Stepping out of the transport, both Shayla and ShaRhylla hurried into the Library, Shayla's gait perhaps not quite as ferocious and a little more measured than that of the younger woman. Thus it was that when she entered the Great Library the Revealer was already responding to ShaRhylla's presence there.

A Question! it said eagerly.

Shayla simply joined ShaRhylla and stood at her side, allowing the younger woman to be the first to ask anything, feeling that after Rykounagin had betrayed her, she deserved the first query regarding his circumstances.

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

But when it finally said, "A Question..."

"Show me where Rykounagin is!" she growled.

Immediately then she froze in place as all about her the roiling, concentric spheres whirled and bounded, taking up equilateral positions from each other then igniting into magnificent golden-greenness which gradually resolved into the image of two men.

One was Rykounagin. The other was the Master. Another prompt from the halfling revealed their exact location to her.

"They're on the K'eel Doban moon!" she crowed, whirling about to face Shayla, dark eagerness glinting in her eyes.

"So near to us now; we haven't far to go to bring about his demise!"

So anxious was she to obtain her simple and bloodthirsty vengeance that it didn't even cross her mind to ask just why the Master was there with him. Nor did she think to ask what it was they were discussing.

All she saw was an apparently injured Rykounagin... who was fading away more and more, obscured by the growing cloud of red now dancing in her eyes.

[ 12-21-2006 10:39 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by ShaRhylla ]

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

Immediately the Revealer shifted to portray the three-demensional image of the Lord Aelvedaar opening a portal for the Master from his Sanctum Sanctorum on Khar Delba. Not only was the Master with him, but Phalomir was also present.

Shayla slitted her eyes further. "What is the Master discussing with Rykounagin?"

Immeidately a lengthy conversation played out which had been occurring within the confines of Rykounagin's ruined fighter; a conversation dealing with the Master's irritation that Graysith had obtained balance instead of himself, of the Tower being restored, of the doppleganger of Roan lurking now in the Darker Realms...

...and of Rykounagin's request that ShaRhylla receive the position of Dark Lady of the Warriors that she deserved.

Shayla arched an eyebrow, unable to fully assimilate all of this information immediately to react to it. So instead she stood in silence, wondering over all of this, keenly aware that while ShaRhylla had been brimming with anger, some of the things the Revealer had just played must be registering as strangeness in her mind as well.

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

"He has no right to state such lies; he ran away from me!" she snapped, now clenching her fists so tightly so as to keep tears at bay that her claws pierced her own palms, sending trickles of violet blood dripping to the floor of the Library. She paid them no heed, but used all of her strength then to gather her wits, to regain control of herself.

Not to mention to channel that sudden uprush of grief into an even deeper, soul-firing rage. Beside herself, she waved at the images around them.

"What do we care of all this pap; this is all of the Darker Realms!" she spat.

"Why need we worry of that; it is the place of the Dead, and the only good it will do us is that within those realms I can maintain Rykounagin on the precipice of near-death for eternity if I so desire!"

She spat again, and was readying another thoughtless comment when something utterly strange occurred. Not strange in and of itself, but taken in the context of ShaRhylla it was strange almost unto the point of wonder. Perhaps a touch of her mother's intelligence rose up from a particular allele, now given leave to express itself. Perhaps it was that of her father's military cunning; whatever the reason or source, the fact of the matter was that for once in her short life the halfling actually thought.

She put two and two together... and recoiled from the impossible number produced.

"Why need we worry... Shayla! This is all he speaks of: the Tower, the Darker Realms; nothing of the living! Why is this?"

She turned her eerie eyes toward Shayla for a moment before posing the Question the Revealer was already in the process of answering:

"Why is the concern so wrapped up in the Darker Realms? Why should this be a worry to us?"

The balls moved, danced and pirhouetted about them, once more forming a three-dimensional design in the air at equal distances from each other. In the middle of them an image grew, larger and larger, until it encompassed ShaRhylla and Shayla and the Library and perhaps all of Creation itself:

It was a ship of yorik coral, howling through hyperspace, a grimly-cloaked being at command. His eyes were an eerie chrome and ultramarine blue, and upon his visage was Death itself.

ShaRhylla paused, drinking in the sight, something niggling deeply in the back of her memory.

"I-- I know this--" she whispered, then fell into an uncomfortable silence, one which remained unbroken until the Revealer prompted them once more.

"A Question?" it asked politely.

[ 12-22-2006 12:06 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by ShaRhylla ]

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

She knew those eyes too. They had been aboard that ship, when Roan had taken Graysith there and Shayla had switched places with her to save her.

Shayla's eyes widened. But had Roan been the one to do this? How long had Roan been a doppleganger?

"How long has Dark Lord Roan been dead?" Shayla asked the Revealer. As the number splayed forth above the images that it had been playing, Shayla's chin dropped.

Then all this time...

She took another step back. "Who is the connection between the Darker Realms and those who are coming?" she queried.

The spheres shifted, and three three-demensional images, first of Entaris, then of the tar-man, and finally of no one other than the Master himself, played back to back.

Shayla took in a quick breath. "What is it that they want?"

Immediately on the wings of this question, the spheres moved once more, and between them a three-demensional map of multiple galaxies burst forward.

Once more the Revealer prompted, but Shayla didn't hear its words for the thoughts and connections now scrolling through her mind.

A Question?

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

Her Father. Her dear, beloved Father, whom she now hated with every fiber of her being for using her as he had...

Wasn't even Dark Lord Ankrist Roan at all.

Her mouth opened, gaping. She snapped it shut, cutting a glance down to stare at the Tattoo of Entitlement upon her wrist. It seemed to smile back, mocking her as He had, as they all had, claiming her life as but a toy it could play with...

That He could play with.

Then logic took hold of her, shook her.

Mother. She was, improbably enough, still in line for inheritance via her Mother, who was yet the Dark Lady of the Sith. But not by blood.

Not. By. Blood.

Her mouth opened in a rictus of fresh anger and grief, and she fell to her knees, staring dully at the images even as they faded back into the relative obscurity of the essence of the Library itself.

"We must make certain Mother remains Dark Lady, no matter what!" she whispered, gulping a bit.

"Nothing can happen to her; Revealer! Show us that this is true!"

Once again the device responded, obediently showing them yet another image:

One of Dark Lord Phalomir, standing atop the courtyard of the Temple of the Warriors, his arms raised, Sith robes of royalty flowing down around him in decadent opulence. Beside him stood her Mother:

Dull of eye. Sad of feature. Holding a babe in her arms.

And as she watched Jharmeen JhinDar Q'utaro approached the crennelation, climbed atop it, turned to Lord Phalomir...

And fell backwards from that great height to her death.

[ 12-22-2006 12:36 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by ShaRhylla ]

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No. No, no, No!

And it was in this moment that she finally realized how correct Graysith had been while they were on Degobah, perhaps without even really being fully aware of her accuracy.

Power, not love. For in Love, one is blind and may fall to those in Power whom she loves.

"They control us by using what Love we have for them!" Shayla snarled, anger boiling in her. "This will not happen, it won't!" she insisted in determination, tears glinting her eyes nevertheless. "The female triad must come to rule the Sith...

...or else the entire Galaxy and all those without it will fall into slavery and darkness..."

Shayla trailed, then looked directly to ShaRhylla. "Together we can stop this, despite how others may feel we've turned against them. For in turning against them, we will save them all."

[ 12-22-2006 12:53 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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"Female Triad?" she questioned, lifting her head to stare Shayla directly in the eye.

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

...and who will not bend easily when it comes to matters of the Heart."

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

So long ago, he thought. Merely days, but it seems so long since I last spoke with her.

Days? Yes, it had been days since he had eaten. Though most of those had been spent caught between time, held in a loop by Lord Aelvedaar. He walked into the hall and took a bit of meat, and walked back out of the room and eventually out of the temple, set to wander the streets of the capital city. In his nondescript clothing, he was able to pass without much heed from the citizens.

The fresh air did him well, and the events of the past few days sifted through his mind. He tried to put Jharmeen from his thoughts, for there were many questions still to be answered. She would return soon enough, and his questions to her would be answered at that time.

For now, however, the issue of the shapeshifter was now in the hands of the Warriors and he begin to deal with the other items of import. There were too many loose ends to allow hanging, too many questions left unanswered.

He had killed Roan, yet the tattoo of entitlement upon his face was not lit. Why did he not, by trial of combat, become Dark Lord? Was it because of Recinis? Or was it something else?

It was easy to see through ShaRhylla’s part in the initial ruse of Jharmeen’s death, but who had put her up to it? One could assume, through other evidence gathered, that Roan was manipulating this world from beyond the grave, but how could he be so influential? How could he possess the power needed, when a shade possesses no such power? Roan had a strong spirit, but even he could not have held the All within him as a shade. Could he? It was why the Master held such a high position within that realm, for he was flesh and was given the powers of both the All and of the darkness, however that worked.

And what of the Armorers? He wanted to rebuild the Clan, but the homeworld was lost in the Elseness, never to be taken from it at the command of All Which Is. Where, then, could a new Temple be built? Well, that at least was one question that could be given a tangible answer. And research could begin immediately, and would give his troubled mind something to do while he waited for Jharmeen.

His feet had been secretly conspiring with his mind, for he found himself already near the place he needed to be to begin such research. A smile of recollection crossed his face, as he recalled the other times spent in this building. His smile widened as he realized the “closed for repair” sign had been taken down, and he opened to door to the Great Library.

But the Revealer was already in use.

Phalomir’s eyes widened, and genuine delight danced across his face.

“Shayla!” he exclaimed happily. “By the gods, how are you?!”

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

Her mother MIGHT fall from the Temple, falling away from this Sith at whose side she had been standing-- or she might not. It had yet to happen; that was but one future path down which she might trod. But...

...the Revealer was not built to show such things. It was designed to show the observer what WAS, what HAD HAPPENED, how and why... how could it now reveal that which might yet be?

Had someone tampered with it? Who would have such power? What would it rise from; more than likely the Clan of the..

She tensed further, eyeing the tattooes and sigils Lord Phalomir wore which denoted his title of Dark Lord of the Armorers.

If this was something that he had somehow manipulated, possibly with the assistance of the Sorcerers, the question now was...

Why?

In this scenario, the babe her mother was holding would therefore NOT be the offspring of the two, as she had first assumed, but another one.

But who? And why had the Revealer chosen to display this particular image: what was the nexus? The death of her Mother?

Or the death of the babe?

Aching now to slip off somewhere that she could discuss her thoughts with Shayla, for by now the halfling simply did not trust the Revealer any longer, she drew attention to herself by rising smoothly to her feet.

Then she moved to Shayla's side where, yet remaining quiet, she turned to observe the beaming Phalomir, her mouth shut in a thin line, her eyes stony.

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

...Shayla instead remained remarkable inscrutable, turning to face Phalomir without so much as the bat of an eye or the hint of any emotion which might have been...

...and in fact was...

...welling up inside of her at his unannounced presence.

But it was this lack of announcement which she devoted her attention to now.

"Lord Phalomir, what a surprise it is to see you here," she opened with, her eyes only momentarily shifting to the side towards ShaRhylla before returning to the emerald pair of the Sith Lord. "You have inquires for the Revealer?" she asked then, her tone unreadable and almost nonchalant...

...her eyes never leaving those of the Dark Lord just the same.

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

He arched a hopeful eyebrow.

“Speaking of which, is Jharmeen here on K’eel Doba as well?”

As the question left his lips, he flicked a glance to ShaRhylla.

“And how are you, ShaRhylla?”

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

She moved slightly to the side, motioning towards the Revealer. "I assume you came to ask questions?"

Again she looked momentarily ShaRhylla's way before returning her gaze to Phalomir, keenly interested in what he would do next.

[ 12-22-2006 01:14 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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“But do I not wish to interrupt your session, I can return later. I came to K’eel Doba hoping to find Jharmeen, to ask her… to see her. Perhaps you can help me understand what has happened? You and I were leading the others to rescue her spirit, but Lord Aelvedaar imprisoned me… I believe I understand why, to a certain extent, but the rest of what he told me makes little sense. Then the others left to find…”

Erik…

His face turned a little harder, as he looked upon the two ladies. His eyes moved from one to another.

“We have been through much, Shayla, and I trust you explicitly. For the sake of friendship, Shayla, please, tell me what is really happening.”

[ 12-22-2006 01:26 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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She fell silent a moment, then shifted the topic of conversation. "Our session with the Revealer is complete. But I wonder..."

She trailed once more, arching an eyebrow at Lord Phalomir. "What is it that Lord Aelvedaar told you which makes little sense?"

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

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

“Puzzling things,” he said. “That he placed the group out of danger on Tattooine, and you stole away on your own to find Jharmeen’s body, possibly stealing a ship to do it. That while in the Darker Realms, when you did find Jharmeen, that darkness that had infected the Master could have invaded Jharmeen. That Erik is missing. That Jharmeen paid a visit to Aelvedaar before I was freed, and seemed disinterested in my well being, adversarial, in fact, even though the Master healed both you and her from horrible wounds suffered in some attack.”

He inhaled deeply.

“So tell me, please, Shayla. How does Jharmeen feel about me? And to a greater extent, what are her plans for the future of the Sith? And what is happening with you?”

Once the emotion kicked in, it was difficult to stop. Again he looked back and forth to Shayla and ShaRhylla as he spoke.

“You, standing here with the one who tried to take Jharmeen from both of us, and ran off with the one who tried to kill you? I have him, I stranded him on the moon and bound him to me, he can’t hurt you again.”

He raised his voice involuntarily, almost shouting now.

“So tell me, please, what is going on with you three?”

Ah, a question! came the voice of the Revealer. The room darkened slightly, as the voice of Shayla came floating from within the device.

Instead of a Triad built on a Clanship of three Lords, your Mother sees that there should be instead three ladies to rule and guide the Sith; ladies who are strong in Power...
...and who will not bend easily when it comes to matters of the Heart.

Phalomir stood, dumbfounded, as the room brightened once more.

[ 12-22-2006 01:52 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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

"Show us the last image you revealed at my request," she ordered, stressing the final pronoun that the Revealer would have nothing confounding to deal with.

Once more the device went to work, this time again showing the image of the richly appointed Phalomir gloating over the Sith while Jharmeen, her arms full of baby, fell backward from the crenellation, her features exuding a sense of heart-wrenching hopelessness.

"So you see," ShaRhylla sneered as she took a half step toward Phalomir.

"You are not trustworthy at all; nor are you worthy of the sigils upon your flesh! However did you manage to obtain them; in league with a Sorcerer and his magicks, are you?"

[ 12-22-2006 02:29 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by ShaRhylla ]

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"He will believe whatever it is that he wishes, of course," she said then, now shifting to gaze back over at Phalomir, her look growing impossibly harder. "And while you are answering questions, tell me this: are you truly as unaware of the Master's plots as you claim?"

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

“I have seen this images before,” he said to the air in front of him. “When I took the Dark Lordship from Lord Rein, he wanted to give me something, a device. The Finger of R’lous… but I had this vision, this same vision… and I refused to own it.”

He looked to ShaRhylla, his eyes wide.

“It was a choice, between power and love. By taking the power it offered, by using it to obtain the power over the Sith, I would give up what was really the most important thing to me. Don’t you see? It is her, and what we would make together, that is what I wanted above all else.”

He looked to Shayla.

“I know the Master had his plots, and they involved me somehow, but I do not know what he hoped to gain, or by what means. He was going to sacrifice me to the darkness, as far as I could see. But he seems changed, now that the darkness is gone and the Tower destroyed. What is going on? What accusations are you making?”

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

Stating nothing futher, Shayla stepped back, and the spheres once more moved, replaying the images of the discussions the Master was having with Rykounagin...

...of the restored tower, the doppleganger of Roan...

...and of the ship of yorik coral and the chrome-eyed creature who was at its command driving yet through hyperspace."

Once the images stopped, Shayla turned once more to Phalomir. "I have seen this chrome-eyed one before, and have been in his presence. I was brought there in exchange for Graysith's life, when she was once taken there by the supposed Lord Roan. Interesting I find it that your Father, the one who supposedly is here to stop an invasion of the Vong, would have control of the very Darker Realms that appear to have been in league with these said Vong to begin with."

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

Phalomir turned and paced.

“The Vong, they were attacking the galaxy in my time. It is why I was made the unified ruler of the Sith, the ruling Triad had been killed and the clans were in chaos. At least, that is what I recall. In my head, it’s been hard to say what is real and what is not. But it is so vivid, thse memories, even when they killed me-- it is difficult to explain, I don’t even know how.”

He paused and turned to face both of the women.

“But I have never been, now will I ever be, in league with the Master, or with the Vong, or Roan, or anyone else who threatens the existence of our people! I thought he had changed, I thought the darkness was controlling him. The very same darkness they said was within you, Shayla. You must beware your own feelings, for they may not be your own.”

He stepped closer, softly.

“I have no loyalties to my father, only to my race and to my friends. Are you still one of them, Shayla?”

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

...then locking eyes with the emerald ones of Phalomir. "Too many questions remain, ones which can only be answered with the passage of time."

She trailed staring at Phalomir, then continued. "What is it that has brought you here to K'eel Doba to begin with...

...and why are you so suprised regarding the Master's discussions with Rykounagin, considering you and Lord Aelvedaar should both know he is there with the fool already? It was you, after all, who claimed to have control over the young assasin to begin with."

[ 12-22-2006 03:49 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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“I knew the Master was going to try to obtain information from Rykounagin, to see if he knew where you, Jharmeen, and ShaRhylla might be. If he is speaking of other things, then I do not know what it could be. But if what you have shown me here is correct, then the Master could be far more dangerous now than he was in the Darker Realms.”

Phalomir shook his head.

“What tie could he have with the Vong? All of his actions have shown that he is intent on stopping them, what does this mean?”

He puzzled for a brief second, then turned his attention back to Shayla.

“Yes, questions will be answered in their time. As for why I am here, it is as I said. I need to see Jharmeen, to see for myself what has become of her. Don’t you understand? I love her. And until very recently I had no doubt she loved me. Shayla, you know this, why is this a mystery?”

Phalomir cocked his head, then stepped closer. He drew in a breath and spoke softly.

“Shayla,” he said, “where is Erik?”

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