Private Jedi vs. Sith: Lords of the Sword - Part I

[Ran Serys]

The alarm resounded throughout the tiny, weather insulated tent. It would've startled Ran had she not already been awake. She was silent and still, and the alarm had not broken her concentration. Her mind was fixed on the future, on why the force had led her to the sparsely-inhabited and backwater planet that was Naalol. Whatever answer her mind's eye searched for went unnoticed. It was ironic really. All the years she spent with her mind on the future and she never saw it coming until it was upon her. For as strong and skilled as she was in the force, she had little talent in future sight, aside from the immediate threat of danger. She was no seer, but she never let that stop her from trying.

Finally, she rolled over in her tent and silenced the alarm to begin her day. Exiting the tent was an entirely new environment. The tent was warm and protected from the world outside, but as soon as she opened she could feel the biting wind and the icy chill the blizzards and mountains of Naalol provided. Ran bundled up against the weather and broke down her campsite. It had been precariously perched on the side of a narrow and overgrown mountain pass, about two-thirds the way to its peak. The Jedi Knight's path would only become more narrow and more precarious as the force urged her to summit. She would accomplish that goal in a few hours. She'd be at the top of Naalol's highest point in the midst of a blizzard but for what? Ran wouldn't question it. She'd listen to her instincts and the force as she so often did.

Ran left her tent and most of her camping supplies on the pass. She had a feeling they wouldn't be coming back down with her. It was an ominous feeling but she found it easier not to fight her feelings. Marching up the mountain was difficult, climbing was even worse, but she continued up the mountain because it was where she was meant to be.

She marked the passage of time and distance traveled by the tink of her lightsaber against her coat's many zippers and pouches. Her pace was steady and so was the tink's sound. The tedious task also kept her mind from the increasing danger of heights, the increasing speed of winds, and the sheer volume of snow that the blizzard added to the mountain range. It was dangerous and took some time but she made it to the summit.

With a deep and chilly breath, she inhaled the thin mountain top air. Dawn was approaching and the light creeping through gaps in the blizzard made the scene sublime. It was a sight so divine and simple, but impactful. A writer would use metaphor and simile to speak of its beauty, Ran was no writer and believed there was little she could compare it to. If it hadn't been so cold she would've let herself weep in admiration of it.

Suddenly Ran felt the wind begin to stir. The light was swallowed up as clouds began to thicken. The crack of dawn resembled night. The white of snow illuminated the mountaintop still. Ran heard the snow shift in the distance behind her. It came from the opposite side of the mountain that she had. It sounded like another person. Was this the reason she was here? She wondered. To meet this other soul. As she questioned the force hit her with a wave of incredible malice. Its source was unclear. Was it from the other person, the planet, the weather, or was it a vergence in the force itself? Ran would find out soon.

snap-hiss

She activated her lightsaber. Its white glow cut through the dark and radiated off of the white snow. As the stranger would summit they would see it and her. A Jedi ready to defend or attack. Ran wondered if they knew and if not, what would they think?

Drane T'keen​

 

[Drane T'keen]

In black armor, with helmet, under a white cloak trimmed in fur, he approached. He climbed the mountainside from another side. He had his own journey, his own reasons for his adventure, his own struggles and obstacles as the mountain challenged his ascent. Yet, he was beckoned by something bigger, something greater, and it wasn’t even malice.

Clouds loomed, like a storm beyond that might soon crush the dawn and send a whirlwind of ice and snow upon the mountaintop any moment. Whatever happened, he was prepared for it, because this environment was his purpose. He was fearless before it. He had to be. No weather could stop him. He wouldn’t let it.

A Force-sensitive for an opponent? That was another matter entirely. As he came into view before this other person, he witnessed the lightsaber, white as snow as it hummed and hovered, but he wasn’t fazed. No, he was most curious. This might just prove to be a story for the ages.

“I don’t suppose you have any mead.” He spoke as he approached, having no lightsaber in his hands, though he did not mask his signature in the Force, for better or worse. “It would surely warm my belly.”

Ran Serys

 

[Ran Serys]

Her lightsaber hummed as it hung in the space between her and the armored man before her. Ran's eyes ran over him suspiciously. His question was a surprise to her, and replaced the wave of malice she had previously felt come to her. "You are correct." She answered cautiously. Her fingers played with the grip of her saber hilt. "If it is a belly full of mead you seek, you will not find it here." The lightsaber continued to hum peacefully and patiently. "There is a village at the north eastern base of the mountain. You will find something there."

The clouds shifted above and the blizzard began to rage once again. Ran could barely see the black armored man as the density and concentration of snowflakes increased in the space between them. "Before you leave in search of mead," She called out over the raging blizzard winds. "Isn't it a bit too cold for all that armor?" She asked with genuine curiosity. There were many unknowns about the man, but of all of the questions she could ask, she only wanted to know about his armor.

Drane T'keen​

 

[Drane T'keen]

Correct, she said, and for a moment Drane expected the best in the sense that she really did have mead to warm his belly. Yet that wasn’t the case. She plainly stated that he would not find the mead that he seeks here. However, there was a village at the north eastern base of the mountain where he will find something, so have no fear.

The clouds shifted. A storm was coming. Storms were always brewing in this region, however, and they came and they went as surely as the wind did at the moment. Was there wind in the village? Were its inhabitants drinking mead? Eating meat? One could only wonder. You would have to have been there to believe.

A question came Drane’s way as the Sith stood in silence. Sure, there was fur on his cloak, but honestly that was for when the armor came off, like when he was in a cave with a cookfire. Then again, maybe he was just a good liar.

“The armor, from boot to helmet, is controlled by temperature,” he offered. “You might be familiar with the design. As similar to a stormtrooper or any other kind. It isn’t exactly uncommon.” He nodded. “The color of your lightsaber, however, is.”

At that, Drane T’keen lifted his, and from its silver hilt was ignited a crimson blade, brilliant and defiant to his counterpart’s white light. “Sure you don’t have any mead to offer me?”

Ran Serys

 

[Ran Serys]

At that moment, Ran thought she understood why the force had guided her there. She believed it was an exercise in excision. In favor of the light or the dark, is what she needed to know. Would one of them meet their end on this mountain top or would they both endure? As the pair of light blades' glow fought over shadow, she doubted it would be the latter.

"Do not play games with me, Darksider." The Jedi warned. "Is it just mead you want or is it something else?" She flourished as she circled him like a predator to prey. She noted the glimmer in his eyes and the excitement in his words upon seeing her lightsaber's white blade. "Answer and act carefully," She ordered. "For I am not like any foe you have come across before." She warned again as her chemical yellow eyes glowed with the corruption of Sith sorcery and science.

She might've forgiven the Sith at large for what they had done to her, but she would never forget. Ran decided quickly that if the man before her was of the Sith tradition she would give him no quarter. She raised her blade higher between them in defense. She took a breath and her instincts heightened with a connection to the force. She'd be ready for any action to come.

Drane T'keen​

 

[Drane T'keen]

Darksider. Drane liked that name. He always thought it had a ring to it much more than ‘lightsider’ and reminded him of the name of his own ship, Darkstar. Was he playing games? Did this woman assume that much about this man already? Then again, could one not have fun when it came to their life’s mission as it was?

They circled each other, slowly and steady, like two dancers about to go at it by joining hands and hips, never mind lightsabers. “Indeed, I am inclined to agree.” He kept his own saber at his side, pointing down toward the ground, walking at a casual pace in a gait that was the same. “Most foes tend to cower before me once they see my crimson blade.” He shrugged. “It is expected given that its hand is that of a Sith.”

Sith. Jedi. It didn’t matter at the moment to him or in the end. All that mattered was this Thyrsian’s promise of war until his death. “I’ll take the mead after I finish with you, miss,” he promised. “All I want before then is to take your head and, rest assured, I will cherish your death if you give me your best.”

At that, Drane suddenly sprung forward toward his opponent. Hilt held in just his right hand, leaving his left hand free, he swung his sword diagonally downward from his right to left. If it connected with its target then it would carve the woman’s body apart from her left shoulder to her right hip in an instant.

Ran Serys

 

[Ran Serys]

Ran's suspicions were correct. The darksider revealed himself to be a Sith. He was a villain, and a potential combatant in the core war to come. Ran had a chance to deal with him now, before he left any more of a dark mark across the galaxy. Ran eyed him defiantly. He was wrong about the results of the battle to come and she would correct him.

Ran swung her saber in defense. The white and crimson blades clashed before them. "My best does not end in my death. It ends in your defeat. Feel free to cherish it." She goaded as she began her counter attack with speed and strength amplified by the force.

The storm worsened around them. Lightning struck and thunder cracked across the valley. The sound triggered a small avalanche in the distance. A low rumbling roared over whipping winds. Ran could feel the violent rolling of snow through her feet and the force. She swung her saber at the Sith with the same ferocity the natural world held around them.

crik-crak

The stone underfoot began to crumble beneath them. Cracks in the mountainside appeared even through the heavy snow.

Drane T'keen​