A Chill Upon the Wind

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

Reading through old files within the Sith archives, Taeli had come across an obscure technique of the Sith that was intriguing her greatly. Flipping through the old parchment pages, she analyzed the few sentences dedicated to the ability of cryokinesis and the more she read, the more she liked it. Getting up, she strode out of the archives with the book under her arm and made her to the training centers.

Deciding it might be a useful for both herself and Sophie, Taeli sent a message to her apprentice to meet her in one of the training rooms within the Sith Temple, and after sending that message, she ordered for several different objects with varying temperatures to that training room. She did so enjoy learning new things.

 

[Zion Mirtis]

At the time Sophie was in her quaters int he sith temple. She was training Sebastian, her Devourer pup, to obdy her more creatuve commands. Some included searching for scents or retrieving weapons, like her lightsaber. Sebatian was doing well but Sophie wondered if it was due to her own commanding title over the beast as his owner or her force influence having more control than herself.

These thoughts were interrupted when [member="Darth Arcanix"] had called for her to meet in the Temple's training room. Obeying the command Sophie picked up her saber from Sebastian before making her way over. Curious as to the new lessons to be taught today Sophie was eager as ever. The power of force lightning and the ability to command an army of familiar crows was one thing, and now with her lightsaber she felt even more like a sith than before.

Upon arrival in the room, seeing the different objects laid about, Sophie gave a curious "You summoned me, master?"

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Indeed I did Sophie," Taeli said, looking up from the book. She couldn't resist going over the technique again and again. "I came across something while reading and thought it would be an interesting lesson for the both of us as it is a technique I don't know myself."

Marking the page on where the technique was, she moved away from the table and activated the controls to begin heating the various objects around the room up.

"Today, we will both dive into the realm of learning the Force technique dubbed cryokinesis. Unlike pyrokinesis, this technique does create streams of ice, but instead allows a Force user to steal away the heat from an object and freezing it. Theoretically, one could freeze the water molecules in the air and send them flying with a Force Push, but for now we will focus on the beginning steps. Interested?"

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Hearing the explanation into cryokenisis Sophie did perk with interest. Another amazing ability that could beneift both her and her master if they perfected it. Thinking on the benefits of freezing objects and enemies alike sounded like a useful trait and ability to use. At that she only nodded to [member="Darth Arcanix"] for her answer. Walking over next to her finally she looked to see how they would begin the lesson.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"So according to this, the technique requires us to manipulate molecules to slow them down, effectively robbing them of their energy," Taeli said to Sophie.

Turning to the first object, a simple glowrod, Taeli reached out with the Force, and began focusing on the individual molecules that consisted of the glowrod and the energy it was emitting into the room. Bringing her will to bear upon the molecules, she began binding them to her will, just like one would do in Sith alchemy. When she had all of the molecules under her command, she began ordering them to slow down and began leeching the energy away from them.

While they couldn't incorporate that energy into themselves, she just allowed it to dissipate into the air. Ever so slowly, frost began to appear on the casing of the glowrod as more and more of its molecules slowed down and lost their energy. Focusing harder, she brought even more of her willpower down on the inner workings of the device. It took another minute or two but eventually ice covered the glowrod and it had shutdown from the cold.

"Hmmm, much too slow of a process, but then practice makes perfect," she mumbled. Waving her hand, another glowrod lit up.

"Your turn, Sophie," she said with a smile, making sure she could observe the process.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Watching her own master use the technique Sophie could see the true powers of the force at work. If it had required such discipline to concentrate on the molecules of an object that Sophie, upon her turn to try the cryokenisis, would need to push herself with her ambituous tone of the force. She looked to the glowrod and reached her hand out, closing her eyes and trying to focus. It took time but she began to feel as [member="Darth Arcanix"] before trying to slow the partciles and the like. It was a little tricky than she though, given it was such a small and yet so grand a thing to focus on. In time the glowrod froze but it had been two minutes longer than her master.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"A good start," Taeli replied, looking over the glowrod her apprentice had frozen. Sophie was indeed becoming quite powerful. "But, now we must move on and we both must work faster on the next object, even if it will be harder to freeze."

Gesturing with her hand, the second set of objects (two small space heaters) lit up, the heating coils exposed and starting to glow red. Focusing her will and knowing the basic techniques now, she started binding the molecules of the left hand heater to her will even faster than the glowrod. There were more of them though, and the heating coils were much hotter than the glowrods had been. She began siphoning the energy out of the heating coils and the metal of the heater, slowing the molecules down slower and slower.

Ice started battling with the heating effect form the coils, and she could see frost forming. Crushing every molecule in the coil under her, the heating coil promptly shut off and iced over completely, the heater covered in ice and frost.

"Slightly better," she muttered to herself.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

With the heaters Sophie knew this would be harder to do then last. She grimmanced at the idea of needing to deal with them even after [member="Darth Arcanix"] had managed to do so. She sighed before reaching out again and using the same tricks as before. It was, as she thought, tougher. She was putting more thoughts and concentration into the cooling down process yet the heat from the machine itself was managing an impressive fight. Small cracks of ice showed here-and-there yet some were mealted down faster before others could form. Small layers upon layers of ice needed to form over the time it took for Sophie to fully freeze it, but of course having used more time to do so than her master. She started to have a reluctant look to her face when realizing this.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

"Don't be discouraged, Sophie," Taeli said, noticing the look on her apprentice's face. "We both are just learning this technique and I still have more experience using the Force. Don't worry about getting it as fast as me, you're already improving and the heater is designed to be harder than the glowrods. But, regardless, we can't slow down in our efforts."

The third objects, a much larger and stronger heater began to heat up, except this time the air around it began to heat quickly as well. Refocusing, Taeli began by drawing the heat out of the air, slowing down the air molecules and commanding them to not take in anymore heat from the larger heater. A chill started to fill the room as she began to turn her attention to the heater itself, her will crushing the machine's molecules under her. Frost and ice battled with the heating coil for a minute or two, but her control of the dark side would not be denied. The heating coil once again shut off and froze as the internal machinery iced over and grinded to a halt.

"For the heater, the goal is not to focus just on the heating coil, try and dominate the internal machinery and the entire thing will freeze over," she explained to her apprentice. "Cunning application works better than sheer brute force to dealing with a problem most of the time."

 

[Zion Mirtis]

With a larger heater brought out Sophie had a little more doubt in herself. She watched her master perform better, as usual, before it was her turn again. She sighed, knowing it might not work now, before her master had explained it was also a atter of dealing with the inner workings of the machine itself. Using brain power over will power would be better in this case, as she also made clear.

Sophie went into the same position as before and reached out with the force. But taking her masters words into account she began to focus on the inner mechanisms of the heater itself. Everything would freeze slowly but surely, making it easier for Sophie continue to encase the entire device in ice within a matter of minutes. The heat, as she realized, could not fully defend itself without the support of it's sources within the heater itself. It was like a soldier without an army behind him to fight in a battle.

The heater eventually became a block of ice and Sophie, seeing she'd managed it within the same time as [member="Darth Arcanix"] began to see the same technique to cryokenisis. It wasn't a matter of facing heat itself but taking down its supports so it could not feed on anything to survive.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Excellent work, Sophie," Taeli said, nodding her approval at her apprentice. "Now, we have a few other tests and these ones will be harder . . . for other reasons."

Gesturing, two Sith troopers brought in a row of prisoners, all of them shackled and looking murderous.

"These men here decided it would be a good idea to try and bomb a Sith convoy escorting humanitarian and building supplies to Manaan," Taeli explained. "They have been slated for execution, but I was able to have them brought here for our lesson. Our next step will be to freeze these men, so I hope you have no squeamishness left within you, but in a way this is more humane than what Lord Vornskr or Lady Isolda would do to them."

Reaching out with the Force towards the first prisoner, she subjugated his molecules to her will easily and began sapping the energy out of them. Frost quickly started to form on his skin, his blood would be moving slower and slower as his body lost all ability to function from the extreme cold he was being assaulted with. Within just a few seconds, the man fell forward, frost covering his entire body, his blood having frozen inside him.



[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Now it was time for live targets. Interesting. Sophie looked over at the men, both of whom seemed the type to want to bomb the Sith for the sake of serving their own "nobel cause". She sneered at them as they seemed scared for their life, thinking this was something they should've known would be waiting for them for attacking the Sith. She stood back and watched as [member="Darth Arcanix"] used her power to freeze one man before looking to the dead frozen remains. She huffed a smirk before looking to the other. Now it was her turn.

Reaching out Sophie focused, freezing the insides of the man's viens. His blood would begin to stop before his heart beat would grow more and more slower. His skin went pale and his lips blue. This was far easier than the heaters, being that they couldn't generate an endless supply of heat for thier bodies. Eventually the man was gasping for breath as his own had become visible from his own mouth. His eyes were bloodhshot and then, finally, he fell down to the floor dead. His heart, along with everything else, was now a frozen cube.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Very good Sophie," Taeli said, gesturing for the corpses to be taken away. "I do believe we have the basics of this technique down, for the most part. Now comes most difficult and long task of learning anything, furthering our knowledge and skill at using the ability."

Turning back to the table, she closed the book and held it in her arms, looking for all the world like a scholarly twenty-something year old cramming for an exam before dance.

"Any further questions?

[member="Darth Raven"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

When asked Sophie shook her head, content with that she knew so far. To have this power, freezing enemies where they stood, it was a grand idea. It did make her think how easier it would be to deal with en by killing them slowly through freezing them from the inside out. If tey were to look like the men who laid dead on the floor now, there would be many a cold body littering the battelfields.