Kain

250px
Kainz00r
Saber	Single
Style	Hybrid
Affiliation(s)	The Jedi Academy, The Jedi Academy Aurochs
Gender	Male
Location	UK padawans=None
Padawans	{{{padawans}}}

Kain is a former competitive player of Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. From close to the beginning of his lengthy career he focused near exclusively on using the single saber, with a particular focus on the heavy stance. He frequented both European and American servers and was a regular guest of public duel servers. Duelling was his favourite activity within the game, ranked higher than the very popular "tffa" mode in his books. He is the founder of the z00r dynasty, of which members have historically been silently acknowledged. Although Kain briefly amused a time within an American clan (CJO), his loyalty was and remains with his martial brethren of the Aurochs.

Biography

At fifteen years old and freshly introduced into the world of online pc gaming via Diablo II, it was during a curious browse of his local Electronics Boutique store that young Kain stumbled upon the box of Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. The date was December 26th 2003 and he was looking for something worthy of his new found fortune, or what constitutes as such for someone his age at the time. Sitting on the highest shelf, almost beyond his visible reach, it glowed with the unquestionable aura of destiny. Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. Boldly the young warrior reached out to inspect the case and lo and behold, it promised him exactly what he was looking for - glorious combat with lightsabers... and it had multiplayer. Perfect.

Not to be inconvenienced by the awkward and uncompromising nature of a keyboard, Kain also picked up a pc gaming pad on his way to the check out. He was a seasoned console veteran, and was not about to enter the fast paced nature of a 3rd person action game on the PC unprepared. Excusing himself early from his family's post-Christmas affairs he swiftly returned to his seat of power (although it was still a barely touched throne at this point) to test the perceived merits of this new treasure.

Kain was not disappointed.

After a quick install of his new gamepad and new game, Kain quickly set to assigning the relevant controls. A brief stint in single player and it was time to jump online. After applying the latest patch, he double-checked that his controls were still set for use in multiplayer and he was off. Brimming with confidence, he did not hesitate to join the first server he saw on the list, which as it happened was a Free For All server.

Humble Beginnings

As it was his Christmas holiday time, Kain had no worries about school and due work. Mock exams were nothing compared to the thrill of his online experience in Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. Social excursions were cancelled in his attempt to quell his spark-lust. The game awakened his desire for combat and the glory that comes with victory. Still wielding his staff and now-trusty game pad, he began the slow process of turning himself into the perfect courier of death. Of course, it would be a week or two before he realised that as the sensitivity of his game pad was non-adjustable in game and at it's standard sensitivity it took him two real life seconds to do a 360 turn, he was at a colossal disadvantage (which would soon be realised).

After a day or two of play, he also realised that the handle 'Padawan' simply would not suffice if he was to carve out a legacy on this battlefield. And so, it was with natural logic that he eventually polished his new handle down to 'Deathstouch' - for he was so swift a foe, and such a mighty force that it was clear those who came into contact with him would meet death's inevitable embrace.

Fiercely roaming from server to server (FFA exclusively, as Kain had not really bothered to expand the server browser settings), it was mid way through his first week of play that Kain met his match. The implacable foe wielded dual sabers, and danced around Kain like a leaf in the wind - his movements seemed wild, unpredictable and at times impossible. "Are you turning that slow on purpose...?" the sinister phantom asked Kain. Realising the fight was impossible, Kain admitted that he was not, but rather he was limited to such a speed. His assailant then also lowered his weapons, and began to broker a friendship. The man was named Wraithe, and he introduced Kain to his band of soldiers - all upstarts like Kain. As Kain was obviously new to the JKA scene he was assigned a master, whom was named Demonique. As it happened however, Demonique never actually entered combat and treated the game as a chat platform and thus was able to offer Kain nothing in the way of training.

It was during his time with this small band of new players that Kain met someone under the name of 'Skye'. Neither of the young gentlemen were aware, but this was to be the beginnings of a long lasting friendship. It was Skye who suggested that Kain "stop using the game pad on a pc gaming, that's for noobs - look, I can dance behind you and back again before you even turn halfway. If you seriously want to be competitive in this game, you're going to have to adjust to playing with a keyboard and mouse." And so he did. Not only this, but he also abandoned the staff saber and began to dedicated himself to the way of the single saber, as his most impressive opponents had utilised this weapon. It was awful at first, utterly horrendous - for about two weeks of daily playing, Kain failed time and time again in almost every battle against his friend Skye. And the others who would care to challenge him, until they got bored. It would have been humiliating, had Kain maintained any expectations of himself at the time - but this was the humble beginnings, and things were much simpler then. After the two weeks of humbling defeats, he began to feel familiar with the keyboard and mouse input and was not just holding his own in his battles, but winning too.

Two weeks again and he was finding that his opponents were not much challenge at all. He needed more, and it was at this point he discovered the public duel servers.

First steps

'Deathstouch' was far too pretentious, it had to go. But how to identify himself? By what name would he want to be known? Easy. Kain, as per the 'Legacy of Kain' series. A vampire and a badass, a personality with enough will to challenge both fate and the gods themselves. Yes, that would do just fine. And so it was with his new handle, that Kain truly began his JKA career.

It was a slow start, players on the likes of BWN and the popular European duel servers did not play around like those Kain had met on his FFA servers. Forces of disciplined efficiency and brutality met him daily, refined users of the 'poking' technique as well as relentless staffers. Most talented in the art of duelling, and almost all Kain's superior... but this did not deter him from his goal, instead offering him great inspiration. It solidified Kain's goal to become a renowned duellist, someone that others would respect the skill and experience of. This became and remained Kain's ultimate goal in JKA.

In attempt to match the arsenal of his foes, Kain had an attempt at poking. He felt silly, especially when he won with it, as he had no idea what was going on via the screen during each of his poked attacks. And the victories felt ridiculous, killing his foes in a single, wild swing. There was no discipline, there was no timing - there was simply brute force. It was ugly, careless and decidedly not for him. Strong in the opinion that this was not how the sabering system was intended to work, Kain lowered his sensitivity and mouse acceleration to sensible figures and resorted to refining a more controlled style.

It wasn't long before Kain realised that looking stylish was one way to stand out. And it felt awesome. He would watch in awe as experienced duellists would catch their opponents off guard mid air and sever them into pieces. That was the essence he knew he would have to capture in his own style if he were to be successful and well known in his JKA journey, and slowly it became his way of playing. He would lose a fight quite happily if he were able to swoop in between his foes attacks at unusual timings and catch them off guard, knowing he was progressing in his own way. And above all he would cherish the moments he was successfully able to predict and intercept his opponents mid air, crashing into them relentlessly for massive damage and often duel ending strikes.

Several weeks passed and Kain was becoming a very confident duellist. He had no trouble holding his own vs a lot of the players he met on the duel servers, and when he would visit Wraithe, Demonique, Skye and co he found that they weren't much challenge at all in a duel (excepting Demonique, whom Kain never actually saw in combat). Eager to test the hierarchy of this society, Kain openly challenged his master to combat, curious to see if this character was truly worth respect in battle. Unfortunately Demonique declined the challenge, as per usual, claiming that he had no need to be physically involved. And so it came to be that Kain relinquished his relationship of master and padawan with the non-combatant, and began his next chapter in JKA.

The Jedi Academy

Bing. BingBingBing. The relentless sounds of MSN acknowledging Skye's relentless messages. Skye never did quite manage to master the art of thinking before sending a message, and so to this day we still receive his messages not unlike the rate an automatic weapon unloads it's inventory of bullets.

To cut a long paraphrased conversation short, it was this day that Skye recommended Kain visit a website named thejediacademy.net.

"Yeah, I joined during jk2 and there was some impressive duellists there, you would probably find quite a few to give you a run for your money, it's your sort of place, they even hold classes etc". Kain didn't need much more encouragement, and in no time at all found himself registering to the site. Accepted very quickly by the never sleeping administration of thejediacademy.net, he was swiftly browsing the website for classes, people of note (read: renowned duellists) and ways in which to test his skills. It wasn't very long before he signed up for Kueller's interstance tourney, which he won rather convincingly. He was also offering modest training to fellow players who appreciated his prowess, and received several compliments on his sabering competence from players such as Janus, 3th and Masta. His victory in Kueller's tournaments was so convincing that Kueller was clearly compelled to offer Kain a padawan position, which Kain accepted without hesitation - after all, Kueller was a JAK which obviously meant he would be a worthy force in a duel, and Kain relished this opportunity to secure 1on1 training as well as a potential rival to rise above in the art of the saber. Unfortunately, due to time zone difference amongst other things, it was incredibly rare that Kain would see Kueller in game and the relationship was not as prosperous as Kain might have hoped for and within around 6-7 months he requested to no longer be Kueller's padawan.

Things began very well for Kain generally however when he joined thejediacademy.net, with his skill in combat going noticed. It was during these months that Kain began to appreciate that, unlike the European duel servers he so often frequented, he was going to have to adapt his style to use the medium stance a lot more. He mostly picked up a lot of this experience in Virtue and Wolfwood's lessons, the latter of which he really enjoyed, as Wolfwood incorporated a lot of actual activity beyond discussion in his classes. Wolfwood was also an active player, and a JAK who reflected the skill the position impressed upon Kain at the time, and so when the two met in one of the many tournaments that took place at thejediacademy.net back then Kain was very nervous. It was a close affair, however Kain's duelling experience paid off and he was able to best Wolfwood and continue successfully on his way. This would be his first personal milestone at the academy, amongst many.

He was remarked upon as an honourable and good natured individual, obviously making every effort to impress his new peers. He made such an impression that esteemed characters such as 3th praised him with very generous comments, such as "people like you are the future of this place, glad to see good people around with very impressive skills continuing to appear around here. you proved a point quickly in your first tourney. hope you don't blow everyone away too fast and get bored with us. would be nice to see the likes of you where i just made it to someday". This was within four months of joining the community, and Kain felt he was settling in very well. His style was improving, adapting to a more hybrid nature, using a varied mix of both heavy and medium stance to aggressively overcome his opponents.

Kinship of Battle, Unity of Purpose

It is paramount to note, and should be considered the most character defining incident, that during the first few weeks within the academy the most important event occured - Kain met Masta. The two youths were of a twin nature, and instantly found a convenient and mutually benefiting companionship between themselves. Out of all the students to attend the academy, it is safe to say that none aspired for glory more than Kain and Masta. More to the point, they did not fail to deliver, in terms of proving how capable they could be. They trained together on a daily basis, and monitored each other's progress very closely and quickly became friendly rivals. Unlike the majority of the academy, and likely due to their experience beyond the haven of the academy's servers, the pair were not afraid to incorporate heavy stance in their single saber styles. Consequently, their hybrid approach became a unique affair amongst the tyranny of medium stance dominance within the academy that Kain and Masta so often argued was both limited and boring. Furthermore, the pair found that they were more than happy to tackle players who employed the poking technique head on in the battlefield, as opposed to the majority of the academy whom refrained to engage with such individuals on any combat level in the game - indeed, this stance was so severe that the technique of poking was banned on the academy servers. This style was harshly viewed as cowardly and backwards by Kain, who argued that poking was not likely to be removed as an aspect of the game any time soon, and that the academy players should be more eager to evolve to better themselves. Whilst Masta mostly agreed, he was a lot more humble and understanding in his expression of his views which was to become very characteristic of himself, unlike Kain.

In no time at all the duo became quite notorious amongst their academy peers, for a number of reasons. Primarily they were amongst the best the academy had to offer in terms of sabering ability, with few in the academy able to consistently offering them a satisfying challenge. Secondly they were incredibly active, attending almost all the sabering combat classes, as well as often to be found fooling around on the servers outside of class time. On top of these observations, they also expressed a very successful friendship and it was not unusual for them to be seen enjoying their game time together.

It was during this time that Kain jokingly appended 'z00r' to his title. It was nothing short of hilarious when new students would, in all seriousness, refer to Kain as Kainz00r to the pair. As a result Kain found he rather enjoyed the name, and he was often seen in game to apply it as his standard.