How To Survive In The Shadows (Darth Ophidia)

[Xevek Nekonis]

As the hum and vibrations from the engines lowered to a dull thrum as the lines of bright lights that star became during travel through hyperspace retreated back into pinpricks of lights as Xavka's ship entered space above Korriban. Slowly lowering the space down through the upper and then lower atmosphere, Xavka made sure to come in above the coordinates his Master, Darth Ophidia had supplied.

Said Master had order him to meet her on the barren, freezing and desert planet of Korriban, a planet with an environment similar to Iridonia's in nearly every way but the heat, for the next stage of his training as a Sith and Sith Assassin. Bar that little piece of information, Xavka had been provided no more information, leaving him in a state of suspense and curiosity about what this lesson would be about and how it would be taught.

Stepping off of his ship after powering down the engines and entering the dusty environment of Korriban, feeling the sensation of tiny particles of sand and dust whipped against his face, sent flying by the strong winds that were beginning to pick up and heralded the arrival of a desert storm.

Lowering his face so as to protect his eyes, whatever it was worth for his blinded right eye, Xavka cast his sight around for the image of his Master. Finally spotting her, Xavka made his way over, black jacket whipping around his body as it fought to fly free after being pulled off of his body from the strong winds.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Sand whipping her on her face, it was delightfully rough. To Darth Ophidia it felt as though the planet itself was trying to skin her. The sheer savagery of it was refreshing. Besides this, she was simply enjoying the solid hold the Dark Side had on this planet. She imagined this was the sort of feeling people had when they were on holiday. It was a sensation of being enriched and enhanced by simply staying somewhere. However, that was just about the extent of the regard for which she held Korriban. It was a tourist space for Sith. A museum, a graveyard, a tomb for their history.

As she stood in the blaze of sand, she felt the presence of her Apprentice, [member="Xavka Duquo"]. She opened her eyes slowly, keeping them narrow so to not allow the sand to irritate them. Her bald head turned to the Iridonian as he came closer and closer, struggling against the upcoming storm. She had not counted on the storm, but it would work in their favour. Right behind her back was an entrance: A large square mouth into the jagged mountain. Was it a mine? No, Korriban had only tombs.

"Xavka, welcome to Korriban! Please, step inside my shelter of choice"

Her right hand gestured to the square entrance.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Feeling the storm start to stir and pick up speed, becoming more ferocious by the moment as the winds began to rush past him in a harsher and harsher manner, whipping small particles of sand across his skin, leaving stinging trails across his face, Xavka hurried towards Ophidia. He did not fear the oncoming storm, he had experienced many on Iridonia, but he respected and understood how dangerous they could be and, at times, how deadly sandstorms were if you were unprepared to face one.

Following as his Master bid him to do, Xavka stepped through the shadowed entrance into the cavern beyond it. Stopping just inside of the shelter, Xavka cast his eye around his surrounding, taking in the stone carvings showing scenes of battle and the numerous Sith Runes. The décor proved his guess of the cavern being one of the many tombs that littered the ancient Sith world.

Turning to face his Master, Xavka let a gentle smirk, by his standards, cross his face as he bowed toward the Rattataki. "Master. Why did you ask for me to meet you here?"


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

She gave [member="Xavka Duquo"] a wry smile as he asked her intent. Darth Ophidia did not immediately explain, but gestured for him to take a seat on the stone floor. She immediately took a seated position herself as her legs crossed under her in the lotus position and her hands rested in the skirt suspended between her knees.

"Within these tombs lie our past. Their corpses lie encased in stone and sand. Their ghosts roam these halls in search for the foolish. This is a world of the Dark Side, and a worthy pilgrimage for any Sith."

She peered past her apprentice and into the darkness. She had once been tossed into these very halls as one of her trials, and she had fought the beasts within. Now, she was the one leading an apprentice blindly into the maws of these halls. Oh how time passed.

"I will teach you to hide your presence in the Force. As an assassin, this is one of the most useful abilities in your arsenal. First, however, meditate and gather the Force to you. Feel the power that resides here."

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Bowing slightly at his Master upon receiving his current orders, Xavka lowered himself to his knees, uncaring of the hard, cold ground beneath his body. He had never considered nor directed thought towards the fact that he had always found it easier to sink into meditation when either in a resting position or in a state of very active movement.

Directing his mind and thoughts away from that subject he focussed on sinking into the flows of the Force. Reaching out, he touched the threads of the Force and began to redirect them, causing it to flow through himself, letting the feeling of the Force consume him while keeping himself tethered to reality, to his body, as it swirled around him and through him causing the feeling of the planet he was currently on, especially the Dark miasma that hung over the celestial body, dripping from its every crevice and mountain.

Slowly, Xavka began to unwind his consciousness from its tether, releasing more and more of it into the Force, letting the currents drag his understanding away from his body and he delved deeper and deeper into the intangible field that surrounded him. Despite his slowly diminishing realisation of reality, Xavka ensured that he kept enough of his mind with his body to be able to register, as well as react to, the movements around him.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Ophidia slipped into a meditative state herself while focusing on her apprentices' energy. She observed him as he allowed the Force to draw him deeper and deeper into its' embrace. When she felt it was time, she parted her lips to speak and offer the next step in the acquisition of the Buried Presence.

"Good, now find yourself amidst it all. Strip away all that is not you, and find your essence. It is there the art of concealment begins. Find your core, Xavka."

While she spoke, it would appear as though she was slipping away. Her voice remained perfectly present, but her powerful atmosphere would begin to dissolve as though the Pale Assassin was naught but a dream. If Xavka opened his eyes, then she would be there. Yet she was somehow merged with the surroundings, she was the dust in the dark air and the shadows on the walls. She was air and nothingness. It took much time and practice to perfect, but such was the power of the buried presence.

"Once you find it, you conceal it. Mirror all that is around you on your core, and let yourself be wrapped in a cloak of insignificance."

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Hearing his Master's words from the meditative state he was in, Xavka focussed on them, attempting to understand what they meant so that they could be put into practice by him. Once they registered, he acted on them. Focussing, Xavka began to examine the world around him through the Force, searching for that single presence, that single collection of stands of being that were his own.

First he focussed on the presences with a neutral feel to them, neither the Dark that he surrounded himself with, nor the Light that prevailed to remain on the edge of his senses constantly. Eventually finding what he was looking for, Xavka began to unravel the strands from his consciousness, to dull them so that he could find what he was searching for.

That done, he focussed on the Light. Even on the planet such as Korriban, one that was steeped in history with the Darkness of the Force, so much so that it felt like the sands ran red with blood constantly and that the winds that howled and kicked up great storms were the cried of tortured beings, Xavka could feel the Light probing at his mind. However, ignoring that presence was easy, he was always doing it.

Now, he turned to the harder part, the Dark presences. Focussing, he examined them, picking away at the ones that felt ancient. Eventually, after what felt like an hour of work, but was much shorter,, Xavka found his own presence, submerged under the heavy air of Korriban.

Working on the second part of Ophidia's instructions, Xavka focussed on the feeling of the Force around him and his presence before beginning to imprint that onto his presence so that his presence began to match the background flow of the Force, allowing him to blend in. It took him an hour to really get anywhere and, by then, he had changed his method. Instead of trying to imprint the background flows, he instead tied his presence into it, wrapping it in the flow so that his presence was completely smothered.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Everyone had their own way of interpreting the stealth technique. How one did it mattered little. By watching and probing him with the Force, she could detect that he was in fact getting there. It was difficult in the beginning, but proficiency came with practice. Ophidia herself had spent hours upon hours just understanding the principles. Now, she could vanish her presence in the matter of a second without spending much concentration at all.

"Good, good. You are getting there."

Even Ophidia's voice would be difficult to track, as if it faded in the air itself. Her words carried across, but it could feel as though it was just the sound playing tricks on one's head. Of course, Xavka knew she was there, so he would hear her.

"Now, become comfortable in your stealth. You should be able to uphold it without expending too much energy."

If he could not hold his technique while moving, then it was worthless. It was soon time to put her apprentice to the test. A test of Success or Death.

@Xavka Duqup

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Nodding slightly at the words of his Master, the sounds of her words seeming to fight through a thick fog to reach his senses and even then a few of the syllables dipped into near soundlessness, Xavka began to slowly reattach his consciousness to his physical body, pulling it back from where it lay adrift from within the Force.

Dropping out of his meditation, Xavka's eyes flickered open, yellow eyes once again seeing more than blackness, as his physical senses returned to him in full. Examining his control over the technique, he was relieved to find that, even though he was no longer meditating, his control over hiding his presence was still staying strong.

Shifting slightly, Xavka rose to his feet only to let out a growl of frustration as he felt all of his progress with hiding himself within the Force fluttered for a moment before failing as his presence was no longer hidden within the Force. Growling once n, Xavka tried to recreate what he did, this time without sinking into a meditative state.

It took him a few minuets but, since he already knew what to do, at least n a subconscious level, Xavka once again managed to regain control over subduing his presence within the Force.

"What now, Master?"


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

"And now..."

A smirk formed on the Rattataki's lips as she stood up in a single graceful motion and placed her hand on a mural on the wall. Her burning eyes were coloured with mischief as she looked into the Zabrak's eyes.

"A surprise."

She pressed a stone into the wall, and the floor gave away beneath them. As Ophidia was aware of the drop, she was able to hold on to the ledge created where she had pushed the stone. The whole set-up was a trap created to capture graverobbers in search of sith artefacts. Of course, the place was more or less picked clean by now anyway, but Ophidia quite enjoyed the element of surprise it offered.

"Bring me back a souvenir, Xavka Duquo! Use what I have taught you, and you will live!"

In the pit below, there was only darkness. It lead into a maze full of dangerous beasts. It was his task to find his way, and now he had a brand new stealth-technique to practice on the way. Ophidia had little doubt that he would live, though it could take some time for him to return. She had better get comfortable.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka took a knee as he felt the floor fall from beneath him as his Master leapt clear. His muscles tensed as he launched himself towards the edge of the pit, where the floor still remained. He growled as his hand clasped onto the ridge, his claws digging into the stone beneath them as he held of with all his strength. However, the sudden weight that was transferred to his hand as his feet lost their grip jerked his hand free. He snarled up at Ophidia as he dropped into the dark tunnel bellow. The growl that emerged from him easily portrayed his annoyance at her parting comment.

Landing hard, luckily crouched on all three of his limbs, Xavka focused on his senses, both natural senses and senses from the Force, stretching them out into the area around him. With a sudden snap, his vision cleared as the dust settled and his slitted eyes rapidly expanded to fill the entirety of is pupil, drowning out the yellow of his eyes.

The area behind him was a tunnel, covered in markings of ancient Sith and depictions of brutality. Around him was the remains of the floor he had just been standing on. The air around him was still filled with dust as it slowly began to settle. Growling in annoyance, Xavka closed his eyes as he decided to follow his Master's advice as, once again, his Presence within the Force slowly disappeared into the background.

Sighing, Xavka set out into the darkness, searching for a way back up to his Master, his eye flickering around as he searched for whatever was the surprise Ophidia had set for him. He did not believe that the simple trap was it. No, to his mind, there was more. Something that he was missing.


[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darkness surrounded Xavka as the dust and sand settled. Even with improved sight, the shadows were pressing in from every corner, as though they were alive and prodding the Acolyte from every side. Only when he shifted into the background did they begin to subside. Rather than prod him, they would embrace.

Looking up, Xavka would only see falling dust and sand. Even Ophidia had shifted out of sight, but her eyes were peering down from within the shadows above.

Xavka would find himself inside a tall stone corridor. Facing the same direction as they had come from, Xavka would find only a sheer, stone wall, rough in texture. To the other side, he would find the hallway ventured into darkness and took on a gradually finer and finer polish to its walls. If he ventured into the dark, he would find the corridor splitting in twain. Faced with a wall decorated with the mural of two Sith, standing back to back. Each of the Ancient Sith in the murals had once held swords, pointing in the direction of either corridor, now rusted away to mere flakes.

The halls seemed deathly quiet, only a faint breeze would caress his skin and fade like a ghost into the two paths.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka grunted as he came to the location where the path he had been following split into two, staring at the mural etched onto the stone wall before him. For a brief moment, he murmured a harsh and rough sentence that sounded like a mix of words and growls. His voice echoed off of the walls that surrounded him before it was swallowed up by the dark. The words he had spoken were in his native language, a quick prayer to his ancestors for the blessing of his sight. His biology had quickly allowed for his pupil to expand, completely covering his iris and allowing him to see in the dark.

Scanning his sight over the mural before him, Xavka attempted to discern if there was any clue on which way he should walk. On the wall, the figures of two Sith Lords were carved, their backs to each other as they held out a weapon each, however the carvings had been worn away by time, leaving only the hilts and guards. He recognised the hilts and guards as belonging to a Sith Blade from his research. Dotted around the figures were letters in the ancient Sith language, a language which he had partially learnt from the studies of others. However, despite his examination, no secret and no directions were revealed to him.

Growling in frustration, Xavka chose a random direction, heading down the right path. As he walked, his barely wrapped feet leaving behind no sound, Xavka slipped his sword from within his robes, the Wakazashi sliding out of the sheath with barely any sound. His eyes kept flickering around, his hearing stretched out, his sense through the Force stretched out. His focus was directed at preventing anything from surprising him if possible.

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

As Xavka headed to his right, peering and probing into the dark, the formerly caress of the draft grew stronger and colder. It would feel almost like the corridor itself was taking a raspy, audible breath. A deathly silence filled the space and swallowed up the sounds of Xavka's feet and the draw of his blade. The corridor was painted with faded, looming shadows and along either wall was a row of long petrified candles, now impossible to light.

Probing out, Xavka would find no presences, however, the space itself felt tensed, as if waiting for someone to say the magic word. He would find first, on his right hand, a slender corridor, blocked by sand and stones. Only shadows dwelled in its crevices.

A little further down the main corridor, there was a wider opening, blocked by a pair of rusted metal doors. The surface of the door was decorated with two great fighters, stabbing into each other's torso with thick swords and locking the two doors together.

The Main corridor also passed on a little way longer, ending in a small square chamber. The walls were covered in seemingly random, shallow fissures and he could not sense nor see the ceiling.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]