As a member of one of the more impressive races that chose to pledge loyalty to the Gods of Chaos, the Ogre possessed the strength and power to defeat nearly any pitiful adventurer that foolishly chose to enter his domain.

He wasn't arrogant enough to believe that he could stand against the heroes that had defeated the Demon Lord 10 years ago, or take on the newest champion that was dealing with the most powerful survivors of the Demon Lord's army. But against the type of adventurer that was usually tasked with the eradication of the weakest race that served the Gods of Chaos? The Ogre should have been able to swiftly and easily deal with those that lacked the strength to pursue more...praise worthy achievements.

That had been his initial presumption after he had first sniffed the unmistakable stench of Goblin blood being spilt. But that thought had quickly evaporated as he felt his throat squeezed by a hand that was as unyielding as it was invisible.

If he had been any other creature, like say a Goblin, the Ogre would have probably used his hands to try and pry off the steel like fingers that were preventing him from drawing breath.

But such was not the case.

It didn't take him long to identify his attacker, an armored warrior that looked more like one of the Demon Lord's armored constructs than an adventurer, and acted accordingly.

However, instead of his club turning the strange spell caster into a crumpled pile of metal and organs, the Ogre found his attack stopped by the same magic that was preventing life enriching air from reaching his lungs.

So, as his vision started to go black, he used his sole remaining hand to form his last attempt to cling to life.

And miraculously it worked. Even if that small human female had done her part to ensure that her party didn't get consumed by the power of his fireball.

But as his throat was now free to suck in some much needed air, he would grant them that small mercy.

Short though it might have been.

For now he knew which of these pathetic fools he had to take out first. And while his first impulse was to drag out the suffering of the one that had nearly granted him a ignoble end, his more tactical mind recognized that a quick victory was his only chance to wi...

'Khoooooooh Purrrrrr. Khooooh Puurrrr'.

...

With the sound of his no longer muted respirator echoing throughout the chamber, Vader was uncertain whether he should feel irritation towards the towering creature, or with himself.

He had sensed that the power of the being, while formidable when compared to the strength of the rest of his party, was hardly greater than that of a moderately skilled Jedi Knight. And thus had deemed it to be little threat to him. However, unlike the majority of those who had the unfortunate privilege of finding themselves in his Force induced grip, which at one time had included even Sidious himself, this creature had managed to resist the impulse to clutch uselessly at it's throat and try and break his concentration.

Stopping the oversized club with the Force while maintaining his invisible grip had been simple enough.

Using the Force to maintain his chokehold while stopping himself from being crushed to death AND from being set ablaze?

That was sadly beyond his ability to deal with quickly.

Fortunately, the young cleric had intervened before the flames could make contact with his body. Which in turn allowed him the chance to consider the best way to deal with this Rancor sized opponent. Who quite rightly identified him as the most powerful member of this unusual gathering.

On one hand he could once again use the Force to choke the life out of the hulking brute. And now that he had a better sense of it's abilities, he could avoid a repeat of his first attempt.

And yet despite the way in which this could easily be accomplished, Vader dismissed this idea entirely.

Not because he feared that his method would fail. But because the creature had earned a more dignified end.

Thus, the former Jedi slowly but steadily walked towards the enraged monster, and ignited his blade.

...

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING"?

Despite the grimness of the situation, Dwarf Shaman could only chuckle at the Elf's emotional outburst.

"What does it look like he's doing long ears? He's going to try and salvage his pride as a warrior".

Normally, such a sight of bravado would have caused the portly spell caster to shake his head in resigned pity. For this wasn't the first time he had witnessed a comrade try and foolishly reclaim his lost honor. But considering what he had seen of Vader's abilities, Dwarf Shaman suspected that his comrade would be the one to emerge victorious. Not their formidable foe.

Sadly however, a certain flat chested immortal had other ideas.

"Tsssk. What's the use of pride when your too dead to enjoy it"?

Though agreeing with that particular sentiment, even if he would never voice his agreement where Elf Archer's ears could hear him, the bearded adventurer was unsure if the Elf's aid was required for this particular battle.

Which is why he decided to wisely step back and join the rest of his silently watching companions.

...

If he wasn't already enraged by the audacity of these pitiful, yet undeniably deadly intruders, he would have laughed at the sight that was in front of him.

Despite the fact that this wasn't the first time he had dealt with the scum that foolishly called themselves adventurers, this was perhaps the first instance were his foes decided to abandon the false security of strength in numbers.

Something that was perfectly fine with him since it meant that he no longer had to ensure that each one of his blows was a killing one.

And considering that he desperately wanted to punish the puny warrior that made him experience the cowardly emotion of fear, the Ogre would ensure that each and every one of his blows would make his enemy beg for death without actually causing it.

But sadly, one of the potential carriers for his future spawn seemed to lack the intelligence of her cowering comrades.

If she possessed a magical weapon like the black armored one, she might have posed a threat. But armed with only a bow and arrow, she couldn't possibly do any h...

His dismissive thoughts vanishing in the split second it took for the pain of the optic puncture to course through his head, the enraged Ogre barely registered the buzzing sound of his enemy's glowing weapon as he tried to pull out the offending projectile.

The problem was, the more his fingers tried to grab the arrow shaft, the more a stinging sensation pass through the upper portions of his arm as his fingers continued to fail in their simple task.

Turning his good eye towards the suddenly useless limb, the towering ogre choked in disbelief as he was met with the sight of his smoking handless limb.

Snarling at the loss of his hand, the wounded creature was prevented cursing the one responsible for his humiliation thanks to the armored one's latest assault.

...

Smirking beneath his mask as his thrown lighsaber made contact with the muscled torso of his enemy, and having learned from his earlier mistake of leaving his foe capable of fighting back, Vader clenched his fist and watched with dark satisfaction, and some slight annoyance, as his blade made the creature suffer the same fate that had been suffered by Sidious's first apprentice.

Calling his lightsaber back into his hand, and ignoring the perfectly audible gasps of surprise from most of his so called teammates, the former Jedi kept his blade ignited as he slowly made his way over to the bisected creature.

"What...what sort of creature are you"?

Slightly impressed that his halved opponent still had the strength to form coherent sentences, and using the Force to prevent it from lashing out in its final moments, Vader only had one word for the partially blinded creature as he raised his lightsaber.

"Death".

...

In a world where the Gods amused themselves by using their chosen pieces to compete each other in a never ending game, there were only a limited amount of futures one could expect if they had attracted the interest of the watching deities.

The most common fate to be had, and the one that served as a trial run for those that had gained the attention of the ruling powers, was to be killed by the weakest members of the opposing side. Goblins killing eager young adventeruers who desired to make a name for themselves, untrained farmers killing the creatures that could become a true terror if they lived long enough to evolve. It did not matter the moral alignment of selected pieces. They all ended up sharing the same fate.

Of course for those that survived this intial ordeal, 2 choices were presented to them. They could either choose to continue their path where they ran the risk of sharing in the fate of their fallen comrades. Or they could abandon their dreams of glory and pursue a life of obscuirity. For in their eternal game, no one was safe from the attention of the Gods.

However, there were 2 slight exceptions to this rule.

The first one had at one time attracted the interest of those deities that were interested in the advancement of heroes. But following the destruction of the only home he had every known, and then his decision to focus his potential on the weakest members of the Forces of Chaos, the mortal that bore the title Goblin Slayer lost this fickle favor. And thus had been discarded as a piece that was deemed to unimportant to permanently remove from the board, even if no deity, good or evil, wished to add him to their collection of minions.

The second exception, and the one that had recently gained the attention of the ranking deities, was the one whos soul bore the marks of a man who had spent his life almost equally divided between the forces of good and evil.

Add to the fact that his formidable power came the same source as the Gods themselves, albeit on a much more limited scale duhey sirehis position as a mortal, the Gods had locked themselves into a stalemate as the armored man chose to follow the path of an adventurer.

For those that were considered to be the Forces of Good, they looked upon this piece's actions as proof that he would fit in with those that enjoyed the title of hero.

But their opposites had a conflicting opinion.

Yes this piece had chosen to target the weakest race that worshiped them, but they could see how each life he took, especially in the manner in which he did so, only served to highlight his capability for violent destruction.

But, since he had yet to directly call upon the forces of either side to aid him, much like the discarded piece, the watching Gods were unable to do more than influence his decision to seek divine favor.

The Light, through one of its agents had already alerted the mortal to the possibility of what the Light could offer him. But the Dark wasn't too overly concerned since it suspected that such a course of action would lead the mortal more vulnerable to its influence.

For it could sense that its future piece's condition was a result of foolish pride.

And as the more devout mortals were fond of saying, Pride goeth before the fall.

...

Annnnnd that's enough for now XD.

Apologsies for the shortness of this chapter, but once again, afflicted with the terrible illness known as writers block. However, am pleased to finally reach the point I had envisioned when I first came up with this story.

Pleased to see how much interest this story has gained, and now to address some of the comments that have been made.

For those that are against a Vader pairing, I have decided that, for the time being at least, he will have no pairing. This is due in part to the fact that Vader/Anakin had never shown interest in anyone who wasn't Padme, and the questionable state of his...lower half. Cause as Robot Chicken pointed out he did have his 'wang dipped in molten hot lava". Yes I know he didn't actually fall into the lava (movie just shows his legs catching fire from being too close), but the sentiment is there XD.

However, that does not mean he can't form other types of relationships.

As for those who questioned how weak he is, for either plot device etc, I point out it is still possible to take him by surprise. Though hard to do. Tarkin at out point fought him to a draw, albeit at the cost of all of his slug and flame thrower equipped hunting team, and even then it took a bolt of lightening to knock him down. And then of course, over a decade later, you have him wipe out a large Rebel company almost single handedly without suffering any major injuries. Both Canon and Legends tend to prove that it is VERY hard to take him by surprise twice.

And as for the ending, think I did a pretty good job in summarizing the view points of the Gods in regards to their game. Unlike Goblin Slayer, who as I recall has been more or less dismissed as a viable piece in the game between the Gods, Vader, because of his powers, and the fact that he has spent all his life more or less equally in both aspects of the moral spectrum, he represents the type of piece that any deity would wish to possess. As for the bit about their powers coming from the same source as Vaders, leaving that ambigious for now, however as Star Wars has shown, magic is just one way an individual can interact with the Force.

Anyway, hopefully you all enjoyed how he dealt with the Ogre. I confess that I was influenced by the fan made video on y outube where Vader and Obiwan's battle on the Death Star is much more epic. Highly recommend you look it up. Thinks its under title Vader vs Obiwan remastered.

Plz review, no flames.

And I will begin work on the next chapter as soon as I can.