Are you an Angel?

[Natise]

Vinculis walked through the ice covered courtyard of the temple. This was his first time coming to the horribly cold temple of Ziost. Instead of wearing warmer clothes, he donned his normal suit. To keep warm he simply relied on the force. He had traveled here for one reason. One of the recently joined acolytes had caught his attention as well as his imagination. She was a Diathem, a species that Vinculis had never interactted with or even seen. He desired to know of her natural abilities, but more importantl, he wanted to see what kind of power he could train her to possess.

As he entered the temple he looked around, trying to find her. She would know thy he was arriving to take her as an apprentice, for Vinculis had sent word of his arrival a week previous.

 

[Corrupt Justice]

Iluvatar had no care as to who would be training her, only in what powers she would be shown. She had been on this icy planet for a very short period yet had grown stronger drastically. Being here, in the presence of all of this dark power, consuming it daily for energy, had simply made her more powerful. This alone satisfied her, but at the same time, she felt that things were lacking. The power was nice, but where did it come from? What was this Force? Even though she had felt this presence throughout her very, very, VERY long life, she did not know what it was, only that it made her stronger and better than the other members of her species and had made her, in return, more curious about the things around her.

At the moment the Diathem was floating in the main hall, all the way up near the ceiling. She did not like being near the ground when she did not have to be, rather, she liked being above everyone’s heads, proving that they were, literally and figuratively, beneath her. She spun in a circle slowly, her wings opening and closing leisurely, having nothing to do with how she was staying up there. She danced around the large crystals making up the lights, diving through the air and then flipping around leisurely, letting her wings and scant clothing ripple in the breeze.

Spotting a newcomer below her, the angel reached out with her arms and fell head first towards the ground before arcing her body up to right herself, spreading all six of her wings to stop her dead in the air over his head. She then floated down until she was about a foot above the ground.

”I could feel your presence when you arrived. You taste more powerful than some of the children here. This interests me.”

Her voice was soft and cold, coming out as a hum from all around her that also echoed in the mind, though she had no visible mouth.

 

[Natise]

Vinculis' mouth broke into a large smile. She was gorgeous, power radiated off of her. He doubted that she had received any training yet. Her power was raw, uncontrolled. Teaching her to use it would be a great experience for both of them, a quality Vinculis loved in young acolytes. With a slight bow of his head Vinculis introduced himself.

" Greetings acolyte. I am Vinculis, and I will be helping you to master and use the power you already contain. Before we begin however, what is your name? "

 

[Corrupt Justice]

”I have named myself Iluvatar, child.”

The Diathem tilted her head, her artificially flowing hair twisting over her shoulder and in front of her neck before drifting back behind her. This one seemed to hold more respect for her other than some of the other… Less tasteful beings here. That she was pleased about. This would hopefully go well.

 

[Natise]

Vinculis held up a finger.

" Child ain't going to work. You may call me master, Vinculis, or V. That is all. "

Vinculis recomposed himself by running a hand through his wavy brown hair.

" Now then Iluvatar, follow me. I want to gather a general understanding of your abilities. "

With than, Vinculis walked pass the acolyte and continued walking. After a few minutes of Vinculis whistling cheery tunes, the two came to a large training room. To the left was a wall of weapons. The weapons varied from metal maces to high tech blaster rifles. To the right were a series of targets. Against the back wall in the center was a throne like chair. Vinculis proceeded to take a seat in it. After a few moments of silence he made a hand gesture. Three assassin droids dropped from the ceiling.

" Using whatever means you desire, destroy your opponents "

Vinculis ordered in a very bored and monotone voice.

The droids attacked immediately. The first one wielding a training saber rushed Iluvatar, slashing a her in a series of flurries. The second droid aimed a rid at her as the first one charged, releasing a series of rapid shots towards her. The third droid rushed her as well, armed with two training sabers. It seemed to be waiting for her response to the first two to make it's own attack.

 

[Corrupt Justice]

Iluvatar stared at Vinculis, her unblinking eyes boring into his. Well, nevermind then, he was just like the rest of these arrogant pests here. She continued floating, facing the same direction until her “master” was quite a ways away, then turned and floated after him, her head lowered in mild aggravation, her fingers curled.

Upon arriving in the room, she looked around, disinterested in any of the weapons. She did not come here to wield archaic and primitive tools. She stayed perfectly still in the middle of the ring of droids. She reached out, drawing upon the knowledge Arcturus had given her and closed her hand, the charging droid’s head crumpling and rending as pressure crushed around its cranium. She then moved her arm in an arc, tossing the destroyed droid at the one with the blaster rifle. It was sad, she wasn’t even displaying all of her power now. Her usual aura was still present, like a self-contained star that was barely producing energy.

The entire time, her eyes were on Vinculis, obviously not pleased at him. Her other arm reached out to rip the training sabers out of the grasp of the third droid, a child stealing another’s toys, then simply crushed the hilts, destroying them. Taking a deep breath (or appearing to, her chest rose and then fell slowly, as if she had just sighed), she turned to look at the still functioning droid, looking to see what it would to now that it was weaponless. She would not admit that she was tiring of this pointless fighting. Now she was interested not in learning anything except the reaction of the droid. Would it turn and run? Seek a new weapon? Continue to charge at her?

”This metal child has no power. I can’t even feed off its energy; it is not connected to the Force. What do you wish me to prove to you, child?”

 

[Natise]

Vinculis stood. He deactivated the droid with a wave of his hand. This acolyte was strong, but she was also full of herself. Perhaps it was a trait that her race generally had, perhaps her new found abilities and access to training was the cause of a boosted ego. Either way, it irked Vinculis, and he would not be underestimated by this mere acolyte.

He reached to his back and unsheathed his katana staring at Iluvatar.

" If we have a problem, perhaps you should voice your complaints. "

 

[Corrupt Justice]

Iluvatar’s chest heaved again in another mock sigh. That was no fun. Ignoring Vinculis’ question and his weapon, she moved over to the deactivated droid, pushing it over. It crumpled over onto the ground with a crash. That really was no fun. She picked it back up with the Force and twisted the dead droid around in midair, its metal limbs flailing before throwing it into the heap of other parts from its two companions.

”It seems that you are the one that’s aggravated, child.” Finally she turned to look at Vinculis. ”Why is it that you mortals mark your bodies and faces? Surely you realize that no matter what you do, you can never match the beauty of a being such as I or my brother.”

This was stated as a simple fact that she was completely sure what she believed. She felt sorry for this child, or rather, all of the creatures in this temple who did not understand.

 

[Natise]

Vinculis studied the acolyte carefully. She genuinely thought that she and her people where the greatest beings in the galaxy. He kept his katana in his hand at the ready, but he dropped his glare. Perhaps understanding her views would make them more bearable.

" The markings have several meanings to me personally. None of them are your concern. What exactly is it that makes you feel so superior? I know it is not your power, for I could break you easily. "

 

[Corrupt Justice]

”We simply are. I have been around for a very, very long time, child, and have seen you changelings come to our planet and crawl and lose all sense of self. You need and seek so many worthless things, like… Credits or other items of so-called worth. You require food and eventually… Cease to be, sleeping forever in the dirt or to be burned away to ash. You run around, seeking things that will never matter when you are long gone. I cannot simply begin to describe the splendor of a god and expect you to understand when you do not have the capability to. I am here now because I want to watch you scurry around in your own worlds that have been built, destroyed, built again, rotted, and built again. I want to see what makes you Changelings work, why things have to change outside of our planet.

Power has nothing to do with it. Yes, you could probably hurt me now, but that is because you are taking advantage of the fact that I have just discovered how to use this thing called the Force. I must say I quite enjoy it and I seem to be very good at it, though that was never any doubt.”

Spreading her three sets of wings wide, then shutting them, Iluvatar turned her hand over and curled her fingers up into her palm, the deactivated droid collapsed into a crumpled ball with a shriek of rending metal.

 

[Natise]

" I hope you do not truly consider yourself a god. I strongly recommend you doing some self reflecting and practice in having patience with mortal beings. Even if you have to fake respect, it would be appreciated by many you will encounter. "

With that Vinculis sheathed his blade and began to exit the room.

" I have a general understanding of you now. Expect to be contacted soon for training.

Vinculis gave a smile and a wink to Illuvatar before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

 

[Corrupt Justice]

How curious. Iluvatar relaxed her body and looked around, flapping her wings to clear the smoke. How very curious. This child was very interesting. At any rate, at the end she didn’t find herself completely upset with him. She could stand him enough at any rate, and he was powerful, and he had promised teaching her, promised power! But it was all a trick and he was dangling it above her nose now.

Letting out a sharp laugh, she clasped her hands together. This was going to be entertaining! If there was something she didn’t quite like was just learning something without a challenge.