The Greatest Betrayal

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It had taken him in the dead of night.

A brief word was given to Cedric's advisers before he quietly departed Coruscant. The fledgling Imperium often required the presence of its Imperator, but this was a matter of grave importance. The homeworld called to him - a psionic scream that tore its way across the stars, and threatened the shred his very psyche should he not heed it. Whatever awaited him on that forsaken planet, it was the Force's will that he go to meet it immediately.

None of his companions would join him this time. This was something Cedric needed to deal with on his own.

The trip to Ession was a silent and uneventful one. The stealth-x darted past the paltry Sith fleet in orbit with ease. There was little left to guard of Ession: it was a dead world with dead secrets. All that remained of its once vast civilization were its mining outposts.

Dread filled the Jedi Master's heart as his ship whisked through the ash-choked skies. Even now, Ession's upper atmosphere was positively bloated from the devastation kicked up from the destruction of the planet's vast ecunemoplis. Mountains of melted durasteel and ruined spires were all that remained of the once glorious planet-spanning city. To see it now brought despair to Cedric's heart, but he cast such feelings aside. They would not serve him here.

The call of the Force led him to a barren wasteland near the planet's equator. His vessel came to rest in the center of a vast valley bordered by several mountains of debris. It was day, but the ash in the sky gave it the feeling of night. The air was thick with sulphur and detritus, and it seemed as if the very planet beneath Cedric's feet was eternally screaming within the empyrean. This was a place of death, something he never should have returned to.

And yet he had.

Clad in his combat armor, Cedric drew his cowl over his face, and began to walk off into the wastes. Whatever the Force wanted to show him, it would be ahead.

[member="Adron Malvern"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

Staring at a world racked in turmoil, all Adron could do was gaze at it in silence.

Never in his wildest dreams did he believe he would return to Ession. A world that had once hailed him as it's leader, it's savior. Even now the man could not help but give a contempt filled scoff at the notion. He was not a savior. He had learned years ago that anyone who must depend on another for strength is not truly strong, they are weak and the galaxy would grind them into dust simply because it was the way of things. Yet, this world that meant nothing to him still called out with open arms and expectant cries. He could feel the wax and wane of the Force so vividly, it was as if he was trapped in it's flowing currents.

That was why he was here.

For months the Force had been surrounding itself around Ession, releasing loud waves that called out to the Sith Lord. Even from his homeworld of Illyria he could feel the unsettling pull of this world...this memory.

When a moment had finally presented itself, he'd allowed himself to be spirited away by his impulses. He'd left the title of King and Exarch behind, taking with him only his Sith Armor and the effects of combat that he kept close at all times. Now as the shuttle grew closer to the world's surface he could not help but wonder just what he was doing here. Why was the Force calling to him so relentlessly? And what was this utterly restless feeling that was coming over him? Questions that would remain unanswered, because once the shuttle touched down on the world, they all fell into the abyss of his mind.

The man stood up from the pilot's cockpit, his crimson armor catching faint rays of light through the viewport. He reached back, binding his hair into a tight ponytail, pulling his raven locks from his amethyst eyes. He turned, making his way out of the shuttle. Usually when he opened a shuttle's door, a current of fresh air would wash into the shuttle, but not here. Here the air was thick and chalky, making his lungs heavy and miss the stale oxygen of his ship. He drew his hood over his face while a single boot crunched into the charred terrain below.

Adron paused.

He leaned down, his knee falling onto the surface that stood under him. Perhaps there had once been grass and other flora in this valley, but now all that remained was a thoroughly cooked layer of dirt and rock. Adron's gauntleted hands swept over the dirt, pulling a handful of the black soil into his grasp. For a few shallow seconds, a few seconds that would amount to nothing in the grand scheme of history, his expression turned to an utterly unreadable one. It lasted only a moment and then the man watched as the warm wind blew the dirt from his palm, leaving only a faint cloud of ash for him to watch.

Now more than ever he wondered.

"Why am I here?" He asked the decrepit world. It never did respond.

So he stood to his feet, his eyes set on the path before him that led deeper into the valley. The pull of the Force was as strong as ever, yet now it's screaming call had turned to a hushed whisper. So he continued down the path he traveled, never once turning to look back.

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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The sound of the ruined earth crunching beneath his feet was mind numbing. The valley was a vast place, and it felt as if he might as well have been standing still for all the progress he was making. Still, the empyrean called upon him, and he would be a fool to turn away from it after coming this far. Ession still had secrets for its lost lord, and he fully intended to uncover just what they were.

Memories of a more prosperous time flooded the Jedi's mind. What had been in this valley? A forest, perhaps? Another section of the planet-wide city? Only the gods knew now. He could feel the remnants of its twisting within the empyrean: ghosts and spirits that were trapped here due to the brutality of their deaths. Such violence corrupted the empyrean, and made transference into its eternity all the more difficult. He drew on those spirits for comfort, and in doing so expressed his own companionship. They seemed glad of it, as the Force's pull seemed to grow ever stronger after making contact.

A single bird flew overhead. It was a massive creature, white feathers glistening in the eerie light of the dim sun. It came to rest upon the remains of a single tree: a stump that just barely poked out from amidst the grime. The beast's narrow yellow eyes peered at Cedric, and then it turned, its head inclined toward a figure that was approaching out of the dust.

Realization came upon the Jedi's features, and the bird took to the skies once again.

He didn't know why the empyrean had called him here. Perhaps it was a trap, or some other form of trickery, but the last person he wanted to see here was [member="Adron Malvern"]. The Jedi Master stared out from under his hood, his hand brushing over the Blade of Ruusan that hung from his belt. He spoke no words, the intensity of his expression speaking volumes more than any mortal language could ever hope to properly express.

[member="Adron Malvern"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m51oKG3BKA​

His footsteps grew shallow.

The Force washed over him in one staggering wave that caused his amethyst eyes to grow narrow and cold. He had traveled the path of Ession until the valley rose around him and brought him to a single point of focus. A place where the Force had gathered and moved about with an eerie design. It was then that his eyes set themselves upon [member="Cedric Grayson"]. His presence in the Force was cloaked by azure flames that danced with the power of the Ashla. Those flames, which had once been warm and inviting to the son of Serenno, a star for which to guide his values and morals.

Now, with Adron smothered in darkness and shadow, they had grown to be nothing more than a pain to his inner eye. A nuisance of distraction that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand erect. He could feel Cerdic's eyes upon him and they only succeeded in raising his ire.

He had not even realized his jaw was clenched and his fists were pale from the restriction of blood.

Once Adron had seen Cedric as a friend, once he had seen him as a rival, but now when he looked into the eyes of the man who once ruled from this world he felt only one thing.

Hatred.

Adron threw his arms out from the dark abyss of his cloak. Each arm shot out to either side of him as the veins in his temple pressed against his skin. He drew from his anger, letting out a bestial yell as his fingers were bent tightly back against his hand. To either side of him had been two columns of Durasteel., laid among the rubble that surrounded them. As his fingers bent back the base of these columns shattered. Debris and smoke flew out from them as their connection to the ground was utterly destroyed.

Adron's arms raised to the skies, causing both of the columns to rise with the command of the Force.

He swung his right arm forward, grunting faintly as the metallic column began to spiral, turning on it's axis and flying towards Cedric like a dagger thrown from the gods.

His left closely followed behind, and with it the pillar to the other side of him flew for his enemy in the same fashion of the first.

 

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The fire that burned in Cedric's chest was one he had not felt in ages.

It took visible effort to restrain himself. His jaw taut, his eyes narrowed in a hunter's gaze. The last time he had seen Adron, it had been during his trial of mastery. The Sith Lord had appeared to him beneath the depths of the Graywall, and the battle that had followed served as the conclusion of the great trial. Within the vision, Adron had appeared as he once did: a young man in service to the Dominion, one whom Cedric had called friend and seen as the first of his pupils. He had not been afforded the terrible privilege of seeing what his former protege had become.

Another failure of his youth come to haunt him once more. There were so many.

The empyrean was choking around Adron. Whereas Cedric imagined himself as an island floating atop the Great Ocean, Adron was a whirlpool that had carved its way through the depths of those waters, its epicenter too deep to see through the darkness. All around it was pulled in, and twisted to suits its design in such ways that Cedric practically felt the Ashla crying out in pain. Young Malvern had become a paragon of the Bogan, and for the first time in a long time, Cedric felt nothing but cold resignation for his enemy.

Memories of the planet being torn asunder flooded the Jedi Master's mind as the columns of durasteel fell toward him like an execution sent down from the heavens. With grim purpose, Cedric stepped forward, plate-bound hands raised to the skies as he asked the ethereal tendrils of the Ashla to come to his aid. They rushed to do so, eager to halt the efforts of one that had abused them so. It seemed as if the pillars would crash into the Jedi Master and that would be that. Their halt was sudden and violent as they came to be suspended just a handful of feet above Cedric's head.

"This is what's become of you then," Cedric's voice was heavy with emotion as he thrust his arms outward, the pillars of durasteel soaring into the sky toward either side of him, far from the battle. "A slave to darkness?"

[member="Adron Malvern"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

The pillars were halted, their path cut short as Cedric commanded their pause. Adron exhaled, calling on the anger and hatred of a lifetime. A family butchered, a world lost, and a fate destroyed. There was so much hatred, that as the man drowned in the power that was brought from it, he felt only the bliss of hellish turmoil. His draw was enhanced, the armor he wore calling for the blood of the Jedi before him, screaming out at it's master with shattering shrieks. Never had it cried out so...

His eyes lowered, as if he was being taken from the world around him.

Slave?

When again his eyes snapped open, the powerful glow of the Dark Side spilled from them in uncontrolled wisps. Cedric's words only sought to infuriate him more, bringing his mind to a focus that only contempt could breed.

Slave.

He stepped forward. Slowly he approached the Jedi Master, carrying with him a weight that most would be crushed under. His hands reached down to brush against the blades that sat on his waist.

"When you left...I was a boy." His voice was low and menacing. As his stride remained true, he could not help but entertain this Jedi and his words.

"Now, you stand before a King."

For a moment there was silence between them. However it was quickly replaced with the snap-hiss of a lightsaber. As the violet blade emerged from the emitter it drowned the area in it's vibrant hue. "And you shall kneel before me." He resolved.

He charged.

The remaining distance between them was easy enough to close. Crimson Dread gave him access to short bursts of speed that were impressive, even by the standards of The Force. His body gave off a faint whistling as the metal plates moved against the blowing winds. The crimson blur emerged before Cedric, his lightsaber striking out with certain precision. The motion was fluid, as he turned his shoulder towards Cedric, his arm extended out into a graceful lunge, his waist bending ever so slightly as he came forward.

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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To find one's center in the greatest of calamities was the true purpose of a Jedi's training. He drew upon that training now as Adron approached, his thoughts slowing at first, and then being obliterated into peaceful nothingness by the time the violet blade came to life. He felt the screams of the long dead echoing out within the Force. At one time, they had deafened him. Now, he drew upon them, resolving to see an end to their suffering. It was a motivation like no other, adding an energy to his limbs that not even the Force could project.

It was purpose: total and all consuming.

The Blade of Ruusan roared into brilliant cyan light. Cedric took the large blade in both hands, his feet positioned in such a way to provide him balance when Adron arrived. The Sith Lord was fast, Cedric would give him that. The Jedi immediately opted for the defensive, adopting the economical stance of Soresu. The whistling plates and the sudden crunch of boots against detritus was Cedric's initial warning to Adron's assault. He met the lunge with a two handed grip, angling his shoulders just slightly enough that the violet blade would be caught upon Cedric's own.

The Ashla's presence filtered out into the valley. It stemmed from the living nexus that was the crystal of Cedric's lightsaber. As Adron grew close, the screams of the dead and the terrible power this place brought the Bogan would be cut off, replaced by the serene grace of the Ashla. Cedric drew upon that energy, allowing it to fuel his limbs and bring greater focus to his mind.

"Where you see a king, I see only a lost soul." Cedric's voice would cut over the crashing of the blades, "I thought you better than this Adron." There was disappointment to his voice, and sadness too. He had no desire to kill the Malvern, and he could not begin to understand why the Force had called him here for such a contest.

It didn't make sense.

[member="Adron Malvern"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

Adron's blade cut through the thick air of Ession, but it did not find her son. When the Blade of Ruusan came to life, it was as if it's light sought to burn through the Sith Lord. The blades clashed, creating erratic streaks of energy as they locked together. The blade that Cedric wielded was heavy and powerful, the entire counter to Adron's own lightsaber.

Cedric's words caused the man to scoff, though his expression did not seem to change, not much at least. "You see wrong. I lost my soul long ago." Adron broke the connection, allowing their lightsabers to come apart as he stepped back from the man.

With his left arm coming behind his back, he spoke softly. In his tone was something that had never been in the past, certainty. "Malphas." He corrected.

"I am Darth Malphas." He declared, his eyes gazing out at the Jedi.

The Dark Side exploded out from Adron, as his left hand came forward, firing long thin streaks of purple lightning at the man. They lashed out wildly, a massive arch of the Sith power, however they were weak and not aimed for ending the man, merely distracting him. Barely a second passed before Adron's lightsaber flew through the air in a downward arch. Aiming to slice the man in two, his style seemed to switch away from Makashi towards a more forward style of Soresu.

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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Cedric was glad of his weapon. Though the Jedi Master could ignore the echoes of the damned, they still lingered on the very edges of his mind. The Blade of Ruusan drowned their screaming out with the intense silence of peace. Never before was Cedric so glad that he had been chosen to carry the legendary weapon.

He drew back a pace as Adron withdrew from the exchange. His expression was that of stone, though his brow did furrow with discontent as Adron named his title. "Ah, you've taken on a Sith title. A moniker to hide behind, so that you might justify your choices. I never expected you to be one for such a ccowardly tradition."

Thin veins of lightning carved though the air, rendering the reality between the two warriors a writhing mass of chaotic energy. The Jedi was too caught up in his words to pay immediate attention, and the lightning managed to scourge its way across his armor and flesh. The pain was immediate and intense, though there was no significant damage done to his body. Less could be said of his armor - there was a resounding beep from his chest-plate's control system indicating his shield systems had been overloaded.

Then came the strike.

Caught off guard, Cedric lowered his lightsaber, and brought up a hand to meet the blade. The empyrean flowed to meet his call, enshrouding his hand in a thin barrier of pure energy. When the blow landed, Cedric was pushed back a pace, his teeth grit as he met the strike head on. The violet blade sizzled and cracked as it sought to break the barrier, to no avail.

"You are Adron Malvern." The Blade of Ruusan dimmed suddenly. Telekinetic energy swam around the hand holding the weapon's hilt, and then it thrust forward. "Own your decisions." It was not a particularly strong blast, but at such a point blank range, Cedric had hope it would send the Sith reeling.

[member="Adron Malvern"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

As Cedric spoke his words became like nails on a chalk board. He spoke of things he did not understand. The Dark Side, the Sith, Adron...they were all things above the man who claimed to be the Last Knight of Ession.

As the lightning lashed out, crashing into Cedric's form, Adron was able to sense the pain it caused him. As if it was a well that would never run empty he was able to drink from it. The blade the Sith Lord wielded flew through the air with a true intent to end this confrontation, however it was paused by the flow of the Force, wrapped around Cedric's palm as if it was a layer of skin summoned from the shifting nether. The moment he came into contact with the barrier, the Sith Lord felt his rage explode within him.

Cedric gathered the Force to him, however Adron was the first to move. The Sith Lord strafed to the side, his lightsaber remaining locked in place while it's master abandoned it. Unlike the Jedi, the Sith viewed a lightsaber as nothing more but a weapon, a tool to be used and eventually cast aside. With the Force of Cedric's telekenetic wave, the lightsaber was fire back into the reaches behind Adron's own path. The darkness and shadows claimed it, yet it had provided the Sith Lord with an opportunity. Adron's hands rose, as if he was pressing his will upon the Force.

The explosion was deafening. A telekenetic blast fired out from his hands, one that carried with it the intent to throw Cedric from this place and tip the scales of the battle. As it exploded out from him, Adron yelled out. "I have worn every one!" He yelled, his anger spilling from him as he fought the man.

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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Cedric lofted a brow as Adron abandoned his weapon. That momentary confusion gave way to outright surprise as a wave of telekinetic energy crashed in the Jedi Master's form. The barrier he'd forged around himself shattered with the impact, and Cedric was sent spinning through the air, crashing through the refuse a few meters away in a cloud of kicked up dust and ash. A curse spilled from his lips as Cedric rose to his feet, more than a few spots on his body aching from the impact.

A hand was outstretched, and the Blade of Ruusan flew to meet it. The feeling of the weapon in his hand brought him some small comfort as he eyed Adron. "So you have," he shouted so that he might be heard over the distance. "And all you've learned from them are lies."

Where Adron drew upon pain, Cedric ignored it. His mind was a place of serenity. He eyed the Sith Lord dispassionately, like a dejarik player gauging his opponent's next move. Adron was angry, and that was where Cedric wanted him to be. Now to only stoke that flame...

"Come then, Sith Lord," Cedric's tone dripped with sarcasm, a grim smile on his face as he stretched his arms out wide, "Come kill your Jedi."

[member="Adron Malvern"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

The moment that Cedric went flying, the Sith Lord stood to his full height. He eyed the man with uncertainty. Cedric was, in all ways, a fully realized Jedi Master. This meant that he would not be felled by something as simple as a push with the Force. As Cedric worked to recover, Adron's hand fell to his blade, his true blade. The sword that he'd worn at his side for years that had been forged with his own hands. The cold ring of songsteel was unfamiliar to most, however it was music to Adron's ears. The blade was a manifestation of the Dark Side, much like Adron's armor. Though not as powerful or well known as the blade of Ruusan, which continued to hammer the Sith Lord with it's damning effects, it had a power of it's own kind. The poison that the blade was edged with was some of the most powerful in the galaxy. It had nearly been the death of [member="Srina Talon"] and [member="Aryn Teth"] and it had often proven to be Adron's greatest ace up his sleeve.

He held Winter out at his side, keeping the blade levied before him as his left arm retreated behind his back once again, He took a moment to center himself, to recall the fundamental of the duelist. Patience, attentiveness, opportunity. These things would guide him to victory. Still, it was far easier said than done. Crimson Dread screamed at him all the while the Blade of Ruusan had begun to chip at him. It was a powerful artifact and just from those few moments of connection, Adron knew he could not underestimate it.

The world around them was a bastion of darkness, were it not for the damned blade Adron would be able to draw on it as a source of power. Still, it mattered not. Again he charged, his movements were even and paced and when the distance was closed, Adron's blade sang. It cut across the air, unlike a lightsaber the weight was not maintained in the hilt. It was more distributed which made wielding it slightly more natural. As the tip of the blade came in a horizontal slice for Cedric's face, Adron called out. "As you wish, Jedi."

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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Cedric recognized the technique. It was one held in great value by the sword-singers of Serenno, though one the Jedi Master had not faced before. His brow furrowed as he attempted to recall his studies of the style. The inclusion of a Sith blade would only serve to further complicate things. The Blade of Ruusan was a heavy weapon, one balanced to match that of a physical sword. The advantages it had over traditional lightsabers were nullified against a physical blade.

To the Imperator's surprise, Cedric found himself almost looking forward to the clash. It would be a test that he'd never had to face before, and the Jedi Master was always one for facing new challenges. They were the key to growth, after all.

All passion left Cedric's heart as Adron charged. The two blades met, a clash of sparks and ethereal energy spitting from the twin weapons as they met. The Bogan and the Ashla were at their paramount in the two duelists, and much like Cedric's duel with Maliphant, the world itself bent to their violence.

"Why did you do this?" Cedric asked over the exchanging of blows, the bitterness fading from his voice. The blades crashed again, and Cedric broke away, taking a moment to collect himself a few meters away from the Sith Lord. "I've tracked your deeds since Ession. You could have been the Jedi that turned the tides of the empyrean in the balance's favor," Cedric shook his head, "Why align yourself with the same kind of people, the same Force, that shattered our worlds Adron?"

[member="Adron Malvern"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

The moment their blades met, a wave of shadows flowed over Adron. The Dark Side of the Force wholly embraced him and extended itself out to meet the matched presence of the light side of the Force. As they stood, their blades locked together Cedric began to speak once again. This time the Sith allowed the man's words some merit, listening to them as his amethyst eyes bore down on him. Before Adron could reply, Cedric broke the connection between the two, stepping back from Adron to regain his footing. While Cedric stepped back, Adron's blade rose towards the Jedi, the tip of the sword slightly angled towards the surface below them.

While Cedric spoke, Adron's eyes seemed to fade. They nearly fell closed, however he did not allow himself to be swept into the shifting darkness that was around him. No, if he lost focus there would be no possibility of him surviving this. "You ask why I do this?" At this Adron's voice seemed to be one of true curiosity. He could not help but look at Cedric the same way he would a child. This was when his lips curled into a smirk. It was a smirk that was natural to him, his brilliant eyes never losing a bit of their curiosity in it. "I do it because I can. I do it because I have chosen to." Adron brought the blade of his sword up, until the broad metal was horizontal to his own being. "I do it to combat evil. No, not the evil that is akin to the Sith or the Mandalorians. You see those evils are natural, they are logical even. The Sith crave power, so they use their own power to destroy and conquer all that is in their path. This is the way of things, the powerful conquer the weak."

"The evil I combat with you is something far more sinister. Your evil is the evil of the fool. You truly believe, with that cursed heart of yours, that by merely believing in the values of peace and justice that you are their embodiment. You Jedi throw around words like hope and peace as if they were a child's playthings that can be obtained by merely wishing for them hard enough. So what do you commit yourself to? An endless crusade where you naturally disarm yourselves and empower those you fight. How many Jedi have died for nothing more than their silly little code? The differences between us is like the sun and moon and yet you dare call yourself a "Master" of the Force. You fool, the Force is not something you master through knowedge alone. It is mastered by the same principals that the galaxy is built upon."

"The weak exist only to serve the strong. However, if you do not commit yourself to the path of strength then the weak will drag you down to their muck and you will become one of them. You ask why I stand by the Force that shattered my world? Because my world is weak and it deserved it's fate. If it could not stand then it would shatter under the weight of true strength....As you will crumble beneath my strength."

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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Cedric Grayson laughed. It was a deep, boisterous mirth, the only apt response to such self-righteous lunacy. He once again adopted the form of Soresu, his blade moving in short, precise motions around his body as he prepared to counter Adron's next assault.

"An interesting choice of words. Funny that you repeat the exact same argument almost every Sith Apprentice I've sparred with has spat at me. Such a follower." Cedric replied, as he finally regained his composure. "You sound like a victim trying to justify your failings, you do understand that, no? The nature of the galaxy is balance. Without fools like yourself, there would be no 'strong dominating the weak'. That is not the natural order of things - that is the lie upon which you have built your entire philosophy, one spoken by the Sith, and one that you have naively chosen to accept as truth. You shut your eyes to enlightenment."

The Jedi shook his head. "And you are ignorant. You do not understand the Jedi, yet you'd sing to me of your superiority, and how we are fools. Have you ever even studied the Jedi Code? I would expect not, too busy pleasuring your masters in hopes that they might deliver you a sliver of power."

Debate was something Cedric enjoyed, but he relished this. The Sith philosophy was so flawed, so subservient, to see Adron as such an ardent believer in its lies was akin to the greatest of black comedies. "The Jedi Order guarded the galaxy for ten thousand years. The Sith have managed to retain power for a few decades, at most, since the dawn of time. We built the Republic. We enforced true equality of the masses. The Jedi Order is righteous, and that is why we speak of such things - because they are true. I will see the galaxy once more brought under the rule of the people, and balance returned to the Force. That is my crusade."

Cedric fought the urge to chuckle again, "And what are the Sith, but slaves? You don't command the Dark Side, the Dark Side commands you. That is the grand lie upon which the Sith Order has been built. The Ashla is freedom, the Ashla is revelation, the Ashla is liberation. The Jedi have no chains, the Sith worship them. That is why the Jedi are eternal, and why we always win in the end. You've been fooled my friend, and I am sad to see such a bright mind embrace ignorance so willingly."

[member="Adron Malvern"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

As Cedric spoke, the Sith Lord allowed his eyes to draw to a close. He said nothing as he listened to Cedric's words. In fact, over time they became white noise. His being was slwoly drifting away from a person and turning to that of a conduit. The hatred and anger of the world would, albeit slowly, begin to meld into him. As the Dark Side shrouded him he began to physically seethe the power it created. Thin whisps of shadow spilled from him. His muscles were tense and tight while his veins pressed against his skin. When again his eyes opened, he gazed over at Cedric with a soft exhale. "You're beginning to bore me Cedric. You truly are a Jedi. A scholar. I will prove my ways superior by ending your life."

In one fluid motion, Adron's blade was spun back. His grip quickly reversed the sword and he pulled it back behind him. The Sith Lord's left hand shot out, and in the next moment the Force that had been built up within him exploded out. When the Dark Side was physically manifested into the world it was a sight to see. Some believed that during these rare moments you could hear the twisting nether for what it was. Power. It sounded like a fire, a blazing inferno sweeping over an undefended valley, washing everything away in a torrent of death. It was such a pure sound that it made those untouched by the Force weep in fear and awe.

His hand began to shift and fade from the world of reality. Fingers dissipated into a thick ebony mist. It was touched with flecks of white and violet, almost as if a night sky had been transformed into a fog.

The tendrils spoke out in quiet whispers. For Adron he heard their voices. His father, his mother, and so many others that Adron had known in his life. Good or bad, they fell into this pit of darkness that the Sith Lord had conjured and in their whispers all Adron could hear were bloody moans and hollow pleas. His own face was one that was cold and disconnected. It was for this very purpose that a Sith's name was shifted upon facing his last trial. He had severed the ties to these people so long ago, that now their cries and screams were more antagonizing than anything. Yet still, as he held his hand out, a single crimson tear leaked down the side of his cheek.

He watched as the mist seemed to move much a like a serpent. It would grow another head and another until there was more than half a dozen of these mist-like tendrils coiling themselves around the area where Cedric stood. As one of the tendrils brushed against the ground, there was a slight uproar which sounds like shifting sands. When the tendril drew back, the soil where it had brushed against was completely gone, as if pulled from reality.

"Show me your convictions now, Jedi."

Adron closed his fist and each of the tendrils snapped out, aiming to take Cedric's life from him.

 

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The empyrean wailed at its abuse.

Whatever hope Cedric might have had of showing Adron a better path disappeared as the shadows gathered. This was heresy. There was no greater crime. To use the Bogan was to abuse the Force's natrual will, but this was something far more than paltry dominance.

This was darkness incarnate, the same evil that [member="Darth Maliphant"] had conjured during their fateful battle on Hoth. Cedric recognized it instantly for what it was, and was more than a bit surprised that Adron possessed both the will to bring it about, and the lack of morality it required to be utilized effectively. It disgusted the Jedi Master: twisted something in his very core. He knew in every fiber of his being that this was wrong, and that whatever Adron believed, he needed to be put down like the animal he aspired to be.

No, what he had already become.

The Blade of Ruusan fell silent as Cedric attached the weapon to his hip. Ession was a place of shadows, and it only served to amplify Adron's abilities, but Cedric was a Jedi. Jedi did not run. He held out both arms, willing the empyrean to flow between his body and that of the flesh-eating virus that was the Bogan. The serpent heads fell upon the Jedi, shredding the barrier with relative ease. The armor beneath began to disintigrate, just as it had under Maliphant's assault. His flesh would surely follow.

It was rare for Cedric to channel the Ashla in its raw form. The ability took a great toll on him, as well as the empyrean, but there was no surviving this otherwise. Pain wracked his body as cuts and canyons were carved through his flesh as it simply disintegrated at the Bogan's touch. It was a slow spread, but bits of his flesh began to simply disappear, exposing the blood, muscle, and tissue beneath. He set aside the pain, and willed his mind to a more peaceful place.

"Ashla save me," his words were a quiet whisper. He knew nothing but pain and the encroaching of anxiety of assured death.

And then she came.

The blues of Cedric's eyes were replaced by a radiant gold that shone like tiny twin suns. He envisioned himself standing alongside his life's teachers and friends. [member="Romi Jade"] and [member="Veiere Arenais"] stood at his back, [member="Dak"] and his mother at his sides. [member="Shanoed Marais"], the Crystal Spyder, [member="Alyson Halle"], a lifelong friend, and [member="Cenric Marus"] his lost pupil, and so many others. He heard [member="Talaya Rade"]'s excited words at learning she had a living brother, felt the presence of his long dead twin [member="Caida Grayson"] pressing a gentle hand upon his shoulder. Then came [member="Loske Matson"], his protege, his friend, and the woman whose influence had inspired him to rise above his self-loathing and become something greater, whether she knew it or not.

They all stood with him, as did the Ashla. The golden light spread from his eyes to slowly encompass the entirety of his body. His armor was shredded, his robes hanging from his bloodied body in ruined tatters, but he stood tall.

The serpent's fangs left his flesh, and he stepped forward. "As you wish." His voice was strong, a far cry from his physical appearance. Two hands, covered in deep gashes and melted tissue, gestured forward. The Light of the Ashla spread forth from them, rays of radiant holy energy piercing the shadows of Ession, carving through the serpent's fangs, and shooting straight toward the malignant figure that was Adron Malvern.

In that moment, Cedric knew no pain, and felt no bitterness. Only sadness for the man that Adron had become, regret for doing nothing more to help the boy, and grim purpose.

There was no redemption here, only righteous judgement.

 

[Adron Malvern]

It was blinding.

The Force flowed from one side of the planet to another in deep, powerful waves. It shifted and changed as if it was the winds that rolled around them. The Darkness spilled from Malphas so purely, it was as if he had become an embodiment of the darkness itself. Every ounce of rage that flowed from him was centered at the man who stood across from him, this Jedi. As the Dark Side flowed over Cedric, Adron could feel the stirring of the light. It infuriated him. Maddened him to no end. The demon within destroyed the barriers that stood between them and emerged from the deepest pits of Adron's soul.

This was Malphas. The second hand of destruction, forged to serve Darth Metus and destroy all that laid in his path. The Sith Lord felt the hot rays of the light side flow over him, causing his skin to burn under the pressure of it's rays. The darkness that had been aimed at Cedric now wrapped itself around Adron, shielding him from the hell of the light side. Of course, it did not dare spare him the pain.

Every fiber of his being screamed out as the light side of the Force burned through the Darkness. It came to the point where Adron could no longer handle it.

So he flew.

His legs let out a powerful repulse. The ground shook and rattled from the Force of his explosion upwards. Shadow and mist trailed off of him as he flew through the skies, his body arching through the air and slamming back into the ground a few yards from where he had stood before.

The Dark Side bled from him in thick, black, wisps. The veins that pressed against his body were black and sickly. His skin was beginning to peel as if it had been burned away by a torrent of flames. His left arm, which had suffered the majority of the onslaught, hung lifelessly to the side. The armored plates of Crimson Dread had been seared away, with only a few pieces of metal welded into his arm.

He let out a rasp of an exhale before charging forward.

He moved with the speed of the Force, sending him in flawless strides that brought him towards Cedric with his metallic blade aimed for the man's heart.

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

[Placeholder 0128]

The blade never struck.

The kaleidoscope of colors that erupted from the clash of Ashla and Bogan grew all together blinding, and then went out entirely. Cedric felt something far more powerful than himself take hold of him, as if in the grasp of an angry god. This entity would reach out to Adron with the same effect, intending to lift the two force users several meters above the ground.

The Jedi bit back a curse as his lightsaber fell uselessly from his hands, his control of his body momentarily numbed by this unknown power.

"What are you doing?" He grimaced at Adron, wholly certain this was some Sith plot. Why else would the Sith Lord had called him to Ession?

"He does nothing." The voice came from everywhere, and from nowhere. Below, the eagle from before stood perched once again on its fallen log. It seemed cut straight down the middle, its left side white as snow, right black as midnight. There was an intelligence to the creature's eyes that seemed beyond any sentient Cedric had ever come across.

"How powerful you have both grown." The voice spoke again.

Cedric was growing rather certain that it came from the bird.

"What are you?" He asked, the words taking far more effort than he expected. The duel with Adron had left him rather spent. "Explain yourself." He added after a few moments of silence from the creature.

Rather than respond, the eagle looked to Adron, seemingly curious as to what the Sith Lord might say.