Only the Shadow knows Tain/Darth Valtryx

[H3xle]

[member="darth valtryx"]

Tain stepped lightly as she walked down the hallway towards her first training session with her new master, Darth Valtryx. Her face, posture and body control didn't show even one iota of the apprehension that cluttered her stomach. Largely she had been self taught, except for the mass teaching that Darth Hauntress had provided for acolytes on Coruscant. As such, she didn't know what to expect really.

Tain knew the direction she wanted to go, and had been quietly vocal about it to her fellow assassins. This was the life she would choose above any others, and she wanted to excel at it to the point of...well, the future is unwritten, and goals must be reached through determination, skill and the correct application of force.

Tain turned down a second hallway, nearing the training hall where she would meet Darth Valtryx for their first lesson. All Tain knew was that it was something to do with hiding in the Force. Given the likelihood of some of her future targets being Jedi and other Force-users, Tain felt this was the perfect place to start. She paused outside the door to the training room and made sure that she was ready for anything, weapons in place, the straps on her armor in place. She was about to check for her mask that had helped hide her identity before, but with what happened during the assault on the corporation some weeks ago, when another acolyte had sensed her in the Force and seen her face, she decided to forgo hiding her identity among the Assassins.

With a last, deep breath, Tain took her first step through the door.

 

[Minna]

Turning at the arrival of her new apprentice, Valtryx gave a welcoming nod. "Tain, I'm glad you could make it." Her tone was relaxed and friendly, a contrast to some others in the Sith who believed fear was the right tool for teaching. She examined the woman's face, not having seen it before. "Well, we best get to it then." Valtryx gestured hand to the floor in the middle of the room, as she herself sat down near the same place. Cross-legged, and in what resembled loose meditation position, she centered herself in the force. "It's best we be seated for the first practices, it's not a physical skill you will be learning. Suppressing ones presence in the force is key to remaining hidden, especially when facing other force users. At a beginner's level, the ability can make you unnoticeable to somebody not paying attention. As you grow in power the cloaking will become more effective." She straightened her back slightly, and waited for Tain to sit before continuing.

[member="Tain Organa"]

 

[H3xle]

Tain stepped quickly over to her master and sat before her, knees a mere inch from the others. She took a deep breath and visibly relaxed, settling her wrists on her knees. She then looked at her masters face and nodded.

"That sounds like a useful ability. I am ready." She hoped she was ready. The one on one thing was a little awkward to Tain, though she was truing not to let that thought hold her back.

[member="Darth Valtryx"]

 

[Minna]

Valtryx nodded at Tain's reply, and began to explain the technique. "You should already know that everything has a presence in the force, and that it can be felt. You can probably feel other people's essence quite easily. For this ability, you must feel your own presence. In your mind's eye imagine it in your chest, encompassing you as it represents you within the force. Once you can feel your own presence, it is simple to expand it. Merely imagine it push it outwards from you and let it fill the air." As she spoke she began pushing her own essence out, making it strong enough to become quite noticeable. An aura of darkness and guile, one that would make any Jedi feel uneasy. "So before we suppress, allow yours to expand. You can use expanding to instill fear in the hearts of Jedi. Once they sense your hatred and power, they will be at a disadvantage." She then paused, allowing her apprentice to practice expanding her presence.

[member="Tain Organa"]

 

[H3xle]

Tain nodded and let her eyes unfocus. A silent thrill went down her spine as she felt her master's essence expand and brush across her consciousness. The shadowy guile felt as comforting to Tain as warm milk to a starving baby. It settled her nerves about training one on one a bit as well.

Tain reached down into herself and found the essence that Valtryx had spoken of. She spent a moment regarding it in her mind's eye, it felt dark and crimson, like fresh blood spilled in the shadows. She then took a moment and bound her inner anger and hatred into it and attempted to pull it out and spread it into the air similar to the way Valtryx had done. To her minds eye, Tain only saw the inner glow suffuse her entire body, rather than the center of it, with tendrils reaching out. Not the ominous cloud that Valtryx had spawned.

Tain paused a moment, resettled herself and took another deep breath. She grasped the essence with her will and pushed it out. Nebulously, it began to seep from her body and suffuse the air, the level of malevolent menace in the room rising only slightly comparatively, but with each new push, she managed to expand it more and more. It felt wonderful, like bathing in the very material that made up her soul, the definition of comfortable.

Tain strained to hold it out there steadily for a moment or two, then released her control. She felt a silent thunder clap as her essence went back into her body. She spent a moment to recover, then offered a small smile to her master.

"That was...fun." A bead of sweat had formed on her brow, but Tain did not raise a hand to wipe it off. Instead she put her attention back on her master, ready for more.

[member="Darth Valtryx"]

 

[Minna]

Valtryx watched closely as her apprentice attempted the technique. She had always been able to notice her presence, it was the same with anyone who didn't hide it since she was attuned to instinctively sense such things. However once she felt the essence begin to expand, it became much more prominent. The hatred and evil inside this woman's aura was impressive, and Valtryx allowed herself to bathe in it before it retreated back to it's normal state. "Very good." She praised, straightening her back slightly after being under the relaxing spell of darkness. "Now it's time for suppression. It works in much the opposite way, you sense your signature in the force and push it inwards. Compact it to as small and unnoticeable as you can. The smaller you make it, the harder it is for anyone to sense you. I'll demonstrate, try and sense my essence." The red-head closed her eyes, visualizing her inner essence. Willing the force to do her bidding, she pushed it inwards gradually. Her dark aura began to fade from the room, until it was nothing but a small spec inside her. To Tain, it would seem as if only an ant was in front of her in the force. After a few moments she released the suppression, and nodded at her apprentice for her to try.

[member="Tain Organa"]

 

[H3xle]

Tain nodded as she listened to her master. She could understand, now, why she had gone about it in this way. Learn how to increase your presence, which would be more enjoyable, before learning to suppress it. She reached out with her senses and felt as her Master's presence in the Force shrank to the point of insignificance. For a moment, she lost her sense of it entirely. She nodded to herself, determined to master this. The first step towards her goals.

When it was her turn, Tain closed her eyes and focused on that place within her where her darkness dwelt. She felt it, letting her mind encompass every side of it. She then began to pull it deeper into herself, push it smaller, make it denser within herself. For whole minutes, it seemed like only minor difference was made. The darkness grew denser very slowly as Tain tried to impose her will on it, it shrunk only a little bit. Without breaking concentration, she took a deep breath and settled herself deeper into herself. She eased back on the force of her push and for a moment it sprang back into it's normal density and size. Then, slowly, it began to shrink within her, growing denser and becoming smaller with each breath she took. The shrinking stopped when her presence felt like that of a small fox sized animal. She held it, not pushing harder, but letting it remain small for a few moments before releasing it slowly back into it's normal place.

"That is a lot harder." She said, then opened her eyes. The beads of sweat had multiplied, but still she ignored them. She took a few deep breaths, to steady her as she looked to her Master. "It will take a great deal of practice, but I promise you, I will master this."