A New Awakening [Arthan Corvax]

[Greifen Ren]

Only one inducted into the ranks of the Knights of Ren were permitted to view the halls of the great Citadel on the First Order's capital of Dosuun. That was why [member="Arthan Corvax"] was here now. Either he would leave this room as a Disciple of the Knights of Ren, or he would die.

The Knights and their Disciples had gathered in the great antechamber to receive the latest pledge to the Order. The massive room was dark, lit by nothing except for a skylight directly above, which cast a meager amount of light down on the circular dais below, the men of the Knights of Ren surrounding it. The traveler known as Arthan Corvax had been brave enough to seek out the Knights of Ren in his quest for knowledge about the Force. The Ren would, of course, grant him an audience, but an audience with the Ren always came at a price. Usually, that price was a man's life. But those who had passed these very same trials were now present, standing in this room, and among them was Greifen Ren.

This man's story had intrigued Greifen. Like Arthan, he too was once a soldier before finding his new life in the Dark Side of the Force. It was not so very long ago that he stood in Arthan's shoes, the entire world waiting to be opened up to him. And so he felt it fitting that he was to be the one to administer Arthan's trial to join the Knights of Ren today.

"Let Arthan Corvax come forward," Greifen stepped into the center of the dais, his voice echoing throughout the stone chambers. "Why have you sought out the Ren? What makes you believe you are fit to join is here in darkness?"

 

[Graf's Archive Account]

The Empire was gone.

All of Arthan's former allies were gone, having vanished with the rest of the Imperial Remnant, every single person that he had considered a friend was gone. For a few months after the total collapse of the Remnant, Arthan continued his search for a scholar that could teach him the ways of the light side, but order after order of Jedi left him abandoned and no more powerful than when he started his search. This made him angry, angry enough to drop the path of light that he had tried to secure so tenaciously.

The dark side was much more alluring than the light at that moment, and so began his rapid descent. After studying enough by himself, he had learned the Niman style and the ability to crush an object with a mere grasping gesture. But he felt he needed an actual teacher to grant him even more power than he could by himself. Arthan began to seek out one, but dark-siders don't just show up, and if they did they were bantha fodder. No, Arthan needed an order to stand behind, and that was when he found the Knights of Ren.

How he had not heard of the First Order before was a mystery, but a fun one at that. It was almost exactly like the Empire, but it actually had a group of Force users within it that actually helped instead of standing by idly like the Imperial Knights. Arthan made his way to their capital planet of Dosuun and requested an audience with the Ren, which they surprisingly accepted.

And now Arthan was inside of their citadel engulfed in darkness, waiting to be inducted into the Ren as a Disciple of the Beyond. A loud voice ordered him to step forward followed by a man stepping into the center of the room on a dais, which he heeded and moved to stand at the base of the dais. The man then asked him two questions, which he began to think of for about five seconds.

"I have sought out your order because I need a teacher, and because I want a cause to stand behind in these troubled times. I believe you will allow me to join because I have the same ideals, all of us seek to restore order within this galaxy, and all of us also seek the power we need to do so." Arthan said in an almost monotone voice.

[member="Greifen Ren"]

 

[Greifen Ren]

There were a few moments of silence that hung tenaciously in the air between [member="Arthan Corvax"] and the gathered members of the Knights of Ren. They appeared to be mentally examining his power, as Greifen was too; and it was clear that this Zabrak possessed the ability to wield the Force with great skill. As such he was a perfect candidate for the Knights of Ren, a raw untamed power that needed to be refined and guided.

"It is significant that you have chosen an audience with us over the Sith," Greifen spoke up finally, his voice filling the dark hall. "You seek more than just the attainment of power. You seek order, hierarchy. You seek the purpose of a great cause."

Greifen stepped down from the dais and circled around it, moving towards Arthan slowly, his figure a masked and cloaked phantasm in the darkness. Suddenly, the room came alive in a sea of red as Greifen's lightsaber sprung to life from his hand, the blade hissing and illuminating his cloaked form, and the other faces of the Knights who were circled around the altar. Then, the point of the blade extended outward and pointed at Arthan, resting only inches from his shoulder.

"Do you have a lightsaber, Arthan Corvax?"

 

[Graf's Archive Account]

Arthan could feel himself being probed by many minds as the man spoke once more, he then moved down from the dais and traveled along it until he reached the Zabrak. Arthan did not budge when the red blade extended from the man's lightsaber, he could feel the heat and power emanating from it as the tip hovered mere inches from him.

The man asked yet another question that the young alien was ready to face, did he have a lightsaber? He was no fool, he knew that the ancient weapon that every force-using order wielded was needed to become one of them, but he had no knowledge of how to construct one for his personal use, leaving him powerful in the force but unarmed.

"No, I do not have the knowledge nor the materials to construct one." He answered honestly. Even if he lied, the truth would be pried from his mind by the man currently wielding the lightsaber at him, it was beneficial for him to tell the truth for him to be accepted into the Ren.

After all, this was only the beginning.

[member="Greifen Ren"]

 

[Greifen Ren]

Another long moment of silence hung between [member="Arthan Corvax"] and Greifen Ren, while the rest of the members of the Knights of Ren stood in silence in a circle around the dais, their faces hidden from view. The only sound that lingered between them was the low hum of Greifen's crimson lightsaber, until Greifen finally turned back and exchanged glances with his Knight-brothers.

"Master Ren," He called to one of them, and held out his free hand. One of the cloaked men stepped forward slightly and parted his robes, revealing a silver hilt, which he tossed in the air. The Force guided it directly into Greifen Ren's gloved hand. From there, the hilt was tossed in Arthan's direction.

"Now you are armed, Arthan Corvax."

Greifen barely gave Arthan time to turn on his lightsaber before pulling his own blade back. Corvax would need to act quickly to defend himself from Greifen's blade, which was now coming down again in a vicious swing aimed at the Zabrak's shoulder.