Chapter 6: Exorcising Demons

The training arena was next to empty when they arrived. Being that most of the student population was busied with dinner; this was the time that the Master's set aside for themselves to work out. It was a rather large room open somewhat to the outside. The portion inside the building had two layers before it gave away to the sparring ring. Which was now occupied by two of the older students that neither of them had ever seen. They took seats to observe the bout. It ended quicker than the either Avingale or Kyle expected.

The ring's occupants bowed to each other and turned to leave. They paused but a minute or two before vacating the ring.

"How shall we do this?" She asked of Kyle.

"How better than how it used to be, that is what led to this after all isn't it?" He fished a credit out of his pocket.

She smiled. The credit was a far cry from the coin that they used in the old days. "You call, I'll flip." This was the old way. One that either garnered trust between the two parties or caused a certain amount of suspicion. But she trusted him not to cheat and she knew she wouldn't do so.

"Denomination up."

She flipped the credit. It went up and neither reached for it as it clanged on the floor. One bounce, two. It teetered on its edge for a moment. Then it fell: denomination down. Avingale smiled. "How about we start with something old." She moved over to the wall and removed two quarter staffs. She tossed one at him. "You do remember how to use this don't you?"

He just leveled his gaze at her and motioned for her to toss him one. Once he caught it he touched one end to his forehead in salute. Then he swung at her.

She caught the blow easily. Sliding her hand down to meet her other one while sliding his out of the way so she could tap him on the leg. He had anticipated this and brought the other end of his down to meet it. "Well, well I suppose you do." She commented sweetly.

"It seems we may be here longer than you thought, Avingale."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jan heard the sound of boots slapping on the stones in the corridor. The fact that she could hear them so clearly oven the din in the dining hall made her wonder. The sudden appearance of two breathless students went almost unnoticed except for the fact one of them spoke up.

"Hey all, you gotta come see. Spooky and one of the Lost are in the arena now." He paused to get his breath.

"Yeah. It could be a very good match." his accomplice added.

Someone from the sea of students spoke up, "What! Spooky couldn't fight her way out of a bowl of Nubian Garn Gel." There were many sniggers and laughs at that comment. "Besides that Lost hasn't touched a saber in years. The first thing he'll probably do is cut off his foot."

"Well then," a new voice entered causing much of the noise to settle down, "why don't you all just go and see if that happens? We wouldn't want any of you to miss it now would we?"

Jan's head whipped around as the room grew deathly silent. There was a small group of figures standing in one of the other access doors to the dining hall. Each wore a robe. Jan turned her gaze back to her food. 'Damn it. We were hoping that he wouldn't show up. Now Kyle is going to be very upset.' Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the students file out in the direction the two elder boys had come from. Just as she was about to join them a hand rested down on her shoulder.

"It been a long while Ms. Ors."

"We had intended it to be much longer, Master Skywalker." She turned to look at him. "Shouldn't you be on your Honeymoon?"

"We are headed that way. It's just that I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to be here more time before I gave it over to Kam and Tionne on a more permanent basis."

"Look just don't bother him, please?" She looked into his eyes pleading with him.

He sighed. "I won't."

"Good. Shall we go?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They entered last to find everyone's rapt attention on the combatants. Normally there would be many side conversations and remarks. As the next few steps of the bout played out they all saw why.

Avingale parried Kyle's blow. Knocking it up and over just enough for her to do a ducking spin underneath it. She came to a standing posistion before he had a chance to recover and pool-qued him in the butt. It knocked Kyle off balance enough to send him sliding onto the floor. Instead of pressing her advantage she took up a defensive stance and waited for him to recover.

Luke quirked an eyebrow. "Why doesn't she press the advantage?"

None of the other Masters could answer him. The surprise came when Jan turned away from the fight to speak. "They are fighting by a rather archaic set of rules."

Tionne was the first one to speak up. "How do you know that?"

"Avingale explained it to me over dinner." She took a breath. "I didn't follow most of it but apparently there are three rounds. Each is fought with a different weapon and you can only win the fight when your opponet is disarmed and at your mercy."

"But that makes no sense." Mara put in.

Jan shrugged and turned back to the fight. "Who said it had to?"

No one had a answer for that, so they all turned their full attention back to the fight. The only sound coming from the arena was that of the wood striking wood. All of them were totally oblivios to the complete conversation taking place between the combatants.

'Looks like we have a crowd now.' Kyle sent to her.

'And that should bother me?'

'I thought that you would rather of done this privately'

She gave a barely preceptible negitive shake of her head as he swung at her again. The power of the blow rattling her teeth. 'Actually I was thinking more for your sake than mine.' She sent back as she parried and manuvered to where he could see who it was that was in the audience.

'You always did find a way to distract me in a fight.'

'Hey, I need all the advantages taht I can get.' She swung at him and he caught the blow on the staff between his hands. Instead of breaking off, she continued to put her weight behind the blow. 'She knows.' With that she broke off, her eyes flshing a quick glance in Jan's direction to make sure he caught her meaning.

His anger flashed though momentarily. 'What gave you the right to tell her?' He asked as he advanced. He went into a flurry of blows that she was to deflect with a little effort.

'She asked.' Noting that he was backing her into the wall, she blocked a blow. Then she tossed her weapon past him and dove between his legs. She went into a tucking roll that brought her back to her feet. Once back on her feet she caught her staff and brought it back to ready as he came at her again.

'That still does not give you the right.' He attacked her again. This time aiming to disarm her. He nearly succeeded too when he noticed who was behind Jan.

Taking his momentary distraction to her advantage, Avingale reversed his ploy and disarmed him. She attempted to trip him and he jumped. Havning expected that move she also sweapt at his feet again just before he landed, he fell to the floor. She pointed the staff at his throat. 'Round to me. You may get the answer to your question if you manage to win the next round.'

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Name the weapon."

She smiled. Two rapiers found their way to the center of the ring. "These are a bit more appropriate for this round, don't you think?"

He smiled back at her. He was still far from happy with the situation now, but the fact that she would shoose the last weaopn they had ever sparred with made him less angry. "You never could best me with any blade. What makes you think you will now?"

Her smile got a little wider as she saluted him. Her soft, breeze- like voice carried through the chamber. "Times have changed Master. Shall we?"

He saluted back. "Lets."

.......

A murmer went through the crowd after they heard her call Kyle Master. None of them had ever seen him before. Even the group with Jan was slightly confused. He had never been truly recognized as a Knight. For a student, little more than a girl, to aknowlege him as one of the Masters confused them slightly.

Tionne looked down at them as they continued the fight. As she watched some things clicked back into place for her. "She's the one he was talking about, isn't she?" She asked Jan.

"What?"

"About five years ago, he called saying there was some crazy child on board his ship. Not long after that you dropped her here."

Jan dropped her gaze to the floor. "Yes. He'd wanted to put some distance between them. Hell he didn't even want to see her this visit."

"Well I wouldn't blame him. The one entry I found on the woman she had been was so badly corrupted that all I could get was sketchy information at best. The Holocron did't give me much more to go on either. The keeper said that Shae Nival was no more than a myth. A story of one of those who was corrupted by darkness."

Luke looked to her. "And she's been here this whole time?"

She gave him a hard stare. "It's not as if I'd realzed it before now. Besides it changes nothing, she has done no harm."

The clashing of the ancitent blades diverted their attentions back to the arena. The combatants were going in a pure ear ringing dance. They were obviously tapping into the force this round, where they had forsaken it in the first round.

Light glinted off the blades as they parried, spun and dodged moves at an alarming rate. They all noticed a few of the blows get through. Most of which should have taken off an appendage with the sheer power behind them. The fighters' skills, both physical and force generated, blunted them enough to make most of them mere scratches.

In one paticularly fierce advance by Kyle, he managed to disarm Avingale. The Master's looked on in mute amazement. The blade was pressed nealty into her neck, deep enough to start a little trickle of blood running down the girl's neck. That posistion was held for so many moments that when Kyle's arm jerked the blade back and gave it the slight flip so that his hand was holding it just in front of the hand guard, everyone audibly gasped.

He offered her a hand up and she smiled. 'Perhaps we should stop here. I don't think their sensiblilties could handle a no-holds-barred match.'

Glancing at the group of Masters huddling around Jan he conceded. 'Not even Skywalker would understand that one.' He saluted them. Noting the look of apperhension on Luke's face he added, 'Manners now.'

She flashed a blinding smile and bowed. She then turned and bowed to Kyle. "A great workout. I thank you and look forward to our next one Captain Katarn." The mischievious glint went unnoticed by all but him.

"So do I." He said after noting that the spectators were beginning to leave. "We need to talk. Say tomorrow?"

"Certainly, but aren't you leaving tomorrow."

"Yes and you're coming with me." He continued on before she had a change to form words for the breathshe was taking. "What could you learn here that you do not already know?"

She paused. "Nothing."

"What could you teach them?"

She actually thought about that one for a moment. There was so much that she had to teach. As she examined all that she knew it hit her. She couldn't teach them. They were not ready for what she knew. She looked up at Kyle and in a quiet voice said, "Nothing."

He nodded his head and went to clean up. Avingale, noting that he considered the matter closed, did likewise and headed to her quarters.