A wave of killing intent flooded his senses, and Aaric countered by flooding his presence as well. "It does not matter, my lord. On my honor to Exar Kun, Your pet will fall by my hand!"
The former dark lord paused at the mention of his long dead disciple. If this acolyte truly was a follower of Exar Kun, he deduced it would be wise to extract some information out of him before deciding what to do.
"You are either brave or stupid to come here, young one." He growled, "However, I sense great power within. Your eyes speak of intelligence, wisdom and knowledge far beyond others of your age. I can sense your martial strength just by looking at you. You claim to serve my Exar Kun, then tell me what has happened to him since I anointed him Sith Lord. "
"I'm afraid Lord Exar Kun is no longer living, my lord. It has been almost four hundred years since my ancestors last heard of him." Aaric explained, "I serve the Mecrosa Order of House Mecetti in the Tapani Sector. Our order pledged to support Exar Kun in secret when you appointed him Sith Lord and he waged war with the Republic. We have never rescinded that pledge since in belief that one day, Exar Kun will return. I was trained in the Sith ways and its history by my order since birth. I came here to Korriban to train and lead my people to power and glory."
"However," He continued, high-kneeling before the dark lord and bowing deeply. "I too know that to hope for Exar Kun's return is fruitless. That is why I, as sole heir to the leadership of my order and house, hereby pledge our support to you, my lord. I will bring glory to the Sith in your name!"
Silence reigned for what seemed like a minute. Before raucous laughter premeated throughout the room.
"Such ambition! Such potential!" The spirit boomed, "It seemed just like yesterday when Exar Kun and his apprentice Ulic Qel-Droma summoned me and I marked them both Sith Lords! I can no longer sense his presence within the galaxy, and only those who harness true power can manifest my spirit here; which means Exar Kun, in the grand scheme of things, failed. You remind me very much of him, young Sith. However, I sense that you will be able to achieve much more than he ever could!"
His laughter died down to mere chuckles. "Well then, you were tasked to slay my pet are you not? Fine! I shall release my pet from his shackles and you shall free its spirit from its rotting body. Do this, and I will bestow upon you the same mark of power I gave Exar Kun all those years ago."
With a wave of his gnarled hand, a thunderous roar howled within the confines and a tremor rocked the room, dislodging centuries of dust and rubble from the ceiling.
Aaric drew and activated his blade swiftly tensed as the roars and quaking getting louder and stronger, his back against the dark lord's spirit. Aaric did not have the time to see the shade's spirit dissipate with his last words echoing throughout the shaking hall.
At that very moment, the wall opposite the carving exploded; showering Aaric in rubble which he blocked skillfully with the force. When the dust settled, a hulking figure stood in place of the wall; Its head was covered in spines at least the length of a full-grown man. Its arms also covered in smaller spines and wielding claws meant for slicing flesh. Its back was covered by a carapace. It jaws lined with razor sharp teeth and flanked by tusks which bent inward. It was mutated beyond what Aaric was thought possible.
Of all creatures in the universe, Aaric groaned mentally, he just had to have a fucking Tarentatek!
The beast roared with all its might, then charged directly at the acolyte. Aaric deftly dodged the straightforward attack and watched incredulously as it smashed itself directly onto the Sith carving. Amazingly, the carving held despite the ferocity of the attack. The tarentatek shook its head, probably dazed from hitting such a solid object.
Sensing an opening, Aaric imbued his body with the force and charged the beast. He leapt forward and slashed his energized warblade against its horned head. However, the blade simply bounced back with nothing more than a scorch mark left on the beast's carapace. The beast swung its gnarly arm and smacked Aaric into a nearby wall. Fortunately, the aspiring Sith managed to remain standing despite the strength of its attack.
For the next few minutes, both man and beast danced the tune of death; Aaric deftly dodging the Tarentatek's powerful swings and smashes while prodding its hard carapace with quick slices and thrusts, to no avail. His mind was whirling a mile a minute, trying to come up with ways to bring down the Sith animal. He swooped up close, dangerously near the beasts jaws and tried to damage it internally by blasting a concentrated force roar right next to its head. However, it did little other than making the beast even more angry.
Aaric berated himself internally for his folly. From what he could remember, the hide of Tarentateks were ludicrously tough and most probably immune to physical as well as force-based attacks. This meant force lightning or his trusty lightfoil was out of the question as well. He leapt out of a vicious jackhammer as the Tarentatek hit the ground with a shockwave.
That leaves the only vulnerable target: the eyes! Aaric thought. He would have to again subject himself to the proximity of the animal's poisoned tusks and jaws, but there was no other obvious weakness since everywhere else was covered in carapace.
The two combatants charged once again. Aaric slided underneath a vicious swipe, then force leapt; standing with a leg on each tusk. Before the beast could react, the Heir of the Mecrosa Order plunged his blazing warblade straight and true into the Tarentatek's right eye, splattering black blood all over his hands and blade.
The beast of Marka Ragnos let out a deafening roar which was so powerful it blasted Aaric away from the beast, his blade still stuck in its eye, and caused him to crash into a pillar. Aaric pushed himself off the ground and shook his head vigorously to get the ringing out of his ears. When his vision cleared enough, he found the beast still standing. However, it was thrashing its arms that were too short to remove the deeply embedded blade from its head.
Deciding to finish off the beast once and for all, Aaric strode up to the creature while it was distracted from the pain and concentrated all his power, pain and hatred into his outthrusted palms; summoning a thunderous barrage of bright violet force lightning at its head.
The blade, acting as a conduit past the beasts force-resistant carapace, conducted the lightning through its blade and straight into its head and brain; frying its brain and adjacent innards. Aaric did not stop however and the Tarentatek howled in pain and frustration as its liquified innards oozed out of its facial orifices. Eventually, the beast sank to its knees and tipped forward. Its once mighty roars reduced to wheezes and wails until it stopped entirely. Only then, did Aaric cease his relentless barrage; bending over and gasping slightly due to the effort.
Within a minute of rest, Aaric's strength returned. He cautiously made his way to the already rotting carcass and pulled out his bloodied blade. Above it, Marka Ragnos' spirit materialized once more.
"Your trial is complete young Sith." He boomed, "You have beaten my pet through your cunning as well as your strength in the force. You have proven yourself more than worthy of my blessing."
He hovered over to Aaric and placed the tip of his gnurly index finger onto the acolyte's forehead. A burning sensation erupted from the point where the dark lord touched, but Aaric stood unflinched by the pain; this was nothing compared to the training he went through.
Once the pain stopped. The dark spirit floated back a little to admire his symbol etched onto the young acolyte's very skin; three large crescents back to back with each end tipped with smaller inverted crescents. Not unlike the horns of Marka Ragnos' helmet. Already, Aaric could feel the rush of dark force energies flowing throughout his body. He felt taller, faster, stronger and more spatially aware than ever before. It was as if every fiber of his being was rejuvenated and every cell multiplied.
