Of Lords and Ladies (open)

[Sasha Kovalev]

(open – no particular purpose at all in mind. Anyone is welcome)

He sat in the library, his elbows resting on the arms of the deep, dark chair he sat upon. The sleeves of his robes hung down, cloaking the arms themselves in a dark, element worthy fabric. His fingers drummed softly on the velvet of the chair and his head leaned back to rest upon it. For a moment he closed his eyes and inhaled a slow, relaxed breath. There was much anger within, but there was a sense of peace as well. Peace, perhaps, created by a comfort with the rage inside. Knowing that the anger within fueled a powerful connection to the dark side of the force, it was rather easy to feel completely at ease, particularly within the well protected walls of the Order. Where little could disturb the quiet moment.

The lord of the Sith took a moment to reflect upon the past, and perhaps to even consider what the future might hold. He was not strong in Divination and had perhaps accepted that he never would be. His strengths lay in other areas and it was from those that he would draw when the time was right.

He had matured much over these years. He had also gained a sense of direction. He knew what it was he hoped to accomplish within his lifetime. One of the goals was, of course, the destruction of the jedi. He had no jedi in particular, for those he had once known or had issue with had fallen. There were perhaps others, but he had, it seemed, forgotten their existence.

It was time, perhaps, that he took some time away from Korriban. Took some time to pursue the whisperings about jedi on the other side of the galaxy. But he would likely not go this alone. Not because he feared solitude or because he feared facing a jedi on his own. Hardly…hardly did he fear such a thing. And if he did…well, that would only assist in the connection to the dark side, where fear was a tool of access.

No…he did not want to travel alone because…well, to travel alone would be a waste of time. Far better he took an apprentice with him, or one from whom he could learn as well. At it was this that he was considering as he sat there.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

A little serendipity makes everyone's day. Life, no matter how much you control it - or let it control you - always has the potential to cast a few shadows. When those shadows ease, when something really fortunate happens entirely by what most sentients call 'accident' or maybe 'luck', just about nobody turns it down if they even know about it.

This was no exception: the approaching Forcewielder fulfilled Sasha's requirements. Je'gan Olra'en had no idea what Sasha was thinking about as he took a seat near the older man: he suspected that, mind-to-mind, he might be able to find out, but this was not the time. Perhaps the time would never come. Sasha, the Inquisitor knew intuitively, was a good ally. He doubted that he would ever be forced to break into the mind of the Sith Lord (or at least to attempt it) in earnest.

But the future was fond of throwing such situations at him. If and when it came, he would shrug and accept it.

"Hello, Lord Kovalev.' A gesture took in the contents of the library. "Anything to recommend?"

[Sasha Kovalev]

Sasha’s gaze lifted to face the newcomer to the room. He had felt the presence of another, for it was second nature now to be able to sense such things despite his concentration being on something else. And there had been no effort to mask the signature, so it had been similar to footsteps, though felt long before footsteps could ever be heard.

It was interesting to hear himself addressed as Lord Kovalev. He was not one who was overly big on formalities at all times. His apprentice he allowed to address him by his first name, though there was an understanding that at the appropriate times he should be referred to by his title, and that others within the walls of the Order were not so lenient with their policies.

“Sasha will be fine, Je’gan.” He answered in response to the greeting.

“I don’t think titles are necessary in the library.” This was added with the faintest of smiles as he finally stood from his seat. He crossed to one of the shelves. The book sat directly across from his chair and his eyes had settled on it several times.

He spoke as he removed it from the shelf.

“I believe the answer I got when I asked that question once was that ‘all of the books were recommended reading.”

A slight snort of amusement expressed his thoughts about that answer.

“What is it you would hope to learn from a book?” He asked in answer to the question of recommended reading. There were so many books – some very useful – if you wished to learn of history. Others…well, others were not quite so useful. They spoke of strategies and ways to learn Sith magic, but ultimately there was always an element missing to them – one piece that could not be taught by a book.

He did not put down books as a way of learning – he had read enough of them to have learned something from them – but ultimately, it was from others with experience that he had learned the most.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow.

"Patience, Sasha. I hope to learn patience. I enjoy reading, but I also enjoy learning...and right now I'm not doing any of the latter so I might as well try the former." The corner of his mouth twitched as he took a random book from the small table beside his chair. "Or," he said absently, flipping it open to the first page, "there's always experimentation. You said once that I might be a Sith already, or something to that effect." Pages flipped slowly; this book didn't have an index, so he was scanning for something that would tell him exactly what the book said. Head down, he continued to speak.

"Inquisitor ranks are different from those of the Sith - but some things transfer. They say I'm a Sith Knight, roughly. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but at a certain level - say, the level denoted by the rank of Knight - isn't one free to pursue one's own education, exploration and elucidation?" He wasn't entirely serious. In point of fact, he was fishing.

[Sasha Kovalev]

Patience? From reading a book?

Had Sasha been the type to speak without thinking first he would surely have snorted in laughter. Patience? Learned out of the pages of a book? He would have pictured a page before him reading:

Patience can be taught in books! See! Now, breathe in, breathe out. Count to ten. Relax. Do no respond without first thinking. And so on and so on.

But he was not the type to not give a moment at first to consider his words. Once upon a time this would have been so – but he was bright enough to learn from mistakes – and mistakes he certainly had made. And made them big enough that the effects were still with him today.

No – he did not speak anymore before careful consideration of his words.

Patience, he knew, could be gleaned from a book by the simple act of taking the time to read it. The time to try to understand it. And of course, by trying the things taught in a book and often realizing frustration that words on pages were not quite so easy as the real actions. Patience was sometimes found by working through this realization.

Perhaps, he considered for the first time, he had been sent to the library so long ago to learn a bit of patience himself. A small smile graced his lips at this thought, the amusement of it all reaching him.

He nodded somewhat slowly in answer to Je’gan’s question about pursuit of education and rank.

“There are no set rules about this,” He replied, having asked such questions once upon a time himself, “Except that typically one of a rank lower than knight does not know enough about the Sith to venture out on their own. They may unlearn some of the things they have begun to grasp, or they may push themselves further than they truly are capable in all of their impatience and ambition.”

He gave a soft sigh and moved to take a seat once again.

“That is why it is not suggested. But at the level of knight the skills are often secure, the beliefs more fully engrained. It is wise, I believe, to do some exploring on your own,” A small light might have flickered in his eyes – for he had himself gone exploring for a bit – and returned, he felt, all the stronger and wiser for it.

“And wiser still to do so with the blessings of your master or mentor.”

At this he relaxed back a bit into the chair, a hand coming to his chin in thought before it returned to the arm of the chair. It was not a secret that he had taken some time away – but it was likely not known to many beyond Lady Vader or the elders what, exactly, he had done in that time away. In any case, he had returned, been tested in not only his skills but his loyalty and dedication to the Order, and the Elders had given their word to accept his return – and more to make him one of them and advance him in their ranks. Truly, he did not wish he had done things any differently.

“You seek clarification?” He asked, getting the feeling from Je’gan’s words that perhaps the Inquisitor felt something missing. That maybe he felt that despite his highly capable skills in mentalism, there was perhaps more out there he had not yet explored.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"I sought clarification. I seek a mentor."

He hadn't been entirely sure what guidance, if any, a Knight could expect. Fortunately, his fishing had payed off. It wasn't something he did often - he was not without tact, but he didn't believe in excessive avoidance of the point. A trait, he was beginning to find, shared by the other Sith of the Order. One more checkmark in favour of him already being a Sith, at least to some extent.

"Tell me, Sasha. You wouldn't happen to know anything about advanced mentalics, would you?"

[Sasha Kovalev]

“I know a good amount about them.” He replied, for this was entirely true. Like Je’gan, Sasha had once, and often still did, looked to books for learning. But he had also looked to a mentor, Lady Vader, and from her he had learned much. This was not to say that he could perform all of such things with the utmost of competence.

“And with some I have had success, with others…” He shrugged the slightest bit.

There was a reason that he was a Lord. Knowledge, experience, and ability among the list of requirements for advancement in the ranks of the Sith. But that did not mean that he was an expert in all areas – only that he had a vast knowledge of them, an understanding of how to do them, and perhaps an expertise in one of two areas.

Sasha’s expertise did not lie in mentalics. He was certainly perfectly advanced in them, and could perform and detect and counter much directed at him, but he was a pyro naturally and lamented the fact that he had not learned more from one of the others who had been such when she had been around.

Spectromancy was the other area in which his natural abilities flourished and shone. In mentalics he was skilled, yes, and it was a priority of his, but his skills would never equal those of his master, or likely of Je’gan.

But he was aware and he was certainly capable of mentoring.

“I would perhaps be better off relying on other skills.” He finished, willing to be honest. He had nothing to hide and would not try to be larger than life among his peers.

“Your skills lie in mentalics mostly, do they not?”

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"It's the only section of study that I have any talent for. And that-" He smiled, and shook his head. "Yes. Coordinating minds, using illusions, and so forth. It's a very rewarding field, if not precisely the most applicable on the battlefield. I don't know many who use what illusionary powers they have on a practical level." He had heard about Yurza Magus, and was looking forward to meeting him, but until then he would have to persevere as he so often did. In the end, his perseverance was all he had, and he would follow it wherever it led him - sometimes he felt as if he didn't have a choice in the matter, that there was someone he was supposed to be. Perhaps someday he would be a philanthropist, a lightsider, a Jedi - all of those things, or none. He didn't know. He didn't know his future. All he did was stumble around, and now that meant learning more, in the hopes that it would let him make that much more informed a decision. If it cleared away the fog of ignorance that surrounded him, it was worthwhile. Someday he was going to find truth.

"I don't use mind control anymore," he continued. "As far as I'm concerned, everyone should have the ability to make their own decisions."

The philosophy associated with mentalics was a difficult one, and Je'gan was exploring it blindly. Oh, he knew more about the mind than nearly anyone, but he was still blind. Right now, he would have thought that he had a good idea of it all, but for a kernel of doubt, of a connection to wrongness and shame that he did not dare acknowledge and could not fully ignore. It was one more thing that kept him from a static, unchanging life of any sort of routine.

He changed the subject. Explaining his views, beliefs and questions was something he would leave for later.

"I focus on lightsabre fighting as well, and the ways a duellist interacts with the Force. Everything else takes a distant third."

[Sasha Kovalev]

Something in Je’gan’s words struck Sasha. It was a feeling that was oddly familiar. The man had said moments ago that he had found clarity, but truly, Sasha wondered if he had. There seemed to be a sense of repulsion around a skill, a very powerful skill possessed by the former Inquisitor. He had proclaimed that he did not even employ such a skill anymore, which in one way seemed rather clear – a decision had been made. Yet, yet one of the basics of the Sith was the belief in using every skill to his or her advantage. Realizing that the power given to you was given to you to use. That to let it sit dormant was to waste it.

Some were able to easily accept this. Others needed some time to adapt. Others…well, others maybe needed some time away to see the other side, to compare, and to find what really suited them.

Sasha had been one of those.

He had only returned just some time ago now from that journey.

“You’ll better protect yourself by being well rounded.” Sasha had commented about the focus on particular skills only.

“But,” He added immediately, “Those skills are useless unless you believe in your reasons for using them.” Je’gan might have tried to move the conversation away from beliefs, but Sasha was bringing it right back, for beliefs were at the core.

One had to be happy with their core.

He paused for a moment, letting the silence once again fill the quiet room full of books.

“I cant help but think there is something more on your mind than a discussion of skills.” He had not tried to probe Je’gan’s thoughts or feelings. He had a pretty good idea that they were well protected, but even more importantly, Sasha respected this man, and would not have invaded such privacy. Would not have destroyed any chance of trust that could be built. But there was maybe something in the man’s tone that suggested confusion, or question, perhaps. It was the way he had pushed aside a power, a strength, as if it was repulsive. To Sasha, this suggested confusion, or perhaps the vague realization that any normal person might have – that the life of a Sith was a dark path, a path some found difficult to accept, because it meant they differed from societal norms. Once this was accepted, the existence of the others was almost comforting – to know there were others who thought and acted as you did. But that sometimes took time, time away, or a look at the other side to understand.

His oddly colored eyes, a blue so brilliant some thought them to be violet in color, gazed across the short distance between he and Je’gan. There was nothing in them to suggest deception or recoil.

“You are free to speak your mind with me.” He added, “It is not my place to judge.”