Star Wars the Old Republic

A Jung Ma Story

Fear

Chapter 1

 

A human boy sits with his knees to his chest, his arms wrapped around them. He sits on

the floor of the Imperial shuttle that is on its way to the Sith Academy on Korriban. The boy’s

name was Morsus, and was a slave child from Dromund Kass. He was noticed by the Sith

stationed there, trying to quell the slave riot upon the task of completing the statue of Darth

Vowrawn. Morsus was a small and timid 12 year old boy, he had tan skin, yet was paler right

now. He had brown hazel eyes and curly brown hair.

 

His mother was just killed, cut down by theSith agent that had taken him in. He said that he had a connection to the force, and could be used for a greater purpose, than to rot in the slave pits. Although to Morsus, he was just in shock that his mother had died, and wouldn’t of mind dying with her, if he knew he would feel like this.It was unfair, he was a slave since birth, his mother was all he had, and he never knew his father. Every time he would ask his mother, she would get angry, not at him, but at his Father, and would change the subject immediately, saying that he died before he was born. Morsus would just leave it at that, not wanting to make her more upset.

 

Now, he didn’t even have her anymore, and he was distraught with grief and fear, but there was also something else…anger, he was mad at the Sith, he wanted to kill him for what he did. The sith would smile at him, and not say a word, leaving him to his thoughts.

 

Morsus had heard of the force, but didn’t really know what it was, hence he was confused when the Sith had mentioned his connection to it. He figured he would be told what that meant when he arrived to where ever he was being taken to. Whatever place it was, Morsus felt it would not be a good one…

 

“We have arrived to Korriban my lord… preparing to descend to the surface.” The imperial pilot called out. “

 

“Very good… We don’t want to keep Lord Saváge waiting...he will be pleased to have more acolytes to weed out…” the Sith agent smirked as he looked over at Morsus.

 

Morsus swallowed, a nervous sweat dripping down his face. Whoever Lord Saváge was… Morsus was not eager to meet him.

 

The shuttle descended to the planet surface, a massive pyramid like structure coming into view, with giant statues lining the area. It was an impressive sight, and would be Morsus’s new home. The shuttle landed behind the temple, into a private landing pad. The force of the shuttle touching the ground, shook Morsus out of his thoughts and looked around worried.

 

“Its time…” The sith announced, looking down at him.

 

He grabbed Morsus by the armand forced him to the exit of the shuttle. Morsus stumbled a bit, tripping over his own feet, the Sith pushing him along. They came to giant automated door, that slid open upon them walking up to it, leading them into the temple. The Sith guided him through the dark halls, Morsus looking around curious yet scared at the same time.

 

They came to a room, the Sith pushing Morsus in. The room was large and dark. A reddish light illuminating it from the ceiling, giving the room an even more ominous feeling.

 

“Stand at attention and don’t speak, better you don’t breath…” the Sith instructed. Morsus did as he was told, and tried to stay as still as possible, trembling slightly, for he couldn’t help it.

 

The sith stood in front of Morsus, his back to him. He kneeled down on one knee and bowed his head. Morsus was confused for a minute, for there was no one else around, but none the less, he stood still.

 

“ Kneel…” The sith instructed, and Morsus obeyed, kneeling down and putting his head down.

 

Sweat dripped from his forehead, he could only imagine what was about to happen.

 

All of a sudden, he felt a sense of dread, a dark aura appeared out of nowhere, and he could feel a presence. He looked up slightly and jumped with a small squeak as he looked into the red eyes of a man in crimson red and black armor, standing in front of the kneeling Sith, however he was looking straight at Morsus with a smirk on his face.

 

“My lord Saváge, I have brought you another acolyte, I hope he pleases you.” The once intimidating Sith groveled out, was now just as frightened by the man before them.

 

The Sith Lord was of average height, he had blond hair and his arms were crossed. He was still staring at Morsus, seemingly looking into his soul. Morsus could not help but stare back, it was like he was in a trance. Saváge blinked slowly then looked down at the Sith before him.

 

“Where is he from?“ The sith lord asked.

 

“Dromund Kass my lord… he was slave and I took him in after sensing his connection the force… his mother was killed, by my hand. “ The lower sith reported.

 

Saváge looked back up at Morsus and walked over to him, he then kneeled down to his level. Morsus was looking down, trembling, a small tear rolling down his cheek, he couldn’t help himself, the feeling he got from this man, was unbelievable.

 

“Look at me…” Saváge ordered. Morsus timidly obeyed, looking up into his piercing red eyes. Morsus could not help but be startled, he thought he could see a blazing red fire, souls being tortured, but he thought he was imagining things.

 

“You're afraid… but of what I wonder…death maybe?” Savage asked, an evil smirk plastered on his face.

 

“I'm not afraid to die…” Morsus answered feebly, not very confident. Savage gave a dark chuckle, amused by the boy.

 

“How do you know?... you never tried it…” Savage said.

 

Morsus looked at him wide eyed, was this it, was this how he was going to die. But as Savage rose to his feet he looked back at the still kneeling Sith.

 

“I feel your anger toward him… He killed your mother… you want him to pay, don’t you, revenge…” Morsus could not help but feel the rage build in him, he did want to kill him, but knew he couldn’t.

 

Savage saw the response from Morsus and smiled.

 

“I bet you want to see him suffer… plead for mercy…” and as he says this, Savage lifts the sith into the air, with force.

 

The sith was holding his throat, he was chocking violently.

 

“Lord Savage… please… I …. I” He couldn’t speak anymore. “ You like that don’t you, relish the feeling, making him suffer…” Savage clenches his fist even tighter, obviously enjoying this.

 

The sith was gagging, his face turning a flush red, blood was pouring out of his mouth, even his eye sockets and ears. And with a loud crushing of bone, the man went limp and Savage released him, the once sith slumping to the ground dead.

 

Morsus was horrified, tears streaming down his face, he couldn’t believe what he just witnessed. Yet, deep down, he felt something that scared himself. He enjoyed it, seeing the man that killed his mother, suffer and die. Savage felt this as well and smiled darkly.

 

“Remember this, feed on it… It will give you strength… I look forward to seeing your progress… you pass my inspection…” Savage told him.

 

“From this moment on, you will be trained to become Sith . I will summon one of my apprentices to escort you to the dorms, where you will meet your fellow peers… do not trust any of them, and do not make attachments, for many of them will not live long enough… You have no friends here, and no one will care if you die. You will finish your assignments, if you give up, you will be killed, if you fail, you will be forgotten… dismissed.” And with that Savage disappeared in a blinding speed.

 

Morsus just stood there, speechless and in a daze, he couldn’t believe this was his life now, he didn’t know if this was an upgrade from being a slave or not.

 

He was startled out of his thoughts when the door behind him slid open, a tall man appearing, one of Savage’s apprentices he assumed.

 

“Come…” Was all he said. Morsus obeyed and followed the Sith down the dark

hallways. His new life has barely just begun.

Edited December 23, 2016 by GeneralSafar
Because I want to...

Chapter 2

 

Morsus walked down the dark halls of the Academy, the Sith apprentice leading him to the dorms. Morsus was quiet, still mortified from his horrific day. How could this be happening to him...why was this all happening to him?

 

As the approached a door, it slid open, leading into a room with bunk beads spread around, other acolytes around his age sat around socializing quietly, or sleeping. The apprentice moved for Morsus to enter.

 

“Pick a bunk... dinner will be served shortly, be on time or you will not eat.”

 

The apprentice explained coldly. Morsus nodded slightly and the Apprentice exited the dorm, the door closing behind him.

 

Morsus turned around looking at the people around him, some of them were staring at him with pity, they all had a look of sadness, and emptiness in their eyes. Morsus frowned and walked slowly to an empty bunk. An acolyte uniform was laying there folded on the bed, waiting for whoever. Morsus took it into his hands and decided to go into the bathrooms and changed into it, especially since his current clothes were dirty and basically rags.

 

After he had changed and tried to recompose himself, he reentered the main room and went to sit back down on his bed. All of a sudden, a voice spoke to him.

 

“Hi” Morsus looked to see who was talking to him and saw that it was a girl, around his age it seemed. She was shorter than him, and was a pale white, she had blue eyes and had long blond hair that she had in a pony tail.

 

“ Hello…” Morsus answered back in a low voice. He was unsure of why this girl was talking to him but he was glad someone was acknowledging him. She gave a small smile. “Im Anita” She said. Morsus looked at her, unsure if he should even be talking to this girl.

 

“ Im… Morsus…” he returned. “ Sorry for being so random… I just wanted to welcome you since you're new…” She rambled out. Morsus found her interesting, how she was able to keep her bubbly personality, perhaps because she hadn’t experienced the true horrors yet…

 

“ It's fine… thank you…” he responded, trying to force a small smile, but found it hard in light of everything.

 

“ Why don't you come and meet my friend, better we watch each other's backs here right? So it's good to know people.” She said with a small smile.

 

Morsus raised a brow and hesitated before following her. He thought back to what Savage had said, trust no one, and make no friends… Morsus forced the thoughts out of his head, Savage was just trying to break him… He didn’t want to listen to him. So Morsus gave a nod and followed the girl.

 

They walked over to a boy laying down on a bed, looking up to the ceiling lost in thought. He was taller than Morsus and was a pale white as well. He had red curly hair and yellow eyes, not eyes like a sith, just a clear and bright yellow. Anita walked up to the boy

 

“Alexius, this is Morsus, he's new here.“ She explained. Alexius looked at Morsus and raised his brow. “ Anita, I told you not to talk to anyone else… you're too nice for a place like this…” Alexius scolded.

 

“ Alex please, what's the harm in being friendly, plus it makes since to make allies, right?” She explained. Alexius just sighed and shook his head. He nodded at Morsus, receiving a curt nod in return from the boy. Morsus felt a little odd about the other boy, he was very mature for his age, a product of a hard life such as this. Morsus assumed he had been here much longer and had experienced this place more in depth.

 

An overseer came into the dorm, announcing that it was dinner time, and for everyone to hurry up, or they wouldn’t eat, saying that it was a privilege, and would be taken away without a second thought. With that, everyone rushed out of the dorm and into the mess hall.

 

When Morsus, Anita and Alexius arrived, they quickly got their food, and sat down. The food was minimal, only enough to keep them alive and tasted of sadness. Morsus picked at it, and couldn’t believe he ate better as a slave.

 

Alexius and Anita were shoveling their food down, when they looked up at him.

 

“ You better eat, trust me, you need everything you can get, you never know when the next time you will eat again in this place…” Alexius warned.

 

Morsus sighed and ate his food slowly, until all of a sudden, a hand took his plate. “ Hey!” Morsus exclaimed, angered by whoever was taking his food.

 

He looked up to see another acolyte, a tall boy who was there age, he had jet black hair and silver eyes, he was again a pale white. He had a smug look on him and sneered at Morsus.

 

“ A peasant like you doesn't need to eat...your not going to live anyways.” The tall boy sneered. Morsus balled up his fist, and gritted his teeth.

 

“ Leave him alone Cassius…” Alexius barked. The one name Cassius looked at Alexius and smirked.

 

“ What are you going to do about, you pathetic roach, you all are nothing compared to me, I am from a prestigious Sith bloodline, you all are below me.” the taller boy declared.

 

Morsus gritted his teeth,he had enough of people like him, and rammed his fist into the other boy's face, knocking him to the ground, the tray of food spilling onto the floor. All eyes in the mess hall was now on them. Upon realising what he had done, Morsus gulped and looked around nervously. Anita gasped and Alexius looked at him with shock. Cassius looked up at Morsus with killing intent in his eyes.

 

“How dare you, i'm going to kill you!” Cassius roared, he leaped to his feet and charged at Morsus, but before the boy could do anything, he froze not able to move.

 

Sweat went down his forehead and Morsus and the others gasped as they saw a man walking over to them slowly. He had a small smirk on his face, he walked next to Cassius and his smirked widen as he looked upon the frozen boy.

 

“The deeds of your father will get you nowhere here boy…you are nothing here…” and with that, the man waved his index finger, pointing it at Cassius, making the boy slowly go on to his knees and bending his head down.

 

The man chuckled with delight and then flung his finger upwards, making the boy fly across the room, slamming Cassius into the wall behind him. He slumped to the ground, and just sat there, his head down and breathing heavily, obviously angered for being humiliated and abused like this, not wanting to accept the hard truth for him.

 

Everyone in the mess hall was dead silent, even the overseers had their heads down, no one dared make a noise. The man then looked at Morsus and smiled widely.

 

“ Very good… very good indeed…” he said with a happy tone, although it unnerved Morsus, there was something so dark about this man, yet he looked welcoming and kind. It was terrifying. The man was tall and slender, he had a bushy beard and bright orange and yellow eyes, he was pale and always had smirk on his face. He wore back robes with light padding for armor, covered by a long black hood.

 

“Watch yourself boy… there are enemies around every corner here… “ the man then looked at Alexius and Anita making them gulp and it made him smirk, he then looked back at Morsus one last time, with a glint in his eyes, as if he knew something that Morsus didn’t.

 

The man then swiftly walked out of the mess hall, leaving everyone stunned. Morsus looked over at Cassius who was standing up slowly, he was glaring at him, and Morsus knew he had made an enemy.

 

“ I never thought Lord Baoton would come to the mess hall just to help an acolyte… you have friends in high places it seems.” Anita told Morsus, trying to lighten the mood.

 

“ Lord Baoton?...” Morsus asked.

 

“ You’ve never heard of him? He is famous among the Empire and one of the most powerful Sith Lords in the galaxy, they say he could even match the Emperor, but those are just rumors…” Alexius explained.

 

Morsus pondered for a second, surprised about the Sith Lord’s reputation, he didn’t look like much, but Morsus had learned today, that not everything is as it appears…

 

The acolytes returned to their dorms and prepared to sleep for the night. They were told that they would be learning the Sith Code and studying Sith philosophy, along with practicing lightsaber arts. It sounded exciting, but Morsus knew that this was going to be a hard life… and this training would be no better.

 

He couldn’t believe this was his life still and that he had experienced so much in just a day/ He layed down on the hard bed, not comfortable at all, and tried to get some sleep although Morsus already knew, his night would be filled of nightmares….

Edited December 23, 2016 by GeneralSafar

Chapter 3

 

Morsus awoke with a start, panting and looking around violently before he remembered where he was. He sighed and rested his head into his hands, contemplating if he should try to sleep some more, not at all wanting to deal with the endless bombardment of nightmares.

 

There seemed to be no reason for the nightmares, for only to make him relive the death of his mother. The dreams were a constant reminder, of what his life is, and will be for now on, and to think of that, only made Morsus fall deeper into his despair.

 

Just the feeling of this place, made Morsus want to puke, the smell of death and the air thick enough to make it hard to breath. There was so much negative energy in this Academy, even this entire world, that Morsus wandered how anyone could stand it.

 

For the rest of the night, Morsus laid quietly in his bed, listening to the sounds of his sleeping peers and the faint disembodied voices that seemed to haunt the dark academy. He dared not go back to sleep, if you would even call that sleep. Two more hours past, until the sound of doors sliding open and the footsteps of multiple people.

 

The lights flickered on, instantly being blinded by the bright beams above them. The roars of the Sith overseers filled the room, ordering everyone to wake up and to come to attention. Most of the acolytes had awaken, fumbling around, still half asleep. For those that did not wake up immediately were greeted with tendrils of lightning. After hearing the screams of their unlucky peers, the rest of the acolytes were quick to comply, fully awake now,

 

Morsus stood, discreetly looking around for Alexius and Anita, only to find them in the same position. Anita looking shaken and terrified, while Alexius trying to mask his emotions, but you could see the fear in his eyes. Morsus stood there, he was surprisingly getting used to the acts of violence and terror, it unnerved him a bit.

 

Once everything calmed, the doors open again, and this time, only one person came through it. A tannish but pale man came to a stop, he was average size and had brown hair and gold-red eyes, he looked young, and was wearing grey armor, that was sleeker and not as bulky as others.

 

“I am Lord Galbatorix, and will be your instructor of light saber and martial arts. This training will not be for the faint of heart, so if you give up, you will be killed, we have no use for weakness and will not hesitate to discard you, am I understood?...” The sith explained.

 

All the acolytes let out a “Yes Sir…” and with that Galbatorix signaled for everyone to move. Alexius and Anita moved to Morsus’s side and quickly followed the instructor to the training hall.

 

They arrived to a very large room, almost like an arena. There was plenty of open space and training dummies lining the walls. As all the acolytes filled the room, the assistant overseers would order the fledglings around, separating them into groups and assigning sparring partners.

 

While this was being done, Galbatorix was watching, assessing everyone as if he knew who was going to progress and who wasn’t. Morsus saw this and became a little nervous, was he up for this? Would he make it through it? Morsus also wandered why they were being started on martial arts and light saber arts, before learning anything about the sith, and after some time passing and watching many of his peers being pulverized by the better suited acolytes, he realized what was happening. They were just weeding them out, those worthy of being taught the ways of the sith, would continue, but those who crumble under the pain of training such as this, had no place here.

 

This worried Morsus even more, and the self doubt began to kick in. As the training continued, Morsus watched as acolytes desperately tried to tear each other apart, there was no style or form or anything to it, just raw instincts to survive, for this is what the overseers wanted to see.

 

Anita watched in horror as her fellow peers were turning into animals, trying to kill each other, while Alexius put his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. Morsus frowned at this, seeing Anita scared like she was made him angry that a sweet little girl like her had to go through this.

 

When Alexius was called for his turn, he was going against Cassius, who had already dispatched several of his fellow peers. It was obvious that many of the overseers including Galbatorix enjoyed watching him, and knew he was Sith material.

 

As Alexius walked over to face his opponent, he assumed a fighting stance, ready to take on the vicious acolyte before him. Cassius laughed and beckoned him over, his arrogance at full blast. Alexius clicked his tongue in annoyance and charged the other boy, earning a smirk from the other. Cassius stepped to the side, easily dodging him and outstretched his leg, tripping Alexius, but surprisingly was able to recover quickly, and pivot around swinging his fist and laying it into Cassius’s face.

 

The other acolytes gasped and even earned a few raised eyebrows from the overseers. Cassius stumbled back and rubbed his cheek in pain, he glared at Alexius and tackled him to the ground with surprising speed, catching Alexius off guard. As they rolled around on the floor, punching each other and even biting, Morsus looked in worry for Alexius and in hate for Cassius, he enjoyed watching him being in pain and struggling, it gave Morsus a feeling that was so satisfying, he didn’t notice that he was smiling a little.

 

After a long struggle, Cassius finally was able to beat Alexius into submission, Alexius being bloodied and broken. He did his best, but Cassius was on a level far beyond the common riff raff the overseers have to deal with. Galbatorix smirked at Cassius, he obviously favored the boy while Alexius on the other hand was promising and had potential he believed. Alexius trudged back to Morsus and Anita. Anita hugged him and looked relieved he survived, while Morsus looked at him with anger in his eyes, not anger for Alexius but for Cassius.

 

‘ That bastard still won…’ Morsus thought to himself.

 

As he looked around, he realized that he was the only one left to challenge Cassius, and prove his worth to the overseers. Cassius saw this and smiled wickedly at Morsus, cracking his knuckles in the process. Galbatorix grinned with anticipation, he could feel the anger, the frustration and the pain in Morsus and it made him excited. Galbatorix was sure, he was not the only one in the academy who was sensing this as well, the boy had great power in him, no one could deny that. All they needed to do, was tap into it, and he was sure this would be the start.

 

Morsus and Cassius circled each other, both looking at the other with killing intent. Both waiting for the other to make a move. The other acolytes watched in suspense, while Anita and Alexius looked in fear for Morsus.

 

“ Begin…” Galbatorix ordered and with that, Cassius reached for Morsus, going on the offensive, while Morsus stood ready for him or at least thought he was ready for him.

 

When Cassius slammed into him, Morsus was not expecting the amount of force the other boy was able to produce. Morsus quickly dug in, trying to compensate for the other boy’s weight. Cassius grappled him, trying to throw Morsus off balance, but found it difficult, for the boy was sturdy, which was surprising for his size. Cassius grew impatient and frustrated with Morsus and growled at his defiance. With one roar in anger, Cassius lifted Morsus off the ground and pounded him into the hard ground beneath them. The force of the impact, took the air out of Morsus’s lungs and he swore he heard something crack. The other acolytes gasped and the overseers including Galbatorix watched in suspense.

 

“Submit…” Cassius growled lowly to Morsus as he stood over the crushed boy.

 

An evil smirk spread across Cassius’s face as he kicked Morsus repeatedly, causing Morsus to cough up blood. Anita was covering her mouth, crying and Alexius just watched on silently, a depressed look on his face. Galbatorix chuckled to himself, maybe he was wrong… maybe the boy wasn’t worth their time…

 

Cassius was enjoying himself in beating the poor boy beneath him and looked as if he wasn’t going to stop until he was dead. Morsus was beginning to lose consciousness and couldn’t gather the strength to fight back.

 

‘ Is this all I can do?... Am I really this weak, this pathetic… I couldn’t protect my mother… my friends… not even myself… perhaps I deserve this… perhaps, this is what I was meant to be… nothing…’

 

Just as Morsus was about to give up and accept his fate, the sound of a man’s voice came to him. ‘ Get Up….’ It said with a tone that made you want to obey.

 

The voice some how sparked something in Morsus, as if an unknown force was taking control, he opened his eyes and peered up at Cassius, who was about to deliver the final kick. Morsus narrowed his eyes at Cassius, anger, determination, power…

 

Just before Cassius’s foot was about to connect with Morsus’s face, Morsus caught his ankle, stopping him instantly, he held on to Cassius with a strong grip, making Cassius hitch his breath in pain.

 

Everyone in the room gasped in surprise once again, Anita and Alexius looking in suspense. Galbatorix had stopped smiling and looked on with a raised brow. With a loud and powerful yell, Morsus stood up, while dragging Cassius by the ankle with strength that was foreign to the boy. He swung him around, causing Cassius to yell in pain and panic, as he was then flipped in mid air, Morsus grabbing his leg and slamming him down to the ground with a loud bang that shook the entire room.

 

Cassius howled in pain and as he opened his eyes, Morsus was standing over him, with a sadistic smile on his face, and pure hatred. It was as if something was possessing Morsus, or maybe it was all him… Everyone looked in terror and shock, even the overseers looked startled. Morsus clenched his fist and raised it in the air, Galbatorix looked with wide eyes, he knew what was going to happen, he could feel the power in that fist.

 

‘He’s going to kill him…’ He thought.

 

Morsus let out a roar of power and went to ram his fist into Cassius’s chest, but before it happened, a strong hand grabbed his wrist and directed his punch to fall to the ground next to Cassius, missing him by inches.

 

The acolytes gave out screams of fear and awe as they saw who had intervened. Savage had seemingly appeared from nowhere and was bent down, holding Morsus’s wrist. Galbatorix paled and stepped back slightly, wondering why the legendary sith had stopped it. Morsus looked up slowly, falling off his high, he looked up at Savage who was looking at him, with those bright, almost glowing red eyes.

 

Cassius was breathing heavily, fear in his eyes and surprise at Savage’s appearance. Savage let go off Morsus’s wrist and rose back up, still staring down at the two boys. Morsus rose back up, but was shocked to see that he had to pull his hand out of a hole he had made, the force of the punch causing cracks to spread across the floor of the room. Morsus looked in shock and horror at what he had done, and soon everything began to spin, and went black as he lost consciousness from exhaustion. He began to fall, but was caught by Savage who had picked him up easily, flinging him over his shoulder.

 

Savage then looked at Galbatorix who had came over to assess the situation.

 

“ Move the Acolytes on to their next class… and send this one to the infirmary….” He said pointing down at Cassius who was struggling to get up.

 

Galbatorix made a slight bow in respect and called for the overseers to lead the acolytes out to their next class. Alexius and Anita was looking over at them, worried for Morsus, and begrudgingly followed the overseers.

 

“ Where are you taking him, Lord Savage?...” Galbatorix asked curious. Savage then looked at him, his bright red eyes pulsing with heat, making Galbatorix swallow and take a step back.

 

“ Where do you think…” he responded as if Galbatorix should already know, in which he soon realized and nodded his head. And with that, Savage had already disappeared with Morsus, leaving a shaken Galbatorix to clean up this mess.

Edited December 23, 2016 by GeneralSafar

Chapter 4

 

‘Failure… Weak… You won’t make it… Give up… End yourself… Die…’

 

The voices would tell Morsus as he dwells in his unconscious state. He can’t open his eyes, and could barely make out two voices around him. He couldn’t think straight, and the voices were not helping, for Morsus had to constantly remind himself that they were not real... or were they?

 

After what seemed like an eternity, Morsus finally was able to open his eyes, first realizing he was in a purple lit room, but was still dark, like most rooms in the Academy. As his vision came into focus, he sat up and saw that he was laying on a long table, an operating table it seemed. Morsus quickly grew worried, and looked around and realized that he was in a very large room, full of bacta tanks that had weird creatures floating in them, and some humans as well. Carcusses of Tuk’ata that had been disected were laying on other operating tables, and tables that were full of open datacrons and writing pads.

 

‘Is this a laboratory?...’ Morsus thought to himself.

 

After a few minutes of taking the room in, he carefully slid off the operating table and got to his feet, but stumbled a little, getting his balance once again. The lab was truly amazing, and was a scientist's greatest dream. Morsus looked around the lab some more and then made his way to the sliding doors at the end of the room. He realized that he didn’t know where he was, and seemed to be all alone.

 

As he went out of the lab, he came to a cross section with other doors at the end of each. Morsus was afraid to wander around, not knowing if he was supposed to leave or stay… However, curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to choose one of the doors, hoping he wouldn’t regret it. The door he picked slid open and the room behind it was a massive library, the room lining with large archives and tables scattered around, papers and datacrons scattered on them.

 

In the center of the room, was a large round table, with a datacron holder in the middle, which Morsus assumed was for special datacrons. The place was amazing to Morsus, he had never seen a place so full of knowledge, for being a slave since birth, knowledge was not a common luxury.

 

The fact that there was no one around, Morsus suspected this was probably a private area of the academy, and that made Morsus even more nervous, despite his excitement. The last thing he remembered, was him looking into Lord Savage’s eyes, and then blacking out. He remembered his fight with Cassius and paled at what he had done. Where did he get that strength from... and what frightened Morsus even more, was the fact that he seemed like a totally different person, a monster all most… could that really of been him? These questions made Morsus fearful for what he was becoming, and what made it worse, was that deep inside him, he kind of liked it…

 

Morsus snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a voice that sounded slightly annoyed.

 

“Have you finished sight seeing?...” the voice asked. Morsus shook it off and assumed it was the voices that had been plaguing his head.

 

“Be quiet… I can take my time…” Morsus responded defiantly.

 

“You’re testing my patience…” The “ voice” responded.

 

“Like I care…” Morsus responded while examining a datacron, curious of what was inside.

 

“Do turn around…” the voice said, making Morsus pale.

 

He swallowed and slowly turned around to see a very tall and brownish tan man, with a larger build. He had curly black hair and had the most interesting eyes, they were purple and seemed to glow if you looked at them in the right way. The man was wearing grey robes and black boots, while wearing a black cloak that rested on his shoulders, a thin thread holding it closed around his chest.

 

He had a straight face, seemingly examining Morsus. Morsus jumped, dropping the datacron by accident making him scramble to pick it up, muttering sorry and asking for forgiveness. All of this making the man raise a brow, still having a straight face but slight annoyance in his eyes.

 

Morsus quickly stood at attention after putting the datacron down. He was breathing heavily, with beads of sweat forming around his forehead.

 

“My apologies, I meant no disrespect, I was just curious, please…” Morsus rambled out.

 

The man raised his hand to signal for the flustered boy to stop, Morsus quickly obeying, shutting his mouth.

 

“I see you have… recovered well…" the man said in a low tone.

 

He slowly walked over to Morsus, those bright purple eyes watching Morsus’s every move. The man walked around the boy, examining him as he did, his hands behind his back. It was strange, with Lord Savage, Morsus felt dread, fear, like all hope was lost, with Lord Baoton, Morsus felt unnerved, vulnerable, the kind smile giving you a false sense of security. But with this man, it was different, the voices in his head became louder, his essence felt like it was being drawn away, yet for some reason, he felt connected slightly toward the man, drawn to him almost, he couldn’t understand why.

 

“Who are you?..” Morsus asked curious and yet cautious, not fully understanding who he was dealing with.

 

The man came to a stop, now facing the boy, his arms crossed under his cloak. He stared at Morsus silently for a whole 5 seconds before he spoke.

 

“I’m Lord Safar…” the man answered.

 

The name sounded familiar to Morsus, a name he swore he had heard before he came to the academy, but he couldn’t remember.

 

“My lord… where are we exactly, I don’t remember this area in the academy.” Morsus asked.

 

Safar waved his hand, signaling Morsus to follow him, earning a nod from the boy. They walked out of the library and began walking down the hall, toward the last door, Morsus had not been through. As they approach the large doors, they slid open revealing a large office it seemed, pretty standard for the academy, only it was purple lit and there was a large collection of artifacts and small specimens lining the left wall. While three red archives were mounted on the right wall, along with alters of datacrons. Toward the back wall of the office was a large metal desk and a tall chair behind it, with two Imperial banners on the wall behind it.

 

Morsus was fascinated by all the interesting things Safar seemed to collect, and was curious to learn about them, but doubted he would ever have the chance. Safar walked over to his desk and sat down, his fingers crossed together and looking at Morsus with a serious face, always seeming to be observing his every action. Morsus walked up to the desk slowly and stood waiting for the Sith lord to speak. After what seemed like hours, Safar spoke.

 

“It would seem you have been causing quite the stir around here…” Morsus gulped, wondering if he was in some kind of trouble.

 

“Are you having issues with Acolyte Cassius?...” Safar asked, but already knew the answer, he just wanted to see what Morsus would say.

 

At the mention of the name, Morsus narrowed his eyes, his hands at his sides, balling up in fists. Safar gave a sly smirk and took the response as a definite yes.

 

“Its alright to be angry… it's only natural that you respond in such a way toward a person like Cassius…” Safar explained.

 

Morsus looked down at his feet, he knew it was normal to get angry, but what he did was beyond anything normal. All his life he had been a slave boy, and now he was pounding holes into things and going in killing trances, it was a lot for the boy to process.

 

“No… it's not… I’m turning into a monster, and I don’t know why…” Morsus said sadly.

 

Safar just looked at the boy, sensing every emotion within him, already knowing the kind of person Morsus was. Safar stood and walked around his desk, standing before Morsus.

 

“Trust me young one… you have know idea what a monster is… yet…” Safar said in low tone.

 

This made Morsus shiver and as he looked up into Safar’s almost glowing purple eyes, he knew it to be true.

 

“What you did today was not something you should shy away from… for it is only the power within you, and I sense that the force is very strong in you…” Safar explained.

 

Morsus pondered for a minute, having so many questions to ask.

 

“What exactly is the force?...” Safar raised a brow and stood up, walking around his desk, standing before Morsus.

 

“The force is an energy field that connects all living things in the galaxy together, it gives power to those who are sensitive to it, such as you and me.” Safar explained, Morsus listened intently, absorbing everything Safar had to say.

 

“There are two sides… the light… and the dark… each has its own purpose, yet are of the same in nature.” Morsus looked confused.

 

“How do they have their own purpose , yet are the same?.” Morsus asked.

 

“Many think that the force is divided, but in my experience, it is a whole, for the force has no allegiance. We just choose which part of it to use, remember that…” Safar answered.

 

Morsus nodded, grasping the concept of what Safar was telling him.

 

“So which is stronger?...” Morsus asked.

 

“Neither... as a whole, each side is balanced, with their strengths, and their weaknesses… for the power is in the individual… the force comes from within, you have to learn to draw from it, you have to take your power… it will not be handed to you.” Safar explained.

 

Morsus liked the idea of that, being able to take his power, to finally be able to protect the ones he loves, this was a way for him to atone for his failures, this was a way out…

 

“The users of the light are called Jedi, while the users of the dark, such as ourselves are Sith… The Jedi believe in peace, and using the force in selfless acts, relying on suppressing their emotions. It’s a deluded way of thinking, denying your basic emotions and trying to morally raise yourself higher above others… they want what can never be achieved, and that is peace… for their will always be conflict and there always must be. If there was always peace, you would become stagnant and predictable, something the Jedi are known for, not being able to adapt, so set in their ways, that they blame the Sith for clouding their vision, yet it is they who do it too themselves…”

 

Morsus listened to all this, and was annoyed by the way the Jedi thought, how could they actually live like that, it was a dreadful thought.

 

“The Sith do not hold back their emotions, their passions… they use them, for a Sith is useless without a fuel source, and that can only be obtained from within… What fuels you Acolyte… what gives you strength?...” Safar asked darkly, which surprised Morsus at the sudden switch in dispositions.

 

Morsus thought about the question, he searched deep inside him, he felt many emotions, but the one that hit him to the core, was fear… He feared for what he was becoming, he feared for if he could protect the ones he cared about, he feared for the future and what was to come. Morsus looked up at Safar

 

“I’m afraid… that's why I’m going to get stronger, I want this power so that I can protect my friends, and never have to hide or be a slave again… I don’t want to be afraid anymore…” Morsus let out quietly, looking down at the ground.

 

Safar gave a small smile, he had been waiting for this confession, and now he was ready to take his first step into the ways of the force. Safar places a hand on Morsus’s shoulder.

 

“What you desire, can be achieved through the teachings you will learn here, you have such great power, such potential Morsus…you will never have to be afraid of anyone again, all you need to do, is accept the darkness inside of you and use it to your advantage, I know you feel it, I know you want to set yourself free… this is how you can do it… what do you choose Morsus… search your feelings, for your true nature is inside, that will be your key.” Safar said in a soft tone.

 

Morsus thought about what he said, and after searching deep inside him, he found that Safar was right.... All he felt, was darkness, and that's when he realized the truth, his true nature, his true destiny, and with coming to this conclusion, he let go, letting the sweet embrace of the darkside take him, it was such a great feeling, it was addictive, he couldn’t get enough of it. All the pain, suffering, sadness and despair he had felt, he let it all flow, and with doing so felt an amazing surge of power within him.

 

Morsus couldn’t help but smile wickedly, and even chuckled a bit, for with this power, he knew he could have whatever he wanted. Morsus slowly looked back up at Safar with a yellow tint in his eyes. Safar smiled darkly and let out a relaxed sigh as he felt the darkness take Morsus, his power now radiating.

 

“ You have taken your first steps into a much greater destiny, and now that you have accepted the darkness you now can become Sith”

 

Morsus nodded, now seeing that the Sith was his way to power.

 

“ What must I do my lord?...” Morsus asked in a low tone.

 

“ First you must finish your trials of the academy, which no doubt you will succeed… and then a Sith Master will take you as an apprentice, you have already drawn much attention today, so you will have no issue in finding one. But before you can accomplish any of this, you must learn the Sith code, for it is your guide to become great.” Safar explained.

 

“ What is the Sith Code?” Morses asked with much curiosity. Safar smirked and started to pace back and forth with his hands behind his back slowly.

 

“ Listen carefully… Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me….”

 

As Morsus listened to all of this, and thought he understood the concept but would learn in time what it really meant to him.

 

“ Thank you Lord Safar… I will not fail, I promise…” Morsus declared.

 

Safar only smiled and went to sit back down at his desk.

 

“ We shall see young one… I will be watching…” Safar stated, and with that Morsus gave a respectful bow and made his way out of the office, he then looked to see the exit from Safar’s part of the academy , and returned to his dorm.

 

Safar leaned back in his chair, and crossed his fingers together, thinking of the future to come. He then suddenly felt a dark presence and sighed. “Is that the reason you brought him here…” Safar asked to seemingly nothing.

 

Out from the shadows behind Safar was Savage who had a smirk on his face, he sat down on Safar’s desk, his arms crossed. “You do it so well, of course, I would bring him to you… and don’t tell me you weren't curious to see him for yourself…” Savage explained.

 

Safar looked at Savage “Perhaps… he is very strong in the force, there is no denying that… yet I feel something else…”

 

Savage raised a brow. “What would that be?...” he asked.

 

Safar shook his head. “I don’t know yet… but I am sure the force will reveal it in time…” Safar said as he rose from his chair, starting to make his way to his library.

 

“I’ll keep an eye on him…” Savage said, watching Safar leave.

 

Safar turned around and nodded in return, and then narrowed his eyes in annoyance at Savage. “Get off my desk…” Safar ordered, only to get a smirk from Savage before he disappeared before Safar’s eyes, earning yet another sigh from Safar.

Edited December 23, 2016 by GeneralSafar

Hi

 

Looks like you've got quite a start going here, and you seem dedicated to it. If I could just suggest a couple of things, to make it easier for people to enjoy the story, it would be to space the text out more--rather than one large paragraph maybe several shorter ones. Also put the dialogue on a separate line. To demonstrate what I mean, I took your last paragraph and made the changes I'm suggesting to it. Also there is no space between the quotation marks and the first word of your dialogue. Hopefully that'll help you edit it for next time.

 

 

 

I have to say I'm loving this story so far! I am very curious to see how the relationship between Morsus and Safar develops in the future. Keep up the good work!

Thank you Lunafox, I appreciate the advice and will defiantly revise everything, i'm sorry if it was hard for you or anyone else to read it. And I'm glad you are enjoying it Slim Reaper.

Thank you Lunafox, I appreciate the advice and will defiantly revise everything, i'm sorry if it was hard for you or anyone else to read it. And I'm glad you are enjoying it Slim Reaper.

 

You're welcome. No worries, I just find that formatting helps people enjoy a story more, and make it more likely that people will stop by and read it.

Chapter 5

 

It had been a month since Morsus gave himself to the Darkside and declared his rise to power, and already he could feel the difference. He felt amazing, more alive than he ever had been, and more importantly, he felt powerful. Already he was excelling in his training, impressing the overseers greatly. He absorbed every piece of knowledge he was told and studied in the archives constantly. Morsus was determined more than ever to gain more knowledge, and in turn, more power.

 

Anita and Alexius were a little startled by Morsus now, even though Morsus held them in esteem, and developed a close friendship with the two, they still felt worried for their friend. Anita being who she was, would ask Morsus if he was ok, only being told that he was “Never better!”. Anita would smile but would still get unnerved by that small glint of yellow in Morsus’s eyes, that she swore she had not seen when she met him. Alexius noticed this as well, and knew what was happening, and he had come to accept the fact that it was inevitable, being in this place, to turn to the darkside. However for Alexius, he did his best everyday, to keep himself from falling, it becoming harder to resist each time.

 

Cassius had become jealous of Morsus, seeing that he had suddenly surpassed all his peers and was more than a match for himself, Cassius was becoming desperate to slow the other acolyte down, or perhaps stop him… permanently. Cassius had talent, was well suited for the dark side of the force, so it baffled him that he was being outclassed so quickly, for he had been here for almost a year, and Morsus had only came last month. This made Cassius even more furious, and the longer fed on that hate, the more he felt himself strengthening. He was going to kill Morsus, and nothing would stand in his way…

 

It was late, and all the acolytes had turned in for the night, welcoming the chance to rest, but for Cassius, he couldn’t rest. He laid awake, thinking of how to become more powerful, more powerful than even Lord Baoton, who had slammed him into a wall a month ago. He hated the Sith Lord since then, but had admired his power for the longest time, and at that moment an idea came to him. He jolted out of his bed and smirked to himself.

 

‘If I am to get stronger, “I need a teacher, and what better teacher… than Lord Baoton himself…’ Cassius thought to himself.

 

It was a stretch but to Cassius it was worth it. He silently rose out of his bed, dressed himself and quietly exited the dorm. He walked down the dark halls, making his way to Baoton’s office, hoping that he was still there.

 

Cassius arrived to the door leading to Baoton’s office. He swallowed nervously , for even as prideful as Cassius was, he knew he was nothing compared to Baoton and still feared his power. As Cassius was about to knock, the door slid open, making Cassius jump in surprise. As Cassius cautiously walked in he took a quick look around the room. The office was very neat and proper, yet had a feeling to it.

 

The atmosphere was thick with energy and the hairs on Cassius’s body were standing up from static that confused him. He looked in amazement at seeing fascinating displays of electricity shimmering in random locations, never appearing in the same place twice. There was a holo map of the galaxy in the center of the room, and archives mounted to the wall to his right, while a sitting area with chairs circling a table. Small pillars of sith origin were placed around the room as well; It was an interesting room to say the least. Cassius walked around the large holo map at the center of the room, and looked to see a large window, where the back wall should be, giving a grand view of the Valley of the Dark Lords. A large chair was turned away from Cassius, which made him stop, a nervous sweat going down his forehead. Then a voice broke the silence.

 

“Acolyte Cassius... I’ve been expecting you…” the one who spoke, none other than Baoton, turned around in his chair to face Cassius.

 

Cassius hitched his breath, and gave a bow in respect.

 

“You knew I was coming?...” Cassius asked in surprise.

 

Baoton chuckled at this, a smirk plastered on his face.

 

“Of course I knew… I can sense the urge in you, the determination… you want something, don’t you?” Baoton asked.

 

Cassius nodded “I need to catch up to Morsus, and the only way to do that is get stronger, and I want you, to teach me…” Cassius explained.

 

Baoton smiled widely, the tension between the two acolytes were thick, and he couldn’t wait to see the result and Cassius might be exactly what he was looking for. Cassius was nervous with anticipation, wondering what the answer would be, this was his chance and he was willing to do whatever it took.

 

“Yes…” Baoton answered.

 

Cassius looked shocked, that was it?

 

“You will teach me?” Cassius asked again just to be sure.

 

“Must I repeat myself for you?...” Baoton replied with a raised brow.

 

“No my lord...I am just surprised that you agreed to it so quickly…” Cassius explained.

 

Baoton gave another chuckle, which Cassius flinched to.

 

“I can feel the potential inside you Cassius… you have a purpose… and I will help you reach it.” Baoton said.

 

Cassius had a smug look on his face, he now had a Lord Baoton, a legendary Sith Lord teaching him the ways of the force, now it was only a matter of time before he would surpass Morsus and finally kill the annoying peasant.

 

“We will start your training in the morning, skip whatever class you had scheduled, for it will be unnecessary now... I will inform the overseers…” Baoton explained.

 

Cassius nodded and bowed in excitement.

 

“ Thank you my master…” Cassius said while bowing deeply in respect.

 

He then turned on his heel and made his way out the office, all while Baoton sat quietly in his chair, his fingers crossed and a dark smirk spread across his face.

 

“ No no… thank you…” He muttered to himself.

Nice chapter. Cassius and the way he thinks reminds me of Bane--always questing to find ways of getting stronger and in his hatred of Morsus. Cassius is very determined. I look forward to see what will come of his new alliance.

 

I also noticed that you went through and edited, looks great--much easier on the eyes, thank you. Keep it up!

Thanks for the reformat. I actually took the time to read and the pairing up of the different people should be interesting. Morsus and Safar and Cassius and Baoton. I have the feeling that more than an acolytes pride is at stake here. Good beginning, keep going with it.

Chapter 6

 

It had been a month since Cassius was taken in under Darth Baoton’s wing and already he had gain considerable strength, much to Morsus’s dislike. Morsus couldn’t figure out how Cassius was advancing so quickly, for he had been able to beat every single acolyte in sparring sessions, demonstrating techniques that Morsus was sure were not taught to them by the instructors.

 

Morsus and the other acolytes were being taught in Shi-Cho, the first lightsaber form and the one used for training beginners. Morsus was very good at it, and picked up on the stances and techniques rather quickly and besting the rest of his peers… except for Cassius.

 

The acolytes were in the training hall getting ready for another sparring session, much to Cassius’s delight. Morsus scowled at him from across the room, where he was residing with Anita and Alexius who were preparing themselves.

 

Morsus kept the two close to him, for he legitimately cared for them, and was one reason he was trying so hard in his training, so that he would be able to protect them if needed. When everything in your life has been taken from you, and have been dropped into a place like the Korriban Academy, you hold onto and cherish what you have left, and for Morsus, that was his two friends.

 

“I hate sparring…” Anita muttered out.

 

Anita didn’t do very well for an acolyte, she was just too pure for this place, and never seemed to break from her positive demeanor, no matter how bad it got. To the overseers, it was repulsive and they actively despised her, always trying to make her life harder than the rest of the acolytes. There were times when Morsus would overhear them talk of getting rid of her, making him clench with fear every time.

 

“Don’t worry Anita, they're all weak, you can take them…” Morsus said trying to encourage her.

 

Anita would give a small smile to him, yet frown when Morsus wasn’t looking. She disliked the change Morsus seemed to be going through, slowly she felt he was drifting further from his original self when she met him.

 

Alexius was sitting down, his arms crossed and seemed to be thinking of something with his once bright yellow eyes peering into nothing. Alexius had become more quiet and had a darker aura as the days went on, he kept to himself mostly, only staying with Morsus and Anita who he seemed to only care about.

 

Alexius had developed much skill in the lightsaber arts, for he was on par with Morsus, perhaps even more. Although he was not as proficient with his studies in the force, he seemed to have a natural affinity for swordplay. This affinity served him well, and as such gained him the attention of many lords, looking for future apprentices, especially Galbatorix who had favored him, and as a result had been more lenient on Alexius in his training. This of course gained the dislike of his peers, obviously jealous of his skill, but Alexius never showed a hint of caring.

 

Cassius however, still had his arrogant and smug demeanor, seemingly unphased by the attention Alexius and Morsus was receiving, like he knew something they didn’t. When the sparring session had begun, Cassius was one the first to challenge his peers, and as expected dominated every one of them. It wasn’t until it was Anita’s turn to face the monster that things started to get interesting.

 

Anita, gulped when she was called to challenge Cassius, obviously frightened by the prospect of having to duel him. She was barely able to best some of the lesser acolytes, and was able to avoid Cassius for the longest time, until now. Morsus and Alexius became tense, nervous for their friend’s safety. They knew Cassius would show no mercy, and this made Morsus want to rip Cassius’s throat out. What little emotion Alexius did have, he often let it show when it came to Anita and right now he was just as angered and anxious as Morsus.

 

Everyone stood around the dueling ring, watching in anticipation. Many overseers had smirks on their faces, apparently pleased of Anita having to face such an opponent. Anita went into a defensive stance, holding her training sword with a two handed grip. Cassius chuckled, not even bothering to go into a stance, only pacing back and through, waiting for Galbatorix to begin the match.

 

A nervous bead of sweat went down the side of Anita’s face, as she prepared for the coming storm. She paled as she looked at Cassius, he had become even paler than before, his jet black hair standing out perfectly, a twisted smile on his cold face. But what disturbed Anita even more about the boy, was his eyes, those yellow eyes with an orange ring around his pupil.

 

It made Anita shiver with fear, as to how corrupted by the dark side this boy already was. Cassius could feel the fear in her, the horror she felt by looking at him, it made him smile with pleasure as he fed on this feeling, savoring the sweet flow of power that it brought him. He breathed in and gave out a heavy and satisfying sigh, for he was ready to kill.

 

“ Begin!” Galbatorix ordered.

 

Like lightning, Cassius struck at Anita, his training sword but a yellow blur as it slammed into Anita’s own blade, who had barely been able to defend against the powerful blow. Anita held onto the blade lock, obviously struggling against the immense strength of Cassius who was laughing hysterically.

 

“ Can you hold it girl? Can save yourself!” He yelled out mockingly as he turned his blade, forcing Anita to move with it, until both of their swords were turned toward the ground.

 

Cassius who had the leverage, took the advantage and raised his right hand to backhand Anita in the face, making her fly across the dueling ring. Everyone gasped as they heard the giant thud that was Anita landing on the ground. Morsus and Alexius were holding their breath as Anita showed little sign of moving. Cassius laughed out loud, slowly walking toward the girl.

 

“Such a weak, pathetic little thing you are, perhaps I will spare us all the annoyance in watching you continue to breath, and kill you now…” Cassius said, his words laced with venom.

 

Anita laid there, shaking uncontrollably as she sobbed quietly to herself. In pain and fear of the boy before her. Morsus was breathing heavily with anger, as he watched Anita broken on the floor

 

“Get up Anita!” Morsus cried.

 

Cassius turned his head to Morsus and gave him a sick smile. Morsus hitched his breath, and became pale as he thought of what Cassius was going to do. Cassius then turned back to look at the girl beneath him, still shaking in shock, her tearful eyes looking up at him, pleading for him to stop. Cassius smirked at her sadisticly.

 

“You get no mercy from me…I want hear you suffer!” Cassius shouted as he outstretched his free hand, producing a brilliant torrent of blue lightning, shocking the now screaming girl beneath him.

 

Everyone gasped, even a few screams of shock from the other acolytes, the overseers all looked stunned, even Galbatorix . Morsus cringed at the sound of Anita’s screams of pain and how she seemed to spasm into disturbing ways. He looked at Cassius who had was laughing insanely. Alexius closed his eyes tightly, trying to hold back a tear that was threatening to fall, for he couldn’t bare to watch.

 

All of a sudden, Cassius stopped his torture and was breathing heavily, he looked tired and drained from his outburst but still held a smile. Anita was smoking from the raw power of the lightning, she seemed to be unconscious and was twitching every now and then. Morsus rushed to her side, and knelt down trying to access the damage.

 

“This is only the beginning...Morsus…” Cassius said darkly. Morsus looked up at Cassius with seething rage.

 

“You will die… and I will be the one to kill you…” Morsus said with a cold tone, his eyes shimmering a golden yellow.

 

Cassius was caught off guard by this response and instinctively took a step back, but then quickly recomposed himself.

 

“Never…” Cassius said angrily, and turned on his heel and quickly exited the training room.

 

Morsus watched him leave and let out an angry sigh then looked back down at Anita in which his expression softened. Alexius had walked over to them

 

“We need to get her to the infirmary…” he said, in which Morsus agreed with.

 

“We will take her…” Galbatorix said, with two other overseers beside him.

 

Morsus raised a brow in suspicion as to why all of a sudden they would show any sign of concern. Galbatorix gestured to the assistant overseers beside him to pick Anita up, in which they did and took her out of the room.

 

“Is she going to be alright?” Morsus asked worriedly to Galbatorix, who just looked at him and smirked.

 

“Of course…” he responded and then walked away, instructing the acolytes to move on to their next class.

 

Morsus swallowed and looked at Alexius who looked just as worried.

 

X

 

Some time had past and it was time for the acolytes to retire for the day, however Morsus had no intentions of resting until he found out how Anita was doing. He made his way to the infirmary and walked through the door, expecting Anita to be laying on one of the medical beds, but the room was empty. Morsus paled and looked around frantically, he then rushed over to the Imperial doctor who was busy typing something.

 

“Where is the girl that came here earlier today?” Morsus asked quickly.

 

The doctor raised her head to Morsus and had a confused expression on her face.

 

“There hasn’t been any patients in here today…” she answered.

 

Morsus’s eyes widened and he quickly ran out of the room, leaving a confused doctor. Morsus ran through hallways, looking for Anita but couldn’t find her. He earned stares of confused and surprised overseers when he passed them but payed them no mind. Finally he found Galbatorix in the main section of the academy, talking to another Sith in front of the giant Sith Obelisk.

 

“Lord Galbatorix…!” he called out, in which he earned a raised brow from the man.

 

“Acolyte Morsus… you had better have a good reason for bothering me…” Galbatorix spat out.

 

“Where is Anita?...” Morsus asked quickly. Galbatorix then smirked at him.

 

“You mean the girl from earlier… oh i'm afraid she won’t be attending the academy any longer…” he stated.

 

Morsus looked shocked “ What do you mean?...” he asked.

 

“..... The Tuk’ata do love their meal times... have you ever seen Lord Renning feed them?” Galbatorix asked, a twisted smirk on his face.

 

Morsus stepped back in disbelief, tripping and falling to the ground. He felt like throwing up and looked at Galbatorix with horror.

 

“What's the matter? You should be happy, in the end she was useful for something…” Galbatorix said grinning wickedly, the other Sith around him laughing.

 

Morsus got up and quickly ran toward the exit of the academy and ran into the cold night, making his way down the academy steps.

 

He couldn’t take it anymore, it was too much, once again he had failed at protecting someone he cared about, once again he was helpless. Morsus continued to run until he tripped on a mound of sand, landing face first into cold ground. He didn’t bother trying to get up, he just laid there, hoping death would take him.

 

‘Get up…’ a voice told him, yet there was no one around him.

 

Morsus still couldn’t figure out who the voice belong to, yet it sounded so familiar and comforting as well. Morsus found the strength to obey the voice, and pulled himself up out of the sand. He just stood there, the wind blowing making a whistling sound. The light from the stars above shone down on him, as he turned around to walk back to the academy. He walked slowly, and seemed to not pay anything around him any attention, for he was lost in his own thoughts.

 

He then felt a familiar presence and already knew who it was, as he walked past the dark figure of Savage, leaning against a stone pillar, with his arms crossed and looking down at the ground. He didn’t have to say anything, and Morsus didn’t either for he already knew, that Savage had been right all along…

Nicely done and a hard lesson for Morsus although I believe he will learn it well. I will be waiting for more interplay between your characters. You have made them quite interesting.

Chapter 7

 

The academy was quiet for once, the air was still and the darkness was heavy. Yet despite this, if one listened closely, the faint sounds of blades clashing and grunts of frustration could be heard. Following the sounds would lead you to the training room, where a single acolyte was in the middle of dismantling several training dummies in a flurry of wild swings of his training sword.

 

That acolyte would happen to be Alexius, who upon hearing the news of the gruesome death of his friend, had gone into a rage. When he saw the pale and ghostly face of Morsus, he knew what had happen. He wanted to kill every Sith in the academy for the torture and the pain that they had put him through, and he hated them so much for it. He fed off this hatred and it made him feel powerful, enough to where he wanted to unleash his fury, his rage upon the academy and avenge Anita.

 

However, in the back of his mind, he knew he was too weak, despite his rage, and this made him angrier. In a vicious strike, he beheaded a dummy and watched as it’s head tumbled to the ground and rolled away. He imagined the dummy's head being Galbatorix, for he had ordered the death of Anita and for that, his death would be the slowest.

 

“You have much to learn…” a voice rang behind him.

 

Upon hearing this, Alexius clenched his teeth and looked behind him to see a dark figure in the shadows of the room. All Alexius could see were piercing, glowing red eyes staring at him. Alexius instinctively stepped back, visibly unnerved by the menacing sight. The figure then walked into the light, revealing Lord Savage who had a pondering look on his face.

 

Alexius gritted his teeth, he shouldn’t be scared, being scared was for the weak, and he was not going to be weak anymore. In a reckless act, Alexius charged forward with surprising speed, his blade raised above his head. Savage just stood there, with no look of concern, simply watching Alexius with a hint of amusement, making Alexius even angrier.

 

Before Alexius reached Savage, he lept into the air and swung down at Savage in which he was sure would hit. However, before the blade would even make contact with the Sith Lord, he seemingly disappeared in a flicker, causing Alexius to slam his blade onto the hard ground. Alexius rose back up and looked around in confusion, then suddenly behind him, Save reappeared, and effortlessly crossed his leg, kicking at Alexius’s feet, causing the boy to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

 

“What?...” Alexius muttered, as he looked up at the man towering above him, still with a straight face.

 

Alexius clicked his tongue, and quickly stood up to punch the man in the face, in which Savage grabbed his fist, not even flinching from the blow. Alexius stumbled back, and realized there was no way he was going to land a hit on the legendary lord.

 

“ But you have potential….” Savage finished.

 

Alexius suddenly stopped and looked at Savage with wide eyes, obviously surprised by his words.

 

“You have hate, you have anger… and it makes you powerful… yet even with such raw power, it must be refined, harnessed… mastered…” Savage explained, as he walked around the boy.

 

Alexius watched the sith lord, not sure on where he was going with all this.

 

“Do you seek...vengeance...young one?...” Savage asked, stopping in front of Alexius, his back turned toward him.

 

Alexius thought about the question, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he got for what happened to his friend. He closed his eyes tightly, his jaws tense and his hands balled into fist, hate radiating from him. Savage smiled to himself and turned around slowly.

 

“ You do… I know you do…” Savage said with an excited glint in his piercing red eyes.

 

Alexius opened his now dark orange eyes, the dark side taking him over finally, and looked right into Savage’s crimson eyes.

 

“ Teach me… my master…” Alexius said, his tone full of determination, and hate.

 

Savage smiled wickedly at his new student, visibly excited to see what Alexius was truly capable, and molding him in his image.

 

“Very well...but be warned… my training... is not for the faint of heart…” Savage warned, and with that he disappeared with a flicker.

 

Alexius sighed, and pondered if he was making the right decision, but if this was the only way to avenge Anita...then he would do whatever it took, no matter the cost...