Private Sands of Sorcery

[Taeli Raaf]

Korriban, The Mongrel Altar

Three days had passed since her meeting on Coruscant, three days since she had returned to Sith space and slipped through to Korriban. Three days since the arrangements were made to meet with the being known as the Worm Emperor.

The shrine she waited within had been discovered by the Sith Lady that she held in high respect, the Dark Jedi Sorzus Syn that had accelerated the studies of Sith Magic and Alchemy. Syn had sought knowledge in those early days of the Exile, searching for hidden mysteries of the pureblooded, and she had found some within this tomb. The name of the Sith had long since faded from time, but the power of the place still remained. Flames flickered in the braziers she had lit, giving the tomb a source of unsteady light. In a meditative pose, she sat in front of the blood slurry that, even now, continued to bubble and flow as a monument to the ancient Sith. The dark side swirled around her, the currents of the Force twisting and twining, ever shifting, ever touched by the movements of the beings that could touch the Force.

An exhale passed her lips as she reached deeper into the currents, searching, watching, analyzing. The pieces were there, all it would require is to seize them as they appeared. She had plans, some that she had shelved years ago, but now... her ambitions, her curiosities, were unshackled. But the appearance of such would be important. Manipulations, carefully cultivated, would bare fruit soon. She could feel that.

She waited...

Aspect of Passion

 

[Aspect of Passion]

The tome offered little under the soft light of the flames - the cold of Korriban drifting between the hot spots with little concern. It was the nature of the Dark Side - to fill one with immediate strength, then slowly fall into destruction; and Korriban was a perfect example. Now little more than a cold, dusty tomb world it was almost representative of the situation the Sith were in - as though their holy world was itself their fate.

Taeli would feel, admist her meditation and heightened sensitivity, the distant snap of a dark presence shooting across the planet - or teleporting. The speed at which it moved was unreal, and her sensations would barely grasp it before the flames would dim to nigh embers before returning. In their place, in the span of a blink, the Worm Emperor had appeared before her. Five Electrum Masks marked with the Code of the Sith, standing taller than even Carnifex - its very presence felt more akin to a black hole in the force than anything else. As though Nihilus himself were before her - startling dangerous in presence alone.

Whispers would begin in a chorus around her - quiet and just below what she could make out. Even the shadows would dance, as though more were in the tomb than just the Worm - but the Emperor would stand still, almost statue like for a few tenious moments.

And then it spoke - with a deep and regal tone;

"Darth Arcanix.", it offered her without movement.

"Taeli Raaf.", a calm, gentle tone offered after.

"Lady of Secrets.", a woman offered from behind her - only to be gone if she were to look.

"You've sought to meet us. Speak your peace, my child - so that I may speak mine."

Taeli Raaf

 

[Taeli Raaf]

She felt the entity coming before it arrived. It moved unnaturally through the currents of the Force, as though the currents wanted nothing to do with it... No, more as though the entity was its own current, redirecting the others out of its path. She didn't need to open her eyes to know it had arrived, or reach out with her senses to know how powerful it was.

Purple eyes opened to look upon the being, analyzing the masks that it wore to conceal itself. Five masks, each with a phrase of the Sith code. Five masks... interesting symbolism. The being could be an antithesis for the Five Priestesses, a dark counterweight to their efforts. It was an interesting theory, to be sure, and one she didn't think she would discover an answer to anytime soon.

The whispers that followed it... enemies it had destroyed? Beings that had crossed it or failed it in some way? Or perhaps the being was a... tear, a leaking from its presence to those passed beyond. Again, another interesting theory, and hard to prove without being incredibly rude.

"You certainly live up to the reputation you've been fostering," she remarked. "As a professional matter, I have of course been keeping track of the rumors and whispers, the movements that have been visible. On a personal matter though, I've been very curious to meet you. You could say I've been intrigued by the rhetoric you are rumored to spread, but hearsay can always be distorted. I wanted to hear what you say for myself."

If the Worm was as powerful as he felt, and if Maliphant had told him about their meeting, he would know why she had sought him out. Ambition was rising, and with it, the desire for more.

Aspect of Passion

 

[Aspect of Passion]

"Do I?", the Worm asked her - as though his tone implied a tenuous belief in her words.

His voice seemed to echo between the hundreds of unseen - eventually falling silent as one of the golden masks turned ever so slightly to focus on her. She would feel all the eyes on her, but the attention of the single masked seemed to bore deeper - burned hotter on her skin than the rest. The gaze of the Emperor was an unholy thing, and she would feel it ever present on her now.

"On the contrary, Darth Arcanix, our reputation fails to live up to reality. You have been intrigued by our persona, but I have been intrigued by you.", his regal overtones said with a downward inflection.

"The Jedi's Bane.", the woman offered in appreciation.

"Zambrano's Lap Dog.", a far angrier man offered in contempt.

"Answer me something simple, and I will expand on the truth you seek. Why have you tied yourself so deeply to the God-King of Panatha, the lunatic fool Carnifex?", it said in a slow and deliberate rhythm.

Taeli Raaf

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"I suppose it's all about the perceptions of others whether you live up to or fail the reputation that follows you," she replied, even as one of the masks turned its full gaze upon her. She didn't shrink away from the observation of it and the shadows that whispered around it. She had been on the receiving end of such scrutiny before, but that had been the collective gazes of the old Jedi Council. Many of those beings were gone or retired, but back then, as she began her grand deception and Corvus brought her before the Council for judgment, they had examined her in the Force thoroughly.

This... this was nothing new to the Lady of Secrets. She ignored both the praise and the derision offered her by two of the other voices, as both could be distractions of another type. And the question it asked, the price it requested for continued truth, was such a complicated question.

"That's a rather long story," Taeli said slowly, gauging her words carefully. "And not as simple a matter as one might believe when the question is ever asked. But if you want the tale..."

She trailed off, a lazy gesture of the Force conjuring a tea cup from green mist.

"During the height of the One Sith, after I was so graciously promoted to Lady, I returned to my homeworld of Lorrd to see my parents. Suffice to say, that meeting did not go well and they were killed. Back then, I was a slave to my emotions. My Master had not sufficiently trained me in such matters, and when they rejected me, my powers lashed out and destroyed the house. In the wreckage I discovered a locket that revealed the truth; I was adopted and that I had another family waiting for me. Imagine the one two gut punch when I discovered they had been murdered by a bounty hunter that was hunting my sister, Corvus, one of the Masters in the Jedi Order. Only our youngest sister, Melori, survived the attack. I was able to contact Corvus and we forged a connection."

She took a sip of her conjured tea.

"She wanted to pull me over to the light, but I wanted the opposite. Both Melori and I were Sith, and I wanted the entire family to be within the dark, but we had some adventures to further our sisterly bond, away from the war and the cycle of light and darkness. I saw... an opportunity however. I revealed my plan to the Eye of the Dark Lord, Darth Isolda, and his Wrath, Reverance. I would pretend to repent the dark side, conceal my true nature, and infiltrate the Jedi to observe the Order and slowly corrupt it from within.

"I created a new version of the false light side aura spell, anchored it within the tattoos that the One Sith gave me upon becoming a Sith Knight, and met my sister. She met me with open arms, could feel the light within me, and took me before the Jedi Council. They only saw a Sith wanting redemption, a woman that had turned her back on the dark side. They did not sense what I truly was, and they never suspected even as the Republic and One Sith waned, and the Galactic Alliance rose. The collapse of the One Sith meant that those who knew my plan were no longer in power, but I kept my observations, assisted the Jedi in their crusade as the Order joined with those helping Omai Rhen. We defeated the One Sith, shattered their power, and I was a respected Master in the Order. I was perfectly positioned until one day... Corvus and Melori both vanished."

Even now, after all these years, the hurt from that day still lingered in her soul. It gave her power, gave her focus. It would always be a reminder of why the Jedi were no better than the Sith, worse even perhaps.

"Corvus had been a Grandmaster of the Republic Jedi, had served unflinchingly, ever loyal to the mission of the Jedi. She was such a pure light for the Order to follow, a teacher to many students... and they didn't even give her a memorial. Just an acknowledgement at the next Council meeting and then it was onto the next order of business. I was livid, and I'll perfectly admit this was petty of me, I wanted to see the New Jedi Order shattered as I was. I knew I could not do this alone however. I had turned some, taught them how to conceal their true natures from our fellows, but it would take more time. I needed manpower, I needed a partner in this endeavor, but at the time, many Sith could not muster what I needed. But one could..."

She remembered that moment. When she had served in the One Sith, she had not wanted to associate with Kaine Zambrano. She had viewed him no better than a brute, accomplished warrior and powerful Sith though he was. But he had an army, he had connections that she still hadn't fully built herself. Aurora Industries was still growing into what it was and her Order of Shadows was small, working on a few projects to harry the Alliance.

"Kaine had retreated to Panatha when the One Sith fell, and he took much with him. Armies, ships, artifacts, information, all of it taken as he quietly rebuilt in the safety of the First Order. I arranged a meeting with him on a neutral world, revealed my secret as he had believed me a traitor, and we agreed to work together to bring down the New Jedi Order and the Alliance. Almost a decade of scheming, of suborning Jedi and military officers and politicians, while Kaine and other Sith reformed in the Tingle Arm a new empire. Everything culminated in Operation Eclipse, the time when we broke the Alliance and the Jedi, turned them upon themselves."

She set her tea cup down, empty now.

"When the dust settled, many of the followers I brought over came with me to the Sith Empire, where I was given plaudits and took a rightful high position on the Dark Council for my efforts. And ambitious as I was, I kept myself in check as I knew I could not challenge the Zambranos outright for the throne as their power base was still greater than mine, nor did I have the desire at the time to do so. I wanted time to work on my experiments, to study the dark side and the greater mysteries of the Force. I wanted to rebuild my family line, strengthen my power base, and grow my influence. I am in Kaine's inner circle, privy to plans many others don't know even exist or that are moving in the shadows even now."

Taeli banished the empty tea cup away just as she had summoned it.

"That is why I have remained an ally of Kaine's for so long... but the ambition never goes away."

Aspect of Passion

 

[Aspect of Passion]

"So you claim.", the Worm offered her, cold and distant.

The shadows continued to dance, but the unflinching form of the Emperor remained still and placid - apathetic to all that moved about it. The fire flickered, the wind howled, but it would all fade when the Emperor spoke; as though the very galaxy they existed within kneeled to his command. His words came once more - more akin to a father than the avatar of the dark side many presumed him to be.

"Revenge is an errand I can not detract from - noble in its nature, the weak should fear the strong's retribution.", he offered her without recourse.

But the voice changed ever so slightly to disappointment as he continued -

"And yet you let your ambition dull. Placated by plaudits, convincing yourself that it was tomorrow that you would claim what was rightfully yours.", the Worm offered back with scorn.

"Darth Arcanix, we are known by many names."

"The Chain Breaker."

"The Beginning and End."

"The Worm Emperor.", the voices offered in turn.

"All of them encompass a point of what we are - what we will be, and what will be done. This Empire you have tied yourself to, the very nature of your loyalty - all of it is an affront to the Sith. Many times have you been capable of usurping the throne, and many times you failed to act; and in turn, your apathy has allowed even Carnifex to become corrupted. You are as much at fault for what has been done to the Sith as your 'ally'.", the Worm offered, whispers beginning to trickle into his words from around her.

"A generation built without ambition, lost the indoctrination by your Rule of Order.", the scorn was felt through the Force. An ichor across the skin, sticky and hot - she would feel his words in her as though they were her own.

"We are singular in purpose, singular in design - we will return the Sith to what made them great; to know that the strong must lead, and not through false teachings or centralized power, but through their own necessary growth. Darth Arcanix, I offer you much and the same - leave behind what you thought you knew, learn what must be done, and see what your future holds.", the voice said - pieces of it having the other voices echo in tandem only to fade out.

"Embody what I offer, free yourself of the chains you have allowed to be put upon your shoulders - and when you have realized all that you are worth, strike me down. Become the Empress, the Dark Lady of the Sith - and lead them into the future they deserve."

Taeli Raaf

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli accepted the reprimand, the lecture, taking it into herself and examining it like it was one of her precious specimens. The Worm made many points, many of them valid. She had allowed her ambitions to quiet, to focus on other pursuits. She had foregone challenging the Zambranos for the throne, rightly so in her mind as they had more forces and the prospect of fighting both Kaine and Braxus was unappealing. A Sith should not shy away from things they viewed as unappealing to go after, and though she had heeded her innate caution and patience, she knew there were ways she could have eliminated the Zambranos. She had access to Malsheem, to many of the sites that were key to the Zambranos' continued power, and it would be a simple matter to sabotage and destroy in a coordinated strike.

So what had stayed her hand?

Maybe it had been a sense of loyalty to Kaine. He helped her destroy those that shunned her sister and perhaps she felt she owed him a debt for that. Or it could be, again, her caution at wanting to challenge and struggle against them when she could build and experiment. Regardless, her ambitions, newly roused, were whispering to her that it was time to prepare, to await that proper moment, but it wasn't time yet. There was research she needed to do first.

The points made against the Rule of Order were accurate, and she knew that more than others. It hadn't been apathy on her part for going along with it, but neither had she opposed such. She had been within Alliance space as the Empire came together, as Kaine consolidated his power and position, so there was that point that could be raised in argument.

And yet... she couldn't fully agree with the Worm about his rhetoric. Struggle among themselves did make the Sith stronger, but it could be a double-edged sword. Such struggle could be exploited by a canny enemy like the Jedi, keep the Sith divided and squabbling. The Rule of Order had been made as an attempt to stop such infighting, as the One Sith had done as well, and yet... their true natures could never be stopped for long. Inevitably, the splintering began when the enemy they united to fight disappeared. The Republic for the One Sith, the old Core powers of the Alliance and Commenor for the Sith Empire. Since then, they had been torn in two by a schism, led by a man who wanted nothing more than to show his strength and purge all Sith from the galaxy.

That last part would be hard as Sith were mercurial when threatened. Even now, the followers of the Worm had slipped in right behind the Alliance forces in their campaign in the Stygian Caldera and claimed the worlds they supposedly liberated. Voyance and her followers were still out there, waiting for their moment too. The problem with smashing the Empire, of showing how victory had been its own downfall, was it had scattered the Sith and now made it even harder for their enemies to snuff them out.

Logically, shifting to the final statements of the Worm, she knew what she had to do.

"Perhaps you are right, to a degree," she finally said, her gaze unflinching as it looked at the mask of the Worm. "Your final... promise for lack of a better term to come to my tongue, I wonder how many you have made it to."

Aspect of Passion

 

[Aspect of Passion]

"Do not confuse my 'promise', Darth Arcanix.", the voice offered back with a snap.

"I offer you nothing. It is a request - one I have made of Darth Vulcanus , Ashin Cardé Varanin , Darth Empyrean , Judas of Vahl , and many more. A sith deserves nothing they are given - only what they can take. It is why those who believe the rule of Darth Prazutis and Joycelyn Zambrano are doomed into failure - nepotism has corrupted their leadership from the beginning."

"We ask you to kill us for the good of the Order. As proof the Sith have returned to their roots - and only taking that ambition for yourself would you ever succeed."

Taeli Raaf

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"I seem to have struck a nerve," she remarked, not flinching, not apologizing, but smiling ever so slightly at the snap and then explanation of who the Worm had made his request. Large and powerful names indeed, influential Sith although her distaste for Vulcanus would cross her face at the mention of him. Relying on the Graug was a mistake, and Vulcanus had his own agenda and it didn't necessarily involve the Sith or the Sith ruling the galaxy. It was information, more than she had before, on who the Worm had approached and just how widespread he had made his message.

"But we do agree on one thing you just said. A Sith only deserves what they take, whatever that may be, and not what is given."

It was one thing she had tried to instill in her apprentices and followers. They might be loyal to her, but she encouraged competition and jockeying for funding, influence, positions, and everything else within her power base. Rewards would be offered, of course, but they needed to prove themselves capable first.

"I would imagine that, as important to your core belief your request is, the timing is important as well," she continued to muse. "For instance, someone striking you down now might be inconvenient before your work is done as then you could never guarantee that it would continue, that the Sith would return to the old ways, and not just revert to how the One Sith and Kaine's Rule of Order have been these past few decades and write you off as a heretic or some such."

Aspect of Passion

 

[Aspect of Passion]

A deep chortle came from behind the five masks, with the tones of a child and a woman interlacing with the danger of a far angrier laugh. Eventually, as it stopped, the regal voice would speak once more;

"Perhaps - and many have already made such an attempt.", it offered back.

"All have failed.", the woman chimed in directly after.

"The Dark Side has been corrupted, weakened, the Sith of this era are complacent. Only those who truly see what I offer, embody it, and grow through its message will find the strength to kill us. The rest will flounder and fail, their conviction misplaced in revenge or self guided ambition. I am the Gatekeeper to my own heir, Darth Arcanix, and I have full faith that I can ensure the future of the Sith Order will stand strong in lieu of my death."

Taeli Raaf

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"You could say victory defeated us," she said quietly, contemplatively. This Sith Empire had seen to the destruction of several galactic powers, through various means, and their Imperial Bloc from the past war. And yet... when they could have pushed aggressively, expanded and consolidated their power, they had instead turned to revelry. They had slowed their expansion, grown complacent in the knowledge their enemy was shattered for the most part, the Silver Jedi having remained aloof as they did. The Light had been allowed to regroup, to rebuild themselves without much challenge.

And the Sith Empire had been torn asunder by military forces that had nothing to do but keep the borders of the Empire secure, who wondered about the costs of their dark masters when they weren't pointed at the ideological enemy. The dark side would not have liked that, because unlike Kaine, she did believe the Force and its sides had some form of awareness. The dark called for struggle and domination, and when it saw its primary servants content, it had decided to teach them a lesson. A valuable one at that, and while the Worm might be giving it voice now, it was but the latest sign.

"An incomplete victory, in hindsight," she continued to mutter, before turning her attention fully back to the entity, "Tell me, if you believe the Sith Empire's structure is rotten, why conquer the territory that was forfeited in the wake of the Alliance's Stygian Campaign?"

Aspect of Passion

 

[Aspect of Passion]

"You can excuse it how you like, but the momentum of the Dark Side propped the Sith Empire up until all that speed and power was wasted away - on vain attempts to convince Sith that abandoning their very desires was the key to a future.", he said flatly.

"Forfeited.", he mused after she spoke.

"Taken.", a child said with scorn.

"You speak as though the two are mutually exclusive - that by taking Korriban, we have somehow undermined what our purpose is; but I can not see the connection. Nor can the many of us.", he offered back simply.

"Korriban is a holy world - powerful to its core for the Dark Side, the birthplace of the Sith ideals we follow now. Tainted by the Rule of Order, lost to the Jedi, the Sith Empire has corrupted this great fountain. We shall correct it - feed off of it until all Sith see the new Order, feel its strength in the very ebb and flow other Force.", it said with grandiouse tone.

"But more than that - Korriban is a symbol. Where the Sith Empire could not hold it, the Worm shall; one of many pillars proving the new order's legitimacy."

Taeli Raaf

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Not mutually exclusive, more curious at the suddenness of the capture," she replied as the Worm explained why they had taken Korriban. It was right that the world of Sith tombs was a symbol that any budding Sith faction wanted to control. The same could be said for the rest of the worlds that were traditionally within the boundaries of the ancient empire of their forebears. With the Worm's Lords and the Warlords of Voyance and Kascalion forming further out on the rim, the galactic north was in for more instability.

What he said last though, one of many pillars to establish legitimacy...

"I think I see what will be coming next, which begets a whole other list of questions that I doubt you would answer simply because you wouldn't reveal such information to someone not firmly aligned with you," she said. She could guess though, her mind putting together the most likely scenario. The Lords needed to build strength and legitimacy, and the best way to do that in a swift process, would be to take advantage of any sort of split of the Sith Empire's territory. If the suspected coming attack on Ziost was true, and if the Jedi won it, then a significant portion of the remaining territory would be severed. And then there was always the other step... yes she could see it coming soon enough.

A direct challenge.

"Tell me more about your structure so I don't jump to incorrect conclusions," she requested. "This new-old Sith Order you are forming, how does it work?"

Aspect of Passion

 

[Aspect of Passion]

"Secrecy is the realm of Qual'Al-Selim and her Frumentarii.", the Emperor offered her flatly.

"The spider weaves a web.", a child seemed to muse in a sing song voice.

"The Emperor reigns.", an angrier voice offered just after, almost overlapping.

"We are clear in intent, Darth Arcanix - We will bring the False Empire to its knees, and show the galaxy the might of true Sith. It may not be tomorrow, but we are inevitable. It will happen, regardless of the Dark Council's political games.", though the voice seemed dismissive, as though he cared little for what the Dark Council chose to do in his stead.

"The New Order works exactly as I have presented. The strong lead the weak - Acolytes and Knights serve Lords, Lords serve High Lords, and the High Lords serve the Dark Council and the Emperor. Each controls their own territory with as much control as they wish, with their legions and armies loyal to none but them - and only Kaggaths and Wars can see the exchange of powers. The weak will fall and crumble, the strong will take and lead; it is a self evident vindication of our creed. It is how even I shall one day be replaced by a High Lord who wishes to rule - as nothing can be given or inherited, only earned through struggle."

"Because those who struggle are the only ones who understand the Force."

Taeli Raaf

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Even in the answer, deliberately rhetorical she was sure, there were nuggets of information for the Lady of Secrets. This Qual'Al-Selim and these Frumentarii were the spies of the Lords, the shadowy arm of the Worm's sect. No doubt the Sith Empire had such infiltrators within its ranks, no doubt even some within the pyramid she oversaw as her position on the Empire's Dark Council had been suborned to the Frumentarii. She wondered how widespread they were, and concluded that much like her own group, they were scattered and embedded in much of the galaxy.

The structure he espoused was nothing new. The ascension of the ranks, the servile nature of those to the greater Lords and Ladies, was a millennia-spanning social system for the Sith. To have personal territory within the broader sphere of influence, to struggle and scheme against rivals in the shadows or outright in the old Kaggaths, all of it sounded very familiar. It was a structure for the ambitious and the powerful, one that she could use herself.

"Color me sufficiently intrigued," she finally said.

Aspect of Passion

 

[Aspect of Passion]

"Then do what must be done.", the Worm offered her back simply.

"Break your chains, break the empire that bound you, and raise yourself to where you need to be. Where you deserve to be, Darth Arcanix.", he offered with little remorse.

Taeli Raaf