The Poet and the Pendulum

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

R O O N
The Obsidian Citadel

The adolescent Anzat levitated in the center of one of the Citadel's training arenas.

A multitude of VC units hovered, like a swarm of mechanical bees around a nest, each displaying holograms with snippets of information as the teenage vampire sorted through various searches in the quest that had taken him from out of the Order of Silver Jedi and delivered him instead to the Obsidian Order of the Techno Union.

Information. There wasn't enough. He needed more. Access to more archives. More thorough research, and analysis into histories that the Jedi Order were more interested in forgetting. As if history hadn't already forsaken enough of its sins. At least the Republic seemed to be demonstrating, yet again, that those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it.

Volfe Karkko. He'd survived as a member of the Jedi Order, and a master on the Jedi Council, for thousands of years before he'd succumbed to the need to feed. To kill a living being and rip from them, in their dying moments, the essence of all that they were and all that they would be. The Jedi Master had ultimately failed, and fallen to the Dark Side as a predator. A killer of men. But how had he managed to refrain from feeding in all the centuries in between?

No data. Missing pieces. Shreds. Mere footnotes, which mentioned Nikkos Tyris in passing but omitted from the record any mention of there having been an Anzat Jedi Master named Volfe Karkko.

Still, a footnote was more than he'd found on Ossus. Or Voss. Or Yavin. The boy had been a Jedi for a century, and in the Old Republic or the New, he'd been a teacher of Jedi. He knew their libraries. Had access to their archives. He knew the histories of the Jedi as much as any Jedi Knight could claim to.

Edited. Information concealed. Controlled. Lost now. Obscured by the Four Hundred Years Darkness. But the Techno Union had given him some pieces of the puzzle he hadn't yet connected.

One of the VC units gave a warbling chirp, alerting the boy to the time.

Such access by the Techno Union was not without a price. Draco Vereen -- Archon Vereen now -- had need of the boy's mentalist abilities for the Obsidian Knights he was training on Roon. It was a devil's bargain, but then... what was Sor-Jan if not the devil?

He'd lived too long, forsaken too much, to allow himself to slide in madness or become such a monster. If Draco could help him to control this... beast within... then Sor-Jan would train whoever Draco wanted, whenever Draco wanted.

So he waited, for these students to arrive.

[member="Draco Vereen"] | [member="Ek Vilibro Griz"] | [member="Angelus Deus"] | [member="Tmoxin Temi"] | [member="Acaleus Thorn"]​

 

[Ek Vilibro Griz]

OOC: going to transfer parts of a relevant post here.

Ek Griz walked into the Obsidian Citadel, A young man with white hair that is close cropped on the sides and longer on the top and swept to the side. His Golden bionic eye searching the room in tandem with his natural grey one. Of middling height for a human so that when his features are hidden by his grey cloak, he stands out very little in a crowd. Ek has a minimalist modified version of the Techno Union's Obsidian Armor with some aesthetic allusion to his Sith training.

He wears an Obsidian Armor grade mask that covers the lower half of his face as well as the back and sides of his head, leaving his eyes, forehead and the top of his head exposed. the front of the mask has a grill similar to the old imperial scout trooper helmets. This mask/helm is steely grey. He wears a stripe of purple war paint across his eyes.

Over top of his Obsidian Armor, he wears a Black sleeveless hooded robe with White trim that is mid calf length. He cinches this robe at the waist with a wide leather belt that has several pouches, over which he wears his standard CZ-830 Utility Belt. Ek always carries two lightsabers on his belt, a curved hilt regular saber and a straight hilted modified Obsidian Lightsaber. Strapped to his thigh is what appears to be an oversized pistol. Strapped to his back is a rifle.

Still adapting to Techno Union culture and procedure, he was unsure how to go about filing a request for a master. Among the Sith, Sith Knights often scouted new recruits hunting for a protege to do their bidding and serve them. The Obsidian Order it seemed was not quite the same. "Excuse me? I am Ek Vilibro Griz, currently a Neophyte seeking instruction. I seek to Improve my skills in the force, particularly in the ability to sense things through the force as well as increase my ability to hide in the force, and use the force as my shield. I also heard you were a former Jedi, I would like to know more of the Light side."

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

In contrast to the armored juggernaut, the teenage boy was simply dressed.

A short, sleeveless tunic, belted at the waist. Dark trousers, marked with the gold pipping of second-class Corellian bloodstripes. It was an honor he'd earned in the Yinchorri Uprising, at the Battle of the Line. And, yet, he'd denied it for all the decades since out of the Jedi tenant of being humble and meek in victory. So strange a thing, to be both Corellian and Jedi. It seemed one had to always forsake the essence of the former in order to be the perfect student for the latter. The Obsidian lightsaber hung from the gun belt that was slung across the youth's narrow hips, along with a Jedi shoto that was showing it's age.

At the man's approach, the boy scattered the probe droids with a wave of his hand. Turning to face this... neophyte... the boy descended from the center of the room until his boots again touched down on the ground. The man's introduction was curious for the motivations it unveiled. He wanted to improve his consciousness. Conceal his presence. Wield the Force as armor.

Another time. Another place. Ex Vilibro Griz would have made a good Jedi Investigator. Or a Sith Hunter.

"There are no former Jedi, Mister Griz," the young Anzat remarked, one eyebrow having been raised in amusement by that assessment of his character. For a century, he had lived the Jedi Code. Served the Jedi Order. Sacrificed the lives of his Master, and his Padawan, and his Padawan... all for the ubiquitous righteousness of the Holy Order of Jedi Knights. Whatever label being ascribed to him, he was Jedi. "Merely fools and dead Jedi," the boy concluded. A bit of deadpan humor, perhaps.

What would Qui-Gon's apprentice have said? Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?

And what did that say about Sor-Jan?

"Balance," the boy stated. He hadn't introduced himself. But, then, if Griz knew that Sor-Jan was a Jedi then it stood to reason that the man had already familiarized himself with the Anzat's name. So, instead, the boy went straight to the main question. The Light Side. Since when did it have such a name? It was the Force. It was the Dark Side that was the aberration. "Harmony," as he spoke, broaching the topic most Jedi would spend their whole lives meditating upon to understand. Harmony with what? Themselves? Their place in the universe? How the universe reacted to that presence? "Consciousness of the galaxy around you," the boy stated, simplifying the matter greatly.

How many decades had he wasted trying to discern the nature of the Force? The trivial consequence of his place in it?

"Power from without, not within. Being one with the Force inherent in the world," the boy answered, casually stepping around the armored figure as the youth took a moment to admire the craftsmanship and construction of the suit the man wore. "This is where a Jedi draws his strength," the youth explained, as he arrived back around the apprentice.

He'd heard that more students would be coming. Which meant they had some time before the lesson ought to begin.

"Take a moment to reflect on the Force," the boy advised cryptically. "Is it your power? Or is it a power given to you?"

[member="Ek Vilibro Griz"] | [member="Acaleus Thorn"]​

 

[Acaleus Thorn]

"Now with this upgrades..." his blades could spin at the move of his finger in his wrist "But im not good enough with using the Force to increase my fighting skills...yet" he looked around and saw Ek "A strange little fellow" Acaleus unsheated his knifes and wave him, walking towards him "Looking good with your outfit" he saw the little guy "Is he your little brother?" he moved the hair of the kid smiling amused. Acaleus sensed the great force and walked a few feet away "What is him? A master force user?" he was confused.

[member="Ek Vilibro Griz"]
[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]

 

[Ek Vilibro Griz]

"Forgive me, I meant no offense. I only thought that since you are now with the Obsidian Order that you left the Jedi. That might have been presumptuous of me." Ek Griz, still found it hard to believe what he read in the brief about the 'boy' who stood before him. how could one live so long and not age. Ek, however was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. What a wealth of knowledge he must have. A boon indeed. Then it dawned on Ek that this was his first time ever actually speaking to a Jedi. There had been some Jedi fighting he and his former master Darth Nemo when Ek turned on his vile master and left him to the mercy of the Jedi and the Republic with a thermal detonator at his back. Hopefully the Sith was dead, but Ek was not entirely optimistic.

Ha! the Sith, mad, all of them. This Jedi's socratic method of teaching was so different. At the Sith academy, Sith ideology was beaten into them, questions were answered with demonstration. Darth Nemo taught him Force lightning before almost any other Sith apprentice by using it on Ek simply due to the fact that it amused him to see Ek writhe in pain. Still, Ek was not taken by the Sith so young that he did not remember the kind reasoning instruction of his parents. This was more akin to that.

Ek pondered the Jedi's question for some time. "Neither. To say that it is mine would be to claim that the force can be owned. By that same standard to say that the Force is a power given to us implies that it was someone's to give or to take away for that matter. The Force simply exists and we take hold of it and channel it for a while."

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

The boy gave a nod of his head in acknowledgement of the neophyte's apology.

Meekly, the teenager bowed slightly toward the man. As he straightened back up, the Jedi Consular offered the one piece of wisdom he had taken from the Order. "There is no offense where none is taken," the boy offered in kind.

As Griz spoke further, the boy found himself quite enjoying what the student had to say. It had been a long time since he'd had a pupil willing to challenge established doctrine or declare their own path. "You have a balanced outlook," the boy noted appreciatively, the approval apparent in his tone as the youth crossed his arms and seemed eager for Griz to talk further of his philosophy of the Force.

Sadly, or perhaps not -- this wasn't a theology of the Force class after all -- the pair were interrupted by the arrival of a man who clearly looked with his eyes, and wasn't prepared for how they could deceive him.

Were he as arrogant as his achievements and titles might have made him, the hundred year old veteran of foreign wars would have doubtless been offended at having his hair tousled and being so dismissed as to be talked about rather than toward. Sadly, for all the supposed greatness that came with being an experienced Jedi Knight, Sor-Jan was fully conscious of how he appeared. He supposed he ought to be grateful that he was at least making progress toward adulthood and no longer spoke like a child.

"Neither," the boy stated, in answer to the question of whether he was Ex's little brother or a Force Master. "My species just takes... a little longer to mature," the teen supplied cryptically.

One of the VC droids returned then, a warbling chirp informing the boy as to the time. The scheduled hour for the class to commence was upon them. With a slight nod of his head, the youth acknowledged and dismissed the droid silently before he returned his attention to the two men in the room. "My name is Sor-Jan," the Jedi announced, for the sake of their new arrival.

As he'd come in, this new face had spoken of fightning skills. So, to his right, Sor-Jan had a man who wanted to move unseen, with the Force as his protection. And, to his left, a man who wanted to wield it as a weapon.

What, then, would they learned from a Jedi Archaeologist?

Coming to his decision, the teen looked up and announced, "As you are both interested in martial applications of the Force, I shall teach you how to wield it as a shield." With that being said, the boy took two steps back from either of the two and motioned for them to do the same. "Spread out," he cautioned aloud. "Give yourselves room."

Stretching out with his arms, the Anzat was silent for a moment, as he meditated and quickly found his center there in Roon. Drawing his arms up, and then back down by his side, the youth looked up as he opened himself up to the Force in preparation for the lesson. "First, I need to see what skills and reflexes you already possess," he noted. It was meant to be something of a warning. In case either of the men hadn't understood, the boy explained, "When I have finished speaking, you will be hit by a tremor in the Force."

Hopefully that was clear enough. If it wasn't, it soon would be. "Show me your defense," the boy said, as his hands came up from his sides. Radiating outward from his palms, a telekinetic wave rolled out across the arena. It wasn't particularly powerful, but it was enough to take a full grown man off his feet.

[member="Ek Vilibro Griz"] | [member="Acaleus Thorn"]​

 

[Acaleus Thorn]

He sensed a force push in the hands of Sor-Jan but he didnt know how to form a force shield. Acaleus stretched his hands to the front and join his palms as the wave come to him. Being kidnaped when he was a kid didnt make him wise about the use of The Force, as he had nobody to train him. That didnt meant that he couldnt explore it by himself. He noticed as the years passed that he could use it to improve his fighting skills with it.

When the wave was close enough to him, he put force in his hands and drill it, separating the wave. It passed his body on both sides but didnt push him out "Good enough dont you think?"

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]
[member="Ek Vilibro Griz"]

 

[Ek Vilibro Griz]

Ek Griz nodded at Sor-Jan's acknowledgement. "I try."

Ek stood away from Acaleus. Ek closed his eyes and tried to feel the Force that Sor-Jan was gathering, to understand it and anticipate it. Ek had learned how to create a Barrier with the force, but it was really only strong enough to shield him from basic physical attacks, very useful in bar brawls, but it came apart when it came to the attacks he truly needed to block. Sor-Jan's wave came. Ek's wall went up. The two met. Ek's shield took the brunt of the force but broke, and a diminished telekinetic wave washed over Ek. The sensation was similar to when standing waist deep in the ocean and a wave comes you jump into it and meet it, you are knocked back slightly but not as much as if you had just stood still. Ek stumbled back a bit but managed to regain his footing. "Whew! Just barely"

Ek saw Acaleus part the wave with a blast of his own. He chuckled. "Not a shield Acaleus, but I guess in some cases the best defense is a good offense." Ek pondered. "How can i improve the strength of my shield?"

[member="Acaleus Thorn"]
[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Interesting how their different personalities were so markedly displayed in the solutions either presented.

Neophyte Thorn, who had wanted to wield the Force as a weapon, attacked the incoming wave. Driving into it with a Force 'wedge' that diverted the push of energies around him.

And Neophyte Griz, who wanted the Force as his shield, had stood his ground from behind a barrier. The unmovable object versus the unstoppable force.

"Fascinating," the teenager commented dryly, noting the observation of their performance and behavior as he modified his lesson plan with the spur of the moment impetus that both had presented to him. Their skills were impressive. Primitive, somewhat unrefined perhaps, but they clearly knew how to make use of their own potential.

Thorn asked if that was good enough. "Very innovative," the boy answered, acknowledging and congratulating the student. "Mister Griz is correct. Offense suits you," the youth opined aloud, reinforcing Ex's observations as truth. "A Force barrier can be used offensively as well."

Neophyte Griz's interrogative was the pertinent question to ask. "Let us start from the beginning," the boy answered. Slowly, meticulously, he centered himself in the Force, opening himself up to the power inherent in the space around him. Normally, such a process was not so obvious, but he wanted to allow the apprentices the ability to feel, to sense, the nuances of the power. "See in your mind the shape you wish the Force to take," the young Jedi advised, as he closed his eyes and began to imagine a knight's buckler. "Create it in your mind."

The buckler transformed. A kite shield. A scutum. Rectangular. "Concentrate," the boy uttered quietly. Shape, transition, and color all began to take shape. "Create a small, convex shape. Small, but perfect. Develop it until it has no flaws."

Pausing, the boy allowed both of the students time in which to finalize their thoughts. "When you have imagined the shield that you want, then find a spot where you want the centerpoint of your shield to be," the youth instructed, as he opened his eyes and looked up. "From within, push your thought outwards." Extending out one hand, a shimmer in the air betrayed the presence of a medieval shield somewhere between the physical world and the intangible presence of the Force.

Glancing at his students, the youth waited for them to try it.

[member="Acaleus Thorn"] | [member="Ek Vilibro Griz"]​

 

[Acaleus Thorn]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"Create an invisible shield?" he looked at his left arm and closed his eyes. He saw the force as a ball that gathered around his palm. It spread and formed a disc that moved to the arm. He thought about a turtle shell and it formed. It wasnt heavy but he sensed that it was very weak "Need to gather more..." another force ball formed and created a larger turtle shell-shield but Acaleus compressed to make it more resistant. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Acaleus banished the shield and tried again. On the fourth time, he managed to make it faster and without mistakes and throw it to the ground "This will be usefull if i dont have any weapons at hand" he try making a niddle but it broke "But its going to take time" he laugh scratching his back neck. Learning this would be a step closer to achive a great control of the force while fighting. The Force was all about the will of his user, and he had plenty. He became serious and breath deeply as he created the niddle in a perfect state.[/SIZE]

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]
[member="Ek Vilibro Griz"]

 

[Ek Vilibro Griz]

Ek focused and centered himself in the force. He imagined a half cylinder in front of himself, from the ground to just above his head. He solidified it. He closed his eyes in concentration, he focused on the center line, the apex of the curve, he fortified from the center out. Ek imagined his will pouring into the barrier. "May I try again sir? I think I will fare better this time." Ek lowered his stance. his black boots scraping on the floor. He put his hands out, right over left, on the center line of his cylnder. "I am ready."

[member="Acaleus Thorn"]
[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]
(ooc: sorry for the delay I read Acaleus' post, but for some reason didn't think it was my turn)

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Thorne's comment brought an enigmatic smile to the boy's face.

"It can be, indeed," he agreed, as the neophyte spoke of the power being useful in he had nothing else. Motioning toward a training remote, the boy held out hand out as several training bolts were fired in rapid succession. Each impacting harmlessly on the barrier that was but a few inches from the teen's fingertips. Dismissing both the shield and the drone with a second gesture, the boy turned his attention back to his students.

"But you can also use it as a weapon," the boy remarked, recalling how very eloquently Master Na'varro had put it. 'Smashed' was the term, if Sor-Jan recalled correctly. Not quite the same turn of the phrase that he would use to describe it. "Blindside your opponent. Knock his weapon from his grip. Break his concentration."

Never underestimate the element of surprise. Something the young Anzat had come to rely upon, more than strength. Or size.

Looking over at Griz, the boy nodded at the man's desire to repeat the exercise. "Don't cheat yourself," the boy answered cordially, adding, "Coruscant was not built in a day."

He'd studied the Force for a century to achieve the level of knowledge he possessed now. Which was greater than some far older than himself, and lesser than many quite younger. But, no matter whether one viewed the boy as strong or weak, it had been a study undertaken one day at a time, one step at a time.

"Use the remotes if you like," the youth suggested, as he observed the pair. "They can give you a tangible target to focus on."

[member="Ek Vilibro Griz"] | [member="Acaleus Thorn"]​

 

[Acaleus Thorn]

He raised his left arm and pointed to the training remote as a Force shield covering it as the machine tried to shot him bolts "Easy to form it..." the shield broke and he received a shot in the shoulder "Auch you son of a..." Acaleus tried to kick it but it raised more, evading the hit "Allright, i will not get cocky" he rubbed his shoulder and concentrate again. The remote attacked again but it was inside a Force-shield. This time, it didnt cracked.

"One last thing i wanted to learn is Tutanimis. If i fight some master Force-User, i would like to short distance without any problem. A lighting bolt or maybe being force-choke arent in my list of ways to die" he banished the shield and look at his teacher with respect "Just the basics. Dont wanna delay you too much" he smiled waiting for his answer.

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]
[member="Ek Vilibro Griz"]

 

[Ek Vilibro Griz]

Ek called over to one of the training droids and put it on its second or third highest setting. Ek already had some experience blocking stun blasts, but he didn't want a hole punched in himself either. The setting he requested would easily hospitalize someone not wearing armor. Fortunately, Ek always wore his armor. One of the biggest benefits to joining the Obsidian Order, aside from escaping the closed minded dogma of the Sith and Jedi, had been the tech which was made available to him. Once the droid was set up, Ek refocused, pouring his will into the semi-cylindrical shield he had created. He waited in anticipation of the shot.

Then it came. He felt the blast slam against his sheild, and in the microseconds of struggle he focused on the centerline of the shield and radiated his will out from it. He then felt the shot slide towards the edge of his shield. it was then that the shield gave way. The bolt blazed past, grazing his durasteel shoulder plate. Due to the less lethal setting his armor was undamaged.

"Whew!" Ek let the shield dissipate. He slumped down tired from the effort. "I need more practice focusing. In battle I may need this more than once."

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]
[member="Acaleus Thorn"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Tutanimis.

An interesting focus for learning. "The knowledge you seek, I cannot teach you," the boy answered, looking up at the man. Sor-Jan had studied the mental applications of the Force, developed vast telekinetic powers, but at the cost of neglecting some of the more exotic abilities that existed in the Force.

Were this the Jedi Temple on Voss, the boy would have referred the man to [member="Matsu Ike"]. But, this wasn't a Jedi Temple. More's the pity, but that was a lament for a different time. "Perhaps the Archon can aid you."

Turning back to Neophyte Griz, the boy nodded his agreement with the man's words. "The Force Barrier is a skill with many applications," the teenage Jedi remarked in answer. "But, meditate on your progress and failures here. Learn from them."

That seemed to be a fitting note to end on. Bowing slightly to either of the apprentices, the boy said only, "May the Force be with you." And, with those words, turned a departed the training area.

[member="Ek Vilibro Griz"] | [member="Acaleus Thorn"]​