Intentions in Shadow

[Tsar Fire]

"They happen when I immerse myself in the force... It's like going blind, and then learning how to see again, in a new, strange place... I can't steer it... I can't control it... It's like a dream..."

Rascha gave a little sigh. In truth, they scared her. She was afraid that one day, she wouldn't come back.

"I've seen all sorts of things. Famous leaders dying, starships being blown apart... murder... a war between the jedi..."

 

[Emma Lou]

Aliyn considered what Rascha had just said and thought it was an interesting feat that she had never heard of before.

"Maybe your knowledge will be useful to us in the future. Anytime you have one of these visions, please inform me or one of the other masters"

Aleyn thought about what she should teach the young girl next since she pretty much knew the basics and that took a big chunk out of the training.

"Did you learn anything with the lightsaber?"

 

[Tsar Fire]

"No, he said that his knowledge was limited to one form, and that I should get instruction without a bias being given to me..."

Rascha looked at her master.

"I hope that isn't a problem..."

 

[Emma Lou]

"Not at all. We all specialize in one form during our training. Once I was a knight I continued learning other forms to help teach them to my padawans. There are seven forms of lightsaber combat. Now, I would like you to tell me which word best suits you...determination, contention, resilience, aggression, perseverance, moderation or ferocity?"

 

[Tsar Fire]

Rascha frowned.

What could that mean? Yet.... she would just answer the question. She was sure that she would find out soon enough.

"I think... contention..."

 

[Emma Lou]

"You shall learn Form II: Makashi. I want you to go to the archives and research it and it's moves then come back"

 

[Tsar Fire]

"Yes master."

Rascha bowed, and then turned to leave the room. She practically ran, she was so eager to get to the archive.

When she had left the room, she had realized that she didn't know where she was going.

Easy enough though... She had no normal sight... as such. She just had to focus, and what she saw could encompass a lot more than what a human would see.

She felt outwards, until she could sense the thrumming power of the archive computers, and the glowing minds of the shade knights who were working inside.

That was better. When she got there, she looked up the style, and gasped in surprise. It was Derek's style, she hadn't even known...

Still... it just seemed natural to her.

She read all she could, and then went back to the training room, eager to learn more, never mind how hungry she was starting to feel. This was... one thing she had desperately wanted to learn since seeing Derek fight; he had reminded her of a dancer, his moves practiced, elegant, and completely deadly.

 

[Emma Lou]

"Welcome back, I hope you learned everything you could"

Aleyn held out a practice lightsaber for her.

"I would like you to demonstrate some of the moves of this form. It will let me see that you have truly read the information"

 

[Tsar Fire]

Rascha grasped the lightsaber hilt, and then flicked the ignition. The hum of the blade was oddly calming...

She settled into the stance, lightsaber held lightly in the right hand, left hand set back out of the way, then began.

Running through the different techniques, Rascha felt herself beginning to calm. She had really begun to get into a groove, and it felt natural; each movement the logical extension of the one before it.

Her foosteps began to assume a rhythm, and the blade began to move in sync with her footwork, becoming a single motion, slashing back then stabbing forwards in parry/riposte drills.

It was, strangely, fun...

 

[Emma Lou]

"Excellent job. Next it is time for you to venture to the caves and pick out your crystal. Be careful and take your time. I will be here when you return"

She took the practice saber back and handed Rascha a real one.

 

[Tsar Fire]

Rascha nodded and took the weapon, striding from the room.

She could feel the path, winding out in front of her; the force tugged at her, giving her direction.

The walls of the academy sped by in a blur as she strode out to the main gates, and then into the jungle. She didn't stop to acknowledge those she passed, she realized belatedly that she was still wearing the nondescript grey tunic she had worn on the Arbiter. Oh well.

A wave of heat washed over her as she stepped outside, and she winced. She'd always liked the cold, since she'd grown up in a cold and clinical lab. The warm whether made her feel sticky, and frankly, gross. Swarms of insects buzzed around her, little pinpricks of light, each one a life visible in the force. It was distracting, and it was annoying.

Maybe there would be a method to get around such things... maybe she should just kill them...

Pushing past the irritation, she took her first steps into the trees themselves. She could see the creatures around her, and flinched as she felt a group of feline predators slouching past, only a hundred feet away. They felt... powerful... dangerous... oddly hard to see...

She shook the thought away and reached out to force for direction...

Which way should she go?

(I'll post more later)

 

[Tsar Fire]

Rascha felt a prompting towards the north, and set out. She walked for what felt like hours, but was probably just a few, before she arrived at a series of mesas rising into the sky.

Hardly the traditional image of a cave in which crystals might grow, but... somehow, she liked this better.

With a faint sigh, she slipped off the blindfold, and stared up at the sky with her sightless eyes. She could feel the sun touch her face...

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she scrambled over the nearest rocks, and leapt down into a crevice. The ground here was more vertical than horizontal.

It took her about fifteen minutes to reach the base of the first mesa, and she felt drawn even further in. This could take a while; and the ground was... frankly, treacherous... She clambered up to the top of the mesa, to get a look around, and spotted her destination right away.

About half a mile north, was a vast mesa, almost a mile wide, and rising from the surface were spires of crystal glowing a myriad of colors in the sunlight.

That was her destination.

 

[Emma Lou]

((You can post getting the crystal and coming back...I have nothing to add right now))

 

[Tsar Fire]

(I know... I'm just kinda swamped with school and job.)

Rascha scrambled over another ledge, to collapse agains the wall of the cliff. She flet the force, drawing her ever upwards, but the climb was.... perilous at best...

She had come already... she couldn't tell... maybe 600 feet up... and was just now reaching the top. The ground was treacherous, and harsh.

She occasionally felt shudders too.... like the rock itself was trying to shake her off...

She finally sighed, and lifted herself to her feet again. It was another half an hour of climbing before she reached the top.

The sight that met her there took her breath away. A forest of crystals grew all about her, and then wind buffeted her cruelly, threating to tear her from the precipice. She could have take any of these gems, and been quite satisfied, but... something kept drawing her further in.

She could resist, so she kept going, walking on towards her ultimate destination, unknown.

 

[Tsar Fire]

At last, she had found it.

The field of crystal was a nightmarish place, absurdly beautiful, but maddeningly confusing. The light twisted through prisms, trying to spot where one crystal ended and another began was next to impossible. The heat was nigh unbearable, and had she been of a species which relied on normal sight, she would have been hopelessly lost, and perhaps blinded.

As it was, the sharp edges and rough ground still made it difficult to move.

She had finally arrived at the center of the plateau, to find he destination. Tucked in amongst the crystal growths, was an ancient stone door, with strange mechanisms covering its surface.

The keypad still worked, however, and it opened with a sinister hiss. The darkness inside felt unnatural. A wave of blindness surging even through the force.

Rascha grimaced, but stepped inside. What she was looking for was there.

 

[Tsar Fire]

Inside was a small, stone room. There were many more rooms, but she knew she shouldn't go any further. The darkness was complete inside.

In the center of the room, however, was a dias, with a single gem growing from it. It shone with a strangely bright light, but was surrounded by a dark nimbus.

Almost unable to stop herself, she reached out to touch it. Her fingers grazed the darkness, and then she felt her vision go black.

Pain erupted in every cell. She couldn't see. She couldn't breathe. She just couldn't live...

Fire all around... bodies... screams...

It was... like she had been cast from her body. Like she was seeing through another's eyes... The room was an open dias, high in the air. Atop a grand temple. It took her a moment to realize that it was actually on the plateau, and that the crystal had simply overgrown it.

Far below her, weapons fire raged, and beside her stood a tall, cloaked figure. It's hood was down, and it's face was visible.

It was a girl. She was only a few years older than Rascha... in fact... she was Rascha, only older.

She turned to look at Rascha, and smiled coldly. Her skin was unnaturally pale, and her face was marked by wicked red tatoos.

She spoke, her voice deep, melodious, and sinister. "I am your destiny."

Then the vision changed, the world spinning around her, all forms losing meaning.

 

[Tsar Fire]

The vision solidified again, and she was looking down from the same dias, but this time, the temple was cleaner, smaller, and quiet. There were a few small figures moving about in the courtyard below.

She turned, and again saw herself, older, and different. Her face was kinder, yet stronger.

There were a long scar across her left eye, and she wore no blindfold. Her strange red eyes were gazing out across the world. One very different from Thyferra. She smiled at Rascha, and said, softly, but firmly. "I am your destiny."

The first incarnation appeared as well, and the two stood, staring at Rascha's disembodied self.

Then they both spoke. "You will soon have to choose the destiny you will follow. There will be death on either path. There will be loss. Both will bring you great power..."


"I will give you Revenge."

"I will give you Peace."

The world spun again, darkness flooded over her, and then she was lying on cold stone, in what she knew now to be a crypt. The resting place of two ancient force users... foes... rivals... friends...

She thought she was going to retch. She lay, for a moment, waiting for her head to stop spinning, and then stood up.

The stone was still before her. This time, she broke off a piece easily. It was a pure white crystal... with hints of many colors when it refracted the light. She slid it into a belt pouch, and then turned and ran.

The darkness was making her feel ill.

Coming back out and down passed in a haze. She didn't pay much attention, beyond where he feet were landing, so when she arrived back at the academy, she almost jumped with surprise.

She staggered inside, and walked to the training room, the crystal in hand.

Ready to continue.

Wondering what her visions meant.

 

[Emma Lou]

"Excellent work, Rascha. Are you ready to contruct your lightsaber?"

Aleyn knew the answer so she just continued on with the directions.

"There is a box of supplies in the corner. You will let the Force guide you as you build it. Use the Force to build it and do not touch any of the parts with your hands...but rather your mind. Come find me when you are finished."

 

[Tsar Fire]

Rascha nodded. This woudl be easy enough. She knew the composition of a lightsaber. But... first she had to hone her crystal...

She pulled out the blade she had been allowed to borrow, and set to work; cutting the gem might take time, but it would hone the blade much better, and would make it far more suitable to her weapon.

_____


It wasn't easy, getting those last few calibrations done... the lens had taken an hour to align just so; but it was done.

She admired the weapon in her hand. A bronze colored hilt, slightly curved, with an elegant touch. A single amethyst was used for the activation switch, and the handle was slightly overlong, so it could be wielded with two hands when necessary.

She smiled, and then returned to the training room to present it to her master.

 

[Emma Lou]

Aleyn examined it with a smile.

"Very good...now we spare"

Her hand grabbed her own lightsaber and ignited it in a second. She brought the blade down towards her apprentice's right side.