A Growing Darkness.
Dromund Kaas, the powerful capital of the Sith Empire, founded a millenium ago in the aftermath of the Great Hyperspace War. Since then, the sleek metropolis of Kaas City has grown into a symbol of Imperial power, towering over the surrounding jungle and looming dark against the stormy skies. The military and the Sith have authority here, under the eye of the Emperor himself. Aside from the wildlife, the greatest threats are internal-slave revolts, feuding Sith Lords and the like. Planetary defenses are formidable, as the Empire still remembers its defeat and exile long ago.
Right now, a Sith Acolyte was walking through the capital. But he was not alone, he had a little girl with him. The girl had green eyes and pointy ears, she was a member of a race called Elves, a race that was very rare in this part of the galaxy. She had just been caught by the sith, but had no idea why as she hadn't committed any crimes. He just told her to follow him and not ask questions. And even kids knows better than to argue with someone who can kill them without even looking.
Soon the sith brought her to a place very few where allowed to even go near. The Emperor's very home. Two of the Emperor's most elite guards were waiting outside. They told the sith that his task was complete and took over as the child's escort. They walked through the halls and the child could feel the darkness in this place. After a while they finally arrived at their destination... the Emperor's throne room. And there he was... A pale old man, dressed in black sith robes, sitting on his throne: Emperor Vitiate.
"My Emperor. We found the one you requested to see" One of the guards said.
"Very good, my loyal servants. Leave us" Vitiate ordered, and with no words spoke, the guards left as their Emperor focused on the girl "Step forwards child. And tell me your name".
The little girl was scared but took a few steps forward "My name... is Valeera".
"Tell me Valeera. Do you desire power? Do you want to become more than what you are now? Do you want a real purpose to your life?" Vitiate asked.
"Yes... this is not the life I wanted. I want to be more... I want my life to mean something" Valeera answered.
"I can offer you that, child. Are you willing to accept my gift? It will be painful, but if your survive, you will become more than you could ever hope to become" Vitiate said.
Valeera was just a child, a child who's dreams clouded her sense of reality, so she nods "Yes my Lord... I accept your gift".
Vitiate smiled at her "Good. I knew you had the will. Now, let's see if you have the strength".
Dark power began entering Valeera's body. It was flowing through her, like a wild fire, raging across her very being. Valeera felt more pain than she ever could've imagine. She tried to resist it, she gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, trying to fight against the pain that was forcing it's way through her entire body, even burning her life force but ended up screaming loudly in complete agony.
Suddenly her eyes snapped open and a older Valeera looked around, seeing nothing but a peaceful river, and a dark yet calm area. She took several breaths to calm down. She had been trying to meditate, but every time she closes her eyes, all she can see is darkness... and that man.
"Still struggling?" Valeera looked up and saw someone in the trees.
"Yes master... the darkness is still to strong for me to control" Valeera said.
Her master's name was Zeratul. A member of the race called Protoss, Zeratul belongs to a different kind of force users that call themselves Dark Templars. They use the dark side just like the Sith, but was separated them from the Sith is the face they seek to control the darkness without allowing themselves to fall to it. Zeratul himself is among the few that has fully mastered his inner darkness, taming it and using it to strike out against evil, using the very power the same evil possess. In short, fighting fire with fire.
Zeratul jumped down from the tree and walked up to Valeera "The path to controlling your darkness is long and difficult. It took me many years before I had successfully tamed my inner darkness. But I can sense your potential, that is why you are among the few outsiders that has been allowed to experience our teachings".
"I was lost before you found me. I spent years serving Vitiate, doing his will... I killed for him..." Valeera said as she looked at her hands "No matter how many times I try to wash it of, the blood of my victims never goes away".
Zeratul gently took her hands in to his own "Blood is something one can never wash away. I too have stained my hands with the blood of my enemies, and I never forgot them. All we can do, is move forward. If you can master your darkness, you can strike against the very evil that forced you to commit all those sins".
"I can still hear him, Master. It's faint but I can feel his presence in the back of my mind... an itch I can't scratch... a tingle that won't go away" Valeera said.
"From what I've learned, Vitiate don't let his former slaves go so easily. He will keep taunting you, trying to tempt you to return to his servitude. But you are not the little girl he once corrupted. This time you can choose if you will answer his call, or fight against him" Zeratul said.
Valeera got a determined look "I will fight him to my very last breath. I will never be his slave again. Never!".
"Good, hold on to that. Now let us continue your training. Your darkness can only consume you if you let it, but if you can tame it, you will become something neither the jedi or the sith can understand. The force is not good, nor is it evil. It's up to the individual to decide what they want to be" Zeratul said.
Valeera closed her eyes. She refused to become that evil emperor's slave again. Not after all the things he made her do, she can't ever go through that ever again. She will master her darkness, one way or the other. Or die tyring.
Back on Taris, Uther, Arthas and Sonya were continuing their investigation. So far they hadn't found any reliable leads, but both jedi could sense that something was happening on this planet, they just couldn't figure out what. Sonya's help had proven useful in finding place that would've been difficult to find otherwise. Suddenly, a creature showed up from behind the bushes. It was a Nexu, a feline creature have become alpha predators throughout the galaxy over the past few centuries, adapting to new environments through a natural hardiness and a quick reproductive cycle. Packs of nexu have been found roaming the tundra of Mygeeto and the steaming jungles of Rodia, equally adept at stalking and killing prey. Nexu are recognized in many cultures as an icon of viciousness, and several Mandalorian clans have taken the creature as their symbol. Some xenobiologists argue that nexu are far less violent than common wisdom suggests, and that it's the activities of sentient beings that agitate the cats. Left alone, they're smart, capable and strong-but not cruel or aggressive.
Still Arthas was ready just in case, but Sonya stopped him "Harm him and I will have your head. Hello there buddy".
The Nexu ran up to her and licked her face as she petted it. Despite being vicious predators commonly used for arena battle. A patient handler can form a strong bond with their Nexu, training them to perform multiple tasks. And it looks like Sonya had managed to achive that.
"No need to be jumpy, little prince. My friend here is only dangerous if I tell him to be" Sonya assured with a slight mocking tone.
Arthas was slightly annoyed but didn't voice it "We've been searching for hours now and found nothing. I think it's clear we won't find anything in this area".
"You might be right about that, Arthas. Still I can still sense that something is close. But the darkness makes it difficult to track" Uther said.
"Well if you two are so tired, we can set up camp for the night" Sonya said as she petted the Noxu's head.
"That might be a good idea. We will resume our investigation in the morning" Uther said.
With an agreement reached, they set up camp and prepared for the night. However, Arthas was not ready to sleep yet. He made an excuse that he needed to be alone for a bit and walked away from the camp. Once he was far enough away he took out his communicator, and soon a hologram of a beautiful young woman appeared. It was only a recorded message, one Arthas saved for whenever he needed a little encouragement. He sighed and played it.
"Hello Arthas, it's me Jaina... as you should already be able to tell. I know we are both busy with our Jedi training, so I only have enough time to record and send you this message. I heard you will be leaving for a mission soon, and I wanted to wish you luck. And try not to get in to trouble this time... who am I kidding, of course you will" Jaina said.
"Well you were not wrong" Arthas chuckled as he continued to listen.
"Listen Arthas, I know it's difficult to keep our relationship a secret, having to lie to our masters almost every day. But I promise you, it will end. Once our training is complete and we've learned everything we need, we will come forward and tell the council about us. When that day comes, they will have a choice. Accept our love, or we will leave the jedi order and live our own lives. Regardless of what happens, I will always love you Arthas. And I can't wait to see you again... Good luck" Jaina said and the message ended.
"I love you too, Jaina..." Arthas said with a sigh before returning to camp.
Later that night, Arthas couldn't sleep. He could sense something. Something was calling him. He sat up and looked to his side to see Uther was sleeping calmly. Arthas got up and began heading away from the camp. After a couple of minutes he sense someone was following him. He sighed as he knew exactly who it was.
"I know you are there, Sonya. Why are you following me?" Arthas demanded.
Sonya stepped out of hiding with a smile "Just curious of where you were going, little prince".
"This doesn't concern you, Mandalorian. Go back to camp" Arthas said as he was ready to keep moving.
"Alright, I bet Uther would love to hear about your little lady friend" Sonya said, making Arthas stop "Isn't love forbidden by the jedi? The whole: Attachments could lead to the dark side nonsense?".
Arthas glared at her "Sonya, I am not going to beg you to be quiet. But if you say a word about it to Uther-".
"Hey I can keep a secret. But you will have to allow me to come with you. I am curious to see what you could be so interested in" Sonya said.
Arthas let out a defeated sigh "Fine, you can come along. But Uther will be all by himself".
"No worries, I left Buddy with him" Sonya assured.
"Oh good, I feel a lot more at ease now" Arthas said sarcastically "Just follow me and stay quiet".
Sonya smirked as she followed the young jedi prince. They walked for a big until they arrived at a wall. Arthas narrowed his eyes as he put his hand on it and focused on the force... Part of the wall began to move, revealing a hidden entrance. Arthas and Sonya shared a look before they grabbed their weapons and carefully made their way inside. They walked down the tunnels until they could hear something. They carefully walked closer and peeked down a hole and what they saw made their eyes wide.
Rakghouls. A living plague–the manifestation of a highly communicable disease capable of swiftly transforming its victims into twisted, degenerate monsters with predatory instincts. The rakghoul virus can infect hundreds of known species and is most often delivered through a rakghoul's bite; a person attacked by a rakghoul and "lucky" enough to survive typically becomes a rakghoul him or herself. Some victims resist the virus for days, succumbing to rakghoul instincts while retaining their original bodies. Different strains of the virus manifest in different breeds of rakghoul - the smallest and weakest travel in enormous colonies, whereas larger, smarter rakghouls often hunt alone. The virus mutates fastest when infecting new species, and slowest when rakghouls reproduce with other rakghouls. Before the planet's bombardment, Taris contained it's substantial rakghoul population in the undercity. Many specialists believe rakghouls are native to Taris, but rare outbreaks elsewhere in the galaxy suggest the truth is more complicated. Regardless, they are a serious threat.
"By the force... the situation is much worse than we thought" Arthas whispered.
"The nearby settlement has no idea they are here. If these things attack, the people won't stand a chance" Sonya said.
"We need to head back and tell Uther. Then we need to warn the people" Arthas declared.
Sonya nodded, for the first time the jedi and mandalorian agreed on something. The situation had just become a lot more complicated.
Back with Garrosh's clan, the leader was waiting for his scouts to come back. They had been gone longer than normal, so something wasn't right. Garrosh was standing outside and saw his scout return. But something was wrong with him. Before Garrosh could say anything, something happened. The Scout's body became twisted, and the pigmentation of the skin became paled to a whitened, corpse-like state, and began bleeding from the eyes, mouth, and skin. Not long after this point, the he began to under go a bodywide mutation. But before the transformation could be completed, Garrosh cut of his head. The dead body fell to the ground, his blood looking different from normall, a sign of what happened to him.
Garrosh narrowed his eyes at the dead scout "Rarkhouls...".
This was a test of strength Garrosh was not expecting.
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