Igni Irae
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Codify a location established in rp.
Image Credit: Here. Here.
Canon: N/A.
Permissions: N/A.
Links: Darth Eisen, Disciples of the Vader, Into Darkness, After Darkness, Kyriaki, Firemane, Inheritors of the Light Father, Republican Guard.
SETTING INFORMATION
Rift Name: Castle Maysaf.
Rift Alignment: Dark.
Location: Tephrike.
Destination: When visitors pass through they find themselves in an endless ashen waste. They might catch glimpses of the glorious vision they saw in the portal through a swirling mist, but in different directions. It is very easy to become lost in the 'Desert of Ashen Ambitions'. One may wander endlessly, searching for a beguiling mirage of all that one desires, without ever finding it.
Direction: Both.
Size: Large
Accessibility: Castle Maysaf is well-known and visible on Tephrike, though probably all but unknown outside of it. Until recently, it was the headquarters of the Disciples of the Vader. However, even for those who know about the place, it is not easy to reach due to the mountainous terrain. The rift is located in the ruins of the Sith fortress, which was set up on a mountain that lies on the border between the desert and jungle areas.
The Disciples of the Vader claim the Netherworld Rift as part of their territory, but are experiencing internal power struggles. Thus a traveller might be caught in the cross-fire. Moreover, the presence of mirages can make it difficult for travellers to find their way, as their perception of reality is warped. Many a traveller has suffered a perilous fall due to this while trying to climb the mountain.
It is easier for Force-Sensitives to navigate the pathways and separate truth from illusion, but they are also more likely to attract the attention of Netherworld spirits that bleed into the material realm. Moreover, the various Rift effects make it difficult to approach the place, as described below. Furthermore, the Rift is very difficult to scan, even when high-grade military sensors and scanners from starships are used. The Force phenomena appear to have an extremely disruptive effect.
Description: Located in a mountain that looks down upon woodlands, Castle Maysaf used to be a foreboding fortress. It achieved infamy as the headquarters of the Disciples of the Vader. From here the Sith planned their genocidal crusades. Their subject peoples had to deliver tribute to this place. However, in the aftermath of Firemane's bombardment, the Castle lies in ruins. Indeed, parts of the mountain have been rearranged. Some of the Castle's massive, dragon-shaped gargoyles still stand, though they may have sustained varying degrees of damage.
The Castle is still foreboding, though for a different reason. It has become the site of a Netherworld Rift. The place is characterised by phantoms, gravitational and spatial disturbances as well as other effects. Moreover, the dead do not rest easily here, as the Nether energies that suffuse the place reanimate them. Much of the Castle lies in ruins, but there are parts of it that can still be visited. The dark artefacts the Vaderites left behind have attracted their share of adventurers. However, those who seek to claim them face great peril. The Vaderites have tried to reclaim Maysaf, attracted by the prospect of using it to enter and exploit the otherworlds. However, they have been hindered by internal strife, as the loss of most of their leadership has triggered a struggle for the succession. Harnessing hell is obviously a 'really good idea'.
RIFT EFFECTS
An oppressive aura of terror and despair permeates the place. Those who approach the Rift receive visions and hallucinations. These become more visceral with time, making it difficult to separate truth from illusion. Many abominable horrors took place in Castle Maysaf and a visitor will be pulled into them. The Vaderites schemed against each other, and abused their slaves and captives. Then they died in burning hellfire. Spontaneous hysteria, while not inevitable, is far from uncommon. One can hear the rattle of chains and the sorrow of the damned. Like thousands upon thousands of souls, lost in a mist, a shackled legion, forever doomed to wander the abyss. Sometimes one can see a large warship looming overhead, and laser beams lancing from the sky. It's just an illusion, but can be quite disconcerting.
However, voices and disturbing visions aside, the place is cursed. Oftentimes, the dead linger and do not move on. Many of those who perished here have been trapped as spirits or reanimated as undead. Should a visitor come to the location of the Rift and perish, they will likely be reanimated as one of the undead. This ties in with experiments the Vaderites conducted prior to the bombardment. Interestingly, although the 'alignment' of the Rift is dark, hardcore darksiders seem to fare the worst. Spirits are drawn to them in large numbers, seeking to overwhelm them and try to steal their energy away.
Moreover, the Rift and the area in close vicinity to it are characterised by spatial distortions. For instance, distances seem to change and landmarks change in its vicinity. There are legends about travellers seeking the rift and spending weeks walking towards it. There are also stories of people leaving a campsite only to find that exact place closer to the rift, and of other people being lost in the area. When a traveller tries to ascend the mountain Castle Maysaf lies on, they may find that what one moment ago seemed like an easy climb has suddenly become an extremely steep, perilous one.
In addition, there are gravitational distortions. There are areas in and in the vicinity of the Rift where gravity pulls in weird directions and that seem to have higher gravity than elsewhere. For instance, a visitor might find that a 10kg armour suddenly feels twice as heavy. Needless to say increasing the gravity in turn amplifies the pressure on someone's body. The gravitational pull can be very dangerous. After all, if gravity is too strong, one can end up with broken bones and being pinned to the ground. On rare occasions, the exact opposite may happen, causing gravity to be nonexistent. This tends to happen when it would inconvenience someone. For example, a traveller may find themselves involuntarily floating from a cliff...and then gravity returns.
The Netherworld Rift has left its mark on the nearby forest. It is characterised by a disruptive mist, phantoms and plant surge trees ensnare the unwary. Visiblity is extremely low in it. One can hear whispers on the wind, like spirits calling out from the Netherworld. The Rift area is very resistant to being scanned. Even military grade sensors and scanners tend to get nothing or very little of use. Comm links have been known to either stop working or the user hears ghost voices. Sometimes these voices sound like whoever the caller wants to talk to...and try to lead them some place they should rather not go. The Rift effects become more pronounced the closer one gets to the epicentre of the Rift. It lies within the ruins of the Castle.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The Ebon Eye: The epicentre of the Rift itself of course. Located deep inside the Castle's ruins. It looks like a black or grey hole, but with visions on the other side. Perhaps the vision you see are of a great realm of Imperial achievement, or whatever the viewer wants to see. It is tailored to the individual. But it is all a deceptive mirage.
The Assembly: The remains of the old castle grounds the Sith used to be based in. Here one can find bones and burnt bodies. One might think the bodies move when you look away - surely a trick of the light? Climbing the mountain Castle Maysaf is built on is hazardous. One has to watch out for gravitational and spatial disturbances, among other things. These grow stronger and more hazardous the closer one gets to the epicentre of the rift. Moreover, undead abound in Castle Maysaf. The distortions make the location of the various areas of the Castle more than a little transitory, which can impede the attempts of travellers to reach the heart of the Rift. Or get them far closer than they bargained for. There used to be enormous statues of Vader and the Supreme Leader in the courtyard, but they were destroyed by the bombardment.
Special Containment Unit 3: Used to be one of the main dungeons. Here the tormented spirits of the slain cannot achieve rest. Sometimes one can see the spirits of the dungeons' former inmates taking out their anger on their former tormentors. Not all spirits are hostile. There are those who just want rest and will help a traveller in return for it. Others are malevolent though.
The Krayt's Lair/The Blonde Beast's Cell: The bunker where Fucht and his minions were slain. A huge portrait of Darth Vader has survived against all ods. Furcht's soul is bound to this place. He can be found ranting about traitors and sub-humans. 'Blonde Beast' was a nickname Furcht acquired in the early days of his career, as he was a key architect of many of the Vaderites' crimes against civilisation, such as ethnic cleansings, slavery, forced population transfers and mass shootings of civilians and prisoners of war. Sometimes, his former victims cross over from the Netherworld to punish him for his crimes. The 'Lord of Fear' is rather desperate to escape.
Chamber of Manifest Destiny: Located in what used to be the central keep of the Castle. It is most noteworthy for the enormous table that fills a good portion of the room. The huge table is decorated with Sith Runes. Carved in the shape of Tephrike's surface, it displays major cities and landmarks. A raised seat has been set up at the precise location of Castle Maysaf, allowing the Supreme Leader to tower over others and view the whole map. Supposedly successive Supreme Leaders have planned campaigns of conquest - as well as genocide and deportations - from this chamber. A more cynical perspective would be that it helped shield them from reality. Melodramatics aside, it also functioned as a war room, complete with communications and computers or, as the Tephriki call them, cogitators. Tephriki cogitators are big and still use floppy discs. As a result, the room was huge.
However, now there is no power. The table has survived due to being alchemised, but most of the chamber was levelled by the bombardment. Ironically, the Supreme Leader and his cohorts were in the middle of a briefing when Firemane started bombing the Castle. While most hastened to the bunker, Eisen was smart enough to use his command of the White Current to turn himself invisible and flee. Sometimes one can hear voices from the past when one passes through the chamber. One may hear Supreme Leader Hyperion rant about how all his generals have betrayed him. The remains of officers and Sith who did not make it out in time can also be seen.
The Primal Forest: A deep forest that has been warped by Nether energies. The forests of Tephrike are already dangerous without the influence of Force phenomena, and the creation of the Rift has only amplified this. Disruptive mist and phantoms abound. The same applies to plant surge trees that ensnare the unwary and carnivorous plants. A plant of note is an innocent looking leaf covered in fine hairs. These hairs are a defence mechanism, and if they contact exposed skin they inject a mind altering substance which causes irrational fear and flight reactions.
Electronics do not work properly, even very sophisticated ones. A commlink might not work at all or one hears ghost voices trying to lure one further into the darkness. There are also stories about abominations that managed to escape Castle Maysaf's laboratories. Due to the spatial distortions, some people may wander the forest for many weeks or even longer, which means they could run out of supplies and face the real risk of starvation...or worse if they eat a plant they really should not. Others may suddenly find themselves very close to the Rift despite not having walked long, which can get awkward.
Honourstad: Located a few miles away from the Castle. The two are connected by tram, which is haunted. This place used to be a Vaderite forced labour camp. After they no longer needed the 'undesirables' for construction work, the Vaderites deported them. Retired veterans, Party officials and their families were settled here, receiving land and pensions from the Imperial State. It was common for a family in good standing to acquire the services of an 'indentured asset'.
Many human citizens often conducted pilgrimages to Castle Maysaf to pay their respects to successive Supreme Leaders. They might have to wait patiently for hours to catch a glimpse of their idol. For this reason, the settlement became popular with 'pilgrims'. It generated significant revenue by exploiting its proximity to the Castle. Indeed, spas, resorts and dachas were built for the chosen few. With the exception of the 'indentured assets', the town was one hundred percent 'alien-free', which the mayor never stopped bragging about.
Today, the place is abandoned. After the cataclysm, the Vaderites tried to keep the truth from getting out. At first they called it an accident, then blamed it on alien saboteurs, who had obviously helped the 'sub-human invaders'. Knowing the fate that awaited them, several alien slaves tried to flee, others took revenge.
Some of the saner humans tried to escape to, but found themselves blocked by their own security apparatus. Then fighting broke out, and the Rift fed. Today, it is a ghost town. Refugees claim that a spirit that resembled Vader went on a rampage, spreading fear and terror. This was obviously not the real Vader, but a spirit that took his guise. Some believe it was Lord Salus. Many of the dead inhabitants have been reanimated as undead. The settlement has also been erected in the mountains, so one must watch out for gravitational and spatial fluctuations.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
One might wonder what Darth Vader would think about the fanatical cult that worships him with such zeal...while totally misunderstanding him in many ways. Sadly, you do not always get to choose your worshippers. Castle Maysaf was built in the distant past of Tephrike. The exact circumstances have been lost to history. The Disciples are the Vader are convinced it used to serve as a residence for their idol. This is wholly untrue. In truth, an exiled prince from Alderaan had the castle built in imitation of his lost home during the colonisation of Tephrike. The aristo's family exile was lifted after the Clone Wars and they staged a grand return to Alderaan...and thus happened to be there when a certain moon-sized battle station appeared overhead.
Temporarily without an owner, the castle briefly served as a sanctuary for rebels and fugitives who opposed the Galactic Empire. However, its walls could not withstand a force of stormtroopers with armoured support, and so the rebels were slaughtered. The castle was abandoned. In the centuries that followed, as Tephrike experienced various ups and downs during the time of the New Republic and the Galactic Alliance, the fortress remained out of use. Until the entrepreneur and inventor Zebulon J Scent purchased it. Scent was a highly controversial businessman and, to be frank, an incredibly obnoxious person. Pundits quipped that he now finally had a residence large enough to accommodate his ego.
Scent had created a new type of solar sailor ships not dependent on hyperfuel. Of course they were not very efficient and the company had not ever made a profit but his stock price was excellent. He used the castle to show off his designs to handpicked journalists. He also had big dreams for a new Outbound Flight Project, which went even worse than the original. But in a way, Scent was quite prescient since he anticipated widespread social, political and economic collapse, though this had little to do with actual insight. He did, however, draw the wrong conclusions. When he asked a consultant how he could best retain control over his security staff in the event that he would be holed up in his sanctuary following a collapse, he was advised to treat them like family and be responsive to their needs. Scent scornfully dismissed this as a namby-pamby nonsense. He proclaimed the castle would become a sanctuary for him and a chosen few. Should human civilisation collapse, they would repopulate the planet. He intended to set a good example for prodigious breeding. The children were all named by him to correspond with aspects of himself.
Scent sought to expand the once humble castle to a truly grandiose size and surround it with a model town. However, his company's poor treatment of their workers caused disconcent. Scent threw a tantrum when workers demanded better working conditions and he used illegal means to try and sabotage their attempts to unionise. Union organisers were illegally harrassed by his security guards. Scent got into legal troubles for using child labour in a sweatshop. Ironically, the Gulag Virus might have saved him. The Dark Age sent Tephrike spiralling into chaos. Isolation caused famine, a myriad factions fought over scarce resources, leading to an age of strife. Scent believed that his money and authority would allow him to rise again. Like many of the super rich, he made the mistake of assuming that his money would count for something without the system that supported it, and that he was a superman everyone looked upon with awe. Unfortunately for him, his employees decided otherwise, and he was thrown from the top of an impractical castle tower.
Meanwhile, the world had moved on without the delusional 'genius'. Sadly, things did not take a turn for the better. Cut off from the rest of the order, the Jedi tried to take control. At first on a provisional basis, but soon they sought totalitarian power in the name of order and founded a repressive régime called the Dominion of Light. Repression bred resistance, which in turn bred more repression. As the Jedi grew corrupt and sought to impose their vision on society, some grew drunk on power. One of them was Cade Seward. Born during the Dark Age, he was thrust into the horrors of war at an early age. Jedi ruled over vast swathes of territory as Jedi Lords, seeking to impose order by any means necessary. They dispensed justice, requisitioned supplies to feed population centres under their control and commanded armies. For some the strain proved too much, and the siren call of the Dark Side could not be resisted.
Reaching officer rank, Seward was part of a bloody campaign against rebels in Tephrike's jungles. These rebels considered the Jedi theocracy illegitimate and sought to restore Tephrike's pre-Gulag Virus Republic, though in practical terms they were another warlord faction. The campaign was not going well, for though the Jedi forces could deploy impressive firepower, they were harassed by guerillas and plagued by disease. Increasingly, food and clean water became scarce. Many soldiers on both sides lost their lives or succumbed to various diseases. Morale was understandably poor. Jedi Knight Seward took command over a section of the forces after his superior was fragged by mutineers.
Bitten by a nasty mosquitoe, Seward was afflicted with malaria. Suffering from the effects of the diseases, which caused headaches, fever and uncontrolled seizures, he experienced bizarre visions. Even as a child, he'd received Force visions, but now these were more intense. In his fever dreams, he saw a towering warrior clad from head to toe in black armour, with his face covered by an imposing mask. The figure handed him a scarlet lightsabre and, in a cold, gruff voice, ordered him to break the chains the Jedi had placed upon him and eclipse the light.
It took some time, but eventually Seward succumbed. Drawing upon his somewhat incorrect knowledge of history, he deduced that the man in black had to be Darth Vader. He shared his revelations with a few subordinates. Some refused to heed his bold vision. They were put to death. The rest swore allegiance to him. Secretly reaching out to the rebel forces, he struck a deal with them, and led the Jedi loyalists into an ambush. Holding his own troops back from the fighting, he proceeded to turn on the rebels. Conveniently, they were in a poor state as well and so a good number of their soldiers joined his cause when he promised them revenge and booty.
Taking over a few minor settlements and assimilating various militias into his army, he began his dark crusade. At first dismissed as a mere bandit, the Windian Jedi Order eventually realised that this rogue, who'd begun to call himself Darth Malitia, was an actual threat. War ensued, but after winning a number of victories, his army was decimated at the Battle of Palmyra, which left Tephrike's already ruined old capital devastated by use of chemical and thaumaturgical weapons. Forced to retreat into the jungle, he led the remainder of his army on an Arduous March, performing scorched earth tactics on the way. Still obsessed with his destiny, he plotted revenge on the Jedi, but some of his generals had enough. And so they did the classic Sith thing and turned on him. His apprentice Darth Vengeance challenged him to a duel and defeated him in mortal combat.
It was Vengeance who led the remnants of the 'Dark Legions' to the ruins of Castle Maysaf. Here, high up in a mountain that lay on the border between jungle and desert lands, he planted his standards. From this moment on, it would be the new base of the Disciples of the Vader. Its ground was consecrated through the ritual sacrifice of several captives. While Menace had been slain, many of his principles remained alive, though the order he'd founded changed over time. Though the Disciples kept claiming that it was their goal to cover Tephrike in darkness and exterminate the Jedi. They created a fascist, human supremacist state. The state ideology was called Humanism. Tephrike had a history of racial tensions, which enabled them to coopt Non-Force-Using humans, who became the middle class of their 'empire'. Non-humans, on the other hand, were exterminated, deported or enslaved. Vengeance was less of a fanatical Vader worshipper than the cult's founder, but intensified the cult of Vader in order to provide a unifying ideology that could keep the cult together.
Successive Dark Lords have kept the dark faith alive, albeit with varying zeal. It has produced an odd cult that takes the Sith's obsession with rule by the strong to the extreme. Slavery was revived, for those who could not defend themselves did not deserve freedom. Moreover, non-Force-users were inherently inferior to Force-users and thus equality was a lie. Using slaves acquired through raids on scattered settlements, the Sith cultists rebuilt and expanded the Castle, digging deep tunnels beneath the earth. They also installed defence systems. Ghastly torture was inflicted upon heretics, 'uppity' slaves, captured Jedi and so on in the dungeons. In line with their vulgar Social Darwinist ideology, the Sith Masters decree that the old and infirm should be killed due to being 'useless eaters'. They demanded tribute from nearby settlements, and extracted it via brute force.
The Republican Guard, a secular faction that idealises the Old Republic and despises Force-users, has often launched raids on the Castle and the nearby villages, seeking to rescue slaves and captives. The Jedi are aware of the fortress', but its defences have proved formidable. Moreover, the forces of the Dominion of Light are stretched thin across the planet. Despite often claiming that they are the only ones fit to impose order on the Galaxy, Sith have a tendency of being unstable and fighting amongst themselves. This was especially the case for the Disciples of Vader, as they fully embraced a martial might makes right ideology. Thus throughout the history of their reign over Castle Maysaf, its halls have been stained with blood.
Of particular note is an episode during the reign of Darth Hyperion. Aside from the usual backstabbing, two heretical movements reared their head. A group of cultists had discovered what they believed to be 'a sacred text' from the Jedi, which told the true story of Darth Vader. Said text was actually a 'Galactic Civil War for Dummies' sort of book, which told the story of Vader's redemption. Thus one group proclaimed that since Vader had embraced the Light, it was their duty to do so as well as the true disciples of the Chosen One. In doing so, they would finish what he started by restoring the balance of the Force. The other group claimed that since Vader had fallen to the light side, Palpatine was the true Dark Lord and it was their duty to destroy the false Sith. Civil war ensued. Hyperion hoped to pit both factions against the other, but the leader of the 'Light Sith', Darth Salus, was able to rally a number of rebellious slaves to his cause.
In the end, Impaler was slain in a duel. The Sidious zealots were purged and Salus took control. Despite ostensibly being a lightsider, he saw nothing wrong about ruling as a dictator. He reached out to the Dominion of Light to negotiate a treaty, but they rebuffed him. So he declared that the faux Jedi had fallen to the Dark Side and must be purged. Cannily, he arranged an alliance of convenience with the secular Republican Guard, launching a joint campaign against the mutual enemy. However, while Salus was campaigning, his enemies in the cult seized control of the castle and upon his return he was poisoned. This was justified with the argument that he was an unbeliever, and so the normal code did not apply. The old order was restored and the 'heretical' text was burnt.
Darth Furcht came to power after the Netherworld Crisis. Castle Maysaf remained the centre of power of the Sith cultists, despite the best efforts of the Dominion to dislodge them. He was an ideological purist who promoted merciless enforcement of the Imperium's racial laws. Then the star people arrived. The Sith saw the starships appear in orbit, but were unsure what to make of them. When they learned that the outsiders were bombing the Dominion's capital and that the Jedi Temple had been destroyed, they were jubilant. Furcht declared it a sign of the Dark God. The outsiders and the Republican Guard proceeded to take Fortress Purity. Word spread that the Dominion's Grandmaster was dead and that part of the army was in open revolt. The Sith leaders were in the midst of planning a great offensive to take advantage of the turmoil, when suddenly the outsiders bombarded Castle Maysaf.
Furcht ordered the Council members and sorcerers present to conduct a ritual with him. They struck back by summoning demons aboard the Firemane flagship. But one of his rivals, Darth Eisen, was not among the Sith who joined the ritual. Instead he had used the chance to sneak away. This turned out to be a wise choice, for while the Sith's ritual was successful and Firemane had to fight to take its warship back from the eldritch entities, Castle Maysaf was levelled. Furcht died in the bombardment. He and his cohorts perished when a missile vaporised a fifty metre sphere, shearing through rock and metal cleanly. When they died, a wave of dark side energy was released from their bodies. It fed the gateway, and kept it open.
Eisen witnessed Maysaf's destruction from afar. He was both awed and intimidated by the 'magnificient desolation'. His musing about what the Sith could accomplish with such power was cut short by the realisation that the Council had been decimated. He sent his minions to the castle to verify that Furcht was dead. This turned out to be the case. However, the ritual Furcht and his cohorts had been performing had repercussions beyond what the Sith Lord had imagined.
The Sith sorcerers had been harnessing the power of the void to summon malevolent spirits from the depths of the Nether. This had created a minor tear in the fabric of reality. On its own, this would not have done much. However, the mass deaths caused by the Firemane bombardment allowed the Nether energies to spread, and the gateway remained open. In short, there was a Netherworld Rift inside the ruins of Castle Maysaf. Eisen, himself a powerful Sith Sorcerer, immediately had the area placed under lockdown. It was a place of power, but also one of the danger. The Thaumaturgical Division was made responsible for securing and studying the Rift. By now the Vaderites have ascertained that the rift is a two-way street, allowing them to enter the Nether and return from it.
A nearby town called Honourstad was also affected by the cataclysmic event. Firemane had focused its bombardment on the Castle, but the town did not emerge entirely unscathed, especially since the bombing triggered avalanches. However, the residual damage paled in comparison to what happened after the creation of the Rift. At first the town was used by Vaderite troops as a staging ground to investigate the Rift. Many alien labourers, knowing they would be scapegoated, tried to flee during the chaos. The town was placed under lockdown, as the Vaderites did not want a truth they did not approve of to leak out. Fighting broke out, which only fuelled the expanding Rift. Today, it is a ghost town.
Incidentally, Furcht had not entered Chaos. Though the Dark Lord had shuffled off the mortal coil, he had been able to tether his black soul to the rift. Like many Sith Lords, he had sought immortality. Of course, his present existence was not to his liking. Needless to say Eisen had no desire to help his rival and former boss return to a corporeal existence. Eisen found the former Leader's plight extremely amusing, but unfortunately for him, there were Vaderites who regarded the fallen Furcht as a martyr and him as a traitor. Some Vaderites believe they can harness the power of the rift. Furcht's son unsuccessfully tried to claim the Rift, but soon more serious opposition arose when disaffected Sith coalesced around Darth Erlösung.
Denouncing Eisen as a decadent pretender to the throne who had abandoned the true tenets of Humanism, Erlösung proclaimed himself Supreme Leader. This led to fighting around and inside the Rift, which probably only fed it. It soon turned out that this was a very bad idea...not that has ever stopped fascists. Gravitational and spatial distortions as well as phantoms wreaked havoc. People got lost, went insane or joined the living dead. Soldiers and researchers who had the misfortune of being sent here soon learned that it was a matter of survival to burn the dead as soon as they died, lest they rise again as undead. But the tales of power and of a gateway into the Nether were enough to wet the appetite of many who lusted for power.
Eisen is a humanist and a Sith, but more driven by a desire for personal self-aggrandisement than ideological imperatives. However, there are many Vaderites who are a lot more fanatical and are not content with waiting for the final apocalyptic battle. Instead, they wish to force the end. The Dominion of Light and the Republican Guard have learned what has happened at Castle Maysaf. Indeed, agents of the Guard were aboard the Scarlet Destiny when it bombed Castle Maysaf.
But since both factions are in a state of war, they have not been able to conduct a full investigation. The Guard is also limited by the fact that it does not utilise Force adepts. It understands that the Rift is dangerous though. However, it is in no position to quarantine it like it quarantined Palmyra's Wail. The Inheritors of the Light Father, the remnant of the Light Vaderite who went underground after the purge, have been able to infiltrate the Vaderite ranks to a degree. The Inheritors view the present situation with concern and have initiated operations to both learn more about the Rift.
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