Chandrila

[Ulic Ri'Lo]

Ulic smiled as her title was bestowed. She clipped her lightsaber to her belt as her master gave it back to her, then she leaned forward and kissed him deeply.

 

Long and pationate was this kiss, though it would not be the last. As Ulic pulled away from Rocketblaze and smiled up at him....for the first time in a long while. She began to speak in a calm voice radiating with confidence

 

"My dear, I will not leave you just yet. I wish to stay a serpent, that is my decision. Is there anything you would have me do my love?"

[Rocketblaze]

"Just relax for a bit. Train yourself whenever you feel ready, but for now, just have some fun. I'll take care of everything."

 

The Serpent Master made his way outside and spotted Truth. Pulling a page from Ar-Pharazon's book, Rocketblaze snapped his lightsaber to life and hurled it towards him.

[Ulic Ri'Lo]

Ulic disrobed as Rocketblaze left the room. Anymore, she was comfortable naked in his presence. As the door shut to his chambers she made her way to the bathroom.

 

She drew herself a hot bath and waited with eager anticipation for the tub to fill up. The water shut off on its own as the sensors realized the tub was full. The room went silent accept for the sound of Ulic dipping her toes in the water to get the feel for it. A small gasp escaped her mouth as her foot slid in gently. The water was scalding hot, but it felt good.

 

Much anger and hatred had been released by the Sith Lord. The evil energies seemed to seep out of every pore all over her body. This bath was something she needed.....not for herself but for others. Ulic was beautiful on the outside, and meant to keep herself that way, wishing to contain her evil intents so as to surprise any of the unsuspecting.

 

Washing herself head to toe she leaned back and let her body slide under the surface of the water full immersing herself.

[Truth]

The blade came in fast, moving towards his exact position. Truth smiled, getting up quickly. He watched the blade move in closer, he focused on it. His sight turned to gray, everything but the saber which now looked as though it had been painted by an artist. He quickly closed his eyes and the "sight" was gone. The saber landed close to him on the ground, silently humming. He moved over to it crouching down to get a better look.

 

"The great weapon of the Sith.”

[Moric Thian]

The heavy breathing of the young serpent could be heard by almost everyone within a ten-foot radius of him. The fact that he finally scored a hit on his master proved more a feeling of relief than anything else. He was grateful for the break in the action, although he stayed on his guard just in case his master launched another attack.

 

But his master didn't attack again; he did something that almost surprised Moric. He told his apprentice to part with his training saber. He was all too happy to cast his training saber aside. It was too clunky and bulky for his liking. He would finally be getting a weapon that Moric yearned to wield since he arrived at the serpent base, a real lightsaber.

 

The young human followed his master's orders and quickly left to go find the armory. Upon roaming the intersecting corridors of the elaborate compound, Moric began to think of what style of lightsaber he would want.

 

During the course of his training with Garet, the Trandoshan put a lot of emphasis of speed. Moric couldn't help but think that his master did this for a reason. Moric wanted to strike and strike quickly, this would call for a single bladed lightsaber. Moric conveniently stumbled upon the armory just as he finished deciding what kind of weapon he would want.

 

Within the armory, many piles of dormant metals were spread across the room. The padawan didn't know exactly what he wanted but he tried to act based on the design of what he already knew about training sabers. He gathered a flat piece of metal that seemed to be sturdy enough for a handle. He gathered more pieces of metal that would look useful and started to leave the room.

 

He found that all of his newfound cargo was a little too much for a human to carry. Improvising, Moric called the Force to him and dropped the contents from his arms. The pieces of metal immediately froze in mid air and started to rise until it was level with Moric's head. Satisfied with his idea, the Sith apprentice found his way into the forge with a procession of metal floating along behind him.

[Garet Jax]

Garet was pleased with Morci's ingenuinity. He would need such resourcefulness for what lay ahead. The room they were in was large, but an iron anvil and a large furnace were the only things that decorated it. The heat was oppressive. Garet hefted large sledge hammer, and through it to Moric.

 

"You will use this, the fires of the forge, and the Force to forge they cylinder of the lightsaber. Lightsabers are small weapons, and once you have the metal reduced to a certain size you will have to temper it with the Force alone. I will be here to guide you if you have any problems."

 

Garet watched Moric begin.

[Rocketblaze]

Catching the blade, he passed it behind his back in a flash of red.

 

"Good. Now tell me how you pulled that off."

[Truth]

Truth closed his eyes, remembering exactly what he did. Moving closer to Rocketblaze he began to speak.

 

"Something told me to focus on the blade, focus on it's shape. So I imagined it being thrown to you, and some how it did get thrown to you."

 

Truth kept walking forward towards his Master.

 

"How did I do it?"

[Rocketblaze]

Rocketblaze constricted Truth's airway and blasted him with lightning.

 

"The same way that I did that, only with less focus."

 

At this point the apprentice was gasping for air and experiencing minor chest pain. The point of this was to get him angry.

 

"C'mon, I invite you to your inner darkside. Feel your rage and marry it."

[Truth]

Truth fell to his knees, he turned his head slightly towards his Master. He spat blood into the grass, pushing off the ground he rose to his feet.

 

"I'll show you some anger."

 

He rushed, moving quickly with the wind. He put his head down, wrapping his hands around his Master's waist. They suddenly collided, smacking into the hard ground that was underneath them. Truth bounced back up within the second, backing away from his Master. Anger began to pour out of his pores, adrenaline pumped throughout his body. No pain, nor anything could stop him now, it was only him and his Master.

 

"Let's go big boy, hit me!"

[Rocketblaze]

Rocketblaze stopped the motion of all cardiac muscle in Truth's body. His heart could not work. At first, this produced an odd sensation. Within seconds he was at the same level as his master... the ground.

 

"You crack me up."

 

The Serpent Master restored cardiac function and sat up. He enjoyed the flowing, lush grass as Truth's body tried to catch up with itself.

 

"You're always just one 'something' away from death. Be it a second, centimeter, newton, it doesn't matter. What does matter is how prepared you are to deal with it and how strongly you want to live. Anger is not the answer. Those who can realize this are the true commanders of the darkside and creators of Dark Arts. Get ready for your real training; a room has been set aside for you. Your first excercise is to locate me by sensing my presence in the Force."

 

Rocketblaze walked off the scene, lookin' quite lean and feeling damn mean. He sat in the kitchen and had a nerf burger while waiting for Truth. It was a good burger, one of the best that he'd ever had. It calmed him to the point of feelin' so fine, steady as a pine on the right line. Fate, being the cruel thing that it is, didn't want him to be calm. He had a vision of staggering magnitude, a being, bathed in eminence, calling to him. My Champion, favored Serpent of mine, the time of our ascension is drawing near. It is time that the Serpents learned the truth about their power, that they saw the riddles in the dark. Speak to them, and the sleepers shall awaken.

 

Jarred, but still stable, he sat. The Serpent Master continued to eat and now pondered the vision. He could not quite understand what it was that had come to him until a word stood out in his mind: power. This was the god who had given him power, all to make him realize that he never needed it. This was the one who had shown him that he was a force to be reckoned with in his own right, as he'd found mastery of the Dark Arts. This was the one who saw him as a Champion. So Rocketblaze would enact this request out of respect.

 

It was time for a meeting.

All Serpents could feel a sense of calling to the dining hall, an obligation to assemble.

Once Rocketblaze had them together, he would attend to all matters accordingly.

[Truth]

"Find him through the Force... excellent."

 

Truth layed on the ground, collecting his thoughts at first. He then rose up, getting to his feet quickly. He walked forward, feeling the Force fly through his body, wrap around him as though it was a shield, it was, if you knew how to use it. He walked forward with his eyes closed. He could see him, he was glowing in darkness, the Force was feeding Truth to him. He could also feel the others, but as he took his mind off his objective the light became dimmer.

 

"Focus Truth, focus."

 

He again began to feel his Master, there he was. Eyes still closed he moved forward, walking into the room where Rocketblaze had led him.

 

"Good, me hungry."

 

He took a seat, and opened his eyes, he already knew that he was in the kitchen, something told him, the Force.

[Moric Thian]

Moric edged near the furnace and could fell the heat from a good distance away. There would be no way for him to hold his metal into the flames, he'd have to levitate them.

 

The serpent apprentice closed his eyes and felt his piece of metal float slowly into the flames. He could see the outlines dancing in the fire. After a minute or so, Moric gripped his parts and began to lift them out of the forge. He could fell the heat off the metal when he himself was five feet away. He might have left them there for too long.

 

After finding a nice place in the middle of the room to work, Moric began the process of trying to bend the metal into a cylindrical shape. It was certainly harder than just making it float through the air. the metal started to bend after several minutes of Force application from Moric.

 

Drops of sweet began to drip down Moric's face onto the metal, a puff of steam started rise through the air towards the ceiling. Just as it started to disappear, the piece of metal was molded into a perfect cylinder. The handle of Moric's lightsaber was complete.

 

Before he could revel in his success, the apprentice heard a calling through the Force. He felt as if he should go to the dinning hall. Moric a questioning glance to his master. He was sure that Garet had felt it as well.

[Ulic Ri'Lo]

Ulic felt a rush as she could sense her lover through the force. She was needed immediately at the dining hall.

 

Leaping up off the bed she began to hum a beautiful yet sinister tune. Her white robes flowing she hurried to the dining hall with all speed.

[Garet Jax]

Garet felt the call as well.

 

"You are doing well. Leave the work here, we will finish later."

 

Moric and Garet assembled with the others in the dining hall. The Doshan was curious as to what Rocketblaze had discovered about the state of the Sith. It had been quite a while since Garet had heard anything from them.

[Rocketblaze]

They were there, all of the Serpents that he needed. Rocketblaze entered and sat, saying nothing. He shared emotions, let the others feel what was going on. Then he spoke of a god.

 

"I was given power beyond belief by a god. This god, Ahriman Tzeentch, bestowed upon me forces that I never knew... And it was all to show me how great I already was. For the power he gave me was not the forces to work with, but the knowledge of them. Now I use them without his aid, but still in his service. I will forever honor him even if there comes a time that I will not serve him."

 

The Serpent Master looked at each member as he spoke, making sure that they understood the magnitude of this information.

 

"I ask only that you follow me. Do not trust Ahriman Tzeentch, but take your cover from me. His intent is still unclear to me, and with his vast power, I don't want to see anyone get into harm."

 

The severity of his concern could clearly be seen, as this was no matter to be taken lightly. As a Champion he felt safe, but was not ready to venture far into the darkness without first catching a better glimpse of the riddle himself.

 

"Moric, you've come along extremely well. Once you finish your weapon, you will become a Sith Lord. This is a very proud time for me, and I've been looking forward to it for quite some time. I know that I have not worked with you nearly as much as Garet, but I've been watching all this time... It is your choice to either rejoin the Sith Order as a Lord or to stay with us as a Serpent. Please inform Lord Jax of your decision."

 

Rocketblaze made moves for the door. He kissed Ulic on his way.

 

"Just be ready if I need you. I'll let you go back to your business."

 

As he passed through the door, he noted back.

 

"Truth, you've found me. Very good. Come down the hall to the training chamber when you are ready."

 

The Serpent made his way there and waited, thinking of all that was happening. It was a tad stressful, but he had no real need to worry. Everything would come and go in stride. It always had, and always would. What was the loss of a planet to him? Nothing, just as the loss of one. There was little that could hurt him in the universe, but the price for crossing him was so great that very few would try. Besides, he was a nice guy. There was no need to be his enemy if you'd just mind your manners.

[Truth]

Truth slowly moved through Dining Hall, nodding his head to the other select individuals. He moved with his chest out, feeling proud, but there was no reason he felt pround. Was there?

 

He moved quickly, his feet pacing faster and faster as he moved into the training room. He saw his Master in deep thought near the entrance of the room.

 

"I am here...Master." Truth said with a slight studder.

[Rocketblaze]

"Then let's begin."

 

Rocketblaze lifted Truth off the ground and set him down.

 

"I did that with the Force. No thought, just an action."

 

He then tossed Truth a few feet, but made sure that he landed lightly on his feet.

 

"I did that with some thought and little focus."

 

The Serpent Master stood and spun quickly, driving energy through the bench that he was sitting on. It became garbage.

 

 

"I did that with knowledge, experience, and application. The Force is out there, and it's not a matter of how attuned you are to it, it's a matter of how familiar you are with it. Feeling its harmony is needless work. Just know that it is there and it is a tool. Take your anger and call it through that at first. It's the easiest way. Emotion lets you get into the primal state that it recognizes, and it will aid you. In time, it will come to you by your thoughts. We have plenty of work to do, but this should be a good start. Just remember: emotions are key for now. Practice on anything. I'll moderate your actions if needed."

[Ulic Ri'Lo]

Seeing Rocketblaze walk out of the room as cool as the other side of the pillow still had Ulic worked up. She could sense something different in him, but she did not know what it was.

 

Whatever he went through she would be by him. She truely did not care if she was an ordinary Sith or Serpent master. The reason she stayed was for.....him. The order was her home now, but the order would not last without new blood.

 

Quickly packing up her belongings she only slows herself to write a note to her love. It would simply ink on paper or letters in a holopad....

 

Her hand shivered as she pricked it with a small needle. As blood seeped from her wound, she took a drop of it and began to write with the pin...bringing it back each time more organic ink was needed.

 

My love, I stay a serpent because of you. I must leave now for I feel it is pertinent to add to the order of the sith and serpent. I will go to Nirauan where you found me, and in turn find an apprentice. However, I will again return to Chandrila because of you. This will not be easy for me to be away my love, as I will loath every second we're apart. With all my heart I bid you farewell.

 

Ulic

 

With that the Sith lord made her way out of the compound and headed for an outcroping in the forest known for smuggler landings. Sure enough a crew of three smugglers was keeping camp near their small archaic YT 2300.

 

Walking in a seductive manor towards them, Ulic managed to capture the trios attention. "Pretty lady" one of them managed in broken basic. That was the last any of them ever spoke or anyone ever heard from them. Two quick strikes with her saber saw their blood stain the ship they'd landed with. The third smuggler, frightened and blinded by fear made a run for it. He did not make it far however as Ulic summoned her staff for the first time in the presence of someone other than Rocketblaze and hurled it directly through the mans chest. It made a splug at it entered through his spine and cracked through his sternum before coming out his chest.

 

His scream was quelled by the blood as it spewed up through his mouth while also coming out both ends of the hole. Ulic released the energy of her armor and staff letting them disappear back into the force.

 

Not savoring the death of her first victims she quickly rushed to the ship and put in coordinates for Nirauan and the Sith Academy.

[Truth]

Truth listened to his Master, quietly saying the directions over and over in his head. He then heard the last sentence his Master had said, " Just remember: emotions are key for now."

He moved closer to his Master, and thought for a second. He then quickly reflected on what his Master had done to him outside, hitting him in the chest with the lightning, even giving him a scar. He recalled on the event and felt the anger start to boil.

 

Truth's face turned red, as though he was slapped. He closed his eyes as his hands slowly moved from his waist to the air. His Master began to rise, slowly at first, but then he let the anger flow giving him more control of the Force. He opened his eyes, still holding his Master. Thankfully, his Master wasn't resisting. He ceased hold to the Force, his Master flew down to the ground quickly.

 

"Oh...I think I am going to like this."

[Rocketblaze]

Upon landing, Rocketblaze rotated his whole body, sweeping Truth's legs out from under him. He hopped up and drew his saber. A red glow snapped to life just in front of Truth's face.

 

"Always be prepared for retaliation. When one looks most passive or weak can be their strongest time."

 

The Master clipped his weapon back on his belt and extended his hand. The assisted Truth to his feet and grinned.

 

"That was very good. You're already gaining mastery over your rage. Now all we have to do is get more experience under your belt."

 

Rocketblaze hit a few buttons on a console and pulled a switch. The room exploded with activity, and seconds later, there was a full obstacle course in front of them.

 

"Start here, and end there. Begin."

[Truth]

Truth smirked, just coming to believe that this was real. He felt the first wooden block in front, it sure was real. The room was, to say the least, a maze. Truth had two choices at the beginning, one that led to the right, and the other to the left. He moved to the one on his right, closing his eyes to see if he could see a pattern.

 

He couldn't, it was too complicated... before he could finish his thought process he was already on another turn, keep going straight, or left, he turned left, feeling bad that he hadn't picked it in the first place. He came to a sharp turn, and felt that it was time to use more of this "tool". He was also beginning to get livid with this damn maze. He jumped on top of one of the aligned wood "fence."

 

He peered over to where he was going. There was the exit, but before going to the exit, their were a few deserted battle driods pacing their programmed routes. He quickly jumped, focusing on his emotion and the Force to the middle, landing nicely on one knee.

 

"Dammit!"

 

Wood came clattering down behind him, which then lit on fire. Soon the whole course would be on fire. He moved with authority in each step, jumping here and there. Soon he came to the droids armed with blasters. Without really thinking, he stripped them from their weapons, pointing them at their own head. Feeling the heat emit from the course, he began to grow more angry. Again, his face turned red, and power flew from his fingertips.

 

He motioned for the wood to move, and every single piece of wood that was in his path moved, from his fingertips, from his hatred of them. He entered into the end of the course, he had learned important lessons in this test, trust yourself and the Force, they were your two and only two allies.

[Tashkri]

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.

[Rocketblaze]

"TURN AROUND!"

 

As soon as the last syllable hit Truth, the remains of the course retracted. It then, just as quickly as it had gone, reappeared. This time, it spanned the entire height of the room, a giant construction of metal alloy. Trap filled and droid infested, it laid waiting for any who would dare enter it.

[Truth]

"You little..."

 

Truth's words were cut off by the silently shots of a blaster rifle, feeling the anger still pumping, the Force warned him to move as he did quickly. This course had a little more fightin' and a lost less findin'. He used the Force, stripping one of the droids from his weapon, the droid, not programmed to react without a blaster, it kept "firing."

 

Truth, with the help of the Force, pulled the blaster into his hands. The training came back to him; he was a child when he learned how to use on of these. It wasn't a Storm Trooper, but it was training.

 

After the brief flashback, Truth moved fast, using the Force to aid his shoots. There were too many of them, blasts kept coming at him. He called for the Force, then turned his left hand towards the wall, taking a piece of the metal from the ceiling of the room that Truth and the droids were in.

 

"I like shields, do you like shields friends?"

 

Holding the piece of metal in-front of him, the bolts began to hit faster. This thing was going down quick, and he needed to act, now or never. He placed the metal sheet horizontal with the floor, pushing it with the Force into the stomachs of the droids in-front of him. At least ten droids hit the ground with a clunk.

 

"Ah, you don't like shields."

 

He pulled more and more shields down from the ceiling, as they came down they homed right to his targets. Only one droid remained at the end, and without the Force, he shot him right between the "eyes."

 

"Ha-ha, boo!"

 

He now moved quicker, droids also infested the "maze" part of the course, but they were no chance to the attacking force of Truth, he shot the bolts quickly, each hitting their targets. As he moved on, he began to use the Force greater, picking up multiple droid parts, and using them as weapons or shields. Yes, it was great; he came to the exit, with a few burns, but nothing less.

 

"Course completed, I would say."

[Rocketblaze]

"Very good."

 

Rocketblaze looked pleased. It could have been because Truth just tackled something that was very difficult, or it could have been because Tashkri had returned. Most likely, it was both. The Serpent Master turned to the Serpent Lord.

 

"It's been awhile... Nice progress. Your power will be needed. It seems that a god favors us, but I'm still wary of his intent. For now, I advise you to limit your trust of Ahriman Tzeentch. On the lighter side of things, Ulic is a Lord and Moric is nearly there. Garet has trained him, and I've just got an idea. Anyways, I'm glad you're back. This is Truth. You'll be training him in combat, as I'd like to see him take to stealth. He already exhibits a knack for environmental manipulation. If you want to train him fully to Lordship, then that is your choice. And if you have anything you need to talk about, come to me in my suite."

 

Rocketblaze walked out of the room and progressed to his section of the compound. He entered to find a note, wrote of blood, and of his love. Knowing now why it seemed as if she was distant, he smiled in his reassurance. She was fine, and so was he, for now. Taking stock of the Serpents, he laid out on his bed and relaxed his body. Much was to be evaluated.

[Tashkri]

"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.

[Truth]

"You serious?"

 

Truth moved closer to the hologram, the blade humming silently in his hand. The hologram also moved forward, closer and closer they became until the Holo made the first attack.

 

Truth, with the help of the Force, pulled his practice saber in front; it was almost by habit, weird. The Holo pulled his saber around and prepared for another attack, no matter, Truth was already in motion with his move. He "stopped, dropped and rolled" to his opponent, the constant slashes came close to Truth's ear.

 

Truth, with both hands gripping the hilt, brought the saber across his chest, connecting with the holograms saber.

 

"Fine..."

 

He flipped backwards, holding the blade in front as the white light reflected off the metal alloy walls.

 

"Let's play in the dark!"

 

Focusing on the Force, Truth motioned his hand towards the main conductor, flipping the switch. The lights that hung high from the ceilings immediately shut-off; now all that could be seen was Truth, the hologram, and the droid producing the hologram.

 

Truth moved quickly, focusing on the Force. He ran forward straight towards the droid, slashing down on its projector, within the same instant the hologram placed his saber high, blocking the attack that would have put him to an end.

 

"Oh, it's on!"

 

Truth moved, now walking slowly around the Holo. He then, without hesitation charged, bringing the saber across his chest... again. It had worked; the droid went low to stop the attack on his "body", using the Force, he threw the blade, as he did at the beginning of his training with Rocketblaze, to the projector droid. The hologram flickered, and finally shut off, as two red-hot pieces of the droid clattered to the ground. He called back for the saber, holstering it on his belt.

 

"That was... odd."

 

He then ushered his hand back towards the conductor, flipping the switch back on.

[Tashkri]

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."

[Garet Jax]

Garet guided Moric back to the forge. But as they walked, he stopped lifting his head in the air.

 

"I sense a presence I have not felt for quite some time."

 

It appeared his old rival had returned. But there would be time to worry about that later. Garet examined the cylinder Moric had created with approval.

 

"Now you must make the crystals. Sith and Serpent saber crystals are made from dark side energy. You must create them through the Force and the fires of that forge. After that, you will only have one task left before your saber is complete."