The spell of Magic (Lady Vader and later, Warlock)

[Maxim Vasilijev]

He only had a quick question to ask her. At least, he hoped it would be quick. He found himself at her door quite often lately – a sponge, it seemed, for knowledge.

She beckoned him in, as was becoming the usual, and he took a seat, looking to Iesis and scratching idly on the head of the enormous cat.

“I actually just have a quick question for you….” He began, not wanting to take up any more of her time than need be. He knew she was a busy woman.

“Theres this….warlock living on my floor. And he’d mentioned something about the magic he used to practice….”

Dark eyes that usually seemed so somber, so intense or filled with anger, for once had begun to light up a bit. He was coming into his own, young Maxim was, and it was beginning to show.

He noticed his master raise her eyebrow a bit at what he’d begun to speak about, and continued, perhaps a bit hastily.

“Would it be ok if he showed me some of it?” He asked.

“He said he wouldn’t teach me anything unless you approved of it first….”

[Lady Vader]

*LV crossed her arms and remained silent for awhile, pondering Maxim's request.*

The Warlock is wise in not starting anything with my direct permission or knowledge.

*She leaned forward, looking Maxim in the eye.*

I will allow the Warlock to teach you what darkness he knows, but under the condition that you report to me and tell me what it is you're learning.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

In the silence between his question and her response, he worried that she would possibly deny this request. But still, he remained on the edge of his seat, patiently awaiting whatever determination she made.

And when she granted him permission, the conditions included, he grinned. This expression was somewhat rare with him, at least around him master. And it wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy his time with her, it was rather that he wanted her to take him seriously. He wanted for her to know that he took his studies with the order very seriously, despite his seeming inability to stay out of trouble.

“That sounds fair to me.” He replied, his gaze moving to the large cat as he scratched behind her ears, and then back to his master.

“And I know my lessons with you come first.” He added. Though the things she sometimes asked of him were difficult and challenged him, the apprentice was capable of prioritizing and would certainly be able to handle the extra lessons. In fact, perhaps it would serve to keep him occupied and out of trouble.

“Is there anything else you wanted me to start working on before our next lesson?” He asked.

[Lady Vader]

*She shook her head.*

Only that you remained under control and don't get coky with whatever you do, whether it be with my lessons, or that of the Warlocks.

You've improved in that area considerably, but it is my duty and responsibility to advice you of it. A cool and collected mind will win over a overly-confident one... always.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

He tried very hard not to roll his eyes. She reminded him of this Ievery time she met with him.

"Yes, master." He replied, his tone of voice carrying a sort of 'you've told me a million times already' type of quality to it.

He grinned.

"You know, I do you hear you the first time when you tell me something..." He added.

[Lady Vader]

*She smiled back.*

And reminding you doesn't hurt you either.

There are times when things must be repeated... especially when they are important.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

He finally did roll his eyes.

“I know…” He replied, his tone exaggerated enough to express that he got her point, and yes, he did actually appreciate it. And usually it was when something finally sank in because she had repeated herself to him.

He stood from his seat then.

“Thanks for letting me do this…” He offered.

[Lady Vader]

You're welcome.

*It was the last thing she said to him, giving him permission with a wave of her hand to depart if he so chose.*

[Maxim Vasilijev]

And with that, he slipped from her presence, a broad grin on his face. He walked with determined strides towards his hallway and followed it to the end. To the larger room in the corner where the Warlock lived and knocked upon his door.

[Warlock]

The figure that answered the door was perhaps a little hard to recognize at first. Without his hood and cloak covering him, Warlock’s face was visible. Bald, and with a strange sigil apparently tattooed into his forehead, he looked a little younger than one might first think he was. His brow furrowed faintly.

“Something you need, boy?”

[Maxim Vasilijev]

It was apparent that Maxim was a bit surprised seeing the Warlock without his hood. He did look a bit younger than Maxim had at first surmised.

"Yeah..." He replied, leaning against the doorway.

"You'd told me that you'd maybe teach me something about your ways of magic if Lady Vader said it was ok." His head tilted slightly and a somewhat cocky grin broke over it.

"She said it was ok." He added, shifting his weight and standing up straight again.

"So....Will you teach me?" Although his attitude might have seemed cocky, an elder would likely see through it. Would probably understand that the cockiness was a facade to hide the normal insecurities of a kid his age.

[Warlock]

“Not here…”

Warlock shook his head, musing to himself, “No, not here.”

He glanced towards Maxim, adding to reassure the boy, “I will, but there is no way that I can show you what you want to learn within these walls. The Canon Temple, under Coruscant. That is where you must go.”

[Maxim Vasilijev]

A temple? Under Coruscant? The old man had to be losing his mind. The cocky grin faded as quickly as it had come, his usual scowling expression somewhat firmly in place.

His head tilted curiously and he gave the Warlock a quick look as if to say, 'did I hear you correctly?'

"Ok....." He replied slowly.

"Well I'll go wherever you need me to go...." He added. His master hadnt said anything about not being permitted to leave the order to learn these things. And until she did forbid it, if in fact she ever did, he'd go on the fact that she had given him permission to learn from the warlock - and that she hadnt set any limits except to tell her what he was learning.

He gave a glance toward the ever curious staff that rested in the same place the worlock had set it the last time Maxim had been to his quarters.

And then he looked back to the Warlock.

"When can you go?" He asked.

[Warlock]

“Whenever you’re ready my boy… only I’m afraid I don’t have a ship with which to take us there,” he replied somewhat solemnly, spreading his arms as though apologizing.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

An audible disappointed sigh could be heard and Maxim leaned bacl against a wall, crossing his arms over his chest in thought. He didnt have a ship. His father probably would have given him one - except, he hadnt finished university and had instead run off to join the Sith Order. Now, there was no chance. And he couldnt exactly ask Lady Vader about a ship....

"I usually just take the shuttle. It leaves every couple hours..." He suggested. And this was true. When he wanted to get somewhere, for now, at least, public transportation had been his only means.

[Warlock]

“That will have to be our chariot then, eh?”

Warlock shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it boy. The temple isn’t going to disappear if we wait a few hours,” he laughed.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

Maxim rolled his eyes, somewhat good naturedly for him. A few hours seemed like too long - particularly when he'd already had to wait this long just to get permission from Lady Vader to learn from the Warlock.

"You need me to carry anything for you?" He offered, having noted on several occasions the slowness with which the warlock sometimes moved.

[Warlock]

“I’ve nothing I need to take… save for…”

His hand came to lie on the gnarled length of the staff, which he gave a gentle pat.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

"I shouldnt assume, I know..." He began as he held the door for the Warlock to pass through, "But I've seen that thing glowing sometimes..."

The Warlock's door closed behind them and down the hall they began towards the hangar to catch the shuttle.

"Is it...well..whats it for?"

"Besides walking." He added quickly, knowing the warlock might try to pass it off as such.

[Warlock]

He took a few moments before he answered. The serpent head whose jaws were spread around the orb itself, and whose body slithered around the length of the staff, was also seen to pulse with light on occasion – although only its tiny eyes became illuminated.

“It lights my way in dark places,” the Warlock replied cryptically, though carried on to add:

“It can be used also to focus… the mind, the force, whatever you will.”

[Maxim Vasilijev]

He gave the staff a curious look, then turned back towards the hallway they were traveling.

He wanted to ask more about the focusing aspects, and would in time.

"whats the deal with the serpent?" He asked, wondering if it had any sort of symbolism to it, or if it was just a decoration of sorts.

[Warlock]

“It was a gift from a student… the younger acolytes would always call me an old snake, you see,”

He shook his head, looking to Maxim, “Haven’t the faintest idea why.

It belonged to the students grandfather before him, apparently, so I imagine I am upholding some form of Legacy by carrying it.”

[Maxim Vasilijev]

Maxim had suppressed a chuckle at the nickname for the old man. He could 100% understand why the younger members would have called him such a thing. If they’d dared.

Instead he offered a grin, obviously finding the humor in the statement. And obviously, the nickname was one out of fondness and admiration if one of the students had cared enough to have given such a gift.

“So how does it work when someone gets recruited or is looking to join?” He asked, hitting the button to activate the door that led to the passageway to the hangar bay.

“Is it like here where most everyone ends up with a master to teach them?”

[Warlock]

“There are usually one or two students to a Master… although we do teach group classes occasionally.”

Glancing up and around at the hangar bay, Warlock gave a look that suggested he was at least a little impressed.

“I will have to introduce you to some of my pupils while we’re there.”

[Maxim Vasilijev]

“Who is teaching them with you being away with the order?” He asked. He didn’t mean specifically who, as it would make no difference to him, not knowing any of the members of the coven at all, nevermind by name. Rather, he referred to generally, what happened in such a situation.

“Are they my age?” He asked. Though hed made several friends at the order, generally, companionship of someone his age was sorely lacking.

[Warlock]

“There are a few who would be considered my rank and just below who will be doing the job nicely, and yes, I think there are a few your age… I have one student named Azumith who is,” he smiled thinly, thinking of the young sorceress.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

"Your students weren't angry with you for leaving?" He asked as they stepped onto the speeder bus that would take them to the spaceport downtown where they could catch the local shuttle.

He shrugged slightly.

"I mean, I think I'd be a little angry if Lady Vader just sluffed me off on someone else...." He had begun to form a personal attachment to his master - learning much from her now that he'd begun to understand her and what she wanted from him a bit better.

To begin with a new master would feel, to him, like starting all over again.

[Warlock]

“I’ve been there for so many years, my boy,” Warlock replied, as he sat down,

“They can do without me for a few months.”

[Maxim Vasilijev]

ooc: sorry for the delay. Im back full time now. Do ya mind continuing these threads...?

IC:Maxim didn’t sit, but stood instead, holding onto the overhead railing above where the Warlock sat. He had too much energy to be seated.

“Have you ever been in any major battles?” He asked switching subjects as easily as one flipped on a lightswitch. He disagreed perhaps with the idea that they would be just fine without the Warlock – there was no doubt in his mind that if he’d been one of his pupils, he would have been disappointed to see the old man leave, if only for a few months time. But it wasn’t worth arguing.

Besides, there were more exciting things to hear of.

[Warlock]

“Oh yes. When I was a younger man we would fight… duel, as it were, with one another. We endured invasions from opposing covens. I used to be in the front line with my staff in hand… I could fight with my fists back then,”

He looked at Maxim with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

Maxim noticed the slightest hint of a sparkle in the old man’s eyes. He didn’t doubt there was plenty of life left in the man, even if he wasn’t so quick with a right hook anymore.

“Yeah, but now you’ve got better means than a fist…..” He replied with a slight grin. Not that he would ever back away from a good old fashioned round of fisticuffs, not at his age.

“Do you miss, it?” He asked, “The excitement of being on the front line?” As a kid who hadnt endured many battles – any, really, the front line had a sort of aura about it – an allure that would only ever be destroyed by actual experience and realizing that war wasn’t as fun as it seemed.

[Warlock]

“No, no. I think there’s a time for that, and for me that time has passed.”

Warlock looked up and down the small transport a moment.

“Shouldn’t be long before we reach our stop, eh?”

[Maxim Vasilijev]

Perhaps the time for the Warlock had passed. But perhaps now it was Maxim’s turn.

Shouldn’t be long before we reach our stop, eh?

“Is that the force or just a hunch telling you that?” He asked with a broad grin as the transport pulled to a stop outside the spaceport in Coronet.

They departed and found themselves just in time to catch the next shuttle to Coruscant. Maxim ran ahead to catch the shuttle doors to get them to wait a moment while the elder gentleman made his way across the spaceport.

And then they were off, the lines of space blurring in front of them. The transport was well packed with travelers, for Coruscant was a popular location, but the shuttle left often enough that there were still a few seats available.

As the journey began, the planet of Corellia being left behind them, Maxim settled back into his seat with a relaxed sigh.

“I’d like to have my own ship some day….” He commented in idle conversation.

[Warlock]

“Oh they’re bothersome things… more trouble than they’re worth, in my opinion.”

Warlock shook his head in a sagely old man sort of fashion, as though things he been different in his day – the good old days – when they rode about on banthas and everyone wore togas.

“Got to walk as much as you can, my boy. Keep your health up.”

[Maxim Vasilijev]

The young sith shook his head and chuckled.

“If I could walk my way across the galaxy I’d be doing a hell of a lot better than I am right now….” He replied.

“But as it is, I haven’t quite figured out how to get from planet to planet without a ship, and this public transportation thing gets old fast….”

He winced as a baby nearby began to howl, the pressure inside the cabin annoying it’s tender ear canals. He gave the Warlock a glance as if to say, see, a personal ship would be so worth it right now.

“You’ve never wanted your own ship?” He asked, the tone of his voice displaying his obvious disbelief.

[Warlock]

"No, I dont trust them," Warlock said, giving a suspcious glance around the room.

"It doesn't have a brain but it moves. Doesn't that strike you as wrong?" he said, his voice falling to a whisper.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

Well that was an interesting question. He hadnt exactly thought of it that way before.

It wasn’t going to keep him from wanting one, but it certainly did make him think about them perhaps a bit differently.

More than that, though, he noticed the way the Warlock’s voice had fallen to a whisper. On the one hand, he thought the old man was just crazy. On the other hand…he was a wizened old warlock, so perhaps there was something he had noticed that Maxim hadnt.

Dark eyes gave a suspicious glance about the cabin of the shuttle where they sat. The child was still crying and Maxim’s expression seemed to have turned a bit more to his usual scowl of annoyance.

“Seems ships aren’t the only thing you don’t trust…” He commented, lowering his voice as he replied to the old man.

[Warlock]

"Most people don't understand us, boy. Heretics and blasphemers, that's what they would call us. It's just better that they aren't concerned with us and our business," he muttered, donning a wry smile.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

Maxim rolled his eyes. What did he care what others thought? But he was young, and to him, the galazy was his to take. It did not yet occur to him that it was easier to take by cunning, rather than pure, brute force. In time. In time he would learn.

Particularly learning from the likes of Lady Vader and the Warlock.

"You dont seriously worry all that much about what they" this was said with a slight nod towards those in the cabin, "think, do you?"

[Warlock]

“You tell as few people as you can about your profession, Maxim. Creating a reputation for yourself only harms you ability to work well. Far more the pleasure when your opponents have no idea who the knife in the dark is, mm?”

He tapped his nose and smiled another wry smile.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

For a few moments Maxim was silent as he considered the Warlock’s most recent words of advice.

“Yeah, but…..” He began, his tone of voice not argumentative, but rather carrying an earnestness that only youth could provide.

“I want to be promoted…I don’t want to be an apprentice forever. Don’t I need to build a reputation to do that?”

[Warlock]

“Not at all. Reputation is just what people say about you and more often than not a person’s reputation is a right load of rot. Do what you do and you will be rewarded, regardless of whether the whole galaxy knows your name.”

[Maxim Vasilijev]

Maxim sighed.

“I suppose.” He replied, casting a glance about the cabin again. He really didn’t care so much if these people knew his name. More, he wanted the elders in the order to know it. He wanted to be promoted.

He was caught up in these thoughts when a young child stumbled into him. The child had been let to wander, but a slight bit of turbulence had tossed the little one to Maxim’s feet.

He reached down to help the toddler to his feet, looking about, as he did so, for the parent. It was a young mother who scooped the child up a moment later and rushed back to her seat.

“I know Im supposed to be patient and it will all come in time…” He commented when the mother and child were gone, “But I don’t know, it just seems like theres so much I want to learn and not enough time. They wont show me how to do a bunch of things until Im made a knight. And I don’t want to wait. I don’t want to be a million years old before I learn how to do the things I want to be able to do. I mean, don’t you regret just…learning all this stuff now at…your age?” His words were not meant to be insulting regarding age.

[Warlock]

“Oh no, not at all,” he shook his head emphatically.

“I learnt things when I was younger and this all adds on to that knowledge. It’s never to late to learn something new, boy. You have to make use of every minute of your life – any could be the last. I do understand your thirst for power, as I feel it myself… I will die before everyone here and it is likely that before that happens I will not have accomplished all I wish to.”

Warlock paused as the transport experienced some ‘turbulence’.

“… but that is impossible. All of your goals cannot be reached, not without infinite time to complete them in.”

[Maxim Vasilijev]

“But I don’t plan on dying without reaching my goals.” He responded, the tone of his voice determined, and carrying a tone that suggested no one argue with him.

“There’s no way.” He added.

He was silent for a moment in thought, brooding it seemed as he stared across the transport at a poster ad.

“Isnt there some way to prolong life?” He asked, turning back towards the wizened warlock.

“Someone must have figured out a way….”

[Warlock]

Warlock didn’t reply for a moment. He was too busy trying to stop himself for laughing.

“Not that I am aware of… I suppose you could create a genetic replicate of yourself, but then it wouldn’t be you would it?”

[Maxim Vasilijev]

"Well thats not what I was talking about." He replied quickly, the tone of his voice somewhat sharp.

"I dont want to replicate myself." He added rather hotly.

"I already have a twin brother and his DNA has gotten me into enough of hot water already. I dont need another one to ruin my life any more than he already almost did...." His voice had risen slightly, enough that those around him peered over, or tried to look as if they werent listening to his somewhat scandalous words.

"And whats so funny?!" He demanded.

[Warlock]

“Prolonging life,” Warlock pursed his lips, “The very thought of it makes me laugh.”

Warlock glanced around. There were a few eyes on them, and no doubt by now people were wondering just why the old man was dressed like some ancient monk. They must have nearly been at their destination now.

“I though these things were supposed to be fast,” he muttered to himself.

[Maxim Vasilijev]

The shuttle had in fact reached its destination, and as they stood and began filing out, Maxim turned to the Warlock.

"Why does that make you laugh?" He asked, his voice no longer defensive, but rather serious. Why wouldnt anyone want to proloing life...? Wasnt everyone always complaining it was too short?

On all side of them, people trudged along, down the ramp and then through the spaceport. It was slow going, and had Maxim not been distracted by his conversation with the Warlock, he might have pushed rudely through everyone.

[Warlock]

“I’m very interested in the matter of life, time and such things, but it always makes me chuckle. I apologize if this offends you, but cloning and such always seems like mankind grasping at straws.”