She shivered again, and drew her hand back from his, quickly placed her other one over it.

“I—I find I need time to…” she began, then stopped, wondering.

Time to—what? Rest? Recover from trauma? Become accustomed to the idea that she was Dark Lady without a Lord… something which she had already consigned herself to months ago when Recinis had first left?

“To meditate,” she finally finished, then tilted her head to Phalomir even as she sent a quiet reply along the link she shared with Shayla.

”Lord Recinis and I have parted ways this night, Shayla, by action of my own undertaking as he remained lacking in his.”

--------------------

He looked around the hallway.

“I shall try to find my room. I believe it may be this way…”

He smiled and shrugged.

“Or perhaps this way…”

His face showed concern once more, and a soft smile crossed his lips.

[ 11-30-2003 11:27 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

--------------------

Lord Recinis and I have parted ways this night, Shayla, by action of my own undertaking as he remained lacking in his...

A thought came instantaneously to her mind.

Hadn't Graysith been with Lord Phalomir when she had left her? When did Recinis come into the picture?

Shayla sent a simple question along the link once more, knowing Graysith would understand the implications. What happened with Lord Phalomir after I departed from your company?

For a moment Shayla left her thoughts at this, but something deep within her pushed her to take heed at last of just where her feet had been carrying her all along.

Do you need me? I am already on the way...

[ 11-30-2003 09:23 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

--------------------

"it is time..." his voice broke the dead silence in his chambers as he moved to the doorway, touching a few places on the wall it opened a hair and he stepped out, closing it immediatly afterwards.

He stepped confidently down the stone corridors, his robes whiping to the silent rythme of his legs.

--------------------

"If you will follow me, I shall lead you to your rooms," she said to Phalomir, turning and beginning to walk along the corridor. "They are this way, and not far from my own."

As she walked, she sent a thought out to Shayla:

"Although the hour grows late and we have much to do on the morrow, I feel a need to spend time with you. Please meet me at my chambers, sister."

--------------------

He followed her through the hallways, embarrassed as to how close he actually had been to his room. When they reached his door they both stopped. He smiled, but the Dark Lady seemed lost in thought. He cast a concerned look to her.

“I hope you find peace in your meditations,” he said. “And remember, should you need me, I am here. I always shall be.”

He wanted to say more, to touch her hand, hold her, anything to make this moment linger. But he did not. He wrenched control away from his aching heart, nodded slightly and put his hand on the doorknob.

--------------------

His form was much different then when last they laid eyes upon him, and he did not expect to be recognized.

For now he towered above his mother, at a full grown height of 7 feet, his form remained thin, lean muscle hidden beneath the folds of his great robes. His eyes had shifted into a radiant violet which mirrored those that were held by his mothers. His horns had grown proportionatly with his height, thrusting forward and then upward a few feet into the air with small spirals. His skin had darkened and become more red then his earlier years would show, and his head had become shaved save a single red braid that escaped from the back of his head.
Altogether looking like a much older, more sith dominant, Jharu.

His gaze focused upon the eyes of his mother and he smiled to himself.
"i believe i hold answers that you would be pleased to hear." his voice drifted softly from his lips.
Let us see how your mind reacts to this mother... Let us see just how fare your motherly bonds and instincts can stretch.

[ 12-03-2003 04:12 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jharu ]

--------------------

"Guards! A strange one has entered the temple and penetrated deeply, almost to my very room! Attend your Dark Lady at once!"

It seemed but mere moments had passed before her ears caught the sound of swiftly approaching footsteps. And even as they came, Graysith paused, feeling her alarm lessen by the tiniest bit as a strange feeling of recognition came over her. She tilted her head to one side, reaching out tentatively to the stranger....

"Jharu?" she whispered, taking an involuntary step forward even as Phalomir stepped briskly between her and the newcomer.

She hit the feeling of smug derision as if she had slammed into a brick wall, and recoiled. Her eyes darkened.

"What is this strangeness?" she finally asked, her brows lowering.

[ 12-03-2003 05:10 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

--------------------

Then slowly he lifted the robes from his wrist to reveal the symbol that long ago she herself had enscribed there, in order to assure her of his identity.

he took a deep breath before speaking.
"this 'strangness' as you put it... is the conclusion to actions taken ealier upon this very day...

Aelvedaar flung me through time... I landed far away... Deep in the past... I became a part of the history of events which leads to this very day..."

he looked about nervously for a moment before turning his gaze into his mothers once again.
"The shorthand is that I am here because it is i that set history in motion... I that changed the course of time... it is a strange paradox, that to this day i do not understand... "

he leaned in slightly and spoke more quietly.
"When Aelvedaar disposed of me... I landed 10000 years in the past... In the very years that Recinis called home... I was found by a sorcerer... And learned his art... And through means of great 'magics' if they could be called so.... I am here with the very same method that i sent my father to this time to protect you long before..."

he then leaned back and glanced about "you must forgive me if my details are somewhat... sparse... But this is a somewhat... Public place... Would it be possible to find a more enclosed location, even if it is merly within this room, i do not like speaking in hallways...."

as he spoke of rooms he gestured to the door phalomir had earlier been preparing to open.
Before adding quietly
"I know its probably hard to accept... But i can explain everything if you give me a chance... I am your son... Mostly anyway... After what Aelvedaar did to me... Im not sure what is left of my original self..."

A sad smile crept onto his features for a second before he continued slowly,
"You never realize how much you rely on something as a comforter... Untill it is taken from you and you are left with only half of yourself to survive..."

[ 12-03-2003 06:36 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jharu ]

--------------------

A chill raced up and down Graysith’s spine, but she held the following reflexive shiver at bay. Crossing her arms over herself, she snorted in derision.

“Your father was sent into a Long Sleep, to awaken at this time period to protect the one he only knew as the Graysith. That he did admirably enough, along with the assistance of others until the reason he had been sent her to protect me had been achieved.

“The Sith were brought back, into this time as planned, albeit under unsettled leadership. I have, however, no qualms that we shall find resolution to that final question.”

She paused again, sending a tendril of herself out into his mind, his essence, his very spirit. What she sensed there caused her to shiver again; quietly, she removed that tendril altogether, and took a step back.

“Why you are here may or may not be of importance; this will be determined when you plead your case. Or at least allow the reasons for it in audience sought along the proper channels… as you say you are mostly my son.

“You will follow proper protocols and procedures, Jharu; Phalomir—“

She broke off, turning smoothly away from Jharu and letting her gaze fall into his green eyes.

“As a Dark Lady to a Dark Lord, I would speak with thee this night,” she said formally.

After ordering the hurriedly approaching Salandaar to see Jharu to a room she bowed her head, then turning away headed off toward her own chambers. Meanwhile she sent off a silent plea to Shayla that she hurry and meet them both there.

--------------------

He let the energies that were building inside of him calm, but his instincts still told him something was not right.

He followed Jharmeen into the room and glanced back down the hall once more. He shook his head in confusion and walked inside, closing the door behind him.

[ 12-03-2003 08:00 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

--------------------

He laughed to himself for a moment as the thoughts struck through him.
"I am Jharu still mother... But i am not the Jharu you knew... For half of the jharu you knew was destroyed and placed into another vessel.... I am merly the remains..."
His voice wove itself through the darkness as though a poem from the lips of a singing minstril. Then his gaze went slowly to the symbol upon his wrist, which symbolized the part of him that was still her son... Then quietly his gaze went to the now revealed symbol upon his other wrist, which sybolized to him all that he had lost...
I often wonder if there is enough of me left that is what you knew for you to harver love for me again... and i must say... to this day i am not sure...

his eyes narrowed dangeriously as he swore a silent curse to aelvedaar for destroying him...

"someday jharu... Someday you will rise again, and fulfil the roles you have set forth to be filled..."

as he spoke he took out a small vial and began playing with it mildly.
Have some faith mother... You are far to paranoid...

--------------------

...a strange one has entered the Temple and penetrated deeply, almost to my very room!

Shayla's feet took wings at this. Though she knew not who this intruder was, it didn't matter. The safety of Graysith mattered first and foremost. As Shayla finally rounded the corner, she was unsurprised to find Sith guards already in the area, and no apparent stranger to be found.

Good, she thought briefly, At least it appears any initial threat has been taken care of.

Jerking herself from this thought then, Shayla stepped to the entrance of Graysith's bedchambers whereupon she was met by a Sith guard. She nodded to him respectfully.

"The Dark Lady has asked that I meet her here," she said simply then. The guard didn't say a word, but instead nodded once and stepped to the side of the door, allowing Shayla passage. Once more she nodded respectfully to him before she stepped into the room where she found Phalomir and Graysith waiting.

Her eyes met Graysith's in concern. "What happened? How is it that a stranger managed to worm his way into these walls, as fortified as they are?" she queried worriedly, sensing somehow that this was more than a simple intrusion...

...and a mere intruder.

[ 12-03-2003 09:02 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

--------------------

"This... stranger claims to be my-- my son," she faltered. "He-- he claims that when Lord Aelvedaar sent him away, it was to a point 10,000 years in the past...

"...and a point from which he learned of the sorcerer's arts, sending first his own father to this time to meet with me, followed then by himself!"

She shuddered a bit, wrapping her arms about herself.

"Such a paradox ought not to exist; he wished to speak of more, but I felt a strange... inclination to depart from his presence to discuss just what might truly be happening."

Once again she stopped, tilted her head down as she pondered. Another shiver raced through her.

"Lord Roan was able to advance in age certain of my children; indeed, Jharu was brought to life in this manner. Think you a possibility exists that Lord Aelvedaar has followed the same path, and now not only has brought Jharu into adulthood but has taught him something of his art, and has sent him here to first beguile and then try to destroy us?"

--------------------

She paused then a moment, her eyes defocusing as she continued to ponder. "But what indeed would Lord Aelvedaar be trying to distract us from? And why would he risk teaching your own flesh and blood the Sorceror's art simply as a method to beguile us? Jharu is your son; it would stand to reason that he would think first and foremost of his mother...

...unless of course he was bent to serve Lord Aelvedaar's purpose somehow..." Shayla shuddered a bit at her own words, "...and we all know how very convincing Lord Aelvedaar can be when it comes to that..."

At this Shayla trailed, her mind still spinning with ideas and thoughts. Her greeny-blue eyes rested on Graysith for a few moments, then she let her gaze shift to Phalomir. As with Graysith, she let her eyes rest on him a moment...

...and in that moment, the beginnings of another possibility began to emerge. "You know," Shayla said suddenly, "I know that Aelvedaar was the one who took Jharu, but for some reason something about his supposed reappearance seems reminiscent of things that Thoran told me concerning Phalomir. Thoran claimed his Master put he and Phalomir in the Eye together so that he would have time to shape Phalomir's memories and thus set a trap for him. Maybe I'm grasping at straws here but...

...with the apparent all usage of Thoran's master, with Thoran's claim that he was sent into the past to reshape Phalomir's memories...

...and with this older Jharu who thinks he sent his father and then himself here now appearing...

...it just makes me wonder if perhaps Thoran's unnamed master is Aelvedaar himself. After all, false memories were placed within Phalomir...

...and could have just as easily been planted within Jharu. I find it hard to believe that Aelvedaar would actually teach him the art of Sorcerory...

...and I find it even harder to believe that Jharu sent his father ahead in time to meet you. For if Recinis had not been sent forward in time by someone else other than Jharu...

...Jharu would not exist at all. And who else other than Aelvedaar do we know that is quite so skilled at toying with both time and the mind?"

[ 12-08-2003 07:25 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

--------------------

“Aelvedaar is shrouded in much mystery to me. Shayla, what you present is an interesting notion, and one that would I not find surprising if it were true. But to me, having encountered both Aelvedaar and Thoran’s master, they felt as two different beings. For all I know, they could be the same... the master could even be a future alternate version of Aelvedaar. Yet it was different for the one other person I have for certain encountered in multiple timelines. To me, that person felt the same in both--”

His thoughts turned quickly to Jharmeen. A sudden rush of emotions, sensations, and memories ripped through his mind. He tried to hide the instant jolt of pain by leaning forward in his chair and rubbing at an eye. He shook his head and tried to clear his mind.

“The paradox, as you have stated, my lady, is astounding. I am most curious as to how Jharu managed time travel, and why he chose this very night to present himself; the day of his disappearance and the eve of our journey of discovery at the Temple of the Armorers. How long has he been in this timeline as an adult? And could this have something to do with the other stranger that came to you earlier this evening?”

He leaned back in his chair and regarded the Dark Lady with burdened eyes.

“I am afraid I present more questions than answers,” he sighed. “But if you are certain that this man is Jharu, then perhaps we may switch our focus from planning a rescue to concentrating upon finding answers?”

--------------------

“You both have presented me with good, solid questions, and ones which I see no means of finding answer to unless we let… Jharu come speak his mind and trust that he will speak truthfully, or—“

She trailed, letting one slim finger reach out to trace along an intricate design woven into the tapestry of the divan.

“Or we must seek answers ourselves, and without the knowledge of either this newcomer or Lord Aelvedaar.”

She paused a moment with that, letting her eyes darken with the weight of what her last words implied. Clearly they would be fools indeed to believe the Dark Lord of the Sorcerers was sitting nonchalantly in his Temple on the sister planet, unaware of the activity in progress on K’eel Doba. She looked meaningfully from Shayla to Phalomir.

“How can we determine truth from guile? How can we know if the sensations felt by Phalomir are true or false; Shayla is correct in that this Master has the ability to plant false memories within one. The Revealer cannot provide us with answers at this time,” she said quietly, letting her eyes drop to study her lap for a moment. Then she raised her head.

“There are remote locations heavy with ancient history, or so I have been told. Do you think these places would give us a clue as to this mysterious Sith who overpowers your friend Thoran, and who may or may not be Aelvedaar himself? Indeed, Lord Aelvedaar came from a time four thousand years in the past—“

She cut herself off momentarily, wondering at the utter simplicity of that statement, wondering why it had never really struck her in that manner before.

“Would there be clues as to who he is as well?

“And what of—of Jharu?” she ended with, gulping a bit in pain. It seemed she really had no son any longer; indeed, almost as if she never had one at all, so short a time did she have to spend with the lad who in turn never had the privilege of enjoying the simple pleasure of living a normal childhood. She pushed that thought away with some effort, trying to remain focused on the possibility that Jharu this man might be, but son to her simply by the fact of the genes contained in his body.

“What of Jharu?” she repeated. “Shall we go to him now, ask our questions, grant him audience on the morrow… or remain silent and see if he takes it upon himself to approach us via normal protocols his—situation would demand?”

She fell silent then, raising her hand now to her forehead to push her hair from her face, feeling suddenly very, very weary.

--------------------

...and most likely a great risk on all counts. But would one way possibly present less risk than another? And was the amount of risk alone a good measuring stick as to what route to take? Or should they look beyond just the risk of any action they took?

She began by voicing those very concerns aloud. "I don't know if there is any way to completely hide our movements from Aelvedaar," she stated then, "Unless of course the All can grant us an advantage of sorts. We've always believed that the All only works when the Greater Good is at stake..."

Shayla paused, frowning, "...but then I don't know if we can even rely on that anymore after all that has happened. Perhaps the Eye and the Finger of R'lous can somehow be used to give us an advantage over Aelvedaar...

...but I think it would serve us best to keep Aelvedaar on the offensive rather than give him the ability to go on the defensive. As for Jharu..."

Again she paused, pursing her lips as she continued to consider, "...perhaps it would be best for us to see if he will make use of appropriate avenues to speak with us. My concern in going and confronting him is, first and foremost, that this would put him on the defensive. Not to mention that perhaps going directly to him and granting him audience may make us seem a little too eager for answers...

...but then again it may give us the upper hand by making us appear totally in control." Shayla looked to Graysith, "You are, after all, the Dark Lady of the Warriors, and you gained such a position by the authority you have taken. Perhaps now is the time to take that authority once more. After all, we can always take that which Jharu may claim and compare it to any factual evidence we can gather from these ancient sources of history you have mentioned. We have more than one resource to gather information from here...

...I believe it would benefit us if we took advantage of them all."

--------------------

...if you could call bread that tasted about two months old that. Not to mention the lack of clean water...

He sighed at this thought, pacing his holding cell once more, wondering if these Sith were ever going to do anything with him. He hated to admit it, but Matt almost wished he had some of that Walk'n Fall stuff Jasyn liked to smash himself with occasionally...

... almost. And in the words of Han Solo, anything had to be better than waiting around. But then, perhaps he wouldn't be waiting around forever...

...perhaps. Hearing the mossy "door" of his holding cell open, Matt turned smartly to face the Sith warrior who now entered with a tray in his hands. Matt didn't even pay attention to the tasteless bread and water sitting on it...

...but rather chose to meet the Sith's aquamarine gaze with his intense green eyes.

The Sith are an honorable race, came Aaron's words screaming through Matt's mind even as he bowed his head respectfully then to this Sith in a show of deference. Momentarily he couldn't help but wonder just how to address this poweful being. He was more than a mere warden. Should he address him as Sir? Great one? What did the protocol demand?

Not having enough knowledge to make such a judgement, Matt knew he'd have to let his body language convey what his words may or may not. He met the Sith's gaze with assurity after nodding in respect once more. He wasn't sure if this Sith would even understand basic, but he hoped he would at least understand one word in his brief statement. "Sir, I humbly request an audience with your leader Graysith, so that I may at least plead my case..."

He quieted at this, waiting, never flinching.

...and so that I may perhaps get some of the answers we have sought for seemingly so long, came a silent addendum even as he continued to wait quietly and patiently.

[ 12-14-2003 03:40 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Matt Stanza ]

--------------------

“Yes,” she said simply, rising to her feet. “We should indeed make use of all resources available to us. And the first one shall be Jharu, if indeed he is who he claims to be.”

Still nodding to herself, she went to the door where a long, velvety bell-pull hung. Taking up the heavily tasseled hanging she gave it a great jerk, then stepped back and waited in silence, crossing her hands in front of herself. Her wait was not a lengthy one; mere moments passed before there came a knock on her door, followed by a muffled but respectful, “My Lady, you called?”

Graysith moved forward and opened the door to reveal Salandaar. For a moment their eyes met; she frowned, reading something in his, and immediately reached out a tendril of her essence into his mind. He merely closed his eyes, tilting back his head to offer himself freely to her; when she found what she sought, she yanked that tendril from him with a suddenness that was almost savage.

“This one was not to be treated in that manner!” she scolded, her eyes flashing into the Sith’s now opened pair. He blinked, but kept a level gaze sweeping out a space somewhere behind her right shoulder. Tension crackled; then she reached out a hand to him.

“You did not know,” she said softly, quickly adding, “See to it that he is removed from the cell, and given food and clothing and comfortable rooms. I would speak with him on the morrow; meanwhile…”

She paused a moment, cut a quick glance over her shoulder to Shayla and Phalomir. Then she turned back to Salandaar.

“Take a message to—to Jharu,” she said, stumbling slightly before hurrying on. “Inform him he may now seek audience with me, as he was so eager to do. I shall wait for him in the Grand Reception Hall; go now, my friend.”

She smiled and gave Salandaar a light touch. He responded with a, “Yes, my Lady,” bowed once with fist over his chest, turned and left. She let her gaze thump against his retreating back until the closure of her door cut off that avenue entirely; then she turned back to the others.

“Come,” she said, and took a step to one side. “We shall go to the Reception Hall and await Jharu. I shall give him the course of this night to come to us; if he does not, then—“

She broke off, her eyes darkening dangerously.

“Then I know he truly is no longer my son, and his presence here one of beguilement and possible danger to us.”

For a moment she let herself wallow in dark visions only she herself could see; then she lightened perceptibly, and drew in a deep breath. Heading to her dressing curtain, she began to reclothe herself.

“I am sorry that I am dragging you into this with me, my friends,” she called out as she dressed, “but I need you by my side. The night, I am afraid, promises one way or another to be a long one; on the morrow we may rest and recover from that which we must now endure.”

Unless more evil should arise within the next few hours… she could not help but add to herself, knowing full well the others heard that comment as clearly as if she had spoken the words aloud.

“Come,” she repeated as she exited, clad now in a long gown of shimmering ruby and wearing her signature cloak of rune encrusted smoke. She paused to attend to a nonexistent wrinkle, then turned round and led them from her chambers and out into the corridor beyond.

“Go and dress yourselves; I shall meet you in the Hall,” she said, waving them both away. Then she turned from them and continued on, and soon gained entry to the Grand Reception Hall of the Temple. There she strode up to the great pair of thrones and came to a stop. Sinking down on one step of the dias, she arranged her robes about herself and quietly began to wait.

--------------------

...but something told her she just might need to be a little more prepared for action than that. Fastening her weapons belt around her waist, Shayla couldn't help but frown ever the slightest. It was bare of a lightsaber or even a blaster...

In time, you will have no need for such toys...

...and she found herself truthfully not caring. Excepting the fact that she was a Jedi, and at some point she may have to defend herself.

But then, who says you have to pursue agressive negotions with weapons? Even a Force-user has powers of his or her own to avoid such things...

...as do you.

Secure in that very realization, Shayla finished dressing, replacing her boots on her feet and pulling her violet cloak about herself. In but a few minutes she entered the Hall where Graysith already sat waiting and came to her side.

"He's made no attempt for audience yet?" Shayla queried then, cocking a brow and waiting for the answer she somehow already knew was coming.

[ 12-19-2003 07:25 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

--------------------

Had he been granted audience already? Or was something else going on? And why was it that they were allowing a man who had been imprisoned in a cell only moments before now walk freely behind a single Sith? Aaron had said that Terrin had some sort of connection with these guys, and particularly Graysith, though Matt couldn't remember it...

...but perhaps it was so with this apparent change in events.

As they progressed through a maze of winding corridors, Matt's intense green eyes took in the lavishness and beauty of the grand Sith Temple, soaking in every detail. At length, however, the Sith stopped in front of a heavy and richly carved door. Still without a word, the Sith motioned Matt to stop there, opening the door and looking inside as if inspecting the situation within. Matt cocked a curious brow, then lowered it.

The warrior then turned to him, speaking his first distinct words.

"You may rest and refresh yourself within. The Graysith will speak with you on the morrow. Should you desire sustenance, there is a Dining Hall straight down the hallway."

With no further word than this, the Sith stepped to the side, allowing Matt passage into the room.

Matt nodded once, politely. "Thank you for your hospitality," he said, then stepping into the room. As the warrior closed the door behind him, even the typically calm Matt Stanza couldn't stop his jaw from dropping at the sheer opulence of the quarters he'd apparently been assigned to.

Kriffing hell. Possible connections indeed...

[ 12-17-2003 09:47 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Matt Stanza ]

--------------------

As he entered the great hall he cast his gaze about untill he located his mother, with a slight smile he quickly approuched her, she was in the pressence of Shayla, his smile broadened for a moment before his features returned to utter calmness.

When he reached them he bowed respectfully.
"you called for me?" his words came from his lips smoothly before his gaze swept the rest of the hall to take in the sight.

Finaly his gaze returned to his mother's, eyes locking into hers.

--------------------

“You called for me?” he asked her politely enough. Graysith’s violet eyes turned garnet, and she rose to her feet in one fluid motion.

“No, I did not call for you,” she said in a dangerous tone of voice, sweeping his tall form with a cold gaze. “I merely let it be known that I was now available; it was up to you to seek audience with me, to adhere to proper protocols in presenting this information which you carry. The halls of this temple or one’s private chambers are no place for such things to be spoken.”

She paused, letting her hands idly smooth her gown and cloak a bit before she whirled and continued up the stepped dias to the pair of ornately carved and bejeweled thrones at its apex. Once there she went to the smaller of the two, and settled herself comfortably upon it, one hand now tracing the designs etched in bas relief along one of its arms.

At length she leant forward.

“While it is possible for you, as Jharu, to have gone into the past as a young man, there to grow to the adulthood which you have reached, it is an utter paradox that you be the one to send your own father to this time to meet with me. The timeline itself will not allow such things to happen, that which I know as the All would not as well. It simply runs that the existence of everything which is in the manner in which it should be run, and such paradoxes cannot be allowed.”

She straightened, her eyes segueing from garnet into deep tourmaline. They flicked to Shayla, bidding her in silence to stand ready, but before lighting back on Jharu flicked away toward the double door. A pang gripped her throat, and she suddenly found herself hoping Phalomir would come striding through those doors. She forced that feeling aside for the moment, and turned her focus back on the one claiming to be her son.

“You appeared this night with dark intimations; I would hear these now,” she said formally, and fell silent. The only sound to fill the echoing chamber was a light but steady tapping, as she unconsciously began drumming the fingertips of one hand upon the wood laying beneath it.

--------------------

He closed his eyes and sighed. He sincerely hoped that what he had felt earlier with her was real, the spark of something forming. Although for Phalomir that spark was a raging fire that had consumed him for years, although in another time.

He slowly cleared his head and began his way to the Grand Reception Hall. Moments later he was standing outside the doors and taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He steadied himself and prepared to do battle with emotions, vain attempts to keep his attention focused on things other than Jharmeen. He stepped forward and flung the doors open, striding stalwartly through the opening.

He stopped and stared at the man claiming to be Jharu, who had turned to face Phalomir. The doors, carried by the momentum of Phalomir’s entrance, closed shut. Phalomir stared blank faced at the Sith-appearing man before him, a man who this morning barely reached Phalomir’s waist and who now stood nearly Phalomir’s own height.

“Forgive me,” he said flatly. “I was not aware an audience was in progress.”

He turned his gaze to the Dark Lady, seated in one of the thrones further into the Hall. A small smile seemed to curl from her lips, and Phalomir’s heart skipped slightly. He looked back to Jharu and leveled his stare upon him.

--------------------