Let It Begin!

[Braden]

Braden sat kneeling his legs bent underneath him, the room that surrounded him was made of black stone, shadows dancing across them from the small fire that kept the worst of the Ziost cold from Braden's body. It had only been a few days since he arrived on the Temple world of Ziost and he had yet to find anything warmer than what he had arrived in. The beaten and tattered shirt trousers and boots were the same ones he had been wearing when Corla had captured him back on Troska. So much had changed in that time, the clothes he wore had been through a lot when he thought about it. When he had put them on he was a deposed and on the run Prince of Troska, now he was a Sith Acolyte sat in the centre of the Order trying to grasp the one thing he needed to return home and finally have his vengeance. Power. The Sith that had taken him from his home had taught him that if nothing else. Braden Drake, Crown Prince of Troska was a weak and feeble human with only a glimmer of hope in returning to Troska victorious. He needed to be reborn, re-forged in the fire's of the Sith Empire and arise a new man, a powerful man, a Sith.

"Revenge, Conquer, Rule." He whispered to himself.

It was the three words which had made the Sith release him to Ziost and the three words which had got him through his first few days on the planet. The room around him was bare apart from a table sat on the opposite of the room to the fire, it was a designated training room in the lower levels of the temple, far away from the more well used training rooms that his fellow Acolytes and Crusaders would use. Braden was weak in both the force and with his use of a blade, a fact a few of the other Acolyte's had already found out. The one thing he had on his side was desire, potential and the hunger to fulfil it all. He did though feel a small amount of shame over his current weakness and this was one of the reasons he had chosen a more secluded spot to study the holocron sat before him. The holocron was a dark red triangle about the size of Braden's hand, even without a deep understanding for the force Braden could feel the energy pouring from it. Resting his hands upon his family sword sitting across his lap Braden waited his eyes closed concentrating trying to use the force to feel his surroundings. He had met a fellow Sith who was close in power and equally as un-trained as himself the night before. He knew a training partner would help speed up his training, plus it would help break the silence which was gnawing at his mind.

@Moheep

 

[Sara Rain]

The room was dead silent, save for the sound of Sara's breathing and the occasional crackle of the fire. Kneeling across from Braden, her legs growing numb from being folded against the cold stone floor, Sara watched the young acolyte intently, though she was not sure what she should be watching for.

Sara suppressed the urge to shiver. An icy chill was beginning to creep up her spine, though she doubted the chill was from the cold. Sara knew the chill of fear when she felt it, and she it would be cowardly to deny its existence. Here she was in a dark room on a cold world, trying to summon an ancient Sith spirit with the help of an acolyte she barely knew, and could hardly trust. Sara had only just begun her Sith training, but even she could feel the power emancipating from the small artifact Braden held in his hand, and even if the holocron was not a threat, Braden still was. Sara sensed that he was much like her, new to the Sith and still learning the ways of the Force, but he could be dangerous nonetheless. Despite the risks inherent in what she was doing, Sara knew why she was here. The Imperium she loved was being threatened by a myriad of threats both from the outside and from within, and Sara would need to be stronger if wanted to stand any chance of saving it.

Three words flowed as silent as a whisper from his mouth, almost like some sort of rhymic chant. Was this part of the ritual? Sara held her breath in anticipation.

Next Braden rested his hands on the blade sitting on his lap. Once again Sara braced herself. When nothing happened, she continued to watch him expectedly. Unfortunately, Sara knew little about Sith holocrons.

"What are you doing?", she asked curiously, hoping to gain more information about the ritual.

 

[Braden]

Braden opened his eyes looking up towards to Sara who sat opposite him. The fire light glanced across her face seeming to reveal different sides of her personality from one moment to the next without her moving an inch.

"Waiting." He replied. "Patience will reveal the answer." He smiled to himself. "That was something my old tutor used to tell me."

Closing his eyes again he concentrated on the holocron, the power emanating from the small object seemed to slowly suck him in. It felt like a void which he needed to fill, pushing with the force he reached out to the holocron. His breathing slowed as a light seemed to appear in his mind, it moved closer and closer and soon the light transformed from a small ball into the face of a man. His eyes were full of fury and power. Braden felt a jolt of fear run down his spine, it felt as if the vision in his mind was standing right before him its eyes boring deep into his soul. Finally the face said two words and Braden repeated him without a conscious thought.

"Dark Karanus."

As Braden's voice slowly echoed around the empty room, the holocron lifted from the ground. It moved to a point in between him and Sara before slowly beginning to spin, it got faster and faster until suddenly the top quarter of the holocron shot upwards. A bright ray of red light illuminated the room, snapping Braden from his trance his eyes shooting open. The top part of the holocron flipped over in the air a meter above the rest. It sat there for a few seconds before making its way back down to the rest of the unfinished pyramid finally resting upside down upon its top. The red light shifted transforming into a shape of a man, almost six and a half feet tall his body encased in battle armour a black cape following behind him. The edges of his body were blurred lacking any real definition. One look at his face he could tell it was the man from his vision, the eyes full of fury surrounded by a face ash white, framed by long locks of black hair.

"Dark Karanus." Braden said again.

The ancient Sith turned to look at him before slowly surveying the room, his gaze resting on Sara for a moment before coming back to Braden.

"I am Dark Karanus. Sith Blademaster of great Empire of Lord Vitiate. Who kneels before me?"

 

[Sara Rain]

Patiently, Sara waited for Braden to complete the ritual. Slowly, she began to notice a slight shift in the room. She sensed what could almost be described as a third presence manifest in the room, centering itself in the holocron.

She felt herself slightly leaning forward towards the holocron. For a moment, she thought she saw a ray of dark red light form between Braden and the holocron. When the acolyte spoke, his voice sounded different from before, almost as if there was a second voice cutting beneath his.

"Darth Karanus".

The name sounded familiar to Sara. She knew it was the name of some minor Sith Lord during the reign of Vitiate, but that was all. Before she could elaborate, the holocron suddenly seemed to explode in front of her.

Instinctively Sara jumped to her feet and reached for her blaster, which had been replaced with a training saber the day she had arrived at the Sith temple. Fumbling for a second with the unfamiliar grip, Sara eventually activated the faded crimson blade and held it out in front of her. True, she had no lightsaber training under her belt, but right now her saber was the only defense she had.

When the lights how ended, Sara found herself staring at the image of Darth Karanus. The dark lord stood ancient and powerful in the middle of the room, and even though Sara knew he was just a memory, she also knew angering him would be a poor decision. Out of the corner of her eye she noted that the fire had gone out.

She lowered her blade.

When Darth Karanus spoke, his voice sounded like a cold dursteel blade twisting painfully into her mind. His intruduction helped her sparked Sara's memory. While Darth Karanus had lacked the raw power in the Force needed to create a significant legacy, the dark Lord had developed great skill with a lightsaber, and was responsible for the deaths of dozens of Jedi.

Most Sith loved to flaunt their power, and nothing made a Sith Lord happier than seeing complete obedience from his underlings. Because the leading cause of death for Imperial Officers was execution-via-Sith-Lord, the Imperium had began training all of its members how to act when in the presence of one. Remembering protocol, Sara instantly sunk down low to her knees, averting her eyes away from the ancient Sith shimmering in front of her. "Lord, I am Sith Acolyte Sara Rain, how may I serve you?"

 

[Braden]

Braden waited for Sara to reply first before he spoke to the Sith Lord.

"Braden Drake, My Lord. Acolyte of the Sith Order."

The ancient Sith Lord looked down on both of them. A half healed scar ran across his face starting from his right eyebrow and ending on his left cheek, it left a small gap in his upper lip revealing an oversized canine.

"Rise. You summon me from my slumber for what reason?"

Braden stood up from his kneeling position, he held the sheath of his sword in his left hand ready to act if the need arises.

"I wish to learn the ways of the blade, to combat the Jedi, defeat my rivals and destroy anything that stands in our way. And what better way than from one of the greatest swordsman of the ancient Sith Empire."

It was a small part of his inner desire, but it more that Braden wanted to impress the ancient Sith with his desire to conquer something that all Sith loved and craved, flattery always worked as well with the egotistical Sith. Dark Karanus smiled, revealing more of his oversized canine. He flicked back his long cape revealing the hilts of multiple lightsaber's hanging from his belt, he picked a dark looking blade, slightly curved with a number of spikes protruding from both ends. He looked at Braden and then to Sara.

"Good. And you Acolyte, why is it that you have wished to summon me?"

 

[Sara Rain]

Sara rose at the holocron's command, her training saber still glimmering in her hand. Now that her initial fear of the ritual had partly faded, Sara was able to examine the apparition in front of her more clearly. She noticed that the apparition of Darth Karanus was actually an image produced by the Sith holocron. The shimmering Sith in front of her was merely a memory in the Force, his voice, likeness, and knowledge projections of the holocron. Sara wondered where Braden had acquired such an ancient artifact, but now was not the time for such thoughts.

Listening to Braden's reasons for summoning the Sith Lord, Sara realized that his reason for calling upon Darth Karanus was extremely similar to hers, yet their motivations were very different. Sara sensed a hunger in Braden, one stereotypical of a Sith acolyte. She suspected Braden would be morally capable of just about anything in his quest for strength. Sara herself did not crave power like so many of her peers, she needed it to serve the Imperium.

"My Lord", she began, when Braden was finished, "The Imperium is surrounded by enemies from both beyond our borders, and within them. I need your strength so that I may crush my enemies and save the Imperium". Sara glanced down at the dull crimson blade alight in her hand. "The Imperium is our best hope for unity and justice in the galaxy, and I will not let it fall".

 

[Braden]

"Hmmm." The ancient Sith continued to look down his nose at both of them. "So be it. If its power you crave you have you have come to the right place." Darth Karanus began walking back and forth, it looked weird as the hologram stayed in one place as his body moved. "Some claim that the force is a Sith's true weapon, but it is the saber that has slain more Jedi than the force. The way of the Sarlacc is the basis of all lightsaber combat. I see you have both brought weapons good. Now you draw yours." Karanus look at Braden, who quickly drew his blade. "Now the first manoeuvres are as followed." Karanus drew a lightsaber and began to slash, cut and stab a number of different ways. Braden studied the movements realising that he was beginning to repeat the same sequence over and over. "Now you." Braden raised his sword in two hands before beginning the routine Kranus had shown them.

 

[Sara Rain]

Sara carefully watched as the holocron's projection demonstrated a simple sequence of basic slashes, cuts, and thrusts. She tried to focus on analyzing his technique instead of standing in awe of his mixture of strength, power, and precision, but she was in awe all the same.

When it was her turn to try, Sara raised her lightsaber and began going through the motions. At first, the weapon felt clumsy and unbalanced in her hands. She often grazed herself with the blade, which earned her a small electric shock and a disapproving glare from Darth Karanus. Refusing to be discouraged, Sara just clenched her teeth and continued to launch herself through the sequence.

As time went by, Darth Karanus guided the pair through a few more basic sequences, offering plenty of corrections and pointers along the way. Sara soon found herself sticky with sweat. Her muscles began to cramp, and her breathing grew heavier. Eventually her blade began to feel more natural in her hand. Her movements felt more confident and controlled. She was able to move quicker and with more power. Most importantly, she was beginning to understand the flow of each sequence, and how to tie them all together.

Whether it was a few minutes that went by, or a few hours, Sara did not know, but eventually Darth Karanus signalled for the two acolytes to take stop for a very short water break. Grateful for a moment of respite, Sara deactivated her training saber and reached for a small bottle of distilled water.

 

[Braden]

Placing his sword to one side Braden took a swig of water, rubbing his wrists he could feel the burning sensation searing through his forearms. He stretched out his upper body, he could feel it tightening as he rested. Dark Karanus had put them through their paces, at first they were going at a steady pace and slowly bit by bit he had had increased the pace. He took another swig of water, before rubbing some more across his face trying to cool himself down. Braden had just caught his breath when Karanus called the pair back to the centre of the room.

"Good you have mastered the basics of The Way of the Sarlacc. Now you have one more sequence to learn, then you will show me your skills. Against each other. Now watch."

The ancient Sith picked up his blade, again and showed the pair four different new moves. They each aimed to disarm their opponent, both the weapon and the weapon hand. Finally he told them to begin.

"Last chance to learn before you duel." He sneered.

 

[Sara Rain]

Sara almost choked on her water when she heard Darth Karanus' surprising comment. She had just begun her Sith training, and despite her confidence in her skills, she felt ill prepared to participate in a duel with a fellow acolyte. Sara was.not even sure she wanted to fight Braden. Even though the pair had shared few words throughout the entire exercise, Sara felt some sort of camaraderie between her and the other acolyte after spending several hours of drilling beside him.

Despite her doubts, Sara simply nodded her head at the apparition's words. Darth Karanus had once been a great duelist, and she had much to learn fron him. The only way she could improve was by having faith in his teaching methods.

Sara watched the Darth's demonstration carefully before attempting to mimic his complicated movements. Guiding herself through the motions, Sara quickly realized that this final sequence was much more complex than the rest, forcing her to move slower and focus more on technique.

After running through the sequence several times, a question popped into Sara's mind. While continuing to run through the motions, she opened her mouth to address the apparition.

"My lord", she humbly began, "May I ask you a question?"

The projections nodded for her to continue.

"Your name, Darth Karanus, I recognize it from the era of Vitiate's empire", she began, "I have read that you are a great warrior, and master of the blade". Sara hesitated before going on. "You were a great duelist, but you were killed in a duel with a Jedi. May we know how you were killed so that we may gain the opportunity to avoid your fate?"

 

[Braden]

Braden was slowly working through the more advanced techniques Darth Karanus has shown them when Sara had asked her question. He stopped still looking over at the ancient Sith. Even though he was just the essence of a long dead man, the anger in his eyes was almost malleable. His eyes bore down on Sara before flicking over to Braden and back to Sara, he sneered at them both before finally replying.

"Well if you must know, I was ambushed. Taken from behind. Those deceitful little men. I was in a duel against some Jedi Master, he was nothing compared to me. I was obliterating his defence, when this pesky republic solider decided to but in. Firing off his repeating blaster, I had to let the Jedi off."

He spun turning his back to them both fists clenched tight.

"Then with my back turned that Jedi and his Padawan attacked me. Two versus one I hear you laughing."

He turned again his face contorted in rage.

"But no, not only did this Padawan decide to join, but another Jedi also. Three versus one with that pesky solider shooting in my back. Ahhhh." He screamed.

 

[Sara Rain]

Sara regretted her words the moment they left her mouth. The look the Sith Lord gave her caused her to freeze mid-swing. The rage burning in his eyes was hot enough to melt all the ice on Hoth. Sara was convinced the shimmering Sith Lord was going to kill her. She glanced at the holocron, expecting it to start shooting electricity or something.

Fortunately, the apparition eventually turned around and told the acolytes the story of his death. Sara listened motionless and wide-eyed.

The moral of the story must be to never allow yourself to be outnumbered, she thought to herself. She reminded herself to always bring backup when confronting the cowardly Jedi.

"Thank-you for your wisdom", she replied when he was finished speaking. She bowed her head. "My apologies for bringing up bad memories".

Raising her training blade once again, Sara began to run through the techniques the holocron had taught her. As time went on, she began to take quick peaks at her training partner. If the holocron demanded they duel, Sara wanted as much of an edge as she could get.

 

[Braden]

"Hmph, bad memories. No. Only regret that I could only take down that padawan before I finally felt the saber enter my back." He growled.

Braden had taken up his sword at the same time as Sara. Trying to keep his eyes away from the still seething dead Sith, he never thought he could fear something or someone who was dead. But still standing in the same room as this projection, he did feel a small tinge of fear in the bottom of his stomach. Shaking his head he continued practicing, keeping his eyes straight ahead locking out all distractions as he pushed himself further and further, sweat began to pour from his body soaking into his shirt. They continued for another thirty minutes before finally the sith finally called them to a halt.

"You have ten minutes then the duel will start."

 

[Sara Rain]

The training saber almost dropped straight out of Sara's hands when the Sith Lord gave the order to halt. Sara's shoulders, arms, wrists, core, back, and even her legs ached from the hours of intense physical exertion. Her breath entered her lungs through ragged gasps, and a thick layer of sticky sweat covered her entire body.

Grateful for the opportunity to rest, Sara bowed to the holocron's projection before retreating into a nearby corner. As she rehydrated herself, Sara tried to mentally prepare herself for her upcoming duel. Despite Ziost's reputation as an ice planet, the stone training chamber seemed hot and stuffy. All of Sara's muscles burned, and she was still fighting for control over he breath. Her training as a member of the IAF and the Ubiqtorate had molded her body into almost near-perfect condition, but the intensity and length of the previous training session had required an almost inhuman amount of stamina and endurance. Ti be honest, Sara was not sure she had enough energy left in the tank to win her upcoming duel.

Glancing over at Braden, Sara pondered how she could defeat him. Judging by his body language, Sara recognized that unlike her, he was not a former member of the IAF. Sara knew for a fact that soldiers in the IAF experienced more challenging physical conditioning than anyone else in the galaxy. Braden had just survived the same training session as her, which meant that while she was feeling extremely sore and tired, he was probably feeling much worse. Her eyes narrowing in determination, Sara deduced that to defeat her opponent, she would just need to outlast him.

Sara spent her ten minutes resting and keeping her body warm. Despite her fatigue, she felt a competitive spark light within her. She would prove to Darth Karanus that she was the better of the two acolytes, even if she needed to humiliate her training partner to do it.

The ten minutes passed quick, and by the time the tenth minute struck, Sara was standing in the middle of the room, her training saber buzzing with anticipation.

@Braden Drake

 

[Braden]

The ten minutes had all but finished. The sweat had just dried on his forehead before Braden through a two handful's of water into his face to refresh him one last time before he went into the fight. His arms felt like lead weights, the hours of training had taken its toll. Braden had swung swords his entire life giving him a good deal of endurance, but whenever he had gotten tired before he had just given the command and the lesson ended. But here he had been taken to almost his limit in the training and was hoping that the ten minutes would last another twenty.

Finally the Sith Lord motioned them back to the centre, Braden walked over taking deep breaths trying to oxygenate himself before it began. Raising his sword up in the guard he was shown only hours earlier. He nodded to Sara and waited for it to begin.

 

[Sara Rain]

Sara returned her opponent's nod and assumed a ready stance. Her heartbeat began to rise as fear began to take hold of her. Sara had never been a fan of close combat. She preferred to engage her enemies from as far away as possible. Melee combat was far too personal for her tastes.

For a moment, the acolytes stared at each other silently. Not a word was spoken. Not a muscle was moved. Then, his voice nothing booming through the chamber, the Sith apparition bellowed, "Let it begin!"

After a brief moment of hesitation, Sara launched a quick slash towards her opponent's chest.

@Braden Drake