[member="Knight Mullarus"] | [member="Fortuna"] | [member="Garivald"] | [member="Taris"] | [member="Darth Atrace"] | [member="Crentice"] | [member="Greta Kohler"] | [member="Darth Urak"] | [member="Zayden Madera"] | [member="Vega the Chaos Mage"] | [member="Kaela Jaryn"] | [member="Froste"] | [member="Abelain Narv'uk"]
The presence of the others flowed all around them, tempestuous energies drawn and channelled from the broader currents of the Force that were ever-present, crashing silently against them like waves of nerve-tingling electricity, invisible to the naked eye but easy to feel in a place such as this. Though Korriban may be a true world of horror and atrocity, in few places does the Force flow with such casual strength. Each of the Sith within proximity carried a modicum of that energy, bound up within cells and tissues, resonating strongly, ripples riding the waves of a stormy ocean.
It was a strange thing to experience, in truth: so much more turbulent and untamed that their presences might have felt in a different environment. On Coruscant, on Dromund Kaas, even on ancient Ziost, there is always that sense of civilised order about our brethren, he thought silently, musing within his own mind. Only here does it seem that we truly let go and reveal our darker selves to the world around us. It was the sensation of unspoken threat absent any reason to feel intimidated. As though we are not truly safe here. Not even from ourselves.
Perhaps, in truth, this is why they had come here to train: to unleash their uncivilised sides and render unto the Force every ounce of dark intent that they might possess, to benefit from the gifts such a lesson might offer.
He watched impassively as Azurea's students attended to their illusionary practices, trying to give life to what was merely an inward visualisation, a product of their minds and imaginations. His lip curled slightly, perhaps with a touch of disdain, amused in spite of himself. And so we pile illusion upon illusion: an ethereal outer shell concealing the mask we present to each other, that in turn hiding our true selves, buried so deep that only a trusted few might find them. It was an obvious thing, really: none of those here were what they seemed, nor what they presented. For, if we showed who we truly were, the others would pounce on such a vulnerability. Reason argued against it, but the primal energies of this place simply called to that primitive brutality.
Feeling a presence approaching behind him, the Sith Lord half-turned, eyes still on the training students, though taking in the Force sense of the being that sought to gently accost him. Strange to be addressed as 'Lord of the Sith', he thought sardonically, his expression closing slightly, to offer little of his inner thoughts. Such meaningless titles we ascribe to each other, when in truth, none of it matters beyond offering structure to otherwise chaotic lives.
"We teach in all that we do," he observed calmly, addressing the tall being that had approached. "Your every breath is a lesson, perhaps even a warning." Tirdarius offered the slightest of casual shrugs, an oft-repeated mannerism that seemed to come so easily to him these days. "But yes, I shall offer teaching if you are capable of learning," he continued. "The nature of it is the choice of those willing to take a risk in learning. Perhaps you wish to learn the thoughts of those around you, or muddy their minds with thoughts not their own? Or you might manipulate their movements more directly, without ever touching them. Would you destroy them with crushing force, or tempestuous lightning? Or something else entirely?"
He turned fully now, grey eyes coldly appraising the being before him. Tall, certainly moreso than he was himself, though there was a sense of fragility that contradicted the sheer physicality. Cold blue-tinted skin that seemed out of place in contrast to the warmer orange and red hues that surrounded them all, as though all heat had simply been leeched out of...whatever the being was, leaving nothing but frigid air hovering in it's wake. A strange being, to have gained a place amongst us, but perhaps that indicates worth. Or simply another thing the Sith intended to exploit to the very fullest.
"You see the chess game played out around you: some seeking the glory of open battle, others embracing subtleties that may yet influence the outcome of the game in it's entirety," the Human remarked, grey eyes unblinking as he continued in his observations. "What kind of player chooses to take a seat at the board now?"
