A Lighter Shade of Dark

[Riamah]

Having been with the Sith now for several months or a little more, Ra had found a spot within the assassins. While she had been in the Dominion, she was half of the leadership of Intelligence. Her half had dealt with assassinations, preventing them and other clandestine operations in addition to gathering intelligence reports from the around the galaxy.

Very soon after she had joined, she had been invited to a ball and met one person there, sadly that was the only time. What she had learned from him though was enlightening and gave her a far better picture of how things worked. She then disappeared into the shadows again and bided her time. She still had her connections she had made for information and they kept reporting to her. While she may not have the power she once had, she still had some.

For a sith, Ra felt she was abnormal. Unlike many, once she gave her word, she did her best to keep it. It was that word that kept her with the Dominion until they fell. The word that at times she regretted giving, but it was what was she lived by. This word had never been asked of her since, but none around now knew of this within her. She also was not one to show how dark or evil she could be and portrayed herself as a businesswoman.

So far other than that ball, Ra had not been contacted by any within the sith personally. Messages that went to everybody she did not count. Those also went to one contact method and not her personal holo. Only a handful of people knew how to contact her directly. When she walked into her office in her castle on Vjun and saw the light blinking, she walked to her unit to see who it was from. The identity on the other side shocked and surprised her. The message was short and simple yet phrased almost diplomatically. Not a request for her to join him, but more or less an order for her to appear before the Dark Lord himself.

Wondering what it was all about, Ra decided to just be herself. She didn't dress in anything fancy, but nicer clothes than normal. It was still what she considered her business attire. When she arrived, she was let into the palace. The first floor was open to the public and allowed to wonder freely through the halls. If given the opportunity, Ra would enjoy the chance to look around the beautiful and forbidding palace. It was not quite like what she had known growing up, but the parallels could be seen by her. Sightseeing wasn't why she here though and she turned her attention to the meeting in front of her.

Walking with a purpose to where she was to meet the Dark Lord, she was stopped when she reached the doors of the audience chamber. The guards informed her she would need to surrender her weapons before she could enter. While she expected it, Ra still let out a sigh and handed her weapons to them. As she went to step through the door, she stopped once again and the ball at the end of her braid was removed. Letting a growl out under her breath, she ran her fingers through her hair as the braid came undone and attempted to make it lay flat.

While she was to meet him in the throne room, she had to walk through the vast audience chamber to get there. There she saw a grand, but empty throne of this formal chamber, beyond that was her destination. Guards were strategically placed through the almost empty chamber and guarded the door to the smaller and more personal throne room.

These guards stopped her and would not allow her to enter until she stated her business. With a raised eyebrow, she informed them of the invitation and was let into the room beyond. She was announced as she walked in.

Ra held no fear in her as she looked upon her Dark Lord.
​
[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The door opened, and [member="Ra'a'mah"] was swept into the auxiliary throne room. The chamber was about thirty meters long and roughly twenty meters wide with two rows of polished basalt columns flanking both sides of the central walkway leading up to the four-tiered dais upon which sat the Imperial throne. The throne itself seemed to have been forged from black iron, and was intentionally cobbled together to resemble jagged spikes that weaved this way and that way out from the actual seat which was angular and unpadded. Despite the throne's simplistic nature and primitive design both of the chair's armrests sported control keys for enabling communications to Imperial officers, as well as the activation of a personal shield generator and a Crownguard summoner.

And in it sat the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Carnifex.

His muscular body was swaddled in dull maroon armorweave, a cuirass of onyx armor trimmed with aurodium adorned his chest while a circlet of silver inlaid with square-cut rubies was perched atop his brow. His raven black hair was bound back in a tight ponytail, and his proud patrician features were unmarred by facial hair. His eyes, burning pits of sulfur and magma, followed Lady Ra as she was granted entry.

"His excellency, the most exalted Dark Lord of the Sith, bids thee welcome Lady Ra'a'mah Numare," spoke the Court Orator, "May the benevolence of his hospitality grace you as you bow before his magnificence." That was the cue for Lady Ra to submit herself to the Dark Lord's presence, bowing or kneeling respectfully before being bade to rise again. With the formalities out of the way the Court Orator departed, leaving both Sith Lords along in the chamber so that they may converse uninterrupted.

The Dark Lord leaned forward, but did not rise, to inspect his newest guest. "Lady Numare, it is a pleasure to finally meet you at last. I had half expected you to flee when the Dominion was crushed, but here you are... In the lion's jaws."

 

[Riamah]

As she was announced, Ra took the hint and gave the Dark Lord a bow. It was one of respect and formality due to his rank and title. He was her ruler and thus be treated as such. Rising to her feet, she looked at him closely for the first time.

Typical of the sith, his eyes glowed. He appeared to be watching her as closely as she was him. His dark hair was held back by both circlet and a band. The Sith mark on his forehead clear in the light of the room.

Listening to his words as he leaned forward, Ra almost let out a small snort of a chuckle, but kept that to herself. She always did well to hide her emotions from her face, but her eyes would reveal the slight humor she felt.

"The pleasure is mine, my Lord."

A small tilt of her head at the title, she stopped any approach she was doing and looked him in the eye. Making eye contact was important, but not so much that he thought her challenging him. That wasn't the case at all. Her look was almost honest, but her face was a neutral mask.

"I was actually recruited into the Sith Assassins by Lord Lykos about two months before the Dominion was crushed and knew it was coming. A day came where I was going to have to betray them."

That day had been on Ession, but she had been able to avoid actually having to betray them. The former leaders were totally oblivious to the serpent that had been hiding in their ranks.

"Why would I flee when I already had a place here?"

Raising an eyebrow at the question, it was something he may not have been aware of or he was testing to see what she would admit to.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"So Lykos informed me."

The Dark Lord had been apprehensive in letting [member="Ra'a'mah"] be welcomed into the Assassins despite the Zabrak's best efforts of persuasion, but in the end he had relented and told the Assassin that she would ultimately be his responsibility. If she proved to be as dubious as the Dark Lord anticipated, then Lykos would suffer the same fate as her in the end. So far she hadn't warranted execution, but Carnifex till had his doubts.

"You seemed so eager to betray the Dominion. Traitors of the enemy may in the end help our cause, but how much merit can you expect to be put into one who already betrays the ideals they fought for in the face of adversity." He steepled his fingers now, resting both elbows on his knees as he hunched forward to stare directly at the Sith Lady. "What prevents you from doing the same to my Empire?"

 

[Riamah]

In her mind it had been a test to find out how much she would admit to. Passing the first one, Ra faced a second. This one was far more important than the first and she would have to carefully consider her answer before speaking.

To say she was eager to betray the Dominion was the wrong wording. If she had been that, then she would have just done it when Lykos approached her. Her word once given she was very reluctant to break. However faced with the choice of life or death if she didn't join...she chose life. If something like that happened again, she would do the same thing.

"My Lord, I heartily agree with the sentiment of your thoughts as they have crossed my mind as well. However, given the choice I was and in the end not actually having to betray the Dominion, I can assure you I have no intention of doing that to you or your empire."

Their eyes met, neither one looking away from the other. While he was the leader of the Sith Empire, they were both Lords and thus in mind equal in that regard.

Raising a hand to stop him from speaking if he was going to, Ra would continue on. "I very highly doubt any such faction or organization will ever have the ability to do what you have accomplished. Let alone provide me with an incentive enough to betray you."

Lowering her hand, she moved both of them behind her back to clasp together, "you see, I gave my word to a man within the Dominion that I wouldn't leave them until they were gone. I held up my end of that pact and stayed with them until they were crushed. He disappeared long before that happened. Something I did not have anything to do with actually."

That man was the former Archlord before Adron was voted in. It was a small tidbit of information Ra kept out of sight and buried it. In a way, she could have left when he disappeared, but the Dominion was still going at the time.

"Any vow I give, I do my best not to break and go out of my way to finds ways where I don't."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The Dark Lord seemed to regard her for a moment, the gears in his head moving as he mulled over her words and probed them for their value. In the end it was impossible to ask absolute loyalty from every Sith, and it was even more foolish to try and enforce blind loyalty upon them. That was the downfall of the One Sith. If you breed an entire generation of Sith blindly loyal to a single authority figure, then imagine what will happen when that figure is no longer there.

The Sith are powerful because they are independent by nature, they possess the ability to act for themselves and overcome obstacles with intuition and rational thinking. Depriving them of that independence reduces them to little more than the mindless hordes that fervently worship in their wake, and the Sith were never meant to be mere zealots.

"I do hope your words are sincere, Lady Numare. An Empire is no Empire at all if it is built and maintained by compulsive oath-breakers, so I will hold you to what you say. If not..." He mind flashed to the many hours spent inflicting horrific injuries on those officers who had fled the Dominion in its death throes only to be intercepted by his agents and brought before the throne, groveling and sniveling pathetically. Their deaths had not been quick, nor had they been painless. Their screams had resonated for weeks upon weeks as their flesh was peeled, and their bones shattered, every nerve dissected and brutalized until they could no longer feel anything except a keening desire to die.

"The rest of your days will not be pleasant."

[member="Ra'a'mah"]​

 

[Riamah]

Ra could almost see him thinking as the Dark Lord considered what she had just said. What those thoughts were, she couldn't read, but from what he said he wasn't fully able to decipher her meaning. Instead he only hoped what she said was true. What would the purpose of lying though? While she could be deceptive, to do that here and now would be placing herself in far greater danger than what it was when the Dominion lived.

The brief vision he sent her was thoroughly understood and Ra had no doubt that what he promised was accurate. Every word she had spoken was true and she kept nothing hidden from him. So while she knew he would go through with what he showed, Ra also knew it would never happen to her.

While he had not requested she give him a vow of loyalty, she felt he expected her to remain loyal. Having learned that lesson already, if he did ask, she would give her word. Not a vow though, her word was almost as good one in her mind.

"I understand, my Lord."

There was a slight nod at the word Lord.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Very good."

He rose from his throne and descended the wide steps encircling the elevated dais, his footfalls heavy and echoing. The armorweave cloak trailed behind him as he walked, dragging along the ground and covering the steps in billowing crimson. He gestured to one of the ancillary doors behind the dual rows of columns that flanked either side of the chamber.

"Come with me, I wish to show you something." He beckoned with his right hand, the faintest curl of a smile crossing over his features before it once again settled into impassivity and coldness. Beyond the door was another hallway, virtually identical to every other corridor in the Imperial Palace. The whole structure had been designed from the inside to be as labyrinthine as possible, with the architects who had brought the Dark Lord's vision to life executed and all copies of the palace's full layout destroyed. Only Carnifex had memorized the entire structure from top to bottom, and he could without a doubt navigate it just from memory alone.

After many twists and turns they would finally reach a large cathedral type chamber that rose nearly a hundred meters high and spread out for many dozens of meters in all directions. It was decorated with a great variety of Sith idolism, fetishes from every era adorning the walls with marble busts of the ancient Sith Lords raised high. It was a literal shrine to the history of the Sith, and it had taken Carnifex a great many years to amass and organize.

"Take a good look around you. This is the legacy that I bear upon my shoulders, the legacy of all Sith who have come before us, and those who will come after."

[member="Ra'a'mah"]​

 

[Riamah]

An understanding had been reached between the two of them and he descended the throne to approach her slightly. With a simple motion, gesture and a request for her to follow him, Ra fell into step with the Dark Lord. When he spoke, he displayed the barest of a smile, but it was more than the cold and impassive look he had been giving her. As she thought about, she quite often was the same way. A neutral façade rather than showing emotion. Only her eyes could never truly hide what she was feeling. Even in her new body that was the case.

They walked in silence through the labyrinth of halls and corridors that lead from throne room. The corridors were almost identical to each other and one could easily get lost in the maze. Ra had the feeling this was done on purpose for that very reason. Unwanted visitors would not have an idea where they were and lose track of where they were going or had been previously.

As they progressed through the halls, he lead her to a large room. It was not just a simple room however, inside it was like a cathedral dedicated to everything sith. She saw representations of many past lords, their accomplishments laid bare to look at, snapshots of their lives in stone. The items inside had been collected and displayed with apparent care and nothing was out of place. Devices from the past showed where interests then laid. Nothing was repeated and everything was unique.

She looked around and turned back to face Carnifex when her survey was complete. Nodding at his words, she was silent for a moment considering what to say.

"It is a legacy that is eternal."

It was a simple statement​ for a something very complex.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"One that I work to ensure remains eternal."

He walked amongst the various collections, occasionally pointing out a particular bauble's historical significance. Who had owned it, what era it had been created in, and various other details that only someone who was truly interested in the history and legacy of the Sith would find interesting. The Dark Lord paused before a rather particular shrine, one which was almost completely bereft of ornamentation or historical decoration. It was a shrine dedicated to Darth Moridin, the First Emperor of the Old Sith Empire and a Dark Lord of the Sith with whom shared a respectful relationship with the current Dark Lord.

He wasn't his master, Carnifex never had the pleasure of such tutelage, but he could be considered something of a mentor. Carnifex had served as his right hand, his Grand Vizier, when he was Emperor and had done so with distinction. He later received a powerful Sith Gauntlet from the Sith Lord long after he had been deposed by Ashin Varanin which had later been destroyed on Dac during Carnifex's battle with the Jedi Council of the time. A majority of the gauntlet had been completely obliterated during the battle, but what fragments could be recovered now rested upon a velvet cloth below the marble bust of the half-Kiffar Sith.

"There are many who would see our legacy reduced to dust. The Jedi are our primary enemies, naturally, but there are others who would seek to dismantle everything. Sith who have lost their way or who have become deluded that their own meager independence supersedes the stability of the Empire. What they don't realize is that every creature serves a master, Lady Numare, even I. That is the choice of all, serve another... Or die alone. I have chosen to serve the Sith Empire as its leader and guiding hand, and you will serve the Empire, perhaps in another capacity, but you will serve all the same."

[member="Ra'a'mah"]​

 

[Riamah]

"I have no doubt of that."

Ra had met one of his children, a brief dance and then never saw him again. He had ensured that at least his personal legacy continued on. By uniting the other sith under him, maybe there was a chance it would last. However, she doubted that. Having done research, Sith Empires never truly lasted. However, there was nothing she would do to destabilize his current empire. It would serve her no purpose and likely get her killed.

The narration he gave as he lead her through the room, Ra devoured like some starving heathen. He may not know of her personal interest, but she craved knowledge. Any little bit was filed away in her mind and added to her collection there.

He stopped them in front of a plain area of the room, but it was clearly revered by him. Below the bust of the lord, on a velvet cloth rested a few shards of an item. Explaining who the bust was and what the shards were from, Ra nodded as she digested the new information.

What he said about many people that would see the sith die in the dust was accurate. That they would see them left with nothing but ruins. She remained silent for the moment to allow him to finish what he had to say. He said everybody served a master, that even he did. Who was it though? Maybe the memory of the man portrayed in the bust in front of them.

"I have spent my life alone as an adult, serving only myself. My master died and named me a Sith Lord. How is it that I serve? Granted I served a purpose within the Dominion, here my purpose has yet to be revealed. At this time while I am within the Empire, that is all there is for me."

With a slight shake her head and a narrowing of her eyes to indicate there was any emotion within her, she continued on, "what purpose would you have me for, my Lord?"

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Many among our ranks find servitude to a person insufferable, their arrogance and pride incapable of comprehending such things. But I have always advocated another path."

He tore his gaze away from Moridin's shrine, and again faced the woman who had followed him.

"I would have you put all of your skills, all of your knowledge into serving the Sith Empire as I do. The Empire is a living breathing organism that will, Force willing, outlast all of us and bring order to the galaxy. But like any living creature it can fall victim to disease and injury, and it is up to us to ensure that the Empire remains healthy and strong. Darth Lykos has already taken a fancy to you, I assume? Then perhaps that is where you will best serve, a flame that will cauterize the wounds of insurrection, a blade to excise the cancer that may plague our Empire."

His passion was contagious, and he meant every word that he said. There were no lies to be told here, beyond their individual selves the Empire would go on forever. Perhaps it would span eternity if the Sith did not allow themselves to be torn apart by their own insecurities, and by extension dragging the Empire down with them.

"Lykos is strong and intelligent, and I am sure he can maximize your usefulness to the best of your abilities."

[member="Ra'a'mah"]​

 

[Riamah]

She agreed she would not be able to serve a single person, but that didn't mean could work with one. Ra was not a servant and would not be treated as such. It appeared he understood that standing perfectly. When he finished speaking, he turned to face her. He did not take any step closer to her, but he didn't need to. What he said was full of truth and passion. In a way it was surprising to the woman, just how much of a presence he had. This man was indeed fit to be the Dark Lord, the position and title he bore.

Not backing away from his intensity, Ra listen and agreed with all he said.

"My Lord, I can only hope to do that. A place within the Assassins I have, but what of the Empire? Here I am as simple as a Lord can be. I feel like a nobody and hold no real power."

Meeting his eyes as she spoke her next words, they held no challenge, what she said was true.

"Within the Dominion I was intelligence. If you have need of that kind of service, I can offer you my skills. This way I have a spot within your empire as more than a mere lord and one of a number. I would have an identity and purpose."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The Dark Lord rubbed his chin, mummering in thought.

"The Saaraishash is always looking for fresh recruits, perhaps I will put in a word with [member="Darth Saarai"] when next he and I meet." The Peacock Lord was often busy and often away from the Empire, but he was always timely when returning when the Dark Lord required him. "He is eccentric, but he has an eye for talent."

Eccentric was an understatement.

The thought of [member="Ra'a'mah"] reacting to the Lord's haikus was an exceptionally amusing one, and he allowed himself a faint smile. "I have no doubt you will impress him."

 

[Riamah]

Not having been fully accepted by many within the Empire, probably due to her time with the Dominion, she had not heard of this group. In fact the only people she had any contact with were Lykos and two acolytes. Nobody had approached her outside of them until today.

"What are they, my Lord?"

She knew of course the Assassin as she was one. Having the freedom to move about the galaxy though, allowed her not have to live on Bastion or even within the territory of the Empire. Making her home mostly on Vjun and sometimes staying on Helska, this was the second time she had been to Bastion.

"May I know what I have that would impress him?"

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"They are the invisible blade of the Empire."

Every authoritarian regime had their own version of the inquisition and the Saaraishash were the newest incarnation under the control of the Sith. They were tasked with rooting out treason wherever it dared to rear its ugly head, often quashing rebellion before it even began.

When a world was brought under the Empire's control, one of two things would happen:

The population had proven that it was compatible with the Empire's ideology, and would be further indoctrinated by the Imperial Mission into a patriotic memberworld.

The population was rife with ideals and beliefs that were anathema to the Empire, and the Saaraishash would be charged with ensuring that all traces of nonconformity would be stamped out.

"Much like your Dominion Intelligence, they keep a watchful eye on the citizens of the Empire. They keep the loyal and proud safe from the disloyal and the craven. And if you wish to impress Lord Saarai, I would propose that you write a haiku as a gift."

Would Tai Fa really appreciate it? Perhaps.

[member="Ra'a'mah"]​

 

[Riamah]

"They do sound very similar, my Lord."

Ra nodded as she thought ​about what she had done within the Dominion. What he described the Saarashash as doing was basically what her branch had done. She had controlled the more clandestine operations from the shadows. Her hand sending out those under her command to keep those within the government safe and taking the troublemakers out of the equation, before they could act on anything other than thought.

She did not deal when they took planets, only after they had already been taken. After the forces of the Dominion had left. She then took care of any potential uprisings and dealt with the issues they might have caused. Passing on only what was needed to be known. Ra had kept files on everything and when the Dominion had fallen, she had made sure to keep a single copy of all that information and then destroyed all the others. There was no record that could be found of her work done within the Dominion. Only if she chose to share it.

He mentioned she should present Darth Saarai with a haiku and she raised a single eyebrow as a reply. Everybody had their own idiosyncrasies and obviously this one liked poetry.

"If a meeting can be arranged, I will certainly keep that in mind."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"I will inform the Lord of your desire to meet with him."

The door to the shrine opened as a pair of Crownguard moved in quietly, and with great deference as they knelt before the Dark Lord. "But I think our time together has come to an end, at least for now, Lady Numare." He extended a hand to rest upon her shoulder, his gloved fingers digging into the fabric in a slightly threatening way.

"You have been given a new purpose, one that elevates you from the sins of your past, but make no mistake. I will still be watching." He released her shoulder and gestured to the Guards, who rose and took up position on either side of the Sith Lady.

"Now go, my Guards will escort you out of the palace. May the Force ever serve you, my lady."

[member="Ra'a'mah"]​

 

[Riamah]

Informing her he would tell Darth Saarai she wished to meet with him, Ra could only nod in thanks. Two guards entered the shrine, kneeling to Carnifex, he then said their meeting was at end. Placing a hand on her shoulder, his parting words were true and she knew this within herself. Not one to step out of lines or boundaries, she would do nothing against him. His watch on her, while needed in his mind, was unnecessary. Who she had been with in the past was a mar to where she was now. Until that could be erased, it would hang over her head.

"Thank you for speaking to me, my Lord."

A nod of respect was given to him and she looked to the guards to escort her out of the area and building.

​