Alana Kalee's Training

[Ser Yorick]

This particular Dark Master, and expert in the art of shadow-walking, was not one for grand halls with marble pillars or grotesquely large statues, or even decorative tapestries on the walls. No, Dark Master Serpentis rather enjoyed the gloomy and near-black dungeons in which he trained his various Acolytes and Crusaders. There were no windows in the rooms dedicated to the teaching of his pupils, and except for the sound of one's own footsteps, there was nothing to be heard.

The room in which Crusader Alana Kalee would be taught the secrets of the elusive Assassins was almost pitch black except for the light of a single wax candle. The candle sat upon a lone desk, one without a chair, and behind the desk stood the lord Serpentis. He was clad in his usual attire, that made of dark and tattered cloth, with a hood over his head and a veil pulled up over his mouth to his nose. The flickering light of the candle danced off his unblinking eyes, making them seem somewhat unnatural. His presence in the Force was strong and radiated power. It was like looking at an electrical storm, but somehow it was kept controlled, confined.

"Enter," came the rasping voice of Serpentis as he felt the Crusader approach the wooden door.

 

[Wing]

The Crusader of the Dark Jedi, Alana, pushed the wooden door open and walked into the darkened dungeon. Clad in black combat boots, a black tunic, and a black robe. She was completely concealed in the dark, with the exception of the candle illuminating her face and her dirty red shoulder length hair. She then approached the desk with the table, and her new master standing behind it. This was quite different than her first day of training when she was a member of the Jedi. Very different.

Once she was close enough to the table, she bowed to the Dark Master, acknowledging his superiority over her. "Master," she said in her young feminine voice. She had wished she had a better look at the Dark Master, whose name was Serpentis. But the Dark Master had concealed his face, for reasons unknown to Alana. She then stopped worrying about such small things, and focused on the training ahead of her. "I am here to learn what knowledge you have to give me."

 

[Ser Yorick]

"Remove the boots and the robe," he commanded. "If you have a lightsaber, then remove that too."

The Dark Master Serpentis strode around the table to stand directly in front of Alana. The light of the candle was now behind him, but somehow the flickering in his eyes had not faded. "And do up your hair or I'll cut it off. When you're ready, place your belongings on the table." With that, he headed past her toward the wooden door which she had left open upon entering. He turned swiftly back to face her, and waited.

 

[Wing]

Alana stood back up from the bow as soon as the Dark Master ordered her to remove her combat boots, her robe, and her lightsaber. As he walked to the open door, Alana took the robe off of her, revealing her belt with her lightsaber clipped to it. She placed the robe on the table, and by that time he was next to her and told her to fix her hair. Alana took a hair clip from a pocket on the belt and fixed her hair into a high pony tail.

She then took off her belt which had her lightsaber still clipped on it and placed it on the table on top of her folded robe. She then crouched down, and began undoing the laces on her boots. When she was done, she took them off one at a time and placed them by the legs of the table. She turned to see Serpentis standing by the door now. Alana only had her black tunic on now. "I am done, master," she said to Serpentis.

 

[Ser Yorick]

Serpentis kicked the wooden door shut behind him. As the door shut the candle flickered out. Now the room was in complete blackness. And it was suddenly very quiet, and very cold. The Dark Master's presence in the Force also disappeared the instant everything went dark. It was like a magic trick, only real.

"You wish to become an Assassin?" a voice asked. It seemed to come from everywhere at once. "You wish to become one with the shadow, one with the dark." It was more of a statement than a question. "Then you must learn to fight blind."

For a few more moments, everything was quiet. Then suddenly, seemingly from nowhere came the bare foot of the Dark Master, aimed to knocked out the back of Alana's right knee.

 

[Wing]

Alana was suddenly shocked when everything in the room went completely dark when Serpentis kicked the door shut. Instantly, the candle flame went out. It was quiet and cold. "You wish to become an Assassin?, You wish to become one with the shadow, one with the dark., Then you must learn to fight blind." Those words entered Alana's head as Serpentis spoke them. She indeed wanted to become an Assassin.

Then suddenly Alana felt a kick on the back of her right knee. She fell forward to the ground on her knees, and she held her hands outward to hold her upper body up from the ground. She quickly crawled forward a bit and got back up into a combat stance. She assumed this was the first bit of her training and she began walking slowly and focused using the Force to predict his location.

 

[Ser Yorick]

Still the dungeon was quiet. One could mistake it for being empty.

"Why are you not prepared?" came the voice again. "You come here seeking to learn the ways of the Assassin, yet here you stand in this room, having taken the place of the candle." Serpentis was annoyed and it came through very clearly in the condescending tone of his voice. "I can see you. Why can you not see me?"

Again the Dark Master lashed out with his bare foot, aiming for the same place as before.