Forsaken Anoat bustled with activity.
Every day, streams of ships brought forth an endless stream of fresh slaves, fuel for the grinding machinery of war.
But the Sith Empire was diseased. Plagued by far too many visions for a galaxy that was quickly becoming too small.
The sheer idea that the Sith were meant to bring order was a bad joke, for when has the Dark Side ever thrived on order? On peace? Fools such as Darth Strosius believed in the civilizing mission of the Sith as if it were etched in stone instead of being a delusion that had been propagated since the days of Sidious's Empire. Already, they waged a not-so-secret war within the borders of the Empire, even before the confrontation on Fivinue. But Strosius was not the final hurdle to overcome, for there remained a devoted old guard that would oppose the vision the Terror Lord had in mind not only for the Sith, but for every single living being in the galaxy.
Nefaron folded his hands behind his back, his steps echoing within the vast chamber that lay at the top of his citadel. It was from this place that the vast operations of the newly founded Dzara played out, the great holoprojector in the center projecting a vast image of the galaxy and the borders of the various factions. Already, the tentacles of the Dzara have begun to spread through every crack in the Blackwall, the poisonous influence of Darth Nefaron infecting the border worlds that had yet to be drawn into the Empire's embrace. But that was only part of the operations of this new order, for the newly-cristined Imperator, Lirka Ka, wielded great influence in her own right, her connections to the Eternal Father of the Kainite had already proved useful for Carnifex leaped at the opportunity to destroy the Tsis'Kaar, largely sheilding the actions of Nefaron and his compatriots from greater scrutiny. With Ka's new position in the Empress's government, the Dzara now enjoys even greater influence in the decision-making of the Empire.
That is not to say Warlord Helix has not carried his own weight. The armada that gathered in the dark places of the Anoat system was assembled largely because of Helix's efforts, vast mining and orbital shipyards continued to fuel Nefaron's operations, and the brilliant hivemind that aligned with the Dark Lord continued to invent truly terrible things. While Ka and Nefaron did disagree on a vision for the Dzara, Helix remained truly apolitical in the debate so long as his greed could be sated, and Nefaron was more than prepared to pay that price moving forward. But the question remained: what exactly did Nefaron want for the galaxy?
Quite simply, he wished to end hope entirely. To consume the dreams of sentient beings and leave them only with nightmares.
Keying in commands to the holotable, the grand map of the galaxy was reduced to a thin slice, the worlds that lay between the Sith and the Core now that the Galactic Alliance had fallen apart. These worlds, now left to fend for themselves, would be the next to be consumed by the hungry maw of the Sith, worlds that had for so long stood against them under the banner of the Alliance and its Jedi protectors.
They would be the first to know the fresh horrors born of Anoat. The first to experience the lash of Dzara slavers and the nightmares that lingered in the darkness of their own minds.
Nefaron reached out, attempting to grasp one of these worlds with his withered fist, only to have his hand pass right through.
It mattered not. In the end, this entire galaxy would scream.
Nefaron reached out, attempting to grasp one of these worlds with his withered fist, only to have his hand pass right through.
It mattered not. In the end, this entire galaxy would scream.
