The Road to Dawn (Part II)

[Darth Metus]

​

Outside Castle Ne'tra - Residence of Isley Verd​

​

Castle Ne'tra was, in of itself, a marvel of architecture. However, time was no friend of the ruins upon which it was built. For centuries, nature was free to run its course; and as such, despite the best efforts of droid and man alike, the land surrounding the citadel of Isley Verd is covered in a wide variety of flora. Trees, large and small, form a forest about the menacing structure, all leading up the banks of an enormous lake, which the citadel overlooks. In the end, the Mandalorian who reigned over this piece of Krant decided to leave the beauty of nature be, save for cutting a few paths in order to travel to and from the Castle, and decided to live alongside the forest. To this end, a variety of paths had been marked off by the workers of the Castle; and one of these would see travel by the Mandalorian himself.

He had instructed the youngest of his students, Jason Sisk and Ruza Deveel, to meet him in a specified location less than a mile away from the Castle itself. 'Twas ruins, associated with the Sith Temple that was the foundation of Castle Ne'tra. They were not large, nor impressive, by any stretch: simply a collection of aged, cracking stones surrounded by trees and other vegetation. This, in the mind of Isley Verd, was the perfect location to instruct the apprentices in the art of controlling the Force: for letting loose would not cause too much collateral damage. As such, the beskar-clad warrior was first to arrive and made himself comfortable upon a stump, where he awaited the arrival of his student. The exercises he had planned were challenging, to say the least...

But Isley had the utmost confidence that Jason would be able to triumph over them all.

@[member="Jason Sisk"], @[member="Ruza Deveel"].

 

[Jason Sisk]

Jason didn't know WHY they were gonna train in a castle, he never saw an appeal in them, he just saw them as for of aging, dust filled ruins then anything noteworthy, but hey, do what Master says. It was weird to finally have a master to teach him to use the Force properly, for a good majority of his life he had to teach himself to control the freakishly strong connection to the Force, and it wasn't easy. It was like filling a balloon so much you just keep going till it's the size of Endor or it pops in your face, which luckily didn't happen to much. The way up to the castle was a somewhat trek, but Jason manages, wearing his typical gear, mask, and his lightsaber at his belt.

When he managed to find Isley sitting on the stump, he was tired and ready to fall asleep on the ground, but made a simple bow with one knee and greeted his master. "Master."

 

[Darth Metus]

The Mandalorian had to give credit where it was due, for out of the apprentices which answered to him thus far, Jason Sisk was the one who showed the utmost respect. When he knelt upon the ground and greeted him "appropriatedly", Isley could tell that the man was tired. After all, the trek was no joke, despite the fact that he was unusually adjusted to it already. Nonetheless, Isley rose from his stump and strode over to the kneeling man, before reaching for his utility belt. He unhooked his canteen and held it aloft: a considerate offering to his young apprentice before uttering a single word. "Rise." There was force behind the command, but not the malevolent sort. Once the canteen was taken, Isley would turn and face the fallen stones which characterized the woodlands about them.

"As you can see, I've called you out to these ruins. The purpose behind this is simple: you are lifting stones today. Telekinesis is a vital skill that any gifted in the Force should learn to utilize; and consists of much more than blasting away opposition through large pushes or pulls. It requires concentration and focus in order to truly harness what it is capable of. As such, I will be challenging you to focus the chaotic Force which characterizes your very essence; to control it to an absolute level...and then utilize said control to move these stones as I command. Understand?"

@[member="Jason Sisk"].

 

[Jason Sisk]

Lift stones? He could do that already, why would Isley want him to do something as simple as that. Jason WOULD of asked that, but he was too thirsty to say so. So when Isley offered him a cantina and to rise, he took it, and providing his mask the quick time needed to lower the mouth piece, he began to gulp some water down his throat. It was such a relief to get a drink after that long walk up here. After almost drinking it all, he handed it back to his master, thanking him and eyeing the stones.

He stretched his neck, emitting a few pops and stretched. After taking in some breathes, he let his control of the Force take effect, even though he had been doing this for a while, the powerful feel of the Force was still strong for him, like holding a large bucket of water for a long time. With his hands outstretched, he began to slowly lift three stones into the air, keeping them there. Jason was taking breaths in and out, keeping his focus on the stones. "Where would you like these stones to be, Master?" He asked without looking towards Isley.


@[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Lady Luck]

(I'm sorry)

 

[Ruza Deveel]

A very beautiful morning this was for another day of freedom, Ruza felt different, a new woman in clean clothes, smelling of sweet flowers and rain. She loved her new life, although as short as it had been she was grateful of her new 'master', he was kind enough to allow her freedoms she had never experienced, and even took her on as an apprentice to teach her the ways of the force. She was curious as to how she even had the power to begin with, but if Master Izzy had seen it in her, she must be worth something more than she thought. She tried not to take her time as she made her way to the appointed meeting place that her Master had schedualed them to meet, but she just had to stop and feel every single plant she saw on her way, smell it, and even spoke to it very softly as she continued. She had no idea of what was ahead of her, she was to train this morning, and she had manual labor in mind as she nearly skipped along the way.

She spied three stones afloat, and knew she was close, but also alerted her to her tardiness, Master will not be pleased with her, so she picked up the speed, taking small leaps over rocks to make the trip a little shorter to get to Izzy. Once she saw him she became overfilled with joy once again, every time she saw him after he saved her she just wanted to hug him, but never had the courage as she had this morning. She could hardly sleep last night because she was so excited to see him again, a feeling she was just not used to yet. A 'master' she wanted to see in the morning, she frolics over with a big smile on her face and a playful giggle she nearly tackled him with her arms opened wide. Completly ignoring the other man who was training under Izzy. "Master Izzy!" She exclaimed as she hugged him tight, then remembered her place, and the man who had been there, most unorthidox she was sure! Ruza stepped back and bowed her head. "Excuse my outburst Master." She finished as she tried to apologize, but she wasn't sorry for hugging him, it felt good, and she hoped he wasn't too angry with her.

 

[Darth Metus]

The sound of rapid footsteps heralded the arrival of @[member="Ruza Deveel"], who bounded forth from the beaten path in quite the unorthodox manner. Over the course of his lifetime, the Mandalorian had been greeted in a variety of manners, but being nearly hugged off of his feet was truly a first. Surprise characterized his expression as the liberated woman rushed into view and threw her arms around him with glee; yet just as soon as she had embraced him, the hug had finished and she remembered her place apologetically. Though Isley was a professing Sith, he found no reason to treat his apprentice with an unnecessary sum of harshness at this moment, and as such he simply spoke in that same, commanding tone that he addressed Jason with.

"You are excused, but do well to remember to be on time next we meet."

It was then that the Mandalorian placed his full attention upon the masked warrior named Jason, who had damn near consumed the entirety of his canteen's contents before exhibiting a rather surprising sum of control through the Force. With what seemed ease, he hoisted the stones into the air and held them aloft, to which the Mandalorian simply nodded. "You've surprised me Jason," he began, "as such, instead of simply placing them on the ground, I'm going to push your focus to its limits. It's easy to lift, but to accomplish these tasks, you'll need to focus that chaotic energy of yours...Now then, I'd like you to orbit the stones about that tree in front of you, like moons about a planet. Rotate them as quickly as you can, without letting them fly off out of control."

Then to Ruza, he added. "Are you ready to begin your training?"

@[member="Ruza Deveel"], @[member="Jason Sisk"].

 

[Ruza Deveel]

He sounded cold, but he felt so warm as she had hugged him just a moment ago, but it was alright, men types tend to act in such a way when around others. She tried not to think too much into it, but it fueled a small flame that was known as her disorder, a little violent impulse seemed to rise from her center, but with amazing control she stifled it, for now. It wasn't really because she was angry, it was just she was disappointed in herself because she was so late, and may have disappointed her master as well. She held her hands together in front of herself, keeping her head bowed in respect. "Of course Master Izzy, I'm still getting used to keeping time to begin with, I will learn I promise." She explained herself, he turned his attention to his other student, and she straightened herself out and backed up so Izzy could speak to this man called Jason, he seemed very talented indeed, and here she was, fresh out of a cage, with little experience with freedom let alone something so impressive.

Then he spoke to her once again, a spark of excitement had flowed through her veins, and she nodded in response. "I will do my best to please you master." She said in a cheerful tone, her clothes were light, a dark green and flattering tank top with black pants, although she chose not to wear shoes, again, another thing she wasn't used to was having shoes to put on. Barefooted she seemed to have no problems wandering the outdoors without shoes, she also barely noticed. Although it seemed as if she had thorns sticking out of the sides of her feet, she was not phased in the slightest. She just brushed the thorns away without thinking about it as she went along. "How do I start?" She inquired as she moved to allow him some space to explain what was to come.

 

[Jason Sisk]

"As you wish, Master.​" Jason didn't even pay attention to the sounds of someone else who had arrived, he HAD to keep his focus on the stone, or else his control would be lost. Inhaling and exhaling, the stones slowly made they're way over to the tree, slowly floating around it. The pace they we're going was slow, but eventually met to the requested speed, going a fairly quick speed around the tree, but even then it took a toll on Jason, who began to sweat under his mask. The stones seemed to shake a bit, as if they would fall, but didn't.

@[member="Darth Metus"]

@[member="Ruza Deveel"]

 

[Darth Metus]

Once the Mandalorian saw that Jason had begun to accomplish the task laid before him, he then placed his attention on his liberated apprentice. For her, he simply reached up to the nearest branch and plucked from it a leaf, then held it within the palm of his hand. In order to demonstrate what he wanted her to do, he reached out with the Force and simply levitated it off of the surface of his palm. Then, Isley claimed it within his fingertips once more and held out the leaf for Ruza to take. "As you are new to training in the Force, we're going to start small. I want you to get the hang of reaching out with the Force in order to accomplish telekinetic movement. So, take this leaf and close your eyes. Then, close yourself to the world around you and focus solely upon the Force. Open yourself to its ebb and flow, feel its presence...then allow that presence to flow through you."

"Guide it. Direct it. Control it. Bring its power to your hands and lift the leaf into the air. Accomplish this and we shall move on."

With that said, the Mandalorian turned to see the progress of Jason, who had managed to get the stones moving to the pace Isley had anticipated. It was only a matter of time before the young man mentally exhausted himelf and would be at the edge of his control. It was at this point that Isley intended to test and push his limits through the next exercise. Through this, he hoped to expand Jason's control over the Force through drilling him whilst weak...for if he could withstand these tasks when weak, he could easily replicate them while strong. 'Twas much akin to pushing one's limits physically, running harder and further despite being feeling the nagging ache of muscles. "Keep it up Jason, and when you reach your limit, let the stones drop."

@[member="Jason Sisk"], @[member="Ruza Deveel"].