The Rite of Ta'Reshai

[Zazai Ta'Resh]

Korriban - Twilight​

The Rite of Ta'Reshai was a pilgrimage his clan and many others had taken over hundreds of generations before they had been beaten in slavery. Zazai was the last of his clan but would be the first member to complete it over a hundred years. Its completion would mark the rebirth of Clan Ta'Resh or it would forever die with his failure,

The Rite was always completed in pairs, often with two Sith who had never known one another but had proven themselves capable warriors and leaders. The reason behind this was long lost to history, but it had served to form bonds and kinship with other clans and families in the past and Zazai had hoped it would do so again.

It was a dangerous journey. It would take full night and day of walking through the treacherous Korriban wastes followed by a grueling climb up a jagged mountain to the entrance of the tomb. Then they would need to find there way to the burial chamber deep beneath the surface and complete the ancient ritual. All they could bring was their mundane swords and the components required for the ceremony. With the completion of the ritual, their blades would be imbued with the Dark Side, elevating from a mere metal sword into a thing of power.

The pool of capable Pureblood Sith in the Order of which to complete the ritual with was small. Zanna Kresh had built a reputation as a fierce warrior. She seemed to embrace the rule of the Empress as he had and her family was steeped in the history and traditions of their people.

The preparations had been made and the time would soon arrive when they would leave. He waited for her at the edge of the temple grounds, looking east towards their destination. He had forgone his usual armor as per tradition and wore simple black pants and shirt. The skin on his arms and chest were littered with the scars of both his life as a slave and a Knight.

As he waited, the afternoon began to turn into night, full moon already high in the sky as it burned a brilliant orange in the dying day.

 

[Zanna Kressh]

Zanna had been exploring the space outside of everything she knew ever since the new Empress came into power. Unlike her brother who rejected the new Empress, Zanna saw Andraste as a liberator. The woman had ensured not only that her people were allowed passage off world, but new weapons and tech were introduced to her people. Lightsabers were carried by many members of her clan and their old primitive weapons were falling by the wayside.

Nevertheless, in many cases, traditions needed to be upheld. Such was the case of completing the Rite of Ta’Reshai. Zanna had been raised as the head of her family since her brother had failed in his duties. As a result, when it came to traditions of her people or family, Zanna had to be the one to act on them. For this rite, she returned to Sith space at once, finding her way to meet a fellow Pureblood that also ventured out into the galaxy since the Empress’ liberation.

Like him, she was adorned in simple garb, in her case a dress that was traditional ceremonial attire. She did not bring with her a saber or weapons, only a single blade that would be imbued with the energies of the Dark Side at the completion of the ritual. As the moon rose high into the sky, the hot deserts began to cool off at once. She knew it’d only be a matter of moments before the frigid cold set in.

As she spotted Zazai, Zanna spoke to him in Ancient Sith, offering a faint smile, “It’s good to finally meet you,” She came to stop a few feet before him, “I’ve heard of your exploits out in the galaxy. Hopefully we won’t run into too much trouble,” Her yellow eyes looked towards the temple grounds, “Are you ready?”

@Raydo

 

[Zazai Ta'Resh]

He offered a smile and a slight bow as the Sith woman approached. "As I have heard of yours." he said. The words of their shared ancient language were something of a rarity these days and a welcome sound. Many Sith had begun to learn and speak basic as they branched out in the Galaxy. He supposed it was still often enough spoken on Korriban and among family, but he had spent much of the last year off of the desert world.

"Hopefully enough trouble to keep us entertained though." he said, a low rumbling chuckle rolling from his chest. "I am." he replied and they headed out eastward towards their destination. As the sun dipped below the horizon, it quickly grew cool and soon it would be downright cold. One could just as easily freeze in the cold nights as they could die from the heat during the day.

The first part of their journey was tame, the area around the Temple had been settled more heavily than ever before. Many of the more nomadic tribes, now seeking more permanent homes near the new power base of the Empire.

His loyalty to the Empress and her Empire was firm, but part of him was saddened by the loss of some of his people's old ways. "I can't help but feel we trade away some redeeming aspects of our culture as payment for modernity." he said as they walked through small settlements that had once only contained wildness. Perhaps it was hypocritical. The Sith's old ways were what had seen his clan brought into slavery over a hundred years back, it was only the Exiled Jedi who had brought freedom to them. "Though I suppose every old fool makes that argument. against modernization" he said chuckling again. "What do you think about the changes in our society?" he asked genuinely.

@Sreeya

 

[Zanna Kressh]

Entertained? Zanna looked at him quizzically for a moment. She wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect of whatever they could run into, especially in ruins that were supposedly abandoned. She had gone on enough misadventures through old temples that were completely rigged with traps and old spirits. Nevertheless, she was glad to be with someone that welcomed a challenge instead of being too scared.

She followed him throughout the surrounding areas of the temple. With the cold setting in, she hugged herself slightly as she walked. It had been some time since she had been in Korriban’s climate, and it was astonishing how quickly she stopped adapting easily to it. As Zazai mentioned aspects of culture being lost, Zanna had to smile to herself, “I actually agree. Especially because I see more and more sabers in the hands of my brethren here on Korriban. The old rituals are going away and our battle tactics are changing to adapt to modern technology. We don’t need to work as much as a team and don’t rely on one another as we used to,” She sighed, “In some ways there’s been a loss of camaraderie there.”

Zanna could spot the entrance to the temple, the archway mostly broken and collapsed. They would have to move debris out of the way to enter. From the looks of it, the entrance led to depths below ground and out of sight. Zanna looked around herself to ensure they weren’t followed before continuing to speak, “After a war victory against a rival clan or such, my clansmen and I would perform a dance around a great, big bonfire,” She smiled fondly at the memory, “Things like that will be soon forgotten and it pains me to realize that. The Empress has done a lot of good for our people, but it comes with it a heavy price.”

She finally arrived at the entrance, using the Force to begin moving some of the chunks of rock away. As she crept closer, old dust and debris kicked up, causing her to sneeze a few times. She couldn’t see anything ahead of them, her eyes squinting as they began to adjust to darkness, “At the same time…I wouldn’t mind a saber to light the way right now,” She chuckled and shook her head.

@Raydo

 

[Zazai Ta'Resh]

They moved further and further into the chilled wastes of Korriban, now fully night. Korriban may seem like a dead world to most who were new to it, but the planet teemed with life, much of it bathed in the dark side of the Force like his people. It was not a place for the weak so Zazai remained vigilante as they walked and talked.

He nodded, agreeing with what she had said. It was a sad prospect, but the Sith would need to adapt and push forward if they didn't want to be swallowed up completely by the Galaxy. A smile touched his mouth as she spoke of fond memories. Even in slavery, his clan had spent tired nights around large fires, dancing, and singing.

They made their way into a valley and finally to the place where the small, unassuming entrance to the tomb in the base of the mountain that made up one of the valley walls. To the passerby, this place wouldn't seem worth the trouble of digging out the entrance but if the legends were correct, they complex was massive Hopefully, the whole tomb wasn't this buried.

Picking back up their previous conversation "We mustn't..." he stopped, turning as the large rock he had been moving thudded to the ground as his concentration shifted. At first, he didn't see anything, but his senses had picked up on it but then he saw them, a trio of large wolf-like creatures They ran down the slope the two Sith had just descended, right towards them. It wasn't a large pack, but even one of the large creatures was a threat.

As they moved closer, the moonlight revealed the creatures covered in patchy fur the boney spike protrusions from their backs. These creatures had probably been very similar to wolves found elsewhere in the Galaxy but thousands and thousands of years of Dark Side influence had transformed these creatures into nightmarish versions of their distant cousins. They were large creatures, with the largest standing over a meter in height. The other two were slightly smaller but not by much.

Zazai's sword was already in his hand. A lightsaber would make quick work of these things, but they would need to be careful with their swords considering the creature's armor. The creatures fanned out, snarling out their intended prey. Their eyes glowed red in the moonlight as the groups face off with one another.

 

[Zanna Kressh]

Zanna grimaced as she saw the wolves slowly begin to creep out into the open. She knew they could run into trouble, but she had at least hoped they’d get to enter the tomb beforehand. The three wolves circled around them, eyeing them as if they were fresh lamb to the slaughter. Zanna had only a traditional blade with her, and she called the Force to herself. She unleashed the Force in a powerful blast to send one of the wolves back.

As the first flew back, a second jumped right towards her. Zanna dove to the side, slashing out with her blade. Not only did she miss, but she overextended herself and came crashing to the ground. Giving out a frustrated yell, she attempted to stab upwards again, and she missed. The creature moved too quick and it was on top of her in no time, pinning her to the ground. She barely managed to gather the Force and push it off, sending it flying.

Meanwhile the third wolf leaped directly towards Zazai. The wolf was massive, intending to slam him backwards into the ground and go for tearing out his throat. The wolf that had been blasted back recovered quickly and was beyond angry. With a loud growl, the creature made a beeline for the action, claws out and ready to slash away at the two Sith.

"Do you have other weapons?!" She shouted out at Zazai, though she knew the answer. As another clawed slash came her way, she rolled in the sand, kicking it up and trying to get to her feet. It was clear these things possessed unnatural speed and strength.

@Raydo

 

[Zazai Ta'Resh]

The wolves fanned out and then came out them for three sides. Zanna flung one back with Force leaving them a brief opportunity to even the playing field. These things moved fast, impossibly fast. Given their size and speed, one false step from either of the Sith could end the pilgrimage before it truly began.


One of the large beasts hurled itself at Zazai. He tried to jump to side but the beast caught him, the creature's weight throwing the Sith backward. Zazai was only just able to push the wolf off balance enough to keep the creature from ending up on top of him.


The third wolf already was changing back into the fray, having recovered from the blast running straight towards Zazai. Zazai rolled backward coming to his feet in a crouched position. The first wolf was already nearly on top of him. Zazai dodged out of the way of the bone-crushing jaws of the first wolf as he searched for solid footing in the sand below.


He heard Zanna yell something but the actual words were blotted out by the sound of snarls and growls from their attackers.


He gathered the Force even as the third wolf ran at him head on preparing to attack as well. He swung his sword in a wide arc as he took a step backward there was no hope if actually hitting the wolves and was only meant to push them back slightly. It wouldn't buy him much space but he found a spot where the sand wasn't as deep and he could find solid footing.

 

[Zanna Kressh]

The wolves were relentless and Zanna was having a tougher time than she expected. She had run into creatures out in the desert before, but she had never come across wolves so imbued with the dark side energy before. She grunted in pain as one of the wolves slashed at her side, tearing into the flimsy material of her ceremonial clothing. The claws raked her thigh, but she had to ignore the pain. This put the wolf directly next to her, and she decided to act as it clawed at her flesh. Zanna positioned her blade and slammed it down with force into the neck of the wolf. The beast let out a yelp and quickly released her, but it was mortally wounded.

She didn’t hesitate, twisting the blade and cutting through muscle as she poured her rage into stabbing the wolf. She drew the knife out and stabbed it again and again, blood splattering her torso from the violent assault. Zanna knew nothing less would ensure the thing was truly dead. Even as it died, it attempted to claw and bite at her, and she coiled the Force around it to keep it place.

Zanna pushed the body aside and drew up in time to catch Zazai being cornered by two of the wolves at once. She half limped towards him, using the Force to push one mid-air as it leapt towards him. The wolf fell to the side as the third wolf backed up slightly from the slash Zazai made. It immediately jumped to the side and tried to dive beneath where Zazai swung his blade, aiming to clamp its jaws around his leg this time.

Zanna focused on the wolf she pushed, unleashing a wave of lightning at it. She heard another yelp as the stench of burned fur quickly filled the air. To her horror, the wolf made a mad dash while being burned and collided heavily with her, sending her toppling to the side. Weak on her leg, she collapsed easily and sank into the sand as the wolf pinned her, driven by pain and rage.

@Raydo

 

[Zazai Ta'Resh]

Zanna drew the charging wolf away leaving only the one wolf to face Zazai. It jumped backward out of range of Zazai’s swing before circling and lunging again. This time the Sith stood his ground, digging his feet into the sand. He bared his teeth in a snarl, growling as it charged.

The wolf lunged and Zazai waited until the last second before going down and then driving the sword upward. In the air, the wolf had no way to evade or get away. The blade pierced the lower jaw before pushing its way into the creature's brain. It let out a quiet huff as it died.

Turning to Zanna he saw the wolf collide into her bringing her down to the sand. He reached out with the Force, pouring all his concentration, he seized the wolf and held it just off of Zanna. He would not be able to hang out to that for long, but it would be enough for an easy opening for his fellow Sith.

Assuming the battle ended, Zazai would move to check on Zanhe asked offering a hand to help her up. They would need to be in top condition if they were going to pass today’s trials. With the entrance cleared and attackers dead, there was nothing to do by push on. A dark energy urged them forwards, calling their names from the depths of the tomb.

@Sreeya

 

[Zanna Kressh]

Zanna felt all the air knock out from her lungs as the heavy wolf kept her pinned. She could smell its rancid breath, some of its drool pooling over her neck and shoulders. For a moment, she was completely helpless and there was nothing she could do. A moment later, the wolf was abruptly pushed back and off her right as it began to snap its jaws shut. She watched it look confused as it kept growling and clawing, the claws digging slightly into her skin. However, she was given the opening she needed.

With the wolf slightly off, Zanna retrieved her blade and plunged it straight up into the wolf’s chest. There was an anguished howl as it collapsed above her, and she rolled over and pinned it to the ground to ensure the blade drove right into the heart. The wolf grew weaker till it finally stopped moving and Zanna slowly withdrew from it, examining her wounds.

She was still sitting by the time Zazai walked over to her. Zanna glanced up and managed a weak smile, “Thank you…for the help…” She uttered in ancient Sith. She felt no need to speak Basic with him, and it was nice to be able to speak her own language instead of broken Basic. Zanna took his hand and hoisted herself up to her feet. She didn’t make any complaints about her injuries, but she was concerned about what else they would face.

Zanna heard the voices, a grimace appearing on her face, “Do you hear that?” She muttered quietly as they approached the entrance. There was a dark hallway that inclined downwards, and she followed the path, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Zanna kept walking till she came across a stone doorway that was sealed shut. She looked around for any ways to get in, but nothing was obvious.

Brushing away some dust revealed an old message that read something akin to giving something to gain something, an old Sith saying. She looked around, spotting a small indent that looked like a receptacle of some sort. Zanna knew instantly what needed to happen and sighed. She looked down at one of the wounds on her arms which were still bleeding and she held it above the receptacle, pinching at the wound to squeeze out blood. She grimaced from the pain, but she stepped back as the door began to rumble and slowly open.

@Raydo

 

[Zazai Ta'Resh]

He nodded as she took his hand and he pulled the woman to her feet. That had been a close call, and one that only paled in comparison to the trial they would face ahead of them.

"Indeed." his voice rumbled, only just audible over the desert wind howling. The voices seemed to call to them, but it was not friendly. It was obvious whatever energy had dominion over this place would do everything in its power to stop them. Zazai was no coward, but this place put a sense of dread in the back of his mind but he knew beyond the dread was his destiny.

The door opened to Zanna's offering of blood and they entered a medium-sized rectangular room. There was a door on the opposite side of the room but no obvious way to open it, no text to give them a clue.

As they entered the room, the door closed suddenly behind them and there was a sound, like distant rain for several seconds before it source was made clear. Sand began pouring into the room at a rapid rate. It would take only moments for the room to fill completely, forever burying the pair in this tomb.

With the sand tumbled several skeletal creatures, wearing ancient Sith armor that seemed the be preserved somehow and was armed with wicked looking swords. Their eyes burned with a deep red fire as they stood. Whatever magic propelled them, seem to let them traverse the sand with ease, while Zazai was already struggling to find footing. As the first ran at him, the Knight blocked a quick slash from the skeleton and counter-attacked. If this would have been an average enemy he would have been mortally wounded by the missing limb the Sith had sheered from his body but these creatures were anything but average.

 

[Zanna Kressh]

Zanna whipped back in time to realize the doors behind them shut and they were trapped here. It took her a moment to adjust to the darkness, spotting the sand pouring in. She cursed and looked for ways out, and she already began to lose her footing. She knew they would run out of air soon, and she felt along the walls fruitlessly all around them to search for an exit.

She was about to say something when she noticed the skeletons rising up and preparing to attack. Zanna could only pause and stare for a moment, never having come across an enemy like this before. She had heard of things like abominations, but she never encountered any. Were these abominations? She had her Sith sword firmly gripped in her hand, ready to attack. For a moment she watched Zazai engage the skeleton, realizing to her horror that as she suspected, they felt no pain.

Calling the Force to herself, Zanna unleashed it in a concussive blast, sending a few of them tumbling in different directions. She rushed towards one of the skeletons, swinging her blade through the torso, only for it to get stuck in the ribs. The skeleton purposely twisted and drew her closer, bringing its blade hand towards her for an attack. Zanna dropped to a crouch, taking the legs out from underneath the skeleton and yanking her blade out at the same time.

She whirled her blade around as the skeleton dropped, the head flying off. Zanna didn’t wait to see if that ‘killed’ it before moving onto the next one. The sand was up to her knees by now, and the situation was getting desperate. Zanna looked around at all the skeletons, her eyes widening at one of them that was larger than the others, “That! Has key around neck!” She hissed at Zazai as the bigger skeleton sprang towards Zazai, bringing down a massive axe in an overhead attack to cleave him in half.

@Raydo