RJO - The Valen Saga

The New Sith

The two figures stood facing each other, their weapons at the ready and their fighting stances as sharp as ever. 

Jedi Hunter: The Sith Apprentice... Darth Crishius... I've heard much about you.

Crishius: I've built a reputation?

Jedi Hunter: They say you've never lost a duel.

Crishius: Then I suppose my reputation is based upon truth.

Jedi Hunter: Allow me to shatter your preconceived notions.

The Jedi Hunter charged forward at blistering speeds. When he reached Darth Crishius, both of their blades moved fast enough to only be seen as a blur. After a flurry of blisteringly quick clashes, the Sith leapt into the air and landed halfway across the room behind the Jedi Hunter. The woman charged up her force power, causing electricity to crackle from her hands.

Yang: Oh no. Cyrus, get back! She's about to-

Before Yang could finish her sentence, Crishius jabbed her and towards the Jedi Hunter, sending waves of Force Lightning towards him.

Jedi Hunter in head: Weak attacks from feeble Force Users don't phase me. Eyes of Stagnation, enhance!

His peculiar eyes began to glow brighter. To him, time slowed down to a crawl, but to the rest of the world, he was simply moving at impossible speeds. He used his advantage to dodge the lightning entirely. The bolts of electricity instead hit the wall behind him.

Cyrus shocked: He dodged lightning?

The masked warrior bolted towards his opponent and prepared to clash once more. But before he could strike her, she disappeared.

Jedi Hunter: What?

Crishius: You and I are not on the same level.

Before the Jedi Hunter could react, Darth Crishius used the Force to throw him up into the air. This caused him to crash into the ceiling with a loud thud. As he fell back to the floor, chunks of the ceiling fell off, allowing the midday sunlight to creep into a portion of the room. The Jedi Hunter coughed violently for a moment before staggering to his knees.

Jedi Hunter: You will pay for that, you witch!

Crishius: Don't make a promise you can't keep...

She prepared to land a fatal blow on the man with her lightsaber, but she was stopped by a blast of red energy coming between them.

Crishius in head: What?

???: That is quite enough.

All of the people in the room looked towards the hole in the ceiling to see someone standing before it looking down on them. The lighting obscured his face, but they could make out one feature of his appearance. He was wearing a red trench coat.

Jedi Hunter: Kallus! I told you to not interfere!

Kallus: And I told you that I would only interfere should you lose. And you have done exactly that.

The figure then addressed the Jedi and Crishius.

Kallus: Apologies for the inconvenience, but my colleague will be coming with me.

Jedi Hunter: I'm not done, Kallus! I can still end this! I swear, I'll kill them all right here, right no-

Kallus: Jaune! This is final!

The Jedi Hunter was promptly silenced.

Kallus: I bid you all farewell for the time being.

Cyrus then rushed forward. Yang then chased after him.

Cyrus: You aren't just going to get away on my watch!

Yang: Young Valen, don't be so hasty!

The figure seemed to be surprised.

Kallus: Valen... hmm... You boy! What is your name?

Cyrus was surprised for a moment before he answered.

Cyrus: My name is Cyrus Valen! I am a Padawan of the Jedi Order!

Kallus: Hmm... This is interesting indeed. I will be keeping an eye on you. Until we meet again. Jedi Master Xiao Long, Darth Crishius, and Cyrus Valen. This is goodbye. Come now, Jaune, we are off.

Crishius: Oh no you don't!

Before Crishius could bring her lightsaber down on his neck, he used his enhanced speed to exit the building through the hole in the ceiling. In an instant, both of them were nowhere to be found.

Cyrus: Do we go after them?

Yang: They're already long gone, Cyrus. There's no point.

Cyrus grunted in frustration and then turned to the Sith.

Cyrus: And why did you decide to show up?

Darth Crishius was silent for a moment before responding.

Crishius: You aren't the only ones trying to put an end to the Valerins.

With this, she too jumped through the hole in the ceiling, disappearing from their view.

Cyrus: Dammit! What do we do now?

Yang: We need to report back to the High Council in Vale. There is something greater going on here.

Cyrus: What do you mean?

Yang: Not only are the sith getting involved, but someone else as well. I may be wrong, but something is telling me that those two newcomers aren't working for the Valerins.

A Few Minutes Later

On the rooftop of a high rise building in Argus, the Jedi Hunter and his rescuer argued back and forth.

Jedi Hunter: You pestilent old man! You pushed me away from my best chance to achieve my glory!

Kallus: Your fame chasing bullshit almost got you killed! You risked tearing apart the delicate balance we've worked to build up!

Jedi Hunter: Your delicate balance can go eat a di-

???: Looks like the girls are fighting again.

They turned to see that they were joined by two more people. Both were women. One was a young woman with yellow-blonde hair which stuck out the back in a long ponytail. The other was a teenage girl with dark red hair. The woman had a white blindfold covering her eyes and the young girl's eyes could be clearly seen. Her eyes glowed green and had strange symbols in place of her pupils.

Jedi Hunter: How Convenient for you to show up at the very last moment!

Woman: Do you want to get your mouth sewn shut, Arc?

Girl: Ooh! Can I help?

Jedi Hunter: Those will be your last words you insolent bitch!

Kallus: That's enough! All of you!

They all stopped their arguments.

Kallus: What's done is done. The past cannot be changed or corrected. What's important is that we take what information we acquired from said past and build off of it.

Woman: And what information would that be?

Kallus: We have found our fifth... 

Author's Note: Suspense is rising and rising and RISING! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Big things are being put in place as you can clearly see. One of the best parts about this original story is the amount of worldbuilding I can do to make the story more cohesive. These new concepts and characters are clear examples of that. I just hope you guys appreciate and/or enjoy it as much as I do because at the end of the day I want you guys to enjoy the stories I craft. Anyways, until next time!