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The Sith seemed to insist that the Force was a tool.
It was nothing more than a weapon in their arsenal, a way to gain dominion over their inferiors. It was a trick up the sleeve, like a lightsaber, or a vial of poison, that had it's uses, and it's downsides. It was a knife, a shovel, anything the Sith needed it to be.
Dravis had never thought that to be the case.
In his mind, the Force was a mentor. On it's worst days, it was a punisher, a torturer, but on it's best, a teacher and confidant. Drav trained with it, studied it, learned with it, and let it take him where it would. The Force had led him to many a strange place. By those accounts, Nar Shaddaa was a little familiar for the Coruscanti Bith.
A dark cloaked figure stepped quietly along the raised platforms of the city moon, it's dark ellipsoid eyes glinting coldly, reflecting bright glowing signs. They advertised good times all around, whether that be violence, companionship, or libation. Below the floating walkways, thousands of vehicles, and thousands more people, enjoying their days of revelry and crime. He could feel their presence in his mind, their confidence, their fear.
The Candlelighter paid them no mind, instead following the ebb and flow of the Force around him. The Bith had his mind fully extended to the Force, trusting it to move his feet, his eyes, his hands, his thoughts, toward whatever lesson it would depart upon him.
But he could only walk for so long, and his legs were getting tired. So sit he did, at a very uncomfortable bench, and caught his breath.
The beast knelt before the lightsaber components he had 'appropriated' from a black arms dealer, in a place shrouded in complete darkness. There was no privacy on this world of decadence and deceit. But here he had managed to find some meager means of connecting himself to the Force. The pieces swirled together acrobatically, the exceptionally large synthetic saber crystal connecting to the generator, and sliding into the internal lightsaber components. The black durasteel and phrik outer casing of the saber slid over the inner workings of the saber like a glove. Mirvak held out one hand as the greatsaber began to float towards him.
But his mind was elsewhere. His left eye was closed, while his newly acquired synthetic left eye was rolled up behind his head. Dark, foreboding images passed through his mind. Some of the past, some of a future that was yet to be seen. In the blink of an eye he relived the duel with the shadow in the Blood Wastes, his betrayal to Metus, his entire history of pain and suffering. The rage just beneath him gave him strength, and purpose. His place in the galaxy was reaffirmed, with his body rebuilt and his new saber constructed. The plan lay before him. Now all that remained was to enact it. The greatsaber floated into the beast's palm, and his living eye opened, while his synthetic eye quickly rolled to face forward.
All the sounds and smells of Nar Shadda came back to him at once. The not so distant breathing of the crowded speeder airways, derisive laughter, holo advertisements. A single light flashed through the windows behind him, casting ghastly shadows of the twisted and burnt rubble inside the abandoned building on the walls. It passed, and again left Mirvak in relative darkness. Looking down at the greatsaber, he twisted it in his hand, observing its design. He ignited it, the deeper, brassy hum of the large lightsaber filling the room. Its red hue illuminated the beast, making him seem as if he were alone in a world of darkness. The wolf had seen enough, he put the lightsaber away under his simple robes and pulled up the hood around his disfigured face.
Making his way out of the condemned building, Mirvak let the force guide him to his escape from this planet. He had no need of it any longer. The beast purposefully walked down the street, passing a couple of cooing Twi'lek dancer girls outside one of Nar Shadda's seedier establishments, and ignoring them completely. The wolf was approaching [member="Dravis Rosilla"] unconsciously, when an inebriated Rodian approached the Sith and jokingly asked,"He-hey bud, where's the funeral? Check out Master Jedi over here in the black robes, hahaha--" Mirvak instantly turned to snatch the Rodian up by the neck with his powerful cybernetic hand, lifting him off the ground and bringing him to his face, growling like a mad dog. The Rodian kicked and struggled, trying to offer some kind of apology. Mirvak effortlessly tossed him into a dark, dank alleyway. Weighing the option of killing him for his insolence in his head, the wolf came to the conclusion that it would draw attention needlessly.
The wolf gave the Rodian another gruff growl, before turning away to head down the street again. The Rodian's friends stood frozen in fear, making sure Mirvak was completely intent on leaving before rushing to help their friend.
As Dravis rested his weary muscles, he dove into himself, performing his regular meditations. He opened himself up to the miasma of Force energy around him, studying it like an abstract painting. On Nar Shaddaa, the Dark clung to the air like the smog, while Light fought to keep up. Generally, they balanced each other out in this painting, unless one or the other had help from an outside source.
He had just felt a shift.
The Bith cast his eyes across his mind tapestry, looking for the change. He found it after a moment, a layer below him. A small gathering of Dark-Side energy. And it was coming closer.
Dravis was suddenly happy he was on the suspended walkway. Might as well bridge the gap
Wondering just how intelligent his idea was, Dravis took out his unactivated shock whip, attached it to a nearby pole, and jumped over the edge, to the amazement of a few passersby. He felt the freedom of falling, then the sudden pull of gravity as he reached the end of his whip's length. He swung below the walkway, and the end came unraveled. Dravis, using all of his limited telekinetic abilities to slow his descent, fell towards the roof of a building.
One. Two. Three. Impact.
He rolled into the fall, but still felt the jolt in his knees. Dravis hissed through the pain, and checked his weapon, to make sure it was still functional. Then, with a little more success, he descended down from the building, walking out of the alleyway, and into the street.
It wasn't long before he found his first clue. Two figures, one a Rodian, hunched in a ball at the corner of the dark street. He was shivering, and his friend tried his best to comfort him. The being noticed Dravis, and his deep eyes widened.
"No! Not another one! I've had enough of you dark-robed freaks!"
Dravis turned his head curiously, smelling a lead. The Dark Jedi's eyes flashed with specks of corrupted cinders as his hand darted out from his robe, and he called upon his mentor.
"You will show me where the other went."
"I... will show you where the other went." The Rodian pointed a suction cup-tipped finger, while his companion looked on in shock.
Dravis continued on, sure of his steps. The Force guides him, after all.
Mirvak slunk along the edge of the poorly lit street, his dark predatory gaze darting around from underneath the hood. These streets were not so foreign to him, he had spent most of his life as a slave in the underbelly of this wretched moon. If he had it his way he would plunge Nar Shadda into the planet it orbited. He was headed for a public transport speeder, a kilometer away, when he felt something trailing him. The wolf resisted the urge to turn his head, feeling the pursuing presence some distance behind him. This was no ordinary person on his tail, he could tell.
The beast looked off to the side of the street he was walking on, turning into a convenient alleyway. At the end of the poorly lit alleyway was a set of grimey doors. As the wolf approached them he waved his hand and the doors clicked and beeped, opening for him, and closing behind him. He entered a run down warehouse, emptied out of anything useful decades ago, marked with years of disrepair and graffiti. Thick concrete support beams ran down the length of the warehouse, with piles of large, tall crates strewn about in no particular rhyme or reason.
The wolf made his way down the center and crept behind just one such pile of boxes, pulling his greatsaber from his belt. He pricked up his ears and lay in wait for his pursuer.
Dravis saw him for the first time in the street, turning into an alley.
The figure was huge, easily a head or two taller than the scrawny Bith. It was difficult to make out much more in the dim lights and black cloak, the Dark Jedi's nearsightedness not helping. But he was sure that being was his lesson. Or his killer. Or maybe both.
The Candlelighter frowned slightly. He felt a bead of fear wedge itself into his gut, like a piece of burning coal, but he continued forward, propelled by slick boots on the grubby street. He felt unwanted eyes on him as he walked, a cloud of gnats in his outstretched perception. The people of the street, all races and creeds, looked on in varying stages of greed and disgust.
One particularly ratty human stood from his kneeling position at the edge of the crowd, followed by three thugs, beelining for the Dark Jedi, pulling blaster pistols. Dravis studied them curiously, then felt a smile grow on the corner of his mouth.
Wouldn't that be interesting?
- - -
A few minutes later, the warehouse was filled with a sudden hissing noise, as Dravis' lightsaber, a dark scarlet, pierced the electronic lock of the door, opening the portal jerkily. The Bith stepped into the dark area, the dirty light of the street flooding in behind him. He held the extended lightsaber loosely in his right hand, the handle of his shock whip in his other.
The beast was in here. Was he supposed to kill it? Was that what he was being led to do?
"Show yourself," the mentalist commanded, trying to grasp the creature's mind.
Mirvak's ears twitched as the screeching lightsaber forced the door open. The wolf peeked his scowling face from behind one of the crates, a single furrowed, piercing yellow eye staring into the light. He observed a hooded form step into the darkness with a lightsaber and some other weapon. The beast's ears flattened against his skull, glaring at the stranger from the darkness. The figure commanded him to show himself. Mirvak responded with a low growl, slowly growing into a vicious snarl. The snarl was cut short as he paused to speak, his acidic, hateful voice echoing around the empty warehouse.
"Woe to you, it would have been better for you if you had instead pursued the decadence and filth of this world." Suddenly the beast leaped over the crates, landing 10 meters in front of the Bith and igniting his greatsaber and cutting an arc in the floor in front of him. Bits of concrete were flung towards the Sith, an obvious challenge and sign of disrespect as the disfigured Worgian let out another terrifying snarl. "Why do you follow me?" The beast spat out, curling his head to the side as his dark yellow eyes glared at the Bith with predatory intent.
To his credit, Dravis didn't flinch when the beast came leaping from a shadowed portion of the room, slashing at the ground, rage and contempt palpable. He simply studied the Worgian, taking in the wounds, the anger, the threat, and the obvious Dark Side energy radiating from him. It was a perplexing sight, to say the least.
Dravis stepped a few feet closer, lightsaber still held loosely in his grasp. His dark hood obscured most of his features, but not the oblong shape of his head, nor the black pool with yellow cinders swirling in his eyes. This being was dangerous. He had to exercise caution.
"I don't know," the Bith answered, truthfully. He considered his words, never taking his eyes off of the animal across from him. "I was led to you."
Dravis need answers. He would find them, either by probing this beast's mind, or probing this beast's mind.
The wolf seemed eager to kill, swinging his large lightsaber around in front of him in a figure eight pattern with a quick flick of his wrist. But for now, he held back the blood lust, his dilated pupils examining the unknown creature before him. The Worgian raised his chin arrogantly, looking down at him from over his snout as he replied,"I am true Sith, not a rank and file Confederate acolyte weakling or craven witch conspirator."
The Worgian pulled his lips back and let out another short, annoyed growl at the alien's inquisitive nature,"And I am not here for you to stare at and ponder." Like a dog pulling on the end of a chain, his self control over his rage seemed to be just enough to keep him from outright attacking Dravis. Perhaps Mirvak's curiosity gave that chain a bit more strength than usual. "Who are you? A pawn, or a master?"
Dravis listened to the Worgian's words, and tried to piece together what it was saying. It was a Sith, but specifically not a Confederacy one. Dravis found a bit of a smile then, which he quickly banished, realizing it might anger the Dark Sider.
Dravis didn't like Sith. They were treacherous, and would only give up power if they thought they could gain it back twofold. He knew, because he was one for some time. Dravis had divorced himself from the ideology long ago.
Dravis finally understood why the Force had led him to this Sith.
"I was a pawn, once." Dravis began, not daring to take any steps further. "I was the Eye of Kruel, apprentice to Darth Ambroscus. He perished on Atrisia, and I was set free." Dravis felt a pang of sympathy, having put together a part of the wolf's past.
The wolf's wide, predatory gaze seemed to dissipate slightly, his bestial instincts fading somewhat. Mirvak's tensed face muscles began to relax slightly, the permanent snarl on his face melting into a lesser state of rage. The Worgian wore a stern scowl, accompanied by a steady glare underneath a furrowed brow.
Mirvak was still half expecting the Bith to be an assassin of sorts, but he allowed this parlay to drag on for the moment. His eyes narrowed sharply when the odd creature asked him if he was set free. The Worgian's maw cracked open and he let loose another growl, reflexively to the question the dark Jedi had just asked him. "Banished, imprisoned by the weakling, the -master.- Metus, the coward. He banished me to a place of ash and bone, boiling fury, and terror." The Worgian's train of thought trailed off, his eyes 'seeing past' [member="Dravis Rosilla"] as he continued on,"No prison can contain me, not even the blackness. Once committed to the void, you must too become ash, rock, and bone."
The beast's clawed cybernetic hand balled into a fist as he recounted the cryptic description of this mysterious prison. Mirvak's eyes refocused on the Bith again, and he continued speaking as if he hadn't mentioned this prison,"I freed myself. Now, I seek the true freedom: Vengeance. Knowing he still lives and breathes weighs heavy on me, and I must release myself from this burden."
Dravis turned his head to the side, understanding the Worgian entirely. "You and I are very similar, in that regard." He was the first to deactivate his lightsaber, although the weapon stayed in his hand. He would be the first to act calmly, perhaps Mirvak would follow.
"Obeying the whims of a master, servitude, is the ultimate prison. I have tasted it before, and it wasn't a pleasant poison. Bittersweet, but it's chains are chafing. I can tell you had a... similar experience" His own gaze stared into the darkness beyond, the cinders in his eyes intensifying. "You want to break your chain?"
"I understand why the Force led me to you. I also have no love for the Confederacy. They killed an ally of mine." Dravis frowned heavily, remembering Gisela the Righteous, who had begun him on the path to autonomy. "I, too, seek the freedom of revenge."
"I, too, want to break my chains."
Then, with a bit of his signature grating humor, like the Coruscanti native he was;
The Worgian chuffed incredulously at the Bith lowering his defenses, perhaps hoping for a duel after all. He switched his lightsaber off and hunched his neck forward, slowly pacing in a circle around the dark Jedi as he listened to his proposal. All the while his eyes remained narrow, his ears flat against his thick skull, seemingly ready to reignite the blade at any moment. Mirvak contemplated what he was saying, he normally didn't work well with others, but he knew he would need more bodies to enact his plans of revenge.
He snarled quietly at the Bith's comment, an insult to his intelligence. "What need do I have of you? What use?" The Worgian twisted his head to one side and lowered his head to the Bith's eye level. He stood to his full height again,"My goals are but one man, yours a federation of systems. Anything I do to the Confederacy is collateral, to draw out the Darth. It is a means to an end, not the object of my vengeance."
Dravis watched the stalking predator cautiously, trying his hardest not to appear on-edge. The cloak he wore helped, disguising his tense muscles, coiled like a spring. Nevertheless, he was a proficient negotiator, and had his foot in the proverbial door.
"What does your revenge upon Metus entail?" Dravis kept his tone straight, with a menacing edge. "Lure him out, and then, what? Chop him up into little pieces? Capture and torture him? Throw him into this 'place of ash and bone'?"
Dravis snapped his fingers, and a parade of five men walk in, as if pulled by invisible strings. Their eyes darted around furiously, but whatever thoughts they were having, their legs were not obeying. They stood ramrod straight, and despite themselves, waited for the Candlelighter's next command.
"To draw out a Sith Lord, you must become a threat. I own a small army of battle droids. Certainly nothing to compete with the Confederacy's, but enough to be a nuisance. Of course," he continued, a small smile on his circular mouth, "I offer you more than droids."
"Should you indeed defeat Metus, you can kill him." Dravis mentally commanded his new slaves to kneel, which they did, unerringly. "You can chain him with steel, or bone, or blood."
"But I can break him. Or in other words, make him break himself, and all that he stands for."
Dravis used his telekinesis, pushing the prone men forward, almost like a peace offering.
Mirvak's head reared back, his upper lip curling back in a show of disgust as Dravis led the men about like a puppeteer. Mirvak's eyes flitted back to Dravis, watching him cautiously as he heard him out. The beast's rage seems to have died down completely now as he contemplated the prospective ally. The hunched, aggressive stance, and probing gaze had faded away. Again the wolf looked down at the men being controlled with disdain, then back to the Bith. His sallow, orange eyes stared directly into the dark Jedi's void filled orbs. "Yes, I see now. My plans for revenge--I have too little resources to enact them. The Force has truly brought us together for a greater purpose."
"I know how he will be broken, I never intended to simply kill him, to cast him away. I will drink from his suffering, he shall die within himself long before he falls to the saber. Your..." The Worgian's eyes narrowed and glanced at the men briefly,"Skills.. They will be of great use to me." Mirvak paused, clenching his cybernetic hand into a fist and raising it to his chest,"Our wills fulfill each other. The Confederacy shall burn, Metus shall suffer. But beware, lest you think to abuse my power to your own ends. All the masters in my life have been defeated or slain, save for one. Do not attempt to assume this role over me, either through trickery or this sorcery you lay before me." The wolf's eyes burned with a passionate fury, a newfound zeal to destroy. The beast introduced himself,"You may call me Meeeerrr-vakh, fated ally."
Dravis kept his face neutral, but barely concealed his grin of success. He'd gained a new resource, and a powerful one, at that. He returned his weapons to the belt under his cloak, and tested his clawed hands, working out the strain. The cinders in his eyes brightened and dimmed, like the heartbeat of a fire giant.
"I believe some mutual abuse of each other's strength is called for." The Bith chuckled, letting his smile crack, a strange look on his alien face. Perhaps he would use the wolf's strength for his personal gain. It wasn't every day a Sith fell into his lap like this, after all. Or perhaps the two of them would rise to the top, together.
But, deep down, they were Sith. There could be no knowing until it came to pass.
