Back On Track

[Zatania Duvall]

After a short waiting period, Zatania finally recieved word that she'd be back to training again under a new master. She'd been gone for a long time and when she returned her old master had gone Dark Jedi on her. Easy come easy go, at least now she'd be able to continue her training.

Her room was rather quiet, as usual, but her mind still wasn't as quiet as it should have been. She was still struggling with the flood of memories coming back to her and felt that she might pull her out from frustration. They irritated her at every moment of the day, when she was speaking to someone, whenever she tried to read, and even while she slept. Hopefully it wouldn't interfere with her training because she was determined to become stronger, strong enough and cunning enough to finally fulfill her promise to destroy the last remaining tainted blood.

When another memory of her past subsided, leaving her angry with herself once again, she glanced towards the clock and realized that it was nearly time. According to the message she was sent, she was needed for training in the gardens in about ten minutes.

The chair beneathe her squeaked as she stood up, being that it was as old as she was feeling these days. After all that she'd been through.

"Time to go." She whispered to herself as she walked out of her room and down the hallway.

She watched each doorway and window as she passed by, trying to keep her mind occupied enough to possibly ward sudden remeberances off. It was times like these that she regretted ever wanting them back, but then again, without them she wouldn't know about her vow against Ceres.

When she arrived to the gardens, she stopped just outside of the entrance, unsure of whether to wait outside or if her new master was waiting within for her.

[Dark Lord Rivin]

Rivin was waiting in the training yard for an apprentice to show up. He got a call this morning saying that he was supose to meet an apprentice here. It looks like TSO was quick to asigne it's newest knight to an apprentice, even though just yesterday he agreed to take Jezreal as an apprentice.

Nobody told him who he was waiting for, or how long he would have to wait, so Rivin sat himself down in the middle of the gardens, using the force to pick up small rocks, and have the rocks orbit his position, slowly adding more rocks, and larger rocks to the orbit.

By the time Zatania shows up Rivin has almost 200 stones orbiting him, ranging in size from small pebbles to stones the size of a person's head.

[Zatania Duvall]

When she arrived to the gardens she found a Knight positioned in the middle of a sea of floating stones. She had never seen this man before, which wasn't surprising since she had disappeared for so long. But even so, this had to be her new master and that was good enough for her.

She realized that he probably knew she was here by now, so she didn't bother trying to say anything. She really didn't know what to say.

[Dark Lord Rivin]

Rivin sences the apprentice enter the training grounds. He opens his eyes and quickly places every stone back into the place that he picked it up from.

Rivin stands up and walks towards Zatania looking her over.

"Am I guessing corectly that you would be the student that TSO has asgined to me?"

Rivin Nods slightly in greeting as he says....

"I am Rivin, Sith Knight of TSO, Expert at Lightsaber Combat, and Telekenesis."

[Zatania Duvall]

She nodded in response to his question, watching his trek around her partially.

"I am Rivin, Sith Knight of TSO, Expert at Lightsaber Combat, and Telekenesis." He said.

"I'm Zatania." She said. "Thank you for taking me on as your apprentice, I would hate for my training to cease just because I lost my past master."

She bows slightly at the waist, keeping her eyes on Rivin.

[Dark Lord Rivin]

Rivin smiles...

"Yes that would be a shame."

Rivin goes to walk back to the middle of the training grounds, motioning for Zatania to folow.

"So, would you be so kind as to tell me what you have already been taught by your past master?"

[Zatania Duvall]

Zatania began to follow Rivin through the training grounds, her manner much more respecting than she had been with Sasha. Then she had treated him as a friend, but she barely knew Rivin enough to do this, plus she had been very different then anyways.

"He taught me a lot in the short amount of time he was my master. Force throwing, calling things with the force, breaking things with my mind, sensing danger and life presences. We also had one training session with a lightsaber."

She had the lightsaber he had given to her attached to her side, but it had not been used in years. She did not use it mainly because she had so little training with it that she did not want any disadvantages in a duel.

"Also some meditations that we were using to try and rouse some of my memories from slumber."

[Dark Lord Rivin]

Rivin nods...

"It sounds like you were ether a quick learner or your master was rushing your training... Is there anything that you would like me to start your training with?"

[Zatania Duvall]

"I wanted my training to be rushed as much as possible." She said, not truly elaborating on why.

"As for what I wish to restart my training with.."

She had known for days what she wanted to do as soon as she started training. The first thing that she had to learn was a way to control the memories.

"Is it at all possible for me to learn a way to expel or control the memories within my mind? They hit at the wrong moments possible and leave me somewhat helpless and in a daze. It's affected me in a confrontation already."

[Dark Lord Rivin]

Rivin nods and takes a seat on the ground, cross leged in the middle of the garden leaving enough space infront of him for Zatania to sit and not be in the garden itself...

"Yes, we can start with that, but it will not be symple, and hard to practice on memories. So We will work with trying to block another person from invading your mind. The mind defences developed for protecting your mind from outside assult can be used to protect you mind from distractions from with in itself."

Rivin motions in front of him.

"Please, Have a seat, and try to discribe to me the troubles with your memories, so I know where to start working on your defencies."

[Zatania Duvall]

Zatania sat down cross legged in front of her new master and rested her palms on her knees. She took a deep breath, wondering where to begin.

"They started when I tried a technique to revive my memories that specifally was stated in the book I research that only masters could accomplish safely.... But I tried it anyways, so thats probably why everything went wrong. Since then everytime I try to defend myself or attack, a memory hits me and distracts me so deeply that I feel like I am actually reliving the memory itself. My own sense of reality is screwed up when this happens and it leaves me vulnerable."

[Dark Lord Rivin]

Rivin gets a mildly puzled expresion on his face.

"If you don't mind me asking, why would you attempt a technique that would most likely harm a person of your skill level, and could likely cause you to become brain dead, or worse, just to retrive memories? And second, Did you find the memories you were looking for?"

[Zatania Duvall]

"I understand now that it was a mistake. I was arrogant." She said, bowing her head. "But I have retrieved my memories but they now distract me. They come to me in the form of flashbacks and prevent me from living my present life."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I thought that it wouldn't have mattered. But now that I have seen that it does, I wish to continue my training and never again attempt anything I'm not ready for."

[Dark Lord Rivin]

"I hope you understand that since this is force indused flashbacks, it will be alot harder to stop them compaired to normal flashbacks."

Rivin sighs and takes one of Zatania's hands.

"I will enter your mind and help you undo the damage that was done. I will need you to cooporate with me, and follow the instructions I will be giving you."

Rivin closes his eyes.

"First I need you to closes your eyes, and open yourself to the force. If any flashbacks show up, let them come. I may be able to trace the Flashbacks to the the damaged portion of your mind."

[Zatania Duvall]

Zatania nodded faintly, feeling very weary about allowing the flashbacks to come. Everytime they came they made her feel extremely ill, but if there was a chance that he'd be able to trace the problem to it's source, she'd do it.

So she closed her eyes and got ready for him to begin, but no sooner than she closed her eyes a flashback hit her without warning, as though on que.

She was a child again and she was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest just outside a very dimly lit room. The windows just at the end of the hall were dark, showing that it was about early night, and yet, there were short moments where light flashed and a low rumble died off in the distance.

Voices emerged from within the room, one quite shakey and the other firm and strong.

"Jaima, there is nothing we can do." Her father voice said, quite forceful and yet somehow caring deep down inside.

"Don't tell me that! There is always something that can be done!"

"Jaima, let him go, he's suffering." He said, sounding more strict this time.

"NO! I'm losing my baby and all you can tell me is to get over it?!" Her mother shrieked.

Her father remained silent and exited the room, standing in the doorway quietly without looking down to his left where young Zatania sat with tears in her eyes.

"Do not cry, Zatania. He was weak." Her father said before turning and walking down the opposite side of the hallway where he sat in a chair and stared out of the window.

Zatania blinked down the hallway towards her father's dark figure, who wore a black long cloak and looked so much older than he really was. She knew this behavior was normal for him but her mother's behavior was quite different than his. She sometimes wondered how they got together in the first place.

A scream emerged from within the room, ending with a desperate bawling like a wounded animal. "MY BABY!"

Zatania peered over her shoulder for a moment then down the corridor towards her father. He didn't nudge, not even a flinch. It didn't seem like he cared at all.

But Zatania didn't know what to do. Her mother had always favored her brother and at times she had wished him to die. But at this moment she felt guilty, as though it was her fault. And at that moment another injured yell escaped the room.

"It's all your fault! You wanted him dead and you got what you wanted you little brat!"

Zatania heard quick footsteps and felt as though she was in immediate danger. But no sooner than she scrambled to her knees did a hand snatch at the hair on the back of her head.

When her father heard the scuffle he stood and held out a hand. When he did this, her mother let go abruptly and she dropped to the ground. He approached and picked her up under one arm and looked his wife harshly in the eyes.

"He's dead not because of Zatania. You have no one to blame but yourself. He took after you." He said cruelly, then turned and walked down the hallway, cradling Zatania in both arms now.

Still in shock, Zatania peered over her father's broad shoulders and watched her mother. She just stared back with tear stained eyes and fell to her knees, all anger disappearing from her eyes, leaving only loneliness and desperate longing.

[Dark Lord Rivin]

As Zatania's memories start to play through her mind, Rivin starts to examin the conections that her mind it using. He searches her mind and finds that there is a concentration of Force Energy residing just at the edge of her memory storage portion of her mind. He also notices that the concentration of Force Energy has small tendriles that reach out into the rest of her mind effecting her sences.

He waits untill the flashback is over and watches as the tendrils retract back to the main concentration of Force Energy. at that point he uses the force to blockade the Force Energy from reaching out to Zatania's sences. He leaves the lines to Zatania's Active memory, and memory storage open, so that the Energy is not completely contained, and will still have a path to expand along when the force energy is activated.

Rivin then pulls out of Zatania's mind, and opens his eyes.

"Alright, Please open your eyes, and focuse you attention on me, not the force."

Rivin waits for Zatania to follow his instructions, then starts to explane what he found.

"You have a concentration of Force Energy in your brain, that when actavated pulls memories from storage, and sends it to your active memory, and all your sences, allowing you to relive the memory. For the moment I have blocked this energy from reaching out to your sences, but that will not stop the memories from returning. It Will only stop you from reliving them in every detail.

I will give you a number of meditations that will slowly help you disassemble this energy clot, and correct the flow of The Force in your body to it's proper flow.

Do you have any questions?"

[Zatania Duvall]

When the memory stopped for the moment she heard her master's voice and acknowledged him by slowly opening her eyes. She tried not to concentrate on the force, which wasn't easy since she was always trying to keep in touch with it. And hearing his explaination, she nodded and understood why she had these things happening.

"How long do you think it will take me to get the flow of The Force back to normal within me?"

[Dark Lord Rivin]

"Truthfully I can not say how long it will take. It will depend on how resistant the energy clot is to being dismantled. But the more you work on correcting your mistake, the less the memories will return at random. The blocks I put in there will last for about a year, so you have that long to get this problem to the point where you can live with it. For that year you will only remember, not relive, and you will still be aware of your surroundings."

Rivin stands.

"Would you like to come to my room, and we may talk while I locate the meditation you will require? Or would you rather be send the datapad to your room?"

[Zatania Duvall]

"I think going to find the meditation now would be much faster than waiting for the datapad. I'd rather start as soon as possible." She said, grateful that the memories would at least stop bothering her abilities for one year.

She stood up slowly, feeling as though a weight has been lifted off her shoulders, or rather, in this case, off her mind for the time being.

"Thank you, Master."

[Dark Lord Rivin]

"Very well, Come with me."

Rivin then goes to leave the training grounds and walks to his room. (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33938)