The Initiation of Dar Renko

[Ols]

Dar knelt in the shadowy room, his new mentor standing before him. He breathed, anticipation flowing through him. He was dressed in new black robes; they felt comfortable compared to his old spacer’s gear. He had left his pistol in his quarters, but kept his vibrosword hanging at his belt.

“Mistress Lyndrose, can we begin?”

 

[Emma Lou]

Maeva narrowed her eyes. This new apprentice seemed a little to eager to embrace the dark side. Did he know that being a Sith meant loneliness, friendlessness, killing for the pleasure of it? She was not sure if he did or not. It was not her job to show him how life would be, but to train him in the ways of the Sith so he would be prepared for his new life.

"What do you know of the Force?"

Her voice was beautiful, like her, but little did Dar know of her wicked soul. She smiled to herself, he will learn, she thought.

 

[Ols]

He listened to her sweet voice playing across his ears. His soldiers mind told him that the voice was a façade; to put him at ease, but, through instinct or the Force, he did not know which, he sensed true danger in this woman. He also felt power, and for the first time in his life he realised he was consciously using the Force.

“Not much. I know the Jedi and the Sith use it. I know it runs deeper than any person and will help those of us who feel it in times of need. I know now that I wasn’t just a little lucky or strong, that it was the Force aiding me, but I’ve never really used it before. When I was small, my guardian at the orphanage began to enslave the children. When I found out, I felt so much anger towards him he choked to death. At the time it terrified me; the power I felt and he will behind me. Now I feel I can truly understand what it is. That is what I know of the Force.”

 

[Emma Lou]

She smiled. This boy might make a good Sith, but he would have to embrace his anger all the time instead of just when he saw something was unjust.

"Why the Sith?"

It was a question that every apprentice should answer. If they did not have a good reason for joining the Sith then why were they hear. If his reason was not good enough then she would simply kill him before he could even learn their dark ways.

 

[Ols]

He heard this question. He cycled through every reason he had come here. He supposed that the logical reason he had come to the academy was because a Sith Knight had felt his potential and advised him to. He could not say that, it was a weak answer and when he was told he was Force sensitive he could have easily set out to find the Jedi. He spoke calmly:

“The Jedi are weak. They forgive those who do not deserve to live. They say they keep the peace, yet they do no good. I could never be a Jedi. I came here because it was the will of the Force. Every moment of importance in my life could have had thousands of different outcomes. If I hadn’t asked my boss to come to a cantina, right now I could still be working as a mechanic on Kuat. Death has brought me here. I killed my first guardian, I killed the murderers of my second and then I killed countless soldiers and civilians in the military, no doubt a trait that made me stand out to the Sith. The Force guided my actions to this place; right now I can feel it. With your guidance, no doubt it will take me to greatness. The Sith don’t mind murderers, when murder has a reason, whether it is for vengeance, strength or practice, they are all reasons to kill. That is why I chose the Sith. That is why their teachings are the only way for me.”

 

[Emma Lou]

Maeva listened to his reason in silence. She could see the promise radiating through the Force. Her urge to kill him was still weighing heavily on her and he need to feel some pain. Sure he had killed, but had he ever been hurt? She did not know or care, really.

She nodded her head slowly then shot her hand out. She sent him flying into the wall behind him through the Force. She wanted to see how he would react.

 

[Ols]

The shock hit Dar more than anything else. The pain was a minor setback. He had felt physical injury before, having been in frontline combat for two years this was nothing. He felt a little disgusted with himself though, he knew enough about the Sith to expect pain and brutality. But as always there was a reason. He thought, was it to teach or to test? She must still have been sizing him up and had not started any other lesson yet, he sufficed, so it must have been a test. He did not know what she wanted, but he knew what to do; what had saved his life every time it had needed saving. As he picked himself up he breathed deeply, closed his eyes and cut himself off to the world around him. He felt adrenaline course through his veins and every tiny impulse throughout his body. He slowly walked to the centre of the room. He knew what she was expecting; she would think his anger would lead him to draw his sword and engage in a duel, a foolish thing to do. He knew to rely on the unexpected and as he moved his hand to the hilt of his weapon felt through the Force, felt no imminent threat and launched himself at her, hoping to knock her off balance in surprise, and to show her he was not just another toy.

 

[Emma Lou]

Maeva was smarter then him and more trained. She saw his attack through the Force seconds before he could hit her and she caught him in midair. She held him there and cocked her head slightly to the side. So he needed to be taught some respect. She debated with herself for several seconds before deciding to wait.

"Follow me"

She said. She let him drop to the ground and walked out of the room.

 

[Ols]

He obeyed. In the heart of the SIth academy, dark side energy flowing through even the air, he knew it was what he had to do; what he wanted to do. He dusted himself off and followed her.

 

[Emma Lou]

She took him out of the academy and into the valley. This was where she had had most of her training and she saw it fit to train her first apprentice here.

The wind blew through her long hair as they walked. She did not seem to notice the abundance of red dust. It spread out of her way as she walked, it was an easy trick she had taught herself using Force push and pull. She was not going teach Dar this one...not yet at least.

"First, tell me...do you see the Force?"

 

[Ols]

“I feel it. When I fight, it flows through every part of my body. It gives me power. It fuels my anger. I guess I do see it, in the sense that it shows me what to see. Through it I see danger, reward and survival, and it shows me how to grow. But I don’t see it floating in midair like a cloud of strange dust…”

 

[Emma Lou]

"That is because it is not a mystical swirl of dust"

She shook her head and pointed to a rock a few hundred feet away.

"I am going to teach you Force Push and Force Pull, first. Focus on the rock and pull it to yourself through the Force"

 

[Ols]

He slightly regretted his facetious comment. He looked at the dusty rock, at least eighty yards away and stared, harder and harder. He breathed deeply and raised his hand to it. He cut himself off from the world, like he did when he fought, no longer hearing the blowing winds, no longer seeing the dust on the air. He imprinted the rock in his mind and willed it towards him. The more he willed, the heavier his arm became and the harder it was to keep up what he was doing. Deep down he knew he was doing something right, but he dared not open his eyes until the rock was at his feet. Another breath and he felt the weight on an extension of his arm. One more drive and he risked opening his eyes. He smirked a little to see the rock at his feet, as though it expected him.

 

[Emma Lou]

She nodded. She did not like how he cut himself off from everything. She could have just killed him and he would have never seen it coming since his concentration was solely on the rock.

"You have to keep your mind focused on everything. If you are fighting then you cannot just keep you attention on one thing. You must see everything. Try again with another rock and keep your mind open to any attacks"

 

[Ols]

He acquiesced. This time when he closed his eyes he was sure to “see” everything around him. Each piece of dust as it passed him by, each tiny noise of the wind, his mistress behind him, observing, and the rock far away. He willed it to come to him, harder than before, his arm tensing as his new found awareness showed it coming towards him. This time, he did not need to open his eyes to know it was at his feet, but he did anyway, and turned to his teacher.

 

[Emma Lou]

"Excellent. Now push it away from you"

 

[Ols]

Again, he took in his surroundings, but did not have to think as hard to send a huge wave of energy at the rock. It flew back ten meters. He looked up at his master again, as if to ask if he had done well.

 

[Emma Lou]

He was a bit to cocky, but she was the same way during her training so she did not punish him for it.

"Now i want you to pull one rock to you and push the other away"

She pushed one of the rocks back to its original position and waited.

 

[Ols]

He knew he must be doing fairly well, but if she was impressed she did not show it. That was a lesson he really wanted to learn. He had heard of some Jedi and Sith being able to hide their emotions and even themselves in the Force. It was his first day though, so he was content with this. He thought about everything at once. His surroundings and he felt as one. He could feel the rocks and it was as though he used all the strength in his body. Both flew from their spots, when he suddenly felt danger to his leg, when he realised the rock he was pulling towards him was hurtling towards his shin. He stopped pulling it, lifted and braced his leg, catching the rock under it like a football ((soccer ball)). The other rock crashed to the ground far away and split in two. Pleased with himself he turned to his mistress, a smug smile playing across his lips. Her expression remained still.

“Do you want me to be modest?” he asked, “because the Jedi are modest, and I want little in common with that scum.”

 

[Emma Lou]

Maeva grabbed his throat through the Force and narrowed her eyes.

"Being modest and being respectful are two different things!"

She held him there for a few seconds then flung him to the ground. She knew it would take him a few seconds to get his breath back. Maeva could see that he already knew how to use Force awareness so that would be pointless to teach him. She decided that she would teach him Force Jump, but she wanted him to stock being smug first.