Finding Purpose

[Etherius Yvvera]

Etheriud walked with a brisk pace to one of the many open rooms that filled the academy whereupon he set down his tome and set to work deciding on a ritual to preform. He knew it had to be something simple, something easy to do in order to start out. Even though he hadn't truly finished the tome, he felt confident enough in his abilities to succeed in the most basic of rituals the tome laid out. He had no fear, he thought himself a protegé anyway in the arts of the Sith. The first ritual of the tome was the generation of black smoke to encompass the floor of a room; intended for some sort of looming effect that was meant to intimidate those that entered or provide atmosphere for future rituals. Etheriud was confident, this ritual seemed like a breeze. Etheriud drew the chalk from his robes and kept the tome open, following the instructions closely. On the floor, in a circular fashion, Etheriud began writing the ancient Sith runes in the cleanest, most legible way he could. Etheriud saw this as an art form and thus took his sweet time drawing the runes, carving intricate detail into the floor as the chalk withered away in his hand. After a few minutes of drawing, Etheriud proceeded to the next set of instructions, being careful not to step on the runes he had spent so much time drawing. The ritual called next for a fire to be lit in the center of the circle, big enough to light a small room. The material burned did not matter, as long as it could hold a flame long enough and large enough to be doused and produce steam. Etheriud gathered scribbled notes, useless writings of his, and kindle from the stockpile and placed them in a formation in the center of the circle, using a fire starter to ignite a flame in the center. After waiting for it to catch, Etheriud immediately set about grabbing a bucket from the kitchen and filling it with as much water as he could find. Upon his return, Etheriud wasted no time in dousing the flame with water. In an effort to make sure the chalk was not disrupted, Etheriud turned to the tome and began reading the next instructions; instructing him to chant the Sith code while focusing on the nature of the dark side. Etheriud began doing so, feeling a slight glow as the white chalk began to take on a purple hue and the water stopped in its tracks, evaporating in the circle as Etheriud focused intently on his inner anger, his inner strength, and the dark side itself.

He could feel it getting stronger, something was happening. "Through power, I gain victory" Etheriud chanted as he felt the glow growing brighter and brighter. "The Force shall set me free!" Etheriud shouted, opening his eyes quickly to see the outcome. The glowing stopped, all was silent for just a moment before a loud pop burst through the room and the water came rushing out of the circle, washing away the chalk and dousing Etheriud's shoes. He had no idea what had happened; how could he have possibly failed? No matter, he would try again and all would be well.

Back to square one.

 

[Etherius Yvvera]

Etheriud gritted his teeth and set to work cleaning up the mess caused by his failed ritual. He couldn't believe after all the preparation, all the hard work, somehow something had failed. Everything he had done was planned down to the second, yet something went wrong. Etheriud spent his time half paying attention to the cleaning half scrambling his mind wondering where he could have possibly gone wrong in the process. Every inch, every nook and cranny had been studied by Etheriud and he could recite the basic ritual he studied by heart at this point. There was nothing there that could've possibly disrupted the ritual. Questions began to surface in Etheriud's head as he finished the last bits of cleaning, questions doubting his abilities. Was he not properly connected to the dark side? Had he not been passionate enough? Had he not had adequate enough training? Was it something about the academy and its aura?

"Nevermind that," Etheriud thought to himself, "it's time to get back to work."

Etheriud regathered his materials and set out on his task to complete the beginner's ritual. He began redrawing the circle, the ancient Sith runes flowing one after another in a clean, orderly fashion as Etheriud took his time allowing for them to be as detailed and intricate as possible. This time, absolute care was assured to allow for absolutely no mistakes. Once he finished with the runes, Etheriud was extra careful in his gathering of materials to place in the center. The construction was that of a pyramid, with kindling within it to provide the base flame. The fire roared to life and gave light to the dim room, illuminating both Etheriud's mind and body as he quickly fetched more water, tome in hand. Immediately after laying down the water, Etheriud began chanting from the tome. The words of the ancient Sith code filled the room as Etheriud gradually began to get louder with each verse. Once again, the circle illuminated and the water stopped. The water evaporated, its fumes filling the circle but not leaving it as the dark side flowed through the room. Etheriud's passion could be felt across the stars, his mind was focused. He chanted the final verse, the verse that gave so many Sith Lords before him power. For a moment, the glow intensified and illuminated everything, the ritual seemed to be working. Etheriud's mind was filled with excitement and focus as he watched intently. However, a loud bang filled the room and steam poured out from the circle, forcing Etheriud to open the door to let it flow out. His anger was at levels he hadn't before thought possible, but he was determined.

Back to square one.