Blackheart of Ice

[Galad J. Victus]

Frozen. Null wastelands. Nothing but ghosts and the howling of chilling winds in this empty, cold graveyard. Nothing for him, at least. But returning here was his own decision. To the known borders of the Galaxy, back to civilization. After all the years... He had not missed this feeling at all. Sure, he had been longing to feel the presence of other intelligent life forms. Wilderness does that to one. But what he wished the most; was to be surrounded with the Force again. To bask in the feeling that there were others with the same gift as his, nearby. To taste the dark trace other Sith left in the air all around him, to perceive other corrupted silhouettes in the currents of the Force... It was truly remarkable.

It had been years since his last visit to this irrelevant planet. Memories of his days as a pathetic acolyte came back to him. He was impotent then, just another cannon fodder to be pushed around and left ignored. He never was truly Sith. As a boy he had been far too hesitant to embrace the nexus of power that the Dark Side introduced. But as a man, he had become far more than a mere Sith. The very heart of corruption had taken his body as a vessel. Malice and blackness stained, recolored his mind. Leading up to this metalic juggernaut in blacks. He was standing alone atop a hill of ice and snow. He always stood alone.

It was the middle of nowhere. Frozen hills, wild winds and firm ice covering everything that the eye could see. Perfect enviroment for a harsh training. He had sat idle for far too long. Time to make an introduction had already came. And to kick-start things up, he had selected an especially interesting, young acolyte.

The dark figure stood without motion as a black spot in the ocean of ice, awaiting the arrival of the promising student.

 

[Braden]

The icy wind whipped around Braden as he slowly made the trek to see meet his new trainer. He could feel his time with the Sith was proving its merits, his knowledge in the force and the wider galaxy had expanded greatly. But he could see his time with the Sith slowly coming to an end, he had spent to much time in the archives to not see the error in their ways. They were powerful perhaps even more powerful than the Jedi but they two were flawed. Braden shook his head to clear his head of thoughts, now was not the time to think on such things. He had already planned his next trip off world potentially never to return. But at the moment he needed to gather all the knowledge he could before he left. This is what lead him up the snowy path, the Sith Warrior who awaited him had only just returned from a self imposed exile and was now ready to teach someone his crafts.

This was perhaps the last master he would find in the Order and he intended to use him to the fullest. Rounding the corner he spotted the man, the man stood out from the surrounding snowy tundra. Even with his eyes closed Braden could point directly at the man, Zoist was a cornucopia of Dark Side energy but still someone as powerful in the force as the man before him stood out. Braden took the final few steps towards him, his long dark cloak whipping around in the wind behind him. Finally he kneeled before the man.

"Master."

@Galadmaster at Arms

 

[Galad J. Victus]

He turned around to meet the newcomer. Mentally been tracking the acolyte's steps as he closed in, he at last came face to face with his to-be student. İnspecting the young Sith briefly, he linked up his hands behind his back. As he examined Drake's face features and his body built, he came to conclusion that the boy actually was not much younger than himself, a couple of years perhaps.

"Rise, Braden. You need not bow before me." Spoke the man's hollow, mechanical and inhumane voice coming deep from the mask. His plate war armor did not have especially eye-catching features, besides the enormous size and built, but a flat line was carved into his helmet for the primal intent of granting the wearer perfect vision. It was lighted crimson and shined like a signal torch in the long forsaken tundras, likely making it visible even from great distances as a red, flaming dot. He approached the acolyte slowly, his dark cloak floating with the untamed winds of Ziost.

He kept coming close until there were some inches left between the two and set eyes on the acolyte. And after a seemingly long moment, he spoke. "You came here to learn. You answered the summoning of the Dark Side, and made journey to this unforgiving ocean of ice. You set out on the path that leads to power." His tone shifted from instructive to besetting as he continued with a spine-chilling voice. "The hardship you must endure is not begun yet." He paused as he turned his back on Braden and made his way towards the peak of the hill that they stood upon. It was high enough to grant vision of the lifeless tundras all around them. He halted at the edge, one more step would lead him down into the cliffs in a doomed descent. The cold here was relatively sharper, albeit irrelenant to the Warrior as his armor offered body warmth system. Below the deadly cliff they stood upon were countless ice spikes large enough to impale a man. And beyond that a frozen lake went as far as the eye could track, leading up to the enormous ice mountains on the horizon.

Galad made a gesture towards the beautiful scene, covering the sizeable region from one edge to the other with the back of his palm. "You shall know that through suffering, may it be physical or otherwise, comes true strength. You will learn in this parkour." He once again turned to face him, crimson gaze staring into the soul of the young man. "Are you ready then?"

 

[Braden]

Braden rose as requested, the man's armour only added to his powerful presence. He followed him to the edge of the cliff, the sight was both awe inspiring and terrifying and the fact that he was now about to traverse this only added to both feelings. His cloak continued to flap in the wind, underneath he only wore a thick tunic and leggings he had known that day he would need the flexibility the tunic offered compared to a thicker and warmer set of clothes. He would need to keep moving to warm. He had one hand on his family sword, his thumb rolling across one of the large jewels in the hilt.

"I am ready. Will I have need for this?" He motioned to the blade.

 

[Galad J. Victus]

Galad viewed the richly decorated blade with close interest as the acolyte motioned to it. It was much like in looks to the one he used to own, the Nepos heirloom. Galad had been fighting with blades long before he even saw a lightsaber and seeing one now brought back memories. Smiling to himself under the helmet, he answered. "Keep it. You may have need of it yet."

He walked away from the cliff and the acolyte upon it, going back down the way they just climbed up. Now Drake was standing in between the Crusader and the peak. Galad stood silent for a moment, before commanding with a calm voice.

"Jump." Pausing to let that sink in, he then added. "You will have to make a good leap to fly over those spikes and land unto the frozen lake. Try not to die." Not only that, Braden would need the help of pure luck so that the thin ice would hold on once he landed on it. Galad awaited in amusement as to see how would his student react to this gamble.

 

[Braden]

Braden nodded and tightened his belt holding his sword in place, he watched as the black clad master walked back down the slope raising his eyebrows as he continued to walk. 'Jump' he did say jump, turning back to look over the caesium, he hesitated. Was this is a test, to see if he would do what he asked or was this really his challenge. The comment about the spikes and lake convinced him that this wasn't a joke. Peering out ahead of him he could see that the gap itself was not something manageable by the force of his legs on its own, he needed to use the force to help him not become a skewer. He had heard, read and seen a force jump. But he had never done one himself, he needed to focus his energy, his anger.

Taking a deep breath in, he slowly channeled the force into his legs, taking a few steps back he flexed his legs. Then he went, five big strides and he was at the edge. A final push and he leapt clear of the cliff, jumping further than he ever had before. The force propelling him through the sky.

 

[Galad J. Victus]

Galad patiently observed as the student obeyed his command. After a brief pause of preperation, the young man did as he was told, performing an impressive leap through the air with the obvious aid of the Force. Not only this was a demonstration of natural skill, also Drake's self-confidience and willingness to take risks. Galad walked back up the cliff and halted at the peak, having a better view of the acolyte who had launched the training set before him.

Braden had made a good start. But what Galad had for him in mind was far more than a simple jump. Crusader watched with no motion as to see if the unreliable frozen lake would hold the young man upon hitting the ground. Depending on the answer would come the next trial for him. Either way, nothing easy awaited Braden.