Faction Asha'kurat | Dream Police

[Darth Empyrean]

Vash'karath
902 ABY

The City of Dreams, Vash'karath stood on the precipice of infinity and nonexistence. Manifest into reality by will alone, it stood as a testament to the power of a Veritas and of Empyrean himself. He strode into the city, in its endless avenues and hallways, walking through a world that answered to him in its entirety. Today, however, was not to be his - it was a christening of something greater. For decades, Empyrean had built upon his name some of the greatest accomplishments any being had managed, let alone of the Sith - they would all be turned to this new Order, this new beginning.​

​

So that his ambitions, his beliefs, would far outstrip his already ended life.​

​

Far from the center of this dream were pillars being erected, both by his own will, but the will of other Veritas to believed in his vision. Other sorcerers, many of which he had taught, combined their skills to anchor this world into reality even now. Empyrean would not assist them now, instead he stepped into nothing and appeared in Verak'tal, the Hall of Voices. It was a transparent floor, and the 'door' disappeared behind him - leaving the Emperor walking over literal stars.​

​

The abyss beneath him shifted and swirled with each step, and the obsidian walls glowed fiercely at his approach. With a raise of his hand, he would force the walls to break in their small alcoves, creating portals to the other realm in each. With it came a message, appearing before each;​

​

"Come and see."​

​

Some, like Srina Talon and Taeli Raaf had already known of what he had created in the Asha'kurat. They were true Asharim, as they deserved to be - but now was the time for others to join them as well. Darth Anathemous , Allyson Locke , and more besides. Today was a day for them to see that the future was beholden to them, their designs, their personal prophecy.​

 

[Srina Talon]

Tag: Darth Empyrean
Location: Vash'karath
____________________________________________________

A hush rippled through the Force before silence snapped.

There was only one door, one portal, that opened for her, but she instinctively knew that these points of entry had opened across the galaxy. Blooming, like wounds in reality. Not a summons of desperation but a calling of certainty. The words echoed in her mind before they could be carried through the ether, and she found herself walking forward. It was effortless, this sensation of falling, and piteously easy to bend for the directive that came from her other half.

He called. She answered—It was the way of it.

She left the chill of her private sanctum to step through the fold in space as if walking, sinking, from one room to another. One breath and she was amidst cold obsidian and sterile, metallic walls, and the next she was surrounded by stars. The ground beneath her feet felt like some sort of Force-Woven transparency. Not glass, nothing so pedestrian, but thought made form to offer the most eye-opening view of velvet space she could imagine. The heel of her boot clicked softly while lengths of pure white hair turned iridescent in the starlight. Srina took in the shifting abyss.

The shadowed form of Darth Empyrean was standing not far away. Such a construct should have brought a sense of humility or fear, but the City of Dreams was an extension of all that she knew. There was nothing to be afraid of. This place knew its creator, moreover, so did she. Everything he was echoed in these obsidian halls, and it was a luxury, perhaps, that only she could call that presence home. His name spoken alone was a gravity well…But this place? Vash'karath? It was…Everything.

Srina knew the depths of Empyrean's will, the clarity of his vision, even if there were certain things they didn't see eye to eye on. This was a place that she had felt the shape of long before it had been willed into existence. She had spoken to him in dreams. Walked beside him, in silence. Her gaze lifted, and gold-hewn orbs settled on the center of the Hall where the void sang to her the loudest. The city, if it could even be called that, wasn't built on the backs of the inferior. It hadn't been built at all.

Vash'karath had been born.

Manifested from belief, power, and maddening ambition. Its spires shimmered in her periphery, endless, and ever-changing. Every inch pulsed with a sort of sentience that made one wonder if it was actually alive. Regardless the truth, it remembered.

A ghostly twinge touched the corner of her mouth when she stopped moving beside the Corpse King of the Sith Order. It wasn't quite a smile. It wasn't not a smile—It was something deeper.

"Mmm…I like it here, meldanya."

It was a simple statement that wouldn't mean much given the overwhelming grandeur of where they stood. It was not simply a place, or a city, but scripture that had been written in fire and thought. Srina looked away and found her eyes drawn back to the floor made of distant whispering lights. She was unhurried, unbowed. The stars whispered beneath her, almost joyous, as if they had recognized kin instead of an intruder on their solitude. "Others will come."

"They will marvel…They will fear…They will deny the existence of such a place…", she murmured, softly, aware that many Sith seemed to be changing. Becoming something else. Something new. The constant wars between Shadow and Light had taken their toll, but the goal posts had now moved entirely. It was an adjustment—But, it could only enhance them. Educate them…At least, if it didn't destroy them first. "And once they finish denying it…They will crave it."

Her voice was a cold wind through gilded halls, soft, but final.

Sith could resist many things. The promise of power?

That usually…Wasn't one of them.

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Darth Empyrean Srina Talon | OPEN

Moments earlier...

Anathemous flipped through the ever changing grimoire, setting on a newly forming page as it began writing to her of the dead. A new corpse had been brought into the office for just the occasion, some criminal who'd had the misfortune of firing upon her sister's ceremony and since become but one more tool in her arsenal of research.

Some would have found it puzzling to see a warrior of her stature poured over tomes, broad shoulders hunched as she copied glyphs and runes from forgotten literature.

But ever conqueror needed an army, and the witchblade knew she could no longer rely on brawn alone.

She turned suddenly, brandishing a lightsaber as something made itself known behind her, and yet this was no assassin in her midst nor jedi invader. It was a foreboding sense of familiarity accented in the incomprehensibly alien.

The very stars spoke to her.

"Come and see."

Golden eyes went wide as they stared into a world beyond the stars, a thing of dreams, yet it looked so real that she could reach out and touch it.

. . .

A gloved hand reached into Vash'karath.

Behind it stepped Darth Anathemous, her unnaturally heavy steps rendered both cautious and weightless, and her insatiably curious gaze awestruck by the dark beauty of this arcane world.

She looked down to slide a book into her midnight robes, and her stomach sank.

Better then to look upon those who'd summoned the young lord of Echnos, who's presence in the force she recognized for the oppressive awe they wielded.

"...my Emperor...!" she bowed her gold strewn head to the masters of this world.

"My Empress."

But if they had brought her here, was this to be a boon or a curse? Punishment overdue for actions against the Kainites, Or a reckoning, for the affections so tenderly shared with their daughter?

She dared not ask.

​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Darth Empyrean //: Srina Talon //: Darth Anathemous //:
//: Attire //:

For a long time, Allyson had no path. She wandered the galaxy, always searching for something or someone to give her purpose. She found herself at odds with the Empire in every corner of space, no matter what form it had taken. She had fought the Butcher King more times than she could count. Taeli Raaf draped her in gifts and honeyed praise—things the Corellian had never received from those she once called allies.

Everything changed for a reason.

She found herself in an apartment filled with knowledge, thick with old lessons and quiet revelations. The walls practically hummed with the promise of transformation. Here, finally, was the guidance she'd craved her entire life. True freedom—He spoke of it, warned her of its cost. And as she remembered their conversation after Woostri, her hands clenched, skin stretching tight over knuckles. Everything He had warned her about was beginning to unfold. She could already feel the corruption bleeding into her bones, slow and patient.

And still, Allyson didn't resist.

She relished the change.

The old Jedi lessons had taught her to fight it, but instead, she leaned in. The clarity filled her. For the first time, she felt anchored. She was breaking chains, erasing the leash that had kept her bound to duty and blind loyalty. She didn't want it anymore.

She wanted the freedom to choose who was worthy of her loyalty on her terms.

The pile of tomes around her grew steadily as she buried herself in the material her Master gave her. Still, she made time for missions and training—whether for the Dark Council, for her Master, or quietly, for another.

Now, stretched across one of the larger tomes, her mind was melting from repetition. The texts all bled together, philosophy and Force theory layered on top of one another until they were noise. How did her Master expect her to understand all of this?

Leaning back, Allyson sighed, eyes drifting to the ceiling. Her thoughts looped. How do I move forward? Everything made sense, and yet none of it did. She exhaled, longing filled her chest, raw, aching. She just wanted to be free.

That's when she felt it—something pulling.

A nudge in the back of her mind. She tried to ignore it. Her eyes were tired, her brain worse. But the pull grew sharper, harder, like something trying to tear her from herself.

When she opened her eyes, a gateway shimmered into being above her. Of course. She'd seen holofilms that started like this. And they always went sideways.

Rising from her desk, Allyson gave the portal a deadpan look, then turned her back on it. "Not tonight," she grumbled. After Anoat, she had no patience for whatever theatrics Taeli Raaf had planned next.

She poured a glass of whiskey in the kitchen. Persistent and apparently not getting the hint, the portal moved to hover near the fridge, a swirling mass of Force energy demanding attention.

Allyson took a sip. Then, without warning, her hand brushed too close. Just like that, the Force yanked her through. The whiskey glass shattered behind her, hitting the floor in her absence.

She blinked. The world was unfamiliar, yet strangely right. Towers spiraled into the sky, flickering and reshaping as she walked. The dreamscape bent with every step, molding itself to her subconscious. She knew this feeling. She knew who had done this. The Force vibrated with His signature.

She moved forward, the dream building itself, until it delivered her to a gathering. Her Master stood there, the Empress beside Him, and a blonde girl Allyson had never seen before. She raised an eyebrow but didn't hesitate. She approached, keeping her usual confidence.

"My Master. Empress." She offered a respectful nod, her voice measured. Then she glanced toward the unknown girl, tilting her head slightly. "Scary Girl." Another nod, assuming that was appropriate.

She looked around the world, twisting around them, her senses open and searching. A quiet thrill pulsed beneath her skin.

"Is this one of those places your lessons speak of?" she asked, directing the question toward her Master. "Between realities? A place that is, but also isn't?" Even as she spoke, she could taste it in the air. The freedom she had always imagined.

And for the first time, it didn't feel like a dream.

It felt possible.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"You've been studying.", Empyrean said with gentle affirmation. It wasn't a compliment, persay, but it was acknowledgement.​

​

"It is. This is Vash'karath. It is me - but it is more all the same. As we speak, half a dozen Veritas are working with my alchemists to anchor this realm into reality. It will be a place where you...", he said looking at Allyson Locke , but then turned to Darth Anathemous , "... both of you, will be welcome to stay. Study. Learn."​

​

He motioned with his hand, and in the center of the 'room' rose a floating image of Vash'karath and all its worlds. Gardens aplenty, manors, apartments, alchemic research labs, borderline factories focusing on small scale production. The place was no more a dream than it was a true city, but how far it would stretch seemed to be an unknown. Pieces of the image were building themselves, others seemed to blur away into nothing. The world was changing, even now.​

​

"I have no brought you here as punishment, rather an opportunity. I have spent many years fighting for my beliefs - of freedom, of emancipation, of the power to determine a future of my own design for the galaxy. Today, I wish to expand that offering. I have created Vash'karath as a home for the Asha'kurat.", he said gently, unlike his usual tone. Perhaps there was a softness in it - or at least, equality. Respect.​

​

"It will be a secret, so mind that if you deny me here that you ever speak of this place or this organization again. If you do accept your place as prospective Asharim, you will get access to the full breadth of my authority in the galaxy. You will not be equals, yet, but you will be in time. Asharim in your own right, should you prove worthy to us.", he said, motioning to Srina Talon . Taeli Raaf had not yet joined them, but that didn't matter for the moment.​

​

"Financial assets. Military. Political. Knowledge of every sort. My reach has grown greater than any one being could utilize, and unlike the Kainite I do not want an Empire built in my name. I would ask you to inherit my will, and carry forward my ideology beyond my death or my retirement, however my 'end' is to manifest."​

​

"I will warn you - the initiation may prove... painful. To access this world again, you will be branded via ritual."​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Empyrean Srina Talon Darth Anathemous Allyson Locke
​

The children were asleep, the wife was out with her best friend testing a new weapon, the grandchildren were ensconced in their favorite places within the grounds of her home. And she was within her study, the doors locked and sealed with a spell to prevent being disturbed. She was looking up at the holoimage displayed by her office's projector, watching the real time simulations her researchers were feeding her.

"Firefist in the south, Grek in the north," she mumbled, watching as models predicted the collision of the companion galaxies within a matter of days and not thousands if not tens of thousands of years. Something was drawing them into the galaxy proper... just one more data point for the strangeness creeping into the galaxy.

She would feel just the slightest of tugs in the Force, the quiet call... she would shut down the projector and answer it.

A circle of ravens and raven feathers announced her arrival within the space shaped by His will, the marks around her eyes glowing a deep purple as the Brand, incorporated into her tattoos from a bygone era, finished bringing her to the sanctum of the Asha'Kurat as the Emperor explained to Allyson and Kaila why they were there. Fully hooded and robed, she would for once to Allyson no doubt and to Kaila, appear as the Sith sorceress that she was truly at heart.

"Apologies, I was appraising the collision trajectory of Firefist and Grek with the Rim," she would mutter in greeting, bowing her head to the Emperor and Empress.

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Allyson Locke Darth Empyrean Srina Talon Taeli Raaf

The arrival of a one-eyed stranger in their midst changed everything.

She called him master, and those golden eyes widened. For one to earn the attention of the sith emperor, enough to teach her, this woman was surely a dangerous sort. Confident too, it reminded the former Kainite of when she was first selected to be Carnifex's apprentice, how... important she felt in that brief moment.

"Scary Girl." Another nod, assuming that was appropriate.

Kaila inclined her chin slowly, a faint smirk creeping into the corner of her lips.

The Emperor spoke then after their exchange, putting to rest the young Darth's doubts. An invitation then? To study this world's alien splendor would have been enticing enough, but to take an active part in his war against fate? This could be everything she'd dreamt and fought for.

"...Vash'karath..." she echoed, approaching the ever changing map with a curious glint in her eye.

More words came, Asharim, Asha'kurat, Veritas, each more strange than the last. A secret society, she suspected, or perhaps some special agency, although her intuition leaned towards the most esoteric option.

"I would ask you to inherit my will, and carry forward my ideology beyond my death or my retirement, however my 'end' is to manifest."

Kaila glanced up from the map, uncertain.

Not of his will, she'd seen enough to know that they shared common cause. It was the seeming inevitability with which he spoke of his demise which bothered the knight. That would surely be a dark day, a war of succession, she believed. Her only hope then was that Quinn's ascension would be swift.

"I will warn you - the initiation may prove... painful. To access this world again, you will be branded via ritual."

She rubbed her sleeve, beneath which lay jagged scars where limbs not her own had been grafted time and time again, which wreathed metal bones which marked her initiation into the sith.

"I am no stranger to pain." she murmured.

A storm of feather and claw interrupted the thought, heralding the arrival of Taeli Raaf .

"Darth Arcanix." Kaila dipped her chin in greetings to the esteemed, if mysterious, dark councilor.

Clearly this was bigger than a pet project if they were all gathered secrecy beneath one roof. Or... sky, at least.

"So... this is where the war against fate begins?" she questioned.

"If that is what these Asharim are, then I will do what I must to join these warriors of the true battle."

"Though I am afraid you all, even your student," she gestured to Allyson Locke "Have me at a disadvantage. Veritas, Asha'kurat, this place even, are all unknown to me."

"How does one become worthy of such things?"

​

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"By being chosen.", Empyrean said gently, flatly.

"In time, all of these things will be understood if not attained. While Allyson Locke is my student, the Asharim will give their full support to all other prospectives and Asharim alike. Wealth, knowledge, power - all that I have attained in my life and unlife are to be your inheritance, if you prove yourself capable. "

"This is where you either accept it, or depart. Accept, and you will be branded by the sorcerers here. Decline, and you will be stripped of this memory by force."

Allyson Locke // Darth Anathemous // Taeli Raaf // Srina Talon

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Darth Empyrean //: Taeli Raaf //: Srina Talon //:
//: Attire //:

Allyson listened as he acknowledged her learnings. A part of her felt seen, a new feeling for the Corellian. More often, the mother of monsters tried to find out who the spy was but to see others do it. Allyson could feel her own self begin to find worth. She remembered his words upon her defection—Empyrean accepted her and gave her the things necessary for her learning. All of them were things that she was never given in the Alliance.

The Emperor continued to explain the world they were in—a palace between, stitched together by sheer force of will. The thought of a world like this being built by the means he mentioned was unreal. Allyson felt the potential, and she wondered if the whispers that lingered in the back of her mind were that of the Veritas he spoke of. It was interesting, and there were few in her past that she knew would find this discovery exhilarating.

Alas, most of those she knew were dead, and the others were already in this room.

A small smile curled her lips as his words lingered in her mind. It was that ideal that they agreed on. She didn't want empires or worlds to sing her praises, to devote themselves to her actions.

Instead, all Allyson wanted was to be free. She wanted to be able to choose her loyalties and not be punished for what she valued. She wanted to sustain this empire, the way of life that the Empyreans had fought and bled for. It was here that Allyson finally found a place to belong - where she could do as she pleased.

No longer a weapon or a tool. Allyson was finally a person.

She would fight and bleed for the way of life she had and could feel within her grasp.

No matter what it took or what roles she needed to take. Allyson would protect what has been built.

She looked at the girl beside her. Darth Anathemous was young, but Allyson could see she had seen enough of this galaxy to know the right choice.

"No one is at a disadvantage. Only you put yourself there." Allyson smiled, knowing she had been at a disadvantage several times in her lifetime - but she survived because she never saw it as such.

"It's a good first lesson - to always bet on yourself and never tell yourself the odds. It only gets in the way." There was an air of knowing in her voice as she stepped forward.

"Never been one to doubt or back away from anything." She removed her jacket, letting it drop at her feet.

"I accept." There was nothing more for her to do; she had already made up her mind ages ago about the Empire and following Empyrean.

"I want to see where this goes, and if it allows me to gain what I want, then there's no choice."

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Allyson Locke Darth Empyrean Srina Talon Taeli Raaf

The Emperor spoke gently, but the prospect of losing memory again saw her jaw tighten.

"My mind has been scrubbed clean one too many times as is."

"Easy choice." she then muttered.

Even if she wanted to refuse it wouldn't have been possible when faced with such consequences, not for one who'd nearly started a war in retaliation for one such act already.

Allyson's voice drew her gaze next.

At first she expected a lecture, as so many of her peers seemed to believe she needed in constant supply. Instead it bloomed into something strangely encouraging.

"I meant it as a figure of speech." she gave a subdued smile.

"But I appreciate your words, Lady Locke. I can see the wisdom in them."

Her gaze continued to follow Allyson curiously as Kaila began to wonder just who she was. A corellian she suspected, knowing their distaste for the odds by the many she'd once employed in the underworld. All else was a mystery, save that she'd gotten The Emperor's attention.

It only made her want to know more.

Nevertheless she had higher priorities than personal curiosities however.

"As do I." she said not long after.

Kaila stepped forward in kind, shedding her black robes behind her, then her gloves. Her strong arms, which felt lighter in this place despite the metal beneath, were exposed for whatever branding was to take place.

"If this is how we win, then..." she glanced to Allyson, then The Emperor, "then I have no room for doubt."

​

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"Then so be it.", he uttered, and the world shook.​

​

Entrances to the city appeared in the alcoves they had previously seen, and just as they had entered from the Galaxy at large, now Veritas of lower caliber than either Taeli Raaf or him entered. Behind them, agents of the Asha'kurat. Not the Sepulchral, as existed within the Empire, but Sith Lords and Sorcerers loyal to the ideals Empyrean had laid out. With them came the censors, burning unknown herbs and ingredients that made the air smoky and pungent.​

​

From his wrist, Empyrean used the force to draw two drops of black blood. He uttered quiet words, and the Force enveloped them in a tight embrace. The Veritas set before them two basins, then slowly filled them with their own ingredients. Jugs carrying unknown liquors and ingredients, smoke trailed over them only to suck it in like a desperate thirst. Eventually, Empyrean allowed the two drops of blood to enter the basins, and each seemed to shutter at the touch of the Emperor's own vitae.​

​

"Drink of these, and be made whole. Let this city know you as it knows me, and all that I have built to be your own in time.", he said with a more flat tone than one might expect.​

​

When they did, they would feel the microcosm that was the Emperor's power. The draw of his immortality, the strength of his skill, a life time of honed training making him one of the deadliest men to ever walk reality. Amidst it all, however, they would even feel the desperate claw of slavery that dug its claws deeper than his mind, the adversity to it, the anger. In its last echoes, they would witness the Worm Emperor in all his many golden faced glory, and hear his whispers in their mind too low to hear.​

​

Then it would go black, and the ritual would begin.​

​

They would seize and sputter, pain racking their body as the liquid found purchase in every cell of their form. It was not a true Veritas transformation, but this was a basis for it that Empyrean had built with his own research, and the assistance of Taeli Raaf . Within it contained the foundations of a body that would be able to channel the Dark Side like no other, and build within it the necessary channels needed for Will to dominate. For now, however, it would be their key to this city.​

​

The key to the rest of their lives.​

​

Srina Talon // Allyson Locke // Darth Anathemous​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Darth Empyrean //: Taeli Raaf //: Darth Anathemous //: Srina Talon //:
//: Attire //:

Allyson wrinkled her nose as she shook her head.

"Just Allyson, I've done nothing of worth, and I wasn't born with an aurodium spoon in my mouth." She gave Kaila a cheeky grin. Lies poured from her lips easier than the advice she had given. Allyson knew the truth of what she had walked away from.

All of it led to this.

Bodies appeared, and Allyson glanced through their faces. None she could pinpoint as someone she knew, but some had an air of familiarity. Allyson remained silent as she let the realm shift with the power the Emperor summoned. The weight of his presence was something she had felt, not just around him but also during studies or other heightened times. It was as if just a breath of his power embodied her, giving her something more as she reached into the abyss of the dark side.

It was that same power she felt now, emboldening her for the ritual.

His blood married with the pledged items in the basin. The last ingredient transformed it, and Allyson raised a brow and then looked at Taeli. She knew the woman couldn't do anything for her at that moment. Allyson had made this choice - she had made it for the power she needed. Her hands curled into fists as she stepped forward with renewed resolve.

She took the first step forward and looked into the basin. In the liquid, she saw her reflection. There was still a chance to back away. She could still try to hold on to the Light she already felt fading. Or she could welcome the change, the freedom that came with defying fate. The answer was in front of her, and the longer she thought, the more obvious it became.

Allyson stared back at herself, and a brief glimpse into who she was meant to be reflected back. It was enough to prove itself to her.

Hands rested just under the basin's edges as Allyson lifted its fullness. Another moment to breathe, taking in the pungent scent of freedom. Glancing to her side, she stared at Taeli - the usual carefree grin spread across her face as she lifted the basin slightly as if it was a goblet of alcohol.

In their native tongue, the Corellian nearly chuckled, "Chakta, Sai, Kae." Another raise of the basin, emphasizing the toast before Allyson returned her focus to it. Her lips touched gently against the cooling edge of the stone while the thick liquid flowed through her mouth.

The taste was unbearable, foul, and rotten, but she didn't stop. Allyson let the once-cold liquid feel warm against her throat, coating it with its viscosity.

She could feel the concoction spilling into her gut. The more she drank, the more she craved it. The basin continued to tip as she swallowed the entirety of the brew.

As the last drop passed her eager lips, the basin returned to its place, and she stepped back. At first, nothing felt out of the ordinary. She covered her mouth, burping or feeling the need to throw up - it subsided quickly. But at that moment, her skin felt cold, and then quickly, the searing pain in her chest began to burn. Hands clutched her chest, just over her heart, as her breaths became labored. Through gritted teeth, she did her best to fight it, not wanting to show the immense pain she was feeling.

The pain surged, shattering her flesh as thin cracks bore open from what felt like a pit in her chest.

A viscous liquid pulled in place on her shirt; it was thick, warm, and golden. It continued to pour, leaking from the cracks in her flesh and spilling onto the floor at her feet as if she were bleeding the Light from her bones.

Arms drenched in this golden ichor as her covered eye cried the same substance. Each flaying crack of her skin bled the Light, pushing its poison through her flesh until she couldn't stand the pain anymore and fell to her knee.

Her vision blurred as she looked down at her hands, covered in the aureate blood. It dripped from her mouth and every place it could, her painful cries muffled by her gritted teeth and choked throat.

Allyson looked up towards the endless abyss of a sky. The stars poured their Light, taking whatever she was giving through her flesh. Despite the pain, she could feel the weight of the Light falling from her shoulders. All of her failures and successes meant nothing in this moment. She could feel and taste the freedom of His lessons, each and every one of them being etched upon her flesh.

Whispers of her Master, His, and the Worm's married in her mind as she understood what was happening; the anger and the desperate claws to be free dragged against her mind. She understood everything, and she wanted it. Allyson desired every ounce of this freedom, to pull away from the Force's will and bend it to hers.

Beyond her own freedom, she wanted another's.

This was what she needed to have; this was the power to make her whole.

Her mind quieted, the pain dulled to a careful and rhythmed pulse until it finished, and the cracking scar-like marks, tinted by the bleeding light, stopped.

Finally, she breathed, her eyes closed, taking in the moment of tranquility and silence. Slowly, she stood, and she looked down, where she once saw the golden ichor of the Light— Allyson suddenly realized all she was left with was the obsidian of the Dark.

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Tag: Allyson Locke Darth Empyrean Srina Talon Taeli Raaf

"As you wish, Allyson."

It was unusual for her to meet a Sith of such humility, even in the mirror. She knew enough to know however that ones like her were often the most dangerous, even more than loose cannons and entitled nobles.

A theory reinforced by Allyson's survival of the branding.

Kaila witnessed such pain that it made her stomach turn. She couldn't look away though she wanted, could not compel herself to move until it was done. A part of her wanted to reach out, to lay a gentle hand and sooth her pain, but she held back. What if the pain was somehow necessary to the ritual? Would Allyson even accept her help if she tried or would pity offend her and her master?

She swallowed as Allyson fell to her knees and was bled of all light until only the emperor's black ichor remained.

But it would be her turn soon, and so she stepped forward toward the basin to get it over with. As she peered down into the black pool, she stared deeply into it and saw nothing. No face, no golden eyes staring back at her, not even the stars above.

Only darkness.

Was that not what she wanted? a world without light, where the eye of the Force was forever blinded to her reflection?

Finally she lifted the basin to her lips and drank.

They burnt. Her throat stung and what ichor did she did not swallow dripped from the corners of her mouth as she fought her body to keep the rot in.

She gurgled, the liquid drowning a pained whine in the back of her throat. Her widened eyes too felt as though they were burning as she stared into the stars above, veins turning black beneath her freckled skin.

Just when she thought it was almost over, a new surge of pain spread from her shaking fingertips, forcing her to drop the bowl. Blood seeped from beneath her nails as the basin clattered to the floor at her feet, and it was black as pitch.

"AAAAAAGH"

She shrieked through grit teeth as her own blood began to burn and sizzle against her skin such that smoke trailed behind her movements, and the flesh itself blackened to the bone until it reached her knuckles.

It was not till after she too had taken a knee that the pain subsided and bulging veins began to settle.

"...is it over...?" she asked, voice choked and small.

She wished so badly for Quinn's healing touch and soothing voice right now. How she would explain this to the princess was beyond her.

But in this moment as a single tear fell, it did not matter.

​