Focus (Strife's Training.)

[Kouta]

Dhirh walked down the halls of the Pentacle temple, though in this place he was known only as strife. He did not know why it was forbidden to utter your own name, or even speak for that matter, but he did not care. The deathly silence gave him clarity of thought, and at the moment, that's what he really needed.

The commotion of many worlds.., clouded his vision at times, a weakness he needed to rectify. Strife summoned a gladiator of the order, one who's power surpassed his own... for now. As much as he hated to admit it, Strife Required training, training in the force. Light, dark, it made no difference to him, Power was power, it was the means of how that power was used that defined the nature of the one wielding it.

Strife fixed his mask, his hood hanging down over it, covering the eyes. Not that it mattered anyways, he had no eyes. HE could feel that the one he asked for had already arrived, feeling his aura. Strife stepped through the door looking towards the figure inside, Obelisk... i presume? he spoke, not in words but in thoughts, projected to his teacher of the moment. I thank you for meeting me here, I've been told that you we're the one i should look to in order to further my cause. Strife said respectfully. My powers with the force, i need to learn to control and wield them, how? he asked to the point.

 

[FallenKeeper]

"Focus is what you need. The fact that you speak through your mind is proof that you have already gained an understanding of the Force" Obelisk pressed his words into Strife's mind, using only a whisper tone so as to hide his real voice. Reaching out with the Force Obelisk discerned the emotions pulsating from his first apprentice. Ambition.

It was not a flicker of the emotion he felt. No, it was something on a higher scale. This one craved power as much as he himself had desired understanding months prior. To teach this neophyte he would have to draw on the lessons learned from Angel. Obelisk brought up his hand and sealed the door telekinetically.

With firey orange eyes he stared through his mask at the being in front of him. For all he could tell Strife was humanoid and rather average in posture. The Force told him otherwise as it flowed through the neophyte constantly. "Let go of what you know is natural. Tell me, what is it you want most? I am capable in instructing you on how to move objects simply by willing it..." his outstretched arm swung towards Strife as he reached out with the Force and attempted to pull the man down onto his knees.

 

[Kouta]

Strife took note of the door shutting behind him, and felt a gradual pull of his own body downwards. Strife did not resist, dropping down slowly to his knees, semi-relaxed. "Telepathy, the most versatile of abilities, and a perfect place to begin." The precautions that Obelisk had already took was one that had not been thought of by Strife. "It would seem as you already have me at a disadvantage." Strife took no bother to salvage his mistake. "You ask what i want the most, though you already know the answer. The question I respond to you is... what is all that you can teach? One such as you is bound to know more then just Telepathy, I wish to grasp what you know, and i really do not care how much time i need to sacrifice to do so."

Strife grinned, unseen behind the mask, he saw the power that radiated from the man before him, it filled the room, completely surrounding strifes own aura. He was dealing with one of great power, and of even greater potential. this was enough to spark his interest towards the coming events.

 

[FallenKeeper]

"Telepathy and moving objects are parlor tricks." stated Obelisk into the neophyte's mind as he folded his arms over his chest and examined Strife carefully. The man did not seem to make any attempt to resist the pull. Was Strife really as unlearned as he seemed?

Obelisk remembered himself and had it not been for their differing motivations, he would have empathized. Instead he pressed into his apprentice's mind, crafting images of a desolate wasteland of dry orange soil. Even Obelisk's form shifted, becoming gritty like he had been made of sand.

"Don't be mistaken. I will instruct you and you will learn. But there is still much beyond my own understanding. Still what I know you shall know." his whisper-quiet voice carried over with a passing breeze, disembodied and seeming to come from everywhere at once.

Several stones erupted slowly from the sand, though without the illusion they were merely weighted orbs, and bounced as they floated around the cloaked Gladiator.

 

[Kouta]

Strife did not see the sands, did not see Obelisk disappear as he had intended, the illusion, while it may have worked on a sight based species, held little effect on him. He saw only the orbs around Obelisk and his Aura fluctuate as he tried to instill the illusion on Strife. "I'm afraid to inform you that illusions of the sight do not work on me. I have no eyes. One cannot instill images into the mind of another, when the other never had the sense of sight to begin with. My kind are blessed, and cursed, with this immunity. We 'see' the truth behind your images." his own words pressed themselves into Obelisk's own mind. Strife saw no point in the illusion that was attempted to be cast on him, though things may unfold in time.

"and what, exactly, are these orbs for?" he observed them float around Obelisk, anticipating an attack, silently readying himself... just in case, he was. Strife was unable to read Obelisks intentions as of yet.

 

[FallenKeeper]

Albeit displeased with the results of his attempted illusion, Obelisk made no attempt to halt his advance to distract Strife. The sounds of shifting sand and rustling fabric was pushed onto the neophyte as he asked about the floating spheres.

The orbs hovered around Obelisk, moving up and down to taunt gravity whom they defied. This would not be a parlor trick, not this time. "Reach out with the Force and try to catch the spheres before they fall." his voice slithered through the air, fading in and out. The balls began to orbit Obelisk as he sat down on the ground, legs crossed.

Behind him the first orb faltered...

 

[Kouta]

"How..." he asked, Already trying to reach out of himself, trying to visualize a body outside of his own trying to hold up the orbs. "You say let go what i know of reality... so the orbs would not fall regardless, correct? unless you force it down."

Strife's mind was going a mile a minute, one of his problems. So many solutions, he is unable to decipher them all. Strife's major strength was getting in his way... ironic.

to many distractions, most of which from his own mind. Then it hit him, the most obvious answer had eluded him. Strife gazed at the orbs, seeing the force passing through and around them, then he looked at his hand holding it outward. he watched, as he stretched the energies around his hand out, to try and grasp the underside of the orb in an attempt to hold it up. It was slow, for now. Afterwards, he would try to sever the connection of the energy stretched out, so it would free float on it's own, under his control, how limited it may be. Strife watched, Wondering if his tactic would work.

 

[FallenKeeper]

Obelisk's lips curled into a smile behind his mask. He watched with curiousity as Strife paused to think before grabbing the orb with the Force. It was only a matter of time before it would simply be a reaction for the neophyte. No words escaped the Gladiator's mind as he continued to press Strife's abilities. Bringing them forth would be little trouble.

The spheres spun around Obelisk even faster as he poured more power into them. Two more dropped from his hold, each at opposing ends. A third shot straight at Strife.

 

[Kouta]

To his relief, Strife's tactic worked. However this was short lived, The orbs started to spin, making them extremely hard for Strife to control. Though he managed to keep the grip on the one he had. Strife used his other hand to grab a hold of the second orb, more then likely Obelisk's plan. Strife saw them stop, and spread out, The third was his only problem, HE tried to take small amounts of energy holding the two other orbs and move them to the third. However he wasn't able to implement this as he had to focus on holding up the orbs dropped. It was then he 'saw' the third flying at him. "Well... Damn..." Strife managed to stand quickly, so the impact at least wouldn't hit his head... however he felt no impact. Unknown to strife, a burst of force fired from his body as he stood, triggered by the natural need of self preservation. since the orb wasn't continuously being forced towards Strife, this burst deflected it. "What... where'd the third orb go?" he asked, coming back to conscience thought. His gaze moved to the two other orbs, still intact. "Hm... it seems i failed... i lost one..." his messages seemed to hold a tone of self disappointment, still not knowing what he did. "I failed."

 

[FallenKeeper]

Obelisk shifted his stance, the Force aiding his speed, and avoided the projectile as it hurtled towards him. He was impressed to say the least. But not surprised. His arm lashed out to push the renegade sphere and swing it back around at Strife. This training would have no opportunity for respite. As Angel had trained Obelisk, he too would temper the neophyte.

The Gladiator's mind was still as he brought the missile towards Strife's exposed chest. "It is right here. Do not lose focus.

 

[Kouta]

Strife pushed off backwards to gain himself a second or two, using that time to give him as much of an advantage as he could Feeling that he had a good grip of the two spheres, he spammed his hands together, causing each of them to cascade towards Obelisk. Having thrown the spheres, Strife released them, Focusing his energy to try and manifest an opposing force to try to slow the missile, and hopefully repel it back. If it worked, Strife would have effectively 'caught' the missile, though would be slowly sliding back due to the sheer force of the attack he was trying to fend off.

Strife's attacker was ferocious, though this is allowing him to learn more then he ever could simply meditating. The sheer energies of the force we're flaring before him, partially clouding his vision, though he came to see through it, his target in the clear.

 

[FallenKeeper]

Obelisk sensed the attack coming towards him. With little physical effort he propelled himself upwards and leaped clear over the orbs. They impacted on the wall behind with heavy metallic clanks before hitting the floor and rolling a couple feet. "Good." he stated, pushing the words into Strife's mind with a hush.

Landing with both arms outstretched Obelisk unleashed a strong push onto the remaining orb. He countered the neophyte's defense and sent the orb into his chest. The blow pinned the neophyte to the sealed door.

 

[Kouta]

Obelisks power finally came out. Strife slamming into the wall, making a noise not too different from the orbs hitting said wall. THe force holding him there was crushing, taking all of Strife's strength to take even the slightest of breaths. But he forced a deep breath into his lungs, the pressure of both cracking a rib. With this breath, he also gathered all of the energy he could, Focusing it in the small wedge between Strife's body and the forcce holding him on the wall. Bringing his arms towards his chest he slowly managed to form a push of his own, Gradually inching the pinning force off of him. The entire process was excruciating, though within about 30 seconds, Strife managed to take a step forward, arms outstretched forward, holding off Obelisk's attack with his newfound footing.

Thoguh he stood strong, The fact remained that in this conflict, he was the weaker, and was loosing this push of war with Obelisk. In a moment, He took a step to the side, spinning of of obelisks power, but holding on to his own, using the spin for momentum, he hurled the push he gathered towards Obelisk. He may be outmatched, But this Neophyte was not about to back down.

 

[FallenKeeper]

Obelisk found himself facing the orb once more. It was unexpected, seeing as the neophyte's first attempt was simply turned back on him. Could it have been a challenge from the neophyte? Obelisk was eager to explore the idea. In a single motion he drew his lightsaber, ignited it and threw the orb aside.

The blade sprang to life with the familiar snap-hiss as it extended. The Gladiator held his weapon to the side and aimed towards the ground. The tip pressed into the durasteel floor, sending flakes of molten metal up. His orange eyes shut and Obelisk cleared his mind. Patiently he awaited his apprentice's next move.

 

[Kouta]

Strife realized that this was escalating to a battle he could not win... by normal means. HE was outmatched, by saber skill and power. He could only think. after awhile it had hit him. Igniting his lightsaber, he contacted his Brother. "Arch... i may need assistance with this, hold close." Strife took care to not let any trace of that message reach Obelisk, the connection he had to Havoc was one built through years kinship, and was very hard to tune in to. "A word, obelisk." Strife Started, "It would seem that you are challenging someone that you clearly over power. And at the moment, i am only fighting at half of the strength i could be fighting at. Would you be interested in me fighting at my full, perhaps making this bout more interesting?"

Strife tried to Bait Obelisk in fighting on... semi even terms.

 

[FallenKeeper]

"The door is sealed until I open it. Don't expect your companion to always be there when you need him. Obelisk knew of the two, the Order was not exactly flooding with neophytes. He had understood Strife's meaning and denied it.

Their lesson had not changed, just the training equipment did. Obelisk let the Force flow through him and wrap around the hilt of his weapon. His fingers opened and he pulled back his hand. The lightsaber remained in place, sustained in mid-air by the Force.

 

[Kouta]

Strife nodded, laughing silently to himself. IT was true that he and his brother stuck out. "If you truly knew of us, then you'd know that the durasteel door would do little, even with the force holding it closed, He'd just come through the wall." his words rung with satisfaction over Arch.
Strife observed Obelisk how he gripped his blade with the force, such precision this time, unlike the raw power Strife used to hold the orbs. "I understand..." he gripped his own saber in his hand manipulating the force as he recently learned from before, though this time, he tried to keep it contained, instead of lathing everywhere. Even Strife realized the difference between the orbs used and his saber now, a much more delicate approach was needed.

Feeling he had a decent grip on the blade, he slowly moved his hand, leaving the blade midflight. While it wobbled and dropped slightly at first, but remained airborne. Moving his hand back and forth slowly Strife gazed at his blade as it followed, "I think i just found my style of lightsaber combat."

 

[FallenKeeper]

"His interference would be counterproductive to your training." answered Obelisk as he brought his hand up to his mask, pressing the palm up against it. His eyes narrowed as Strife imitated the Gladiator's trick. The words of his apprentice were slightly humorous to him.

Telekinetically wielding a lightsaber in combat would seem tempting but it would require a sufficient amount of energy. He doubted Strife would be prepared for such a demanding technique. Not even Obelisk found it practical. "Holding the weapon aloft with the Force is easy. Generating enough power to strike an opposing weapon will be difficult. I suggest you decide on a more traditional form, one that suits you, just in case."

Obelisk smirked behind his mask as he willed his weapon to float forward in front of him. There it halted as he waited for Strife to comment or act.

 

[Kouta]

"Generating enough power?" Strife repeated, "With time, this will become second nature. My power will grow, along with what i can do." The saber floated before him, "Considering my affinity with the force itself, this style is perfect. Though i will need more then one blade for it to be effective." He claimed, Showing to have already put great thought into it, giving how little time has passed since the idea hit him. With each passing minute, like before, Strife seemed to be more and more comfortable with the power he was learning to wield, "Practicality has never been one i enjoyed implementing. Though if you are this hard set against it, why show it to me in the first place?" Strife asked, His blade now starting to spin slowly in the air, While this may seems like something a child would to to amuse himself, Strife was simply practicing. "An idea has come to me, Obelisk, if i may." Strife Started, "We are of the same faction, though only rank separates us. Why should you teach me what you know, and get nothing out of it? Honestly i cannot see myself doing it for another if i received nothing." HE claimed the truth, "I offer you knowledge of my own, one that is rare to just simply come by." Strife shifted his stance, "I offer the knowledge of sight beyond sight, the vision my people" He finished. "It is up to you."

 

[FallenKeeper]

"Training you serves to further my own understanding of the Force. Simply by teaching you the basics I gain better control of my abilities. Though the offer is tempting I am quite certain I will learn such sight by the time we finish." Obelisk waited for a moment, allowing for his words to sink in.

After a few minutes he snatched his lightsaber from the air and extinguished it. Strife seemed set on his newfound technique but Obelisk saw too many flaws. Diving his power over multiple weapons would be too distracting and having them out of hand's reach would make the neophyte vulnerable if someone broke past his guard. "If you are set on that, however, you must master the basics. I suppose Shii-Cho would suit you, until you have become more attuned to using the Force."