Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Mar 11, 2020 18:20:53 GMT -8
Time to break up this duopoly of winning you two have started...
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Mar 5, 2020 0:51:42 GMT -8
Lazarus-Class Orbital Prison: Zatvor - Orbiting Dosuun, Wild Space.Martin smirked at Xakire's response. Despite the months of invasive torture methods, he was in good spirits. Especially for being a Sith Lord. As Dr. Archer extracted the blood sample and took several tissue samples, Martin crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall."Well, you could go for a walk, but as I understand it rather...cold...outside."As Dr. Archer finished, Martin motioned for the Orcus droids to follow him out, leaving just Xakire and Martin in the room."So...I don't suppose I could persuade you to just give me the information my employer seeks, could I? Rather than going through this charade again..."Harper knew that this man wasn't the type to just roll over and give them the information, however. But there was no harm in asking. "Ah, I could do with stretching the old legs. Wouldn't want to forget how to use them," he joked back, pondering if would rather be sucked into the vacuum than continue this nightmare. At least he wouldn't be bored anymore. "See the problem though is that I'm just not really privy that much information. As much as I fancy myself being important, I'm really not that important. I don't have much to tell you," he said flippantly. "Besides, I haven't even met your employer. Perhaps if he came and visited I might be more inclined to do what he wants."
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Mar 2, 2020 15:52:33 GMT -8
Martin grinned at Xakire's retort. He had spent the better part of the past two or so years with this man. Ordered to extract information, the two had developed a bit of a rapport. Xakire was tough, but level-headed. Martin was merely doing as ordered. He didn't, by any means, hate the man before him. And while he wasn't what he'd consider a friend, he did respect the man for enduring what he had thus far."As much as I'd enjoy another round with you, that isn't the main purpose of my visit today. Doctor Archer, if you please."Martin motioned for the balding doctor to proceed. Wheeling a silver tray over beside Xakire's chair and pulling a stool to sit on, Archer sat down and swabbed Xakire's arm, then tied off a band on his bicep, rather tightly."A fist, if you please, Mr. Callidus."While Dr. Archer did his blood draws, Martin spoke again."Blood and tissue samples today. Unless you want to go another round, that is? I'm game if your game, Callidus."A forced camaraderie, Harper wasn't vindictive or sadistic. Despite his orders, Xakire hadn't personally wronged him, so until he did, Harper was going to treat him decently. His employer may have disproved the notion, fortunately he wasn't here. He had assigned Harper to this particular job and allowed him a wide range of command over it, stepping in only when necessary. And so for it hadn't been needed. Xakire offered some token resistance to the samples, moving around a bit and making it somewhat tedious for the doctor, but he had accepted that it was going to happen anyway. He still didn't know what to make of Harper. Was he a zealot? Was he merely a good solider following orders? So far he had treated him relatively well, at least compared with how one would expect you to treat a prisoner you were subjecting to torture and invasive procedures. He certainly didn't seem malicious at least. "There's not much else for me to do, is there? I'm up for another round," he quipped.
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Feb 4, 2020 22:18:07 GMT -8
Oh my...
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Feb 3, 2020 22:04:22 GMT -8
Art does not distract me
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Feb 3, 2020 21:43:05 GMT -8
The Lazarus-Class Orbital Prison, Zatvor, had been constructed swiftly and silently over the terrestrial world of Dosuun as a place where The Organization could take it's prisoners and hold them away from the prying eyes of the galaxy. While not exactly hidden, Dosuun was out of the way enough that no one really ventured here unless they had to. Usually only the highest value prisoners were sent here, however. And despite the station having been constructed and pushed to active status in record time, nothing really stood out about the station. That is, until two years six months nineteen days ago, when The Organization had managed to capture an incredibly high value target. For the first several months, the prisoner refused to give out any information. They resisted and refused. But months of round the clock torture and interrogation had managed to procure results. The prisoner was revealed to be Xakire Callidus of Alderranian nobility, Fleet Admiral within the First Order, Intelligence Agent for Imperial Intelligence and best of all, a Sith under the tutelage of the self proclaimed 'Dark King' Viox Savage. While knowing who the man was, certainly was helpful, the fact that Xakire was a Sith and the apprentice to one of the more feared Sith in the galaxy was the juicy part. Given the Organization's true mandate, to fight Force Users and cure Force sensitivity, possession of such an impressive target had managed to get The Elusive Man directly involved with the interrogation of the prisoner...*
*Standing outside Xakire's cell, Martin Harper was speaking to a hologram of the Director.Continue to press for more information, Martin. While we have successfully managed to extract various pieces of information from him, we still do not have any substantial information on the Blackguard. And that's what we want. Also, we will need Dr. Archer to extract several blood and tissue samples for study and synthesizing application for a later project. Ensure you get the samples and continue to maintain our security protocols in regards to high value targets.As the hologram dissipated, Martin motioned for the Doctor and his security escort, three Orcus Security Droids, to follow him into the room. As the door hissed open, the bare, bruised chest of a human male appearing to be in his early twenties could be seen, strapped to an Interrogation Chair."Mister Callidus. I trust you slept well...?" asked Martin, a hint of sarcasm present in his voice. Xakire had no idea where he was. He didn't even know when it was. For what must have been many months he had been tortured, beaten, and subjected to all kinds of invasive procedures. Despite all his powers he was helpless, it was seemingly an impossible situation. With no way to contact his master, the Blackguard, the First Order or anyone, it seemed hopeless. He had no idea if Viox knew what had happened to his apprentice, or even if his master would launch an attempt to rescue him if he did. Perhaps he would leave Xakire to die, condemning him for being weak and allowing himself to be captured.
As Harper entered the room, Xakire's head jerked upwards and his eyes opened. He hadn't really been able to sleep properly often at all, but occasionally got a few opportunities to get a small amount of light sleep. "I slept okay, not the most comfortable bed though so could be better," he retorted, his voice heavy with sarcasm as he was determined not to show any sign of breaking, no matter how much he wished he could allow himself to. "Ready to go another round, are we?" he said expecting another session of being beaten and asked the same futile questions.
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Jan 17, 2020 22:39:21 GMT -8
Your win is fake news. I have the real win.
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Jan 17, 2020 6:08:37 GMT -8
Try hard like this? *He says as he steals the win once more*
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Jan 16, 2020 2:33:44 GMT -8
I'll one up you, the toxic air quality (and very hot temperate) we're experiencing as the country burns. Yeah that really turned me (and the sky) to the Dark Side.
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Jan 16, 2020 2:31:02 GMT -8
Not if I steal it first!
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Jan 10, 2020 2:26:19 GMT -8
Hello! I am a returning player looking for a way to reintroduce my character and explain his absence. As I was looking around the site to see what had changed since I left I came across The Organisation and thought that if people here were interested it could be fun to do a storyline with you. My idea so far is perhaps something along the lines of my character was captured while searching for Sith artefacts in the Unknown Regions or something, and that after some time in captivity Vasari comes and helps free him. I don't have any specific ideas so far so if people here are interested I'm pretty flexible.
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Jun 10, 2018 0:14:02 GMT -8
Vasari had only assumed that Xakire's ego would prevent him from following after her - no doubt he would return to wherever he had come from and would lick his wounds like an abused animal - but when she head him call out to her to wait a smile crept across her lips. She didn't stop, but slowed her pace enough for him to catch up without any real struggle. She still had her arms crossed over her chest holding her books tightly to her breast but she leaned over and nudged him with a slight smile on her face as if she was genuinely happy to have him along. She led him along in silence through the corridors of the dorms - drawing a few looks from the people that lived closest to her that hardly ever saw her - let alone saw her 'with' someone. No one really knew her... and because of that to have her be seen with a new comer none the less was shocking to many. Vasari ignored them all of course - more and more over the last few weeks she had come to think of all of them as below her. Even the Apprentices that had at one time threatened her existence so easily now seemed like specks on her training visor - simple distractions put there to force her to hone her skills. She felt more and more each day like there was something waiting for her just beyond the walls of this place - and that such a change would happen very soon. Perhaps that feeling is what had led her to tolerate Xakire's presence, there was something about him after all."What do you believe to be your strongest trait?"She asked rather casually leading him at last out of the dormitories and across the courtyard to the archives. Xakire hated those sorts of questions. He hated ranking things, it just seemed to arbitrary. How could one rank their favourite food? It depended on the meal, or what he felt like (Not that he was one to fuss about food). Just like with food, his strongest trait wasn't something he could simply choose from all the others. He wasn't summarised by one single trait, rather by the makeup and combination of his many traits and characteristics. He didn't want to answer, but felt compelled to. It would be impolite to dismiss her, she seemed this time to be more casually chatting rather than prying for information. After all, she had shown that she didn't need words for that. He was sure there was still an element of her still trying to size him up, but he decided to answer. "One cannot point to one trait being strongest when one has a variety of skills that work best in combination with each other..." he realised he had suddenly started speaking overly formally. While weaker men often stuttered and sweated when they were nervous, Xakire tended to slip into a formal and emotionless tone when he felt nervous. "What I mean to say is, I don't believe any one trait is my strongest...I suppose if I had to choose my adaptability is one of my strongest asset. I am not confined to one single way of operating. If a situation calls for the brutal and unwavering violence only a Sith is capable of, I can do it. But if a situation requires the more delicate and diplomatic touch associated with the Jedi, I can also do that," he still wasn't too sure how to answer, but he did his best to at least give her something. "Some here would call that weakness. Me, I call it pragmatism." Hoping she would understand and not view him as pathetic and weak, he turned the conversation back to Vasari. "How about you?"
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Jun 6, 2018 2:14:56 GMT -8
Vasari did not press him, simply rose from her kneeling position before the bed and continued dressing while the young sith composed himself. He had performed well enough for a novice in the art, he was hard on himself that much was certain - but what she could not figure was why his training had advanced so far and yet so little in the realm of protecting his own mind. All the martial skill in the world meant nothing if the enemy could break you with a simple word. Had she been better trained and more motivated that is exactly what she could have done in their sparing match earlier. A failing on her own account - one she would look to rectifying soon enough.
She finished draping the cloak around her body hiding her form completely from view just as she was when they had met and turned to face him. He seemed to have come back to himself and was turning around to face her, straightening his back and standing at ease before her. She raised an eyeridge slightly though there was no brow accent the gesture and she had to keep herself from giggling, though an easy smile came to her lips."There is no need for thanks, my lord."She smiled easier and moved to recover a book or two from the shelf and gripped them tightly to her chest as she moved past him towards the door."And you may prove more useful than I have the foresight to notice... there is something about you..."She looked him up and down once more from the side and shivered slightly before continuing on her way, the door opening untouched allowing her to move from the room freely, leaving him with the choice of following after her or not as she made her way down the corridor towards the Library. Xakire didn’t know what to say or do from here, or even what to feel. He was lost. He’d almost been bested by an acolyte and then he failed to learn a trick she had somehow mastered. That bruised his ego, and while he was hardly as egotistcal, certianly not as outwardly, as most other Sith, he did indeed still have one. He watched as Vasari collected a couple of books from her shelf before exiting. Her words were a mystery to him. Was she mocking him, or was she being genuine? He could not tell. Me, useful to her? He wasn’t sure what she was talking about. Still, he let her go to the library or wherever she was heading and he instead exited her dorm and headed in the opposite direction. He didn’t get very far when he changed his mind and promptly about-turned on the spot. “Wait...” he called, with a neutral, tired rather than worried or desperate tone. As he walked quickly towards her, he spoke again. “I’d best study too,” he hated studying, and was terrible at it. He was by no means a bad reader nor was he an idiot. He just simply found it to be typically tedious and boring. However, Vasari was anything but, and he wanted to know more about her.
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Mar 13, 2018 2:54:13 GMT -8
I’d like to join, I’ll try and maintain activity enough to not mess things up.
When would it start approximately (depending on when it starts I may or many not be more available)?
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Mar 7, 2018 2:30:40 GMT -8
Perhaps ‘outburst’ wasn’t the right word, though Xakire had no idea what to call it. Now though, his master had explained what was happening and so he was begining to understand, or more accurately was simply more informed. He was far from fully understanding. He knew he still had a long way to go to even come close to understand the Force in the way that his master and even Vasari did. He knew that being a Sith apprentice was fundamentally a completion amoung his peers, and he was determined to stand out, determined to make himself useful. For now, however, none of that mattered. They were in this castle for a reason. Maybe I’ll even find something for myself, he thought.Xakire offered only a nod to his master signaling that he had heard him. He couldn’t tell Viox that he “understands” because he didn’t, not fully and his master no doubt knew that, so instead he stayed obediently silent. “Shall we proceed, master?” He asked eager to find what they came for. Savage nodded as his apprentice asked if they should proceed. They did come here for a reason, after all. Raising his left arm in front of him, he pulled up the holo-map of the Castle on his wrist mounted tac-pad."The Reliquary is here. The Sith Chalice should be inside, along with any other artifacts that haven't been plundered yet. As for what beasts reside here...remain on your guard, apprentice. Someone activated those droids. I have a feeling that whomever did, remains here still..."Dismissing the map, Savage keyed the comm that would connect him to Admiral Petrovsky in orbit."Harlan. Status report."While waiting for Harlan to reply, Savage continued walking alongside his apprentice. There was still something off about the Castle, but it wasn't like it was before. Before it was like there was a perversion here. And having dealt with that, it just felt as though there was still a threat, looming ominously beyond his perceptions. It was mildly frustrating, but the Sith'ari continue onwards, his apprentice it tow. Xakire carefully studied the holomap, committing it to memory as best he could. It was always helpful to be aware of ones surroundings.
He wondered who could have activated the droids. A separatist holdout? No, the Clone Wars were far to long ago. Scavangers? Possibly but it would be unlikely for them to have gained control over the droid army. Rival Sith, or even Jedi? That’s possible, yet to easy a solution. In Xakire’s experience answers were seldom easy, particularly when it came to hunting powerful relics. He wondered just how much his master may have known but was choosing not to share...
He followed his master as they headed towards the Reliquary, making note of where they were and possible exits or attack angles for potential enemies, as they walked.
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Feb 8, 2018 16:47:38 GMT -8
You may very well think that, but in the meantime, my master, I win...
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Feb 8, 2018 16:46:15 GMT -8
As Xakire appeared behind him and spoke, a smirk crossed his lips. Ignorance. That was all it was. Perhaps it was time to inform his apprentice of what was really going on. Turning to face the young man, Savage spoke."I haven't lost control of anything. You have remained in the dark with what is going on with me because I have wanted it. Not for lack of trust in you or your abilities, but because it is a delicate matter."Savage inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly."During the invasion of Iridonia, I ventured to the ruins of my old family estate. A place long dead, but tainted by the past actions of my father. Restless spirits haunted the ruins...to fully understand, you would have to read the Tome of the Ancients, a very old, very sacred tome of the past. Dating back to the third or fourth generation of my people. Powerful rituals, locations of artifacts and a history of my clan. Most of it is irrelevant, but there is, however, many secrets that can enhance ones power, if you interpret the rituals correctly. I managed to succeed in one such ritual. A ritual of Force-Walking. And in so doing, I was able to acquire the powerful essences of several long dead Zabrak elders. They now reside within my mind, granting me power that hasn't been seen in eons. But everything comes at a price...my...sudden outburst before we reached the Castle was the Elders becoming restless. This last 'outburst', if you want to call it that, was confronting an apparition of Darth Vader himself. He has since been defeated. Aside for whatever else that lingers within these walls, Vader will plague us no more. Of that, you can be certain."Savage watched his apprentice closely. What he had just said was a lot to digest. And to understand. Unfortunately, Xakire would never truly understand, as he was not a Zabrak. But that wasn't his fault. Vasari, on the other hand, would be made privy to the Tome of the Ancients in due time, once she became more disciplined. With Vasari's natural affinity to mind control and understanding of ancient texts and tomes, she was a natural choice. Xakire would have to find some way to prove himself, eventually. Only one human in the past had been worthy of being Savage's apprentice, Amaris Jade. She, despite all odds, managed to push through the brutal physical training regime, learned to harness her powers and became Savage's equal in many aspects. Not that he'd ever admit to that. She had been his most prized pupil. Xakire now had very high standards to live up to, but with the proper training, Savage was certain he could carve Xakire into an apprentice that would rival Jade's abilities... Perhaps ‘outburst’ wasn’t the right word, though Xakire had no idea what to call it. Now though, his master had explained what was happening and so he was begining to understand, or more accurately was simply more informed. He was far from fully understanding. He knew he still had a long way to go to even come close to understand the Force in the way that his master and even Vasari did. He knew that being a Sith apprentice was fundamentally a completion amoung his peers, and he was determined to stand out, determined to make himself useful. For now, however, none of that mattered. They were in this castle for a reason. Maybe I’ll even find something for myself, he thought.Xakire offered only a nod to his master signaling that he had heard him. He couldn’t tell Viox that he “understands” because he didn’t, not fully and his master no doubt knew that, so instead he stayed obediently silent. “Shall we proceed, master?” He asked eager to find what they came for.
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Jan 27, 2018 23:11:41 GMT -8
The aspect of a door defense was weak, rudimentary, and probably the worst form of mental defense anyone could use if they actually wished to keep their minds in tact against a mental assault, and yet it was where most began. There were tricks that could be used - mental gambits that placed door after door after door in the path of your minds intruder, leading them deeper and deeper into a shell game of mental manipulation, but this tactic was never used as a defense, only a distraction. The aspect of learning through failure is what drove ones mind to calculate new and more cunning ways of hiding ones true thoughts and feelings, and before Xakire's mind was able to pull away completely from hers - retreating out of no sense of victory, but in perfect and absolute defeat - he would have been made aware of this fact.
Vasari's mind rifled through the images and thoughts he was using and attempting to hide from her intrusive and inquisitive mind. The point was to show him how futile his request had been, what he had asked for would require years of training and preperation and practice and exposure to someone else's mind, someone more powerful, someone he trusted. Here they learned at the hands of the Masters... cruel and manipulative as they were, they were here to teach, to instruct, and to cultivate the next generation of Sith Lords and Ladies. The problem with the Rule of Two training method is that it limited ones connections to various possibilities of learning. At this Academy she would have learned much more than him, from many different instructors, learning from their strengths as well as their weaknesses. That is how it was in the old days, that is how it was at the height of the Sith Empire before it had all been swept aside on the fields of Ruusan. She did not have one Master - she had many, she was a true student of the Force here. Whoever Xakire's master was, he clearly did not use the boy for his mental constitution... but still, within his mind she saw other talents, other skills that made him a more than competent apprentice - more so than any here that was certain.
She remained silent as Xakire stood up and walked towards the door - she could feel the shame of failure pouring off of him in nearly every way. Rising from her position on her knees before the bed she silently moved back towards her cloths and finished dressing - wrapping the same style of cloth around her breasts and binding a similar shoulder pad to her guard arm's shoulder then reached into her trunk for another cloak - of these she only had two. Draping the cloak around her shoulders she pulled its folds around her to cover most of her body in its inky blackness and she leaned against the desk finally looking back to Xakire."Your failure was not as complete as you might think..."She began gently, her voice now actually attempting to sound neutral again."You moved passed an adepts first mistake of attempting to shield their entire mind with a single door... you created multiple ones as you watched me do... And the construction spoke of potential in area of mental assault, if not defense... You were able to form mental constructs far more easily than you were capable of securing anything behind them. Its a start to say the least..." Vasari leaned back a little more crossing her legs at the ankles and crossing her arms beneath her breasts loosely. She thought at once of several books to recommend, but he really did not seem like the type to read. She began to consider ways for him to use his strengths to better his own fighting style. There was no way he would be able to form a defense against someone skilled enough in the art, but if his offense was strong enough, and he attacked with his mind as well as his body, then there was a chance he could overwhelm his opponent on both fronts before a defense would ever become necessary. It was a weak strategy to say the least... but it was a start. Not that she would tell him that... at least not yet. She would see how he handled this failure - that would let her know if this apprentice was worth her time or not - all the while the back of her mind considered his offer. She saw things in his mind that fascinated her, places she had not even heard of, there was an entire universe out there, that much she had always known. But this... Blackguard... whatever it was, whatever his connection to it was, reminded her of the ancient days of the Sith, and that set her twin hearts beating all the faster."Sparing against you was quite informative... it let me on to many weaknesses i still have in my own form. For this alone i would give you lessons in training your mind... we will start there. But you have nothing you can promise me that would make me wish to leave this Academy... perhaps your 'Master' would be different." For a long moment Xakire remained there in the doorway, unable to look at Vasari. He was embarrassed, more than that ashamed. Finally, he found the will to put his chin up again. Eventually, after listening to Vasari’s reassurances, which he wondered if they were honest is just to make him feel better, he turned on his heel to face her again, placing his hands behind his back and straightening up, assuming a military at ease position. He wasn’t sure where to go from here. Should he leave? He most likley couldn’t take her to his master yet, he was a busy man and even Xakire himself hadn’t met him yet since he got to Iridonia. “Th—-thank you,” he started trying to say, “Your...advice has been helpful to me. I am sorry that I am of little use to you, but I found this experience to be greatly benifical,” he slipped back into the formal way of speaking he had learnt to use as a naval officer, almost as a defensive measure to hide his emotions.
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Jan 27, 2018 22:48:13 GMT -8
”Master?” Xakire asked as he silently appeared behind Viox. When his master seemingly lost control again, Xakire checked the chamber for anyone or anything else that might have been causing whatever was happening, though he found nothing of note. ”What’s going on? This is the second time you’ve....lost control...” he asked not sure quite how to phrase whatever was going on with his master, because he had no idea what was going on.
|
|
Xakire
Blackguard Imperium
Posts: 229
Affiliation: The First Order and The Blackguard Reborn
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Xakire on Jan 21, 2018 20:34:13 GMT -8
Mustafar - Darth Vader's Castle. The Black Stairs.He knew not what was laid out ahead of them in the Castle itself, but Savage was determined to claim the Castle for himself, as well as the Blackguard, naturally. As he began to climb the smooth, obsidian steps, he bent down and placed his bare right hand on the obsidian surface. Despite Mustafar's raging volcanic terrain and the sweltering heat, the steps were ice cold to the touch. Closing his eyes, he extended his perceptions outwards. He could feel the Castle itself seemingly reacting to his presence. It was as if the Castle itself was alive within the dark side of the Force. And for all he knew, it very well could have been. The disturbance was still present as well, but he was unable to focus on it. It was as if it was purposely evading his tentative reach, staying on the very edges of his perceptions, just out of reach. That was enough to keep the Zabrak on guard. Something was very much alive within the Castle, yet there were no easily detected force signatures. Whatever is was, it seemed to stem from something that had lived at one point. Opening his eyes and standing upright, he motioned for Xakire to follow him. As Xakire fell into step, the duo climbed the steps with ease. There was no resistance to be met. The concentration of droids seemed to be only throughout Mustafar's volcanic terrain, not the Castle itself. Climbing up the steps even further, he was greeted with the sight of the ominous obsidian doors that would lead further into the depths of the Castle. Inspecting the door, there was no visible means to open them physically. A minor setback. Looking to his apprentice, he spoke."Reach out with the Force, my apprentice. Allow the darkness of this place to flow through you. Empty your mind and focus solely on the door...only then shall we be granted entrance..."Such tasks were not foreign to him. Back on Rhommamool, the only way he could access the Halls of the Triumvirate was through using the Force to open the door. It would appear as though the same would need to be done here. Hopefully, combining their power, Xakire and himself would be enough to open the door... Xakire was relived that there seemed to be no more droids inside the castle itself. Not that he couldn’t handle them, just that he didn’t feel like going through another of what seemed like hundreds of them. It was merely tedious. He followed his master up the stairs in silence, he could feel the strength of the Dark Side radiating throughout the castle, the planet even. Yet something seemed....off.
Soon the reached large imposing obsidian doors, clearly marking the entrance to the castle. Darth Vader likley constructed doors like this with no physical way of opening to make sure that only he himself could enter, leaving it impossible for non-Force users to enter. Likley this also protected whatever lay inside from looters and scavengers.
He closed his eyes as he tried to block everything but the door from his mind...the fear of what lurked behind that door, the adrenaline rush of the fight against the battle droids...the questions that still hung in his mind over what had happened to his master...he blocked all that out, focusing completly on the door. He reached his hand out and focused the Force on opening the huge doors, as his master instructed him.
|
|