Star wars, power of the sith Before the old republic
Before…
Seven men were kneeled in a complete circle, their heads bowed. But each trembled at the prospect of power, power. Such a little word, yet it carries so much meaning. It drives men to do unmentionable acts, to kill their friends, to destroy what they loved. Yet, here they were, waiting, expecting, to receive power. Power is not dished out; it is not given out of love or favors. Those who gain power are afraid to lose it. The shadow walked in, not the shadow itself, but it's power absorbed, centered into one being. It stepped where he stepped. Around him the Force died. It flared out. The room became colder; the air felt hazy, weak.
As one the men looked up, to see their master, they saw a figure, swathed with dark power. The darkness spoke. But it had no mouth. Each person felt a voice tug at their souls, dark lightning flared out, surrounding each man. They screamed and screamed but only the shadow listened. One by one they fell to the black marble floor. Then they arose, but had changed.
Now they resembled the darkness, each clothed in power. They knew what to do and as one left.
Later…
"So what are we doing again?" Gervahart asked as he and his companion Ludo stopped at the entrance of the underground city. Gervahart wore light, grey armor and carried a small bag. He had brown hair and blue eyes. Ludo wore the same armor and had black hair and brown eyes. Both wanted to get rich. The entrance was small, barely wide enough to crawl into. "listen, there are lots of valuable stuff down here, sith and jedi artifacts, if we get to the good stuff, we'll be living like kings" Ludo crawled into the hole.
They turned on their torches. Bright light flared into the darkness. "All right, we'll split up. Meet up in half an hour". They split up. Ludo wandered through the twisting passageways. Buildings were broken and pottery was shattered. No one knew what had exactly happened to the inhabitants. They all just vanished.
Then he saw it. The crystal, all thoughts of riches was driven from his mind. All he wanted was to touch it. He grabbed it and he felt content and fear, fear that others would take it. He hid it within his cloak.
Gervahart fumbled along the passage ways until he came to a shrine. Not pausing, he entered, and suddenly felt cold, the warmth was forced from him, taken so swiftly he hadn't noticed. Then he felt something else, dread. He stood transfixed at the shadow.
The shadow regarded him coldly as it stepped down, though the floor was black marble, it didn't make a sound. But then the man moved, reaching for his blaster. The darkness would have smiled, had it had lips. The bolts blasted off him, it gestured with what could have been a fist.
Power, it streaked at Gevahart, crushing him, choking him. But he stumbled anyway, away from the shrine, each step burning energy. He wanted to collapse, needed to stop. But he didn't, he stubbornly forced himself to move. He ran on, then he saw ludo, but it wasn't him, he was the shadow, a part of it. His skin was blistered and cracked, and his eyes were pale yellow.
"You want to take it!" the creature that used to be Ludo hissed. Gervahart paid him no heed and ran further.
The darkness followed. It was not in a hurry. Another man was in its way. Dark lightning flew out. It floated on without a pause, leaving a burnt skeleton. It gestured, beckoned and its followers listed and followed. Seven shadows slipped in. once men who waited for power and received it, but at a terrible price.
Gervahart could run no further. He was trapped in a dead end, with an elegant table, which held a small cylinder. He turned to see the shadow, darkness. He fumbled for a weapon, and grasped something. The shadow drew back. He had grasped the metal cylinder. Instinctively he turned it on. Light flared out, the color of life, green light lit the room, the shadow screamed.
Seven lesser shadows entered. The light was blinding, but they had to protect the master. Each drew out an ancient lightsabre. Red light, blades of flame spat out. And as one they lunged.
Gevahart noticed the shadows had managed to surround him. He parried and thrust, each move was lightning fast. The shadow became afraid. Thrust, parry. Darkness died, seven shadows melted back. Broken, beaten, they retreated, licking their wounds.
Gervahart readied himself. He had no idea he could drive them all back, he'd never even held a lightsabre before. He felt a voice tug at his soul "Fool," the darkness whispered, "you have no idea who you are, you were once a jedi, but a sith wiped your mind of your memories, I was that sith" it drew out a lightsabre, the color of blood flared out. Gerahart lunged, the shadow parried, the combat was intense, each flick of the blade, each thrust was lightning fast. At last gervahart saw a gap in the shadow's defense. He thrust with all his might. And the darkness toppled and exploded, blasting the room with supernatural power.
Gervahart woke and felt power. It tugged at him, carried him, he stood, but had changed. The shadow was reborn. Gervahart would have smiled but he had no lips. The shadow left the room, followed by seven shadows.