The library was designed to look ancient. Old architecture. Cold, grey brick. High arches and a vaulted, domed ceiling. Wrought-iron sconces hang from the walls to provide light, flickering with real flames. It had all been crafted to hide the fact that the Academy was less than two decades old. The lower level is rectangular, twice as long as it is wide. The middle is filled with chairs and tables, where students study. On either side, large wooden bookshelves hold tomes of knowledge accessible to all members of the Brotherhood. In the center of the floor stands a monument to Jedgar Octavius Paladin, the founder of the first Shadow Academy.

By taking one of the two main staircases on the North and South sides of the library, one can access the second floor. The two sides of the upper level are connected by stone pathways, and the first floor was completely visible below. The upper level held fewer tomes, but contained more advanced knowledge. Often, it's used by students who required silence and introspection for their studies.

Despite the solemn purpose of the library, fights still break out between the students, who always seek to prove themselves against their peers. Punishment awaits those who damage the library, but rarely do instructors step in to stop the fights. Students usually watch in interest, or place bets on the combatants, glad for the show to break up the monotony of their studies

You know you will have to answer for your transgressions, but you can no longer contain the desire to fight. You listen to the whispers as the other students place bets, but you can also sense those who might ally with or against you. The Academy may be a place of neutrality, but it was hard to leave loyalty to your House at the door. You brush your thumb over your weapon, focusing on your opponent as tables clear around you. There is no turning back now…

The two scholars stared each other down, daring the other to make the first move. Xantros was a well-respected and fearless leader within the Brotherhood, his unimposing and slightly scarred ugly face masking the cunning and intelligence that hid behind his sharp eyes, only to be found if someone knew what to look for. The Knight removed his hand from his weapon, letting it slip back behind his robes out of sight, and opened his arms to either side of him with his palms facing outwards towards the Archpriest.

“Now now, is this really necessary Xantros?” Darkblade said with a smile on his face. “We are just having a friendly discussion about who is better at Dejarik, and it is clearly me!” the Knight said as he pointed towards himself and beamed with delight.

The Duros muttered something under his breath in his native language, inaudible for Darkblade. Still looking into the Knight’s eyes Xantros removed his lightsaber and fell into a fighting stance.

Sighing, the younger Krath looked around, and noticed an audience had gathered around them. Hushed whispers could be heard and many of the students were pointing towards the two Krath, obviously waiting to see what would happen. Both scholars noticed that the crowd had also attracted some Professors, but they did nothing to intervene. Darkblade took this as a sign to go ahead with the inevitable duel, and focused on Xantros. Locking eyes, the Knight sent a mental image through the Force, causing the Archpriest to drop his weapon on the ground and kicked it behind him with the heel of his boot. The Krath opened his mouth in shock, but quickly snapped it shut.

Damn these mind tricks Xantros thought to himself. Thinking quickly he reached into his robes and procured 3 thermal detonators. As much as he loved the Shadow Academy and its knowledge, he disliked the idea of being tricked so easily to relinquish his weapon to someone so beneath him. He must be obliterated along with the people who witnessed this atrocity he thought.

Activating the thermal detonators and rolling them between the Knight and the crowd, Xantros immediately sought shelter behind him amongst the many bookcases and tables, knowing he would be safe from the blast. The panicked screams from the crowd of students brought joy to the Archpriest’s ears, and as he peeked over the books on the shelf to see what happened, he was irritated to see Darkblade speeding towards the monument of Jedgar Octavius Paladin, and watched him dive behind it just in time to escape from the blast that incinerated half of the Journeymen who were either too slow or who were trampled by their brethren to reach safety.

Tables exploded, chairs were thrown into the air to never land again, and books were burnt to a crisp, their knowledge lost forever. The smell of singed wood, flesh and paper reached the Archpriest’s nostrils, and an evil glint appeared in his eyes as he rushed towards his lightsaber on the ground further behind him. Swirling around and activating the purple blade, it cast a glow across the room making it easier to see exactly how much damage had been done.

With wooden rubble and stone debris on the floor, Xantros carefully inched his way towards the monument, ready to strike. He heard a groan to his left and quickly looked to see what it was. He noticed it was a young student, maimed by the blast and probably wouldn't make it past the next few minutes. Not wanting to take the chance of any sort of distraction, the Krath moved towards the body, and silenced it forever.

“Shouldn’t have been so slow,” he muttered to himself as he focused on finding his opponent. He was not too surprised to see that the Anzat was slowly getting up, balancing on the monument and trying to regain his bearings. Noticing the Duros coming towards him, Darkblade quickly fumbled for his lightsaber in his robes, finally reaching it after the third try and activating it with a single fluid motion from his robes into the fighting style that he was so familiar with. The purple hue comforted him and although still feeling slightly disoriented, Darkblade felt his senses returning and started checking himself for injuries. He quickly confirmed nothing was wrong with his body and adopted an aggressive stance.

“Impressive move friend, I didn't expect you to blow up half the people here just to hide a mistake.” the Knight said as he shifted slightly sideways, preparing to pitch the style of Djem So against the famed dueling potential of Xantros’ Makashi style.

“There are many things you still have to learn about me, Anzat” the Archpriest spat out. Darkblade’s demeanor turned cold and calculating, realizing now was the time to get serious. Not giving the older Krath a chance to respond, Darkblade hurled himself towards Xantros, unleashing a series of overhead strikes that pushed the Duros back easily. The Knight realized he had the upper hand in this duel and pressed onward ensuring the Krath was not at a moment’s rest. Faking another overhead blow and suddenly swinging low to strike at the priests legs, Xantros barely avoided being cut off at the knees. The Krath retaliated with a vicious kick towards the Knight, glancing a blow to his chest and sending him a few steps back. As Darkblade stumbled backwards the Archpriest was able to use the Force and push Darkblade further back causing him to trip and land on his back.

Breathing heavily, Xantros looked around for anything that would help him in this peculiar situation. Darkblade outclassed the Duros by far in lightsaber skill and aggressiveness. The Priest needed to find a way out of this situation, and fast. As the Knight got back to his feet a plan came to bear in the Archpriest’s mind, and he smiled at the younger Krath, malice flowing from his eyes.

The Krath Archpriest deactivated his lightsaber kept looking at the younger Krath with an evil grin on his green face. He had a nasty plan for his enemy, as he really did not like using his own weapons against him. The Dark Jedi Knight dared to use a mind trick against the Duro. It was a highly unwise action. Now, it was a time for retaliation, as the Anzat had to be punished in a proper manner. The Archpriest planned his enemy to become a lesson for all others, who might be willing to challenge him.

Xantros kept his lightsaber deactivated and awaited for the Dark Jedi Knight to launch an attack It was just a matter of several seconds, so the Krath Archpriest focused on Darkblade's mind. The Anzat attacked him even a bit sooner than he had expected it to happen, but he was already prepared for it. He used the Force to create a short blast of bright light, which disorientated his enemy for a short moment and allowed the Duro to launch few strikes of the Dulon martial art. Xantros was not a skilled practicioner of the martial arts, so his attack was a bit clumsy, but still effective enough to break the Anzati's nose.

The Krath Archpriest retreated swiftly and stopped few meters from his enemy and gave him a chance to regain a firm stance.

"I hope that you have learnt your first lesson," spoke Xantros with cold hatred in his voice. "Never mess with my mind. If try any trick like this again, you will suffer more severe consequences."

Darkblade cursed few times and focused on healing the broken nose. It turned out to be too hard in the combat conditions, as he had no time to focus enough, but still managed to stop the bleeding.

Xantros grinned evilly and looked around. He noticed that numerous students and professors of the Shadow Academy were still presented nearby, as they continued to observe the fight, despite the fact that few of them got killed or wounded. "Good," thought Xantros, "The audience in this case shall be very useful. I should not waste such an opportunity."

"Darkblade, I am glad that you have chosen the Central Library of Lyspair. We fight in the sacred complex of the Shadow Academy. We are surrouned with dozens of students and professors. They are here not only to make bets and win or lose few credits, but they also wish to learn something new. I cannot fail them and I shall make a defeat of such a pathetic creature like you a good lesson for them. As one of the professors of the Shadow Academy, I feel obliged to make sure that my services to the Shadow Academy and its students are of the highest quality. I hope that you will understand this. You are a Krath after all. Also, you have made few important mistakes in your life and you do not tolerate mistakes made by other beings. Rest assured that I will not make a mistake with you and that people, who watch our duel, shall learn from your fall not to make such mistakes again."

"You have looked my secrets up. You will pay for this. You will pay for this," growled Darkblade in strong anger in his voice. Though the Knight was resistant to mental pain, Xantros went for jugular. What was worse, the Archpriest was right.

In the anger, the Anzat used the Force to strike the Duro from distance, but the Krath Archpriest created a Force Barrier, which defended him from the weak attack with ease.

"No, Darkblade. Ranged attacks won't save you. You need to get close enough to rip my throat out," spoke Xantros with a smile, which often appeared on his face, when he had to teach particularly stupid students.

"I will, you may be sure of this," replied the Anzat angrily.

"I am sure of this and you may be sure that I will make you pay a price for the death of a student and the damages caused the valuable treasures of the Shadow Academy."

"It is you, who has utilized thermal grenades in an unsuccessful attempt to kill me."

"If you had not forced me to do that, I would have never done that. You have underestimated by determination and it is another of your mistakes. Probably not the last one, but just one of many. The last one will result in your death."

Darkblade let out a frustrated snarl. How had he been so blind and given up his fighting advantage that easily? Through the throbbing pain from his broken nose he tried to think of a plan that would put him back in a winning position. He knew that the Archpriest was not very formidable in combat, realizing during their brief duel that for all the Duros pranced around and belittled others below him, he was not even worthy of his position within the Brotherhood. Anger flowed around Darkblade, as he pondered on how an imbecile like him could come to such undeserving power was beyond him.

Still slightly struggling with the pain of his broken nose the Knight spoke with a groggy muffled voice, “You think you’re so good don’t you? Thinking... no, believing I am beneath you will be your biggest downfall, for I shall show you something truly terrifying, other than your face,” the Anzat spat out as he tried to rub the blood from his upper lip on the sleeve of his robe, accidentally coming too close to his nose and causing him to wince in pain.

Not being able to contain his laughter, Xantros let out a chuckle “Oh please, what can you possibly do that will terrify me?” Nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders in the process. Making sure to stand tall, at his full 1.90 meter height, he boldly challenged Darkblade, staring him down and grinning at him. “Bring it on my friend.”

The Knight took no chances and immediately focused on the summoning the things that would terrify Xantros the most. The image fresh in his mind, the Knight summoned all of his powers, formidable as they were he knew this would bring him to the brink of exhaustion. Reaching out with the Force he enshrouded his enemy with pitch darkness, ensuring that a small area of 2.5 meters around the Archpriest was also pitch black. Feeling his powers almost drained, Darkblade followed up with conjuring the darkest fears of Xantros and bringing them to the surface of his feeble mind.

The Krath was hit by the instant darkness and laughed. “Darkblade, is this all you got? You think i'm afraid of the dark?” he yelled out. What hit him next though was something he had never experienced before. He saw the Knight as clear as day, which was odd as it had just been pitch black. Then Xantros seemed to drift outside of his body, and stared in confusion as he looked down at his body. From his spectral view he saw Darkblade charge with his lightsaber drawn and cut the Duros in half! The spectral Archpriest screamed in horror and rage, not believing what he was seeing. All of the sudden the vision changed, to him holding a letter in his hand, stating he was expelled from the Shadow Academy as a Professor for negligent duty. The next vision saw Xantros kneeling before Darkblade, proclaiming him Grand Master. Another vision saw the students clapping for the Knight as he stood over the Krath’s fallen body. Feeling weak and sick to his stomach, the Duros was wretched back into his mind, the visions finally over.

The screams and cries from the Archpriest brought a smile to Darkblade’s weary body. He peered into the blackness, making sure he had time left to make his grand disappearance. Seeing the other scholar crying out and clawing at the air the Knight knew he had about ten seconds left. He turned to the crowd, and opened his mouth. “Well, there you have it students! I hope you had a great show, and don’t forget that I am entitled to some of the winnings from the bets placed. Feel free to drop them off at my office here at the Shadow Academy.” With that, Darkblade turned into the pitch blackness, able to see as if it were day. As it was beginning to fade he walked towards Xantros. When he passed the scholar, who was barely able to stand, the Krath put a hand on the Archpriest’s shoulder and whispered “I’m still better than you at Dejarik.” The Knight walked past and the scholar felt his Force signature blink out. Eyes wide with fear, knowing what was coming next, the Archpriest bent his head and admitted defeat. Well played Darkblade, well played he thought to himself.

“What is the meaning of this?” the Headmaster spoke out, silent yet menacing, venom dripping from his voice. The cloud of blackness disappeared and an exhausted terrified Xantros was revealed. “I-I--” was all he could stammer before the Headmaster cut him off. “Report to my office as soon as you have cleaned up this mess. I expect it to be done within the hour, and you better be on time or there will be students cleaning you up from the floor instead of the other way around,” the Sith Warlord said as he turned around and headed back out of the library. The students that were there quickly shuffled out of the room, for fear of angering the Archpriest, and left him alone to clean up the mess.

As Xantros had expected, his words achieved the goal, which they had been aimed for. Darkblade went mad and attacked the Krath Archpriest in a violent way. The Duro found it extremely difficult to defend himself from countless aggressive strikes. There was nothing subtle in them, but they did not have to be subtle as long as they were effective. Their sheer strenght forced Xantros to move backward in a desperate attempt to defend himself. Focused on parrying, blocking and dodging the attacks, he did not notice an overturned chair. He tripped over it and fell on the ground helplessly. The purple blade disappeared, as his lightsaber fell from his hands and rolled half a meter away to the right from Xantros. It seemed that these were the last moments of his life, but the Krath Archpriest seemed to be extremely lucky or it happened by the will of the Force, as he managed to save his life somehow.

In a desperate attempt to defend himself, he pushed his enemy through the Force. He aimed at the Anzat's leg and it seemed that it was something that Darkblade had not expected to happen. The Dark Jedi Knight lost the balance and missed Xantros, though the Dure could feel the heat of the Knight's lightsaber. He growled due to the pain, which he felt. Still, he managed to roll away from his enemy and used the Force to make his own lightsaber return to his hand. He took the stance typical for the Makashi Form and awaited for his enemy to strike again. However, he was prepared for the vicious attacks of the Anzat that time.

As soon as Darkblade got close enough to launch an attack, Xantros used the Force to create an illussion of a movement just on the edge of Anzat's field of sight. It was enough to distract the Dark Jedi Knight and drop the guard. The Krath Archpriest noticed a small gap in the defence of his enemy, caused by the illussion. He was just two steps from Darkblade, so he sped up his moves with the Force and pushed his lightsaber towards the Anzat. It moved just few centimeters away from the weapon of the Knight and pierced through his chest. A grimace of anger and surprise appeared on Darkblade's face as he realized what just happened. As soon as it happened, Xantros swang his lightsaber and beheaded his enemy.

The Krath Archpriest grinned evilly as he observed the headless body falling on the ground. Then, he looked around and said, „I guess that you all shall learn this lesson by hard.”