Zar spent the entire trip meditating. He had already faced killer droids, the collection of scum an villainy in Jabba's Palace, and had spent months away from Kita, but he knew his final test would have to be the hardest. Kita's voice had told him so, and she would never lie to him. He waited patiently until his master came to get him.

"By the force!"

"Do you know where we are?"

Through the Dragoon's viewpoint window Zar saw a huge planet that looked completely devoid of life.

"The planet Korriban… burial place of the ancient Sith."

"Yes… This planet resonates with the power of the dark side, it is a domain of evil."

Zar could already see where this was going.

"I have to go… down there?"

"For your Trial of the Spirit Zar, you must go to the planet's surface, and find out from the only person on that planet, who is number one?"

Zar reminded himself that Kita was waiting for him, and his master wouldn't be asking this of him if he didn't think he could do it.

"It will be done master."

"I must warn you Zar, you will not face battle droids or bounty hunters down there, but something even more challenging. Find number one, but don't lose yourself doing so."

Chad dropped Zar off on the planet's surface; he then took the ship back into orbit and would wait until Zar was finished. It was so cold Zar could see his breath.

"Oh boy… Let's just get through this and get out of here… I don't want to spend one more second longer on this rock than I need to."

Zar had no idea where to look for this person his master had told him about, so he spend the first forty five minutes just wandering around. He felt uneasy and every couple minutes turned to look the other way, just to make sure he wasn't being followed.

"I really don't like this place… It gives me the creeps.... What the?"

Zar stumbled upon a large footprint. He checked it and determined that it had to be at least a day old.

"Whatever it was, it went that way. And I've got a pretty good feeling that is not where I'll find… whoever it is I'm looking for."

Zar thought, when taking the Trial of the Flesh apprentices had to look deep within themselves, on a quest of self-discovery. Often times, apprentices did not like what they saw, and it could be a highly traumatic experience. So what the hell was he doing on the planet Korriban, the place where Sith lords had been buried and memorialized since time immemorial?

"Wait… Is it because…"

Zar looked at his left hand, this all started when he almost blasted Vader with Force Lightening. He remembered feeling so angry, overcome by fear of losing Kita, and hating Vader so much for trying to take her from him and from the galaxy. The only thing that stopped him from doing it was Kita being there.

Zar's thought were interrupted by a tremor in the force. He looked in the direction he felt it and saw a cave up ahead.

"I sense who or whatever it is I'm looking for is in there."

Zar hadn't made it five steps within the cave when suddenly he a whole flock of flying creatures started to envelop him.

"Oh great, Shyracks!"

Shyracks were slow moving bat-like avian creatures with no eyes that were native to the caves of Korriban. Though blind and velocity challenged, in a flock they could easily rip Zar apart with their razor sharp teeth if they converged upon him together.

"Time to put my months of training to the test."

Zar started to channel the power of the force inside him into a little ball, then he let it all loose, creating a force repulse that sent the whole flock of Shyracks flying hard into the wall.

"Hmm… Patience is a virtue."

Zar continued deeper into the cave, it got colder and darker as he went on.

"That's not a problem."

Force seeing was a basic force power that would strengthen the user's visual and spatial perception. It was a very useful power because a Jedi knew their eyes could deceive them. Now Zar could see a lot better, he noticed that there was strange writing and glyphs all along the wall.

"Whoa… never seen this language before."

Zar imagined that the ancient Sith had brought many of their secrets to their graves here on Korriban. Power was what the Sith lived for, unlike the selfless Jedi, the Sith sought power only for personal gain. They had probably learned many of the secrets of the dark side of the force, but what was power without joy? History had taught Zar that the lives of the Sith were lonely. Darth Maul and Count Dooku both died alone, and Vader should have died on Mustafar. Spending an lifetime trying to acquire power, only to die alone and have your secrets written in a language that no one will understand, what kind of life was that?

"Some secrets are better left forgotten." he said moving on.

Zar went further on and the cave continued to grow darker and colder. He was really beginning to strain his senses so he see using force sight. Suddenly he saw something strange up ahead. There was a collection of strange dark auras up ahead blocking his path. He couldn't notice that aura if he hadn't been using force sight.

"Wait a minute…"

All at once the auras started to advance on him. Zar quickly ignited his lightsaber and slashed at them as they came. The auras disappeared and lumps of dead weight hit the ground.

"Just like I thought… Hssiss."

Hssiss were vicious giant lizards with the abitlity to turn invisible using the dark side of the force. They're teeth were also very poisonous, so Zar checked himself for bite marks before moving on.

Zar was starting to wonder how long he had been inside this cave. It was getting more eerie the deeper he went. He could swear he heard voices whispering to each other. He found himself turning his head to look around every few minutes.

"Child of our enemies, why have you come?"

"What? Who said that?!"

"This grave is not yours… but you are welcome in it."

Zar was staring to lose it.

"Who's there?!"

"Do not be afraid… We are your salvation."

"The dark side called and we obeyed… We have seen and we have learned… We have defied fate and laughed in the face of death… Do you really think you can stand up to those of us who have evolved so far?"

Zar started to run when suddenly he heard growling and snarling.

"Oh no…"

The way Zar came was blocked by a pack of Tuk'ata. Zar and the other had been told terrifying tales of these vicious creatures. The had guarded the tombs of the Sith for eons and were believed to be immortal, or drew nourishment from the force itself. Zar wanted to run, but he knew he would never get away before these creatures tore him to shreds with their six inch claws or their three rows of teeth, Tuk'ata were fast… very fast.

"Feel terror cloud your senses…Feel its power to manipulate… to control…"

"Know that this power can be yours."

Zar continued to move very slowly back in the other direction, and the Tuk'ata advanced on him just as slow, their red eyes burning with hunger, these creatures feasted on the blood of force sensitives, then just like that… one of them took a step back!

"What?"

One of the Tuk'ata that took a step back actually started running, then the others followed suit.

"They're some of the most vicious monster's I've even encountered… They would only run away if… Oh no."

Zar turned around and found himself face to face with a giant monster that dwarfed Jabba's Rancor. Zar almost mistook it for a Rancor, but then he noticed the huge sharp spines extending out of its back and the huge tusks-like projections attached to it's mouth. This was a Terentatek, a creature that was the end result of experiments of the Sith. Like just about everything else on Korriban it's tusks and claws were venomous, but Zar didn't have to worry about that, it would rip him apart and eat him before any poison could ever take effect. The creature's roar shook the entire cave.

"I think now's a perfect time for a tactical retreat."

Zar couldn't take over the Terentatek's mind like he did Jabba's Rancor, and he couldn't risk getting too close to creature because of its huge and venomous claws, all he could do was run.

"I wish I could turn invisible like Kita!"

Suddenly Zar got an idea, calling on the force he sped up and rushed into a dark corner in the opening up ahead. In a matter of moments Terentatek came in, but found nothing. Zar hadn't mastered the ability to render himself invisible, but he had learned to mask his presence in the force, and apparently that was enough, because the Terentatek gave up and left. Zar breathed a sigh of relief.

"I would give up my good arm for this day to just end."

Zar continued to walk down the tunnel expecting to run into some more nightmarish creatures.

"Is my master insane?! I'm not even a full Jedi Knight yet and he sends me into the nest of vipers all by myself! Why can't he find this number one by himself?!"

"What are you complaining about?" asked another part of him "This is just another test, and if you pass it you will see Kita again."

"Dealing with droids and bounty hunters is one thing… but this is totally different!"

"No, this is no different… It's only different in your mind."

"I'm on the burial site of the ancient Sith! I'm being chased by killer monsters!"

"It is no different… You passed your previous trials because you were at peace and handled everything rationally… You will know who number one is when you are at peace."

After that Zar tried his best to calm down, suddenly it was so dark he couldn't see anything even with force seeing. For a few bad moments there was nothing but darkness, then some torches were lit, but they burned an eerie dark color. He was in some kind of arena. He turned around and saw a huge tablet with some strange writing on it against the wall. The writing on the tablet was written in another language, but for some reason Zar could read every word on it as if it were written in Galactic Basic (The Star Wars equivalent to English).

Peace is a lie; there is only passion.

Through passion, I gain strength.

Through strength, I gain power.

Through power, I gain victory.

Through victory, my chains are broken.

The Force shall free me.

Zar could hear the sound of breathing through a respirator, but it was different from Vader's, this sounded harsh and like every breath taken was in pain. Then he heard the sound of a lightsaber igniting. He turned around and saw a Sith lord he had never seen before emerging from the darkness.

(To be continued)

New illustration on deviantart: The Sith Lord!