In a Time of Magnets and Miracles (Invite)

[Viktor DuSang]

Korriban

Outside, the winds could be heard howling around the building, blasting sand across the graveyard of the Ancient Sith Empire. There was a time when the planet held prestige among the Sith, but now she was a desolate memory of glory days past. Not to say that the entirety of the landscape was barren, of course.

There was the Sith Temple where Viktor currently walked through. It's walls held firm against the storm outside, as it had for thousands of years. Like the temple, the Sith come and go, but they make their mark on the Galaxy. A mark that seemingly never goes away.

It was in this very temple that he spent a good portion of his boyhood. His mother would spend days roaming the archives, absorbing as much knowledge as she could. He and sweet Ophelia would play in these very halls until someone complained enough to their mother. Depending on the word choice used, their mother would come and stop their childish behavior, or break the tattletale like a twig.

How he missed her and his dear sister. No doubt hidden away in some paradise in their own corner of the Galaxy. He would hear from them soon, he knew it.

Yellow eyes scanned the halls as he straightened his jacket. It looked as if it had been abandoned for a century. But he had only been here a decade ago. Perhaps it had appeared longer because of how much sand was thrown around across the planet. Cracking his neck, he pulled out a Coruscanti clove, lighting it up.

[member="Anaya Fen"]

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

It wasn't often that Anaya came here. She'd hated Korriban when it had been under the watchful eye of the Empire, even more so now that power was long dead. Still, it has been important for Grimoire to see it, to feel it's power and to understand her origins and her destiny.

Most of the Old Guard had faded away, lurking in the shadows. Others had thrown themselves into other powerful factions - Thr Fringe Lords, The One Sith even Primeval had collected one or two. Two of those were dead and gone, the last crumbling away. The time was dawning for a new generation, for those who lurked in the shadows to unleash the legacies they had been creating.

Sand crunched underfoot as she climbed to worn steps into the temple, fingers brushing over the carvings of the ancient door that was left ajar. She knew she wasn't alone, she'd hung back, force signature concealed and let him have his money of quiet.

Her steps were silent as she approached him from behind, speaking only when she was a foot away and he lit up the space around him.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

[member="Viktor DuSang"]

 

[Viktor DuSang]

Her words caused him to jump, the cigarette falling out of his mouth. He ducked down, turning to her. He extended his arms, cold tendrils of the force reaching out to his lightdagger hilts. Yellow eyes fell on her form, and time stood still.

A red twi'lek stood behind him. Her markings didn't say slave, they nearly screamed Sith. There was nothing emanating from her. She registered cold, lifeless. But she was clearly there. She was suppressing her aura, her life force, to the point where she didn't even register.

Only a master could have that much control.

Tendrils retracted from his hilts as he dropped to one knee, bowing his head. The clove cigarette fell between outreached fingers as he brought it in front of his chest. His amber gaze rested on her feet as his eyes moved up her form.

"Exquisitely so, my Lady." The young nobleman knew a thing or two about etiquette. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Earl Viktor Maurow-DuSang du Coruscant. I apologize if my presence here is an intrusion. If there have been any transgressions committed against you, please forgive my ignorance."

[member="Anaya Fen"]

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya's lips curled into smirk. DuSang...there was a name she hasn't heard in a long time. She cocked her head slightly studying the acolytes face. Yes, she could see the resemblance.

She circled him slowly, each step of her boots echoing off the temple walls. "I've yet to decide if your presence is welcome or not, Earl." She paused her circle, stopping at his back. "What are you Earl of, I wonder..." She left little time for him to answer,moving again and coming to a halt in front of him. "No matter, noble blood means little here."

She lowered her hand before his face, fingers twitching, encouraging him to get to his feet. "Tell me Viktor, what brings you to this hell hole?"

[member="Viktor DuSang"]

 

[Viktor DuSang]

His name stuck out to her. Or rather, his surname did. She knew his father. "I am Earl of House Mau..." he began to answer her question, but she cut him off. Her fingers rested on his chin, and he nearly levitated to his feet, the smell of her perfume filling his nostrils. He brought the cigarette off to his side, flicking the end with his thumb.

"I'm honestly not sure, Mistress. Nostalgia, perhaps? My sister and I lived most of our childhood here. So I came here to... remember." The words sounded silly speaking them aloud. But his thoughts strayed to his father's journal. A passage about a twi'lek who particularly caught his interest. The words coming back to him.

She was as vicious as she was deadly. Her words dripped with poison honey. She was my most dangerous ally. Her loyalties fleeting the moment you stopped being of use. We made moves against each other, as we propelled each other's pieces against the Galaxy. The beautiful enigma.

"Lady Fen." he whispered.

[member="Anaya Fen"]

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya's lips curled into a smile, as she unraveled her concealment spell, letting her aura grow. Those three syllables uttered from his lips could be his life or his death. Each outcome depended entirely on her mood, and how well he could do under pressure.

"Clever boy." She reached for the cigarette in his hand and removed it gently, bringing it slowly to her own lips. The end glowed slightly as she drew on it, it's light reflecting in her eyes. Exhaling, she stepped closer, deliberately invading his personal space. Back away and he risk insulting her, remain put and he risk challenging her. "You're handsomer than he was, but then he and I had tastes that aligned us more than physical attraction. Who knows, if you're father had remained useful, you might have been my whelp."

If he knew her name, then Viktor was likely to know what she was capable of. "Alas, you are not. So," she brought a hand to his cheek, fingers gently trailing his jawline. She was close enough now that she could feel his breath on her lips, her eyes glittering with excitement. "Tell me, Viktor, son of Avicus. What reasons can you come up with for me not killing you?"



[member="Viktor DuSang"]

 

[Viktor DuSang]

He was correct in his deduction. His reward was her revealing her true power. A cold shiver raced up his spine. His pulse quickened, a bead of sweat running down his throat.

He beamed when she complimented him. He nearly gave his "flattery will get you everywhere" line, but he felt it would be an annoyance. Besides, by the time he mustered the courage to speak, she was directly in front of him, taking his cigarette. He didn't back down. He didn't give her a challenging look. Death could meet him at any time, but he was more comfortable with the though if he had her taste on his tongue.

He leaned into her touch, biting his bottom lip. Why was he doing this? Acting this way? She was simply enchanting. Intoxicating. He now realized why his father was such a creature of vice. Trying to suppress these primal urges was agonizing.

His mind wandered on the desires he held for her as she asked the question. A cold smile crept across the young noble's lips. "Because I'm more valuable to you alive than I am dead. My father is a man of vice, but I am a man of honor. Teach me how to be stronger, and I will become even more valuable to you, Mistress."

[member="Anaya Fen"]

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

A soft throaty chuckle passed between Anaya's lips. She drew away from him, just a step, her fingers running down to rest on his chest. She smiled sweetly, a predatory glint in her eyes his only warning before her fingers became alive with energy. The lightning coiled around him, seeking to penetrate every pore on his body with enough energy to make him suffer, but not kill.

She relinquished him from his torment after several moments. "Strike one, Viktor. Never assume your value to anyone. You are, and always will be, disposable. Whatever you think you know about me is dated, I was a teenager when your father and I played our little games. Now, I am a mother, a madwoman and an Empress of my own design. What good is honour to me? Will you bend the knee and swear fealty to an Empress of well, nothing, so far as they can see?"

Her smile widened. "I think not. Think carefully, boy. Your life hangs in the balance here. What value, could you possibly have in these eyes of mine?" She tilted her head. "Your strike number is limited by my entertainment."

[member="Viktor DuSang"]

 

[Viktor DuSang]

His eyes closed as [member="Anaya Fen"]'s touch drifted down to his chest. Pleasure turned to unbridled agony as waves of force lightning shot from her fingertips into him. He tried his best to hold back the scream, but the pain was too much. Tried to stay on both feet, but the pain was too much. He dropped to a knee, his fists clenched. His teeth gritting across each other.

Finally, the assault ended. Fists clenched, buried in the sand. His breathing heavy as he tried his best to recover. Pain gave way to fury, pure and violent. Cold tendrils of the force wrapped around the hilts of his lightdaggers. How he wanted to see their yellow blades spring to life, and pierce the soft tissue of her pretty, red throat. Slowly, he stood, crimson dancing in his irises, but his hilts stayed in their holsters.

"In chess, pawns gain exceptional power when brought to the end of the board." His words were a low growl, the fury coursing through him still. He could feel it, like mercury in his bloodstream. It was heavy, made him stronger. Gave him focus. "I kneel to those who push my piece down the board."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya laughed. "Oh, my dear child, did you not hear me? I do not play chess anymore. I simply watch those who are foolish enough to do so." Her smile was mocking, fully aware of his desire to end her, of the force tendrils that curled about his weapons. It was always rewarding when one was able to slip under someones skin so easily. "I imagine, being your fathers son, and with the title of 'Earl', you are one of these fools."

She waved a hand, dark tendrils of force rose from beneath Viktor, weaving rapidly around him and enveloping him in a flowing cage, a force net. Touching it was unwise, it was more than capable of cutting through flesh and bone should she so desire. For now, she used it to cut him off from the force. "You want me to push you? I can do that. I can push you to the limits of sanity, pain or even pleasure, if I so desire." she began circling the cage she'd enclosed around him.

"But what's in it for me? Besides amusement, of course."

[member="Viktor DuSang"]

 

[Viktor DuSang]

"That's a shame. I hear you were quite good at it. I am one of those that play chess, yes. It exercises the mind. Makes you a cunning strategist."

The cage went up around him and his gaze focused on her. Crimson danced in his irises. She certainly enjoyed playing games. She had already gotten under his skin, now she was starting to grate at him. Within the cage, he could barely feel the force. Like becoming nearly blind. Or barely being able to hear anything. It was unsettling.

"Name your price, Mistress." he said coldly to [member="Anaya Fen"]. "I shall endeavor to fulfill it in full. You and I both know nothing in this life is free."