Yet--

She finally drew in a shuddering breath and managed to compose herself a fraction as another thought came to her.

Who had it been who so adamantly adhered to the supposition that Aelvedaar was traitor to her? Who had been in the possession, however briefly, of Rykounagin?

Who seemed to have an uncanny talent for persuasion, being adept with praise and warm-fuzzies and promises of friendship?

Her eyes narrowed, then blazed. In one swift movement she released the Finger of R'lous, and using her talents sent it hovering in mid-air above them once more.

"Touch this not," she said tersely, then turned to the youth.

"You swore an oath of fealty to me, an oath of blood, which is something not to be taken lightly. This you claim was at the behest of another; thus to you the oath was false and non-binding."

She paused, thinking.

"By rights you should die for this traitorous action. But, unlike yourself, I take such an oath seriously. It has meaning to me.

"Thus you shall not die, but believe me you shall wish you had...."

She suffixed those words by raising one hand. With a graceful wave and a dark smile, she used every bit of All-strength available to her, opening up a tiny corner into that chilling abyss known only as the Elseness.

A single, lithe twist of her wrist, and Rykounagin was propelled roughly into it.

The opening closed as nonchalantly as her next words, leaving an empty space where he had been standing.

"I shall go to Khar Delba, to meet with my dear Sire. Then I shall indeed know what is true and what is false, as well as the intentions of those who claim so much by mere words alone."

Giving her head a brisk nod she moved away from the fireplace and went to a sideboard to partake of some food. M'wonBo'o, ever faithful, went with her.

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

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

He rose to his full height, wobbling slightly. He was still slightly pale, but struggled to maintain an air of power and dignity about him. He took several deliberate steps towards the Dark Lady, pausing when he was in range for her to hear his soft voice.

“I know you do not believe me, and are frustrated by my words. But if you intend to visit Lord Aelvedaar, then please allow me to go with you. If all is well, I shall simply meld into the background as a visiting Lord. But if my fears are true, then I wish to be there to defend you.”

He staggered a bit, then caught the edge of a table with his bloodied hand. The wound opened, and he winced again. He reached for a long cloth napkin with his other hand and bound the wound.

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

Indeed, she knew him not, but he did seem to hold steadfastly to her... at least far more so than had that traitorous whelp Rykounagin.

"That," she said, allowing a bit of a smile creep into her words as she swallowed. "That is acceptable, although M'wonBo'o might have some issues with your intentions of defending me from harm.

"But that--" She went on, nodding to the wound Phalomir was trying to bind with a napkin.

"That is unsightly, and offends my eyes at the dining table."

With that she closed her eyes, reaching inward. The Glyph obediently responded, springing into life as she then reached forth with her talents, seeking platelet and collagen and binding agent and the white cells swarming to the inflamed puncture...

...and strengthened them all. A few moments more, and the wound was entirely healed.

"There, that is better," she said as a hovering attendant leapt forward to take up and then dispose of the soiled napkin. She watched him go, marvelling to herself of how far she seemed to have progressed with her usage of the All; then sniffed and turned back to Phalomir.

"I am not above being open for suggestion," she stated in apparent non sequiteur.

"What do you think we should do with that?"

So saying, she raised the haunch to her lips once more, nodding toward the hovering Finger, her eyes pinned directly into Phalomir's green ones.

[ 05-26-2004 06:58 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

But I shall fear not, my master's plans shall not go awry, and even then at the point of sure sucess or destruction, I will survive. There is to much for me to learn of my past, and of my inevitable future for me to die.

Rykounagin thought this for a long time. Or did he? Did it merely happen in the flash of a heartbeat? Or did it take so long that before he could know it, he would be back before Graysith.

Such was the power, of the place known as, Elseness.

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

Graysith's words troubled Ragorian. If she truly did go to speak with this Aelvedaar, he would almost certainly not confirm the story the Axis had given them. And if that happened, Rykounagin would almost certainly either die or be ripped from him entirely, thus again leaving him unfound and lost, for millenia untold. He must stop that from happening, in whatever way possible.

Rykounagin, he said to the young boy, his voice tinged with regret, I am most sorry for getting you in this situation. I must say, I did almost believe we would escape from here with the Axis. Now matters are worse, and it is only because of my mistakes that your life is in danger. I promise, I will do whatever I can to protect you, and allow you to escape. No matter the cost.

Keeping that link intact, Ragorian opened another, much smaller one that he had been desperate to keep secret before. One that he had kept with the spirit of the Axis.

So far, my friend, he said in a cool voice, your plan does seem to have kept Rykounagin and I from death. But we seem to be in a predicament at the moment. If Graysith pays a visit to this Lord Aelvedaar, I doubt that he will verify our story. It seems likely that Rykounagin shall be either killed or tortured if this occurs, something I do not wish to happen. It seems necessary for us to escape the plantet soon. If you still wish to keep us alive, could you perhaps tell us what this place is, or how Rykounagin may escape from it?

Falling silent along the link, Ragorian waited anxiously for the spirit's reply.

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

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

“We need to know more of this thing. It is indeed a powerful tool, but there is something – ominous – within it. There must be a reason Lord Rean passed it to me. Perhaps the true power of this device is not yet realized.”

He turned his attention back to the Lady.

“I think perhaps until we discover more, this should be stored away. I do not deign to know the answers, but it seemed to have some sort of… hold upon you. I must retrieve the Eye of R’Lous, it may hold the answers.”

He bit on his upper lip as he considered his next words.

“The last I saw of the Eye was aboard your battleship, before you… before my spirit was sent to the Darker Realms. Do you recall taking the Eye from my body?”

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

Was....

Nothing other than the time she had spent in the Great Temple on Khar Delba, alone for the most part, then a moment of sheer ecstasy with him that was followed by more time alone as he went off to...

To do what? She really didn't know. All she knew that she had stood loyally at his side, and he--

And he had betrayed her. Lord Aelvedaar had rescued her, taken her to his Secret Place, his Sanctum Sanctorum, and there had spent months training her, hard months culminating in the Blood-Hunt ritual in which she became bonded with M'wonBo'o.

Everything faded to soft shadows after that.

Her frown deepened, and she turned her eyes up to Phalomir's.

How green they were, how soothing, like a warm and tropical sea...

She jerked again, and steadied herself.

"I remember nothing, but if you wish I can take us to my warship--"

Momentary pause for quick inner reflection, for where in all the universe had that ship come from? How had she come to be in it? Indeed, when had she learned to pilot such a ship; she did not recall her Dear Sire teaching her....

"--and there you may hunt for this Eye you desire, if you think it will help us at all."

Again she frowned, wondering why she felt they needed any help; indeed, what was it they would need help against?

And where did that insidious "we" come from?

Again she calmed herself, and took another bite of food.

[ 06-03-2004 02:12 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

“Yes,” he said. “Perhaps a brief visit to your ship would prove worthwhile. I am concerned, however. I realize you do not remember, but before you… Before I went unconscious I discovered a bomb of some sort hidden in the storage bay, and used my magick to contain the blast. It was then that you became as if you were… well, possessed. I am concerned that perhaps whatever it was that caused this behavior may still be aboard.”

His eyes narrowed a bit as another thought crossed his mind.

“Then there is the concern as to why Aelvedaar left you on the ship in the first place. And if the Eye were there, he surely would have discovered it himself. But still, it is worth a brief visit.”

A strange twinge rippled through Phalomir’s mind, sending a small surge of Sith magick outward and causing his eyes to flash red for a moment. He put his hand to his head and closed his eyes, trying to find the cause of this sensation. He reached inward, struggling to trace this flicker of power, and came away with only the odd feeling of something slightly unraveling.

He regained his composure and faced the Dark Lady.

“I shall be ready whenever you are, my lady.”

Terrin Danner? Are you here? What are you doing?

[ 06-03-2004 03:02 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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

It widened further, and through it the interior of a ship glimmered enticingly, mysterious sigils glowing while yet others flashed in harmony with each other.

Graysith rose to her feet and indicated the anomaly with the same hand that had created it.

"After you, Sir," she said smoothly as she rose up from her seat. "Unless, of course, in fear for my safety you think it best that I remain behind while you search for this object you have spoken of."

She fell quiet, but a slight smile flickered around her lips. That smile was a bit deceiving however, and did not come close to touching her eyes, which were filled with a combination of concern and curiosity as to Phalomir's strangely cryptic actions.

I shall never understand these people, truly, she couldn't help thinking, nor their magicks.

But that is irrelevant; the All shall protect me when and where it is needed, and from any and all adversaries.

This my Dear Sire has promised me.

Still smiling, she waited... but a small frown began vying with the smile on her face.

She just couldn't quite remember....

[ 06-03-2004 04:14 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

Phalomir let the thought roll through his mind, which still echoed of the magick that washed from him a moment before.

If the spirit -- or whatever it was – that darkened her mind is still there, then I am powerless against it. However, why would it be there? If Aelvedaar were involved in the bomb then he obviously has other plans for her now, after hiding her away in the ship with her memories wiped. That would concur with his suspected involvement with Roan in the Black River.

But, what if Aelvedaar was not involved with the bomb… However unlikely, then perhaps Aelvedaar would have eradicated the thing which controlled her and saved the Lady, possibly even being forced to wipe a portion of her memory…

But this is hard to believe… Unless Aelvedaar truly does care about her… This would complicate matters, considering the animosity he and I seem to have towards each other, but still…Perhaps there is a common ground we share after all.

Phalomir looked to the Dark Lady, the feelings he held for her transparent in his eyes.

“No, I would like it better if you were with me.” He smiled, then added “It would make me feel safer.”

[ 06-03-2004 08:13 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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

Terrin Danner? Are you here? What are you doing?

Terrin frowned mentally. What the kriffing...??? Wasn't that the voice of that Phalomir guy? How was it that he was communicating as though he was seeking him out???

With effort, Terrin pushed the questions aside. After all, Phalomir was a Sith, one who had shown some serious power. Who knew what the guy could do...

I am here, recovering from the strain of being in that other guy's body, he finally responded to Phalomir. Then, And as for any means of helping Graysith uncover her missing past...

He paused, pondering, ...there should be others who could corroborate my story, as well as bring some possible tangible evidence and fill in further missing details...

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

It was a tight mesh of countless ships that nothing seemed to be able to get through. It had several 'capture' ships with tractor beams and the rest simply waited behind them.

He was still several kilometers out from them and their ship sat waiting at full readiness for the slightest move from the imperial ships.

"Plot a course out to some blank area of space with out any nearby suns or planets. I want to be able to get out into the middle of no where incase they try to capture us."

With that said he went back to his quarters to wait.

In the privicy of his quarters Djorn sat at his terminal and studied many of the ship designs. Yes, his personal fighter, when complete, would combine the best aspects of several previos designs. That would maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses. But some weaknesses were unrepairible. But he had managed to only have one of those fatal flaws. And he had managed to minimize its negative, harmful affects.

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

She hesitated no further but quickly stepped forward toward the rent that floated so eerily before them. It shimmered strangely, like rays of sunlight seen filtering through depths of cold ocean water, brightening and darkening, wavering and strengthening, and as she approached it widened to allow her entrance between moments in time.

Abruptly the enticing images of the interior of the warship segued into something dark and dank and oppressingly heavy.

Lifting her cloak daintily, she stepped through and onto the horrific plains of the Darker Realms. She shivered a bit, then turned and waited for Phalomir to follow.

[ 06-07-2004 10:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

Medan thrusted his hand into the overhead storage compartment and fumbled till he found a bottle. Seizing it with his only functioning hand he popped the cap off and down a handfull of pills, Medan couldn't tell. Instantly his body stopped shaking and he fell limp.

Worming around behind him, he flipped the switch in his IDA jammer, causing the blockade to loom ahead of him to recognize him as a friendly. Hoping it had worked, Medan fell into the clutches of sleep.

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

Phalomir stepped forward, following the one single person he held dear in his life, whose love had now twice been taken from him. He stepped through the portal and into the blackness of the Darker Realms, which though the legends of his childhood Phalomir had referred to as the Land Behind the Black River. No matter what it was called, it was a land of evil, of death, and of madness.

He immediately set himself in a defensive stance, ready to call forth his magick to defend the Dark Lady. But nothing stirred in this bizarre realm.

“Hurry, my lady,” he said quietly. “I do not trust this calm.”

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

But there was strangeness there, something powerful and unknown to him, yet oddly enough somehow familiar to him. It was as if the knowledge of that which she apparently was bearing was niggling at the mere corners of his mind, as if his brother, Lord Aelvedaar, was playing his usual mind tricks upon him. There was something there which she held, which came at her command, something more than the All...

And something he dared not confront alone.

Not bereft of Sith magick as he was. Not without the demons of this realm.

It matters not, he snarled to himself as he watched the tall Sith go into a defensive crouch.

There are myriad beings in the universe that man terms real, all with at least one evil thought bandying about in his or her feeble mind. My demons will grow again, this I know to be true.

As true as the fact that she cannot go readily to those places she needs to go without coming here first.

I shall be ready.

We shall be ready, ey my brother?

The thought of a lingering death dealt deliciously to the flame-headed one, not to mention the pleasures he planned once she was dead, was all that kept him hiding and watching....

That and the assurance that their time, Her time, was fast running out.Oh there will be death, one shall die, this my brother has foreseen....

He chuckled, watching Graysith and Phalomir, and continued to bide his time.

[ 06-11-2004 06:17 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Dark Lord Roan ]

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

Yet something stirred deep within Phalomir, something longing to be unleashed. The strange atmosphere called to him, toyed with him, and beckoned forth the desire to let loose the control he held upon his magick and let his powers surge. He suddenly envisioned himself standing on a mountain top staring proudly down upon row after row of demonic imp, all awaiting his order to march upon the land of the living, to conquer, to kill, all in the name of the triad…

With a start, Phalomir jerked his attention away from those thoughts. He stood to his full height and looked cautiously around, eyes scanning for signs of anything.

You are out there, he thought. I know your presence. You want her, but you aren’t going to have her, and it shall not be my hand alone which prevents you. Hide in your shadows, shade. Think your dark thoughts. But never forget, there is an evil greater than yours, and evil has no friends.

“My lady,” he said quietly, “Are you ready? I do not wish to tarry here, it brings back… dangerous memories.”

[ 06-12-2004 06:51 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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

“They proceed with caution, for what good it shall do them,” he said quietly. Roan, though not expecting the intrusion, did not flinch.

“I have come with word,” the Master continued. “Rebuild your armies, my friend, and we shall begin anew. Thanks to you, we now know T’elion’s capabilities, now it is time to determine its intentions. If all goes as foreseen, you shall have your vengeance.”

He stared out once more at the two individuals in the distance.

It was nothing, I saw nothing, he is nervous, remembering our previous encounter in this dark realm, she told herself as she nodded, letting her concerned expression segue into one more relaxed, more alert.

"Indeed, there are memories here," she began, then bit the comment abruptly off. Again she frowned.

Why is it that I feel I should have memories of this place, other than those just recently passed?

Concern again shaded her eyes to garnet, and she shook her head. Abruptly, she turned from Phalomir, putting her back to him, and made a slight motion with one hand.

A rip of darkness shimmered in the dark atmosphere, winking and wavering and exposing glimpses of a corridor of the Sith warship.

"Let us hurry," she said then as without further comment she stepped toward the rift, knowing Phalomir would follow.

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

A chill running up his spine told Phalomir that it would better to not find the answer to that just yet. He lingered a moment longer on the dark spot, then turned to see the rip in space that led to the interior of the warship. The Dark Lady was already there, watching him with just the slightest look of concern -- or was it curiosity?

He lifted his eyebrows slightly and stepped through to join her.

"We must be extra careful when travelling through these realms, my lady," he said. "We cannot know what may be waiting for us next time."

He turned to stare out through the portal into the evil lands they had just passed through, ready to strike at anything that might try to follow, and waited for the rip to close.

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

With that statement she stepped gracefully through the interdimensional rift she had opened, and stepped out onto the shining deck of the Sith warship. Moments later Phalomir joined her; she wasted no time but quickly flicked her wrist, closing the Portal into the Darker Realms and effectively trapping themselves in the ship.

"We are now safe from any denizens of that horrid place," she said in a matter-of-fact voice as she turned to face Phalomir. She had to step back in order to meet his eyes with hers.

"However I am not so certain about this one. Hurry, and go seek that which you need to find, that we might sojourn back to my home and discuss what needs to be done."

To do what?

The snickering self-doubt danced in her mind and she shivered briefly, trying to push it down and away. She wrapped her arms about herself and waited then, while the Glyph on her forehead burst into ravenous life as though seeking to banish the unseen but easily felt shadows lurking about the ship.

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

~Turning the darkness swallowed the two taking causing a void to be left in their wake.~

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

"Did- did you sense that?" she whispered to Phalomir, now turning her head about and actively questing out with her talents. The Glyph lighting the way, she stepped forward cautiously, tiptoing down the suddenly sinister corridor.

"I thought I--"

Suddenly she stopped. The Glyph let out a gamma burst.

She swallowed, turning back to Phalomir.

"There is something here, or rather... something not. Phalomir-"

She blinked, a sudden unease rushing through her being.

"Someone has been here-- but how? This ship is protected by a chronotic shield..."

Whirling about, she then continued down an adjacent corridor, following that whiff of nothing as she strove to discover what or who had caused it.

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