A Start [The Training of Zasz]

[Zasz]

[i]He begins his stride towards the courtyard entrance, he finds a tree of sorts and stands under its shadow, his cloak shrouding his upper body, the wind catching his red hair, blowing it with small gusts. . .His right hand passes over where his saber would be, if his cloak was not covering it, his dark grey eyes cover the courtyard. He seems to be waiting for something. . .

[Jeseth Cloak]

Footsteps echoed from behind the man, tapping gently but steadily upon the stone floor. Zasz turns to fight Jeseth standing there in his place, one hand on a saber, the other casually placed to his side. They made and held eye contact for a long moment, then the Dark Jedi tilted his head just slightly out of curiosity.

"So tell me, what have you come for?"

[Zasz]

[i]He looks at Jeseth and ponders for a moment, he steps back away from the tree, as if he will attack the dark figure, but he does not as he keeps his hands exactly where they were, but they move as he goes upon his knee to kneel. . .

Speaking he keeps his head lowered...[b]"To train, Master."

[Jeseth Cloak]

"Very well.... then you will be trained." The sentence was punctuated with a crack as Jeseth kneed the man in the space, sending his lower jaw and hard against his teeth. Zasz fell back onto the floor, blooding building along his gums from the impact.

"First lesson: Never bow to an opponent, even if he is your master." Jeseth turned his eyes down to the man, the scanned him over for weapons. Finally, the Dark Jedi broke the silence by drawing Ascension and bringing it down at the angle which he had become accustomed to using during battle. It illuminated Zasz's body, exposing him in the darkness of Vjun's evening. "Now rise, and prove to me that my time with you will not be wasted."

[Zasz]

[i]As he hits the ground, upon impact blood streams out from his mouth in a cough, the redness shows on his teeth as he grits them. But also as he looks to the ground he sees a whiteness in the blood. A tooth from his lower jaw. He looks up to Jeseth as his right hand darts to his belt that is under his cloak, he ignites the dark red blade and looks to jeseth's own.

[b]He rolled back away from Jeseth for distance, he gets in the familiar defensive position that he is accustomed to and holds his blade in front of him, he sways it back and forth. Squiting his eyes he moves in, and maneuvers a quick and fast lunge towards his stomach. . .

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth brought his saber down, parrying the strike away from his stomach and strafing to Zasz's side. The Sith had been quick on coming back to finish the strike, but Jeseth had been quicker in once again dodging it's wrath. Zasz seemed to blink as he watched Jeseth's figure blur, dream-like and hazy.

"Lesson Two: reach out with your senses before you strike."

The figure's voice moved in lagging phases, not accompanying the words properly. It was an illusion... but once that had been crafted merely as a temporary diversion. The wind blew past Zasz's arms as sweat accumulated upon him, then dropped to the ground.

Now come and find me...

There were several shadows all around the courtyard in which Jeseth could have been hiding, and many crevices and corners along pillars and stones.

[Zasz]

[i]His face is confused, he wonders how such a thing happened so fast, and so quickly. Jeseths words came to him as he closed his eyes and pursed his lips he thought, and focused upon the powerful force that is the Darkside. He tries, desperatly to find his Master, but he is confused, he stands up and looks to the left, then to the right, towards the front of himself, and the back. He sighs in exasperation as he could be anywhere, but he inevitably picks a direction and starts to move toward it. His far left, he was sure of it...

The wind gusted against his back quickly and powerfuly which made him halt, he froze as he thought to himself..."Could this be a trick, should I not go in this direction, should i turn and go to the right?...I dont know, maybe that itself is the truth, for Jeseth to not want me to get near him..."

Turning backward he looked in that direction, but no. He was sure that it was in front of him, he squinted his eyes as he moved forward into the darkness, trying to see what was around him, thanks to the red light of his saber. What was he to find? Jeseth....or nothng? He wondered as he continued forward into the shadow...

[Jeseth Cloak]

Just as Zasz neared the source of his instinctual attracting, a bolt of dark blue lightening tendriled across the darkness and struck him in the chest, just over his heart. The man was sent reeling back by the impact, which had come so quickly that he couldn't have perceived it if he tried - but he knew that something waited there in the shadow now, and it had yet to come out of hiding.

You've found me...

Another tendril of lightening suddenly arced up into the air above Zasz, holding in it's place for a moment and whipping around in an attempt to imitate a snake as it prepared to strike.

[Zasz]

[i]His chest was slightly charred as he looked up to the Lightning bolt..."I have found him!"...He thought...but at what cost? he started to get up but the bolt of lighting moved downwards towards his body.

Zasz felt he could do nothing else, but then it hit him. He brought his saber up and ignited the blade of red plasmic energy. He moved it upwards and let the saber take the lightning into itself, it absorbed it and removed the dark blue light...

He stood up and looked to Jeseth, he held his saber as he moved his head to the side. Not to loose track of Him.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Smiling, he approached the man. The smile was a dark one, born of malevolence rather than joy. Jeseth seemed to be deep in his intent... but intent to do what? "You fight nobly... but in the coming times that will do you little good. You must learn to be master of more than just yourself. You must be a master of others as well."

He deactivated his saber and shook his head, then began a steady walk towards a place nearby which was glowing with the orange color of lava and magma. A stream of molten minerals and metals flowed past them, and Jeseth gazed into it, "What is it you wish to learn?"

[Zasz]

[i]He watched as Jeseth turned his back, but he followed him quikly, he deactivates his saber and holds it in his right hand. Looking at Jeseth he raises his brow to his question.

[b]"What i wish to learn from you is simply that. How to master others, become unequaled. know my own limits, and the limits of others. To further my knowledge of the dark arts."

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth closed his eyes as he kneeled down, and rubbed the bridge of his pointed nose thoughtfully. He already had taken it as his duty to be a teacher... a mentor of others. Unlike most who were selective about those that they took under their wings, Jeseth choose to accept most who came his way seeking guidance. It was unfortunate, however, that he simply hadn't the time for so many more pupils. He would have to start seeking out those with more potential. The question left to be asked concerning this new visitor was, What can he accomplish? What is he capable of?

The Dark Jedi rose to his feet again, letting the smell of smoldering molten rock filter through his nostrils. "I will take you as my pupil, but I request that you accomplish a small task first... If your willing?"

[Zasz]

[i]He watches Jeseth and listens...he straightens up and holds his still ignited lightsaber, sweat glistening off of his forehead, and dripping down to his neck, the top of his red hair slightly soaked in the moist material.

[b]"Yes, I am willing, Master."

[Jeseth Cloak]

A smile curled up on Jeseth's features. Zasz was an eager student. "Go and seek out the Jedi Nichos Marr..." The Dark Jedi remembered the painful strike which the man had laid upon him. The scar on his cheek was a constant reminder of what could happen if he made mistakes. Nichos would be reminded of that too, soon enough. "I want you to bring him here to me. Make sure he survives."

[Zasz]

[i]"Yes, Master"

He heads towards his shuttle, which is still on the surface of vjun, outside of Bast castle, he enters it and heads to find Nichos Marr.