Private And So These Tombs Fell

[Ishani Dinn]

Ruins of the Royal Academy, Korriban​

Ishani expected to wind up here eventually. The mysterious force which had propelled her around the galaxy, through time and space and even into alternate realities had followed a set pattern. Every place, person, or object she encountered was a part of herself, the sum of her mistakes and failures. It was all adding up to something, though she didn't know what...

She moved through the ruins of the Academy where she had spent a year of her youth. Only a year. Yet so much had unfolded from here. Sometimes she felt as if her life had begun in this place, and everything before or since it had been a dream. In some ways, she had never truly left.

It was in ruins now, so she wasn't seeing a vision of the past. The halls and corridors were deserted. She passed familiar doors which led to chambers so filled with memories her soul ached just to think of them, let alone pass through the walls and view them. But she didn't feel a pull towards Arcturus' suite, or the hidden garden, or her old dorm. Instead, she felt an insistent tug guiding her toward the archaeological wing, where the archives were kept...

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

It wasn't a surprise that the place was cleared out. Alina let out a sigh as she ripped down the last of the ruined shelves to reveal the more hidden compartments. Only one vault remained unopened. So she reached out, ripped it open. A couple of papers were all that remained inside. Her golden eyes glanced through them, curious on what might be within these last few remnants of her time here.

Nothing immediately useful. She let out a sigh as she rolled them up. Tucked them away. Turned to leave.

Completely unaware there was a ghost here.

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

As she wandered through the Academy, passing through walls as if they weren’t there, Ishani spotted a few fresh corpses. Wearing uniforms with the insignia of the Ashlan Crusaders, they must’ve been left behind to guard the ruins against living trespassers. The killer had dispatched them in a quick, efficient manner, as though they had simply wanted them out of the way.

By the time Ishani reached the archives, the chamber looked as if a cyclone had hit it. Ancient books, datachips, disks, and holocrons had been thrown around carelessly. Someone was searching for something in here, and they had little respect for anything else. Ishani turned a corner just in time to witness a white-haired figure tear the vault door off its hinges.

The spectral tug was still leading her on. Ishani’s ghost followed the pale figure into the vault, watching as she picked up some scrolls and tucked them away. When the figure turned to leave, Ishani’s ghost was right in front of her.

“Alina?” Ishani blurted, recognizing the figure suddenly. Burn scars covered much of the left side of Ishani’s body, and her broken back was bent at an odd angle. She was still clad in the armor she had worn into battle, though it was dirty and dented. “What are you looking for?”

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina stared.

Really stared. Then let out a sound almost like exhaling? Her whole form that had been rigid seemed to relax as she stumbled back a step. Ah, a whine. "What the hell Ishani. Ghosts are horrifying you know, don't just appear looking lik- Wait why are you- Wait did you fucking die?" As reality seemed to piece itself back together in Alina's mind, all she could do was just.. Glare. Glare at the mangled ghost of Ishani before her. She stepped forward, tightening a fist. Swinging it. Uselessly, of course. Just to test if this wasn't some weird trippy.. Something.

"Why the hell are you dead!?"

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Alina was startled at first, then confused, then shocked. Before Ishani had a chance to say anything more, the vampiress took a swing at her. Obviously the blow didn’t connect, but Ishani was annoyed by it all the same.

She was annoyed about a lot of things in this situation.

“Yeah, I’m dead,” she snapped. “I got killed on Tython. What are you looking at me like that for? Do you think I wanted to die?”

She gestured to the mess Alina had made. “What are you doing here? I get that it’s in ruins, but this is uncalled for. Clean up after yourself, at least.” She had the Force, she should be able to put things away with her mind. That was minimal effort. She didn’t even need to make a mess in the first place.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"You look like trash that had been thrown out." Alina spat out, with far more venom than she should have. Especially since she was talking to a ghost. Ah, man. She hated dealing with ghosts. She couldn't exactly hurt them without.. Well. Making them cease to exist. Her gaze shifted to the ruined room. And she shrugged. "It's not like I can put them away with my mind or anything. That's not somethin' I can do."

Her gaze lingered there for a moment. Refusing to look back towards the blonde woman.

"Where are your kids, Ishani."

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“Oh, but you sure can rip a vault door off its hinges and trash this place!” Ishani snarked. “And I was never that good-looking to begin with, so I don’t see how it matters.”

Alina asked a question which, while easy to answer, represented Ishani’s biggest sore spot. Accordingly, Ishani exploded.

“It’s none of your fucking business, Alina, but if you’re that concerned with my private family life, they’re with Arc and my mother,” she replied. “I made arrangements as soon as I could so that they would be safe until I can get out of this mess.”

She peppered her sentences with a few choice words, one of which replaced Alina’s name with a certain vulgar insult typically reserved for members of the fairer sex. Suffice to say, the term was not fit for print.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"That's because I'm not human. Nothing to do with the Force. You want to see what I can do with the Force?" It wasn't enough that Ishani had to go and get herself killed in such a terrible looking way. She had to be a jerk just because someone cared about her kids? And to use such a vulgar word like that? Alina flicked out her lightsaber, letting the blade burn into existence. And cut out. Nothing dangerous, nothing deep.

But her blade could cut even a ghost.

"I can make sure whatever this mess is is something you don't get out of. So don't get pissed off at me for judging you, of all people, to abandon those kids to die on Tython of all fucking places! Why the hell were you there? It had nothing to do with you!"

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Pointlessly, Alina activated her lightsaber and lashed out at Ishani. Or so Ishani thought. When the blade made contact with her ghostly apparition, a strange sort of pain lashed through her. The chill of cold and the burn of heat simultaneously, like holding an ice cube or your legs falling asleep.

Somehow the weapon had actually managed to wound Ishani’s soul. How that was possible, she didn’t know. But she wasn’t going to stand for it.

“They weren’t with me on Tython!” she roared. “Do you think I’m that stupid? I left them with their father! I was there for my own reasons, but I stayed to help! The Maw was there to destroy the planet! Trillions of years of life, wasted! And for what?!”

The floor began to shake as Ishani, reaching out with the Force, called upon what was left of the secret garden she and Arc had once tended. Roots and vines, freakishly large and growing at a supernatural rate, burst through the earth beneath their feet. They descended upon Alina, seeking to snake around her body and restrain her, or at the very least knock the lightsaber from her grasp.

“Do you think I wanted to see you here?” Ishani snarled. “You’re nothing but a trial for me to overcome. You, and all the other mindlessly destructive Sith of this generation!”

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Trillions of years of life were worth yours? You've always valued yourself so little, but to think you'd make a literal ball of dirt and mud worth more. Sure, help people escape. But to die?" Life sprang up around her. Alina scoffed. Of course, a dead woman using plants? She didn't move. Instead, she just let her anger out. A void formed, blocking the Force around her. Blocking life around her. Plants on their way to take hold simply withered and died.

"You think I'm some trial?" Alina laughed. Stepped closer. Brought that spherelike void of the Force closer towards the being only manifested through it. Her golden eyes only had contempt in them, no matter how much she laughed.

"You think I'm mindless? I'm not here to respect the dead or what's gone. I'm here to get what I need. Are you going to get in my way? Do you want to be my enemy, Ishani?" She actually used the other woman's name. She brought up her saber, the red hum threatening. ".. No, of course you are. The Force sent you here to stop me, didn't it? Fine. I'll make sure you stay dead, then."

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Ishani quickly deduced what was happening. It was a bit hard not to, given that she could sense the plants dying. She let them go, backing away from the advancing Alina.

Shit, shit, shit. The vamp was negating the Force around her. Ishani had seen Chaldean Mystics do similar things, but never on this scale. Never with such malice. Ishani was abruptly made aware of just how vulnerable she was as a ghost.

What could she do?

Ishani seized the mess around them. Shelves, books, furniture—she pulled it all forward with telekinesis, throwing the items at Alina, assailing her with the archival knowledge. But it was plain that Ishani was getting desperate, pushed back further toward the other end of the room. The most she could hope for was that the flying books would distract Alina long enough for her to think of something else…

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina battered them away like they were flies. Falling furniture, books, rubble. She swung a hand and a bookshelf shattered to pieces. She brought up her blade, and a couch split into two, passing by harmlessly around the vampire. Her cold gaze stayed locked on the ghost before her. Her grip tightened on her lightsaber. And yet, she stopped walking. Fear? .. No, fear wasn't right. If the Force sent Ishani here to stop her, why would she be so afraid?

No Jedi would be. Ishani wasn't a Jedi, but.. Still. The Force, it had to mean something to her for it to bring her here?

She growled under her breath. Fuck the Force. Seriously.

"Are you here to stop me or not!? I'm tired of playing the game, Ishani! If the Force sent you here to hinder me or kill me, just tell me!"

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Flying glass invaded her vision, the shards passing harmlessly through Ishani’s spectral form. She moved to one side, passing through a wall, out of sight. Alina’s voice was muffled as she shouted.

"Are you here to stop me or not!? I'm tired of playing the game, Ishani! If the Force sent you here to hinder me or kill me, just tell me!"

Ishani had no answer for her. She didn’t know why she had been brought here. She guessed, based on what she had been experiencing as of late, that this was yet another trial of the spirit. Some old wound which had sat festering in her, a conflict which remained unresolved, a problem that she had never gotten around to fixing. So—what was Alina to her?

A former classmate who had rudely kicked down her door twice. A friend of the man she loved, but not a very close one—certainly not as close as Kal , with whom she had already made her peace. Someone she had once traveled the Netherworld with, but only because it was convenient. A woman who had once confessed that she was jealous of Ishani, for reasons that were not only purely superficial, but based on lies.

By all accounts, Ishani should have despised Alina. What had kept them from clashing before? Some vague sense of decency? Simple apathy?

“Maybe I was,” Ishani replied, her voice equally as muffled through the walls. “Maybe I was sent here to stop you. You’ve gone back to being a lackey for useless jackoffs like Maliphant. You always were a follower, Alina. You’ll never be great—you’ll never be a true Sith.”

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

What was muffled for the ghost wasn't muffled for the vampire. Alina's black boot came right through the wall where she heard Ishani's voice. Bringing down with it the rest of the wall in short order. Dust and rubble kicked up in the air, but the threatening void, the red glow of the saber. The golden glow of Alina's annoyed gaze. They were clear as day as she stepped through.

"Maliphant. The Worm. Carnifex. Demiurge. Arcanix. Vulcanus. Ophidia. Agnous. Athora. Vornskr. Nito." She spoke every name with every step. A cold conviction in her voice. In her eyes.

"They rule the Sith. As they always have. Every generation meant to serve them and their lofty ambitions until they're discarded. So these rulers can start anew in some other corner of the Galaxy. You think I'm there to follow? Only an idiot fights a fight they can't win. Only an idiot starts a fight without knowing everything about their enemy." Alina seemed to be directing those words venomously at Ishani.

"I don't have the power to kill those names, yet. But when I do, and I will, I'll kill them all. Allow the next generation of the Sith to rise up. Allow the Sith to evolve as they should have been able to all this time. I don't care if I'm great, or remembered, or important. But my power can kill them all. And then, I'll the Force itself."

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Ishani did not expect Alina to burst through the wall. Either she was more than supernaturally strong and durable, or Maliphant should’ve paid the builders of the Royal Academy a lot more.

The vampiress was ranting at her, spouting off names of past conquerors. She was clearly rattled by Ishani’s comments, or else she wouldn’t talk as much.

"You think I'm there to follow? Only an idiot fights a fight they can't win. Only an idiot starts a fight without knowing everything about their enemy."

“I guess that makes you an idiot, since you started swinging at me first,” Ishani shot back.

Alina’s monologue only became more megalomaniacal. She spoke of killing all the other Sith, then killing the Force.

“You sound just like him! You’re Mal’s little soldier. What a tool! What a waste.”

Ishani continued to fling things in Alina’s path, hoping to make her stumble or to distract her. Then, just as Alina was coming within killing range, Ishani suddenly flung herself forward, entering the vampiress’ body and attempting to seize control of it.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"You're the one that fucking died you b-" Then things went weird. Alina froze up, unable to move. Act. Think. Just a deep seated anger at something was all she could recognize. Possession wasn't something she'd ever experienced before. But, she immediately started fighting it. Anger and hate continued to rise as she tried to push this foreign invader out. That's what was happening, right?

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING GET OUT OF ME!"

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Re-entering the land of the living was a shock after so many weeks spent as a disembodied spirit. Ishani would grant Alina one thing: the vampiress’ body was powerful. She could feel it as soon as she entered, the strength and speed in her sleek, muscular form like a beast waiting to be unleashed.

She also felt Alina’s perpetual thirst for blood, a hunger that could never be fully satiated. In this, she did not envy her.

Ishani walked forward. Her movements were jerky and uncoordinated as Alina fought her every step of the way, making her stagger and stumble toward the door.

Or at least, it looked like she was trying to leave at first. Her actual target was a shattered set of wooden shelves to the left of the door. Stooping to pick up a large splinter of wood, Ishani pressed the point to Alina’s chest, right over her heart.

“Learn everything about your opponent before trying to kill them,” Ishani said, echoing Alina’s own words back to her. “Good thing I’ve seen plenty of vampire holos.” Hearing her words coming from Alina’s mouth was a strange experience, but she stifled any sense of smug satisfaction. Alina would be able to sense it.

“I assume you don’t want to die like this, so I’ll give you a second chance. I’ll leave you alone if you promise not to try and end me again. Otherwise, you stake yourself on my orders like the petty sycophant you are.”

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Ah, yeah. She hated this. The lack of control. It wasn't the first time she'd felt a loss of control over her own body. Her sister used to torment her like this, back when she was still weak. Seemed she was still weak, in a way. "I was just proving a damn point after you called me an Alina!" Alina was not the word used. She struggled, oh she struggled as much as she could. But Ishani was in the pilots seat.

The most she could do was harden her flesh some to try and keep the point at bay for as long as she could.

"Fine! Fine. Fuck you, but fine!"

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“You tried to erase my existence because I called you a bad word. Yeah, you’re crafty enough to kill all the Sith. Give me a break.”

She would’ve said more, but she was mainly focused on keeping her grip firmly around the stake.

Alina finally assented. Ishani hesitated. Part of her wanted to pierce Alina’s heart anyway. It would’ve been so easy to end her life here and now…

But after a few seconds, she relented, dropping the stake. It clattered to the ground, and Ishani’s ghost evacuated from Alina’s body.

“You ought to do something about that chaos syndrome,” she said, her voice her own again. “Or you won’t get very far with those big plans of yours.”

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina just stared. Half of her was tempted to just switch on the void again and watch Ishani disappear for good. Which she held back. For her kids, at least.

"I gave you a little cut because you were being a dickhead, and you went all 'Clearly the Force has you as a trial for me!' Murder hobo and sent a tree after me! Yeah, I'm gonna kill someone who threatens me, ghost or not."

She let out a defeated sigh, plopping down onto the ruined floor.

"You got a big mouth for someone who died. You at least got a way to not be dead?"

Ishani Dinn