Private Empowerment [Zeptepi Zambrano]

[Darth Ahriman]

"Holy sh-..." Valen's voice faded out, the exclamation released in shock of the blow that his Master had taken and been subsequently thrown to the ground. The Acolyte hadn't actually expected to gain one over her during the fight, however despite his concern for Zeptepi Zambrano , his first instinct was to reach out and call his Lightsaber back into the grip of his right hand, catching it as he moved to approach her downed form.

As he stood over her, his eyes looking down on his Sith Master, there was a lingering moment where he wondered what she would have done had it been himself that had taken such a blow. Would she have struck him while he was on the floor, finishing the job?

Using the sight of the Force, he reached out with his senses and felt the Darkside as it was drawn towards his Master's body, beginning to strengthen and bring her back from the brink as her form would be revitalized by the dark and powerful energies at her command. It was rather incredible how much influence she held over the Force, and how it obeyed her even when it had felt like she had been eliminated from the impact of the droid's blaster fire.

Taking several paces backward, Valen would give his Master the space in order to pick herself up. He didn't offer her help, as she would have seen this to be the Jedi way of thinking. She didn't need his mercy, and especially not any such pity, so instead when he had put a small amount of distance between them, he merely placed his hands behind his back, one holding the hilt of his weapon while the other clutched his wrist, the Acolyte awaiting his Master's return.

 

[Zeptepi Zambrano]

@Valen

Raised by the Zambranos and Samshij Nightsisters, Zeptepi learned far more to living than that of existing within the physical realm. She had an understanding that the physical body is just one aspect to maintain the eternal self. Her Father having cheated death, has an expansive cloning lab to harvest a new physical body to conjoin to his spirit, the energy which cannot be destroyed. Yet her knowledge of the Nightsisters and their ageless gods prove that the immortal spirit can be imprisoned against its will; yet it has only to free itself by simply remembering its power that it may at any time will itself free.

Zeza quickly recovered, hoisting off the floor without muscular assistance, intentional as a vampire rising from the crypt by sheer mental willpower. She immediately analyzed Valen for his reaction. She noted that only one Lightsaber remained on the floor. Hands behind his back. In it all she sensed the uncertainly of her Apprentice. She stepped forward casually closing in the distance.

"Why didn't you kill me?" she asked. "Surely a Sith would have killed me," she continued. "I stand between you and your future glory. You should kill me," she said while focussing her stare into his eyes, discretely drawing the Lightsaber up into her awaiting hand. She pondered how maybe he prefers to wait to make a better attempt after he has learned enough from her vast knowledge. He is patient. "Yes, you will be a fine Sith yet." She felt his vibrant thirst for victory over his past oppressors within his thoughts.

"And yet…there is something else deep seeded in you that hinders your full commitment."

Without consideration she immediately moved to slap Valen across his face as hard as she could. "You don't even want to kill me," she accused her Apprentice of such an incredible insult!

Zeza ignited her Lightsaber once again and she swung it overhead and down…
​

 

[WolfMortum]

As Zeptepi Zambrano brought her lightsaber down to bear upon the unsuspecting Acolyte, time around them would come to a stand-still, where instead she would be met with the form of Veiere Arenais within a blink of the eye. With his right hand, he moved to brush the course of her lightsaber blade aside, just far enough that it would miss Valen Arenais entirely.

As Zeptepi would be unable to move, their entire environment in a form of stasis, Veiere would turn to spare a caring glance upon the likes of Valen. Though his life had come to an end some years ago now, Veiere's son had learned how to communicate with those passed on into the Force, informing Veiere of the Clone, a vision of his much younger self.

The visage of the former Jedi Master soon turned to look back upon the Sith Knight, though his expression carried no ill harbour for the woman, there was an underlying sense of remorse within his presence. She would experience this moment all within a split-second, yet her mind would remain aware of every movement the Jedi Master made, every look and feature about him that so resembled her new Apprentice's own.

'Take care with this one, there is more to this boy than you realize' Veiere would bid her these few words, taking mind not to reveal anything that was not his right to gift upon the physical plane.

Suddenly the vision of the Jedi vanished, and so too the presence of the light that his ethereal presence had cascaded upon the Sith Chamber. The state of time would resume in the sudden absence of the apparition, and the momentum of Zeptepi's downward slash would carry her blade to clash into the floor beside where the Acolyte stood with a fury of sparks as the blade met with the durasteel surface.

 

[Darth Ahriman]

Valen had watched as his Master arose from her fallen state, listened as she bid him advice and further guidance, and then in her swift movements, his eyes widened in alarm as he realized what was about to come. Her hand struck out with a hard slap across his face, carrying enough momentum to force his head sideways and leaving a red imprint across his right cheek as he turned back to look at her in shock.

The Snap-Hiss of her lightsaber sounded. It was too late for him to raise his guard once more.

The Acolyte braced himself for the end, the blow that did not come. Zeptepi Zambrano 's lightsaber arced down through the air and slammed into the floor to his right causing Valen to flinch and quickly take several paces back before she could further intimidate and catch him off guard.

Bringing his blade to bare, Valen once again fell into stance now within a safe distance from his Master. His eyes narrowed as he sought to focus once more on the duel at hand, the Acolyte seemingly clueless to what had transpired for Zeptepi herself. He had seen nothing, felt nothing and as far as he could tell, her strike was intentionally meant to miss him, in order to teach him something. Perhaps to never let his guard down, he gathered. That seemed very much like her style of encouragement.

 

[Zeptepi Zambrano]

Valen Arenais

' I…' Zeza's lightsaber slipped in the trajectory to land next to Valen, and he hadn't batted an eye to raise the force, or ignite his blade. '…missed?'

How illogical, like something intervened on Valen's behalf.

A burning sensation cut through the air for only a brief instant, leaving Zeza to wonder if an accident occurred outside the training arena. She immediately deduced it however not an accident, but manifested out of a presence. She is certain that someone reached out concerning Valen. She clearly imagined a face, which in turn caused her to frown as she evaluated the severity of the insinuation.

It spoke, this being, and yet she only sensed that it had, for the whole event transpired within a fleeting moment in time. What she felt she heard gripped hold of her thoughts and she would come to mull it over again and again in her consciousness, in hope to figure out if she in fact actually heard it, or just imagined she had. It is not every day the Soul of a wayward jedi comes tottering through Sith space…stealing secrets through means of Astral Projection.

"What was on your mind just then?" she inquired of her Apprentice. "I need to know."

For just a moment she hesitated to wonder if a jedi were cloaked and walking freely among the Sith in the citadel. She knew the Dark Lord would devour any such intruder in an instant, and security is trained to sniff out such infiltrators. Valen himself didn't seem guilty of any an attempt to fool her. She would follow this Soul had she been quicker to act, and also more experienced in the art of projecting her own spirit, such as the specialized skills her Mother typically practices.

Regardless of Valen's awareness of his surroundings or lack thereof, she decided, "You must be cleansed," instructing most sternly. "I feel the jedi are searching for you." Although she isn't quite certain why that would be so. Valen has shown to possess some remarkable potential, but so far Zeza feels she has not yet broken him out of his shell, helped him realize his own drive. He claims to know what drives him, but Zeza feels there is something more; the Force leads her to believe this, especially now. It doesn't seem to be that he harbors much internal fear over his lesson, just a lax of response timing built within him. She knows she can break him open to respond without thinking, in time. For the moment she feels a more pressing issue. "Meditation will help you." Zeza holstered her lightsaber. "To the meditation chambers, and shed that distasteful jedi garb before we go in!" The spirits alone in a sacred place such as this will surely devour him, and in quite an unprogressive way!

* * *​

A new uniform was brought to the meditation chamber and handed over to Valen just outside the entry. The young Knight insisted he change out of every stitch of his jedi garb right then and there, or she would singe his attire right off his flesh for him. The Light not only disgusts her, but it inflicts physical distress to her senses. Zeza would not have her Apprentice stand out to any jedi based off any single remaining possession!

She shall see to it tonight that the Darkness entirely engulfs him, if she must force feed it to him herself!
​

 

[Darth Ahriman]

"What was on your mind just then? I need to know."
​

Valen stared back at her defiantly, keeping his lightsaber raised in his defence perhaps longer than he needed to before realizing that his Master seemed to have finished with their duel. "What do you mean?" he questioned aloud, his right hand bringing the blade down slowly and deactivating the weapon before clamping it to the magna-lock plate on his right side.

The question seemed a bit strange given that he, like most people, had been forced to fear for his life, expecting that last blow to land and end it all before he had even lived out his first day of training within the Sith Order. From here onwards, it would no doubt further condition him for the hardships he was sure to face in the field of service under the Sith Empire, yet he was determined to prevail.

"I was afraid" he admitted to Zeptepi Zambrano honestly, not concerned in admitting his fear for survival. It was often that fear that heightened his awareness in times of need, that fear keeping him on edge and alert; "I didn't expect you to show me mercy like that, but I understand the lesson Master, I will not let my guard down a second time" he reaffirmed his commitment to her teachings, having presumed that her missing him in that strike had been intentional.

"I will do all that is required of me" he responded when she instructed him to accompany her to the meditation chambers within the Sith Academy. The notion of the Jedi searching for him had already occurred to him, given the way he had left the world of Kashyyyk. "There was a Jedi on Kashyyyk who might be especially interested in finding me. Caedyn Arenais was his name, he oversaw my recovery and care back when I was weak..." Valen informed Zeptepi in the case that the information would serve her well.

"He was kind, but now I realize this was an attempt to indoctrinate me into their Order. Much like you described" he added, while walking alongside her. Before entering the meditation chambers, he obediently did as he was commanded, changing into the Sith Apparel that she had given him, proud to don the garments of the Empire.

 

[Zeptepi Zambrano]

Valen Arenais

Valen was honest and admitted his fear to Zeptepi. She held her gaze upon his eyes while she spoke.

"Of all things, with me, your honesty will save your life." He should at least know that truth. Zeza knew the path to Darkness can feel terribly frightful to those raised outside of the chaos, and lessons are indeed dangerous. If Master and Apprentice do not share honesty, then there may very well be a mistrust that can lead to death. That may very well be an option, but truthfully, not one she hopes to suffer all too soon. "Sharing my wisdom with you is the only mercy I choose to show you."

She hadn't understood what happened regarding the altered trajectory of her lightsaber back in the training arena, and she knew Valen would not have much light to shed upon it either, based on what he said. As her Apprentice she does not wish him to die, regardless of her harsh training method, but she will not be merciful either when it comes to his need to initiate defensive measures. While she did hope he would have raised his lightsaber to meet her blade…she might have only scalped him in lieu of actually killing him. Inaction should never be his first choice!! "More importantly, your fear can magnify your ability to command the force with a great vengeance, but do not let fear paralyze you…ever. Claim your power. Always strike back at an actively engaged enemy, even if it ends up being the last thing that you ever do."

As he finished dressing, she stepped into the meditation chamber with him for the moment. "This is your experience. It is holy. You don't have to tell me what unfolds in here. But if you have trouble focussing to find the answers you seek in the silence, you can rub this Amulet for…help." She winked while she removed a chain holding a crudely carved Amulet from her neck. "It's never let me down before." She wrapped the chain around his wrist and firmly pressed the Amulet into his palm for him to grasp hold.

She stood by the door. "Sit down in the middle of the room and breath deeply. Quiet your thoughts and just sense the Force you learned to see today. You can view it in here…" The room suddenly darkened to a pitch black. "The Force is all you will see. It may bring you images of the past, or reveal secrets. Concentrate on how the Darkside fits you." Zeza spoke softly over the course of a half hour, while she stood and watched her Apprentice comply with her direction through the Force. She wondered if he even realized, he had begun levitating above the floor. When she felt him nestled in the Darkside, and his physical signature in the Force slipping in and out of detection, she slipped back out of the room and left him to his experience.

Would he only rub the amulet, she knew she would hear about it once Valen returns to this reality. See, it is enchanted by her Mother; and there is nothing the Nightsisters enjoy more, than to show an impressionable mind their unique perspective on the darkside of the Force, and help lay their path straight.
​

 

[Darth Ahriman]

"This is your experience. It is holy. You don't have to tell me what unfolds in here. But if you have trouble focussing to find the answers you seek in the silence, you can rub this Amulet for…help.".

Taking the Amulet that was handed to him, Valen stepped on into the meditation chamber while his Master stood at the door and continued to speak. Zeptepi Zambrano explained that the Force could reveal all manner of things through the practice of meditation, things such as the past and secrets otherwise hidden from him. This of course sparking the boy's interest, his mind moving back to the Cult and Arcadia-N-30.

Nodding to her finally, Valen watched as the doors closed shut behind her and he was then left to his own.

Glancing around the chamber, Valen gradually moved into the centre of the room and lowered himself to kneel, placing his weight against the back of his legs and his hands falling to sit gently upon his thighs, shoulders falling as he visibly relaxed now within his own company and no longer needing to keep one eye over his shoulder for the possibility that his Master might test his guard or seek to take advantage in some manner.

Exhaling slowly, Valen took a moment to listen to the silence, to acknowledge the room around him and to poise himself before reaching out with his senses, calling to the Dark Side of the Force and drawing it into his centre. The Force was a powerful weapon, yet in order to manipulate it's strength to the best of his ability, Valen's mind fell back upon reflecting on the recent past. His experience in meeting the very first of the Sith and then being shipped to Dromund Kaas where he was forced to murder the five acolytes in order to earn his Master's favour. He had never harmed anyone before, but he had been pushed beyond what he thought he had been capable of, forced to protect himself and then...Without realizing it, finding a crazed sense of excitement in the fight for his life, and the need to end their own.

The Force sparked to life, a charge of negative mental energies giving life to the frenzied power about the room, the air growing dense and the lights above the boy flickering as the Force interfered with the electrical currents circulating throughout the room's technology, the mixture of energies ethereal and corporeal disrupting that what was meant to be a natural environment, instead corrupting it and using that darkened power to draw in strength from the Force, to empower his mind and give enrich every fibre of his being as Valen sat in silence, bathed in the reflection of his fear, self-hate, resentment and loss; All of his feelings, dreams and failures inciting a maelstrom of power to encircle the meditation chamber around him, all the while his right hand gripping tight to the Amulet his Master had given him.

 

[Pom Stych Tivé]

the M I S T R E S S
M A L C O N T E N T​

​

Valen Arenais​

​

Any charm of Pomstychtivé is no feeble thing. An indiscriminate rub of her amulet and the Nightsisters of the Wanica took immediate heed of their summoning. The Amulet would begin a series of rapid events to breach the gap between the altar room of the Bone Temple and its bearer, Valen Arenais.

No sensation should be so abrupt as to unsettle the young man's concentration…he would perceive the following event in his meditative state.

As the Acolyte resides within absolute darkness…in absolute darkness he was snatched away from the citadel meditation chamber, onto an alternate plane by way of passage through the Nether while the coven chanted softly in their native tongue of Paecian, many pleasant female voices a practiced choir of melodic harmony. All perceived sensations of overwhelming dread produced from this realm are masked under successful institution fo their Spell.

The next sensation to follow in assault of his senses would be the smell of wet clay of the Nightsister's Bone Temple encased within a humid biome on Malsheem, the world craft home of the Kainate as it hurled through Sith Space.

He would experience an abrupt drop in the temperature as the Matriarch spoke, her form remained hidden under a veil of darkness…not as a result of the environmental state of the biome, but by the weight of the Darkside of the Force under her command.

"Those whose eyes are faithfully trained upon the Darkside, no longer shudder when its presence pure becomes thrust upon them," Zeza's Mother began. "I see you have her amulet." Pom's form would slowly come into view as Valen's eyes were given time to adjust. Her gaze scrutinized him and his motives, before drawing her conclusions. "But she is not ailing. It was given to you…to serve a purpose, in hopes we would provide."

When she saw that Valen could depict her image, she flicked a finger and torches lit around the altar room. Pom's features are ever beautiful, but the twelve of her coven brandish the natural form of decaying bones, as they are afflicted with a state of undead. Only for a few seconds would they be caught off guard, for quickly their faces became formed in the light, and they then mirrored the beauty of their Matriarch.

"My daughter grows wiser everyday," Pom gloated; but she is only aware of specific activities which her daughter permitted her to know. "I will do as she wishes."

The body of Valen was instantly paralyzed upon mention by the coven. He was raised into the air and suspended over the altar fashioned out of the skulls of slain jedi. The Nightsisters' chant changed from soothing to hellish. The fire of the torches became snuffed out as black tendrils began to cascade down from the ceiling of the Bone Temple and were directed to bless the life of Valen Arenais, that he fulfill his purpose.
​

 

[Darth Ahriman]

Valen had entrenched himself within the darkness of the void, ridding himself of the physical world around him, instead turning his consciousness loose upon the ethereal plane through meditation, the foundation of his acquisition to greater power and harnessing all of his progression in training to be enveloped within the Darkside of the Force, strengthened through the depth of his ambitions and emotional state.

"Those whose eyes are faithfully trained upon the Darkside, no longer shudder when its presence pure becomes thrust upon them. I see you have her amulet...-But she is not ailing. It was given to you…to serve a purpose, in hopes we would provide." the voice came from the abyss, and it would soon be accompanied by the vision of one Pom Stych Tivé to whom Valen was unfamiliar.

In this plane of existence, all that was present was born of spiritual essence, natural energies known to the Force as life at its purest form, contorted by the presence of the Sith Acolyte and the Nightsisters Matriarch herself. Together, they invited the Darkness in with open arms, and it flooded the abyss that surrounded Valen where he stood, a projection concocted by his consciousness in order to translate the out-of-body experience into something recognizable to the sentient psyche.

"My daughter grows wiser every day, I will do as she wishes."

​

"Who are yo-..." Valen had been about to ask, when he was suddenly grasped through some form of status or telekinetic hold and lifted from the ethereal floor to instead be sustained, helpless before her. Before he could utter another word out in protest, the chanting of cloaked husks, clones of Pom Stych Tivé's will, seemed to fill the void around him.

There was a movement within the dark. Obsidian Ichor so black it was distinguishable amidst even the abyss. These tendril-like waves moved to descend around Valen and the alter he was held over the top of, his eyes going wide as it threatened to engulf him with no hint as to what its purpose was.

 

[Pom Stych Tivé]

the M I S T R E S S
M A L C O N T E N T​

​

Valen Arenais​

​

The Nightsisters knew the young one did not believe they are real at all, as if all this happens to be nothing more than a figment of his imagination, or a dream revelation concocted by his ingenious mind, to regard what he knows absolutely nothing about prior this engagement. But in reality, Valen had just been pulled through the Nether, and IS now on Malsheem and Dathomir simultaneously. He is no longer actually inside the meditation chamber of the citadel, opposite of his belief.

The Priestess cackled as she went about the chore of producing his blessing, while pondering the naiveté most have regarding the truth of her existence, even when presented with it and held captive by her design. With Carnifex, Pomstychtivé anchored faith in his promises, that they could assure her blood never vanish from existence. Her kind shall someday become known among the rest of the galaxy! The Nightsisters shall again be feared as once had been her ancestors, the main characters of tales told to teach children to dread those over whom they regard an uncertainty.

The Acolyte remained paralyzed in the Priestess' charge. He could not comprehend the great honor bestowed upon him in what is gifted him this moment. The Nightsisters continued to work their Magick in hopes to surface his fears and awaken his deepest connection to the Darkside of the Force.

"SHOW THEM TO ME NOW!" the Coven of thirteen called out in a singular harmonic voice. They doused the young Valen with their Potion and there would be no escaping their demands. "What do you fear, boy?"
​

 

[Darth Ahriman]

He was unable to escape the grasp of Pom Stych Tivé , her name he did not yet know, yet found himself elevated and bound before her and those surrounding them, chanting and performing some sort of ritual. He didn't recognize their practice, yet whatever he had been exposed to, did nothing to reassure him of his Master's cold and merciless manner in training him.

"I am not yours to command!" Valen shouted in rebuttal, trying to break himself free from her telekinetic grasp, however to no avail. Whoever she was, Pom Stych was powerful, whether it was the Force that she wielded, or some other source of power akin to the witchcraft Zeptepi Zambrano had hinted at.

"SHOW THEM TO ME NOW!"​

Nothing but darkness and cold surrounded him. He could not see more than ten feet upon either side, nothing passed those who were on their knees chanting in a voice of unison that, despite his situation, almost sounded melodic and beautiful in its own twisted form.

Fear was not something that Valen so willingly divulged to others. Fear was a weakness, an embarrassment that made one look unworthy of great things. Valen had been helpless once...-Back as a Slave on Arcadia-N-30. Being held in place there, upon high for Pom Styche and her Coven Sisters to see, that feeling of helplessness came back in what were startlingly vivid images, memories of his captivity under the Disciples of Typhojem.

These visions were almost painful, the feelings that he felt back then and the beatings that he received by his captors, he could feel all of that as it transpired within his memory despite years having passed, and having thought that these old wounds had healed. He blinked once. Then blinked harder a second time, his mind awakening and quickly becoming aware that these memories were likely being brought on through those around him.

"Get out of my head!" he yelled again, this time anger seething through his voice. The darkness around him would respond, subtle vibrations and density of the air around him tightening down as he once again struggled to break free of her hold. While the Force answered his summons, it was not yet enough to free him from Pom Stych Tive's domain.

 

[Pom Stych Tivé]

the M I S T R E S S
M A L C O N T E N T​

prepared especially for : Valen Arenais​

The lad made demands of the coven. He could not comprehend the Blessing bestowed upon him, which would benefit him lifelong during moments of duress and lust. In his future, he shall find himself experiencing sudden revival, his essence steeped in the Darkside, which laymen habitually mistake for mere Luck.

Pomstychtivé merely smiled when her daughter's Apprentice struggled to escape the coven's physical control. To cast the spell seemed exhaustive. Time became as misconstrued as the shadows which swallowed up the lot.

"Let go," they directed him. The memories of his past the witches caused him to relive, soon trailed into fleeting images of his likely future.

All the negative emotions which connect one to the Darkside the Acolyte would experience. For a brief moment Valen would be able to witness his own most profound connection with the Darkside of the Force. Pom saw revelation of his potential future as a Sith Lord, his capacity to attain notorious heights, to honorably progress the glory of their Empire. The Nightsisters intended to give the young man hope, and a sense of what to strive for concerning his state of mind required in grasping the power of the Darkside.

The Nightsisters' spell does not come without the endurance of extreme agony, enough to cause many a pledge to faint.
​

 

[Zeptepi Zambrano]

Valen Arenais

Shortly after his introduction to one of many powers of the Darkside of the Force, such as the Nightsisters of Dathomir, Valen would find himself again within the Meditation Chamber of the Sith Citadel. Zeza would be patiently and curiously awaiting him just outside the door. No matter what she heard or felt him endure, she would not dare disrespect him or the Force by disturbing him in his Holy experience! She waited for him to return to her.

The Crusader knew that Valen would walk out of that room changed in some way. He either would remain with her under her tutelage, or he could choose to move on. Either way, no matter what he wants, his preference is a direct result of his introduction to the sheer power of the Darkside today. Zeza would respectfully honor his decision, as he is no longer just an Initiate.
​

 

[Darth Ahriman]

As Valen hung, sustained in the air, limbs outstretched as if to form the shape of an X, he remained helpless to fight back against the powerful grasp of the Coven. Where he was surrounded by the abyss, a new whisper of energy grew exponentially to take on the form of black and green wisps of current, tendrils of ichor that seemed to flow upon the nonexistent air, snaking up around his form as the witches continued to chant over and over, gradually growing louder as the ritual continued to play out. How could he have known that the very thing he was fighting against, was truly the answer to a power he had sought for so long now.

The ominous green aura seemed to spread out across his very figure, dancing upon his flesh like tongues of flame, yet burning him none. Soon enough, the Sith Apprentice would find himself being engulfed by the presence, the archaic magick of the Dathomiri Witches Coven, controlled and emboldened through Pom Stych Tivé and the mysterious power that she had summoned. It was different from the power that the Sith had shown him, but not so unlike the things that his Master Zeptepi Zambrano had tried to enlighten him upon.

Without warning, pain shot throughout his entire body with such a swift and excruciating volume that his voice screamed out in agony, his head snapping back to stare up into the abyss, his back arching from the pure energy surging through him, his every muscle tensing up as Valen tried to fight back against the torture, yet to no avail. The apparent blessing of the Dathomiri Coven, not without its own price to be paid.

The tendrils of dark magic seemed to be absorbed into his flesh through any means necessary. Like a vacuum, the energy was drawn to his eyes, mouth, ears and nose, forcing its way within and opening old wounds in order to consume itself within the corporeal shell of flesh and bone. By pure defiance and strength of will, Valen refused to allow himself to be pulled out of consciousness. His vision blurred, his eyes feeling as though they were aflame. His physical body felt as though it were being stretched to its limitations, as though his flesh might be torn from him as the unnatural power felt to be building inside of him...-And then the pain was gone.

His eyes snapped open and suddenly every one of the Witches no longer before him but he instead found himself standing within the meditation chamber that his Master had led him to. Zeptepi's presence could be felt just beyond the entrance, evidently awaiting him...-Yet hers was not the first that he felt. Instead, he couldn't help but notice the surge of energy that rolled across his form, his fingers opening and closing slowly, eyes falling to his hands as though testing the reality of what he felt...

He felt strength, true power within his grasp and a sense of dominion, unlike anything he had thought imaginable. He did not understand, yet nor would he fight that which had been offered, the gift of unrelenting force.

 

[Zeptepi Zambrano]

Valen Arenais

Something happened to her newly appointed Apprentice within the meditation chamber. The whole place had been flooded with Darkness and she knew he had stroked the amulet. That which he would suffer shall aid him greatly by providing him with that extra push to make him a Sith. The weight of the Darkside was suffocating… absolutely glorious. Zeza is ever so proud that her future might behold such a remarkable connection to the Force as the Wanica Coven draw. Perhaps the sensation of the Darkside stirs such a nostalgia within her, because it feels just like the actual presence of her father, Darth Carnifex .

How would Valen handle it?

She stood attentively against the far wall and simply focussed on his presence. 'Yes. He has been touched,' not difficult to discern. But what she is unable to anticipate is how he will react towards herself when he exits the meditation chamber. She had tricked him into taking her amulet, and not informed him of what would occur because of it. She wonders if he is handling it well. She contemplated that even if he is filled with a vengeance towards her, it would not at all harm his connection to the Force!

She had told him that the chamber is a holy place, and she dared not tarnish it now by forcing her way in on him, demanding answers. She can only hope that his mind is made up, that he doesn't require reassuring words that what he had undergone, this sudden drastic transformation, is absolutely worth the sacrifices he is asked to make for the glory of the Sith in return.

She stood with her back leisurely leaned against the wall, and one foot hiked up against it, waiting with what only seemed like patient curiosity. On the inside, she felt flooded with anticipation.​

 

[Darth Ahriman]

The moment the entrance to the medication chamber would recede into either wall with a mechanical hiss, Valen's presence in the Force would flood the corridor where his Master stood in wait for him, the Acolyte's aura somehow more powerful than it had been prior to the start of his meditation, and only Zeptepi Zambrano would know the true nature of what had occurred within the abyss where he had encountered the Dathomiri Nightsisters and their Matriarch Pom Stych Tivé .

Stepping before his Master, the Acolyte seemed fixated on his hands as he flexed them open and closed, as though coming to terms with the very Darkness that surged throughout him, conscious and able to feel the power that he had been gifted. Where his Master had truly sent him, had been into the ethereal, a place far out of reach with the corporeal world that surrounded them now, a place of great and intimidating power, as though the entirety of strength collectively amassed by all Sith had converged upon and been channelled through him by way of the Nightsisters ritual. Of course, he didn't understand the extent to which he had been blessed, yet in time, no doubt he would come to learn how to wield this newfound power with devastating effect.

"There's something I need to do..." The Acolyte informed his Master, now feeling as though he had acquired the power he had originally sought in order to crush the Disciples of Typhojem who had enslaved him, robbing him of his identity and past memories. Now, with the Darkside within his grasp, he felt confident in returning to Arcadia-N-30.

"Would you follow me into Silver Space, Master?" He turned his gaze upon Zeptepi Zambrano, his head lifting marginally as he explained his desire to return to the territory of the Silver Jedi Concord; "There is a group of cultists formerly of the Empire, however according to the archives here, they proved to be too zealous and their leader turned his back on Darth Prazutis. It's this group that is responsible for my past weakness, and I have been waiting until the time I would be ready to exact vengeance against them....".

Since his entrance into the ranks of the Sith Order, Valen had been secretly gathering information on the Disciples of Typhojem's past, before they had been outcast from within the Empire. He had learned of a name, one Darth Veneer, yet he knew not the face nor reputation to put to it. If this treasonous Sith Lord truly was the leader of the cult, then Valen was certain that the man would have the knowledge that he sought, the nature of his past before his enslavement, as well as the whereabouts and status of his family.

 

[Zeptepi Zambrano]

Valen Arenais

When her Apprentice presented, she knew he had experienced what she had hoped he would discover. Power was always inside of him. He had been unlocked, and his true passion discovered inside the safety of meditation chamber.

He made it clear that he assumes he has learned enough to accomplish his personal goals. "Oh, suddenly you're ready for anything; are you?" she gave an ironic chortle. "I must be better than I thought," she concluded.

Her mood suddenly shifted to reveal her true thoughts on his overstepping his position. Her expression contorted to one most stern. "The Empire places alot of demands upon those they teach. You belong to me first and foremost. From the moment you accepted my apprenticeship, you became responsible to appease my whim, not your own." She watched him intently for the slightest flicker of disobedience. "You will repay the Empire for its graciousness in what you have learned, then I will permit you to satisfy your own desires."

The Crusader knew that his being forced to wait longer until he might begin his journey to attain what he so lusted to achieve, would gnaw at him on a level so much deeper than he could ever imagine suffering. He shall spiral further into the depths of Darkness, carried by his hatred and want of revenge. "Dismissed," she stated curtly before marching down the corridor.

She played him in this manner without any regard, as it is for his benefit that she mistreats him so. He will comply to his duties out of fear of retribution, she knew. He shall willingly enslave himself, likewise as do all Acolytes. Dissociation and independence happen to be major components which he currently lacks, and one key division between what elevates the Crusaders over the Acolytes. But when his time comes that he takes his stand against being subject to her psychological cruelty, then she shall certainly discover someone worthy of her respect!​