Channelknight Fadran

"Just Cloud, then." Master Feisyyd turned to an old and weary-looking human, who had been observing the match with great interest. "If you will, Master Geikid, please inform Grandmaster Shan that I will be taking this Cloud as my Padawan - or, at least, I will be training him until this issue with the Sith is resolved."

"Cloud..." Feisyyd's voice trailed away. "Do you have a surname?"

"I don't intend to teach you how to shoot mist. I intend to teach you how to find him amidst it."

"On the contrary, my friends," Feisyyd said, "I believe this may just come to work in our favor. Certainly, it's an inconvenience at best and a dilemma at worst... but you have all demonstrated a level of prowess that neither he nor I were expecting today. In fact, if there was anyone here who could learn enough to defeat him in only three days, it would be the all of you." @Ancient Elantrian @Ravenclawjedi42 @Scars of Hathsin @The Bookwyrm @Justice_Magician @Shard_Blades

"I believe it was twenty years ago. My master and I were on a diplomatic mission to... Alderaan, I think. Long story short, we were ambushed: a Sith Assassin slaughtered our crew, and left me with this." Feisyyd pulled down at the shoulder of robe, revealing a nasty red scar surrounded by old cybernetic parts to pinch the tissue and musculature together. "My master placed me in an escape pod and ejected me to the planet's surface - I don't remember much after that. By then he'd already lost his saber arm, and every account speaks to his eventual death. We can't know for sure, but the Council felt the death of the Assassin and my Master at nearly the same time... the ship was never found either, so our best guess was that it was destroyed from within to seal them both, but to this day it's anyone's guess as to who instigated it." Aria realized her lightsaber was still ignited, so she retracted it back into the hilt and sat down with a grunt. The exhaustion had finally caught up with her, it seemed. "I studied all I could find on Sith Assassins, though even our Archives knew frighteningly little. Records only agree that they're far more exceptional at combat than perhaps any other Dark Warrior... though from what I recall of the one I met all those years ago, they're supposed to be far more specialized in lightsaber combat than open battles. This one we've met today - Krarik - seems to deviate from this pattern: he is an exceptional warrior in every respect, and I fear what would become of us if he were to change his mind."

are you ignoring me? STOP IGNORING ME! The demon blasted them with a Death Laser. @The Last Fæ

idk if anyone even looked at the last boi up there but I've updated it to include the entire opening scene for Corrin. I wound up changing what the Selection's gonna be like, because walking through a forest for a week is boring as hell - lemme know if the new edition is any good. Next up I'll be switching over to Aurora and Lacy, whose introductory arc is going to get a massive overhaul for... various reasons.

Krarik swept out of the way. "Ah-ahh, little one: now that isn't very Jedi-like, is it?" He turned his gaze back to Feisyyd. "Very well," Krarik said, and held up three fingers. "Three days. I'll be atop the Old Site: you know the one. I expect nothing less than the greatest skill your Order can muster... for if you fail, I will slaughter everyone here without mercy." With that, the Sith Assassin vanished once again into a wisp of black fog, his presence fading rapidly away from detection. @Ancient Elantrian @Ravenclawjedi42 @Scars of Hathsin @The Bookwyrm @Justice_Magician @Shard_Blades

His blades were not stopped by Krarik - instead, Feisyyd's other hand was outstretched to hold them back. Stopping two simultaneous attacks weren't easy to cease, for sure... but it wasn't too draining yet. The Assassin chuckled. "Your master's a wise one. She just saved your life, boy."

Ah, if only... Their intensity was intoxicating. So much untapped potential... so much power yet unleashed. And for once he had to return to Trueform - if only for an instance - to keep up. His eyes closed, blood surging from head to toe, and as a shot of blaster fire synced ever so beautifully with the soaring lightsabers... A flash of pure darkness, permeated only with the burning afterimages of a red lightsaber slashing about in a wild, concentrated fury; it was as blinding as it was inconceivably impossible to follow. The aftermath came as a shockwave of sound and wind, leaving blades and beams alike scattered in all directions from the sheer intensity. The Force portrayed Intention far more efficiently than any projection of motion, but to these untrained souls they would only ever detect the thought and power of the attack long after it had concluded. All of them, it seemed, except one: the red blade pressed against green, inches from Master Feisyyd's face. Her stance was as calm as his was dynamic. The aftershock crashed over them, sweeping their robes about. Krarik grinned. "I will accept your terms," Feisyyd replied, "but on one condition: I will remain here, and train them for the allotted time."

"Good, child! Your strength is admirable." Krarik continued his assault, one arm held behind his back as he held the children to defend.

The instinct was detectable, but he'd led his guard down - it caught him by surprise, apparently. He isn't confident in his decisions... but the sporadicity makes him unpredictable, at least. Dodging both would be difficult, but at least this second attack was projected through the Force. This non-Jedi's thoughts betrayed him. Regardless, swishing away in a deep spin only left him relatively unscathed. One of the sabers - he wasn't sure whose - slashed across his chest and shoulder, deep enough to elicit a grunt of pain. A hiss of burning cloth and flesh sounded in his wake. But he came up strong, quickly returning to form to slash at them both in three successive strikes. Spoiling their bodies would be... inefficient, so instead he simply struck with strength and fury - powerful enough to disarm even the most experienced duelists.

"Heh. You've got pluck - but that wasn't an option, was it?" "You misunderstand. Your Master is my target, and I intend to finish the job." He smirked. "Unless, of course, you can defeat me in three days' time."

"So they said about me, all those years ago." Krarik rightened his posture and raised his voice. "Here's your choices, Jedi. I can slaughter this jawa where he stands and make my way down the line to the rest of you, or the one called Master Aria Feisyyd can submit her blade and come with me. No one will follow us, no one will track us, and until I give the word no one's to go anywhere at all. Understood?"

Krarik reappeared behind Rukk, and set the lightsaber blade beneath his chin. "Care to reconsider?"

Yay opinions! It's not perfect yet (duh), but I have totally improved my prose since... what, March? Not last March - the one before. Whatever. Here's what I have written so far on the redraft - in addition to checking for whacky sentences and paragraphing and pacing and whatnot, do me a solid and lmk if the actual changes are any good. A lot needs to change for the rewrite, but most of all is the entire Selection Arc in Act I, so... well, it's going to be quite different once I start getting around to it. https://docs.google.com/document/d/10iZWsPGBYAAkwyFcdkUOquqM-kNDf8FxR6_9xSDssmg/edit?usp=sharing

"The Dark Side is a pathway to many abilities some may consider to be... atypical."