Duel The Knight Obsidian: Duel on Rannon

[Rann Thress]

​

TAGS: Gerwald Lechner
EQUIPMENT: Rann's Lightsabers
Location: Rannon Jedi Temple

It seemed inevitable that it would end this way. The site of Rann's greatest failure would become the site of his greatest success. The Force willed his victory. Of that, he was certain. It was that certainty that drove his need for balance, and that need for balance had brought him home. The planet he once called his own. The kingdom he once ruled. The world whose people he slaughtered years ago. It was here he'd make his stand against the Sith who, it would seem, have finally made good on their attempts to take over the galaxy.

The Alliance had fallen. The High Republic remained, and from what Rann could see they weren't going anywhere anytime soon, but for countless Jedi outside the High Republic, death had been coming for them in what had come to be called The Great Purge. Another chapter in the grand, endless war of dark versus light that mirrored so many that came before.

The Sith, it seemed, were winning. Countless Jedi had fallen or simply disappeared, either switching off the lightsaber for good or being taken away to some unknown fate. A fate Rann decided he would try to spare as many Jedi from if he could, including his son, Aron Thress .

And so, Rann started to make noise.

It started with re-announcing his presence in town square of Point Besboi as a Jedi seeking to claim Rannon as a bastion against the dark. Of course, Rann wasn't a jedi, but the people didn't need to know that. It worked for his purpose, which was drawing attention away from the actual Jedi, those who would make a difference in the wars to come.

At first the response was minimal. A few lowly Sith Hopefuls coming to claim the head of a Jedi. Rann would await them, each and every time, in the grand hall of the Jedi Temple. Each and every time, he'd offer them a choice. Renounce their ties to the Sith, give up this foolish hunt for Jedi, and return home. Or meet their destiny today. Each and every time they chose the fight. Each and every time they joined the bones on Rannon. Then came Assassins. Inquisitors. Anyone the Sith could spare to deal with a problem that wasn't worth the Dark Council's time. It was an insult Rann intended to repay.

After the last duel, when he had the Sith on his knees, saber to his throat, he gave him an order.

"Go back," he said, his voice steadied, his hands steadier, "Go back and tell your masters. Tell your Empress, your Council, everyone. Tell them that Rann Thress awaits an actual challenge. Tell them I'll keep collecting bodies on Rannon if they wish to keep wasting my time. I challenge them. All of them...to prove themselves the betters of their predecessors. Because right now?" He paused, shaking his head and clicking his tongue. "I am not impressed."

Since then...silence. No whispers, no nothing. Just the quiet air breathing through the darkened husk of what had once been a monument to the Light. Here, in the dark, Rann waited and meditated.

This would work, he thought. He'd keep their focus on him for long enough. He'd kill his way up the chain of command if he could, reduce the entire empire to ashes one stroke of a lightsaber at a time. Former Emperors, Sith Lords, even the Empress herself. It didn't matter.

On Rannon, a fight was waiting.

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

WEARING: This
WEAPONS: Ferrum Solus | Blodmåne | Strømafbryder
SHIP: Vigfjall
TAG: Rann Thress

The report did not hold Gerwald's attention until he reached the name attached to it.

Rann Thress.

For several moments the Dread Wolf simply stared at the page.

A faint breath escaped his nose as he settled back into his chair.

"Of course."

There were countless Jedi in the galaxy. There were former Alliance soldiers, wandering knights, idealists, zealots, and heroes who believed they could turn back the tide through sheer force of will. Any one of them might have decided to make a stand against the Sith.

Only Rann would have chosen Rannon.

The irony would not have been lost on either of them.

Once upon a time they had worn the same colors and answered to the same command structure. They had fought the enemies of the Alliance together. They had shed blood on the same battlefields and survived wars which should have killed them both. Whatever separated them now did not erase the fact that there had been a time when Gerwald would have trusted the man at his side.

That life felt as though it belonged to someone else.

His eyes drifted from the report toward the city beyond the window.

The first time they had crossed blades as enemies, Gerwald had still believed there might be a path that did not end with one of them dead. The second encounter had stripped away much of that illusion. Neither man had yielded. Neither man had changed course. They had simply continued walking farther down the roads they had chosen.

Years later, they stood on opposite sides of a war neither seemed willing to abandon.

The challenge itself was unsurprising.

Rann had never been a man inclined toward subtlety. If he wanted the Sith's attention, he would climb to the highest point he could find and demand it. If he wanted a fight, he would make certain everyone knew where to find him.

Gerwald could almost hear the man's voice as he read the account.

"Tell them I await an actual challenge."

The corner of his mouth twitched.

Rann was many things.

Patient was not one of them.

What concerned Gerwald was not the insult. The Jedi could call him whatever he pleased. What concerned him was the growing pile of dead Sith left in the wake of the challenge. Hopefuls. Assassins. Inquisitors. Men and women who had answered a summons they were not prepared to answer.

That was no longer a challenge directed at the Order.

It had become a matter for the Council.

The Dread Wolf set the report down and rose from his chair.

Rann believed he was buying time for other Jedi. Perhaps he was. The man had always been stubborn enough to throw himself into impossible situations if he believed it would help someone else survive. In another life, Gerwald might even have admired the conviction.

Now it simply guaranteed that their paths would cross again.

Whether Rann realized it or not, the challenge had already been accepted the moment his message reached Sith space. The only question remaining was who would answer it.

Gerwald suspected he already knew.

 

[Rann Thress]

​

TAGS: Gerwald Lechner
EQUIPMENT: Rann's Lightsabers
Location: Rannon Jedi Temple

Rann maintained his position, his legs crossed and his hands resting on his knees as he sat alone in the darkened Hall, his eyes closed as he focused his mind towards the galaxy. The Darkness spread throughout all corners of the galaxy. If he let himself, Rann could feel the torment and infecting the hearts of trillions of beings. He tried not to let himself. Not often. But he let himself feel it now. He opened himself to their pain as much as he was able. It motivated him, drove him. It told him what he was doing was right...not foolish.

Which was a conversation he had had with himself over the past few days.

The people of the galaxy needed heroes. They'd have to make do with Rann. But he'd do what he can, and he'd do his best.

While lost in his thought, exploring the galaxy through the Force, an alarm kicked off in his mind that brought him back to Rannon. A massive ship had just dropped out of Hyperspace near the planet. It was something too big to belong to a trader, pirate or something like that. And it was too big to belong to a pawn of the Sith.

No this...this was someone special. His call had been answered. And the person who answered it was...familiar. Very familiar. Rann furrowed his brow and focused his senses. When he did, when he discovered who had answered his call, a small smile tugged at the sides of his mouth.

"Hmph," he chuckled softly, "Imagine that."

He got what he wanted. Wasn't what he expected, but then again he didn't know what to expect when he started this crusade.

Gerwald Lechner.

"The Wolf," Rann said softly, exhaling through his nose.

They'd fought a couple times before. Once, when Rann was enthralled by the Darkness himself. He had challenged Gerwald, accusing the Lord Commander of being weak. He had loved ones, he showed restraint. That very restraint saved Rann's life when Gerwald defeated him.
The second time they had met was years later. Rann had clawed himself out of the Darkness, and Gerwald had succumbed to it. They had met on opposite sides on the battlefield, and Rann had secured victory, forcing Gerwald to withdraw. It was hardly a decisive victory, and they both had left their marks on the other.

They had once been comrades. At the time, Rann didn't like Gerwald but now? He respected the man as he was, not the creature that had replaced him. But at one time, even the worst of times, Rann knew Gerwald had his back, and he had Gerwald's as a matter of professional courtesy. Now? Gerwald was here to kill him or capture him. Which meant the plan worked. Gerwald was here, which meant he wasn't elsewhere.

The ship drew closer, and Rann was thankful he had chosen to wait deeper inside the Temple just incase Gerwald had decided to bombard the Temple as opposed to meeting him face to face.

A final deep exhale escaped his mouth as he mentally prepared himself for the fight. At one time, Gerwald spared him. At another, Rann didn't press his victory.

Now?

Now only one was walking out of here alive.

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

WEARING: This
WEAPONS: Ferrum Solus | Blodmåne | Strømafbryder
SHIP: Vigfjall
TAG: Rann Thress

The trip to Rannon afforded Gerwald more time to think than he cared for.

A challenge from a Jedi was hardly unusual. Throughout the years there had always been someone convinced they could halt the advance of the Sith through courage, conviction, or the belief that they alone could accomplish what countless others had failed to do before them. Most eventually learned the galaxy cared little for noble intentions.

Rann Thress was not most Jedi.

That distinction was precisely why Gerwald had come himself.

The reports gathered during the journey painted the same picture over and over again. Rann had established himself within the ruins of the temple and openly declared his presence. He had challenged anyone sent against him, defeated those who accepted, and then deliberately sent survivors back with messages intended to provoke a response from higher and higher levels of authority. It was a strategy designed to draw attention away from others, and Gerwald understood it well enough to recognize the man behind it.

Rann had always preferred to stand where the fighting was thickest.

The thought almost made him smile.

There had been a time when they fought on the same side of a battlefield. They had never been close friends, but friendship was not required to build respect. Shared campaigns had a way of teaching a man who could be relied upon when blaster fire started flying and plans inevitably fell apart. Rann had earned that respect years ago, long before either of them became the men they were now.

Memory carried him back to another confrontation.

Back then it had been Rann who embraced the darkness while Gerwald still wore the mantle of Lord Commander. The younger man had challenged his authority and his resolve, convinced that restraint was weakness and attachment a flaw. Gerwald had beaten him and spared his life.

Years later they met again under very different circumstances.

By then Rann had found his way back into the light while Gerwald had surrendered any claim to it. Their duel ended without either man claiming a decisive victory, but both left carrying scars which served as reminders that neither had become easy prey with age.

Those memories remained with him as the shuttle descended through the atmosphere.

Rannon appeared much as it always had. Time had altered settlements and governments, but the world itself remained unchanged. Looking upon it brought no sense of nostalgia. Too much blood had been spilled there for that. The planet represented chapters of his life he neither celebrated nor denied. They simply existed, as permanent as the mountains beneath the clouds.

When the shuttle finally settled near the temple, Gerwald descended alone.

Soldiers remained aboard. The fleet remained in orbit. If Rann truly wished to face the Sith Order through one of its Councilors, then Gerwald saw little reason to hide behind ranks of troops. The Jedi had called for a challenge, and after enough bodies had been left behind to make his point, one had finally arrived.

The walk to the temple entrance passed in silence.

Gerwald felt Rann's presence long before he crossed the threshold. Years and distance had done little to diminish the familiarity. The Force carried the same signature it always had, though experience and hardship had sharpened its edges.

By the time he entered the grand hall, he already knew exactly where the other man waited.

His footsteps echoed across the ancient stone as amber eyes settled upon the figure seated within the darkness.

For several moments neither spoke.

Gerwald studied the man before him and found little reason for surprise. Age had marked them both. War had marked them even more. Yet beneath the years and the scars he could still see the same stubborn knight who had once refused to back down from a fight no matter how impossible the odds appeared.

A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth.

"Rannon."

The word lingered between them.

"Of all the places in the galaxy, I should have known you would choose somewhere with history."

His gaze swept across the ruined hall before returning to Rann.

"You always did have a flair for making a statement."

 

[Rann Thress]

​

TAGS: Gerwald Lechner
EQUIPMENT: Rann's Lightsabers
Location: Rannon Jedi Temple

At long last, the fight was here.

Rann pushed off the ground to his feet and took a deep breath, before offering a courteous bow to his opponent, "Lord Commander," he said with a hint of reverence, and far more respect.

"Of all the places in the galaxy, I should have known you would choose somewhere with history. You always did have a flair for making a statement."

Rann smirked, thankful for at least a bit of conversation before the inevitable, "That almost makes it seem like I've been on your mind." He followed Gerwald's gaze across the hall. The decrepit walls, collapsed pillars, piles of rubble.

"This place has always been special. Lot of mistakes on this planet." He looked down and lazily kicked a small piece of rubble away. "Mine. Others. This whole Temple," he gestured around, "One big failure. The Jedi tried to turn it into a bulwark against the darkside. Then I tried to turn it into my own personal little ego trip. Then the jungle reclaimed it."

He couldn't help but chuckle, then returned his eyes to Gerwald.

"I've thought of you too. All of you. I hear Srina Talon is Empress now," he spun his lightsaber hilts in his hands, "so, naturally, what became of her attack dog was something I'd wondered," he stopped and shrugged, "...guess it was too much to ask she show up herself."

Rann took a deep breath and then shook his head, "Ah well, we can't have it all, can we?"

He stared at Gerwald, then chuckled again, "I should have known you'd come here to deal with me yourself. You've always taken responsibility for so much, Lord Commander. It makes sense that, in some way, you'd take responsibility for me. Or maybe that's my ego talking." He laughed for a moment, then got stern, taking a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself, let himself feel the moment.

"I know better than to think you'd reconsider this, go back and get your boss. 'Cause right about now is when I'd ask if you're sure you want to do this. I've never known you to be indecisive or unconfident. So..."

With one last flourish, Rann activated both of his lightsabers. Twin violet beams of energy burst forward from his lightsabers with righteous purpose, and Rann crossed them ahead of himself, dragging the blades along each other and causing an eerie screech and bent his knees, readying himself.

"Now it begins."

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

WEARING: This
WEAPONS: Ferrum Solus | Blodmåne | Strømafbryder
SHIP: Vigfjall
TAG: Rann Thress

"Lord Commander."

The title lingered longer in Gerwald's mind than the insult which followed.

There were many names Rann could have chosen. Darth. Councilor. Sith. Monster. The galaxy had collected enough titles and accusations over the years that the Dread Wolf rarely bothered to correct any of them anymore. Most people saw whatever version of him they needed to see. An enemy to defeat. An ally to trust. A weapon to fear. A protector to follow.

Rann Thress had chosen the one name that belonged to another life.

Gerwald watched quietly as the other man spoke. The accusations came as expected. The mention of Srina was clearly meant to draw something out of him. Anger perhaps. Defensiveness. Some small crack that proved the man standing before Rann was nothing more than the creature he had already decided existed.

The reaction never came.

Instead, Gerwald looked around the remains of the temple while Rann spoke about its failures. The man was not wrong. There were ghosts buried within the stone. Rannon had seen the ambitions of too many people who believed they could bend the future into the shape they desired.

Gerwald had been one of them.

"Interesting."

His amber gaze eventually returned to Rann.

"You call me her attack dog, but you greeted me as Lord Commander."

A faint smile touched his face.

"After all these years you are still arguing with yourself."

There was no mockery in the statement. There could not be. The two men standing in that temple had seen too much of each other to pretend their history was simple. Gerwald remembered the first time they crossed blades. He remembered the anger that had consumed Rann. He remembered the accusations thrown at him about weakness, restraint, and the attachments he refused to surrender.

He remembered sparing him. Years later, the roles had changed. The battlefield was different. Their convictions had shifted. The man consumed by darkness had found his way back, while the one who once stood against him had chosen a path others could not follow. Yet somehow the result had been strangely similar.

Neither one of them had taken the final step.

"You know Srina Talon did not send me."

The words were quiet, but certain.

"You knew that before my ship ever entered the system."

Gerwald took several slow steps farther into the hall. His eyes briefly moved toward the violet blades as they came alive, filling the ruined chamber with their glow. Even then, his hand did not move for the weapon at his side.

"Maybe you wanted her because it makes the story easier. The Empress. The Sith. The darkness spreading across the galaxy."

He stopped a short distance away.

"But you and I both know this was never going to be that simple."

Rann had not called out a stranger. Not truly. He had challenged an Order, an Empire, and everything he believed stood against him, but beneath all of that was a man Gerwald knew. A man who had fought beside him before they ever fought against each other.

That history mattered.

"You are right about one thing."

Gerwald looked at the ruins around them once more.

"I do take responsibility."

The admission came easily because there was no reason to deny it.

"But not for you."

His attention settled back on Rann.

"You were never mine to save. You made your choices. I made mine. That has always been the difference between us and those who use the Force as an excuse for every failure and victory they experience."

A breath escaped him as he finally reached for the lightsaber at his side.

"The first time we fought, you believed everything I held onto made me weak."

His fingers wrapped around the hilt.

"The second time, you believed I had lost everything that made me who I was."

The red blade ignited and cast its own color across the broken hall.

"Yet here we are."

Gerwald lowered the weapon naturally at his side, making no effort to rush into the first strike. The violet glow of Rann's sabers reflected against his own as the two former Knights Obsidian stood exactly where years of choices had finally brought them.

"Now it begins?"

Gerwald repeated the words as his eyes remained fixed on the man across from him.

A faint smile touched his face.

"No, Rann."

His grip tightened around the hilt.

"This began long before either one of us walked into this temple."

Perhaps that was the truth neither of them wanted to admit. This moment had not been born from the challenge Rann issued or the bodies left behind in the temple. It started years ago with every choice that pushed them further away from the soldiers who once stood together.

"You sent out a challenge expecting the Sith to answer."

His expression settled.

"And they did."

Gerwald adjusted his stance, preparing himself for what came next.

"But you and I both know this stopped being just another battle the moment I walked through that door."

His eyes remained locked on Rann.

"So the only question left is whether you actually believe what you said."

A brief silence settled between them.

"Is the man standing in front of you nothing more than Srina's attack dog…"

The Dread Wolf raised his blade.

"…or is that simply what you need me to be?"