((I already know what you are capable of rp wise, so we'll just breeze through this ASAP ))
His eye twitched as he observed the other apprentices training. So few had potential... so few were going to survive up to their knighting. Yet again he had picked up another apprentice, one that had come here after a Sith had found him on Telos IV and recognized his potential. His name was Lucius Black.
As soon as he arrived Crozeus knew that he was not like the other apprentices. He was different. He had potential, and he had plans - Crozeus could see this. Part of the gift of being one who could see into the deeper mysteries of the Force. Looking at it in hindsight, who would not have similar feelings when arriving on Kuat? Looking at the glory and the splendor that was the jewel of their Empire, and the immense palace in which Emperor Shadow resided in... who wouldn't want that? Crozeus couldn't name one Sith who would deny wanting that power.
Yet as many others had tried, Lucius would not succeed in bringing the Emperor down. He would soon learn his place, he would learn to serve, and in doing so, he would become more powerful than he could possibly have imagined. It would be a worthy life. For now, Crozeus would help him achieve all he could do.
Lucius Black
Sirak marched towards his master. His demeanor wasn't that of anxiety, but of anticipation. He would finally learn to use his powers after so many years of curiosity. He brushed his dark hair away from his eye and took a knee before his new master. "I am Lucius Black," he said with his eyes looking down at the stone floor.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus watched his new apprentice carefully, before waving a hand. "Get up." He then took a few steps back and threw off his robe, before grasping his lightsaber and igniting it, holding it to his side, casting the shadow around him in ruby gold light.
"Attack me."
Lucius Black
((OOC: Do I have a lightsaber?))
High Prophet Crozeus
((You have whatever you said you had in your bio.))
Lucius Black
The change in pace was a shock to Lucius. He hadn't expected to come and fight. The young Sith pulled the vibroknuckler out from his coat pocket and fitted it to his right fist. Lucius took a boxer's stance and threw a hard jab at his master's chest.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus stepped back, impressed by his apprentice's speed. He performed a simple méleé combat maneuver, a knife handblock. He formed an O with his arms with which he trapped Lucius' knife hand. He then twisted it until the pain forced Lucius to drop the blade.
"Your speed is good, as is the power behind it. Yet against a Force user, you stand no chance. You need to construct a lightsaber."
He raised a hand, his lightsaber now deactivated and back on his belt. A tome flew into it and he handed it to Lucius.
"All the instructions you should need are in there. When you have completed it, return to me."
((Roleplay out the construction of your lightsaber, here in this thread. I expect 2-4 decent length paragraphs.))
Lucius Black
((Again, sorry for the wait.))
Lucius took the tome in his palm and bowed to his master. As he turned away, a grin of satisfaction rolled over his face. The lightsaber was a symbol of the Sith, and one would soon be his. Once he had found a nice, quiet place to work, he settled in. The materials were spread out before him. With everything ready, he opened the tome.
The first instructions regarded the lightsaber's power cell. Lucius picked up the cell and carefully crammed the piece into the fuel cell cavity. This step took longer than expected. The cell had to fit in the cavity perfectly. It took nearly an hour to achieve.
With the power cell in place, Lucius turned back to the tome. The instructions were to build the crystal chamber - arguably the most important part of lightsaber construction. The apprentice took a moment to look over the blood red synthetic crystal twirling through his fingers. "Hello, my friend," he muttered to himself. Lucius cautiously attached the crystal to the end of the power cell. It was a perfect fit. The clear secondary crystal came next. The need to connect it made the step tricky, but Lucius managed. Another hour had gone by and the crystal chamber was cased and completed.
Constructing the energy rods came as second nature to Lucius. Following the tome's instructions, he connected the rods via complex circuitry to the tapping pin near the end of the hilt. He placed the operating buttons against the paneling and hooked them up to the rods. A small magnetic ring at the tip of the saber completed his work. Lucius stood up, gazing at his creation. The look was rough, but it could be altered if wanted. How it performed was the main test. The hilt was heavier than he expected and training would definitely be needed. With one push of a button, a brilliant red beam shot from the end of the lightsaber, giving off a magnetic hum. Lucius swung the weapon around for a bit.
Lucius was proud of his creation. As he approached his master, he only hoped he would share the enthusiasm.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus brought the lightsaber from his apprentice into his hand with a simple pull of the Force. He ignited it and held it steady for a moment, checking the balance and weighting of the blade, before twirling it around and making a few quick attacks into the air. Satisfied, he handed it back to his apprentice.
"A fine blade. You have done well. But you need to test your skills. Go to the dojo and send out an open challenge - one anyone from adept to Emperor can accept. You must duel."
With that Crozeus turned from his apprentice and walked away.
High Prophet Crozeus
((I see no reason to waste time while you duel.))
The next day Crozeus had headed to the Training Grounds early. He sat and meditated while the sun crowned and began to rise, casting a beautiful silhouette of the Kuat city skyline. He was silent, though in the Force he was like an alarm clock, blaring away to wake his apprentice and summon him. Force users didn't need to sleep very often. Crozeus hadn't slept for days.
Lucius Black
Lucius was awakened from his light sleep by a voice telling him to wake up. It wasn't physically a voice, but Lucius could still understand it. He rolled off of his cot, stretched, yawned, put on his robe over the clothes he had slept in, and pulled on his boots. Any form of breakfast would have to wait.
The apprentice moved towards the source, more or less letting the Force guide him to his destination. His master was not far away. Lucius took a moment to admire the dawn from behind a wall where his master wouldn't see his dawdling. The little things like sunrises always captured his attention the most. When he was done, Lucius stepped around the corner and took a knee before his master.
High Prophet Crozeus
Without a word the Prophet stood and walked down the steps which led out of the Academy, and out into the rolling hills that stretched for miles. He stopped and his apprentice came to a halt beside him. Raising an arm and slowly moving it to show where he meant, Crozeus spoke.
"Just through the clump of trees to the right is an old path," he said. "Follow it round until you pass that fence there. Then keep going until you pass two more fences, you can just see one of them in the distance. The path is covered with fallen trees, logs, ditches and the like. Then cross the field uphill to the wall of the Academy, and meet me back here."
Crozeus stretched, enjoying the fresh sun. "The journey would take a cross country runner about thirty minutes. I want you to do it in fifteen. Go."
Lucius Black
((Again, sorry for the wait.))
Such a task first thing in the morning wasn't what Lucius had anticipated. Still, it had to be done. Without saying anything to his master, the apprentice raced off towards the trees in a dead sprint. Dashing with the Force wasn't a developed skill of his, but Lucius could still feel the power it gave him. Every step felt lighter and more powerful off of the wet morning grass.
Already panting lightly at the tree line, Lucius continued. The trail suddenly became rougher and hard to traverse on. Dodging the occasional mossy log became a harder task than expected and Lucius was quite fatigued already by the time he had reached the first fence. There was no time to take a breather, he was expected to be done in 15 minutes.
As he passed deeper into the forest, the terrain became more difficult to overcome. Lucius had to be careful. Falling at these speeds could easily result in a broken ankle or some other injury. The first major obstacle was before him. A tree had fallen down and blocked the path. The was no way over it, so he had to take precious time to manuever around it. Alas, another fence.
It was much more of the same drill until Lucius reached the third fence. Dodging random obstacles and be careful not to stumble. Fatigue was really setting in. He could feel his body weighing down harder on his feet and every long stride took more and more energy to make. The greatest challenge layed just before him. A pit had been made by whatever force, blocking the pathway. Rocky slopes flanked the 4 meter deep hole. The only way across was to jump. Lucius made a running start, jumped and crashed into the side of the pit - his hands the only things holding on to edge. It took every muscle in his body to hoist him up the dirt wall, but he made it.
The end of the path was in sight. When he reached it, Lucius stopped only for the briefest of moments to catch his breath. He was on the home strecth. A long field was the only thing that stood between him and his master, but he would need to sprint like a greased boga to make the time limit. That's exactly what he did. Lucius pulled through the overwhelming stress and literally crawled up the hill to his master. He'd lost all sense of time, but the result would soon be known. Lucius Black bowed - partially in respect, partially do to collapse. "My task is complete, master," he panted.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus frowned. A true Sith could run for miles without fatigue. This was most worrying.
"You completed the run in seventeen minutes, thirty one seconds. You have failed."
Crozeus held out his arm and helped Lucius up. "When you run, allow the Force to move your legs. Imagine you are running on a cloud of the Force, and it is moving you along. I will give you... one minute to catch your breath. Then I want you to go again, and pass this time."
Lucius looked despairing and Crozeus had to hide a small smile. "Try to pace yourself a bit better. Think about what is coming up and how you are going to tackle the obstacle."
Lucius Black
The needed break didn't seem to last long enough, but failing was not an option this time. Lucius would not disappoint his master yet again. When he was ready, he flashed off towards the treeline. Lucius took his master's advice. He could feel his weight lifting to virtually nothing and every stride was a bounding leap.
The familiar trail began again. Fatigue had yet to set in and he zipped past the first fence with speed rivaling that of a swoop bike (or at least he hoped). Rather than take precious time to maneuver around the fallen tree in the path, Lucius decided he would leap it. Such a feat would require more speed. More speed was what happened. With a jump that kicked up dirt and moss where he had left the ground, he cleared the obstacle with his boots barely touching the leaves. The apprentice hit the ground with a roll and moved onwards at a great pace.
Lucius continued. He'd anticipated the forthcoming pit and played out the situation in his mind. It would be much the same as the jump with the tree, albeit with more power. The pit grew closer and closer with every long, Force-empowered stride. The moment of truth had arrived. Lucius made the jump - and rolled along the ground on the other side. The last major obstruction was clear.
The final march through the field was one of great pleasure and strength. Lucius had made the run in considerably less time than his previous trial with barely any fatigue at all. The intense training of his body was showing obvious results. Lucius made it up the hill, bowed before his master, and grinned at success.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus showed no emotion at all as he informed his apprentice of his time. "Fourteen minutes, fifty four seconds. Acceptable, if only just."
Without any further words Crozeus headed off, back into the Academy. After a brief hesitation, breathing heavily, Lucius followed. They walked in silence into a large hall, the only presences being a cleaner and a lone Mage Crozeus did not recognise doing some study. In rows along the sides of the hall were many shelves, and there were benches in the centre of the hall. At the far end proudly stood a statue of Emperor Shadow, dressed in the robes of the Supreme Prophet, holding an orb up by one arm and looking at it with an expression of mixed triumph and intrigue.
"This is the Hall of Records, where old laws and the memoirs of Sith, both present and recent are kept. Opposite this hall is the Hall of Dark Patronage. I have two tasks for you. The first is to head over there and choose your Dark Patron - a cult of a particular Sith to follow. Then, I want you to construct a Holocron and make an entry in it. I will not offer any assistance in providing instructions on how to construct it or where to find the materials. You must do that yourself."
Lucius Black
After his many hours of work and prayer, Lucius arrived back in the main corridor to his awaiting master with his recently built Holocron in hand. Most of the people seemed to have left, giving the room an creepy feeling of emptiness. Lucius wiped the sweat from his brow, than kneeled once again before his master. "My task is completed, Master," he said monotonously.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus surveyed the holocron with a careful eye, turning it over many times in his hand before placing it on the table and watching, silently, as Lucius' entry played out. When it was over, Crozeus nodded, satisfied. He then turned to look at Lucius almost with curiosity.
"What do you want to do now, my apprentice? Answer truthfully, for I can tell if you do not."
Lucius Black
Lucius was taken by surprise at his master's question. He'd expected that the Prophet would make most of the decisions. The answer wasn't difficult or hard to find a brain filled with simple thoughts, merely surprising. Lucius answered truthfully. "I wish to continue my training in the Dark Side, Master. I want to be stronger, to be as powerful in body as I am in mind," he said. "I wish to continue to push my boundaries, my master."
High Prophet Crozeus
Of course he did. Crozeus walked slowly around his apprentice, thinking carefully. "Have you thought about what Order you want to join?"
Lucius Black
The truth was that Lucius had though long and hard over this very question, although the time for a decision would likely be farther in the future. "The Mages, Master. I feel they best suit me and I can best suit them," he said.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus nodded. The Mages were run by Lord Aequitas, who had formerly been Crozeus' direct superior in the Church. However, Crozeus had served on many committees with the Grand Mage so there weren't any hard feelings. High Mage Serratus, second in command was a close friend and ally of Crozeus'. His best friend, Jerina, had enrolled in the Mages but soon after went into self-exile. Nevertheless, the Mages would look after Lucius, and because it was a new Order, he would soon get a high ranking position.
"What do the Mages do, Lucius? Outline their work and command structure."
Lucius Black
Lucius could tell his master was thinking something, but he went on with his answers, hoping the little information he knew about them would suffice. "The role of the Order is to explore places and planets and to report their finding to the Empire. Their second role is to investigate activities deemed paranormal." The apprentice know little about the internal workings of the Mages due to their secretiveness about their affairs. "To my knowledge, the Mages are led by a Grand Mage, currently Grand Mage Aequitas, a High Mage, and a chain of lower ranking members. There's also a group of secondary positions assigned with other specific tasks involving the Order," he said, never taking his eyes off his master.
High Prophet Crozeus
"And why do you think they will be suited for you?"
Crozeus continued to circle around like a predator stalking it's prey. This was probably going to be the most important decision Lucius made, and he wanted to be sure he knew what he was doing.
Lucius Black
Lucius cleared his throat and spoke. "I feel like my natural curiosity and love of discovery would aid me in the Order." He'd though long and hard over this choice. His only other interest was in the Inquisitors, but he felt they wouldn't suit him in the long run.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus nodded. It was clear his apprentice had spent some time thinking about this.
"Very well. Go to the Grand Mage's office and ask to see him. He was going to set out to classify a planet soon, you might be able to tag along if you ask nicely. Go now."
High Mage Serratus
((If I may interject, Lucius would be going to see me as the Grand Mage is not available and I am acting-Grand Mage.))
High Prophet Crozeus
((Of course. I had forgotten he was moving.))
Lucius Black
((Apparently, he's going to be fairly active.))
High Prophet Crozeus
((Then we have no problem. Lucius, RP yourself arriving at his office in his office thread.))
))