The Trials Ahead

[Aovinr]

The Bedla'korum Begins​

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( One and a half years before the Present )​

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Aovinr sat in the dim chamber alone with his blade. Absorbing the heat of the small fire flickering in the braizer as he reapplied a coating of polish to his weapon of war. His thoughts were wandering to many places, some in the past, some in the future. Memories of the Incident were resting in the surface of his mind, a surge of power from nothing. To this today, he had still not felt it again. Aovinr had given it some thought and his current assumption was that it was triggered from his own emotional state and the heat of battle. Hefting his blade infront of his face, he spun it slowly around the circular hilt. The rotation aspect of his weapon was a little trick he had came up with during his training. His enemies rarely reacted well to his blade spinning malevolently towards them.

Giving himself a few moments to gather his spirit, he exhaled and marched towards the entrance to the stone tunnel that led to the Trial Arena. The first trial, as he understood, rarely changed. Fifty would succeed and move on, two-hundred and sixty would be sent to the Horde. Technically, combatants were not intentionally suppose to try and kill one another, but there had be almost no cases were a combatant was sent to the horde for slaying an opponent. The tunnel winded its way through the caves and quickly merged into a larger durasteel tunnel, inside this expansive space Aovnir quickly picked out members of his Kad'Maera group joining the now large stream of warriors entering the tunnel. He decided it would be in poor taste to strike up a conversation before engaging them in battle. A potentially lethal battle.

The Tunnels opened revealed itself around the next bend, light pouring inside the dim tunnel, revealing their Arena. The combatants filtered out the tunnel and dispersed themselves across the battlefield. Aovinr took up position on the top of the small plateau in the middle of the grounds. Wisely, he was given ten feet of berth by the other fighters. Aovinr breathed deeply and clenched his weapon in his right hand tightly.

This is the defining moment. His future rode on the next 336 hours of his life.​

The Seers would call for the bloodshed to begin any moment...

 

[Selkollar]

The Bedla'korum. Selkollar had a hand in its creation, years prior to Aovinr's birth. The idea was to separate those that could only be used as fodder from those that could potentially rise in the ranks. The first trial was the worst in Selkollar's eyes, as it usually contained serious combat. Though death was somewhat rare, limbs being separated was a normal thing to see when rage took over and all logic went out the window. The Hierarch didn't usually visit the Bela'Korum trials honestly, as his attention was usually elsewhere. Serving the Overseer or working with the Chieftain in some official capacity took up the most amount of Selkollars' time, and today was no different. He had much to do, and little time to do everything. However, the Chieftain had asked him to personally oversee this particular trial himself, and it was folly to argue with the Chief. Seen along the sides of the arena, Selkollar was seated with the High Judges and their associates.

His form stood out from the rest, as he floated mere inches off of the ground. Unable to walk very well due to his advanced age and health, Selkollar was always seen levitating and abusing the Force. His white robes were pristine in the light, and they hung on his form like a rag. It would appear that if he were not careful, they may even cover him and suffocate him entirely. Once the arena had calmed, Selkollar walked forward. Since it was abnormal for the Hierarch to be here, the judges had asked him to say something to the groups of Drael that were getting ready to beat each other into submission. He had seen the bloodshed from these trials in the past, and he was excited to see who came out on top.

"My fellow brothers, this Bedla'Korum is in honor of our savior. We shed the blood of our species so that only the strongest may survive!" His voice was coarse and roughened by his failing health, but his natural affinity with the Force allowed him to project his voice across the arena. Everyone could hear him, and all watched him with eagerness.

"The Bedla'Korum must be followed, and it will separate those that are weak from those that are strong. This is the ultimate test, and many of you will not pass..." Selkollar stifled a cough that threatened to ruin the small speech, his form still straight. Pushing past the pain, Selkollar continued.

"For those of you that must fight, know this; Your battle here will define your life. Do not fail us. Fight!" Backing down the stand, Selkollar took his seat with the other judges. His gaze fell upon the various rookies across the arena until they rested solely on Aovinr. He was small from here of course, but Selkollar could feel a nagging presence resonating in the Drael. Could he be...? No, that was not possible. Selkollar watched him but said nothing, preferring to keep quiet as the trial began.

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[member="Aovinr"]​

 

[Aovinr]

"Fight!"​

Aovinr's world quickly dissolved into screams and the clashing of weapons. Taking his blade he flourished around him before charging forward off his little plateau into another Baedurin, much smaller than him. The foe sneered and snarled and launched a sweeping attack with their warhammer. Aovinr allowed the hammer to swing by as he took a single step back. As his foe was attempting to get his hammer turned about Aovinr slashed his sword upwards and cleanly removed his foe's wrist. The Baedurin instinctively let out a scream and cradled his nub. Aovinr strode forward onto his next opponent, knocking the defeated Drael off to the side with the flat of his blade.

His next challenge was seemingly prepared for him. A small circle of groaning Drael surrounded a duo of Aeravalins. One wielding a pair of daggers and the other was seemingly unarmed. As Aovinr approached they exchanged a few hushed whispers, then the armed one began to approach. The moment his foe jumped at him, Aovinr's mind was struck with a blast of nightmarish images that flashed through his mind, blocking his vision. His sword arm luckily reacted with speed and accuracy born over his months of training. The long clashing of steel and the shock that jolted up his arm allowed Aovinr's mind a brief moment of clarity. The dagger Aeravalin had backed off and the unarmed one had his arm held up, palm facing Aovinr.

The duelist seemed puzzled. "Surprising, all the others basically collapse when you used your abilities. What went wrong?" asked the attacker. ​"His mind is oddly resilient, just try again." replied the mystic.

Aovinr felt his anger build. Not only were these scum teaming up in what was suppose to be a contest of individual strength and glory. They were using tricks to succeed? Unthinkable. Dishonorable. Aovinr felt the tingles of energy caress the back of his neck and his mind cleared. Face contorted into a snarl, he charged forward, disengaging the lock on his sword's rotation, spinning it rapidly in front of him. "Die vermin!", roared Aovinr. The mystic whipped up his hand again, tensing his arm as Aovinr charged. "Brother, it is not work-" The duelist jumped forward, apparently expecting a gap in Aovinr's defenses. Aovinr responded with slashing through his side with his blade, cutting the fool in half. Aovinr grabbed the top half of the dead Drael's body with his free hand and threw it at the Mystic, knocking him down. When he walked over, Aovinr found the mystic struggling to remove his brother's body. "Weakling." declared Aovinr as he stabbed through the corpse, creating a new one in the progress.

Turning his gaze on the Arena, he saw over half the combatants were on the ground. The end was approaching. He turned, and marched towards the heat of the melee.

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[member="Selkollar"]

 

[Selkollar]

The Hierarch twitched involuntarily as he watched Aovinr eviscerate two Aeravalins. Their obvious use of the Force was not entirely allowed in the arena, but their ability to overcome several opponents impressed the judges. Seeing Aovinr kill them where others had failed made Selkollar worried. He shrugged off their attacks and was able to completely destroy their defenses. This particular brute was much different then the others Selkollar had seen in the past. His brutality was matched with something more... mystical.

Could it be possible that this Baedurin had abilities most would consider unnatural in his caste? Just thinking of this made Selkollar squirm in his seat. Baedurin were naturally resilient, and the idea that some of them could potentially tap into the Force was a terrifying idea. The judges were in awe of the abilities presented however, and Selkollar narrowed his eyes at them. Fattened by their positions, Selkollar hated the judges and all they stood for.

"We have some good recruits this cycle, do we not Hierarch?" The question came from a judge that stood nearby where Selkollar had been watching. Barely realizing he was been spoken to, Selkollar nodded in reply, too deep in thought to give a full answer. Selkollar would need to research deeper into this matter, and this particular Baedurin would need to be watched.

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[member="Aovinr"]​

 

[Aovinr]

As Aovinr marched towards the central melee, he witnessed the fall of many Drael. Most of them knocked out but quite a few were dismembered or killed. As he approached an Aeravalin split off and rushed him. This one lacked the skills of the Duelist or the ability of the Mystic. Aovinr simply swatted him aside with a backhand to the face.

This was stupid and a waste of his time, mumbled a voice inside Aovinr's head. The reasons for this trial are clear, but this section had gone on far to long for Aovinr's liking. The power coursing through his body wasn't as potent as it's first incarnation, but it was enough. Aovinr increased his march to a sprint and slamming into the melee.

His first victim was a fellow Baedurin, speared through the gut by Aovinr's blade. Another appeared behind him and Aovinr responded via jerked his blade backwards into that one's chest. Freeing his blade, he disengaged the locking latch and set the spinning gear free. A few swings were enough to get it into swift motion. Guided by frustration and anger, Aovinr cut a brutal and bloody path across the Arena, swinging his blades around him in a brutal dance of fluid combat. Throughout the struggle Aovinr found his mind clear of any thoughts but his emotions and desire to win. His training and talent took over aided by whatever force was empowering him.

Until...

"Cease! The Quota has been met!"​

Aovinr's blades halted at an Aeravalin's neck. Grunting, he removed it. His state of battle-focus ended, and the energy faded slowly into its hiding place. He briefly wondered if that would be the last he'd see of it. Aovinr gave a glance to the nearly concealed Judge's box before turning to return to his chamber. The next challenge was a mystery and would be called by whoever was incharge up there.

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[member="Selkollar"]

 

[Selkollar]

And just like that, the battle was over. The Judges would of course pour over the data that they gathered from this particular melee. Thankfully, not too many Drael had been killed during the fierce combat. The very first few Bedla'Korum's allowed complete open combat. This resulted in the first few batches of Drael being slaughtered, and the rules were changed ever so slightly. Now, Drael understood that killing was only allowed in the heat of the moment. Maiming was best of course.

"My Drael brothers, you have all done well! We will talk amongst ourselves and the trials will continue. For now, go back to the barracks, and await your further instructions!" The Judges were happy of course, as now they could look at the various Drael and make their snap decisions. Selkollar stood and gave his customary greetings to the judges here and slowly made his way to the exit. While most were happy about this particular melee, Selkollar was instead deep in thought.

He had definitely felt the same cosmic energy radiating off of that particular Baedurin that he felt all those years ago. The same energy that comes from the disgusting Jedi and Sith flowed through that brute, and he used it with astonishing brutality. Before leaving the small platform, Selkollar took one last look at Aovinr. Could it be possible? It was not unheard of that some Baedurin could be sensitive to the mystic arts, but this particular feat was very rare. He would definitely need to see this Baedurin in private.

Once back in his personal chambers, Selkollar had his honor guard bring Aovinr to him. The pretense was nothing more then a congratulations in surviving the melee itself. Selkollar had no reason to hurt the Baedurin of course, even with his troublesome trait. His Honor Guard escorting him, Aovinr would be brought before the Hierarch and placed at the entrance of his chamber. The personal chambers of the Hierarch were lavish by Drael standards, with chiseled rock and smoothed floors greeting the warrior. A deep cut into part of the wall revealed a glass display with what appeared to be lightsabers, all placed neatly inside. Deep in thought, Selkollar had barely noticed the Baedurin.

"Come. I have much to say to you, Aovinr. A certain congratulations is in order, yes?" His words were less course then before, as he was no longer amplifying it for an arena. He would ask some penetrating questions, and then Aovinr would return to the barracks.

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[member="Aovinr"]​

 

[Aovinr]

Aovinr was halfway back to his chamber before he heard the footsteps behind him. Turning about and raised his blade to face his stalkers, he expected a sore loser or vengeful sibling, instead he was greeted with the Hierarch's Honor Guard. Aovinr frowned. "Lower your weapon. The Hierarch has words to exchange with you." the biggiest of the brutes said. As much as Aovinr would like to rest for a few moments after the melee, to ignore someone of such high statue would be met with... hindering consequences. Aovinr grunted and lowered his sword. Giving a glance to the tunnel that lead to his bed, he sighed and followed the Guard.

Walking down the subterrianian halls, Aovinr noticed to stone became steadily more polished and reinforced with durasteel frames as they approached the upper caste areas of the cavern. A engraved door came into view and the Guard step themselves up around the frame. One gestured Aovinr through with their weapon. Walking in, Aovinr spotted the Hierarch deep in apparent thought. After a moment, he perked up and said,

"Come. I have much to say to you, Aovinr. A certain congratulations is in order, yes?"​

Aovinr nodded. His mind was attempting to unravel the reason this high-ranking member of the Drael had summoned him alone. A test? Perhaps Aovinr did something that set off some memory or experience. Either way, his guard was up.

"I suppose you might call completing the first trial in a hundred to come worthy of congratulations."​

 

[Selkollar]

Selkollar sneered at the sheer ego presented here. As if any Drael would need a congratulations. The trial was given to every single Drael, and Selkollar would not have its tradition sullied. Another natural-born Drael with no respect thought the Hierarch. Stepping down from his elevated position, Selkollar moved quietly as he mused over the young Drael.

"Indeed. I may call that so. Although, the circumstances of how you seemingly survived are.... Curious, don't you think?" Selkollar probed the mind of Aovinr, ever so gently. He wasn't trying to burrow into his head or anything, but rather subtly trying to see what the young Drael knew. Was his abilities even realized yet? Would he be chosen to become a Seer?

"You dispatched several of your foes with ease, but your defense against the mystics was... Different." Selkollar wondered over to the glass case, filled with weapons from different Force-users. He gestured to Aovinr to come and look at them. Most Drael were forbidden to keep these sorts of weapons, as their nature was heresy. Selkollar however kept them as mementos and trophies. Being Hierarch meant that you could do things like this of course.

"Have you ever seen any of these before?" The question was pointed, and quite obvious. He knew the young Drael had never left Bryn'adul space, and had likely not even seen a Jedi or Sith in person. Stories were circulated but nothing concrete. Even still, Selkollar would ask.

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[member="Aovinr"]​