Private To Lose Oneself In Reverb

[Arcturus Dinn]

It was strange to be back.​

​

Though some time had passed since his return to Korriban, so much had happened that called him off world that it barely felt as though hours had. Days had bled into weeks, his studies had taken quite a hit. He'd take what he could when journeying from task to task, using shuttle time to catch up on reading and research and projects. Nothing formal though. Just constant busyness.​

​

Things were beginning to calm down, if only a little. Enough at least that sleep was not so immediate when he laid his head down at night; enough that the symphony in his mind could begin anew.​

​

And its return brought with it thoughts of the past. He had heard it long before her lesson, but being there with her, and Quintus, and temporarily the Cragmoloid, had certainly helped to amplify it. Nay, focus it. For several nights he lay awake simply listening to it, delving deeper into its melodic majesty.​

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Then one day he arose with his mind made up.​

​

Walking through the Academy, he sought the one named Celeste Demici though he knew not precisely where she was. He spoke with some of the Academy Overseers and was eventually led her way. Whether that was in the Academy, or elsewhere on Korriban, or elsewhere in general, Arcturus made the journey to seek her out.​

​

He had gone without satiating his thirst for knowledge for much too long; it was time to begin anew.​

 

[Celeste Demici]

Hyrva Vh'akli
Truthspeaker, The Prophet, Lady of Throdog N'ghftor, Witch Elder​

Location: Library, Sith Academy, Korriban
Equipment: Shield talisman | Shadow's Folly || Empyrean gland
Tag: Arcturus Dinn

[ Listen the Voices ] ​

Kadishtuor, uh'eor kadishtuor ah'sgn, soth ahog.

Hyrva had been at Korriban for months or much longer. By now, she had mastered quite well the knowledge that the Worm Emperor expected of her. She was already familiar with Sith traditions and customs; the views that are expected of the Sith in this place. Of course, there were some things that were very foreign to her because she studied and lived according to other customs at home, but she soon got used to them. She was ready to be a Prophet of the Worm Emperor if the time came.

Kadishtuor, uh'eor kadishtuor ah'sgn, soth ahog.

She was in the library, just reading some Codex and trying to decipher one of her last visions. That was unusually strange now. It featured strange alien, animal-like creatures, along with the Sith, and a smoky woman who was both part of the Netherworld and the living. There were already some details that the creatures were the Bryn’adûl, the smoky woman was an assassin and this woman has great secrecy over her power. The Truthspeaker didn't see who she was, just the smoke and the shadows. She saw a multi-eyed person, from another dimension who seeks more power.

Kadishtuor, uh'eor kadishtuor ah'sgn, soth ahog.

No, it wasn’t her dimension, not the one in which eldritch-like creatures live, another. She even saw high-profile corruption, felt endless anger, hatred combined with iron. A state that seems to be falling apart, but stronger than anyone else would think, a place where almost no one agrees with the other, yet they occupy a great place; or servants of light who are powerless. Everything was connected, and even Worm Emperor was connected to them.

Kadishtuor, uh'eor kadishtuor ah'sgn, soth ahog.

"Welcome my child!" She looked up from the books as Tesh entered the part of the library where Hyrva was. "You're looking for me…"

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

He had been sent to several different locations before finally finding the correct one wherein Celeste Demici awaited. Out into the desert just beyond the Academy, into a tomb, then back again. One of the classrooms... On and on... He was rather tired when he finally arrived.​

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But it seemed as though the last Knight he'd spoken to had the right of it. For here, within the main library space, the Witch most certainly was. He made a mental note to remember who it had been for next time, they were at least competent in this regard.​

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With an inclination of his head he greeted the woman respectfully.​

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"Indeed, My Lady, I do seek you out."​

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Arcturus lifted his head then, and gave the woman a small, yet rather sheepish, smile.​

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"I was wondering if you might have time to further educate me in the ways of blood magic.. Or whatever else you might see worthwhile for one such as myself to learn. I understand if not, some knowledge is sacred and best left for only those most suited to it."​

​

All he could do was ask.​

 

[Celeste Demici]

Hyrva Vh'akli
Truthspeaker, The Prophet, Lady of Throdog N'ghftor, Witch Elder​

Location: Library, Sith Academy, Korriban
Equipment: Shield talisman | Shadow's Folly || Empyrean gland
Tag: Arcturus Dinn

[ Listen the Voices ] ​

Ymg' kadishtu ahagl ymg' ahor h' mgah'n'ghft, llll syha'h ah'legeth, ahehyee ainah ai mgleth!

Hyrva looked up from the codex again when the boy addressed her. As it turned out what she wanted, the woman closed the book. Since it was a very large and chunky book, it was a loud thud that indicated this. Last but not least, the dust also vented into the air. The young man had already caught her attention last time because, unlike the others, she really wanted to learn.

Ymg' kadishtu ahagl ymg' ahor h' mgah'n'ghft, llll syha'h ah'legeth, ahehyee ainah ai mgleth!

"The real question is, what do you really want to learn? My real specialty is Eldritch magic, as I come from a planet where this is the focus. But yes, I am also familiar with blood magic. Since you’re a sorcerer too, it’s been clear before, so we don’t have to deal with general things, you know the basics. Describing what your ideas are would help a lot in mapping out the right methods."

Ymg' kadishtu ahagl ymg' ahor h' mgah'n'ghft, llll syha'h ah'legeth, ahehyee ainah ai mgleth!

Yes, getting an answer to this question would help a lot. Meanwhile, she pointed her hand to one of the chairs to make Arcturus Thesh sit down. She wondered if the boy knew exactly what he wanted. How determined, or perhaps just, he wants as much power and knowledge as possible, but he doesn't want all of that purposefully.

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

What did he want to learn?​

​

That was the real question.​

​

Arcturus had not been particularly successful in finding much in the way of information when it came to the possibilities presented by blood or eldritch magic. For all the knowledge locked away in the Archives, and this very library, it was decidedly vanilla in terms of the Force. At least what he'd read through so far.​

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He sat at her urging, rubbed at his chin in thought, and then hummed under his breath.​

​

"I don't rightly know what is even truly possible to learn," he admitted, a fact which rather stung what little pride the boy had, "The lesson of yours I attended was most intriguing, but I haven't been able to unearth much else about it since then. I do know, feel, that there is untapped power coursing through my veins, but it seemed foolish to pursue it too heavily without guidance."​

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The Force in general was something he was more than happy to delve into by himself, but this felt a little more serious, like the effects of failure might prove far more severe. Blood was their life force, after all. One could live without the Force, but not without their blood...​

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"It would be nice to have a means to defend myself, should I find myself without more traditional weapons, but even then I'm not so sure what that might look like here..."​

​

Celeste Demici ​

 

[Celeste Demici]

Hyrva Vh'akli
Truthspeaker, The Prophet, Lady of Throdog N'ghftor, Witch Elder​

Location: Library, Sith Academy, Korriban
Equipment: Shield talisman | Shadow's Folly || Empyrean gland
Tag: Arcturus Dinn

[ Listen the Voices ] ​

H' nafl kadishtu mgleth, h' ahornah fhtagn n'gha, ymg' mgah'n'ghft lw'nafh uh'eor ph'nglui mgleth

Truthspeaker listened intently to the young man as he began to speak. Hyrva also nodded at the words because she found it very wise. There were so many aspects of magic, as they call it at home, or the Force, that can be very dangerous without doing it unsupervised. Especially the eldritch doctrines were like that.

H' nafl kadishtu mgleth, h' ahornah fhtagn n'gha, ymg' mgah'n'ghft lw'nafh uh'eor ph'nglui mgleth

"Smart and wise vision, this is not worth learning alone because sounds and influence can easily destroy you."

H' nafl kadishtu mgleth, h' ahornah fhtagn n'gha, ymg' mgah'n'ghft lw'nafh uh'eor ph'nglui mgleth

They, she and her people were like this, she was not threatened by all this, they lived in it. But the madness was dangerous to others. She nodded again at the next, more satisfied this time. He finally had an idea of what the boy wanted. True, this was still a very wide range of ideas, though it narrowed compared to the original.

H' nafl kadishtu mgleth, h' ahornah fhtagn n'gha, ymg' mgah'n'ghft lw'nafh uh'eor ph'nglui mgleth

"I see; even within that, there are a lot of possibilities. What do you think suits you better? To influence your environment in order to do this, perhaps to control the emotions of others, or would you rather summon demons and other creatures to fight instead of you?"

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

He pondered, for a moment, the question the woman posed, relishing some in the confirmation that his decision had been a wise one. To hold off and wait for the assistance of one who truly knew what they were doing, rather than to succumb to it all blind and alone.​

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"I think perhaps I would prefer to do the deeds myself," he settled upon, with a small nod that seemed more for himself than for her, as though he was confirming his own suspicions in that moment, "I have been looking toward the creation of Sithspawn, I believe they could fulfil a similar role that summoned entities would. Yes... I'd like to learn to do these things myself."​

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Maybe down the road they could branch out more, but he was satisfied with the idea of taking baby steps here. He had other methods in the meantime, his crafts to perfect, this ought to be a marathon and not a sprint.​

​

Celeste Demici ​

 

[Celeste Demici]

Hyrva Vh'akli
Truthspeaker, The Prophet, Lady of Throdog N'ghftor, Witch Elder​

Location: Library, Sith Academy, Korriban
Equipment: Shield talisman | Shadow's Folly || Empyrean gland
Tag: Arcturus Dinn

[ Listen the Voices ] ​

C''ll mgr'luh ahf' ephaiagl ah'f'nah!

Hyrva waited patiently for the boy to respond. She had been alive long enough to be patient and knew exactly that this was not a question that could be answered right away. In fact, she reckoned that he might be asking for a few days to be able to give a normal answer to all of this. It was easier at home too, they knew who has talent to what. The Truthspeakers had great power back home and they knew a lot thanks to the rituals, they know everything. Sometimes she misses her home, but here she can do more for her people.

C''ll mgr'luh ahf' ephaiagl ah'f'nah!

"Then the actual blood magic is what interests you. Not only your own but also the blood of your enemies can be used for this. Blood magic is already much more of a mystical science than traditional natural sciences. Many people believe that blood is life itself. There are those who can see memories by drinking blood, there are vampires that feed on this, the Anima, they call it on this name. In many cases, pure Force is present in the blood, powerful, but also dangerous at the same time.."

C''ll mgr'luh ahf' ephaiagl ah'f'nah!

Explained, then reached out to the Force and floated at least five chunky Codexes and ten digital books floating off the shelves and put them on the table. These were the things the young man said he wanted to learn.

C''ll mgr'luh ahf' ephaiagl ah'f'nah!

"General descriptions, information, basic sciences. Everything about blood and blood magic. And your first lesson will be to learn how you can sense and hear the blood."

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Anima..." the boy breathed that word quietly beneath his breath, and nodded in understanding and familiarity to its usage. "I am familiar with this term, My Lady." He had created a pendant specifically made to hold such, for one Alina Tremiru several months prior. It felt like an eternity ago now, back when he had first come to be on Korriban. ​

​

He watched as she floated several tomes toward him, and his eyes lit up at the sight of them. Arcturus was one who was ever hungry for knowledge, he often lost himself within archives for several days just gorging on the information held within. His room held stacks of books he'd acquired over the years, some of which he needed to return back to this very library he was sure. ​

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"Sense and hear it?" now that was intriguing. He nodded his head eagerly. "I look forward to learning from you, My Lady, and I thank you for your time."​

​

Celeste Demici ​

 

[Celeste Demici]

Hyrva Vh'akli
Truthspeaker, The Prophet, Lady of Throdog N'ghftor, Witch Elder​

Location: Library, Sith Academy, Korriban
Equipment: Shield talisman | Shadow's Folly || Empyrean gland
Tag: Arcturus Dinn

[ Listen the Voices ] ​

Mggoka'ai, mggoka'ai syha'h mgleth!

Oh! The term Anima did not seem to be so unfamiliar to the young man. It was a pleasant surprise for Truthspeaker. This was a fairly specific area of the Force. As far as she learned here, the Sangnir were those who knew this and some who were still in contact with them. Because at home she learned this completely different way. Interesting. After the boy's words, she now nodded, yes, to perceive, to hear. It wasn't easy, but it was possible.

Mggoka'ai, mggoka'ai syha'h mgleth!

"Yes, but let's look for a meditation chamber for that, there's too much noise here. The essence of the method is to be able to hear with your senses, to sense that blood is flowing in someone’s body. To be able to tune in to the heart rate of others, you will be able to recognise others based solely on the rhythm of their heart, or just smell the blood's scent. Like a hound, you will never lose sight of their scent."

Mggoka'ai, mggoka'ai syha'h mgleth!

She explained all this as she set out to find a suitable place. Fortunately, it didn’t take more than a few minutes. The books she selected followed her on an antigrav unit and hopefully Arcturus as well. If the boy also came, the woman sat down in the meditation room and waited for the disciple to join her.

Mggoka'ai, mggoka'ai syha'h mgleth!

"This operation is difficult at first, you need to find your own method that is the easiest to implement. Exclude all distractions from the outside world and focus only on the blood. As if you are perceiving in the Force only and not in reality."

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

The woman suggested they sequester away to a meditation chamber instead, and Arcturus pondered it for a moment before nodding in approval of the sentiment. It seemed like a wise choice to be sure, because while the library wasn't as loud as many other parts of the Academy it certainly wasn't without a general din. By comparison, meditation chambers were made to keep distractions out.

He arose alongside her, watching as the books were shifted to a hovering tray of sorts which could journey along with them, and then soon enough they had come upon a place of true isolation. Once inside, Arcturus took a seat upon the floor, legs crossed in a meditative state. Whether or not they'd actually be meditating did not seem to matter much to him, he was at home upon the floor regardless.

"It all sounds very fascinating" he finally stated, of the hearing and the smelling of blood. "I am eager to learn, My Lady." A blood hound... Yeah, that was something he liked the sound of. Certainly a more unique manner for tracking ones enemies, and even friends if necessary.

But now was time for instruction, so he ceased his own babbling and glanced to the Eldritch woman with solemn intent of learning.

Focus on the blood, on its flow and its beat and its scent, its place within one's veins. Mute out all other distractions, as if existing within a vacuum. That was the basic principle, but to put it into action would not be quite so simple. Either way he inhaled through his nose and closed his eyes, ready to listen and focus and perhaps even try for himself.

Celeste Demici

 

[Celeste Demici]

Hyrva Vh'akli
Truthspeaker, The Prophet, Lady of Throdog N'ghftor, Witch Elder​

Location: Library, Sith Academy, Korriban
Equipment: Shield talisman | Shadow's Folly || Empyrean gland
Tag: Arcturus Dinn

[ Listen the Voices ] ​

"Mgah'ehye kadishtuor ymg' ah'hri ng ahehye l' ymg' lloig."

The Truthspeaker knew it was all easier for some species who could detect blood, or blood-like things, much more easily. Like Sangnir, or already vampire-like creatures. Many were only fed on vitality, but there were those who really consumed the blood. As much as Hyrva learned here in the outside world, many cultures endowed the blood with many different qualities, not just the soul. According to some beliefs, blood is enough to take over someone else’s vitality, possibly abilities. They don't need a full soul. However, returning to teaching.

"Mgah'ehye kadishtuor ymg' ah'hri ng ahehye l' ymg' lloig."

"The easiest way is to try to map your own blood and learn how it works. This is the easiest, as it is your part. Try to focus on your heartbeat, to hear the platelets, the blood, the life flowing in your veins. Try to tune to that." she told him.

"Mgah'ehye kadishtuor ymg' ah'hri ng ahehye l' ymg' lloig."

Here she remained silent after this, after all, by speaking, disturbing his concentration. So she tried to breathe as quietly as possible and not disturb Arcturus to achieve the goal she had told him. She knew she could have started by bringing a cup of blood and figuring out some practice tasks on it, but no; the young man first had to understand and know this; practical lessons could follow the understanding. She waited a little and watched Arcturus breathe, his heartbeat. When the woman thought the young man had gotten deep enough and maybe succeeded, she spoke softly.

"Mgah'ehye kadishtuor ymg' ah'hri ng ahehye l' ymg' lloig."

"What do you feel?" she asked him.

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

With her instructions given, the boy drew into himself and pulled upon the Force in unison. At first he sensed the room around them, one made specifically for meditative processes such as this one. It was dampened, it kept out the noise from the rest of the Academy and even slightly deafened their words when uttered. Like a recording studio... Reduced the echo.​

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Deeper then, from room to the pair of them. They had their differences in the Force, not just in genetic makeup, size, etcetera, but on a deeper level than even that. She felt a little stranger than most, otherworldly even, the Force hung around her in a unique and fascinating manner. For Arcturus, well, there was nothing new there. Not for him at least.​

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The more he drew inward though, focusing on himself and his presence, the more that musical score rose up within his mind. For once he tried to quieten it too, to focus on the sounds inside his body, but it was rather incessant. So instead he learned to coexist with it.​

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Deeper... Deeper... Heartbeat, breathing, the grumbling of his gut. Deeper... The steady thumps of his blood elsewhere in his body, the pulsing at his thumb, his wrist, his neck... Deeper... The boy delved deeper, drawing upon the Force with an intensity of precision he'd never seen fit to muster.​

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How long he spent in that state, inspecting himself, getting down to the bare details, until he could sense and feel and hear the very globules of blood within his veins, he did not know. Too long, perhaps, yet Hyrva proved patient.​

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Her words broke through some of the tension which had begun to build; he did not open his eyes in response. He kept his focus inward.​

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"There is so much more inside" he mumbled, as though speaking from a dream state. "So many cells and organisms, we're not just one entity are we?" There was a breathlessness to his words, a sense of awe held within. But the blood... She had asked him to investigate the blood... "I can feel it, flowing with each beat, hear it even..."​

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Celeste Demici ​

 

[Celeste Demici]

Hyrva Vh'akli
Truthspeaker, The Prophet, Lady of Throdog N'ghftor, Witch Elder​

Location: Library, Sith Academy, Korriban
Equipment: Shield talisman | Shadow's Folly || Empyrean gland
Tag: Arcturus Dinn

[ Listen the Voices ] ​

Syha'hnahh, syha'hnahh, ehyenah kadishtu ahf' ah ah'legeth ngnah nafl.

"This is a matter of perspective the most. A scientist will say otherwise than a philosopher. But you are not mistaken that all your cells are alive, able to divide, to die. So that in the meantime you are alive. And the Force pervades them all. Others believe that they exist only to serve the body. Even in these moments, hundreds of new cells die and are born in your body. But that’s exactly why they can be cloned, because they live, so to speak. Children will also be from these cells. They have no independent thought, so they could by no means be called a meaningful entity, but you can easily manipulate or change them." she explained, then she paused for a few moments.

Syha'hnahh, syha'hnahh, ehyenah kadishtu ahf' ah ah'legeth ngnah nafl.

"Countless different bacteria and other organisms live in the body to make it work. If you focus enough like you did before, yes, you can feel them too. Once you get to know the body, you will know what and how you could change them with the Force if you want to create something new, if you want to manipulate, to heal. Which cells and how to persuade them to speed up the process. With this knowledge it is possible to create a Sithspawn. Provided that your intention is to create something in a targeted way and not randomly." she continued.

Syha'hnahh, syha'hnahh, ehyenah kadishtu ahf' ah ah'legeth ngnah nafl.

"What do you see about the blood? How do you see it, how could you describe this?" she asked him.