Vossari chucked at Azar's comments. The finer details of courtly politics currently escaped him, and he had no idea what Azar could mean by the differences between princes and kings. Yet he could identify with the basic notions of it - how power was the tool used to free himself, to escape his cage. That was why Vossari sought power, too. He demanded freedom from the cages of social expectation and norms thrust upon him.
Yet it was his questions that brought Vossari to pause. "It's my secret weapon, Azar. Have you ever noticed that?" Each time someone had lashed out at him, it had only made him stronger. It was powerful to be able to inspire such ire with words alone. He could instantly get under someone's skin, get on their bad side. He learned weaknesses of others and he knew his own limits. "I'm not an open book. I don't let people step on me. And I'm not a coward." Some would have called the business on Thule stupid. Perhaps it was - to openly challenge a Sith Master. But Vossari knew all the variables, then. He knew he had the fleeting favor of the Dark Lord of the Sith, and that alone would permit him one barbed jest without dying. Those words rose to action as Karys, too, took a calculated risk: That he could defeat a champion through his power alone and with Vossari's aid. In the end, it was a bloody victory, but his point had been proven. Most Sith were so predictable it teetered on being boring.
"I want you to promise me, when I become a champion, this stays fun." There was an intensity that burned bright between them, but Vossari was, at his core, fun-loving. Navigating the puzzle that was Azar was half of the fun.
"You ever feel like you've lived past lives? I look at you and see visions of a conqueror who has ruled the galaxy many times over." Azar took so naturally to command, to leadership, that he almost seemed bored by it. His victories were swift and absolute. Vossari sensed that Azar, too, enjoyed a challenge. Perhaps that was what drew him to his suitors?
"When I become a champion, I will be a full Sith. You won't need to protect me, and I won't ask for protection." Vossari's mind raced to Thule, where the pair of them had just left. Vossari understood, now, Azar's decision to leave. In the Sith Order, one had to stand by their strength alone. No matter who loved them, who cared for them, what ultimately mattered to their people was loyalty and shared interests. Even lovers could become enemies.
"I want you to treat me like a peer." A rival, perhaps, would be a better word. He let the words hang into the air. "That's what I need from you, Azar." There was no mind like his in the Order. He was the ultimate strategist, who controlled the elements of every battle like a game of Dejarik. That was what brought them together - their minds. Vossari had never met a challenge like Azar before Saleucami and since. Yet, as much as he appreciated their intense, passionate bond, part of him longed for that instant spark of jealousy and mutual recognition of worth that they had shared that day. Azar understood Vossari's mind like no other.
And Vossari knew Azar. He knew his princess was lonely at the top, surrounded by idiots. It was their deep intellectual curiosities and passions that connected them. Vossari did not imagine himself a threat to Azar, in any sense of the word. Yet, he recognized that his place with Azar was not as a worshipper, or as a gentleman, but as a drama queen. They were kindred spirits, in that way.
"But..." His emotions betrayed his cold logic. "I'm always going to care about you. I want you to care for me, too."
@Sreeya
Yet it was his questions that brought Vossari to pause. "It's my secret weapon, Azar. Have you ever noticed that?" Each time someone had lashed out at him, it had only made him stronger. It was powerful to be able to inspire such ire with words alone. He could instantly get under someone's skin, get on their bad side. He learned weaknesses of others and he knew his own limits. "I'm not an open book. I don't let people step on me. And I'm not a coward." Some would have called the business on Thule stupid. Perhaps it was - to openly challenge a Sith Master. But Vossari knew all the variables, then. He knew he had the fleeting favor of the Dark Lord of the Sith, and that alone would permit him one barbed jest without dying. Those words rose to action as Karys, too, took a calculated risk: That he could defeat a champion through his power alone and with Vossari's aid. In the end, it was a bloody victory, but his point had been proven. Most Sith were so predictable it teetered on being boring.
"I want you to promise me, when I become a champion, this stays fun." There was an intensity that burned bright between them, but Vossari was, at his core, fun-loving. Navigating the puzzle that was Azar was half of the fun.
"You ever feel like you've lived past lives? I look at you and see visions of a conqueror who has ruled the galaxy many times over." Azar took so naturally to command, to leadership, that he almost seemed bored by it. His victories were swift and absolute. Vossari sensed that Azar, too, enjoyed a challenge. Perhaps that was what drew him to his suitors?
"When I become a champion, I will be a full Sith. You won't need to protect me, and I won't ask for protection." Vossari's mind raced to Thule, where the pair of them had just left. Vossari understood, now, Azar's decision to leave. In the Sith Order, one had to stand by their strength alone. No matter who loved them, who cared for them, what ultimately mattered to their people was loyalty and shared interests. Even lovers could become enemies.
"I want you to treat me like a peer." A rival, perhaps, would be a better word. He let the words hang into the air. "That's what I need from you, Azar." There was no mind like his in the Order. He was the ultimate strategist, who controlled the elements of every battle like a game of Dejarik. That was what brought them together - their minds. Vossari had never met a challenge like Azar before Saleucami and since. Yet, as much as he appreciated their intense, passionate bond, part of him longed for that instant spark of jealousy and mutual recognition of worth that they had shared that day. Azar understood Vossari's mind like no other.
And Vossari knew Azar. He knew his princess was lonely at the top, surrounded by idiots. It was their deep intellectual curiosities and passions that connected them. Vossari did not imagine himself a threat to Azar, in any sense of the word. Yet, he recognized that his place with Azar was not as a worshipper, or as a gentleman, but as a drama queen. They were kindred spirits, in that way.
"But..." His emotions betrayed his cold logic. "I'm always going to care about you. I want you to care for me, too."
@Sreeya
