Power Through Meditation (FU training)

[Talos Rygat]

Sitting in the darkness of the temple, there sat a lone figure, clothed in black wraps and surrounded by tiny, floating skulls. The eyes closed and breathing low, the figure calmed into a meditative state of being. The Skulls, or as they called themselves, Echoes, were buzzing about in random trajectories.

In his mind, Legion walked a grey pathway towards the swirling vortex that lay before him, comprised of the remaining hundreds of Echoes. These ghostly entities were the traps souls of those who'd died when he and they crashed on a slave ship. He was they're only hope at surviving, so they rest within his mind and body. In the center of their vortex, a stone slab with a pillow perched on top dotted the end of his pathway. He approached the slab, sat upon the pillow and he raised both head and arms to the vortex above.

"We are one...The knowledge of Our collective must be unlocked...Share with Us so We may grow stronger..."

He called out to the Echoes and one answered his call. It floated down to his hand.

 

[Talos Rygat]

Upon gaining the knowledge of the Echo before him, Combustion, he sought to practice its use. Through the simple acceleration of the particles in the air, an object or being could become a bomb in a few seconds. In theory.

Legion opened his eyes, then called forth a cup from the far table. He focused on the cup, digging deep to find the molecules of the cup and the air around it. The idea of the molecules accelerating in their perceived space, creating friction and heat until...pop.

The cup was flung across the room, but only the air around the cup detonated. He brought the scorched cup back to its position in front of him. Again he focused on the molecules, accelerating the particles beyond the point of normalcy. Then, all at once, the cup and the air around it flourished in a quick burst of fire. Peices of the cup flung around the room, Legion covered his face to prevent damage to his money maker. Success. Now he's just need to practice it too perfection.

Legion wasn't done yet. He'd need more knowledge of he was to become the demon of the battlefields like he desired.

 

[Talos Rygat]

While Talos sat in meditation, a thought echoed through the Ghosts within the maelstrom, an ally sought power nearby. He felt her presence in the temple. Talos sent out a Ghost to locate her and brin her to him.


The ghastly, green skull floated along the halls until the particular presence had been located. The young woman would see the spectral skull approach and a message would be sent straight to her brain, "You may follow Us to train...We wish to aid in your search for strength...We will help you grow stronger..."

The skull would turn and begin to lead [member="Ceska Starshield"] to where Legion sat in the meditation room.

 

[huggin_munnin]

A few days before leaving for Korriban:

Ceska Starshield had come to Bastion, home of The Primeval, the previous day. Her first meeting with the Host Lord had been...she shuddered. It had taken her close to a standard month to get here, hopping from one planet to another in search of a place to hide. At first she had felt relief on arriving. Surely even the Jedi couldn't penetrate this fortress world. Now, she was not so sure if she was safe at all.

Sensing some Force presence, though a Dark Side essence, she looked up and scanned the halls in which she wandered. Then she saw some apparition, a greenish skull shape floating towards her. Hand going immediately to her saber hilt, she took a ready stance. However, the skull stopped and began speaking, a man's voice, smooth and caressing within her very mind.

Ceska nodded doubtfully but she had felt the other. "Lead on, then." said she with a gesture. Following the apparition, she soon came to a meditation chamber. Inside sat a man wrapped in cloak and cloth up to his eyes, an eerie green like a miasma. He felt...wrong, this close, many within one as if his corporeal form were some vessel for multitudes of souls. A clay pot full of many, many rice grains was her first thought, such as she had seen on poorer agricultural worlds.

However, rice had a wholesome quality. This one did not. Regarding him a moment, trying to take him in, she finally spoke while gesturing to the greenish skull.

"That's yours, I assume. You can teach me to be stronger."

The last was not a question. She looked inwards a moment.

"The Light Side is weak, and the Dark Side strong. I want to be strong."

[member="Darth Legion"]

 

[Talos Rygat]

[member="Ceska Starshield"]

Talos could feel the conflict in her. The fleeting light and the ever-consuming darkness fought within. Her statement that Talos will be training her mad him laugh aloud. The echos of many voices behind his own consumed the laugh into a chorus.

"We will train you...But, not as a favor for you...As a favor to the Darkside..."

The skull spoke the next sentences like it had spoke from the beginning, knowing where the conversation would go next.

"The Darkside requires more subjects...You will make a good addition to its horde...If you believe the Darkside stronger, then you will train With Us...We are not your ally nor subordinate to be told who to train...Should you wish to learn...You will listen to Us..."

Talos extended a hand and the skull flew to it and dissappeared into his palm in a burst of Fire.

 

[huggin_munnin]

Ceska frowned as she watched his display. The impertinence in his tone irritated her. So far as she knew, he had no weapon and she could certainly draw hers in an eye's blink. The Force was strong, but one couldn't draw on it with a lightsaber blade through their heart.

"Illusions and theatrics might impress some new Padawan." she said with irritation obvious "I am not new, so what will you teach me?"

Whoever he was, whatever he was, she could feel the heat of the Dark Side about him. It surrounded him, it enveloped him. It called to her, beckoned with a hand invisible but present all about her. Truly, it was magnificent!

[member="Darth Legion"]

 

[Talos Rygat]

Talos waved a hand and closed the door behind [member="Ceska Starshield"]. He rose through the aid of the Force, seemingly flying to his feet. Then, the room began to darken, the candles blew out and from Talos himself expelled forth the multitude of Skulls contained in his body. All around floated the tiny skulls. Talos walked to Ceska, pointed a finger and placed it onto her forehead.

He put an image into her head of the knowledge Talos possessed. All that was needed was to unlock it from the Ghosts. He released his finger and a skull floated to him. He touched it and it turned into a ball of flame. He touched another and Talos began to Levitate, another and a broom flew to his hand and began to glow with the energy of the Force. He did this revealing different abilities. One in particular turned the skull into something like a demon, some sort of Horror.

"Through Meditation We are able to unlock the abilities these Echoes hold...Work with me to unlock these abilities and I will unlock them to you as well..." Then all the Skulls spoke in unison, "We will unlock power..."

Then all at once, the skulls returned to Talos.

 

[huggin_munnin]

He revealed much to Ceska in the brief glimpse, a multitude of images flooding her mind. Many powers were avaliable through the Dark Side, she only needed to learn to reach out and seize them. The knowledge of how was passed on to her too, the way of meditation. It was like what she had practiced as a Padawan in form but wholly different in substance.

She must learn to let her emotions flow, but to direct them as a source of power. Not like the wild outbursts of fury she had. It was like forcing a river to divert itself as opposed to simply riding upon the current. Anger, hate, jealousy and even love all there as a focusing point to help buffer her connection to the Dark Side.

And so, she knelt and took a posture of meditation, closing her eyes. Soon, she felt the white heat as she began to recall all of her failures, her frustrations, her hopes and dreams crushed. Then, her mind slipped to her fallen Master and her control snapped as the heat became an inferno of rage, grief, sadness, lonliness, despair and hate. She threw back her head and howled, the sound filled with loss and with hatred. The ground itself shook under them just then....

[member="Darth Legion"]

 

[Talos Rygat]

Talos, in his mind, felt the anger housed inside [member="Ceska Starshield"] while she opened her mind to the Darkside. All of her emotions rushed out to the gap she'd created in her heart. The Echoes inside Talos ached to feed off her energy, Talos granted them this. Tendrils of the Darkside began to absorb the option let out by the Dark Padawan. Leeching the Hate, Anger and Sorrow from the air, Talos fueled his own powers and summoned an Echo who held the power of Force Lightning. He unlocked the ability in his mind, the excitement of particles in the air to a breaching point that all the energy stored releases into arcs of brilliant, deadly lightning. Holding his hands out in front, blue light danced between his fingers as he focused on the particle acceleration, through the Force, more and more energy was stored and then...it was released between his hands in a sustained beam of lightning.

"This is the power We are speaking of...Listen to the Force... The Echoes will guide you, We will learn with you..."

Talos sent out the Skull that had taught him to further his ability in Force Horror. When she made contact with it, we're she to focus on its teachings and nothing more, a connection could be made through Mind Meld. Though, were she to deviate at all, the connection would be lost.

 

[huggin_munnin]

The surge of emotions were too strong for Ceska all at once, and the flow of the Dark Side severed as he sent images of Force Horror. Her eyes snapped open, her breath coming in ragged gasps and she shook her head as if to clear it. She was surprised to find the wetness of tears on her face and she quickly scrubbed it away with her sleeve. Looking over to Legion, she shook her head.

"Too much, too quickly."

She closed her eyes and focused on slowing her breathing for several minutes. Then nodding to herself, she turned to the strange cloaked figure.

"I'm going to try again. Maybe something simple this time."

Eyes closed, Starshield began to open herself once again to the flow of Dark energy.

[member="Darth Legion"]

 

[Talos Rygat]

Legion could see the stress the training was putting on her. Force Horror may have been too strong. He figured a good one to start with was TK. He pushed forward a bowl, and sent the appropriate skull. This connection should be less stressful.

"All that is needed would be for you to concentrate on the bowl and tell it to move towards you...It should be easy enough...Complete it twice then We will move on..."

[member="Ceska Starshield"]

 

[huggin_munnin]

Nodding, Ceska did not open her eyes but focused her energies on bringing the bowl to her. She had done this exercise, or something much like it 1000 times or more, but it was a good starting point. With minimal effort, the bowl floated into her outstretched hands then back onto the floor. She felt her confidence returning and she smiled just slightly and she put the bowl back in the same way.

Opening her eyes, she repeated the process once again. There was a measure of relief as Ceska realized that she had not lost her ability to control the Force, merely she needed to refocus herself on doing it in a different way. There too was the feeling of excitement, or possibility. With time and training, she could become great. She looked to the shrouded figure.

"What next?"

[member="Darth Legion"]

 

[Talos Rygat]

The training was to be expectedly easy for a learner to grass TK. Now he sent forth the skull that held Mind Trick.

"Focus on what you want Us to do...Then tell Us...Feel the Will flow from you to Us..."

The mind trick wouldn't work on him with his level of control and the multitudes of minds within him. He would, however, feel the proding.



[member="Ceska Starshield"]

 

[huggin_munnin]

Ceska nodded and extended a palm out as a focus for the Mind Trick as she had been taught amongst the Jedi. She extended the Force out and gently waved her palm.

"You're very tired, you want to sleep."

She didn't expect it to work against a target holding onto the Force himself, but she went through the motions all the same. It had been much the same as a Padawan learner, taught soon after passing the Initiate Trials and being taken as an apprentice. They had thought the Mind Trick, beyond a theoretical discussion, would be inappropriate to teach an immature Youngling.

[member="Darth Legion"]

 

[Talos Rygat]

[member="Ceska Starshield"]

Another successful attempt, the suggestion was felt to sleep yet Talos was too rooted to sucomb. Her progress was very good and Talos was excited to see if she'd be able to handle the next one as well as the others. He pulled forth Force Fear, a step down of For Horror and step up of Mind Trick.

"This, like Mind Trick, is a suggestion based move...Use it to instill fear in your enemies, they may think you intimidating, frightening, and/or challenging...Much like the way one would see a powerful warrior or unbeaten rival or officer in the military..."

 

[huggin_munnin]

OOC: After the next couple posts, I am gonna bow out of the thread.

Force Fear was an ability that they did not teach in the Order. Therefore, this was new to her, this knowledge. Ceska took in the knowledge with a sense of excitement. It felt good learning this, the thrill of something forbidden.

She smiled "Yes. I could use this...."

[member="Darth Legion"]

 

[Talos Rygat]

[member="Ceska Starshield"]


Feel the Fear inside, let it flow from you to another mind. That it how you will use it. Some try to force images and thoughts, but the best way is to let their brain think its coming from inside. Subvert their will by making them believe their fears originated inside them.


Talos then pushed forth the visage of the prior Force Horror. This time, he aided it with his own mind. Hoping the connection that he had would allow Ceska to bridge the gap.

 

[huggin_munnin]

OOC: This will be my final post on this thread .

Ceska frowned as he attempted to abosrb the knowledge. Minutes passed and beads of sweat poured down her face from the effort. She finally shook her head.

"Not happening, at least not today." She sighed in frustration.

Starshield was tired from the strain and the residual fatigue of much recent travel. That, and esoteric Force skills had never been her strong point.

"A lightsaber is so much less finicky." came her frustrated growl.

She sighed again and stood. "I need to go."

Ceska nodded and strode away.

[member="Darth Legion"]