Deep in the ocean, dead and cast away
Where innocence is burned in flames
A million mile from home, I'm walking ahead
I'm frozen to the bones, I am...
Zeltros stood a mass of tall spires and maze-like pathways that confused any who had not travelled to Zeltros before, Ekul Selah chief among them. He was lost and confused, but he felt the presence, nearer and nearer. He looked upon the cloudcutters and starscrapers, neon lights tantalised the eyes and great billboards advertised the planet, as if this place celebrated the simple fact of its own existence. To Ekul, even the dockworkers at the spaceport who worked with unloading and loading large cargo were more colourful for being within the enchantment of Zeltros. Many of the buildings seemed new, and Ekul thought that this place must keep up to a strict standard of living. Even down here, on solid earth, it all seemed so new and vibrant. Heck, he would even find trouble trying to find a dark corner in an alley to sleep for the place was so thick with crowds. At several points along the march, of which his destination he knew not, he saw workers removing old materials from a building, or erecting new walls and roofs. The newer buildings were faced with colourful minerals. At least, Ekul surmised, they knew how to maintain a marvellous city.
A soldier on my own, I don't know the way
I'm riding up the heights of shame
I'm waiting for the call, the hand on the chest
I'm ready for the fight and fate
Soon a great marketplace of poorly matched stalls encompassed him, and the throng of Zeltrons ebbed and flowed around him. He took to the closest stall, a vendor of meats. He fetched into his pockets, finding the spare handful of credits he managed to beg for on the streets of Coruscant. A burly Zeltron handed over a delicacy with a meat chuckle. Ekul munched upon a nearly cold meat pie. Lowering his head, he forced himself to continue consuming the pieman’s greasy ware. He refused to consider what was contained within the soggy crust in addition to the beef and pork the seller claimed. Casting a sidelong glanced across the busy square, the Force spiked under his skin, the hairs on his nape rose on end. Vargent Nordii strode past him. It was the epicentre of danger the Force warned him about. Finishing the pie, he quicker crossed to a coffee stand and ordered a large mug of water to wash away the aftertaste. For the last hour he had moved, seemingly without purpose, from seller’s stall to seller’s stall, purchasing this and that, posing as a citizen. And in that hour he had learned a great deal.
The sound of iron shocks is stuck in my head,
The thunder of the drums dictates
The rhythm of the falls the number of deaths
The rising of the heights ahead
Ekul moved cautiously and stealthily through the masses. Used subtly, the Force allowed him to slip through crowds of various species—Bothans, Niktos, Twi’leks, and humans— with few noticing him. And even those few forgot him almost immediately. For the moment, he was safe—but not even the force could protect him forever. His hunched form was cloaked in pure darkness. While it was customary and known many Sith wore dark robes, and Jedi light, it was not of strict protocol, per se. It was a choice, just as much as any Sith could wield a blue-crystal lightsaber, and a Jedi red. It made no difference. It was the being that wielded such a weapon, who wore such clothes, that defined them. Ekul garbed himself in black, his robes having become tattered remains of their former self. Thick glasses protected his eyes from the harsh lights that dared to burn his retina. He was not as young as others, and while he had the Force to protect him, it didn’t hurt to protect yourself. He learned on the streets in the Underworld that you had to look after your body, your mind and your spirituality. A teaching more profound than any discussion or lecture had taught him at the Temple. One could say otherwise; but after living seven months sleeping in a gutter and on the run, he had a different perception of life, and the Force.
From the dawn of time to the end of days
I will have to run away
I want to feel the pain and the bitter taste
Of the blood on my lips again
A fight broke out on the streets, and Ekul dared to intervene, then a wave of light rippled through the force. He turned, retreating back into the crowds to watch quietly. The bouncers who had taken a severe beating retrieved their own and began to disperse, letting Talia and Vargent talk it out. His suspicions were confirmed; Talia was a Jedi after she had mentioned the Order. The power that permeated from her very core was that of the light side, but Vargent’s was iniquitous and brooding. He neared, finally, one of his own. Another Jedi, and the first friendly face he would have seen in eight weeks. He scurried ahead to catch up as Talia led her into an alleyway. The snap-hiss of a lightsaber whispered in the air. Talia gasped and grew limp. Her Force signature vanished, so too did her life. I'm the lucky one, he thought. Ekul reached in and pulled out a single, white hilt. His thumb slid down the smooth craftwork, knowing it was the creation of a true and powerful Master. His thumb ignited the blade with an electronic growl, and a golden blade shone forth with a hum.
The steady burst of snow is burning my hands,
I'm frozen to the bones, I am
A million mile from home, I'm walking away
I can't remind your eyes, your face
Ekul Selah had earned the blade when he stood witness to the death of his brief Master, Ir’cara’suhl, a Duinuogwuin Jedi Master so old he had predated the New Sith Wars. He had known him for only two nights, but the great beast knew his time was nigh, and so he shared with Ekul his life stories, his philosophies, his greatest victories and most horrible defeats. Then, at last, he shared a parting gift before becoming one with the Force. Death was something Ekul was calloused too, his emotions didn’t show. He knew how to hold himself in check, and mourn for them in meditation. But as his only hope suddenly vanished right before his eyes, he felt as if he were about to tumble and spiral into darkness. He steeled himself, resolving his courage and recalled the words Ir’cara’suhl had shared with him; ‘of all in this temple, that in the box is what I wish thee to have. Take my blade, and become the Knight I know thy can become.’ Ekul found comfort in his late Master’s words, and relinquished himself into the Force. He let the Force wash him towards the Sith, an invisible current that carried him to stand before her.
[member="Lady Exedō"] [member="Uther Weiss"] [member="Vargent Nordii"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="Sawa Ike"] [member="Darth Praelior"] [member="Veino Garn"] [member="Lan Graendal"] [member="Disciple"] [member="Ire'Rain Sekairo"] [member="Kian Karr"] [member="Cypra Krum"] [member="Darth Vornskr"] [member="Lucifer Erebus"] [member="Nickolas Imura"] [member="Seras Goto"] [member="Ceran Moerelle"]
). With a suite of powerful sensors, the droids would be useful in snuffing out any would be intruders trying to surprise him and the other defenders. They had the added utility of being deployable as mobile turrets thanks to their armament of light autocannons. 
