Secrets, Blood and Poison [Velok]

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya's bare feet barely made a sound and she danced through the corridors of the Research Centre on Dromund Kaas, slipping between scientists who paid the volatile twi'lek no mind. She was in a good mood, and none of them wanted to be the person to ruin that. The source of her good modd was simple, she had found another source of knowledge and today she was going to exploit it and learn. By bettering herself she could better the Empire.

She had heard tales of Velok's brutality when training apprentices and while it should but a sliver of fear into Anaya, it did not for she was not an apprentice, she was a knight and as such better equipped to deal with whatever he threw at her. Besides which, she liked a good challenge...

When it suited her.

She slipped into the laboratory her humming and dancing stopping instantly, though the smile did not leave her face. Focus was required and dancing di not help her focus.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

The Whiphid repressed a growl as the Twi'lek -- the latest addition to the Dark Council, and technically his superior -- danced into the room. She stopped, and he choked back a comment, nodding. At least she knew the time and the place to stop.

But his curious mind was set aflame.

"You're one of the blademasters of the Order," he said, "and yet you want to learn the more esoteric Sith arts -- alchemy of flesh and blade, magic to twist the universe. Heh." He shook his head. "Her Majesty tells me that you have the rare gift for Sith Magic, and that she's already taught you to dominate a mind. That's a powerful skill, and you've had plenty of time to master it -- or, at least, master a basic understanding of it. And I was going to teach you more along those lines...

"But you're already a specialist, and your dancing has so, so much untapped potential. I drained the knowledge, once, from one of the last Matukai. They were a Force tradition that specialized in physical combat, much as you do. Their martial arts meditations were so powerful that they were even able to instil Force abilities in someone with minimal or zero potential. Every life-form, after all, has some mitochlorians. Over ten or twenty years of Matukai training, a non-Forcer could become a Force-wielder. They used solid blades, and their training was entirely focused on physical combat.

"I believe I could adapt Matukai training for you, so that you could use your dancing to generate Force power, which you could then use in combat. Interested?"

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

She tilted her head to one side as Velok spoke, moving slowly towards him. His superior in the Empire she might be, but he was far superior in the force and this commanded respect. For the purposes of this lesson her rank was irrelevant. Caslping her hands bhind her back she pursed her lips in thought about his proposal.

It was not what she had come for, but they had time to cover alchemy. "I am always looking for ways to increase my potential. I'm very interested. Though I thought the Matukai were strictly lightsided force users?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Velok snorted.

"If there's one thing I've found to be true, in my study of every Force-wielding tradition in history, it's this: There is no such thing. Oh, a few individuals achieve something along those lines, but organization requires compromise. For example, an organization must be pragmatic for the good of its members, even if the individual members would make other choices. Sometimes, quite often, that pragmatism leads to flaws. I could give you half a dozen examples from Jedi Order history. The Matukai were lightsiders, yes, but combat-focused lightsiders, their skillsets focused entirely on powers which Light and Dark can use with equal felicity. Their understanding of biokinetics was unparalleled. They comprehended how the freedom and power of their movements unlocked their minds, their emotions, their sense of purpose. And with that understanding, they achieved more power than they were born to reach for. You are, in many ways, already there.

"Dance for me, please. Feel the Force flow through you."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

What Velok said greatly intrigued Anaya, she turned his words over in her mind. She was at her happiest when she danced and she found things were much easier to think about when she moved to the rhythm in her heart. It was the same rhythm she heard when the force flowed through her in the midst of battle, or when she pushed herself deep into the heart of the dark side of the force.

His last request caught her off guard and she blinked at him for a moment, before nodding. If ever there was a time she had been asked to dance by someone who wasn't undressing her with their mind, it was now. There really was a first time for everything.

Taking a step back into a clear space she closed her eyes and began to dance. The beat came to her quickly, the moves were without thought. Graceful and fluid, she began to loose herself in the beat of the force.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Eyes half-closed, the Whiphid nodded along to the rhythm of Anaya's movements. "Good, good, very graceful, very natural. I can feel it unlocking your mind, removing the barriers between instinct and action. That could make you invincible. Of course, it could also contribute to poor impulse control.

"Now dance with the Force. It's an appendage, an extension of your will just like a limb. Dance with the Force as well as your body."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya opened herself completely to the force at Velok's instruction she allowed it to fill her body and mind. She found her mind slipping into the same state it did when she meditating, calm relaxed, focus unhindered. Moving meditation. The concept was not unheard of by Anaya, but she had never thought to delve into it. To use it to further hone her skills.

As the force flowed through her she could feel it revitalise her, removing fatigue she wasn't aware she had. The more she danced the stronger she felt. She became more aware of herself, of each muscle as it moved and how the force affected each one. The force was her and she was the force.

They moved as one.