RulithBarakis Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 (edited) Vraedil Lord of Hatred (Sequel to: The Descent into Darkness, an Acolyte's Journal) --------------- Ten years. Ten years since she was pointlessly murdered. Ten years since he swore revenge upon the Sith Lord responsible. Ten years since he fell. Reborn in the raging flames of hatred, Naven Korr, now known as Vraedil, has reached the end of his training under the Sith known as Darth Ravek and is now ready to become a Sith Lord in his own right. Having all but forgotten the very reason for his descent into the Dark Side, he now seeks power simply because of what it is. Power means everything to the Sith, and for Vraedil it's no exception. But now, as he is preparing to go forth and complete his final mission as Darth Ravek's Apprentice, he is poised to receive a rude awakening. On the Hutt homeworld of Nal Hutta, a young woman, sold into slavery as a little girl, prepares to make her escape from the planet and hopefully from Hutt Space itself. All she knows is that somewhere out there, she has a twin sister who was sold to a different king of buyer altogether... a Sith Lord. Not knowing where to begin her search for her lost sibling, she has no idea that her path will soon collide with Vraedil's, and that neither of them would ever be the same... --------------- Prelude The smell of burnt flesh and super-heated metal filled the air. Bodies were sprawled haphazardly all across the open-air courtyard, some with limbs hacked off, a couple with gaping holes in their chest or stomach, and the rest simply having died after receiving a gash across the neck, chest, stomach, or any other vital areas. And, on the far side of the courtyard, suspended about a dozen feet off the ground by a statue's stone spear and apparently tortuously electrocuted beforehand, was the Jedi Knight known as Kralin Ultril, a dried pool of blood on the ground beneath his hanging corpse. A figure meditated in the center of the courtyard, hovering a few inches off of the ground as the Force flowed with incredible strength through his body. His dark robe hung lazily from him, the bottom half piled on top of itself. The Iktochi, for that was what this figure was, seemed to be tall and muscularly built, even for one of his kind. His two horns had long ago been sawed in half in a duel, and his fang-filled mouth hung open just a bit as the Dark Side surged within him. Something seemed to warn the Sith Lord, then, and his eyes snapped open just as a small, cloaked man appeared to materialize from the shadows. The figure looked to be unarmed, but the Sith Lord knew better, and not simply because appearances could be deceiving. He had worked with this man for years and years, and knew that his cloak hid more than just his features. The Sith Lord stood, coming to his full height and towering over the man that had come before him. He and the figure exchanged stares for a moment, the Iktochi's corrupted yellow ones meeting the figure's odd red ones. Then the figure knelt before the Sith, who in turn chuckled and motioned for the figure to stand. The figure complied, quickly, coming almost gracefully to his feet. "I have gathered the information you requested, Lord Ravek," the figure seemed to whisper, his voice insubstantial and almost haunting in its composition. The Iktochi, Darth Ravek, who was addressed as Lord Ravek only by the figure before him and his Apprentice, gave a fang-filled grin at that little bit of news. "Another successful job, Messenger. Ever impressive." Ravek laughed. The Messenger only nodded and then continued. "The artifact you're looking for is on the very edge of Hutt Space, on a small planet known as Korvus III. Minimal population. Mostly wild and unexplored. The only port worth the time of day is open to all visitors, as there are so few." The Messenger's quiet words seemed to slither into Ravek's ears, but he had long ago gotten over that piece of the mystery of the Messenger. Instead he focused on what those actually were. "Good. Then your work is done," chuckled Ravek, after the Messenger finished. A moment of silence passed before the Messenger spoke again. He almost seemed surprised. "You don't wish for me to retrieve the artifact?" asked the Messenger. It was the closest thing to emotion Ravek had ever heard from the man, and that made him laugh once more. "No, Messenger. This is a suitable task for my Apprentice. If he is successful, I will know that he is ready to advance beyond the position he is at now. I have been needing something like this to test him with for a quite a while," Ravek replied, after his laughter died down. The Messenger only gave a stiff nod. Ravek smiled again. Even though he'd never actually said it, Ravek knew that the Messenger did not approve of his Apprentice. While he wasn't exactly sure why, he somewhat enjoyed mentioning him to the Bounty Hunter from time to time to test that stoicism of his. Rolling his shoulders, Ravek began to walk towards the courtyard's main exit, which lead out from the compound and into the grasslands of Alderaan. The Messenger followed only a few steps behind. "Are you simply going to leave the bodies to rot? It's unsightly," the Messenger commented. Ravek smirked. "Why should it matter? The whole place should have collapsed in on itself a few days ago. I've been holding it together while I waited for you," the Iktochi chuckled. The Messenger didn't reply, although he did glance back once, just as the Republic compound once known as Fort Nilux began to shake and fall apart. Ravek grinned once more as thunder rumbled overhead, almost in sync with the grinding of one of the courtyard's pillars collapsing. Then he and the Messenger climbed aboard their respective ships, Ravek into his fighter and the Messenger into a light freighter known as The Shadow and most likely equipped with a hundred separate illegal modifications. They left Alderaan in different directions, the Messenger off to find other jobs, and Ravek to return to Dromund Kaas, where his Apprentice waited. Waited to prove himself one last time. Edited July 12, 2012 by RulithBarakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RulithBarakis Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) Chapter One Lightning splintered across the sky overhead as the single figure below made his way up the steps that led into the Imperial Citadel on Dromund Kaas. The streets were virtually empty, something very out of the norm for a planet, and a city, such as this. The air was still, as if the city held its collective breath. The sky was even gloomier than the norm, something that usually seem impossible, since the planet was covered in a never-ending storm. The figure moved quickly, his hood drawn back off of his face. Long, somewhat curly black hair, wet from the rain, dripped upon the stone beneath him as he entered the Citadel. His corrupt yellow eyes surveyed the area around him, making sure none but the guards always stationed at the palace's entrance had seen him, and he then rose to his full height. It had been a while since Vraedil had been to the palace, and he didn't want to appear hunched and weak. In the years since his training had been completed on Korriban, Vraedil's form had filled out well. He had a heavy-athletic build, his frail body now bulging with well developed muscles. He stood somewhere around six foot three, but his dark robes still trailed on the ground behind him as he walked. Two lightsabers hung from his hips, one on either side, and strongly-built armor covered his chest, abdomen, upper back and legs. Metallic boots struck hard against the ground as he walked, although if he had still been trying to move stealthily he could have silenced them. The Dark Side seemed to emanate from him in waves as he made his way through the Citadel, fueled by a hatred he could no longer explain. Once he'd gotten his first true taste of power, years ago now, he'd completely forgotten why he hated everything so much. He simply told himself it was because he hated others for being weaker than him, or hated them because he wasn't as strong as they were. That meant everyone, from the simplest of slaves all the way up to the Emperor himself. Clenching and unclenching his fists in anticipation, he quickly made his way through the maze of corridors that made up the first floor of the CItadel, knowing the path he was taking instinctively by now. Reaching the turbolift he'd been searching for, Vraedil entered and waited as it shot up towards its destination. His mind then drifted to the reason his Master was returning to Dromund Kaas. Usually, Lord Ravek simply contacted Vraedil via holocomm if he had a new mission for him. The fact that he was coming personally meant that it was something very important, too important for him to tell him over an open, or even a closed, comm-channel. Vraedil's refocused as the turbolift came to a stop and the doors slid open. His expression growing hard and ready, he stepped forward out into the small personal hangar bay that belonged to his Master, who was also a member of the Dark Council and was therefore allowed his own hangar bay for his personal guests and his own ship. And there, just within sight and flying towards the hangar, was Lord Ravek in his fighter. Moving smoothly, the Sith Lord eased on the throttle just enough so that he stopped accelerating literally less than a second before he touched down. Immediately, the hatch on the fighter popped open, and Lord Ravek pulled himself up and out of the fighter, landing lightly on his feet. Vraedil shivered as sheer power engulfed the room in Lord Ravek's wake. He licked his lips in anticipation; oh, how he wanted that kind of strength for himself. Vraedil moved forward to meet his Master, bowing low in greeting, and then falling in line as the Iktochi led the way from the hangar and out into the corridor that led out into a small greeting chamber that also belonged to him. There, Ravek turned into a small side chamber that held three seats, arranged in a triangle around the room, with a holoprojector at the center. The Sith Lord took one of the seats, and motioned for Vraedil to stand before him. The Apprentice obeyed, standing at attention before his Master and awaiting instruction. There were a few moments of silence before Ravek spoke, but when he did, Vraedil immediately focused solely on his Master's words. "Vraedil. You have served me well for these past ten years," Ravek spoke. His voice, low and almost growl-like, no longer grated against his Apprentice's mind as it did with so many others. He'd heard it far too often for that to happen any longer. However, his words certainly did demand his attention. Where was this going? "You have grown in your power, far more than many other Sith could in the time you have had. And you shall continue to become more powerful," continued Ravek, seeming to watch his Apprentice's expression carefully while speaking. "I have decided that your training has reached its completion." Vraedil's mind immediately went into shock. That was certainly not what he'd been expecting. His training had reached its completion?! That meant he'd be becoming a true Sith Lord. He'd become stronger than he'd even realized! "However, that decision could change," continued Ravek. Vraedil's attention was immediately recaptured by his Master, now, knowing that a condition was about to be set. "Your status is contingent upon the completion of one final mission," the Iktochi said. Vraedil nodded to himself, having figured as much. "To become a Sith Lord, you must recover an artifact for me. While I am not sure of its shape and form, I do know what planet it is located on." Ravek motioned to the projector, and Vraedil turned around just as it activated. A map of the galaxy was pulled up. The Apprentice paid close attention as Ravek closed in on an insignificant speck known as Korvus III, located in Hutt Space. It had only one port, although because of some sort of ore found on the planet it was fairly active, and everything else was mostly forest, with a strange wasteland located on the far side of the planet from the spaceport. "You are to make your way to Korvus III, and then you will seek out the strongest source of the Dark Side on the planet. It should be simple enough to locate, if you open yourself to the Force," the Iktochi finished, and after a moment he deactivated the projector. Vraedil took a second to process and memorize all vital information, before turning back to his Master. "It shall be done, Lord Ravek," Vraedil said. His own voice had also somewhat adopted a darker, more menacing tone, since he'd begun his training with Ravek. The Sith Lord smiled and nodded. "Good. Then be on your way, quickly, my Apprentice. Take the Iron Raven," replied Ravek. Obviously, he wanted the task completed as quickly as possible. Vraedil nodded once more to his Master, bowed, and then left, returning quickly to Ravek's private hangar. The Iron Raven was a nicely-sized freighter, with a cargo hold, a crews' quarters with beds enough to fit ten people, a small Med-room for minor wounds and illnesses, a small kitchen, two manually-controlled turrets, and the cockpit, not to mention that it was outfitted with a few automated-turrets and could hold and fire up to three missiles, with two launchers, one placed on either side of the ship. It was shaped somewhat like an oval with wings extending out to either side, with the manned-turrets at the ends of the wings and the missile launchers on the underside of the wings. The cockpit was at the front of the ship, extending backwards and up a bit to provide better vision for the pilot. It was painted a faded, metallic gray with a single black stripe on the left wing. Vraedil hadn't used it before, but he knew what it was. Taking another moment to relish in his soon-to-be-achieved victory, he boarded the Iron Raven, and minutes later he was taking off from the hangar, leaving the Citadel, and Dromund Kaas, slowly behind. ---------- Ravek grinned as the door closed behind his Apprentice. Waiting a few minutes to make sure Vraedil had taken off, he pressed a button on the arm of his seat, and immediately hidden holoprojectors were activated in the other seats, and the forms of two other Sith, these two with their hoods up, appeared. "So it is done, then? You've sent the boy to collect the artifact?" one of them immediately asked, the one with the smallest build of the three. The Sith's voice gave away that she was female, but that was it. Ravek chuckled. "Indeed, Andraem. Soon, we shall have the artifact in our grasp, and we will be one step closer to finding Tenebris," he replied, grinning. "If your Apprentice does not fail, that is, Ravek," hissed Andraem. Ravek simply laughed again. "I have no doubts that Vraedil will succeed. He is more powerful than you may think," he said. A small hiss escaped from the third Sith now, immediately drawing the attention of the other two. "Yes, Xaltris?" Ravek asked, paying attention now that he had spoken. Although he and Andraem would never admit it, something about their third ally simply didn't seem right... "I have sensed the growth of your Apprentice, Ravek. I, too, have no doubt that he will succeed," Xaltris rasped. Ravek's eyes narrowed, warily, now. "Indeed, I might even venture to say that he has the potential to... silly, I know, but I must say it... surpass us." The room grew completely quiet. Ravek tensed for what he now knew was coming. "When your Apprentice returns with the artifact, you are going to kill him." Edited July 13, 2012 by RulithBarakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilaniGrey Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Seems good so far. I'm looking forward to reading more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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