Tashkri

Tash looked at Rocketblaze, and started to sift some ideas through his mind. "Well... I think I can come up with a couple, but I need to ask you a question first." He stood up from the table and walked over to the door. Leaning against the frame, he looked back over at Rocketblaze. "I know that we have seperated ourselves from the rest of the galaxy because we don't follow the exact same beliefs that they do. I know we have been granted the gifts of sorcery and alchemy. But, what's our end game? What goal are we trying to achieve from our self-induced isolation and training?" Tashkri just waited, wondering what Rocketblaze's answer was going to be.

Tashkri remained sitting at the table, where he had been ignoring the children. He did not have the patience to teach them the basics that they needed. Once Rocketblaze took care of that, then Tash could begin to teach them some of his skills. Until then, he needed to find something else to do.

Once again, the Force had alerted Tash to the newcomers on the planet. It was made somewhat obvious by Rocketblaze's return, and Tash was now able to ascertain that he had brought back three individuals with him. They haven't done anything stupid yet. Well, they still need to meet the rest of us. Then we'll see. The beginnings of a very evil grin started to emerge from Tash's mouth as he started to imagine all of the possible punishments he could come up with.

((Yeah, I've got those next week, which means I should be studying or something right now, but I'm not)) After he strapped the last blade into place, Tash returned to the dining hall. Rocketblaze had wanted to talk to him, but he had left with Cineon. Right now, Tash didn't feel like returning droids to their most basic components, so he just sat back at his place at the table. Sitting in relative silence, Tash felt the approach of the one called Moric. When Moric entered the hall and spoke, Tash did not even turn his head at first. Yes, apparently this has become the place of meetings. Only then did Tash turn and look at Moric.

Since Garet didn't seem like he was in much of a mood for talking, Tash stood up and walked to the room he had claimed for his own some time ago. Shutting the door, he strips off his torn and ragged clothes. His scars stand out against the muscles that his body was composed of. Flexing his hands into fists, he revels in the pure power that he represents. Stepping into a refresher unit, he cleans off the blood, sweet, dirt, and all of the other crud that swimming in lakes hadn't been able to clean off. Drying off, he walked over to a set of drawers and pulled out a new outfit. The pants still fit, but Tash had developed much larger muscles in his arms, and the shirt wouldn't fit over his biceps. Picking up his bundle of possession from the floor, he spreads it out on the bed and grabs one of his daggers. Slicing of the sleeves, Tash is able to slide the shirt over his head. Finding a belt, he puts in on, and rearms himself.

Gathering his thoughts, Tashkri was about to answer Raven when Garet entered the room. Holding off on his reply, he watched as the Trandoshan walked across the room and sat down. Flicking out through the Force, he sends Garet a simple, neutral greeting. It is good to see you again. Turning his attention back to Raven, Tash resumed eating his meal, using the Force to give his answer. Am I happy? I am happy after a successful hunt, when my prey's blood is still dripping from my hands. I do not see any blood here, at least at the moment, so I would not say that I am necessarily happy. I am, however, looking forward to being back here with the Serpents, with Rocketblaze and Garet. Having finished the food in front of him while he had been talking to Raven, Tash pushes his plate off to the side, crossing his arms and stared at the man across from him.

Sitting at the table, Tash stares at the plate of food in front of him. So I'm a Master now. Nice. I haven't had anyone else serve me food for quite some time. I'm used to finding things in the forest, and cooking the beasts that I've killed. Taking a bite of the food, he grimaces at the strange taste. I'd better get used to it again, if I'm going to be back with society. Slowly cleaning off his plate, he watches the new Lord across from him.

Deep in the wilderness on Chandrila, a man stands over a mutilated corpse of one of the more vicous fauna on the planet. Ragged breathing emanated from his mouth and sweat drips off of his face as he waits for his pulse to return to normal. The body before him hardly resembled the beast it had been just a few minutes ago. None of the limbs were still attached, and the head would have been facing the wrong direction, if it was still on the body. I thought I had taught everything out here not to try and attack me. He smiles as he remembers what it had been like when he had first retreated into the wild. The creatures had tried to attack him at every opportunity, night and day. At first, he had to rely upon the Force and his weapons to defeat them all. As time went by, the hunters started to become the hunted, and he become an expert at destroying them. This was how he had passed the time, finding victims and challenging himself to be able to kill them before they had even noticed he was there. It started out as a way to establish himself as the dominant predator in the region, and then it turned into a practice session. As he came out of his little stroll through the past, he checks himself for any injuries. It had been months since something had been able to touch him, but he still made sure after each confrontation. As expected, there was no injuries, but blood had sprayed over his chest when he had tore the creature apart. Better get this cleaned up before I have to take care of more of them. Ripping a stick out of a nearby tree, he jams it into the ground, and the mounts the beast's head on top of it. One more to add to my trophy collection. His tropies were placed all over the surrounding area, marking out his territory. Job finished, he jogged to a nearby lake. Not bothering to shed what little clothes he has on, he dives right on it. As he starts to climb back out, he stumbles as he feels a presence that he was not expecting. It was somebody who he had known very well, but had not had any contact with for quite some time. "Ro... Rocketblaze??" His voice, hoarse from disuse, spoke the name of his mentor and master. He had almost forgotten the life before he had retreated to the forests, only remembering the skills. But this feeling had reawoken strong memories, those of Rocketblaze, Garet, Moric, Tzeentch, Truth, and others. Climbing out of the lake, he runs to the tree he had made into his home. Picking up the small bundle of gear he kept there, he ran back towards the Serpent complex, not knowing the path, but trusting in the memory of his body to get him there. When he reached the clearing, he slowed down to a walk. There was the complex, all right, and the presences emanating from it were unmistakable. He pushed open the door, and stopped. "My master, I have returned." Tashkri, Serpent Lord, had returned.

Tashkri went down on one knee, both to recognize the superior power in front of him, and to hide his smirk at the way the demon had come into being. Pyromancy? Huh. Sounds like fun. "I am prepared as well." Tash and Moric had been sent here by Rocketblaze to find knowledge. Now it looked as if it would just be him, and Morgana.

Tashkri advanced upon the stranger with Moric. Keeping his amused expression hidden, he prepares a strike through the Force, ready to use it if it was necessary, or if it he felt like it.

Following Moric out of his ship, Tash gazes at the landscape around them. "Yeah, we're here. Now where do we go?"

"Will do. Moric, get whatever you need to take with you, and then meet me at the nearest town." Turning on his heel, Tash strides down the hall, stopping at his room. Pulling a bag out of a closet, he stuffs in all of the supplies that he thinks he might needs, and then changes his clothes. Pants and a sleeveless shirt quickly go on, and Tash picks up his bag and leaves the compound. Taking a swoop bike out of the hangar, he opens up the throttle, leaving a trail of dust for Moric to follow.

((sanctioned by Truth)) When Truth's head had hit the floor, it did more than just disorient him. The blow made his brain start to hemorrage. As Truth tries to answer Tash's query, he suddenly slumps to the ground, dead. "Damn." Tash didn't bother to check for a pulse, as he could tell through the Force that Truth was already dead. Summoning a droid to dispose of the body, Tash went to report to Rocketblaze. After discerning Rocketblaze's location through the Force, Tash made his way to the Serpent Master. Entering the room, Tash stops short at the apparition that was in the middle of the room.

Tash nodded, Truth had at least learned something from this exercise. "That was to also teach you about picking your fights. If you are going to fight, make sure you win. Your anger, your emotions, they will fuel your power to great levels, but you must still never underestimate your opponent." Scratching his chin, Tash ponders what to do next. "We'd probably better get you started on how to use the Force. What has Rocketblaze taught you so far?"

Pitiful. As the blade whistles through the air, Tash simply smirks at Truth. Focusing, he uses the Force to smash the sword near the hilt. With a clang, the sword ricochets backwards, over Truth's head. Pivoting on his knee, Tash spun around, slamming the back of his heel into Truth's ankle. As Truth follows the path of the sword, Truth stands up, taking enjoyment out of watching Truth's head slam off of the floor. "You won't be able to touch me with that sword so long as I am your superior in the Force. I can counter your every move." As Truth painfully makes it back onto his feet, Tash sends the sword back into the closet with a thought. "Now, what have you learned from this?"

A sinister chuckle was the only answer that Tash had for Truth's attempted attack. Using the Force, Tash pushes Truth in the small of his back, sending him into, and then through, Tash. "It's not that easy." When Truth was facedown on the floor from his first lunge, Tash had fallen into the Force, using it to shield himself from Truth. In his place, he had left a faint "shadow," that any Force user with experience would have been able to recognize it for what it was. Releasing himself from the Force, Tash materializes, a good ten feet behind Truth's previous position. Drawing upon his powers, Tash stretches out a hand, lifting Truth off of the ground and slamming him into a nearby wall. As his hand curls into a fist, he holds Truth in a spread eagle position, with his feet next to the ceiling. The katana falls out of his unresponsive hand, and lands point first in the floor with a thunk. "You must think at least a couple of moves ahead, and try to anticipate what your opponent will do. You can usually use the Force to help you." Striding over to the quivering sword, Tash grasps the handle and pulls it out of the floor. Taking time to check the point for any nicks, he eventually remembers that Truth is hanging upside-down above his head. Taking a few backward steps, Tash looks up into Truth's enraged face. "Good, you're angry. Now you must learn to use your anger effectively. Before, you just used brute force. Now, you must channel it, control it." Opening his right hand, Tash allows Truth to fall back down to the ground, where he didn't land very gracefully on his head. As he struggles to get upright and oriented, Tash whips the katana at him. Truth freezes as the cold metal whistles past his ear, and embeds itself in the wall. Truth goes to charge at Tash again, but finds himself unable to move more than a foot. Looking at the katana, he notices that it had gone through his shirt, mere millimeters from piercing his shoulder. "Now, try again."

Heaving a huge sigh, Tash unfolds his arms and walks into the center of the room. I hate idiots. Stepping to a halt in front of Truth, Tash stares at him, deciding what to do. Settling for the less bloody of the options, as he was wearing new clothes, he snaps his right hand out and across, backhanding Truth in the temple. "You completely missed the entire point of the lesson. You were supposed to learn how to fight another human, not to show me how to cut a droid apart." Tash runs a hand through his hair, which had grown past his shoulders, while he contemplates how to most effectively deliver his lesson to Truth. Using the Force, Tash opens yet another cupboard, and levitates a katana out of it. Taking it in his hand, he judges the balance of it before holding it out for Truth to take. But just as his hand was about to grasp the sword, Tash lets go, dropping in to the ground. As the clang of the metal slowly dissipates, Tash turns around and steps five paces away from Truth. "Now you will have to learn one on one combat the hard way. Hit me, if you can."

"Will do." Folding his arms, Tash leans back against the doorjamb as he surveys Truth. The apprentice had fared well on the obstacle course, but there was still much that he needed to learn. "You've proven that you can take down a bunch of fake droids. Congratulations. I can do that with both hands tied behind my back. What you have to learn is how to fight one person. One person with equal or superior reflexes, intelligence, and strength. Eventually, you will create a lightsaber, but for now, this will do." Drawing the katana from across his back, Tash prepares to toss it to Truth, but then catches a glimpse of the surface of the blade. Pitted and scratched, it was of no use to anyone in the condition that it was in. "Or not." Summoning a droid, he sends the sword away with it, to have it repaired and resharpened. Holding out a hand, he uses the Force to open a nearby closet, and levitates a practice saber out of it. "You'll use this. It won't seriously harm any other creature, but it will work well enough in this situation." As Truth takes the saber, Tash walks over to the control console. Changing a few of the settings, he looks up as a lone droid floats out into the room. A hologram emits from the droid's projector. As a new figure takes a ready stance on the other side of the room, Tash turns to Truth. "You may not take a hologram seriously, so that is why I turned off all of the safety features. Go, fight him." Truth faces his new opponent, and activates the practice saber. As the small hum fills the room, Truth's opponent activates his own saber, and flips back the hood covering his face. Tash retreats a few steps, watching as Truth prepares to take on Truth.

Walking out of the forests of Chandrila, a new Tash approaches the Serpent compound. Leaner, taller, and more powerful, he moves with an easy confidence inside the building. Using the Force while walking, he soon locates Rocketblaze's position, and changes his course to take him to the Serpent Master. Entering the training chamber, Tash stands beside the door and watches the new guy while waiting for Rocketblaze to acknowledge him.

Letting Garet leave, Tash puts Cineon under the "dead" category in his mind. Garet could handle the job with ease, and besides, Tash needed to take care of training his new skills.

((3)) Reacting automatically, Tash uses the Force to create a bubble shield between himself and the flame. The fire continues to rage around him, giving Rhekath the vision of his opponent burning up. Opening a small hole in his shielf, a jet of flame comes straight at Tash's outstretched hand. Barely an inch away, it stops and starts to ball up. As Rhekath starts to stop his attack, Tash pushes his shield outward, sending fire flying everywhere. Pulling his arm back, the fireball in Tash's hand elongates, becoming a fifteen foot long fire rope. Snapping his arm forward, Tash brings his new "whip" down across Rhekath's face and lets it go. Fifteen feet of napalm rams Rhekath right in the face. As soon as Tash releases his hold on the fire, he draws his lightsaber and charges at Rhekath. A quick circular motion leaves Rhekath holding only two handles, and Tash bounds out of the way as the flames stop tormenting Rhekath's face. Holding his hand up in the air, Tash examines the necklace he had snapped off of Rhekath's neck. "Nice necklace. Did it mean something to you? Yeah? Ok, here you g... oops." The necklace slips off of Tash hand and falls down onto his saber, melting to nothing. An extremely evil-looking grin crosses Tash's as he looks up at Rhekath. "Oh, darn. It slipped. So sorry about that." As he speaks, Tash deactives his saber, but keeps it in his hand, waiting for Rhekath to try another trick.

((2)) And to prove his point, Tash stretches his hand out, and uses the Force to lift Rhekath off of the ground and tosses him into a wall like he was no more than a paper doll. Staying in the same place, Tash uses the Force to find out more about his foe as he slides down the wall. Something is not right with this man. The Force is with him, but not all of him. I wonder..... Crossing his arms, Tash waits, with his chilling outward demeanor, but tensed and ready for anything on the inside.

((1)) Standing on the other side of the arena, head bowed, Tash doesn't bother to acknowledge Rhekath as he enters. As the man gets armed, literally, Tash runs over his selected weapons in his mind. He has the katana across his back, a pair of daggers at his waist, and a vibro-shiv in each boot. And, of course, his lightsaber and the Force. When Rhekath speaks out, Tash tosses back the hood of his cape and stares straight into the being's eyes. A cruel little smile comes to his face. "Don't worry, I will." And, if anyone heard the tone of Tash's voice, they would know that he, too, was deathly sincere.

Getting up off of the floor, Tash closes his eyes for a second as Rocketblaze touches his brow. The transfer of knowledge was so swift that Tash didn't even realize it had happened until Rocketblaze informed him otherwise. Watching Rocketblaze, Garet, and Raven leave, Tash paces the room, thinking about the fight, and his new skills. I definitely could have handled that better. Garet showed mercy, and I should have at least made an attempt at reciprocating it. We could have stalemated again. He had only just finished his thinking when Rocketblaze came back, and tossed the armor to him. Unconsciously listening to the Serpent Master, Tash gives an absent nod and walks out of the cabin. Walking down to the lake, Tash sits down cross-legged on the beach. It was starting to get dark, but this was the quietest place that Tash could find. Lifting the armor up, Tash uses the Force to raise it into the air, a few feet above his head. I need to figure out someway for this to become permanent. I've never heard of something like that having been done before, but Rocketblaze wouldn't task me with the impossible. Bringing the armor back down, Tash sets it in his lap, and lightly rests his hands on top of it. Closing his eyes, he focuses on the object in his lap, and lets himself go to the Force. Using the Force, Tash goes inside the armor. Well, not exactly inside, but down to the level where he could feel the different metals, and even the different atoms. Moving from piece to piece, Tash explores the armor, finding out what makes it stong, yet so light. If this was made to be like this through alchemy, then perhaps I can change it in a similar way through sorcery. Blocking out the rest of the world, Tash bends his will to the armor. Changing the very molecules, Tash gives them new meaning through the Force, almost a life of their own. Opening his eyes, Tash realizes that he had been holding in his breath. Exhaling, he notes that he feels drained in some way, yet more powerful in another. Setting the armor on the ground, Tash stands up. Picking the armor up, he slips it on over his head. Touching the armor with his mind, Tash commands it to rise. Almost instantaneously, Tash's feet leave the ground. He hovers a meter off of the ground for a few seconds, and then tells the armor to go back down. Taking the armor off, Tash heads back to the house to present his work to Rocketblaze.

Struggling to take a breath, Tash feels Garet's weight pressing down on his wind pipe. A memory comes to him, from the days spent on Korriban and with the other Sith students. He had fought until there was no longer a breath in his body, and he had killed two of the other students after he had been disabled. One of them had happened after he was is worse shape than he was in now. Flashing back to the present, Tash quickly evaluates his options, what few of them were left. Grasping his saber in his right hand, Tash moves with his final strike. Bringing the handle up, he jams the cold metal between Garet's leg, pointed up into his body. Sure, he was going back on what he had said earlier, but now he had to use every tool he had at his disposal. As the cold metal touches the scales of Garet, Tash ignites the blade.