown as a Jedi, both in skill, in heart and through the Force  And with any chance, today, you may leave this room not as a young hopeful or student, but as a Padawan to a jedi Master.” Sora and Malik exchanged an excited glance with one another. Fate could only smile at his two friends.

“Follow me to the Courtyard; we will begin the tournament there.”

The students did as the Battlemaster instructed. They passed through the large doors to the Courtyard, the students murmured in excitement, other’s, like Fate, looked on in silent awe. The Courtyard of the Great Temple  was lush with plant life and the power of the Force.

But that wasn’t what had the students murmuring. Ahead, was a rectangular stone mat that was 36 meters wide. In each corner laid a pillar with an unlit lantern. Several Jedi Masters were waiting, sitting or standing, talking with one another. Amongst them were Jedi High Councilors, Jedi Instructors, and even Jedi Knights.

Kilai Visir instructed the students to sit around the form of the rectangular stone. They followed her orders quickly and silently awaited her next instructions. Kilai Visir gazed at all of the students and after a long moment. She spoke.”Though all of you are no doubt familiar with tournaments, this one will be quite different. Unlike other tournaments, there will only be one round in this tournament. You will only fight one opponent.” The students murmured in discontent. “I am aware that this is unorthodox, however in real combat, there will be no second round, you either succeed or you fail, there is no in-between. The reason for this is simple, you’re opponent will not give you a chance to get up and dust your tunic off; they will kill you if given the chance. The rules of each match are as follows. To win, you must land three blows on your opponent. Rule two, for the point to count the Mark of Contact cannot land on the same place twice and lastly, though you may be opponents here, you are all also fellow Jedi. Succeed, but remember your control.”

“Yes, Master Kilai Visir!” The students said in unison.

“Good.”The revered combat virtuoso made a 360 degree turn and looked at each student; her gaze fell upon them one by one, until it finally rested on Malik Nar. “Malik Nar to the mat.”

Malik hopped to his feet enthusiastically and stood on the stone mat, the young boy felt his heart pound within his chest as he waited for the Battlemaster to choose an opponent for him. He found Fate and Sora gazing up at him. Fate nodded slowly, silently wishing him luck while Sora mouthed something all too familiar.

May the Force be with you.

“Axel Sato.” Kilai called out. Malik watched the older Miralian boy jump to his feet and join the mat gracefully. Malik eyed him; The Miralian’s hair was swept to his left side. His dark violet bangs covered his eye. He wore the typical Miralian tattoos of his people. Malik had heard much of him; Axel Sato was considered an incredibly advanced duelist by his peers. His speed and strength were known throughout the entire Academy. This would not be an easy fight.

A young Togruta came out from behind the fearsome Battlemaster, the Togruta wore loose fitting robes that covered his lower area, but left the Initiate’s abdomen and chest open for all too see. The young initiate handed Axel a lightsaber and then turned to face Malik, the young initiate looked incredibly flirtatious, the multi-colored alien handed Malik a training lightsaber, its touch lingered on Malik’s hand, the young Togruta, who couldn’t be more than 7 standard years old, then proceeded to wink at the older boy. The young Togruta returned to his place at the side of Kilai Visir.

The legendary Blademaster stood on the sidelines of the rectangular stone and said. “Begin!”

Malik ignited his lightsaber, a thin orange blade shot out of the hilt’s core almost immediately. Malik assumed the stance of Form V’s Djem So variant. He watched Axel Sato ignite his own training blade and he too assumed the offensive stance of Form V.

Djem So against Djem So, this oughta be interesting.

Malik and Axel circled one another, eyeing each other for any weakness, while simultaneously trying to gauge their strengths. But both knew that simply watching each other would yield no information, so they advanced, their lightsaber held in the basic Falling Avalanche maneuver, their blades met for half a second, yet that was still enough time to send shudders through both boys. In the half a second that their blades met, both boys were already transitioning their strikes into counters, their blades clashed once again, locking and sending sparks flying through the air as they did so. Axel slowly angled his blade downwards so that the entire length of the blade would protrude towards the ground, then, the Miralian slashed upwards, breaking the deadlock and forcing Malik to spin around awkwardly in a 360-degree angle so that his exposed side wouldn’t be open to attack.

The two Djem So adepts faced each other once again. Perspiration trickled down their faces. They had been too equal in their use of Djem So. This is going to be such a pain. Malik thought to himself.

Suddenly, Axel lunged at Malik in the blink of an eye, the Miralian struck out with a series of mighty swings. His strength honed by several years of physical training and augmented by the power of the Force. The boy was relentless in his assault, but he was controlled and calm. The makings of a true Djem So practitioner.

Despite his best efforts, Malik couldn’t muster up a counter-attack, every time he thought he saw an opening, Axel would simply parry Malik’s blade effortlessly and then continue to press on with his perfect offense. Malik had never faced such a masterful user of the lightsaber. As he pressed his attack Axel unleashed a barrage of strikes so fast that they seemed to generate a web of pure energy that trailed in the air as he smashed his blade into Malik’s own with a power that sent shudders down Malik’s spine.

Calling on the Force, Axel enhanced his strength even further and unleashed a monstrous series of overhead cuts that forced Malik’s arms to buckle from the incredible strength. Malik desperately tried to use the Force to soothe his aching muscles and rejuvenate himself, but the concentration on soothing his aching body cost him greatly.

With his focus on rejuvenation, his force augmentation waned.

Axel seized the opportunity with simple crosscut that was aimed at the Malik’s chest, the strike should have ended things there, but Malik batted the blade away, it took all of his strength just to do so. If Axel was at all surprised by the counter, he hid it well. Riding on the new found momentum, Malik advanced on Axel with a barrage of slashes and cuts, he attacked from every possible angle, he needed to end this now!

Then the Miralian did something completely strange, he smiled.

Before Malik could react, Axel charged and swung his blade, the blade connected with Malik’s own, then Axel spun a 360-degree motion and slashed at Malik’s feet, Malik tried to bring his blade in to intercept the lightsaber, but Axel spun again.

Malik’s eyes widened. A trap! Malik desperately tried to angle his blade to his left, but it was too late. Axel’s aim was true. In less than second, Malik felt a burning sensation in his left arm. Malik gave a sharp hiss as the pain became more and more intense. Then, just as Kilai Visir began to speak, Axel swung his blade over his head in a two handed grip and struck Malik on his right cheek. The blow forced the young initiate to twist his body and reel over onto the cold, hard pavement.

Kilai Visir raised one of her brows and said. “Two points, it seems, to young Axel Sato.”

Malik panted, he felt his strength draining. Darkness threatened to overtake him; he had been ruthlessly out-witted and out-dueled. The only logical thing to do was to admit defeat and black out.

“Healers.” Malik heard the Battlemaster call. Drawing on his last reserves of Force power, Malik rose to his feet, still breathing heavily.

“That won’t be necessary, Master.” He said as he brought his hand up to his face and wiped away the blood from his nose. The Battlemaster looked at him disbelievingly, almost shocked that he wanted to continue fighting. Axel Sato, on the other hand, grimaced, for the first time since they started fighting Malik saw something boiling inside of the Miralian, annoyance.

As the Battlemaster motioned for the Jedi Healers to step back, Malik assumed an offensive stance, his blade held high above his head at an angle.  Axel grimaced and he too assumed an offensive stance. The two Djem So prodigies awaited the call of the Battlemaster for a full minute, their palms became sweaty, their muscles ached from holding the position for so long. And then, the call came.

“Begin!”

Axel fell into a full sprint, Invisible save for the glow of his lightsaber. The Miralian came at Malik swinging from every conceivable angle. Malik answered as best as he could, parrying and countering again and again and again…

He wants to ends this fast. Malik concluded. Axel was attacking just as ferociously as before, yet, something in his style changed, while his onslaught was still relentless, his attack patterns were less than precise and more frantic.

Axel swung his blade low, thinking quickly Malik vaulted into the air, flipping over Axel’s head and landing behind him. Without skipping a beat, Malik twisted his body at an angle and lashed out with a half-spinning crosscut that struck the Prodigious student across the back. Axel winced at the burning sensation and cursed. Not wanting to allow his opponent a single moment of reprieve Malik finished the twirl and swung his blade in a sweeping arc. The blow struck Axel directly above his waist, ripping away the fabric and forcing the Miralian to emit a sharp hiss of pain. Malik brought his blade up in a two handed grip and struck downwards. This is it!

His lightsaber met only air.

Axel had rolled out of the way of his attack and now stood in a guarded stance. The boy’s chest heaved with each breath he took. “Nice move.” The green skinned boy said and then lunged at Malik. Malik was on his last fuel reserves, his use of the Force was becoming more and more taxing, Malik knew he that if he were to meet Axel’s charge he would sure fail.

Eh, what’s one more bruise? he charged.

The two Djem So wonders were mirror images of themselves as they charged. They held their blades high in the exact way they started this bout: The Falling Avalanche.

Sprinting at full speed, the two students were a mere 3 feet away from one another when Malik did the unexpected. He struck down prematurely, he now held his hilt in a two handed grip so that the orange light protruded downwards to his right side. Axel ignored it and at the last foot, he struck.

Gotcha!

Malik parted his legs in what was commonly referred to as the ‘Bantha stance.’ which mimicked the position of a seated Bantha rider. Then, Malik stepped to his left and leaned his entire body to the left, evading the Falling Avalanche maneuver a split-second before it met air. Before Axel could even react, Malik dragged his right foot across a small, foot long invisible line and met his left foot with an audible clap. He then swung his blade from his right side and over his head. Malik side stepped with his right leg, moving back into his original position and then struck Axel’s cheek with a powerful swing. The blow sent the boy spiraling onto his hands and knees, and on to the graveled floor.

“The match is decided.” Malik said through ragged breaths.

“Malik Nar wins in a close Three to Two!” Kilai Visir announced merrily.

Cheers and applause from Masters and Students alike erupted. Though it was not due to his victory, Malik knew as much. No, it had been an excellent fight on behalf of both Malik and Axel. They had both impressed everyone in the Courtyard and that was why they applauded and cheered. Even the usually impassive Battlemaster had been impressed, that in of itself was more than impressive.

Malik smiled and stuck his fist out into the sky above. He glanced at Axel and saw that he was being tended to by a beautiful Miralian female and the Jedi High Council member, Dara Manoi. Malik had heard stories of the Miralian traditions within the Jedi order, the Miralian people only allowed their young to be taken into the Jedi Order if their child was trained by another of their species. Few families imposed that rule among the Jedi anymore, but despite that, the Order encouraged Miralian Masters to do as they wished. Though it seemed Dara Manoi felt like keeping the tradition alive. The older Miralian gently tucked Axel’s swept hair into the gap of his ear, but the boy had none of it, he whipped his head to the side and freed his dark violet hair. Dara giggled and whispered something Malik couldn’t hear into Axel’s ear that caused the young boy to flush and smirk.

Malik smiled, he hoped he’d impressive a Master enough for him or her to take him as their apprentice. {i]Maybe someone like Ki-Lan or Sum-Baki! [/i] Pushing the thought of a Master away, he stepped off the mat and rejoined his friends, Sora and Fate.

“Nicely done dude!” Sora said with a toothy grin.

Fate placed his hand on Malik’s shoulder and said. “You did excellent, Malik, you’re sure to have impressed a great number of Masters and Knights with that fight.”

“Thanks you two, but let’s save all the hugs and mushiness until after we all win and get Masters assigned to us, no?” The three boys chuckled. “Besides, Axel did a number on me, I better go get checked out by one of the healers.”

Fate and Sora nodded hesitantly and watched as their friend limped over to group of Jedi Healers beckoning him to follow them to the Infirmary.

———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ——————————

“I hope he’ll be fine.” Fate said as he sat on the grass.

“Malik’s never been pushed like that.” Sora whispered.

“What?” Fate asked. His expression puzzled.

“I said he’ll be fine. Come on, let’s watch the fights.”

For long periods of time, the two friends marveled at the fights that went on between their fellow students. All of them were skilled duelists, some moved at high levels of speed, others traced orbs of light with their sabers. It was an incredible spectacle. Blade upon blade, speed against speed, strength against strength and vice versa.

8 matches passed before finally, Kilai Visir sent the two padawans making up the 8th match of the Jedi Apprentice Tournament to their places.  The Togruta woman took in the view of the 16 remaining combatants and then stopped.

“Sora Nervai, to the mat!” Kilai Visir ordered.  

Sora was on his feet in less than a second and then proceeded to join the compact Togruta on the mat. Sora took deep, long breaths as he stood on the mat. He called on the Force to relax his muscles and still his pounding heart. Though he had competed in tournaments before, this was another experience entirely. With several Knights, Masters and even High Councilors watching the pressure was on every single Padawan to perform well. Sora’s gaze surfed through the crowd until he finally caught Fate, the younger, near-human boy staring at him; his dark green orbs said it all.

Give it your all.

“Ke-Vahn Oro, to the mat!”A young boy with silvery skin hopped onto his feet and then, unexpectedly, he vaulted into the air, spun twice and landed on his feet with no visible effort. Now Sora got a better look at his opponent.  Ke-Vahn Oro’s gray skin color now made sense; he was a Teevan, a near-human species known for their natural flexibility which allowed them to use maneuvers far beyond those of a normal human or a like-wise hindered species similar to humans. The boy wore the normal garb of a Jedi Student; his dirty blonde hair was short and spiked. Like Axel Sato, Ke-Vahn was known throughout the Academy for his perfect use of his battle-form, but the Teevan boy had gain more infamy for his love of waywardness and acrobatics. His status among the Jedi was such that Masters, Knights, Padawans, and Students alike often called him The Teevan Monkey Lizard.

Unimpressed, the young Togruta who stood next to the Battlemaster threw two standard training lightsabers at both boys. Sora caught his a split-second before it hit the ground. The Teevan however was much more flamboyant; he leapt into the air, caught the smooth hilt, spun at a precise 360 degree angle and then landed on his knee.

“Begin!”

Sora ignited his training lightsaber, a sharp scarlet blade shot out in a flash. Sora assumed the basic offensive stance of his form and observed his opponent carefully.

Still in the same position as before, Ke-Vahn Oro ignited his lightsaber and lifted his head up to gaze at Sora. He grinned and shot at Sora with the velocity of a blaster bolt. The Teevan came at Sora fast, his strikes were swift and powerful. A lesser duelist would have been overwhelmed by his ferocious assault.

Yet Sora Nervai was no first year student.

Lightning fast reaction time and the gift of precognition both allowed Sora to meet Ke-Vahn’s charge. Their blades met in a glorious shower of sparks and then departed. But neither combatant was done yet,

Ke-Vahn propelled himself into the air, twisted his entire body to a 180 degree angle and swung his blade at Sora’s right foot, then he reversed direction and struck again, this time at Sora’s shoulder. He repeated the attack pattern again and again and again…

Sora parried and countered each one of his spinning swings. He was familiar with the maneuver; it was called ‘The Spinning Tail’, a tactic that resolved to overwhelm the user’s opponent with a series of twirling arcs that were aimed at the shoulder and lower leg. It was an advanced technique, difficult to master, but deadly in the hands of an expert. And Sora now saw just how deadly the Spinning Tail could be.

Just as Ke-Vahn finished the last rotation of his move, Sora leapt over the Teevan, landed and struck out with a backswing of his blade. Ke-Vahn parried a split-second before the blade met its mark, but Sora was already on the move, just as he finished his backswing, he spun in the opposite direction and unleashed an overhead slash. Anticipating the move, the Teevan back-flipped out of the way, his legs parted into a perfectly symmetrical split so as to avoid Sora’s deadly strike.

Riding on the momentum, Ke-Vahn sprung into a reverse handspring so quickly that he appeared as a smear of grey.

Sora eyed his opponent just as the Teevan finished and landed his eighth handspring. His opponent was a very acrobatic and fast fighter, more so than a typical Ataru user at that.  Sora had learned much about Ke-Vahn from their first bout. Yet he felt the Teevan was holding back something. So Sora continued cautiously. His opponent, now eight meters away from him, eyed him, perhaps in disbelief or perhaps in respect. Yet there was no denying that the Teevan was enjoying the fight greatly, he smiled and then launched himself 20 feet high into the air and at Sora, using the Force to augment his speed as he came down.

Sora barely had time to react as the Teevan’s blade smashed into his own scarlet lightsaber. The ferocity and momentum should have sent Sora flying, but the young Nautolan’s Force Augmented strength and affinity with the Force helped him greatly, yet even they could not stop the shudder that went from Sora’s arms all the way down to his spine and finally, his core.  

For several long moments, the two Jedi candidates stood there, grunting and fighting to break the blade-lock. Sora’s face was wet with perspiration and his opponent’s face was just as soaked, perhaps even more so. Sora’s arms shook and begged him to give up, but he could not, he would not!

Calling on the Force, Sora began soothing his aching arms, legs and torso. He could sense that the Teevan was doing the same. At this point, both Ataru adepts knew that neither would win this lock and so, the two decided to part blades and jumped backwards to avoid any possible retaliation from one another.

Bouncing on his feet, Ke-Vahn lunged at the Nautolan boy with lightning fast speed and executed one of the most brilliant maneuvers of Ataru, The Hawk-Bat swoop. Executed perfectly and stunningly graceful. True to its design, Ke-Vahn attacked Sora swiftly and with unrelenting aggression forcing the young Nautolan Student to backpedal.

Sora parried and blocked frantically, the Teevan had moved impossibly fast, faster than he had moments before. The Teevan struck twice more, the first was a simple, but deadly jab that Sora barely batted away, the other was far more elaborate, still riding his new wave of momentum Ke-Vahn feigned left and then struck right with a sweeping arc.

His aim was true.

The blade struck Sora directly on his elbow. He grunted in pain, the heat from the low powered blade would not cut through his skin, but it had singed his green skin and though it may not have the same cutting power as a normal saber the Training blade was meant to replicate the same feeling that one would get from being struck with a normal lightsaber.

Still, Sora persevered and evaded and parried all of Ke-Vahn’s attacks, it had taken all of his skills and training to do so, but Sora managed to survive the onslaught.

Ke-Vahn flipped away from Sora, his chest heaved as he inhaled and exhaled sharply, perspiration ran down the bridge of the Teevan’s nose all the way down to his chin. Sora’s breathe was steady, yet his fatigue was just as visible, the neckline of his tunic was soaked in sweat, his hands were just as wet. The two Ataru prodigies had done incredibly well; Sora knew that he and Ke-Vahn had impressed every Master and Knight that watched them. But it was time to end this; his caution had earned him a painful scar, but it was worth it.

Now Sora had everything he needed.

Taking on an offensive attitude, Sora lunged at Ke-Vahn, their blades clashed for a split-second, then parted. Ke-Vahn came at Sora with a sweep of his blade; his blade flashed and met air.

Sora soared through the air and landed right behind Ke-Vahn. Thinking frantically, the Teevan swung his blade backwards, twisting his body in a motion that most being would find impossible to achieve. Sora positioned his blade over his back so as to block the Teevan’s strike, then the Nautolan pushed his blade upwards, pushing Ke-Vahn’s blade away. Drawing on the power of the Force, on the desire to make his instructors proud and more importantly, his friends proud, Sora propelled himself into the air, back-flipping over Ke-Vahns head before he even had time to react. Time slowed down to a crawl. Suddenly, Sora felt the Force empower him; his senses were faster, his strength far beyond its normal capacity and his speed faster than thought. As he flipped he saw the Teevan slowly try to turn to face Sora, but it was already too late.

Still in the air, Sora took a two handed grip of his blade and swung at the Teevan’s neck. He heard acrobat hiss in pain as Sora landed with a grace that an Echani Quartermaster would admire. Ke-Vahn spun around to the right and swung his blade, but Sora had anticipated the maneuver a second early and met the blade with his own.  Sora leveraged his blade downwards ever so slightly so that Ke-Vahn’s torso would be exposed, Sora succeeded. The Teevan had been too focused on the blade lock that he hadn’t even noticed his exposed guard.

”Open your mind to the Force when you are fighting, for if you are focused on a single thing, you will find yourself  open to many surprises. “ The legendary Kyle Katarn had once said to his students during a group session that had been recorded by the then Grandmaster, Luke Skywalker for his Great Holocron. Most students had found the mantra useless and boring, but even though he was a mere Candidate for Padawnhood, Sora considered the simplistic mantra incredibly valuable and now he saw why.

Not wasting any more time, Sora slashed at Ke-Vahns now exposed chest, the boy grunted in pain and swung his blade in a wild and uneven arc. Sora batted the blade away to the right and jabbed at Ke-Vahn arm, effectively disarming the Teevan.

“Three points to Sora Nervai!” The Battlemaster proclaimed.

Sora heard the roar and claps of the other 32 Padawan and the Jedi Masters; he had fought well, better than ever in fact. The Nautolan found his friend gazing at him, his eyes beaming with joy for his friend’s victory. Happiness filled Sora, he was glad that Fate was here to witness his victory. Fate tore his gaze away; his cheek took on a shade of red. Sora grinned and then turned his attention to Ke-Vahn Oro, who smiled at Sora. The Boys both walked towards the young Togruta aide that stood at Kilai Visir’s side and handed the young initiate their sabers.

“Nice moves.” Ke-Vahn said. “No one besides Axxy-boy has ever made me break a sweat like that.” The Teevan grinned happily and stuck out his hand. “You’re definitely a prodigy.”

Sora took hold of the boy’s hand and shook it firmly. “Thanks, you nearly had me there, several times actually.”

“ Well, next time it’ll be different.”

With that, the two Jedi students bowed to one another and retook their seats around the stone mat. Sora plopped himself besides Fate, smiled and said. “So… someone owes me a nice piece of Muja cake.” Sora elbowed the young near-human and winked. “Care to join me in gloating when this is over?”

Fate giggled and replied. “Yes, but let’s focus on making sure my internal organs and digestive system are still intact at the end of the tournament first, right?”

Sora smiled affectionately at Fate, placed his hand over the young near-human, and said. “Right.”

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Fate eagerly watched several other Jedi candidates fight, spinning, flipping and jumping in intricate patterns that dizzied the near-human. Others fought with economy and grace, jabbing, twirling and cutting with beautiful precision. Some were more aggressive; they plowed their opponents with powerful swings and cuts. Fate could barely keep track of the two Jedi that made up the second to last match of the tournament. Their moves were dazzling and unclear, they moved as if they were blaster bolts rather than sentient beings. In the end however, there was a victor.

Fate closed his eyes and inhaled. He and another student would be the last match of the Jedi Apprentice Tournament, the very thought of dueling someone who wasn’t teaching him the basics of combat unnerved him. He had only ever engaged in practice drills with Sora and Malik, both of whom held back tremendously against him. He had never actually fought anyone nor had he taken part in any Tournament. Every one of his instructors had prohibited it. They had said told Fate that was not ready to duel against anyone, that his style was under-developed. Fate knew that they were right. As he exhaled, Fate opened his eyes and found the eyes of the Battlemaster on him. Her eyes were warm, understanding even. Kilai Visir gestured towards the stone mat. “Fate, to the mat.” She said softly.

Fate inclined his head, stood up and walked over to the mat. He felt the eyes of the other 30 students and Jedi Masters on him. Some looked at him with curiosity, others with indifference, as if he were nothing more than an annoyance, an easy victory for even the first year initiates. Maybe they’re right… He thought solemnly.

“Igor Vancor, to the mat!” The Battlemaster ordered. Her tone had gone from soft to rough and disciplinary. A young Chistori boy, tall and lean, stood up and walked over to the mat. The lizard boy stood at about six feet tall. He was lanky and with compact muscles. Fate had seen the boy during his history and diplomacy classes. The boy was knowledgeable, but it was clear that literature, history, diplomacy and Computer slicing were not his forte. That means he’s focused more on combat. Fate thought grimly.

The young Togruta tossed the Chistori a standard hilt, looking seemingly unimpressed by his build and skill. The young aide then walked over to Fate and handed him a lightsaber. Fate stuck out both of his hands and inclined his head in a small, respectful bow. The Togruta smiled and placed the blade in the Near-human boy’s hand. The Togruta bowed and then he whispered in Fate’s ear. “Good luck.”

With that, the young boy turned and joined the Battlemaster’s side.

As with every match, both Fate and his opponent stood twelve meters apart, they stood tall and erect both of them waited for the Battlemaster’s call to do battle. Fate breathed slowly, he took this opportunity to practice the Jedi relaxation techniques. He exhaled and inhaled over and over again, finding his center and gathering his strength. He felt the Force around him, the light and warm auras of the Jedi Masters and Knights. The wild, untamed Force within the creatures near the vicinity of the Temple courtyard. In seconds, Fate felt the tension within his body begin to die away, his muscles relaxed and the knots within him loosened.

Then he heard it, the familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber. Fate opened his eyes and found Igor Vancor in an offense stance; His lightsaber held high, his slightly parted and his shoulders wide and even. Ataru, the fourth form of traditional Lightsaber Combat. Fate had seen Sora use that same opening stance in their secret lessons at night.

Fate stilled his growing anxiety, worry and fear. He brought his thumb over the Ignition button of his hilt and pressed it. A beautiful, pale blue light hissed alive. Fate took a two handed grip of his lightsaber, parted legs and bent them. As he did this, Fate placed his left foot forward and his right foot stayed in its original positioned. He held his lightsaber before him and steadied himself for what was to come

The Force fights with me!