Private New Faces in Old Places

[Darth Petrichor]

Location: The Fulcrum

Tags: Darth Malum of House Marr

Times had changed, and those that had held their ideals to those that had come before had seldom changed with them. And through the ebb and flow, Petrichor had simply waited, biding his time and maintaining his academy. The Force was an ever-changing tide of light and dark, and though Petrichor understood its ebb and flow, he could not expect others to treat it as such. Hence why he was rather surprised at the transmission he had received from the proclaimed Darth Malum. One as established as he may not have been the first for Petrichor to extend the arm of peace to, yet here he was all the same.

Through recent years, his vision had seem to become clouded. With the Second Great Hyperspace War, he had almost put his own academy at risk. Feeding intelligence to the overtly bombastic and deluded members of the Ashlan Crusade was a dangerous move, but one that had at least kept them off of his back, and by virtue of that, off of the back of his students. But they were gone now, destroyed by their own hubris and dogmatic overtones. Perhaps he knew it had been coming all the while...

Perhaps it was the Force simply trying to find some semblance of balance once again.

He waited patiently at the landing bay to the Fulcrum, several of his Exalted lining the walkway as he awaited the arrival of his guest. Curiosity gripped him, though in the end...

It was curiosity that killed the womp rat, but it was satisfaction that brought him back...

And Petrichor felt that, in the end, he would be thoroughly satisfied...​

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

It was a risk coming here, though...

...What had Malum not done in his life that had not been risky?

Yet, this was certainly much different to that, if those among the Sith Order learned that today he was meeting with as infamous as Darth Petrichor ? Well, Malum had already dealt with accusations of treason, from both others and himself these last months, true accusations in all fairness.

Yet...

...To add heresy to that list.

Well suffice it to say, that he had been incredibly secretive, when making his way here, fortunately not that difficult, for after all he had been trained by the Queen of Secrets, and if he had been unable to follow her example... well, he would have been unable to kill her, and take command of the Tsis'Kaar. He and the Lochris had made the trip alone, with very few knowing he was now descending upon Lehon, more famously, Rakata Prime.

To the Fulcrum, as was the fortress academy, which the rather... radical, Sith Lord had taken as his place of abode.

Technically within Alliance space, though on the hinterland, that was another risk all unto itself in coming here, even if the one that he feared less.

Not to bad mouth the Alliance navy, but stretched thin as it was, its focus frankly was not upon the galactic west, where no foe remained apart from whatever remnants of the Maw that had not joined the Dark Empire.

...And well considering said Dark Empire was at the gates of Coruscant, everyone knew where their fleets' focus was.

There were multiple goals here, the least of which was an opportunity to witness Rakata Prime, he had seen many a world in his life, and though many more would be considered more famous than this world.

It was hard to deny the historical weight this world held.

Such were his thoughts, as he descended down upon the tropical blue, that was so gorgeous.

What unknowable events happened here?

Might he find out?

Perhaps, but that was less of a priority in comparison to what he would find in the Fulcrum.

He had read the Way of Equanimity, not exactly a popular text, but easy enough to find a virtual copy.

He agreed with much in the text.

He disagreed with much else too.

Would it be a philosophical discussion for him to come here today?

In part.

More importantly, however, was the constant look for allies, Darth Petrichor may have not been influential within the Sith Order, but he was influential in his own right, and though Malum would consider the naming of his organisation after himself, as... gaush, to say the least. It did speak at least to the following the man held.

Such would be useful.

In addition, he simply viewed it as a... trial run of sorts to what he had desired to do in the coming weeks, many a Dark and Light Force order to infiltrate and learn from, but this would simply be the first.

Without Quintessa , who he had learned had suspiciously, volunteered to come join him.

While intrigued at the prospect of seeing his old friend.

He certainly had not been raised or trained to be trustful.

The Lochris finally made its way to the landing bay, as Malum himself decked himself out in the apparel of their craft, the finale, a hiss as the replica mask of his most famous and great ancestor, was placed upon his face.

The bay doors opened, revealing himself, as he emerged out of his fighter.

Immediately red eyes find the masked visage of another man.

Surrounded by those of his creed.

Malum offered a nod of his head in greeting, "Darth Malum, of House Marr at your service, thank you for inviting me to your abode."

He hoped the man was as reasonable as his book made him out to be.

 

[Darth Petrichor]

Location: The Fulcrum

Tags: Darth Malum of House Marr

His approach was humble, at least as humble as a Sith could provide. Even to one such as Petrichor, there was always the air of self-actualization and strength. Such was the way of the Dark Side. Yet, He had anticipated a more gaudy entrance, or perhaps that was just what Petrichor had grown accustomed to with many of his former brethren. Whatever the case, he would remain the gracious host.

"Darth Malum. You are most welcome."

A hand extended, motioning toward the entrance of the Fulcrum.

"If you'd be so kind as to follow me..."

As they would make their way into the academy, Petrichor would shoot a look his way, his piercing gaze permeating through the holes in his beskar mask.

"I must admit, this is a rather surprising visit. I have studied your progress, where I could."

An understatement, of course. He wouldn't want his guest to know about his vast network of spies, after all.

"I understand that you may not share the same... trajectory as others of your ilk."

As they entered the main hall, they were greeted by the bustling populace of the Fulcrum. Many Force sensitive individuals had found their way here, and though the Order had not made a significant mark on the galaxy, they had managed to endure nonetheless.

"Tell me, what is it that drives a man such as yourself?"​

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

It seemed at first glance he was indeed as reasonable as his book made him out to be, a ghost of a smile appeared upon his face, as Malum followed whom he assumed was Darth Petrichor deeper into the darkness that would be the Fulcrum. There was a nagging concern at the back of his mind, he would admit to, yet such considerations of traps, betrayals or plots seemed to always be a concern with Sith.

It had to be respected, it had to be considered.

But at the same time, so too did the fact that if Darth Petrichtor had wished to kill him, the opportunity had already passed a few moments ago.

He supposed there was the possibility that he intended to capture him.

Certainly a far more intriguing, and perhaps dangerous possibility.

But Bogan knew Malum would not make such a thing easy for the heretic Sith Lord.

So for now Malum followed, and Malum gazed, it was certainly an interesting structure, a great monolith that thought to touch the sky. Perhaps such was the goal with all buildings, but the Fulcrum certainly had a greater mystique with how it completed its objective.

He met the eyes of the master, raising a brow at his words, "Oh? Well... I am rather honoured to have gained your attention, I hope the progress has been to your liking." Would it be a commendation or a condemnation of his person depending on what answer came from the masked man's face, he wondered. It was at the rest of his words that they very quickly reached the point of this meeting he supposed... or at the very least entered the lion's maw when it came to danger.

"The Order is vast, Darth Petrichtor, I would wager no two Sith hold the same belief regarding our Code, let alone all the other matters which define us that, take yourself, for example." A non-committal answer, where it may not have been strictly necessary, however, he always felt to some degree among Sith, there was almost... a sense of theatre in all that they spoke.

His eyes were quick to gaze about as they entered the main hall, the bustle and hustle of those members of the Petrite Order served a useful reminder that even here, these wayward, perhaps heretical Sith, were in many ways, not too dissimilar to those of the Palace of Silver Rain, or Kor'ethyr Academy.

Still, his question was enough for Malum to have his attention shift back.

What a deep question it was.

"What drives all men..." Malum mused, considering all that he had come from, all that he had, all that he wanted, "Freedom, break my chains."

But it would not be the Force that set him free.

Darth Petrichor