A Training Session in Shadow

[Visser Chernykh]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The Citadel of Ren, Avalonia[/SIZE]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWEGFg8RD_8

[SIZE=14.6667px]A figure knelt in a chamber deep within the Citadel. He seemed a part of the shadows in the windowless room. His eyes were closed as as he faced away from the arched entrance. A masked helm sat beside him. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]He drew from the Force within him and around him. The Dark Side welcomed him in it’s embrace. He drew it in as if it were a lover. It was intoxicating like a beautiful woman’s perfume.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]There was the same passion there. The same hunger and desire. It was the exhilaration of the first time. Emotion surged and it filled him with white heat.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The crimson mists of his meditation surged with new power. They parted enough to see blades clashing. Azure and bloodshine crashed with peals of thunder. Then the mists swallowed them.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]He heard a distant battle cry and the screams of the dying. Mists parted and he saw dark buildings in radiance. A figure moved toward them enveloped in a tattered robe. Their face was obscured by a deep cowl. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]In the foreground seemed to be a severed head. The figure was far in the distance. The head was indistinct and faceless. Yet it stood upright….[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px][member="Thresh Sken"][/SIZE]

 

[Wolf]

[member="Skjold Alexeyev"] | [member="Thresh Sken"]

It was always a joy to be in Avalonia. The jewel of the First Order, it was truly a magnificent accomplishment, and an example of what could be achieved across the galaxy under their rule. From the grand halls and parliament buildings to the urban centre and spaceport, there was order. Stability. Permanence. The First Order had built a city that could stand for the ages. As long as crazed idealists like the Jedi or the Republic did not try to burn it to the ground. Wolf would do everything in his power to ensure such a nightmare never took place. Things were peaceful here. Crime was not a problem, and the citizens were happy. Wolf could not imagine why any reasonable person would not want this. Sadly, ideology had a habit of making reasonable men unreasonable.

Wolf was deep within the Citadel of Ren, making his way to a chamber to train. He was unskilled in the Force, and yet as he walked past a room, for a fleeting moment, he felt something familiar. Wishing to investigate, he opened the door into the chamber, walking through the arched entrance to find a man kneeling, none other than Mael Ren, whom he had met before. He had never seen Mael's face behind that mask before, and could not help but stand there for a few seconds, staring. He probably should not have disturbed him, he did not wish to worsen their relationship. Nevertheless, now that he was in the room, there was no point in leaving.

It was quite possible Mael Ren would have been disturbed, but Wolf tried to not make it any worse, and instead kneeled opposite Mael, a few metres away, without saying anything. Bowing his head, he took a deep breath, trying to do as Mael was doing. In reality, Wolf was very inexperienced and was not really sure what he was supposed to be doing. He was a soldier, not a monk. Give him a gun, give him a sword, and he felt right at home. But here, kneeling, he felt well outside of his comfort zone. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus in on himself, tried to tap into and feel the Force as his colleague was doing.

Even with his inexperienced Force abilities, Wolf could feel the darkness swirling around Mael Ren. His colleague was clearly well trained and strong in the Force. But Wolf could find no such power of his own. As an acolyte in the One Sith, he had had moderate success before in tapping into the old anger he had from his memories, when his brother had betrayed him. Wolf tried to access the memories once more, remembering that same feeling of anger that had allowed him to first unlock his Force abilities. Wolf concentrated on that anger and made it real again, he felt his body tense, his brows furrowed as he remembered his traitorous brother's face. His brother had abandoned him, his family and the Imperial way, for the Republic. It was a despicable act. An unforgivable crime. As Wolf focussed on this, he was unaware of his surroundings. He did not know what Mael Ren was doing, if Mael was disturbed or not, but right now Wolf was not too bothered. He focussed on that anger he felt against his brother, drawing it out of his memories like poison from a wound. As he focussed on that anger, and made it his own once more, he could feel something. The air around him seemed to warm, he could feel a light breeze caressing his face and running through his beard and hair.

And then, it was gone. Wolf opened his eyes and sighed.

His inexperience in the Force was blatantly obvious, and if Mael Ren was watching he would have noticed it. The trouble was, Wolf had never been taught, and relying on himself to learn how to perform these various Force abilities was no easy task.

 

[Visser Chernykh]

A presence in the archway brought his meditations to a close. He didn't react in anger at the intrusion of the tall man. Indeed he didn't react at all. The shadows cloaked even his back facing towards the other.

He couldn't see Mael's eyes as he heard the man kneel beside him. The shadowed one didn't resume his meditation. He let himself feel that of the other. The attempt at meditation as such.

He remained still for those moments. The darkness swirled about [member="Wolf"] for just a moment. Then it seemed to collapse in on itself. Wolf sighed with evident frustration.

"Feel the darkness around you. Feel it inside of you," came his unadulterated voice slightly over a whisper.

Mael's voice was strange without the mask. It was human. He rarely spoke to others without the mask. Seldom did he allow others to know there was something humanoid about him.

His eyes closed and he drew in a silent breath. He let the darkness around him seep in again. Mael Ren would show him with action. The crimson mists began to swirl again in the mind.

[member="Thresh Sken"]

 

[Thresh Sken]

[member="Skjold Alexeyev"] [member="Wolf"]

I walked down the halls with determination in my step. I was going to get some practice in. The Force Powers that had eluded me for so long, like the legendary Sith Lightning, would be mine. I had felt it once. I wanted to feel it again.

Down the hall. A turn. Another turn. Deep into the compound.

Finally I arrived at my destination. The door was ajar, my first hint that something was different about this visit. I carefully opened the door a crack, my shadowy figure slipping into the room. Through my visor, my red eyes gazed upon two men sitting in front of the room. With my so-far-limited ability with the Force, I hadn't noticed the two men drawing heavily upon it from outside of the room. I could feel the intensity of the Dark Side in the room escalate as they apparently sunk deeper into meditation. This would be as good a place as any to try to tune into the Dark Side. I was unsure of wether to await an invitation to sit down, but I figured added Dark Side energies wouldn't do them a lick of harm. I settled into a criss-cross sitting position on the other side of Mael Ren that was not occupied by Wolf. Then I started to sink slowly, ever so slowly into a light trance-like state.

 

[Visser Chernykh]

Mael drew deeply from the well of the Dark side. The crimsons mists swirled crazily like a storm of blood. He felt the Force pulse and reverberate. Yet he could not summon the visions.

He tried many times but failed. His frustration grew and he fed it into the inferno. It did nothing but cause the mist to swirl faster. Frustration became fury laced with despair.

Flashes of lightning came but nothing more. Things began to spiral further out of his grasp the harder he fought. Finally it was too much. His eyes opened glowing a toxic yellow with pupils the tiniest pinpricks.

He let out a scream of purest rage. The room seemed to tremble even here deep in the Citadel. Finally he grew silent and the room was still. His chest heaved with the sudden exertion and he fell forward onto his hands....

[member="Wolf"] [member="Thresh Sken"]

 

[Thresh Sken]

[member="Wolf"] [member="Skjold Alexeyev"]

I had just started my own drawing on the Dark Side when I felt a spike of emotion coming from my right side. The fact that I could register it was astonishing, in itself, but the intensity that I could feel was almost overwhelming. Almost. I drew upon that emotion, and I drank in the power that I could feel it had in the Dark Side. But, almost as quickly as it had come, the intensity faded. I opened my eyes just in time to see Mael Ren let loose with a yell that tore through the air and seemingly the fabric of the Force. It was almost like... you could see revertebrations through the air and Force where he yelled. I was overwhelmed, and my concentration shattered. Momentarily I had felt the Dark Side, the rage my companion was feeling had been a massive focal point to touch Dark Side with, but I stopped focusing on it now as I observed the man next to me.

Heaving as though just completing a massive feat of some athletic ability, he was on all fours. I was unsure of what to do. Something must have eluded him to cause this outburst, something I could not notice. I had felt Maal Ren using the Dark Side, although be it farther beyond than what my abilities allowed me. We all three thirsted for power, that's why we were here. Apparently the power Mael Ren had been looking for slipped through his grip. I wanted to help him, a fellow apprentice, but I knew not how. He was more advanced than I, so how could I hope to help? However, I did relate to his pain of seeing that power, of touching it, only to have it ripped away from you. It was a frustrating experience, and I sympathized with him for it.

 

[Visser Chernykh]

Mael Ren's breathing slowed. He pushed himself up upright and grabbed his helm. The disciple slid it in place and drew his cowl up. He stood and felt the anger dissipating.

Bitterness filled him as he ruminated on his failure. His eyes were shut under the mask. His head hung in contemplation. The Force was ever elusive.

The disciple straightened after a moment. He looked first to the Wraith and then the other human.

"Join me in sparring," he said in invitation. He strode over to a small rack and selected a wooden stave. Mael faced them with the tip grounded. The dark wood was far easier to grasp.

[member="Thresh Sken"] [member="Wolf"]

 

[Wolf]

[member="Mael Ren"] | [member="Thresh Sken"]

"Feel the darkness around you. Feel it inside of you,"

Wolf turned his head to look at Mael Ren, before looking forward again and nodding. He was glad that he had not started any petty feuds by disturbing his colleague's training, and instead that his colleague was willing to help him. After all, they both strove for the same cause, and served the same Supreme Leader. They were not Sith, where one was self-centred and refused to share their knowledge with their peer. Wolf closed his eyes again, his mind focussing on the darkness that was evident around him and in the room. This was certainly an ideal place to learn the Dark Side, next to someone who was already summoning it all around them. Wolf focussed on the anger he had felt again, though this time not bringing up the same memories. No, the memories were too unstable, too uncontrollable. He could not sustain them for long enough.

Instead he focussed within, drawing upon that same anger, the same emotions, and channeling them through his whole body. His muscles twitched as he felt the raw emotion. And then the darkness swirled again. Though this time he would not let his mind wander, he would not let himself stray away. His chest felt light as he felt the darkness fill him from the bottom to the top, he inhaled a deep breath, his body beginning to shake as he felt power surge and rage from within him. Elation filled his senses, and his mind was filled with a bliss he had never experienced before. This was the Dark Side of the Force. And it was only a taste. Just a small glimmer. Something to tease him at what could be. Something to show him what power could await him.

He paused as he felt the darkness surge even more powerfully, though not around himself, but the one who sat next to him. Crimson mists swirled and raged, and grew stronger and stronger. Wolf could not help but open his eyes as he felt and heard the flashes of lightning. He watched in amazement as the power around Mael Ren grew stronger and stronger, and Wolf could sense he was clearly frustrated, but over what he did not understand. And then, Mael Ren opened his eyes, flashing two yellow orbs and screaming, before falling forwards.

Wolf watched in silence as Mael then stood up and put his helmet back on. Wolf only now noticed the other one who had joined them, and nodded to him in greeting.

"Join me in sparring," came the voice of Mael Ren. Wolf got to his feet, silently walking over to the rack where he unhooked his vibrosword from his belt and placed it on the rack, and then picked a wooden stave from the rack, similar to what Mael had. Wolf was eager to get in some close quarters combat, this was where he felt most at home. His years in the Sith military had given him a competency with weapons, especially melee ones. He had worked with Mael Ren before, though he was not familiar with the other one who had entered the room.

He walked forwards to shake the hand of the one who had entered last, "Wolfgang Krieger, though most call me Wolf. Your name?" He then turned back to Mael Ren, "What was that about, earlier? What were you so frustrated about?"

Wolf held his stave in his right hand, pointing it forwards as he waited for a spar to commence, standing some metres away from the other two, his left foot forward and his right foot back, waiting for the other to also pick up a weapon, at which Wolf would look at both and ready himself.

 

[Thresh Sken]

[member="Mael Ren"] got up, and walked to a rack I had failed to notice on the other side of the room. Join him in sparring? The other man got up and walked to the rack too. I decided that I might as well follow suit, as I could do with some melee training. Maybe this was the training I had desired earlier. Maybe it wasn't that I needed to meditate, but that I needed to exert myself to achieve higher standards. The Force had a strange, yet helpful way of making things work out.

I slowly got to my feet and walked deliberately to the rack, while [member="Wolf"] introduced himself and addressed Mael Ren. I was curious also as to what had elicited that violent reaction from Mael Ren. I reached the rack and observed its contents. More wooden staves, and various other weapons. I continued my search for a weapon I was comfortable with, and elatedly I found a double bladed wooden stave. I grabbed it and felt its weight. Rather heavy, and maybe a bit unbalanced, but those were flaws I could hopefully overcome. The extra weight might just help me deliver a stronger strike.

I walked towards the center of the room, completing the triangle. My double-bladed stave hung limply at my side, waiting on everyone else's acknowledgment and consent to start. A three way duel. This will be... interesting, to say the least.

 

[Visser Chernykh]

Mael chose to ignore the question. It hadn't angered him but he didn't want to reveal his weakness. He knew [member="Thresh Sken"] and [member="Wolf"] to be fellow disciples. That didn't change his apprehension.

He simply waited for the others. The tall man chose a stave like his own. The wraith took up the lone double-ended replica. An odd choice considering his lack of size.

"Let's begin," he said without preamble. His stave whistled as he moved to cut at the wraith's torso. The saberstaff was dangerous on offense....

 

[Thresh Sken]

As soon as I heard [member="Mael Ren"] initiate the start of the three-way sparring match, I crouched into a low ready stance, the saber taff replica parallel to the ground in front of me. I was shocked that Mael Ren came for me first being the latecomer, but I guess he wanted to catch me off guard.

I angled the saberstaff to deflect the wooden blade off and away from my midsection. A slight movement, calculated to expend the least energy into the most effective defense. I pushed as the blades met, struggling to keep my grip from slipping. The sudden, almost overwhelming impact surprised me.The human had a much better vantage point since he was taller than I, and therefore could put more weight behind his attack. I quickly disengaged before my weakness could become too horribly evident. I had probably already put myself in a perilous position, barely managing to block the first strike. But I couldn't show weakness. Never.

Determination sparked in my eyes as I whirled away, twisting the blade behind me and settling in the same ready position as before, ready for a follow up attack. In my peripheral, I could see [member="Wolf"] in his ready position, looking at ease holding the sword in a comfortable and experienced grip. I had to prepare for him, too. In case he saw my weakness, I berated myself. I should always assume people more experienced than I, rather than rushing over-confidently into combat. If I didn't keep that in mind, it would come back to haunt me again.

 

[Samka Derith]

She watched the duel begin from the shadows above. Samka had been planning to use the sparring chamber alone for her daily training against the droids yet today it was occupied by three of her colleagues. Two of them she'd had previous experience with, [member="Mael Ren"] and [member="Wolf"], but the third was a stranger to her. From an elevated viewing platform above she could observe the action as it unfolded and critique it appropriately. In spite of her age, Sam was probably a more capable duellist than the three Ren on the ground. Her training could technically have said to begin at the age of just seven when her parents persuaded her to take up fencing as a sport and since her 'recruitment' into the Order of Ren at twelve years old, her natural skill had only grown more and more.

She watched the men fight with great interest. With every missed swing and clumsy block, Sam felt growing frustration. If these people afoul of any Jedi or Sith worth their salt, the fight would not end well but she knew it was inexperience rather than a lack of skill, there was promise in them all. Everyone had their own methods of fighting and she would not profess to knowing which was best suited for them. Her own strength was in speed, precision and agility. To her, a series of small lightning fast strikes aimed at any opening your opponent left you was better than any amount of brute strength.

She drummed her fingers against her cheek as the battle below continued.

[member="Thresh Sken"]

 

[Wolf]

[member="Mael Ren"] | [member="Thresh Sken"] | [member="Samka Derith"]

Wolf watched with interest as [member="Thresh Sken"] chose a double-bladed stave. The three of them stood in a triangle, and Wolf's heart began to beat faster with anticipation for the spar to come. His eyes darted between his two opponents, and relished the opportunity to gauge his fellow Disciples's skills. Given the double-bladed stave, Wolf could see that Sken was well-equipped to fend off two opponents. Perhaps he would put Sken to the test. He watched as [member="Mael Ren"] was the first to act, moving to strike at Sken's torso. Or perhaps, he would target the pre-occupied Mael Ren.

Wolf was already on the move. As Mael Ren moved forward to strike at Sken's torso, Wolf moved behind him, his right arm holding the stave coming over his left shoulder, and then striking downwards hard at the middle of Mael Ren's back. Nothing like a free for all to test one's abilities, focussing on one person was simple compared to having to fend off multiple opponents from all directions.

 

[Visser Chernykh]

Mael knew [member="Wolf"] would come for him. The man had the basics of the physical technique. He was competent enough in that sense. But the difference between a soldier and a sword master was mental.

Strategy and tactics could not exist without technique. Yet technique was nothing but exercise without the mental aspects. One moved in very predictable ways without such aspects. Things had to change quickly as openings came and went.

Thus Kreiger's attack being anticipated though he was himself not a master. He broke off the exchange with [member="Thresh Sken"] and brought his blade into a drop parry behind his back. He felt the power of the blow reverberate up his arms as the staves smacked together.

Big men tended towards powerful attacks. Their height and bulk gave them a special affinity for it. But they were big targets too. Mael aimed a hard back kick towards Wolf's middle in reply.

[member="Samka Derith"]

 

[Thresh Sken]

[member="Samka Derith"]

I watched as [member="Wolf"] came up behind [member="Mael Ren"] who had currently preoccupied my attention. I didn't notice Wolf. That could have been a fatal mistake, one that I should be wary of repeating. As Mael Ren blocked Wolf's powerful strike, I contemplated my next move. My code of honor would not allow me to strike Mael Ren in the back, but perhaps I could maneuver into a better position at this time...

I started pacing in a semi-circle to where I could see both Wolf and Mael Ren. That way, I would be able to see if anyone came at me, or even be able to take an opportune moment to strike at a weakened defense.

As I walked slowly and carefully, ever facing my opponents, I prepared my mind again for combat. I could not weaken under pressure like last time. Luckily, Mael Ren could not press his advantage, otherwise I would have been in real trouble. I had to commit to my moves. These were my fellow apprentices, but that didn't mean that they would be lenient. No. Only through difficulty could one grow in any skill, and that is how we are helping each other now.

 

[Wolf]

[member="Mael Ren"] | [member="Thresh Sken"] | [member="Samka Derith"]

Wolf felt the impact of stave on stave run up his arm as his opponent deftly managed to get his arm around behind his back and block his blow. [member="Mael Ren"] was certainly skilled, and was able to predict Wolf's attack with his back turned. And Wolf should have expected nothing less, for they were all men who had been found worthy of being trained in the Order of Ren. The thrill of battle was now coursing through Wolf's veins, and he felt entirely in his element compared to a few moments earlier, when he had to sit down and attempt to meditate.

Mael Ren then launched a back-kick in response to Wolf's blocked strike, and instinct took over as Wolf responded. There was no need to think and strategise over what to do in this situation, as reflexes took over. Wolf's left arm instinctively swung down across his body, attempting to bat away Mael Ren's leg. Wolf would have liked to have caught Mael's leg, but it was moving too fast and Wolf had to act too quickly for such a manoeuvre. As Mael's leg bent backwards to kick Wolf, Wolf's left arm made contact and clumsily collided with Mael's leg, slowing it down greatly and sending it to the side, only making brief contact with the side of Wolf's torso.

Wolf grunted in reply, and, provided that Mael Ren was thrown off balance by the parry, would hopefully be briefly now just standing on one leg. Wolf's stave came around again, to smack down at Mael Ren's back yet again. If it connected, it would hit with such force that Wolf would hope to not only inflict damage but also knock the man to the ground while he was off balance. Wolf could not forget the other Disciple in the room however, who was now circling around them for a better position. No doubt he was searching for an opening, but as long as he did not attack, Wolf had to focus on Mael.

 

[Visser Chernykh]

[member="Wolf"] moved faster than he'd given him credit for. He'd managed to knock the kick aside with a meaty arm. Surely it hurt but the big man only grunted. The Sith were flawed in their thinking but didn't train weaklings.

Had [member="Thresh Sken"] not moved around, Krieger's attack would've connected. Mael saw the chance to evade and took it. He tucked his head and shoulder rolled forward. He felt the air stir from the blow not ten centimeters away.

Mael found his feet a whirled around with stave poised. He knew his escape had been pure happenstance. Part of him was angered but not towards the others. That blow might've been his life in real combat.

His eyes shifted to the seemingly shimmering form of the Wraith. Thresh was there in the shadows but not. He was certainly present in the Force but his eyes tried to deceive him. Then his eyes found Wolf and he chose to wait.

[member="Samka Derith"]

 

[Thresh Sken]

I watched as [member="Mael Ren"] rolled to dodge an attack. He came up sword in hand, in a ready position. Then I saw his head glance in my direction.

At that moment, I knew it was time to strike. He had acknowledged my presence, which was enough for me. His back turned at a slight angle, I leaped into action. Taking my double-bladed stave in both hands, I executed a slash that would cut him open from his right shoulder to the left hip if it was a real weapon. I put my strength behind it this time, not shying away from the attack. I vaguely noticed [member="Wolf"] in my peripheral vision behind Mael Ren somewhere, but I was preoccupied at the moment.

I stored that little bit of information for later, because I didn't want Wolf to sneak up and attack me from behind. I needed to try to keep tabs on him whilst fighting. A skill I could do well to improve on.

[member="Samka Derith"]

 

[Visser Chernykh]

The Wraith came at him from right to left. Mael brought up his practice weapon even as he sidestepped left. The wood connected but the movement allowed the human to mitigate a portion of the hard chop. He continued to circle left with stave dipped low.

Mael broke the circle with a step the right. His weapon moved as if to make a rising diagonal slash at Thresh's legs. A deft turn of the wrist brought the wood around. The tip flicked at his opponent's hands in a quick cut.

Wrists and hands were always vulnerable. It was a lesson he'd learned the hard way. The back of Mael's right hand still had the jagged scar from years on the prison world. He'd let his mind wander during a fight with makeshift blades.

[member="Samka Derith"] | [member="Wolf"] | [member="Thresh Sken"]

 

[Wolf]

[member="Mael Ren"] | [member="Thresh Sken"] | [member="Samka Derith"]

Wolf found his stave swinging through empty air as Mael Ren rolled forward, and had to steady himself to not lose his own balance. Wolf smiled as Mael escaped his strike, and it was largely thanks to Thresh Sken being kind enough to move out of the way. If he had not, Wolf was sure he would have connected. He watched as Mael readied himself for combat once more, though not launching an attack of his own, but waiting for Wolf to strike.

Wolf had to think carefully, rushing foolishly in with wild blows would only risk exposing openings to his opponent. He held out his stave in front of him with one hand, looking for some kind of opening to attack at. He did not have to wait long however as he saw Thresh go forward to attack. Immediately Wolf burst into action. As soon as Mael Ren parried the blow from Thresh, he would find Wolf had neared him and a backhanded strike was headed to the middle of the right side of his torso.