Vladimir Faust Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Julio's comm system springs to life suddenly, a short message catching his attention. Hello, Apprentice. I'll be landing in a few minutes by your current location. True to his word, Faust lands and hops out of his ship, the cockpit snapping shut behind him. Walking across the rubble-strewn ground, he appraises Furion up and down, his cold blue eyes searching. "You look like ***t," he observes casually, sniffing and taking in Mustafar's sulfurous fumes. "Did you find what you were looking for?" In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vladimir Faust Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Faust holds up one hand. "Later," he commands, almost gently, though there is a firm steadiness in his voice that out and out dismisses that possibility. "Eat, sleep, and make sure you're in good shape first. The Force may operate independently of our physical condition, but you are still bound to your current body. There is a time and place when it may be necessary to sacrifice your very form for something, but," he adds, "I would not think this is one of those times. Besides," he shrugs, "you'll search more effectively if you're not distracted by fatigue or hunger." In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vladimir Faust Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Faust shakes his head. "Not a damn clue. I've only passed by here once hunting down a bounty that tried hiding in an abandoned factory." That was a pleasant memory: The client only wanted the bounty's head. Faust extracted that by burning the rest of the living body away, slowly, using a lava pit. "However, lead the way to this bank of yours. I am... curious... about it." Faust's eyes close, considering one distinct possibility, ironically enough, in line with his lesson in sending Furion here. In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vladimir Faust Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Faust smiles, closing his eyes and almost breathing in the thick atmosphere. "Oh, yes, this is exactly what you were brought here for." The Hunter chuckles, his eyes opening. "Drink that feeling in. There are words here, emotions so strong they are etched into the fabric of this place." For a moment Faust's gaze flickers around him. It almost seemed for a brief second as if something tried to... exercise it perhaps? Yes, it seemed something tried to exercise the imprint and nearly succeeded in erasing it entirely. Curious... That was something to look into later. In the meantime, he had an apprentice to train. "Close your eyes and latch onto that sensationn of what was. Grip that emotion, and try to funnel your own hatred into it. Command it back to life by stoking those fires. Close your eyes, channel your hatred, and tell me what you see by reaching out to it." In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vladimir Faust Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Standing before the bank, Faust looks down at his apprentice, catching him against the sickly red glow of Mustafar's lava flows. Faust's mind reaches out, probing the sickly remains of the emotional scar, probing into his apprentice's mind. The Hunter felt a sense of unease with how easily the two melded into one. For a brief moment, Faust worried that Julio would channel, and then become one of the few beings even the Hunter wouldn't have dared to face in this galaxy. The Hunter grips the hilt of his Sith sword, prepared just in case. He watches as his apprentice begins to madly claw up the slope and takes a step backwards, his teeth barring back in a low hiss. Instinctively he knew his apprentice's hatred, he knew this would present itself as a threat if it continued unabaited. The hill rumbled, and Faust, braced for combat, stood ready. When Julio made is leap, he drew back, curious to see the nature of the beast this place infused before making a final determination. He views the crushgaunt, curious as to where that came from. In some sense, there was no reason, no way that could have been his; but it was, simply by right. This was even more evidenced by how he simply willed the object into his hands and it came to be. Faust did not recall teaching Furion that technique, not yet. Faust doesn't answer his apprentice's statement of gratitude for the longest time. softly probing his apprentice's short term memory, plucking out the sensations radiating out of him from his latest encounter. "It appears you found something of yourself, something buried deep inside," Faust states, measuring his words, his eyes as icy a blue as the fire in Julio's gold. "That feeling of fear, anger, and hated, it bubbles in everyone, no matter how hard we try to surpress it. A true master of the Dark Side knows their opponents for what they are, he crushes them with fear, leaving them lost in it, confused. Hatred, we actualize without fear. We know of what we are, and who they are. It is our lifeblood. We purge our sentiment, our weaknesses, because we are strong. The fear vanishes and only the hate remains." Faust turns back to the slope, staring down at it. "There in lies a danger. Fear, even choking fear, can lead to hatred and power. Emperor Palpatine, for all his vaunted wisdom never realized this," he murmurs, "and that is why he fell. Hatred will be actualized in many, many ways, even through something as ranks as desperation to live, to cling to life." The Hunter summons his ship. "We will be heading to civilzed lands next to discuss this further. Once you understand that everyone at their core is like this, you can deconstruct them, make them your own. If you can feel that hatred, you can feel the pulse of a mind, of a heart, and shape it." Faust stops his ship, just before entering it, and poses one question to his apprentice. "The heart and mind of another are yours to shape and do with as you please now. If you could reshape them to your desires, what would they look like?" In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vladimir Faust Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Faust takes what in Julio says. He agreed on one thing. Palpatine's powers of foresight were legendary, but his overconfidence in those powers lead to his downfall. "Honest men are a scant few in this galaxy," Faust said, climbing into his ship. "A fiction they maintain to hide their own weakness and powerlessness. The Jedi maintain their honesty, raising their weakness as a shield from their betters, and encourage others to do the same. Still, playing on those delusions requires skill. And yes, you are right. True mental domination someone requires bringing out that core that aligns with your desire. It's always there- even if it needs to be teased out. The power in reading and reshaping real minds is always useful." As Faust opens his ship's nav computer, he muses aloud. "Let's see if we can have some fun while we do this, causing a bit of mayhem for the Rebels, Jedi and the like." He randomly punches up a few coordinates, deciding on Csillia. They would be hard to mentally dominate, but it would give Julio some useful practice in this area. Besides, angry Chiss unleashed on the Rebels usually created some interesting results. In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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