The Dark Pathway Chapter 1
Writer’s Note: This is my first work (of hopefully many) of Star Wars fan-fiction. I am a relatively novice writer, so bear with me if my story seems kind of bad. I appreciate any comments/criticisms you may have, so feel free to write them. I’ll be sure to post a good amount of my works, so keep an eye out. ^_^
But first, a small bio of the main character, Arkos:
Arkos, in character, is similar to that of the Exile due to the fact that he was able to turn from war itself, in all of it’s vast horror. He turned away from it after Malachor, like the exile, but then decided to not choose a side after the fact. He received little formal training, instead relying on his instincts and his natural prowess with the Force to guide him on his path. He spurned both Jedi and Sith in exchange for his own self-made solitude, and the story begins when he spurned his Sith masters and began to blaze his own path.
The Dark Pathway CH 1: The Duel
It was night on the surface of Korriban, yet it was still as hot as before. Arkos was on his cot, struggling to catch what little sleep he could in preparation for the next day. Each day seemed to be the same as all of the others, whether it was intensive training against native beasts or fellow students, or exploring the ruined surface of the planet, searching for ancient relics of past Sith cultures, and he could find no such fulfillment in any of it. Incredulously, he started to grow bored of the same monotonous events. As the thoughts in his mind stopped whirling about at their usual rate, he finally fell asleep.
The next day came, not surprisingly, as all of the last did: Bright sunlight from the surface burning his face until he awoke, and early morning drills in the practice room under the harsh eye of his masters. He held his blade rather slackly in his left hand while waiting for the next round of training. The next opponent of his, a human female named Kira, was holding her blade in the aggressive Juyo stance, eager to slice Arkos to pieces. She charged him and struck with a massive overhand swing, which Arkos lazily parried as he pushed outward with the force, knocking Kira to the ground. Growling, she arose, with a few scrapes and bruises to show. “You mock me, fighting the way you do! Why do you not put your feeling into the fight?! Why don’t you strike back?†she growled in an obvious taunt.
“That is a simple question, and one can surmise the the asker is also as simple.†he yawns, then continues, “I believe I’ll answer this question with another, why is it you fight the way you do?â€
“Do not call me simple!!†she screamed as she rushed Arkos once more, this time opting for a sweeping horizontal chop, her eyes fierce with anger. Arkos flipped backwards onto a rocky outcropping while the girl leaped after him, determined to run him through. They clashed for awhile, Arkos easily putting up a solid defense against the furious attacks of his opponent. He then caught her blade upon his, mid-swing, then ran it downwards, leaving a grievous wound upon his attacker. She fell, bleeding profusely, to the ground. Arkos stood, looking upon her broken frame for a moment, trying to find the meaning of what he just accomplished, then he turned her over to get a look at the injury.
It was worse than he thought. She was cut from her left collarbone down to her right hip, and was losing blood quickly. He propped her head up and summoned up the Force, allowing it to suffuse through each of them. He then diverted the power in him directly toward the wound in her abdomen, and it instantaneously began to seal up, the skin meshing back together and the muscle fibers rejoining at the same time.
She cried out in pain for a bit, while Arkos just stared calmly into her eyes. She looked back into his, seeing an almost icy calm and a hidden reassurance beneath it, and finally she saw why he asked the question he did. The pain began to subside, leaving her sweating and gasping for breath, while Arkos simply stared at her. “You can stop staring now,†she said. “Why did you save me? Why didn’t you let me die, when I would have done it to you?â€
“You ask too many questions, you know,†he said simply, “As to why I saved you, I just believed that blood shouldn’t be shed for useless reasons. But as to why I fought the way I did, never attacking you directly, I merely wanted to prove a point. You made your intents easy to read, and thus you were easy to defeat.â€
“How do you do that?†she asked.
“That is a conversation for a different time. For now, we must escape.†he replied. “By saving you, I compromised both of our standings within the Sith. You, for your defeat in our duel not killing you, and me for sparing your life. Luckily, I know of a ship nearby that is an easy steal. As for you, you aren’t in the position to do much of anything.â€
“I’m perfectly–†she was interrupted as she stood, passing out from loss of blood.
“No. I don’t believe you are,†Arkos said coldly as he hefted her weight upon his shoulders, calling upon the Force once more for the burst of speed he needed.
He neglected to tell her that she actually had a choice to stay, that she could’ve had a chance to restore her honor, and that there really was no mystery ship to take them both away. No, he would tell Lyra about that later, for this was the golden moment to escape the Sith, and everything else, forever.
