Always in motion is the Force. A motion that blinds most to the intricacies of what the future could bring, should bring or will bring. A motion that hints to those Masters that could read such details great promise as well as great tragedy.


Over a decade of relative peace was about to be shattered for underneath the Pax Galactica ran a malevolent intent fulfilling the ultimate unspoken axiom of evolution: Survival of the Fittest.


Simmering under the facade of Pax Galactica were the cultural and racial hatreds that weaved plans of such evil design that hope seemed all but impossible to conceive.


A galaxy strung together by plans within plans. Intent behind facade and manipulation under layers of perception obscured so much by the realities of every day life so as to call itself a lie shadowed everything.

However, amid this cold war called Pax, even plans and schemes must give way to execution.


And so, once more, those galactic manipulators would pull the strings of the galaxy to their own ends heedless of the fact that the living Force would weave its own balance.


The decade of peace was ending and the defenders of the Light, the Champions of the Force would find themselves embroiled in a bitter conflict that would touch just about every life and determine the course of the galaxy for the next thousand years.




The Galactic Coalition has regained much of it's former status since the war with the Empire nearly twelve years ago. The coalition of races are proud of their accomplishments in creating such an economic power and sit secure in the rightness of their own cause. And yet, subtly, with such pride comes a question as to how to wield their regained strength. Within the Tholatin Protectorate existing within the Coalition, there has risen a man who has sounded the call to return their rightful home, Tholatia, back to Tholatians. It is a message that is gaining support with many displaced races. The Capital of the Coalition, for so long on Mon Calamari, had been moved to Azguardia. A move that does not sit well with some member states as a most disturbing cult is rising in the Home of the Gods. An Azguard who claims being a Prophet of the Gods, worse yet, a foretold Prophet has caused many in the religious community to explode in an uproar with differing interpretations, perceptions and beliefs. The religious aspect so clearly affecting the upcoming election of a new Prime Minister is alienating the outer provinces. But how far remains to be seen.




Using the Pax Galactica negotiations as a shield the Empire is undergoing it's own internal struggle as various groups set action to their growing ambitions. Outwardly, the New Order is the most powerful Empire in the galaxy but the power of the Emperor is eroding from within. Sith vs. Sith. A plot that one hopes to exploit as, at long last, his preparations for war have been completed. A time table has been set and amid everyone's internal struggle, the clock is ticking to bring down the Galactic Coalition once and for all...




And if one were to step back and view the larger picture surrounding the impending chaos, they would see the enigmatic and ever patient Cree Ar observing the certain success of their own designs. Designs that would alter the galaxy for generations and spell the end of the force users.




An elevated split along race and intelligence within the silent Imperium is forming. A split biological in nature as Daemun and 'flesh' begin to find differing identities and a new sub-race calling itself Dracconis comes to the fore. A split technological in nature as the superior artificial intelligences created and improved upon for so long finally breeds the one emotion that begins to awaken the once dormant Imperium: Superior Contempt.



For biological imperfection can never compare when measured against technological perfection.



And with their simple yet utterly singular perceptions the galaxy stands poised to face a new horror that will change everything...


















Our story begins here, 10 years later...

Sillicate Sands



Where there was once harmony, unrest has settled upon the Overmind. An entire decade measured among the time of flesh in the making but still, no closer to a resolution.

It was not a resolution that couldn't be arrived at. For the Taj had but to will it and resolution would be had.

But there is resolution and then there was resolution.

For within that one irrevocable act lay the very nature of the problem.

The Will of the Taj.

For those of flesh, the force users of Tund, the various military elements that fueled the Imperium's vast array of conventional weaponry, that Will was linear. And with all linear thought, subject to change over time.


But in the Overmind, within the pattern of the Mysteries... to creatures that would have no conceivable end to their awareness, the Will simply was. Omniscient. Not a thing of the past nor a reflection of the future but a solid, ever-present, immutable reality.


And so a chasm formed.


A chasm not on the existence of the Taj's Will...


...but a chasm on how that will should be carried out.




Hyperion floated between conscious and unconscious thought as the Phage-filled vapor soaked into the tiny molecular machinery that served as the bridge between synapse and action.

The gatekeeper between task and thought.

His mind's eye followed the tiny bubbles of biosynthetic activity travelling within it's matrix.

And it was heady stuff indeed!


To think that we wasted this glorious creation on mere flesh. A creature of whose physical make-up was so primitive that it could not but begin to fall apart when exposed was nothing more than a subject of derision.

So say the Daemun and the Overmind resoundingly offered it's agreement.



But the accident at Kubindi had given them pause. A startling discovery as the Phage Garden of Final Sorrows bloomed and escaped the biosphere and infected the resident population.

If they held such a contempt for those who would fall victim to the Phage's brilliant magnificence, what did that say about those of their Imperium who fell victim?

What did that say of a people who should be purified of mind, body and soul towards the immutable Will of the Taj when they fell victim to that which was designed to fell their inferiors?

The Overmind drew on the stunning successes of the operations of these flesh within the Imperium border... and a hundred thousand voices charged back: To what end?

Could the Will of the Taj stand solidly on the shoulders of these...servants? Servants whose bodies gave out at the slightest display of the Taj's power?

What foundation was this Imperium of the Taj being built upon and could the Daemun afford to ignore the difficencies of their brothers anymore?



And for the flesh, the single-minded purpose of the Daemun seemed fossilized thinking. How could they improve and better serve that Will if the flexibility of action was not granted by the Overmind?

Without action, 'Will' was only stubborness.


And stubborness was unbecoming a God.



Hyperion, floating within stream of thought broke from the Great Debate that raged throughout lost in his own thoughts...


"In Excellis Draconnis..."


The next evolution of the Imperium.


~ A place where there be no Dragons...


A revolutionary thought!


Hyperion wandered the Patterns to see if it was a thought only he shared....

The man in the olive green uniform sat in the big black chair, facing away from his work desk and torwards the window, giving a beatiful view of the valley side located behind the mansion. His uniform cap resting on a hat rack in one corner of the room, his now graying hair brushed sharply backwards over the top and down the sides, his forehead furrowed in thought, Park pondered the countryside. Much of his life had been devoted to war, helping to establish the New Order, helping to protect the New Order, helping to defeat the New Order's enemies. Until, finally, peace had been established, and had descended upon the galaxy. The Imperial moff had relished the change, enjoying it evermore so with his family. Finally, a chance to raise his sons, not around total chaos and suffering such as his own childhood had endured under on Orinda, but around peace and quiet and wellbeing, what he truly wanted for his family.

But avast, nothing lasts forever.

Perhaps for it's own good, the Imperial war machine was once again cranking up it's pistons and gears. He hated with some thought to see such a peaceful serenity come to an untimely end, but there can be no peace without war. Surely, he thought, his sons would understand when he would no longer be there to be besides them. They were at that age, in their senior years of school and training, when they would truly understand the circumstances of life. Heck, maybe his eldest son would even enlist in the service and fight...at that thought, Park almost resigned his comission right there and then. No, he would not see his family dragged into the war, his sons would not be sent off to die. He would make sure of it.

He swiveled in his chair away from the window, wishing to hide his sudden shame from the bright rays of the sun as it set in the eastern mountians. Facing his desk again, he looked down at the papers he had discarded tens of minutes ago, rubbing his eyes and taking in the sunshine. He needed to stop having these sudden moodshifts. But he couldn't help it. On one hand, he had his family, and their wellbeing, and on the other hand, he had his duty to serve his emporer. Ultimatley, he knew that conflict between the two would become his downfall, but it would not be today. Gathering his papers and placing them into a manila envelope, he stood. Brushing down his fabric and straighting the medals and awards pinned on his chest, he strode over to where his cap lay and collected it.

The walk out from the offices was brief. Few reporters were in evidence, and most of them seemed preoccupied. However, that would change, and soon. Walking to his hoverlimo, an nearly ear splitting noise assaulted his ears. Looking up, he saw a formation of advanced TIE fighters, zooming in from the practicing grounds to the north of here, heading in for a landing at the nearby military base. Yes, everything would change. Soon.

“No. Again.”

The man took a step back, uttering a frustrated sigh. He lifted his arm to his forehead, using the hair of his arm as a makeshift towel, wiping the sweat from his brow between gasping breaths. His eyes were sore… stinging from the salty secretions designed to keep his skin from drying out and burning to death under extreme exertion. But more then his eyes, his entire body felt the sting of the intense reconditioning it was undergoing… the difficult task of learning to become a warrior.

“Master, I’m trying to do as you command…”

“And you are failing. You will have to execute my instructions as I have given them to you or you will not complete this exercise and you will not leave today.”

“But Master…”

Ahnk let out a frustrated sigh. With a gesture of his head, he asked the assembled onlookers to leave the room. It had happened before… a student had shown a remarkable aptitude for failure, and Ahnk, wanting to spare him the embarrassment of a dressing down in front of an assembled crowd, had asked them all to leave. So with one simple half nod, the students around understood that Ahnk wished to have a private moment in which he could express his frustrations.

And as the onlookers left the room, Ahnk looked at the student with a view both stoic and infuriated. He was still blathering about why he could not complete the assigned move, and so Ahnk decided to challenge his concerns. He brought a boot up, pointing it roughly at the students abdomen, and then stepped in, foot making hard contact with the floor as he shifted his weight directly into the student, his arm coming down in one fluid motion and his forearm finding the side of the students face. The student went flying… felled instantly by the downward force of the blow, Ahnk’s shifted weight causing him to slide across the cold stone floor, a small trail of blood appearing on the rock as he came to a stop, pushing himself up on his hands amongst the unsettled dust, eyes wide.

“Master, have I angered you somehow!?!?”

Ahnk merely sighed. He took a step towards the student, and the student reacted with fear, pushing himself backwards with all of the force his tired arms could muster. Eventually, however, he ran out of room, and Ahnk’s slow steps began to cut the distance between the two. All the felled student could do was turn his head, unable to defend himself in any meaningful way, trying to cover his face as Ahnk lifted his hand and thrust it down…

…into the open air, holding his palm open to the student. After turning back his head, staring at Ahnk’s hand uncertainly, and then finally clasping it, the student was pulled to his feet by Ahnk, who then dusted off his back. Ahnk gestured to the center of the room, an the student followed his lead and moved away from the wall, eyes never leaving the former Sith. Ahnk couldn’t help but grin at that…

“You fear me,” he stated, no doubt in his voice. The student shook his head, to which Ahnk uttered another sigh. “Do not lie to me. Your fear is palpable… you cannot disguise it.”

“I fear not. Fear leads to anger… anger leads…”

“…to hate, yes yes. Do I look like a librarian to you?”

The student did not immediately answer, sitting with a look of confusion across his young features. Ahnk repeated the question, to which the student replied with a confused no.

“I am not a bookkeeper or an accountant or a philosopher. I don’t care what you have read about being a Jedi, what the Jedi have said is the right thing to do. None of that, the archaic philosophy, psuedo-intellectual analytical bullshit, the vapid non-descript prophecies about how everything will be okay, none of it holds even the slightest amount of relevance here. I am not here to show you how to live in peace and in check with your emotions. I am not here to exercise your demons and listen to your problems. I am here to make you into a warrior. To show you how to defend what you believe in. If all you want to do is talk, then there’s the fucking door. Go back to philosophy class on Naboo and stop wasting my time.”

The student nodded. “Yes, my Master.”

“Now. Answer me honestly this time. Do you fear me?”

“Yes.”

”Good. Why?”

”Because… you’re powerful. Unpredictable. You can hurt me…”

“Excellent. Admitting that you have a problem is the first step towards fixing it.”

“Master, I confess…”

“Fear is not something to be ashamed of. I have heard that the only thing to fear is fear itself. Rhetorical anal word play and nothing more. That fear is a tool of the darkside. The lightsaber is a tool of a darkside, whoever said that is a tool of the lightside. Fear is not a tool and it is not a weapon and it is not to be feared by anyone with any modicum of intelligence. Fear is a natural reaction within a person’s brain to tell them that something is wrong. Fear is to be respected and fear is to be listened to. You fear me because I can hurt you. That is a suitable human reaction. Tell me, now that you know you fear me, and you know why you fear me, what are you going to do about it?”

“Overcome my fear.”

“Good. How?”

“I have to focus my mind…”

“No! Wrong! Wrong wrong wrong! I am not going to teach you to delude yourself in order to overcome your fear! That is how I train you how to die. Guess again.”

“But the Jedi way…”

“…is not valid here! I am not going to teach you how to become a big talker and a grandiose thinker and a master of the mind. That is for the birds. I want to give you something more practical and useful then the ability to bore a room full of politicians with your bullshit. Guess again.”

“I do not know.”

“Better. Never hesitate to tell me you do not know something. I would rather you fill the holes in your knowledge by asking questions then pretending that those holes do not exist. Now, you fear me, because I can hurt you. You could pretend that I could not hurt you, and your fear could probably go away. That’s what the Jedi would do. That’s why you see so many Jedi funerals with the choral music and the burning corpses and the people crying. That is not how I am going to teach you how to overcome your fear. The key to overcoming your fear is to overcome your deficiencies.”

“How?”

“I can hurt you a lot of ways. Let’s take hand to hand combat for now. The best way to negate your fear is to improve your ability to defend against my hand to hand combat skills. That means bringing your own level of proficiency up to a point where you are confident in your ability to defend yourself against all comers. Confidence is perhaps the most important thing a warrior can have. Perhaps even more so then actual proficiency.”

“Then why not…”

“…teach you how to exude confidence? It would be easier, and faster perhaps, to teach you how to project an aura of fearlessness. To control your uncertainty and doubt and learn to ignore them, as the Jedi do. And nine times out of ten, the appearance of confidence is enough to dissuade the challenges you will face. But eventually you will be called to answer on your confidence, and if you are not prepared well to do so, then you will be killed. And though you are slow to follow instructions and possibly of below average human intelligence, I cannot in good conscience be the person indirectly responsible for your untimely death. If you want to learn how to pretend to be confident, then ask the Jedi. If you want to learn how to become confident in your abilities, then you will do as I say.”

The student hesitated only a moment. “I will do as you say.”

“Excellent. It is of paramount importance that you understand why I say what I say. I am never speaking for my own benefit. I have killed more men then you will meet in your lifetime… I do not need the refresher course. I am speaking for your benefit… the other students as well, but of primary concern to you is that what I am saying can benefit you. Listen to every word, and listen well. If I tell you to do something and you do not know why, do not hesitate to ask for clarification. I am less annoyed by the nagging questions then perpetual failure. Understand?”

“Perfectly.” No hesitation.

“Good. Then we begin again. I want you to execute a standard right instep elbow strike. It is important to note that the force of the blow does not come from your elbow or your forearm. The force of the blow comes from the movements of your hips and back and the transition of energy as you shift your weight into the blow. This must be one movement, and the timing must be proper in order to maximize the impact of the shiver. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

”Are you sure?”

The student looked at his feet for an angry moment. He clearly did not like to be talked down to. When he was ready, he lifted his head, eyes greetings Ahnk’s with a fire “I am ready.”

Ahnk grinned, placing his hands behind his back. “Then strike me.”

The student went into a short series of stretches designed to redistribute the energy in his body to critical coils. Ahnk stood silently, fingers interlocked behind his back. The student lifted his boot, raising it until it pointed almost directly at Ahnk’s thigh, and then brought it down hard to the ground. Ahnk sighed, unclasping his hands. As the student brought his elbow towards Ahnk, it was caught deftly in the well trained hands of the former Dark Lord, and before the student had realized Ahnk had blocked his strike, the elder put his boot behind the student’s calf, pulling towards himself to unbalance the student as he pushed his arm, sending him falling to his back.

“No.”

Ahnk stated simply, holding out his hand for the student to accept. The student grasped it and allowed the teacher to pull him to his feet. For a moment the younger of the two shot the elder a cold gaze into the back of his shoulders. If looks could kill, he would have melted Ahnk’s spine with the frustration he felt for him…

…and Ahnk merely widened his grin.

“You are stepping too early,” he said, stopping midstep and turning to face the student. “When you step before you twist your hips, you unbalance your weight and knock your center of gravity off level. This makes it far easier then it should be to forcedly unbalance your weight and send you falling to your ass. Anyone familiar with martial arts in the slightest will recognize the awkward way in which you are moving and know exactly how to stop your blow. I need not even stop your blow… it will never land if the proper force is applied to your leg. It is powerless in the position you place it in, vulnerable to even weak attacks that in your compromised position would deal twofold damage unto you. Step AS you move your arm. One fluid motion. Do not step early or you may as well not step at all. Understood?”

“Yes, Master,” the student offered, beginning his stretches again. Ahnk put his hands behind his back, one on his spine and one slipping into the waistband of his pants. Ahnk nodded and the student came again, this time his angry stomp was preceded by a small leap, obviously the student seeking to add leverage to what was due an angry forearm shiver. Ahnk grinned, baring his teeth in something roughly equivalent to a smile as the student’s forearm connected with his face. This time, Ahnk seized his apprentice’s fist, clutching it hard as he slid an ankle behind the student’s leg, felling him effortlessly despite his landed blow…

…and the room was summarily filled with the snap hiss of a lightsaber ignition. The pupil’s eyes snapped open, instantly finding the red blade tilted towards his chest. His hands looked for his own instinctively, but of course there was none to be found… as today was a martial arts instruction, he had left his saber in his room. A decision he found himself now regretting as his Master casually held the blade of a lightsaber no more then an inch from his pounding heart.

“Master! I…”

“If I was a Sith, you would be dead.”

The student said nothing. His eyes were locked on the blade of the saber, drawing closer to him, it’s deadly point hovering inches from his chest. He tried to slow his breathing and the pulsation of his nervous heart, but found himself unable to stop his chest from rising, his heart from thumping up and to within mere millimeters from the tip of the crimson blade. For a moment both were frozen, Ahnk holding no reason to move and his student having no available options to escape. The quiet, tense seconds shared between the two seemed like an hour.

Slowly, the blade of the lightsaber died down. Its empty handle was slid back into Ahnk’s belt and the student shuffled on his back a few feet towards the wall. He looked at his trainer with confusion, uncertain that what had happened had actually happened, and if it had, why. His eyes scanned the man in the center of the room, whose eyes regarded him with a curious expression. Ahnk stood unreadable, hands once again folded behind his back and legs stiff and still, waiting. The student began to push himself to his feet, head drifting from Ahnk to the room’s door and then back again.

“Why,” Ahnk asked, breaking the silence and causing his student’s eyes to snap to his master’s face. Ahnk had his own eyes closed now, and had his head tilted slightly to the ground. He drew his head level to his student and allowed his eyes to open, fixing them directly on him and remaining silent.

It took a small amount of time for his student to ascertain that Ahnk was waiting for an answer. “Why… what? Why what?”

“Why did you come here? Why did you want to become a Rogue Jedi? What was it that you hoped to gain from your tutelage here? Fame? Money? Power? If you came here to become a rich, powerful celebrity, then you are wasting both our time. This is not the days of Gash Jiren on the holonet inspiring millions to follow him and leading the New Republic in battle. These are bad days, dirty days, where anyone on the right side of the war will need to get their hands bloody in order to win. Those here for self-discovery have been misdirected, because you are more likely to discover that you hate yourself then that you have any redeemable qualities of a human being. If you are here for a greater understanding of the universe I would ask that you understand this; the universe is a cold place built on self-importance and the tangible benefits of the now. Those who believe in traditions of honor and loyalty and morality will soon find that those ways are antiquated and were previously overstated. Treachery exists, greed and deceit are commonplace and more often then not, evil is triumphant. The universe is not a place where heroes exist but rather a place where heroes are killed, people are subjugated, and everyone has an expectedly miserable time.”

Ahnk took a moment to step forward. He closed the gap between him and his student and his student raised his fists into a defensive posture. “The universe is twisted and the people in it suffer the unbreakable grip of evil, selfish tyrants. But it does not need to be that way. I have the power to change.”

Ahnk raised his hand, and his student similarly raised his. The student took up a block, but Ahnk slid his hand around, angling it down towards his neck… and allowing it to come to a rest on his shoulder. “You… you have the power to change.”

The student blinked. “I… do? How?”

Ahnk turned his back to him and walked back towards the center of the room. “Those in power do not ever want to relinquish power. Those in control know full well that their existence in comfort comes at the suffrage of others and are in no hurry to change that arrangement. They will not be persuaded to change through empirical evidence or convincing argument or political request. Those who are in a position of power and exploit that position to the determent of others must relinquish that control… by whatever means are necessary. This will, more then likely, not be pretty. Things have the potential to escalate to a very serious degree in a very widespread forum of engagement with very little provocation. There will be lives lost. Are you willing to be an accomplice to that?”

The student silently nodded his head.

Ahnk turned to him and looked at him again. “Are you prepared to sacrifice your life for the good of others?”

“I will do what I must.”

“And sacrifice the lives of others? Are you prepared to kill for your cause?”

The student hesitated, and once again, Ahnk slowly began to close the distance.

“You hesitate. You’ve never killed anyone before.”

“I have.”

“You’re a bad liar. Don’t bother; never having killed anyone isn’t something to be ashamed of. Quite the contrary; with death so readily handed out never having been forced to kill anyone is something to be commended. But make no illusions; you will need to kill if you want to make a difference. Those men will have families, innocent wives and children that unknowingly benefit from his evil and will unfairly be made to suffer with his removal. But when it comes to a choice between continued life of millions of people against the comfortable lives of a half dozen people, it becomes an easy choice. Do you agree?”

The student nodded.

“You will become more comfortable with being forced to violence in the future. Eventually it will become instinctive. Until that time you will need to justify what you are doing. Always remember that those who die oppose what you stand for. The principles of freedom and equality are casually marched upon by their boot, and slavery and torture are enforced by their hands. I will never ask you to kill an innocent man; some you kill may make cries that they were only following orders, but it is my belief that if one does not oppose evil orders then one may as well have made them. Do you object to this?”

The student slowly shook his head. Ahnk himself nodded absently, turning again and drifting once more to the center of the room.

“You asked how you have the power to change. I will tell you. The power to change is simple. You must fight. You must not surrender to the whim of tyrants but oppose them with the entirety of your being. You must struggle against the oppression until you die. And that is how you will breed change. If you give your life in a struggle against evil, others will follow. The longer you fight, the more will fall behind. It is the combined strength of those that are inspired by your efforts that will make the difference. In all likelihood you will not live to see a better day. But you may rest comfortably knowing that it was your struggle that helped to sow the seeds of change. And that while you were alive you took more then your fair share of evil men with you to the grave.”

The student nodded, his face brightening slightly. Ahnk’s earlier lightsaber threat had been forgotten, something Ahnk felt he needed to rectify. “Of course, none of that will happen if you are killed before anyone can take notice. Which is why you are here. I am going to do my very best to turn you into a warrior. To this point you have shown no signs of aptitude or ambition to that aim. You do want to become a warrior, correct? To fight the good fight and all that?”

The student glared at Ahnk, slowly nodding. A gesture Ahnk returned.

“Good. Then I will say this one more time. You must move your arm, your hips and your body in one motion. While I was impressed by the improvised jump you took and the reasoning behind it, it was still off time with your strike. You need to make all your motions at once, as if each separate action were but one. If you do not do this… if you continue to delay throwing your elbow… and continue to expose your imbalanced and undefended leg, then I will be forced to show you the consequences of that mistake. If you are going to fail again then I will make it your last attempt because I will have wasted enough of my time on you today. If you succeed… then we shall break for the day, having finally accomplished something.”

Ahnk saw the threats… the condescension with which he spoke relight that fire, burning inside his student’s eyes. Ahnk allowed a smile to spread across his face again, as he took several steps backward and placed his hands once again behind his back. “One… last time.”

A horrible roar erupted in the room as the student leaped into the air, body moving in a blur. He put all of his energy… all of his hatred, his anger, his frustration, all of his sadness, his grief, his agitation, everything he felt was wrong channeled into a stream of concentrated force, propelling him forward at an impossible speed. Ahnk felt his grin widening, and then the expression on his face soured. The student continued his scream, but as he landed it’s pitch changed significantly, and it was joined by the echoing against the walls the all too familiar sound of shattering bone. The student crumpled in a heap, his cry trailing off…

Ahnk, stepping over him, looking into his eyes. “You… are a disgrace.”

The student grunted. Whined a soft sigh of pain. Look down at his shattered femur with tears welling in his eyes. “You… broke…”

“Your leg?” Ahnk asked, phrasing a question to which he of course knew the answer. “You were warned about why you needed to make your motions into one. You left your leg exposed. I told you what would happen. The dangers of what you were doing. But you did not listen. You did not take me seriously. You did not learn your lesson.”

Their eyes locked for a moment. Ahnk’s shimmering with a cold, irrational calm. The student saw his eyes slip down as Ahnk’s black boot rose from the ground, hovering in the air, a foot from his other, unbroken leg.

“Do you understand, now? Or do you need another demonstration?”

The student gritted his teeth and bit down on a scream, cutting it down to a gargling groan of complete and utter agony as Ahnk’s boot shot down, effortlessly crushing his other leg and shattering it in half. Ahnk turned his back on the student, the large stone that served as the room’s door sliding up and allowing access to the room, several people streaming inside the room.

“Take this miserable excuse for a student from my field of perception. Keep him from it until he is willing to follow my instructions,” were the Master’s command, and two of the three who entered the room grabbed the student under each arm, lifting his unconscious frame from the floor and dragging him, useless heels clicking against the recesses between the stones.

Only one remained.

“You had best bring good news. I am in no mood for further disappointments.”