Learning the ways of the Force--Pt 2 Ghosts from the Past

[Akio Diachi]

Xavka stared at Akio for a short while, considering whether or not to answer immediately or to leave the answers for later, after food had been prepared. Eventually he sighed and, though a gesture pulled a cloth bag towards him from the shadows.

"The answer your question as how I got in without being seen is two word, extremely simple. The Force. That's it, I only used the Force. I am a part of a subsection of the Sith, the Assassins. I have been trained to slip under the notice of others so that I can slip the knife into their back. And, yes, I will be teaching you that." He paused to reach into the bag by his side and removed a rolled up piece of fabric, which he placed before him.

"Now, the weapons I used, that requires a bit more in depth explanation." Taking a hold of the cloth bundle before him, Xavka rolled it out so that it was flat, exposing row after row of thin, metal weapons secured within the cloth. "These are two of the weapons you saw me use. The first, the Emeici." He gestured to the left of the roll, where the thin weapons had barbed ends and a metal ring secured to the middle.

Removing one from the cloth, Xavka held it up to the light, letting the Chiss get a better view. "This is a weapon designed solely for the Art of Assassination. The ring on the centre is designed to slip over your middle finger, allowing you to keep possession of it even while not holding it. The needle like body of the Emeici can rotate around the ring a full 360 degrees. This can be used two ways, to slip the Emeici from stabbing to slashing positions or to distract your opponent with the quick movements grabbing their attention. The barbed tips allow for this to be used in two ways, stabbing or slashing. The edges of the barge are tapered to a fine point, meaning it can be used to slash open throats or sever tendons. If you use this to stab, the barb caused more damage upon entrance and exit. Here." Xavka chuckled the weapon to Akio.


The Chiss felt himself lurched back to reality, into the moment. His red eyes were wide with panic as he panted for breath. These.... nightmares had ceased to pervade his mind at night, now they were crushing in on him in reality, in flashes during his waking hours. He was no longer safe from them, not even now.

Akio rubbed a layer of cold sweat off his blue skin. They were taxing on his body, even more so now than before. This time he had a name and a fave. Xavka. Xavka Duquo. He had to find this person, they knew something about Akio, something that he forgot. Something that he could not remember since he woke up in that freight hold weeks ago. It was time to start getting answers. And the time was now. Sitting cross legged in the ally, Akio let himself flow under the Force, slowly waiting for its nudge, it would lead him to this Xavka. Even if slowly, with breadcrumbs as the Force always did.
*****

The tramp freighter landed on the planet Iridonia. Akio quietly slipped out of its cargo hold, once again stowing away. As his bare feet walked across the sandy, unforgiving surface he felt a ting of familiarity. Was he really an assassin like Kuroi had claimed? Or was he the monk that he had for so long believed? The Chiss didn't know, but what he did know was this Xavka would hold answers. It was only a matter of following the Force to find him. The trail of breadcrumbs went ever further, the longer he walked along the streets.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

For the first time in years, for the first time since he was a student, Xavka set foot into one of the very few cities that were scattered across the surface of Iridonia, the sprawling buildings home to those who turned their back on the nomadic life of living within the desert that covered the majority. Those who turned their back on the traditional life style of Iridonia based Zabraks of living as one with the harsh winds, burning sun, freezing nights and coarse sand more often than not had a good reason to do so; whether it was the ill when their Clans could not care for, a Mated pair from rival Clans who wished to escape the fighting, a Zabrak that wished to study and learn from the stores of knowledge or it was a Mated pair of a Zabrak and a being of another species who wasn't able to deal with the harsh climate due to their own upbringing. To those who lived within the sheltered and protected city under such circumstances Xavka held no strife, however he held a strong dislike for those Zabrak that chose to live within the city limits because they could, because they chose the easy way out. The hatred he felt for those was equal to traitors, cowards and the Zabrak who luxuriated upon a colonial world where Zabrak had settled, where they lived a life of unearned wealth.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Xavka continued his path towards the looming building before him, the University that he had studied at. The reason for his visit was relatively simple. A memory. A memory that lived at the back of his mind, valiantly fighting against being lost to the erasing fog of forgetfulness caused by the ailment that effected all beings in some form or another, the simple and unnoticed passing of time. A memory of a younger version of Xavka, with lighter hair, lighter eyes and a barely scarred body reading from a datapad late into the night under the light of a simple lamp at the back of the Universities Library, lot within the stacks. He was now in pursuit of that memory, to find the datapad he had been reading when he was another man, to find the knowledge it possessed.

Xavka cut a striking image as he wove his way through the midday crowds formed mainly out of Zabraks tattooed with varying Jat'o that bustled along one of the main streets with his towering black robe covered form, his face obscured by the shadows cast by the cowl of his robes. Where he walked, a soft sound followed him. The nearly inaudible sound of claws scratching against stone would emerge from beneath his robes as his bare feet and the claws that adorned them made contact with the street's surface. The sound of soft taps also followed Xavka, but no cause of the sound was visible nor could it be discerned by an observer, no matter how keen their eyesight unless they could perceive what the robes Xavka wore hid.

As he walked down the street the crowd parted before him on an almost subconscious instinct, the more primal nature of the Zabrak species recognizing the powerful, intimidating, cold aura that engulfed Xavka like a Dark miasma. When he passed, the majority of the crowd would revert to their path like they hadn't been disturbed, but a few either stopped and craned their neck to follow the Sith's progress with bared teeth or they steadfastly ignored him but hurried along with a greater urgency, their being more in touch with their primal nature allowing them to understand that a Zabrak who held the potential to be an Alpha had past them by.

Xavka let out a grunt as he began to ascend the steps that lead up to the grand entrance of the University, the first sound he had uttered since he had disembarked his ship. As he climbed, his robes fell open slightly, exposing the source of the taps that seemed to originate without source. A finally polished wooden cane was held within the grasp of a pair of mismatched hands, a pitch black cybernetic hand and a tanned and scarred biological hand. The biological hand was wrapped around the handle of the cane tight enough that the knuckles had gone a stark white.

At the top of the steps, Xavka's formed paused, his head titled to the side slightly. Beneath the darkness of his cowl, a mix between a smirk and a smile pulled at chapped lips, exposing the pointed teeth that the Zabrak possessed. A small glint of dark glee flared to life within the burnt orange coloured left eye, the only eye that Xavka had remaining.

"This is certainly a time for reunions." Xavka's voice had always held a gruff growl as an undertone, but now that one of the scars that wound its way across his neck had gone deep enough to wound the vocal fold his voice had become more gruff, rougher. A fact that was extremely clear when Xavka let out a hoarse chuckle.


[member=Akio Diachi]

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio had long gotten used to the strange looks and stares he got when he walked down the streets. His orange robes contrasted strongly with his bright blue skin. His revealed shoulder and arm were marked with scars he wished he could remember. His amulet around his neck glowed a cool cyan, the color of his calm, emotionless feeling at the moment. Flecks of red streaks circled through its aura, picked up from the darkness around him.

The Chiss was not here for sightseeing, he was following a mission. Along the trail of the breadcrumbs, he wandered along. His red eyes fixed forward as they seemed to follow the invisible path set before him.

Akio did not know whether he wanted this dream to be true. If it was then his memories of the murders was true. But then, so were the dreams of the Chiss woman named Dryzl. He didn't want to be a murderer, but his mind went back to the Sand Men on Tatoowine. He had killed every one of them with ease or a scratch on him. He hadn't even intended to, something had set him over the edge. Something strong. He needed answers. Perhaps this was the starting place.

He made it to the university and saw the cloaked figure begin to climb up, it was only when he cloak was removed that he saw in partial horror and partial relief that it was true. Xavka was real. Then it was all real. The Chiss wanted to run away, to run from everything, to deny it and start over. But he knew that would accomplish nothing. He needed to come to terms with his past, starting now. Or he would forever be running from it like he was, and even worse.


The Chiss walked forward, hands tucked placidly in the folds of his robes. He climbed up the stairs to the battered man. The Zabrak's injuries were as bad as he remembered, but he did not remember the arm.

"It would appear so," he said with his voice as it ever was; emotionless, polite, and calming as an ocean wave, "Perhaps we should go inside, I have many questions that need answers."

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Bowing his head at the suggestion his former student in the art of Assassination had made, Xavka continued his trek into the looming building that was the University. His form slowly walked past the finely carved columns that held up the large portico in front of the main building. As soon as he stepped under the shade of the portico, the shadows of the shade washed over his features, transforming it from a face covered in scars to a face that looked like a blind man had tried to carve with only the barest idea as to what a face looked like, leaving the end result as nothing more than a mockery covered by deep, shadow filled trenches. The whole effect seemed to make the eye of Xavka glow with an internal, malicious light.

Stepping across the threshold of the University, instead of turning to make his way towards the Library, one of the few rooms that the institution allowed members of the public to enter so long as they followed the extremely strict and restrictive rules set down by the governing body, Xavka instead gestured Akio to follow him to one of the side room that had been initially set up for meetings between staff and both students and the family of the student or Heads of the student's Clan. Growling out a quick conversation in Zabrak with one of the security members within the Entrance Hall, Xavka held the glass door for the room open for his student to enter.

Following in after the Chiss, pulling the door closed behind him - sealing out the ambient sound, Xavka lowered himself into one of the chair, seating himself opposite his former student, with a sharp groan before propping his cane up against the side of the chair. For a short while, Xavka kept silent, simply staring at the man opposite to him.

"You've changed, Akio. Quite a bit." Leaning forwards, Xavka placed his elbows on his knees and rested his chin against the back of his crossed finger. "Regardless, you have questions?"


[member=Akio Diachi]
OOC Note:

Spoiler

I wasn't to sure as to where to take this post, so I hope that this is okay.

 

[Akio Diachi]

He knew Akio--and what he had been. The statement answered some questions but raised so many more--the type that no one could truly answer; was he a part of the Monastery? What was the monastery then, a lie? What did that make him? He at across from the Zabrak, keeping his arms tucked in the folds of his garment. He looked at the table a moment, unsure where to begin. He supposed the truth was the first place to start. The Living Force would handle the rest. He raised his head, looking at Xavka.

"Namste," he began. "A month ago I was discovered in the hold of a tramp freighter. I could not remember anything; who I was, where I came from, where I had been. I was badly injured. A doctor nursed me back to health and told me that I had amnesia--and that it should be temporary. In time I remembered my own name, but little else."

He paused, gathering his thoughts, "I have these--dreams. I cannot tell if they are the past or the future. Perhaps they are both. You were in the most recent one, usually I cannot remember but bits and pieces of them afterwards but, I found your name among the parts I could remember. I need to know who I am. What I am. Where I am."

Akio didn't know why this was so important to him, but for some reason it was like an urging under his skin, pushing him to find the past, to find what he was. He had said many times that where he came from did not matter as much as where he was going. But now he had to find the answers.

"In the mean time, I have been searching the galaxy for weapons, and knowledge," Akio added. He tapped the amulet, "I made this," his hand retrieved one of his glowing throwing quills from the gauntlet and flicked it into the table in front of Xavka, "I found these. And I am just starting. But before I can go forward further, I need the ghosts to stop haunting me."

[member="Xavka Duquo"]
OOC:

Spoiler

Its cool. Feel free to make something up with your reply here

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Raising a brow at Akio, Xavka leant forward in his seat to wrap his left hand, his cybernetic hand around the knife looking object that the Chiss had placed on the table. The act of using his prosthetic arm to pick up the weapon was a calculated move. When Xavka had said that Akio had changed, he had not so much been referencing the blue skinned man's clothing nor behavior, but the feeling of his Presence within the Force. Where as before Akio's Presence had held a Dark feeling to it (if he was forced to place a specific alignment Xavka would have guessed at Dark Grey), now the man before him felt of the Light. Akio may or may not be telling the truth when talking about his amnesia, so with Akio being more Light and Xavka being a creature of Dark, he had chosen to take the safest route of picking up the knife. If the blade was poisoned or held some sort of imbued effect, as Xavka knew such a feat was possible form his studies of Alchemy, then by grasping it with his cybernetic arm he would not suffer from the repercussions of doing so.

Bringing the weapon up to his eye, Xavka examined the knife carefully, taking not of the way it was constructed and the way it was balanced. As he did so, he could clearly hear, with his advanced sense of hearing, the whirring of the systems that were controlling the fingers of the hand as they manipulated the knife - a sound he was not yet accustomed to hearing. Holding the weapon between the tips of his fingers, Xavka whipped his hand forwards, driving the knife into the table with a solid 'thunk'. "A good throwing weapon."

Turning his attention back towards Akio, Xavka leant back in his chair, resting his crossed hands in his lap. "Who: Akio Diachi. Or so you told me. What: Chiss. Where: Currently Iridonia." Xavka paused to chuckle hoarsely before continuing, a smirk on his face. "I do believe that they were the only questions you said just them."

The smirk quickly dropped from Xavka's face though as he turned serious. "You say you've been seeking knowledge, but not the knowledge you want, correct? Why else would you search for me, track me down? So, ask whatever questions you wish to do so. I shall answer as well as I can. You were my student, after all, it is my duty to do so."


[member=Akio Diachi]
OOC Note:

Spoiler

Just thought that I'd add this to say that I hope that this post is fine. I was tempted to have Xavka just explain who he knew Akio as, but it wouldn't fir his personality.

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio nodded, taking his quill and adding it to the others along his gauntlet.

"The Knowledge I desire is deeper than the past--or the present," he said with a wave of his hand, "I would have the knowledge of how to serve the Living Force better. For one to be efficient at doing so their mind must be unclouded, clear, and clean. As long as I am the way that I am, I will be a less than perfect servant of the Force," he paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, folding his hands into his robes once more. A good answer, an honest one was worth the wait and time it took to produce.

"I suppose you are the first step to getting there," he said at last. He first needed to know if what Kuroi had said was true. The Umbarian had tried to kill him, not once but twice. Both times the fights the two had been equal in skill and the results were nearly fatal. "I met someone. His name was Kuroi, he claimed that I was an assassin. Is this true?" He waited for the answer before continuing, "How did we meet? Were you at the monastery?" Again he waited before his next question; "Could you teach me once more?"

[member="Xavka Duquo"]