Hollow Bastion

[Kaalia Pavanos]

"Other matters, huh? If I find out you still need to finish that book you were reading back when got knocked out by that poison I will not be amused." Kaalia's tone had a mix of snarkiness and humor in it. It was clear however that she wasn't going to be [member="Krest"]'s errand girl on every whim, but this time she would help him out. "I hope you have one around here somewhere, because hunting one down is going to be a pain."

After the zabrak had pointed out where to retrieve an Ysalmir the redhead gave him a half-wave before walking off. While doing so she thought over the conversation she had with [member="Jairdain"] earlier, processing the things she had said. It seemed her vision was skewed, something that intrigued Kaalia. Perhaps it was the thing she needed to make her see the truth, but only time would tell.

[member="Darth Lykos"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

"Good, good. It would be the height of a poor host to allow those brought to their location to be mistreated." The jovial tone of his voice and words was obviously insincere, a stalling tactic and nothing more, that he made no effort to disguise, as he gathered his thoughts. Sometimes, he had found, it was better to fill the air with some form of chatter, even mindless, rather than to allow blessed silence to reign.

Sighing, Lykos leaned forwards so that his elbows rested on his knees, keeping his gaze locked on Jairdain's unseeing eyes whenever they might glance in his direction, despite the uselessness of such an action. "I am sure that, by now, you understand why you were brought here, no? You have a potential within you, Zireal. A fierce set of burning embers of passion within your soul, embers which could be fanned to form an inferno of Darkness that could lead you to living as the Jedi would not allow you to do so." He waved his hand negligently as he leaned back in his seat, despite the fact that Kairdain would not be able to see him do so. "Yes, you do not follow the Code but you call yourself Jedi and, sooner or later, they would ensure that a binary choice would be presented before you. Submit or leave."

Standing, Lykos began to pace slowly around Jairdain. "It is said that only the Sith deal in absolutes. This is a lie told by those disillusioned by the false Light. The Jedi will decree that all follow the Light or be considered a plague upon this reality. Your people said the same. We of the Dark though - not of the Sith but of the Dark - deal not in absolutes. Passion is allowed to exist freely, to guide us and, due to the random and uncontrollable nature of passion, there is no binary option. There are preferred options, but no binary ones. You are free to live how you want, so long as you embrace the Dark." Leaning down from behind the seated human, Jairdain would feel the heat of his breath run along her ear. "As the Sith Code states: 'My chains will be broken'."

Clearing his throat, Lykos straightened up and walked back over to his chair, seating himself once more. "Krest, he took you because he wishes to use you, I will deny something that I am sure that you have already theorised. But that is the nature of reality. The strong, those willing to accept the Truth of this world, they rule the weak. Look beyond those with sentience and to those species that operate on instinct alone and you will see that the strong using those weaker is but the rule of nature. So, yes, Krest wishes to use you, but, in doing so, he will make you strong so that you are no longer weak."

Growling slightly beneath his breath, Lykos leaned forwards, his voice lowered to a hush. "You are my Zireal, my little sparrow, and I wish you to see the truth, to accept what you might feel every day, that passion that you have indulged in the past. Do you remember how free you felt when you did so? I want you to relive that to the point that you cannot imagine life without it. You'll no longer need to reject emotions, bottle them away until they grow too strong and rule you. No. You'll learn accept them, work with them, rule them as they rule you." His growl, possessive in nature, grew to a close just as his words did when he straightened up once more, leaning back in his seat.

"What say you Zireal?"


[member="Jairdain"] | [member="Krest"] | [member="Kaalia Voldaren"]

 

[Jairdain]

When Lykos started mentioned that it would have been poor conduct if she had been mistreated with an almost jovial tone, that earned him an odd look. Jairdain knew him well enough that he never did or said anything without purpose. What was his purpose with them?

He let out a sigh and Jairdain heard him change his sitting position. She listened to his words, now they made more sense. Clamping her jaw, she sat rigidly as he spoke. He gave the reason for her being here and mentioned the Jedi code again. He of all people knew that wasn't the code she followed and he said as much. They had to ever actually enforce it upon her though and she didn't think they would.

Her companion started pacing around her, she followed his movements in her mind since her sight was denied. Not having had an interest in learning about the beliefs of the Sith, Jairdain had never learned their code. What did he mean by false light? Her people had been worse than the Jedi though. They would try to redeem a sith instead of killing them and bring a dark sided person into the light. Her people would have killed him and his kind on sight and not bothered asking questions. This had been pointed out to her, but she could not move past her childhood and the way she had grown up. His breath caressed her ear and the mention of passion gave her small shivers. There had been expression of that between them and she pushed the thought of it away not wanting to consider it.

Lykos moved away and sat back down, his next words came as no surprise to the young Jedi and she just shook her head. It came across that Krest saw her potential, but felt she was weak. He wanted to make her stronger. By teaching her to use her emotions as a fuel to her ability. To use her to his own ends though. In a way Krest would chain Jairdain to him. This the Jedi would not allow. She was her own person and would not bow or give into what Krest wanted...what Lykos wanted.

The almost possessive growl of Lykos' next words reconfirmed what her intuition told her. He wanted her to surrender to her passion again. To never live without it, to remember what it was like. As he said this, her eyes closed on their own and her mind drifted back in memory to how she had felt, the freedom it had given her. This Jairdain could not deny happening. She had surrendered then, but not this time and not today. Not to Lykos or Krest.

She opened her eyes and if she could have seen, Jairdain would have been looking at Lykos. Her face was not exactly calm, but it wasn't angry or irritated. The voice she projected across the short distance was stern.

"I have full acceptance of my emotions. I do not bottle them away forever, just until the situation that caused them has passed."

Knowing where he sat, she stood up and slowly walked over to him, making sure nothing was in her path with her feet first. Their previous encounters and even earlier when he walked in, he had touched her. Now it was her turn. Her hand found his shoulder and moved up to his neck and finally found the side of his face if he allowed the touch.

"I might be your little caged bird, but the Jedi will come for me and set me free."

Taking her hand back, if he allowed her touch to remain, Jairdain returned to her seat the same as she had walked over to him and sat down.

[member="Darth Lykos"] [member="Kaalia Voldaren"] [member="Krest"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

The touch that Jairdain had lay upon him was a bit of a surprise to Lykos, within their prior brief encounters she had always seemed hesitant to touch him with him taking the lead in doing so, however, his surprise amounted to little more that a slight raise of his brow. Throughout the time that she had chosen to touch him, Lykos made no move to shrug her off of him, simply keeping his quiet and watching for any twitches in her body language and facial features as she spoke. And that quite would be kept until Jairdain had retaken her seat, when he would speak up again.

"You say that you accept your emotions, but then contradict yourself in your next breath." His voice was no longer emotionless, instead, it held a sound of sterness similar to the sterness that Jairdain's own voice had held. "How can you accept your emotions when you bottle them up? The fact that you do so for even the shortest amount of time does not speak of acceptance. It speaks towards fear, a fear that should you allow yourself to feel in that time when your emotions are brought to the forefront you might be ruled by them. How can you accept what you fear, what you hide from?"

Sighing heavily, an audible expression to give rise to the mental image of his releasing any sense of stress or annoyance within Jairdain's mind, Lykos pushed himself to his feet and once more began to pace. Immersed in his thoughts as he was, even if only slightly, his body moved on instinct until he was clasping his hands behind his back in a gesture he had subconsciously learned from his Master, Darth Ophidia.

"You do not understand, do you, Zireal? You are caged currently because you are too weak to free yourself. Your sight is gone because you are too weak to reclaim it. Yes, the Force has been taken from you and because of that you cannot physically achieve these ends. But, then, you do know, don't you, that all you have to do to gain the strength to free yourself, to see again, it to stop hiding from yourself, to stop fearing a part of you?" Questions had been chosen as Lykos' method of opening Jairdain up to the Dark for a simple reason. Should he lay out points, they were singular and easily argued against. But, with him asking questions, the answers, the points, were numerous and created by Jairdain herself, making them stronger arguments that he might be able to hope to come up with.

"You hurt only yourself by limiting your expression of self, your emotions. You hide within the Light, a creation that asks for sacrifice for sacrifices sake, to bend and break what is natural within human and none-human nature. The strength you need to be free, to see, can be found in the Dark. Not the Dark itself, mind you. All the Darkness will do is allow you to accept yourself, to sacrifice for strength, to heal what is natural and teach you to utilise it to grow and evolve into something more."

Sighing again, this time not as heavy in the attempt to create an air of exasperation, Lykos would halt his pacing in from of Jairdain and lean down to whisper in her ear once more. "Think of this, Zireal. Think not on the teaching taught to you by the Jedi, or, more accurately, your people. You are yourself, an individual, Zireal. Do not allow other to dictate what you are and what you should be, dictate for yourself what you are and will be. Think of freedom, think on emotion and accepting yourself fully. Think on all that I have said and ask yourself: Are you ready to truly see?"

Straigtening up, Lykos' felsh and blood hand would come up to cup Jairdain's cheek, the rough pad of his thumb caressing the skin under her eye, for a moment before spinning around sharply and striding out of the room, leaving Jairdain alone once more, left to think on his words instead of argue against them as she would have done should he have stayed. Behind him hung a single order, uttered just as he closed the door. "Think on all that I have said."


[member="Krest"] | [member="Jairdain"] | [member="Kaalia Voldaren"]

 

[Jairdain]

After Jairdain returned to her seat, did Lykos speak. His tone matched hers, but neither one felt anger at the other. What he said was true to an extent, she did fear what might happen. In a reply, she crossed her arms and looked away from him, not wanting him to see on her face just how close his words were to the truth.

He stood up and started pacing again, Jairdain could hear his movements. Following him again in her mind, she did listen to his words even though her head faced away from him still. He said she was too weak to physically break out on her own, that because she didn't accept her own emotions was why the Force was denied to her. That until she stopped hiding from her emotions, she would be kept here.

Continuing to pace near her, Lykos didn't give her an opportunity to speak and at the moment that was probably for the best. How was she hurting herself? He said she hides in the light and in doing so must sacrifice what was natural. She shook her head at that, but kept her reply to herself. When he said the strength she needed to break out would be found in the dark, she did turn to face his direction with a look that was entirely emotionless. At the moment, all she had was darkness. His words sparked a slight irritation in her, which she didn't push away and allowed him to know how she felt.

He leaned close to her, his voice just a whisper in her ear now. What he asked her to do, she would not. The path she stood on was one she chose for herself. It was what felt right to her. Standing up again, Jairdain knew he was going to leave without giving her the chance to reply. The action was on purpose and when he reached his hand down again to cup her chin, he caressed under her eye. Almost as if to wipe away tears if there had been any. He pulled away then and walked to the door, before it closed behind him, he sent one command to her and that was to think on what he had said.

Time was all she had now so there would plenty of thinking done. Not today though. Being alone again, Jairdain realized just how worn out she was. Finishing off the glass of water, she made her way over to the bed and laid down. Within minutes, she was sleeping and all track of time was lost.

[member="Darth Lykos"] [member="Kaalia Voldaren"] [member="Krest"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Days would pass with nothing new happening. [member="Kaalia Voldaren"] and Krest would enter [member="Jairdain"] 's room time to time to speak to her about her beliefs, poking at the light but never doing much else. Jairdain would find no physical discomfort in her time here, and days would quickly turn to weeks of uneventful words and perhaps some more personal visits from [member="Darth Lykos"] . Time had always been a deciding factor, and just like fine wine the aged Sith Lord was content with this slow pace.

All so he could set up his trap. Chess had become a new favorite passtime for the elder Zabrak, and Lykos's threat only made Krest want to push his agenda further. Finally, after six weeks of Jairdain's capture, he would push it into motion. Once again he went to Jairdain's room, but this time it would be different. Her water and food no longer cut her off from the Force, and by the time he came she would feel the effects lifting just slightly.

"Good morning, I have a surprise for you." Krest said as he stepped into the room. His red eyes would fall upon her with a passive stare. He had chosen a day where Lykos would be some distance from Bastion, and only after he had gotten the Ysalmir from Kaalia. "Come with me."

 

[Jairdain]

As the time passed for Jairdain, she would feel the separation of the Force, her friends and love more and more. With only Lykos providing something to connect to, she become more withdrawn. Depression was clearly setting in, but yet through all the visits she was able to maintain her belief in her own code. The code of her people, not the Jedi.

Her personal comforts were taken care of, but even that didn't keep the fact that she felt so very alone from filling her.

When Krest entered her room, something was different. For the first time since her initial day of being held by captive by the Sith, she felt the Force. It was just a little, but more than she had felt in what seemed to be months. He greeted her with a good morning and said he had a surprise and to come with him. He had also told her on that day she would be kept from the Force. Did he know?

She made no effort to make a grasp for it and instead just allowed it flow. Being granted even this slim bit of Force felt wonderful and she cherished it. The sith must know or he would have said something about like he did last time.

Her sight through the Force granted her to "see" Krest and she stood up when he ordered her to come with him. With much of the same type of passive look he gave her, Jairdain returned it with one of her own. She didn't trust him any further than she could throw him and that distrust could clearly be felt. Jairdain did not try to hide this from him or lock it away in her box.

"The last surprise given was one I'm not enjoying. What makes you think I want another? There's a reason you're allowing me to feel the Force. Why?"

Jairdain would follow him regardless because she felt if she didn't, he would force her to.

[member="Krest"] [member="Darth Lykos"] [member="Kaalia Voldaren"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Do you think you have a choice?" The Zabrak kept his gaze oddly forward, never once looking to [member="Jairdain"] as they walked along. Once they entered the hallway however the full weight of where the Jedi was would finally be able to set in. Even if she could barely see them unimaginable monsters stalked within the cells they stepped by, raw hate and anger spilling out like a thick ooze. Flashes of memories of what they once were could be seen. The flashes would pulse and push into the mind of the unprepared, accompanied by feelings of loathing and depression.

The monsters missed what they once were.

But perhaps the strongest memory was that of a tall figure of black who unlike the other monsters remained still, staring out at the Sith Lord and the Jedi that stepped by. His memories were clearer, able to tell the story of the man he once was. A father who loved his wife, who worked for the Ascendancy as a common engineer day in and day out. Every day the same. His wife drifted away, his children pretending he was never there. He had turned to spice to fill the void of his shattering family. He was fired for it, and he snapped.

The next image was of his living room stained in blood and the few remaining pieces of his family scattered across the floor. Ascendancy troopers arrested him shortly after and one of the medical exams revealed a high amount of human flesh sitting in his stomach. When asked by the psychiatrist appointed to his case, he bit out her throat and proceeded to devour her. He had been brought here and twisted into a monster to reflect what he had become.

Krest was oblivious to the memories, his mind sealed to the misgivings of the Sithspawn around them. He would stop before their destination and pull the door open. [member="Kaalia Voldaren"] was told to be inside with the lizard sealed away for the time being. "After you." Politely the Zabrak would hold the door open for the blind Jedi and gently set a hand on her shoulder to guide her into the room as needed.

The room was a plain operating room. With Kaalia would be a medical droid and a slab with straps to hold a person still. There was a whisper of foreboding in the Force, the only sign of danger that could be found.

[member="Darth Lykos"]

 

[Jairdain]

"Of course, I don't."

It was all she said and that was to the back of Krest since he faced forward not looking at her. He opened the door to the cell Jairdain had been kept in these past weeks. One that was all too familiar to the blind girl.

The Force coming back to the Jedi, she could not only see what was around her, but feel as well. These two skills were as natural to her as breathing and she did not actually think she reached out actively with the Force to do them.

As she progressed out of her room and into the hallway, the empathy of the Force she had been denied hit her. What she had been through in her first captivity was nothing like what she felt now. Before, the fear and pain had been that of normal people. Around her now was something more, sentient beings that were no more, but yet lived on. The only things they knew were hate, anger, loathing and depression. In a way, Jairdain sympathized with these beasts and their desire to be what they once were. That was denied to them as much as it was her.

Past different cells they walked, one creature was different than the others. What glimpses she gathered, there was nothing left of whoever they were really. One stood out though. The black form, locked behind the door stared out. Jairdain could feel his gaze as she passed and the mental image he projected. In seconds, the Jedi knew what had happened, what he had done. It was a vision, she could never have prepared for and she vomited on the floor.

This had no effect on Krest and when Jairdain had wiped her mouth as well as she could, just gave him a dirty look with clenched teeth. Resuming her steps behind the zabrak, she chose to do her best to ignore what was around her and move past. She could still the beast from the cell watching her or at least it seemed that way to her.

A door opened in front of her with Krest bidding her to go first. Kaalia was also there, along with a medical droid. It was an operating room and Jairdain hesitated in entering first. For the first time since her capture, she wanted to fight and resist. While she knew it was going to be a losing fight, resist entering the room she did. Stopping before going in and shaking her head.

"No, I'm not going in there on my own."

Stubbornness and defiance were displayed, but fear showed in her eyes. That Jairdain shoved into her little box and stood outside the door, in a hallway with monsters around her and Sith in front of and almost at her side.

@Krest [member="Darth Lykos"] [member="Kaalia Voldaren"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"As I said before, you do not have a choice." A frown had settled on Krest's lips as [member="Jairdain"] showed her will to fight. Was it the Force that edged her on? A possibility, or confidence given by it and [member="Darth Lykos"] . Honestly the aging lord would prefer the later. "You will walk in on your own, or I will break your legs and drag you in myself. Remember, you are Jedi, and a prisoner. Do not think you will be treated any other way. This is your only warning for all future events. Do as you are told, or I will make you." He kept it as polite as he could with threatening bodily harm. His mind and expression remained passive, his blue eyes now scanning over her as he waited for her response.

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain listened to Krest's words and she already knew she didn't have an actual choice in the matter. Her will to fight came from within herself, like it had from the time she was captured. It had seen her through her first captivity and so far through this one. There was a difference this time though. For once, she knew she had allies that would come for her and then there was her connection to Lykos. Now being able to sense the Force, she felt that and knew he wasn't near. So she had to do this alone.

Krest said if she didn't go on her own, he would break her legs and put her in the room himself. While feeling empowered, she didn't feel it wise to push any further. Taking a hold of the robes she was wearing, Jairdain would stalk into the room. Her voice barely above a whisper, she could be heard cussing him out again like she had her first day.

It was in the language of her people and wouldn't be understood by those in the room.

"Trou du cul, connard, enfoiré. Va baiser un nexu. Mal incarné."

She did not approach Kaalia, the droid or the table in front of her. Entered the room only and stopped.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest heard, but it did not mean he understood. But whether or not she was insulting him didn't matter. Soon enough she would be in a world where pain was her only friend, and that would be enough punishment for any back talk. "Good, now sit on the table." Casually the Lord would close the door behind him, waving [member="Kaalia Voldaren"] over. "We have another topic to discuss, and you're going to want to be off your feet for it.

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Remembering what Krest had said previously, Jairdain wondered if showing additional defiance was wise. Though her eyes could not see, they always showed how she felt. Being able to maintain control on her emotions didn't mean Jairdain did not feel them. The young Jedi was irritated, angry, defiant, unhappy and stubborn all at the same time. Though none would actually be displayed.

Krest told her to sit down on the table for more discussion, but she doubted that was all or why he had removed her from her previous room which was nothing more than a glorified prison cell.

Knowing logically she had no choice, she delayed for just a moment before she did comply. She very rigidly walked over to the table, climbed up on it and sat down in the middle with her legs curled up under her as if she was going to meditate. Keeping the quiet the whole time, she didn't say a word.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Kaalia had patiently waited while sitting on the operation table, twiddling her thumbs. Completely unbothered by the scene around her she hummed a melody while fiddling around with her datapad, handling some personal business. She sensed the duo's approach, the presence of Jairdain covered in fear and disgust, something that pulled the slightest of smirks into her facial features.

When the door finally opened she let herself off the table and watched as Jairdain at first refused to enter, chuckling slightly. Eventually after Krest's threat she finally conceded and walked in. She came Krest's way and passed their captive as she made her way over to the table. "What do you need me for this time, Krest? I have other things to do as well, you know."

[member="Jairdain"] [member="Krest"] [member="Darth Lykos"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"A lesson." Krest would raise a hand as soon as [member="Jairdain"] sat and the droid beside her would step close and thrust a needle for the side of her neck. If the blind woman was injected an immediate and overwhelming sense of burning would occur at the injection sight and spread like wildfire across her body. "That, is a poison you feel." Krest would begin, stepping over to the Jedi. "A poison I usually reserve for my apprentices. But, I suppose this is important enough to use it. The pain will worsen, and soon you will fall unconscious. In that state you will finally begin to see the truth. Stay strong, Zireal."

 

[Jairdain]

"A lesson in....? Ouch!"

Jairdain's hand flew to the side of her neck where the droid had given her a shot of something. It wasn't just pain from the shot that now hurt her, but whatever was in it as well. What started as a burning sensation grew in magnitude as it spread through her body.

It was poison in her, but she knew it wasn't going kill her. In a way that was almost comforting. If they had wanted her dead, they had ample opportunity. Why start torturing her now? This was used on his apprentices? Thoughts were faster than words so it only took a few seconds for her think these thoughts.

The burning pain started at her neck. Following the flow of blood, it spread into her chest, through her heart and then her body. Pain from the physical torture was of her last captivity was different and external. This was internal and much worse. She could not as easily ignore this as the fire spread through her blood. Doing her best though, she did not cry out.

Minutes felt like hours, but Jairdain succumbed to the physical need to cry out. That was the last thing the Jedi knew before the poison took its full effect and she passed out.

[member="Krest"] [member="Kaalia Voldaren"] [member="Darth Lykos"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

A jasmine tea was the only thing that Lykos could taste as he halted mid-motion, the lip of the wooden cup still resting upon his lips. Swallowing and calmly setting the cup down, Lykos simply sat still, pulling a curious look from Tiae'khta as he did so for, in doing so, he had halted himself mid-discussion on the effects of utilising the Selkel flower over the Tzek flower in the creation of a new poison that the duo were in the middle of planning. Slowly, however, understanding would rush over the pale, delicate features of the Knight as a heady, elusive presence of Darkness would begin to press upon her shoulders, rage and ice flaring to life within previously apathetic amber eyes. A low rumbling growl would originate from the depth of his throat, nearly drowned out by the roar of the wind outside of the cave on Iridonia the two were currently sat within.

Pushing himself to his feet, his anger not having any negative effect upon his ingrained grace, Lykos would cast his gaze along the Force Bond, seeking to ensure what he was feeling, what was causing such anger to roar within him, was the truth before he would act. And, indeed, upon granting himself sight beyond his physical self, he would let out a roar of anger, the sand around his feet being blasted backwards, leaving a perfectly clear circle around his form.

"Gvibr, here, now." The order was sharp and snappish, and loyalty served to encourage her to stand before him in the instance. Fury at Krest daring to touch was was his may be consuming Lykos' entire being in that moment, but, that did not mean that he had relinquished self control nor did that mean he was fool hardy enough to simply throw himself into a random situation by using Fold Space to arrive there. As the human stood before him, dwarfed by his wider and taller frame, his biological hand would lash upwards to gently cup her jaw and he would bend down, his breath running across her ear as he spoke two words. Two words that were heavy with power and command.

"Protocol Theta."

Hearing her breath catch and feeling her head nod, Lykos drew back to stare into her eyes. What had once been a pair of cold grey eyes had changed. Instead, they were now one cod,grey eye with the natural white scelra and one amber hued eye with black shadows corrupting the sclera. Smirking, Lykos would twist and shape the Force to his will, tearing open a wound before disappearing, leaving behind only Gvibr, the Host of a shard of his Soul, who returned to their notes and tea and began peacefully sipping as the jasmine blend, sighing in relaxation.

Lykos' form would reappear within the cell, his angered gaze locked on Krest, bared from the waist up and his Presence fully loosened, viscous looking shadows coiling along his skin as the weight of it suddenly pressed upon the room. His eyes did not flicker towards the unconscious form of Jairdain, choosing to observe her through a metaphysical sight instead.

His voice, when he spoke, was little more than a growl and promised pain and retribution if he did not like what he heard. "Explain yourself, Krest!"


[member="Jairdain"] | [member="Krest"] | [member="Kaalia Voldaren"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Good, you came." Immediately as [member="Darth Lykos"] came the elder Zabrak turned to face him, a smile wide over his features. A smug, false smile. Krest's eyes would have turned red if not for a sudden visitor. The Ysalmir he had asked [member="Kaalia Voldaren"] for was dropped into the room from above, it's bubble cutting off even the Sith Lord. With it's drop however came another surprise. A ray shield. The room [member="Jairdain"] had been brought to was nothing more than an elaborate trap.

"I appreciate you playing your part so well. Now stay here, when I am finished a new Sith will rise. Kaalia, keep him company." He waved a hand to the droid who then lifted up the unconscious woman, and Krest would leave with her. "Those who seek to become shadow must realize they are always cast behind." There was one final grin from the elder as he stepped out of the room. Two more droids entered the room to keep the pair company.

Once outside the Ysalmir bubble he would begin his original task, his own mind reaching out into the pain twisted mind of the Jedi. His voice was almost soothing as he brought her back to her room. You feel this pain, no? Tell me, what do you see? As he spoke he began to flood her mind with images of her people, trying to drag forward the memories of her parents. What brings you comfort in this time of peril?

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

At Krest's actions, Lykos would, for a moment, loose all of his composure. He was a Zabrak who had chosen to embrace, rather than shun, his more feral and primitive instincts. As he had delved deeper and deeper into the Dark Side of the Force in pursuit of a deeper understanding, his feral instincts had grown and mutated beyond such a state, assuming a form that came just shy of being a second personalty: The Beast. Never controlled, never chained, the Beast was kept calm and sedated through promises of future feasts and freedom, promises of time where it could revel in its hatred and fury. But, now, in that moment, it was not asleep and Lykos had no reason to keep it in such a state. Instead, it was awake and in full control of his body, under his watchful gaze of course.

Roars and growls and harsh syllables fell from his lips as his face twisted in a visage that could belong to nothing sentient, nothing natural. The cold ice of fury that normally filled the Zabra was now a raging inferno as Lykos spoke in the ancient tongue of the Zabraks. Words of power were being uttered in rage and vengeance right beneath Krest's own watch, before his Apprentice, and neither would know. Krest may call himself the King of Iridonia, but that was not the full truth and both Zabraks knew it. Krest rules the kneelers, the settlers. He rules those that had formed the cities and turned their back upon the old ways. No Nomad would share their sacred language with those that had preformed such sacrilege and any effort Krest may have made to sieze the knowledge from an unsuspecting mind would have resulted in the Jath and Jiths, the Shamans and the Guardians - each practitioners of the old ways of the Force - descending upon him; many of whom would be equal to a Master in strength.

No, Krest did not know the language that Lykos raged in, nor would Kaalia, an outsider. So, as he spoke words of power, oaths of vengeance and blood, neither would know. Krest had made an enemy where, before, he had had an ally. For a shadow would be cast behind, yes, but only when Light illuminated the being in front, but, then, that gave them amble opportunity to drive a knife through a spine. And, of course, shadows did not only exist behind, but everywhere. Blood had been sworn upon that day, and the shadows that Krest so dismissed would see to his death.

Soon, the words faded, the Beast retreating back to its rest, lulled by promises of tasting Krest's blood, and Lykos reassumed control. Composed and acting as nothing had happened, he looked around at the ray shield that surrounded him with a calculating eye, before setting his sights upon Kaalia herself. When he did, his head would cock to one side and he would speak: slowly, calmly and deliberately.

"Tell me something. Do you swear yourself to Krest fully and wholly, Voldaren?"

Behind the cold mask he wore as he spoke - Lykos was smirking, for, after all, he never acted without a plan.

------

"We have been finally betrayed."

The words were whispered into the mind of Gvibr by the shard of Lykos' soul that resided, tethered to Gvibr's own. In response, the human simply took a sip of her tea, knowing that the shard of her Master would hear her thoughts and would not require her to verbalise them.

"He has taken what is mine - Zireal. I hold no illusion that he will now seek to make her his. Mayhaps through isolation. Or mayhaps through the manipulation of memory to cast her against me. As we well know, the Force is etherial and the impossible is possible through its power. But he is a fool to do so. What does he know of someone, how can he think to know them better, when I have stared at their soul, their unhidden core of being. Bound in one of the deepest manners."

A dark smirk would begin to twist its way across the Knights lips as she began to understand what her Master may request of her, glee flaring within her eyes.

"He seeks to push her to the brink, a specialty of yours, m'dear. We will wait, we will watch, and soon, we will act. But, for now, we plant the seed."

A bond of the soul was deeper than a bond of the Force, its true depths hidden from even metaphysical sight. Lykos may have been cut off from the Force, but not his Soul shard. Krest may be observing Jairdain, but her mind and not her soul. And, now, Lykos had two methods of attack and an already planted echo to work with. As fear and pain ran rampant through Jairdain's mind, Lykos, utilising Gvibr's skill with the mind, sought out the seed of a connection he had previously planted and anchored it deeper into her soul - tying it to both himself and Gvibr. Between the two women, the bond would exist beyond the Force, and, that, would hide it for now. In time, it would decay and become visible, but, that time was plenty enough.

Krest had sought to steal from Lykos, from Oblivion. He had, instead, only started a war that he knew not about.

[member="Krest"] | [member="Jairdain"] | [member="Kaalia Voldaren"]

 

[Jairdain]

The young Jedi, unconscious was oblivious to what transpired around her in the room. The pain and poison rendered her almost unresponsive. She didn't sense Lykos or hear the confrontation between him and Krest. Jairdain had no knowledge of the trap set for him that had been laid within her and their connection.

Not having been granted the gift of vision everybody else had, Jairdain was gifted with another way to "see" things. What her mind displayed to Krest would be the physical outlines she had felt of her parents and classmates, no clear image of them. Instead, what filled the emptiness of their forms is what could be closer called an arua. She was a natural empath and "saw" their emotions within their forms.

What she saw within her parents was their love for her. If she could have seen, the colors that a person with sight were granted, they would have been like spring flowers and crops at harvest. It was like the oranges and reds of a sun rising and falling.

[member="Krest"] [member="Darth Lykos"] [member="Kaalia Voldaren"]