Ask Korriban Mind Games

[Asminys]

Darth Asminys sat in the Great Library of Korriban, brow furrowed in concentration as he peered down on the ancient text within his hands. The pages turned carefully, fingers strangely ginger in their care for the ancient pages coming from the Sith Lord. His usual casual disregard for the damage to persons or objects did not extend to books. Books carried knowledge, and knowledge was power.

Asminys had never been one to pore over tomes for weeks on end, preferring the strain of more physical training instead. He had however been spending quite some time in the library the last few weeks, first in the temple on Eriadu and within the heart of Sith space itself. Did he know that Korriban was Darth Raze's domain? Absolutely. Did he care. Not particularly. He doubted the other Sith Lord would seek out his presence. He couldn't remember a reason why. Yet for some reason the thought made his spine itch with apprehension. Why?

Distractions. Darth Asminys turned his attention back to the page at hand. He had stumbled upon some interesting literature concerning an event that kept being mentioned. The Nightmare Conjunction. He noted it down in his datapad and continued to read, an eyebrow peaking as what he read continued to keep his attention. While he had originally come to Korriban seeking alchemical or magical means to solve a problem, what he was now reading appeared as a possible alternative.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

It had been quite some time since Emryc visited Korriban again. The incident that happened with Malicia still bothered him even though he briefly addressed it with Morgan. Whatever the reason or excuse, it left the half Sephi with bitterness he hadn’t expected. He didn’t have quite the same level of command as he had before, and it was different as he strode through the palace he once called his own.

After surveying the residential quarters, he was strongly reminded of Malicia’s absence. Her dresses and other clothing remained behind, ornate and untouched. Her soft smiles or the gentle way she gazed at him vividly crept into his mind. Details like this normally wouldn’t have come up, but they began to ever since he embraced humanity a bit more. It served him with nothing but painful reminders of his mistakes and shortcomings.

Thoroughly displeased, he made his way over to the Great Library that had been unearthed during the conquest. It had been restored to its former glory, every shelf and aisle filled with old texts and almost all from the original eras. Emryc sought to find an old text that would hopefully lead to a tomb that eluded him for some time.

For a while, he wandered around searching different sections. After a moment, he spotted a familiar figure. Emryc was adorned in armor as always, his face concealed from view. The sight of Asminys did nothing to improve his mood. The half Sephi eyed him for a few seconds before the mechanized voice resounded.

“I didn’t know you could read.”

@Arclight

 

[Asminys]

Asminys snapped a photo of the page he was on with his datapad before jotting down a few notes. He reached for a book on binding when he felt it. A cold, familiar presence. Darth Raze's mechanized voice spoke up from the stacks nearby. Asminys ignored the other Sith Lord for a moment, jotting down a few more notes and then snapping another picture before finally angling his head to eye the shadowing shelves in which Darth Raze lurked.

"I didn't know you would be here." He stated simply. Whatever the origin of the disagreement between the two was, which Asminys could not recall for his life, he preferred to keep his distance from the other Sith. He had known the risks however, lingering in Darth Raze's domain, that they would stumble upon each other as they just had.

He peered into the shadows longer, eyes fixed on Darth Raze as he filed away the memory of his armor which seemed different than the last... the last... when had he ever seen Darth Raze? The question lingered in his mind, echoing around the chambers of his brain that had stopped, were stopped by this question.

How did he know his name. How did he know he was trying to avoid this man whose existence seemed to fill a gap in his memory. He scowled at the man as he came to what was probably the most obvious answer to the question stumping him.

Someone had made him forget.

Perhaps someone right in front of him.

"Why are you here?" A bit of paranoia creeping into his voice as he eyed the other shadows. No silhouettes, that he could see. Was he paranoid? of course he was paranoid.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc thought he had imagined it at the party - the absence of rage directed his way. However, as he strode into the room, he was sure of it. There was something distinctly missing from Asminys' normally perpetually disgruntled demeanor. He could recall vividly how Emryc’s mere presence antagonized the man. Yet now he appeared almost...uncomfortable?

The half Sephi glanced around, his sharp ears picking up nothing but silence beyond these halls.They were alone here. Emryc moved to stand across from where Asminys was, tilting his head for a moment to regard him in silence. After a few seconds, his hands reached up to unclasp and lift the helmet above his head.

The face was different in many ways since the last time Emryc had gazed upon Asminys without a mask. His hair was cropped short, dyed black. His beautiful and almost boyish features were replaced by a more classic handsome. However, the eyes were exactly the same. They held the same icy chill as before, piercing directly into Asminys’ eyes.

“What happened to you?” Emryc asked flatly, allowing Asiminys to hear that familiar low baritone unfiltered by a modulator. Had they done something to his head while he was imprisoned?

@Arclight

 

[Asminys]

Asminys tensed as the other Sith Lord approached, but instead of the expected violence, only more confusion was given. Darth Raze removed his helmet in front of him, looking him in the eye.

The face whispered of familiarity in Asminys mind. A strong jaw that didn't seem quite as remembered. Short, black hair that Asminys swore should be silver. Then he reached the eyes. Icy pools of silver.

A pin drop sensation passed through Asminys, like a water droplet breaking the mirror smooth surface of still water. Those eyes flashed in his memories, over and over again. Until.

"Wha..." Asminys started as he began to stand, responding to Darth Raze's question when the man's voice echoed in familiarity in his mind. The eyes of silver flashed in his minds eye once more, only to be replaced by the gleaming red eyes of a beast, slavering jaws of razor teeth, and a flash of bleeding raw skin.

"aauuuunnghhh." A grunt of pain escaped Asminys as he grasped his head, settling back into the seat as pain lanced through his skull. He smelled blood, and a drop ran down his nose as the assault on his mind continued. The slash of claws and ripping of meat echoed through his mind. A likewise pain rolled through his head as if some beast was feasting on his brains.

And then it was over.

Asminys looked up from his seat to see Darth... Raz was it? Standing before him without his signature helmet. Asminys groaned lightly as he sat upright.

"What are you staring at?" Asminys growled in a low baritone as he met those strikingly familiar eyes, a lingering itch in his brain that yearned to place them before being replaced by a slight pulse of pain. Moving a hand to touch his head, he redirected it when he felt a bit of moisture on his lip. The hand came away with blood.

"What did you do to me." Asminys growled as he stood up from his chair, more abruptly this time. Only wobbling slightly as the aching in his head pulsed once more.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

It was rare that Emryc’s face had anything but a neutral expression. It was always the chiseled and set face of stone that never wavered, the icy gaze always watching and observing. If judgement was passed, it was nothing more than hushed whispers beyond the windows of his eyes, invisible to those looking at him. What happened to Asminys managed to pierce right through those windows to pull to the forefront the perplexed emotions the half Sephi felt. Eyebrows rose and silvers widened as he took in sight of the Sith Lord all but unraveling before him.

The pain that Asminys felt was palpable, and Emryc felt it pierce through the Force, grazing the slightest bit against the mental barriers of his mind. The Sith Lord observed Asminys quietly, noting how he had a faint trickle of blood from his lips. The questions from the other man were unanswered for a moment.

Emryc finally pulled up a chair and took a seat across from the other man, the surprise easing off his face.

“What do you remember of who you are?” He asked sternly, “Of the Cadre, of Malicia, of Ajan Kloss, of…” He paused, “Let’s start there. What do you remember?”

@Arclight

 

[Asminys]

Darth Asminys' lip remained curled as he held the other Sith's gaze. The face was hauntingly familiar and seemed to be painted with surprise rather than aggression. Asminys felt confused, angry that he did not know where his confusion stemmed from. The staring contest continued until the other Sith pulled up a chair and sat down, his face resuming the passive mask that he somehow knew.

He almost reached for his saber when the other Sith moved, but something within him knew that the man was not a threat. At least in this moment.

Asminys lip settled and he slowly sank into the chair as the opposite spoke with surprising authority. The urge to lash out at the man who would command answers from him was subdued by the names he mentioned. The Cadre. Malicia. Ajan Kloss. That another Sith might know them in conjunction wasn't surprising, but rather that they felt so familiar in relation to each other, and with the man in front of him.

And why was he asking of what he remembered, as if he might have forgotten anything of the years within the Cadre.

"What do I- who are you to ask of my life." He questioned the man, his tone hard as he considered what he asked regardless.

The Cadre. Growing up within the halls of the Cadre-corps. Diminished to nothing and required to take every scrap of worth by force. To connect with a brother, to fight against and alongside every day, only to be forced to choose between the two of them. who would live, who would die. To take hold of their own life and cast aside the others.

Malicia had been there, among the Cadre, one of his sisters. They had clashed blades many times and more often than not it was her that had tasted the poison of his blade. Fighting against the masters alongside her, breaking their chains together and claiming freedom to pursue their own destiny's, rather than the sick will of the Cadre-masters.

Malicia had been there on Ajan Kloss. They had fought side by side against the Jedi there, ripping through the unprepared wielder's of the light as a rancor rips into flesh. Darkness had swallowed Ajan Kloss that day, that day when they killed... when they killed...

There was nothing. Asminys glared at the other Sith. He hated how the man looked so familiar. There was something lurking underneath, within his memories. Was the man a Cadre-master? The thought crossed his mind but was quickly abandoned. They had killed someone together, he was sure of it. On Ajan Kloss.

A connection sparked and Asminys eyes widened. The man who had orchestrated the attack on Ajan Kloss, to assassinate the leader of the Jedi. They had succeeded. They had killed the Grandmaster together, and then...

"Emryc?" He whispered in question, the name seemingly long forgotten as he looked across the table into ever so familiar silver pools. The fiery rage in his eyes subdued, though they would never return to the honeyed brown that Emryc had once seen. And then they would change as suddenly as the silvers that Asminys stared into. As he saw them flare into eyes of a beast to consume the room, Emryc would see Asminys eyes flare, pupils turning to slits as an inferno blazed behind them and his mouth opened in a silent scream before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slumped back in his seat.

Even as no sound came from the Sith Lords mouth, Asminys psyche cried out in terror as he felt himself dragged deep into the recesses of his mind. In desperation, he reached out to the only buoy he could within the force.

Emryc.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc was silent as he watched the episode play out before him. He was reminded of Asminys back on Serenno during the social event. In many ways he was a broken version of the man he once was. His mind was under assault and it was impacting him on a visceral level. It was profound enough to where Emryc could feel it even from where he sat. He could only see the external impacts, could only hear Asminys mutter his name and watch him slump back with his eyes rolling back.

“What-”

His nostrils flared and his eyes widened slightly as Asminys’ mind lashed out towards him in a desperate attempt. His defense kicked into place and turned around to assault the other man in a mental strike. However, Emryc took active hold of that to prevent the devastating damage that would befall Asminys otherwise.

The counter effect of this meant he was being tugged into the corners of Asminys’ psyche. Emryc gripped the edge of the table with his hands, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut. This was a dangerous game as it often split him in two. He aggressively fought against it, attempting to reel himself back. However, something had gotten a hold of him and was pulling him into the plane of the Force and towards the confines of the other man’s mind.

@Arclight