Chapter 11 8 страница

" Your point is…well made, " Prince Oberyn agreed after only a moment's hesitation to think on what Lord Nox had said. " But to the second point, this is your expedition, sorcerer. Why do I have to be the one to organize the tedious part of it? "

" Because Jon and I both have tasks of our own that we need to see to, " Lord Nox replied, making Jon start. " And of everyone here, I trust a learned man like yourself to understand the difference between items of true value and those that only give the illusion of value. "

" Well, " Prince Obery said slowly, drawing himself up so he stood taller. " When you put it like that…I guess I have my work ahead of me then. Good luck on…whatever crazy agenda you and that young boy have planned, sorcerer. I'll make sure to hold the boats until you return. Don't want to leave without our shield, after all. "

The moment the Prince of Dorne left them alone, Jon immediately turned on his mentor. " Lord Nox, are…are we going after the one who caused the Doom? "

" I am, " Lord Nox nodded, casting one last glance towards the crystals lining the wall. " You, however, will not. I have a different task in mind for you. A Trial, so to speak. Should you succeed, then you will officially become my apprentice, Jon Snow. "

Jon stared dumbly at his mentor as his mind tried to process what he'd just been told. When he first started training himself and Robb, he had explained the ranks of the Sith and Jedi Orders with the best approximate comparisons that Westeros had of each level. An acolyte could be considered a page, an apprentice a squire, a Lord of the Sith a knight. And if one were to reach the rank of Darth, then they would be comparable to the Kingsguard. 'Apprentice, Lord Nox's squire…How many would do anything to have such and honor…and it is almost mine! '

" What is my task, my Master? "

Motioning for Jon to follow, Nox led the two of them towards the exit of the vault. Jon's fingers itched to grab hold of some of the Valyrian steel weapons and armor that the others were going through, but he fought that impulse and focused on following Lord Nox. And it was a good thing that he had, as his Master had begun talking to him just as they were passing by the others. " The spirit of that fallen archon had stated that there will be something we need in the fight to come. Something that will help to firmly tilt the scales of battle in our favor. You are going to collect this item while I go and confront the one who brought about the Doom. And you will do so alone. Succeed, and you will earn your place as my official apprentice. "

Listening carefully, Jon committed every word his Master said as to just what his task would entail.

As he descended through the darkness into the depths of Valyria, Nox let his hand run across the wall of corridor while feeling every inch he could through the Force. The familiar cold, the despair of the dark side, increasing with each step he took. Letting his head lull to the side, he took a moment to bask in the familiar cold, the hatred, the anger. It was disconcerting. But at the same time soothing in a familiar way. For it was in the darkness, alone, that Nox was made. In the deep of the mines belonging to his first master while he was still but a slave boy. For a long time, and even now, the darkness was all he knew. His time with Ashara, with Nyra, had given him a taste of the light. A taste he thoroughly enjoyed. But the darkness would always be his home.

His journey to this cavern was not easy nor quick. The Fourteen Flames were a fair distance from the actual city of Valyria. And seeing as how there were no rivers for his to boat down nor any creatures easily available for him to ride, he was stuck walking. Or rather running. And even then, after reaching the base of the Fourteen Flames, many of which had been destroyed during the massive eruptions four centuries earlier, finding the ritual chamber was not simple. Although, that wasn't necessarily true. It was easy to find the general location of the ritual chamber given the heavy concentration of dark side energy surrounding it but getting there was difficult considering he had to remove centuries of rocks and landscape that'd covered the entry way. And if that wasn't bothersome enough, the land around Valyria seemed to have become infested with strange slug-like creatures that reminded him greatly of Kor'slugs from Korriban. Troublesome, pack-ambush hunters, and vicious against anything that entered their territory.

Feeling the ground leveling out under his feet, Nox found himself before a towering set of stone double doors that were nearly three times his own height and, judging by the feel of the door beneath his fingertips, covered in runes of varying styles though there was a distinct lack of Force presence within the runes. Meaning they were more for show than anything else. 'Although from what I've seen of these dragon lords, I shouldn't be surprised. They did seem to adore showing status, even if all their posturing meant next to nothing in the grand scheme of things. '

Letting his hand fall, Nox went for the simplest means of opening the heavy doors. Which was by throwing them open with a Force Push hard enough to knock them off their hinges and fall inwards. Stepping into the ritual chamber, Nox could immediately feel the pressing weight of the dark side that was not his own press down in his mind, trying to dominate his very being as the lost soul that died in this chamber centuries ago cried out in agony and pain. Lessening his shielding on those that came with him, Nox reinforced his own mind and kept striding into the middle of the darkened circular ritual room. " Trying to dominate my mind already, tsk tsk… Not a very good way to make a first impression. "

The darkness pressing on his mind receded slightly. " Who…are…you? " A disembodied voice reverberating in the dark side called out to him.

Holding his hand aloft, Nox waited with the patience of a fisherman as he searched the room for his prey. Feeling something brush by the edges of his power, Nox closed his hand, grabbing the presence in a Force Binding and forcing it to the ground before him. " Ah! What have you done? " the presence screamed as Nox contained the entity, forcing the miasma that encompassed the being to condense, forming into the shape of a man that could make even the withered husk seem attractive in comparison.

" Sorry about that. " Nox shrugged as the being tried to disembody itself again, only to find it unable to do so. " Yeah, that's not going to work anymore. See, I prefer being able to talk face to face and eye to eye with an individual. Well, maybe not so much 'eye to eye', but you get my drift. "

The pressure on his mind increased as the entity tried to push its influence. " Who are you? " the entity screamed as the pressure continued to increase, making Nox want to submit. " You are no Dragon Lord! Yet you stand before me like you think you are my equal! Submit! And tell me your name! "

When Nox had first left Korriban, that might've worked. But that was neither here nor there. He was now older and far wiser than the naive apprentice he was when under Darth Zash. During the short trip to the ritual chambers from the Archon's Throne, Nox had been preparing his mind for what he would face. And now the pressure was more of an annoyance than anything. Obviously, this creature had never had to deal with one on equal terms.

Sighing, Nox rolled his neck. " You mind stopping with the whole influencing shit? You can't influence me, no matter how much you try. I've had more than enough time to prepare myself for the likes of you. "

The pressure increased tenfold as the entity launched one last mental assault at him. But the thing might as well have been throwing rocks at an Imperial Cruiser for all the good its attack did. " Hmm, interesting. " The entity hummed, the pressure slowly ceasing. " You have power…but you are no dragon lord. You are lowborn, are you not? How pathetic must the times have come that the lowborn are the ones who are born with power? …Wait, no. You cannot be lowborn. You must come from a line of dragon lords… Could it be…It is. You are a descendant from the Targaryen upstarts, are you not? You have the look of one, despite not having any eyes to for me to see. "

" I'm not a descendent from that incest ridden family, " Nox denied, waving the suggestion off. " And as for being 'lowborn', I guess you can say I am. After all, I was born a slave before I broke my chains and made a name for myself. "

" A slave?! " the entity shouted. " A slave dares to stand before a god of the dragon lords as if he is my equal?! I will smite you to all the hells for your blasphemy! "

Nox felt the buildup of power as clear as day. 'Primitives. No subtlety at all. They get the tiniest taste of true power and suddenly they think they are gods. How pathetic. ' Rolling his wrist, Nox waited as the entity collected a whirling vortex dark side energy between its hands. As the vortex reached a critical mass, the entity threw it at Nox. Standing his ground, his hair and clothes fluttering against the wind created from the vortex, he waited until the attack was almost at him and then raised his hand and backhanded the sphere of energy away and into the wall where it dissipated with barely a flutter.

" Really? That's all you got? " he asked, shaking the minor sting out of his hand. " How pathetic. I didn't even need to exert myself at all to knock that pathetic attack away. Now, let me show you a true attack. "

Force Lightning leapt forth from his fingertips. Traversing the distance between them in a blink of an eye and catching the entity full in the chest. The being didn't even have time to cry out as the lightning broke the entity down at the near-molecular level and disintegrating the body. A body which quickly began to reform the instant his attack ceased.

Across from him, the newly reformed entity began laughing. " Hahaha! Not bad, slave. That tickled! Hahaha, tell me, what is your name, slave? Perhaps I won't kill you, after all. No, one of your power deserves more than to just die. Instead, I will take you on as my disciple! Yes, you will be the disciple to the newly reborn Balerion! God of Valyria! Kneel, slave! And accept your new place at my si-"

Another blast of force lightning and the so-called god was once again destroyed. " Sorry, did I break your concentration? " Nox asked rhetorically as the would-be god reformed itself. " I must say, your definition of godhood must be severely lacking if you can consider yourself a 'god'. At best, I would consider you a lich. But, in reality, you are nothing more than a wound, a blight in the Force. One that I intend to cleanse. "

Once fully reformed, the so-named Balerion tried to retaliate with an attack of his own, only for Nox to once again casually grab the attack with his bare hand and throw it back at the Wound, once again causing it to dissipate. " It seems we are at an impasse, slave, " Balerion growled as he reformed yet again. " Your power is indeed incredible. I will even grant you the honor of staying that your power might even be near equal to my own. But that will not help you here. For I cannot die! How many times must I say it before you finally realize the futi-"

Crossing the distance between them, Nox snapped his lightsaber into his right hand, slashing across the entities chest as he passed him by, cutting him in two. " I should've expected as much from a slave. No class at all. " Balerion sighed as the wound bisecting him healed over. " Your magic has failed you, so you resort to brute strength. How dull. But if this is the way you wish to die, then I will oblige your request. "

Feeling a sensation through the Force, Nox leaned back just in time to have a sword pass by where his neck had been. Grasping the hand and a half sword out of the air, Balerion gave it a few experimental swings before settling into a stance. " It has been sometime since I held Dragon's Lament in my hand… Even longer since I quenched her thirst for slaves' blood. Yours shall suffice. But you will not die. No, you will have to suffer first. I believe I'll cut off your hands and feet. Then make you watch as I kill those you came with one by one as you sit there powerless to-"

" Spare me the bullshit doom and gloom, " Nox interrupted with an annoyed sneer. " I care not for grandstanding. But if you are so sure in your victory, tell me something. How many slaves did you and your acolytes sacrifice here in this room to start your ritual? "

Balerion seemed taken aback by the abrupt change. His very being screaming his curiosity as it tried to piece together Nox's thought process for asking such a question. " A thousand, " Balerion finally answered. " A thousand souls to bring forth their new god. My six acolytes were nearly bathing in their blood by the time they finished. "

" And you of course told your acolytes that you would be sharing the power amongst yourself and them, " Nox stated. " And they, foolishly, believed you and went along. Right up to the point where you turned the tide on them and killed them to act as the catalyst for your ritual. A ritual which brought about the Doom of Valyria. "

" The 'Doom of Valyria'? No, I saved Valyria! " Balerioin shouted. " The foolish Archons believed that they knew the path forward! But they were blind! They could only see what they had! Not what they could become! The Dragon Lords had grown stagnant, our Empire faltering. New power was needed. A rebirth! The others couldn't see what I could! The old had to be burned away to make way for the new! A new empire! Ruled over by the God of Valyria reborn! "

" Yet that didn't happen. Your ritual failed. " Nox cut in coldly. " I recognize what you were trying to accomplish here. You weren't after just the souls of these thousand slaves and your acolytes. No. You wanted to absorb the souls of all Valyria. Yet that didn't happen. You managed to destroy Valyria, yes. But like all who get a taste of true power, you didn't have a clue of what you were doing. And because of that, the ritual failed in allowing you to gain control of those who lost their lives. And not only did you fail in that regard, you also failed in containing the thousand souls sacrificed here in this chamber. Even now they are fighting within you, not allo—"

Ducking, Nox spun out of the way of the Valyrian steel blade that meant to cut him down. Pushing off the ground with his left hand while parallel to the ground, Nox spun in a tight roll, his lightsaber cutting through the back of Balerion as he quickly put distance between the two of them. " If you're going to try and launch a surprise attack while your opponent is speaking, you are going to have to do a lot better job than that. You were practically screaming your intent well before you even began shifting your weight to strike at me. "

Whole once more, Balerion turned to him. " You think you know me, slave?! You think you know what happened during my ascension… You are nothing more than a foolish slave who does not deserve to breathe the same air as one as divine as myself! "

" Fuck, make up your mind already! " Nox cursed. " First you want to kill me. Then you want to make me your acolyte or prophet or whatever. And now you're back to wanting me dead. Make a decision and stick with it already, will you?! "

Letting out a cry, Balerion launched a flurry of overhead attacks in quick succession. Back peddling, Nox didn't bother blocking as he merely shifted his weight ever so slightly from left to right to avoid each downward blow. The moment Balerion overextended, Nox struck, slicing through the being's wrists and severing them before striking upwards, cutting through Balerion's neck and retreating to the far side of the chamber.

Twirling his lightsaber, Nox waited once more for Balerion to reform. " Well, I guess we're going to be at this all day, aren't we? " he asked rhetorically. " At least we'll finally be able to answer the age-old question of what happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force. "

Rolling his head, Balerion let out a crude crackling laugh that echoed throughout the chamber. " You still haven't learned yet, slave? I cannot be killed! The only question that will be answered today is how long you will keep up this charade until I kill you. "

Tightening his hold on his lightsaber, Nox settled into his Form III stance. " You can't die yet, that's true… But that's simply because I'm not ready to lose such an interesting opponent. But mark my words: before I leave this land, you will meet your end. 'God' of Valyria. "

Chapter 11

Pushing through the rumble blocking his path in the middle of what had once been a road through the city, Jon paused for a moment to catch his breath. As he did so, he stared upwards at the imposing structure before him. While the curved walls were not particularly tall nor in the greatest of shape, for Jon, in this moment, he might as well have been staring at the Wall itself for how imposing the structure was to him. 'Finally, ' he sighed in relief. 'The breeding grounds of the ancient Valyrian Dragons. The place of my Trials to become a Sith like Master Nox. '

Taking a few calming breaths, Jon started towards the breeding grounds while running the instructions Master Nox had given him before the two had left the Vault and gone their separate ways. 'To the east near the outskirts of the city proper, you will find a building that looks like a coliseum. According to the Archon, this was a hatchery that held the dragon eggs when it became time to bind the hatchlings to their riders. That time has long since passed. But there are still artifacts and talismans and perhaps even tomes, if we're lucky, that will prove useful in the fight to come. Trust in the Force, and you will find what will help us. But be wary. For there were protections, protections created by the Force users of Old Valyria. And I sense that those protections are still very much active and capable of ending your life if you are foolish. '

Arriving at the entrance, which had been completely closed off due to rubble and years of disuse, Jon closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, trying to find something, anything, that resonated. But try as he might, there was nothing. Just the cold feel of stone. 'Come on, ' he thought, tightening his eyes as he delved deeper and deeper into the structure through the Force. 'Give me something…anything. '

Just as he started to feel that this was nothing but another false trail laid out by Lord Nox, he felt it. The slightest of a resonance on the edge of his senses that he nearly overlooked. Concentrating, he focused solely and only on the slight resonance. It was faint. So faint that it was as if he were trying to spot a minnow in a murky river at night. But it was still there. And the longer he focused in on the resonance, the clearer it became. But instead of just breaking his concentration and running into the structure, as he was tempted to do, he held himself in check. Instead, he continued to focus on the resonance and the immediate area surrounding it as his Master had hammered into himself and his trueborn siblings time and time again.

'Rushing into an unknown situation or location will only get you killed. ' He remembered Master Nox lecturing them as they all sat before the weirwood in Winterfell's godswood. 'Before heading into any situation, even if it is life or death, take a moment to analyze everything you can with all your senses and through the Force. A moment's preparation could mean the difference between survival and death. Both for yourselves and your loved ones. '

After feeling that he'd mapped out the immediate area around the resonance as best he could, Jon pulled his senses back into himself and opened his eyes once more. 'Well, I have an idea of where I need to get too… Now the question is: just how do I get there? '

The front of the building, indeed most of the building, was in ruins with no clear passageways leading to the outside. But by visually scanning the outside, he found another way in. It was a single opening, whether intentional or not, on the second level of the structure. Keeping his eyes on his target, he channeled the Force into his body, focusing it into his legs to strengthen the muscles as he'd done so many times before that it was now almost second nature. Bending at the knees, he pushed mightily off the ground with the aid of the Force strengthening him. The calm air rushed by in a gust of wind as he flew up to the small opening on the second level, landing just barely inside the small hole and throwing his weight forward to make sure he didn't fall backwards. 'Alright, that's step one, ' he thought, frowning as he investigated the darkened room he'd entered. Thankfully, a combination of the roof mostly missing, and the dim light of the sky made it so that he didn't need a torch. But who knew how long that luck would last him.

Keeping the slight resonance he'd felt at the forefront of his mind, Jon made his way through the darkened ruined halls. His eyes were continuously moving as he searched for any sign of structural damage or potential threats. During one of Master Nox's many lectures, he'd briefly touched on his experiences exploring abandoned or ancient ruins, a topic that had never failed to keep his sister Arya thoroughly enraptured. And it was those lessons and the dangers that such places often held that Jon was putting to use now as he began to make his way through it.

He was only within the ruins for a few minutes before he came across his first obstacle. A hole in the ground that stretched the length of several men and went from wall to wall. Kneeling at the edge, he carefully examined the edges of the hole, looking for a way to possibly go around. 'Looks deep. ' He frowned, picking up a rock and letting it drop, waiting to hear the echo in order to gauge just how far down it went. 'Very deep. I might be able to jump it, especially with no roof overhead. But the question is if the other side can support my weight when I come down? Is it even worth the risk? From what I can sense, the resonance is down in that direction…but do I drop down or continue on this path? '

Deciding that he really didn't have the time to just stand around and argue with himself, Jon steeled himself for a moment before stepping off the edge and down into the hole. Using the Force to slow his fall, Jon bent at the knees the moment he felt his feet touch solid ground to cushion the blow. 'Huh, that wasn't that far of a fall actually, ' he thought, looking skywards. 'Strange. It looked so dark from up there. But now that I'm down here…it's not that bad. In fact, I can see better down here in the dark than I could from up there. Like this corridor is filled with the light of the full moon. Strange…very strange. '

Despite the oddity of the light where there shouldn't be any, there was something else tugging at the back of Jon's mind. A nagging sensation that something just…wasn't right. It wasn't that much of a feeling, not much more than slight unease in his gut, but it was persistent. And it only started once he dropped down the hole.

'I don't have time to worry about it, ' he thought, steeling himself as he forced himself to put one foot in front of the other down the hall. 'Master Nox says we can't stay here for long lest his protections wear off. And I, for one, do not want to become some mindless beast attacking everyone. '

As he walked, he gradually became aware of carvings on the walls surrounding him. Carvings that had somehow managed to survive the test of time and the Doom of Valyria. 'Strange, ' he thought, pausing to examine one such carving, which showed a man or woman standing before what he could only assume was a dragon with their arm held towards the massive beast. The carving itself wasn't necessarily strange, the Valyrian's were known as the 'Dragon Lords' after all. No, what was strange was the almost emphasis that was put onto some object that was on the person's arm. 'What could that be? '

Looking back in the direction he came from, Jon found himself dumbfounded. 'Wait, I came down a straight corridor…That turn wasn't there just a moment ago! ' He found himself less than a few paces from a sharp corner that he swore wasn't there just a moment before. Leaving the carvings, he started to make his way back, only to find that he didn't recognize anything. The corridors weren't the same as the one he'd pass through after dropping down the hole. The carvings on the wall were different and the twist turns that he suddenly found himself constantly encountering were not there before.

'Not good…Not good, ' he thought, starting to become panicked as the thoughts of being stuck down in this place started to crawl through his head. 'No, stop thinking like that! If I get lost, Master Nox will…No…I can't rely on him to save me. This is my trial. This is something I have to do myself! '

Stopping, he took several deep breaths to try and calm his racing heart. 'Breathe, just breathe. Feel the Force. The Force will grant me victory…and through victory, my chains will be broken. '

The strange resonance he'd felt before coming down here flared up once more, stronger than before. 'It's close, ' he thought, opening his eyes. 'Very close. Just a little bit further an – What is that noise? '

Turning at the sound of something that sounded like tapping on the ground, Jon had just a moment of warning from the Force to duck as something passed over his head close enough that the wind of its passing brushed through his hair. Scrambling back, he found himself face to face with…something. Something shaped like a man but cloaked completely in black cloth that even covered its face, and which also stood a full head and shoulders above him.

'Gods! Is that…a man? ' he thought as he scrambled back further as he began to recognize the object that the being held in its grasp and had apparently swung at him. 'Fuck! That's a sword! '

Drawing his own short sword, Jon clashed with the unknown man. Their blades locked momentarily before the cloaked figure hissed and pushed him a surprising distance away. Keeping his feet under him, Jon brought his sword up into mid guard Lord Nox had shown him with the tip of the short sword pointed up towards the ceiling. Of the seven sword forms Lord Nox had forced him to practice time and time again, Jon had found himself most drawn to the second and seventh form styles, Makashi and Juyo. He found that quite enjoyed Juyo the most, he loved the feeling he got when he immersed himself in the fight, especially when he was able to beat his opponents soundly. But he also loved Makashi, specifically the strategy that was required with the form. And against such a large foe and in such tight corridors, he knew that Makashi was his best bet now.

Waiting until his opponent struck, Jon quickly shifted his feet to his left to sidestep the downward swing before using his sword to deflect the blow towards the ground and using the recoil to help quicken his backstroke towards his larger foe. Jon expected the man to dodge or move or something. But what happened was not what Jon expected. The man did not move. Instead he caught the edge of Jon's sword in his bare hand.

'What?! That's – Oh shit! ' Jon cursed as he had to let go of his sword in order to dodge the larger man's backswing which threatened to cut him in two.

Now without a weapon, Jon did the only thing he could in this situation. Setting his feet firmly, he threw his hands out and lashed out with the Force as hard as he could. The man, or whatever he was, was clearly not expecting the attack as it was flung back into the darkness behind him, dropping Jon's sword as he did. Picking up his sword, Jon prepared himself for another attack from the shadows. But nothing came. The man that attacked him had…disappeared into the darkness. He couldn't even sense him through the Force either.

" What the hell? " he muttered out loud, keeping his guard up as he slowly backed away from where the larger man had disappeared, waiting for him to reappear and resume his attack.

'Fuck, I don't have time for this, ' he thought. He quickly scanned the area once more with both his eyes and the Force but found nothing. 'I can't go chasing after him now. Just have to keep going forward. '

Keeping his guard up and his senses stretched, Jon turned his back on where the man had disappeared and took off at a light run towards the resonance he'd been chasing. Almost without warning, Jon turned a corner and suddenly found himself within a large room that was perhaps half as large as the great hall within Winterfell. And if the fact that he suddenly found himself in the room wasn't odd enough, there was also the fact that the room was as bright as the city outside the breeding grounds. But where the light was coming from, he had no idea. The ceiling was intact, there were no windows and no torches lit. But he could see perfectly fine.

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