Finding your place. (Valek Dagger's Shade training)

[Phil]

Looking down and watching how Quentell had lowered himself gently to the ground below, Valek prepared to do the same. He gathered what Force he could and focused it around his body, doing nothing but swarming around him for the moment. Taking a breath, and knowing he would either have to rely on a very quick reaction or Quentell to catch him if he failed, Valek took a step beyond the edge and used his other foot to gently launch himself off.

Valek started to plummet downward first, but using the force, he started to more gently descend for a few seconds, as if he had a parachute attached to him. However, when he was only around seven feet away from the ground, he felt the power wear off and he plummeted down to the not too far ground where he landed in a crouched position to prevent landing the wrong way where he could injure his legs.

 

[D.C.]

Quentell quickly stepped over to Valek and kneeled beside him. "That was good for a starter. You haven't injured yourself haven't you?" he asked a little concerned. "If you want to keep practicing this power though, which really could be useful in certain situations, we can return here anytime."

He helped Valek get up and patted him on his shoulder. "You're really doing great." he commented with a smile. "Do you have any more questions so far, or maybe suggestions on what you want to learn, before we move on to the next part of the training?"

 

[Phil]

Now on his feet after landing with a minor, unnoticeable wound in his left foot, Valek listened further until it was time for another question.

"When we were attacked by the assassin, he used the force to attack us, to try to kill us. Is it possible to learn such powers?"

 

[D.C.]

"It is..." Quentell said, and he looked very serious. "I actually wanted to move onto the more... violent powers now. However, we will have to go back to the training room for that."

He turned and walked all the way back to the training room, assuming Valek would follow after him. He closed the door behind them and walked to the middle of the room.

"Those powers you asked about are... dark side powers. The offensive ones. They can be deadly to your opponent, or you..."

He turned around so he could look at Valek and continued: "To use them, you will need to wake the anger within you. The more anger you use, the more powerful your attack will be. Most offensive and Dark Side related powers come forth from pure anger."

He paused and let Valek think about it. After a few moments he continued:

"Most common powers are Force Lightning and Choke. There are also powers like Drain and Rage but I don't want you to use those, ever. They consume you from within and draw you closer to the dark side more and more. Powers aren't good nor evil, it's how you use them. Just don't use Drain or Rage, I won't teach you those."

Quentell was very serious now. They were about to start with the dangerous part of the training.

"Now, my next lesson will be about calling upon your anger and use it to defeat a foe. You must learn to control your anger instead of your anger controlling you."

The Shade Knight then closed his eyes and the whole room darkened. It slowly began to fade and an illusion of a dark alley appeared. It seemed very real though. In the back alley a very young rodian kid could be seen, being beaten to death by a huge human thug. Quentell himself was nowhere to be seen, but his voice echoed through the area, only for Valek to be heard. The thug nor the victem had seen Valek yet.

"Valek!" The Shade Knight's voice sounded. "That rodian kid over there is going to die! You can't let that happen, can you? Doesn't it make you feel so damn angry now? Let the anger course through your veins, but watch it. You must maintain control over it. Then, cast a strike through the force at the thug and take him out! I will be watching..." the voice faded and remained silent. Leaving Valek there.

(You must use one power of choice, for example Lightning or Choke, on this man to strike him down. Do this by calling upon your anger.)

 

[Phil]

Drain and Rage. Valek remembered those two powers, almost like the two belonged to eachother. Must be what the Jedi were so afraid of about the Dark side, and apparently the Shade Order considering the tone Quentell spoke in about them. However, before he could comment on them, the room was casted into Darkness where even Valek's helmet could not brighten his view before he found himself in an alleyway. Was this an illusion created completely by the Force?

He had not the time to think as he saw a merciless thug, the same kinds that he had killed before, was beating a rodian child to a bloody pulp. No child deserved that, no matter what he had done. Valek quickly pulled out his magnum and aimed it at the thug, almost pulling the trigger before he realized it. This was still an illusion, and he was still in training. Anger, something not seen in Valek very often, began to rise as he holstered his magnum once more.

Valek remained where he stood, but his arm extended towards the thug as he reached out to it like he did the box earlier. However, instead of gently grabbing it, he attempted to violently grab the thug by the neck and strangle the life out of him before he realized blood stopped pumping into his brain. The anger he released was hidden under his helmet, but it could be felt as it became burning inside him as he attempted to choke the child beater to death.

 

[D.C.]

"That's enough, Valek." Quentell's voice sounded calmly and the room appeared again. Both the thug and the child were gone and Quentell stood right next to Valek.

"You should rest up a bit now." he said. "The reason I let you do this, is because I wanted you to have a preview of what the dark side is like and to teach you how to call upon your anger. We will go deeper into the subject, and I will teach you how to control the anger and not lose yourself in it. Now there is a question I must ask you, how did it make you feel?"

 

[Phil]

Valek calmed down rather easily, letting his arm rest at his side as everything around him reverted back to normal. He then turned to look right at Quentell when asked how the anger released from Valek felt.

"Burning. I felt a burning feeling inside myself when I reached out to strangle the criminal. It's hard to describe how I felt when I released it. I did not enjoy it, but at the same time I did not despise it. A necessary feeling, I would think."

 

[D.C.]

"That's interesting..." Quentell said more to himself than to Valek. He then spoke to Valek: "You're the first I know who feels a burning feeling. I never felt something like that myself. Maybe it's a good thing, a warning for you not to use your anger to often."

He thought over it a while but could not find an immediate answer. I should meditate on that, he thought to himself.

"Control your anger. Never let the anger control you, for it will cause your own downfall, yet do not completely avoid it like the jedi do. Powers like Lightning and Choke are useful when it comes to defending yourself or others. But do not abuse them. When you're in combat, use the choke power you had used against the thug by simply calling upon the force and adding a little bit anger. Remember, your emotions are yours to command. Don't let them command you."

He turned around and walked over to a panel on the wall. He pressed the buttons and typed in a code. A door left from the panel opened up and a dummy appeared. It was made of steel and it had the shape of a human male, average height and it stood in an idle pose.

Quentell turned around and walked towards Valek.

"An idea of mine was to use practice dummies. As far as I know I am the only trainer who uses them. Maybe there are more trainers who use them, I don't know. Anyway, the dummy you see there is designed for practicing force powers on."

Quentell reached out his right hand and threw a wave of blue lightning from his hand at the dummy. The lightning danced around the dummy for a few seconds and then disappeared.
"You see, you can try out Force Lightning or Choke on this dummy without harming anyone. Try to use your anger and your force power to cast different powers on him. If you have any questions, then ask me. I will watch you practicing and I will give you tips if you need any. I can't repeat this enough: Use your anger and don't let it use you. Go ahead."

He sat down on a chair and watched Valek practicing on the dummy.

 

[Phil]

"I'll keep that in mind about anger."

Valek said with a serious tone like he has always spoken. He turned towards the dummy as he saw the last bits of lightning fade away from it before it went idle. Lightning looked like it could be useful, but to generate it seemed to be complicated as it involved more then just anger to generate that sort of energy. He then held out his hand once more to the dummy and let various thoughts flow through his mind that would cause the anger to rise.

Images of the Jedi coming to his home when he was a child to take him to become part of their order... their order of pacifist monks. It never stopped there, and they persisted him even when he was an adult and living on his own. Promises of a better future for him were made, as well as other things that would break down the boundaries that made Valek who he really was. That was all he needed to get his anger going again.

Keeping it in check as the burning feeling in him surfaced, he focused on the Force to tighten his grip around the dummy infront of him. The dummy was quite sturdy and did not go down easily when Valek tightened his grip on it. After nearly fifteen seconds of focused Choking through the force, Valek suddenly released, feeling that he was getting the hang of it. Once he released, he quickly calmed himself down just like Quentell would have wanted.

 

[D.C.]

Quentell was pleased. Valek could control his anger.

"Bravo!" he said as he stood up from his chair. "That's exactly what I meant. Excellent."

He walked towards Valek and now stood beside him. "You are able to call upon it and let go of it. You are in control of your anger, and that's exactly what I wanted you to learn. Do you have any questions now or do you want to practice more powers on the dummy? Or do you want to move on to the next part of the training?"

 

[Phil]

"You mentioned two other powers, Rage and Drain. How are these two any different from Choke and Lightning? I believe what you say about them, but you sound like you know about them from experience. How horrible are they if used?"

 

[D.C.]

Quentell sighed. "I... I do have some experience with the powers. I have been a slave of the Dark Side myself, but I found my way out of it and I found perfect balance." he looked at Valek and continued: "Drain and Rage. What Drain actually does is sucking out the life of another person and then feeding it to the user. When a dark forceuser is wounded he can use this technique to heal himself, at cost of the life of another."

"Rage, however, is even more dangerous. A user of this technique taps into his or her greatest fears, hate and pain and channels it into great anger. This anger then gives them great strength, speed and ferocity. The more it is used, the more the user gets closer to the Dark Side of the Force. After the rage subsides, the user is weakened and has to recover from it. It turns you into a killing machine and consumes you in the end. Useful to win battles, but dangerous for yourself too."

He walked over to the panel on the wall and typed in another code. The doors slid closed before the dummy and he turned back to Valek.

"These powers come forth from great anger. And this anger is hard to control. I myself have great control over my anger but even I have trouble using them, especially Rage."

 

[Phil]

"...You use these powers even wen you know of it's consequences?"

Valek asked, although he might have just misheard what Quentell was telling him. This Dark Side seemed like it was a very serious concern to his Master, possibly to the other Shade members here too. Apparently it was not just the Jedi who worried so much about it...

 

[D.C.]

"Don't get me wrong, Valek. I used these powers in the past. Not anymore. I refuse to use them ever again, for they will become my downfall as I cannot control them. There are many powers I can control and I can use, but Rage and Drain are two of the few I can't." he explained. He realised he formed his last lines wrong when he said: "I myself have great control over my anger but even I have trouble using them, especially Rage."

He then smiled and crossed his arms. He looked at Valek and imagined him with a saber in his hands and wearing a shade robe.

"I hope you do understand what I meant now." he said. "Balance is what we seek, but watch it. When you stare into the light it will blind you and when you walk in complete darkness you can't see. Pure Light will not provide all the knowledge about the force you might want and pure Darkness will consume you in the end."

He then moved over to a metal box and opened it. Within the box were the training sabers they had used before. He Force Pulled one out of the box and looked over to Valek.

"We sparred at the beginning of the training." he said. "You improvised and fought how you would in any other fight. Now it is time to learn a specific saber form. Which of the following words describes you best: determination, contention, resilience, aggression, perseverance, moderation or ferocity?"

 

[Phil]

Thinking for a quick moment, Valek knew his answer would determine what fighting form he would learn when he spoke.

"Determination.. That is what I think."

No one else knew Valek better then himself, and the determination he showed when he was a mercenary and to survive have proved this.

 

[D.C.]

"Determination, you say? I think it suits you indeed. The saber form that comes along with this word is Form I. Shii-Cho. The way of the Sarlacc. Though it is the first of the seven forms, it is a very deadly form when mastered. I want you to go to the library now and look up information about Shii-Cho in the computer. Study the theory well and when you are ready, return here and tell me all you know about the form. After that we will go on to the practical part of learning Shii-Cho." Quentell gave directions how to reach the library so Valek could find his way.

 

[Phil]

"Very well."

Valek gave a respectful bow before turning and exiting the room. Remembering the layout of this building, he went down several halls and past a few other knights before he arrived at the library. Shii-Cho, The way of the Sarlacc. That was what he was to learn now; A lightsaber form that would help him wield one better. Once he went to a computer terminal, he logged in and started to scroll through the many different topics and subjects of the Shade Knights.

Hours passed by, and Valek was fixated onto the monitor as he read every word on Shii-Cho. Surprisingly, it was one of the first forms created by the Jedi, but also one of the deadliest. By the time Valek had finished reading everything that he could, remembering the key points in the form, he logged out and left the library, heading back towards where he last saw Quentell.

 

[D.C.]

Quentell was meditating in the training room as he waited for Valek to return.

He opened his eyes as he felt Valek's presence through the Force. He stood up and opened the door and saw his padawan.

"Welcome back." Quentell said as he let Valek in. "Please, tell me all you have learned from the archives."

 

[Phil]

"From the research I found, Shii-Cho was one of the first forms of lightsaber combat created by the Jedi when the need of a proper combat form was needed. Apparently, it's one of the more common used forms among Orders, as well as an easier one to learn. It is quite similar to traditional sword forms such as limb strikes, parries and sometimes disarms. However, it is noted that it is not the best form to use against a hostile with a lightsaber. Honestly, it's not a perfect form, but it's reliable and has it's uses."

 

[D.C.]

"That sounds pretty much like Shii-Cho." Quentell said. "Well done. Is this really the form you want to learn, or did you change your mind while studying?"