Author's Note:
Thanks for your reveiw Kal Sorn ! Cara's history is somthing that gets covered over the full story not just this one, she doesn't even find out what species she is untill the second story!
Hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

Ordeal

Eight Years Later….

The Sith Apprentice sat on the ground of a dark room. She couldn't see the walls, the ceiling, not even the floor she sat on. With her head buried in her arms she tried to ignore the darkness. It was as hard as ignoring the blood that was staining her flesh.

Her Master would call her weak, but she had never killed like this before… Never hunted harmless people and slaughtered them for no reason. Her Master said she shouldn't care, she was a Sith, not a weak Jedi, but someone who saw the Force as what it truly was. A weapon to be used by the powerful. A means to an end. Her end whatever that may be.

As her Master's rules dictated she was to meditate and think on her mission for awhile more. Only when he believed she was ready would she be allowed out to prepare herself for her next ordeal.

By the time the sun rose on the planet she would be more then just a Sith Apprentice. She would carry her Master's mark and another of his choosing on her body for all to see if she wished to show them.

Her hand clenched around her Lightsabers.

She would finally be a Sith.

Cyan, as her Master had named her, could not remember her life before she had been brought to his Temple. Her master was the Sith Lord Darth Tormel one of the most dangerous of them all. He was also notorious for destroying his Apprentices if they did not live up to his expectations. Soon Cyan would join only two other living Sith that had been trained by Tormel.

As Cyan washed the blood from her body and prepared herself for the Ordeal she tried to focus her mind on her lost past. As usual nothing came to her.

Darth Tormel had told her that she had been found near death and abandoned by whoever had been caring for her. Her rescuers had been people known as Sith Cultist, basically people who supported and worked with the Sith. They had taken her to his Temple after seeing signs of a Lightsaber duel. When Tormel met her she had still been unconscious, but he could sense her Force Ability and had taken her on as his Apprentice giving her a new name and a new life. She had tried to never disappoint him and must have succeeded, as Cyan was still alive.

Almost as soon as Cyan had finished dressing, the door was flung open.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" Cyan snapped in an annoyed voice.

The Sith that stood there returned her comment with a withering glance.

His name was Jai and he was the surviving apprentice before herself. As far as Cyan was concerned her was an arrogant, self righteous slime-ball who should have been fed to a rancor at birth, if even it would take such a poisonous meal.

As far as Jai was concerned Cyan was a waste of space, unworthy to control the force and should have been left to die. Needless to say that neither got along.

When the two finished glaring at each other Jai spoke.

"Master Tormel said I am to guide you through the Ordeal." He looked as happy with that idea as she was.

"Fine, whatever." Cyan sighed, "I'm ready anyway."

"Sure you can handle this?" Jai smirked "We all know that the Force isn't exactly your strong point…"

In a quick movement Cyan had drawn one of her Lightsabers and had the humming red blade next to his neck.

"But we all know that this is…" Cyan mimicked his tone and withdrew the blade from him and replaced it at her belt.

Jai glared at her.

"This way… no turning back now whelp."

The first stages of the Ordeal were passed easily. Jai stood out of her way while she used the force to move obstacles out of her way or to control the weak minds of a handful of guards. Cyan was relieved that her Force ability had improved as she aged.

She had also fought a few Sith along the way. Jai told her she had one challenge left.

Cyan wasn't sure if she should believe him.

Just as Cyan was beginning to think that Jai was misleading her she was attacked.

Her attacker was one of the oldest apprentices to Darth Tormel, a red female Twi-lek named May-Lan.

May-Lan was a cunning Sith often undertaking assassination missions and could spend months out doing the work her master gave her. Cyan was glad it was May-Lan she was fighting and not Jai, not that this would be any easier!

Quickly Cyan pulled both Lightsabers from her belt and activated them. At the same time May-Lan activated the other side of her deadly Lightsaber staff. Cyan immediately noticed the advantage would go to May-Lan, as a Lightsaber is far stronger in two hands then in one, and used the Force to jump over May-Lan and dodge her attack, she used the surprise move and used the Force to push May-Lan away from her. Even though May-Lan recovered quickly she had given Cyan enough time to combine her two Lightsabers into a single Saber staff.

This ability Cyan had built into her Sabers was one of her ultimate sources for surprise. Even May-Lan who knew of this trick slightly backed off into a defensive stance.

Cyan lunged at May-Lan and the two got locked into deadly combat with the red blades humming through the air only to crash into the others blade. Cyan didn't know how long the battle lasted, her mind was completely occupied on defeating her opponent. The opportunity came when May-Lan began to tire. Cyan moved in quickly and slashed the Saber staff in half. May-Lan quickly adjusted the saber to only emit one blade. That moment of distraction was all Cyan needed, she kicked the other half of the saber out of May-Lan's hand and kicked her to the ground.

Only after she stepped away and returned her Lightsabers did May-Lan stand up. She nodded in respect to Cyan who returned the gesture.

Jai led her into another room for the final part of the Ordeal.

Cyan had never felt pain like that before. Jai and May-Lan stood to the side. Jai seemed to be enjoying her pain. A thought in the back of her head told her that her master was enjoying inflicting the pain as well.

Darth Tormel spent a particularly long time making his mark perfect. Her whole body felt the pain and her right shoulder burnt with a feeling beyond it. Jai once told her that the ink used for tattooing had a poison of some sort in it to cause this extra pain and separate weak apprentices from the strong. Right now she believed that. Soon the pricking on her shoulder blade ceased. Even though she couldn't see it she knew a perfect circle supported by a triangle like shape was permanently placed their.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw her master preparing to put the other mark on her. Jai helped roll her over roughly. Her body screamed in protest as Tormel started to mark her feet.

Cyan wanted to pass out. In the back of her mind she suddenly felt a soothing presence. Someone was calling her name. At least she knew it was her name but didn't understand what the voice was saying.

Only when Tormel was finished did she pass out.