Let Me Come In..

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

An invitation had arrived to come and learn some rather.. extra-natural abilities. For the most part Chiasa didn't bother with the Force. It was superfluous and unnecessary. Good for parlour tricks, but those who put too much stock into it were useless when it was stripped away. Besides, it made them arrogant, and stupid. Look at how the majority of the Sith Lords and Ladies had treated the Red Ravens at their alliance meeting. It had been slight after slight, and only after needling the Sith into action had anything come of the meeting at all. If that was the result of throwing oneself into the Force then Chiasa simply couldn't be bothered. She had accomplished and intended to continue accomplishing much without.

It could be handy occasionally however. Most notably when one had to deal with other Force users. And she was always looking for that subtle edge. So while swinging about lightsabers and leaping about like a twit did not appeal to her, the more.. mental aspects did.

Besides, it was a good chance to continue playing with her new ally. He was fascinating, and there was something immensely satisfying about playing on equal footing with someone who it was generally accepted could kill you with a look. Pft. As if such things concerned her. There was power and power. Hers was a different sort, but power it was.

All of which combined brought her back to Panatha and the Iron Mountains. Gloomy spire of doom and dread. Black walls, red lighting, guards everywhere.. At least they were all in fighting trim so there was something nice to look at when you were there, plus she hadn't felt the need to dress as conservatively this time, which was always a bonus in her books. As before, the Twi'lek was dropped off and simply headed in, she remembered the steps she'd taken before and assumed since she was actually invited this time, the guard would be expecting her. They could escort or redirect as they'd been instructed. She had no time for mucking about with peons. Or more precisely, she was not inclined to.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Vain Hollow has remained relatively unchanged since Chiasa's last visit several weeks ago, although there was evidence of a scuffle in the throne room emphasized by lightsaber gashes and broken pieces of stone that still littered the otherwise pitch perfect marble floor. Servants were in full force this day as they scuttled about, cleaning up the damage done during the fight, and putting things back into place. Obviously, the fight was not all that long ago, and the scars of battle were still profoundly fresh. However; none cared to elaborate to the Twi'lek what exactly had transpired, in fact none of them even dared to look at her, let alone speak a word to her. The guards, immobile and wielding their unlit saberstaffs, stared her down ominously as she walked through the halls, their sulfuric yellow eyes tracking her every movement, but they did not move from their positions, and once she had gotten out of sight their gaze returned to the empty space before them.

Within the throne room the Emperor was busy consulting with his advisory council, although they were only advisers in name and hardly actually advised the Emperor, who only used their existence as another vessel to exert his totalitarian will over the Empire. At the sight of the Twi'lek guest, the Emperor dismissed his servants with a wave, and the robed Epicanthix nobles quickly departed from the chamber without a sound. Actually, all of the servants previously rebuilding the throne room had suddenly vacated the room once the Emperor had waved his hand, so powerful was his control over them. He rose from his throne, still wearing the battle-scarred armor over his muscular form, and smiled down at his guest.

"Welcome back, my dearest Chiasa. I am so glad you could answer my invitation so swiftly, but I do wish I had more time to clean up my house." His eyes wafted over her rather revealing outfit, and he chuckled slightly at such a gaudy display of her orange flesh. He quickly closed the gap between them in a few short steps, and in no time he was towering above her.

"Are you prepared to delve into the Dark Arts, my dear?"

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

"Only the boring are good housekeepers all the time."

Was the amused response from the Twi'lek. It did make one rather curious, but she certainly wasn't going to ask about it. He was standing before her and not in significantly worse shape than when she'd last seen him, so whatever had happened, he'd obviously won. This was what mattered, if he'd lost he might not have been worth bothering with. If she had to deal with a Sith and all the ego that came attached, and no she did not get the sarcasm or hypocritical-ness of that thought, she was damned well only going to deal with the best.

She'd forgotten how tall he was. You expected Wookiees and the like to tower over you, but there was something about a humanoid being quite that tall that was hard to hold in your mind. You remembered that they were tall, but were still slightly surprised when you were in their presence again and had to either stand back or tilt your head up to make eye contact. Not that she minded. Or at least, she didn't mind now. As long as he remained an ally she was in favour of him being as physically intimidating as possible. If he swung back into a more nebulous relationship to her, then it would vex her. Plus men liked having women look up at them. It was one of those things, the fact that he made it easy meant things were that much easier for her. She didn't think she could control him via seduction as one could with some men, but she'd heard something of his appetite for women, and even met one of his bastards, and she did believe in using every advantage available to her. Of course if someone had actually told her about the circumstances most of the bastards had resulted from, and of all the ones that had never been born.. It was quite possible she might rethink her strategies. But they hadn't, and so she simply preened under his regard.

"Prepared enough, I'm sure."

Was the breezy answer. Was she actually sure? No. She wasn't even entirely certain of the specifics of what he wanted to cover. Besides, how precisely did one prepare? Fast and meditate? Pfft. She would surely figure it out and adapt. She always did. It would be fine.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine laughed, a dark and haunting chortle that wound give any sane individual the willies, and his eyes twinkled with mirth as he cast his gaze once again upon Chiasa. "I highly doubt that, but I digress. The art of altering the minds of others is ancient, first discovered by those Je'daii who delved too deep into the Dark Side of the Force, forging their way through the unknown depths, and blazing new trails for legions of Force Adepts to follow. The first agreed upon record of this power was during the Force Wars, a primordial battle set between the Followers of Ashla, now known as the Light Side, and the Follows of Bogan, now known as the Dark Side. What little writings about that period we could find depicted the Followers of Bogan being defeated by the Followers of Ashla, which led to the establishment of the Jedi Order some twenty-five thousand years ago or so. However; the Followers of Bogan would never truly be defeated, and for eons since the Jedi Order has been the breeding ground for dissidents who would delve too deep into the Dark Side, and eventually that would give birth to the hallowed order of the Sith, of which I am a descendant."

He paced slowly back and forth as he talked in a slow, methodical drone similar to that of someone giving a lecture, but there could be no doubt of the passion lacing each word, each syllable. Hand gestures would be commonplace within his speech, using them to emphasis points, and otherwise add flair to his words.

"I have delved deep into the Dark Arts of the Sith, and have learned many skills, many of which involve interacting with the mind of others. To forcefully tear the information from another's mind, to implant false memories, and to twist and warp the perception of your foes is the way of the Sith. The Jedi would rather pacify the minds of others, but we Sith dominate the minds of all, crushing those that get in our way, and bending those weak enough into our service. For it is the destiny of the strong to lord over the meek, something that has clear evidence in nature, and one that the Sith embrace fully and without hesitation. To go against nature is to reject who you are, and that is the way of the Jedi, the way of ignorance and weakness."

He pointed a finger at Chiasa, "Watch what I am able to do with the Dark Side of the Force, a power that I will teach you, if you are willing to learn." And with that he thrust his will upon Chiasa's mind, like a reinforced battering ram breaking through a wooden gate he forced his way into her mind, dredging up her memories and bringing them to the light, swallowing information like a greedy behemoth. He would do nothing to damage her mind, only rife through her memories like she was an open book.

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

Was Chiasa fully sane? That point could perhaps be up for debate. It was less a case of insanity and more one of delusions that her sheer force of will and personality had the rest of the galaxy playing along with. She firmly believed that she would always win, would always land on her feet, would always come out on top, and thus far it had been so. She listened to the history lesson with apparent interest. In truth she couldn't care less about the Jedi or Sith or Ashla or Bogan, which sounded like a rather bad cold to her. The information might be valuable to someone though, or it could be used to appear more knowledgeable than she was or to sow seeds of doubt in the mind of any Jedi who took offense at her less than moral lifestyle. Besides, listening was the polite thing to do when one was a guest. It was a good chance to get a feel for how [member="Darth Vornskr"] moved and spoke in any case. It would be easier to tell when he was lying, trying to conceal something, or if he was being impersonated if she was more familiar with him.

Practical application was more interesting. False memories, finding information within anothers mind, warping perception.. These were things she could use. Tearing was rather, dramatic sounding, but surely it could be done with a little more finesse if the wielder was adept enough. Of course pacifying minds also sounded useful.. She privately thought it was more a case of the cunning ruling the simple than the strong lording over the weak, but this was likely why she wasn't simple enough to join a cult that had to obey some brooding man sitting about on a chair all day.

Eyes drawn to his finger, Chiasa had been about to reply with her willingness, when suddenly any words were lost as her eyes widened unseeing and she was drawn inside herself like a moth caught in the winds of a hurricane, utterly out of control.

A small orange hand inside a larger, roughened yellow one, adult voices dimmed by the distance of years. She still remembered the gleam of the golden threads woven through the translucent robes of the woman her father was speaking too, she'd never seen anything like them before. She didn't understand, not yet. That would come later. The realization that she'd been abandoned, sold.

Bloody feet, and a crushing sense of defeat. Not good enough. Not graceful enough. Not quick enough. She wouldn't get to eat again tonight. Worse was the shame. She would never be good enough.

A fat leering man. The Matron leaving her in the room with him, his hands on her, her flight, hard earned speed and grace taking her out of his reach, the yelling of the Matron, the raised hand. Anger. Rage. Disgust. Defiance. Pride. She was better than this. Better than all of them. She would not. The couldn't make her.

Heat. Thirst. Blinding light. Freedom.

"Nnnn-"

Still unseeing the Twi'lek took a step back, perfect posture giving way to a slight defensive crouch. She couldn't break free, couldn't fight back. He was everywhere, inside her mind and she couldn't stop him. This wasn't his, this wasn't for him. This wasn't for anyone. Where she came from wasn't anyone's business! The past should stay in the past!

On her hands and knees, scrubbing. Another dead end job that she could barely tolerate. Another small room that ate up almost all of her pay that she couldn't pretend was a decent place to live no matter how often she scrubbed it. Shame that this was where she was. She couldn't see a way out. Couldn't see another path, another job. Refused to go back in defeat. To slink back to the dancehall. Never. She deserved better than this. There had to be away. Hot tears of frustration, shame and impotent rage against the unfairness of the galaxy.

Nervousness, fear but also utter confidence. The newly opened Dragon Palace Casino. Strangers, she'd never seen them, they'd never seen her, but this was an organization undergoing rapid growth. Would they know everyone? She was betting they wouldn't. They were having a meeting. Act like you belonged. Believe it. Believe it and the rest of the galaxy would too. This was her chance, her one chance. This was hers.

This was getting too recent. What if he found something he shouldn't? She almost feared to even consider that, in case the thought summoned such a scene. She didn't know what to do. Was entirely unequipped to deal with this sort of attack.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Ah, there they were. The precious memories she so desperately sought to keep from reaching the light of day, but under the scrutiny of a master such as he there was nothing she could keep secret from him as he rummaged through her mind, unchecked. He dredged up once forgotten memories, of a young Twi'lek being sold into slavery, as was the common occurrence with females of the species, and he watched years of her young life pass before his mind's eye, seeing the hardships she endured and the strength she developed to overcome such trials. It was a vastly stark contrast to Kaine's own upbringing, for he had been born into a noble family that was displaced from their ancestral home on Panatha because of the sorcerous antics of his parents, only to settle down on Thyferra in an attempt to start their own dynasty on the forest world. His parents were unnecessarily cruel to him, pushing him to his absolute limits and then some, punishing him when he fell short of their extremely high expectations. To this day his body still held many of the scars he suffered from his father's fists, or his mother's sorcery.

Still, he dug deeper, moving through the years of her mind like it was a river to be traversed by his will. With each wave came a fresh new cacophony of memories, and he drank them all in like a hungry behemoth, absorbing information like a sponge. It reminded him much of another Twi'lek, but at the very thought of his thoughts turned violent, and that violence imposed itself on Chiasa' mind, and he suddenly cut off his intrusion into her mind, letting her recover from his probing. "You have much pain within you, my child, so much hate... so much despair... These are not things you repress, these are things you control, things you mold into weapons and then unleash them upon those that would oppose you. You could be a powerful Sith under my tutelage... but I fear that is not the path you are destined for, but nonetheless you will become stronger than any in the Ravens..."

"Join me, Chiasa, and I can unlock you inner potential..."

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

It took the Twi'lek a moment to realize he was out. And a moment more to compose herself. Outwardly at least. Inwardly the orange-skinned female was in an absolute rage. As she straightened, he face becoming an impassive mask as it always did when truly deep emotions were affecting her, she seethed. Who was he to force his way in to her own private sanctum? The one place where no one could go, where nothing could touch her and she had absolute control? It was safe to say her personal universe had just shifted slightly to a new and distressing one where things were not as safe or stable as they had once seemed.

At the very least, he had only seen, and even if he'd felt he had not understood, not completely in any case. She was a creature of anger and pride. Shame, pain and despair had been heaped upon her, had shaped and forged her, and she held the memory of them still, but she did not repress them. That was not her anymore. That was who she had been, not who she was. No one had the power to make her feel those things any more. Her gaze fell on the wall. Cold and unforgiving as the deserts night. Let those who were unprepared be frozen to death by ice where they expected fire. My child indeed. Under his tutelage indeed. As if she would allow herself to be placed beneath any man. For a barest fraction of a second, shaken as her control was, disdain and pride showed upon her graceful face before it was blank once more.

As if she was not already stronger in her own way than any individual in the Ravens. The Ravens were hers. Their strength was hers.

"Sitting about sneering at my rivals under a Lord who say we must all hold hands and make daisy chains rather than seeing to our own advancement does not appeal to me, you are correct."

Was that less Diplomatic than usual? No question about it, her usual honeyed purr was clipped and short. Still, once upon a time each Sith had been concerned about the advancement of Self. This new Dark Lord of theirs.. Yes, they were a stronger force in the galaxy under him, but it was the institution not the individual the profited most. Perhaps the Red Ravens were similar, but that was different somehow. They were more of a family come together to advance themselves. Not forced to by some shadowy figure they had to bow down before and cater to the every whim of.

The only whims Chiasa indulged were her own.

"I do believe I had already agreed to a partnership with you last time we met. I am rather interested in whether having pointed out a weakness you have any intention of addressing it or if it was merely a show of Force."

Yellow eyes snapped over to meet Kaines. Chiasa was well and truly vexed. And already coming up with and either discarding or holding onto ideas that might help defend her the next time she was attacked in such a way. She would not be caught so unprepared twice.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The Sith Lord sneered, "You are woefully uninformed on how the Sith existed then, to say such ignorance nonsense. In ancient times the Sith cared only for the advancement of themselves, and thus under a Rule of Might they backstabbed and killed each other endlessly, victims of their own avarice. The Dark Lord Bane recognized this, and by destroying the Brotherhood of Darkness he created a legacy so resilient that the Jedi paled before the might of the Sith under Darth Sidious, and were nearly wiped from the face of the galaxy. However; Sidious too became a victim of his own vanity, of his own power... and he too fell before the Jedi. Darth Krayt knew the truth, so he created an Order of One, where there would be one Order, one Dark Lord, and many minions and servants to carry out his will throughout the galaxy. Despite his own misgivings, his ideals survived long after his death, and now we are the descendants of his genius."

His hand shot out, the Force coming to his beck and call, suddenly ripping Chiasa up from her position, and raising her high in the air. He then began to exert his telekinetic powers over the Twi'lek's body, bending her limbs and fingers at horrendous angles, but never going so far as to break any bone, but rather causing extreme and painful discomfort to the Twi'lek before letting her fall to the ground. "And that is what happens to those who doubt the Dark Lord's wisdom. You will be taught, but I will teach you my way."

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

Chiasa was not impressed with [member="Darth Vornskr"]s little speech. By his own admission even he himself was a servant. A minion. She on the other hand had absolutely no intention of being slotted into such a position. She would have no Masters. Bosses perhaps. Temporarily. And generally far less in charge of her than they thought. Such thoughts and any retorts she may have made however were lost as she was raised into the air.

A cry was lost in her throat as it tightened, as she twisted, writhed, trying to escape the pain, to ease it. It was impossible however, his control was complete and hers was ripped away. Even when she managed to contort enough to ease a muscle or a bone being pushed just to the breaking point he simply pushed a little further, pulled a little more, bore down a little harder. Only once before had she felt pain that began to compare to this. The best that could be said was that there was no crowd. No one watching but him. There was fear yes. All encompassing fear. But this time there was no shame, only rage. Rage and fear warred in the small part of her mind that was not wholly consumed by pain.

When he dropped her finally, after what felt like an eternity but was likely only moments, the Twi'lek was very nearly feral. She fell before him, onto her hands and knees, shoulders hunched and sharp canines exposed as she snarled in silent defiance and fear. Was she crippled? It took a moment longer as she stayed, panting and shaking on the floor, for tortured nerves to stop protesting quite so loudly.

This was not-​

How dare he?

Mind and body​

violated

Kill him.​

I'll learn your lessons son of man. I will learn them and take all the knowledge you think you have and then I will teach you something new. I am no mans servant! No mans plaything!

Her rage was impotent at the moment however. After all, he'd already proven he could batter both her mind and her body into submission with no apparent strain on his side. Her prevailing emotion was fear, which only fed the rage. She was not accustomed to and did not appreciate fear.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"You know nothing, but you soon will. You think you are powerful, but the reality is that you are nothing before the power of the Dark Side. Your entire life has been a lie, a farce, and you were destined for a life of servitude to others. You fought against the twisted hands of fate, but in the end you have not risen any higher than you had since you were a babe, a servant, the play-thing of the universe, and you think me the servant? I willingly joined under the guidance of another because it was the only choice I had, and from it I have learned much and have become more powerful than I could have possibly imagined. The knowledge and understanding I have uncovered would make your mind quiver in it's incompetency, and your entire self of being would collapse. I can guide you on the narrow path to understanding, but I will not deal with an upstart, I will deal with a pupil who understands her place even if I have to break every bone in her body."

He extended his right hand and unleashed a quick torrent of blue Sith Lightning into her quivering body, no doubt sending her muscles into a spasm as the Dark Side coursed through her from his attack. "I can feel your anger, I can taste your fear, do not hold back any longer and give into them! You are on the precipice, but now you must tumble over the edge and plunge into the water below. Let the currents take you, the darkness of the abyss holds all the answers." Another violent discharge of lightning from the Sith Lord's gnarled fingers, the air becoming congealed with the greasy pollution of palpable hatred and the burning stench of ozone. He would push her to her limits and beyond, because he had no use for a beaten dog or a slave, and while he found her ambitions to rise above her past admirable, it was still not enough. She had not yet made the dive that he desired, but he would push her off the cliff by any means necessary.

"Do you fear death, [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]?"

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

It took a few moments before the Twi'lek was even capable of interpreting his words as more than sounds, assaulting her ears, the growls of a predator she wanted nothing more to do of in a den she wanted to escape. When she could understand him however, she rejected his words. Rejected his thoughts. Rejected him.

Destined for a life of servitude? NEVER. Never and never and never again. She would be free, she would shed all chains, reject all ties.
..most ties

a small voice whispered.

No mans servant! No mans plaything!

Wait..

Was he in her head again?

To hell with him who submitted! To hell with him who indentured himself! There was always another way, if you were canny enough, if you were cunning enough, if you were vicious enough! Clearly his imagination was lacking, if this was more than he could imagine and he was still a slave.

She was about to snarl at him, to ask where precisely he thought her place was, when he sent the lightning into her already abused body, tearing into still singing nerves. Her body spasmed as muscles convulsed, a scream cut off as her throat closed. She lay twitching on the floor before him as he spoke, mouth bleeding where she'd bitten off the tip of her tongue, canines stained red, he spoke but she did not hear, and then the lightning came again, twisting her, leaving her in the fetal position on the floor.

There was too much. Too much pain. Senses overloaded. Eyes snapped open, pupils dilated to almost eclipse the iris. Chiasa was a well behaved beast, for the most part. She enjoyed lounging on silks and being fed off silver platters, but at the end of the day, a beast she was. A predator. Outmatched or not, with her sentient mind overloaded, unable to function, the beast came to the forefront.

It did not want to die, but it had no use for such things as fear. With a speed that ought to have been impossible, and was fast for a regular being but likely, slow, slow to one who could tap the force, the Twi'lek was up and going for him.

The Nexu would fight the Rancor, and it would likely lose, die, but it would not lie down and wait for it.

All her weight, little though it was was hurtling at [member="Darth Vornskr"], intent on taking him out at the knees, dropping his too intimidating height down onto the floor were she would be able to reach the areas that could be fatal, unarmed as she was save for tooth and claw. Mouth opened to snarl, but all that was produced was a red mist, tortured vocal cords not up to the task.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

A ghastly chuckle rippled past the Sith Lord's lips as the tortured Twi'lek literally threw herself at him like a wild animal, her mouth brimming with a blood froth from her wounded tongue. Still, he was no fool and was as attentive as ever, and thus he merely raised his right hand as the lightning subsided and created a thick barrier of pure Force energy between himself and the raging woman. Undoubtedly the woman would instantly rebound off of the invisible surface of his shield to land in a heap on the floor from whence she came from, a little battered and dazed, but otherwise unharmed aside from what was inflicted on her beforehand. He kept the shield up as a precaution, and stared down at Chiasa with a wicked smile plastered across his cruel features. "Yes... there it is, the beast underneath has come to the forefront at last. The darkness can now take you in it's bitter embrace... allow me to help."

He reached out with the Force, reaching deep into Chiasa' mind, body, and soul to instill a deep darkness within her being, and then with a grunt of exertion he willed it to mingle with her bestial side. The Dark Side wove it's wicked weave through her body, tainting it with it's touch, infusing into the darker side of her self. Kaine had brought her primal rage to the front, and from that fertile ground he planted the seeds of darkness, and with the proper nurturing he would grow a powerful Sith from her, but only if he was able to make the land obey his teachings. "I now give you the gift of the Dark Side, and one day you shall become stronger than you can possibly imagine, and then none would be able to stand before your might."

Except me.

But he didn't say that part, now did he?

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

The Twi'lek was indeed repelled by the barrier, and while Chiasa would have figured out immediately what was going on, the beast could not, lay half-stunned and wholly thwarted. Limited to snarling silently, blood still dripping from her mouth, up at the man who leered down at her. A threat that could hurt and hurt but that she could not reach to remove. This the best did not know how to deal with, her the first hints of disquiet and fair rippled through its proto-mind.

As [member="Darth Vornskr"] imposed his will and the darkside upon her she curled in on herself, trying to ward out the intrusion, this next and so much worse violation of her being. It was no good, and abused vocal cords gave rise to a tortured howl. It was not painful precisely, as his previous action had been it was just.. an ultimate defilement. The Twi'leks admittedly patchwork aura of lights and darks, loves and hates, her own bizarre morals started to shade decidedly darker under Kaines ministrations. Finally the little light she had was snuffed, and there was nothing but darkness in its wake.

This too, was too much. As rational mind had shut down and left the beast in control, now beast shut down and there was only darkness, to match what was now within her. The Twi'lek went limp on the floor. Defeated.

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

But oh snap, the Twi'lek had a bunch of life sensors and such because she wasn't a total twit, so the folks in the ship that dropped her off knew when stuff started going south. Sending out warning frequencies to the Red Ravens to mobilize the fleet if they didn't respond within a set time, they went back for the orange skinned female.

She was handed over to them all semi-catatonic and just generally not in a good way, and they swiftly beat feet for Ravens space.

Partway there the Twi'lek regained consciousness, locked herself in a cabin and demanded to be brought to where she'd left her own ship rather than back to either of the Casinos. Which they did because quite frankly the woman was rather scary when she wanted to be, and there was something all ominous about her today in particular. It was probably the evil that had been forced down her throat. Odds were good. Not that anyone really knew that!

And then the story continued, in spite of folks harassing other folks and making them not want to tell good stories in favour of playing a game of Risk like just rather boring and uninspired plebeians that no one is impressed with.

Can't stop the story.