Private To Learn from a Student

[Kaila Irons]

Atop a mossy cliff outside the city of Canto Bight, there lay a series of bubbling hot springs. Sometimes on a cool day, the breeze would clash with the hot steam, producing a warm mist that traveled across the mountainside, round boulders covered in moss appearing like islands when the light hit just right. It was from these very springs that The Red Ronin Club siphoned warm water for their bath house, redirecting them into artificial pools or moving rocks to merely improve upon what nature had already provided, nurturing smaller pools so that they may grow, and so that others may enjoy this relaxing warmth.

But the uppermost springs were left untouched, the only sign of human activity being a thin gravelly path which led from the clubhouse up the mountain. A short walk from here is where Kaila would often meditate, using the steam to clear her mind as she sat atop one of the many boulders in the lotus position. Today was no different.

In many ways, The Force had presented a challenge, which had brought her to think upon the mountainside this morning.

Tamsin Graves . She, and others not unlike herself, had freed the girl from a fate she believed worse than death. A life of slavery. And it was for that reason she saw something of herself in the girl, and also potential. She also felt responsible for her in some ways, that it was her duty to see that potential realized, to teach Tamsin power such that she could defend herself and make her own decisions with confidence that no one else could ever take the power of choice from her again.

So that she would never have to live the life that Kaila had.

She differed from most of her Sith peers in that way. This was not solely about creating more Sith, in fact she could even settle for teaching her the ways of Dark Jedi. Just so long as she did not surrender to the will of the force, the ultimate enslaver, for that is what destiny truly was. Kaila's philosophy was one of heresy that Sith and Jedi alike saw as dangerous, and in fact she wondered if Tamsin might have a happier future under the tutelage of someone with a more orthodox understanding of the force. Of someone who might teach her the bliss of ignorance. But she had chosen Kaila when she escaped Tatooine, and so now she will do what she must.

Still, Tamsin could have done much worse. Kaila was nothing like her own master, and sought to provide for her new student, not merely command or teach. To that end, Tamsin was instructed only to approach once she had eaten, and directed her hired servants in the clubhouse to prepare a hardy breakfast for the young woman. She would be told that afterwards she may find her on the mountain, and promised to explain all she could.

She only hoped that, for however long or short Tamsin chose to stay with her, that she would prove a good teacher.

Kaila was, after all, an apprentice not so very long ago. Nor had she she ever tried to teach anyone before.

In many ways, this would be a learning experience for them both.


Tamsin Graves

 

[Tamsin Graves]

Loaction: Canto Bight, Cantonica​

A city of luxury and excess on another desert world, she had never seen anything so splendid as this place. Tatooine was drab as the dull sand dunes that covered its surface. Yet Cantonica had high rocky areas and oceans, more life to it for a desert. The city of Canto Bight had flashing lights and palaces, not the dark fortress the Hutt's call palaces but straight out of fairy tales type palaces. It made her wonder what else lay out in the stars beyond, what other wonders she might discover now that she was free.

There was a Galaxy out there for her to discover in time, maybe out there some place was her place of origin. She knew nothing of where she came from or if she had a family out there somewhere that missed her. She was so young when she was brought to Tatooine, only glimpses of the man that sold her to her to the Blougah the Hutt. She remembered his callous hands and him taking her by the hand off his ship into Blougah's Palace. It was such a distant and foggy memory almost a dream.

The thoughts of the past mixed with this new unknown future passed through her mind as she ate a breakfast like she had never had before. Almost anything she wanted to try was given to her fresh fruits, breads, and sweet sugary things that she was insured were breakfast foods. Fresh waters, milks, and even squeezed fruit juices. She ate fast and a lot almost like this could be her last meal, even as the several servants told her to slow down. Before today really, she was so used to go sometimes days between meals and often those meals were meager.

She had chosen to go with Kaila over the others because she did fill some kind of kinship with the woman. She saw it even if she didn't really know what connected them or understand it. Though she still wondered if this was all just a dream, soon she would wake up and be marched back onto the slave auction stage no saviors this time. She was grateful to them all and hoped maybe one day she might meet them all again. For now, her path was this one, with Kaila she had to figure out what connected them. She was dwelling on the why's and what ifs, past and futures way too much she told herself.

Time to Go the words flashed in her mind, she felt an eagerness from deep inside of her and urge to move. She turned to a servant. "I am ready to meet with Kaila." She said the servant nodded and led her a little ways in the direction she needed to head. Soon she was continuing on her own up the mountain path. As she moved up the path, that eagerness in her only grew and her footsteps became faster. She didn't even stop to look at the scenery something she couldn't stop looking at since they arrived here.

Once she reached the top where the mossy rocks laid about among the steaming springs, she slowed her pace. It was quiet and peaceful, the morning sun glimmering off the hot springs. Everything about this place was so different from where she had come from. She was in awe of its beauty a desert with an oasis of luxury. As she spotted Kaila, she gave her a friendly smile and started to move towards her.

"Morning, Kaila."

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

"Tamsin" She smiled softly, feeling her presence through the force even before she opened her eyes.

When she did, they were a stark contrast from the dark and empty visor that had served in lieu of a face when she and Tamsin first met. They shone with a golden radiance, like the twin suns of Tatooine over the mountains at day's end. Yet for all that fiery corruption of the dark side that pierced even the mist, they were not incapable of a gentle gaze, nor the lips about her angular face incapable of a soft smile.

"Come, sit with me please"

She would gesture to a boulder beside the one in which she still sat, similar enough in height for them to be at eyelevel.

"I trust you ate more than sweets? It is good to indulge the self from time to time, but the body will need much more than sugar on this path. Especially if you plan to continue training once we've taken care of your... passenger"

That unseen presence which had begun all of this. A thing that showed Kaila dark and twisted things. How thoroughly were they attached? would it harm Tamsin if they tried to sever that connection? Was it even a spirit, as Kaila suspected? And what was the purpose of this vision it had inflicted upon her? Only time would tell.

"Hm. You'll have to pardon my many questions, I will provide many answers in kind. I've some experience, but more than that, I have done extensive research into both the force and the occult. I was once a seeker, you see. A traveling scholar bound to a dark lord of the Sith. And if for some reason I cannot help you, I will know someone who can"


Tamsin Graves

 

[Tamsin Graves]

Her wide black eyes watched as a smile crossed Kaila's face and her golden eyes opened. Tamsin's steps slowed even more as she drew closer to the woman. She had seen Kaila outside of her mask a few times now since they arrived, but this was the first time she ever really noticed her features. The pale skin next to the blonde hair she almost looked like an apparition if it wasn't for the color in her lips and eyes that gave her life.

In contrast Tamsin was almost the opposite raven haired, nearly a foot shorter, her skin tanner in tone, her lips duller against her skin tone, and her dark eyes except for the very faint orange ring just around her irises. As she stepped closer she really started to notice these details between the two. As she got closer, she returned the smile and held back a laugh about the sweet's comment.

"I much preferred the fruits and water." She said with out much hesitation as much as the sweets had been enticing, she didn't feel it was really breakfast food who ever invented the glazed donut or sugar puffs cereal really needed to rethink there values. She then climbed up the boulder and came to be seated at Kaila's side.

Training and passenger seemed like such foreign words to her, still this force thing confused her even though she had been told she could use it. She didn't understand this passenger or possession stuff either since leaving Tatooine she hadn't heard any voices, the words that popped in her head were still there, but they had been there for as long as she could remember.

"Dork Lord of the Sith?" She had heard Kaila clearly but something in her compelled her to say it wrong. She couldn't explain it something just made her say it that way. "I mean uh…Dark Lord of the Sith what is that?" She felt this rush of laughter go through her bones even though she did feel awkward at the same time for saying it, this was Kaila's faith she was mocking. "Also, what kind of help do you think I need? For this passenger you speak of?"


Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

"Dork Lord of the Sith?"
"I mean uh…Dark Lord of the Sith what is that?"

"Dork lord-?" Kaila said exasperatedly, only to cut herself off as Tamsin correct herself.

"Right, yes. You don't know what that is"

She couldn't actually fight back the toothy smile playing at the corner of her lip as she looked up to the sky. This was perhaps as ridiculous a situation for Tamsin as it was for herself. The response was humorous she had to admit, but she could only hope that the girl would keep such humor in check if ever faced with another Sith. Kaila believed herself a reasonable person, but her peers? They cared not for reason nor patience.

"Also, what kind of help do you think I need? For this passenger you speak of?"

"Hm. Where to begin..."

And of equally similar to her own situation, Tamsin of would likely have just as many questions as herself. It must be frightening, she thought, to be so uninitiated, expected to find her way in a universe that grows larger every time she looks. It was how she felt at least, when she was but an acolyte.

"I suppose we must start at the very beginning. Both of these questions stem from a lack of understanding the force, and so we must begin there. All living things, all natural things, are host to an energy field. My hired help who prepared your meal, the trees around us, even the moss we sit upon"

She gestured broadly to the scenery around them, though her seeming reverence for the vastness of it all was fleeting, and soon her stare into the mist became almost distant, as if she were seeing something beyond. Memories of many sleepless nights spent researching ancient texts, hundreds of lectures spoken in the booming voice of her master, battles with sith and jedi alike.

And there was but one thing responsible for it all.

"It has a will."

She said with a subtle disdain.

"And it desires a destiny, for all of us, good or bad. It influences people and shapes events with a goal in mind, and it is for this reason that I alone believe it to be responsible for all suffering. And if not, it is at the very least, the ultimate enslaver. For that is what destiny truly is; a supplanting of one's choice as an individual"

Kaila turned to regard Tamsin, speaking of what many would consider a heresy so blatantly that she was actually relieved by the girl's ignorance. No doubt she would come to her own conclusions in time, and Kaila would never fault her for it, but it would be good for her to hear this first, her ears undefiled by the religious zealotry of the Jedi, nor the manipulative dogma of sith such as her own master.

"But the force has two sides, Light and Dark. To walk the path of light is to live in harmony with this greater will, to surrender oneself to it's will. I believe, as the Jedi who walk this path do, That the Dark is a corruption if it's will, a wound of the force"

"A way to bind it's will to your own" A feint smile grew. It was thin, proud even.

"Sith walk the path of darkness. We hurt the very force, bleed power from it's omnipresence and steal it for ourselves. I have come to believe that it is one of few ways to combat whatever destiny it has in store for us. To fight the enslaver of all things"

"But few sith are like myself" She admitted, the smile fading in favor of such a serious topic.

She would lie to Tamsin about this, the path of Sith was a dangerous road even for those more powerful and better prepared than Kaila, equally so to those around them. If this girl from Tatooine was to learn their ways, even Kaila's peculiar take on them, then she must be aware that enemies lurked around every corner, and prepared to defend herself.

"Most are like my master. Powerful beings whose only desire is power itself. They draw on the power of unshackled emotion the way I do, but where as I draw upon passion, and a hatred of the injustices inflicted upon me, they draw on upon suffering and domination. The strongest of these beings could even return from the dead..."

"Years ago, I was possessed by the spirit of one such Sith while exploring a tomb. And for many years, I had lost control of this body you see here before you, as if I was a mere passenger in my own mortal vessel. I was eventually freed by a dear friend of mine, but the voice remained, trying to tempt me so that it could regain my body"

"But the dark side is a pathway to one particular ability that can not only stop such an attack, but shackle spirits to your command"

She clutched her necklace, a jagged thing of black crystal and bones arranged like a collar around her neck.

"I could simply eat the voice inside your head, But I wish to see you grow" She smiled again, imagining the potential Tamsin must have to already have the attention of spirits.

"I wish to teach you this power, if you'll allow. So that you may bind the spirit yourself for yourself, and steal away it's powers as I have done. But it is a dangerous thing, you must grow stronger first"



Tamsin Graves

 

[Tamsin Graves]

Tamsin's gazed intently on Kaila as she spoke of the force how it bound everything together in life. How it was apart of everything an invisible field surrounding them all. It was strangely poetic, considering the cruel parts of the world Tamsin had seen. They all had something that tied them together from the lowly slave to the wealthiest aristocrat. From human to the most monstrous of Hutts all knotted together in this thing called the force.

Yet like all poetry it was seldom one of happiness and joy, as Kaila went on its tone turned darker. Kaila spoke of it's will, desire to control and manipulate. How it enslaved those caught in its web forging their destiny through pain and suffering. This will tried to control who you were, who you will be, and who you wanted to be. The more you fought and the more you tried to resist it the more it made you suffer. It wanted you to conform you to it's will, make you what it wanted.

From the sounds of it there was no such thing as true free will, it seemed so hopeless. As the Teacher went into that there were two sides or opposing views on how to deal with the knowledge of the will. A light side and a dark side. The light surrendered itself to the will's choice and the darkside fought against it enduring the suffering that came with that choice. The idea of suffering didn't seem pleasing to Tamsin, yet neither did the idea of being enslaved again.

"We are all slaves then and we must choose to accept it or fight it."

Her statement wasn't a question just her trying to show she thought she understood up to this point what Kaila was telling her. She really didn't want to be a slave again not to a Hutt or anyone else not even this invisible will. Even though she hadn't been free long, she no longer wanted to go back even if she was just learning what freedom meant.

"I too want to fight, this will. But can it be defeated?"

Something inside her stirred as if to say yes but it was silent just a feeling, yet that was of little consequence she wanted to hear Kaila's answer. She continued to listen about passion, hatred, and power it all seemed backwards those were feelings of wickedness. Emotions and states most people often tried not to find or put themselves in. When they did, bad things usually happened around them. Tamsin had seen many people in Blougah the Hutt's court let into there hatred or anger. It resulted in fights and even death often of those not even involved. All of it was because of this will. She didn't say anything as Kaila went into her story and how she came to be possessed. The story almost reminded her of the voice in her head or rather the words that popped in her head as it hadn't ever spoken except that day on Tatooine.

She tried to remember the first time she saw the words in her head. She remembered them being there before she was sold to Blougah. Perhaps they had always been there she thought to herself. Then words came into her mind as she thought on it 'I have always been here' so the answer was given to her. She wasn't sure if she should tell Kaila what it had shown her in her mind, so she let Kaila continue.

Kaila spoke of eating that which was inside Tamsin, Tamsin cringed a bit at the phrasing of that. Not sure if it meant cannibalism or something else either way it didn't sound pleasant. She got the image in her mind of Kaila munching on her skull for a second but quickly pushed it out of her mind pretty sure that wasn't what Kaila meant.

"Yes, I want to grow. Learn what it is, I don't want it to control me if it even can." As she said yes there was a faint growl of excitement in the back of her skull. She shook her head to try and push it away. "It….the thing….it showed me some words in my head that is how it has always communicated before the slave auction that was the first time it talked. It said just moment ago it has always been with me." Was it true could it lie to her, she really didn't know. "I want to learn." She had more questions millions of them. "Where do we begin?"



Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

"We are all slaves then and we must choose to accept it or fight it."

Kaila's head slowly dipped into a low nod. She was proud, in a melancholically twisted sort of way. Tamsin saw the truth of it, certainly as Kaila had come to understand it, and that was perhaps the most important step of all. It was the first in a long, arduous journey, but was it not better to push through as a master of one's own destiny than to live in blissful ignorance? Assuming bliss was even in this girl's future. The whims of the force were fickle, and it had already inflicted much suffering upon her.

"I too want to fight, this will. But can it be defeated?"

"...no" She admitted with a frown.

"A woman called Traya tried, long ago, yet failed. But sometimes, it is enough to simply resist an enemy. Ours is a ceaseless battle, one that will continue well beyond the limit of our lives, as it has long before humans first took to the stars, and will continue perhaps for all time"

She solemnly painted this vast yet grim picture, though they were not without hope.

"There are a few who severed their connection to the force. Force Dead, they are called. But the world around them can still be touched by the force, even if they cannot. They are further from fate than we are, but they do not have power over it. Beings like you and I however, can learn to overrule this cosmic will, enough that we can shape events and places to our will. Our victory lies not in destroying this enemy, but subjugating it"

Those were the simplest terms with which she could describe this philosophy, this doctrine of resolve and hatred of the great injustice inflicted upon them all. But in this eternal battle, one must begin small, and so they would first need to combat this smaller enemy who had come to dwell within Tamsin, if such a task could even be considered a little thing.

"It….the thing….it showed me some words in my head that is how it has always communicated before the slave auction that was the first time it talked. It said just moment ago it has always been with me." Was it true could it lie to her, she really didn't know. "I want to learn." She had more questions millions of them. "Where do we begin?"

"With exercising your will, Tamsin. Whether this thing that dwells within you is a spirit or demon, I do not know. If it is a spirit, then what I teach you will, eventually, allow you to bind it to your will. If it is demonic or eldritch in nature, then I will take you to the master of the occult academy on Yalara and she will know what to do"

"But both of these things require a strong will."

She reached out to squeeze Tamsin's shoulder gently.

"A will I believe you possess. An instrument with which you will be taught control where once you were taught subservience. When I first spoke of things, you did not believe in it, because you did not believe in yourself. The Dark Side is not a gift, but a challenge to be overcome. And so I must first teach you to overcome your doubt, then the force"

Kaila turned then to point at the gravelly stones around them. Not the boulders, for she intended Tamsin to start small, but the many pebbles scattered about.

"Lift the stones, the small ones first. Reach out, first with your hand, then your mind. Close your eyes if need be, imagine them lifting until the image is clear as day in your mind. Using the force is about intent, the clearer and stronger one's intent, the more quickly it will obey"


Tamsin Graves

 

[Tamsin Graves]

The story of this Treya trying and failing to defeat the invisible enslaver was a bit disheartening. As well as the endless fight ahead of her, it did seem a daunting unachievable dream. Though there was still that deep feeling that it could be done she didn't know where it was coming from perhaps the entity inside of her, but she wasn't sure. The fact that there were people outside of the invisible web showed maybe it was possible, however Kaila's words did ring true if more life was caught in that web, then outside of it, those outside of it were still affected by it.

"So, the slaves become the enslavers."

That was how she saw Kaila's explanation of overcoming the will and subjugating it. Take its power and wield it against it and its minions. Tamsin knew nothing about tactics but seemed a logical strategy from a novice such as Tasmin was. It reminded her of a fable she once heard from an old bounty hunter in Blougah's palace. The gist of it of the fable was in order to kill the man with a gun you must use a gun yourself.

Then it was time to learn how use the gun, Kaila went on about with exercise she would become the gun. The passenger in her didn't make a peep or show itself as Kaila spoke of binding it. Tamsin herself now a little more aware of it, she wasn't sure if it was part of her or some parasite attached to her. She could just be one of those nut jobs that talks to themselves, but Kaila was insistent that it was another entity. She was more of an expert on these things then Tamsin.

It was strange as Kaila reached out and grasped her shoulder, she almost felt a sense of relief about all this. She felt calmer as she looked up to Kaila from where she sat. She then did as Kaila instructed, first she lifted her right arm outstretched and towards the rock's Kaila had pointed out. Her hand opened almost like she was grabbing for them, but nothing happened. She just stared at the rocks, glared at them her eyes not blinking as she looked at them.

So instead, she closed her eyes and imaged the rocks lifting into the air in front of her. At first nothing seemed to happen, but a slow rush began to rise through her body. It was a cold rush, freezing cold her body felt like it was about to go numb. Nerons in her brain began to fire and make new connections. A shiver ran through her body as goosebumps formed on her skin and the hairs began to stand up. Then she felt the static run along the surface of her skin as she continued to focus on pushing the rocks up into the air. A wind blew through her all around her that only she could feel. The smell of ionized air hit her nostrils and then a rush of energy exploded inside of her.

Kaila's arm on her shoulder they were both pulled into a split-second vision. A desert world with ruins on them on them, Tasmin would not recognize them, but Kaila would they were the ruins of ancient sith temples. It was quick the vision was over in a mere split-second and they both snapped back to reality. One of the smaller rocks rose about a foot off of the ground and then dropped back down. Tamsin's eyes opened not sure what she had just experienced. "What…was…is that the force?" It frightened her and excited her.


Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

She could feel the subtle shift of energy, even see the hairs on Tamsin's arm stand. Something was happening, and the force was most most certainly involved. Some might assume that a woman like Kaila would feel terrible for exposing a girl like Tamsin to the very thing she hated, But no. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she followed Tamin's outstretched arm, then fingers and finally the unseen current to the rocky ground beyond them. It was a special thing to see one's first time controlling the force, like watching a child take their first step.

But there was something else at play.

Her eyes darted to Tamsin as the energy shifted in an unusual way, only for them to be blinded by a sight for what should have been a mere blink.

It was another vision.

Sand stretched all around, and jagged temples rose from the rocky wastes. Yet, they were unknown to her. They were of Sith make, yes, but this was not Korriban she saw, certainly not as she knew it to be.

Her stunned trance was broken by the sound of a small stone suddenly dropping to the hard ground, kicking up the smallest pebbles around it. Amidst the deafening silence, it was almost like the crack of a gunshot to Kaila's senses, causing her to suddenly snap in it's direction, jaw clenched, golden eyes alight in their alert glare. The Force had allowed her to see beyond her own sight only once before, and it had changed her life. She couldn't be sure that these visions relating to Tamsin were not somehow connected to the entity, but neither could she discount the greater will's involvement.

"What…was…is that the force?"

Kaila slowly turned towards, noting the excited yet frightened look on her face.

"You saw it too, didn't you... It's alright, you're still safe here"

Her grip on Tamsin's shoulder had tightened a little, and she only just realized. Not firm enough to harm, but tighter still than she had meant in her alarmed state. She let go, glancing back at the stones.

"You learn quickly. That is good"


Tamsin Graves

 

[Tamsin Graves]

The grip on her shoulder tightened on her shoulder, Tamsin could sense it was a grip of reassurance and comfort. She didn't see if she had lifted the rock or not, but the words of Kaila told her enough to know she had done it. That feeling that flowed through her just before the vision had opened up her senses and as she looked at the world around her, she saw it just a little different then before that point. She wasn't sure if things were brighter now, but something seemed or felt different then it had before.

"I saw it…." She answered almost longingly, even though it had been just a blink of a moment something told her she knew that place. She wasn't sure why or how not even where that place was. Something told her she had been there before. "….I feel like I know that place but I don't know why."

The bigger question was how if it came from her, she had pulled Kaila into the vision with her. Though Tasmin wasn't even sure how to begin to ask that question as the force was just opening up to her and she didn't know what it was fully capable of. "I feel safe, around you." Tamsin let out a little sigh of relief.

"So should I try again? Or is there something else I should try." She did want to get to the bottom of the vision, and she guessed Kaila probably did too, but she felt that the best way to do that was to continue forward in her training. Maybe something would shed light on the vision and where it led.


Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

"It... is a Sith temple" She said gravely.

"But which? I do not know. I must compare it to my tomes and to the imperial records, perhaps I can find a matching description. Hmm..."

This lends credit to her theory, she thought. It may indeed be a Sith spirit, though why it had not simply overpowered the young woman after so long remained a mystery. Perhaps it was a weaker spirit than those she'd encountered before? Or maybe it had other motives. It could be an ancestor of hers, either a piss poor guardian or perhaps it was waiting for Tamsin to grow stronger so that it had a more able vessel to control.

She supposed there would be plenty of to question it once Tamsin had learned to bind the thing.

"I feel safe, around you."

Her brows raised for but a moment.

There were very few who felt truly safe in her presence. To most, hers was a thing to fear or to revile, whether by her own design or simple because she was Sith, and so an enemy.

"I plan to be something to you that my Master had never been to me"

She smiled softly.

"Even so, I also plan to ensure you are capable of protecting yourself when the time comes. Most sith are taught to see eachother as competitors, especially an apprentice towards the master, such that a teacher may hold back their own student. Any warrior who cannot stand alone upon her own two feet is no Sith at all, yet I also believe that a close companionship is... useful, even to an individual. Duality is the nature of all things, and it is important for a warrior to maintain relationships with others, to have a place of belonging and rest in between the fighting. Our war may be endless, but in all wars, there are small moments between each battle. It is only right that we soldiers against fate be united in these moments"

"And in training, So we will continue to practice," She gestured for her to lift the stones again

"And do so often, even once you've mastered a skill. To be Sith is to be as a blade, which must be sharpened often lest it dull. Ideally, your will shall be the only hands to ever wield it"

Kaila would close her eyes again, beginning to meditate on the things she would teach Tamsin. As she did, a strange energy began to radiate from her not unlike what Tamsin had felt before, although this was perhaps more potent for the time being, seeming to rise up from the very ground around them.

"What you are practicing now is called Telekinesis," She began, voice almost a whisper

"It is one of the most basic powers a Sith or Jedi can wield, and perfect for introducing a beginner to their own ability. But it is also one of my favorites, for it flows naturally, even into more advanced techniques"

A short distance around them, pebbles began to gently drift upwards.

"The ability to push a foe to the ground, or rip a door from it's hinges. To, throw a lightsaber and control it's course, even wield it without the use of your hand. Draw upon your ambitions, your desire to grow this power, to wield it- and your destiny- as you see fit. Remember that, though there is also power in the light, the dark side comes quickly, perhaps even naturally to beings like ourselves who have experienced trauma and hardship. But, certainly in this instance, it is my passion for preventing these very things which strengthens my power. Perhaps it will become yours too?"

Over time, a few of the larger stones began to lift a short distance from the ground.

"I will teach you more, in time. Even ways to defend oneself without involving the force, if you wish. But for now, it is important we strengthen your connection to it enough that we may protect you from this entity, or at least gain a better understanding of it. When I reached out to your mind before, It bestowed a vision similar to the one you've seen. It may be possible to communicate with it in time"


Tamsin Graves

 

[Tamsin Graves]

Those ruins a sith temple, then why would she feel she knew the place. She had known of the sith and Jedi vaguely while at Blougah's palace. Yet she had both being called hero and villain, space magicians and myths by all manner of court members arguing. In that time, she had never really thought much of it until Tella and Kaila. So, a sith temple why would she betide to such a place or even the entity or whatever it was inside of her. Yet knowing Kaila would look into did bring a little comfort.

"I plan to be something to you that my Master had never been to me"

Tamsin returned the smile.

"Your master?" The second time she had referenced this master. Tamsin wasn't sure if she was talking, a slave master or some sort of teacher. The way she said it and referenced the term, it seemed almost interchangeable. Revered, yet down right despised in the same use of the word. She seemed to hate this master yet had some sense of, no reverence wasn't the word, fear maybe? Tamsin wasn't sure but now that she was open to the force she could really notice it.

"Even so, I also plan to ensure you are capable of protecting yourself when the time comes. Most sith are taught to see eachother as competitors, especially an apprentice towards the master, such that a teacher may hold back their own student. "

"Why would a master hold back their student?"

It didn't make sense; didn't you teach to have your students carry on the work you were doing when you couldn't anymore. Wouldn't you want your students to even surpass you in some respects because that created progress. Wouldn't civilization itself collapse if no one progressed far enough to move it forward. That is when the words popped in her head. Stagnation is their Weakness. Tamsin wasn't sure what it meant or what the thing in her was referencing though.

"Our war may be endless, but in all wars, there are small moments between each battle. It is only right that we soldiers against fate be united in these moments"

The thought of a place of belonging was a beautiful sentiment to Tamsin, she never had that before. So, place where you felt at sense of ease and home. Home what was that even, even in the thirteen years she was in Blougah's Palace she never thought of it as a home or even a place of comfort. Even with Kaila it wasn't but this was all new, who knew what the future might hold. Though the only new thing so far was Tamsin's ability to dream of a future of her own but that was a start.

"It is one of the most basic powers a Sith or Jedi can wield, and perfect for introducing a beginner to their own ability. But it is also one of my favorites, for it flows naturally, even into more advanced techniques"

"Yes, I could feel it flow throw me almost like a breeze. It felt almost cold at first." Like ice in the veins, but the cold was comforting but Tamsin surmised that was from being on a desert world all her life the cold air would feel comforting. As she mentioned, the power of telekinesis and what it could do Tamsin was amazed doors off hinges. It was she power with just a thought of the mind. Then Kaila mentioned of its use with a lightsaber "You and Tella both had lightsaber, do all force users have them?"

In truth Tamsin would love to have a look up close at Kaila's saber. Though she would want to go deeper than that if she could take it apart and see how it worked. It had to have some kind of emitter and a lens to project the plasma blade. Yet how it stayed stable and in the desired shape without at least dripping plasma residual she couldn't fathom.

"I want to learn it all and understand it." She exclaimed Kaila's words of passion for it, showing she did indeed have a passion for what Kaila wanted to teach.

"Wait it showed you a vision before? What did it show you?"


Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

"So many questions," she laughed softly.

"We really are perfect for each other. Perhaps, just this once, I will thank fate"

The stones around them began to drift gently back to the earth as her concentration shifted towards answering Tamsin's many questions. Although, her expression darkened while thinking about the vision.

"This spirit, or whatever it may be, showed me the last moments of a dying world" she hummed with a quiet solemnness.

"Rain fell, and lightning crashed overhead. Then it changed, I could see the place being ripped apart, swallowed by a whirling darkness that seemed endlessly deep, light unable to penetrate it's core. But I also... felt something... I felt the annihilation of this world, yet, the defeat of something dark indeed."

"I wonder if... if perhaps the vision is of Exegol" She wondered aloud, eyes opening into a contemplative glare.

"It was a stormy but sacred world to the sith, once. The Jedi destroyed it while I was still in training. A shame really, I would have liked to study there some day"

"But nevermind that," she turned to Tamsin.

"That world is destroyed now. If it was truly was Exegol, than my vision was of the past, and so it cannot harm you, just as it will produce no answers for the living. And so, we will know nothing of it until we've bound this entity"


Kaila knew that this explanation may be discouraging, and so she took a moment to think of something that may soften the blow of disappointment.

It was then that she remembered Tamsin asking about her lightsabers, and a feint smile came about her.

"Well, we've a lot of work ahead of us. Let's start with something small, yes? Would you like to see a lightsaber?"

Her smile widened as she unclipped the shoto from her hip, holding it in her flattened palm, though she would sternly remind her student to mind her own safety.

"Just remember, never point it toward yourself. Hold it out and away from the body, pointed forward. It will burn and melt anything in it's path, especially flesh and bone. I will not let you touch it unless you promise to be safe with it, for your own sake. It is perhaps the most dangerous weapon you will ever hold, and should be treated such"



Tamsin Graves

 

[Tamsin Graves]

"Exegol." She said aloud not questioning the place but more to let the roll of her tongue to see if the mention of it might conjure something in her. The word seemed familiar but perhaps she had heard a legend or two of the place, it was very likely in Blougah's palace she had so many tales and legends. Yet the word of the place itself didn't conjure anything specific in her as she said it.

The idea of a world being ripped apart and destroyed, by the Jedi. How could someone just snuff out a world like that and life that must have lived there. It seemed so needless and cruel, yet from all the talk on Tatooine the Jedi were supposed to be the hero's or good guys. Yet they had condemned a whole world to complete annihilation. Hero's of legend wouldn't do that, they would want to save the world and preserve life.

Her excitement raised and as her thought pulled quickly from dwelling on what was when Kaila mentioned the lightsaber. "Um…yes!" She watched as Kaila pulled her saber free, Tamsin's almost greedy little eyes looked at it as Kaila handled it. "Really?" She questioned as Kaila held it out in the palm of her hand.

At first she just gingerly touched it felt the metal cylinder with her fingers as Kaila went through how to handle it properly. Tamsin looked at the sleek design and the position of the buttons on it. She tilted her head slightly but cautiously to look at the end where the plasma blade should come out of. She was listening to what Kaila was saying at the same time though to Kaila she probably seemed lost in the device.

"I promise, I will be very careful."

Then she carefully lifted the weapon out of Kaila's palm feeling the light weight of the object. She was careful not to point the end where the blade came out of at herself or Kaila, holding it out in front of her as instructed. She let it roll in her right hand at first then she reached out with her left and exchanged the weapon hand. Letting it roll in her left hand to get again a feel for the weight of it.

She then pushed herself up to feet on top of the stone she had been sitting on. She steadied her feet on the rock now standing above Kaila, one of the only times she would be taller than her friend. She then put both her hands on the saber as it was held out in front of her. She then looked down at Kaila and asked pointing to the activation button. "This one activates it right?" and then she pointed to the lock toggle and extension switch. "What do these two buttons do?" She would not touch them until she was sure she knew what they did.



Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Tamsin appeared to understand well the caution which she wished to impart upon the girl, handling the weapon with equal parts awe and respect. She was a good student in many regards, and Kaila hoped she would continue to be so amicable, so that she could stoke the fires of the dark side in her through what once was, allowing her to learn the ways of sith without being inflicted with undue suffering the way Carnifex had to herself.

"This one activates it right?" and then she pointed to the lock toggle and extension switch. "What do these two buttons do?"

"You've a keen eye" She smiled

"My shoto here, as many crafts of the sith, is deceiving. It's small size belies it's true potential"

Kaila would gesture over each component next as she began describing the device.

"The hilt is telescopic, and so the top switch extends it, becoming a long staff. It is excellent for keeping foes at a distance, although it lacks the flexibility of a standard saber, and can prove unwieldly due to the shifting balance in weight. It is however more maneuverable in open spaces, giving one's wrists and arms more room to move than the more popular double bladed splitsabers"

"Do you see that nub at the bottom though?" Then she pulled a second lightsaber from her belt, tracing a finger along the indented end

"It matches the gription lock on my first lightsaber, and the bottom switch there locks them together. In this way, they can be joined as one, facilitating new maneuvers in combat, much the same way as a Master and an Apprentice should compliment one another. It is a violent yet affective harmony."

"I am very proud of my creation" She smiled, stowing her first lightsaber from whence it came.

"You asked if all force users have lightsabers? Most do, at least those who have discovered the path. A master teaches their apprentice craft one, it's sort of a right of passage, you see. They are powered by special crystals which bond to us through the force. Any being could technically wield a saber, but the crystal will fight them like gravity does a heavy blade. Over time, ours become as an extension of the soul in some ways, and so it is light but strong. We do not wield blades so much as direct a current of energy"

"You will make your own, some day"

Perhaps Tamsin would not always be her apprentice, and so this thought turned her smile melancholy, but she would be happy to teach her in the meantime for as long as their path intertwined. Though she would be thankful, if it lasted long enough for her to witness the first ignition of a new lightsaber. Not only because it would a special moment to share with her student, but because such a thing would take time, such that they would have been on the path for quite awhile.



Tamsin Graves

 

[Tamsin Graves]

She listened as Kaila described how it all worked, tilting it slightly to get a better look at the nub that connected the two sabers. It was a of very fine craftsmanship, the detail on the saber was magnificent. Though Tamsin wasn't sure she could ever craft something so elegant. Though when she had mentioned a crystal it clicked in Tamsin's head how the Plasma blade stayed stable when projected outwards. This crystal must act as some kind of stabilizer, and as Kaila described the crystals it indeed confirmed her suspicion that they were a very specialized crystal. The crystals even bonded with the user from the way Kaila was talking.

Tamsin then stepped to the side slightly and held the saber off to the side and pushed the lock toggle and then the extension button letting the staff extend outward. She watched as the staff extended out and kept both her hands on the hilt. She was once again testing its weight; the weapon was close to her own height in length maybe a foot or almost two shorter, yet the weight and Balance had hardly changed. "Wow!" She exclaimed, amazed by just how well crafted this weapon was.

"I once fixed a toaster so it could toast both sides of the bread perfectly in about thirty seconds." It was the closest thing she had to an accomplishment in craftsmanship that could think of, and it wasn't even close. "But nothing like this, I don't know if I could make something like this." She then retracted the staff portion back into the saber and locked it. She then swung the saber hilt a little bit like she was sword fighting with it, without extending the blade.

Though as she swung it, her feet began to move on top of the rock she was standing on almost in a fluid dance like motion. Tamsin wasn't even aware she was doing, it wasn't perfect, but her feet almost seemed to move in lock step with her motions in a dance. After a minute or so though she stopped. "I would be proud of such a thing too." She handed Kaila back the Saber with an overly excited grin on her face.

"Can you extend the blade? I want to look at it." Excitement beaming off her lips as she said. "I mean, not like look at it…like." Her eyes went wide as she tried to express, she wasn't meaning looking at it up close in front of her face look. "I just want to see the color of it and hear whatever sounds it makes when you fire it up." And then she went on. "Oh can you show me how the sabers attach together as well." Tamsin was enthralled with how this thing worked and she was determined to have it figured out. "Also, I bet it can cut through just about anything, I wonder what temperature the blade gets." By letting Tamsin handle the saber and talking about how it works, Kaila had hit Tamsin's hyper fixation buttons.

She imagined for a moment what her saber if she could make one day might look like and fighting by Kaila's side like Kaila had fought on Tatooine. In this moment she thought she would be with Kaila forever and they would go gallivanting across the galaxy fighting the invisible will that was the force and freeing slaves. Fate what ever it had instore didn't matter this is what she thought the future would be. The possession, the vision, the omens to come, and all the other worries flowing away.




Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Kaila sat as a silent audience to the girl's mimed swordplay, moving with an almost-perfect grace that made the sith wonder if Tamsin's parents had also been force sensitive, perhaps even sith or jedi, though her claims about a toaster also hinted at a rare ability she would certainly have to explore.

Then, after a time, the girl asked a series of questions that prompted a soft laugh. Such childlike wonder, she thought.

"I understand your meaning," she handwaved Tamsin's concern with a smile.

With a practiced grace, she then accepted the return of her lightsaber and stood, hopping down from the boulder, metallic bones adding a surprising weight, yet she was no less fluid in her movements as she took a warrior's stance, one foot sliding back with a slight dragging sound against the gravel, the other remaining rooted in place as her knee bent ever so slightly.

With a thumb, she popped loose the lock attaching the first saber to her hip, performing a fluid cutting motion from below that ended in her Violet blade igniting in a tearing hiss as if it were being torn from the nether. Her second blade followed soon after, it's synthetic Red blade much shorter and easier on the ears, yet they seemed harmonious in the low hum they produced even despite the unstable pulse and rippling in it's energized current.

She swung them in the air a few times, practicing her agile Jar'kai in a slow fluid movement, gradually picking up in speed to demonstrate.

"A lightsaber produces heat with speed," she began, spinning in a sweeping motion to give Tamsin a better view and side profile, bending her knee such that she almost crouched, her shoto catching the edge of the pool, leaving a glowing gash in the stone and splashing water that almost immediately vaporized into steam.

"A simple flick of the wrist can prove deadly, But a crashing blow can cleave men in two"

Her second saber came down from on high, only for Kaila to simultaneously leap back with the force, nearly cutting a boulder in half as she passed over it and landed atop the next.

Then, quickly as they had burst into being, the lightsabers disengaged.

"There are few things a lightsaber cannot cut. My helm, and my staff, are two of them. They are made from Cortosis and Phrik respectively, very rare and highly prized metals with their own unique properties. In rare cases, non-sensitives use them to fight Sith and Jedi alike"

Finally, she pulled the cloak from her shoulders and tossed it aside, then connected the lightsabers together, twisting the handles such that sparks flew. Then she held the conjoined sabers out with one hand, and with a simple thumbing of the switch, The staff deployed in a series of clicks as she held it out in a near perfect horizontal balance.

"You may doubt yourself now, but yours will be no less powerful than mine"

Then both blades ignited in unison as she took a new stance, alluding to the alternate forms of attack she had mentioned previously.

"In time, I will teach you how to find your own crystal and to construct your own saber. I will also teach you extensively in their use, as battle is to us as meditation is to the Jedi. The Kainite warrior, Apollyon, once claimed a Jedi told her that peace was one's mind and body in perfect harmony, to which she surmised that one was at their most peaceful while fighting. You will come to understand this paradox, I promise"

She already felt more lively herself.



Tamsin Graves

 

[Tamsin Graves]

She watched and listened close to the snap-hiss and vibrant blades as they came to life violet and red in color. She watched how smoothly they protruded from the cylinder hilts and how fast they expanded. She was taking in every detail, taking mental notes of how it all might work and come together.

"A lightsaber produces heat with speed,"

“Hmm” She said as she watched Kaila sing and sweep with he weapons in each of her hand. She watched the dance Kaila as it got faster and faster with the blades, as the shoto caught the edge of the pools of spring water. The water evaporating near instantly on impact. There wasn’t even a bubbling of the water as the plasma blade touched it.

"A simple flick of the wrist can prove deadly, But a crashing blow can cleave men in two"

“Ooo.” She exclaimed as Kaila leaped back and nearly cleaved a boulder in half with the other saber. Then the sound came as the sabers disengaged. There wasn’t really a shrinking of the blade it was more like a light switch and they were off just a millisecond after. She stood there listening to Kaila as she held her weapon in its staff alteration. “Oh Phrik, that’s what beast master in Blougah’s zoo spear head was made of. Said it costed him a lot of credits to have made.” Though she had no idea what cortosis was but assumed it was like phrik. “So your saber couldn’t cut that, what about that armor…” She couldn’t remember the name of the species the bounty hunter was even though there profile looked very human.

“People just called this bounty hunter that Blougah sometimes used a Mando, I think. They said his armor was near indestructible, but it wasn’t made of Phrik something else?” She wondered if a saber would have the same trouble with that kind of armor.

"You may doubt yourself now, but yours will be no less powerful than mine"

“I want a purple one, or maybe orange one if there are crystals that make those colors. When we get tot hat part of training.” She was also formulating a few other design ideas for her own sabers one day but first she would need to know her fighting style. Being as short as she was she already knew it would have to be something with quick strikes over powerful ones. “So where do these crystals usually come from?”

"The Kainite warrior, Apollyon, once claimed a Jedi told her that peace was one's mind and body in perfect harmony, to which she surmised that one was at their most peaceful while fighting. You will come to understand this paradox, I promise"

“It looks and feels like a dance to me when you hold the saber in your hand, your body moving a in a smooth rhythm. So, I can see why this Apollyon and Jedi thought so, dancing is almost a pure expression of oneself.” The idea of fighting wasn’t the paradox to Tamsin but the idea of violence in that fight was along with drawing on the negative emotions that seemed to fight against the idea of peace. “I don’t think it’s the fighting that is the paradox though. It’s the emotions you draw in the fight that create the paradox.”




Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

"Beskar." she put simply.

"It's some kind of steel that only Mandalorians can make, gleams like silver, hardest metal I've ever seen"

Kaila stood to her full height now, spinning the staff once or twice until it came to an upright position, her posture straightening with the staff as the blades retracted, more of a heavy walking stick now.

Then, she held one of her vambraces up, tapping it with the staff to produce an ethereal ring that echoed faintly across the misty mountainside.

"This vambrace is made of pure Beskar. I claimed it in battle from a fallen Mandalorian while fighting for the empire several months ago. I do not know much about them, only that they were fought fiercely, and that the hail from varied clans with equally varied loyalties. They are a mercenary people by and large, scattered after their homeworld was nearly destroyed by my master, our former Emperor."

"I... respect them, in a way" she added solemnly before turning towards Tamsin.

"I'm told their entire culture evolved around fighting sith and jedi. Their sacred steel is rare however, and even the best of their armor can be exploited via gaps at the neck and joints. So rest assured, I will teach you to defend yourself no matter what kind of foe you face"

She planted her staff into the ground below, sliding down with a gloved hand until she stood upon the gravel, retracting the staff and disconnecting her lightsabers as she approached, holding one up for Tamsin to view.


"But I'm sure you're more interested in the lightsabers themselves, yes?" she chuckled softly

With no more than a thought, the protective casing on her first saber came undone, screws twisting until they hovered in the air, followed by the crystal housing, and then a small purple crystal joined the floating collection, everything on display for the curious apprentice.

"Sometimes, a crystal will call out to Jedi. As an extension of the force and it's will, they choose a Jedi to bond with and protect in battle. Sith however, most either take crystals, and bleed the light from them until they are red with the dark side, or we grow our own synthetic crystals, meditating on them while they bake in a furnace, infusing them with our own emotions until they gain a sort of crude sentience not unlike true kyber crystals. This crystal was taken from an ancient tomb, while my other crystal was carefully forged"

"Admittedly, my synth-crystal is imperfect. I left it in too long, and so it is somewhat unstable" she added with a nervous chuckle.

Then the crystal gently floated back into it's housing, and the lightsaber began to reassemble itself.

"I have my first crystal still, a purple thing from the planet Hurrikaine. Perhaps it will be a gift, when I believe you ready"

Once the lightsaber was fully constructed, she slid them both into a set of carefully made holsters attached to her hip, closing the locks with her thumbs as she sat down beside Tamsin.

"I say this because my crystals are already infused with a small part of me. The dark side is strong with them, my hatred, my passions, all of it. I want you to be prepared so that they do not affect you much. It would be better if we found an untouched crystal to bond with you first, so that only your emotions affect it, tailoring it to your needs rather than mine. But they are incredibly rare, so we shall see"



Tamsin Graves

 

[Tamsin Graves]

So, Beskar was what it was called, the armor that the Mando bounty hunter wore. Interesting but she still wondered if it was as indestructible as people said. Kaila did say it was one of the hardest materials she had ever seen. So perhaps it was as indestructible as they said. Then as Kaila swung her staff into a upright position at her side, she then showed Tamsin her vambraces made of this Beskar.

Tamsin looked at them at a distance on top of the rock she stood on for a second. She was just amazed by all the cool things Kaila had. Kaila wasn't that old but seemed like she had been everywhere and picked up all kinds of things from around the Galaxy. Tamsin got down from her rock and moved towards Kaila and reached out and touched the vambraces. She felt the cold beskar and how finally forged it had been, not a single flaw or crack.

"Your master destroyed their world, why?" That was the first real thing she had said about her master whoever that was. Through her words alone, this master destroyed a world and scattered its people, whoever this master was Tamsin could see why Kaila wouldn't want to talk too much about them. This person was powerful, or at least had the means to project power if they destroyed a world. Someone to be feared and may even hate depending on what they did to Kaila herself.

"An Emperor?" Wait did she hear that correctly did Kaila say her master was an Emperor. Tamsin didn't know much about Emperor's or Kings except she knew some Hutt's liked to liken themselves to such stations. She knew the basics though Emperor's ruled kingdoms, supreme rulers of their territory. She had also heard stories of Galactic Empires and Republics fighting against each other. "Of a Galactic Empire?"

"Also, these Mandalorian's sound tragic their world destroyed, forced to wander. I can see why they would become bounty hunters or mercenaries. You have to do what you need to survive." She herself felt a bit of a connection to that, the thought of not being able to go home. Though she didn't know where home even was or had been. She wondered if there might come a time when she would have to wander alone in the Galaxy like these Mandalorians.

"I hope I never have to face a Mandalorian, I feel bad for them to be honest. Yet if I must, I will." She didn't know what circumstance might cause her to face off against a Mandalorian, but she had a freedom to defend now. Though the thought of killing was still far from her mind, she was understanding that violence was going to become a new aspect of her life but right in this moment she saw that as a means of survival.

"Very much so I think they are really cool, I find their construction very interesting. I have always liked seeing how things work. I don't know why it's just…well I always have." As she said that Kaila used her telekinesis and opened the saber in front of her the components on display in front of Tamsin. Tamsin looked heavily at each piece as it all floated there in front of her. Not just the saber though enthralled her, the display of Kaila's telekinesis, sure she had lifted a rock, but Kaila had ever piece floating individually.

It clicked in Tamsin mind as she listened to Kaila speak and looked at each of the parts, how it all worked together. She understood how the blade stayed stable and how it all powered together into one complete object. Then the mention that crystals could be made, surprised Tamsin a bit, so like a diamond if you pressurized and heated it you could form one of these crystals. Though with a bit of the force added to make it special. Yet they also grew naturally as well and had a will of their own. "What do you mean bleed the light from them?" Tamsin was asking for a bit of clarification because the way Kaila sounded the crystal tended towards the lightside.

"You got that one from a tomb?" Tamsin wasn't surprised by the grave robbing; it was a fairly common thing on Tatooine for making credits though people who did it for a living preferred to called salvagers and were called Jawa's. "Did it grow their or did you take it off someone?" It wasn't that Tamsin was concerned about grave robbing she was just curious who it might have belonged to before indeed it was taken.

"Yes, I can see how an impurity in any part of the saber might make it unstable. Yet you still use it, so tightly packed in the cylinder shell like that, you are practically holding a bomb in your hand. If anything goes even slightly wrong…your hand will be gone." Concern washed over Tamsin as she thought about it more, she could easily visualize every mechanism in the saber working in conjunction with each other and if there was a flaw even a micro one things could go catastrophically wrong.

"I understand, I don't deserve such a gift though, I owe you. You and the others saved me, you didn't even have to take me in. You didn't even have to show me all this." She gestured to the hot springs and to Canto Bight itself. Yet she was also meaning the saber and teaching her about the force. "I hope I can repay you someday, though maybe you could show me this other crystal sometimes they fascinate me."



Kaila Irons