Morph Hall Antei Combat Centre Antei

His opponent was foolish and arrogant. Just because one held a lightsaber did not mean that they were able to fight with one. This was a lesson that needed to be rectified as the Elder batted away at the young man's defenses, savoring the burning in his muscles and the explosions in the background. They were the fuel to his fire and that fire demanded to be unleashed. As Shikyo moved in for the kill, the sound of blaster fire too close for comfort caught the Elder's attention before feeling the burn of one bolt strike him in the shoulder. The smell of scorched flesh followed shortly, letting the Keibatsu know that the game had truly begun. As the sound of repeater fire ignited the venue, killer instincts took over the Kyataran as he dodged out of the way of the first volley before returning the last bolts to their origin.

A not-so subtle thud kept the two combatants from continuing their match. Though the boy was arrogant and foolhardy, he knew better than to test the Dark Side Adept now. Sasuke looked over the fallen form of his failed assassin, searching for any markings that identified the individual. With a bit of searching, the Herald found what he was looking for. Fresh and vivid in color, Shikyo found a militaristic tattoo on the bicep of the assassin. He recognized the origin instantly and wished that he hadn't.

Iron Throne Chamber Dark Hall Antei

"Brother, I know what I saw and I still remember the emblem of Soulfire well. This is an act of war."

Musashi knew better than to argue a point with his younger brother. His wisdom knew the most effective strategy to cool the mind of the younger Krath.

"So what do you propose? We go in, guns blazing, and bring havoc to one of the clans? We are the Dark Council. The clans provide us strength while we provide them the means of survival. Upset this balance and we can see ourselves amongst the Sith who believed they could last forever."

Shikyo stood silent. The Dark Lord had a strong and valid point. Going en masse for retribution at a failed assassination was extremely brash and would only do more harm than good. As he pondered other means, something whispered softly in his ear; war may not have been the answer but a display of power may illuminate something the Herald had not seen before. Whether it was the fire inside him desiring another chance to destroy or a premonition in the Force, Sasuke was set on his decision.

"Let me go. I will handle this."

Citadel - Estle City Dajorra system Selen

When a predator comes knocking on one's door, one must not allow it entry. One must defend their home diligently to ensure the predator remains at bay. Unfortunately for the guardsmen, the Keibatsu refused to take "no" for an answer. Leaping over the walls, Shikyo focused his attention at the sentries before him, unleashing bolts of lightning in their direction, watching the poor souls cook and convulse within their armor before falling over. He could feel another presence in the Force, approaching with a sense of forced calm and reserve.

Wuntila looked at his associate with a sense of confusion and anger. The Obelisk knew the Councilor had no love for Arcona but he never imagined that the Wolf of Kyataru would lose his senses. Drawing himself up in as diplomatic a fashion as he could, the Exarch looked over at his fallen guards before drawing his attention to the Krath.

"If you wanted an audience, Shik, all you had to do was ask."

"I wanted something more to the point, Wun. I was engaged by an assassin in the Combat Centre, an area that is currently held primarily by your men. This same assassin wore the mark of one of your Soulfire task force. My only question is did you authorize this?"

The Entar's emotions failed to express what his face fought so hard to maintain. Wuntila's face attempted to remain stoic and illegible but Sasuke could sense the emotions of the man. There was fear, there was confusion, but above all there was doubt. He believed that he had established a strong control over his clan and yet there were rogue elements to be dealt with. The Obelisk would not stand to see his home pushed towards potential war without justification and the feeling of guilt for his mistaken accusations fell heavily upon the Keibatsu. The cerulean Human-Theelin solidified himself before speaking once more.

"If I wanted you dead, I would either handle the job myself or make sure it was done properly. A telltale assassin would only guarantee my destruction, as well as those of my subordinates. Do you believe me so pathetic a Consul that I would allow this?"

Shikyo knew there was truth in those words. As he moved to apologize, a powerful presence in the Force struck the Herald deeply. The Kyataran could see this same entity strike a similar response in the Obelisk as the two men looked at one another. Though he was certain Wun had did not understand the warning of the Force, the Councilor knew the presence well. It was mischievous and gentle but felt like a great calm before a terrible storm. He had felt it once before on San Korinar and remembered that day was if etched into his mind. Putting aside personal issues and returning to a more official manner, the Exarch approached the Keibatsu.

"You know what that is, Your Excellency?"

As the words passed through the hybrid's lips, the sight of a freighter heading for the atmosphere caught the attention of the two Dark Jedi. With a low snarl, Shikyo's feelings had been confirmed as he recognized the ship quickly departing the planet. She had found another target.

"Consul, call a meeting of your top advisors. I have a strong feeling that your clan has been compromised."

---

Please, do not send a request to me via my Gmail account. I will not be able to receive it. If you send any HRLD-related request to my Gmail, it will get lost in the mass amount of emails I already have. Please send all HRLD-related questions and requests to my Praetor, Ekeia Iclo, until I am officially off my Leave of Absence.

With this report, I'd like to mention a couple of things that I am personally proud of in regards to my tenure as Herald. The first is having the opportunity to design a Golden Lightsaber for someone. This is the highest award anyone can receive in the Brotherhood and not only did I get the opportunity to design a custom image of one but I did so for the only member to earn this honor who does not hold the rank of Grand Master. So with that, I would like to thank Keirdagh Taldrya Cantor for the privilege of doing so.

Second, I made an announcement that upon receiving the custom lightsaber request that would be lightsaber 1,000 created since becoming Herald that I would do something special for that individual. Well, Shaz'air Taldrya (known affectionately as Sid by a good portion of us) used his last lightsaber request for EQ2/EQ3 in a gamble to get that 1,000th request. Fortunately for him, it paid off. For becoming the 1,000th saber designed, Sid has received a color transitional blade with his Sapphire Blade attached as his perk. Congratulations to him!

To show the Light Siders of the DB that I have not forgotten about them, in regards to the Legendary sabers perk, I have a design for you all to enjoy. I hope you all enjoy the look of Bastila Shan's saberstaff.

For this fiction, I wanted to write something to get Shikyo interacting outside of his usual capacity while incorporating something that I mentioned in my Wiki. Eventually, I'm using bits and pieces of this with another bit of fiction to bring in a nemesis for Shikyo. Hell, we all need that one rival to try and overcome and I think I finally found one to challenge Shik's demeanor and personality. I'd like to thank Wun for being a guinea pig in this little experiment and appreciate his approval of borrowing his character temporarily.

Now, let's move on to the sexiness!

Completed by Ekeia:

Jason Hunter Putra Krandon Rowella Cassandra El'Sin Tor'Fel Hazzan Alexander DelGotto Scelestus Korwyn Locke Xaezhul

Keirdagh Taldrya Cantor

Shaz'air Taldrya <

Lightsaber 1,000 Dranik Tarentae

Completed by Ekeia:

Putra Araxis Pepoi Farron

So recently, I had a thought about things after talking to a couple of friends in regards to the DB. They were mentioning how they felt like the DB was feeling more like work than fun and things along those lines. Truth be told, there are days that I sit back and look at the projects on my agenda and go, "Man, this is starting to be more of a pain in the ass than I thought." I start looking at what I use to do in my earlier days and compare to what I do now and think, "That was a lot easier to do way back when." However, I also look at what I'm doing now and find the things in it that make it all worthwhile.

Whether this is by designing something really epic or finding a new way to develop my character, I gotta find a way to make my time just as fun and exciting as the first day I joined. Now lately, we have more avenues in gaming to do so from that perspective but for those of us that love fiction, there's a lot of things that we can use to develop our characters and create a badass storyline that fits our desires. If need be, grab some people that you don't really know, come up with a crazy idea and roll with it, (I've already started work on this).

At the end of the day, we gotta find things that will keep us entertained and even grab like-minded individuals who are willing to join in. If this means getting on X-Box Live! or TOR, have at it. If this means getting on Wookiepedia to find out where you can wreck some havoc in a run-on, by all means! We are in control of our own levels of activity and entertainment. Inspiration can come from the slightest idea or the most innocent of conversations and if you seem a bit stuck, let me know. I'll be more than happy to see what can be done to give someone a storyline they'd be happy to go off of.

If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to send me an email or find me in #HRLD_Office you can also ask a question here.

Robes: 231 Lightsabers: 1,072 Warbanners: 488 Miscellaneous: 128

-DA Shikyo Sasuke Keibatsu Herald of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood Daimyo of the Keibatsu Bloodline