Which Witch Training

[Ravenfire]

Location: Sabarene, Crystal Temple
Rex went out to the unknown region. He happened to feel a great presence upon the planet of Sabarene. From his flagship he did a scan of the planet. He didn't find anything special. So he jumped in his stealth fighter and did a trip around the planet to be sure. He then found a temple in one of the oceans on the planet. He eventually found a way to land just on the temple ground.

He walked into the temple's main area. He couldn't see anyone else around. But he felt a Force signature he was being drag to. There was something about it. It was long before he heard the Lylek spirt. Follow the presence my Lylek, you are meant to be here. There is something here that will help you and others. Now FIND IT. Rex nodded and began the search for whatever caused the force presence.

[member="Zarah Viren"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Sabarene was a welcome change to life on Chandaar. While her home planet was marred by centuries of ecological devastation. Zarah Viren, Queen of Cron-in-Exile left her husband in their bed and moved to the Crystal Temple to meditate on a niggling sensation in the Force.

Someone needed her, and it did not feel like Chiara, Manu or one of the many thousand refugees which made up Sabarene’s population.

All Zarah could do was meditate and listen until [member="Rex Taff"] entered the temple.

“Ah, So here we are, eh? Remove your footwear, traveller. For you have entered holy ground. Come sit, Airael shall bring you tea.” The red haired woman continued to meditate on the dais, which usually housed [member="Manu Xextos"]. She kept her eyes shut, and waited.

 

[Ravenfire]

Rex would hear the voice and follow it's commands. He took his shoes off and walked into the room. He saw [member="Zarah Viren"] on a dias and sat before her. He felt as if he should say something but he couldn't speak instead he felt the Lylek spirit speak through him. Zarah Viren I am the spirit of the Lylek. Before you is one of my chosen ones. I wish for you to teach him anything you feel is necessary. I shall allow him to speak for himself now. Rex felt control handed back over to him as the Lylek once more sat in the back of his mind.

He would speak up "I am Rex Taff, I am a witch of the order among the CIS. The spirit that chose me brought me here to learn. And in that endeavour I wish to follow it's path set before me. However the choice is yours as to whether you teach me or not. I simply ask that you do." Rex hoped that he had done the right thing. The Lylek seem to think so and was quite pleased with itself. Rex was unsure on the other hand. The lylek had taken control of him before usually in times of great need. Maybe this was one of those.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

The woman upon the dais tasted the air with her lips, as a pair of faded green hands came into existence to pour [member="Rex Taff"] tea. The hands faded quickly with the mirage of a woman, who briefly punctuated the space around the temple's main altar and faded.

"You have the sensation of one I know on you... Confederate? [member="Ahani Najwa"] was last seen in Confederate space. Tell me, is she alive and well, or merely alive and babbling insane somewhere?" A Lylek spirit in control of a man... Zarah's lips turned and she maneuvered to gaze at this new being in her space.

"Pity you never witnessed her in our youth, when Ahani's mind was fit and her children lived... she was my Master, young one." Lifted up by a collection of whispering voices, green energies flowed around the elusive Master.

"... as I will be yours. A great progenitor told me I would be visited by my future student, if I sat and meditated and listened. How cordial of you to be prompt." The thick alto of Zarah Viren's voice coated the reverberant walls of the temple shrine.

"I am Zarah Viren, Queen of Cron, Monarch of Sabarene of the Royal Houses of Cron, Indupar and Eshan. You may address me as Master. Welcome to Sabarene."

 

[Ravenfire]

"Yes I was a confederate. Ahani Najwa yes I know of her. We almost lost her if it wasn't for several of our forces from stepping in." He didn't mention he was among those forces not that he need to. "But she is alive and well now, last I worked with her see was firing a confetti cannon at people during a parade." That was a bit of time ago for him.

Rex looked at the woman. "She was your master, wow that is quite an achievement." He watch as the many different things would whirl around her. Then she told him to call her master. Rex nodded last time he had called them sensi but then again they weren't ready to be called master yet. "Yes master. I try to be as prompt as possible, perhaps that is why the Lylek selected me. Thank you for welcoming me to your planet master. Thank you for accepting me for training. I am ready to learn as much as possible." Rex simply stand and await his master's next command.

[member="Zarah Viren"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

"Confetti! Ah, she always loved the theatric." Zarah looked as if she was perpetually incapable of smiling, yet her violet eyes had some modicum of mirth at the mention of her old Master. The connection was a welcome one. If this one survived Ahani, then [member="Rex Taff"], of the Lylek Spirit, was a worthy enough charge indeed.

"Do come sit and enjoy your tea. The journey out to this Temple is an arduous one with little sustenance on the way. It is meant to call only the truly desirous of the Force. Sit here with me, Apprentice Taff, and tell me what you feel." The Temple sang with an utmost concentration of the Light. It was such a focus of the light the perilous Witch standing to offer him a spot might have seemed out of place, of not for the swelling of a great passionate dark further down, locked away in its' centre.

Light and Dark, and the thread between them the Spirit Plane of which Nightsisters relied and spoke fondly and dangerously on.

"Yuroba will see to your accommodation while with my people, you shall have what comforts we can provide. Being a desert folk here, that is not too luxurious, but freedom tastes better than fancy bread to those who were under the serpent's hook... Tell me what you sense, and how you came upon the Lylek Spirit, and I shall have a better gauge of you."

 

[Ravenfire]

Rex would sit down and drink the tea. "This is a good tea, almost the best but there is one other tea that I would still hold above all others." He says reminiscing about the Tea Lady Kay drinks. Rex would then follow his masters commands "I feel the light the temple is full of light side energy. It is bright to bright almost like when I would look into the sun back on Csilla." He then extends further.

"I feel a darkness, a lot of it just below the temple. Too dark it reminds me of that day. No I can face it. That day I have thought long and hard about that day and I still don't agree with what I did but that is in the past." He doesn't open his eyes as he responds "Thank you my master. There is something else I feel the same thing I felt during many of my training periods a figure. It is cloaked and it always accepts the light and the dark without being either. It has always spoken to me the most. It be a part of both yet accepted by neither."

He opened his eyes. "The spirit of the Lylek, I came to me. I was on Ryloth and I heard the songs of the three spirits. The Jart, the Doashim and the Lylek. All three spoke to me but only the Lylek took me. It then branded me with it's mark along with some others that day. But I seem to have a better connection with the spirit than others do. Then again I do call upon it for help. It helped me learn force heal, force stealth or invisibility and I also allowed to remake someone's moral compass. But today was the first time it took complete control of me with my permission." Rex shrugged. "I assume that means you are very important."

[member="Zarah Viren"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“The light you feel is a representation of [member="Manu Xextos"], who claims no affiliation with the Jedi, for they are not enough of the Light in comparison. He built this Temple, and begat the lineage of all who reside on Sabarene of Echani origins.” Zarah’s lips quirked as she felt the glorious light of the Temple.

The Light was all consuming, patient and kind. It held its’ might in the impetuous keeping of its’ order, and felt dear to those who needed to heal. Nothing within one’s soul was too enclosed for the Light to discover, and with mercy, bring to the surface so it too might be cleansed in the flow.

“The Dark is Ahani. Manu’s mother. Where her son was the blessed child and filled with light as the sun, Ahani was a hidden thing. An oppressed and imprisoned casualty of others’ action, until she herself discovered the action of shadow and passion and hate. It disdains Death, and refuses the natural order of the universe to alter everything in its’ path. Thus is one who knew Palpatine’s touch. Who knew his sickness and was raised under his shadow.” The Dark was quiet, looming. Where the Light brought forth that which needed healing, the Dark buried it under anger, and the passionate reserve to shift the universe until what was wrong became permissible. Acceptable.

Breathing in the energies around her, Zarah took from one and the other, rectifying the surge of healing and passions, which seemed dichotomous.

“The Spirit Plane seeks and finds in you, [member="Rex Taff"]. For those of us who are fit for it, the path of Dathomir is also the path of neutrality. Of the churning grey waters which pour forth from the catastrophe of absolutes. You bear guilt, Apprentice. It is an emotion I understand intimately, for I too am repaying my ill decisions with guilt. But that guilt shall not remain once we continue forth. We shall utilize the healing of the Light and the passions of the Dark to expunge it.”

Laughing huskily, Zarah opened her eyes and let her thin lips purse in a smile. “I am of no consequence. My life began before Palpatine’s reign ended, and through the grace of others I remain renewed and vigilant here before you. When it was given to my people to take refuge in Sabarene, I took refuge with them, where we rebuild and become an example for the entire Galaxy. What most are you hoping to learn, Apprentice? The abilities to control yourself and your body, the abilities to sense those great expressions of the mind, or the ability to alter your environs?”

 

[Ravenfire]

"So the light is from the blessed son where as the darkness is from his mother Ahani. Is that the same Ahani that I met master?" He would ask out of curiosity. He would continue feeling the Light and the Darkness, as he did so they took to shapes a woman from the dark and a man from the light. They stood either side of the Gray figure. The three spirits of Ryloth once more also appeared. The demon, the beast, the body stood in front of the darkness, the flyer, the mind stood in front of the light. Once more the Lylek stood before him.

Young Lylek the creature in the Gray, could be you or could be your master however you must follow their example. Take of the light and the dark, allow for both but allow neither to prosper to much. For one without the other is no good to anyone. Rex looks up at the Lylek "But what if I am not strong enough." You know you are Lylek you have done amazing things now ACCEPT BOTH. Rex got up in his mind and began doing as the Gray figure was doing taking of both. Healing but remembering. When his eyes snapped open he had already begun his journey to where he needed to be.

No time had passed really. It had only felt like he had been there for years. But now he could feel his turmoil become silenced and he was ready to finally hear. He listened to his master "I wish to learn how to change my environment. The mind could have taken me but I was too fractured, too guilty. The body could have taken me but I didn't have the anger or passion enough for it. Finally the environment changer, the one who hides me, the one who heals me. I wish to learn it's path, I wish to learn how to change my environment to better my position or to help me attack from the shadow."

[member="Zarah Viren"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

"Yes. The Ahani you met is she. It is a darkness removed of her. For her own good, and her sanity, Manu and I removed a portion of her power and locked it down in these subterranean caves. The Ahani you know is a half-being, driven insane and incapable of controlling her baser instincts. Thus, we removed them. The lesson of Ahani is to let go one's grief, something she cannot do, for she mourns her lost family. We do not descend to the madness of the dark, Apprentice. We are aware of it, we consider it, we are not of it."

Zarah tasted the air, and then her tea, watching as [member="Rex Taff"] had a moment with his Spirit. The Lylek was curious to her, one who chose freely and compelled him hence.

"We are never strong enough, Apprentice. Not on our own strength. That is the lesson of the Light. Manu is a man, whose body is weakened by his time upon the spheres, yet with the application of love and the comfort of his family, and of those who seek sanctuary on Sabarene and in this Temple, he shines on. He is able to bear the burdens of his mother, and of his people better for knowing he is weak, for knowing that the infinite grace and mercy of the Light is his only forbearance and only strength. We bathe in it. We accept mercy and grace where our penitent selves freely release our guilt unto it. We are not of it."

A dour smirk rose across the corner of her lip as Zarah watched the decision flutter upon Rex. "To our environs, then."

Dressed in fine silks, the regal Lady of the Temple rose to her feet, sleeves dragging nearly to the floor behind her.

"Do you see the sand upon this marble and quartz floor? Remove it. Take your will and cast it out of our Temple. I will not allow a single grain to escape you, before your next task." To even telekinetic Masters it was a hard task. Violet eyes appeared nearly cold, but instead it was the tactical gaze of one learning her own apprentice to decipher his skill and where his mind resided.

 

[Ravenfire]

He listened to her speak on both sides of it. Both the light and the dark. As he listened he bathed himself in both. Gray was perhaps the wrong word for what he felt. He felt at peace and balanced for the first time in his life he felt properly centred. He now knew of the lesson of grief. He himself had been plagued by it. However now he knew it was there he used to assist him tap into the dark. He then bathed in the light as his master said however he didn't become it. He treated himself as out of reach of both and yet used both of their resources to assist himself.

Then onto environs as his master said. "I do see the sand master. You wish me to remove it? All of it?" Rex looked really worried before calming himself. "Okay then." He looked at the sand and tried to move it piece by piece. "No this is to slow." He then thought about it and felt into the force. He could feel every grain of sand. He then tried to move it all but that was too hard. "Nope too hard to move it all at once. But if I move them in manageable groups maybe then it will work." He moved the grains 100 at a time by the end it had taken a full hour but by the time he was done there was not a grain of sand. "There we go done master." He would wait for his next lesson.

[member="Zarah Viren"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Balance. What was it? Accepting the warring feelings of the Force was accepting the warring natures of oneself.

The universe in microcosm. The universe in the palm of one’s hand.

[member="Rex Taff"] was beginning his discovery of the all through the one. Zarah remained a potent and neutralizing influence, an anchor and port to remain fixed within.

“Remember it cannot be done. Relieve yourself of the pride caused by a desire to succeed. You cannot succeed. You can trust the Force. Trust the energy around you and trust the fact that within ourselves, we can but be conduits of will.” Zarah spoke as Rex tried his various means to move the sand. She sat upon the dais and sipped tea, monitoring his progress with patience and joy. An apprentice. Yes, this was the way.

As soon as the sand was removed, more threatened to incur upon them. “See the sand is indomitable. New distractions always temper our concentration and our inner temples. In the middle of the temple, there is an oil lamp. Oil has energy hidden inside it. By accessing and releasing that energy inside, we can create fire. Light the lamp. Reach into it, and excite that energy.”

 

[Ravenfire]

He listened to his master. She mentioned to lose pride. He was unsure how to do that. But he trusted her knowledge and he trusted the force. He did as she said it was a different feeling. He could feel his will as sharp and a knife. He felt the universe he could feel his will could cut through it like a hot knife through butter if he decided to. The sand was all removed as more sand encroached back again Rex felt disappointed. However if the sand was truly indomitable he could never truly remove it.

He listened to her. "So light the lamp without using forces outside the oil okay." He searched and finally found the oil. He did this through the force. He didn't move the whole time. He focused on the oil. He reconsigned that the oil was all the same. He thought about what he knew on science and his knowledge. He then thought about it and selected a few drops of oil within the oil itself vibrating them fast enough they caught fire. The lamp from there was lit. He said to his master "I lit the lamp master." Or at least he thought he had.

[member="Zarah Viren"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

The lamp flickered, flame anemic and smoking. Zarah smiled primly, still sitting in her place on the altar. “Keep it lit. Let the flames come at least six inches high. While you maintain the flame, continue pushing the sand out of the Temple.”

Concentration, the expense of energy mixed with the hopeful discovery of the oil’s rejuvenate potential. All beginnings had to be continued with fervent practice.

“Tell me, Apprentice, what will you do with the powers you learn?”

[member="Rex Taff"]

 

[Ravenfire]

He did as she instructed keeping the fire burning. It wasn't that hard. Then he split his mind as he had done with Kei and began cleaning the sand out. God it was hard to do this, but he could manage, then he split his mind again to answer her question. "I wish to help people, to stop the darkness while not letting the light overwhelm all. There is light but it can't be without dark, and the dark no longer is dark without light. Both must exist but neither must rule entirely."

He then finally said "Because someone must keep both in check else they kill everyone not involved. Civilians and civilisations. This is why I wish to learn to allow the light to comfort but not tirade and the dark to remove the guilt but not add hatred or anger. Through all things balance must be found. You showed me that when you showed me the light of the temple and it's darker depths." He would then recombine his mind back to two pieces one focusing on the lantern, one on the sand.

[member="Zarah Viren"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

The fire burned, and [member="Rex Taff"] compartmentalized his mind, showing a fantastic talent for the act. Zarah lent Rex some of her stamina, to give him the chance to breathe and expand his powers.

“You are right. Balance must be in all things. Otherwise, we all falter. Otherwise, we fail.” Zarah cut out her mental support, and listened to Rex. This was not a beginner, and that helped Zarah confirm her decision to train him in the first place.

“The balance is precarious, and includes a lack of self. We cannot be proud or noble or righteous. We can but conduit the various elements of the Force. Go into your mind. There is water in cups. Combine the water into the empty pool. Keep the fire lit. Eliminate the sweeping sand.”

 

[Ravenfire]

Rex would nod following her command. He would split his mind again looking for the cups. While doing so he kept the fire lit and the sand out. He eventually found the cups and the empty pool. He would move each cup individually to the pool pouring it out with the force. He would begin drawing on the energy of the temple and those caves below. He used them to balance each other out while also using the energy to keep performing his tasks. He was slowly becoming fatigued at the constant use of the force and the splitting of his mind.

[member="Zarah Viren"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Eventually all students failed in committing to multiple tasks of increasing complexity. While simple in their elements, each task combined was monumental. For Zarah as an instructor, the actions were enough to help her gauge how much aide [member="Rex Taff"] indeed needed to become the better version of himself.

Yet, there was a lurking darkness in her new apprentice, one Zarah recognized from her own husband, [member="Darth Vizios"]. The question of whether or not to be worried did not concern the Royal Lady, the only question she had was one of quality. When would Rex's quality show chinks in his armour? "Draw too much from the caves and you are bound to have adverse effects. Taking the energies of the insane is not oft a wise strategy."

Zarah's voice was quiet and calm, yet beyond her was the true ache of [member="Ahani Najwa"]'s insanity. Evil and passion combined... could he resist its' siren song of unleashed power with the cost of his mind?

 

[Ravenfire]

He finished up nodding. "Yes [member="Zarah Viren"], my master. I will make sure that I don't take to much energies, I would prefer to take none. However to complete all your tasks I required more energy, some of it light, some of it dark. I don't wish to take to much of one or the other. To do so would destroy my neutrality and connection to the force." He would say rather grimly.

"The only way I connect is through both. Too much of one or the other and I begin to lose my sense of self." He would admit. "No idea why yet but I do." Perhaps this was the sign foreshadowing the secret dark monster deep within his bones.