Abandoned and forgotten, the ruins of the Dark Temple have slowly succumbed to the erosion of time. In the central chamber the walls have crumbled, the ceiling has caved in, and the jungle now flourishes within the once pristine halls.

Green light filters through the temple, mixing eerily with the dark, violet hue of Dromund Kaas’ sky. Lightning flickers overhead, the raw energy of the Force clashing high above. The floor is overgrown with large plants and grasses that have swallowed the old stone. Wild creatures roam freely, skittering away from the presence of intruders while vicious predators hide just out of sight.

The main hall is lined on both sides by towering statues, heads bowed in supplication. They stand in deference to the sculpture of a pure-blooded Sith, which towers over the chamber with outstretched arms. The sculpture has been split diagonally down the middle, as if cleaved in two by a rusted blade, but the majesty in the stone still echoes to the past.

On either side of the main hall, remnants of branches to inaccessible parts of the temple remain. One might tilt their head to take in what is left of the mezzanine—the balcony overlooking the chamber—still held aloft by the great pillars standing behind the statues. Several of the pillars have fallen, providing a pathway up to the mezzanine for those willing to take the risk for higher ground. Spirits of the Sith are rumored to still haunt the grounds—waiting for poor, misguided fools to walk blindly into their domain.

“So this is Dromund Kaas.” Ellac had only heard legends of the Sith capital of eons past, but had never seen it with his own two eyes before. The sky was veiled by a thick sheet of clouds that flashed as lightning streaked behind them. Ellac looked down from the open shuttle bay as the light from the storm revealed the open platform beneath him.

In a flash of white, a bolt of lightning shot through the air beside the shuttle, causing the ship to shake as the onboard systems launched into an electrical fritz. Ellac shot his hand out, grasping one of the hand-holds on the wall to catch himself. His comlink beeped as the shuttle began to stabilize, the pilot’s voice coming through the earpiece.

“The storms are interfering with my systems,” he said. “I can’t put her down here, we’re going to have to find another LZ.”

Ellac stared down at the paved platform below as he gauged the distance to the ground. “Don’t worry about finding another spot to land. I’m going down from here. I’ll contact you when I’m finished,” he said as he pulled the hood of his Armorweave cloak over his head. Making sure to secure his gear, he leapt off the boarding ramp, his boots meeting the stone surface with a heavy thump.

Thunder rumbled overhead as Ellac peered up at the structure before him. The ancient temple had fallen far from it’s former glory, having been abandoned to the guiles of time. The courtyard stood a desolate pile of rubble. Moss and vines sprouted from cracks in the courtyard floor, climbing up pillars and covering the base of the temple. Ellac rose to his feet, his boots knocking against the old stone as he passed between two rows of statues lined up on either side of the entrance, their heads turned solemnly to the ground. Passing underneath the ancient archway above his head, Ellac paused, noticing several faults in the pillars of the arch. “This isn’t a temple. It’s a tomb,” he thought. “Oh well. If the temple doesn’t kill me, Sykes probably will.” Resigning himself to whatever fate awaited him, he continued through the doorway.

Ellac’s footsteps echoed through the building as he climbed the stairs leading into the main hall. The central auditorium had seen much better days. The walls and ceiling of the room had crumbled, leaving gaping holes in the confines of the temple. The hallways leading deeper into the structure were collapsed, cutting off all access to the various chambers. An enormous balcony stretched across the length of the room, supported by numerous pillars. Like the courtyard outside, two rows of statues stood on either side of the central hall, their heads bowed in the same manner. Towering at the far side of the great hall stood a unique sculpture of a pure-blooded Sith, its arms raised high above the lesser statues. Despite it’s age, the chiseled image remained untouched by time, the only sign of damage being a diagonal slice that ran right through the middle of the statue.

Standing in the center of the chamber with his back to his apprentice, Sykes stared up at the pure blood sculpture, adorned in a full set of matte black beskar armor. “You’re late,” Sykes said, his voice bouncing around the hall. “You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.”

“Sorry. I had some trouble finding the right hangar when I went to meet up with the shuttle pilot. I’m still trying to get my bearings,” Ellac said, making his way towards his master.

“It doesn’t matter,” Sykes said, turning to face his apprentice. “I’ll let it slide this time, but going forward, I expect you to be on time.”

“Understood.” Ellac came to a halt right next to Sykes, looking up at the Sith sculpture towering above him. “So, what is it you summoned me here for?”

“I wanted to talk with you away from prying ears.” Sykes said, taking a few steps past Ellac. “You have potential, Ellac. A potential that I want to see you wholeheartedly embrace. It’s time for you to move beyond simply being a Dark Jedi. Today, you become a true Sith,” Sykes said as he turned towards Ellac.

“A true Sith?”

“You know how to tap into the Dark Side of the Force, but you keep holding yourself back. You let your doubt and your fear hinder you instead of using your emotions to break your limits,” Sykes said.

“What limits?,” Ellac asked.

“You fear that if you surrender to your emotions, they’ll consume you. You doubt your ability to protect the people you hold dear. You doubt your strength because you don’t realize that those fears, those insecurities and doubts in your mind, are all fuel for the fire that rages inside of you. The Dark Side feeds on your passions, even the negative passions. Use it to sharpen yourself into the ultimate weapon.”

Sykes words echoed through Ellac’s mind. “You’re talking about the Sith Code…”

Sykes smirked underneath his helmet. “Yes.”

Ellac looked back up at the image of the pure-blood Sith. A symbol of power standing above the lesser statues as they turned their eyes away from the Sith. Ellac turned back to Sykes. “Teach me.”

The smirk lingered on Sykes’ face as he drew his lightsabers from his belt, igniting them in a flash of white and red. Ellac did the same with his lightsaber.

Sykes dug the tip of his white blade into the ground as he began to circle around Ellac. “The first thing you need to understand is this: The code isn’t a set of rules that we follow. It’s who we are as Sith. For instance: ‘Peace is a lie’.”

Sykes ran at Ellac with a flurry of attacks, aiming at exposed appendages and joints, anything that he might be able to get a blade into. The beskar weighed on him as he moved, but Sykes knew how to distribute the weight when he attacked. Ellac whipped and twisted as he narrowly avoided the incoming blades. One of Sykes blades clipped Ellac’s hood as he ducked away, causing it to drop back down onto his shoulders.

“You could’ve taken my eye out!” Ellac yelled.

“That was the idea. I wanted you to panic.” Sykes said.

“Why?”

“Because you need to learn how to feed on that panic. You need to know how to use it. This is the downfall of the Jedi. They believe that their strength comes from ignoring their emotions. But what happens when they’re faced with something they can’t ignore? They’re not trained for that. They hesitate and they start to break down as their emotions overwhelm them. This is why we say that ‘peace is a lie’. It’s an illusion. Peace makes you feel safe. It makes you comfortable. It makes you vulnerable.”

Sykes took a few steps back away from his Apprentice, drawing the blade of his saber through the ground. All around him he could feel the energies of the Dark Side swirling. Dromund Kaas was a volatile world and there were deep roots of Sith in this temple. “You must harness your fear. Use it to feed your anger. Your body and your lightsaber are extensions of yourself,” he brought his eyes up and looked hard at Ellac through the HUD in his helmet. “Now come on. Show me what you have learned from the training cadre.” He brought both of his blades up, turning slightly and setting his feet to prepare. His silver blade came up in his right hand while his red shoto blade set itself to parry any other attacks. His own emotions began to flare as he touched the well of darkness within him.

Ellac rushed forward and brought his saber up over his head. He could feel what Sykes was trying to do to him and resolved himself to not fall for it. His scarlet blade started to come down but at the last second he readjusted his grip and turned the overhead slash into a rising swing, intent on going under his Master’s defense. Sykes parried the blade to the side with his shorter blade and lunged at Ellac, but the younger man was ready. He brought his blade back around, spun into Sykes’ strike and went to bring his blade around in a vicious horizontal slash at his Master’s face.

The Marauder felt the danger and ducked low, the younger man’s blade barely missing the top of his helmet. He brought his right leg down and stepped through Ellac’s legs and put his entire body weight into his shoulder, connecting with his opponent's body and sending his apprentice tumbling to the ground. Sykes pulled back, shutting down his shoto blade and replacing it on his belt. “Very good. Your style of fighting needs all of your emotions to harness. Feel the anger flowing through you.” The older Sith flourished his silver blade and set himself in a dueler’s stance. “Now, again.”

Ellac rose and brought his blade back up into a two-handed grip. He was angry that he had been taken off his feet so quickly. He could feel it rising within him as he cautiously moved forward. ”There is only passion.” he thought to himself, finishing the next line of the Sith code. Slowly his mind moved deeper into his form. The lightsaber in his hand seemed to leap to life on its own as he brought it up and around high, bouncing off his opponents blade and redirecting low.

Sykes smiled under his helmet as he quickly parried and blocked the low sweep. He had settled into his own battlemind. When he looked at Ellac, he could almost see an after image moving in different ways. It was his apprentice deciding on his next strikes and when the body moved into one of the ghostly forms, Sykes twisted his blade and moved back and forth along the lines to counter each of the younger man’s strikes. He could feel the anger and frustration growing in his student. “That’s it! More. Give me more!” He cried out, his voice amplified by the modulator in his helmet.

Ellac’s emotions began to peak as his blade moved in a flurry striking high and low, his body spinning trying to get through his Master’s defense. He got in close, avoiding the counter attacks the older Sith threw in and focused his mind. For a bare second, Sykes’ movements seemed to slow down and he brought his lightsaber down hard. His blade landed solidly into the upper arm of his Master but the Beskar held and deflected the blow.

Sykes immediately drew back and smiled. “Very good.” He had felt the impact of the lightsaber but his armor had held. “That is how we fight. There is nothing fair about combat. Your passion gives you strength and will lead you to power. War is coming to our Clan, my Apprentice. You must be prepared for all eventualities.” On the last word Sykes threw out his left hand and from his bracer, flame spat out engulfing his student.

Ellac’s jumped back almost immediately but not before the flames had touched his face. He quickly patted out a few flames on his robe and could feel the skin tighten on his face. He raised his hand to touch his cheek but pulled away from the pain he felt there. His eyebrows had turned to ash and his face was red from the flash burn. “What are you doing?!” he cried out in pain, tears welling in his eyes uncontrollably.

Sykes again smiled and brought his lightsaber up again into the ready position. “Use the pain. If you do not I will kill you by the end of this. Fight for your life, Ellac. For it is, in fact, on the line.”

Ellac’s cheeks stung as he found himself staring into the black visor of Sykes’ helmet, a lump forming in his throat at his master’s words. Gritting his teeth as the tears in his eyes streamed down the burns on his face, the Acolyte flipped his lightsaber into a reverse grip, launching himself towards his master.

“That’s it.” Sykes’ smile grew as he twirled his silver blade, unclipping his shoto lightsaber from his belt, igniting it in a flash of red that bounced off his matte black armor.

Ellac raced at Sykes, swinging his blade down at the Marauder’s shoulder. His lightsaber met Sykes’ silver blade with a loud crack that echoed through the chamber. With a growl, Ellac flipped the hilt in his hand again, swinging up and under his master’s block. Sykes caught his blade with his shoto, redirecting it to the side as he thrust his longer blade at Ellac’s knee. Ellac’s reflexes pulled him back before Sykes’ blade could run through his leg.

“That was good, but you’re going to have to do better than that if you’re gonna hit me,” Sykes said, returning to his usual stance.

“I’m trying!”

“How ‘bout you stop trying and actually do it?”

Ellac’s frustration bubbled up in his throat as his chest tightened in anger. Ellac jumped at Sykes again, jabbing and slashing at his master with random strikes. His crimson blade streaked through the air in an aggressive blur of motion, connecting with Sykes’ blocks, one after another. Sykes, tracking his movements, side-stepped one of Ellac’s strike, and kicked him onto the old stone floor. Sykes stepped over Ellac, raising his blades to strike him, but just as his blades began to fall, Ellac raised his off-hand, releasing a blinding flash of light from his open palm. Sykes stumbled back, turning his eyes away from the flash. With his left hand still raised at Sykes, Ellac concentrated the Force around the Marauder, pulling Sykes off his feet as the Acolyte extended the hidden blade in the bracer on his wrist towards the Battlemaster’s throat. Sykes pushed Ellac’s hand away as he fell, sending the stiletto blade to the side, avoiding an impaled larynx but still suffering a shallow slice to the side of his neck. The Apprentice shoved Sykes off as he rolled onto his feet, the blade on his wrist dripping with his master’s blood.

Sykes pushed himself off the ground, touching the cut as he brought himself up. “That’s more like it,” he said, grinning under his helmet. “Your passion gives you strength, and that strength will bring you victory.” Readying himself again, Sykes reached deeper into the Dark Force around him. “Now show me your strength, Apprentice.”

The muscles in the back of Ellac’s neck stiffened as he sensed the Force around Sykes grow darker. The energy around his master was violent and more intense than Ellac was used to. The Acolyte drew a deep breath as he retracted the hidden blade, clutching his lightsaber with both hands. “Yes, my Master.”

Sykes backed up slowly as Ellac approached. The Battlemaster’s anger had flared and to Ellac, his master felt like a broiling pit of darkness. His master had again gone into a dueling stance with his silver blade held out in an en garde position. Ellac’s hands gripped his lightsaber tighter and allowed his own anger to begin to rise within him. He could feel his strength increase and a surge of energy built within him. He feinted a strike to the left but twisted his blade down, up and over. Sparks shot from the crimson blade as his master’s own blade blocked and deflected but Ellac pressed on with a vicious combination on left, right, up and diagonal strikes. Each time his master seemed to be able to know where the next strike was coming from. His frustration and anger grew. He screamed as his body seemed to explode with the energy within him. He brought his blade around, spinning and lashed out with his right foot, catching Sykes directly in the chest.

Sykes flew back from the strength of the kick and landed flat on his back. He quickly rolled to his left and made his way to his feet, glaring at Ellac as he did so. He could feel that one of his ribs had given way despite the protection of the armor that he wore. As he brought his blade back up, he watched as Ellac seemed to slack his body. The Acolyte’s shoulders heaved as he tried to catch his breath and Sykes knew that his apprentice was beginning to fatigue from drawing upon the Dark Side so heavily. He could feel the exhaustion and frustration that was beginning to take its hold upon the younger man. “Finish it. Give in fully. You think you are grown? Come and show me.”

Ellac’s he snapped up at the words from his master. They were a familiar challenge that he had heard before. Fear bubbled up within him with the horrible flashback of his own father saying those words. “No.” He muttered as he brought his blade up and around, closing the distance and striking against his master's blade to try and get in close.

Sykes immediately felt the flash of fear within his apprentice and knew his words had struck a tender heartstring. Time to break that. he thought as he brought his left arm around to deflect the lightsaber blade coming from his other side. His blade skills are adequate but it is his mind that must strengthen itself. Otherwise the Brotherhood will consume him. The Battlemaster performed a quick spin and brought his silver blade around toward the younger man's head.

Ellac ducked the strike and saw what appeared to be his opening. He brought his own blade with an uppercut strike meant to split the older Sith from groin to throat, but his master just barely sidestepped out of the way. His master’s left arm shot out and Ellac braced for another feeling of flame but instead felt a sharp pain in his right arm. He quickly disengaged, looking down and seeing the dart that struck out of his arm. Almost immediately, his right arm seemed to go limp as he looked at his master. He swapped his lightsaber to his other hand and tried to raise it in time to defend himself.

Sykes closed down his lightsaber and dropped it to the ground as he stalked towards his apprentice. The poison from the dart had paralyzed the younger man’s primary saber arm. “Your past means nothing. Today you will be reborn or you will die, Ellac.” The fear he saw in his apprentice’s eyes allowed Sykes to latch onto that feeling. As he moved forward, Sykes focused on bringing that fear to the forefront of Ellac’s mind. The younger man struck out with his lightsaber but Sykes caught it on his right forearm as he brought his armored left fist into Ellac’s jaw as hard as he could.

The blow twisted Ellac around and brought him to his knees. He tried to turn and stand but another savage blow knocked his head around. Blood flowed from his mouth and as he spat he distinctly heard something hard hit the ground. Flashbacks of his childhood seemed to come unbidden to his mind. He brought his eyes around to look at his master but the only image he could see was his own father there. Fear flooded his body and he didn’t know what to do. No. He’s dead. He **can’t* be back.** His father brought his knee up into Ellac’s face with a wet smack. Stars exploded in his vision as he slumped back. I killed him. He isn’t supposed to be here. Madness began to creep it’s way through him as he brought his hands up to protect his face.

Sykes looked down at his apprentice as the fear seemed to take its hold. He pressed his mind harder against the younger man’s own. The boy was strong but demons were holding him back. Sykes felt that he had to break those demons if there was any future for this apprentice. He brought his foot around and slammed it into the younger stomach. “Get up Ellac!” Sykes screamed. “Get up and fight! NOW!”

Get up. Why? He’s back to finish me. He hurt us all some much. The lum and Correllian whiskey had taken him. Ellac’s fear of his own past caused him to convulse and curl into a ball. He felt the pain of another kick in his spine, and rolled back to assuage the feeling. His eyes opened and through the tears that were flowing he could just see the hulk of the man who had been his tormentor for so many years. Dark hair, the same green eyes that Ellac knew were his own and a stocky powerful build. “You can’t be here. I killed you!” He spat at his father.

“And I’m going to do the same to you. You can join me forever, Boy.” The man replied coldly, preparing to strike again.

“No. No. NOOOOOO!!!!!!” Ellac screamed, his throat burning raw and all of his fear, anger and rage exploded within him. His left hand came up and spat raw blue energy out at his father.

Sykes felt the explosion of emotion and braced himself as well as he could against the lightning that flowed over him. The armored shell around him conducted every bit of the electricity. He brought the Force into him as he gutted through the sheer agony as Ellac released all of the rage the boy felt.

Ellac fell backwards. Blackness threatened to cover his vision as exhaustion consumed him. He won’t be able to do it. Not without a fight. he thought to himself as he slowly tried to roll into his stomach. His right arm still was limp from the poison but he was able to get up on his knees. Black boots came into his vision and he prepared for his death. “Do it. Frakking do it!”

The Battlemaster reached down and grabbed his student by the collar, jerking him bodily to his feet. His helmet hung on his belt as Sykes brought Ellac’s face up near his. Their blue and green eyes met for the first time since the beginning of the fight and both raged with the darkness each other felt. “You have survived this time, my Apprentice. You have given yourself fully. Now embrace your heritage. I will call for you when I am ready.” the older Sith stated coldly. He shoved his apprentice back to the ground and began to turn and walk away. “Your next assignment will push you past this one. Prepare yourself. More challenges are to come before you will be fully accepted into our Order.”

Ellac watched the back of his master as the man walked away into the darkness of one of the side passages. He felt like a weight was off of his shoulders but knew he had much more to learn. His anger sparked again as he realized what all had transpired here. “Oh yes, Master. I have survived. But eventually, you will not.”