Focused Transformations

[Omnis]

Participants: Sari'ndia, Viole Nivar, Kirik Ak'Thaar

---

Deep within the gut of a Korriban mountain, connected to the expansive Sith Academy, a new complex awaited the students of Crusader Nox's next class. The complex was tall, wide, and held many rooms and chambers. Each training room was dynamic, varied from all of the others. Some were multi-layered, others were one floor. The Noghri had built the complex himself, all to his design, with the help of some droid labor.

Today, Nox waited in the antechamber of the complex. It was a large atrium, with a tall domed ceiling. The room was dominated by earthen tones, carved almost exclusively of stone with sparse wooden supports stretching like webs over the room's extreme boundaries. The floor was one smooth stone surface, rippled in pattern like marble. Tall columns reached up to the edges of the dome that sat over the center of the atrium, implacable and surfaced the same way as the floor.

The students might have expected Nox to be waiting with something related to the ability they were to learn. A metal cage to electrify, or geared pylons to charge up. Instead, the room was empty save for the Crusader himself. He waited in the center of the room, hands folded behind his back, silent until all of his students arrived.

 

[Vexillar]

Viole was once again being trained by Nox. He was going to learn more secrets of the Force, specifically the basis for a power to be discovered later on. He did not go with the expectation of mastery, he never did. That was just foolish. He barely went there with the expectation to understand it. He was attending this class to set a foundation. He would learn what he could, and then he'd move on. Even though that's where his acceptance bar was set, he would hold himself to a higher standard. He would either be able to perform this ability, even in the smallest amount, by the end of the class, or he would die trying. That was his usual attitude. Failure was never an option for him. He had come too far, done too much as Nox was always fond of reminding him, to just roll over and accept defeat now. So no. Even this ability, as challenging as it may be, would not get the best of him. He would overcome it, or he would overcome it. Those were the only two options. Viole walked with purpose across the sands of Korriban to the training room Nox used. He wore just a simple black tunic and pants with brown sandals today. He figured there would be no point in dressing up for this session, especially since he could already smell burning flesh and cloth. The smell kind of made him sickly, but he'd have to deal with it.

He walked into the room, the first one there it seemed, and bowed deeply before Nox as he always did. He approached the Crusader but stopped a respectable distance away. He neither meditated, nor kneeled. He didn't say a word. He merely waited to be told what to do.

 

[Omnis]

"Viole Nivar," Nox spoke, turning to look at his student. It seemed the others wouldn't show. "It is well to see you again. Before we begin, assume a meditative position. I will be spending some time lecturing, so you will need time to rest your body and prepare your mind."

The Crusader himself slowly drifted to the floor, the base of his cloak spreading out around him. He fell into a lotus position, hands resting on his knees, palms up, with fingers spread apart. Sparks began to dance between his fingers, not even so powerful as to crackle but instead sizzling. The little sparks glowed red, raising faint tones of fire upon the bare surface of Nox's mask.

"Using the Force to create sparks is the easiest, safest way to learning how to harness Dark Side energy for lightning. As you may know, Lightning can be very dangerous to manifest and takes exceptional mastery in order to control effectively, let alone safely. There are many practitioners that have paralyzed or permanently maimed themselves in the attempt. I teach my students to manifest sparks so that their transition into wielding lightning can be smoother.

Even transforming Dark Side energy into sparks is difficult. Electricity is a violent, unstable, and rapidly changing form of energy. Channeling the energy into your body for the technique is easy enough. Transforming it outside of your body is the difficult part. You will need most of your focus there. First, focus on a single point. Be it above a finger or in the center of your hand. Create a sort of cage of energy there, a barrier which can be filtered into but not out of. This will serve as a temporary shield and learning curve.

Next, begin channeling energy through your arm towards the cage. Before it builds up too much, focus on transferring that energy through the air into that cage. Fill it as much as possible, continue building that energy, and don't stop. You can fit more in there, as the Force is not limited by the physical convention of space. Keep going.

Now, stop taking in energy and focus instead on what you have built up. Feel that energy without letting it go. Look in without touching, without creating a space for that energy to leave. Focus, then imbue that energy with chaos and violence. There is no need to create a storm, internally, but instead just enough to make the energy move around quickly and erratically. Once you think you have it, feed it with your anger, break the barrier, and let the spark pop."

 

[Vexillar]

Viole sat down as instructed. His legs crossed and he held his palms face up. His shoulders relaxed greatly as he let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding onto. He allowed the words of his teacher to flow through him. He listened intently, and focused on the task at hand. It sounded simple when spoken of, but he knew better. He was completely aware of the fact that though this was just a foundation, it would be difficult to utilize. He was prepared for the injuries he would sustain throughout this practice and through future sessions. He looked down to his right hand and took a calming breath, falling into the embrace of the Force around him. He drank deeply of it's power allowing it to fill his limbs. He used this power to do as he was told and he built a cage on the palm of his hand. He focused his power there, allowing the Force to keep in whatever was to go inside. He willed the power to allow nothing to escape it's confines. He continued with Nox's instructions, allowing his power to fill the space inside. He could feel the energy traveling down his arm and into his hand, he could feel the build up of power in that small space. It was as if the rest of his body simply wasn't there. He was only focused on this task. As he felt the power filling the space he had created, it was indeed proven true that the Force isn't limited by space in the physical sense of the word. He fit in more than should have been able to fit, and he let it keep growing until Nox said otherwise.

When he stopped, he could feel the pressure inside his sphere. It was like a balloon that was filled with an impossible amount of air, waiting, begging, to be allowed to burst. The neutral energies inside the sphere held no properties, no chaos, no strife and discord. He changed that, slowly. He began to channel his darkness into the energy. He willed the energy to become frantic, wild. He could feel it raging against it's container. He felt the power desperately trying to escape, but Viole wouldn't allow it. He kept it under lock and key. It was a bit difficult to control the power, admittedly, but he managed. He then watered his creation with his anger, with his rage and suffering, he broke down the barrier but rather than a spark that leaped outwards or in a controlled manager. His hand merely seized up for a moment as the blue energy raced across it's surface. He gritted his teeth through the pain, and though it lasted for but a moment it hurt like hell. He shook his hand out trying to regain the feeling there. It took a few seconds but eventually he had feeling, albeit it was a tad numb. He probably couldn't properly hold anything in his hand at that moment, as he wouldn't have been able to feel it's weight. Luckily, he didn't need to hold anything. He refrained from scowling at his hand and instead looked to Nox. "This one will do better..."

 

[Omnis]

"Yes, you will." Nox agreed. Turning his head, Nox lifted his arm out to his side and opened his hand. A flash and a crack announced the bolt that followed after, which struck out across the room and vanished at a point near one of the chamber's doors. Turning back, Nox lowered his arm.

"You thought about yourself in that moment rather than your target." Nox said, explaining it without disappointment tinging his voice. "A mistake, but common enough. Only focus on your creation long enough to make it. Don't dwell on it. Once you have a target, focus on that instead and let fly immediately. That is the reason most practitioners of the technique use sudden bursts rather than holding onto crackling tendrils of energy and building it up. It is easier to let fly like a gun, rather than hold the explosive power at bay."

Nox held up his hand up before his chest, summoned a small ball of electricity, and flattened his fingers. The spark traveled forward slowly, smoothly as if on a track. The closer it got to Viole, the lower it descended until it was about level with the Miralukan's face. Then, finally, it popped a few inches from his nose. The energy did not strike out at him, though, and he was left with nothing more than a quick startle.

"When you let go of that cage, make sure you are giving the spark a direction. A target, if you can."

 

[Vexillar]

Viole nodded at the man's words. Focus on the target, let fly, like a gun. He understood his mistake and he would correct it. He needed a target...He needed someone to think about. His mind drifted away to think about his slaver' right hand man. A green Rodian who didn't speak much, but he knew how to crack a whip like it was nobody's business. He left Viole alone a lot of the time, unless he was up for a fight. He was always the first to put Viole down, always the first to strike him for performing badly, and always the first to beat him down if he cost the man his credits. Viole focused on these memories as he picked up the lesson again. He controlled his breathing for am moment as he summoned the energy into his arm and materialized it on the palm of his hand. He felt it growing there again. The scars on his back seemed to come alive inside of him, they whispered into his ear, telling him to go forward, push more and more. Each one reminded him of what he had 'done wrong', and each one was a memory he was determined to shock. When he had the power in the palm of his hand, he allowed this memory's emotions to flood his system. The power became erratic, and in that moment one particular scar burned harshly on his flesh.

It was a scar he had across his inner thigh. The Rodian had been incredibly intoxicated that night, as Viole had actually won a match. All that meant was that the Rodian wouldn't beat him after the fight, but a few of them took a jab or two when the Hutt wasn't watching. Viole was in the middle of patching up his fellow slaves when the Rodian came in. He waved his vibroknife around and ordered all the slaves out except for Viole.

That's all he cared to remember. He didn't want to remember anymore. The power danced above his palm. He stood slowly, and held his hand out to face a wall. You're alive...I'll kill you one day... He thought as he broke down the walls that kept the energy inside. The minute the energy even had a little bit of leeway, it broke free. A small blue arc of energy raced out but died less than a foot away from Viole. He shook his hand as he had received a fair amount of stinging from the ability himself. He rubbed his hand gently and took a breath, regulating his emotions that swelled up inside of him. He wasn't even close to done, not by his standards. As far as he was concerned all he had managed to do is move a pebble. That was unacceptable to him. He stood there and did it again. Cafe, focus, energy, shoot. The process was coming more natural to him, a sign of his innate ability to quickly pick things up, but that didn't mean the actual power was getting any better. And it showed signs of improvement, but the byproduct was still the same. His hand was taking a beating. It took him a little bit longer each time to recover. Even going as far as to smack his hand to life again.

 

[Omnis]

"Push that feeling away from yourself," Nox commented as Viole smacked his own hand. "The Dark Side is just as eager to consume you as your target. The hatred that causes you to target an enemy with violent energy, with an attack both devastating and torturous, must be comprehended wholly within the one you intend to harm. If there is any chance for the Dark Side to lash back at you, it will. It's not a conscious decision on the part of the Force, but a law of its nature."

Reaching out, the Noghri channeled a much larger blast of lightning through his entire arm. The blast arced off of his outstretched limb like crashing waves, harmlessly rebounding off of one of the room's pillars and dissipating in the air with loud snarls. The room smelled strongly of ozone thereafter, but the most striking sense was that of the heavy hatred bearing down upon them intangibly as Nox's anger made itself known through the Force.

"There is more danger to learning this than the expected backfire of its painful energies. The technique requires such singular focus that a Sith can become blinded by their own emotions, unable to perceive anything outside of their target. The inability to perceive their surroundings can get them killed."

 

[Vexillar]

Singular focus...that was something Viole was actually very skilled at. Something that Nox would most likely remember from their first mission together. Viole had a tendency to get caught up on a single topic, thought, idea, and become consumed by it. He took a breath once more. He followed the required steps again and formed the cage for the power. He began to focus once more on his 'target' He looked at the wall, but what he saw was the man from before. He left his emotions build up, just as instructed, and when the power was just about to backfire he released it. He held onto that pain, that anger, his scar was on fire, and his mind was filled with determination. The energy arc from his hand outwards towards the wall. It didn't go far, but it was a significant improvement over the previous attempt. He took a moment to collect himself before repeating the process. Something that he figured Nox would be well accustomed to him doing. Viole didn't settle for 'good enough' he kept at it until he had it down, until it was something he could do relatively close to on command. His determination drove him to go two more times, and while the length of the spark didn't increase it's power did showing he at least had the creation aspect of it fairly close to down packed. When he was done, he looked at his hand. It was having some spasms. He held him to try and keep it still, but he could still feel the muscles contracting. Nothing serious, probably just a side effect from using the ability for the first time. He would ignore it and look back to his mentor, silently awaiting further instruction.

 

[Omnis]

"If you are having trouble getting your energy across more distance," Nox began, noticing Viole's failings and successes easily. "Extend your thoughts to the end of the pathways. Sense where the next easiest pathways are, then try directing your energy there. Remember that the electricity wants to find the easiest way to ground, but the paths of least resistance are not always obvious."

To illustrate his point, Nox raised his hand to the sky. More lightning writhed away from his limb, splashing against the ceiling harmlessly. The stream of energy grew from his arm in what appeared to be stages, arcing out and back in repeatedly. The distance to the ceiling was much greater, but Nox had no problem reaching it.

Turning back to Viole, Nox nodded.

"Test the technique, if you wish. Your hand or arm may be experiencing some issues by now, though, and pushing yourself runs the risk of longer term damage."