What cards are in your deck?: Training I (Judas)

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha grabbed a deck of cards and his lightsaber and walked out of his room. He left his door wide open, for there was nothing in there of importance to him, really. And he trusted the others not to invade his privacy.

He walked down the hall and stopped in front of Judas’s door. Judas had only recently joined the order, and had asked Sasha to train him. The young knight had accepted the responsibility, and now was following through on it.

He knocked lightly, and waited. He could feel Juads’s presence behind the thick oak of the door, and grinned slightly. This would be more like hanging with a friend, he thought, than anything else, and for once, he found himself looking forward to training someone.

[Judas Escariot]

Judas walked around his room sorting his personal belongings in place to set himself at home...

Then a knock...

Judas felt the presence of his old comrade now his recently became master. He set his things down on his bed and approached the door and unlocked it.

"Proceed my master...," he said.

He then backed away and kneeled in respect to Sasha's entrance, waiting patiently.

[SashaKovalev]

He could hear the lock as it was undone, and then the request for him to enter. Admittedly, he was somewhat surprised to find Judas kneeling before him.

"Rise, my brother. I appreciate the display of respect, but you will have no need to bow before me unless I command it." And this would be only when he was knighted.

He stepped inside, glancing about the room, a small smile coming to his lips.

"Making yourself at home?" He asked.

[Judas Escariot]

Judas rose and turned to Sasha.

"Well, yes...I have several things to take care of and a lot of things to put away...," he replied, "So my brother, what brings you to my abode?"

He moved passed Sasha and continued around the room storing many of his personal belongings. Judas was the type of guy that would keep many momentos and items of importance. He wasn't messy though. He love to read just by noticing the bookshelf he had. He attained a small library of books he read and learned from. He was a man of knowelge, always curious about the world. He was ready for anything Sasha were to teach him at anytime.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha shrugged.

"I just thought that perhaps a game of cards might be a nice break from the work of putting things away..." He suggested.

It sounded rather innocent and simple - but there was more behind it. Much, much more. Sasha would use conventional methods of training from time to time, but he rather preferred to teach by true life examples. Many lessons were learned not from directly being told, but indirectly. The indirect lessons, he felt, were the better lessons, for they involved a deeper thought process and level of understanding.

"Are you up for it?" He asked, his violet eyes carrying a friendly challenge in them.

[Judas Escariot]

Judas felt a bit odd of the situation but he agreed. He pulled two chairs and sat at his table.

"Ok, lets play here," Judas indicated to the opposite seat.

Judas sat back until Sasha took his seat.

[SashaKovalev]

As Judas accepted, Sasha took a seat.

He set the cards out in front of them, the deck complete.

“We’ll play a simple game to begin with,” He stated, before launching into the quick set of rules. He basic idea was to end up with the five best cards that you could, in a variety of combinations. On your turn, you could discard as many cards as you wanted, and pick cards from any of the three piles of cards that were placed in the center of the table.

And then Sasha dealt the cards. Within moments, through the use of the force, he knew what cards Judas held, and he knew the next few cards in the three decks in front of them. This first lesson was to be a review, really, of what they had begun when working with the lightsaber. He was testing Judas, to see if he would remember, if he would use what had been taught to him to make the right selection with the cards.

“You can go first, since I dealt…” Sasha suggested innocently.

[Judas Escariot]

Judas examined the three piles and reached for a card. It was hard for him to choose at first, but then I got slightly easy. He had remembered that conversation he had earlier about those similar hilt pieces. Sure, all the cards were similar, but not all the same. All the cards have a type of alteration.

He waved his hand over the three piles and selected the middle pile card. He looked at Sasha as he picked it up. He felt is if this one was the right card, the odd thing though, was that he some how felt that Sasha thought the same thing about it, too.

He sat back and looked at his cards waiting for Sasha's turn.

[SashaKovalev]

Though he did not smile, or reveal that he was pleased with his apprentice, inside, he was. Judas had remembered the last lesson – it had been clear from the way he had paused in reaching for a card. From the concentration Sasha had felt from him.

Excellent.

He paused only for a moment before he placed three cards down, and took three others.

Now, it was time for a new lesson.

As Judas began to reach for another card, Sasha raised a hand to signal for him to wait.

He then flipped over the top three cards so that Judas could see, quite plainly, what they were.

“Now pick your card – or cards.” He suggested.

[Judas Escariot]

He looked at Sasha and veered his site to the revealed cards. Clearly he knew it was a new lesson here. He concentrated and felt that it was a test of plain view. It's like the old saying, 'Can't judge a book by its cover', something like that, he was sure. He continued to concentrate then, proceeded to see himself in the the cards, like the hilt piece.

He looked at Sasha again and cracked a grin. He removed all three top cards and set them aside.

"I pick none of them," he said smartly.

He flipped all the three piles over and revealed the bottom cards. Not only did he reveal that the cards were all well over the value of the three other cards, they were all three ACES!

Judas sat back with a smile and waited for a reply.

[SashaKovalev]

Ah yes. They were Aces. Or.....were they?

Sasha leaned forward, focusing for a moment on the cards, before he looked back to Judas.

"Are you sure those are the cards you prefer?" He asked, as if he were quite content to get on with the game.

[Judas Escariot]

Judas peered back and leaned forward with a smirk in his face.

"Yes I feel sure, my brother," he said.

Although he did feel a bit odd of the situation. Maybe that's what Sasha was expected for Judas to do. He forsaw a new lesson was being tested. Judas was always alert for a suprise.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha merely nodded, as if there were nothing altogether different.

And then he dropped the cards he did not want, and selected others. As he did this, the cards that Judas had selected, the cards that he now held in his hand, revealed themselves as the true cards that they were. Nothing worth wanting, and certainly not the aces that they had appeared to be.

Sasha noticed the mild expression of confusion as it creased Judas's forehead.

"Something the matter?" Sasha asked, glancing over his hand of cards toward his apprentice.

[Judas Escariot]

Clued and bewildered he was...

"How..., how did you do that," he asked in suprise," That's impossible!"

Judas picked the deck of cards and searched the whole deck, examining it.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha shook his head.

“It isnt a trick deck.” He stated.

And then, for a moment, he set his cards down.

“You are doing very well – you’re searching with the force and using it to guide you – but you need to open yourself to it completely.” He began.

“I used an illusion. I made the cards look as if they were aces – and that is what you saw when you searched the cards through the force.”

He wanted to smoke a cigarette, for playing reminded him of being back home with his friends. They had always gathered on weekend nights to drink, play cards, and smoke cigarettes. And while smoking was not something he considered a habit, it was something he did on occasion when he felt like it. But he said nothing.

Instead, he pulled a card from the center of the deck and placed it face down in front of Judas.

“Tell me what this card is. Open yourself to the force. Remember when you found the crack in the piece for the saber? Remember how you felt then – allow yourself to feel that now - the heat, allow your palms t be sweaty if those are the physical traits that come with it. Allow yourself to feel that now. Do not search for what you can see, but what you can feel instead.”

And then he leaned back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest, and waited for his apprentice to understand what he was suggesting.

[Judas Escariot]

Judas looked at the card face down...

“Tell me what this card is. Open yourself to the force..."

The heat of his body began to exceed.

"Remember when you found the crack in the piece for the saber?"

He flashed back to what he saw in the the lightsabre piece again...

"Remember how you felt then – allow yourself to feel that now..."

His palms began to sweat...

"The heat, allow your palms t be sweaty if those are the physical traits that come with it..."

The appeared to be another ace, but wait...

"Allow yourself to feel that now."

The had another value!

"Do not search for what you can see, but what you can feel instead.”

Feel

This wasn't an ace it was a three of clubs! He looked at Sasha and smiled...

"The card is a three of clubs," he flipped the card over.

He sat back and waited for his mentor's reply.

[SashaKovalev]

The card is a three of clubs

Sasha nodded, a smile of satisfaction coming to his face.

“Good. Very good.” He stated, nodding his head in approval. He allowed Judas a moment to reflect in his success, and then he spoke.

“It will not come easily at first. It will always take concentration, and it will drain energy from you until you begin to master the skill.” He explained.

“But practice this. Always practice opening yourself to the force so that when you need it, you will be able to easily call upon it. You can practice anywhere – in a crowd of people, alone in your room, anywhere. Practice it in different places and in different situations until it becomes second nature to you.”

Sasha collected the cards in his hand and shuffled them, not for use, but just out of habit. It was somethingone did when they held a deck of cards in their hand, it seemed to him.

“Now, without making too much of a mess, lets begin to apply this concept. When you open yourself to the force you open yourself to limitless opportunity. The force, when you learn to control it, can do just about anything you desire it to do.”

“But first you must learn to channel it. To tame it. To control it. Control is key to the Sith teachings. Control over others, control over things. In control, there is power.”

He set the deck of cards back upon the table.

“We’ll start with manipulation of objects. One by one, I want you to move each card from the deck, and create a new deck beside this one. Using only the force.”

He demonstrated this, moving the top card and placing it beside the larger stack.

“Open yourself to the force, feel its presence, and command it to do your bidding.”

[Judas Escariot]

Judas looked at the deck. He concentrated but nothing happened.
He grew fustrated and then angry.

"I can't do it," he exclaimed.

Suddenly the cards flew into the air and all over the room. He stood and looked at Sasha.

"Did I do that," he asked looking a bit suprised.

Sasha would soon know then that Judas was merely a involuntary force user. A pure savant to the force. Control was going to be his most valueable lesson in time.

[SashaKovalev]

He watched as the cards flew everywhere. A slight expression of amusement appeared on his face.

"Well I didnt do it, Im much neater than that." Sasha retorted, standing from his seat and moving over to lean against the doorframe.

"You can do it, Judas. You were able, last night to see the minute crack in the piece of the saber. You were able just now to tell me what card I held. It was the force that allowed this. It is the force that will allow you now to pick up each and every one of these cards and put them in a pile as I asked you to do."

He reached out with one hand, and a card flew to it.

"Tell me again, what card it is that I hold." He suggested, for once finding patience. It would be important for Judas to learn what the force felt like. It was only then that he would begin to learn control.

[Judas Escariot]

Judas looked at the card and closed his eyes. He felt his body heat up and his palms begin to sweat. He felt his heart beating stronger. Then, all the cards around the room began to float in midair and stayed stationary.

"Seven of diamonds," he replied.

Judas slowly opened his eyes as the all the cards around the room began to fall one by one. He started to feel very exhausted.

"Why am I so tired, my brother," he said in a weak voice.

As he said this, Judas collapsed onto the floor.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha watched in silence as the cards rose and floated in midair.

Seven of diamonds

Sasha nodded as Judas opened his eyes. One by one the cards began to fall back to the ground.

Why am I so tired, my brother? Judas asked, his voice carrying weakness before he collapsed to the floor.

It was not in his nature to strike a man when he was down, at least, not someone who was his brother in the order, but others in the galaxy would, without a doubt. And Judas had to learn this. He had to be taught that weakness was not an option. He would have to continue despite his exhaustion.

Had this been a saber duel, Judas would have been dead.

With the force, Sasha dragged Judas to his feet, holding him by the scruff of his shirt. He called upon the dark side, reaching deep within him to find anger. And with this anger, he inflicted pain upon Judas. It internal and it was sharp, and enough to bring him to his senses.

“There is no weakness, there is the dark side.” Sasha stated, quoting part of the Sith code as Judas’s eyes met his.

“You will learn to use the dark side and you will learn to continue despite exhaustion or you will suffer the consequences. Had I been an enemy you would be dead by now.” He growled, his tone menacing as he spoke.

He then gave Judas a shove, knocking him to the ground.

He remained where he was, looking down upon his apprentice, his violet eyes flashing.

“My apprentices will not be weak.” He intoned.

“You will learn control, and you will practice it over and over and over. It will take practice to be able to use the force for extended periods of time and not tire yourself.” He added, his voice softening only slightly.

“Now come….” He gestured to a chair.

“Sit down for a moment and collect yourself, and then begin the task that I have given you.”

[Judas Escariot]

Judas was shocked to find that his master was so stern, and full of ambition. Failure wasn't his option and he must stay focus if he wants to survive.

When Judas finally came to he got up and sat at the table, a bit woozy but was trying to stay as focus as he could. He rose his left hand and closed his eyes. His body began to heat up and palms began to sweat again. His heart was loud enough to be heard pumping in a deep manner.

In moments all the cards around the room began to shake. One by one began to float...they all began to reunite in midair into one deck. Judas clenched his fist and directed the cards to the table. They nicely sat on the table in front of Sasha.

Judas quickly opened his eyes and opened his fist. He began to wave his fingers and moved each card one by one to the right until it made a new pile.

When he was done Judas inhaled and exhaled. He was calm and steady, still dizzy, but conscious. He slowly realized that he did not ever thought he was able to do such a thing. This force was part of him now, a new beginning. He finally found the real truth behind the Force. His final question was the...Jedi. He looked at Sasha's eyes and softly thought of the question. He did in a manner as if involuntary but knew somehow it would work.

"My brother, tell me, who are the Jedi,"he pondered.

[SashaKovalev]

Once Judas had completed the task, Sasha allowed a small nod of approval.

He could feel the wonder that Judas now felt. The realization that the force was a part of him. That it ran within him. He allowed his apprentice the time to consider this and reflect upon it, for it was an important discovery, and not one that Sasha wished to rush.

And then Judas asked a question.

My brother, tell me, who are the Jedi

Sasha’s violet eyes narrowed for a moment, and it was in this instant that he recognized Lady Vader’s training rubbing off on him. Her eyes had narrowed in this fashion whenever he had asked her of the jedi. For a moment, he almost laughed. But he didn’t.

Instead he took a seat across from Judas and prepared himself for an open discussion. Judas would learn through words just who the jedi were, and tomorrow, Sasha would show him exactly who the jedi were.

“What do you wish to know of them?” He asked.

“The jedi are many, and as different from one another as I am from you or any of the other Sith here. They, like we do, have a common goal that they work toward. They’re a group of force users, who believe in using the force differently from the way in which we use it. What, specifially, are you asking, Judas?”

[Judas Escariot]

"What do you wish to know of them?"

Judas looked at Sasha with great curiousity and spoke...

"What makes them so different from us, why do the Sith hate them, will I ever encounter one and if I do, will I survive, and arewe related to them...," Judas said in an eager manner.

He had endless questions than Sasha can handle. He was like a child in pre-school learning shapes, letters, and numbers. He wanted to know everything. He waited for Sasha impatiently.

[SashaKovalev]

Judas was curious and Sasha found no fault with this. It was better, he thought, that he showed some sort of initiative to learn, than to merely follow without question. When he was on his own, he wold have to think for himself, and it would do him no good now to learn to merely take directions and not think about them.

What makes them so different from us, why do the Sith hate them, will I ever encounter one and if I do, will I survive, and are we related to them

Judas’s questions came tumbling out, and Sasha found himself shaking his head a grinning.

“The jedi, Judas, are just like us in that they are people of all different races and cultures, who have come together for a common goal. They are force users, just as we are, but our philosophies on how to use the force and what to use it for are so different that it has created the controversy between us.”

He reached for the deck of cards, shuffling it absently.

“You will understand better once your training progresses. What you’ve been taught right now does not call upon the dark side, necessarily. When you begin to call upon your anger and your emotions, it is then that you will learn the difference and begin to understand where the true power lies.”

He paused for a moment, considering the question of what would happen if Judas met a jedi.

“It is not likely that you would die from an encounter with a jedi unless you behaved rather foolishly. Most will not bother you unless you do something to give them concern for the safety of others or themselves. And most will not seek your death, but your redemption. Much like a religious cult, they will try to get you to see that the dark side does not hold all the power and allure that we believe it does.”

“They use, really, only the force that is needed to subdue you. Of course, just as there are exceptions to the Sith, there are exceptions within the jedi. Never assume anything.”

“Perhaps tomorrow we will go in search of a jedi so that your first encounter with one will not be your last…” He suggested, a faint expression of amusement flickering in his eyes.

[Judas Escariot]

Judas looked at Sasha with great curiousity and amazement. He was going to look forward to meeting a true Jedi, but how was he going to react to it? He had no reason to hate them at all.

He kind of saw himself in another interesting training session in the future. He wondered where Sasha would take him to see one of them.

Judas nodded in agreement and waited for his next lesson patiently.

[SashaKovalev]

Much like Judas, Sasha also had little reason to hate the jedi. He fought against them only to ensure the freedom of using the force in any capacity that he chose.

He held a grudge of some sort against Xazor, for his friendship with her had led to troulbe for him. Trouble that he blamed her for to some degree, only because he felt that she should have known that the things she suggested would lead to devastating consequences for a young sith.

In preparation for their meeting with a jedi, Sasha wanted Judas to begin to recognize the difference in the ways that they used the force.

And so began the next lesson.

“Why did you wish to join the Sith order, Judas?” He asked.

“Why did you seek out the Sith as opposed to other groups that also use the force?”

[Judas Escariot]

“Why did you wish to join the Sith order, Judas?”

Judas of the question for a moment. He told his reason when he first joined. He was suprised that Sasha didn't remember...

"Well, then we have a simple understanding…” He started to walk toward a pillar and leaned against it. “I’ve been having these episodes ever since I was a child. I had several nightmares and when I thought or felt a certain way then, awkward situations happened,” he approached Sasha until he was in front of him about five feet and removed his hood revealing his face, “Sasha what has happened to me, I remembered my past, when we were young and stupid, these disturbing lapses in my mind. Then I found this,” he pulled out a familiar device out of his cloak and ignites it, “I researched information about this device, I found that this device was used by these Jedis and they used this power called the Force,” he started wielding it around, the lightsabre was well crafted, it had a white beam and was remarkable, it was a site, “That’s when I found out about this Order, I was curious about these feelings I had, the Jedi, and this Force they talk of,” he deactivates the lightsabre and puts it away, “So I’m here in front of my old friend included in this faction, I need my questions answered,” he walks passed Sasha and then turns around, “Is this enough for you?”

"I am a seeker of knowledge, my admission is only for the cause of finding what I am. I do not mock anyone unless they push me to the limit," he pulled his hood back on, " This is my sole purpose to join this faction, something sent me here and I tend to find out why I am here too. This is my fate, I know it."

"Settled then...my thousand apologies...I guess we'll meet again sometime Sasha..."

Within a frame of ten minutes Sasha was reminded of the episode he had with his first encounter with Judas...

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha shook his head.

For a moment, he had been tempted to teach Judas a lesson. A lesson that wold remind him in the future to listen more carefully. Instead he chose to give him a second chance.

His voice was stern as he spoke.

“You did not listen carefully enough to the question.” He responded.

“I asked why you chose the Sith order over the others who use the force.”

“Why the Sith in particular? If you wanted to know of the jedi, why did you not seek them out?”

He stood.

“You don’t mean to tell me we were the only force users out there that you could find….” He added, his words almost condemning.

[Judas Escariot]

“Why the Sith in particular? If you wanted to know of the Jedi, why did you not seek them out?”

Judas noticed Sasha was a bit frustrated and he thought it would be best to get to the point very soon.

"I've read many books around the galaxies and learned many things of the Sith versus the Jedi. I can't help myself when I find an opportunity to learn new things, but what caught my eyes the most was the Sith. I needed to know why were they so different. Several books have said of the Sith being a powerful legion. I must admit I do have a lust for power, so I decided to learn from the Sith and have them train me in the Force. Besides, based on what I read, the Jedi are pretty pathetic. They should be using the Force to their advantage. That's why I never went to them. I want control, power...., leadership. I would I love to be known as someone feared," he said while he walked toward a window and looked beyond the horizon of the sunset then, returned his eyes to Sasha and narrowed them.

"One day, everyone will see what I have become, they will all know who I am..., soon...enough...," as he finished he looked toward the horizon again and was completely silent.

[SashaKovalev]

I want control, power...., leadership. I would I love to be known as someone feared. One day, everyone will see what I have become, they will all know who I am..., soon...enough...

At this, his master smiled.

“Then why don’t we begin to tap into some of that power…” Sasha suggested, a gleam entering his violet eyes.

“The key to the power of the dark side is to open yourself to your emotions, to anger in particular. It is then, and only then, that you will begin to feel the potential that lies within you….”

Without bothering to ask, he moved to the mini fridge and pulled a can from it. He searched for a glass, and emptied the contents of the can into the glass.

“We’ll start small….” He stated as he set the can on the table and motioned Judas over.

“Search within you for a moment and find a memory that evokes emotions, that evokes anger within you…”

He waited for Judas to do this.

“Use this anger, work through this anger to command the force to do your bidding. When you use your anger, you naturally call upon the dark side and you will feel it building within you….”

“Once it has built to the point where it feels as if you will explode, channel it, force it to do your bidding, and focus upon the can. Crush the can without touching it, but instead through the dark side…”

[Judas Escariot]

“Search within you for a moment and find a memory that evokes emotions, that evokes anger within you…”

Judas chuckled to this and soon the chuckle went into a laugh.

"The only moment I remember in my life that I was was angry was when you forced me in that damn speeder," he said as he sat down at the table to focus onto the empty can, "But there was that one time where I had a confrontation with a very peculiar man in Yogurt's Bar and Grill..."

" This man was wearing a mask to conceal his face and I remember how powerful he was. He was very strong in the darkside of the force and very intimidating. I sat at his table and he ask me what I was looking at. With my overconfidence I answered back in a cocky way. He threw me across the bar and ask me where Jeseth Cloak was. I was a bit shaken but I did let my guard down...," he continued.

"So I pulled the my lightsabre out and attacked him. I horribly lost but, I told him that we will meet again someday and have my revenge...," he said as he looked at the can a crushed it imagining himself strangling this stranger he confronted.

[SashaKovalev]

He had rolled his eyes at Judas’s first comment, a faint expression of amusement crossing his features. Perhaps one day he would recover full memory of the incident. Or perhaps it was a period of his life that would be, like so many others, forever lost.

It surprised him that Judas had no source of anger within him, save for the one vow of revenge upon a total stranger. But if this anger worked, for now, at least, until Sasha could push him into developing it further, it would have to do.

He watched as the can slowly began to sink into itself. And silently, he nodded.

“Excellent.” He stated a moment later.

“Your anger is very controlled….” He commented, a sly grin crossing over his features.

“We’ll work on that.” He added.

“Control is excellent, but sometimes….giving in to the dark side and allowing it to explode from within you will bring you the power that you seek. The key is not to lose total control over this. It’s a fine line…” He added.

“And one that you will come to understand in time.”

With this, he seemed satisfied enough. Judas did appear to be a bit tired, and had persevered, had pushed on when he had been pushed. His master was happy with this.

“Tomorrow we will find a jedi.” He stated.

“Between now and then, I want for you to search within yourself. I want for you to find the deepest, most aggressive part of you. The part that lusts for power. The part that lusts for revenge. And when you find it, become well connected with it. We’ll begin to work with it to develop your skills in the dark side…..”

He moved towards the door.

“And then get some sleep…” He added, his tone softening just the slightest bit.

(ooc: I’ll start a new thread in just a few. Its going to be in storytelling. Ill PM ya when its done)

[Judas Escariot]

Judas proceeded to the door and out of curtisy opened the door for Sasha.

"Sleep well, my brother," he said as he closed the door.

(ooc: Sweet I'll be waiting then)

[SashaKovalev]

He nodded and disappeared down the hall. In time, perhaps he would get some sleep. But for now, he was off to meet with his other apprentice, Zatania. A knight's work was never quite finished....