You enter one of the dozens of sparring chambers within the Shadow Academy of Lyspair, the simple square room utilized mostly by those learning the ways of the lightsaber. This five hundred square-foot room, rectangular in shape, is nearly barren. The floor is lined with simple padding, while the walls are made of dull, grey durasteel, gauged by innumerable lightsaber strikes, scarring the metal permanently.

The ceiling towers above you, nearly twenty feet in height, allowing for plenty of movement from the more acrobatic of Force users. There are no other adornments within the room, save for the entrance and lighting that bathes the entire room, yet seems to come from nowhere. All corners of the room are perfectly lit, with no visible shadows to speak of. There is nowhere for you to hide within the room, but… there's no room for your opponent to hide either.

The situation felt familiar, like it had been played through a million times before - and perhaps it had, in some ways. Mirus Hi'ija, Praetor to the Herald and Grand Master, as well as a fourth-echelon Royal Guard, was oft assigned to training the newer members of the Guard just as he had been on the receiving end years before. However, his 'student' this time was a very familiar face, the youthful, juvenile Wookiee Shorurra - once a fellow Odanite. Among other things, this was their first encounter since he had left the employ of the Light and returned to his true nature at the foot of the Iron Throne, serving the Brotherhood and Darth Ashen in the true capacity that he always had. Whatever reservations either of them had about this encounter, it was not evident on either of their faces - though both of them had decided to eschew the traditional armour of the Royal Guard for this bout, their faces wore a mask as stony as the visage of their durasteel helms. Upon their hips rested blades familiar to them, though neither had been drawn yet. Were this battle to come to bladework, the situation was truly dire.

"Let us begin," Mirus said plainly, drawing his ebon-hilted lightsaber and flicking the activation stud, shifting his left foot back and sinking his weight. Effortlessly, the Dathomiri brought his lightsaber into a two-handed grip above his head, the very vision of strength as the child mirrored his stance, the orange lightsaber throwing cascading waves of brilliant light. They were, in many respects, very similar in training and mentality - one was simply younger and a representative of the Light. Despite Shorurra's extensive training, he hoped here to learn as much about employing Djem So in battle as he could from someone markedly skilled in its use.

The unholy blue glow of Mirus' eyes matched with the deep hazel gaze across from him with a slight narrowing of his brows. It was enough to goad Shorrura into attacking first, a true precept of the offensive style they both practised - whoever dominated in strength and positioning would claim this battle. The Wookiee stepped forward, shuffling in with a twist of his hips, bringing his lightsaber down for a savage diagonal strike through Mirus' left shoulder. Without hesitation or forethought, the Titan of New Tython held his saber close to his chest and twisted into the strike, blocking with a vertical blade and pushing into the attack, all to hold his ground against his opponent to send a clear message - he would not be intimidated by shows of power. Shorurra stepped back, obviously seeing the point to the little display of strength.

The cloned Obelisk set his stance again, resetting to his first position and staring the little Wookiee down. "Come! Fight me if you dare!"

Not another moment passed before Mirus took the offensive, ready to give his soul to the battle as offering to the Dark Side for the glorious purpose of victory. Shorurra's playful grin back was a sign of his mentality - until the grin melted from his lips and became a snarl of triumph.

Every stroke of Mirus' saber was precise, measured yet full of overwhelming anger. Shorurra could sense the purpose behind Mirus' blows as he felt his once-ally slip into the throes of Darkness - it was a familiar sensation from battlefields long past but on a level he had not felt before. He had yet to fight a true Dark Jedi in battle and this felt like the real thing now. The youth countered blow for blow, stepping sideways and deflecting Mirus' saber off-course with his own heavy strikes. This was not a battle on the defensive in any way - they were not just protecting themselves but consciously attacking each others' weapons, giving life to the adage that the best defence was certainly a good offence.

Every step forward on Mirus' part was one step back for Shorurra, pushing him closer and closer to the battle-scarred durasteel walls of the training chamber. The Wookiee found he could not simply beat the Titan's furious power, his only recourse to delve into the Force and ask for its blessing as he did so. The weave of energy, of adrenaline, rushing through his body, became a primal drumbeat, a pulsation that reverberated through his very core to heighten his senses - and his abilities.

A strike aimed at Shorurra's knees with the teal-bladed lightsaber was parried hard down to the floor, searing the padding below them - and paving the way for Shorurra's emergence. Now he could match Mirus for strength with a little bit more backing him up. The momentary look of surprise on Mirus' face gave the Jedi enough time to seize the initiative away from his opponent - and what had once been a cornered Wookiee became a furious, enraged beast, wickedly slashing down upon the Obelisk, one slice after another. The footwork became fast, ragged, staccato - one wrong step, one misplaced foot, and they would find themselves withering under one another's blows. Now that Shorurra had given himself over to his true nature, he was finally able to match his opponent. The fight could finally, truly, begin.

Shorurra unleashed a flurry of blows at his opponent, throwing all his weight behind every strike while trying to knock his opponent off balance. His muscles bulged as rage flowed through his veins; fueling his every moment. Letting out a primal scream, Shorurra lunged forward with a spinning flourish and threw a kick at Mirus’ stomach.

Mirus stepped to the side and caught Shorurra’s foot mid-kick. Swinging his blade at Shorurra’s head, Mirus released the Wookiee’s foot and took a step back. Stowing his blade on his belt he motioned for Shorurra to do the same. The second Shorurra’s blade was latched to his belt Mirus advanced on the young Jedi, throwing powerful strikes at his head and chest trying to knock the Knight off his feet.

Shorurra stepped back, hunching his shoulders and moving his feet shoulder width apart while he deflected the blows that were coming at him. The sheer power of the blows made his arms ache. As he deflected another blow, he used Mirus’ momentum to grab him and hip toss the Jedi to the floor. With a look of surprise Mirus, rose to his feet and motioned for the Wookiee to attack.

Shorurra swung his mighty fists at Mirus, throwing all his weight behind every blow; trying again and again to break Mirus’ defences. Lumbering forward, Shorurra threw a wide strike into Mirus’ rib cage, followed up by a straight blow to the chest. Smashing into his opponent, Shorurra grabbed hold of Mirus and threw a strike into Mirus’ abdomen. Pulling back his fist to strike again, Shorurra was blasted backwards and sent sliding across the floor; a look of utter surprise on his face.

His rage was starting to wear off, feeling the draining effects of the adrenaline surge that had hit him start to affect his movements. Shorurra knew that if this fight didn't end soon he would be in trouble. Charging back at Mirus, the young Knight’s Saber ignited with a hiss as it came to life.

Mirus saw the lumbering steps of the Wookiee as he slowed due to the effects of his rage. Drawing his saber, Mirus bellowed out a scream of rage as he charged the Wookiee. Slashing hard at the young Knight’s blade, Mirus smashed the Saber out of Shorurra’s hand with a powerful strike and slammed his fist into the Wookiee’s gut, smashing the breath clean out of his lungs. Shorurra staggered back, catching his breath.

Looking up at his opponent, Mirus let out a scream of pure rage. Muscles bulging with a surge of adrenaline, Mirus charged his opponent; ready to begin the real fight.

The pulsating drumbeat of darkness consuming Mirus' body was but a fleeting sensation, the Titan knew. He had but moments to end the fight on his terms and with his Wookiee friend disarmed, the advantage was his - but this was a training session. They both had blades to fall back upon and it was without a moment's hesitation that Mirus disarmed his lightsaber, then drew his vibrosword and thumbed the activation switch in a single, fluid motion. Shorurra could see the draw and mirrored Mirus' motion, drawing the wide, curved blade of the traditional Wookiee ryyk blade at his side. However, seeing the darkened fury behind the blazing spirit in his old ally's eyes, the youth knew he had to stop the power of the gargantuan beast before him - and, reaching into Mirus' spirit, he weaved the Force about and cast a dampening blanket onto his connection to the Force, severing it away as best he could. It was not perfect, but it would do; the only way to stop the Titan, as Shorurra knew best from so many battles alongside him as a Knight of Allusis, was to stop the inevitable destructive rampage the man could go on.

Mirus narrowed his eyes. He could feel the Force being tugged away from him and knew what that meant for him - but also knew that he had but precious moments to invoke his now-lessened fury in order to destroy his opponent. With a bullrush of a charge forward, Mirus drew his sword over his head in a perfect mirror of his Djem So opening stance, as if to indicate the way he fought in all things. Shorurra braced himself physically and in the Force, in counter, knowing that he had to stand his ground and fight against the Titan so as to avoid being totally dominated. The Dathomiri's opening cut was a savage blow, drawing upon all the strength in his arm and all the strength of the Force bequeathed upon him, aiming to bisect his opponent in a single perfect slash. The Jedi's slightly-angled blade was enough to deflect Mirus' blow, though he could feel a pounding in his arms from trying to withstand that kind of attack. From this close, however, the Praetor turned the slash into an elbow strike aimed right for his opponent's flat nose, smashing it back into his skull - and were he not sufficiently braced, Shorurra would have staggered, but thanks to the training of the juggernaut within he had survived that.

Mirus had to appreciate that particular technique, but it would not save him. One step back to regain distance, then a series of quick strikes, each one faster than the next with the strength in his arms still empowered. Shorurra struggled to keep up, oftentimes the only saving grace being the width of his ryyk. The more the Titan attacked, the more the Wookiee felt his arms tire out trying to parry each and every blow - the human was just too quick and too skilled with his sword to keep up. With only moments to spare before the entangled blessing of the Force washed away, Shorurra knew he had to strike soon, drawing his sword from below for a diagonal upwards cut. Twisting his sword in his hands, Mirus parried the strike down with the back of his sword and lifted his blade upwards - pressing the sharpened blade close to the Wookiee's neck inside the guard.

Everything seemed to stand still as Shorurra felt the vibration of the sword echo against his neck like the whisper of the wind. The siren's song was, apparently, the hum of an enraged flying insect. This fight was over, for another twitch would herald the end of the Jedi's life. All Mirus had to do was press his blade forward and the Jedi would know the end.

"Do you understand, Shorurra?" Mirus asked as the Force washed away from him. The unholy glow of those blue eyes seemed to fade slightly, the twisted Sith Alchemy experiments of Sadow reacting to the Force in almost every way. He switched his blade off, re-sheathed it at his side, then summoned his opponent's lightsaber back to his hand through the Force, tossing it back to him. The Obelisk let his breath cool as the tired energy of the Force left him, forcing him to breathe and realign his senses. "You did well to attack me through the Force and to plant yourself. You use your skills better now - but you are a fool for trying to match me for strength just yet."

The Jedi nodded his head, roaring in some kind of understanding. Though he could not speak Basic, it was a start. He was still learning to use all of his talents. This training match had been difficult for Shorurra; he fought someone who was his better in all his specialities, forcing him to learn to use other techniques to sweep the proverbial rug out from under Mirus' feet.

The Titan rested a hand on Shorurra's shoulder. "Soon, my friend. You'll grow and be stronger. Until then, keep training and you'll be a fine Royal Guard. We'll have to do this again some time."