Pulley-operated, mechanical-lifts descend into the earth below the Arena. The Abandoned Mines pre-date the Galactic Empire by thousands of years. Once used as mining routes, the long forgotten network of interconnecting tunnels has held stalwart against the sands of time. After exiting, the lift begins its retreat back to the surface. Sporadic crystals protrude from the walls to quietly radiate ochre light like naturally-forming torches. The small alcove gives birth to a maze of wide tunnels supported by old, steadfast wooden beams.The tunnels spider and split off into various directions, some leading to dead ends while others ultimately lead back to the central Mining Shaft.

The central Mining Shaft is square pit that descends into a deep pit that radiates a luminescent, cerulean glow from the horde of crystalized shards still growing below. The air hangs with a cool, windless chill. Stone stalactites hang ominously overhead, flanked by jagged jutters of rock and sediment that line the ascending walls.

To reach the surface, blocks of stone wide enough for two humans to stand side by side on, shift back and forth in a combination of a lateral and ascending patterns. Each cubic platform is controlled by a mechanical pulley and each cubic platform will eventually pass close enough to step over to another. The spacing and timing is not attuned to any formal pattern, giving equal balance to both Force users and Mundanes. Whatever your talents, the shifting cubes are the only way to ascend back to the Arena.

Holocam Drones flit about the caverns, recording a live video feed that is transmitted back up towards the surface and projected over two large holodisplays for the crowd to observe. Progress will be watched as members are tried and tested.

The Grand Master’s only concern is the resourcefulness and resilience of his members. Reaching the surface will be no easy task, and doing so will be the only way for fighters to move forward in the Tournament.

A low, droning-noise filled the dark, cavernous shaft. A simple mechanical lift made the noise for a captive audience of two, who stood atop the lifts platform and waiting for it to finish its descent. There had been noise and sunlight not long ago, but the roar of the crowd had slowly faded away along with the light. A sickly yellow glow was slowly illuminating the area, allowing the two beings to look at their surroundings.

Halcyon Rokir Taldrya, a Dark Prophet of the Brotherhood, glanced to his left without moving his head. Scion Tarantae stood facing forward, standing in what some in the military would call parade-rest. His hands were clasped behind his back and feet shoulder-width apart, but his torso stood tall and proud. He was younger than Halcyon, but no one would have considered him a young man. It was his choice of clothing that caught Halcyon’s eye, as the jacket he wore had the patch of a fighter Wing that he recognized.

“I’ve always been partial to Wing Four myself,” Halcyon said without preamble, looking straight ahead once more, but with a small smile creasing his lips. Scion wore the patch of Wing VI, which had been stationed aboard a massive vessel named the Sovereign. Halcyon had also served aboard the vessel and had one commanded the aforementioned Wing IV.

Scion turned his head to look at the other man, “Figures you’d be from that hellhole.” Halcyon grunted in reply, almost laughing in remembrance of his younger days and the rivalry between starfighter Wings and Squadrons. Both men were enemies this day, yet each had been connected to a legacy long forgotten by many.

As the lift reached the bottom of the shaft Halcyon noticed Scion glancing at the blaster that was holstered at his side. Halcyon had also brought his other two lightsaber, but it was the blaster that interested the Quaestor from Tarentum, who had with him only two matching lightsaber hilts. Scion’s eyes looked aways as they both stepped out of the lift, into the small alcove of the underground mine. The lift groaned and shook itself as it began to rise back up the small shaft, leaving the two combatants to find other means out of the mines. They could see numerous tunnels surrounding them. Their initial briefing had mentioned the only way out of the mines were to find the main shaft through these tunnels and make their way up the various moving platforms.

Before either of them could set themselves up for their match they heard the words of the Grand Master ringing in their heads and echoing off the shaft walls, “Begin.” Scion wasted no time at all. The match was won by the person who escaped the mines first, and he was not going to try and stand toe-to-toe with an Elder of the Brotherhood. With a sweeping gesture of both his arms he kicked up all of the loose dirt and debris on the mine floor and sent it directly at the green-haired man across from him.

Halcyon threw up his hands to shield his face, cursing at the distraction. With a slight wave of his own arm he managed to clear the air for the most part, but his opponent was gone, fleeing down one of the tunnels. Halcyon quickly located Tarantae through the Force, sensing him further down the tunnels than a regular human could ever have reached in the time frame. Halcyon took in a deep breath himself, letting the Force fill him before he pushed it all into his limbs and launched himself after his prey.

Scion had a clear lead, and there was little Halcyon could do to overtake him. However he easily followed the other man’s path in the almost pitch darkness of the tunnel. Spreading his own awareness out he could sense that Scion had managed to stumble upon a tunnel that would eventually lead to the main shaft, so he had no choice but to keep going. Without forewarning he felt his awareness falter, the world around him being brought back into focus as the Force seemed to slowly slip through his fingers. He stopped abruptly, focusing once more internally and could feel an outside pressure trying to keep his powers contained.

Halcyon began moving again, knowing in the generally where he should be going, but without proper aid it was hard to pierce the darkness that surrounded him. Debating on whether to use one of his lightsabers as a source of light, Halcyon felt the hairs on his neck begin to stand on-end. The cues were weak, but his body moved with instinct honed through countless battles and dropped to the ground moments before a sudden blaze of blood-red lit up the tunnel and swiped at the space his neck once occupied.

Halycon felt his powers return in full at the same moment, bounding back up to his feet with his own lightsaber hilt already in hand. Scion closed the distance in the blink of an eye, using his compact, yet dense structure, to barrel into Taldrya. Halcyon felt the wind get knocked out of him as he hit the ground hard. Scion scrambled back to his feet with the same speed and bolted back down the tunnel, but not before a gesture from his hand tore the bryar pistol from Halcyon’s side and took possession of it.

Halcyon forced air into his lungs and willed his body to chase after the other man. Sirens of warning echoed within Halcyon’s mind as bolts of green energy sizzled down the tunnel. He easily batted them away with his own emerald blade, but his teeth ground together to see his own blaster used against him.

Within moment he came out into a large space, bathed in cerulean light. It was the main shaft of the mines, with a number of platforms working above his head. Scion was already moving towards one that had come near him, his lightsaber holstered, but the bryar pistol still in his hand. Taking a few more shots at Halcyon, Scion leapt towards the descending block of stone. With a growl Halcyon unleashed an invisible force of energy at Scion, the impact sending him off target and slamming back down onto the ground. Trying to catch his breath Scion could see a blur of green streaking towards him.

Rolling onto his front, Scion took aim with Halcyon’s pistol and let it charge for a moment. As the emerald blur closed in, he fired. Halcyon was pushing himself as fast as he could go, and launched himself up in the air to avoid the highly charged blast of energy. Sensing his opportunity, Scion sprang to his feet and took off running.

Halcyon came to rest on the nearby platform. From his momentary vantage point he could see Scion disappearing down a passage at full speed. Almost too fast for the holocam drones to follow, he reversed direction and sped after the Tarentae like a jade bullet from a slugthrower. A doubt entered his mind at the last second: a warning from the Force. As he slid to a halt just before the passage entrance, he unleashed a blast of telekinetic force down the tunnel. He could sense it impact against Scion’s Force barrier and shatter it.

Just at that moment a blaze of bright green filled Halcyon’s vision as Scion leapt at him, firing the bryar pistol as he came. A storm of emerald lightning filled the enclosed space, emanating from Halcyon’s fingertips and engulfing Scion in Force-fueled electricity. His attack was stopped almost as soon as it began, his muscles spasming involuntarily and spilling him out into the dust at the Elder’s feet.

Halcyon had been doing this long enough to know better than to gloat. Thumbing the activation switch on his emerald lightsaber, he swung it downward in a simple yet effective arc at Scion’s neck. It was a practiced killing blow, as routine as buttoning a jacket. It wouldn’t win him fans on the holovids, but it would ensure that he could make his way up the main mine shaft alone and without distraction. Instead, it was rebuked by an intense crackle and a flash of crimson. The Elder had to jump to avoid the swing of Scion’s weapon parallel to the floor where his shins had been a moment before.

Scion kicked his feet up as Halcyon came down, sending the Elder sprawling on top of him. The two men scrambled in the dirt for a few moments, the art of fighting reduced to clawing and grabbing at Force-enhanced, superhuman speeds. Halcyon’s reflexes won out after a few seconds, sending Scion’s red blade skimming down the corridor and pinning the man to the ground by his throat.

Terrible images began coursing unbidden through Halcyon’s mind. Keirdagh Taldrya stood above him, scowling. Justicar Jac Cotelin was reading off a long list of criminal charges. Halcyon knew he had additional evidence, but the Justicar refused to acknowledge it. His rank and position were being stripped from him. Grand Master Pravus was preparing the ceremony to sever his connection to the Force. It was just like the TIE Corps, so many years ago. He was being ejected from the Brotherhood. Exiled from his brothers and sisters in Taldryan. Despair knotted up the pit of his stomach as everything he valued in the world was being torn away from him. His years of hard work and training suddenly rendered meaningless, all due to a legal technicality. Just like the Emperor’s Hammer. Everything went dark.

When Halcyon awoke, Scion was standing over him with both lightsabers bared, about to deliver the killing blow. His head smarted from where Scion must have hit him. His connection to the Force seemed like a trickle compared to its usual raging torrent. A swift, hard kick between the legs sent Scion reeling and gave Halcyon a moment to clear his head. He was on his feet in a second, reaching a hand out to summon one of Scion’s red blades from across the corridor and pulling his obsidian hilt from its holster on the small of his back.

Scion’s vision went white hot with the pain from Halcyon’s kick. It was all he could do to keep his feet. He retched, nearly throwing up as his entire abdomen twisted in spiny knots. He was only dimly aware of the white and red whirlwind coming toward him. Halcyon telekinetically wrenched a rock about the size of his head from the ceiling, slamming it into his chest and knocking him to the floor. Through sheer will alone he kept his arms and legs moving, scrambling toward the passage entrance as fast as he could manage.

Halcyon lunged at the prostrate Battlelord, but just in time Scion was on his feet and running. He bolted around the corner and leaped up to a tunnel opening about fifteen feet above the ground, grabbing the ledge with both hands and pulling himself up just as Halcyon’s blades became visible. He did not stop to take stock of his situation. Running purely on adrenaline and fear for his life, Scion just took off running down the corridor as fast as his legs would take him.

After a few minutes he was deep enough into the living rock that it the blue light from the main tunnel was no longer illuminating it at all. He was running based on his feelings alone, turning corners and dodging hazards in pure darkness. When he finally dared to slow down, he groped around for his weapons and found none of them. A spark of panic flashed through his mind as he realized he was completely on his own: no lightsabers, and somehow he had even lost Halcyon’s bryar pistol. To make matters worse, it seemed he had reached a dead end.

Exhaustion began to set in. He really wanted to sit down to rest, but he knew that meant certain death. Halcyon wouldn’t be far behind him. Scion pulled his flask from his jacket pocket and took a long sip, letting the warmth radiate through his chest while he caught his breath and worked out a plan.

Halcyon watched Scion flee down one of the tunnels. Anger still roiled inside him, but it was slowly subsiding as he took stock of the situation, rather than reacting on instinct. He noticed that he still held an unfamiliar hilt in his hand. With a passing thought he sent Force-fueled electricity running through the device, shorting it out, before he discarded it on the ground. He saw his own emerald hilt some way away, and with outstretched hand recalled it back and placed it back in its holster, while putting his obsidian hilt behind his back.

He sensed the Battlelord stopping his run through the tunnel. Halcyon allowed his eyes to close for a handful of seconds, truly reaching out to map the surroundings and found that his opponent had come to what appeared to be a dead-end. Opening his eyes back up he made his way into the tunnel with long strides, moving at a deliberate pace towards the trapped man. Fortune was with him as he saw his bryar pistol discarded on the ground. Without breaking side he took hold of the blaster with invisible hands and placed it back in its holster as well.

He felt Scion’s agitation as he closed in on his position, but Halcyon stopped well before he could reach the other man. While a part of him wanted revenge for the mind-games that were played on him, Halcyon also knew that it would be a waste of his time and energy to duel Tarantae. He needed only to keep him trapped long enough to climb his way up the mine shaft. Allowing his eyes to close once more, Halcyon raised both of his hands up. The Force ran through his body, up his arms and out his fingertips, snaking itself through the nearly invisible cracks of the tunnel. With concentrated effort and grated teeth Halcyon pulled his arms down. There was a great cracking sound as a portion of the tunnel suddenly gave way and crashed down onto the floor. Halcyon waved the dust away, and although light was limited he could see the tunnel in front of him had been closed. With his opponent trapped on the other side he turned around and made his way back to the main mine shaft and plan his escape out.

<<--o-->>

Scion felt the Prophet getting closer. He tried to mentally prepare himself for what would come, knowing it may be his last stand without any other means of escape. Putting away his liquid courage he balled his fists and infused himself with the Force, waiting to unleash it in a desperate attempt to catch the Elder off guard. Wondering what was taking him so long, Scion never saw the sudden tunnel collapse coming. He was thrown onto his back, as darkness engulfed his world.

For a moment he thought he had lost consciousness, or gone blind, as there was not a single source of light, before noticing a couple of small red dots buzzing around. Two of the holocam drones that had been following the battle had become trapped with him when the tunnel collapsed.

“At least I’ll have someone to talk to,” Scion growled to himself as he slowly rose to his feet. He had only the Force for sight, but even then there was nothing to see. His skin however found something. He could feel the smallest of drafts running over the exposed part of his hand. With careful gestures he tried to follow the source of the draft, coming up against one of the tunnel walls. His fingers slowly went over the surface of the wall, feeling for the source of the draft and noticing a small hole within the wall. There was not enough light on the other side for illumination, but there was clearly an opening with fresher air than he currently had.

Scion gritted his teeth as he tried to telekinetically find a way to open the hole larger, but either he didn’t have the strength, or just could not find the right way to grip the stone as Halcyon had when he closed the tunnel. He lashed out in frustration, grabbing hold of the buzzing drones and tossing them at the tunnel wall. The two devices exploded from the impact, their tiny power cells nearly blinding Scion as they erupted. Cursing even more as he tried to blink away the pain in his eyes, he noticed that the draft had actually grown a little larger.

The explosion, although small, had managed to enlarge the hole by a small margin, but more importantly had weakened the area. Scion dove into the Force, grabbing hold of the larger hole with both his physical and intangible fingers, pulling back on the stone with all he had. He could feel every muscle in his body begin to tear, stars begin to appear at the corner of his eyes as his body threatened to shut down from exertion. With a primal scream the hole burst open as Scion went reeling back from the sudden momentum shift, crumpling against the far wall and slumping to the ground.

<<--o-->>

Halcyon’s head was on a swivel as he constantly looked for another platform he could use to move up the shaft. He had already bounded across 4 other stone platforms, but still had a way to go to finally reach the top. The erratic path of the platforms kept him constantly looking for other opportunities. His focus was total on the task at hand, each move meticulously planned.

It was that concentration that caused him to overlook a dirt-covered man come limping out of one of the tunnels. One of the man’s legs seemed to be dragging behind him, but he seemed unaware of his injury as he moved towards the platforms. In his hand was a lightsaber hilt, found during his travel back to the main shaft.

Halcyon, looking up and watching a descending platform with great concentration suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Turning in place he finally saw the other man, Scion, standing at the bottom of the shaft. Halcyon noticed his outstretched hand first, realization coming to him an instant before a lightsaber hilt blazed to light, the ruby blade spinning erratically as it cut through one of the ropes holding his platform up and moving onto to cut a number of other platform ropes before shutting down.

Rokir slid off the platform as one side dropped out from under him. He reached out to a nearby platform, reeling it in with the Force enough to reach out with his hands, but he wasn’t able to get a grip and bounced off the edge, pin-wheeling further down. He saw a piece of rope at the corner of his eye, instinctively reaching out and grabbing hold with all of strength. His momentum carried him down the length of the rope, his mouth working in a soundless scream as the rope burned through his hand before depositing him atop another platform.

Fighting the pain, Halcyon could hear the sound of someone else bounding up the platforms, getting ever closer to where he now lay prone.

Halcyon turned his palm upright and waited. He watched as the rope burns began to close up and fade away, but that was not his main purpose. A tight coil of energy began to form just above his hand as he concentrated. He listened carefully for the sound of Scion approaching, waiting for the last possible moment; the platform lurched as the man’s weight descended on it. Just at that moment Halcyon turned his palm and slammed it down as hard as he could.

A powerful shockwave erupted from the Taldrya’s hand. Scion was ejected from the platform and out into mid air. What Halcyon hadn’t anticipated was that the ropes supporting the platform were all severed, and the platform itself shattered under the pressure. The two men fell the several stories to the ground, followed by a shower of splintered wood and jagged metal fragments. Both men were slow to move after the impact: exhaustion from the constant running and use of the Force was catching up with both of them now. It had come down to a battle of pure will.

Halcyon was the first to pull himself onto his feet. His muscles ached and it was only his lifetime of training that kept his mind focused on the fight. He allowed himself a glance over at the Tarenti Battlelord who was sprawled out around 40 meters away from him. Scion still clutched his red lightsaber in his fist, even though his head was bleeding heavily into the dirt and his leg seemed to be twisted at an unnatural angle.

“You dead yet?”

Scion’s voice was gravel pouring into a durasteel canister. He didn’t even lift his head to ask the question. There was no emotion or intonation, and Halcyon decided he could only take it purely at face value. Scion didn’t seem the kind of man to quip or mock.

“No,” replied Halcyon, trying his best to sound unfazed. “Are you?”

The question hung in the air for a moment. Halcyon ventured a few slow steps forward before Scion lifted his head off the ground to look at him. His entire body was covered in dark, wet dirt from the mine with a lighter coating of the dried out dirt at the bottom of the arena. His face was black and red with both dried and fresh blood. One of his eyes didn’t seem to want to open. Yet, he pushed himself upright and looked at Halcyon with a critical, studying stare. The Taldrya could almost hear the old soldier’s mind running through checklists of possible vulnerabilities and checking them off one by one.

“Too bad,” said Scion, spitting a gob of blood into the dirt. “Really thought I had you on that last one.”

The old man dragged himself to his feet, clearly putting almost all his weight on his right leg. Very slowly and deliberately he turned his weapon over in his hands, blowing dirt out of the crevices as Halcyon approached. When he was within a few steps, the crimson blade burst to life. Halcyon’s emerald blade rose to meet it, and the hum was all either man could hear.

Halcyon attacked first, probing for weakness and pushing his own aches and pains out of his mind. He probed carefully at first, launching a series of slow but strong swipes at Scion’s head and legs. Each swing was met with a simple block; there was no grace, flair or extraneous movement. He hesitated slightly, baiting Scion to attack the opening he left, but his opponent did not take the chance.

Faster now, Halcyon pressed forward with a barrage of strong overhand attacks designed to push his opponent backward into retreat. Each was met with a block, but instead of giving up ground Scion shuffled around to the side, trying to force Halcyon to rotate with him. Instead, Halcyon moved sideways in the same direction, still attacking mostly the head and shoulders and trying to get Scion to put weight on his injured leg. After a string of forceful attacks Scion had to back up and shifted his stance slightly, leaving his bad leg angled out toward his opponent.

Halcyon seized on the opportunity, slicing hard and fast at the leg. Scion made no attempt to block it, instead launching his own slice at Halcyon’s unprotected neck and using the rotation of the swing to pull his leg back. It was a desperate ploy, and a rather obvious one. Even as Halcyon unleashed a blast of telekinetic force into Scion’s chest to keep from having his head separated from his shoulders, he now knew for sure that he had the upper hand in a straight duel.

Scion reeled unsteadily, still trying to avoid putting weight on his left leg just as he tried to avoid getting knocked back to the ground. He reached out with the Force and picked up as big a cloud of debris as he could manage: dirt, splintered wood, rope, and chunks of durasteel all lurched at Halcyon from all around him. The Elder had to swat a large board out of the air with his lightsaber to avoid it hitting him, and he had to raise his arm to cover his eyes from the dust and other small debris. As he did so, a prickle went up the back of his neck and he crouched instinctively.

The Tarentae had been milking his injured leg to make it appear worse than it was. In truth it did hurt a lot and Scion suspected that it may actually be fractured, but he was running on adrenaline, battle trained emotion and the very real fear of imminent death. He summoned up the last dregs of strength and speed that he could find and rushed the crouching Halcyon. He hoped the Elder would underestimate him this time: just one good strike in the right spot could end this right now. He raised his lightsaber for the killing thrust.

It was as if a green fluid flowed around Scion’s body in slow motion. Halcyon propelled himself forward but stayed low, letting the lightsaber thrust pass harmlessly above his head. He utilized Scion’s overextended center of gravity to lift both of his legs in the air with his shoulder and propel the old soldier into an out-of-control forward flip, by simply adding more force to the Tarentae’s already considerable momentum. Scion avoided landing directly on his head by sticking his arms out, but Halcyon did not pause long enough to enjoy the satisfying crunch of his wrists shattering. The Taldrya reversed direction and was on top of Scion with his emerald blade buried in his chest before his opponent could even process what happened.

The two men stared at each other for several moments, as still as statues, before Scion finally stopped breathing. Halcyon set the dead man down and placed his lightsaber in its holster. He heaved a great sigh of relief before finally staring up at the moving platforms above him. All the easily reachable ones had been destroyed, so actually getting out of the pit was going to prove challenging. Acutely aware of the swarm of holocam drones watching him, Halcyon walked over to the wall and began to climb.