The first lesson of many

[Dracen Garett]

Dracen stared across the massive frozen pallet of water known as lake Verino. Just a day earlier, three skirmishes had taken place there, and he had been offered an apprenticeship by a fellow darksider. Naturally, he had accepted, and so was now under the tutelage of a man named Alen. Currently, he did not know of the man's whereabouts, so he simply practiced merging himself with the force. The force, which granted the ability of limitless power, should one use it correctly. Staring down at his hand, he watched as it slowly filled with a deep purple energy. He gave a toothy smile. Excellent, he was learning.

@[member="Alen Na'Varro"]

 

[Aran Finn]

@[member="Dracen Garett"]'s thought wasn't true in the most exact of senses. The Force was an unlimited source of energy and power, yet there was not one being in the galaxy who could use it without limits. It was the nature of a sentient mind to set limits; some could be broken, but others, more powerful ones that defined a person as existing in the here and now, could not be. Garett would never find limitless power. Neither would Alen Na'Varro. Limitless power was the realm of gods, and Na'Varro and Garett were just men. Men that were more powerful than other men. That was all.

"Today you will unlearn everything you have learned and start afresh. A clean slate, and from that we will forge victory." Alen's husky voice cut Dracen's contemplation like a knife through warm butter. He strode briskly to where the Apprentice stood, eager to get started. The difference between Alen the Dark Jedi Knight and Alen the Teacher was stark. Alen the Dark Jedi Knight was just a man. Alen the Teacher was Master. He was respected, he always controlled the flow of conversation, and he kept order. There was no time to be wasted. "Outside of our lessons, you will find me approachable. Feth, maybe even friendly if you warrant it. However, while you are learning from my teachings, you will concentrate, do as instructed, and shut your mouth unless I ask you a question. Do not waste my time, and do not waste yours, for it is finite."

Alen kneeled, and motioned for his apprentice to do the same.

"Kneel, apprentice, and we will begin your tutelage."

 

[Dracen Garett]

"Yes.... master." Dracen was infuriated. Bowing down to a human? A lesser being than himself? Inconceivable. However, he needed further training. Grudgingly, he kneeled down next to the man, looking down at him due to his height. "What is the first lesson?"

@[member="Alen Na'Varro"]

 

[Aran Finn]

"The nature of the Force itself. We will find a way for you to snatch a powerful connection at will, efficiently and with impunity." From his kneeling position, Alen placed a fist on the ice. "The connection we make between ourselves and the Dark Side is a Faustian bargain. We gain great power which we can use in limitless ways, but it takes a toll from our bodies and our minds. Some Dark Jedi go mad and fall to the Sith. Others become husks; in their arrogance they use so much power that it saps their will and energy to live. In the end they are sustained by the Dark Side, not really living at all, only surviving as a vessel of the Force. This is something we will avoid."

Alen let the Darkness flow through him, demonstrating power as well as control. He controlled the flow of the river of Force energy, damming various points and directing his energy. Where a Sith let the Darkness flow through him without restriction, Alen caged it. The Dark Side was his tool, not the other way around.

"Find calm, apprentice. Root yourself to the world, feel your place in the galaxy. The Force surrounds us, penetrates and holds together everything you can see, hear and feel, and everything else. Calm yourself. Find exactly where your place is in existence itself ... to know yourself, Garett, is to know the way. When you are calm, find a powerful memory. Something that brings a powerful emotion, such as rage or anguish. In time, we will build to minor emotions such as frustration, but for now, seek the rage in your past. Then we will fill the calm with it."

@[member="Dracen Garett"]

 

[Dracen Garett]

Dracen could've chuckled at the words. He could not remember any particular rage from his past, only short bursts whenever he would lash out in the force. Once, for instance, was when he killed his first mentor, a dark Jedi that had been spying on him his whole life. The man had been weak in the end, and so Dracen ended his life. Other than that, however, he remembered no rage or anger of any kind. The dark side simply used him as a vessel. Perhaps it was his passion that drove him. That would make sense, he reasoned. So, he focused on his passion. Closing his eyes, he reached forth into the world and the force, trying to find an opening. None revealed itself at first, but he soon found the tether that held him to the force. Pulling on it, he smiled when he felt a sudden surge of energy.

@[member="Alen Na'Varro"]

 

[Aran Finn]

Passion ... Alen would watch Dracen closely. Passion was a dangerous way to fuel the Dark Side. It made the chances of falling to the Sith even higher. So, so dangerous. If his Apprentice could walk the narrow line between purpose and insanity, he would reap the benefits of Alen's teachings. But that was a narrow, narrow line. All Na'Varro could do was teach the man and have faith.

"Now control the energy, Garett. Channel it to different parts of your body ... start with the feet, and work your way up to your shoulders and your head. Control it in a way that the Sith cannot. Then we will work on physical facets."

@[member="Dracen Garett"]

 

[Dracen Garett]

While Dracen's outer shell may have heard the man, it didn't register with him mentally. Instead, his body worked on its own, channeling it's gathered energy to various parts of the body. It streamed into each limb, one by one, until it eventually began to fill him in its entirety. As the energy traveled across his body, he felt each corresponding limb grow stronger in effect. He felt truly alive with the force. As this happened, his lips unconsciously twisted into a toothy grin.

@[member="Alen Na'Varro"]

 

[Aran Finn]

"Good, Garett ... learn to love this feeling, but without desirous attachment. Philosophy is just as important to a Dark Jedi as the Force and martial skill. Without it, one falls to the Sith and the darkness consumes them. Let the Force be your tool rather than you its vessel, apprentice." Alen rose and signaled for his apprentice to stand with him, then turned and indicated a series of huge rock formations behind them. Naturally formed, each was taller than the last, and each formation would require a larger leap to reach the top. Garett would have to fuel his legs with the Force and jump higher than his last attempt every time if he wished to reach the top. The last jump would require all of his strength. The Apprentice would have to work fast too, for Alen had something else in mind. He pulled a smooth stone from his pocket and showed it to Garett, eyeing him seriously. "Catch this before it reaches its peak, and we will move on."

The Dark Jedi tossed the stone high into the air, fueled by the Dark Side it rose even higher again than the tallest rock formation, still rising. @[member="Dracen Garett"] would have to use each of the five formations as a stair of sorts, Force Leaping up each one with increased effort, and then Leap off of the tallest rock to catch the still rising stone. He'd have to work fast and trust Alen, who would catch him before he smashed into the icy ground below.