Private Dead Reckoning-Ruuria

[Darth Nefaron]

Ruuria || Old Ruins
TAGS || Ra'a'mah
Forsaken Jungle

It was rare for Darth Nefaron to venture out alone as of late.

He'd raised hordes, molded monsters, and made preparations for a vast fleet.

Two Apprentices required his attention, and yet he found comfort in simplicity

Old temples were where his skill was honed. This would be nothing.
​

That being said, he had not missed the heat of these Outer Rim jungle worlds. Ruuria was somewhat friendly to the Sith, but that did not mean the terrain was agreeable to navigate. Nefaron had heard tell of a vast temple complex from the days of Revan's Empire, though it was likely that it was far older and simply reopened by the Dark Lord during his reign. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to find temples that had not been picked clean, but the Corpse Lord was rather particular in his studies. The relics that might lie tucked away were simply far too tantalizing to resist, and so the cloaked figure of the Dark Lord forced his way through thick jungle, allowing the Dark Side to guide him to his prize.

He was rewarded. Ancient doors stood before him, cracked and nearly overtaken by the vines and roots of surrounding trees, but that was remedied by a few careful cuts from a lightsaber. Careful application of the force also allowed the Corpse Lord to get the large stone door open just enough to slip inside. He could not be sure how stable the temple was and did not wish to simply blast the doors open. The temple within was nearly pitch black, but once more, the Dark Side offered aid as a series of braziers lined the center of the temple, full of rather flammable material that was likely left by the last occupants of the temple before it was abandoned.

A blast of lightning was enough to ignite the first brazier, and the rest followed along as if responding to the use of the Dark Side after so many centuries.

Nefaron was home. Or at least as close as he could get to home.

He pressed deeper, the force calling him to press on. ​

 

[Ra'a'mah]

It had been a great many years since Ra had felt the need to collect knowledge once again. What had once started as a dark-sided holocron had turned into following the path of the Sith. While on that path, she had met her husband. As a businesswoman, she had safely travelled all routes and kept her calling secret. Only when she had shaken the hand of the Jedi master was her then alignment revealed. Thankfully, he hadn't had her arrested or anything. Over the years, together they had fallen in love, gotten married, and made a family. All in all, Ra was happy with her life.

About once a decade, she wanted to learn something new. Search out some unknown lore or uncommon artifact. That was what brought her to Ruuria. The taste and hint of a Temple that might still contain treasures. Not the kind a normal hunter might go after, though.

Openly approaching the supposedly lost and abandoned temple, she found the door ajar already and the braizers burning. Flicking one of her wrists, a lightsaber hilt appeared in it. Everything was oddly silent, and the typical night sounds were muted and subdued. Like a shadow covered the area, perhaps it was just a trick of her mind, but she didn't think she was alone.

Much like Nefaron, the Force dictated she move in deeper. Something called to them both, and neither of them knew they would soon be meeting.

Darth Nefaron

 

[Darth Nefaron]

If he had more time, he would have enjoyed exploring the side chambers and halls.

But Nefaron came for but one purpose,

He sought power. For to crave power was the way of the Sith.
​

It appeared that others had come before the Corpse Lord, for the corpses of fallen explorers and pillagers lay strewn about in the halls of the temple. Some wore the garb of ancient civilizations, dead Empire's and a fallen Republic. All were little more than skeletons now, having succumbed to the various traps that had once protected this great monument of the Dark Side but had long since fallen into disrepair. That being said, there remained a few defenses to impede the Dark Lord's progress, ancient security droids struggled to life before being cut down by a blast of lightning that shattered them into piles of old metal. Dead whispers also plagued the Corpse Lord's mind; the Sith of old still clung onto this place, but they had lost any ability to influence the living world. If Nefaron had not already been a devotee of the Dark, they would have continued to tempt him with power.

But he was already greater than them. He was the Lord of Anoat, Master of Terror, and the Butcher of Ukatis.

And they were dead. They had failed.

He would not. ​

At last, the Corpse Lord reached the end of the hall, met by a grand door etched with markings and the ancient tongue of those who had come before. While he might have had time to decipher the riddles and proper rituals to get the door to open, he decided that he had little time for that. Removing his lightsaber, Nefaron drove it into the stone door and began the slow process of creating a hole for him to pass through. The temple responded negatively, but it no longer had any guardians to send to oppose him. He was the master here; he simply needed to get through the door, and he would have his great prize.

Thankfully, he was alone. There would be no great struggle to claim what was his.

TAGS: Ra'a'mah ​

 

[Ra'a'mah]

The sounds of the Temple brought her thoughts back into focus. Where Ra expected dead silence, there was an electrical hum. Not quite that far off from a malfunctioning droid, and she had a great amount of experience with them. Her time with the Metal Lords and bringing an old friend back to life after travelling through his crashed ship had given her that. The former Sith merely kept her lightsaber hilt in her hand as she slowly advanced deeper into the temple.

The ancient writings were lost on her, too far in the past for her to recognize where they came from. The hollow voices of the dead Sith tried to tempt her to return to their embrace. She already tread that path and still stepped foot onto it now and then. They did not sway her, and she shut out their haunting voices.

When the faint, but familiar sound of a lightsaber being ignited reached her ears, she stopped in her tracks. There was a chance whoever was in front of her had already felt her approach, but she wasn't going to take any chances. Focusing on her presence in the Force, she made it tiny. Art of the Small, and then she folded light around her body and made herself disappear from normal vision. The time she had spent with the Sith had trained her to be an assassin. Putting those skills into use now, she would try to sneak up on whoever in the temple with her.

Even taking these precautions couldn't stop her from possibly making enough noise for him to hear her over the hum of his lightsaber, but she doubted that.

Darth Nefaron

 

[Darth Nefaron]

Though millennia old, the doors to the chamber remained strong even for a Dark Lord of the Sith. It took great effort for Nefaron to force his blade through the thick stone, to carve an opening just big enough for him to slip through and claim his prize. So great was his effort that he nearly missed the tiniest of disturbances in the force, a presence nearly invisible to all who were uninitiated in the many powers of the Dark Side. He did not know what was causing the disturbance, only that it grew nearer with each passing moment. Yet Nefaron did not stop his attempt to breach the main chamber; instead, he elected to finish carving his way through the chamber door.

So he did, the great stone crumbling away as he at last had his entryway. Yet Nefaron did not put his weapon away; instead, he turned in a sudden motion and directed the blade back down the hall from which the disturbance was approaching. Nothing could be seen with mortal eyes, but through the force, Nefaron knew he faced a being capable and trained in the use of the force; now, whether they were a devotee of the Light or a servant of the Dark was not obvious.

"I will not be deceived. Reveal yourself or face my wrath."

Normally, the Corpse Lord was cordial and willing to use his voice in place of weapons, but he had made this journey in secrecy and had taken great care not to alert his rivals of his departure from Sith space. Whoever this was must have stumbled upon this place by pure coincidence or sought to end the Dark Lord on a backwater world, far from his power base on Anoat. Nefaron was not about to let that happen.

"Who do you serve, wraith? Did the Dark Council send you to eliminate me? Or was it that fool Strosius?"

Nefaron pondered out loud, his red blade humming and eager for blood as he backed up, slipping into the chamber with his blade still directed toward the opening of the chamber.

"Or perhaps you are a devotee of the light come to burn away the darkness? Foolish in either case, for I am in no mood for games."

TAG: Ra'a'mah ​

 

[Ra'a'mah]

For several long steps, it seemed like Ra was successful in sneaking up on this random man. A man who was clearly after the same knowledge and treasure she was. However, that impression was quickly shattered as he made a small comment in her direction. Listening to his threats, she didn't feel threatened. Ra was a fighter, and she would use those skills to a great degree. This being she was watching, and he didn't look like he could hold a candle to her. She wasn't about to let her guard down, though.

"If you think I'm foolish enough to follow you through the hold you made, you are mistaken."

At his simple request, she revealed herself. Her red hair and glowing eyes would be visible in the dim lighting of the temple. Her clothes blended in with the darkness, and she stood with the confidence she felt. She also let her hold onto her Force presence slip.

Instead of a Force adept, he would feel that she was a Master. As much as he was a Lord. Her alignment was dark but far closer to neutral than anything else.

"Call me Ra. Who are you?"

Her lightsaber hilt was in her hand, and she stood waiting for his reply.

Darth Nefaron

 

[Darth Nefaron]

"You were fool enough to follow me here; the least foolish thing you could do is come die and be spared the torment I have in mind."
​

Nefaron's blade came down to one side, but he did not deactivate his weapon. He still wished to know just whom he was dealing with, and thankfully, his unwelcome guest had been rather forthcoming, both by speaking her name and allowing her presence in the force to be felt in full. Unfortunately for the Corpse Lord, he was not dealing with a mere assassin whom he could dispatch with a thought, but instead he dealt with a being who was far more experienced and wielded power that may just match his own. This "Ra" held the telltale signs of a devotee of the Dark, but she was far more than a simple Dark Lord who had returned from a long absence. Instead, the taint of the light held some way over her, a desire to see more done than simply ensuring her own power was unquestioned.

It was a heresy that Nefaron despised. One cannot simply deny the Dark Side, for it was destined to consume the galaxy.

"So you come not for me, but for the artifact? You would deny knowing the one true Dark Lord, Nefaron?"

While in Sith space, the Corpse Lord was rather humble; he felt no need to deny his full power to a stranger. All Sith held a high opinion of themselves, for a powerful ego was key to driving a being forward down the path to the Dark Side.

"Tell me, the Dark Side swirls around you, and yet you deny its embrace? Are you one of the fools who believe they can repent for their crimes and return to the light?"

Nefaron left little time for Ra to respond before he changed his judgment.

"No, even worse. You believe you can walk a middle path. For this alone, I shall bring you the death you deserve."

Nefaron retreated deeper into the chamber, a large and shaped like an octagon, which provided plenty of space for a duel to take place. For whatever reason, the Corpse Lord felt a bit sporting that day and decided to show this interloper the full power of the Dark Side, to show her that she could no longer resist her true nature.

"Though honor has little place in this, I say we handle things in the old way. A duel, saber to saber, to prove who is superior here. You may enter; it would be terribly boring to cheat now when I would so relish a true victory."

Though he claimed to be fair, Nefaron had moved to take the center of the great chamber, a slightly elevated platform that contained at its center a great stone statue of a cloaked figure. The artifact they both sought lay within, secure and safe from the coming battle.

TAG: Ra'a'mah ​

 

[Ra'a'mah]

"I did no such thing as follow you. In fact, yes, I do deny knowing who you are. Thank you for the introduction, Nefaron. I won't forget it. I've been out of the loop when it comes to Sith."

She had yet to activate her lightsaber, but its hilt was clearly in her palm. Even in the dim lighting, the light would reflect off of it. Maybe she was getting a bit cocky, but it felt good to make that comment to this man.

"I did come for the artifact that is so nicely on the other side of your body."

Hearing him shuffle away, she did notice he never turned his back to her. A wise choice, and her eyes narrowed at his words. She did not walk the path of the Jedi or Sith, so he was correct there. However, she did not exactly walk a middle path either. She leaned to the Dark, and it always called her; she didn't allow it to control her. This Sith would learn that soon enough.

Of course, she had no idea that was his intention. He wanted her to touch the Dark within her. Placing a barrier around herself, she didn't trust his word of honor that he wouldn't attack. It might just save her life. Once the invitation was extended, she approached, shuffled through the door, and stood up on the other side.

"Who says you're going to win?"

Tipping her chin up as she spoke, the anticipation shone in her eyes.

Darth Nefaron