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A Sith Transport Ship dropped out of hyperspace over the planet Dromund Kass, and entered its atmosphere. It was dark and stormy; it's clouds were dark and thick, which made it hard to see. Thunder rumbled through the clouds as lightning flashed across the the sky. The ship rattled with the sounds of rain pouring over the cockpit. The wind knocked them around and hit them hard. The pilot held onto the controls tight with his blue, twi'lek, hands. He struggled to keep the ship steady as he made his way to the planet's surface. " You may want to brace yourself my lord!" the pilot yelled "It may be a rough landing!" A tall figure emerged from the cargo bay and entered the cockpit. He wore a gray, expressionless, helmet on his head. A cape, as black as night, draped over his shoulders, with the hood pulled back. The cape almost covered his black and gray armored robes. He carried a lightsaber on his belt, and wore black gloves. This was Lord Kriag, Prince of the Empire and possibly the future Lord of the Sith. He was a cunning warrior, and a powerful force user. The pilot had been flying him around for years, and he had witnessed him do great and amazing things. "Well Draigos," the prince spoke through the speakers in his helmet, "Good thing rough landings are your speciality". Draigos gave a smirk, and turned on the front lights to the ship so he could see better. He turned left and right just to avoid being being shot down by the violent discharge of energy coming from the clouds. "I'm going to go check on the cargo, you keep this ship together." the dark figure said as he turned to the cargo hold, "Oh, and try to not crash the ship." "Hey!" Draigos responded "It's me remember?" "I know" the Prince replied as he walked out of the room "That's why i said it" "That was ONE time!" Draigos shouted back. "And I haven't done it since." "That happened TODAY." Kriag responded. "You're lucky the ship wasn't badly damaged." "You try landing a ship in a sandstorm while your engines are clogged with sand." he snarked back. The Twi'lek Pilot continued to dodge lightning strikes and resisting the wind, until he saw the ground below, and the landing spot. The ship lowered down nice and soft on the ground. Draigos unbuckled himself from his seat and went to go check on Kriag. As he entered the cargo hold, he could see Kriag loading the head of a young Krayt Dragon they killed on Tatooine, onto a cart; Then hooking it's mother's tooth to his belt. "Told you I wouldn't crash it." he said as he entered the room. "Leave the engine running" the Dark one said, "We may need to leave right away." He hit the button to the cargo hold doors, and pulled his hood over his helmet. Then he pulled the cart behind him as he walked out into the pouring rain.
Kriag pulled the cart through the torrents of rain, his cape and robes being whipped around by the strong wind. It was cold and he was already soaked. Still it was better than burning up in the hot deserts of Tatooine. He had just come from there and had completed his second trial, The Trial of Strength. Now he was bringing proof to his master. He could see the the ancient ruins off in the distance, not that far off. That was where he was to meet The Emperor, his father. The structure was very tall and looked old, but surprisingly still very sturdy. It was surrounded by several other broken down buildings, These were the remains of the ancients Sith Empire and the great city that was its capital. He looked to his right and he could see the rest of the city off in the distance. He could see the citadel where many great Sith walked and the Dark Council debated the fate of the galaxy. Or at least that was what they were supposed to; But instead they were to busy killing each other, consumed by their own greed and lust for power. This was the Sith Empire's downfall, this is why Darth Bane had decided to keep the Sith to only two, a master and an apprentice. Kriag thought that was an extreme solution, but it had worked and the Sith did survive, and even defeated their great enemy the Jedi. Only for the Jedi to rise again and destroy the Sith again, blinded by their own pride. But yet now they were back, this just shows that no matter how many times the Jedi tried, the dark would never truly be destroyed. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice yelling out at him. "Halt!" one of the two Inquisitors, standing at the entrance to the tower called out to him. They both activated their red, double bladed, lightsabers that did a quick spin. "Who goes there?" they demanded. Kriag just walked up the steps to them, removed his hood, took off his helmet and held it at his side. Lightning flashed and lit up his face. Rain dripped down his long, wavy, brown hair, and his pale caucasian skin. His eyes burned with an orange glow, like one accustomed to the darkness. The Inquisitors deactivated their lightsabers and stepped aside. "Apologies my lord, right this way." Kriag walked past them and entered the ruins. It was fairly dry inside, only a little bit of water leaked into the building. It was also well lit do to the torches on the walls. He followed the mossy stone path down to the end of the hall, there he found a large room with a spiral staircase running up the sides of the wall. His master was in on the top floor, so he made his way up the steps, several stories up. As he made his journey upward he reflected on what he was thinking earlier. In both cases the Sith fell because they lacked one trait, Unity. The Sith were constantly at each other's throats, and could never unify towards a single goal. Not with gaining more power being their only goal in life. As much as he hated to admit it, the Jedi did indeed have this trait and in some sense it made them stronger than The Sith. Whereas the Sith were stronger as individuals, the Jedi were united as one, and outnumbered the Sith. If the Sith were to survive and wipe out the Jedi, they needed to grow and they needed to rally together. Though Bane was right that the number of Sith should be limited, he did not believe that they should limit themselves to only two. But two would have to do for now, there was only one Sith Lord currently, His Father. He had been training him and his brother Titan for many years now, molding them into powerful warriors, with the hope that one day one of them would be his apprentice and heir to the Sith Empire. Titan and Kriag were very different than your typical Acolytes, because they had trained together and fought in many battles together, they trusted each other. If it was not for this trust and the bond of brotherhood they would not have been as effective fighters or won as many battles as they did. They were a great duo, Titan was a superior duelist, and Kriag was a master off the dark side, they were able to play off of each other's strengths and weaknesses, compensating for them and fighting as one. A perfect marriage between warrior and intellect, The Dark Side and the blade. But all that would soon come to an end, only one of them could ascend to the rank of apprentice and heir to the throne, the other would most likely die. This was the way of the Sith, or at least currently, Kriag was determined to change things, but he just wasn't sure how to just yet. His thought's were interrupted, As he had now made it to the top of the tower, and was nearing the room where he was to meet his father.
Kriag entered through the doorway of a large room at the top of the tower. It had once been a lookout point on the great wall that surrounded the city of Dromund Kaas, and despite being several thousand years old, it had remained mostly intact. A testament to ancient Sith engineering. The room had a few leaks in the roof, cracked flooring, and an abundance of plant life growing from the walls. It had an opening which led to a balcony where you could see the ruins of the once great capital of The Sith Empire. Inside the room stood his brother and Father. His Brother was Tall, much taller than him, almost 2 meters tall. He was stocky, and had a lot of muscle mass, some people might even mistake him for a hairless Wookie. He had a clean shaven head and bright orange eyes like Kriag. He wore black armor with a red chest plate, and a black hooded cape. But despite all his strength, he stood with very little confidence, at least when compared to the stance of his Father. His Father stood with such confidence, and power, it demanded respect. He wore his black hood over his head and eyes, a dark shadow covered his face, the only thing you could see was his mouth, and white beard on his chin. His black cape draped over his back and over his shoulders and arms. It almost covered his elegant robes, they were gray and black and adorned in beautiful blue designs. He wore a silver breastplate and black sash across his waist. Just his presence in the room sent a chill down Kriag's spine. It was dark and cold, like the dark side itself had manifested into flesh and stood before him, no wonder Titan stood so timid. "Ah so you made it at last. Tell me did you complete your task? Or have you come to me empty handed?" His father asked. His voice was deep and powerful, but not harsh. It was commanding yet soothing at the same time. "Yes Father, I have done as you have asked." Kriag responded. He reached into his cape and pulled the dragon's tooth from his side. "Here is the mother's tooth, and I left the head of it's young outside with the guards."
"Excellent." his Father replied "Now you have both completed your second trial, but you are far from being Sith. You must complete two more trials before you can be inducted into the Sith order, and rule by my side as my apprentice." "We understand father." Kriag replied "What is our next trial?" "Titan already knows his trial, He may leave now and prepare for the journey." The Emperor responded. "As you say, my lord." Titan said with a bow and walked out of the room. The Dark Lord turned his attention to Kriag. "Your next trial will test your strength in The Force and how well you can withstand the power of the dark side. Many past Acolytes have walked this path before, and even though they were powerful, they were driven mad when exposed to the raw power of the dark side." "I am ready for any challenge you place before me father" The young prince responded. "We shall see, we shall see... For your next trial you will travel to the ancient tomb of Darth Vitiate, the former Emperor of the old Sith Empire. The tomb is here on Dromund Kaas, deep in the jungles. Only one powerful in the force can enter the tomb, and once you are inside you will feel the full power of the Dark Side. To prove to me that you completed your task you will bring me the tablets of his ancient writings that were buried within the Dark Lord's casket. Do you understand?" "Yes, Father" he replied. "Then go, and prove to me that you are worthy of being sith." The Dark lord turned his back to him and looked out on the horizon. Kriag gave a slight bow "As you wish my lord" he said as he walked out of the room.
The young prince exited the room, and entered the hallway he had walked through before. At the end of the hall stood his brother, waiting for him. Kriag walked up to him and they began to walk together as they headed to the spiral staircase that took him up the tower. "Where is he sending you?" Titan asked as they walked. "Darth Vitiate's tomb." he responded "Where is he sending you?" he asked. " To Moraband, to the tomb of Tulak Hord." he responded. They walked down the steps for a bit in silence. Titan again broke the silence, "I don't like this Kriag, we are nearing the end of our trials and only one of us can ascend to the title of Apprentice." "I know Titan" Kriag responded. "We must be patient, these trials make us stronger and once we both succeed in completing our trials we will have the power to overthrow our father." "And we can take our rightful place on the throne." Titan said. "Exactly!" Kriag responded. They were now at the bottom of the stairs and about to enter the hallway that lead to the exit. They stopped short at the beginning of the hallway however, in order to stay out of earshot of the guards. "We must stay vigilant, if we are going to succeed we need to be strong." Titan nodded "But what if i fail to complete the trials?" he asked. "Then you don't deserve to be Sith!" Kriag answered harshly. Titan turned his head to the side and clenched his fists, not out of anger but in shame. "You're right." he said looking at Kriag. "I will not fail.'' "Nor will I." said Kriag. Then he put on his helmet and began to walk towards the exit, leaving Titan behind. Then he stopped and turned towards his brother and said through the speakers of his helmet. "May the force ever serve you." Titan nodded in response "And you as well" he said. With that The dark prince walked out into the rain toward his ship.
Titan watched from the doorway as his brother took of for the tombs on the other side of the planet. His ship rose from the ground and took off towards his next trial. Titan made his way to his own ship which was not far from the tower. The rain had dyed down a bit and was now just a light drizzle, rather than the torrents of rain that were pouring earlier. As he walked he thought of what his brother said to him in the tower, it struck him deep in his core. Was he worthy of being Sith? It is a question he had asked his whole life, mainly because it was a question he knew his father asked every day. He knew he was not as powerful as his father would have hoped. The only reason he was allowed to participate in these trials was because he was the Emperor's son and deserved a fair chance at becoming heir to the throne. Kriag on the other hand was different. Kriag was powerful and had the potential to match their father and maybe even surpass him. This was why their father always favoured Kriag instead of him, he was always the better Acolyte. But Titan was not without skills, he was a better duelist that his brother, and he was physically stronger than either his brother or his father. He was a tank and could take a lot of punishment, and he was powerful in the force, just not as powerful as Kriag. He was worthy of being Sith, he knew it, he just had to prove it. He was confident that he could complete all of his trials, but so was Kriag. He was not sure what would happen if they both completed their trials? Kriag was certain that they could beat their father if they worked together, but Titan was not so sure. Together they are a powerful force and had won many battles, but their father was immensely powerful all on his own. Titan was fairly certain that if they faced their father now either one or both of them would die. Well he was not going to let that happen, especially if facing their father meant his death. Something had to be done but he was not sure if he had the strength to do it. He walked up to the entrance of his ship and climbed aboard. A pilot droid sat in the cockpit at the controls. "Where to my lord?" the droid said. "Moroband, and make it quick." The droid put in the appropriate information into the nav-computer and started the engines. The ship rose from the ground and took of into the atmosphere, off to Moroband.