Private Transcendent Agony

[Zoyût]

The Temple of Flesh and Bone
The Labyrinthine Valley, Rhen Var
​

Carved deep in the valleys of Rhen Var stands a temple, ancient and cold. Effigies and reliefs line the exterior depict life from beginning to end. From birth to final putrefaction, the carved stone itself seemed to cry out in agony to the uncaring depths. It was as if the very stone itself was alive, in the constant flux between life and death. There was a weight to the eyes that peered down to the entryway, and a very real sense that those who seek this place are being watched by the very temple itself.

From the entry a waft of blood and viscera seems to catch on the wind. Silent screams on the faces of nameless carvings seep with blood from open wounds, and leave the air soured with that singularly familiar metallic scent. As the wind blows through the cavernous stairwell it was as if the wailing of the damned sounded out in a chorus of terror. Even the chill of the frozen planet pales in comparison to the deepest feelings of dread this place creates.

Within the depths at the bottom of the stairwell is a stone door, massive, and ancient. Faces adorn the stone, eyes welled with blood that flowed down in a slow and sickly trickle down into gutters on the floor. The eyes light up to those that approach with a subtle red glow. The grinding of stones fills the area and dust billows from the ancient doorway as a voice speaks as if centered within the mind of the travelers that approach. It presents a query to those that would travel deeper into the crypt-like temple, "What is your heart's greatest desire?"

The voice is hollow, and capable of creating the feeling that the speaker is very much behind the listener. As the door opens fully the gutters of blood begin to glow, and beyond the threshold the source of blood becomes more apparent. Living beings are suspended in the stone, as if they were becoming part of the temple itself. Gaping wounds adorn their torsos from which the thick sludge-like blood flows seemingly endlessly. Each face is aghast, silent, but very clearly in pure agony. Lights begin to flick on with mechanical precision until the entire room is alight with a dim red glow. In the dais there is an unoccupied throne that seemed to be covered with dried blood. It seemed to call out to those who enter, to be used.

 

[Rul Tondar]

The Temple of Flesh and Bone
The Labyrinthine Valley, Rhen Var
​

Dark Voices within the depths of his mind carried Rul throughout the vast Galaxie in search of knowledge. But this calling was distinctive the voices were more destructive and sinister, abusing the Skakoan with each word they put into his frail mind. There was little the sith in training could do against the shadows in his head and as such he heeded their every order. This eventually led Rul to the cold stagnant planet of Rhen Var but, he was far from any kind of civilization or safety the wretched voices led him to a snow-covered temple deep within the wastelands of Rhen Var.

From a distance, Rul could feel the presence pour out of the shrouded Temple. The structure itself was a place of extreme pain and immense suffering this he could feel but, it was a different terrifying presence that the Sith was fearing deeply. Something depraved was dwelling within this ancient crypt something of immense power and knowledge. The Skakoan did not need his pesky voices to tell him that this was the destination of his endless travels. The dark colossal temple was unlike the ones on Skako, this one smelled of death yet it was inviting almost pleading Rul to enter its ancient halls. The outer walls of the crypt-like temple were covered in old carvings depicting some sort of a cycle of life, this interested the Sith little as the true treasure lay behind the echoing walls.

The air around the Sith apprentice felt heavy from the odour of blood and flesh. An all too satisfying scent of carnage was rooted within this ancient crypt-like temple in addition to the noises swirling about completing the terrifying aura of the ancient halls. Proceeding to follow the stairwell deeper within the temple proved to be the right choice as he soon reached a daunting stone door dotted with nameless faces which dripped blood like tears. Rul came closer to inspect the horrendous stone gateway but stopped when red peering eyes emerged from each face dotting the same stone entrance that blocked his path. Accompanying this shocking development was a mysterious and hollow voice speaking to Rul.

A question not easily answered and deeply rooted within one's self often peered through the souls of a person. Was he to give in to his primal instincts and say "power" or was this too basic of an answer for himself. Although a dark voice presented the question of a million answers, Rul felt as if he had to answer in order to satisfy his own quench and not that of the dark voice. Another thought shot through his skull delivering him an answer to give, "fame". But the doctor quickly rushed the false answer out of his mind, too many ideas and not enough patience for the cries in his head. Such a simple yet complex question and it was driving the Skakoan Sith insane. Just as he was about to collapse in on his mind, the door opened. It seemed as if the question had not to be satisfied just pondered about. The situation was truly cruel and violently disturbing for the weak Skakoan.

What was revealed behind the door was a chamber of blood, pain and flesh but all Rul could see was a blood-drenched throne.

 

[Zoyût]

"The very fabric of your mind threatens to topple, child." the voice said, once more filling the room with the sensation that the sound came from every angle. A singular sound began though, the sound of metal scraping on stone. There was something unsettling about the way it played about, as if making a tune from the disharmonious noise. "I can feel your doubt, your fear. It is like a stench that rolls from you. Have you come to be cleansed of this weakness, child?" she said once more, ensuring that the voice as the type to lull someone in while never truly allowing the listener to feel comfortable.

Here in this crypt the speaker lingered deeply in the shadows, never presenting the chance to be spotted. She moved like liquid almost, sinking into the darkness and back across the room once eyes wandered too closely to her position. The one singular truth about her, was that she radiated a depth of darkness that many often dreamed of achieving in their communion with the Force. "Welcome, dear child, to the Temple of Flesh and Bone. May it satisfy all of your curiosities and answer all of your deepest questions." she said with a false sweetness in her voice. The alchemy that altered her and created in her more than she once was had been robust in its delivery. Even now, with metal grafted to bone permanently she had become inured to her own agony. The pain was merely part of her life, fuel for the Dark Side that left a lingering taint behind wherever she went.

Zoyût began to toy with the strange alien that had visited her resplendent home. Prying in on the edges of his mind she set to work offering illusions before his very mind's eye. Within this hollow tomb the throne was now occupied, a young woman seated in the spiked chair with blood flowing from the open wounds created by the furniture itself. She beckoned to the stranger, calling him to step into the center of the chamber. In an instant hooked chains shot from all directions, and in mere moments her skin was flayed, removed from her body entirely leaving a visceral view of the muscle beneath.

Behind the illusory woman an altar lit up with a deep red glow. "Bear witness to my profane litanies, child." as the Sith woman finally revealed herself to the seeker. She was tall, unnaturally so, and lanky. Her limbs were long, and her hands ended in long, claw-like digits. What appeared to be armor was actually metal plating grafted into her flesh and bone, and from her radiated a powerful aura of pure darkness. In her profane beauty, worshipers prostrate themselves before her, ready to receive their communion. She bled from the joint of her wrist into a chalice, and peeled from her flesh offerings to the half dozen that were now kneeling before her. Each of them receive of her blood and flesh, eating and drinking as if starved for her mere presence.

"The Sith that teach you, child, have shown you their way. They have guided you toward their own version of truths for those that seek knowledge." Zoyût said, holding out one final offering of her flesh and blood to the stranger that had come to her temple, "I, am the way."

 

[Rul Tondar]

A new voice lingered within the brittle mind of Rul. This voice, however, was louder than the others and made the Sith apprentice feel ever-growing darkness around him. A deeply overwhelming silence crept through the Skakoan as he stood in what seemed to be an empty throne room, his voices had not been talking to him. The womanly voice was unsettling as it moved through the room traversing unnoticed using the pitch-black shadows. It was then when the Sith notices that the womanly voice was not those of his mind but a different presence altogether. A shocking realization of the damming circumstance flooded in the Skoakona as he froze in horror.

The womanly voice was right about Rul, his mind was brittle and could fall apart with every second. The Skakoan had little control over his crazed mind, as it now belonged to the fruitless voices that haunted him daily. Often all he wished for was to silence the whispers as they cried at him but, then he understood they were the only ones that worry for the broken Skakoan. How would he endure the pain of life without his friends guiding him through their words, they were not the hindrance, Rul was. So to answer the question that was floating through this horrid place, he had come to wipe his vessel from infirmity and be reborn.
" Cleans my weakness, take my fears and doubts and turn them into strength and courage".

The once empty blood cathedra was now occupied by a young frail lady. Blood was spilling as the throne itself inflicted wounds on its occupant. The ghost-like expression of the women was all but calming in an extreme situation as this however, Rul felt her calling for him and he wanted to answer the wounded woman. A series of frightful events lead to the woman being separated from her coat of flesh, leaving a decrepit being of pain and misery behind. Most would feel abominate towards such an image but the Sith felt enriched by the suffering portrayed, he bathed in it giving him the drive to indulge in this temple of misery. Seeing lost souls in pain was an image Rul could watch for eternity, it reminded him of his power yet once the roles are switched he crumbles like glass under pressure.

The events that were unrolling in front of him were all but over. A tall person emerged behind the skinless woman, it was that of a devilish woman. The figure was towering, to such limits he had rarely seen. Her branches of limbs were long-drawn, and her hands ceased in large, dagger-like nails. The skin of this figure seemed to be a cruel merger of armour and flesh, and again Rul could feel the radiant and mighty aura of profound darkness. In addition to the devilish female creature appearing, an abundance of cult-like persons were praying in a prostrate position towards the devilish character. The sudden appearance of so many characters made the Sith suspicious but he had long ago lost control of the situation. As if he wasn't there the cult members and what seemed to be their point of worship continued with their bloody ritual, drinking the blood of the women as she blend into a circular chalice and peeled her pure flesh for her followers to indulge in.

The women once more addressed Rul and his Sith origin as she proclaimed he had been thought a truth that differed from her way of teaching. The sith teachings were ancient and had changed through the millennia such as creating different branches of beliefs, some more powerful than others. The Sith apprentice had often belives that the Brotherhood of Maw was a weak fracture of sith culture and only followed their ways because of his limited knowledge of other Sith organisations. As the women held out one last piece of flesh and sip of blood the Skakoan wondered if this was the way he wanted to believe in, the way of Blood and Flesh.

Once He would go down this path of horror and knowledge there would be no returning to normality. This path would share with him ancient secrets and great power but at what price. Yet he could no longer linger in his old path of enlightenment. He had already made up his mind long before he was asked the question. "Let me embrace your truth, feast on your flesh and quench my thirst with your blood". He spoke and simultaneously received her horrid gifts, thus accepting her dark path.

 

[Zoyût]

The grim task was done. Her guest had supped of her profane communion and begged for relief from his weakness and falsehoods. Zoyût reached out with her left hand, and with her index finger, intended to cut across the top of this man's forehead, "Partake of my blessings, and become as one with the Order of Flesh." she said, her haunting voice having a metallic tone to it. She was a grim amalgam of natural and unnatural parts made whole, something greater than the two would have been apart. This Sith was a tremendous power, but one that lurked within darkness away from the limelight many other Sith sought.

Zoyût disappeared before his eyes the moment she had finished her reaching out. It was as if she had never even been there to begin with, as all the blood in the room had vanished and any hint of suffering was cleansed from the place. Stranger still, it was more brightly lit than ever and was as this place had never existed. It was then that hints came to mind, things that were not of the Temple he had been in moments ago. The Sith was projecting another illusory event, working to pry at the edges of his frayed mind. She offered him a glimpse of a possible future, wherein he returned home to Skako, only to lose control of himself yet again and this time it was his family that was slain in his outburst. The Pureblood was searching for fears, weaknesses, and once she found them she would exploit them until they no longer plagued the man in her presence.

The cultists that had worshipped her now formed a circle around her and projected their power into her. Zoyût was serving as a conduit of the Dark Side to channel these illusions with the aid of these cultists. It was only mere moments outside of the illusion, but her intent was to make this man experience them fully. There would be a moment of disorientation as the scene shifted though, and now she delved deeper into memory more than just passing a false prophecy. It was as if he was back in a gene laboratory, but this time she preyed on his self-worth. All of these experiments, were failing before his eyes. Not as a regular matter of scientific progress, but catastrophically so. A horrifying mutilated beast was tearing through the lab rending flesh and smashing bone. There was terror and pain to behold, and though only for a moment to her she pulled away her finger from the man and frowned, "Fragile, so fragile."

Zoyût sat in the spiked throne unflinchingly. Spikes pierced her flesh and she bled profusely from the self-inflicted punishment. The Dark Side warped around her and even though there was a tremendous amount of pain floating in the room, she appeared as if she was entirely unbothered by what was happening to her. "There will be no great conquests for you, child. Not until you can conquer your weakness. Let not fears master you, but master your own fears. Without that small amount of control, there will be little that I can do to harden your mind. By joining the Order of Flesh you now commit yourself to using pain to focus your mind. Are you prepared to suffer for your power, knowing that your failure will mean a slow and torturous death?"

 

[Rul Tondar]

Her long dagger-like finger was pointed towards Rul and intended to cut him. He had no hesitation as he held his forehead to her finger as she engraved an eternal mark on him with the tip of her index finger. He had officially left behind all things and was committed to his future and all things that involved the dark Lord of flesh and blood. "I thank you for your offerings and wholeheartedly pledge myself to you as a follower of your beliefs". His voice was steady and confident as he made direct eye contact with the haunting figure in front of him. For a second he felt the power and courage flow through his blood as he stood in the throne room that once forced him to his knees in terror.

Just as fast as the mirage appeared it scattered again, leaving behind an empty and well-lighted room with no memory of the before had blood ritual. The temple was all too familiar and the more he stared at the crypt-like walls the more they faded turning into his faraway homeworld of Skako. He then recognised this to be his dark future, one in which he returned home to Skako as a Sith Lord in control of unimaginable power and fame. He stood at the wooden doorway of his old family home, behind him a city in ruins as his troops executed the people who once rejected him. His forces were unstoppable as they slaughtered all life from the once lively city. All the chaos was due to another outbreak of emotional weakness from the Skakoan Sith. What started with a small flame erupted into the destruction of Skako. His wish was only to reunite with the family that once sent him away because of his weakness, but not even their harmless lives were spared as he himself extinguished the light within them. He stood above their corpses with all that remained were the memories of their painful screams begging him to show mercy, but he did not. Rul did not shed a single tear in the fall of his home and family for he had met the point in his life where the pain was a constant he no longer tended.

A sudden blow backwards carried Rul back into his old gene lab on Skako, it seemed normal with all the other researchers going about their normal procedures and even Rul was working on one of his old projects. Rul was cutting open a dead Skakoan politician whose suit leaked when he was on Naboo. Within seconds his body had explosively decompressed with all bones being pulverised and organs being crushed leaving behind a flesh bag in a puddle of blood. His body was expensive to get but the young Skakoans parents used to spare no expense for their child. The Sith both remembered this memory and felt it at the same time, it was an abnormal experience that horrified him. As if stuck in a loop he continued through his procedures just as he used to but something was off, the dead carcass was peering at him. "I don't feel so good Doctor, do something please the pain is too much" the corpse was now addressing the biologist in a faint raspy voice, most likely due to his compressed airways. But this was not the only occurrence as suddenly all his other experiments pooped out from the shadows, mechanically cursed creatures and remains of decompressed Skakoans had crowded the dim laboratory and all were screaming his name. "RUL TONDAR". The creatures had originally been a success but now they were creatures of blood destroying all in their path, he felt the failure of his experiments cloud his mind. For all his self-worth was brutally ripped out with one cold swoop as his creatures that once served as trophies were now feasting on his defenceless and weak associates. Each achievement had fallen to ruins and all he could do was to cower in the corner and watch. The pillars of his mind were crumbling as thoughts of death were being built up.

The Skakoan was pulled back into reality and with him, years of unprocessed emotion and physical pain. Where once he was an emotionless Sith Lord he now knelt a weak apprentice unable to hold back tears of agony and suffering. Yet this nervous breakdown was offbeat, he might be fragile both physically and mentally but Rul had regained his control of emotion and quickly took them under his control. The pain was still in his closet mind itching to burst out but for the time the Sith could recapture a sense of character in front of his new master. He had accepted that pain was going to be constant and a small part of him wanted it more than he thought. Rul was ready to die for the power he could be granted if he continued down this path of torture and death. "I want to conquer my feelings, but it is hard, so hard and tiring. Teach me to be better give me the power" Although he was in pain the Sith was speaking arrogantly and bold towards the being of immense horror a presence that toppled him in all ways.