"I only ask three things. The first is that you allow me to rest momentarily so that I might regain my powers."

"The second is that you tell or give me a way to reach them, as I have no transportation aside from myself."

"The third, is that you might answer my question, unless in the unlikely event you do not know, or that you wish not to tell me. Which of course, is perfectly alright, for I have no right to question your motives and thoughts."

[ 06-23-2004 05:06 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cult Master Raelgosh ]

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

"But of course, it is only natural that you should desire to know what has occurred. Some of our people are aware, many are not.

"In my disclosure of this, you may consider yourself one of the... chosen few."

A dark smile flickers about my lips for a moment, then I continue.

"This is not the time of which you think, my friend," I say, now approaching the Cult Master and laying a friendly arm along his shoulders. He shivers beneath that touch, whether from annoyance, fear, or delight I cannot determine and truly do not care to do so.

"This is 4,000 years... ahead in your future."

Again I pause, letting this astonishment sink in, before continuing briefly on.

"All you need to know is that beings who have come to be known as dark jedi came along 4,000 years in our past, and with a force strong enough to combat our sith magicks, eliminated our entire civilization."

My eyes darken with memory; again I feel that final slice of lightsaber into my flesh....

"There is a power, that which... She has come to use minutely, which we sorcerers had been studying for many years, a power which transcends all, a power mighty enough to turn the pages of time into another direction, and allow our people to be brought forward into this time, instead of facing death at the hands of the usurpers."

I turn to face the Cult Master, now letting the expression on my face inform him that of this power, he needs know no more.

"I shall have a Sith fighter waiting for you; hmmm. I trust you are familiar in piloting such a vessel? We did use them in the past, you know, when we were young and strong and ruled the universe...."

I pause again with the thought:

As we shall do so again....

Then I turn back to the hornless Sith.

"My son will show you to chambers, and return you to the Grand Dining Hall, that you might partake of our bounty before departing on your... quest."

My smile darkens, and I nod to Aeylmaar.

[ 06-23-2004 07:36 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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Raelgosh began to follow the other sith, then paused. "I would not think to question your judgement, but would we not owe this human a great debt. Of course I have no doubt you have long repaid it of course."

He then followed, leaving that thought in the air.

As he was lead to his quarters, he was astounded at the change in this ancient place. The architecture had not changed, but more of the small creatures moved about the temple, their quickness and sharp tones suprising them as he listened. They seemed to have replaced the many sith that had filled these halls origonally, though there were still a few of these as well.

Finally he arrived, and thanked the other sith deeply, and stepped into his new chambers.

[ 06-23-2004 11:04 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cult Master Raelgosh ]

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My eyes darken further, and I turn away. Behind me, Aeylmaar stands in mute disapproval, his own amber eyes shuddering forth the color of new-mown hay.

"You have further question?" I ask him abruptly. He remains mute, and at length drops his gaze from mine.

"Very well then...."

I nod him from my Inner Sanctum, and with a final glaring look he departs. I then raise a hand, and pull the protective blanket of a chronotic shield about myself and these, my private chambers, that none will disturb me further. I then return to the Octahedron, and gaze deeply into its glistening, emerald-shot depths.

I can still see her standing there, alertly poised, like some fey creature of the wood. Even as I watch she cocks her head, that wondrous hair flaming down as she takes on an attitude of...

Of search.

I lay a hand upon the Octahedron, and sigh deeply. When I pull it away, the image within has roiled away into nothing....

[ 06-23-2004 09:52 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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Aeylmaar glowered, then once pausing, slammed a fisted hand against the stone wall. His knuckles shredded against the sharp clasts within the building rock, leaving a smear of blood standing as mute evidence to his restrained and growing ire.

For though he was loyal to Lord Aelvedaar, and loved him as any son would a blood-father...

...this simply wasn't right.

At first he planned upon following the assassin, hoping that he could dissuade him from his given task. But the realization that he probably hadn't a snowball's chance in hell of accomplishing this stayed his course, and for a moment he merely stood in one place, considering.

What had happened to change his Father so? He hadn't been like that; he used to be kind and giving; how often he had stressed the importance of life, of finding balance within it, amd pressed him to always seek avenues of problem solving that would not bring harm to others...

But this. This was senseless, unforgiving..

Impossible.

Why would he seek the death of his own Chosen One, the one through which great wheels had begun churning, which had culminated in the revival of their entire civilization? The assassin was correct; they owed her a debt of gratitude.

Not a death-warrant.

He pursed his lips in growing frustration, then lifted his chin as an idea struck.

He was, after all, the Chosen Son and heir. While he might not successfully get the assassin to go against his Father's order, perhaps there was something else he could do.

His mind made up he hurried on, quickly flitting through the shadowy corridors like an amber-eyed ghost, and soon had departed the temple altogether. The moment he was outdoors he quickened his pace, and soon found himself at the hanger toward which he had directed the others.

An empty bay proclaimed their victory in departing from the temple grounds, and perhaps from Khar Delba altogether. He sighed; so be it. This might take a little bit longer.

But She had to be warned.

It was not long before he had boarded another little Sith fighter, immediately going to the pilot's seat and making himself at home there. Moments later, and another blaze of something other than regular exhaust brightened the Khar Delban skies, and he headed up and out.

The moment the instruments informed him that he was in the Khar Delban ionosphere, he flicked on the light-bending device, rendering himself invisible to regular sight, knowing that the unique properties of the fighter's hull would protect him further from all but the most persistent and perfectly targeted of scans.

Settling back against his seat, he closed his eyes, and using the All-talents his Father had started to teach him, reached out with a clear image of the flame-headed Chosen Daughter of the Sith.

Along with that image he sent forth a clear mental sense of warning and danger....

[ 06-23-2004 10:19 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aeylmaar ]

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

However, as he went about this he pondered. The smaller sith, he asumed was Aelvedaars aprentice or son or the like, seemed discomforted by the Great Sith's decree of execution. He did have to wonder at his loyalties. But it hardly mattered.

The policies, rules, and plots of the Clans mattered little to him. He would now await his summons, but in the mean time, entered a trance that would triple the speed of his recovery.

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

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

The young sorcerer turned back to the limp and bleeding figure he and his niche-brother had stumbled upon as they wended their way through the temple en route to their classes. The fact that they would have been a touch late was now a moot point; indeed they would never know what their instructor would have divulged to them upon this day.

I can get someone's notes...

The non sequiteur flicked briefly through the Sith's head as he knelt there upon the cold stones, the echoes of his companion's bootsteps diminishing in the distance. The figure he supported shed rich, ruby blood upon his robes; this too was ignored as he cradled the young man's head, marvelling at his human frailty.

It would be nothing to snap his neck, he thought, one fang peeping forth as he smiled. But this was not what they, as sorcerer apprentices, were taught; indeed, life was something to be revered, cherished, hallowed.

Even if it is not Sith life.

He raised his head and called after his departing comrade:

"Hurry! This one seems fading; he is in dire need of magicks stronger than I am able to wield!"

With that he turned his focus back to the apparently dying man, and laid a surprisingly gentle, clawed hand atop his forehead.

"Hurry, oh hurry, Master!" the niche brother's high voice rang stridently, full of urgency. "He is near death!"

Well... perhaps his state is not quite that severe, but he is far from regaining consciousness, the sorcerer apprentice thought as he rose in the face of the other two, bowing to show respect to the Master.

That worthy said nothing but immediately knelt at the man's side, laying a broad hand atop his face, the claws of his thumb and little finger reaching from temple to temple. He gazed down upon the youth, then directed bittersweet eyes upward to the others.

"I have sent healing energies into this one, to assist his body in its rejuvenation."

Indeed, the bleeding had stopped, and the pale being's breathing seemed to be somewhat easier.

The Healer rose to his feet, continuing to stare down at the one from whom he had waylaid seeming death.

"Take him to healing chambers, and see to his welfare. I do not wish him left unattended; please call upon me should he awaken.

"And now..."

He smiled, his fangs dripping down over his full lips.

"I am expected as a guest speaker in class...."

Still smiling, he bowed his head briefly before turning and departing. In his wake, the two young apprentices cast startled glances at each other; then each taking up an arm and a leg, they transported Rykounagin to the nearest healing chamber. There they deposited him upon a soft, antiseptic bed, and took up guardianship by his side.

Normally he wouldn't have entered, due to the large amount of the small creatures near the door. He walked in, and stood.

He did not dare seat himself at a table of his betters (as all sith were), and waited for permission to do so. It was difficult to resist sitting to devour the food of which sent stomach churning aromas to him. But if they wished not for him to disgrace them, then he would gladly stand.

Merely being in Aelvedaars presence would bring enough comfort to him. Yet the smaller sith, Aelmaar if he remembered correctly it had been more than three years, was not there. Curious.

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

The words fell into silence for a few moments, as if no one was quite certain what to say. Then Shayla quickly changed the subject, not wanting to linger on past memories for long. "For the moment, however, we have to face the problem of gettng past the hovering Imperial blockade we're heading into. I'm going to calculate a short jump out of the system. With the Sith belt and this ship's capabilities, I'm thinking we can elude the Imps. If not...

...I'm thinking we might have some trouble. I don't know what everyone else's plans are from here...

...but I've got to get back to Korriban, retrieve Jasyn Lancaster and Matt Stanza, and get the Eye to Phalomir."

She paused, turning back to the navboard even as Khar Delban sky began to grow darker and darker. "But in the meantime...

...we've still gotta get out of here first."

Turning her full attentions to the navboard then, Shayla quickly reached out and punched the sigil that would take them to hyperspace, knowing that the Sith ship's ability to move to high speeds in less than a second should indeed save them from the blockade ahead.

And in less than a second, as stars instantly turned to starlines, Shayla knew that the enigmatic fighter had done just that...

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

Aeylmaar smiled, drawn from his concentration by this newest, if somewhat feeble, attempt to keep rein upon his world.

Well, he amended that thought. It may not affect us one whit, but it does serve a purpose in keeping others out.

He frowned to himself for a moment, wondering why this blockade was there, and who had put it around Khar Delba. Perhaps at the instigation of his Father? Nothing would surprise him anymore when it came to the Dark Lord; he had changed so much in so short a time....

He shook his horned head, and reached out to the navboard. Sigils blinked in staccato symmetry beneath his touch; moments later, and stars smeared into the streaks of hyperspace as his little fighter blasted into that improbable realm from an even more impossible proximity to a planet.

Ahh-- thank you, Armorers....

He settled back comfortably, letting the ship carry him out and away from the Khar Delban system, cleverly eluding the rather primitive tractor beams which would hold normal matter in check.

Sith ships, however, weren't made of matter that was quite... normal.

He counted to five... and knew he was far, far away from his starting point. Returning to normal space, he consulted his logs, identifying his position. Then he simply let the ship stand in stasis while once again he sent forth his mental cry of warning, overladen with an image of a flame-headed woman.

Something gave him pause. His eyes flew open, and he straightened in his seat.

Something had niggled back....

A smile crossed his features as he caught a mental whiff of Sith magick, a feather's touch tickling from somewhere lightyears distant. Distance, however, was another matter of relativity; a new firmness overtook his features as he let his own mental quest seek further, nosing about until that returning niggle was at its absolute strongest, then double checked against his star charts.

Still smiling, he set his course, and once again disappeared into the protective womb of hyperdriven space.

((OOC: Aeylmaar takes off into, Catch as Catch Can in these forums, thank you.))

[ 06-30-2004 05:09 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aeylmaar ]

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

He had heard voices, but he thought them to be voices from halucinations or dreams. And what strange dreams he had had. He had dreamed of a barren plain, and something waiting there for him. He had gone to it.

Then he had dreamed of standing in a horrid place that filled him with dread, but he could hear his own laughter.

Then he felt himself trapped in light and darkness. Truely nothing. And then he was here. He then realized that these were not dreams, but things of the past, that they had already happened.

In his half conciousness, his eyes cracked.

"Where are you?"

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

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

The sith laughed. "Why in the nine hells should I let you in you pathetic human?" Sa'kal could already sense what the end result of talking his way through would be. Besides, he doubted any of them would ever even listen to him unless he forced them.

He called upon the magicks imbued into him by his inheritence. Blasts of scarlet and violet energy leapt from his hands and arms and burned away one of the sith, even though the sith had raised stronger defenses than Sa'kal was used to.

I draw in a breath and seat myself, all the while taking note of the fact that my Chosen Son is nowhere to be seen. My roving gaze settles back once again upon the ramrod Sith.

"Please," I wave a genteel hand. "Seat yourself, and partake of food and drink. You have toil ahead of you, and need your strength renewed before you depart."

I smile as he seats himself, and fall into silence, all the while aware of the not too distant yet extremely shadowed presence of another. Something within me coils in readiness, but to all present I am calm and bordering upon joviality.

"What mystery is afoot within these walls?" I wonder to myself as I reach for my goblet and take a sip of brandy.

[ 07-27-2004 08:33 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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"I humbly ask of three things. One, has the designated one moved? Two, what of the cult assassin who waits outside your gates? The third is that you tell me of the location of my transport."
Mayhaps I have spoken to boldly.

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

But he is needed; I wish not to sully my hands with this distasteful task.

"A Sith fighter awaits your departure in my private hangar, just without this temple," I begin smoothly.

"Unfortunately we have but two of these ships at our disposal; the remainder are docked in the spaceport of Ch'arlingua, just outside Phrinnchatka on K'eel Doba."

I smile broadly, exposing my fangs. They gleam by the light of the flames which dance seductively in the nearby, heavily ornate, fireplace.

"You are free to begin working according to our..." Again, a smooth pause interrupts.

"In accordance with our contract."

Now my eyes darken a bit more.

"As for the assassin who waits without my doors... "

I close my eyes, reaching easily outward with both the All and my inherent and highly honed Sith magicks, and with a clarity so great the image might actually be physical beings moving before me, I see them.

"Why, he should be en route to me at this very moment, escorted by my apprentices.

"I find your knowledge of his presence, as well as your concerns regarding him here, interesting to say the least."

Something dark and dangerous flashes in my eyes. I grasp hold of his, and let that something fly between us. It is evident that we both are merely dancing for the sake of each other; with an indrawn breath I let my smile come out once again, and casually lift my brandy.

"As for the whereabouts of your quarry... need I perform your task for you, Cult Master? I thought you were more adept in such matters. Need I find other recourse in this?"

My voice trails politely enough, drowned out as I take in a heavy draught of brandy. But when I set the goblet back upon the table, my eyes are aflame and burning once more into those of the Cult Master.

"My assistants will see you to your fighter. With the abilities in your possession, you should find it a simple thing to follow your prey and her accomplice.

"And do not return unless your task is completed."

With that I nod to my aides, who hasten forward to flank the Cult Master on either side. He rises, bows deferentially, and departs with them, leaving me waiting to speak with the next one due to come into my presence.

That being this secretive assassin who has been lurking so patiently without my door.

[ 08-07-2004 07:14 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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"Greatings great Dark Lord Aelvedaar. I offer you my services as a member of the Cult of Assasins."

"Indeed," I then state flatly, allowing one nostril to flare in a small indication of the distaste I am feeling. Not only have I been confronted by one of these cultists in the immediate past, but now I find another one before me.

I sigh a bit inwardly, although my outward demeanor remains frozen in an attitude of regal lordship. It was only logical that these kind of Sith would come to me, as they had throughout our history. As much as I preferred not to admit it, we didn't rule the vast systems that we did merely on our fighting and magickal abilities alone.

Sometimes certain circumstances demanded a touch more from us.

My thoughts segue smoothly to this one once again. He remains in respectful silence, but I know his thoughts are not quite so deferential. At last I nod to him.

"Yet again," the words glide smoothly from my lips. "But... serendipitous, to say the least."

Now I lean slightly forward, and cock my head to one side in thought. He remains yet silent, waiting.

"I have sent another of your kind on an assignment," I finally speak aloud.

"He has just been escorted from here by my accolytes, and will be approaching my private hangar within the half hour. I wish you to accompany him on his mission--"

Another pause, wherein I smile like a rancor who has just found fresh blood.

"--and see to it that said mission is fully carried out. If he balks, or does not fulfill his duties, then your objective is to eliminate him in turn, and complete his task."

I lean back and gently replace the goblet I was holding back upon the table. He blinks, but no words yet escape his lips.

"Do not think I will not be able to follow your progress, my friend."

The reminder is soft in tone, but carries the full weight of my magickal powers upon its back.

"The assassin's prey must die. See to it that you do not become prey yourself by failing me in that with which I now charge you."

Taking up my goblet once more I lift it to him, then take a great draught. Then setting it down, I make a sign in the air; immediately two Sith accolytes appear and position themselves expectantly on either side of this, the second assassin who has come into my presence this day.

[ 08-07-2004 07:11 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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They boarded the sleek black sith ship, and Raelgosh took to the controls. He quickly set a charted course to the last noted location of the sith warship his quarry was supposed to be on. They took off from the bay, and activated the cloaking device as they passed the blockade.

However, something on the sensors caught his notice. Strange, two recent Ion trails. There should be one from the party of the red headed woman, but where did the other come from?

It didn't matter really, Raelgosh thought as they entered hyperspace. I suppose I should fill in my cultist.

"Now, Sa'kal'ishaalas, we are being sent to kill the human female by the name of Graysith by our great lord Aelvedaar. You will assist me, but also follow my every command."

He turned away, and went into a light trance to restore some of the still not replenished energy within him as they sped towards the Warship.(((Cult Master Raelgosh and Sa'kal'ishaalas speed off after their quary to, Catch as Catch can, in this forum, thankyou)))

[ 08-20-2004 03:26 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cult Master Raelgosh ]

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He tried to sit up, only to hit the glass that covered the small tube. The sith turned at the loud clunking sound, and one of them said something that he could not hear through the glass.

He lay back, and tried to clench his fists, the action of which would ignite his lightsabres. If graysith had not taken them.

He tried to reach out at the shard of Ragorian, but it was oddly empty. What's going on?

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

"He stirs; quick!" Full of excitement at the prospect of being part of something strange and unusual, he popped to his feet. His robes swirled about him.

"I shall go fetch the Master, as we have been instructed. You remain here and watch over this one."

The niche-brother nodded in reply as the other then fled, running as quickly as his feet and decorum would allow. It did not take long before he was at the doorway leading to where he was supposed to be attending classes; his stomach twittered a bit as he hesitated a moment, then burst into the room.

The Master Healer caught himself in mid-word, his own chromatic eyes at first widening in surprise, and then darkening a bit.

"And thus, my learners, do we utilize our magicks for the good of others, and not to their destruction... even though perhaps circumstances might warrant otherwise.

"I must depart from you now; it would seem I am needed elsewhere...."

It was a statement as to his station that no one spoke a word. The instructor rose from where he had been sitting, and passed the Healer as the latter then walked carefully to the door.

No words needed to be spoken; he merely nodded to the young and excited Sith.

"Patience, my friend. Let us go."

Not much time passed by before they were back in the healing chambers. The older Sith took one look about the room, and strode immediately to the healing tube. A quick manipulation of a hidden sigil, and the glassine confine slid into obscurity, releasing Ryknounagin from its clutch.

The Master placed one hand under the human's back, and assisted him to a sitting position.

"Take a care, my friend; you have been through much," he said simply as he then placed a clawed hand upon Rykounagin's forehead.

And I would much desire to learn more of this....

The latter was not spoken aloud, but silently, as if waiting to see if the other had any special abilities that would enable him to pick up on this.