The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities

[smooth_sith]

Who: Count Dooku and Jack
When: After this post.
Where: Chaos Shrine.
What: Dooku has offered to corrupt train Jack.
Type: Whichever works
Notes/Warnings: Violence against Mannequins most likely.

Comments

[chance_betrayer]

Jack thought for a moment, deciding where to start. He lowered his sword as he started to talk.

"I guess my sister was the first person to train me. She didn't know much about technique, but she taught me how to take care of my sword and to keep myself in shape. I was pretty good, but I was overconfident. When I entered the tournament to join the Radiata Knights, I lost right away. But they let me join the knights anyway because my dad killed the water dragon.

"They put me in the Rose Cochon brigade with Captain Ganz and Ridley. Captain Ganz taught me more about fighting, especially how to fight as part of a team. 'Knights in the same brigade are as family,' he said. But on our second mission, Ridley was wounded. Her father is a noble and he didn't like her being a knight, so he had her promoted so she wouldn't have to go on missions, and me and Captain Ganz were kicked out.

"I joined a fighter's guild called Theater Vancoor. Sargent Jarvis took over my training. Sarge is a drunk, and he's in terrible shape, but he taught me how to lead a group in battle. He also told me how much I could learn from reading. I'd never realized that books could make me a better fighter, but that's how I learned Circle Song, and a bunch of other skills. But the war broke out before I could finish my training. And I ended up with the fairies, fighting against Radiata."

His voice takes a sad note as he remembers fighting against Jarvis and Daniel.

[smooth_sith]

Well now, that was interesting. Dooku began to circle around Jack, looking at him intently. Changes of allegiance were... an important issue for him. "And just how did you come to be on the opposite side of Radiata? It was your great desire to serve with them, I take it. Was your guild hired by their enemies?"

[chance_betrayer]

Jack sighed. This part got a little personal. But he kept talking as Dooku circled him.

"Nah, Vancoor was always close to the castle. They even hired us for secret missions sometimes. I guess it started during our first mission, when the dwarves in Earth Valley told us they were raising the price of the ore they sent to Radiata. On our second mission, when Ridley was wounded, an elf was killed by the same orc. The elf king said the only way to save Ridley was to put the elf's soul in her body. At first, it seemed to work, but elf souls aren't supposed to be connected to human souls. After Ganz and I were kicked out, she started hearing things, and feeling like there was someone else in her head. At the same time as that was happening, Radiata attacked Earth Valley to take control of their mines. The Earth Dragon tried to protect the valley, but he was killed by Cross, one of the knights.

"A few nights later, Ridley came to my door. She said she was losing her mind, and that the only people who could help her were the elves. So we went to the light elf city, but they were angry at the humans, and didn't trust us. They said that the only way we could convince them to help us was if I took control of Fort Helencia. So I attacked the fort on my own. When they saw I was serious, the elves helped me, and we took control. It wasn't until after that I realized that I'd betrayed Radiata. Vancoor, Olacion, Void and Vareth all joined Radiata, and the goblins, orcs and dwarves all joined the elves, and it turned into a big war between humans and fairies."

As he thought back to that fateful night, Jack remembered that he had been invited to the castle to discuss being reinstated in the knights. For just a moment, he had hesitated before deciding to follow Ridley. He wondered how different his life would have been if he'd gone to the castle insatead.

[smooth_sith]

Dooku stopped circling as Jack's story came forward. Clearly there was far more to this young warrior than the Count had ever suspected. He sensed potential there, but also a threat.

"So your feelings to your friend led you to betray your people," he intoned. "Such passion makes a warrior powerful, but it can also cloud one's judgement. Tell me, now that it is in the past, what do you think of the choices you made? Would you have done things differently, if given the chance?" Would he follow his own conscience, over Dooku's direction? If he came to feel loyalty to Dooku, would that come to overrule all else?

[chance_betrayer]

Jack didn't have to think about an answer to that.

"After Helencia, I realized I was going to be faced with a lot of difficult decisions. The old man- I mean the Fire Dragon told me that everyone has their own destiny. So I decided that protecting Ridley was my destiny. After that, I always knew the right choice, even if it meant doing something hard like fighting Sarge.

"There are a couple of things I would have done differently, but I still would have joined the elves. I don't agree with all of their goals, but they had to protect the dwarves, Radiata was planning to attack the elves next even if they hadn't attacked first."

[smooth_sith]

"Then you follow your instincts over whatever rules and duties others would impose upon you." Dooku nodded and looked satisfied, although inwardly he was already calculating what this could mean for Jack's obedience. "I made a similar choice not so long ago, and I have never regretted it." A lie, at least regarding the regret.

"That is the first lesson I have for you, Jack. Your passions are what empower you, both in life and battle. Embracing them brings victory, and denying them brings weakness."

[chance_betrayer]

Before the war, this was the sort of advice Jack would have dismissed as too complicated to have any real meaning. But now it was something he thought about carefully. It sounded very similar to his own beliefs. It also meant that he was doing the right thing by fighting for Chaos.

"Right. I'll remember that."

[smooth_sith]

"Very good." The Count stepped in front of Jack and dropped his hands to his sides. "The second lesson I have is this: never completely relax your guard. An attack can come at any time, from an unexpected direction. For instance: defend yourself!" Suddenly his lightsaber was in his hands and flashing to life, its red blade descending in a slow swing towards Jack's arm.

Lecturing time was over now. Now was make-the-student-jump time. After more than half a century of teaching both Jedi and Sith, Dooku knew very well which was his favourite.

[chance_betrayer]

Jack was not expecting that. Thankfully, he'd seen Dooku's weapon before, otherwise he might have attempted to block. The Arbitrator was a magically-enhanced sword, and not one easily damaged, but Jack had no idea what would happen if it touched that red light. He had wondered before, would it block it? Or would the Count's sword damage the Arbitrator? Or would that beam simply pass through Jack's sword making blocking useless?

Instead of blocking, Jack leaped back, thankfully earning nothing more than a cut on his sleeve. Jack was familiar with this sort of test. After all, he'd earned the right to wield his father's sword after dueling Gawain. In retaliation, Jack thrust his sword at Dooku, knowing that a stab would be harder to block than a swing.

[smooth_sith]

The boy went immediately onto the attack instead of fleeing or protesting. Dooku was pleased with his instincts, and chose to reward him by allowing him to take the initiative for the moment. He turned nimbly aside from the stab instead of trying to block it, then continued the turn and spun, swinging his lighsaber low and slow towards the edge of Jack's leg.

[chance_betrayer]

Jack knew how to dodge that! He leaped into the air, avoiding the swing, then stabbed downward with his sword as he fell toward Dooku.

[smooth_sith]

Dooku knew many ways to defend against such an attack- going into the air granted momentum, but at the cost of vulnerability. However, throwing the boy across the room while he was in midair would impart a different lesson from the one the Count was currently teaching. Instead, he rewarded Jack for his attack again by quickly backing away from his descent, lightsaber raised in guard position. He wanted the connection between aggression and progress to be made clear in the boy's mind. Only then would Dooku begin to demonstrate his true power.

[chance_betrayer]

Normally, Jack would stay on the offense at this point, but that lightsaber really made him nervous. Dooku was clearly ready to block, and he still hoped to avoid his sword touching Dooku's. Jack stayed on guard, just close enough to attack, but hopefully far enough to dodge if Dooku attacked.

[smooth_sith]

Dooku sensed the prudence in the boy's hesitation, and made a guess at the reasoning behind it- of course Jack wouldn't be willing to risk his prized weapon being damaged by a lightsaber. Every blade the Count had encountered so far was for some reason able to resist the saber, something which in his own Galaxy could only be accomplished by very specific alloys. Forcing Jack to block would settle that question, but if his sword proved an exception to the rule, it would be a waste in more ways than one. Instead, Dooku continued to stand off as he called upon his Force powers, stretching out his hand to shove at Jack through the air.

[chance_betrayer]

Unable to block the shove, Jack was sent flying back several feet. Fortunately, he manage to keep his head, and landed on his feet, sliding in a crouch. From the crouch, he charged forward, intending to hit Dooku with a quick slash in the side as he ran past.

[smooth_sith]

Another impressive display to please the Count- the ability to recover quickly from an attack and then retake the initiative was an important one. Dooku began to consider that rewarding this one for aggressive action might be unnecessary- it seemed those instincts were already embedded in his fighting habits. Good, he thought.

The Sith stood motionless a few moments while Jack closed the distance between them before he reacted. Now it was Dooku who went up in the air, using the Force to boost his old body higher than it could possibly jump on its own, somersaulting over Jack and landing behind him. The Count immediately turned and raised his saber to threaten Jack's back.