Faction Show Your Worth (TSE)

[Alina Tremiru]

War had been a proving ground for many young acolytes of the Sith Empire. Forced into the fires of constant battle, the strong emerged victorious. The weak perished. But constant war only gave so much experience. So much exposure to the upper ranks of the Sith. It's why Trials, such as the Show of Strength existed within the Empire. More, it taught the necessity to work together to overcome the obstacles. But in true Sith fashion, the way to rise above was in their own hands. Work together, fight alone. It did not matter, only one would be left standing.

A lone Harch stood in a viewing platform above the arena. Hazards had been deployed in the form of Vornskr and other dark sided creatures. Not enough to overwhelm any lone person. But a challenge to overcome. Or turn to their side for those skilled enough to do so. The rocky landscape was another such hazard. Pitfalls could be made. Overhanging rock dropped onto the unsuspecting. Many ways to defeat an opponent. Many ways to be eliminated.

Death was not the preferred outcome. War was still on the horizon. But the Sith needed to be strong to whether it. It was expected to survive on their own merit. No matter how grievously injured, if they fought to stay alive, they likely would.

The Harch cleared her throat, chittering behind her mask. "Show us what you have learned in war. Prove yourself among your peers. Show the Lords and Ladies of the Sith why you're worth training. Fight together, fight alone, it does not matter."

She lifted a single arm, holding aloft a lone finger.

"Only one will stand at the top."

OOC:
This thread is for acolytes and knights of the Sith Empire to fight amongst themselves. All are welcome, but the fighting should be left to those of the mentioned ranks. The duel is a free for all, but alliances may be made, broken, and used in any way the combatants see fit. Have fun, be respectful. Toss me a PM if you wanna spice things up and have an idea.

 

[Darth Ahriman]

"Whatever you witness the other Acolytes do, I command you to attempt the same skill right then and there.
You WILL be better than them! In this alone will you honor my family name!".
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Valen had arrived to take part in the training session that had been organized by Alina Tremiru and the Harch that stood atop the higher platform overlooking the Arena. By his Master's instruction and expectations for him, he had volunteered to be among the participants and to not only prove his worth as an Acolyte but also to gauge the competition within his peers.

The Sith Empire was vastly different from the single impression he had been given of a Force Order before the Sith, here there was a sense of unity within the common cause and yet Acolytes, the students of the Sith Order were encouraged to outdo one another, Valen even having had to fight and kill his competition to earn his place as Zeptepi Zambrano 's Apprentice.

Today, he was far more desensitized to the act of violence, his early assignments being cast unto warzones, having to prove himself by overcoming their expectations and surviving the onslaught. Not only had he done this but in the chaos and death, he had learned to truly embrace the Dark Side, to seek power through the residual life as it was expelled from those he had cast down. In hindsight, it had become clear that this had been his Master's true intent, risking his life in the chance that he would come into his own through his tribulations.

It wasn't enough. Valen hungered for more and he would continue to fight, to push his limits in the pursuit of power and prestige among the Order of the Sith. Some days, his aspirations were so great that it would distract him from thinking about the goal that brought him this far, the Disciples of Typhojem and the search for answers as to his origin. In the end, his strength would help him to crush the cultist organization that had enslaved him in his youth and time of weakness. Never again would he allow himself to be so vulnerable.

Looking skyward to the upper platform, Valen lowered his head in acknowledgement and obedience to the Harch, signalling his readiness to serve and take part in the challenge that lay ahead of them. There were no words spoken, nothing that needed to be said lest he be spoken to first.

 

[Tara Willows]

A fight was not something Tara Willows was looking forward to. In truth, she hated fighting. At least fighting her own kind. Sith were sneaky, underhanded, and downright distasteful at times. She'd seen it first hand in her time as a servant. She was thankful their eyes had never turned on her. But now it seemed fate had caught up to her. She was tossed into an arena thanks to her master Alina Tremiru . Tara had no say in the matter. She would fight, or die.

Gripping her double blades collapsible lightsaber from her belt she unfolded the two ends and ignited both of the orange beams. The Harch up above had given them permission to begin the trial. Tara had to be quick if she were to come out on top.

It was strategy. Anyone who said otherwise was a fool. Using as much speed as she could muster, Tara lifted her feet off the ground and bolted for higher ground. It looked like she was running from the fight. And maybe she was. But Tara wasn't about to let herself get cut down by some power-grabbing Acolyte. This was not how the chain of command should work. Power over the weak. Tara hated it. Belief and power in the Dark side should determine rank. It just so happened the strong were usually the ones who had the power.

 

[Rax Tremira]

He listened to the words spoken, though he wasn't nearby her. Instead, he was lurking just above, on a wooden structure beam. With his clothes, he blended in well with the surroundings, but had no interest in immediately joining the fray. He instead observed the other Acolytes that had gathered. Some already got into heated battles amongst themselves, and yet he silently watched from his perch. Absolutely not yet. Group fighting was begging to get blindsided. His eyes were drawn to the activation of a dual-bladed saber just below him. Tara! He smirked, glancing around himself and picking up what happened to be a perfectly placed stone. He got to his feet, balancing on that beam still, and hurled it at her.

Had it hit her, it would've bounced off harmlessly, hardly having enough weight to do much damage. He just wanted her attention, though hooded, it wouldn't be hard for her to recognize who it was. At which point he raised a gloved hand, beckoning her over towards him. He rested himself back down on the beam, for the most part the people below were so engaged in their personal battles they didn't notice. And that was a part of his plan, people like him and Tara couldn't be in the first wave of combatants to fight. They deserved to fight the best, as such he relaxed back into that sitting position, cautious enough to be prepared had Tara not been interested in making a temporary alliance with him, but also non-caring enough to reveal himself to the other.

After all, in the end, their bonds went beyond this silly contest. He would watch silently, smirking and borderline cracking up as the Acolytes below them cut, broke, and stabbed at each other. Something about the suffering causing him to grin maniacally. He knew better than to kill any Acolytes here unless he absolutely had too. Alina Tremiru might not take kindly to it, knowing her true disposition on the young dying to placate the old. If Tara approached, he would show empty hands, relaxing against the post beside him, glancing just around himself to make sure they were still relatively unnoticed.

"Put that thing away, you're making my spot, hot..." he joked, wincing as he saw one of his peers quite literally lose a finger.

 

[Tara Willows]

At the top of her little perch Tara looked down at the competition. So many of her fellow Acolytes were already engaged in combat. A foolish endeaver. But perfect for her. Thin the heard. Suddenly a feeling came over her. She dodged what appeared to simply be a small rock; her saber arm flexed and slashed the pitiful thing in two. Tara looked at the broken rock with her heart racing and pounding in her chest. What had just happened? Someone....threw a rock at her? She thought it was a blaster bolt.

Tara turned her attention to the direction of where it was coming from. A hooded figure was hiding up by the balcony. Brother! It was Rax. Not her literal brother, but brother in apprenticeship to Alina Tremiru . Tara nodded to him, saying she would be there shortly. She had another issue to work out first. One of the opponents had broken off from the main combat and come after her. Tara watched from the ledge as the man tried to jump his way up the hill. Tara would never give him the chance. Slicing the ground at her feet after taking a step back, she would drop a large section of the cliff down the side. The Acolyte couldn't dodge and got hit by the rolling debris. He landed hard. Crushed under the rocks. He'd survive though. He'd just be....different.

Threat eliminated, Tara would close up her saber and deactivate the orange beams. She then started to make her way up to the balcony beam where Rax was hiding. She had to use a Force Jump or two while also keeping her balance. But she had trained with much more difficult challenges. The Academy made sure of that. She made her way over to him and then took out her saber once more only to be told not to ignite it. She supposed he had a point. They were hiding after all. And two lightsaber beams were a pretty good giveaway.

"I shouldn't be surprised you're here. Alina wanted to challenge you too huh?"

Rax Tremira

 

[Rax Tremira]

He saw the nod, and would relax slightly. At least. Watching her quickly dispatch one of the dregs of their society. He winced again, loosing a light "Oohh" as she had just likely permanently disfigured the poor Acolyte. As such, he moved to plot. He was good at plotting. When she came up beside him, he up-nodded her. Then nodded out towards the battlefield. "Obviously, we aren't the only special peas in a pod.." Several groups had formed in the carnage, the biggest group seemed to be protecting someone, who was barking commands to the others. In addition to that, he moved his right hand, tapping her left shoulder if she was close enough and pointed across the way, level with them. A few others were also lurking on their level, watching the battle below, and now glancing over in the pairs direction.

Beyond that, looking back out onto the battlefield one person caught his eye. He pointed at Valen. "Look at this beast... We better avoid him for now.. Let him do the work, and tire, Hell let all of them tire... If we can, lets save the last fight for us. A lot of them are already out of here anyway" he noted many either scrambling to avoid the carnage, or simply being incapacitated. Others were quite literally dead. He was so used to it, he was borderline over it. Noted by how calm he was as the battle seemed to still be reaching its peak.

"Oh yeah, I think Alina would appreciate it if we didn't kill anyone we didn't have too. That being said, Alina isn't in this Feth-Pit, If either of us is in danger of life or limb." he glared at her briefly then, shrugging, as his facial features seemed to say ' it is what it is '

 

[Tara Willows]

Tara would follow his gaze as he pointed out to the battlefield. She saw the groups forming, alliances being made. They would need more help. If only she could tell if another of Alina's apprentices were out there. The family should stick together. Rax would then point out one of the men down below, saying he was one they ought to avoid. Tara nodded in agreement.

Rax continued on saying it was best not for them to kill anyone if they didn't have to. Tara wasn't about to go killing anyways, so he was safe in that regard. Tara hated killing when she didn't have to. Enemies were one thing. But these were her brothers and sisters. Or they were supposed to be. Here, in this Feth pit -as Rax called it- they were the competition. They were all enemies.

As such, one of the pack members down below brought out a blaster. She...or he aimed it at Tara and Rax. The white haired Sith didn't even need to pull out her saber for this. The blaster bolts -while accurate- were ineffective at this range. Tara swept them away with the swipe of her hand; the bolts ricocheting into the wall behind them. The Sith got off three shots before one of their own came up behind them and stabbed the fool in the back. Tara's eyes widened for a moment as she watched them turn on each other ever so briefly.

"It seems we're the only ones not following the no-kill rule...."

Rax Tremira

 

[Rax Tremira]

He was giddy to be honest, as he was pointing things out he absolutely didn't notice the fellow with the blaster. Also what the hell, they had blasters? If it weren't for Tara's quick reactions, he would've been hit. Though, what was family for. She deflected the bolts with the Force, something he would remember. He had a knack for visual learning, after all. He got to his feet in any case, aware that lurking about wasn't going to help for too long. Especially as the numbers dwindled. When he saw what happened, he screeched in joy.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHAHAHAH!" he couldn't contain his joy at the others failure. And which such a cowardly weapon at that. He lightly slammed a fist at Tara's left shoulder, and drew that mangled saber to his hand. Admittedly, he had gotten into that mode of tunnel vision again; so intent on scheming out the battle he missed a threat dead ahead. Not again, Now standing he jumped to another cross beam, approaching one of the other squads that were in a similar situation as them. Hiding above and watching the battle below. They moved, the first opponents were only a duo, but they seemed to have a decent amount of tactics when it came to team fighting. The first approached him with an ignited saber, and while balancing on the beam he engaged that one.

The other flipped over, just as Rax initiated a saber lock with his friend, to which he quickly turned back, extended his hand and letting out a solid push with the Force. He was sent careening, slamming into the wood post so hard it cracked. He refocused, just as the one he had engaged first hit him with a headbutt. His head moved back, but he seemed unphased; instead, he would respond by headbutting the shorter individual in turn. Rax's target stumbled, and he kicked him dead center in the chest. With his balance lost, he fell about twenty feet or so, and out of sight. "Hah!" he yelled briefly. Spitting after the falling individual and refocusing on the others that were trying to avoid the fiery parts of the battle.

The blood felt desensitizing, causing him to enter that mode of brutality Tara had seen first hand. If others were killing, why shouldn't he? For now he would point at them, then beckon them with a hand. They would ignite sabers, but not approach, causing him to continue along the high ground in their direction.

 

[Tara Willows]

Rax was giddy with excitement. As the poor fool got back stabbed -literally- her brother would burst out laughing. Tara didn't share his same sense of humor. There was one less prospective Sith. He could have been a friend. A leader. He could have been someone who did great things for the Empire. Now we'd never know. Tara furrowed her brow in disappointment.

Her brother didn't seem to want to wait any further. He had other plans. Rax would move and rush over to the other duo camped out on the same level as them. Tara looked up as she watched Rax engage with the two. Tara couldn't just let him have all the fun, but she also couldn't hope to stay where she was forever. There had to be a limit. She quickly ran across the beam and ignited her saber just as Rax pushed one of them back her direction. Tara came up beside him and would slash her beam across the man's saber. The emitter fell down below and sparked as it crashed on the ground. Tara quickly then brought her foot up and kicked the man upside the head to render him useless.

"Rax!" she called to him over the battle. But the noise was too loud for him to hear. She wanted to remind him they weren't here to kill. Just diminish. She hoped he wouldn't get carried away. Tara made sure that the man she'd attacked was indeed unconscious and then rushed over to meet her brother in his combat.

Rax Tremira

 

[Rax Tremira]

Even with a head filled with malice, he was attuned to the other beyond the normal bounds of friendship. Whereas they stood in a sea of opponents, she was an ally, and dare he say a friend; her words may have been lessened, but his head snapped to her all the same. Able to feel her intent without her having to express deeply what it was. She would receive that grin, and his attention would turn back to the pair in front of him; noting one had dropped to a hang, then fell down into the chaos below; rather than fight him? Understandable. Cowardly, but understandable. The other approached, to which he engaged a saber lock with the other. His left foot pressing down on the others right; as soon as the individual noted his tactic, and tried to move, his hand would have grasped onto their (saber) wrist; exerting an inhumane amount of Force, while he used his own saber to wrest control of the weapon away from its user. As it fell, He again used his own head as a weapon, thrice in succession actually, till he felt dizzy before letting the other fall as they would.

At that point, he took a seat carefully. Shaking his head, and the dizziness that had overcome him. For the most part, their plan had succeeded. Eliminating the straggling groups above, all that remained at this point were the more concentrated packs below. and the brave solo warriors that had engaged them in turn. Rax leaned to his side, keeping an eye out for any surprise attacks from their relatively safe vantage point; Blood still trickling somewhat freely from his forehead. He could smell it, and it brought a temptation to spill more. His eyes trailed over to Alina Tremiru , as she watched on from her position; offering a dull sneer in her direction. Why she was limiting them to wounding them was beyond him, and admittedly it only added to the building fury in him. Though, he would heed her wishes. It was better that, than to incur her wrath.

For now, he would wait until Tara rejoined him before pressing on. As he waited, the more the battle below raged on, and the less overall opponents he and Tara would have to deal with.

Tara Willows Valen Arenais

 

[Tara Willows]

As Tara came to join beside her brother, he would take out one of the opponents while the other fled. Rax moved to sit down looking pale. Tara knelt down beside him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey. You alright?"

She made sure that he wasn't injured before standing and bringing her saber back up into a ready position. That's when a loud buzzer sounded off. The combat stopped and everyone looked around wondering why the alarm had sounded. The fighting was over. Those who had still survived in combat were to be rewarded for their efforts. Those that failed were in for a brutal punishment from their masters. Tara turned her head towards the booth where her own master was waiting. She could barely see her features but she was sure there was some sense of pride in her emotions. Pride for them.

Tara deactivated her saber and then put it on her hip. She then offered her hand to Rax to help him to his feet. The danger was over.

//Exit Thread​

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