"The Death and Continuing Legacy of Rathmostofar"
The night is cold and dark as five lone souls walk towards to the mortuary of the Dark Templar Temple.
Rathmostofar and his three apprentices, Ultima, Sariss and Talon watch as he disrobes, wearing nothing but his gray jeans.
He uses the Force to melt his weapons and equipment, turning them into a pool of liquid metal as he then slides a tomb down from the earthen works and rests upon it, his back roughened by the rock.
He mumbles some words and skeletons all around the slab break free from the ground and hold him down to the slab, forcing him to remain still as he intended them too.The fifth man, his old apprentice Kanvian when he was a Sith, was called here. Previously blindfolded and kept isolated from the Force to keep their hide away a secret, he brought him here because he could not ask his own to kill him.
(Rathmostofar)
"Alanna...my love...the center of my light...I am sorry it is to be this way...but i must come to terms with the prophesy...I believe now that the evil you were supposed to help destroy...is myself."
Alanna looks at him, fear in her eyes.
(Alanna)
"What?! N-no! I-I can't!"
Kanvian walks forward, his tattered robes sweep across the floor like milky shadows. He seems like a ghost as he moves towards the restrained Maeror. He looks down on his old master as his eyes glow red under the shadow of his hood. He extends an almost skeleton like hand as he lays it upon Maeror's forehead, his touch cold as ice and his hands cracks slightly on Rathmostofar's warm skin.
(Kanvian)
"I have waited for this for too long. Your death is at hand. It is fate that I am the one to remove you from your life."
Alanna shakes. She feels she must do something-- anything-- to save her love. But she feels as though she cannot. Rathmostofar nods as he slightly shivers at Kanvian's cold touch.
(Rathmostofar)
"I know...that is why I asked Kanvian to be here...he is the most qualified...but don't fret Ultima..."
Rathmostofar then sighs as he lets a final pulse break through the Force, sending it to a destination of unknown.
"There is another...I have a..."brother"...if you will, who is not yet awakened. He is the key to the completion of your training...as well as Sariss and Talon's. He holds the Keystone that which will unlock my knowledge kept away...when he uses it, he will regain some of my memory...but he will not be like me. He will no doubt be stricter...but with him, you will be complete. As will Sariss and Talon..."
Alanna receives the message, but she is so overcome with grief, she ignores it.
(Rathmostofar)
"Please Alanna...look at me...listen to me so my work isn't for naught..."
She forces herself to listen to him as she clears her mind, trying to break through the sadness she feels. They had shared many a night together...yet it seems only a short time ago that they have been in love. She wants him freed...she wants him to stay with her...but she knows that her Master is right as he always has been.
(Rathmostofar)
"My brother will complete your training...search for him...guide him to the place of refuge that i have shown onto you...he will complete you...he will complete the Templars where I could not..."
Blood tears stream down his face as he sobs heavily, wishing for more time, but knows that it cannot exist for him. Deep down within him, the evil still squirms, the evil of the Satanis burns within him. He cannot be a true Gray so long as this evil exists...and so he has come to realize that he was not the wanderer at all...but the one he made for her.
(Rathmostofar)
"D-Do you understand-d my l-love?"
Alanna begins to sob as heavily as he does, the sorrow too great on her body to hold back. Rathmostofar had become her everything. They had fought, they had learned and they had trained with each other and their bonds made them so close in such a short time. As she loses him, she feels as if she is losing herself as she then falls to her knees, crying and gripping the dead grass with her reddened palms.
(Alanna)-
"Y-Yes! Yes, I-I understand!"
(Rathmostofar)
Then...then I am complete...please...don't forget me..."
He moans as he uses his power to summon all of the Necrovoids within the temple to come outside, literally swallowing the graveyard with their bodies. Using the forbidden tongue, he orders them all to attack and they do so, using their sharp, clawed hands to rend at his flesh. His regeneration quickly kicks in, draining his Force energy as they continuously rip, bite and rend him apart only to have him come back together again; the stone quickly becoming black with his blood and the air becomes drowned with his cries of pain.
Sariss cannot bear the sight and turns away as does Talon, unable to watch as his Force energy is drained away by the task of regeneration. He let looses his lightning by instinct and burns the majority his Necrovoids, but being undead spirits, they come back again, following his commands to keep ripping him apart as he continues to regenerate.
Alanna stood up from her knees, clumps of dirt and grass grasped in her hands as she watched the whole horrid scene as she slowly turned more and more unfazed by the macabre. As he dies...inside her, she slowly dies as well. She feels numb to the bone, as if the universe around her had stopped. She cannot feel her body as she watches her love turn into confetti and reform again. She slowly feels more and more empty the more she comes to realize that her love is going. Soon his energy is drained and they leave him, a bloody mess on the stone tablet, barely alive with words spilling out of from his lips as easily as the black blood rushes out from his eyes and mouth.
(Rathmostofar)
"Fin....finish...finish it..."
Kanvian turns towards Alanna as he grins, the maniac within is finally revealed. His hands twitch as Alanna suddenly feels weaker then before, her body giving out from under her. She falls to a knee as the others rush to help her and Kanvian glides towards Rathmostofar. Kanvian smiles as he twitches his hand once again and this time, the Force catches onto Alanna's lightsaber ,Keepsake, and makes it soar from her robes and into Kanvian's pale hands. He ignites the lightsaber and the purple blade glows angrily in the darkness of the cemetery. He looks down onto his Master as he removes his hood for the first time in the longest of years.
(Kanvian)
"Your time has come..."
He then raises the lightsaber above his head, quickly bringing it down as Rathmostofar's eyes swell in horror...and yet in satisfaction that at long last, he can rest in peace. The blade easily rends through the flesh of Rathmostofar's head, slicing off his head and lets it fall to the blood soaked earth. Without the energy from the Force, Rathmostofar cannot regenerate...he cannot awaken his dark power for a revival...he is lost and departs to his voyage into the Void from whence he had come.
Rathmostofar's last words of energy linger on the wind before his soul departs, "Your work is done...you may leave..."
Kanvian smiles more, finally at rest with his old master as he then rests Keepsake on the bodies lifeless chest. He then walks away from it, soon disappearing in the shadows. As he leaves, Alanna finally feels the pain released from her body and she is able to move again.
Alanna uses the Force to call Keepsake back to her as the two others help her onto her feet. She fumes at how this had happened...yet this completes the next step of the prophesy and now...she has lost her only love in this world.
A full day in respectful mourning passes before Alanna, Talon, and Sariss take their Master to the cremation grounds, where they all stand, surrounding the fiery pit as they watch Rathmostofar's body slowly turn to ash. Alanna cries silently, as she swears that she will complete her training... for him. For him she will seek out this "brother" of his hands and will learn all she can from him.
But beyond their knowing, as her tears sink into the blood stained earth...a new creature is born...
Far off in the distant area of the Tingle Arm...a planet known as Tyrodius, harbors an ill omen of terror within its bowels. Although it is a barren world, deep within it lies a large laboratory, where scientists of many species are working diligently in their studies of many of the different creatures of the different universes...
Deep in the lowest levels lays a large, crystalline egg, slowly beating and humming a low, dull tone from the life within. The scientists remain unsuspecting as the creature sleeping within feels the last echoe of the Force from Rathmostofar's life...It is a dull sensation within its mind...but it is enough to awaken this creature from its slumber.
As the scientists around the egg enter information and statistics within their data-pads, the creature within lets loose a horribly high screech, feeling agony and sorrow from the death of its brother. The scientists mutter words of disbelief, shock and horror as the creature punches through the shell, its pale hand outstretched to begin ripping at the rest of its casing that cages it.
Guards burst into the room and order them to evacuate the room as the beast cries and breaks at its shell relentlessly. At the same time that the scientists had left, the creature steps out of its shell, its naked body covered in the white ooze from within the egg.The head scientist, a male Chiss, slowly walks out from in-between the guard and then towards the creature in awe as it slowly rips away the white tissue from its skin.
Its shoulders, elbows and kneecaps have a bone like shell grown out from under the skin, making medium-sized, natural spikes. Along its spine are brilliant ,emerald scales that match the color of the creature's hair. Its eyes are dragon-like and a blazing violet, looking upon this scientist with interest. It smiles, exposing its brilliant, shark-like teeth in the light of the chamber as the scientist opens his arms towards it.
"What a master piece!" The Chiss boomed, "Although premature in your birth, Rathmostofar will be greatly pleased!"
At the utterance of the name, a flash of memory blazes through the creatures mind...showing him a war between what looked like angels and demons...in the center of the carnage, he sees Rathmostofar with his claymores in hand. The creature is snapped back to reality as the guards turn on their weapons but do not fire, aiming for the creature's heart.
(Creature)
"...Eh si edda..."
The Chiss scientist looks at him strangely before replying, "I'm sorry? I...I don't under-"
(Creature)
"YM R'BOTHRE SI EDDA!"
The guards are taken surprise at the creature's blinding fast swipe of his hand. At first, the Chiss nor the guards saw anything happen, but after a moment, blood spewed forth like a fountain from visible lines across the scientist's head, dicing it in half as the creature then went on its rampage and attacked the guards. Their weapons shook uselessly in their hands as the monster blazed at them like lightning.
The creature thrust its hand at the first guard's face, using its palm to break through the guards helmet and crush through his skull. The other two guards shrieked in horror as the hand bursts out the other side of their comrades head, gray matter and blood splashing across the doors as the beast roars in satisfaction. One of the guards finally breaks away his fear and fires, but too late. The monster is already upon them and all becomes dark as the beast's hands breaks through their chests and rips out their hearts before eating them. This rampage continues on...the creature killing the dozens that lived here until it escapes to the surface...into freedom...
As the creature treads through the sands, its naked body being beaten by the harsh suns rays, its mind starts to burn as memories not of its own, flash within. He sees an image of a tall, dark figure whom his other self had knelt to as their red saber came to his shoulder and then the next.
This being spoke, "Rise...Maeror Daemn, for you are now my Sith Knight..."
The creature's eyes burned as a new image flashed before him; a dark turnover within Old Korriban, where the being known as Maeror, meets another figure. A tall, strong being cloaked in tattered, silver robes with a long, slender blade in hand that glowed like wicked white fire. They conversed with each other until a wave of black energy came upon them and a new being appeared, a monster of a creature that glowered at the two as they were forced to kneel before him. A sudden burst of horror then blew over the creature as he then found himself laying upon the sands of another desert, his body held down by Dark Force Chains as a group of dark beings surrounded him. One of these beings, a woman shrouded in red robes with saber in hand, looked him over as she smiled evilly.
"Please...Altari..." The words utter from his mouth, "Don't do this...I love you! Please you can't do this!"
The woman merely continues to smile, seemingly feeling no sympathy or remorse as she brings down the saber and renders Maeror's head from his body...his first death and sends him to the Void. The creature screams as pain pulls it away from the horrible vision. The sheer pain within its mind, causes it to vomit, as it does it, a small star-like object ejects from his throat, connected to a chain. He grips it within his shaking hands as he then passes out in the desert sands...entering black as it sleeps away the pain in its mind.
"This begins the new era of the Dark Templars with Cruor, Arch Templar of Blood, at it's head..."
Cruor Ochi's theme song:
(Special Thanks to Jedi Mistress Alanna Noymara of the Parliamentary Democracy of Planet Naboo,
Lord Đėvĩń of The Cannom Kingdom of Zangara IIAnubis EmpireII,
Chancellor Sariss of the Republic of Vix Terra {Aof},
Dark Empress Darth Talon of Empire of Blackdust IIAnubis EmpireII)
(Although Darth Talon was not actually present to work on the thread on the Nations app (Rathmostofar's Death) her character played an integral role in the story as being Rathmostofar's third, and potentially his most experienced, apprentice due to the fact that she was once a Sith Lord. Hope you all enjoyed the story.)
The first man ,named Rathesist, spoke with to the other ones with a low dull voice,"Look what we have found. Naermor, what do you see in him?"
Naermor glances down onto the creature and stares to the heavens. His mind begins to flash with visions. He hears screams of pain and agony. He also sees peace,"This ones destiny is still yet to be decided."
The final man looks down on the creature. Aardith speaks as if many speak with him,"This one must live. It is not his time Rathesist."
Rathesist nods as the three create a circle around the creature and their hands glow with a dim light. The light grows intensely. The creature is encased in a large orb of light before the orb then decreased in size until it then vanished from the naked eye, the creature along with it..
Far away within the world of Chryma, a small medic center sits in the night. The workers rush from place to place inside. On the door step a small orb of light appears. The orb grows in size until it is large enough to fit a man. The orb then disperses sending the creature falling to the ground with a worker shocked out of their skin, rushing from the medic center towards the creature, alerted by the light. The worker sees the man as he calls to a few others. They then carry the creature inside and begin the long process of diagnosis and healing.
A full day passes before he is awakened in bed, fully clothed in Chrymian garbs that fit him perfectly. The stone he threw up had been cleaned and clings around his neck, shining from its bright golden sheen.The medics allow him to leave and he travels about the magnificent city...wondering how he got there but also wonders why it is so familiar to him...
The creature glances over to his side and spots a figure cloaked in a bleached, white robe. The figure grins beneath the robe's hood. The figure unsheathes its sword which pulses a pure aurora. The figure spreads its angel like wings as a crowd then moves between the creature and the figure, seemingly out of nowhere. The crowd then departs and the figure is no where to be found.
The creature feels insecure...something strange is happening around him and he doesn't know what it is. He moves towards the far grounds of the city and finds an abandoned Y-wing outside in the sands. He goes towards it and finds it is still a stable craft...it is only missing an Astromech droid of which after doing some Gery rigging, he manages to get the ship airborne and takes off. After hailing the nearby space port, he is able to punch in coordinates and flies off into a shaky hyperspace, flying towards Republic Space.
After an hour or so of this, the creature is stunned as the ship then falls out of hyperspace. As soon as it comes out, the ship begins fall apart all around him. Panels fly off from the ship as it exits into an unknown part of space with a small, forest moon below. The ship began to shake more and more rougher as the was then engine ripped from the ship and crushed in the vacuum space. The ship's outer structure now begins to compress and crush under the vacuum of space, but there seems to also be an unknown force surrounding the ship and crushing it as if it was in a large hand.
The creature becomes dizzy from the odd dimensional pull, ripping his ship apart as it hovers dead in space. He looks for a space suit within the back seat, but it isn't there. He tries to ignite the burners to steer him towards the planet but they have been crushed by the weight, the force slowly bearing down on the hull. He closes his eyes...feeling light headed as he can feel a new energy around him...a strange energy, not unlike that of which he felt before when he first awakened...
A voices speaks to him, a voice so familiar to him...it sounds like his own, "Relax...all is as it should be...let the Force guide your mind...rest...you will be home soon...soon Cruor...my brother..."
The creature then passes out from the lack of oxygen in the ship, and all too soon, the hull rips apart completely. The vacuum of space begins to suck at all loose objects from within the ship. The creature's body was about to be flown out into space until the familiar glowing orb of light reappeared. The orb consumed the creature once it grew in size and shown brightly like a beacon in the darkness. The orb starts to decrease in size until it vanishes from the universe, leaving the ship behind to its imminent destruction.
Far away in a new world, the small light returns to shine within a dark, catacomb-like room.The light grows until it morphs back into the creature, letting him roll upon the ground and awakens him in the process. The orb disappears in a flash of light leaving the creature laying on the floor. The creature is surrounded by five cloaked Cannoms. A single light shines in the room, illuminating the center of the room where the creature lay.
The first man spoke with a deep voice, "Speak your name!"
A growl escaped from the creature's mouth as he slowly stood. His violet eyes blazed upon them as breathes in the clean air. His forked tongue slinks in and out of his mouth, licking the air around him and allows his vision to change. He tries to see their forms from the sensing of their bodily heat, but realizes they do not give it off, thus he is blinded in his heat sensory.
(Creature)
"What are you...?"
(First Being)
"Speak thy name!"
The mans thunderous voice boomed off the walls, causing the room to slightly shake as the single light in the room flickered, leaving them in a moment of darkness until it flickered back on.
The creature smiled as he used a hand to brush away the locks in front of his violet eyes.
(Creature)
"It's rude you know...asking someone their name before giving your own..."
The first man steps forwards in anger, hate molding over his stride. His cloak barely stepped over the border of light and the darkness. He reached out a pitch black hand withered away by age and wraps around the creatures neck. The talon like claws rip into the creature's flesh, causing trickles of blood to seep from the wounds. The man brings the creature closer to him, dragging up to his face to allow the creature to look within his blood red eyes.
(First Being)
"Who are you!?"
The creature laughs for a moment before saying, "I am that which was born from the Holder of Light and Shadow..."
The Force then suddenly surrounds Cruor in a wake of power. Although untamed and unusable from being untrained in the Force, the beings can feel its energy wave like an oceans tide...they all know who he is yet who he is not. His long tongue escapes from his mouth, crimson in color and slicks around the mans forearm, its grip is tight and rough as it coils along it. The first man cannot resist the tongue's strength as it then snaps his hand around in reverse, shattering the bones in his wrist and ripping it off as he is forced to let go of his throat. He then slicks the tongue back as the creature's memories flow within his mind like floodgates, giving him the meaning of which he was born and what he was before...who is brother was...
"I am Cruor Ochi, Arch Templar of Blood..."
The man roars with rage as he falls back deep into the shadows. The severed arm withers under the light and turns to ash in a matter of seconds. A new man steps forwards into the light. He looks almost human. The man unfolds his dark wings and sighs heavily, "Pardon my friend. I am Valor. You have amazing power. We had to bring you fourth to our master..."
(Cruor)
Valor nods as the first man steps into the shadows. His hand replaced with a new. The man spoke as he cracked his knuckles, "I should crush you where you stand."
(Valor)
"Now, Darenkin, do not threaten our guest."
Cruor smiles as then looks to the medallion around his neck. He vaguely remembers throwing it up from the horrid visions he suffered...but what purpose does it have to him? What secrets does it hold? He can only guess as places it back underneath his shirt and looks to Valor and speaks, "It is funny...I cannot sense you yet I see you with my normal vision...what are you people? What is your role with me?"
Valor speaks with kindness in his voice and it is clear he has recently lost a loved one , "What we are isn't important. We sensed great power in you. Cruor, your destiny is yet to be written. Join us. We can show you power you'd never dream of."
He hears his word...yet something calls him away. He can feel a tug in his chest...as if an invisible rope is pulling him. Against his body's will, this "rope" pulls him away and guides him down the tunnel pathways. They call to him but his lips refuse to speak. The pentagram charm around his neck glows and grows warmer and warmer the farther down he goes down the tunnels...
"Stay here. I will follow." The final words left Valor's mouth as he ran down the tunnel after Cruor. The air in the hall thickened as it became hard to breathe. The hall was dark but Valor continued down the hall, knowing that it would end with him face to face with Cruor. Cruor's slow pace made it easy for Valor to catch up, but even when he did, his body would not let him turn and speak. All he could do was keep walking, the farther he went, the hotter the charm glowed and the brighter it became. The rope stops at them at a door at the end of the dark halls and the charm ceases to glow.
Cruor is awakened from his trance and looks around him, saying confused,"W..Where am I?"
Valor stops at the door and begins to study it as he searches through his deepest thoughts. He has been through every hall of the temple and this one lead to a dead end. He puzzled on what is on the other side and he turns Cruor with this look and says, "Whats behind the door? Open it."
While this all takes place, Alanna senses a familiar sensation, an all too familiar tremor in the Force while she meditates. Immediately, her body floods with vigor, sensing that this new energy is too important to lose. She is possessed that she needs to go straight to it! Her mind made up, she calls Sariss and Talon from their own quarters and grabs hold of her as Sariss and Talon hold onto each other. She then calls the Force to wrap themselves in Dark Side energy and imagines the connection to the energy. She lets it go forth with her along its path, like electricity along its cord they teleport from their spot, leaving a small cloud of black energy behind and reappear behind Cruor and Valor.
Cruor turned as her black energy disappeared, revealing the trio in front of him. He would growl slightly, "And who are you?"
Alanna, slightly annoyed by his low growl, hisses back at him, "My name is Alanna Noymara! I am a Dark Templar, training in the Gray ways..." The other two nod as their crystal sabers leap into their hands, ready for anything.
"Dark Templar's...Gray...", Cruor grabs his head in pain as memories flash within his mind of the training of the Gray and the origin of his title within the Dark Templars...yet his memories consult nothing on her...not that he can decipher anyway. Eventually he just shakes his head and asks them, "Hmm...why are you here...how did you find us?"
At first, Alanna was so sure of why she came, but now that she looks around her and doesn't feel the chains of the Force that brought her here, she feels slightly foolish as she slightly whimpers, "I felt...a familiar presence here...during my meditations. But it seems I was mistaken."
At once from his attack, memories flash again through Cruor's mind, strangling his consciousness as the strange, pulling sensation returns...but now it is for Alanna. As quick as he dared, he brushed up against her, taking Alanna off guard as he pushed her out of the way whilst taking Keepsake, her violet lightsaber, into his hands and guards her, the blade glowing angrily as the two blades connect. In this brief clash of blades, Cruor's Force aura influenced her powers, causing her power of Force Sight to come alive. Her vision showed her Cruor's aura, but she was shocked when saw the familiar aura of her lover, Rathmostofar, outlining his own like a double image of himself.
Although Alanna was still shocked by this, her frustration returned for Valor who would be so cowardly as to attack her before she could withdraw her saber. She jumps towards Cruor who ducks away in time when she unleashes a large Force Push against Valor, sending him away. She then snatches Keepsake away from Cruor who humbly apologized, but was slightly aggravated by her attitude.
Valor stops in mid-air as his demonic wings spread. As he lowers himself to the ground, he begins to see and feel a connection between Cruor and Alanna. His feet lightly tap the stone floor as touches down, sheathing his sword as he looks upon them. His wings fold as he speaks once again with compassion. "Join us Cruor and you can save her. The Sith won't kill one of their own. You both must join the Sith. You have great untamed powers. Powers that can bring you anything you desire..."
Cruor remains silent from Valor's words, not ready to please him with an answer when he looks back to the trio. As he looks upon Alanna, something sparks inside of him. He doesn't know why...but he's connected to her. He can feel her frustration...she can feel her impulses...as if he is a part of her and she is a part of him. Imagines of his past life spring forth once more in his...it reminds of their love, their dedication...their child. He grips his head in pain as the images won't cease, giving him a message he cannot read as he cries out in agony, "GRAAAGHHH!"
Surprised by his pain, she rushes over to him as Sariss and Talon don't know what to make of this. Cruor falls to his knees as the Force around him surges. It penetrates through Alanna like a giant wave through their close proximity. As she is swallowed by it, she realizes that she indeed knows this energy...she has felt it before in her meditation...when she was with her lover...
Her eyesight activates again, pulled by the power that swirls around Cruor and it shows her his Force energy. There, within the shell of gold of violet, he has his own black and bluish energy but the outer shell, a layer that makes his large, four invisible wings, his long hair...she realizes that the shell she is looking at is Rathmostofar's energy!
(Cruor)
"My...my head...it...GAAGGHH! THE PAIN!!!"
Confused, amazed, angered and bewildered, Alanna kneels down beside him, unable to make sense of what she sees, if it is an illusion or the real thing. She cries in her mind, "It can't be...this isn't him...IT CAN'T BE HIM!"
He looks into her eyes as the pain suddenly subsides. The bonds between them...the bonds between their Force energies lets him see how she sees. Between them, they see aural chains connected to each other, glowing incandescently from each other. The energy mixes with his own...and suddenly he remembers it all. Although these things he is remembering aren't his own memories...yet he feels the unbridled passion...he remembers the feeling of their love. Without thinking, he clamps himself onto her and hugs her, tears springing into his eyes as he cries out her true name, "Ul-Ultima!"
She cannot even describe the feeling of his embrace. It was warm yet cold. Full of passion and emotion yet without. She gently pushes him away, unable to speak words. How could he have known her name? Is he really who she thinks he is? Her gaze wordlessly tells asks him this question pleadingly. He looks at her through his tear ridden eyes. She can see the similarities between Maeror and Cruor...although much is different and unusual...she can see where the faces cross...
"I-I am Cruor...", He whispered softly as he places a hand on her cheek, "And...i-if I'm not mistaken...you are Ultima...once my true l-love..."
She wrenches Cruor's hand away, flustered and unable to take this emotion, "No...you ARE mistaken. I've never met you! I don't know who you are!"
As he looks deeper into her eyes...the memories kicking in once more, but he is not accompanied by pain. He retraces them as he speaks to her softly, "We...we met on Nar Shadda...you were a Jedi then and I brought you under my wing...to protect you from Black Sun...I showed you the path of balance and gave you insight on the Gray. You...you a pregnant with child...Maeror's child...my child...a daughter from what the Force had told us...
He places his hands on her shaky shoulders, trying his hardest to bring comfort in this confusion as he keeps going on, "You're...you're saber, Keepsake...was the one that ended my former self...in the hands of Kanvian..."
He then went into his shirt and removed the crystal, pentagram charm as he recites the memories of his last words, "As Rathmostofar said...there is another...I have a...'brother'...if you will, who is not yet awakened. He is the key to the completion of your training...as well as Sariss and Talon's. He holds the Keystone that which will unlock my knowledge kept away...when he uses it, he will regain some of my memory...but he will not be like me. He will no doubt be stricter...but with him, you will be complete. As will Sariss and Talon..."
Suddenly, the ground and walls begin to shake as large pieces of loose rock begin to fall and threaten to crush them. Cruor helps Alanna up and runs towards the door with the others quickly following. He gives the a great kick and it opens up into a large spinning vortex of what look a thousand colors and lights, all spiraling together dazzlingly and yet hypnotically. Valor, Cruor, Sariss, Talon and Alanna are sucked into this massive tunnel, spinning madly around with no ability to control their bodies.
They are horrified as they then watch as their bodies are turned to dust, letting the darkness take over until the wormhole reaches its destination. Their molecules are reassembled as they are thrown onto a large island made of black and orange stone, hovering above what looks like the endless, brilliant expanse of space. Far ahead, rocks from seemingly below the expanse of the island rise up and begin forming a bridge, creating a path into the unknown.
As they all dust off their clothes, they grudgingly begin to walk across the bridge, letting the troubles of earlier lay for a moment as they see where this road leads them. As they walk, Valor begins to chant and his arm starts to deform. It turns large and worm-like before splitting in half and letting loose a small puddle of black ooze onto the ground, which quickly elongates and takes the form of Darenkin as Valor's arm returns to normal.
Horrified by this summoning, Alanna tries to focus on something else, deciding to argue with Cruor once more, "There is only ONE Rathmostofar, and that is the man I loved. You are not him. I do not know why you insist on trying to tell me otherwise..."
At the utterance of his former self's name, Cruor shakes a little. Memories of his past life claws into the fabric of his heart like blades as he admits, "No...no I am not Rathmostofar...but I am him made anew..."
He then looks up to the beautiful, starry galaxy around them as he continues to walk down the path made for them. The charms glows dimly in the darkness, illuminating his footsteps as he somberly follows the path, unsure of the destination. He continues, "He called me his 'brother'...I don't know much truth there is in that, but I have his memories...and this charm he gave me...this...keystone...is leading me to become what he wanted me to become. I...I would not try to replace him...I don't even know why I feel this way towards you...unless it was because he instilled me with his memories...his feelings...that is my only explanation..."
Alanna throws a dirty look his way before she cages her eyes forward again, focusing on the path and not on Cruor. As they walk, the Force ripples around them and Mace Windu's voice sounds in her head, "Alanna...you must calm yourself..."
Alanna firmly rebukes back to him in her mind, not wanting a lecture at the moment, "Not NOW, Master..."
(Mace)
"Child, grab hold of your emotions. Yes, you loved Maeror, and he loved you. But this man... he IS Maeror. Please, you must trust me."
Alanna bites back her sobs and tears as she firmly rebukes again, "No! No, he is not! He can't be Rath! Not MY Rath!"
As the Force rippled again at Mace's disappearance, Cruor would swear he heard Mace's voice, but disregards it when he saw no one was talking. They then traveled along the rocky path for what seemed like forever before they reached a large, almost Egyptian temple. Made from an alien, black metal, the temple shines in the Void as they walk up towards the entrance. At the large, stone doors, a large plaque is placed on the left side. Beneath the plaque and right where a door handle should be, their is a small, circular depression with another, inner depression of a pentagram that looks like something can be placed in it and turned.
-The plaque reads as follows-
"Vix es ones quisnam penetro is locus...tantum qui teneo quod have been subsisto per unus quisnam est Habitum of Lux lucis quod Umbra may penetro illa aula...chalybs vestri quod insisto semita in niger pro fatum specto unus per Astrum of Orator quod insisto umbra ut Cella of Orsa impetro Pectus pectoris of Terminus. "
Cruor's eyes slightly burn as the charm lifts from his neck on its own, glowing brightly as an ancient voice booms out from it, "Scarred are the ones who enter this place...only those who know and have been remade through the one who is the Holder of Light and Shadow may enter these halls...steel yourself and follow the path into the black for destiny awaits one with the Star of the Envoy and follows the shadows to the Room of Beginning to get the Heart of the End..."
The chain then lifts from his neck and enters the slot in the door, spinning around quickly before a loud snap is heard. The charm then comes back and drops into his hands as the doors slowly open up, revealing a large ancestral chamber of gold covered with Chrymian and Ravenkorian runes along the walls, intermixed with those of the Sith and Jedi which are the most prominent since these glow.
Alanna looks at Cruor, again dumbfounded. Against what her mind tells her, she steals herself from the moment and keeps herself locked away within her heart, still refusing to believe what her mind is telling her. She walks alongside Cruor into the temple, she and the others are held in awe at the temples beauty as Darenkin and Valor follow closely behind the others,readying themselves as they sense the danger that lurks around every corner.
As they travel down the deep catacombs of gold and silver, they noticed that hourglasses along every corner had started since they had come in. As they tick down, they can also feel the sheer energy of Sorrow grow stronger and stronger within the temple...as if the walls bled with it. They make almost halfway down...when the realize that as soon as the hourglasses were done, the walls began to move. They slowly melt away into beings of shadowy, tattered robes and claws that look like decomposed hands...
One word screams in all of their minds as they can all feel the deathly chill of the sorrowful souls, "NECROVOIDS!!!"
A dark orb appears around the group from Darenkin's hands, shrouding them in a bubble of energy that the Necrovoids claw at the but are instantly fried when they come in contact with it. Since they do not die, but nor do they live, the Necrovoids pound relentlessly on the orb, giving Darenkin difficulty in keeping it up. Knowing that time was short, they ran down the hallway under the protection of the shield that was slowly growing weaker.
They all try their hardest to keep the creatures at bay, Cruor the only one unable to help since he has no weapons and cannot properly wield the Force as of yet. He feels slightly hopeless as they eventually come to the end of the catacombs, a large, circular chamber where a freakishly large Anubis statue is kneeling, its hands clasped together.
Alanna pushes herself more as she joins Darenkin in attempting keep the Necrovoids at bay. She calls upon the Light Side of the Force, calling on peace and her strong resolve to creates a powerful beam of Force Light and aims it at the Necrovoids, who shriek and retreat from the Light energy, their cloaks slightly burning from the holy power.
Darenkin kneels in place as they stand in front of the Anubis Statue. The orb begins to weaken as he turns to Valor and the others as he yells, "You must hurry! We dont have much time!"
As the Necrovoids continue shriek in pain and their eternal sorrow, some of them fly up above towards the statue and enter the stone. The Anubis statue's eyes glow green for a moment before rock fragments chip away from its joints, allowing it to move freely and stand within the chamber, dwarfing them all and as it stands, its hands move free and it drops a small, gold and silver colored cube into Cruor's hands. The statue notices what it had done and tries to scoop him up but fails as Cruor jumps away, letting Sariss come by and slash off one of its fingers with her Templar issue, Ice Saber and as Talon create a Force Repulse that knocks it off balance and sends it crashing through the wall, half of its body hanging in the outside of space.
With only a nod, Valor and Darenkin jump into the air before their bodies melt together and form a large snake of black energy, which flies out of this whole departs into the darkness, stranding the group as the Necrovoids return to finish their work. The statue too reclaims its composure and stands to begin walking towards them. And as the two demons fled, Cruor notices the depression at the top of the cube...it matches perfectly with his charm. He weaves and dodges the Necrovoids as well as the statue while Ultima and Sariss fight them back as best as they can. Sariss, seeing the end draw near, grabs her Zanpakuto and raises it in the air.
She then calls out to her katana's power by chanting, "Divide and conquer, Kuroi Bara..."
After the small chant, the blade of her sword disappears and becomes hundreds of black rose pedals. She swipes down with the handle to send them towards the Necrovoids injuring them further and holding them back. She looks at Cruor and then Ultima, "Run.... I will hold them off as best as i can. I will join you once you are safe...please do not worry about me... i will be fine!"
The Necrovoids howl and screech as they return, unable to die they push on relentlessly, defiant of their power. Sorrow pierces Cruor's heart...the Necrovoids are taking their toll and the giant statue will not relent.
'Is...is this the end?' He thinks to himself as his mind grows heavy and his body slightly limps. He sees Sariss and Ultima fighting with all their might...and he feels so weak compared to them...
It was not long since he had been hatched...yet now he feels more alone...more shallow then he's ever felt. He does not want such pain in his heart...he can feel the power of the Force around him but he cannot call it, like a snake it twists out his grasp, like smoke he can never truly hold it. He looks down on the fateful cube...he knows it is the answer but he is afraid of what will happen. His brother's memories tell him that it was Rathmostofar's Holocron and that he is the only one who could open it...but he is afraid...
'Will I still be me? Will I grow too strong for my own good? What will happen to me?' These thoughts penetrate his center like knives to his heart...he does not know if he can open it...
Then, the voice returns to him. Like in the shuttle, its words are daftly similar to his own...but he knows they are not, but now along side this voice, a new one echoes the first, a much deeper, much stronger voice. He recognized it as the voice he heard in the Void that he swore he heard before, Mace Windu. They both tell him, "This must be done. Your destiny is here...in this holocron. Let go of your fears, let peace enter your mind...place the charm within..."
Feeling possessed by these strong voices, he sums up the courage to rip the charm from his neck and jam it into the slot on the top of the cube. It slides in with ease...the slot in the holocron spins before a loud "CLANG" is heard. The outer shell of the Holocron then falls off, revealing a dazzling, translucent Holocron of brilliant, rainbow colors, no bigger then his palm.
He is left in awe of the cube as from the top, a figure is formed from an electrified mist that came from within, the figure a perfect likeness of Rathmostofar.
"Greetings, Cruor." The Guardian speaks, "If you are holding this holocron, listening to this recording, then the worst has befallen upon me. Either I have died or I exiled myself to prepare for the confrontation with my dear friend, Darth Voljinn, I am sorry I could not be there for you when you awakened to life."
"No doubt you have many questions, however I am sorry to say that I cannot answer them, for the questions I know you wish to ask, do not matter truly to what goes on around us. Yes, you are my clone, but not so much as a perfect duplicate. Like many before me, I altered your DNA slightly so that you would not be a perfect copy of myself. Essentially, you would be my brother for not only do you have fragments of my memories, but you have your own to make and your own path to start."
"In a moment, the holocron's data implants I modified it with will activate and you will gain all that I left behind for you...at which at that point, you may do with however you please...I only have but one request..."
A tear leaked from Cruor's eye as did the holograms, whose imaged, blood tears fell.
"P-Please...take good care of Ultima...she needs so-someone to protect her...to love her and finish h-her training...c-can you d-do this?"
Cruor nodded his head, "I-I will...b-brother..."
Rathmos smiled as the image slowly faded with his last words, "Thank you...The Force will be with you...always..."
As the image fades, two metallic cords came out from the sides of the cube and slowly crept towards his head. He did not fight it, he did not resist...he knew that he had to do this...not for himself...but for everyone around him and for everyone who would need him in the future. The cords then opened up their claws and then connected to the temples of his skull as the rods began to glow. Cruor howled in pain as steam began to simmer off of them.
The glow from the holocron slowly dimmed away as it traveled up the rods and entered his skull, the holocron was forcible downloading all of its knowledge into him. He lost his hold on reality as a myriad of images flooded his brain, swallowing him as they slowly merged together to form the knowledge his brother once had.
Darkness flowed into his heart at the remembrance of his Sith training...he remembers the Code well and recited it.
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me."
He remembered the time within the Void...his hatred that built within gave him strength...then the memories of his path of exile...he remembered the hard words of the Jedi that he eventually learned and used with great strength in his deeds.
"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force."
The power of the light coursed within his veins now like a great tidal wave, brushing against the darkness as equally as it does to the light. As the Force around him swirled with vigor, both the statue and the Necrovoids turned their attention to him. They ignored Sariss and Ultima as they charged towards him, knowing now that he was slowly becoming the greater threat. It did not matter to him now though, for his mind had become complete. His mind now was together like a giant puzzle, finished and held in reverence.
As the energies within him bonded, he retrieved the last piece of wisdom he needed to truly become what he needed to be...to truly be a Dark Templar...
"Through Passion, I seek Peace.
Through Knowledge, I shall guide my Strength.
Through Serenity, I will use my Power.
With the Force, I bring Victory to secure Harmony."
With those last words, an explosion of Gray energy erupted from within him. At the sheer will of his aura, he focused his concentration onto the now dull, black Holocron and shattered it into a thousand pieces, leaving nothing of it behind as he then let his power rage forth from his finger tips, letting loose a large blast of white lightning at his foes. The Necrovoids howled in pain as they were thrown backwards from his might and the statue cried before falling to pieces, becoming nothing but sand and large fragments of stone at their feet.
Cruor, finally realizing the power he held within and the destiny his brother gave him, he roared within the chamber, his power realized and his mind complete, forcing the Necrovoids to acknowledge him as their new Master, "I HAVE AWAKENED! I AM CRUOR OCHI! ARCH TEMPLAR OF BLOOD AND RATHMOSTOFAR'S SUCCESSOR!"
Alanna, Sariss and Talon stared at him in shock.
Alanna's heart blooms with anger and jealousy and does nothing to calm it. This person had claimed to be her love, when he was not. He claims to have memories that were not his. And NOW he is saying that he is the successor to Rath? "No chance in Hell!" She fumed to herself as she was coming up on her emotional breaking point... and someone was going to get hurt...
As the Necrovoids sleek away from his presence, seeing now what he is, he goes to Alanna, whom he had felt those waves of anger...of hate and jealousy. He speaks to her calmly, "I am his successor as he pre-ordained me...I have given him my word to train you the best I can and try to protect you as he would..."
His eyes shadow slightly as he looks into her eyes with a peaceful, calm stare that sends warmth and reassurance into Ultima. She can feel his new aura like a harsh wind against her body...she knows he is who he says he is...yet he is not. She realizes that is the difficulty with altered clones. He is Rathmostofar, yet he is his own person. He has Rathmostofar's memories, yet he has his own to build and create. Most of all...she can see in his eyes the love that they once shared...but will she open herself? Will she be able to learn more of him and learn to love him again in this new form? He outstretches his hand to her in a motion of peace and kinship, hoping that at last she will see him for who he truly is.
"I know it is hard...it is...very hard for me as well to accept this destiny...but fate has given us a path we must walk. I have given Rathmostofar my word that I would love you as he would, to protect you as he would and to complete your training as well Sariss and Talon's training. I would not sway you to believe that it isn't strange...it is for me too...but I feel his love burn in me...I would hope that we can both grow with it...and learn to help each other in our quest to bring peace and balance."
His words...she knows they are Rathmostofar's own. She does not need the Force Sight to tell her that his essence lives within him. His words ring in her mind just as strongly as Rathmostofar's did, and for a split second as she blinks, she could swear that Rathmostofar took Cruor's place for a brief second of time, but the image was replaced with Cruor again when her eyes flashed open. Her difficultly is sensed by Mace who appears beside her once more and places one great hand on her shoulder.
(Mace)
"You don't have to fight it Alanna...he is who he is...embrace it...for you both need each other...for her."
He briefly gazes at her stomach, where they know the fetus grows...slowly with each passing month, the child of the Fire Dancer lies within. Mace then vanishes again, leaving her to deliberate.
After he disappeared, Sariss carefully walks over to Alanna and puts her right hand on her shoulder and her left hand on her belly. She looks at Alanna with a smile and a few kind words, "Alanna you know that we are good friends and some of the best...I can see that you are confused and you have no idea what is happening. But this man who has just walked into your life is who he has told you he is. You must not follow what your eyes see or what your heart say's. You must look past those, you must look into the force and you will find your answer."
As Alanna looks to Sariss, she chokes back a sob. She just can't do it... she can't...he isn't Rath and that isn't enough for her... she wanted Rath, nothing else...she looks up at Cruor, and thinks about what he has said, what Sariss had said...and finally, she reluctantly takes his hand, gripping tight to hold on for comfort. She then gently enters Cruor's embrace and whispers softly, her voice shaking with pain and grief as she looks to her friends as well, "I... I need time to think. Lets all just... get out of here..."
Cruor holds her hand tightly and affectionately as they stride out of the temple together.
"I promise you Alanna...", He speaks to himself within his mind as he lets the Force swirl around them, giving each other renewed vigor and strength, "You will be complete..."
As they stride away from the temple, the path behind them crumbles slowly away as the temple returns to the shadows, ending a troublesome chapter within their lives and starting a brand new one...but what it will hold...is a mystery only to the Force...