Hello, Apprentice!

[Darth Veles]

Kneeling on the floor, the amphibious Sith Master known as Darth Veles meditated in this preferred position of his, quite unusual among many Force users as the majority preferred a more comfortable way of sitting; cross-legged. Veles did not really care, as long as it served its purpose. Soon, another sentient would learn how to meditate if she did not know it already... again, the Sith did not care that much, as he was willing to teach his apprentice even the basics. This came off as a surprise as he had developed a reputation of not teaching these things to the fresh sentients, but not many realized the Mon Cal did not wish to waste his time by teaching someone else's apprentice how to use the Force.

Veles' new apprentice, a young female human known as [member="Silara Vantai"], wished to walk the path of an assassin and the Mon Cal was all too happy to oblige. Most Acolytes did not think the arts of stealth to be very interesting, they wanted quick power, and as such he immediately took the young woman under his wings when she expressed her interest in what he did best.

His orange eyes snapped open as the woman entered the training room, her presence and signature in the Force clearly revealing she had yet to be trained. Veles studied her for a while, offering the new blood a large welcoming smile and moving his webbed hand, motioning for her to sit down.

"Welcome, apprentice," he said, finally after several years of not having a proper Sith apprentice. Would this one be better than Vyrzen, the first and so far the most successful being to learn under him? How much Veles missed these times of educating the boy, teaching him how to be a good assassin!

"You will adress me either as Master Veles, Lord Veles, or Darth Veles. Is that understood, apprentice?" The Mon Calamari always wanted his apprentices to remember their place, and making it clear how to adress him properly was the most basic thing he could do.

"Now, before your training begins, tell me... why do you want to become a Sith?" It was his usual question that had no completely right or wrong answer and he would not punish the young woman for telling him.

 

[Ellie Mors]

"Life is harsh. Life is cruel. Life is not fair." were the words drilled into her head, by herself at that, from the first moment that she had realized how unforgiving a mistress that life could be. Once she had accepted this, once she had accepted the need to adapt and to change, to learn and to gain strength, to overwhelm even when the odds were stacked against this, only then did she become immersed with the dark side of the force, even before she had slain her parents years back. Yet here she was, Silara Vantai, a Sith in training, apprentice to [member="Darth Veles"], and a mere human girl at that. From her experiences while traveling, nearly all Sith were at least a few years older than she, and perhaps that was a good thing. But now Silara stood before a cobalt door, calming her nerves as she prepared to meet with her master for their first session of training - if he did not find her completely worthless from the moment he laid eyes on him.

Taking in a heavy sigh, she took long strides forwards and slowly pushed the doors open, using a great deal of effort to make the heavy doors move with her diminutive strength. While perhaps this was a crippling weakness to her, at least for the meantime, she held a greater strength in the force, as professed to her at a younger age, to balance out this trait. As she strut in, she gave her new Master, Darth Veles, an appreciative smile as he greeted her with his own. Immediately upon understanding the gesture that he had made to her, Silara made her way to a spot placed at a respectable distance to her master, giving him personal space and a bit of extra room as well. As the Mon Calamari spoke she remained silent - but out of respect rather than any other possible motive, waiting for him to finish speaking completely before she spoke, though she did speak first to acknowledge her master's question. "Yes, Master Veles." Silara answered with another smile, though much more proper and welcoming than a happier one.

"My...reasoning..is slightly less conventional, from what I have heard of other's reasoning. For others, it is a goal, a specific idea that would naturally expire once it has been achieved. Some, they wish for power, others for the idea of revenge on an individual. Those whom I have spoken to that have sought after these things have one thing in common that they do not share with me. That is that their goal has never been achieved for they wish to continue to...have a reason to be a Sith, and by completing their goal they no longer can see a reason or value to align themselves with the Sith." The teen explained as the Mon Calamari completed his latest question, pausing to allow her words to sink in.

"Unlike them, I have already succeeded in where they have failed, as my vengeance has been fulfilled. I have no objective that I require to anchor me in place, I do not act as they and brood over a single goal. As a sith, as a true Sith, there is only one single objective. There is only one definitive goal. I wish to learn all that there is from the force, to master its darkness, to learn of its secrets and lore, and then to pass on my own knowledge to my next apprentice. All of this while I throw away the cautious and foolish choices of the Jedi. But above and beyond all of these things, I follow the basic tenets of the Sith. And I understand them, for that I have been changed. It was not that the Sith have swayed me to the dark side, for I was always that way, but it was the words of the Code of the Sith that gave me hope to break my chains and set me free, to break the chains of life and death that have bound those who have used the name of the Sith as a mere cloth, not understanding the true meaning of becoming one." Silara continued, her words and expression accompanied by gestures and emotions that could only be described as passion.

"I have sought after the Sith as the path toward enlightenment, of perfection." She said as she held her hands together over her crossed legs, sitting as any would whilst meditating - though she was not.

 

[Darth Veles]

Veles did not interrupt his new apprentice, listening to her words quietly and taking them in, processing all she said in his head. The answer held some truth and it pleased Veles to find this Acolyte appeared to be one of those who use their brain and think, as thinking was a crucial part of any Acolyte's life; at least of those Acolytes who wished to survive their training and become something more than mere pawns of those higher up the pyramid of the Sith hiearchy. While the One Sith often treated each other as equals, [member="Silara Vantai"] was not a true Sith yet, not until the Mark adorned her body. For now, some might even brand her a Dark Jedi, though Veles would never train a fallen Jedi, viewing those as even less than Jedi.

Some parts of her reasoning piqued his curiosity, particularly her claim that her vengeance has been fulfilled. The Mon Calamari made no move to stop her and interrupt though, preferring to listen to all she had to say before speaking up again. A good teacher needed to listen almost as much as their student, after all. The amber eyes followed the young woman's moves, watching her sit down.

"And you do understand the true meaning of the Code?" Veles asked, his smile not disappearing yet. "What if there is no true, right interpretation of the Code? It offers us guidance, but we still have to find our own way... Unless, of course, it is the Jedi interpretation of our Code! Hah! If you ever hear it, do not laugh at the Jedi, please. They are just vastly uneducated in our ways, yet they believe they ate all wisdom of the universe." The Mon Calamari chuckled softly, the whisker on his chin quivering until his face finally became serious.

"It is certainly possible to find enlightement and perfection you seek. It is important not to fear the Dark Side and what it offers, though you have to respect it and never falsely believe it poses no danger to you. Many Sith have embraced the Dark Side more than they should have, which corrupted their minds and sometimes even caused insanity. The Dark Side itself is not evil or malevolent; it is natural, much more natural than the Light Side. If you walk through wild, untamed nature unprepared, you might get hurt... And so you must learn how to tame it, control it, yet always keep your guard up. Look into my eyes," the amphibian said an blinked, his orbs glaring right into the teenager's eyes. She could clearly see no signs of Dark Side corruption.

"I have yet to be permanently changed by the Dark Side's influence. It has yet to claim my mind, my body, my will. Never let the Dark Side enslave you! Use it, be its master, never the other way around. You will hear its promises, feel urges in your body to do as it wishes, but you have to resist, keep the corruption out of your mind and never let it cloud your judgement. To do that, I recommend having a set of principles you will adhere to no matter what and use it as an anchor point. I have my personal code I follow, for example... But most importantly, always remember what you fight for. Our Lord's vision. One of perfect order and prosperous galaxy." The amphibian finally finished and fell silent, letting [member="Silara Vantai"] take in the words and giving her a chance to talk.

 

[Ellie Mors]

As she listened to the wise words of her master, Silara could not help but nod her head on occasion, agreeing with much of what the Sith Lord said. Though she disagreed on specific points, she did not show her dissent and merely held it in to herself, trusting that perhaps her viewpoint may change as her years grew on her. It disappointed her, perhaps, that the Mon Calamari did not see the necessity for the dark side of the force to be used with the evil and more sinister natures that were common among villainous Sith of old. Often she had thought that the Sith of today were far too passive to be considered a force as truly terrifying as they had in ages long since passed, his words confirmed her previous musings. Although they were every bit as strong as they were renown for, perhaps even greater than before, it was the fact that they rarely used this strength except for rather unimportant land grabs and such. It irked her that such great power, capable of great malice and deceit, lay wasted and spoiled with disuse. Perhaps it was just her black heart speaking to her, but she did not quite like the idea that was being spun to her. But as a true Sith must she required learning and power, and being taught by one of the greatest of the One Sith was truly a grand opportunity.

"I understand, Master Veles." The young apprentice replied as the Sith Lord concluded his speech, hoping that perhaps they would begin their basic training soon, as she wished greatly to make use of her abilities in any upcoming battles which she may require them in. "I see the Force as a tool, not as an entity capable of dominating myself, and though I am aware of the risks I embrace it and will walk with it in perfect balance. Never will I be corrupted, and every choice will be my own." Silara continued, deciding after she spoke that those words were perhaps the best set of principles to follow that she ever could have thought of on her own. Pausing for a moment, not wishing to seem too impatient, she looked toward her master expectantly, and when he continued waiting for her to speak she went on. "I have some basic awareness with the sensory abilities of the force, and some primal instinctive abilities with the telekinetic aspects of it, but I lack any true training, and the two I speak of were more of discovered skills rather than learned abilities. I lack refinement, and I am not able to use them reliably yet." She explained, hoping to perhaps make her request to start their training as soon as possible subtly clear.

[member="Darth Veles"] (OOC: Sorry, I was too exhausted from 2 consecutive busy days at work and got home too late to reply on friday and saturday.)

 

[Darth Veles]

Veles showed no emotion on his face as his new aprentice talked, despite finding himself agreeing with many of her words about the Force. The question was whether she truly believed what she said or if she simply wanted to please him. The answer will be revealed in time, her actions proving either. As such, there was no need to discuss this matter further and rather start the young woman's training. She did not possess many abilities, but that had to be expected from someone new. Since she wished to train under him, Veles hadno reason not to train her, shape her into a fine instrument of the Dark Lord's will, make her a precise chirurgic scalpel to remove the Jedi tumor from the galaxy. It would be a long way to walk, but he was there to help her if she stumbled.

"Your view of the Force is correct" the amphibious Sith Master nodded in approval. The apprentice definitely held great potential and would make an excellent Sith if she survived the training. "It is a tool, but as many tools, you need to know how to control it, otherwise you will get hurt. Take fire, for example. Good servant, bad master." The Mon Cal stated, his large amber eyes burning holes into the woman with the piercing gaze of his.

"The first power you will learn is Force sense. You already have this power and more than likely also use it, but we have yet to teach you how to use it properly... Probably the most basic of powers, it allows you to feel signatures and presences of other beings, detect Light Side and Dark Side, sense danger. It opens a way to mind reading and powers that have something to do with mind manipulation, as you need to find the mind you want to get into in the Force first."

"The easiest way to do this is through meditation. Close your eyes, apprentice, and take deep breaths. Let go of all feelings. Don't get rid of them though! Those are very useful, store them in your heart while you meditate and simply ignore them. Now, once you have that, do the same thing with the world around you. Ignore it, push all distractions out of your head!"

Once he believed his apprentice has done what he wanted, the amphibious Sith stopped talking and closed his eyes, reaching out through the Force and connecting his presence with the one of [member="Silara Vantai"]. As all Force users, the young woman's mind was protected, as she unconsciously tried to push the invading presence out. The Sith Master quickly overpowered the untrained mind, not reading her memories or something nasty like that, more like feeling what she felt in order to guide her better. And also introduce her to the basics of telepathy.

"Did you feel it? Our minds are connected. I can insert my thoughts into your head if I wish to. I can show you images as well. Try to concentrate now, please," he sent to her mind. To prove his claim, a sudden image of some Togruta dressed in Sith robes appeared in the young woman's head. "My Master," he explained, "Now, I want you to realize your and my presence in the Force. Remember what you felt when my mind touched your mind through the Force, recognize my signature. Focus, distinguish my presence from your own!" Veles ordered and made sure his signature could be felt in the Force. Unlike the signature of many Sith, the Mon Cal's appeared to be more neutral, a darker shade of grey instead of very dark.

Having the advantage of being able to shift the alignment of his signature, one of his most developed powers, Veles decided to show the young apprentice all the Force had to offer. "Please, prepare yourself now. Do not let what you feel break your concentration." Veles warned her before twisting his signature, pushing it towards the Dark, slowly and deliberately so even the inexperienced apprentice could feel it with ease and tell the difference. The Mon Cal's presence first appeared to be the one of an ordinary Sith, which was darker than his real signature, but he went further and showed the woman full Darkness, one that could be felt from the ones with no chance of redemption and sometimes those consumed by the Dark Side.

The signature swiftly returned to its normal state as the amphibious Sith Master focused on peace and tranquility, and it soon affected the way others sensed him through the Force. No more a Sith, but a Padawan. And he went higher, his signature now indicating a devoted Jedi Knight in the room before going even further and became a Jedi Master, a beacon of light.

Veles wished to show her everything so she could recognize these things faster in the future, quickly analyzing the signature of her friends and foes to determine their strength more easily. He was not done yet; now it was up to her to show some progress.

"Apprentice, think of something. There is no need to form words yet, a simple image will be enough. Focus on it strongly, let it burn its way from your mind to my own! Feel my presence, it is already connected with yours, just send me your message!" Her first task; telepathically sending something to her Master. Anything would do, really, as the point was to see if the apprentice understood the principle of using her mind to talk to others.

 

[Ellie Mors]

Having stopped speaking to listen to her master's reply, smiling as he commended her for her correct views on the force, something she was more or less speaking her mind of prior, and nodded as he made a short analogy between the dark side and fire. She understood the connection he was trying to make, though she still did not entirely agree with the sentiment he was making. To her, the dark side of the force was like a seductive, beautiful, thing to behold. It was mystifying, and held many secrets that remained hidden from many, perhaps all, including the Dark Lord and many others. And though she paid attention quite well as the Mon Calamari spoke, prattling away, she could not help but feel herself continue to sink further into the dark depths of the force, wishing only to become one with its awe-inspiring power, capable of knowing no boundaries. It seemed the short description of the abilities and uses of the ability known as force sense were complete, and she gave her full and undivided attention to [member="Darth Veles"] as he gave her instructions to begin their training.

Closing her eyes, her features relaxing drastically as she let go of all that she felt, Silara began to clear her mind of conflict, of emotions, feelings, and yet the passion and ambition within her remained, though hidden like a screen behind her. Soon the words that her master spoke, even, began to fade away as she felt as though she were drifting off to sleep, though very much awake, and within her realms of conscious thought she found herself sitting, as if looking upon herself surrounded by complete darkness, and directly before her was her master in a similar position to hers. While she explored this darkness within and around her, she felt the probing feeling, as though something was entering her thoughts, and then a bursting feeling as the Sith lord invaded her telepathically. She had felt this feeling before, and it had resulted in her being shamed with her memories replayed to her as the entity had read them to himself and experienced them with her again, and instinctively she pushed, feeling herself become smaller as she helplessly rejected the Sith. Though this ultimately failed, she found comfort in that he respected her fragile boundaries, and she secretly swore to herself to find a way to guard against this sort of insurgence again.

It was a unique, perhaps sinful, feeling that she felt once her master had completely linked himself with her. For a moment it was as though they had become one together, and then two entities at the same time. And while he seemed to speak to her telepathically, it was not heard with words that one would speak, nor with thoughts that one would think. She could not place it, but it was as though it was an image that she could hear and not see, and an audio that she could see and not hear. A contradiction, she felt, but it was so preternatural that she dared not to question it at this point. It was not until the image of the Mon Calamari's master was portrayed to her that she had actually seen anything in this link that confirmed her suspicions that the previous communication was not an image, and she immediately related it to the feeling one had in their gut, one which was not one of words but of feelings. On command she began to feel for the dark lord, to understand his being through the force, and it was then that she noticed that he was not anywhere near as dark and tainted as she felt that she, herself, was. Understanding this was perhaps his alignment rather than power, she still felt a bit shocked that the man she had came to know as a Sith Lord, one which was spoken of with such renown that her fantasies of the darkness and her unification had been inclusive of his might and terror, and for a moment she was disappointed.

But slowly his alignment shifted, and she felt the change within the Sith as he became more and more dark, yet not corrupted. And then, to her amazement, it shifted again towards the light, becoming brighter and brighter, until she felt as though she could not feel him any longer out of the blinding light that he gave off. Surely this must be some way to hide one's presence from those whom employ the abilities of Force Sense or at least keep their alignment blurred. Noting this as something to learn and develop as her master had in the future, she listened intently as Veles gave her another command to follow, and she reciprocated with how she was communicated with him. Taking a moment to reach out to him with the force, though their connection was already made, Silara began to form the image of herself standing over her dead mother's body, full of blaster holes. It was a memory etched into her consciousness for the remainder of her life, but it was the decision that pushed her headlong into the dark side, seeking the power of the Sith for her own purposes. "I have long since been living in the dark side, my Master. I seek your council for the growth of my abilities, and I appreciate you taking me as your apprentice." Silara communicated through thoughts, much as her master had to her, but with a great deal of effort at first. It was not exactly straining, but she contributed the ease in which it was done to her talent with the force.

 

[Darth Veles]

The image of his apprentice standing over the body of a woman who seemed to have been killed by multiple blaster shots certainly surprised him a bit. Was this an image of the past, or wishful future? Veles could not tell for sure, though he could have sworn there was a certain feeling in his new apprentice when she showed him the image, projecting it into his mind. Emotions associated with it. Curious, but unwilling to pry until the training session was complete, the amphibious Sith Master continued to maintain their connection through the Force. Smile spread over his face as her words found their way into his mind. He could feel them. This, again, made him happy of his choice of picking this particular apprentice. She was gifted, now he had to do his best to shape this rough diamond. As he sometimes joked, change a rocket launcher into a sniper rifle, refine her destructive potencial into a precise tool of assassination.

"Very good, apprentice. You clearly have a grasp on telepathy," he replied in the same manner of communication before focusing on his presence again, making himself seemingly disappear from the Force. The light of the Jedi Master vanished, leaving... nothing, as if he never sat in the room. The connection between the Master and his apprentice vanished as well, cut, until the Mon Cal's ordinary signature reappeared, as if he teleported himself in the place he's been sitting the entire time. This particular power was just a taste of what awaited [member="Silara Vantai"] on her path of becoming a Sith Assassin.

"Manipulating your signature and preence like this is one of the advanced powers. I will teach it to you later, we are done with the basics and you have some experience under your belt," Veles informed his student, no longer talking to her mind but rather using his mouth again, thick Imperial accent clearly audible in his words as they reached the your woman's ears. "I use this power often," he admitted, "Therefore you will be unable to feel me through the Force from time to time during your studies, and my presence will definitely remain hidden in battles. Do not let it bother you."

It would not be the other way around though, at least not until the young apprentice learned this power as well. This allowed Veles to watch over her through the Force, so his presence washed over her one more time as he inspected her signature to be able to safely recognize her among hundreds of Force users. It appeared somewhat... dark, but Veles attributed it to her lack of training. Or not? During their telepathic "conversation", she had mentioned living in the Dark Side. That had not bothered Veles in the slightest, but he wished to discuss this with his apprentice, open her eyes if possible. Unlike many Sith, the Mon Cal believed one had to open to both aspects of the Force to truly understand it.

"You said you have been living in the Dark Side," he started, his eyes staring at her as his large domed head tilted to the side. "There is nothing wrong with it. For now, at least. But remember that Sith should be superior to the Jedi. While the Dark Side is undoubtedly more powerful, that is if you know how to control it, I believe knowing our enemies gives us an edge... After all, a Sith should control the Force as a whole, not just a half of it. I am not restricted by any boundaries, my mind is free of any chains binding me to only one aspect of the Force. I draw power from the Light and Dark alike... I draw energy from passion, hate, love, anger, pain, pleasure, just as I find it in peace and tranquility. It may be a personal belief that is not very popular, but I think balance is important. I will not drown in the Dark Side just as there is no chance the Light Side will ever burn me." The young Sith Master explained his opinion on the matter a bit.

It was him who persuaded his former Master into taking a look at the Light Side and learning Force heal, just to have a bit more power, an edge over her Jedi enemies. There were not many people who agreed with him, but the fact the old Sith Witch praised him for this decision only reinforced his belief a true Sith should not be restricted to the Dark Side. A true Sith should control the Force as a whole, have ultimate control over it and use the combination of both Light Side and Dark Side to vanquish the Jedi once and for all. If the Sith absorbed the Light Side, there would be no need for the Jedi anymore... Their pathetic order reduced to nothing, having no way to defeat the Sith but study the Dark Side to have a chance of fighting them. And by doing that, becoming the Sith themselves. The Jedi Order would be no more.

He did not want to completely derail the training though, it was time to instruct his apprentice further and give her another task, teaching her something truly vital. "You won't find the Light Side here though," he said with a soft chuckle, "But the Dark Side is very strong in here. Feel it. Hear it. Use it. Your passion allows you to draw power from it, raw power that provides your body and mind more energy than the Light Side ever could. Remember the moment you have felt strong emotions and feelings. Hate, anger, love, pain,... It does not matter as long as it is strong. Once the feeling resurfaces in your heart, try to connect to the Dark Side and let it fill you with energy. Be warned though; it is quite intoxicating. Like a drug, you need to know your limits and be able to decline more power. Your will needs to be strong. Note that the Dark Side is not only about negative feelings and emotions as the Jedi claim. In fact, the Dark Side is far more natural than the Light. The Light Side is like a modern city; sterile, safe, clean. The Dark Side is as the nature itself; beautiful and semingly calm, yet also dangerous and powerful."

 

[Ellie Mors]

Silara smiled proudly at her Master's words, glad to find that she had quickly understood the basics of telepathy, and with a bit of ease at that. As [member="Darth Veles"] began another lecture on the various aspects of the force she made sure to pay close attention to what he said, how he said it, and most importantly to what the meanings of his words were. From what she had eventually surmised, it seemed the Mon Calamari was more relatable to a Dark Jedi than what she saw as a Sith, or at least to those whom she had read of in books and holocrons. Though she despised the light side, as her racial heritage itself was entirely against it both out of historical issues and cultist ones, she found the idea of garnering strength from the light and dark sides together to be quite enticing, as it offered an entirely new horizons of power, a broader scope to see through and to learn from. Yet she still hesitated to welcome the ideology of the Sith Lord to her own ideals, as they conflicted quite harshly. What Silara saw, which kept her at bay from accepting this immediately, was the potential for weakness and mercy.

Again, after some pause on her Master's part, the Mon Calamari began another lecture on the Dark Side, a subject she loved more than the tales of the Sith of old, of the great purges of Jedi in the past, or even of the memories that she replayed to herself of the slowed death of her mother in her mind's eye. For some reason it was when he spoke of the dark side that she became enamored with the man's teachings, wishing that he would speak more of it and show her even more than was said. It was this passion for the dark side that anchored her will and kept the corruption at bay, while ironically fueling her to delve even further into the shadows to find more of its tantalizing secrets. "My master, I believe that I understand what you are saying, and I am open to all of your teachings. I wish to know all that is at my disposal to learn, and all that which you are willing to teach." Replied the partial Vahla after some time. Learning was her craving for now, and while it was such she wished to take advantage of this thirst, this raw hunger, for both power and knowledge. With a master as skilled and powerful as hers, then the potential was endless.

 

[Darth Veles]

“I know,” Veles smiled at his apprentice as she expressed her wish to learn more, “And one day, you will learn all I know and possibly surpass me before sharing your wisdom with students of your own. Your hunger for knowledge will serve you well for now, but realize that learning too much without having the experience and skill to control your new powers will backfire. And I am not speaking just about your mind, which will be heavily influenced by the Dark Side and you risk completely succumbing to it and becoming nothing more than a wild animal, a beast no better than a Dark Jedi.” Darth Veles tried to explain, the last words that left his mouth obviously said with much disgust. If there was something he hated more than Jedi, it had to be Dark Jedi, so much that just their name was an insult to him. But he’d talk about them later. For now, he had to describe the dangers of too much power in an untrained body to his apprentice.

“Your physical shell, your body will suffer as well. First, as an assassin, having pale skin and glowing yellow eyes will tell your enemies of your true allegiance. Do not let the Jedi propaganda fool you; if they see you, there will be no talking about redemption and nonsense about the Light Side they can feel in your heart. No; you will be immediately attacked with extreme prejudice. They do not take prisoners most of the time… and if they do, you will be executed after facing a ridiculous trial blaming you from all evil in the galaxy. The Jedi have no mercy and feel no remorse; show them none in return.” The amphibian told her, warning her not to believe the propaganda she might have known from the HoloMovies. No longer had the Jedi stood as peacekeepers and protectors and servants of the poor. Quite the exact opposite.

“But let’s not get carried away too much…,” he cast another pleasant smile towards the young woman. “Your body needs to be strong. Prepared to handle your power. Using too much energy will result in being weak, unable to use the Force for some period of time, you might even fall unconscious. That is why you need to learn how to distribute your energy properly when manipulating the Force and bending it to your will. Let your body get used to the drain of energy associated with using the Force first. Combine it with meditation, which allows you to constantly feed on the Dark Side and drain energy into your body. It is an excellent tool for practice and exercising on your own; as it lets you last longer.”

The Mon Calamari Sith paused for a while, letting his words sink in, and stood up from his kneeling position before moving to the very end of the room. This gave him several meters between him and his new apprentice. Looking up, he stared at the high ceiling for a while and if [member="Silara Vantai"] followed his gaze, she would be able to see a strange thing; the light on the ceiling above her twisted and shaped itself into a single red dot. One of many perks of having mastered the ability of bending light and shadow, Veles could easily create illusions and projections out of thin air. Before the woman could start to wonder what that was supposed to mean, her Master explained. “We shall make use of your newly learned knowledge of giving your body more energy,” he chuckled kindly and softly, “Use your passion, and fill your body with energy. Meditate and listen to my words, apprentice.”

"As you surely know from your own studies, Force speed and Force jump belong among the most basic and most useful abilities. Both of those powers might save your life one day... Force jump, for example, is commonly associated with overcoming great heights. Mass the Force in your legs, crouch a little bit and jump. That is very basic, trivial even, but it also rapidly shoots you from one place to another, which can be very useful when you need to close the distance between you and your target. Keep in mind; when in the air, you are extremely vulnerable to attacks, as you cannot rapidly change your direction. Put simply, you cannot dodge. Do not use this in combat unless you want to retreat and never Force jump towards an enemy who knows about you. While you're in the air, they can prepare and use the fact you cannot suddenly change the direction of your jump to cut you down. And never, ever, jump over your opponents!" The most important advice ever, one supposed to prevent young and eager Acolytes from showing off moves that looked cool in videos, but had little to no practical use in real combat. "When you fly over your opponent, you have to land and turn around, while they only have to turn around. If you turn around in the air, you will show them your back when you're most vulnerable, with no chance to deflect the Force or any other attack."

Taking a breath, the amphibious Knight continued, "Always let the Force guide your instincts when measuring the distance you want to jump. Focus on the place where you want to land, mass the appropriate amount of energy in your legs and jump. Jump high enough to touch the target above you…," Veles ordered and watched the Sith Acolyte, studying her movements.

 

[Ellie Mors]

Silara was a bit confused, wondering why [member="Darth Veles"] continued to act so hung up over her love for the dark side of the force and the knowledge available to her. Every time he said something cautionary about it, it seemed like he was telling her to be even more patient than the Dark Jedi that she had observed for intelligence reasons for the One Sith. Quite honestly, he had literally told her that she wasn't ready for much of what was there for her to learn, and it irked her. Not that she let it bother her too much, as she was already being taught more basic skills which would assist her skill set quite well. After a while she felt she understood what he was saying, after he had elaborated on the subject in greater detail, and while it was still frustrating to not be there quite yet, she knew what he said was true. Looking up towards the ceiling to follow her master's gaze, she kept a close eye on what appeared to be an anomaly in the air, one which eventually meshed itself into a single red dot. Not sure entirely what was going on, Silara parted her lips to speak - only to be stopped as the Sith gave her instructions, which she followed immediately.

Returning to her meditative stance, a relaxed and leaning one, the blonde began to meditate on the subtle energies around her and began to gather the force within herself, or trying at least. It wasn't something she did on a normal basis, so it was a bit tricky at first. For a short while it was as though she was doing nothing of great use, until she suddenly felt the surging feeling of energy within her that is. While the Mon Calamari spoke about the two techniques that were most well-known for their use of the force with the body, Silara continued to silently focus on other things, though she intently kept some of her focus on her master to listen to what he had to say. The subject on saber techniques and acrobatics didn't really impact her at all, as jumping in any direction but the four cardinal ones were unheard of for her, but she took a mental note of it regardless. After a short period she rose up on his command to jump and glanced up at the red dot, assuming he had intended for her to reach it using the force jump technique. "Yes, Master Veles." The Acolyte replied as she began to gather the energy which she had channeled through her earlier in her legs as she crouched a tad bit - just enough to bend her knees, remembering her time as a child when she had discovered that jumping from a lower crouching position hindered the jump rather than aided it.

Recalling what her master had instructed her, the Vahla teen decided on a landing space a few feet to her right and then calculated a rough estimate of how much force she needed to expend to reach the dot and make it to the desired location in a single go. Straining her leg muscles just a tad bit more, Silara pushed off the ground and immediately felt like she was swimming through air. The amount of strength she had felt in her legs was amazing for her, as her physical abilities were anything but good, and though she had miscalculated her path by a few inches, she understood what was done incorrectly and quickly learned from her mistake, making a mental note to not put in extra energy into a jump and presumably a dash with force speed regardless of self-doubts. "That was rather exhilarating." She admitted, her interest in the lesson already spiking a bit higher than it already was.

 

[Darth Veles]

Two amber orbs watched the young apprentice, Veles’ stoic expression not giving away his emotions as she prepared herself to do as he asked. The female Acolyte showed great, great promise indeed. Even more so than his first apprentice, so far the most successful Sith to train under Veles. Will the woman surpass Vyrzen? As much as fond Veles was of the Zabrak Sith, he certainly hoped [member="Silara Vantai"] would prove herself to be superior to the first of Veles’ apprentices in every way. Such was the nature of the Sith, after all; any other result meant the Mon Cal failed as a teacher, just as the young woman failed as an apprentice. He would not allow that to happen. The Sith Acolyte’s potential was too great to be wasted and Veles considered himself to be extremely lucky to have the opportunity to shape someone so promising into a refined weapon of the Sith, educate her of his ways and make her see the wisdom in his words. She was going to carry on his legacy, just as he carried the message of Darth Zarrah. Master Zarrah used to be nothing more than a wild animal, after all, and yet her own Master produced a wise Sith Knight when he had completed her training.

And then his new student soared through the air, the Force giving enough power to her jump to launch her to great height and distance. Wonderful. When she landed, he finally allowed himself to smile and clapped his webbed hands. “Indeed it is,” he commented, the whisker on his chin wriggling as he spoke, “Excellent display of your grasp on the power, apprentice. At this rate, you will know all the basic powers by the end of this session. Then it will be up to you to practice them.”

“Before we delve deeper into the Sith teachings and lightsaber combat, there are two more basic powers for you to learn. First, Force speed. Similar to Force jump, but in this case you distribute the power into your entire body. When you allow the Force to fill your body, enhance it... your reflexes, movements, reactions are faster than that of a normal being. From your point of view, you move at normal speed... it is the world around you that seems so much slower, giving you more time to act. Your speed is equal to your control of Force speed. The greater control you have over the power, the more skilled you are, the faster you move and the slower your surroundings seem. It is a fairly easy skill to learn, but not many master it despite its usefulness. I also chose not to follow the path of mastering this particular skill... unlike Force cloak and Force stealth that I will teach you later." His right eye suddenly swiveled around as if searching for something, then returned to continue staring at the female Acolyte. "I am fairly sure you have witnessed someone in your life utilizing Force speed and I am certain you will meet many more. If you do not use the power, your opponents using it will seem unnaturally fast, the most skilled of them nothing but a blur. When you let the energy enhance your body, their movements will become more... natural, the ones of the same skill level as you will appear to be normal. My advice is to use the power whenever you're in a duel. If nothing else, it gives you an edge over your opponent unless they are better at it than you. It drains your power fairly quickly, but it is nowhere near as drastic as Force cloak... the power usage also depends on how well you control the skill. The faster you are, the more energy you use." Veles gave her some explanation, hoping the Acolyte's thirst for knowledge would be quenched a bit. Given that both powers, Force jump and Force speed, pretty much enhanced the body in a similar way, only the effect was different, Veles decided to give his apprentice a simple task again, just for her to show she understood the concept. There was not much room in the training chamber to test it properly, anyway.

“Try it now. Run to one end of the room and back to me.” He commanded and his hands reached for the curved hilts on his belt, one of his eyes fixed on the young apprentice while the other moved to look at the lightsabers as he unclipped both weapons and took them into his palms. When his student returned, he acknowledged her with a mere nod and motioned for her to sit down and rest a bit, as he again went to explaining one of the basic powers, this time the last one, Telekinesis.

“You can move objects without touching them, push your enemies into walls or pull their weapons out of their hands to disarm them. If you're skilled enough, you can break someone's neck or rip them in half, all with telekinesis.” His webbed hands let go of his lightsabers, yet the weapons did not fall on the ground as expected. They remained floating in the air, moving towards Silara and stopping in front of the woman. Unignited, of course. If she tried to feel them through the Force, she would be able to sense the Dark Side energy coming from the crystals inside. One could be identified as her Master’s presence, albeit a bit darker as it has been created in times before he started studying the Light Side of the Force to have an edge over his Jedi enemies. The other crystal’s signature would be entirely alien to the young woman; Master Zarrah’s gift to her student after the amphibian killed his first Jedi.

"Focus on the lightsabers, imagine yourself grabbing them, but do so with the Force being your extended hand. Have no doubt; doubt leads to failure. Once you have both hilts, rotate them around yourself before sending them back towards my belt and attaching them there.”

 

[Ellie Mors]

Having turned around to wait for further instructions, she was glad to find her master in agreement with her - and beyond ecstatic when he mentioned that she was well on her way to having learned all of the basics by the end of the session. Listening intently to what he began to explain afterwards, mostly about the usage of force speed, she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps it would be a better idea to make use of the technique more subtly, and enhance it more effectively at irregular intervals or on a need-basis. It seemed as though, by what was being explained to her, that it would be much less straining if she were to use the technique to a lesser degree for an extended period of time, and also partially hide the fact that she was using it, perhaps making an opponent believe she was merely a tad bit more capable than them, also evening the odds between herself and a skilled enemy.

Once again her thoughts were interrupted, however, with another task by her Master. This time she was told to make a short run using the technique, and though she wanted to practice it as she conceptualized earlier, she decided to just do as he asked to move along with the training. Pulling in energy to her legs, as she had with the force jump technique, and slightly further along the rest of her body, the Hapan broke out into a run and quickly sped up to a speed that was much greater than her own, though not amazing by any standards, and upon touching her hand to the wall on the other side of the room, ran back to [member="Darth Veles"] to await further instructions. Following a nod of her master's head, Silara sat down and took a breather, though he quickly moved on with a description of the telekinetic powers of the Force. Finally, at long last, she was at the point in training that she was the most familiar with. This technique, unlike most of the others - bar Force Sense, was one which she seemed to have a much greater talent with to the extent of seemingly performing it on accident and naturally on occasions.

The request he made was perhaps the easiest to her, as it was this ability that came most naturally to her, even more so than the sensory abilities of the Force. Reaching out with the force, Silara both saw and felt the lightsaber hilts that were presented to her, even her own that rest at her belt. It seemed unnecessary to imagine herself holding them, as it was more of a feel than a see for the Vahla-Hapan mix. A hint of a smirk fluttered across her lips as she took a firm hold on the two with relative ease, and quickly pulled back on them, making them both rotate around herself rather skillfully, and then pushed them back to her master, though attaching them to his belt was a different story. Unlike the broad and unrefined task prior, the part of attaching them to her master's belt took a bit longer and much more focus. Perhaps it was a lack of training, and maybe a lack of finesse. The teen certainly took it as a combination of the two, and attributed it to her impatience as well. It seemed odd to her that of all the things to have a struggle with, it was telekinesis that took the most effort. To this end she grumbled, though she spoke to acknowledge her master. "I hope that was acceptable, Master Veles." Silara said, not quite satisfied with her results.

 

[Darth Veles]

His apprentice appeared to have a little bit of trouble with more precise use of Telekinesis, but the amphibious Sith Master was impressed nonetheless, even to the point he almost found it hard to believe he was her first teacher. Was he? He’d have to ask after the training session ended.

“Good enough,” he nodded his large head, “The application of telekinesis requiring more precision seemed to be lacking a bit, but we’ll work on that. Your abilities are still more than satisfactory for an Acolyte and you have displayed your understanding of the basic powers, which means we will move from the Force towards more physical means of becoming a weapon. Watch and listen, apprentice!”

With that, the Mon Cal unclipped the curved hilt from the belt again and ignited his lightsaber with a press of a button and a characteristic hiss of superheated plasma springing to life that followed, its crimson light illuminating his figure. Veles brought the blade up vertically in front of his face, red light radiating from the lightsaber making his eyes appear to glow in the same color as the weapon, before swinging down in Makashi flourish and performing a Makashi salute, illuminating the floor now as he pointed the tip of the blade down alongside his body. “The form of combat I will teach you is called Makashi. Out of all seven forms of lightsaber combat, Makashi is the one most focused on lightsaber duels.” Taking a few steps away from his apprentice, the Mon Calamari gained some space and pointed the blade in his right hand at her, the tip aiming at the woman’s chest. “As you can see, unlike the other forms, Makashi is mostly one handed style. Other styles have you hold your lightsaber in both hands and relatively close to your body most of the time. By pointing at your opponent as I am pointing at you, you effectively gain increased range of both attack and defence. Now watch my footwork very closely.”

Planting one booted foot in front of the other, the amphibious Sith assumed the stance and with mere two steps, he advanced towards [member="Silara Vantai"], his weapon arm fully extended as it ripped through the air right next to her left arm. “I can easily close the space between us very quickly by simply placing one leg in front of another in long strides. This is important, as Makashi focuses on finding the right moment to attack, unlike the other forms that are full of senseless swinging. No, Makashi is about waiting for your opponent to make a mistake and then quickly deliver a fatal hit by suddenly closing the distance between you and your opponent by simply moving towards them. See how my arm is still fully extended? I do not need to swing the blade around, I am always ready to attack. All the energy of the lightsaber will be focused into one point as I close the distance and basically impale my opponent.” The Sith tried to explain while showing the moves.

His large eye swivelled and looked at the female Acolyte, “The best defence if either parrying the opponent’s blade, or dodging it. You can try to block and get into a saberlock, though I’d advise against it unless you’re physically strong enough. And by that I mean cybernetic augmentations are almost necessary, as you will be pushing with one hand, your opponent with two. You can use that to your advantage though; your free hand can release Force lightning or Force push at your opponent who will have very hard time blocking it.”

One step back and he could afford to point the blade at his apprentice again, still holding the hilt in one hand of a fully extended arm, the tip of the energy beam mere centimetres away from the Acolyte’s chest. “And this is how you dodge by getting out of your opponent’s range. It is the same thing as closing the distance between you and the enemy, only instead of advancing, you move backwards. It is quick and efficient to gain distance. Now, notice the distance between us. Opponents not using Makashi would be unable to hit my body with their lightsabers. I have much greater range and they can only attack either my weapon or my arm, unless they move closer. Now, if I need to protect my arm and lightsaber hilt,” Veles smiled and quickly moved his entire arm back before rapidly stabbing forward again. “This let my opponent swing at my lightsaber without hitting it, and I immediately moved to use this moment to attack. If they target your arm instead,” the Mon Calamari simply let his arm down, the lightsaber was now pointed towards the floor and he took another step back before raising his lightsaber again to aim at his apprentice. “This saved my arm and also removed me from my opponent’s range had they decided to press their attack while my blade is not pointing at them. Very useful,” he said, watching his apprentice.

After speaking, Veles proceeded to flick his wrist, elegantly moving his lightsaber around in various angles, his moves relaxed and yet fast. “As you hold your arm fully extended, use primarily your wrist for moving your weapon from one area of your opponent’s body to another. It is quick, efficient, and does not require much energy at all. As you might have noticed, it allows me to deliver swift and light cuts to my enemy as well. Those are not usually lethal, but they hurt and give you an excellent way of distracting or disarming your opponent if you wish so. Now, to kill your opponent, always use stabs and jabs. Never, ever try to copy the wild sweeps of other forms that many combatants use to cut their opponent in half! Not only it is unethical, but it wastes your precious stamina. A simple stab into the head or chest will effectively kill your enemy with minimal loss of energy.” The Sith Master explained, extinguishing the blade and relaxing his right arm, though not placing the lightsaber hilt back on the belt yet.

“That means you will have an advantage when facing lightsaber wielding opponents. It is clearly superior to other lightsaber forms, though there are some weaknesses. Makashi does not address the issue of blocking blaster bolts, but do not let that fool you; with enough practice, you will be able to deflect shots just fine… especially since you’re going to use two lightsabers,” Veles winked at her, smiling. “Indeed. Being a one handed style, you will practice with both of your hands equally. It is necessary and gives you a chance of survival when one of your hands gets cut off. Once you are proficient, I will further educate you in a lightsaber technique called Jar'Kai... It usually serves to let practitioners of other styles than Makashi to use two blades at once, but in your case, it will further improve your skill with dual lightsabers. Have you ever heard of Ventress? Possibly the most famous user of this combination of Makashi and Jar'Kai. Look her up in our library.”

Darth Veles paused for a second, knowing this demonstration and all the new information might have been a bit too much for the student. “Do you have any questions so far? Something you’d like to hear again or maybe receive a more thorough explanation of some of the moves?” he asked and gave the young woman a pleasant smile.

 

[Ellie Mors]

Although Silara was ecstatic for having completely learned all of the basic techniques utilizing the force, and shown some relative skill with them at that, it certainly did not sit well with her that she lacked the proper technique and finesse to perform that telekinetic maneuver properly. Pushing that mild frustration aside for the moment, she realized by the way the conversation was moving that they were moving into the territory of physical techniques, and her physical strength was anything but on par with what the majority of the male and female populace of practically any race could consider to be average. For the moment it was not exactly the most pleasing of subjects to be listening to, at least as far as knowing she'd have to learn to make up for her lack of physical strength, but the moment he revealed it was Makashi, or form two, her mood shifted to a more pleasant one.

As her master spoke she made a conscious effort to observe everything that her master was doing, and then a revelation struck her while watching [member="Darth Veles"]' footwork. She was rather skilled with the use of force sense, correct? Well in her mind she immediately began to observe her master's every move through the force while also attentively keeping an eye on his every move while trying to remember what he was saying. Though it was slightly confusing at first, the "image" that she was getting through the observation with the force began to overlap with what she saw, and for the duration of his displays of swordplay and footwork she had a much better time understanding what it was that he was doing and trying to project, although she was certainly not going to be any form of skilled with a technique such as Makashi. If anything, her saber skills were much more apt to being used with Niman, or form six, as she was much more capable with a general force push to compliment her rather atrocious swordplay, but Makashi would certainly do her more good than the idea of using Ataru.

Once her master mentioned using Jar'Kai, however, she immediately understood how such swordplay would be much more convenient and useful for her than the other forms, although she would certainly make sure to combine the use of Jar'Kai, Makashi, and Niman together once she was skilled in each individually, for her own personal preferences. The unpredictable nature of using Makashi, the technique of Jar'Kai, and the use of her own personal lightsabers - which Silara had created herself - would certainly bring to light the advantage of her prized saber crystals in combat that would likely more than make up for her lack of physical strength. If anything, her agile nature would make her skills with the saber form much more effective. After [member="Darth Veles"] had finished his lecture and offered her a chance to ask a question, she took it quickly knowing that he likely assumed that she was as gifted with saber handling as she was with the force - which was completely not the case. "Master, could we perhaps practice the basics of Makashi? I'm afraid I'm not anywhere near as skilled with a saber as I would like to be." Silara requested, hoping he didn't think less of her for such a question because she certainly was far from skilled in Makashi.

 

[Darth Veles]

"Of course," the Sith Master nodded and re-ignited his lightsaber, only switching it over into his left hand. This became a habit of his after losing his right hand and replacing it with cybernetics, turning the artificial hand into a weapon in its own right. Pointing the blade of his lightsaber at [member="Silara Vantai"], he jogged back before speaking up. "Remember what I told you and attack me. Do not use the Force yet; this is meant to practice your skill with a lightsaber." He said and lowered the blade, now aiming at the floor, though Veles could quickly move his arm and flick his wrist with minimal effort and meet his apprentice's weapon. The fact that she was in possession of lightsabers surprised him quite a bit, but then again, it was exactly the same for him during his first meeting with his former Master.

Placing his left foot in front of his right one, Veles stood motionless, his orange eyes burning holes into the female Acolyte's skull. He was curious to see her skill with a lightsaber. Very curious.

 

[Ellie Mors]

Silara paused as she pulled on one of her two saber hilts from her waist with the force, igniting it as her fingers wrapped around it, exposing the icy blue blade to her master, a stark contrast from her shoto. With a quick step and a forward motion, Silara mimicked the movements that [member="Darth Veles"] had shown her in regards to a strike with Makashi, though with no skill behind it or any finesse with the strike. "At this rate, I'll be focusing more on saber combat than the force, and I'm more interested in learning about to force. I need to cement my abilities with the saber, otherwise I'm going to stagnant." Silara thought to herself as she immediately took a few steps back and made another jab at her master, expecting him to easily parry or even strike back.

 

[Darth Veles]

Blue? His apprentice's lightsaber color was blue? Again, the Mon Calamari considered the most obvious ways of [member="Silara Vantai"] having that in her possession. While the Sith were not required to wield red bladed lightsabers, it appeared to the Sith Master as very rare to find a Sith having a blade of different color. Then again, those Sith certainly existed, and his apprentice could have easily killed a Jedi and acquired the weapon from them, or maybe she simply wished to have a weapon that would not reveal her true allegiance and allowed her to infiltrate one of the Jedi sects. If that was the case, Veles would have to praise her for the choice.

The amphibian's own extended blade rushed to meet the woman's first attack, hitting it with surprising amount of strength with a flick of his wrist upwards, striking the Acolyte's blue blade from below and changing its direction slightly, ruining the apprentice's attack. Remembering his lesson, the Sith Acolyte moved her body of the Sith Master's range before attacking again, this time Veles made no move with his lightsaber rather than his entire body. By sidestepping to the left, his feet also softly going back, he avoided Silara's blade that now pierced the air next to him also also prevented her from simply moving the weapon to the Sith to cut him.

"Do you exercise often, apprentice?" the Sith Master asked casually and in a warm tone as if talking to an old friend, "Makashi is perfectly suited for those who lack physical strength, but you should still shape your body towards perfection."

Circling the young woman, Darth Veles' saber remained pointed towards her torso. "Try to distract your opponent," he advised and warned at the same time as his webbed fingers inconspicuously fiddled with the lightsaber's power settings, making it appear he just grasped the hilt more firmly to avoid the Acolyte seeing what he really did. While many Sith preferred not to use the training power level, not even building the function into their lightsabers, Veles did not want to seriously hurt his apprentice. What would she learn by getting killed? Nothing.

Suddenly, the amphibian lunged at her, the blade in his left hand seemingly going for a stab into her right arm, only to suddenly change its direction with a flick of his wrist to the right and down, the blade now moving to deliver a burn across her right thigh. The first, fake attack was meant to force her to move her weapon as if to defend herself from a stab coming towards her weapon arm, making it harder for the apprentice to react to the sudden change of direction.

 

[Ellie Mors]

Silara was taken aback, suddenly made self-conscious of her rather pathetic physical strength, something that was certainly not helped by her Vahla genetics. She more than made up with it in the force, but in this training session that was certainly not going to help her, or at least not in the most obvious of ways. Her facial expression became rigid, stone cold even, in reaction to his questioning of her exercising habits, and she harshly moved back and to the left in a series of steps that would be very reminiscent of ballroom dancing, only to be caught by the tail-end of a strike by the Sith Lord's saber, which burned her exposed lower thigh and left a rather painful sear across her otherwise unblemished flesh. Resisting the inborn will to wince at the pain, she realized quite quickly what her master had done, though she was aware of the fact that this would likely be the only time that any opponent would give her such a handicap.

Switching things up a bit, she pulled on her background as a dancer and made several steps that were very similar to such a profession, her wrist flicking and arm moving synchronous with her footwork to perform feats of elegance, though she was very aware that nothing she was capable of would be any match for a master of the Makashi form. Disregarding this fact, she took this as a learning experience and moved towards her master again, flourishing her saber with an upward thrust that quickly turned into a forward jab. "To distract is to be distracted, Master." She replied with a smile.

[member="Darth Veles"]

 

[Darth Veles]

"Indeed," Veles smiled back and swiftly moved his feet to sidestep, narrowly avoiding the Acolyte's blade that ended up missing his right arm. To stop the student from flicking her wrist and removing his entire arm, as he still stood next to her extended blade, after all, the Sith Master's weapon moved in as his arm turned in the direction of her lightsaber and the crimson blade kissed his apprentice's blue plasma beam, locking with it and stopping the young woman from pushing it closer towards him. "But remember that continuously attacking and distracting your opponent won't allow them to maintaing their focus and use more advanced Force powers. They might manage to use telekinesis here and there, but otherwise they will focus on lightsaber combat. As a Makashi user, you have the advantage of a free hand most of the time. Pull your opponent's legs from under them, slightly tug their arm, push them away,... You are more mobile and capable than those who do not use Makashi."

The Sith Master jogged back, completely out of [member="Silara Vantai"]'s reach. Talking distracted him to some degree, and while he felt he could deflect anything his new apprentice tossed at him, he wanted her not to be distracted by fighting him instead of listening to some advices. "As I have already mentioned, if you see your opponent making a mistake, you don't wait for them to correct it. Spinning around to deliver a strong horizontal cut is a glaring example of a grave mistake. If you find yourself close to your opponent who spins around, and thus shows his back to you,... You know what to do. Just a few steps and a single, precise stab into his completely unprotected back."

Circling around the female figure, Veles paced elegantly closer to Silara, his footwork showing no mistake to exploit. The blade once again aimed at her chest, as if firmly attached to her by some invisible cord. "Be patient. As an assassin, you cannot afford to make mistakes. Those who make mistakes die, sent to the void by your hand." The Sith Master frowned, another thing he wanted his apprentice to understand was taking life of others. "Kill to survive. Kill to defend yourself or others. Kill to eliminate your target. Never kill for pleasure or fun! It is distasteful and only shows your weakness, the inability to control the urges and passion." He said and swiftly closed the distance with Silara in three jogs her direction, the tip of his searing weapon moving away from her body and aiming to hit her lightsaber instead, to lock the weapons together. He did not doubt of her inability to overpower him; his augmented muscles made him infinitely strong for her to handle, but the reason why he did this move was a bit different.

"Our blades are locked. What do you do now?" he asked, the large eyes questioningly studying her expression. The easiest option would be to withdraw her blade from the lock, but he hoped she saw that most of his body was unprotected now, with his blade in the extended arm blocking her own and leaving the majority of him utterly undefended.

 

[Ellie Mors]

Silara had felt a bit of an accomplishment in what she had nearly done, not that she wanted to injure her master and end their training so quickly, and once her master stepped back she waited for him to come back for a strike, listening to his words while she patiently waited. The methods of telekinesis in combat that [member="Darth Veles"] had made mention of was something she, herself, was more than interesting to her, and made a note to do so in the future. When he spoke of over-exaggerated spinning and such she knew right away how foolish it would have been to perform on a Makashi practitioner, based on the experience she'd already obtained with her master thus far, and heeded his words.

However, once he came in close and performed a blade lock with her, she knew right away how to deal with such tricks, something she'd actually experienced in the past. With a slight pull on her blade, very minimally, Silara moved her blade just barely away from her master's and simultaneously pushed hard towards her Master's wrist, using a great deal of her physical strength to try and either reach his lightsaber hilt or his hand, either which would result in a disarmed Sith Lord. "I thought you were above cheap tricks, Master?" She asked as she moved, intent on distracting him for even the slightest of moments.