Emotion is Power. Wield it. (Ferus)

[Asajj]

"Is Lord Ferus here? I heard he was coming..."
"What could it be for?"
"Who knows, but we better be quiet. He might have ears everywhere."
"Yeah, force knows how much power he has..."
The gossip of two initiates on the far side of the Assassin hideout, very much whispering in their secrecy. They might think they were safe from eavesdroppers, but even from this immense distance Asajj could hear them. The Ears of the Chiroptix heard all. Another ability she had learned from her witch mentor, envoking the power of the spirits to enhance one's hearing. She was still very much training to be a Witch, but that did not mean she would neglect her Sith path. After all, combining the best of both paths would benefit her the most.

This was why she stood in the training ground, her pale eyes sweeping the area for any sign of Ferus. Every time she thought of him the word 'father' jumped to mind, and she had to remind herself that he was not her father, merely the part of him which had controlled him then been torn free. Forced free by her mother. There it was again, the boiling hatred, the rage. Whenever she thought of those had wronged her she could not control herself. She just wanted to rip them to shreds. But hopefully after today that would be remedied. Unknowingly like her mother before her, she would learn to control her emotions and use them to unlock her true potential.

Whenever Ferus decided to show up, that was. She did not doubt he might already be there, for although the Ears of the Chiroptix heard everything natural, he was far from a natural occurance.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"How are you today, Envy?" Ferus walked up from the darkness, his form cloaked with the very same shadows. His presence filled the room as soon as he spoke, as if he had simply just appeared there. He was drenched in darkness, his form askew from the cloak. Nothing could be determined about how he looked now, save for two blood red eyes that locked in on [member="Asajj"] . He had in fact just gotten there, but more for his own practice he had chosen a more direct, instant, route to reach her. Slowly his gaze traveled to the young acolytes in the corner of the room. They were scared. Terrified as they felt his cold aura.

Good.

With a single nod he would dismiss them, and the gossiping pair would rush right out of the room, leaving the two alone. In darkness. The lights dimmed down as Ferus began to walk along the walls, trailing a hand across their metal surface. Darkness spread out like a plague, swallowing the light. "Do you fear the dark? Or are you above such petty feelings?" Why wait to get right into the lesson?

 

[Asajj]

"I'm fine." Asajj replied to his greeting, as if dismissing the pleasantry. It was odd and felt out of character now that she knew who he was. Maybe her father would have asked, but this shadow? She didn't think so.

"Of course not," She scowled at his question about the dark, wondering whether he was mocking her or sincerely asking. A coward she was not, that was for sure. Soon enough the room became black, and her eyes told her nothing. Thinking it some sort of easy test, she merely relied on the force to sense instead of see. Something wasn't right, surely more was to come of this lesson than talking in darkness. Impatience was already taking hold.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

This room. This Darkness. It was more than a trick of the eyes. Ferus was everywhere in the room, as if his body had just melded into the walls, becoming the steel. A humorous voice sounded off from all directions. Ferus was making a show, and there was a reason far more than just trying to impress [member="Asajj"] . "You do not fear? Then how can you be Sith? Sith draw power from emotion. Hate, Anger, Fear, Jealousy." He said tauntingly. "Our emotions are not something to be ashamed of. I still feel fear, every single day. But I do not let it control me. I am not a coward because of my fear. The mouse who chooses to fight the cat instead of hiding in a hole is still afraid, but takes his destiny in his own hands. That is the essence of the Sith. We control our emotions and use them as power. Passion leads to strength Envy, and passion is any emotion."

Two red eyes glowed directly in front of her face, the only clear shape of what Ferus was at the given moment. After his jaw was blasted open, he had made it a habit to hide what he looked like. It was grotesque after all. "As the Sin of Envy, you will draw your power from Jealousy. But the mark of a true Sith isn't just using the emotion, but controlling it instead of it controlling you. You do not act in jealousy, but use it to act, understand?" There was a pause as the red eyes looked about the room, as if he was admiring the darkness he created. "What is it you fear child?"

 

[Asajj]

Was she Sith? Her trips to Dathomir suggested otherwise, but deep down she knew where her allegiances lay. She was definitely an enemy of the Jedi, and commonly they were Sith. Her 'mother' and 'father'... Again she thought of them, and again the hatred amassed itself inside her. Ferus spoke of emotions and how they shouldn't control her, but right now they were building up. She tried to contain them, to somehow command them instead of the opposite but her methods were flawed. A sin, yes, she was the Sin of Envy. Jealousy was present in her too, she envied those around her. Having bested Mythos in the tournament only to be surpassed by him, to see him becoming a King and a Lord while she found only fire and defeat... It enraged her...

There was so much of it inside, everywhere as if it threatened to take control, and it did. Her hands tensed, forming a claw like shape as spirit ichor began forming in her palms. The anger was fuelling the creation of this energy, yet she was not controlling it. It threatened to unleash itself at whoever she saw. "I fear..." Then the red eyes opened in the complete darkness, and in her blindness she flung her hands forward. With that motion came the energy, two blasts of spirit ichor heading straight for the shadow's eyes. Of course she would not expect it to do anything, but rationality was out of the window. She was too mad to see logic until after she had fire the bolts, after which she felt drained. All the emotion wasted in an uncontrolled burst, there was now little left.

"...Everything." She exhaled the end of her sentence, slumping slightly with her lack of energy and the feeling of dissapointment. It was true, her fear of everything; her false parents, the cruel world she lived in, the lure of power. All of it had been too much, she needed control. She was too like her mother in her earlier days in the Sith, although that she did not know...

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Darkness. Ferus had made sure to lock [member="Asajj"] in a room of darkness for this exact reason. As the ichor came, his eyes faded. To control anger was to use it, and he did not expect Envy to be able to control herself at all. Here in this room Ferus could be mostly unscathed by her rage, or at least that was the goal. But as the answer came and the attack did not continue, the red eyes reformed, watching.

"Everything? Do you fear puppies then? Cotton Candy? I ask this seriously. You need to tell me what it is you specifically fear. You need to say it. Accept this as a part of yourself. Accept it as a challenge to overcome. When you do, I can show you how to overcome them. But you -have- to accept it." Technically, she didn't. But if she did, she would become mold able. Ferus could shape her into what ever he wanted if she let herself be open. And that's exactly what he wanted.

 

[Asajj]

"I fear the truth," She started, with no sign of stopping there. If getting her to open up was Ferus' plan, it was about to succeed. "The truth that people are stronger than me, the truth about my parents, the truth about this damned galaxy." Her head still hung low, the threat of tears looming under her eyes. "All the fear, the anger, the jealousy. I can't control it... It takes over, like a virus I just lose control..." Was this the start of her accepting her problems? Maybe, but there was work to be done, she had yet to overcome them. "So many people I want to kill, to make them suffer, but I can't and that only makes it worse!" She shifted back slightly, the cold touch of the wall reminding her she was still in a physical room despite what the darkness suggested. The metal supported her, more than just physically. Her exhaustion came not only from her burst of anger but also her loss of faith in herself.

"I need to control it... Please..." Begging? Now that was a first for Asajj, but right now she was not in the mind to think about it. She needed Ferus to teach her how to control these emotions, lest she one day fall into a rage that killed her.
"Please..."

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Slowly the darkness faded away, circling back to where Ferus first stood. His form retook shape as light returned to the world, and those very same red eyes would focus in, shining with delightment. [member="Asajj"] may not know it yet, but she had just given her soul to the darkness. To the Sith Lord. Both hands were clasped behind his back as the sahdows lingered on his form, keeping his exact identiy hidden. She knew who she was dealing with, just not what he looked like anymore. Just how he wanted it.

"Good, very good. You fear the truth, and you fear lack of control. Your issue is you let your emotions take control, as you said. But emotions are thought. Powerful thought for us Sith of course. But to control it, you have to understand it. Acting brashly can lead to good, but it can also lead to bad. Rushing into a fight can quickly leave you out numbered. The Jedi believe in removing yourself from emotion and never using it. It's a correct mindset, except you have to use your emotions. Look outside your emotions, see the differing outcomes of your actions. Learn patience. Sit, meditate. Focus on your anger and jeliousy, let it flow through you. But do not move a muscle. Do not twitch at a hateful memory. Once you can do this, we will continue. Understand?"

 

[Asajj]

As the darkness retracted into it's true form, Asajj raised her head to look at it. A figure of a man, an illusion to the world. This thing was no man but pure darkness and evil, yet blindly she would follow his words. Listening to his speech she felt something open up, a new angle on these emotions that had plagued her, one she had never heeded before. Once he finished she merely lowered herself to the ground, sitting down on her knees and resting her palms upon them.

"Yes, Master."

Upon closing her eyes she instantly entered the world of her own thoughts. It was like she was physically stood in the midst of them, swirling around without direction. The most prominent were the ones that clung heavily to jealousy. At first she hesitated to move, unwilling to approach them lest she lose control. However a certain motivation drove her in the form of fear. Yes, she feared the wrath of Ferus and what he might do if she failed him. This was a start, this emotion gave her the strength to step towards a singular memory and face it.

She saw her younger self covered in blood, bearing the knife above Mythos as they fought atop a labrynth of skulls. Victory, achievement, the rewarding feelings swept over her. But then it quickly turned; he was a King, he was a Lord, he had surpassed her in every way possible. Here it came, the Jealousy that haunted her. It threatened to take hold of the reins and drive her into a raging fit. Yet instead she barely flinched, channeling that jealousy just as she had the fear. Already she felt stronger, she could move again, this time towards a more painful memory...

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

All the while the Sith stood and watched [member="Asajj"] , both hands clasped firmly behind his back. He paced back and forth, never once letting his eyes drift from her form. He watched her stillness. And he watched her twitch. A frown settled on his lips as a hand rose, sending a painful jolt of lightning for her form. Only enough to hurt and distract for a moment, but not enough to completely break her concentration.

"I said be still." From then on the Lord would wait for her twitch to shock her again, always being sure to remind her of her place. He owned her.

 

[Asajj]

A quick jolt of lighting surged through her, causing her to stop still in her head for a moment. Failure was not acceptable; she would have to improve. With that in mind she continued forward again, this time into the memory of her defeat on Contruum. So much rage had filled her in that fight and plenty of pain came because of her weakness. Her opponent was a trained Jedi yet she had foolishly rushed to face him believing she could somehow win. Now she saw that was not what being a Sith was about. She had been immature, acting too much like her younger self. A true Sith was calculating and smart, they wouldn't fear defeat but ensure it never came. She had to be like that, she had to be smart and not headstrong.

This epiphany came to her throughout reliving the memory, and for once throughout it all she didn't move an inch. Once there was no more to remember and everything went black under the rubble she had been buried in, Asajj opened her eyes. Flicking her gaze up she looked to Ferus, eyes fiery with a rage that for the first time did not control it.
"Through passion, I gain strength."

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Ah, good. The code. The code is a focal point for our power, helping us all achieve strength. Perhaps it is chance that brought up the memory, or perhaps you happened to connect the dots. Come, stand. Recite to me the code." The darkness that had swallowed the room faded, leaving both [member="Asajj"] and Ferus to stand in the dull light that was the training room. The first step had been complete, now onto the second.

 

[Asajj]

"Peace is a lie," Asajj began, pushing herself up from her knees.

"There is only passion." Her mind remained under control despite the emotions channeling through her. It was a new power she had left untapped for so long, unable to access until now.

"Through passion I gain strength." The words of the Sith code echoed through her mind as she recited them, bouncing between her thoughts. Silently she contemplated their relevance to her studies in witch magic.

"Through strength I gain power." Yes, they would go hand in hand with her other path. Sith and Witch, two titles to hold in one mind. The journey would not be easy, but it's destination would bring her to a higher place than even her wretched mother could have achieved.

"Through power I gain victory." Victory over her fear, her jealousy, her rage. Victory over her enemies.

"Through victory my chains are broken." The chains of her own incompetence. The chains of Darth Ferus' mind games.

"The force shall free me." And so would the spirits.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Very good indeed. Reflect upon this [member="Asajj"] , for this training is over. Soon, perhaps, this code and this lesson will help you seek the revenge you so desperately want. Mythos, Krest, Minna, myself. I look forward to the day you come for my head." Such was the way of the Sith after all. Ferus turned on a heel then to leave the budding assassin to her own devices. His part in this was now done. "If you'd like to learn anything else, you know how to find me. And should you come to kill me, be sure you don't fail." And with that final warning, he was gone, faded into the dark corners of the room to get out of sight and away.