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Bane collapsed into his bed, his belly full to bursting. He’d gorged himself in the kitchen, tearing into the food with the manners of a Gamorrean soldier at the barracks trough. He’d stuffed himself with everything in sight until his ravenous hunger was sated. It was only then that he remembered he hadn’t actually slept in nearly two weeks.

Hunger had given way to exhaustion, and he’d wandered from the kitchen to his room in a daze. Within seconds he had dropped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

He woke several hours later to a knocking at his door. Still groggy, he forced himself to his feet, lit a glow rod, and opened the door.

Qordis was standing in the hall. He barged in without waiting for an invitation, closing the door behind him. Bane was too busy trying to shake off the last vestiges of sleep to protest.

“Welcome back, Bane,” the Master said. “I trust your journey was … educational.”

Puzzled at Qordis’s cordial tone, Bane only nodded.

“I hope you understand now why I let you go,” Qordis said.

Because you were too much of a coward to try and stop me, Bane thought, but didn’t say anything aloud.

“This was the final phase of your training,” the Master continued. “You had to understand why we have abandoned the old ways. This is a new age, and you could understand that only once you recognized the old age was truly gone.”

Bane maintained his stoic silence, not agreeing with Qordis but unwilling to argue the point.

“Now that you have learned your final lesson, the Academy has nothing left to teach you.” On that point, at least, they were in complete agreement. “You are no longer an apprentice, Bane. You are now fit to join the ranks of the Masters. You are now a Dark Lord of the Sith.”

He paused, as if expecting some kind of reaction. Bane stood still as the stone statues he’d seen guarding the tombs of the ancient Sith in some of the older crypts.

Qordis cleared his throat, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “I know Lord Kas’im has already given you a lightsaber. I, too, have a gift for you.” He held out his hand, a lightsaber crystal in his palm.

When Bane hesitated, Qordis spoke again. “Take it, Lord Bane.” He put a special emphasis on the new title. It sounded sour in Bane’s ears: an empty honor bestowed by a fool who believed himself a Master. But he said nothing as the other continued speaking.

“This synthetic crystal is stronger than the one powering your lightsaber now,” Qordis assured him. “And it is much, much stronger than the natural crystals the Jedi use in their own weapons.”

Moving slowly, Bane reached out and took it in his hand. It was cold to the touch at first, but as he gripped it the six-sided stone quickly grew warm.

“The timing of your return from the wastes couldn’t have been better,” Qordis continued. “We are making preparations to leave Korriban. Lord Kaan has need of us on Ruusan. All the Sith must be united in the Brotherhood of Darkness if we are to defeat the Jedi.”

“The Brotherhood will fail,” Bane stated, boldy declaring what he knew to be true only because he knew the other wouldn’t believe. “Kaan does not understand the dark side. He is leading you down the path of ruin.”

Qordis drew in a sharp breath, then spat it out in an angry hiss. “Some might consider that talk to be treason, Lord Bane. You would do well to keep such ideas to yourself in the future.” He wheeled away and strode angrily to the door, wrenching it open. His reaction was exactly as Bane had expected.

The tall Master spun back to face Bane one more time. “You may be a Dark Lord now, Bane. But there is still much about the dark side you do not understand. Join the Brotherhood and we can teach you what we know. Reject us, and you will never find what you seek.”

The Master stalked out; Bane watched silently as the door swung shut behind him. Qordis was wrong about the Brotherhood, but he was right about one thing: there was still much about the dark side Bane needed to understand.

And there was only one place in the galaxy he could go to learn it.

20

Bane crawled back into