Matriarch of the Nightsisters

[Sleven]

As night crept over the planet Dathomir and the temperate air dropped to a subtle chill, one could see traces of the fabled Witches moving about the shadows of the forests and swamps. On this night, an eerie wisp of evil clung to every branch and reed as their small numbers began to congregate in the tunneled underground home of the infamous Spiderclan.

A coven had been called, a coven unlike any other since the days of Gethzerion. The Nightsister Clans met to decide on a union of all who followed the Book of Shadows. Here, tonight, a leader would be found. One who could make the Nighsisters both strong and whole again. Then with their new leader, a single Matriarch at the helm of all the Clans, they would rise up to take their prophesized glory among the heavens and bring the followers of the Book of Law to the true teaching of Allya! Yet, as the various Clan Mothers and Matriarchs entered, one lone sister sat above all others: Bloodraven.

Spoiler: Bloodraven

Already, amongst the cobalt painted stone walls of the wide cavern, hundreds of Nightsisters stood encircling Bloodraven’s perch, gazing onwards at the demoness before them, ready to declare their loyalty. But their leader had not been decided just yet, deliberation still had to be made as was customary. Each sister putting themselves forth for consideration had to make their claims and promises while offering their power or wit as reason to rule. Yet none joined Bloodraven to stake their claim, a testament to the respect and power she commanded.

Despite this, the Matriarch sat there patiently as she waited for all sisters invited to arrive and join in the coven. As she sat, her large retinue of maleling slaves catered to her every need. Amongst the Nightsisters the number of slaves owned by a Mother or Matriarch was an indication of their power and position, and Bloodraven’s slaves numbered the combined amount of nearly every other Matriarch in attendance.

 

[Dóiteán]

Tara Visai, Nightsister warrior from one of the smaller clans, had arrived on Dathomir because of a rumor of the clans meeting. She stepped into the cavern and saw all the other clans there. Walking over to where her clan was convening, she was curious about this meeting.

Tara had hopes of becoming the Clan Mother of her clan. She was the most agile warrior in her clan and an expert in illusions. This meeting might be her chance to replace her clan's current Clan Mother.

 

[Jax Vos]

Nirzak, slave (or "husband" as some may have believed, though they had never been intimate) of Bloodraven, stood by his mistress, giving direction to the other slaves in attendance. Nirzak was the most respected of Matriarch Bloodraven's slaves. He was the greatest male warrior of the clan, in fact most of the male warriors of the clan were Bloodraven's. He knew Bloodraven would likely become the Matriarch of all clans as she was the most influential of the Nightsisters' leaders.

Nirzak was Bloodraven's oldest and most well known living slave. He was seventeen at the time of his being chosen, he was now thirty-eight and her first slave as the last one before him had been killed ten years ago, though no one knew how. Since then Nirzak had chosen to remain silent except to the lower slaves and his mistress. Most thought it was because he had been close to the other slave.

He viewed his mistress as the perfect image of a goddess. She was the true image of authority and power. Many slaves to do her bidding, no one would dare to question her in any way, all listened to her. This of course was enhanced by her relationship with the Great Shadow. Bloodraven was the perfect Matriarch of her clan, and (in Nirzak's opinion) would be the perfect leader to unite the clans. However, the Great Shadow was the only reason, if there was any specific, why no other clan Mother or Matriarch should even consider trying to state her claim to leadership of all Nighsisters.

Nirzak waited to see if any other clan Mother or Matriarch was willing to vie for the position.

 

[Sleven]

The errant chatter among the Clans in attendance filled the room with darting, echoing, whispers. Each word was sharp and sinewy, as if their coiled and raspy tongues spit venom. Sitting idly with a relaxed demeanor, Bloodraven superficially peered across the Sisters that had gathered before her head came to a sudden halt. In that moment, it was as if the room itself froze along with her, the raucous falling to immediate silence. Curling a lithe, blood-painted finger at one of the Sisters from her clan, she permitted her to speak in her stead.

“Are there no others who wish to make a claim?” the Sister spoke for her Clan Mother.

The entire coven held their breath, anticipating no response.

“I shall,” one of the Mothers spoke.

The raucous continued, this time in antagonism towards the new candidate. Loud voices could be heard from among the crowd in protest, some even from the slaves who would normally not risk their tongues by speaking out of place:

“Bah, she is of a small Clan!” they scoffed.

“Her understanding of the Shadow Magicks is weak!” they jeered.

“Certainly you do not intend to allow this absurd claim,” one of the more prominent Mothers spoke above all as the other Clan Mothers nodded in agreement.

Silence fell over the cavern, awaiting Bloodraven’s response with baited breath.

“I shall,” she spoke with a disinterested tone, “Such is her right.”

With that, there was no more banter. Respect was given to the Clan Mother, if only the amount mandated by Bloodraven. The Clans would allow her to stake her claim, and make her promises of glory for the Clans, and they would hear how she would accomplish them. But then it would be Bloodraven’s turn.

 

[Dóiteán]

Tara's Clan Mother had stepped up, staking her claim to lead the sisters. Tara was shocked. She had no right leading. Even her sisters felt the same.
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Rila Torvan, Clan Mother of Tara's clan, also known as Clan Bane, named after the Bane Back spiders that live in the surrounding area, had staked a claim to rule. "What freedom do we have with the Sith on our planet? We must remove them and take back our planet. Then take out those Witches. Too long have we watched the Jedi aide the witches when we attack. Too long have they been allowed to live comfortably. We must rule this planet and take over many more to expand the Nightsister Empire!"

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Tara couldn't believe the gall of the clan mother. She allowed the mother to speak, it might make it easier for her to replace that hag as clan mother.

 

[Jax Vos]

Nirzak stood stock still as the Clan Mother of Clan Bane walked forward to stake her claim to be the one to unite the Nightsisters. Nirzak was against this old hag fully. She was only a Clan Mother because of her age and that none in her clan had yet to stand up to her.

What bothered the slave most was that his mistress was allowing this pretender to make her claim as well as speak.

As the lower Clan Mother finished her little speech, Nirzak bent down to speak quietly to his mistress. Her claim is unfounded and the Sith have never opposed us. Mistress, she would destroy us with her leadership. Even if you do agree with her, her abilities are far behind your own.

Nirzak stood again, not waiting for a response as Bloodraven never spoke directly to him in public, unless absolutely necessary. The man waited to see what his mistress would say, her speech would definitely out-weigh Mother Torvan's without question. He only hoped that he would not be tortured later for his sudden word to her.

 

[Sleven]

She nodded to her slave Nirzak as he spoke, recognizing his point and signaling it was the time for him to fall silent while she spoke. A slow grin passed over Bloodraven’s face, twisting itself into tired and anticlimactic words; she was bored of this upstart already. She had expected something more---interesting, but her fun had been spoiled by a general lack of creativity, and now playtime was over, “No clan can disagree with their sisters sitting above the Witches or anyone else on Dathomir. That has always been our destiny. However, the question remains: do you possess the power to make it a reality?”

As she finished her statement, a powerful arch of purple lightning sprung forth from her fingertip intent on tearing through the flesh of the weak Clan Mother. It was a lethal amount that, should it meet its mark, would kill her near instantly.

“The Sith are beneath me,” she continued, “not even of concern. There is a reason they only pick at the smaller, weaker, and most pathetic of clans while my sisters and slaves of the Shadow Vale Clan have never been confronted by them. No Sith dares. That being said, is that not the point of this meeting? Separate many of the smaller clans are vulnerable to the vast Sith Empire, even when hiding on our vast home world. But together? We would go unopposed. You know this all too well, it is why many of you have flocked here to nestle under my wing,” her voice changed, now it was almost motherly, yet held a mocking sense of compassion, “and my children shall not have to fear the Sith any longer. The power you need to stand up to them shall not be denied to you.”

Her words rubbed salt on many old wounds, but the Clans present had nonetheless recognized their truth. They needed Bloodraven, and any of the clans not in attendance would continue to suffer at the hands of the Sith without her.

 

[Dóiteán]

The clan mother attempted to evade the lightning but did not quite escape. Though the lightning did not quite kill her, she looked to her clan for help.
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Tara watched as her clan mother was struck by the lightning. She watched as the clan mother still moved. Tara stepped up to her clan mother and loped her head off with her spear saying, "Miserable old hag. My apologies. Our former clan mother has never been the brightest of the sisters."

Tara looked to her sisters who nodded. The respected her and would follow her anywhere. Many of them hated the clan mother and were waiting for the opportunity to remove her. Now Tara looked to be vying for the title of Clan Mother of Clan Bane.

 

[Jax Vos]

Nirzak looked on as his mistress made her declaration. Bloodraven then began to berate the old hag that had stood before them, declaring that she deserved to rule the clans with lightning from her hands.

Nirzak's understanding of the abilities that the Nightsisters held was limited. Though the slave had learned some abilities due to his position among the men of his clan, he had little understanding of where exactly they came from.

Nirzak watched as a member of Clan Bane stood up and removed the old woman's head. In doing so the younger woman was asking to be given the previous mother's position. It was strange to see this happen in such a small clan, especially at a meeting that was meant to combine the clans into a united body of Nightsisters.

She seems like she might make a good lieutenant for Matriarch Bloodraven. However, this I cannot suggest now. Nirzak was thinking about structure and order. He knew there would be a great deal of it. In his mind, a woman who was willing to kill her Clan Mother in front of everyone, even just to erase the embarrassment that the old woman was causing, was worth more than the average Clan Mother.

The man kept silent, his violet eyes focused on the young woman.

 

[Sleven]

"Excellent. It is reassuring to know that not all the members of Clan Bane share in your late Mother's folly," Bloodraven spoke in reply to the beheading.

Bloodraven was clever, she knew the Mother would most likely be able to barely escape death from lightning on the low magnitude she had used (in comparison to her overall power that was). It was a good way to test the loyalty of Clan Bane, and they had passed. The particular sister who had taken the head of her former Mother seemed to be quite ambitious. She could use ambitious. People with dedication and motivation would be the cogs keeping the wheels of the Nightsisters moving forward to greater heights.

"With the now unanimous agreement that I should be Matriarch of all Nightsisters, I would like to recommend you to take her place at the head of Clan Bane," looking about at Clan Bane as if to dissuade them from disagreement, "that is, if your sisters would have you in such a place of honor." She knew they would agree. But that did not mean that this young Mother would not require further refinement of her skills in the Shadow Magicks before truly holding the respect of her Clan. For now it was sufficient to know that Bloodraven had placed a seemingly loyal subject at the head of Clan Bane.

"Now, it is time for us, my Sisters, to go to war..." her final statement clinging to the air even after it had long been silent. The Nightsisters would soon begin their campaign to drive the Witches to their knees.

OOC: At this point we can probably set up the bare bones of the Indie faction. But I would also like to RP stuff with the regular Witches, and eventually have conflict threads between the two groups. I'm going to revive the original OOC thread to see if we can't get some more interested parties. There are still more Nightsister threads in the works.