Private Home

[Alina Tremiru]

Dromund Kaas was a dangerous place to be. Be it Sith Remnants, Crusaders, Imperials, the Alliance, even just bounty hunters; there were threats galore. Alina had no intention of ever returning home, but the news her family's estate was burned to the ground had her wanting to see it herself. The ruins. What happened. She did her best to hide from sight, taking a shuttle, blending into the crowd as best she could. Though her deathly pale skin did little to truly hide her.

But that mattered little as she finally arrived to what remained. The massive estate, where her family had hoarded secrets of the Sith for centuries upon centuries, not even ash remained now. Rain had washed away the ruins. Only the foundation was left. Her eyes narrowed as she walked among the ruins. Flashes of her childhood, of her tortured existence, flashed through her mind. Where her mother once tried to force her connection to the Force to work through lightning. The experiments to rekindle what had been lost before she was even born. The look of disappointment in her mother's eyes as she gave up on her daughter.

The cold, lifeless eyes after Alina had torn her throat out.

She stood in the middle of the foundation, where the stairs once lead to an impressive collection of artifacts. Now barren, ruined. Was she responsible? Was this her fault? Was there anything for her to actually feel guilty about? She'd left the Sith behind, this wasn't her responsibility. Yet here she was, looking through what remained.

Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

There were a thousand and one spies on the planets of the Stygian Caldera watching carefully for the remnants of the Sith coming home to see their Empire and world's turned to Ash. When they did, telepathic messages would surge across information networks spanning the entire galaxy- and notable sith would hear of it. This time, it was Maliphant who had heard the call of a once somewhat student of his.​

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Alina Tremiru - someone with a peculiar ability in the Force, but one who was dangerously unguided.​

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So he'd pull the Force into him, draw it out - and snap the laws that governed reality. Amidst the rubble, as Alina looked upon what was left of it - the Sith Lord Maliphant and his staff strode to stare down on her.​

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"Welcome home, Alina.", he offered flatly.​

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Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Fear was instant.

She couldn't sense him in the Force, but as Darth Empyrean appeared she could smell him. The corrupted scent of a Sith Lord she knew. Not one she knew well, but that very well was more frightening than if she did. Her gaze drifted to the man, watching quietly. Not daring to move. And he spoke. Something so simple. Her lips thinned to a frown. "Maliphant. What brings you here?"

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"A request, from the Worm."​

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A name she would recognize. The Emperor hidden in shadows after the collapse of the Sith Empire - just as he predicted. There was danger in such a name drop, a quiet reminder that unknowable darkness still remained somewhere in the galaxy.​

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"You've come home to witness the echos of the Empire I assume? I've come to bring you to your true home."​

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Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

The Worm? The memory of her first meeting with that being flashed through her mind. And with it, fear. Her hands tightened into fists. Should she run? Could she run? Darth Empyrean wasn't the Worm, but he was still vastly stronger than her. Hell, it's why she sought out his teachings in a life that didn't seem like her own. "Just here to see what an old apprentice had done. I care not for the Empire that would have gladly left me to die." She took a step back, small, subtle. Trying to prepare to run. She could escape, if she used surprise.

Or debilitated him. Her eyes narrowed, scanning his.

"The Mandalorians did take your eyes."

 

[Darth Empyrean]

He flashed a low and dangerous smile to her, those iron orbs unmoving beneath the lids of his eyes.​

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"And it only took an army of them.", he offered cooly.​

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"Care not for the Empire, Alina - the Empire was a cancerous beast that needed its fate. I offer you something much greater, much more grand."​

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Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

That did make sense. An army of Mandalorians to take the eyes of a Sith Lord. What's more impressive is that Darth Empyrean was still free to move. Despite being defeated by them, he still got free. Was here. Her eyes narrowed.

"And what is it you would offer, after all this time, to a run away?"

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"A new beginning."​

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He took a few steps forward - ash and wood crunching beneath his feet as he did so.​

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"Strength. Power."​

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Another step.​

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"Anything your heart desires, Alina Tremiru - all it takes is the focus to build it, to take it. The Sith need new blood, and I offer you a chance to grow it young."​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

She laughed. Nervous, sure, but it was a haughty laugh in an attempt to hide how nervous she was. "I gave up on all that before the Empire even fell. Why me? I half expected you to just try and kill me for leaving the Sith."

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"And why would I do that?", he said taken aback.​

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"The Sith are freedom incarnate - individualism manifest. A Sith can not leave the Order unless they remove themselves from all our teachings. In that regard, you either castrate your ability to learn - or you become a Jedi. Both can be brough back into the dark, and you are no different."​

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"Though, if you were a Jedi - I would kill you on principle."​

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"As far as why you - because you were curious enough to come visit the ashes of the old Empire. You have potential, you have unique powers that need refinement. Sith may be individualists, but you have the potential to serve the Order in great ways, Alina."​

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Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Why would I serve them again when they were so willing to throw so many of us into the fire? I'm done serving, Maliphant." Probably suicide to say that to a Sith Lore, but Alina wasn't about to bend the knee for the glorious purpose of being a tool for someone else again. Now that she thought about it, watched Darth Empyrean , she realized just how different things were from their first meeting. She knew her power, and she wasn't human anymore.

Maybe she could escape.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"We all serve, Alina Tremiru .", he said with another step over the rubble.​

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"We serve our hunger, our thirst, our passion. Some serve their lust, their addictions, their cruelty. The truth of the Sith is that you choose what you serve - serve the God you intend to kill, as I do with the Worm. Serve the pursuit of strength, of knowledge, of immortality. Serve whatever you wish - but know that only within the Sith will you ever have the freedom to choose it."​

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Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Immortality? Strength? I'm cursed with both, and it had nothing to do with the Sith." She spat back. Why was she so angry? There was too much going through her mind for Alina to piece together. Especially when Darth Empyrean stepped forward. A step back was all she did. Instinct, fear. Sith Lords, she hated them. Hated how strong they were. "What do you want? To make me your apprentice?"

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"You have not been gifted with strength, Alina.", he said - his tone conveying teaching, information; yet a dark undertone seemed to play at his words soft belly. A challenge shrouded in a comment.​

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"You think too small, and I have no intention of making you my apprentice. Not in the conventional sense, at least."​

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"Rather I need your potential. I will pass unto you the secrets of Eternalism - and in turn, you will gain purpose. You won't search the ashes of your old home for meaning, Alina - because I hold it in the palm of my hand."​

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With it, he'd even offer her his open palm - even at their small distance.​

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Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina stared at the palm offered to her. Despite her constant belittling of the Sith, Darth Empyrean never struck out. Was it- No, he could have if he wanted to. They both knew who was the stronger one. And despite her power to cut the Force, she'd never be able to stop a Lord's will over it. That was the challenge, wasn't it? Her fists tightened. Shouldn't she have ran by now? Why was she lingering?

Or was it as simple as she was tired of running? Maybe Alisteri was right.

"I've never cared about Eternalism or any of these cult like views. I'll destroy everything the Sith are. I'll make even the monsters who lord over the top bend the knee." She wasn't sure why she felt the need to say it, but she said it anyway. Would he care? Would he kill her for saying such things? It didn't matter. No, she was done hiding and running. Her golden eyes narrowed as she bit back the fear in her heart.

"I'll kill everything if it means no longer needing to serve."

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"You won't do it from where you stand now - nor from the path you walk.", he offered bluntly.​

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"Even I could only make it so far before my mind was altered by the Sith Empire - and the culmination of the synthetic and organic led to the Sith I am now. You simply need the doctrine, the discipline, the decisive oppurtunity to create the change you need."​

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"And in time, if that means killing the Sith - then that is your choice to make, so long as you truly have the capacity to commit to it. Know that Eternalism, the Sith, are not contradictory to your goal - but conducive of it. Cut down those that challenge you when you're ready, serve no Gods and no Masters - the Sith are your only path forward, Alina."​

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Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

He didn't kill her. The defiant words she spoke, Alina just assumed that would mean her death. But it didn't? No, this was just how the Sith were. Playing with danger all so the strongest could rule. She laughed. The disbelieving kind of laugh. What did she have to loose? Among the Sith she'd had power before. She wasn't hunted by those after her bounty. Hunted by those sent by the Force.

"What happens if I agree, then?"

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"I show you how far the rabbit hole goes."​

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He smiled before motioning her forward - he himself turning towards the east, inline with the wind. At their backs, slightly downhill from the rubble, the path forward was easier than arriving here. He spoke as they congregated, as they moved where he decided;​

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"What happens if you agree, Alina, is you learn the doctrine to strength. Eternalism is a subsect of Sith teachings, but what are Sith teachings? They are a guide work to power, a path laid bare before you that must be unraveled to be understood. Eternalism is just that, a layer beyond the surface - a chance to understand something most Sith will never have a true notion of."​

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"And - should you agree - the blue prints of your ascension will come from the shadows. Deep within the crater the Galaxy made of the Sith, where the Maw, Imperials, and Jedi drove us. From within the safety of obscurity, we will grow in strength - and rise from the ashes a far more dangerous creature than we left as."​

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Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

She stepped forward, despite herself. A single step, still untrustingly watching the Sith Lord before her. But her gaze shifted. Trying to find what it was Darth Empyrean might've seen on the horizon. Oh, nothing specifically. Alina let out a breath. So it was to hide, again. At least it wasn't alone. Allies that could be trusted, as much as a Sith could be at least. She closed her eyes.

"Fine, but I'm not drinking any kool-aid. Don't expect me to care about Eternalism or anything else if it doesn't help me destroy everything."

 

[Darth Empyrean]

He smiled to himself as she spouted off grand claims and concrete ideals -​

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"It is always interesting to hear someone who knows so little, who needs so much build walls and positions that seem so unassailable. The reality is simple, Alina, you know just enough to have some confidence - but know far too little to know how much you don't know. I, for instance, am immune to Ysalamiri, Force Light, and Destiny. You are a slave to the consequences of all three - just as a thousand Sith both better and worse than you."​

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"Don't claim you will never 'drink the kool-aid' when you don't even know what you're denying. An open mind is all you're worth, don't squander it on pipe dreams leading to obscurity, child."​

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He exhaled slowly then pulled from his pocket a wayfinder, tossing it to her. It activated at her dark side presence, made a small prick wherever skin contact was made - and let the blood sample bond the artifact to her. It would show her a galactic map with waypoints and small descriptions of their purpose. Artifact caches, ex-Empire equipment arsenals still hidden, and more.​

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"Anyone can teach you the fundamentals of being a Sith, Alina - but only Eternalism can make you a god. Consider that before you return to me."​

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And with that, he'd snap away in a black fog. Where once he was there, no longer did her remain - only the slowly falling shape of what he was.​

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Alina Tremiru​