((Note, some information will be revealed about Glathn that neither Glathn nor any other character knows, unless specifically placed within reach of the information.))
CHAPTER 1
Draco Filius Morrigan looked at himself in the mirror. He looked rough, his work was starting to take its toll and the once-handsome face of a Senator was now replaced with the rugged mug of a bounty hunter. But that was the path he had chosen, he had to live with it. Draco started tightly binding his Nautolan armour, a present from his old friend Claudio Fisto, who was in a similar line of work. After applying his armour, he slid two blasters into the holsters on his belt and slid a long hunting knife into its scabbard. He looked himself over once more before turning to leave. However, standing at the window was his wife, Cadia Dooku Morrigan.
"Not tonight Draco. You promised me the night that pregnancy test came out positive that you'd give up being a bounty hunter, to protect our child. I've put up with that lie for months, but how can you even think of going now, with the baby so close!?"
Draco looked down briefly before facing his wife evenly.
"I'm not a bounty hunter Cadia. I'm a murderer."
Cadia's eyes tightened.
"And what do you mean by that?"
Draco pulled out his hunting knife.
"For months, I've been using this knife to gut poachers of endangered species. Claudio got me into the idea. And tonight, I'm going to intercept a group of poachers on Hoth who are after a tribe of Wampa."
Cadia grabbed Draco's hand.
"No. You're staying here with me. Anywhere I am, you have to be here too."
Draco frowned furiously.
"No Cadia. That tribe is going to be killed and I need to stop it."
Cadia slapped him. Hard.
"You care more about some Wampas than me and your baby!?"
Draco suddenly turned indignant.
"My baby!? MY BABY!? Do you think I'm dumb or something? That child is Nathaniel Tagge's!"
Cadia turned and walked out of the room in tears. Draco himself was overflowing with fury. He jumped out his window into his heavily modified Firespray-class starship which was clinging magnetically to Draco's highrise Coruscant apartment building. Taking gear, he set off for Hoth, with much on his mind.
High Mage Serratus
CHAPTER 2
Cadia was sitting in the bathroom, crying, tears spilling on to the tunic covering her bulging abdomen. Draco didn't understand, he assumed so much. And Nathaniel. The Secret Sith.
Oh yes, he had been trained well, that Darth Grim. She had been tricked, letting him gain her confidence. Admittedly, she had been attracted to him. He was a Hapan after all. But she had never thought about cheating on Draco. And then Nathaniel had forced her to submit, with the Force no less. He had violated her. And now she had his son.
How had Draco found out? She mopped up her tears and decided there and then to tell him everything, to come clean. Maybe he would even kill Nathaniel. She rose from the toilet and walked back into their room.
"Dra-"
She stopped short as she realised that the room was empty. She looked out the window. The Firespray was gone. Draco was gone. And suddenly the door behind her opened. She turned around in fright. It was Nathaniel. He was dressed in a dark robe and looked very intimidating.
"Sweet, sweet, naive Cadia. You thought that you'd be able to get your husband to stay, didn't you? But then he found out about our little secret. Now who could have told him that?"
Nathaniel passed a hand over his face and suddenly he had taken the form of Claudio Fisto.
"Maybe his best friend Claudio. And I wonder who could have told him about the poachers on Hoth? Why, Claudio!"
Nathaniel then took his true form. He was a Stennes.
"Now, silly girl, come with me so I can take that child from you!"
He raised his hand and started to Force choke her. She started walking towards him, as if submitting and he smiled. Just as she got within short range of him, she struck out, kicking him in a...sensitive area. As he bent over in pain, she pulled out one of Draco's spare blasters and shot Nathaniel three times in the head. The Sennes Sith fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Blaster still in hand, Cadia ran out of her apartment. She was going to get her Eddicus-class and follow her husband.
High Mage Serratus
CHAPTER 3
Draco stood atop the snowdrift near the cave entrance. He had his blasters ready and primed to shoot. He could see the thirteen hunters coming his way. He started running down the drift while shooting quickly. Seven of the hunters fell almost instantly to his blasts but the other six whipped out rifles and started returning fire.
Draco drew his kife with a flourish. The Mandalorian blade had been passed down through his family for generations and it was fulfilling its purpose once again as he deflected the blaster bolts away from himself. Claudio was a rogue Jedi and had trained Draco in the basics of Soresu for use with the blade. The deflected bolts killed a further three hunters and their comrades stopped firing. Draco thought they were scared but the shadow falling on the snow told him otherwise. He turned and saw his wife's Eddicus coming down. Cadia climbed out of the cockpit and ran over to him.
"Draco!" she cried as they embraced.
Draco was shocked.
"Cadia, what are you doing here?"
Cadia wiped a tear from her eye.
"Nathaniel forced me. He's a Sith. He used the Force to control me and..."
Draco's eyes burned with anger.
"I'll kill the cur."
Cadia shook her head and held up the blaster.
"Already taken care of."
Before Draco could reply there was the sound of firing blasters and he fell to the ground, dead. Cadia turned to see the three remaining hunters. Her eyes clouded over. She picked up her husband's blasters and knife. Using the knife, she slashed through the blasters and threw them at two of the hunters. The blasters exploded, killing them both. The last one turned to run but Cadia threw the hunting knife at him, the knife striking him in the back of the neck. She then fell to her knees at her husband's body.
"Why Draco? Why you? Why u-"
Cadia grimaced. Her water must have broken because she's just had a contraction. There was a footstep in the snow to her left. She turned and saw a large Wampa. The large creature came over to her. Cadia was afraid but he fears were dispelled when the Wampa put its arms around her. It was keeping her warm. As the contractions kept coming, Cadia lay back into the Wampa's arms.
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Back in Coruscant, Darth Grim rose slowly. He pulled his hood down and removed the helmet he'd been wearing. Two of the blaster bolts had failed to penetrate it but the third had blown a hole in the back of his head. He didn't care though, he had to leave. Pulling himself together, he hurried out of the apartment to his waiting Firespray and flew off the planet as quickly as possible.
High Mage Serratus
CHAPTER 4
Cadia held her baby son in her hands. He had a little cropping of strawbery blonde hair and red eyes. Dark red. Blood red. Nathaniel Tagge's demon spawn sat before her, contented in his ignorance. But Cadia could not forget so easily. She pulled out the blaster and aimed the barrel at the infant's head. The Wampa looked away. She knew that the child must be something dark if the woman was to kill her.
"It seems wrong to leave you nameless" said Cadia. "Hmmm...are you a Tagge? A Dooku? A Morrigan? Hmmm...a Dooku I think. Nathaniel Dooku. A fitting name for your headstone."
Cadia tried pulled the trigger. It wouldn't budge. The child was holding his hands up. Suddenly Cadia's wrist snapped and turned all the way around. The blaster was facing her. Nathaniel laughed. His mother fell to the ground, a hole blown in her head.
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Grim cursed. His ship had been hit while departing the planet's surface, someone had seen him fleeing. The ship had held since then but it was starting to show signs of breaking up. He checked the navigation for the nearest planet. Tatooine. He saw the planet and did a quick hyperspace jump to near the atmosphere before going in for a landing.
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Grim cursed again. The ship was going down. Goddamn Tuskens. He was going to die. If the crash didn't kill him he'd be very surprised.
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Grim cursed for the third time. He'd survived the crash but his legs were broken. And he was in the Krayt Graveyard of all places. There was a growl behind him. He turned. A canyon krayt was behind him. It had unusual black markings, stripes. Grim cursed. He drew his lightscythe and killed the krayt by stabbing it in the nose. He looked to his crashed craft. It would take much scrap metal to rebuild but if it would get him back to Kuat, it would be worth every credit and every hour of work.
High Mage Serratus
CHAPTER 5
Wamom picked up the manling. There was something waru about this one. But it was against her wiryda, her honour, to leave the child out. She also picked up the light-shooter and the cutter. Perhaps, she thought as she lumbered back to the cave, the manling would find use of them.
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Wamomeru twirled his cutter around. He and his other wamomi were out hunting to feed the wamplings. Wamomeru was easily the best of the wamomi, despite not being a wampa. Suddenly Wamomeru twirled around in a spinning arc with his cutter. A dead tauntaun, who had been trying to sneak past him, fell to the ground. The other wamomi ran over and cheered their approval.
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Wamomeru sat in the cave. He looked over his family, he was now the warpam, the leader. Wamom was off attending to the wamplings. Suddenly, Warmum, who had been outside watching for enemies, ran into the cave, shouting. Wamomeru grabbed his cutter and his light-shooter. Outside were a group of man. They had light-shooters too. Wamomeru raised his own light-shooter and shot one of them.
The others started shooting him. He used his cutter to knock away the light-shots, some of them hit two of the man. There was only three man left. They shot Wamomeru's light-shooter and it fell from his hand, brucked. Wamomeru threw the cutter at them but the man shot it out of the air. They started shooting the wampa. Wamomeru watched in horror as Warmum, Wamom, Waddle and Weralowa were killed.
Wrang flared within him. He raised his hand and suddenly the man's heads were sent flying into the snow. Wamomeru was speechless.
High Mage Serratus
CHAPTER 5.5
Glathn shot the fleeing Nautolan in the back of the head. Claudio Fisto had owed Borba the Hutt too many credits. And now Glathn had caught up with him. Glathn walked to the body and saw what valuables he could take that would be handy. A Mandalorian blade. It was a perfect match to his own.
"Very nice."
He sliced off the Nautolan's head-tresses and cauterised them with his blaster. They would fetch a price on the black market. He dragged the body into an alley and left a beacon for Borba. He preferred this method of payment. He left a beacon with the quarry and Borba left a beacon with the money or the next target. Him and his employer generally had little contact.
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Glathn sat on a blanket on the floor of the old warehouse. This was his base of operations, from here on Coruscant he had eeked out a living, ever since leaving Hoth. The Space Dragon was parked across the room, like an old friend. Nearby was his toolbox and his trophy rack, now housing one of Claudio Fisto's head-tresses.
There were a number of other items, a Rancor tooth, the first thing he had killed after leaving Hoth, a harpoon that Arboreus Gur had thrown at him, Glathn had taken his current name when the man asked who he was and the blaster rifle from the leader of the hunters who's death had prompted him to break into the Echo Base and take the Space Dragon. Glathn yawned. He needed sleep. He fell back on to his blanket to sleep.
High Mage Serratus
CHAPTER 6
Glathn parried the powerful blow on his Mandalorian blades. The old Jedi was putting up a good fight. Apparently he'd been the one who'd taken down Borba's previous six henchmen. As the Jedi was knocked back with the force of Glathn's block, Glathn charged and soon had the old man against a wall with the two blades right against his throat.
"Borba sends his regards."
The Jedi smiled. Glathn felt himself being thrown back into another wall. How had the old Jedi done that? Of course, the Force...but the smiling man wasn't the only Force-user. Glathn raised his hand and Force pushed the old man against the wall, restricting his movement. The Jedi simply smiled and Glathn's armed snapped around he Force pushed himself against a wall.
"Young mercenary, you are a fool to think you would best a Jedi in the use of the Force."
Glathn looked up.
"Teach me then. Take me as your apprentice and show me how to use the Force."
The old Jedi scratched his beard thoughtfully.
"Hmmm...perhaps. But you should know, we Jedi must not have any sentimental attachments. You are obviously very fond of those blades. If you are to be my apprentice, I want you to go and give the blades to Borba the Hutt."
Glathn looked at his blades. One had been with him since birth, it was like a brother, the other was like a long-lost brother to its brother blade.
"Oh brother..."
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Glathn threw the blade at Borba.
"Payment for the unfinished mission."
Before Borba could respond he walked out, the other blade concealed in his garment.
High Mage Serratus
CHAPTER 7
Glathn's lightsaber fell heavily against his former master's, but the old Nautolan was not going to be defeated by the young human so easily. He let his lightsaber slip, causing Glathn to bowl over sideways. Morghan raised his lightsaber and was about to strike his former apprentice when Glathn knocked the old man off his feet with his chainlink lightsaber. The young apprentice leapt to his feet and wrapped his master in the chain before suspending him from the
ceiling.
"Very good Glathn, now let me down."
But when Glathn turned to his former master his eyes burned strangely.
"Glathn? Let me down, this sparring match is over! Return to your Knight duties at once!"
Glathn shook his head.
"Do it Glathn."
Glathn pulled out his Mandalorian knife.
"Taitorous child! Traitorous Sith!"
Glathn snorted.
"The Jedi and Sith argue about good and evil. These things are matters of perspective. I am a being of power. I am not a hero or a villain. I am a dragon."
Glathn threw the knife at Morghan. It cleanly severed his head. Glathn let him down using the Force and unwrapped him. He took two E-11s from Morghan's body and then took a length of rope from his own pocket and suspended him once again. He held his lightsaber near the rope and it started smoking before going on fire. He turned and left the dojo.
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Glathn shot the two hangar guards in the head. He knocked the door off with the Force. Then he quickly slew all the guards and Jedi inside the hangar before starting up the Space Dragon and taking off.
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Glathn cursed. His ship had been hit while departing the planet's surface, someone had seen him fleeing. The ship had held since then but it was starting to show signs of breaking up. He checked the navigation for the nearest planet. Tatooine. He saw the planet and did a quick hyperspace jump to near the atmosphere before going in for a landing.
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Glathn cursed again. The ship was going down. Goddamn Tuskens. He was going to die. If the crash didn't kill him he'd be very surprised.
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Glathn stood up from the wreckage. He'd survived the crash relatively unscathed. He looked around. Krayt skeletons littered the sands. He knew where he was, having spent quite some time here, developing his Gor Dan. He was in the Krayt Graveyard. He looked to his crashed craft. It would take much scrap metal to rebuild but if it would get him off this wasteland, it would be worth every credit and every hour of work.
High Mage Serratus
CHAPTER 8
Glathn and the Tusken sat down together. They were wordless. Glathn only knew basic Tusken and words were not necessary. Glathn put a few krayt dragon pearls on the table. The Tusken took them. He motioned for Glathn to leave. Glathn left the tent and collected the scrap metal outside before lumbering off to his home, the Krayt Graveyard in his thick Tusken clothing.
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Glathn hammered the wishbone nail into the metal plate with his stone hammer. So mundane and primitive, but the repairs on the Space Dragon were necessary to escape Tatooine. He took a step back before picking up the huge krayt rib-bone and attaching it to the hull with some cement Glathn had mixed from krayt blood, sand and desert leaves. It was a thick, pungent paste but it would last him the trip.
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Glathn collected his meager belongings, his lightsaber, his Mandalorian knife and his other possessions. Suddenly a krayt dragon rose from the depths of the Graveyard and attacked. Glathn was not surprised, live dragons often roamed the sands. He armed himself quickly with his knife and charged the dragon. He dodged a swipe with a claw and drove his knife up the krayt dragon's nose, killing it almost instantly. However the beasts tail twitched and knocked the knife out of Glathn's far into the dunes. Glathn was about to go get the knife when he heard the rumble behind him. A Great Sandstorm was on its way, he could see it. He swallowed before running to his stuff and hopping into the Space Dragon. He quickly took off to avoid the Sandstorm, leaving the knife behind.
High Mage Serratus
CHAPTER 9
Glathn closed his eyes for a second. He was in the deep expanse of space, where he could think. What was his path? Trusted as a hunter, feared as a mercenary, respected as a Jedi and tolerated as a scavenger. He was a murderer, a saviour, a leader, a follower. He was a thief and an enforcer.
"Do as I guided."
Glathn breathed heavily. It was the Dragon.
"Do as I guided."
Glathn nodded. He kicked the Space Dragon into gear and set a course for Kuat.
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Glathn approached the planet. The centerpiece of the Sith Empire. The very Sith whom he had sworn to fight. But he knew his path now. He was tainted with the light side. He was ready to join the dark. With a sense of great purpose, he touched down on the planet. He climbed from the cockpit. He was home at last. He laughed. The dark had a shiny new gem. And he promised himself that he could be the jewel in the sceptre that would smite the Jedi with the sheer power and fury of the Dark Side. He laughed. He was going to be the bane of the light and he would do it in style. He would turn the weapons of his foes against them and destroy any who opposed him.
