Training of Jorshal I - First Blood

[Salem Ave]

Away from the Sith Palace the vampire and child went, down towards Corellia proper and the city. They walked in silence for a long while until they came upon a group of children playing ahead. They were kicking a ball around, and were not aware of the presence of the Sith and the newly accepted.

“What do you sss-ee, boy?”

[Jorshal]

Jorshal looked at the kids for a moment. They were playing ball, kicking it around without a care in the world. For a moment he wished he had that kind of life, no running, no hiding... But what did they know, Jorshal was going to be better than them.

"Just a bunch of losers. They don't know anything." He said with anger forming inside towards them.

[Salem Ave]

“Isss therrre anything you’d like to do to them?”

He asked, looking down at the boy still.

[Jorshal]

Jorshal thought of the answer that he thought Salam would be looking for. he could kick them all in the shins, punch them... he remembered what Salam had said about becomeing a killer. He could kill them. He let the thought of their dead bodies linger in his mind.

Maybe that was the answer his master was looking for, but did Jorshal want to do with them? "I hate them, they should have to go through what I did. It's only fair. Someone should make their parents fight, their daddy die and never tell them why."

[Salem Ave]

“But how can we do that, boy? We do not know wherrre their parentsss are…”

[Jorshal]

Jorshal was puzzled and the look showed on his face. How do you find someone? There was the phonebook, but Jorshal wasn't about to suggest that. All and all he honestly didn't have an answer. "I- I don't know."

[Salem Ave]

“Perrrhaps their parents will come, if they hear theirrr children are in pain?”

[Jorshal]

Jorshal nodded, "Yeah." It seemed his master was giving him an open invitation to do so. He looked for something to throw... there, it was a fairly sized rock. He picked it up with both hands and walked closer to the group. Holding it over his head he threw it with all his might at one of the little kids hitting him in the back and knocking him over.

Sure enough the child began to cry and his parents would be there soon. "Uh-oh." He said and turned to his master "What happens when his parents come? I can't beat them!"

[Salem Ave]

“You can’t, be we can.”

Sure enough, an adult appeared. She hurried out towards the boy, looking frustrated at his bawling. Fussing over him, it took a little while before she noticed the two unfamiliar faces. She smiled at the boy, before looking somewhat in shock of the figure at his side.

[Jorshal]

Jorshal childishly stuck his tongue out at the mother. "I did it and you can't do nothing about it." He said defiantly to her.

The mother stood up and walked over to the two. She was visably afraid of Salem, but she forced it into her mind he must be an alien of some sort. She mustered up her courage and spoke, "How could you let him do such a thing?" She said to Salem "My boy may have a broken bone! And you're just standing here! What's the matter with you?"

[Salem Ave]

“You left him out herrre alone. You left him at the merciless hands of whatever prowlsss these decidedly unsafe streets. This is your fault.”

Salem looked down to Jorshal and nodded, as if to say that he should continue. Should any others approach, Salem would fend them off. This kill was the boys.

[Jorshal]

Jorshal knew what he had to do. He would make his master proud. He ran to the boy who was still sitting down and kicked him as hard as he could in the jaw. The boy began to try and get up but Jorshal pulled him down and began to let his rage blind him as he pummeled the boy repeatedly in the face. Blood began to freely flow from the kids face, Jorshal didn't notice.

He thought he may have the logic behind the beating, the unfortunate kid was an example, who would dare challange him now? Jorshal realized the power that came with instilling fear in others. He would bet even the mother would be afraid of him now. Jorshal looked back at his master and searched for a sign of approval.

[Salem Ave]

Salem gave another nod. The woman was wailing now and rushing towards Jorshal as to tear him away from her bloodied and catatonic son. Other children were reacting with fear, some running, others frozen in their place.

[Jorshal]

Jorshal's gaze turned from his master to the mother, who was approaching fast.

"Uh-oh." Jorshal stood up and began to run back to Salem but the woman came to him and hit him in the shoulder. "OW! You-" Jorshal said, followed by an unmentionable word. The woman didn't take notice and hurried back to her child, her bloody child.

For a moment Jorshal wanted to cry, had that been him, battered and beaten, how would his mother react? He began to feel bad for the child and his mother. Quickly he supressed the feelings. At the least the beaten child had his mother always by his side, there to protect him... or at least try. Anger rushed though him, he was jealous of that beaten boy.

By now the woman had picked up her child and run out of the school yard, likely to a hospital. Jorshal walked over to his master, did he really need to ask what to do now? Jorshal had a feeling Salem knew what he was thinking and knew what he was going to say before he did. Salem was strong in the Force, whatever that meant.

[Salem Ave]

“Arrre you really going to let them get away like that, boy?”

Salem lowered himself into a crouch, to set his eyes on level with Jorshal’s.

“Concentrate on your hatrrred and follow them… the Force will quicken yourrr pace.”

[Jorshal]

"Do I have to kill him?" Jorshal asked but knew the answer. What must be done, must be done. Jorshal ran as fast as he could and eventually caught up with them. Once the woman noticed Jorshal was following she tried to speed up, but Jorshal found himself somehow just as fast, if not faster than her.

Jorshal grabbed both of the woman's legs and she toppled over throwing her comatose child into the air and landing roughly on the pavement. Jorshal kicked the woman in the mouth, hoping that would give him just enough time to take care of the boy.

He approached the boy, who was silent, unaware he was staring death in the face now.

"It's either you or me, sorry." Jorshal whispered and began stomping on the other childs throat. Soon enough the child's windpipe collapsed and he began to suffocate. In a few more moments, he would be dead.

The mother climbed to her feet, her face bloody from the kick int he mouth and she was also having trouble breathing, the blood was flowing from her mouth and down her throat. She couldn't possibly swallow it all could she? No, it seeped into her lungs and slowly was killing her. Jorshal squinted at the woman's battered face. How hard did he really kick her? He's only ten, Jorshal knew he didn't have the kind of power to create such a mess of someones face with just one kick.

Something was giving him power, he didn't know how, he didn't know why. Jorshal realized then that he had the power of life and death in his very hands. "Monster..." The woman uttered and collapsed to the ground out cold because of the lack of oxygen to her brain. Monster, the woman's last words echoes in his mind. It was strange though, Jorshal felt more like a god.

[Salem Ave]

Salem stood at the fallen body’s side, looking down into the ghastly mess of ichors and blood.

“Well done, Jorrrshal,” he nodded, approvingly.

“Tell me what wasss going through your mind as you did this,” he continued, casually motioning a cloven hand to the corpse.

[Jorshal]

"I- I'm not sure. It all doesn't make sense really, if you put it together." he said and tried to gather it all together in his mind and make something presentable out of it.

"Well, at first I felt bad for the child and mother. But I realized I shouldn't, because they are in the way of me and my happiness. Then things stopped making sense. I got angry and I started to move faster, and get more powerful. I don't know...how. But, killing them was the right thing to do. If it is necessary to complete my training, which is necessary to do as my mother asked of me. Then it must be done, at everyone's expense if necessary." Jorshal stopped and found himself drawn to talk about the strange feelings of power he had experienced.

"Such power... I don't understand it. Where did it come from?"

[Salem Ave]

“You arrre right, boy. No one outside of the order is important to you. Not even your own family.”

Salem wanted to affirm this point before carrying on to answer the child’s question.

“What drove you on was the Forrrce. It manifesssts through your anger and hatred and empowersss you as it empowerrrs me. It can give you Godly power-sss, and eventually you will wield them, but for now …”

The Knight motioned for Jorshal to follow, as they began to walk away from the scene of the murder, presumably to the next text Salem had in order. They chanced upon more children out at night, though they lingered in the shadows instead of revealing themselves.

“Thisss time… a morrre careful approach. We are going to lure one of the children, usssing the Force…”

[Jorshal]

Jorshal was a little unhappy about how his mother was unimportant to him, at least according to Salem. He forced it from his mind and then focused on what task his master had set before him. Lure the children with the Force..."How do I do that?"

[Salem Ave]

“As beforrre, concentrate on your anger. Let it bubble up inside of you and focus it on one of the childrrren. Think about how you want them to come to usss. They arrre weak minded and will fall to your whimsss quickly.”

[Jorshal]

Jorshal closed his eyes and let his anger well up inside. He allowed everyhting to pour inside him. Although it hurt, he could see how pain was necessary for learning.

A hazy scene was portrayed in his mind, it was unlike anything he had ever seen or experienced before. He was senseing rather than seeing, but it was like his eyes had been opened for the first time. Like little glowing balls, distorted because of his lack of experience with the Force, but they were there and Jorshal knew they were the weak minds of the children.

Without words he spoke to one of them telling her to come to him. The mind was like a dumb puppy, it seemed curious as to who spoke to it and as Jorshal expected it grew more clearer. He opened his eyes and noticed that a little girl stood before him. He took a mental note that when senseing in the Force, things didn't get closer or farther away, it was like it lacked three dimensional properties.

There she was, Jorshal wanted to feel bad for what he was about to do. He wanted to, but he did not, he lost that feeling only a little while ago. He looked into her eyes and whispered, "Come here." The girl still like that curious puppy walked closer as Jorshal stepped closer to her. He was so close their bodies touched and he could feel her breathe. Breathe... he thought and knew just how to end her life without scaring the others.

Another step closer, the closest he could be to her, they were nearly hugging. He closed his eyes again and found her little glowing mind bright as can be, it was blocking everything around him it was so close. He tightened his grip on her and then tried to act in both the physical world as well as continuing to hold her in the Force.

His hand touched her face and closed around her nose. With his other arm and pulled her head tightly to his chest, cutting the air from her mouth and lungs. She struggled a little, but Jorshal did his best to calm the dimming glow. In the physical world she began to squirm, but Jorshal held tighter and tighter until he felt if he held anymore her head would cave in on her brain. Dimming more and more uintil it was gone, the spark had died. He opened his eyes and found the girls body slouched against his. He pushed her off with disgust.

"No one should be that weak." he said.

[Salem Ave]

Salem had watched with growing interest. The child had taken imitative and done what the Knight would have asked of him without being instructed to do so. He would not say it, but he believed Jorshal had the makings of a great Sith in him. However, all great men must learn humility and respect.

THWAK – the boy was dropped to his knees, blood trickling from his nose.

“You werrre not asked to kill her, boy. Do as I say, not a-sss I do. You have rrrendered our tool for our next tasssk useless. Return to the Palace and think on what you have learned today. We continue tomorrow, at sss-un set.”

[Jorshal]

Pain erupted inside Jorshals head and spread like a plague over his body. Blood flowed freely from his nose and if it continued it might burst through his skin. The feeling of pain, it felt so... he was at a loss of words. How was this even possible?

Only seconds had gone by, but to Jorshal it felt like days upon days of pain. He lay on the ground and heard faintly what his master had said. He struggled to get up and then glared at his master, how he wanted to hurt him back. Jorshal knew inside that he wouldn't be able to though, maybe one day, if he lived to see it.

He did his best to walk towards the palace while his body screamed at him and told him to lay back down and rest. No. He told himself and continued to slowly walk to the palace. This day had been the toughest he had ever endured. If there were more days like this Jorshal wasn't sure he would live to see them.