The Vast Windstorm

[Ares]

After Ts'rss'trmn landed on the floor again, he coiled up, preparing to strike. He replied to his Master's goading with the response, "I will. I will... Master." The Ssither lashed out with his scimitar, swinging it in a mighty, two-handed blow that banged into his Master's sword with a horrific amount of noise- and sending the stab's momentum to the side. The Shade Apprentice swirled his blade upward, and brought it crashing down in an attempt to strike at his Master's shoulder.

The serpentine fighter also attacked at the same time with his tail, attempting to wrap it around Quentell's ankles, and constricting his powerful muscles in an attempt to trip him.

 

[D.C.]

Quentell's blade was smashed aside, but he still had it in his hand. He then saw that the scimitar as well as the tail were attacking him, and he jumped backwards, flipping over and landing on his feet.

The Shade Master ran back at his apprentice and leaped into the air again, with a little Force Speed added. He launched himself straight at his apprentice and smashed his sword against the head of the Ssither, with the flat side of his blade of course. Without checking if he had been succesful he landed behind the Ssither's back and turned back around and speeded up to him and made a slashing move towards Ts'rss'trmn's left shoulder.

He was being fast and it all happened in the blink of an eye.

 

[Ares]

The Ssither continued with the momentum of both strikes, spinning in a serpentine circle, scimitar still swinging. He never stopped, even when his Master leaped toward him so fast he could barely still see him, but he had a plan. The snake spun with his momentum, slithering with a twisted motion under his master's attack, so when he tried to smack him with the blade and wound his shoulder, he was already away and on the other side of the open room. The serpentine alien, while his master still struck at where his shoulder had been, leaped to the ceiling, landing in the rafters again.

He coiled around the beam he was on top of, and lowered his lower body until he looked like some poisonous viper hagning from some exotic tree, flicking his forked tongue in and out, holding his scimitar low in both hands so it pointed at the ground. Ts'rss'trmn turned his blunt head to the right, and looked with his protruding, orb-like, golden eyes. He flared his hood, its gold, indigo, and crimson colors bright, and hissed at Quentell, displaying long, sharp, ivory fangs.

 

[D.C.]

Quentell was not afraid of the Ssither, it did not happen often he was afraid. Actually, it never happened he was afraid.

"Don't you get a little too carried away now?" He said. He found the Ssither behaving more violent now than necessary in a sparring match.

The Shade Master lowered his sword and gestured for the Ssither to relax. "Ts'rss'trmn, you are a great and skilled swordsman. You used the area to your advantage, and that is a great thing to see. I thank you for this sparring match, let's have a drink now, shall we?"

Quentell walked over to the table and placed his sword on it. He turned around towards Ts'rss'trmn and asked: "I think I only have water here. Is that alright?"

 

[Ares]

The Ssither blinked. He shook his head, and closed his fanged mouth. His Master was right... He was getting much too carried away. The serpentine alien quickly responded, "I apologize, Master... In the event of me dueling a superior swordsman, I usually get... carried away. You are the greatest duelist I have fought before, so I went farther than I should have."

Ts'rss'trmn uncoiled from the ceiling beam, flopping onto the ground in a rather undignified manner, but coiling up and straightening so as to resume his normal resting position. The reptile then noticed that his master was right- he was thirsty. The Ssither replied to his master, "Thank you, but really, my only reason I could even stay on par with you was.... I had help."

He looked guiltily down at the crystal bottle hanging from his neck. In his eyes, it seemed to flare in annoyance at being ratted out. Ts'rss'trmn averted his eyes, then looked up to his master. He placed his scimitar back on his belt, and nodded to his Master, speaking in his reptilian lisp. "I prefer water to most other liquids. It is one of the only that I trust not to have things poisonous to my species. The venom coating our fangs, when mixed with certain liquids, will.... become inflammatory to our mouths. Juri Juice apparently packs a horrible punch..."

The Ssither took a small cup from the table, gave the inside a cursory glance, and filled it with water. He brought it to his face and used his tongue to lap up some water. He knew this was strange to mammals, but it was necessary. By way of explanation, he murmured, "I drink like this because my lips are not the same as your species'- thus, I must speak and drink differently. This is considered a quirk by many, but it is in actuality a necessity."

 

[D.C.]

The Shade Master did not mind the way the Ssither drank his liquid. He simply nodded and did not say anything about it. Instead, he continued to speak about this... precious Sarina, of his apprentice.

"But you say that you had help from... her? Can't you fight like you just did without her?" It did not bother him much, he had encountered more great warriors who drew their strength from a strange or special object.

He filled his glass with water too and took a few sips.

"And I have yet another question for you, how much do you know about the Force. I mean, what have you learned about it, which techniques do you know? Please tell me all the powers and techniques you know, so I know what things I will have to teach you."

 

[Ares]

The Ssiter stopped. He tried to think. Could he? Could he be the same without her? Could he fight just as well without her? In terms of strenth and speed? Yes. Of course. In terms of precognition? That was her. She told him. He would end up cheating, whether he wanted to or not...

Ts'rss'trmn looked back up at his Master. "She... aids me. I understand that the main afvantage of Force-Users is precognition in battle. I... am sorely lacking in that field. Sarina, whether I want her to or not, will tell me what the opponents most likely moves are. That is how I could dodge some of your attacks."

He waited for Quentell to drink his water, and listened to his quiestions. The serpent replied with his odd reptilian lisp, "What I know of the Force? I know the techniques of the Breezes of Will- what you would call telekenisis, or Force Push and Pull. I know the art of Influence. That is what I have heard called persuasion. Sarina taught me to enhance my body with the Force, and, although I am rather dismal at predicting short-range things like attacks from others, I apparently see into the Great Wind Maelstroms with some clarity- long term Force precognition, as I have heard it put so... undramatically. However, that more or less covers the extent of the Force powers I have learned."

 

[D.C.]

"Interesting." Quentell said. "Then I shall teach you other techniques, offensive and defensive techniques. Let's start with the Core Force Abilities. When you have finished your drink, please demonstrate to me your telekinesis abilities. You can use that box over there to toy with."

The Shade Master gestured over to a box in the corner.

"Before you ask. Core Powers are the Powers that are not related to either the Light or the Dark Side. I will teach you more about Light and Dark Side later on. Core Powers include, for example, Push, Pull, Speed and Leap."

Quentell finished his own drink and put the empty glass on the table. "Do you have any questions?"

 

[Ares]

The Ssither shook his head- in reality, that shaking of the head looked more like a sinister head-sway, though. Ts'tss'trmns put down his cup, and slithered to where he could see the box. The apprentice lifted one muscled arm, pointing it at the medium-sized wooden box. He concentrated on the swirling windstorms, pushing his will into one small mental tornado. A slight push, and the funnel cloud in the Force moved preicisely over the box, and it was wedged perfectly inside of the cyclone. The mental windstorm lifted the box up, and it hovered above the ground, shaking slightly from the cyclone in the Force. Ts'rss'trmn tapped the tornado slightly, and the Force funnel moved away, dropping the box noisily.

The Ssither looked at his master. He spoke, "This may seem a little too easy because I use a seperate technique. Whereas most strain and manually lift it with the Force, I find it easier to simply... nudge a small cyclone towards the object, and manipulate the windstorm slightly. It conserves my energy."

 

[D.C.]

"That is good." Quentell said. "It's ok, each his own way."

He smiled and gestured at the door. "Will you please follow me? We are going to a field, where I have trained more students in the Core Force Powers. We simply have not enough room here to practice the next few powers."

Quentell walked over to the door and opened it. He stepped out and walked back to the lift. Inside the lift he waited for his student.

 

[Ares]

((OOC/I am so, so sorry for the lack of activity. >_>))

-------------

The serpentine Force-sensitive nodded, and replied in his hissing lisp, "Of course. Wider spaces help when... the unexpected occurs." Ts'rss'trmn blinked his golden eyes, and slithered after his master into the lift. Once he was inside, he turned his head to Quentell, and asked, "Master... I was wondering... Who trained you? I don't remember being told, and I was curious about that."

 

[D.C.]

OOC: No problem^^

IC:
Quentell had not expected the question, but he did not mind that his padawan asked. He pressed the button to let the lift descend and answered: "I was trained by Shade Master Aleyn Julius. She is on the Council. A wise and talented warrior. I had not expected you to ask that, Ts'rss'trmn."

The doors slided open once again and the hall appeared. Quentell stepped out of the lift and showed the Ssither padawan towards the field where he always practiced Core Force Powers with his students.

It was a grassy field, with huge rocks on the left. The first rock was small, but the last one of very high, and on top of it, one could overlook the entire Enclave.

"Here, we have much more space to practice our skills. Also, not many others come here so we will not be distracted. The first power I want to teach you is Force Speed, which I had used a few times during our sparring match. Do you know anything about Force Speed or do you have any questions about it?"

 

[Ares]

The Serpentine alien replied, "I just wished to know. The more I know of our Order, the more I can get to understand it- and knowledge is power. And power is what I believe Sarina wants me to learn ..

He almost unconsicously looked back down at the crystal bottle suspended from his reptilian neck, becoming entranced with it. The serpentine alien sat transfixed for the rest of the turbolift ride, simply staring into the bottle.

The lift finally stopped, and the door opened. He jerked his head up to look at the field. A field? How on earth was there a field on a jungle planet? No matter... The serpentine alien may prefer to reside in a cave and a tunnel network, but the field was... beautiful.

He listened to his master, and responded, "Good... Solitude helps with concentration. Force Speed? I know that it is an ability that is used to enhance the body to speed one's reactions, but other than that, I don't know. Mainly because I, lacking legs, can't speed like you humanoids. I can slither quickly, but I couldn't keep up to you in a dash."

 

[D.C.]

"Well, if you're skilled in the use of Force Speed, it can speed you up as much as you want. In fact, you can keep up to me in a dash. You can even become faster. It all depends on how much you master the technique. I have fully mastered it."

Quentell let the Force flow through him and he could feel the energy coursing through his veins. Then he ran, in the blink of an eye, to the other end of the field. There he stopped and turned around and he Force Speeded back to where his apprentice stood.

"That was just to demonstrate this technique. What I basically do to use this technique is letting the Force completely flow through my body. I let it fuel my energy and then I let it carry me to where I want it to carry me. But the trick is, you have to become one with the Force. Open yourself to it, and feel it flowing through your body. If you have trouble doing this, we can of course do some meditation so you'll get more used to it."

 

[Ares]

The serpentine alien was skeptical, but nodded. "I will... try, Master."

Ts'rss'trmn braced himself, then remembered what Quentell had said. To let it flow through him... How was that possible, though? The Force was by no means fluid, and it certainly wasn't like the light everyone in the Galaxy seemed to believe. How could a vast tempest, a chaotic jumble of hurricanes, flow through a being?

No matter. He would try his best.

The muscular serpent opened himself up, allowing the first Force tempest he could feel into him. He virtually launched foward, appearing to almost fire himself like a toy snake being shot out of a cannon, and the minimal control he had exerted itself in the form of landing and blasting foward again like some sporadic firecracker... He reached the other side in roughly six seconds, and turned back to see his Master.

"Is that good?!"

 

[D.C.]

"Very good." Quentell said with a smile. He walked over to his apprentice and nodded to him. "I mean it, that was really good for the very first time using Force Speed. You have potential, Ts'rss'trmn, you can grow very powerful in the use of Force Speed if you practice it often. Do you have any questions now before we move on to the next subject? Now is the time to ask."

 

[Ares]

The serpentine alien nodded at his master's praise. Ts'rss'trmn responded, "Thank you master... and the only question I have is thus- how exactly do you judge Force Potential, Master? I was just wondering how you identify it in an individual, becasue you said I have it..."

His habit of asking questions out of the blue might become annoying after a while, but the green Ssither wanted to know as much about the Force as possible.

 

[D.C.]

Quentell did not mind all Ts'rss'trmn's questions.

"I sense that the Force is strong in you. I sense you can develop it, and when you do, you can become strong in it. That's how I know you have potential."

The Shade Master nodded to his apprentice, to let him know it was ok, and then turned around. He gestured at the huge rocks.

"Our next objective, will concern those rocks." Quentell said as he walked over to them, assuming his apprentice would follow.

 

[Ares]

The Ssither nodded in response, and slithered after his master. Odd, these tests... Interesting, though. He listened to his master, and responded in his serpentine lisp, "What exactly will we do with these rocks?"

At the same time, Ts'rss'trmn snaked his way on top of one, coiling up on top of it and looking down to the human Shade Master with an expression of mild curiosity and the detactchment he always experienced whenever Sarina spoke to him...

 

[D.C.]

Quentell gathered the Force around himself and let it launch himself up in the air. He landed right next to his padawan and said: "We are going to jump from rock to rock, using Force Jump."

The Shade Master looked over to the next rock which was much higher, and the others rocks up ahead which were all a bit higher than the previous one. Also the gap between each rock was larger than the previous.

"It is basically the same as Force Speed, but this time you must let the Force launch yourself into the air. You must gather the Force in your legs and then command it to let you jump higher. In the beginning it might be weird, but you will get used to it. As you can see, it will be harder and harder to get to each rock, and finally to the highest one up there, but don't worry if you fall. I will keep watching you all the time and I will use the Force to catch you if you fall. Do you have any questions?"