Master and Hound [Maridin-Val'Ryss]

[Darth Hauntruss]

The usual down-pour consumed the grey skies above Dormund Kass. Within the arena a gathering emerged, a band of newly promoted sith apprentices gathered. They huddle amongst each other, taunting, bantering and conversing over their futures. But one remained detached from the pack. Lingering like a shadow she sat upon one of the great stones of the arena. With hair darker than the night and red-skin brighter than any sun, she proved to be a strange figure. Her long hair ran down her back and covered parts of her face, yet that didn’t stop some of the other apprentices noticing the array of dark tattoos that covered her body. Tattoos that didn’t look like any ink they knew off. The tattoos looked more like elaborate scars, as in the light one could spot the parts of the tattoos which seem to been burned into her skin.
This dark figure was Val’Ryss and she had gained quite the reputation. Having fought a lord and lost her fore-arms to the lord, only to be saved by Dark Lord himself, she was the talk of the academy. They called her the Dark-Hound, comparing her to one of Moridin’s creatures. Some of the apprentices would let off a remark to their comrades about her clingy attitudes and how she was unfit to even be alive. But they did so loud enough for her to hear. Val’Ryss paid no attention to them. She was brooding away in her own mind; their voices could not reach her. She was totally focused upon showing her savoir her skill, she would repay the life he saved by pledging hers to his- so in a way so enjoyed the nickname Dark-Hound.
As she could feel the darkness approach her she knew it was her master, her only master. She rose up. Like the night rising to cover the day, she arose and drifted closer to the entrance she had guessed he would appear from. Feeling his presence even closer she bent down and lowered her stance so that she was kneeling before his entrance. The other apprentices stared in confusion and some commented on her arrogance- kneeling as if she was already his chosen one. But, Val’Ryss had already made up her mind, she will become his one and only apprentice, all those attempted to stop her would be…removed.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Moridin sat above the ten candidates within the stands of the arena, besides himself there was nothing and no one here...well besides the candidates of course. He looked at them, studying each of their features and watching as they interacted with one another. The Emperor did not move, instead he just watched them cloaked within the force from their sight. His guards stood besides him, each of them of course cloaked as well by him. He wanted to watch the candidates first, he wanted to see what each of them was like before they knew he was around. It was important that he choose the right one, the one to play his assassin.

“Enough of this.” The Dreadlord said flicking his wrist and uncloaking himself and his guards. In an instant Moridin and his guards appeared. Each of them was cloaked in black heavy armor, obscuring their features and face. They all look intimidating as could be, including the Dreadlord himself. Moridin looked at the candidates and then finally spoke, his voice booming out across the arena.

“Each of you have been chosen.” He paused for a few seconds. “Each of you have been chosen as a candidate to be my assassin, my Hand.”

The Dreadlord of course already had a hand. Anaya Fen his first apprentice in this new age was his hand, though the Emperor wanted more. Whoever won here today would become another hand, one that stood as Anaya's equal. They would be his hands, left and right. Each one would be an extension of his will.

 

[Darth Hauntruss]

The darklord appeared before them, clad in dark armor and surrounded by an immense pressure in the force. Val'Ryss kept her kneeling position, the others feeling the presence of the Emperor knelt as well. The Darklord's pressure swallowed up the collection of apprentices, including Val'Ryss. The pressure sent shivers down her spine, but ones of a morbid joy and fascination. She would finally have her chance-haver her moment, to repay the Darklord for saving her from immediate doom. She would give herself to him and become his greatest weapon.

“Each of you have been chosen.” He paused for a few seconds. “Each of you have been chosen as a candidate to be my assassin, my Hand.” said the dark lord.

Val'Ryss curled her lip in response to his comments. She would be his only candidate and next apprentice. She raised her head slightly so that she could see her master and he could see her. Val'Ryss' eyes glowed with a sinister passion, her golden eyes glimmered like a jewel in the darkness. However, she now knew what the task was, what she must do to prove her worth.

Val'Ryss transformed her glare into a slow blink accompanied with the nod of her head. Finishing the nod, her head then again was lowered so that she stared at the soaked and muddied field of the arena. She then flexed her serpent like lips and let her voice slither out from her lips in a dark hiss, "Understood my lord." her cold voice continued, "What is thy bidding my Master, share with this one and this one shall have it done." The other candidates only lingered and dare not speak for fear of incurring the wrath of the Emperor. When they heard Val'Ryss speak directly to the Emperor, some grinned in thinking she had already sealed her doom, others whispered and commented on her serpentine voice. But, Val'Ryss paid no attention to them, they soon enough would understand.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Only one of them spoke, one that Moridin recognized although if only barely. She had been almost killed by one of his underlings, by a man that now lay dead. The Emperor stared at her for a few seconds, there was something about her he liked...though beyond that she was just another pawn. He let his gaze linger upon her for a few more seconds, and then finally he looked away and towards the other candidates.

Each one had been trained exceptionally, each one knew how to handle themselves in a fight and each one knew how to kill without emotion. Moridin looked at them all, there was no point in having them fight each other. Most of them were of equal skill, perhaps there was one or two that would be able to prevail, but thats not what Moridin needed. He didn't want straight up fight's, he wanted assassinations, and thats what he would get.

“You will not be fighting one another, though you will be competing. Your trial begins from this moment on. Over the next three days you have one simple task.” The Dreadlord paused for a few seconds and then smirked slightly. “Kill me.”

Of course he didn't expect anyone of them to actually successfully kill him, that would be nigh impossible. All he needed was for one of them to get close, to get past the security surrounding him at all times. To get past his highly trained guards, and to get passed his own senses. Thats what he wanted from them.

 

[Darth Hauntruss]

“You will not be fighting one another, though you will be competing. Your trial begins from this moment on. Over the next three days you have one simple task.” The Dreadlord paused for a few seconds and then smirked slightly. “Kill me.”

Val'Ryss froze for a moment. She for once shared a similar expression as the rest of the other candidates, fear and confusion. Kill the Emperor? No, this was impossible both in contemplation and required skill. No, killing him must not be the meaning of this exercise. Then what was it? Val'Ryss pondered over this question as the other candidates squirmed about moving around attempting to make sense of the world. Meanwhile other more hot-headed candidates reached for their sabres. Val'Ryss rose and gazed at the Darklord. Her eyes narrowed and presented a glare that could be emotionally read as saying "What are you thinking my master? What is it you are trying to say?"

Her gaze then moved to the guards dressed in dark armor, standing around the Emperor closing in on a formation. Val'Ryss then noticed an opportunity to show her skills to her master. The Emperor as a target was out of the question, neither in skill or ambition did Val'Ryss wish to strike him. But, the guards. They would prove excellent examples. Val'Ryss raised her hand and rested it over her chest. With her red-skinned palm outstretched lying on her heart she nodded her head slowly, then spoke to the Darklord, "As you wish my lord. Thy command shall be done."

Suddenly, Val'Ryss' gaze became cold and dark, the force began to bleed from her body, swell up and permeate throughout the arena. Those who could sense it could feel a cold shiver caress their very being. Attacking the guards head on would be foolish but sufficient distractions could leave open opportunities. Val'Ryss turned away from the Emperor and passed by the group of candidates. As she did so she surveyed the group looking for the weakest and the easiest to manipulate. Once she was sufficiently away, she spun around and extended her arm. The force erupted from her fingers and grabbed hold of one of the candidate's legs, then with a flick of her wrist she hurtled the boy at the guards.

Moving for her ligthsaber and calling it with the force, it ripped from her belt and landed into her other palm. Then moving both her hands together and thrusting them forward she released as much force as she could summon to blast the entire group of candidates in front of her towards the unit of guards. Her ability to summon enough force was still wanting but she pushed enough that she sent some of the candidates into the area she had aimed for. With the candidates scattering into the guards she used them as cover to burst from an awkward angle and ignite her lightsaber. The dark red glow consumed the area around her and she unleashed her blade upon one of the guards.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Moridin smirked slightly as the girl made her move. It was not a subtle move, and one that was rather predictable. Strength was obvious of course, one had to be quite powerful and lithe to do this. The Dreadlord shifted slightly in his seat, though other than that he did not move at all. His guards however were entirely different. They drew their blades, each one a Sith Sword. Four of them seemed to flash slightly, as if not existing within this world for only a split second.

Then they reappeared directly before the Emperor, blocking the path between himself and the girl. In the same instant a massive wave of the force erupted from them, rebuffing the girl and the other candidates away from Moridin and the guards.

“Try a bit more subtlety.” The Emperor called out quite silently. He looked to them as equals, though he had already found his favorite in the girl that had attacked for brazenly. Moridin stood from the stands, and then began to walk towards the exit. He never questioned that his guards would protect him, never questioned that he would be safe or that he could not be killed. It was who he was.

(I'm going to have Moridin walk through Kaas City. I figure you can chacse him ^_^)

 

[Darth Hauntruss]

The sudden shock-wave of the force unleashed by the guards threw Val'Ryss from her course. Pathetic-she thought, she couldn't even land a strike on the guards. Landing back into the arena with her lightwhip now fully revealed, completing its ignition it cracked in the air as she rested it aside. The Emperor's words drifted towards her as she rose from her landing to see the situation.

“Try a bit more subtlety.” The Emperor called out quite silently.

Val'Ryss nodded her head and hissed under-her-breathe, "Yes my lord." She then tilted her head side to side in order to survey where the other candidates had fallen to. Some had struck against the stones of the arenas and had not moved for sometime, while others gingerly rose from their crash-landings. The Emperor was already making his way out of the arena. So this chase would continue into Kaas City. But, first these guards would have to be dealt with.

Val'Ryss approached the guards walking at a calm pace as she did so she noticed one of the candidates was in the middle of pushing herself up in order to stand. Val'Ryss deviated from her course and walked towards the girl. She lunged her arm down at her and by the collar dragged her onto her feet. The candidate shivered and recoiled as Val'Ryss' harsh actions manipulated her body. "The girl shall listen to this one if girl wishes to survive." The girl nodded in fear and Val'Ryss pushed her towards the cluster of guards.

The Emperor would wait, she will soon meet up with her master. For now it was the guards turn, as Val'Ryss and the candidate girl she was pushing came closer and closer.
[OOC: Kinda searching for ideas, this post will have to do. Guards turn now]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Moridin stepped from the arena’s gates. Two of his guards had remained behind, while two other followed behind him. The Dreadlord was confident that at least one of candidates would follow him. Whether or not they would succeed was an entirely different matter. The Emperor sighed slightly as he pinched the bridge of his nose and stepped into Kaas City. Anaya was competent, but unfortunately she could not be in two places at once so he needed another hand, he needed another person to due his bidding absolutely, an assassin he could rely on absolutely.

Hopefully one of the ten candidates would full fill this roll, if not he would have to do all of this again. He wasn't looking forward to doing this, but he needed to. Again he pinched the bridge of his nose, he was quite stressed lately.

It turned out that being Emperor was actually far more difficult than he had thought, and unfortunately for him he could no longer kill anyone and anything. He had made such things against the laws of the Sith, he needed his Empire to flourish not succumb to betrayal as so many had before. “Oh well. Lets see if theyre up to the task”