A New Beginning

[Darth Carnifex]

"I will mold you, Tanek Santii, into a weapon of the Sith. A blade to be wielded by the Dark Lord to cut away the thorns growing in his garden, to strike out at those who would mire his name with blasphemies, and to execute those who fail him." The Sith Lord rumbled the words as he walked, his strides proud and his posture arrogant and authoritarian, his eyes never leaving the emptiness before him. A black ringmail hauberk was draped over his muscular torso, fastened at the waist by a dark brown leather belt, and a crimson cloak draped over both shoulders to billow behind him and clasped by a ruby bauble right below his neck. His hair, now grown from short to falling just past his ears, was slicked back against his skull to leave his sharp, oddly handsome face unperturbed by bangs or anything of the like. He was cleanly shaven, although the shadows of stubble was beginning to appear on his chin and cheeks, and his brows were knit together in silent concentration as they walked. He turned slightly to cast a quick cursory glance at the Togruta behind him, so different and smaller than the towering Sith, before letting out a quick chuckle.

"Tell me, boy. What do you know of hate? Of fear? Of disgust, doubt, and sorrow? What do you know of your emotions, little wolf?" His question came from nowhere, yet it was spoken with a darkened seriousness that bordered on a threat, his words so soft that you needed to strain to hear him. He didn't look back at Tanek but rather kept on walking, not even breaking his stride for a moment.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

Tanek couldn't help but grin with a certain sense of eagerness at Vornskr's words. It would appear that he, like Tanek, was concerned with the weeds polluting the teachings of the Sith. They had other enemies besides the Jedi. Those were the heretics, those who perverted the ways of the Dark Side, and the Sith. They deserved to be purged. "Mold me into that blade, and I will strike at any enemies of the Dark Lord." Or die trying. Though that part went without saying. And, indeed, words were meaningless if there was no action to back them up. But Tanek had a feeling he'd be seeing his fair share of action soon enough. At least the acolyte was eager.

Tanek gave thought to Vornskr's words. In truth, he felt like he knew nothing. But claiming that to the Lord was an intimidating prospect... Yet boasting knowledge he did not truly possess was equally foolish. How deep did his hatred truly go? "I've known hatred. I've felt despise, and I have delivered it. But I can't say I've tasted it like the Sith of old, like in the records, who turned their hatred into a controlled and focused weapon, who drank the fear of those around them, drawing power from it. I've felt it, but... I've blacked out. All I remember is the anger washing over me, and then waking up in blood."

Among his peers on Shili, Tanek had been a fierce creature. Not the largest, though decidedly athletic in shape. Walking in step behind the giant that was Vornskr, however, the Togruta resembled the librarian, more so than the warrior. He was slim, yet fit, his muscles not large, but well defined.

[member=Darth Vornskr]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He chuckled, "You will learn, apprentice. You will learn."

They spent the next few months training together, Vornskr pushing Tanek's body and mind to the very limits of their endurance, stretching his capacity to the very edge as he molded him to be the perfect apprentice. He tutored him further in his ideology, and Tanek was quick to adopt it as his own. Such intense bouts would leave the young Togruta bruised and bloodied, but he continued to impress Vornskr with his willingness to continue on despite the injuries inflicted upon his flesh. They trained in Forms I, II, III, V, and IV in sessions that could last for well over 24 hours, and while Vornskr could cast away the effects of sleep deprivation thanks to his deep immersion in the Force, Tanek had more trouble keeping up with his master. For every time that Tanek fell asleep during the training, he was subjugated to physical or mental agony that was never the same each time it was inflicted upon him.

Towards the end of a particularly grueling session, Vornskr brought an abrupt halt to their practice and brandished two rather wicked looking swords. He kept one to himself and threw the other at the Togruta's feet; "You've come far, my apprentice, but there is still much for you to learn. But let us see if what I have already taught you has had any impact on your strength."

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

The next months were harsh. Much harsher than what the young Togruta had expected. For all his knowledge of Sith history, he had not completely understood what it was he was getting into. Yet his resolve never weakened. His determination was to become Sith, to survive. Beyond that, little else mattered. His own inferiority, he accepted as a sign that he was but an initiate. But here, at the feet of the master, he could learn. It was worth sacrificing his life for, even if the chance of success was slim. Yet, at the end of the months... He was still here.

While Tanek had been in shape before, it was nothing like the state his body was in, after surviving the hard, and arduous training of Darth Vornskr. He had gotten to know muscles he never knew he had, and despite his harsh life on Shili, he was a bigger creature now. Back then, things had happened on his terms. When he said enough, he was free to call it. There was no rest underneath the whip of his master. He had taught him pain, and from that pain, he had showed him strength.

Tanek was gasping for air. Clearly, the session had taken more of a toll on the Togruta, than his Epicanthix master. Even so, he was not at his limit, not yet. He had learned to endure, learned to dominate the darkness to serve his will. If he needed to stay on his feet a little longer, the Dark Side would provide. He eagerly drank from its cup.

The Togruta caught the sword, teasing with rather quick reflexes. Was he not supposed to be more tired? Had he been faking? Had he sensed, even before now, that this training session in particularly would be a defining moment? "I am ready to learn, Master." he returned, as he gave the sword a quick swirl, testing its weight. "I will face your test." He left out words such as 'ready', or 'succeed'. Words were irrelevant. All that mattered was that he did not shy away from opposition. How he fared, was for him to show with his sword, not his tongue. Tanek dropped into the defensive position of Form III, one that his master had showed him. From there, he awaited his master's move. Judgement was incoming.

[member=Darth Vornskr]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He said nothing, and in that single moment the air seemed to tense around the two of them as muscles in Vornskr's body suddenly burst with activity, and with a single move he had lunged out with inhuman speed to swing his blade in a low arcing motion towards Tanek's defense. An arguably easy opening move to block, but Vornskr was seamless in his transition from lunge to flurry as he sequenced together a variety of hacks and stabs aimed at every conceivable angle of Tanek's defensive wall. His method in his opening barrage was radical and unorthodox, the Sith Lord using techniques he had not even revealed to his apprentice in all of their time training. Suddenly he would switch tactics to the controlled and aggressive as he battered against Tanek's blade with powerful strikes with enough power to knock it from his grip should it be lax. Still, he was not aiming to absolute dominate Tanek and shatter his defense, but rather he was pressing his limits through an overwhelming assault.

"Very good, my apprentice. You've taken to my technique well, but always remember..."

A suddenly low-bearing wall of Force energy would sweep in from Tanek's right in an attempt to bowl him over, and disrupt his balance and flow. "The battlefield is chaotic and unpredictable, and your opponents will not play by any rules of engagement."

Suddenly the floor of the training room would rumble as the square patterns began to rise and lower in alternating patterns to create an unstable level, from deep pits to towering monoliths. Vornskr leaped backwards to land atop one such monolith, his shadow now encompassing everything before him like a shroud of death. "You must constantly adapt... Evolve! Less you be dismantled by those with greater strength than thou."

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

There was a moment of silence, the two Sith merely staring at each other. He had experienced this moment before. Though there was no warning, he felt with an absolute certainty that this was merely a calm before the storm. And indeed, the storm was unleashed upon the Togruta, as his Master exploded into action. He had been in a similar situation when they first met. That time, Vornskr had unleashed a torrent of melee attacks. Tanek had been helpless to resist, and was quickly overwhelmed. How far he had come from then to now. The large beast of a Sith had prepared him well.

Despite their long, intense training, Vornskr still felt oceans ahead of him in skill. Though he struck without hesitation, and with lethal efficiency, Tanek suspected he was holding back. Should Vornskr truly wish to end his apprentice, there was little he could do to stop him. Even now, he was quickly pushed on the defensive. The first block came easy, as Tanek met Vornskr's blade with his own, tilting the hilt slightly to allow it to slide off to the side, but not threaten his core. But after that, the young Togruta was truly tested.

The Sith Lord was unpredictable and deceiving in his approach. When Tanek thought he had a feeling of the style his Master was falling into, he broke the pattern and came at him from another angle. He realized that he could spend little time trying to analyse the attacks, he was being shown more sequences than he knew - and the random combinations provided the Lord with endless options. His blade would have to become but an extension of his own will, a will guided by the Force and steered by the steel hand of his determination.

In the face of Darth Vornskr's unrelenting attack, Tanek switched to Form III, Soresu. He kept his blade close to his body, his senses sharp, while letting the Force guide his hands. He wouldn't meet Vornskr with any direct blocks, but rather, position his blade and his body in such a way that meant he didn't have to. In other words, a parry. That's not to say it was an easy task. Vornskr was really pushing Tanek here, showing techniques he had never seen before. His arms were shaking from the parts where Vornskr had forced him to meet his strong blade head on, and his dark robes had received a few flings. There was even blood, though he couldn't recall being cut. It had all happened too fast. Luckily for him, Vornskr had trained him well.

While it was clear that Tanek was exerting way more energy to keep up, despite the use of the energy-conserving Form II, he was managing to keep up with the pace set by the more experienced Lord. In the final sequence, in fact, it was Tanek who changed forms. From the purely defensive Soresu, he switched up his game to Djem So. He hadn't found an opening, per say, but he thought he saw an opportunity, although slim, that he could expose. Whether it was sincere, or his Master was baiting him, remained to be seen. Tanek parried one of the incoming attacks, then exploded in a sudden wave of aggression, raining down two swift blows aimed at Vornskr's side and shoulder. He hadn't quite been able to catch him off-guard; the blows were parried, and Tanek was soon put on the defence again by some rather punishing counters. He had been a little rash, but delivering a stinging sensation to Tanek's right arm, Vornskr reminded him of his apprentice's mistake. This was how he learned. After barely holding his own against the Lord's counter, the two separated, giving Tanek room to breathe. Or so he thought...

"Very good, my apprentice. You've taken to my technique well, but always remember..."

Suddenly the Force came at him from the side. He hadn't even sensed Vornskr preparing any such attack. The Togruta was caught completely off-guard, his mind fully locked into the lightsaber combat, and didn't anticipate something to come at him from outside that frame of reference. Tanek was sent stumbling over to his side, struggling to maintain balance. He slipped, crashing down on one knee, though he quickly launched himself back up to a standing position, saberguard ready. The battlefield was indeed chaotic and unpredictable. Had Vornskr been his enemy, he would've capitalized on Tanek's moment of disorientation, and finished him off. It felt like, technically, he had already been killed once in this session.

Now the floor shifted, changing the rules of their engagement thus far. Tanek leapt ontop of the nearest rising monoliths, and from there, launched himself to another, that was still moving upwards. As he made his landing, he made a mental note to conserve his energies, he had been forced to spend way more than he ought to have done for a prolonged fight such as this. Given they had been separated, Tanek took the moment he was left alone to recover, letting the waves of the Dark Side wash over him, as his emotion-fuelled furnace burned hot to bring some of his strength back to him, to prevent fatigue. "Yes Master" Tanek managed, obediently. He hadn't had much time for words. Had he been able to speak, he had not truly been pushed to the edge. While he was managing, he was constantly kept balancing that fine line of what he could and couldn't handle.

[SIZE=10pt][member="Darth Vornskr"][/SIZE]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The ever shifting terrain reminded him of the Battle of Concord Dawn, specifically the skirmish at the capital that Vornskr was heavily involved in during his time as Moridin's Fist and Grand Vizier of the Emperor's War Cabinet. Fresh from his promotion from Minister of Intelligence to Moridin's Grand Vizier, Vornskr had much to prove as the Empire pushed deeper into Mandalorian space. Their eyes were hungry for Mandalore, but in order to strike at the Mandalorian's capital world they needed to create a beachhead at Concord Dawn. The Emperor commanded Vornskr and his elites to infiltrate the society and plant the seeds of chaos to soften the locals up for the eventual Imperial assault. When the attack did come, and the filed ranks of the Imperials assembled outside of the walls of the capital did Vornskr play his card from within the heart of the city. Turning a tall apartment structure into his command center, Vornskr sent suicide bombers to detonate their explosive packages in the most heavily populated sections of the city and in the city garrison. With chaos firmly rife throughout the city, it was easy pickings for the Imperials to knock down the walls and begin their attack in full-force.

Unfortunately for Vornskr, his position had been discerned by Mandalorian Commandos, and he had to quickly evacuate before they managed to corner him in. Meanwhile the streets of the capital turned into an absolute mess of noise, violence and death as the Mandalorians were utterly routed and pushed in at from every direction. However; a single break in the Imperial lines allowed the Mandalorians to intermingle with the Imperials on the battlefield, and the perfectly ordered Imperial Army broke apart into several divisions fighting independently throughout the city. Vornskr temporarily found himself on the run, moving from district to district all the while fighting viciously with various Mandalorians as they tried to take him out of the battle entirely. He even stood back-to-back with then Sith apprentice Mikhail Shorn armed only with a battered grenade launcher.

The Battle of Concord Dawn was not only a total defeat for the Mandalorians, but the Sith managed to strike a vicious blow against the Jedi Order as well. The Jedi, while being too far away to directly deploy their armies against the Empire, pledged individual service to fight against the Sith wherever they popped up in Mandalorian space. One of those Jedi was Grandmaster Teferi Efreet, and during the fighting on Concord Dawn he fought Emperor Moridin single-handled...

And died in the process.

With their Grandmaster thoroughly slain, the Jedi were utterly routed and the Mandalorians soon followed. Vornskr proved himself not only a capable commander, but a vicious soldier and blossoming Sith in service to the dark hungering God that called itself Moridin. Such memories brought up feelings of disappointment and loathing about what happened shortly after that Battle, and the lost opportunity. Turning those feelings into pure hate Vornskr lunged from his vantage point, rebounding off of the sides of the rising and falling monoliths before circling around Tanek's flank to attack him from behind with a piercing strike that had the strength of a hurtling spear.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]