Nature's show (open)

[Yurza Magus]

A slight breeze turned leaves on the ground and the gentle plop plop of rain drops fell into slowly forming puddles. The natural wildlife sat under shelters enjoying the change in the weather. Life it would seem was in perfect harmony, but like all things even that must come to an end. A bird cocked its head to the side and listened. Something was destorying the serenity. Something close. It heafted its wings and flew a small ways towards the sound, but not too close. Its eyes were better than most and it could afford watching the scene unfolding from afar.

Inside of a room of a building a man was standing, surrounded by four droids. Each of the droids held a weapon and the man it seemed was unarmed, but to those looking through the mystical energy field known as the Force, that was not the case. Infact some would even say that they would pity the droids if they were living things.

The blonde man smirked as the first of the droids approached him. It held a durasteel pipe and wielded it with deadly efficientcy as it had been programed to. Next came one with a Force pike, and then one with two vibro axes. The last, using only its hands came in a split second later. They all moved with perfect harmony and each was more agile and faster than what one would expect from a droid of thier build, but to Yurza, they might as well have been moving in slow motion.

He moved to the right as Axe used a low double thrust to his knees, and ducked at the same time as Pipe swung at his head from behind. Yurza reached up with his left hand and grabbed Pike's arm as it thrust just in front of his face and twisted, pulling the machine over his head. It crashed into Fists just as it pulled back for a right hook that would have surely taken of his head.

A tingle in his right foot, and he lifted it just as Pipe's weapon passed harmlessly underneath. He thrust his hand out into the droid's face and use the Force to push it back into a wall. The young Sith smirked. This is too easy. Maybe another broken set will convince the Order to put more money into sparring droids that actually challenge someone.

As he thought his, he called his lightsaber from his belt and activated it before it even touched his palm. The bright blue energy blade swung out in a high cut that sliced Pike into three seperate parts. He continued in a full circle and flicked his wrist at the last second, seperating First's left forearm from the rest of his body. The droid didn't scream in pain or anything that a living being might do. It only compensated by thrusting its right fist at Yurza, which he immeadiately detatched and then swept upwars, cutting the thing from the bottom of the right shoulder to the top of the left.

He stopped his momentum and looked at the other two droids. Apparently Pipe was out of the game as it sat still were Yurza had thrown it, prehaps a little to hard. Axe on the other hand was circling the Sith, looking for an opening. Yurza gave him one in the form of a soldering hole through it's circuit box. He walked towards the door before stopping. His neck tingled in warning and he turned around, bringing his lightsaber around in a highg arc and loped the head off of Pipe. Playing coy? Interesting. Prehaps these are getting better.

He turned back towards the door as the sound of clapping broke the sound of gentle rain.

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

Saveeradeevaravaravee applauded the impressive performance of the newcomer to the Sith Order. He was very skilled - Saveer would have guessed him to have been a prior member of the Order, even if he didn't already know it.

"Quite an impressive performance, Yurza."

The young human looked a bit surprised that Saveer had known his name. Of course, one would expect such a reaction - the two had never met before. Since his strange appearance on Korriban, however, Saveer had taken great interest in this man - very rarely is someone so openly invited to this planet, let alone to the domain of the Sith. Thus, Saveer had made it his business to learn all he could of this newcomer, for nothing save his insatiable lust for information. He had even gone as far as to tail him, following him covertly since returning from his mission on Kashyyyk. Of course, judging by Saveer's limited ability to sense emotions, he had thus far gone undetected - he had needed proof of the newcomer's skill in the Force before revealing himself. Now, he had found his proof.

He extended a hand - though, at only 3'2" tall, he had some difficulty meeting the human for comfort.

"I am Saveeradeevaravaravee - Saveer, if you will. You might say I'm in charge of Sith Intelligence for the time being - what with so many of us missing. Though, I'm not so sure that there was anyone in this position before me."

[Yurza Magus]

Yurza looked at the small, What is he exactly? He asked himself. He reached out with the Force and sensing no immeadiate danger, he deactivated his lightsaber and reattached it to his belt. He was sure he wouldn't need it and besides, if he did he did have other weapons against senient beings.

He extended his hand to the short thing with almost a smirk of superiority on his face. Being raised to believe that humans were the superior beings, Yurza had learned the hard way that that wasn't always true. But still old habits died hard.

"You seem to have the upper hand here. You appear to know so much about me, yet I only know your name."

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

Saveer shrugged nonchalontly.

"It is my business to know things. Information is power, my friend - matched only by the Dark Side. Together, they are inconquerable - in the right hands, of course."

He looked at Yurza, deliberating on how much information he should give to the man. In the wrong hands, certain information could lead to the demise of any individual, and, despite what Saveer knew of the man - which was limited to only a few days research - that smirk looked quite unsettling. Still, he could make the decision later. Right now, the important thing was for him to meet this man - the Dark Side eminated from him in the same way it did from Jorshal. He was obviously powerful, and Saveer could no doubt learn much of the Force from him.

"And what do you want to know, exactly?"

[Yurza Magus]

"Let's start with why you know so much about me."

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

He shrugged.

"As I said, it is my business to know everything that I can about everyone I meet - and a stranger who randomly shows up on Korriban holds quite a bit of interest to me. It is this habit that has earned me my current position in the Order - you must understand, it is nothing personal. Simply a matter of safety - for myself, as well as for the Order."

[Yurza Magus]

"I do, and I applaude you for your efforts. Very few would be curious enough to learn of a stanger that has the confidence to walk around here so."

He walked in a slow circle around the small being, coming to rest in front again. "I take it that you study the dark arts?"

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

He followed Yurza as around his circle - was he measuring him up?

"I do, and I am eager to learn. I am still an apprentice, and my abilities in the Force are weak and unrefined - I am intelligent enough to admit this. That is another reason I have taken interest in you - you seem to have great command of the Dark Side, and I would imagine there is much I can learn from you."

[Yurza Magus]

"Prehaps, but that would only be depending on how far you are willing to go."

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

"I make my living as a spy, Yurza. I'm willing to go as far as need be."

Spying, indeed, was one of the most dangerous occupations in the galaxy. While bounty hunters, mercenaries, and assassins were more often thrust into battle, spies were the people who were called on to infiltrate into the heart of the galaxy's most dangerous places - if a spy was ever caught, the chances of survival were very slim. Saveer, therefore, was used to high-risk activities - he would do what he needed to become a Sith Master.

[Yurza Magus]

Yurza reached out with the Force and twisted reality to his bidding. The air seemed to get warmer and hazier as if smoke as billowing from unseen fires. His eyes even seemed to glow as he spoke. "The Force is not to be taken lightly. It grants power to those that are worthy. It warms you to the core. But abuse or disillusion yourself and it obliterates those that try to wield it but get lost in its power. As a typhoon would a village."

To accent his point, the air suddenly had a chill to it and the gentle rain outside grew until it threatened to tear the building apart. As suddenly as it started it all stopped. "If you do wish to learn from me then I will expect nothing short of your absolute loyalty. You will endure things that most could never dream of and suffer until you will long for death, but the end results will be well worth it. Do you still wish to learn from me? You still desire me to be your master in the ways of the Sith?"

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

"Yurza, I would not step down from a challenge. If having you for a master will bring more knowledge of the Dark Side, then I will endure what I must." He looked Yurza straight in the eyes. "And I will not ask for mercy."

[Yurza Magus]

He smirked and started to walk around him once more. "Very well. Then you shall recieve none."

Suddenly he stopped when he had walked to a point exactly 180 degrees from where he had been standing. Here he unclipped his lightsaber once more and activated it. The blade casting a blue gleam over him as the room suddenly darkened. "Then your training begins. Your first lesson is just to live, but here's the twist. You'll have to decided which one of us is real and which the fake."

He noted what he took for confusion flash across Saveer's face. He jerked his head towards a point behind him and there stood a second Yurza, or was it the real? They were the exact mirror image of each other and they both spoke the next word in unison. "Begin!"

Both of the Yurzas came at Saveer now. One striking low and the other striking high, leaving little room for the Alcolyte maneuver if that was his choice. He would do not kill him, but he would not make this easy for him.

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

The two Yurzas launched themselves at Saveer - this wasn't good. Saveer was by no means a combat specialist, and had only been in one battle. His marksmanship was decent, but against a lightsaber...

Right now was not the time to think - he had to act fast. Breathing in, he commanded the Dark Side to flow into his body. It was invigorating! With no time to think, Saveer launched himself into the air, flying out of the way just before the attacks landed. As always, his first objective when entering the room had been to take in his surroundings - looking for anything he could use for support in a battle. Unfortunately, this room was completely bare. He would have to make his own protection.

Reaching out to the Force in mid-jump, he grabbed hold of one of the broken training droids - Axe, was it? The droid flew accross the room, directly toward the Yurzas.

As he landed at the center of the room, Saveer pulled his Sith Sword from its sheath. Reaching out, he called to the two Yurzas, trying to find the missing force signature. No good - he could sense both of them in the Force. This would be more difficult than he had thought...

[Yurza Magus]

Yurzas smiled as he felt the young Alcolyte reach out for him. While most would think it foolish because if someone was going to try this, they would have to mask the illusion's signature, but ocassionally one forgot, but not Yurza. However, he was pleased that Saveer had the common sense to rule out that method.

The Yurza on the left moved to the right and the other mirrored the move so they were standing side by side. In unison both hands raised and the droid stopped and dropped to the ground. Next, they both charged forward, the one on the left a half a step ahead. Once he was only a step or two away he vaulted over Saveer and thrust his lightsaber down at him. Yurza on the ground dropped and swept his left leg out to knock the Saveer to the ground.

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

As the two Yurzas launched themselves at him, Saveer again jumped out of the way. This time, however, he purposely timed the jump a split second too late. As the grounded Yurza passed under him, the leg caught the sole of his shoe, almost tripping him; it was exactly what Saveer had hoped for.

Using the near trip to change his momentum, he thrust his hands forward, turning his evasion into a sideways handspring. Coming to a hault, he brought his Sith Sword into the air, leaping at the previously aerial Yurza, his saber piercing a hole in the ground where saveer had been standing. That must be the one!

In Saveer's studies, he had read much about the art of illusions - nothing that would give him insight into practicing the art, but much that would aid him in battling it. He knew that Yurza was currently at Knight-level - according to the books he had read, a knight-level Sith was typically unable to create tactile illusions. Either the aerial Yurza was fake, or the real Yurza was exceptionally good.

Besides that fact, the books had also stated that creating a perfect human figure - especially one with tactile ability - hindered a Sith's other abilities, drawing on a large amount of concentration. The aerial Yurza had clearly been moving more quickly in that attack - a fact that granted Saveer's assumption even more credit. Even if the other did have tactile ability, it was Saveer's best guess. There was only one way to prve it...

As he flew, he held the sword single-handedly, using his free hand to draw the lightwhip from his back. With a blur of motion, the whip freed itself, coming to life in Saveer's hands. As he approached, he sent the whip flailing. It would grab a tactile Yurza's saber blade, or pass through an illusionary one. As he hit the ground, landing just out of reach of the grounded Yurza, he brought the sword down...

[Yurza Magus]

The real Yurza smiled as he brought his lightsaber up in a horizontal block that caught the sword before it could land a deadly blow. The illusion faded as the two weapons collided.

Yurza's small illusion over himself came to an end as well and Saveer could see a sheen of sweat on the Sith's forehead. "Very good Saveer. You were able to beat an illusion. Not an easy task, but the question is can you make them?"

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

Relaxing, Saveer withdrew his sword and resheathed it alongside the lightwhip. While Yurza had begun to break sweat, the amount of Force usage Saveer had just demonstrated was quite taxing on an acolyte, and he felt his fur matting up in a few places. Shaking it off, he began to catch his breath.

"I've read much about the creating of illusions through the Force, but have never experimented with doing so. None of the books I have read have provided any insight into the process. Actually, that is what I came here to learn."

[Yurza Magus]

Yurza smiled. "Then you picked the right teacher for the job, or did you already know that? It doesn't matter. Creating illusions is quite simple depending on the level of illusion. Most are mere parlor tricks and to be honest take little effort. Those like the ones you just witnessed take much much more. In some cases you will have to be able to literally bend reality as one knows it. All of these things will take place in your target's mind. The question is can you stretch your being that far?"

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

Could he... stretch his being? What did he mean by that?

"It takes place in the mind... Is this technique at all similar to the Psychic Scream technique?"

He had experimented with this technique in his training session several weeks ago - it was a technique in which the Sith focused on altering a being's mind, causing their senses to distort. In all cases save one, the experiments had led to death... but that was an exercise in telepathy. Was this exercise the same?

[Yurza Magus]

"Yes. In fact in is nothing but a more refined version. Here you are not only distoring senses but you are reshaping them to see and feel what you want to feel."

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

Interesting... perhaps this wouldn't be so difficult, after all. The only way he would know would be to try it. Glancing out the window, he noticed a bird perched on a small branch. Reaching out to the Dark Side, he plunged into the bird's mind, distorting its thoughts and making them his own. For starters, he decided to try something simple. After a moment, the bird began to twith, snapping its beak in mid-air, trying desperately to swallow the small seed that hovered in front of it, but to no avail. Once he felt his illusion to be satisfactory, he let go of the bird's primitive mind. With an indignant squawk, it flew away.

"I suppose that's the basic idea of it."

[Yurza Magus]

"It is, and with more effort you might have been able to actually fool the bird into tasting the seed, but be wary of these talents. They are for the weak-minded only. Others you will have to put much much more effort into."

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

Saveer nodded to Yurza.

"I will keep that in mind, Yurza. And I will train diligently to reach your level of expertise - perhaps I can someday venture beyond." He paused. "Is there anything else you would have to teach me?"

[Yurza Magus]

Yurza thought a moment and shook his head. "No, but here is a thought. When you get stronger, try outlining your illusions with a Force signature to make it more realistic. And if possible work on our telekinetics and it will help you add feeling to the illusion."

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

He nodded once more, then, without another word, began to walk out of the room. Just short of the door, he stopped.

"Thank you for your instruction. Perhaps we will meet again - in fact, I know we will. Let us hope that it will be as allies."

With that, he walked out, receeding into the shadowed existance from whence he had come.

[Yurza Magus]

Yurza stood silent as the door shut and waited a few moments before he moved. Then he dropped to his knees, panting for breath. He was exhausted from the workout. It was only by drawing on the Force that he had been able to stand up infront of Saveer.

On his journey from the Order his illusionary powers had grown considerably, but something else had happened. While his powers had grown, his command of the Force had not. He was still not able to pull more energy from it. He did not understand why.

What's happening to me? Is the Force receding or am I just losing it? He shook his head. He refused to accept the second option. Someone or something was holding the Force from him and he would find out what.

He looked at his shaking hands, willing them to stop. He had been overzealous today. His stunt would cost him a good day or two's rest. While he could explain his tiredness from his recent trip. Afterall he hadn't been back that long. It was a buyable excuse.

He stood slowly and walked over to the wall to use for support. He slowly started out the door of the training room and headed for his quaters. Using less traveled corridors so that he would not be seen.