Forging the Dark Side

[Orion Darkstar]

Kevros knew everything Sinistra was saying had to be true. Her ease of access to the force was unlike anything he had seen in a long while. Her words began to infiltrate his concentration, the statue lightly placed back onto the floor-bed of the garden. Kevros closed his eyes as he listened to his instructor. The darkness wasn't just pitch black but flowing, wisps of black tendrils circling mainly around Sinistra. His mind showed him that the dark side favored her over himself. This wasn't a surprise to him and instead of anger he felt fortunate to be taught in her ways of the dark side.

Kevros continued to fall deeper into the calmness of the force. The pulsating presence of the dark side taunting him that it was in reach. More guidance was the key to unlocking more of the darkness.

"I can feel it. The calling deep within me lingers." He paused. "The dark side favors you considerably as if the pulse of the darkness is stemming from you entirely. I know that isn't the case. The force is everywhere. I wish to be its conduit and exercise the Sith ways."

Kevros opened his eyes, the calming of the dark flowing around him. He could feel it offering itself to him. The energy was almost tangible.

[member="Sinistra"]

 

[Sinistra]

"It is not favor, it is experience. I know how to let the currents of the dark side move around me, through me. You will get there eventually, but for the moment, you treat it like something external to yourself. One day, you will not. Then you will see the truth of it. Come, back to the statue."

She refocused him on the sculpture, walking over to it, her cloak sweeping from side to side as she moved.

"There is intent, control, and endurance. To be successful at anything, you must be prepared. Know your intention. Commit to it, believe in it and the power. You must have control in order to bring your will to bear. And you must have the strength to see your task to the end. A majority of the things you will learn are far more difficult that practicing telekinesis. However, you must work a muscle to get stronger and your skill with the force is no different."

If he could see through her mask, to the face beneath it, he would see her grinning darkly, a sinister twinkle in her eye. He would be cursing her name soon enough.

"You will repeat this exercise until you can no longer concentrate and exhaustion claims you. You must push yourself beyond your limits in order to discover where the true depths of your character lie. Begin."

And so the toiling hours of him began of him in the garden, in the darkness, the night shrouding the garden as she made sure to extinguish the lamps around the green space. Just a single torch remained where they were standing so that there were be a small bit of light, but she needed none of it. Sat nearby, she meditated with her hands tented in her lap and her eyes closed, though through the red lenses, it was impossible to tell.

[member="Kevros Kovani"]

 

[Orion Darkstar]

Kevros had been lifting and stewing over the instructions his master had given him. He didn't like being the one following orders but that mattered not. All that mattered now was the twisting, carved, robed statue rightfully held high into the air. His arms grew heavy as the darkness had after hours of the same tedious thing, latched completely on to him. Still blind to the useful information Sinistra poured into him hours ago he grinned. He felt the power and for the first time instead of sick, weak, or angry he felt in control. He recounted the words of Sinistra over in his mind as the statue slowly descended to the ground. The lighter tint of the sky almost gave away that dawn would soon be upon them.

The morning mists of the planet began to ease his fevered body. Kevros knew he had everything but one thing for his next hurrah. He wouldn't fail not while his progress had improved ten fold. His mind opened to the endless possibilities as the dark side showed him the way. He no longer tried he simply did.

"I've done it." Kevros said, the dark side corrupting him as he became fully connected to the arts of telekinesis.

Of course he would have to show Sinistra rather than fill the air with unmerited words. Everything was clear his breathing was no longer exhausting and his sweat seemed to evaporate as the force radiated off of him. Kevros no longer called to it, it simply came to him. The dark side flowed freely through his veins.

His Sight. His Heart. His Mind.

The key essentials were all in place the sweet smell of the morning due tickling his nostrils. With a quick rise of his arm the statue responded with ease. The dark side gripped tightly around the statue, Kevros no longer had to frustrate himself into submitting in the force. The force now submitted to him. The powers of the dark side didn't favor him but needed him. it was just as Sinistra said. The statue continued up and up. Kevros felt it, the power of the dark side wanting him to lose control. He wouldn't allow it as the Statue continued. even in his exhausted state his gift in the force showed through. His hand dropped to his side as the statue stayed afloat. Unsure if she was aware he informed Sinistra.

"Master." He had finally acknowledged her as such, the energies of the force pulsating through him.

[member="Sinistra"]

 

[Sinistra]

Sinistra moved slightly, stretching the stiffness out of her muscles. The golden light of dawn was well on the way to coloring the skies, heralding the new day. She rose, rolling her shoulders back.

"Come this way. There is a room ready for you in the estate. You have the next 8 hours to rest and nourish yourself. Then you will meet me in the library."

The doors to the estate opened before them both and Sinistra motioned for him to ascend the stairs to the second floor, where the guest rooms were furnished with old antiques that likely came with the estate. The first room stood ajar, the bed freshly made, a tray of food on a table and an adjoining bathroom through a side door.

When he turned back, Sinistra had disappeared into the darkened halls, looking for rest herself.

[member="Kevros Kovani"]

 

[Orion Darkstar]

Kevros obliged to her instruction. Sinistra didn't tell him he had passed, Kevros didn't need her kind words to know he had to begin with. He could still feel the force connected to him like a raging river of the force. It still flowed through him, the whispers had turned to a louder taunt. Sinistra stopped aas she showed him a room. Apparently it was his own to claim. Rest was well needed in times of exhaustion when practicing the force. The sturdy bed was made of wood just like the box he had smashed many hours ago.

The smell of a odd flower reached his senses as he stepped in. Silver ornaments resting along the decorative walls. The shelves were tightly latched to the small room's structure, dust lifting to the air as Kevros swiped his hand over the desk nearby. He never really thought that he would need to rest but even in lying to himself it wouldn't help his training. He turned to see Sinistra amiss. She was a slippery individual, stealthy and deceptive at the core.

"Very Well." Kevros said, looking out into the empty hall. He slowly laid down onto the old bed. A creak or two making a awkward sound as his body rested. Nothing but the deep thoughts of darkness resided in his mind. Images of a warping tunnel of energy seemed to make him twitch as he drifted farther to sleep. Just before he finally close his exhausted eyes he grinned, the last known image of him lifting the statue to heights he hadn't imagined before his tutelage.

The silence and calmness of the dark side grew even more, Kevros dreaming of his rise to power.

 

[Sinistra]

Rest for Sinistra passed quickly, she had slept quite a bit prior to Kevros' arrival so she caught a few hours in the darkened master suite before she ventured to the kitchens and prepared herself something to eat. She locked herself in the library with a small plate and in the couple hours before he was due to join her, Sinistra removed the mask and let her own eyes play over the tomes she would be using.

She munched along, marking passages in books, and making notes to herself until the chronometer chimed that it was time to greet her pupil again. She cleaned away her mess, and readied herself to begin his training anew. She fastened the mask back in place, rolling her neck as the seals slid into position. Skin and hair covered, she was wearing just a set of black robes today, no armor, nothing constricting and tight, just black linen and silk that loosely fit her, her gloves, and her tall, polished black leather boots.

The lock clicked loudly as she unfastened it, hoisting the doors open to allow him to enter.

In the room, there were large windows on each side that were covered in heavy drapes, much like the ballroom. The ceilings were high, and the bookcases stretched all the way from floor to roof around the room. There was a fireplace of carved stone at the far end, but the hearth was cold and black. She stepped away from the doors and the center of the room came into view, a pair of chairs and a side table.

"Come, take a seat."

[member="Kevros Kovani"]

 

[Orion Darkstar]

Nightmares.

Images plagued his mind of surging red light, quickly morphing into a liquid blood dripping from the ceilings. Screams, laughs, and hysterical voices began to form as the nightmare unfolded. The room was filled with blood now as Kevros trudged through the hazy scene. A room, dark and dressed just the way his old Kovani Mansion was back on his homeworld. He hadn't stepped foot on Zelos II in more than five years. His mind had locked it away ready for the pursuit of the dark side. Flames quickly contorted the images of his nightmare into his mother screaming as she burned. Then as quickly as the flames came they died out. The darkness took hold, his breath thinning as the sound of his heartbeat began to speed up.

As Kevros tossed and turned in his newly acquired bed the upsetting dream continued. The thumps of his heart grew louder as the ever encroaching darkness forced him forward, a shimmer of grey smoke forming a long hallway. At the very end of it stood himself, peering back him. Stepping back he was shocked to see what he had turned into. The thick black aura resonating from his doppelganger made him smile. Reaching for his hilt he found nothing, instead in place was a vibrosword. An odd weapon to manifest in his dream, considering he had not used one in the real world. His doppelganger ignited the ruby red of his lightsaber and charged. Kevros with blinding speed unsheathed his Vibrosword and with a loud scream waited for the impact of the lightsaber to strike him down.

Warped out of the dream and back into the old dusty room he had been sleeping in for some time, he awoke. Gasping for air he padded his chest to make sure he was in one piece. Letting out a light sigh he lifted his hand to the ceiling. A light shake in his arm proving that he was genuinely scared, only for a moment. The negative aura that he was currently giving off wasn't apprentice worthy and soon he would have to forget the rough images that infested his mind. Kevros wasn't sure if the force was warning him or showing him something more. Answers were the only true thing his sought in most of his life. Still he had questions, many that started to become apparent through his tutelage. Nothing more felt right than his quest to swallow the dark side and bend it at his will.

Although were the nightmares showing him his eventual demise? The galaxy always had a funny way of catching up to people. Visions were a gift for some force users, Kevros was still unsure as he pushed himself upright. Clothes left near his bedside. Black clothing that seemed to be requested for his next test. Stretching he proceeded to change into his new attire. Loose black pants, a tight black tank top that showed off his biceps and a long cloak the split at his waist and down to his knees. The attire was lighter than his Kovani garments. He breathed in deeply as he approached the library, the tendrils of the dark side showing him where to find his master.

Sinistra's voice pierced through the library like the edge of blade slicing through butter.

"Yes, Master." Kevros said, his voice stern and uncertain of what was soon to come.

[member="Sinistra"]

 

[Sinistra]

Kevros' gave off a fitful air, there was unrest about him and it tinged his movements and posture. He was still tired. She would give him a longer period of rest but first they would need to make it through this night. There would be nothing physically demanding about this lesson, however she would make sure it was rigorous nonetheless. As he moved to a chair, she walked to a shelf on the bookcase closest to her and picked up a smallish pyramid, the sides metallic and engraved.

Her boots did not make a sound on the carpet of the room, and she slid quietly into the chair on her side, the pyramid in one hand, the other resting on the arm of the plush chair. Her vocoder was set so that her words could be understood clearly, without much distortion although still masking her true voice.

"Do you know of the Sith Code, Kevros?"

[member="Kevros Kovani"]

 

[Orion Darkstar]

The library was old and layered with bookshelves. Kevros walked closer to Sinistra as she stood in between the vast aisles of books that sat perfectly in their receptive places. Dust was more present here than the ballroom they had first started in. Next to her was a small table, books scatter about, some open others lazily hanging off the edges. Glancing to his right he observed more of the library. The chandeliers above were lit with flame from candles that were lodged into the metal sterns.

He grabbed the closest book on the table and lightly read the stained pages. The book was easily surpassing a hundred years of useful information. Scriptures from the past Sith that once loomed about in the desolate mansion seemed to have left their mark within. The spine of the book was lightly torn, ripped and loosely threaded barely holding together. Severed almost form rough usage. Kevros placed the book down and listened to his masters question carefully and then recited.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me."

He was quick to respond, the studies he had been doing before he reached the One Sith spoke about the creed. He had seen the words more time over in his adventures to the dark side than he could count. He lived by them, embraced them, and most of all believed in them. The Sith code had taught him more about the force and how to accept it than anything else. The words just made sense to him. Kevros had always been free, but the force truly made him free. The dark side was no stranger to his faith in the Sith ways. Sinistra clearly had to have known that Kevros knew the code before asking.

Tests. Something Kevros always passed.

[member="Sinistra"]

 

[Sinistra]

She held her hand out to gesture to the chair, for him to take a seat. She took the chair opposite him, her hands folded in her lap, and the vocoder switched to a setting that would be easier for conversation and clarity of her words.

"Tell me, Kevros. What does the code mean to you? Peace is lie, there is only passion. Why is this a truth?"

She waited for him to answer her, to see where his mind would take her on this little exercise in philosophy.

[member="Kevros Kovani"]

 

[Orion Darkstar]

Kevros looked to the chair as his eyes scanned the delicate wooden designs that made the back of it, a support for anyone back to lean on. The tiny swirls and sharp edges man him smile, something that was rare. The design reminded him of his own Kovani Mansion back on Zelos II, the inner workings of the masterwork he now sat on were a true testament to Sinistra's taste in not just furniture, but all things. This lead him to belive that his master was keen on only the most prestigious of items, weapons, and of course Sith Sorcery. She apparently was known for her ways in the twisting and tormenting ways of Sith Magic. Kevros was all in.

"The first and base tenant of the Code. There had never been a greater truth about sentient existence. Peace is a fleeting occurrence, an illusion many wish to entertain. But the passion that all hold eventually manifests. Instead of denying it, suppressing it, or ignoring it, the Code encourages embracing it, just as it encourages embracing the reality of a lack of peace in the universe."

Kevros cleared his throat, his voice cracking before he finished. Reaching for the glass next to him he lifted it to the air. Twisting it back and forth he noticed a small speck of dirt inside. Placing it back down he rethought his decision.

"Therefore to me if there is a lack of peace, but constant emotion, how is this first line of the Code not true master?"

His eyes slipped back into a dark green as he waited for her response, the sweet smell of lavender coming back to him. The vivid purple light from outside slowly began to seep in from the tiny cracks and crevices of the old home, something he thought, even for just a moment, highlighted the grandiose architecture throughout.