Chapter 7 -Act I- A Day in the Life of an Acolyte
"Well, well, well… I was looking forward to cutting another one of you down, but it looks like I'll be spared the trouble. Unsurprisingly, Niloc has gone missing." Said Lord Harkun in a board drawl, "Also unsurprising, Ffon has passed his first trial. It is only time before he tramples you all underfoot."
Wait… Ffon isn't up to his second trial? Louise thought, confused. It's been two months! Why wouldn't Harkun let him catch up?
"Now, as for your trials." Harkun continued, "Gerr, slaves have broken free from their chains and are held up in the atrium in Tulak Hord's tomb and have acquired a few artefacts. I want you to kill their leader and get them back.
"Wydr, down in the lower wilds, there is a Sith Lord by the name of Jaric requires your assistance in dealing with a group of prisoners. She will give you your trial.
"Balek, you will get your trial from Inquisitor Urinth in the Academy.
"Now, I wish to speak to Ffon and the mutant. You lot know your trials, you each have two months to finish them. Go."
The three acolytes followed the order, shuffling out the door.
"Now, Louise," The Overseer spat, "Zyn says you handled yourself expertly, and as much as I find this difficult to believe, Lord Zash is satisfied with his evaluation. Undoubtedly, Zyn helped you in some way, but you will not have his help on the next trial. Both you and Ffon will have trials of intellect -trials that test your ability to apply your understanding of the Force to solve problems."
"You don't expect a slave, a mutant at that, to match me for intellect!?" Cried the pureblood in outrage, "I've been trained under the greatest teachers-"
"Calm down, Ffon." Reprimanded the Overseer, stopping the acolyte from ranting, "I certainly do not expect a mere slave to be a match for you. That's why you will have separate trials.
"Ffon, you will go to the library on the second floor of the Academy and translate the following text," Harkun gestured to a small pile of stone tablets and scrolls, "for Lord Zash; like everyone else, two months."
Ffon bowed as he collected the various texts, then left, grinning viciously at Louise.
"Your trial, slave, is to enter deep into the monster-infested tomb of Marka Ragnos. Inside the tomb is a great stone monument which houses a holocron filled with dark secrets. Nobody has figured out how to release the holocron from its stone prison in over a thousand years. You will bring this to me, or you will die."
"Yes, Overseer," Louise replied, trying her best to not backchat the Sith.
Louise turned and left the room briskly, muttering several curses in her native language. She needed to prepare for her trial, unfair though it may be. Entering the shared bedroom, she found her roommate sitting between the two training dummies, meditating; thankfully in clothing. Or at least she was until Louise entered the room.
"So, how was the meeting?" Lyira asked, her eyes still closed.
"It went… well." She answered, her mind still on the seemingly impossible trial she had been given, "According to Harkun, Inquisitor Zyn said I handle myself expertly. Apparently, Harkun found that outcome impossible, but luckily enough, Lord Zash is not an idiot."
The pureblood huffed, "Good, it doesn't matter what Harkun thinks."
"I know that, 'Harkun may raise his hand to strike, but only Lord Zash determines where the blow will land'" Louise quoted.
"True." Said the Sith, "So, did you get your trial?"
Louise hummed in confirmation, "A Trial of intellect." she proclaimed, "Both Ffon and I have to prove our smarts."
"Surely you'd complete this trial, given the amount of time you spend in the library," Lyira said, flatteringly, opening her eyes for the first time in the conversation.
"So you say, but I, being Harkun's ever so favourite student, have to retrieve a holocron from a tomb." The petite teen explained sarcastically, "A holocron that has been trapped in said tomb for around a thousand years with no one knowing how to release it. Whereas Ffon gets to translate a couple of texts in the safety of the Academy."
The pureblood grimaced, "That's… not right. I mean, fairness isn't one of the Academy's values, but it doesn't- it shouldn't be taken that far."
"Yeah," Louise said, slightly distracted. Truth be told, there were a few things that the Academy allowed that she found barbaric. Then again, she could see why they had it that way, especially when it was explained from the Sith's point of view and it was not like her homeworld was perfect. For one, they did not have indoor plumbing; a godsend, if she did say so herself.
"So, what tomb are you going to go down?" Lyira asked, changing the subject.
"Same as yours: Marka Ragnos'" The pinkette replied.
"Really?" Said her roommate, surprised.
"Yep," Louise confirmed, an idea forming in her head, "Wanna team up and take the tomb on together?"
"Yeah! Though, as long as we don't assist each other with our trials." Lyira warned.
"Of course," The pinkette agreed, "We can head off in the second month of the trial. I need time to do research on Ragnos' tomb and training. I would give myself at least one month, a month and a half at the most."
"Cutting it a bit close, but other than that, good plan. So, why are you still here and not in the library?"
"Just going to reply to Juyn's message."
"You got a new one?" She asked, curious.
"Nope. The one from two months ago." Louise answered.
Lyira paused, looking at her roommate had grown a second head, a particularly strange second head at that, "You haven't replied yet?" she hissed.
"Well, I didn't have anything to tell him about, now did I?" The pinkette replied defensively, "Anyway, it's not like it was an urgent message."
"You have a point, but it would be safe if you didn't hold off replying to your superiors. I could tell you stories…" the pureblood trailed off menacingly.
"Fine." Louise sighed.
"Don't 'fine' me." The Sith said with a huff, "I've heard tales of particularly sadistic Lords and Darths executing people over less."
Louise grimaced. She knew what the red-skinned woman was talking about, having been told similar tales from Juyn. It scared her once she remembered that there was a very small percentage of the nobility all over the Brimiric nations acted in similar fashion to commoners. The late Baron Richard of Gallia, to name one, "I'll be okay, Juyn doesn't seem to be the type."
Lyira looked over the pinkette with a scrutinising gaze, "Fine, I'll leave you to it."
And with that, the Sith went back to her meditation, leaving Louise to settle down in her wheelie swivel chair -something she had become quite fond of over the months- and get to work composing her reply.
'Lord Juyn,
I apologise for replying so late. When I received your message, I had just completed my second trial and decided that I would be able to tell you the results and more about my time here than I could on that day.
My first trial was to go and speak to a Sith Lord by the name of Spindrall and complete a 'trial by blood' which required me to fight and kill eight fallen acolytes.
The second was given to me by an inquisitor by the name of Zyn. I was required to interrogate an acolyte to uncover the identity of an apprentice who had committed murder. I succeeded and found that the murderer was Esorr Kayin, and apprentice of a Dark Council member. I was told that I had handled myself expertly.
Finally, my third trial requires me to enter Marka Ragnos' tomb and acquire a holocron that has been entombed for around a thousand years. According to the Overseer, it is a trial of intelligence. I can't say that I am not worried, nor could I say that I do not loath Harkun for this trial, especially when he made a big show of giving Ffon translation duty in the library.
Beyond my trials, my time here at the Academy has been good, though my Overseer is not making it easy. He particularly insulting and vindictive towards former slaves which make up majority in his class. Furthermore, he seems to single me out specifically, often holding me back when he sends the other acolytes away.
However, Harkun has not been the only thorn in my side, that belongs to an acolyte by the name of Ffon Althe. A Sith Pureblood who happens to have never been a slave, something I find odd seeing as Lord Zash (The Sith that we are training for) wishes for a former slave to be her apprentice. He often looks down upon me and the other acolytes for similar reasons to Harkun. Also like the Overseer, he seems to specifically target me, insulting my intelligence, abilities and my personal appearance; something that I am growing increasingly tired of…'
A quite buzz hovered around the library as several acolytes and Sith mulled about, examining texts, researching, conversing with the gatekeepers of holocrons or otherwise using the library for its primary purpose. One acolyte, a girl who looked extremely out of place with her short and petite figure, long pink hair tied up in a ponytail and unnatural pink eyes, however, was looking extremely frazzled.
The girl, Louise, was sitting down at a large table covered in several scrolls, books, datapads and holocrons trying to find any information regarding a species of Sithspawn known as a 'Sith familiar' and their creation. The only problem was that it was a very obscure piece of alchemy and most that did mention it told her that they would not even bother with creating one. Though, there were some texts that did mention their traits and that they were difficult to create and expensive.
"Ugh! Why is it so difficult to find information on one little alchemical ritual!" Louise groaned, rubbing her strained eyes as she leaned back into the chair.
On a whim, the pinkette had looked up for something, anything, concerning a familiar and she had gotten lucky. A large text written about Sith Alchemy had mentioned it in a section dedicated to many of the creations the Sith had created over the years. Louise almost cried out in joy. She continued to follow that lead until she had compiled all the information she could, or at least all the information that acolytes were permitted to access.
The Sith familiar was said to be a large bird of prey -some accounts describe it like a vulture, to an owl, to a raven. The familiar would work much like the familiars of her homeworld, but also had other talents such as the ability to act as a catalyst for the Force.
The only problem? Due to her status as an acolyte, she was deemed unworthy and as such, would be forbidden to learn alchemy or any of the more advanced Force abilities. Louise could say quite a few things about the Sith Academy and its style of teaching, however, she would not say they were stupid. From some of the things she had learned when reading into alchemy, she knew a lot of damage could be caused if one untrained was to go messing around with biology. Though this did nothing to stop her from reading into the various sciences that alchemists needed to learn.
Feeling her eyes hurt under the strain of reading for a few hours straight, Louise decided to take a break. Once she had packed away the various Sith artefacts and tomes, the pink acolyte started to leave the library, only to be stopped by a familiar face.
"There you are, Louise!" The pureblood exclaimed in greeting.
"Hello, Lyira," Louise replied. "You were looking for me?"
"Yeah, I was going to see if we could go potholing in a tomb or explore the wilds. You up for it?"
"Mhm, I could use a distraction from books."
"you have been cooped up in there for a bit."
And so, the duo left the academy library, off towards the entrance to explore the Valley of the Dark Lords. as they walked, they chatted about a few topics, how their day had been, any interesting news, and so forth. Louise had a short yet informative talk about the status of the greater galaxy at large; she still needed to learn how to properly use the computers and her own datapad.
Soon they had descended the large staircase outside of the academy, where they happened to meet their first obstruction, "Is this slave annoying you?" The Sith asked, glaring in Louise's direction, though when his eyes landed on Lyira, they turned sympathetic.
"Ffon," Louise said coldly, removing his focused from her roommate.
"Oh, you must be Ffon. What was it you asked?" Lyira asked in a sweet voice. The pinkette could tell it was an act having heard the things her roommate had said in relation to her rival.
"I asked if the slave was annoying you." The red-skinned man repeated, looking slightly put out, but helpful nonetheless.
Lyira looked ready to retort, but Louise beat her to it, having already had enough of the pureblood, "Please go away, Ffon. You are unwelcome here."
"Silence, slave." He spat in return, "Is that any way to speak it your betters!"
"Don't ta-"
Once again, Lyira was cut off by her roommate, "Please, Ffon. If you are my better, then I am sorely worried for what the Empire is coming to."
"How dare you!"
"Shut up, Ffon. Don't want to create a scene, now do you." Louise said, gesturing to the few acolytes and Sith had stopped to enjoy the scene before them.
"I will not let filth order me around."
"That's not what your mother said last night." A pin drop could be heard in the silence that followed Lyira's barb, that is until a low 'ooh' escaped the lips of one of the audience members.
Louise was similarly shocked by what her friend had said, looking wide-eyed at her roommate, "Lyira!" she yelled sounding scandalised.
"What?" She responded innocently.
A deep growl turned the two's attention back to Ffon who looked positively and in some respects, rightfully murderous. His hand absently rising towards his training saber.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Lyira said, her own hand reaching for her war blade on her waist, "Don't want to get in trouble for murder."
Briefly looking around at the audience, stopped progressing to this weapon, "H-how…! You, filth!" He sputtered.
"Don't call her 'filth,' Ffon. You may have Harkun's favour, but he does not decide who is Lord Zash's apprentice. I would hate to see someone who holds themselves high, come crashing down."
"You are nothing. You are worse than nothing, you chit." At the insult, Louise flinched, "This place will rip you to shreds, and I will be Zash's apprentice. You might have finished your first two trials, something you undoubtedly had help with, but you will go no further." And with that dramatic speech done, Ffon stalked up the stairs to the academy, leaving the two girls to glare at his back.
Sighing in disgust, Louise said, "Why did you have to say that?"
"He insulted my friend." The pureblood huffed.
"Thanks, but please don't insult anyone's mothers." The pinkette chided, "I don't want you to die horribly."
Suddenly Louise was overdramatically enveloped in a pair of arms, "I didn't know you cared." The raven haired Sith said overemotionally. The pinkette was all too aware that their audience was still watching.
"No, I just need a living training dummy." She said tersely, "Shall we go?"
"That's cruel, Louise."
'One thing I do enjoy about the Academy is the self-study. I have been told that I spend way too much time in the library either researching into the Force and any other topic I find interesting. Which brings a question to mind, do you happen to have an information on Alchemy, specifically the creation of something called a Sith Familiar? I am also interested in something called Pyrokinesis.
Besides my studies, I have listened to your instructions and created ties with the military. It was only a small job, but it was quite difficult. There was a k'lor'slug infestation in the tomb of Ajunta Pall, a man by the name of Cormun was sent by the Imperial military to end the infestation, but they hit a snag when they tried to blow up the nest. He needed me to detonate the charges because his men couldn't reach the nest without being bogged down with the creatures…'
"Gaah! I'm bored!" The pinkette groaned into her pillow. It had been over three weeks since she had arrived and Louise had reached that lull in her training where she had inexplicably lost all interest in anything and just felt too tired to do anything.
"Yes, I know. You have been complaining for an hour or so." Said a tired and annoyed Sith.
Understanding that it would be best to stop voicing her complaints… repeatedly, the little acolyte decided to run through a mental list of all the things she had done, could do and wanted to do. She sat there thinking for a few minutes, before a thought of a hobby she loved entered her head, "Does the Academy happen to have any knitting supplies?"
Lyira did not respond right away, but Louise could hear and eventually see the pureblood shift in her own bed before hanging down to spy upon Louise, "…knitting?" the Sith repeated an odd tone in her voice.
"Yes, knitting," Louise replied simply, thinking her roommate must have misheard.
What Louise did not expect, however, was that same roommate start laughing. It was not a chuckle one would get after telling a joke or something like, that, it was the type of laughter that was saved for the truly funny things… or those that were touched in the head. The laughter was so bad, that Lyira fell off the bad, only voicing her pain for a moment before she was overtaken with mirth once again.
"What's so funny!?" The pinkette pouted, feeling as if the laughter was pointed towards her.
Chuckling a bit more, the Sith finally answered, "Knitting, seriously?"
"And what, may I ask, is wrong with knitting?" The pinkette asked, feeling slightly hurt by what her friend had said.
"Of course you would knit." Lyira said shaking her head, oblivious to what her roommate was feeling, "That has got to be one of the most un-Sith like activities you could possibly do besides trust falls! I don't even think they would allow you to enter the Academy if they caught you with knitting supplies. Force, imagine how the galaxy would react if it caught a Sith knitting. The Order wouldn't be taken seriously! We'd be the laughingstock of the galaxy."
Feeling slightly better now that it was explained, Louise replied, "Alright, calm down there, Miss. Worst-Case-Scenario."
"I suppose they would let you have them if you were going to torture someone… that's an image. Tremel would probably get some if I asked. Not going to." Lyira said quickly, waving her hands in the universal 'don't' gesture.
"You get the Overseer who practically fawns over you. Lucky." The pinkette huffed, "Ugh, the Sith are boring!"
"I think you are the first to have ever said that. Ever. Is there really nothing you can do?" Her roommate asked.
"No, not really. I mean, I could meditate or even train, but I want to take a break from that… I can't research because I reached a block… Hmm…." Louise explained, pausing once again in thought, "Wait!"
"What?"
"How could I forget!" The pinkette cried again, ignoring her roommate and hopping out of her bed before getting changed from the warrior robes to the acolyte's uniform. "Oh, I hope I am still able to do it…"
"Louise… what is it?" The Sith questioned again.
"I'll be back. Going to blow up some things. Bye." The Pinkette said quickly, dashing out the door.
"What!?"
"Joking…" Louise said, poking her head in the doorway. She still felt a bit sore about Lyira's laughing fit but found the shocked expression on her friend's face as penitence enough, "Only a room or two. The military asked."
As the pinkette bolted out the doorway again, Lyira could only look on in horror. It was only a few minutes later before she too was out the door.
...
"Disgusting creatures…" Louise muttered, striking down another too-curious k'lor'slug hatchling. It seemed as if the population of K'lor'slugs had doubled since she was last in the tomb, the creatures were everywhere and were starting to become a nuisance. The diminutive acolyte felt slightly ecstatic at the thought of killing off the local population in a horrible fiery explosion. Louise knew that she was getting closer to her goal, the main nest of the k'lor'slugs. She could feel it.
After some time and quite a few k'lor'slugs later, Louise reached her goal: the main egg chamber… looking on at the sight before her, she felt sick.
"No wonder they couldn't complete their mission, there's millions of them!" Louise exclaimed, surveying the chamber. K'lor'slug hatchlings swarmed across the mucus covered floor, scrambling for any scraps of food they could get before their siblings could arrive. Some larger specimens, Broodwatchers, if her memory served correctly, kept watch, looking for anything dangerous that may trespass in the nest. Finally, was the queen, the biggest of them all, sitting near the middle of the room as she laid a new batch of eggs. Right next to the queen was what looked like a slime covered console with a red flashing light underneath some guard made of an unidentifiable transparent material.
Great! That must be the bomb consol. Louise mentally grumbled from her vantage point. Just then, as if her mission could not get worse, all eyes, from the hatchlings to the Broodwatchers, to the Queen turned and looked upon her. Then they screamed.
Normally, Louise was unaffected by the scream of a k'lor'slug, just finding it mildly annoying, however, never in her life had she experienced the combined screeches from this number of the critters. Then, all the slugs besides the Queen charged.
Louise's plan was instantly dashed as Louise began to move. Due to the speed that she could run, thanks to the runes and the Force, she was safe from any of the claws or acidic spit that might come her way. The only problem was that the pinkette could not just run around the perimeter of the chamber, no, she needed to get the centre. Though, as luck would have it, the Broodwatchers did not chase her, instead finding themselves surrounding the Queen, and by default, the console.
Finding the running counterproductive, the pinkette tried to get to the middle of the room and attack one of the larger slugs. Lashing out with the Force, Louise pushed some of the smaller critters who were chasing her away, then shot out a cone of electrical energy at the closest of the Broodwatchers. With a quick leap and the strength of ten or so men at her beck and call, the slug did not stand a chance.
This course of action, however, seemed to be one of the worst choices she could have made. The second the slug fell to the floor dead, she found herself surrounded by the other Watchers who seemed bigger and meaner than the one she killed.
Before she was impaled by one of the giant claws coming her way, something embedded itself in the mouth of the offending slug before being reached free by an invisible force. All eyes, including the other k'lor'slugs, watched as the Broodwatcher fell dead.
Turning to face the direction the thing went, she found her roommate standing at the mouth of the chamber with the most scandalised look on her face she had seen since one particularly bad party her family had been invited to. "Are you suicidal! Not even Apprentices would head in here alone!"
Before she could respond, a ripple echoed through the Force, something she had come to know meant 'danger'. Taking the fact at face value, Louise ran forward, narrowly dodging the k'lor'slugs attack. "When did you get here!?" Louise shouted back.
"Few moments ago. Got lost; you walk fast for your size." Lyira summarised, gesturing for Louise to help keep the creatures at bay with the Force.
"Still growing!" The pinkette bit out, pushing some of the closer creatures back.
"Good, use that anger!" The Sith encouraged.
"Ugh, just help! I need to get to the terminal and set off the explosives!" Instead of answering in either an affirmative or a negative, the Sith Warrior in training charging into the hoard of slugs, cleaving through some of the softer shelled hatchlings with her war blade. Knowing that she could not keep the fight up for long, the pinkette used the distraction to get closer to the console.
Working quickly, Louise flipped up the protective covering and pressed the red button. Almost immediately, a high-pitched beeping emanated from the terminal. Hearing it for what it was, the pinkette called out to Lyira who looked to be having too much fun killing the k'lor'slugs.
Soon, both acolytes were racing out of the chamber and up the stairs, trying to get as far as possible from the ticking time bomb. Before they could reach the top of the staircase, a large explosion rocked the foundation of the tomb and a heated shockwave blasted through the doors, slamming them in the back.
The first to recover was the Sith Pureblood, who, dazed and a tad deaf, got up and started making her way towards the downed pinkette. "You okay, Louise?" She asked, certain that she was speaking way too loud to compensate for her lack of hearing.
Instead of reacting in any way that Lyira expected, the pinkette curled tightly into a ball. From what the pureblood could see, she was muttering something under her breath repeatedly. Concerned, Lyira bent down and tried to find out if anything was wrong. Louise flinched under the touch and looked towards her roommate, surprise and a hit of fear cleared in her eyes. "Lyira?"
"Are you alright?"
The girl made a noise in affirmation, quickly pulling herself off the ground. Lyira pleased that her friend was indeed okay, decided not to pry any further.
"So… we're done?" The Sith asked.
Once again, Louise did not respond with words, but a grunt. Before they could do anything else, however, an ecstatic voice called out to both girls, "I heard the explosion when you set off the charges!" Looking over, they found the all too pleased face of Sargent Cormun walking towards them, "Excellent, Outstanding work, sirs. You two can expect your well-earned payments by the end of the day, sirs!"
'I did manage to find Rayne's sister; it was actually quite an easy task as I had found her on day one. I had just completed my first trial and I had wanted to get some rest and pack away my belongings; so I headed towards my quarters. Once I reached the door to my room, I opened the room only to find your sister inside training with a War Blade in the nude. As it turns out she is my roommate here at the academy.
When we first met, we had gotten off on the wrong foot for reasons stated above, but we eventually got over it, despite the many times during the month that I had wanted to stab Lyira in the face…'
"Where are you going?" Questioned Lyira in an accusing tone, watching as the pinkette stood from her personal terminal and headed towards the door, training saber in hand.
"Training," Louise replied quickly. Please don't…
"Then I will go, you will stay."
"Why?" The pinkette asked, slightly anxious.
"Do you seriously think I have forgotten our deal?" Lyira replied seriously.
"But…"
Lyira quickly cut her off with a hand gesture, "No buts. We made a deal, or do you really want to walk in on me in the nude once again."
"Fine" Louise spat.
"Good, now I will leave you to it." The red skinned woman said as she left the room, "Oh, one more thing. I wouldn't bother lying, I will know."
"Just get out!"
"I'm going, I'm going… yeesh, such a prude…" The Pureblood muttered, closing the door behind her.
"I am not a prude!" Louise continued to glare at the door, waiting a few minutes until she was sure that Lyira was away. Once she was sure the red woman was gone, Louise sighed in one part apprehension and one part defeat.
After a few more moments of stalling, Louise pouted, placing her training saber onto her bed. Then in a sluggish manner, began to remove her clothing, each article slower than the last. Soon, the pinkette stood shivering and nude in the middle of the room. Louise fixed a glare at the entrance, half expecting the door to open revealing any number of Sith or acolytes.
Silently, she scolded herself for acting in this manner. During her time at the Magic Academy, she had never acted in such a way, especially in her own room. Then again, a small part of her mind said.I am no longer the sole owner of the room.
Shaking her head at her own well-placed paranoia, the diminutive acolyte took her training blade in hand and began practising several basic katas against a training dummy. Striking at the different positions for the most basic of lightsaber styles, Form 1, Shii-Cho, or Way of the Sarlacc if the runes were to be trusted.
The head, arms and legs were the targets for users of this form, often used to disarm and not kill the target. Louise found it odd that the Sith used the form, but she could still see why. It was useful in its simplicity and its simplicity was what made it strong.
Once pleased with her practice, Louise moved onto the next form, then the next. Going through a cycle as she practised each of the seven forms that the runes had gifted her with. Louise quickly found herself attached to Form IV, Ataru, as it was one that played to her aggressive tendencies. The runes had given her the knowledge on how to perform quite a few of the moves this form employed.
By the end of her solo sparring session, she was sweaty and tired, but still somehow exhilarated. It was no mystery how she still felt like running a kilometre, the glowing runes were very conspicuous now that the usual hand wrap she had gotten for the specific purpose to hid the runes, was now atop the pile of clothes. Not that the length of synthetic cloth was not noticeable in itself, especially seeing as it was only her left arm that was wrapped, but so far, she had not been questioned.
The runes were still a source of many questions for her, so much so that she had tried perusing the archives in the Sith Academy, not that she was expecting, or got anything from it. Nevertheless, the more she learned about the passive effects of the Force, the more she started to notice about the runes. For example, she had started to feel… something from them. A strange presence, or lack thereof. She tried to compare it to the different 'auras' she had access to in the Academy. Her results? Nothing.
It did not feel like the Jedi, nor did it feel like the Sith. So, she wrote off the Light and Dark Side of the Force. Then again, she remembered that it might not have a connection to the Force.
Examining the runes, Louise decided on a course of action.
Sitting down in the seiza position, Louise settled the training weapon onto her lap with a single hand laying on it, delving into a trance. The neophyte, having only been at the academy for nearly a month, was not a master of the meditative arts, however, she was not a novice like she was when she started. It often took nearly an hour to get into a simple trance, her mind often getting distracted by outside influences. This was unlike those times…
As she sat, meditating on the cool durasteel floor, Louise could not help but twitch at the unnatural itching sensation prickling the back of her left hand. Instead of being deterred by the agitation, she treated it like a challenge to overcome. "Peace is a lie," the pinkette whispered to herself as she tried to dig deeper, the strange presence being her focus, "There is only Passion…"
The deeper she delved, the stronger the itch became and soon, it became too much to handle. Just as she was about to let go, and exit the trance, all feeling left. All of it. She could not feel the floor below her, the artificial light on her skin, nor could she hear the hum of the Academy. It was like someone turned off all the senses in her body. She could not even feel the cool embrace of the Dark Side, something she had never noticed, but now it was gone, it felt like a piece of her being just vanished.
Scared and afraid, the pinkette reacted, opening her eyes to the world, expecting the grey walls her room to comfort her. Instead, Louise found herself in a place she had never expected, nor had she seen for quite some time. A forest.
Large trees, overgrown bushes, and lush grass.
Her eyes started to water up as her mind started to catch up with what she was seeing. Only moments ago, had all feeling been cut off, but now she could feel the grass tickling her, feel a weak breeze caress her skin, and smell the wonderful fragrance one could only find in nature. However, the Force still felt absent.
Rubbing her eyes vigorously to make sure it was not a hallucination of some sort, the pinkette found that the image did not change. Taking a chance, the nude teenager slowly stood up from the ground, any happiness she might have had from seeing a living plant again, dashed by that one part of her that was now missing. Trying desperately not to freak out, Louise stuck her hand out and tried to lift some nearby rocks with the Force.
Nothing happened.
Again, she tried, and the same results followed; once, twice, thrice, she tried again, even trying to summon lightning from her hands. But nothing came of it.
Her breathing was deep as she tried and tried to use the techniques the Jedi had advised her to use when feeling particularly anxious or angry. In a fit of emotion, Louise lashed out in the only way she could, at the only thing she could see.
Surprisingly, punching the tree did not hurt as much as she, though. In fact, it did not hurt at all. Her hand was not damaged, and the tree did not even react. All her fear, anger and sadness seemed to flow out of her as she was met by the conundrum of what was happening. Reaching out, Louise stroked the bark of the trunk. It felt rough, it felt like wood. It felt real. And for some reason, that revelation sent a shiver down her spine.
Now functionally calm, the petite girl began to explore her surroundings more, soon discovering she was not in some random area of a forest but was on a worn path that winded through the forest. Several large patches of dirt showed that the path was a used often. Faced with the conundrum of which way to go, the acolyte chose at random, moving quite fast, but cautious at the same time, her eyes never staying in one place too long.
However, she did not have to walk too far before she started hearing noises from the side of the path. Getting ready for a fight, despite knowing that, without the force or a weapon of some kind, she was woefully unarmed.I really need to learn how to fight without weapons…
Following the sounds, she soon found herself on the outskirts of a small clearing. It was not too strange, just a small area where trees and bushes seldom grew, however, what -or rather who- was in the centre was more interesting. Two people; one a short blond man leaning on a tree, watching the second with icy blue eyes. He was dressed much like one of her old professors, Colbert, except instead of blue robes, his were purple and black. The second and more interesting of the two was a scantily clad woman perform a few katas with a large curved sword. Though this is not what made her interesting, no, it was the two long pointed ears that poked out of her blonde shoulder length hair.
It took a few seconds for what she was seeing to register, but once it did, Louise immediately reacted. Wide-eyed and horrified, the pinkette stumbled back, before tripping over herself and landing on her butt. "Elf!" she shouted, trying to warn her fellow mage of the being in front of his very eyes.
It was in that moment, she noticed that nobody reacted to her warning, they did not even act like they heard her. Getting back up, Louise, still cautious and ready to flee, watched the two. The man, surprisingly enough, did nothing but grin as he watched the elf do nothing but cut the air with her weapon.
Louise was slightly at a loss at what was happening. Did the elf not know he was watching? Is he under a spell? Are they both deaf? Is he an idiot!? All these questions started running through her mind as she watched dumbfounded as the most hated enemy of man put on a show for said man. A part of her wanted to run in and warn the man, another wanted to attack the heathen, and the largest wanted to flee in terror and never look back. And yet, she stayed and watched, confused more than anything.
It was at this point that former mage noticed something peculiar of the elf, besides the ears and heavenly beauty she exposed. Whether it was a trick of the light, or something closer to home -and Louise did not want to get close enough to find out- it seemed the back of her left hand was glowing in a very familiar way. Absently, Louise rubbed the back of her own hand.
With one last grunt, the elf stopped her practice, turning to the human with a smile. "What do you think?" She asked the mage in a very old dialect of her home language, wiping beads of sweat from her head.
"Well, I wouldn't want to be on the business end of that blade. Speaking of which, where'd you get it?"
"Ay, who are you calling an 'it,' blondie!" A metallic voice called out, causing both the mage and Louise to jump at the suddenness, the latter pulling out a wand in a fluid motion and pointing it in the direction the voice came from.
"Who said that?" The now armed man demanded, looking around. Louise too was looking around for the source of the voice.
Suddenly laughter broke the air, at first, it was a muffled giggle that turned to full-blown howling, all coming from the elf, "It's funny how little you know about the finer aspects of Elven Magic." She said once she gained control over herself, "The sword, I made him. Derflinger is his name. Derflinger, this is Brimir."
Almost at once, Louise's mind completely stopped. It was not the fact that the elf insinuated that swords can talk, it was within the realm of possibility, especially seeing as she had never experienced, nor would ever want to experience, the magic of heathens. It was more to do with what the elf called the mage, Brimir.
Now, it would not be hard to assume that a parent wanted to name their child after the Founder of Magic, however, due to laws enacted by the Church, it was made illegal to name a one after the Founder and even his saints. It was especially disturbing having the name beings spoken with fondness by an elf of all creatures. Deciding to through caution into the wind to get answers, Louise took a few cautious steps out into the clearing, half expecting the two beings to make a note of her existence. Instead, they continued to chat about the details about the sword and how it was made.
"Uh… hello?" She greeted, or tried to at least. The duo did not react in the slightest to her presence. "Hello?" she tried to greet again, her voice more forceful than before. When they did not even respond to that, she grew frustrated, "Respond!" she yelled, once again receiving nary a flinch to betray her existence.
Moving within touching distance of the two, Louise tried to push the mage, seeing as the safer of the two. It did not work. Instead, her hand phased through the man's body and clothing. A squeak of fright escaped her mouth as she quickly removed her hand from the inside of his shoulder.
Examining her hand, she found that nothing was different. It was in that moment, that Louise realised that it was a good thing they had not noticed her, remembering that she was still as nude as the day she was born. The acolyte tried to squash the urge to cover herself, knowing that the two could not see her.
Or not real in the first place. A small part of her thought. Louise knew that illusions existed and were quite spectacular, especially done by masters of the Dark Side. Though she quickly dismissed the thought, she could not feel or use the Force, something she doubted an illusion could do.
However, her thoughts on the matter were pushed aside as a piece of dialogue broke through to her. ".. why'd you make i-er… Derflinger, in the first place?" the man who called himself Brimir, asked.
"Simple. Now that I have these runes on my hand, I have become a better swordswoman, and I wanted to make a weapon worthy of the title, Gandálfr." The elf said, gesturing to the glowing runes on the back of her left hand. Extremely familiar runes.
It wasn't a trick of the light… Gandálfr… where have I heard that before? The diminutive acolyte thought. A brief memory of the Academy of Magic flashed into mind. Back in her history classes -coincidently one of the few classes she got high grades for. Gandálfr: The Left hand of God. One of the four legendary familiars of the Found, Brimir Ru Rumiru Yuru Viri Vee Varutori.
Her jaw wide in shock, Louise could only stare the elf who continued to talk despite the pinkette. Questions started to sprout out of the woodwork as her mind tried once again to understand what was happening. Was what she was seeing real, or is it fantasy. Louise did not know. All she did know was that an elf had allied itself with someone sharing the same name as the Founder and that it claimed that it was the Left Hand of God due to runes inscribed on the back of her hand. Runes that were a spitting image of her own, right down to the glowing light.
"Louise!" A voice, distant, yet it felt as if it was being shouted in her ear. "Louise! Can you hear me? Louise!" Despite not moving, the pinkette felt as if she was being shaken as if someone was trying to wake her up. Blinding light filled her vision, soon fading into colour, red being a predominate one. The colours began to sharpen, showing that she was now back in her quarters in the Sith Academy with a very worried looking Lyira shaking her. "Louise!"
"Please don't shout in my ear…" the aforementioned acolyte groaned, pulling herself up.
An audible sigh of relief escaped her roommate's mouth. "Sorry, but you would not respond! What happened!?"
"I… don't know," Louise replied, still confused about the past twenty to thirty minutes. "Why are you here?"
"I was going to go to bed, knocked first to see if anything was up, but you didn't respond. I opened the door and saw you meditating. I told you to get dressed, but you didn't respond to that either. Eventually, I came over to shake you out of whatever you were in… you started screaming like you were being branded. You were clutching your wrist."
"Oh." Was all the petite woman had to say.
Though, it seemed like Lyira was not pleased with that response if the cross expression she wore was anything to go by, "Oh!?"
"Calm down, I was meditating. It… brought up memories best left forgotten." Lied Louise.
"Does it have anything to do with the scars on the back of your hand?" She asked softly, pointing to the engraved lines.
Instantly, Louise tried to hide them from sight, "I'll tell you about it later." She said, looking down at her naked body, "I would, however, like it if you get out!"
"Okay! Okay!" Lyira said, her expression becoming more carefree as she got up and left the room, "I'm going, I'm going. Prude."
Once the door closed, Louise cradled her head in her hands, letting out a low sigh. She was going to be questioned about the runes, but she did not want to tell anyone about them. The more and more she had read about them, the least likely she trusted them not to examine her and the magic inside. She would keep the vision and magic a secret for now.
Recalling that Lyira wanted to go to sleep, Louise suddenly realised that she too, felt like she had run a marathon and a half. Tiredly, she walked over and got dressed in some sleepwear, remembering to cover her runes with the wrap. Once pleased with her appearance, the pinkette allowed her roommate to enter the room and got ready for bed.
'Other than that, not much has happened during my stay at the Academy.
Thank you for the message, it was nice to hear from you.
May the Force serve you well,
Acolyte Louise.'