From Cinders; Awakening Old Evils

[Dravis Rosilla]

https://youtu.be/kFWMhzZtj38​

ATRISIA​

THE WILDERNESS​

​

Darkness permeated the very soul of Atrisia, a new, enveloping, cold, empty darkness. Even among the deciduous trees, of the equator, shadows seemed to play in the dusk more fervently than they had before...

The battle.

A ring of leafy trunks circled a clearing, the growing shadows stretching their talons to the ground, grasping for warmth. The ground itself was hard-packed earth, with little vegetation other than tufts of tall grasses, growing despite the conditions. A brisk wind passed the area, tossing up dirt and grass stalks, chilling the earth's bones.

A single light source glowed weakly, lit not by electricity, but by fire. A single candle, colored a deep purple, lit by a small flame, which sputtered weakly in the breeze. Slowly, a form would become clear in front of it. A cross-legged figure, covered by a heavy dark cloak, with unusually dark, bottomless eyes.

Dravis focused on the candle, honing his senses to the flickering cadence. He kept that flame alive, using his weak grasp of the Force to protect it from the elements. The Bith stared into the fire, a zealous intensity sharpening his face. Then he looked beyond it.

A man, probably in his early thirties, was laid out on the opposite side of Dravis, wearing nothing but a soiled linen tunic. His arms and legs were tied to his sides, and he seemed unconscious.

Dravis felt a bead of uncertainty in his heart. He had never attempted anything like this, and the idea that it would fail, or even that he would succeed, frightened him.

What if this doesn't work? What if I am too weak?...

And if my ritual works, then what?

A clean vibroknife levitated up from Dravis' cloak, hovering over the forehead of the unconscious individual. A single bead of sweat ran down the side of the Sith's enormous head as he activated the blade, sending a dull humm throughout the clearing. A single moment of hesitation, then Dravis let the knife fall.

No cry of anguish disturbed the scenery.

Blood mixed with melted wax, and Dravis felt something stir in the Force. A shift. He knew it was time. After hours and hours of quiet meditation, Dravis Rosilla finally spoke.

"I call upon an ancient power." The Sith's voice felt strange, even to his own ears. "I seek the Conqueror, the Devourer, the eye of the storm, the master I once knew."

- "I seek the one called Ambroscus." -​

- [member="Kruel Zing"] -

 

[Kruel Zing]

One selfless act does not erase the sins of the past, and Kruel Zing had committed many sins. He’d murdered thousands… No possibly even millions in his entire lifetime. He’d broken his enemies and left them to suffer. He’d fed on thousands, he had nearly destroyed a planet. Yet those things had all been done to preserve his idea of the Sith. To preserve his followers. However, all of that had been wasted. Down in the depths of Chaos what remained of Kruel Zing’s essence was a mere shadow of its former self. He held no true physical form, despite all the time since Atrisia he hadn’t been able to reform himself completely. He probably never would. There was so much missing. Memories gone, knowledge that was constantly fading. His power which had been near depleted from simply piecing himself together.

Chaos wasn’t a kind place to the Sith. Those who served the dark in life came here when they died. Kruel… Hadn’t seen any, it was all dark. The place smelled of brimstone, the screams of agony and madness filled the air. There was no light to lead him out from the darkness… Not like there had been in life. How long?! Kruel screamed… Or at least intended to but all that came from his corporeal mouth was a guttural screech. This was truly a hell unlike any other. Time lacked definition here, what felt like a minute could truly be an hour. What could feel like days could’ve been hours. Is this what the afterlife truly has in store for me? Millennia trapped here? Kruel wondered.

Then he heard it… No felt it. Something or someone calling out from him. It was a voice that should’ve been familiar to the ancient being but he did not even remember it. "I seek the Conqueror, the Devourer, the eye of the storm, the master I once knew."

“Conqueror? Devourer? Master? Who? Is that me? Is that me?” The disembodied entity asked himself as he looked up to what he could only imagine being the sky which was dyed red. Though he saw through the clouds. A face that was strained in concentration… That of a Bith.

- "I seek the one called Ambroscus." –​

That’s when Kruel felt it. A sudden surge of energy, a flash of memories. Civilizations brought low, a force storm that devoured numerous vessels and nearly destroyed a planet. His Sith title. “Ambroscus… Me… I AM AMBROSCUS!” Though while Kruel remembered his true self now he could not return to the plain of the living. He never would, not physically at least.

Around Dravis he’d feel the temperature suddenly drop to freezing as the vapor from his breath became visible. The grass and plants around would become covered with an unnatural frost and slowly began to wither before Dravis’ own eyes. A gust of wind snatched at the coat Dravis wore and the howl of the wind became Kruel’s voice. “My child… My Eye… How long has it been? Why do you summon me?”

[member="Dravis Rosilla"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

Dravis spoke his piece, and waited with bated breath. A moment passed.

Another.

For but a second, the Sithling thought he had failed.

Suddenly, the shadows from the candle elongated, bringing with them a biting frost that disintegrated the greenery around the Bith. A sudden cold stole Dravis' breath, letting it shine in the air as a cloud of white. A small hurricane picked up around Dravis, yet the flame remained intact, perhaps even growing stronger, the pale yellow changing to a deep red.

Then, he heard the voice amid the wind, and a shiver went up his spine.

A flooding of emotion entered and left Drav, so quickly and effortlessly that he didn't know where one feeling began, and one ended. They all bled together, until Dravis was left with nothing but fear, anger, and amazement. He couldn't respond immediately, his mouth suddenly going dry.

"I... Hello again, Kruel Zing." Dravis regained his composure, staring straight ahead, into seemingly nothingness. "You have been... gone... for a year, perhaps a few months short." Dravis frowned. Had it really been that long? Since he was robbed of his master? Of his true potential? "I wish I could have summoned you sooner, but... I was not ready." No humor coated his words, only mildly shocked reverence.

"But, I am ready now." Dravis' cape fluttered around him, dancing in the wind. "I am ready to continue my training. I am ready to learn your secrets, so that I can pass down your knowledge!" The Bith's voice grew in intensity, until it was a furious hurricane in itself.

"Hear my ambition, and know it to be true!" The candle flared brightly, hurting the Sithling's eyes. "When I was new in this galaxy, you were the only one to see potential in me. You took me in. YOU showed me the power I had within myself, when others would use it for themselves!" Dravis let his voice break, growing quiet again.

"I need you to complete my training. I can't trust the other Sith. They would only use me to their ends."

"I need you."

- [member="Kruel Zing"] -