Blood on the Ground

[Salacious Vexx]

Source: http://pm1.narvii.com/6011/94c976019d948804e5416a48babbfe2364125c24_hq.jpg

Location: Dathomir

The moon above shone red, the jungles of Dathomir bathed in the blood red glean that gave birth to many a savage. Amongst the quiet trees stood a single Zabrak, staring into the depths of the jungle.

"Do you see brothers?!" he cried, "Do you see what I've become! How I've bested you all?!"

The dead give no response. But the trees echoed with the pain of a thousand generations, the blood spilt responsible for the planets own red hue.

[member="Darth Lykos"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Dathomir was a planet that the Sith Assassin had not visited often. The thick jungles that layered the world were often overshadowed by roaring lightning storms, a fact that Xavka did detest with his fullest might. Yet, he had been there once before, a contract carrying his feet forwards through the trees and now he set forth onto the planet for a second time, this time not for business but for pleasure. Hidden within the thick growths of ancient trees and harsh skies were beasts and creatures of strength and power, perfect prey to satisfy the animalistic and feral instincts of the predator mind that lurked within Xavka's soul. Perfect beasts for him to sake his lust for blood and death upon, perfect for him to rake and tear asunder with his claws, perfect to crush beneath his false arm, perfect flesh for his teeth to sink into and blood for him to partake in.

As such, the normally composes Sith Lord would be found stalking through the trees of the jungle, sharpened and well cared for claws that lined his right hand and both feet biting into the bark of trees, piercing through to form places for him to grip onto, while the cybernetic fingers of his left hand would shatter that very same bark with ease. With grace and ease of a seasoned and primal hunter, Xavka leapt from tree to tree, single eye burning in anticipation as it flickered around him, identifying and following tracks left behind by his prey as it had ran, ungracefully though the jungle. Unrelenting and unending in his chase, the Zabrak was quickly gaining and soon would be able to sake his desire to hunt and return to the control he prided himself on.

Still, as had happened in past hunts, his attention was diverted, pulled away from his quarry as a voice cried out into the quiet of the jungle. Fourteen words in all, but fourteen words was all that was needed to peak the Zabrak's curiosity. In the mental state he was in right now, lost within his instincts and animalistic drives, that curiosity that now flared behind his breast bone could not be ignored and so he would approach as silent as a shadow, confident that he was the current apex predator.

Situated high on the tree that he now found himself in, a raised eyebrow would be the only response to the sight before him. Uniquely enough, the figure standing within the clearing was a fellow Zabrak, albeit one not of Iridonia; such a detail easily spotted in the lack of weathering in their skin that would come from the harsh sun, unrelenting winds and fierce sands. However, that was not the sight that shocked the Zabrak enough that the dominant, fully sentient mind began to exert influence over the more animal orientated one. The Zabrak before him looked very much like what he would see should he look in a mirror, albeit with black instead of ashen grey hair, both eyes and arms as well as no wear near the amount of scars that littered Xavka's form, testaments to his past survivals.

Dropping down from the tree line, no sound being made, Xavka began to advance, his shoulders thrown back as he stood tall and proud, his robes settled around him to obscure his form while one hand, the black cybernetic one, would draw the hood of the robe to obscure his face in shadow. After standing there for a short while, Xavka would break his silence for the first time as his gruff voice would ring out into the quiet.

"And, what Mali'kep sees it wise to advertise their location to predators that could tear them in two? Other than a disgrace of poor Blood and Kin?"



[member="Salacious Ren"]

 

[Salacious Vexx]

The shadows bore forth a voice. It taunted and insulted him. Perhaps another Nightbrother. "Come out from the shadows brother. Face me and see what power I've attained!" His arms came up in a challenge, daring the voice to step into the blood tinged light and reveal their form.

Salcious' detest for his kin ran deep. The weak and groveling fools. When power had been within their grasp they'd given it up. And yet now they dared to challenge him. The man who stood and took what was his. The true Zabrak!

[member="Darth Lykos"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Stepping forward, branches, twigs and grass alike crunching beneath his footsteps, Xavka did not attempt to hide his approached as he would emerge fully into the clearing, a being cloaked in fabric and shadows alike. From beneath the cloak, Xavka's lone, burnt orange eye would glare out, piercing through the shadows that hid his face, locked onto the form that stood before him. Slow footsteps would carry him closer, an alpha, an apex predator, stalking forwards content in the knowledge that the prey it would loom over offered no sort of threat to him. Those actions were not born out of arrogance, a state of mind that Xavka truly detested and viewed as something that would rot away at a person, but sheer confidence backed up by experience.

"What Mali'kep stands before me? So strong in arrogance? So strong in misplaced pride that caution does not enter your mind, is not entertained? I approach with no evidence of such a fact bare my voice, and yet you stand tall as if superior without proof. I ask again. What Mali'kep stands before me?"

As the final word would ring out into the quiet, the Zabrak before Xavka would feel an oppressive force press against his shoulders as viscous looking shadows seemed to begin to drip from the Sith Lord's form. Ever so slightly, Xavka had loosened his grip on his presence within the Force, allowing the child, of mind at least, before him to feel his strength. Shivers of cold would run up the upstarts back, as if the very fingers of Nath, Iridonian Lord of all that was Dead and would Die, were running up his spine and digging into flesh.

"What weak blood are you of, that the instincts bred into our species do not warn you of an alpha standing before you?" This time the words were not audible, but were instead hissed directly into the mind.

Pausing a second for the words to take meaning, Xavka's form would then seemingly collapse into a mass of shadows that would writhe and twist across the ground, spreading ever close to the center of the clearing where the second Zabrak stood. From within those shadows, as they slowly crawled forwards, shapes of beasts and death would take form, screams ringing within the Zabrak's ears as they approached just as slowly as Xavka had passed forwards. With a suddenness, the shadows would coalesce into a single form, that of a large beast with an open maw roaring into the face of the Zabrak, the scent of rotting meat stinging against his face before the form would be replaced with the still cloaked visage of Xavka standing but a meter away with no fanfare, just one moment a beast formed of shadow then, in the next, the form of Xavka.

The truth behind what the Zabrak had just seen was that it was a lie. Utilising the mental connection formed when he had whispered into the Zabrak's mind, an illusion had been crafted, its realism in scent and sound coming solely from experience as Xavka had utilised the same procedure to break the minds of prisoners in the past. Instead, all Xavka had done while forming those images was simply walk ever closer, his footsteps inaudible that time.

"What is your name, arrogant child?"


[member="Salacious Ren"]

 

[Salacious Vexx]

Salacious saw the other Zabrak's glowing orange eyes before he saw his cloaked form. The apparition manifested itself from the shadows, becoming one and apart from them. As the man's voice boomed out to Salacious' ears he could feel the cold grasp of some being behind him grip his shoulders and attempt to force him to his knees, a chilling shiver crawling up his spine, his hairs rising on his crimson skin.

"What weak blood are you of?" the words rung within Salacious' head, the figure suddenly dissolving into smoke and disappearing. Beasts began to leap from the shadows, to tear at the Zabrak's skin, shadows from the beasts, to consume his flesh. Salacious' fists swung at the beasts, their cries dissolving as their bodies did as he struck them. But his attacks didn't seem to stave them away, the same beasts suddenly attacking from elsewhere.

One lunged for his throat. Too late Salacious grasped at it. The hot breath of the beast filled his nostrils, the stench of decay with it. And just before its teeth tore into his throat, it disappeared into smoke, in its place the other Zabrak. "What is your name arrogant child?"

"Salacious Vexx" the man responded, straightening himself. "Born among the beasts of Dathomir, born with its blood and strength, and of all Zabrak before me." he said as he beat his chest. "You are no Nightbrother. What have you done to my weak kin?" he inquired with a snarl. The cloaked figure stood even with himself, and Salacious' own red eyes stared back into the others piercing gaze. He'd not let another Sith intimidate him, no matter the tricks of the mind he could inflict.

[member="Darth Lykos"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Instead of another trick of the mind, Darth Lykos would instead begin to slowly circle Salacious, his robes dragging across the ground beneath him and his slow pace would crush the small patches of vegetation beneath bared feet. "You are not of Iridonia."​ The words would rumble out amidst a growl. "You do not acknowledge nor understand the Blood that once lived that gives you life. And yet, you assume to be strong, to know the power imbued within our species by Ancestors that have long since been embraced by Nath. Mali'kep, Foolish Child, indeed." Another rasp chuckle would ring out. "You are correct, Mali'kep, I am no Nightbrother, I am no weak fool. I was born among the sandstorms of Iridonia, I have passed by Res'selenoren. I am of the Clans that live as those that once held our Blood did." By now, the Sith was back in front of Salacious. "I am the Lykos. Darth Lykos."

Lykos' eye would slow take in the form of Salacious, paying no mind to physical attributes that were so similar to his own, but, instead focusing on scars and how the Zabrak actually stood; his posture and stance telling a long tale of arrogance and self entailment, a belief that he was stronger than any other foe that he may encounter. It was disgusting to the Sith.

"I have needed to do nothing against those you call kin, arrogant child. I see no need to do so, for why should I stain myself when nature shall ensure that those that have poisoned your blood with weakness - or mayhaps, those that have been poisoned by you - will be removed from their places within this mortal coil, being delivered to the embrace of Nath."

Again, Lykos would begin to circle Salacious, this time once more releasing a fraction of his strength, the oppressive Darkness weighing heavily of Salacious' shoulders as tendrils of shadows would begin to wind up along his legs; a simple illusion for Lykos to conjure. As he walked, the growls echoing from his throat would grow progressively louder until he was once more face to face with Salacious. "You are weak against me, against many things. Tell me, child, knowing this, does your false pride tell you that you could beat me? That you could even spill a drop of my purer Blood?"


[member="Salacious Ren"]

 

[Salacious Vexx]

Salacious listened to the man who circled him, like a predator before pouncing for the kill. He didn't understand the words and names he spat towards him. Nath, nor Mali'kep, nor Res'selenoren held any meaning for him. All but two. Darth Lykos. A man of the Sith. A man of the Wolf.

The Darth once again conjured his tendrils of shadow. He could feel them. But the fear they held had diminished. A stronger foe to prove Salacious's own worth. The chill once again crawled up his spine. He fought the instinctual sensation of fear. Fought to overcome it. He wouldn't cower before the Sith. He hadn't before, and he wouldn't now. The Zabrak's growl subsided to ask a simple question. Could he even touch him? Salacious spat on the ground before the Sith's feet. "Perhaps not. But I will surely try."

Salacious snatched his saber from his belt, the red blade coming to life with a deep growl, and slashed towards the man. He'd prove his worth to the Sith. To all Dathomir, and Iridonia, and all the galaxy.

[member="Darth Lykos"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

As the red blade of plasma would hiss into life, slashing through the air with the intent to end his life, Lykos simply let a sneer cross his lips as the upstart before him so recklessly attacked. Instead of panicking, instead of pulling his own weapon, instead of calling upon the Force to aid him in that moment, Lykos simply raised his left arm and pushed it towards the lightsaber blade in a guard bloke. The smell of burning cloth would soon pierce that noses of the two Zabraks as Lykos held his ground, the sleeve of his cloak being burnt away with ease. However, Salacious would find the Lightsaber coming to a stop sooner than expected, a hissing and spitting noise coming from the point of contact between lightsaber and arm. As more and more of the sleeve was burnt away by the proximity of the plasma, the dull, black cybernetic arm would be revealed fully, the metal gleaming red as the lightsaber failed to cut through.

Snarling slightly, the Sith's will would be expressed through the Force as he wielded it like a blunt weapon. However, even in that moment, control was kept as instead of the pressure of the Force impacting the entire body, Salacious would feel as if a metal bar had been swung full force at the back of his knees, causing them to buckles, dropping him to the ground.

Lowering his arm, Lykos would simply pat out the cinders of his robes as a powerful force, this time covering the entirety of Salacious' body, would slam into the prone Zabrak, sending him sprawling backwards unless he were to do something to combat the large amount of pressure pushing him backward. He would come to a rest a few meters back, lightsaber still in hand if he managed to retain his grip. The cinders put out, Lykos would simply straighten his back and stand with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Try again, Mali'kep.'


[member="Salacious Ren"]

 

[Salacious Vexx]

Salacious's lips curled back into a snarl as the pungent smell of burning cloth filled his nostrils. The saber's red glow matched the glean within his eyes. A yelp left his lips as something collided with the back of his legs, driving the Zabrak to his knees. A second impact sent the flying backwards, the breath leaving his lungs as he impacted the ground. The crimson blade scorched the ground beneath it. The Acolyte took in a sharp breath, forcing air back into his lungs, and slowly stood one more.

"Try again, Mali'kep." the Darth dared.

A guttural roar was followed by eavy footsteps, the Zabrak charging, saber high above his head like a blazing torch. The blade screamed downward, a feint. The Zabrak's other hand thrust forward, a powerful Force push, one that lacked any the finesse if the practiced master. Salacious was all brutish strength. Unless the other Zabrak stopped his attack, which he certainly would, he'd find himself colliding with a tree at the edge of the clearing.

[member="Darth Lykos"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

As the fellow Zabrak would charge towards him, Lykos' eye would flicker across his form, pulling upon the knowledge that he had gained from years and year of combat experience. As the lightsaber was brought down in an overhead strike, time would seemingly slow to the Sith's perceptive as he ran every data point through his mind. 'Hip pulled back, shoulder pulled back, striking from the elbow, falling short, highly telegraphed. A feint. No second weapon visible on his person, nor his hand near any other weapon. True attack will be delivered through the Force.' His assumption would only be strengthened by the feelings he was sensing from the Force. In particular, the feeling of the Force beginning to bend and twist around the foolish child's form as he began to exert his will into the ether. 'Brash, straightforward person, if smart enough to pull a feint. Subdued abilities beneath focus are unlikely. Full frontal attack. No Darkness gathering beyond that attracted to his anger.' The blade would arc down ever closer and, to Salacious, it would seem as if Darth Lykos was not even paying attention even as his mind spun at a speed not hinted towards from his rather brutish appearance. 'Neutral attack, basic, no strong training. Full frontal attack, no deception or deceit. Force Push.'

It was as those two words would ring within his thoughts that Lykos would feel Salacious' attack beginning to reach its apex of preparation and the humming red plasma of the lightsaber would pass him by, even as he crafted a rudimentary shield across his skin to resist against the weapon just in case he had miss-calculated. Instead of choosing to combat and nullify the mali'kep's Force Push, Lykos chose to instead embrace it and let it push against him. And, sure enough, the wave of pressure would soon impact across his front and push him back, away from Salacious. However, instead of being pushed away outside of his control, Lykos landed only a short distance away maintaining a proper balance, even if his stance did have to widen slightly to compensate.

Standing straight, Lykos' biological hand would raise and, for but a very brief moment, Salacious would feel a gathering maelstrom of Darkness form within that hand before a stream of white lightning would burst forth, cutting through the air towards him. Small arcs of the lightning would jump from the main stream every now and then to impact the ground, kicking up dirt and mud from the sheer power contained within the attack. The arcs of electricity would only hold for but the time it took Lykos to count to ten before dropping away as his hand would fall to rest at his side.

Tilting his head, Lykos would speak the same three words as he had last time. "Try again, Mali'kep."



[member="Salacious Vexx"]

 

[Salacious Vexx]

The Zabrak's attack landed, and even still it did not have the effect he'd hoped to conjure. Depite that all around the other Zabrak kicked up into the, tossed away like leaves in the wind, the man skidded back only a couple meters, before coming to a stop still fully upright.

A bolt of lightning would suddenly leave Lykos's hand and surge towards Vexx, the Zabrak only barely bringing his saber up to absorb the attack. The saber screamed shrilly, a blinding white light fluctating at the point where lightning met plasma.

The electrical attack came to and end and Salacious brought his blade down, arc of stray electricity arced off the blade towards the ground, the saber absorbing some of the energy it'd just expierenced.

Again the Zabrak charged. His saber sweeped upwards, aiming to cleave the Darth in half. The blade, meant to kill would likely just barely miss miss its target, or perhaps itd be blocked. Regardless, the Zabrak would allow momentum to carry him through a spin, the second half of his saber igniting only to be thrust backwards behind himself, aiming to skewer [member="Darth Lykos"] like a pig.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

As Salacious charged forwards once more, his saber coming around in a strike to cleave him in half at the waist that was telegraphed (not obviously, but, just enough that someone who had devoted hour after hour of their life into the art of combat would notice), Lykos' stance would shift ever so slightly, his right foot sliding forwards ever so slightly as he twisted his torso to the right also, meaning that the front of his chest was now facing slightly off to the left, and dropped his right hand to hover above the left side of his waist.

As the red blade would come around, Lykos' hand would jerk forwards and, carried behind it would be a durasteel sabre. As he brought his arm across his body and pulled the sword from the sheath concealed within his robes, Lykos made sure to align the blade so that the lightsaber would impact squarely against it. There it would be held in place, hissing and spitting as it fought to burn into and through the metal that had been treated during forging to withstand and resist lightsabers. As Salacious pulled away to spin into a second strike, the other half his lightsaber igniting, Lykos barely raised an eyebrow as his whole form would blur, him calling upon the Force to push past his bodies natural limits, to bring his left and empty hand around to face the very tip of the second lightsaber blade.

In a similar scene as the first strike, the lightsaber would meet the metallic surface of his palm and be held there, unable to advance any further as the durasteel alchemised to resist lightaber and blasters and to exceed the standard durability of the material it was made out of met the blade of plasma.

Within the very same instant as that attack was blocked, a wave of pressure would be expelled from Lykos' very form in every direction, impacting Salacious from close range as well as the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt, obscuring the Sith from the second Zabrak's view. When the dust died down, Lykos would have vanished from Salacious' view. In truth, the Force was wrapped around him, manipulating light and sound to render him invisible and inaudible - through the usage of Force Cloak - three meters to the left of where he had been standing.


[member="Salacious Vexx"]

 

[Salacious Vexx]

Salacious Vexx whirled around, eyes searching for [member="Darth Lykos"]. His saber spun idly in his hand as he walked in a small circle. "Where have you run to Sith?!" His words held less arrogance than they had before. They were still proud and defiant. But not as arrogant. Even the strong-headed brute knew that the Darth could tear him asunder with a thought. He'd faced the crimson blade of a saber without a flinch, unarmed. Salacious would not beat him here today. But blast if he surrendered or conceded. He'd rather die.

His saber burnt the ground as the tip touched it. A dark, smoldering trail followed behind him. The Zabrak was not well trained in the Force, unlike the Darth. He was unable to seek him out. He'd have to wait till the other Zabrak made a move.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

With dark amusement glinting within his one lone eye, Lykos would watch on with a small smirk as his fellow Zabrak searched for him with futility. It was a sign of Salacious' inexperience in tracking and hunting, things that Lykos had been forced to learn and excel in since an early age for the sole purpose of survival, that he did not chose to focus on the one sense left to him that Zabraks were naturally attuned to; their sense of smell. Born on the harsh world of Iridonians, the Zabrak race had been forced into a true example of survival of the fittest, honing their hearing and sense of smell so as to be able to hunt down food within the rather empty deserts that they had lived within. Even now, millennia and an uncountable number of generations later, those aspects still remained within the Zabrak DNA.

Of course, even if Salacious had been searching for Lykos' scent, he would have found nothing, for Lykos had positioned himself downwind from the other Zabrak, ensuring that he would not be found through such a mistake. But, it was the fact that Salacious never once considered such an act that amused the Sith Assassin.

Tightening his grip on the hilt of his durasteel sabre, the muscles along the Sith's body all tensed before he would surge forwards, right arm coming around in a swing to bring the edge of the sword in line with Salacious' throat just as his left, cybernetic hand would lash out to wrap itself around the wrist connected to the hand holding the red lightsaber.. With his positioning, his form would flicker into view, blade barely inches from the Zabrak's throat, directly in front of him just as the hydraulics within his hand locked his fingers into place.

With the strength contained within the fingers, even a twitch of the wrist would end with it snapping. The edge of the blade would halt mere millimeters from the edge. And Lykos' face was looming right in front of Salacious, his burnt orange eye glaring from a distance of a matter of inches, not feet. With his blade resting at the upstarts neck, his Cloak dropped to reveal his fierce and scarred visage and his cybernetic hand wrapped tightly around Salacious' wrist, his voice would hiss forwards as nothing more than a low growl.

"You are weak, bound by chains cast upon you, as your arrogance rots away at you. You are weak, unrefined and lacking control necessary to enable you to move into a greater form of living. You wallow in your insolence, in your ego and pride, never bending nor realising that such a fact makes you prone to shattering. Salacious Vexx, know that I, Darth Lykos, the Wolf That Guards, The Unseen Shadow, Patriarch of Clan Rakama, judge you of being unworthy of your Blood. Week and foolish in mind." The more that Lykos spoke, the more and more of his power within the Force would be revealed as it would press down upon Salacious, the chains that subdued and obscured it slackening with every syllable that fell past his lips."Unworthy Child of Weak Blood, Body and Mind. What do you say?"


[member="Salacious Vexx"]

 

[Salacious Vexx]

The blade flashed dimly in the light cast by the red sky. Not even an instant had passed before the blade stopped a hairs-breadth from the crimson flesh of the Zabrak. A metallic arm gripped his saber arm, the muscles which gripped it tensing in anticipation for whatever the Sith would do. The arm which held the metal weapon hissed mutedly, the hydraulics within settling into place.

Words poured from the Darth like venom, spurning the Zabrak and all his pride. A snarle curled the man's lips backwards, the sharp teeth hidden behind them on display for the Darth, but no words left his mouth. A precarious place. But one which could prove to strengthen the man, if he could swallow his pride for but a moment. The words were within his mind, but every cell in his body wanted to fight against his thoughts. His tongue struggled to form the sounds, the syllables. Finally the words slipped out in a subdued growl, "And does one become worthy?"

[member="Darth Lykos"]