The Scars Of War.
Back in the Jedi Temple on Tython, things were rather peaceful. The Flesh Raiders had been driven back, no further disturbances has been detected, and the students were able to go back to training without any further worries. Right now, most lessons were over, giving the masters some free time to focus on their own training. There is always more to learn, even for a master. Right now, two of said Masters where standing in the training room facing each other. These two were Thrall and Uther, who had finally returned to the temple after his mission alongside his good friend Arthas was finally over.
The two masters had their lightsabers ignited as they calmly eyed each other. A second later, green and blue clashed as they engaged in a sparring duel. Thrall was mostly on the offence as Uther was a more defensive fighter. Thrall used a mixture of swift strikes and power blows, probing Uther's defense, looking for any opening in his otherwise perfect defense. Uther managed to block all of Thrall's strikes, never moving his saber a inch more than needed. But Thrall's offence was not wild or random, each strike was well aimed, and never left any openings for Uther to counter. It was a clash between a balanced offence and a solid defense, with neither gaining the upper hand over the other. They were perfectly matched.
Finally the fencing came to a stop as they entered a blade lock, with Thrall being the first to speak "Your defense is as impenetrable as always, Master Uther".
"And your offence is still perfectly balanced, Master Thrall. Yet I sense you are not a focused as you normally are. Something is bothering you, and I don't need the force to sense it" Uther said as they broke the saber lock, and Uther turned of his lightsaber "Thrall, what is clouding your focus?".
Thrall sighed as he turned of his own lightsaber "I've had a lot on my mind recently".
"Is it about Leah?" Uther asked, but his tone made it clear he already knew the answer.
"Yes... I feel like I failed her as a master. When the darkness we always knew was inside her finally surfaced, there nothing more I could do for her, and Master Tassadar had to take over her training. When she needed me the most, there was nothing I could do" Thrall said.
"Thrall, few masters would've been a better fit for her than you. You experianced first hand the temptations of ther dark side, and you overcame it. You were the perfect Master for young Leah" Uther reasoned.
"And yet, I failed when it mattered the most. I appreciate your comfort, Uther, but with your successful training of Arthas, it makes my failure all the more clear" Thrall said.
Uther shook his head "I am indeed proud of what Arthas has become, but his training was not as smooth as you think. I was picked as his master because my strict nature could balance out his recklessness, and help teaching him to be more humble. But we encountered more than our fair share of problems along the way. Despite my strict rules, Arthas would often get himself in to trouble which almost got him killed... I had many headaches because of that".
"So the stories of Arthas' reckless young years are true. How did you manage to turn him in to the great knight he is now?" Thrall asked.
Uther chuckled "A lot of patience. Even now he still hasn't fully grown out of his thrill of danger. But thankfully he has been able to tamper his recklessness with maturity".
Thrall smiled "I can see why you were chosen as his master... And me being tempted by the dark side will always be a source of great shame".
Uther remembered that day... when Thrall nearly gave in to the darkness. The war had a bad effect on everyone involved, and sadly, several jedi would fall to the dark side... Thrall almost being one of them.
Flash Back.
During the height of the war, a younger Uther stood as a symbol of the Republic's light, pushing back against the darkness of the empire. He lead an attack on an Imperial outpost, and while many brave Republic soldiers lost their lives, they managed to overwhelm the Imperials. Uther was ahead of his troops, using his lightsaber to send several blaster bolts back at their shooter, killing a couple of Imperial soldiers before he managed to close the distance and killed the rest with swift and merciful strikes, wanting to make sure they died quickly and suffered as little as possible.
"Their main force has been defeated. Move through the outpost to find the rest. Anyone who is willing to surrender will be taking in as prisoners of war. No unnecessary deaths, understood?" Uther told his troops.
"Yes sir!" The soldiers said before moving out.
Uther turned of his lightsaber and looked at all the dead Imperials. Each death was a tragic waste of life, regardless if they were enemies or not. Every time Uther cut someone down, he couldn't help but to wonder if the soldier he killed had a family somewhere, and the main reason they were even fighting was for the safety of said family. These thoughts saddened Uther, so he did his best not to dwell on it to much, or it would cloud his mind.
"I'm sorry... I hope you find peace in the force" Uther said before he was brought out of his thoughts when several of his soldiers came flying, before crashing in to random objects... all dead.
Uther looked and saw the last soldier coming towards him... slowly, while holding his neck... because his feet was not touching the ground. He was being force chocked, and soon a voice was heard "Typical jedi. You preach about peace and upholding life. Yet you do not hesitate to slaughter your enemies whenever you get the chance".
"Alarak..." Uther said knowing full well who this Sith lord is.
Alarak snaps the neck of the soldier before tossing him aside like trash "You jedi are always hilariously hypocritical. You kill whenever you feel like it, just like we do. Yet you still have the nerves to criticize us for it".
"Don't assume we are the same, Sith. I have slain more foes than I can count, but I do not enjoy it. That is the difference between you and me, Alarak. You Sith kill because you love death, the Jedi only kill when we're given no choice" Uther said.
Alarak chuckled darkly "You believe your own lies so much. Face reality, Jedi, your talk of peace has always been pointless, you love the smell of battle. Why do you think so many of you fell from your precious light and joined the darkness? Because they realized war and death is what we live for. And the power we possess can be used for so much more".
"The jedi who fell was a real tragedy, and it's shameful we could not keep them on the right path. But those who have power should restrain themselves from using it" Uther said.
"Oh please, what good is power if you have no desire to use it? You jedi only restrain yourselves because you fear the power you possess. Pathetic" Alarak said in disgust.
Uther closed his eyes and sighed before opening them again "Once again, trying to get a Sith to see reason is a waste of time. If you want a battle this badly, then I am given no choice".
Alarak smiles with his eyes as Uther took out his lightsaber "There it is. This is indeed what I want".
Alarak brought out his own lightsabers and both got ready to duel.
The Sith rushed at Uther and swung his lightsaber in a powerful strike, which Uther blocked but felt the strength behind Alarak's blow. Alarak began unleashing a barrage of strikes Uther, attempting to break his powerful guard with rapid cleaves and slashes at the torso, forcing him back as trying to stand his ground against such an onslaught was no easy task. Alarak then strikes at Uther's legs, but he quickly leaps over the sith, aiming to cut Alarak's head. The Sit raised his lightsabers over his head and blocked the attack strike. He forced Uther back before delivering a strong kick to the jedi's gut, sending him sliding back. Uther staggered back from the slide, and Alarak lunged in with a stab. Uther sidestepped the attack and swings his lightsaber at Alarak's neck, but Alarak used his second lightsaber to block the attack, but Uther managed to deliver a kick to Alarak's chest, making him slide back.
If Alarak had a mouth he would be smirking right now. Finally a opponent who could give him a challenge. Uther noticed a crate and used the Force to hurl it at Alarak, who easily slashed through it, before using his own force power, sending a barrage of Red Force Lightning. The Jedi blocked the deadly lightning with his lightsaber, but felt pain shooting through his arms as the lightning proved to be far more powerful than the sith he had encountered before. Alarak pulls back his other hand before unleashing a powerful force push, sending Uther flying back as he crashed in to a wall.
"Well well. Looks like we are even with our lightsabers. But my force powers far surpasses your own. This is what happens when you practise restraint, instead of letting your power be unleashed" Alarak said as he was ready to finish the jedi but was interrupted when he had to slash through an incoming metal shard.
"It's over Sith. You face me now" Came an voice that was very familiar to Uther.
"Thrall..." Uther said as he looked at the orc master.
"Take all the time you need, Uther. I will deal with this Sith" Thrall said, his green lightsaber already out.
"Amusing. Very well, Jedi. By all means, deal with me" Alarak said in a cocky tone.
Thrall made the first move towards Alarak, taking a running swing of his lightsaber, which Alarak blocked with his his own lightsaber, causing a clash of red and green sparks. The two unleashed more strikes towards each other, with each strike being either blocked or forced to the side. Thrall wasn't as defensive as Uther, and looked for every chance to break Alarak's momentum so he could unleash his own offence. This lasted for several seconds before Alarak leaps back, using the Force on a nearby boulder and tossed it at Thrall, who easily forced it aside.
"Not bad, perhaps you will be worth my time after all" Alarak said, though it sounded more like a taunt.
Thrall glares at him before they clashed with their lightsabers again. Green and red light flashed as they were attacking each other with blinding speed, which only force users could achieve. Alarak's agility and two lightsabers allowed him to move around more attack with more speed, but Thrall was able to hold him of long enough to deliver a powerful strike which disarmed Alarak of one of his lightsabers. Alarak grabbed his remaining lightsaber with both hands as he and Thrall entered a saber lock.
"You are powerful... and I sense a fire in you that others lack. You are not held back by the Jedi's weakness, or at least not to the same extent. You are well on your way to joining the dark side" Alarak said darkly.
"Never!" Thrall growled out as he pushed against Alarak, slowly overpowering him thanks to his superior strength.
"Oh yes! I can feel it!" Alarak said before he leaps back to break the saber lock "I can feel the anger in you. Rage just waiting to be unleashed".
"Shut up" Thrall warned.
"You are practically one of us already" Alarak pressed on.
"SHUT UP!" Thrall roared as he held up his hand... and blue lightning flew from his hand.
Alarak blocked it with his lightsaber before forcing it in to the ground "Yes... there it is... your true self".
Thrall looked at his hand in shock. Did he just do that? Before anything else could happen, Uther rejoined the fight. Attacking Alarak and forced him back, before republic ships could be seen approaching.
"And just as I was starting to have fun. Looks like I will have to kill you some other time. Try staying alive until then" Alarak said before using the force to retrieve his other lightsaber and then leaps away.
Uther watched him leave before looking back at Thrall, who looked horrified by what he had done.
End of Flash back.
It took a long time for Thrall to recover. Luckily he did manage to find himself again, and was even deemed stable enough to begin teaching again. One of the many reasons why he was chosen to be Leah's master.
Uther puts a hand on Thrall's shoulder "The scars of our past will always be with us. But we need to look to the future. That's where our salvation awaits us".
Thrall smiled but could not help but to wonder just what the future held... and if they will be ready to face it.
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