Lea Halalela | TSE Dominion of Maridun

[Onrai]

[member="Ahani Zambrano"]

“Ah, but pacification also renders them slothful and subordinate to those with a stronger hand - a stronger hand that can be found elsewhere within the territory of the Sith Empire.” She smiled. “Such a lone dissident is easy to deal with - if he is strong enough to rise above the slur of existence on his world, then perhaps he may be useful to us, with a bit of tinkering.”

The lack of care about territory was, to say the least, surprising. “Without territory, the Sith have nothing to grow in and took over. We become scattered like dust in the wind, each taken individually across the galaxy. I remember when the Republic had us on edge after Krag...” she trailed off for a moment. “Never mind. A discussion about that topic is for later.”

The inquiry and the answer coupled with it answered much. “Ah... I was gone from this place for that period in time. Such would explain a great deal.” She said. In response to the question, she could only smile. “Suffice to say that I am old enough to remember Kaine when he was just a lowly agent under the command of the then-Empress, Ashin Varanin. One of the few who perhaps knows the true story behind him.” She said.

“If I might ask - how much do you believe about the propaganda spewed so virulently by our Empire? Of the claims that Kaine is an all-powerful god who cannot be defeated?”

 

[Ahani Najwa-Zambrano]

“Thankfully we have the strongest hand. Ah!” I wave my free hand and continue leaning on the other palm, shaking my head. “A dissident will perpetually act in their own interest over the whole. They’re useful, but trouble more than not. I’d rather make a public display of their death and disgrace, then take control of their floundering followers, who all seek another hand to feed. One which is not so easy to bite without limits.”

“Yes… dust. Interstellar seedlings spreading like nebulous gas before the addition of pressure creates new stars. I am old, [member="Vanessa Vantai"]. Celebrated my eight hundredth and sixty first birthday not long ago. When one broadens their field of vision, territory is a fluctuation… a set of atmospheric particles increasing and decreasing in the lungs of the State. Only the philosophy remains, double-so when there are those who will themselves to continue when all else is gone.

I spent an entire century commiserating with stellar dust in a star nursery beyond Sabarene. Lingering in non-corporeality, a timeless and welcome presence in the surrounding vault.” I don’t realize when my body started swaying, hair taking its’ own cues on gravity and breeze. These Sith Lords and their quest for planetary power… most will never learn that power is as temporal as a baby’s infant steps.

One must not live an infantile life for long, unless the cradle death of the Galaxy’s battles whisks them away. “Now, now. Humour an old woman. What were you speaking of the Republic? Come now, don’t leave us waiting.”

A broad smile spreads on my face. Yes, this is a much better use of time than waiting for Raya’s report on grass.

“I believe in my husband’s drive toward omniscience enough that when we met, I accepted him as a pupil. During the reign of Palpatine, I was nothing but a scared teenaged Echani raised by my widower father, who wore the Crimson of Palpatine’s Guard. I traversed space, a mercenary to feed my son and my unaffected lover.

Yet, from such beginnings I rose. I claimed my power and the passion of both mother and lover to the cosmos. Am I that terrified teenager running from Palpatine to get my Force Sensitive toddler off Byss before he was taken from me? I was. Who we were and who we are… they’re linked in the same way a tree feeds off the water table. I ascended. I lingered for centuries, both corporeal and incoporeal, travelling from one end of the galaxy to the other in a breath and a prayer. I have seen plague rip the universe to shreds, and planets formed, and planets die. Am I any less?

Godhood comes in two ways, Vantai.

We are born with the seed of it, to grow and blossom when we ascend through our trials, or we reach and claim it in the palm of our hands. To be a god is to be believed. Worshipped. I know my husband. And I know myself. As long as I live, [member="Darth Carnifex"] shall never know the all cloying capture of death. I will tear apart whole quadrants of this universe to return him to his place at my side.”

Propping one knee up, I toss my arm across it, pressing my chin into the knee.

“But that wasn’t what you wanted, dear Vanessa. You wanted me to speak on the propaganda. On my husband’s spiritual machine. Propaganda makes no difference. I care not for its’ politics, such squabbles are beneath me.”

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ahani Zambrano"]

"Such is a valid way of dealing with them." She replied. "They're like a wild animal - put them down or subdue them, and one can reap the rewards of their death or subordination." It was a conclusive answer to the problem of those who opposed the Empire, and to put such assets to use."

"And yet territory remains important." She said. "The Sith goal, since its reformation, has been to gain territorial dominion over the galaxy in order to adequately suborn it to the cause of the Dark Side." If Vanessa was unnerved by the unnatural motions and pathways Ahani's body was taking, she certainly didn't show it. "So at some point you learned of the Dark Side and how to maintain your spirit upon the end of your physical remains. How fortunate, though the lingering within the void of space is somewhat... surprising. I assume the body you have today is not the one you were born with?"

Whether such was the case or not, she was unsure. "The Republic." She said. "At the time I was within the Sith Empire - the one preceding this one - the Republic was our greatest threat. They were located within the core regions. And eventually, they broke us." She said. "They broke us after Kaine was overthrown by that brute Krag, who bashed our military might into oblivion and left me to clean up the ashes of his destruction while the Sith attempted to arise anew in the galactic south, under the knowledge of that silly "Dark Lord." And so I did until I could no longer. The ruins of that Empire still remain, to a degree - I am the sole individual within the Empire who still possesses access to them." Such was a reference to the remains of the original Sith Empire fleet, later the New Order fleet, stored in the Graveyard and waiting for the day to be brought back to service for Vanessa's use.

"So at the crux all one requires in order to reach godhood is to be believed in as a good and worshipped as such, regardless of whether or not one has all the true qualities of a god?" She replied. "Such seems to ignore the three qualities of godhood - a god is omnipotent, with limitless power at his disposal, which Kaine does not possess - his power is limited to the reserves of the Sith Empire and any allies it possesses - even then, only should said allies deign to assist. Kaine may feign omniscience, but such is carefully crafted from his web of confidantes and spies, those who provide him with the ability to seemingly know anything and everything. And Kaine is not omnipresent - he is not physically or spiritually here," she motioned, "nor is he even within all of the Sith Empire at once. He is always at a single point in space and time within any given moment." She replied.

"In short, there are no gods. There is only what we make for ourselves, both in this life and that beyond. even the most powerful Sith to ever have lived - the one known as Vitiate - never achieved even a single of the three tenets of godhood. And he fell to pitfalls, just as all Sith do eventually." She said. "I say this not only as one who has witnessed Kaine fall - I was there the day Krag took the Sith Empire from him while he was in the custody of the Jedi - but as someone who has witnessed him be rendered deceased. I was the one who forged him a new body, though he seems to have lost it in my absence."

She continued to stand, albeit a bit more relaxed. The illusion of a chair would manifest and Vanessa would sit down upon it, being roughly equal in height to Ahani while still allowing her to at least somewhat relax. "The propaganda is dangerous." She said. "When Kaine leaves the Emperorship - whether willingly, whether through the treachery of one of his closer associates, or whether through a non-artificial death - the people will lose faith in him. And when he dies, as all of us in the material realm are deign to do, that loss of faith will lead to those who believe they can arising to take action, seeking faith in new places." She replied. "I for one do not desire that to happen."

 

[Ahani Najwa-Zambrano]

“I’m aware. My husband loves his maps. He’s allowed. I’ll watch the rest.” It’s hard to discern where the line of information grows too thick to penetrate, or too loose. This is a curious one, this [member="Vanessa Vantai"]. I look at my hand, glancing over my body.

“No, Vanessa. I have never experienced death, nor have I lost my body. I require no such caveats to remain among the living.”

I chuckle throatily and tap a finger on my lips.

“Careful, Vanessa. That’s my husband you’re defining, and I happen to love him more than you, this planet, or the entire system other than my darling daughter. Insult him further and you will see how omnipotent House Zambrano can be.” My finger drags down my chin, then points at her chest.

“Your definition is askew. Divinity has myriad function, and no culture will agree to which they are. Kaine is above mortality. He has access to power incarnate, and the passion in him would move stars to tear themselves apart at his feet. Otherwise I never would have accepted his offer to come home. He is constantly growing. And he is not one individual alone. I do not inhabit this one place. Not completely. You may comfort yourself with plays at his mortality, but beyond all of that, my husband has crafted a vision beyond this time.

And I will see it succeed. Are you attempting to inform me of your desire for my husband to be murdered? Treason in front of the Empress-Consort. Tsk, tsk, little minnow. One who speaks of such derision is either a true friend of the State, or its’ witless enemy. Be the latter. I’d love a good bloodletting.”

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ahani Zambrano"]

"He is capable of maintaining dominion over a piece of territory." She replied. "And he is just as equally capable of losing said territory." She answered, before listening to Ahani's explanation as to how her form remained intact. "Quite intriguing how you've been able to survive. Did you pour your essence into a talisman and desiccate your remains? Did you place yourself into some sort of stasis? Are you capable of subsisting off of no food and drink? There are many paths to the immortality you apparently possess, and I'm curious which of those paths you have taken." She said.

The threat made Vanessa smile. "Madame Zambrano, I am in no way insulting Kaine whatsoever. If anything, I'm impressed. To have traveled from a point of failure, led by Jedi with the Dark Side suppressed in him to the capitol in chains, to the place he is at now is quite remarkable. Very few Sith are capable of becoming Emperors or Empresses twice over, and I find it most impressive that he has managed to pull himself up from the lows of defeat at Krag's hands to ruler of a Sith Empire once more, one as grandiose if not moreso than its predecessor. That said, I am willing to, as someone who has known Kaine since he first became a noted agent of the Sith Empire - before your interactions with him ever took place - acknowledge his mortality, the falsehood of his claims to being a god, and that there is a high chance one day he will be overthrown, defeated, or will die at some point."

She continued onwards, in response to the descriptions of his divinity. "All cultures believe that their gods possess three things - omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. Kaine possesses none of these. He is not above mortality - as my having personally revived him from the hands of death has more than showcased - and while he is indeed a very powerful individual, he does not possess the 'unlimited power' omnipotence demands. After all, such would have allowed him to many moons ago eradicate the Jedi like the plague they are upon this galaxy. As well, I must point out that not being omnipresent does not mean you are incapable of being present in multiple locations at once - I myself do such on occasion. Kaine would need to be everywhere - literally everywhere - in order to fulfill such a requirement."

She sighed. "The vision your husband has is for a lasting Zambrano dynasty. I know of that. I have known of that since his initial attempt decades ago. If you believe that I actively desire Kaine's death, you are very much wrong. Kaine provides the strength a leader of the Empire needs. He is a unifying force that allows other elements of the Empire, elements that would not necessarily be willing to work together, to function as the united movement. Barring the remnants of the Jen'ari heretics who will soon burn themselves out, there are no divisions within the Sith. I have told him such. I have also told him that when he ends up leaving the Emperorship - not if, but when - there will be elements within the Empire that will seek to disrupt the unity and stability he has created. I have doubts that whoever his successor is will be able to maintain the same iron fisted level of control over the many conflicting factions of the Sith that he has proven capable of."

She looked out over towards the children, pondering their future. "Such is why I am preparing for when that day comes. I intend to, with my allies and associates, keep the peace within the Empire when chaos arises and end any warlordism that comes from it. Once senseless conflict and waste of lives is terminated, I will gather the heads of the factions and we will determine who will rule as Kaine's successor. With the Silver Jedi and the Outer Rim Coalition breathing down our necks, begging for a moment of weakness to arise so their knife can be twisted within our spine, we run the risk of losing all that we have worked for to a petty power struggle. Again." Her disdain for such internal conflict was very much clear.

 

[Ahani Najwa-Zambrano]

“Territory isn’t the thing! It can be won and lost as breath is inhaled and exhaled in the lungs. Ah, you’re so limiting!” This woman is going to continue thinking of the success of planets as the only success many would follow. But that happens in the young.

“And yet you continue to lambaste him with this idea that he cannot be divine. As if true divinity is the thing at all, are you incapable of seeing the value in the supposition over your tidy little set of rules? Guess what, sweetheart, the divine don’t share in your rules. They’re as fallible as it all. I have not spent eight hundred years courting the Chaos to have some tidy Sithling demean my husband and attempt to push your own agenda, as if you alone are the saviour. You act like some doting aunt who is somewhat passive aggressively proud in a defaming sort of way, the clucking nanny who was forgotten, and wishes now that the child is rich, for a seat at the table.” My snarl bursts out of a frowning mouth. [member="Vanessa Vantai"]’s philosophy is running in circles, attempting to get some… guttural response.

“You can prepare all you like, roll that boulder ever up the hill. It’s useless, not that you would accept my interpretation. Warlords will come and go. As will territory. You pander to this idea that you, with preparation, can actually change the future if my husband were to stumble.

You can’t. All this hope for a pre-emptive cover against the night… you will lose. The ebb and flow of the Galaxy will continue in perpetuity, regardless of your ‘I shall protect the chaotic beings who all strive for power without knowing what true power is. Make your pedantic plans. They won’t save you if that day were to come.

What makes you the harbinger of the potential new rule? What in the Galaxy and the beyond makes you somehow the one person who would not only survive such a calamity, but be listened to with enough authority to see it through? Who are you to waltz up to a man's wife and say you alone have the plan of succession in mind, so don't worry if he's dead? What Sith would put aside their own desires to hearken to your warbling?”

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ahani Zambrano"]

"Tell me then, Madame Zambrano, how do the Sith rule over all of creation in the physical realm?" She asked. "How do we achieve the goals laid down by our predecessors without such a presence here? If you have enlightenment on this, please, do share it. After all, sharing strengthens the Sith as a whole." She explained.

"I have demeaned nothing about Kaine." She replied. "That he has made the Empire what it is today, the twice-Emperor, a feat none have achieved, is truly remarkable beyond all compare. Is it demeaning to say that he is the reason the Empire is intact and not once has anyone seriously attempted an uprising? The 'imperial rebellion' was pathetic, as was the gestation of the Jen'ari heretics. The Sith Empire has not been more unified than it is now, and that is Kaine's doing. But this 'true divinity' you claim - how does it exist? There is no proof any of us have any sort of divinity."

She listened further, hearing Ahani's clash and attempt to demean her goals in question. Once she concluded, she responded.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." She said. "I am only someone who has created a plan to prepare for a certain circumstance that I desire does not happen. And I will put that plan into action only if and when the circumstances that require it occur." She replied. "That said, this is proving to be far more stimulating a conversation than listening to any of my underlings, or the occasional Voracitos conversation. Trust me, some of the things he talks about are pretty disturbing."

 

[Darth Prazutis]

Objective 4 BYOO
Armor & Weapon
In Proximity [member="Ahani Zambrano"], [member="Vanessa Vantai"]

Maridun.

As the Sith Empire came to Maridun it's iron curtain falling over the borders of the empire's ever expanding space, now came the part of being accepted by the fledgeling tribal society. While the Takital was a test of battle, a way to earn respect, the Shadow Hand had another contest in mind for the Amanin Tribes. War. A true war and a true test to earn the respect of the Amanin Elders in what was being called the Aman'ik'tai, or Tribal Purge. The tribes could set loose their prisoners, exiles, psychopaths, dissidents, and even hardened warriors who wished to face the Sith in righteous, lethal combat. The contest was one of close combat fighting, a melee brawl of the chosen warriors picked by the Shadow Hand versus those assembled by the enemy, anyone could've accompanied the Goliath of Panatha into battle, anyone could've stood by his side and at any number. Anyone from a force of Sith, Blackblades, Crownguard or Graug from the Jen'Lazea. Only two hundred and fifty men stood beside him however against thousands.

If only they were men.

The Lord of Lies stood in a set of jagged crimson plate arcane in its design hearkening back to his secretive past a rare few know the truth about. A past that saw him become a son of Maena, that saw him live and dominate for over four centuries. It was during these days that he participated in the worlds legendary Sestercentennial Blood Purge Games, as the First Trident of Udum for the Yog-Suuli Kajidic. A war for wars sake that lasts for five full months, it was a series of massive battles unfolding through the boneyard cities of the Feral Sands honoring a past war in Maenan history, until only two factions remain. War unlike anything the rest of the galaxy has ever seen he survived, thriving through the Champion's Woe and claiming victory in the Great Games of the Blood Purge Champions. He became the Bloodsoaked Desecrator and a true Maenan that day. It was that day he became the Bloodsoaked Desecrator winning it all in the name of the Fathomless One. It was a secret past where the only evidence he carried on him in the legendary armor and weapon of the desecrator. The men beside him were the two hundred and fifty members of the Bloodreaver Legion, an elite force sworn to follow him after his glorious victory. Their legendary ways were renown on Maena and highly secretive, but not to Braxus Zambrano who mastered them under the tutelage of the Armageddon.

After so long it felt good to wear the armor and bear the massive greatsword again. To stand beside brothers and sisters of the Bloodreaver Legion in one of the very first times the legion left Maena. It was their sworn duty to obey and when the Bloodsoaked Desecrator called for them, they answered. They stood together on the savannah side by side with Ya'zid-rah the Undying, their first reunion in centuries. It was at his side they began to speak in a foul guttural tongue that was horrifying to hear, a Maenan tongue:

"Wla aeuo kloto darsuort?"(Who are these mongrels?)

"Daot 'k daekkou?"(Does it matter?)

"Na 'k baotr'k. Tlov'rr aerr b'o uosaeubrott"(No it doesn't. They'll all die regardless)

"Tlov raax voaex"(They look weak)

"Tlaek't dokaeito klov aeuo voaex"(That's because they are weak)

"Mauo tagk oaetkourout, klo traeislkou v'rr do srau'ait duaklout"(More soft easterners, the slaughter will be glorious brothers)

"Slav klod vlaek ae kuio tkuorskl 't dv duaklout, botkuav klod aerr"(Show them what a true strength is my brothers, destroy them all)

A horn, a signal at the events beginning. It elicited a roar, a collective guttural cheer at the battles start. A boundary set ensured those who wanted to watch could do so, an outside glance made it appear like the Sith Lord was hopelessly outnumbered by the enemy, yet he and his two hundred and fifty men charged into battle anyways. The armor whispered its bloodthirst, its sinister voice creeping into the mind of the one who starved it for so long. The plate receeded revealing his bare exposed chest to the enemy, it wanted him to be hit, to be cut, stabbed, hacked so it could taste the blood that spashed. A punishment for neglecting it for so long, it was a whisper only those given the crimson kiss of Zhal'axar could truly hear. It was at the very collision point that the true carnage started, when the Dark Titan smashed into the enemy with the force of a hurricane. He brought the massive blade down and in one swing shattered his opponents blade and cleaved him in two, but that wasn't enough. The Destroyer brought the blade down again and again in a great spray of blood and gore.

It only made things worse.

The spill of blood onto his body amplified his adrenaline, invigorating his stamina and increasing his strength with each spray, with each splash his senses were sharpened. All around him became a charnel pit, a meat grinder that the enemy ran right through. Bystanders watched in amazement as the Bloodreaver Legionnaires screeched, howled, roared and bellowed. The legion made the slow transformation from men into howling, bloodthirsty demons the more blood that flowed. They looked on in amazement as legionnaires were stabbed again, and again, and again, as they were slashed half a dozen times without so much as growling in pain. The sprays of their enemies blood sealed up the wounds that managed to pierce their armor, which so often receeded to allow blows through just to sate itself on the gore. This event, this form of battle was right in the wheelhouse of the legendary legion, it was where they were meant to be. The people of Maridun wanted to test them so the Shadow Hand brought a level of carnage only a Maenan could afford to them. In the thick of it all he stood bringing down a massive greatsword his eyes taking on a crimson sheen, a crimson blood rage as he howled like a towering nightmare atop a pile of the dead and dying.

 

[Ahani Najwa-Zambrano]

“… euuch.” My voice comes out as one big huff, shoulders deflating as my right hand plasters onto my forehead, dragging down my pale, freckled face. Another gargantuan sigh and I roll my eyes, taking in this [member="Vanessa Vantai"] with an apathy bordering on languor. “This is what Raya calls ‘Mama’s Teachables’. Scootch, scootch young one.”

I sit crosslegged as my hands flop between my knees, waiting for the Sith Lady before me to at least appear interested.

“Are you ready?” Licking my lips, and settling my shoulders, I prepare for what will be the lesson of her life. Yeah, my ego is vast. I know it. “Stop… struggling.”

Punctuated with my hands in the air in front of me, I smile and nod.

“Stop it. Stop struggling to make people understand your view as the one and only. Don’t focus on changing their hearts and minds, the more you do the more mortals buckle under it. They love their autonomy and free choice, so let them. All we have to do is create the environment which will naturally build the despondency we desire, and let them come to the path of power and anger themselves. Look! Look at the Galaxy we have right now. Jedi nuking hospitals, using Wall of Light to erase souls from existence, Masters of the supposed Light making plans to wipe out entire families down to the last bit of genetic material… the Galaxy is already in its’ own handbasket. See what happened with the Mandalorians.

The more my husband and you lot struggled to gain their allegiance, the more they fought back with an adolescent ‘you don’t own me! snap snap’. But, when we let them discover the space around them for what it was, the entire Empire turned its’ head and saw the truth of it. Although we desecrate millions and enslave many more, there is a comfort in the friendship. A fealty and trust which you, yourself helped build. If you lot kept nattering at them ‘come join us, we have cookies’, the Mandalorians would have thrust up the middle fingers on their crushgaunts and fired at your sails just to prove they weren’t puppets.

So, you want the Galaxy to turn Sith. To exalt our ways. Forget the hearts and minds. Forget one on one conversions. Plunge the Galaxy into the instigating moments of war, want for many, plenty for the loyal few, and watch the rats wage their battles. When we’re the power with everything together, and our walls high against the tide, as we’ve already seen, even the Jedi will act like us in their pathetic corners.”

Remaining cross-legged, I smack my lips and stare at her, as she speaks of the positives to my ‘but when he’s dead I’ll take care of it’ husband.

“Look at it this way. To a mortal with a ninety year lifespan and no sense of the Force, he is a god. We all are, who possess length of time and presence of power. So what if to Ashin Varanin he’s the little cocky boy who could. Then did. That belief in a higher power is enough of a succour to the masses that it’s worth putting value one. And I for one, am proud of my godling husband. A couple centuries and maybe he’ll catch up.” Smirking altogether smugly, I flourish a hand out into the ether around me, pulling out a tray with some tea. One for me, one for Vanessa, and a cup for Raya, when she comes from her lesson.

“Ooo! Braxus made it! Oh, goody I think he’s going to put on a show.” There he was, [member="Darth Prazutis"] within view of my and Vanessa’s spot. A legion of forces I barely recognize around him, so small a number my inner tactician can only claim the strategy so far.

Either the legion is a bunch of pansy mooks, and Braxus is somehow lost the intelligence I know him for, or we’re about to see thousands slaughtered by warriors of… oh! Battle’s started!

….

…

Yyyyyyyyyep! The red legion with Braxus are fierce.

“Ooohohohohohohhhhh that looks like fun… mmh! Look at that.”

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ahani Zambrano"] [member="Darth Prazutis"]

"Young one?" Vanessa sighed. The chastising of one who she privately felt was far too arrogant for her own good, infused with even greater levels of egotism by her union with Kaine. She would sit and listen to Ahani's continued explanation with occasional interruption. As she spoke of the Mandalorians, Vanessa interjected.

"The Mandalorians are further allies of ours because we have actively, even in a paltry manner, worked to assist them in their endeavours and conflicts. I for one certainly appreciate assisting the Mandalorians as it allows them to feel as through they have Sith support - not to mention makes them more eager to return any favors. I have at the least attempted to, with regards to the personal forces I have accrued, encouraged them to be loyal through providing them with assistance and the resources necessary to fulfill what is needed. There's a reason most of the Dark Troopers are Imperial veterans after all."

The second response would come after she said she was proud of her godling husband. "So... you're saying we should continue to foster such a delusion? A delusion that, if one day shattered through the death of their 'god,' would have repercussions when the faithful whose deity has been extinguished turn to whatever can possibly give them faith? That's asking for trouble." She watched as the tea tray was pulled from the void - her eyebrow raised, though she recognized the trick of pocket dimensions, and graciously accepted the tea. "Thank you, Madame Zambrano. I appreciate it." She would take a sip of the tea - if it was poisoned, she would detoxify herself as needed, but she doubted the Empress-Consort would have been prepared for that. "This is quite good."

Vanessa watched in relative silence before raising an eyebrow at its conclusion. "Braxus seems a bit... A bit more violent than the last time we've met." She said. "Speaking of which..."

 

[Argir Granic]

Smoke choked the halls as Agent Granic moved from room to room, inspecting his detail's handiwork as he did. The operation had gone off rather successfully, with only one of his own having to be escorted away from the fighting due to injury. Their superior training had allowed the Saaraishash agents to swiftly and efficiently remove the opposition and secure the structure floor by floor before the enemy knew what had truly hit them. Now, in what was once a decadent audience hall lined with exotic furs and silk, the Warlord and his top lieutenants knelt defeated before the banner of the Sith Empire.

As was protocol, Granic was the last to enter. His rank as leader of this excursion demanded that he ensure that the entire perimeter and interior of the building was secured by his own men before he could mete out the Emperor's Justice on their true foes. His helmet had been removed, revealing the sharp angular profile of his Karkarodon visage. Eye like melted gold peered down at his captives, a Hutt, two Amani, and three Weequay. A typical assortment that was to be expected of a Hutt's retinue, although the appearance of high-ranking Amani could only be chalked up to their particular location.

"You're a long way from Point Nadir, Cibesh Anjiliac."

The Hutt turned its massive head up to look at the Karkarodon, "Haku baua doth bu fwanna'ta wei see wa fwanna'ta wei bai woy? «What else is the fourth son of a fourth son to do?»" His accent was rough, thick, and was peppered with flavors of Amanese. "Jee hatkocanh tanee catau Point Nadir, peee baua bai bolla um peee mevag woiay bu koukece an bu wahke? «I would never possess Point Nadir, where else to go but where fortune favored the bold and the strong?»"

Argir was unsympathetic, "Maridun is no longer your playground, Hutt. Be thankful that our Lord Emperor has seen wisdom is allying himself with the Hutt Grand Council, otherwise we would have been commanded to execute you along with your goons rather than ransom you back to your father."

Cibesh bobbed his head in pleasure, "Mee Lorda Kacmaheatkha doth mala an cuee daniauee, Dobra sonpace che bo pacmoka-ala. «Your Lord Emperor is wise and most benevolent, I am grateful for his mercy.»"

"But your lieutenants will not be so fortunate, open fire."

If a Hutt could grimace, Cibesh's scrunched face would be telling. Be to his better judgment the Hutt remained silent, if not solemn, as Argir's men opened fire on the aliens around him.

 

[Ahani Najwa-Zambrano]

“Once you reach eight hundred, I’ll call you old.” I point at her, before continuing on. From the way her body is clamming up, it’s clear enough that my words are bothering the Sith Lady. Good. Let them bother her.

“The Mandalorians needed to figure their beskar’gam out for themselves. You might’ve reminded them that the Sith were friendly, but you didn’t waltz them goose-stepping through the door.” Best check up on [member="Vanessa Vantai"]'s involvement with the Mandalorians. It would be worth knowing from a tactical point of view.

“Gods die. It’s in tons of religions. Gods die and are reborn. On Tantiss 3, the God of the Sun dies every evening and is reborn with the dawn. On Karlob the Goddess of Harvests is ritually murdered every Autumnal equinox and reborn at the onset of spring. If we keep ahead of any death knells and craft the correct narrative, any ‘death’, and I say that knowing its’ impermanence, will become part of his divine mystique.

What is more godly than conquering death… again? No mortal can. I agree death does come for us all, but so does rebirth. Life, Vanessa. Even for a Sith, for those with true knowledge, life is the most important thing.”

I smirk and settle in with my tea, turning to view the battle of bloody horror from [member="Darth Prazutis"]. “Atrisian. I served as a High Inquisitor on Atrisia for a while, it was a wonderful place for tea. Fashion was shebs, but the tea was worth not nuking the planet.”

The battle before us is a confounding orgy of violence. My eyebrow raises, and I fight a smirk.

“Raya! Come watch Uncle Braxus destroy the unworthy!” I call my daughter over, and she runs from the group of youths learning from the locals. She needn’t speak, our Echani body language is enough to see her excitement, as she plops down in my lap and takes the drink I offer. I slide my hand over her hair to tidy it, hugging her with one arm as I sit my daughter better on my lap.

“Oooo! They have swords!” Raya yelps, almost spilling her drink. “Oh bother, gah! Not on my clothes, juice!”

“Easy, child. Calm your steps and you will succeed.” A chuckle breaks from my lips and I kiss her head. “Even in drinking juice.”

Her silver eyes shine up at me, the mirror of my own. Mothers and their daughters…

“Yes, I do believe he’s gotten more visceral again. About time, I’d think! He’s gotten a lot more protective in the recent years, probably little Vigdis, his youngest. She always needs so much care. Good to see him letting off steam.”

“Mama? What do you call what Uncle Braxus is doing right now?” Raya asked, sipping her juice with a slurp.

“A bloodbath, Raya. Blood-bath.”

“Aaaaooooohhhhhh.”

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ahani Zambrano"] [member="Darth Prazutis"]

The clamming up in question was replaced by frustration. "Where's Val'Ryss Zankarr when you need her..." She muttered softly under her breath. The age measuring contest was admittedly a bit frustrating, though the shift to the Mandalorians was intriguing.

"The Mandalorians have proven to be suitable allies to the Sith as of this Empire. Mutual cooperation has allowed for their assistance to our battles and our assistance to theirs to forge a strong union - one which benefits us both. Ignoring Kaine Australis, the troublemaker he is, most appear to be more than willing to support the Sith cause, particularly against those Silver Jedi scum. I still owe them payback for the Sith lives they cost us at the last skirmish."

Elaboration on Ahani's views regarding godhood ultimately made Vanessa laugh. "If conquering death again is the most godly thing one can do, then I've been divine for decades. Do you know how many times I've been shot, stabbed, irradiated, roasted, dissected, eaten, and otherwise suffered a myriad of otherwise terrible and horrific deaths? And I've come back from each. Thankfully the last one was a while ago - one of my dearest associates, Silara Vantai, gave up a part of herself to grant me this body with the condition that I not lose it, lest she come to seek revenge. Evidently she is no longer amongst the living, but out of respect for her, I have kept this form since that time, preserving it with the power of the Dark Side." Of course, she had no clue as to [member="Darth Vitium"] returning to the world of the living - such knowledge would prove quite shocking.

Vanessa would take another sip of tea. "I always found the culture of Atrisia too... sharp for my tastes. Not to mention the last time I was nearby, I believe the genetic abomination known as Shinju Ayasha had a presence there at that point. A true failure of our alchemic arts was she... Never again will such a hybrid be made."

As Raya came over and sat down in the lap of Ahani, Vanessa smiled. Other people's kids reminded her of the fact that she had wasted most of her earlier life chasing after sensation and pleasure when she should have instead considered pursuing the construction of a family. "Aw... she's adorable." Vanessa smiled. "What's your daughter's name?"

The bloodbath was continuing as she thought for a moment. "Braxus has a daughter? I'm admittedly surprised... It seems he at least has softened a bit for her sake."

 

[Ahani Najwa-Zambrano]

“Ooohh you needn’t worry about Australis being a good boy, since I turned his cerebral cortex into butter. He recognized what awaited him if he continued being obtuse. I assure you. Only time in his life, he was carried away screaming from a battle by his own barely surviving men.” Csilla. That danged ice planet was worth the trouble of losing Myrcella if only for the opportunity to shift the raging thorn of Australis from my husband’s side. “I broke him. Just wait, any day now he’ll come to the Sith’s door with gifts.”

My shoulders wiggle, pleased in themselves that Myrcella is gone. One less wife to steal Kaine’s attention… not that I won’t outlive the most of them, patience is my longest game now that my mind remains my own.

“Good sweet grizzly grief… have you ever stopped to consider why your lives ended in gigantic dumpster fires?” I raise an eyebrow and purse my lips. If [member="Vanessa Vantai"] indeed died so many times, there must have been a single root cause threading through all the eviscerations. “… telling women their husbands aren’t special, mayhap? Might I suggest an internal diagnostic to discover why you keep being shoved into a fatal meat grinder? Or are you so overwhelmingly unlucky you trip into the Nexu’s maw?”

Meant as half-joke, half-truth, I can’t help but shake my head. Poor thing. Not that I could speak to living on the straight and narrow, my blubbering insanity had me all across the universe for hundreds of years. There the red mist lingers, there further off. A tactician feels the thrall of a battle, edging through its’ stratagems to discover the shift in control. While numbers are against the Legion with Braxus, numbers are limiting things.

The more troops one has, the less percentage can be utilized in a confined space. While a swarm maneuver could create a sense of attrition in the Shadow Hand’s Legion, it does demonstrate a certain amount of panic to throw stones at dragons and expect them to cower.

“Don’t know if soft is the thing. Strikes me as the sort of man who will put a harder face on life to keep his daughter in the upward angle, if you catch.” I finish my tea and huck the cup behind me, where it disappears before it hits the ground. Both arms hug my daughter, who giggles and snuggles her back into my torso, tiny face looking up at mine. “Children are pulsars in a stellar nursery… pressure casks which distill everything a parent is and can be, until the ugly and profane make merry with love. Vigdis is a sweet thing. Worships his expectations for her like a loyal priestess, and froths at the mouth to do her homework… something I wish you’d catch from your cousin, Raya… Gee. These locals don’t have a single chance. Not one… I’m guessing this’ll ensure the local government sees the value of pleasing our Empire, instead of ticking us off. Don’t you?

Oh, Raya. Her name is Raya. And yeah, the Atrisians could be repressed dorks if they chose. But the beverages are good. Music made me think of castrated geese squawking with a bill half full of scorched cats, though.”

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ahani Zambrano"]

"Intriguing." She said. "If such is true, then I appreciate your removal of the one damaged cog preventing the fluid functioning of the Imperial and Mandalorian machines in synergy." She said. In response to Ahani's insults, she laughed. "I was a foolish albeit skilled youth, one waylaid by my own initial ambition combined with treachery from those I at the time considered to be allies. The last death I experienced occurred decades ago and I have not so much received a scar in the time between then and now. That said - you've never experienced death - have never revived yourself from the somber fate of drifting aimlessly within the galaxy as a wandering spirit, have you? At least I know with certainty that I can survive an experience like that and arise again as needed. I can't say the same on your end." She took another sip of the tea.

"Vigdis sounds absolutely precious. As precious as Raya herself." She said, ignoring the last comment about Atrisia. At least they could agree on the distastefulness of the people there. "Hi, Raya." She said to the Echani's daughter. "Have you been having a good day?"

 

[Amaya Cardei]

​

As night took hold across the land, and the drums continued - followed by the ritulalistic hums of the night and the haunting chants. if the Amanin were looking to weed out the weaker elements of the Sith, then they were surely off to a good start. Illusionary magics coupled with the use of more arachic smoke and fire techniques would send those weaker than their bretheren scurrying to the back of the battle. Meanwhile long and foreboding hands gripped the spears with their slender fingers. The mental glinted in the light of the moon just enough for a skilled warrior to move. The rate at which the spears moved could catch them offguard, the lights of the Siths' blades brought illumination the darkened field. Their glows often moving just past that of an Amanin. The Amanin fought as a single unit it seemed, their spears moving in a current as the wind coursed through the blades of grass. A rush of air and then the sickening sound of the spears as they either clashed aganist a weapon or found purchase within their enemies.

If the SIth were looking to prove their worthiness, they were doing well - but they would have to do more. The Amanin were a proud people and would not yield to anything less than perfection in battle.

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

Blood.

It flowed like a thunderstorm's volume of rain with each passing moment. For some unknown reason to the natives the Bloodreaver Legion's strikes hit harder, hemorrhaged at an even more alarming rate. Every spray of the enemy's blood was put to use healing wounds, reinvigorating stamina, adrenaline, and magnifying their strength as it stacked over and over again. It wasn't enough to simply kill them no that would've been easy, most of the beings who should've been stronger died in the first strike or two. It was the six, eight that followed which turned men into piles of spilt meat and empty bloodless sacks on the ground. For such gifts there was an unbelievable amount of martial skill in each man, and each legionnaire operated with the others as one cohesive unit despite their rage. But the longer battle raged around them the longer that voices of men turned into the voices of monsters, howling demons that bellowed and shrieked through the night.

Their armor harder than mandalorian iron was alive and it craved more and more blood. It pushed and pulled, opening holes to allow the Bloodreavers to be wounded and quickly sealing after, it pulled against their limbs demanding more visceral displays of violence. No amount of carnage was enough to placate the starving entity that gradually, slowly took over in the heat of battle. But unlike the rest of his brethren the Lord of Lies armor and weaponry were special even among the legion. The Bloodsoaked Desecrator's was forged from the extracted iron of everyone who fell during the Blood Purge, Walk of Champions, and the gladiatorial games that followed. The Bloodreaver Arts were shrouded in secrecy on Maena and it took thirty long years, thirty years of pure agony unlike anything the known galaxy thought was possible to develop such skill. Ya'zid-rah did things, horrific things that were so despicable they could make others vomit uncontrollably just at the sheer mentioning of them. It bonded him to his sworn legion in a way only a soldier could understand. One hidden truth about the Shadow Hand.

He was Panathan born, but Maenan bred.

The seas of enemies were so vastly outclassed by a smaller force they knew nothing about, no matter their coordination, precision, superior size they were inferior in virtually every way to the Bloodreaver Legion and its leader. Darth Prazutis looked like some distant god of war covered from head to toe in the waters of life, atop a pile of the slain and broken only to leap down in a spray of gore and send more souls screaming into the void. A part of him was well aware of [member="Ahani Zambrano"] who lurked in the wings, but it was pushed to the distant back of his mind in favor of a singular focus on the scene around him.

 

[Ahani Najwa-Zambrano]

“Oooooh, it was a bit of fun, really.” I pick at my nails, Raya still cuddled up in my lap watching [member="Darth Prazutis"]’ bloodbath. “Can’t fault a man for trying to save his wife and kids from what he believed was a terrible fate. All I did was show him kinetically and with much mental truth, what the end of his action’s road looked like. Oh, and I fethed his mind. I fethed it within an inch of his life and immortal soul. I fethed it so hard he was probably peeing spinal fluid for weeks.”

A tidy grin and I scan out to see Praz having a marvellous and bloody time. What a show!

“Mhhfh! Next time, Raya my love. Next time I’ll take you out there to help Mama slaughter, okay my darling?” Raya grins up at me, hugging my arms around her waist and kicking her feet out in a waggle. I prop my chin on her silver hair, glad in all the genetic mix up of being a half-breed she still got my appearance. A proper daughter of Eshan.

“The eccentricities and wonders of my life are boundless. You’re welcome to think what you like. They don’t change the fact I am utterly confident in myself and my husband.” The great swathes of violence happening not two hundred metres from us have begun to twitch the smell in the wind. I take in a whiff, glad for its’ coming and passing, and watch on.

“Precious… yes, that might as well be the word. She plays with Raya and Khabir quite a bit.” I watch Raya look up at [member="Vanessa Vantai"], and give a smile and nod.

“Raya, look at how Uncle works the emotions of the crowding soldiers. He remains untouched by their visceral attempts at attack, but even piled atop their dead, he controls them all. That’s no force power, little one. It’s simply a commander’s confidence and tactic… and gracious it’s making me want to throw in that battle.”

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ahani Zambrano"] [member="Darth Prazutis"]

"The irony being the only one who would be experiencing a terrible fate was him." She said. "He was the one proving to be a thorn in our side, not Yasha or their children. I still remember when he attempted to force a conflict between the Empire and the Mandalorians by flying half his clan's fleet between us and the Galactic Alliance, then tried to get on board my ship. That was a fun time to explain things." She sighed. If Kaine truly was no longer a troublemaker, that was for all intents and purposes a good thing. For all the nonsense she had put up with dealing with him and for all the work she had put in helping their allies, perhaps she could get something out of it.

Perhaps she could get an apprentice.

The lack of care was expected. Vanessa shrugged in response before looking over at Raya. "Good to know. It's important the youth receive a childhood that can provide them with that gives them many fond and happy memories down the line." Vanessa's own experience with this was sadly minimal, but she had at least tried to help give Alraune a good life before the accident that placed her into a coma.

"This is turning out to be a surprisingly productive and relationship-building conversation."

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

​

A mousy creature gnawed on the carefully scavenged nut of a tree. It was food for a day, if not days, and the beast voraciously scraped its exterior with its sharpened teeth.

With a flurry of movement, tufts of fur and a spray of red scattered as the nut was knocked aside. A fwit tore ravenously into the small mouse, tearing its already minute body into shreds before gulping them down.

No sooner had the fwit swallowed the mouse than did a blast of red turn the white-furred beast into a pile of ash scattering in the wind.

Joycelyn Zambrano spun her blaster on her finger before slipping it down into its holster. Her mouth contorted in boredom as she watched the smoke and ash scatter. Fwits were pests at best, but her trackers had thus far failed to show her any more prestigious prey.

They had seen the tracks of a mastiff phalone, but lost it as it crossed the tracks of a corinathoth herd. Furthermore, without ready prey, even the charnoqs were reluctant to show more than their snouts. Maridun was supposed to be full of good game, but the locals seemed unwilling or incompetent in showing her to them, and bickered about which way the herd had gone. It was grating Joycelyn's nerves.

She had blown off diplomatic pursuits for this chance at hunting the beasts of Maridun and she would get her trophy, one beast or another.