Blood for Blood

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"Achieve victory, or accept death.."

Kar'in boomed over the gathering of nightbrothers. Young adult males stood in a massive throng below his podium, staring up at their chieftain with wide eyes. Some were discomforted. Most were determined. Today, they would be undergoing a selection trial. One of the females had come into their village late last night, and proclaimed her intentions. The chieftain had summoned the young males at the following morning.

"Lady Ras has room for only one suitor. She has prepared trials for you. Most of you will be terribly wounded. Some will die. Such is the way of life." Kar'in continued. The elder Zabrak stood well over six feet in height, and hosted a yellow skin coloration rimmed by black tattoos. Beady gray eyes stared down at those before him. "The first of these trial shall be the test of blades. Take what you will, and enter the maze."

Kas'in stepped down from his podium. Anderit breathed a heavy sigh. He knew the tests were coming, but so early? Surely they should have been allowed time to eat, at the very least?

"I don't like this Zared," he mumbled, "I've heard some things about Ras. They call her Sith. One of the great demons."

The men around him filed out toward the weapon racks. Anderit clung to his war glaive. He'd practiced through the night; with some luck he might manage to defend himself accordingly. The men would be ushered into the maze soon.

"What do you make of her?"

[member="Zared Rinaren"]

 

[Acheron354]

The sun fell over the mountains as the men stood in position, listening to the words of their exalted leader. A slight sigh could not help but slip from Zared's lips as their chieftain spoke to them. The ritual was one the men had practiced since the earliest history of the clan and the young Dathomirian felt it was a dying tradition. Females from both the Nightsisters and often the Sith came to the men of Dathomir in search of mates and sometimes more. The prospect did not sit well with Zared simply because he was the only one in control of his fate, all others were simply an annoyance to him.

The words of his brother rang in his ear pulling him back to the reality he had gotten so easily tired of. "Sith.....These witches have come to us in search of mates before...none who take to their ships ever return." His words were spoken but before he could receive a reply he smirked while crossing his arms. "Of course I'm still going to win this little competition....but I won't be happy while I do it."

The arrogance almost burned out of the man as he walked towards the weapons rack and took a spear into his hands. It was a short spear meant for close range but he knew it would serve it's purpose well. When he returned to Anderit's side he heard his questioning and shrugged. "Maybe she's good in bed?" The man's tone mixed with his attitude saw the lack of care as well as wisdom behind him.

[member="Anderit Rinaren"]

 

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"I hear they all are," Anderit snickered, "-...or so Ras'in has told me. There is word that he was once taken by one of their kind. I've no idea how he ended up back here." The nightbrother followed after his sibling. The entire clan was one large family, but Anderit had taken particularly well to Zared. He understood he may need to dispatch his brother in combat, but he would not kill him. Not after they had come so far. "Perhaps he slipped into her bed at the wrong time of the night. Females are fickle. Those that travel off of Dathomir are worse." Anderit shrugged and took his position in the line above the maze.

The maze itself was held in canyon far below the village. There was word that Ras'in's agents had procured a number of beasts to inhabit its halls. Anderit had little touch believing it -- the chieftain had a cruel streak to him. Standing up a little straighter, the young man planted the end of his glaive into the dirt, and stared anxiously down at one of the many staircases leading below.

"You will move in group's of three to the maze's exit. Those that survive will earn their survival, or earn their way onto the next trial. the Lady will decided which." Kas'in boomed, "The maze is inhabited by our world's greatest threats. You will need to play to one another's strengths to survive. Now go, enter the abyss, and prove your worth."

Anderit swallowed heavily. Death lay below. He gaze Zared a way look, and began making his way down the closest flight of stairs. Dozens of their cohorts did the same.

[member="Zared Rinaren"]

 

[Lucas Dedmon]

Kane, following Anderit, chuckles, "you two should focus a little more on staying alive."



[member="Zared Rinaren"]

[member="Anderit Rinaren"]

 

[Acheron354]

Zared sighed softly before looking at the two others and holding a finger to his lips. As they descended down below he realized that they were not alone here. The soft skittering of feet hitting the ground caused him to chuckle softly. "Spiders...that all they got?" The skittering eventually subsided and was replaced only with the soft echoing of their own footsteps. Zared could only see a few feet in front of him, which caused him to step slowly and stay close to his brothers.

The warriors continued down a hall before hearing a panicked scream ring through out the maze. The direction could not be found, but it was obvious it was one of their brothers who had fallen victim to the maze. ​"That sounded....pleasant." As he turned down the left side of the hall the skittering returned once more, but this time it was in larger quantity. Zared cursed softly before turning to the hall behind them, only darkness filling the void between them and the constant skittering. "Here we go..." As if on cue the hall turned from still shadows to the racing movement of giant black spiders flooding towards them. With a quick swipe of his spear Zared cut down the first of the beasts, but more were coming and from the sound of it they were even bigger.

[member="Kane Rinaren"][member="Anderit Rinaren"]

 

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"I'm focused on living life, Kane. That includes females with ample...minds." The younger man grumbled. Still, he could not help but crack a thin smile. Here, among the Nightbrothers, a sense of humor kept you same. Anderit could never understand the grim determination some of his brothers had when they tackled adversity. Such an attitude would drive him insane. So long as his brothers came out fine from most conflicts, he was pleased.

"Spiders you say?" He mumbled with a bit of anxiety to lace his words. He did not like arachnids, especially not the larger breeds. The maze was lined with walls four meters high and a dark ceiling. What little light there was came from the torches on either side of the walls that gave off an eerie green light. That was sister magic; something no Nightbrother could ever be allowed to touch as was decreed.

Still, Anderit could not help but find himself fascinated. That was, until the beasts fell upon them. He bit back a curse as one of the smaller monsters charged him, its fangs outstretched. Spinning on his heel, he span his glaive through the appendages, and drove its edge through the beast's head as it let out a an ear-shattering scream. Another found itself losing a head from the glaive's gleaming edge. The spiders' green blood coated the weapon and Anderit's bare arms, but the young warrior did not relent.

"More come. We'll take the left path. Follow!" He snapped, taking a sharp turn down one of the maze's paths. He was following his instincts now -- hopefully the others would too.

[member="Kane Rinaren"]

[member="Zared Rinaren"]

 

[Acheron354]

Zared spun on his heels following his brothers, before hearing the skittering increase behind him. He turned and yelled to the others. "We can't outrun spiders in these types of halls. Turn and fight!" Another of the large spiders leapt for the nightbrother, giving him the perfect opportunity to sink his spear into the abdomen of the beast. As it curled onto the end of Zared's spear he threw it off and prepared for another of the arachnids.

After bringing his foot down on a smaller of the spiders he realized the brothers would soon find their position overrun. "Anderit! You're supposed to be smart, do smart shit!" He spun his spear before swiping the blade at the animals, trying to force them back and make a perimeter. He groaned before yelling out at the animals wildly. "You stupid....I'll kill all of you!" The man's spear began to move swiftly, however dangerously, as he tried to cut down anything he could see.

[member="Anderit Rinaren"]

 

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He was the smart one? When was that decided? Muttering a curse, Anderit spun on their attackers. There would be no fleeing from the creatures. They were far too quick, and the brothers just couldn't make the pace they would need to get away from the beasts. Staying to fight would result in an untimely death as well -- the creatures were too numerous to be taken down without a full hunting party. They needed another way. Anderit stared down at one of the larger corpses. Here was their solution.

Without bothering to give Zared a reply, he span his glaive across the enormous beast's abdomen. The skin split, and its innards spilled out across the floor. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, Anderit pawed out the creature's organs until the cavern was relatively empty. Holding his nose closed, Anderit slipped inside, motioning for Zared to do the same.

[member="Zared Rinaren"]

 

[Acheron354]

Zared was planting his foot onto the back of one of the spiders, before turning to look at his brother with a completely lost face. "Are you...? Well I guess it's one way for us to live." He sighed as he crawled into the beast and laid next to Anderit, watching as the other spiders passed them over. "This is either the best or worst plan you have ever came up with....Probably both." It was several minutes until the skittering that had been taking over the hall came to a welcomed stop. As he peeked his head out of the spider and inhaled fresher air than the spider could offer, Zared saw the arachnids had finally left them.

The Nightbrother crawled out of his safe haven before holding a hand out to his brother to help him out. "Well....That was fun. Let's go." Zared walked back down the hall, making sure to go the direction the spiders had originally cam from. "Those things were probably sent to take us the wrong way. We should follow this path for now." He looked around a bit before picking up the pace, hoping another challenge was awaiting them.

[member="Anderit Rinaren"]

 

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With a bit of luck, they had managed to escape the great beasts. He was not entirely sure they had evaded the creatures entirely, but with a bit of luck they would find some way to safety. There were more challenges that lay ahead, and Anderit needed to be ready for them. He stood up to his full height, smoothed out his kilt, and spun the war glaive to fleck some of the thick green ichor away.

"Good plan. Let's do that." He mumbled as he drew his cowl over his face. He had no desire to get any more of the spider's blood on himself -- the kilted breast plate was ruined enough given all the spider innards it was now a home to. Getting some of the detritus on his face? Absolutely disgusting.

Drawing in a deep breath, he began to stroll down the trail that the arachnids had come down. The creatures must have come from somewhere. Thus far, Anderit could not make out anything that would serve as their prey. He surmised they had been recently released into the maze. That meant that [member="Zared Rinaren"]'s hypothesis must be correct. The monsters had found their way here via some form of exit.

"My glaive is covered in spider guts. This evening is proving itself to be...not so great."

 

[Acheron354]

Xared looked back to his brother and rolled his eyes before laughing a bit. "Aww, don't tell me a few spider guts put you in a bad mood?" After a few minutes of walking Xared looked to the ground and cursed silently. "Kark...." On the ground laid the spider, torn open to become the safe haven for the Night brothers.

With a slight sigh the man knelt down to examine the corpse before looking back to his brother. "I don't remember taking any turns..." One thing that caused a great deal of aggravation for Xared was the feeling that he was wasting time. As he stood over the body they had passed only minutes ago he noticed one difference, the path to the sides were all gone, there was only one hall now, leading down a path the night brothers had just traveled.

Xared stood back to his full height and began to walk down the hall once more, his short spear ready in his eager hands. "Anderit, what's going on?"

[member="Anderit Rinaren"]

 

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Anderit was not the type to be soft-hearted. He had a will of iron, and a stomach to go with it. The problem therein was that he was not the galaxy's biggest fan of spiders. In fact, he hated the creatures. He could never understand how the Witches, gods damn them all, could enjoy the company of such vile animals. Then again, the Nightsisters whom received the clan's greatest veneration had a tendency to make nice with Rancors.

Different strokes for different folks.

"I dislike spiders. Their legs are....unneeded." He could not quell the shiver that ran down his spin .The mere sight of the creatures was revolting, and watching them move proved to be almost disorienting. This had nothing to do with the fact that Anderit had seen one of his clan mates lose an arm to one of the behemoths. Nothing at all.

He passed [member="Zared Rinaren"] a curious look and shrugged. He had not the faintest idea what was going on in this maze, save for the fact that everything that did happen was to try and kill them. A cheery place, really.

His eyes narrowed as the maze came to a singular path. They were being herded; only to emerge in a massive luminescent cavern moments later. It was large and shaped like a dome. The walls were rimmed with plants glowing bright shades of blue, green, and orange. On the other side of the cavern stood three gargantuan passages, and something even greater guarded them.

It stood several meters taller than the average man. Bright ivory tusks shone bright in the neon lights. Powerful muscles rumbled beneath thick leathery skin. The smell of death and decay radiated from the animal, and its beady black eyes narrowed on the two Nightbrothers. Its massive maw gaped open and it let out a terrifying roar; lines of razor sharp teeth glowering down at the warriors.

The fully grown Terentatek began to advance.

"We must slay the beast brother." Anderit's voice wavered. "This Terentatek -- I have seen the sisters build such a monstrosity. We need to pierce its underbelly. It will resist anything else."

 

[Acheron354]

The beast in front of them was easilly one of the more formidable of the monstrosities brought on by the night sisters. Xared crouched down while whistling. "That's a biiiig beast....I want one." The man smirked before looking around the room for anything that could aid him. It seemed the two were going to be left to their own devices. As the creature roared loudly Xared glared back at it with a sickening look. "This thing is getting on my nerves brother."

Without another word Xared spun his spear in his hands, sprinting for the beast. As he did such the Terentatek aimed it's giant claw for him. Xared was a fairly agile warrior so leaping over the attack and landing on the hand of the beast proved easy for him. After balancing himself on the beast he ran onto the beast's shoulder, driving his spear into the beast with little more than a roar of frustration in return.

The warrior was not trying to kill the Terentatek, but he was hoping to distract it enough for his brother to attack it's softest point. Immediately after pulling his spear from the beast Xared leapt over it's back, planting his spear in the angered Tarentatek's back, hanging on by one arm. "Hurry up brother!"

[member="Anderit Rinaren"]

 

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The monster was not pleased. It reared its massive head back and bellowed in outrage. Its attentions switched to Xared, long jagged claws stretching outward to gore Anderit brother. Luckily, the rash warrior had accomplished his goal. The creature was distracted. Swallowing his anxiety, Anderit moved in. With practiced movements he managed to avoid he creature's stomping feet. His war glaive, blessed by the Nightsisters in its forging, sung a song of carnage as it whistled through the air.

The song came to an abrupt end as it carved into the Terentatek's belly once, then again. Long bloody streaks were carved into the pale flesh. Though shallow and little more than minor flesh wounds, they drew the creature's attentions. It was all Anderit could do to avoid being gored by the monster's horns as it swept its head downward. Anderit tried to pitch a roll out of the way, but only managed to avoid the horn's point.

It slammed into him like a speeding hover bike. All the air was knocked out of his lungs as he was sent sailing toward the cavern wall. The impact jarred his bones, and something in his right arm popped. The pain was instantaneous. He has to bite on the inside of his cheek to avoid screaming. He could not allow the agony to take him here; doing so would be certain death.

Fortunately, the beast had turned its attention to Xared. The poor warrior would have to face the Terentatek alone for a moment as Anderit regained his senses; something that could quite likely prove to be suicidal.

[member="Zared Rinaren"]

 

[Acheron354]

Xared slid off the back of the Terentatek, leaving his spear embedded in the monster's back. The warrior watched as his brother was flung across the arena, only to meet he unforgiving wall of the room. Even Xared could not help but wince from the impact of his brother colliding with the wall. As touching as his feelings could be he had bigger problems, much bigger.

The beast roared viciously, it's blood lusting screech ringing through out the cave. Xared smirked before rolling his neck. "Music to my ears..." The beast charged for Xared, all the night brother could do was run, but he quickly found the edge of the arena and cursed softly before crouching low. As the Terentatek grew closer Xared ran towards it, jumping towards the chest of the beast, instantly pushing off with his legs to propel him back towards the wall. Xared attempted to kick off the wall once more to leap over the beast, and for a moment the movement seemed to work, but only seconds later he felt the hard palm of the beast collide with him in mid air.

As he flew over the arena and slammed into the ground Xared groaned audibly before pushing himself to his knees. "Thought....that would...work." After pushing himself to his feet he saw the best walk towards his still recovering brother. He whistled loudly and yelled out. "Hey! Ugly! I'm not done with you yet, I want a pair of Terentatek boots, and you're my supplier!" Xared exhaled when the beast turned it's attention back to him, speaking softly as it stalked closer. "Come on...."


[member="Anderit Rinaren"]

 

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The glaive could still whistle.

Anderit managed to push himself up to his feet with visible effort. His legs quivered beneath him; his hands grasped desperately for an outcropping in the wall. It was through sheer will that he managed to regain some of his balance and test his weapon. So long as the war glaive could sing, it could be used as a weapon. He turned toward the Terentatek just as the monster shifted its attentions back to Xared.

Workable.

"You never were very smart Xared," he mumbled, "That monster is going to make you its next meal."

And me shortly thereafter.

With a sigh of pain, Anderit charged the monster. His legs screamed out at him with each step, but he did not allow them any form of relief. This creature needed to die. Only then could he be allowed any form of rest. The glaive found its mark in the Terentatek's inner calf. The flesh was unarmored and fat; easily pierced. The glaive dug deep into its skin, shredding muscle and bone alike. A clawed hand fell toward Anderit in retaliation. It was all he could do to avoid being gored by the creature -- yet still he failed. The point of the claws carved a shallow red canyon through his midriff.

Screaming a war cry of anguish and rage, Anderit pulled the blade free from the creature's leg, and moved to swing again.

[member="Zared Rinaren"] had his opportunity to retrieve his spear, if he was quick enough.

 

[Mediha]

From a vantage point over the maze, Mediha watched the Nightbrothers compete for the right to lay with Ras. The display of violence did little for her; Nightbrothers were what they were and were little more. In spite of her boredom, Mediha didn't dare let her eyes stray from the maze; to be caught looking at Lady Ras might be indication enough to the older Nightsister that Mediha was not, by any means, her ally. She had been given a task to confirm her place as a full Nightsister; if she failed, she would die. If she lived, she would have the power she had long craved and would help stabilize the clan.

Ras had gone away for too long, strayed too far from the Nightsisters. This return for a consort was the first time she had graced Dathomir with her presence in many years, and the eldest of the Nightsisters had called on Mediha to rectify the situation. Ras was strong; Mediha had been fully warned of the witch's skills, of the talents she may have gained while out in the galaxy, but though Mediha was cautious, she was confident in her own abilities. She had been an acolyte for a year longer than any other, not due to lack of skills, but because the position allowed her anonymity, allowed her to learn new skills without the other Sisters looking at her askance. Of them, only the eldest of the Nightsisters knew what Mediha knew; some should have been secret from her, but Mediha didn't dare trust to that belief. Regardless, they had handed her a task of the greatest importance, one she would see through for their sake.

So long as she didn't let on that she had a goal outside of taking a consort from Ras's leavings.

Tch. Her face was smooth as stone as her cold, pale eyes swept the maze again. A small group of men were trapped in a short corridor, fighting a full Terentatek. Another slaughter. Who would be left to bed her if she killed them all? Wasteful.

[member="Zared Rinaren"] [member="Anderit Rinaren"]

 

[Acheron354]

Zared watched as his brother fought with the beast, it's large limbs crashing down on the night brother, hoping it's claws found home in Anderit. As it once more shifted it's attention to the other warrior Zared ran towards the beast's back in a full sprint. He leapt up and grasped the hilt of the weapon, swinging violently as the beast raged.

He pulled his spear out of the beast, falling to the ground with a loud grunt. After impacting into the hard ground he saw the foot of the Terentatek coming down on him. The young Dathomirian quickly rolled out of the way before pushing himself to his feet. "This is getting fun." Xared ran towards the beast, eyes trained on a rather sweet target. He leapt onto the beast's back, climbing while he watched it fight off his brother. After reaching his shoulders Zared jumped towards the beast's face, careful to stay away from the teeth that seemed made for the sole purpose of tearing flesh from bone.

Zared steadied himself on the beast before planting his spear in it's left eye, driving it deep before pulling it out. This, however enraged the Terentatek and caused it to begin charging around the arena senselessly. Zared struggled to hold on as he tried to pull his weapon from it's eye.

[member="Mediha"] [member="Anderit Rinaren"]

 

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Zared would do such a thing. Anderit watched with mild interest as the Terentatek stormed around the arena in a fit of rage. His brother hung on like some form of leech; unwilling to allow itself to be dislodged from such lucrative prey. The monster had overstepped him; something that saved the young Nightbrother's life as it crashed into the cavern walls. Above, he could scarcely make sense of the faces. A number of their clan, and even fewer Nightsisters, had come to watch the proceedings.

The dark pools of his eyes focused on one: [member="Mediha"]. This one had not been a part of the Sith's entourage -- she was an outlier. That was highly unusual for this sort of contest, and drew Anderit's attentions. Likely another young woman looking for a male to keep her bed warm. Then again, there was the possibility that her presence served another purpose.

The Nightbrother bared his teeth in a wicked smile and beamed at the woman.

Then the Terentatek was upon him. Its massive horned head swept low to gore him once again. With its vision diminished the creature was growing desperate. Drawing in a deep breath to calm his quivering limbs, Anderit charged the beast. His glaive sung its death song as it carved a bloody arc along its lower throat. Its teeth gnashed inches from Anderit's face, but he did not yield. Another strike widened the gap. A third tore through layers of muscle and bone.

Its massive claw rose up to crush Anderit.

"The arm Zared!"

Covered n a shiny film of the beast's blood, Anderit continued his sweeping motions, guiding his glaive along the creature's exposed neck as it tried to right itself and end his life at the same time.

[member="Zared Rinaren"]

 

[Acheron354]

Zared watched as his brother aimed his own blade for the beast's throat, cutting into it slowly and steadily. When the beast's hand rose to attack his brother Zared pulled one last time to free his spear from the carnage that was the eye socket of the Terentatek. Without hesitating Zared jumped towards the beast's hand, driving his spear through the hard shell of the monster. The spear pierced the armored skin and drove the hand to a mad flail before the Night brother was thrown off.

As he flew over Anderit and slammed into the ground Zared spit out a slob of crimson spit. "Kark..." After standing once more Zared ran towards Anderit, he jumped onto his shoulders and pushed himself up to the arched tusks in the creature's mouth. Holding on tight to the tusk Zared quickly yelled down to Anderit. "Kill this thing!"

[member="Anderit Rinaren"]