A Second Meeting (Veles)

[Taeli Raaf]

It had been a trying few days, or was it weeks, for Taeli. Having finally returned from Coruscant, she had gone about her daily business as much as possible to keep her mind off certain events from her trip. She was glad to have met her sister, and she would need to see Melori soon to tell her about it, but she was still grieving for her parents and what she had lost.

She was currently sitting on the floor of a private training room in the Sith Temple, objects floating around her as she tried to concentrate on other aspects of her training. Opening her eyes, lightning flashed from one hand and sent a floating object spinning away smoking. Directing her gaze at another, she froze it solid by stopping the movement of the molecules of it and robbing them of their energy.

She could do with seeing an ally of hers right about now, someone she could talk to on the same level as she was.

[member="Darth Veles"]

 

[Darth Veles]

It’s been a long time since he last visited the Sith Temple on Coruscant. It felt the same, brooding and menacing, surrounded by the Dark Side of the Force. It looked the same, majestic and demanding respect. Yet, Avreet thought of himself as a visitor more than anything else. After ascending the familiar steps and slipping through the main entrance, the amphibian stopped and blankly gazed around, watching his surrounding and observing the faces of the Acolytes and Knights, yet not really registering those. He was not there to teach them, yet. Nor he wanted after the failures his previous apprentices turned out to be. For now, he’d teach someone who already reached the rank of a Master, help her become even more powerful, ascend even higher through the Sith ranks. This woman had potential to become the leader of the One Sith. Not immediately, of course, but one day, one day…

Paying no attention to the Force users around him, some of them recognizing him and gasping in surprise to see the deserter walking down the grand halls of the Sith Temple, Avreet swiftly made his way through the well-known hallways he had walked through hundreds of times before. The taps of his boots made no noise, even though it should have. One of the things Lady Arcanix was going to learn, how to silence all sounds in her immediate vicinity. Just like the ability to hide her presence and signature; which he was doing right now, invisible in the vast sea of the Force. The Mon Calamari himself was dressed in his usual Sith garb, wearing it proudly, and carried a gift for his new ally and possibly friend. A present he believed she might appreciate given the location of their previous meeting and her comments. The Sith Lord paid attention to what she said, and as such held an invisible package in his left hand, which contained a fragile surprise for the beautiful Sith Lady.

His legs suddenly stopped moving as he stood in front of the door. Swiftly turning in the direction of the training room, he telekinetically activated a panel by the side and opened, marching in as the door automatically shut in his back. The sight of the amphibian immediately spotted the woman meditating in the centre, objects of various sizes and shapes floating around her, firmly under her control. The woman did not have her eyes closed though, as it was usual for meditations; Avreet spotted the flames of the Dark Side dancing in her pupils, coloring the eyes yellow. “Lady Arcanix,” the Mon Cal calmly addressed the sitting woman, slowly pacing towards her, his hands behind his back, “No matter what color your eyes have, they always wonderfully contrast with your perfect complexion. Purple or yellow; men could drown in their beauty if they looked directly into them.”

Another original compliment, another warm smile to greet the Sith Lady. “But anyone can say such words, and if anyone can do so, those words are meaningless unless backed up by actions. My Lady, as a proof of my words being true, please allow me to give you a small present.” Holding out his empty hands, the Sith Lady would be able to witness a package materializing in his previously empty palms.

“A tea set made by the red Sith of old. I hope you like it.”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

She smiled as [member="Darth Veles"] entered the room she had been training in, offering her a compliment and a rare tea set. She was glad he had come when he did, she needed a friendly face right now. It had been a rough trip.

"As gracious as always, Avreet," she replied, taking the tea set and examining it. "Old Sith, pureblood, Ziost make from around . . . 5000 BBY, give or take a few years. Definitely speaks of pre-Great Hyperspace War."

She fell silent a moment as she realized who she sounded like, examining the tea set the way she was. It still hurt, even though she now had new family, she was still awaiting word on when Melori would wake up and had instructed her doctors to inform her immediately. She had also used her limited skills with computers to change Melori's name in the system to an alias. She didn't trust other Sith not to recognize the girl.

"Sorry, I tend to ramble a bit . . . family trait it would seem," she sighed, setting the set down. "Thank you, I truly appreciate the gift Avreet."

 

[Darth Veles]

The Sith Lord could not help but smile as she went on about the tea set, carefully examining it, her academic mind immediately correctly placing it within the correct timeline and right culture. The pale-skinned woman definitely knew much about the red skinned Sith and their time; then again, so did Avreet, and he considered himself to be the complete opposite of a traditionalist, unlike the majority of the One Sith. He knew the Sith history for the sake of learning from the mistakes of the Sith of old instead of sticking to their flawed ways and customs. “It is quite alright, lady Arcanix,” the Mon Cal replied with a court nod, “I am happy you like it.” Which was true. He initially felt a bit worried the Sith Lady did not appreciate tea as much as him, but it appeared his love for it was just another similarity between them.

Pacing past the woman into the centre of the room, the Mon Cal clasped his webbed hands behind his back and gazed around, watching the objects that used to move thanks to Arcanix’ telekinesis and now lied motionlessly on the ground. Spinning around, the Mon Cal Sith faced the Sith Lady again. “Your family must be very proud of you. To be a relative of a true Sith is a great honour.” Avreet stated as a matter of fact, since that’s how it worked in his own family consisting of patriots.

Kneeling down and placing his webbed hands on his thighs, a typical meditating position of him, the amphibian gave the woman another nod, his expression becoming neutral. “Please, join me. We will start the lesson,” Avreet said, letting the Dark Side of the Force flow through his body, “I wish to teach you a technique known as Force stealth. I am aware of the Vong… thing in your chest, but you can never be too sure about your enemies not discovering you through the Force. Given your power and grasp on the Force, I am certain it will be very easy for you.” The Sith Lord said and gave the woman a bit of time to take in his words. This power was his specialty. After using it for over ten years, Avreet considered himself a master of the technique, having the capability of permanently hiding his signature and presence with no effort.

“If you have any questions or concerns, please, feel free to state those.”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

As Avreet mentioned her family being proud of her, she froze momentarily, shutting down all outward emotions as she tried to quell the pain, anger, happiness, sadness, and the other mixture of raw emotions still circulating in her. The subject would probably come up sooner rather than later, especially if Avreet noticed her tensing while he explained what technique he was planning on showing her today. While she was waiting for Melori to awaken, she was constantly wondering what Corvus was up to, even though her Force Bond with her was telling Taeli her sister was doing fine right now.

"It sounds very interesting," she replied when he asked for questions about Force Stealth. "My question would be how exactly does it work and how does one perform it?"

She knew they were generic questions, but [member="Darth Veles"] had unintentionally thrown her equilibrium off a little and she needed the few moments to stabilize herself again. Setting the tea set down, she sat down across from Avreet, settling into a meditative position and called upon her command of the Force to her for whatever she needed to do for the technique.

 

[Darth Veles]

“I will get to it in a second,” the amphibious assassin nodded and started with a bit of explanation of what Force stealth actually was and what it allowed to do, “Force stealth is arguably one of the most useful powers for those who wish to stay hidden from other Force users. Lord Sidious is the greatest example of all its users, the man who had stayed hidden from the senses of the greatest of Jedi Masters while talking to them. The technique allows you to not only completely hide your presence to the point you simply vanish from the Force – which, by the way, makes you completely invisible to the Miralukas who won’t be able to sense you or see you through the Force – the power can also be used to alter your signature. From the most corrupt of all Sith to the purest of Jedi."

"You can also alter the amount of power your signature radiates. In just a few seconds, you will be able to have a signature of Jedi Padawans. Or Knights and Masters! Of course, if your presence in the Force cannot be felt, your signature cannot be detected either. It is also possible to make yourself appear as a non-Force user; others will feel you, but won’t know about your sensitivity to the Force.” After the brief introduction to the technique, Avreet started explaining further, getting into details.

"Let's try to alter your signature, Lady Arcanix. There is no correct way to do this; I shift my presence by being aware of it and imagining it as a river, then I can manipulate it. A great river of the Force flowing through our bodies... This is where you draw your power from, probably using the Dark Side to get it quickly and easily, and it drains the water out. When you meditate, the water is refilled. Imagine shifting your signature as polluting the river with emotions and feelings associated with dark or light side of the Force. Hate, anger, pleasure, love, pain, death... those darken the waters, your presence also darkens. Peace, mercy, tolerance clean it and you shine with light. As with all rivers, it takes time to change their waters... please be patient as you attempt to change your signature a bit. Try it now."

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Veles"]

Listening to Avreet explain the technique, Taeli took in every word, committing it to memory. If she could learn this technique, it would certainly help her goals indeed to not be detected or beyond being sensed as a non-Force User. So many ideas were forming in her head, thankfully distracting her from other thoughts.

"Alright, I'll try," she said, closing her eyes. Picturing her Force Presence as a pool, she began trying to change it by adding drops of pure feelings into it. Her love for her sister, her memories of the day they had spent together and the promise of more days in the future, happiness from being recognized by the university for taking the fencing team to the sector championship, the warm glow she got when she read a new book with a cup of tea. Ever so slowly, the drops would start to add up, changing the nature of the pool ever so slightly to be more light feeling. At least that was what she hoped was happening.

Her own presence did feel a little different, as if the true nature was waiting underneath, but the drops had started to form a layer on top that would protect it against observation.

"Anything?" she asked, wanting an expert's opinion first to see if she was doing it right.

 

[Darth Veles]

The Sith Lord closed his big eyes and focused on the Sith Lady’s signature, cautiously observing it for any change. As expected, the powerful woman knew how to use the Force vastly better than any Acolyte could, which resulted in her signature slowly gaining light. The darkness was still there and as Avreet focused, he could clearly sense it, but those who did not try to thoroughly inspect the woman’s signature in the Force would have branded her as a lighter shade of grey, easily passing as a reformed Sith or a Jedi Master that played with the Dark Side way too often to be a shining beacon of purity.

“You are doing well,” the amphibian nodded, “I think you understand the concept well enough. Please practice it often. It is also worth noting that your signature will return to normal after some time. It really depends on how skilled you are, my lady, but you will have to occasionally purify your river again to achieve the desired effect. It is something different when you do this during a meditation and when you're surrounded by Force sensitives. Do not doubt your ability; that will only give your opponents reason to focus on your presence. Before attempting to infiltrate any Force sensitive organisations though, do make sure you can maintain the power without the need to focus on it and try to stay away from powerful Force sensitives, those might see through your disguise.” The Mon Calamari advised. “Now try to do the exact opposite please, just to see how well you can shift your signature around. Make yourself darker in the Force. In time, it will become much easier, you'll see!”

His eyes remained closed as he paused, giving the woman time to play with her signature for a while to ensure she truly understood how the power worked before they moved onto their next application of the same Force power.

“Now try to hide in the Force... it is harder than twisting your signature, but also much more useful when you don't want others to feel you. To do it, use your knowledge of twisting your own signature and make your presence small, so small it eventually vanishes. That does not mean you cut yourself from the Force though! That is a common misconception. Being undetectable through the Force does not mean you cannot use the Force at all. But again, keep in mind, if your enemies cannot feel you in the Force but they can see you, they will obviously realize something is off. If you wish to sneak past someone who can see you without knowing your true allegiance, it is better to lessen the strength of your presence and to alter your signature rather than disappearing completely.” The Mon Cal said and gave the Sith Lady enough time to process his words, learn from him, possibly ask a question if she wanted. They had plenty of time.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Veles"]

"Alright, I'll try that," she said, stopping the happy memories and thoughts from coloring her signature with light. Knowing what to do better now, she began filling her presence with the hatred and anger that burned within her, the pain from her recent experience on Lorrd, and much faster than last time, her presence started to change. It began becoming darker, even more dark than she usually like to show, but it was important to learn how to manipulate it faster and faster. Once her Force presence was significantly darkened, she listened to Avreet's next instructions, to slowly hide herself within the Force from others.

Thinking about how she could accomplish that, she realized a way to do it that might be a little easier. Picturing her signature as a bubble that could be squeezed down, she began drawing it into herself, subsuming it with the Living Force around them so she started to fade away in perceptions. It would take more time, and it felt weird to be shrinking her presence, but she had to say it was very effective way to avoid being spotted as a Sith immediately. Allowing her presence to fade into the background noise of the galaxy, she flet she had successfully hidden herself in it, but she could feel a slight strain in maintaining it, mainly from the idea that her presence might just fade away completely into the Force around them.

"Well?" she asked, curious what he would say.

 

[Darth Veles]

The Assassin continued to observe his “student’s” efforts through the Force, smiling as her presence started to grow weaker and weaker. It was still possible to sense her though; the lack of practice showed, making Taeli visible in the sea of the Force. The menacing Sith Lady radiating power became an inexperienced Acolyte though, at least according to the Force. A huge progress in such a short time, but then again, the woman was far from being a beginner. Large leaps had to be expected and if she trained and practiced every day… she might as well master the techniques in a few years.

Avreet decided to give her a little taste of things she’d be able to do once she mastered this and a few other abilities. The Mon Cal sitting in front of her became transparent until completely vanishing. “Excellent work,” came from behind the woman as the familiar Mon Calamari Sith approached her from behind, his signature identifying him as real Veles. He stopped by the Sith Lady’s right side, just when his identical twin appeared out of nowhere; bearing the same voice and signature.

“I can still feel you though,” this newcomer informed the Sith Lady, “It takes practice to completely vanish from the Force. As of right now, if others know of you and search specifically for your presence and signature, they will most likely discover you. Masters, I mean. Knights and Padawans… those will not feel you. Unless you count the Miralukas.” Avreet said and walked to the woman’s left side.

“Once you master the ability to hide yourself from the Force though, they will be unable to feel you. Given their usual lack of sight…,” a soft chuckle escaped from the mouth of another Avreet that walked out of the shadows right in front of Darth Arcanix. “You will not exist for them.”

The one on her right continued. “Once you get better at Force stealth, you will find the state of having your presence hidden quite natural. It is not a taxing ability.”

The Avreets next to the Sith lady vanished, leaving only the one in front of her, who knelt down in the place he had sat before.

"Force cloak, also known as Cloak of shadows or Force concealment, is the ability to bend light and manipulate sound waves to render one virtually invisible and inaudible. It is indeed a very powerful ability to possess, which could mean the difference between life or death. Also, it is an alternative to fighting when secrecy is the best course of action. In the beginning you will manage to do this in short bursts, but over time, you will be able to hold this form for longer periods. As I have said, it is exhausting to your body, mind, and the Force that resonates inside you. Until you are completley in tune with this ability, I suggest not using on missions unless your life is in danger and there is no other way to escape for the exception of fighting. Also, with this ability you can sneak past rivals, guards, or others without alerting your presence to them. Keep in mind that when you bend sounds so others could not hear you, you also won’t be able to hear the outside world."

The Sith Assassin bent light around himself, doing it slowly so Lady Arcanix could see and feel how he did it. First, he became slightly transparent, looking like a ghost, before disappearing completely. He remained like that for a while before slowly becoming visible again. Then it was time for the presentation of bending sound, so he soundlessly turned on his lightsaber, waving it around without it producing its signature humming sound. The Mon Calamari ultimately demonstrated the full potential of this ability by bending light covering his body, becoming both invisible and soundless. Unfortunately, bending sounds also meant he could not talk to his wonderful Sith Lady, so he stopped the technique, materializing in front of her very eyes.

"As before, I’ll use the metaphor of water to teach you this technique. Imagine yourself underwater. The water all around you is the light and sound. To disappear, think of not allowing the water touch you, push it away. It is hard, but there is no need to rush. You have as much time as you need. Bend the water so it would not touch you. Once you get a hang on it, it will become slightly easier. Do not stress yourself if you fail, just try again until you get it right." Veles said and fell silent. This power required focus and concentration upon being learned, and talking would disturb those. The Sith watched the student as she attempted to perform the technique, excited to see her potential.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Veles"]

Doing as he suggested, she pictured the light and sound around her as water, something that enveloped her and the surroundings completely as though deeply submerged within a lake. Thinking one potential way she could do this, she began by forming a small metaphorical bubble within herself and began to slowly push it out to envelope her. She couldn't make it too big, but that wasn't her intention at all. Instead, she tried to make the bubble skin tight, so there would be a layer of the Force between her and the water that was the light and sounds. The Force would touch that surrounding energy, but it wouldn't touch her physically.

She had no idea if it was working, but she tried to move and to her ears, she thought she still heard her own footsteps, but she had no idea if that was supposed to happen. Concentrating a bit more, she changed the nature of the bubble to be more . . . malleable so that the light and sound would glide off it instead of bouncing off. Almost like a gel coating, in a way, but more . . . muffled and solid.

Moving again, she thought she still heard some of her footsteps, but not as many as before. Trying to remain quiet, she kept moving and checking herself. She could still see herself, but she had no idea if Avreet could.

Probably, he was a master of the techniques after all, but she hoped she was making progress at least.

 

[Darth Veles]

The Sith Lady focused on the task under watchful gaze of her recent Mon Calamari acquaintance. As she got up and walked around, her body became slightly transparent, allowing the Sith Lord to see through her as if he gazed into a dirty glass. It eventually became better and the Sith Lady became just a shape. Then again, Avreet was not the best person to judge her ability to cloak herself in shadows. His sight remained fixed on the female, knowing no matter how well she performed, he’d always see through her disguise. A shame. At least the amphibian could objectively judge her ability to muffle her footsteps. His large eyes saw the woman moving around, booted feet marching on the marble floor of the training room, yet with much less noise than expected. Impressive, though Avreet had to remind himself the woman he taught was no ordinary Acolyte, but a powerful Sith Lady. He wondered how taxing it was for her body; young Acolytes found it unbelievably difficult to maintain Force cloak for more than a minute. Then again, they lacked the necessary reserves and stamina, as well as experience. All this woman did not have was skill.

“Excellent work, my lady,” the Sith sent a telepathic message into her mind as a way of telling her to stop, clapping his webbed hands, “I suppose you understand the principle now, so allow me to give you a few warnings. First, Force cloak is very draining until you master it and learn how to use it truly efficiently. It is not draining you as fast when you're meditating, as the meditation provides you with some incoming energy, though it is not enough to feed the cloak for a long time. My suggestion is to practice the power while meditating, as it will greatly increase your Force energy reserves as well as teach you how to bend light faster. Right now, I guess you will be able to maintain Force cloak and Force stealth while moving for about...,” the Sith stroked his barbels between his webbed claws, orange eyes staring right at the dark-haired woman, "From six to ten minutes? It will get much better with practice, trust me. I suggest always meditating to replenish your energy after using Force cloak. You can keep your signature hidden though, that is not a very draining power and what you get from meditations is more than what it uses."

“Second, cybernetics and species with unique eyesight, such as the Mon Calamari...,” Veles smiled, “Some species possess low-light vision and see in unique wavelengths, which allows them to see you even if you hide with Force cloak. I can see you, no matter how hard you try to hide. Same with those who use cybernetic replacements for their eyes.” A wink of his right eye has been sent towards the Sith Lady. “Once you get good enough at bending light, I will teach more. For now, the lesson’s over. If you wish me to go over something again or if there’s something you misunderstood, then please say so. Otherwise, we should switch our roles. You will be my teacher.”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Veles"]

Sighing a bit from relief, she dropped her partial cloak. It had been a bit draining, but like Avreet said practice made perfect. It would take awhile, but this would be a very useful skill to have. Nodding as he explained the technique and how some species and cybernetics could see through the Force Cloak, she understood the need for being careful. Still, it was time to return the favor for the lesson as she had no further questions besides one.

"So since we're trading roles, what do you want to learn from me today?" she asked, looking at the Mon Cal. "Tell me Avreet, what can this humble lady teach a master of stealth such as yourself?"

 

[Darth Veles]

The Mon Cal thought for a seconds, remembering their last meeting where she named a few of her powers. While he certainly wished to discover the secret of Transfer essence and pass it to his beloved Master, he knew curiosity and eagerness had to be tempered. That, plus he did not know if it was within his ability to learn the legendary power, known only to the most powerful of Sith. “This humble and strikingly beautiful lady could teach her new student something about Sith alchemy and Sith magic.” The amphibious Sith requested, offering the woman a bright and warm smile, “It is time for me to discover the secrets of those. Show me the answers and knowledge I seek, Lady Arcanix!” he said in such a tone it was not clear whether he commanded her to teach him or just allowed his eagerness to get the better of him.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Veles"]

"Well, since you want to learn alchemy, this sin't the place for such a lesson," she said with a laugh. "Follow me, and we can go to the alchemy lab I have set up in the basement of the temple. I'd take you to the one I have on Sposia, but that would take awhile to get to."

Leading Avreet out of the room, she led him through the corridors of the Sith Temple and to a small discreet staircase that led down to a locked door. Fishing around in her satchel, she pulled a small iron key from within and placed it in the lock. Swinging the door open, she gestured him to go inside with a sweep of her arm. Inside were many beakers and instruments bubbling away with different potions, highly advanced monitoring equipment, rows upon rows of books ran along one wall, and a circle that had been carved precisely into the floor for rituals if needed.

"So what do you think?' she asked, closing the door behind them and locking it again. She hated interruptions unless she called for something, as the servants of the Temple knew not to come into this room. "It took me quite awhile to get all this stuff down that staircase, but it's got a quaint feel. I still prefer my lab on Sposia though, but that's been dedicated to a project I've been working on and is all hush hush right now. So what alchemy skill would you like to learn first? Hardening and strengthening a weapon or material? Creating Sith familiars or other creatures?"

 

[Darth Veles]

Getting up, the Sith Lord obeyed the Sith Lady that became his teacher. It was a weird feeling, to be a student again, making him feel like that young Acolyte he used to be. All of that only further fuelled his view of Lady Arcanix as someone so similar not only to himself, but his old Master, Lady Zarrah. Smiling for himself at the fond memories of all those years of training under the wise Togruta, the Mon Cal assassin silently paced behind the woman as the duo left the training room, appearing back in the crowded halls of the Sith Temple. Only then he walked beside the violet-eyed woman, though still giving her the lead, as all Knights and Acolytes quickly got out of the way of the two Sith Lord, partly out of fear, partly out of respect.

Only after they began descending the staircase the large amount of sentient beings vanished from their path, leaving the two in silence. His large eyes observed the movements of the Sith Lady when she reached for her key, then inspected the unusual lock that held the door closed, keeping unwanted visitors outside. Quite an archaic concept of locking doors, yet modernized and very personalized. In fact, it was impossible to open this kind of lock by hacking. While the method of using keys was more primitive than various systems, the art of lockpicking was a dying one, ironically making this way of securing door safer.

Avreet passed through the door, clasping his hands behind his back, immediately gazing at his new surroundings. Despite having a master alchemist as his Master, he had never seen the process of creating potions and the like. The Togruta had always presented him with a finished product, usually a poison, leaving the making of it a mystery. The curtain of secret has finally been lifted now. The different brews of various liquids stared right back at him, the reflection of his face on the bulbous containers becoming disfigured in various ways as he observed the bubbling potions inside.

The attention of the Sith Lord then turned towards the ancient-looking tomes lined in shelves by the wall. The cybernetic eye ate through several title names and authors, recognizing none. So much knowledge lied within this room! Only then he turned to face Lady Arcanix once more, nodding in amazement. “It is most impressive, my Lady. I assume Sith alchemy is your hobby, yes? One immediately sees the work put into this little room, the effort it took to create a laboratory such as this. Wonderful!” he commented, his eyes parting with the Sith Lady and darting around the room once again.

“I’d be interested in learning how to strengthen a weapon,” He chose this over the summoning option, this appeared to nicely add to his skills as an assassin. "The art of turning a fragile object into a lethal tool."

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Veles"]

"Well then, my friend, we're going to need some blood and a weapon or object of some sort," she replied with a smile. Touching a button on her datapad, she sent a message to have prisoners slated for execution brought to her chambers. "This is the unfortunate part of Sith alchemy, that it requires freshly drawn blood and this particular action requires blood spilled in some sort of anger. So we're going to have to execute some prisoners that are slated for death row. I mainly use war criminals, such as terrorists against the people for this."

As she explained, there was a knock at the door and she opened it to allow a soldier in Sith Guard armor to escort in three prisoners. Dismissing the guard, she turned back to her friend and ally.

"If you wouldn't mind grabbing that tub over there, we need to fill it up enough to submerge whatever you want to change with alchemy."

Placing the three prisoners in a line, she handed Avreet a sharp knife.

"We will make this quick for them, but don't forget they are enemies and what they've done," she said, her eyes narrowing at the men. Allowing her hatred and anger at them for the unnecessary deaths they caused and their actions he slit the throat of one man to make sure as much of his blood that could would fill into the tub.

 

[Darth Veles]

Blood? Quite surprising, even though it shouldn’t have surprised the Sith Lord who had studied under a Sith Witch for so many years. Blood. Where were they going to get blood? The Mon Cal knew where to get a weapon, but blood… Avreet opened his mouth to speak, but the Sith Lady was quicker, sending an order just as she explained the very same idea he wanted to present. They really thought alike at time.

Prisoners sentenced to death consisted of murderers, terrorists. They would be missed by nobody and the galaxy could breathe easier without those monsters still alive. Avreet had always considered himself to be a very ethical being, but this was a very acceptable sacrifice and he found absolutely nothing wrong with it. It also gave him good enough of a reason to hate them. Having witnessed many crimes committed by those self-proclaimed “freedom fighters” and “true Jedi”, he found it particularly easy to feed the flame of anger that burned within his heart.

Three men entered the room, the guard leaving them with the Sith duo. Avreet inspected the three. When they woke up this morning, did they know they were going to die? Before doing anything else, the Mon Cal grabbed the large tub, placing it near the first prisoner and let the Sith Lady cut the man’s throat. Blood rushed out, just as the wet gurgle escaping from the trachea. The sound was sickening, but stopped after a bit as the man lost consciousness, his body no longer struggling to live. Everything that poured out went into the tub, it was time for Avreet to prepare another prisoner.

Unlike the Sith Lady, the Mon Cal knocked the men out with his cybernetic hand first. Only after that the amphibian started cutting throats and filling the container with their crimson liquid of life. This particular way of dying was not a nice one, but then again, those prisoners did not really care about the suffering of their victims either. The moves of the Sith assassin were swift and merciful though, his tool sharp, both have been granted the mercy of quick death. That was much more than they have granted to those they have murdered.

Three corpses littered the floor, the tub filled with warm red. “It is a question of ethics,” the Sith Lord explained why he had knocked the two out before killing them, shrugging casually, and reached down for the strap on his right boot, retrieving a short vibrosword. “Is this suitable, my lady?” he asked.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"I understand, but sometimes allowing them to know what their fate is helps strengthen the dark side energies a room, if even a little bit," she explained, not faulting Avreet at all for his ethics or his actions. "And that will work just fine for a first example."

Taking the vibrosword from Avreet, she submerged it in the blood pool and began feeding dark side energies into the pool, sword, and the air around them, all the while explaining the process.

"The blood itself serves as a catalyst for empowering the sword with the dark side, imbuing it with certain properties. First, we will be reducing the metals with the vibrosword to their individual components, a simple enough spell. Then, using the dark side we will strengthen the molecules of the metals and reforge the blade into something stronger than it once was. When the blade is finished, I'll explain what exactly happened to it."

Turning her attention completely back to the sword and the blood it was in, she began chanting.

"Solve vincula metalli reforge in fortiori. Imbuere potestate tenebrarum, hoc fieri ferroque aliquid maius in illa ad exercendum potentem tenebris. Sit hoc ferro resistere vires, ut in vinculis tenentur per metallum et penetrabilior omni fortior."

She hoped Avreet was recording the process, but then if he wasn't she could simply write it down. The spell began to take affect, the blood turning darker and frothing with the power of the dark side as the blade was changed and strengthened, a hissing sound coming forth from the tub.

[member="Darth Veles"]

 

[Darth Veles]

Avreet nodded, acknowledging Lady Arcanix’ words about strengthening the Dark Side as he walked over to a sink and washed his hands, letting the water get rid of the blood. The amount of the Dark Side in the Sith Temple, empowered by three deaths, should be enough to make this work. The Sith Lord understood that if he tried alchemy somewhere else where the necessary aspect of the Force wasn’t prevalent, it would be necessary to forego all ethics and make the execution more… creative and drastic, as much as he preferred to kill cleanly. Some beings deserved to die in a nasty way, Dark Jedi in particular.

When no more crimson liquid stained his smooth skin, the amphibious Sith took out his datapad and started taking notes, his cybernetic hand swiftly tapping on the screen as he observed the Sith Lady. The Dark Side could be felt in the air, caressing his skin, as the woman called upon its vast power explained the process to her student, who wrote all she said into his datapad. He had to smile when she mentioned using a spell to do all of this; it very much reminded the Mon Cal of his old Master, the Togruta’s chanting would forever remain within his memories.

The mysterious chant that followed was both written down into the datapad and recorded by the Sith Lord’s cybernetic eye, observing the woman’s moves and words alike, taking it all in. The blood changed, almost looking as if it boiled, its color closer to black than to red. Ah, Sith Alchemy, such a wonderful thing, much like the Dark Side itself. Once all was done, Avreet stepped forward, datapad still in his webbed hands, gaze fixed at the tub.

“My Lady, it may be a foolishness of a Sith Assassin, but I believe Sith Alchemy has that wonderful ability not only to destroy, but also to twist, change anything at the core mercilessly and once and for all,” the amphibian commented on what happened in front of him. “Is it done, then?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]