The Grey in the Fire

[Xavius Bain]

OOC: SOOOOO sorry this took so long. This week kicked the crap out of me.

Kole remained silent, taking in everything that was happening. He trusted his master, but he could see the price of power that Xavius was paying. It seemed to consume him, in a way Kole had never noticed before. He kept silent for now, and in truth, Kole wanted nothing more than to be as powerful as his master. Maybe even surpass him…

The crimson eyes of the hulking illusion glared from Kole, to Xavius and then to Blood. His lips curled into an ominous sneer, and the illusion reared his head back to look even larger.

“I am Darth Mardu.”

Xavius Bain met the illusion’s eyes with his own, the two voids reflecting the bright shades of red that stared him down. If his assuming was right, the remnants of this Darth Madu would provide him with what he needed. All this obsession with dragons, meant that he had likely found the right Sith Lord.

The Shadow Lord extended his hand, and displayed a burning ball of black fire. It was a wordless display to show the illusion what he wanted from him. A display of power, but an acknowledgment that he still needed more.

Darth Mardu looked towards the display, and then released a menacing snicker. His booming voice echoed throughout the cave as he taunted Xavius Bain.

“You think you are powerful, and there is darkness in you. But you have yet to let it release. You can make fire, but I am a dragon.”

The Shadow Lord’s emotionless face remained unmoving, but his eyes flickered for a moment. His whispery voice reached back towards the image.

“Show me.”

[Slade Xandir]

Blood kept both his mind and eyes open to the entirety of this encounter. This man was showing him the proper way of both obtaining and opening the Holocron, something he would have to do on his own, several days to come. Much was coming to change within the Order, and if he wanted to ensure he was of suitable fit to take throne of the Cauldron, he would need to know these things. Nothing but a memory or the garnet and onyx gem his own Master held, crafted, opened and closed, poured his own essence into, flashed within the memory section of his brain. As a Lord, would he soon need to begin making his own? When was he to start such a process? Was it needed to preserve his essence within the gem? How much could it hold? How much should it hold?

His head was awash with questions, and the only ones he could semi-answer would come from this circumstance, so with narrowed eyes, the Sithian kept his Force Steady as he attempted probing the situation for more answer to sate such seemingly endless questions.

The illusion kept it's eyes trained on the Shadow Lord, but it was apparent it hadn't missed Blood's presence. Blood felt it be fully aware of his own Force aura, but with a second of thought, the Sithian rose a Force Shield on the shell of his mind, taking no chances with a presence that was as gluttonous as he was when it came to power.

Hellish eyes skimmed flashed to Blood, only for them to return to Xavius. He had felt the shield, confirming Blood's own suspicions. Regardless, the name spoken was one he remembered from the Sith Academic Libraries.

"Darth Mardu, illusionist and necromancer. Manipulator of both organic and inorganic material through prime Force Sorcery."

This was a perfect source for Blood to enhance his own sorcery skills. He had already excelled, if not mastered his Pyromancy. But things such as elemental manipulation still eluded him, and he knew he wanted to go above and beyond simple wind pushing. He wanted to control the heavens, to rule the skies, as a true dragon master. Darth Mardu would be his key to that.

"What of skyward Force projection," Blood blurted out. "Air, sky, just in the tops of the atmosphere. Teach us of aerial influence."

[Xavius Bain]

Darth Mardu’s projection seemed to marvel in Blood’s recognition. His twisted smile beamed and his stature increased. The Shadow Lord found the Sith a bit flashy for his own taste, but there was something specific he wanted to learn from him, and he needed an ancient Sith lord to do it. Sith sorcery wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but all aspects of the force held value to Xavius Bain.

“I will teach you all in time.” The holocron’s creator proclaimed.

Xavius remained silent for now. What he desired was simpler, and yet potentially just as difficult as sorcery, but would unlock his avenue to harnessing the dark side as easily as someone fully plunged into its clutches…
The Shadow Lord would embrace all knowledge that Darth Mardu would give out, until it was all his as well. If Blood became more powerful as well, so be it, though Xavius Bain would keep an eye on the young Sith. No one knew of Xavius’s quest for dark side power outside of Blood and Kole, whom both sat in the cave with him.

And he needed to keep it that way.

Kole, while silent was a beacon of focus, soaking in each bit of information as he once did when Xavius Bain would teach him. Kole was one of the most well-read of Xavius’s students, often spending his off time in the library of Xavius’s Shadow Academy. He knew that Xavius viewed the force as a balance of light and dark that he could weild, but the thought of his master plunging too deep into the Sith kept the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. He wanted to learn, and he wanted the power almost as badly as Xavius did, but at what cost?

For now, Darth Mardu focused on Blood.

“You wish to alter the environment around you? To manipulate the very chemistry that holds the physical world together?”

[Slade Xandir]

Blood was absorbed in this situation. If there was one thing he was addicted to, it was knowledge. With this illusion being what all he needed to master his own preferred sector of the Force, Blood knew he needed to drain the essence within this holocron of every single detail that entailed such mastery. If this was what holocrons were prized for, then because of this single tradeoff with Xavius, he had completely been consumed with going to pursue every single holocron out there.

"I wish to give visual life to the Dark Side, and to conjure said manifestation into hellish happenings from mere thought alone. I wish for these nightmarish things to be born from the very existence of this plane, and the next, crafted from the elements that surround the composition of both Life, and Death."

Necromancy was something he was interested in from a distinct degree, but his more prioritized focus was that of aerial assault.

"But I want to start with the control of the skies. To pull air, fire, hail, lightning even, into my own command. To own dominion over the elements of natural property." His golden irises were alive with eager desires.

There were rumors he had heard of the Masters of such claiming to have control over the skies, to rain down hellfire and exploding brimstone upon their foes. The weather was not in ownership of the planet; rather the Force Master held command over it, and it danced to his whim.

But Blood was beside himself. This Holocron was to be reaped of it's knowledge from both he, and his temporary packmate. What was it all that Xavius wanted? Would the Shadow Lord have use for such a nefarious dealing? Did Necromancy, physics, atmospheric debauchary, fit into his taste for power? He was just as curious of the Shadow Lords own intentions for the holocron as he was for the holocron's own holdings.

[Xavius Bain]

The image of the ancient Sith nodded, the smirk never leaving his face.

“Yes, I can teach you this. The ability to manipulate the weather around you, to create storms with the force. It is an elemental ability, and begins with your interaction with the force. It is yours to manipulate, yours to access. You only need to succumb to it, let the dark side be your guide.”

The three listened intently, taking in everything as Darth Mardu began to detail the beginning specifics of how to physically do what Blood was asking.
Xavius took in the information, though he had specific plans in mind for what he wanted to extract from this holocron. If he could learn to control the weather as well though, that was a welcome bonus.

Ooc: just decided to do a short post to at least keep it moving. So sorry for the delays.

[Slade Xandir]

[OOC] it's no problem, Xav. No one is rushing you. Take your time, bro. :3 [/OOC]


Blood listened, taking in all of the instructions, already visualizing his conquest to make real this tremendous power. After the instructions came to close, he had noticed the light and breezy persistence of feeling swirling in Xavius' own field of Force. There were things the Shadow Lord must have wanted to peel from the holocron, himself, as the breezy push seemed to have directioned winds waiting to pick up something else, something specific. What was Xavius curious about?

Turning to the hooded Lord, Blood waited for the subject gently laying on the Void's mind to make surface and be addressed. Surely if it had held his interest, then it was something worth being brought out and amongst them. If this Holocron's apparition could answer it, that would certainly be a treat to them all.