Like Hell, burning silently strong (Spencer et Ashin)

[Avicus DuSang]

Ziost

Deep within the heart of the Sith Temple, the Dark God roamed. Olive fingers ran over stone walls and ancient statues. It was here that he was trained. It was here that he brought many apprentices.

And it was here he would train again.

Pulling out a vial of spice, he poured some of the drug out on the top of his hand. In a quick motion, the drug was ingested through his nostril. The rest of the powder on his hand was rubbed onto his teeth.

As his face began to grow numb, he fell back onto a wall. Slinking down to the floor, he let out a relieved sigh. The six lightsabers on his belt clicked together as he moved around on the floor. Fingertips moving to his chest.

Slowly, he rose back to his feet. Stretching out, yellow eyes closed. It was such a beautiful feeling. Being high was similar to taking a life, or a gorgeous woman.

"I missed you, baby." he whispered to the planet.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Effete, brash, presumptuous effrontery -- the raison d'etre of Avicus DuSang, or so they said. Avicus's apprentices had mingled with Ashin's over the years, sometimes as allies and sometimes as enemies. The current administration could bear to offer professional courtesy to a previous Emperor, though Avicus had never ruled the entirety of this Empire. Its territory had doubled in the months since Ashin deposed Moridin, and Moridin himself had been expansionist.

And for all those reasons, Ziost had been nearly forgotten. The bulk of Sith training, in this day and age, took place on Dromund Kaas or Korriban, and of course Velok took his many students to Rhen Var and Toola. Now Ziost was the throne world of Kiara Alanna Decoix.

Yes. That Decoix. But Ashin was Empress. If she wanted to meet DuSang on Ziost, she met DuSang on Ziost.

Her ice-blue eyes, artifacts of alchemy and corruption and poison, blinked slowly as she walked down the old temple's hall and took in the sight. "Welcome to my Empire," she said, gesturing at the six lightsabres on his belt. "Are we, perhaps, overprepared?"

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer had no idea who this man was that they were meeting. It was someone that wished to meet Ashin and of course, she would follow in tow. Through the entire voyage to Ziost, she did a bit of research of the planet and of its current throne ruler. Though the research didn’t take as long as she had expected she decided to catch up on her favorite holonet comic “Wayward Padawan”. Leaving the ship, she quickly followed behind Ashin keeping step, but following in her place behind the woman.

The Empath admired the temple and could feel the dark energy surrounding it. As much as she hated to admit it, the place made her feel stronger in a way. It wasn’t like when she was around a light aura, here she felt sickened with the power. Glancing up towards the man that Ashin had welcomed, she blinked and eyed the sabers. Spencer became on edge, he came fully equipped. Though feeding off of Ashin she remained calm to a point.

Removing her hood from her head, Spencer allowed her blonde hair to fall against her shoulders. She decided not to wear her mask today. The Alias wasn’t needed as much anymore, she was fully capable of protecting herself if a bounty hunter decided to try and collect. Her arms crossed her slender frame as she looked towards the man in his ecstasy.

“He’s…high?”

 

[Avicus DuSang]

B The Empress fell into his gaze first, yellow eyes drinking her in. In a fluid motion, he dropped to one knee. His head bowed, yellow eyes closed. "And such a beautiful Empire she is." he responded.

Avicus, like Ziost, had been mostly forgotten within the Empire. The former Emperor had his own capital to Taris. If Coruscant was under his control, that would've been his choice of capital.

It was his homeworld, afterall.

The Empress held his respect without question. In addition to expanding the Empire to nearly two thirds of the Galaxy, she was the grandchild of Sky Kerberos. The offspring of his former mentor cast quite a shadow of her own.

Both women had eyes on his six lightsabers, the young knight becoming a bit uneasy. "Over-prepared? These are the weapons I carry into battle, Your Majesty." Olive fingers running over one of his hilts. A gift from Sky Kerberos.

The young knight dropped her hood, and he watched her for a moment. "Actually, I'm Darth Sennou. But most people know me as Avicus DuSang du Coruscant. And, I'm high like a fucking kite."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer tightened her arms against her chest; it seemed her assumptions were correct about the master before them. Her lips pressed together she hadn’t touched any drug since that night at the bar though that was an experience she would never forget. She stood slightly uncomfortable that the man carrying six lightsabers was higher than any starship could go. Though he had to have some importance to them or Ashin and she wouldn’t have come out.

“That’s still a lot for sabers. The most I’ve ever seen anyone carry was two. Though it’s nice to meet you Mr. DuSang. My name is Spencer Jacobs. I’m the Empress’ First Apprentice.”

Her arms fell from in front of her chest as she did her best to relax. The political arena wasn’t her forte, but she was slowly getting better at it with Ashin guiding her. Running her fingers through her blonde hair, she extended her hand as she moved slightly closer. She smiled the best she could in these circumstances and did her best to remain pleasant.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"And I'm Ashin Cardé Leafghost Varanin, Empress Desmius the First. A pleasure.

"So. Telekinetic lightsabre combat, and jar'kai. I'll be taking an observatory role here; instruct."

OOC/ No need to wait for me to poast. Just assume I can see everything.

 

[Avicus DuSang]

"That would be because most can only ever use two at a time." Olive fingers wrapped around her hand as the lightest kiss was placed upon her knuckles. True, he was under the effects of a drug. But, he was still a gentleman.

"A pleasure, Ms. Jacobs. But, please call me Avicus. We're here to make you a more effective killer, not the latest craze at the ball. Walk with me." His fingers released her hand as gently as they gripped. Putting one hand behind his back, the other ran along stone walls as he walked.

His mind drifted back to Darth Umbra, the man who trained him. Most of that training took place in or near this building. And when Umbra died, a tomb was built on Ziost where he was laid to rest. Like Ziost, Umbra and his tomb had long been forgotten.

But for those who remember...

As they stepped outside, the cold embrace of the old Sith Capital wrapped around him. His hand moved to his chest, eyes closing. He began to sway back and forth, as if holding a lover. A single tear rolled down his cheek.

Ziost was home. From the moment he stepped foot on her soil, she welcomed him with open arms. He had never known that before. Not even on Coruscant. He had to claw his way up the nobility to where he sat in the House of Lords.

Wiping his cheek, his attention turned back to Spencer. The green hilts of his two primary blades floated from his belt as fingertips ran along the cold metal. "What do you know about Jar'Kai?"

The Empress had told him to instruct, afterall.

((Because you CAN see everything. You're a witch, sent from the time of witches! ))

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer gave the Master an awkward smile as he kissed her hand. She didn’t know what to think of the man, he was something else. As he asked for her to walk, she looked back at Ashin with at for feth sake help me look. Of course though, Ashin wanted the man to teach her something and she had to go off with him. As they walked she tried her best to remain calm and relaxed, he was here for a reason and she could sense some of his power. Looking up, she raised an eyebrow as he shed a tear.

Finally after his homecoming memories Avicus returned his attention towards her. Spencer pulled up her blonde hair into a ponytail as they continued to walk. She had heard of the technique before, she had also seen it only a few times before that. Spencer had done her research on the Master and spoke softly to him while her arms fell at her sides.

“It’s a technique that utilizes dual blades, Master Avicus. If my education proves me correct Exar Kun was a Niman practitioner, which Niman is an also known name of the Jar’kai style.”

Her eyes locked onto him as she spoke, she trusted her sources along with her lessons from other Masters.

“I have an understanding of what it is, but I’ve learned Shii-Cho from my Master.”

 

[Avicus DuSang]

"Jar'Kai, like all forms of the blade, is poetry. You can learn the techniques, but unless the movements come from the soul, then it's just a forgery. I will teach you, but you must make my lessons your own or they'll fail you."

He shot backwards, green hilts flying to his hands. The white lava blades springing to life with a pop and a hiss. His blades were held out at almost 45° angles from his feet. He was a good thirty feet away from her.

"There's beauty in war, as there's beauty in death. You walk in darkness, hoping to find light. But, there is only beauty. It's neccesary to hold on to that beauty. When you fight, always keep a picture of those who mean the Galaxy to you in the back of your mind.

"Those attatchments are valuable to your survival. Especially to the survival of your soul. Love, admiration, and happiness. These things will keep you in control of the Dark Side. Lose them, and the Dark Side gains control of you."

One foot came forward, then another. Calmly, he began walking towards the young knight. To get a feel for where to put the difficulty of his training, he had to test her skills.

"Show me your Shii-cho."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Great

Spencer thought quietly as she watched him draw his own blades. Opening her hand she pulled her own with the force to her palm. The pale red blade ignited and held steady like Ashin had showed her. The girl wasn’t one for swordplay, she preferred to keep him at a distance and attack his mind and his body with the force. It left part of her fight open, but as long as she could just maintain distance she was fine. His speech was something she had known, but it was good reminder on how to keep her humanity. It felt like so many Sith were driven by the force and didn’t have control of anything in their lives.

He moved towards her and she waited for him to draw closer, both of her hands held the hilt of her blade to provide support and strength to each definite blow with the saber. Calming and centering herself, she took a strong step forward and twisted her body. The blade cut through the air aiming at his third zone. Her small body provided speed with the attack as she brought the blade to strike at his upper arm and attempting to follow through the rest of his body.

“I don’t wish to just control the dark side Master Avicus, I seek to control both sides and find a balance between them. The galaxy is bigger than just black and white like the Jedi and Sith have made it out it be.”

 

[Avicus DuSang]

Shii-cho, like Jar'Kai, was effective against multiple opponents. It held broad swings and focused on zones of the body. Unlike, Jar'Kai, it wasn't practical against a single opponent. The wide swings left many defensive holes open.

He had fought many Shii-cho masters. Watching their blade was liken to watching a river flow through rapids. His current stance was an ancient martial arts defensive technique, adapted to Jar'Kai.

The stance put your body in a position to counterattack, using your opponent's against them. As her swing came to his arm, his body twisted as both white lava blades came up to meet her single crimson.

As his blades came up, he dropped down. Pushing off her blade, he spun to her left. His leg extended, flying towards the inside of her knees in a fluid sweep kick. "If that is your perception, then you've missed the lesson the Galaxy has been teaching you.

"The Jedi and Sith paint the Galaxy in infinite shades of grey."