[Closed] Let's Be Bad Guys

[heavybreaths]

WHO: Darth Vader and Akua Sahelian
WHAT: Two Villains seeking a Lair
WHERE: Forest near Greentruth
WHEN: August, Pre-Raid
WARNINGS: Vader's General Warnings, but will update if something specific comes up.




Vader moved with no small amount of grace along the forest floor, seeming to have as perfect a sense of the ground around him as he might his own home. His pace was unhurried, but his strides has purpose, the crunch of his heavy boots a steady rhythm in the quiet of this wild place. It was easy to see, even for him, the natural beauty Lohkimareen jungle. It reminded him in a way of Felucia or Kashyyyk, though the local megafauna was different. His gaze regarded a passing dinosaur with mild interest, the Taragyk's distinctive skull making it stand out as he crunched along the path.

"Have you interacted much with the local wildlife, Akua?" he asked his companion, genuinely curious. These creatures were interesting primarily due to their varied shapes and sizes. Large reptiles were common enough in the Galaxy, and used as beasts of burden...but he rarely had cause to deal with them. In the absence of technology though, that would have to change.

Comments

[wolof]

"Not in particular, no," she admitted, stopping to let one of the great lizards pass. In contrast to Vader's height, and boots the woman was small, and wore a fine pair of walking shoes. She'd conned a local shoemaker into making her a pair, a smile on her lips and a promise of a date -- that she'd fulfilled to the letter. The dress had been another -- it was fine, and there was a small heart sewn into the collar -- high necked, and it covered the space over her heart well -- where her shard lay. She'd even chosen modesty, for at least one of the dresses she'd conned out of a date. She walked through the forest with confidence next to him, though. Less familiarity -- or preternatural familiarity -- and more comfort with unknown surroundings.

"I've found that while the creatures are fascinating, I've never been one to favor them," her lips quirked slightly. "I don't tend to spend time with Named that favor the forests, and intellectual pursuits was often my... choice of study."

Perhaps Masego would have liked it, and been interested -- but he was also the type to give wings to a pig, just to see what would happen. Akua always favored a purpose for her pursuits, as opposed to the Hierophant, who often tried things just because he could.

[heavybreaths]

"Animals like these resemble creatures from my homeworld, and from many worlds throughout the Galaxy. We made great use of them, in the Empire, and the Republic before it. Perhaps we could here, beyond simple beasts of burden as the natives do."

There were certainly predators, or large herbivores that might be useful if worked with, and he most certainly had the skill for that. It isn't entirely what he was looking to do today, but as they walk, it is a decent enough diversion and a potential tool.

"What is a Named?" he asks, stepping lightly over a fallen log and heading towards an obvious game trail. That seemed as good a place as any to start looking for a place they could begin to weave workings of the Dark Side and her own dark magics.

[wolof]

"Use them as mounts? It may not be a bad strategy," she admitted, and held a hand to her chin. She would never turn her nose up at a potential edge -- and she certainly had never tried it. Cat had always been the military strategist, while Akua and the Hierophant had been the two heads working together to create great workings, and give them the magical edge they needed.

She followed behind him, her own feet somehow moved over the log like it was nothing. Akua had been trained to make most things look easy -- although she did wish she had a horse right now. "Someone who is Named is..." how to describe it. "They are someone who has found their steps following in enough pattern to draw weight, and the attention of the gods above and below. It comes with... power, beyond what a mortal can do. One named can mow through an army of normal humans faster and quicker than anyone else. They gain aspects, things in which they can use to warp the fabric of our world, and bend it to their will. It matches what ones name is, for example, as the Diabolist I could Call and Bind demons, and use them with my power. Others, such as a Squire, can Learn, faster than others."

To Akua, who was steeped in Name Lore, she understood it, but few had asked -- and explaining the Rules of the Game, and of the Roles, the Pattern it all followed... it seemed so silly, now that she was in a world where a Villainous Speech did not guarantee someone to simply be killed in the middle.

[heavybreaths]

"It would help to cover more ground."

That's really all he says on the matter of dinosaurs for now. He listens, quiet as ever, taking in the information offered with some interest. It's curious. Being Named...did not sound all that dissimilar from being attuned to the Force. There even seemed to be the Talents.

"That sounds...useful. Is such a Naming required to work the magic of your world?"

Could it be taught to the youths here, is mostly what he's curious about.

[wolof]

She followed, her foosteps comfortable on the ground. She peered around a tree, as they moved throughout the forest, her golden eyes scanned the area, before she responded, her tone wry.

"Oh, of course not," she said. "A magician may be named, such as the Diabolist, or the Bumbling Conjurer," she explained, before she moved back away from the tree, to join the taller man. "However, one can be raised to learn magic, if they have the gift to do so, and are instructed appropriately. There are a few...methods of using magic, however mine tends to be the most...effective," a pause. "Well, unless you're a Titan."

Or the Witch of the Woods, but again, complications.

[heavybreaths]

"Is this something that you could teach to our...less experienced...fellows?"

He's starting down that game trail, his senses reaching out as he talks, questing for places that might work...places that teem with non-sentient life. Those would be best, Vader is certain. Wilder places did not draw attention from others very often, and a quiet place to stay away from the hubbub and chatter of the city would be a welcome reprieve.

The Pleroma enjoy small talk entirely too much.

[wolof]

Akua cannot see or feel him reaching out, but the way he stares outward -- she wonders if he is looking for something. She looked out, in the same vague direction, but it was difficult to tell what was out there, without moving forward to look.

Besides, she Was interested to see how he would find a suitable location, himself.

"I can certainly try. I've hoped to make inroads with those who are inexperienced with magic, and give them the tools they may use to make it work. I've instructed... laymen before, when they came into their power. While frustrating, it does indeed help -- at least those who can perform the computations needed."

Akua wasn't a math teacher, but she could teach advanced algebra, in short.

[heavybreaths]

"Good. I am afraid I cannot do the same. None of the people here are sensitive to the Force, though I had already suspected as much."

It's unfortunate, but it is a simple fact. He'd scanned the lot of them with his senses, and while some of them burned brightly, it was as different as a pulsar was from a quasar. Similar, but different.

"I have agreed to teach some of them the finer points of martial combat, however. Perhaps with our combined efforts we will find a way to mold a fighting force."

[wolof]

"An excellent idea," she said, and stepped over a log, to move further in, still on their search. "I held a training, a few months ago, to help some of them learn to master their magics, but as our compatriots grow in power, we'll likely find that they're going to need further instruction."

Otherwise... well. Power could so easily get out of control, or drive one mad, particularly power that wasn't prepared for, or adjusted for properly.

And even if they did, what if they were manipulated, or coerced? No, any with skill would have their work cut out for them, Akua didn't doubt that.

"Your Force... you say it's different than magic?" she asked, finally. They were far enough away from others, and she hadn't asked for an explanation as of yet. It seemed, to Vader, to just Be, but that didn't mean that Akua understood it yet. Qui-Gon never gave her the midicholorians talk.

[heavybreaths]

Nodding his agreement, Vader lets that line of conversation drop. They could work together and coordinate, and she seemed more than competent. This might well work.

Her question about the Force is not unexpected, and he'd certainly deflected when it came to answering questions about it during the Communion because explaining it to someone that couldn't feel it was tiresome. Akua, however, seemed to grasp that it wasn't just some other form of magic.

"The Force is the collective life-energy of every living thing in every corner of the universe. Wherever there is life, there is the Force." It's perhaps an oversimplification of it, but explaining midi-chlorians seemed unnecessary to anyone not already steeped in the lore of the Force. "At times, individuals are born with the ability to manipulate the Force, and at times the Force sees fit to enact its will through those so touched."

He turns, raising his hand towards a large rock they happen to be passing, and it rises into the air for a moment before gently lowering itself.

"I am one such. I have studied the Force and its mysteries for most of my life. It is more than merely a source of power. It is also a living will that guides my path, and it has guided me here."

[wolof]

"Ah," she said, and although it was not true understanding -- she could not experience such power -- the concept was not... unheard of to her. She could see the thread of it -- imagine it, really -- how this Force guided and directed, and pushed people, so much like the grooves of her own world found ways to guide people, nudge them, and push them in the right direction.

"I understand. It's not dissimilar to the... pattern in Creation," she admitted. "Although it's not something most can touch -- beyond the limited circumstances offered by their Names. The guiding force, however --" she held a hand to her mouth, the pun not lost on her, as she offered a soft chuff of a laugh. "That I understand implicitly. Some particularly talented of my world were... keen on the movements of that, and were able to predict, or mold circumstances to...make sure their goals were met. It's still quite different, though, it was not necessarily attached to life itself. For example, you still have your ability here, and I have little way to predict the outcome of events here," and that, she decided, was incredibly annoying. She felt hampered, and stunted.

[heavybreaths]

"True premonition is a rare talent among those with the ability to perceive the Force, and even for those of us that have the talent, it is...sporadic."

The short-term battle premonition was different. That was something every Jedi and Sith knew implicitly. Lightsaber combat was actually a series of mental moves and counter-moves made by people who could see a few seconds into the future more than it was a true duel.

"But...it is good that you understand, in your own way. It makes it easier to explain things, should the need arise."

It may well, one day.

"Have your talents diminished any, since you arrived?"