Private Apprentice to Flesh

[Arianna Belasko]

Wearing: Raiment of Khemost

Armed with: Subverter's Blade (Red Saberstaff)

Location: Khemost.

Objective: Train/Pal around with/ Draco Miles .


Countess Arianna Belasko, CFO of House Io, was never anything less than fashionable.

In a Faction where the Citizens are Warriors, where even the freaking Pizza Delivery guy might be packing a Class D Disruptor Pistol, it said a lot that the Countess, despite being all beauty and elegance and charm (and revealing dresses) managed to be one of the most frightening, ghastly creatures in all of the upper leadership to the average citizen. Simply because she didn't look like she belonged among them. With the others, you could tell at a glance they were absolutely the last people you wanted to piss off. Arianna never gave off that vibe. In public or in private. Not even when some brave soul occasionally worked up the nerve to ask if she was the same Countess Belasko from the Gulag Era. The one the citizens of Naboo had burnt at the stake for being an unhinged, bloodthirsty Psychopath. This would earn them a laugh and a denial of relationship. The truth was much more complex.

The real Arianna Belasko had been dead for over a decade by this point, sent screaming into a richly deserved hell by the creature now wearing her face and mind like jewelry.

Arianna sat at a reserved table , clad in a revealing black gown seen almost as her badge of office, sipping on an imported sherry from the Scar Worlds. Midas was looking wonderful these days, restored to its former glory, a Fortress City inhabited by Millions.

Arianna either did not notice, or did not care that every single citizen in her immediate vicinity in the high class restaurant, one of the only high class restaurants functional on Khemost or in House Io in general as her daughter had a deep paranoia of letting luxury of this kind gain a footing in the House, the idea her citizens would become like the weak core world Civilians who got merc'd every two or three years from some form of bullchitery or another being a source of deep dread to her.

She waited, eager to have a pleasant little meal before she got to work in improving her unique student, hiding her own now very deep misgivings of House Io as they would do Draco no good: House Io was what it was at this point.

But Draco...Draco was an amazing find. When she was fully trained, Arianna had no doubt Draco would pose a challenge for even the most well trained Jedi or Sith.

Arianna, of course, had every intention of making Draco, more than just a challenge, but a Force of Nature into herself.

It would be a more complex Lesson. Arianna was going to show her student and one of her only genuine friends the art of flesh manipulation...

 

[Draco Miles]

Something fancy… something she had no clue how to truly integrate herself into outside of the guise of work as an assassin.

Arianna Belasko had invited Draco to this luxurious restaurant, of course she would not resist attending, not even a second thought about agreeing crossed her mind as she sat in her ship searching through her wardrobe for an elegant dress Belasko had gifted her that’d fit perfectly for the occasion… she settled on the one she was gifted for Life Day! The high backed dress that covered her back perfectly yet made her look so elegant and fierce… granted that was mainly coming from appearances alone. She confidently strode to the table her master was seated at and sat across from her, a bright and joyful smile spread across her face as she crossed her hands and focused her entire attention on Belasko… at least that’s what her eyes said. If Draco’s master was focusing on Draco through the force, she was actively mapping out and learning about each individual person in the restaurant for if they were a threat or not, or what challenges they’d pose if something brash and unusual happened.

She was handling the situation the main way she knew how: as if it were a mission.

 

[Arianna Belasko]

"Greetings, Draco." Arianna spoke in a warm purr to her apprentice. "You look absolutely radiant."

The Waiter, a General Purpose Nuetralizer, showed up with a gold embossed menu.

"My daughter is normally wary of luxuries such as this restaurant. So high end, so upper class, but what's the use of having a gorgeous dress if you can't flaunt it somewhere appropriate?"

Arianna looked at the menu.

"Feel free to order whatever you like. My treat. So how's life in House Io, Draco? Make any friends? Explore? Kick anyone's ass lately? My weekend at the mint was murder. Somebody screwed up one of the master molds for our coins. I just got done tracking the last shipment of bad coins down. Then I got called back because an entire machine malfunctioned and burned one of the rooms up." she said to Draco Miles as she slipped her sherry.

"So, after we eat, I had another lesson. I wanted to show you flesh manipulation..." she trailed after placing her order...

 

[Draco Miles]

Draco nodded in agreement, she never could really wear this dress anywhere else, this seemed the only place where she felt like she wouldn’t stand out in it, and the armor she had taken to wearing of course would never be allowed past the doors anyways.

“It stands out yet fits right in place… your dress is very beautiful, Master. My journey has led me to making some friends, surprisingly more friends than enemies. The Amalgam sent me to track down a man, his name is.. Nathan Bloodscrawl, a little rocky, but I did find the Jedi. Would you like me to assist you there then? I could help supervise the machines and try to prevent malfunctions, if you’d like”

She always wanted to be as much help to Arianna Belasko as possible, her gratitude to the person who had plucked her from nothing and gave her everything. She was thankful, and felt that she would repay the debt to Arianna through servitude as a token of appreciation. She listened intently as countess Belasko spoke of another lesson, in the manipulation of flesh. Her brow furrowed and her head tilted in slight confusion as to how exactly she could manipulate flesh… the flesh of others? Or herself? How would that one go?

 

[Arianna Belasko]

Arianna listened closely as Draco Miles told her of her latest adventures.

"Be extraordinarily careful with any orders you take from Amy. She's...crazy." Arianna spoke with caution. "And I'm not talking the normal type of crazy either. I'm talkin' crazy AF. That kinda crazy."

(Cutaway of Morgan Freeman sitting in an elegant chair by a fireplace)

(Morgan Freeman: And as Draco knows, Amy's charisma is at a solid 10)

"Oh, don't mind the machines. That problem has been solved." Arianna assured as she formed a water tentacle to retrieve two full champagne glasses placing one in front of Draco.

"Alchemy of Flesh was a art practiced by the Ancient Je'daii. A Sorceress within me has taken it much farther. All of her tissue, her very blood can be manipulated to wondrous effects." Arianna explained, taking a sip of champagne.

"Flesh is really no different to any other form of matter. It depends largely on your state of mind. Your ability to think of Flesh as clay, as I do..." Arianna explained.

"There's another reason I brought you here, and that's to communicate a very important lesson. All of this, these fine clothes, this divine drink...all crude matter, ultimately...when you understand how it's all linked is when you are best able to manipulate it...

 

[Draco Miles]

Oh definitely at a solid 10 in charisma, she still had the taste of Amy’s lips on her mind… she had dipped her toe in the sea of darkness and terrifyingly enjoyed it, she kissed a girl, and she liked it. The taste of her Cherry Chapstick tantalizing…

‘Flesh is simply clay’ Arianna Belasko told her, that flesh was something to manipulate much like all other matter in the universe… this confused Draco, as she always pictured the force as some invisible… well, Force. She thought when she manipulated water that she wasn’t grabbing the molecules themselves, but instead manipulating what little midichlorians existed in and around the water to move it, so hearing that she could manipulate any material was certainly interestinf

“I could manipulate even my armor?”

She asked curiously, genuinely wondering the extent of matter manipulation and how abusive she could be with it

 

[Arianna Belasko]

"Yes." Arianna purred in a silken manner. "Even Armor can be altered or created in this manner. There is a whole discipline, in fact, specifically dedicated to it..."

Arianna leaned back as her meal and whatever Draco had ordered was brought, giving a quick rundown about what every piece of silverware was for and how it was used.

"There are rules of course as with any discipline. It's not something that can be done on the spot normally..." Arianna explained between bites of ridiculously expensive pasta. "Like a well cooked meal, it requires considerable prep time and the correct ingredients..."


Hours Later...


After the meal, Arianna had paid for everything and then called for her personal guard to pilot them back to her glittering white Palace. During the trip, Arianna regaled Draco Miles with the history of Alchemy and Flesh Shaping, explaining the rituals involved and the dedication.

Escorting her to a darkened Ritual Chamber, Arianna decided to give her first demonstration of creating things from flesh, standing at the edge of a ritual circle that had an empty black gown at the center.

"Pay attention closely, Draco, to how the Force Flows in this chamber from this. Try not to barf either, I just had the floor cleaned..."

Arianna's face began to bubble and shudder as she removed her stilettos, going to one one as she began chanting, flesh pulling away from her skeleton at multiple angles, revealing the pearly white skull, until the bubbling face just straight up detached, changing colors from pale to green in a silent, distorted scream as it left Arianna, the sinews on the muscles covering her skull wriggling as green blood leaked out.

The detached face skittered to the empty dress and went inside it, growing rapidly within to a humanoid shape that eventually became a curvy green Twi'lek Woman in her late twenties. The flesh on Arianna's face healed back to it's undistorted state.

"Draco, allow me to introduce my co teacher for today...The Sorceress of Ardasa." Arianna said proudly.

The Sorceress took a bow.

"A pleasure..." she said to Draco...

 

[Draco Miles]

The concept of a salad fork, a soup spoon, and dessert utensils all were a little too fancy for poor Draco, she just did what she felt was right as she dug into the flesh of some expensive land creature, steak for what looked like a carnivorous monster was certainly fitting, and tasted best to her. She listened to how it would take time for a perfect spell to be cast for flesh manipulation and silently groaned inside, she was not the brightest at alchemy nor taking long times to make what she wanted, but she would still learn, she wanted to be the best after all.

Upon their arrival back she focused mainly on the circle over the explanation and tried to compare it to the history lesson Arianna Belasko had given her, noticing similarities in the sigils along the edges of this magical circle, of course her concentration was broken when she saw her master bubbling up and breaking apart at the seams, it worried her every single time, but she kept silent due to it seemingly being a norm. She watched as the Twi’lek formed and looked her up and down before nodding and bowing with the Sorceress that would be teaching her

“The pleasure is all mine, I am Draco Miles, apprentice to Countess Belasko. I cannot wait to learn and see your lesson”

 

[Arianna Belasko]

The Sorceress chuckled.

"I know of, course that you are her apprentice. I have her memories due to being spawned from her..." The Sorceress explained. "But I have been following your career with great interest..."

"Let's get started!" Arianna said enthusiastically. "Ardasa, will you demonstrate?"

The Sorceress took a ritual knife from a nearby basin. Opening her palm with it, bright green blood dropped out .

"To control blood is among the most dangerous forms of power. It can be used to enhance nearly any ritual, light OR dark..." Ardasa explained as she began to chant, and shaped a dagger from a puddle within the circle.

"None who touch such power remain unchanged. It reaches to your core."

The Sorceress handed Draco Miles a different knife.

"A little bit. Not a lot. Try to form something simple."

"I have band aids and disinfectant at the ready." Arianna added.

 

[Draco Miles]

Draco smiled slightly with the sorceress' laugh, wondering just how many personas and people were watching her through her master's eyes. She watched silently as the demonstration began, observing the green blood oozing from the twi'lek as if she were radioactive waste. It was interesting, to say the least, seeing a creature with different colored blood than her own. The thought of controlling her own blood brought medical thoughts into her head, increasing blood flow to certain muscles in order to boost her abilities further, or stopping a severed limb from bleeding out. Most notably though was controlling someone else's. Not a thought of alchemy was behind those eyes, sadly, she just thought about practical combat applications. As time goes on though, she may begin to see the importance of Sith Alchemy.

The moment she saw a dagger forming from the puddle though, she absolutely lost her mind. Breaking her composure and staring with sparkling eyes as she walked a little closer to the demonstration.

"whoaaaa..."

She whispered under her breath, enthralled and encapsulated by the beauty of the blood knife. So much so that she almost missed the knife being handed to her! Her head snapped to the weapon and eagerly took it, gripping it as she outstretched her hand over the puddle and made a light cut, dripping her own crimson red life fluid into the puddle and concentrating hard, envisioning a sword like a European knight's, a thin blade designed for cutting though even starship hulls. She closed her eyes focusing on every little aspect of it, almost like she had pulled up a schematic in her mind as she clenched her outstretched fist, expecting it to float up to her

 

[Arianna Belasko]

The Sorceress watched, greatly impressed as Draco Miles concentrated. Her breath caught in her throat as Draco began gradually form the blade that she had been asked to.

Both Arianna and the Sorceress watched as the sword slowly came into being.

"Such control...in a first time user... astonishing. There are people who train for weeks, months even, and never get anywhere close to this level of detail..." The Sorceress observed as Draco formed the sword. Arianna stepped closer observing her control as the sword was formed.

"I am very impressed, The Twi'lek Sorceress admitted to Draco as she completed the task. "A lesser student would have suffered an aneurysm."

"When we fully train her, just imagine what she will accomplish with the House..." Arianna said. "Give her something more complex!"

The Sorceress of Ardasa smiled.

"Let's see how you are with something more complex...try reforging the sword into a Scythe..." she encouraged Draco, much to Arianna's delight.

 

[Draco Miles]

She furrowed her brow as they spoke, she was still busy forging away! She figured it'd have to do and left it as it was while listening, nodding as her grip loosened slightly and most definitely enjoying the praise. To the point where her tail started to sway left to right a little as they commended her work, not even able to stop her smile as it inflated her ego a little. Then they asked for a scythe. She furrowed her brow and looked to Arianna with a little confusion before going back to the Twi'lek

"Like... the gardening tool?"

She was a little confused about it but definitely wouldn't dare disobey. She tried to imagine exactly what a scythe was like, picturing the curve of the handle and the exact way the blade should be shaped. She worked and focused yet couldn't picture a proper curve, resulting in the scythe fluctuating. Straightening then curving itself over and over due to Draco's inability to vividly imagine and bring up the schematic of a scythe made out of blood. She'd apologize to Arianna Belasko for this failure

"My apologies, this is the best I can do"

 

[Arianna Belasko]

Arianna smiled at Draco Miles .

"Perfectly understandable. No one, not even the most talented masters everything in a day..." The Countess spoke as she watch Draco fail at the scythe.

"But we now have a point to work from where you are falling short..." The Sorceress of Ardasa explained to Draco. "I suggest we scale it back, have Draco focus on forming smaller objects, with greater detail."

Arianna nodded. "Yes, I believe that is a sound idea at the moment. Draco...try and bridge the lessons between your Hydrokinetic abilities that I have been teaching you and the Hemomancy Ardasa is now instructing you in. Both involve the manipulation of Liquid."

The Sorceress of Ardasa formed a heavy looking green sword of her own blood.

"Form daggers Draco. Small ones. Don't form too many...you are sort of casting from hit points." The Sorceress cautioned.

"Take your time." Arianna advised. It is one thing to form a single weapon. Multiple weapons will tax you."

 

[Draco Miles]

She was loving how her imagination and creativity came into play when forming things out of both water and blood. Perhaps even mixing the two of them could yield better results. She looked around the room for anything that could have water (That wasn't living at least, organisms to need water to survive after all.) The command to form daggers made her furrow her brow, and instead she opted to form a sword much like the Sorceress of Ardasa had, making an exact replica of it with possibly even better balance, her blood pooling more into the handle instead of the blade, resulting in it being darker where she held it, and lighter in color on the blade. She steadied it in a fighting position, believing they would be able to Spar with the weapons at such an early stage!

"I am willing to see what these limits are... I will accept your duel, Master."

She may be making a few too many assumptions and jumped too far in conclusions, but it was just how she was made. Her previous "Owner" made everything about combat and how useful a skill would be in battle or to prepare for it. Obviously alchemy and liquid manipulation was not high on that list.

 

[Arianna Belasko]

The Sorceress of Ardasa smiled again.

"Very well, Draco..."

The Sorceress lunged for Draco, looking to make a light strike at her arm to try and disarm her, while Arianna made careful observation of everything. How Draco reacted, how quickly, how much she could handle.

It was essential Draco became as powerful as possible. The Cult, if they ever had to be eliminated, were likely to retaliate savagely if a first strike was initiated against them.

Plus, it would be essential when they both finally visited Atrisia to find the lost lair of Darth Phyre and the Cult, and the black flame it hid...

Draco Miles would need to be at her A-Game when they went there...

Arianna's flesh shuddered, and she also turned into the Sorceress of Ardasa, distinguished only by her revealing black gown as she formed boomerang of blood and tossed it at Draco, deciding to make the test a little bit more difficult...

 

[Draco Miles]

With the sorceress lunging for her, Draco would backstep and give a light parry, as if she were slapping jungle brush to the side. It was obvious she didn't want to go too hard off the bat, and wanted The Sorceress of Ardasa to set the tone of how serious the fight would be taken. Draco was beginning to think not too seriously... until Arianna Belasko stepped into the fray. Upon seeing the transformation and the boomerang of blood, Draco gave it her all.

Immediately she'd press the attack, giving a quick stab at the sorceress' left side to make her side step into the path of the projectile so that she'd take the blow and obscure Draco from her master. Even if her current teacher got hit, she'd follow up by smacking their blood weapon out of their hand before she'd kick them at her master. Planting her foot firmly into her teacher's stomach to make sure they flew true and made a perfect diversion for her to take the both of them down in one go~

 

[Arianna Belasko]

The Ardasa Copy (The one spawned from Arianna) barely managed to deflect the boomerang after being forced to the side from Draco's stab but even she wasn't fast enough to stop her weapons from being kicked out of her hand. Arianna-Ardasa was pinned against the wall by Draco's foot but the blood weapons, when they sank into her face, were simply absorbed into her body.

"Sorry, Darling. If you want to harm us with blood weapons they must be ones made by you. Our blood simply gets reabsorbed into us." Arianna-Ardasa explained patiently.

*Both Sorceresses then dissolved into puddles of green blood, flowing out of their gowns and reforming into crude avatar versions of themselves, made solely of blood but now missing their face.

One formed a net from their blood and the other a large staff and they sprang towards her, one casting the blood net and the other swinging at Draco's legs. It was impossible to tell who was who now...



Draco Miles

 

[Draco Miles]

Such an effective strategy but sadly fell short. As the weapons fell back into Arianna Belasko , Draco clicked her teeth in annoyance with the sudden failure of her strategy. She was so close to winning so quickly~! She stepped back as both mentors melted into blood and reformed behind her, she'd turn with her sword still in hand as the faceless versions of her master appeared, and the event took on a more gladiatorial approach. The net would be the most imposing of them all, and she'd have to get creative with it since her sword wouldn't be able to cut it anymore. Focusing intently on What weapon she'd use next, she nodded her head as a simple yet effective design revealed itself in her head

As her sword reverted back into liquid, she'd clap her hands together and make the blood splatter, snaking out through the air before congealing and hardening into… a prison door? Bars crossing perpendicular to each other much like the net, yet completely rigid with not even a handle to hold it. Draco would jump up, catching the net with her door and dodging the one wielding the staff, now overhead with an advantage, she'd grab the sides of her door and swing it downwards, bashing it overtop one of the enemies with a loud metallic CLANG!

 

[Arianna Belasko]

Draco Miles reacted with a deftness that stunned the blood Sorceresses, forming a prison door.

She didn't know it, but that door was actually an extremely complicated shape to form. It seemed like when Draco wasn't thinking about it, she was very adept at forming complex shapes.

So complex was this particular shape that it caught one of the Blood Sorceresses by surprise and smashed her form into puddles that flew everywhere, while the other Sorceress pulled back...

But while Draco was powerful, there were still techniques that even she would need time to master.

The Witch then broke down into a pile of spiders made of blood and headed straight for Draco's legs, while the other Sorceress slowly began reforming...

 

[Draco Miles]

Or perhaps she was simply that familiar with the shape, that it came easily to her mind. She smirked at her play of outsmarting the weapons which were brought against her, taking confidence that she could not be bested in combat. Until the spiders got involved. She noticed first the sorceress starting to reform, raising the door over her head to bash it against the puddle again before noticing the other began turning into spiders.

"WHAT IN THE--"

Draco screamed out before leaping far into the air and kicking off the ceiling, getting away from the grotesque scene and realizing that those clones couldn't be her master, they were not able to do that, no human form could fit in that! It's a literal pile of spiders, not her master. So, taking advantage of that, she began moving and searching around the room for where Arianna Belasko was hiding