Private Et Tu Brutes

[Gerwald Lechner]

TAG: Darth Empyrean

Opposition was a constant for any which aspired to leadership. Obstacles did not fade for those in power. If there was any truth that could be considered absolute it was the fact a leader would always face those who thought they could lead better. Among the Sith it was not only guaranteed, but an exponential reality. It was why the Emperor had employed the loyalty of Gerwald Lechner. What had began as a task to eliminate opposition to Eternalist rule had morphed into a the task of ensuring the Sith Order did not fail.

The Dread Wolf would not permit the enemies within the Order to be greater than the enemies she had outside of it. There would have been a time when he would have denied the reality of it, that unification without resistance was possible. He now knew better. It did not matter if it were Eternalist, Kainite, Tsis’Kaar, or any other named philosophy which held the throne of the empire, there would always be descenters and detractors. Gerwald did not seek to kill them all, or even destroy them. It was the place of the Inquisition to deal with such things.

When the threat was active, organized, and ready to mobilize, Gerwald did not wait.

Word had reached him of a cult of Sith Lords that had gathered on the death world of Thral. Like many rumors it contained some level of imminent threat, but unlike most this came with evidence. The Dread Wolf could mobilize faster than the Inquisition for what seemed like a smaller gathering. He was not so arrogant as to think he could face a room full of Sith Lords alone, so an invitation was extended, one Gerwald had not made before.

The Dread Wolf found himself accompanied by the Dead God.

His shuttle touched down on the ground. They landed several clicks away from the location in the Nir Mountains. There was no suitable place near the base for his ship to land. The formation of the rock provided a natural defense from any sort of invading force. They were vulnerable to a small force, but the combined power and strength of the Emperor and his Wrath were anything but. It was the hubris of these wayward Lords that betrayed them. It would be there undoing. Perhaps they would not have expected the Emperor himself, and that was something Gerwald was counting on.

“There is a cave that way,” he said as the two stopped for a moment. “Another fifteen minute climb and we should come to the mouth of it. Reports indicate the entrance is guarded by eight at all times, and the compound which they are meeting is further in.”

Gerwald closed his eyes and reached out through the force. The collection of Lords was a beacon, it guided them forward. The Dread Wolf knew they were headed in the right direction. When his eyes opened he nodded toward Empyrean.

“They are all there. Shall we make ourselves known?”

It was a rhetorical question. Both of them knew why they had come.

Running forward, Gerwald transformed. The wolf would catch the guards by surprise without announcing the arrival of Empyrean or his hound. Most would not think twice about a beast, but this was no ordinary creature. A howl echoed through the stone as Gerwald announced his presence. The armor clad wolf leaped into the air, pouncing on the guard that had left himself the most exposed.

The Sith Lords in the compound below did not know it yet, but their execution had just begun.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Empyrean did not speak for most of the journey. His energy was spent elsewhere, split a thousand directions between his own body thralls, or the spy network built through his holocron - each feeding themselves directly into his spiritual mind. All the while, his corpse form was pushed forward through the smallest attention he could afford it, making his movements jerky and unnatural up until they were one the cusp of the encampment.​

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Then did his attention begin to fill his real and present surroundings. All of it, all of which, every facet of everything fell into his mind's eye as the sky blackened. Stars were forsaken, the Sun locked behind his own gaze, and in that moment all things were understand by him down the very smallest realities space could afford him. It was everything, and he saw it all.​

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The howl of the Dread Wolf echoed through the air as Kala'anda formed in the Emperor's hand. While the wolf killed a sentry, the Emperor simply walked forward unto resentment and hate, for him and the Order he had built. It radiated from the central crevice like a wildfire - bright and hot, threatening to turn anyone to ash that strayed too close. Empyrean, however, was more than a simple fire - he was the inferno, the very concept of heat. Their collective anger was dwarfed by the titanic darkness that festered in Empyrean's heart. It was to be his aura, and it threatened to consume his enemies with every immortal step he took.​

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"They are obligated to know what comes to them, so that they may make peace in their final moments. Let them know I am here - their reaction doesn't matter.", he said through the vocal cords of a corpse. It made his enunciation dry and cracked, deep and unnatural.​

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"Their bodies will be returned to Taeli Raaf - she will strip them of their memories, and display the corpses for all to see. I trust you to kill them and bring them back to her, and I trust her to do the final touches of propaganda built on fear.", he offered idly as they walked forward.​

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Gerwald Lechner​

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[Gerwald Lechner]

TAG: Darth Empyrean

Gerwald had not expected Empyrean to be talkative. In this state he had never known the Sith Lord to be so. Even when Srina was nursing him back to health Maliphant had not been too talkative. The extent of their relationship had always been professional. The Dread Wolf did not ever recall a time where they called each other friend, but for his part there was respect. Aside from Srina Talon , there was no one else among the Sith Order which had watched Gerwald’s rise within the Confederacy of Independents Systems and the Sith Order. His confidant and chief advisor @Luanra Azure was the only other which came close.

The instructions which Empyrean gave the Wolf were simple. He planned to kill these Sith Lords himself. Even as the Wolf moved from one sentry to the next, the words of his master gave him purpose. As he took his human form once more, Gerwald nodded in the Emperor’s direction. It was the only response he would give.

The Dread Wolf would have preferred if the bodies of the dead were turned over to him, but there was no reason to argue the point. The Second Legion’s campaign would provide the Lupo with enough bodies for the army which Kaila Irons intended to build. While the Wolf still did not hold witches in the best of light, Gerwald had learned they served their purpose. It was a lesson which his mistress wanted him to learn now.

Everyone had their place.

These bodies would be used for a purpose, for the message which the rest of the Order needed to hear.

Rebellion and insurgency would not be tolerated.

Gerwald pushed deeper into the cave as he left a wake of death behind him. The darkness was his friend as he slipped past the remainder of the posted watchmen. He was not about to deprive Empyrean from claiming some lives himself as they moved to their true target.

Deep within the shadowy recesses of the cave was an industrial entrance which was obviously out of place. Steel beams reinforced the jagged walls, their surfaces rusted from years of exposure to the damp air. A heavy, weathered door, bolted with thick rivets and adorned with faded hazard stripes, stands at the center. With a flick of his wrist, Gerwald ripped the door from its place. As he stepped into the room where the Lords gathered all eyes were on him.

They knew who he was.

“He is with me.”

 

[Darth Empyrean]

It was common for a Sith to feel only negativity, and for Empyrean that rule stood as a pillar of his persona. In death, there was very little to look upon and feel joy, pride, or accomplishment. It all turned to ash in his mouth. Even now, as the Wolf worked his way ahead of Empyrean, he could only think how charitable he had been to offer him a place in the Empire at all. How charitable he had been to give anyone a place in the Empire. There were a thousand Sith in this Order, and every single one felt themselves owed respect or reverence, but he had seen them do little and less.​

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Or perhaps, his expectations were simply too high. More likely, his attention was split far too many ways to deal with the Worm than was reasonable to also witness the glory of his weapons at work. Instead, he would brood and contempt them for being so powerful and so useless at the same time. The Emperor didn't need an army to conquer worlds, he needed the power to save his family; and none of these sycophants could offer that to him. None from the lowliest grunt, to even Darth Carnifex . Each failed him, leaving him with nothing but extreme choices.​

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So when the Emperor walked in behind Gerwald Lechner , it was with contempt and malice festering in his mind. An infection of the soul had long since overtaken him, from the boy who was coy and playful even in the face of danger, to becoming nothing but the danger. They knew him as Monster, the Dead God, any thousand names that mocked his corpse form or his anger - but each, whether admitted or not, had the underlying denomination of fear. Where his Empress was known as the Dread Queen, Empyrean had become analogous to Fear itself.​

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So the metal clicks of his boots against the floor were only an accent to his presence, because there would be nothing to see on his visage but the reflection of death - written into every pore and crack formed in his face. Even spilling from the massive wound in his chest, it was to be all they would see. Empyrean was the mirror, the exacter of karma - even if that karma was something he himself decided.​

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Step away from the Empire, and expect the eventual visit of the Emperor and his forces. Today was not dissimilar than any other in that regard.​