Past time (Zereth Lancer - Complete)

[Je'gan Olra'en]

An unseasonably cold wind rustled the leaves of a small tree at the edge of the training grounds, cooling the sweat on Je'gan's face and hands. For the last hour, he'd been honing his mastery of Form II in self-assembled katas, preset series of moves. There was another name for them, one used by Jedi, but he couldn't recall what it was. In any case, he was quite good at them, especially for one of his young age.

And therein lay the heart of the problem with his newest possible Apprentice, the one who should be showing up within the next few minutes. Zereth Lancer, ninja extraordinaire, had a good ten years on Je'gan, and was a capable Forcewielder already due to Salem Ave's tutelage and some personal experimentation. The fact remained, though, that Je'gan had gotten the luck of the draw when it came to Masters - Jodah of Giva, Oolana Taine, and finally Southstar - and had trained with every bit of Lancer's dedication to boot. After roughly half of the time Lancer had put into the disciplines of the Sith, Southstar had declared Je'gan ready to be made a Sith Knight.

At the time, he hadn't felt ready. The sum total of his skills had been fencing (half-adapted to Form II), an impressive level of Teras Kasi expertise, physical enhancement, sensing intelligence and Force manifestations, mind tricks, minor telekinesis and making small objects explode. It wasn't an inconsiderable arsenal, but on top of having his own Apprentices, he'd worked hard to make himself what he thought a Sith Knight should be anyways. After the fact, so to speak. Illusions enough to change his appearance or make himself invisible, mind control and alteration, Shadowart, Force Confusion and Force Blindness, minor energy manipulation and even experimentation with other forms of lightsaber combat to cope with this galaxy's overdose of blaster weaponry; he was now well and truly a Sith Knight.

Accepting that hadn't come easily to Lancer, who'd ambushed him on a Coruscant rooftop. Their duel, while vicious, had culminated in a truce of sorts, and Je'gan had offered to train Lancer to the level of Sith Knight. Lancer had deferred, claiming other matters to attend to. Many things had happened since then: Je'gan had altered his own mind substantially, just for one.

But the offer remained, and this cold afternoon he would see if Lancer was interested enough to show up. Magor, his curved Form II lightsaber, hung deactivated in his hand as he turned his face towards the tree and listened for footsteps. It was always interesting to try to hear someone who was practiced at making no noise, the same as it was interesting to try to sense the presence of one who could effectively nullify their Force signature. Je'gan could do the latter with a certain effort, but he envied Lancer his mastery of self. He didn't enhance his hearing (that was cheating) and of course he didn't try to sense the ninja's presence.

Ah...that should be him now...

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth had been without a master for a long time and at this point would take anyone as his master but when Je'gan had offered to take him he hesitated greatly, He had hated the young man since he had came to the order, mostly because of all the times he had come to recue Zereth from all the situations that would have gotten himself killed

But his past life of hate and anger was changed when he was defeated by Je'gan and with his new look on things had seen that he could not have had a better master then the one who had beaten him when all others could not and opened his eyes to see that he was not the best out there

Now Zereth crept along the shadows without a noise, He was wearing his leather ninja garb with the lower half of his face covered by a cloth and his Katana on his back and his shuriken on his legs

As he neared the training grounds he doubled his stealth and masked his presence in the force, it was weak and any force user that was sencing for him would sence him easily but he used it anyways. He neared a corned of the sith palace and slowly peered around it to see Je'gan standing alone

He crept forward using the force to pull the shadows around him so that even in lighter shadows he'd be harder to see. when he came to the end of the shadow he steped out in a way that would make an average person think he had come from nowhere but he knew Je'gan would be watching for him "Good day Je'gan." He said bowing a little to the knight.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan blinked as Lancer seemed to appear from nowhere; reaching out through the Force, he got an idea of what the Apprentice had done with the shadows. Fascinating. It had been too long since he'd found a good trick.

"Good day, Zereth," he replied a split second late, returning the bow. "Neither of us are famous for our patience, so let's dispense with pleasantries and move on.

"You're already a very good fighter, so here's the plan as far as our relationship goes: I'm going to round you out a little, help you with shielding your mind and some other weak points, show you a few hard-to-counter tricks that few people know, and then we become..." He shrugged, hands spread wide. "Training partners, really. You're very, very close behind me, Zereth, and there are a lot of things I can learn from you. In the process, I plan to teach you energy manipulation, improved illusions, specialized lightsaber combat, and mind control. By the time we're done, I guarantee that you'll be able to take on any Knight out there.

"Let's begin. Like most people, you have a natural field of defence around your mind based on how strong your willpower is. This is why the famous Mind Trick only works well on the weak-minded. Sith mental techniques, and mine in particular, are more, shall we say, direct than the Jedi Mind Trick. It becomes easier to affect even the strongest minds.

"The fact that you are a Forcewielder automatically strengthens those 'shields', but not enough to hold off a determined assault from an experienced practitioner. Simply knowing that they're there helps; it takes the defence of your mind from your unconscious mind and lets you coordinate it with your objectives.

"To stop a really good attack, though, your shields must not only be under conscious control, but you have to have built them up. At beginner levels, that will fade within hours. With enough experience, your shields will always be present at that higher level.

"Reach out through the Force as if you were to sense something, then turn your focus inward until you see yourself, your mind. There should be a layer of something wrapped around it. Can you feel it?"

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth knew he wasnt all that good when it came to force sencing but he'd give it his best all the same. He closed his eyes and called the force to him and then used to see for him. at first everything was blury and dark but slowly bacame more clear and lighter

He could see the ground, trees and even Je'gan with the force. He then consentrated on seeing himself, it was dificult but he managed to do to it after a minute

He was amazed at what he found inside himself, He had expected to see a great big powerful barrier protecting his mind but He only saw was a thin barrier and didn't look very strong I guess my minds defence is not as good as I thought it would be he thought for a moment

"Ok, Je'gan.... I see it."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan took a deep breath and nodded.

"Sense how it interacts with your mind. Then remove it, completely and utterly."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth was slightly shocked at his request, The thought of lowering his defence made him uneasy but he knew he must do it. He watched the barrier for a moment more before he consentrated

He used his mind to picture the barrier not being there, It was a weak way to go about it but the only way he could do well. After a moment the barrier came down "Ok, Je'gan" He said cooly even though he was fearful of what might happen without the barrier up.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Uncomfortable, isn't it, now that you know you're vulnerable? Very well..." He waited for a slow three-count. "Replace them, thicker and stronger than they were."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth didn't know if he could accomplish such a task but he would try. He consentrated more and thought of the Barreir being there again but he pictured it being bigger. as he thought his consentration seemd to start slipping, He was coming out of his inner sence from consentrating too much on other things

He tried his best to do both things at the same time and managed to replace t he barrier but it wasnt that much bigger then it had been origanly but he felt good in knowing the fact that his defence was back up and stronger then before "I managed to increase its strength but not by a large amount."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

A slight skittering sensation ran through Zereth as Je'gan probed the shields. Not many mistakes there at all, and most could be attributed to the difficulties of doing two things at the same time. The rest, of course, would be hammered out eventually.

He explained this to Zereth and gestured to a pair of head-sized stones. "I'd like you to try levitating those, one after the other. Hold them five feet high for thirty seconds, then drop them."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth nodded his head and moved closer to the stones. He was good with telekenesis when it came to lifting single objects but he had more trouble with multiple objects

He focused and drew the force around one of the stones and lifted it up off the ground, He raised his hand as the stone raised, He then split he focus to the second stone and did the same thing as he did with the first one

The second rock lifted off the ground and Zereth raised his other hand as it raised. He then moved them to what he thought was five feet and held them there

His consentration was already starting to wain and his arms where getting tired. But he kept it on but he couldn't count at the same time I hope Je'gan says when I cna drop tem becuase I have no idea how much time as passed he thought as the stones started to shake and wobble in the air.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

He gritted his teeth against the impulse to instantly correct Zereth. With sore arms, the ninja would get his eventual point far faster.

"Drop them," he said finally, the thirty seconds having just finished. "Good job. One thing that may help; you're not using your body, you're using your mind. Your hands may help you focus, but they are not being used to do the work. Period.

"Give it another try. Remember that the Force should be taking the load, and all you need to concentrate on is bending the Force to your will."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth stood up strait, He closed his eyes and brough his hands up to his face, His right hand closed exept for the index and middle finger which where a few inches away from the middle of his face and his left hand held onto the lower half and wrist of his right hand, It was a meditation stance he had devoloped by mixing Force meditation with that of Ninja meditation, it centered his consentration and cleared his head of unwanted things. He had not wanted to use it before in fear that Je'gan would disaprove of it

He could see the stones in his mind and he took the force again and swirled it around the rocks like he had before and then moved it under the rocks and pushed them up. They moved up to five feet and stoped. He held them there with more ease then before

He thought it funny that his ninja training had come in handy so many times with his Force training.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Good, very good. Interesting focus position. I assume you're fully mobile from it? Able to strike if necessary?"

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth didn't move exept for his lips as he spoke "I am able to move at any moment but my consentration might be broken if I stay out of the stance for too long" He said as he used the force to float a suriken from its place and into the air near his hands

With lightning fast speed he grabed the knife with his right hand and threw it sideways toward a tree, a leave had fallen off it and the suriken pinned it to the trunk of the tree. Zereth opened his eyes now and looked over at Je'gan for aprroval.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

He got it.

"Well," the Sith Knight said with eyebrow raised, "excellent aim, excellent reflexes - bordering on prescience, perhaps? - and the two rocks barely wobbled."

He didn't look away from Zereth, but suddenly the shuriken was in his hand. His telekinesis had been good; the skin was barely scored by impact with the throwing star.

He held it up, flipping it between thumb and forefinger. "You've got one-directional things down pat. What else can you do with this? Spirals, maybe? Can you hold it with sufficient strength to stop a sword between these tines?"

The shuriken hissed through the air towards Zereth at the exact same speed with which the ninja had propelled it. If Zereth was as good as Je'gan thought, he wouldn't get hurt. If he wasn't...well, it would only hit him in the arm. And if the ninja was really living up to expectations, the rocks would stay in midair.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth eyes closed yet again, He could sence the suriken speeding toward him, He split He jumped into the air and twisted so that he was sideways, he felt the suriken fly under him and he started to decend and landed on the ground

One of th rocks had gone a little lower but Zereth quickly put it back up to where it had been as he resumed the stance he had been using.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Now move the rocks around. Be creative."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth nodded his head slowly before he reached out with the force once again and making one of the stones spin where it was and the other circle around the first stone.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Good, good. Now add another rock. That rock." The small boulder he pointed to was easily twice as big as the first two put together.

"Remember...mass is irrelevant. The Force can do anything."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth found the rock through the force and started to lift it up, He pictured it in his mind as not being bigger or heavier then the first two. It rose from the grounds and moved toward Him

He made the larger rock stand still and the smaller ones revolve around it almost like a planet and its moons.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

He took several steps back away from Zereth, nodding in approval the whole time.

"Excellent. Now, using only those rocks, block your shuriken."

Behind Zereth, the shuriken levitated and flung itself at him, full speed.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth insticts told him to move and dodge it but he resisted them and moved the stones to his side, He kept the large rock in place next to him and the smalled stones spinning around it like before but much faster

The shuriken few toward the stones and connected with on the smaller ones, the shuriken bounced off doing nothing but dulling its edge. Zereth moved the stones away from himself and kept them floating, but not doing anything special. He started to feel the strain of being in his meditation trance for so long, he could hold on long but he didn't know how long.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Drop the rocks over there." He pointed to a small hollow about twenty metres away.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth moved the rocks around and started them toward the hollow, as the stones grew farther away theu started shaking and losing or gaining heighth. He finaly managed to get them into the hollow

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and turned to face Je'gan.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"I don't want you worked into the ground, so we'll take a short break. I'll see you here in, say, twenty minutes."

[Zereth Lancer]

"Very well" Zereth said bowing beofre turning around and heading back toward the palace, He went to his room and layed down on the mat on the floor that served as his bed

He soon got up again and headed back toward the training grounds. He arrived shortly and headed back to the spot him and Je'gan had been at before.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Punctually done, Je'gan saw. Nice to have another dutiful student.

"Feel rested?" he asked benignly, putting a hand to his lightsaber.

[Zereth Lancer]

"A bit" Zereth said noting where Je'gan hand was "What shall we be doing next?"

OOC: Sorry for taking so long to post, Been busy... And I won't be on very often...

[Je'gan Olra'en]

OOC/ No problem a'tall.

IC/ A quick twist of the fingers sent Magor arcing straight for Zereth.

"Take a wild guess..."

He pulled Azubah and ignited it.

"Let's see how well your swordsmanship really transfers to the lightsaber. And after all, not many Jedi use anything else..."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth caught the thrown lightsabre, He looked it over for a moment before streching his arm out and igniting it "This would be my first time weilding a lightsabre but that dosnt meen you have to go easy" He said with a little smile

He held his lightsabre infront of himself with his right leg forward and his left leg back more.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"At this stage of the game, one has to go easy. The lightsaber is dangerous to use. There's a switch near the butt of yours. Flip it."

Je'gan flipped the appropriate contact on his own weapon, putting his left foot at right angles to his right, with the right forward. His left hand lifted behind his head for balance.

"And then begin."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth activated the switch and moved toward Je'gan, He circled around the younger sith. He suddenly dashed forward but stoped short of the knight and fliped into the air and slashed at Je'gan's head.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

He dropped, one knee going to his chest and the other shooting out to the side as he spun. Zereth's strike sizzled above his head, and as the ninja touched down, Je'gan's spin transformed itself into a rising roundhouse kick.

[Zereth Lancer]

The kick caught Zereth in the back and knocked his forward. He turned and moved toward his oppenent again but this time he went strait at Je'gan

He brought his sabre up and brought it down, but it came short of Je'gan, He thrusted it forward then, a normal oppenent would have blocked high for the faked attack and then been gutted but the following one

Zereth knew he had a low chance of getting this move to work on Je'gan but he tried it anyways.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

His saber rose, horizontal, to block, and stopped too late to adjust to the feint. Nodding congratulations, Je'gan spun a full cicle and, as Zereth's saber hissed past his back, slashed down to strike Magor's blade just above the hilt. His back leg straightened abruptly and threw him at his Apprentice; meanwhile, his left elbow came up, aimed for Zereth's solar plexus.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth bent forward and twisted his body so that Je'gan elbow hit the back of his shoulder instead of his chest, He brought his hand up from his sabre and threw it at Je'gan's chest.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The blow knocked Je'gan back a few steps, and almost off-balance. Within a split second, however, he'd recovered his footing and stabbed at Zereth's left shoulder - a feint for the real attack, a stab to the gut.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth brought his sabre up to block the attack and didn't see it was a feint until Je'gan's real attack was headed for his stomach. He turned his body away from the sabre

He jumped back and looked down at the burned flesh where the blade had nicked his body. He put a look of suprise to fool Je'gan before launching his body toward the knight with his sabre swinging verticaly.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Magor's tip dipped to the left, rose, and guided Zereth's strike over Je'gan's head. The Knight stepped in and, with his left hand, launched a quick, hard chop for his Apprentice's solar plexus.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth swiveled his body again so that Je'gan's attack hit his shoulder again, but having the same place his again hurt more then the first time

He thought that Je'gan might think he would use the same responce as last time so he kicked out his foot at Je'gan's instead of punching at his chest.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Good!"

He leaned sharply back, maintaining saber contact and skipping his front foot around Zereth's kick to launch a snapkick of his own at the inside of the ninja's knee...from point-blank range.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth bent forward as Je'gan's foot hit his knee as he moved his brought his fist out and launched it at Je'gans' chest while keeping Je'gan's sabre locked with his.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

His foot came back down to give him a solid base; his left hand came up and caught the punch, twisting it back towards Je'gan's left side.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth let out a low growl as his attack failed again for for something a bit risky he thought to himself as he started his next attack. They sabres where still locked together and Zereth now held onto teh hand that had blocked his attack, this left Je'gan's middle open for the moment

He launched his left knee so that it was comin up and toward Je'gan's stomach.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Short of bringing both their lightsabers down and amputating his Apprentice's leg, there was really nothing he could do to stop Zereth's knee.

He took the impact, and took it hard. As he doubled over, though, he half-turned to the side and threw Zereth over his head.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth fliped through the air and landed on his feet a yard or two from Je'gan. He turned and brought his sabre up and held it in both hands and waited for Je'gan to make the next move.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

...which he did.

The Sith Knight shifted his focus, if not his gaze, and blew a fist-sized rock behind Zereth's feet to pieces. Shrapnel might induce a few cuts, but that wasn't his purpose in making the stone explode. It was, in fact, a stellar distraction.

He step-lunged, a straight attack that nevertheless had a twist. All through the lunge, the tip of his blade was dipping and yawing like a wild thing, moving in tiny circles and semi-circles designed to evade blocking.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth was only disctracted for a moment as pain went through his back. when he saw Je'gan wild attack heading his way he knew he only had one chance

He jumped over Je'gan and landed behind him but to far to strike at. He turned and crouched low with his sabre held infront of his face and ready to block.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan spun on his heel, saber still raised and humming viciously. "Evasion is a tiring game," he snarled, "a bad tactic in the grand scheme. You could have used the energy of that Force-jump to knock me over, or create a minor illusion. Why didn't you?"

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth smiled a little "I had a trick up my sleeve that I was going to use and not attacking you was all part of the trap" He said still in his crouched position "I'm sure of you had attacked instead of talked I'm sure you would have fallen into it."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"You talk too much when you fight. Recoiling from years of ninja silence, I take it?"

He advanced with a whipping slash at Lancer's midsection.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth backed up a bit and angled his sabre to block the incoming attack. but just as Je'gan sabre was about to hit his Zereth turned it off and Je'gan's sabre went past and if the sabre continued its path Zereth would have a clean shot at Je'gan's side

This trick might have thrown Je'gan's balance off but it might not have. Zereth reactivated his sabre and thrusted it toward the boy.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

...whose blade dipped down, rocketed Zereth's saber off to the right, and flashed up for a cautionary slash past his Apprentice's throat.

"If that was your little trick, keep in mind that a fencer applies very little more than the wrist and forearm to a strike. Getting one's foe to overbalance might work with others, though. Good try."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth nodded his head in aknoledgement of his mistake. He backed up and held his sabre with the tip to the ground "Shall we continue?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"No. At least, not us, but definitely you. Let's work on your Sense skills, shall we?"

He took a tiny metal taper from somewhere in his cloak and threw it into the air. It hovered, orienting itself to point at Zereth.

"This is a training remote. It's a good deal faster and quieter than other remotes, and it only has one needlebeam."

He tossed a blindfold at his Apprentice.

"Put this on. It'll begin when you salute-" he flicked his blade up in front of his face, then down "-like so. Don't destroy it."


OOC/ The remote's under your control.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth tied the blindfold on his face and flicked his blade as Je'gan had and the remote started moving. It moved from side to side and up and down as it watched Zereth through its sensor eye

Zereth on the otherhand was listening. the remote made almost no sound and for a normal person it would extremely hard to pinpoint the location of the remote. the first shot was fired and using just his hightened sences and blocked the shot with his sabre

Then the remote speeded up and became to hard for Zereth to track with his sences. A shot was fired and Zereth brought his sabre up to his left shoulder but the shot hit him below the shoulderblade on his back

It stung a bit but otherwise the the remote's laser did nothing. Zereth then reached out with the force to sence the remote. He wasnt too good at it but when combine with his already good sences he could feel th remote's movement

He spun and brought his sabre up just it time to fend off the next shot. The remote started firing more often and Zereth continued to block but shots still got through his defence.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Pause," Je'gan said sharply, and the remote complied. The Sith Knight circled his Apprentice with hands clasped behind his back, examining Zereth's stance critically, probing with both eyes and the Force.

"You need to learn to trust your instincts." His voice was critical but not overly so, even as he fished another part of his sensory-deprivation kit from a pouch. The earplugs hovered before Zereth's face.

"Put these earplugs in, and then continue."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth reached out and grabed the ear plugs after sencing that they where there with the force first. He inserted them into his ears and instantly his sence of hearing was gone

He saluted again and the remote started moving again. Zereth now was relying on the force as he guide then before. He could feel its movements through the force and when it fired he defty blocked it. it was strange for Zereth since he had been using his own insticts almost his entire life

He blocked another shot and then the remote become more tricky. It moved and stoped as if it was going to shoot and then suddenly as Zereth was brining his sabre up to block, it darted to the right and fired and went right past Zereth's guard and hit him on the leg

He growled and become more alert. and reflected the droids next shot and when the droid tried its trick again Zereth was ready for it and blocked it.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The rate of fire began to increase.

[Zereth Lancer]

THe remote suddenly fired off three shots, each aim for a different location. Zereth brought his sabre up to block the first, then to the side to block the second, but the third one hit him on the shoulder

When the droid stoped to fire another burst Zereth blocked the first and then bent twisted his body to avoid the second and lowerd his sabre to block the third shot that was aimed for his thigh.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan spoke in Zereth's mind, rather than shout to overcome the earplugs. Do you think you're ready to face three remotes? Or would it help if they were seekers with full-power weapons?

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth wasn't one to take the easy path. He had always enjoyed taking the hardest task so that his skills could be put to the max "Send the Seekers" He said without a revealing any of the fear and ecitement that was mixed up inside him.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

He nodded approvingly, disappeared for a minute, then reappeared with the dull grey spheres in either hand. They rose into the air...and the remote remained.

You'll have to try to sense which bolts will cause you damage, he explained. You can safely let some of the remote's fire through in a pinch.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth was now intune with the force and could feel its dark energy flowing through his body. He could feel the Seekers and the remote, aswell as Je'gan. but he stoped thinking about Je'gan and centered his sences on the machines

One seeker moved to his right, the other to his left and the remote was between the two. They each fired one at a time and Zereth reached by bringing his sabre around and blocking the first and and the second and the third which was the remotes shot, hit him on the forehead

He glowled and his anger increased and the darkside filled him more. The next volley Zereth deftly block "Faster!" He ordered without thinking and the Machines sped up their fire rate

The shot where flying everywhere and Most of the block, others dodged, but there where a few that skinned his arms and legs but this just further enrage the allready angry Sith

With Force increased speed He was blocking and dodging more shots and almost none hit him anymore. He started to weaken and slow since the force boosting had taken alot of energy to use.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The Sith Knight's voice began to rumble in a low, hypnotic monotone that penetrated Zereth's battle rage.

"You have exhausted yourself, my apprentice...you are utterly spent...you are about to lose, and the seekers will kill you, strike you down in testament to your failure..." The purpose, of course, was to goad him on to further endurance, but also to test how well he took psychological influence.

Yet, being a test, it was nonetheless true that the seekers might very well kill the embattled ninja.

[Zereth Lancer]

As a seekers shot got through Zereth's guard and hit him on the should His anger was now was at a stage it had never gone before. The red glow in his eyes had grown as he grew more angry and was now as his anger hit its unltimate peak his eyes where covered in the red glow and almost looked as if his eyes where on fire

He let out load roar and brought his sabre up and blocked the incoming shots with lightning speed. The sabre whiped around as it block more shots and his body moved faster then it had ever before as he dodged the incoming fire .

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Control your rage!"

Je'gan's anger was fake; again, a test. But one couldn't have told it from his face.

[Zereth Lancer]

Je'gan's words made no sence to Zereth, if I let the one thing keeping me alive to leave me then I will surely die here...

He started thinking on other things then anger and the rage started to drain from his body and with it the energy that was sustaning him. He soon was having trouble blocking the shots and they where getting closer and closer to hitting him.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Use it, but control it! Your'e overcompensating!

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth brought his sabre up to block a shot that would have hit him head 'I can't keep this up much longer" He said before blocking another shot and moving out of the way of another.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

With a quick teleknietic touch, the seekers disengaged and flew back to Je'gan's open palms. Disappointment was evident on the Knight's face as he regarded Zereth.

It appears that you're not ready for this, Zereth. Keep trying with the remote only. The task at hand is to keep anger burning, but no so that it overcomes you. Rage is effective over the short term, but if you give it free rein it will exhaust you and you will die.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth glared through the blindfold at Je'gan but despite his anger he spoke calmly "Very well."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

It's your body's tolerance to it that we have to build up over the long run. As you fight the remote, hold as much of the Dark Side in you as you can.

[Zereth Lancer]

"I understand" Zereth said as he wiped the sweet off his forehead with his sleeve.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Begin.

The remote rose and began to cicle Zereth. After a moment, it began to fire at a low rate, about once every four seconds, respositioning between most of the shots.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth called on the darkside of the force and let it enter his body, filling him with its energy and then using that energy to sence the remote, His sabre came up and blocked the first shot, dodged the next and brought his sabre down to protect his leg from the shot that would have hit it.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

You're agile. Use that to your advantage.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth was now moving gracefuly as he dodge and blocked the incoming fire. His sabre flew through the air blocking shot after shot. He was now understanding that even though he was strong alone, that with the darkside he was even stronger.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

He nodded approvingly and cut the remote, sending out a lone seeker instead.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth eyed the seeker and for a moment the two didn't move but the remote moved first. it fired a squence of shots and Zereth quickly brought his sabre around and blocked the shots. He was moving fast again, his movements where swift and graceful, just like when he weilded his Katana

He blocked the next two shots, dodged the third by bending backwards and letting it pass over him and brought his sabre up again to block the fourth and fifth.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

WIth an approving nod, he sent out the other seeker.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth watched the the second Seeker joined with the first one. He grinned and waited for them to start firing. He didn't wait long. They started firing in small bursts again. Zereth was blocking and dodging them to the best of his ability

One of the seekers moved around behind him. this might be a problem He thought to himself Or maybe just a better challenge

The positioned his body so his sides where facing the Seekers. He held the sabre loosely in his right hand. The seeker on his right shot first. Zereth brought his sabre up and blocked. then the seeker on his left fired. Zereth brought his sabre around and knocked the shot away

Soon both the seekers where firing rapidly and Zereth was in constant movement as he blocked low left, high right, ducked under a shot, blocked again and backfliped over the last.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

In a split second, both seekers disengaged and Je'gan launched forward, his own blade hissing out in a whipping horizontal slash for Zereth's right hip.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth spun around with his sabre griped firmly in both hands and brought it down ontop of Je'gan's, forcing it down. Zereth jumped back and pulled his sabre back from Je'gan's. He held his sabre front of himself as he waited to see what his young master would do next.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

But this wasn't about what Je'gan did, it was about what Zereth did.

So Je'gan stayed perfectly still, saber pointed down at the ground in front of his feet, black eyes locked on those of his Apprentice.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth watched Je'gans' dark eyes with his firelit eyes. After realizing his master wanted him to attack he jumped forward. His lightsabre slashing verticaly at Je'gan's upper chest.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Good."

Flicking the tip of his lightsaber from left to right, he blasted Zereth's vertical strike off to the side, harmless.

"Give me the saber, and we'll work on something new."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth deactivated the sabre and handed it, pommel first, to Je'gan "And what is it we'll be working on?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

He sighed quietly, teeth bared as the sabers disappeared beneath his cloak.

"Mentalics."

[Zereth Lancer]

"Mentalics?" Zereth repeated Je'gan. The work ment little to him "What exactly is mentalics?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"The art of the mind. My art, Zereth. Making your enemy blind, removing yourself from sight, reading emotions and thoughts and memories, changing thoughts, controlling a sentient being like a puppet...the possibilities are limitless.

"Let's start with the most basic skill of all: mind-linking. Reach out through the Force and feel my mind, the way it works, the way I have it defended. It takes a bit of a different plane of thought than normal Sensing...but you can do it."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth closed his eyes and reached out and touched Je'gan's mind with the force. He consentrated on simply trying to enter the young man's mind. It took him nearly seven minutes before he finaly managed to enter. He couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on inside Je'gan's head "I'm in, I think. So what should I do from here?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

He hadn't wanted to make it any harder for Zereth than he'd actually needed to. In reality, few people alive could penetrate his mind's defences, which had gone down far too fast. But the Apprentice didn't need to know that until he started understanding Je'gan's thoughts. Call it a reward, and call it a test. Je'gan was interested in seeing exactly how his student would react to either.

Well, for one thing, we can talk here, out of reach of any kind of eavesdropping. You don't really need to be this far in for telepathy t work, by the way. From here, you can read thoughts; as we move along, you'll learn to alter them. Not just now, though.

I'm thinking about something, an object. What is it? He focused, with the level of concentration a normal centre of attention would convey, on an ornate crown.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth searched around in Je'gan's mind. after searching for awhile he started to see an image. It was hard to make out but soon grew more clear. "Are you thinking of some sort of crown?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Indeed. Now...I'll think of a sentence, but I won't project it to you.

The greatest asset a Forcewielder can possess is imagination.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth moved around in Je'gan mind. This time he didn't see the words as he had seen the picture. but instead he seemed to hear the words. He listened to the words but could not make them out yet. He consentrated harder on them and then they became clear

"The greatest asset a force wielder can possess in imagination"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Excellent. Now attack my mind, if you please.

Layers of shields snapped into 'existence' between Lancer's probe and the main body of Je'gan's mind.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth looked at the defences. He launched his mind at it. He tried to simply push through the barriers.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

That's the basic way to do it, yes, but remember the old adage: 'strike where your enemy is weak'. Find cracks in my shields, tiny hidden openings. Search for specific modules of thought that you can target: short-term memory, perhaps, or senses. Take in the complexity of mental shielding, the daunting weave of the armour...and then find the chinks. Even I have chinks, I don't doubt. This isn't just a test for you - it helps me find those chinks and plug them.

Please, continue.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth searched the barrier. He looked and looked until he finaly found what he was looking for. A thin crack in the mental shield. Zereth thrusted the blade of his mental self and widened the crack until he was able to enter

He found himself. He found himself in one of the areas that Je'gan has listen. The are of the mind that held short term memory. Zereth was not suprised. Of all the things to guard he expected this area to be considered less important by Je'gan and therfore less protected

He looked around and found Several memories from Je'gan having lunch to calling Zereth to the training grounds.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

A box snapped into being around Lancer's probe. Five-sided, it formed a tunnel that lead back towards the crevice. The side facing the gap was studded with spines and spinning blades. Ensuring that the seams between the sides of the passage were tightly sealed, Je'gan sent the end of the tunnel screaming towards Zereth's probe, bearing enough momentum to push him out unless he resisted. If he resisted, there was a very decent chance that he'd still be pushed out of Je'gan's mind.

Unless, of course, he found a way to defeat the trap.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth saw the wall coming. He hadn't expected this. He watched the wall coming toward him. He treid to gather was strength he had and withstand it. The wall hit him. He placed his his mental hands on the wall and leaned against it. his mental feet skidded on the bottom on the tunnel. Zereth hoped he might be able to stop the wall before it was too late.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Flat resistance won't do it, Zereth. I've got the home field advantage, and you'd have to be considerably better than me to overcome that.

I'll give you a hint. I'm not looking for strength, I'm looking for guile.

[Zereth Lancer]

Guile? Zereth thought How is guile going to help me here? He looked over his shoulder. He didn't have much time before he was pushed back out the very way he came in Je'gan must be mad! I can't see any way to go except out the way I came in.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Hit me someplace else, Zereth.

[Zereth Lancer]

Thoughts raced through Zereth's mind. How was he to hit Je'gan somewhere else? His probe looked around. There was nothing he could do with the things sorounding him. The only thing he could think of was to will he body to move against Je'gan's in hope of distracting him. But Zereth doubted he could do such a feat while still in Je'gan's mind

But he would try. He did his best to reconnect his mind to his body. He managed to get a small connection and could not will his body to move at first. He finaly managed to make his body take a step forward, if only that where enough to distract Je'gan.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

It did, just slightly, enough to give the walls of the tunnel a looser hold on Zereth's mindprobe. Whether or not the older Sith took that possibility - or even could, what with the difficulty of putting his attention back into the probe - was another story.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth quickly returned to his probe, more easy then he had first entered Je'gan's mind, and realized that Je'gan's trap had loosened. He noticed The way out was more clear

His probe ran down the narrow tunnel and out of the trap that Je'gan had set. He was now back where he had started. standing infront of the giant wall of Je'gan's mental defence.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Let's turn the tables a bit, shall we?

Drawing on the Force, Je'gan began to subtly shift the state of Zereth's mind, decreasing his anger and increasing apathy. In some instances that could work against him, but for the moment it was a good weapon and would provide a decent enough test of how much Zereth was aware of his mind - and how much he could defend it.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth felt something strange. He couldn't place it at first but soon figured it out. As long as he could remember he was always in a state of anger, though mild it may be at times, and he was never not angry. He felt his anger drain away till it was almost completely gone. It felt strange to not be angry, almost pleasant. But his anger was something he used, it kept him alive, and no one was going to take that from him.

He guessed Je'gan had something to do with this. He raised his mental shields. The way Je'gan had taught to him during their last training session.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The connection between Je'gan's mind and that of his apprentice snapped cleanly; Zereth might not have had Je'gan's mental expertise, but he wasn't far behind the younger Sith in power. Je'gan could rebuild that connection, infiltrate Zereth's mind again, but for the moment he was content to leave it alone.

"Let's work more with telekinesis," he said abruptly. "Hit me with as hard of a Force Push as you can handle, please."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth used the force is such ways often and had developed it well. He gathered the air around his hand with the force and threw it with all the power and speed he could at the young man's chest.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

It was usually Je'gan's wont to leave an illusory double in the way of such an attack. In this case, however, he wanted to get a good idea of Zereth's TK power, and did not move to avoid the blast. He went flying, his opinion of Zereth's abilities confirmed.

"Force Pull, now," he said as he touched down with perfect balance.

[Zereth Lancer]

He was suprised when his force push hit Je'gan. He had expected the Knight to move out of the way at the last second or use his own force powers to save himself.

Zereth outstreched his hand at Je'gan and used the force to pull Je'gan's body toward him, with all the power he could muster.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Smiling inwardly, Je'gan allowed himself to be pulled, and in fact even used his own abilities to urge him onwards, into a flying kick to Zereth's solar plexus.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth was expecting Je'gan to do such a thing. He waited until Je'gan neared him and fliped into the air, inverting as he went, and went over Je'gan's speeding form and landed facing the Knight's back.

He reached out his hand again and pushed at Je'gan's already moving form, propelling it faster and faster, towards the wall.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Chuckling - again, inwardly - Je'gan flipped over in midair to hit the wall feet-first and then somersault to stand once more on the ground, facing his Apprentice.

"You're dismissed for the day, Zereth," he said. "You've done well. We'll train every day around this time; be late and I'll finish what I started on Coruscant." He was, as his face plainly said, half-joking...and, of course, half not.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth bowed slightly "It will be as you command, and I will not disapoint you by being late" He said before standing streight again. He turned around and headed for the exit. His body slowly fading into the shadows.