Let's Go Mental

[Sheff Zee]

It wasn't everyday that he found himself in Fringe Space, not that he had anything to worry about from the Fringe Confederation, it was that he only found himself there when it was extremely important. Like when they were expanding their borders, when he could he made the journey to do his part for the Fringe. It's leader, Ashin Varanin intrigued him greatly.

Though that wasn't the reason why his ship was gliding through the sky and towards the Pananthan Palace that belonged to [member="Darth Vornskr"]. Through his connections within the New Order, he had heard rumours of the Sith Lord who had been the former Emperor, and who was a Master of the Mental aspect of the Force. He had yet to encounter a large amount of mentalists, but when he heard of them, he just had to go and see who they were and convince them to teach him.

After all, Aeon Caedus's mind couldn't be getting infiltrated by an unwanted guest. He smiled crookedly to himself when his Blackbird had landed just outside of the walls of the Castle. He hadn't been expected, but he wasn't wanting to be destroyed simply for landing in the Castle's hangar uninvited. That was terribly rude, and Aeon was anything but.

Sometimes.

Exiting the ship, he strolled towards the gate and just waited for someone to open it. He did expand his force presence out as if to announce, subtly, that he was there.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Of course, eventually, the gate was opened for the unannounced traveler. Unfortunately, a squad of royal soldiers came with it, and they promptly moved to surround the stranger with their weapons raised. One of them, presumably their commander due to the ornate battle armor he wore along with his imposing and confident swagger, shortly followed after his troops and called out to the man. "By order of his royal majesty, King Kaine Zambrano, first of his name, and High King of the Reach, you have been ordered to hand over any and all weapons and are to be escorted to the throne room for a private audience with his grace. You will comply, or deadly force will be authorized." Once or if [member="Aeon Caedus"] surrendered himself and his weapons to the guards, they would begin to escort him to the King's throne room.

The throne room was exquisite, yet dark and macabre at the same time. Tall pillars were arrayed in columns leading to the throne room, with torches in lieu of electronic lights placed periodically on various pillars. The throne itself was made of black steel, and was sitting tall atop a platform with stairs leading down to the main floor the guards were escorting Aeon across. The King himself sat upon the black throne, wearing a simple garb of black leather with a long cloth cloak that trailed down the side of the throne. Atop his head sat a crown of black steel set by square-cut rubies at intervals around the crown. They glittered in the light of the torches, despite most of the room forever plagued by a perpetual gloom.

The King watched silently as the guards brought Aeon before him, but then finally spoke. "And who are you, to so brazenly appear before my castle gates unannounced?"

 

[Sheff Zee]

His lightsaber and falcata were handed over to the guards when they had come. It hadn't been expected. But it was better than being met with blaster bolts and losing his valuable life. Though the thought of killing the guards and then strolling into the Castle hadn't been a thought that evaded his mind.

When he had been brought forth before the Sith Lord he remained silent so that he could ask his inevitable questions.

"My name is Aeon Caedus, Crown Prince of Eiattu 6, Your Majesty. I had heard of your power within the mental aspect of the Force." He paused for a moment to let the Sith Lord understand him. But more importantly for dramatic effect.

"I have come to learn from you. If you would have me."

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The King chuckled and idly rubbed his chin as he looked over the Crown Prince of Eiattu VI, his eyes sparkling with genuine interest with a hint of dark mirth. Then the Dark King rose to his feet, a silent and sudden motion combined with the gracefulness of experienced nobility, and began to slowly walk down the steps leading to [member="Aeon Caedus"]. His cloak trailed behind him, covering the steps he had passed like a blackened shadow, and as he came to a stop at the bottom the cloak still covered a few steps behind him. The King was larger than he looked at a distance, tall and imposing, he cut the perfect shape of a seasoned warrior slowly falling out of his prime. At two point ten meters, he towered above Prince Caedus by a good eight inches, and the King had to look down upon him with his piercing gaze.

"So you wish to learn from the master? What makes you think you are worthy enough to learn my powers?"

 

[Sheff Zee]

The High King Kaine Zambrano looked down upon him. He was extremely taller than Aeon, but he still held his ground as he came. His hands remained at his side and he noted how much taller he was than him.

A little more than a head taller than him.

He'd have to look up all the time. Great.

"I am Sith." Cleary not the species, but it was a self-taught lesson that, if you spoke to someone with power in the Sith, or faced with a situation such as this, an answer that was arrogant would get you places. It wasn't delivered in a way that should deserve punishment, but rather in a way that boasted quiet confidence.

The same thing to some people maybe.

"I have survived the trials that my Master has set out for me."

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"And you think that alone makes you worthy? Many Sith have come seeking my guidance in their training, and almost all have perished in their trials. However; if you are willing enough to come this far, then you have the right to take the trials I shall set out before you." The Tyrant walked past the young Prince, and stood stoic in the center of the room as if he was contemplating something over in his head, before turning back to look at the Prince. "Your first trial shall be one of skill in combat. You may have come here to seek my knowledge of the mind, but first you must show me the strength of your body. Should you survive, then you shall move onto the next trial."

[member="Aeon Caedus"]

 

[Sheff Zee]

His eyes were always set upon the King, except when he had walked past him. It would show that he wasn't scared of him, or didn't fear to turn his back on the Sith Lord, even if it could have been considered disrespectful. He didn't mean it that way.

"I am at your command." He said, and he turned around to look at the High King of Panantha.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"I expected nothing less, but your words will be tested. Come, I shall shepherd you to your first task." With a billow of his cloak and a swift turn of his person, Kaine would lead the Prince of Eiattu 6 away from the throne room, and towards the outer yard. All around them were trainees of the dreaded Blackblade Guard, training hard in swordfighting, hand-to-hand combat, and basic firearms. Kaine did not lead the Prince towards them, but rather to a large circular pit on the far end of the yard where two Blackblade trainees were fighting to the death for the opportunity to become a full-fledged member of the Guard. As they approached, one of the trainees managed to side-step a lunge by the other, and disembowel the trainee with a shortsword and end the battle. The winner was accepted into the Guard, and the loser was dragged off to be fed to the hounds.

"Your first trial is to defeat one of my Blackblade trainees in the pit, and if you win I will shepherd you to your next task, and if you fail I will shed no tears and you will be fed to the hounds below." Caedus was given a shortsword of his own along with his trainee, and both were pushed into the pit to fight to the death.

[member="Aeon Caedus"]

 

[Sheff Zee]

His hand tightened around the hilt of his shortsword as he strode straight for the blackblade trainee. He would kill him without mercy, and he lunged forwards, letting his first strike be parried to the side, and he spun in the direction the blade had been knocked to, and just barely avoided touching the blade of his opponent.

Aeon wasn't going to make it that easy now was he?

By the time he had spun around to his enemy, he was upon him, and fiercely, the attacks came fast and heavy, Aeon wasn't prepared at first. He had been cocky going in, but he was going to remedy that and make this man pay.

The first block had been wild, barely stopping the blade chopping a few strands of his head and then feeling the air rushing past him as the blade missed. The second block had been solid, having expected where it would have gone this time, and he guided it between the right side of his body and off-hand, which was his right. And he spun again, this time to his left, and he lifted up his leg throughout the spin and with a little hop brought his foot into the neck of the blackblade and kicked him two full meters back.

The kick may or not have been amplified by the power of the Force. He let the blackblade get up to his feet before he rushed towards him, the Force carrying him faster, the blackblade moved slower than him, it was as if the world moved in slow motion around him as he moved. It was great being able to wield the Force, and then his shortsword plunged through the left kneecap of the blackblade, and by the time he was collapsing, Aeon Caedus was already behind him and cutting open his back with a series of quick violent strikes.

He stopped when he saw the spine of the blackblade, and he walked towards [member="Darth Vornskr"] and threw the sword off to the side, and waited for the next trial.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

As soon as the duel was over, and the Blackblade aspirant lay still in a pool of his own blood, two other aspirants jumped into the pit to drag the corpse off to the kennels. Kaine smirked up from the edge of the pit, where he had stood watching the fight with scrutiny, judging Caedus' skill and prowess in battle. From what the Sith Lord had seen, this youth had promise, and was exceptional enough to defeat one of his ruthlessly trained aspirants in battle. However; it was still just an aspirant, and not a true battle-hardened veteran, many of which had taken down Jedi on the field of battle. "Congratulations, young Prince. You have proved your right to continue to the next trial, but the next one will be far more difficult than a simple trial of skill. The next trial will test the fortitude of your mind, and the limits of your sanity. Follow me."

[member="Aeon Caedus"]

 

[Sheff Zee]

[I'm sorry! I forgot about this.]

The Sith Knight glanced over his shoulder for a final look upon the corpse behind him. A part of him wished the battle had been longer than it had been, that instead of combating an initiate, he fought an actual full-fledged Unit Commander, but alas, it was not to be, so when the Emperor bid him to follow, follow he did.

"Why Panantha?" He asked while they walked. He of course meant why he would start his Kingdom upon Panantha, but then, he didn't even know where he was born, for all he knew Panantha could have been his home.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]