Duel The Knight Obsidian: Duel on Rannon

[Rann Thress]

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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]

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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.