Private Child Of the Damned

[Revna Marr]

Tag: Varin Mortifer​

Revna remained still as Varin’s emotions began to bubble and boil to the surface, her face an emotionless mask as she pulled her hands behind her back, observing him as his fury ignited and he thundered out his need for vengeance, his promise to kill every Jedi he might ever come across.

Even though she was within the confines of his mind, she could feel the thunder that rolled through the mental planescape - and her eyes spied yet another vision, flickering images of a palace, a large tree with hanging bodies - figures she recognized to be his dead family members.

Impassively, she watched as he gripped the chains that held him firmly in place, trying to wrench them free - to break himself free. Smoke begins to billow up from cracks in the ground, and she could have sworn she felt the touch of heat, even here within the boy’s mind.

She was aware of Ignati vanishing amongst the smoke and embers, and his last words to her slipped through her mind, eliciting a faint smirk. Soon, she was left alone with Varin, and she took a deep breath to settle herself. She felt a twinge of pain for him, the pain for his loss. But she knew that compassion here would do him no good.

Silently, the dark robed woman stepped forward and towards the struggling figure of the boy, watching the chains that held him heat and glow brightly.

When she spoke, her voice was clear, unhurried and it pierced through the space between them. “It is good you feel these emotions, Varin. Embrace them, harness them - but do not let them control you.”

She drew to a halt before him, her burning eyes on him were smoldering and intense, her voice sharp and uncompromising. “If you surrender to them now, then you will be consumed by your rage and your hatred, and they will destroy you. How then will you take your revenge, if you destroy yourself in this moment?”

 

[Varin Mortifer]

“If you surrender to them now, then you will be consumed by your rage and your hatred, and they will destroy you. How then will you take your revenge, if you destroy yourself in this moment?”

Varin twists his head in the direction of the voice, almost as if with the speed and accuracy of a viper. His words shot forth like a lethal dagger towards the sith woman, full of malice and venom.

“I care not what happens to me Revna!” He clasps his hands to his temples and lets out a frustrated yell. “THESE DAMNED CHAINS….RELEASE ME….” He reels back on the chains once more pulling with all his might before giving one last yell and slamming his fist into the thick oak.

His breath is deep, raspy, his throat dry from the exertion. After a few moments he collapses to his knees, his hand running down the trunk, his breathing begins to give way to tears.

“They died! All of them, and it doesn’t affect me! Not their deaths!” He glares at the bodies hanging above him. “Father, mother, CC. They all signed up to die, I was prepped for that. They died doing their duties, a duty I also signed up for!.” His voice cracks and breaks under the raw emotion, he lets out a deep frustrated growl.

“I signed up to die as well! I was ready for it! SO WHY AM I STILL ALIVE AND SHE'S NOT!” He bows his head into his knees and slowly falls to the side.

“It doesn't make sense to me.” His voice falls quiet and shaky.

 

[Revna Marr]

Tag: Varin Mortifer
​

The boy whipped his head around towards her upon hearing her steady and cold voice, and as she expected his venomous response to her was spoken out of emotion, rather than clarity of thought.

“I care not what happens to me, Revna!”

Her fiery eyes, hard as stone, watched as he clasped his forehead and roared in frustration, demanding to be released from his chains, before he reeled back and tried once more to yank on them with his own strength. He continued, sinking to his knees as tears began to drip down his cheeks, his voice pained as he tried to make sense of what had happened to his family. It was the part of grief that she understood herself: the guilt, the remorse, the confusion, the pain and the anger.

When he returned to silence, Revna’s response was sharp and fierce to pierce through the haze of emotions that clouded his mind.

“You should care what happens to you, Varin. Otherwise you will never avenge your sister. Her death will have been for nothing.” She snapped as she stepped closer to him, her presence growing more sharp and dark. “Is that what you want? To go to your death and meet her beyond, knowing that you failed her? No. I will not tolerate failure, and neither should you.”

The Sith woman paused and crouched down to stare the young man in the face. “These chains are of your making, Varin. Only you can free yourself from them. Unless you bring your emotions under your command, these chains will remain. Do you understand me?”

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Revna Marr

Revna’s words bored into Varins enraged ears.

“You should care what happens to you, Varin. Otherwise you will never avenge your sister. Her death will have been for nothing. Is that what you want? To go to your death and meet her beyond, knowing that you failed her? No. I will not tolerate failure, and neither should you.”

Like a switch something was flipped in his subconscious, the lava pools slightly subsided as he looked upon the tree. Gently taking the chains in his grasp again, he noticed his right arm was free. He lightly flexed his hand, balling his fist to regain some flow in its veins. Again Revna’s words pierced through his emotions.

“These chains are of your making, Varin. Only you can free yourself from them. Unless you bring your emotions under your command, these chains will remain. Do you understand me?”

He let the chains fall gently out of his hand as they clattered against each other and the tree.

“You’re right, I should care about what happens to me. Though I don't, I do care about my mission. It may be the only thing really keeping me going, I too will not tolerate failures anymore. I failed my first ever mission granted to me and it altered my life. It will not happen again.”

He looked towards his master.

“I think we are done here.”

The space grows dark again as it was when she arrived, the space grows colder again as the figure of Varin begins to dissipate cutting the mental connection.

Opening his eyes back in reality he could feel the cold wind on his bare back as his shirt has burned off of him, Varin could see the moons of Korriban in the sky as he shivered lightly but held his composure. Slowly standing up he heard cracking beneath him and stinging pain up his shins and knees, as he looked down the sand beneath him was almost a perfectly round circle pit of glass save for the shattered spot his knees had imprinted, blood ran down his legs as he looked at his shredded pants as he winced at the wind blowing red dust into his wounds, forever mingling Korriban into his very body.

 

[Revna Marr]

Tag: Varin Mortifer​

She could see when her words had finally gotten through to him, and though she didn’t reveal so much to him, she felt a tremor of relief flash through her. A chain fell away from him as he seemed to understand and finally accept her words, and Revna rose back to her full height.

“You’re right, I should care about what happens to me. Though I don't, I do care about my mission. It may be the only thing really keeping me going, I too will not tolerate failures anymore. I failed my first ever mission granted to me and it altered my life. It will not happen again.” He lifted his head and locked eyes with her. “I think we are done here.”

She could already feel him closing the mental connection between them, and she dipped her head in acknowledgment of his wishes.

“Yes, I think we are.” she responded back in the softer tone of voice she’d carried before, and without another word she withdrew her presence from his mind completely, returning to the present time and place within the courtyard of the Palace, which were now draped in the lengthening shadows of the chilly Korriban night.

Exhaustion washed over her like an icy cold wave, and her shoulders slumped ever so slightly as she took deep breaths and blinked her eyes, trying to force away the tiredness that threatened to consume her. She heard the sound of glass cracking and breaking, and her golden-orange eyes shifted to observe Varin rising up within the ritual circle he’d been in the entire time.

Several things became immediately clear to the Sith woman; one, the boy’s shirt had vanished, somehow. There was a faint scent of char and soot on the wind, and judging by the sand which had turned to glass - she surmised that the heat he’d expressed within his mind and the visions, had also been present in reality. Around him, the runic Sith sigils glowed and pulsed a faint red color - a sign that they were doing exactly what she had intended them to do, which was suppress any extreme surges of the Force within the confines of the circle itself.

She shuddered at the thought of what would have happened had she not had the foresight and the sense to use such methods out of caution, borne from whispers and flashes of strange visions she’d seen - visions of fire and wrath. It hadn’t made sense to her then…but it did now.

The metallic scent of freshly spilled blood reached her nose, and Revna’s burning eyes shifted once more to look over her Acolyte, and she noticed the dark streams of crimson liquid running down his knees and shins, the blood dripping down into the ritual circle itself, even as a cold and brisk wind stirred up nearby sands and coated his wounds with the red grains of the holy Sith world.

The significance of that was not lost on the Sith woman.

She lifted her eyes to meet his in the shadows of the night. “And here you thought you were a coward for having fled what happened to you. Now we both know the truth, Acolyte.”

Silently, she shifted and shed her outer robes from her form, revealing her closer fitting black shirt underneath - before she extended the robes to him. “Come. Let’s get you cleaned up and fed, then you can rest. You can either rest in my quarters within the Palace, or in your dorm room, where you will be alone - the choice is yours.”

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Revna Marr

“And here you thought you were a coward for having fled what happened to you. Now we both know the truth, Acolyte. Come. Let’s get you cleaned up and fed, then you can rest. You can either rest in my quarters within the Palace, or in your dorm room, where you will be alone - the choice is yours.”

Revna offers Varin her outer robes in comfort and to fight off the chill of night, to which Varin silently obliges, exhaustedly stumbling towards her and turning his back to her showing the brands in greater detail to her. Various circles and lines expand over the boy's entire back and triceps. Giving shape to what appears to be a draconic skull made of various shapes and stretching over his back look to be draconic wings burned into his flesh, Ur-kitat writing is etched down his shoulders to the end of his triceps just above his elbows. This was a very detailed and grueling ritual performed on the young sith, to show he survived it gives her a peak on the boys will and spirit to survive and fight, whether he sees it or not.

“I counted around 30 men were killed that day, Master. But I couldn't revel in the memory of it since it was robbed from me. Tell me honestly, is that body count high for someone with my experience?”

Unnoticingly he follows her towards the palace as his stomach growls loudly.

 

[Revna Marr]

Tag: Varin Mortifer​

The young man took her offered robes, and in the process of putting them on, she got a view of his exposed back and the intricate markings that seemed burnt into his very skin. Sharp eyes took in the sight, the markings and the shapes and sigils, and a faint frown creased her brow. She recognized the shape of a draconic skull and wings - and wondered if perhaps it was connected to the entity that was bound to him. It was certainly something that seemed ritualistic in nature.

Perhaps something she would need to do some research or digging into, later on.

Revna had just turned away to begin guiding him from the courtyard when his tired voice slid over her.

“I counted around 30 men who were killed that day, Master. But I couldn't revel in the memory of it since it was robbed from me. Tell me honestly, is that body count high for someone with my experience?”

The Sith woman paused for a moment upon hearing him call her Master, in a much more formal manner. Part of her almost rebuked him for calling her such…but she remained quiet despite her discomfort. She had brought him under her wing to teach him what she knew, to guide him, to further his training. Wasn’t that what a master was supposed to do?

It was something she would have to get used to, and she figured she could start now.

She cast her fiery gaze over her shoulder at him, seeing that he had been following her. For the briefest of moments, she found herself in Darth Strosius 's place, looking through His eyes, and felt perhaps what He might have felt in a similar manner when He had brought her on as His pupil.

It was a weight upon her shoulders that was both daunting, and welcome, at the same time. She felt purpose in it.

I hope I make you proud, my Master. Guide me, wherever you are… she breathed in silent prayer, sending it along into the currents of the Force, as she started walking again. “Was it high..? Hmmm...” she pondered for a moment as she tried to find the best way of answering the boy.

“-Being baptized into the Dark side is not bound to how many or how few bodies you leave behind. Only that you paid the price it asked of you, when you sought to use its power.” She said softly, in thought - realizing that perhaps she was being a bit more mysterious than she needed to be. She glanced back over to him once more, a frown on her shadowed face. “That is my way of saying that it was neither a high body count, nor was it a low one. It was what was required of you, to bring you to this very moment. The Dark demands sacrifice, payment from us, in many different forms. Yours just happened to be the killing of thirty men. A sizable number for someone of your age and experience, yes. But not unheard of.” She paused again, turning through several hallways and guiding him up a circular flight of stairs. “And you will kill many more, before you are ever granted the honor of a Darth rank.”

She fell silent as they came upon the next floor - a wide and extravagant hallway, draped in shadow and firelight. Doors lined either side of the hallway, and slipping out from a shadowed nook was a linen wrapped and veiled figure. It approached in silence, coming to a halt and showing a measure of subservience to both Revna and Varin.

“I require food for both myself and my guest here. Whatever the Palace cooks have on hand will suffice. Bring wound care as well.” she said softly to the veiled servant, who bowed slightly at the waist before moving past them both, and Varin would catch the scent of fragrant oils, but also the faint and underlying cloying scent of decay.

Revna led Varin some distance forward, before stopping at a door which swung open upon reading her biometrics. Lights, triggered by motion, illuminated the space around them and he would see a luxurious suite, usually set aside for powerful Sith Lords - but one which had been converted into private living quarters for the Sith woman.

To the immediate left was an ornately carved table with a wine rack, filled with various types of wines. Beside that was a wash basin, and to the right was a downward step that led into an open lounge area with several couches and seats with a view of the distant Valley of the Dark Lords through floor to ceiling length windows. Directly ahead of the pair was a long hallway which turned out of sight, and on the right side of the hallway was a closed door. The aesthetic was dark and elegant, fit for those of noble bearing or pristige.

“The refresher is through that door in the hallway. You may rest on any of the couches or lounge chairs here in the lounge room. I'll grab you one of my robes to wear until you can get yourself some better clothes.”

Revna ambled up the stairs to her personal quarters to fetch a black robe, which she then handed off to the young man when she returned to him. "Here. Go get washed up. Food will be here soon."

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Revna Marr

The words from his Master were comforting, oddly enough. Most would see the answer as a dance around but Varin knew when there was a lesson in words and when it was just boasting. This was a lesson he would take in deep. Varin always had a weird belief when it comes to The Way of The Sith, or at least His Way.

Varin looked towards the washroom and looked back at his master, and then made his way to the washroom closing the door. After getting undressed and soaking for a good while he could see the water had taken on a slight pink coloration, his wounds were not terribly deep but they certainly weren’t surface cuts. One by one he worked at each wound pulling out bits of glass and placing it in a bucket nearby. The glass had a red coloration to it though he couldn’t tell if it was by its natural color or by the invading crimson from his body. But all he could think about was his home, the garden and his family. He relaxed in the water for a little while longer enjoying the peace and the comforting memories that came with. After about an hour give or take a few minutes he decided to finish up and dry off, slipping on some fresh clothes.

His Master’s words echoed in his head, along with his father’s. The two ideals seem to contradict themselves. His father always taught him to conquer his enemies and revel in the bodies left in your wake. But his Master’s words seemed……different. A body count shouldn’t matter. Varin did what he had to do at the time. But at least now he knows he was not a coward. He was every bit the warrior his father wanted him to be, possibly needed. Though he failed his first mission, he knows he can take lessons from it. Learn from it, adapt.

At this time he probably should leave the washroom before his Master thinks he drowned or whatever, the thought made him smirk slightly to himself. Wouldn’t that be a funny way to go. His final thought left his mind as he exited the washroom and back to the lounge area to see food waiting for him.

Varin looked to his Master. “I pulled out most of the glass, though I doubt I got it all.”

 

[Revna Marr]

Varin Mortifer ​

Revna watched Varin disappear into the washroom, before she turned to the wine rack and grabbed a goblet and popped the cork to her favorite bottle, pouring enough to fill half the glass. She took a sip, savoring its tart and acrid flavor as its warmth slowly seeped through her. In the near silence of her quarters, the young woman reflected on everything that had transpired. She recalled the memories she had seen, and pondered them further for any other clues she could decipher that might help her young charge.

She was deep in thought when a knock pulled her from her thoughts, and she waved her hand and opened the door to allow the servants to step in and deliver the medical supplies and food she had requested. Two steaming bowls of spiced bantha roast and root vegetable stew sat upon a platter, along with smaller containers of fresh leafy greens and dressing and warm baked bread with rich butter slathered across it. Once the items were delivered, the servants bowed and left, leaving her once more to her thoughts.

I have an apprentice now…or can I even call him my apprentice? Revna wondered to herself in her momentary solitude. I’m not even a Darth yet. Huh…does it really matter if I am or not? My own Master had given me others to train…He entrusted that to me. If I could do it then and to His satisfaction, I can do so now.

She sat down within the lounge room and took another deeper drink of the wine, letting her thoughts wander further as a slight frown creased her brow. But this feels…different. I feel a…weight from this. A responsibility. Varin will be a reflection of me, of how I train others. Hopefully he doesn’t have it stuck in his head that he has to kill me in the end. That would be awkward…

On and on her personal thoughts went, until Varin’s voice pulled her from her inner reflections. “I pulled out most of the glass, though I doubt I got it all.”

Blazing eyes snapped in the boy’s direction, and Revna blinked before she set her glass aside on a nearby table and gestured for him to come and take a seat with his food.

“I can help with the rest. The royal chef sent up bantha roast stew and salad and bread. I tried to keep it covered so it would stay warm for you.” She said, her voice more quiet and oddly subdued. “Take a seat and I’ll see what I can do about the rest of your wounds and get them tended to.”

She would wait for him to sit down, before she brought over the medical supplies and sat down upon the floor, crossing her legs underneath her as she examined the still weeping wounds on his knees and shins. Without a word to him, she brought up her hand towards the wounds, though she didn’t quite touch the skin - and opted on using the Force to pull the rest of the little shards of glass from his injuries. Several pieces wriggled themselves free from the cuts and scrapes, before she manipulated them into a small pile on a nearby table. The action re-aggravated his wounds and caused them to bleed afresh, but she was already preparing the bacta spray and wound dressings, which she applied with care. For the most part, she seemed focused, but she made small talk to fill the quiet space.

“My Master did this with me too…if I was wounded while on a mission with Him. He would always stop what He was doing to assess and see if the wound needed tending to or could wait a little longer. Feels only right that I ensure you receive the same care He gave to me.”

When she was finished, Revna rose back to her feet and collected the trash and disposed of it all, before washing up herself and returning to take a seat in the lounge room, where she was finally able to grab her bowl of stew and begin to eat as well.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Revna Marr

“Take a seat and I’ll see what I can do about the rest of your wounds and get them tended to.”

Varin sat in front of his master to receive his further medical treatment, the stinging of the glass being pulled from his flesh was felt throughout his shins and knees, but he was too tired to react, and his mind was miles away elsewhere. But Revna’s voice pulled him back momentarily as she made small talk.

“My Master did this with me too…if I was wounded while on a mission with Him. He would always stop what He was doing to assess and see if the wound needed tending to or could wait a little longer. Feels only right that I ensure you receive the same care He gave to me.”

Varin let the words hang for a bit in his mind before he spoke.

“He sounded like a caring master. Not something common among Sith, perhaps you and I were lucky, but unlucky at the same time.”

There were questions he had for his master,

Is her master the one that died? Was he always caring to all those under him or was Revna a special case? If he is alive, where is he now? How does she have so much free reign in this palace?

The questions kept coming to him as she finished bandaging the boy's legs. Varin waited to start his meal until his master was done, it was a courtesy that was drilled into his mind by his mother, teaching him etiquette, respect and manners.

The meal was relatively silent, not that Varin didn’t want to have a conversation, he was having trouble keeping his eyes open for his meal. Though she didn’t show it, Varin could somehow tell that the long hours of focus on the force brought a toll to his master as well, nowhere near the amount on himself, but something that straining would take a toll on most sith.

Varin finished his meal and gently stacked his dishes neatly on one another for easy cleanup and stood up.

“Thank you, master. I….I will remember this day, though it was painful this needed to happen. I look forward to my first lesson with you.”

He gave a slight bow never taking his eyes off of her but still remaining respectful, after raising himself back up he waited a moment as if wanting to say something to her but just couldn’t.

“....good night.”

Slowly he made his way to the lounge area on one of the longer chairs and wrapped up in his robes to quickly drift to sleep.

 

[Revna Marr]

Varin Mortifer
​

“He sounded like a caring master. Not something common among Sith, perhaps you and I were lucky, but unlucky at the same time.”

Revna paused very briefly, before she continued working on his wounds. “It is a trait that is almost unheard of amongst the Sith, yes. Part of why He and those who followed Him were called heretics by other Sith. Our ways were…different. But, it works. Besides…an apprentice is the heir or legacy for a Sith. If the apprentice is worthy of that legacy, then they are like the rarest jewel in the galaxy - something that is to be guarded and cared for fiercely.” A faint smirk touched Revna’s face for a moment. “So yes…lucky and unlucky at the same time. A worthy apprentice who is cared for - is also a target for rival Sith.”

Something she had discovered the hard way, what felt like a lifetime ago now. As she continued to dress his wounds, Revna mused that she would do the same for Varin, for Lysander too. She wouldn’t tell them to their face - but the idea of another Sith taking them from her, filled her with dark and possessive rage. It was still something she was trying to understand herself.

The time spent together eating their meal was done so in silence; Revna was tired, drained…but nowhere near the amount that Varin was. She could tell that he was exhausted from the day’s adventures, and she couldn’t blame him. What he had experienced and endured would take its toll on any young Sith. He would need to exercise that and grow his endurance, but that would come with time and practice.

Revna finished her meal a bit before he did, and when the boy had eaten all of his, he neatly stacked the dirty dishes upon the platter before he rose to his feet. “Thank you, master. I….I will remember this day, though it was painful this needed to happen. I look forward to my first lesson with you.” Varin said before offering her a slight bow, done from respect rather than from requirement.

Like Strosius before her, she would never demand her subjects or apprentices bow to her. If they wished to do so for their own reasons, then that was on them.

She watched him for a moment as he lingered, before he bid her good night and crossed the lounge room to find a suitable resting place for himself. Revna rose to her feet and collected her empty wine goblet and the tray, setting it on the table against the wall near the front entrance, before she dimmed the lights and made her way to her own quarters for the night to get some much needed rest.