(Open) Whoosh Goes the Flame

[Phoenix]

Spoiler: Read or Die

As indicated by the title, this is an open thread in which I intend for Javik to learn the Force power pyrokinesis and combustion. Because of this, it will only be open to Crusader and above characters. If you’d like to join feel free, if not then that’s your prerogative. Cheers!

Javik paced the room as he quietly meditated. Although relatively unorthodox to move so much, that was how he always preferred to do his meditation. It likely stemmed from the same place as his natural impatience, but frankly it was just how he was. As if in some subconscious place he always wanted to be a moving target.

He knew he needed to focus if he was going to be able to open the holocron that he had prepared, but in order to ready himself, he would need to ensure that there was no conflict within himself first. Life lately had been something of a struggle. With the current civil war there was a great amount of disturbance in the Sith order and he personally had already suffered on the front lines of it.

That was what drove him here. He came to learn more techniques to combat the traitors festering throughout the galaxy.

The holocron in his hand was quite small, almost irregularly so, and pyramidal in shape. He set it down in front of him and sat in front of it, legs crossed as he looked at the small device. It was so strange that such a little device contained, not only the secrets of flames as they pertained to the Force, but also a portion of the soul of a long lost Sith Lord. No matter how many times he used such a device, it never ceased to amaze him.

Fire itself was a fascinating thing as well. In some ways it even emulated the Force. Both were raw energy. Although the Force had a plan and a path, it was still a perfect manifestation of energy and, in fact, may even be the very source for all energy. Perhaps fire was simply one more manifestation of the Force itself. Whether any of this was the case Javik didn’t know, but it certainly focused his mind on the task at hand.

With his thoughts centered on not only the Force, but also the subject of the holocron, he let his mind almost invade the holocron, much as one would persuade a person to do something against their will. He left the slightest message deep within the “mind” of the holocron. You will open.

For a moment the device resisted, and he was forced to give a more emphatic command, but a moment later, the device began to whirr as it opened.

 

[Phoenix]

Moments later the entire room seemed to heat, it grew stifling and difficult to breathe as if fire had consumed the room. Javik almost let his panic reflexes take over but fought against them and forced himself to remain steady until the device finally finished opening and a small individual appeared.

Sorry, I was just getting warmed up, the being said before unleashing a bit of a cackle. Suffice it to say, Javik wasn’t very impressed by the holocron’s joke and he stood still, his face straight. Awww, no sense of humor?

” ‘Fraid not, he said, deadpan. In reality he did think it was a little bit funny, but he wasn’t about to show that. All business the Sith these days… no time for the little things. Well, I suppose we should get to it then. You want to learn about fire then? What skill would you prefer to start with?

Before Javik could even speak the holocron was already pressing onward, Oh, of course combustion. That would only make sense. No point in learning to manipulate fire if you can’t create fire is there?

This guy was really too much. Javik couldn’t decide if he was really funny or really annoying, but he was pretty certain that one of those two must be true. Well, I might as well make the best of it, he thought to himself.

Pyrokinesis and combustion use the ability to cause something to burst into flames. It quite literally makes the air explode through sheer willpower. On a molecular level, it causes such friction between air molecules that it will eventually burst into flames.

So what can it cause to explode? Anything?

The ability to cause combustion depends on how susceptible the object is naturally. Making a stone burst into flames would be much, much more difficult than making a pile of dead leaves burn. Obviously.

I suppose it’s about time to tell you how to do it then, it said with a sigh.

Concentrate on the object. Make them surrender to your will. The potential energy is there, envision the air particles increasing their friction, then let it buuuurn, he finished in a rather elated manner.

 

[Phoenix]

Javik looked over to a pile of cloth in the corner. It was a bit of an unusual thing to have in a training room, but it was the kind of thing that was a good starting point to light on fire.

Javik concentrated on the blankets, letting his full focus rest on them. He envisioned the air scraping together, causing friction, heating. Initially, he couldn’t quite get anything to happen. He tried to slow his thoughts, forcing himself to be patient.

He walked over to the cloth and felt them. They actually did feel quite warm, though not hot enough to burst into flames just yet. He returned to his position once more and turned to face the blanket.

Don’t break focus. Stick with it, after the first time you do it, it will be easier, the holocron said.

He turned back to the blanket and focused once more, again picturing the friction, before moments later, the blanket began to smoke slightly. With the glint of hope that he would accomplish it, he increased his focus before the blanket burst fully into flames.

A slight smile crept up the side of his face.

GOOOOD! Now try it on that staff, he motioned to the staff sitting against the wall, and don’t break concentration.

He did as told, turning his attention to the staff on the wall. This would almost certainly be more difficult than the blanket – which was still smoking in the corner – would be. He put his focus against the stick, focusing on both the molecules of the staff itself and the air around it.

It only took a moment this time before the edge of the staff caught fire, though not the glamorous and spectacular explosion he would have liked. With a slight increase in focus, he let the fire expand further down the length of the staff.

The flames had completely consumed the staff at this point, making Javik smile slightly at the sight.

Splendid! the always boisterous holocron said. Now time to manipulate it isn’t it? Simply creating flame isn’t necessarily helpful, although it can be. But being able to move, expand, shrink, or throw that flame at someone. Why that would make you into a living flamethrower! And that’s just spectacular isn’t it! Hahahahaha!

This dude just seemed to be getting more disturbing all the time, though it was useful information that he was learning.

 

[Phoenix]

Manipulating fire is much like manipulating any other Force energies. Fire is a fluid object. It consumes, grows, and expands. It’s an energy just like the Force. Reach out to it, like a living entity, the way you would the Force. You should be able to feel the fluctuations of fire. Its distinct within the Force.

Javik let his mind focus on the fire that was in the corner consuming the rod still. He coaxed it out, the concentration that it took reminded him a bit of the first time he used the Force.

He tried to feel the fire’s presence as if it were its own entity. He could sense it across the room. Its heat was its own presence. That was the strange thing about the Force. You can feel almost anything if you know what you’re trying to feel. He reached into the energies of the fire, attempting to pull it toward him.

At first it shifted only slightly, as if a wind were blowing it toward Javik, save that the air in the room was still.

Lure it out. Remember its fluid still, it doesn’t need to remain stationary.

He reached out to the flame, pulling it toward him, picturing it coming toward him as if it were a wave of Force energy. This time, it came off of the staff and began to flow toward him, not quickly but steadily.

Assert your willpower over it. The Force needs to know that you want this fire to come to you. Try again. Start over from the beginning.

With the fire having been burning in the air, as soon as he released his hold on it, it ran out of fuel and died. He let his focus turn back to another rod in the side of the room. He focused his thoughts on the wood, letting the friction of the air and staff’s molecules come together until moments later it burst out into flames, this time much more easily than before.

From there it was just a bit of coaxing and the fire flew off of the staff and into the air. The trick now was to increase the amount of fire. He pictured the flames expanding outward, flowing freely from a small flame into something that could consume half of the room.

Then he suppressed it, putting a bubble in the Force around the ever expanding flame, he let it compress until the fire ran out of room and finally burned itself out.

Very good. I think you’re ready for something a bit more real. Did you prepare a test subject?

Yes I did.

He reached out to the mind of a guard standing outside guarding a prisoner. Send him in.

 

[Phoenix]

A man came stumbling in moments later. Javik reached out to feel the man in the Force, and two things stood out to him: the man was disoriented and the man was very angry. He clearly wanted to kill Javik, unfortunately for him, he was going to be the one dead very soon an in an unpleasant way.

Now, focus on his hand, until it explodes! Hahahaha!

Javik didn’t particularly like the fact that the holocron seemed to be such a sadist. Javik would kill in a heart beat if he felt it necessary and he would even kill this man in front of him, but he didn’t feel the need to torment the man or indulge in it first.

He focused on the man’s hand for a moment and as he stumbled forward, beginning to swear at Javik, his attention was suddenly torn away by the fact that his hand was quite literally bursting into flames.

Javik realized that making a human body combust was actually much more difficult than he expected. He figured that had something to do with the fact that the human body was made up of about 60% water. Nevertheless, it ultimately caught flame and the man was in no small amount of discomfort.

Now create a separate flame by rubbing the particles of air together. Expand it and consume him.

Javik did as instructed, envisioning the particles of air rubbing together until eventually a small spark appeared as if spontaneously. He coaxed the flame until it grew larger, then manipulated it outward, pushing it away from him and letting it wash over him.

His screaming was unpleasant to listen to and Javik didn’t particularly like it, but after a few moments it finally ended as the man’s very charred body fell to the ground. It had almost completely consumed him.

The fire continued to swirl around in the air in front of him, burning nothing but oxygen but still not burning out.

Very good. I don’t think there’s anything else that needs to be taught today. Good luck out there burning people. HAHAHAHA! Terminate lesson.

With that the very disturbing holocron terminated, but Javik still had a swirl of flame in front of him. Something he didn’t particularly know what to do with. He could just let it burn out but opted instead to give a shot at practicing an old skill.

He let the flame flow directly toward him and toward his hand. It struck his hand and while it would have caused severe burns on a normal person or in the case of the poor guy across the room, charred him to bits. For Javik it did neither. Instead he let the flames flow into his hand where it was absorbed directly into the Force energies that flowed through his body, dispersed into the world around him.

One more useful day, one more skill learned. Maybe it was time to go practice in the real world.

/ /Thread