Knight of Nothing

An Antique Land

You squeeze the hilt of the training saber slung at your hip, your muscles tensing and relaxing as you and the other students watch the duel before you. It is a sight you've seen a hundred times--a thousand times, even--within the stone training halls of the Sith Academy.

But you aren't watching for simple enjoyment. Each duel is a lesson, a chance to get a look at the styles and habits of the students fighting each other. Your eyes flicker left and right, trying to keep the movements of both Tuija and Shassanis in view. The former is a female Twi'lek, short but sturdy with yellow skin that contrasts sharply with her black tunic. She wears a constant frown, one that deepens into a scowl as she drives forward with the training saber.

Her opponent is a male Falleen, tall and with green skin that is uninterrupted by body hair of any sort, except for the single braid of black hair hanging off the back of his head. He parries the Twi'lek's thrust, stumbling to the side awkwardly. His confident smile cracks for only the slightest moment, but quickly returns as he regains his balance. You hear the soft click-click of his many rings against the hilt of his saber, an unusual luxury for the teachers to allow--you're still not sure why they allow it.

"Don't overreach," the Falleen scolds Tuija. Just loud enough for you to hear at the edge of the circle surrounding them, but not so loud that it reaches the blademaster in the back of the room.

Tuija's furious expression has already reached its limit, and she lets out a hard grunt before launching herself at Shassanis with renewed force and speed--both good attributes in a Sith combatant, but only when under control. Shassanis avoids each blow, blocking some and simply sidestepping the rest.

The rest of the students in the room are watching just as intently as you are, and almost certainly for the same reason--to gain an edge over one another. The academy is kill or be killed, in the most literal sense. This current duel will end well before anyone is seriously injured, but there will inevitably come a battle when one student falls, never to rise again.

Then, there is the other potential reason so many onlookers have gathered. Aliens are rare at the Sith Academy--though not as rare as they used to be--and a fight between a Falleen and a Twi'lek is something of a spectacle. A Twi'lek being accepted as a student is bizarre enough, but a Force-sensitive Falleen is downright unheard of. There were those in the academy--teachers and students--who wouldn't have minded seeing the two aliens kill each other. Only Humans and the red-skinned pureblooded Sith would ever truly be accepted, no matter how much things changed.

Your own experience with xenophobia at the academy was more mixed. As a crimson-skinned Zeltron, you had been mistaken by many of the duller students for a mixed-blood Sith. It wouldn't be uncommon for those with part-Human parentage to not have the distinctive face tendrils of a true pureblood. Even after the others learned your true identity, the passive respect they had given you seemed to persist, even if only a little bit. In a strange way, you regret the relatively easy experience you've had. Tuija and Shassanis have earned more than their fair share of scorn and derision, but that has only made their success over the years all the more significant. Word has begun to spread among the various Masters that visit Korriban, and even the most hateful of the academy's teachers now give them begrudging acceptance.

The fight, which has dragged on for minutes, slows. The two duelists are growing tired, and the rhythms they had established are beginning to break down. Tuija, who at first had attacked with such speed and ferocity, leaves herself open to counter-attacks by the more cautious Falleen. The practice sabers are heavier than most swords, and far heavier than lightsabers. Clearly struggling with the weight of the thing, Tuija hunches over into a guarded stance that allows her to rest the tip of her saber on the floor. Shassanis seems emboldened by the change in attitude, and steps forward to deliver an overhead strike. She manages to raise the saber just in time to block the blow, and the two stand locked in place, staring at each other from either side of their joined sabers.