Fine. I'll Do It Myself

[Darth Parox]

Korriban, 1425 local time​

The howling winds of Korriban had settled down a few hours ago, reduced to a mere whisper. It was good to be honest—kept the sand from getting everywhere. Parox had formed a bit of a small caravan in his time patrolling the red wastes. Though he started off with one steed and a dragon, he now had with him 3 Purebloods—arms tied—walking alongside his horse, Darth Tagus a few meters away and at his side, and the dragon still flying above. Elaerys was a great thing to have along for a journey like this—she kept the Purebloods from even considering escaping. They would get roasted to ash if they stepped even a little out of line.

The village was slowly coming into view in front of them, comprised of small huts made of clay and dirt. This was, apparently, where the Zageti Antgal gauntlet was being stored for safe-keeping, but nothing about it stood out. Perhaps it had been purposeful.

The 3 Purebloods said nothing as they strode next to Parox, walking while he rode, instead keeping their eyes set on the ground. He held the key to their fate, and they knew it. Truth be told, he had no idea what he wanted to do with them when his quest was done, but he didn't show it. Instead, he occasionally looked at them as if he'd already made up his mind.

When they were about 30 meters away from the first building in the village, he held up one hand and they all stopped, Elaerys landing behind them in a storm of sand and dust. Some of the locals had poked their heads out to see who had arrived but just as quickly headed back in when they saw the dragon.

"«We have come for the Zageti Antgal gauntlet!»" he declared in Ancient Sith, dismounting from the horse and grabbing the hilt of his lightsaber just in case the warchief was not friendly.

@Nefieslab @Loco

 

[Darth Tagus]

Korriban was full of so many wonderful toys wasn't it?

The gauntlet that Parox was questing for was a fairly recent artifact but it was a powerful artifact none the less. Some would say that it should be in the possession of the Emperor or something similar but Tagus disagreed. As far as he was concerned, if Parox hunted it down then it was his.

And Tagus wasn't one for something so gaundy - if he had the gauntlet he would likely just present it to the Emperor for him to give to someone else. The thing wasn't anything that Tagus wanted for himself. His lack of desire for the artifact was probably half the reason why Parox had brought him along really.

That and the fact that two Sith Lords was, usually, overkill.

Tagus crossed his arms over his chest and began to draw the Force into himself. He was fairly certain that the village wasn't going to be friendly about this. His own lightsaber was in his right hand, not activated, and currently hidden from sight underneath his crossed arms.

@Loco
@vamp

 

[The Storyteller]

Sa'zael, chieftain of his clan and defender of the Zageti Antgal Gauntlet walked out to meet the party of interlopers. He frowned at the young warriors who had been captured; they brought much dishonor to themselves and their families. The chieftain was old, but his bare arms were muscled, covered in scars of a hard life. He had spent his lifetime guarding this place, learning the secret magic of the Force, letting it become apart of him.

The Force swirled around him, he appeared relaxed but was ready to act, the sword Sith Swords sliding from their sheaths on his back. Others had come trying to use trickery before, and they had failed. If this welp attempted to the same, his bones would litter these grounds until they were nothing more the dirt in the wind.

"Vash Windrider claimed the gauntlet as his own by besting all of his peers in front of the great Empress Andraste. he said, voice carrying booming, carrying over the desert sands. "And you come seeking this gift from the dark side, not by yourself but with another, and your pet." with a wave of his hand, the Force reached out and snared the mind of the juvenile beast, causing it to fall into a deep slumber. The creature was a mere infant, but it would not be allowed to help this day.

"You are pathetic." he said listening to the wind. "The Force is disgusted with you or your cowardice." he continued.

He looked the two over. "Slay one another, I will give the gauntlet to the victor." he said, utter contempt in his eyes.

"Prove to the Force, to Andraste, to yourselves that you are worthy."

@vamp @Nefieslab

 

[Darth Parox]

Rather than fall asleep, the dragon simply reared back its head and roared, the ground shaking underneath her. Arkanian dragons were strong-willed beasts, immune to beast taming techniques and Force mind suggestions (last sentence in Behavior/Temperament), so the Pureblood's efforts were fruitless, especially against an adult dragon. Parox didn't intend to actually have Elaerys fight; she was there more to serve as a symbol of fear.

He stood there and stared at the chieftain as he hurled insults, quirking an eyebrow at the man's last request. He turned toward Tagus, giving him an amused look as if to say Get a load of this guy then back to the Pureblood. He reached one hand out and the other drew his saber. He wrapped the Force around the Pureblood's throat, but instead of choking, he heated it up. It would keep rising in temperature until it was unbearable—and even if his attack was interrupted, the damage would be done.

There would be no killing among Sith Lords today, not for a stupid gauntlet that didn't even belong to the village. Parox would much rather kill the whole tribe.

@Nefieslab @Raydo

 

[Darth Tagus]

Sometimes fate gave you the tools to take what you wanted.

Uncrossing his arms as the pureblood spoke, Tagus narrowed his yellow eyes but listened none the less. He was a student of history and despite a certain amount of distain for Sith purebloods, he could appreciate history no matter the source.

And theirs was a predominantly oral history as well? Truly it was beautiful in a way. He hummed a little bit and began to draw the Force to himself when his ally, his fellow Sith Lord, rolled his eyes at the request of the elder pureblood.

He wasn't sure why Parox was being so dismissive.

It was a good idea to him.

At the same time Parox reached out for the Pureblood with the Force, Tagus acted. He wrapped the Force around the unprepared Sith Lord's upper body in a stasis effect even as he thrust his lightsaber out, igniting it as he did, to impale his fellow Sith Lord straight through the heart and one of his lungs.

As the Dark Side urged him to do.

As his desire to not see another unworthy worm ascend beyond him, demanded him to.

@Raydo
@vamp

 

[The Storyteller]

The Force wrapped itself around the ancient chieftain's neck, but before the heat grew to any damaging levels Sa'zael shifted his focus to dispel the energy around him. It seemed he was correct about this one.

Sa'zael had asked him to prove himself, and in a way he already had. He proved he was unworthy of such a gift, not strong enough to seize glory for himself. He felt the Dark Side of the Force recoil on the foolish Sith Lord. His fellow companion had taken the opportunity, perhaps planned, perhaps unplanned to attempt to seize his destiny away from his companion.

This was good. This was right. Since the Sith Order's birth, the Sith Lords had grown strong as they climbed over one another to reach the pinnacle of power. Perhaps that tradition was slipping, how else would someone so foolish make it so far. Regardless of the actions, the Force would always correct wrongs, snuff out the weak and elevate the strong.

He continued to dispell the Force around himself as he watched on. There would be one winner, one Sith to ascend the path to claim the prize. The sands of Korriban demanded the price for such a reward be paid in blood.

Sa'zael watched as the timeless struggle for power unfolded before him.

@Nefieslab @vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

mood​

But Zeven had other plans. Milo felt the blade pierce his ribcage, and he dropped the attack on the Pureblood without even meaning to. He tried to turn to face the Mirialan, but found his upper body was stuck in stasis. It didn't seem right. Zeven was smart, wasn't he? He wouldn't do something like this. He knew the repercussions, didn't he? The Empire would suffer from this loss as much as Milo was suffering now.

He could only shift his eyes to look toward the other Sith Lord as the lightsaber was plunged into his heart. He hadn't expected something like this. He considered Zeven a friend. He'd helped him hunt artifacts before, just as he'd asked him to do now. Instead, the Mirialan chose to kill him and take the gauntlet for himself. A wave of white-hot rage spiked through Milo, the dark side urging him to act, but it fell apart uselessly—he was already dying. There was nothing else he could do. In the next few seconds, his heart would stop and Zeven would have won.

His shock was visible on his face as he felt the hot beam of light pierce through his body. Because his upper body was in stasis, Milo didn't fall. Instead, he hung there in the air, his lower body limp. He hoped this would haunt Zeven for the rest of his life, but he knew it wouldn't. If he was capable of doing this, he wouldn't really care that much afterward. Milo only hoped he would receive justice.

Memories flicked through as he died, and it felt like years before it all finally faded to black. Instead of anger, he felt regret. There was still so much to do. Things had only just started picking up steam. He had ideas. He wanted to help the Empire. Milo knew Zeven wouldn't be capable of bringing about half the things he would, and the Mirialan would fade away to irrelevance just like he, too, would.

Elaerys rose from her prone position and roared. Her pain at losing her master would be felt by those around, including Zeven. She grabbed Milo, stasis be damned, and took flight before she could be stopped. Milo's final act was reaching out and gripping the lightsaber from Zeven, tearing it out of his grasp and clutching it tightly in a final act of defiance. The weapon that killed Darth Parox will remain with him. The dragon flew away, Milo in tow, leaving Zeven alone in the village. He could have his stupid gauntlet.

@Nefieslab @Raydo

 

[The Storyteller]

It was over as quickly as it began. Weakness punished and stomped out as the strong rose to the top. The Sith became stronger in that instant, taking one step closer to achieving the ultimate power they were intended to take for their own.

Even as death came for him, the man refused to see his weakness for what it was, for what it had brought him.

Sa'zael tilted his head as the dragon took flight but made took no action to stop it. The sands whispered their approval and the chieftain nodded as he put his swords away. He walked across the sands towards the remaining Sith Lord. "The Force is pleased." He said coming to stop ten feet away. "The sands have received their payment, and now you shall receive your reward.

They were now standing alone in the desert, the prisoners and village faded as if they never existed. The ground would begin to shake subtly and only grow in intensity as the power surged around the chieftain.

"Shall we go?"

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Betrayal was the way of the Sith.

Anger, hatred, ambition and passion.

Strength.

Tagus watched as his blade entered Parox's chest and he watched as the realization of what had happened sunk in. He watched as Parox realized that trusting another Sith had been a mistake. It was far from the only one that Parox had made in his life but it was to be his last.

Before his compatriot was even dead, Tagus reached out with his other hand and relieved Parox of his holstered weapons and took them for himself. He did all of it without saying a word, his face a mask of calm even underneath his armoured mask. He stepped away from the dead man as his dragon spirited his body away, along with Tagus' first lightsaber, his curved one.

Annoying but irrelevant.

Glancing around him, Tagus noticed that he was now alone save for the chief. The village was gone and the prisoners as well. Tagus turned fully to face the chief as he stepped closer and drew the First Blade but he didn't ignite it. The Force continued to swirl around him but he did not give it shape yet.

Instead he spoke.

"After you." he insisted, "You have my undivided attention."

@Raydo

 

[The Storyteller]

As soon as the word was given, black shadows emerged from the sands below crawling up the Sith Lord as the crept upwards. Even now Targus would sense the whispers of immense power coming from deep below the surface. It called to him.

Tagus would be plunged into darkness before he was finally aware of standing on a solid, stone surface. This place dripped with the power of the Force, saturating the air. It would be oppressive, and yet intoxicating.

A fire appeared on either side of them, and soon fires began springing to life all over the immense cavern. The walls were filled with text and hieroglyphics that would take centuries to read. Before them stood an endless abyss, in the center a large singular platform was suspended in the darkness. On the platform lay the perfectly preserved corpse of the dragon that had been killed during Andraste's contest 500 years ago. So perfectly had the body been preserved, it almost appeared as if it would wake up at any moment. At the platform's center was a pedestal, Targus' prize floating atop it.

The Great Empress Andraste called the strongest of her new order to this place 500 years ago where they were tested against themselves, one another, and the Force itself. While many fell in the caverns below, there were those that preserved through everything and found themselves here." he said gesturing towards the cavern infront of them. "Here they bested the great dragon you see before you.

Sa'zael waved a hand and the sand below them shifted and reached out towards the platform, forming a bridge with which Tagus could cross. "This is where Vash Windrider proved his worthiness to both Andraste and the Force and was rewarded with the Gauntlet you see before you. A prize that now belongs to you." he said gesturing the Sith Lord forward.

If Tagus looked back after beginning his walk, he would notice the chieftain too had now vanished leaving him alone in this well of immense power. It called to him, beckoned him not only to seize his prize but also calling to him to correct the cancerous weakness that spread through the Sith. With each step that call grew louder until he found himself directly in front of the gauntlet.

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Of all the things he expected, what actually happened was not on the list. How could anyone have expected something like this? The change from the desert sands to the cold stone and darkness was sudden and it was jarring. His senses were aflame and he felt the Force all around him. It felt like it was both crushing him and welcoming him at the same time.

It was the Dark Side and he breathed it in deeply as he stepped forwards.

He was wary of the dragon. It might very well look like it was dead but he had thought he was in the middle of a Sith Pureblood village before he had been shown otherwise so he wasn't going to be taking any chances. Narrowing his eyes, he kept an eye on it even as he advanced and listened to the chief speaking.

The bridge was created a mere foot in front of him, being raised at the same pace as he was advancing. It was a rather strange feeling but he doubted normal held much sway here anymore. He glanced back to the chief as he stopped talking and was only mildly surprised to find that the chief was gone as well.

Had any of this actually been real?

Of course it had.

The power in this place and the power in the gauntlet was real. He looked at the gauntlet as he advanced and he could feel it's power. It was an artifact of great strength he could tell. He stood in front of it for a second and just stared at it as he contemplated what he had done to get here.

Power was only there for those who were willing to sacrifice for it, to kill for it.

He reached out with his left hand to take the gauntlet from it's resting place. He had always heard that the gauntlet was for the right hand but as he picked it up, it was clear to him now that it was meant for his left hand. Slipping it on, Tagus felt it's sickeningly dark energy mingling with his own as he tightened itself automatically, securing itself upon his left hand, wrist and lower arm.

It hungered for the power of incoming attacks and Tagus knew it might very well get it's wish sooner rather than later.

@Raydo