Built from the shell of an ancient foundation, the Arx Colosseum has undergone renovations to allow multiple new configurations for battle. Its spectator setup remains largely the same, with high walls, tall enough for even the most savvy Jedi to find unscalable that lead up to spectator chairs which are divided into nearly organized sections to accommodate several thousand people. At the center, an elongated platform “box” contains a central throne of stone with various seats of smaller scale lined beside it in both directions. Two large holo-projection screens are set up on each side of the Colosseum, offering different angles of the match bia holocam drones.

Today’s setup is known as The Forge.

Inspired by the droid factories on Geonosis and the flowing lava rivers of Mustafar, the Forge is a collection of deadly heat and hard-slamming steel. In the center of the arena is a “peak” from which the lava flows downward through rivers and cliff-faces. Radiating outward is a series of tiered rings, each getting lower the further from the center you get.

Along the rivers of lava, various arteries suck out the super heated earth to melt metal. The loud clanking slamming of metal sheets heating and cooling, tempering and forging together ring clearly through the entire arena. Conveyor belts lead the metal sheets away from the arena to be used by ACE in the spaceship yards.

The heat was intense. Even through the temperature controls within his armor, the Sith could feel the waves of heat radiating from the magma rivers below. Vincent Brujah smiled a sick smile. This was his idea of the perfect environment for a true battle; something that the Brotherhood members in attendance could remember and talk about for years to come.

The Sith had moved himself to one of the lower levels of the peak. Bubbling rivers of magma rolled down the side of the rocky surface collecting into greater pools below. Brujah had not yet sensed his opponent, but he knew it would only be a matter of time. For now, it was time to send a much needed message of reminder to those in attendance.

Reaching out with the Force, Brujah grabbed one of the holocam droids and pulled it close to his helmet. The Dark Age Sith armor he wore was almost completely gloss black, except for the blood red, dripping skull covering the face of the mask. Staring intently at the camera, Vincent spoke.

“Members of the Brotherhood, we have come here to determine who among us is the greatest fighter.”

The Sith waved his hands, bringing his lightsabers to bear and igniting them. The weapon in the left hand glowed a brilliant orange, matching the rivers of lava surrounding him. The saber in his right hand was a fiery red blade.

“In the first round of this tournament, you were treated to many battles. Some that were a true test of merit, while others that resembled something you might expect to see in a cantina between untrained drunkards…”

The Quaestor cocked his head to the left slightly.

“Allow me to introduce myself to those of you who may have forgotten me. I am Vincent Brujah, and I am here to bring death and hell to anyone who dares to stand in my way. That is to include the likes of the Council...."

Brujah turned his head from the camera looking up at the luxury boxes above. After a brief pause he turned back to the droid and continued.

I have waited a decade for this moment, and none will escape my rage.”

Straightening his head, he felt his opponent closing in, following the camera feed. Again he smiled a smile that no one could see.

“You will see no jokes, nor any mercy from me. I am here only to remind you of who I am and to take my rightful place as Champion of the Brotherhood. You will know what a fighter looks like today. I will show you.”

The Sith flung the droid away to allow it to take its preferred position as the crowd cheered. As the droid found its balance, Brujah heard the distinct sound of lightsabers igniting behind him. He turned to meet his opponent.

As he spun to meet her he saw the azure skin and red eyes of a Chiss.

”Is she a part of the troublemakers that have been causing Clan Scholae Palatinae so much grief?” Brujah couldn’t help but wonder.

He stared her down from a distance.

”Today, it doesn’t matter.” He reminded himself as he paced towards her slowly, closing the distance while keeping his sabers up in a defensive position.

“Welcome to the place of your death, Chiss…” Brujah spat, sending a shiver down the spine of the Quaestrix.

Sensing a moment of weakness, the Sith jumped in taking a high swing with his red saber.

There was so very little time to react. Vincent was descending upon her like a rabid panther. Instead the medic sidestepped the strike, making sure to not step inside where she could be in range of another saber. Sivall’s hand snapped out, twisting her saber along with his to guide him along, continuing his forward motion away from her.

The man stumbled a short distance and came to a stop just before the lava’s edge. Sivall used the momentary break in the fight to pull and activate her own sabers, holding both the long and short blade in front of her body so that she could attempt to repel any incoming attacks.

Vincent’s cape billowed out over the lava,narrowly coming in contact with its molten surface. Despite avoiding direct contact, the fabric still caught fire and the Palatinae member cussed colorfully before a wave of his hand smothered the flames, leaving the cape smoldering slightly but largely untouched.

A glare of molten silver from Vincent was leveled in Sivall’s direction and a chill made its way down the Arconan’s spine, settling in her stomach like a weight. The threat that glare posed was clear despite there being no words spoken between them.

Sivall’s Human opponent launched himself at her. When the two collided, the impact was massive due to the viscousness of Vincent’s swing. It was clear that every attack, every step, every breath and wicked smile was meant to unnerve the comparatively tiny Chiss that was his opponent.

It was working.

The Quaestrix’s eyes widened and her breathing shallowed, coming quicker, as she pushed the rival Quaestor back. The two exchanged a few blows but Sivall was stuck on the defensive. The Palatinae member barraged her with unrelenting, powerful swipes. Recognition rang at the back of her mind, screaming, panicking, at Vincent’s lightsaber style. It was Makashi– the same style she had spent the last couple of months training against. Anders used Makashi. But despite all of her knowledge of the style, she couldn’t get the upper hand, couldn’t shake the terror and anxiety that sank into her bones.

Vincent’s grin stretched wider and her heart shuttered in her chest.

Frakfrakfrakfrakfrak.

The Human man brought his sabers upwards to stab down at Sivall. However, before he could finish the movement, the pale blue woman disappeared from sight. She shimmered away like the heat waves over the lava, and Vincent was left with nothing more than volcanic rock where she once stood in the suffocating heat of the arena. His grin quickly deflated into a deep frown as he realized his opponent, his prey, his victim to make an example of to all those who were watching, was no longer in front of him.

Shrouded, Sivall made her way away from Vincent and the spot where they had clashed. She found a reprieve behind one of the massive structures of rock and took a few moments to catch her breath. Despite having very little in the way of sleeves and having been living on Selen for the past year, she could scarcely breathe. The heat blocked the air as it entered her lungs, burning her throat and stinging her eyes. While the armor she wore had a cloth mask that helped block out the ash and dust, it did very little in making respiration an easy or enjoyable task.

Siv reached up and activated the commlink in her ear, whispering softly into it.

“Ellie, move to the southernmost portion of this island. Create me a distraction, please?”

Worried Binary filled her ear from the BD droid that had been watching the match from afar. She chose to ignore her little mechanical friend in favor of focusing her breaths to try and calm the fear Vincent had awoken inside of her.

While she did so, Vincent stood where she had left him, his eyes searching the nearby scenery for any hint of blue. The more seconds that passed without finding Sivall, the more his annoyance grew.

“I’m not here to play this game, little Chiss!” he shouted, his tone harsh and demanding, “We’re here to fight, not to play hide and seek! Cowardice does not make a good show!”

The Human’s hands gripped his sabers tightly, aggravation flaring quickly to anger.

He didn’t notice as the pure black form of BD-313 moved towards a pipe of molten metal, inspecting it for any weaknesses. The BD droid was of the mind that if it could cause a field hazard, it could give Sivall the time she required to assert control over her emotions and win the fight. It pushed on the metal, its own mechanical feet heating up under the contact. Just a bit more. Just–

“I tire of this game!”

And with those words Vincent reached out through the energy that surrounded them all, surrounded everything, flowed through every living being. It took him no time at all to find his target. The expression of fury on his face was slowly replaced with a snide smirk of satisfaction.

If she wanted to hide like a coward, then the Chiss would die like one.

The Palitanite tossed his red saber, boosted in strength and speed by his dominion over the Force, like a bullet towards Sivall’s hiding place. The blazing blade found its mark, burying its way into the volcanic rock just to the left of Sivall’s face. The medic froze, the shroud surrounding her disappearing as she was startled.

She was going to die here, wasn’t she?

The panic that had started to subside in her came back with a vengeance. It took everything in her to take off from her hiding position through the arena. She had friends and family in the crowd, people cheering her on. People who would see her mercilessly slaughtered while she was unable to raise a hand to stop it.

Vincent could feel the fear radiating off of his opponent. In its own sick way, this brought the Sith pleasure. He wanted to be feared. No, he should be feared! He had trained relentlessly for occasions such as this one, when he could show his might and prove his worth to the galaxy. Still, the game of hide and seek was one that he could not allow to continue, and his anger at the cowardice of the Chiss was growing by the second.

Clank! a sound rang out above the Sith’s head, but he was laser focused on where his opponent was moving to now that her hiding spot had been discovered.

“It seems that you have made a mistake.” the Sith spat. “This is not the galaxy’s most dangerous game of hide and seek, but a battle to the death.”

Clank!

He never took his eyes off the Chiss as she searched for a place to take cover, instead calling his red saber back to his right hand.

Clank!

“I take no joy in defeating an opponent with no will to fight…” Brujah said. “Come out now, drop your weapons at my feet, and surrender. I assure you that no harm will come to you.”

Vincent watched to see if the Quaestrix would take the offer, or if perhaps there was a fight to be had here. Suddenly, Vincent’s senses screamed at him, warning of impending danger.

Clank!

Looking up toward the sound, Brujah saw the BD droid doing everything that it could to break the pipe above him. With one final stomp the pipe snapped at a weak point in the seams. A blazing orange blob of liquid metal fell from above towards the Sith.

Using all of his concentration, Vincent reached up and held the pooling metal in place less than a meter above his head using the Force. He gritted his teeth as he focused on holding the liquid death in place.

“If it’s not surrender that you want, perhaps you just need a reason to fight!” the Sith screamed.

Zosi'val'ria peeked her head over the rock that she had taken shelter behind just in time to see the Sith let out a scream and then throw the molten metal upward back towards the broken pipe and the droid.

“No…” Zosi'val'ria said. “NO!!”

Her pleas fell on deaf ears as the molten metal struck the pipe and the droid. Letting out a high pitched buzz the droid was covered with the glowing orange liquid. With a thud the droid fell to the river of magma below, almost instantly catching fire as it sat atop of magma, not heavy enough to sink into it. The density of the liquid metal bent the broken pipe away from the path of the Sith and sent the flow of metal into the river below.

The Quaestor took in a few deep, purposeful breaths. The trick had worked, but it had taken a toll on him. He could feel himself weakening, but he couldn’t let the Chiss see the weakness. He turned back to where she was hiding and began to speak.

“How about now? Are you ready to fi…”

He was interrupted by a jumping kick that landed directly on his chest plate.

“YOU BASTARD!!” she screamed, bringing her sabers up and swinging them wildly at Brujah as he stumbled backwards.

Even in his weakened state, the Sith batted the swings away. The white blades continued raining down on Brujah. White clashed with orange and red in a deadly dance. Brujah’s smile returned.

Red. All she saw was red. She didn’t register the clash of blades, even though the sabers created gorgeous showers of red and white sparks. She didn’t hear Vincent's words, didn’t hear his elation and excitement at pushing her to fight back.

Ellie was gone, it was all she could see, everything else was only a faint projection after seeing one of her closest confidants fall into a river of molten rock and durasteel.

For every hit that Vincent tried to get in through Sivall’s barrage, the Chiss countered with more, fueled entirely by her need to see the Taldryanite in front of her reduced to nothing. The man’s smile faltered for a moment, realizing he might have pushed too far. Vincent’s blocks became weaker and weaker, his counter attacks slower and slower, till Sivall batted his sabers from his head with a scream that bounced off the rocks.

It was guttural, visceral, and pained.

Both contestants sat there for a moment, heaving. Slate met superheated gold as the pair held each other's gaze. Tears dripped down the Quaestrix’s face, mixing with sweat before they hit the ground where they were instantly vaporized.

“Surely you can’t be this upset over a droid of all things!” Vincent called out, blinking sweat from his eyes, the heat had clearly taken a toll on them both.

Sivall’s jaw set and she tossed her sabers to the ground, the blades deactivating upon impact and they clattered some distance away. She needed more. She needed to feel his bones crumble under her hands, feel him gasp as she beat him senseless. Vincent cocked an eyebrow in confusion before Sivall charged.

He blocked the first hit, which was an attempted elbow to his face. The second hit, a knee to his gut, connected however, and sent the man stumbling back. The rubber bottoms of his shoes sizzled from the proximity to the lava’s edge– the material beginning to melt. The third blow was to Vincent’s face, Sivall’s knee thrust upwards as he doubled over, a blow which sent the man stumbling, flailing– then came the fall…

Part of Sivall watched in smug satisfaction for a heartbeat, but a better part of her prevailed over the darkness that swam through her veins. The part that had been so carefully cultivated by many of her loved ones up to this point. A tiny blue hand shot out and grabbed Vincent by the cape wrapped around his shoulders, stopping his descent.

Wide gray eyes met her own, now back to their normal sanguine hue, as she pulled them both upright with the last of her strength. Her anger, and the strength it had granted her, had faded now. Vincent tumbled onto hot rock and scrambled away as Sivall stumbled back. The Chiss woman stood for only a heartbeat before falling to her knees with her hands up.

“I submit,” she said softly, eyes staring at the lava she had almost tossed Vincent into, “I forfeit. You win.”

The crowd mumbled in confusion and Vincent huffed in aggravation. The Arconan’s eyes slowly drifted to where Ellie was being carried away off into the distance by the lava flow. Her lip wobbled as she fought back tears.

The bell rang hollow in her ears, signaling the end of the match. She had lost in more ways than one.