A Beacon of Darkness (Training of Cyria Crothus)

[Avaloria]

Sitting there in the great hall, draped in a shoddy dress that once was elegant and well maintained, she awaits her new Master. Looking at The Great Halls' well carved statues that rise above the polished floor is a cryptic reminder of the Self-glorification that occurs here. Her hazel eyes stare upon the floor, gazing at her own beaten reflection. Her hair untamed by a brush, makes her appear more wild then she very well may be. At her sides, hanging by a thin clip, are her twin lightsabers which rest just above the surface of the bench she sits upon. Her hands themselves lazily placed upon her lap, one hand on top of the other. She waits there in silence, not motioning to move or even utter a single word.

Her ears pick up the faintest cries of pain coming from some distant corridor where she can only assume training is occurring. The sounds of the misery itself, increases her willingness to under go her own training practices. She couldn't help but feel gitty inside, after all she did enjoy pain. She looked to the bottom portion of her arms, just underneath the elbow, and grinned at her self-inflicted marks. Her head straightened up once more staring a peculiar statue, a statue of a figure cloaked and concealed. Her thoughts themselves began to wander..

 

[Ols]

((She's 16 right? And don't be put off if it's a little different, if you've read his profile you'll know he's a little different, and I'm trying to write RPs as best I can in the same style.))

Nescius Caedo, strode into the room and surveyed the girl who was to become his next apprentice. A mere acolyte. I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up dying during his training. I did of course give a great guarantee in my training: when I was finished training the student, the student would be one of the best of their class in the galaxy. That was why I have a very low rate of survival in my students. Oh well, if they weren't good enough to train under my standards, they certainly were not good enough to serve the Bogan. I stopped before the girl.

"Follow me," I said simply, turning and leading her back out of the chamber and down, deep into the catacombs beneath the grand building. I walked along a maze of twisting passages, the noises of training and torturing (occasionally both at once), with the new apprentice in tow. They finally came to a stony chamber with a footlocker against one wall and a large well, the diameter of which was far larger than a man standing with arms extending at full stretch. I looked at the apprentice. It was now her breaking would begin.

"See that footlocker over there?" I asked, pointing at it," Put all of your possessions, weapons clothes and anything else you have on you, in there. Then walk over to the edge of the well and look down into the watery depths. And tell me, what you see."

 

[Avaloria]

She watched as her new master approached her. Though she was young (Yes 16) she had the demeanor of someone far older. Peering from behind a few loose strains of hair she grinned at a thought that pressed upon her mind as she heard the man speak his brief momentary words. She rose with pleasure, the long drapery of her skirt brushing the surface of the floor gathering further dirt and grim. As the descended into the catacombs, into the depths of what some may consider hell, all she could do was admire the darkness that approached.

She didn't say anything on the journey, her cold stare and her cold persona seeming to say all the words she needed to. The cool moistened air pressed upon her dry skin, a feeling that would creep out the more normal minded. The constant sound of gathered moisture falling down in small droplets onto the stone floor gave her encouragement that the end of this trek would be her first task. When the arrived at the footlocker, she heard the man speak once more, one of his comments was rather intriguing to her. She thought,"Remove my clothing? All more then happy to."

She proceeded to the footlocker, opening up the metal case and seeing that the only things that have gathered within are dust and cobwebs of spiders who appear to have caught a few of their own pray. First, she unclipped her lightsabers and placed them in the footlocker using a gentleness. This Gentle behavior coming from her admiration for the lightsaber's own unique power. The next item she removed was her top, slipping it over her head and sliding out her arms as she did so, throwing the shirt into the locker as well. Underneath she had on a small white sports bra. She then slid herself out from the skirt and when it hit the floor with a soft thud, she kicked it into the locker as well along with her black beaten sandals. She now stood there unarmed, and unprotected from what little protection her clothing had offered. She then proceeded to the water and gazed down upon its surface.

She remained quiet, not one for many words, she saw her face looking back up at her. Her youth still visible, but yet masked in a cloud of burden and hatred for the time she's already wasted. "You ask me to tell you what I see, I'll tell you one thing old man. I see a face that is tired of useless questions and the time that gets wasted with asking such. You want my answer on this, this is what I have to offer. I see a female who is exhausted , a female who wants vengeance, a young girl aged by her own infuriation's and longing to obtain more then what she's been given. Questions, Ramblings, the Jedi offered such, It's power I seek not Knowledge or wisdom. If Knowledge and wisdom lead me to such then I will listen to these pointless questions , but in the end its the goal that matters nothing else." Her voice sounded shrewed and extremely irritated. She also sounded far older then she in fact was.

 

[Ols]

Nescius sighed. Always they try to think they can train themselves. The arrogance of the acolyte. He stepped so he was standing right behind her.

"You may need a closer look if that's what you see," he said, barely a whisper behind her ear, "and I told you to remove everything you own. Including underwear."

He whipped a knife from his belt and in one swift stroke cut through both her back of her pants and her sports bra and with a flick of his wrist, they both flew into the footlocker. And before she could even complain, before she could even try to shield her modesty, Nescius had stepped back and lashed out in a vicious kick to her back, so she fell forwards into the well. She would fall maybe ten metres, perhaps more, before she hit the cold, dirty water, and that itself was over five meters deep. The stone walls of the round well were sheer, and it was far too wide for her to hope to reach across it. She was trapped.

"Next time don't ignore something I tell you to do. And maybe you'll find some power down there. I'll be back in three days to see what's left of you."

And he turned on his heel, hefting the footlocker on his shoulder and leaving the chamber.

 

[Avaloria]

The immediate removal of her clothing left her unguarded , and angered all at the same time. She felt revealed, she felt vulnerable as if someone had removed her pride and reduced her to something less then dirt. Before she could turn to react, she felt the hard kick against her backside forcing her forward and into the murky water below. Clamoring to the surface out of shock and dismay, she struggled to look for anything to use to climb to the surface of the well. Digging at the walls she found herself panic stricken for sometime.

After twenty minutes of fighting her emotions and the swelling confusion that rose within her, she broke down and began to laugh. Her laughter sounded twisted, chaotic and echoed around her from the hollowed out well. She floated there with her hair spread across the waters surface, her pale skin appearing to glow within the darkness of the water itself. Conserving her energy now, occasionally kicking her feet to keep a float she finds that her anger for her new master growing. She spoke to herself, "Three days.."

 

[Avaloria]

Day One:

She struggled to stay a float, her body bobbling up and down in the murky, cold water. Her nude body concealed by the bleak black color of the liquid itself, he hair sprawled out wildly upon its surface. She gazed upward for a moment, looking at a faint glow from a torch that gave the air above her a warm illumination. She was pissed, angered by what had been done to her. Hovering there in the water though, she reserved the anger so that she would not forget the deed her Master has done. She muttered, "Bastard.. "

The first night was restless otherwise, she couldn't sleep. Her mind slowly was becoming exhausted and her fingers began to prune slightly. There she remained for the first night still with a good portion of her energy, she remained a float..

 

[Avaloria]

Removed

(Sorry , almost didnt see a post in a day so just assumed you wanted me to roleplay all three days , one post each day. I'll wait for each response from now on)

 

[Ols]

((Slow down...I need to respond between these posts because the point of this isn't for you to show me you're character is superhuman when it comes to swimming. If I were you I'd get rid of day two.))

Nescius Had, since kicking the girl into the well, settled in a cool, dark room and fallen into deep meditations, tracking the progress of his student. And, sadly, so far she was not doing well. If she carried on the way she was, trying to tread water for 72 hours straight, she would drown. Or die of hypothermia. Whichever came first. And quite simply, even if she did manage the impossible feat of treading water consistently for three days in icy cold water with no food, drink or rest, Nescius would leave her there until she did die. He didn't want an apprentice with little talent or intelligent no matter what endurance she had. No she needed to show some initiative to prove herself.

 

[Avaloria]

[Previous 2nd Day Editted]

Day Two:

After the first day, the shock of being kicked into the well finally diminished. Hovering there in the cool water, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall into a meditative state. This was a very difficult task for herself, as she never attempted to do so suspended in water. While her eyes remained closed she began to focus on the footlocker, using her mind she begins to focus on opening the locker first. This task alone was a rather difficult one for her, the cold of the water bitting away at her minds' concentration. Her lips quivered while she floated there and her flesh was slowly becoming numb of its sense of feeling.

At first she couldn't even get the locker door to budge, but after an hour of trying to break her lack of concentration she managed to make it wiggle slightly from its once closed position. The hinge of the locker unlatched during this process , yet the door was still not open wide enough for her to get her lightsabers out from where they had been contained. Another hour passes, her mind still having trouble breaking the fact she was cold, manages to allow her to open the door enough for her to able to start working on getting her lightsabers out.

Night was falling and even though she had made some progress in her workings on her own goal she began to focus on her lightsabers. She imaged them slipping out from the metal footlocker, imagined them falling into the well and into her hands. Again this was not an easy task within her current containment. She took a few deep breaths, and once again another couple hours passed, before the hilts of the sabers began to move. Her concentration shaken by the freezing water, she kept reminding herself she needed to live to seek revenge. The Second day came to a close but yet, she continued to focus on those hilts.

 

[Ols]

((The footlocker is gone, along with everything in there (I said in my post he carried it out with him. If your character gets through her training, Nescius might return the contents to her.))

Still Nescius felt little progress from her. She would have to do better, quickly. She was on the final day and was miraculously alive without using any such technique as he would have thought necessary. No, indeed, if she did not learn quickly, through her own initiative, Nescius would have no qualms leaving her to die. He had killed plenty of acolytes and crusaders before. Culling the weak and useless. It was a shame too, he thought he sensed actual potential in the girl. Perhaps he would be kind. He reached out to her as she spluttered in the water, feeling his force energy stretching towards her, down the well where she tried in vain to concoct her own plans for escape or revenge. As if, even if she could kill Nescius, it would do her any good. But still, he would give her a chance. He pushed a message into her mind, his echoey voice ringing through her ears:

:: Stop struggling. Relax and use the force to survive. ::

 

[Avaloria]

Hovering there within the water, failing on all her attempts, she hears a message ring through her mind. "Use the force.."

She sighs for a moment, her body cold and shivering. Her lower lip quivers and she finds herself clenching her teeth. She thought for a moment how the force could serve her, and then it came to her. The body requires energy in order to maintain its heat, so.. she began to focus on the force to retain energy to her body, to thus increase her body temperature by doing so. Her eyes shut, focusing on the image, a powerful image of a red smolder fire. At first the reaction to her meditative state did not occur immediately, but after an hour passes she began to feel a sensation of warmth return to parts of her body. The Cold, Freezing water still effected her to a degree, but the warming of her muscles and the energy of the force increasing this heat, she felt as if her body was fighting between the two differences. After a few extra hours she managed to just get her body feeling as if it was in room-temperature. She felt a bit better, but knew that she would have to concentrate for another several hours before this all ended, a task that would prove rather difficult for her, but she would preserver, having no choice but to.

 

[Ols]

And so she was learning. Maybe she had needed some prodding but she was certainly getting there. Although the challenge was not yet over. Three days was a long time, without food or water, in the cold, to concentrate and keep alive. She could do it, with only hours remaining she was on the home straight. Nescius continued monitoring her progress. Each motion she made in the water draining her that little bit more, pushing her resolve. Forcing her discomfort. And the hours passed. She was nearly finished.

 

[Avaloria]

Still bobbing up and down in the water, at times her mouth taking a large gulp of the chilly liquid not intentionally. Each time, she spits the water out uncertain to trust it as tempting as it is to swallow. The concentration she had built up continues to be waiver , but hold strong. The warmth she's managed to build up within herself falters a bit, yet still warm enough to keep her going "Barely".

She was physically exhausted, but mentally she was enraged. She wanted to kill the man who had thrown her into these waters, and wanted to survive in order to extract that revenge. Not only that, but with so much time alone her hatred for others grew more intense, she wanted now more then ever to kill those who had taken her mother, and more so.. kill the Jedi who had wasted her time. All these emotions that had been strong already, became intense. If there had been feelings of caring, or even compassion they had been all but wiped out.. by this well of solitude.

 

[Ols]

And so three days had passed. And Nescius returned to the room with the well, in his left hand holding something, but with his free hand he pushed a stiff lever by the well. Water from a spout as the top of the well, as cold as that festering at the bottom where Cyria was, cascaded downwards, filling the well, raising the water level, and the girl with it, to the top. A little less than a foot from filling the well, Nescius pushed the lever back and the water was shut off. The girl would now be able to clamber out of the well, cold and soaked. And exhausted. Nescius did not offer his hand to help her out, he merely said, "No peace, only suffering."

He dropped what he was holding on the floor between himself and the girl. The 'what he was holding' was what appeared to be a swimming costume, made of just enough material to cover what remained of the girl's dignity.

"Put it on and follow," Nescius said, simply, turning on his heel and walking out of the room, without even looking behind to see if she had energy enough to follow.

 

[Avaloria]

She grasped at the edge of the well, when the water was at a point that allowed her to do such. Exhausted and drained, she used what energy she had left to pull herself out of the well. What a daunting task this was, her muscles ached and her limbs had very little energy to offer the strength deprived girl. After pulling herself out, she laid their naked on the cold stone floor taking a moment to breath. She had to remind herself that her Master may not be patient enough to wait for her to regain her strength, so with determination and nothing more she picked up the two piece outfit and put it on. She felt a bit more relieved that she was covered and even though the material was not thick enough to provide a sense of warmth, it did offer some sense of heat, even though minimal and nearly not felt.

Using her left arm to guide her along the wall, she took some heavy strides.. following her Master. Her exhaustion was showing, she was stumbling forward, at times almost giving in to fall down flat on her face, but she managed to hold herself up. She wondered what was next...

 

[Avaloria]

Still following her Master, she found herself regaining some of that strength she had lost within the cold waters of that forsaken well. Her mind still filled with forms of vengeance, and a new filled hatred for her master seeping into her very heart she allowed that to continue her forward. She wasn't going to give up that easily, even if the task of the well did not come so simply. Her soaked hair clinging to the back of her neck and the sides of her face she ignored the irritating feeling the strains persisted upon her and kept moving forward in hopes of catching up to her Master.

[OOC: Sorry for the double post, but I am still very interested in continuing this....]

 

[Ols]

((As am I, I've been snowed under lately and RPing has had to take a little bit of a backseat.))

He led her through the temple, past other a plethora of other Dark Jedi going abut their business, a few heads turning at the state of undress of his apprentice. He walked so quickly, and despite her tiredness she up well, that the onlookers had little time to gawp. Before long they reached the main entrance hall and he led her straight out to the wilderness beyond. Forests and rivers and mountains stretched in the direction he led her. The terrain their was not grassland, or lush and soft, but harsh and dry, the rocky almost barren area immediately around the temple did not go on forever, and indeed the forested areas that grew around the foothills and base of the mountainous land beyond had dirty, muddy ground. Nescius did not pay any attention to it, though, in his durable boots, but Cyria was barefoot, and she would be feeling this toll indeed. He was nonetheless pleased that she was not one to give up, though. As they wandered further from familiar territory, on into the wilderness, he spoke,

"What do you really know about the Bogan? About the force?" he paused and added, "about me?"

 

[Avaloria]

[No its ok, I was reminded and shown you had made a post awhile ago informing us you wouldnt be able to, and to that I am sorry for the double post. Thats why I made the post I did in the review thing.]

As she paced herself forward, the small peddles of various shapes dug into the bottom side of her feet. Each movement she wanted to wince in pain, but gritted her teeth as she pushed forward trudging along with her Master. She heard his question but before she was about to answer, she stepped on a rather sharp stone that broke through the skin of her foots sole. She muttered an obscene word as her feet had been tender and never really endured such. She was also still exhausted from the well and without any rest this was in fact more challenging.

She did finally respond though, "Bogan, I remember the Jedi who had started my training telling me of the dark side of the force, telling me of its corruptive nature. I know that it exists in direct rival of Ashla, though its true form I must ," she stops for a moment as she steps on another sharp object she continued to speak this time it sounded pained, " admit I know little of. As for the force itself, in general, I know that it was a very long time ago during a conflict known as the Force Wars and just a little before it and after it the general concepts of it were developed. There is a Living Portion of the force and also a unifying, at least according to the false prophets and false saviors the Jedi."

She cursed again under her breath, the stones under her feet was something that she was having difficulty ignoring. They were sharp, hard and coarse upon her soles. She found herself gritting her teeth once more , this time her right hand forming into a fist to fight back the pain she was feeling. She would break through the pain to answer his final question with a clear sign of respect with a almost unnoticed sign of disrespect, "About you? All I know is your a pain in my ass but a welcomed one. I know you have it in you to beat into me the concepts that I need to become great within the teachings of Bogan and I know I'll do anything you ask to get there. Just from my experiences with you thus far, I must say I respect your approach with me as your student. About your History and Past, well I could careless unless of course you deem it fit to inform me."

 

[Ols]

"So you don't know much," he said, without a break in his stride or a wisp of concern for the soles of his apprentice's feet. He continued, "I wouldn't expect you to, though. I'm the closest thing you've had to a teacher here, and I've told you nothing of any of those three things, nor have I given you the chance to research them yourself. But do tell me, what do you think of the Bogan? of the Force? Of me?"