486. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

The next day, both Violet and Mathias were called to the temple for a meeting. Raezyr and Trychon could only assume that it concerned yesterday's events and probably more so about their use of the lightsabers. Either way, their respective teachers told them to take the day off to rest more.

Violet had applied some salve to Raezyr's minor cuts and scratches the day before and they were already looking much better, although Raezyr had insisted it was unnecessary to treat them in the first place.

After the breakfast chores were finished and everyone had left the house, Trychon and Raezyr decided to head down to their spot at the river. The fights yesterday had whet their appetites to cross blades, and they wanted to discuss things further without fear of being overheard.

Once they arrived, they began their sparring, both finding themselves a bit sore from their exertions the day before. They sparred for a while in silence before Trychon finally spoke. "How much longer do you think we have to be here?" he asked as he blocked and incoming strike from Raezyr.

His younger brother spun back and beyond the reach of Trychon's return blow. "I don't know, but we're getting stale sitting here. We have training and studying that isn't being done while we play 'monks' here with these naive imbeciles."

They continued their match, which had started at half speed, but began getting quicker as it went on. They concentrated on anticipating each others moves, and on what else they were missing while the Galaxy continued to spin.

"We also really need to check on the Black Phoenix. They should have set up a new base of operations by now and we did promise to help them out if they needed anything," Trychon commented as he parried a strike.

"Yeah, right. You still have Haley on your mind, don't you?" Raezyr said, ribbing his half-sibling as he lunged for an opening in Trychon's defenses.

Trychon deftly blocked the attack and made one of his own. "You can't tell me you don't want to get back to Dianna."

"Touche, Trych. But my question is what do we do with Mannix? He seems to be progressing perfectly down the path of the Dark Side, guided by our 'innocent' nudges. Do we take him with us? Or let his fate be the same as the rest of the Taxl monks?" Raezyr pondered, back peddling a bit and regrouping for his next attack.

"I say we just wait and see how things pan out. If he survives everything here, then we'll decide what to do with him. Until then, we just continue what we've been doing, although he could be a powerful Sith, with the dark side of the Force as his servant," Trychon noted, narrowly evading one of Raezyr's attacks.

"No matter what happens, we just need to get these stupid amulets and get off this rock. I hope Vikon's plan doesn't take too much longer, I'm getting sick of this moon, although the ale is good enough it almost makes it worthwhile," Raezyr said. He was about to swing at an opening and hopefully end their match, when suddenly the nearby bushes rustled.

Both Sith students froze, listening and turning their attentions to where the noise had come from. At the same time they felt the presence, they heard footsteps running down a riverside path away from them.

Instantly both of the apprentices took off at a dead sprint, cursing themselves inwardly for being so caught up in their match and conversation they hadn't bothered to monitor their surroundings.

They rounded a corner in time to see a hooded monk running as fast as they could down the path which followed the river, heading back toward the village. It was a couple of kilometers back to the settlement, and the Sith both let the Dark Side sustain their energy, quickly gaining on their target, while their quarry slowly succumbed to fatigue.

Within a couple hundred meters, Raezyr had closed the distance and gave a shove, sending the small monk face first into the dirt. He stopped and grabbed the figure by the back of the robe and yanked back the hood to see who had been spying on them.

Trychon caught up at that moment and looked into the dirt covered, tear streaked face of Saffron. She was breathing heavily, and sobbing. "How much did you hear?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Enough."

"Let her go, Raez," Trychon said to his brother, who was still holding her by her hood. Raezyr cocked his head to the side as if to question Trychon, then shrugged and let go of her robe.

Trychon reached down and took her hands, helping her up. "I can't believe what I just heard," she said, sobbing. "You two are monsters. What about everything we've done for you? What about the prophecies?"

Trychon gently wiped the dirt and tears from her face with the cuff of his sleeve, then pulled her close. He hugged her and lightly kissed her forehead. Still sobbing, she buried her head into his chest as if maybe it was all a bad dream.

"It's okay. See, your Brother Varth is actually an accomplice of ours. He uses the Force to see the future, and then inserts the so called 'prophecies' into ancient, long unused texts, so really there are no prophecies," Trychon explained as if the words he were saying would somehow make things better.

Saffron pulled back from Trychon and stared into his face with a horrified expression. "How is that 'okay?'" she asked incredulously.

He gently placed his hands on the sides of her face. "There is so much you don't understand. The Galaxy is so much bigger than your sheltered, pathetic little community here."

"You're monsters," Saffron said.

"Yeah, you said that already," Trychon said as he smiled.

"You know I'm going to tell Father Monahan all about this. I'm going to tell everyone, and there's nothing you can do to stop me," she said, determination in her voice.

Trychon slid his hands down onto her shoulders, then spun her around and shoved her.

Raezyr caught her with one hand around her throat and began to lift. Between the fact that she was shorter and lighter than her already slightly built race, and Raezyr's recent increase in strength, he didn't need to use the Force to lift her off her feet. She grasped uselessly at his wrist and arm, struggling to breath, as Trychon stepped around next to Raezyr to face her.

"There's nothing we can do?" Trychon asked mockingly. "That's where you're wrong, dear Sister Saffron. Dead wrong."