A Dark Jedi's strength. (Jibrielle)

[Evil Hobgoblin]

It was the second time that Hob had called Jibrielle in an official fashion. At the moment his mental summons came, she was in her room going over a book on history that Hob had told her to read.

'Jibrielle,' the message went. 'To the gates of Bast, you must come. Late, be not.'

[Jibrielle Abunai]

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, the apprentice flipped through the pages of the book. The pages seemed old and worn, so she handled them with care. So involved in her reading, Jibrielle gave a slight start when she heard Hobgoblin's voice. She sighed at herself and gently shut the book, setting it on her bed. Her history would have to wait.

After she closed the door behind her, Jibrielle began to hurry through the corridors, taking many turns. Finally, she reached the doors that led in or out of Bast, and pushed them open.

"Sir?" she called out, walking towards the gates.

"I've come to do your bidding."

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob stood outside, at the top of the steps. It was where he had stood at the beginning of Jibrielle's first lesson, and he hoped the similarity was not lost on her.

When she had arrived, Hob beckoned her over. "We will see, apprentice. We will see."

The dwarf turned and stared out over Vjun's blasted plains. "Have you made any progress in sensitizing yourself to the Force?" he asked.

[Jibrielle Abunai]

She joined him, looking out over Vjun's lands. This was where he beckoned her for her first training.

"Yes, Sir."

[Evil Hobgoblin]

"Good," Hob nodded. "It is good that you can see the worlds around you with new eyes."

He began to walk down the steps to the bottom, where he once again stopped. "You will find, I think, that in the beginning, it will be difficult to concentrate- to acheive such a high level of the focus necessary. That is why we will change you today."

Hob looked directly at Jibrielle. "The strength of Jedi flows from the Force, but to hear it and utilize it, they must be physically strong, as well. In order to acheive new limits, the ones you have must be pushed."

"Are you ready to become strong?"

[Jibrielle Abunai]

Clasping her hands behind her back, Jibrielle watched as Hob made his way down the steps. Her eyes never left him as he spoke.

"Yes, I am ready."

[Evil Hobgoblin]

There was a moment of formal silence, then Hob spoke.

"As it should be."

Hob suddenly broke into a run. "Come then!" he called. "Follow me if you can!"

[Jibrielle Abunai]

Slightly taken aback, she clambored down the stairs and began to run after him. Where was he leading her ? Hobgoblin ran fast, but luckily she could keep up.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

So far, his apprentice was doing well. But Hob would not let her off easily, not at all.

"Run, run!" Hob called back to her. "Feel the air rush past you! Feel your lungs gasp for breath! Feel your blood burn with energy!"

Abruptly, Hob jumped into the air, hurling himself forward and landing a great distance away. "Run, apprentice!" he shouted. "Or the geysers will get you!"

A rumbling beneath the ground was all the warning Jibrielle had. Not five feet in front of her, the ground burst with a hiss of escaping steam. The hot spray billowed up, and did not stop.

Looking around, Jibrielle could see other small mounds decorated with holes. Hob had led her into a geyser field.

"Now we see if you spoke truly, apprentice!" Hob's voice rang out. "Only if you run will you escape safely, but at such speed only your senses will be able to guide you truly!"

[Jibrielle Abunai]

Her eyes widened when she realized she was surrounded by geysers. The earth beneath shook, as if to punctuate Hob's words. Then one errupted infront of her. Hot steam billowed out into the air, causing her to fall backwards. Landing painfully on her back, Jibrielle quickly scrambled to her feet and ran, trying not to step on the geysers. More steam began to spurt forth from them, fueling her adrenaline to go faster. The air was getting thick and miserably humid, causing her to pant. This was just another trial, she knew, but she hated it.

One errupted on her left side, causing her to stumble towards one that was already emitting steam. Stopping just in time, she glanced around to look for a way out. If she continued further, then made a right and ran with all her might, she just might make it. Realizing that she had no other choice, Jibrielle took a deep breath and broke out into a run. She had no idea how many geysers began to errupt from behind her, nor did she care. Her mind was set on one goal - to please Hobgoblin.

One threw her off chart, though. It blew steam at the very last second, causing her to change direction. She was met by another errupting geyser. But I'm so close .. I can't just end like this. She saw that if she went around this one and hurried until she came to the errupting one over there, then turned left and ran, she could make it. Bracing herself, she ran faster than she ever had in her life. Following the path infront of her, she finally made it out after what seemed like an eternity. Hob was still a bit further away, so she forced herself to keep going until she stood infront of him. Swaying a bit in place, the apprentice looked up at him with exhausted, yet hopeful eyes.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob nodded at her completion of the assigned task. "You have done well, apprentice," he said. "Now come. We have farther to go."

Hob then turned and continued walking. In the distance, Jibrielle could see a very steep cliff.

[Jibrielle Abunai]

She had succeeded in completing the first assignment, but what other horrors laid before her? As he began to walk away, Jibrielle scuffled loyally behind him, glancing at the cliff infront of them.

A small voice in the back of her head told her it was not something to look forward to.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

When the two of them had reached the cliff, Hob began to climb it. "Come," he said as he went up. "It is up here where we must go."

Up near the top of the cliff, Jibrielle could see that a cave had been hollowed out. Apparently, Hob had been the one to do so for he began leaping and swinging up the rocks as though the trip was already familiar. "Follow my path," Hob said.

[Jibrielle Abunai]

Grimacing, she continued to pull herself up as Hob told her to follow him. Taking the utmost care to go where he had, Jibrielle's brow furrowed slightly. What was inside the cave that Hob had made ? Maybe she didn't want to know.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob finished the climb much faster than Jibrielle had, and so he was waiting for her when she reached the top.

The cave did not go back far. In the center of what had been hollowed out lay a hammer, chisel, and pickaxe.

When Jibrielle looked at Hob for an explanation, he smiled. "You recall my chamber of crystal, apprentice?"

[Jibrielle Abunai]

When she had reached the top, Hob took her inside the cave. She saw a hammer, chisel, and pickaxe laying on the ground and looked at Hobgoblin questioningly.

"Yes, Sir, I remember .. How could I forget ?"

Hopefully he didn't want her to cut out the crystals - not only would that take forever, it would also ruin the beauty of the cave.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

The dwarf held up his hands; huge for their size. "I shaped that cave with my own hands. My hands, and these tools. I grew those crystals with my hands, dug the well with my hands. I shaped mere rock into a place of beauty and reverence."

Hob took Jibrielle's hands in his own. "Now, the task passes to you. If you truly wish to become a Dark Jedi, you will persevere in creating your own place for worship and study of the Force. You will do it with your hands and these tools that I have passed down to you. The trip here is hazardous, and it will hone your body as much as the digging will hone your strength. This is the truest test of your will and physical fortitude, Jibrielle, and success here is the first necessary step."

"And the first step in success, is planning," Hob added. "So to know what you would create, you must first imaginate. Think on it now, and Hob will see it."

(ooc) Here is a little exercise in creativity for ya. Imagine a place for yourself, a place where you'd always like to go to be alone, where you can look at something and it'll make you think, where you can keep things you treasure but at the same time is the thing you treasure most. Then write a post describing it. :)

[Jibrielle Abunai]

Her hands seemed to be swallowed up inside of Hob's, for since her structure was petite, her hands were tiny.

"Yes, Sir."

He wished her to create a place of beauty; A place where she would go to find solitude and peace, where she could store her thoughts. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate on the Creation.

***

Plants, almost tropical in state, grew along the walls as dark purple and blue flowers bloomed. Their sweet scent carried lightly in the air as a small pond, with water lilies, laid in the middle. Silver fish darted in and out from beneath the plants, believing that it gave them cover. There was a large rock that sat before the pond so one could sit on it, and behind the rock was a Masrian tree. It was small, producing tiny white and pink blossoms while silver-colored fruit hung from the branches.

***

Jibrielle fluttered her eyelids opened and watched Hobgoblin.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob's eyes were shut, but he stared at Jibrielle's forehead with those closed eyelids as though there were something there; perhaps reading the images contained within her brain, perhaps seeing her desires through some other method.

Then the old dwarf opened his eyes and smiled. "You have a feeling for the creations of nature," he said. "A proper affinity."

Hob waved his hand in front of Jibrielle's eyes, then drew his hand away and swept it towards the back of the cave. Before her very eyes, Jibrielle's vision appeared: the cave hollowed itself out deeper and wider, then took on a more delicate and carved shape, and then the plants appeared, blooming straight out of the ground. Finally, the fish appeared, along with other creatures, some birds, some small furry cave animals.

"You see, apprentice?" Hob whispered in her ear. "It can all come to pass. You can create it, with your own hands. And when you have created it, you will be a master crafter in your own right."

Slowly, the illusion faded, leaving Jibrielle with just that tantalizing glimpse of the future and a few words.

"All you must do is start digging."

[Jibrielle Abunai]

A slight gasp rose from her throat as Hob created the illusion of her dreams in the cave. It seemed so real that she could almost reach out with a hand and touch it all. Then, in a heartbeat, it was gone. Jibrielle looked wistfully at the end of the cave before turning her attention back to her Sire, listening with full attention. All you must do is start digging.

Without hesitation, she withdrew her hands from Hobgoblin and bent down, scooping up the pickaxe. She walked past Hob to the end of the cave and then lifted the tool up in the air, swinging it down with all her might.

She would dig.

She would dig for Hobgoblin - and herself.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

(ic)

Thwack! Kachink!

Hob watched his apprentice dive into the task he'd set before her.
It was a task that would not only enrich her soul and strengthen her body, but also attach her to the planet Vjun in her own way.
It would give her a characteristic to shape her personality, and it would allow for some practical isolation.

But most importantly, it would teach her the beginnings of shaping destiny.

Hob quietly worked his way out of the cave, allowing Jibrielle to get to work and leaving her with the sound of her digging.

Thwack! Kachink!


######

Thwack! Kachink!

It had been two months since Jibrielle had begun her task, but in all that time Hob had not visited the cave, nor checked on its' progress with his sight beyond sight.

Thwack! Kachink!

Jibrielle told him of its' advancement in breathless phrases filled with smiles, of course, but interfering with her growth by offering a running stream of criticism labelled as advice was not the Dark Dwarf's way. He had given her books on architecture to read, as well as sensor data on where she could acquire groundwater in her area, but other than that Hob let her pursue things of her own.

Looking at his apprentice now, Hob was glad he had.

Jibrielle was wearing a simple black body glove- she found it harder work in a dress, she'd said- as well as some cresh-hide gloves. Her face was smudged with dirt and her hair was slightly curled from sweat and oil, but her eyes were lit with something akin to triumph.

Physically, Jibrielle looked stronger, leaner, and tougher, but the most evidence of that lay in the effortless way she held Hob's pickaxe. The force it hit the wall with led to a harder echo and the amount of stone that gave way under her effort was greater than the first pebble Hob had seen her shake loose before leaving.

Being forced to run to the cliff and make the climb up to the cave precipice each day had honed Jibrielle's control over the Force within herself and her ability to sense the world around her.

Two months it had been, and now Hob had returned to find his apprentice no longer a tiny flicker of flame in the Force, but a small and steady fire.


"Jibrielle."

His words startled his apprentice almost to the point of dropping her pickaxe. "Sir!" she exclaimed. "I-"

Hob cut her off with a wave of his hand. "I am here only to give you a message. I would not interrupt you in this task that you have set for yourself."

Confusion flickered briefly across her face; doubtless, she did not recognize that despite Hob's guidance, it was she who had chosen to continue this pursuit. And that was well. It was a Master's distinction, anyway.

"A message, Sir?" she responded, brushing a stray lock of loose hair to the side.

Hob nodded. "You have persevered in this activity long enough to have grown and learned from it. You have sought a way, though that way required effort, and you have followed that way, though it may have come to an ending other than the one you sought."

"My message is this: I am proud of you, apprentice."

Hob favored a surprised Jibrielle with a smile, then turned to go.

[Jibrielle Abunai]

" .. Sir ? Please tell me that this isn't a dream .."

She had been working on the little paradise to come - hoping to please Hobgoblin. Of course he had his own place to think, but secretly she hoped that after hers was done he would drop in once in awhile.

".. If it is, don't let me wake up. Ever."

After saying this, the pickaxe did drop from her hand, and an odd look overcame her face. It was a mixture - pride, joy, relief, surprise .. and something else. Something that not even Hob could lay his finger on.

Carefully making her way around a pile of rubble, Jibrielle looked up into the face of her Sire. What could she do without him ? Probably kill herself.

She didn't dare to bring herself to get any closer, for fear of disrespect. So instead, the Apprentice just stared up at him, not wanting his presence to disappear.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob reached out and gave Jibrielle a pat on her cheek. "It is a dream, apprentice," he replied. "A dream you dreamed and are now making real. You are the master of your own destiny- you will accomplish whatever you desire. All you must do is apply your will, and your power, to the task."

"Whatever you desire," he said, leaning close. "Can be yours! You need but seek it with all your being."

With a final pat, Hob turned and began to amble out of the cave.

[Jibrielle Abunai]

He said that anything she desired could be hers ... But, oh! how her body ached for that one thing she could never have. It was a craving for the untouchable - an addiction. She began to watch with sad eyes as Hobgoblin began to depart from her vision until something gripped her body. "No," she whispered, barely audible. Then, taking in a deep breath, she shouted, "No!"

Biting down on her lower lip, Jibrielle watched as he turned around to see what she wanted. She was ashamed, she knew it, but could hide it no longer. He deserved to know.

"H-Hob ..."

"Whatever you desire ..."

".. I have something to confess."

"Can be yours!"

Taking a step towards him, she clenched her hands into fists and looked down at the ground.

"You need but seek it with all your being."

".. What happens, when someone feels as if they're stepping on air? What is it? Why do their hearts skip a beat when their lips speak words? Is it unspoken poetry buried within, or more?"

Lifting her head up, the Apprentice began to make her way towards him. She felt confused, especially as to why she was finally speaking of these things.

"Forgive me, fate is bitter ... I love you."

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob gave no reaction for several minutes. What would one say, when confronted with an apprentice of a year confessing her undying devotion?

One hairy hand eventually beckoned to Jibrielle, breaking the protracted silence which, by then, would probably have become unbearable for his apprentice. "Come with me," he said.

The dwarf led her to the cave's entrance, right up to the very cliff edge. Then he motioned for her to sit.

"As your Master, and Lord, devotion to me is a proper thing," he began. "But you are young yet. You have much to learn. Until such time as you become a Dark Jedi in your own right, things would not work for us."

"Should you truly wish to remain with me when your apprenticeship has ended, you may do so." Hob said, staring out over the plains of Vjun with wise eyes. "Until then, you must curb this wayward heart of yours."

Hob had seen Jibrielle's eyes go from nervous at his silence, to plain afraid at his first words, to inquisitive and puzzled as he continued into them. They were now saddened and heavy.

"Worry not," he said, turning her face to look at his, their eyes locking so she could see the fires smoldering beneath his black pupils. "For there are worlds I can guide you through exploring. Yes. Much I can teach you."

There was much he could teach his young companion indeed.

[Jibrielle Abunai]

As she sat on the cliff's edge, Jibrielle continued to stare into Hob's eyes. They were endless pools of mystery, beckoning for her to come closer and yet, to stay rooted at the spot. They were hidden fires trapped under slates of ice, cold yet burning with hidden thoughts.

They were the horizons that haunted her dreams day and night.

"Yes, Master," she mumbled, feeling very akward.

He was right, she was still young and needed to learn to control herself - but if only things were that simple.

The girl finally broke her gaze away from him and looked over the edge, sighing.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob gave her a couple of grandfatherly pats on her head to reassure her. "Worry not, lass," he said. "You will come of your own soon enough."

With a laugh and a leap, Hob was gone, falling off the cliff edge, spinning, twirling, and fading from her sight like a leprechaun that had decided to tease a human with its' presence.

Hob would return to train his student more another day.