Ask Umbara Darkness Begets Darkness

[Rei the Acolyte]

To say Umbara was a vastly different planet than his own backwater world in the outer rim would be an understatement. The sprawl of buildings, lights, and movement of thousands of speeders colored the incomprehensible darkness outside his bunk window. Rei could only stare and dare to comprehend what he saw. The only city he’d been acquainted with was nothing more but an Imperial outpost amongst sandy dunes beat down by an unforgiving sun. But here the ever presence of suns was unseen… only a seemingly eternal darkness shrouded the world. To that he turned around to look at his bunk which was empty save for his very soul. Darkness begets darkness. Those words repeated themselves in his head. Words that the shaman of his former tribe once said and here he was in a dark place inhabited by people who embraced said darkness.

Deep down there was some hesitation in Rei. A sort of wonder if he’d taken the right path. Accepted the right calling. But the crave for power and the lack of path had led him to this place. He shook his head slightly. It was no use to ponder such thoughtless ideas. A path had been given and he, Rei, should be more than content with it. At this his ears flickered and his whiskers twitched as he turned back around to the transparisteel windows. It had been a slow day thus far with basic drills and errands to run. But that was all because he and his brood of acolytes would be overseen by a Champion. It didn’t make a difference for the young acolyte. All the training was good for him. It meant something new could be learned, something that would further empower him. Suddenly a holographic projection came upon his bunk floor of a shrouded figure.


“All Acolytes come to the courtyard.”

Then the projection left. There wasn’t another explanation, not that one was needed. It was clear that this was their training. Rei slowly turned around and headed toward his door which slid open with a hiss. Pulling up his hood he came out into the dimly lit hallway. Red and white lights did little to illuminate the twisting corridors. A perfect spot for an ambush. Though to Rei this behavior was likely encouraged. Out in the halls many other dark hooded figures were doing just as he. Without a word and in unison they all made their way into the courtyard.

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

Caerllion had been visiting the Umbaran Academy more and more in the past months. After his first visit here, he had taken an interest in teaching the next generation of Sith. With their Order being at such a low level in recent years, any help in teaching them would be good.

For the day, Caerllion was going to help a male Twi’lek Champion in overseeing lightsaber practice of a group of new Acolytes. Since he had learned how to use magick, the Annfyn had rarely used his weapon, preferring to use the Force as his greatest ally in fights. However, others still didn’t reach his level and needed to use blades.

Once all the students were in the courtyard, the Twi’lek explained what they were going to do. “Acolytes, today you are going to practice with your lightsabers. I and my fellow Champion are going to watch your development for the day.” the instructor gestured at the Annfyn, who simple nodded.

“Form pairs and tone down his lightsabers. We want to see what you are capable of.” Caerllion would watch the Acolytes doing what they were told, while wondering if any of them would be capable of impressing him.

@SirFenc

 

[Rei the Acolyte]

Making his way into the courtyard alongside all the other Acolytes, Rei found himself standing in between two acolytes to his right was a male Kaleesh which had aggressively bumped into Rei when walking down the hallway, his ivory colored mask covering his crimson features. A pair of sickly yellow eyes moved to the side to stare down at Rei standing next to him before focusing on the Twi’lek and Anfynn instructors. To his left was a female zabrak with gray skin and dark brown hair; her orange eyes were full of focus as she stared at the instructors with anticipation. It seemed that all ten of the acolytes in the room had their attention glued to the instructors.

Rei himself decided to focus on the two individuals before him; his own pink eyes initially centered on the red-skinned Twi’lek before finding his gaze landing upon the Anfynn who to Rei seemed to carry himself with a regal demeanor. The Fiani's eyes became slightly slit as they adjusted to the lighting in the room. It seemed this was the rumored champion that would oversee them. Turning his attention back to the Twi’lek he did as he was told, toning his lightsaber down. Rei wasn’t one to initiate conversation so finding a partner would be difficult or so he thought.

“Hey. You’re working with me.”

Said a feminine voice, it happened to be that of the female zabrak who was standing to his left. Her orange eyes seemed to pierce through him. It made Rei’s fur stand up slightly. Rei didn’t object to the demand. In fact he appreciated having someone more forward approach him on the matter. Not to mention this individual was more within his weight range than say the warrior to his right.

“Sure.”

With that the young Fiani turned on his lightsaber its red blade flickered into action illuminating the area around him in crimson light. The girl before him did the same her blade with a slightly more discolored tinge but equally red ignited like a flame.

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

Caerllion was standing next to the Twi’lek during the entire time. The Acolytes moved around, trying to form pairs for his practice. He saw tall individuals attempting to pick smaller ones. It made the Champion roll his eyes, thinking how these were so previsive. If they thought that fighting smaller people would make them receive attention, they were completely wrong.

By fighting against smaller individuals, it only showed that they were weak and didn’t trust their own abilities to deal against people that were their equals. Besides, the Annfyn knew very well that size wasn’t a signal of strength. Those that thought this way were going to have a surprise during this training.

Once the pairs were formed, the Twi’lek nodded in approbation. “Good, now you can start.” he said, before turning to look at Caerllion. “I hope that there are some good surprises in this bunch. The last one had only mediocre results.” the Annfyn nodded, his eyes remaining in the Acolytes.

Few had what was necessary to be a Sith.

@SirFenc

 

[Rei the Acolyte]

Without hesitation Rei swung his crimson blade making a loud vibration sound. The zabrak reacted quickly raising her blade to parry his attack, both of their lightsabers locked in a clash. However, this only lasted a few seconds as Rei wasn’t going to stop his momentum as he went for another quick attack using his speed to his advantage. His opponent was clever though, deciding to use a wide sweep with the blade to open him up and push his lightsaber away using just the tip of her lightsaber. A clumsy shoddy strategy. But functional. Immediately the Zabrak followed up with another powerful attack that would surely spell his end. Sensing he couldn’t immediately parry what was incoming he reflexively leaped back making a flip a few feet away.

Rei panted heavily keeping his eyes locked on the gray-skinned Acolyte across from him who was now bearing her sharpened teeth at him. His ears flickered as he readied his blade once more. The two began to pace around one another in a circle. It was obvious that when it came to strength his opponent had a slight advantage. So it would be smart to leverage his own skill. His eyes focused seeing the enemy’s dull red blade pointed directly at him as they paced in circles looking for an opening. Rei began to circle parry his tip touching hers in circular motions, an almost goading maneuver.

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

Caerllion moved around the fighting Acolytes, looking at them with little interest. They seemed to be so dull, with movements that came straight out from any training manual. Their lack of creativity when fighting could be a problem on the field. Rules and choreographed movements rarely had any use in a real fight.

He stopped to watch a pair in particular. It was a female Zabrak and fox-like individual that Caerllion thought was an Amaran. He had little interest in the girl, who seemed to be using movements that would never help her in a real fight. What attracted his attention was what her partner was doing.

The fox was doing creative moves, studying how his adversary fought and adapted his movements to it. Caerllion smiled, he found someone that had a promising future in the middle of this bunch of idiots. He would pause and watch their fight, curious to see the outcome.

@SirFenc

 

[Rei the Acolyte]

Another wide sweep came his way this time Rei was prepared, heaving his lightsaber and catching the zabrak’s blade in a bind. It was a simple parry. But a deceptive one. As the base of Rei’s blade clashed with the tip of her blade he used the leverage to his advantage. Brute strength alone was no match for talent and skill. Skill that he had earned from very young training. It brought him back… back to desert dunes underneath a dimly lit night sky with a big moon shining on him. Before him was his Uncle a Fiani just like him with russet fur covering him from head to toe. His old teacher taught him how to use a vibro scimitar.

“Listen carefully Rei, I’ll only say it once. But in blade to blade combat you want the base of your sword to hit the opponent’s tip.”

The words resounded in his mind as he was brought back to reality. So he gently began to push her blade with more weight. That's when a crooked toothy smile began to appear on his face as he slowly lifted her lightsaber and quickly slashed at her shoulder with the tip of his blade leaving a small burning incision. First strike! But his opponent wasn’t backing down, evident by the fiery fury behind her eyes. The zabrak growled in pain baring her teeth. She lifted her blade up high and went for a reckless downard strike. It was rather telegraphed to Rei who again parried it with the base of a blade. Leaving her underside open he went for a kick to her gut pushing her back and creating distance once more. Rei flourished his blade as a taunt, a showcase of his skill. His focus was such he hadn’t noticed that he’d caught the attention of a Champion.

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

He continued watching the two Acolytes fight. The fox-like one continued to use strategy to deal with Zabrak. Caerllion could see how there was no brute force here. He was using his skill to move against his adversary, always trying to find an opening.

In the end it happened. The fox was able to take the Zabrak off guard, hitting their shoulder. It made the female Acolyte become furious and start to use more of her strength on her moves. It was a fatal error. When fighting you need to maintain a clear mind. This fight was coming to an end soon.

@SirFenc