Ask Not Can We, But Should We?

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar was pacing back and forth, running his fingers through his hair. It wasn’t often that he was this nervous or, quite frankly, terrified. He was back on Ajan Kloss, back at the site of the old temple’s destruction. He had unlocked something there that terrified him. He had thought to corrupt a nexus there and nothing more. However, that place managed to trap a fragment of Raze’s memory and soul in it permanently. Tampering with the nexus potentially allowed access to it.

For a while, he considered doing nothing with the information and sitting on it. Kaldar could be sent on a fruitless quest that would never be completed. However, the other man had proven himself time and time again and was already making huge progress on Dromund Kaas. Azar finally decided to call him over here, wondering if he even knew about the history of this place.

The Pureblood would be waiting for Kaldar in the dead of night when there could be no trespassers wandering around. In a twisted way, the temple was often littered with love letters and fanaticism of those still obsessed over Raze. This was effectively the first manifestation of Raze in the galaxy.

Once Kaldar stepped towards the temple, he would feel an oppressive presence in the Force. He would know right away that this place had history, a wound in the balance of the Force. It was the site of something grave and terrible, one that the Jedi tried so hard to cleanse.

@Phoenix

 

[Kaldar]

Kaldar had made the journey to Ajan Kloss with some hesitation. Although he knew the stories of the sacking of the Jedi temple and the death of the Grandmaster, the true nature of Azar's desire to meet with him here was a mystery. It seemed... strange, but Kaldar obliged.

Upon setting the Shadow down, he had to admit he felt a wave of apprehension. Whether that was because of the mystery surrounding the meeting or the pitch darkness that seemed to permeate this place, he wasn't sure. After the creatures he had witnessed within their mind walk, he found himself more unsettled by the darkness, not because he wanted to reject it, but because for all the power he had he was reminded of just how small he still was.

He made his way through the darkness, having foregone his Sith armor apart from his lightsaber and instead arrived in much the same garb as he would normally wear on the streets.

The fact that Azar appeared nervous did nothing to put Kaldar at ease, and he found his teeth clenched even tighter as he pondered if this was a trap. He reached out to the Force but felt no one else nearby. No, they were alone.

Except they weren't. There was another presence, but it wasn't from this world. It was a... lingering scent and it made Kaldar's skin crawl ever so slightly.

You seem uptight, he said with a smooth smile that still somehow felt a little more forced than normal. It was a subtle distinction, but it was there to the discerning eye.

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar was still pacing around when Kaldar showed up. He could see the other man was tense and decided to smirk, “Good to know I still get your heart racing,” He flashed a wink. They both made the other nervous for various reasons, but this time it could be owed to a third presence. Azar bid for Kaldar to follow him into the temple, “Do you know what this place is?” He asked, though it was more rhetorical since he would explain anyway.

“I came here with my apprentice to teach her about the history of some of the Sith Lords that made up the last intact council,” Azar explained, “We started to corrupt the nexus you feel inside and my apprentice…was contacted,” He said grimly, looking over at Kaldar. They were both Sith Master rank and with a deeper understanding than most on matters of the Force.

“This contact transcended the spiritual plane and left a physical mark on her,” Azar said as they arrived within the inner sanctum of the temple. There was nothing but a row of seats in the old council chamber, but this was the site of the nexus.

“I have… an unpleasant feeling that the clue to what you seek may be here,” He told Kaldar, “It almost killed my apprentice just for a surface level contact.”

 

[Kaldar]

Heh, of course. I'd never insult you by saying I trust you, he snickered, and it was true. To consider another Sith "trustworthy" was as much as to say that they lacked ambition and drive. It felt odd to think back to their mission together poisoning the water of the enemy base. They had both been ruthless then, and it hadn't changed in the days since.

Jedi temple. Raided by the last generation of Lords who killed the GM, he gave the very truncated version to indicate he had at least some understanding of what it was, though, of course, he had no idea what Azar had seen. He assumed there was more to the story, and sure enough, it was revealed.

"Contacted?" he repeated the word, both eyebrows rising as he listened to what Azar said. He had heard the rumors that this place was cursed, although now that he was here... he wasn't certain. Sure, it was corrupted now after whatever Azar and his apprentice had done, but cursed? It didn't feel like that.

What kind of mark? he asked. His initial thought was that it may have been something like a message, symbol, or rune. While Kaldar wouldn't have known how to decipher it, he was sure Azar would. The fact that it might simply be as mundane as a bruise was... more likely but disappointing and only occurred to him moments later. Even if that were the case, though... the implications were worth noting.

As they arrived in the Jedi Council room, Kaldar, of course, had to take a seat in one of the Jedi chairs on principle. The horribly, terribly uncomfortable Jedi chairs. Seriously, what was wrong with these people?

His mind turned over the statements Azar made, and he sensed there was truth to it. He also sensed Raze's... presence here. Azar was telling the truth, and that... led Kaldar to another thing. Rarely was he forward about his thoughts, but there was one that was worth asking. One that even if he didn't receive a true answer - or an answer at all - there was something to be learned.

Why are you helping me? I mean, really, he asked. They both knew that he could have already tried to undermine or undercut Kaldar's efforts, and yet Azar remained among Tempest's people. He had his suspicions, but there was more to it.

 

[Darth Arcanos]

“The mark of a handprint around her throat,” Azar explained, almost a hint of annoyance bleeding in at Kaldar’s ignorance. Then again, he couldn’t blame the guy - these things were in his ancestry and heritage. Kaldar was taught parts of it much later in life, “Something grasped her throat in the plane of the Force and it transcended to leave a physical imprint. But here’s the curious bit - the cause was a memory from many years ago.”

He watched as Kaldar took a seat in one of the chairs, unable to keep the smirk off his face. Azar wasn’t entirely surprised by the blunt question from Kaldar. His eyes narrowed slightly, “Don’t be cute, you’re serving my interests as well,” Azar reminded Kaldar. He didn’t work for free, after all.

Azar turned his head towards where the nexus pulsed most, “Beyond that..it’s exquisite,” He said, “This presence. The history. The way the Sith Lords were back then..the brutality of it, the lack of forgiveness, the passion to truly devastate. And the obedience commanded by..” Azar trailed off, walking over to drape himself across the Grandmaster’s seat at the head of the chamber.

“My people created and originated it and yet… this being harnessed better than any I have seen,” He concluded, tilting his head to gaze back at Kaldar, “I can see why you have such a fanatical devotion,” Azar smirked.

He jutted his chin towards where the nexus pulsed, “Go see for yourself if you dare. I only have theories, but I am not foolish enough to stick my own neck in there.”

Azar lazily swung his legs over the armrest of the seat, “I’ll be here to take your body away if needed.”

 

[Kaldar]

Kaldar listened, not missing the annoyance that Azar showed at his question.

Interesting, he thought, mulling over what it could mean. And thinking about the memory that triggered it. He supposed it made sense. This was the first place that put Raze on the map so to speak. It all felt like a lifetime ago. Kaldar had only been a small child at the time, and now... well, now he wasn't.

Kaldar got an insufferable smirk when Azar told him not to be cute before motioning to his own head. Yeah, but have you seen my face? I can't help it, he said, giving a face that said "I'm not wrong, I'm cute."

He listened as Azar spoke about Raze and the power that he held. It was hard to resist for someone like them, and for Kaldar's part, he saw no reason not to. Sure there was the impending risk of death at any moment that came with being Raze's apprentice, but... well, Sith. If that weren't there, then it wouldn't really be the Sith.

As Azar mentioned Kaldar's fanatical devotion, he just gave a face that said it once again wasn't wrong. It occurred to Kaldar that if he was expected to one day kill Raze in order to supersede him as the "master" as was the way during the Rule of Two he had his internal doubts that he even could. The more he saw, the more he... wondered.

And then they came to it at last. The moment he would have to take the plunge on faith. But it wasn't faith, was it? It was rationality and the assumption that people would act within their own best interests. That was what he did, and it was what he would continue to do now. The trick was just making sure that you knew what the other person wanted. In this case... he could assume Raze wanted to come back to this world.

Wow, thanks. Just don't do anything weird with it like use the parts for an abomination or something, he quipped despite his growing apprehension.

He sat up straight in the chair before leaning forward, hands on his knees and eyes closed almost as if he were praying. In truth, though, he reached out to the nexus, pressing beyond the Veil of this world and into the one beyond. Whatever had happened here when this place was cursed, the damage may have been reversed, but the threads of reality themselves were not repaired. It was scarred and the Veil remained thin even to this day. Thin enough for him to reach out to Raze and for his master to reach back.

 

[Darth Arcanos]

“Your face would be cuter with a beard,” Azar quipped back. He didn’t find humans that appealing, but apparently he had a thing for beards. The Pureblood rubbed his own chin briefly in thought, his mind wandering to another man (@Javier esschoolbus ) that started to feature in his head more than he would expect. His yellow gaze flicked back to Kaldar potentially walking into his death. Azar simply stretched like a cat and got cozy in the Grandmaster’s chair, “Let’s be real..if you’re too heavy for me to lug around, you’re adding to the temple decor,” He said sweetly, “Now go and give me a show,” He said with a breezy wave of his hand. He loved watching terrible things from a safe distance.

Kaldar would find himself piercing into the nexus easily enough. Like Freyja, he would catch glimpses of a mundane day filled with nothing. He would hear the footsteps of padawans and Knights. Unlike with Freyja, he was entirely alone here without Azar there to pull him back. In fact, Azar walked over with a sharpie to start drawing a mustache on Kaldar’s face while he was fully in the realm of the Force and unable to interact with the physical plane.

The memories would blur towards the day of the attack. Azar knew what was happening due to timing and he stepped back right when he knew Kaldar would feel that painful lurch. His back would feel as if hundreds of wounds were torn open and he would be caught in a silent scream. His head would feel as if it were being torn and shredded apart.

Eventually Kaldar would see a flash of silver eyes. The handsome face would move in closer, a triumphant smile gracing it. No words would be said.

Back in the physical realm, Azar was standing and staring awkwardly with sharpie in hand. All of a sudden Kaldar’s eyes popped open. Azar stepped back because he never saw Kaldar look so..icy before. The gaze was frigid and his entire demeanor changed. Azar felt an insane surge of power through Kaldar. Not!Kaldar flexed his own fingers, marveling at them before turning to regard Azar. The Pureblood had never felt more like livestock in the presence of a wolf.

“Fuck no,” He stated simply, watching as lesions began to appear on Kaldar’s skin. Azar could have run away, could have let this play out. It was a botched attempt at manifesting that would never work, and yet Raze attempted it anyway. The Pureblood groaned to himself before finally tapping into the nexus. With the entity briefly compromised, he was able to yank Kaldar from the depths and take him out.

The force of it sent both of them tumbling and Kaldar landed directly on top of him. Azar groaned in pain, trying to shake the other man awake, “Come on, idiot, wake up!” He said gruffly, already furious and unable to take Kaldar seriously with the crudely drawn squiggly mustache.

 

[Kaldar]

Kaldar descended into the nexus and beyond, feeling as the day changed from the mundane and beautiful to something dark and twisted. He felt the shattering of minds and bodies, felt them drain of life, and felt them hacked to pieces. He died a hundred deaths in what seemed to stretch on for eternity.

He felt creeping darkness swallow his mind and body, and for a moment, he was nothing. There was the void and the emptiness beyond. There was nothing the stretched on into eternity. Endless nothingness and then... a sense of connection to everything around him. An infinite existence that stretched out as if everything in the galaxy were him. Was this what dying felt like?

And then something pulled him back. He didn't even know what it was, but it wasn't Raze.

KRIFF! he screamed as he came back into his body. He reeled and struggled, like awakening from a bad dream, gasping for breath and looking around like a wild animal caught in a trap.

Kriff. Kriff this. Kriff Raze. I'm done, he spat. There was no one in the galaxy, not even Raze, that Kaldar would die for. He was clearly out of his league with this, and he wasn't willing to do the most un-Sith thing in the galaxy and sacrifice himself for someone else.

He wondered if Tempest had even noticed he was gone. You know... he could just kind of... slide back. The thought might have brought a smile to his face if he weren't still so infuriated by the fact that he was nearly just eaten as a human sacrifice.

Of course, he was completely unaware of the sharpie on his face, which did take away some of the severity of his words.

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar shook his head, glaring at Kaldar. The ‘I told you so’ was clearly etched across his face. He quickly stashed the sharpie away before Kaldar noticed. The other man was shaken up and he had open cuts all over his arms. Azar turned to smirk at Kaldar, “Can’t handle it, huh?” He turned to gaze towards the seat Kaldar had been sitting in, “Raze is a whole different level. Perhaps it’s best left buried.”

He found the entity terrifying and was surprised it was ever banished in the first place. Azar said nothing for a long time, “Are you truly done?” He asked, tilting his head to look at Kaldar. There was an uneasy look on Azar’s face that betrayed that there were other methods if Kaldar was willing. However, the question always came back to ‘should we’?

 

[Kaldar]

Kaldar didn't have told freak outs often, but he also didn't nearly die often either. And he had nearly died. In fact, he wasn't convinced that for a brief moment he was dead.

Alas, it was time for a freak out. A rare and singular melt down of any and all composure. He let the Force flow through him and proceeded to flip, trash, and rip apart most things in the room except for the GM's chair and the chair he had been sitting on. Because let's be real, even in rage state he knew he was going to want to sit again.

After thoroughly trashing the room, he felt slightly better, but not much which was followed by making an obscene gesture at Azar who had to completely unhelpfully ask "can't handle it."

I don't kriffing know. I'm not doing that again, he spat, pointing down at absolutely nothing in particular to indicate whatever had just happened.

And so he just proceeded to sit there pouting for several moments, glaring angrily at the floor with his arms folded, thinking. His foot tapped against the ground impatiently as if it would make him make a decision sooner.

And think he did. He probably had more to think about than he had time to think here and now. He thought about his options of striking out on his own and scavenging what he could of Raze's resources, knowledge, and powerbase. He was no Raze, but surely there were things he could use. Of course, if Raze did come back Kaldar had better make sure he was ready because that would not go over well.

He could continue this path of walking along the edge of the void. Twice now in his search for a way to bring Raze back, he had nearly been killed. He wasn't willing to die for anyone, and the risk of dying was very real and felt as if it were mounting with each passing "experiment."

And what were the rewards? Raze could offer him knowledge and power, but he would always be under his thumb, wouldn't he? Would he ever be able to challenge and defeat the Dark Lord? It was a difficult calculation to make. And how much power could he gain for himself if he simply devoted the same time and energy he spent trying to bring Raze back to his own development. To be sure, he had learned and grown through this, and his power had expanded.

And then there was the Sith Order. It was truly difficult to say if his absence had been noted... he had to assume it would be, and amused excuse of "I was helping Azar reclaim old Sith space" was both partially true and hilariously deceptive. It was rolling odds that were dangerous in their own way.

And ultimately he was left with no great answer. No clear cut path that was right.

You think I should let it lie, don't you? he asked with the scowliest of scowls on his face.

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar perched himself back into the Grandmaster’s chair while Kaldar threw a toddler tantrum around the room. The human felt the sting of betrayal and was lashing out at everything around him. The Pureblood rested his chin on curled fingers, watching this all play out, “You’re so hot when you’re mad,” He said with a breezy laugh, entirely unfazed by the dramatic display. Azar checked over his nails and let Kaldar’s theater play out.

He ignored Kaldar’s ridiculous scowl which was doubly enhanced by the squiggly mustache. He just needed a monocle to complete the look, “Stop looking to me to make the decision,” He said curtly, “You are either devoted to this cause, or you’re not. Stop dicking around either way.”

Azar pondered the circumstances for a while before finally answering, “What was attempted didn’t work because a vessel wasn’t prepared,” He explained, “He saw you as an avenue as the only way out and he tried to manifest. However it’s not that simple and many more things need to happen to make him suitable for a vessel. He is too powerful in his raw form as an entity. However, perhaps he thought you would want to have him reside in you. It would give you all his strength and he would exist within your mind."

Did any of that make sense? Kaldar looked too stupid and mad to comprehend anything right now. Azar stared at the other man for a moment, “You can always ditch this and return to the Sith. I’ll put in a good word for you,” He said, “But…you must make sure no one else will pick up where you’ve left off with.. This,” He said with a lazy circular gesture with his hand.

 

[Kaldar]

Kaldar was silent again for a long while, blissfully unaware of the classical mustache gracing his lips. Probably not quite the same effect as the beard that Azar was recommending.

Kaldar was quite skeptical of the idea that Raze did any of that out of any kindness to Kaldar. He was a tool to Raze and little more. He didn't expect much more than that because that was what the Sith were, but... was he even really Raze's apprentice or was he just deluding himself with that, too? Another tool in the tool box. He knew the answer, didn't he?

And it all came back to that single question: why? Why bring Raze back? Kaldar didn't do things out of the kindness of his heart either. Raze used him and he used Raze. Like a leech to a meathead. Which meant the answer came down to two things: power and pride. Did he think he could reach the same power - and survive - without Raze? And would his pride - for he had always prided himself on being able to accomplish whatever he set his mind to - allow him to quit?

Despite his... display earlier, his cooler head was returning, and that cooler head required data.

What would each of those processes entail? he asked. They were two very different things, and he had no doubt that each would require its own unique... hurdles.

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar wasn’t impressed by Kaldar’s existential crisis. He couldn’t imagine someone like Raze ever had the patience for someone that flip flopped like this. In fact, would the Dark Lord? Would anyone? He grimaced at the thought.

“If you keep pursuing Raze, we need more people committed to cause. And you need to stay committed,” He said harshly, “Opening up more nexuses, trying to engage this one but with the aid of another powerful Force user. It will take at least three Sith Masters to effectively access this one. With enough time and effort, I suspect the entity will be contained enough to manifest safely again.”

He rubbed his chin in thought, “If you want to come back over to the Sith Order, you will really have to bring some assets over. So far you look like an indecisive little shit. First you bailed on the Order, now you’d be bailing on Raze. And if someone else brings him back, he will eradicate you first,” He shrugged, “I would,” Azar said flatly, “You need to pick a path and stick with it or you lose all credibility. Find your place in the order of things.”

Azar exhaled placed a hand on his shoulder, “I only tell you this because in some fucked up way I consider you a friend. Don’t die for something silly. Make it count.”

 

[Kaldar]

Kaldar listened to the explanation of what it would take, and that was not a small thing. His mind turned over that process. It turned over the stories of Bane and Zannah and Ambria. He thought of the stories he had heard about their dynamic over the years, and he thought about his relationship to Raze. It was a strange thing, the relationship between master and apprentice in the Sith, and if he truly was going to subscribe to the Rule of Two... well, then he still had to prove himself.

The crux of his problem was that Raze had never really needed allies. He had enough power to carry the galaxy on his back... Kaldar didn't. Plus he'd walked into this situation without the proper planning, something he cursed himself for doing.

No, the longer he sat there the more his regular composure returned. Although his normal levity was gone, so too, now, was his momentary lapse in self control. The further he got from his near-death experience, the more clear things became.

The final comment by Azar was... well, he wasn't sure if it - or all of it for that matter - was a manipulative maneuver. He certainly was no stranger to telling people things and framing it in such a way to make them do certain things... but also what was Azar gaining from this? Maybe it was genuine.

Yeah well you've known I was a little twit since Anoth. Nobody else knows that, though, he quipped. I assume if we're friends this means you're going to have to kill me now, he added with smirk.

You have to cut me a little slack, I did just die, he said, finally pushing himself back up to his feet. Which meant he only had eight more lives. Yeah, Kaldar could be a cat. It fit.

I think I know someone else that will help us, he said, and it was clear from that statement alone that he wasn't coming back to the Sith Order. And frankly for good reason. Raze was still Raze after all, and while Kaldar had been shaken, he'd already made his decision.