The Rebel Faction

Oblox was not a Jedi, but he was gifted in the Force - if you could call it gifted. Where others trained for lifetimes to come into contact with that mystical power, it channeled through Oblox wether he liked it or not, bombarding his dreams with visions and his sight with omens.

Nevertheless, he had learned to take it all in stride, even if he found the focus and determination of regular Jedi amusing. Max was no different in his eyes, just another young student putting his nose where it probably didn't belong. Not that he felt any resentment to the guy, just... what business was it of his what he wanted to learn?

Nevertheless, he staved off his apathy long enough to guide Max out of the city and towards a rocky hillside far out of sight of Theed or the Temple. They had walked in silence, but upon approachng the gaping maw in the side of the hill, Oblox's pace dwindled and he became uneasy.

Finally, a couple yards away from the entrance, he stopped. "I can go no further," he muttered, "even if I wanted to. From here on in, you're on your own. Dolash said only that you should enter the cave, and once you do, that you should not leave it. I will remain here to... keep watch."

It did not take a master of the Force to detect the dark presence in the cave - it felt like a stiff and cutting breeze, yet the air was completely still. The Force Seer sat rubbing his head, as though a migraine had taken root. "Go ahead, you won't get anything done standing here."

The cave wasn't just dark and wet. The deeper Max went, the more oppressive the darkness became, until he would question wether the light from the cave's mouth was following at all.

In the deepest depths of the cave, Dolash waited, knelt in a circle of dark-robed individuals.

"It's not too late to call off this test," urged one of the cowled figures. "The temple's taken less-capable men than him and turned them into Jedi."

"No, we have no time for that," said Dolash, who shook his head. "I don't need to know if he can become a Jedi, I need to know if he is one or not. This test is not without its' dangers, but they are less so than sending him out into the galaxy unprepared."

The sound of Max's footsteps drew closer, and Dolash glanced to his companions. "Start the ritual. No matter what happens, keep your concentration."

With that, the six in robes began to chant, raising their hands and murmuring in forgotten languages. Dolash felt a curling cold wrap around his limbs, binding in place as tendrils of fog.

Max walked onto a disconcerting scene. Dolash, his master, stood encircled by chanting figures in black, a strange luminescence granted to the natural chamber by unnatural means. Dolash himself almost dripped with a nauseating dark energy, his facial features contorted to hold himself in check as the shadows danced up and down his body.

"Max..." he hissed. "Max... The Darkside, it is in all of us. Simply because you know how to fight and you know the Force does not make you a Jedi... A lot of what we teach, it is philosophy, life lessons, techniques - these are superfluous. The basic test of a Jedi, it is a primal instinct."

Dolash balled his fists and raised them slowly, straining against the shadows that flowed so freely upon him. "The Darkside is power, raw and unadulterated. Many have tried to use it, and not just for personal gain - some have sought to use it for justice, have called upon its' power and believed themselves strong enough to hold themselves in check. Never do they succeed, but in their time, they are powerful."

"Know that the only thing that makes you a Jedi is this choice. Do you choose power, accepting the consequences of your actions? Or do you deny it so that you can retain your good judgement and your humanity? I cannot choose for you, it is the choice of every Force-gifted individual."

Dolash emerged from the circle, towering over his apprentice like a dark titan of creation, black fire streaming from his eyes. "What do you choose?"

Quite suddenly, Dolash roared, and lifted Max bodily from the ground before hurling the young padawan away. With his basic training, Max managed a wobbly landing unharmed, but Dolash was already after him.

"You misunderstand me, padawan!" he bellowed, as he chased Max around the chamber. "I am not here to lecture you, I am here to fight you! The Darkside will give you power enough to defeat me, but it will damn you to a slide leading to despair and destruction. If you do not wield it, however, then I will eventually catch you and run you into the ground!"

Dolash pounced, narrowly missing Max and smashing through a stalactmite. Rising from the dust and rubble, he turned burning eyes towards the padawan.

"Choose!"

The fires dimed. The darkness dwindled. The dark sigils faded. Where shadowy figures had stood, fellow Jedi now lowered hoods to look out at Max.

Regrad's panting calmed, the rage subsided, his extended claws and fangs retracted. The darkness passed. "You have passed this test, Max. Even in the face of confusion and danger you did not call upon the dark side." It did not even tempt him. Perhaps the powers of evil didn't see him as worth the effort?. "I am sorry for my deception and previous anger, but we have no more time for training and I had to know now wether you had the courage and will to continue your training.

"You do."

Dolash pulled Max up and helped dust off his dazed padawan. "You will not find it an easy road, though. Few do, but I forsee a greater challenge facing you than most. At first light tomorrow I leave on another errand, and you have proven capable enough, or at least loyal enough to the light, to accompany me.

"I know all of this must seem confusing, Max, and it is. These are trying times and we must all cope as best we can. I only ask that you trust me, and if you find you cannot do that, then trust in the Force."

Dolash smiled, and gestured to his fellow Jedi. "Come on, it's a long walk back to the temple, and we should try to reach it before dark."