Ask Ramifications

[Renfry]

Once more a return to Junction. Not the capital of the Empire, not even a planet that most had any awareness of, but it housed the current Imperial Council chamber.

And it was from Junction that changes would be happening. She had summoned all three members of the Imperial Council without warning and without explanation. It wasn't often that the Council was summoned these days, but things needed to be dealt with, and the Empress was not happy.

In the wake of her relative leave of absence during her pregnancy, the Empire had stagnated and the Council members had done nothing. It was the exact same stagnation that had destroyed the Eternal. The only person who had actually accomplished things in the last several months was Lord Raze and he wasn't even a member of the Council.

She waited for the other three to arrive, and didn't wait long before she started speaking.

I am incredibly unhappy with the state of this Council, she stated bluntly. Her golden eyes were fiery with anger, and it didn't take a genius to see what was going to happen. She had previously spoken to them about the precarious situation the Empire was in and it seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

Friendship or pleasurable company weren't enough to keep and secure positions on the Council.

Would someone like to tell me why Lord Raze who isn't even on this Council has done more for the Empire in the last several months than all of you combined? she asked, her eyes flashing around the room to each person in turn. And she did expect answers. The various members were in varying levels of hot water, and she would have wagered they could guess as much.

OOC: @Braden @Mr. Teatime I'll be posting in this at latest every 48 hours

 

[Darth Caelestis]

The planet's name fitted its location, a cross roads between the Eastern reaches and Western reaches of the Empire, I short hope from Dathomir and Serenno a perfect place to pull this small council together. A shame that perfection was the opposite of what Artorigas wished to see right now. He sat in his chair, long hair drifting past his shoulder blades, his long shaggy beard hiding his jaw and neck from the Empress and Lord Stolas. Artorigas Wessex was not the man that either of them had last seen on Serenno, much had changed and at the same time very little.

His eyes drifted across the room as Andruil spoke, at the mention of Raze and what he was doing compared to them, his eyes shifted directly to hers. For a moment he just stared, an almost empty look towards the Empress before slowly his mouth opened. "all of us combined." He replied before turning away to look at the blank wall before him. He did not turn away from fear but from disinterest in her immediate reaction. Artorigas' head lent back and his eyes closed. Andruil was not wrong however, he had disappeared from Serenno from the Eastern Reaches from the Sith Empire entirely since that party.

If she asked him why he doubted he could give her a coherent answer. There was a hundred reasons yet none of them where truly excusable. Yet he would not accept all blame, yes Raze had acted across the Galaxy in their absence, but that was all of theirs including the Empress herself. And there was always that what ticked along in the back ground, on that long lost Black Rock which he could release to galaxy as a reminder of what he could do.

@Phoenix @Mr. Teatime

 

[Renfry]

Darth Andruil was growing quite tired of the insubordination of those in Imperial leadership of late. The anger grew within her, swelling and threatening to boil over into violence. She had nearly killed Tiamat for her prior defiance, and the thought crossed her mind again, but she for a short moment she said nothing. She wondered how long it would be until it would require someone dying to keep the others in line.

Exegol's shipyards still running on schedule was the primary goodwill that he had brought into this meeting, and that goodwill was quickly being used up.

I'm glad you brought up my recent leave, she said, voice seemingly undisturbed by what he had just said. My recent medical leave of absence highlighted that if I'm not running your organizations for you personally, my Council certainly isn't doing anything, she said. With each word she spoke, her voice became harsher. The air in the room began to drop rapidly, degree by degree.

If you, Artorigas, would like to question what I've done for the Empire, then pull out your lightsaber and question it, she said, eyes now all but blazing in anger even if he didn't have it in him to look at her.

Until then, this is not a kriffing democracy. I put you in that seat, and if you ever speak to me like that again, I will take you out of it, she said, voice now as cold as ice. The threat was not empty, and her current condition didn't seem to intimidate her out of facing challenge head on. After all, Andraste had taken over the Sith while pregnant.

@Mr. Teatime @Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

His eyes remained closed as she began to raise her voice. It sounded as if at first Andruil tried to keep her composure, it was calm and undisturbed by his own words, was it because of their prior relationship or the fact she truly wanted this council to remain civil. But by the end of her rant, her voice had become a shrill screech of someone who seemingly desperately prayed for a reaction, be it subservience or action. Artorigas clenched his teeth as he absorbed her words, half of it a contradiction, she had brought them here to question what we had not done in the past few months, not what we had done in our lifetimes.

They all only sat in these seats because of what they had done in the past to further the Sith Empire, before the three of them it had been a ragtag bunch of overly spoiled and aggressive children fighting over the scraps of the galaxy which interested them the most. Now it was an Empire spanning much of the Northern reaches of the Galaxy.

Andruil had been as guilty as himself since Life Day, but as soon as he called it out, she seemingly flew behind the defence of her extended service. A strategy he clearly from her tone could not hide behind. I mean yes she was pregnant, but if she was truly willing and as powerful as she claimed to be in both body and mind. It would not have stopped her. She may have had to lay down the lightsaber and the lightning for those months, but she could have picked up the pen and the comn. Instructed invasions, expansions, build ups and treaties. Instead she had become as relaxed and stand-offish as both he and Stolas, trusting that those beneath would continue to run the system until their minds once again turned to the Empire.

If he was honest before he stepped into that room today, his mind was not on the Empire, it was hardly on the Sith or even himself. It there was any doubt it was evident in his apparel, today Artorigas wore no crown, no jewellery, no finery of any style or taste. Only a pair of black trousers, boots and a loose black Gi, he had attended not as a King, a Councillor or a Sith Lord, only himself Artorigas Wessex. Only days prior he had his blank and empty consciousness pulled back into the fold by that vision. That winged creature, swooping down from the dark sky, to deliver a warning, vision, challenge, Artorigas was still unsure only that whatever it was it required action. That and not Andruil’s summons is what had pulled him halfway across the galaxy.

Artorigas opened his eyes, a small misty cloud appeared before him as he exhaled. The room had become cold Andruil’s furry evident in the chill in the air, the goosebumps running down Traviess’s arms opposite him. As he looked up into that dark space high above, his vision once again shifted, the blackness reforming, from blank sheets of iron and bars of steel came wings as delicate as silk. The shifting darkness spoke, its voice as sweet as honey, it sounded like his mother, his sister, Andruil, Malou all combined into one. It spoke of great things, of terrible things, of things yet to come and things already unfolding. It spoke of the past, the future and the present. It spoke of Andruil, of Stolas, Raze, Asminys, Ceryx, Tiamat, Veles, Draugr and him. It gave him questions, but more simply it gave him, finally answers.

His arms slid down from his lap grasping hold of the arm rests, with little force of muscle but great force of will Artorigas pushed himself from the seat. He kept his eyes forward for the moment not looking at either of the other three individuals in the room. One step. Two. Three and one more left him upon the floor, its shining steel reflecting his dark demeanour.

He pulled his eyes towards the Empress, she was filled with fire and fury, it almost put a smile on his face, he enjoyed her passion. The way she looked at him however brought up more emotion that he could in that moment process, strife, love, anger, betrayal, sympathy, compassion and emptiness. This was a woman that he was once on the cusp of loving, yet his own ambition had got in the way of him ever truly understanding his own feelings, until the time was long past. The two had a deep history; she had picked up his feeble Acolyte self and carried him through his first mission on Makem Te, he honestly would not be here alive if it was not for her. A dozen times since then they had crossed paths, always as compatriots, allies, friends.

But today was the last, it was not because she questioned his loyalty, he was truly loyal to her. Nor his competence, he had proven himself a hundred fold over. Her aggressive demeanour, he had seen and heard much worse and allowed it to flow over him. Nor even the threat itself, he could suck it up, apologise and go back to Exegol and work it would not have bothered him.

It changed because, that was the answers and replies of Artorigas Wessex, the King of Avillion, an Imperial Councillor, loyal subject to Renfry. But he was no longer that man who had no ambition, no goals, no love, no desire to live or even to breathe.

It changed because he was Darth Caelestis, Lord of the Sith.

A saber appeared in his hand.

 

[Renfry]

She could sense what was coming before it happened. The way the power in the room swirled, the way it moved with a darkness that wasn't there before, and the way Art's face changed. The truth was that Art was someone she cared for. Even if things had never turned out for them in a relationship, he was never someone she had wanted to kill. She thought back to when she had first met him. The way he was hesitant of the dark side and the way she had nudged him into it. The way that he had finally overcome the demon of a Sith Lord inside his own head. The way he had built power for himself. The gifts he had given her. What could have been. But he wasn't that man now. He was someone else.

Here they were, and there was no turning back.

She rose from her chair as he stopped in front of her, saber in hand. She reached out and touched the mind of Lord Raze, but not for the purpose some might imagine. She knew the doors would open and he would appear momentarily. It was not an accident nor was it an accident that she had asked him to be the new Dark Lord.

Lord Raze, please clear the room. Lord Caelestis and I have business, she said. Her eyes never for a moment broke from Artorigas. Eyes she had once known now looked very different than they had before.

She didn't trust the others not to interfere or stab her in the back when she was wounded. Stolas had challenged a pregnant woman before and she had taken the throne out from under him. Even Traivess, an "honorable" man was as likely as not to shoot her in the back. Power did odd things to one's mind.

Another coward only ready to issues challenge when their victim is pregnant, she said. Were she to die here today, the words would stain whatever rule he had. An accusation of weakness that would cling to him like acid clung to one's clothes, scorching the skin beneath.

She pulled the lightsaber from her belt, igniting it in a single smooth motion as she held it out to her right side, pointing toward the floor.

Goodbye, Art, she said.

And then she opened herself up to the Shadow. It's power flowed into her, that supreme bending of the galaxy that few could hope to match. the power of a true Empress, master of the arcane, and Queen of the Nightsisters.

She drank it in, letting it suffuse ever part of her being. Her eyes began to glow green much as they had the night the Eternal - Tiamat - had defied her. And then, as the doors closed, the blow was struck.

In a flash, her left hand came up and a bolt of pure green shot free from her hand. A single, round orb that if it struck would slam into his chest, launching him back and leaving severe burns beneath. It was an attack few in the galaxy actually saw, and that made it all the more difficult for people to counter, though it would look familiar to Caelestis if he thought back.

@Sreeya @Mr. Teatime @Braden

 

[Darth Stolas]

It exceptionally was rare for the Empress to call a meeting. Or, more accurately, unheard of. She hadn't done so since taking the throne. All the same, Stolas had a decent enough idea of what might be discussed. He left his armour's helmet and mantle outside the council chambers, going through his standard light-bow greeting and glancing briefly over the Nightsister's form before taking his seat. Morgan appeared relatively calm as Andruil spoke, if as sharp-eyed as ever.

Artorigas spoke up as the Firrerreo was opening his mouth, just a few words on the Empress' own behavior. It seemed to quickly escalate from there. Andruil demanded Artorigas back up his words with a weapon. Morgan had quickly noticed Artorigas' change in attitude. No deference, politeness, or 'm'Empress' to be heard. Instead, he followed the Empress' direction in a different way.

"Aha. So we're doing this now?" he commented dryly as Caelestis stepped forward and drew his lightsaber. Stolas' hand went to his as well, standing from his seat but making no move forward as of yet. This all presented for Morgan a difficult situation. He had no overwhelming love for the Serennian, on the one hand. On the other, the Firrerreo's loyalty had been frayed ever since a Sith fleet had burned his home. His teacher would tell him, no doubt, to simply allow the two to duel it out. It was the proper way of things in the Sith. Still, the choice left a fanged snarl on Morgan's face.

That this was the second challenge against a pregnant woman wasn't lost on Stolas, nor on Andruil, apparently. As if bombarding civilians from orbit, children and pregnant women included, was somehow more honorable. Ridiculous. Corpses all looked the same when they burned.

Renfry had called Raze by name to 'clear the room'. Morgan had been intending to witness the duel. Instead, the rest of the Council was meant to be escorted out instead of Andriuil asking them to leave? How boring. The Empress realized she inspired little loyalty, in spite of Morgan's prior support. Faithless sovereign bred treacherous subjects. However this ended, Morgan's frayed loyalty- and interest as a result- had been lost.

"Yes, fine. Try to keep your clothes on."

Morgan flicked a finger to open the chamber doors and walked out on his own. The Warmaster had no interest in being within 10m of a high-caliber Sith fight and followed right along, leaving the two of them outside in what amounted to a fancy lobby. Morgan sealed the door behind him, at this point expecting Raze to show up.

He doubted Renfry would call him if he was off watching Huttball in sweatpants, after all. Morgan was unsure of what precisely to expect from the self-interested demon but did not intend to wander off.

Raze took his time, and the Drast waited.

@Phoenix @Braden @Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

While Morgan had known Emryc for years, he had only seen glimpses of Raze. Ever since Firrerre, a change had come over him where the two had merged and blended. However, it also gave each side a bit more control over the other, resulting in a constant battle. Emryc was a man of memories both painful and fond, he was a man that had learned to love, a man that had learned to laugh, to understand. A man that had once been nothing but ice, but one that was shaped into something so much more. And it had been due to the efforts of Morgan, before he was ever Stolas. Back when he had lofty dreams, but when he himself was just a carefree young man. When they were both just that, with big goals and ambitions but still living and loving each day.

If Emryc had been present, there would have been a pause. There would have been a long, lingering look. Even if things were history, even if it was all in the past. There was no denying the impact Morgan had on him and would always have until the day Emryc died. Morgan had been the first one Emryc had loved and had the courage to call it that. He had been the first to help undo much of the damage his time with the Cadre had inflicted. If Emryc had been present, he would have chalked it up to tensions running high and would have suggested simply leaving and working something out.

But it was Raze here today.

The tall figure was adorned in his armor that was now infamous among both Jedi and Sith. He strode down the lobby, but he did not draw his weapons. Crimson visor fixed on Morgan, but the Firrerreo would hear movement next to him. The Imperial Councilor began to open and close his mouth, attempting to work out a solution. He was subsequently cast to the side with tremendous force. A sick crunch resounded as his head collided with the wall, his body momentarily flung midair as Raze flexed his fingers close. There was an audible crack of ribs and bones caving inwards, organs being punctured and exploding internally. The mass of the human fell into a pathetic pile on the floor to the side without Raze ever looking away from Stolas.

Based on how the icy chill pulsed from the Sith Lord, Stolas would be able to tell right away Emryc was nowhere to be found. The signature felt different, the gait was different, the way he stood was different, the way he gazed at him even through the visor was different. This was an entirely different man that stood across from him. It was more machine than man, and Stolas would understand there was no reasoning with it.

Without warning, the Force gathered and slammed out towards the Firrerreo, intended to knock him back against the doors he closed behind himself. Raze strode forward with purposeful, methodical steps. He had been given a job, and he would complete it.

@Phoenix @Mr. Teatime @Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

His heart leapt as Andruil stepped from her chair, it was always going to happen, she couldn't take his actions lying down, she had to act. But even so watching her step forward from her seat to confront him still moved his heart. Artorigas’ eyes locked onto hers, he sensed the movement of the sabre slipping into her grasp and he subconsciously gripped his tighter. This was a woman, who no matter her state, was a deadly enemy, thousands lay in her wake over the years, Jedi and Sith alike. It would take all he had to not lose his head today.

From the corner of his eye he saw Stolas move, would he get involved. If so would he choose a side, would it be his. There was no tight bound between the pair, though maybe a little stronger than that he shared with the Empress. He had no deep knowledge of their true relationship but the small glimpses he had gained from parties and other gatherings showed that at most it was a working relationship. Perhaps then he had his backing, or maybe this would quickly turn to a three way battle for control over the Empire, but alas it was not to be.

Caeestis’ jaw clenched and head rotated in frustration, anger, rage when he heard her call out to Raze. He had no qualms with the man, but once again the Sith Lord had positioned himself at Andruil’s side, once more stood against him. If he did strike down the Empress, would he then need to deal with Raze next, they had a connection deeper than almost anyone in the Order.

Honestly, part of him inside, the part that was Artorigas, felt sick at challenging her in this condition. But the needs must, she had laid out the challenge to him, if he was to back down then to strike later, it would feel as equally as cowardice. “As you told me long ago, The strong always consume the weak’. I would rather not fight you like this, but alas this is the Sith way.” With that Caelestis ignited his sabre, if she looked closely gone where his pale blue eyes, the eyes that had always looked out upon the world, upon her. From Makem Te, to Dathomir, Serenno to Exegol, Korriban to here. They were gone, blue and grey moulded to red and yellow, the Darkness he had forever kept at bay, finally let in.

“Farewell Renfry.” He said bringing his sabre up to a guard.

The power of The Force flowed into her, it was twisted and distorted through her control. The pure essence of the Dark Side as he knew it turned and morphed into the Magicks of her kind. Her eyes glowed, like a pulsating flame, he had seen her channel this power a dozen times before and this Magick he had seen before. Upon a quiet Castle on Serenno, a joyous celebration was corrupted by darkness, when Raze had tried to stop him from…

Then as now, the Dark Side was in control, its essence flowing through every pour, fibre and molecule of his body, every permissible physical limit had been removed, all barriers within his uncertain mind torn down. Where Artorigas would have been killed in that moment Caelestis reacted as before, shifting his left right back he shifted his body to the left allowing the ball to fly past his chest colliding into the wall behind him. An explosion of debris let out behind him, dust filling the space around them.

As he moved the energies of the Dark Side collated within his left hand, as good as she was with the Magicks of the order, he was as prevalent with Fire. Shooting out his hand Caelestis summoned a wave of flames spreading from left to right of her, looking to engulf her body, scorch her clothes, char her skin, sear her throat, wither and blacken her lungs.

Once the wave of flames left his hand he would be on the move closing the small gap quickly. His crimson blade moved to strike from above, from Andruil’s left shoulder to her right rib cage. Caelestis, almost eight inches taller, would used his height and reach to the advantage, allowing the torque within his body to bring the blow down with greater force than one of equal height. He purposefully aimed for her left side, a baby bump between his attack and the source of her block.

@Phoenix @Mr. Teatime @Sreeya

 

[Renfry]

She took no pleasure in what was happening, but Andruil would brook no further insult and would not hesitate to finish this fight, no matter how ugly things got. She could feel a flash in the Force, both a distraction and a real threat looking to sweep over her as blue flame.

Seeing as the flames were a wave from the side rather than a direct spray from his hand, she had opportunity of her own. Her left hand shot out to her left and energy flowed into that fire. She didn't try to stifle it or even overcome his proverbial grip on it completely, instead she redirected it. Like a current of water as he pushed it forward, she simply let it flow in a different direction from where he intended, turning his own power against him. Just before it reached her hand, it arced and curved, rather than continuing to rush into her, it turned toward him.

The short distance of the charge toward her would be suddenly stifled as a wave of his own fire would flood over him and with fortune the short distance would prevent him from avoiding the surprise. The act of redirection was itself simpler than conjuration and manipulation together, meaning the action was less draining on her reserves while serving not only as a defense but offense as well.

In the event that he still managed to leap through those flames to attack her, things would fall a bit short of his intentions.

The leverage he had counted on wouldn't be quite as impactful given she still stood on the elevated dais upon which she had sat. The baby bump was not ideal, but she wasn't yet so swollen as to be completely incapable of seeing her toes so to speak.

Her saber reached across, still catching his blow with a downward facing saber. Still, it was enough to keep his saber from reaching her should he manage to deal with the flames. It wasn't long before she went on to retaliate with a vengeance.

Catching his blade if even for a moment meant that she was now on the inside of his guard, and that was the opportunity she used to attack. From her left hand now flowed a burst of green lightning, the variation learned and used by the Nightsisters and from someone such as her, potent enough to kill if unabated.

As she unleashed the flow - unable to be blocked by his saber due to positioning - she took a step back and to her own right, moving to the side of the seat she had been on and putting more distance between the pair.

@Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

When would those who face him learn that the fire belonged to him and him alone. Time and time again those who Caelestis had faced, looked to turn his own attack against him. Perhaps it was the will of the flame to be so easily swayed by wind and power, but even so, he was the master of the fire.

He was already on the move however, so action could only resolve this. His left arm still raised from the attack he once again poured the Darkness into himself, the energy flowing through his body condensing within the cells of his palm. A short blast of concentrated force energy exploded from his hand, the shockwave of the blast would remove the ferocity of the fire and cause a small gap for him to pass through. Holding his breath as he moved through as to not sear his lungs, some still caught upon his extremities, the smell of burning hair ran thick through his nostrils as his overgrown beard and air were singed. Small parts of his Gi were smouldering as he approached the Empress.

The dais levelled out some of the height difference but having to take the first few steps to get within striking reach turned it back towards his favour. Her block was swift, raising her sabre across her body, but it was a flawed defence. Her palm outward turned and arm raised above her head to defend, all the force pressed down upon her tricep and shoulder joint, he leant forward and left into the attack putting pressure onto the weaker muscles of her arm, pushing her blade towards her body.

It was then Caelestis felt it, The Force pooling into Andruil’s left hand, it was extended out in front of her body to not fry herself as she tried to let out a ball of Force Lighting. Using his longer limbs he snapped his arm across the gap between them. Grabbing the Empress by the wrist and pushing her hand away from his body as the lightning erupted, missing his body as he continued to push her onto her left and crashing into the chair on the other side. With one hand firmly gripping her arm and the other pinning her sabre arm back against her body, he had the physical control.

Once again fire came forth from the Sith Lord, his palm would become an inferno of Fire, looking to extend up the Empress’ arm and burn her from finger to jaw.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Andruil was already stepping back and to the right as she launched her attack, and that meant her hand was not so easy to access. Combined with the fact that she hadn't extended her hand out all that far meant that she need only pull it back slightly in conjunction with her step back to put it out of reach, leaving his grab to come up empty handed without actually inhibiting her own assault.

The grab was not a guarantee, and that was where the Councilor's problems would begin. His defense against the lightning was predicated on the success of his grapple, and without it he had done nothing to prepare or protect himself. As such, the lightning slammed into him, powerful enough to tear flesh from bone and cause muscles to seize up. Perhaps not lethal on a first strike, but enough to be terribly damaging to the point of near-debilitation.

The lack of a grab also protected her from being slammed around or burned. The step back meant that she had less pressure placed on her saber arm as the distance between them grew, but as his muscles would no doubt now be seizing and spasming under the lightning, it wasn't likely he would be able to keep the pressure up anyway.

Was this always your plan? Stab me in the back on Serenno? Challenge me when I was pregnant? she hissed over the crackling of the lightning. The claims that he wasn't moving to attack her at that party were now in deep doubt.

Are you even ready to take this seat? Few seemed to understand the weight of that chair. The isolation it carried with it. Bringing death to friends, crushing enemies, sewing death across the galaxy. To sit in a seat of power was to be alone.

@Braden

 

[Darth Stolas]

There he was, Raze himself, marching in a formation all his own. Always getting taller and stronger, year by year. When they'd met their heights were hardly different at all and now the half-Sephi towered over near everyone. It was such a strange thing to remember, here at this moment. So odd to think, in a flash, of verbal games, tender touches, the longing echo of laughter and song. Bad whiskey, dirty napkins, an old holofilm they'd never managed to finish. The soulful lilt of jazz in the air as they lay together on mussed sheets, hand in hand no matter how silly it'd felt. Secrets told and secrets kept, lip to ear, heart to heart. They'd tried together, how they'd tried. Back when they'd been younger, as it was, high up on cloud nine.

If Emryc had been present, there would have been something to say, in the silent way their eyes could speak. Even if after everything else there was a kind of love there, buried in ash. Emryc had been the first man Morgan had ever truly loved that way, just for being who he was. He'd learned to be far more straightforward with who he was and what he said, to do be more than he was 'supposed' to be. To love and be loved in turn. Time passed, seasons changed, and Morgan would never forget the way it'd felt, the joys, companionship, growth, and pains they'd shared. If Emryc had been present, Morgan would have agreed with him. Perhaps even fly far and away, across the universe.

But Emryc wasn't here. In his place there only stood a demon wearing his face.

Golden eyes locked sharp and hawk-like to the crimson visor Andruil's magic words had called. Morgan had never seen him this way, every mannerism so completely different from the man he knew. Stolas didn't look away as the human near him was quickly reduced to a fine red paste, nostrils flaring as the air filled with scents of fresh blood and shattered bone. Arctic cold blew in waves from the towering shape that walked toward him, and the Drast began to step forward.

Where Raze was the most desolate winter Stolas was like staring into the sun. A harsh and explosive flame always barely held back beneath silver skin and sunflower eyes. A monstrous furnace in the Force that consumed shards of humanity to burn. It spread to his eyes, bleeding them flame-orange and narrowing his pupils to razor slits as the situation became clear, fangs bared in a vicious snarl. Maybe there was no other way the long and winding road they'd walked would end. He hated that this was happening, hated it, and all the things that made it so. Every single thing.

THEME​

The Firrerreo's gaze widened with a wild and focused intensity as he stared down the demon who'd burned his home to nothing. For the first time, almost certainly the last, the frost-rimed dragon and flame-wreathed tiger faced one another as enemies. Forced to make a choice, one he'd never wished to make, Morgan chose to give in to all the fury he'd held.

Stolas' right hand shot forward in response to the gathered power from Raze, the other Sith's telekinetic push met in its center by Stolas' power to split and stifle it. The Firrerreo slid backward from where he'd been standing, still pushed to slide back until his back thumped roughly against the door, the edges of the push crashing against the walls on either side. A growl rumbled from his throat as he again started toward Raze with a hunter's gait. The Force coiled around the other Sith's head to yank it back and down, intending to throw Raze off balance as he walked forward and ideally slam the back of his head into the ground.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

Raze was quick to act, and he channeled the Force as soon as Morgan skidded back against the door. When he felt the Force coil around himself, he only resisted partially, using the momentum to lean his body back so there was no abrupt snapback. As a result, he also skidded back, his back collided against the opposite wall behind him, the impact lessened just as it had been for Morgan. There was a reasoning behind his partial resist, and it was to keep on the offense.

The Sith Lord focused the Force and coiled it around Morgan’s neck in a choke. However, he had far more sinister plans. Without warning, he would plunge into the Firrerreo’s mind. It would be like a thousand daggers stabbing into his psyche at once. They would be memories, emotions, horrors and everything else at once. He would see his homeworld burning, he would see Kaia’s face slowly burning as the skin melted off her face and turned to ash. He would see his planet ablaze, faces he knew and cherished all burning and melting away.

And then he would see memories of himself with Emryc. He would hear all the quiet whispers and promises that meant so much back then. He would see that familiar graveyard of his father. He would hear every word Emryc had once said to the grave, words Morgan hadn’t physically been there to hear back then. Words of a promise that would never come true. He would be reminded of all the ways he had been weak, of all the ways he had a hand in destroying it. And the sobering, painful reality of just how alone he was. A failure to live up to his family name and a failure to succeed in achieving anything with his passion. As the memories and images flooded his mind, the Sith Lord worked in an attempt to damage his psyche, weakening him mentally to render him worthless. Raze had no qualms with exploiting Emryc for his attacks, and this was just another example of that. Somewhere now and then, Morgan would catch glimpses of Emryc, but he always purposely looked away.

Physically, the Force continued to coil around the Firrerreo’s neck. Morgan would realize very quickly just how powerful Raze was, his strength on par with the Empress herself and profoundly more damaging than when had last known him. The Sith Lord showed no mercy, intending to double down with both attacks to render Morgan incapable of fighting back. A physical repulse with the Force would do little to throw off the Sith Lord that was now pressed up against the wall behind him.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Darth Caelestis]

Her step backwards had caught him off guard, he felt more than saw her hand slip through his fingers. History repeating itself again. Skin passed skin only a fraction of an inch between them, when the lightning leapt out of the Empress' hand and slammed into his side, the Dark Side energy ripped into his body, he felt the electricity run up his body, the nerves, muscle tissues and tendons tighten up on exposure. The hand gripped round his sabre clenched down tighter the small indentations of metal and leather digging into his palm.

The pain racking through his body was immense, if this had been Artorigas at this point he may have given in, not knowing how to work the pain to his advantage, but Caelestis had learned. Pain was a path into the Darkness and for that moment as it racked his body, skin blistering under the heat of the lightning he enjoyed it. For the pain gave him power, his hand did not reach Andruil’s but it was still within a close distance and Force Energy was still flowing into it ready to burn her to ashes. With the added strength of his agony coursing through him the fire leapt forth, a small inferno aimed at her left arm. The fire would not stop the lightning, but she would have to call off the attack or have her arm incinerated.

His mind was so focused on the pain and the fire, this allowed her to step back from him, the pressure of the blade slowly falling until they separated. As Andruil spoke, Caelestis' eyes turned towards hers once again, there was venom in her voice. “If you think I would have killed you on Serenno, then you never truly listened or saw me, did you?” He growled as he took a step back away from the women, waves of pain still ran through his body.


Artorigas had always been loyal, devout and caring for the Empress, did she not see it? If she did, did Andruil even care? Or was she stringing him along, using his emotions to control the Imperial Councillor to further her own gains? For Andruil to once again doubt he would have killed her that day hurt him more than he cared to admit. “I would prefer not to fight you at all Andruil, I am only doing what you asked of me so many times.” With that he whipped his sabre around the hum of the plasma echoing through the throne room as he put himself into a guard.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Crispy flesh was now one more thing that bound the two Sith. The scent of scorched and charred clothes filled the room as her lightning struck true, her rage and sense of betrayal poured into every tendril.

And yet even as her lightning magick poured free from her, his own flames leapt at her. It washed across her forearm and she instinctively leapt backward, landing on the floor next to the throne. Horrid burning washed along her forearm. Beneath her robes where there had once been gentle, pale skin it was reddened and blistered, warped from the heat of blue flame. Her teeth gritted together. The green glow had faded from her eyes, but that wild gaze of gold had replaced it, locked on him as he fell into a defensive stance.

I heard what you told me, but the man who said those words wouldn't be trying to kill me now! she responded.

Everything you said to me is in question now. Framed by this: your decision to overthrow me. Kill me, she spat. It was difficult to cite prior trust when the person you were supposed to trust had just left burns across your body.

She snickered at his final comment. You have a funny way of showing you don't want to fight me, she said, the laugh hardly warm.

She made a feinted lunge forward as if she meant to engage him with her lightsaber, but nothing came of it. Instead, what happened was that a full flow of energy slammed into his mind. It was waves of her own emotion that she had come to grips with over the years, but would be raw and primal to him. New, different, and terrible. Feelings of betrayal, inadequacy, and uncertainty. It was fear for her people, fear for her child, fear for the success of the Empire. He wouldn't be able to parse through the meaning behind the feelings, but it was pure, powerful emotion.

And just after the impact, as his mental walls were still straining there came a still, small voice. Was it all a lie? Did you mean any of what you said? it whispered in his mind.

Is this even what you want?

@Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

The smell of burning flesh hung around the pair of them, it was a sickly sweet odour like most cooked meats that both brought pleasure and disgust to Caelestis’ mind as he breathed deep. His heart was pounding, adrenaline ran through his system as the excruciating pain slowly began to subside. ‘You heard, but did not see.’ Caelestis thought to himself as she spat back at him.

Once again the room began to cool, the ice in her tongue lacing the room with a cold that sunk deep into the bones. Without thought, the Fire’s of Wessex once again began to burn, a small ember of a flame about his hands. They were a lighthouse in the night against the cold venom of the Empress.

Small plumes of mist poured from his mouth as he spoke. “I said a single line and challenged my right to sit here. What would you have me do, bow down and apologise for speaking my mind? Become your pet again? Would you have respected me if I towed the line forever?” Caelestis spat back frustration in his voice.

Calestis rose his sabre to guard against the feinted lunge, but it was empty, twisting his wrist the Sith Lord readied his attack when a wave of Force Energy slammed into his very being. Waves of sadness, anger, fear, betrayal crashed into him like a wave of metal, the mental toll from just that second pushed him down to one knee as his mind tried to process what was happening.

He tried to resist a hundred walls he had built within himself to hide his soul from the Wretchedness inside, the animal deep down in his soul which he had fought against for years. Standing before the onslaught of the Empress, one would crack and crumble then another, but it took time and every wall seemed to take longer to fall than the last. Artorigas stood at the centre surrounded by these walls, when he heard it, the faint whisper of Renfry’s voice of the canons of her attack.

Beside him upon the walls a shadow appeared, the shape of a woman, just under shoulder height, pale skin and glowing yellow eyes, robes of silk and jewels of all colours hung around her. It was her and it wasn’t, but Artorigas spoke to it all the same. “I have never lied to you.” He began, the crash of another wall far in the distance filling the quiet between his words. “Every word and feeling I had was true. But it was not enough, for you, perhaps even for me.” Two walls fell quickly as his rage and anger subsided for that moment.

“What I wanted I cannot have… So I changed, I adapted, I turned away from that life and chose to begin myself anew. No longer Artorigas, but now truly Darth Caelestis.” A new shadow appeared, this one larger, more dominating, thick with darkness and black with anger. This shadow slowly wrapped itself around Artorigas, its form becoming solid. Artrogias’ eyes turned to yellow, his skin paled, lightning scars appeared across his arm. "What I want now, I cannot truly say. But if my destiny lies within that chair then so be it. But still even then I do not want to see you dead."

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Everything in the room seemed to freeze. Their minds worked far faster than any body could, the exchange between them cutting for both, and not in the physical sense. Life and the Shadow had a cruel and ironic way of denying people what they wanted most. Perhaps she had done to another that same thing that she had felt.

And yet, they adapted, changed themselves, pursued things that perhaps they didn't even want. Chasing after something that would fill the void. But they also became better. She thought she had finally found something for herself, and now it and her own life were being threatened. It was part of the reason she fought with such ferocity.

And yet, that still, small voice spoke to her as well. It told her of things she had already lost. It told her that perhaps she need not lose more. And over that voice was a raging siren, reminding her that if sacrifices weren't made, she could lose everything.

If you don't even know whether you want it, then it will consume you, her incorporeal form said to him. It won't offer you what you're looking for, she said, the words spoken by someone who knew.

And she let the words linger and fester. The doubt would begin to pull at his mind. The doubt regarding the exact things he had just stated; his uncertainty if this was even his destiny. He would wonder if he was better off as an Emperor and he would wonder what it would even give him beyond what he now had. And he would wonder if it would fill the void that gnawed at him.

She withdrew her mind from his, and paused. She should have pressed the attack and finished the fight. Struck while he was recovering to kill him, but she didn't. She let the cracks of doubt break within his mind. Let it fracture his confidence and center in the Force. Weaken that resolve and perhaps bring him back to sense once again. Her intention today had not been to fight or kill him, but blood had already been spilled. Hers, his, and others on the Council. And yet, his death had never been what she sought. Only loyalty, success, and respect. No small asks, but they were the pillars on which the Empire had to be built.

@Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

Cannons, ballista, turbolasers, it was difficult to determine such a distance, but still one by one the walls around his mind crumbled as he stood atop the final battlement. Just him and the shadow of the Empress. He looked over at her blurry outline, he could just about make out the outlines of her cheek, her jaw, her brow. The face he had stared at a dozen times when she was not looking, wondering what could be. “What if I wanted everything?” He said quietly, it was a stupid comment, cliche to say the least but their was at least some truth in it.

She spoke again and as he went to answer her form dissipated the false wind within his mind blowing her away. Slowly she faded from view as a cheer went up all around, the hundred walls within his mind, manned by a million thoughts and dreams all screaming with delight that the attacker had withdrawn; only Artorigas stood silent. His mind tumbled over her final words, doubt tried to creep in, like a weed it tried to worm itself behind the mask that was Caelestis to the mind of Artorigas within. For every weed Caelestis pulled out another seemed to take its place, it was an endless battle. That was only broken by opening his mind and pulling himself back to the present.

When his eyes opened, he saw Andruil standing before him, it seemed only a few moments had gone by. The smell of burning flesh still hung deep in the air, the eternity inside his mind only a few seconds for those around him. She had clearly arrived from his mind before him, she had the chance to strike him down, to end his life but she did not. Her blade stood still at her side and a new wave of doubt washed over him, she did not want him dead, even though he had said it to her and himself a hundred times since he stepped off that seat. He could not say for certain he would have done the same, would he have stayed his blade or would he have cut her down where she stood?

He kept his eyes to the floor, he knew looking at her now could mean victory or defeat for either side inside his mind. He needed clarity of thought to make the final choices. “What do you want Renfry? Do you really want that seat?” They had spent hours within his mind trying both to decipher his intentions and desires, but he had never stopped to ask hers. Sometimes knowing another's choice can help you make your own and her words may sway his sabre one way or another.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

He wouldn't look at her, and she could guess why. He was stuck on a precipice, on the verge of plunging over in a way that was irreversible, and then death would be all but inevitable for one of them.

She knew the battle that tormented him, and though it had changed forms after the banishment of Lord Andros, the battle raged on. It was in all of them in one form or another, and managing it was not easy.

She was surprised when he turned the question around on her. The question was one she seldom asked herself anymore. For a moment it was her turn to turn her thoughts inward. She longed for the days when she ran wild through the jungles Dathomir. When she had no responsibilities weighing her down except the pursuit of knowledge.

But now she had a galaxy at her fingertips. Sith and civilians alike bowed to her, and the means of expanding those borders still lay before her. Someday she might choose to retire back to Dathomir, ruling as Queen, but that days wasn't today and it certainly wasn't with a blade at her throat. It would be on her terms or she would die.

The safest hands are still our own. The words from Kravos to Evandrus that she'd heard in his holocron rang in her mind.

Someday I may step aside from this seat, but it's not today and it's not now, she said.

Look at me, she said, pausing a few moments to see if he would. So if you want everything, then you'll have to go through me, she said.

@Braden

 

[Darth Caelestis]

His eyes were still locked on her feet, he dared not look any higher for fear of making a decision, either way he was afraid of what was to come. To strike out or to bow and crumple again, both were decisions the other half would not come to terms with easily if at all. He watched with an intense stare, how the weight shifted from one side to the other as she moved her upper body ever so slightly as she spoke.

Teeth was clenched tight as she spoke, he dangled on the edge of a precipice. Once again all his choices, feelings, emotions, ambitions, desires and wants were being told to make a decision between the Darkness and himself, between Artorigas and Caelestis. Caelestis wanted everything, even if that meant killing Andruil, something even the Dark Side of him was loath to do. Artorigas on the other hand wanted nothing anymore, everything he ever wanted he had or had lost. Was it worse to want nothing?

A aganoised scream escaped his lungs as he slammed his fists into the floor, the skin on his knuckles splitting from the impact on the steel. He screamed again, another smash of the fists, blood beginning to run down his fingers, his breathing became sharp great intakes of breath trying to pour oxygen into his body. With every breath the small embers around his body began to flare, rising and falling with his lungs.

His pained voice could be heard just above, the roar of the flames around him. “I asked what you wanted Renfry?”

@Phoenix