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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Jun 28, 2011 15:26:21 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Jun 28, 2011 15:26:21 GMT -5
“So do these crystals feed upon our Force energy? Do they make us weaker while we are here?”
Nieraan shook his head in the dim light. "No. They only respond to it. As the Force touches them and the area around them more and more, they grow brighter." He shrugged slighlty. "When it fades away they'll get dim again." How they did it or why, he wasn't sure. He'd pondered that such prolonged exposure to a place that was so strong in the Force had made them responsive in the way they were. If nothing else, they would likely make good crystals for a lightsaber, though with three sabers hanging from his belt, he presently had no need for such a thing.
Now wasn't the time to think about it anyway. He could feel a shifting the Force and turned his attention to Cadyren. The boy stood there with his eyes closed, drawing in on the Force. It stirred in him and around, and as Nieraan stretched his senses out to feel further, he could feel the Force pouring into him like an angry torrent.
Good. He watched impassively as Cadyren drew more and more. Very good. He is weak now, but there is potential. A small, malicious smile teased the corners of his mouth. And I'll make sure he's of use to me when he is.
Cadyren drew even further, apparently refusing to stop. Nieraan could sense the pain growing in him as he fell to his knees and stopped, panting heavily.
"Is that the best you can do boy?"
He yelled in pain as a boot hit took him hard in the ribs and knocked the wind from his chest.
"You are weak! You'll never kill you father like that, boy! Draw more!"
He remembered tears clouding his vision as he looked up from where he was on the ground. At his mother. At the woman that was supposed to love him. "I c-can't." Every breath came with shaking, rode painful tremors that rattled his tongue in his mouth. "It h-urts..."
Another kick to the side. Another yell in pain. A hand closed around his throat and hoisted him off his feet. It was no physical thing though; it was the Force that cursed woman used to grip and strangle him. "Forget everything you know about the ways your father taught you, boy," she hissed. He remembered here eyes. They'd been hard and venomous and cruel, like the eyes of a demon from one of the old stories Father had told him. "You will do as I say, or you will suffer for it."
Before words could form against the stranglehold on his throat, the room blurred. He had the distinct sensation of flying until the wall reached out and caught him. Pain lanced through his shoulder as he crumpled to the ground.
"Now get up," the demon woman said, stalking closer as lightning began to spark and crackle around her hand, "and do it again."
A silent sob wracked his body. "I... h-hate you."
That made her stop. Something changed in her eyes, but it was there and gone in a heartbeat. "Then learn to be strong, boy." She crouched down over him. The lightning still danced dangerously around her hand. "Or you'll never be free of me." The hand reached out.
And then she struck him.
Nieraan's eyes never flickered as he watched Cadyren fall to his knees. His emotions were kept under a tight hold and pressed down where the boy wouldn't feel them. But he still remembered. He'd never forget the way his mother trained him. He'd hated her for it.
But she had made him strong.
“It seems that I over extended myself.”
"Good," he said quietly. The boy's eyes seemed to glow softly in the dark light, echoing the same corrupted yellow that colored Nieraan's own. "You have to constantly push yourself if you want to grow stronger.
"The Dark Side," Nieraan went on, starting to walk slowly toward Cadyren, "demands constant advancement. If you ever let yourself grow satisfied and stop. Well," he smirked darkly, "then you'll be nothing but fodder for the rest of us. We aren't Jedi, to be a vessel for the Force so we can spread harmony and peace." Nieraan snorted and stopped a few paces from Cadyren. He held his right hand up, and lightning danced on his fingertips once more. "Our strength comes from conflict. We command the Force and make it our tool, our weapon, and we grow stronger for it.
"After all," he smirked and turned, gesturing at the crystals along the walls with his hand, "look at what your own power has done."
The crystals had responded to the Force as it surged into Cadyren, just the ones in the chasm had when Nieraan flexed his strength in the Force. They weren't as bright as the others had been, but they were far brighter than they had been. Now that they were lit, they cast a haunting, otherworldly light that filled the crypt and gave light to the areas that had been shrouded in shadow before.
Nieraan's fang-like canines showed as he chuckled darkly. "That is why I will not be a kind teacher to you, boy. That is why you will hate me. It will make you strong."
He turned back to look at Cadyren and folded his arms across his chest. His eyes seemed to weigh the boy as he studied him silently for a long moment. So many things this one would have to learn. So, so many things.
After a long moment he sighed and let his arms fall to his side. "I'll be nice to you now, though. Once. There are a lot of things you have to learn, boy. Your training begins now. You will pick what we begin with."
He chuckled softly to himself, as if in on some joke that Cadyren wasn't. "Choose carefully."
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Cadyren
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Jun 30, 2011 2:55:28 GMT -5
Post by Cadyren on Jun 30, 2011 2:55:28 GMT -5
Cadyren had managed to stop his body from shaking, but every part of his body still hurt. When he trained he would push himself, building up Force energy until it hurt before releasing it as a blast of energy. He had always made sure that he didn’t push himself too hard for fear of injuring himself and having to stop training. Still, he had never pushed himself as far as he just had. He wanted to prove to Nieraan that he wasn’t as worthless as the stronger Sith thought he was, even if it did cause him pain.
He had expected Nieraan to laugh at him for pushing himself to far, but Nieraan seemed to approve of it. He told Cadyren that he would need to constantly push himself if he wanted to become stronger. Nodding Cadyren listened as Nieraan continued to explain that the Dark Side demanded constant advancement, that one could not be content with their power. The Force was not a guide or an ally to the Sith, it was a tool, a weapon.
Cadyren was somewhat surprised by how much the light coming from the crystals had grown in response to his build up of Force energy. It was not near as bright as what Nieraan had done earlier, but he had managed to light up the room. He didn’t feel proud of the achievement, what did it matter if he could light up a couple of crystals?
Cadyren looked back to his master, who was explaining to him why he had to be hard on Cadyren, why he had to make sure that Cadyren hated him. It was so that he could become stronger. Cadyren nodded in understanding, but he didn’t let the explanation excuse the cruel things his master had done him already. Not just because that would be counterproductive, but also because his master had already electrocuted him and thrown him into a pit of creatures that wanted to rip him to shreds, and all of that had happened in one day. Nieraan would not have to worry, Cadyren would hate him, and he would use that hate to make himself strong.
Nieraan fold his arms across his chest for a moment as he looked at Cadyren, studying him. His arms then dropped to his sides with a sigh, and Cadyren listened as his master told him that he would be nice to him once, that Cadyren would get to pick what his first lesson would be. Nieraan then let out a chuckle, telling him to choose carefully.
There were so many things that Cadyren needed to learn, he had no idea where he wanted to start. He thought about it for a moment, trying to think about a specific area that he really needed to improve on. His mind flashed back to earlier that day, as Nieraan easily broke through his Force barrier with ease and had first thrown him into the wall and then later electrocuted him. At his current skill level most Jedi or other Sith would have no trouble ripping through a protective barrier made by him, and that was a problem.
Cadyren had an idea of how Nieraan would train him to create better Force barriers, he knew that it would most likely be painful. But that didn’t matter, better to be injured training then killed in combat. “I need to improve on creating barriers too defend myself from opponents that will attack me with the Force. That seems like it would be a good place to start.” Cadyren stated, his voice business like. He then waited for his master’s response, he was ready to begin his training.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Jun 30, 2011 19:30:06 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Jun 30, 2011 19:30:06 GMT -5
Nieraan watched Cadyren curiously as the boy pondered his decision. What would he choose? Nieraan was skilled at a great number of things, but not at everything. But he wasn't stupid either; he'd found ways to fight through and make up for his own weaknesses. His mother had made sure of it.
“I need to improve on creating barriers to defend myself from opponents that will attack me with the Force. That seems like it would be a good place to start.”
Speaking of my weaknesses... Nieraan lifted a brow at Cadyren's answer. For a few moments, he just stood there, looking at the boy. Then his arms feel to his side and he chuckled softly. This kid's got some bad luck.
"Barriers, huh? Protection, resistances," he snorted a little laugh. "If that's what you want, that's what we'll start with."
He turned on his heel, putting his back to Cadyren and began to walk to a far corner, where part of the crypt's ceiling had caved in some time ago. A rockfall spilled down the wall, with pieces of stone large and small. They would work quite nicely.
"Though I gotta say, kid, you picked a bad place to start," Nieraan went on as he crouched down. He plucked a few rocks from the pile, tested their weight briefly in his hand. He ultimately settled with two rocks, both of middling size. One was smooth and rounded, and had likely been a part of some of the decorative stonework at one point or another; the other was rough visibly broken.
"There's not much I'm not good at with the Force," he admitted, still crouched over the rubble. "Making barriers and the like's one of them. But that hasn't stopped me." Finally satisfied with the rocks he'd selected, Nieraan pushed himself to his feet and turned to face Cadyren. It was a simple thing for his focus to find the two rocks at his feet and lift them without a motion from his hand; such was the benefit of being powerful.
"I adapted. I had to. I made other abilities work just as well. And if you want to ever amount to beyond the pitiful thing you are now, you'll learn to do the same, boy." He began to walk toward Cadyren again, with the two rocks floating lazily alongside him. "Now, if you want to learn to make these barriers, I'll help you. But the theory, the mechanics--all of that--you'll have to learn on your own."
He stopped his approach about ten paces away from Cadyren. "Now raise a barrier." Without further notice, the rocks were sent hurling toward Cadyren, as if launched from invisible slingshots. While Nieraan wasn't throwing them overly hard, they'd hurt if they hit. The hard throwing could wait til later.
Right now he needed to see what Cadyren could do.
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Cadyren
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Jul 3, 2011 5:01:52 GMT -5
Post by Cadyren on Jul 3, 2011 5:01:52 GMT -5
Nieraan let out a chuckle when Cadyren said he wanted to learn how to better protect himself with the Force. Cadyren had a good idea as to why his master found it amusing, it would be a good excuse for him to throw stuff at Cadyren and to attack him with the Force as well. Cadyren had known this when he asked to practice that skill, but he figured that the sooner he improved his skill with Force Barriers the sooner he would be able to at least partially defend himself from his master should he attack him with Lightning or attack him Telekinetically again.
Cadyren watched as his master turned away from him and began to walk towards a corner of the room where the roof had collapsed, the pieces of it laying together in a pile. Cadyren watched as his master looked through them, picking up rocks and examining them before placing them back down. As he searched Nieraan talked to him, telling him that there few things that he wasn’t good at when it came to suing the Force, and that using the Force to protect ones self was one of the things he wasn’t good at.
Cadyren nodded, he didn’t know that many Jedi or Sith that had been particularly good with Protection except for his former Jedi Master Het, who had taught Cadyren almost everything he knew about creating barriers in the Force. Het had taught him to throw up a barrier instinctively whenever someone attacked him with the Force, but his barriers were not that powerful and rarely did anything to protect him.
Cadyren nodded as Nieraan said that he had to adapt to his weaknesses, to use the skills he was good at to compensate for them. Nieraan began to walk towards him as he talked, two of the rocks floating beside him. Nieraan said that he would help Cadyren, but Cadyren would have to teach himself to create effective barriers. Cadyren nodded as his master stopped, ready for Nieraan to chuck the rocks at him hard and fast. He called the Force to him, figuring that he would have to consciously make the barrier so that it would be strong enough to stop the rocks.
"Now raise a barrier."
In the split second it took the rocks to fly from Nieraan to Cadyren he released the built up Force energy inside of him. An invisible shield grew in front of Cadyren, ready to protect him from the flying rocks.
When the rocks hit Cadyren felt his invisible shield strain against the force of the two objects, feeling it almost break. Cadyren managed to keep it held together, but only barely. He watched as the two rocks fell to the ground with a loud thump, looking back up to his master. For a moment he considered telling Nieraan that normally Cadyren could do better, that the reason his barrier almost broke was because he was a bit tired from fighting the creatures earlier and focusing a large amount of Force energy inside of him a few minutes ago. He stopped himself however, because he figured that Nieraan probably wouldn’t care, and would probably call him an idiot again and tell him that he wouldn’t be well rested every time someone tried to hurt him or something like that.
So Cadyren kept his mouth shut and began to focus the Force once again, he would have to build a much stronger barrier next time, because he was sure that Nieraan would throw the rocks at him much harder.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Jul 7, 2011 22:12:29 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Jul 7, 2011 22:12:29 GMT -5
The stone flew hurtled through the air. After a few feet and half a breath of flying, something stopped them. Nieraan saw nothing that stood in their way, but he could feel the invisible barrier Cadyren had raised up to protect himself. The energy of the rocks transferred through the impact and into the invisible wall. Though there was nothing to see with the naked eye, Nieraan could feel events unfolding through the Force. He could feel the barrier straining, starting to crack under the might of his attack...
But it held.
The stones fell to Cadyren's feet with a clatter that echoed loudly through the crypt's dead silence. Cadyren said nothing, and simply looked at Nieraan, no doubt awaiting his opinion on the matter. Nieraan simply looked back at him. With the way the light fell across his features, which still looked barely older than Cadyren's, it was hard to tell if the curve of his lips was an impressed smile or a devious smirk.
"It held," he said after the silence stretched on for a few long moments. He didn't speak loudly, but the stone that surrounded them caught his voice and threw back, making it echo into the far cracks and corners of the crypt. The stones on the ground near Cadyren's feet shook for a moment and then rose into the air, carried by an invisible hand back to Nieraan.
"That's good. But I could feel you struggling to hold it." Nieraan's voice sounded decidedly uninterested. Dismissive. Bored. The two stones floated in lazy circles around his person as he idly shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "Are you tired, boy?" His voice changed slightly on the last word, gave it an ever-so-subtle twist that made it sound mocking, as though Nieraan were addressing someone far beneath him. In many ways he was, and he knew it.
"Good. You don't learn when you don't push. You don't grow when you don't push your limit." Now the smile was most definitely a smirk, and his voice was no longer flippant and bored-sounding.
The stones stopped suddenly as Nieraan made a noise that was something between a snort and a laugh. "And now I know what you're thinking," he went on, with an easy, familiar malice riding his words. "You blocked the first stones, so I'll throw them at you harder now, hm? That must be it, right?"
Nieraan actually took the effort to make a lazy motion with his fingers as they still hung down by his side. The stones blurred threw the air like shells launched from a cannon. There could be no doubt in either mind that if they hit the shield, they'd break through. And if they broke through, they'd hit hard enough to crack bone.
But as quickly as they catapulted into motion, they stopped. They simply hung dead in the air, a pace or so in front of where the barrier had been last time.
Nieraan's eyes twinkled with dangerous amusement, like a Nexu toying with its prey. "You'd be wrong."
He smiled darkly as he raised both of his arms. Behind him, the pile of fallen rubble shuddered, the rose and expanded as the rocks moved apart at his will's command. "If you only have the ability to block one attack, you won't last," he said as the cloud of rock and debris drifted through the air toward them. "Anything you do with the Force is an expression of your will. And if your will is too weak to last, you're through."
The swarm of rocks came to rest around him. The two rocks from earlier still hung close to Cadyren. "So let's see how strong your will is, boy."
He gestured forward with some of his fingers, and the assault began. The rocks flew in waves, staggered so that a constant hail would be coming at the boy. Most came from the front, but some moved around as he directed, coming at Cadyren from the left, the right, behind; threats rained from every direction. And as they hit the barrier and fell, he'd pull them back up into the air and cycle them back into the attack.
Not a single rock was thrown harder than the last attempt. It was one long, relentless assault, and it would go on until Nieraan eventually stopped it.
Whethere Cadyren's barrier held or not.
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Cadyren
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Jul 11, 2011 17:23:05 GMT -5
Post by Cadyren on Jul 11, 2011 17:23:05 GMT -5
Cadyren’s barrier fell as the rocks hit the ground, he did not have the energy to keep one barrier going when he didn’t have too. He was sure that this exercise would be long and difficult, and that there would probably be another one afterwards that was just as difficult unless Nieraan decided that he was bored and that they would take a break. So he had to conserve his power as much as he could, so that he wouldn’t get to tired and would be able to last through the training session.
Nieraan simply said that the barrier held after a few moments of silence, and the rocks floated into the air and back towards Nieraan. Cadyren couldn’t see Nieraan’s face that well in the light of the crypt, but for a moment he thought that his master look impressed. That couldn’t have been right though, it must have been the way that the light struck his master’s face. He was sure that he had been wrong when his master spoke to him again, his voice showing Cadyren that he wasn’t interested, and definitely not impressed in what the boy could do.
The rocks began to float around Nieraan, moving slowly and lazily as though they were mimicking the way the man talked. Cadyren took a few breathes as he drew upon the force once again, again using his will to Force it to do his bidding. As he prepared he heard his master ask him a question, was he tired? He was mocking him, treating him like an inferior.
Cadyren felt angered by Nieraan’s remark, but instead of just trying to ignore the man Cadyren let the anger grow, using it to further fuel his power. He felt the energy inside of him twist as he fed his anger, raising it from a small ember to a roaring flame. It was so easy for Cadyren to do, to take a single comment that annoyed him and turn it into something that enraged him. It was so easy to do, but it was difficult to control the growing anger. Cadyren managed to contain the dark emotions that grew inside of him, still preparing for his masters next attack.
“Yes.” Cadyren finally answered, his answer quick. He was tired, his muscles ached slightly from fighting the creatures and his whole body felt sore from containing so much Force energy inside of him a few minutes ago. He wasn’t extremely fatigued however, and felt that he could still continue the training. Not that he had a choice, he was sure Nieraan wouldn’t stop if he wanted to break.
Nieraan then continued to talk, telling him that in order to grow, in order to learn, you had to push yourself. Even though Cadyren was still containing built up rage inside of him, he nodded at what Nieraan said, he was right.
The rocks stopped moving around Nieraan as he laughed, "And now I know what you're thinking," the man said, malice beginning to rise in his voice, "You blocked the first stones, so I'll throw them at you harder now, hm? That must be it, right?”
The stones then flew towards Cadyren. So fast that he didn’t have enough time to create a barrier to stop the attack, not that it would have mattered much. The rocks stopped right where his barrier had been the first time Nieraan threw the rocks at him. Cadyren looked towards his master, a couple of emotions rising within him. Anger at his master for throwing the rocks so fast, those could have easily broken Cadyren’s bones if they had made contact. Cadyren also felt relief, he had though that Nieraan was going to hit him with those rocks, and that he had intended to break a few of his bones.
That wasn’t what Nieraan intended however, it seemed that he wanted to just show that Cadyren’s barriers were nothing up against a powerful Force User.
"If you only have the ability to block one attack, you won't last. Anything you do with the Force is an expression of your will. And if your will is too weak to last, you're through." Cadyren watched as Nieraan began to pick up more and more rocks, I guess there’s no point in trying to conserve my energy then. Cadyren thought, he would have to use all of his power to stop the rocks from hitting him.
Cadyren released the Dark energy built up inside of him, creating a shield as he had before. This time the barrier was stronger, created from Cadyren’s anger as well as the Force. The barrier was also more curved then the first, so that rocks coming at Cadyren had the chance of glancing against it instead of hitting it straight on, which would do less damage to the shield.
At First Cadyren did well, the rocks hit the shield and fell before being picked up by the Force again and being bashed against the shield once again. The shield cracked and bent under the assault, but Cadyren constantly mended it and through sheer will stopped it from falling to pieces under the assault. He continued to do well till he heard the sound of an object moving towards his side.
Cadyren barely lifted his arm up in time to stop the rock from hitting him in the face, pain moving through his limb as the rock made contact then flew away. Grunting in pain, Cadyren grabbed his arm…. And the barrier fell.
Suddenly dozens of rocks were pelting Cadyren hitting him in the torso, arms, and legs. Cadyren fell to his knees under the assault, forcing his head down to avoid it getting hit. The rocks continued to hit him however, and though he tried to make a new barrier, he did not have enough time to focus and it quickly was broken by the rocks and the assault continued.
As pain grew so did Cadyren’s anger, till he could feel it’s heat burning inside of him. Soon his anger overtook every other feeling, even the pain, and Cadyren rose to his feet, staring at his master with his now light brown, almost yellow eyes, even as the rocks continued to smash against his body. He stared at his master for only a few moments, then let out his anger in an explosion of Force energy. It knocked the rocks away from Cadyren on all sides before shaping into a new barrier that surrounded Cadyren completely, stopping the rocks from hitting Cadyren. It bent and buckled under the assault, but it held. Cadyren’s body was tired and beaten, but his will was still strong, and he would not let another rock hit him.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Jul 14, 2011 19:24:09 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Jul 14, 2011 19:24:09 GMT -5
The stones swarmed like angry wasps around Cadyren. They circled and spun and launched themselves at the shield around him over and over, furiously trying leave their mark on him. The boy's shield held though, kept him safe from harm. For now.
He's breaking. Nieraan face was placid and his eyes blank as he watched the bubble of energy flexed and bent and buckled. It pressed in under his assault, ever growing nearer to Cadyren. It couldn't hold for long. Even holding back as he was, Nieraan's ability was like that of a sea in storm; Cadyren's barrier was little more than a wooden palisade trying to hold back the inevitable.
How long can you hold out, boy? Nieraan rolled a shoulder as he watched, casually loosening a knot in the muscle. I can feel you straining.
And then, as if on cue, the barrier shattered.
Nieraan knew some teachers back in the Temple that would've stopped things there. The point was across, why go further? They were weak fools, every one of them.
So his expression didn't change, his will didn't falter as he began to--through the Force--beat his student. The boy had failed, and failure always had a cost.
"Always," Kamirille's voice echoed again in his mind, a memory from after one of his countless beatings, no doubt. He waved the thought aside and cleared his mind as he watched the boy flounder. The rocks weren't kind to him. Nieraan wasn't hurling them hard enough to maim the boy or cause damage, but that didn't mean he was being gentle. They'd hurt, they'd bruise. The severity of the damage done would depend on the boy...
He'd fallen to his knees, trying to shield himself. Nieraan continued to pound him with the rocks, without so much as a second thought for the pain he was causing. The body could recover from this; better for the boy that he be put through the crucible here than killed out in the Galaxy somewhere.
But Nieraan could feel something brewing deep in the boy. As the rocks continued to hit him, the feeling grew stronger and stronger, until it finally burst to the surface. The Force exploded out around Cadyren, pushing the stones away from him long enough for another barrier to form. Nieraan smirked.
The trial began anew. The stones continued to pelt away at the barrier, but they were kept away for now. The thing bent and stretched and strained, but it did not break.
Finally, when he was satisfied, Nieraan drew the attack off. The rocks backed away from Cadyren at his command and hung in a loose halo around the boy.
"Good," he said again simply. "You touched the anger. It's a well of strength that only you can use, boy." Energy crackled on Nieraan's fist for a moment and he began to pace, walking in a wide circle around Cadyren. "But I do wonder, boy, how much you can do like this." A single rock zipped out from the pack, slammed hard against the shield, and fell. "You're tired." Another rock stuck and was released, just as the first had been. "Your body's beaten. Battered. Bruised." Another rock flung itself at Cadyren's shield. Every strike was harder than the one before it had been. But not so hard Nieraan knew he could instantly break through, simple as it might have been.
"How long can you force yourself to fight like that, hm?" Nieraan's boots scuffed softly on the ground as he came to a stop. He'd walked a half-circle around Cadyren, though if he stood behind or before him depended on if the boy had turned to follow him.
"How much further can you force yourself past your limit before you can't do any more?" The rocks heaved as one, then fell to the ground with a loud clattering and kicking-up of dust.
When the dust had cleared enough to see, Nieraan raised his hand without a word. Lightning danced across his fingertips, then launched toward Cadyren.
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Jul 16, 2011 3:39:13 GMT -5
Post by Cadyren on Jul 16, 2011 3:39:13 GMT -5
Eventually the rocks stopped, and hung around Cadyren like a loose halo. Cadyren’s barrier did not fall as the attacks stopped, however Cadyren did not use as much energy to keep it up, and instead of being a completely solid barrier like before, Cadyren let the Force swirl around his body. It was like a raging storm, fueled and controlled by Cadyren’s anger and will. At any moment a part of the barrier would be ready to solidify into a strong barrier to stop one of the rocks from hitting him again.
His master complimented him, telling him that he had managed to ‘touch’ his anger. Cadyren couldn’t, and wouldn’t have described the sensation he had felt when he used his emotions to fuel his power. He had felt his anger, his rage, fuel him. He had unleashed the emotions from their cage, and allowed them to run free inside of him. Even now, after his master had stopped attacking him, Cadyren could feel it flowing through him, a raging storm, a fire that kept growing inside of him. He had not ‘touched his anger’, he had embraced it.
Cadyren watched as Lightning danced across Nieraan’s fingers for a moment. It seemed his master had an addiction to the ability, he had only known his master for a day and he had seen him use the ability multiple times. Cadyren himself had wanted to learn the ability since it had been used on him by his brother, more then a year ago. It did not kill ones opponent as quickly as a Lightsaber, but it did allow someone to put their opponent through antagonizing pain before they died. Cadyren envied the other Sith for having the power, he wanted to take it from him.
Perhaps I will one day.[/i] Cadyren thought, in his mind watching an older him attack the older Sith with a powerful storm of Lightning until he died. He did not know if the image was just his thoughts or, though it was very unlikely, a vision of the future. He knew however, that b the time he was done training under Nieraan, he would want to kill the man. He already hated the man and he had only known him for a day.
"But I do wonder, boy, how much you can do like this."
Cadyren felt a tingling in the Force as a rock detached itself from the group of others and flew towards him. The swirling Force around Cadyren hardened once again as he added more energy to it, and the rock bounced off the invisible wall and fell to the ground. Nieraan continued to talk as rocks pelted Cadyren’s barrier, cracking and bending it. Cadyren continued to call upon his hate to fuel his power, but he was tired, He could only ignore the fatigue for so long, and as each rock hit his barrier, it became harder for Cadyren to keep it up. No! I cannot let him win, I have to keep going! Cadyren thought as he felt his barrier begin to break down. Then all of the rocks moved at one, and the barrier shattered.
Rocks pelted Cadyren from all sides, pain exploding all over his body. His body couldn’t take all of the pain, and Cadyren fell to his knees, a loud grunt of pain escaping his lips. He didn’t move for a few moments, both his pain and his exhaustion were killing him, and he wasn’t sure if he meant that figuratively or literally. After a few more moments the dust began to clear, and Cadyren tried to get back up to his feet. That was when he felt the pain. It started in his back, but quickly spread all over his body. He fell back to the ground, barely moving his arms up in time to break his fall. He didn’t know how long the pain last, if Nieraan had continued to blast Lightning into him or if he just zapped him. He could barely feel his body, it felt almost numb. Cadyren felt himself slowly drifting in unconsciousness from all of the pain he had just experienced, but he fought to remain awake. He wouldn’t let Nieraan knock him unconscious, he didn’t’ want to give the Sith the satisfaction.
After what felt like ages, Cadyren attempted to get back to his feet. At first he just fell back down, his arms to weak to pick him up, but eventually he forced himself too get back on his knees. His legs still felt numb, but after a few more moments he forced those to pick him up, and he managed to get to both of his feet, though he almost fell over as his legs screamed in pain. He didn’t say anything to Nieraan, didn’t curse him for doing that, didn’t turn and stare at him. He was to busty trying to stay on his feet.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Jul 18, 2011 14:35:08 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Jul 18, 2011 14:35:08 GMT -5
It seemed that once again, Nieraan was proving to be too powerful for Cadyren.
The boys shield shattered again before the lightning even left Nieraan's fingers. The rocks and rubble pounded him mercilessly. Brutally. The boy yelled and fell to his feet. Nieraan ignored the cry of pain, ignored the obvious fatigue.
Cadyren started to push himself to his feet. Then lightning arced across his body and sent him back down to the ground. And even once he'd fallen to the ground, his presence waning as he started to drift toward unconsciousness, Nieraan didn't relent. The lightning sparked and crackled, lighting the area around them with a ghostly, flickering blue.
But finally, after a few moments that probably felt like an eternity to the boy, Nieraan stopped. He watched Cadyren quietly, his face still thrown into shadow by the crystals' light. Occasional sparks flickered across the boy's body as he lay on the stone. Nieraan just stood and watched. Cadyren had come close to passing out then. He hadn't, though; Nieraan could still feel him clinging to consciousness, his presence little more than a stubbornly flickering flam on the edge of going out. It would be such a simple thing, he knew to end things there for now. Just a flick of the wrist and he could have Cadyren out cold.
The boy, however, didn't seem to want to stop. Whether from hate or wanting to prove something to Nieraan, or some combination of the two he couldn't say. But Cadyren started to push himself up again. He stumbled, fell to the ground again in his weakness. Nieraan's yellow eyes were cold and unfeeling as he just stood there, watching. If the boy wanted to keep going, then they'd keep going.
He had told the boy, after all, warned him that his training would be hard and that he would not go easy on him. And he hadn't been lying.
In a way this trip to the tomb, away from the distractions of the other idiots and fools in the Temple was a test. They'd be out here for a long while, and Nieraan intended to push the boy past his limit again and again. It would be hard, it would be painful. But if Cadyren couldn't handle what Nieraan put him through here, he wasn't worth Nieraan's time.
And if he didn't give up, well, then he might actually be worth teaching something to.
"You still stand," he said after a long moment of silence had passed between them. Quietly, he reached out with his senses and probed the boy. He was tired, pained. His body had been through a lot so far.
It's time to put an end to this. He sighed softly and started to walk. Every step echoed softly in the silent crypt as he circled back around to stand in front of Cadyren again. And then he just stood there. Watched the boy, his gaze measuring and weighing him.
After a long moment, Nieraan's eyes drifted down to the saber at Cadyren's side. He'd yet to see the boy use it against anything fully sentient. Perhaps there was some benefit to what he was about to ask the boy to do then.
"Draw your saber," he said simply. Nieraan made no move to get one of the three that hung from his belt; his arms still hung loosely from his side.
He knew Cadyren was tired. He knew his body wouldn't want to do what he was about to command. He knew this would be unpleasant for Cadyren. But he didn't care.
"Attack me."
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Cadyren
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Jul 22, 2011 0:42:23 GMT -5
Post by Cadyren on Jul 22, 2011 0:42:23 GMT -5
Cadyren was vaguely aware that Nieraan was walking around him, moving from behind him to his front. Cadyren’s eyes did not move to stare at him this time, he was to focused on forcing his legs not to give out, to keep standing. His legs wobbled, they buckled, but they held. How easy it would be to just succumb to the pain, to fall into a blissful unconsciousness. But he would not let himself fall, he had to prove to himself and Nieraan that he was not worthless, that he was strong.
Cadyren could feel pain pulsing through every fiber of his being, but he managed to straighten his body, raising himself to his full height. It hurt, but Cadyren did his best to embrace the pain. He then turned his gaze on Nieraan, his anger rising as the pain began to subside. The flame was now an inferno, and if he wasn’t in so much pain or wasn’t so tired h would have attacked Nieraan right then and there. But all of his energy was focused on keeping himself standing.
A silent moment passed between the two, both Sith standing still in the dark crypt. It wasn’t a long moment, but in that time Cadyren’s pain subsided, and he felt that he could move without his body screaming in pain. It still hurt, but Cadyren felt that he could finally move without feeling like he was about to fall over in pain.
"Draw your saber."
What? He’s got to be kidding…[/i] Cadyren thought, there was no way Nieraan would make him fight after al of that. He probably should have expected as much, but he was still surprised, and angered, by his masters order. Cadyren reached for his saber, slowly unclipping it from his belt. He held it in his hand for a moment, then pressed the button near the top of the hilt. The dark green blade quickly shot out of emitter, humming as Cadyren lifted the weapon up in front of him.
"Attack me."
Reluctantly Cadyren advanced towards Nieraan, keeping his Lightsaber in between the two of them. Nieraan made no movements towards any of his Lightsabers, but Cadyren didn’t take that as a sign too attack Nieraan quickly. Cadyren didn’t know how he was going to be able to fight Nieraan, each step he took felt like he was stepping on needles, and his arms were so tired, there was no way they would be able to attack and parry with his saber. Not that it would have mattered if he was perfectly fine and had rested before the fight, Nieraan would most likely defeat him in seconds.
Once he got within two meters of Nieraan, Cadyren attacked. He moved forward quickly, or at least tried to, and brought his saber forward, aiming a strike towards his master’s chest. As soon as the attack made contact with something, whether Nieraan’s flesh or, and this was far more likely, one of his Lightsabers Cadyren stumbled a few steps backwards to get some distance from his master in an attempt to avoid getting attacked. He wasn’t following the tactics of any of the forms he used by retreating, but he felt that if he used Djem So or Shii-Cho Nieraan would only get more chances to hit him. Cadyren would have to fight defensively, give Nieraan as few chances as possible to strike at him, if he wanted to last in this fight. He knew that he would lose, but he would do everything he could to prolong that defeat.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Jul 23, 2011 13:39:10 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Jul 23, 2011 13:39:10 GMT -5
For the second time that night, Nieraan watched passively as Cadyren's viridian blade flared to life. It hummed the same soft hum it always did, but it the silence of the crypt, it nearly echoed. And though the crystals still glowed brightly--even more brightly than they had when Cadyren lit them--the area around the boy took a greenish tinge to it as the weapon threw light around him.
Nieraan didn't move. Despite the fact that Cadyren's blade was drawn, he simply stood there, hands by his side, his stance easy and relaxed. For all the Firrerreo seemed to care, Cadyren might as well have been holding a twig and threatening to beat him with it; it was about as concerned as he seemed.
But his apparent ease, even in the face of having a burning bar of plasma swung at him wasn't without cause. He knew others might call it overconfidence, or cockiness, even arrogance. He knew what he was doing though. And he had no doubts.
Cadyren approached. Slowly. Each step was reluctant, measured. Nieraan could read the wariness in the boy's eyes, and feel it rolling from him in waves through the Force.
That was his first mistake.
"Hesitation is death, boy," Kamirille said, standing over him with her two sabers alive in her hands. He could hardly hear her for all the pain she'd put him in. It felt like magma had been thrown across his skin in lines that crossed everywhere, from his arms and torso down to his shins.
Did one mistake have to be punished so severely?
Nieraan tried to push himself to stand, but his body had grown weak from the day's abuse. His arms turned to water and he collapsed in a pitiful heap with a quiet whimper.
"When you attack me," his mother went on, ignoring the plight of her sixteen year-old son, "you attack me, not whatever that garbage you just tried was." She began to pace around him. The look in her eyes was far closer to a hawk watching wounded prey than a mother lioness watching her cub.
"Try to pull that in a real fight and you'll die, boy. Now get up."
"No..." He remembered saying weakly. He remembered his voice trembling, remembered the feel of tears, hot and wet starting to fall from his eyes. "Please, mom, I... I can-"
He remembered yelling when she kicked him in the ribs. "Shed your weakness and get up, boy!"
So he did, slowly, shakily. What other choice did he have?
The boy was close now. Close enough to lunge and strike. But he held his ground, waited to get in closer. Nieraan nearly shook his head. Apparently this lesson would have to be a harder one that he thought.
Finally, the boy struck. He thrust his weapon out at Nieraan's chest. Nieraan still didn't have one of his sabers drawn. Nor did he feel the need to draw one; if timid, half-hearted attacks were all Cadyren was going to throw at him, there wasn't a point in drawing one.
Instead, Nieraan just turned and stepped aside. Quickly, gracefully; he was fast, after all, and gracefully so, to the surprise of many. So Cadyren's blade met nothing. Not flesh, not another lightsaber; nothing but stale, empty air.
As the lightsaber burned past him, Nieraan nearly grabbed Cadyren's arm. It would have been a simple thing, to grab him, put him on the ground, press a hilt to his back. But he didn't, not this time. For once, he'd show a touch of mercy and simply slam a fist out toward the boy's ribs instead.
Hit or not, once the exchange was over, Cadyren backed away, clearly trying to put some distance between himself and Nieraan to defend. Nieraan just stood there, watching him placidly.
"Boy," he said curtly, "you're gonna have to do a hell of a lot more than that if you want to ever come close to touching me with that lightsaber." He snorted roughly and idly popped the first two knuckles of one of his hands. "Don't think I need my lightsaber to beat you, but you're gonna get it one way or another. Now I can embarrass you with it once, or I can embarrass you without it and then embarrass you with it. Take your pick."
His eyes glinted dangerously at Cadyren as he watched him. "Again."
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Cadyren
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Jul 25, 2011 20:45:56 GMT -5
Post by Cadyren on Jul 25, 2011 20:45:56 GMT -5
Cadyren watched as Nieraan dodged his blade, not even bothering to ignite his own Lightsaber to block the young Sith’s attack. Forcing his body to move once again, Cadyren tried to redirect his blade to attempt to manage to put Nieraan on the defensive, but before his Lightsaber even got close Nieraan hit him in the ribs. Letting out a grunt of pain Cadyren retreated, stumbling back a few steps. He kept his Lightsaber between him and Nieraan, not that he thought it would do anything. His master was fast, almost unnaturally so. There was no way Cadyren would be able to keep up with him and if he attacked, Cadyren wasn’t sure he would be able to defend himself in his current state.
Cadyren began to wonder what the point of this was, was it so Cadyren could see that Nieraan was better then him? There was no way for him to win, only prolong his defeat. It angered him, that he knew that even without a Lightsaber Nieraan would be able to beat him with ease. That anger grew as Nieraan spoke to him again, saying that he would have to do better if he wanted to even come close to touching him with the blade. He told him that either way Nieraan would use his Lightsaber against him, but it was up to him whether or not he embarrassed Cadyren without it first. Cadyren didn’t want to be embarrassed, but he wanted to force Nieraan into using his Lightsaber.
Cadyren drew upon the Force, even though he was already tired. This time he did not create a barrier or manipulate an object around him, but he focused the energy inside of him, using it to increase speed so that maybe he could force his master into activating one of his weapons. He felt pain travel through his body as he forced himself to call upon the Force, but he knew he would experience more if didn’t at least try and hit his master with his blade. He did his best to focus his mind only on manipulating the Force and his anger. Feeling the Dark Side move throughout his body Cadyren felt much better, much faster, but he knew that the pain and the fatigue was still there.
He knew that the pain and fatigue would be much worse because of him forcing himself to use the Force, but Cadyren moved forward anyway, this time making a slash that was meant to cut his master in half if he didn’t dodge the attack. The attack would then be followed by a one armed uppercut, with Cadyren retreating as he made the strike. This time the retreat was a feint, and Cadyren would move forward again and make another slash at Nieraan. This was assuming Nieraan didn’t counter-attack and try and put him on the ground or something like that, in which case Cadyren probably wouldn’t be able to fight back against his master.
Depending on what happened, Cadyren’s concentration might have been broken, and the Force would leave his body. The pain and fatigue would rush back to him in a wave, and for a few moments it would overtake him, and he would fall to his knees for a moment as it moved through his body. If his concentration wasn’t broken and Nieraan didn't grab him Cadyren would take a step back and prepare for his master’s attack, and try and think of what to do with his next strike as well.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Jul 30, 2011 15:59:38 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Jul 30, 2011 15:59:38 GMT -5
The Force gently softly as Cadyren took a moment to regroup himself. As the Force's currents ebbed and flowed, the crystals grew slightly lighter, reacting to the constant pull of energy in the silent chamber. A soft snort sounded in Nieraan throat as he stood there, waiting for the boy to attack again.
You waste too much time, boy, he thought flatly, waiting for Cadyren to move to strike again. One day, when they truly had a spar, Nieraan would punish the boy for standing around if he wasn't ready, even if he didn't do it for long. Kamirille had told him time and time again that battle demanded immediacy and constant action or preparation. Standing around to catch your breath could be fatal against a foe that was ready to strike. He'd learned it the hard way, even if he'd only taken a second, as the boy that stood before him was.
Nieraan's muscles tensed as he saw the boy start to move. There was the first step, a slight look of muted pain through the determination carved on the boy's face. He was at his limit, or getting close.
Good. Nieraan simply stood there as Cadyren advanced, just as he had the first time. Let him push himself 'til he can't stand anymore.
The boy moved faster now, drawing on the Force as he was. He moved so fast he threatened to make Nieraan actually need to put in effort to avoid his strikes. That brought a dark smirk to the Firrerreo's face. Time would tell how long the boy could keep it up. And time would tell if he could force Nieraan to draw his blade.
But he wasn't going to make things easy.
Cadyren's blade flicked out to bisect Nieraan at the stomach. Nieraan took a quick half-step back, leaning as he did so just enough for the saber's burning tip to barely skim the air before him. With most foes Cadyren probably did battle with that were nearer to his level, such a close call probably would have been a thing of luck; from Nieraan, it was a taunt.
The moment the threat was past, Nieraan took a step forward, using an arm to push Cadyren's uppercut aside. "Your movements are too clumsy, boy," he said, stepping into Cadyren's retreat to cut it short. The boy slashed at him again, but Nieraan was inside his guard, and close enough to grab his wrist in an iron hold before the blade could come close enough to harm him.
Then the reprisal came, in the form of a hard knee lifted up toward Cadyren's stomach as Nieraan tugged the boy forward by the arm he held. "Too easy to see and feel coming." With Cadyren's wrist still in his hand, Nieraan stepped forward with one foot, trying to plant it firmly behind one of Cadyren's legs. And then took a single, powerful lunge forward with his forearm raised to take the boy in the chest and shoved forward to try using his leg as a fulcrum point to send the boy down on the ground.
Whatever the result, Cadyren would be released and Nieraan would pace around him dangerously, a predator still toying with its prey. "I can read you like a book, boy." He twitched his fingers, and a single saber flew to his hand. "Now defend yourself." The blade ignited, as green as the weapon Cadyren used against him. Nieraan took it when he killed a Jedi Shadow on a mission to Bastion.
The boy wasn't worth one of his own lightsabers yet.
Whether Cadyren was up or not, ready to defend or still trying to catch his breath, Nieraan would be on him. The blade blurred as he began to rain a flurry of strikes at the boy. Cut at the neck that flowed into a bat at his saber and a flick at the bicep of his saber arm. A feint at the chest that dropped into a two-handed cut in toward the top of Cadyren's thighs. Over and over, he attacked, meaning to press the boy as far as he could go.
But at least he'd remembered to turn the intensity on the saber down so it would merely burn, rather than kill.
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Cadyren
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Aug 7, 2011 11:58:48 GMT -5
Post by Cadyren on Aug 7, 2011 11:58:48 GMT -5
(Sorry it has taken me so long to post, been busy for the past week or so.)
Cadyren’s blade sang as it cut through the air, just barely missing Nieraan. Had he caught him off guard by using the Force, or was he still playing with him? Cadyren didn’t get a chance to figure that out, as Nieraan decided to go on the offensive again. Cadyren tried to hit him with an uppercut strike, but the attack was in vain. Nieraan pushed Cadyren’s sword arm away as he made the attack. As Cadyren made his retreated, no longer a rouse but now an actual attempt to escape his master, Cadyren tried to make another slash towards his master.
It was to late, Nieraan was already to close. He grabbed Cadyren’s wrist, holding it tightly so that the young man wouldn’t be able to escape his grasp. Cadyren attempted to pull his arms away from Nieraan, but the older Sith moved closer,, wrapping his leg around Cadyren’s left. Before Cadyren knew it he was being pushed backwards. Instinctively Cadyren’s right leg moved backwards to catch his fall, bit it didn’t get very far before it bumped into Nieraan’s leg.
So Cadyren fell, grasping at Nieraan in a vain attempt to avoid crashing down on the ground. If he had missed or if Nieraan had just avoided his hand, Cadyren didn’t know. As his back made contact with the floor of the let out a grunt of pain, his hand releasing his Lghtsaber as it deactivated. All of the pain and fatigue he had felt earlier came rushing back to him now, and his face twisted as he tried to suppress a scream as every cell in his body began to feel like it was on fire.
Cadyren did not move for a moment, he looked like a rag doll that had been beaten repeatedly before being thrown angrily at the ground. As the pain numbed once again Cadyren began to wonder if Nieraan would end the training for now, bit that hope quickly faded as he heard the hiss of a Lightsaber coming to life. Cadyren attempted to get to his feet, but as he moved pain flashed through his body. He fell back to the ground with a thud. Looking at his master for a moment, he saw him begin to move his Lightsaber to attack.
Doing his best to ignore the pain, Cadyren reached out with his arm and grabbed the hilt of his saber. Moving quickly, Cadyren thumbed the activator and the blade jumped to life, and Cadyren barely managed to swat Nieraan’s blade away from his neck. He couldn’t stop Nieraan from batting the blade of his saber away however, and paid for it with a strike to his left arm. As the blade met flesh Cadyren was sure he was going to lose his sword arm. But instead he felt searing pain as the skin covering his bicep was cooked. Cadyren did his best to ignore this new pain, and the smell of his own burnt flesh. He raised his guard to block a strike towards his chest, but it turned out to be a feint, and Nieraan’s blade attempted to burn his thigh.
Cadyren’ swung his Lightsaber at Nieraan’s, trying to knock it away from his body. Is master’s blade burnt his pants as it landed to Cadyren’s side, but he was left unharmed.
Nieraan kept striking at Cadyren as he tried to get back to his feet, never giving Cadyren a chance to draw upon the Force to aide him again. Cadyren did his best to block his master’s attacks, but he could barely block every other strike sent towards him. If he hadn’t been so tired and beaten already he might have been able to fight his way to his feet, maybe. As he was however, he stood no chance against Nieraan and his green blade. He tried his best to speak to Nieraan, tell him to stop, but he felt so out of breath that he kept coughing and trying to suck in air every time he spoke. “Stop…..sto.... *cough*…..there’s no…..(cough)….point,” just then the blade met his abdomen, burning through his shirt and cooking his flesh. Pain rushed through his body again, but this time it was quickly followed my anger, anger at his master for not listening to him and for burning him yet again.
That anger exploded out of him, a blast of dark power bursting from his chest. It was powerful, some of the rocks around Nieraan and the boy were sent flaying backwards from the blast. They soared until they hit the crystals or the ground, the sound of their impact traveling through the room. The crystals themselves grew brighter again as Cadyren sued the blast, violet light filling the room once again.
Cadyren fell onto his back, he felt even more drained now then he had ever in his life. He was still conscious, but only barely. He was so tired, so hurt, that he thought that perhaps unconsciousness would be nice. Nieraan probably would punish him for it by forcing him to do even more training when he awoke, so Cadyren forced himself to remain conscious, and he simply stayed there, lying on the ground. Even I the blast hadn’t affected Nieraan in the slightest, and he continued to hit him with the lightsaber. His body still reacted when it was hit, twitching ro trying to move away from the blade. But Cadyren himself was numb, only vaguely aware of all the pain he had experienced that day.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Aug 12, 2011 22:05:56 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Aug 12, 2011 22:05:56 GMT -5
Hit.
Hit.
Hit.
Time and time again, Nieraan's viridian blade slipped through Cadyren's defenses. And time and time again, the tip seared through the boy's clothing and into his flesh. He blocked a few--a credit to his tenacity, if nothing else, after everything Nieraan forced him through.
But for every missed block, every feint that was fallen for or every time Nieraan simply forced a strike, there was a death, or a strike that would incapacitate to allow a killing blow.
Had they been fighting for real, Cadyren would have died several times at Neiraan's hands.
Their fight was not to the death, however relentlessly Nieraan attacked the boy, and while each hit would hurt, it wouldn't leave any real lasting damage. A welt from burning, a light scar at the worst; small prices to pay for failures that should have ended his life.
The boy asked for Nieraan to stop, begged around his coughing for mercy, but Nieraan would give him none. Instead, his blade licked out at Cadyren's being once again and met the flesh of his stomach. Another blow, another potential death.
"Come on, boy!" he goaded, looking down at the tired child on the ground before him. "Fight!"
He raised his arms again, saber humming ominously as it hung over Cadyren like the scythe of a reaper come to claim him as a prize. For a moment, the saber stayed there, waiting to fall again on Cadyren's person, but Nieraan did not bring it down. Not yet.
Cadyren was in pain. That was as plain as Korriban was hot. His presence thrashed and rippled with it. The expression that rode his face laid it out for anyone with eyes to see. He's spent, he thought simply. His thumb moved to a knob on the saber's hilt. Time to finish this. With a quick flick, he turned the knob and in doing so, returned the blade's power back to full.
One controlled strike--one simple stroke to graze the boy and leave him with something to remember the cost of failure and his brushes with it.
Though he'd only hesitated for a brief moment, he felt something start to build within the boy. Power abruptly welled in him, so quickly that only Nieraan's well-attuned sense kept him from being caught unawares.
Even so, when the Force blasted out of Cadyren, Nieraan found himself caught in it. It was an impressive thing, considering he'd yet to touch Nieraan since they'd first crossed paths in the archives. Still, Nieraan reacted quickly, drawing the Force into him and releasing it to free himself from the wave of energy that rushed outward. His feet dragged on the floor as he hit the ground again, and his momentum took him near to the wall.
Interesting. He glanced at the crystals, noting how bright they'd grown after Cadyren's outburst. Then his yellowed eyes fell on the boy. His student, who was laying on the ground, exhausted. He has potential, the Firrerreo thought as his mind worked back through all he'd seen Cadyren do. With the right training, one day, he will be strong. But he's got a long way to go.
Nieraan simply studied him for a moment more and started to walk toward him with a quiet snort.
Quietly he called on the Force as he walked. There was no opening of ethereal floodgates, no raging torrent that filled him nearly to the point of pain. He called it simply, and it came to take care of one final task.
His walk was steady and calm, with the green blade held at his side. The soft tapping of his footsteps and the dark hum of his lightsaber where the only sounds that filled the crypt, beyond what labored breathing the boy might have been doing.
He stopped about a meter and a half away from Cadyren. There he stood, looking down on the weary boy before him. With a quiet sigh and a simple wave of his hand, Nieraan reached out through the Force and wrapped the boy in it. Then Cadyren was turned to hang upright and lifted high enough to keep his feet off the ground.
"You are stubborn, boy, if nothing else." He neglected to mention how many times he'd seen flashes of himself in the boy during their session. It was none of his business.
"You hung on longer than I thought you would, but know this." Nieraan's hand suddenly flattened, and a burst of the Force would suddenly send the boy back to a column a few meters behind him. It would pin him there, and it would hurt. "For all your tenacity, you are weak. For any real foe you face, you'd be nothing but another chore on the list to get rid of."
Nieraan twisted his hand to the side and curled his fingers as though grasping at something. Pressure would start to build on Cadyren's throat; air would come hard, if it came at all through the iron hold of an invisible hand. Nieraan's face didn't change a bit.
"You are weak, boy. And until you know how weak you are, you'll never learn a damn thing on how to shed your weakness. Let that be your first lesson."
For a moment longer, he stood there, arm stretched out to strangle the boy, with his eyes hard and unfeeling. "Now rest. You train again tomorrow."
And then he released him.
{Alright, took a few liberties in there to be able to let things flow smoothly. As always, if you have a problem with anything, just let me know}
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Cadyren
A guy with a blue name
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last online May 19, 2015 3:38:20 GMT -5
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Aug 21, 2011 4:17:07 GMT -5
Post by Cadyren on Aug 21, 2011 4:17:07 GMT -5
Cadyren wasn’t sure if he had managed to throw Nieraan off f him with that Force blast. He was only vaguely aware of the fact that his master’s blade was no longer hitting him. He was so exhausted that he found himself unable to get up, or even reach for his lightsaber, which had rolled out of his hand after he had created that blast of energy. Instead all he could do was breathe. He took in deep breathes, each time grimacing in pain as his ribs expanded and stretched his burnt skin. There was a hole in his shirt right on his abdomen, and the flesh within the hole was burnt rather well. Each time Cadyren took a breathe it stretched that spot of flesh, and Cadyren found himself gritting his teeth together as he tried to stop himself from screaming.
Cadyren felt something grab him. It was strange, like some barely tangible creature was wrapping around his body. Then he found himself being pulled into the air, and as he rose he found his upper body being lifted upwards. His arms dangled at his sides as he looked down upon his master. He glared at him; he had continued to beat him after he had surrounded. Cadyren knew that Sith didn’t care much for others, but he had thought that they would be above beating their apprentice after putting them through such harsh training.
"You are stubborn, boy, if nothing else."
Cadyren listened to his master as he told him that he had hung in longer then he had expected, Yet still you continued to hit me with your saber? I surpass your expectations, yet you choice to continue to beat and torture me? Is that my reward? You know nothing of teaching a student. If you will beat me anyway then why should I try? Cadyren thought, though he did not speak his opinion. And as for the fact that he was weak, what was Nieraan to expect from a boy? Cadyren knew he was not able to fight off a Jedi Knight or another Dark Jedi, they were all older then him.
Cadyren might have had some real weakness’. Perhaps he was too arrogant sometimes, or perhaps there was something wrong with his form. But the weakness Nieraan was referring to was Cadyren’s age. He wasn’t experienced enough to be able to fight him, he hadn’t learned as much.
Cadyren felt the energy around him shift, then Nieraan flattened his hand. Cadyren’s body remained still for a moment as he realized what was about to happen, then he felt the energy pull on him and he was sent flying backwards.
Cadyren’s back met a column with a thud. He let out a cry of pain despite his efforts not to, and instinctively raised his arms in front of him. He had expected to fall to the ground, but Nieraan held him there upon the column.
Then Cadyren began to feel something wrap around his throat, like a hand. It began to squeeze on his neck, until he could barely breathe. He knew it would be futile, but Cadyren’s hands instinctively went for his neck, trying to grab at the invisible hand. They found nothing however, and Cadyren let them fall limp.
The Nieraan talked to him again, stating again that he was weak. He needed to learn how weak he was, so that he would know how to shed his weakness. Don’t worry. I’ll shed my weakness one day. Then I’ll show you what it’s like to be played with like a doll. Cadyren thought, and despite the horrible situation he was in, the boy managed a smirk. It only lasted a moment. The expressions felt strange on his face, it had been so long since he had smiled or chuckled at anything really.
Nieraan let go of him, and Cadyren crashed down onto the floor. This time he made no noise. For a moment he didn’t get up, and took a couple of deep breathes to fill his lungs again. Once his heart rate went back down to normal, and he didn’t feel like he was going to suffocate, Cadyren forced himself back to his feet.
Every cell in Cadyren’s body screamed with each step as he moved back to the center of the room where he had fallen. He picked up his fallen saber and reclipped it to his belt after two tries.
After retrieving his weapon, Cadyren was ready to rest. He stumbled towards his jacket, as far as he was aware Nieraan hadn’t brought any sort of mat or sleeping bag for them to sleep on. He scrunched the jacket up and placed it under his head as he went to lay down. He would glance towards Nieraan quickly to make sure he wasn’t going to attack him in his sleep, and then closed his eyes. Almost instantly he felt all of his pain disappear, and his mind drifted into unconsciousness.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Sept 2, 2011 21:48:58 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Sept 2, 2011 21:48:58 GMT -5
There were no further taunts from Nieraan as Cadyren slowly picked himself up from the heap he'd collapsed into. No jeering contempt, no obvious disappointment. Nothing but silence as he watched the boy make his pained way to pick his lightsaber up and pick up his jacket to make a crude pillow for his head to lay on.
He stood there, watching, with arms hanging at his sides until the boy closed his eyes and his presence shift as he drifted off to sleep.
The first test was over. "Or the first part of the first test, anyway," he muttered to himself as he killed. He nearly clipped it back to his belt, but a thought took him and he paused to look at the hilt. It was different than his own matching blades; fitting, since it was a lightsaber he'd taken from a slain Jedi on Bastion. And unlike the other two, it had no connection to him. No bond to him toward the Force, no hidden, heartfelt value like one of his own in particular had. It was a tool. A weapon. Nothing more.
He shrugged slightly and clipped it to his belt. While he kept his two personal blades in an open-topped pouch resembling a holster, the third hung alone.
It was that green saber, he decided, that would be used for the boy's instruction until he proved his was worth battling against with something that held as much value to Nieraan as one of the rocks in the forgotten crypt.
Outside of the times when he used two blades, anyway, unless he happened upon another.
With the boy likely out until he was awoken, Nieraan sighed and walked over to one of the columns that jutted up out of the ground. There he sat, back propped against the rough stone behind him, and studied the boy.
Looks like there might be something to you after all, kid. You won't like what it takes to get it out. Nieraan waved his hand lazily and pulled one of the sacks they'd brought in over to him. He dug around for a moment and pulled out a bit of food, if it could be called that; it was little more than a freeze dried ration. Hell, I hated Kamirille for it. But she made me strong.
The ration's wrapping crinkled softly as he pulled it back. He took a bite. Wasn't the best stuff, but it wasn't the worst. It tasted faintly of fruit of some sort.
As he chewed, he studied the boy and let his mind drift back over everything that'd happened today, from their run-in in the archives, to the end when he'd ruthlessly attacked him.
"If you could go back in time and know what I'd put you through," he asked Cadyren, even knowing he couldn't hear in his slumber, "would you still have said yes?"
Perhaps Cadyren would have, if Nieraan's gut feeling about the boy were right. Or perhaps not. Either way, it was too late for him to turn back now.
And his time in the crucible had only just begun.
---------------------------------------------------
It was hard to tell how time passed deep down in the crypt, away from the sun and the stars. What Nieraan could tell was that several hours after he'd allowed himself to drift off to sleep, his eyes were cracking open and he was awake once more.
He was still on the ground with his back propped against the pillar as he had been, with the green saber held loosely in hand in case the boy decided to try anything. Sleep had been light for him, but even so, he'd had dreams that hadn't visited him for a very long time; memories of his mother and the abusive training she began on Metellos after she stole him away from his father.
He'd even noticed a very light dusting of sweat on his forehead when he woke up.
But that was over now; the dreams were gone and Kamirille was long dead. So Nieraan pushed them from his mind and stood up to stretch the knots out of his muscles.
The crystals had dimmed a bit while the two Sith slept, but there was still light enough to see clearly. Nieraan gave the boy a few extra minutes of sleep as he went about handling the business of waking up, and then it was time to get Cadyren up and start day two.
"Boy." He strode over to Cadyren and gave him a light kick in the ribs to jostle him from his sleep. "Wake up."
He waited to be sure the boy was getting up, then walked away from him. "Get something to eat. You have more work today."
Deciding to take his own advice, Nieraan fished around in the bag and grabbed another ration for himself. And then, in a rare moment of kindness, tossed one to Cadyren. Then he went and sat near the same column he'd slept under. "There's water in there if you want it."
Nieraan opened his ration and studied the boy for a moment. Now they had a bit of time before the training resumed, with whatever he decided to put Cadyren through. Might as well see what there is to see about this boy.
"So tell me about yourself, boy," he muttered around a mouthful of food. "Where are you from?"
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Cadyren
A guy with a blue name
319 posts
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last online May 19, 2015 3:38:20 GMT -5
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Jan 7, 2012 3:21:16 GMT -5
Post by Cadyren on Jan 7, 2012 3:21:16 GMT -5
Cadyren did not know how long he had slept, but it felt like it had been an eternity. The first thing he realized as his mind began to return to consciousness was that he was lying on the ground. His body felt sore all over, as though he had been beaten to a pulp before he fell asleep. Cadyren’s eyes slowly opened, he saw that he was in a cave, with crystal formations lining the walls. Cadyren looked at the peculiar crystals. He knew they were familiar to him, but the boy could not remember why that was in his current state.
Cadyren heard a voice nearby, but in his barely conscious state he couldn’t make out what the word was. He had begun to turn his head to see what the source of the voice was when he felt the foot connect with his ribs. He let out a grunt of surprise as his hand moved to his side, and instantly Cadyren was thrown back into full consciousness.
Cadyren looked up at Nieraan as he remembered where he was. He was in a cave on Korriban, ‘training’ with Nieraan, his new master. Forcing his tired and bruised body to move, Cadyren lifted himself up into a sitting position. He stretched his arms and legs outward as he listened to Nieraan.
"Get something to eat. You have more work today."
Work was another word that Cadyren didn’t think was an appropriate term for the torture that Nieraan had put him through the other day, and he had a feeling that it was only going to get worse. At least you will become strong.. Cadyren thought to himself. It was a rather pathetic goal that he had, to become powerful just so that he could be powerful. He had tried to justify his reasons for learning the Dark side when he first joined the Sith, but the truth was that if he did become powerful he wouldn’t know what to do with that power. But he kept training anyway. There was nothing else for him to do. Everyone he cared about was dead, and there was no way the Jedi would take him back now after he had joined the Sith, after he had killed people in anger.
Nieraan tossed Cadyren one of the food rations, but when he moved to catch it the ration fumbled out of his hand and landed on the ground. Sighing, Cadyren reached over and picked it up, brushing off some of the dirt that had gotten on it. He then began to eat his meal, it didn’t taste extremely bad, and Cadyren had eaten worse. As he took in another bite out of the ration Nieraan began talking once more, asking him where he was from and telling him to talk about himself. Cadyren didn’t know why Nieraan wanted to know, Perhaps he wants to find out if there is anything from my past he can torture me with? Cadyren thought, silently laughing at his stupid joke. Of course, that could have been true, but Cadyren decided to talk anyway.
He remained silent for a moment, not sure where he should begin. He decided that Nieraan probably wouldn’t be interested in the years he lived on Tatooine, as a small child and before becoming a Sith, so he decided to just talk about his life as a Jedi.
“I was found by the Jedi was I was a very young child, and I can barely remember my life before I started living in the Jedi Temple. I was an apprentice there, a Youngling, for a couple of years. I became a Padawan at a very young age, I was about 9. My master was…. He was a young Jedi Knight that focused a lot on Lightsaber combat.” Cadyren stopped for a moment as he thought of Het, his first master, sadness filling him as he remembered how the man had died protecting him. Pushing those feelings away, he continued, “I still had to wait a couple of years before I began to go on missions, but I built this Lightsaber when I was only 12.”
Cadyren didn’t really want to continue, because all that was left to tell was the death of his master, and how he had murdered his brother. The latter didn’t bother him, but fir the past year Cadyren had been trying his best not to think about his master’s death. Talking about it seemed like it would be worse.
Sighing, Cadyren began to tell the story of his last mission as a Jedi, “I was Het’s apprentice until about a year and a half ago. We went to Balosar, there was a gang there that was starting to get pretty big. We had also heard rumors that the leader was a Dark Jedi, but had thought it was a lie. We were wrong. The leader was actually my brother, who had learned the ways of the Dark Side. My master was…um... killed when my brother and his men attacked us, but not before wounding my brother and killing most of his men. Most of the gang retreated, taking my brother back to where ever their base was, while a few more stayed to try and kill me…. I guess you could say that was when I ‘fell’ to the Dark Side then. I managed to find out where my brother was going before I killed them, he had gone back to Tatooine, which is where we both were born.”
Cadyren took a moment’s pause, he wasn’t used to talking so much. He had gotten passed the worst part of it though, so it wouldn’t be difficult to continue, “I took my masters ship and followed him. We fought each other, and I killed him. Afterwards I looked through his stuff and found a datapad that contained his journal and everything he knew about the Dark Side. He had also had some information in there about Korriban, and after awhile I decided to go there myself and see what I would find. Then I ended up here.”
He was finally done talking, so he went back to eating his food. He waited for Nieraan to respond, to see what sort of negative comment his master would make.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Jan 7, 2012 22:30:52 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Jan 7, 2012 22:30:52 GMT -5
Nieraan listened as the boy told his story. Cadyren said a lot--more than Nieraan had been expecting him to, but he didn't stop him. For once, he wasn't doing something to deride Cadyren. Rather, he was genuinely curious in the life the boy had led before he found his way to the Sith. Information could be a useful thing.
Former Jedi, huh? Nieraan nodded occasionally during Cadyren's story. Seems like we have a lotta those here. He'd never been a Jedi, or even set foot in the Temple himself. His mother had been a Jedi, once though. As had his father.
But it was his mother who'd made him who he was today. Cadyren wouldn't learn that, though. Not the details, anyway. Maybe Nieraan would tell him at some point. It wasn't some fear of the past or hidden regrets that held Nieraan's tongue; he just preferred to keep what he could of his past from most of the other Sith. Trust was hard enough to come by for him; it was even harder for his fellow Sith.
"I see," he said, when Cadyren was finally done. For a few moments he just sat there, observing the boy silently. And then...
"I never was a Jedi," he started. "Still touched by them, though; their stupid Code is the reason I am where I am today."
Well, maybe not entirely. But Nieraan couldn't help but wonder how things would have been if Jedi could love. If his parents could've stayed together, would their ugly fallout have happened? Would his mother have fallen so far?
If he'd had the chance to be raised a Jedi, would that be where he was today, looking at the conflict from the other side?
Nieraan shrugged and pushed the thoughts away.
"Spent most of my life on Metellos. Had most of my training there. Found the Dark Side there." He paused, the shrugged again. "Then eventually I left. Wandered around the Galaxy for a while, and after a few years, I wound up here."
That would be good enough, he decided, standing up. It was the base of his story, even if it lacked a lot of details. Nieraan walked over to the sack and dug around for a moment, and retrieved a first aid kit.
He dug around in it for a few moments, until he founds what he was looking for: Kolto patches. He took a couple and tossed a few to Cadyren. "Put those on the worst of your bruises. We'll be doing some unarmed work first."
He'd give the boy a chance to finish eating and to actually apply the kolto patches first. No sense pushing him past the point where he couldn't function so soon. No matter how cruel Cadyren thought he was, he was not his mother.
Speaking of...
On a sudden whim, Nieraan turned around. He knew the motion would catch the boy's eyes. If it didn't, what he did next would. He pulled his shirt up behind him, revealing his back. It was muscular, finely defined, but that wasn't what was important.
What was were the marks that crisscrossed Nieraan's back. They were dull scars, standing out sharply against his faintly silver skin. Every one of them, eleven in total, had been left by a lightsaber. Every one of them had come from his mother's live blade, at full power.
A moment of silence hung, and then Nieraan lowered his shirt. He turned around again and looked at Cadyren quietly. If the boy was waiting for some story or explanation behind the scars, he'd be getting none. Nothing more than a simple statement.
"In case you ever wonder if I know what it feels like," he said softly. For a moment, his gaze seemed to soften and go distant, as if he were seeing something long forgotten--something that was unpleasant. Then his demeanor shifted and he was back to his normal self again.
Maybe the boy would see what he'd meant. Maybe he'd see the gesture he'd made. Or maybe he wouldn't. Past that moment, Nieraan didn't care.
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Cadyren
A guy with a blue name
319 posts
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last online May 19, 2015 3:38:20 GMT -5
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Feb 28, 2012 21:27:08 GMT -5
Post by Cadyren on Feb 28, 2012 21:27:08 GMT -5
(Not a very good post, sorry :/)
To be honest Cadyren had expected Nieraan to say something about how his former master had been weak, or perhaps tell him that it was his own fault that his master died just to mess with him. But it seemed like Nieraan was playing nice, at least for now anyway.
Nieraan remained silent for a moment, and then he began to talk. Cadyren was not shocked when Nieraan told him he had never been a part of the order. No one that had been a Jedi would treat their apprentice the way Nieraan had treated him. What Nieraan said about the code was intriguing however, what did the Jedi code have to do with him?
The rest of Nieraan’s story was short, he grew up on Metellos, a planet that Cadyren had never heard of, and that was where he was trained. No mention of who his master was, and what he did while he was wandering. That suited Cadyren just fine though, he didn’t want to get to know Nieraan, just learn from him.
Cadyren finished his food as Nieraan got to his feet, and made an attempt at standing up as well. He felt pain shoot through his legs as he forced himself to his feet. His entire body felt sore and there were bruises all of his body, but as far as he could tell Nieraan hadn’t done any permanent damage.
While Nieraan looked through the bag Cadyren did a few stretches, sleeping on the cave floor had not been comfortable in the slightest, and his muscles felt tight. He felt pain shoot through his limbs as he stretched, but he did his best to ignore it. He didn’t get far into his stretched before Nieraan was done getting the kolto patches out of the bag, but he felt a bit better.
Cadyren caught the kolto patches when Nieraan tossed them to him. He held them gently in his hand as he applied them to some of his bruises, and let out a sigh as the pain began to go away. He would have been surprised by the fact that Nieraan even gave him the patches, but his desire to rid himself of the pain made him forget Nieraan for a moment.
Cadyren paid little mind to Nieraan until he began to turn around, his eyes watched him closely, what was he doing? As Nieraan pulled his shirt up Cadyren could see faint marks on his skin, made even fainter by the purple lights that emitted from the crystals. At first Cadyren was puzzled, why was he showing him those marks? Were they battle wounds that he was showing off?
Then Cad realized how many of them there were. There was no way he would have gotten that many in a fight. Cadyren’s eyes widened as he realized that the only way Nieraan could have gotten scars like that would have been if someone had inflicted them upon him. For a moment Cadyren felt pity for Nieraan, his master must have treated him in a similar way to how he treated Cadyren now. He endured the same pain, maybe even worse.
As Nieraan put his shirt back down, Cadyren remained still. Had Nieraan really been like him once, forced to undergo harsh training by his master? When Nieraan spoke, he knew that it was true. It was strange, knowing that Nieraan had been in the same shoes as him before. But then why was he treating him so harshly, if he knew how it felt? Was it the only way he knew how to teach, or did he like being on the other end?
Does it matter? Either way it doesn’t excuse how he is treating me. I never did anything to him. I won’t take pity on him just because of how his master treated him. I won’t forgive him for what he did to me yesterday and what he will continue to do to me as my training progresses.
The young Sith looked at his master, I hate you. I hate you for what you’ve done to me already. What you will do to me. And I hate you more for showing me those scars, for trying to show that you were once like me. But I will learn from you, and my hatred of you will make me strong… stronger then you one day. A smile played across his lips as the last thought went through his head.
“So we’re going to practice unarmed combat, correct? Let’s get started then.” Cadyren said, the smile disappearing as he asked the question. He knew that Nieraan was going to beat him, but he didn’t see any point in delaying.
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