Faction &nbsp; FORT WRATH II (THE DARK HORDE)

The Runt

Marlon Sularen

BECOMING SHADOWS I: A GATHERING OF DEVILS - PART 1

SUMMIT'S CLAW, M.T CERBERUS,
NORTH ARRUA PROVINCE, MAR'ZAMBUL (SPRING 878 ABY)

Well, well, well....
What to do when one achieves an unforeseen victory, hm?

From the moment the Great Khan was informed of Exegol's assured destruction, his mind and waking-hours were enveloped in the flames of blissful obsession once more, but unlike his previous self-enthralled obsessions, it could have been argued by most in favour of the opinion that the latest of such was much healthier in comparison. As no longer would fixations of loving, amorous nature get in the way of the Bloodhound's faith in the power of Rebirth, and no longer would doubt hinder progress that awaited his eventual leap of faith, long-awaited in anticipation though it was.

~=You could focus on your ultimate goal, Thomas. After all, time awaits no mortal.=~
~=Aaaaah, now there's a voice I haven't heard in a while....=~

For the first time in almost two years, the voice of the Third Avatar rang loud and clear in his mind, but the aura itself had taken on an entirely new shroud, a price to pay for placing the right bet a little late on in the game. Weak for the first time in all her eternity of existence, weakened from the Avatars' fight against Eina L'lerim-Vandiir, but despite Rebirth's obvious state of recovery, a fighting spirit remained within her as such had for the Bloodhound after losing his own fight on Empress Teta. Yet something else remained from before, and that certain something could be felt between them in these moments, felt with a near-tangible realism of the likes neither had ever known before, and that something just so happened to be proof of maintained faith in each other.

~=In Exegol's final hour, Ashlans and Imperials alike were taking swipes in our direction.=~
~=Ah, fair enough.... Recovery's a rotten cow, ain't she?=~

Fortunately none were around at the time to hear the Great Khan's laughter, as they may have thought him mad without knowing that his mirth was joined with that of the Third Avatar, for none could have known that this was a first between the resurrected and his reanimator; and none present had the power to know, or least none until Magnar Superious' eagerly-anticipated return to Fort Wrath, though these telepathic talks between god and mortal were likely still unknown to the Ubese-born conqueror at the time. Not that any part of the horde would protest their leader's dealings with the Avatar who favoured them first before the others either, as learning would only have uncovered a worthy inspiration after close scrutiny, and likely only would have brought about another's similarly inspired burst of belief as a result of the curiosity, and making it easier was the fact the one-eyed Woad was never one for punishing or chiding people on such matters.

~=It most certainly is, dear Thomas. But recover I most certainly will.=~
~=I know you will. Jus' - take yer time for now though, eh?=~

Rebirth's sigh could be felt reverberating at the surface of his mind, nearly rushing to the Bloodhound's skull as he silently relented in his doting behaviours, though in the process of letting the Third Avatar make up her own mind on the issues discussed between them, the Great Khan had failed to understand the nature of the deity's outburst. Sighing not in disappointment as Thomas first assumed, Rebirth had actually expressed begrudging acquiescence in complete contrast to the mortal's perceptions, though in the following moments the Bloodhound would know for certain that he was wrong after all, a welcome change of tone of the likes that had been long overdue between them. A fair and humble thing for a mere mortal of Barran's sort to miss though, as one so warlike and internally-conflicted as the Woad could only have expected to receive wicked encouragements and condemnations alike, and especially after the shaky first years of their celestial accord.

But circumstances were somewhat different this time - especially with the Bloodhound's recent successes considered.

As Thomas had been pulling his weight on the mortal end of the bargain between them, and Rebirth was the one appearing bloodied and broken this time, but despite the turn of the fates and what it said for Barran's change of luck in particular, the Third Avatar would find comfort knowing it brought the Great Khan nought of his own to feel the suffering of the one who resurrected him on Durace. Garnering unexpected sympathies in previous years, and for all the great amounts she had found on Rhigar and Mar'Zambul alike, it was clear there was much the celestial had missed in turn, with much more yet to uncover in her renewed mortal curiosities in the following weeks.

~=I usually ignore the advices of mortals, but now - I somehow feel it prudent to do so.=~
~=I know.... I was once in your shoes as well, remember?=~

Erion Justeene · Apr 29, 2023

Location: En route to Fort Wrath, Mt Cerberus
Objective: Ask a few long-standing questions
Tags:

Armand Narrdrenn |

Ronar |

The Runt |

Thomas Barran

Exegol was gone, the Maw has all but disintegrated, and Superious had more questions than answers. Also, his wounds need attending to, and once he escaped he did just that. Who was this Michael anyway, and why did he connect so seamlessly to The Bloodhound? The Ubese kicked a Holocron under his ship's seat as he pondered. He's going to have to take his questions straight to Bloodhound himself.

No going around in circles, no rambling, just answers. If it comes to it he'll answer any questions asked of him as well. Space was silent, he liked quiet, but this is too much of a good thing. His thoughts drowned out anything good about space. The more he told his brain to quieten down, the more noisy his thoughts became.

Even louder than the massive row during the last hours of the High Holidays, the same old chestnut about having a choice and that Humans are not all that bad. They both conceded that they both made quite a scene. Superious shrugged it off, Isidor is quite the Casanova and he knew it.

But that is just a distraction his brain used to fill in the time until he reaches the Scar Border, all he needs to do is patch in his codes and reach where the Alliance can't get him, even if they could he'll comply with a sharp twist of maliciousness so it would be a fool's errand.

If you want to capitulate, do it in a way that makes it nigh impossible for the enemy. He did it to get out of babysitting as a teenager. Different settings but the results were the same, off the hook on both counts.

There is only one place Superious was willing to bet a Holocron with his nan's recipes that The Bloodhound would be at Fort Wrath. So once he was safe he headed in that same direction.

Thomas Barran · May 16, 2023

2ND POST

-A FALSE SPRING STORY-

THE_BLOODHOUND
TRIBAL-CHIEFTAIN OF THE SCAR HOUNDS
WARDEN OF RHIGAR & MAR'ZAMBUL
GREAT-KHAN OF THE DARK HORDE

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BECOMING SHADOWS I: A GATHERING OF DEVILS - PART 2

SUMMIT'S CLAW, M.T CERBERUS,
NORTH ARRUA PROVINCE, MAR'ZAMBUL (SPRING 878 ABY)

'Who disturbs my meditations? Report! Have out with it already!'

The Great Khan of Mar'Zambul, restless soul though he was in his second life, was enjoying the fact he had the Hearthen Hall to himself for a while, but the time had come to act like a leader again. And as the time was nigh for war-preparations, it was high-time Thomas handled matters of state and command alike, forcing the hands of the Dark Horde but in ways that suited Barran's best and brightest, a run of issues to solve before he could even think about relaxing. Even in the moments of silence to himself, the Bloodhound's mind and body alike were always under the constant strain of improvement through training in some fashion or other, clearly inspired by the feats and abilities of his brother seen on the Holonet just days before, and enough that this training was seemingly becoming something of a perpetuity for Thomas of late.

'All is fine, Thomas. Its Dreamer, and we appear to be alone for now.... You know I scan the walls for threats whenever I check in on you - a healthy habit of which you should adopt, but I digress. Magnar Superious landed safely, with no reported wounds or injuries stated so far, though it would seem he is focused purely on seeing his Khan. So this is more of a heads-up than checking in, and that will be all for now.'

'Thank you for the update, Brother Dreamer! Excuse my rashness, its just that I'm making good progress here is all!', the Bloodhound quickly shot back, hoping to allay any and all concerns of frustration and those of any suchlike anger along with it. But after realising the response was well-received, Thomas quickly understood there was no such need for apologies, and especially not for one who knew him too well to take such outbursts personally, proving the undying loyalty of the Darkhans without even so much as a salute needed to show it. An attribute of which Barran knew was vital to the tribe's survival, and in the process of stating,'Bein' honest, an' while you're still in the room, you'll be needed here for my wee chat with Brother Erion.... I get the feeling there is much to learn - an' much to which we must admit as well.', the one-eyed Woad understood the pivotal purpose of the Chiss-born Darkhan's presence.

'Its perfectly fine, Brother Thomas. We can await the Magnar's arrival togeth-'

<"Its Ghoul, just dropping in some forewarning - the Magnar is on his way.">
<"Its about time anyway, our Khan is ready.... As you were. Dreamer out!">

Erion Justeene · Jul 8, 2023

Location: Fort Wrath, Mt Cerberus
Objective: The Questioning!
Tags:

Armand Narrdrenn |

Ronar |

The Runt |

Thomas Barran
Engaging:

Thomas Barran

Superious landed his ship without difficulty and he didn't have to pay the ground crew. The Bloodhound knew he was on his way. Go figures, nothing gets past him. Still, the golden rule of any Sith was to seek answers, no matter how obscure. A healthy mind questions everything.

Superious needs to get to the bottom of Barran^2 before anything else. Which means having to cut through the cud to get to the corn, the Ubese facepalmed as that was not how that saying went. A few curt waves and nods later he was inside, the lights were dim or at least pulsing. They seem to brighten when he draws near, they must be Force imbued.

He remembered back on UbaIV his mother had light clappers, and both himself and Murad had a fight where they both flickered the lights, annoying everyone else and forcing the said equipment's removal, spoilsport.

The fort had been added to since he last set foot on this mountain, they have been busy, and Superious was indeed impressed by it all. He could live here as well, it is spacious enough.

The Ubese snorted through his nose, he is getting sidetracked, and he needs to circle back as he took the wrong left. It looked like the route led to the basement, go figures, he finds it by accident, if he tried to deliberately find it he'll pass by the corridor thrice over.

After a while, he locates the Bloodhound, or at least followed his signature. By this point, Superious had lost patience and menaced the guards with his lightsaber and then he forced his way through the doors. Gathering his thoughts he asked the big question first:

<"Bloodhound! I have questions and I want answers; Why are there two of you? Who is Michael?"> He asked loudly, not bothering to beat up the bushes.

Thomas Barran · Jul 11, 2023

3RD POST

-A FALSE SPRING STORY-

THE_BLOODHOUND
TRIBAL-CHIEFTAIN OF THE SCAR HOUNDS
WARDEN OF RHIGAR & MAR'ZAMBUL
GREAT-KHAN OF THE DARK HORDE

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BECOMING SHADOWS I: A GATHERING OF DEVILS - PART 3

SUMMIT'S CLAW, M.T CERBERUS,
NORTH ARRUA PROVINCE, MAR'ZAMBUL (SPRING 878 ABY)

'Bloodhound! I have questions and I want answers; Why are there two of you? Who is Michael?'

Bursting into the Hearthen Hall, throwing open the sandstone doors with ease despite the aches and pains of exertion, still besetting him from the Maw's final battle on Exegol, it seemed that the Ubese would stop at nothing to learn the truth of the Barran issue in these moments. Troubling though it might have been under other circumstances, Thomas understood Erion's curiosity, allowing the lack of decorum to stand just this once - for the sake of all his ever-dutiful Magnar endured to survive the destruction and the Imperial-Knight who opposed him to the inconclusive draw.

One of the two fights in particular that the Bloodhound made sure to record, and in seeing the skill of Superious' opponent that day, ventured in mind to show his friend exactly why the duel in question had been so difficult throughout. There was no way to prepare for certain opponents, even after decades of experience in the field, but despite the challenges the Ubese-born Magnar had faced, the Woad would sympathize in drawing similarities to the sort Barran himself faced on the surface of Empress Teta. However, unlike Erion's glory in staving off defeat under pressure, Thomas had lost and almost perished in his similar circumstance some years before, though this would lend farther credence to the Bloodhound's understanding of the difficulties that were stacked against Superious at the time.

'Ghoul! Bring in the Holo-Plinth, there is much we need to show Brother Superious after all!'

'Now, as for,"Michael", I have something to show you on that front as well.', the Bloodhound finally answered, offering a high-table seat as he paused to weigh his wording for the true content of his response. Resolving to reveal the truth before the holographic recordings were cued by his Darkhans, realising then that the accompanying insight would make more sense as commentary on the footage-context itself, Thomas continued,'And as for who he is.... Or was, rather.... You may not know this, but I was Imperial before I died, and Michael was, or rather, still is my younger brother from that life. He was also uninvolved in the Empire's wars until sometime after my demise on Ziost, but something changed - and that something could become a problem down the line.', setting up his context as the pale-skinned Darkhan finished setting up the Holo-Plinth in turn.

'Example! An' before we move on to the challenges you faced on Exegol, I figured you of all people would want to see those my brother faced that day as well.... After all, I'm sure even you'd like to see the skillset of a Force-Wielding Barran, the very same Barran who, by the way - trained, mentored an' now commands the very same woman you faced in combat a few days ago.'

Erion Justeene · Jul 21, 2023

Location: Fort Wrath, Mt Cerberus
Objective: The Questioning!
Tags:

Armand Narrdrenn |

Ronar |

The Runt |

Thomas Barran
Engaging:

Thomas Barran

The whole barging in unannounced went better than he hoped, he wasn't smacked across the room for just storming in here with both barrels looking for knowledge, he was 10 when he did something similar, and got a black eye from his master. A moment he had never forgotten and it was normal and yet wrong.

So this was a bonus. The Bloodhound seemed to take it in his stride. Next time things may not be so calm. He'll do well to act with decorum next time too. Well, the jigsaw had found the then-lost pieces and explained everything. Superious had his answer, The Bloodhound like he had a brother, well no, that's half true, the Ubese had more than one.

As the footage played, Superious watched the whole thing, observing that Michael was The Bloodhound's sibling and how skilled the Human was .. is. Then, he realised he had also been watched closely and the topic of himself will be discussed.

He didn't fail, he just had to cut a logical loss and prevent himself from being reduced to space dust. His opponent was a welcomed challenge and put in motion the revelations of this moment. Everything made sense.

Superious for his part had no questions as of yet as he knew there is more and The Bloodhound has not finished speaking, not as far as he can tell. So the Ubese continued to watch the Holograms with keen interest.

At the same time, Superious was thinking of what to say when the questions turn to him. The Sith rarely had contact with his own Peck as it is. Isidor was the only one he spoke to and had screaming matches with each other down the communicator frequently.

<"A skilled apprentice, trained by an even more skilled master."> He muttered, more to himself than anything else.

Thomas Barran · Jul 25, 2023

4TH POST

-A FALSE SPRING STORY-

THE_BLOODHOUND
TRIBAL-CHIEFTAIN OF THE SCAR HOUNDS
WARDEN OF RHIGAR & MAR'ZAMBUL
GREAT-KHAN OF THE DARK HORDE

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