627 BBY; 3 years later…
During the course of his training, Vrehk had visited several worlds with his master. Their environments ranged from desert to jungle to ocean. While all of them were in some way meant to test him, he didn't mind them as much. In the five years he'd studied under Darth Perdition, there was only one planet he detested with every fibre of his being. It was the planet he now stood on.
Hoth.
The entire planet was a frozen ball of ice. Even the so-called 'warm' days were well below zero. Almost no equipment or vehicles could function, blizzards were common, and vicious predators roamed the tundra.
Vrehk stood in ankle-deep snow, hugging himself as he tried not to chatter his teeth into pieces. Now 15 years old, he'd experienced a fresh growth spurt. Years of brutal, physical training gave him a muscular physique that gained more and more definition as he aged. His horns had finally started growing. They were short, their points blunted. But before long, they would be long and sharp. He wore a white environment suit, but not the helmet or gloves. The normally bright red colour of his skin looked almost bleached. His sharpened fingernails and tips of his fingers were black, and he couldn't feel his pointed ears.
"Exquisite, is it not?" his master asked.
Darth Perdition stood a few metres away, dressed in his black zeyd-cloth robe. He only wore a simple shirt and a pair of trousers underneath, as well as combat boots. Despite the howling, blisteringly cold winds and several inches of snow, he appeared as comfortable as he was on Kuat.
"Y-y-yes, master," Vrehk replied dutifully.
Perdition glanced at him, a smirk tugging his lips. He spoke in a conversational tone, yet his voice could be easily heard over the wind. "Such a perfect place. No distractions, no insipid little cretins intruding on our time. This world is pure, apprentice. The padded comforts of civilization only serve to weaken us. Nature, undiluted, offers pain, but it also cleanses the soul. It nourishes us by chipping away at our weaknesses. In a harsh environment like this, we find our strength."
"Through s-s-strength, I gain p-power," Vrehk said, his teeth chattering against his will.
"Through strength, I gain power," Perdition echoed. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. "It has been years since I've been back here. My own master took me here when I was an apprentice. I, too, thought I would freeze to death. I could feel the frostbite gnawing at my fingers and toes. At the time, it seemed impossible to survive such conditions. But through the power of the Dark Side, I persevered. For it, and the Force, is unlimited. It is the energy binding all of creation together. You simply have to reach out and take control of it. The Jedi seek to live in harmony with the Force, but that is blasphemy. Life is about struggle, fighting to survive as you dominate the lesser life forms. Use that power. Struggle to master it."
Vrehk nodded. Reaching deep within himself, he sensed the pool of Dark Side energy at his core. It simmered with power, potential. Clenching his jaw, he plunged his consciousness into the pool. Almost immediately, the blizzard became a distant concern. Warmth returned to his fingers and face, and a fresh wave of vitality surged through his being.
The power felt searing; his skin tingled as if on the edge of boiling. It threatened to overwhelm him. Taking deep breaths, he focused with his will, containing and channeling the power. It fought him, not easily tamed once released. His master had repeatedly stated the Force was merely an energy field, nothing more. "It is no more alive than the atoms of our bodies, or the cogs in a machine. The Force is a tool, and only the Sith are suited to use it properly."
While he trusted his master implicitly, Vrehk sometimes doubted those words. The Force was energy, yes. But his studies of history revealed its tendency to wax and wane. The Sith and Jedi had each bordered on the edge of extinction, only to return and become strong. Just when all seemed lost for both orders, either a miraculous event or a powerful saviour would arrive. It almost reminded him of how the body produced anti-bodies to ward off infections. That response was biological, inherent in all lifeforms.
Vrehk felt the Force empower him. With another breath, he knew he'd tamed the Dark Side within him. With every lesson, every piece of knowledge and life energy absorbed, his powers grew.
"Well done, my apprentice," Perdition said. "Now, let us get to it." He ran forward with a burst of speed.
This time, unlike his very first task on the moon of Ohjal, Vrehk could keep up. With a surge of Dark Side energy, he raced forward like a blaster bolt. He knew his master slowed for his sake, but someday they would be equal. The endless white tundra, occasionally broken up by a gaping crevasse or a sharp-topped mountain chain, flew under his feet. Master and apprentice crossed the kilometres in a handful of minutes. They stopped at a shallow cliff overlooking a flat valley. There, grazing across the snow in search of fungus or small rodents to eat, was a herd of Tauntauns. Though the snow made seeing them almost impossible, Vrehk sensed them through the Force. The reptomammals were at peace, unaware of the predators stalking them this day.
He and Perdition nodded to each other. The master had given a task, and the apprentice would obey.
Vrehk drew the vibroblade at his belt. Once, such a weapon would have been heavy and unwieldy in his hands. No more. After years of training, and several prisoners' minds drained for information, Vrehk had become quite proficient in the art of swordplay. He longed for the feel of a proper lightsaber in his hand, the blade humming like the dark heart of the universe. Soon, Perdition had promised him. Soon he would craft his own weapon, and in the process become a proper Sith Lord.
With weapons in hand, they dashed down into the valley. Moving with purpose, the two Sith would have appeared to be wraiths, too fast to be seen by the naked eye. A Tauntaun at the edge of the herd, chewing on a clump of bright green fungus, happened to look up. Closing on it, Vrehk drew back the vibroblade and plunged it into the creature's neck.
Unable to comprehend what had happened, it could only gurgle and sputter as blood gushed from the wound. It poured over Vrehk's arm, staining the sleeve of his environment suit and steaming the snow below.
As the creature died, he felt his connection to the Dark Side grow. "We are the apex predators of existence, apprentice," Perdition taught. "Our trade is death and destruction. We feed from the loss of life, growing stronger in the process. The ignorant would call us cruel. They fail to realize that nature is inherently cruel and barbaric. Bloodshed is encoded into the DNA of every living organism. The Jedi refute this, if only out of fear of what they might become. We embrace this fact. We do not hide from what we are, or what needs to be done."
He felt a brief flicker of regret as he killed his target. It had been born, suckled at its mother's teat, and grown for years. A life spent in relative peace, only to be cut short. In that moment, Vrehk felt the potential of its life burst like a bubble. All that it was, and might have been, flowed into him.
It felt exhilarating.
Another Tauntaun gave a strangled cry of distress as Perdition nearly cut its head off. His face became spattered with blood, the drops forming a macabre starscape on his pale skin.
The rest of the herd became aware of them and, with cries of distress, sprinted away. Drenched in the blood of their first kills, the hunters gave chase. They easily caught up with their prey, killing more with hardly an effort. With every kill, every gush of blood, Vrehk's connection to the Dark Side grew. He drank in the death, letting it nourish him and wash away the doubt or regret he might have had.
As Perdition was fond of saying, "You must become anesthetized to murder."
Finishing on Hoth, they travelled to the desert world of Tatooine, trading blizzards and frost for sandstorms and rock. Still, Vrehk preferred sweltering heat over frigid cold. Setting down in a remote canyon in the Jundland Wastes, he and his master traversed the rocky plateaus and cliffs until they entered the vast emptiness of the Dune Sea. Without a word, and only a few tools in their packs, they set out across the desert absent food or water.
Vrehk didn't complain. Much of his training thus far had consisted of deprivation, the lack of an essential quality of life. Whole days were spent without food, water, or sleep. Many times he thought of giving up. The physical obstacles of that nature seemed impossible to overcome. A part of him had wanted to eat, drink, and sleep himself into a coma. To know comfort and peace.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Those words always came to mind in the darkest moments of doubt. The first line of the Sith code, written by the Jedi Exiles who had had the courage and strength to challenge the hypocrisy of the Jedi and forge their own path. Those words reminded Vrehk of what he wanted to become, what he'd bled and starved and suffered to evolve into. Life was not about pointless suffering; it was often cruel and merciless, but never pointless. Suffering prompted the strong to stand up and take what was theirs, and it forced the weak into the dirt where they belonged.
Whenever Vrehk wavered, he thought of the person he'd been before Darth Perdition took him in. A scared, helpless, child. Too weak and spineless to stand up for himself. Pathetic. Everything his bastard grandfather believed him to be.
'I am better than that,' Vrehk thought to himself. 'I'm stronger than I ever was. Only the path of the Sith could have made me this way. Those who denounce the Dark Side as the refuge of the weak and cowardly only show their ignorance. They deserve to burn. The Jedi deserve to burn. The Dark Side teaches freedom and self-reliance.'
For hours, they wandered the Dune Sea. The baking heat of the twin suns overhead made Vrehk's skin blister. He could have used the Force to stave off the effects, but he didn't. After all, pain and suffering were the stones upon which a Sith sharpens himself, body and soul. At first they were accosted by the local fauna and some of the natives. A group of Wraids, armoured reptilians, charged them shortly after they entered the Dune Sea.
"Let these beasts display the challenges we face on our mission," Perdition said as they fought the Wraids. Their armoured hides were tough enough to resist their vibroblades and blaster bolts. "The Republic, though deserving to be destroyed, will not fall easily. Our kind have tried to break them with force, but with little success. To truly bring the Republic and the Jedi down, we must use guile and precision." Perdition used the Force to suspend a Wraid in mid-air. The creature flailed with its large, powerful forelegs, but could do nothing to end its plight. Perdition, without looking, used the Force to throw his vibroblade into the slight gap between the creature's skull plates. He then used the weapon to pry the top plate off, eliciting agonized wails from the Wraid. The plate popped off with a sickening crunch, exposing the softer tissue underneath. A single stab was all it took to die.
Vrehk repeated the process, jumping onto the back of a Wraid that tried to charge him. Once he removed the skull plate, he jammed his sharpened fingernails into the creature's brain and tore a chunk of squishy matter out. The rest of the Wraid pack were dead within minutes, their plates piled on the sand. Vrehk and his master continued on their original path.
After that, the Tusken Raiders had made their move.
The savages had played it smart. They observed the two interlopers for several hours, likely waiting for them to tire from desert heat. Vrehk sensed them immediately, though only as a rough amalgam of life signs. Perdition guided him in clarifying his senses. He focused, and one by one, the amalgam separated into distinct shapes.
When the Tuskens launched their ambush, it had already been too late.
Perdition blasted two of them with lightning, then suspended a third in mid-air before crushing his body like a twig. Vrehk, for his part, drew upon his hatred and contempt for the murderous primitives. Tilting his head back, he bellowed with the power of the Force. It boomed like a thunderclap, carrying a wave of dark intent. The closest attackers were thrown back, their bones shattering. The Tuskens, awed by the display, shrieked and fled.
"Being a Sith is not merely about channeling the Dark Side," Perdition told him as they resumed their journey. "It is about using our superior power and intellect to cow and guide the masses. The vast majority of beings are a fickle mob, enslaved to their baser needs and fears. We, as enlightened beings, have a responsibility to cull the weakest of their number and pave the way to a galaxy ruled by our benevolence. They are cattle, and we are their shepherds. The ultimate goal of the Grand Plan, as established by Darth Bane, is to restore the Sith to galactic power so the galaxy can be saved from itself."
"I understand, master."
They eventually came to a dune that eclipsed all the others. It was no exaggeration to equate it to a mountain of sand. Vrehk sensed something coming from within it. A dark taint, faint and muted, but definitely there. It almost seemed like the desert had tried to bury something under so many centuries of sand. Whatever he sensed, it felt ancient.
Perdition climbed partway up and took a shovel from his pack. Vrehk did the same. For the rest of the day, and all through the night, they shoveled sand from halfway up the dune. Vrehk had no idea what they would find, but he did not question his master. He used the Force to sustain himself, staving off fatigue and preventing heatstroke. Finally, they broke through. Sand poured into the hole, widening the gap until it stretched nearly a metre across.
After tossing a glowrod into the darkness below, Perdition hopped into the hole. Vrehk followed, landing with relative grace on the ground.
The chamber around them was dark, with the only light coming from the glowrod and the beam of morning sunlight from the opening above. Vrehk squinted as he looked around. It seemed like just another cave, buried by sand. Then, he spotted something unusual. He walked over and ran his hand over it. The object was too smooth to be naturally occurring rock. A structure, perhaps? But if it was, then the general state of the place would indicate a truly ancient origin.
"Master," he said. "What is this place?"
"Look here," Perdition replied. He gestured to something nestled against a large alcove, towards the back of the cave. It was made of a black metal, and consisted of a trio of long, flat arms attached to a circular base. As Vrehk approached, he detected the dark taint he'd sensed from outside. This close, the Force signature was stronger, but still faint. Perhaps it had once been powerful, but no longer.
"Some sort of device," he said, running his fingers along the metal. "But I have no idea what it is."
"I'm disappointed," Perdition said. "Given your fascination with Darth Revan, I thought this place would be more obvious."
Then, it clicked. Vrehk looked, wide-eyed, at his master, then back at the object. He took another, deeper look at the cave. "This…this is a Rakatan star map! We're standing in the ruins of their temple!"
Perdition nodded. "Correct. Time, it seems, has done its best to erase this place."
Over 3,000 years ago, the cave and the ruins it contained had been visited by the venerable Darth Revan. First during his rise to power as the Dark Lord of the Sith, then once again after his mind had been wiped by the Jedi. Revan had used the information gained here, as well as star maps on Dantooine, Kashyyyk, Manaan, and Korriban, to locate the Star Forge. Built by the Rakatan Infinite Empire thirty millennia ago, it had been their crowning achievement, an instrument of conquest and the pinnacle of their power with the Dark Side. And Vrehk was standing right here, the same spot Revan himself had once stood all those centuries ago. He basked in the history of this place, the stories it must have contained.
"My master was particularly enamored of the Rakata," Perdition explained. "He viewed them as the prime example of what one can achieve with the power of the Dark Side. And…what can be taken away. The Rakata were mighty in their time, but for all their power, they fell all the same. Whether by science or happenstance, they lost their connection to the Force. Their greatest gift was taken away during the height of their arrogant decadence. They believed themselves unassailable, and it cost them everything."
"Yes, master," Vrehk said, only half paying attention.
"As powerful as we become in the Dark Side, never forget that we are also mortal, apprentice. Our minds, our spirits, may be superior in almost every way, but eventually our bodies wither and die and our spirits set adrift in the Force. Let these ruins be a reminder: time is the greatest enemy of life. One day, you and I will be nothing but dust, our names forgotten. Nothing will remain but our achievements, our contributions to the Grand Plan."
Just then, the cave shook as something impacted above. Vrehk looked up as the cave shook again and again. Sections of dust fell from the ceiling in a line that led to the hole they'd made. He stiffened as he sensed something above them, fingers flexing in anticipation. Perdition, though he, too, looked up, appeared well at ease. The section of ceiling around the hole began to crack. The cracks spider-webbed nearly to the cave walls until nearly all of it collapsed at once. Vrehk jumped back as a waterfall of sand poured down amid the rubble and stalactites. Something moved within the debris, something alive and very large.
It crashed onto the ground, shaking as the sand threw up a cloud. It gave a bellowing roar, and Vrehk used the Force to push the dust back enough to see. The creature that broke into the cave was large, nearly three metres in length. It had a tough, leathery hide, muscular legs with wide, padded feet that featured gleaming claws, a tail, and a pair of horns that sprouted from the back of its head.
"A Krayt Dragon!" Vrehk exclaimed, nervous and excited at the sight of Tatooine's legendary predator.
"A juvenile, if I had to guess," Perdition said calmly.
"But what is it doing here?"
"Such creatures are naturally drawn to places where the Dark Side emanates. Revan himself defeated a dragon that had taken residence in this cave." The dragon, overcoming its surprise at falling into the cave, turned to regard them and roared as a show of intimidation. In response, Perdition activated his lightsaber. The crimson blade came to life with a snap-hiss, bathing his face in the colour of blood. With almost negligible effort, he threw his weapon at the dragon.
The lightsaber spun in a lethal arc, having no difficulty finding its target. Vrehk thought his master would guide it to slice the dragon's head in two. Instead, it carved a deep furrow in its front foot, eliciting a cry of pain. The lightsaber cut the three other feet, crippling the beast. No longer able to support itself, it slipped onto its stomach, growling impotently at them.
Perdition, after catching his lightsaber and clipping it back onto his belt, said, "This is your next trial. Kill it."
Vrehk blinked. "Are you certain, master?"
Perdition gave him a cold look. "You will not leave this cave until you kill that dragon."
He understood. The Sith dealt only in absolutes; in battle, there could be no half-measures, no room for doubt. Kill or be killed. The Force was life itself, and life was all about the struggle for dominance. Nature rewarded the strong, it always had. This time, Vrehk was the strong one. All he had to do was prove it.
Steeling himself, drawing deep on the Dark Side, he charged.
The Krayt Dragon took notice, large eyes narrowing. It likely thought him just another prey animal. It opened its jaws wide, baring a cavernous mouth filled with venomous fangs, and tried to bite him in half. Vrehk leapt off the ground, narrowly avoiding death and digestion. He landed on the ground, then spun around. The Dragon growled as its eyes found him again. So used to slow-moving herds of Banthas and Dewbacks, it was unprepared for such a quick target.
Vrehk glanced at the debris scattered around him. Reaching out with the Force, he grabbed a chunk of rock as large as he was. Gritting his teeth from the strain, he lifted and hurled the rock at the dragon's face. It struck, and the dragon recoiled, but half a second later it lunged at him again.
It was all Vrehk could do to catch the beast's jaws with the Force and keep them from closing around him. He stood his ground, but the intense effort of holding back something several times larger than him ate away at his strength. His hands began to tremble as his muscles burned and his head throbbed. Standing a safe distance away, his master observed the fight with cold indifference. Vrehk sensed his growing disappointment. If he allowed himself to fail and become the Krayt Dragon's meal, he would've proven his inadequacy. Perdition would move on and find another apprentice, a replacement.
Vrehk's breathing intensified as his anger grew. No, he wouldn't fail here. He owed his master for everything: his life and, more importantly, the opportunity to stand by his side as a true Sith Lord. He owed it to himself to prove his strength.
His hatred rose, fueling his power and lessening the aches and pains. Perdition's lessons came to mind, especially his lectures on tactics. "There are times when charging your enemy and overwhelming them with your strength are called for," Perdition had said. "But there are times when a more skillful approach will bring you victory. You must always look for your opponent's weakness, the chink in their armour. Whether it be an injury, an opening in their fighting style, or their own arrogance. Fall back from the areas where they show strength, and attack the areas where they are vulnerable."
With those words in mind, Vrehk knew what he had to do.
With a grunt, he released his grip on the dragon's jaws as he flipped backwards. When it lunged at him, he jumped onto its face and held on tight. It growled in frustration, reacting on instinct by jerking its head from side to side. Despite his best efforts, his fingers slipped from the violent motions. Vrehk was launched back. Fortunately, he righted himself in mid-air just enough to catch one of the dragon's horns.
Concentrating his anger, he cast a few red bolts of lightning from his fingertips. The bolts struck the dragon's eye, which popped like a grape and sprayed blood and fluid. It wailed in agony, thrashing and kicking where it laid.
Vrehk repeated the move, this time with the other eye. With his opponent blinded, his options now multiplied. He grabbed the tip of its horn, pulling with all his might. It took several seconds, even with his strength boosted with the power of the Dark Side. But eventually, he succeeded in tearing off the sharpened tip. Hopping down onto the sand, Vrehk took a few steps back. The Krayt Dragon had lost all its hunter's instincts, now lost in a daze of pure agony and confusion. It might have lived a successful life in the wild, operating on its sense of smell or hearing. But it had been marked for death by the Sith, and there was no avoiding that fate.
He gave a sharp whistle, and the Krayt Dragon turned in his general direction. It snarled, nostrils flared. While its hide was tough, highly resistant to many weapons, there was one weak spot Vrehk read about in a zoological text in his master's library.
Using the Force, he launched the tip of broken horn like a missile. It shot through the air, then pierced the beast's soft sinus cavity before burrowing straight into its brain. The large predator gave a single, stifled whimper, then collapsed.
The cave became eerily silent.
As the dust settled, Vrehk felt himself returning to the moment. Awash in the power of the Dark Side, he'd ignored how much of a toll the battle had taken. His arms and legs ached with a deep soreness that would take days to heal. When he tried to bend one arm, it seized in a cramp that tore through his muscles. He panted from exertion, his mouth suddenly dry and throat parched. He didn't want to think of the bruising he'd have in the next few days. Vrehk's right eye blinked as something dripped onto it, and when he touched his forehead, he felt warm blood leaking from a cut.
Perdition stepped over to him, his expression neutral. "Well done, apprentice."
"Thank you, master," Vrehk said, breathless.
Without uttering another word, his master began to climb out of the cave. He started to follow, then paused. That same zoological text that outlined the softness of a Krayt Dragon's sinus cavity also mentioned something of greater interest. The beasts did not digest food in the traditional sense. Instead, they ingested large stones that rested in their gizzards. The stones would help crush and break apart anything, or anyone, they ate. Over time, they became smooth and rounded. Some would gain a brilliant lustre. To the Sand People tribes, a Krayt Dragon Pearl was a mark of a great hunter, worthy of enormous prestige and honour. To the wider galaxy, a pearl could fetch as much as 100,000 credits to the right buyer.
To a wielder of the Force, they represented something infinitely more valuable.
Taking a sharp knife from his pack, Vrehk cut into the dragon's belly. Even though it was a juvenile, there was a chance it held a pearl. Remembering the diagrams from the text, he rooted around its innards in a search for the last chamber of the gizzard. The smell nearly made him retch, and his face, chest, and arms became soaked in blood and viscous juices. Twice the knife slipped out of his hands, and it was all he could do to grab hold of it again.
After locating the gizzard, he sliced it open. He found pieces of bone that, judging by their size, belonged to several Tusken Raiders, a torn set of Jawa robes, and a number of Wraid plates. Vrehk began to lose hope. Maybe this dragon had been too young, or the stones were so misshapen he'd mistaken them for other detritus.
Just then, he noticed something amid a pile of bones. It almost looked like a faint glow. Moving the bones aside, he saw a fist-sized pool of stomach juices. Something glowed within. Scooping it up with one hand, Vrehk wiped away the juices with the other. Wiping off the final layer, he gave a wide smile. In his hand was a Krayt Dragon Pearl. It fit in the entirety of his hand, smooth as a polished gemstone. It glowed an iridescent white. Vrehk felt an elated sense of triumph. Not only had he slain a vicious predator here, thus proving his strength, but he'd also claimed a great prize. The Dark Side had given him an opportunity.
One more component for the lightsaber he would build one day.
