The Blademaster and The Assassin (Darth Ferus)

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas cocked his head, again examining the ball before him. He willed it to transfer the emotions into power, and he siphoned the power. He gasped, and felt the energy surge through him. He felt... alive.

The young assassin looked at his hands, and could feel the raw power surging through them. He balled his hand into a fist, and punched it towards the ground. His fist smashed into the floor, cracking it. Unfortunately, that's not all that cracked.

He yelped, withdrawing his broken hand. It was covered in small cuts, and blood dripped from his fingers. He gritted his teeth. He had just accidentally taught himself the limits of this ability. His strength apparently didn't protect him from hurting himself. He chided himself, deciding not to underestimate this ability again.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"I would suggest not doing that again, if you want to keep your hand that is. Anyway, this lesson can be considered over, but be warned. You are not my only apprentice, and you will face her soon enough. Only the winner will be my true apprentice. Her name, K'sara. Do not fail me." With an ominous tone, the red man would stare down [member="Vi'kas Mirtis"], contempt in his eyes. It was far from as dangerous as Ferus made it sound, but the point was to make sure they both put in their all. An unknown fate if he were to loose should hopefully do the job as a motivator. Without another word the Darth would leave Vi'kas to his tools, letting him do as he wanted. It wouldn't be long now.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas kept a passive look on his face as he heard this information. He wasn't overly surprised his master had another apprentice, but the information still sent him reeling.

On the outside, the Zabrak would only see Vi'kas looking forward, as normal. In reality, the young Sith's cybernetic eyes were researching K'sara on the holo net. He cross-referenced the name with "Darth Ferus" and "Sith." After narrowing down the search several times, he found what he was looking for. It seemed she was a bit of a history piece. She had been frozen for over 800 years, and had been awoken somewhat recently. It also gave details about her life before being frozen. She was a Jedi with a dead master, apparently. Something he would use to his advantage, no doubt.

The file had nothing else to show him, so he closed out the Holonet and went back into reality. He grabbed his medpack, and wrapped up his hand. "Very well, I look forward to mauling your other apprentice. Anything else I should know about my opponent?" He asked, before the Darth could leave the room.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"You get her name, but nothing else. The same goes for her. What ever info you find on your own, feel free to use. Otherwise, you will see when you fight her." With that, Ferus was gone, already waiting to see the two fight.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas frowned at the information, or rather, the lack of it. However, he had expected nothing less, and already had a few basic details. It wasn't much, but he could work with it.

He stood up, wounded hand at his side. He walked out of the room, and to the nearest medical droid. He then layer down as the droid began to work on his injured body part, preparing him for the next day's fight.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas returned from the bout which he had won. It was a tough fight, but ultimately, it became clear that he was the better and smarter fighter. He had taken off his opponent's hand, and had nearly electrocuted her to death. However, there was still loads of things he wished to learn.

He walked back into the now-familiar training room, eager to see what he would learn that day. Would it be more bladework, or perhaps some force training? He really didn't care, as long as it made him more powerful.

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

Ferus stepped in shortly after, both hands rested behind his head. "How ya feeling? You did rather well from what I saw. Very good form, and very good utilized of Vapaad." The master grinned a bit as he nodded to [member="Vi'kas Mirtis"]. The red assassin was very proud of his apprentices win, and the smile as apparent.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas rolled, his shoulders, stretching them out. "Still a bit sore, but I managed to get a good amount of rest. Still a bit tired, though. Had to wake myself up with a glass of Rhuvian Fizz." He was rather fond of that particular drink, and usually only had some as a treat, due to its price. He had deemed his victory a matter for celebration, though.

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

"You're clear headed enough for this lesson correct? I won't train you if you're too tired." This last part was a bit of a tease, or an insult. A grin formed over the red mans face as he reached down to his saber hilt. "Because today I was going to teach you speed."

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas never made the mistake of drinking too much. Ever. He knew an opponent could come at him any place, any time. He was always prepared. "An enemy will not ask me if I am ready for combat, so I shall fight either way. Though, to answer your question, yes. I am well-rested enough. I am ready to begin."

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Very wise. You've grown in that duel, good." The smile on the red mans face never left as he offered another faint bow of his head. [member="Vi'kas Mirtis"] had been proving his growth day after day, week after week. He was already a strong apprentice, but he was quickly proving more. "But now we shall teach the speed aspect of Vaapad. Speed has a higher priority than strength in the form, but I figured it would be good to make sure you wouldn't crumple under a powerful attack or two. Similar to strength, you must let the force flow through you, and let it make you faster. The faster you get, the more of a blur your attacks will seem. This is the key to Vaapad."

 

[Lord Ajihad]

The key to Vaapad. Just what he had been waiting for. During his match, he had learned to severely appreciate the Vaapad form, as it had ultimately won him the battle. His opponent's emotions were raging, and he used that to defeat her. "The key to Vaapad is speed... got it. I'm ready when you are." The assassin mentally prepared himself for a taxing session of bladework.

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Once more you will not be using your lightsaber. This time, we shall be using something else to train you." With the wave of his hand Ferus would bring forth a wooden post. "You are to simply punch this as fast as you possibly can. I expect you to continue to speed up as you strike, until your limbs are moving too fast for a normal eye to see. You will not rest or eat until you have done this. Understood?" Endurance was another major factor of Vapaad. While speed and strength were nice, if you couldn't last long enough, they would be for nothing. The Darth would cross his arms over his chest, waiting to see how [member="Vi'kas Mirtis"] would do.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas nodded in understanding. Though he was not to use his sabers, he still left them on his person at all times. He never let his weapons out of his sight.

He again began to feed on his Master's love for battle, and he let that fuel him. He waited for the power to amass within him before beginning. He let his hand move like lightning, zipping to the post and back to him. He punched and punched and punched, pain beginning to spread throughout his hands. His pain only fed him more power. No matter how fast he was going, he pushed himself to do better, to go faster. He would move faster than light.

After a few minutes, exhaustion began to set in. What frustrated him more was that he could still see his hands. The were moving very fast, but he could still see them. He puzzled over this for a second, then realized why. Force speed not only quickened him, but made it seem the world around him was moving slower. He frowned. The ability would work against itself; no matter how fast he went, the speed would only slow down his perception further. This would toss him into an infinite loop. No matter how fast he went, his fists would always look like they were moving at the same speed to him. From an outside viewer, they might not be able to see his fists, yet he still could.

He let his desire to succeed fuel him more, as he kept going faster. He felt like his arms were coming off, and splinters began to fly off of the wooden post.

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

A light humming noise would emanate from the Darth as he went about making himself some tea. It had been quite some time since he enjoyed the simple hot water and herb mix, but he always had the means to make it around him. Bringing forth a tea kettle, he would hold it above his hand. A purple flame would come to life below the kettle, heating the water slowly. A smirk would form over his face. It would take a couple of hours before the tea would be warm enough, as that's how long the Darth wanted it to be, and it would be a perfect way to test how long it would take for [member="Vi'kas Mirtis"] to complete the task. What a joyous day this would be.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas was going berserk on the poor post. He wasn't sure how fast he was going, and he didn't care. Splinters were flying left and right as his fists tore the post apart, as well as the post was bloodying his hands.

His blows were connecting very quickly. As a matter of fact, he could've swore he heard a sonic boom as his one of his fists connected a very qucky punch. Of course, it could have just been the exhaustion getting to him. He was covered in sweat, and his arms felt like lead. Heavy, heavy lead.

After another few minutes, he felt like passing out. A his rage towards this task fueled him, he delivered a particularly hard punch. He heard a crunching noise as the wooden post split in half. The top piece fell to the floor with a thud, and he looked at it, frowning. He also examined his hands, which were very bloody. He would need some bacta after this, for sure.

He approached his master, with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Got any more posts?"

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

The tea whistle had gone off maybe a moment or two before [member="Vi'kas Mirtis"] approached him. Ferus had completed his tea, and was idly sipping at the ceramic cup. He would take one of these sips before answering his apprentice, nodding once. "Very good, speed is important. But I do not expect you to actually move as fast as I said you should. You are still an apprentice after all. But, you are a fairly fast apprentice." Tilting his head to look past Vi'kas, he would offer a nod to the post itself. "Continue this with a lightsaber. I want you to carve a dome around yourself. There will be no target for you to hit, but you will be making an orb of color. Now, begin when ready."

There was no offer to heal the boys hands. This was as much an endurance test as it was a speed after all.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas nodded, drawing his saber. He ignited the weapon, its black and indigo blade seeming to suck the light out of the surrounding area, like a black hole. He moved the shattered post out of his way, clearing a small area. Then, he thought about the task at hand. He would have to produce a particular pattern that was both quick and efficient to complete the task in the manner desired. After taking a moment to think, he began the process.

He decided he would hold the saber in an inverted grip, and sort of twirl it in an "X" shape that would effectively cover his entire body. He would do it so it covered his front, his back, his sides, and his head. In order to start, he would again have to draw on his master's love for battle. He combined this for the man's love for tea as well, which was currently a dominant feeling in his mind. Though a love for tea would not be as effective, the more power, the better.

He turned these feeling into energy, and began the cycle. He started slow at first, not using any of the energy. He had to get a feel for the rotation first. Once he completed this, he began to go exponentially faster. He could hear his blade scream through the air, making a high-pitched sound. He went faster and faster, as the light became a blur. It just seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fully achieve his goal. He felt that he had the speed required, but that was not all he needed. He seemed incapable of covering all of the areas of his body at once. He could guard each area, but couldn't seem to be able to do it all at once, like his master demanded.

He was determined not to fail. His master had told him to do something, so he would do it. He pushed himself to his limit, twirling his blade at breakneck speeds. Yet, he could still not successfully project the field as he was told to. He even spun his body around, attempting to complete the field. He felt he was close, but couldn't seem to finish it up. He spun faster and faster. He was going pretty fast when the blade slipped loose from his grip, and lodged itself into the ceiling. He frowned, and used telekinesis to pull it out and back into his hand. He looked at his master, seeing what the Zabrak's reaction would be.

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

There was a clap for [member="Vi'kas Mirtis"] by the end of his routine. Ferus was standing by this point, having finished his tea and went back to watching. "Very good! Very good indeed! Now, I wasn't looking for a defense mind you, this is an attack. From so many angles you create an orb that most can't defend against. That's the purpose of Vapaad. Speedy attacks that will overpower your opponent. Keep at that, and feel free to rest when you need to. You've completed this lesson." With that the red man would bow his head. There was a respect for Vi'kas that wasn't there in the earlier lessons, that was for sure. Stepping from the room, the man would get thirsty for some tea again.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas nodded his head in appreciation for the lesson. As Krest walked out the door, the young assassin dragged several training dummies into the center of the room, positioning them in a circle. He stepped into the center of the circle of the circle, preparing to start his routine.

Again, he held his saber in an inverted grip. Instead of using the "X" pattern, he would do something different. Instead of using a fixed pattern, he'd adjust his movement to strike at his opponents. In this case, they would be represented by the dummies.

He spun around, using the force to augment his speed. His master was no longer there, so he he had nobody's emotions to feed off of but his own. Therefore, he went at a much slower pace. Still, his movements were pretty good. He began by slashing at the opponent directly in front of him. After that, he let instinct take over. He turned around and around, utilizing graceful and deadly slashes. He even mixed in a little Ataru, using some mild acrobatics, all while maintaining the "dome."

He did this until he realized he had knocked all the dummies to the floor. He decided that he had trained enough for one day, and sheathed his lightsaber. He had to go heal his hands, and run a few errands.