Phalomir’s gaze lingered on the Dark Lady a moment, her face unchanging as she held her son. He took her silence to mean she was not injured. He knelt beside her.
“My lady,” he said softly, “Thoran may return. I know you and your son are fatigued, and I shall do my best to defend you should Thoran reveal himself again. But, this—“ he glanced around at his surroundings, “—is not the best place to be recovering. Fortunately, everyone is here now and I can defend all of you at once. Better yet, we can find what individual strengths may combine among us. But perhaps we should move away from these sub chambers?”

He reached down and gently pushed a stray hair from her eye.

“And, my lady, if I may be so bold, you need a bath. The Chosen Daughter of the Sith has work to do, and it is time we learned of this channeler.”

Jharmeen tilted her head slightly and regarded him. Without thinking twice, he gently scooped up both the Dark Lady and her son and lifted them.

"You may take us to my son's chambers, where he may be put to bed and rest," she directed softly, turning back to Jharu to gently kiss the top of his head.

He could feel the master within him somewhere, mending the damage. He tried to turn his head to see what this body had suffered, but the muscles would not respond. Perhaps that was better.

So he instead resumed his trip through memory lane, pausing here and there to linger on a pleasant time in his past. There was a time and place for everything, and when it didn’t turn out the way it should have then he was sent. Although this time he was not sent alone -- the master was with him. The master never accompanied anyone, so this was indeed a special case. And after that incident which just occurred, he could see why. But they had failed, even with the master, they had failed. And now what? Was there any going back?

She felt good in his arms, like she belonged there. He fought back another memory of a time very similar, carrying her like this, keeping her safe and warm.., he choked back a lump in his throat and continued up the steps.

He eventually came to a pair of Sith guards who were taken aback by the sight. Phalomir turned aside to speak to them, his massive frame not hindered at all by his burden. His eyes gleamed and his face twisted almost into a snarl.

“Your Dark Lady requires rest. Show me to her son’s chambers and place a guard on the door. I shall remain with her.”

The guards hesitated. Phalomir’s eyes flashed a bright, sudden green and the tattoo of the Armorers flared a bright gold.

“NOW.”

After a few hard moments of battling his fatigue he gained the conviction to crack open his eyes, the act requiring all to much energy for his liking.

The room swirled about him as his eyes took in the light of the room. Jharu peered around quietly... He could feel his mother near, but his blured vision was unhelping...

Somewhat forcing himself to use the energy his words came out in a groggy mumble. "Mother? Whe.....wha.....wher-r a....am I?"
he jolted back as he saw quietly watching over the room a green eyed sith.... For the barrest of an instant jharu had thought it had been his father, but as the light lessened its assault on his eyes, he realized the severe height difference... Not to mention the obvious difference in appearence... But the eyes... They were of striking resemblence...

He blinked a few times and fell back, unable to move his head enough to find his mother...

She continued watching then as the guards moved up to take Jharu from them. They bowed to her, turned, and departed with her son for his rooms.

She could only watch them go, suddenly not knowing what to say. And so it was she remained quiet, and found herself resting her head back against the sturdy breadth of Phalomir's chest...

...unaware of her son's stirrings in his room. Without the All, her link to him had totally severed.

Perhaps Phalomir somehow sensed this distress; perhaps somehow his inherent magicks could pick up on Jharu's softly uttered cries. For when Graysith finally did open her eyes again, it was to find that he had followed the guards, and had taken her to her son's room.

"Jharu," she murmured, twisting in Phalomir's arms until his grip loosened and she slid away from him. She sped to Jharu's bedside and fell to her knees, one slim hand going out to stroke his forehead.

"Jharu," she repeated, stifling back tears when she discovered she could no longer reach out to her son along the link she had so steadfastly maintained with him. All she could do was kneel by his side and hope her mere presence alone would soothe him.

A shudder ran through her at the memories his last, fuzzy question provoked.

What indeed had just happened?

There had been no time to analyze, to think... scarcely any time to respond.

She sighed and laid her head upon the bed close to him.

"Nothing that should disturb you now, my son," she finally whispered.

He looked over and smiled softly, something within himself feeling the lack of that which she seemed distraught over losing.

a flash of violet glow spread through his conciousness, a warm gaze in his mind for the barrest of instants....

He felt a thread of his mind reach out slowly to tickle her mind, a comforting thread... A thread filled with hope and reassurence...

For if she was incapable of linking there minds... Perhaps his own mind would be enough... After all, there was no greater strength then the love shared between mother and child... No greater devotion.

He heard her comforting words and attempted a nodd... He would figure out everyting else later... But for now that was not important.
"i love you mom..." he said quickly and let a soft smile spread into his features.

“Until I say otherwise, no-one enters this room save the human lady Shayla. Understood? Good.”

He swung back inside and closed the door.

He walked softly to the bedside and quietly knelt beside the Dark Lady. He put a hand on hers.

"He should rest, as should you. We shall have much to discuss later, but rest easy for now. I shall be here, and nothing will harm you as long as I breath."

Graysith raised her head up with a jerk, Phalomir's presence warming her, his hand atop hers...

...and the Link re-established between herself and Jharu a living flame within her heart.

She gasped out a smile, tears filling her eyes as she realized what her son had just done.

"I love you as well, Jharu," she whispered, kissing his cheek once again. "More than you may ever come to know.

"But Phal--" She paused, eyeing the glowing Tattoo of the Armorers.

"Lord Phalomir is correct. You need rest... and I have much to attend to."

She rose to her feet, letting her hand trail down her son's face and linger briefly at his jawline.

"I shall see you later, son, after you have rested."

The darkness that overwhelmed him then was a welcomed softness, a cooling blanket that promised him a sound and complete rest...

He was not sure of what all had transpired earlier, but he wasnt worried... He was with his mother now... Nothing would go wrong.

The guards thought nothing of this, did not so much as squint in the failing light; their feet well knew the pathway to the Temple, and trod that pathway with a studied and steady pace. At length they reached the doorway at the apex of the step-sided ediface, and led Recinis into the cool shadows inside.

They came to the door leading to the Grand Dining Hall. This was the customary place where the Dark Lady would meet those honored guests who had come here to speak with her for the Sith. The captain of the guard paused at the door, turned, and eyed Recinis with a cold stare.

"If you were not who you are, Lord, you would not be finding yourself here in this place," he said briefly; then he opened the double doors with a push of one hand and indicated Recinis should enter.

"Two of my men shall remain on station without these doors, Lord," he said, nodding in brief respect. "If you desire to move about, be aware that they are ordered to remain as your escorts."

He reflected upon the... Respect. Given to him by the guard. He almost laughed to himself as he considered the change in society... When he had been in his own time... Such treatment would be cause for a swift death, no matter the orders given, no matter the situation.

But.
he quietly reminded himself
These were not his times... These were not his day's... He was a visiter and must comform to there wills.

His eyes traveled upward, analyzing those placed to "escort him" he smiled quietly to himself... he had seen ones such as them before... Either the captain was expecting utmost cooperation from him... Or he had severly missjudged the fighting capabilities recinis possessed... Or perhaps both....Or perhaps with this line of warriors corrupted by the taint of Roan, this is the best they can spare... the warriors of the sith were forged in the image of thier lord. the lord was one who was to be learned from... Bad roll Moddle leads to weaker warriors...

Or perhaps I am just being objective...

Playing these little games with himself he passed the time... For in reality it did not matter who guarded him, it did not matter if his evaluation had been correct... For ha had no desire to cause trouble... He had no need.

And so he quieted himself further, and waited.

As he waited he reached out with his mind, feeling for familiarity.... Sensing his son, at ease...

a great inner tension escaped him as he affirmed that his son was alright... And with that he could affirm that Jharmeen too was unharmed...

his eyes opened calmly as the two silent fears were placed out of his mind...

“Trust me for a moment,” he said quietly.

He closed his eyes and softly placed his other hand on top of hers. Reaching inward for the strength and power, he drew upon his strained magick and sent a warm strand across the link between himself and the Dark Lady. Once in her, it sought the relationship between mother and son. Expecting to dig for it, Phalomir was surprised to find a very strong, powerful link between the two. He wrapped his magick around it, not disturbing it, and set in place a watch spell.

“There,” he whispered. “There is now a bond between the three of us, should anyone try to harm either of you then my spirit will be there immediately.”

He quietly opened the door and stepped through, his eyes burning the guard into silence. Still holding her hand, he escorted Jharmeen into the hall and closed the door behind him.

“Now allow no other save myself or the Dark Lady into this room,” he said calmly to the guard, placing a hand on his shoulder. “And speak not of who rests inside for the time being.” Then he added with a smile, “Your devotion to your Dark Lady is welcomed, and most appreciated.”

He walked Jharmeen down the hall, still holding her hand. They rounded a corner and he stopped.

“My lady, I assume you wish to retire to your chambers, but I do not know where to lead you. Please forgive my ignorance.”

He sighed.

“I must also assume that if your son has returned, then perhaps his father is also here. I shall stay with you as long as you desire, but shall not put upon you when you meet your – husband.” The last word seemed to sting Phalomir greatly.

Jharu was unaware of the pressence rising up within him, the blazing violet eyes rose within the shadows examining the bond carefuly, curously....
The sorcerer has no place in this mind... I must monitor this bond carefuly...
The shadowy being's eyes narrowed before it turned and fadded away once again into the depths of jharu's mind.

Thoran will be back...

...and you are the link.

Shayla stopped in her tracks upon this thought, coming to a halt in front of Phalomir and Graysith. For another long moment she stood in frozen silence, her eyes connecting with Graysith, her thoughts straying to something dark once more.

Here Recinis had sworn to never leave Graysith's side, then he had done just that...

...only to once more return and leave again. And now he was for yet a third time? What was with this?

Shayla jerked then from these thoughts as something finally caught her attention. Her eyes flicked momentarily up to Graysith's silent glyph...

...and then back into Graysith's violet eyes in concern.

"What has happened?" she whispered then, her thoughts turning even darker at that as she then ended with, "And isn't it just a little strange that Lord Recinis has picked now, of all times, to return once again...?"

Graysith drew in a great shuddering breath at the name, even while a little logical part of her being was waving its figurative hand in puzzlement as to why she had reacted in this manner at the mention of his name. True, the former rush of love that name would have provoked in her was not to be found; indeed, it was locked away in a place she could now not return to of her own device. But why this sudden sense of foreboding…?

She knew who had killed Lord Roan. And she was the one who had pointed out the fact the he had been murdered the very night Lord Recinis had left unannounced, taking their son and disappearing into the vastness of space.

Why indeed had he left? Was that why she had turned the tables; was she that coarse as to stoop to such a level…?

But his name did bring a rush of trepidation upon her.

As did her inner realization that something within her son seemed to be balking at the protective bond Lord Phalomir had emplaced between them.

Unable to quite put thoughts into words, all she could do was raise a hand to the silent Glyph and finger it gently. It lay there in utter solitude, mocking her in its silence.

Finally—

“It—it was not Lord Recinis who has brought upon me my break from the All… but Lord—“

She stumbled, stifling tears.

“Lord Aelvedaar,” she finished in a rush. For a moment then all she could do was stand before the pair, looking from Shayla’s face into Phalomir’s, before finally turning to look back down the corridor toward Jharu’s room.

“We must talk,” she finally said, then turned to Phalomir.

”We shall go to the Grand Dining Hall, and partake of a light meal to regain our strength. I have some fine vintage brandy to offer as well; perhaps together we can come up with some answers to the questions as to what or who this Thoran is, why he is here, how I may regain connection with my powers, as well as possibly deducing the answer to any other conflicting concerns any of us might be feeling at the moment.”

A stir of memories once again tried to surface, of quiet conversations in the darkened dining hall while sipping brandy, faces close together, lips nearly touching…

The spell Phalomir placed upon the link within Jharmeen trembled, and his attention was immediately focused on her. He paused a moment, and the feeling passed, but he heightened the power directed to the spell.

“However, I will continue to keep watch over you and your son. There is something possibly afoot...”

The group continued through the hallways towards the dining hall, Phalomir leading as if he knew the way well. Still hand in hand, he and the Dark Lady went before Shayla, dismissing any guard or other Sith who happened to be passing.

“My lady,” he said softly as they turned the last corner to the dining hall doors. He held her hand slightly tighter and touched her cheek. “There is something more you should know. I have access to my memories… and I am having some difficulty in knowing what is—“

Phalomir stopped at the sight of two Sith warriors guarding the doors to the grand dining hall.

“What is this?” he demanded.

"My Lord, we hold Lord Recinis within, per the instructions of the Dark Lady," he said, looking over Phalomir's shoulder and focusing on a spot somewhere in the distance beyond it.

“Lord?” Phalomir said through clenched teeth. “A Lord would not abandon his people, especially his Lady. My heart burns at the thought… if you only knew what I have gone thr--”

“Forgive me, my lady,” he said, turning to Jharmeen. “My words betray my feelings. I understand if you do not wish me to accompany you, but I shall be by your side for as long as you desire.”

A cough from inside the dining hall captured Phalomir's attention. He turned his head to see the figure of a Sith walking into the light of the doorway. Phalomir's eyes flashed a brilliant emerald as the Tattoo of Entitlement upon his forehead blazed briefly. His hand remained within the grasp of the Dark Lady.

"Recinis, I presume." Phalomir said flatly.

She stared into Recinis's green eyes... that little something within was waving for all it was worth... no resounding rush of feeling came forth other than a disturbance not quite felt, not quite realized...

Not quite accepted....

His momentary lapse in compuser was soon put under control as he servayed the situation. He sent a small smile at Phalomir, sensing the siths conflicting emotions in ragards to himself.

"Dark Lord Roan was found dead on the night you disappeared with Jharu; murdered in a manner most foul. It would take a warrior to defeat another such; you are suspect as you were to fight him in Challenge of Entitlement on the following morning.

"I find this strange of you, Recinis..."

Graysith let her voice trail then, and without real knowledge of the event then let her hands rise up to grasp either arm strongly, hugging herself as if to keep away the creeping descent of some dank and dismal chill.

then he looked down for a moment,taking within him a deep breath.
"You know me better then any Jharmeen... No... You are the only one who knows me... The only i have ever allowed to see my soul, the only that has ever been able to see my truest self.

I have hurt you, betrayed you in the most lowly of manners. I dont deserve understanding, and i dont deserve trust. But all i do happens for a reason.... And i know. That you know, beyond any doubt, that even though i have done things which can never be taken back. I would never kill without honor. I would never Abbandon the sentence for what a murder would cause.

Any actions i have commited, i will answer for. But I will not be blamed for actions that are beyond me."

taking a deep breath he straighted himself.

"I am, by blood, entitled to the roll of becoming dark lord of the warriors. Without proof that it was I who had destroyed Roan, there is nothing to stop me from taking that title onto myself, and ruling once more.... If i dissired that course of action.

"Ive been accused... If that is my fate, then i will accept it. If you see that i am Unfit to bear the burden forged into my blood, then that is the way it must be...

I have two strikes against my honor already... Further more i have to strikes against my fathers honor, and even greater then those, are the two strikes i have placed upon your honor by means of my actions.... I have betrayed you through my actions, i have betrayed the honor of he who wields his heart, and i will do it no more. Make your discision Jharmeen. I will be satisfied with what you decide... Am i to bear my title? Am i to be placed in prison? AM i guilty of destroying The lord of warriors, or am I at least clean to that foul act?

"I sore to you my life. I bound myself to your blood, and you to mine. It may appear that i have betrayed that, but i swear to you i have not. My fate is yours"

as his words came to a halt he closed his eyes and kneeled quietly as a warrior might to his queen in prepereration for either being knighted or being executed.
"my Honor is yours M'lady... Do as you must, as i have."

“But you are wrong of one thing,” said Phalomir, stepping forward from the shadowed hallway and into the light cast by the dining hall torches. “You are not alone in your entitlement.”

Not taking his eyes from Recinis, Phalomir turned his face to the right, demonstrating the Tattoo of Entitlement of the Warriors still burned into his left cheek. It lay there in balance to the symbol of the Sorcerers emblazoned on his right. He turned his head back to regard Recinis fully.

"Well," he at last said to Panthar, "Since I don't sense my wife anywhere nearby I have to conclude she's been taken a good distance from here...

...and hopefully not anything more than that," he added darkly. "The only place I can logically start at is back on K'eel Doba. That was, after all, the last place that all of us were."

You say i know not what it feels like to be 'flung accross time as a pawn in some insane perverted game, to lose everything in a heartbeat' I was sent here from the past, these people, i know them not. They are not the sith i knew. I am from a time much further back then even Roan, Aelvedaar and Rean. I am from a time where the sith were much stronger... The dark jedi overcame these people... I tell you i know why...Never before have i spoken this... But the dark jedi have been the enemy of the sith long before this time... We fought... They dispised us. Wanted our magic... Wars broke out constantly... Finaly they were scared off... But they returned apparantly... I left in a time where peace was uncertain... I wanted nothing more as a child, then to be allowed to fight to protect my people... That was denied to me... For i was the son of a great warrior... A dark lord... I was to be stripped of everything...My people, my time, my very memories... left only with a mission and a name... Sent forward to protect a Woman who suposedly would be a key part of the sith people, people who i was to have no connection with.. For they were not the people of my time... I know that feeling...

"What more, i fell in love... This being who i was suposed to protect... she opened my heart, burned away my pain... Saved me from certain death... Saved me even from myself...

I loved her with all my heart, i still do dispite what any here may think. Yes, i left, i caused her pain.. But i bore that pain as well... I felt the emptyness inside of me grow, disiring constantly to call out to her... And i did once... I asked her wait for me... She swore to me she would wait... I believed in her... I still do.

Everyday i was gone, I felt the hole inside of me scream for me to return to her... But aelvedaar had said it was important that jharu be taken away... I trusted him. You speak of the pain of losing a wife and child... Pain is nothing... Try living in fear... Fear of the unknown... Fear that your child might come to harm if he remained in the place you so desperatly wanted him to.

Now on top of that fear... Add in the fear that your one true love will come to harm while you will away... add in the pain of not darring to reach out to her again, for fear that you be found, and your son come to harm...

Now... I tell you, to add in the pain, of knowing that you have taken your son from his mother... Taken your son from the one being he wants nothing more than to be with... And know that no matter what you do... You can not win.

Ah yes, i know pain... Know this pain now, Know that you return, seeing the women you love, without the love you left her... See that she was unable to wait for you... See that it is your fault that it happened...i returned from my excile the first time, unprepared for what i would find...

When i returned i confronted roan... Then i realized i would be destroyed... Whether she can love me or not, it is unimportant. I will love her forever, and whether she needs it or not, i shall forever protect her... From afare, from near. my heart is hers, even if she can not give me hers again..."
Recinis took a shuddering breath to steady himself, reaching up to wipe away the tears that had formed about his eyes, recomposing himself.
"I do not force my fate on her... I place it in her hands to do with as she pleases. If she does not desire it, she may cast me away as thought a stone into an endless hole..."

He then turned to jharmeen, eyes glowing with a soft radiant green glow, his next words were soft, coated in a gentleness that was not believable from a warrior. "Jharmeen... I love you... My heart will always beat in synch with yours...i have spent every night of excile feeling that beat... it is the one thing that has kept me sane... I can not make you love me i do not want to... I would never force anything upon you..."

then he reached out to her quietly, using his own mental strength to speak to her directly.
My soul is ever opened to your gaze jharmeen... Even without the all at your command- the words flowed to her as he looked up at her cold forhead. Even without that great power... My soul is open to you... my mind is yours to examin... I will force nothing on you... But please... except this gift.

As he sent those words to her on a link maintained only by his devotion he offered a package of warmth to her soul, an overflowing basket of the love in his soul, accompenied with memories and feelings, forged into the pages of the universe...

One such memory a treasured day, a day where he had been in pain... And awakened to her soft gaze looking overhim, worry in her face.
The night our love was struck, will forever be remembered by me... I can sense within you that you do not feel that love... Im sorry i have allowed it to grow cold... And even if you never even have the desire for that love to be again... dont forget this memory... For it is as much a part of your soul, as it is of mine....

My smile does not leave my lips as, with an offhand wave of one hand, I open a portal in the All and step through....

The sleeping boy scarcely had a chance to see what hit him. The Dark Lord of the Sorcerers did not gain his place of leadership without being the strongest of the sorcer's clan. It was a matter of moments to overtake the young Jharu who, stricken with a sudden unease bolted upright in his bed just as Lord Aelvedaar descended upon him. His budding All talents hadn't a chance against the magma-eyed Master; moments later, and a spell of sleep had been emplaced in his being.

Jharu made a slight weight in the Sith Lord's arms as he plucked him from his bed, whirled, and returned to his Temple on Khar Delba, closing the portal behind him with a deafeningly resounding silence....

The Violet eyes of the shadowing pressence burst into flaming brillience in defense of the boy, but it was already to late, jharu's mind was restricting upon itself, falling into a deeper sleep.

"What is this?!" The being screamed, as his own conciousness began to fade rappidly.

The spell he placed within Jharu triggered, sending a powerful shock through Phalomir.

“Jharu—“ he said, almost in time with Recinis.

His eyes locked with the other Sith, all of the anger melting from Phalomir as he shared the growing concern. Phalomir felt a wave of sleep try to overtake him.

Thoran had returned for the boy—but no, the shock he felt, it was not from the All. No, this was the sense of something more familiar, closer to Phalomir. Magick… Sith magick… and the imprint upon this particular thread was something he had felt before… recently…

"sometimes the greatest enemy is the one barring the face of a friend... He will pay... If Jharu is harmed... He will pay"

And then from nowhere and everywhere a great thawing began to heat her. The warmth descended throughout her entire being, first evoking memories of past emotions, of those yet to come perhaps, then baptizing them in that heat until they burst out into a kaleidoscope of life, all centered on a trembling little mote her Beast yet held in claws which trembled even more.

That mote… was herself. The evil her, the wicked her, the murderess her, that which she simply could not face…

…that which was yet a part and parcel of her being, which Recinis yet sought to reassure with his words of unending love, which Phalomir sought to gain with words of love yet to come, which had somehow come…

…which her son simply loved with the innocence and honest determination of youth.

She shuddered as that heat backwashed throughout her, one hand flying up to finger the Glyph in an unconscious and protective move. It yet remained coolly dark, but somehow seemed to… flinch a bit.

Her eyes flew open.

She stared at Recinis… logic waving frantically now.

Do you not remember, Jharmeen? You did not stop loving him… you took that love to protect your child by him.

Why won’t he see this? Why don’t you tell him?

Why should you tell him; should he not sense this in you?

Taking a first step… and then a look cast sideways to the staggering Phalomir, who struggled so mightily to remain awake. The spell he placed of protection around the link between she and her son, the unseverable link which somehow, impossibly, had silenced.

Now only his link remained. And the warmth he had placed within her… now roiling around in counterpoint to that given to her by her husband.

Her husband. Had she a choice? Now was not the time for this.

Jharu!

She allowed a final shudder to race through her frame before forcing herself to straighten. Whirling, she turned to retrace their steps only to stumble directly into the one she was seeking.

“Shayla!” she cried, sudden tears springing into her eyes, her arms flinging around the startled young woman as yet another blast of heat thawed out another frozen fragment of that trembling little mote.

“Help him to remain awake; you are jedi, you have healing abilities! I—I—“

A quick pause, gulping.

“I can no longer help in this sort of thing. But…”

She pulled back then, turning round, an arm about Shayla’s shoulder as she led her to Phalomir to complete the request just given to her.

“I am Dark Lady of the Warriors. Recinis—“

She straightened even further, now letting her eyes fall into the verdant pools which were his. Memories flooded her, a slight warmth tried to rise….

“I believe you. You are yet Dark Lord of the Warriors; I need your strength to lead our men against Lord Aelvedaar to regain our son.”

She paused a moment, a stab piercing into her heart. From where and for what was something she did not wish to examine too closely at the moment; after a moment she raised her head again.

“I have sworn to protect you and yours, Jharmeen,” he said wearily. “Recinis, I do not hate you, only what you have done. But hear me now, I was Lord of Sorcerers in my time, as I am now Lord of the Armorers. I am maintaining the link to the bastard, though it is difficult, for he is powerful. But I feel he is the link to many answers… for all of us.”

He closed his eyes and shuddered. He slowly opened them again.

“The Finger of R’lous?” she whispered, now a note of incredulity creeping into her voice. “Was this not that which you directed that I never let you lay hand upon?

“Is not the Eye of R’lous, which you yet bear, enough to thwart Lord Aelvedaar’s magicks against us? Are not your own sorceries, Dark Lord that you claim to be, enough to combat his? Will not Lord Recinis, at the head of his warriors, be enough then to take Aelvedaar and remove him from his position, and return our son to us?

”Shayla!” she interrupted herself, seeing Phalomir’s eyes beginning to droop. “Keep him awake! He must tell me why the vow I swore to him I must now break!”

And as dark, perhaps, as my own.

“My lady,” he said sluggishly. “I have a link with… Jharu. Can grab… perhaps… but must channel magick and power of… Eye…”

He opened his eyes more and looked directly into hers, as if a new thought suddenly sprung but was trapped inside a mind half asleep.

“No… you do it. Your love for… son… you channel all of your love… into Finger… I will provide all else… you hold the Finger, point it at me… we will free him…”

He lingered, gazing into her eyes. He focused his energies to remain awake, letting the memories of his past flow around him like dreams staved by the clarity of thought. This was not his time, not his place. He had no past with this Jharmeen, and had no right to make a future with her. He had taken his place somehow as Dark Lord of the Armorers, and perhaps that had to be enough. The wife and son he knew were now gone, and this flood of memories was all he had left. He was correct to seal these visions from himself.

But he wanted to remain with her, this he felt from the bottom of his soul.

He gathered his strength, the internal clarity he now felt allowing him to concentrate everything within him. He felt the magick surge, mingling freely with the love he felt for her, with the strange powers granted to him by the Eye, with the dark energies fed from the curse of the Armorers, and he prepared himself for what he had little doubt would be his last battle.

“Quickly…”

More than that… I have a powerful ally, who sees eye to eye with me in certain matters. And now, we shall see where we will go from here….

A strange sensation passed through Phalomir, as if the link he held was somehow being strained. He could see in her eyes that Jharmeen felt something as well. He directed more energy into the link, trying to follow it with his own spirit. The power was still there, the connection through the All was still there, but the link was now somehow changed… as if it was now shared with someone… new. He latched on tighter to the link, shielding it from Jharmeen, and tried to establish contact with this new entity.

A violent rip tore through the link, sending Phalomir reeling backwards. His head crashed violently against the stone wall behind him, and he slid down a few inches until his backside rested on the floor. A smeared trail of blood held fast to the wall above him. He looked up slowly, the world spinning. All signs of fatigue left him but were replaced by a blank look.

“The link is gone…”

You mean "he is gone"... as is everything you touch

Recinis looked down, tears uncontrollably flooding down his cheeks.

He's gone.... That is the only thing that can explain it... my son is gone...

"h...He'll pay... I... I will destroy him for this..."

His eyes turned then from the ground upward to gaze upon Jharmeen, who was frozen as though in stone...

Jharmeen.... He will pay for what he has done to her as well... Jharu was the one love that still burned within her... The one love that had not abbandoned her... And now that is gone.

he then swept his gaze to phalomir, taking in the distraught appearances held in that ones features... His first instinct was to pounce upon him, shred him for failing to save his son... But he knew that would do nothing... he knew it was simply his pain forcing his emotions on paths of there own....
Finaly he managed a quiet, "Your attempt is appriciated...."

Again he turned to jharmeen, offerign his quiet support. "Jharmeen.... We will find him... if it takes my last breath... We will find him... Our son is strong...We will find him..."

"Wh-what do you mean, the link is gone?" she whispered then, returning her gaze to Phalomir. A sudden chill coursed through her then, filling her with an icy fear against which all she could do in ineffective retaliation was to cradle the stunned sorcerer's head all the more tightly.

“The link was changed, as if the very power that created it was moved. I sensed another presence, I can not explain it better. It is if the inherent power within Jharu was moved to another… but that makes no sense.”

The image of the Dark Lady split before him, his vision doubling. His hand reached for hers and he softly held it. The Tattoo of Entitlement upon his forehead dimmed to a soft hue.

“We will find him,” he said. “One way or another, we will find him. All I do is for you—“

Phalomir smiled slightly and looked to his right. When he looked back he was alone. He closed his eyes and grabbed the sides of the boat. He shifted his weight and the boat veered, changing course against the breeze. Phalomir opened his eyes and directed the bow into the fog.

Phalomir opened his eyes and gently touched the hand of Shayla, then put his other hand back into Jharmeen’s. His eyes shone brightly and the gold on his forehead gleamed. He smiled warmly at both women, then met Jharmeen’s eyes.

“I will not leave you,” he said.

He closed his eyes and let the smile relax. When he reopened them, his face shone with a soft red glow.

then remembering why he had come he straightend. "Excuse me, But my master wishes your pressence.... He say's that i am to tell you that all will be known soon, and light will be spread upon your darkness... He bids me to tell you to have faith, and that soon all will have more meaning then it has for some time..."

Then his eyes brightened a bit and he nodded in remembrence. "My Master told me that if you did not trust in me... I should tell the dark lady this..."

His gaze swept to Jharmeen, "he bid me tell you that 'while the gardens of Korris'ian were beautiful, and the stars were brillient... As a child the gems most cherished were those illuminated by Violet and emerald...' im not sure to what he refers, for i have never been to Korris'ian... But this is his message my Lady..."

His gaze then returned to phalomir, "i dont know the thoran you speak of... But i must assure you, My master has no intentions of hurting you. He to kind for such underhanded tactics..."

"oh yes... And i am to tell you that while your son has been sent affar, my master knows his exact location..."

"I find your timing in coming to us here more than coincidental," she sneered, her nostrils flaring. She tossed her head, shaking tendrils of flame from her face then as, utterly ignoring any other she took a step forward until she was clearly within the personal boundaries of the yellow-eyed messenger. He towered over her, but this didn't intimidate her in the least.

"I am the Dark Lady of the Warriors," she breathed menacingly. "My son indeed has just been taken from us; how... convenient it is that you now appear with suggestions as to his whereabouts!"

She pulled back, trembling in anger and pain and disbelief. Phalomir and Shayla stood to one side, their own strong feelings in this matter clearly evident to her. And Recinis--

Remained silent.

She shook her head again, and clapped her hands.

"Guards!" her voice rang out. "Here is one who has muddied himself with the kidnapping of my son! Take him, now!"

Recinis stepped forward almost in aw as regonision swept over him.
"he.... He was there... He served.... The very same sorcerer who sent me here..."

He turned his gaze inward then as he searched over his memories... Clouded, fog... Everything regarding the sorcerer himself remained as it had, shrouded in mystery... But this one... He was sure of it.

"You think we can... trust this one? This is someone you so suddenly...

"Remember?"

She drew back again, hugging herself even more tightly, tears springing into her eyes.

"This so calmly spoken after too many disappearances of your own, Recinis," she said at last, struggling to retain a modicum of composure. Then she stepped back, and cast a glance around the group as a whole.

"Lord Phalomir is correct. We do have much to discuss. I will not let our original focus of deciding what to do about Lord Aelvedaar and the disappearance of my son be broken by such oddly circumstantial events. We must indeed talk, and as for this one..."

She broke off, turned to the waiting warriors.

"Take him away," she ordered, waving the hand with the Tattoo-emblazoned wrist to remind them of who, in the long and the short of it, it was they should obey.

He looked at the messenger being pulled away and a slight pain of regret crossed him...
I fear this could be a mistake... However she could be right... I can not be sure if this is a true memory or not...

Slowly the towering figure stood, moving about his darkened home in silence, preparing many odds and ends.

"The first course of action is to remove ourselves from the dining hall to a more private and unknown location. Too many outside entities seem to know where we are at the moment."

He turned to Jharmeen.

“Follow me,” she said, turning and leading the others from the Grand Dining Hall. Once in the corridor she paused to consider, her mind racing. If this had been Khar Delba she would have known immediately where to lead them to, but here….

Then her eyes glinted with an idea.

“This way,” she said, turning and heading toward a set of richly carved doors set at the end of the corridor. Without hesitation she opened them and proceeded through the Grand Foyer, a slight ripple of memory shimmering through her as they passed the pillar into which not so very long ago had been embedded the magickal sword that had nearly killed Recinis. The pillar stood in silent shadow, the only blemish marking its otherwise supportive strength being a deep, fracture-surrounded puncture, where the blade itself had been thrust to keep it away from those it meant to harm.

“This way,” Graysith repeated as she then led them out of the Temple entirely. They entered the courtyard, passed several stone benches and flowering plants, and descended the great stepped sides of the Temple itself until they were standing on the streets of the quiet capitol city. She said nothing further but headed through the quiet streets, coming to a certain intersection and turning there. The others followed in solemn silence as she finally came to a stop before the Great Library of the Sith, staring up at the “Closed for Repairs” sign which still hung upon the door.

She cut a glance to those with her then, and with no more hesitation mounted the stairs. A few rapid raps on the door, and they opened to reveal the somewhat harried Librarian.

“M- my Lady,” he stammered, running his restored hand quickly over his head and face as though trying to make himself more presentable. He blinked in astonishment when he noted the others who accompanied the Chosen Daughter of the Sith.

“I have failed you, my Lady,” he stammered further, falling to one knee and bowing over an arm. “Obviously you wish to use the Revealer; I have not yet—“

“That is not why we have come, Elder One,” Graysith said smoothly, laying a gentle hand on the librarian’s shoulder. “We only seek to be in a place where we might remain completely undisturbed by others. Please, rise.”

The librarian did as he was told, managing a somewhat shaky smile in the process. Clearly he was not used to being treated in a fair manner by the royalty of the Sith.

“Of course you are more than welcomed here, my Lady!” he gushed, stepping backward and to the side to then usher them in with the most courtly wave of his hand that he could manage. “You and your party shall not be disturbed; this I promise you.”

Graysith merely smiled and moved into the dark shadows of the great repository, and once inside headed to a small room in the back.

“You may either now attend to your normal duties, or take some time upon yourself for refreshment and rest, Elder One,” she said as she came to another halt and turned smoothly back to face the wizened Sith.

“I trust you will see to it that no one else will be allowed admittance here.”

Her smile softened when the Librarian bowed again, then went to lock the door, making certain the sign was still secured to it. Then he went off to whatever it was he had been doing before being so surprised, leaving Graysith to usher everyone into the little room before closing the door with quiet determination.

She turned to face all.

“How may we defeat Lord Aelvedaar, and find my son?” she asked simply, and fell silent.

Recinis' mind pondered Jharmeen's question.

How indeed.... How may we defeat him...

"the greatest strategy would to force him to defeat himself... To strike at him would be to fall into his terms... It is far easier to act on the defense, then it is to break a defense..."

Where would I place someone, Za'in thought, his long, bulky fingers being placed at his chin, rubbing it impulsively. After a moment, he looked up to the ceiling with a smile.

Glancing over at the brownie-eyed EE employee, he nodded at him, making sure that the thoughts that were formulated into words were sure to be noticed by the man. Reclining in the seat, he took his eyes to the ceiling, his demeanor that of one nonchalant.

"Well, I would take someone to the core worlds. As far as I could get in that is." Za'in said in a calm and casual tone. "Maybe Talus, Rori even."

Finally, as his opinion came to an end, he heard the sounds of a beeping alert from the control panel. Falling from his reclined state, his muscles tense, he ran his hands along the control panel in caution. Finding that it was only an alert of a finished act, a smile and sigh came to his lips.

“I could use magick to combat him, but I am unsure as to how my abilities compare with his. Plus, he is a master of the All. But, then again, perhaps I have powers he does not.”

He shook his head and sighed.

“Let us review quickly. I am very certain it was Aelvedaar that took Jharu, placing upon him a deep magical sleep. From the sensations I received afterwards it is likely the All within Jharu was taken from him and placed within another. The links were then severed, so I know no more after that.”

Either Aelvedaar now had Jharu hidden away, or more likely the boy had served his purpose and been disposed of. He thought briefly of how terrible it would have been for the boy to be helpless and at the mercy of one so powerful and apparently ruthless. His thoughts seem to be echoed from the Dark Lady, and his eyes rose to meet hers.

“I am sure Jharu is well,” he said softly, “we just need to find him.”

He scowled and looked around at the others.

“I am admittedly very new to the realm of the Armorers, I do not know what devices may be of use to us. What forces do we have at our disposal here?”

His eyes shot back to the Dark Lady.

Perhaps I have powers he does not...

But what use will those powers be, when any attack will be repelled with the all?
Perhaps if Aelvedaar could be destracted... Even a sorcerer might have troubles mustering the concentration to fight a battle on two fronts... And if the all was stripped from Jharu... To whom would it be given?

An image of an eager young apprentice flashed in recinis' mind...Perhaps... Had not Aelvedaar refered to him as his son? That would indeed mean that Aelvedaar will be well guarded. Jharu would fight for his mother untill his death... If it is truly within his 'son' aelvedaar most likely now has similier shielding... But then perhaps that can be turned to our advantage

... disappeared."

She fell silent for a moment at that, her look turning thoughtful then as she bit her lip. "Still, Aelvedaar might perhaps be a common enemy, and Tarnus does seem to think in those terms, so I suppose it's a possibility...

...depending upon just why those escort ships disappeared, of course."

Shayla quieted for a moment then, her thoughts continuing to whirl. "I do have the Force to aid us...

...but then, against Aelvedaar's All that may mean little. I fear the only way we may succeed is by wit alone. We've established the All will be Aelveedar's advantage over us...

After taking a deep breath he spoke plainly. "I believe that we may be able to gain an advantage over him... If one of us" his hand went silently to the hilt of his sword, "attempted a directed attack on him... Then perhaps another" he glanced at phalomir,"could strike at him safely... If that attack can put him down for the count, then we are victorious..."

He then looked to Jharmeen as he spoke, "the only known variable is that aelvedaar will have an ally wielding Jharu's powers, i would suggest his apprentice and heir as the likely choice..."

His eyes pierced her's, reflecting on the emotions he sensed bounding around the room "Jharmeen...When jharu was taken i sensed within you the pain and distress i would expect from a mother who as lost a child, but i did not sense a doubled dispair... One might think a women who had lost a second child would reflect on both of those incedents as they compacted... which brings me to ask... Has ShaRhylla been safely returned? If so.... Then perhaps you may bid her help us? Whoever aelvedaar has placed jharu's powers within, will be new to the all... Perhaps ShaRhylla would hold an advantage over him... perhaps she is the key to victory, if she can deal with his apprentice... I have confidence that Phalomir and myself can take care of Aelvedaar..."

He then looked from Jharmeen to phalomir, "I wont pretend i have an understanding of the All... But i dont think Aelvedaar can wield it if he is unconcious, and please do correct me if im wrong for this plan has no barrings otherwise, So if we are successful in bringing him down..." His eyes focused on phalomir, "Could you place him in a sleep similar to that which he placed jharu? so that perhaps we may explore his mind and seek out the information we desire?"

As he finished he sat back, awaiting what the others would have to say.Now... There is only the unknown variable to prepare for... I do not believe for one second everything is as it seems in this... There must be something more... Something that could be the difference between victory and utter defeat...

...but it seems like that would leave too easy of an escape route, surrounded by all those people and resources. Galen is adept at working herself out of sticky situations, so if I were her captor I'd try to place her in the most impossible place to get away from. Some place uninhabited and inhospitable..."

He suddenly paused then, glancing at the readout of the planet's surface now scrolling across Za'in's monitor. "Or perhaps somewhere inpenetrable..." he then added, his eyes still only for the readout. He pointed a finger out then to the largest of those "unreadable" spots the Impys had been talking about...

“Our arrangement called for the demise of the boy,” Thoran growled.

Aelvedaar, wrapped up in his apparent adoration for his son, did not reply.

“They will attack you,” Thoran continued. “They are no match for the both of us, but be aware that Phalomir seems to possess the power of the Eye within him. If he were to learn the use of the Finger as well—“

“Perhaps we are strong enough to defeat Aelvedaar… perhaps. But how do we get ourselves into such a position? Who is ShaRhylla? We must have more of a plan in place.”

He scowled.

“But what most bothers me are his motives. Can you help me understand his reasons for doing the things he has done? ‘Know your enemy’ I was always told. That wisdom escaped me when I led the Sith against the—the—”

A blank look came over Phalomir as his mind tried to grasp the memory floating just out of reach. Who had he fought? They had descended like a plague upon the galaxy…

He then shook his head, "as for motivation, the simplistic answer is this... The children jharmeen were to bare, held only one purpose in the scheme of things... Gifted with an innate strength in the all, they were to bring back the sith... That purpose has been served, aside from that he most likely saw no worth in the offspring born by Jharmeen... Jharu was yet young in his capabilities... No match against one such as Aelvedaar who has had much time to his studies... An easy target. I would say he of course values his own son's worth much more then Jharmeen and my own... Therefor, he would want that power to be gifted to his son..."

"As i said... This is the simplistic answer... However... I do not believe the true answer lies in the simple... But i supose it can not hurt to get everything on the table..."
Recinis quieted, the his own simplistic views now offered to the table... he began pondering...

...well, at least most of the time...

...and perhaps even now.

Finally Shayla spoke up. "I wonder..." she started, her thoughts still forming, "...if perhaps Aelvedaar may have one weakness we have yet to mention."

At this she fell silent, her greeny-blue eyes locking on Graysith for a moment. Then she continued. "Am I the only one who finds it unusual that, although Aelvedaar has taken the All from Graysith, he did nothing more than that? For the knowledge of the All still resides in her, and most certainly she still remains in a high position with the Sith...

...why would he continue to allow this even with the possible difficulties it may present to him? And aside from this, I've been there time and again when, although he would not risk himself, he would send another off to assist Graysith when she was possibly in fatal trouble. Perhaps he only did these things because losing her at the time would hamper his plans and goals...

...but I'm not so certain that is all there is to it. It hasn't happened often, perhaps only once or twice...

...but could swear I've seen it somewhere deep in his eyes before...

...a yearning or longing or desire of sorts..."

Shayla trailed, her eyes once more locking on Graysith's. "...a desire to be with you. How easily I can recall the first time I saw him with you, when there was no other but him. Is it possible that this is so, and could it be used to our advantage in recovering Jharu if indeed it is?"

"Whether or not Lord Aelvedaar has any... feelings for me are of no consequence," she finally said, albeit heavily. "The fact exists that he did something to me, he took my son and he took something from within me which resulted in my not being able to access the All any longer.

"I can scarcely think these actions being those of one who truly cares about me."

She stopped a moment, then cut her eyes to Recinis.

"And as for my daughter, well. I will not have her involved in this. I wish her as far removed from this entire scenario as possible, for her own safety. Granted she is powerful, but Lord Aelvedaar is more so.

"I will not lose her as well."

She fell silent then, a bit of her old spark beginning to flash in the depths of her eyes.

“My lady,” he said. “I understand your feelings, but perhaps we should not dismiss the possibilities so quickly. If our plans must call for the powers of another All user, then we may indeed need to involve her somehow… but certainly not in a direct conflict.”

His face softened.

“I will do my best to protect you, always, and I extend that to those you love as well. I wish I knew more of myself, my lady, for there could be powers I could make use of. I know I have the power of the Eye within me, this has been demonstrated. Perhaps I can use that power against Aelvedaar, combining it with my magick as surely as he shall combine his with the All. And perhaps we may find allies in strange places… my thoughts turn briefly to Thoran and the strange entity within him, or perhaps the odd Sith who so recently addressed us.”

He shook his head.

“But for now, we must also decide what is our goal. Do we plan to simply retrieve Jharu, or is Aelvedaar so great a threat that we should use this opportunity to bring him down?”

he then looked to phalomir his eyes softening somewhat as he analyzed the swirling emotions running through the sorcerers head.

His gaze then turned to shayla, "Though i am unsure if your insight may help us, every bit may someday come around to be of aid, thank you..."

As his words trailed off he stood and walked over to a wall, examining the symbols etched upon the smooth surfaces, losing himself to thought for a moment.

He turned then to lay upon them all a soft gaze, one illuminated by the warmth of his emerald eyes.
His lips turned up in a half hearted smile and he turned back to the wall. Jharu my son... I have failed you... I dragged you from your mother, and then i brought you back to danger... No matter what i do, i cause you pain my son...
I should not have taken you away in the first place... And i should have been there to protect you... But like a fool i allowed myself to be away from you... I waited for events to unfold... I could have gone to you instead of waiting for your mother... But i did not... I failed you my son... I will find you, even if it kills me, i will find you and return you to your mother where you belong...

Was indeed Lord Aelvedaar so great a threat? To whom? To the Sith themselves...

..or merely to her?

What indeed was the first thing he, as her Sire and Teacher, had taught her but to always look beyond the now, the immediate; to look to the Big Picture, the final goal.

Which was... what?

A ripple of unease raced through her. Well she remembered the last image she had seen in the library: the shadowy image of Lord Aelvedaar, surrounded by vague blurs of possibilities, perhaps...

Or improbabilities?

This was immediately followed by the dark plans she herself had fostered. A pang of guilt stabbed into her, causing her to gasp aloud.

Did he know of this? Had he all along? Who indeed was destined, truly, to take his place in leadership of the Sith... if Phalomir's prophecy of "one son to rule them all" had any merit, could that refer to Aelvedaar, or to his own Chosen Son?

Could she be wrong?

He then backed off, an apologetic look on his face.

Tears rushed to her eyes.

"I-- I am at a loss--" she stumbled, then quieted, her earlier spark of fire extinguishing suddenly before an incomprehensible feeling of utter uselessness.

Worse. Of being something once having great use, only to have been offhandedly discarded. While on her forehead the occasionally flickering Glyph quieted as well and remained a stubbornly tiny and lifeless stone there.

“Enough of this. Yes, you are Sith. But living with the feelings you harbor is hardly degrading. I have many feelings for you, you and I both know this. It has interfered with my abilities and has prevented me from making decisions that should have been made. Your feelings are likewise preventing you from seeing clear paths, my lady.”

He sneered, the tattoo on his forehead shining a brilliant gold. He reached out and took her head in his hand.

“My clear path lies with you, and I will do battle for that if necessary.” His eyes beat a hasty trail to Recinis and back. “But I now know what is important to me, and I will make the sacrifices needed for a chance to obtain that. To the Nine Hells with pomp and niceties.”

He let his hand drop to his side, his sneer widening.

“Do you know what is important to you, my lady? Have you the balance to make decisions to obtain what is important? The Sith are not about mamby-pamby feelings, they are not about holding on to what is comfortable. We take risks, we expand our universe, and we know what we want and how to achieve it. What are you prepared to do to take back what is yours, my lady? What sacrifice are you willing to make? Who will suffer in their world so your world may thrive?”

his gaze turned back to the symboles emblazened on the wall.
He is however... Capable of loyalty... That is good....

...and Recinis's apparent lack thereof. Then she proceeded to speak her own mind.

"I was once taught and have always held to the fact that the future is always in motion...

...how can we talk about what should be to come when it hasn't?"

She paused at this, something trying to niggle its way to the forefront of her mind. "All we know thusfar is that Jharu has been taken, and by Lord Aelvedaar. But how can we be certain what Graysith has seen in the "future" is what should be? Aelvedaar has, after all, taken the All unto himself and possibly his Son, and he has manipulated and used people...

...it won't end once he's achieved his final goal."

Again Shayla paused, biting her lip as her thoughts traveled along her final spoken words. "He's manipulating us even now, I'm certain..."

Shayla chewed on her lip, her thoughts slamming into a possibility. As soon as it came to her mind the words slipped from her lips. "He knows we will all run after Jharu...

...he may be a diversion..."

"and you are right about the future shayla, things change every moment, nothing is final."

he then turned to Jharmeen, "I know you dissagree with this, but i believe the messenger should be heard out... Every possibility must be examined... You said it could not be coincidence... Perhaps it is not."

Do you know what is important to you, my Lady? Have you the balance….

Graysith stood rooted against the pillar as though shell-shocked. But deep inside of her, something new began to stir. It began on a low enough note but bit by bit began rising in timbre, growing louder and stronger with each passing second. Her arms, still wrapped about herself, fell to her sides and she fingered the smooth stone behind her as if it was a lifeline of sorts.

Important? The Sith. The Sith had always been important to her, ever since…

Ever since when?

That day more than three years ago when she went into a newly excavated cavern on a remote and unknown world, and came out of it again but no longer as Jharmeen Jhin’Dar but someone else, something else. Someone to whom one of the most powerful beings she had ever known had come, to assure her of her place in the Grand Scheme of things. A place she had not been given in the truest sense of the word birthright, but indeed by the blood roiling in her veins, by the cells of her body, by the very biological blueprints which made her who she was, which in a manner predestined her to react in the ways in which she did.

Being born a human of Daros IV, she could not have been more Sith if she were the very daughter of a Dark Lord himself. Recinis was right; and in being Sith, in learning as she had of the All and the balance necessary to use it, of the great need to always look beyond one’s own nose and see the greater needs of others in that Grand Scheme, she suddenly not only saw the need but deeply understood the necessity of having to act in a manner not acceptable to the circumstance.

The necessity of her killing her father hit her hard enough to make her stagger.

One life to let One go… to start traveling along the road leading to the rejuvenation of an entire civilization. One versus the many; even her father would have seen the imbalance of his existence at that moment, for had she wavered and softened, that small speck of balance would have snuffed into obsolescence and she…

She.

Would have remained Jharmeen Jhin’Dar.

Who would never had started a particular coil of time to unravel.

And a crazed Darth would have remained in secluded dominion of an empty planet.

And an entire people would have remained bereft of life.

She gasped, suddenly growing limp and sliding down the pillar to puddle on the floor of the Library. Around her the muted, hollow sounds from those around her grew even more distant, overcome by that rising strong note within.

It was the Beast. But more… not His which had been emplaced within her to protect her from herself; no. This was that Beast within which was her, which slammed into her soul with its own brand of understanding and taking hold of that quivering mote forced it/her to look upon the deed she had been perchance forced into committing.

And thereby forced her into taking pride for the strength and persistence she had to use to do it.

Suddenly she threw back her head and screamed as with the rush of an unstoppable geyser something burst forth from every cell of her being, coalesced into a mighty flame, and burst in incandescent triumph from the Glyph.

"Do I know what is important to me?" she finally cried, her words carried upon the suddenly wild beating of her heart.

"The fact that I am yet the Dark Lady of the Warriors! I rule the warriors; this has been given unto me, and I shall not fail them! And in that vow, I shall neither fail all the Sith!

"I will have my seat here amongst them! I will have my son again! I will have my Adept, who will again know that which I have decided that I shall teach her...

"And I shall have my Lord!"

Then she silenced, her eyes cutting between Recinis and Phalomir, and let her Glyph speak for her. Clearly, it ravened for blood, for revenge…

And for the Sith.

He spoke deliberately, a smile traversing his face. “The Dark Lady has returned.”

He swung his head around quickly to face Recinis, catching his eyes, and growled a low, guttural sound, the sneer returning.

“And you are wrong, Recinis. Who are you to tell me what is becoming of a Sith? Go back to where you ran, the true leader of the warriors is with us, and she is strong. Are you?”

His fangs dripped darkly in anticipation, his claws moving rapidly. A bright red glow emanated from his skin, and the tattoo upon his head flared.

He then smiled to himself, "I will go back to where i ran from, just as soon as you provide me passage to the past. Oh, but i can not return, furthermore i will be with Jharmeen untill my last breath. You are not worthy of speaking to me in such a manor, you do not know my existence. you speak of matters you do not understand."

"Indeed, is Phalomir not worthy?" Shayla queried, her eyes slitted slightly. "Then why was it he who rose to the occasion when your wife was in despair? Why was it he who comforted her and called her to the task at hand?"

She fell silent a moment at this, then continued on. "Indeed, the glyph is not what gives Graysith strength, but she that gives it strength. We have already seen that, for the All was taken from her...

...and yet the glyph is silent no more. And it is that strength alone which we need to recover Jharu. Why is it you do not see this...

...or perhaps is it that you see this, and you are yet too afraid of the Dark Lord of the Sorcerors to believe it...?"

When Phalomir spoke, his deep voice resounded in the small room as if he intended to emblazon their meaning upon the very walls.

“I think it is time you and I had a little talk….”

He then laughed at phalomir's glare, "your eyes do not scare my sorcerer, and know this... if i am to be declared unneeding, i will have it from my lady's mouth, not yours. You speak constantly, babling on and on about how it is she that rules the warriors. Then let her rule, fool. I have not challanged anything, it is you who have gone against her wishes, she said she required me to lead the warriors, i complied, it was her desire i assume my former position, and i shall immediatly drop that stance as soon as she tells me i am no longer needed, but you, you are not the lord of warriors, i have no need of your words."

He then turned a soft regretful smile to shayla. "you are right... I am not deserving of the grace given to me shayla... But you must know... I have realized that i have protected Jharmeen to much. Look at what has happened in my absense... She has grown... No matter how strong of will she was before, she still was submissive at my side. My pressence restrained her, limited her... Though it pains me that i have left her, seeign the strength she now possesses, posseses of her determination, with no aid from any other... Given the choice, i would do it again, i do not seek to limit those i love..."

He then turned a glance at Jharmeen and back to shayla, "it was not Phalomir who made her rise to the occation, you are mistaken... She came to that by her own will and being, with no aid from him. You belittle her if you believe she required help to regain that which she lost..."

he then turned and looked at jharmeen, still speaking to shayla though, "Shayla, you hold love within yourself... Even when he you love is not near, is he not with you? i dont pretend to know the boundries of the human heart and soul, but that much i know must be shared between us...
im not blind shayla, i see what the all can do... And i am not afraid... What i am is catious... I am a trained warrior, i am trained to not put reliances on a single power, especialy one that the enemy holds just as equaly""

his eyes then shot back to phalomir, "you... You have claimed so great a place in her heart... You know nothing. You claimed that you lost your wife and child, that the pain is unbearable... And yet you are so little as to not even understand the power of the heart. You are never away from your love sorcerer... never, time can not seperate you.
Then recinis sneered as venomously as phalomir had before, "when i took claim to the warrior title you stated with confidence that there was another that could take my place... You are right, his name is Jharu Q'utaro... Next in line of the title of warriors... granted the title by his mother, Dark lady Jharmeen of the warrior clan... Granted that title by his father. Recinis Q'utaro, lord of the warrior clan. You have no right to that title, no matter what you think. My son does..."

He then took forth his wrist, revealing the softly glowing tatoo of gold that was before hidden beneath his robes.

"do you desire this to be removed from me phalomir? do you want me dead? your jealousy of the past is most unbeffiting a lord. You want me away... Are you so enthralled by my wife, that you can not take the chance that she will someday find the love she has sacrificed? What if she should some day regain that which she pushed from herself, that she should love her husband once more... Does that possibility shatter the hope you have so blindly stacked up?"

he then turned to Jharmeen, "jharmeen... The all is with you... You could take back the love... Ive sensed your wonderment at it often... I have felt the slight twinges of pain as you remember what you have done... it is within your power to take back that which you have pushed away... There is nothing keeping it from you... Not even pain, that much is done with, i can see..."

He then laughed somewhat, "but something i learned from you... is that just because you have the capability to do something, does not mean you should... One day you must tell me where you have banished that which you once felt... It is no doubt an extremly important situation that requires it..."

his eyes shot back to phalomir, ignighting into a blazing emerald flame.

"I warn you of this right now... And i will warn you of it never again. You do not understand the situation as well as you think you do... There are many sides to every thought... Do not meddle in a situation you are blind to... You have said it yourself, you have feelings for Jharmeen... That in itself blinds you to the truth, just as much as my own feelings blind me... the differences is... I know i am blind, and therefor use my other senses... You go on thinking you see..."

He then lifted the sleeves of his wrist to reveal a golden tatoo emblazened there on.

"My blood is the true line of warriors... it is my choice to accept or denie my title as dark lord... That i Jharmeen saying i am no longer lord, is by my will, and no one elses... My line is the line of ancient sith phalomir... My line is the line that was first given the tatoo... And so with roans death, all compitition for the position is gone, i am the dark lord... For all to see... Like it or not... The tatoo is one forged of magic, I am dark lord of warriors, not you, and should you try to remove me from this position, i can, by right and law, take your life without shame or disshonor... Let it be clear to you now... Whatever rules apply in your existence, do not apply here, for it is my blood that holds this title, and no one elses... Jharmeen was given the rulership of the sith, because her blood is my blood, and my blood is her blood, so instated by the fusing of our lines. And then my friend she was given my blood, and given that claim to the warriors, because i place within her my absolute loyalty, trust, and love. And now that that title is hers, i know i have chosen wisely, for there is no other i would ever give up my title to..."

"And i do mean that... For if there ever comes a day when you gain the title of dark lord, while my son yet lives and breaths... And while i am in fit condition to rule... Your life will end. There shall be one blood to each clan. You have the title of armorors emblazened on your body... Yet you are a sorcerer at heart... If you claim more then one title, you break every law set in place through the universe... Convince me now of why YOU should be trusted... You speak for the dark lady as though she is yours... You attempt to remove me from the picture as though it is your discision to be had. How can we know that this is not just a part of your plan, to come back from the future, and secure rulership of all the sith?"

Then he turned and looked at jharmeen, "the answer is because you are loyal. If to no one aside from Jharmeen, you are loyal... And for that reason, i would trust you with my life if i had to..."

His eyes then turned back, "but of yet, i do not have to, and i will not... You dont have to like me phalomir, you dont even have to pretend to... But you do have to show me respect untill i sacrifice my title... And you do have to trust me... Because if you do not trust me... Jharmeen can not rely on us..."

She shushed it, struggling, letting her fighting ire diminish enough that that part of her which was Jharmeen could yet rise to the fore.

She turned to Recinis, her eyes wide and suddenly moist. But though her lip trembled just the slightest, she kept the tone of her voice firm.

"I took my love for you to protect a son which would be born of us; it was... prematurely brought into life and the only way I could save him from death was to take him into the Elseness..."

She trailed, knowing he would immediately understand why she had done what she had. Just as she understood now what she herself had done so long ago.

She suddenly straightened.

"But Shayla's words do have bearing, Recinis. You returned, you say I have been submissive to you, yet it is my strength which you are gladdened to see. You speak of the love I have taken and put aside as if it were a mere possession to be played with and then found another use for.

"But you do not try to ignite that within me again... and I wonder why that is so, Recinis."

Again she fell silent, her mind flashing back to many days, happier days when all was well in K'eel Doba, when she had found happiness in the being of this Sith and she thought he had found the same with her.

I smile more broadly, and let my fangs peep out as I wait with expectation to hear his response.

He took a step forward, placing a hand gently on her shoulder and looking into her eyes, "Jharmeen..." his hand came upward to brush away the moister that had formed there.

His gazed passed over her as though suddenly seeing something for the first time, his gaze became yet softer as he gave her a brief embrace. "I've hurt you more then i ever dreamed possible, havnt i... of course... I never dreamed hurting you as a possible thing i could do..." Though he spoke to her, his words were clearly towards himself.
"what have i done?" his own eyes moistened then and his head shook slowly.

As a tear rolled down his cheek he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips, dispite the fact that she now stood straight before him, and then he pulled back slightly.
"Im sorry Jharmeen... Please.... Forgive me for not seeing you..."

"Yes, no sooner had you arrived but our son had been stripped from us. And at what other time, I pray you tell me now, would be one more desperate, one in which I would need that love from you more, than that?"

She shook her head and looked quickly down to the floor again, letting her hair tumble down to hide her face so none present would see the tears suddenly forming in her eyes. For indeed had she given away her former love of Recinis, in order that their defenseless offspring would be protected from all evil...

...but that did not mean that she was incapable of loving again. Ever since Recinis had returned logic had reminded her of this over and over again... enough to raise the specter of hurt and bewilderment, even though those gibbering entities had remained hidden from her until this very moment.

Deep within her soul, the snarling Beast would brook no such intruders. It hissed, bared its teeth, and descended threateningly while Jharmeen Q'utaro waited to see how events would then play out.

She broke her uneasy silence with a final observation.

"You were always adept with words, Recinis, but did we not once speak of how one's actions speak so very much louder?

"Yours indeed did hurt me, Recinis... more than I ever realized until this very moment."

She fell silent again, her face lifted to his, her eyes boring wetly into his own as the memory of her vision within the gnarltree grove on Dagobah rushed forth to taunt her, pushing logic and cool self-assurance to the side just long enough for a fresh infusion of tears to come trickling down her cheeks.

She swiped at them, angry to be dealing with such things when her son was in so very much danger. Deep within herself, the Beast let out another warning rumble.

“My trust does not come automatically, warrior, as most certainly hers does not. You may be from the original line of Warriors. Know this, I AM FROM THE LAST!”

Phalomir pointed to the tattoos on his cheeks, the gold in the center of his forehead illuminating them. A large stone door somewhere within his mind shattered, allowing a flood of memories to emerge from the depths.

“I was Dark Lord of all before coming here, brought here to save the Sith from their future, a fate most terrible. It was mistakes of the earlier lines that led to that fate, and though I bow to the ruling Lords, allowing the gold in my blood to hide in the shadows, it is lackluster imbalance such as yours which drives my desire to act.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“And I find the parallels of this time to my own most disturbing.”

He shifted slightly.

“Keep the Warriors as far as I am concerned, place your fate in the hands of the Dark Lady. But, Recinis, you shall not have the Dark Lady.”

His eyes softened a fraction.

“Recinis, I have come here to take actions to save the Sith. Unlike with others, killing you is not a necessary action. But having her as my Lady is necessary, and one I am willing to take great steps to achieve.”

He stepped towards the Dark Lady and reached for her, his eyes burning. He lifted her face towards his.

“Great steps indeed,” he said intently yet softly, his eyes searching for the spark he was hoping beyond hope to find, waiting to ignite that which transcended time.

"My love is not a thing to be bandied about lightly, to be considered as a possession, as I said," she said at length, staring heavily at Recinis.

"And neither am I." This to the growling Phalomir.

She took another step backward, sliding past the pillar until she came to a halt against a strange piece of machinery hulking there in the room. Her arms rose to hug herself; then she stopped, letting the inner Beast guide her once again.

It seemed delighted to be freed from the shackles which had once bound it.

"My son is yet missing, and a Dark Lord of Sorcerers threatens us," she reminded everyone present. "So far we have gained nothing but apparent and mutual irritation, at the very least."

She drew in a steadying breath, then continued.

"I find this... most displeasing, for it gains us nothing and only distances us from my son. I will now retire with one I feel I may truly speak; perhaps tomorrow after we have rested we may meet to break our fast and behave in a civil manner towards each other once again.

Yes... Actions speak louder then words... I truly am i fool.... One day though... One day i will be that which i must... Untill then though, i may only do my best to meet that standard...

His gaze turned to phalomir and he allowed a slight bow, smiling somewhat, "Trust may not come easy phalomir... But it must come. I am not one that strives to create enemies, no matter how it may appear... You character is strong, and i respect yoru words more then you think... But i will let no one push me from the path i must take... Just as you must do what you are hear for. So must i do what i am hear for."

He then turned and went off to find a quiet place to meditate. As he searched he came to the small park where he and jharmeen had danced upon the sky's. Sitting down he allowed the tears for flow from him as he sought an inner peace.
Actions speak louder then words.... Indeed, i will remember that i hope...

Having been severed, it was of course no longer there. Though she had hoped that it would have been restored along with her reunion with the All, deep down she really knew that would be illogical, and probably would not have happened. To regain that link, she would have to find her son. It was a simple as that.

These thoughts brought others concerning loved ones to mind; her pace didn’t lessen a whit as she suddenly spoke up in the quiet.

“I have missed you, Shayla,” she finally opened, quieting for a moment. “I—I could not keep you away from the assurance of protection by being away from me, but now I wonder if you were the one in danger all along. They spoke that she had to die; perhaps it was not you but that part of me which is Graysith… or perhaps the Dark Lady.”

She paused in her musing, ignoring the fact that Shayla probably hadn’t a wisp of an idea of what she was talking about. For a long moment all that broke the silence was the tap of their footsteps; then she cocked her head a bit to the side, and gave Shayla a soft look.

“You must miss those who love you as well, Shayla,” she said then. “You have come here so… abruptly.”

At that she paused altogether, implications of Shayla’s mere presence finally hitting her. She turned to face her.

“Were you yet with Erik when— when you came here?” she asked, concern rising in the violet depths of her eyes. “What happened? Where is he?”

She quieted, wondering after the well-being of Shayla’s husband and love, and putting aside for the moment all conflict regarding her own.

His hood dipped but once before he withdrew his reaching tendrils unto himself once more, eyes burning into Aelvedaars.

Darkness quaked as his voice came forth.
"This body is one i indeed desire... But when offered by one such as yourself, it hardly seems fitting a payment... Perhaps you could be so kind as to accompany this transation with a few... Modifications to this childs being... Perhaps you could make him a more suitable age... Perhaps inprint within his mind knowledge of that which you know i seek... I seek full usage... Not some budding knowledge... Nor some reflexive wielding as i have sensed in others i have come upon... My black roses brother... He came to me once... I could feel his insecurity of his powers... That is by no means what i seek... "

He laughed again, "yes, you most likely knew i would ask this of you. Why else would you offer this body among all else... I seek to wield the power that by definition, i can not touch... Through her blood i can though, that is my understanding... Have you the power to give me what i desire? if you do... I will assist you in anyway you wish...."

As he spoke a tendril of darkness escaped his form and touched itself upon Aelvedaar.
"You must of course realize two things... By giving me what i want, you insure yourself a powerful ally... and also... If you should lie to me, by my very nature, i will know it... The darkness in you will scream it to me..."

He withdrew his outreached tendril and took a step forward, offering a gloved hand
"now i must ask... What say you. Shall we be allies? Can you grant my desires?"

"Yes," she then spoke aloud, "I was with my husband before I came to be with you. We had been on Korr'isan, where Phalomir sought and found the Finger of R'lous. Shortly thereafter Thoran appeared; he came with the apparent desire to destroy us. There was an altercation, first between Thoran and Phalomir and then between Thoran and Panthar and I. Eventually Thoran took me into Elseness, leaving my husband and Panthar back on Korri'sian," she explained, frowning then as she continued with, "They probably have no clue what has become of me..."

She paused at that, her thoughts then shifting to the things Thoran had told her. And although she most certainly did not trust him, Shayla couldn't escape the fact that Thoran's "predictions" concerning Phalomir appeared to be fairly accurate thusfar. She looked to Graysith. "I must tell you the things Thoran said in the Elseness regarding Phalomir, and soon. I most certainly do not believe we can trust him but...

...his words hinted at a threat to you, a threat in the form of Phalomir. Be it an intentional threat or not, I fear it may be possible."

At this Shayla quieted, once more beginning to walk. As she did so a thought...

...and more than that a deep down feeling...

...pulled at her heart. "And I have missed you too, my sister," she stated, "You hold a place in my heart that no other could ever fill. I am prepared to do everything I can to aid you in finding the son who has so wrongfully been taken from you."

Saying no more then, a painful emotion sprang up momentarily in the depths of her eyes as the thought of her own son within a Sith incubator somewhere in the Khar Delban Temple haunted her...

He turned the small stone over in his hand. It was a chiseled rectangular block, smooth and worn. He gripped it tightly and ran his thumb up and down its surface.

He tried to relax and let the energies inside of him subside. It was a difficult task, for his mind was ablaze with feelings he had not known he could have felt. Until very recently he was bent on discovery of his memories, his purpose, his past. Now he had been presented with the trigger to those memories and he was no longer sure he wanted to pull it.

Jharmeen had inspired him to action, he had been prepared to do battle and if Recinis would have flinched physically at all then Phalomir would have sprung upon him. Right or wrong, he would have -- and all it took was mere message from Jharmeen, a message that was at first loud and clear to him, but was then rescinded when he made his intentions clear. In his life with her -- or his version of her -- she had never been so fluid in her emotions, so apt to change her moods at the drop of a hat. She indeed had lived a different life than his version of her, a harder life.

So what was he to do now? He had surely made an enemy in Recinis, whether outright or in lack of trust. This would not do. He had surely alienated both Jharmeen and Shayla with his outbursts, and he needed them both. He needed all of them. And Panthar, where had he gone?

He placed the stone between his hands and stood. He must first seek Recinis and make amends, try to explain his actions. His own anger over the lack of leadership from Recinis had led to poor judgment on Phalomir’s own account. He tossed the stone into the air, caught it in his palm, and walked out of the door into the night.

He strolled the grounds randomly, rubbing the stone between his fingers. The stars peered from their perches in the sky, winking their mockery at his questions, his search for an answer. Every tree held her image, every pool of water reflected her eyes, every night bird called to him with her voice. But she was only in his head – whas that truly where she now lived, only within his head? Was this the Jharmeen he loved?

She shall have her Lord, she had said, looking between himself and Recinis. He had taken that as a call for him to challenge Recinis, and the challenge was not answered. Recinis loved her, but so did Phalomir. Though all of his memory loss, his four thousand years in the prison of the Eye, the ensuing internal struggles, the one thing that remained constant and steadfast was his love for his wife.

But THIS Jharmeen was not his wife...

He cursed himself for attempting this folly, to travel to a different time to save his future, only to miss the mark and lose the past he held so dear. He cursed his memories for their sudden return, causing him great pain. He cursed Roan for betraying him to the Master and the secret society he represented. He cursed Aelvedaar for his involvement, whatever that may be. And mostly he cursed the Vong for destroying all he ever knew, giving him the urgency to even try such a foolish, desperate act.

Ah, yes. There was the answer. His life, all he ever knew, was gone. All that was left to him was the present of this timeline, and its hope for a future. He was Dark Lord of the Armorers, a title apparently carrying with it a great deal of work to be done. Why could he not live out a happy existence here?

The reasons bore down upon him like a mountain falling into the sea. What reasons, indeed? Jharmeen was here, her but not her, his but not his. Thoran was now surely trapped in this timeline with his master, no doubt. Aelvedaar was implementing some nefarious plan of his own that somehow would certainly cross paths with Phalomir’s quest. And, above all, the Vong were surely on their way.

Lost in thought, Phalomir nearly stumbled over a large rock on the dimly lit path. He quickly struck his leg out for balance, but when his foot came down it landed on a patch of slick mud and he tumbled sideways into the bushes. Embarrassed, he rose to his knee and looked around himself.

He was in a small clearing obscured by many tall bushes and flowers. Here the leaves and grass were brown on the ground, except for one spot where a dark ooze soaked the brush. Near the ooze lay a body of a human. Phalomir cautiously approached the body and gently rolled it over, exposing the severely mutilated face of Panthar Dantares. Phalomir checked for a pulse, knowing he would find none.

Pushing the coordinates into the navigational panel as he grabbed at the control rods. They were set in the same fashion that an old school pod racer was, horizitionally away from one another. They were perfectly set for any pilot, for they could be manipulated into any form of control rod.

A great job, dad, the young man mused as he pushed the two controllers forward, the thrust of the engines making a shaking sound that boomed through the cockpit.

...then his hand shot out to stop Za'in from continuing his approach. Jasyn hadn't a kriffing clue what was out there, but he suddenly had the suspicion he didn't want to get any closer til he did know more. "Don't get any closer," he warned, his eyes still only for that eerie black patch somewhere in front of them, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Za'in shot him a curious look. Jasyn's eyes darkened slightly as he turned to the younger man. "You said you father was a Jedi or something like that, right?" he queried in seeming nonsequeiter. "Any chance you inherited some of his Force abilities and can get a reading on that thing out there...

...a Force reading? Cause I'd sure like to know if that is one of the planetary Force-blanks Kelderon mentioned..."

...not that he spoke a word of this whatsoever. He didn't know much of these Sith, but from what he could surmise they respected strength and fortitude. So he'd just have to be certain he gained that respect...

...and complaining about discomfort, exhaustion, and hunger didn't fall under any of the above. But he couldn't have been more relieved when at last they cleared the last of the peaks and he began to see something that looked like inviting green jungle ahead of them. He breathed a sigh of relieve without thinking of it, and glanced back, unsurprised to see several of the Sith warriors behind him. It had been that way from the very beginning of his capture but...

...he truthfully was disturbed he hadn't seen Kelderon at all. Their Sith escort was admittedly large, however, and perhaps Kelderon was being lead further back...

...but Matt was uncomfortably aware of the fact that when they had left the smaller Sith city Dash had been not too far behind him.

What had happened to him? Was he still with them, or had some ill befallen him...?

Matt frowned worriedly as he continued to follow the escort party in front of him, hoping that he'd not be met with the worst case scenario when they reached their destination and the answer to his concern was at last made evident. After all, their entire mission here on K'eel Doba had already started on the wrong foot and he dreaded the possibility of a casuality...

...and whatever else might be to come, for that matter...

Closing his eyes, the young lad's mind went to work. Za'in's arms folding over his chest as he sat in the comfortable seat, his mind beginning to be nagged by a weird, invisible force. Grinding at the ridges of his brain, gnawing on every neuron that ran through the system of his body.

There was something up, it was just a simpel feeling, but he knew something was wrong. There wasn't an exact, specific element about the black spot, but there was something awkward about it that he just couldn't put his finger on.

When finally bringing his eyes to an open and let them take a gander back at the black spot, the feeling returned. The gnawing grind of his mind by the unseeable force telling him once again that there was something weird about that place. That location...

A short moment passed, then she reached out and flung her arms impulsively about Shayla. Images swirled in her head, images of Roan and Aelvedaar and Wicked and Recinis, foggy gnarltree giants providing a looming and shadowed backdrop; tears sprang into her own eyes at that, and slowly coursed a path down her face.

“I have missed you as well, Shayla,” she whispered into the young woman’s ear, not releasing her hold. “There were times when I wished I had you here to assist me in certain… matters; to help me with particular… decisions….”

She stopped with that, forcing the dark images from her mind along with those of her defeat of Kreesha and the means by which she had taken the first steps in a plan she had thought at the time she had wished to implement. How naïve she had been in this endeavor; she shuddered with a sudden and heartfelt recognition of Lord Aelvedaar’s power… but not necessarily in subservience to it. With this assurance coming to her so strongly now, she pulled back and held Shayla at arm’s length. She stared deeply into her eyes, coming to a halt upon reaching a moist and trembling hurt therein, and paused for only a moment more before reaching into Shayla’s very memories via their newly restored link. Bypassing the hurt she, Graysith, had caused her she continued deeper with grim determination, arrowing directly to the source of this particular pain.

The image of the young infant suspended in the incubator struck a darkly responsive chord within her. She closed her eyes again, thinking of all she had gone through in finding her own daughter, in assisting her own unborn son in so laughably coincidental a manner….

She forced those feelings aside. Her daughter ShaRhylla was safely with her, and recovering from her terrible experiences at the hand of the Dark One. Her son… was safe, and would remain where he was for eternity, too small and unstable to remove even for the brief length of time it would take to place him in another incubator. But this—

“I will help you regain your son, Shayla,” she whispered as she gently halted her sojourn through that young woman’s mind. She pulled back, staring deeply into her eyes.

“Much has happened; you must tell me what you have learned about this Thoran. I cannot help but believe that, somehow, all the dark mysteries are connected; somewhere there is a source that if found and eradicated, would result in the Sith achieving the correct leadership and new beginning here in this time which they so deservedly must have.

“Let us hurry back to the Temple that you may tell me more of what you know.”

Giving Shayla’s shoulders another squeeze she then turned away, hurrying onward until soon they found themselves approaching the great step-sided Temple of the Warriors of the Sith. Not too long thereafter and they were back in the Grand Dining Hall, where the Chosen Daughter clapped her hands to the temple servants in request for food and drink. She knew the hour was late, she knew they all needed cleaning up and sleep… but matters were too pressing to wait.

She seated herself on the couch that faced the stone fireplace, patting the seat next to her and leaning back more comfortably against the cushions. The heat from the fire warming her body, she waited for Shayla to begin.

What a bunch of kriffing help that was, he thought irritably. I know there is something wrong with that place...

...what want to know now is exactly what is wrong with it. Kelderon said he couldn't read anything about it in the Force, or something like that...

...dammit, I really need his help, and Matt's...

At that thought, Jasyn turned once more to Za'in. "Doesn't seem we're gonna get anywhere with this til we find the others...

...or until we find someone who might be willing to help us," he said aloud.

Like the latter of those two will kriffing happen, a shoulder devil snorted. Jasyn ignored it.

"Let's just land and get going to the coordinates the Impys gave us. The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll find out what happened to Matt and Dash. And just maybe we'll get some clues concerning what happened to Galen while we're at it...

...from the strange memories that she had been having from her past, of the way Thoran had seemingly identified her and reacted to her back on Sullust when she had first come across Panthar, and most of all the details concerning her last encounter with him. She made certain not to leave out a syllable concerning Thoran's claims about Phalomir as she did so.

"I could never get him to reveal the identity of his mysterious Master," Shayla said shivering a bit in spite of herself. "Whomever he is, he must be very powerful...

...and I believe it is he, and not Thoran, who has All capabilities. After all, I was able to use my healing abilities to place Thoran in a sleep, and I do not know if this would be so simple to do to an adept All-user. I also wonder if perhaps Thoran's master has implanted these memories of a Sith beckoning to me in my mind, or if perhaps they were simply blocked and re-established at some time in the recent past. After all, Thoran did restore my memories of the Sith...

...so perhaps he aslo restored the other memories from my childhood at the same time. All this aside, however, what troubles me most are Thoran's claims about Phalomir. I don't honestly believe him...

...but in the back of my mind I wonder if perhaps there is a modicum of truth to the words that he speaks. Thoran...

...or at least his Master...

...was able to implant memories into Phalomir's mind concerning his past. What if he's somehow manipulating Phalomir even still, unbeknowst to him, to accomplish some dark scheme of his own?

“Well, I didn’t really have much time to ask either of them their itinerary before they blasted past and sunk into the ground or whatever the hell it was they did!”

He closed his eyes.

“Allright, look, going back to Kell Doober is probably a good idea, at least that’s where Jarleen and her crew are, right? So if nothing else then they can help us out maybe. I think we were all on good terms when we left, weren’t we? I know Phal was walking on Cloud 9 anyway.”

He looked back at the temple and saw the tuk’ata crouched on its haunches, as if anticipating.

“Panthar shall be very put out,” he said softly.

He closed the body’s sole remaining eye with the back of a finger. A great deal of the rest of the face had been badly damaged or missing altogether, and a gaping hole sat in the forehead. Phalomir sighed and paid last respects to the body he once shared with Panthar and Thoran, a time that now seemed so long ago.

He rocked back on his knee to stand, but a strange sensation ran through him and he stopped. A slight tugging sensation pulled his attention to the body, drawing his eyes to the midsection. Without thinking, he reached out a clawed hand and shoved it deeply into the puffy skin above the body’s waist, digging deeply until his fingers wrapped around a small hard object. He grasped it tightly and pulled.

Phalomir stared at the small pulsating object in his darkened hand. He ripped off a strip of Panthar’s clothing and cleaned both his hand and the object as best he could. He then placed the object in a pocket and clambered through the bushes back onto the path.

He straightened up the bushes and memorized the spot where the body lay, momentarily putting aside his search for Recinis and headed back for the temple.

…

Phalomir stood at the temple entrance and bowed his head to the guards. The brisk pace at which he traveled had allowed a bright sheen to show upon his skin. The symbol of the Armorers glowed softly upon his brow. In spite of his discovery, Phalomir was in good spirits.

"She has gone into the Temple, my Lord," the taller of the pair said as he directed his gaze toward his boot-tips. "While I have not the privilege of knowing the Lady's actual location, I do know she is fond of speaking with others while at her ease in the Grand Dining Hall. She did have a young lady with her; perhaps you may find her there."

He reached the door of the dining hall and paused. Taking in a deep breath, he knocked on the door and opened it. He looked in and saw Jharmeen and Shayla speaking in the distance.

“Forgive my intrusion,” he said clearly. “I have news.”

Not receiving an immediate dismissal, he entered and shut the doors behind him He walked quickly, his long strides quickly closing the distance between himself and the women. He bowed his head to Shayla, then to Jharmeen, locking with her eyes and lingering slightly. A slight chill crept along his back, and a faint wisp of longing crossed his mind. He fought it back and swallowed hard.

“I have discovered the body of Panthar Dantares,” he said flatly. “It was mutilated and abandoned in the nearby woods. This indicates to me that Thoran and his master were done with that particular vessel and required a newer, stronger one. I am certain that by tomorrow’s role call you shall have a missing warrior, my lady. I am truly sorry for that.”

He looked to Shayla.

“This also means that Thoran is alive, and is still capable of using portals to travel. You must be wary, my friend. I shall protect you as best I can.”

He turned back to the Dark Lady.

Feeling the large vessel activated it's engines and push forward at it's highest speed, a smile came to his face once more, replacing the line of seriousness that had been plastered along it for a long time. Even as the ship continued to grow closer and closer, the smile only grew larger.

Their was an anticipation that he couldn't describe, but he knew there was an urge. An urge for exploration and understanding, a feeling that he had never felt before, though he hoped for it to happen again.

"We'll be there soon," the smuggler said, breaking the silence with his nonchalant tone. A grin widening on his face, replacing the smile.

"I hope those two are okay, as well as this Galen of your's."

Then, as he finished speaking, their came a sense of inquiry to his air. There was something awkward on his face, creeping, ready to pounce on anything that it could. The ship continued on, even with the weirdness along his face, covered over by a slanted, gangly grin.

"Galen," he began, though his tone seem to add to his previous statement. "Galen? Who is this person?"

When he spoke, his eyes moved slowly, falling down onto those brown orbs of his new found comrade. Even though in his mind he told himself that this Jasyn Lancaster was his friend, there was a want to impose and intimidate the man beside him, though he did not know why.

we go, we go, Dark Lord needs us

as revenge, revenge, we needs revenge

((OOC: Follow the adventures of Panthar, Erick, and Md’diffnnd in the thread Lost Souls in the "Jedi Praxeum & Sith Temples" forums, thank you.))

For someone extremely dangerous to them lay just beyond their reach, cunningly hidden from all save for this Thoran who by now it was clear was merely a puppet in the hands of the unknown entity. Whoever or whatever it was yet unidentified; all that was a certainty was that this being was someone extremely powerful, darkly cunning, and utterly ruthless. Graysith well knew who had attacked Panthar – or at least his mortal body – as well as she recognized the apparent truth in Shayla’s words. Whoever was lurking in the shadows certainly had the use of the All; she had seen the condition of the body after Jharu’s blast, and knew that it could easily have been healed using that great power. Yet the dark unknown one had let this body die, somehow reaching into the very midst of them all to abduct a warrior’s body for further use. A quick summoning of Salandaar, a few moment’s of wait, and Phalomir’s heavy revelation was indeed proven to be true.

Such offhanded inconsideration of life was appalling; Graysith gulped as the sudden conviction that they were all being toyed with slammed into her with tidal surge force.

She blinked, studied the quiet Phalomir, forced her breathing to calm further, let her heartbeat slow. Looked deeply into his eyes as well as his soul, using not only the re-established link between them but her own simple woman’s intuition.

He was telling the truth. The wicked suggestions Thoran had hinted of to Shayla simply were not true, for in her perusal into his being she found no hint of memory justifying the mention of Phalomir being a criminal or murderer. She shivered a bit as she found those memories of herself within his soul, glowing and warm and precious, but nowhere did she find so much as a hint of deception or devious intent linked to his thoughts of her.

What he thought of her was truth to him. Whether or not that was the actual truth yet remained to be seen. What was obvious to her, however, was his lack of complicity toward them, toward her. He had, after all, freely given her the Channeler, had taken the fires of her madness from her being and into his own. These were not the actions of one who was lurking, waiting to attack when least suspected.

She drew in a breath, and stood up. One hand fell lightly to Shayla’s shoulder and remained there.

“I have been speaking with my Adept,” she opened at length, maintaining a cool demeanor and tone of voice although admittedly it was with some difficulty. “She has revealed that a powerful Sith has come to her when she was a child, entering into her mind as easily as you just now walked through those doors. I cannot help but feel that this being is the same one who commands your old friend, Thoran…

“And, perhaps, is as well manipulating you, Phalomir. He appears adept in the manipulation of ones’ mind and thoughts, perhaps in the very creation and insertion of thoughts as well.”

She paused a moment, let her gaze bore into him. Her eyes belied her, softening after a moment.

“He seeks to divide us, to foster mistrust within our ranks, to turn us against each other, perhaps. Do you not sense this? For it is but a short step further from the discovery of one so able to enter into one’s mind to the realization that in doing so one’s very memories can be then altered according to his desires; Phalomir—“

Another pause. A quick clenching of her jaws as she found herself swallowing, surprisingly heavily, for she knew how foolish her next words would be. She had to speak them, however, for sometimes it is by such simple a trigger that long repressed memories are released… and false ones proven to be false.

“Are you certain about your memories of me, Phalomir? Are they those stemming from you? And Shayla, think hard. Do you recall ever in your life a deep suspicion of something not right in your deepest level of thought? Do you remember ever sensing a tickle of this memory supposedly coming from your childhood? It could very well be another manipulation to make you believe it was thus.”

“I have considered your very thoughts many times myself, my lady,” he said. “I know I have been manipulated, my entire existence was a fog to me when I first arrived here, save the false memories implanted within me during my imprisonment within the Eye.”

He reached into his pocket and took out the Eye, holding it firmly in his hand.

“I also wonder the reasoning for his abandonment of the body here. And why did he not take the Eye with him? It could be that he was never able to fully take advantage of it, or it rejected him… or perhaps he meant for me to find it for some reason.”

He looked to Jharmeen.

“If indeed I am being manipulated then I am a danger to you. That is the worst of all situations, and one I cannot tolerate. If anything should happen to you because of me…”

He bowed his head.

“My lady, my memories of you are the one thing I am most certain of. I shall try hard to not make mention of them again, but…”

He sighed and reached into his robe, loosening the top. He pulled a portion of the cloth back to reveal his broad chest, and emblazoned upon it a single blackened handprint.

“I know you do not remember when you placed this here, for it was not really you – not really. But the ceremony was lovely, and I have the memories. It is enough.”

He continued to hold the robe open as the Dark Lady looked dubiously at her own hand.

“But if I am a danger to you, then I must leave here and never return.”

Ceremonies must differ when they are between those already entitled…. She could not help that brief non sequiteur from worming into her thoughts.

She opened her eyes and held a hand up to Shayla. Then she turned back to Phalomir and pinned her eyes upon him. He stood quietly, waiting.

“Perhaps, if indeed this is happening, your being manipulated by this unknown entity may not be so grave a thing, my Lor-- Phalomir,” she said softly, smoothly making the verbal transition from title to more personal use of his name. “For you are aware of this, and knowing is half the battle in defeating an enemy.

“Having you here with us, where he may yet think he has the upper hand, is far more useful to us than having you disappear from our sight. Here we may all protect one another; there is safety in numbers, Phalomir, as well as a greater possibility of coming up with an effective strategy.”

She paused once again, swallowing, suddenly wondering why her next words were carrying with them a twinge of unease, of hurt, of creating within her the sudden urge to appease that hurt….

“If your memories are indeed false, if that print upon your chest proves meaningless, then so be it. But they must remain as true to you as if those events had indeed really happened. We must not give away the realizations we have come to this night. They must be maintained if we are ever to find this one and defeat him.”

Without really knowing it, Graysith had left her position beside Shayla as she spoke to the Lord of Armorers, her voice softening with each step she took until as she came up to stand before him she had come to her concluding statement and quieted altogether. She stood there a moment, staring up into Phalomir’s green eyes. Then, after the slightest bit of hesitation, she reached out and placed her hand upon the black tattoo on his chest.

The match to her own hand was identical.

She let her hand rest there, staring at it a moment, then returned her attention to Phalomir.

“You wish to help us—to help me,” she said softly. “You hold the Eye of R’lous, I hold the Channeler. Is it not as you said, that the pair are needed to work together in order to defeat this unknown darkness?

“Or is that yet another false memory sent to you to misguide us?”

She quieted, letting her eyes drop back to her hand, pondering the question she had just asked. Somehow, she didn’t believe that possibility would be so.

This she felt as solidly as she did the touch of Phalomir's cool skin beneath her hand.

“If you wish me to stay,” he said quietly, “then I shall stay. I shall give you all of the lo-- assistance-- I am able.”

A fire tried to rise inside of him. Not her, it is not her… it cannot be her…

He looked down into her eyes, wide and soft.
It is her…

“The Eye -- this Eye -- was made to be a safeguard against the All, a way to provide a balance to its power. In a way, it is a channeler, feeding from the energy of an All user and throwing that power elsewhere. The Finger, I am afraid, I am not so certain of. I only remember legends of its existence, stories told by old men. If true, then it channels the magick of the Sith, in the same way the Eye channels the All. But there are… stories… of corruption, if a magick user possessed the Finger then it could drive him mad, taking possession of his soul and consuming his life blood, making him lose his mind to the power… throw away his life’s treasures...”

He stroked the back of her hand.

“I fear the same could happen with the Eye. You must wield the Finger and feed from my magick. Let me be your be strength in this. I shall hold the Eye in preparation for meeting our enemy.”

Something else.

“Now we stand prepared to some extent to launch our own strategies against this one,” she began, her voice firm as she then pulled her hand from Phalomir and turned round. “It appears to me that we do have one true link to this one, and that is through the memories he has planted in the mind of my Adept. I hope he does not realize that we know this, as do I hope we are now not placing her life into further danger than it already may be. Although—“

She turned back to Phalomir, chewing upon her lip thoughtfully, and after a moment’s hesitation quietly revealed to them both her vision within the gnarltree grove on Dagobah.

“I cannot help but think the she whose demise the Lords Roan and Aelvedaar were in agreement upon is me, whether being that part of me who is Graysith or the Dark Lady of the Warriors, I do not yet know. With this belief, I think Shayla is not in as immediate a danger as I once supposed; perhaps this may be put to use in some manner.

“Now it is that I need the strategies of a warrior Lord, as well as the magicks of a Sorcerer and the devices of an Armorer. Now the Triad must be brought forth, if only to protect its own interests, and the very Sith they are to rule--”

Suddenly she cut herself off as another offering recently spoken by Phalomir rose to the forefront of her mind. Her jaw dropped a bit... then came together as she smiled.

She turned back to Shayla.

"You said you left Erik on Koris'ian, correct?" she asked. Then she continued.

"Is Koris'ian not the home of the Armorers, the weapon-builder's Guild? Is not the temple there that of the Dark Lord of that Clan, a position now held by you, Phalomir."

She turned back to the towering Sith Lord, who yet waited quietly. By now her smile was broad, sending light and gaiety into her eyes, making them sparkle like twin amethysts.

"Instructions as to the intent and use of the Channeler must be there in the temple, for it was there that such was discovered in relation to the Claw that I wield, as well as to the Tooth of S'slan. I cannot believe that the Dark Lord would withhold the set of plans concerning the Channeler and its use; it is far too powerful a weapon to risk losing control of...

"...or to risk not knowing how to combat should it fall into the hands of another. Perhaps we should begin our journey by taking a little trip--?"

“I find it ironic, the reversal of my role. In my time I held the positions Dark Lord of both the Sorcerers and Warriors, but not the Armorers. But, then, my path seemed so much more clear then.”

His smile broadened and a slight twinkle appeared in his eyes.

“Yes, my lady, let us take a small trip. My home is your home, although I am afraid you shall have to excuse the mess. You see, the maid staff has had some time off and things have gone rather dusty.”

He beamed, gazing into her eyes perhaps a moment longer than he intended. He felt once again the pangs of longing, but his spirits had indeed lifted. He somehow managed to pry his eyes from Jharmeen’s and gave Shayla a wry smile.

“You should soon be reunited with your husband! But please, allow me to tell Panthar of his… loss. I owe him greatly.”

He turned his eyes back to the Dark Lady.

Unsure if he should interupt he paused a moment. considering his actions...

He nodded to himself but once before heading off, his descision made he went off to meet them.
As he strode onward he felt a soft pressence in his mind, along with a message requesting his pressence.
"You never need be forgiven for entering my mind."

As he entered the dining hall he bowed to them, reaching out with his senses he picked up the somewhat serious, yet hopeful emminations they were filled with.
"What is our plan of action?" he spoke calmly, his gaze smiling softly down upon all present, his form erect and ready.

“Indeed, your home was mine as well, for a short time,” she replied to Phalomir, her gaze softening and growing vague as memories of time spent there with Recinis came flooding back. The little home they had taken as their own to carefully borrow, the rite of advancement they had performed for Jharu, the gown of the former Dark Lady he had found for her to wear, how she had found the sheath for the Tooth.

She blinked the memory back into her mind, now lifting her face up to Phalomir’s.

“Perhaps we should find Lord Recinis, and seek his input, Phalomir,” she said in suggestion. “I do need the strengths of all the clans to fight this dark evil; we need his expertise as a warrior and a strategist.”

She quieted, seeking outward along the link he had placed within her, feeling his warmth in her mind but not finding where his physical location was. Now throwing back her head, she closed her eyes and removed all present from her conscious awareness, letting her All-talents follow the link Recinis had made until she finally made contact with his mind.

“My Lord,” she whispered directly into his thoughts. ”I beg forgiveness for the intrusion, but your presence is needed to join us. We are in the Temple in the Dining Hall; please, come as quickly as you can.”

The message duly sent, she pulled back and opened her eyes. The fell into Phalomir’s, which were very close to hers.

“Once we find the use of this Channeler, do you think it will be enough to use against this Dark One?” she asked at length; then she frowned. Her head cocked to one side.

“Who do you think he can possibly be, Phalomir?”

Even as she said the words Recinis entered the Dining Hall and spoke to them.

“I have been trying to speculate who this master may be. There was a purported society in my time, a strange sect who were bent upon ruling the future by controlling the past. It was a legend, a mystery. Yet perhaps it was true.”

“As for the Finger of R’lous, the stories were few, and shrouded in great mystery. But it was rumored to be a device that would allow one who was not a sorcerer to manipulate Sith sorcery, and one who was a sorcerer to multiply their powers tenfold. But the latter was costly, the Finger would eat away the magick user’s soul and will.”

He exhaled deeply.

“R’lous must have been a powerful, yet demanding deity. Alas, all knowledge of him was lost in my time. What can you tell me of him? Perhaps it will help in understanding the device.”

Taking a moment to compose himself his gaze fell heavy on all in attendence. "This is a grave time if these are the artifacts we now must contend with... True knowledge i can not tell, for i was trained a warrior, and the sorcerer's were very... Cautions with whom information was shared... I was told what needed to be told, even as one who was to gain the title of dark lord of warriors..."

His eyes closed for a moment, reaching into one of the closed area's of his mind and bringing forth the legends of his childhood.
"R'lous was no diety of my day... he a legendary sorcerer... A sorcerer who was capable of unbelievable feets of power... As the legends went, R'lous forged items which would assure he would hold absolute power over the universe... Assure that it would be he alone, for all eternity that ruled over every aspect of existence... he saught no triad. It was fabled that when he combined the power of all his objects his body was destroyed, and his spirit was given the power of the gods... I supose that is when he became as you know him... The diety R'lous..."

Slowly his gaze settled on Phalomir, "as i understand, whoever should attempt to use the objects for any reason aside from a goal, with nothign but absolutly pure hearted intentions... Will be consumed with the posibilities that unfold, and will soon seek to become just as R'lous... It is said that only one who has no desires within there hearts at all to have complete control... May safely wield his power... And even then, only when necisary, for it is an addictive power..."

His gaze turned to Jharmeen and then phalomir and he nodded, " I can surmise that these possibilities are precisily why she holds the device, and not you, you have been wise...Never must this be changed... No matter how strong the will... I believe all sorcerers will be consumed by R'lous' will should they be given the chance."

He turned to phalomir and considered... "if we speak of Items forged of sith power... We seek Kel'dereg's tomb."

"Kel'dereg is the legendary armor... He is not known as R'lous is... For his brother was not to inclined to share power... Kel'dereg is said to haev been R'lous' half brother, born of the same mother.... Kel'dereg was said to be the most skilled armoror that ever was gifted the title of dark lord... It was he who suposedly forged the items... No one knew there true potential, for the sorcerers hid all within Kel'deregs tomb... and sealed it with magics that suposedly could not be broken..."

His gaze turned to the item at Jharmeens side once more. "I know where the tomb is... It is on Koris'ian, which you might have surmised by your own intuitions..." He smiled thoughtfuly for a moment before turning to Phalomir, "I have an idea which may provide us the needed power to break whatever Enchantments may guard his tomb... The finger is said to be able to chanal the magics of others... If that is so..."

he unsheathed his sword slightly and ran a finger over the edge, inducing a drop of blood. "My blood is of an ancient line... it is filled with a magic that is from the height of sith power..." his gaze locked upon Phalomir, "if your knowledge, and power as a sorcerer... Are focused into the finger, and my own chaotic magic is used as a power source... I believe the resaults will be very... Impressive..." he placed a hand on phalomirs shoulder, "with your clear strength in sorcerery... My blood... And jharmeens own immense power" his gaze drifted to jharmeen. "we can accomplish this..."

“My strength is with yours,” he said earnestly.

“I too have the blood of a warrior line within me, but the sorcerer line is stronger in my blood. However, I feel the armorer within me expanding every moment.”

“But I do not yet trust the Eye beyond my own capabilities to control its power.”

A thrill chased through her body. She chased it away just as fast as it had arrived.

“Indeed, the road ahead of us is long, and fraught with danger,” she finally said, directing this last statement toward Shayla even as she turned and began walking to where that young woman yet waited in obedient silence, still seated upon the couch. Stopping in front of her, she held out a hand and placed it on Shayla’s shoulder, bidding her to rise. Shayla did so without hesitation, and stood quietly waiting by her side, her greeny-blue eyes filled with a sudden fire and determination.

Graysith smiled and placed her arm about Shayla now before turning to face the others once again.

“I have no fear of failure with the two of you by my side,” she opened with another smile. “But, do you think we should leap to Koris’ian at this very moment? Or shall we rest this night, eat, strengthen ourselves before heading out to learn of this great weapon—“

Here she paused slightly, letting cool fingers run up and down the length of the Finger of R’lous.

“—for indeed, from what Lord Recinis has said, it stands to reason that we shall be encountering dark and strong magicks. May I remind you all of the manner in which my Sire—that is, Lord Aelvedaar, has now revealed himself to us.

“While I am prepared to lead us to this strange tomb at this very moment, I wish also to make certain that we are fully prepared for anything—anything!—which might suddenly come along in an attempt to thwart us.

He smiled softly. "yes... I do believe rest would be very wise..."

He looked back to phalomir and then at jharmeen followed by Shayla.
"i believe it would be wise if you all went to gain your rest now... Tomorow's journy will require us all to be at our best... In view of all that has happened in my absense... I do believe i am the freshest... I will take care of any preperations for tomorows journey that will be immediatly required... Please, now-"
He passed his gaze gently over everyone,
"-Take leave for the night... Prepare anything you may require for yourself, and then rest well..."

“Yes, I agree. Rest is much needed, I must admit that the day’s events have left me slightly fatigued.” He thought briefly of the battles with Aelvedaar, the fight with Thoran, and the whirling madness locked within him.

He looked to the Dark Lady. He placed a hand gently on her shoulder, concern in his eyes.

“But if you require anything, do not hesitate to call. I do not trust any of our adversaries to put off their plans while we rest, and I am still sworn to protect you.”

He swallowed hard and stepped back again, suddenly very conscious of his exposed chest. He closed his robe and waited for the others to disperse, eyes intent upon the Dark Lady.

“Thank you, my Lord,” she said softly before taking another step backward, removing herself further from his touch. She cast a quick and meaningful look toward Recinis; then giving her head a little toss, she clapped her hands with authority. In moments Salandaar was there, bowing.

“See that all are given rooms for the night, and see that refreshment is placed therein.”

The Sith cut a quick look to the two Lords, one eyebrow going up in spite of himself. Then he bowed his head.

“As you wish, my Lady,” he said, and went off upon his assigned task.

Graysith turned back to the others. “Salandaar will return and lead you to your room, Phalomir,” she said briefly.

“We shall depart at first light.”

With that she returned to Shayla and placed her arm about the young woman once again.

“Come, my Adept,” she invited her. “Stay this night with me. There is yet something of which I need to speak; I would not be alone this night.”

Another nod to Recinis and Phalomir, and she left, taking her Adept along with her.

A Dark Lord…

What is a Dark Lord without his Lady?

Phalomir turned back to the door where Salandaar still stood.

“Thank you,” he said. “This room is more grand than I deserve.”

Salandaar nodded his agreement and left. Phalomir smiled inwardly and changed into the opulent sleeping garments already placed upon the bed. He lay atop the sheets and stared at the ceiling, his hand inadvertently going to the imprint on his chest. He let his mind trail to the slight thread he still knew he shared with the Dark Lady, the last fiber of a dwindling connection, and he lingered there.

“Jharmeen,” he sighed, whispering quietly into the darkness. “I know my life shall never be the same, and as I once gave my life to you in another time, another place, I give this new life to you now. Just give me the strength to continue, these feelings are too strong to ignore.”

He closed his eyes and longed for the peace of sleep, but it eluded his grasp and mocked him in silent echos.

What is a Lord without his Lady? Indeed….

Her lip trembled, as that thought continued within her own mind, unable to be stopped, only to burst out of her and fly along that link back into Phalomir.

Or a Lady without her Lord?

“I accept this, Phalomir….”

I accept this, Phalomir…

He rubbed his tired eyes as they adjusted to the darkness, images sharpening in the shadows. He sat up and placed his feet on the warm fur rug by the bed and looked around the room. He was indeed alone. It could have been a dream but he had not been asleep.

“I should be used to hearing voices,” he said aloud, shaking his head. “At least listening to this one shall be pleasant.”

He spotted the outline of a bottle on the dressing table across the room, along with the shape of two glasses. He rose and walked to the table, the stone cold upon his feet. He removed the glass lid from the bottle and held it to his nose, drawing a deep breath. His senses delighted at the aroma of the Sith brandy, and he suddenly longed for a taste. He poured a tall drink and made his way back to the bed. He sat, took a long sip of the liquor, and tried to relax. He hoped the brandy would help him sleep, he would need his strength the next day.

It pleases me greatly to be the one, at least for now, able to do so.

“My lady,” he said briefly, bowing his head and letting his eyes drop deferentially to the floor. Graysith said nothing in reply but simply smiled, and ushered Shayla into the privacy of her suites. Once inside and the door securely closed, she indicated Shayla make herself comfortable. As that young woman proceeded to do just that, Graysith roamed the perimeter of the rooms, making certain the heavy draperies leading to the balcony outside were tightly drawn and that there was nothing and no one else lurking within. She came to a halt in front of the fireplace then, memories of another, happier, night flashing through her mind.

A quick wave of one hand, and a chronotic shield was emplaced about them, snugged against the inner walls and effectively removing them from the rest of the temple. Only the links by which she had connected herself to chosen others were able to penetrate that shield, for they were not constructed of matter or energy.

She turned to Shayla and regarded her for a moment. Then—

“In a way, I envy you, Shayla,” she said in simple opening as memories of her past life as the Chosen Daughter now flooded her. “Your life is fairly simple and fulfilled; you have found that which all beings seek, that which secures them enough that all confrontations may be met firmly and without hesitation.

“That which I myself never seem to manage to obtain.”

She trailed a bit, then turned to face the fireplace once more. Abruptly, she then moved away as though unable to bear looking any longer into the flames which danced therein; going to an armoire which hulked in rich splendor in a corner, she opened it and rummaged into its depths. At length she returned with two sets of nightgowns and robes: her’s being a rich and heavy deep green velvet, the one she chose for Shayla a soft teal.

Crossing to the bench where Shayla had seated herself, she offered it to her then sat down next to her. She let her eyes close as she simply waited to hear how Shayla would answer, and let her head fall back against the cushion behind her. Unconsciously, her mind reached out along that link she had made with Phalomir: suddenly touching upon the pain and longing and deep-seated resignation he felt toward the clash of current circumstances with memories of his own past.

A wan smile came to her lips, and she whispered along that link:

The future…

He scoffed a little at that word, the concept it represented. What was the future? What was the past? All he had was the present, and it was not really his.

Phalomir?

The voice, he was sure of it this time. A sudden thrill of the unknown ran through him, mingling with the sadness and causing a strange bewilderment to cycle through him, evidenced by his expression. If he were now inclined to speak with ghosts of his life, then so be it. He would at least enjoy his madness. He said the first words which sprung to his mind.

This time the action was intentional.

“You—you persevere where others would not,” she whispered along the link into his mind, knowing the words she sent would impact upon far more than merely his conscious thought.

“I find this a true hallmark of a warrior, Phalomir. And… pleasing as well.”

Still smiling, she let her head loll a bit to one side, casting a quiet gaze back into the fireplace, suddenly wanting to ask this Lord just what images he would see therein, dancing in the flames.

“Some would call it obstinacy,” he said. “But I am what I am, my lady, I cannot apologize for what I feel, I cannot deny nor hide my love. The single constant in my life has always been you, and it tears me apart now to find you, and not have you.”

He paused, realizing the words the voice had spoken.

“’Pleasing’?”

The Beast regarded her with steady glowing eyes, its great paw wrapped protectively about something. As Graysith watched, that paw curled reflexively, tightening about whatever it was it held; then it cocked its massive head in her direction and let forth something a cross between a growl and a whine.

She nodded in acceptance of this, happy enough to be able at least to view the Beast. Perhaps one day she would find that which it held so jealously to itself.

A thought as another memory flashed through her:

Perhaps Dark Lord Aelvedaar had missed something after all….

She shook that from her, backed away and turned back to the link between herself and Phalomir.

”Yes,” she finally whispered softly.

”Pleasing.”

She silenced then, a sudden shyness filling her. The unfamilar sensation lingered quietly for a moment... then exploded throughout her entire being, reveling in the fresh and welcomed burst of acceptance it had evoked within her.

“I am warmed by that thought, my lady,” he said, still unsure if he was conversing with his own subconscious thoughts or otherwise. He decided it truly did not matter, his feelings and words would not change. “My days are long, my nights are empty without you. Any amount of comfort I may bring to you is a wonderful thing, and that knowledge shall help fill the void.”

Indeed, perhaps all that she had ever felt had been different from this rush of feeling, for never before had she experienced such a mingling of contrasts: strength and submission, fire and cooling water, hope which persevered beyond that which would deny it.

Which was her own reaction… which one his? She really couldn’t differentiate….

Shyness expanded. She shifted on the couch. Perhaps another minute passed.

Then—

“Perhaps one day you will no longer find that void within you, Phalomir,” she whispered quickly.

”Good night.”

Shyness turned embarrassment. She quickly closed the link, straightened, and turned to Shayla as if nothing had happened.

“Good night, my lady,” he said at long last.

At first he had believed it to be his heart beat... But he soon realized it was not...

It pulsed stronger, a cold and terriable pain struck at him, his hand went to that spot on his chest, his face contorted with an odd look of pain at the sudden attack...

his hand moved to his robes to view that which he already suspected... The centerpiece of all the symbols he held, the great mark he teasured pulsed between phases of violet and darkness.
After a few moments of relaxing breathing, and calming concentrationWhy is this? I do not understand...

He looked within himself, finding the treasured globe of warmth he kept protected within.

I am killing it... That must be it. But can i afford to release it from my grasp? to allow it to spring forth once more?

In my time away it was this that kept me sane... In guarding it so closely have... Have i lost my ability to allow it through me?

he droped his meditative stance and curled within a soft blanket upon the room he had gained.Am i losing myself? have i lost that which I treasured most.... Yes, i have... In my own ignorance i have...

But why? why do i not give into the desire to act as i once did.... why can i not show her this place in my soul.... why have i trapped it?

His thoughts quieted into the night he now sought to escape, and after a few moments of pointless attempt he knew,that sleep would not come this night... As it might not for many nights to come.

The gloved hand came forth slowly presenting itself before Aelvedaar, quickly the other gloved hand came forth to remove the glove from the presented hand, revealing absolut nothingness, the hand was soon re-gloved and entaris laughed again.
"You have taken a few minor steps towards the darkness... Whether in reality you actauly realize it or not. Whether intended, or false... You have taken them... But they mean nothing."

his form shifted gaze burning into the form of the young half-sith boy.
His voice came forth like shadows in the night, "If i wished to kill you Aelvedaar, know this, i can wait as long as i must to take your soul, even if that means waiting for your natural death... But i do not wish to kill you... That would gain me nothing."

“Oh, posh, dark one,” I snort condescendingly. “Your dire intimations mean nothing to me.”

I shake my head then, going back to his rather improbable request. Does he truly believe he could learn to manipulate that wonderful power I have taken upon myself, and have continued to hold with an iron hand? The impossibility of his desire ever seeing fruition is truly laughable. No one can hold the All, or use it, if not in balance to begin with. By his own admission, Entaris is a being of pure evil, without the barest speck of anything remotely resembling love or any other lighter emotion within him.

If there existed one being in the entire universe who would truly be incapable of using the All, it would be him.

Shaking my head again, I finally speak up, pointing this out to him, secure in the safety of my own magicks and devices. For I have come to offer this chaotic one even more chaos and pain in exchange for his assistance when called upon; if he chooses to turn my offer down, then so be it.

I pull my thoughts from the road upon which they have traveled, and focus upon his darkness once more.

“What do I wish you to do, Entaris?” I ask him smoothly.

“Why, nothing other than that which you do best. Wreak utter havoc and cause great pain and despair in the hearts and souls of those who would oppose me.

Again Shayla fell silent at this, her thoughts returning not only to the night's reent events, but also to a time when she herself held the affection of a man who had yet seen that affection returned...

...and who waited for well over a year by her side, through a wealth of mountains and valleys, until at last he gained it.

"I do believe Lord Recinis cares for you," Shayla then said, breaking the silence. "But I can never forget that day he left with Jharu, that day when you enclosed yourself in a chronotic shield with Dark Lord Roan. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt how my own husband would have reacted to such a circumstance...

...he would have been on his feet and trying to get to me in any way possible. But Lord Recinis...

...he took Aelveedar's orders and left; I never, ever understood how he could do that and claim to love you as much as he did."

"Lord Phalomir, however..." Shayla continued, pausing and pursing her lips thoughtfully for a moment before continuing, "...he has sought after you, he has risked himself for you against Thoran, and I believe he will remain here to protect you and assist you as long as you will allow it, no matter whether you ever gain the same feelings for him that he has for you. In my book that's a picture of true self-sacrifice...

...and of true love, for I've seen the same in my own beloved husband. I do believe Lord Phalomir loves you...

...truly."

She opened her mouth, trying to think of a way to put that great wealth of feeling into the mere commonality of words, failed miserably.

“He is quite obvious about it, isn’t he, Shayla?” she finally said, lolling her head until she was looking straight up toward the ceiling, one slim hand now reaching up to toy a bit with a tendril of her hair.

“And… although he has brought much mystery to us… I feel that I can trust him. I do trust him… in fact more than I do my own husband…”

She trailed momentarily, sobering before continuing in a quieter tone of voice.

...only to then go back on his word once more. He had a chance to redeem the trust he'd lost from you at that time, and he missed it. Perhaps he take action and do so now...

...but I've yet to see it. For when you were despairing over your son-- a point in time when I would have thought Lord Recinis should rise to his position as your Lord and your husband-- he remained strangely...

... removed, as if oblivious to the hurt you were experiencing. Granted, he told you that he would do everything in his power to find Jharu, and I do believe him...

...but still there seems to be something missing. And while all this was occurring Phalomir consoled you despite the presence and inaction of your husband. And Phalomir has been striving to gain your trust through his actions for some time now; he has risen to the occassion. I can't say the simply can't say the same for Lord Recinis...

...at least not yet."

“I have treated you badly, Shayla, and yet you stay with me, and try to comfort me and speak openly and honestly,” she whispered. Then she reached out and wrapped her arms about her, holding her tightly for a moment. “You have always remained loyal to me, more so than my husband and lord.”

She paused, gulping a little, then pressed on before she lost the tentative nerve to speak as such which she had so suddenly found.

“I feel I am going to need you a great deal in the very near future, Shayla,” she went on, whispering into Shayla’s ear. “Please try to forgive my past actions toward you.”

Embarrassed for the second time in a comparatively short time span, she removed her arms and stared up to the ceiling. Slowly she raised a hand and, as though offering a token of peace, she reached out, touching the warp and weft of the very atmosphere within her quarters, taking hold of it and twisting it into a clay and molding it just so.

His form slid accross and he examined the body closely, "where i go anything is possible, this much you must know before any contract is established..."
he then turned his gaze to focus intently upon Aelvedaar.
"You have indeed sparked my interests... I will seek out the one you wished darkened... But i do tell you... With the all, or not, this body being raised to a proper age would aid my quest greatly... Aid me in this, or deny it... it matters not... My task will be accomplished. The time it takes me to accomplish this however, depends on your choices."

He stepped forward quickly.
"while i am truly a being of great power, no matter my form... having not physical manifistation is in some way's a limiting factor."

...for a long moment all she could do was look about, eyes wide as she tried to take it all in. Then her eyes fell back to Graysith's violet pair and rested there, sensing a renewed kinship springing between a link that had been silent for far too long. Her greeny-blues turned moist with her next softly spoken words. "There is nothing you need forgiveness for," she said, each hand going to one of Graysith's arms in a gentle sort of reassuring touch. "You gave your love to save the life of your son, then risked me altering everything I believed of you to assure that I stayed alive."

“Those born to the witch, as you call the Graysith, do indeed quite naturally hold the strength of the All within them, and as easily learn to use it.

“But you are not one of them.”

Now I smile as I straighten up, nodding to Entaris, allowing a fang to peep forth from my lips.

“The All will never respond to you; why should one such as yourself, one the very embodiment of evil, one who is as such immortal, need this?”

I cock my head to one side, and pin his coal-red eyes with a steady and quite unintimidated gaze. Those red eyes seem to flicker a bit, like the light of a setting sun coming in through trees upon some distant horizon.

“Take the spawn of Jharmeen and Recinis, and have your way with him. Darken his soul, let him rot, whatever; it is of no concern to me.

“All I require is that, when the time comes, you will come with your legion horde to incite fear and panic in the hearts and souls of my enemies. Then, I promise you, the very universe itself will be at your fingertips in offering.

“Leaving myself and my own son immune, of course.”

With that I bow my head, letting my lips quirk upward as I do so. Then I re-open that portal through which I have come, and quickly step through and back to Khar Delba.

"Nor none so loyal a friend as you, my dear sister," she whispered softly.

Then her gaze traveled to her one wrist, upon which yet glowed the quiet gold of her Tattoo of Entitlement. She pulled away and sighed, holding it out to Shayla.

"Whatever am I to do, Shayla?" she asked then, suddenly feeling the farthest she ever had away from her position as Dark Lady of the Warriors and Chosen Daughter of the Sith.

Finally he found himself sitting on a grassy hillside overlooking a lake. He lay back on a blanket and plucked the petals out of a purple flower. The sky suddenly began to darken and thick black clouds rolled in. The ground trembled slightly and ripples appeared on the water, growing quickly into roiling waves. Foam bubbled from the surface and soon afterwards a giant hand thrust forth from the water. The hand was missing the index finger. It was a scene Phalomir had seen many times in his dreams, but the despair that always accompanied this dream was not present.

A pair of enormous yellow eyes peered through the clouds, casting an ominous glare through the storm. A thunderous voice blasted down from above.

“You are a thorn,” the voice rained down. “I shall pluck you from my heel and discard you into the Elseness. Stop your foolish quest and let her go, or share her fate.”

Phalomir stood slowly, keeping a steady glare trained on the eyes above him.

“Leave us, nameless one,” Phalomir called out. “If you harm her you shall feel pain like none you could possibly imagine.”

“Oh, dear me,” the voice chuckled. “A Dark Lord in love, with the wife of another no less! How precious a moment is this? Leave her and I may spare your life.”

“Better to be dead,” Phalomir said steadily. “But you no longer frighten me, you have lost your hold. Be gone, you worm.”

The eyes flared and the hand in the water clenched into a fist.

“We shall see!” the voice boomed. The fist plunged into the lake, splashing water all around it. The surface boiled and foamed, and impossible amounts of water flooded up the hill at tremendous speeds. Phalomir barely had time to move his eyes to see the wave before it struck him.

---

Phalomir woke with a start. He looked around himself quickly, his senses catching up with his mind and together coming back to reality. He caught his breath and tumbled out of the bed, and for a time sat motionless on the floor with an arm resting on the bed.

“Whatever am I to do?” he asked the darkened room.

After several moments he shook his head and dressed, knowing his sleep for the night was over. He remembered the open garden near the temple entrance, and suddenly had a craving for night air.

She trailed a moment, then continued, "...we saw Dark Lord Roan do much the same with your blood-sister's daughter in the past. It's something to keep in mind as we continue on with all that we do...

Turning quickly he decided to investigate, whatever had happened.
As he turned a corner he almost collided head on with the quick striding phalomir, however both being of quick reflex they avoided eachother.
Recinis looked at phalomir for a moment quickly before pointing out the obvious fact. "it appears niether of us find sleep this night... May i join you?"

As he waited for Phalomir to respond, his mind continued to flow, untill finaly he came to a quiet decision.
"Jharmeen... Forgive the interpution... But i would like to speak with you in private before we depart this morning... Please allow me this..."

His mind quested quietly to hers... knowing she would hear it... Hoping she would not ignor it and push it from her mind...

“Yes, of course,” he said. “The company is welcome.”

He rubbed at his eye, hoping to pry a bit of the sleep matter from it. He felt a certain unease at the awkwardness of the situation and wondered what may play out from this encounter, chance or not.

“I was on my way to the gardens for some air. With the fatigue I felt earlier, I would have thought to have slept the sleep of the just, but dreams of my past, and perhaps warnings of the future, keep me awake this night."

He smiled gently.

"Do the worries for your son trouble your sleep, Recinis? We shall find him."

his eyes drifted downward for a moment, "what worries me is my place... You said it well... I am un-needed here... And yet at the same time i am... My place is uncertain... And i am unfond of uncertanties..."

he then turned his gaze to consider phalomirs other words for a moment, quietly he placed a hand upon phalomirs shoulder.
"Dreams of your past? It seems we share some things in common my friend... When i arrived... My memory too was hidden from me... And every moment of it haunts me to this day... But there is one thing that i have found helps... You must realize, the past is done with... Only the future matters."

he could not contain a slight chuckle as he considered something... "it is strange really... my past is ancient history... Your past is our future... And your future lies in our pressent..."

Quietly they walked for a moment before he turned to regard phalomir seriously for a moment.
"Listen... There is something of great importance i must tell you... in your time you were born as the combination of all three of the great clans. You said once that you were hier to all of them... And that you could replace me if it was needed... You also said that your quest does not require you to kill me... But i am unconvinced of this..."

His gaze remained serious. "I do not wish to cause war between us... When common ground has only newly been found... And that is precisily why i believe i must bring this to your attention this very moment..."

Taking a deep breath he began. "The symbols which signify rulership are, as you know, inscribed with sith magicks... As you can gather they are thus forged to assure that our laws are maintained, and that leadership does not become altered by a powerhungry being... In your time, you are meant to rule all three clans... I know not why, and i dont need to know, things will unfold as they must i am sure. But in this time im affraid there is a slight problem with that. For there are others intitled... And by sith law no one shall carry more then one title unless no other's live that are entitled to take the titles... in this case, though you bare the symbolze of all three clans... You will be unable to take head of the sorcerer clan without Aelvedaar and his heir being killed. Likewise, you will not be able to claim the title of dark lord of warriors, even if Jharmeen should will it be so, unless Myself and my son are killed"
And perhaps even ShaRhylla too, knowing roan... But i will not bring her into this...
"It is thus that i must say your earlier statement is flawed... You say you need not kill me... But in the end, if you seek your full title, the one you for some reason or another were born to fulfil... You will have to kill me... And my son."

recinis turned his gaze to the stars for a moment and took in a breath of the gardens sweet scent.
"I tell you this... And also i would tell you that when that day comes, i will not hold you at fault for attempting my life, i will not let you have it, but i will not fault you for attempting, and if you succeed in it, then i do say i could die to no better a being... My sons life however, is an entirly different mattor, i will not see him die to anyones hands... I only remane calm in this current situation because I realize that allowing myself to hit dispaire and worry does not only injustice to him... But also will render me less effective in bringing him back to complete saftey.."

His gaze turned extremly serious for a moment before he continued, "I do not know if you have the heart to take the life of a child born to Jharmeen or not... Love is powerful, and i know you love her greatly... But i also know how powerfuly you believe in your destiny and your mission... I know that every action you take is to accomplish what you feel to be right... In the words of Jharmeen and Aelvedaar... The greater good must be served... And it is because of the fact that i am unsure what actions you will be capable of taking when the time comes for you to consider the options... That i tell you this... Please do not tell Jharmeen of what i have told you... I am unsure of what she knows about the laws of entitlement... For it never before became needed that laws even be considered, and so they were not mentioned... And i do not think she has had any need to research them on her own... And if she has... Then perhaps she knows this already... But i do not think she does, or she might be somewhat more weary of her trust in you... She needs to be able to trust you Phalomir... And so i ask you to guard the information i have placed upon you tonight, i know it does not seem to any who have seen my actions of late that i love her as i claim to... But i do... every action i take i take with her happyness, and well being in mind... Actions speak louder then words... To mine she is deaf... And perhaps forever shall be. But whether she see's or not does not affect the reasons in which i do them. And whether you or Shayla can see it, it does not make the love i feel for her any greater or less..."

But I must at least tell her of my reasoning... Whether she accepts it or not... Whether she views it as lies meant to keep her close... Or the truth from one who can no longer bare to withhold it... That is her decision...

He smiled softly for a moment and then spoke quietly, "do not ask me why i told you that... For i do not know."

...and there was no Dash Kelderon in sight. Once more Matt frowned in spite of himself...

...and then he was taken aback as he began to see the outlines of a city, its architecture grand and beautiful. His intense green eyes took in the scenes as his escort continued on, too caught up in all he was seeing to think of just how exhausted he was. It was after dark when they finally began to approach a massive structure...

...a massive structure that Matt had to admit he recognized from the last time he was on this planet.

And you know just who they are taking you to, don't you pal?

As Matt shoved that errant thought away and focused on the moment, the escort came to a halt and the leader of the group approached a group of Sith who had been apparently gaurding this structure. They exchanged some words which Matt couldn't make out and then the leader turned once more to the escort party. He motioned for them to come closer, and they complied. The Sith which he had been talking to then said not a word, but merely motioned that they follow him and began ascending the steps into the Temple. As they did just that and Matt fell in step, that little irritating voice spoke up in his mind once more.

...whom Aaron insisted was Galen's sister...

...would tell them she had no sister and then sent them all away. Sounded very much like she was covering for something...

...but then that didn't necessarily mean that Galen was being held here. It just meant that perhaps this Graysith knew where Galen was, and wanted to throw them off the trail.

"Galen?" he then repeated as if it was just finally registering that Za'in had asked him a question. "I met her when a friend of mine ran into her and hired her as a pilot in our company. He married her, and our circle of friends expanded as we did alot of...

...traveling and working together."

Jasyn paused a moment at that, frowning as he realized he couldn't remember the exact reasons for alot of their travels. Aaron had said they had tangled with the Sith alot, but he certainly didn't remember it...

Jasyn forced himself to stay alert, gazing across what now was approaching jungle-like terrain.

"Take your ship down there somewhere," he said as he pointed downward. "The foliage will give you some cover, and it'll allow us to walk the rest of the way on foot. I don't want to announce my arrival to the thrumm of ship engines."

He paused at that then, his thoughts once more returning to Galen's possible whereabouts.

Could she be here, somewhere, or had she been taken somewhere else? Other than apparent connections with the Kaminoans, these Sith didn't appear to get out of their own territory much. So just maybe, if Galen was being held by them as he suspected...

Jasyn reached for his comm even as Za'in continued to work the controls of his ship. He flipped to the frequency which connected with the Impys. "We're about to head in to those coordinates my commrades are headed towards with the escort party," Jasyn started out, "We've done some surveying of the planet here in the meantime, and although I have no proof, I'm beginning to think that perhaps the party we were originally searching for is not here. I'm wondering if you could give me any information concerning any of the other planets in this system...

...just to give me some food for thought. I might be able to gain some leads which may change my mind while I'm after my buddies...

...but if we happen to make it out of here with no such leads I'd like some other options to fall back on..."

“Recinis, I have no intention of claiming the lordship over the warriors, especially if it means your death, or Jharu’s. At first I thought it was my destiny, but the more I wanted it the more I wondered why I wanted it so badly. Then an encounter with Thoran and his strange master made me realize I was being manipulated into wanting it, that by attempting to claim all three titles in this time would be the catalyst for some grand scheme of darkness.”

His eyes grew slightly distant.

“And it would bring harm to Jharmeen. And that I cannot have.”

He refocused upon Recinis.

“I cannot say that I do not love her. In my time, she was my wife. I do not even wish to try to explain how that strange parallel came about, for I do not know. I can tell you long stories of how we met, our courtship, our marriage, and our son… and the pain of losing them both in the invasion.”

He sighed.

Instinctivly his hand went to the formerly pulsating mark upon his chest.Indeed... Who knows how close we are to seeing what i will do in such a situation...
his hand dropped and he shook his head a bit to rid himself of any semblence of sadness that might have snuck onto his features.

Then his gaze fell upon phalomir with confidence and he nodded in affirmation.
"We've both spoken plainly... I feel there can be no greater a weight lifted then that... It is good that we have done so... For a heart wieghted with things unsaid... Even if one does not at first think he need say them... Is a heart that can not fully concentrate on the task at hand..."

as his words trailed off again his eyes caught sight of a strange flower... Quietly he bent to pluck it. he examined it carefuly and his heart lurched.
How did this get here?... Such a striking resemblence to the one i once placed in her hair... But that was koris'ian...

He blinked for a moment before quietly placing the flower in one of his pockets
A flower such as this appearing here... The night before we head to the planet where before i saw it... it is either a sign of some sort... Or i am losing my mind...

His thoughts grasped upon the idea for a moment before finaly he realized both seemed strangly fitting...

The emerald gaze returned to phalomir a moment and he smiled softly. "So my friend... Tell me of your son... Perhaps talking about your past, will help you sleep at night."

“He was strong, both in spirit and in body. He inherited the best from both of us in that. I liked to think he had his mother’s will and stubbornness, and his patience came from me, but patience was never one of my virtues. He was a halfling, of course, which only added to his grace and charm. Next to his mother, he was the light of my life.”

Phalomir walk slowly, looking at the ground as he spoke.

“I remember we had a special beach we would visit, I had a home built in the nearby cliffs for the times we stayed. We would visit for weeks at a time, I had an office built into the home so we could continue to work…”

He trailed off and stopped walking.

“Then came the Vong… I… I wish I could remember more of what happened…”

“Yes,” she finally whispered, drawing back a bit from Shayla, then rising to go off to a large and ornately designed dressing curtain behind which she quickly changed for the night. Coming out attired in the green velvet, she went over to a sideboard upon which sat a strangely shaped bottle; unstoppering it, she skillfully gathered up two apertif glasses in one hand and poured a Sith brandy for herself and Shayla. Her smile still a bit on the dark side, she returned to the bed and settled herself next to the young woman, holding out the glass as she did so.

“Yes,” she repeated, this time a bit more strongly. Her eyes grew thoughtful as she raised the glass to her lips with both hands, and took a sip from it. When she lowered it, however, the aura about her had lightened a bit.

“Your words have great merit, Shayla, but that was not quite the direction I was intending for this conversation to travel when I asked what I did. I really meant to ask—“

She paused a moment then as a polite whisper broke into her thoughts.

”Please excuse the interruption, Jharmeen—“

Recinis.

She nearly dropped her brandy right then and there.

Then she quieted, and sent a reply along the link between them.

”Of course, my Lord, I will speak with you. You need not act in so formal a manner towards me; I am your wife, or have you forgotten this?”

She couldn’t help wincing a bit at herself as that concluding snipe crept forth from her and sped into Recinis’s mind; giving herself a mental shake, she straightened on the bed and took another sip of the brandy.

”Any time you wish, call for me,” she concluded, "Unless you plan to conduct whatever it is you wish to speak of through this mind link. I do have a door upon which you may knock, you know. There was a time when you did not wish to remain so-- distant from me."

Not deigning to converse any further, she then quieted her thoughts and turned her full attention back to Shayla once again.

Proud Men, just like his father...

The grin that was once on his face was replaced with a cocky smirk. The Almar's were a proud family, great, strong and adventurous as any other before them. He knew this for a fact, even without a full understanding of his father's past or even his mothers for the record. Yet, they had taught him, influenced him, that adventure was the route to greatness and so he did as he was influenced.

Now he was onto a new expirence on a planet he would never have thought to be on. A planet of the Sith, a people he cared very little about and knew anything of. They just were a figment of a word to him, but in the brown eyes of the worried man beside him showed they were more significant than that. It was a worry in the man's eyes that Za'in detected as he spoke into the comm. unit and it intrigued him.

"Is something wrong," Za'in began, as he reared back on the control rod, shifting the weight of the ship. "Somethin' up with Galen or the others?"

Finally, the ship landed as he spoke, the lit up cokcpit being coated with a darkness as the lights perodically flickered off. Reaching out in the darkness, a light flicked on, shining down on the two as they sat there in the dark ship.

"All the engines were shut down." The dark skinned human stated, his hands sliding into his pockets as he came to a stand.

... after all, wasn't that what they had been talking about all along...?

..."I think perhaps it is too soon to know. Although I must admit, I think a Lady should have a Lord who can claim and hold his station in the same manner which she did hers. Although you originally gained the title through marriage, it was by actions of your own that you truly became the Dark Lady. Whomever is truly destined to be your Lord...

...he should follow suite. I know no matter what happens what you had with Lord Recinis will always be a part of your whole...

...but perhaps Lord Phalomir is destined to be a part of that whole as well."

Shayla paused at that, taking another sip of her brandy. Then she finished her thoughts with one final statement.

"The Jedi always say that the Force guides us to our destiny, and I've always thought that to mean that when something is right, we will know it deep down. When the time comes for you to make that choice...

...I believe you willl know in your heart who your Lord should be."

“You speak true words,” she finally said, shifting her goblet to her left hand so as to place the right one over her heart. For a moment she remained quiet, questing out along the link to Recinis which remained stubbornly silent.

She sighed, let her hand drop.

“While I am not Sith by birth, and as such am still learning the intricacies of their ways, one thing seems fairly clear to me. I would think that a Dark Lord of the Sith should gain and maintain not only that station by blood-right and strength… but his Lady as well. In all that I have learned of the Sith, it is their determination to follow a true course, whatever it is that they have chosen, that stands out most to me. Their perseverance in the the face of adversity; their…”

She paused, groping for words, then smiled as a saying her father used to say to her came to mind.

“Their stick-to-it-iveness.”

That smile dimmed a bit as she turned back to Shayla.

“Lord Recinis has seemed distant toward me, not only now but the last time he was here as well. I have never yet received a strong reason for his action and behavior, unless it is that—“

She paused again, her eyes growing shadowy as once again logic reared up its head within her to do battle with the void where her former emotions toward Recinis had resided. Then she sighed.

“I know how I felt for Lord Recinis, Shayla; it is simply that now I do not. Whether or not that feeling could be discovered anew would depend upon… whatever it is that triggers such things in newfound relationships. I only know that he does not appear to be actively seeking me out.

“Lord Phalomir, on the other hand, is.”

She paused again, her eyes softening as she considered the contrast. On one hand, a Lord who by his actions was only continuing to repulse his Lady; on the other, those actions taken by a Lord who was trying his utmost to regain his.

She shook her head and stood up, gathering her robe about herself.

...but first I would like to change into something more comfortable."

...at least, nothing new. I've just got the feeling that perhaps Galen isn't here after all, but I've got absolutely no proof of it. That's the long and the short of it."

Explaining no further then, Jasyn proceeded down the hatch and outside the ship into the darkened jungle. "We should probably keep moving while it's dark," he then continued. "That'll at least give us some cover from prying eyes."

“Perhaps the past is not something to dwell upon,” he said quicky. “The present and future are what are important.”

He regarded Recinis.

“I appreciate your speaking with me. I was concerned about our dispositions, but now I feel we can work together to accomplish the goals at hand. The night air is refreshing, but it has also accomplished its purpose in making me wish to sleep.”

Phalomir smiled at Recinis, partly at the things he did not wish to say out loud. He mentally caressed the weak link he still held with her through the love he embedded when he removed the swelling madness within her.
I do not ask the Dark Lady to make any choices regarding me, it is not within my rights to do so. But if she were to somehow wish my love, I would give it gladly.

He bowed his head to Recinis and headed back to the doors of the temple.

The young ensign at communications sat back with a little smirk of satisfaction of a job having been well done. He had just finished sending the Lt. General’s reply to whoever it was on the surface of this secretive little planet that had gained his attention; who that was, the ensign himself, of course, hadn’t a clue.

Again, such is the manner in which the Imperials work, even with Admiral Actar’s new dictates going into effect.

”Ground personnel, this is from Lt. General Tarnus himself. There is only one other planet in this system, one going by the ancient name of Khar Delba. It is primarily a polar world, with one small equatorial strip of jungle to hold life; scans show a thriving populace, but not one as large or widespread as that which exists upon the planet you are now on.

...and with the wrong answer, no less. He had to admit he was basically hoping to find a planet that was the Sith equivalent of Kessel out there somewhere...

...and as it appeared that just wasn't going to happen. Back to square one. Without waiting for any further reply from Za'in, Jasyn began heading towards the coordinates where Matt and Dash were supposedly headed, his mind spinning all the while.

Dammit, he just didn't know enough about these Sith to know where to start...

...and he didn't know if he was going to find any more help where he was headed. It really didn't seem the Sith had made a mark anywhere else than in their own little system...

...and on Kamino. Perhaps the Sith did have some associations on other planets...

He raised the wristcomm to his lips once more, still walking. "Any chance these Sith have any ties to planets other than the two in this system...

Whoever this guy was, he was sure taking advantage of the Lt. General’s generosity, he scowled to himself as he scanned, analyzed and forwarded for a second time in so many minutes. Moments later and he had another reply to send down, which he did as quick as he could.

”Ground personnel; Jasyn, what are you asking me? Recall, if you will, that until just recently, the Sith were not only regarded as being dead… they were not even regarded as ever truly being. No one knew of them in the way that you and I have come to understand; how would we know of any other planets they might have… associations with?

"Keep up your search there; perhaps you may find someone there who would have the knowledge you seek. I trust said knowledge will be dutifully passed along to us… for future reference, you understand.

“This is Lt. General Tarnus, out.”

The echoes of the former bounty hunter’s words faded into silence, one nevertheless heavy with the unspoken implications carried in his final statement to the Eagle Enterprise’s employee.

"Dutifully passed along," he growled. "The kriffing nerve of that guy..."

At that he trailed, his pace quickening and lengthening, his mind on the only plan he had that seemed to be plausible:

Get to the coordinates the Impys had given him, find Matt and Dash...

...and hopefully find either some clues or assistance or perhaps both from there.

"I want to reach the coordinates before daybreak if possible," he said over his shoulder to Za'in. "We'll figure out what to do next from there..."

taking a deep breath he reached out to her again,.
"jharmeen... If it is possible... Would you meet with me tonight? I know i have been distant... But no more... You are my lady... You are my love... And you are my life...

My existence is incomplete without you by my side... I have made mistakes... I have taken actions that have hurt you... All i can say, is i have my reasons for those actions... But those reasons have expired...

As words flowed from his mind he followed through with the gentle warmth of his love, offering it to her hopefully..."I know you are catching up with all that has been missed with shayla... But... But it would be....

“I really haven’t the foggiest notion!” she said, a sparkle coming into her eye. She looked at the goblet of brandy which she still held in her hand, and with a start suddenly realized that she hadn’t eaten anything, even though there had been food available earlier when all were in the Grand Dining Hall together.

“Care to raid the pantry?” she asked, linking her arm in Shayla’s.

Then with no further ado she led the way from her chambers, arm in arm with her Adept, not really caring where her feet carried her at the moment but nevertheless wandering in the general direction from which they had earlier come.

It was as they wandered the dark-shadowed corridors that Recinis's plea came to her, once again via the link they yet held between them. Her grip tightened slightly upon Shayla's arm as those words impacted her.

The reason had expired?

Within her soul, the Beast raised slowly to its feet, its head held low, flat pewter eyes staring coldly along that connection and directly into Recinis's heart.

It growled a warning, flexing its massive claws.

Then she loosened her grip to one more natural of a sister upon a sister, and continued along as if nothing had happened.

"Recinis has just contacted me, Shayla," she finally allowed. "He wishes to meet with me in the park where we once-- where we had wandered once on a far happier night."

She chewed her lip, while inside her the Beast continued to rage.

"This is still not the manner in which a Lord should treat his Lady, is it Shayla?" she asked. "He-- he deigns that I come to him; that is not the mark of a warrior nor that of a lord, but rather of a--"

She bit herself off before she could say anything further, that logical part of herself solemnly informing her to take a care and not go flying along a self-designated roadway. Shaking her head, she sighed.

"Let us continue on; I am suddenly quite starved."

Surprisingly enough, after a brief inward inspection, she found that statement to be true. She shook her head again, gave Shayla's arm another squeeze, and moved on down the corridor, her suddenly flaring Glyph lending a soft violet light for them to see by.

“Oh, forgive me, Shayla!” he cried. “I-- I was not paying attention to my striding.”

He then noticed the Dark Lady beside Shayla. A sudden rush of -- happiness – flowed through him, causing him to flush with his sudden embarrassment. He then noticed the attire of the ladies and averted his eyes to the ceiling.

...when once more quite the reverse presented itself. Or perhaps himself.

"There is no need to apologize," she said simply then, her tone light. Then she turned to Jharmeen, her head slightly cocked as she sensed that her sister was perhaps noting the striking contrasts between a certain two Sith Lords as well...

She smiled.

“No need for apology, nor embarrassment, Phal—my Lord,” she said softly, a twinkle gleaming in her eyes. Still holding Shayla around her shoulders with one hand, she extended the other.

“We were just on our way for a midnight snack before retiring; would you care to join us?”

She smiled as the polite invitation left her lips, knowing what his reply would be before he even said it. Her eyes cut smoothly to Shayla’s, and without letting so much as a whisper of this out she spoke to her along the link the two of them held between themselves.

“I admit I am weary, though sleep seems to elude me this night,” he said. His gaze shifted to Jharmeen, a slight grin managing its way to the surface. “But now that you bring up the idea, I suddenly find myself burning with hunger.”

He took the hand offered to him.

“I thank you for the invitation, my lady.”

...and there was no way she wanted to get in the way of that. Still arm and arm with Graysith, she spoke up softly.

"You'll have to excuse me, but I'm starting to feel rather fatigued; it has been quite some time since I've last slept..."

She paused, glancing then to Graysith, some sort of unspoken understanding passing along the link they shared. "...so I believe I will retire for the evening now. I hope you will pardon my departure from your company?" she finished.

Graysith tilted her head toward Phalomir, then turned to Shayla.

“It saddens me that you choose to leave us, but I understand, Shayla,” she said smoothly. “Your input is always welcomed; perhaps we will be able to speak again later in the privacy of my chambers.

"You shall be the first I will contact, should I require any assistance," she closed with, sending the latter along the link into Shayla’s heart. Her gaze softened then as the young woman nodded her head in turn and quickly departed, heading back along the way from which they had come.

Graysith couldn’t help a departing mental shout.

”I am glad you are again with me, Shayla.”

Then she turned back to Phalomir, suddenly a little embarrassed at the warmth in the grip with which he held her hand.

“Oh, um, yes,” he managed. “By all means, um… yes.”

He tightened his hold on the hand in his and proceeded to be led to the pantry.

The two walked for some time and said nothing, merely looking ahead. Finally Phalomir took a deep breath and looked down at the Dark Lady.

“I was hoping to meet with you before we departed for the temple of the Armorers,” he blurted. He blinked and breathed again. “Forgive me for saying this, I do not wish to seem out of line, especially in our… situation. But you give me strength, my lady, and I find myself needing that strength more and more. Thoran, Aelvedaar, the strange ‘master’… This must all be connected somehow, and their powers are great. I only hope I may be of use to you.”

As am I, came her final reply as she found her way back to the Graysith's bedchambers. There she paused a moment, considering something before beginning to walk once more, her steps sure and certain as she knew precisely where she was headed. In a short span of time she found herself in front of a very familiar set of wooden doors where a wealth of memories scrolled across her minds eye.

It had been here, after all, that she had finally been able to let go of herself enough to admit how very much she loved her husband. The images of that day were still so very vivid...

...images of Erik keeping a respectful distance despite his feelings...

...and images of the look upon his face when she at last said the words he had been so longing to hear...

Without any further hesitation then, Shayla opened the door and stepped inside the bedchambers. She pulled back the velvet and satin covers of various shades of violet, then fell into the bed and closed her eyes as memories continued to scroll across her mind and warm her heart even further. She began to drift...

...and it was then her mind finally became clear enough...

...and attuned enough...

...for her to notice a slight niggle from a cherished Force-link. Though it was distant and she couldn't quite make out the exact thought, she could sense the concern her husband was trying to make known.

I am quite well, she thoght back then, knowing he would sense her feelings more than her words and also knowing that would be enough. Sit tight where you are, and I will be with you again shortly...

With this last thought, Shayla stretched out and sent a lifeline of reassurance through that link...

...and at last she fell into a peaceful sleep.