Serran

Chapter 11: A Master of Death

Kleptos stood still as he guarded the entrance of the valley of the Dark Lords on the rusty-colored planet. He had devoted his life to protecting the planet from all jedi ever since the sith had been exterminated thirty years before. Even though he had devoted his life to this, he felt as though it was becoming a pointless task by now. Only a small group of jedi had come to Korriban during the past thirty years and they had only traveled to the planet to make sure all the sith were dead and gone. Every single sith had gone to war the day that they fell. Only a few sith had survived. None of the Sith had anticipated their fall that day and those who did were seen as foolish and weak.

Kleptos sighed deeply. "Protecting this place is pointless." He confessed. He looked up at the orange sky and saw a medium-sized freighter flying toward him. He recognized this ship as the one that his new apprentice had come to the planet in.

When the ship landed, Kleptos went to it to see if his apprentice had succeeded in getting a new lightsaber. The door of the freighter opened. There standing was Serran. He was injured but not severely.

"Did you get a new lightsaber?" Kleptos asked the exhausted man.

Serran held out his new lightsaber and ignited it. The blade was a deep red that had no trace of any light side energies. He extinguished the blade.

"Good. You have bled the crystal properly. Well done." Kleptos praised.

Serran bowed slightly. "Thank you, master." He then exited the ship and joined his master on the rocky red ground.

"We will spar. Show me what you're capable of." Kleptos explained. They both stood in a flat spot surrounded by nothing that could be used against the other.

"Yeah, okay." Serran said, still tired from his fight on Anaxes and Ilum. He ignited his lightsaber and held it straight in front of him. He glanced at the area and knew that he would have a severe disadvantage since he wouldn't be able to use his surroundings against his master.

Kleptos then ignited his scarlet lightsaber as well. Serran smirked, trying to make himself more confident. He sprinted at his master and kept himself low to the ground. Kleptos saw this and reacted immediately by kicking Serran in the jaw, launching him back to where he started.

"Is that your only method of starting a fight? It only leaves you open for your opponent to attack." Kleptos spat. Serran rolled on the ground and then sprang back up. He sprinted at Kleptos again, this time holding his lightsaber to his side. Kleptos readied himself to block the attack to his side but as soon as Serran was in range, he moved his blade down and swung it upward. Kleptos stepped back. The red blade just barely grazed him.

"Impressive, but it's not enough," Kleptos said. He then swung his lightsaber horizontally, aiming for his apprentice's torso. Serran jumped up and lept over the blade and behind his master.

Serran swung his lightsaber at Kleptos's neck; he ducked down and thrust the tip of his blade at Serran's chest. Serran jumped back and then switched to form seven of lightsaber combat. Kleptos scoffed. He ran at Serran and punched him hard in the side, sending him flying to the ground. "Once a jedi, always a jedi." He spat as he extinguished his blade. Serran extinguished his as well while sitting up.

"I'm not a kriffing jedi. What's wrong with using those forms of combat?" Serran asked.

"The Jedi teach seven forms of lightsaber combat. This is excessive and a waste of time. There is no need for a Sith Lord to study any form that does not channel one’s aggression. A battle should end quickly. At every moment, one should be assessing the ways to dispatch one’s opponent-select the most direct method. There are two key forms of combat. Strong style and Fast style. You stuck with the ways of the jedi." Kleptos explained, disappointed in his apprentice.

"But form seven is a form that is more associated with the sith. What's wrong with using it?" Serran asked, confused and annoyed by how his master refused to fight him after seeing him use that style.

"With Juyo, or form seven, you must give yourself over to the sensations you feel in the heat of battle." Kleptos began.

"Like fear and stuff?"

"Yes, fear. It is foolish to cover this emotion behind pride. Fear of death, fear of loss, and fear of chaos are primal motivators. Fear can be your fuel. So you are correct about it being associated with the sith but you have one thing wrong: the sith don't use those combat forms that the jedi created. I refuse to use them and you are forbidden from using them as well. They will only lead to your downfall with their predictable moves."

Serran nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry, master. I will never use the forms again. I will make my own form instead."

"Good." Kleptos responded. He stared at the ruined temple that he had held on to for so long. "We're leaving this temple. Tomorrow we will go to the old Sith academy."

"The academy? So we're leaving this place behind. Makes sense given how this temple has no dark side energies whatsoever." Serran said as he stood up. A burst of pain shot through his side and he felt as though he couldn't breathe. "I think you might have destroyed my ribs, master." He wheezed as he grabbed his side.

"Use the force to heal yourself or find a bacta tank." Kleptos dismissed, waving his hand. He walked towards the entrance to the temple.

"Master, something happened while I was heading back here." Serran started.
Kleptos stopped in his tracks.

"I'm listening." He replied.

"I was attacked on Anaxes by a jedi who was sent to kill me. I suspect that the jedi was one of the jedi shadows."

"Get to the point." Kleptos interrupted.

"Yes, master." Serran apologized even though he felt that apologies were useless. "Before that jedi almost killed me, something snapped in me. I suddenly got super powerful and a bunch of lightning came out of my hands and killed her. Do you..." Serran paused for a moment. He remembered the battle where he had been severely outmatched by a single jedi shadow. "Do you know what happened?" He asked. He knew that it was a stupid question but he needed an answer.

"You were injured during that battle, yes?" Kleptos asked, turning to face his pupil.

"Yeah, my arm was sliced open." Serran said, motioning to his bandaged arm.

"What were feeling at that moment?" Kleptos asked.

"How the hell should I know? I barely remember the fight. I guess I was angry and in a ton of pain." Serran said, annoyed.

Kleptos stared at his pupil. The boy was holding his side tightly with his bandaged arm. He was in lots of pain but there was something different about Serran. He seemed more powerful and more in tune with the force. "I see now. You use your pain and suffering as a way to make yourself stronger. That's good but can be used as a disadvantage if your opponent should know about this ability."

"Interesting." Serran responded to the explanation. "So based on this information, the stronger I am in the force, the more I can use that force lightning ability."

"That is correct." Kleptos responded.

"What should I do to make myself stronger in the force?" Serran asked.

"You train everyday until you can't anymore. You meditate everytime you have a break. You open yourself up to the force at all times and make it bend to your will. You get rid of everything that reminds you of your past and the jedi." Kleptos explained.

Serran sighed. "Yes, master." He said. His training would be brutal but it would make him stronger and better. He would be strong enough to kill Meera and Kresonri. He was absolutely sure of it.

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Author Note: Sorry, but there will be no chapter update next week due to some personal issues. See you all in two weeks!