Star Wars Sketches 7 - Acroxolisc and Lineage

Hidden within the obsessively-loyal ranks of the One-Sith studied a Weequay scholar more loyal to preserving history than that of Darth Krayt. This Weequay was virtually nameless; he was not a favorable duelist and neither was he a notable force-wielder, often meeting severe beatings at the hands of sparring partners. The only thing his fellow Sith took interest in was what could only be described as the Weequay's bodyguard and friend; the Zabrak Sith Initiate Shi'Sheo. What this Weequay did have however, was a sharp mind, an eye for architecture, and an obsession with legacies. He had delved into the history of the Sith and learned a great many strategies, tactics, and force abilities he shared with Shi'Sheo so that he could excel in the academy. The Weequay was horrified however upon finding that many records of their own past were near-non existent. At least to his knowledge. His loyalty to Darth Krayt was absolute and he did not want to see his emperor's legacy vanish should he fall. He had many temples but they lied in areas that could easily be discovered, ransacked, and destroyed. The brave, nameless Sith approached Krayt's second - a young Darth Wyyrlok - with his concerns and though the Sith Lord thought the concerns empty at first, the Weequay's passion for his beliefs and ideas led to Wyyrlok giving the Weequay the assignment of building an isolated city and tomb fit for not just Darth Krayt, but for the emperors that would follow. The Weequay took on the insurmountable challenge alongside Shi'Sheo and a team of begrudged Sith. The construction took a lifetime but soon the city took form on the surface of Ambria. At the age of his prime, the Weequay and his team finally returned to Wyyrlok proudly announcing the - at the moment - completed City of the Sith, explaining to the Sith Lord that there was left plenty of room to build and expand with every emperor and generation that followed. An impressed Darth Wyyrlok smiled upon the Weequay and awarded him the title of Sith Lord, dubbing the once-nameless Weequay, Darth Acroxolisc.

As proud as Acroxolisc was at that moment, his world would crumble along with the Order of the One Sith upon the deaths of both Wyyrlok and Krayt. Like many others of the order, Acroxolisc went into hiding, taking as much of their records as he could with him so that their future would at least have a history to learn from. In the following years, Acroxolisc's focus became that of combat; opting to study the style of Makashi to ensure that he can protect the history of his people. While not becoming an absolute master of the form, Acroxolisc's defenses became sufficient enough to stonewall the likes of Darth Talon in a sparring match. This learning curb would aid him in ambushing a group of Sith who threatened to leave the order, among them notables such as Darth Sideous II and his friend Shi'Sheo. Knowing he was unable to defeat him, Acroxolisc allowed Shi'Sheo to flee as the others were distracted by battle. Under the guidance of Darth Nihl; the One Sith effectively stayed within the shadows of the fledgling Galactic Triumvirate, striking to cause unrest in the most vulnerable of locations. Acroxolisc however, restrained himself from conflict and instead continuously searched for more history on the Sith, on one occasion having a run-in with the Sith apprentice Darth Sidious II while on the run who handedly bested him without the use of a lightsaber. Eventually Acroxolisc would be dragged back into battle as the Sith relocated their base to Onderon, only to be soon discovered by Jedi and Jensaarai forces. This would be the first time Acroxolisc would cross paths with the Jensaarai Geb'Kar and while the scholar Sith held his own against the defense-oriented Jensaarai, he would be decimated and nearly killed by his opponent's comrade Brae Skywalker.

Acroxolisc would survive the Ambush on Onderon with a shredded arm and missing eye, fleeing into the shadows of the galaxy believing he was the last Sith left in the galaxy. Acroxolisc would settle on Bespin, making a name for himself as the owner of a vehicle repair shop. Despite the relative safety and peace of this new life - aided by masking and concealment techniques that he had studied - Acroxolisc's thoughts lied with his lost treasure of the City of the Sith and the many Sith artifacts and texts that he had hidden away with him that were bound to be discovered. Thankfully, the artifacts would carry a benefit of their own, granting him knowledge of Sith techniques he would have not have taken interest in before; many of which aided in his continued concealment and at least one aiding him in learning the style of Djem So despite the use of only one arm. Not long after he had made himself successful, a young Chiss girl named Skylla would come under his employment and quickly become one of his best employees; repairing even the largest of vehicles with relative ease. Acroxolisc raised a suspicious brow to the girl and subtly began to place her into certain situations meant to test her. Sure enough - as the final test led to a confrontation with a group of thugs - Acroxolisc at last shed his cloak and revealed his true nature, encouraging Skylla to take up his lightsaber and strike down the thugs that had caused her pain. With the severe beating that she had taken mere moments earlier, a rage was kindled within the young Chiss and she reached out through the force and tore Acroxolisc's lightsaber from his coat. Acroxolisc watched on as she cleaved thug after thug in two, at last calling out to her in a gentle voice to sooth her anger and bring her to his embrace. Recalling an era in Sith history headed off by Darth Bane; Acroxolisc decided to adopt the Rule of Two mentality and took Skylla as his own secret apprentice.

Like Acroxolisc, Skylla would drown herself in the history of the Sith and the significance of the artifacts he had. This knowledge melded with her tech-savvy knowledge and Skylla would construct a combination of a crude but effective cybernetic arm linked via biological signals to a new mechanical eye for her new master. Though the tech was impressive as is, Skylla took it a step further and saw to it that the cybernetics of the arm bonded with what was left of Acroxolisc's shredded arm and had it equipped with an energy absorbent that could be directly integraded with the force ability tutaminus. On top of this, Skylla constructed battle armor for herself - taking inspiration from the likes of Darths Vader and Malgus - and paired this armor with a shield she constructed with cortosis and energy field emitters. At last, Skylla constructed her own lightsaber that mimicked Acroxolisc's own curve-hilt lightsaber complete with a blade attached to the emitter with a ridged pummel for effective pummel strikes. With all of these absolutely amazing accomplishments through the use of merely mechu-deru; Acroxolisc dared to praise his apprentice by claiming that she had at last "modernized" the ways of the Sith. Through his training, Skylla would also excel in the use of Makashi and using it in combination of her shield to build a masterfully unorthodox fighting style. Despite her monumental success; Acroxolisc kept other abilities in the force away from her to hold an edge over her, knowing full-well how the ways of the Sith can turn her against him. However, it seemed that he had little to concern over as Skylla quickly became almost overly protective of him even from the least snarky of customers they still received. Soon, Acroxolisc would decide her to be worthy of the title of Darth and as such Acroxolisc ascended her to the role of a true Dark Lord of the Sith and dubbed her Darth Lineage: the culmination of the history of the Sith.

After years of concealment; Acroxolisc's repair shop would come under attack by a trio of darksiders locking onto pockets of Dark Side powers in the area. Acroxolisc engaged their leader in a force duel while Lineage dawned her armor and engaged the others in a lightsaber duel. After a brief showing of force abilities and technological prowess, the leader who identified himself as King Set-En and a leading member of a reborn Sith Order led by Darth Nihl; Acroxolisc taken back by the news that Nihl had actually survived the Ambush on Onderon and had been alive this whole time. Agreeing to join Set-En and the New Sith, Acroxolisc and Lineage met with Nihl at Acroxolisc's lost masterpiece the City of the Sith. However, Acroxolisc would be met by disappointment as Nihl had kept with the ways of the Order of the One Sith with all the Sith present being absolutely loyal to him and him alone while Acroxolisc had long adopted the Rule of Two mentality. Nihl demanded Acroxolisc's loyalty and that of his apprentice however both refused, stating that the two of them had remained hidden for so long without this New Order and would happily do so again as opposed to kneeling to a Sith that - at least to Acroxolisc - was beneath him. Nihl drew his weapon with lightning speed but was met by the blade of Lineage coming to her master's protection. Likewise, Acroxolisc defended his student from Set-En's Sith Lightning and another force duel ensued between the two as Lineage fought with Darth Nihl. Despite Nihl's improved yet still-unique fighting style, he was unable to break Lineage's guard until he resorted to his own force lightning assault. Having forced Set-En to submit through a superior combination of force abilities, Acroxolisc comes to his apprentice's aid once more and catches Nihl's force lightning. Nihl finally ended the contest and allowed Acroxolisc and his apprentice to operate as they saw fit, acknowledging Acroxolisc's growth in power since the days of the One Sith Order.

Following the confrontation, Acroxolisc and Lineage relocated to Acroxolisc's old home just outside of the city to discuss their next move. Over the next few days, Acroxolisc began to realize that his feelings toward his apprentice were stronger than ever before and he sensed the same from her. These feelings were only confirmed as Lineage thanked him for being her master and guide, this appreciation being accompanied by a touch of their lips.

It was this same day that Acroxolisc would be contacted by an old friend...