Evolution through Pain (Private)

[RecklessRapscallion]

Agmar hated Korriban, it reminded him to much of Rattatak. Korriban was filled with nothing but death, the bones of those that came before him. Each time when he eyed the various ruins while on a lecture walk with one of the instructors he began to feel the same way he used to feel, like a scared child. He hated that feeling, nothing in the universe ever made him feel that way, that was until the combat instructor ordered him to go to one of the advanced classes. Looking around in the now empty room he could not help but feel like the hairs on the back of his neck were prickling, that is if he had hairs. Agmar was still getting used to trusting his instincts, and knew after several weeks of courses that he began to feel a disturbance in the force. Turning around he saw the instructor, he was grinning and Agmar did not like it. "Don't look at me like that," Agmar said bluntly. The instructor began to frown, "Agmar you insolent little worm I can look at you however I want, now do you know why you are here?"Agmar was silent for a moment and then he chirped,"because the weaklings you keep pairing me with can't take a little Rattataki aggression?" Now Agmar was the one grinning but Master Tilok was not amused.

"No child, because of your Rattataki Aggression I have two acolytes in intensive care and we are three days behind schedule, I cannot expect to teach you the most basic of Light Saber forms with this attitude, so today you will see how far your behavior will bring you at this Academy," with that Master became louder. "Alright my advanced students enter! We have a special class today!" With that the senior students began to pile in and Agmar did not seem impressed, that was until the disturbance he felt entered. Agmars eyes fell on him out of instinct, in Rattatak you learned quickly to find out which person you could take on and which person that you could not. The quiet man in the group of loud students quickly drew his attention, he could feel his power and he did not like it. Agmar seemed to become more pale, he regretted running his mouth but he would not back down. "Master Tilok enough with this boring fancy sword play, when do I get to throw rocks with my mind," Agmar asked this time with a seemingly un-amused manner. But Tilok knew, he was watching for the young Acolytes reaction and he knew that the moment the large man entered that he had some leverage on the young Rattataki.

"This is a special class, today you get to teach this little slimeball that he needs to respect his betters, Noster can you please step forward? I want you to spar with this child, teach him why disrupting a saber-play course could lead to his downfall." Mast Tiloks black veins seemed to pulsate with glee, Agmar had a feeling that the Master hated being disrespected and finally Agmars behavior has caught up with him. Slowly he drew his training saber, activating the energy projection field. Agmar knew this was going to be a losing fight, he should have figured as much when Tilok told him to come to the advanced class. He was not at the caliber as these other Acolytes, he still understood very little compared to his immediate competition. Agmar knew deep down that the beating he would receive today would not be worse than the ones he got in Rattatak, the large Sith that stood before him sent him back two years ago, when he stole food from a settlement, a large Rattatak caught him and proceeded to beat him through the street. Agmar almost died that day, and suddenly Agmars fear vanished because when he remembered that after the incident nothing was able to stop him from leaving that world.

Agmar's fear transformed into ambition, feeling it as a strong emotion he could not help but feel as if something was empowering him. He had a feeling others could feel it too, especially since a room once filled with laughing and joking became silent. The air became thick, and the force began to vibrate around the young Rattataki. He could feel a warmth overtake him, he had never felt this way before. It felt good, he felt strong, and than he looked towards the tall man before him. Agmar was never one to wait meekly while another would strike at him first. Preemptively he sprinted quickly at the silent killer, and yes he was a killer, Agmar could tell. Attempting striking him with as much might a ten year old could muster, he hoped that the practice saber landed a decent blow against him. He had a feeling that the man's parry would force him to lose his balance. Preparing for such an event, he would use the force of the block to his advantage, he may not win this fight, but he will look as good as he could while against this impossible odd. Agmar seemed to fight as if he was wielding a Vibro Blade, he never quite adapted to using a light saber. He was used to using heavier weapons, not the lighter energy blade.

 

[Butler]

"Alright my advanced students enter! We have a special class today!"

The chuckling students filed in, forming a line of trained glares all falling upon the ten year old. This was the type of brutality they begged for in every breath of their ravaged lives, to pay back the pain that clawed at their insides since birth. Yet one entered with the group of young men and women, silent as the grave. Behind an ebony veil of silky shoulder length hair, the man watched and waited; falling in line with a sturdy obedience that was frightening in itself. The Master had but to call the word, and the child's head would roll to the ground without hesitation; without question. All of these advanced students knew, they had heard of the recent victory and gave him pause ever he passed in silence. For now they gave respect to him, the one whom had defeated the goliath. Here he stood in wait, for the call to cut this preteen down to infantile size.

"This is a special class, today you get to teach this little slimeball that he needs to respect his betters, Noster can you please step forward? I want you to spar with this child, teach him why disrupting a saber-play course could lead to his downfall."

The black boot swung forward, slipping free from the cloak that concealed it, as he claimed the floor in front of the others. That cloak snapped free of its clasp and fell behind his steps, revealing the pauldrons and the gold claw that was his left hand. All but black, the silver of his double-bladed lightsaber dangled at his hip; intimidating. Noster plucked up the hilt in his hand, as if to use it. He let it linger there, allowing the child to think what he would. But to use such a weapon against a training saber would not allow enough time for teaching. So Noster took the hilt and tucked it into a more concealing pouch at the back of his belt. Suddenly Noster's right hand shot out to the side, a training hilt answering his call and flying towards him. But he recoiled that hand out of the way as the hilt crossed over his chest and slapped into his left hand, suddenly igniting with that iconic snap-hiss forthcoming with a red beam of plasma. His right hand rounded up to grip just above his left, the blade held over his left shoulder, as he prepared for the boy's lesson.

Noster could feel the Dark side teeming within the child, impressive for his age. So he would not hold back, out of respect for the boy's rejection of fear.

Noster stood, unmoving, as the boy charged him and swung as hard as he could. Noster's blade arced over the boy's and slapped it into the ground to Noster's right, his left shoulder turning into the boy as his left hand released and pounded onto his shoulder -Noster's left boot suddenly sweeping through Agmar's feet. Noster pulled the boy's shoulder back as his swept the foot and slammed the boy down onto his back before stepping away and staring.

The others all laughed, fulfilling their purpose as the Master intended. But Noster just hovered there at the ready, silent and somber. He was fixed on this one task, to beat the lesson into the boy. For it is power that gains one victory. But first, Agmar would have to find his passion.

Wait too long after getting back up, however, and Noster would swarm in with two crossing slashes that would beat down into the boy's defenses.

 

[RecklessRapscallion]

Agmar underestimated the impressive stranger, his eyes went wide as his practice saber was batted out of his hands with overwhelming force. He tried to dodge back but the older student had other plans, feeling his balance fail him he fell on his back, Noster's blade hovered, ready to be used. Agmar was shocked, he felt no fear, but he knew that there was nothing he could do against this opponent. But he was not a quitter, if he was going to go down, he was going to go kicking and screaming. He hesitated and as punishment he saw Noster muscles flex, Agmar knew how to keep track of such subtle movements, the older student was going to keep beating him down. Like hell, waiting for the blade to swoop down he rolled to his side. Planting his hands on the stone floor he began to do a sweep kick to attempt to trip Noster. Hoping the other Acolyte would lose his balance he used the momentum of the rotation to flip past the acolyte, as he moved through the air he grabbed the practice saber and it ignited. The room was quiet, defiantly Agmar stood a good five feet away from Noster.

"Not bad, I may have underestimated you, but heed my warning now, if you defy my ascension to power I will kill you."

His first kill flashed before his eyes, the giant Rattataki that tried to take his life. That giant made the same mistake Agmar did to Noster, he underestimated his threat. The hulking warrior tried to strangle Agmar but the warrior was not counting on Agmar having a vibro knife, when Agmar closed his eyes he could still see the hand he severed. All the blood that poured from the warrior, Agmar survived and the other person was dead. That was survival basics, you do what you can to survive at any cost. The force began to ripple through Agmars body, but with little discipline and control there was not much he could do with it.

"The force is strong with this runt, but he has no idea how to tap into his potential, Noster show him why his lessons are to save his life, use the force to show this welp how powerless he really is."


Agmar had a serious look on his face, that is what he truly believed, the Sith way was a way of survival. Feed or be fed upon, fight or die. It does not matter, the codes, culture, ethics came natural to Agmar. He grew up in an environment where survival was a necessity. He knew that is if he failed to preform nothing would stop him from getting killed from his peers. Weak Acolytes were watched, tracked, and hunted. With a hum Agmar could feel the power of Noster, it was perfectly controlled but it was present. Pivoting his foot he was preparing for his next onslaught. The saber was different than I vibro blade, maybe he had to do more delicate strikes this time. Agmar cart wheeled toward Noster attempting a mid air slash aiming for one of his legs. Agmar may lose this fight but he wanted to do whatever he could to push his advantage.

 

[Butler]

Agmar rolled out of the path of Noster's first slash. He was fast. The ten-year-old's leg sweep was nothing more than a twig against the base of an oak, however. It caused little effect as Noster pressed into that leg with his shifting weight for the second slash. Agmar leapt away and past Noster, who simply turned to face the boy once more. He could run, but he could not hide.

"Not bad, I may have underestimated you, but heed my warning now, if you defy my ascension to power I will kill you."

The other students burst out laughing once more. Noster's eye but twitched, a crack in the marble that was all but unbreakable, to allow such a young adolescent to utter such words. Mountain's fire, unleash hell.

"The force is strong with this runt, but he has no idea how to tap into his potential, Noster show him why his lessons are to save his life, use the force to show this welp how powerless he really is."

The boy's pivot into cartwheel was answered with the twitch of Noster's muscles, fed with a pulse of rippling energy. Within 2.7 seconds: Noster Gripped Agmar frozen upside-down upon his hands with the Force, barreling his shoulder pauldron like an enraged mammoth right into the boy's open and inverted ribs with Dark side enhanced and crushing force, knocking the boy up into the air with his rising elbow, and pitching a ball of kinetic energy into his gut that would beat the boy back into the line of Acolytes behind -all of which broke apart and stepped out of the way just in time for Agmar to bash into the wall.

The Acolytes cawed at the sight as a swarm of starring crows.

Noster stood, lowering his right-handed hold of the lightsaber down over his thigh which had guarded his face against Agmar's stunted attack during the sudden interrupting rebuttal. He looked down at the boy with a clear distain, tossing his draping hair from his eye, seeing only arrogance and the makings of a Sith like any other successful Crusader who wielded more power than they could control; waving it around like a royal flag for all to bow before. The child was but a ragdoll before Noster's might, not yet unleashing his most powerful Dark side attacks. But the boy would have to learn, as Noster did, to face this ridicule and come up from the bottom. For one day, he might find the will to break his chains.

 

[RecklessRapscallion]

Agmars eyes went wide, he did not see the counter. Actually he felt the ripples in the force several seconds before Noster unleashed his power, it was too late, he was in a vulnerable position. Before he could cry out the wind was knocked out of him, the sheer force of the blow caused his ribs to crack. Agmar could not even cry out, flying through the air like a ball he crashed into the group of Acolytes, most of them scattered. Laying motionlessly he could feel his mind slip away, the floor was so comfortable, the pain was too great for him to move. Maybe he could take a little nap, but his survival instincts kicked in, for a moment he thought was back in Rattatak, the tribesmen were hunting him. The air began to smell like ozone, the room began to shake, cracks were forced into stone as the force responded to his intense emotions, suddenly his body began to float, even the instructor was speechless.

Landing back on his feet, his efforts to stand in the end were worthless, his body broken from the last assault he fell almost as quickly as he got back up. The rest of the class finished with several sparring matches and the Junior students sending Agmar down to the medical wing. Days passed, Agmar remembered very little. His eyes opened and he was submerged in red liquid, with a mask over his face. He felt numb, the pain was gone but the humiliation remained. When you hit rock bottom it is always difficult to climb back up. A week followed, Agmar was back in his chambers, he would not go to class, he just lay in his bed. For the first time doubt clouded his mind, the scene kept replaying in his mind. Noster was the definition of power, Agmar was all talk. How was he to survive Korriban if he could not even bend the force to his will. For the first time in years Agmar cried himself to sleep, his spirit was broken.

"Dellnara'th Agmar Quell, tele'thel'ag ag'telema."

His eyes opened, the voice sounded like a whisper, until Agmar looked to the corner of his room where a shadowy figure stood. Agmar could feel the touch of the darkside and something else he could not put his finger on. The figure did not seem right but he knew it was staring at him. "Leave me be, let me sleep, get out of my chamber." Agmar just wanted to sleep, he slept for weeks and this day was not going to be different. The figure seemed un-phased by Agmars words.

"Peace is a lie, there is only power."

Agmar could not put his finger on the shadows accent, it was ancient, it was exotic. "I heard that line a million times, it's the Sith code, every Acolyte is told to recite it a billion times a day." The shadow vanished and then reappeared at his bed post. "If you paid attention to the creed you would not be laying down on your bed. What Noster did was to make you stronger, not a sobbing child laying in a bed." Agmar would hear none of it, covering his head with his blankets he curled into a ball. "Go Away!" The thing just laughed at Agmars words, he did not like the things presence, there was something wrong about it. "I am of the force, I am everywhere and nowhere at the same time, I cannot just simply vanish little one." Agmar did not like the cloaked persons words, shaking his head he covered his ears, hoping to be able to simply ignore it. "Think child, what are the chances of a force sensitive being able to leave Rattatak let alone survive on your own for those many yeats? Use your mind little ghost, do you think simply you were the only one looking out for you? I would have not invested my resources on a little brat like you if I knew this is how you would end up."

Agmars eyes went wide, the thing did not simply speak conventionally, even when covering his ears he could hear it talk. Slowly he sat up staring at the cloaked figure, "What are you?" "I am one with the force Agmar, go find Noster, you must learn that to gain power you must submit to those more powerful then you, then when you gain strength you break your chains. He needs you almost as much as you need him, there are things in store for Noster Eden, just like how there are things in store for you Agmar." The words moved him, Agmar was always skeptical but the thing somehow spoke to his soul. Things just made sense, and as soon as the thing finished talking it vanished. Leaving his quarters he did not know where to look, just as he looked down the hallway he saw the cloaked figure appear again, this time it was pointing to a general direction. Agmar followed, each time when their were multiple paths in the temple the cloaked figure would motion to the direction he should go, and then vanish the moment Agmar passed.

Until finally Agmar made it to an empty room where Noster was meditating. Agmar knew better then to interrupt the senior Acolytes meditation, instead he sat on his knees in front of Noster. Finally he bowed down to him, waiting for Nosters meditation to break, if it would take hours to complete so be it. This was a matter of survival and the cloaked figure was right, finally when he heard Noster moving he looked up to him, averting his eyes to the fellow Acolyte. "Noster, I apologies I stepped out of place a week ago and disrespected you. My intention was not to embarass you but my ego dealt you a great humiliation. You are worthy of a true battle not a squash match, and for that I am truly sorry. You are a being of supreme power and I submit to you, and beg you to teach me how to fight and bend the force to my will." It pained Agmar to be put in this position and he felt humiliated but he had to get stronger, and Noster Eden was the beginning of his Ascent to power.

 

[Butler]

Hearing the boy's ribs crack and seeing him crash into some of the other Acolytes nearly paid the toll for his shame. To have come so far, from such a long fall, only to be reduced to beating some wisdom into a child; it was demoralizing. And yet, standing there over the beaten Rattataki, it was as though he had proven himself the perfect soldier; or perhaps attack dog. But that was his position now, and he gladly accepted it.

Feeling the Master's eyes linger on him, Noster looked back and saw a confident and satisfied glare returned back at him. But that glare quickly refocused into shock. The room began to shiver, and Noster swiveled back to see Agmar rising from the floor. Noster was flabbergasted, the boy rising by the will of the Dark side itself. And this pagan almost thought the boy dead and resurrected in a matter of seconds, his weakness flooding his hate for such creatures and nearly causing lethal reaction to overtake him before the boy again returned to the floor.

After the commotion died down and the boy had been taken away to recover, the class resumed. Noster was paired with one of the more boisterous students, though quickly disposed of the young man before two more replaced him and altered the dynamic of the class to suit its elite pupil. They practiced with basic energy attacks and defenses, charging controlled blasts of electricity into others' Barriers and molding enclosed spheres around the Lightning to control and dispel it. But soon the class had ended and they were dismissed to return to their prideful challenges and duels in other arenas.

Days passed by with barely a visit to the outside world, as Noster found the down time somewhat difficult. He'd been back and forth on missions so often lately that remaining in the Temple and resigning to participating in each day's classes was painfully mundane. But there were two techniques which especially called to his focus that he entertained with time and training alone in his room. Meditation and the focusing of his desires gave him power and helped him harness the Tendrils of the Dark side, granting him a stronger control over the extra limbs and adding to their density. As well, his abilities with the Midnight Black Spear became slightly increased, building on both its size and the time it took to create it. But such advanced studies were draining, and he often concluded with the sapping of the Force; pulling the blanket of the Dark side over his worn body and mind to feed it with the throbbing flow of malice and hate.

Finally the day came when Noster was concluding his exercises and he sensed someone join him. Any opportunity to train, to enhance his manipulation of the Force, was squeezed for all it could give. So Noster kept his eyes closed, as though he still continued his silent practice, but felt out with the Force. He saw what could not be seen, touched without touching, and retraced the small presence's steps back through the halls as far as he possibly could. Right away he knew who it was, the boy whom had dishonored him not days ago. But when the boy knelt and bowed, Noster's initial bias dissipated and was replaced with curiosity. It seemed as though he did not wish for a rematch. Otherwise he would have likely stormed in, just as blatant and as arrogant as before. Had the child learned from their encounter? As a test and measurement of the difference between this Agmar and the Agmar of a few days ago, Noster remained silent in his meditation for nearly another hour. But when the boy did not break, Noster found himself wondering both what it would take to get the boy to leave and what it was that happened to focus the boy so.

Without an answer, Noster awoke from his distant yet present state and acknowledged the boy. What followed was very unexpected, as the boy apologized for what he had done.

Utter silence answered Agmar's request.

Noster's lashes fell over the lubricating wash of his eyes before rising again, so slowly. He just stared back. But then, finally, two wooden swords lifted free from the wall presentation and levitated towards them. The two swords ended up hovering vertically between Agmar and Noster, as only his stare answered the boy's questions. Had Agmar attempted to grab the swords, they would have beat a tap onto his head. Then, Noster's palms opened out to his sides as a single word passed between their minds in a shared telepathic union: Telekinesis.

Noster would give the boy a chance to grip the sword with his 'third hand' before exploiting the child as a means of further training for himself. Should the boy succeed, or not, Noster would then begin using the wooden sword as though he held it and swung it with his mind to bat a hit into Agmar's left shoulder followed by the right. Agmar would do as he wished, but Noster would hurt Agmar if he did not keep up. Such was the best way of teaching, Noster believed.