Cold White Sand

[Viggy]

The Jawa caught the blade, an unseen expression of surprise on his hooded face as he heard his Master’s instructions. He had not expected that, but he would not argue. With a respectful bow as Durtrak left the room, Okokeeza closed his eyes and slipped the Trandoshan knife he'd been given up under his robes. He found the stabbing-wound he had received from his Master during their sparring match, and knew he would get the most pain by inserting the knife here, where his flesh was already burnt away and nerves exposed. He thrust the knife in at an angle so as to avoid vital organs.

He hissed loudly - the pain was intense, it was all he could feel. He loved it and he hated it and he needed it. He twisted the knife, hearing a sickening squelch as his flesh was torn up around it before pulling it out of himself. A dark spot of blood appeared on his robe as he bled out into the cloth. He continued moving the knife around under his robes, making many slices all across his body that stung delightfully. A pool of blood was steadily getting larger at the Jawa’s feet. In his painful stupor, he could vaguely sense the presence of his Master nearby in the temple, somewhere downstairs.

 

[Phil]

Durtrak returned around five minutes later, though he was not alone since another presence was sensed with him. He was dragging a brown sack with blood at the end into the room, placing it between him and Okokeeza. Durtrak then ripped open the sack to reveal a bloody and broken human male in it.

"To usse thisss power, you musst focusss on your anger to it's fullesst and reach out through the Force. Thisss isss the difficult part, for you musst then reach out for your foe'sss very pressence, their ssoul, and attempt to rip it out of their body and absorb it. Thisss creature here isss a fine example to practce on."

 

[Viggy]

He kept his eyes closed as he felt Durtrak re-entering the room, along with an unknown presence. A presence full of pain, and fear. The Jawa nodded slowly as he heard his instructions, dropping the blade he had been mutilating himself with, and reached out to try and grasp the soul of the human as he had grasped the practice droids earlier.

That worked, in a way - Force Grabbing the pitiful human, Okokeeza squeezed him, as if he could milk the soul out of him. But the human just whimpered in pain, and Oko stopped for fear of killing him. He was taking the wrong approach… The soul was not a physical thing… He needed either more anger, or a stronger connection with his subject.

Then suddenly, he realized there was a way to obtain both anger and a connection with the human.

He focused on the suffering the human was experiencing at this moment, and tried to remember his Jawa clan, all those years ago. He remembered way they had suffered at the hands of the soldiers, dying pitifully much the way this human was going to die, like worthless animals. He felt his blood boiling with rage, felt the earnest need to avenge them that had burned in him ever since the day there were slaughtered.

He tried again to reach out for the human, but this time he didn’t reach for his physical self that he could sense. He reached for something deeper, harder to sense but surprisingly simple to grasp once he could sense it. With the force of his will Okokeeza forced the man’s soul to be absorbed into his own being, and a long shuddering breath was from the Jawa as his wounds were rapidly healed. The human had died silently.

 

[Phil]

"Good. You learn quick, Okokeeza, I like that in an Acolyte. Now ansswer a quesstion: You were willing to learn the power, and you have. However, why did you take the man'sss life? What hasss he done to you to deserve damnation?"

Durtrak asked, trying to test Okokeeza's mind. He wanted to make sure he was listening to what he was teaching him, and what the tenants have said.

 

[Viggy]

Okokeeza paused for a moment before answering.

"He was weak. He couldn't defend his life, so he had no right to keep it."

It was hard for him to say that, because it reminded him of his own family - they had been weak, and their lives had been taken. Had they deserved it, too? He shook such thoughts form his mind... He couldn't afford to go down that mental road.

 

[Phil]

"Exactly. You have the knowledge of that power; Practice it when you can, and it will sserve you well. Now we learn the next power of The Dark Sside."

Durtrak then demonstrated this power, holding his palm upwards as lightning currents ran through his three fingers, then he fired a shot at Okokeeza. The first lesson was to learn how to defend the power before one would learn it.

 

[Viggy]

His glowing red eyes widened as he saw the currents of electric power flowing through his Master's fingers, before they shot out at him. He didn't know whether the lightning would simply hurt him (something he would enjoy) or potentially kill him. Not wanting to find out, he shut his eyes and held his palms out, all of his will going toward trying to stop the lightning. He managed to create a Force Shield, which stopped the lightning from reaching him.

 

[Phil]

Durtrak stopped the lightning once he saw his apprentice was able to block it with his own force shield. He was moving quick, and would make a worthy apprentice in due time.


"Lightning, effective for crowdsss of enemiesss or againsst the machinesss you call droidsss. It requiresss much anger and hate, asss well asss the Force to usse. You are the cloud that passesss over the landsss, and you direct the lightning where you wissh it to be. Now, jusst asss you have done with the Drain, try to focusss a Lightning blasst towardss me."

 

[Viggy]

Nodding slowly, Okokeeza raised his hands and closed his eyes again. He focused on the aura of his Master, which was not hard as the Force was quite strong with Durtrak. He concentrated hard, thinking of everything he had ever hated and everything he had ever wanted to destroy, deserved or undeserved, rational or irrational. If any of the Jawa’s rodent-like face were visible, one would have seen the veins pulsing and the very slight trembling as his rage built inside him…

Then he thought of what his Master had said, and pictured himself as a thundercloud, bristling with anger and preparing to unleash its wrath upon the land beneath it. Then, he pictured the flash of lightning! And although his eyes were closed, his fantasy was interrupted by the sudden brightening of the real room that he stood in, as the bright flash of his Force Lightning was noticeable even through his eyelids when it erupted from his fingers. He had originally been trying to aim a burst at Durtrak as he had been told, but while building up his hatred for the release of energy, he had lost all focus. Instead the bolts of Force Lightning filled the whole room, crackling against the walls and frying even Okokeeza himself, as he couldn’t possibly put up a shield while he was releasing the Lightning. And the blue energy bolts just kept streaming from his fingers, for almost a minute, an orgasmic sensation crashing through his small body and a primal scream escaping him as he flailed his arms wildly, little currents of the Lightning seen flowing through his limbs.

When the Lightning finally subsided, the acolyte fell to his knees, robes charred as he panted and coughed. His eyes finally opened, their glow seeming to dim in and out. “Hahh… hurrr… that felt so…” He paused and shook his head a bit. The Jawa had no words to describe the feeling.

 

[Phil]

"Good. Yesss, it doesss feel good. While your little... demonsstration wasss not what I requested... it sshowsss what you are capable of. The pain you feel on you will sstay, it remindsss you that you are sstill alive, and you will embrace it and live off it. Now... risse."

Durtrak said, not bothering to mention the few artifacts and weapons in his room that were struck by the lightning. Not to mention that he had taken a step back once the lightning got too close for him. He then waited for Okokeeza to get up and attempt the lightning attack again.

 

[Viggy]

((I know, this is hella late. >_<))

Okokeeza rose to his feet as quickly as he could, still panting. "Yes... I am sorry, Master. I will have control, and direct the power, next time."

The Jawa closed his eyes and repeated this process, but this time he didn't have to use his imagination quite so vividly and get the Force Lightning crackling in his arms. He focused on Durtrak's aura that he could feel ahead of him, and held his hands out, his fingers stretching and twitching. This time he managed to send a controlled blast of Force Lightning directly at his master.

 

[Phil]

Durtrak placed his saber infront of him, catching the lightning arc with his saber as it absorbed the energy as he shook off a few jolts to the floor, burning a few spots. With practice, the man could perfect it. He knew a few powers of the Force and the Dark Side, but there was still a few things he needed to know before he could abandon the title of Acolyte.

"You learn the waysss of Darknesss fasst, Okokeeza. Very fasst. I may have a place for you yet, but only if you passs a test. Once you choosse to take it, you musst complete it, the only other option would be death, for you will usse everything you learned from me in order to passs it."

 

[Viggy]

“Whatever it is Master, I will succeed or die,” the Jawa said grimly. He knew no fear, for he was certain that this was his purpose. His destiny. “What is my test?”