Verge of Insanity (open)

[Drake Shadowstalker]

The Sith Apprentice stood alone in a small, bare room inside of the Sith Palace. Much like the room in which he and his Master had spent Drake's first training session as a Sith. The room was cold as ice, much like the hearts and souls of the Sith. Much like his own...

Drake was in the middle of the room with his head bowed and hands behind his back. Endless thoughts of torment and rage flowed through his mind. Flashes of his not to long ago past filled his vision. His eyes were fixated on the floor of the room and were completly devoid of any feeling. White hot anger coursed through his body until he felt like he was going to lose control of himself. How could he sustain the hatred he felt so strongly for those that had so unjustly wronged him.

Then, he had enough. Blinded by his utter frustration and rage he fell on his knees and grabbed his head. Screaming with all his strength he stood up quickly with his arms at his side and his head held back. A force so powerful issued from his body and split the walls that surrounded him. Cracks ran up and down the entire length of each part of the wall.

Drake dropped silently to the floor with his head in his hands. Before it was to late, he knew he needed help.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha had caught the tail end. Had felt as well as heard the disturbance in the force. The complete and utter loss of control as the dark side worked its magic and split the walls that surrounded the young man. And then he fell to his knees, his head in his hands.

The young knight could feel the confusion and pain of the other. Of his brother in the order. He moved toward him, and broadcasting his presence so as not to surprise him, laid a hand upon his shoulder.

“You will destroy yourself this way.” He commented, his voice quiet and carrying perhaps a hint of concern.

“Rise to your feet and come with me. You need to clear your head first, and then we will talk.” His words did not offer any way out. They were not harsh, but they were commanding and left no room for question. He was not the master of this one, but he would do his part as a member of the order and save this one from the end to himself that he seemed to be moving towards.

Sasha recognized the signs. Had bordered on the edge himself some time ago. It was the ability within the force without the means yet to control it. And this one would need to be taught or he would destroy himself.

[Drake Shadowstalker]

Drake felt someones hand on his shoulder and heard the voice that belonged to the person speaking to him. He lifted his head from his hands and looked up. He saw another member of the Sith Order looking down at him with a look of what Drake could almost describe as concern. No one had ever worried about him before. There was truth in the words that the man spoke, he would destroy himself if he didn't do something.

The Sith Padawan stood up slowly trying to rid his mind of the constant flashbacks that were always haunting him. That day brutal day when he had discovered the meaning of the word
"pain." His eyes betrayed nothing of the inner turmoil he was experiencing. It was only by his actions. Drake spoke to the man.

"Yes...you are right. I can't go on doing this without destroying myself. I will do as you say."

[SashaKovalev]

As the man lifted his head from his hands, Sasha saw nothing in his eyes to betray the turmoil that the knight could feel from this one. He was brave, Sasha thought, and determined. And these traits would suit him well in his desire to become a powerful Sith.

Yes...you are right. I can't go on doing this without destroying myself. I will do as you say.

Sasha offered a hand, and helping the man to his feet, they began to walk. Sasha would normally have led him out to the gardens where the air was clean and always capable of settling someone's’ thoughts. But today it was raining and there was a heavy wind coming off of the sea would have made their conversation rather waterlogged and they would have had to yell over the howling.

So instead Sasha began to lead him down a quiet hallway and then up a winding set of stairs. The walls were covered with hangings of deep tones, giving off the air of close, comfortable quarters.

“Who is your master….?” Sasha asked, his head turning slightly to focus his odd violet eyes on Drake.

[Drake Shadowstalker]

Drake kept his head forward as he walked side by side with Sasha. Partly wondering where they were going, he kept his mind focused on what he needed to overcome. The pain that was so close to making him lose his grasp on santiy. Sasha's words kept echoing through his mind as they walked down the hallways and up the winding set of stairs.

"My master is Malice Draclau..."

[SashaKovalev]

My master is Malice Draclau...

Sasha nodded in response. Malice was a more than able master. He was also one that would understand and work with Drake to resolve this matter in the future if it was necessary.

As they continued to climb the stairs, the young knight kept an eye on Drake. His head was bent, and though his face did not express it, Sasha could feel the pain.

Pain was good. Pain was a source of power.

They came, finally, to the top of the stairs. It was a tower in the castle and was not often visited. Its walls and angled ceiling were made entirely of glass. Below them was the rest of the castle grounds and further than that, the city of Coronet and the sea with its tumultuous waves.

Sasha led the way to a small table that appeared to have been used over time for writing, or perhaps a game of cards every now and then. Three chairs surrounded it, a fourth lay in a broken heap a few feet away.

He gestured to one of the chairs for Drake and then took one himself across from the Sith apprentice.

When they were both seated, Sasha looked across the table to Drake.

“I can feel your anger.” Sasha commented, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Its rolls off of you the way lava does just before the volcano erupts.”

He smiled slightly, an almost rueful expression.

“Your anger will serve you well, but only when you learn to channel it to do as you wish it to do. Earlier you let your anger take complete control.”

He paused for a moment. His words were not intended to be condescending, but rather they carried a tone of understanding. He himself had walked the very narrow line many times before and he knew the dangers of it.

“We all strive to control the dark side and make it do our bidding, but in the end, we’re all slaves to the darkness and the power that it provides to us. You need to learn control, or you ultimately, you will be seduced by it to the point that you will destroy yourself. Your anger will build and build and erupt with so much power that you will lose your mind. Literally.”

His left hand, the artificial one given to him by way of Lady Vader came to rest on the table, his fingers tapping idly in thought.

“What makes you so angry?” He asked. Not because he intended this to be a therapy session, but because an understanding of the source of the anger would help to give him a method for releasing that anger in a more effective and ultimately safer way.

[Drake Shadowstalker]

Drake listened to Sasha without interupting him at any point while he was speaking. He took everything Sasha said into deep consideration and found all he said would be true if he did not learn to control his anger. Then he had asked the question Drake feared answering above all others. What makes you so angry?

After Sasha finished the question, Drake sat in silence thinking how to answer. He had told no one why he was so angry. Maybe it was because no one asked. Maybe if he told someone it would help him. Or maybe if he killed the ones that caused him to be so angry and filled with pain. Finally deciding the second choice was best for now, he answered.

"I am sure by now you have noticed the scars on my face. Not to mention the ones you can't see on the rest of my body. It was a gang on Courascant that did it to me. I was walking along the lower levels of the city and I got jumped... They beat me up and cut me several times using vibro blades and left me for dead. Someone found me and called for help and I was taken to be cared for. After I recovered I didn't know what to do. That is when the hatred and anger arose in me and I went seeking the help of the Sith. My plain is to train here until I am ready to go back to Courascant and take care of some unfinished business."

Drake's eyes glowed with hatred as he finished speaking. Telling someone about it seemed to calm him but at the same time awaken even more of his hatred towards the people that had attacked him. Taking slow and easy breathed he was able to calm himself.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha listened with interest to Drake’s tale. It was easy to understand why he would harbor so much anger. Sasha would have wanted revenge as well.

“Malice is a very competent master.” Sasha commented quietly.

“I don’t doubt that he will teach you all that you will need to know to have the revenge that you desire. Don’t hesitate to ask him, or anyone else here how to do something. Though you have a master, he cannot always know what exactly you wish to learn. Some of your education you must take the initiative to acquire.”

Sasha met Drake's gaze. The man’s eyes were filled with an intense glare, the look that only hatred and anger could supply. He watched as the apprentice inhaled and exhaled, making a concerted effort to remain calm.

“Until then,” He began with a slight grin, “Try not to destroy yourself by letting your anger get the best of you. Release it in smaller amounts until you learn to better control it. You can release it by using any of the skills you’ve acquired. And you can learn to better control it by working on your control of the force in general.”

His hand stretched out and a moment later one of the legs from the broken chair sailed cleanly into his palm.

He set the wooden leg on the table before them.

“You’ve learned to destroy objects through the force, correct..?” He asked. When Drake nodded, he continued.

“Good. Then the next step is learning to destroy objects exactly the way you wish to destroy them. Test your control of your anger and of the force. By practicing these skills, you will gain control, and you will find yourself stronger because of it.”

He picked up the leg of the chair.

“No doubt you’ve been instructed to destroy entire objects…if I asked you to destroy only the middle three inches of this chair leg, through the use of fire that begins from the core of the wood and works it way outward, would you be able to do it?”

[Drake Shadowstalker]

Drake listened to Sasha without looking at him most of the time while he talked. The same intense gaze fixed straight past the man. After Sasha asked him if he could destroy part of an object and not the entire thing, Drake shook his head slowly. He didn't really see a purpose not to destroy the entire thing. Perhaps he coudn't see it, but he knew that there must have been a reason or Sasha would not have asked him if he was able to do it.

"No, I wouldn't be able to destroy only a part of it. I see no reason why I should. After all, destroying the entire thing is just as effective."

[SashaKovalev]

No, I wouldn't be able to destroy only a part of it. I see no reason why I should. After all, destroying the entire thing is just as effective.

Sasha shook his head slowly in disagreement.

And then his violet eyes narrowed. He stood from where he’d been sitting, torn between the anger and violence inside him that called for a demonstration to Drake of exactly how effective it would be and simply trying to open Drake’s eyes a bit more before he resorted to such things.

As a general practice, he did not bring harm upon those who were his brothers or sisters in the order. Though much could be learned by this, he did not feel, in this circumstance that is was the right choice. Drake already harbored too much uncontrolled anger. Sasha didn’t feel the need to add to it just to stroke his own ego.

“Your revenge that you’re planning….” He began, turning away from Drake for a moment, an amused smirk finding its way to his lips, “Is that all you plan to do, is to go back to Coruscant and in one blow destroy those who have wronged you?"”

His words, to some degree, were mocking.

“You wouldn’t find more satisfaction in a longer, slower death? One that piece by piece, terrifying second by terrifying second destroys your enemy? You wouldn’t rather fin them upon their knees begging mercy of you only so you can give them another merciless stroke?” His tone of voice had altered slightly. His concern over Drake’s possibly destruction of himself was no less, but rather it was the anger building within him that altered it.

The Sith craved power. To see one cowering before them, to see one in pain by something they had done was intoxicating. And to do this required control over the dark side, control over your anger so that you did not in one blow destroy the enemy, but rather in smaller more accurate ways, you tortured them.

“You can destroy them in one blow if you wish….” He added, his violet eyes gazing intensely at Drake, “But it will get you little more satisfaction than you little fit downstairs did. You deal with a lifetime of pain and anger, they deal with two seconds of repayment.”

“It doesn’t sound fair to me,” He added with a shrug, “But if that’s what you’d prefer, so be it.”

He stared at Drake for a moment longer, words setting in.

“Is that what you want?

[Drake Shadowstalker]

As he listened to Sasha's worde he felt a definite increase in his power and anger. This man would dare to mock him?! What the hell did he know anyway. Drake had never planned to kill them quickly, he wanted them to suffer like he had. He was simply answering a question about destroying only part of an object, not a human being. Drawing out the pain would have much more satisfaction then a quick death.

Drake didn't let his emotions show what he was thinking, he just sat in the chair staring hard at Sasha. He would let Sasha think that he had convinced Drake.

"You are right... I could get quite more satisfaction out of seeing them suffer. Although I doubt I could make them all die slow. There will be more then a few that I have to deal with."

[SashaKovalev]

Drake’s problem was his lack of control over his anger. And though Drake hid it well from his face, Sasha could feel the increase. It was a small disturbance in the force, but enough to put the young knight on guard. He had not been knighted without proving his skills, and carefully he reached out through the force, seeking an answer as to why this apprentice before him was seething as he was.

His words had either angered Drake with him, or they had made him lust more for destruction of his enemy. Sasha wanted to know before he said another word.

He was unable to discern exactly what Drake was thinking, for the apprentice was skilled enough at hiding his thoughts, but he was able to pick up on resentment and even as Drake spoke, he could discern insincerity.

You are right... I could get quite more satisfaction out of seeing them suffer. Although I doubt I could make them all die slow. There will be more then a few that I have to deal with.

Sasha’s violet eyes stared at Drake, and then with a hint of disgust, he turned away. He did not take kindly to being lied to. He had reached out to a brother in the order, his intentions being only those of helping. But the one he had tried to help was a Sith – naturally untrusting of others, and riddled with anger that clouded eyes and hearts from seeing clearly.

When he finally turned back to Drake he said nothing directly about the lie. But his words made it clear that he was aware.

“Your anger clouds your ability to discern your enemies.” He commented quietly.

“You’re intelligent and you have the ability. Yet you refuse to open your eyes.”

A rather large rodent scurried across the concrete floor in the silence between the two Sith.

“You are under no obligation to agree with what I tell you. Hell, you don’t even have to believe it.” He added as he took a seat once again across from Drake.

“I brought you here to help you. But you have to trust in me and you have to be willing to open your eyes. If you arent capable of that, then nothing I say will serve to help you in any way. “

[Drake Shadowstalker]

Drake took long breathes and breathed out slowly as he eyed Sasha in a somewhat weary manner. Why was he subtly rebuking the help Sasha was trying to give him? The anger that was in him was clouding his senses and made him think and act irrationally. That had to be it, the Sith Padawan truly seeked help from what surely would destroy him. Drake put his forehead into his hand and stared at the table for a moment.

"I am sorry... My anger prevents me from seeing the truth, except in this moment. You are right, I do have to trust in you."

He looked up at Sasha with a look he wound undoubtly know. It held the words he couldn't bare to say but knew had to be conveyed in some manner. Drake needed help and he was ready to accept it. Fighting the anger that clouded his vision would have to be fought so he could continue seeing the truth.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha watched as the apprentice rested his forehead in his hand. He still said nothing, waiting for Drake to speak.

I am sorry... My anger prevents me from seeing the truth, except in this moment. You are right, I do have to trust in you.

And when Drake finally raised his head to look at the knight who sat across from him, Sasha could easily read the expression on his face. The mixture of pain and confusion that pleaded for someone to help him.

He nodded in acceptance.

“Good. Then lets return to what we were discussing a moment ago.” He suggested easily. He could be cocky from time to time, but usually, he left his ego behind. And now was no exception. He faced Drake, brother to brother in the order, and offered what he could for help.

“You lack control. Control over your anger and control over your skills. If you seek to master control, you’ll find that you improve upon many aspects of your abilities.”

He tapped the leg of the chair on the table in front of them.

“Start small and be precise. The same concepts that you will later use to cause pain in your enemy, you can use now.”

He smiled slightly.

“Let’s suppose that the leg of this chair is the….throat of your enemy.” He pulled a knife from his boot and made two marks on the wooden leg.

“From here,” He pointed out, “To here is the throat. You want to crush only his throat….” He grinned, a sadistic gleam making its way into his eyes.

“For now.”

He leaned back in his chair.

“Focus on that area of the wood and use the force to crush it. But only that particular area….”

[Drake Shadowstalker]

Drake smiled back just as malevolently with the same look in his eyes. He was beginning to see just how much fun it would be to make them suffer. Only they would suffer more then he had because he had the Force to help him inflict the pain and make it last as long as he wanted to.

The Sith Apprentice's eyes narrowed on and between the cuts Sasha had made on the wood. He felt the anger rising and coursing through his veins. It was fantastic. Pushing out with it, he focused it between the cuts made on the wood. With his mind he squeezed the part of the chair leg and it splintered. Pieces of wood flew across the room and forced Drake to shield his eyes.

He looked down at the tabe and he saw both ends of the leg still there. The middle part had been completly blown away with the Force.

[SashaKovalev]

As the chair leg splintered, Sasha felt a small piece of the wood imbed itself in the skin of his hand. With a grin on his face, he reached for the piece that was sticking out and pulled it free, tossing it to the floor.

“Excellent.” He stated in praise.

He reached for the two pieces and set them parallel to one another on the table before them.

“Now, keep that anger within your control. Make the dark side bend to your wishes and focus now on the element of pain. There is less control in destroying than there is in inflicting pain.”

Sasha reached for the pieces and held them vertical beside one another.

“Here you have the legs of your victim.” He stated. As he pulled his hands away, the pieces continued to remain as they were, the invisible pull of the force holding them upright.

“Concentrate on the fibers of the wood. Go straight to the core and imagine the water in those fibers as you would imagine the blood in the veins of your enemy. Use the dark side to make the particles within the water move faster and faster and faster until the water begins to boil. Let it boil until there is nothing left to boil and the heat becomes a flame that burns from the inside outward.”

Idly, he rubbed the spot where the splinter had been.

“Its rather painful on a living creature, and more than effective – particularly if you draw the process out. It’s a bit terrifying for someone to begin to feel their blood boiling – literally.” He added.

[Drake Shadowstalker]

Drake grinned wickedly and laughed darkly as he imagined the vision in his mind. The results would be quite pleasing to one such as himself. He could imagine the screams coming from his victim as the process was drawn out. Just thinking about it, sent a shiver of pleasure down his spine. That would be a good way to make his victims suffer.

The Sith Apprentice concentrated on Sasha's instructions and began executing them just as he had been told. As the process was carried out, smoke began to seep out from the pieces of wood standing vertically on the table. Suddenly, they both erupted in flame and burned down.

[SashaKovalev]

As the cinders smoldered on the table before them, Sasha nodded in approval. He stared at them for a moment longer and as he looked back to Drake, a soft breeze then blew them from the table where they drifted to the concrete floor and burned out.

“Your master would be pleased with your abilities.” He commented, reminding himself to mention this to Malice when next he saw him.

He grinned and leaned back in his seat.

“And so should you.” He added. Around them, the stars began to flicker in the sky, beaming their light down upon the glass encased dome of a room in which the two Sith sat.

“How did it feel?” He asked, “To control the force as you did, as opposed to allowing it to control you?”

[Drake Shadowstalker]

Drake clenched his fist and relished in the power that he had felt. It had been amazing, to control something so powerful was beyond he had ever dreamed of. To him, it had felt great. And he hoped that wouldn't be the last time he used it. Grinning wickedly to himself he responded.

"It felt great... Making something or someone bow before me is something I have sought often. I have finally found it..."

[SashaKovalev]

It felt great... Making something or someone bow before me is something I have sought often. I have finally found it...

Sasha nodded and stood. He moved over towards the window and stared down at the twinkling lights of the capitol city of Coronet. The city sat some distance down the hill from the castle. He stared only for a moment before he turned back to Drake.

There was triumph in his eyes, though his face remained stoic.

“Perhaps you’d like to try your new found control on a living target….” He suggested, thinking that they would perhaps take a trip down into the city – not to wreak havoc, but to test out these skills in a real life situation – and at the same time perhaps rid Coronet of a life that would be missed by no one.

This victim would not be selected based on his evil traits because Sasha was on any sort of crime fighting streak – far be it – but rather because the Order had a good relationship with the city – and to pick upon its innocent citizens would test the goodwill that existed. And this was not something that he believed would be in the best interests of the Order.

But someone that would not be missed…well..that was a different situation altogether.