Post by Apillis on May 22, 2009 10:51:40 GMT -5
Name: Acalya Syclya
Race: Near-Human
Age: 57 (chronologically) 26 (biologically estimated)
Height: 170cm (5’7”)
Weight: 52kg (115 lbs)
Appearance: Appears as a young woman with a long, lean physique, something akin to a slender athletic runner's build. She looks basically human, however her shoulder-length black hair with natural dark violet highlights that come to view in the proper light, and her blood-red iris hued eyes, betray any notion she is only human. Her skin tone is a faint greyish pallor, and the dark circles around her eyes and the dark creases splitting from the corners of her eyes appearing to be the clear indication of someone who is far too over-indulgent of the dark side within them. Typically dressed in a black halter top and long skirt high-cut up to the thigh - both made out of the same silk-like material. Around her waist is a Jedi utility belt that once belonged to her father with a shoto concealed along the back of it and a black handle and hilt vibroblade (short sword) sheathed across the back of it. On her feet are a pair of simple black leather sandals. She wears a black hooded cloak/cape with the hood always drawn.
Birthplace: Bothawui
Faction: Dark Jedi
Rank: Dark Jedi Master - Prophet
Bio:
From Fear to Anger
It originally all started with a man by the name of Marcus Syclya, Acalya's father, who was a Dark Jedi Knight who served even darker masters in times past. Acalya never really knew him, never had the chance to for the most part and never got the details of his life - just a simplistic overview. She learned a Jedi Knight persuaded him to turn away from the dark side, and eventually he became a Grey Jedi. Though he never turned to the Jedi Order, he was never even apart of it at any point in time of his life. He went into exile, because to return to his dark masters meant death.
He met a woman he later married, and live with in the mountainous, rocky terrain of Bothawui - they had two children, the first was his son, Cin, eight years later, Acalya was born, his daughter. They had the same hair and eye-color as their father though their slower aging process would not begin to surface until their late-teens, but what Near-Human species they were is difficult to say, likely a combination of a few or even several from generations past. Both as toddlers begun showing signs of being Force-sensitive like their father. He showed them simple things, little tricks utilizing the Force here and there, but never developing their understanding too much, perhaps he wanted to avoid teaching his children anything too detailed in fear of one day their becoming like he had become at one point in his life.
One night, they expected their mother to return home, but noticed their father was pensive, fearful - scared - she was not returning home by now from having gone to town. Acalya merely a four year old child at the time grew increasingly scared seeing her father so filled with both mourning and dread. Until from where he sat in their small home he looked to the front door, he calmly told his children not to come outside no matter what. He stood up and walked outside with the serenity one would have expected of a Jedi Knight. The clash of battle could be heard between lightsabers only a few moments after he stepped outside, it lasted for ten minutes or so, and then - a dreadful silence that seemed to last hours, though it could not have been more than a minute or two.
Suddenly entering the home was a tall, strong built dark blue-skinned Feeorin with a standard single-hilt lightsaber in one hand and shoto lightsaber in the other. He looked between the two children with his cold, red amphibious eyes. The twelve year old boy picked up a knife from the dinner table for cutting meat. But before the boy could even strike or charge at the towering Feeorin he cut the boy down with red beamed lightsaber. Acalya stood trembling in horror of the Feeorin, she could not move, she could not cry, she was just scared and afraid - standing before him in fear. He picked up the terrified girl by the throat after he attached both his lightsabers to his belt,. His grip around her neck was like iron, holding her up to the point they looked at each other eye to eye as he uttered with his cold, dark monotone, "I killed the mother, the father, and the son... The boy would have been perfect, were he not too old... He had rage and bravery... However, you have immense fear... You will learn to use it, Apprentice, and with each failure - you will suffer for both your failings and the failings of your father before you."
That is where Acalya's dark path begun, whether she wanted it or not, fear is what drove her in to complacence to follow her Master. Why the Feeorin wanted one of the offspring of Marcus to be his next apprentice is simple - to spite Marcus even after death for abandoning his teachings, and thus the 'sins' of the father would be exacted upon the child to suffer, and perhaps the child could succeed where the father had undoubtedly failed. The Feeorin's name is Keln, though Acalya learned quickly never to call him by name, or the response would be a swift backhand, and such a thing from a couple century year old Feeorin easily rendered a small child unconscious.
Her training was nothing shy of being locked within a constant state of fear - the slightest mistakes or failures, no matter how minor was rewarded with insults, mockery, and beatings. Even successes were met with the same reprisal, it was quickly breaking the little girl down - shattering her will and the innocence she once had to rebuild her from the core of her spirit - to wrench every bit of her power from the Force out of her fear - out of the dark side within her - to know no other means on how to tap into her Force power outside of doing so from the dark side. She was essentially being indoctrinated that understanding the Force can only be utilized as an instrument of ones own fears. While she went through the steps of her exercises, Keln would invade her mind forcing her to see the memory of her brother dying before her eyes and Keln's own memory of him murdering her mother and slaying her father while using the dark side to further intensify her overwhelming sense of fear. It was all she could know when calling upon her own Force ability, eventually it was all she ever understood.
At the Dark Jedi encampments her master would at times frequent every couple or few years to report to his own dark masters. Keln and another master used their two Neophyte apprentices like a pair of dogs. They made a bet on which one was superior to the other, and the two Neophytes suddenly found themselves placed into a situation where they had to fight one another to the death for their master's entertainment and the right for one to call themselves the superior master with the superior Neophyte over the other. They placed a metal rod and vibroknife between the two children. Primitive weaponry for a savage fight to display the raw strength along within the two children. Acalya's opponent was an eleven year old boy, she had barely turned nine years old, he was bigger and stronger than her. She stood confused when the fight was called, how can she kill this boy she had never met?
But before she could ponder any further, her perceptions warned her of incoming danger - she quickly jumped backward, but she was not quick enough as the boy had already picked up the vibroknife and stabbed her in the left shoulder. She cried out in pain, the boy sadistically grinned as he twisted the blade causing her to cry more - his master laughed at her agony, Keln looked infuriated. Everything seemed to standstill for her at that moment, the fear that overwhelmed her in that trice begun to manifest itself into a placid calm, though it was not a serenity, it was murderous rage - an utter overwhelming sensation of fury - but the calm, tempered anger of a sociopath - a detached and disconnected anger that was directed solely at whomever was before her. The rage and anger that burned within her did not burn like fire, it was something far more deep-seeded and colder, it burned like an artic chill that freezes and shatters persons limb like glass.
The metal rod flew into Acalya's right hand and with a loud, heavy thud - the boy lay on the metal ground bleeding heavily from his cracked open skull. Acalya then straddled herself on top of the unconscious boys stomach and continued wailing on his head. Her blood-red eyes unblinking they just stared straight ahead as she repeatedly split open the boys head like a melon with one heavy strike after another. The vibroknife was still stabbed through her shoulder, she did not seem to notice it or the pain anymore - it seemed as though to Keln she was feeding her strength off of it. Hazed in the boys blood, it was clear he was long dead. The boy's master looked enraged, he had lost a bet and was humiliated. Keln walked over to Acalya as she stood up off of the boy's corpse. She looked at Keln as he approached her, and with the sweet, little voice of a nine year old girl she uttered in a cold monotone after ripping out the vibroknife from her shoulder, "I will kill you, my Master."
For the first time Keln smiled at his apprentice with a measure of pride just before he backhanded her across the face while retorting, "Not while you still manage to get wounded by an inferior.", but he then looked at her with surprise as the backhand did not knock her down this time, instead all it did was turn her head away.
She looked back at him - her face held no expression, her little voice still a monotone as she stared right back at him, "It will be with this blade.", she said as if she were not finished with her prier statement. Keln just chuckled, yes, she had truly become his apprentice, he could feel a powerful murderous rage brewing within that child and he liked it. The next step being teaching her how to use it.
From Anger to Hate
All she could do from this point on was focus her anger - hone it into a weapon based off of her will. That would be the key, turning her will in raw power. She knew even at a young age through her studies during her training that she could never possibly defeat her master, a two hundred year old Feeorin, through a contest of raw strength and direct lightsaber combat. Besides, her greatest strength early on in her training had always been releasing the destructive power of the dark side of the Force and telekinesis. No matter how strong he thinks he is - it is worthless if he cannot hit his target. So long as she increased her speed and agility combined with the will-work of her mind within the dark side, she could defeat him. But it would be years before she could ever attempt such a thing. For now, it was expanding her knowledge within the dark side to rip what she willed into reality - to give her cold fury expression.
It was around this time Keln was becoming more active with what was stirring within the galaxy. In a certain regard he could be viewed as a spy for his dark masters. When Acalya was two years old, the Sith Aristocrats were beginning to form, even the name would invoke something within the Dark Jedi, more peculiarly as timed progressed they viewed both the Jedi and Dark Jedi as one in the same as being an abhorrent abomination. These later years, especially when Acalya was just starting to reach her teenage years - Keln was doing quite a lot of reconnoitering for his dark masters within the ranks of the Sith Aristocrats military.
Posing as a military advisor aboard an Interdictor-class cruiser, and his apprentice, Acalya, posing as his young page - though the lie was not too far from the reality. Posing as a military advisor was not too much of a stretch for Keln as he apparently, unknown to Acalya till then, was one in times past - with centuries to ones life to live like the Feeorin possesses - there are centuries worth accomplishments one can gain. Acalya never got the details from her master, but at one time before becoming a dark master, he was a military man with a long service record, he never divulged more than that to his apprentice. Aboard the ship Keln came across an ambitious yet easily pliable young captain, Erik Drayde, whom Keln over the years would take to often using to inflict his will upon the ship from behind the scenes.
As Acalya grew older Keln begun showing signs of being a little weary of his apprentice. Her ability for telekinesis was growing exponentially, and while her lightsaber combat technique was still no match for his own - she was proving to be very quick and was starting to show a development of her own method of combat heavily favoring Shien with some Ataru techniques within its development. Her every moment within the Force seemed to be utterly derived from within the dark side, as if she had little to no understanding how to tap into the light, or perhaps she forsaken it completely - her every motion was based off of ripping out the darkness within her through the Force creating powerful displays of usage of the dark side.
It first started when at the Dark Jedi encampments when Keln would report to his dark masters, when the other Acolytes would challenge her to duels. These were often bouts to the death. Acalya never hesitated to accept them, to back down was a showing of weakness and earned ones death anyway, it was far better to at least accept the challenge even if it meant your death you can at least die without being labeled a coward. In the beginning it started off small, as a means for viciously disarming her opponents; which was stopping them with her telekinetic ability while they were mid-swing with their lightsaber. But oddly it was only their arm that would stop and be in place, the rest of them was able to flail about; albeit, that is precisely what would happen when in the next instant their arm holding their lightsaber was suddenly crushed and crumpled up like paper. This seemed to surprise Keln and some of the other masters, as none were aware Acalya was honing her mental abilities to such a degree. It was after such moments she would not waste a second in tormenting her victim to death with Force Lightning, or using the dark side to drain the life out of them completely. But in later years, this ability to crush objects telekinetically would prove to be far greater feats of strength.
The first time she displayed this talent for crushing the limb of another through the dark side of the Force with her mind, it was against a girl her age wielding a vibroblade (it is the size of a short sword). The Acolyte challenged Acalya in a showing of dominance as often these things are done, knowing that Acalya had never been in a true duel between Acolytes - it was a new experience for her and the girl had been in a few. As the girl dropped her vibroblade crying out in agony after her arm malformed and twisted from being broken in countless spots along her forearm like a twig ; Acalya calmly walked up the Acolyte, picking up the vibroblade and stabbed her through the stomach with the Acolyte's own blade. Acalya left the girl to die in the small training arena of the encampment, no one bothered to help her as she lay there bleeding to death. Acalya liked the vibroblade - she felt a small rush running the Acolyte through with a sharp implement, so she kept the blade as her prize for winning her first formal duel - much like she did with the vibroknife from her first kill. Acalya even went as far as to train with it often throughout the years after having "won" it.
Despite the impressive ability Acalya was gaining within the dark side of the Force, during her sparing matches with her master, she was still proving to have much difficulty against him. She still lacked the speed and technique to match his raw strength and lightsaber ability, and no matter how much destructive or telekinetic power she displayed - an Acolyte's ability against that of a Master is still significantly dwarfed. Keln's usual methods of training her she was beginning to notice were not as effective as they once had been when she was younger, and quickly begun to realize if she was to become more powerful, at least to match or possibly exceed her master - she would need to find new methods to train herself.
When she found the time to spare, she would often retreat alone to Korriban, perhaps finding something there among the old ruins, but each and every time it was all for naught. Most times she simply wound up finding herself meditating within the lingering dark side presence from the old, ancient, and forgotten masters from eras long past. Or pushing herself to see just how far she extend her power to its utter limits - crushing rocks and boulders with her mind or hurling them telekinetically as far as she could. At the Dark Jedi encampments the numerous teachings she learned did much for her knowledge and understanding, but little for her in regards to her direct progression. It felt to her as if she had reached an impasse between her knowledge and her ability - as though something was impeding her progression; and if this were the case she would never gain the power she required to defeat her master. His knowledge rivaled hers, and his strength still yet surpassed hers. Her only conclusion was there was still yet something she had not entirely understood within the dark side.
This seemed to prove to be the routine over the years to come. Her strength within the dark side no matter how many new techniques she learned, her power seemed to increase at a very slow rate. She worried that she was beginning to reach her limits already. It caused her much frustration as she was just beginning to figure out the keys to releasing a powerful wave of telekinetic energy, but regardless of how much she understands how to do it - it means little if there is not significant strength in the Force to back it. Otherwise, against a stronger opponent it is nothing more than showmanship and an empty gesture that will lead to ones death.
By this time it was the anniversary of her family's slaughter at the hands of her master, she has ignored several but this year it seemed to disturb her more than any of the others. She was drowning within her own sorrow because it was by this time she had hoped to be strong enough to challenge her master - and at last kill him. However, she was forced to concede it was an unrealistic goal. She became a monster to kill a monster, but the monster she had become was not strong enough to fulfill her desires. She left the ship Sensorium, a Centurion-class battlecruiser, commanded by the once ambitious Captain Erik Drayde now OF-7 level Rear Admiral Erik Drayde mostly thanks to Keln's machinations and manipulations from the shadows increasing his puppet's, Erik Drayde's, rank so Keln can become the 'power behind the throne' so to speak aboard such a starship.
Where Acalya left to was where it all began - to where she was born - the rocky, mountainous frontier of Bothawui. The sun was setting as she neared what was once her home - the rocks almost glowed orange as the sun fell nearer to the horizon. She had not seen it in many years, since she was four years old - that was nearly forty-eight years ago though she looks like a human girl in her mid-twenties; she had no real concept of how old she was now - she has no specific Near-Human species more just a hybrid of interbreeding other Near-Humans outside their own kind as her lineage, and she doesn't exactly get 'check ups' from a doctor, either.
It was such a distant memory by this time, she had completely forgotten what the home looked like till then. Something was not right when she reached her home. It was abandoned as she suspected it would be, but there were three old graves outside of it. Her mother's, her father's, and her brother's - someone else other than her master knew they lived there. As she approached closer she saw who it was, a pair of Jedi - one was human female Jedi Master - she could sense it all over the woman's presence - the tranquil aura and posture. The other a human male, much younger - but not half as strong in the Force, nor nothing like the Jedi Knights she had seen - seeming more inexperienced, likely her Padawan-learner.
She walked right passed them to the graves and looked down upon each one with a mournful gaze. The boy was shocked to see this young woman, Acalya, he did not know whom she was, but he could certainly sense what she was - her dark, malicious aura - standing near her felt like standing in a vicious winter's chill. The Jedi Master seemed surprised to see her, but for a entirely different reason, and spoke it when she remarked, "You have your father's eyes, Acalya... but you look just like your mother.... I... I am sorry to see you have suffered so much under Keln's twisted tutelage--"
"You know nothing of what I have endured, Master Jedi," interjected Acalya with a seething spite boiling up within her, "Do not presume to tell me you are 'sorry' for it when you are utterly ignorant to it. I can only assume you must be the Jedi Knight who 'saved' my father from the dark side."
"Yes, my name is Kyia, and I was the one who turned him away from the dark side.", the Jedi Master admitted, "I wish I could have been there for him more... But, he wanted to stay as much away from the Jedi and dark ones as much possible... Maybe if he trusted me a--"
"He would have died sooner, Master Jedi.", Acalya uttered coldly, "In fact, if you truly wished to save him it would have been not showing him the light - but rather the darkness - forever."
"Your father deserved a second chance, Acalya," protested Kyia, "He did not deserve to die. He deserved to be saved just as you do--"
Acalya begun to laugh, "Save me? By you? You 'saved' my father and what it lead to instead was his decapitation, the death of his son, the death of his wife, and the 'corruption' of his daughter at the hands of the one he betrayed to be 'saved' by you. If that is what the Jedi call 'saving' someone from the dark side, I will gladly further dive headlong into my 'damnation'.", she then turned to Kyia while walking a bit of distance away from the graves, like a swordsman preparing for a duel, "Did you ever wonder, young Padawan. If the Jedi teachings in saving others were in some way... flawed? Are there those who should be saved or are there those who should never be saved? And whether one should be saved or not, should such decisions really fall upon the shoulders of one individual merely because they call themselves Jedi? And if so, isn't that a bit... conceited?", she then smiled a little.
"Acalya... stop it... I will not tolerate you trying to corrupt my Padawan.", Kyia sneered as she begun to reach for her lightsaber at her hip, sensing what Acalya is up to by her moving away from the graves.
"Or you will what, Master Jedi?", retorted Acalya with a little chuckle, "Save him? From your past record it would appear he has a better chance if he were 'corrupted' by me."
"I will not listen to you--", muttered the boy.
"Then you've already failed, a Jedi listens and confronts the darkness - turning away from it enables it plunge its daggers into your unguarded back.", Acalya interrupted, "You both are fools.", she then looked to Kyia, "You should have killed my father instead of 'saved' him. It would have been a far more merciful act."
"Had I not saved him... You would have never been born, Acalya.", replied Kyia, but her eyes went wide when suddenly Acalya was right there in her face bringing an inverted Shien form cross-slashing red beamed shoto down upon her. Kyia stumbled back a little by the abrupt speed narrowly drawing her own lightsaber - firing its green beam just in time to block the strike that came dangerously close to her neck. The light emitting from the two beams pressured against one another was nearly blinding to them both as they stared each other down. With the light of the locked beams so close to them she could see Acalya's face under that drawn black hood of hers more clearly, she saw the marks of the dark side starting to form around her eyes.
"Just what makes you think I should have been born, Master Jedi.", uttered Acalya with a dark, monotone, "You damned Jedi all think everyone wants to be saved... Did you ever stop to think, my birth should have never been? That the life you saved - should have died or have never been saved? And if that were the case, perhaps this is the Force's will of saying that some are meant to follow the path of the dark side, and by altering the course of one to follow a path that was never theirs to begin with - is to direct them onto a path that was never meant to be; and thus what occurred should have never been. And therefore the Force to supplement what had been altered from its natural path, like nature purging its polluted elements to realign itself from being knocked out of balance, the Force willed a new course for that which had been changed. The daughter was made became what the father was always meant to be."
Acalya then heard another lightsaber firing, she glanced back over her shoulder seeing the boy charging right for her - she spun around while pushing Kyia back by completing the cross-slash that locked their blades together. She extended her left hand at the boy as he charged, but before he could react to it he was stuck with a vilely powerful blast of Force Lightning that burst into exist from Acalya's finger tips. The boy's back slammed against a nearby boulder. He screamed in pain as he writhed under the agony of the bolts of lightning crawling all over his body. Kyia quickly regained her balance struck at Acalya interrupting the Force Lightning, for Acalya immediately stopped from continuing to torture the boy to deflect Kyia's attack by spinning around with a backslash.
"I understand you hate me," replied Kyia as she and Acalya locked blades once again, "I'm sorry for all the pain you have suffered over the years... Had I known K--"
"--Keln would do what?", Acalya interrupted once again, Kyia's words seem to be infuriating Acalya more and more - a seething hatred to like she had never felt before even when suffering Keln's abuse, "Just what did you think he would do when my father abandoned his dark masters, Master Jedi? Even a Jedi is not so ignorant of the fact that all things end in death with the dark side. To save one from the dark side you will inevitably set them on a course of death to end it. To truly be freed they will have to kill their dark masters, but my father never had the power to do so. He did not run away to get away from the Jedi or the dark ones he served, he did it to await for his dark masters to come to him - he was awaiting to die, Master Jedi.", Kyia's eyes opened wide with realization to this, Acalya smirked in response, "You see now the folly you created. I doubt my father ever really put forth the forethought in what would happen if he started a family. But he had one, or maybe it was the Force's way of correcting the mistake you begun. All life has a destiny - no matter how small or minor or insignificant - that the Force designs for it - when that course the Force sets for those lives is interrupted by something that should not have been, it is readjusted. I believe, my existence as it is now is one of the many unfathomable amount of readjustments in the galaxy the Force has set in motion to correct what is not supposed to be."
"I see...", mumbled Kyia as they still locked blades together staring straight into one another's eyes, "So this is where your hatred of the Jedi stems from, Dark One?"
Acalya then smiled because she just then realized it - where her hatred was coming from - what was truly eating and rotting her away from within - what was chilling her blood so much it burned within her, "I do not hate the Jedi.", replied Acalya, and for Kyia things for an instant seemed to move at a slow pace, as if time had slowed down to a snails pace. But there was nothing she could do in response to what she perceived coming - the reason everything seeming to come to a slowed halt. As Acalya forcefully pushed Kyia away yet again, this time by completing her backslash, knocking Kyia off-balance - exerting from Acalya's body was what seemed like numerous layered pulse-waves all condensed right on top of the other exploding outward from it's focal point - Acalya herself. The very area around Acalya seemed to distort in a liquid-like manner as these condensed Force pulse-waves expanded outward blowing Kyia away - sending her flying off of her feet and through the air. The rocks and boulders loose debris dredged up under the explosive power Acalya released sending them hurling through the air as well. Those that managed to stay lodged into the ground cracked and shattered under the strength of the Force Repulse.
Kyia crashed, bumped, scraped, bounced, skidded, and tumbled across the harsh rocky ground after suffering the powerful hit by the Force Repulse by Acalya, "So... this is your power within the dark side, Acalya.", she uttered as she slowly picked herself up feeling incredible amounts of aching pain all over her body from the unforgiving landing she suffered from it, "I find it difficult to believe Keln would have taught you such a thing."
"His teachings enabled me to learn much within the dark side, however, they only allowed me to reach a plateau to which I had to discover a way to enhance what I learned from him to fit me.", said Acalya, "I studied for years... so many years on means to figure out how to bring the will of the dark side within me - outward."
"What hatred is it that gives you such power within the dark side if it's not hatred toward the Jedi?", inquired Kyia as she stood up clenching her side having broken a couple ribs from crashing into the rocks, and fired her lightsaber back up prepared for a battle she is now aware she may not win. Acalya merely smiled in response to the question, and with impressive swift speed charging right for Kyia. With the strength of her own telekinesis Kyia launched a large rock right for Acalya as she charged for her. Acalya came to sliding stop, narrowly stopping the large rock a few meters from her while it was still in flight with her telekinetic ability, and with a sneer the extended left hand she used to help her focus on the rock she balled into an enraged fist and the large rock shattered - breaking apart into eight sharp, ragged edged chunks - which she redirected back at Kyia. But by this point was long out of its path having Force Jumped well over them and came down upon Acalya with a powerful downward slash that Acalya was narrowly able to block. She was forced down to one knee while Kyia upon landing stood over her pressuring Acalya down as they locked blades yet again.
Acalya was pinned, but she knew away out of it and smiled a dash in reaction. Kyia sensed it - the ominous slowing of time around her again - it was her senses warning her. This time however Kyia was prepared for it, back-flipping with a Force Jump while increasing her speed - the expanse of the powerful pulse wave that rocked the ground cracking it and shattering it around Acalya as it threw up loose rocky debris in every which direction away from her. Kyia deflected the slightly more dangerous bits of debris that flung at her with her lightsaber as she landed from her Force Jump narrowly enabling her to avoid being struck a second time with Acalya's attack.
Acalya realized that no matter how much she has learned and honed her technique with Shien and her decent understanding for Ataru - her personal blend of the two forms will not help in her a direct confrontation with a Jedi Master; and with Kyia now aware of the extent of the Acalya's power - catching her off-guard with it would be futile. It was as she pondered this while raising back up to her full stature, a stirring from under the rubble that had been tossed about from Acalya's Force Repulses was the young Padawan starting to come to from unconsciousness. Acalya smiled at this prospect, Kyia's eyes widened in horror perceiving that Acalya is going to use him. It was in that instant Acalya extend her left hand at the boy, and with her telekinetic strength at full force she hurled him through the air like a missile heading head first for the face of a large boulder, and at the speed he was traveling through the air it was sure to crush his skull and kill him instantly. Kyia reacting as swiftly as she could focused all she could to slow the rate at which the boy traveled with her own telekinetic ability, but she was more of a warrior caste and not a pure wielder of the Force to the extent Acalya was, thus her telekinesis despite being a master was not as strong, and was only able to slow him just enough so when crashed into the boulder he was left relatively unharmed.
It was just as Acalya wanted - with Kyia's full attention on the boy focusing all her power to save him - she was vulnerable to the utterly vile Force Lightning that Acalya unleashed. The power of which took Kyia right off her feet and crashing a few meters back and skidding on her back for a few more. Acalya did not let up, though, she unrelentingly continued the Force Lightning uninterrupted no matter how much Kyia writhed and cried out in torment. Acalya nonchalantly unimpressed walked up to Kyia as she maintained the constant stream of Force Lightning upon her. When Acalya stood over Kyia, she turned off her shoto and placed it back onto its concealed area on the back of her belt before getting down on her knees straddling Kyia's stomach, who lay there in pain writhing as small bits of smoke came off of her body. Kyia half-heartedly fired her lightsaber once again and swung it at Acalya who was sitting on her stomach, but there was nothing to the swing. Acalya just smiled down on her as she caught Kyia's weakened strike with her left hand, grasping on to Kyia's right hand as it still held onto her lightsaber weakly. While holding onto Kyia's right hand with her left - Acalya switched off Kyia's lightsaber.
It was a clear sign to Kyia, it was over, she could not possibly fight back any longer as she lay there, "I see... where... your hatred... comes... from now, Acalya...", Kyia uttered as she labored for breath from the agony constantly shooting through her body, "You don't hate... anything more... than yourself...", Acalya merely smiled gently at Kyia - almost with a measure of caring as she lay her right hand on Kyia's chest. Kyia's words rang true, though, the key that Acalya had been searching for to tap into the dark side was not what she hated outwardly - it was she hated from within - herself. Her own weaknesses - the fear she has felt all her life, the inadequacy of being unable to kill the one she calls 'master', her wasted anger, and her helplessness of being unable to change events that placed her within a life and on a path she never truly wanted. It was that immense hate for herself that she realized was the core of one's power within the dark side; or at least - for her.
"It'll all end in a moment, Kyia.", Acalya replied with a tone as if they had known each other for a lifetime. Kyia's eyes suddenly went wide feeling the agony of the life being drained out of her into Acalya's right hand. She thrashed about to get free but she lacked the strength and energy to fight back. Her right hand holding her lightsaber still clenched within Acalya's left hand, Kyia grasped and clawed desperately at Acalya, but eventually so much of her life had been drained out of her all she could do is cling on to Acalya's right bicep with her free hand. But Kyia quickly begun to feel all things begin to fade, her exhausted thrashing and kicking slowly came to a halt, her grasp on Acalya's bicep loosened until her left hand fell to her side - limp. Kyia's blue eyes gradually became droopy eventually fading to a close as she exhaled her last labored breath.
A short spell later the sixteen year old boy slowly begun to come to again. Groggily he picked up himself up, but his eyes opened wide when it finally clicked in his head he and his master were facing a Dark Jedi; and much to his horror he no longer felt the presence of his master and there stood a smiling Acalya before him. Fear, anger, sorrow, hate - they were all expressed on his face as he looked upon Acalya awaiting her to kill him. But then - no - he refused to die like this, he then stood ready to fight and attempted fire up his lightsaber, but - alas it did not work. The hilt was crushed by the rocky rubble and debris that he had been tossed around with on more than one occasion during the fighting.
Acalya grinned as she then told the boy, "You feel fear, you feel anger, you feel immense hate, and your spirit writhes in the agony over the sorrow you feel over your master's death... Agree to become my apprentice, and I will teach you how to use it so you may one day kill me.", she then held up Kyia's lightsaber before the boy, "If you agree, you will be granted the chance to do it with your former master's lightsaber.", the boy then reached for the lightsaber desperately to snatch it away from Acalya, but she chuckled pulling it away just out of the boy's reach, "Tch tch tch... Ah-ah-ah... Not yet... First bury your master beside the graves of my family. She fought honorably, she deserves at least that much - dying while saving your life - she died as a Jedi - a privilege which you have now chosen to no longer be granted. Once she is buried, I will give you her lightsaber and you will then become my apprentice. Understood?", the boy nodded conceding to Acalya as though he truly had a choice in the matter, "Your name?"
"Aerin.", he quietly answered.
"Go to your former master's corpse, drag it over to my family's graves and bury her with them.", Acalya ordered. Tears streaming from the boy's eyes as he buried his master realizing her has failed in every aspect of the hopes his master held for him and those he held for himself. Acalya simply stood by watching him, savoring the taste of his agony.
Suffering
With Aerin now as Acalya's apprentice, she begun exploring the further depths of her own darkness that went unnoticed by her over the many years of her training until her duel with Kyia. Keln often criticized and rebuked Acalya's method of training her apprentice, though she continually reamed the boy for not using his own darkness enough - Keln mockingly remarked often her style of teaching was like watching pair of Jedi. Which was her intention, essentially putting the Jedi in Dark Jedi one might say. Her philosophy within the dark side was to be the eye of the hurricane in one analogy, the practitioner of the dark side is the calm center while they unleash chaos and destruction all around them articulating their inner hate. Acalya's method of Force Repulse is the apex of this philosophy of utilizing the dark side of the Force, she - the focal point - remains placid while all else around her is brought to chaos through her will.
The relationship that grew over the years with Acalya and Aerin was a peculiar one, she did not treat him like a pupil being trained to one day kill her, like many Dark Jedi, or Sith for that matter, do - she treated and trained him more like an inheritor - someone to carry on a legacy. Everything about her methods and train of thought seemed contradictory to Aerin, her presence was vilely intimidating and chilling - but one could see an intense burning hate in her blood red eyes, though she never acted out of blind rage, yet she would kill anyone at the drop of a hat whether to simply make a point or something in the long term more calculated. To him she always appeared to be reaching at extremes of nearly any and every spectrum. Truly being an embodiment of her philosophy of being the eye of the storm.
What perplexed him more was her attitude toward him, during training she was more like that of a strict Jedi master - very critical, harsh in her words - reaming him constantly for the slightest error or mistake. However, when not training she was more aloof - distant, then other times like a cold sister, or at times a sociopathic friend - or a vicious maniac he wanted to stay clear of at all times - she never seemed to keep a singular constant. Albeit, there was a constant in her he saw but she seemed to hide to him, or so he would think, he simply could never place his finger on what was exactly.
By the time Aerin was twenty years old, he accompanied Acalya and Keln to a Dark Jedi gathering, one of the make-shift encampments they use when reporting to their dark masters. After Keln reported his further progress with his infiltration within the Sith Aristocrat military still posing as a military advisor to the now Admiral Erik Drayde, to his dark masters he remarked disapprovingly to Acalya, “Why did you bring the sprat with us?”
“He is my apprentice, Master.”, Acalya simply stated.
“He is a nuisance and has no comprehension of your soft methods of teaching, they are meant for someone who is already in touch with the dark side, but he barely has any understanding for it.”, Keln fires his lightsaber as he utters while taking a couple steps toward Aerin, “He is unworthy of your knowledge.”, Acalya’s eyes widened for an instant before stepping in front of Keln, protectively blocking his path to Aerin who stood taken aback by both Acalya and Keln - though Keln too was surprised by his apprentice’s actions, “Are you protecting him, Acalya...?”, he questioned as though it were not real.
“He is my apprentice, thus, Master, his life is mine to claim should I wish to claim it, I give no others that privilege.”, Acalya stated.
“And I am your master, girl, I have rule over either of your lives.”, said Keln beginning to lose his patience and temper.
“That is... incorrect, Keln...”, disputed Acalya - Keln’s eyes widened a little even further surprise she has never called by name to his face, “Now I am the Master.”, her shoto lightsaber flew off of her belt into right hand, firing it instantly she slashed its red beam at Keln’s neck with a Shien style cross-slash. Keln narrowly dodged as he jumped backward drawing his shoto lightsaber as well taking his dual-wielding Juyo stance. The Dark Jedi of the encampment begun to gather a wide circle around them to see the apprentice attempt to take the title of master from her master himself.
Keln chuckled in response to this, “So, you have finally chosen to challenge me for power.”
Acalya replied with a tone as though she were clarifying a simple misunderstanding, “I already have more power than you, all I need to do is remove you from the equation to claim what is already mine by right.”
Master and Apprentice immediately charged right for one another clashing blade upon - it was insanity to Aerin - fighting a lightsaber master like Keln head on as she was. Though it seemed Keln was not prepared for this, as he struck with either of his two blades, Acalya's natural speed with what modicum amount of talent she has in increasing her physical abilities through the Force - she parried and dodged each attack while stepping into Keln for a swift sweeping strike. Each time Keln scarcely managed to avoid being struck by backing away from her further. She was essentially pushing him back, which enraged him even more - one of the Prophet caste pushing back one of the Marauder caste such as he in a head to head lightsaber duel. It was an insult. His barrage of attacks become more frequent with great power behind them, deflecting them became more of a struggle, but the attacks themselves were filled with more fury than possessing any form of precision.
After deflecting a thrust Keln attempted with his shoto at Acalya's heart, knocking him slightly off-balance - he made a reckless heavy downward cross-slash at Acalya's head. It was essentially what she had been waiting for - she stepped into the attack with a quick twisting deflection, and while mid-spin with her left side to Keln - she laid her left hand directly on his chest and unleashed a powerful blast of Force Lightning that took him well off of his feet flying through the air crashing upon the dusty ground under their feet and forcefully being pushed across it for a couple more meters. He roared in agony under the torturous pain of the immense bolts unrelentingly crawling all over his body as they exerted from Acalya's fingertips.
Acalya then flung her shoto at Keln using her telekinesis, as he was down going for the coup de grace - the red beam spun like a buzz saw right for him. The blade was knocked high up into the air as Keln rose back to his feet filled with rage and fury as his body radiate the smoke from being so viciously struck down by Acalya's Force Lightning - the Marauder was weakened but not defeated. Acalya realized she underestimated the resilience a master Marauder possesses. With an effortless Force Pull her shoto came right back to her, catching it in her right hand. She launched her shoto right back at him again only with far more powerful than the last, speeding right for him spinning like a high-powered buzz-saw as it spun through the air. But the result was only the same, he deflected it once again sending the blade soaring up into the air as he charged right for her with incredible speed.
Acalya's eyes widened, she had little time with no room for hesitation or mistake. Planting her right foot back while thrusting both her hands forward with the bottoms of her wrists facing each other, and fingers curled like talons - she exerted a Force Push far more powerful than the previously seen before. The air even distorted by the thick amount of Force energy emitting from her hands as it smashed into Keln sending him flying back crashing and skidding across the dirt ground like a flat stone skipping across water, then rolling for as few meters. The ground in the path of her Force Push cracked and shook a bit under the raw strength and concentration of it. However, even under the great power Acalya managed to muster up and unleash, Keln, though wearily - still arose to his feet much to Acalya's unwanted surprise.
With the overwhelming blind fury of a master Marauder, he charged right for Acalya with great speed once again. Acalya scarcely managed retrieve her shoto with the Force, and fire the blade to block and deflect the barrage of assaults Keln struck at her with his dual lightsabers. She was narrowly keeping up with him, but quickly losing her footing unable to match his speed and physical strength for long she lost her balance and stumbled backward in the midst of trying to block his shoto. Her blade missed, and his blade struck the top of the hilt of her shoto - destroying it. She stumbled backward a few more paces narrowly dodging each attack with her natural speed and ability with the Force to increase speed, though limited it was; still though, even when off-balance as she was her natural grace and fluid movement proved astoundingly quick and willowy - it was clear her decades of training has done much for even without utilizing the Force.
Regaining her balance after a couple more narrow, stumbled dodges she throw her broken shoto at Keln hitting him directly in the forehead with it. He paused in reaction to this and just laughed at her, which is that level of arrogant carelessness in her master she had hoped for. His laughter was abruptly silenced when she unleashed a devastating Force Repulse, everything distorted around her. The ground rumbled and shook, the earth around her split into numerous centimeter wide wide spider cracks in the wake of the Force Repulse. The thick layered waves of the Force Repulse blasted into Keln - smashing straight into him sending him right off of his feet into the air with harsh, clumsy crash and vicious tumbled for quite a few meters. Having used the Force so much to such powerful extremes it was clear by now, Acalya was exhausting herself as she breathed heavily; but it was Keln at this point who was far more worse for wear.
It was obvious at this point to Acalya, regardless of what Keln had left in him, he was going to die by her hand. She calmly walked over to him as he ever so slowly rose back up to his feet waveringly firing up his lightsabers once again. It was at this point she drew the vibroblade she had kept for so long, as it was sheathed on her belt along her back, and held with the inverted grip much like the Shien style grip and stance she used with her shoto. Keln chuckled half-heartedly out of exhaustion seeing her draw the blade, "So that's why you kept that thing and kept training with it... You knew it'd come down to this."
Acalya merely smiled, "I knew losing my lightsaber or it being destroyed in direct combat with you was a high probability. So, I trained with this weapon, and it will not be destroyed by a lightsaber.", at that moment she went on the assault.
The two clashed once again, but it was clear this time Acalya had the upper-hand given how weakened Keln was, and he continued to weaken even further as they fought. For all the while Acalya was utilizing the dark side weaken and enfeeble his physical prowess as they fought. His swings grew heavier and sloppier, and with each step he wavered a little more. Until eventually, Keln roared in agony - his right hand had been sliced in half along with the hilt of his lightsaber by swift cross slash from Acalya's vibroblade. He sliced at her with his shoto, but Acalya gracefully stepped past it and around him with a swift spin, less than a second afterward he cried out in agony again. He looked down at his chest to see the blade of Acalya's vibroblade sticking out of his chest do to her having stabbed him through the back, she twisted the blade only to make him scream in pain a little louder. Re-enforced with her power in the Force she gave a vicious, merciless yank on the blade knocking him off it.
Keln stumbled half-alive at this point, it was impressive he remained on his feet. With a few slow staggered steps he turned to face a smiling Acalya, he grunted at the smug look on her face - for her victory at this point was obvious, "Kill me already.", he demanded.
Acalya chuckled, "Did you honestly believe I would make this quick for you?", she extended her left hand in Keln direction. Suddenly he felt the Force lift him up into the air by a couple meters while it felt like the Force was pulling at every limb about to rip into pieces. He wanted to cry out in pain, but his lungs were being stretched out to the point they could gather no air. But then in instant Acalya clenched a fist shattered his bones up and down his body. She let him flop to the ground with a heavy thud. She sheathed her blade with his blood still on it, and then drew the vibroknife from when she was just a child. She nudged him onto his back with her foot, and then sat down on his stomach straddling his torso as she held the vibroknife as his life was fading away. But before he could die, she told him, "I said I was going to kill you with this blade. I always intended to make good on my word.", she then flipped the blade into a reverse grip and brought it down upon him, straight into his eye all he to the hilt so the blade buried well into his skull killing him for certain. She let go of the blade leaving it lodged within the skull of her former master's corpse, as she rose back to her feet as she looked down at Keln's lifeless body and stated clearly and boldly, "I am the Master.", and then claimed his shoto for her own - as though it were another trophy.
When she and Aerin returned to the Sensorium, Admiral Drayde inquired where Keln was, Acalya informed him that he will no longer be serving aboard the Sensorium; and she will now serve as Drayde's military advisor. Knowing better than to argue it Admiral Drayde simply nodded showing he understood, and never asked questions from then on and simply accepted Acalya's counsel.
Lightsaber: Shoto (Obtained from her Master.)
Color: Red
Practiced Lightsaber Forms:
Shii-Cho 5
Makashi N/A
Soresu N/A
Ataru 2
Shien / Djem So 5
Niman N/A
Juyo N/A
Double-Bladed Combat N/A
Force-Sensitive Abilities or Practices:
Telekinetic: 9
Telepathic: 6
Body: 3
Sense: 7
Protection: 5
Healing: 0
Destruction: 8
Specialized Skills:
Force Repulse
Force Crush
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 5
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 7
Leadership: 4
Unarmed: 5
Melee Weapons: 8
Ranged Weapons: 1
Force Attunement: -8
RP Sample:
Suffering: Epilogue
It has been few months since the death of Keln, and there was Acalya at her family's home, on her knees before the row of graves. The latest one belonging to Keln himself, her past is nearly entirely buried upon these grounds. She simply sat there on her knees, seemingly staring off into nothing at she ruminated on the events of the past, present, and even a little bit what is yet to come.
The sun of Bothawui was setting, the rocks of its mountainous frontier begun to glow with bright orange highlights. There was one more element of her past that she first encountered at sunset not entirely unlike this one, she was curious to see how it would transpire, "I know you were expecting me to show up her, my Master.", uttered Aerin from behind her, she smile a little in response, "I know what you want me to do, but I've decided not to do it. Keln may not have caught on what you were planning when you took me as your apprentice. But, I started to figure it out after you killed him... You've been plotting your own death. Ever since you killed that boy as a child. You waited and waited for when the time was best to kill Keln. One you saw Kyia and I here, you saw me as the perfect vessel in which you could bring about your own romantic end while continuing the cycle with the legacy of your teachings of the dark side."
"So.", replied Acalya simply as she remained exactly as was, not even looking back Aerin who stood a few meters behind her.
"I'm not going to do it, Acalya.", Aerin stated unwaveringly, "Keln was right, you were training me like a Jedi, and while you didn't think I used the dark side enough, you never said anything against my using the light. What you were teaching me was for an advanced Acolyte or Dark Jedi, which I'm not, but you ignored that taught me those methods anyway. The methods you kept teaching me were Jedi teachings of the dark side, I recognized those kinds of teachings - but they were for the light not the dark side; but you realized they could apply to both. So, you taught me them in the guise of training a dark apprentice to fool Keln. What you wanted was an actual Jedi to kill you, but not completely of the light - because like I said, you wanted someone to carry on your legacy of the dark side. You wanted a Grey Jedi, like what your father was - you see this as ending the artfully altering the cycle to a new balanced course."
"If you figured all of this out, my Apprentice, what are you telling me all of this and just do what needs to be done?", Acalya inquired with a soft smile.
"Because, like I said, Acalya, I'm not going to kill you.", he stated clearly, "You got what you wanted, I'm a Grey Jedi... I'm going to return back to the Order... I am no Dark Jedi, and I have a lot to learn about being the Jedi Kyia sought to train me to be, and I failed her miserably."
"Jedi kill those of the dark side, young Padawan.", uttered Acalya.
"I'm not a Jedi, I'm a failed Jedi, and I'm not your apprentice any longer, I do not want to fall any further than I have.", the young man admitted and told Acalya with a sorrowful gaze, "I couldn't kill even if I wanted to, Acalya... because the more I learned and got to know you... the more I pitied you..."
"Pity me...?", responded Acalya, "Young Padawan, I do not require your pity or condescension, but in essence what you have admitted to me is that you have failed me. All my hopes and aspirations I have placed and entrusted to you, you have selfishly dismissed; and so the years I spent granting you my knowledge was a waste.", Acalya then rose to her feet drawing her vibroblade as she stood up, and turned to Aerin to face him.
The young man could already feel the Force waiting him down, something was weakening him rapidly, enfeebling him to the point he was struggling to concetrate, he could feel his strength drain away.He looked to Acalya in fear, "A...cay... la..", he was barely able to utter, he unclipped his lightsaber, but Acalya flicked her left wrist and the lightsaber flew out of his hand. Acalya walked up to him and pushed him up against a boulder face. He grabbed onto with both hands, his left hand grasping onto Acalya's right wrist as he could feel the point of her vibroblade against his stomach; his right hand grasped tightly onto her left bicep. The fear of death was exclaimed on his face. With Acalya weakening him with her power within the dark side of the Force, he could not push her away. Slowly he could feel the blade stab into him, "S-stop...! A... cayl...a stop...! I... don...t... wan... to... di...!"
Acalya merely smiled, almost comfortingly, "You agreed to this when you decided to become my apprentice, you Padawan. With the dark side, all things end in death."
The tip of the blade making into his stomach he begged, "P-ple...s... A...cayl... I don... wan..t... to... di...!"
Still giving him a soft, gentle smile, "Have you forgotten the Jedi Code already?... There is no death, there is only the Force, young Padawan.", as the blade sank deeper into Aerin as Acalya continued to weaken and incite fear into him through the Force, he eventually went limp, and slumped onto her. Though still barely alive she held him with her free arm like a sister giving her younger brother a hug with a wide comforting smile on her face. Her blade at this point has exited out of his back. She let out a slight dismissive sigh as she whispered into his ear while his head rest upon her shoulder, "You are now dead to me, young Padawan... May the Force be with you.", she then coldly pushed him off her blade, and walked away from the scene as though it was already in the long gone ancient past. She never looked back at it, nor would ever go back to that site again. She merely returned to the Sensorium to carry out her espionage, and see where the dark side of the Force would take her within its abyssal depths.
Race: Near-Human
Age: 57 (chronologically) 26 (biologically estimated)
Height: 170cm (5’7”)
Weight: 52kg (115 lbs)
Appearance: Appears as a young woman with a long, lean physique, something akin to a slender athletic runner's build. She looks basically human, however her shoulder-length black hair with natural dark violet highlights that come to view in the proper light, and her blood-red iris hued eyes, betray any notion she is only human. Her skin tone is a faint greyish pallor, and the dark circles around her eyes and the dark creases splitting from the corners of her eyes appearing to be the clear indication of someone who is far too over-indulgent of the dark side within them. Typically dressed in a black halter top and long skirt high-cut up to the thigh - both made out of the same silk-like material. Around her waist is a Jedi utility belt that once belonged to her father with a shoto concealed along the back of it and a black handle and hilt vibroblade (short sword) sheathed across the back of it. On her feet are a pair of simple black leather sandals. She wears a black hooded cloak/cape with the hood always drawn.
Birthplace: Bothawui
Faction: Dark Jedi
Rank: Dark Jedi Master - Prophet
Bio:
From Fear to Anger
It originally all started with a man by the name of Marcus Syclya, Acalya's father, who was a Dark Jedi Knight who served even darker masters in times past. Acalya never really knew him, never had the chance to for the most part and never got the details of his life - just a simplistic overview. She learned a Jedi Knight persuaded him to turn away from the dark side, and eventually he became a Grey Jedi. Though he never turned to the Jedi Order, he was never even apart of it at any point in time of his life. He went into exile, because to return to his dark masters meant death.
He met a woman he later married, and live with in the mountainous, rocky terrain of Bothawui - they had two children, the first was his son, Cin, eight years later, Acalya was born, his daughter. They had the same hair and eye-color as their father though their slower aging process would not begin to surface until their late-teens, but what Near-Human species they were is difficult to say, likely a combination of a few or even several from generations past. Both as toddlers begun showing signs of being Force-sensitive like their father. He showed them simple things, little tricks utilizing the Force here and there, but never developing their understanding too much, perhaps he wanted to avoid teaching his children anything too detailed in fear of one day their becoming like he had become at one point in his life.
One night, they expected their mother to return home, but noticed their father was pensive, fearful - scared - she was not returning home by now from having gone to town. Acalya merely a four year old child at the time grew increasingly scared seeing her father so filled with both mourning and dread. Until from where he sat in their small home he looked to the front door, he calmly told his children not to come outside no matter what. He stood up and walked outside with the serenity one would have expected of a Jedi Knight. The clash of battle could be heard between lightsabers only a few moments after he stepped outside, it lasted for ten minutes or so, and then - a dreadful silence that seemed to last hours, though it could not have been more than a minute or two.
Suddenly entering the home was a tall, strong built dark blue-skinned Feeorin with a standard single-hilt lightsaber in one hand and shoto lightsaber in the other. He looked between the two children with his cold, red amphibious eyes. The twelve year old boy picked up a knife from the dinner table for cutting meat. But before the boy could even strike or charge at the towering Feeorin he cut the boy down with red beamed lightsaber. Acalya stood trembling in horror of the Feeorin, she could not move, she could not cry, she was just scared and afraid - standing before him in fear. He picked up the terrified girl by the throat after he attached both his lightsabers to his belt,. His grip around her neck was like iron, holding her up to the point they looked at each other eye to eye as he uttered with his cold, dark monotone, "I killed the mother, the father, and the son... The boy would have been perfect, were he not too old... He had rage and bravery... However, you have immense fear... You will learn to use it, Apprentice, and with each failure - you will suffer for both your failings and the failings of your father before you."
That is where Acalya's dark path begun, whether she wanted it or not, fear is what drove her in to complacence to follow her Master. Why the Feeorin wanted one of the offspring of Marcus to be his next apprentice is simple - to spite Marcus even after death for abandoning his teachings, and thus the 'sins' of the father would be exacted upon the child to suffer, and perhaps the child could succeed where the father had undoubtedly failed. The Feeorin's name is Keln, though Acalya learned quickly never to call him by name, or the response would be a swift backhand, and such a thing from a couple century year old Feeorin easily rendered a small child unconscious.
Her training was nothing shy of being locked within a constant state of fear - the slightest mistakes or failures, no matter how minor was rewarded with insults, mockery, and beatings. Even successes were met with the same reprisal, it was quickly breaking the little girl down - shattering her will and the innocence she once had to rebuild her from the core of her spirit - to wrench every bit of her power from the Force out of her fear - out of the dark side within her - to know no other means on how to tap into her Force power outside of doing so from the dark side. She was essentially being indoctrinated that understanding the Force can only be utilized as an instrument of ones own fears. While she went through the steps of her exercises, Keln would invade her mind forcing her to see the memory of her brother dying before her eyes and Keln's own memory of him murdering her mother and slaying her father while using the dark side to further intensify her overwhelming sense of fear. It was all she could know when calling upon her own Force ability, eventually it was all she ever understood.
At the Dark Jedi encampments her master would at times frequent every couple or few years to report to his own dark masters. Keln and another master used their two Neophyte apprentices like a pair of dogs. They made a bet on which one was superior to the other, and the two Neophytes suddenly found themselves placed into a situation where they had to fight one another to the death for their master's entertainment and the right for one to call themselves the superior master with the superior Neophyte over the other. They placed a metal rod and vibroknife between the two children. Primitive weaponry for a savage fight to display the raw strength along within the two children. Acalya's opponent was an eleven year old boy, she had barely turned nine years old, he was bigger and stronger than her. She stood confused when the fight was called, how can she kill this boy she had never met?
But before she could ponder any further, her perceptions warned her of incoming danger - she quickly jumped backward, but she was not quick enough as the boy had already picked up the vibroknife and stabbed her in the left shoulder. She cried out in pain, the boy sadistically grinned as he twisted the blade causing her to cry more - his master laughed at her agony, Keln looked infuriated. Everything seemed to standstill for her at that moment, the fear that overwhelmed her in that trice begun to manifest itself into a placid calm, though it was not a serenity, it was murderous rage - an utter overwhelming sensation of fury - but the calm, tempered anger of a sociopath - a detached and disconnected anger that was directed solely at whomever was before her. The rage and anger that burned within her did not burn like fire, it was something far more deep-seeded and colder, it burned like an artic chill that freezes and shatters persons limb like glass.
The metal rod flew into Acalya's right hand and with a loud, heavy thud - the boy lay on the metal ground bleeding heavily from his cracked open skull. Acalya then straddled herself on top of the unconscious boys stomach and continued wailing on his head. Her blood-red eyes unblinking they just stared straight ahead as she repeatedly split open the boys head like a melon with one heavy strike after another. The vibroknife was still stabbed through her shoulder, she did not seem to notice it or the pain anymore - it seemed as though to Keln she was feeding her strength off of it. Hazed in the boys blood, it was clear he was long dead. The boy's master looked enraged, he had lost a bet and was humiliated. Keln walked over to Acalya as she stood up off of the boy's corpse. She looked at Keln as he approached her, and with the sweet, little voice of a nine year old girl she uttered in a cold monotone after ripping out the vibroknife from her shoulder, "I will kill you, my Master."
For the first time Keln smiled at his apprentice with a measure of pride just before he backhanded her across the face while retorting, "Not while you still manage to get wounded by an inferior.", but he then looked at her with surprise as the backhand did not knock her down this time, instead all it did was turn her head away.
She looked back at him - her face held no expression, her little voice still a monotone as she stared right back at him, "It will be with this blade.", she said as if she were not finished with her prier statement. Keln just chuckled, yes, she had truly become his apprentice, he could feel a powerful murderous rage brewing within that child and he liked it. The next step being teaching her how to use it.
From Anger to Hate
All she could do from this point on was focus her anger - hone it into a weapon based off of her will. That would be the key, turning her will in raw power. She knew even at a young age through her studies during her training that she could never possibly defeat her master, a two hundred year old Feeorin, through a contest of raw strength and direct lightsaber combat. Besides, her greatest strength early on in her training had always been releasing the destructive power of the dark side of the Force and telekinesis. No matter how strong he thinks he is - it is worthless if he cannot hit his target. So long as she increased her speed and agility combined with the will-work of her mind within the dark side, she could defeat him. But it would be years before she could ever attempt such a thing. For now, it was expanding her knowledge within the dark side to rip what she willed into reality - to give her cold fury expression.
It was around this time Keln was becoming more active with what was stirring within the galaxy. In a certain regard he could be viewed as a spy for his dark masters. When Acalya was two years old, the Sith Aristocrats were beginning to form, even the name would invoke something within the Dark Jedi, more peculiarly as timed progressed they viewed both the Jedi and Dark Jedi as one in the same as being an abhorrent abomination. These later years, especially when Acalya was just starting to reach her teenage years - Keln was doing quite a lot of reconnoitering for his dark masters within the ranks of the Sith Aristocrats military.
Posing as a military advisor aboard an Interdictor-class cruiser, and his apprentice, Acalya, posing as his young page - though the lie was not too far from the reality. Posing as a military advisor was not too much of a stretch for Keln as he apparently, unknown to Acalya till then, was one in times past - with centuries to ones life to live like the Feeorin possesses - there are centuries worth accomplishments one can gain. Acalya never got the details from her master, but at one time before becoming a dark master, he was a military man with a long service record, he never divulged more than that to his apprentice. Aboard the ship Keln came across an ambitious yet easily pliable young captain, Erik Drayde, whom Keln over the years would take to often using to inflict his will upon the ship from behind the scenes.
As Acalya grew older Keln begun showing signs of being a little weary of his apprentice. Her ability for telekinesis was growing exponentially, and while her lightsaber combat technique was still no match for his own - she was proving to be very quick and was starting to show a development of her own method of combat heavily favoring Shien with some Ataru techniques within its development. Her every moment within the Force seemed to be utterly derived from within the dark side, as if she had little to no understanding how to tap into the light, or perhaps she forsaken it completely - her every motion was based off of ripping out the darkness within her through the Force creating powerful displays of usage of the dark side.
It first started when at the Dark Jedi encampments when Keln would report to his dark masters, when the other Acolytes would challenge her to duels. These were often bouts to the death. Acalya never hesitated to accept them, to back down was a showing of weakness and earned ones death anyway, it was far better to at least accept the challenge even if it meant your death you can at least die without being labeled a coward. In the beginning it started off small, as a means for viciously disarming her opponents; which was stopping them with her telekinetic ability while they were mid-swing with their lightsaber. But oddly it was only their arm that would stop and be in place, the rest of them was able to flail about; albeit, that is precisely what would happen when in the next instant their arm holding their lightsaber was suddenly crushed and crumpled up like paper. This seemed to surprise Keln and some of the other masters, as none were aware Acalya was honing her mental abilities to such a degree. It was after such moments she would not waste a second in tormenting her victim to death with Force Lightning, or using the dark side to drain the life out of them completely. But in later years, this ability to crush objects telekinetically would prove to be far greater feats of strength.
The first time she displayed this talent for crushing the limb of another through the dark side of the Force with her mind, it was against a girl her age wielding a vibroblade (it is the size of a short sword). The Acolyte challenged Acalya in a showing of dominance as often these things are done, knowing that Acalya had never been in a true duel between Acolytes - it was a new experience for her and the girl had been in a few. As the girl dropped her vibroblade crying out in agony after her arm malformed and twisted from being broken in countless spots along her forearm like a twig ; Acalya calmly walked up the Acolyte, picking up the vibroblade and stabbed her through the stomach with the Acolyte's own blade. Acalya left the girl to die in the small training arena of the encampment, no one bothered to help her as she lay there bleeding to death. Acalya liked the vibroblade - she felt a small rush running the Acolyte through with a sharp implement, so she kept the blade as her prize for winning her first formal duel - much like she did with the vibroknife from her first kill. Acalya even went as far as to train with it often throughout the years after having "won" it.
Despite the impressive ability Acalya was gaining within the dark side of the Force, during her sparing matches with her master, she was still proving to have much difficulty against him. She still lacked the speed and technique to match his raw strength and lightsaber ability, and no matter how much destructive or telekinetic power she displayed - an Acolyte's ability against that of a Master is still significantly dwarfed. Keln's usual methods of training her she was beginning to notice were not as effective as they once had been when she was younger, and quickly begun to realize if she was to become more powerful, at least to match or possibly exceed her master - she would need to find new methods to train herself.
When she found the time to spare, she would often retreat alone to Korriban, perhaps finding something there among the old ruins, but each and every time it was all for naught. Most times she simply wound up finding herself meditating within the lingering dark side presence from the old, ancient, and forgotten masters from eras long past. Or pushing herself to see just how far she extend her power to its utter limits - crushing rocks and boulders with her mind or hurling them telekinetically as far as she could. At the Dark Jedi encampments the numerous teachings she learned did much for her knowledge and understanding, but little for her in regards to her direct progression. It felt to her as if she had reached an impasse between her knowledge and her ability - as though something was impeding her progression; and if this were the case she would never gain the power she required to defeat her master. His knowledge rivaled hers, and his strength still yet surpassed hers. Her only conclusion was there was still yet something she had not entirely understood within the dark side.
This seemed to prove to be the routine over the years to come. Her strength within the dark side no matter how many new techniques she learned, her power seemed to increase at a very slow rate. She worried that she was beginning to reach her limits already. It caused her much frustration as she was just beginning to figure out the keys to releasing a powerful wave of telekinetic energy, but regardless of how much she understands how to do it - it means little if there is not significant strength in the Force to back it. Otherwise, against a stronger opponent it is nothing more than showmanship and an empty gesture that will lead to ones death.
By this time it was the anniversary of her family's slaughter at the hands of her master, she has ignored several but this year it seemed to disturb her more than any of the others. She was drowning within her own sorrow because it was by this time she had hoped to be strong enough to challenge her master - and at last kill him. However, she was forced to concede it was an unrealistic goal. She became a monster to kill a monster, but the monster she had become was not strong enough to fulfill her desires. She left the ship Sensorium, a Centurion-class battlecruiser, commanded by the once ambitious Captain Erik Drayde now OF-7 level Rear Admiral Erik Drayde mostly thanks to Keln's machinations and manipulations from the shadows increasing his puppet's, Erik Drayde's, rank so Keln can become the 'power behind the throne' so to speak aboard such a starship.
Where Acalya left to was where it all began - to where she was born - the rocky, mountainous frontier of Bothawui. The sun was setting as she neared what was once her home - the rocks almost glowed orange as the sun fell nearer to the horizon. She had not seen it in many years, since she was four years old - that was nearly forty-eight years ago though she looks like a human girl in her mid-twenties; she had no real concept of how old she was now - she has no specific Near-Human species more just a hybrid of interbreeding other Near-Humans outside their own kind as her lineage, and she doesn't exactly get 'check ups' from a doctor, either.
It was such a distant memory by this time, she had completely forgotten what the home looked like till then. Something was not right when she reached her home. It was abandoned as she suspected it would be, but there were three old graves outside of it. Her mother's, her father's, and her brother's - someone else other than her master knew they lived there. As she approached closer she saw who it was, a pair of Jedi - one was human female Jedi Master - she could sense it all over the woman's presence - the tranquil aura and posture. The other a human male, much younger - but not half as strong in the Force, nor nothing like the Jedi Knights she had seen - seeming more inexperienced, likely her Padawan-learner.
She walked right passed them to the graves and looked down upon each one with a mournful gaze. The boy was shocked to see this young woman, Acalya, he did not know whom she was, but he could certainly sense what she was - her dark, malicious aura - standing near her felt like standing in a vicious winter's chill. The Jedi Master seemed surprised to see her, but for a entirely different reason, and spoke it when she remarked, "You have your father's eyes, Acalya... but you look just like your mother.... I... I am sorry to see you have suffered so much under Keln's twisted tutelage--"
"You know nothing of what I have endured, Master Jedi," interjected Acalya with a seething spite boiling up within her, "Do not presume to tell me you are 'sorry' for it when you are utterly ignorant to it. I can only assume you must be the Jedi Knight who 'saved' my father from the dark side."
"Yes, my name is Kyia, and I was the one who turned him away from the dark side.", the Jedi Master admitted, "I wish I could have been there for him more... But, he wanted to stay as much away from the Jedi and dark ones as much possible... Maybe if he trusted me a--"
"He would have died sooner, Master Jedi.", Acalya uttered coldly, "In fact, if you truly wished to save him it would have been not showing him the light - but rather the darkness - forever."
"Your father deserved a second chance, Acalya," protested Kyia, "He did not deserve to die. He deserved to be saved just as you do--"
Acalya begun to laugh, "Save me? By you? You 'saved' my father and what it lead to instead was his decapitation, the death of his son, the death of his wife, and the 'corruption' of his daughter at the hands of the one he betrayed to be 'saved' by you. If that is what the Jedi call 'saving' someone from the dark side, I will gladly further dive headlong into my 'damnation'.", she then turned to Kyia while walking a bit of distance away from the graves, like a swordsman preparing for a duel, "Did you ever wonder, young Padawan. If the Jedi teachings in saving others were in some way... flawed? Are there those who should be saved or are there those who should never be saved? And whether one should be saved or not, should such decisions really fall upon the shoulders of one individual merely because they call themselves Jedi? And if so, isn't that a bit... conceited?", she then smiled a little.
"Acalya... stop it... I will not tolerate you trying to corrupt my Padawan.", Kyia sneered as she begun to reach for her lightsaber at her hip, sensing what Acalya is up to by her moving away from the graves.
"Or you will what, Master Jedi?", retorted Acalya with a little chuckle, "Save him? From your past record it would appear he has a better chance if he were 'corrupted' by me."
"I will not listen to you--", muttered the boy.
"Then you've already failed, a Jedi listens and confronts the darkness - turning away from it enables it plunge its daggers into your unguarded back.", Acalya interrupted, "You both are fools.", she then looked to Kyia, "You should have killed my father instead of 'saved' him. It would have been a far more merciful act."
"Had I not saved him... You would have never been born, Acalya.", replied Kyia, but her eyes went wide when suddenly Acalya was right there in her face bringing an inverted Shien form cross-slashing red beamed shoto down upon her. Kyia stumbled back a little by the abrupt speed narrowly drawing her own lightsaber - firing its green beam just in time to block the strike that came dangerously close to her neck. The light emitting from the two beams pressured against one another was nearly blinding to them both as they stared each other down. With the light of the locked beams so close to them she could see Acalya's face under that drawn black hood of hers more clearly, she saw the marks of the dark side starting to form around her eyes.
"Just what makes you think I should have been born, Master Jedi.", uttered Acalya with a dark, monotone, "You damned Jedi all think everyone wants to be saved... Did you ever stop to think, my birth should have never been? That the life you saved - should have died or have never been saved? And if that were the case, perhaps this is the Force's will of saying that some are meant to follow the path of the dark side, and by altering the course of one to follow a path that was never theirs to begin with - is to direct them onto a path that was never meant to be; and thus what occurred should have never been. And therefore the Force to supplement what had been altered from its natural path, like nature purging its polluted elements to realign itself from being knocked out of balance, the Force willed a new course for that which had been changed. The daughter was made became what the father was always meant to be."
Acalya then heard another lightsaber firing, she glanced back over her shoulder seeing the boy charging right for her - she spun around while pushing Kyia back by completing the cross-slash that locked their blades together. She extended her left hand at the boy as he charged, but before he could react to it he was stuck with a vilely powerful blast of Force Lightning that burst into exist from Acalya's finger tips. The boy's back slammed against a nearby boulder. He screamed in pain as he writhed under the agony of the bolts of lightning crawling all over his body. Kyia quickly regained her balance struck at Acalya interrupting the Force Lightning, for Acalya immediately stopped from continuing to torture the boy to deflect Kyia's attack by spinning around with a backslash.
"I understand you hate me," replied Kyia as she and Acalya locked blades once again, "I'm sorry for all the pain you have suffered over the years... Had I known K--"
"--Keln would do what?", Acalya interrupted once again, Kyia's words seem to be infuriating Acalya more and more - a seething hatred to like she had never felt before even when suffering Keln's abuse, "Just what did you think he would do when my father abandoned his dark masters, Master Jedi? Even a Jedi is not so ignorant of the fact that all things end in death with the dark side. To save one from the dark side you will inevitably set them on a course of death to end it. To truly be freed they will have to kill their dark masters, but my father never had the power to do so. He did not run away to get away from the Jedi or the dark ones he served, he did it to await for his dark masters to come to him - he was awaiting to die, Master Jedi.", Kyia's eyes opened wide with realization to this, Acalya smirked in response, "You see now the folly you created. I doubt my father ever really put forth the forethought in what would happen if he started a family. But he had one, or maybe it was the Force's way of correcting the mistake you begun. All life has a destiny - no matter how small or minor or insignificant - that the Force designs for it - when that course the Force sets for those lives is interrupted by something that should not have been, it is readjusted. I believe, my existence as it is now is one of the many unfathomable amount of readjustments in the galaxy the Force has set in motion to correct what is not supposed to be."
"I see...", mumbled Kyia as they still locked blades together staring straight into one another's eyes, "So this is where your hatred of the Jedi stems from, Dark One?"
Acalya then smiled because she just then realized it - where her hatred was coming from - what was truly eating and rotting her away from within - what was chilling her blood so much it burned within her, "I do not hate the Jedi.", replied Acalya, and for Kyia things for an instant seemed to move at a slow pace, as if time had slowed down to a snails pace. But there was nothing she could do in response to what she perceived coming - the reason everything seeming to come to a slowed halt. As Acalya forcefully pushed Kyia away yet again, this time by completing her backslash, knocking Kyia off-balance - exerting from Acalya's body was what seemed like numerous layered pulse-waves all condensed right on top of the other exploding outward from it's focal point - Acalya herself. The very area around Acalya seemed to distort in a liquid-like manner as these condensed Force pulse-waves expanded outward blowing Kyia away - sending her flying off of her feet and through the air. The rocks and boulders loose debris dredged up under the explosive power Acalya released sending them hurling through the air as well. Those that managed to stay lodged into the ground cracked and shattered under the strength of the Force Repulse.
Kyia crashed, bumped, scraped, bounced, skidded, and tumbled across the harsh rocky ground after suffering the powerful hit by the Force Repulse by Acalya, "So... this is your power within the dark side, Acalya.", she uttered as she slowly picked herself up feeling incredible amounts of aching pain all over her body from the unforgiving landing she suffered from it, "I find it difficult to believe Keln would have taught you such a thing."
"His teachings enabled me to learn much within the dark side, however, they only allowed me to reach a plateau to which I had to discover a way to enhance what I learned from him to fit me.", said Acalya, "I studied for years... so many years on means to figure out how to bring the will of the dark side within me - outward."
"What hatred is it that gives you such power within the dark side if it's not hatred toward the Jedi?", inquired Kyia as she stood up clenching her side having broken a couple ribs from crashing into the rocks, and fired her lightsaber back up prepared for a battle she is now aware she may not win. Acalya merely smiled in response to the question, and with impressive swift speed charging right for Kyia. With the strength of her own telekinesis Kyia launched a large rock right for Acalya as she charged for her. Acalya came to sliding stop, narrowly stopping the large rock a few meters from her while it was still in flight with her telekinetic ability, and with a sneer the extended left hand she used to help her focus on the rock she balled into an enraged fist and the large rock shattered - breaking apart into eight sharp, ragged edged chunks - which she redirected back at Kyia. But by this point was long out of its path having Force Jumped well over them and came down upon Acalya with a powerful downward slash that Acalya was narrowly able to block. She was forced down to one knee while Kyia upon landing stood over her pressuring Acalya down as they locked blades yet again.
Acalya was pinned, but she knew away out of it and smiled a dash in reaction. Kyia sensed it - the ominous slowing of time around her again - it was her senses warning her. This time however Kyia was prepared for it, back-flipping with a Force Jump while increasing her speed - the expanse of the powerful pulse wave that rocked the ground cracking it and shattering it around Acalya as it threw up loose rocky debris in every which direction away from her. Kyia deflected the slightly more dangerous bits of debris that flung at her with her lightsaber as she landed from her Force Jump narrowly enabling her to avoid being struck a second time with Acalya's attack.
Acalya realized that no matter how much she has learned and honed her technique with Shien and her decent understanding for Ataru - her personal blend of the two forms will not help in her a direct confrontation with a Jedi Master; and with Kyia now aware of the extent of the Acalya's power - catching her off-guard with it would be futile. It was as she pondered this while raising back up to her full stature, a stirring from under the rubble that had been tossed about from Acalya's Force Repulses was the young Padawan starting to come to from unconsciousness. Acalya smiled at this prospect, Kyia's eyes widened in horror perceiving that Acalya is going to use him. It was in that instant Acalya extend her left hand at the boy, and with her telekinetic strength at full force she hurled him through the air like a missile heading head first for the face of a large boulder, and at the speed he was traveling through the air it was sure to crush his skull and kill him instantly. Kyia reacting as swiftly as she could focused all she could to slow the rate at which the boy traveled with her own telekinetic ability, but she was more of a warrior caste and not a pure wielder of the Force to the extent Acalya was, thus her telekinesis despite being a master was not as strong, and was only able to slow him just enough so when crashed into the boulder he was left relatively unharmed.
It was just as Acalya wanted - with Kyia's full attention on the boy focusing all her power to save him - she was vulnerable to the utterly vile Force Lightning that Acalya unleashed. The power of which took Kyia right off her feet and crashing a few meters back and skidding on her back for a few more. Acalya did not let up, though, she unrelentingly continued the Force Lightning uninterrupted no matter how much Kyia writhed and cried out in torment. Acalya nonchalantly unimpressed walked up to Kyia as she maintained the constant stream of Force Lightning upon her. When Acalya stood over Kyia, she turned off her shoto and placed it back onto its concealed area on the back of her belt before getting down on her knees straddling Kyia's stomach, who lay there in pain writhing as small bits of smoke came off of her body. Kyia half-heartedly fired her lightsaber once again and swung it at Acalya who was sitting on her stomach, but there was nothing to the swing. Acalya just smiled down on her as she caught Kyia's weakened strike with her left hand, grasping on to Kyia's right hand as it still held onto her lightsaber weakly. While holding onto Kyia's right hand with her left - Acalya switched off Kyia's lightsaber.
It was a clear sign to Kyia, it was over, she could not possibly fight back any longer as she lay there, "I see... where... your hatred... comes... from now, Acalya...", Kyia uttered as she labored for breath from the agony constantly shooting through her body, "You don't hate... anything more... than yourself...", Acalya merely smiled gently at Kyia - almost with a measure of caring as she lay her right hand on Kyia's chest. Kyia's words rang true, though, the key that Acalya had been searching for to tap into the dark side was not what she hated outwardly - it was she hated from within - herself. Her own weaknesses - the fear she has felt all her life, the inadequacy of being unable to kill the one she calls 'master', her wasted anger, and her helplessness of being unable to change events that placed her within a life and on a path she never truly wanted. It was that immense hate for herself that she realized was the core of one's power within the dark side; or at least - for her.
"It'll all end in a moment, Kyia.", Acalya replied with a tone as if they had known each other for a lifetime. Kyia's eyes suddenly went wide feeling the agony of the life being drained out of her into Acalya's right hand. She thrashed about to get free but she lacked the strength and energy to fight back. Her right hand holding her lightsaber still clenched within Acalya's left hand, Kyia grasped and clawed desperately at Acalya, but eventually so much of her life had been drained out of her all she could do is cling on to Acalya's right bicep with her free hand. But Kyia quickly begun to feel all things begin to fade, her exhausted thrashing and kicking slowly came to a halt, her grasp on Acalya's bicep loosened until her left hand fell to her side - limp. Kyia's blue eyes gradually became droopy eventually fading to a close as she exhaled her last labored breath.
A short spell later the sixteen year old boy slowly begun to come to again. Groggily he picked up himself up, but his eyes opened wide when it finally clicked in his head he and his master were facing a Dark Jedi; and much to his horror he no longer felt the presence of his master and there stood a smiling Acalya before him. Fear, anger, sorrow, hate - they were all expressed on his face as he looked upon Acalya awaiting her to kill him. But then - no - he refused to die like this, he then stood ready to fight and attempted fire up his lightsaber, but - alas it did not work. The hilt was crushed by the rocky rubble and debris that he had been tossed around with on more than one occasion during the fighting.
Acalya grinned as she then told the boy, "You feel fear, you feel anger, you feel immense hate, and your spirit writhes in the agony over the sorrow you feel over your master's death... Agree to become my apprentice, and I will teach you how to use it so you may one day kill me.", she then held up Kyia's lightsaber before the boy, "If you agree, you will be granted the chance to do it with your former master's lightsaber.", the boy then reached for the lightsaber desperately to snatch it away from Acalya, but she chuckled pulling it away just out of the boy's reach, "Tch tch tch... Ah-ah-ah... Not yet... First bury your master beside the graves of my family. She fought honorably, she deserves at least that much - dying while saving your life - she died as a Jedi - a privilege which you have now chosen to no longer be granted. Once she is buried, I will give you her lightsaber and you will then become my apprentice. Understood?", the boy nodded conceding to Acalya as though he truly had a choice in the matter, "Your name?"
"Aerin.", he quietly answered.
"Go to your former master's corpse, drag it over to my family's graves and bury her with them.", Acalya ordered. Tears streaming from the boy's eyes as he buried his master realizing her has failed in every aspect of the hopes his master held for him and those he held for himself. Acalya simply stood by watching him, savoring the taste of his agony.
Suffering
With Aerin now as Acalya's apprentice, she begun exploring the further depths of her own darkness that went unnoticed by her over the many years of her training until her duel with Kyia. Keln often criticized and rebuked Acalya's method of training her apprentice, though she continually reamed the boy for not using his own darkness enough - Keln mockingly remarked often her style of teaching was like watching pair of Jedi. Which was her intention, essentially putting the Jedi in Dark Jedi one might say. Her philosophy within the dark side was to be the eye of the hurricane in one analogy, the practitioner of the dark side is the calm center while they unleash chaos and destruction all around them articulating their inner hate. Acalya's method of Force Repulse is the apex of this philosophy of utilizing the dark side of the Force, she - the focal point - remains placid while all else around her is brought to chaos through her will.
The relationship that grew over the years with Acalya and Aerin was a peculiar one, she did not treat him like a pupil being trained to one day kill her, like many Dark Jedi, or Sith for that matter, do - she treated and trained him more like an inheritor - someone to carry on a legacy. Everything about her methods and train of thought seemed contradictory to Aerin, her presence was vilely intimidating and chilling - but one could see an intense burning hate in her blood red eyes, though she never acted out of blind rage, yet she would kill anyone at the drop of a hat whether to simply make a point or something in the long term more calculated. To him she always appeared to be reaching at extremes of nearly any and every spectrum. Truly being an embodiment of her philosophy of being the eye of the storm.
What perplexed him more was her attitude toward him, during training she was more like that of a strict Jedi master - very critical, harsh in her words - reaming him constantly for the slightest error or mistake. However, when not training she was more aloof - distant, then other times like a cold sister, or at times a sociopathic friend - or a vicious maniac he wanted to stay clear of at all times - she never seemed to keep a singular constant. Albeit, there was a constant in her he saw but she seemed to hide to him, or so he would think, he simply could never place his finger on what was exactly.
By the time Aerin was twenty years old, he accompanied Acalya and Keln to a Dark Jedi gathering, one of the make-shift encampments they use when reporting to their dark masters. After Keln reported his further progress with his infiltration within the Sith Aristocrat military still posing as a military advisor to the now Admiral Erik Drayde, to his dark masters he remarked disapprovingly to Acalya, “Why did you bring the sprat with us?”
“He is my apprentice, Master.”, Acalya simply stated.
“He is a nuisance and has no comprehension of your soft methods of teaching, they are meant for someone who is already in touch with the dark side, but he barely has any understanding for it.”, Keln fires his lightsaber as he utters while taking a couple steps toward Aerin, “He is unworthy of your knowledge.”, Acalya’s eyes widened for an instant before stepping in front of Keln, protectively blocking his path to Aerin who stood taken aback by both Acalya and Keln - though Keln too was surprised by his apprentice’s actions, “Are you protecting him, Acalya...?”, he questioned as though it were not real.
“He is my apprentice, thus, Master, his life is mine to claim should I wish to claim it, I give no others that privilege.”, Acalya stated.
“And I am your master, girl, I have rule over either of your lives.”, said Keln beginning to lose his patience and temper.
“That is... incorrect, Keln...”, disputed Acalya - Keln’s eyes widened a little even further surprise she has never called by name to his face, “Now I am the Master.”, her shoto lightsaber flew off of her belt into right hand, firing it instantly she slashed its red beam at Keln’s neck with a Shien style cross-slash. Keln narrowly dodged as he jumped backward drawing his shoto lightsaber as well taking his dual-wielding Juyo stance. The Dark Jedi of the encampment begun to gather a wide circle around them to see the apprentice attempt to take the title of master from her master himself.
Keln chuckled in response to this, “So, you have finally chosen to challenge me for power.”
Acalya replied with a tone as though she were clarifying a simple misunderstanding, “I already have more power than you, all I need to do is remove you from the equation to claim what is already mine by right.”
Master and Apprentice immediately charged right for one another clashing blade upon - it was insanity to Aerin - fighting a lightsaber master like Keln head on as she was. Though it seemed Keln was not prepared for this, as he struck with either of his two blades, Acalya's natural speed with what modicum amount of talent she has in increasing her physical abilities through the Force - she parried and dodged each attack while stepping into Keln for a swift sweeping strike. Each time Keln scarcely managed to avoid being struck by backing away from her further. She was essentially pushing him back, which enraged him even more - one of the Prophet caste pushing back one of the Marauder caste such as he in a head to head lightsaber duel. It was an insult. His barrage of attacks become more frequent with great power behind them, deflecting them became more of a struggle, but the attacks themselves were filled with more fury than possessing any form of precision.
After deflecting a thrust Keln attempted with his shoto at Acalya's heart, knocking him slightly off-balance - he made a reckless heavy downward cross-slash at Acalya's head. It was essentially what she had been waiting for - she stepped into the attack with a quick twisting deflection, and while mid-spin with her left side to Keln - she laid her left hand directly on his chest and unleashed a powerful blast of Force Lightning that took him well off of his feet flying through the air crashing upon the dusty ground under their feet and forcefully being pushed across it for a couple more meters. He roared in agony under the torturous pain of the immense bolts unrelentingly crawling all over his body as they exerted from Acalya's fingertips.
Acalya then flung her shoto at Keln using her telekinesis, as he was down going for the coup de grace - the red beam spun like a buzz saw right for him. The blade was knocked high up into the air as Keln rose back to his feet filled with rage and fury as his body radiate the smoke from being so viciously struck down by Acalya's Force Lightning - the Marauder was weakened but not defeated. Acalya realized she underestimated the resilience a master Marauder possesses. With an effortless Force Pull her shoto came right back to her, catching it in her right hand. She launched her shoto right back at him again only with far more powerful than the last, speeding right for him spinning like a high-powered buzz-saw as it spun through the air. But the result was only the same, he deflected it once again sending the blade soaring up into the air as he charged right for her with incredible speed.
Acalya's eyes widened, she had little time with no room for hesitation or mistake. Planting her right foot back while thrusting both her hands forward with the bottoms of her wrists facing each other, and fingers curled like talons - she exerted a Force Push far more powerful than the previously seen before. The air even distorted by the thick amount of Force energy emitting from her hands as it smashed into Keln sending him flying back crashing and skidding across the dirt ground like a flat stone skipping across water, then rolling for as few meters. The ground in the path of her Force Push cracked and shook a bit under the raw strength and concentration of it. However, even under the great power Acalya managed to muster up and unleash, Keln, though wearily - still arose to his feet much to Acalya's unwanted surprise.
With the overwhelming blind fury of a master Marauder, he charged right for Acalya with great speed once again. Acalya scarcely managed retrieve her shoto with the Force, and fire the blade to block and deflect the barrage of assaults Keln struck at her with his dual lightsabers. She was narrowly keeping up with him, but quickly losing her footing unable to match his speed and physical strength for long she lost her balance and stumbled backward in the midst of trying to block his shoto. Her blade missed, and his blade struck the top of the hilt of her shoto - destroying it. She stumbled backward a few more paces narrowly dodging each attack with her natural speed and ability with the Force to increase speed, though limited it was; still though, even when off-balance as she was her natural grace and fluid movement proved astoundingly quick and willowy - it was clear her decades of training has done much for even without utilizing the Force.
Regaining her balance after a couple more narrow, stumbled dodges she throw her broken shoto at Keln hitting him directly in the forehead with it. He paused in reaction to this and just laughed at her, which is that level of arrogant carelessness in her master she had hoped for. His laughter was abruptly silenced when she unleashed a devastating Force Repulse, everything distorted around her. The ground rumbled and shook, the earth around her split into numerous centimeter wide wide spider cracks in the wake of the Force Repulse. The thick layered waves of the Force Repulse blasted into Keln - smashing straight into him sending him right off of his feet into the air with harsh, clumsy crash and vicious tumbled for quite a few meters. Having used the Force so much to such powerful extremes it was clear by now, Acalya was exhausting herself as she breathed heavily; but it was Keln at this point who was far more worse for wear.
It was obvious at this point to Acalya, regardless of what Keln had left in him, he was going to die by her hand. She calmly walked over to him as he ever so slowly rose back up to his feet waveringly firing up his lightsabers once again. It was at this point she drew the vibroblade she had kept for so long, as it was sheathed on her belt along her back, and held with the inverted grip much like the Shien style grip and stance she used with her shoto. Keln chuckled half-heartedly out of exhaustion seeing her draw the blade, "So that's why you kept that thing and kept training with it... You knew it'd come down to this."
Acalya merely smiled, "I knew losing my lightsaber or it being destroyed in direct combat with you was a high probability. So, I trained with this weapon, and it will not be destroyed by a lightsaber.", at that moment she went on the assault.
The two clashed once again, but it was clear this time Acalya had the upper-hand given how weakened Keln was, and he continued to weaken even further as they fought. For all the while Acalya was utilizing the dark side weaken and enfeeble his physical prowess as they fought. His swings grew heavier and sloppier, and with each step he wavered a little more. Until eventually, Keln roared in agony - his right hand had been sliced in half along with the hilt of his lightsaber by swift cross slash from Acalya's vibroblade. He sliced at her with his shoto, but Acalya gracefully stepped past it and around him with a swift spin, less than a second afterward he cried out in agony again. He looked down at his chest to see the blade of Acalya's vibroblade sticking out of his chest do to her having stabbed him through the back, she twisted the blade only to make him scream in pain a little louder. Re-enforced with her power in the Force she gave a vicious, merciless yank on the blade knocking him off it.
Keln stumbled half-alive at this point, it was impressive he remained on his feet. With a few slow staggered steps he turned to face a smiling Acalya, he grunted at the smug look on her face - for her victory at this point was obvious, "Kill me already.", he demanded.
Acalya chuckled, "Did you honestly believe I would make this quick for you?", she extended her left hand in Keln direction. Suddenly he felt the Force lift him up into the air by a couple meters while it felt like the Force was pulling at every limb about to rip into pieces. He wanted to cry out in pain, but his lungs were being stretched out to the point they could gather no air. But then in instant Acalya clenched a fist shattered his bones up and down his body. She let him flop to the ground with a heavy thud. She sheathed her blade with his blood still on it, and then drew the vibroknife from when she was just a child. She nudged him onto his back with her foot, and then sat down on his stomach straddling his torso as she held the vibroknife as his life was fading away. But before he could die, she told him, "I said I was going to kill you with this blade. I always intended to make good on my word.", she then flipped the blade into a reverse grip and brought it down upon him, straight into his eye all he to the hilt so the blade buried well into his skull killing him for certain. She let go of the blade leaving it lodged within the skull of her former master's corpse, as she rose back to her feet as she looked down at Keln's lifeless body and stated clearly and boldly, "I am the Master.", and then claimed his shoto for her own - as though it were another trophy.
When she and Aerin returned to the Sensorium, Admiral Drayde inquired where Keln was, Acalya informed him that he will no longer be serving aboard the Sensorium; and she will now serve as Drayde's military advisor. Knowing better than to argue it Admiral Drayde simply nodded showing he understood, and never asked questions from then on and simply accepted Acalya's counsel.
Lightsaber: Shoto (Obtained from her Master.)
Color: Red
Practiced Lightsaber Forms:
Shii-Cho 5
Makashi N/A
Soresu N/A
Ataru 2
Shien / Djem So 5
Niman N/A
Juyo N/A
Double-Bladed Combat N/A
Force-Sensitive Abilities or Practices:
Telekinetic: 9
Telepathic: 6
Body: 3
Sense: 7
Protection: 5
Healing: 0
Destruction: 8
Specialized Skills:
Force Repulse
Force Crush
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 5
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 7
Leadership: 4
Unarmed: 5
Melee Weapons: 8
Ranged Weapons: 1
Force Attunement: -8
RP Sample:
Suffering: Epilogue
It has been few months since the death of Keln, and there was Acalya at her family's home, on her knees before the row of graves. The latest one belonging to Keln himself, her past is nearly entirely buried upon these grounds. She simply sat there on her knees, seemingly staring off into nothing at she ruminated on the events of the past, present, and even a little bit what is yet to come.
The sun of Bothawui was setting, the rocks of its mountainous frontier begun to glow with bright orange highlights. There was one more element of her past that she first encountered at sunset not entirely unlike this one, she was curious to see how it would transpire, "I know you were expecting me to show up her, my Master.", uttered Aerin from behind her, she smile a little in response, "I know what you want me to do, but I've decided not to do it. Keln may not have caught on what you were planning when you took me as your apprentice. But, I started to figure it out after you killed him... You've been plotting your own death. Ever since you killed that boy as a child. You waited and waited for when the time was best to kill Keln. One you saw Kyia and I here, you saw me as the perfect vessel in which you could bring about your own romantic end while continuing the cycle with the legacy of your teachings of the dark side."
"So.", replied Acalya simply as she remained exactly as was, not even looking back Aerin who stood a few meters behind her.
"I'm not going to do it, Acalya.", Aerin stated unwaveringly, "Keln was right, you were training me like a Jedi, and while you didn't think I used the dark side enough, you never said anything against my using the light. What you were teaching me was for an advanced Acolyte or Dark Jedi, which I'm not, but you ignored that taught me those methods anyway. The methods you kept teaching me were Jedi teachings of the dark side, I recognized those kinds of teachings - but they were for the light not the dark side; but you realized they could apply to both. So, you taught me them in the guise of training a dark apprentice to fool Keln. What you wanted was an actual Jedi to kill you, but not completely of the light - because like I said, you wanted someone to carry on your legacy of the dark side. You wanted a Grey Jedi, like what your father was - you see this as ending the artfully altering the cycle to a new balanced course."
"If you figured all of this out, my Apprentice, what are you telling me all of this and just do what needs to be done?", Acalya inquired with a soft smile.
"Because, like I said, Acalya, I'm not going to kill you.", he stated clearly, "You got what you wanted, I'm a Grey Jedi... I'm going to return back to the Order... I am no Dark Jedi, and I have a lot to learn about being the Jedi Kyia sought to train me to be, and I failed her miserably."
"Jedi kill those of the dark side, young Padawan.", uttered Acalya.
"I'm not a Jedi, I'm a failed Jedi, and I'm not your apprentice any longer, I do not want to fall any further than I have.", the young man admitted and told Acalya with a sorrowful gaze, "I couldn't kill even if I wanted to, Acalya... because the more I learned and got to know you... the more I pitied you..."
"Pity me...?", responded Acalya, "Young Padawan, I do not require your pity or condescension, but in essence what you have admitted to me is that you have failed me. All my hopes and aspirations I have placed and entrusted to you, you have selfishly dismissed; and so the years I spent granting you my knowledge was a waste.", Acalya then rose to her feet drawing her vibroblade as she stood up, and turned to Aerin to face him.
The young man could already feel the Force waiting him down, something was weakening him rapidly, enfeebling him to the point he was struggling to concetrate, he could feel his strength drain away.He looked to Acalya in fear, "A...cay... la..", he was barely able to utter, he unclipped his lightsaber, but Acalya flicked her left wrist and the lightsaber flew out of his hand. Acalya walked up to him and pushed him up against a boulder face. He grabbed onto with both hands, his left hand grasping onto Acalya's right wrist as he could feel the point of her vibroblade against his stomach; his right hand grasped tightly onto her left bicep. The fear of death was exclaimed on his face. With Acalya weakening him with her power within the dark side of the Force, he could not push her away. Slowly he could feel the blade stab into him, "S-stop...! A... cayl...a stop...! I... don...t... wan... to... di...!"
Acalya merely smiled, almost comfortingly, "You agreed to this when you decided to become my apprentice, you Padawan. With the dark side, all things end in death."
The tip of the blade making into his stomach he begged, "P-ple...s... A...cayl... I don... wan..t... to... di...!"
Still giving him a soft, gentle smile, "Have you forgotten the Jedi Code already?... There is no death, there is only the Force, young Padawan.", as the blade sank deeper into Aerin as Acalya continued to weaken and incite fear into him through the Force, he eventually went limp, and slumped onto her. Though still barely alive she held him with her free arm like a sister giving her younger brother a hug with a wide comforting smile on her face. Her blade at this point has exited out of his back. She let out a slight dismissive sigh as she whispered into his ear while his head rest upon her shoulder, "You are now dead to me, young Padawan... May the Force be with you.", she then coldly pushed him off her blade, and walked away from the scene as though it was already in the long gone ancient past. She never looked back at it, nor would ever go back to that site again. She merely returned to the Sensorium to carry out her espionage, and see where the dark side of the Force would take her within its abyssal depths.