Death Hungers

[Darth Prazutis]

​Chasin City, Commenor

​It was a quiet normal day for the men and women of Chasin City who went about their business. They were oblivious to the individual that sat aboard the black Upsilon-Class Command Shuttle that cut through the atmosphere moving by checkpoints and and past naval security. As fighters flanked either side of it issuing warnings and anti air turrets began silently tracking the heavily armed, armored, and shielded shuttle something odd happened. The pilots transmitted an unusual security clearance code not known to the normal levels.

It was a code buried deep in the roots of the system designed in part as a virus that superseded all levels of security. As soon as it met the security station monitoring the shuttle everything froze. The anti-air guns stopped trailing the moving shuttle and the fighters bid them good fortune and left it to its own devices. A code coming from the highest levels of government that gave it permission and ordered the security off. Aboard this shuttle was the Shadow Hand himself and a full complement of twelve guardsman and two pilots manning the shuttle itself.

Darth Prazutis sat aboard clad in a set of dark armor his facial features covered in an intimidating helm. The Sith Lord sat in silence as the shuttle descended into the valley of the storm, a beautiful landmark of the city that today was clear of what gave its name, the blooming flowers gorgeous. But today it would be the site of something truly dark. "Stay. No one interferes." He ordered before descending the ramp into the valley. The dark side swirled around the man like a choking smog smothering what surrounded and almost adding weight to the very air.

As he stood in the valley the Shadow Hand touched the control panel on his wrist triggering a connection with the Palace of the High King [member="Veiere Arenais"]. "After all this time I finally return to Commenor and what have you done with the world I gave to its Queen. Pitiful. I have heard you have been looking for me High King. Since I took someone close to you and broke them, right from under your people." ​He said his image showing on screens in the palace the visual of the valley showed behind him. "Here I stand."

 

[WolfMortum]

Veiere had not been seen among the Royal Grounds of Chasin City for quite some time, preferring the isolation and solitude of his and [member="Lady Kay"]'s private residence within the Eldritch mountain range overlooking the green expanse; it had otherwise been the growing feeling of apprehension and unease that had drawn him out of hiding and to the City during that day, intent on visiting his wife and having not informed her due to his anxiety that seemed to be welling up inside of him, the Force felt heavy upon his shoulders and at the back of his mind he knew, deep down, that nothing good would come of this. Given his recent struggles, inner conflict ever growing to taste upon his conscience the absence of reason and favor towards his former Jedi Path, coupled with the growing suspicion of decadence for the day that would follow, he had chosen to come out of his hiding well armed and every bit the image of the King Commenor had missed lately.

While his Lightsabers were attached to the right side of his belt, the weapon of greater display and intimidation was the sheathed The Kingsglaive for which unlike the weapons of the Exile, the blade of this force imbued sword could not be extinguished nor hidden, carried in full show and housed within a fine leather holster etched with the markings of the House Arenais. The armor that he had adjorned was nothing alike the robes and garments that he had worn the last time [member="Darth Prazutis"] had come into contact with him, his Heavy Battle Attire crafted with the very intention of meeting the Dark Lord in combat and finally placing against him a killing blow. Their history was dark and deeply personal, he had abducted Veiere's wife, President then and a great woman of the former singular Trade World, he had tortured her, corrupted and turned her to the Dark Side that she meant to follow in the path of her Sith Master if not for his patience and perseverance, his refusal to give up on her and his faith then in the light. A Faith that he no longer held so dearly at heart nor would it stop him from seeking to even the playing field and claim his vengeance against this man.

"After all this time I finally return to Commenor and what have you done with the world I gave to its Queen. Pitiful. ​

I have heard you have been looking for me High King. Since I took someone close to you and broke them, right from under your people..".​

​

There it was, the voice of the one that plagued his wive's nightmares in the dark of the night, the one that had left Veiere scorned and unable to come back from the shame of knowing that no matter how many times he had kept her from harm, he had failed when she had needed him most and that this Sith Lord, Darth Prazutis was here again and calling him out. A call that he would readily meet with an anger that shifted within him and would be carried across his aura as he sought to reach out to the instigator of darkness, eager to meet his demands with a readied blade and all that was within his power to bring down against his abhorrent presence on Veiere's world.

"I'm coming for you, Prazutis...I'm going to kill you for what you did to her" the Force flowed around him as he turned in stride and began to pursue the direction for which he sensed the Dark Lord's presence. Around him those who were conscious of the holo-visions in the windows of stores or listening across the public frequencies for which had picked up on this call all seemed to flinch as they saw Veiere moving in pace and in great stride, his jaw tense, brows furrowed and nothing of the former humble or placid man that had sought to vye for peace or the deterrence of war there and then.
Prazutis had come for a fight and Veiere intended on giving him one.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​The message was sent.

​​Everything the Lord of Lies did was with purpose and always there was one or many ulterior motives attached that were often cleverly hidden from his choice of words down to the location he chosen to do it. Deep within the valley he stood a myriad of weapons and dark side artifacts equipped on his person. A pair of lightsabers sat at his sides while tucked beneath the armor safely secured in an amulet the dark crystal valthris was around his neck. A dark runeblade sat locked away in its hilt on his person as well in addition to a blaster and a myriad of other equipment. He came to Commenor with one specific purpose and everything that came with him was geared towards that purpose.

​Death.

​The Shadow Hand's mind reached out across the vast oceans of the force and felt the presence of the one he called out: [member="Veiere Arenais"]. What he found wasn't the wise, cool headed presence of a Jedi Master that the man once was. It seemed that after the kidnapping of Kay Larr there were two people broken that day, one of them just didn't know it yet. The inability to protect and save her from her captivity, and everything that came afterwards all fell on him in his nightmares. There was one thing he felt radiating from the man that was all too familiar to the Sith Lord.

​Anger.

​White hot anger boiling from deep within bordering on rage surged within the one that moved towards him. It was uncontained, uncontrolled and if handled in the wrong way could be incredibly dangerous. It was a fire that needed to be stoked and contained, directed and unleashed, a deadly dance during their duel. Out in the valley of the storms his aura surged like a storm of its own, waiting in silence. It wasn't until Veiere actually came into the valley that he heard the Sith Lords voice boom like some mechanized, nightmarish demon through the annunicators of his helmet echoing through. "You took up an oath to protect her. Yet you left her alone the one day she needed you. You weren't there when I slaughtered your security and took your president out from under your nose. While you spent time searching in all the wrong places I killed the pathetic woman she once was. I turned her into a killer not out of survival or defense against others, simply because someone was there."

 

[WolfMortum]

Veiere's entered into the valley putting the capital City behind his back, [member="Lady Kay"] somewhere within the Palace or otherwise at home looking after their children [member="Caedyn Arenais"] and [member="Loreena Arenais"]; his wife was most unfortunately well attuned and would sense the tension over her husband, their Wedding Rings harboring an amplified affect over the Force Bond that they shared. Kay would know Veiere's stance on the day, wishing for her to remain out of harms way and otherwise leave this all in his hands and his alone. [member="Darth Prazutis"] was a monstrous representation of the Darkside of the Force, complimenting the Zambrano legacy that his nephew had brought into power, the Dark Lord of the Sith [member="Darth Carnifex"] a name that even Veiere was made aware of across the many devastating attacks and wars that had come about thanks to the likes of the Sith and the decline and corruption of politics blinding the Galaxy from it's own ability to protect itself against such forces.

"While you spent time searching in all the wrong places I killed the pathetic woman she once was."​

Veiere knew that his anger was getting the best of him, his self-awareness was high due to his experiences training as a formerly Jedi Master yet the difference in today was that he had let go of those ideals and restraints for which he now allowed himself to feel; to take control of his life and finally seek to mend an old wound for which had hurt his family and continued to linger upon their minds ever since. Of the words that reached Veiere, only one sentence truly hit home with him and it gave further fuel to his emotions, aware and accepting of these feelings, Veiere continued to walk out into the vast clearing for which Prazutis was now within his range of sight; the Force pulsating around him in immense strength and power, yet the visage of purity that his aura once held was no longer, replaced with the sense of indecision, anger and vulnerability.

A flash of blue and green erupted upon either side of him, his hands having taken into their grasp the two Lightsabers that had been upon his belt, separated from their typical center link for which they could be used as a staff (double Bladed lightsaber), Veiere wanted his weapons at the ready well before reaching striking distance of the Sith. Prazutis would know his lack of restraint nor apprehension for what was otherwise obvious intent to cut the Sith Lord down where he stood. "I knew that sooner or later this day would come, Prazutis" Veiere called out across the distance between them, walking still to close it though speaking ahead that the Sith would hear him; "You will find no mercy from me this day. I'm going to make you suffer for what you've done, your last glimpse of life will be me standing over you...".

Rolling his wrists, the two lightsabers spun a full rotation around him, a flourish and stretching of the muscles within his fore-arm as the distance between them was finally enough to encourage an elevated pace; the King of Commenor moving to jog towards his foe at first, looking to expel as little stamina as required despite his eager want to end the others life. His Armor weighed him down and yet there was no greater choice of battle attire within his possession that could have offered any further defense over the Sith. Veiere could still recall the Dark side's influence over the Palace, the ring that Prazutis had worn that day had cost a lot of good people the immediate fear and humiliation in their cowering before his presence; he would however find no such intimidation here.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​The afflicted [member="Veiere Arenais"] at last came into view spurred on by a deep seated hatred that the Shadow Hand had allowed to fester and build. It worked to his advantage and it didn't hurt that seeing a once wise Jedi fall so far was so amusing. Unlike his opponent he was a storm of focus and control even as the Rogue Master broke into a charge a set of blue and green lightsabers at the ready in the man's hands. This was personal for the man and he would want to feel his blades cut his foe down, to see the light fade from his eyes. So there were many responses that he could choose from charging right in to meet his foe, to throwing a spell or force power in his direction. When it came to fights the Destroyer always preferred to control them and to keep his opponents on the defensive, ensuring they couldn't have time to bring counterattacks to bear or to create space.

So the Sith Lord pulled a grenade off its hook and tossed it forward right in the path of his foe. It was a grenade of the smoke variant that created a great cloud of blanketing, choking smoke obstructing both fighters from one another creating a good deal of cover. Once this happened he activated his helm's thermal vision that allowed him to see the man through such cover. Carefully he circled around him in the smoke pulling off a hook an anti force user fragmentation grenade. He cooked it first before throwing it at the man, all the while continuing to circle around him. Whether or not the grenade did any damage didn't matter it served as an explosive distraction. He used its explosion charging headlong into the opposite side of the man, the only warning he'd get would be the long blade of crimson sunfire that exploded into the air, the beginning of a horrific barrage blending both Djem-So and Juyo together to force him on the defensive.

This was only the beginning.

 

[WolfMortum]

To say that Veiere's focus was unrefined was not entirely correct, his emotions were well leading him into action that much was true, however he was doing so willingly, his focus solely upon [member="Darth Prazutis"] and no longer fighting so hard to keep the anger within him buried but using it to spur on his momentum and motivations for seeing this fight through; this wasn't a matter of a trap of the Sith Lord's coming into play but a position for which Veiere Arenais stood right where he wished to be. Before the Sith Lord intent on striking him down.

The Sith chose not to meet him half way, Veiere's jog slowing as his eyes fall to note the others hand reaching for something while the Force around them both called for his awareness. It was not a lightsaber, nor shaped like a firearm but a spherical object of sorts; a grenade? 'A Thermal Detonator'. His mind instantly went for the most dramatic of assumptions, though the seconds that passed gave him too little time to respond with an appropriate defense. His left hand deactivated his secondary lightsaber just as the hand-held device had been thrown and erupted within a cloud of smoke, most surprisingly there being no flames nor kinetic barrier to sweep him off of his feet. A distraction and a means to cloud his vision, Veiere realized as he returned the hilt to his belt and instead called upon the Force that it might begin to channel down through his left arm, the focal point of which would gather at his palm now standing within the center of the clouded maelstrom.

He could still sense his opponent, while not physically being able to see him, Veiere's eyes closed as he awaited the next strike, his focus on the surrounding environment tense and ready to move at the smallest hint of movement. At his side, there were a number of trinkets on his person that he had especially crafted to empower his primary skills and techniques within the Force. The Kingsglaive itself, the sword for which was sheathed at his hip thrummed within it's own aura, sharing a bond with the owner and strengthening his telekinetic abilities where needed. It would be this very power that Veiere would use to rely upon for his safety, not thrown against his enemy but utilized to erect a barrier around him, an invisible wall for which encircled him just as his foes second grenade was lobbed at him. The Force screamed within the back of his mind, this all happening in a number of seconds, the explosion casting all wisps of smoke afar from them as the flames and ash of the ground around him enveloped everything; his barrier held and yet...Still his vision was deterred during which Prazutis intended to follow through with a flurry of blows.

The Force shield for which had saved him from the explosion was not strong enough to hold back the Sith Lord, Veiere's shelter crumbling away as he moved to step backwards swiftly moving onto the defensive, his lightsaber being arced around with his right hand to retaliate, to meet and to fend off the dark lords first blow, the sound of energies clashing against one another, the burning heat that splashed against the air, an audible series of snaps and small bursts of crackling heat igniting between them as green met with red and Veiere sought keep Prazutis at bay. His attacks were strong, aggressive and fast, the form of Djem So harnessed with the intention of finishing a fight as swiftly as possible. Veiere would move to counter it with the application of Soresu if this was to be the Sith's choice. Seeking to save as much stamina of his own while Djem So would slowly drawn his opponents as long as the exile could keep his weapon from cutting him in half.

One after another their blades clashed, bounced and parried against each others attempts to best their foe. Veiere's feet moving to slowly be pushed back, walking yet moving none the less while Prazutis continued to drive forward against him. There was no room for error, no time for alternative planning or room for abstract thought as the Sith Lord demanded his sole focus. His aura within the Dark Side of the Force was intimidating, truly a powerful enemy to face and one that would take much of Veiere's skill and patience to overcome...