What is the power of the Dark side? (open)

Sleep was often a far fetched dream for him. It came from time to time, only when he believed he was truly safe from anything that might perhaps wish him dead. Some might view this as paranoia but it was more of a life style to Grawn Ianie. The Sith only slept when truly needed because there was so much work to do and so little time.

His mask hid all but his right eye which was a dull yellow as he walked down the dark hallways of the Sith Temple. The mask itself was a relic that gave him the ability to see in a sort of Force spectrum if he wished, except for the damage right section which let him see as normal. His cloak hung on his tone body loosely, hiding the two lightsabers hanging on his belt. Wearing only the basic black tunic, pants, boots and grey sash; he wasn't really anything special to look at.

But if one was to judge another on appearence alone, they would be a fool. As he walked, he shrugged his right shoulder, loosening the tension he was feeling in the cybernetic arm. It was a badge of shame and a badge of commitment, that arm was. Grawn would forever know how much he sacrificed for his beliefs, but he held no regrets. Regret can hold a person back and this would never do.

This night, the Sith decided he would visit the sparring room. While he had grown tired of the training simulation, because of the mere fact it wouldn't let him go above "Initiate" level, sometimes when he was bored he took some interest in watching the others training in there. They never really stood out but Grawn knew that eventually one would actually be interesting to watch.

The Sith entered the training room and placed him against the wall close to the exit. The cloak hood that draped down partially over his masked features unknowingly made him somewhat ominous looking, but that didn't really mean much to Grawn as he watched various initiates begin their training regiment.

A slight smirk came to his face as he watched a student be disarmed by a training droid. The boys grip had been all wrong. His eyes next went to another boy who seemed to fancy a double bladed lightsaber. His grip was rather sturdy but his swinging was awkward and unwieldly. Grawn himself prefered Jar'Kai, explaining the two fanged hilts on his belt.

Just when he was about to leave, growing tired of watching the same old thing, a flair of power bursted on the left side of his vision. The flair came from the mask and it meant a explosion of the Force had taken place. Turning his head, he saw a boy with a green lightsaber training.

From the looks of it, he was using Djem So. Being an assassin, Grawn often didn't rely on Djem So for the need of body strength. He was a balance of the two, but when using the dark side to infuse himself, he could use it with ease. Shien and Djem So were a good balance of attack and defense when used in conjunction with each other. The Sith placed himself back on the wall, folding his arms as he watched.

His form was adequete, grip was solid. The Force hummed around the boy as Grawn watched him through the mask and he nodded his silent approval. As he continued to watch, the boy suddenly began to speed up and he watched with interest as hate began to flow off him like heat. Whatever he was imaginarily dueling had some importance to him.

Twenty minutes passed and Grawn saw that the boy had grown tired, sweating profusely. He had stamina, this was for sure. The Sith smiled as the boy realized he was being watched and turned to face him.

"Not bad," Grawn commented, walking toward the boy. He was nearly as tall as Grawn as he closed in and now stood only a few feet apart. Looking down at the lightsaber in the boys hand, Grawn used the Force to peel it from his grip and place it into his waiting cybernetic hand, looking it over. "Not bad at all," he said again, giving him his lightsaber back. "You got a name?"

Cadyren looked at the cloaked figure, wondering what it was that he wanted. Cadyren could sense that the man before him was strong in the Force, and if he chose to could probably destroy Cadyren with ease. Cadyren also noticed the strange mask the man wore as well, which seemed to be broken because only one eye was visible. The man commented on his performance, telling him that it wasn't bad before using the Force to take Cadyren's Lightsaber frm his hand.

Cadyren watched his Lightsaber fly from his hand, resisting the urge to try and take it back from the man. Cadyren's Lightsaber was the only thing he had left in the world other then the few clothes he owned, everything else had been taken from him at some point or another. his master, his job, and his first love being some of the things that had been importnant to him. It had all happened because he had been to weak to help them, and they died because of it. He had taken his revenge on those who had taken them from him, but that didn't bring anything back. He had joined the Sith so that he wouldn't be weak any longer.

Cadyren noticed the man had a mechanical arm as he watched him look at the Lightsaber, and wondered if he had gotten it in a Lightsaber duel or if he had been in some accident that had mangled the arm beyond repair and had had it amputated.

Cadyren took his Lightsaber back when the man offered it back to him, making sure not to move to hastily to make it seem like he desired the saber back greatly, he didn't want anyone to know of his possessive nature as it could be used against him. once he had the saber back in his hand he clipped it to his belt, glad to have it back in his possession.

Cadyren looked back to the man as he asked him what his name was, My name is Cadyren Caldin. What's yours?

As much as the boy tried to conceal it, Grawn felt the relief of him giving back his lightsaber. This could mean a deal of things but none of them really were a problem. A lightsaber was one of your defenses as a Sith along with the dark side so it was natural to be on edge if you didn't have it unless you were a Consular.

"The name would be Grawn Ianie, Cadyren. And if you were wondering," the Sith said, using his left hand to pull up the sleeve of his cloak to reveal the cybernetic arm in its entirety, "it was a lightsaber fight."

The Sith smiled inwardly. He had sensed Cadyren's curiosity "Its a reminder what happens when you gloat rather then go for the killing blow. A tough lesson, one that you would be wise to learn without such drastic punishment for failure

It wasn't often that Grawn forced himself to socialize with anyone at the Temple. But Cadyren sparked his interest for the moment. Perhaps it was that he saw a bit of himself in the boy. He had particular hatred for a being that served as his springboard for strength and power. Ibapo had served as his and this boy had one as well. While Grawn hardly doubted Cadyren had learned the ways of the dark side as vicious and cruel as he himself had, he didn't compare this to others power.

"You wield a lightsaber rather well. Always room for improvement however. Perhaps when you're not breathing your lung out of your body, you would like to have a spar?" the Sith offered.

Grawn didn't plan on beating the boy into a pulp or anything but he was interested how he performed against a Jar'Kai user. Of course, the Sith could always use only one saber and use Shien / Djem So himself.

"Your call".

Cadyren nodded when the man explained how he lost his hand, most times when someone lost a limb it was do to a Lightsaber, seeing as they cut through flesh like butter. Cadyren had done his fair share of limbing hacking as a Padawan, and more notably during his duel with his brother where he had cut off everyone of his brothers limbs. Cadyren had occationally wondered what it would be like to have a limg that was entirely made of metal but he wasn't willing to just slice off his arm to get one, and wouldn't let someone cut his arm off either.

Cadyren found it interesting that Grawn had recieved a wound from waiting to long to make the final blow. Cadyren had a burn scar on his chest from a shot of Sith Lightning he had recieved for waiting to long to kill his opponent. Fortunetly it wasn't strong enough to cause any calcification to his skeletal system, which would probably make his ribs so weak that it would hurt to breathe.

Cadyren was happy to recieve a compliment on his saber skills, and was intrigued by the offer for a Lightsaber duel with someone as powerful as Grawn. he knew he would lose, but fighting someone who was more powerful then him was better then fighting someone who was weaker, because if they were weaker he would gain no knowelege of his own weakness's.

I'm fine, I could keep going for a few more minutes atleast. Cadyren said, and deciding to make the first move he ignited his Lightsaber and quickly swung his Lghtsaber toward Grawn's head. He expected the man to be able to block the attack easily enough, but knew he would need every advantage he could get to last against this opponent. Opening himself to the Force once again Cadyren called upon all of his darkest hate filled memory's, preparing himself for whatever Lightsaber form Grawn would use to fight him.

The boy had guts, that was quite clear. If Grawn hadn't been trained via surprise attacks by his uncle for nearly 18 years of his life, he probably wouldn't have been able to block the attack as quickly as he did. His lightsaber shot in a reverse grip into his cybernetic hand and ignited, the red beam pointing downward as it blocked Cadyren's green blade.

The cybernetic limb gave him a bit more strength then his organic appendage so holding the blades together as the two pressed against each other, Grawn using only one hand, was less of a chore as his other lightsaber casually floated into his other hand. Hidden from Cadyrens sight, it ignited in a reverse Shien style like the blocking blade.

"Bold move, boy. Lets see if you can keep that going," Grawn challenged as he pushed back with his blocking blade and spun to strike out with his other saber. Red and green clashed, drawing the attention of a few acolytes and initiates as the two began to fight. The Siths strikes were precise, not seeking to maim but more make Cadyren be on the defensive while Grawn established his superiority.

The lightsabers clashed and the Sith could only approve of the boys talent with a blade so far. Of course, if he was actually trying, Cadyren would be a corpse on the ground but Grawn was only testing the boys potential. Jar'Kai was often a hard style to counter on a surprise attack, it would have been smarter if Cadyren had scoped out his foe first before initiating combat. sensed it clearly underneath all the baggage he possessed. J

Cadyren's green blade was met by a red one, held in reverse grip. Cadyren had never seen anyone use that type of fighting style before, and thus had almost no idea how it would be used. Not even his old master, who was proficient in many forms and knew about many others, hadn't told him about someone using a reverse gripped Lightsaber style before. Wheither it was because of a lack of knowelege or just because he didn't think he would need to know about the form Cadyren wasn't sure but that didn't matter, what mattered was this fight was going to be even more difficult then Cadyren thought.

Cadyren heard the sound of another Lightsaber being activated and then his Lightsaber was knocked aside by the Lightsaber that had stopped Cadyren from beheading Grawn and another saber, also red in color and held in a reverse grip, Cadyren barely managed to bring his Lightsaber to block the blow, escaping a quick end to the duel. Being a user of Djem So Cadyren attempted to perform a counter attack right after he blocked the attack in a futile attempt to take control of the battle.

His blade was quickly and easily knocked aside by one of Grawn's and Cadyren was put onto the defensive, constantly having to keep on his toes to block the unfamiliar movements of Grawn's reversed duel wielded Lightsabers. Cadyren knew he was going to lose the duel, it was inevitable. However Cadyren still would not give up, doing everything he could to not lose the battle. Cadyren was having difficulty with that however, as he was unable to properly use Djem So, and Shien was more for blaster deflection then Lightsaber combat. Cadyren wodnered for a moment if he should revert to the basics, which wasn't exactly a bad thing, as he was more profficient in Form One then he was in Four, but Shii-Cho was far more predictable, and all of its attacks and blocks were very simple. This would make it easy for Grawn to figure out his defensive and swiftly end the battle, and Cadyren wouldn't allow that. So Cadyren kept using Djem So, and would occationaly attempt to perform a counter-attack after blocking one of Grawn's sabers.

Grawn smirked from behind as mask he could feel Cadyren's confusion of his method of lightsaber grip. Not many people specialized in reverse grip Shien, but when it was combined with Jar'Kai it was a confusing style to figure out. However, Shien was just for defense to him and the Sith would revert his grip when he blocked; preferring to switch his grip to normal when he struck out.

The battle progressed and Grawn sensed the strain on Caydren. The Sith silently approved of the initiate at least attempting to counter attack with Djem So. While it wasn't difficult to predict and dodge these attacks, it showed Grawn the boys tenacity and unwillingness to bow before a greater foe. He continued to remind the Sith of his younger self. Ibapo had sought to make Grawn a minion but he would never bow fully to his uncle.

Through deception and cunning, Grawn made Ibapo believe him to be his willing servant. The old man had let his guard down and trusted his niece, unable to sense the dark hatred he had for him. Yes, Cadyren reminded him very much of his past self. But like Ibapo had done to him, he showed little mercy. If the boy was to land a hit, it would be of his own skill, not by Grawn allowing it. A goal was always needed to make one wish to advance and strengthen themselves.

During the fight, the three lightsabers found themselves locked and Grawn pushed with all his might. Clearly his two lightsabers had an advantage, scissored in a X with Caydrens single green blade wedged between the scissor.

"I applaud you, Caldin. You remind me of my younger self. However, like my master before me, I don't believe in giving false hope," Grawn stated as the dark side surged through his arms and increased his strength. The Sith would be truly impressed if Caydren could muster the power to prevent him from kneeling under the lock.

What will you do, Caydren Caldin, you prove you aren't just another fodder for the Sith Order, Grawn thought as he stared at the young man as the lock continued, his only visible eye looking at him without emotion.

Cadyren eventually found himself in a saber lock with his Lightsaber scissored between Grawn's. Cadyre was physically strong, especially for a sixteen year old, and might have been able to hold off Grawn in a contest of physical strength for awhile, however the cybernetic arm gave Grawn a big advantage, and Cadyren was slowly being pushed to his knees.

Cadyren listened to Grawn as he told him that he reminded him of his younger self, and that he was impressed with him. Cadyren thought for a moment that maybe the duel would be over, but then Grawn used the force to increase his strength and began pushing his Lightsabers against Cadyren's with much more force then before. Cadyren had to think quickly to avoid being brought to his knees, and came up with a last, almost desperate idea.

Calling upon the Force Cadyren sent a blast of force energy that would hit Grawn in the back of the knee and hopefully bring him to his knees instead of Cadyren. He hoped that because Grawn was focusing his Force energy on increasing his strength Cadyren might be able to succeed, and also Grawn might underestimate his skill in Telekinetics, so maybe, just maybe, Cadyren might be able to get an advantage over Grawn. If this didn't work Cadyren would have to disingage from the saber lock and take a few steps backward so that Grawn wouldn't put him on his knees.

He hadn't seen that coming. Grawn was so concentrated on lightsaber combat, not really giving though to use the Force in any other way then enhancing his own body. But the boy was resourceful and this was made certain as the Sith's eyes grew wide as he felt like someone kicked the back of his knee. Of course he knew no one had, it had been Caydren using the Force.

The Force hit behind his left knee just enough to cause him to bend it, lowering his position to as if he was kneeling before the boy. Though the saberlock was still in effect, Grawn had lost his position and now was forcing Caydren's lightsaber up to prevent it from hitting him.

Here he was, Grawn Ianie, kneeling before this mere teenager. A ember lit in his eyes and he could hear Sampson growl in his mind. This wasn't good. Not for Caydren at least.

This isn't a fight, HEEL!, he yelled mentally back at the hound. Already he could feel his anger rising and the dark side began to churn around him like a maelstrom. Grawn needed to end this before he hurt Caydren critically. Regardless of the boys pride, a mere ego bruiser was nothing compared to the damage Grawn could do when he became Force Enraged.

Sampson was just trying to protect his master, he had done so since he was a small boy. The black hound had helped him survive all those years of torture and pain; now he refused to let anything like it happen again. Of course, unknowingly to Grawn, this had nothing to do with a imaginary hound.

He felt his body course with power as his head tilted downward, Caydren's lightsaber growing ever closer to Grawn. Then suddenly, his head snapped up to look the boy square in the face. His visible eye had took on a tinge of red and orange infused with the yellow of his iris. A near mad grin was hidden behind his mask. Grawn was close to losing himself to the Enrage.

It was a technique he was still perfecting. He really hadn't expected it to happen during this, a mere sparring match. But Grawn needed to end it now. The dark side that churned around him stopped for a moment in the air, Grawn only knowing this from the mask. Then as he commanded it, it flew at Caydren and began to ensnare his limbs. With a nudge, the boy flew backwards, the dark tentacles guiding his path into a wall with a crash.

Grawn then growled and threw his lightsaber, the Force guided projectile digging into the wall next to Caydren's head.

"Yield", he rasped darkly at the boy. Grawn hoped he did, otherwise, things could get quite deadly. Damn him for not perfecting Enrage yet!

Cadyren had actually done it! he ahd brought grawn to his knees and now had gained the advantage. He knew it was destiend to be a short victory, as Grawn would be able to gain back the gound he had lost quickly enough, but it was a victory none the less. Cadyren could sense the anger Grawn felt toward being brought to his kness by some as young as Cadyren, and he reveled in it. as it grew Cadyren became worried tht maybe he had written his own death sentance by brining the more powerful Sith to his knees.

Cadyren gazed at Grawn's eye when he looked at him, sensing a sort of madnnes in his gaze. Before he knew what was going on Cadyren was lifted into the air and was thrown against a wall. Cadyren used the Force to create a coccon to stop himself from being to badly injured by the blast, but he still grunted in pain when he hit the wall. Cadyren was soon followed by a Lightsaber, which he was sure was going to stab him in the chest and kill him. Cadyren calmly accepted that he ws going to die, and was surprised when the Lightsaber only landed next to his head. In sparing terms Cadyren was 'dead' seeing as if Grawn had chosen to kill him, he would have, thus meaning Cadyren had lost.

Cadyren switched his Lightsaber off and clipped it to his belt, feeling more tired now then he had been bfeor the duel. Looking toward the Lightsaber in the wall, Cadyren smirked, Well i guess you one then.

Cadyren pulled the Lighttsaber from the wall, holding it in his hand for a moment before switching it off and tossing it to Grawn, That was definetly one of the most interesting sparring matches I've had in awhile, I haven't almost been killed in quite some time now. Cadyren said, his voice completely calm despite the fact that he could'va been killed moments ago.

Grawn glared at Caydren, his rage slowly dissipating as he lifted his cybernetic hand to catch his lightsaber. While he was was unaware of it, his unstable mind made Force Enrage difficult to master.

"You did acceptable," the Sith commented, giving a small sigh as his rage levels reduced to calm and the color in his eyes drained away till all was left was the yellow of his iris, "I prefer to learn my enemies tactics before engaging. Though your bold move has its uses."

Clipping his blades to his belt, reaching up to remove his mask. The fresh air felt good to him and he blinked, his vision blurry for the reason the mask making him view in a different spectrum. His vision returned to normal and he focused on Caydren.

"What field of expertise are you intending on studying?", Grawn asked, meaning which of the three paths did Caydren plan to pursue. Grawn himself was an Assassin, the other two fields were Marauder and Prophet. Marauders were more lightsaber focused with little attention to the Force. Prophets on the other hand were completely opposite of Marauders. Assassins were a balance of the two and Grawn believed this to be a superior path.

Cadyren walked over to Grawn, ignoring the pain in his back from hitting the wall. He wasn't to badly injured, He doubted grawn had thrown him as hard as he could plus he had created a barrier before impact, so he would be fine. He was however, not able to go for another round in a spar. He was tired now and was so tired he would probably drop his saber if he continued to battle. I guess I'll be going to bed pretty soon, either that or go back to the Library.

Cadyren was about to say his good-byes and leave when Grawn said he did acceptable, though the tactic he had used to start the duel was a bit to bold, however it would have its uses. Cadyren shrugged, Well I figure if I'm fighting a superior opponent who is more powerful then me I would be better off trying to end the duel quickly so I don't get destroyed. However I do see your point, knowing what your opponents preffered styles and manuevers are do help. In this siuation I think my tactic worked better hoeever as I have no prior knowelege of your form.

Cadyrn looked at the mans face whe he removed the mask, he wasn't really that much older then Cadyren, maybe ten years his senior. If he were a Jedi he would have probably only recently been made a Knight, so he seemed pretty powerful for his age.

When Grawn asked him what he was planning on focusing his studies on, which was a question Cadyren was unsure as to how he should answer. I'm not really sure. When I was a Padawan I thought about becoming a Consular, being a scholar and all that stuff. Now I'm just trying to become as powerful as I can be, learning everything I can about the way of the Lightsaber and how to manipualte the force to do my will.

"I suppose a Prophet would be acceptable path," he said, not really looking at Caydren but to one of the open windows in an absentminded way. He used the Sith variant of Consular for Caydrens sake. "Would seem such a waste for one with a such a budding talent for the blade. Your skill with the Force isn't without notice, as well," Grawn continued as he felt the urge to stand before the large window, feeling himself walk casually to it but still be within hearing distance of Caydren.

The Sith Assassin looked over the barren red landscape of Korriban as he continued to speak, "Have you considered a balance between the two? One would surmise allowing yourself to strengthen one area while leaving the other weak would be counter-productive to achieving true power, no?"

Grawn didn't fear being told he was wrong. His power was a clear enough example that balance was just as, if not as, powerful as focusing on one aspect of being a Sith. If he so wished, he could hide his presence from all but the strongest of Sith in the Temple. His training as an Assassin had been brutal, his body still covered with scars from his time spent attempting to get past a cave of tuk'ata.

Turning away from the window, the Sith made eye contact with Caydren, his yellow eyes burning for a reply. Something was brewing in his mind, but it all depended on the teens reply.

Cadyren was confused by the term prophet for a momenet before remembering that the Sith had different names for there three classes of Force users, Prophet instead of Consular, Marauder instead of Gaurdian, and Assassin instead of Sentinel. Cadyren wasn't really sure what type of Sith he would become. He had always been decently skilled in both Lightsaber combat and manipulation of the Force, but he wasn't sure if the psth of the Assassin was right for him. Being skilled in all ways but the master of known was also a weakness, atleast somewhat.

When Grawn asked him if he wanted to focus on both Lightsaber and manipulation of the Force, which was what an Assassin basicly was, Cadyren began to wonder what it was Grawn was getting at. He looked at Grawn, who stood at a window, trying to sense his intentions.

I guess that it makes sense to become profficient in everything, so that I have no weakness's. Perhaps next time I'm in the library I will look up some techniques that Assassin's use. Cadyren said, unsure if the conversation was now over or if Grawn had something else to say.

"Why use the library," Grawn said slowly, a small grin developing on his face, "when you could have a Master?"

Putting his hands behind his back, he approached Caydren and closed his eyes. "I sense a lot of potential in you, Caydren. I would hate to have that wasted. This is, of course, your decision. Take some time to consider it if you wish, I am in no rush" he could feel the currents of the Force flow to the teenager before him with ease.

Yes. Caydren had much potential and it was partially unharvested. If cultivated, it could flourish and while Grawn had very little depth skill in predicting the future, this one had a promising one according to his standards.

"You could toil away among dusty tomes and books to understand something which I have been trained in since a very young age. Let me show you power, Caydren. Let me teach you," the Sith continued, opening his eyes to look at the tall teenager before him. This wasn't a plea, far from it. Grawn could care less if the boy didn't wish to follow his teachings, there would be others.

He recognized talent and that was it. It would look good on his part to have a successful student when the time of promotions or whatever the Sith had when advancing ranks.

"The choice is yours," Grawn finished, drawing his arms to fold across his chest.

Cadryen was surprised by everything Grawn said, He wants me to be his apprentice? Cadyren thought, amazed. Cadyren looked at Grawn and wondered what kind of master he would be, would he be patient and willing to give him more help if he didn't understand something, or would he push Cadyren to his limits to make him as powerful as possible. Cadyren didn't really care which, as long as became more powerful.

I would be grateful to be your apprentice, my master. Cadyren said, giving his new master a short bow. Cadyren was glad that he wouldn't have to continue his studies of the Dark side alone,and would have someone to guide him. He hoped he was ready for any training Grawn ahd in store for him, and hoped that he wouldn't dissapoint his new master.

(Sorry for the short post, my muse has left me for the moment. I'll make my next one bigger.)

A wicked grin split Grawn's face as he watched the teen bow before him. It was hidden behind the mask, but the Sith couldn't hide his pleasure. This was the first step to greater things for not only himself, but hopefully one who will prove himself worthy of what Grawn had to teach him.

"Good," the Assassin said, placing his cybernetic hand on Caydren's shoulder, "I want you to contemplate what has happened here. I must go for a time, but I will contact you when lessons will begin."

Plucking a comm device from his cloak, he handed it to Caydren. Giving a nod, he walked out of the training room. Entering the hallway. There was much to prepare for.

((It's cool. I'll PM you with the first "lesson" thread. See if we can't get a few other people involved. Otherwise, you can finish it up with a post and we're done))