Don't Wake the Dreamer (Tanek)

[Sage Bane]

With its liver-brown puddles and suspicious steam rising from sewer grates, the Coruscant Underworld on its surface, did not seem like the most forgiving place. However, for the many transients that clogged its bars, drifted through its betting houses, and lay in its brothels, it was exactly the kind of place where an old life could be born anew. Previous sins could never be completely wiped clean, however, especially in a madding place that contained predators who could peer into one's very soul, and without his knowledge, and become familiar with his darkest deeds.

Predators like Sage Bane.

Black cloak billowing out around him, the Sith Knight stalked the streets of the Undercity looking for a certain clean slate. While visiting his brother, a crime lord who was elbows deep in organ theft for the CRC, a criminal syndicate that reigned over the underbelly of the Queen's Core, Sage had sensed a peculiar stirring in the Force. He felt the familiar shimmering of a waking dreamer, much like himself, but younger. A momentary flash of bodies slumping to the ground. A fragment of grey lips being pulled back from pointed teeth. All the while, the dreamer slept soundly. It was rare that someone so young could turn the dream into a lethal instrument. It was likely an accident, but with years of the right training and grooming, the young man could learn to harness his rare gift. The clean slate could be imprinted with untold virtues, virtues that would be put to efficient use in the ranks of the One Sith.

The boy in question might catch the faintest hint of Sage’s aura. It would likely feel as if an unknown stranger was hiding in the oil-black shadows that stretched across the alleyways, and that the serpentine voyeur was watching him.

And the watcher was close.

[member="Tanek Santii"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

[member="Sage Bane"]

The small freighter came out of hyperspace. What met Tanek Santii's eyes was the planet Coruscant, bizarre and foreign to him. The planet was dramatically different from Shili. He saw no signs of the forest green that his home planet possessed, only artificial lights and grey, an industrial sphere. The droid informed him that he had reached Coruscant before engaging the autopilot. The planet's coordinates had already been plotted into the ship's course, Tanek had no say in the matter.

The last thing Tanek would do before abandoning ship was to destroy the droid. Despite how he and the droid had been acquainted, the droid had been helpful, seemingly accepting Tanek as its new master. Useful no longer, its existence no longer required. Tanek did not wish there to be anyone to reveal in detail what had happened on that ship. If asked to give a name to any hangar officials, he would offer that of the late captain of the ship. The droid had provided him with the name. Tanek would leave the ship and the corpses within to be discovered whenever the port authorities realized he wasn't coming back. His past would not come back to haunt him.

Confused and without any clear purpose, the Togruta wandered the dark streets of Coruscant. What would become of him now, he did not know. Mercenary work came to mind. Eventually he found himself in the streets of the Undercity. There was a strange feeling, which grew stronger as he delved deeper into the district. Weak at first, Tanek couldn't explain it as anything else but a hunch. He felt drawn in, like his purpose awaited around the next corner. At this point however, he wasn't sure if he had sought out his destiny, or if he had been lured in by something else, now to be consumed by it. Tanek was unaware of the presence of another in the Force, what he felt manifested as this emotion of discomfort and unease. He did not know it, but something other than himself had caused him to arrive at this point.

Tanek must have seemed out of place, mostly due to his body language and the signals he were sending. He was certainly not used to this environment. Oddly enough, he was not wearing shoes either. Despite his skin touching ground, he felt no connection with his immediate surroundings. This world was cold, dead. It made him suspicious, his hand never far from the hilt of his vibroblade. He feared that he would be apprehended by local authorities, ambushed like he had been on Shili. Despite telling himself this was unlikely, the matter probably assumed taken care of by the people involved, he could not shake his paranoia. The Togruta was far from home.

 

[Sage Bane]

The Force-sensitive’s aura became stronger as Sage neared it. The Sith Knight quickly passed by a boarded up cantina and a pawn shop, rounded a corner and suddenly, the signature thrummed more intensely until it reached a howling crescendo. A barefoot Togruta with suspicious eyes stood near a filthy kebob stand which sold street meats to anyone brave enough to ingest them. There he was, the waking dreamer. With a deep breath, Sage sidestepped back, his hands scraping the duracrete wall as he hugged it. For what he was about to do, he needed line of sight.

From of his belt clip, his focus jumped into his waiting palms. It was a wooden hand, with inked designs on the fingers. As he kept his eyes trained on his target, he whispered an incantation, holding the focus in both hands. As the Wroshyr wood creaked, his fingers began to bend the pinky of the hand in on itself. The Sith sorcery from his own nascent power mingled with the magic imbued in the alchemized fetish, making the illusions that the sorcerer spun incredibly hyper-realistic.

With control over both the boy’s mind and optic nerves, Sage projected lifelike images that only the Togruta would see. The Togruta would find himself inexplicably in the middle of an atrium of a lavish palace. Ornamental carpets lay sprawled on the marble floor, and the stucco walls were decorated with large, imposing Krayt skulls. The palace was devoid of life, and other than its lush interior, there was nothing to distinguish its alignment. The place could easily belong to noblemen or Sith alike. Right before the boy stood two separate, identical doors, one right next to the other. Ornate patterns decorated their exteriors, and each had a large metal ring protruding from them, but like the palace itself, they had no other distinguishing features. Both doors were closed.

It was then that Sage put a sibilant whisper into the Togruta boy’s mind. The words were simple, but their tone was soaked with urgency.

Choose a door, boy. Or I will choose one for you.

[member="Tanek Santii"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

Tanek was completely oblivious to the presence of The Sith Knight. Something felt strange, but with this being his first time off Shili, and on Coruscant no less, his senses were overwhelmed by everything that went on. The scent of the kebob stand actually tempted the carnivorous Togruta, reminding him how he had forgotten about food in the midst of recent events. He stood still, attempting to figure out what to do, where to go, though having a hard time orienting himself with the many and busy streets of Coruscant.

It was soon revealed to him that that was not a choice he had to concern himself with just now. He had more pressing issues. No longer did Tanek find himself in the dark streets of the Undercity, but in some fancy building, rid of all the scents, the people, the noise he had been surrounded by only seconds earlier. Was he dreaming? Had he been sniped, was he dead? His mind struggled to comprehend this, Tanek looked around himself with a bewildered look on his eyes. In his hand he held his vibroblade. He didn't remember drawing it, but he was glad he had, feeling a small measure of comfort with his fingers wrapping around the hilt of the blade. He had dropped into a defensive stance, knees slightly bent, his eyes constantly searching his surroundings, as if expecting a small force storming out from hidden doors to assault him. No such assault came.

Another moment went by with no sound, nothing happening, and he dared to slowly approach the two doors, examining them. What the kark? Just as he had felt ready to explore, his body froze, a chill going down his spine, all his senses being driven up to a high alert. A voice. Tanek didn't move for another few seconds, until the urgency in the voice he had heard got to him. What was going on? What was about to happen? He wasn't sure why exactly he came to this conclusion, but there was something about the voice that told him that it was not a bluff, that he better take it serious, if not he would bring doom upon himself.

Feeling as if he had no time to ask questions, Tanek chose left. Quickly he approached the door, with one hand on the metal ring, the other holding the vibroblade and pointing it forwards, ready if someone were to jump at him as he opened the door. With a quick and sudden yank, he attempted to pull the door open. Provided nothing stood in his way, or another sight dissuaded him from doing such, he would step inside (provided he was able to get the door open in the first place).

[member="Sage Bane"]

 

[Sage Bane]

With a whisper and a crack, another finger on the Hated Hand, this time the ring finger, was bent forward, boosting the illusion’s power and conviction. The dream breathed and touched. It could almost hurt, but not quite. The boy crouched defensively, a hunter’s instincts taking over. Once he felt it was safe for him, the Togruta wasted no time opening a door of his choice. The youth was decisive. He did not find himself riddled with indecision like a lesser initiate. All of the boy’s turns bolstered Sage’s desire to make sure this walking weapon ended up in the right hands. A smile played over the Sith Knight’s lips as more incantations flowed from them. He had learned the door trick from the serpentine [member="Kesare Salazar"], another one of his Master Matsu Xiangu’s gifted pupils. In an elaborate game the two played in the Dead Forest of Kashyyyk, Kesare had given him similar choices to make. Now was not the time to let his thoughts indulgently linger on his time with Salazar. Illusions such as the one in which the Togruta was immersed took immense concentration.

The young barefoot Togruta would find the large door gave him no resistance. It had a tactile sensation, but it wasn’t as heavy as it looked, and it opened with a strange weightlessness that might disorient the boy. Once inside through the door, rank smells would assault the waking dreamer, a mixture of fecal matter, coppery blood, and body odors. The sky was a pink, bloodshot color and the land around him was a barren sea of dust and rocks. Wearing nothing but a thin cheesecloth on his hips and stripped of all weapons, the Force sensitive found himself in large outdoor pen, chained at the waist to hundreds of other slaves, many of them humans and Twi’lek. Other species were peppered among them, including other Togruta. The writhing mass of bodies were about to be loaded into a crawler. The young man would see a large, Trandoshan looming over him, holding a collar ringed with needles on the inside.

Looks like you chose the wrong door, dear boy. You’re in luck, however. Go back. There’s still time to see what’s behind door number two.

[member="Tanek Santii"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

The door flung open. Tanek stumbled for a bit, almost losing his balance completely. That door looked way heavier than what it felt like. He didn't hesitate, however, and as soon as he regained his composure, he charged in. What happened next was something he could not explain. Merely a moment before he had been within the four walls of some palace, now he was outside. It wasn't similar to stepping out the front door, into the open, it was as if his body had been teleported into another realm entirely, one that looked nothing like one he had been in previously. The smell was what struck him first. It was not pleasant. Again the Togruta was sent back into a bewildered confusion as he looked around himself to get a bearing of his new surroundings. What the kark was going on?

He saw slaves, many of them, all chained together and moving slowly in the same reaction. It took him another moment to realize that he appeared as one such slave, no longer in his simple outfit. He had traded it for an even simpler one. What was even more disturbing however, was that his trusted vibroblade was gone. Tanek felt himself being pulled forward, realizing he was chained to the slaves as well. This was bizarre. He turned, trying to see if the door he had come out of was still present.

He still did not understand. What reality was this? All he could accept was that it was the reality he found himself in, it was the reality he would have to deal with. The crawler loomed ahead. Despite the poor state he found himself in now, he imagined that one would be worse. He watched, as the hundreds of slaves marched towards it, seemingly accepting their fate. Tanek did not accept this to be his fate.

The young hunter's demeanour changed. The voice called out to him again, somehow manifesting from no clear source. His expression grew cold, his eyes serious. Confusion did not aid him, this situation called for action. Tanek stopped walking. His bare feet planted in the ground. He expected a pull from the people in front, as well as a push from behind as the slaves might press up against him. He wondered if they could be snapped out of their trance. Could he urge them to rise up with him? Would they fight him? Or would they do nothing, accepting that others had power over their future?

Despite the possibility of people dragging him in different directions, the young Togruta would attempt to resist and hold his ground, frozen still like a rock. His head turned slowly, eyes fixed on that of the Trandoshan, his grey lips giving way to his sharp teeth as the hatred built within him. He made no attempt to mask it, in fact, he wanted the Trandoshan to see it. It was a challenge. It was defiance. Tanek wasn't one to make the first move, but he was good at forcing others to make it for him. Such insolence would have to be dealt with by the slaver. It was quite simple. If he wanted Tanek's cooperation, he would have to break him. He would have to prove his strength greater than Tanek's. The Togruta had a tradition for leaving the weak behind. In the face of death, you either earned your right to live, or you proved you never deserved life to begin with. Tanek was about to find out which category he belonged to very soon.

[member="Sage Bane"]

 

[Sage Bane]

Sage was pleased at the boy’s defiance in the face of subjugation, and the hatred he felt radiating off of the young alien was exquisite. Sage believed that passions themselves held the key to harnessing the dark side’s power and controlling one’s own fate. Where other Sith Knights and Lords espoused temperance along with passion, it was Sage’s belief that nothing was worth doing if it didn’t get the blood boiling with a hedonistic fury. Moderation was for the Jedi. The Sith should revel in agony and ecstasy. With one more crack, he bent forward the middle finger of The Hated Hand, bolstering the illusion with more of the scintillating power of Sith sorcery.

Back in Tanek's world, the Trandoshan gave the boy the impassive stare of a slaver who had forced many into servitude. To the reptilian humanoid, human and near human bodies were chattel to be herded and farmed. With a grunt, the Trandoshan violently yanked the Togruta’s chain forward, pulling he and the other slaves in his vicinity down to the ground. Raucous laughter rang out as some of the other slavers, a mixture of aliens found mainly in Hutt space, mocked the slaves’ suffering. Yes, it was cruel but Sage wanted the boy to feel the maximum amount of humiliation in his scenario. How better to impart the lesson he wanted to teach, the one that would be revealed in time?

The beauty of illusions was that if the mind believed the dream, the dream would persist. Perception was reality. To break through these illusions, the victim only had to disbelieve. Unfortunately for the weak-minded the realism of the magic visions made that impossible. However, the Togruta had a mind as strong as steel as well as the cunning of a hunter. Sage guessed it wouldn’t be long before he figured out how to dispel the trickery.

The door through which the Togruta had emerged was still behind him, closed, but very much in his reach. If the Togruta did not manage to dispel the illusion he had two choices: He could stay chained to the mournful bodies which were slowly being loaded into the waiting crawler, or he could walk back through to another world.

[member="Tanek Santii"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

Tanek had expected a strike, something he could counter. Instead the Trandoshan had been smart. Pulled to the ground, dragged down for a close encounter with the filth and stench of this realm, Tanek was humiliated to the sound of raucous laughter. He did not take kindly to such mockery. If not for the chains and his weapon mysteriously vanishing, he would repay them all in kind. Had he had that, he thought to himself, he would never have been enslaved in the first place. This was not real. It couldn't be! He was not a slave, and he knew that he would not accept that reality no more than he would accept being taken into slavery. It was victory or death. Yet here he was, with no explainable reason for his captivity, forced to endure. This wounded his pride greatly. His fury dug deeper, his anger reaching depths it never had before. Tanek's usually contained, focused anger was boiling over into an unpredictable rage. His every cell seemed to call for blood. They laughed. One way or another, this would end right now. Tanek's mind was starting to unravel the mystery, had it not been for the humiliation he suffered, and the immense rage he felt in response to this, he might've figured it out. Yet his mind was still drawn to this world, fixed on revenge.

Down on the ground he lashed out against the slaver. The plan was to first knock him off his feet with a sweeping kick, then drag him closer and envelop his neck with the chains Tanek found himself in. He wouldn't wait to hear him beg, to give him a chance to live. This was murder, pure and simple. Assuming the move went according to plan, the Togruta would finally arise from the dirt, a wild, naked, hatred in the young hunter's eyes, discouraging anyone from stopping him. He would walk backwards, chain still around the neck of the Trandoshan as he dragged him after him. The other slaves linked to the same chain he was better not oppose him. It was weird, but he felt as if his rage made him stronger, summoning something deep inside him that empowered him. Would these miserable slaves be able to contain him, even if they tried? It was time to get out of here, and gather his thoughts. It was time to find the source of that voice he had heard. It was time to open the door, and step outside. Provided he got this far, he would open the door and fall inside, landing on the floor of whatever awaited him on the other side.

This would be a defining moment. Would his weapons and clothes be back? Would the dirt and marks from the world remain with him? Was he back in the palace, or placed in some other realm entirely? He was cautious now, expecting his reality to warp, suspicious.

[member="Sage Bane"]

 

[Sage Bane]

Bloodlust boiled up in Togruta’s veins at the abject humiliation he was forced to suffer. Sage let waves of it float over him, sharing it with the boy in their mutual dreamspace. He felt a pang of empathy, as the illusion was derived from Sage’s own experience as a slave. He himself had stared into the face of that very Trandoshan, and had once been dragged across the ground with the same humbling cruelty.

Then without hesitation, the boy lashed out, sweeping the slaver off his feet, and viciously wrapping the chain around his scaly neck. The humanoid’s eyes bulged as the life was choked out of him, and Sage reveled in the murder. There was shivering pleasure in feeling the life drain from his illusionary Trandoshan pawn, as well as pride in the Togruta’s fighting spirit.

As the boy stepped back through the door, he would find himself in a completely different impossible place. Gone were the crawler, the people pens, the slavers, and the chains. The Togruta now stood in a high-ceilinged chamber in what seemed to be an ancient stone temple. Rectangular crimson colored windows let faint traces of red light into the room, and statues of long dead Sith Lords lined the walls on either side of the hall. A crowd of kneeling Acolytes faced him, their heads down in reverence, patiently awaiting a lesson. The Togruta was cloaked in the black robes of the Sith, with a lightsaber clipped to his belt.

Bending forward the pointer finger of his magical focus, Sage flooded Tanek’s mind with new emotions that might be indistinguishable from his own. All the dignity that had been stripped from him in the earlier illusion, would come roaring back to him, along with honor, self-assurance, and a feeling of superiority. This version of him would never again be put into chains or humiliated by others. This version of him was respected by many and abused by none! This version of him was a Sith Master.

Suddenly Sage cracked all four wooden fingers back to their original place, and the illusion dissipated. Clipping his focus to his belt, he strode towards the presumably disoriented boy who would find himself surrounded by the smell of roast meat and the inky-black chiaroscuro of the Coruscant Undercity street. The Sith Knight lifted his hood so that his face was not cloaked in the shadows and addressed the sharer of his subconscious with the name that he had plucked right out of the boy’s head-tails.

“That, my dear boy, was a testament to the power of Sith magic,” Sage explained. “Illusions so powerful, that in the right hands, the illusionist can break a foe’s mind.”

Burning, searing agony all throughout Sage's arm, pale skin flaking off in chunks. The only way to stop the pain was to saw. The arm needed to be removed. Now. Cut it off. Cut it off. Cut it off. His Master sighing as she neared him, telling him that all of life was suffering.

“I feel I must congratulate you, Tanek. I threw you to the Akk dogs and you came out leading the pack."

[member="Tanek Santii"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

[SIZE=10pt]Though it was an illusion it seemed real enough, it felt real enough. The hunter took great satisfaction from his kill. He had risen to the challenge and proved his strength was greater than that of the Trandoshan. He had established his right to live. Unbeknownst to him, the maker of his dreams probably relished in the murder, given his history with the slaver. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]He fell through the door and was plunged into another reality, another layer of this elaborate dream. He was not back in the palace. It was not an empty space, though he sensed no danger here. In fact, the pride and pleasure he felt from the kill of the Trandoshan became like wave, that carried him to an even higher level now as he stood there, as if a god worshipped by his minions. He had finally become the leader his pack back on Shili never permitted him to be. The transition was well-timed by the dreamweaver. Even though it was a scene completely new to him - everything from the kneeling Acolytes to the Sith robes and lightsaber - it somehow felt right. He felt powerful.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Suddenly he was ripped back to the world he knew. This time, however, he hadn't sought to break free. His initial reaction was a resounding NO! Bring it back! He had gotten a taste of it now, and it had whet his appetite. The Togruta felt disoriented, it took him time to anchor his mind back on Coruscant. Had it only been Shili, it would at least be familiar, though this world was still foreign to him, so very different from his own. Someone approached him, and he felt like he could see a resemblance to the way he dressed to the way Tanek had been dressed in the vision. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The man spoke, and there it was! That voice... He recognized it as the voice he had heard in his head earlier. There were many things racing through Tanek's mind right now, a lot of what he said had set off a spark within him. Sith. Illusions. "Sith" he repeated the word in almost a whisper, thinking out loud as he attempted to grasp the situation he found himself in. He had heard mention of 'Sith' before. Sometimes he had heard off-worlders talk about them in the city of Corvala. Their opinions on them seemed many and different, though usually they had spoken with feelings of fear, awe or disgust. What they all seemed to agree on however, was their strength. They were undeniably powerful beings. For that, though he knew little of them, Sith had some measure of respect in the hunter's mind already.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]"Why are you telling me this?" Tanek asked, clearly suspicious, eyeing the Sith with careful eyes, trying to figure out his agenda. "How do you know my name?" he felt it necessary to follow up with. The Sith didn't want to kill him, he had a strong feeling that had that been his wish, he would already be dead. But then, what did he want? If he searched his feelings, he would find what he secretly wanted the answer to be. The power of illusion... It blew his mind that he, one man, could put him through all of that without engaging him in combat. Or, he had, only he was armed only with the power of his mind. It was such a stark contrast to the way Tanek was used to fighting. It fascinated him immensely. He needed to know. He didn't know the individual, he didn't yet trust him, but he simply needed to know. "Can it be taught?" It was magic. He assumed it wasn't for anyone, and to his knowledge, there was nothing in his background to imply he had a knack for it. But then he remembered the strange events that had surrounded him from as early as he could remember. He had always been the odd one out. Things happened when he got angry, dreams sometimes became reality.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The Sith's reputation preceded them, knowing their wrath was something to be feared. However, this one had congratulated him, and appeared on some level pleased. Now he waited with contained excitement and some level of concern as to what the Sith had in mind for him. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt][member="Sage Bane"][/SIZE]

 

[Sage Bane]

“My name is Sage Bane and I am a Knight of the One Sith, the rulers of this planet. I learned your name through Mentalism, Tanek. It was one of the many gifts that was given to me by the Empress of Coruscant, Matsu Xiangu. I was her apprentice, and she my Master. She freed me from the bonds of slavery for the very same reasons that I'm talking to you right now because she and I have a shared hatred of wasted potential."

The young Knight turned his gaze to the street vendor and pointed to his wares. The vendor procured a stick of mystery meat, dripping with rich and savory oil. While human on the surface, half-human anyway, Sage tore into the kebob with the eagerness of a carnivore, a trait that the Togruta could presumably appreciate. A nearby stranger gawked at the two men, and with a flutter of Sage’s pale, thin fingers, the onlooker veered off his path and right into a street light. Sage wiped his mouth with a smile and continued.

"The illusions are not Mentalism, but esoteric arts.The pandora’s box of Sith magic is sealed to all but a gifted few,” Sage explained to the apprehensive Togruta. “One must possess a sensitivity to the Force, as expected, but the practitioner must also harbor an innate ability to dream while awake. I sensed the ability in you, a power that you seem to have used at least once before."

He gave Tanek a knowing grin, one that said he had shared the boy’s secret of the cadavers left in his wake.

“The transcendental power of the waking dream could be infinitely powerful in your hands, but you must learn other skills first, and your mastery of the Force will need to be much stronger. Without the proper training, delving too deeply into the enigma of Sith illusions could plunge you into madness.”

Sage had heard that the recently resurrected Darth Vornskr was looking for a new pupil to mold and train. The Togruta was an excellent candidate, for the Sith Lord, with his hunter's spirit and fascination for the dark arts. Additionally, Tanek seemed to have the fortitude to actually survive the Emperor of Panatha's training.

"I have a trainer in mind for you. He can teach you the prerequisite skills. And when you’re ready, you can share the dream with me.”

[member="Tanek Santii"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

[SIZE=10pt]The Sith rules this planet? [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]How little did he know. This was only the beginning. Sage Bane. He would remember that name, he suspected, for the rest of his life. It was the first Sith that, to his knowledge, he had met with, definitely the first he had spoken with. Though he did not know half of it, it was a momentous turn in the course of his life. His eyes had been opened to Sith magic, he felt drawn to it, he needed to learn this power of the mind if he could. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Mentalism. Empress of Coruscant, Matsu [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]Xiangu. Another name to remember. Apprentice, Master. He wondered if he would ever get to meet with this Matsu, if she would ever divulge some of her secrets to him. The hunter listened with great interest, not wanting a single word spoken go to waste. Potential. Yes, he saw potential in him. Tanek's resolve grew. He would master this secret, one day. It was easy for him to alter the course and focus of his life radically. In many ways, this was the perfect moment in his life for his path to cross with the Sith. He was ripe for the picking, his old life torn away from him, left with nothing; no purpose, no connections. Both were gained today. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]"Empress of Coruscant..." Tanek repeated, thoughtfully, as Sage devoured the kebob with an eagerness that drew a smirk from the Togruta, revealing his sharp teeth. "Your master, is she the ruler of the Sith then?" he wrongfully assumed. What title could possibly hold a higher value than emperor or empress? Kings could bow to emperors, but who would an emperor bow to? Such was Tanek's reasoning, at any rate. As if another demonstration of power, with a simple gesture of his hand he seemed to steer another person straight into a street light. This was power. It elevated this Sith far above the onlooker. Who was to blame for the collision? Sage for using his magic on the man, or the man who allowed himself to be influenced by it? The answer was clear to Tanek, it was the latter. The man was weak, and as such, he deserved his fate. The Sith was strong, and deserved credit for the finesse and elegance he had used in dominating the other. Tanek smirked again. Though the Togruta had a strong sense of community, Tanek had never felt a part of it on Shili. Now he realized, it wasn't that he didn't share this sense, it was that he had never been within the right community. Had he finally found his place in the galaxy? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Tanek listened intently once more, while he did as Sage had before him, and gestured for the vendor to give him a kebob as well. He didn't have much in the ways of credits, but he had what his victims had carried on them. His teeth ripped into the meat with ease. He stopped eating, simply looking at Sage, jaw dropping into a soundless gasp. He knew that too? Had heard this earlier in the day, he would have thought not much more of it, but this man, this Sith, he knew things he shouldn't. If he had found Tanek's name within his mind, could he have seen his deeds? Instead of denying it, he asked "You have this too?" He felt safe in partially admitting to his deed. The Sith didn't seem to judge him, if anything, it seemed to amuse him. Did this mean he harboured this innate ability he spoke of? The man said he didn't possess the prerequisite skills, that he needed to improve his mastery of the Force. But... "What is the Force?" he asked the perhaps challenging question. He had heard it mentioned before, but to him it was synonymous to 'fate' or 'luck', and was not something that could be harnessed and used as a power. He believed Sage when he said that diving into this too early could plunge him into madness. The power was currently more than Tanek could comprehend, what if he got caught within the very realities he would attempt to force others into? He wasn't sure if that was the threat, but agreed to a cautious approach. He needed to understand it, before he could learn it. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]"Who? Empress Matsu Xiangu?" Tanek asked when Sage mentioned a tutor. It was a mere assumption on his part, given that she had trained Sage and shared his interest in not wasting potential. The fact that he would receive training in these arts, however, excited him greatly. He could learn. He would learn. It felt as if a puzzle that was slowly falling into place, his childhood and subsequent upbringing making more sense to him now. He was different. He possessed something they did not. It wasn't rage that made him blackout, it was the Force. His body simply wasn't ready for it yet, it was a power he didn't understand. That was about to change. "Thank you for this, Sage Bane. I will learn these skills. And then, I would be honoured to share the dream with you" His gratitude was sincere. He would become ready. He would become Sith. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt][member=Sage Bane][/SIZE]

 

[Sage Bane]

Sage's cheeks widened into a smile as the boy was suddenly thirsty for knowledge about the things he had just learned. What exemplary eagerness he showed. Sage almost wished that he could keep this one for himself in place of his arrogant Rattataki Acolyte. Acolyte Xiarr was a talented but difficult student, prideful, but horrendously smug. Training Xiarr was an exercise in patience not only for the student, but also for the teacher himself.

"You will learn all these things in due time, Tanek," explained Sage, coaxing him to join the Knight in a walk. He soon found a turbolift that took them both to a speeder taxi stand, where he ushered them both into a taxi that would fly them to the private landing pad of Darth Vornskr's penthouse. During the trip Sage tried to answer as many of the Togruta's questions as he could, but knew that Tanek would have rigorous studying ahead of him once he was fully assimilated into the ranks of the One Sith. There was no need to crowd the boy's mind with an overload of information at this juncture. However Sage did feel that he should give the Togruta some pertinent information pertaining to their destination.

"The ruler of the Sith is the Dark Lord of the Sith, a mysterious figure of untold power, and one who is rarely seen by most of us. He speaks through his Voices, legendary Sith Lords who have proven themselves in battle and in politics to be fit to rule the galaxy in his name. [member="Darth Vornskr"], the man to whom I'm taking you is one of the Dark Lord's Voices." Sage paused to let the revelation sink in and then continued.

"Darth Vornskr is looking for a pupil, someone to teach the ways of Force, the power that binds us all together, and a fighter to train in the art of combat. If you prove worthy, he shall accept you as his student."

If not, then there is a chance you may end up on a slab in a dungeon somewhere. That bit of information, Sage thought best to keep to himself.

[member="Tanek Santii"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

Tanek walked with Sage, taking note of every word spoken. You will learn all these things in due time. It was happening. No matter the consequences, to himself or others, he would devote his life to unlocking the secrets of the Sith. He would accept any hardship and endure it, knowing that if he made it out on the other side, the power to shape the future was his. As a hunter, he was used to fighting for survival and the top spot on the food chain. Possessing the knowledge and power Sage was teasing him with, Tanek was sure it would elevate him to such a point that he would be removed from the food chain entirely. Neither hunter nor prey, simply Sith.

Tanek followed Sage wherever he led him, eagerly now, he would have stepped into a volcano if Sage had promised him he would come out of it stronger. His newfound purpose was worth every risk so long as it brought him nearer its accomplishment. He listened as Sage told him of the Dark Lord of the Sith, and with perhaps even more interest as he spoke of [member=Darth Vornskr], as this directly affected Tanek. Legendary Sith Lords who have proven themselves in battle. The word legendary caught his attention, as well as the prospect of ruling a portion of the galaxy. Tanek had to restrain himself to not stare at Sage with his jaw dropping to the floor. This was perfect. That he would be trained by someone so high in the hierarchy of the Sith only served to fortify his resolve and determination.

Tanek managed not to laugh out of excitement and expectation, but could not contain a wide smirk, showing off his menacing teeth. "I will prove worthy, or I will die" he said simply. He said the word 'die' with ease, for it was not a valid option, it was merely a consequence of failure. It would come as no surprise at this point that he had no intention of failing. Even if Sage had mentioned the chance of ending up on a slab in a dungeon, Tanek would've jumped on the opportunity.

Tanek had many questions, about the Sith and the Force, but he held his tongue, knowing everything would be answered in time. Sage Bane had already given him a lot to reflect over, and he was sure this Darth Vornskr would give him even more.

[member=Sage Bane]