The Calm Before the Storm
The Holy World of Korriban, circa 904 ABY
The Summons came quietly, but undeniably - a pressure of will that was not her own, and the growing urge to go to Dromund Kaas. The moment she had been dreading had finally come, just as she sensed it would - eventually.
The Dark Lords of the Kainate had summoned her back to their side, away from Korriban - from her apprentices, from her King. From her home. In a gesture of quiet defiance, Revna ignored the Dark Lords and their summons, at least at first.
But she knew she couldn’t ignore the will of Darth Prazutis for long. He would exert his dominion over her, as he considered her nothing more than a tool for him to use, an extension of his will. A blade to be used against his enemies, her allies. Truthfully, she feared what the Summons was about: had her usefulness come to its end? Was she to be tested, tried? Was she to prove her allegiance to the Kainate, or be killed? Such thoughts and more raced through the young Sith woman’s mind, chiefly: what was she going to do now?
Did she inform Caedes? To do so could risk a confrontation between the Shadow Hand, perhaps the Kainate Dyarchy - and the Sith King of Korriban, who had grown so close to her, so protective and even possessive of her. She was his, his future Queen. He would not take the news well that the monster who had burned and broken and tortured her was calling her back to his side. No, she couldn’t tell him. Sith thrived in conflict, but this was one she wanted to avoid, though she knew that conflict was ultimately inevitable.
What would she tell her Apprentices? There was the possibility that she would not return to them, and she didn’t want them to think that she had abandoned them; she decided that it would be cruel of her, irresponsible even, to simply walk away and not tell them anything. She needed to give them both one last direction, in case she didn’t make it back alive.
The Summons came again, a full day or two later, more insistent and the device attached to her spine poured molten fire across her veins - agony as punishment, or a reminder that she was to obey.
She didn’t have a choice in the matter anymore.
She was a slave again, to them. Chained to a fate, a destiny, she hadn’t chosen for herself. Hatred for them boiled through her, so intense and violent that she feared she might sunder her surroundings in a fit of uncontrollable rage. But she contained herself, maintained mastery of her emotions - just as her Master had taught her in the very beginning. Emotions to harness, to feel, to use as she saw fit - but not allow them to master or control her.
It was then that she knew she had very little time, and so she chose to speak to her Disciples - and disappear from Korriban without letting Darth Caedes know. She despised the thought of not telling him the truth, but she just couldn’t risk a fight right now.
Perhaps the Dark Lords meant to free her from her bondage - and by telling Caedes, she could complicate that beyond the point of repair. She could make everything worse.
He would no doubt be hurt by her actions, if not even angry. This could very well hurt the fragile trust they had been building together; perhaps, if she lived through all of this, she could explain herself to Caedes, and she prayed to Bogan that he would understand.
On the day that she was to leave, Revna carried on like normal, keeping her situation as much a secret as possible. Her connection and tether to Caedes made it somewhat difficult, but she found a way to manage it. When she knew he would be distracted with his stately duties, she found her way into his personal chambers and removed her Ring, inscribed with the Sith word tikras upon it - a connection and tie to her Family, the Wonosans. In the time she had spent with Caedes, the Ring had become a symbol, an item of great value that was cherished as they passed it between one another in silent communication - in moments of trust, triumph, of passion, and commitment to one another. It was this Ring that she left for him in a place where she knew he would find it.
Keep me close, was the faint echo of the gesture left behind.
With that task completed, she slipped away to a far more secret location that not even the King knew about, and delicately and reverently hid away her most prized possession - the ashes of Darth Strosius; she despised the fact that she needed to set them aside, but she didn’t dare bring them with her into the heart of her enemy’s domain. She would be damned if she ever let her Master’s ashes fall into the hands of Darth Carnifex or Darth Prazutis.
Finally, she summoned her Disciples to her, and when Varin Mortifer and Lysander von Ascania had met with her, she took them away and into the Golg desert, away from prying eyes and ears. There, she broke the news to them both - though she kept it hidden from them on where she was going. No doubt, her connections would question them, and she couldn’t risk any unnecessary complications.
“I must go away for a time. I do not know if I will be returning here to Korriban, nor do I know if I will live through what lies before me. I expect you both to continue with your studies and be diligent about them.” she gave a knowing and stern stare at Lysander, who had skipped classes before to do whatever else he felt like doing, before she continued. He would understand that while it didn’t bother her if he had a good time, she did care if he slacked in his pursuit of his path. He was a reflection of her and her ability to teach and mold him into a proper Sith, and she took that very seriously.
“Remember the lessons and wisdom and insights I have imparted to you both thus far. If I return, we will continue where we left off. If I don’t…then may Bogan bless you on your journeys, my Disciples.”
She would watch them both for a moment; no doubt, they would have a myriad of questions - but she exercised her right to shut that down, at least for the time being. “Do not ask me where I am going, or what any of this is about. The less either of you know right now, the better. If I return, then perhaps I will enlighten you both to what transpired.”
If…no, when she returned alive, then she would be greater and more powerful than she had ever been, or was even now.
After dismissing her apprentices and sending them back to Kor'ethyr, Revna commandeered a ship and secreted herself away from Korriban - feeling the calm before the storm as it settled over her soul. She blocked the connection from her mind to Caedes, a necessary precaution - and then vanished into the void of space, her course set for the terrible bastion of Sith power that was Dromund Kaas, to deliver herself into the very mouth of Fate itself.
