Following the Footsteps of Power

[Metus De'cal]

Metus walked his way to the new base of the Sith on Coruscant, each step bringing him closer to what he now felt like was his destiny. All his life he had been scared, but from what he had heard of them maybe the Sith were the ones that could help him turn it into a true weapon. They had managed to take the planet and claim victory over the Jedi after all, with their mighty strength and broken chains, so it only made sense that if there was anyone who could show him the true path to purpose and power it would be them.

All Metus had now was the plain old clothing he wore with a tattered brown cloak to cover him, and once he made it to their mighty citadel he collapsed on the front steps, from hunger and the dread that overpowered him once he sensed their power. He wanted to run, and would have if this was anything less important. It was this sense of fear that told him he was in the right place, and as he struggled to his feet he began yelling at the top of his lungs and making a racket.

"T-teach me! I d-demand that you make m-me stronger!"

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Sheff Zee]

Descending the steps of the Imperial Palace, the new location of the Sith Temple on Coruscant, he set his eyes upon the man who was screaming. He stuttered like a whelp who didn't even know how to formulate a smooth sentence, and then he'd demand someone to make him stronger?

What was the best way to do that?

Punishment.

But he wouldn't do it unnecessarily, he wasn't like his previous Master turned traitor Ballen-Ist.

"You should fix that stutter first."

Then his right hand went outwards and the force was released in a powerful push at his chest. The Sith Pureblood was cloaked in his standard blacks, with the Vonduun Crab Armour that he had begun to adopt as his own personal armour.

"Weakling."

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

It wasn't long until a Sith finally made an appearance, with an intimidating cloak that made Metus' skin crawl. He had spent much of his life doing what he could to make others afraid so that he would not have to be so himself, but in the presence of men such as this it all meant nothing. It was lucky of him that he did not have to use the restroom, or the Sith would have probably refused him right there.

"You should fix that stutter first."

And as if he was indeed being refused, Metus was thrown back by a mighty demonstration of the force's power as the Sith before him derided him as a weakling. He wanted to argue against it and tell of all he had been through to get to this point, but in the end he knew the Sith was right...he was a weakling. The fearful man could not even look up at the once before him, and kept his eyes to the ground as he raised his disfigured hand.

"I am w-weak...and I am afraid," Metus did his best to end his stuttering, knowing that it could make the Sith hurt him again, "but I know that if you s-show me the way I can do something about it! I can make others feel the w-way I feel right now!"

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Sheff Zee]

[OOC: Forgot to mention that he would be concealed by his black cloak and durasteel helmet which covers his armour. Also, he isn't red.

The Sith Knight regarded the being in front of him after he had been knocked away. Simply from the man's voice he could tell that the man was older than him, it was curious, as to how his force potential could still be sensed through the Force.

"Very well."

He needed an Apprentice after all, whether they were the weakest of the weak, or if they were the strongest. This one wasn't ready, untested in the ways of the Force, it would certainly be hard to bring them up to the standard of the other Sith Acolytes...

But it would be done.

"You'll refer to me as Darth Acarus. You must learn to serve before you can become powerful enough to be my Apprentice. Do you understand?"

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

[OOC: Ah, so I shouldn't be able to see his skin at all? And is it the charcoal grey/black? I'll edit it out anyway ]

"I...understand." Metus crawled over towards the feet of his new master and bowed his head, "I understand my master! Make me the man I should have always been!"

His whole life had been one that he wanted to be able to look on later and spit on it in contempt once he had true power. None of the people he had met before who claimed to have power truly understood it, and while Metus had been afraid of most of those men it wasn't until now that he realized how small they were compared to the being before him. If there were stronger lords of the Sith out there he did not know, but as of now this one was the strongest thing in his whole universe.

"What can I do then to serve...my lord? I am ignorant in your ways and need proper instruction, no matter how painful."

As of now his force sensitivity was like a neglected plant, withering into nothing and barely there, but once watered with the teachings of the Sith Metus intended to cultivate the plant into something to be feared. He would have to start at the very bottom, but it was going to be from the lowest point that he would eventually climb the mountain.

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Sheff Zee]

"You can start off by being silent and listening." His first Apprentice, and he was so annoying. He groaned in what was most likely frustration.

"The One Sith are an Ancient Order. We serve a single Dark Lord, the only true Dark Lord of the Sith. His power is unrivalled. Together, all of the Sith Lords of my Order pale in comparison to the singular being that is the Dark Lord of the Sith. You can't, and you shall not ever try to grasp the power that the Dark Lord holds. If you try to overthrow him, you will be crushed by his Hands and Voices."

He knew the names of the Hands but in person he had only met one of them. That was Darth Mierin, but the others were supposedly Darth Helios and Darth Vindica. The other Sith Pureblood, Mierin, had told him that the other two were good at what they did, and that had been answer enough for the young Pureblood Sith all that time ago.

The Voices were a larger number, he knew a few of their names, but had met only a handful in person. Tsavong Kraal was a powerful being, but he was no force sensitive. His strength and intelligence was something that he admired from wehn he was a young Sith Acolyte.

Now they were business partners.

"What is your name?"

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus had already managed to annoy his master, and with shame and fear of being punished on his mind he simply sat and listened. It seemed that all of these Sith served a single dark lord of immense power, and was assisted in his rule by the Hands and Voices of the order. For a man like his new master to be so humbled by the dark lord...he must be a creature of immense power, and Metus wanted to meet this dark lord some day just to be in the presence of something so awe inspiring.

"I am almost too insignificant for my name to be worth mentioning, but it is Metus De'cal my lord." He moved so that he was kneeling, but kept his head bowed so as to not let his master see the look on his face, "If there is anything else you want, it is mine to give."

 

[Sheff Zee]

"There will be many things for you to give yet."

Was the response that [member="Metus De'cal"] received and then the Sith Knight turned away from his first and new Apprentice. They had plenty of work to do at this point. Questioning him would be the way to go about it.

"How experienced are you with using the Force?"

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus looked up as his master turned away from him, and for a moment wondered if he had already displeased him and ruined this chance at power. Before he could say anything the Sith asked just how experienced he was in the force, and in shame he bowed his head once more.

"I...have none truly master. I was once meant to be brought the Jedi, but I feared what would become of my life and fled. Since then I have only barely tapped into the force. I am sorry my lord."

There were times where Metus wondered what life would have been like with the Jedi, but knowing what he did now it would have not been good for him. Maybe he would have even died here during the invasion. Either way he was glad to be almost a part of the order that actually gave its members strength instead of holding them back.

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Sheff Zee]

"Would that you were so I'd have a reason to kill you." There was clear contempt in his voice for the human behind him.

"Then the training will be vigorous. You will be up day and night learning the ways of the Force. I will not give you a weapon until you've proven yourself. Do you understand?"

Turning around, he looked to his sorry excuse for an Apprentice.

"What weapons do you have on your person now?"

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

The mention of killing him sent a chill down Metus' spine, but at the very least the discussion of training meant he would not die...yet. His master turned back around as he looked up into the Sith's helmet, and at the mention of weapons looked back down so as to not reveal the emotions in his eyes. Maybe in time he could keep his eyes in check, but as of now they were simply windows to his frightened soul.

"I...carry no weapons my lord. I gave up everything to pay all my debts and now all that's left is what I wear now." Metus pulled on his tattered outfit to demonstrate just how poor he had become, and raised his hands up, "These are the only weapons I have, but they are ready to do what your will demands."

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Sheff Zee]

"Good." He said emotionlessly. No purpose to continue.

"What do you know of the Sith? Why do you want to be a Sith? What makes you think you're even worthy of becoming a powerful Sith?"

It would all be questions, he had to determine that the man was ready.

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

What did Metus know of the Sith? It was a good question, since the man only really knew what he could gather from others who had seen them in their attack on the planet and whatever information he was able to find from databases. It was a basic overview, but was it going to be enough to please his master?

"I...The Sith are what I want to become. They are strong, and are not afraid of anyone or anything including the Jedi who once lived here. To be honest my lord I am not sure if I am worthy, but I've heard that if I prove not to be then I will die anyway."

The answer was not the best that someone could give, he was sure of that, but hopefully it proved that at the very least Metus was ready to put his all into the effort to become a true Sith.

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Sheff Zee]

Some Sith would have struck this Sith Hopeful down a long time ago.

Malphas was beginning to see the prospect of doing such a thing. If he was Ballen-Ist he knew that he'd do it without hesitation. Then again Ballen-Ist was a heretic and a halfwit that knew nothing.

"Okay that's enough. You know nothing." He said disgustedly. "Your first mission is to figure out the Code of the Sith in Galactic Basic, and in it's original language." There were few enough people who knew Sith'ese, to pronounce it perfectly? Even less.

He couldn't wait to see the failure.

"Perfect pronounciation as well. Now leave me." Then he turned around and walked back into the Imperial Palace.

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus cringed a bit at his master's words, even if he knew them to be true, and watched as the disappointed Sith turned away and went back to the palace after handing down the first of hopefully many assignments. He was not sure how to go about figuring out the code, especially in Sith'ese, but if he failed here Metus could truly see either being cast aside or killed out of spite and possible boredom. The potential acolyte waited a few moments, then walked into the palace himself in the hopes of finding either a database or someone willing to teach him such things.

The palace was as grand up close as it seemed far away, and now that he was here for the first time today he genuinely smiled. Whether he made it to a higher position or not, Metus had managed to make it at least to the beginnings of Sithhood.

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus roamed the area looking for his new master, his head now filled with the information that he had gained by simply spending some time asking others and finding the right information. The code of the Sith was locked in his head, but pronouncing it in Sith'ese would be the true test in this when finally demanded to reveal his new knowledge. He eventually decided to simply sit outside of the palace and wait, no matter how long it took for his new master to eventually come outside and find him since he had no other way to contact him.

"I have learned much," he muttered to himself as the acolyte sat down in front of the stairway leading up to the palace, people walking by and giving him looks, "And I will use it as a foundation to my power."

[member="Darth Acarus"]