Introductions (training with Darth Ferus)

[Hortex]

Sith Temple
Coruscant

So this is the place, thought Hortex, wandering the long and venerable corridors. Once Jedi, now Sith. I like what they've done with it. Well, probably. I never saw it before, but...

A voice tickled the back of the Harch's mind.

"Yes, I know. I'm not exactly stupid, am I?" Bloody Otherspace, he mused. "You'll get yours when the time is right." Day in, day out, always the same.

He flinched as he brushed against the robes of a towering Ithorian, stepping aside quickly and sketching a bow while spreading his three left arms wide. "Master," he said politely. Ithorian Sith. Now there's something you don't see every day.

He'd been summoned to the training hall to meet with a Darth Ferus. A Human, damn them all to eternal torment. The universe will be a far better place when the Humans have been forcibly devolved to a servant species. Shouldn't take more than eight, ten generations tops with the proper application of eugenics and alchemy. Still, he'd been long away from his days as a Jedi Padawan, and he really did need to start training if he were to seize the galaxy by the throat and choke it until it wept stardust. So Human it would be. For now. For now.

Hortex entered the training hall, a large, high-ceilinged affair with mats, benches, tables, practice sabres and weights lining the floors and walls. There, in the center of the room, stood a man Hortex assumed to be Ferus.

"Master," said the Harch, "I humbly present myself to you in the hope you can further my study in the ways of the Force, and hone my skills with a lightsaber." He unclipped the two-bladed weapon from his belt and held it in his upper left hand. "I've some experience with Telekinesis, Leaping, Cloaking, the hand-waving Mind Trick, Psycometry, and forcing someone to relive their worst fears. My lightsaber training, alas, was limited to Forms I and IV, and not much of latter, since the Jedi could find no one who had any experience with a six-armed Padawan with a two-bladed lightsaber. If I may?"

Without waiting for approval, Hortex ignited the two purple blades blades and began spinning the weapon, transferring it from hand to hand as he increased speed, turning his body this way and that. With his six arms and fluid movement, the twin blades seemed to create a wall of energy. After perhaps six seconds, he deactivated the weapon, returning it to the original left hand. "Flashy, yes. A parlor trick. Good for fighting shadows and frightening children. I require real skills. Skills I hope you can provide."

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Human.

Ferus hadn't been human for many, many years. Well, technically he hadn't at all. A being created from the darkside, shaped like a human to keep a lower profile. A good monster was one that went unnoticed until it was too late after all. But he wasn't here to think about his mortality, not that he ever did. He was, however, here for a much more important reason. [member="Hortex"] . A spider man, or what ever his species was called. The Lord did not actually know, but he was sure he'd learn soon enough.

In the mind of this Sith Lord, it was his duty to break any and all chains he found. The most important he had noticed was the lack of non humans within the Sith. They were rare, and often mistreated, despite being Sith. That was not the Sith way, at least not to Ferus. Being Sith meant you were free to do what ever it is you wanted without judgement. While Sith are free to still judge, Ferus wanted to move it away from what you were to how powerful you were. Where people were judged on their skill, and not how many eyes they might have.

A dream perhaps, but as the Harch entered such thoughts would be best forgotten. Time for the task at hand. He faced the man, cloaked in pure black. All of his features would be hidden, save for his height and width. The cloak itself seemed to be shifting constantly, probably due to some alchemy. After a run in with a mercenary and his face blown apart, he had made it a habit to hide all of his body.

All save for his eyes. Piercing red eyes watched the display of the six arms. It was interesting to say the least, but with only two arms needed for the duel bladed saber, it seemed inefficient for there to be only one weapon. Though, the wall of energy trick would be far more useful then the Harch gave it credit for. Finally the Sith began to talk, his voice calling out from where his mouth should be.

"It's not very often I see one of your species here. You wish to be trained, but do you know the Sith Code? You want training with a blade, but until I am sure you are prepared to walk down the Sith path. If you know the Sith Code and follow it, we can begin with your blade. If not, we shall begin with the code itself." There was a brief pause as the red eyes narrowed. "Now tell me the code, and your interpretation."

 

[Hortex]

Code? There was a Sith Code?

"Uh...'Slow and steady wins the race?' 'The worse the man the better the soldier?' Here's one: 'Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.'"

The Harch paced. "No. No. Wait." There was a Jedi code. He reached into his memory. It should be right there, it had been drilled into him. But that was many voices ago, he mused. Let's see...

"There is no emotion, there is peace." The Harch's voice was quiet, almost a whisper, as if he were speaking to the six hands he held up in front of his six-eyed face. "There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity." Hortex barked loudly in what must have been a laugh. "There is only passion. There is no death. There is no death." He looked at Ferus and his liquid robes. "There is so.

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

The voice that spoke seemed to come from far away, the tone different from the one Hortex had used at first. It was less accented, almost feminine.

"My interpretation?" he asked, his voice suddenly his own again. "The Force, that cosmic, ephemeral thing, that fistful of midichlorians. It's mine for the taking. Properly harnessed, I can pull down planets. Carelessly applied, I can burn to death from the inside out. It's a puzzle to be solved. It's a game. How long can you hang on? What's it worth to you? How much do you want it?" He shrugged. "Enlighten me."

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Many times Ferus opened his mouth to say something to [member="Hortex"] as he spoke on, and just as many times he shut it. Confusion took over what ever emotion he may of had in his eyes as he watched the acolyte prattle on. At first Ferus had assumed the Harch was as disrespectful as most when they first got here, but as the man went on it quickly became clear on what was truly going on.

The man was insane.

Enjoyment took place of confusion as the Lord came to this conclusion. Disrespect was quickly dealt with, harshly. Something he didn't want to have to work with this day. Insanity though. That was fun. That was something he could work with, especially here in the Sith. A nod was offered as the code was recited. He had gotten it rather quickly for not seeming to know it before, and what was with the sudden change in accent? And tone? A question for a later date he assumed.

"That's essentially it. The Sith are free, far more than anyone in the galaxy, so long as you have the strength to make it so. A game to you might not be a game to another though, but that is what we are. Every Sith has a different view, and that's what makes us strong. We are only limited by ourselves, and not some grandmaster like in the Jedi." There was a certainty to his words, but he did not dwell upon the conversation any longer. He asked for the code, and a personal interpretation, and he got it.

"You have quite a number of arms though. I'm not sure how easy it is for you to use each one, as I only have two arms myself, but if it's just a natural thing, why not arm all your hands? Is it difficult to keep track of six different blades? Or do you use your free hands for Force abilities. The first I can help you with. The second is smart, and I can help with that all the same." Slowly the man scratched where his chin might have been under his hood. It was just a personal quirk he had long before he became what he was, but it didn't want to go away just yet.

"Essentially pick your path. I will train you in either the sword or the Force for now. Prove that you can keep up with my lessons, and I'll show you more. Prove that you're better than any acolyte I've met so far, and I'll make you my more.. Permanent apprentice."

 

[Hortex]

"When I began my lightsaber training," Hortex explained, "the concern was that multiple lightsabers meant more opportunities for me to accidentally lop off one or more of my own limbs. But they wanted to take advantage of my multiple limbs, so began training me with this." He indicated his 'saber hilt. "It's served me well enough. Plus, I think six lightsabers might be a bit of overkill. Don't want anyone to think I'm overcompensating for my skill with words." He spread his six arms, smiling. "That being said, many Jedi are idiots and blinded by self-deprecation. If you can train me to use six lightsabers, I'm more than willing to learn."

Hortex pondered the Sith's offer for a time, weighing the benefits of each.

"I choose Force training, Master. With enough mastery I can make up for any physical weapon I might be lacking." He nodded as if agreeing with himself. "The other acolytes will rise or fall on their own merits or lack thereof. I only ask for the opportunity. What do I do first?"


[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Force, very well. You say you know telekinesis. I'm going to need to see what you can to with the skill. Depending on your current.. Level," He said, a smile on his lips. "I will be showing you anything from how to pick up multiple objects at the same time, or how to forcibly crush what ever you happen to have gripped. Make sense?" Ferus was a fan of the Crush, having used it many, many times. Be it one or more, he was known to leave only mangled bodies behind in his wake. His red eyes went from [member="Hortex"] to the room they were in, searching. The weights stood out to him, and with another smile he pointed. "Lift those, as many as you can. Then we will continue."

 

[Hortex]

"Weights, weights, lifted in spates," exclaimed Hortex. Spinning lightly to face the racks, he focused his energy on the plates rather than the bars or dumbbells. He imagined each was a head, attached to a writing body, and that his goal was to pop the head off like a cork from a bottle. Spreading his arms, he concentrated first on creating a lever of Force energy from his six hands to the floor to the weights to the air. One, then three, then five, and finally six weights, ranging from ten to twenty five pounds each, hovered in the air.

"More?" he asked, though it was clear he was concentrating. "Of course more." He pitched his voice to more closely resemble Ferus. "As many as you can." He doubled his efforts pouring all he strength into the process. This time, instead of just the individual plates lifting, the entire rack trembled, then shook, then raised itself perhaps three inches off of the floor before toppling forward with a mighty crash. The six weights he'd been suspending in the air hit the floor as well.

"Too much!" shouted Hortex. "Like the code says, try until you die!"

You made that up, said a voice in his head.

"I make up nothing!" said Hortex aloud. "I am the heart of the truth!"

With a wave and a lift, he turned his attention back to the weights. This time eight of them rose into the air.

"That's about all I can manage at the moment, master, unless you want me to give myself a Force hernia!"

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Force Hernia? That's a new one." Ferus was again smiling at [member="Hortex"] . How he spoke, he was clearly talking to someone else. Oh how part of him wished to be able to hear this other voice, or voices. His own had been silent for some time. Probably because he had torn out their tongues.

"You can carry multiple, which is good. Exactly what I was hopin to see. So, now we will move onto crushing object through the Force. Lift up that dummy there, grip it by the throat if you can. Choke is a rather.. Signature ability of the Sith. Don't worry, you'll know if you got the hold right. Just pick it up, and squeeze." He pointed over to the dummy for a moment, before letting his hand drop back down. Once he got to it, this could continue.

 

[Hortex]

Which hand? wondered Hortex. Witch hand? He settled on his upper right, since he tended to draw his lightsaber with his left. Ferus was correct, it was an interesting exercise, trying to find the place beneath the chin but above the chest. Hortex let the power flow through him, raising the training dummy above the ground. Pleased, he exerted a bit more pressure, only to have the head suddenly pop off from the dummy's body. Hortex watched the severed head bounce and roll, landing perhaps three feet from his master, while the body remained suspended in air.

"Like that?" he asked.

[member="Darth Ferus"]