Private Death Is A Stepping Stone

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina had returned from death. It wasn't on her own, of course, she didn't have the ability to do that level of control over the Force. Quinn Varanin had ripped the very fabric of reality apart to collect her from the hell she'd earned herself. Or purgatory, more accurately. Unable to return to the flow, unable to go to the waiting maw, the after life had just been her floating aimlessly and removed from the fate she would've had otherwise. It felt like hell regardless, all her thoughts being the only company.

Yet still, she'd escaped.

Memories had fractured. The circumstances around her death had been twisted and left only with glimpses that seemed to show a cruel, hateful joke as if she'd been betrayed and stabbed in the back. It wasn't until she saw Alisteri die to Darth Malum of House Marr 's hand that her memories finally and properly returned. Her death, throwing herself at her friend as a threat to try and wake him from the insanity she'd assumed he'd fallen to. His panic and fear as she died, pierced by his blade as he sought to fend her off, not kill. An accident on his part, a misstep on her own.

How it was him who was there when she'd lost her arms. Changing the bandages she couldn't even use the Force to do herself. Helping her eat, helping her stand and move. Keep balance as she tried to keep her pride. She'd refused even her Master's help in favor of finding her own solution. So she could stand on her own and fight as a Sith should. So she didn't have to rely on trusting her Master's good will. On trusting whatever cybernetics she could've gotten instead wouldn't be hacked or subpar. She hated trusting anything but herself.

But she'd trusted him. Without hesitation, without reservation or fear. He'd trusted her in turn, and their destiny had changed completely on those streets of Nar Shaddaa.

It had been sobering to remember. Not just him, but everything else her mind had fractured and twisted. Alisteri was dead, and she couldn't even talk to him again. Right up until he wasn't dead, anyway. A flurry of emotions had rushed through her mind as she rushed to where he was. Joy, rage, jealousy, sorrow. He was still alive. Or came back, or something along those lines, but she hadn't been in the know. She stood outside the door, staring at it. She knew he was there, just on the other side. Their bond as Sangnir, the blood that had turned them both calling to the other.

She couldn't bring herself to even knock on the door. For all her life a door was just something to kick open and announce her presence, uncaring of decorum or politeness. Yet she couldn't this time. She wanted to see him, and yet, she was actually frightened to. So she stood, awkwardly staring at the door as the memories of both their deaths continued to flash through her mind.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Showers were something that He had decidedly been missing and in dire need of since His revival. The palace's basement did have one nearby but it had a bathtub instead, no doubt due to the possibility that whoever would be using such facilities at the time more than likely wouldn't have been able to stand on their own. Darth Strosius however was far more resilient and sturdy than whoever else had to make use of such things. A bath was fine but a scalding hot shower was all the better.

Being moved out of the basement and to a regular room had done wonders for His mood, even if the arrangement was only temporary. Alvaria wouldn't keep Him for much longer. This thought briefly made Him pause wrapping up His arms, His gloved fingers idly tracing over the woven patterns of the black cloth before He continued. He normally didn't take so long to redress Himself but in this particular instance He had drawn out every moment that He could.

Because He knew that someone had been standing at His door for more than a few minutes now.

Someone that He had little doubt hadn't come by for simple pleasantries and an offered hand like, to His shock even now, the Empress of the Sith Order had. When His other arm had been wrapped up properly He then slid a glove onto that hand as well and took a moment to smooth out the new robes adorning His form. They were far from the usual ornate set that He preferred but they were more than serviceable until He could get back in touch with His followers and get some more proper attire from them.

With the donning of the glove though His outfit was complete, every bit of skin aside from His face covered just as He liked. His golden gaze stared back at Him from the mirror, dulled slightly more than it should have been but still vibrant enough to tint the pale skin around His eye sockets in a subtle amber light. The pale tendrils sprouting from His back were diminished at the moment, more akin to wisps of smoke than the trailing wings that they usually resembled. He took a breath and released it, not realizing how tightly He had grasped the bathroom counter's edge until He glanced down and noticed that several cracks in the countertop had sprouted from around His fingers.

His jaw tightened and He could feel His fangs grinding against one another as a result, reluctantly prying Himself away from the mirror and then the bathroom as a whole. His stride towards the room's door was careful and measured, like a hunter approaching some easily started prey or an even more dangerous predator. He knew which stood beyond the door. He had half a mind to pull His sword or lightsaber into His hand but before He could He found His fingers wrapped around the handle of the door, His breathing having quickened at the realization.

After another pregnant pause He slowly opened the door, doing His best to keep His expression level and calm. The moment that He laid eyes on her though, a twitch of His eye and a sudden dryness in His throat which caused a little unintentional inhale shattered said visage of calmness almost immediately. "Alina Tremiru." He paused for a moment, idly hating how subtle reverb of His voice seemed to whisper His words instead of its usual melodic intonement of them. "To what do I owe the visit?"

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

If the news that he'd lived brought a flurry of emotions, just seeing his face brought that much more. So much that Alina just stared blankly at the man. Alisteri. As long as she'd known him, he'd hidden his face away. Refused to let others see it, even with all her prodding. She'd seen it, of course, but here he was in all his glory. Part of her had still assumed he was dead. That whoever was behind the mask wasn't him.

Perhaps she'd hoped that he would still have a mask so she could still wonder if it was true.

"You're alive."

She let that linger in the air for a bit before she laughed. Full on laughed. Joy. A grin spread wide across her face as her fangs were practically bared as she laughed. At him. Full on teasing laugh directed at him. "Emperor Ali lives! Do you know your declaration was played for classes in Jutrund? I can't believe you'd declare yourself Emperor like that!"

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

His anxious expression shifted to a slight grimace as Alina stared at Him, silently cursing the loss of His mask most of all amidst the rest of His ruined armor. True to His Sangnir nature the face of Alisteri Haxim hadn't changed all that much in regards to wrinkles or greying, but there were some new additions. The blade-like tattoos that curved underneath His glowing eyes seemed more inset, more like indentations in His skin than simple tattoos. His whole complexion was ashen and pale, more than it should have been. His eyes would have boasted deep bags beneath them had the tattoos not covered that area, eyes which now were twitching and flickering around in an uncertain manner.

He jumped slightly when she finally spoke and even more so when she started laughing, idly glancing down the hall and back to the other Sangnir as though looking for some escape route. An unfamiliar sensation, one that He couldn't recall the last time since He'd felt it actually, crept up from deep within the back of His mind and fully reached the forefront of it in response to her outburst. A little bit of color managed to flush the otherwise ivory skin on His cheeks.

"They showed a Kaggath at schools?!" He hissed, half in disbelief and half in embarrassment that it had been so widespread. He knew that He should have aimed for those blasted camera drones when He had the chance. "Had I bested that brat I'd have gone for the corpse next so it seemed appropriate." Darth Strosius tried to stand up a bit straighter and set His shoulders back, all to appear more composed and in control of the situation than He was.

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"You claimed yourself to be Emperor. They absolutely showed you and made it seem as ridiculous as possible." Though, knowing Alisteri, how fanatic he seemed at that time certainly wasn't an exaggeration. They didn't want people to think he was serious. That him and his cult were just a bunch of crazies, not a credible threat. Her laughter dimmed to a more subtle smile. It was him. It was almost like they were back in the Academy, watching him straighten out.

No, he'd never done that. He didn't shy away like he used to. The tattoo, the age in his eyes now. It'd been years, and it showed on them both. Her pale skin, the blackness where the whites of her eyes should've been. She was returned from death, and it showed. Everything else had been as it was. Her body returned, as it always would, to when she was turned.

"I'm glad you're alive, Ali. .. You going to invite me in? Or do you want to talk more in the hallway? I assume you're kind of in hiding."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

"Figures." He sighed and pressed a hand to pinch the bridge of His nose, briefly leaning against the door for a moment as He willed the heat in His face to die down. It was an unusual feeling and one that He decided that He didn't care for. "The propaganda machine has been working overtime I see." Unsurprising but no less disappointing.

Darth Strosius paused at the question and hesitated for a moment before stepping aside and pulling the door open fully. "Come in then." He slowly stepped away from the door, keeping an eye on the other Sangnir as He moved away from the hallway. "How glad are you exactly?" He raised an eyebrow as a slight frown crossed His face. "Last I recall 'glad' was quite the opposite of how you felt. Frankly I was surprised to see that you hadn't joined your wretched master on Formos."

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"That's half the battle. If the common folk don't think of you as something serious, then you're not going to get far, Emperor." One last little tease before, thankfully, she didn't have to keep standing in the hallway. Him being alive was likely something that would get him killed if it was known. Her own Master might even want for it, considering everything that had happened. Everything he'd chosen to do to fight against them all.

"I'm still torn between slapping you, hugging you, punching you, or stabbing you in truth. You've done a lot of foolish things making enemies." Was the honest truth. She looked about his room before finding a chair to sit in, which she plopped down on with her arms crossed over her chest. Thinking bac, she'd always ended up invading his room in the academy.

It brought a softer smile, those kinds of memories. When things were easier.

"Coming back to life ripped apart my mind. Quinn was able to salvage most of it, but a lot of things got twisted. Seeing you actually die sort of broke it more, but to a point it could be properly mended. Then? No, I wanted you dead. Now? There's a whole bunch of conflicting thoughts, but I am glad you're alive. You were my first and best friend. Our hearts don't exist anymore but mine's not so cold I can't be happy someone brought you back."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

He rolled His eyes at the little jab but chose not to respond in kind. She did make a good point after all, but it hardly mattered at the moment. With any luck He wouldn't be on the minds of the wider Sith Order for some time, not until He was ready and capable of dealing with the fallout of it all. He doubted that even the Empress's assurances would keep Him from harms way for long.

"Foolish hm? I suppose it would appear that way to the likes of you wouldn't it?" She was one to talk, getting herself killed for no reason at all. "I haven't made any enemies, they made themselves mine. Yourself included." He cast a glare over His shoulder at her but it had faded by the time He sat Himself down on the bed with a sigh.

"I suppose I'm relieved to hear I'm not the only one that had difficulty in their revival." He supposed that coming back from the dead was meant to be a rather daunting affair all things considered. Not everyone could achieve after all, and so many had killed just for the chance to do so. If only they knew how hollow it left you afterwards. "Someone?" Darth Strosius scoffed and flashed a mirthless grin, giving a glimpse of the fangs in His mouth. A few fangs too many for a Sangnir.

"Malum saved my body but I was..." He clicked His tongue. "Dead on arrival as it were. I wasn't fully...separated from my physical form but I was very much unattached still. I felt so...close to the Force. But..." His gaze flickered to His gloved hands, idly noticing how His fingers had started twitching and trembling. He quickly moved one hand to cover the shaking one as He continued. "I had to drag my way back in but evidently I...left something behind." The tendrils flicked in the corner of His vision at their mention but He ignored them as He always did.

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

It was her turn to have a brief moment of embarrassment. Alina's face didn't heat up or the like, but her eyes shifted aside. She didn't have a retort. What she did that day was foolish and over the top, even for her. To an extent. Her eyes narrowed, just a bit. "I wasn't your foe then, you know. I saw the path you were taking and I wanted to get you out of it." And like that, the hardness in her gaze faded. She'd been far too late to even try, but she tried regardless. That she didn't and wouldn't regret.

Just the dying part. That she did.

"You know how I am better than most. Where I went, it wasn't close to the Force. I just.. Existed, without existing. It didn't help there was nothing to claw my way back to. Good that Malum didn't decide to use your body for some ascension, huh?" A quip, both to distract herself from the personal hell it had been for her, and for him to stop thinking on his own. They weren't mortal any more, they weren't Acolytes. But death had scars that even the Sith Lords above them still felt. They just learned how to make it strength.

"The tendril things look neat, at least. I dig the vibe it'll give when you're suddenly walking the streets again. Your cult will really appreciate it, considering how much they keep telling me you'll be back."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

"Didn't turn out that well for you, now did it?" Not for either of them really. He had been a wreck in the days following her death at His hands, accidental or not, and His failed attempts to undo His mistake had done little to repair His emotional state. He had just barely managed to recover His composure when she had returned and confronted Him again, the memory even now making His covered fingers clench and twist beneath His other hand. His fangs were going to grow dull if He kept grinding them together like this.

An amused huff escaped Him at her remark, thankfully drawing Him from stewing in His own thoughts too much. "A good thing indeed. Turns out I'm more attached to it than I had thought." It seemed a rather odd statement but He knew that Alina was in a better position to understand it than most. "You know, that warform Highbloods have access to?" A somewhat sly smirk crossed His face. "For the record mine is far more imposing than yours, no armor or giant sword needed." A little quip of His own in return.

Darth Strosius spared a glance at one of the pale flickering things behind Him and fixed it with a small glare as His lips thinned from a smirk into a displeased expression. "Neat is certainly a word." He had mixed feelings on them in truth. They were too new, too much of a reminder that He had changed. That He wasn't the same person that had dueled Malum just a short while ago, in a manner of speaking.

Thankfully Alina had mentioned something else that quickly took His mind off of His new ethereal appendages, His gaze flickering back at her with wide golden eyes. "My cult?" His voice was small and somehow managed to crack slightly, the reverb falling silent and leaving just the sound of His own voice for a few moments. Just like he used to sound. "I...I didn't know how they might feel about me given..." They had always been fanatical and faithful of course but seeing their High Priest killed on live Holovid would have a rather profound effect on anyone. "Are...Are they still...?"

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"I'd snap back but considering you killed me while I was in it, I've no real ground to stand on." Though, the news Alisteri had a war form brought a furrow of her brow. He hadn't ended up Highborn like she had, so what triggered it? Or was it he had been, but kept that close to the chest?

No, more likely he just wouldn't have been aware. They both had been making things up as they went.

She smiled, though, as she watched him. A kind smile, neither teasing or mean. This was the part of him that she'd liked. The care for others, the yearning for freedom for all. Chainbreaker Alisteri, champion of the Slaves. It didn't sound very Sith, and yet she saw a path there that could've been great.

Not the cult it'd ended up. Not that blind of fanaticism on his part.

"They live. Your dear brother has been exterminating them as a sign of loyalty and a rebrand of the Tsis'kar. I've saved a couple that I could. By our blood some of the turned trust me. Most don't. I can't say I know if more are alive or not. They've been determined to carry your mission, at least. You've gotten a lot of loyal followers, Ali."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

The news that some of His flock had been killed in their duties wasn't surprising, it had happened even under His watch after all, but there was a noticeable sag in His shoulders when He heard it nonetheless. It was simply something that He doubted He'd ever get numb to. Any member of His faithful dying on His watch, or in this case because of a lack of it, was unacceptable.

"It is...relieving to know that they still wish to follow me I suppose. I had assumed many would abandon the cause after my demise." If anything from what few reports He had received from Malum and now Alina, their fervor had only multiplied. An unexpected but admittedly likely outcome given the circumstances He supposed. A part of Him wondered if they even saw His death for what it was or if they had interpreted it as some sort of divine ascension from the mortal coil. He had no doubt that at least a few of the priests would attempt to spin it as such.

"I've been told that Faldos has locked itself down to outsiders, I assume these attacks have been against my flock from the Outer Rim then." They had always been the more determined of His forces, mainly due to their direct involvement in the war on slavery and crime. Whereas Formos and Faldos were communities and families, the Rimward outposts of Wonosa were almost entirely soldiers and warriors which kept piracy and criminal activity at bay.

Now though it seemed like they had grown bold enough to begin operating closer to Sith space, despite it being against His direct orders when He was still organizing and orchestrating their operations only a few weeks ago. "I intend to contact them soon and hopefully they will withdraw somewhat, away from Sith space. Nothing Sith is safe for my people now." He did not at all sound pleased by that but He knew there was little that could be done to remedy it for now.

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"You could spin it as a pilgrimage. A call to follow the blood and find salvation somewhere you deem safe. Then reappear all reborn and such." There was certainly an advantage to be twisted with the fact his death had been shown to so many. That his dead showed him turned to dust and gone, even. "If that's your plan. Honestly, I don't even know what to do with myself in this new age. I remember everything now. The Worm, it's still there. It's the largest chain the Sith have to a past they'd already lost in, you know?"

They were both there that day, with his master. When Darth Empyrean came to exist, and the Worm was locked, seemingly. From her memories, from what she'd learned, Maliphant hadn't truly been lost to the Worm's influence, but how much longer would that last before he became another voice in the mass? Before the Worm reassumed control and brought more Sith like Vulcanus back.

She squeezed her hands together, knuckles white. They were old memories, but fresh to her now. The burning city as they fought against Vulcanus and his Graug. How Alina and Iasha Rha fought in those tunnels on Dantooine not against the actual enemy, but the hoards that had deemed them unworthy. Of all the Acolytes killed before they had a proper chance to grow. A seed needed to be planted before it could bloom.

"Sith should evolve for the sake of the Sith. Not the Worm. Not any one person."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

The idea did have some merit He supposed, although by this point this would have been the second such pilgrimage that He'd call upon His followers to undertake. While it didn't necessarily mean that He couldn't employ that particular tactic, He chose to keep His options open for now. There was no need to mislead them when they were more than likely already fully aware of the situation and circumstances at hand. His apparent 'rebirth' would be the most shocking element in that regard.

He quirked up an eyebrow at the mention of the Worm, a slight scowl crossing His face for a moment in agreement. "I feel as though all we've done is go backwards. The Worm died and yet its successor still managed to gain power, still managed to keep Carnifex and his ilk in power. Despite everything we've wound up right back to where the last empire was when it began to die. From the top down."

Had He been stronger then He could've changed it, could've acted sooner to prevent everything that had led up to this moment. But He wasn't and He couldn't have no matter how much He had tried to do so. "Ophidia's death has been our only step forward and even that victory proved hollow." If anything the other Sith powers-that-be had only grown bolder since the Pale Assassin's demise, rather than being cowed by it. "I will not allow another empire to be dragged into damnation and ruin by false-Sith that sit on their fat thrones."

His gaze narrowed slightly at Alina. "But I can't do so when my own peers are fighting against me for the scraps of our 'betters' and getting in my way. Whether it be you, Malum, or whoever."

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"It doesn't help Malum turned his blade on you to prove his loyalty to those same fat thrones. That's all people see now. Your master betrayed Lord Carnifex and the Emperor, was killed by her very apprentices who then sought to work with those two for their own survival. Then when you decided to strike out on your own, you were killed on display and Malum immediately bent the knee to the Emperor to mark your death as a show of allegiance." The tale had been twisted to put the very people Alisteri fought, that Alina fought, as the right path forward.

"I want the Worm gone. I suffered under Lord Carnifex's teachings so I could learn how to kill him. It's what I asked of him when I asked for training, even. I'm wasn't strong enough to kill the Worm then, to kill Carnifex. You. Malum. You're right we can't kill them fighting against each other, but we can't kill them openly demanding their deaths like you did. There has to be more of a plan. There is, right? You dying, that was part of your plan?"

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

"That's exactly what happened, for the most part." There were some details lost along the way but the result was the same regardless of their inclusion or not. Malum may not have been as loyal to the throne as he pretended but between his friendship with the Empress and his victory in the Kaggath he might as well have been. He was too hesitant to make the grand moves and overtures that was needed while Darth Strosius Himself was in no position to do so, now more than ever. A stalemate of a sort.

He stared at Alina for a long moment at her question, His gaze slightly squinted as though He was trying to determine if she was serious or not, before He let out a humorless chuckle and sat back with a sigh. "My plan?" He scoffed and rolled His eyes. "My plans went out the airlock the moment that Lady Raaf decided her assets and reputation were more important than her grandchildren. Not that I can blame her, those little brats were insufferable." Disgust and frustration laced into His words as He scowled at the thought, ashamed of His own failures.

"The only plan I have now is to get my followers safe and recover my apprentice from the clutches of the Kainites. After that..." He hesitated, glancing down at the ground as He waged some internal debate with Himself for what seemed like a full minute. "...the Empress came to me. To mock or kill me I had assumed, but I was mistaken. If you can believe it. She came to..." His brows furrowed, unable to find the right words. "Well I'm not quite sure what it was that she wanted really. But we came to a sort of...agreement one might say. To fight the enemies of the Sith Order."

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

That wasn't the news she'd hoped for, but it made sense. A dry sort of chuckle escaped her as she shook her head. Alisteri shouldn't have targeted her master's grandchildren, that was without a doubt the worst move to have made. He had learned from it. Maybe. Hopefully. Her brow did knit together though. The Empress had allowed him to live, so long as he targeted the enemies of the Sith?

".. Convenient that you can say the enemies are those in power, no?"

Wording was important. "Revna was distraught as can be with your death, from what I could see. I've yet to properly interact with her, but she's doing waht she can to survive. Do you have a place you plan to bring her when you.. Break her out, as it were?"

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

"I'd prefer the term 'accurate' but convenient works as well." Even so He was in no position to challenge anyone at the moment, for the foreseeable future He'd have to resume His operations in the Outer Rim in earnest in order to rebuild His forces until He could recover some level of standing within the Sith Order once more. The Empress could guarantee His safety to some extent but He couldn't rely on her goodwill alone, nor did He expect that it would be respected by every Sith anyway.

"As far away from the Kainites as is possible." It was a simple answer but one that He fully intended. "There are a handful of outposts in the Rim that she can rest and recover at, Formos was simply our largest there. Faldos would be ideal but I'd like to err on the side of caution and keep as many of my forces away from Sith space as I can until I can reestablish some position of authority and power there again." The manner of how that might happen was still up in the air but if it came down to it He knew enough remote backwaters that could be fled to that He wasn't too concerned. Even some in Sith borders could be serviceable. Like Hoth perhaps, nothing ever happened on Hoth.

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina just snickered. It didn't surprise her at all that he was going to keep going after them all, but at least he seemed to realize he wasn't in the place to actually strike them down yet. She'd hoped to have snapped him to that reality when he'd ended up killing her, but it seemed his own death was what ended up being necessary. "That's if she finds it necessary to hide. Don't discount that she wasn't killed. It would be useful to have someone with eyes inside the Kainite, and from the rumors she's gotten very chummy with the King of Korriban. Whether that's her playing an angle or truth, pulling her out would make either moot, mm?"

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

A displeased look crossed His pale features at the implication of simply leaving His apprentice with the Kainites for informational purposes. Spies and informants were invaluable but Revna was a prisoner first and foremost and therefore her rescue was a high priority, otherwise she could be used as leverage or outright executed should His own survival come to light too soon. Before He could dismiss the idea though Alina mentioned something that made Him pause. "Korriban you say?" That meant that she, at least at some point, wasn't on the Malsheem.

What had been a scowl shifted into a fanged grin. If she was on Korriban then He had a chance, a real chance, to recover her without needing to amass His forces and make an all out assault. Korriban would no doubt be well defended but it could be infiltrated far easier than that horrid station. "This is great news Alina!" For once He actually seemed to be in a good mood around her. "The Malsheem is all but unassailable without assistance but Korriban? Korriban I can work with. If she's still there then her rescue will come sooner than anticipated!"

Alina Tremiru