Laws Which Govern

[Vereshin]

Cigarette smoke trailed from Vereshin's desk beneath a window of stained glass. In his chambers in the Sith Academy on Bastion, he wrote fervently while awaiting his newest apprentice. The notes of a harpsichord twinkled amidst the small cloud of smoke gathering above sticks of incense and gloves set around the sphere of arcane knowledge. The numbers rolled beneath his grip and conveyed little emotion, to which he related. Pausing every so often to pluck the cigarette from the edge of the ashtray, he brought the cylinder to his lips and inhaled.

A knock at the door sounded and Vereshin's servant rushed to green the face behind the steel. With a wave of his hand over his turned back, he dismissed her and allowed the Acolyte to enter. The servant girl disappeared into the corridor outside and left them alone. Wearing a black cardigan over a dark grey shirt and suit pants, he clicked the toe of his patent, lace-up shoe almost in rhythm with the motion of the current equation he formed.

"Come closer, Adrian." Vereshin cooed from the desk. He leaned backward and stretched his wrist, which had cramped as he wrote.

Cocking his head to one side, he pondered the last equation in the spell and set his pen aside. He stood at his full height and beheld the Acolyte. Vereshin allowed his signature in the Dark Side to seethe without restraint, allowing Adrian to experience an abyss of infinite mass from which no light could escape. He rested a hand on the desk and extended the other, coiling his fingers in the air and tugging slightly at Adrian's form through the Force.

"My name is Vereshin." He said as he brought the cigarette to his mouth. "To my apprentice, I am Darth Sabezt, an honor to which I grant you." Discarding the cigarette in the ash tray, Vereshin strode down the small set of stairs and met Adrian beside the table in the center of the room. Graph paper, arcane devices and tomes littered the space beneath metal frames hanging from the ceiling which contained balls of lightning and dark matter.

"With my teaching, you will learn to bend the laws which govern nature to your will." Vereshin spoke in a monotonous and eloquent voice, yet as soft as air. He reached up and unhooked one of the metal orbs from the ceiling, which contained a black orb. The space between the orb and the inside of the metal frame rippled, as though the surrounding space seemed to be pulled towards a center.

Vereshin snapped a finger and the orb enclosed abruptly, disappearing and revealing the mass causing the space inside of the frame to collapse. A small chunk of meteorite fell into Vereshin's hand and he placed the frame on the table.

"Your first lesson will be followed by a task, but before we begin, tell me, do you understand the difference between alchemy and sorcery?" Vereshin asked as he splayed his palm and levitated the rock in the air. Before Adrian could answer, Vereshin split the rock in a small explosion of dust which sprayed across the rock and rattled the shelves. Fragments clattered against glass and caused the hanging orbs to quiver. The sorcerer held his hand to his mouth as he giggled.

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

Walking through the dark halls of the Sith Academy towards the chambers of his new master, Adrian felt a twinge of anxiety, then quickly suppressed it; it would not do to start off by showing weakness. He did not know quite what to expect, but he had heard of the Magus' impressive mastery of the dark arts of the Sith, arts which he himself was barely beginning to scratch the surface of.

As his robed form came to a halt before the heavy steel door he took a moment to compose himself, characteristically running over multiple potential scenarios of what was to come in his mind, then, just as characteristically, quickly knocked on the door without further ado. In but a few moments the door opened to him, as he was greeted with the face of a young woman, dressed in the garbs of a servant, who was promptly dismissed by the darkly dressed figure seated behind his desk, his back turned to the Acolyte. As he entered the chamber he was momentarily caught off guard by the sheer number of intriguing objects therein but was quickly returned to a more attentive state by the sound of the door clicking shut behind him, signalling that he was now alone with the finely dressed figure that could only be Vereshin.

Responding to his new master's beckoning, he slowly approached him but was stopped in his tracks when Vereshin, after rising from his desk and turning to face him, allowed his unrestrained presence to be felt by the eager Acolyte. Adrian gasped, all but overwhelmed by the vast presence that towered before him, far exceeding the slight frame from which it originated.

Standing attentively near the centre of the room as the finely dressed figure addressed him, he bowed his head in respect to his new master. "Thank you, my lord."

As Vereshin... Darth Sabezt, he quickly reminded himself, spoke, Adrian felt more and more certain that he had been lucky enough to find a master that might be able to sate his intense desire for the mysteries of the Force. Staring curiously at the dark orb as his master handled it, he looked in wonder as he retrieved a small chunk of meteorite from its centre.

Briefly pondering the question, he started opening his mouth as if to answer but was interrupted as the Magus suddenly split the rock, catching him entirely of guard. As his master giggled he thought perhaps it had been a rhetorical question of some sort, but quickly realised that he was still expected to answer. "I'm not entirely sure what the exact difference is, my lord, but as I understand it Alchemy is the art of altering an item or creature with the power of the dark side, though if I'm not mistaken Sorcery can also be used to infuse something with the power of the Force."

[member="Vereshin"]

 

[Vereshin]

As the dust settled, Vereshin took a moment to glance over his new protege. A thirst for knowledge radiated from Adrian's presence, which he recognized from within his own ambition. The desire to understand and harness the infinite possibilities of the Dark Side remained his core pursuit as a Sith, one his apprentice shared and Adrian would no doubt prove useful in Vereshin's future research.

"You are correct to an extent." Vereshin said as he retrieved a black, embroidered handkerchief from his pocket. "Alchemy is transformation of all matter and physical things, but imbuing objects with energy is only a fraction of what can be achieved through sorcery." He dusted down his front and rearranged the papers on the table back into their neat piles. "Sorcery is the manipulation of energy, forces, reality and even time." Sliding the handkerchief back into his pocket, he realized he was still wearing his glasses and hung them from the collar of his cardigan.

"Alchemy and sorcery can overlap, for example, sorcery can be used to dissipate the molecular structure of objects, while alchemy is the alteration of the substance itself." The spell Vereshin had been compounding when Adrian arrived had been designed to alter the energy surrounding mass in order to imbue an amulet.

Vereshin flipped open the lid of a wooden box on the table and procured a lavender crystal. Holding out his palm, he levitated the crystal in the air and demonstrated as he spoke. The particles forming the object began to peel away. Lavender energy soared from the object and into the air, until the crystal disintegrated completely and vanished in a swirl of feint, purple mist.

"This is achieved through slowly compressing an object through the use of telekinesis, or altering the energy surrounding the mass of an item." The energy hovered above Vereshin's hand and formed a pale purple cloud in the air. "Telekinesis is the manipulation of force and can be used to tear apart objects and collapse matter into space." Vereshin had demonstrated the branch of telekinesis earlier by pulling a piece of collapsed meteoroid from a tiny singularity. "Energy manipulation includes the wielding of electricity, the control of life essence and spirits and the imbuing of objects, as you already mentioned." Vereshin explained.

"The other areas of sorcery include the distortion of light to create illusions and cast shadows, the controlling of minds and the ability to puppeteer of individuals and the manipulation of time." Vereshin regaled the many areas available to Adrian. "Which of these areas most appeals to you, apprentice?" He finished with a question.

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

Adrian listened intently as his new master spoke, absorbing his words like a sponge does water. Before meeting Darth Sabezt he had imagined that his new master would immediately send him on a test that's entirely pointless other than to prove his own worth. This, however, exceeded even the high expectations he had gotten upon seeing the Sorcerer's chambers. An immediate lesson, and one about two of his favourite topics no less. It could hardly get any better than this, at least in his mind.

As his master manipulated the properties of the crystal, Adrian was instantly intrigued, wondering whether the crystal was simply being stripped down to its core components, or whether it served as a means of storing energy for later. A number of other just as intriguing questions were at the forefront of his mind, but he remained silent. It would be profoundly rude to interrupt his master, not to mention that he was deeply intrigued by where the sorcerer was going with all of this.

"It all sounds thoroughly intriguing, but the concept of energy manipulation has always fascinated me, as has, to a somewhat lesser extent, the manipulation of minds." They were also the skills by which the Acolyte had spent the most time developing, in addition to a strong fondness for the creation of Force Barriers to compensate for his tendency to wear garments with virtually no defensive value whatsoever, coupled with a tendency toward recklessness in sating his curiosity.

[member="Vereshin"]

 

[Vereshin]

The Acolyte expressed his interest in energy manipulation and mentalist techniques, to which Vereshin nodded attentively. Energy manipulation encompassed a broad range of skills, the most very basic of which included the ability to cast fire and lightning. Vereshin had something more insidious in mind for his apprentice. He walked over the desk where he had been seated when Adrian arrived, then retrieved the set of spells, which he placed on the table in the center of the room.

"Come apprentice, I shall introduce you to methods in which the two areas can be combined." With a wave of his hand, Vereshin beckoned Adrian over to one of the chairs surrounding the table and invited him to sit.

On the table, an array of devices sat which Vereshin intended to use in the exercise. Glass orbs, mechanical devices and crystals lay across the center and overflowing from boxes, beside the piles of graph paper and scrolls. As he arranged the sheets of formula on the table in front of him, Vereshin raised a hand in the direction of a crystal, which he levitated towards Adrian and placed in a metal stand in front of where he sat. He rose from his seat and walked to book shelf, where he selected a thin, hardcover text of spells. He flipped through the pages until he found a spell, written in lyrical form which imbued the components of a crystal.

"Soon enough you will learn to compound a spell in the form of an equation, until then, you will read this lyrical incantation in order to imbue an object with energy." Vereshin said as he placed the book on Adrian's place. "This is a basic exercise, which will prepare you for a more major task." Imbuing objects with energy was the first step Adrian would take before he was fully capable of implanting part of his own energy in individuals. "First, prepare by drawing on your greatest passions and feeding them into the spell." As he gave Adrian the time to meditate, Vereshin meditated in his own way by continuing the set of equations on the paper before him.

Reaching into a box on the side of the table, Vereshin retrieved a very small, metal frame to which the crystal would be fastened to in order to craft an amulet. As he wrote, the object felt warm between his fingers as the molecules were laced with the properties of the spell. "Emotions are the fuel which feeds the power of a Sith, but they must be utilized with control lest a slave become a slave to them. Feed your emotions into your reach and allow them to extend your will." Vereshin looked up as he wrote.

"Recite the incantation and focus your energy on the crystal." As Adrian followed Vereshin's instructions, the crystal would begin to glow if his attempt was successful. "Now, add your own components to spell and empower the device with any abilities you choose." The instruction remained the most difficult part and Adrian would have to decipher a component on the spot. "Take your time and allow your instincts to guide you, only guide you." The task would test Adrian's ability to follow his passions while keeping them tightly coiled. Should his emotions overwhelm him, the spell would backfire.

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

Sitting down next to the table, Adrian eagerly observed his master's preparations. Intrigued when the crystal landed in front of him and even more so when Vereshin started leafing through a thin book he retrieved from one of the chamber's many bookshelves, Adrian paid close attention as the sorcerer started explaining the general idea of the task before him and was especially intrigued by the idea of compounding his own spell.

Nodding his understanding to Vereshin, he began focusing inwards, drawing his passion together and forming it into the desired shape. Dredging forth all the emotion he could muster, he began to focus them one by one. Desire. For power, for wealth, and for above all else, knowledge. The joy of success, the pleasure of overcoming a challenge. The hatred and contempt he felt for the filthy Hutts and their vile brood. Forming it all together into a swirling maelstrom of passion, he began to force it under control. He had been practising techniques like this when many of his fellow Acolytes practiced their swordsmanship and it showed. With a final bit of exertion, he forced the chaotic cloud of emotions under control, turning to Vereshin as his master began talking once more, explaining the importance of mastering one's emotions, a sentiment to which he arrived wholeheartedly. When he had first arrived at the Academy he had been filled with regret and self-loathing for the death he had wrought upon the guilty and the innocent alike to save his own life back on Nal Hutta, but through the rigours of the Trials and his own exercises every shred of guilt had been erased, every figment of self-loathing buried under a growing mass of self-importance. There was power to be found there, he was sure, but he wouldn't go there unless necessity demanded it, not unless there were no other options left to him.

Following his master's instructions to the letter, Adrian brought forth the mass of swirling emotion and, keeping it on a tight leash, poured it forth into the crystal as he recited incantation with exacting precision, the lessons in proper diction he had received on Serenno proving useful in this regard. As the incantation finished he felt a small shudder pass through him, and then the crystal started glowing softly, its colour the same as the crystal that emitted it; a blank slate upon which he would soon create something new, or so he hoped.

In the end, it was up to him. His choice, in regards to what to imbue it with. His instincts, guiding him towards its completion. He knew that this was no time for doubt, so he closed his eyes, maintaining control over the vortex of volatile emotion at all cost, as he deepened his focus, thinking deeply about what to do with the crystal before him. In the end, it was a natural choice. Protecting himself had been the first time he had actively used the force and so it was fitting that it would also be the focus of his first true application of Sith Sorcery. Focusing intensely, sweet caking his brow as he struggled to control the power he called forth, passion threatening time and time to overwhelm him, only to be pushed back down, he began to envision the results he wanted. A talisman to ward off one of his greatest fears: the loss of control, the will of another overwhelming his own, to be a prisoner in his own body. Allowing the dammed up emotions to slowly trickle forth, then pour, and finally flood forth with a controlled intensity that exceeded even his most powerful application of the force in a combat setting. Feeling power thrum through his form, he shook slightly, staying in control, if only just, as the crystal started taking on a different tone, it's glow slowly intensifying. A tingle spread throughout his form, leaving him feeling electrified, as the crystal turned a vibrant purple and emitted a flash of light. The Acolyte fell back into his chair, panting heavily, his eyes closing momentarily as he allowed himself a moment to gather himself before they opened again, gazing down upon a crystal that looked quite different, felt quite different, than it had before.

[member="Vereshin"]