Hord's Exile

Hord was arrested and tried by the Black Legions. This move was very controversial amongst the Dark Jedi, especially among the newer recruits. Hord was unpopular among Karness Muur and Remulus Dreypa who saw him a rival, and a sociopathic and flamboyant one at that. However, Sorzus Syn and XoXaan were both more tolerant. Xaan saw him as a capable general, and Syn saw him as a sorcery prodigy.

At this point, it's important to remember that the Dark Jedi and their soldiers were five years into an extremely bloody war. As a result, victory was seen as the ultimate objective and things like civilian casualties were much less relevant to some. Because of this, the Dark Jedi were divided over ideological differences. While simplifying moral viewpoints is a tricky affair, it is helpful, at least for this brief discussion, to divide the Dark Jedi into two main camps.

Pall can be seen as the figurehead of the first faction. These were the Jedi reformers. They joined the war looking for some type of major change in the Jedi Order, but they did not want to destroy the Jedi completely. They can be seen as wanting to strike a balance between the light and dark with the overall end goal of serving the Force and all life in general. They were on the whole more conservative in their teachings and attitudes. As a result, they were often against things like striking at civilian targets, if it could be avoided, and proliferating unrestrained dark side experimentation.

Hord can be seen as the figurehead for the second faction. These were the 'true' Dark Jedi. They wanted to completely replace the Jedi Order with their own. They can be seen as the opposite of the Jedi, that is, they wanted to give completely into the dark side and toss out all old Jedi teachings. As a result, they were more radical in their cause, and they were willing to do things that Jedi or more conservative Dark Jedi would be horrified by. They were much more willing to strike at noncombatants and were willing to embrace research into new dark side fields of study, such as Sorcery and Alchemy. Most Dark Jedi in this group did not originate from Pall's militant group. Instead they belonged to dark side orders born in the past century who were absorbed into the fold by Pall. As a result, this group held a slight majority.

As usual, these parties are overly simplified. However, it is important to stress that they were divided not just among moral lines, that is to say on the question of military ethics, but they were also divided in what teachings or legacy would they pass on to their successors. The actual code that future Dark Jedi would follow was a murky one as several groups and subgroups were committed to emphasize whatever they saw as important.

The Trial and Sentence:

The exact dates are lost to history, but it is known that the trial began in the ninth month of the fifth year of the war, or circa. 6,905 BBY. Throughout the trial, he was bound and unarmed, yet he knew how to make his voice a powerful weapon. He had no knowledge of debate, and Pall often had to call him out on his fallacies, but he had the skill to manipulate his words in such a way as to excite emotion and sympathy for his cause. Whenever he could, he would speak about the Dark Jedi as a unity, thereby implying that they were all behind his intentions. He would then demonize the Republic as enemies, thereby implying that they served no mercy. Throughout it all, his supporters would cheer him on while his foes would roll their eyes.

Pall wanted the death penalty for him, but he knew that Hord was, in many ways, too popular to kill. It was a pivotal moment in the war, and sentencing one of their best generals to death would excite rebelion and schism. This is why Pall did not kill Hord on the battlefield, he wanted to try and convict him for that his supporters would complain less, and more importantly, not target Pall's own life until Pall's plans could be fulfilled. As a result, Pall did not preside over the trial, nor did he serve as the prosecutor. Instead, he appointed Muur to do so for that he could stick to coordinating the war effort.

The trial was a mixed bag for Pall. On the one hand, it was not too hard to convict Hord. He had violated many military protocols and ethical codes, plus he had attempted a dangerous dark side ritual of his own invention without contacting the Head of Sorcery, Sorzus Syn. However, Hord had too much support to earn the death penalty. The most that Pall could hope for would be a serious demotion or exile. The defendants and prosecutors argued back and forth until at last Pall sent a letter to the court offering a compromise. The deal would be that Hord would be demoted, but that he would be assigned to the truly honorable and invaluable task of mapping the entirety Wild Space in service of the Black Legions for the next decade during which time he would have minimal contact with the rest of the Galaxy. Everyone thought that it was a good idea, and the motion was carried.

Hord, predictably, protested. In a fit of rage, he claimed that he was 'screwed over' and so he challenged Muur to an honor duel. Muur calmly explained that in civilized space, they don't do things they way they do things on 'a backwater world full of primitive red apes.' However, after the comotion, Hord's supporters began to demand that he have a chance to fight for his honor. Pall was almost beyond caring what happened to Hord at this point. In another bloodstained passage of his journal, he writes that it would have been easier and much less of a headache to just have killed him when he had the chance. He gave Muur the terms: if Hord wins, he goes off to explore with full military honors; if Hord loses, he goes off to explore stripped of all titles; if he loses and dies in the process, he stays dead. Either way, he would be gone, but Pall explicitly told Muur which option would be the best.

The Duel:

Before the duel, Hord's customized lightsaber was returned to him, and he was allowed to bring his traditional combat armor into play, complete with his own customized sith gauntlets and mask. However, Muur utilized a specialized weapon as well. Muur was a lightsaber dueling specialist, and so he utilized the style of combat that would eventually come to be known as the Makashi form. However, he found the lightsaber extension cord to be a particularly embarrassing vulnerability. He modified it to run on an advanced hilt-housed power cell, and to further utilize its newfound flexibility and reach, he designed it with a curved hilt to better fit into his palm.

If Hord's style can be described as a precursor to Exar Kun's, Muur's can be described as foreshadowing the deadly grace and efficiency of Count Dooku. However, for both fighters, they were more limited, not by their skill or Force abilities, but by their technology. Both fighters were handicapped by lightsaber power cells that lasted only minutes. However, of the two, Hord suffered the most as he wielded a double-bladed lightsaber which ate up much more energy. It was on this advantage that Muur was counting on.

The duel began with both combatants facing each other, then both rushed and the battlefield was engulfed in a display of fire and lightning. Witnesses are conflicted on what actually happened, but all testify to the speed and power of both fighters. Hord came down on Muur with his double-bladed barrage. He hoped to confuse Muur and thereby create an opening, but Muur used his extended reach and dexterity to keep him at bay while he watched his footwork to gain a tactical advantage. Every now and then when Muur was pressed, he fell back on his superior Force abilities to blast Hord back with telekinetic waves and lightning storms. However, Hord's own powers, while inferior, could still counter.

After minutes of fighting, Hord's lightsaber cut off. Muur smiled and taunted his opponent, but Hord didn't surrender, for Hord had also been playing the waiting game. Muur's power in the Force may have been greater, but his reserves dried up quick. Hord took advantage of this by tempting his foe into using up all of his power during the initial fight, and once disarmed, Hord unleashed a telekinetic storm on Muur. Muur was forced to counter by slicing several large pieces of debris into smaller chunks that he could then deflect with a weaker Force whirlwind, but through it all, he managed to endure and gain the upper hand by working his way towards his defenseless foe. He stood in front of Hord, who was nearly out of energy, both physically and in the Force, but Hord did not surrender.

Muur thrust forward, and Hord caught his blade in his own enchanted Sith gauntlets. The gauntlets heated up and started to melt, burning Hord's hands, but they prevented the deadly blade from contacting with Hord's body. He then twisted the blade and disarmed Muur. Hord then slapped Muur with his superheated gauntlets and proceeded to beat him to a bloody and burned pulp until he surrendered. Hord then proceeded to jumped up and down, pandering to the crowd like a professional wrestler who had just won the Intergalactic Championship Belt.

The Departure:

Ironically, the planet chosen as Hord's farewell point was none other than his birth home of Korriban. He was sent off with a small fleet of cruisers into unknown space. His orders were to send back the ship's log every month and not to enter known space until the end of his journey. He left, not as an exile, but as a war hero off to face the perils of the unknown for the greater good of the Galaxy.

Pall attended the ceremony and watched him leave. The fight may not have gone as he wanted it to go, but everything was still proceeding according to his plan. Pall had deliberately chosen this mission for him. He wanted a way to dispose of Hord while making it look like an accident, and there is no better way to do so than to send him up against an unknown terror that he had no hope of defeating. The darkness in Pall's dreams came from the dead worlds of Wild Space. He had a suspicion of what it was, and wished to use Hord as the expendable probe to prod it. Even though Pall would not have the satisfaction of watching Hord die, Hord would continue to unwittingly serve Pall.

Before Pall left Korriban, he left his three swords behind: the one he built on Lettow, the one he built on Tython, and a third one, his main one, he built using the power of the Star Forge. These swords were stored in a rocky cave, never to be seen again- or so he intended. Pall realized that while he was still in the physical prime of his life, he was getting too old to wield the blades effectively. His body was becoming frail due to his deep reliance on the Force, his sedentary lifestyle, and the overall stress of the war. And the war wouldn't end for another four years.