The Trials of the Sith
By Mark Richards
The gusts that buffeted the dark robed figure were as cold and uncaring as the black heart that was wrapped against the wind's icy fingers. A middle-aged face, showing the first markings of terrain, which would become increasingly deep ravines of hate and evil, smiled with a despicable contempt. Its eyes were buried in the shadows of the hood, which draped over the head of the insanely corrupt creature. They're light still glinted with a cool blue, which would soon become jaundiced with rage. For now though they scathed the harsh landscape that stretched ahead watching the rolling carpet of rocks and mighty formations of dust and sand, which were being constantly billowed by howling winds across the desolate panorama. The planet's surface was gripped in a tumult that was at least equal to the despair and destruction that he would soon wreak on the galaxy as a whole…
The smile broadened, showing a line of teeth that would become decayed and blackened with distaste. Indeed he was powerful as he had foreseen and it delighted him to know that within his heinous grasp he was gradually tearing apart the fragile fabric of the galaxy, turning it in on itself. Creating a vacuum that would suck out all the goodness and leave a rotten abyss over which he would one-day rule…his Empire.
The gouge, which appeared to be either a mouth in the sheer rock face or perhaps an ancient unhealed wound, protected the dark witch from the worst storms of weather. The viewing platform that was firmly ensconced within the protective environs of the towering rock was a favourite of the dark side master, from where he could watch as the effortless ruin of time ate away at the planet, symbolising the decay and ultimate fall of the Galactic Republic. But today it bored him, especially as he had a more enticing appointment with destiny at hand. As if suddenly called, he turned away abruptly from the vista, returning to the warmth and protection inside his vast lair. As he stepped into the spacious but drably coloured ante-room he unclipped a lightsabre from a belt concealed beneath the black sea of cloaks that still whipped and danced at his feet. Within an instant, a brilliant blue flame of light ensued from the cold metal hilt, swivelling and cutting through the air with grace and dexterity in the hands of its master. It hummed and buzzed with each cut, slicing perfect chunks through the musty internal atmosphere, like he had carved through the heart of the Republic, wiping out those that would oppose his ultimate goal.
Holding the brilliant but deadly weapon in his hand aroused memories of how he had risen to become the master and how his own mentor had died at his hand. With a powerful force that came from within he had lunged a horrific blow, cutting through black robes and flesh, tearing apart the body of his master, as if it was tissue thin, spilling blood and internal organs in a putrid gush at his feet. He saw fear in his master's eyes as he had fallen to the floor as well as manic incomprehension and a deep, unrequited anger. He had stood over the fallen body for a few moments, feeling empty and unfulfilled at the ease of the contest, looking disappointedly into the age ravaged and weakened face of his former teacher. He was infantile in his powers next to him and with each passing generation the Sith were becoming stronger.
Now he was reaching the peak of his powers, already pushing back the scope of what the Sith had known and could achieve. As Darth Sidious he had risen to become the most powerful Sith Master to date and in his apprentice, Darth Maul, he had found a perfect equal to carry out his biding. But Maul had been blinded by the same deep hate that had seen Sidious' own master destroyed. Hate of the Jedi. Powerful, single and self-serving malice, which had been the founding block of the new Sith Order under Darth Bane. However, while it united the Sith and concentrated their efforts into a single purpose, it also led to a new rash of Sith apprentices and eventually master's who were so consumed by the desperate urge to kill the Jedi, that they forgot the teachings of the Dark Side. In their haste to avenge the blood bath that had caused the almost complete destruction of their order, the new apprentices lost sight of their own limitations and squandered the very power that could save them.
Sidious was different though. In his true identity he had struggled to achieve, to make successes in his political career. He learned from that, forging an incredible degree of patience and understanding that however perceptively slow the future unfolded, ultimately events could happen much quicker with the right application of influence. As a Sith Lord he had waited a long time for this moment, longer than any of his predecessors and that is why he now succeeded where they had failed. He had carefully consolidated his power, built his resources and used his guile and cunning in both his identities to manipulate events to serve his purpose. It had been a patient struggle and one, which had always seemed far from completion but now at last, the pieces were beginning to come into place. But as always there were set backs and unforeseeable events…
The black robes glided across the reflective durasteel floor, taking the haunted spectre through a parting doorway and out onto an elevated walkway, which stretched around a cavernous hanger, filled with the hum of machinery and boundless activity. Below him, the sleek and deadly shape of his most recent apprentice's craft was being attended too. The proudly named Sith Infiltrator looked impotent without the Sith Lord pilot. Its puissance was curtailed by the absence of Maul and Sidious knew as he watched the army of droids and workers that attended to making it flight-worthy that it would never take to the night of space again.
Each new Sith apprentice had their own particular craft or weapon of choice. It was part of the selection to become an apprentice along with their stylised individual appearances, which made each new Sith different. Maul had chosen a frightening tattoo effect of red and black, together with a double-bladed lightsabre of his own construction and the mighty Sith Infiltrator. He had formidable weapons at his disposal, equal to his status as an apprentice and he was growing strong with the Dark Side, strong enough to one day replace Sidious as the master. But events at Naboo had ended those aspirations…
Sidious had sought the body of his fallen apprentice but it was lost in the Theed generator, destroyed inside its hungry power-consuming heart. Not even his apprentice's lightsabre remained and he had nothing to return with except the memory of watching the Jedi Qui-Gon burn - his lasting physical link to Maul. There was at least satisfaction to be had in the death of Qui-Gon, albeit a maverick but nevertheless an important member of the Jedi Order. His death would be no more mourned than Maul's but it would be remembered and more importantly no one would forget at whose hand the Jedi's blood had been spilled. The resurgence of the Sith would place the Jedi Council into a state of unease but while they were endlessly debating their next move, considering how they would defend against the new threat, he was already building upon his power, hunting out a new apprentice and laying the groundwork for his future.
The loss of Maul although a personal defeat did not seriously undermine his future plans. He had already encountered a new emergence in the Force – a young boy named Anakin Skywalker. Already his presence was as strong as the Jedi Masters, sending waves of disturbance throughout the Force, making all but the most inept Force users aware of his existence. The Jedi would find him difficult to train and Sidious had sensed an underlying burning hate and sorrow in the boy, which would be used to one day, turn him to the dark side. He had learned that much from his meeting with Anakin, which although only the briefest of introductions, was enough for Sidious to understand and recognise the boy's role in the future of the Sith Order. And he also knew that Obi-wan Kenobi would be powerless to stop him from wrestling Anakin to the dark side. The boy faced a dangerous and difficult path and as he matured in years he would see reason to reject the teachings of the Jedi and he would become the most powerful apprentice of the Sith Order…
A flicker of movement caught Sidious' attention and the black robes turned to scowl upon a rapidly approaching figure, dressed in equally black dress. Its face was pale and thin, skin stretched tautly across pronounced cheekbones and jaw, looking almost transparent under the brilliant lights of the chamber. Its breathing was heavy as it hurried ungainly towards its master, hands lifting its flowing robes from the floor to allow it better speed. Almost breathless, the black figure came to a halt next to Sidious, bowing reverently to its master.
"Yes." Sidious had turned back to his view across the cavern, watching the continuously industrious efforts of his minions.
"He is here, master," the pale and thin looking figure said, his voice rising with either excitement or fear.
Sidious turned, breaking away from his inscrutable study, bringing his imposing presence upon the servant. "Good," he chuckled. "He is impatient. Very good."
The pale figure still panted; drawing back lost breaths in his run to relay the news to his master. "Shall I escort him to your quarters?"
"No," Sidious' reply was quick and adamant. "I think it is time for his first test."
The servant nodded as his master began to chuckle again, hoping that this one would prove a worthy adversary. Bowing at the waist once more to Sidious, he turned and hurried almost as quickly as he arrived to be free of his master's presence. Sidious watched his servant's departure, clearing his mind of thought and opening it to the Force. He was ready for another challenge and with barely restrained anticipation for the contest, he left the walkway to meet his newest opponent.
*
The air was alive with the hum of lightsabres swinging and clashing in combat and the sound of cackling laughter. Lord Sidious moved with a grace and agility that seemed incongruous for one constrained in dark robes and of such age. His azure lightsabre cut through the air with fearsome force propelled by something more than just physical strength. As it lunged again for the torso of his opponent, an equally strong parry carried his weapon away from victory. The other figure was a demon, powerfully built and easily thirty years the junior of Sidious but the strain of the combat was clearly etched in his face.
"You are weak apprentice," Sidious taunted as another of his impossibly powerful blows nearly sliced his opponent in two. Sidious knew that this new apprentice was far from weak and his gibe was merely intended to incite more wrath in his opponent. Indeed, he could feel the power and capability of Sorcicus – certainly strong enough to bring down a Jedi…
Darth Sorcicus responded with fearsome strokes, beating Sidious back for the first time. Above his partial facemask, which covered his mouth and neck, Sorcicus' eyes were wild with hate and concentration. "Your overconfidence has always been your weakness," he retorted in his deep and menacing synthesised voice which was perhaps a full octave below its natural level. The rest of his face was dark black; his eyes pinpricked with frightening red pupils that appeared to pulse with hate, like beating hearts. Vibrant growths of richly black hair coursed down his shoulders meeting with the tight, flexible black armour that encased his body, its shape heaving and moving with the power of his strokes. Knee-length black boots, embossed with a blood red motif of a wounded opponent emblazoned across the top, danced impressively across the smooth duracrete as he manoeuvred his athletic body to parry each of Sidious' blows. He had no cloaks, feeling them too clumsy and obstructive in battle, not that it seemed to bother Sidious, who moved with a fluidity of movement that surprised him.
Sidious laughed again as the apprentice made a lunging move for him, his lethal blow easily blocked and held by Sidious' strength-defying grip on his own weapon. For a moment that seemed to last for an age, the two Sith Lords stood with their sabres locked together, humming and throbbing with power. Sidious beamed with confidence beneath the folds of his hood, studying the increasingly weary face of his opponent. Sorcicus was no match for the power of a Sith Master and as their lightsabres finally flew apart, Sidious seized his opportunity, using the Force to propel the weakened apprentice from his feet and across the duracrete, slamming with an unpleasant crack, several metres away. Sidious' cackle of delight rose, as the clearly surprised Sorcicus struggled back to his feet, feeling the ache and pain that screamed from every muscle and bone in his body. Yet he would not give in to his master, he would not surrender. He was a Sith Lord and his eyes burned with a renewed determination as he cleared his mind, feeling the dark side fill his thoughts.
Sidious felt the same power and the hate flowing through Sorcicus and knew that he was not defeated yet. Impressive, he thought, very impressive. As the towering figure of Sorcicus came closer, the Sith Master turned off his lightsabre, the blue blade evaporating into its hilt. With purposeful moves he clipped the sabre back on its concealed belt, leaving himself open and at the apparent mercy of Sorcicus' screaming indigo lightsabre. Sorcicus smiled sensing that Sidious had wasted his strength on his futile expulsion of the Force in sending him crashing across the floor. Now he was ready to meet his destiny, silently waiting for his apprentice to cut him down and for a new Sith Master to rise in his place. Sorcicus would be that new master and he felt incredibly empowered as he sized up his opponent one last time, drawing his shimmering laser sword, ready to strike down the black robed master.
Sidious clapped his hands together. "Good. Very good," he mused. "Your power is remarkable but you are no match for a master of the Sith!"
Sorcicus took the final words as his cue to strike down his master but he was immediately beaten back by a stream of intense and agonising bolts of Force lightening. Cackling with sinister delight, Sidious moved forward, pushing the under siege Sorcicus back further, his lightsabre proving a useless defence against the blue-white bolts of energy spewing from Sidious' fingers. The assault was too much, even for one as young and as strong as Sorcicus and his body began to buckle under the strain sinking to his knees. His vocoder shrieked out an inhuman scream of pain as his final line of defence was beaten down and the full force of Sidious' power was felt. He lay writhing on the floor; his body convulsed with agony as Sidious stepped closer to stand over him.
Abruptly as it had started the torrent of blue-white energy stopped. Sorcicus looked up into the eyes of his tormentor, broken and defeated by his master's superior powers and totally at his mercy. Sorcicus' own red pupils looked timid and shrunken, hiding in his richly dark face, escaping from the terror that bore down upon him. His body was wracked with unbelievable pain, which threatened to terminate his tenuous hold on consciousness but he fought it as only a Sith would. The pain was part of the trial, a necessary suffering to prove that he was able and willing to serve the Sith Master as an apprentice.
Sidious was inscrutable under the hood of his cloaks, his mood indecipherable from his expression. Yet Sorcicus already knew what he would say and that his life would be spared this time. Indeed, Sidious begged him to stand but he did not help the exhausted Sith Lord to his feet. Sorcicus struggled alone to gain control of the pain that shot through every extremity of his body as he straightened into an upright position pulling his muscular but fatigued frame to its full height. Dominating his master in stature but not in presence or might he waited for the words of confirmation.
"Well done, Lord Sorcicus," Sidious appraised. "Your resistance and control of the Force is considerable. You will make a powerful ally and I welcome you to be my new Sith Apprentice, now that you have completed the first of the trials."
Sorcicus nodded - a flicker of pleasure returning to his weary red pupils.
"Then you will begin the second of your trials, Lord Sorcicus. I have a very special mission in mind for you, which will see the end of a certain Jedi." Sidious cackled, seeing more of his grand plan fall steadily into place.
Sorcicus bowed at the waist despite the pain it caused him to do so. "Yes, my master."