Tmoxin Temi
Blood Monarch
(Posted with wrong character)
Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos
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Concealed in Coruscant
- Thread starter Tmoxin Temi
- Start date
Armand Temi
Orphan
Location: Sith Temple, Coruscant
Rhea Nin was nervous about being back in the epicenter of the Sith, Coruscant. It wasn't long ago that she defected and was most likely still wanted in some capacity. With her black mask and attire she would not be recognized but it didn’t make her any less fearful of being exposed and dragged back to Anaxes or wherever Darth Carach was now residing. As her shuttle landed in a public docking bay near the Sith Temple, she was lost in thought about facing the Voice of the Dark Lord again. With a crawling nausea in her stomach, she pictured herself being thrown at his feet and begging for his mercy as he smiled upon her like an angel of death. Bloody kark, a cyanide pill would probably bring swifter and more compassionate relief than what he promised to have in store for her if she didn’t comply with him the first time on Anaxes. And if he caught her, she knew her punishment would be twofold.
But catching sight of herself in a pane of glass as she walked down the busy Coruscant walkway and the jarring visage that the skull mask was, somewhat eased her mind that she was truly incognito. She made her way to the Sith Temple where she had arranged a training session with a Sith Knight. To keep within the spirit of being concealed, Rhea had requested an anonymous mentor. She actually didn’t care to even know his name if he wasn’t going to offer it. She would be known to him as Acolyte Nin.
After being admitted to the Temple, she was directed to a hallway with training rooms for acolytes. The room was bereft of furniture except for a wall various weapons, sabers and other training tools. Rhea didn’t linger on any of this. She stood in the center of the room, focused her attention inside and on the Force and awaited the Knight’s presence.
[member="Sage Bane"]
Rhea Nin was nervous about being back in the epicenter of the Sith, Coruscant. It wasn't long ago that she defected and was most likely still wanted in some capacity. With her black mask and attire she would not be recognized but it didn’t make her any less fearful of being exposed and dragged back to Anaxes or wherever Darth Carach was now residing. As her shuttle landed in a public docking bay near the Sith Temple, she was lost in thought about facing the Voice of the Dark Lord again. With a crawling nausea in her stomach, she pictured herself being thrown at his feet and begging for his mercy as he smiled upon her like an angel of death. Bloody kark, a cyanide pill would probably bring swifter and more compassionate relief than what he promised to have in store for her if she didn’t comply with him the first time on Anaxes. And if he caught her, she knew her punishment would be twofold.
But catching sight of herself in a pane of glass as she walked down the busy Coruscant walkway and the jarring visage that the skull mask was, somewhat eased her mind that she was truly incognito. She made her way to the Sith Temple where she had arranged a training session with a Sith Knight. To keep within the spirit of being concealed, Rhea had requested an anonymous mentor. She actually didn’t care to even know his name if he wasn’t going to offer it. She would be known to him as Acolyte Nin.
After being admitted to the Temple, she was directed to a hallway with training rooms for acolytes. The room was bereft of furniture except for a wall various weapons, sabers and other training tools. Rhea didn’t linger on any of this. She stood in the center of the room, focused her attention inside and on the Force and awaited the Knight’s presence.
[member="Sage Bane"]
Sage Bane
Gazing into the abyss
Sage Bane had a very nasty surprise in store for the mysterious Apprentice he had been given the task of training at one of the many Sith Temples on Coruscant. Very little had been shared with him about the background of the woman he knew only as Acolyte Nin. However, Sage knew that some tricky strings had been pulled to get her some training sessions with him. He had to admit, it piqued his curiosity about the woman. Perhaps the woman lead a double life as a Noblewoman who did not want conspicuous ties to the SIth. One thing was for sure: whoever she was, she had no idea just what she was getting into training with Bane.
Hiding in the shadows of the training room with his Force signature masked, Sage watched the woman, presumably Acolyte Nin, take a meditative stance in the middle of the room, with her back turned away from him. The Sith Knight, silently crept up behind the masked woman, his arm soundlessly peeling away to reveal his black leathery amphistaff arm. In the next moment, Acolyte Nin would feel the trio of muscular tentacles begin to wind themselves around her body. One slithered around her neck. Another around her arm. And the third around her thigh.
As the coiled around the unsuspecting woman, Sage whispered directly into her mind.
This is your first test. Try to remove them from your body using the Force.
This was the perfect beginning to their first training session.
[member="Rhea Nin"]
Hiding in the shadows of the training room with his Force signature masked, Sage watched the woman, presumably Acolyte Nin, take a meditative stance in the middle of the room, with her back turned away from him. The Sith Knight, silently crept up behind the masked woman, his arm soundlessly peeling away to reveal his black leathery amphistaff arm. In the next moment, Acolyte Nin would feel the trio of muscular tentacles begin to wind themselves around her body. One slithered around her neck. Another around her arm. And the third around her thigh.
As the coiled around the unsuspecting woman, Sage whispered directly into her mind.
This is your first test. Try to remove them from your body using the Force.
This was the perfect beginning to their first training session.
[member="Rhea Nin"]
Armand Temi
Orphan
At the touch of the amphistaffs, Rhea's combat instincts kicked in and she nearly leapt away like a startled hoojib. Her hand patted her side for a blaster that wasn't there. But simultaneously she heard the voice of her trainer, planted directly into her mind. Her heart beat faster in her chest and her hands sheathed in black leather gloves began to sweat. Without moving too much she tried to assess the amphistaffs, having not been so close to creatures such as these. Because the Sith Knight wasn't facing her she actually could not see that they were attached to him.
In a flash Rhea asked herself some simple survival questions: Do they bite? Are they poisonous? Can they strangle me? Meanwhile, the black, snake-like beings constricted her torso and neck.
The padawan concentrated and tried to Force jump up and away, but the hold of the amphistaffs was too strong and she rebounded back with an audible grunt. Another simple skill that most padawans were taught early on was telekinesis, so with her mind she tried to uncoil the tentacles. Invisible hands would scrabble and claw at the black, wormy amphistaffs to release their hold.
Her concentration was incredibly difficult to hold because of how abominable these creatures were. A human or near-human adversary she was used to fighting. But a slithery creature like this was something Rhea would not willingly get up close and personal to, much less have one wrapped around her with the touch of a firm lover. Rhea, you have killed giant subteroths before and you are now going to be terrified of these... snakes? she thought.
Digging deep for more courage reserves, she pulled harder at the tentacles with the Force and was able to free one of her legs, holding that particular amphistaff back and away from her.
[member="Sage Bane"]
In a flash Rhea asked herself some simple survival questions: Do they bite? Are they poisonous? Can they strangle me? Meanwhile, the black, snake-like beings constricted her torso and neck.
The padawan concentrated and tried to Force jump up and away, but the hold of the amphistaffs was too strong and she rebounded back with an audible grunt. Another simple skill that most padawans were taught early on was telekinesis, so with her mind she tried to uncoil the tentacles. Invisible hands would scrabble and claw at the black, wormy amphistaffs to release their hold.
Her concentration was incredibly difficult to hold because of how abominable these creatures were. A human or near-human adversary she was used to fighting. But a slithery creature like this was something Rhea would not willingly get up close and personal to, much less have one wrapped around her with the touch of a firm lover. Rhea, you have killed giant subteroths before and you are now going to be terrified of these... snakes? she thought.
Digging deep for more courage reserves, she pulled harder at the tentacles with the Force and was able to free one of her legs, holding that particular amphistaff back and away from her.
[member="Sage Bane"]
Sage Bane
Gazing into the abyss
At first, the panicked Acolyte tried to vault high in the air, and she was quickly snapped back by the Sith Knight's muscular, black tentacles. To the feral amphistaves, the woman was simply warm-bodied prey. The more she struggled, the hungrier they became. Sage used the telepathic link he shared with the creatures to mentally soothe them, calming them, lest they bite her, injecting her bloodstream with deadly poison.
After a few moments, Sage felt Acolyte Nin begin to tug at the coils, focusing her pull on the one embracing her thigh. In a few moments, she let the Force become her fingers, prying the leathery body off of her limb. The path to release had become clear to the Acolyte. Of course, at her level, it would be almost impossible for Nin to loosen all of the coils. Her powers simply weren't strong enough.
"Telekinesis," began Sage, speaking softly from behind her. "Is an extremely versatile skill that allows you to manipulate physical objects with the power of the Force. You used a decent Force pull to pry my amphistaff from your leg. With enough training in the power, eventually, you will be able to, among other things, pull an enemy's body in two different directions, instantly killing them."
The tentacles of his arm uncoiled themselves from her body and settled down to hang limply at their Master's side.
"I am your trainer. You may call me Sage."
[member="Rhea Nin"]
After a few moments, Sage felt Acolyte Nin begin to tug at the coils, focusing her pull on the one embracing her thigh. In a few moments, she let the Force become her fingers, prying the leathery body off of her limb. The path to release had become clear to the Acolyte. Of course, at her level, it would be almost impossible for Nin to loosen all of the coils. Her powers simply weren't strong enough.
"Telekinesis," began Sage, speaking softly from behind her. "Is an extremely versatile skill that allows you to manipulate physical objects with the power of the Force. You used a decent Force pull to pry my amphistaff from your leg. With enough training in the power, eventually, you will be able to, among other things, pull an enemy's body in two different directions, instantly killing them."
The tentacles of his arm uncoiled themselves from her body and settled down to hang limply at their Master's side.
"I am your trainer. You may call me Sage."
[member="Rhea Nin"]
Armand Temi
Orphan
Rhea listened to the words of her trainer, first praising her for the strength of her Force pull and then describing how she could pull a human or sentient being apart, flesh from bone with her powers. The padawan felt the writhing amphistaffs began to pull away from her body and she was free enough to turn around and face the Knight in the room.
But to her great dismay, the amphistaffs were attached to his body. This shocked and disturbed her for multiple reasons. First of all, Rhea thought that the creatures had been unleashed into the room and was expecting the Sith Knight to rally them all back to some type of animal cage. Second, she remembered this particular Knight very well. On the battlefield of Ashera, when she commanded troops for the One Sith, she watched him, a Sith Acolyte at the time, sever his own arm at the behest of his Master. She even tried to shake him out of his hypnosis and was swiftly reprimanded by the Sith Lord who had ordered this mutilation.
And third, the amphistaffs were truly frightening beasts and it filled her with a sick dread that they were willingly attached to this young man’s body. She felt bile rise up into her throat and was extremely grateful that her mask covered her horrified look.
She nodded to him and spoke, feeling the need for brutal honesty: “No doubt you can feel my fear. Of you. Of this place. Of your… arm.” She swallowed and continued in a more urgent tone. “But I would like to learn how to channel that fear into anger and rage. And to produce something truly powerful and frightening from it.”
[member="Sage Bane"]
But to her great dismay, the amphistaffs were attached to his body. This shocked and disturbed her for multiple reasons. First of all, Rhea thought that the creatures had been unleashed into the room and was expecting the Sith Knight to rally them all back to some type of animal cage. Second, she remembered this particular Knight very well. On the battlefield of Ashera, when she commanded troops for the One Sith, she watched him, a Sith Acolyte at the time, sever his own arm at the behest of his Master. She even tried to shake him out of his hypnosis and was swiftly reprimanded by the Sith Lord who had ordered this mutilation.
And third, the amphistaffs were truly frightening beasts and it filled her with a sick dread that they were willingly attached to this young man’s body. She felt bile rise up into her throat and was extremely grateful that her mask covered her horrified look.
She nodded to him and spoke, feeling the need for brutal honesty: “No doubt you can feel my fear. Of you. Of this place. Of your… arm.” She swallowed and continued in a more urgent tone. “But I would like to learn how to channel that fear into anger and rage. And to produce something truly powerful and frightening from it.”
[member="Sage Bane"]
Sage Bane
Gazing into the abyss
Fear, repulsion, and dread. Those were the emotions that emanated from Acolyte Nin as she stared at Sage's tentacled arm. Fear especially riled up the creatures. To their feral minds it was as potent as a cattle prod. Sage had to take a moment to calm his pets, lest they disobey his commands and strike out at the fearful apprentice. The last time his arm had gone rogue, he ended up getting a swift beating from Vrag, the Hand of the Dark Lord who wasn't very forgiving about getting nipped by one of the heads. Like the alpha dog, Sage gave them stern mental warnings. They responded the most favorably to a dominating hand. One of the black leathery creatures reached out and gave his fingers a submissive nudge. Sage gave the creature's head a gentle pat, calming it.
His gaze returned to Acolyte Nin. The apprentice's mask hid her expressions, but Sage could read her aura quite plainly. He felt no need to ask her to remove the mask for their training session.
"That is precisely what we will do here, Acolyte Nin," he finally answered. "Hatred and rage are useful emotions. You may find other Sith Lords and Masters of the dark side find that that these types of emotions should be used with more control, lest they control you."
He gave her a wicked smile. "I find that to be nonsense. Emotions should be felt deeply and used to excess. The dark side thrives on them, and draws more power from feelings such as rage, hatred, and even fear, and pain."
The Sith Knight withdrew a lightsaber hilt from his belt, but did not thumb the activation switch. He crossed to a nearby table and placed the lightsaber on the surface. Then he gave the apprentice a command.
"Call the Force into your body, and concentrate on pulling that saber hilt into your hand. If you find it difficult, just remember. Using the Force is as much about manipulating the negative space around the object as it is manipulating the matter."
[member="Rhea Nin"]
His gaze returned to Acolyte Nin. The apprentice's mask hid her expressions, but Sage could read her aura quite plainly. He felt no need to ask her to remove the mask for their training session.
"That is precisely what we will do here, Acolyte Nin," he finally answered. "Hatred and rage are useful emotions. You may find other Sith Lords and Masters of the dark side find that that these types of emotions should be used with more control, lest they control you."
He gave her a wicked smile. "I find that to be nonsense. Emotions should be felt deeply and used to excess. The dark side thrives on them, and draws more power from feelings such as rage, hatred, and even fear, and pain."
The Sith Knight withdrew a lightsaber hilt from his belt, but did not thumb the activation switch. He crossed to a nearby table and placed the lightsaber on the surface. Then he gave the apprentice a command.
"Call the Force into your body, and concentrate on pulling that saber hilt into your hand. If you find it difficult, just remember. Using the Force is as much about manipulating the negative space around the object as it is manipulating the matter."
[member="Rhea Nin"]
Armand Temi
Orphan
Rhea watched Knight Bane soothe his creatures into a more gentle state, but that didnt make it any less repulsive. She hoped she would get used to the sight of this ghastly appendage, but wasn’t optimistic that would happen anytime soon.
Despite the amphistaffs, her trainer was an attractive, young man – perhaps even younger than she was - who somewhat resembled her old employer Cryax Bane, so much that she thought they may be related. Of course, she didn’t dare ask or bring up her past nor pry into his.
Rage, hatred, fear and pain. Rhea was all too familiar with three of these. Physical pain, however, was something she hadn’t experienced much of in her life. Emotional pain yes, but she had kept her body in fairly good condition for combat with very little scars or serious injuries. Of course, she knew this would get worse over time and with age, but physical hardship and acute, long-lasting pain? Rhea was not familiar at all, and her thoughts returned again to the Ashera battlefield and the self-mutilation she had witnessed by Knight Bane.
But a new task was at hand, so Rhea concentrated on the lightsaber and focused on what Bane instructed – the negative space. And the same way she had pried off one of the black amphistaffs she visualized the saber in her hand but nothing happened. Of course she was much more frightened at the initial lesson, so this time, she tried to channel more anger and rage. Frustration and loathing came easily to Rhea, so she slowly took the the mental self flagellation that was a normal occurance in her brain and turned it outward towards the weapon, beckoning it with blind rage.
The saber suddenly whipped backwards off the table but didn’t land in her hand and hit the wall behind her.
[member="Sage Bane"]
Despite the amphistaffs, her trainer was an attractive, young man – perhaps even younger than she was - who somewhat resembled her old employer Cryax Bane, so much that she thought they may be related. Of course, she didn’t dare ask or bring up her past nor pry into his.
Rage, hatred, fear and pain. Rhea was all too familiar with three of these. Physical pain, however, was something she hadn’t experienced much of in her life. Emotional pain yes, but she had kept her body in fairly good condition for combat with very little scars or serious injuries. Of course, she knew this would get worse over time and with age, but physical hardship and acute, long-lasting pain? Rhea was not familiar at all, and her thoughts returned again to the Ashera battlefield and the self-mutilation she had witnessed by Knight Bane.
But a new task was at hand, so Rhea concentrated on the lightsaber and focused on what Bane instructed – the negative space. And the same way she had pried off one of the black amphistaffs she visualized the saber in her hand but nothing happened. Of course she was much more frightened at the initial lesson, so this time, she tried to channel more anger and rage. Frustration and loathing came easily to Rhea, so she slowly took the the mental self flagellation that was a normal occurance in her brain and turned it outward towards the weapon, beckoning it with blind rage.
The saber suddenly whipped backwards off the table but didn’t land in her hand and hit the wall behind her.
[member="Sage Bane"]
Sage Bane
Gazing into the abyss
Sage let out a long dramatic sigh and glanced over at the lightsaber hilt. It sailed back to the table with ease. He raised a withering gaze to the apprentice, then moved closer to her, close enough for her to hear the swish of the leathery tentacles undulating against one another. Sage looked straight into her eyes contemptuously, right through the mask as if it were an illusion.
"Shoddy work, Acolyte Nin," he tutted. "You can do better than that. You don't need to use so much rage in this lesson. This exercise is less about using your emotions, and more about using the dark side of the Force to bolster your will. There will be plenty of time for rage in our future training sessions. Don't you worry."
He glanced down at his monstrous arm and then smirked. Then Sage whirled on one heel and walked back to his former place, turning again to face her.
"Again," he commanded. "And this time think about exerting your will on the object. What do you want it to do? What are you going to make it do? Dominate the object."
[member="Rhea Nin"]
"Shoddy work, Acolyte Nin," he tutted. "You can do better than that. You don't need to use so much rage in this lesson. This exercise is less about using your emotions, and more about using the dark side of the Force to bolster your will. There will be plenty of time for rage in our future training sessions. Don't you worry."
He glanced down at his monstrous arm and then smirked. Then Sage whirled on one heel and walked back to his former place, turning again to face her.
"Again," he commanded. "And this time think about exerting your will on the object. What do you want it to do? What are you going to make it do? Dominate the object."
[member="Rhea Nin"]
Armand Temi
Orphan
Behind her mask, Knight Bane would not see how vexed her expression was at his heavy sigh. She rolled her eyes and thankfully he also wouldn’t see the little slip of defiance as well. But she recoiled slightly, when he came close to her again to chide her for the pitiful attempt at telekinesis. She could hear the amphistaffs begin to stir - whether from his temper or her proximity, she wouldn’t know but the Padawan had to swallow down the nausea that had made an appearance before. And in a flash, it was as if he could see through her, see who she really was behind her mask – the decorated veteran, the delicate Hapan, the disgraced criminal – Rhea was all actually all three. Which one Sage Bane saw in her was anyone's guess.
She closed her eyes and listened to his words. Less rage this time. Breathing deeply she allowed the Force to flow through her, and she began to envision it like a dark sea current, one that like the tide, would inch closer towards the saber. This time Rhea was successful, and while the saber’s movement was not fluid or graceful, it made its way to her hand in a few jerky motions.
Risking his wrath again, once it was in her tight grip, Rhea suddenly activated it, longing to feel its power. After all she had only seen the Sith wielding their sabers in battle and had never actually used one herself.
[member="Sage Bane"]
She closed her eyes and listened to his words. Less rage this time. Breathing deeply she allowed the Force to flow through her, and she began to envision it like a dark sea current, one that like the tide, would inch closer towards the saber. This time Rhea was successful, and while the saber’s movement was not fluid or graceful, it made its way to her hand in a few jerky motions.
Risking his wrath again, once it was in her tight grip, Rhea suddenly activated it, longing to feel its power. After all she had only seen the Sith wielding their sabers in battle and had never actually used one herself.
[member="Sage Bane"]
Sage Bane
Gazing into the abyss
When the lightsaber clumsily snapped into her hand, he smiled and nodded his head. Although he had not instructed her to, she activated the lightsaber, an action which made gave him a slight tic in his jaw. He would deal with that in a moment.
"Your Force pull was marginally better that time," he begrudgingly admitted, taking a few steps towards the masked apprentice. "However, an enemy could have beheaded you in the time it took for you to reclaim your saber just now. It should take one second or less. Your homework will be to practice that."
His eyes flashed to the humming red blade, and narrowed.
"You are eager, Acolyte Nin. I appreciate that. However, in the area of following directions, you seem a bit...challenged."
One of his amphitstaffs whipped out, coiled itself around the blade and plucked it from her hand. The lightsaber-resistant creature flung it to the floor where it deactivated. With a look, Sage made it float to the table again. From his pocket, Sage pulled a small sliver of something that looked suspiciously like an organ and fed it to the amphistaff's hungry maw.
"Again."
[member="Rhea Nin"]
"Your Force pull was marginally better that time," he begrudgingly admitted, taking a few steps towards the masked apprentice. "However, an enemy could have beheaded you in the time it took for you to reclaim your saber just now. It should take one second or less. Your homework will be to practice that."
His eyes flashed to the humming red blade, and narrowed.
"You are eager, Acolyte Nin. I appreciate that. However, in the area of following directions, you seem a bit...challenged."
One of his amphitstaffs whipped out, coiled itself around the blade and plucked it from her hand. The lightsaber-resistant creature flung it to the floor where it deactivated. With a look, Sage made it float to the table again. From his pocket, Sage pulled a small sliver of something that looked suspiciously like an organ and fed it to the amphistaff's hungry maw.
"Again."
[member="Rhea Nin"]
Armand Temi
Orphan
She grimaced behind the mask when the amphistaff snapped out to pluck the lightsaber from her hands. But she recoiled less this time. Then she swallowed as she watched her trainer reward the black, wormy creature. Wasn't here time for this later, she thought? Did he really have to feed the horrid things right here while she was trying to learn something? So ignoble, she thought!
When Knight Bane suggested that Rhea was "challenged" in following instructions, he was correct. She was more familiar with giving orders and holding back on this urge would prove difficult for the acolyte.
"Yes, Sir," she said, betraying a little of the military background she was trying to hide. She probably should have referred to him My Lord or Knight Bane but the words just tumbled out as she was used to them.
She tapped into her outrage at this whole situation and concentrated on bringing the saber to her again. This time, fear and antipathy, along with the visual of her head rolling on the ground if an enemy was truly prepared to behead her as Knight Bane suggested, allowed her more swiftness with the movement. She visualized the same dark sea to manipulate the negative space but this time instead of the tide, it was a ferocious wave.
The saber hilt whipped directly into her gloved hand this time with a speed that surprised her.
[member="Sage Bane"]
When Knight Bane suggested that Rhea was "challenged" in following instructions, he was correct. She was more familiar with giving orders and holding back on this urge would prove difficult for the acolyte.
"Yes, Sir," she said, betraying a little of the military background she was trying to hide. She probably should have referred to him My Lord or Knight Bane but the words just tumbled out as she was used to them.
She tapped into her outrage at this whole situation and concentrated on bringing the saber to her again. This time, fear and antipathy, along with the visual of her head rolling on the ground if an enemy was truly prepared to behead her as Knight Bane suggested, allowed her more swiftness with the movement. She visualized the same dark sea to manipulate the negative space but this time instead of the tide, it was a ferocious wave.
The saber hilt whipped directly into her gloved hand this time with a speed that surprised her.
[member="Sage Bane"]