cuckoo bananas
In the aftermath of Abregado-rae and the subsequent rise and fall of the Uncowed, the Empress of the Core realized that a house that stands divided will always be preyed upon by circling vultures.
The Covenant of the Sith made many enemies across its short existence. A natural consequence of the way they wield their power with excess and cruelty. The Order of the Sith was exposed in the same way. Spread out wide, ancestral enemies aplenty.
So far both have kept the hounds at bay across pitched campaigns.
But mongrels look for weaknesses and nip at their heels, because they have no true strength of their own.
Why help them? This is what Mercy thought as she met
Srina Talon
on Jutrand. Why leave ourselves open to continued division?And so, the Empress of the Core made an offer to the Empress of the Wall.
Join me on Coruscant. Rip down the Blackwall and be the only Empress of the Sith once more.
For the Sith were not made to be isolated away from the Galaxy. They were monsters, nightmares that should be tested by the Galaxy time and time again, no matter the cost.
Join me, sestra, and together we shall rule. You will be my Empress.
...Am I not already? What will become of you?
I will be your Sith’ari.
...Have you thought this through? You know, I will never bow.
I have. I will make our children strong. And you will keep them safe.
They fought.
From room to room they fought. Because a proposal takes discussion and discussion demands a challenge. And they were Echani at heart, at bone. The only way they knew how to discuss was to fight, until their flesh was bleeding and their minds were scraped clean into purity.
By the end, they had their agreement.
Srina Talon, Empress of the Sith, would bring down the Blackwall once and for all and, through it, bring her children to Coruscant. The world she despised. To join the sister she loved.
On Coruscant, they would declare an unholy union.
No more would the Sith be divided, and any who tried would be seen as the enemy of both.
Annihilated. Removed from history. Erased.
Together they would rule the Sith. One as the Empress, ruling state. One as the Sith’ari, ruling church. But they knew their children. They knew that pressure would be continuous, that they required enemies, opportunities to challenge and to fight.
And so, by decree, a separation between Coruscant and the Periphery was formed.
The Imperial Center would be the home of the Empress. Her word was law, her design manifest. Order would be enforced by tyranny. The exploitation of the Core Worlds would continue on a truly industrial scale as these worlds were drained of their previous might and splendor.
And the Periphery would be home to the wild, the free, the hungry. Everything was allowed, nothing was discouraged, as long as you accomplished it with your own strength and might, and as long as Tribute flowed towards Throne.
But what of the worlds that belonged to the Sith Order for decades? What of dozens upon dozens of systems, hundreds of planets, thousands of stars? Some would be lost, it was impossible to avoid it, but the Sith’ari’s gaze was hungry and it lingered on those closest to the territories of the newly unified Sith.
She decreed thusly:
Go forth and claim what you can. As quickly as you can. Bring to me these worlds and their allegiance, expand our territory until you are sick with avarice and your veins are running black with exhaustion.
Do what must be done. Make your Empress proud. Make me proud. Bring as many of them home and we will reward you.
This, your Sith’ari decrees.