A Lesson in Power

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen sat quietly as he meditated in the courtyard of the main temple. Sitting here, surrounded by the walls of his home, he felt at peace. It was a place of safety, somewhere where he could relax, and enjoy himself. It was a realm wherein his word was absolute. And yet, two days ago, a man had disrespected his home. In public, a single person had dared to insult a guest within his walls, someone he had vowed to guard for both professional and personal reasons. Such a transgression, particularly when observed by the council and Vulpesen's advisors, could not go unpunished.

Drogh had been given a room in one of the local inn's, a place to rest his head and recover while he prepared to fight the Valde. He had two days, and when they were up, he would be told it was time. The messenger himself was an imposing man. Excelsus Claymus was massive, his arms looking quite capable of snapping any man in two, while his legs looked like trees. on his back, a large rifle would be slung, ready to spray down any unfortunate soul that crossed him. There was a reason Vulpesen had chosen him to lean the Veran Military, and as their leader, it was his job to oversee the duels of honor that concerned the Valde. "Time to go, kid. The Valde is waiting for you."

[member="Drogh"]

 

[Drogh]

Drogh hated this planet the more he was forced to stay here. He despised the stalking trees, the backwater houses made of cobbled together wood. He hated the open air, he despised the burning sun, he loathed the fact there wasn't any narrow alleyways to hide in. This planet was primitive, the people backward savages, it was generally alien to him and Drogh had lived on Coruscant for a good deal of his life. Drogh had mostly refused to train, seeing no point. The "Valde" hardly wanted a fair fight, two days wasn't enough and he knew it, this was to 'teach him a lesson', shallow words of honor and respect, when the Valde merely wanted to gloat his power and superiority over Drogh. Drogh wasn't interested in fighting the Valde, he wasn't interested in partaking in their petty pointless traditions, he would take the slashes and go home, back to his "Mistress", and alas nothing would be learned.

Yet, the mutt did show some inner desire to hurt Drogh further that night, some old darkness that slept within him. Drogh was wrong on first judgement, reading his force signature, the darkness was far stronger then he thought it was. In fact Drogh believed he some what danced around the dark, yet never falling into it. Tainted Light? Balance in the force? Such ideas are wrong, there is no balance in the force, there is the dark and the light, Drogh believed it little more then cowardice to try and draw from both. If one is not fully committed to it, you are forever torn between the two, your actions become indecisive, your feelings twisted onto them selves. Drogh spoke from a place of ignorance to be sure, but he still felt [member="Vulpesen"] in the force.

Drogh had taken to wearing a simple brown tunic, with matching trousers. His dark robes were far to filthy for even him to stand. He was outside, feeling the hot beating sun break against his pale skin. He was staring directly out into the wilderness in front of him, hearing the odd howls and chatters of the strange beasts that lived there. Drogh never seemed to be able to get used to the "organic" stench. The reek of the bark, the stench of the grass, a wet dreadful smell. Drogh would of ran off, refused to fight the Valde out of sheer spite alone, but he knew he wouldn't survive the vines that would choke around his neck, or the wolves that would devour his gut. He was stranded. Drogh could hear the large Zorren long before he spoke to him. Drogh turned to meet the large dog, he was impressive among Zorrens and Drogh might as well have been a child compared to the man, but he had seen far larger beings, he was hardly intimidated by him.

"Ah, I see it was a wise idea to bring some one of such a large physique to guide me, it's almost impossible for me to get lost." Drogh said, a half-stealth insult, as a smirk emitted from his dead like face.

 

[Vulpesen]

"Don't worry string bean. If you get lost, I can always expedite the process by chucking ya to the valde. Give ya a nice direct path." Claymus was not a man of honeyed words or trickery. He wasn't the politician that Lucas was. He spoke what he felt and listened to the tones of others as they spoke to find any disrespect he might be able to call out. Going on with his duty, the excelsus led Drogh to the main temple. As he had seen before, the structure was grand, towering over the rest of the city with its spires reaching high above the trees, they were still instilled in its large design, providing supports for the massive structure of steel and stone.

As the pair would reach the courtyard, Vulpesen would be standing patiently in the center, his coat removed, though his vest remained, sparking lightly in the sun due to the phrik dust that lay upon it. His hands were folded in front of him and his eyes narrowed at @Drogh. "Good, you're here. Now before we begin, I believe I gave you a question to answer... What was your first mistake?" He could sense the hatred in the man. how much he despised every moment on Veradune. He looked out and he saw savages. But to believe his judgement would be to trust the eyes of a blind man. He had entered Veradune blind, and with every step, he stumbled in darkness. Vulpesen only hoped that his 'lecture' might offer this man some semblance of sight.

 

[Drogh]

As they walked, he saw the large overbearing stone towers that pierced the clouds. They were gigantic things, impressive for this planet perhaps, but hardly a titan. Drogh didn't think much off it, yet as he was marched forward he saw the pretty courtyard. The fine flowers, the refined grass, that swayed docilely in the gentle breeze, the lush trees fermented with fruits, still he hated it all the same. Drogh gave a squinted glare of his own at the Zorren. As soon as they met, he couldn't help but show the superiority complex in the form of a tutor none the less, predictable, but none the less annoying. Drogh gave a small smirk, scoffing slightly. "No, no no." Drogh said, in a low slightly smug whisper. "After the party you've given me a very good reason not to talk around you, so here's the rules, either I'm allowed to speak freely or I don't speak at all." Drogh didn't care if he had to be silent or not, he only wanted to speak just to annoy [member="Vulpesen"], to find what made him tick, and if he was denied that entertainment, he would simply endure the cuts and go home, it was quite a dull affair really.

 

[Vulpesen]

"You will answer the question. You'll find there's a very good reason to not be silent." His voice was calm and measured. Drogh was a stubborn man, he could sense that much. He was ruled by his pride, something Vulpesen had scattered in the face of hundreds. "If you answer truthfully, then you needn't worry about things going too poorly for you. Now, where did you fail?" Ra was soft on this one, allowing him to get away with wrong after wrong. Vulpesen wouldn't be nearly as lenient. In his experience, no student was above the master, in any regard.

[member="Drogh"]

 

[Drogh]

Drogh folded his arms, unable to wipe that smirk from his face. The Valde was threatening him now, with violence. Drogh knew he would do this, try to break him into submission with force. He was far stronger then Drogh, there was little he could do in the face of him, but Drogh was't about to give up so easily. "I thought we were here to duel?" Drogh said, rolling his eyes. "You can't threaten me with pain [member="Vulpesen"], I'm expecting to suffer regardless, so go on then, choke me until I fall to the ground, burn my flesh with another current of lighting, break my ribs with a force push, cut my flesh up, what ever you desire to feel superior."

 

[Vulpesen]

"We will duel. But that's not why we're here." Vulpesen reached to his hip and took his lightsaber from his belt. Though, rather than ignite it, the man simply walked to a nearby bench and set the weapon down, meticulously place it straight and aligned. "I am here to teach. You are here to learn. You're right, pain isn't a proper motivator when it will come regardless. But you've made another mistake... You assumed pain was on my mind. You see, I don't think theres any reason that Ra would want you back in her service in any short amount of time. So what incentive is there for me to release you from here? I won't choke you, or burn you, or break your ribs until they poke at your lungs. Because you still need to answer my question. Now tell me, two days ago you made a mistake. What was it?"

[member="Drogh"]

 

[Drogh]

Drogh's face when from smug satisfaction meaning to deep annoyance,a scowling face emerging from the pale features. His cold eyes glared at him, he had expected the Valde to lash out, cause suffering as he had done before, but he held his temper. He was smart enough to recognized the one thing he could threaten Drogh with, time. A cold cringe inducing shiver went down his spine at the thought of having to stay here any longer. Drogh paced up and down, frustrated, he didn't want to give in but perhaps one must sacrifice their pride for the sake of convenience. "How seriously do you think I'm taking this?" Drogh said, his voice cold and yet harsh. "I know what I did wrong, so do you, but your ego demands that I say it to your face, so you can lecture me further?" Drogh said. "Do you think that anything you say to me will have any long lasting change." Drogh was beginning to shake, he had noticed. He had suffered cold sweats in the light, struggling to sleep and stay focused. Being away from his ship, and to that extent his drink and spice had made him, uncomfortable to say the least.

His mind ached, his body burned with the desire to numb his soul, to stop feeling. The force to others was a great beacon of power, but to Drogh it felt more like a parasite, gnawing at his very sanity. "So I insulted Ra, my darling 'mistress', apparently you saw fit to take care of it your self, and the master Jedi of yours."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"Not as seriously as you should be considering I'm 'bout to whoop your ass more embarrassing than when my kid steals a cookie from the jar." A small smile touched Vulpesen's lips as he spoke, locking his golden eyes onto Drogh, listening as he went on with his beliefs. "Wrong. Thats was the result of your mistakes. Try again." Vulpesen lowered himself down and took a seat on the bench, laying back as if he were simply there to bask in the sun. He had all day. He loved his home. The smell of wood in his nostrils, the distance chirp of birds. The beautiful spires of wood and steel as civilization mixed with the wilds. It was where he belonged.

[member="Drogh"]

 

[Drogh]

"Funny man." Drogh said, in a cold voice, that shimmered with anger just above the surface. The Zorren was hell bent on trying to teach some kind of lesson. Drogh's patience was being tested, very well. Well he could play the same game, they came here to duel, to fight. He wasn't here to take a scolding from a man that was basically a stranger to him. He might be a master, but he wasn't his master. "You know it's funny, when you was looking down at me, when you was striking me with that fancy lighting, I felt something come off you." Drogh turned away from Vulpsen, looking outward at courtyard. "I felt something awful, something, black, cold and..you were enjoying it, weren't you?" Drogh said, a weak chuckle leaping from his lips. "Don't blame you, I'm easy to hate, probably deserved it, even the choking, but it was more then just you showing who's boss in your own house, wasn't it?" Drogh said, looking back at the Valde. "Like this is more then just a duel, you say you're here to teach me?" Drogh said, skeptical, as if he was judging weather those words existed at all. "I think you're just here to gloat, tell how wrong I am, I know how fethed up I am Vulpesen, I'm kark'ed, I know what I did was stupid, and I know I should probably be sorry, but I ain't." Drogh said, and perhaps something genuine left him, his face had no mark of malice or hate, spite or bitterness, it was just an exhausted, some what sad face. "Show me a bit of mercy and spare me the lessons, eh?"

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"You felt something? Something dark... a pleasure... tell me, did it seem anything like this?" Vulpesen's eyes darkened and his presence in the force shifted dramatically. It was as if the man had exploded into a cloud of darkness. Light was snuffed out like a candle in the cold of midnight. Carliah had been a remarkable void. The presence her son exuded was nothing sort of a black, sucking everything good from the air around him. "You're right. You were a fool. You should be sorry. You are wrong. But you ain't karked yet, and I'll not give you mercy yet. Your belligerence and stupidity is an inconvenience to someone I care about, as well as the hand as a whole. As such, I intend to enlighten you. I'll fight you for honor and to restore the wrongs you did my house. But I'm going to teach you so that I don't have to do it again. Now one more time... What Was Your Mistake?" The final words boomed as they left his lips, assaulting Drogh's ears and even his physical form as the air between them rippled.

[member="Drogh"]

 

[Drogh]

Drogh could feel Vulpesen fade, as if there was nothing but an empty maw, eating the light that once cloaked him. Reminded him of his self. He looked at the Zorren, seeing something that had fallen far, he more then just walk of the surface of the darkside, he was drowning in it. Like thick tar, he could feel it in the air, hanging over them like a great choking sulfuric cloud. Drogh smirked at the mans response, he didn't much care for any of this, but he wouldn't shut up. He was getting generally tired, feeling drained of this conversation, wondering if a duel was even going to happen at this point. Then he deiced to shout at him, the words ringed in his ears, causing them to bleed slightly. Drogh fell to the ground, his hands covering his ears, he barely heard the man but he thought he got the idea of what he was saying.

Drogh sat there, laying on the grass before pulling him self up, shaking his head. "Couldn't help your self could you?" Drogh said, as he slowly picked him self up, his ears still ringing. "I thought I told you what I did wrong, I insulted Ra, what else is there?" Drogh said, he was actually confused, if he was going to punish him for something he wasn't aware of, then so be it, nothing he could change about it. If the Zorren wanted some deep, thoughtful apologetic response, he was going to have to wait.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Finally, Vulpesen stood back up and strode towards Drogh. Every step was deliberate, placed precisely where he chose rather than randomly in front of him like so many would step in their day to day lives. His golden eyes continued to burn as they looked down at Drogh. "Temperature is not sickness. it is the symptom of a fever. You insulting Ra was not the sickness. It was the symptom of your stupidity. Your mistake was confusing power with might." Finally, Vulpesen stood over Drogh, his clawed fingers twitching a bit while the darkness melted away, replaced by the usual sense of neutrality that surrounded his presence in the force. "I have might. I could snap your neck with my bare hands if I wanted. I could fry your insides like they were to be my next dinner. Might is the ability to overcome any foe with your own strength." To emphasize every word, the Valde expanded himself, allowing the fool before him to drown in his force presence.

"Power is your ability to influence. To bring about that which you wish to be done. Ra'a'mah has that. She doesn't need might. She has power through her connections. She is a woman to be feared, not because she could shoot you between the eyes, but because with a snap of her fingers, she could have fifty different people blow your head off. You ignore her lessons just as you've ignored mine. Why she trains a pathetic fool like yourself I don't know. I'd do it, but I can only teach a fool or strengthen a weakling. You have the audacity to act as though you are strong and wise when you are neither."

[member="Drogh"]

 

[Drogh]

Drogh took a cautionary step back, eyeing the Zorren. The Zorrens speech was not enlightening, nor did he care for what he had to say. He couldn't find him self to care, because he didn't have the smallest shred of respect for The Valde. He feared the man, he wasn't weak to any degree, but the idea that he could impart any wisdom onto Drogh was meaningless. Power and might, the difference is that they mean the same thing, just said differently. The Zorren was starting to sound obnoxious, inflating his point. He had insulted Ra, he was sent here to be disciplined, but now he was being lectured about the difference between power and might. Drogh had came here to duel, to receive a beating, to be humiliated and mocked, he could of dealt with that, but now the Zorren was inflicting a lesson on him, something Drogh found beyond annoying. He wasn't going to argue with him, or spout some bitter spill, he didn't have the energy for it.

Yet, he felt something. A shroud of grey submerging all around him. Drowning him in the indifference of the force, a fine balance between the light and dark, clear, empty and yet oddly beautiful. It was like a cold wind, a bitter breeze yet a warm ray of sun, it was both life and death, chaos and harmony, peace and war. It was simply the force, it was everything. Drogh couldn't deny the mans power, and Vulpesen was making sure he wouldn't. "Can we duel now?" Drogh said in a tired almost dismissive voice.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen's eye twitched and a single word floated through his mind. Fool. He had done what he could to teach this man, to impart knowledge that he would need to advance. And yet, he was stubborn in his ways. "You're worse than a jedi." It was all Vulpesen said before he answered the man's question. No more flowery words. No elaborate traditions to be withheld. His answer came simply and swiftly in the form of a clenched fist aimed at Drogh's nose.

[member="Drogh"]

 

[Drogh]

Drogh staggered back, blood gently oozed from his nose. A sort of crooked smile came off his lips. It hurt, a lot but something interesting finally happened. "Getting as fed up as I am?" Drogh said, as he his footing got back together. The Zorren moved with speed, he was agile, his fingers with curved with a fierce set of talons. The burning bright eyes were quick to move, this thing was fast, but so was Drogh. He had a frail, lankly build, uncomfortable and awkward in appearance, moving with no sense of grace or coordination. Drogh knew he was hopeless outmatched, he couldn't win this fight, but he could hurt him all the same. So Drogh did something risky, something to spite the man. Drogh threw him self at the Zorren,a vicious head but, a tumbling loose cannon of bone and thin flesh hurling towards the man.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"You're impossible to teach." Vulpesen's eyes darkened and a foot moved back, his claws hands rising up into a guarded position. The smart thing would have been to play defensive, to try and sustain the Valde's blows until he'd had enough. But as Vulpesen had learned, this man was not smart. He was reckless, foolish, and hate filled. His charge as such, came at no surprise to the experienced warrior. Rather than step away or block the attack, Vulpesen simply tensed his abdomen and allowed the dark man to collide with him. It was probably about then that Drogh would find out just how the Valde could hit so hard. Zorren anatomy came with a denser muscle tissue, allowing for greater strength, while also making them a fair bit heavier than one would expect should they deal with humans as much of the galaxy does.

Barely even grunting as [member="Drogh"] hit him, Vulpesen allowed himself to be lifted off his feet, with a slight hop. And with his arms having come above his opponent's head, he let out a feral growl and brought his elbow crashing down. One of the first things he had learned from his people upon becoming their leader was their culture, and in a warrior culture, this of course meant learning their various fighting styles. And being born of the fox, it was only natural that he excel in the practice of the fox forms which took full advantage of weak spots and pressure points. With his elbow moving to hit Drogh's back, he had ensured that its point would hit just a few inches right of his spine, where it would feel like a direct shot to the lungs. "You are worse than both jedi and sith! You lack a thirst for knowledge, and the desire for power!"

 

[Drogh]

Drogh fell to the ground, he couldn't even let out a grunt of pain, as he fell, a forced sickly wheeze, as he tried to desperately cling at any air he could. He was utterly starved of oxygen, rolling around slightly in his own pain. Truth be told, his head hurt more then back but that didn't matter much when he couldn't breathe. Yet, despite all of this, as Drogh laid there, struggling to breathe, he forced a laugh, a cold mocking laugh, sickly, distorted and broken, yet he laughed. The Zorren wanted to teach him, forcing a lesson on him that he did not want, nor care for. Yet, the Zorren had the audacity to be offended when Drogh refused. There was a number of things Drogh wanted to stay, but he couldn't, ceasing his laugh as even that was difficult. His breathing started to become less frantic and forced, as he began to slowly calm, letting out a shrieking cough.

Drogh leaned up his head slightly, grinning. Looking at the Zorren with his glowing eyes, that took a darker, foul hue. He could see his long claws twitching, aching with a desire to kill? The Zorrens patience was being tested, but it was his own fault. He had chosen to the role of teacher, but Drogh didn't become the student, they were playing too different games. Soon afterwards, his breathing had become steady yet weak, as he lifted him self up, sitting. "I didn't come here to learn.." Drogh said, his voice almost like a whisper.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

None too gently, Vulpesen shoved Drogh onto his back with a boot, his face turning into a snarl. Drogh's words brought a tinge of pain to him. Here he was, getting the living stars beaten out of him, and he refused to learn a single thing? Leaning down, Vulpesen glared into Drogh's eyes, his golden gaze boring into him. "That's my point. Always be watching. Always be learning. You think I'd be where I am if I didn't learn from every man who beat me into a pulp? I was a street rat, now I'm a king! Because I learned from failure and enemies, came back, and kicked their asses!" On his last words, Vulpesen did just that, delivering a swift kick to Drogh's side.

[member="Drogh"]

 

[Drogh]

Drogh had lost, he neither had the strength nor will to carry on fighting. Yet he could feel the subtle frustration oozing out from the mutt, this brought him a small joy. He felt those bright suns of eyes glaring beneath at him. He could feel his judgemental glare leap out at him, as if his very stare was burning Drogh. He couldn't help but look down, perhaps in shame? Perhaps in fear? Drogh didn't know any more, only that he no longer cared what the dog did to him. Apathy sinked in, a crippling disease that Drogh had suffered with his entire life, his own petty sadistic desires washed away in black water as he began to think of a place he'd rather be, some awful bar in armpit of Coruscant, drinking himself into a very early grave. Let the dog say his piece, let him lord over Drogh, let him say how low he is, nothing he hasn't heard before. Drogh knows his pathetic, he knows how low he is, and he doesn't care.

Of course he wasn't allowed to enjoy some self reflection, as he felt a cracking smack into his ribs, falling to the side, gasping in pain. Why coundn't the dog just admit he was just beating him up for his own enjoyment? Of course his own morality dictates that he must also try and "teach" him, to somehow justify such violence, although Drogh could tell the dog was enjoying it, or at least he thought he was. Drogh now with a sluggish indifference picked himself up, standing now, although still struggling to meet the man's gaze. Why was he letting this man here, whom he has no respect for making him feel so low? Why do his words add to his self loathing? Perhaps he was simply being reminded what he is, what he'll always be, a rat. "You win Vulpesen, I'm the lowest of the fethin' low, I'm less then dirt, and I haven't got any right to act the way I do, but you ain't gonna change that, so either beat me to death or let me go home, we're done here."

[member="Vulpesen"]