Private Possession 101

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Yalara

Tag | Kaila Irons

True to her word, classes would indeed be given shortly after the young scholar had sought out Adeline and her school of illogical logic. Today there was to be a lesson in the basics of occultism, that being possession and how it works.

The lesson had yet to start, for every student looked around the room. Curious as to where the teacher was..

It wouldn't take too long for her to enter, sporting a black suit and an expression of.. Nothing? It was cold, uncaring as the yawning abyss.

"To those who are already seated, my thanks for your patience. I had been busy gathering all the tools needed for our lesson today, along with finishing up the paperwork of our newest student."

The woman faintly grins, gazing at Kaila with unblinking amber eyes before setting down a strange box upon the desk.

Each student took a moment to look at Kaila before their eyes were brought to that box, it was easy to see that it had occult symbols adoring the wood.

"To get us started, I figure we must cover the basics of the basics. Can anyone here care to tell me what possession is?"

Adeline keeps a faint grin, it held a sort of feeling like that of a coak that hid a dagger.

Leaning against the desk, the head occultist waits to see who answers first.












​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Kaila was among those already seated, hands steepled while she waited patiently at her lone desk. When Adeline at last entered, her golden eyes followed attentively, though not so unnaturally as the teacher's unblinking stare. It was strangely difficult to look away from, at least until she noticed that all her fellow students were looking at her, and afforded them a sidelong glance and nothing more. She had not come here to make friends, that was not a luxury she could afford in a Kainite's academy, not with the odds which Kaila calculated.

She would not make the same mistakes she had with Carnifex's previous apprentices. If she suspected any of the students here were harboring ill will, she would eliminate them.

"To get us started, I figure we must cover the basics of the basics. Can anyone here care to tell me what possession is?"

The Darth asked, and Kaila was quick to answer as her eyes lifted from the strange box.

"It is when one being, such as a spirit or powerful force user, dominates the mind and body of another such that control is wrenched away or stolen outright"

She spoke in a monotone voice as if quoting a textbook, tinged with a confidence that could only mean she was stating a simple fact. Kaila highly doubted that any of the students here had the same level of experience as herself, nor the unique traits which allowed her to resist total possession for so long. Even fewer still had the will required.


Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Yalara

Tag | Kaila Irons

She gently nods her head, unblinking eyes still watching the class.

"Close enough."

Next, Adeline pulls off a drape that had been covering something... It blended in to the room well enough that it had not really been noteworthy, but what had been under it?

"Possession is a forceful takeover of a body if the mind controlling it is weak enough."

She takes a stick, gesturing to what she had uncovered. A former student it seemed, body now a withering husk that could hardly do anything. Yet, deep within that withering skinvelope there was a moderate power watching them all.

"Your body is just as much myself as it is you, within these constructs we pilot is our very core. This core being the soul, if you falter then your soul tends to lose the protection it has. And what is this protection? Why it is the very will to exist and live on, some of you who have done your studies into the ancient Sith Lords may have found that their ghosts still linger.. Be it from hiding in objects or restlessly stalking their halls. The end goal for this kind of immortality is to take control of another, yet just as it is for these lords of old... Forces of demonic of eldritch nature run into the issue of their vessel never being able to hold them forever."

Adeline once again gestures to the husk on display, the once man groaning.

"A weaker force may pilot a vessel for a much longer time, while a more powerful presence will need new constructs to take over."

A student raises their hand.

"Then why not inhabit a non degradable vessel?"

A fair question, one that is quickly answered.

"Because my dear, that would be stupid... Things without souls never have the same capability, we mortals are part of a complex web of emotions, groups, cultures. For some creatures within the yawning abyss they simply seek to see our own realm, and what better to see it in then from the eyes of one who walks it daily? Most however don't care, they are not here to learn anything. To everything outside, ours is a pitiful existence. Time degrading all of all in the blink of their eye, but alas they server a higher power."

She runs the stick along the body.

"As you can see, the irony is that almost no vessel is perfect. And thus time becomes an issue for the timeless, the toll on the body has caused this unfit vessel to crumble. Give it a few days and the body will be naught but grains of sand, and the demonic entity hiding within will have to find a new host to take."

Adeline then looks back to the class, hopeful they have bothered to write some of this down..

"And who here can share some ideas to ward off possession?"






​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Kaila might have been one of the only students with paper book with which to inscribe her notes as opposed to the datapads that most were used to. She would glance back and forth between it and Adeline throughout the lesson until the body upon the table had been revealed, giving the woman but a momentary pause before taking more notes.

Possession appears to be degrading the cadaver with alarming speed.
Darth Keres refers to the entity as-

Did she hear that right?

-"Demonic and Eldritch" forces. A weaker force may degrade the body more slowly,
A stronger force more quickly. Similar to Dark Side corruption perhaps?

Kaila had always thought of demons as being associated with the Corellian mythological plain "Hell" and therefore not worth her time, with so many accounts being easily disproven under the slightest push back. But if Darth Keres believed in them, then there must be some truth after all. It was also likely that her teachings in demonology may have been the only credible source in the modern galaxy.

Then Keres asked for suggestions and Kaila felt a little out of her depth, an unusual feeling in her fields of study.

"What of Alchemical wards or Battle Meditation perhaps? Unless they can be consumed by some abilities? Force Walking for example"


Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Yalara

Tag | Kaila Irons

"Such things can indeed help, blessings or other forms of protection can be a key tool in continuing your very limited lifespan. But, one of the most important tools is to simply not break. It sounds easy on paper but you would be surprised to see just how many people break, a key difference in whatever it is attacking you being the type of thing it is."

She once again gestures to the body.

"The demonic tend to use more brute force methods, or wait for the right time when you are weak to push themself in. I speak of the many sprites and aspirations of the Nether, perhaps one day we can take a trip there.. Mm anyway vengeful mortal souls that cling to our reality tend to use the same methods as the demonic. It is rather easy for some Sith Lord of old to hijack the body of some stupid acolyte that wears some cursed helmet or mask within a tomb, oft overpowering the will of the victim in order to continue their way of immortality."

She then next places a hand onto her chest, keeping a slight smile.

"Conversely, the beings of the eldritch plane use almost any tool. More powerful beings can easily break a mortal mind just by that person looking at them... The reason? They do not obey the laws of what we know and can understand, even with more veteran occultists who have studied far longer.. Said powerful only appear the way the occultist can begin to understand them, for many these beings are formless. And thus the mind becomes broken and fried trying to understand. It is only normal for us to fear what we don't understand, but alas when concerning the cosmic these more primal reactions are enhanced."

The body starts to wither away further, Adeline looking over.

"I should also state that possession is a hijacking of a vessel, not a full takeover. The only time it could be such a thing is if no one else was hiding within the shell so to speak, this former student has felt and saw every moment. Yet, stuck in a dark pit where all he can do is watch."

Suddenly the body exhales one last time, the teaching saying nothing as the silence in the room grew louder. Within a flash, a foul cloud that took on a black/purple hue sprang forth in the direction of the students.

In the same level of speed, Adeline sends forth her scythe blade, swiftly exterminating the threat.

The demon had given off a powerful sense of dread, yet... It was the mistress of this place that now gave off a much more potent and primal feeling of fear.

"Everyone caught up on their notes so far?"

She asks while folding the handle of her scythe back into a more compact form.



​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Battle meditation may prove a useful preparation but not a last resort,
Will being the most important factor.

Demonic entities are inclined towards brute force methods and attacks of opportunity.
Eldritch entities may be formless, appearing perhaps in an illusionary form within the mind.
Unbound by laws of physics, Highly dangerous to look at.

NOTE: Avoid.

Kaila continued to scrawl her notes as the lesson continued, always glancing between between them and Darth Keres, although her gaze lingered on the woman awhile longer when she heard mention of visiting The Nether of all places.

She knew their master was capable of such things, but to hear it brought up so casually was quite new. As time went on she would begin to wonder how big the gap in power between Keres and Carnifex truly was, as the gap seemed to thin each time she reevaluated her calculations. But that begged the question; Why the hell was she here? The woman could be reigning over her very own empire if she really wanted, forever cement herself unchallenged on the Dark Council at the very least. But here she was on an abandoned planet teaching students, some of which she assumed Keres was not fond of.

That momentary distraction might have proven disastrous if not for the sudden intervention of a peculiar scythe which cut down the vaporous form of a demon that quickly emerged from the remains of a student bound to the table.

Kaila had already summoned an Alchemically warded mask from the bag at her feet when Keres cut the creature down, about to lift it over her head when the thing was seemingly banished.

"Everyone caught up on their notes so far?"

"Bloody hell" She muttered, setting the mask on her desk and taking a few more notes.

"Is it dead? How the hell did you do that?"


Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Yalara

Tag | Kaila Irons

Adeline tilts her head, giving Kaila a curious glare.

"Pardon?"

She had almost forgotten that there was those who didn't know, it would seem Kaila would learn more today then.

"I consumed it."

The woman says in a nonchalant tone, describing such a heretical and dangerous act in such a simple and basic way..

"My dear, I consume souls... The very force out of things."

Adeline chuckles, her pearly white fangs on display as she had a bit of a laugh.

"Ah but back to the lesson yes? No need to spend the time on me, I think I had just finished explaining the more common ways that the demonic and eldritch take people.."

She taps a blackened claw upon the strange box that she had brought in earlier.

"When learning to deal with hostile invaders it is always important to keep in mind the things that I have taught you all here today, always imagine yourself to be a shield."

Sadly, a shield could only protect against so much... Their training and efforts could only go so far, but better to have some level of readiness over nothing at all.

"Any further questions before we proceed to our last lesson for today?"






​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Kaila continued to stare for awhile. Not in disgust, not exactly in surprise nor shock at the heresies being uttered in the sacred hall of a dark lord. But in utter fascination.

The very idea that one could simply consume the force brought about a line of questions that would remain unasked and thoughts unspoken that may have been equally, or perhaps even more heretical than anything Keres was doing here. Many believed that the dark side was by it's very nature a corruption of the will of the force, but if the force could be destroyed, why corrupt it's will when one could remove it's taint all together? Why be bound to fate, when you could destroy destiny itself.

"Any further questions before we proceed to our last lesson for today?"

"Yes," Kaila raised her hand quick as lightning

"When you say you... consume the force from things... Are you saying that it's just... gone? Destroyed?"

She asked, staring with wide eyed anticipation. She desperately hoped against her better judgement that this power is what she thought it was and not just another form of force drain. While being able to slay- whatever this was- by draining their being was certainly useful, the ability to simply consume or destroy the very force was something that Kaila hadn't even dreamt of.


Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Yalara

Tag | Kaila Irons

She keeps a plain expression, slightly raising a brow.

"A lesson for another time, best we stay on topic yes?"

Next her hand rests upon the box.

"Eventually I plan for you all to undergo bigger and far more dangerous tests, for now though we will get to see what a smaller scale aggressive possession feels like. Pay attention to the feeling, and remember what I have taught you here today and use it."

And with that she opened the box, dozens of demonic sprites spring forth, darting chaotically around the room as they dived into everyone but Adeline. The feeling being akin to hundreds of little needles trying to force their way right into you, some students meditated to ward them away, others used self made charms, the main point was their will to not be taken.

Something Kaila would get to experience instantly as a handful of sprites went in, she could feel her very soul being stabbed and pushed. It would be through sheer will that she could push them back in return, with Adeline watching everyone carefully to study the results.







​

 

[Kaila Irons]

In truth, Kaila was greatly disappointed by the delay. The ability to outright destroy the force was a power so heretical, so reviled and yet the applications were as limitless as they were fascinating. If her suspicions were true than Darth Keres had just teased the ultimate expression of the dark side, the truest mark of dominance that any being could leave upon the galaxy. And now she had wait.

Was it impatient of her? undoubtedly. But impatience belies passion, which she believed to be every bit as useful as anger and hatred to practitioners of the dark side.

It seemed however that Keres did not plan for them to sit idle, as she unleashed a horde of small creatures from beyond the veil. Kaila quickly donned the mask sitting at the desk, and joined the students meditating in the class room. Fortunately the mask had another feature natural to it's cortosis dome, acting as a sensory deprivation chamber of sorts, like those used to train jedi younglings. So long as she kept her eyes closed, it was only her and the force within that little box, and and the emotions she brought with her. Anger smoldered like hot iron until taking shape, forged into a steely resolve which- while unrefined- was slowly purifying into a power of it's own bit by bit, battle by battle.

Her gloved hand clenched, straining blackened leather, and muffled grunts reverberated inside the cortosis helmet from time to time, But the newly risen knight was no stranger to pain. Pain was the womb from which she was reborn, and as much as she hated her master for the ways which he had inflicted it upon her, she had grown stronger for it.

"Fear does not control the sith...
The sith controls the fear...

Through his teachings- agh-

Through his teachings have I become
Iron Minded.

So too has my body been tempered
in this crucible named pain.

Iron within.
Iron without..."​

Her heartbeat, though quickened above the norm by this hostile stimuli, was beginning to settle into a rhythm that may soon slow to an acceptable beat. Her breathing too was beginning to slow, gone from deep yet quick panting spurred on by the meddlesome creatures to deliberately slow intake and exhales.


Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Yalara

Tag | Kaila Irons

Each student had defended themself from the little demonic beings, a sly grin forming on Adeline's face.

"Excellent! I was hopeful that no one here would be beaten by such a lowly thing... Do note that these are among the weaker beings that dwell within the nether, faded and hungry."

She raises a hand, drawing in all the sprites instantly.. As if they had tossed aside their gnawing hunger out of fear, cowering back into the box that was swiftly shut closed by Adeline.

"This is of course the most basic of the basics, in reality there are many factors that could result in your death. Eventually we will go over all of this in due time, for now I would ask that you keep what you learned today in mind. For those here who have signed on for the nercotech course I must inform you that the previous instructor has died in a workplace related accident."

Calmly she tosses a cloth over the box.

"Next lesson will be on those other factors I mentioned earlier, any questions?"






​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Kaila let out one last exhale as if she were simply breathing out the pain trapped in her body, eyes blinking opening as the creatures retreated. Truthfully she was thankful that Darth Keres could not see the uncomfortable expression on her face. These little "sprites" may have been the weakest of the bunch, but that didn't stop them from stinging. Perhaps so many years of torment under Darth Carnifex had better prepared her than initially thought, it had at least given her an edge in times like these.

Though she had to admit, even with that apathetic stare, Keres was a more encouraging teacher.

If a bit strange.

"Next lesson will be on those other factors I mentioned earlier, any questions?"

"Yes," Kaila raised a hand while finalizing her notes with the other.

"Should I prepare for another... live demonstration?" She asked, flicking the side of her helmet with a black polished nail.

"And what course should I look into for answers to my previous question...?"

She wasn't planning to let that one go. Demonology was important but preparation always came with an end goal in mind, and hers would benefit greatly from such knowledge.


Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Yalara

Tag | Kaila Irons

"Always prepare for live demonstrations, the courses I teach are very hands on.. And steadily these trials by fire eliminate the students who aren't worth my time."

Ah, time... The thing she seemed to have plenty of as it is.

"And to answer your burning question Kaila the answer is perhaps how you see it, we can look back into history from not so very long ago. The Brotherhood of the Maw was once a powerful and seemingly unstoppable force, they had a rather wonderful creature at their disposal.. The being that was known as Kyrel Ren, otherwise known as 'the world eater' by many. If you have ever passed by the fragments of Panatha that is the reason why he got the nickname, for he had destroyed the whole planet, devouring the very life out of it and everyone else who was left on it."

She smiles a bit.

"I had met the man once, I even found his holocron."

Her impish grin grew a bit, sharp maw on display for a moment. She had learned this same art, able to commit the same atrocity he had..

"But alas, the hunger for more can turn violent. Wipe clean those embers from your eyes before they become flame, your soul and vessel cannot handle such a poison."

She then opens the class door, letting the other students out while still conversing with Kaila.

"The main answer you are looking for.... I crush and entomb the essence of others into myself, melding them into my being. I have devoured thousands of souls, a nexus, and steadily sip at the very life of this planet. The force is not destroyed per say, but I manipulate and use it as a tool to empower myself. If you have ever peered into me, you would see that my soul, and thus force. Is considered a twisted and wicked thing, and despite how twisted it is, the force is still there. Think of it as wounded and bleeding if you desire, now.. Anything else?"








​

 

[Kaila Irons]

She nodded along excitedly at first, having heard only rumors related to Panatha's destruction and the peculiar Knights of Ren who seemed so similar to the sith at a glance and yet so strange. To hear that Darth Keres had not only met the infamous master of these knights, but learned his dark powers from a holocron was incredible and painted a picture of immeasurable power in the hands of one woman.

But that excitement was short lived. Gutted even.

"Oh... Force Drain...?" She muttered.

It was just force drain? She could learn that from Master Greim if she were patient enough. Maybe not to the extent that Keres was speaking of but it still, it wasn't the revolutionary act she had hoped for. She didn't want to merely wound the force. She wished to crush it so utterly, that it would forever flee from her, now until the end of all time.

But it seemed the force would always be there. And the only method to take back one's destiny would always be to use the dark side against it's will. An act of defiance perhaps, but never truly a solution.

What a dreadful galaxy to live in.

"I see" She would nod and write down a quick note for later.

At least she had learned something new and would be better prepared for the next lesson. It had also become clear that Keres held insight into other areas of study which could serve to expand her own knowledge if the teacher was willing to indulge her curiosities further.

"May I ask of Ren...? I have heard of his knights in my own studies but alas they seem one of the more mysterious orders. It sounds as if you've learned from them and yet you are still sith, yes? You bear the title Darth after all"


Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Yalara

Tag | Kaila Irons

With a clawed hand she gently cusps under her student's chin, raising them to eye level.

"The occult is filled with many strange and powerful things, just because you don't find the answers you seek today doesn't mean you cannot find them tomorrow."

She takes her hand away, sighing slightly.

"Titles to me hardly mean a thing, but for most people a title can help with organization or understanding. One could call me Sith, perhaps heretic, witch, demon... The only titles that matter to me are the proper names used for incantations, those of godlike beings. When my cults pray to me, they pray for the goddess of nightmare to blanket them."

Adeline taps at her chin, keeping her signature faint smile.

"Perhaps any other questions you have could be asked another time, as I stated before the teacher for the necrotech course died.. Thus I need to go take the reigns for today it seems."
​

Why the hell was she here?

The question had many answers, but alas that was the point. On a surface level it appeared the woman was simply training others out of boredom or perhaps so that they could handle lesser tasks she didn't want to bother with. Perhaps a more trained eye could see that there was some level of good mixed into the madness, going about and solving esoteric issues that Jedi could not.

But for those whose eyes had truly opened? They could see that this aspiring goddess had been steadily using everything to bolster the faith of her loyal, these trained occultists knowing how to properly worship her, to give her offerings... All taught by her own hand.

If the information gathered thus far had given the newest aspiring scholar an inkling as to Adeline's game.. The vampiress cared not.






​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Kaila instinctively held her breath upon the subtle feeling of sharp nails and otherwise soft fingers under her chin, gaze rising to meet the eyes of Keres which glowed with an intense gold that outshone her own.

"Wha-" Her lips pursed as if she were about to ask another question but nary a sound could escape them.

The fledgling goddess had her undivided attention.

"The occult is filled with many strange and powerful things, just because you don't find the answers you seek today doesn't mean you cannot find them tomorrow."

She softly exhaled a moment after Keres removed her hand and began answering at least one of her many questions, although a comment about incantations stuck with her more than the answer itself. It reminded her of the words she'd spoken that night on Brendok, words she'd hardly understood at the time. But now?

They pray for the goddess of nightmare?

Now it made sense.

"Perhaps any other questions you have could be asked another time, as I stated before the teacher for the necrotech course died.. Thus I need to go take the reigns for today it seems."

It all made sense.

"Oh- Yes of course, I don't mean to keep you. I'm sure you must be incredibly busy"

She spoke with a distant softness while stroking her chin as if merely thinking aloud.

"Perhaps I'll try to catch you outside class someday, when you've the time I mean. I don't mean to be a bother, It's just fascinating to speak with a kainite of such experience outside The Malsheem"


Adeline Noctua