Gods of the Brotherhood
The tiny Aleena stared far out into the bay, setting his gaze on the rock on the horizon. He sighed for a moment before turning his gaze to the tall human next to him, a legendary soldier who had served him well for thirty years.
“Linus, in all these years, as a mercenary, I have strived for power. I have killed countless in pursuit of my dream to stare down at the tall ones who called me ‘The Puntable.’ When I killed Pravus... I always imagined the moment would be a glorious one, the crowning achievement of my life. And for a moment, it was. It was thrilling to see the stubbornness in his eyes fade as he left this world for the next. And then I felt sad.
Pravus was the last one who understood true power. I have been alone since I killed all of my equals. I feel dead on the inside, such as a hunter who has come back from his final hunt, knowing that his purpose in life has ended.”
Pollus took a second, thought for a moment before continuing, “On Aliso so many years ago, I awoke to a new world in a stasis pod. The galaxy was chaotic, a far cry from the organized upheaval I escaped on Coruscant with my brother Castor. It was fun, it was exciting to prove our mettle and worth to the Dread Lord. It was even more thrilling to kill her, thrusting her emerald dagger deep between her shoulder blades, ending the fearsome Demon of Florrum. She was right to distrust mercenaries with borderline paranoia.
I need... no, I crave the hunt. Living out the rest of my days, nothing left to conquer, I simply cannot live that life. All of this is yours Linus. You earned it, fighting at my side through thick and thin, through some of the darkest days of my rise when all seemed lost. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Pollus started walking back to the mountainous fortress that served as the center of his empire with his paladin
“Linus, I need you to do me a favor. In the docking bay, there is an old and battered YT-2400. I need you to rebuild it and equip it with three stasis pods. I’ll be back with the rest of the equipment I need in a week.
The soldier nodded, “Yes milord. It will be done right away. If I may, what are you planning?”
Pollus looked up and responded, “Linus, when I escaped Coruscant 80 years ago, I had no idea of Aliso. I rigged the old junker to set course for a distant system and installed clone war era pods to cut down on the strain of life support on the old bird. It had the slowest hyperspace drive in the entire sector, but it was our ticket out of the clones’ betrayal.
Fate guided me here. Fate protected my brother and I through so many battles. The amount of men that have died in front of me, the thoughts that I was two steps from death, fate kept me safe through my journey. Fate will guide me through my next voyage and condemn those who fail to submit to my will. I crave the hunt Linus.”