Private The Door and the Key [Taeli Raaf]

[Darth Carnifex]

Remnicore, Wild Space​

Darkness swept across the arid plains, the harsh sun above eclipsed as a dark object passed over its face. It hung there, ever-present, following the trajectory of the sun as it rode across the ashen sky. Below, towering spires of basalt and obsidian lorded over a lifeless land. Seams of platinum ore spun out from the castle's base like silver rivers, collapsing in on themselves before spreading out in infinite directions. Hills of glossy black earth were like islands in an endless sea of desolation, the skeletons of ancient trees standing rigid upon their banks.

A dark shape swept low over the land, a great winged monstrosity brayed into the windless sky. Its wings flapped vigorously as it soared over an outcropping of weathered rock, gliding down over the flat expanse beneath the castle's shadow. From the highest balcony, the Dark Lord looked down upon His withered domain. At His back was a frugally furbished chamber, a smattering of stone benches surrounding a central firepit. Black banners hung from the ceiling, various runic writing stitched into the fabric alongside esoteric shapes.

Darth Carnifex turned away from the balcony, retreating into the shadowy alcove before taking a seat near the pit. With a wave of His hand, lightning danced out and struck the dried wood. Sparks flew, and a great whoosh of flame erupted forth from the pyre. He idly tended the flame with an iron rod, if only to pass the time. For He was not here for His own amusement, He was waiting for another to arrive. Long had they schemed and plotted together, His closest ally outside of His family. She'd remained faithful, as faithful as Sith could be, and the time had come to convene and discuss their next actions.

Especially now that the gauntlet had been thrown, and the Order was on a precipice. Darth Empyrean's proclamation at Jutrand accelerated much of Carnifex's long-laid plans and cancelled others, though they were not as valuable as those He continued to invest in. The chief among them was on the forefront of His mind, one that He was eager to discuss with the Lady of Secrets when she arrived.

Their Great Plan.

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Carnifex

Her first stop upon her arrival to Remnicore, her first visit in a long time, was to a hidden chamber deep within the fortress occupied by Him. A singular obelisk of obsidian and platinum stood at the center, glowing runes of pale blue blazed with the power of the dark side persisted as strongly as the day she had laid them. Outside, the guardian the runes connected continued its ponderous duty of patrolling the lands beyond for intruders to this secret bastion. Pleased that her work was still as strong as it had been on the day she formed the creature at His request, mist would enshroud her figure.

"Well, that was interesting," her voice carried in His chamber, low enough to just be heard over the crackling of the fire He lit. Mist gathered at the balcony he had abandoned, forming into her shape as she stepped out of the Dathomiri magic she had summoned. A plain red dress with a hooded black cloak swept over the floor as she moved to join her oldest ally at the firepit.

Taking a seat, she allowed a moment of silence to stretch between the two of them. The events at Jutrand would no doubt have some ripples, but perhaps not the ones that Empyrean or Ophidia expected. He had already abandoned the throne of the Empire once to pursue greater mysteries and power, an Empire far more shaped by His hand and this emerging one in the Outer Rim. Why would it surprise any that he might simply tactically withdraw from a Triumvirate to leave it a Duumvirate of two beings of cunning and ambition?

"Are you any closer?" she asked, breaking the silence.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He did not raise His head to look at her, His attention solely fixed on the burning embers at the base of the fire. With iron poker, He prodded and maneuvered them about in an almost absentminded way. Only when He had crushed one of the coals beneath the white-hot tip, sending a spark of ash and fire up into the air, did He turn His head to look at the Lady of Secrets. "Very close now, my friend. The boy just left. He'll have the third relic soon enough, and he will bring it back to us."

Pushing the poker into the hardened pumice beneath the fire, Carnifex let it rest there as He fully swiveled His body around towards Lady Raaf. He reached into His cloak and produced a small holoprojector, setting it in the palm of His hand as the machine whirred to life. The images projected were ones that Taeli would be intimately familiar with, having seen one in person and the other in images only; a large white gemstone and a circular disc of crystal. "He returned from Ilum the previous day with the prize. He says he encountered Silas Westgard there as well, but by happenstance rather than intention. They don't yet know what we seek, but if word gets to Valery then they could conceivably connect the dots."

He turned off the holoprojector, setting it aside. "When the key is done, we will need to push towards Aing-Tii. If possible, we must maneuver Empyrean and Ophidia towards this goal, play upon their ambition and greed. It will take great concerted effort, but I believe we can accomplish this. We are closer now than we have ever been, and I will not have us denied."

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

It had taken little pondering between them to decide that sending others out to collect the pieces was for the best. If anyone caught wind that either of them was hunting for these specific relics, it would raise questions among certain circles far too early for their liking. Still, she did wonder if He had told the boy what it was he was being sent to collect.

Seeing the hologram of the retrieved pieces, secreted away and protected until the time came for their reconstitution, it was gratifying to know that they were so close to their goal now. The mention of one of the Jedi of the Alliance being encountered could be a concern, if allowed to percolate enough to the Masters of the Order. Luckily, they were mostly distracted with what was coming.

"Valery and the other Jedi are more concerned with pushing back the Maw than a few seemingly random artifacts disappearing," she quietly replied. "The Alliance is preparing a major offensive to break the Maw. A large push into the Corridor, but it is a heavy feint, so they do not see the major push out of Copero. They aim to strike Exegol soon."

Neither she nor Kaine would mourn the Maw if they were defeated. They had been a useful distraction though for the past few years and would continue to be.

"As for pushing towards Aing-Tii, it might take some time to convince them of the necessity of it, but I have some ideas on how to entice them."

Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"The Maw dug too deep and too greedily, they arrayed themselves against an uncompromised Alliance. Their crusade was doomed to fail." Though tangentially aligned with the Brotherhood, the Dark Lord did not consider Himself among their number. He found their methods too crude, too cumbersome, and their vision too narrow in scope. Once Solipsis perished on Tython, their momentum had been blunted, and Carnifex wondered if they could ever regain it again.

Perhaps they could, but their new Dark Voice...

"I am concerned for my cousin, Darth Mori. She is strong and a righteous visionary, but I fear that the path she walks will lead to her destruction. Despite our differences, I would not wish to see her destroyed. I made a pledge not to interfere in what she would do on Tython, and I stand by my commitment to not meddle with the Brotherhood's affairs. Yet, if there is something that I can do to avert whatever calamity may yet befall her, I would throw aside that pledge."

It might've been a foolish sentiment, to be so concerned with one who would not reciprocate your concern, but the Dark Lord always possessed a certain weakness for family. He was cruel, surely, and uncompromising in His own authority. He'd also condemned many of His own blood to die, sometimes by His own hand, but His family was His own to cultivate; to keep or to discard. Mori was in opposition to His own designs, He'd known that from when she confronted Demiurge on Thule, but He would rather see her live than die.

"Nonetheless, with the Alliance fixated on their dance with the Maw, it will allow us to move unimpeded. If you can convince Empyrean to drive towards Aing-Tii, then I will ensure a mighty host is assembled to waylay them and the monks. With key in hand, the way will be opened."

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"The coming campaign will decide her fate, regardless of any interventions," she replied quietly, using her finger to manipulate some of the coals of the fire with a gentle push of the Force. "For our plans to succeed, sacrifices will be necessary... and we cannot afford to alert the Maw to the Alliance's designs if they are to remain sufficiently distracted."

She understood his reluctance to see family destroyed; she had her own after all, and two of them were currently beyond her reach. Nerralyn was coming into her own and was looking to expand her education soon, much as Taeli had done at her age. And then there was the primary reason she had supported Kaine's plans for so long... the reunion she longed to will into existence. But sacrifices would be required, in this path as it was with discovery.

"To earn enough goodwill with Empyrean to begin moving him in that direction will also require sacrifices," she added. "He requested I help hunt down the sleeper agents seeded through the Imperium by yourself and Ophidia. I daresay he wants to avoid a repeat of what Ophidia did to make herself a member of the Triumvirate, and he knows about a good number. He wants me to help find the ones he doesn't know of. In exchange, he would create a position for me on the Imperium's Dark Council to oversee research and development... and to research what occurred on Pergitor and Elrood."

It was a callous math, but one that many Sith Lords and Ladies had easily made in the past, including present company. Once she had that seat, and enough research, it would be a mere matter of suggesting the Aing-Tii held answers among the artifacts they collected as part of their religion to controlling the energies of the Netherworld. As a mark of their alliance and friendship, she was offering Him the warning to move his most important hidden assets before she started her work.

Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Fate is written by those with the strongest wills, and ours are impervious."

In the end, it did not matter if Darth Mori burned herself in her quest to equalize the galaxy. Carnifex would mourn, but it would not stop Him from doing what He believed was necessary. He was willing to sacrifice everything to achieve what was rightfully His, He'd even allowed His own homeworld to burn to ensure that He was not distracted by petty sentimentalities. He did manage to salvage some of His people, strengthening His hold over them, and making them worship Him as their savior.

"I will pull back my most imperative agents, those that would be difficult to replace. The others can be sacrificed upon the pyre, their lives matter little in our plans. Lesser beings are so fleeting, we can always make more of them if we need them." It was a song and dance they've done before, baiting their enemies with blood and flesh so that they didn't even realize the knife at their throat. The pawns would be offered up to Empyrean, and in his greed he would not see the other pieces moving. It would keep his attention away from their true goals, and if Lady Raaf played her cards correctly to earn his confidence, then she could maneuver Empyrean towards Aing-Tii as discussed.

"How fares your other prospects, old friend? I have it on good authority that you have not been idle since our last meeting."

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

And thus, would she begin to cement her usefulness and trustworthiness to Empyrean, once she deployed the Thought Hunters that her alchemists and sorcerers were creating even as they spoke. They would purge a great many, sacrifices unknowingly, but the most important of his assets would be preserved and he was right that more could always be cultivated at a later date.

"Oh, there are several irons in the fire," she said, a true smile emerging as the subject moved onto her experiments and research. "My studies into sapience and mutation are progressing nicely on Amaltanna. You and the Kainate are always welcome to establish a presence there. I suspect you might find some interesting assets among the sentient Sithspawn societies there. Valrar is working on a third generation of creatures from Project Zerus, improving on their designs, and a few new beasts that will be available at the hunting lodges for field testing soon. And of course, I can't forget that research into corrupting and altering spirits into ethereal Sithspawn have produced some specters you might appreciate."

Her Sithspawn work was always her passion, and she always took pride in the title of Mistress of Monsters.

"Transmutation research at Spaarti is also seeing some promising signs. We've been working on a few new iterations of the Velok Serum to cultivate more... unique soldiers and assets for our use."

None of this of course included the work ongoing at Aurora Industries to develop new technologies. The coming months and years would be an exciting time for her, and with her position in Sith space secured again, the company would have access to more exotic resources. Then there was the other project she was actively helping with, but not overseeing directly. She was leaving that to her daughter.

"And Nerralyn has taken an interest in how the Force interacts with space and time," she added.

Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Good," murmured Carnifex, "Very good. The Kainate will continue to aid the Order of Shadows, and we may yet take up your offer to set up a facility on Amaltanna." The bond between the Sith Lords was far more familiar than most, they freely shared many resources among themselves to further both their shared goals and their individual ones. That didn't mean that they spoke candidly about everything, nor did they reveal all of their secrets so eagerly. Carnifex had many secrets that Taeli knew nothing about, and He suspected that it was the same for her.

He listened quietly as Taeli counted off the advancements her other venues were making, all of which were pleasing to hear. Aurora and Spaarti had been integral to the secret build-up of military assets in Wild Space and the Unknown Regions, laying the foundation for creations such as Malsheem. Even here on Remnicore their presence was notable, the great lumbering monstrosity beyond the fortress walls was testament to the level of trust the Dark Lord vested in Taeli Raaf.

"Aing-Tii will prove most advantageous for young Nerralyn. When the world falls into our grasp, I will ensure that she receives uninterrupted access to the world, the monks, and whatever temples that remain."

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"In all my years of studying from more esoteric Force sects, it was the Aing-Tii I never got around to actually studying under," she said. During her faked defection from the One Sith to the Jedi Order of the Republic, she had spent a considerable amount of time traveling to and studying under other Force organizations such as the Baran-Do and the Fallanassi. Like daughter, mother was very interested in eventually uncovering the secrets of the Aing-Tii monks.

With a quiet movement, she pulled out a datapad and handed it to Carnifex. On it, he would find information on an old project she had once proposed to him during his rule of the Empire. The project she would be developing for Empyrean... and one that Kaine could replicate for his own uses with the information in his hand. Along with her other experiments into spirits such as the Mephits.

"I cracked how to fully alchemize the ghosts and spirits of the Force, my old friend. Completely cracked it this time."

Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Carnifex]

His hand reached out and took the datapad from Taeli, orientating it so that the screen was positioned the correct way. Powering it on, several data-screens would appear detailing all of the experiments that Lady Raaf had been engaging in; primarily regarding spirits and their esoteric properties. He sat in silence, reading the information as it scrolled across the screen. He also listened to what Taeli had to say, absorbing her revelations as they were revealed.

"Good," He said at last, "Very good, Taeli. You've continued to excel and surpass all that I expect of you. This is exceptional." He powered off the datapad and laid it down nearby. "When we at last breach the gateway to Mortis, all that we have accomplished thus far will be fulfilled. I envision a grand procession, winding up to the Monastery of the Father. Our banners fluttering as we ascend. The gate shall be broken, the doors thrown wide. All that rests within shall be ours by providence, and with it we will take the plunge."

"And the Wellspring will be within our grasp."

Taeli Raaf ​