Star Wars: Lord of Fate

Prologue
The hooded warlord sat on his throne in uncanny silence, his ancient eyes lazily drifting down, ever weary. Raindrops smashed against the window behind him, the intensity of their onslaught oscillating unpredictably by the second. The massive chamber he sat in was circular in shape and dimly lit on account of the world's natural light produced by constant lightning strikes.

As a clash of thunder erupted, accompanied by a haunting string up white lightning, one of the chamber doors whisked open, closing behind the intruders as they stepped inside. The three brothers Morderis, Aqueron, and Dieta stalked into the chamber, standing in the center a few meters in front of the throne. Every few moments, its occupant's face could just barely be seen thanks to the incessant lightning outside, lighting up the room for a split second at a time.

"Leave me be," the man wheezed, his voice hoarse and weathered. "Let me rest."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Lord Kwagar," Aqueron snapped back, forcing Kwagar to jump slightly in his throne. "It's time we talked." The old hooded man made a foul, contemptive noise, almost a hiss as he rose his head just enough to lay his eyes on his heavily armored supplicants.

"Many within the Order have begun to... doubt your leadership skills," Morderis explained, crossing his arms. "You disappear for months a time. You leave the delicate task of commanding our troops and overseeing battle planning to the Elders. To the outer Empire, we are seen as... weak."

The Grand Imperial Order was a time-honored sect of the Sith Empire's grand military - a select collection of covert agents, Sith, and elite bounty hunters routinely called upon to make quick work of missions the rest of the Empire had no hope of fulfilling. But Morderis was correct; as Kwagar failed to lead the Order, the power structure had been perverted and its reputation tarnished.

"Weak," Kwagar sneered. "They have no idea of my power. You show yourselves to be fools to doubt me. What are you planning to do... overthrow me? The three of you?!" The old man cackled maniacally, quickly erupting into a raucous coughing fit. The other chamber door opened, and three more shadowy individuals entered quickly as the Leader was distracted with himself.

"It seems you've grossly underestimated the opposition," Darth Benthamic passively observed as he joined the others, alongside Elvenar and Jagger. Ben's bronze, alienlike helmet completely hid his face and almost mismatched with the rest of his elegant and regal battle armor. Two identical lightsabers of expert quality hung from his utility belt. The six Sith Lords stood at the center of the room, staring down Kwagar. Aqueron nodded slowly to Ben as he joined the fray. The old man's good mood quickly expired, and he was once again eerily silent, returning their determined gazes with a look of pure malice. The intensity of the rain and wind outside seemed to grow by the second.

"You think allies will be able to save you," Kwagar began again. "Your cause was hopeless from the start. One man, a hundred men, a thousand... they are nothing compared to the Force."

The Leader rose slowly from his throne, keeping his hood over his head. His black robes were inscribed with a multitude of ancient texts and incantations in a strange language. As he rose like a phantom in the shadows, the air cooled greatly, and an odd prickling, crawling sensation began to plague the men before him. Before the dread could fully wash over them, however, Benthamic ignited his crimson lightsaber, shaking the others back to attention. As the remaining Lords drew their own weapons, the resounding red light glinted in the old man's silvery eyes like tiny mirrors in the darkness.

"You have all... chosen your fates," Kwagar sighed heavily. The man closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, filling his wizened lungs with the dead air of the room. As he breathed in, he seemed to almost grow a few inches, though his foes were unsure if it was an illusion created by their anxiety or a true demonstration of the Leader's seldom revealed power of the Dark Side.

Dieta immediately rushed in, casting aside his fears and charging at Kwagar with his elegantly crafted double bladed lightsaber. The moment the old man's eyes opened once more, though, Dieta and the others flew back in a flurry of unnatural wind, smashing against the walls and avoiding serious damage thanks to their heavy armor. Jagger, the white-armored Sith, was the first to recuperate, but his magenta lightsaber had rolled several meters out of reach.

Kwagar quickly followed up on the attack, extending both hands towards the center of the room and emanating an unstable current of vibrant purple lightning from his fingertips. Jagger covered his eyes and held his hands out in front of him, attempting to absorb the energy with the Force. But he was quickly overloaded with power and sent flying back once more. Several pieces of expensive furniture and obscure artwork were variously fried and ripped off the walls. Throughout the room, the six Sith were scattered about, desperately trying to regain their footing and strike back.

The old man stepped off his throne and stalked towards the nearest Sith, Aqueron, with his Force-infused Sith warblade in hand. Without saying a word, he held the sword high above his head, preparing to bring it down on Aqueron. But before he could execute the Elder, Benthamic reignited his lightsaber and tossed it at Kwagar's blade, forcing it out of his hand.

Ben dashed towards Kwagar faster than the eye could perceive, elegantly spinning and twisting before slashing at the Leader's face with his lightsaber. Saving himself, Kwagar reached out with the Force to retrieve his blade, blocking the Darth's strike. Still, Ben pressed the attack, attempting to overwhelm the much slower target with a flurry of deadly and precise slashes.

Leaping overhead, Benthamic landed behind Kwagar, and swiped at his exposed back, nearly killing him before the old man once again turned and blocked the attack. But the old man had begun to waver, unable to contend with the much younger and more agile Sith. Locking blades, Ben quickly pushed through Kwagar's defenses, striking his warblade repeatedly until it simply burst in two. Outraged, the old man telekinetically pushed Benthamic back towards the other side of the room, but his power was weaker now, as if he had foolishly expended it all in one show of power at the beginning of the confrontation.

By then, Aqueron, Morderis, Elvenar, and Jagger had rejoined the fight, their blades drawn and closing in on Kwagar, who stood at the center of the throne room. His eyes darted between his combatants rapidly, filled to the brim with pure hatred. Before he could attempt to contest them again, Jagger extended both hands forward, using the full fury of the Force in an attempt to blast Kwagar back. Ben, Aqueron, Moderis, Elvenar, and soon enough Dieta joined him, combining all their might to overwhelm their outmatched enemy. As if attempting to walk in an epic blizzard with wind and ice crystals nipping at his face, Kwagar attempted to resist the invisible waves of energy, but his fragile frame could only contend for so long.

Kwagar was lifted into the air and in the blink of an eye blasted past his throne and out of the window to the streets below. The six Sith breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ran to the smashed window frame, looking precariously over the edge. Aqueron ordered a probe be dispatched to find Kwagar's body below.

"Well, have we found him?" Ben asked.

The six had gathered in the common room of the Grand Citadel at the northeast corner of Kaas City. They had all been attending to their own business for about a half hour by that point, waiting anxiously for an update. While Ben had initially engaged Aqueron with an inquiry alone, the other four had quickly joined the conversation.

"There's no sign of him," Aqueron sighed, putting away a datapad linked to a probe droid. "I'll inform you all when we have an update."

"This all begs the question," Morderis cut in. "Who will lead the Order now that Kwagar has been... relieved of command, as it were?"

"I'm not concerned with that quite yet," Aqueron answered. "For now, execute power will be shared amongst the Elders. But there's just one more matter to see to. Five Elders and one Lord defeated Kwagar today. I'd say the odd one out has more than earned recognition," he began, nodding to Benthamic.

The regal Darth was taken aback by his statement. Truth be told, he was hardly concerned with rank the past few weeks, only to topple the old Leader - but all the ambition and ingenuity he had harborbed upon joining the Grand Imperial Order almost a year before had suddenly rushed back to him.

"I move that Darth Benthamic be recognized as an Elder of the Grand Imperial Order," Aqueron began. "In light of his indisputable mastery of the Force and the dawning of a new era for us all."

"I second this," Jagger nodded. "Benthamic is a good friend and a powerful ally. There is no one better suited for the job."

"Agreed," Dieta acknowledged.

"Agreed," Elvenar said.

"...Agreed," Morderis conceded after a moment of hesitation.

"Then it's settled," Aqueron nodded. "I have high hopes for you, Ben. I believe you'll make an excellent leader for a new generation of the Empire's finest warriors. Now, it's time for you prove yourself."

"It will be my pleasure," Benthamic bowed his head slightly. Though his tone was reserved in nature, he was ecstatic for his ascension to the rank of Elder - mostly because it had come at the opportune moment. With his newfound authority, perhaps he would be able to investigate the source of a strange disturbance in the Force that he had sensed for several days.

And what better place to look than the homeworld of the ancient Sith?

Chapter 1 - Vaporize
Coming soon...