Dark, foreboding, and with howls in the wind that screamed more fiercely than any predator wolf the Elder had ever heard, Ruka Tenbriss Ya-Ir stepped forward into the apocalyptic wasteland with a single goal in mind. Power.
He tried to ignore the horrors that echoed in the wild winds as they quickly brushed past his gentle face. The stench of death resonated around him. The dark side was strong here, there was no doubt about that and deep down in his core, a part of him hoped the rumours of Force apparitions and ghosts were nothing more than a child's overactive imagination. He loved his family, and the children especially had a habit of making up stories that made him laugh and brought a smile to his face. Such was the innocence of youth, though on this occasion he hoped the stories weren't true.
Cora…
He missed his family, his husband especially. Any elongated time apart often resulted in long periods of worries that manifested themselves in nightmares. It was natural to him for a man to worry about his loved ones, but such things needed to be done. If he was going to protect them, he needed more. He chased the dark side's embrace to these long forsaken ruins in hopes of finding an artifact, a holocron of some significant value that would make him stronger.
It's only a short trip, Ruka. Be calm…
He repeated the words to himself as he leapt over a small hill, only for the silhouette of the Dark Hall to appear before him in all its former majesty. What once stood the mighty and glorious epicentre of the Brotherhood now lay a shell of its former self. What once stood glorious towers overseeing the entirety of Antei was now heaps of broken rock upon a desolate landscape. The planet's frequent dust storms had not been kind to this place. Spires lay across the entrance and walkways, faded and eroded to the harsh conditions bestowed upon the planet surface. The entrance to the vast structure was black as space itself and the Mirialan wasted no time in entering whatever remained of the former heart of the Brotherhood.
The inside didn't look much better. The pallets of greens and greys that coloured the hall was overshadowed by layers of ash and dust that covered everything in sight. Collapsed door frames prevented the way into rooms on either side, furniture from a different age lay broken, shattered and splintered amongst various pieces of machinery and equipment that shared the same fate.
Yet, none of this was what caught his eye the most. Some of the debris had clearly been shifted judging by large spots of the ground that were oddly devoid of dust. Large footprints were evident on the ground and led directly ahead into the main chamber. Had someone beaten him to it? Sensing ahead, he felt a dark presence occupy the room. Yet, it was one holding onto, what Ruka could only determine, a large amount of guilt. He'd felt such a thing only once before during his meditations where he saw a figure in grey with the symbol of The Lotus upon his palm. He had to wonder if they were somehow related.
Under normal circumstances, most would have been cautious about stepping forward to confront this being, but Ruka was not any ordinary man. His time as a Knight of the Lotus made him a model of honour and justice, willing to help anyone in need even if they wouldn't do the same for him. Such ideas were once a foreign concept, but his husband had been more than a positive influence on him.
What he felt now was someone who was hurting. So, he took a deep breath and marched forward towards the main chamber.
Inside was pretty much almost the same as the outer hall. Ruined. Part of the ceiling lay collapsed on the floor towards the corners of the room, covering the entrances and pathways to the tombs that lay beneath the Dark Hall. On the floor were old sigils and symbols, likely the exact same ones used by Grand Master Muz Ashen which burned the entire system to ash. But the sight of the one he sensed, crouching in the very middle of the rune holding an open cubed shaped object that made his heart skip a beat.
That's it!
That object, the Holocron, it was exactly what Ruka was looking for. Unfortunately for him, it seemed this person had beat him to it. The holocron clicked shut, and whatever knowledge was dispensed was now lost to him unless he could get hold of it himself.
The figure rose to his full height, a tall man to be sure, clad in black and Human in nature, though he possessed a set of amber eyes that appeared supernatural compared to those Ruka usually saw. They glared back at him, a frown upon the man's face as his head cocked to the side.
"How curious," the Human said.
"Erm… hello?" Ruka responded, sensing the sudden tension in the room.
"No-one ever comes back here. Especially after the battle between Turel and Timeros. As you can see, there's barely anything left," the tall man said as he gestured to the sorry state of the room. "Who are you and what do you want?"
"Name's Ruka, ay, I want what's in your hand."
Thud, thud, thud.
The amber-eyed man didn't respond initially, especially to the Miraluka's verbal tic and Ruka had to wonder if he'd said something wrong. He felt uneasy as he tapped his right finger against his thigh and bit his lip. Perhaps it was the numerous scars upon his own face that gave the Human a slight pause? Or the slightly exotic accent hidden behind his use of basic?
"No."
Ruka felt his soul drop at that word.
"It contains ancient Sith knowledge. It's one of the few artifacts that still remained here. Sorry, Ruka. But finders keepers, losers weepers."
"Wait!" Ruka interjected. "What's your name?"
"Appius."
"Ok, Appius," Ruka said as he reached into his armor. He retrieved a slim, crystalline board that lightly glowed a bloodish red. "How about we make a deal, ay? You want Sith Knowledge, isuma? How about a trade?"
He held out the board towards Appius, who appeared transfixed by its glow.
"This holobook has a summary of the Sith Order in it. You give me the Holocron, I'll give ya the holobook and we can be on our way. What do you say?"
Ruka waited for his response. He watched Appius' movements carefully as the Human put a hand to his chin and tapped his foot on the ground, seemingly in deep thought.
"Or," Appius suggested, holding a finger up in front of him like he had some kind of epiphany. "I'm just going to throw this at you…"
The Sith watched as the Human's lips etched into a sadistic smirk before a warning from the Force echoed through his subconscious.
Krif!
Lightning struck out at him from the tips of the Sorcerer's right hand. A brilliant streak of white and blue illuminated the room in a cacophony of deadly electrical currents. Ruka leapt out the way, his feet left the ground entirely as his body twisted in mid-air thanks to aid from the Force, allowing his legs to arc horizontally along with the rest of him. He landed on a part of the fallen ceiling with cat-like balance, his knees bent and the tips of his fingers touching the dusty stone. He placed the holobook back in his armor, gritted his teeth, and felt a hot fire burn in his gut as he shot the Human a hard glare.
"What? I said I'd throw the idea at you, why trade when I can just take it from you?" The Sorcerer stated with a sly grin. He nonchalantly flicked the wrist of his left hand, raising a piece of the broken floor of the ground. It was the size of a small boulder as Appius threw it across the room towards the smaller man at great speed.
This time, Ruka was ready for it. A moment before the hard rock had a chance to collide into him, the dark side of the Force swirled within his body, acting like a burst of pure adrenaline to his legs as he not only blitzed out of the way of the boulder as it crashed loudly into the pile of rubble Ruka was stood upon, but he quickly closed the distance between himself and the Sorcerer faster than the Human had expected him too.
The Juggernaut circled around the Taldryanite and retrieved his amethyst kukri from his hip and held it up against the taller man's neck just inches away from his flesh. A bead of cold sweat dripped down Appius' pale face as he turned his head to catch sight of the sharp weapon out of the corner of his eye. Clearly, he hadn't expected anything like this.
"I don't want to fight," the Miraluka said quietly.
"Do you say that to everyone that attacks you?"
Ruka didn't justify the question with an answer.
"I don't want to fight, give me the holocron and we can forget all about this, franger."
"You seem to want this really bad, huh? Well, clearly I shouldn't have underestimated you," Appius responded. "But here's the thing, di'kut. You shouldn't think lightly of me either."
Appius quickly stepped forward out of the way of the kukri by his neck and Ruka was ready to try and retaliate, yet something was very wrong. As he tried to slash at the Human he found his movements to be slow and sluggish. Like he'd drank far too much Tsiraki, or the weight of Antei itself was upon his shoulders.
The Frak!?
Little did he realise that it had given Appius' all the time he needed as the smirk reappeared on the Sorcerer's face. It was almost comical how much he seemed to be enjoying Ruka's sudden surprise as electricity sparked between his fingertips again.
The green-skinned man inhaled a deep breath, calling upon the Force to create an internal surge of energy to free him from the effects Appius placed him under. A cloud of dust kicked up, distracting the Sorcerer for a moment before Ruka launched the weapon in his hand at the Sorcerer and forced him to dodge before it impaled him between the eyes. But Ruka wasn't done there, with his left hand he controlled the path of the blade as it spun around, ready to impale Appius in his spine at great speed.
Thankfully for the Taldryanite, the Force was with him just as it was with Ruka. It warned him of the impending danger as he summoned Redeemer to his hand from his waist. An emerald blade hissed out of the hilt and cut the weapon at the handle before it could touch him.
This was just the opening the Juggernaut was looking for as he grabbed his lightsaber from his belt as a deep blue blade protruded from it. This was his chance, he knew it was. He could end this now before it escalated any further. He bent his knees, pointed his lightsaber at the Human, and launched himself at him with the ferocity of a vornskyr.
