Rayn's Story: The Dark City/The Korriban Temple

[Rayn Ares]

Rayn made his way through the sprawling city streets; past countless shops and merchants selling all sorts of malicious wares- from illicit substances, to dark and evil looking amulets. The Entire ‘Dark City’ as it was named was like one huge seedy back alley. Violent and wicked beings from all over gathered here, mostly as an in-between point for traders…who really were more like smugglers…who were usually more like slavers..
With the Sith in power once more, the Ancient Sith Academy Temple had been completely restored and the Dark City built around it to protect it from off-world attack. But aside from housing the planetary defense shield generators and anti-orbital weaponry the City served no real purpose. So it was that it soon became nothing more than a place where all the new Sith initiates went out to indulge in their mortal needs and for the worst dregs in the Empire to come and fester.
Rayn was all alone in this place, as Odotta had thought it better if he stay near the ship durning their stay. He continued toward the center of the city feeling a steadily growing sense of discomfort and unease with every step. He was not afraid however. Rayn had faced the Dark Side before and he knew how to fight it, but that did not keep him from being cautious.
Finally after walking for nearly an hour, the Korriban Temple came into view. The young Kiffar beheld the ominous structure with doubt in his mind.


[glow=red,2,300]I can feel the darkness here,[/glow] he thought. [glow=red,2,300]What is it my master could have possibly wanted for me here? Nothing I’ve seen here so far abides by my Master’s teachings in any way whatsoever…[/glow]


Despite this growing apprehension he continued onward and up the great stairway till he finally reached the Entryway of the Temple. It was a large, open stone gate. Before it stood two guards; large, lean, but muscular beings. One was human, the other an Ictotchi. Both were heavily scarred and tattooed and both wielded force pikes that stood as tall as they did. Rayn finished glancing at them quickly and continued to walk ahead as though to go straight through. But just as he approached the doorway the guards crossed their weapons just centimeters in front of him.


He could hear the high-pitched hum of the pikes as he spoke,” I’m here to undergo initiation.”



“You do not belong here,” said the human.
“Leave. Now.” the Ictotchi commanded.



Rayn had known it would not be so easy, but he would not leave until he found what he needed to. And the Sith, for all their scheming and cruel ways, always understood and acknowleged one thing above all else. Power.

[Rayn Ares]

Rayn did not take the time to draw in and gather a large amount of power. Instead, he tapped into the pent-up emotion that had been building as he approached the temple and loosed a short, but potent burst of power at the guards. They were well trained however, and managed to keep from being thrown back; being pushed aside only a few inches. They had obviously not expected such a strong attack though, as they grimaced with the sudden effort needed to hold their ground. Indeed, Rayn himself was surprised by the amount of force he was able to call forth in just that moment. Perhaps it was this place….

Rayn took this opportunity to deliver a powerful side-kick to the Ictotchi. The guard grunted as the kick took him right in the midsection, causing him to stagger back. Then Rayn spun and drew his Beakad- aiming to cut down the other guard’s wrists. The Human guard had recovered at that point however, and in an instant the two were on each other; exchanging blows in a flurry motion. Neither one gave any ground as they clashed. Each checked every move the other made. Suddenly Rayn felt that the other guard had recovered and was closing in behind him. The guards quickly glanced at each other before setting up their two pronged attack, but Rayn took advantage of that opportunity to strike his current opponent under in the jaw with his palm. As the guard behind him attacked Rayn ducked and slashed at his leg. The Ictotchi fell on his back, screaming in pain as his thigh spurted blood.
When the remaining guard recovered, he lifted his force pike high and struck down at the boy with all his might. Rayn rolled away, grabbing the fallen guard’s weapon as he did so. As he stood he threw the pike at the human guard. The guard let out a cry as the tip of the weapon sent a shock through his body and then went limp.
Rayn used the force to grab the injured Ictotchi who was struggling to get back up and slammed his head into the ground, rendering him unconscious as well.

He now started walking back toward the enterance, but immediately stopped and took a defensive stance as he felt the several more presences approaching. From the darkness of the opening, several cloaked figures walked briskly toward Rayn. As they surrounded him Rayn heard a distinctive snap-hiss as red lightsabers sprang to life all around him. He prepared himself for attack, trying not to let his anger (which he still felt deeply upon seeing the crimson Sith weapons) inhibit his focus. They did not attack however; instead two of them stepped aside as large man walked past them. The man was a good six and a half feet tall, with rough, leathery skin, and large, bulky muscles. His peppered black hair was kept very short and was receding at his forehead. He had several scars on his worn, rough looking face- though most of it was covered by his scruffy beard and mustache.
“You. Boy. You did this?” he asked in a gruff, deep voice as he indicated to the unconscious guards, “Do you understand the price you pay when you cross the Empire? Let alone the Sith?” As he asked this, he moved back his cloak slightly and let his hand rest on the lightsaber hilt on his waist.
“ I have come to learn the ways of the Sith. I seek power These two were fool enough to stand in my way.” Rayn lifted his blade and angled in toward the large man; as he did many of the Sith standing I wait flinched, ready to intervene if they needed to. ”I will not hesitate to dispatch you if you stand in my way either."
The large man continued to stare at him broodingly for a moment before letting out a harsh laugh, “ Ha! You would certainly try wouldn’t you? Tell me your name.”
“Its Rayn”, he said.
“Well Rayn, from this day forward you will not refer to me as ‘you’, but as either ‘Lord’ or ‘General’ Balgus. You will learn. You will follow orders. And if you survive- you will be Sith.”

[Rayn Ares]

A pale red light shone through the stained glass windows as dawn came on Korriban. Rayn was already up by then, as was his practice, and was sharpening his beskad with a very fine-grain stone.

It had already been a few days, but he still felt strange being here among the Sith. No one seemed to suspect anything of him however- and if they did it was only because they suspected everyone of treachery. Rayn supposed they didn’t have anything to suspect of him anyway. It wasn’t as if he was planning to overthrow the Sith… at least not at the moment. He began to wonder what a jedi would do in this situation; he also pondered the struggle between the two sides and wondered if he should help the Jedi, or continue to wander and mind his own business- just as he and his master had done his whole life.

He still did not understand the constant struggle between the two sides or why each of them held such strong, and often unreasonable views. Rayn had not yet forgiven his masters killer, but in the short time he had been here he began to accept that the Sith were not all the same person- just as the Jedi often held different beliefs. Although there were indeed many horrible and cruel Sith (many of them in this very place) Rayn had learned that not all of them were so unreasonable.
On the bed on the opposite side of the room there was another figure curled under the blankets. His fellow initiate Gannazat Ohim, was a scrawny Mirialan boy. He was timid and quiet- nothing like the other crass and rude initiates in their class. He did not understand why the boy could possibly want to be here.
“Gannazat, it’s already dawn. We need to leave for our morning classes soon.”
The boy under the blanket gave a quiet moan and then slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. His hair was short aside from a few braids; he also had hexagon patterned tattoos leading down from his eyes.
“I told you,” he said groggily, “You don’t have to call me that. Gantz is fine..”
“But I like you’re name. It’s interesting.”
“It’s long..”
Rayn stood up and started for the door. “Well, don’t be late. I’ll wait for you in the training hall.” With that Rayn sheathed his beskad and headed out the door.
As he walked he saw other initiates leaving their quarters in the Initiates’ Wing. One of them came up to him. A tall Devaronian male, somewhat older than him.
“Morning Rayn-gutter,” he japed with a wicked, pointy-toothed smile.
“Good morning, Tuul,”, he gave the Devaronian a pitying half-smile,” That wasn’t a very good insult.”
Tuul frowned angrily, “What you know!? Spineless filth!”
“That’s a little better…” Rayn said distractedly.
The Devaronian muttered something foul-sounding before sauntering off ahead of him.

Twenty or so initiates were gathered at the training area, a large square chamber with an open roof and braziers lined up against the walls. Rayn saw Gantz walk in quickly from the southern entrance.

“Am I late?”, he asked worryingly as he looked around the floor.
“No. Lord Irrilion hasn’t arrive yet.”

Just as he finished saying those words everyone began to line up as they heard the clacking of the Sith Lord’s boots entering the room.
The thin human man wasted no time with pleasantries, “It seems some of you have become familiarized with the lightsaber combat techniques I have tried painstakingly to instill in your fragile, pathetic minds. Today you will be sparring against your fellow initiates. I don’t want to clean up any messes today so you will use the training sabers.”
Some of the initiates, such as Gantz, walked over to the weapons rack and picked up a training saber. Others, including Rayn, drew theirs with telekinesis. Rayn himself also set his beskad on the rack so it would not get in the way.

He watched several students confront each other. The majority of them were not very good. Many of them were just learning martial combat for the first time. There was one who seemed quite skilled however- a male Trandoshan who was currently dueling with Gantz.
Gantz was over-doing it, swinging wildly without any sort of technique. The Trandoshan dodged the blows easily. He looked irritated by the lack of challenge he was getting. He quickly grew tired of it. Rayn winced as the he side-stepped Gantz’ downward slash and whirled around viciously, striking Gantz in the side with a loud crack. Gantz doubled over and dropped his training saber. He was not grievously injured, since the training sabers were essentially cylindrical ray-shields, but he had obviously cracked a rib.

The Tandoshan then kicked him under the chin causing him to fall on his back. “Pathetic”, he spat, “ A worm like you does not belong here!”

He lifted his saber high- as he came down his blade did not meet Gantz’ skull, but Rayn’s training saber.
The Trandoshan yelled a curse in his language and stepped back, pointing his saber at Rayn.
“Rayn”, Lord Irillion cut in,” We are not training Jedi, Gantz has proven himself inadequate. If he dies it will be of no loss whatsoever to the Sith.”
“I’m only intervening….because this being is pathetic. He believes he is strong because he fights weak opponents. I would prove to him that he is not.”
“....Very well,” he said after some consideration, “You may proceed with your challenge.”

The Trandoshan immediately fell upon him and the two began to exchange blows. His attacks were strong, but he was too slow to be of any threat to Rayn. As soon as he found an opening Rayn stepped past his, delivering a horizontal strike across his body. The Trandoshan grunted in pain but he continued, attempting to bash Rayn’s head in from behind. Rayn sensed his intent easily however and delivered another blow to his opponent’s temple.
The trandoshan fell like a large sack of stones and moved no more. He was still alive, but probably had some sort of concussion now.

“Skillfully done Rayn. It seems I don’t have much to teach you.”, he looked at Rayn and gave a slight, malicious smile, ”Perhaps next time I should give you some hands on experience.”
“Dismissed!”, he announced to the rest of the initiates.


Once everyone else had gone, Rayn helped Gantz to his feet, “I can help you, you know. If you would like, I can teach you some useful techniques.”

Gantz looked at him warily, “Rayn….why are you doing this? Why are you treating me kindly? You don’t seem like someone who wants to be a Sith…”
“Funny,” said Rayn, “ I was about to say the same about you.”
The two looked at each other for a moment and then laughed. They walked out of the chamber, leaving the Trandoshan student unconscious on the floor.

[Rayn Ares]

In the eerie orange light of the Korriban afternoon crackling and sizzling sounds could be heard coming from the temple’s east wing roof. A Sith warrior with long, dark hair was yelling savagely as he loosed reams of lightning on a wood and straw target.

The man ceased and turned to speak to a group of initiates, “Force lighting is the staple of Sith force combat. It is a versatile skill that can be utilized to both torture and quickly incapacitate, or kill your enemies on the battlefield. By giving yourself over to all of your rage and dark emotions you can release your power in this way. The raw energies you release creates an imbalance of energy which result in electric discharge. The more potent your hate and devotion to the Dark Side, the more power you can unleash upon your enemies.” He turned and yelled again, blasting two more dummies. “Now- all of you.”
Rayn stepped forward among the other initiates and focused. Throwing up his arms he unleashed a wave of energy, but there was no lightning, only a strong force push which violently shook the dummy.
He furrowed his brow wondering what he was doing wrong. He looked around and noticed some of the others, including Gantz, were having the same difficulties. A few took to it right away however and were already charring their targets.

“Good power.” Rayn turned his head and saw the instructor standing behind him. “But you are not embracing you anger- your hate… Give yourself over to the darkness and let it flow through you.”
Rayn was not enamored with the thought of giving himself over to the dark side, but he tried to call upon the anger and painful memories that still burned in the back of his mind. Reaching out once again, he let go of his power and emotion; this time many tendrils of electricity shot out from his fingers and began to char his target in many places.
After another hour of this the instructor called an end to the lesson and everyone began to leave. Rayn stayed behind however. He frowned as he looked around at the smoking targets. He didn’t like this technique. To him it seemed so very indirect and impractical. It would take too long to use this skill effectively on an opponent and it didn’t seem very useful aside from using it to hurt others or destroy electronics. To even use it effectively for that purpose, like their instructor had, would also take up too much energy to be worth using.

He walked up to one of the dummies and put his hand inside it, feeling the untouched straw within. Suddenly an idea crossed his mind and he walked back away from the target.

He focused his energies again, this time reaching past anger and toward the feeling of raw focus that his Master had taught him to harness. He brought his hands toward himself this time. Small bolts danced between his hands as he focused his energy- compressing it till it he could no longer contain it. Then with a shout he pushed outward, firing a single large, bright bolt at his target. The dummy shuddered as the bolt passed through it, leaving a smoldering hole right in its chest.

This, he liked much better.

[Rayn Ares]

As he walked through the murky dark corridors of the Sith temple, Rayn was a bit disturbed by how he was growing accustomed to the feeling. As he approached the entrance to the training chamber a loud thumping sound grew louder. He entered the chamber and saw a large, hairy bear of a man without a shirt, pounding away at a heavy bag as big as he was.

"HRM! Ah, the new recruit." he said between punches," What- ARH!- brings you here?"

"General Balgus," Rayn said bowing,"I couldn't sleep. When that happens I like to get in some extra training."

"HURHMP!", the general held out his arm to stop the swinging bag,"That's a good policy. To continue honing your physical skills may seem trivial, but it is an essential virtue that shouldn't be taken lightly." He turned to face Rayn, "So many of these upstart young Sith Lord wannabes think they can just throw a tantrum and the powers of The Dark Side will do all the work for them." he turned his head and spat, "When they finally find their glory on the battlefield, making a big light show on the front lines, they'll learn just how far their fancy karking powers alone will get them," he pointed down with his thumb,"In a nice hole a few meters under."

Rayn understood his meaning perfectly,"One should always prepare for the least favorable outcome during battle. For those like us it means getting by without relying on the Force or lightsabers."

"I'm pleased to see someone here who understands that...I can tell you were given good instruction before this. From whom was it?"

“ I never knew my master's name, but regardless I knew sort of man he was. That was good enough for me.”

“Indeed..”

After a brief silence Rayn spoke again, “General, since coming here I have felt mixed things about the Sith. I came here to become stronger, I thought that strength was what the Sith believed in. Now I'm unsure... Many seem to seek personal gain-- others believe dark actions must be wrought to serve the Dark Side. So, what it its exactly the Sith are supposed to believe?”

General Balgus let his gaze wander out the window, over the dark, barren landscape of the Korriban wastes, “What it means to be Sith... It's true, the answer seems to be different for everyone. Over the millenia there have been wars fought among us over just such a question. Your purpose is good enough I would say. Become strong. The strongest there is. Crush your enemies and never be defeated. That is certainly one of the basic tenants of the Sith. Perhaps in time what it means will change for you.”

“...And what does it mean to you?”

He held his answer for a moment before saying firmly, “I am a soldier. Its all I've ever known. I win battles , decimate my enemies, and bring victory for my people. If I hadn't been born into the Empire I may have become another side's soldier, I won't deny the possibility.” He turned once again to face Rayn, looking him firmly in the eyes,” This is where I am though. Understand this if anything-- we choose must all choose which side of the line we fall on and give it our all the destroy the other. Or we are ourselves destroyed.”