Forging of a Warrior

[Brand]

Rain pittered and pattered down on top of the speeder Judicar piloted. He sped over the terrain of Serenno, the coordinates of his destination inbound. With a quick glance at the built in map the young man made a slight curve, veering towards a large palace in the distance. He could make out magnificent architecture, and his bewilderment grew at the sight.

Judicar pushed his speeder upwards, having been directed to take a rooftop landing pad. He sat the speeder down easily, shutting off her engines. He checked that his lightsaber was secured and threw his dark brown hood to cowl his face. He popped the cockpit of the speeder open and leaped out, taking to the solid stone. Judicar steadied himself, taking in the screeching wind and shaking his head to clear the droplets of rain.

A door to the side entrance of the facility opened, where he could barely make out a protocol droid. He suspected it called out to him, but whatever it said he couldn't make out over the roaring thunder. Judicar strode quickly and entered the residence unhindered by the droid. So far he had been flying off of his gut feeling, and that would not stop now.

Judicar stepped inside and pulled his hood down, shaking off his closely cropped brown hair. He wiped the liquid off his face and took in his surroundings, a warm but lightly furnished greeting room. The protocol droid followed him inside. "You'll be met with soon," was the only curt response he was awarded, but it suited Judicar. He took a seat in one of the fine Corellian leather recliners, resting his tense back muscles but remaining alert.

Judicar had only joined the Bogan a matter of months ago. He had begun group training sessions with the other initates, but this break in routine to be summoned to Serenno was a strange occurence. He could only assume this man, whom it appeared was a Count or at least of royalty, had chosen him for some specific task or mission. He must've had contacts within the Dark Jedi to reach the Acolyte, but that was his only reassurance. Other than that, he would have to rely on his intense focus and skill to sustain him during this encounter, no matter the outcome.

 

[Ols]

"Erak Kaiven."

Nescius' voice called across the room. It was not fully lit, and the Count of Serenno was standing in shadow in the doorway. Dressed in simple black robes, with a black cloak, his hood up leaving his face even further in shadow, he stood. When the acolyte would eventually stand, he would be taller than the Dark Master, by over half a foot in fact. The voice that crept out from beneath the hood was not that one often associated with the Count of Serenno, Arathilion Icquilu. Leading two lives made his two roles very separate, even though the galaxy at large was now mostly aware that the good Count did moonlight as a member of the Bogan.

The dark master offered little insight into why he had called the acolyte to this remote corner of the galaxy, on this dreary, dark night. He simply surveyed the man in the flesh and said, "You must be hungry from your journey. The serving droid will take you to the bathroom to dry yourself, then to the dining room. I shall await you there."

The dining room he would lead him to was old fashioned, wood panelled, darkly lit with what looked like candles, and bearing a large table. Arathilion would be sitting at one end, his cloak removed and his black robes, with leather over shirt and polished boots, on show. There would be a lesser seat at his right hand, as the long table was extremely impractical for less than fifteen people. A fire roared in a large stone fireplace and warmed the room. Cutlery and wine would be on the table, with food no doubt to follow shortly.

 

[Brand]

Judicar fidgeted as a voice emanated from the other side of the room. It called him by his full name, not his alias. "This is one informed man," he thought to himself.

As he made out the voice he was able to pick out a silhoueted figured, but he was wearing dark clothing. He issued quick instructions which Judicar intended to follow. The man exited, and the droid motioned for him to take up the rear behind it.

Judicar entered the massive dining hall. He took in his surroundings, from the wooden pannelled walls to the lit candle holders. The large human blinked his eyes and also registered his host, now only wearing a light leather overshirt. His cloak and robes hung near him. Judicar drunk in the heat flowing from the burning fireplace, and then moved to occupy the lesser seat to the right of the man. Gleaming silverware and fine wine were already placed on the table, and he sat.

As he took his seat he threw back the cowl of his cloak, revealing his battle scarred and strong face. Even though he was still a youth by most race's standards he had faced hardships and struggles, and still won out. These encounters had strengthened him but profoundly changed his outlook on life. Judicar ran his hand through his hair and then sipped at the wine. Both men had remained silent as of now, but Judicar took in the delicious wine before gathering his courage to speak. The Acolyte could tell that this man was powerful, but had to decide on a way to address him.

"My lord, I must ask, why have you summoned me here? I've had no further information on why I've reported here since your official summons."

 

[Ols]

"You have been called here because I require your services, acolyte," Nescius replied simply. Servants, living this time as opposed to droids, began to deliver plates of food to table. Whilst good, the food was not hedonistic, or overly lavish. There would be as much as either man required, but not so there would be plenty wasted simply to impress a guest as to the depths of the kitchens. The Count accepted some parts of his lifestyle, such as fine dining, but still shunned excesses. He sipped his wine and began to eat.

"You have not been a servant of the Bogan for long," he stated. It was not a question. He continued, "You arrived with various talents and skills, and a lightsaber. You reek of Jedi, young one, yet I sense much anger in you. Much hatred. The Jedi were foolish to try to tame you."

 

[Brand]

The man gave him a blunt yet simplistic answer, which Judicar decided to accept silently. He noticed the man hadn't shooed off the title he had bestowed to him; his fluent speech and aura of power were worthy of at least a semblance of respect.

Food was delivered to the table. As the smells wafted to his nostrils he realized his stomach was hungry, and he dug in. After finishing fairly quickly he still felt the small gnaw of hunger grip his stomach, but if that was all that was offered he would be satisfied for the time being.

"You have not been a servant of the Bogan for long," the man stated. It was not a question. He continued, "You arrived with various talents and skills, and a lightsaber. You reek of Jedi, young one, yet I sense much anger in you. Much hatred. The Jedi were foolish to try to tame you."

"I've experienced a period of change in the past years, my lord. I was much different as a pupil of their ways, but now I can see I wasted my adolescence serving fools." It was a direct answer, one he hoped would fulfill the man's probe.

 

[Ols]

"It would be unfair to blame you for your part in this. You were taken to the Jedi Order as an infant, and were raised to become a Jedi Knight. Somewhere along the line something set off this period of change," he repeated the last words slowly. There was a moment of silence.

"If you are still hungry there is more food. Enjoy the meal and relax for now. Once you begin your task, you will not encounter comfort or luxury. Make the most of the calm before the storm."

He realised his words were still probably rather cryptic to the young man, but it mattered little. Nescius had his agenda and that was that.

"Never apologise for your beginnings," he said, sternly, as more food arrived at the table, "you are the sum of your life so far: if that is something to be ashamed of then you may as well not continue adding to that sum."

 

[Brand]

Judicar listened silently to the man speak. He still had no clue as to his identity. "Yes, I'd take a little more food."

Apparently, some task stared him in the face, and Judicar decided to take advantage of the man's offer of food.

"Never apologise for your beginnings," the man said, sternly, as more food arrived at the table, "you are the sum of your life so far: if that is something to be ashamed of then you may as well not continue adding to that sum."

Judicar nodded, acknowledging the fact. It was a good saying, one he would have to keep in mind for the future. "I understand, my lord, but I cannot believe I was utterly fooled by such a blatantly stupid organization. Passion and anger are what grant me the strength I now freely exercise, and it is a freeing experience. Whatever task may be at hand, I will promise you now I am prepared to execute it."

 

[Ols]

"Don't make promises when you have no way of knowing whether you will be able to keep them. Do not be fooled by the power the force grants you; you are not invincible. You will encounter failure. You will encounter situations that are completely unsalvageable. You will have to choose between the execution of your tasks weighed against everything conspiring to prevent such execution."

Nescius sighed. The boy had certainly met part of the Bogan recruitment, the anti-Jedi sentiment for propaganda's sake, the pushing of passion and anger being the drive of the Bogan. Simplistic ideals to entice those they did not take earlier in their youth.

"Surely if the Jedi were so blatently stupid there would not be thousands of them infesting a galaxy wide civilisation that has stood for twelve thousand years. Maybe it is liberating in moving away from their rejection of negative emotion to an order that is less strict about feeling it. But do not be misguided, many Bogan see anger and passion as easy routes to power, and yes they become strong warriors, but never more than tools of their masters. Emotions can fuel you, but you can also lose yourself in them. Treat your liberation with care."

 

[Brand]

Judicar slowly nodded his head, taking in the information. "Brashness is something I must always be vigilant of. I fear that in any event, hastiness will be my downfall."

This man was wise. He offered up intelligent advice, and Judicar could tell this was a fairly experienced philosopher. The young man decided to phrase his next question carefully. He didn't want to the man to give up more information then he felt necessary, but Judicar also craved more of the teachings he had so far offered. "What, then, my lord, do you feel are some of the keys to success as a Bogan? I do not believe all of the things repeated to me, even by the Bogan recruiters, but the very spirit of the Bogan itself is to use our various emotions to our advantage, is it not?"

 

[Ols]

"Emotions are not the be all and end all, for us or the Jedi," he replied, "the Jedi encourage repression, robotic rejection. We take a different approach. Emotion is part of life, let it fuel you, let your feelings push you on and make you better. But tread the path carefully, do not rely on them to access your talents, only allow them to enhance what is already there. You do not want to be fearsome with true anger and hatred if it is a crutch for you, and without it you are impotent."

He paused a second, "There are a great many things that one must encompass into their being to become a true Dark Jedi of the Bogan. I can't give you a how to guide which you can refer to on mission with hints, tips and cheats in it. But I can give you tools, refine them and unleash you on a path only you can walk to achieve your potential," Nescius had little problem feeding the boy with this confidence. Arrogance was a problem, but belief was a bigger one, if the boy did not believe he could be great, nobody else would, and he certainly would never achieve his potential.

"Do you know what fear is?"

 

[Brand]

Judicar listened intently, his ears perked, only blinking occasionally. The question the man posed threw the boy off guard. Judicar paused, contemplating.

"Fear... it's a gripping sensation. It encompasses your whole being and devours your soul, leaving you frozen in place. It's not something anyone enjoys feeling..."

Judicar's eyes glazed over slightly as his mind rewound to various moments of fear; the memories were potent, from when his master was slaughtered by political extremists to his escape from the Order. His momentary zone out required him to focus and draw himself back into the conversation, back to the present. This man knew how to trigger Judicar, and he'd need to be on his guard. "Fear is conquerable, though, my lord. To my understanding fear can be bent into strength, to power, and harnessed as a tool, just like emotions. It's not something to relied upon, or sought after, but it is withstandable and even useful in some situations. To not be fearful is foolishness, but to be controlled and consumed by fear is also foolishness."

 

[Ols]

"Fear could be the difference between life and death," he replied, "fear is something that affects everyone, and every living thing, sentient or otherwise. It's what ignites our fight or flight instinct, it can be the difference between success and failure, just as not listening to fearful instinct and falling to pride can be the difference between death and living to fight another day."

He paused a second as the last of the remnants of their plates were cleared and the wine finished. He stood and made his way to the door, gesturing for the boy to follow. He would lead him up through the castle like structure, along grand royal halls and corridors, lined with portraits of Counts and nobles from across the galaxy, great works of art, scultpures, weapons and artifacts from every corner of the known universe.

"In much the same way as you can rely on natural fear to aid your judgemnt (and you are perfectly correct in saying that you should be wary of allowing fear to take hold of you), you can incite fear in your enemies. In single combat you can make them nervous, stuttery and likely of a mistake, and in war entire legions of troops can be routed through demoralisation. It is an advanced tactic, one the Bogan would wish all of his servants were capable of. In actuality it is complex and difficult to utilise correctly."

 

[Brand]

Judicar savored the last tastes of the food as it sunk to his stomach, and continued to listen to the man as the clink of the eatery being taken away accompanied their conversation. The man stood and motioned for Judicar to follow, so he stood and moved quickly to follow. He set a quick pace, and Judicar made long strides to keep up.

Now standing Judicar could see the man was lean but built strong. His clothing was fairly common, only a simple leather vest. As they walked, though, Judicar could feel the commanding presence he emanated.

The subject of the incitement of fear was interesting. "From my understanding inciting fear is akin to intimidation. It gives you an edge in combat and even in social matters, and that little advantage can snowball into one of the factors that grants victor in both physical and verbal engagements. Intimidation and the incitement of fear are certainly tricky to perform, though. They can come from a variety of sources, but are not effective against some." Judicar sucked in a breath in contemplation.

"Can the Force be used as an asset to one's fear incitement? My grasp of the Force is rather limited, but I've heard stories of ancient Bogan utilizing the Force to drive people mad. I can see it being used in smaller scales to induce terror, akin to the polar opposite of a battle meditation."

 

[Ols]

"Intimidation is but one example of pushing fear upon an opponent,: Nescius replied, coming to the end of a corridor and walking through a door to a spiral staircase, which he began to ascend, "it is more often used to scare off opponents, however, before combat has truly begun, or even to keep them from attacking in the first place. While a useful tool, fear itself, in other manifestations, can be far more useful."

"The cold clammy embrace of fear, making the hairs stand up on your opponent's neck, forcing them to shiver at the thought of what you can do to them, that is when you move into complete control of an engagement. To tie a knot in the pit of their stomach, so they see death coming before you even have the room for a final blow. With the right approach you could put the fear of God into a person."

He paused a second as he considered the final question. They had reached the top of the staircase and walked into a small antechamber, another door opposite the one the had just entered.

"There are certain techniques. There is a tactic that some call Dun Moch, it involves trying to talk your way to victory, making your opponent attack recklessly, or attempt to flee an inescapable duel. It is designed to take them out of their right mind, and is usually best utilised against a usually calm, controlled warrior, like a Jedi Knight. As we let anger and hatred fuel us, rather than rejecting it, it would be used at the instigator's peril upon an avatar of the dark side. As for something opposite to battle meditation? No, there is no opposite, it already is employable for the good of your troops or the detriment of your enemy's. Battle meditation can be used by anybody with the skill to knit their soldiers closer together and push them onto victory whilst simultaneously demoralising the opponents and pushing dread towards them. However, there are ancient magics and sorcery that can be used to plague a mind towards insanity by planting seeds of doubt and fear in one's mind. They are complex and if not completed perfectly can be overcome, ignored or detected. Similarly there are manifestations of force fuelled mind tricks and control that can be used to push fear and insanity onto an enemy, albeit temporarily, yet they again are often fickle and unpredictable."

 

[Brand]

Judicar nodded; he could only imagine the potency of this Dun Moch skill when used correctly, but it could also take much practice.

Judicar took in his surroundings, noting the cold stone walls of the room. The air was cold, creating a rather uncomfortable atmosphere. Judicar felt something was to here, but he couldn't place what. If it was an exercise in the Force or the lightsaber, though, he would remain prepared for whatever lay ahead. The young man removed his heavy brown cloak, revealing a light but strong Corellian leather combat suit. His silver lightsaber rested comfortably against his thigh, the weight of it's handle a reassurance in times of trouble.

Judicar decided to keep his mouth closed, and leave the floor open to his master to do with him what he saw best. He had no more pressing questions, and it appeared they'd reached their destination.

 

[Ols]

The door before them slid open with a soft rublimg noise, rather than the customary hiss of an automatic door. The Serennan fortress, whilst having undergone several renovations, still showed its true age in part. Without another word, Nescius walked forwards.

As it had slid open, beyond it was audible the sound of the pouring rain, spattering down upon the stone floor. Upon walking through the doorway, as Nescius did and Judicar was to follow, they would find themselves outside. Nescius became drenched in an instant, but casusally walked to the centre of what was in fact the circular rooftop of a tower. The doorway was at one end and it slid shut behind them. The flat rooftop was around fifteen meters across it's diameter, and had no wall or battlements around it. The floor was made of smooth slabs of stone, slippery in the rain. Reaching the centre of the platform he turned to face the younger man.

"I have called you here, Kaivan, to see what you have to offer the Bogan Empire," Nescius said, his voice raised slightly over the thundering rain and whistling winds around their lofty perch, "there are some who feel you are worth training, and will one day become a great and fearsome Bogan; there are others who think you are tainted and more trouble than you are worth, so should serve the empire with a swift and easy death. I was tasked to select which future you would fulfil, but ultimately the decision is yours."

Nescius flexed the muscles in his arms and closed his eyes a little, his shoulders then flexing a little. He opened his eyes as he allowed the force energy building within him to burst outwards, a wave that would take Judicar with it, sending him harshly flying across the roof. He would land and skid to a halt before falling off, Nescius hoped anyway. He took his own lightsaber from his belt and flicked it on, the red blade illuminating further than usual in the darkness.

"Make your case," he said.

 

[Brand]

Judicar followed the man onto the balcony, shedding his heavy cloak. His hair was soaked immediately, and he shook his head, attempting to alleivate the steady drip of water that ran into his eyes. Judicar watched as the man made his way to the center of the platform. Judicar circled warily, straying towards the left side of the platform. As he spoke Judicar perked his ears to hear him over the peals of rain and roaring thunder.

"I have called you here, Kaiven, to see what you have to offer the Bogan Empire," the man called, "there are some who feel you are worth training, and will one day become a great and fearsome Bogan; there are others who think you are tainted and more trouble than you are worth, so should serve the empire with a swift and easy death. I was tasked to select which future you would fulfil, but ultimately the decision is yours."

Judicar perked his eyebrow; the rainy balcony of this palace seemed a rather ominous testing ground. He watched as the man flexed his body, stretching, and Judicar rolled his shoulder back, feeling the hard muscles ripple powerfully. As he finished he reached out with the Force, searching for any clues when the man released the Force he had had penned up inside himself.

The wave rushed towards Judicar, and he brought up a barrier around himself as quickly as possible. None the less, it was a hurried attempt, and he was blown backwards, thrown towards the edge of the platform. Judicar skidded to a halt and rolled to his feet. The mysterious man drew his lightsaber, uttering his challenge. His crimson blade jumped to light, casting a dark red mist over the platform, and Judicar extended his hand to the left, calling his own lightsaber to hand.

The slick metal hilt leapt into his outstretched palm, and he closed his fingers around it's reassuring weight. He flicked the red button, and it's deep blue blade ignited and sprang to life. Judicar dropped into a battle stance, forming up his body into a rigid but quick Ataru form. His double handed grip held the blade firmly but allowed for movement and was position to the right of his body. Anger at himself surged up for being unprepared, and he funneled this hateful passion into the Dark side.

Judicar reached out with the Force and channeled it into his legs, jumping and propelling himself upwards. He was ready to execute a Hawkbat swoop, a common but effective technique of Ataru, which consisted of the user striking quickly and unexpectedly and then retreating to a safe position. Judicar came towards the man from a high angle, bringing his weapon in to swiftly to the right side in a one handed grip; his lightsaber surged towards the man's rib area, but he knew that a quick parry to the side could alleviate the blow if his opponent's reflexes were quick.

He expected they were, but he needed to open strong. Judicar finished the blow and withdrew his blade, performing a short flip backwards. Even as tall and well built as Judicar was he prided himself on being agile and acrobatic, honed into a physical machine after years of practice. Judicar returned himself to a ready stance and waited for his opponent to follow up, watching from all angles and probing with the Force as to any clue that could give him the edge.

 

[Ols]

Nescius watched as the boy flew across the rooftop and then got back up. If he was at all perturbed by the chain of events, he had not shown it outwardly. He simply got on with the task at hand. He called his lightsaber to his hand and flicked on the blue blade, prompting Nescius to narrow his eyes.

"If I ever see you use the force for such a menial task again I'll feed you to a sarlacc," he said, loudly enough for Judicar to hear him before he leapt forward in his aerobatic assault.

Nescius watched him through the air. He could have brought his blade across to block or redirect the blow, the latter would have been the optimal option of the two, as the momentum refocused into a new direction would have caused him to become overbalanced and his leap back would have been delayed enough for a counter. But the dark master did not do that.

He shifted his weight onto his right foot. As the blue blade of his assailant whipped through the air, down towards him, he stood on his right foot. He's slight shif to the right caused the attack to whoosh through the air, centimeters from his left arm, and if he had not moved then he would have been struck a lethal blow. As the boy landed and struck, before regaining his own balance before his retreat, Nescius slammed his left elbow into the boy's ribs. He would still be able to pull back, but the blow carried enough force to knock him off balance and make his jump and landing clumsy. It would hurt as well.

It would also be apparent in the boy's mind that, had Nescius wanted to, rather than slamming his elbow strike into his side, he could easily have slipped his red blade into the opening and stabbed through his torso.

"Impressive," he said. Indeed Judicar was so, he fought with poise and accuracy, and finesse, but no experience, which was only to be expected. Nescius stood still, recognising the ataru form of his combatant, knowing that it required him to be on the offensive. He would allow him to do so. For now.

 

[Brand]

A pained grunt escaped Judicar's lips as the elbow slammed into his ribs. A brief thought of thanks flashed through his mind that his bones had remained fully in tact, and he danced away. He eyed the man warily; he was quicker, much quicker, than he had initially expected. Judicar narrowed his eyes to slits, considering his next move.

Judicar needed to probe for now, to get a feel for the man's abilities. He needed to engage with his lightsaber, and Judicar had an idea pop into his mind. Judicar kept his two handed grip on his lightsaber and charged forward, pumping his legs and taking care to not slip on the water coated balcony.

Judicar reached the man in a matter of seconds, bringing his lightsaber up from the low right, and then back again in a diagonal swipe. The Saber Swarm was a signature and powerful move utilized by Ataru practitioners, consisting of probing the enemy's defenses with numerous short strikes. Judicar expected that the man was capable of the smooth parries that could defend against the attacks, but he would need to give himself space. Judicar thrived at getting up in the face of his opponent and working in close quarters. The balcony afforded him the space to take full advantage of the Hawk-bat form, and Judicar hoped that his lack of combat experience could be made up for with perfect timing and precision.

 

[Ols]

Nescius saw the charge coming straight at him. He barely had to rely on force instinct to judge the attacks. The Ataru flurry came obviously one way, and Nescius angled his blade, not to parry the strike head on but, glance the blow off; Nescius would not require much strength to stand up to the blow as it slide along his blade, but Judicar would again find himself off balance as he threw himself into his next attack, which came lashing across from the other direction.

Stepping backwards, Nescius barely had to reset his blade, moving the angle slightly in his one handed grip, again so he did not have to parry, but simply redirect Judicar's attack into the space next to him. This attack, even stronger than the first, would leave Judicar off balance the other way. Having opened himself up to possible counters, perhaps fatal, twice now, Nescius would again take some, non-lethal action while the younger combatant tried to reset himself for another attack.

Before he could bring another fast and brutal attack, Nescius lashed out with his leg at Judicar's forward hip. The connection again would be painful and should send him staggering backwards. The effort of keeping up continued assaults like this, while not yet draining, would soon become apparent on the man, particularly if he continued attacking, being thrown off balance and receiving blows like punches and kicks. Quite conversely, Nescius had barely moved, his deflections being less hard fought blocks than accurate redirects, and his attacks quick, hard, fast whips from his limbs.

As the boy would begin to charge forward for his next assault, seemingly unmoving, he would be confronted with Nescius' next challenge. Rather than stand and wait for the assult, Nescius would stand and the moment Judicar moved towards him, Nescius would disappear, as if in thin air. The force power cloaking the master, one that had served him well in his time as a dark assassin. He would of course, once invisible, move from his spot and use the shadows and light to maintain his invisibility.