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[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Tathra Khaeus"] |

During the days when she lived in the city of Avalonia, Ella had held an excavation of the nearby tombs of the Sorcerers of Tund, a sect of Force-users that could create illusions which rivalled the legendary Nightsisters of Dathomir or that of the Fallanassi. She had left the excavation with a tome that held the instructions on how to cast the illusions that the Sorcerers were capable of, richer for the experience in terms of knowledge and power.

Through the grapevine of individuals varying from those who had participated in the excavation through too apprentices in the InterGalactic Banking Clan; it had circulated through to Ella Nova that a new group had come to the Tund system. From what she had heard about the Bryn'adûl, Ella knew that she wanted them on her side instead of the other. She had left her chambers on Humbarine, putting away the image that she had carefully constructed as Ella Nova, to arrive on Tund as Darth Ayra, a Sith Lord with nefarious and great ambitions that involved bringing the Bryn'adûl to her side.

In the form of a holo communique, Darth Ayra had appeared before the Warlord and Chieftan of the Bryn'adûl to communicate a message. "My name is Darth Ayra, and I am the Dark Lord of the Sith. I know who you are, I know of your people, and I have need of your services. I know that your people have affiliations to Tund, to Edemar, Lowick and some other lesser worlds. I know that you are a warrior people who seek conflict."

"Conflict exists across the galaxy, smouldering wherever you look, but I would have you create your own. Let us meet on Tund and I shall show you what the Bryn'adûl and the Sith could do together."

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​​Tund. An unremarkable planet. At least when one did not garner a closer look.

​One the surface, Tund was entirely unremarkable. It had no great vista's to offer, no glorious artefacts nor no history or art to its making. It was a backwater world, old and forgotten. Ugly in its dull complexion. But this was merely the surface, a foil to cover those deep secrets that lay underneath the triviality of this planet.

​But that was only the surface.

​Tathra took a transport down to the planet's surface, first arriving at one of his many outposts on the planet. Outpost-5A was where Darth Ayra would be processed before being brought to him. Tathra arrived at the outpost, he had accepted Ayra's invitation, however he had chosen the location of their meet. Roughly half an hour before Ayra was to arrive, Tathra took a transport were four of his Crusader Brutes out to a familiar mountainous range.

​Tathra left the transport ten metres away from the gates to the old fortress. A barracks, once held by Mercenaries. There were still corpses left, empty armour and skeletons fed on by all kinds of wildlife. When the Ancient Eye had taken Tund, their collapse shortly followed. The destruction was left untouched, unbound by society as the battle remained untouched. There were areas of men, scattered in circles, heavy footfalls where he had marched.

​Tathra pulled a helm from the dust and sand, a old Ancient Eye helm. It was a beautiful design, but it held no relevance to his life any longer. The gargantuan Titan moved amongst the corpses, drawing close to the gate as his eyes fell upon a familiar picture. When Tathra had breached the building, he attacked from within with his Bellator warriors and the mercenaries who had yet to prepare themselves ran out the front gate, attempting to escape.

Tathra didn't have the time before, but now he counted them. There was at least fifty, all lying within five feet of each other. A massive pile of plasma scorched corpses. They stunk. Tathra slid through the shattered gate, observing the busted buildings and rubble. He saw old viridian Beskar shining through the rubble, one of the six Mandalorians he slew. The leaders of the Mercenaries at the time, it had been a difficult fight at the time. He wondered if perhaps it would've been easier now, surely.

​His thoughts shifted as he felt the wind shift. The air grew a tad stiller in the absence of fond memory.

​"[Dravalan]: Come forth, supposed Dark Lord."

​Tathra spoke to the winds, awaiting the arrival of the Sith.

​| [member="Ella Nova"] |​

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Tathra Khaeus"] |

Darth Ayra stopped and turned to look back after climbing up to the summit of a mountain that overlooked the fortress. There she saw that the Initium was still where she had left it, undisturbed and alone, much like herself. Satisfied, the Dark Lord turned to look down to the fortress with a malevolent glare. That was when it hit her. A wave of death that only those attuned to the Force could feel. A strange sensation but familiar sensation crept up Darth Ayra's body as the wave hit her, filling her with an odd warm sensation that blotted out the cold winds that swept around her on the mountain.

Absorbing the death into herself the dark side of the Force coursed through her, providing her with a sense of strength, power and purpose. It was then that the Dark Lord begun her descent into the path that led up to the fortress. The cowl of her robe was raised over head, shielding her face from view. It was ludicrous to think that such a small woman who stood at a height of 4''8 inches or 1.49 meters was about to stand before the Warlord and expect to make him submit to her whims, but Darth Ayra was no ordinary woman.

Entering the barracks, Darth Ayra stopped to look at the pile of bodies. The stench of death filled the room, making it nauseating to stand there. She felt the sensation to vomit as soon as the smell hit her, but she refrained herself from doing so. She didn't want to appear weak in front of these Bryn'adul, even if she knew that she was anything but. Averting her gaze from the bodies to Tathra, a pair of yellow eyes brimming with the power of the dark side stared up at him.

"Tathra Khaeus of the Bryn'adul... I am Darth Ayra."

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​A small delicate figure stood off from the group of bodies that gathered beyond the gate, it observed them momentarily before moving to greet Tathra himself. A foul power poured off of Ayra's being, collecting at Tathra's feet like a proverbial vapour as its stench came to his senses.

​His eyes blossomed under dark visage, bloody and orange. They brimmed with a primal glow that observed Ayra, while his senses told him of her alignment; his eyes observed a small and feeble creature. He always second-guessed himself. She was entirely too small to provide a combative threat. Perhaps her abilities were more elusive.

​More often than not Sith he'd come across were like angry bulls, huffing and puffing and full of steam rather than anything of worth. His eyes moved over her miniature form. Entirely unimpressed.

​"[Dravalan]: Ridiculous- ​Tathra moved to meet Darth Ayra, his footsteps carried on long and heavy strides. ​-Welcome, Darth Ayra. What need to you have of the Bryn'adûl that is so great that we must meet?"

​​| [member="Ella Nova"] |​

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Tathra Khaeus"] |

Through the Force Darth Ayra could sense that Tathra was unimpressed with her. She hated to admit that it bothered her, but other parts understood why. Here stood before him was a small, tiny woman that had little to no importance but the audacity to call herself a Dark Lord of the Sith. She had no Empire, no ships, no army- none of the tell tale signs that this was someone to be feared. She was no Carnifex, no Vyrassu... She wasn't even a Gerion Ardik or a Voracitos. Darth Ayra considered these things to be superficial, mere things to try and compensate for something that wasn't there, or to give them some form of importance. Announcing yourself to the galaxy was akin to painting a target on your back. Everyone knew who Carnifex was; the famous tales of Voracitos and his gluttony; or the cunning of Ardik. Even Vyrassu was known in some circles... But not Darth Ayra.

Just as she wanted it to be.

Folding her arms into either sleeves, where the handle of her Lightsaber rested along her left arm, Darth Ayra lifted her gaze to Tathra and begun to speak. "The Bryn'adul will join me in an enterprise that will make us both rich and powerful. It begins with a kidnapping, but the person we will kidnap will be well defended and protected. You will kill their protectors, the dogs that make up the Sith Empire's soldiers, and personnel, whilst I will take the person. I will not tell you who I am kidnapping because it does not need to be known by you. Only I will know who will be taken."

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​Tathra watched with ubiquitous interest as the woman stirred in place, eyes moving to meet his own. If anything a joint glance was something typically held by respective individuals but they were not. He did not know this sentient beyond what his foreign eyes told him. The Draelvasier had a respect for ones stature, physical strength. It was hard for Tathra to see the small woman as anything more than a child.

​He listened with quiet interest, hidden under his guise of ambiguous indifference. He paced a little, chewing on his thoughts as the small women spoke. His eyes shifting to her as she began to explain the details of his employment. His eyes looked to a fist-sized whole in one of the sandstone building walls opposing the two. Not quiet massive enough to be his own, but large enough to be armoured. It was likely one of the Mandalorian mercenaries.

​Tathra listened to what the girl had to say, his head shifting so that one eye could observe her as he returned to her focus as she finished her short sales-pitch. Tathra's tongue pressed against the edge of his upper gums as his jaw tensed, shaking his head.

​"No. That will not do."

​Tathra moved a few steps closer as his eyes remained off of the little dark lord. His jaw moving slowly as he chose his next words with a shift in attitude, lacking his previous flippancy as he became statistical and business like in thought.

​"The Bryn'adûl, my people are their own entity. You may employ us, but those does not make us yours. If you wish for our blood to be shed on your account you will tell me all of which you desire to transpire. Who and what and why."

​Tathra stood a few feet away from the Sith Lord. ​"I operate under no terms but my own, Dark Lord. That is the price for the best warriors in the Galaxy."

​​| [member="Ella Nova"] |​

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Tathra Khaeus"] |

Darth Ayra never took her eyes off Tathra. He could look around their quaint surroundings, and deliver an ambiance of little consideration to herself, but that did not deter her. Every time he looked back to her she still gave him the same unrelenting stare. She did not care for anything else around her save for him and what he could do for her. When he spoke, the Sith stayed silent for a long, long time. Her mind raced, drawing up possibilities, considering the factors of their relationship, and trying to glimpse into the future to see what would come from the relationship should he know what she knew.

In the end it came down to leverage. She had money, but there was a lot of credits out in the galaxy, and many others to whom Tathra could find employment for the Bryn'adul. But he had something that she needed, meaning that in the negotiation, he had more leverage than she had. He wouldn't react to intimidation. Darth Ayra felt no fear from him or the other Bryn'adul nearby. She also suspected that if she tried to intimidate him then he would react through a challenge, and that would result in his death. She knew the ones that wouldn't fold, no matter what would happen to him. They were fools... But stubborn ones. No, she could not break the Bryn'adul to serve her whims. It would have to come down to cunning, as it mostly often did with these types of things.

Breaking her long silence, Darth Ayra said: "Very well. I see I have no alternative. There is another Sith who has something that belongs to me. Her name is Taeli Raaf. I know very little of her, but she is an enemy of mine and I know enough to know that if I were to challenge her she would bring others into the fold. The Bryn'adul will help me take her down, and I will have my revenge what she took from me."

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​Tathra's eyes clocked small movements in her body language as she tussled with his assertive demands, allowing the decision to boil in the melting pot of her impulsive mind. The wind of Tund picked up slightly, a gust of spiteful wind picking up high in pitch as it cut through the corridors and slowly eroded metal. Some of the empty doors banged and the overgrowth of flora bustled and collected in small and subtle thumps against the ground and whatever was nearby.

​Tathra and the supposed Dark Lord both stood still like stone pillars for a few quiet moments as the smaller of the two seemed to argue internally rather than externally before coming to a conclusion. It was clear her thoughts to her mind would offend him, which left him offended irregardless in some fashion.

​Still, he listened with pointed intent as she spoke once more; revealing the nature of her intentions with his employment. Yet once more she seemed to rather revealing her personal history than the practical information he required. ​"Taeli. She was the Sith who saw the downfall of the Jedi. Or rather what was left of them. I was there that day- Tathra motioned to a scar on his right ridged horn - The Jedi, their Super Star Destroyer collapsed on the Jedi Temple, rather the upper half. I was caught in the maw of the metal beast as it crushed the Temple." ​Tathra's hand fell to his wayside loosely, his eyes journeying to the left of Arya as he took two steps closer, his head raised slightly as both eyes moved to perceive her, down across his own features and toward her.

​"Who would you have me capture? I would have you explain your reasoning.."

| [member="Ella Nova"] |​

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Tathra Khaeus"] |

Darth Ayra betrayed a smile. Why did she want Taeli to be dead? There were so many things that she could pick and choose from to give justification to her desire. The woman that Ayra sought to destroy was an individual who had made her suffer. Would she have been infected by the parasitic obelisks if Taeli hadn't got to Freedon Nadd's holocron before her? Would she have been able to find a cure to her condition had she claimed the holocron for herself? And what about the interference she had wrought upon Darth Ayra's machinations? Who had she told about her dealings through her spying and subterfuge?

As quickly as it had come the smile disappeared, replaced by a somber expression. "I want you to help me take Taeli Raaf. She has something that belongs to me, and I will not be able to find it without her being forced into telling me where it is. It was because of the item that she took from me that someone I loved became ill and would later die from the disease that had infected her. They wouldn't have been infected if it hadn't been for Raaf. Because of this woman a lot of pain and suffering has been caused in my life. This is why I have come to you for your help."

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​[member="Taeli Raaf"].

​Tathra remembered that name, he remembered Coruscant and the end of the Galactic Alliance and the many skirmishes across the Galaxy that followed. Tathra listened, intently. His eyes holding Ayra's gaze with genuine interest as his expression solidified into a fixated observation of the road ahead. His head, slowly nodding as she explained her intent.

​"She was the Sith whom brought about the fall of the Galactic Alliance. Years of patience and subterfuge in service of another's Empire- ​Tathra step forward two and a half paces, getting slightly closer for Ayra to observe clearly. He motioned to the scar along the side of his right horn. It stretched the length of the curvature of its thickest part, deeply imbedded. ​-She, in a manner of speaking gave me this. During the combat, the Alliance's own Aryn Teth's Super Star Destroyer's upper half collapsed on the temple. I was the only one who walked away from the impact."

​Tathra's hand slowly returned to the side of his waist, taking another few paces as he moved opposite the miniature Sith - his eyes falling on her by the wayside as he gestured for her to follow - his intent was to leave the old base and enter a dropship that would be arriving in a few moments to collect their Chieftain and the supposed Dark Lord both.

​"The Sith Empire is, one of the largest militarised governments in the Galaxy bar the Confederates and First Order. The Sith you refer to is one of the highest ranking members of their Empire. Either spending her time in the depths of their most defended worlds or some secret laboratory."

​Tathra spoke plainly, expressing not only concerns but further fault he found in the supposed Dark Lords plan or a lack thereof so far. He stopped, stepping out into the large open flat desert. The dropship slowly descended, two marble-like doorways sliding open on adjacent baths, allowing entry to the blue hue filled troop-bay of the dropship. Tathra placed one foot on the floating dropship's open entrance, turning back to observe Ayra.

​"Do you know how to find her - Or is this what you leave me with?"

​| [member="Ella Nova"] |​

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Tathra Khaeus"] |

Darth Ayra followed Tathra and listened as he explained. So he thought that Taeli had been in service to the Sith Empire for all those years she had served the Galactic Alliance as a Jedi Master. She thought differently to the Bryn'adul. She wondered if Tathra was holding back anything else he knew about Taeli but she sensed that he would have brought up the fact that she had been in the One Sith during his explanation about what he knew. That meant that he didn't know about her time among the likes of Carnifex, Isolda and Vengeance before she had joined the Galactic Alliance.

From what Ayra knew, and from what Tathra had told her about Taeli led her to the belief that their target was an opportunist. Taeli had foreseen that the One Sith were going to fold and had expertly lied her way into the Galactic Alliance where it would be safe, and where her assets could be protected. She didn't entirely understand how Taeli had come into the contact with the Empire, but she could make an educated guess and figure that another opportunity had presented itself. Naturally Taeli had taken that opportunity and ran all the way home with it, both figuratively and literally.

It was far more likely that what Taeli had done to the Alliance wasn't some convoluted scheme she had come up with Carnifex and his Sith all those years ago, but were a series of plays that had come together over time. It had been opportunistic to switch sides when the One Sith were going to fall. It had been opportunistic to rejoin the Sith when the Galactic Alliance were going to fall. Darth Ayra recognised it as the cunning of a Sith Lord. In many ways she respected it.

But she also loathed it. Like many other Sith in the Galaxy Taeli Raaf didn't have an overall scheme or plan to take power, but was settled to merely content herself with their diluted forms. When she had served the One Sith she was in a position of some prominence and influence. She was respected. It was the same for the Galactic Alliance as a Jedi Master. The same for the Sith Empire now. Her scope and vision lacked that of a true Sith. That was what made her weak. A cancer to the dark side. Just another bastardised version of a Sith, no less important than some minor crime lord, or despot gangster.

Darth Ayra needed to exterminate this blight.

"I know someone who can lure Taeli to us. I will convince them to do this. Does this mean you will do this for me?"

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​Tathra's eyes did not hold the supposed Dark Lords gaze for more than a few moments as he deliberated the plan that was proposed. A primal pride lingered in his heart - begging him to engage in the conflict. No doubt the dark sider [member="Taeli Raaf"] would prove a worthy opponent alone, and the odds pitted against them stirred an excitement within. Yet, he knew aside from his own prideful and self-absorbed notions of glory that the notion was foolish without perfect execution.

​Still, even as difficult as it was to place faith in a foreign sentient - the confidence the small Dark Lord exhibited was cause for amusement and curiosity regarding her abilities. No doubt the supposed quest she wished his Bryn'adûl to undertake would shed some light on her.

​Or so he hoped.

​There was a fire in the most turbulent of Sith - an unnatural black fire that acted as both curse and gift to them. He recognised its similarities to that of his own. His culture, his beliefs told him that some Sith more than most had crude similarities to the Bryn'adûl. A respect of the fire within, the strength of one owns being. Fire was both life and delivered death, there was no better term for the strength of an individual. And Tathra yet remained unsure of the Sith before him, but her capable boast excited him.

​Perhaps the fire of her will greatly overreached or perhaps it was justified. He'd like to know, just as much as he felt an undying need to prove his own. Otherwise, he would likely falter - grow weak. He couldn't allow it. Mother destiny was providing him with an opportunity to force his strength upon the viewership of the Galaxy. Something entirely too appetizing.

​Tathra extended his arm, his palm outstretched as to offer a hand to the miniscule Dark Lord to assist her entry into the large Draelvasier sized gunship as it sat almost three feet off the ground. ​"It's a tempting offer. I'll need more details, but - yes. For now."

​| [member="Ella Nova"] |​

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Tathra Khaeus"] |

Ignoring Tathra's hand Darth Ayra helped herself into the gunship. Her eyes became acustomed to the space and lighting in the small canopy. After a few seconds deliberating where to stand or to sit the Dark Lord maneuvered her way to stand beneath a railing. Lifting her hand upwards she gripped it firmly so that when the ship took off she would be able to keep her balance. When the ship took off she gave Tathra exactly what he wanted: more details.

"There is someone called Tmoxin Temi. They work in the Confederacy and possesses abilities in the dark side. She isn't a Sith Lord but a Dark Jedi. Before you assume otherwise, no she was not formerly of the Jedi Order. I don't know how she learned the ways of the dark side. Either way I will convince her to bring Taeli to us. As I explained on Tund she will not be alone. Which is why I have involved you in this."

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​There was a small shift in his stance, the Chieftain recognised this name. Not necessarily that of the Confederate herself but of the body of government she represented. His attitude shifted, the forefront of his thoughts internally switching from a attentive host to a planning tactician.

​Tathra had committed a few essential anecdotes regarding the Confederacy to memory, their sizeable expansion in the past years being of equal parts concern and intrigue. Tathra's boulder like arms shifted as Ayra spoke, his gauntlets folding on top of one and other - sitting relaxed as his eyes moved as his mind thought. They fell from his guest for a moment, but quickly returned as her continued pursuit of vagueness irritated him once more.

​His jaw loosened slightly, ready to pounce verbally before she had even finished; the tip of his tongue settling against his primate like teeth for a moment as his mouth widened, head shifting from the supposed Dark Lord as his frustration discoloured his complexion. He could not look at her in that moment, rage over something so small was churlish in the eyes of humans typically.

​"This Confederate, is she a willing participant? The Confederates and Sith Empire have a non-aggression pact."

​His steely focus returned to his guest, suspicious of the integrity of her planning.

​| [member="Ella Nova"] |​