Masking the mind and the body: Training under Darth Arcanix

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas strolled down the cracked stone path, ready to learn an ancient Magik of the Sith. His trainer, Darth Arcanix, had requested he meet her in the innermost room of the Sith temple. He understood this, as the room was often reserved for those using Alchemy or Sorcery. He wrinkled his nose at the thought of Sorcery. He made a general rule to avoid it, because where there were sorcerers, there were politics. The only politics he liked to involve himself in were the most important ones: assassinations. Quite frankly a government cannot run without a leader, so he tended to kill them. He saw the ancient chamber doors up ahead, and took a deep breath. This was his first time training, and he didn't want to screw it up. With those thoughts in his head, he swung the doors open.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

@Vi'kas Mirtis

Taeli, known as Darth Arcanix among the Sith, was meditating within the chamber at the center of the Sith Temple. Across from her were several unconscious prisoners from recent battles, IV drips applying anesthesia to them so they wouldn't wake up. The acolyte that had asked for a private lesson would be arriving shortly, and she had decided to help him learn a trick or two that would help him deal with his enemies. Apprentices could be so vicious after all.

Hearing the door open up behind her, she felt a guarded presence move into the room.

"Welcome, I trust you've been enjoying your first few days among the Sith?" she asked, opening her eyes and turning to face him. "Nothing too challenging?"

 

[Lord Ajihad]

"Quite the contrary, my lord," said the young Sith, "I revel in challenges, but have not been given any yet." As he walked into the room, he noticed several things. The room was beautiful, but in a dark way. Mosaics covered the walls, aside from a few shelves and whatnot. The floor was made of stone tiles, placed in a big circular formation that radiated outwards. The final thing he noticed was also the worst. There were several unconscious bodies on the floor, slowly being given a liquid that looked like a sedative. Knowing that he should always examine the situation before him, he briefly touched their minds, gleaning their most recent memories, which all consisted of battle. He guessed he would be using them to transform their features, but had no way to know for sure. He then sat down and began to meditate, as he waited for his trainer to speak.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Challenges are good for us that join the Sith," she said to the acolyte. "To hear you haven't been challenged makes me . . . slightly concerned. My first day as a Sith acolyte involved fighting a terentatek and some hopefuls for just the chance to become a Sith apprentice. While we won't be fighting any dark side hunter beasts, what I will be showing you today will be no easier."

Standing up, she swept forward, the black dress billowing around her frame as she moved to stand next to the prisoners.

"These men fought for the Republic, committed acts of terror against the people of Coruscant, so on and so forth . . . and yet, we are going to be giving them a brand new opportunity. You probably think we will be punishing them, using them as test subjects for what I plan to teach, but each man here came voluntarily. They recognized, languishing in prisons and dungeons, that the Republic was to blame for their woes. They thought they were making a difference, all according to the propaganda they were given, but they saw the lies for what they were."

"Today, I'll be teaching you the Mask ability, something that can change one's appearance to whatever they wish, even hide your Force signature. It is an extremely taxing ability, one that requires great power in the Dark Side to do. You will exhaust yourself, strain yourself . . . challenge yourself beyond anything you think. If that interests you, good. If not, there's the door."

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas turned around, and using telekinesis, bolted the door shut. "I will learn what I came to learn, and I know that I must learn it. I will not leave this room to eat, sleep, or drink until I have learned to warp myself into that I wish. Teach me as you may, I am ready to begin."

He looked at each of the men, remembering what they they looked like, as they will soon be no more what they once were, but new individual entities entirely.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"I like your zeal, if only every acolyte had such fire," Taeli said, smiling slightly to herself. "Now, the Mask ability requires you to manipulate the molecular and cellular bonds that make up a person. You must subjugate them completely to your will, move them and shape them into the image you want them to take. It can be very slow going, and it is very draining, but the results well . . . examples speak best hmm?"

Turning her attention to the man on her left, she brought her full command of the dark side down upon his molecules, binding them to her. Closing her eyes, she began moving the molecules around, reforging bonds between new and old partners. Slowly, the face of the man began to take on a melty aspect as she moved the cheekbones higher, narrowing the face and angling it slightly. Focusing on the ears, she shrank them down a little to fit the leaner head of the man before she finished her first example by changing his hair color from brown to blonde.

Letting out a long breath, she nodded to the acolyte.

"Clear enough?" she asked, cracking her neck as she refreshed herself quickly with energies.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas watched impassively as she manipulated the man's features, reshaping them into her desired image. It was like shaping melted wax, as the molecular bonds broke and reattached. It was fascinating to watch, like observing an artist at work. He watched as the process completed. "I think I understand, my lord. But how would this process feel? Would it be painful if you were conscious during this? And what are the limits of this ability?" he asked.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"It can be painful, yes," Taeli replied with a nod. "You're reforging a person's molecular bonds to be a different shape, so yes pain will exist but not as much as one would expect. Several Sith Lords in the past have used the technique to change their appearance to something more pleasing or trusting, hiding their Force signatures as well."

Taeli smiled as she ran a hand along the new face of the man beside her.

"There are no real limitations to what you can change about a person's appearance, I once saw someone turn a Twi'lek into a human, you can change every part of one's self to be whatever you wish it to be in a logical sense. You can't create weapons out of yourself, but you reorder organs, change bones, skin, hair, blood even if you're strong enough."

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas nodded, seeing the true power of this ability. It would certainly be useful in the time to come. "Alright, I think I understand the concept of this ability," he said, "What will be the next step of my training?" He was actually pretty happy about learning this ability, but was able to contain it. He already knew this ability would be a great future ally.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Well as a first step to learning it, I want you to change this man's hair color from black to light brown," she said, indicating the second soldier. "Hair is easier to change because its cells are not as active other ones since they are technically dead skin cells. Bring your will and power down onto each molecule and shape it to what you want the image to be. This won't be nearly as taxing as other changes we will be doing today."

She stood back and watched, wondering how he would do being a new acolyte and everything. She had high hopes though.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

He examined the man thoughtfully, taking in his features. He skin was was scarred and pale, and his hair a greasy black. He closed his eyes, and allowed his mind to focus on the molecules of the man's hair. He found the chemical component that contained the man's hair color. He then slightly altered the component, to what he thought would be light brown. He applied it, then opened his eyes. He frowned, looking at the hair color. Yes, it was light brown, but it was a little lighter than he had pictured. He looked up at his trainer's face, looking for a reaction.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Vi'kas Mirtis"]

"Not bad for a first attempt," she said, noting the slight disappointment from the acolyte. "I suspect you lost focus or control of the hair cells for just a moment and that is why it is lighter than you were hoping for."

"Next step, I want you to remove any evidence of scars on his face, change the angle of his cheek bones, and shrink the nose slightly. This will be far more draining than changing hair color so brace yourself."

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas hovered his hand over the man's face, and let the the force flow from his fingertips. The man had a series of scars on the left side of his face, probably from grenade shrapnel. These were relatively easy to fix, and he did it without too much effort. He then moved to the nose, which was considerably harder and more taxing. He felt his powers shrink the nose, and its size diminished before his very eyes. After this, he took a quick 10 second break to get ahold of the force, then moved on to his his next task. The cheekbones were very hard, as this was shaping hard bone. He struggled with the difficult task, and his energy began to drain rapidly. He concentrated still of the man's cheeks, and his body shook. The man's cheek rippled, slightly deforming it. He had little energy left, but he wanted to please his trainer, so he tried to fix it. He managed to repair the slight error, and then gasped. It took him a minute to regain control of his senses, and yet again shook from the task he had completed.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]​