Demons within

[Rafeesh]

Rafeesh listened to its strong words, for a moment he believed that it would fight him. But no. It was not to be. He did not think for a moment that this was a deception, instead seeing it as the clear weakness of the Dark Side. It truly was a crutch for the weak. All it did was cause atrophy, while the Light made one work hard and become stronger for it. There was nothing that this embodiment could do. So weakened was he by his own hatred and anger. It truly was a cancer that ate him from the inside.

Perhaps Rafeesh was being a little less thoughtful, perhaps he was being a bit rash in his judgment. He assumed that nothing could be done to him by this foe. He steeled himself for the blow against the damned creature... But pity stayed his hand and the saber's light disappeared. He held it there for a moment longer, the blade would have still pointed to the sky. He wondered what his master would say. He knew what he wanted to do, two different parts wanted to two completely different things. One obviously wanted to kill this wretch, putting it out of its misery and freeing them once and for all, but it was a lie that he could see. The other was to try and mend this wound.

"You are sick. You need help. That is why I am no longer you. I have gotten the healing that I needed. That is why I am here. I live this life because it is the truth, I know if I die then it will be for a cause greater than myself. There is serenity here that is not part of your life. I can help you, but you have to let go. Together we can learn and become stronger for it, turn your back on the Dark Side. I am a Jedi, what are you?"

Maybe this was not the greatest of ideas, Rafeesh was not thinking about that. He was desperately trying to prove that he was a person of the Light. For whatever reason he saw this other self as another man, one that he could help, not the darkness that lay within him. An illusion of this enemy? A failing on Rafeesh's part? Perhaps it would never been known. But he may have made a grave mistake and hardly realized it.

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

 

[Mantic Dorn]

While the entity at first had appeared frightened by the possibility of being killed it now twisted its expression into pure anger and fear.

Opening its mouth it at the same time reached out with long tentacles for the thorat of [member="Rafeesh"]
Alas, before it managed to wrap itself around him the creatures face started to dissolve. A piece of its chin, the eyebrow, a cheek and the entire mouth collapsing inwards. Imploding the dark entity had nothing left but a hoarse hiss before it was completely gone.

With that a stream of light began to shine in the far corner of the otherwise dark room.


[member="Rafeesh"]

 

[Rafeesh]

Rafeesh at first felt fear, he was taken completely off guard by the attack. For a moment he realized the foolish of his decision, this was the darkness within him, not a person who could be helped. It was the very embodiment of everything that he now stood against. No longer could it be helped, only pushed back into oblivion. That was the only way. Right when he believed that he was defeated, the being seemed to fall apart before him. Nothing could have prepared him for that, and he watched in surprise as the evil disappeared and a light shone off in the distance.

With nothing else that he could think of doing, Rafeesh cautiously walked forward. Had he won this battle? Or had he proven a point? He moved into the light and waited what would be his fate, wondering if that had been the end of the confrontation. Was it so easy? Or was he being lulled into a sense of false security? Where was his master when he needed him?

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

 

[Mantic Dorn]

As the light touched [member="Rafeesh"] a surge of energy struck him. It lasted only for a short time, it was not a painful experience nor a visible one. A sensation only recognized by the mind of [member="Rafeesh"] himself.
Then everything faded.

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Mantic had focused hard to broaden the mind of his padawans. While they both were adept at meditation this experience was something far deeper and more profound than a normal session.

Patiently he gave [member="Rafeesh"] time to fully return from the experience.
To Rafeeshs left [member="Aston Jacobs"] still was in deep meditation experiencing something else.

Mantic inclined his head to [member="Rafeesh"]

"What you have seen, what choices you have made are yours alone." he spoke before the padawan had a chance of speaking up himself.

"It was not real padawan, but it was the truth about who you are and what you may become. Nurture it and use what you have learned wisely."

With that Mantic motioned [member="Rafeesh"] toward the door.

 

[Rafeesh]

Rafeesh felt strange, as if everything was changing in him. He could feel a different power surging through him. It was the kind that was never associated with the Sith, at least not in his experience. He would not have been able to explain it. Instead he tried to bask in it, it was a strength that he believed was part of the Light. He hoped that it was a sign that he had made the right decision. He hoped that this path of redemption was not a doomed exercise.

The sensation was gone all too soon. His eyes opened and he remembered that he had been in the meditation room. He looked to Mantic, though he did not believe that it was correct to speak yet. He mulled over it for a moment before his Master spoke to him about the experience. Rafeesh wondered if the wise master had been able to sense the short battle. The padawan wondered for a moment if he had made the wrong decision and gone dark would Mantic have noticed and acted. But that was a question that did not need to be answered and Rafeesh decided that it was best not to ask.

When the man motioned to the door, Rafeesh stood and bowed. "Thank you Master. I will meditate on this." He walked slowly out of the room, his mind churning with what had happened.

[member="Mantic Dorn"]