Cross-Examination

[Onrai]

@[member="Karin Dorn"]

TUND

Tund. Once the homeworld of an entire Force order consisting of the ancient Sith species, wiped out by a plasma torpedo. Only now were the ancient texts and tablets of their order being discovered, taken from the world and moved to the vaults of the Trayus Academy. Traditionally, such relics would find themselves used by the Sith Masters of the Lord's domain. For Circe, though, there were more important items located here. She had done her homework on the Taurannik Codex, and was eager to reassemble it of the two dozen or so pieces. Some of which were here.

Perhaps she would run into an old friend while doing so.

 

[Louise]

@[member="Circe Savan"]

​

Funnily enough, there just so happened to be an old friend on Tund, would you fancy that?

Archaeology was the hot new look for the summer, get your whips out because Indiana Jones is back in fashion. Of course, the outcast Sith wasn't alone, oh no, do all of that dirty work? Do you know how easy it is to find a willing group of archaeologists hunting for a grant? For any kind of work, even?

So while they worked, excavating old ruins under the safety of a forcefield (radiation, you know?) Karin Dorn as per usually studied. The history of Tund, quite an interesting read but it paled in comparison to the lore involving the Sorcerers of Tund. Truth be told the Sith was grasping at straws, they were once famed for their illusions, not their summons and curses.

Occasionally the woman would read a sentence and then find the words instantly forgotten. Time was running out, and Karin Dorn had so little knowledge regarding her curse that her last resort was in the hands of labouring archaeologists.

 

[Onrai]

Ah, Karin Dorn... The delectable she-devil(that definition all the more proper due to her new red skin) was someone Circe had desired to help for quite some time. Per the former spectre's request, she had been practicing the powers learned from the Sith sorceress, learning them, studying every resource referencing them in an attempt to adequately perform them to their peak. And for the most part, she had succeeded.

The archaeological dig was most accessible, and Circe currently was surveying the numerous finds located on the world's surface. While all life on tune had been destroyed by Rokur Gepta centuries ago, the physical structures and artifacts from the world still survived the carnage. Tablets in the Sith script were being recovered by the dozen, though most were records and few held any information of great worth.

Then she sensed the familiar presence of an old friend. "Karin... Is that you?"

@[member="Darth Asmodea"]

 

[Louise]

@[member="Circe Savan"]
​

Sometimes Karin forgot that she had stepped into a new skin. Understandable, her appearance generally fell quite low on the table of concerns right now. On occasion she would catch glimpse of her own reflection off of those futuristic surfaces and had to take a moment to adjust. She just gotten used to being one with the vegetation, and now it was Sith tattoos with a cruel visage to match.

“Miss Savan,” she began, cementing that the lady in red was indeed Karin Dorn.

A wave of that sickness hit her, a moment of anxiety, those suffocating dark tendrils wrapping around the Sith Master's own mind and draining. Karin held her right hand out in front of her, clenching her fist and unclenching, slowly flexing her fingers she watched. A distraction technique no doubt, the intense focus those yellowed eyes held trying to ignore the increasingly loud and increasingly dark whispers.

It was getting worse. Stronger, even.

“Have you come to profess your true love for archaeology?”

 

[Onrai]

"Why yes. I came all the way here just to find a new wine recipe..." She smiled, chuckling. "It's Lady Savan now, actually. Vazela left the Sith, and I now control his former sector. I came to Tund looking for artifacts, particularly some from an old codex, that can be brought back to the Trayus Academy." Smiling, she looked the Sith woman over... And felt the urge to hug her for some reason. An urge she was trying so very hard to suppress.

"I've also been trying to find an answer to explain the tension, the breakdown yu were experiencing during our last meeting. And I think I have an answer... But to make sure, I'll need you to come with me."

Perhaps the resulting reaction would make things more clear.

@[member="Darth Asmodea"]

 

[Louise]

@[member="Circe Savan"]
​

A pity, she always found that Miss Savan settled well on the tongue.

“Ah, congratulations are in order, I see,” she smirked, Karin's own Sector reign had been so short that one might have assumed she had just been keeping it warm, however if the Empire presumed her to be dead than that could only be a benefit to her. Easier to slip around undetected. “I advise caution, Lady Savan. Trying times are ahead.”

Admittedly her curiosity had been piqued. Had Circe Savan been doing some studying of her own? Karin wondered what the plant woman had found that she hadn't.

“I call it a sickness,” she murmured, “I am losing my mind, losing control.” Up to this point in time, Karin had still kept the focus of her vision on her hand. Concentrate. “But I need to know more.”

This little dig was going to prove fruitful, Karin almost knew this as fact before they had even begun, but she had nothing and apathy would not be the death of her. Villainous eyes wandered in Lady Savan's direction. “You must know that I am no longer safe to travel with, are you sure?”

 

[Onrai]

"'Trying times' is an understatement. The Empire has gone into full-scale war, and I've been working long and hard on reinforcing my sector's defenses. What I want most of all is to make my territory impervious to Republic or Mandalorian assault. I intend to survive this, no matter the cost."

She raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe it's really a sickness... I would call it mental degradation , but unless I do a scan of your brain, I can't confirm that. I do have a hypothesis, though... One ai'm very eager to discuss with you. Come." She motioned for Karin to follow. "Join me on my shuttle. As for you not being safe to travel with..." She smirked.

"I'm counting on it."

@[member="Darth Asmodea"]

 

[Louise]

@[member="Circe Savan"]

​

Karin couldn't help but narrow her eyes at the woman, mental degradation actually sounded worse than calling it a sickness. Degradation. What would she be reduced to? It was a frightening yet potentially hilarious thought. What, would they put her in a home? Ah yes, all the sweet old grand parents losing their minds along with Karin Dorn, just cackling and firing force lightning in every direction.

As if she wasn't even directing an entire crew of works, the Sith showed willing to just wandering off and joining the Lady Savan on the mystery learning tour. Of course, there were heaping amounts of suspicion.

“What are your motives here?” she queried, almost coldly, “you seem to be relishing the fact that I may turn around and attempt to murder you.” There was a pause. Always remember the dramatic tension, never leave home without it. “Not of my own free will, of course.”

With no hope to be made on Tund, she followed the woman. This was probably going to be a rather trying day.

 

[Onrai]

Entering into the shuttle, Circe quickly placed a helmet over Karin's head, a soft sigh as she turned the device on. "Well, that's interesting... You aren't suffering from any sort of visible mental degradation. In fact, your mind appears to be better than ever. Which leads me to hypothesize that there's a less than physical reason for your disheveled mind being the way it is."

Taking the helmet off the former Sith Lady, Circe stepped over to a book, one that Karin would likely recognize very well. This particular book was one featuring the names and information about various demonic creatures and entities one could meet with, as well as the complex rituals in order to summon them.

"Which ones did you summon during your youth? Or did you make a deal with one?" Her motives were pure, though she had no intentions of letting on her desires and intentions.

@[member="Darth Asmodea"]

 

[Louise]

Now we're playing with science!

Karin appeared mildly perturbed as the helmet was placed upon her head. My goodness, wasn't Circe Savan a keen little bunny. For a moment the woman pondered what would have happened if she refused to go with the plant. Would she have insisted? Tried to lure her by way of conversation? Perhaps by means of force. No, no. Although, maybe. The other woman might have even given up, leaving Dorn to her fruitless digging.

Useless speculation.

Then came the book, and quite a book it was. In the wrong hands that book was a weapon of mass destruction. Deus Ex Machina at it's finest. Karin snorted with both laughter and malice.

“Lady Savan!” she announced, “My! You have been doing your homewo͏rk͜!̴"

The devaronian's eyes flashed wide for a moment. That was cheeky. Do not dare to use my tongue. The moment of inner turmoil passed but the presence lurked, threatening to take the reigns once more. Shake it off.

“I summoned betrayal incarnate to destroy my peers for me,” she told the Sith Lady, simplifying the story to the extremes, “and in turn it betrayed me. What a stupid girl I had been, no patience whatsoever."

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

"Betrayal incarnate... Mmm... Sounds like a fun entity, to say the least. Ironic, considering that I control and have rebuilt the Trayus Academy on Malachor V and currently wear the robes of Darth Traya herself, that's... almost ironic." She smiled, opening the book and exposing its arcane writings. Flipping through it, she searched for the particular demon for betrayal - there were plenty of different types - until she finally found the one she was looking for.

"Him?"

@[member="Darth Asmodea"]

 

[Louise]

The other woman gave no reaction to the slip of the reigns for those few moments? Had it passed too quickly? Or was the spirit's presence so ingrained that it was nigh impossible to differentiate the two any more. Who knows? Perhaps this is a mystery for Sher'Locka'Holmes, the famous twi'lek detective.

“Irony seems to be a fate often dealt out to those those of our alignment,” the Sith said softly, “that or redemption.”

Funny how she had already considered that route, just handing herself in, letting them lock her up and then spending eternity in stasis. That would be the noble route, of course. She wasn't a monster, perhaps they would have even shown her kindness, after all, one might have considered it selfless to turn herself in, Karin Dorn, denying herself freedom to spare the galaxy of a demon's wrath.

Ha.

The woman frowned at the page, yes, it was him and she was well aware that no matter what her answer was that Circe caught that look.

“Why would you like to know?"

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

"Simple. I've had enough of watching you suffer. Even now I can feel the tension that goes on within your head. It eats away at you, devours the sanity you have left. I want to summon this demon and make a deal with him. A deal over your fate. Surely you don't want to be in bondage all this time. Unless..." She smirked, giving a Spongebob-like grin. "Unless you secretly enjoy it... But regardless. Help me summon this demon, so I may free you of your chains."

Circe did after all have plans for how to deal with this demon.

@[member="Darth Asmodea"]

 

[Louise]

Compassion.

The look that Karin cast over Circe was a withering one, her speciality face for all occasions, it both scolded and cast suspicion in the same glance. It was fortunate that Karin had found a girl who had such a frown-ready face. During their previous encounter Circe was all about the importance of friendship and humanity, but still there was mistrust.

They were still Sith at the end of the day, Sith with their own goals and desires, being weary was simply a necessity at the end of the day.

“My chains?” Dorn spat, beginning to border on seething rather than suspicious, “I have not lost this battle just yet, Lady Savan! I can still speak, I can still think, I still have control, I can still do something!” I mean sure, the woman didn't have a clue what she could do, but at the very least she could still do it.

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

"Then why haven't you?" Circe crossed her arms, looking the Sith over. "If you could've done something to adequately deal with your condition, you would've done so. I know as well as you do that you are out or nearly out of options. Why can you not accept that I simply desire you to let you truly enjoy life without the worry of looking over your shoulder constantly, worrying about potentially getting marked over and going mad?" The Vinithi's agitation was growing moreso as she looked into the book again, reading over the ritual to summon the demon tormenting Karin.

"Well... Shall we prepare this ritual?"

@[member="Darth Asmodea"]

 

[Louise]

Touché.

Karin gave Circe a look, one of shocked widened eyes but at the same time of bubbling rage. This was a dangerous look. A look that meant that the devaronian Sith was fast being pushed outside of her comfort zone. Hold on to your seats, times are about to get turbulent.

“You're asking me to place my fate into your hands,” she snapped back, hand snaking towards her belt, towards her oft neglected hilt, “do you not realise what a grand ask this is? My fate, Lady Savan, my fate!”

Funny, how even in a moment like this the formalities stood strong.

The first sign that something was wrong with this picture was the fact that the woman was reaching for that hilt. Karin Dorn's lightsaber was the very last resort, never the first. Those hands were not under the correct control. Something else was concerned about its fate.

“"̠̰͡B̵͓̯͈̱̭͔͇e̪̹̰̖s͏͚̦̣i̟͔̖̞̻͎̦d̵e̯̫̲̮͙s̷̠̻̗̱̣̹,̨̹͕̟͍̬̮ ͏̺͉͉̹͍w̦͎͖h̬͔͘o͠ ̣͇̥̻͈̟̤i̧̘̘̳ͅs̘ ̶̞̠͕t̛̫̫̬̭͎̺ͅo̥ͅ ͢sa͖͉̹̦̫̙y̷ ̴̙t̜̫h̩̹͉̖̮̬͞a͏̳̪t͉̩͔ ̮Į̜̫̞͍̳̹̤'̵̺͈͙m̴̮̖̦̝̳ ̺͔̼̞̙n͓̗͖͉̺o҉̯͎͈t̩͈̕ t̶̞̪͙̲r͙͔͔͕u̹̙̼̕l̪̩͙̀y̛͚͖̭̗̦ ̤̣̦̫e̻̙͕̭͓̟͉͝n͞j̸̯̪o̡̥̹̫̫̬̻̯yi̫͚͎͜ṉ̦̳̖̻ͅg͍̱ ̗͖L̵͓̞̙I͇V̷͕͔͖̦̙̩I̘̘̙̱̯͡N͈̗G͇̮̙͎̙.̱̮͙̦͎̭"̧̮͚͉

 

[Onrai]

"Very nice to see you could show up, Verraad." The distinct change of voice was the exact indication the woman needed as shee eyed the possessed woman over. "Now, demon, let's make a deal. You are an expert when it comes to getting deals to agree with you and your side, after all. Why not make one with me?"

A logical point. The demon of betrayal always got what he wanted, thanks to his treachery.

@[member="Darth Asmodea"]

 

[Louise]

Well this was rude.

It was amazing how calm Karin Dorn could be, playing the spectator in her own mind as the demon interacted with Circe. Poor show, poor manners. If she had control over her face it would have certainly been scowling but as such she did not. Instead her current visage was going for the more feral route, with teeth bared in quite the vicious snarl. Far from her usual style.

"͎̻̰A̰͓̜ ̛̼͎̼̻̝͈͙D̜̺̮̣̤E͏͍̗͖̬͔ͅA̷͙͙͚L̺̼͖̦̣̬̯?̦͕̲͘ ̗̣̺͍͙̠W͖̙̲̩̜̱͢I̻̫T́H̬̼̳̪̗ ͉̟̙̝̪͓͘A͎̱̹̫̣ ̸̪̳̯̮͎͍M͕̠O̴̗͖ͅR̳̩͈̣̲̦͠T̴̳̭̟͇̳͙̦A͖̠̠͕ͅL̡̙̼ͅ?͈"̭̮̺̻ͅ

The woman formally known as Lady Dorn burst into quite a serious fit of laughter. Sadistic mirth at its finest. Of course, the real Karin could at least appreciate this display of theatrics but it was a little too hammy for even her tastes.

Verraad was always game for a laugh, toying with those who existed on this plain was a joy and it made eternity pass by a little faster. Yeah, I know that made no sense.

"͏̭͚͎̘̟̦̠Ą͓̻̼̜͓̘̜M͎̝͓U͚̳̻̘S͕͇̳ͅE̢͙ ͏̪̪M͖̻͕̙͕ͅÉ̳͈̺ͅ.̖͓̟̥̗̯̠"̵̝̳̰


@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

"Well, let's see..." The Vinithi smiled, turning away from the creature inhabiting Karin's body. Or at least it seemed so. - the White Current had her only look like her back was turned - she was still looking at the inhabiting demon. "Here's what I propose. You want Karin to suffer for what she did all these years ago. At least I assume so... I don't know the full particulars. But wouldn't you rather have full control of Karin than this partial possession that'll lead to her insanity and your entrapment in her body?"

She smirked, giving a particularly evil look. "So here's what I propose. How about you, being a spiritual entity, merge yourself with Karin's soul? You know, gain control of her? You're stronger than her, I assume." She grinned. "Unless you fear that Karin is stronger than you in soul..."

@[member="Darth Asmodea"]

 

[Louise]

Karin Dorn was just a game, an insignificant toy from the moment she first summoned him. Why you would even summon a creature that proudly wears the cowl of betrayal I can't even comprehend, but young Sith Knights are a peculiar breed. Proud. Reckless. Ready to make all of the mistakes that would mould them into the Masters of the future, or kill them.

Inconsequential. We walk with demons now.

The body of Karin Dorn tilted its head, curious, control a mortal? What a novel concept. Ultimately Verraad had no motive, no great goal other than in the spirit of Chaos.

She opened her mouth. There was a pause. A spike in the dark side within the mind of Karin Dorn. The first few glancing blows of a power struggle. As if she were just going to sit back passively and watch as Savan and her demon made almost-playful negotiatons.

“Mi̶s̵ s saV͡AN̶ , WHa͜t̢ the bloody hell are you doING̶?"̢

Oh my. Formalities have been lost. It's all hitting the fan now.

“W͍̰͕̳̠͢Ḫ̗A̮͓̮̲̦̼͚Ṱ̹͚̻̥̭͉ ̯̺̦͔̀D͙͍͖O̬̫͈̳̭͖ ̗̠̗͇̦͇Y͏̹͚̯̙̼̠O͠U͓̹̘̥̯̖̺ ̨G̩̺̱ͅA̫̠̠̜I̛̦̟̰N҉̯̞͚̳̼͈̞?͉̤̻͉ “


@[member="Circe Savan"]