How to Mold Friends and Maim People

[Mauda]

Manarai Mountains, Coruscant​

Near Manarai High Command​

​

Stood amongst the rubble of the ruined Manarai Mountains, Orex contemplated. Was there some truth in the Rule of Two? Of course he was no Sith, but he was no stranger to petty rivalry either. The Cabal currently consisted of three individuals, including himself. Would this be an issue? Would training a fourth and final simply exacerbate this?

Maybe.

But it was yet to be seen. And Orex needed equality. He was no Lord. He had seen countless dictatorships throughout the Galaxy and they all shared one trait. Ego. A Government dominated by One was a government doomed to fail. He needed the balance. He could not have a simple Democracy as leaving complex decisions up to the People was like giving The Unification problem to a toddler and expecting them to solve it to some degree of success. But making it an absolute dictatorship meant he was the only one making decisions, and he couldn't have that. Of course he was undoubtedly intelligent and his pursuit of knowledge had rewarded him well, but regardless, the power of several minds will always outweigh a single.

Unless its several Gungans.

Orex almost shuddered at the thought, but fortunately his contemplation was broken as he observed the arrival of his new Apprentice, his ancient HWK tearing across the horizon.

@D'aKar Templar

 

[Gusstavo]

D'aKar's rustic ship raced across the upper horizon as gracefully as a brick flies. about half a kilometre from Orex's position the ship spun and performed a retrograde landing burn before settling down in a plume of dust. The figure of D'aKar emerged from the descending ramp, looking not unlike an undignified scavenger in his make-do body of armour. D'aKar walked over to Orex, looking very much at home strolling over the barren land
"A pleasure to see me again, I'm sure" D'aKar bowed and then straightened himself
"why is it you bring me to this ruined land?"
D'aKar leaned against a particularly large boulder and awaited Orex's response

[member="Orex Mauda"]

 

[Mauda]

Orex blinked furiously as plumes of dust whipped across his half-covered face. It was hardly a gracious landing but what could he expect of a dreg from the Outer Rim. The Clone descended the ancient ramp and confidently strode up to Orex, delivering a humorous quip as he did so.

"Abominations are always a pleasure" Orex turned his head away as he grinned, looking out toward the endless piles of rock.

"I bring you to this ruined land to ruin, you". Orex let the statement hang for a moment before turning back around to face Templar.

"Or at least, ruin the man you once were. You're a desert rat, a dreg of the backwater sands." Orex began to approach Templar. They were roughly the same height and yet Orex managed to impose his character upon him.

"You're a discarded Clone. Perhaps the very definition of Insignificant, un-unique. But today, you are a man.. More than a man."

Orex was essentially bullying his way into Templar's head, trying to clearly define the difference between what he is now, and what he is soon to be.

"A Man is not a God, and should not think of himself as such. As thinking of oneself as a God is nothing more than egotistical delusion. But if a Man is more Godlike than Man, then he can be permitted to think of himself as such, as this would be simple observation.. Templar, I'm here to make you a God. But first, we must start at the Man."

Orex splayed his fingers and sent a push into Templar's chest. As Templar flew through the air, Orex pulled his old Teacher's sabre from his cloak along with his own. Templar impacted the rubble and Orex threw his teacher's sabre towards him.

"Bare that Purple Blade, and show me what Man you are."

@D'aKar Templar

 

[Gusstavo]

D'aKar landed with a shocking thud against the hard, weathered rock and rolled backwards into a standing position in time for him to catch the hilt of the sabre in his right hand. Instinctively D'aKar ignited the sabre and a purple glow illuminated the dust storm created from his impact, as dust catches the light from a window.
"God I am not and man is an overstatement. I'm merely a husk formed from the darkest reaches of the human mind. However, as such I have a disregard for my own well-being. When one has no care for the outcome of a battle you may find that this gives them an advantage in their attacks"
D'aKar paused and clenched his fist tightly to his chest, the rocks and rubble on the stone field shook temporarily and then scattered leaving a pristine plateau between the two men.
"I'm ready to learn"
Templar walked slowly to the middle of the plateau. He took the defensive form of The way of the Krayt Dragon, he was no stranger to a little sword play, his abusive ex-master had not been completely useless in training him.

 

[Mauda]

Hundreds of rocks were immediately evacuated from the surrounding area. The first demonstration of Templar's affinity with the Force, and Orex was certainly impressed considering the Jedi of the current decades struggled to even lift a ship out of water. Orex paced his way to the middle of the newly-formed plateau, positioning himself a few metres from Templar. Seeing Templar move into a defensive stance, Orex began to seed his mind with anger, silently encouraging movement. Orex himself gripped his longer hilt with two hands and brought it up to his chest.

"Then lets begin"

@D'aKar Templar

 

[Gusstavo]

D'aKar stepped forward but as his foot connected with the dirt in front of him a wave of exhaustion spread from his heel to his thigh. It appeared the closer he was to Orex the harder it was to focus. This agitated him greatly and the more he felt the surge of agitation the easier it became to ignore the exhaustion. It was evident to D'aKar that he would soon have to cave to this mysterious stamina draining force so he decided it was best he make the most of the time he could stay focused.

D'aKar rushed forward and covered the distance between the two in a short time. immediately he came in with a relatively slow overhead swing which was easily deflected by Orex. Orex retaliated with a firm swing towards D'aKar's midriff which he deflected and countered with a low sweep at Orex's ankles. As D'aKar returned to his defensive stance his eyes caught with Orex's and for the first time he could see what looked like joy in Orex's eyes. This encounter did not last lang as before D'aKar could push forward Orex was already on top of him.

 

[Mauda]

Templar ceased his attacks and began to recede into a defense. Orex then moved on to Component II of his form and switched to an attack stance. He spaced his hands far apart on his hilt and began to smash into Templar's defense with immense strength, often performing more than one swing before connecting with Templar's blade just to add some degree of complexity. But fundamentally, it was a simple form.

Yet as simple as it was, Orex did not expect Templar to put up much of fight. He was being pummeled by both his Blade and The Force. But that was the issue Orex was about to bring up. He deliberately entered into a Sabre lock and leaned in,

"Too often you will find combatants relying on their skills with a blade and not enough on The Force. I'm sure you can feel your soul slipping from you. Use your affinity to your advantage, especially when against an opponent who far outmatches you."

@D'aKar Templar

 

[Gusstavo]

D'aKar did not enjoy being the less talented in a duel, he was not used to it. He was accustomed to fighting off other scavengers from his haul. Thinking of his past triggered something in him which angered him deeply. The anger surged through his body like a breath of cold, fresh air. His tiring muscles felt rejuvenated and he found he could look Orex directly in the eyes without the feeling of utter exhaustion.
Orex broke the lightsaber lock and took a step back. He removed his helmet revealing his pale skin and messy blonde hair for the first time to Orex.
"You're a talented bladesman but you rely too heavily on the force. Your technique is simple and effective though your offence is easy to counter."
D'aKar, still making direct eye contact with Orex, retook his defensive position and encouraged Orex to proceed
"Shall we?"

[member="Orex Mauda"]

 

[Mauda]

Stepping back, Orex passed his saber into one hand, twirling it around his hand while he listened.

"I'm glad you've identified it. Yes, it's simple. But balanced, as all things should be. With simplicity in Form comes compensation in my reliance on the Force. The majority of individuals I have faced have been superior to me in complexity of their form, and yet they have crumbled beneath me. Why? The Force. Practitioners of Ataru jump and leap, countering my attacks with their superior acrobatics. But every swing they endure from me, a step closer they move to the pit. Every jump tires them, every second they spend in combat with me brings them closer and closer. Soon, they stand before me, drenched in sweat, barely able to stand. Have I touched them? No. Because as soon as I do, they are nothing but doomed."

Orex gripped his saber in both hands and reached out with the Force. Once the hand of his mind reached the clone ahead of him, it was no longer his. An ancient being took the place of Orex's Force Signature and gripped the roots of Templar's life. Slowly, it began to pull. Orex allowed this ancient entity to continue it pull as he paced toward Templar, blade at the ready.

@D'aKar Templar

 

[Gusstavo]

[member="Orex Mauda"] walked slowly towards D'aKar as he fell onto his knees, feeling almost exhausted from the act of breathing
"this power you have" He gasped "what did it cost"
Orex loomed ever closer "Everything"
D'aKar looked up at Orex now a few feet away. Orex paused.
"Enough" chocked D'aKar
He raised his hand in Orex's direction, his vision going blurry. In a final attempt to retain consciousness refocused his mind. D'aKar could see a young boy in his memories, placed in front of a wampa in his Master's arena. The boy defeated the beast but took too long, his master punished him for this.
D'aKar's vision was near black as the force of anger raced through his nervous system like an electric shock. The last thing D'aKar remembered seeing was Orex's shocked and impressed face as visible shockwave tore between the space between them

 

[Mauda]

@D'aKar Templar

Templar fell to his knees before Orex had even approached him. Evidently, it was a much greater power than he had first assumed. As Templar began to fade, Orex contained himself and pulled away from the Clone, not intent on outright consuming him. The Clone then posed an interesting question, moments before collapsing unconscious,

"It has certainly varied"

Templar fell forward into the dirt and rocks, comatose. Orex remained silent, turned and made his way back to MHC.

His unconsciousness concluded the lesson.

end