History Fanfic / PathOfRuin

** [[spoiler: However, Korriban is still a living world. Even nearly three thousand years after the Hundred Year Darkness, Corbos remains dead. No plant life grows on its surface and all wildlife has been devoured or killed by alchemical monstrosities. Large portions of the planet are rendered utterly uninhabitable due to horrendously powerful storms that ravage the world for long periods of time. Surviving Leviathans and other Sithspawn creatures left over from the war hibernate beneath the surface, waiting for unwary visitors to land to devour them.]]

** Beast Control lets him force animals to follow his commands. On Korriban, almost every animal would be an apex predator on any other planet. [[spoiler: This power lets him counter Castor's zombie horde by enthralling a colony of K'lor'slugs to fight them.]]

* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: When not studying Sith Alchemy or Magic, Aldrex spent time accruing proficiency in several more utilitarian powers, such as Beast Control and Force Sight. Both have proven to be instrumental on several occasions.

* DeathWorld: Surprisingly, not Korriban but Corbos. Anything that arrives there either leaves as soon as possible, or dies.

* AchievementsInIgnorance: Aldrex accidentally created an actual Sith sword without realizing it.

* {{Cthulhumanoid}}: Garsh is a Quarren, a species that bears a physical resemblance to Mindflayers.

* PragmaticVillainy: Aldrex prefers pragmatism over unnecessary cruelty.

* CombatPragmatist: Instead of relying solely on his sword and the Force, he uses blasters and grenades when applicable. He also assembles and augments a suit of armor to protect himself. If it helps him survive, he will use any tactic he can think of, no matter how dirty.

* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler: Darth Scriver, his two apprentices Tyrene and Ortan, and Aldrex face off against the Force ghost of Hakagram Graush. It goes poorly for them.]]

** [[spoiler: Tyrene, the Sith apprentice that Aldrex meets during the Rite of Blood and Bone, is another example.]]

* RefugeInAudacity: Aldrex relies on the absurdity of a student killing a full blown Sith Lord to keep suspicion off on himself.

!''Path of Ruin'' features the following Tropes:

* VillainRespect: Aldrex gets Darth Thanaton's respect for [[spoiler:getting away with killing Lord Renning]].

* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: During his three day solitary confinement in Chapter 41, Aldrex experiences a conversation with Marka Ragnos and a subsequent assassination attempt by a dark figure. After waking up, he wonders exactly how much actually happened and how much was simply a hallucination brought about by three days of sleep deprivation.]]

** [[spoiler: As a Sith Warrior, Tyrene is another example, focusing almost entirely on her martial skills. While it does result in her being a little BookDumb, it means she's much better at reacting to danger than Aldrex is.]]

* {{Determinator}}: Sgt. Cormun. He saw his entire squad killed by looters and k'lor'slugs in the Tomb of Ajunta Pall, endured several days of torture and sleep deprivation, had his legs chewed off by k'lor'slugs, and survived exsanquination long enough to warn Aldrex and Gaarurra of the Tomb's dangers before finally passing out. He has continued to serve as an active duty soldier once he was given a new pair of cybernetic legs [[spoiler:and got promoted to Captain at Lord Spindrall's recommendation.]]

* FallenHero: [[spoiler: Olia used to be a Jedi, fighting for the Republic in the war and helping refugees alongside her Master. However, the combination of her Master's death and the reveal of what he really did for the Jedi Order caused her to view the entire order as hypocrites. In emotional turmoil, she fled and buried herself on Nar Shaddaa, where she embraced the darker side of herself that she had been fighting against for years. Thanks to the Sack of Coruscant, she managed to avoid any potential pursuers. Mere months later, she was found by the Sith and brought to the Korriban Academy.]]

* GadgeteerGenius: [[spoiler: Qiv. His instinctive skill with Mechu Deru combined with his experience as a mechanic allows him to construct functional combat droids from scrap metal and spare parts.]]

* TheSpook: [[spoiler: The scarred Sith has appeared several times, interfering with Aldrex's training before wiping his memory of each encounter.]]

* ActionGirl: Any of the female Sith acolytes.
** [[spoiler: Tyrene, the Sith apprentice that Aldrex meets during the Rite of Blood and Bone, is another example.]]

* PerceptionFilter: Alrex's version of Force Stealth, inspired by Kreia. Using a variant of the Jedi Mind Trick, he convinces people to overlook his presence or to not consider him significant.

* Mindrape: [[spoiler: After nearly nine months, Aldrex has noticed the presence of a strange scar-covered Sith Lord, though he has had his memory wiped each time. Whether it is to serve a specific purpose or simply to amuse the Sith is unknown.]]

* {{Technopath}}: [[spoiler:Qiv's main talent. He uses this ability to subvert a protocol droid into attempting an assassination against Aldrex.]]

* ArmorIsUseless: Averted HARD. Aldrex maintains and improves on the armor he has managed to scrape together, augmenting it with Sith Alchemy and Sith Magic. So far, it's managed to tank lightsaber strikes with nothing more than some mild discomfort.
--> Thankfully, Star Wars armor actually works when used against things it was designed to defend against.

* BadBoss: Not exactly uncommon for the Sith. [[spoiler: Lord Renning in particular had a penchant for executing his own men for harming his precious specimen. It's why his soldiers were so eager to help Aldrex assassinate Renning.]]

* AffablyEvil: While his internal narration often contains a great deal of DeadpanSnark about some of the more stupid actions of the Sith around him, Aldrex typically remains unfailingly polite in conversation. In his words, it's mostly from pragmatism.
*** "Being rude has too many downsides. I usually make it a point to be polite whenever possible. It costs me nothing and can gain me everything.”

** "Thankfully, Star Wars armor actually works when used against things it was designed to defend against." -Aldrex

* {{Beastmaster}}: Aldrex makes extensive use of Beast Control, often using it to force local wildlife to act as a distraction. [[spoiler: During his battle with Castor, he used it to drive a k'lor'slug nest into attacking the sorcerer's undead horde.]]

* BenevolentBoss: While not actually their boss, Aldrex is looked on favorably by members of the local troopers for actually giving a damn about their existence and helping out. This results in the former getting to call in favors with the latter occasionally, [[spoiler: one of which is smuggling Qiv offworld in a supply shipment.]]

* {{Determinator}}: Sgt. Cormun. He saw his entire squad killed by looters and k'lor'slugs in the Tomb of Ajunta Pall, endured several days of torture and sleep deprivation, had his legs chewed off by k'lor'slugs, and survived exsanquination long enough to warn Aldrex and Gaarurra of the Tomb's dangers before finally passing out. He has continued to serve as an active duty soldier once he was given a new pair of cyberlegs [[spoiler: and got promoted to Captain at Lord Spindrall's recommendation.]]

** [[spoiler: Castor Vol was one.]]

* FeelNoPain: One of the utility powers that Aldrex has developed is [[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Crucitorn/ Crucitorn]], otherwise known as the ability to dull crippling pain in oneself. [[spoiler: He used it in place of anesthetic during the operation to install his cybernetics.]]

* MetaphoricallyTrue: Aldrex never outright lies, preferring to make use of ExactWords and truths from a certain point of view. [[spoiler: It's what lets him go free after murdering Lord Renning.]]

* AffablyEvil: While his internal narration often contains a great deal of DeadpanSnark about some of the more stupid actions of the Sith around him, Aldrex typically remains unfailingly polite in conversation. As seen during his conversation with Tyrene, however, this can slip occasionally when he's exhausted.