[Avatar] 11 – Training or Torture? Both.

I sat within Darth Bane’s burial chamber, attempting to remain calm and still as multiple slabs of concrete floated around me, Darth Bane watching for even the slightest weakness to exploit. Every once in a while, he'd send a bolt of agonizing lightning my way, but I didn’t falter, already knowing what awaited me if I did so. Despite his...cruelty, what the experienced and notorious founder of the 'Rule of Two,' Darth Bane, knew what he was doing.

I'd only been with the Darth for around half a day now, but under his...teachings, I found myself growing at a tremendous pace.

"Strange, you do not grow or learn like others I have taught before, you seem to grow in a...linear fashion," Darth Bane commented as he kept the concrete slabs around me floating in the air.

"Tell me, why is that?" Darth Bane asked curiously.

"I cannot tell you...Darth Bane," I reluctantly told him, not acknowledging his supposed 'Master' status, as the previous time I did so ended with the most painful bolt of Sith lightning yet.

"Cannot or will not?" Darth Bane questioned, floating into the front of my face where his piercing red eyes seemed to peer into my soul.

"I cannot," I insisted, much to my dismay. I could not tell the Sith Lord before me that everything in this universe was but a story dreamed up by a few men and women on a small planet that would be considered 'backworld' by the denizens of this universe.

"You will eventually tell me, for now, come, we will see how you fare against some of the beasts that wander into my tomb," Darth Bane hissed before floating away, his hands behind his back as he gestured for me to follow.

Letting down the concrete, I climbed up from the ground and began following him, not daring to ask anything and incuring his wrath, only to seem to do it anyway as a bolt of Sith lightning struck me with a flick of his hand.

"I did not say stop your telekenesis exercises," Darth Bane hissed, not even bothering to turn around as he continued floating forward.

Cursing, I summoned what MP I had remaining to grab hold of the concrete slabs I dropped and began following behind Darth Bane. I would quickly get exhausted hauling these concrete slabs, as I lost the benefit of MP regen from Meditation, which was nearing level 25 due to my constant use of the skill under the torture of Bane.

Telekenesis itself had reached level 25 a while ago, and with it, I had gotten three choices for a perk for the skill, but my eye was only on one of the two options that drew my attention.

[Firm - Novices have great difficulty in keeping a firm grip of whatever they are holding with Force: Telekenisis, but you are not one of them, making it more difficult for other forces or Force Users to wrestle for control over the held object]

[Enduring - Holding an object with pure willpower through the Force for long periods can be tough for Novices to the Force, but with time, you have found that lifting objects with Telekenisis has become far easier than before, allowing you to use your Telekenisis far longer than your fellow Novices]

I, of course, chose enduring, which dropped the MP consumption of Telekenisis to a single point per second from three. 

What that meant was that I could only hold a few objects for at most forty-odd seconds. Still, Darth Bane could at least tell that I became physically and mentally unable to continue lifting objects when my 'MP' reached zero, which has led him to have me deplete my MP whenever possible, continuously. 

I guessed that Bane was hoping my 'capacity' would increase with continuous effort, and by god, was he right. With his...training, if it could even be called that, had raised my wisdom by two points, to 25 points, which raised my MP to a little over 45 with my MP regen reaching nearly 30 an hour.

As much as I began to despise Darth Bane, he was helping me grow stronger, so I kept my mouth shut even when I felt the utmost desire to shout quite a few expletives at him.

"Why am I not sensing any dangers? The first time I came through here, I felt like invisible creatures were attacking me," I asked the Darth, knowing that there was a good possibility that he'd throw more Sith Lightning my way for daring even to ask such a question, but much to my luck, he didn't.

"Your...connection and sensitivity with the Force is still abysmal, you can only see my form due to how strong I radiate from the Force, but there are dozens of other Sith Ghosts and Specters that still lurk within these halls. They merely keep their distance for now as they know what will happen to them if they attempt their tricks in my presence," Darth Bane answered my question with a hum of approval.

 "What kind of tricks?" I asked, concerned.

"Why, they want to latch onto you, like a parasite, they wish to meld with you, and take over your mind with time, granting them a second chance at life, fools," he snarled.

"How is it foolish?" I asked, curious.

"Our 'souls' are attuned to our original bodies, to try and take over another will simply fail, especially with how much weaker you are in the force compared to those that still lurk in death here. It would be akin to slipping on a robe that doesn't fit; it would simply slip off of you at the most inconvenient moment," Darth Bane explained.

"I...see, but what if they could tighten a belt around the 'robes?'" I questioned, earning another hum of apparent approval.

"Such a ritual can only be performed by masters of Sith magics, with few Darths possessing such knowledge to conduct such rituals, not to mention the risks involved. If one wished to survive after death, there are plenty of methods, if you are lucky or talented," Darth Bane explained.

"Why didn't you, if you knew of such methods?" I asked carelessly, getting a bolt of Sith lightning in exchange that sent me down to my knees, gritting my teeth.

It didn't help that at that moment, I had run out of MP, dropping the concrete blocks that I had been holding.

"Do not presume that I was like these parasites that still lurk around my tomb, to live past your lifespan is to invite far worse things than the Sith and Jedi. Things that had driven many powerful Sith into madness or despair, I made my choices, and chose to remain here, to teach any future Sith that dared to approach, if they be worthy of my teachings, tell me, you have heard of me, did you know the Rule of Two?" Darth Bane suddenly questioned, vanishing in a puff of red smoke before appearing inches from my face.

Gulping but not daring to avoid his gaze, I nodded, "I have...the two Sith Lords that follow your teachings are...dangerous, far more dangerous than any traditional Sith I know of outside of the Legends," I answered reluctantly.

"You know of them? Tell me," He demanded.

"I...can't, to say their names is to draw their attentions to this place...to me. They would slay me where I stand for being a Sith not under their control," I tried to explain, but he did not care, sending another bolt of Sith Lightning my way, making me scream through clenched teeth.

"Fine...their names are Darth Sidious and Darth Vader," I answered reluctantly, not noticing the wave of force that echoed from the academy across space.

"Hmm, interesting names, I assume this Darth Sidious is the master?" Darth Bane questioned me.

"Yes. He was the student of Darth Plageus, a master of Sith Magics who nearly cracked the code on manipulating life itself with the force," I reluctantly told the Sith Lord before me.

"Oh? Interesting, I have met a few Flesh Weavers, but none who could near such a goal. Tell me, how did Darth Sidious beat his master?" Darth Bane questioned.

"He...he killed his master in his sleep," I answered reluctantly, only to flinch as an overwhelming aura of dread washed over me from Darth Bane.

"He did what?" Darth Bane questioned, clearly angered.

"He...he slayed Darth Plageus the Wise in his sleep," I reluctantly answered.

"That...that !@#!@" Darth Bane shouted in anger in an unknown language other than Common.

"How dare he?! To resort to such cowardly tactics to defeat his master is forbidden! That does not lead to a strong Sith, that leads only to weakness!" Darth Bane seemed to proclaim.

Gnawing on his anger, Darth Bane looked to me, "Up ahead are several Sith Hounds, slay them and bring me their heads, accomplish this task by any means necessary." He disappeared in a flash of red smoke, presumably returning to his burial chamber.