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Bring out the Demons, Game
There was something disturbing about a bunch of Sith playing... Games. It may have just been because most cannot imagine a bunch of Sith frolicking about, playing games, and with good reason too; They weren't about to skip through fields, picking daisies and playing tag. They were about to play a game in which dead was extremely common. It was the kind of game, where the last team of Sith standing wins. It was a game that drew upon exhaustion, the very limits of one's abilities, and the physical endurance of the individual.
Needless to say, the people who tended to play the game didn't do so more than once, even if they survived, and they most certainly didn't take it lightly. Then why play such a game in the first place? To prove they're the best at what they do, to take a giant leap forward in their training, to learn something new, and, if you're truly disturbed, just for fun. For Ark and Javik, it may have been a combination of two or more of those reason, maybe even another reason, but it was mainly to learn something in a way that the ability would make perfect sense to them, that they'd never forget the ability, and so that the ability was truly seen as one of their most hard-earned skills.
Ark, somehow, managed to find out about this game upon his search of the Academies for someone to teach him a pair of Force abilities that are invaluable to a dualist, Battle Mind and Force Body. Both abilities dealt with enhancing the user, but one dealt with the body as the other dealt with the mind. And to Ark's surprise, it was a pair of abilities that was rather difficult to come by, so much to the point that Ark determined that one of the only ways to learn the ability was through a death game.
Ark was no stranger to danger, nor was he afraid of any of the stern faces that filled the room. Ark could even sense that some of them were even beginning to only just now realize what they'd gotten themselves into. When you stand in the same room, examining the same people they were meant to compete against, it really puts your task in perspective. Ark was certain that he could handle himself, despite some of the reputations he's heard of some of the participants. The only possible issue he had was that he doubted he could trust some of his eventual teammates. It was actually the reason he'd recruited Javik for the game, is because he was one of the few Crusaders that Ark could trust to watch his back. Their multiple experiences together proved that much.
"The rules go as followed. There are two teams, Five versus Five, Team Red and Team Blue. There is no pacing yourselves. You have no boundaries to confine what you do to achieve your goal, and your opponents will not stand in your way. Death is enabled, though we will not tolerate killing your own teammates. If you've come here to get revenge on someone, you'd best hope they are on the other team. If your pace drops too slow, or if you don't encounter your opponents, we will create an obstacle for you," and elder-looking Shistavani man begins to explain. The man next to him, a Mon Calamari, continues the rules with a rehearsed sound to it, "You will navigate the Cliffs, racing your opponents to the Hidden Temple. When you enter the Temple, you will be forced to seek out your opponents' flag, and raise it to one of the three spires of the Temple. When you hold the flag up for Fifteen Consecutive minutes, you win the game. However, the flag must be raised alone, without your flag, raised by your opponent, in one of the other two spires. If your flag is raised by your opponents, you must cause that flag to fall, before you can win."
The rules alone indicated that the game wouldn't be easy from the moment they will have stepped into the cliffs. The rules were simple enough to remember, the difficulty lied within completing the tasks.
"There are no lightsabers and no time limit. If you kill your entire enemy team, then there is nothing stopping you from completing the task; However, there are plenty of other dangers that lurk within the cliffs and temple. Just because you don't see your opponents, doesn't mean they aren't there. You are your own biggest enemy. Your endurances and skills in the Force will determine your own survival," the Shistavani states, allowing the Mon Calamari to wrap it up, "You were each given a parcel upon entering the transport. It contains your color, in which you MUST wear at all times, for recognition. There is also a earpiece inside that you MUST wear at all times. Red team is with the Shistavani, blue team is with me."
With that wrapped up, the Mon Calamari ushers the blue team into the next room of the shuttle that was flying them to the remote location on Ziost. They'd been flying for a few minutes since hopping onto the vehicle, and the explanation of the rules took up a very minor period of time in travel. Ark opened his parcel to find that he and Javik had vest in red, in which Ark was rather quick to dawn the new apparel. Ark wasn't always found wearing anything over his chest, but a vest was what Ark would ordinarily choose if he had to. It was the least limiting of apparel, generally allowing a fuller range of motion that other shirts. The communication device was indeed an earpiece, but there was an odd piece hanging from it, that looked like it actually hooked up somewhere on his neck or shoulder.
When the blue team had cleared out of the room, the Shistavani began to speak in a slightly more hushed tone, "Put on the vests now, so that it's clearly recognizable as red. The ear piece too. The part hanging down will monitor your vitals, indicating to us how you're doing without needing to keep a visual. It will also tell us who is dead and alive. I am the monitor for the Red team. I'll give you pointers and guide you when absolutely necessary. I will not strategize for you, as that will be up to you to do, should you choose. I will simply keep you reminded of the rules and direct you towards your objective when you need it. I will also warn you when your flag has been raised by your enemy," He begins explaining in a fast paced detail.
"I decide you've taken one too many breaks in achieving your goal, I'll be the one to send in the Demons, or as we call it when we give you something else to worry about. Now, many of you have come here under the pretense that you will learn two Force abilities under my guidance during this game. The first one is Battle Mind. I will teach you it before the game starts. However, the other, Force Body, I will be unable to teach you until late in the game. But when you get to that point, I'll be certain that you learn it if you're still alive by that point," he discloses, "If you have any questions before we land, now is the time to ask them. The last thing you need is to ask me a question in the middle of a game. It will be hard enough on you with what you already have to worry about."
He looks around, patting down the participants and examining them, while he waited for any possible questions. What he was doing was checking that none of them had any blasters, lightsabers, vibro swords, or any other kind of possible weapon. The only weapons allowed was their own bodies and their grasp on the Force. They were all experienced Crusaders here, and they all had the tools to kill without the use of such weapons. Besides that, weapons only make things easier on them.
Ark couldn't help but to smirk in anticipation of the upcoming game. Ark was actually quite excited for it, and he had been anticipating the game since he'd heard about it, and with a mental message, he couldn't help but to say something to Javik, "You ready for this?!"