The Xa Fel sun beat down on the jungle far above, filling the air with a deep humidity that caused the robes of the Apprentices to become uncomfortable and encumbering. Of the disciples that sat, waiting patiently, only a select few were able to contain their confusion as to the sudden summoning at the hands of Master Jas. Following the disappearance of Jo’ren, the student who had ventured into the temple to remind the Sith Master of the Apprentice’s collective training session, there had been only a message sent and an order given: remain in the training area until told otherwise.
Even then, some Apprentices had been told to congregate elsewhere; which caused some concern for those who were told to stay in place.
“What do you think this is all about?” Said Matra, the middle-aged Twi’lek with a reddish hue, as he looked to his fellow Sith. “I wonder if there’s another training session planned… you know, where we verse another group of Apprentices?”
But, despite the possibility of a surprise session, Xykarn couldn’t quell the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. The young human couldn’t shake the sense that something had changed; and he had even felt a disturbance in the Force shortly after Jo’ren departed.
“Who knows,” Xykarn replied, shrugging his shoulders as he continued to watch the temple just across the plain absently. “Might be a session, might not be… with the way things have been in the temple recently, who can say?”
“Looks like Master Jas is coming,” One of the other Apprentices stirred, the female looking toward the entrance of the building not far from where the dozen waited. Motioning with one hand, she pushed to her feet. “And he doesn’t look very happy…”
“When does he ever look happy?” Matra added quickly, bringing a chuckle from a few of the Apprentices, but also just as many scowls from the remainder. Some didn’t appreciate the jokes the Twi’lek made, especially when they were aimed at the leaders of the Sith Order; and ultimately those who taught them, and disposed of them if they saw fit. “Ah well, guess we better fall into line…”
The Apprentices stood in unison, moving like a single collective that made Vance grimace on the inside. He thought back to how he had witnessed the betrayal of one of his prized pupils, and how Lupercus had fed the boy his beliefs on the supremacy of two; and the advantages it had, as opposed to an army of Sith running about like crazed maniacs with all the power of the galaxy.
Beliefs I have shared for so long, but have forgone just to allow these pitiful lackeys their chance to become nothing more than a hollowed shell of Sith, The Sith Master thought bitterly to himself, feeling a vile taste rising in his mouth with the disdain that he felt toward those before him. He had been limiting himself, while his apparent enemies had been growing ever stronger around him.
It was a situation Vance would no longer allow.
And even as the Sith Master came to stand before the gathering, looking over the students with a cynical eye, Xykarn couldn’t help but realize that things were about to get very bad. The Force was, almost literally, screaming at him to get out of there; to slip away from Master Jas’ notice before that final moment that was akin to the center of a deadly Tatooine sand swirl…
I have a bad feeling about this, The young Apprentice thought to himself, his eyebrows creasing with worry as he watched Master Jas walk casually along the line of Apprentices. He was evaluating them, eyeing each up and determining something in his mind… Xykarn knew it. He could sense it.
“Stop it, Xy,” Said Matra in a low voice, letting out the words in a harsh hiss. “You’re sweating and stinking up the air with your uneasiness. Just settle down, I’m sure we’ll know what’s happening soon enough.”
Vance turned, his eyes narrowing as he found the source of the voice behind him. “You wish to know what is happening?” The Sith Master said, his coarse whisper causing the Apprentices to strain their ears to heed his words. “Then, by all means, we shall see as to what is happening…”
The
snap-hiss of Vance’s lightsaber was like a burst of thunder in the deathly silence, and the blue blade began to hum violently as the wielder twisted the weapon in hand and sliced into the closest Apprentice. The female fell, without having the time to even react, let alone blink in surprise, and toppled to the grass-covered ground with a distinct double thud.
The Apprentices didn’t know what to do, and they began to rush in separate directions, seeking to escape the lightsaber that had so calmly struck down one of their own. Matra was the next to fall to the azure blade, his scream echoing through the training area, spurring the other students to increase their own efforts for survival. Of the dozen that had been, within a matter of moments more than half littered the earth; their faces held in an eternal state of pain and surprise.
Xykarn ran as fast as his boots would allow, the young human cursing the robes he wore as he almost found himself tangled in their length for the second time. He had darted away, toward the jungle tree line, while others had gone in various other directions. Some didn’t even make it beyond where they had stood, and the vision of Matra’s death was more than crystal clear in the student’s mind. He heard the whirring of Master Jas’ lightsaber, the insanity that had surely taken over the man, as he cut down another of his Sith order.
What is this madness? Why is he doing this? Xykarn thought, his mind abuzz with so many thought processes that he didn’t know where to start. All he knew, was that he had to get away…
Vance reached out his hand, grasping with the Force for one of the pitiful drains on himself, one of the leeches that he had finally decided to burn from his body, to be rid of; and with an effort, he crushed the adolescent, feeling a deep sense of finality with the Apprentice’s death, a kindling of the power he had once touched when he had been exiled… there he had been responsible for none, and he hadn’t been forced to allocate his source of power between so many.
Potent had been the sensation. Raw, unadulterated, limitless… and it was once again his, with but a simple vision of the past that had finally been like the last droplet of water that broke the stone of ignorance. Only now, when he wholly realized what he was truly forsaking, did Vance understand the rule of two; or, in this case, the sheer dwindling required of so many. And in much the way of the ancient Sith purge under the hand of Bane, so to did Vance bring his wrath down upon those who sought to bring the Sith down to such a low level…
He was tired of pretending that power came through unity; he was tired of pretending that the Apprentices would amount to more as a collective, than one could as a single powerful entity. Yet, by the same deduction of potential ceasing of the Sith if he died with no successor, so did Vance understand that only the worthy would remain… he would allow those who he had decided proved the most capable to continue along the path of the Sith. Though, instead of rewarding the group, it would be a matter of pride for the individual; fellow Sith brothers would be united, surely, but not in anything except
ideal.
Deactivating his lightsaber, Vance turned his head to look upward. His eyes passed beyond the dark clouds forming, beyond the atmosphere, beyond the light years that were between he and his source of attention…
Ithron, The Sith Master soothed, his voice unnaturally calm following the wanton destruction that had reignited the fuel of desire for power within him.
You had best learn Lupercus’ lessons well…
Turning, Vance began to stalk toward the remaining students, numbering but half a dozen, who had gathered in another section of the temple grounds. They, unlike those who had been slaughtered, were to be selected as the select few worthy of continuing down the path of self-elevation within the Sith Order; but while their dead comrades now knew peace, so to would those that remained know pain unlike any they had felt before…
It didn’t go without Vance’s notice that a young man, Xykarn, had decided to follow him at a distance, seeing what the Master would do next. And as Vance came to a stop before the small number of students, he glanced toward the jungle, where the Apprentice waited; to which he was quick enough to rush into the clearing, joining his fellow Sith brothers promptly and without question.
“Today begins a new legacy of the Sith Order,” Vance said, his voice low as he stared into the souls of each Apprentice present. They showed mixed emotions, ranging from fear, to pride, to confusion; but in the end, it mattered not. As long as one was deemed worthy, that was all that mattered. “You are all that remains of the scraps of the Dark Side we had once been accustomed to. No longer will we dilute power with those unable to possess it; no longer will we allow the weak to be supported by the strong. From this day forth, you are rivals. You will feed off one another, to reach the top of the food chain, and if you fail then you will perish…”
One Apprentice stammered, stepping forward. “Master Jas, was there no othe--”
Vance reached out with the Force, grabbing the student’s neck with the invisible power; and with a mental twist, watched as the young woman’s neck snapped, causing her lifeless form to slump to the ground once the hold had been relinquished.
“No longer am I Master Jas,” The Sith Master said, his tone clearly not to be questioned. “I am
Darth Vicirus… and you shall remember that name well, for those in this galaxy will soon be more than aware of it.”
As the Apprentices remained silent, simply watching out of fear of bringing the new Dark Lord’s wrath upon themselves, so to did Darth Vicirus wonder as to whether Lupercus had received his warning…
