2: Soul Of The Force
Though Malik had spent time in the desert sands of Korriban plenty of times, it still didn't make him very immune to its harsh winds, and the coarse sand and rubble didn't help either. It had been almost six hours since he and Nores had departed from the academy, but he had seen no sign of Darth Maul's descendant, and so Malik opted to make his way towards the Valley of the Dark Lords. If there was any source of power that could help him, it could be found there.
"Yes, this is the place where a true Sith would go," said that same voice in his head again, "No, not that one, go to the third one. Yes, there will be holocrons in there to use. Knowledge...such delicious knowledge..."
Although Malik was not afraid of this new voice in his head, he did find it to be rather annoying. He made his way into the abandoned tomb, and as he approached, he could already sense the powerful energy of the dark side that surrounded it. The deeper he ventured, it seemed, the darker the energy became. He passed corridors filled with bones of both sentients and beasts alike, yet pressed on. He knew that Korriban was devoid of life, save for small critters and bugs, and the Sith, so there should be no danger here.
"Turn here, young one, and what you seek shall be revealed..."
Malik made his way into the dark room, and it was as if no light were capable of penetrating the darkness here. He stepped forward cautiously, and kicked something big, metallic, and sharp. Cursing out loud, he knelt down to check that his foot wasn't bleeding. Indeed it wasn't, but as he stood back up, the corner of whatever he had kicked slashed down his right arm, and blood began to splatter everywhere. Quickly, and while cursing more, Malik drew his lightsaber, and seared his wound with the red blade in his hand.
"Perfect," the voice cooed, "Now we shall wait..."
Although Kashyyk was well known for its humidity, and Xenos had spent a few months surviving in it already, he was still finding it hard to catch his breath as he and Fakirus sparred together. Large beads of sweat stung his eyes, and as they ran down his face and everywhere else, he dug deep. Never before had he dueled without using his anger, or any other dark emotions, and it was much harder than he'd first realised.
"Clear your mind, my apprentice," Fakirus insisted as they sparred, "Focus only on your goal, your surroundings, and trust in the living force."
Xenos roared loudly, and lashed out with the training sword the Jedi Master had given him to use. Fakirus merely armed himself with bracers and a fallen tree branch. As his padawan lashed out in anger, Fakirus swept his legs out to trip Xenos, and then kicked his stomach hard, sending him into a tree. He then stepped over slowly, and offered his hand to help him up.
"You must learn to focus, and control your anger," the Jedi stated, "Only then will you be a true warrior."
"No, master," Xenos replied, "you underestimate the power of the dark side...It's too strong; it can't be driven away."
"Only those with a strong will are able to mold the force to their benefit," Fakirus explained, "the rest only manage to become consumed by their own power."
Xenos nodded, and took his master's hand. They spent the next few hours meditating before Xenos was sent on an errand to retrieve food and water. Though he still struggled with the dark side of the force, and his Sith teachings, he wanted to become a Jedi. He hated the corruption of the Sith, and the shadow of the Empire over the galaxy. As he made his way through Kashyyk's thick jungles, he vowed he would one day change things for the better.
Nores Kree had sensed a hint of Malik's anger, and as he ventured into the caverns of an abandoned Sith tomb, he thought of little else other than revenge. Ever since the human boy, who had blue eyes, and medium dark brown hair, had shown up at the academy, all he had managed to do was diminish Nores' reputation. He'd had enough of that in the past couple of years, and he was drooling at the thought of killing Malik slowly, and painfully.
Malik was still in the dark room, where his blood had dripped to the floor, and he was uncertain of how many hours he'd spent sitting there. The dark side of the force was strong here, and in fact, Malik felt nothing else. He was growing more and more drunk with the power that he was bathing in. Suddenly, a soft hum began to echo through the room, and a soft, red light began to glow in front of him, slowly growing brighter.
Though he had never seen one in person, Malik knew that this was a Sith Holocron, and it felt as though it were teeming with knowledge of the dark side. His mind began to slowly go dark, and he felt drowsiness coming over him. Moments before he fell into unconsciousness, he made sure to check his holo watch for the time.
Nores had felt a shift in the force the moment Malik slipped into sleep, and he suddenly couldn't sense the human anymore. He stopped where he was, and finally took in his surroundings. He was in a long, dark hallway, and the only noticable things around him were a few bones and three separate doors. He immediately tried the first door, but it was wedged shut from the inside by a large crate.
"That's odd," Nores said out loud, and drew his light saber.
Within seconds, he cut through the rusted metal blast door, and sliced the crate in half, watching it collapse into a rotten pile of dust and wood. He was surprised at who was standing in front of him, and stepped forward slowly. He glared fiercely at his Trandoshan ally, and felt his anger grow into a strong resentment.
"Kod'lock, what are you doing here," Nores demanded.
"Forgive me, Nores," the scaled beast responded in his Trandoshan tongue, "I merely wanted to share in the thrill of hunting our most hated rival-"
"Rival,"Nores hissed angrily as his glare intensified, "I am a true Sith, and a descendant of one of the most famous Sith Warriors in history. I have no rival."
Turning on the spot, Nores began to walk away in a fury, but Kod'lock stepped forward as if to apologize. Nores felt his movement, then stopped. He turned to face the Trandoshan once more, and his rage continued to grow as he saw the look of guilt on the weak student's face.
"Do you fear me, lizard," Nores hissed, turning slowly to face Kod'lock.
"What? Of course not," he replied with some hesitation, "W-why would I?"
"Indeed," Nores said softly as he nodded, "Why would you..."
There was a moment of silence between them, then suddenly, Nores glared, drew his saber, and cut down his former ally in one swift stroke. The Trandoshan was still in shock as he collapsed from the massive slash across his chest, and Nores merely withdrew his saber as he watched Kod'lock slowly die.
"I am Sith, Kod'lock," Nores hissed to his dead friend, "I care for nothing else than my own power and my own life. I don't have time to baby sit a cowardly weakling."
With that, he made his way down the hallway, and deeper into the tomb. He knew Malik wasn't nearby, and now with his rage, he was even more determined to find him. Deeper and deeper, he ventured blindly into the tomb, seeking out his rival.
Back on Kashyyk, Xenos was making his way back to the hut with a few animals he'd found scurrying about, and some fruits that hung from a tree. It had taken him only a few hours to acquire these things, and yet he felt exhausted. He wasn't sure why, but he felt an approaching doom looming over him, and he was still uncertain wether or not it was an actual disturbance in the force, or just himself. As he finally came within sight of the small hut, he stopped dead in his tracks, dropping the fruit and food he had gathered.
Cautiously, he looked around, sensing a strong concentration of dark force energy, and movement as well. He slowly stepped forward, and suddenly, a massive, crazed looking Wookiee jumped down from a tree, and landed in front of him hard. Without missing a beat, the massive beast lashed out, and struck Xenos on the jaw hard with the back of its left hand. Xenos reeled back, glaring, but tried to control his anger.
"I...I don't want to hurt you, Wookiee," Xenos shouted as calmly as he could, "Leave now, and you won't get hurt."
The crazed beast merely cried out with a psychotic growl, and ran towards him at full speed. Xenos side-stepped, dodging the Wookiee with some difficulty, and drew his light saber. In two simple slashes, he cut off one of its arms, and slashed across its back, then withdrew his blade immediately. Looking down, he felt the dark side leaving the Wookiee's body, and then nothing at all. For a moment, he felt sorry for the creature lying dead in front of him, but his concentration broke as Jedi Master Fakirus approached him.
"It's alright, master," Xenos began, "The Wookiee was no trouble, though I felt a strong concentration of dark force within it. It was crazed, and consumed by madness."
"As you now see, my apprentice," Fakirus replied, "Those who fail to control their power are always doomed to be consumed by it."
A few days passed by, and for the majority of the time, Xenos and Fakirus trained endlessly. The next day, Fakirus had not awoken Xenos to train him, nor did it seem he had woken up at all. Sensing his master's waning life force, he slowly approached the old Jedi's bedside, and knelt beside him.
"Master, are you alright," Xenos asked quietly.
"Yes," Fakirus replied after a long pause, "but I feel my time is drawing near. You...you are the last of the Jedi, Xenos."
"Nonsense, master," Xenos replied, reaching to shake his master awake, "You're not dying just yet-"
"Silence, you fool," Fakirus hissed in a raspy voice, "My body is old, and training you took what was left of my time in this life. There is only one thing left for you to do before you are ready..."
"What must I do," the apprentice asked.
"There is a cave," his master replied with a broken voice, "on the far side of the jungle. It will show you the way...what you are destined to do. You will feel and see things you've not yet experienced, but you will grow stronger because of it. Go there, and become what you were always meant to be..."
As the Master Jedi slowly slipped away, Xenos felt heavy in his chest, and although he had trained well, he still couldn't fight off his emotions. He stood up, grabbed the food he had gathered, and left. He thought of perhaps burning the hut down, but he felt leaving the Jedi where he lay would be more suitable. He had arrived on Kashyyk a Sith, but now he was uncertain as to what kind of person he would leave as, and so he made his way to the cave.
As Malik lay unconscious in the dim lit room, the Sith Holocron hummed softly with a bright, red light. Suddenly, a small stream of red force lightning jolted out, and hit Malik right in his chest. He sat up immediately, and his drowsiness faded. He felt where the jolt had struck him, and felt the dark side of the force swelling within him. Suddenly, he noticed the holocron's inner force shifting, and his mind began to be filled with dark side knowledge. Visions of past Sith Lords, and the power they wielded entered his mind's eye, as well as all the techniques they had mastered.
Lurking on a beam above where Malik was sitting, mesmerised, Kardol Shrataal had watched him patiently, waiting for his moment to strike. At first, he planned to strike Malik down while he slept, but noticing the strange activity of the holocron, he'd opted to wait and see what would happen next. Upon the announcement of the Academy's top students, his jealousy had grown tremendously.
Glaring down at the distracted human, the Neimoidian thought of nothing else but destroying him, then getting the jump on Nores Kree soon after. As soon as he'd felt Kod'lock's life force fade, he knew that it had been Nores who betrayed him, and assumed he'd be next. The Neimoidian Sith would not be so easily fooled, and so not only would he steal Nores' moment of glory, but he would steal his life as well.
Finally, Malik was freed from the holocron's grip, and his mind settled, taking in all the knowledge that had been bestowed upon him. He slowly stood up, and although Kardol Shrataal hadn't noticed it, Malik had been changed forever. He was no longer the silent, mild-mannered boy he had arrived as, and his soul was now filled with all the rage and might of a true Sith.
"Yes, good," the force hissed throughout his mind, "Let the knowledge and the power of the dark side course through your soul. Let your heart be filled with the true way of the Sith..."
As Malik's mind finally settled, he could now sense all of his surroundings, and even felt the Neimoidian, but he could sense that Kardol hadn't realised the change in him just yet. He turned around, knelt, and placed his black, metallic carrying case near the doorway. He felt a shift in the force, and in his mind, he saw Kardol tighten his grip on his light saber, leap down, and slash as hard and fast as he could down on Malik.
In Malik's eyes, the gesture was slowed tremendously, and he felt how much stronger he was than Kardol. Not only had he seen it coming, but it hadn't even happened yet. Suddenly, Malik wheeled around, and his saber clashed with the Neimoidian's in a dead lock. Kardol Shrataal was confused, but still determined to kill Malik.
"So," the thin, green alien said with a snarl, "you've finally grown a back bone. Well, you're too late, Malik! I will be the one who defeats you, and when Nores finds your corpse, I shall strike him down as well!"
"You fool," Malik growled, smirking, "You lack the power to defeat me. I will end you, here and now!"
Breaking free from the lock, Malik flourished his saber swiftly, and as Kardol struggled to gain control of his senses, he barely managed to dodge and deflect Malik's attacks. As they dueled, Malik slowly backed the Neimoidian out of the room, and close to a large, drained power cell. Finally, Malik had cornered his yellow-eyed adversary, and a dark scowl crossed over his face.
"This is the end for you," Malik sneered, "weakling."
Malik raised his right hand, building dark force into a small orb of lightning, and fear began to conquer the Neimoidian's face completely. Malik's rage grew within him, and even he was surprised at the amount of power it gave him. It felt good, and he allowed it to blossom into what it would, using his body as the vessel of control. Finally, it boiled into a thick ball of red lightning, and Malik shot it straight at the power cell. The explosion was massive, but Malik didn't budge as the flames engulfed the entire hallway. He watched as the flames engulfed the Neimoidian's corpse, and passed over the aura of red force protecting him.
Nores' head jerked to the west as he not only heard the explosion, but felt the tremendous amount of force energy that had been expelled suddenly. Running as fast as he could, he knew Malik was now even more powerful, and he was even more motivated to kill him. Whatever had changed, there was no denying Malik's gain in power, and his newfound control of the dark side.
"A pity you weren't more of a challenge," Malik mumbled as he used the force to take the dead Neimoidian's saber from his burnt hand, "Perhaps Nores Kree will offer a greater challenge for me..."
He stood for a moment, twirling the sabers in a skilled flourish, and felt the dark side grow ever stronger inside of him. The force had become his most powerful ally, and he embraced it as he did everything else, with calm, relaxing patience. As he sat in the darkness of the Sith Tomb, awaiting the arrival of Darth Maul's descendant, he felt his power blossom into that of a true Sith.
