2ND POST
SUMMIT'S CLAW, MT. CERBERUS,
NORTH ARRUA PROVINCE, MAR'ZAMBUL (EARLY-WINTER OF 877 ABY)
<"Magnars, Deathless and Undying - this is the Bloodhound! Come find me at the top of Mt. Cerberus. Climb if you can! Find me within the cave near the summit! If my greatest warriors wish to remain as such, you will ascend sooner or later! CLIMB FOR ALL YOU'RE WORTH!!!!">
The last known transmission of the Warlord.
And in the earliest parts of that comm-silence, something new was already beginning to form, promising the makings of an entirely different man, laying the ground work for some-one or some-thing greater to walk back down to the valley floor again. Something was happening, and though everyone could feel and articulate such feelings with ease by then, none could say for sure what all the reports and hearsay meant, nor of what it's implications meant in the long run. None on Mar'Zambul, none on Rhigar, none on Shihon, Oyokal or on Tiantang for that matter, none could say but the Bloodhound, his most-trusted subordinates and the Dark Three.
It was enough to know that the mountain would be conquered for the sake of the others, but to be able to climb higher than he ever had before, Barran rejoiced every laboured step with this at the forefront of his mind in self-motivation, elatedly pushing for the very height of greatness with naught but wonder in his heart. A great future could be felt in his gut, and when Thomas eventually stood at the very summit of Mt. Cerberus, looking out across the great expanse of Mar'Zambul's frozen north in complete bliss for the first time in his second life, the Bloodhound would find all the grace and life-affirming inspiration he wished to internalise awaiting him in every fatigued sigh at the top of the world. Ambitions were awakening within the one-eyed Woad there, flooding his mind with what he inwardly dubbed
,"Rights yet to be claimed.", and in the Bloodhound's mind, all of it was possible.
Let me judge the faithful from the heretics, the adherent from blasphemers.
Let me judge the true from their lessers, let me find my answers to knighthood.
THE GREATEST OF ALL MARAUDERS
Inhaling all the air he could get, caring not for how little oxygen was contained within each breath, the one-eyed Woad threw his head back and roared into the clouds beyond with all his might, unleashing every last ounce of furious elation into the wilderness below in his declaration of lasting dominance over Mar'Zambul in it's entirety. Then after beating his chest for a few moments in the last throes of his screams, the thin air briefly reminded the Bloodhound that he ironically still had a mountain to climb, with elements of the fabled Cerberus still yet to be conquered despite the Woad's loud triumph at summit. Yet despite the gravity's nauseating effects, Thomas would embrace the wake-up call it offered on the matter of what he had in mind for this beast of a mountain, and the imagined fortress-city he intended to build from the rocks of the caves within, only to drift to thoughts of the Galaxy beyond.
Thoughts on how best to wield the power granted by his status as tribal Warlord of the Scar Hounds, harassing every corner and crevice in the Woad's mind as he descended back towards the mountain's uppermost cave.
It is not my circumstances that lead me to think about such things...
But if not - what? Naw, who spurs me on like this?
It wasn't believed to be Mother Rebirth, and for that matter, nor the Avatars of War and Death; but in his assurance it wasn't the godly powers who ruled over the Unknown Region, assumptions of the celestial quickly drifted towards those of the spiritual instead, awakening curiosities of the effect the dead (and the lessons they imparted before their deaths) began to make sense of his sudden change in mindset. If it wasn't for the joined dreaming vision of his predecessors, and of his mentor most of all, the one who ordered the others to find him - the one who made the choice to set the one-eyed Woad on his second life's path.
The Mongrel.
Did you foresee events like this coming to pass, Mentor?
Was this an eventuality meant solely for the Scar Hounds, as you an' I know them?
Standing with the wind blowing at his back, looking out across the frozen northern wilderness, the Bloodhound couldn't help but ponder on the plans the Mongrel may or may not have designed on Mar'Zambul's uncharted regions, wondering if his mentor perhaps even climbed Mt. Cerberus in secret in the years before or after the agony that was the Woad's resurrection. Thomas had no way of knowing what his mentor was doing in secret, and for that matter, no way of knowing his predecessor's intentions, all Thomas could have hoped was that the Mongrel at least gazed on the towering monster with a mind to climb and conquer it someday.
These thoughts would continue to plague the Warlord's mind as he began to make his way downhill, but after a half-hour or so, the unmistakable sound of a drop-pod breaking through the orbital sphere could be heard, looking up to find his suspicions confirmed. The Orbital Squadron had not been cued for action, and with no sign of their carrier-ships on the horizon, the Bloodhound could only guess at the identity of the one dropping towards the nearest plateau, though Barran was still wise enough to assume it was a Marauder dropping to find him specifically. And yet, despite the fact his mind was still preoccupied with the profound nature of his ambitions, the obvious soon landed in his lap, reminding the one-eyed Woad there was one he wasn't considering - one he had hoped to see after the madness of Panatha's last hours.
Stabbed in the gut, and losing quite a lot of blood from other cuts incurred in her fight for survival in the jungles of Canthar Province, and still ferocious enough to behead and scatter skull and brain matter in all directions; proof of Vorco's worth, and though their adversaries from the Lost Brigade drifted into the mists and escaped, Ardana still had enough fight in her heart to kill their best Necromancer. If anyone had earned the right to stand in proud, confident autonomy, and especially in close proximity to Barran's presence, Spindly was more than safe enough to assume she finally had the freedom to speak and act of her own accord, owing it all to her deeds, her Warlord and the golden-skull signet ring he bequeathed her. However, as for the matter of whether the Twi'Lek remembered the words or the nature of the Woad's little ascension ritual, the latter wasn't sure, though Thomas didn't mind making sense of everything that transpired after the fight.
Madder than most of us-
And yet, even Mother Rebirth sees what I see in Spindly's fury....
Artistry, pure artistry.
Vorco had landed very close to the cave near the summit, forcing Barran to walk back upwards to meet the drop-pod as it hurtled off it's predicted landing-trajectory, but it made little difference; the Woad was close and willing to go whichever way suited best, and the Twi'Lek would have all the help she needed as soon as she stepped out into the harsh, cold thin air. In time, the Magnarra would be strong enough to recover more-quickly, taking less damage to the organs as a result of build-up in muscle fibers along the way, toughening up through comprehensive means in the Bloodhound's urge to make Jedi-killers of his Magnars. And yet, as much as the prospect set his imagination into overdrive, Thomas knew this would take time, as it did for everyone else in the Tri-Lunar clique. But somehow, recalling the beauty of her natural fighting abandon as far back as Tython, it was already quite clear that Ardana was something of a natural talent in the making.
'Warlord, I'm back! It's me, Spindly!'
Rolling his eyes, Barran kindly replied
,'I know its you, Spindly! But first, please - dispense with the formalities!', approaching with head bowed in genuine respect for all the Magnarra had achieved to warrant the bestowal of such a title. Then after a brief call for silence with index covering his own lips, letting Ardana take in the grandiose calm of the view beyond as he looked to the horizon again for a minute or so, Thomas finally continued
,'Besides, nobody here yet to give ye flak on the matter.... But then again, not that I'd let them. You've come too far an' too quick for me to let such things stand after all, just look at your signet ring for instance. You remember, or....?', ending with a query as he pointed to the ruby skull on his own signet-ring - and with the same index finger he had hushed himself with a couple minutes before.