Sith are people too (Azula Yeshevsky)

[Darth Vaildra]

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Far from the Capital where the Sith Empire calls home was a little slice of land that served as Vaildra personal training dojo. It mirrored the one he trained at as a boy, except the addition of a lake and cherry blossom trees. He may be a Sith Lord, but in his heart he was a warrior and was in love with the way of the warrior and a warrior knew serenity and could even see beauty. Sure, he would never admit to such things in public or among his brothers, but at the end of the day there was his campaign for the Sith and his love for studying and practicing martial arts.

He was not dressed in his usual armor, but a dark blue kimono. His hair was tied into a pnytail and he was weaponless. This was his area, pure of bloodshed and war, his corner to retreat and center himself in the Force. He was not afraid of the light side like his dark brothers, there was knowledge in the light, but that came from his time as a Jedi. He waited, knelt on his knees in a meditative position among the fallen petals as he meditated on the Force. Soon his daughter would arrive, hopefully in the proper attire as he had instructed. A simple Kimono and no weapons.

[member="Azula Yeshevsky"]

 

[Nymeria Vizsla]

Just before the sun had risen Azula heard the faint beeping of her alarm. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she turned around in her bed, letting go of the pillow she was holding to turn the machine off. She took her time, getting up and opening her window to feel the air and hear the sounds of the world outside. For the week her father Hakora had promised to train her in air shaping. A technique she had always read about and until now was something she never had the teaching to learn. So it was fair to say the Echani was excited, and as such Hakora had a small dojo built far in the forests of this world. Complete isolation.

She took her silven hair and tied it into a ponytail so she could get ready. Sliding the kimono on she then went to splash a bit of water on her face, before covering her blinded eyes with an eye mask and leaving the room. Which was basically a smaller building coming off of the center dojo. The actual place she imagined was gorgeous, the way she was envisioning it with the sounds was just spectacular. The quiet flow of water and the early morning songs of the local wildlife. As she grew closer to the building and the sun first began to rise she heard the faint heartbeat of her father coming from inside the dojo. Calm and threatening, much like he was in life.

The circular doors then slid open as she stepped up to them, she walked in and through the force she saw the intense dark energy emitting off of from her father. She walked to him and bowed, showing him she had no weapons as well.

"Good morning Darth Vaildra."

She spoke formally, not knowing where they stood in their relationship. Additionally, her thick accent matched that of her passed mothers. Azula was curious to see if he would remember her.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

Vaildra sat, knelt on the floor in his meditative state. Much like the Galaxy, his mind contemplated the fight of the light and the dark. History had proven that the two would always be fighting for balance. Yet, most Sith believed in extremes, all evil with no light which did a great disservice to the Force. The Force was massive and he was still studying the complex nature of it all. As he was thinking on this, he heard his daughter from a ways off. Her tiny footsteps, her small heart, her hesitant breathing. He knew she feared him, which was not what he wanted. He wanted respect sure, but never fear from her.

As she entered, he heard his Sith name which only proved his conclusion. He slowly opened his orange eyes that faded to blue, but not a normal blue. Hakora's eyes had always been a blue with a greenish glow to them. He was always two people really, Hakor and Vaildra, but Hakora was only one thing now, a father and so Hakora only existed to her. He stood and smiled, "Azula, I told you, if we aren't in public and it is just us, I am your father. If father or some form of that is not easy, I am Hakora." He walked to her and lightly embraced her, something he did not do easily so he didn't do it for more than a second. He then motioned for her to come outside with him among the trees.

Once they were outside, he knelt on some petals as more were falling around them. He was silent for a while, letting her take it all in. After a few moments he spoke, " I know, you did not dream your father would be who I am, so before we begin your training, I think you need to understand who I am." He cleared his throat before continuing. "You have an aunt, Alexandra, her and I grew up together til I was 8. Then the Jedi found out about one of their masters, your grandmother, marrying the previous Wrath of the Emperor, your grandfather. The Jedi sent their shadows to eliminate them and us. My parents were murdered and when they came for me, something snapped and the Force brought them down along with the house."

"I woke the following morning to a Jedi Exile and no memory of my life. He trained me til I was 15 and I joined the Order of the Grey which is where I found my sister and she trained me. Then our home was destroyed again by the first battle of Alderaan. It was then I sought out training and found the dojo you grew up in and met your mother. She was beautiful and she could always beat me. Once she died having you, I did not know what to do. I wasn't fit to be a father, I never had one for long. The masters there offered to take you in, but I was reluctant because there was a guy there, Vladmir I believe, who had it out for me for taking your mother. They said they would protect you. When I found out they didn't and you were gone and nowhere to be found that was my first dark moment, I killed them for letting you go."

"I am Sith, I am not a good person, the sins and blood on my hands are more than I can remember, but it all began trying to find you and then, when I thought you were dead, it became to burn the Galaxy that hurt my girl. Now it is to make a new Galaxy, one that everyone will feel your pain, but then once we have control and order, this Galaxy will be safe from that pain."





[member="Azula Yeshevsky"]

 

[Nymeria Vizsla]

As he spoke to her she listened intently, letting him have all his words with the most respect she could give him. The birds were singing while he told hist story, it was like his past was being given musical accompaniment. Aside from their calls, the wind also picked up. Blowing through her silver hair, which she inherited from him.

The wind also caused the cherry leaves around the wooden walkway to float down. Air, wind. She loved it- as a concept. Not only did it help her to see, she believed it was the embodiment of her ideals. Peaceful, yet capable of intense chaos. Never truly the same, always changing. And most importantly, it was freedom incarnate.

While Hakora spoke of her aunt, Alexandra, she noticed his emotions changing. This was something she had yet to see in him. Recognizing this, Azula smiled and let her hand fall on his own, holding it as he told his past to show she did care. The girl then gently let go after a brief moment.

She continued to walk with him across the path, the two currently stood on a slightly elevated walkway, no more than a few inches off of the flowing river water below. Along with the birds she could hear the quiet croak of two friendly frogs below, this made a honest smile come to her lips. It was a truly beautiful place, one that not many would expect a Sith lord to be at. With this, Azula stopped him, taking hold of his shoulder to show she was ready to talk.

The Echani was slightly fearful of him, but she had to get passed that is she were to know who he was. And if anything, after what he said she had to try. Pushing a hand through her hair, a moment of silence passing before she took in a deep breath, letting the air flow through her.

"I forgive you."

She let these words set in for a moment, the whistling sound of the wind filling the silence.

"You may not want it, and I know you never asked for it. Though, father I forgive you for leaving me as a child. And aside from forgiveness, I have something more important to say."

Azula reached out and placed her hand on his.

"Thank you." She spoke in almost a whisper. And as she said this she felt across her arm full of scars. There was another silence where she turned and looked out upon the peaceful forest surrounding them.

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

 

[Darth Vaildra]

"Thank you my child, but I do not deserve your forgiveness." It was true, all she had been through was because of him and he had committed many sins to this date. He could feel their toll on his body. He pushed it aside and returned to the now. "Wind shaping, the most gentle of shaping, but possibly the most versatile. It is also the one element you can find most anywhere, even in an all metal building where earth can't be found."

He paused as he himself channeled the wind causing a light breeze. "Listen to the wind, hear how it speaks to you, how it moves. Imagine it is alive, it has a purpose. To use the wind, you must understand the wind, make it apart of you." As he spoke the wind moved through the trees, through them, through the sky, it was everywhere, it was gentle, but more larger than them. Soft, yet powerful.



[member="Azula Yeshevsky"]

 

[Nymeria Vizsla]

She did listen to the wind, she felt it moving around her, and when she breathed in, through her. It was a beautiful thing. Very much so, and she even made sure to notice the smallest changes around them. Like the slight howling noise it made. The woman then looked up at her father, someone who was almost a stranger to her.

"I understand it just fine, could you teach me how to control it?"

Her attitude was showing, if only slightly. Perhaps it was the teenage years he never saw her in coming back to haunt him. Yet, she was being honest. She had studied the art of the Kro Var for her whole life off and on. She had a very good understanding on all elements, she only needed a master.

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

 

[Darth Vaildra]

The gentle wind around them stopped, like that of the eye before a storm suggesting an erie destruction about to unfold. The wind then came back with a rush as it moved through the trees and them like a raging sea. It would not hurt her, but to say it would catch her attention was an understatement. The trees were bending and bowing to Vaildra and the petals around them danced like little Russians before a war.

His eyes were fixated on her, a slight against him, but to a man who had not tolerated disrespect for many years or even the hint of it, this was quite the offence. The wind began to move in a slower dance as if the music turned from metal to soft rock and then finally the resolution which was a gentle wind. He took a deep breath as he continued the path to calming himself before he spoke. "Azula, you will speak with respect when someone takes time out to train you, especially if that someone is your father, do I make myself clear?" His tone was firm, but not angry or filled with malice. It was that of a father to his daughter, one of love, but authority.

"My daughter, you are young and have much to learn, do not rush such things with impatience or you will miss valuable lessons along the way. If you had, you would know I was already teaching you. The wind cannot be controlled, it is an exposition of how you feel, your emotions, your desires, even your passions. Wind Shaping is nothing more than you connecting with the Force around you and making it move instinct with the wind until the wind naturally begins doing what you want."

Vaildra looked at his daugther, she was proud, even though she would not admit it and he was not going to get through it this way. He practiced the rule of trail by fire, if she wanted to learn wind shaping, her life would need to be at risk so she would grasp the concept. He stood to his feet and held out his hands to her, "Azula, take my hands and trust me."


[member="Azula Yeshevsky Feanor"]

 

[Nymeria Vizsla]

As he spoke to her, so firmly and controlling, she almost imagined it contradicted his ideology of controlling wind. Nevertheless, it was a amazing thing. Taking the nature into your own will, not commanding it but letting it be one with you. Azula had studied this in her past, so she was aware of the feeling. Yet she was not much more than a novice.

Then to her surprise, he asked the girl to take his hands. Azula was hesitant, she only ever trusted Ghost. However, she was her fathers daughter. So if there was hope for their relationship, and more importantly her shaping. She would have to.

With her eyes fixated on him, she laid her soft hands across his more rugged ones.

She then looked down for a moment, waiting and feeling the wind.

Suddenly, the girl looked up again and let her ocean blue eyes sink into his, waiting for him to make his move. She may have even let a faint smile grace her lips.

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

 

[Darth Vaildra]

He took her hands in his and used a thumb on his right hands to gently rub her, a simple act, but one that showed he was there for her. As they stood there, the ground would disappear from their feet. Their clothing fluttering in the wind as the air became cleaner. Once their rising stopped, it would be known they were 50 feet in the air. Vaildra had moved ever so slightly so the ground was not below them, only water, but this would not be known to her as the wind around them slightly vibrated making it hard for her to see below them.

"I learned Wind Shaping when I was 7 years old by your aunt throwing me off a cliff. My dark apprentices learned it when I threw them out of my ship. To fully understand, you must depend on Wind Shaping. Unlike them, you don't have a Sith standing before you, but a father, but the lesson still applies. You want this ability when you already have it, you merely need to accept it." With that the wind holding her up completely stopped and only held him up as she headed down for the water, but if he was successful, she would think her death.

This was a rash teaching method, one of the many the Jedi hated about Hakora. Here though, he would teach her the way he knew. Truth be told, he never pushed anyone out of a ship he didn't believe wouldn't survive and he knew she would get it, but that might not stop her from getting her kimono wet today.


[member="Azula Feanor"]