Ask The Witch-Queen Cometh

[Vex]

As the Empress turned and gave Vex her back, she recoiled as if struck, thoroughly chastised and more than a little stung to hear it suggested that all she wanted from coming here was training. She couldn't figure out where she was going wrong. Had it been her own training? A Sith can trust no one but themself. That had been her Master's words. She had believed them, too. All the lessons he forced her to pour over about the ancient Sith had claimed their Order was one that rewarded ambition and treachery. And yet... In Altair, and Varyn, and now even the very Empress herself, Vex saw something different. Something new.

The Sith Order had evolved, perhaps for the first time in thousands of years. It was entirely alien. Cold, brooding spaces, obsidian facades, even a damn castle over a volcanic ridge. Those remained the same. But the people who made it up. The range of emotions and friendships they allowed one another to experience. That seemed to have changed. And, in its wake, Vex was left with a choice. She could be like her Master, rigid, immovable, part of a growing minority of Sith who suggested that the old ways were the only ways.

Or could she could be like the Empress. A powerful woman who walked the balance between old and new.

Vex found the choice easier than she had imagined. She filed away the Empress' words. After all, she wasn't completely rebuked. The Empress gave her access to the archives on Mustafar. Gave her permission to study them and train. That was a small nugget of something, and an opportunity she didn't intend to squander. But she was also not going to leave. There was only one way to prove her sincerity to this woman; and that was to show her there were other reasons she had come to Mustafar that were far less selfish.

She turned back to the table and the cadaver on it and picked her tools and went back to work, peeling back flesh and muscle, cross-referencing her findings with the books the Empress had laid out and her own knowledge of Rakatan physiology. For awhile, they both worked in silence. Until, Vex reached the creature's bones and discovered something... interesting.

"Do you see that?" she blurted out, momentarily forgetting that she had just been admonished. She indicated to a series of runes that had been etched into alien's very skeleton. They were smaller and more numerous than the tatoo the Empress had discovered earlier. Once again, there appeared to be no scar tissue. "More runes. Part of the same curse, do you think?" @Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry continued poring over the old books. There was no end to the spells that were possible with the Shadow, and even for all her study, Renfry didn't come close to knowing them all. She wondered if the secrets she was looking for were hidden in these books.

Her icy frustration began to thaw as she threw herself back into her work. It had always been one of the things she loved and it had driven her to become what she was today. Her sharp words toward Vex began to fade and as she found something new, Renfry turned around and made her way over to the table.

She leaned over again, looking down at the marks made on the inside of the body and her mind ran off again. They were different, and she recognized even less of these ones.

Hmmm, she hummed with a frown. That's... different. I haven't seen markings like that before, she said. She reached out and focused on the runes, gaining an impression that they were, indeed, attached to what they had already discovered.

I think those might be the preservation runes. The other a stasis rune, she said, frowning.

I think maybe you can't have the preservation without the stasis. To live and breath and act you'll wear out, but if you're frozen in the Force then there's no decay, she said.

Good find, she said.

You still seem capable, she said after a moment. Don't take today as a damper on your ambition, she said. It was as close to words of encouragement as most people ever got from her. Whether they would settle in would remain to be seen.

I'm going to eat and then I've got some other work I need to do. You're welcome to join me but not required, she said, though she kind of doubted anyone was going to say "no" to her even if the offer to leave was genuine.

 

[Vex]

Vex nodded and filed away the Empress' observations along with other mental notes from the procedure. All in all, despite the tension earlier, she had managed to learn a lot from the procedure. And a lot more about the Rakata. She would have to make a point of searching the Temple of the Ancients for anything regarding these sorts of slave rituals once she got back to Rakata Prime.

They were just about done when the Empress turned and offered her words of encouragement. Once more, Vex found herself taken aback - but this time, in a pleasant sort of way. Even if short and professional, the words were a salve to Vex's earlier embarrassment and she found herself nodding again. The mention of food certainly sounded appetizing. "I think I would like that," she said. "I barely ate anything on the flight from Belsvais and I'm positively famished."

Then, another thought occurred to her that she had't considered before. "Does... Does this place have a mess hall?" The words felt absurd coming from her mouth, but she could not bring herself to picture a cafeteria anywhere in Darth Vader's castle—even if it had been modified and refurbished since its last owner had occupied it.

What did they even cook on Mustafar? @Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry washed her hands and replaced her grimoire in its binding on her hip. The book of spells wasn't something she would leave here unattended, but the rest could remain.

Renfry snickered slightly at her question.

Yeah, I don't eat in mess halls, she said. It was hilarious the different sides of her that people saw. She would eat food she'd hunted and cooked herself in the wilds, but when she was among others she only ate good and fine food. She didn't eat simple mess hall foods.

They'll have prepared something already, she said. She headed out and deeper into the building, down below the pools of lava. The receiving area had a table laid out and prepared and she told the chef droid to set a second table.

Vader may not have courted visitors, but the Empire does today, she said, taking a seat at the table.

I don't imagine you have a lot of spare time these days. What do you do with yourself when you do? she asked.

 

[Vex]

Vex had to admire the craftsmanship of the dining hall. Secluded, with the benefit of a lavafall as a view, but shielded so that it didn't scald all inside with its heat. She sat opposite the Empress, admiring the food that was brought and spread out before them. Vex rarely had time for full meals, except when she was disguised as Nahri, so she usually ate mess hall plates brought up to her quarters whenever she could spare time to steal a bite.

The Empress's question caught her slightly off-guard. What did she do with herself in her spare time? "To be completely honest," Vex said, "there's not much 'spare time' between the two identities. I do attend leisurely gatherings and pretend to be the irresponsible rich girl as Nahri, but it's all part of my work. Hardly a real use of my spare time." Her face creased as a server droid brought her something to drink. "I suppose when I do have time, I'm either studying or sharpening my skills at whatever dojo I can access."

It was a rather lonely existence, now that she thought of it. But her Master had been very clear about the meaning of friends to a Sith. Friends only existed to one day put a knife in your back. She had lived with his lessons etched into her brain for years, and it was a slow process to unravel now what about the Sith he'd taught her was right, and what no longer reflected the Order's more modern sensibilities. "When I was a girl," she went on, "my father would take me and my sister hunting with him in the wilds of Serenno. For him, it was a lesson in learning to fully wrap our minds around what it meant to be in control of so many lives. He wanted us to be responsible heirs to his legacy, and not bring the company to ruin. I doubt he intended it to be a fun outing, but I always like it."

Vex sipped at her drink, glancing at the Empress over the rim of her glass. When she sat it down, she asked, "What about you? I imagine the ruler of the Empire has even less time on her hands than someone like me. What do you do when you get away from it all?" @Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry knew that feeling very well, digging into her food moments later. A juicy piece of steak that had been prepared just for her. She wanted to groan in satisfaction, but thought it perhaps a bit unprofessional. She washed it down with a sip of sweet red wine.

Study and dojo practice. Practical skills for any Sith, but not exactly what most would classify as "hobbies."

She went on to speak of her time hunting with her father and perhaps without a great deal of enjoyment. Holding the lives of others in the palm of your hand. It was something that she had grown used to with time. She had snuffed out millions of lives in a matter of hours on Kashyyyk. Countless more had been killed in the wars over the last decade.

I travel. Luxury resorts in isolation, camping in the wilds, hunting, she said. I love hunting, she said. It was one of her first true loves growing up. She'd spent hours on her own in the jungle and she wouldn't have traded that for the galaxy. Or at least not the memories. She'd traded much of that time for ruling the galaxy. Though she spent much of her time with her daughter as well, she made no mention of Arla. The less attention the girl had on her now, the better. In time, Renfry was sure she would have all-too-much attention on her.

But the time for that is fleeting these days. Too busy most of the time, she said.

You didn't like your master much, did you? she asked, almost out of the blue. Whether it was passing impressions she'd gained from the woman's mind or something else that had told her about this, it wasn't clear and the Empress didn't elaborate.

 

[Vex]

Vex was indulging a rather succulent cut of lava flea, one of the giant fauna found across Mustafar, nodding along, smiling occasionally when she realized they had yet more in common, when the Empress asked about her Master. She paused mod-chew to consider her answer, then swallowed. "No," she answered truthfully. "Though, before recently, I thought that was just every Sith's experience." With her fork, she stabbed at a rather hard piece of flea carapace. "He was rather old fashioned. Very much believed the old ways were how we remained strong."

The memorable moments of her training flashed behind her eyes. Being suspended over ravines, forced to call on the Force at will or splat in a mess of blood and bone at the bottom. Caves that subjected her mind to the worst horrors and torments known to sentient beings. Guarded tomb after guarded tomb, which usually resulted in Vex patching up her wounds and redressing them for weeks afterwards.

"I'm sure you know the type," she went on. "He thought the best way to train me was to force me to experience the full range of every negative emotion until I could do so with a straight face. Unfortunately," Finally, the carapace cracked, revealing a soft bit of meat reminiscent of a lobster's tail, "that left me little time to meet many others in the Order." The one exception was XII, and he was certainly cut from the same cloth as her Master. "I was grateful for his lessons. He raised me up, made me tough, made me strong. But now, I'm not so sure — sometimes I wonder if he adequately prepared me for the modern Sith Order. Seems now he was trying to fashion me into something of the bygone past."

And she wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not, yet. @Phoenix.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry listened to the story that Vex told and it was one that was both familiar to Renfry and one that she didn't detest. Many Sith of the most fearsome Sith in the Order had been forged by such processes.

And what do you think of the current direction of the Order? she asked. To many it might appear as a trap, but to Renfry it would tell her a great deal about the woman and how she thought.

Is there anyone in the Empire more terrifying than Lord Raze? Or any other than myself who wields more power than him? she asked.

You seem to imply that the old ways can't thrive in our modern day, but you remember how I gained my throne? she asked, and eyebrow quirking. She reached down and plucked the knife she had used to carve the runes earlier from its sheathe and held it up in her hand.

This is the blade I drove through the Eternal, she said. It still had a dark aura about it and she let it be seen for a moment.

The corner of her mouth turned up slightly, knowingl. She then proceeded to use it to cut her steak. It was her hunting and utility knife, after all. She waited for a response, curious about her reaction and opinions on the topic. Philosophical debates were another of her favorite pass times and Vex had just found herself roped into one.

 

[Vex]

Vex admired the blade that killed the legendary Eternal, the evening hues from the nearby torrent of lava reflecting off her eyes. Before this afternoon, Vex would've wondered at their battle. How a dagger was able to overcome a legend. But she had seen a glimpse of the Empress' power. She believed the woman was capable of awe-inspiring and terrible things even without her magic knife.

"It seems as though some of the younger members of our Order have more openly embraced forging close relationships with each other," Vex mused as she picked at the side of salad on the edge of her dish. She wondered where these greens had come from, since there was no way in hell they were Mustafarian. "I was always taught a Sith trusts no one but herself. That attachments led to a compromised state of mind." Vex shuffled some of the greens into her mouth. Swallowing, she added, "Recently, I must confess, I've become conflicted on whether or not that is the full truth."

But what did she know? Two missions with a couple of Acolytes, and that meant the whole Sith Order was moving on now? She was curious as to the Empress' thoughts. As the ruler of the Sith, she would more than have a finger on the pulse of the Order and its direction. Vex was curious whether or not the monarch had noticed the same trend. More importantly, she was curious if the woman was pleased with it or not if indeed she had noticed.

"None in this Empire are more terrifying than you or Lord Raze," Vex confessed with a half-chuckle. "I can only dream of one day inspiring the same sort of fear in your enemies as your jailer." And she would. She was determined. The enemies of the Empire would fear her prisons, would fear crossing the Sith lest they end up in a cell on Belsavis. She would see that through. "I sometimes wonder if the best route is a balance of old a new," she confessed. "Allow for a close circle, but otherwise steel yourself as the Old Sith did. My Master always used to say friends were only good for putting a knife in your back. And I have seen that validated." She thought now of her parents, killed by men who were once their friends-turned-enemies out of greed. "But I suppose it's not a universal rule."

She turned now to the Empress, genuinely curious. "What about you? What is your personal philosophy on these matters?" @Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry listened as Vex spoke about what she had seen and been taught. Much of it aligned with what the Empress herself had seen. After all, she had no always been the Empress. Once she had just been a Nightsister searching for answers in the galaxy. It had taken a journey of years to bring her to where she was today.

Through passion I gain strength, she said. A single line of the Sith Code, but perhaps the single most important line in the entire teaching of the Sith.

I'll tell you this. In my experience, there is no greater power than when you're fighting for something or someone that you love, she said, shaking her head and taking a bite.

So many people down through history in the Order have believed you have to be a ball of pure hatred, but that... just doesn't cut it, she said. It was what Vader had reportedly been, and the stain of his hatred still clung to this place.

Think about the greatest prosperity the Sith ever experienced: ruled by Andraste and her husbands. A coincidence? They weren't filled with love for everyone else, but they would fight tooth and nail with the uttermost violence for each other, she said.

She took a sip of her wine and then another bite before speaking again.

Sith these days will choose their own paths. Bane's Rule of Two forced everyone to be of one mind. It almost worked out right up until it didn't, she said. And then the Sith Order was very close to being wiped out altogether.

 

[Vex]

They weren't filled with love for everyone else, but they would fight tooth and nail with the utmost violence for each other.

Vex involuntarily straighten, the words like an acid, breaking barriers past defenses until they reached another set of memories. Still fresh, still coalescing. She was back with Altair on Rakata Prime. She had dismissed his words as childish innocence then. He was still young, younger than her, at least. He still had time to harden, become more like her. She confessed now that she hoped he one day would become like her. As if doing so would validate what she had felt. The way she had been trained. But...

Even Raze has friends and that dude seems about as anti-social as possible...

You ain't useless Vex. I need you and you need me.

He had been right. And she had been too blind to see it. She had believed herself immune to her Master's prejudices. But she had failed to see the bigger picture. The histories spoke of Andraste and her brood. The Sith that followed her. They looked inward, protecting one another, and burning to the ground anyone who got in their way. And that memory, combined with the Empress' words, caused Vex's world to shift and realign on its axises. Suddenly, she had an entirely new perspective on the Sith Order and her place in it. Though it would probably take some time to adapt.

She smiled despite herself. "All these years and I'm still learning," she said. "Anyone who believes they stop learning as an Acolyte is a fool." Not that she had ever particularly encountered a Sith who had ever said that. But there was one last thing she needed to know: "Do you have people you feel that way about?"

Because if the Empress did, she knew one day, she could too. @Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry could practically see the wheels turning inside Vex's mind at what she had just said. And this was why she loved these debates. The opportunity to press back and forth and sort out the exact details of one's belief was fascinating.

You're right. You never stop learning, she said. Graduating from being an acolyte was just the absolutely first step on a road of learning. Even now as one of the most powerful wielders of the Shadow in the galaxy, Renfry was still learning. Still expanding her horizons.

Of course I do, she said. She offered no list of names because it was far too sensitive a topic, but she knew them in her heart. Emryc, Arla, Síle, and Dathomir itself were all people and things she would have murdered and burned worlds to the ground for. There were few things that could really match the wrath that she would bring down if one of them was harmed.

You are free to be your own person and develop or deny your own attachments, but those attachments can be a source of unmatched strength, she said. But it wasn't untrue that they could also be a weakness.

She finished her food and drained the remainder of her wine, preparing to turn in for the night shortly when Vex finished as well.

 

[Vex]

Vex heard the truth in the other woman's words. Fully comprehended their implications. She could forge her own path, choose who matter to her and who didn't. Somehow, just hearing the words was liberating.

...my chains are broken, the Force shall free me.

Indeed.

She finished the last of her food, drained the remaining contents of her glass, and prepared to end the meal. The day had had its ups and downs, but at least it had ended on an up. But she wasn't just going to take the Empress' hospitality and go. The monarch had been more than patient with her. She was at least going to leave with gratitude. "Thank you for the wonderful meal, Your Majesty," she said. "And for bringing me here to assist in our experiments. You have given me much to think about."

Much about the nature of the Sith. Much about her future. And much, much more about the past. She would have to go on much of this journey on her own. But she hoped one day she might count the Empress among her friends. Maybe even learn her name. They certainly had much in common. Until then, Vex resolved to do the job the Empress had tasked her with. And do it well enough to earn another audience some day.

/End Thread
@Phoenix