Training to Be Better

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus Devaneaux sat alone, cross-legged on the ground, in the training grounds of the Sith Palace. After returning from the battle with the Republic, he decided he needed to home his skills in order to better oppose his son Kieran. At the way it was going now, Kieran would be a Jedi Master before Artimus would become his equal.....unless Artimus started now.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.....through passion, I gain strength. Artimus tried to train the power of his mind, for once he had control of the power of his mind, he could control the power of his body...

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan rippled into existence beside the Apprentice, standing but showing every intention of sitting down to meditate.

"You look bored," he commented. "Need some help? It's what I do best."

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus' eyes snapped open. This face he recognized: Je'gan, the Knight in charge from the Coruscant operation. And an Elder of the Order, he found out later. "Working on my mind, see if I can get it in shape," he explained. "I have been sort of....training myself for years, even before the Jedi gave me the boot." The apprentice chuckled.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Ah."

A pause.

"Do you mean mentalics, or simply the ability to control the Force with your mind?"

[Artimus Devaneaux]

"Both," Artimus replied. "Though I would like to work on my physical strengths, my greatest weapon has always been my mind."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan nodded absently, apparently thinking deeply. A moment later, Artimus began to feel tired...

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus was surprised at the sudden feeling of fatigue; what was this? Then he glanced at Je'gan through tiring eyes....a test? He couldn't tell.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

A test, and a taunt: could Artimus stay awake (for Je'gan would not increase the pressure), and was he good enough to do so?

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus focused his mind power to resist. It took a great deal of effort, but eventually, the fallen warlord stood and straightened. While he no longer looked fatigued, he was somewhat drained. But only somewhat.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Good," Je'gan said, somewhat pleased. "Quite good. Any ideas on how to do the same to me?"

[Artimus Devaneaux]

"The way you did it to me, it required only a thought. I will need a lot more training before I could attempt to try it on someone better trained in the mind powers than I." Artimus felt some shame of that admission of weakness.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

There was more to it than that: projection, of course, and energy. But Artimus was essentially correct. All it was, was a thought.

"Good for you for learning that," Je'gan said. "A lot don't grasp that.

"Let's begin with that Adept over there." He gestured to a distant man going through saber routines. "Low-level, about your equal. Envision him getting sleepy; imagine the thought seeping into his mind and taking power."

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus closed his eyes and projected the effort to do as Je'gan asked. With someone more his level, it was surprisingly easy. Within a moment or two, the adept's lightsaber went out, and he slumped to the floor. Artimus was satisfied, but surprised at the amount of effort that had required. Must train more, he thought. Less hunting, more studying!

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan nodded, considering.

"There's another one, a young Apprentice by the looks of him. Envision, if you would, a cloud of darkness seeping into his mind, removing all light to cut off his vision entirely. This is known as Force Blindness," he continued, "but don't expect it to work too well on Knights and Masters; they'll just use the Force to sense their surroundings."

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Reaching again, Artimus was surprised how much easier this had been. He could feel the man's mind wondering what was going on, as he couldn't see....then the apprentice started screaming in confusion. Artimus gleefully held the fellow apprentice there for a few moments, then relaxed.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

As soon as Artimus began to relax, Je'gan hit him with a stinging telepathic strike.

"Do not stop," he said between teeth gritted in irritation. "Force Blindness is no good to you whatsover unless you can affect your target for at least ten minutes. I cannot and will not teach you anything else unless you can do this."

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus clenched his jaw and focused again on the adept. Once again, the screaming in confusion. Remembering Je'gan's admonishment, he focused for longer.

Ten minutes later, the adept had fainted in horror, and Artimus was barely standing.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Get some rest," Je'gan said tersely, walking over to the fallen Adept and standing over him. His eyes darted up to Artimus, then back down. "Come back in an hour."

In that time, he fully expected to have beaten the living daylights out of the weak Adept. The man had performed pathetically, and was lucky to avoid death. If Je'gan got mad enough, there was a decent chance that that luck would be suspended.

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Once he was in his quarters, Artimus sat on the floor against the wall. That had been tougher than he had thought. He would remember to try and keep his mind focused on his targets - he did not want to feel Je'gan's power again. But he smiled to himself as he thought, You should be wary when we meet again, Kieran. You will not have the advantage.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

A blood-soaked glove banged on Artimus' door forty-five minutes into the hour Je'gan had given his newest student. He had, perhaps not terribly surprisingly, lied.

"Get out here," he yelled.

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus knew better than to ignore a man like this. Especially considering he had probably killed the adept. He walked out of his quarters to where Je'gan was waiting. "Yes, Master, I am here."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Good. Now attempt Force Blindness on him."

Je'gan turned just as another Adept came around the corner. His head nodded fractionally toward the Adept, who slowed to a stop and looked back and forth, puzzled, between Je'gan and Artimus.

"If you can hold it for ten minutes without collapsing, I'll teach you something new."

And if you attempt to go easy on him, it will be you I kill.

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus swallowed hard, and he tried his damndest not to show fear in the presence of the Mindlord. Closing his eyes again, he gave all of his effort to the technique...

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan nodded sharply, observing with his eyes and with the Force, watching Artimus' power take hold on the unfortunate Adept.

Well, unfortunate was a relative term. This man - blocky, bearded, of an age with Artimus - was Respyrin, a mentalist in his own right and one of Je'gan's more loyal followers among the Order's lower echelons. He did not fight the blindness; instead, he accepted it and struck back, a scathing strike at Artimus' mental processes.

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus inhaled sharply in surprise at the response from the adept. This one must be one of Je'gan's more advanced students. He gave what little effort he had left to blocking Respyrin's strike....

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Respyrin grimaced in mingled frustration and pride as part of his attack got through. Je'gan tsked to himself and signalled Respyrin to stop.

"When involved in a mental duel, or any duel for that matter, if it becomes clear that a particular effort is making no difference, abandon it. Still...still, you can do Force Blindness, and you can do so under duress. That's...fine.

"Respyrin, dismissed." The Adept pulled an abrupt bow and stalked off the way he had come. Je'gan began to walk in the other direction, hands folded, quite obviously wanting Artimus to follow him.

"Force Confusion," he said, not looking anywhere save down the hall, "is a bombarding of the target's mind with false and confusing sensory data. Sights and sounds are best - you might want to try smells and physical sensations later, on your own. For now, just sight and sound. Give it a shot."

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Someone was probably waiting there, Artimus guessed. Sure enough, another adept. Focusing once more, Artimus focused on his next target...

[Je'gan Olra'en]

OOC/ I can't do a whole lot with a two-sentence post...

[Kieran Devaneaux]

((Artimus here - sorry, too lazy to change names at the moment :D....I only tried to go on what I got, because I wasn't entirely sure what to do. Sorry!))

[Je'gan Olra'en]

OOC: I mean write a bit more about how you do it, what happens, problems you encounter, and so forth. Be creative.

[Artimus Devaneaux]

((Trying this again...))

Artimus felt the presence of another adept. Almost as weak as the first one. Reaching out, Artimus attempted the technique as Je'gan had instructed. Sight and sound, rather than just sight. It was quite a bit harder than just the one - but that was probably how it was supposed to be. His consciousness flickered, but he managed to keep himself alert...

[Je'gan Olra'en]

OOC/ Much better.

IC/ Nodding, Je'gan ordered the test subject away via telepathy.

"Next up is illusion. You see this lightsabre?"

The muzzle of Azubah was pointed towards Artimus' gut as if to impale him. It was not yet activated, but Je'gan's finger was on the contact - another reminder, as if Artimus needed one, that this was not a man to cross.

"Imagine that it has been duplicated. Imagine, if you will, that it is in your hand. Believe it to be there, and partition your mind so that one part believes and one does not. You don't want to get sucked into your own illusions. Trust me on this one."

[Artimus Devaneaux]

((Sorry for the length of time it took me, got a little sidetracked))

Artimus tried not to shake as the muzzle of Je'gan's lightsaber was pointed right at him. Focusing his mind with some difficulty, he did as he was instructed, trying not to get trapped in the illusion. At first, nothing happened. A long moment passed by...then in his mind's eye he saw the hilt in his own hand - without glancing down at his hand at all. Keeping himself from flinching or sagging (using the Force was proving to be more exhausting than he thought - and he had thought it had been all choking and zapping people with lightning!), Artimus gripped his hand into a fist, as if clenching something...

[Je'gan Olra'en]

OOC/ It's all good. Training threads can be very, very boring at times.

IC/ A slow clap permeated the dark hall; Je'gan, his hands once more free now that his own sabre was back on his belt, was applauding with markedly more sincerity than he normally used.

"Well done, up to the end. Control, control, control. Practice that mindset until you can do it effortlessly, controlling your own thoughts and your connection to the Force. A Sith controls-

"Imagine, if you will, that nobody can see you. Go on: make an illusion of invisibility."