Guidance of the Unseen (Zaltac)

[Nixia Wulfbane]

As the Republic transport touched down upon the lush grass, the opening of the bay doors echoed throughout the mountains on a clear Tython evening. Flipping back the hood of her cloak, the freshly dubbed Padawan Nixia Wulfbane emerged from the ship; her eyes shining with curiosity like the stars above. This was her first time ever leaving her home world of Arkania and she could barely contain her excitement. "Zaltac!! Why didn't you tell me we were coming to Tyhon!?!" she shouted at the Arkanian she considered to be her older brother, using her voice to guide his blind rear end off of the ship. Nixia was jumping up and down with such enthusiasm that her blaster and its holster along with her lightsaber would have flung off by now if they weren't fastened to her belt.

Even through the immense excitement, Nixia could feel the strong power of the Force that was radiating around the entire planet of Tython. She was incredibly happy that she was a Jedi in this very moment, being able to come to a planet so rich in both the Force and Jedi history. "This is where the books said that the original Je'daii Order was established as well as its successor, the Jedi Order! There's countless ruins of ancient Je'daii Temples scattered across the entire freaking planet! Oh, and the Jedi Temple from the Cold War!! Zaltac, we HAVE to visit the ruins of that temple! We're practically half way there and... and.. there could be old lightsabers still left there, books with forgotten Force techniques, WHO KNOWS WHAT ARCHAEOLOGISTS MIGHT HAVE OVERLOOKED!!!" she squealed in pure joy, forgetting the entire reason that the two came to Tython in the first place. If Zaltac didn't remind her now, then the two would soon find themselves going on a planet wide tourist spree and, considering Nixia acted as his eyes, he wouldn't have much of a choice.

 

[Zaltac Rournic]

Star date: Unknown. Location: Republic Transporter. Status: Get Me Out Of Here! Or throw the annoying persistence that was Zaltac's accomplice, self-proclaimed "seeing eye dog", Nixia" out into deep space to shut her up. The whole ride Zaltac was asked the same two questions: "Are we there yet?" and "Where are we going?" Of which, his responses were "No...." and "I don't know...." Yet no matter how many times he answered these questions she would assume he was lying as though to surprise her. Each time he felt like throwing her around the transporter with Telekinesis until she passed out from head trauma. If the partnered Padawan he was accompanied with would have used her somewhat developed brain, she would come to two conclusions on why what he was saying was the truth:
1. Zaltac could not see or read maps. Therefore he had no idea what the destination was going to be if there was a map with a route on it at all making it unlikely that he saw where they were going to be heading in.
2. He neither discussed with the pilots on where to go or was given any general direction by his father. Therefore, he had no knowledge of any possible location that they would be traveling too or even what direction they were going in.
With these two facts in mind, any person with adequate brain development could tell that he knew nothing of where they were going or how long it could take. Since time to him was irrelevant as he could not see daylight or darkness that well; he had no mental judge of where or how long anything would take. But that seemed too much for her minuscule attention span that was caused by her lack of development within that skull known as her head to give her such useful insight. To help keep himself calm, Zaltac simply meditated in his seat the whole way through. Though he could not admit that his thoughts were peaceful as most of them involved drastically hurting his accomplice in some way or form that mostly lead to blood forced trauma.

When the ship finally landed it did not surprise Zaltac to hear Nixia rush out onto the planet in manner that seemed like she would have crawled out of the opening bay doors, if they did not open fast enough. This caused the Arkanian to sigh out of annoyance as he tightened his blindfold once more, and placed his ear plugs into his ears to limit the amount of noise reaching his sensitive drums. Once he was set, he waited patiently and nobly at the entrance till everything was secured down and he could step off calmly. All while ignoring the hyper-active-female's question. It was not hard for him to locate her -as no one else was jumping so enthusiastically and whimsically- as to mark his destination. It was good that one of them could see the planet as he could not see more than an arm's length away with his blindfold on, only heat signatures and a white void. Though the strong feeling and flow of the Force acted as an internal compass to him, giving him the sense that he could map out the planet by taking a simple stroll. Though he doubted that Nixia was at all focused; concerning her excitement was rising every moment she reflected on the books that they had read. Instinctively, Zaltac lifted Nixia up off of the ground gently to keep her in place. That way, if she broke out into a pure sprint, she would not move. Seeing as she had forgotten why they were on the planet in the first place; Zaltac would pick up a stone within his pocket and aim accordingly. With Nixia mostly held in place, he shot the pebble into the back of her skull rather firmly to possibly draw some form of small blood down her skull.

"Don't let that over eccentric stump of a brain of yours to go forgetting WHY we are here, she who is lacking the attention span of a shrew." The Arkanian began as he lifted up the pebble with his Telekinesis, and placed it back into his palm, "We do not have time to go rummaging around the decaying ruins of some lost, failed, Jedi temples. If anything the only thing remains are the same constructs that make up your lack of brain." He stated as to get her mind back onto what it was they came to the planet for: to find new Jedi Masters and increase their power and skills. As well as his personal goal to find a Merakulan to teach him more enhanced ways of increasing his Force Sight ability so he did not burn out his eyes every five minutes for an entire day. "If you persist on going forth to do some useless exploration of the decaying ruins, I am sure there is a nice stream nearby to wash out any infectious ideas from your head. Or shall I just drop a larger stone on you instead?" He threatened, before dropping Nixia from his Telekinesis as he walked up towards her. He hated her lack of focus as it only showed how inferior she was to him, but he would be damned if she even so much as pointed out one of his own inferiority. The consequences before at the Academy should have easily taught her that lesson well enough: Be it the dropping from the second story window to the consistent use of throwing her against a wall head first with his level of Telekinesis. Though through some miracle or another, she has shown to not have learned this lesson to heart as he often times had to remind her of what happens when she pointed out his inferiority in public. "Focus, and let us begin this search of ours. Since you can see, look around and see if you cannot find either a structure or map that we can use to locate our destination; and without getting distracted." He ordered, standing tall and firm as he normally did within his black garb.

 

[Nixia Wulfbane]

The very moment that Nixia noticed she was slightly levitating above the ground, she felt the distinctive ping of a pebble colliding with the back of her head. "That was rude and uncalled for, Zalt!!" she whined, pouting as her elder brother began another of his long and boring "lectures." Any normal person would have taken offense to the insults and threats that the Arkanian was flinging about, but not Nixia. No matter how many times he verbally or even physically hurt her, Nixia never believed that Zaltac meant a single word of it. This made Nixia's desire to be around her self-proclaimed brother seem a bit insane to most other people, but she knew that they couldn't sense what she could. It was the one thing Nixia knew that Zaltac would rather kill himself before admitting to anyone in public; and he had no idea that she knew.

"You know, you could show a little more appreciation for the Jedi of old. There's a lot you could learn if you just took the time to study them. Who knows, they might even know secrets that could help you with your Force Sight!" she shouted over the roaring engines of the departing space craft; still clutching the back of her head from earlier. Reaching under her brown cloak, Nixia pulled out a small projector that soon emitted a map of the two Padawan's current location. Even from first glance, Nixia could tell that this map quite outdated. The terrain being displayed on the map was different from their current surroundings, but it was what Zaltac's father, Zuloth, had given her for the two's journey. At the very least, she finally knew why the damn thing wouldn't open during their space travel; because Master Zuloth wanted to keep the destination a surprise! When she found the location of the Jedi Academy on the map, her face lit up brighter than the stars above their heads as she saw the ruins of the Cold War's Jedi Temple was just a few thousand yards before the more recently established Academy that they were looking for. Knowing that she would be in for another lecture if she acted too excited, Nixia kept her excitement locked deep inside as she took Zaltac by the hand and began to guide him towards their destination. "The route is fairly straight forward. There's a river not too far from where we are right now and once we cross that, its a few twisty mountain paths and down the other side to the Academy. We'll go slow once we hit the mountain ridge. I don't want you to hurt yourself like the time you slipped and fell out of the second story window back home..." she said with a tone of regret and concern. It was the one time Zaltac had gone off without her to guide him, slipping on some ice he didn't know was there and flying right out of the nearby window. Ever since then, Nixia vowed that whether Zaltac liked it or not, she was not letting him go off on his own again. She never wanted to see her brother hurt himself like that ever again and she would do anything within her power to keep such a thing from reoccurring.

[member="Zaltac Rournic"]

 

[Zaltac Rournic]

If it were not for the earplugs, the leaving shuttle would have easily deafened Zaltac temporarily. His hearing saved by nothing more but a few pieces of a rubbery substance that reformed into the shape of the ear canal after being squished to block out as much noise as possible. Yet with the body being mostly water there was no way to make them sound proof; all because sound was nothing more but vibrations and water conducts these vibrations easily. Still, he could hear the girl say that the ruins of the Jedi could possibly provide him with the means to fixing his vision. This he doubted heavily. His eyes were forever warped and his ability to see was forever hindered so long as he did not use force sight. The possible factor that even the remains of some ancient text that would help him understand Force Sight better would have to be read by the eyes of the brainless ditz he traveled with; meaning there would be no way for her to be able to explain. And, even if there was a possible fragment left, there would be no complete article that would give them enough information for him to be able to fully use the skill to its abilities; and attempting to alter it with nothing more but a fraction could lead to worse effects. Nay, he dare not even try to give the ruins a thought for possibility. "Optimism is your greatest downfall; to be so naive has got to be a curse and one that will eventually lead to your demise." He retorted, as he heard a familiar sound click on.

It was a map. One of the few given to them by his father for their travel. Though he had no ability to use any map with his current sight being so horribly damaged. Though he still felt an odd air of comfort with simply walking around blind around this planet. The waves of the wind to the flow of the Force felt like an internal map trying to guide him; as though telling him that if he simply gave himself to the planet's patterns he would be able to walk without harm of obstacles around him. It was because of this confidence, and his ability to always listen to instructions or warnings, that when Nixia grabbed hold of Zaltac's hand to guide him he aggressively pulled it back. "Do not treat me like some special needs elder, or you WILL suffer my wrath worm." He threatened as he rubbed his hand as though to remove the filth of her touching him off. He would begin to follow using the sounds of her foot steps and any verbal warnings she could give to guide him through the terrain. Unlike the accident at the Academy -that also became the cause of many other students being put into the infirmary- he was not wandering around alone this time somewhere he had not been at before. The accident was his first time being up on the second floor without familiarity or timing.This lead him to pump into other students which caused him to also trip out of the second floor building and onto the ground below. Thankfully a snow had fallen that helped stack up a safe crash site; or he would have had serious damage. The first person, surprisingly, to find him at that moment was Nixia who was worried the moment she heard about it. Though gossip around the school was that he simply walked out of the window like an idiot -which was half true- he would never dare ruin his pride telling her this. Instead he forged the lie of him slipping on some unseen ice, which would have been more believable be it if he could see or not as a distraction could have put his eyes somewhere else as he walked which caused him to trip. Though to admit he slipped due to a lack of awareness was harmful to pride, to state the truth would have been an even harsher blow. Though for her to bring it up to him was not a wise move. "Nixia....remember what I told you would happen if you brought that up again?" Zaltac stated, readying his hand. He never used her name in casual speech or whenever angered. Nay, the only time he would use her name was to give her a signal of "Prepare yourself" as it was usually followed by a quick burst of force either into a wall or to cause her to fall over face first rather firmly. Thus, he kept up to his old routine. With no known walls nearby, he tripped Nixia by grabbing hold of her leg with his Telekinesis and throwing it off balance as the other one left the ground in mid-step. Though he did notice that Nixia had begun to react rather nicely over their years of training to prevent falls as he noticed her reflexes kick in more making the tripping form of it unneeded unless she was distracted by something. Knowing her attention span was less than a snail's, he figured a passing by insect would have caused her to go blank minded for that split second he tripped her. Though Zaltac knew this simple trip was not going to be so simple. No, Tythos could not be that easy; books established that it was so heavily influenced by the Force that only those who could sense the Force were able to traverse it safely. This drew a conclusion to Zaltac's mind that the planet had an unlimited amount of sources to purposefully test those who could and could not sense the force; resulting in what could be potentially fatal accidents.

The first test came rather quickly to Zaltac and Nixia than the two could possibly ever imagine: Rather Nixia tripped or used her reflexes to land safely; a small little pebble would rise up from the ground in an undetectable manner. How this happened, or why, no one could say. But a pebble did not draw a lot of attention even with the Force. But upon Zaltac kicking said pebble down off hill would start a chain reaction once they reached a half-way point on their path. The chain reaction generated resounding waves of the Force to flow along the hill side growing stronger as they moved away from the pebble's position. This unsettling sensation of pulsating flow drew alarm to Zaltac, though he could not tell in what manner. "Hey, worm....You getting that feeling that something is about to happen in the next minute?" He questioned; as it became a nagging sensation along Zaltac's back. And right he was to bring this into question, as the hill side behind them began to collapse into a miniature rock slide; causing rocks the size of an average head to bounce down the hill in the same manner a pebble that was just kicked would-heavily. Sound is what mostly drew Zaltac's alarm as the sound of bouncing rocks came tumbling down behind them. "Move!" He would order, taking full sprint on ahead; though this could lead to a disastrous effect as he could not exactly see where he was going. The thought of getting clonked by a rock the same size as his skull that would knock him out with a concussion was a bit too overwhelming.

 

[Nixia Wulfbane]

The very moment Nixia felt the Force shift around her leg, she knew what was coming next. It was something that Zaltac tried to pull time and time again, yet Nixia could feel it coming every time he tried now. Once she felt herself begin to trip, she pushed off with her legs, jumping forward several feet; knocking a small pebble back in Zaltac's direction for some odd reason. Nixia wasn't as dimwitted and oblivious as Zaltac thought her to be, but he would never admit no matter how many times she proved him wrong. Instead of responding to this act, Nixia simply continued to lead the way with the usual grin painted upon her face. She simply let the melodic sounds of the surrounding forests insects carry her away to a peaceful place in her mind.

As the two Padawan's from Arkania continued their trek down the rather sizable hill they had landed on, a ripple in the Force snapped Nixia out of her peace. In the very moment she felt it, Zaltac asked the question of whether or not she felt that something was about to happen. Before she could even respond to the question, Zaltac would get his answer. A massive chunk of the hill behind them exploded into rocks the very size of their head and began to tumble their way down towards the two Padawan's at an alarming rate. Zaltac quickly booked it down the remainder of the hill, with Nixia not far behind him. "There's a small clearing to the left near the bottom, we'll be out of the way there!" she shouted, leaping in front of Zaltac before darting to the left so he would know where to go. However, they weren't quite out of this mess just yet.


Nixia's eyes widened a bit as she felt another strange movement in the Force around them. It was something rather small, but it was enough to cause her a bit of concern. "Don't move!" she ordered, jumping in front of Zaltac again, facing the hill and the oncoming rocks. The distinctive hum of an activated lightsaber ripped through the air as the rocks suddenly changed their course, aiming directly for the Padawan's. Nixia stood her ground between the rocks and her brother, showing an impressive show of blade work as she cleaved the rocks in two with her strokes; the halves flying off to either side of her and away from Zaltac. She would continue to cleave several rocks into pieces before using the momentum from her last swing to spin herself around; thrusting her left hand out and emitting a powerful Force Push towards the remaining avalanche. The power of her Force Push counteracted the momentum of the rocks, dropping them dead to the ground. With a smile on her face, she brought her blade to rest in a ready position in front of her as she darted back and forth with her eyes. "You had to have felt it, those rocks were being thrown with the Force. Which means someones nearby, testing us. This is AWESOME! We haven't even been here for five minutes and we've already started our new Jedi Training! I love this freaking planet!!"



[member="Zaltac Rournic"]

 

[Zaltac Rournic]

Zaltac had little time to react from Nixia's stopping him by getting in his way. Safe enough to say he nearly ran her over if he did not suddenly halt his movement, causing him to tilt suddenly forward from lose of balance. "The hell are you thinking, just mo-" He began to protest. He felt the shift in the Force around them as well which indicated something had changed again. Though the sound of rocks were constant to his ears he could feel their vibrations coming down towards them still despite physics saying they should just keep rolling down the hill normally. The spark of a saber being activated followed by its monotone hum was heard from right in front of him. "You seriously are not going to try and-" He attempted to protest once more, but was cut off yet again as NIxia kicked into motion. He simply stood still and listened to her actions behind him of her cutting the small sized boulders and performing her acrobatic feats. Though he could not see what she was doing so any attempt to show off was all but ignored. He would feel a wave of Force coming from behind him once more, calculating the origin to Nixia before he turned around to no longer hear the sounds of rocks tumbling towards them. This was when Nixia began acting really excited as she always did whenever something "Jedi" occurred. "You had to have felt it, those rocks were being thrown with the Force. Which means someones nearby, testing us. This is AWESOME! We haven't even been here for five minutes and we've already started our new Jedi Training! I love this freaking planet!!" Zaltac walked up towards Nixia from behind, and gave her a quick but firm whack on the top of her head. His feelings on the situation no where near as ecstatic.

"Do you have any idea how close you came to having that thin skull of yours caved in!? Mindless-indulging-waste of sentient life; do you even realize that once they we got off the slope that they would not have been able to continue after us!? There is not SOMEONE testing us, it is the Planet! By cutting up those boulders and fighting back against the planet you very well may have put our lives in danger later on in our path!" He scolded, having remembered one of the books saying that Tythos was extremely dangerous to those who could not sense the Force. If the planet was indeed testing them than it had plenty more times to try to further increase its difficulty depending on how they reacted to each test. With her taking a physical route and fighting against the Planet's own power, he calculated that the next test it would attempt would be significantly more dangerous than what they had just been put against. "Use that head of yours next time you choose to act. This was not a person testing our skill, this is the planet doing its natural job. And your over-protective and naive nature is going to get us KILLED before we even begin our time as trainees under a master! If the slightest upset can cause a landslide of this portion on a small hill, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE JUST DONE!?" He continued, before marching off towards their location. He did not want to admit that he was somewhat grateful to the "Inferior" being that had just protected him from tumbling boulders. But at the same time he truly was aggravated with the way she chose to handle the situation. With every step they took they risked activating a very subtle trap that the planet would use against them. He was now more worried about her acting stupid than ever; as one mistake could cost them a serious accident. Next time there may not be just one trap going off, but several.

However, the planet appeared to take on a form of sympathy to Nixia, and rose a tree root from the ground in an arching formation in front of him. Yet Zaltac sensed not only the rising of the root due to a flux in the Force, but felt it before he took his next step; and positioned his feet as to not trip over it. "Nice try, primitive planet." He insulted as he kept moving forward. Rather this be a form of Karma going against him or what the planet had in mind, Zaltac was so infuriated he did not hear the river almost directly in front of him. This caused him to drop into the cold running water as he evaded the root. For a few moments, Zaltac was submerged in the rushing waters and being pushed downstream. His anger built up even more, and thus he lashed out against the planet as well by forcing the water to flow upwards in an arch with a strong Force Push, holding it there with a wall of Telekinesis. Soaking wet, and irritated, Zaltac jumped up onto the bank on the other side of the River before letting the water rush down back in its normal pattern. "Say anything....and I cut out your tongue..." He threatened Nixia, as he was mad enough at the moment.

 

[Nixia Wulfbane]

After a swift whack to the head, Nixia retracted her lightsaber, reattaching it to her belt as Zaltac began a lengthy and loud lecture over what had just happened. Nixia didn't quite understand why he was so angry. If Tython itself was going to be testing the two of them in order to make sure they were capable enough to be on it, then wasn't her response to the situation a good thing? As her brother stormed off furiously in the general direction of their destination, Nixia watched as a tree root sprung up from the ground in an effort to trip Zaltac. Easily dodging this, Zaltac continued, still obviously fuming as he walked straight into the river before him. Nixia couldn't help but laugh at this before he sprung up from the water to the other side of the river, threatening to cut out her tongue if she said anything before continuing to walk away. Walking up to the tree root, Nixia reached down and gave it a small pat with a smile. "And that's what he would do without me!" she lightly laughed before jumping over the river herself.

While they trekked through the forest the planet continued its small testing of the two Padawan's by having the nearby trees swing their branches at them. While Nixia evaded these with ease due to her incredible physical prowess, even going so far as to parkour through the trees, Zaltac had a bit more of a challenging time. Since he was still fuming over the incident that occurred earlier, he would be a bit more blinded in the Force fluctuations that he would normally pick up on with ease. Once the two reached a small clearing on the other side of the forest with the twisting mountain range lying before them, Nixia would look over towards her brother to see him covered with tree sap and pine needles. She didn't say a word, laughing internally at the fact Zaltac had been so blinded by rage that he let himself succumb to the attacks of mere tree branches. The planet would have a pretty clear conclusion that Nixia was the more physically capable of the two Padawan's while Zaltac was more in tune with the Force.

Before she even took her first step forward to begin the guidance up the mountain path, a hoarse and terrifying roar would ring out from the mountain range. It was unlike anything either of the Padawan's had ever heard before, but having studied so diligently the lore of the Jedi, Nixia had a pretty good idea as to what had made that noise. "That must have been some Flesh Raiders. While few in number when the Order established a new Jedi Academy here, they've no doubt repopulated quite a bit since then. They were essentially used as a sort of benchmark for a Padawan's combat capabilities back during the days of the Cold War." Nixia explained, grabbing her lightsaber from her belt once more. She simply held the handle at the ready, knowing that battle with these beasts was imminent if they encountered any. "I guess the planet's next test is pretty clear then. Flesh Raider's were good enough of a test for the Padawan's of old, so they'll be a good enough test for us. Stay alert." she cautioned, reaching for her pistol to use in her off hand as she led the way up the twisting paths.

[member="Zaltac Rournic"]

 

[Zaltac Rournic]

Tree branch, after tree branch, after tree branch, after bloody tree branch. Zaltac was not a happy camper as the two trekked through the wooded area of their path. From moment one of still being soaking wet to where he was finally damp; he had nothing but problems that kept making him angrier and angrier. Losing to an inanimate object was humiliating. Even more so that Nixia was not even bothering to call out the lashing of the trees and even dashed off ahead. Were it not for his hearing he would have gotten lost long ago. The sheer disrespect from both his accomplice AND the planet....was more than he could handle. Sap was getting onto his cloak, leaves and pine needles were sticking to him like glue, and the constant assault from tree branches randomly being flung back at him was just ruining more and more of his day. Normally, he would be able to dodge and or detect the changes in the Force that caused the plants to lash out. Yet the angrier he got, the less focus he had on his surroundings. This however also generated a secondary effect, he was building up more and more Force around him with his anger. At the first notice of the next thing to drastically irritate him, that thing could consider it obliterated from existence. He was tempted to just take his anger out on the forest with one large Force Push, or even a Force Wave. But instead, he kept himself as calm as possible. This was easier said than done.

However, he somehow managed to keep his anger down until they had emerged from the forest. An aura of pure hate and pride could be felt just radiating off of Zaltac as his anger was about to explode. Even when he heard the roar that echoed from the Mountain Path he did not flinch. In fact he almost yelled back at it to shut up. Such an inferior beast roaring over what little victory or achievement it had made was pathetic. Then again, at his current mental state, EVERYTHING was pathetic and foolish. Zaltac just marched forward as Nixia explained what she believed the creatures to be;
"That must have been some Flesh Raiders. While few in number when the Order established a new Jedi Academy here, they've no doubt repopulated quite a bit since then. They were essentially used as a sort of benchmark for a Padawan's combat capabilities back during the days of the Cold War." This information was almost pointless as it was known. Nixia going off in a form of excitement to state a fact they had studied before. Zaltac kept his words to himself as he had nothing to add or comment about. Which was normally odd as he would have insulted her for stating an obvious fact. Rather, the only thing to come out of his mouth next would be his anger. "I guess the planet's next test is pretty clear then. Flesh Raider's were good enough of a test for the Padawan's of old, so they'll be a good enough test for us. Stay alert." Nixia warned as Zaltac marched past her, nearly knocking her to the side as he made his way down the path; guided by pure instinct and the connection to the Planet.
"Nixia...there is only one thing that should be on alert right now....and that is what ever decides to cross my path..." Zaltac stated coldly. Very coldly. It was not uncommon knowledge that Arkanians were very prideful and saw themselves above other beings. Making an Arkanian mad was one of the last things any creature would want to do. In an Ironic way, despite being a Republican planet, Arkanians can find themselves aligned keenly to Siths. The fierce anger and need for vengeance and to triumph over everything that was "inferior" made great fuel to power one to the Dark Side of the Force. For any Arkanian that managed to stay within the realm of Peace and Harmony to become a full fledged Jedi knight showed even greater strength to fight back against their pride at every moment. Right now, Zaltac was very far from reaching such a point. It was a fact his father dreaded that Zaltac may not get over his anger and pride one day and simply fall to no return. And with the way he is now, he appeared to already be on the edge of just giving in. All it would take, is just one-little-push. Though Zaltac could never hold on to his anger long enough for it to corrupt him indefinitely. He had several moments in the Academy where he had lost his anger before and nearly destroyed the class room with a single powerful burst of the Force; yet he always calmed down immediately afterwords. It would be a long and grueling task to get over his anger. Yet his anger fuels his natural power with the Force. If channeled correctly, he could become a foe with no-equal. Of course, this was also just his own inflating ego twisting his thoughts. For the moment as he walked down the path, Zaltac was just a walking time-bomb. Ready to obliterate the first thing with all of his Force power that set him off.

The two Padawans were given a few minutes of a break with nothing acting out against them. The Mountain trail was lengthy so it would take some time for them to traverse completely down it towards their destination, which Zaltac did not know was the ruins. However, as the two kept up their pace it felt like they were being watched from above. Though Zaltac could not naturally see, he did not feel anything coming from above them either: No unneeded Force movement, no aggression, it was just calm. Though still fuming, he was slowly losing his aggressive edge as he got some time to regain himself. He had calmed down just enough that the next thing that did get in his way or make him angry would not be his attempt to out right destroy their existence. Seriously maim however was another story. It appeared like the two would be in the clear before some grunts could be heard coming from above them. The two were at a pretty bad advantage too with a steep drop down below them to their side; which Zaltac had been avoiding by keeping his hand on the face of the mountain. The Flesh Raiders above them were communicating in a odd manor with heavy grunts, which Zaltac believed to be their native tongue due to lack of any intelligence. He doubted that Nixia would be able to hear these creatures as they sounded a ways up above them. Any attempt to slide down the mountain to them was dangerous so Zaltac attempted to ignore the mindless individuals above them in their camp. This would prove to be a mistake as the familiar sound of rocks came skipping down the hill side. Large rocks were being pushed down the Mountain at the two in an attempt to get the two off of the Raider's territory. This was a smart move on the creature's part as it did not leave much of a Force Flux than the natural occurring one from earlier. Zaltac reacted immediately by using a powerful Force Push against the rocks to slow them down; and again to launch them back up the mountain at the Flesh Raider's camp. "We got company, Nixia."

@[member='Nixia Wulfbane'],

 

[Nixia Wulfbane]

The sound of falling rocks was immediately met by the activation of Nixia's lightsaber. She knew Zaltac would take care of the rocks easily, but she was preparing her blade for something else. "Well, it looks like Ice Climber is the best way to deal with this!" Nixia exclaimed, tossing her lightsaber into her left hand before leaping upwards with a Force Jump. At the very mention of the words "Ice Climber," Zaltac would know exactly what Nixia was thinking. Ice Climber was the name that Nixia had assigned to the technique the two had developed for when they needed to climb a mountain in a hurry back on Arkania due to Zaltac's lack of physical prowess. The two would alternate between Force Pushing and Force Pulling one another while sticking their lightsabers into the mountainside for brief stability until the other pulled them up. This was a rather remarkable technique considering how unrefined Nixia's Force abilities still were.

At the very moment she felt Zaltac use his Force Push to propel her even further upward, Nixia threw back her right arm with her middle and index fingers pointed down at Zaltac; grabbing hold of him with the Force. Nixia would then pull her fingers back towards her slightly, pulling Zaltac up into the air along with her. The cliff where the Raiders had set up camp wasn't that high up, so all the two needed was one good Force Push from Zaltac to ascend to their destination. When she had shot up past the Flesh Raider's that stood on the edge, Nixia arced her right arm up and over her head, pulling Zaltac up behind her and over her head, essentially launching him over her like a missile into the middle of the Raider Camp. "Have fun, Zalt." she thought to herself, tossing her lightsaber back into her right hand as she landed behind the Flesh Raider's that were overlooking the cliff. She knew Zaltac needed some way to blow off a little steam after the forest had essentially gotten the better of him, so she wouldn't take down too many of them beyond the ones that had pushed the boulders down at them.


[member="Zaltac Rournic"]

 

[Zaltac Rournic]

Feeling the rocks fall down towards them, and hearing their bouncing on the rocky cliffs gave Zaltac a nice map of where they were and how fast they were going. It was only a matter of timing. And with his hyper intelligent brain this would be easy. Calculating where each falling boulder that would do either him or Nixia any damage, Zaltac would shove each boulder to the side with a firm force push. This caused some boulders to roll far out of harms way or bump into each other causing a chain reaction that did not harm either of the two. This however, is when Nixia came up with performing one of her -more thought out- plans with a ridiculous name; project Ice Climbers. Considering Nixia having a lack of any real force ability that was properly developed; this was a rather risky strategy as Zaltac could not see how far up he was ever being thrown, nor where the ledge was that he would be going too. He could never see the edge and was often landing at an awkward angle of his stomach being rammed into the side of the wall or cliff and having to pull himself up. Frankly, a well powered up Force Jump could easily do this without a problem. But Nixia would always think the idea was "too boring." Though he hoped she had properly thought it out this time to be able to properly get him to the top without any difficulties.

Having practiced this however, he knew when to time his Force Push to launch Nixia as high as the two needed to go. For this instance, it was about three seconds after she jumped. Reeling back to the ground he charged up his right arm with a large amount of Force energy that he would shoot upwards in one heavy wave that helped launch Nixia up to the top of the cliff-side. Feeling the familiar sensation of Nixia's force energy pulling him up, he jumped as well to give the ride an extra speed boost. At this time, Zaltac was focusing all of his energy into his eyes. Normally blind, he had learned of a small form of Force Sight that would enable him to see his surroundings. Being launched and unaware of where he was going; this was a needed sense at the moment. Zaltac would find himself having left Nixia's side long before being able to see, as he found himself landing further onto the cliff than she had landed on. This placed him into the middle of the Flesh Raider camp where he would become surrounded instantly. However, this was his liking. All the pent up anger, all the rage that Nixia, this planet, and Nixia had given him was ready to explode; and these were the perfect targets to vent.

Zaltac's physical abilities were lacking. He had no reason to deny this to himself. But his Force power was higher than any of the others on Arcania that were his age group. Fueled by his overwhelming anger it only increased ten fold. Zaltac would stand up straight, drawing out his saber, while glaring at the monstrosities before him as his right hand glowed with energy. He began spinning his saber into the perfect circle of defense as he was trained, leaving his entire front and sides guarded. Though the Raiders were not so stupid as to charge at him head on seeing him armed. Instead, one charged from behind with an axe. Zaltac would smirk as he quickly turned about, pivoting, and waved his hand in an arc behind him; using a form of Force Push that repealed the axe in mid swing. Afterwords he quickly grabbed hold of the Axe's heavy blade, and slammed the blunt end straight into the Raider with more Force Telekinesis. The Raider would stumble with a grunt, before roaring out in retaliation and charging. A foolish mistake for the sub-par life form. Zaltac was not strong but he ruled in controlling the flow of battle to stay in his favor constantly within the academy. Though these were not students whom he knew their fighting styles, their simplistic attacks made them all too predictable. Using the Raider's momentum, Zaltac would let the raider charge past him into another charging Raider, take the axe of the first charging raider with Telekinesis-and use the bladed end to smash the axe into the the Raider's spine making it unable to move as its spinal column was now severed. With other Raiders coming at him, Zaltac would keep up a fast major orbit to block the oncoming attacks, stepping back calmly to position his foes near the edge of the cliff where he could make a point to escape with a well timed counter-attack.

 

[Nixia Wulfbane]

Whilst Zaltac was busy blowing off steam, Nixia set about dealing with the Flesh Raider overseeing the cliff face; which wasted no time in rushing her. Two quick drawn blaster bolts found their way to the kneecaps of the closest Flesh Raider, bringing it down to the ground instantly as the other three continued their charge. The one leading the charge pulled his axe over head to swing down hard, slow and predictable. Nixia gently jumped backwards as the Raider brought the axe crashing down to the ground, leaving the primitive beast wide open. With a swift and elegant motion, Nixia quickly decapitated the Flesh Raider before sending his body flying towards the other two with a Force Push. The lifeless corpse knocked one of the Flesh Raiders down as the other continued his charge towards the young Padawan. This charge was met with yet another well aimed blaster bolt right between the eyes, knocking the Flesh Raider over backwards; the remaining beast letting out an enraged roar as it shoved its lifeless comrade off. This Raider would be met with a Force Pull the moment it got back up on its feet; catching him off guard before being impaled through the chest by the blue blade of Nixia's lightsaber.

Upon removing the saber from the last Flesh Raider she chose to deal with, Nixia looked over her shoulder to notice Zaltac's positioning having the remaining group of Flesh Raiders positioned between himself and the cliff. "Yeah, I can see where that's going and I want no part of it whatsoever." she thought, knowing that she would be caught up in whatever it was Zaltac was planning. She quickly moved herself around the outside of the Flesh Raiders as their full attention remained on Zaltac, returning her blaster to its holster and deactivating her saber. She looked on from a distance to Zaltac's right, knowing that whatever he had planned would be the end for this camp of Flesh Raiders.

[member="Zaltac Rournic"]