Yes, Master.

[Arthemise Xius]

The Sith Temple, a grand structure situated practically in the middle of nowhere. Arthemise had never seen it with her own eyes, having spent too much of her time on Lothal with her Master, Evandrus. She wasn’t ungrateful for his instruction and felt rather above the other Students given his grand status. However much she enjoyed her private instruction, the opportunity to test her progress among her peers was welcome. It had been too long that she had been hidden away.

“I’m curious, Master. What trials await me on Korriban?” Arthemise turned her eyes to Evandrus who walked tall and proud at her side. In comparison she was rather small, but a fierce spirit made up for what she lacked in physical appearance. In fact, Aria was ready to face any challenge Evandrus May have had planned for her.

With her attention turned back to the Temple, she craned her neck to take in the spectacle, right down to the men who patrolled the grounds. Their presence made the Temple seem more like an intimidating fortress.

“Is there anyone important on Korriban?” Her eyebrow raised as they approached the gates, standing closer to Evandrus as the guards moved into place.

 

[Darth Evandrus]

Ah the Sith Temple...

How he hated the place.

He supposed that was meant to be the point? Hatred was an easy way to the Dark Side he supposed, an easy entrance way for those who weren't ready to accept the powers of the Dark Side through other means. He walked straight towards the Temple with his apprentice by his side,

"Sometimes." he granted with a small shrug, "Most of the time the Council are away - maintaining an Empire doesn't leave much time for sitting around in the dark meditating."

As they began to make their way up the, rather excessive in number, stone steps, Evandrus decided that it was time that Aria understood what they were doing.

"Your trials are going to be those of 'Knighthood' - or similar to those anyway." he revealed to her with a nod, "It is time you held a rank other than Apprentice, Aria. It is time the rest of the Empire knew you as Knight Xius... are you prepared?"

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[Arthemise Xius]

Her attention diverted back to her Master as he spoke, picking up her lace so that she did not fall behind him. It was rather hard to keep up considering she was shorter in comparison and one of his strides equaled about three of her own. Aria considered asking Evandrus to slow down, but if she wanted to be viewed as anything more than a little girl, she would need to learn to keep up with her superiors and her peers. So, she climbed the steps and turned her eyes towards him to listen to his words.

“I am prepared,” her lips curled into a smile as they approached the doors. “Though I am curious, what do these trials entail and what makes you so confident that I am ready to face them?”

Her head bowed to the men standing guard at the entrance of the temple, acknowledging them as she passed. The two of them bowed their heads to Evandrus, showing his status within the Empire. Arthemise had grown so used to his company that she often forgot he was a Lord and High Judge on the Council. Given their lesson on Nar Shaddaa she also avoided any conversation that had to deal with Andraste and so she often forgot that he was her husband as well.

Passing through the doors, she adjusted her posture to demand the same respect. She was, after all, his apprentice and would hopefully stand as his equal someday, given that she worked hard. It was important to her that she made Evandrus proud, though she was embarrassed to admit that to him.

“Lord Evandrus,” she addresses him appropriately, eyes forward as they walked through the rather empty halls. It was much quieter on Korriban than she had imagined it would be. “I will face whatever trials you lay before me. I’m not the same girl you met on Nar Shaddaa.”

 

[Darth Evandrus]

She believed she was prepared and yet she didn't know what the trials would actually entail? Oh she was a Sith Apprentice alright. Were she a Jedi Apprentice now would be the time he slapped some sense into her about over confidence and arrogance and the rest of it. Because she was a Sith Apprentice? Well she would figure it out on her own right?

Totally.

"I think you have the strength, the skill and the attitude to be a Knight." he told her honestly, "And you haven't shown me anything recently to disprove that so... here we are to test you. You could die, get wounded or maybe you'll just quit? Or you'll do what I suspect you will... and win."

Entering the Temple itself, he completely ignored the guards and others who bowed to him as he began to make his way down to the vault where artefacts were kept. This one wasn't anything dangerous, it was a corrupted Jedi teaching tool, but that was fine. He smirked a little bit as he reached in and grabbed a small bracelet,

"Good." he told her honestly as he bade her follow him towards a garden, "But are you a Knight yet?"

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[Arthemise Xius]

Arthemise watched as he dismissed his subordinates, leading her straight towards the vaults deep within the Temple. No one stopped to interrupt him and those who found themselves in his way where quick to clear a path. It was quite obvious that she had misjudged his rank and his character; Evandrus demanded respect with posture and expression alone. He spoke only to her and no one dared intrude.

“Perhaps not in title, but in spirit. I am as much a Knight as any man who stands in front of me and I intend to prove it.” She followed behind him, reaching the gardens. It wasn’t much of a garden as it was more intended for training and study as opposed to tranquil relaxation. There were trees and shrubs that separated different areas, but she didn’t see a single flower.

“If I die?” She stopped, thinking for a moment. “Then I suppose I’m not as great of an asset to the Empire as I would like to believe. Though, I do not intend to die today.”

Arthemise smiled a confident smile, staring up towards Evandrus and steeling a glance at the bracelet he held in his hand. It didn’t look intimidating, but at this point she knew better than to assume. It was always better to prepare for the worst than to shrug things off as unimportant lessons. Evandrus rarely had anything small to teach her; he was building her for greatness after all.

“Why do they call it a garden if there are no flowers?” She asked randomly, a thought that had slipped from her lips unintentionally.

 

[Darth Evandrus]

Hmm.

Seemed she understood rather well actually. Because that was precisely correct - if she survived her trials then she was truly worthy of becoming a Sith Knight and she was truly worthy of the rank. She was worthy of being considered a true asset to the Sith Empire. He hoped that she did because he would have hated to have wasted all of this time and effort on her. There was also some affection for his little apprentice.

Her failure would reflect incredibly poorly on him as a Master as well.

So there were a wide variety of reasons why he hoped she succeeded.

"Aria - you will face a great challenge here today and you may wish that you had begged not to." he declared before continuing, "However. Your willingness to do this is both appreciated and expected."

He expected excellence of her.

"I imagine because the real name is hard to pronounce in basic." he joked drily before noting that two pureblood Sith apprentices were seated in the small garden, "Leave us - we shall be using the garden."

One of the Sith immediately went to leave while the other rounded on him angrily,

"And if I say no? Wha-?"

The Sith didn't have time to say another word - Evandrus had grasped the man's skull in the Force. As soon as he said the word 'no' - Evandrus began to squeeze.

One terrified pureblood watched the other's head be crushed into a bloody pulp, leaving the body to fall to the ground heavily. Evandrus banished the body at the Sith's former friend.

"Remove him." he ordered bluntly before gesturing to a stone circle in the middle of the garden, "Aria - stand in the circle."

Holding the bracelet, he held it out to her,

"I want you to channel the Dark Side - only the Dark Side - and when you're ready? Put the bracelet on." he instructed her, "You will enter a trace where you will be faced with a representation of your connection to the Dark Side. A Jedi would tell you to accept it as part of yourself so you may better move past it. You, however, will do something else. You will dominate your Dark Side; you accept that it is part of yourself because it is nothing more than a tool for you to use. Dominate your connection to the Dark Side or madness shall consume you down the line."

Spoiler: OOC

I will fight you as yourself via storyteller account

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[Arthemise Xius]

The Man in the garden hadn’t even been given the opportunity to realize the error he had made before Evandrus crushed the life from him, leaving theground beneath him a bloodied mess. Aria was rather used to watching people learn the hard way, but it seemed the other man was not. He watched in silent horror as his friend collapsed and did not hesitate, for fear of retaliation, when Evandrus instructed him to remove the corpse. He had deserved his fate and Aria simply stepped over him, without a glance, to take her place within the circle.

On his instruction, she closed her eyes to draw in the Dark Side Force energies. Building them within her before placing the bracelet upon her wrist to face the trial Evandrus had prepared.

For a moment, it felt as though she was free falling, the garden fading out of view. In the next moment, she was standing darkness facing a mirrored imagine of herself. It was rather intimidating to be in her own presence, not in control of the others movements, but Aria accepted that she would dominate the Dark Side and control it as opposed to her other option. She was not an instrument to be used.

“...or madness shall consume you down the line.” She whispered Evandrus’ words, reaching slowly for the saber that hung from her belt and preparing for the inevitable fight that would come with this particular lesson.

 

[The Storyteller]

"Madness is all you have to look forward to little Aria."

The spectre was similar to Aria, the looks were there, but she was not identical. Rather, she appeared as though an older version of the apprentice, complete with some new scars. Chuckling a little bit, the Spectre smirked, eyes flashing yellow as she drew the lightsaber, igniting it's red blade.

"You see... I'm going to kill you in this dreamscape." the Spectre bragged, gesturing around with her free hand, "And when I do? I will take over your body. You will be under my thumb and I will be the apprentice to Darth Evandrus."

She twirled the lightsaber in one hand as the other crackled with Force Lightning.

"Shall we dance little Aria? Or shall you bow before your Queen now and allow me to take over seamlessly?"

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[Arthemise Xius]

Her vision narrowed, focused on the illusion that stood in front of her. She was older, tired and scarred from wars waged and lessons learned. It wasn't at all how she imagined she would be. This woman, this

illusion of herself, was a representation of her connection to the Dark Side and still Aria felt disconnected from her. This wasn't who she wanted in control and so she would take it from her, dominate this side of her so that she might never come to fruition. This woman was nothing more than an instrument, used an manipulated by the Dark Side; this was not who Aria would become. This wouldn't be easy but it needed to done and it needed to be done now, not pushed aside or ignored.

"You do not frighten me. Your words are useless here. You are not my Queen or my superior. On this day, you will bow to me." Drawing her weapon, she took a readied stance and focused on the Force, building it within her to aide her movements. It was not certain whether she could really be defeated here or sustain real injuries, but Arthemise voted against testing her theories. There was no option but to be victorious and to force this side of her into submission. This was her task and it was much more than an idle lesson.

"Silence yourself and stop wasting my time." The words dripped from her lips like venom, her hand curled tight around the hilt of her weapon. Reaching out in the force, she wrapped herself in a protective barrier in preparation for the woman to release the lightning that danced in her open palm. It was best to remain a step ahead so that, if it hit her, she wouldn't be incapacitated; never had she experienced the displeasure of electrocution and today would not change that.

Without warning, she charged her opponent and aimed a diagonal attack to her abdomen. It would be easiest to silence her in one movement, dismembering her at the waist so that she might suffer before death took her. The hot tip of her blade moved to do just that, still holding the force barrier in case the Spectre had other plans. Though Aria hoped to make this quick, she doubted she would be so lucky. Evandrus' lessons were never as easy as she anticipated them to be.

 

[The Storyteller]

The Spectre laughed.

Words were useless here were they? Oh the poor little child... she was so lost and so, incredibly, wrong. It was amusing to the Spectre. When Aria charged, the Spectre paused for a mere second before the smirk was back and the woman launched herself forwards as well, so as not to give Aria all of the momentum in the clash.

She brought her blade in front of her to block the slash at her abdomen, pushing back on Aria's blade to try and push the younger, smaller, woman backwards. While she was doing that she raised her free hand up between the two of them and used the Force not to create lightning but instead to create a blinding white light in the palm of her hand, which was pointed at Aria's face so only she would receive the glare of the light.

Whether or not the attempted blinding would work, the Spectre would push Aria back hard by their blade lock and make a low slash at Aria's left knee.

@MatureContentWarningx

 

[Arthemise Xius]

This was nothing more than an illusion, a deception of a deeper part of her, and still she struggled to maintain control. Her doubts would inevitably be her undoing. It wasn’t a hard lesson to grasp and Aria knew that she needed to reach out and take the control or risk losing it entirely. Everything she had fought so hard to gain was slipping through her fingers faster than she could comprehend. It wouldn’t end like this.. no, it couldn’t end like this; this was her dream and her trial. Evandrus had taught her better than to give up.

Her blade was like hot steel, burning into the inside of her upper thigh as she pulled away. Her eyes closed to lessen the effectiveness of the blinding white light. Once enough distance had been created, she readied her stance, suppressing the pain that radiated from her wound. Aria narrowed her eyes towards the Spectre and took in a heavy breath.

“Don’t think you’ve beaten me yet.”

Pushing forwards she reached out in the Force to bind the woman in place, raising the tip of her blade towards her chest. In one quick motion she moved to drive it between her ribs, her other hand protecting her exposed side.

 

[The Storyteller]

The Spectre stared at Arthemise with an odd expression on it's face as the apprentice reacted to the pain of having a blade sear through her flesh. Tutting, The Spectre looked down, annoyed that she had actually been able to strike the woman.

As much as The Spectre wished, longed, for control, it knew well enough that it would constantly have to fight to keep control and that would weaken it, keep it from achieving the goals it wanted to set for itself.

But if Arthemise managed to dominate it and control the power? Then that would be a more perfect union and together they could move onwards.

Feeling the way she was then bound by the Force, The Spectre grinned. She didn't use the Force to attack, she used it to break the binding on her lower body only, using her freedom of movement to spin herself away from the thrust.

"Come on then little Aria! Shall we dance?"

She sketched a mocking bow.

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[Arthemise Xius]

"I've grown tired of your mockery." Taking a step back, her expression dropped and she clenched her fists at her sides. There was a burning hatred that filled her lungs, fueling her words with fire. This trial had been more than she had anticipated and the woman who stood in front of her had overstayed her welcome. It was time to end this, for the sake of her reputation and the respect that would undoubtedly be lost if she were to fail; if not for these things, then at least for the purpose of her own mind. She could feel her sense of adventure receding, replaced by nothing but anger and frustration.

Arthemise took a deep breath, her hand wrapped tight around the hilt of her blade. This was an illusion, Evandrus had said so himself before she had begun the trial; if this were true then she was in control, no matter the circumstance. The woman who stood in front of her was merely an extension of her and therefore posed no threat given that she wasn't allowed the power she sought. It was the purpose of this trial to force this side of her into submission, to become a conduit of the dark side and not to be controlled by it.

She free hand snapped towards the Spectres blade without warning, hoping to curl her hand around it and pull her in. In her rush of frustration, she hadn't given any thought to whether or not the blade could hurt her but instead focused on driving her own blade into the Spectres abdomen. Given she managed to catch her opponent's blade, she'd use it as leverage to pull her closer.

"I'll be ashamed if I end up anything like you." Arthemise spat the words, eyes locked on hers. "You're a fool and I pity you, trapped inside here with no means of escape. Like an animal in a zoo. It suits you."

 

[The Storyteller]

Huh.

The Spectre looked down at the blade in it's guts and it looked to see that it's own blade held firmly in Aria's hand, the blade doing absolutely nothing to the young woman while Aria's blade still worked just fine in stabbing straight into, and through, her own gut. The Spectre looked at the blades for a moment longer before looking up into Aria's eyes.

There was utter silence for a moment.

And then The Spectre smiled.

"Good." she declared with a wide grin, "Good! Alright this is excellent! That's it - right there! The spine! The guts! The RESOLVE!"

The Spectre was beginning to become fuzzy at the edges as the illusion began to break away.

"Use my power and become a true threat to all who would put you down!" she declared, "Advance! Ascend!"

The Spectre was suddenly not a woman anymore, suddenly she was a black cloud that attached itself to Aria, like ink dying her skin blacker than pitch... and then the illusion was over.

@MatureContentWarningx

 

[Arthemise Xius]

Her breath was heavy, heart pounding in her chest as she held her attention on the Spectre, hand still curled around her blade. It was an odd sensation, like a warm static dancing across the tips of her fingers and the idea that it had not burned her was startling. There was silence for a moment, her own blade held deep in the woman's chest as the illusion started to blur and a wide grin spread across her face. She watched the Spectre with a stoic expression, her words echoed through the darkened room in spectacular fashion but fell on deaf ears. Arthemise had little interest in what the woman had to say, but her eyes remained transfixed as she began to fade and cling to her skin. The blackened cloud was heavy and didn't allow her to breathe, but in a moment it was gone, leaving her standing in front of Evandrus again.

Her blue eyes met his, weapon still clasped in her hands as she struggled to catch her breath. She was quiet but watched him as she waited for the pain from her wound to radiate, but it never did. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the bracelet and pried it from her wrist, letting it drop to the ground at her feet before she could be trapped in another illusion. In the same silent fashion, she clipped her hilt to her belt and let her shoulders fall in exhaustion. It was over, but she could still feel the weight of the darkened room pressing on her as though it hadn't entirely faded. Her head pounded, but she didn't let her expression hint to Evandrus that his trial had been challenging or exhausting; she wanted him to be proud of her.

 

[Darth Evandrus]

And it was done.

He had stood with his arms folded across his chest, waiting for her to finish with her vision and her quest. In the end, she was done and she was left just panting for breath. Evandrus stared at her in silence, expecting her to report but instead she just continued to stand there panting, exhausted.

Usually, Evandrus would be fine with this. She had just gone through the wringer... but that was kind of the point. She had gone through a Sith trial and she was supposed to face it as a Sith.

And then?

She did.

The exhaustion was hidden away and she stood up straight like a true Sith... he smirked ever so slightly.

"Artemise Xius." he spoke with that same, faint, smirk, "How do you feel? Tired?"

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[Arthemise Xius]

For Arthemise, this wasn’t a small victory. It had taken many hours of training, days dedicated to missions and no small amount of effort to convince Evandrus that she was ready to face a trial. A real trial, one she had to overcome on her own where he wouldn’t be there to lean on when things became challenging. Perhaps to him this was a small start, but for Arthemise this was her first real victory. She was proud of how far she had come, but her expression wouldn’t show it.

Her breathing still labored, she took a deep breath and held her shoulders back. Her eyes focused on Evandrus as she spoke. “It’s going to take a lot more than that to wear me down, if that’s what you’re asking.” A smirked pulled at her lips, her arms folded over her chest.

“Though, that begs the question... have I passed or is there more?” She feared his answer, unsure if she was prepared for more. Of course, if he had prepared another trial she would face it proud, like the young Sith he had helped her to become. The same young woman who had won her victories on Abhean, despite all that was against her.

 

[Darth Evandrus]

She was responding well to the trials as far as he could tell and he liked that. He liked that she had become a good enough Sith for him to take some measure of pride in her. Of course it wasn't quite over yet and that was to be expected.

"You've done well do far and maybe would consider you to be a Knight rather than an apprentice at this stage." He told her honestly, "They would see your efforts as a triumph."

He shook his head and held a hand out towards her.

"I do not." He declared bluntly, "Being a Sith is about more than just power or skill or control. Being a Sith, in large part, is about ensuring pain and rising above it. So... rise above it."

Using the Force, he pinned her arms to her side at the same time as lashing her with blue Force lightning, sustaining the weaker form of the power to keep her in constant pain.

"Yield and it ends."

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[Arthemise Xius]

She smiled, pleased that she had done well in his eyes and felt a sense of pride for all that she had accomplished. It hadn't been an easy trial and had required for more wit than strength, but Arthemise would do it again if only to see the look of admiration in his eyes. She wanted him to be proud of her, to see her as more than the scared child he had rescued on Nar Shaddaa, she yearned for his attention and for the continued opportunities to learn at his side; it was what she desired most.

With her hands held behind her back, she kept her head high and listened to him with the utmost attention. Evandrus seemed pleased with her efforts and even spoke of triumph, but her moment in the sun ended far quicker than she had anticipated. He held his hand out towards her, his tone sharp and for a moment she couldn't decide what she had done wrong. Her smile faded and she parted her lips to speak, but before she could react he had her arms pinned at her sides.

Aria struggled against him, though she knew it was pointless. Her eyes wide in fear before the pain pulsed through her small frame. Her fingers curled and she tried to pull away from him, but she couldn't. Her breath was pulled from her lungs and all she could do was cry out in pain, but she refused to yield to him. Evandrus wanted her to break under the pressure, to beg him to let her go, but she wouldn't give in. He wouldn't win, even if it meant that she would lose something in return.

Her entire body tensed as she held out through the attack, her fingers curled so tightly against her palms that the skin threatened to break underneath. Her cries turned into more of a whimper, unable to catch her breath as she waited for the pain to subside or for Evandrus to let her collapse.

 

[Darth Evandrus]

She was taking the lightning well.

He was dulling the potency of his lightning so that he didn't kill her with it but that did nothing to stop the amount of pain she was going to be feeling right now and that was just how he wanted it. He wanted her to feel nothing but pain because that was the whole point of this part of the trial.

She was to feel pain and to use it, to take the pain that she was feeling and be shown to do something with it. The Dark Side wasn't about making yourself immune to pain anymore than it was about blocking yourself off from your emotions - it was all about how and why you used those emotions.

He released her from his grip in the Force, only continuing the use of Force lightning. If she wanted him to stop then she was going to have to prove to him that she would use pain as fuel, rather than leaving it as a weakness.

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