Private Of Betrayers and Kings

[Allyson Locke]

//: Darth Empyrean //:

It was done.

Allyson had made her choices. Her time in the Empire had taught her their ways and almost humanized the Sith. Their ambitions were upfront and celebrated; it was refreshing. After the wars that thinned the number of the Alliance and Jedi, the reformation choked the life out of some of the remaining soldiers. Allyson found herself being one of the forgotten, a relic of the old ways.

There were no heroes welcome from war. The moment she was pulled off Bastion, she was thrown in a cell to be spat on by those she fought alongside. Had that been the breaking point? It wasn't the last straw but a debilitating crack in her armor.

The part that scared her the most was how easy it was to betray them. There was almost a romanticized notion of dramatics that she expected to happen, but it was never there. The draw of the string and the execution of her arrow - all of it felt natural. Did she hate them? No, but there was no love for the Jedi. So many times, they had turned their back on her; she was tired of fighting for people who would easily stab her in the back before claiming her existence.

Allyson was a ghost, and it was a life she had chosen.

The long hallway was quiet. The Corellian remembered the walk she had taken with Him. He had offered her a chance to learn, to see what her enemy was like. The Corellian wondered if this was all His plan. Did he already sense her wavering loyalties? It was easy to discern that Carnifex and Taeli Raaf sensed it, but the Emperor was as much of an unknown as she was to most.

An odd sense of familiarity.

She had returned as promised when He had granted her stay in His Empire. It was a gracious notion that didn't need to be offered. Already, the Emperor of the Sith had garnered interest from the wayward Shadow.

The wait was torturous. There was some doubt that her stay was only meant to be temporary, but she was prepared to embed herself into the Empire, fight for it, and make it a home. When she was summoned, she entered, the small hairs on the back of her neck rising in anticipation. There was no submission to her walk; for once, the Shadow wanted to be seen.

"I've returned," she spoke. "I've seen your Empire and learned what I could as you've asked—I've seen the failings of their teachings, the fallacies in their truths. I want to be free, and I want to learn." Allyson stood, waiting to feel that presence like she had walked beside before. She wanted to learn; she needed a Master.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Empyrean had given the Shadow free reign, and thus the Palace forces did not stop her from finding him. They brought her to him, but they looked at her with wary disgust, though that was likely not just because she was or had been a Jedi, but because all who were in the Palace that did not outwardly pander to the Emperor were met with distrust. The halls would wind, and as she neared the truth, she would feel it.​

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The Dead God, as he had come to be known by his people, sat in a study surrounded by piles of books bound in leather of sentient origin. He sat with his singular arm in his lap, while three quills moved in tandem with one another. There was some manner of dissertation he was writing about, and he was covering three chapters at once; a direct result of his Arkanian nature, and powerful mastery of the Force.​

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When she entered, he offered the smallest look back towards her before continuing, allowing her to say her peace.​

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"Breaking your chains and becoming free is the easy part. It is staying free that is hard.", he said idly, almost coldly. It was hard to tell what the Emperor ever meant in his words, because they all were muddled by death, and poisoned with a natural anger that infested every syllable.​

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"I can teach you those first steps, Allyson Locke , but in the end - it will be up to you to understand truth in its entirety. I am not a cruel master, but I am a cruel being. A hypocrite. A monster. Is this something you can truly live with, when all is said and done?"​

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Amidst his words, the quills scratching intervened between his words. The sound of ink wells being tapped into made the room sound alive with scholarly pursuit, even as the Emperor seemed to focus on her now, more than the writings.​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Darth Empyrean //:

His words and self-assessment were brutally honest. Allyson could respect it; her thoughts were correct about the Sith being able to see farther than their own noses when it came to certain things. She stood, watching his studies. Seeing the Dead God working was almost sobering. A man known to be cruel, but a man who was also self-aware. It reminded her of so few that she had met in her lifetime. His words lingered on her mind, eating away at the particular parts she wished to not allow them to.

"You call yourself a monster, a hypocrite," Allyson continued to watch him, trying to understand the lesson he was putting in front of her. "But I've fought monsters and stood in the presence of hypocrites who drape themselves in their righteousness." Her anger and frustrations seeped into the previously calm tone. "You don't pretend to be something you're not. So, asking me if I can live with it, the answer is yes, but whether or not I can live with it is not why I'm here." The Corellian took several steps forward, drawing closer as she looked at him. This God-King, Emperor of the Sith.

"I broke what held me to the Alliance, to the Jedi - because they no longer exist. Chains are meant to control; I refused to be controlled again." As the words spilled from her lips, she could almost feel the noose around her neck loosen. Far too long, she allowed the false virtues of the Jedi to control her, forcing her to make choices that, in the end, brought no value to her life.

"I want to control my fate for once; teach me." Her fists clenched, that same anger churning in her chest as memories faded in and out of all the lies. Too many times, she had faced death only to be branded a traitor - a liar and a monster.

They were both monsters and hypocrites; she could see that. But they like it, unlike the Jedi could see that.

"I want to be free." ​

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"You will find that I pretend to be many things I am not. My warning to you is not that I am not what I say I am - my warning is that you will become a monster just the same.", he offered flatly. In a way that felt odd to her senses, the Quill's ceased to be, and the Emperor stood from his chair.​

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"Come with me.", he commanded, offering no room for retort - not that he expected any.​

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"There has often been the understanding that Eternalism is dogmatic, religious, or otherwise ignorant. These are claims made by the uninitiated, the ones who simply don't understand. It preaches indepdence, control of your own fate, and the tools to do so - but it is not complete in its breadth of explanation. Being controlled is not a matter of being apart of the Jedi, nor is apart of being in the Sith Empire. Being controlled is a result of our reality, the inertia of history, and the fate the Force has bound you to."​

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"To walk against it, is to invite misfortune. I would not have died as I did were it not for the cruel machinations of the Force and its masters. To see their hand and to see their designs is not something I can teach you. I can, however, give you the tools to find out how to control your own fate yourself. It begins with the Dark Side."​

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As they moved through the halls, and the Emperor spoke, they eventually came to an atrium hidden away from the prying eyes of reality. The wall on the far end was barren, but Empyrean walked towards it like there was nothing there. Indeed, when he made his final step to it, the wall melted away, revealing a room bustling with activity. Scholars in black robes, two students dueling eachother in the style of Makashii near the rear, and another thirty quietly reading, debating, or otherwise learning.​

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"You must learn to walk before you can run, and while I have no question of your abilities, they are not honed. I would like you to stay with these Knights, learn from them. Many serve as Praetorians and have taken a vow to not involve themselves in Sith politics or hiearchy. They will not harm you, should you not give them reason to do so. The others, be wary of - many have hidden allegiances, but that should be no concern to a Shadow."​

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A man in elegant, regal attire approached - but his face was hidden in a blank mask. He bowed before Empyrean, his hands hidden amidst his long sleeves. His voice sounded ragged;​

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"Greetings, my Emperor. How may we serve?"​

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"Find her a room. A nice one. I will see to it that her room is filled with the knowledge I want."​

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"Of course, my Emperor. Please, follow me."​

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And thus they did, but the Emperor did not stay behind. He walked with them until they found their room, then fell in step to enter. He scrutinized it, but eventually was satisfied with what he saw. The room was larger, a double bed in a small room adjacent to the main. Inside was a kitchen, a living room, and a study combined into one. It was covered in a slick black marble, with gold accepts trimming the recessed ceiling. It was opulent, if nothing else, but it was cold.​

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"This shall do.", he said, before lifting his hand towards the bookcase.​

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In a moment, the books there in fell away, then reformed in new bindings, new titles, and new lengths of text.​

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"Here is an assorted collection of books, both on philosophy, but also Sith history and its implications. I would ask you to read them, in your spare time. You will be given an allowance, so you will not want while on Jutrand. I will provide you a ship within the next week, so that you may roam freely. I will have tasks for you soon. Do you have any questions?"​

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Allyson Locke​