Ask A Black Throne

[Darth Caelestis]

The last of the setting sun was burning into the side of the Sith Lord's face, he stood hundreds of feet from the ground high above the valley floor before him. Wind whipped around him, his long dark hair flapping away behind him, a shaggy beard protected his mouth from the sand as it blew up around him. Taking a deep breath he tried to settle himself, his emotions were stable, but his thoughts however where not. A thousand ideas, plans and desires flashed through his mind as he stood at the top of this monument, the Dark Side flowed around him, the planet was steeped in it. Unlike Exegol this was a living darkness were as that dark rock was more of an emptiness blackness in The Force.

Artorigas felt the presence of his apprentice approaching through the temple below, it had been a long time since he had seen Malou. He wondered what she would think when she 'saw' him, he was not the resplendent King she had last seen, their was no crown, no robes. He stood in just a pair of simple black trousers and boots a loose top. As she approached he kept his eyes out towards the horizon. "Malou, it has been some time."

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

A summon from her master was precisely the call she wanted to receive. The last time they'd seen each other was several months ago on Serenno, right before she'd completed her training and risen to the rank of a Champion. Two years of training had prepared her to go out into the galaxy on her own, but it hadn't prepared her for the lack of purpose she felt. She'd gone on mission after mission, assigned mostly with acolytes and barely given enough information to go off of. The woman had expressed this frustration to a friend even, feeling as if the importance of the things she did had diminished.

The Miralukan made her way through the temple, having arrived on Moraband earlier that day. Strange enough, the Champion had never been to the dusty, desert planet. The Academy of Korriban—still named after the antiquated name of the planet—was here, as were numerous Sith temples. Many, if not most, of them had been raided of their artifacts and historic treasures though, so her interest in such a hot, dry place was little.

As she got closer to the top of the temple, she too could feel the presence of her master on the ground above. It was hard to miss; his presence in the Force had always been significantly stronger than hers. Usually, such a powerful presence would make her feel uneasy, but she was looking forward to seeing him. Malou would never think of him as a father figure to her, but he was certainly closer to that than anything her actual father had ever been. A part of her missed him.

"Too much time," added the woman as she finally came to join him. As always, her face was wrapped securely with her blindfold with her hair pulled into a neat bun at the base of her neck. To him, she probably didn't look much different. A few months wouldn't show on her covered face. But to her, he looked drastically different. Long, almost unkempt hair. Plain clothes as opposed to the fine suits he preferred. And he had always had a strong presence in the Dark Side, but the form and figure of his person in her Sight were different.

"Why did you call me here, master?" She was curious.

tag: @Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

The wind continued to blow as the young women stepped up beside him, he turned to face her. She had changed little, maybe she stood a little straighter, but otherwise it was the same ol' Malou. It was comforting to have a presence that had been with him since he himself had been a champion in the fledgling Empire. "Could I not just want to see my apprentice after so long." He replied with a smirk, before turning back towards the sand ahead of them.

Artorigas let the silence gather as he listened to the whistling wind flow around them both. Another deep breath causing some of the collected sand to fall free from his overgrown moustache. "I guess not." He began crossing his arm in front of him. "I have spent too long away from here and the Sith, the Empress has summoned me. I would assume for my lack of action, though I intent to perhaps change that moving forward." Turning to look at the young women he asked. "Tell me, what have I missed since I have been gone."

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

No, you can, but no one does that. As glad as she was to see her master again, Malou was under no illusion that there wasn't a purpose he had summoned her here. If he just wanted to chat, she would've expected a holocall or dinner on Serenno. When he finally spoke, a faint look of surprise rippled across her face. Though it was concealed by the silk binding around her eyes, he might know her well enough to recognize the shift in her posture. The Empress? Andruil? Malou clenched her jaw as she wondered what might become of such a summoning. He really had been absent, so perhaps a scolding? The Empress herself hadn't been all that proactive either, or so Malou thought. He intends to change that? Those words brightened her mood. Would there be something more for her than the shitty missions cards she was being dealt? At least my mission partners have been good.

"Xe- Dragur has been pushing the war front. He took Wayland, but hasn't been entirely successful." Her mind jumped to the Ploo incident, something she still found amusing. "I've set up groups to connect Sith space down in the South between Hoth and the already-existing territories nearby." That planet was damn cold. "The Jedi took back Denon." Malou hadn't been there for that, but from what she understood it was another failure on Dragur's part. "Things have been slow, though. Stolas hasn't done anything for months, and the Empress-" Malou paused to consider the phrasing of her words before she continued. "The Empress has been busy with her pregnancy. I've been sent on various missions, but they're- they're menial."

Malou turned so that her body faced out over the cliffs as Artorgias' did. She could feel the hot wind against the uncovered bits of her skin. It was unpleasant, but she wouldn't complain about the heat.

"I did so much as an acolyte. I improved so quickly, but now as a champion, I feel like I'm stagnating." It was the truth. She wanted to improve, but little she did made her feel as if she was. Granted, you've spent more time trying to fit in with acolytes than you have trying to push yourself as a champion, came the reminder in her head. She wanted more than parties and laughs and rising heat in her face—she wanted to be stronger.

"What do you have planned?"

tag: @Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

He sensed emotions flowing beneath the surface as he spoke but chose not to question them. Artorigas smiled when he heard of Xeno's apparent failure at Wayland, that was a good way to brighten the little de-briefing. The rest he had heard through tidbits through the Holo's but it was good to understand these were not just fabrications but true stories, her own success brought a smile to his face and warmth to his heart. He was happy that she was now reaping some of the benefits of his teachings and going out to secure new land on her own.

The sun was beginning its slow decent beyond the horizon, it would soon turn from a blazing desert to a frozen wasteland. Artorigas frowned when she mentioned her stagnation, he knew how she felt. He had been the same, stuck in a pit of nothingness for the past several months. "You were not the only person who felt like that. From Acolyte to Lord I knew what I wanted, what direction I was heading in. But once I got there, I was lost." He let out a long sigh, it felt strange to finally voice the feelings he had only discussed with himself.

"What do you get the man who has everything?" His arms dropped to his side. "Do you know of my struggles with the Dark Side, The Force and The Sith?"

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Bruh. What would she get the man who has everything? That was so open-ended. She didn't think she would even get such a man anything at all, but she also didn't really think it was possible for someone to have "everything." There were always things you just couldn't have. Within the Sith, especially the upper echelons, that thing they couldn't have seemed to be friends. For her, it seemed it was family.

"A challenge?" She supposed if she somehow felt she had everything, she would want something new to challenge her. His struggles? With a bit of hesitation, Malou answered: "No?" She could guess, maybe, that the question had something to do with his seclusion the past few months. Artorgias had never really struck her as someone who was particularly deep into the Dark Side. Compared to a lot of the lords, he didn't have that edge about him. Usually, that was. Malou had certainly witnessed moments of that from him. Compared to someone like Raze, Andruil, or Stolas, though? Maybe I shouldn't compare them, Malou decided after a second. He was someone she trusted, after all. Stolas always had a quiet edge around him. He reminded her of a cat waiting to ambush his prey. Andruil was the Empress. She slayed the previous one, and held the power of the Nightsisters in her hands. Raze was like a lion walking amongst the watering hole. Perhaps he wouldn't attack, but there was nothing stopping him from doing it. Malou didn't like either of them. They inspired a sense of fear in her that she hated the feeling of. So, by proxy, she didn't much like them. Her master could stand among those two, but he didn't inspire the same fear in her. Perhaps it was because she saw him as more than just a lord—more than just the man who trained her. That didn't have to mean anything about his connection to the Dark Side, though. She'd witnessed that old entity that once lived inside him. I don't understand, no.

"Are you... struggling with it?" Malou had yet to delve into the Dark Side herself. Though she wanted nothing but to better herself, a part of her was wary of it. She was curious to see if he felt the same.

tag: @Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

Artorigas smiled as she tried to give an answer to the question, maybe his tone was not clear or maybe Malou just didn't understand it. "It was a rhetorical question Malou, but a challenge is a good answer none the less." He replied, eyes scanning the distance searching for it, though he could not be sure it was out there or even real, but a sign that he was not going crazy on Namadii would be appreciative.

Nothing was there so he turned to face his apprentice. "If it was not obvious to you already, I did not dwell within the Dark Side, I had chosen to not fall into its depths, like Xeno, Raze, Stolas or Andruil. I chose instead to live upon its borders, if you think back I have never used lightning for this requires complete subservice to the darkness. This has won me victories and cost me defeats both on the battlefield and within the halls of our order." He said calmly. "It has always been crux to beat me with, a niggling doubt of my loyalty for those above me. But I prided myself upon it. I rose to the near peak of our Order with but only a smidgeon of darkness tainting my soul."

His voice changed as he continued becoming sadder as he spoke. "My ambition was only material however, I sought no greater knowledge over The Force, to understand the depths of the Dark Side to rule an Empire greater than any that had been seen. That dark voice in the back of all our heads, the wretchedness inside that is the Dark Side, told me to gain all of these things. That in accepting those desires, achieving those I would become more, greater, but I refused him and his temptations..." He paused for a moment. "I feel now that may have been a mistake."

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Malou listened quietly as he spoke, swishing the meaning of his words around in her head as she received them. To a degree, she understood what he was talking about, though she imagined there was probably much more that she was missing. The Serennian, Malou, had always quietly prided herself for her level-headedness. She wasn't necessarily emotionally intelligent, but she didn't thrash about in her feelings like a lassoed bull. There were times, of course, but nothing so far to tempt her to latch onto the Dark Side like a crutch.

When he said he had sought so greater knowledge of the Force though, Malou could no longer relate. She had stagnated in her learning, but despite her hesitation of the Dark Side, she wanted nothing more to delve into its depths and embellish herself with the jewels of knowledge and power it might grant her. But, and she noted it quickly, he used the past tense when referring to such things. Artorgias felt that his past decision to not pursue the Dark Side had been a mistake.

Perhaps she should feel the same.

"What do you plan to do now?" Surely he wasn't telling her this for the hell of it.

tag: @Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

Yes, what did he plan to do now. If he was honest, Artorigas was unsure of even how to proceed down this dark path without fully becoming a beast of it. He wanted its power, its strength but did not wish to sacrifice his own sanity and self control for it. He clenched his fist tightly the unkept nails digging into his palm. "Like everything else, I intend to conquer and rule it." He said his voice thick of determination. "There are a hundred other Sith out there you worship the darkness, receive its power and we are still lightyears above them. Just think what we could accomplish with its strength behind us." Artorigas could not do this alone, like Avillion like his seat upon the council he would require allies and what better ally than his apprentice.

"We will break your stagnation, both in power and purpose." His voice had changed, this was not the posh regal Serrennian Noble. No this was the voice of a Sith King, thick with strength, power and purpose. "I will remove this crux, I shall no longer be spoken off in back alleys and dark streets of the Empire as a wannabe Sith. My strength and power will be out for all to see. Avillion will grow until we are an Empire upon ourselves. All will see our strength."

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Malou stood there quietly and listened as was both expected and normal of the girl. Her face was purposefully neutral, and her body betrayed no emotion. What he was saying was potentially dangerous, but this was the Sith after all. She wasn't sure what he was implying yet, but she was curious.

Power and purpose. Those words were the epitome of what she craved. Power, though not over others, was her purpose. She wanted power over herself; she wanted to stand where no one could touch her if she did not allow it. She didn't need to be feared, just respected. But if that power came through conquer, fear, and victory through the Sith? Then so be it.

So be it.

"Does this have anything to do with your meeting with the Empress?" It was a sudden thought that sprung to her mind and left her mouth before she could help herself.

tag: @Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

Malou was still beside him as he spoke, perhaps he had trained her to well, told her to cut herself off from the emotion of the Dark Side that when he spoke now she was not moved. At least that meant she listened. Finally after a few moments his apprentice spoke, he smiled down at her. "No, but also yes. This had been decided long before, I was summoned by the Empress." Though it was only by a week at best, perhaps The Force was omnipresent and alive, planning these two events to happen one after the other. If so, did that mean it had a plan for him?

"But I plan to use this meeting to begin the removal of this Crux. To show that I am Sith, how I am going to-do this that is still be decided." Perhaps The Force has that already planned out for me as well, he thought. "My question is, what are your thoughts on this?" It was a two fold question, one to confirm her loyalty, would she follow him? And two to see if the rather bright young women had any ideas of her own on the concept of the Darkness.

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

"Whatever you do, wherever you go, I will be there." That was her thought on the matter.

Artorgias was the man who had plucked her from her former noble life and brought her into the world of the Sith. He was her mentor, and she owed him everything she had, and would ever have. So when she spoke those words, pledging her loyalty to the man she considered the most worthy of her respect, they were absolute.

Without him, instead of standing here on the edge of a Korriban cliff, she would be tucked away in her father's library out of sight and out of mind. Because of him, she had freedom. Because of him, she knew power.

He was more than her master, her mentor—he was the closest thing to a father she had ever known. There was always doubt among the Sith whether your friends could be trusted, but there was no doubt here. Malou did not follow blindly, but for him, she might open her eyes if he asked.

tag: @Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

Malou's words were comforting, even with all the power and privilege Artorigas has, this road into the Darkness would be a long and winding one, that may not have an exit. So to have someone at his back through its plunge meant a lot to the man, he kept his thoughts to himself however.

Turning back towards the sun, now half gone beyond the horizon, the black sands of Moraband growing colder like the skin of the dead, he smiled. Perhaps Anduil will recognise his change in attitude and desire to now fully embrace the Dark Side. She had told him four times before that he should and now finally he was accepting it, you never know it may finally lead to something more with the Sith Empress.

"That is good to hear Malou. But I must be off soon, I doubt our Empress would be happy with me being tardy. I will see you on Exegol afterwards to begin our training." With that he turned on his heels and headed back towards the temple, its winding halls and caverns, its grand entrance, the landing pad shortly before it and the planet Junction far into the darkness of space beyond.

@lizziie

______
End Artorigas Wessex

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Meet him on Exegol. Malou nodded, though did not move from her spot as her master walked away. Her Sight surveyed the land and took in the landscape of Korriban's arid desert wastelands. From one desert to another. At least the deserts of Exegol were cool and not burnt by the sun like they were here.

After a while, Malou turned and traced her steps back through the temple below. She reached her ship and took off into space, coordinates set for the dark planet far out from known space. She was excited—impatient even—to begin the training Artorgias had promised her.

She did not know that she would never see the man again.

// exit thread