Control or Rage. Both lead to power. (Self Training)

[Darth Ferus]

Tatooine, Unknown Area

It was a never ending desert. But what can you expect form the planet Tatooine? Krest found himself wandering in the desert, completely alone, completely lost. He was lost as to why he was even there to begin with. It had been so many hours sense Krest lost himself in the wasteland. Was he looking for a band of pirates? Or was it something else? He had no idea anymore. So he wandered, hoping to find water.

No creatures seemed to exist around him, but only because there were none. He found himself in the most remote and abandoned areas of the planet Tatooine. There was no food, no sign of life. No water, nothing. Krest only laughed though. Part of him felt like this was his life playing a trick on him. A sick twisted joke. His life would end on a desert. On a wasteland.

"No. No it won't."

The Zabraks voice calls out to no one in particular, but it gave him certainty. He remembered why he was out there. He was there to survive. To challenge himself. To push himself to his limits and see if he could go even farther. He heard of the tales of the light and the dark side of this. Rage for the Sith, battlemind for the Jedi. He wanted to find a neutral. A side in which he could have pure balance.

But part of the Zabrak regretted picking Tatooine as a planet to find his center. It would push him, but it might as well kill him too.

"Man, I know how to pick em. Right? Right." Krest shook his head slow. The concept of talking to himself wasn't a foreign one, but it wasn't something he liked. It made him feel crazy, insane. It didn't take long for him to simply stop talking, keeping his mouth shut for as long as he could.

He walked for miles, his lips starting to crack from the dryness of the area. He had to find water. If he didn't, he would die. All around him was death, no living creature lived here. No creature would. Krest trailed his hand along a nearby rock face, just wandering along. And then he found it. He found a cavern. And the most important part about it, the walls were damp. Krest ran into the cave, not even thinking about the dangers he could find. The beasts who could be seeking refuge in here with him.

Luckily, the Zabrak was still alone. There was nothing else there with him but a cavern with a small lake. Pure crisp clean water. Krest almost dived headfirst into it, but he stopped himself. He inspected the water closely for any sort of parasite or anything else that would strive away beasts, and found nothing.

The Templar knelt beside the water, cupping his hands into the water and sipping. It was so nice to have moisture. So amazingly cool. Krest continued to gulp down the water, unaware of the shadow forming in the center of the lake.

"Look at you, stumbling upon a cavern like this without even knowing it. So pathetic." Krest stood quickly, pulling his blade free. Across the way stood himself. A dark aura formed around his image. "In your self serving quest to become more powerful you've come across something far stronger then yourself. Do you really think that you can find more power with neutrality? The Dark is the only true way to get strength. You know this. You can feel it deep down."

Before the Zabrak could answer a light shone bright in the far corner. Another self image of him came across, standing beside the Dark. His light side. "You're darker half is both correct and wrong. There is no neutral ground. But it is with the light and control that you will achieve power. You must choose. There is no other way."

Krest just watched, dumbfounded. He had no intention of finding a cave like this. He had no want to. But he did, and with it he perhaps found another answer. He held up a single hand, looking between the two. "What happens when I decide?"

The two halves spoke in unison, staring the Templar down. "You have to defeat your other side. Become light or dark. There is no room for neutrality." Krest's eyebrow twitched at the option. He hated how there was only light and dark. How neutrality had no place. Out of sheer annoyance he spoke, offering his answer.

"I choose neither of you. Light, Dark. I choose to walk in between. Tell me, what does that mean now huh?"

With out a word the two rush at the Templar, their blades drawn. One was pure white, the other pitch black. They charged for Krest, both bringing their blades down in unison. Krest scooted back, leaping his way from the two's blades. There he pulled his own out, the pale blue saber licking the air as it came to life. "I assume that's my answer." Krest ran to meet up to the two, pulling out his second blade hidden in his leg. The saber ignites into a dark red, and Krest used both against his copies.

The Zabrak rushed low, swiping both blades for his foes legs, only to be caught by their own. Red against white, blue against black. Krest grit his teeth before leaping away again. While he jumped he sent his sabers right for the twins, only to have them knocked away. The twins rush in, slashing their blades for Krest's undefended chest. Bob and weave was all Krest could do to avoid the blades deadly edge.

But Krest had trick up his sleeve. He launched his fists out, sending force pushes for the twins chests, head, arms, what ever he could get after he dodged. It worked, and even started to push the twins onto the defensive. Krest took the time to use the force to bring his blades back to his hands and continued on the offensive, slashing up and down and across, never ending his assault.

Though this didn't last long. The twins got an edge, catching Krest's blade on a wide cut. They pushed the Zabrak to the defensive, forcing him to abandon his assault. He was able to keep up with them, and them with him, neither side gaining ground. Neither side winning.

The fight raged on, neither side being able to overcome their foe. Krest could not defeat the two while they fought in unison, and the two could not over power the Zabrak. It was a duel with no end in site, so Krest did the one thing he always did. He turned off his sabers and stopped.

His copies stood still for a moment, watching the Zabrak for some time before they two shut off their blades.

"Giving up will not get you anywhere."

Krest snapped then, yelling at the would be hims. "This fight will get me no where. Always fighting with myself will get me no where. You two say that it is either light or dark, but you two fight together in perfect unison. Grace with raw power. Rage with control. Why can't I just do that? Why is it always black or white?"

The twins only smiled. The images distorted and melded together. Before him stood him, no fancy aura, no light or dark. Neutral in it's purest form. "It isn't. Grey is always welcome. Control your rage. Focus it into your actions and you will have your strength."

The image fades away entirely and Krest is alone. He had found his answer. His path to power. And now all he had to do was harness it.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Korrokrrayyo Mountain, Kashyyyk

Korrokrrayyo Mountain, the tallest mountain on the planet Kashyyyk. Krest was traveling his way to the top, hoping to find something, anything. A reason. Control. He learned of the ability on Tatooine, so why not find an answer on a planet that was almost the opposite? He neared the top, keeping his hood low over his face. Luckily, there was a walkway to where he needed to go.

The native Wookies allowed Krest to use the walkway only because he had earned it. His task, kill a Katarn. The Katarn were an important part of the Wookies history. It was because of their existence that the Wookies hunted. It was said that one day the Katarn would hunt the Wookies again, but for now the Wookies were on top.

Krest found himself in the Shadowlands and it lived up to its name. There was no light trailing down to the base. Mushrooms and other fungus prospered here, growing on the fallen Wroshur tree's. Krest had only his own crossbow. Luckily he was allowed to use it due to how similar it was to the Wookies own bowcaster.

It didn't take long for Krest to find his mark. A bull katarn was staring right at Krest as soon as he passed around a corner. There was no hiding, just full confrontation. The two beings stared one another down, neither willing to make the first move adn give the game away. Eventually, it was the bull to act first. It charged right for the Zabrak, wildly and angrily.

Krest found himself moving before he thought. His crossbow was in his palm and he fired two quick shots at the bulls head. They slammed into their target, sending the katarn into a further rage. It ran wildly past the Templar, crashing into a rotten stump. It ripped its head out and turned to face Krest only to find several shots in its face. The beast hollered in pain, but it dropped, defeated.

Krest carried the beast on his shoulders, working his way back to the lift to get onto the walkway again. He had no issue with the Katarn then, each avoiding the Zabrak as if he was poison. Once at top, the Wookies took the kill and showed him the path to the mountain. To his goal.

He had traveled into the Shadowlands and earned his kill and returned it to the Wookies. With it, he was allowed to travel to Korrokrrayyo for his own purpose. To find his balance. To control his rage. He walked along the path, alone from any other creature. The Wookies had offered him a guide, but he had refused. This was his mission, and what he had to do alone. And so he went alone.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest finally found himself near the top. The walk had taken almost three days, causing his time on Kashyyyk to be much longer then he had wanted originally. But his goal was finally in site. Near the top of the mountain rested one of the largest Wroshur trees on the planet. The center of it was hollowed, creating a massive empty chamber.

Here it was, the place he would train. The tree could not be damaged no matter what he did to it, and there was no one around to get hurt. Krest stood in the center, looking around the entire are before smiling to himself. This was it. Now, he had to control his rage.

Krest sat, his legs crossed. There he centered himself, going into a deep meditation. But he was not suppressing his emotions. He tugged on the rage in him, the over consuming hatred. It was his blood lust he suppressed. His past as an Iridonian. His life before his time on Falleen.

Darkness. Hatred. Fear. Anger. Krest lost himself to these emotions as soon as he pulled on them. All the Zabrak saw was read, his mind lost to his Iridonian past. The force around him rippled, pulsing as he raged on, swinging his arms uselessly against his surroundings. He ran to the walls of the room, slamming his fists against them with the force fueling all of his actions. But the wood was ancient, not about to bow to the will of a wayward Templar.

Krest continued his unconscious rage, screaming and roaring as he flung himself in the chamber. The door was sealed, impossible for him to break. So he was contained, unable to leave and hurt anyone as he trained.

Deep within himself the Zabrak found himself standing in the center of a pool. There were no walls here, no light, only him. It didn't take long for Krest to realize where he was. He was at his center. His inner mind. He could feel all the emotions radiating from the pool, causing everything to be dark. He was lost in himself.

The Templar wandered in himself, searching for something, anything. All he found was the darkness. The rage he had pulled over himself. There was no exit, no light, no hope. He would burn through himself, unleashing all of his hatred until he had nothing left. Until he collapsed with no energy left to keep him awake, or alive.

No, this will not take me.

Krest sat down in the middle of the water once more, meditating. He would control his rage, not suppress it. He would take control of his beast and tame it. This was how he would become stronger. He felt the anger and fear around him and chose to accept it. To hold it in him.

He would not walk the path of the Jedi, suppressing his feelings. But he would not fall to the path of the Sith, allowing his emotions to control him. These emotions were a part of him, but not all of him. They were one side of the coin that was Krest, and he aimed to balance it. Compassion, love, courage. He tapped into those emotions, pulling them from the sea of his darkness. Slowly his world took light. Took life.

Krest found himself by the door, his fists braced against the wall. He returned to his mind, controlling his rage entirely. With a deep breath he stepped back, holding his fists by his sides. He had done it. He could feel his rage surging through him, but it was not controlling him. He was controlling it.

He exited the tree, making his way back to the Wookie settlement his ship was parked in. The Wookie Guide asked him what had happened and he offered a simple answer. Control. He had his new power, his new strength. Now he needed to master it.

At least the hard part was over, right?

Krest chuckled to himself, shaking his head slow. There was never an easy part, that much he new for certain. But it wouldn't be as hard anymore. All he needed was to move on. The Zabrak climbed back into his ship, nodding to his space droid. He was still a terrible pilot, so it was his droid companion that would take him home. The coordinators were punched in and the ship took off into the air, flying back to the Templar Sanctum. Back to home. Krest smiled. He would help others follow this path, that much was for certain.