PROLOGUE
KESH, OUTER RIM
THREE STANDARD MONTHS AGO
Atop the stone stairs that lay in the Circle of the city Tahv, was the glass room in which held the Circle of Lords. The Circle of Lords were the leaders of the Lost Sith Tribe… well they had been lost. It wasn't until a few hundred years ago that they had been discovered after their crash landing on this planet.
This group consisted of the Grand Lord, seven High Lords, and thirteen other Lords. Every single last one of them were Sith, pure bred Sith from over the generations of their five millennia stay. To this day they lived amongst the native Keshiri; a human like species though much more attractive with their perfect bodies. Though some Sith took them on as lovers, not all did, leaving the Sith blood that ran through their veins pure and strong.
Plenty of Sith had left the planet to fulfill their destiny as rulers of the galaxy, though Kesh had become their home planet now and so others stayed behind. Kesh hadn't been strong on technology all those years ago so no one could leave. Only a few hundred years ago when Ship came, Sith could travel to other planets, gaining power of new technological devices.
The Circle of Lords would forever remain here on Kesh and so would the Sith that will take their place. In the glass chamber the echo of multiple live lightsabers rang in everyone's ears. All of them were red of course. In the highest seat made of glass and metal was the Grand Lord. His glowing crimson red blade pointed at the man standing in the center of the room. "Who are you? And how did you get in here?"
The man's eyes shifted to the door behind him and grinned. "Your Sith Sabers were strong but not strong enough. They didn't sense me coming in, just as you didn't, so taking them out by surprise wasn't too hard." The man spoke with a strong voice. Here he was in front of twenty-one different Sith with ignited blades and he wasn't afraid… or at least he did not show it. His red eyes shifted away from the side and back over to the Sith facing him. "I came here to acknowledge that it takes more than one Sith to rule the galaxy. I am not pure bred but I do follow the Sith path, embracing the dark side. I want an apprentice… and I wish to work with you all to take back the galaxy that belongs to us."
"We do not know you. How can we be sure that you are able to train one of our own Sith? For all we know you may only have the powers of an apprentice." The Grand Lord paused to examine the man. His short black hair was reflecting the color from the glowing blades. He had scars all over and a black glove on his right hand. It was probably to cover something up. A wound perhaps? "I'll ask again. What is your name?"
Laughing silently to himself the man shook his head. "My name? I have one. Though I do not wish to be called by that name anymore. I've taken a new name. And soon… I will want one that shall suit my rank. My name was Shawn, but my name is now Terek Hyven. For as long as I've lived I've fought against one particular Jedi, my… brother to be exact. We shared the same name so I've now changed mine. My brother has become a Jedi Master of the Jedi Order. We are almost equal in strength, does that not prove of some worth of being a Sith Lord?"
One of the High Lords shook their head. "You can't expect us to believe you without proving it."
Terek ignited his blade and pointed it at the High Lord. "Oh I can prove it alright. I will take on any of you. One on one right now."
The High Lord laughed and turned to the Grand Lord. "What do you think? Shall we test his strength?"
He looked over at her and a grin passed his face. "We shall… but not here."
The Circle of Lords kept quiet all but the Grand Lord of course but it looked as if they were wishing to speak to each other. It wasn't unnatural, after all could he really be trusted?
"Terek Hyven, your challenge is accepted. You will be fighting one of the High Lords, Lady Yun."
The woman smiled. She was eager and excited; it had been a long time since she last fought someone. Her hair was of a light brown with a few gray streaks, making her look much wiser.
Everyone shut down their blades and sat back down. "We will be waiting in the courtyard of the Sith Temple tomorrow morning as the sun rises. You will need nothing more than your lightsaber."
Terek nodded and turned away from them. Slowly, a grim smile crept onto his face. He would not lose. To prove himself he just may have to kill her. If he wanted to rule over the galaxy he needed to do this… and to kill his so called brother.
Lady Yun waited until she was certain that the man had gone down the stone steps and out of hearing distance, and turned over to the Grand Lord. "Lord Xehn, what do you think of him?"
The Grand Lord did not look at her; he kept his eyes focused on the exit. "He has talent, I can sense that… but knowledge of our beliefs he lacks. If he beats you Lady Yun, he will be taught more knowledge rather than physical fighting."
"Is this a fight to the death my Lord?" She asked, keeping her nervousness from showing in the force.
"…I'm afraid so Lady Yun. The Force will decide your fate tomorrow. Do not worry, your life has not been for nothing."
"I know…" She sighed and closed her eyes, going into meditation. Her life was now on the line. Would the Circle of Lords have him replace her if she died? He was a stranger though… could he even be trusted? Theses answers she would never find out due to her situation.
The five Sith Sabers that had been killed on the way in were still lying on the floor. Apprentices had crowded around as other Sabers took on the job of cleaning up Terek's mess.
Some of the apprentices had started to cry as well. Perhaps they had been family. Oh well. It didn't matter to him whether they were family or not. He didn't care much about anyone other than himself.
One Sith Saber looked up at Terek as he walked by, giving him a hard glare.
Terek smiled at him. The smile was a bit awkward and the Sith Saber immediately turned away, getting back to the task at hand.
As he marched down the stone hallways, Apprentices and Tyros started to follow. They were cautious as well as curious beings. Terek stopped in his tracks. The Sith behind him stopped as well, all of them confused. Why had he stopped?
"Is there a reason why you are following me?" The tone of voice was as cold as ice on the planet Hoth. His head turned to look over his shoulder. "I doubt you all want to end up like the Sith Sabers back there."
A woman with red hair stepped out from the crowd to come face-to-face with Terek. She looked to be about nineteen years old. She wore the traditional black robe that everyone else seemed to be wearing as well. He seemed to blend in… other than the fact that these younglings were following him.
"I hope you realize that you just took my father away from me." She replied with the same bitter voice that Terek had used. "I already lost my mother but you had to come and take my father too!" She yelled this time, the hatred burned in her eyes.
"How would you like me to reunite you and your family by killing you?" Terek spat. "You wouldn't stand a chance. But perhaps a good fight would teach you a thing or two about talking to people like that."
"Maybe it is the other way around." She mumbled as a tear slid down the side of her face.
Terek snorted, clearly he had heard what she said. Younglings were such a pain. As he started to walk again a snap-hiss echoed off the bare stonewalls.
The woman had decided to come at him. She was pissed at the fact that he didn't care at all whether she just lost everything that mattered to her or not. A Sith was to be in control of their feelings not the other way around but she couldn't help herself.
The humming crimson red blade came towards his head but unexpectedly he dropped to the floor. His leg swept out knocking her down to the ground. She grunted from the impact but did a backward roll, placing her hands on the cold, rock solid floor and pushing off to get back on her feet.
"I'm not stupid woman. No one goes down that easily. Also, don't let your feelings take over; they will cloud your mind causing you to make the wrong choices, just like what happened here."
She stared at him with the same hating eyes as before. "You are not my master."
"Nor do I plan on being yours." He retorted. Terek glanced down at her blade. "No matter what I would not have gone down youngling. A Tyro, am I right? That's why you carry a training lightsaber.
The Tyro gritted her teeth together and continued to stare.
Sick of seeing her stare he looked at the crowd of younglings. "If you all want to see a real fight, come here in the morning. In the courtyard of the Sith Temple, the High Lord, Lady Yun and I will be fighting… to the death." He smirked as he paused for a moment to breathe. "A chance to see what really happens when a force sensitive goes head-to-head, using real lightsabers." His eyes drifted to the red haired woman.
The crowd of Sith started to whisper amongst themselves. Some were shocked that this was going to be happening, while others were excited for the event tomorrow. The red haired woman started to walk down the hall, looking into Terek's eyes as she passed him.
Terek allowed her to go. She did not need to be humiliated any more in front of her…her peers? She was older than pretty much everyone in the group other than himself of course. He guessed the reason that no one would take her as an apprentice was because of her attitude. Apparently they were looking for easy Sith to train. Terek rolled his eyes at the thought. A challenge would be nice wouldn't it? Maybe he should take her as an apprentice…
The sun still had a few hours or so until it would appear over the great mountains of this planet. The moon was still shining bright as it had for the past several hours. It was only a few hours into the morning so the moon still being bright and the sky being dark, was normal.
Kesh had a lot of mountains on it. The city was actually surrounded by them. At any time of day shadows would cast down on one part of the city, which was cool and relaxing. The Sith Temple had been built from the rock that came from the destruction of the Omen that crashed into the higher part of a mountain. The Temple had been crafted back when the Sith only had lightsabers and little energy weapons. Using these weapons they carved into the mountain, creating the Sith Temple in there with rocks they moved with the Force. The Sith Temple was built around the Omen to keep it protected.
In the courtyard of the Sith Temple figures of past Sith made of rock were set in several places. The terraces and spires that held the Temple up were black. The Temple was a beautiful sight but it was much more functional than dressed up.
Terek sat in the middle of the courtyard, awaiting the arrival of his opponent. Slowly, the darkness of outside the mountain was fading and the sun was arriving. It wouldn't be too long before it would begin.
Tyros, Apprentices, along with a few Sith Sabers began to arrive in the courtyard yet not a single Sith from the Circle of Lords had come. It was too early Terek guessed when he got up from meditating.
Standing near the front of the crowd was the red haired woman. Her arms were crossed and her yellow eyes were focused on Terek. She loathed him for what he did but she forgave him. Was it because she felt bad that he would be going against one of the strongest Sith on the planet? Well on the Council at the very least.
A few minutes had passed and out of boredom she checked her chrono. There was going to be at least another good five to ten standard minutes. Letting out a sigh she walked from the crowd and over to Terek.
Terek looked over to see her coming. She was an attractive woman but she had an attitude problem. Though she would learn. "It's nice to see you again." He said sarcastically.
The woman frowned. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for allowing my anger to take over me and attacking you. If I could take it back I would. Please forgive me." She kneeled before him, her head looking down at the ground.
Terek looked down at her. Her red hair was braided together into two separate ponytails. Closing his eyes he thought for a moment. If he was going to take the galaxy with the Sith he would have to change his attitude with them. If he was going to start anywhere it might as well be here. "You're forgiven."
She looked up into his red eyes and nodded. "Thank you sir. May I ask what your name is?"
"My name is Terek Hyven. I'm not officially part of the Sith Organization. But I soon will be when I kill Lady Yun." Terek couldn't help himself. Every time he thought about killing her, he smiled. He was certain he would win.
The Tyro gave a confused expression. "Why are you two going to be fighting anyways?"
He gave a small sigh in irritation but he made sure not to show his feelings in the force. "The Circle of Lords does not believe in my strength. I demanded a challenge to show that I was worthy of being a Sith Lord. Lady Yun was assigned to me by the Grand Lord to fight me this morning. If I kill her I will have shown that I have the strength to be a Sith Lord."
She nodded, showing that she had understood what he had just explained. The look on her face showed him that she wanted to know more but he shook his head. "I know you want to hear more… but not now." He set his hand on her shoulder as he walked by. He didn't feel that comfortable about being kinder to the Sith but he had to get used to it. In the end it would help him out in the future.
At the entrance several Uvak landed in the courtyard. They were a native species like the Keshiri, but they were not intelligent. The Uvak were like pets and they were the only way for people to travel on the planet, other than ships, but those were not used unless they were going off world. With wings the Uvak could travel anywhere on the planet. A great way to travel, and almost every Sith here on Kesh had one.
The Circle of Lords had arrived on the winged reptiles and were now making there way over to Terek. Lady Yun was at the Grand Lord's right side, looking calm and not at all nervous.
The Grand Lord, Xehn's face was emotionless. He gave a slight bow as he came close to Terek, and spoke. "I'm glad you came Terek Hyven. The winner of this challenge will be the one left standing. If you win, we will accept you as a Sith Lord. You may then take on an apprentice. If you die… you will have been nothing to us."
Terek grinned. "That's fine with me. Let's get this started."
Lady Yun looked up at the Grand Lord and nodded.
"Very well." The Circle of Lords moved their way back near the crowd. Enhancing his voice with the force the Grand Lord spoke over everyone else. "Let the fight begin!"
Both blades came to life in an instant. Both the traditional crimson red that every Sith carried. Terek dropped into the lightsaber combat form III, otherwise known as the aggression form. Lady Yun on the other hand dropped into the lightsaber combat form V, also known as the perseverance form. Both lightsaber forms were more offensive than defensive.
Confident and wanting to get this over with, Lady Yun decided to strike first. She held the lightsaber above her head with both hands and slashed upward in a vertical attack.
Terek held the hilt of his lightsaber with both hands too, pushing his blade up on a horizontal angle. The two blades clashed, creating a loud pop sound. Staring into her eyes of yellow, he pushed with all his strength.
Lady Yun felt the pressure getting to her and the blades were coming closer. She was old and losing her strength but she was certain she had enough to kill this man. Using the Force to enhance her strength she pushed back trying to take the lead.
Quickly deactivating the blade, Terek performed a sideways roll, moving out of the way before her lightsaber had the chance to slice him in two symmetrical pieces. Getting back to his feet he thumbed the red blade back to life and back flipped as Lady Yun tried to attack him with several vertical and horizontal sweeps.
The Sith Lady pressed forward, she was getting slightly tired from swinging her blade in each direction and not even landing a simple blade-to-blade hit. With each attack she crept closer and closer and with the last attack she came within an inch from his legs.
One last time, Terek did a back flip to get out of the way but as he came down he saw the blade coming. There would be no way to avoid it if he was just a normal person… but he wasn't. Using the Force he pushed her back with an enormous amount of strength.
The crowd was good at keeping silent but the expressions on their faces were a dead give away for whom they were rooting for. The woman with red hair kept a straight face. Perhaps she wasn't rooting for either of them. Oh well, the battle would be entertaining.
Lady Yun did several back rolls, trying as hard as she could to stop herself. It was when she got a few yards away from her opponent that she was able to stop. She was on her one knee and her lightsaber was placed in her right hand. This was definitely not going to be as easy as she hoped it would be.
Though not a master in this form like his 'brother', Terek was still efficient enough. Using the force to increase his speed, he raced forward and struck down on Lady Yun. She had already gotten to her feet and held her blade in the same position as his. The two blades were crisscrossing and cracklings as they were forced together. Terek removed one hand and used the force to make up for the missing strength enforced with his lightsaber. Now with his free hand he passed the force through his limbs and through his fingertips. Force Lightning shot out.
Having no choice, she had to break of the blade-to-blade combat. She moved her blade up in a defensive position. The Force Lightning shot back towards Terek. Both hands were forced to be on the lightsaber; she could barely keep her grip on the hilt with the amount of pressure the Lightning gave off.
The further the Lightning went the weaker it got, so Terek grinned as he raised his own blade with one hand. The Lightning was absorbed. As he moved forward the pressure on his one arm grew but it was nothing that he couldn't handle so he pressed on. The Force Lightning would bounce off his blade a little, but no more than a few inches.
As her opponent got closer, Lady Yun focused her force energy in her body. He was in the radius of her blast now. She couldn't take it anymore; she had to do it now. In an instant Terek was blown away by a Force Repulse.
Immediately, he used the Force to slow himself down by pushing with enough force against anything behind him. Though it was a nice attempt, Terek collided with an old Sith Statue. The Statue, despite it being almost five and a half millennia years old, stood standing, the rock didn't even crack. The impact of the hit affected him though, his vision was blurry and his head was bleeding.
Lady Yun was almost an equal but her style of lightsaber combat was not great when fighting him. Form V was used against multiple opponents at once, not one. The blows she would inflict were long and ranged rather than close. She was holding out though and that impressed Terek. He didn't think she would last this long against him. As she got closer he swept his legs out to trip her.
She wasn't as stupid as a simple Tyro or Apprentice. She jumped up and bashed him as hard as she could with the Force into the hard rock of the courtyard. Blood splashed up from the floor and onto her robes. Lady Yun knew she could just wash it later. The Force presence of her opponent had vanished. She had won, finally.
The crimson blades were still alive but it didn't matter if his was still on. Lady Yun held hers with one hand and came over top of him. She bent down to lift his head up by his hair. The moment her hand touched his soft black hair his presence came into existence again.
Terek quickly rolled so that he would be lying on his back. His lightsaber followed his movement in a wide arc, slicing Lady Yun two different pieces. Her expression was one of surprise, she hadn't seen this coming but maybe she should have. They all had known he could hide his presence in the Force from the day before. It was too late now though, she had been defeated.
Blood filled in her mouth and her blade shut down as it dropped to the floor. Terek's lightsaber crackled as blood hit the hot, glowing crystal that was his blade. "I deeply respect you Lady Yun. You fought with all you had and I could feel that. Your pride as a Sith is also strong, fighting for what you believe in. You have my respect, may you be one with the Force." Deactivating his own lightsaber he turned away.
Sith Sabers came onto the battlefield and started to clean up after Lady Yun. The crowd seemed to be in shock. Someone had killed one of the council members of their planet. Many started to depart, either wanting to get away or they had just wanted to leave since their entertainment of the day came to a finish.
The Grand Lord still had that expressionless face still, which was rather annoying to look at but Terek dealt with it. "Congratulations Terek Hyven. To be honest I thought you would have been killed, but it looks like you knew what you were doing."
The other Lords bowed to show respect towards him, and Terek smiled. "Thank you Grand Lord. Now as promised… I have the right to be a Sith Lord, yes?"
A slight frown seemed to edge its way onto the Grand Lord's face. "You have demonstrated that you do have the strength of a Sith Lord, we will have you learn the proper knowledge of our kind."
Seething within his mind Terek nodded. "Understood. I shall respect what the Grand Lord says."
"Very good… and you said you wished to have a new name, and an apprentice?" He asked.
"I do my Lord."
The Grand Lord pondered for a moment. Was he thinking of a way to turn that against him too, or was he coming up with something that they could do for him? Terek was not very pleased with what was going on so far but maybe things would turn out just fine. "Darth… Mord. Darth Mord shall be the name you go by. Hopefully that is to your satisfaction, for that is the best you will receive from me."
Darth… Mord? What did Mord even mean? Oh well. It was a name at least and it had a nice ring to it. He could certainly get used to it.
"Mord, choose an apprentice, and when you have gained our knowledge they shall be yours."
So things had worked out for him. Mord was greatly satisfied with the way the Grand Lord worked things. But who would be a good apprentice for him? He didn't want someone so young that they would just get in the way. The crowd was made up of younglings and all seemed to be small and pathetic. He could not waste too much time on this matter.
Just as he began to turn back to the Grand Lord to ask for more time to think about it, the red haired woman came across his view. It was perfect! She was about his age but only off by a few years, and she was not as small as the other Tyros. She could certainly be held back for a month or two.
"What about her?" He asked the Grand Lord, pointing in her direction.
She was completely oblivious to them. She was leaving the courtyard on her own Uvak, or rather it had been owned by her father.
"Ah. She is a difficult one. But if it is her that you wish to instruct so be it." He paused for a moment to watch her leave. "Meet us back in the glass chamber tomorrow. We will be sending you to Nar Shaddaa before we begin to teach you. We will brief you on your mission in the morning."