Ask Rose on the Grave

Darth Caelestis

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Artorigas had a complicated relationship with Exegol, the planet was what had put him on the map. It had given him the prestige and power to quickly rise through the ranks of the Sith. It was a treasure trove of Dark Side relics, knowledge and power, it housed thousands of shipyards and was able to support much of the Imperial War Effort on its own. But the planet itself, its cold black desert, hostile fauna and flora, the dust, hard walls, aggressive lines was everything that the Sith Noble was not. Brought up in a life of luxury upon Serenno, expanded by his power within the Sith, he had no need to leave in such conditions, to those in his inner circle part of his reason of setting up the Kingdom's outward facing capital at Namadii was to allow the Sith Lord some measure of luxury whilst in the far Western reaches of the galaxy.

So here he sat in the cold depths of The Citadel upon Exegol, the floor even this deep covered in a thin layer of dust, odd blueish white lighting emanating from the walls to illuminate all around its occupants. Around him was the remnants of what once the centre of Darth Sidious' cloning experiments, once hundreds of failed attempts occupied the now broken down and rusted tubes around him. The ancestors of the planets mutated occupants roamed the halls flicking switches, turning nobs, playing with dials trying to please there Dark Master.

Before him was the main computer the drive was difficult to navigate half the ancient system destroyed by the Battle over a hundred years ago, Artorigas had to use a combination of manual controls and Technometry to work through the system. The writing was in half Ur-Kittat as well making it slow progress as he slowly translated the old Sith tongue.

He was looking through the computer today due to his expected guest, the newly crowned Empress of the Sith Darth Andruil.

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Renfry was something of a terrible guest. Not because she broke things, but because she just showed up without announcing herself. Sure, Artorigas knew she was coming, but when her new ship set down on the planet's surface after a long and harrowing journey, she didn't immediately announce herself.

Instead, she started wandering through the facility, quirking an eyebrow at the weird people skulking about doing... things. She recognized some of the words written there from her experience reading ancient Sith. It certainly caught her attention, but rather than poke around for too long and be too terrible of a guest, she pressed on in search of her host.

She all but appeared from around a corner as he worked one of the computers and she glanced up at what he was working on.

Who are all these people? she said, almost whispering. It was comical given her rank and position, but she did it anyway. These people made her vaguely uncomfortable, and she wasn't entirely sure why.

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A being as powerful and so deeply saturated in the Dark Side would usually prick the senses of Artorigas long before they reached him, but here, in this place, one so deeply corrupted by the malice and anger of the Dark Side. Darth Andruil, Empress of the Sith Empire almost blended into the background.

It was for that very reason that when the Empress rounded the corner behind him and spoke in a quiet voice about the people around him the Sith Lord shot backwards pushing himself away from the computer. However the added force of the push along with the aged and rusted metal meant the back of the chair snapped, sending the Sith Lord falling his back smashing into the cold hard stone floor of the Citadel.

Anger shot through him, The Force began to well up inside him as he sought out his prey, who had disturbed him and better yet who had caused him this shame. As he reached out with The Force to find that person he sensed her, the Empress of the Sith Order, Darth Andruil, Renfry.

As quickly as he could he turned himself over and pulled himself up to his knees before looking over at the young women, bowing his head with a smile. "Mi'Empress."

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As he made his rather spectacular show and fell backwards into a heap, she actually jumped slightly herself, not having expected or intended to surprise him in such a dramatic fashion. Side effect of years spent sneaking around the jungles that allowed her to have her unintentional stealthy surprise.

Though she could feel a flare of anger within him and the momentary inclination to lash out with the Force, he didn't, and she could help putting a hand up to her mouth to stifle the laughter that was still managing to erupt around her lips.

Mm-m-mm, she cleared her throat, sucking her lips in slightly to try and fail to keep the smile from her lips. Darth Caelestis, she said, with a nod.

I hope I didn't catch you... off guard, she said, continuing to have quite the great time with this.

I was asking who these weird people are, she said, once again lowering her voice as if she didn't want to be heard by the weirdos. Cultists were still unsettling to her, and these people had cultist vibes.

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Artorigas' face flushed red with both the lasting remnants of anger and the growing tide of embarrassment washing over him as he gazed up at the young Empress. A smile tugged at the edge of her lips as she spoke and Artorigas could do nothing to stop one appearing upon his face as well, for he could imagine the sight which greeted Andruil upon her arrival, a Sith Lord startling like a Padawan before splaying about on the floor like a baby Rancor.

"Less off guard Your Majesty but more, surprised by your quiet elegance." He said with a cheeky smile, before finally pulling himself for his feet. Looking around he spotted a few of the living beings that now inhabited the Citadel with him, though much of the planet was automated by droids some organics remained.

The largest proportion where the Avillion Royal Guard, clad in there blood red armour Artorigas' personal defence force. The rest where the rejected acolytes that he had taken in, men and women who's power over The Force was not strong enough to become a fully fledged Acolyte of the Sith Empire. With nothing left of their lives Artorigas offered them a chance to do something greater than become another mistake in the galaxy. Cut off from all others than those permitted to enter and leave Exegol the failed acolyte's would become the inhabitants of this great Citadel, helping the Sith Lord unlock its many secrets.

"Pieces that were not strong enough to become pawns, so now they serve me hoping to one day make it to the board." He said brushing himself off. "I hope you came here for more than to just to sneak up on me?"

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Renfry smiled almost girlishly as he commented on her quiet elegance. She knew it was likely only flattery and she shouldn't take it to heart, but frankly it was nice to be complimented sometimes. He had always seemed to have a particular... affinity for her, and she couldn't deny that she enjoyed being around him as well. These were probably not appropriate thoughts, were they?

She listened as he explained who the people here were, describing in words that brought the term "wannabes" to mind. But then she remembered some of her own people whose affinity for Shadow magick was lacking and how they had still worked hard and been useful. Perhaps it was poor form of her to be so judgmental.

Hmm, and so you found a way for them to serve and learn still, she said, and even as she said it she started to appreciate the resourcefulness of the Sith Lord.

No, that was it, I thought I'd move on now. I'll see you around later for your next fright, she said with a smirk.

Of course not! I told you I wanted to come see Exegol. You've been busy out here in the West, and I wanted to come see it all, she said.

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He replied to her comment and smirk with a sarcastic smile of his own, before she went on to explain her reasoning for being here. If he was truthful he would much rather show her bright gleaming Namadii than Exegol, for it had much better locations to sit, dine and speak. But that was something that only flowed to his tastes, the little he knew of the Sith Empress told him that she would prefer the deep dark secrets of Exegol and the Sith Citadel upon its surface.

"There is not much beyond the dust, sand and stone." He said running his hand along one of the large stone pillars that supported the high ceiling to the room, even with weeks of cleaning his hand was still covered in dust. It really was a planet completely unsuited for the Sith Noble. "But even then there is much to see, hundreds of years of Sith secrets are stuck within these walls. Artefacts ancient beyond imagination, lore dating back to the Great Schism, techniques developed by every Sith from Andraste to Sidious. All inside this dark corner of the galaxy."

He spoke without passion for these were things he could not get passionate about, yes he loved a good collectable but above and beyond that what lied here within these walls was work. It was not pleasure or relaxation, it was a means to an end, as the Dark Side and the Sith had always been to Artorigas. Pulling a smile to his lips he pulled a fresh chair from the other side of the terminal and placed it before the old and damaged computer. "Please take a seat." He said stepping away from the chair. "Some of it is in ur-Kittat, but I can help translate if you are not fully fluent."

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Renfry was lost as to how he couldn't be excited about what he was talking about. This was the secrets of the Shadow?! The power of beings who had altered the course of history! The galaxy would be an entirely different place today had they not done what they did.

She took a seat at the computer, flipping through the readouts as she did so. I'm passable, she said. Though it was difficult for her to say she was "fluent" she found reading ur-Kittat easier than speaking it. Her studies of Sith Alchemy had necessitated that she learn it, and that had been numerous years ago now.

She flipped through several pages of theoretical artifacts almost absently. Although she loved these topics, it was him that her mind had been carried off to.

You don't enjoy studying the Force, do you? she asked. He didn't seem to have that fire and zeal that she did, though she was slowly getting an idea of what he did and didn't enjoy.

Do you enjoy ruling? she asked.

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He watched as the Empress flicked through the pages with relative ease, it made sense that the Sith Empress understood the old Sith Language, though it seemed that everyone he had asked about the long dead language did seem to understand it. Perhaps it was not as dead as it seemed, maybe the rest of the order had received there own long dead Sith Lord inside there head to help them learn.

Andruil seemed absent minded, for someone who was just passable even he struggled to read the page before she skipped to the next, though it made sense come her questioning. Artorigas looked down at the sitting Empress, they had talked about similar things before, his lack of interest in the Dark Side had almost cost him his head many moons ago no doubt the question would rise again in the future.

"To me The Force is but a tool, I have no love for it, so I pay it as much attention as I do a lightsaber, a sword or a blaster. I have heard many talk of the call, the desire to seek out its depths and mysteries, but I do not feel that blissful voice." He would be lying if he had said he heard no call, for many a time that voice deep down inside had called out to him, to allow himself to fall deep into the embrace of the Darkness, but due to sheer will or the lack of interest he had only fallen once and even then only for a moment.

"Ruling is in my blood, unlike The Force, I have a deep love for the task. The ability and cunning to emplace my authority, influence and knowledge upon the masses is the fuel that keeps me going. I would trade all my power and strength in The Force tomorrow for an everlasting Kingdom. For through a Kingdom I can create a legacy, through The Force I cannot."

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She listened curiously to his answer, and it was so monumentally different from her own experience. She had never set out on the path to the Sith to rule. She hadn't left Dathomir because she wanted to be Queen. She left because she felt an insatiable hunger for knowledge. She pursued the arcane and rare because she wanted to know things that no one else knew.

On the other hand, he saw the Force as just a tool. It was as her Mother had always told her: outsiders didn't understand the Shadow. They spoke about it in cold, hard words and treated it as nothing more than a tool. She felt almost pity for them.

Legacies, she murmured quietly. It was a question that had come up time and again. Would people even remember her name a few hundred years from now? Why did it matter if they did or didn't? She wouldn't be here to see it any longer. Why did she care about? What did she care about leaving behind and what did she have to leave behind? The Empire, but that would pass to someone else someday and then what? Would they squander it? She sighed slightly.

You never really told me what happened with your... "friend," she said. The spirit he had carried around in his mind was something that had shaped him more than she suspected either of them knew. She silently wondered if it was the reason he seemed so... distant with the Shadow.

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He knew his words would be in contradiction to the Empress' own and had expected some sort of retort from the women so he was more than surprised when he heard nothing from her on it. Instead she had chosen to speak about Lord Andros, the one time secondary inhabitant of his mind and soul. Whereas before he would have grimaced at the thought of the ancient Sith Lord he know smiled for he had beaten him. "Better yet I can show you." He replied stepping back and pointing in the direction of the main amphitheatre. "There may be something their you may want to see and experience as well."

Allowing Andruil to go ahead of him, Artotirgas began the short trip from the computer's location towards the centre of the Citadel. "It happened here on Exegol." He began as the tall sides of the corridors filtered them towards their destination. "The power of the Dark Side here upon the world broke down every barrier I had put up against him. Once again he began trying to control my body as he had tried and failed to do back on Dromund Kaas."

"Although I had become much stronger since that day, The Force flowing through this planet and these ruins empowered him also. It was painful beyond imagination, as if every fibre of my being was on fire, torn away from each other molecule by molecule."
Ahead the light of the amphitheatre began to show. "But I resisted, my own strength was greater than Lord Andros' and once again I won."

They appeared within the great chasm that was the centre of The Citadel, to their right he could see the half destroyed Throne of The Sith, the central location of the room, The Citadel and The Planet. Artorigas began heading towards it. "Beneath that seat is a nexus, for hundreds of years Sith Lord's have sat upon that throne and men, women and children have died around it, creating a power bank of Dark Side energy that could even summon forth a dead Sith Lord." He clenched his hand involuntarily as he spoke. "Even though I won the battle within my body, I had not defeated Andros, with the Nexus beneath him he removed his soul from my own and placed it upon another."

He pointed to the place where the deranged cultist which called himself Sidious had arisen possessed by Lord Andros. "One of the corrupted cultists which resided here. He took control of his body and attempted to strike me down, but in the end he burned. His soul destroyed it floated away upon the ashes of the body, my mind has been silent since."

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Her head quirked to the side as she pushed herself up, heading along with him toward the amphitheater. Exegol really was a bit of a drab world. It pulsed in the Shadow, but the world was physically dark and the entire building-temple was covered in dust. It was dirty and she could understand why he didn't like being here. Still, it didn't really bother her. She'd lived in worse conditions.

She listened to his story, wincing slightly as she heard about what he had endured. And yet she knew how necessary it was. While hers hadn't been physical pain, she had seen herself torn down and rebuilt multiple times to become the woman she was today. The woman the entire galaxy knew and many feared. It was not a process that had been comfortable, but it was indispensable.

As they came to the room she had heard so much about, she stopped walking momentarily, her breath catching slightly in her throat. This was a place that had been infamous to many, and whether she was a believer in Sidious's doctrine or not, he had changed the face of the recent galaxy. It was a piece of history that impacted her more than she expected.

And that wasn't even to mention the way it pulsed in the Shadow. Stronger here and unmuffled. She focused on that sound and let her mind roll into it, closing her eyes. When her eyes flashed open again, they glowed green, her second sight allowing her to see a very different world. A world of reds and spirits, the song here was not like that of Dathomir but was coated in pain and suffering as if a thousand souls had been cursed to this place. It sent shivers down her spine and nearly made her knees buckle. The weight of this world and its history of and secrets were unnerving to her in a way that was difficult to place into words. As if the music of her soul and the music of this world clashed at every note.

She jolted slightly as she retuned to the world of the physical, taking several deep breaths and blinking repeatedly.

MmmMm, she cleared her throat. Sorry, that was... a bit more jarring than I anticipated, she said, seeming a bit flustered before she continued on after him.

She moved over, seeming to immediately know where the body had been destroyed and knelt down low, running her fingers along the spot. She could still make out the scorch marks on the stone.

It changed you, she said, almost speaking more from personal experience than asking a question. Do you like who you are now? she asked, another pointed question.

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Artorigas was to encased in the story and reliving the moment of his final release from the ancicent Sith Lord to notice the Empress' stumble, so her comments took him by surprise. As he turned to see her flustered features a shot of concern came across his face before he quickly masked it again behind a practiced plain expression. "A few have said that this room has power beyond imagine, though I am afraid it is lost upon me, though I am sure one of your talents cannot only see it but use its fullest potential."

Andruil had seemed to steady herself so he stayed put as she moved over to where Lord Andros had finally left this plane of existence. "Ummm..." Artorigas was stumped not because he did not know an answer to her question but more he had not expected something so forward as this, to ask something like this to Nobility back on Serenno could only be taken in offense and he had to try and stop his automatic defences coming up as he digested the question, though this seemed to fail somewhat. His face became more stern, his posture straightened, gone was Artorigas here was Darth Caelestis. "I have seen no change in myself, only my station." His usual soft tone with the Empress had hardened slightly with his reply. "And for that I am grateful, Your Majesty has only helped me achieve my goals. When I met both you and Lord Andros I was just a second son of a petty Noble. Now I am a King."

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She was surprised at how quickly his tone changed, and she could sense the shift in the Shadow, subtle as it may have been. She didn't say anything for a moment. The way that he addressed her often made her feel as though she needed to maintain her serious, business face with him, but the pair of them had known each other for several years now, when she was a Lord and he was an Acolyte. Times had changed greatly for both of them now.

And yet a small part of her wondered if she had offended him with her question. She asked pointed questions all the time, but had managed not to quite cross the line up until now. Rather than match his formality with her own, she went the opposite direction.

My Majesty? she said, eyebrows rising. It sounded like an answer he had practiced in a mirror and it was almost impressive how smoothly it flowed off his tongue.

I've grinded on you at a party, I don't think you have to be quite so formal when we're alone, she said, smiling slightly in part to try to smooth over any offense and to lighten the mood.

She didn't linger on it long, deciding that moving on was perhaps the best thing to do. She looked up above, staring at the clouded, lightning-torn sky. "Beautiful" may not have been the best world, but it was neat. I think I could stare up at it for hours, she said quietly.

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Darth Caelestis

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His jaw stiffened and his teeth clenched as he heard her comment upon the title he used, perhaps he had gone to far with his comments this time. But as she brought up the party back on Serenno, the memories flooding back into his mind the hard exterior he had quickly built up crumbled slightly and a smile too hit his lips. "Apologies... Renfry. Formality is a curse of my childhood." He hoped the plain comment would explain his actions and speech, he was, as they all were a product of his past experiences.

His eyes lingered on the women as she stared up into the sky, his pale blue orbs dancing along the curves of her neck, up her chin and onto her face. It took him a moment to realise what he was doing before he to quickly shot his head upwards to view the broken skyline. Crackles of lightning through the smog like clouds gave anyone who was not already aware the distinct impression that this place was not one for day trips or holidays.

"To think of the history those clouds have seen, the rise and fall of Empires that have shaped us all. And now they see a new one rising, beneath those clouds."

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He seemed to soften slightly at what she said, and went on to use her name as if catching himself. She knew what it was like to be a product of your childhood and she didn't fault him for it, but not everything one learns in their childhood is a good thing. Some things need molding and shaping or at least further growth. She had worked toward that in herself as well.

If this place could speak... she said, breaking her gaze at the clouds and moving over near the throne. The reality was that she had an idea of what this place would say, and it would be overwhelming. History crying out in agony, but also a nearly limitless well of information.

She reached out and touched the throne, it's metal looked about as comfortable as the stone throne she had on Dathoimr that she seldom actually sat in because... it was terribly uncomfortable. She needed to get some cushions made for it or something. But that was a digression.

She let her hand slide along the metal before turning and sliding into the chair itself. It was an odd sensation not in the Force or in the planet, but just in the knowledge of who had sat here down through the years. It was chilling.

Have you sat in it? she asked, trying to suppress a teasing smirk. She certainly would have if she were him, but he was far more prim and proper than her in virtually every way. It's... not very comfortable, she added wit ha light chuckle, and yet even so she felt the weight behind it.

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Even though it was a fraction of its former self The Throne of the Sith was still something to behold, his eyes never left the Empress as she climbed the steps and took the seat. Artorigas followed and took a few of the short steps up towards her until there eyes where level. "Once... When I first came across it and that had pulled Lord Andros from my body." He replied before turning to look out from the slightly elevated platform across the vast nothingness that was before him.

"But not since, It seemed pointless. To have a throne yet none to watch you sit upon it. Namadii and Serenno are my seats more than that, plus the seat's title does not fit me. I am a King in the Sith not of it, so the seat rightfully belongs to you Mi'Empress. For me to sit in it would be disrespectful." He turned back around to face her a genuine smile upon his face. "Yes and it is also very uncomfortable."

"How is the head that wears the crown?"
He was concerned about what the weight would do to the young Empress, she was not only leading an entire galaxy spanning Empire, but having to rebuild it from the crumbling ruins that The Eternal had given it to her in.

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Isn't it, though? she said as he said that the throne was uncomfortable. She shifted around in the seat several times, noting how hard it was.

I don't know why people think thrones need to be uncomfortable, she grumbled slightly. When the Serenno palace was finished constructing, she was going to have a comfortable throne because this stone and metal chair crap was for the rancors.

Busy, she replied, standing up. The head that wears the crown barely has time to wear a pillow, she grumbled, far more candid with him than she often was with most.

But that's okay, she said, knowing that she had signed up for it and had now accomplished things she never would have been able to do otherwise. She started to shift her mind back toward the "work" side of her work.

How's production been? The Exegol ships are impressive, she said. She'd particularly enjoyed having a Star Destroyer at her beck and call, and the thought crossed her mind with a slight smile.

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He sympathised with Renfry as she spoke about her busy lifestyle, he himself was almost run off his feet between establishing Avillion, continuing the recovery of Exegol and planning the Sith's next aggressive venture, but his land was only a fraction of what the women before him controlled. "Do remember, I am here to serve Renfry." He said no more, he would let her decide if she wished to take up the offer and to what degree.

"It is going well, but slowly we have only uncovered less than half of what was here and active before, much is buried beneath the massive debris field outside." The remains of the colossal Battle of Exegol still littered the surface of the planet, fallen Star Destroyers blocked access points, crushed supply tunnels, disabled powerbanks and even destroyed some of the facilties themselves. "It will still take a long time for the planet to come back to its full potential I am afraid."

In the sky above a newly constructed Resurgent slipped past in the distance, completing its last checks before being sent off to the East. "Thank you Mi'Empress, there is more to come and at least one surprise for yourself that you will have to wait for." He said with a cheeky grin.

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She smiled a genuine smile as he reminded her that he was there to help. It was nice to have the support of others in a galaxy that she could rely on. I remember and appreciate it. And I appreciate the work you've already done for the Empire, she said. For a fleeting moment, she wondered what would happen if and when she was no longer the Empress. Would it all come crumbling down? Would he step up to take over or overthrow her someday?

She hoped not on the last count at least.

Could you use more men for the renovation? she asked. Resources were something the Empire was swiftly growing in, and many had joined the cause in recent days. Despite what other governments liked to portray, the Empire was, in fact, popular with many.

She watched the destroyer roll past in the distance and then looked back to Artorigas as he spoke. Her head tilted to the side as he mentioned something else, eyebrow quirking up in that way that said he had caught her attention.

How can you leave a girl hanging like that? she said, before her face scrunched up slightly in a "I can't believe you did this" sort of way. How long are you going to make me wait for this surprise? she asked almost grumpily. Patience wasn't really her greatest strong suit.

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