Private Exposure

[Darth Prazutis]

Odessen, The Valley...
Aftermath of the Great Purge

There was a time when He would've jumped at the opportunity to hurt Allyson Locke . To pull apart the life of who was the greatest Jedi Shadow ever produced by the Jedi Order. An elusive ghost whose life was shrouded in secrecy, buried beneath the scars of galactic wars she'd fought from a tender young age who had become a persistent threat. Yet it was always finding her that was the problem she slipped right through, there was nothing tangible to grab onto. Perhaps rudimentary involvement with Corellia, but that wasn't one of the weak points everyone possessed. Everyone had weak points in their lives: Family, children, people that meant everything to them, and attachment meant weakness to be exploited. Corellia wasn't that kind of weakness it wasn't the kind intertwined into ones very being, woven into the fabric of our existence. It wasn't the sort of weakness that shattered the whole when it was ripped away. For a long time, rumors were abound that the Corellian had no weak points. That she was a scion of war with no family, brought into the Jedi Order from a young age and subsumed into the secretive world of Jedi Shadows. It never stopped the Lord of Lies. A dossier with her name on it had only grown with every passing year as His intelligence networks moved tirelessly to acquire Him concrete information that could be of use someday.​

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Until the day when Allyson Locke herself walked through the doors and provided a clue to the question He'd been asking for a long time. Not only did she do it willingly, but she also freely offered it. But she'd done something that greatly surprised the Mortarch, for this clue she was willing to consign every Shadow of the New Jedi Order to oblivion in order to protect it. "Her name...is Taiia Mataan. She lives in a temple on the world of Odessen. If I give this to you. The Kainate uses its position to ensure Odessen is not to be touched, and no harm is to come to her." A name plucked out of the sea of trillions, a world drawn from the ocean of planets. A simple price to condemn your former subordinates, to condemn the New Jedi Order to extinction. A simple price but one that caught the giant by surprise, but one that they paid, nonetheless. The Jedi Shadows died a screaming, bloody death across known space by blaster, blade, saber, and bare hands. Most of them never saw their killers coming and those who'd afforded the chance to react? They didn't survive very long. Safehouses, Hidden enclaves, everywhere they could feel safe and recover, it all burned. The whole network was consumed in the cascading cataclysm of the Kainate, and everyone connected to the dossiers they'd received died. Entire families were butchered, collaborators who'd helped keep the Jedi safe found their lives destroyed before the end.​

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But for the Shadow Hand of the Kainate, the Dark Lord of the Sith? Odessen loomed on His mind. Varnyx Prowlers were sent to scan the world from a safe distance, probes carefully placed not to attract attention but to gather as much information about the fertile, humid, jungle world. The name of Taiia Mataan was drawn from every database that the Kainate could get its hands on, artificial intelligence screened the name thousands of times to pull any and all information they could of the one opening into the life of the Ghost that was Allyson Locke. There was a time that He would've brought the Shadow Armada to Odessen. A time when He would've locked down the system and unfolded an entire task force to destroy everything. To push the mysterious figure out and then burn the whole world behind her to draw her in. To use her to draw Allyson Locke out and finally put an end to the figure who'd done more damage to Sith regimes than any other. Instead? Peace continued on Odessen. The Kainate quietly observed from a distance drawing in data in volumes, learning all it could and filtering the information into a briefing the Dark Lord constantly received. ​

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Until one day everything changed. ​

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It didn't come in the form of fleets, armies, or assassins emerging to reap the souls of all who lived on the surface. Instead, it came in the form of a single Kharvoss Shuttle in the crown configuration. A vessel of black iron veined in crimson energy, carved with runework it seemed to drink in the light and radiate darkness. There was no doubt who the vessel belonged to simply by gazing on its surface and seeing the crimson glass. For a shuttle it was surprisingly well armed, but none of its weapon systems were active. The vessel emerged from hyperspace well within scanner range of any ground installations and carefully descended through the atmosphere of the jungle world. It cut downward at a pace slow enough not to come across as urgent, but purposeful to anyone observing the craft cut through the skyline. It descended towards a particular valley surrounded by mountains, forked by rivers where a large compound sat in the very center, surrounded by a large wall of worked stone, reinforced by durasteel ribbing with expanded watch platforms. It was the kind of work a trained soldier saw to in its conception to provide defenders with whatever they'd need. A narrow road ran right into the mouth of the compounds main gate, running straight through to the temple at the center of a large village. ​

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Life scans of the valley had shown substantial read outs many hidden through the jungle canopy, it was among the greater concentrations of life on the rural world. Looks could be deceiving. The compound was carefully placed in a location where numbers would count for nothing. There weren't any viable landing points in the valleys jungles as it stood, the only approach was through the narrow pass. It posed a living nightmare from a tactical standpoint as it currently was. It would take substantial transformation to take the odds out of the hands of defenders. The jungles would have to both be burned and flattened before anyone could even think about landing inside. Someone carefully designed this place and had the resources to ensure everything was built to last, to withstand the chaos of the turbulent galaxy. The Sith Shuttle descended towards the widest portion of the main road, a section where it widened into a small rest area for those taking a pilgrimage to the temple. It touched down with the soft crunch, and hydraulic hiss of deployed landing gear, its wings shifting into place while a ramp descended from the mouth of the vessel, a crimson light spilling out from within.​

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Odessen felt Him long before He emerged. The sheer storm of dark energy that poured from Him was a flood, a hurricane, an endless abyss, it was akin to the event horizon of a black hole. Such was His presence that around Him the darkness seemed to take root even in the light of day, as He stepped from the mouth of the shuttle. He stood clad in layered black Sith robes reinforced with hidden Shikkari death weave, the fabric threaded with dark crimson and ancient gold that catches the light like smoldering embers. A massive high-collared mantle of blackened scalework drapes across His shoulders, etched with faint Sith glyphs that seem to drink in the surrounding light while a heavy shadowcloak trails behind Him like living darkness. His molten crimson eyes burn from beneath the darkness of the hood. A lightsaber sat clipped to His side it wasn't kept hidden, it was visible but placed in a position that seemed normal if it were needed, its surface pulsed with runes. Behind him stood a small squad of Imperial Crownguard accompanied by a single Umbral Guard. They didn't follow the Dark Lord as He stepped forward and took in the world, instead remaining within the shuttle as instructed. They were here purely to ensure the vessel remained unmolested, and ready for when His business was done.​

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The Dark Lord swept His gaze across the valley, drinking in every detail as He silently observed the walls before Him. ​

Taiia Mataan​

 

[Taiia Mataan]

//: Darth Prazutis //:​

The valley had felt the intruder long before the first sensors confirmed the vessel's approach.

Odessen itself seemed to recoil around the presence moving through hyperspace toward the world. The jungle canopy stirred uneasily beneath gathering winds, birds scattering from the trees in great dark flocks while the Force rippled through the valley like the distant pressure wave before a storm. By the time the Kharvoss shuttle pierced the atmosphere, every layer of the academy's defenses was already awake.

Deep beneath the mountains surrounding the valley, far below the riverbeds and ancient stone foundations, the command center had come alive in disciplined silence. Holographic displays bathed the subterranean chamber in pale blue and crimson light as sensor telemetry streamed across tactical tables. The valley itself had never truly been undefended. Mandalorian coverts were hidden throughout the jungle approaches, concealed within cliff faces, river hollows, and fortified positions buried beneath the canopy. Anti-air emplacements rested dormant beneath layers of camouflaged stonework while reconnaissance teams tracked the shuttle's descent from multiple angles, feeding information into the command center below.

The Force around the shuttle felt like an open wound. Some of the younger students had already been quietly moved deeper into the compound while senior instructors maintained calm across the academy grounds. No alarms rang. No panic spread through the village. The academy had been built for moments like this. Calm and order remained intact even as preparations for war quietly settled into place.

Along the walls, armored Mandalorians took position without ceremony. Helmets turned skyward as the black vessel descended through the clouds. Sniper teams settled into elevated nests overlooking the pass while shield generators hidden within the mountains slowly powered toward standby readiness. If violence came, the valley would become a killing field within seconds.

Far above the command center and hidden defenses, Taiia sat within her office near the highest levels of the temple, overlooking the valley below. The room itself was warm despite the tension threading through the Force around her, lined with old books, datacrons, and scattered fragments of a lifetime spent gathering knowledge from every corner of the galaxy. Soft morning light filtered through wide windows overlooking the converging rivers beneath the mountains.

She had felt Him the moment He entered the system.

Even now, the pressure of His presence pressed against the world like an abyss given form, vast and terrible in ways few beings could truly comprehend. Another person might have mistaken it for simple rage or darkness. Taiia understood better. There was intelligence inside that storm. Restraint. Purpose. Which made it far more dangerous.

She rose immediately, drawing the forest green cloak across her shoulders with practiced ease as she moved to meet him. The pressure of the Dark Lord's presence spread through the valley, and fear began to ripple naturally among the younger students. Lessons faltered. Conversations quieted. Some looked toward the mountains as though instinct alone warned them something terrible had arrived on Odessen.

Then Taiia reached outward through the Force. Gently, like a warm blanket in winter. Her battle meditation spread through the temple and village alike, weaving itself through frightened thoughts and tightening nerves with practiced care. The fear did not vanish entirely; instead, it became manageable. Breath slowed. Hearts steadied. Panic lost its grip.

To the students, it felt like the sudden certainty that they were not alone. Senior instructors felt it immediately, the familiar presence of their Headmistress settling across the academy like a protective hand upon their shoulders. Mandalorians standing watch along the walls straightened subtly beneath its influence, their focus sharpening as anxiety gave way to discipline and clarity. Even the jungle itself seemed calmer beneath the reach of her will.

She did not make him wait long; eventually, the doors parted, and a single figure emerged, silver robes, delicate and intricate, reflected the afternoon light. The green cloak rested on her shoulders, hood down as the Eldorai woman appeared at last. "Welcome to Odessen, my lord. While outsiders are welcome, few arrive with such a hostile presence. I trust you will forgive the precautions." She approached without hesitation, pausing a few feet from him at a respectable distance. She had been around enough Sith in her time to know weakness was not respected, but disrespect was equally not tolerated.


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[Darth Prazutis]

The very moment the Once Sith Emperor walked the earth it plunged the valley into the deepest depths of the Dark Side. He could feel it at work, worming its way through the populace infecting everything like a virus looking for its next victim. In its wake it brought concern, uncertainty, fear in its rawest form spread among them. Not one soul had experienced anything akin to what it felt like to stand near the Mouth of Ruin. The deeper such fear spread the more power it gave way to the darkness, and the greater His power swelled. The Dark Lord drew in everything they'd felt, drinking it in and converting it into the immeasurable power at His command. Uncertainty. It was among the greatest strengths He'd become known for. The Lord of Lies who always left others guessing, uncertain as to where they stood in His eyes. Even the closest allies never quite knew, only what He would afford them to think. To assume it was attachment would be a mistake for even if those with familial bonds had ceased their use, they could find their own existence swiftly cut short. Even the jungle itself seemed to react to the darkness spread in His wake, like He was an open wound in the fabric of the force. The Dark Lord savored it as his eyes catalogued every detail they caught. The stiffness of Mandalorian defenders, drawn from the complacency of peace and pulled into the throes of a situation they hadn't expected. The predators in the jungles that were drawn to the dark powers, while those who were pushed away from it.

Everything abruptly changed then.

It wasn't the obvious beacon of light, the avatar of hope that the likes of Jedi often presented themselves as. It wasn't a courageous wave to push fear away. Instead it came with a soothing current. It was like a cool rain on a hot summers day to drown out the burning heat and humidity. Currents through the force reverberated through wood, durasteel, stone, and earth itself. They swept outward from the temple like the tides of the ocean pushing across the rivers and into the surrounding areas, meeting the Dark Side with serenity. Its effect was slow, careful. Concerns subsided, fears pushed down, it brought the heightened emotion down and sharpened it into focus. It was the kind of touch an encouraging, beloved authority figure had when you knew you had their support every step of the way. It helped quell the chaos like a worked blade driven into waters to quench its heated surface. Even the jungle seemed grateful for the protective embrace, encouraged despite such danger to stand taller. That was when the doors of the compound finally opened with a groan of gears and industrial machinery. They slide open with all the heft of reinforced metal designed to withstand the violence of warfare. While one might've expected an entourage of Mandalorians or Students to greet the coming abyss, instead something else emerged alone.

A figure lithe in form, with all the grace of a dancer and a calm presence that was reassuring instead of off putting. Pointed ears emerged from red hair that fell in a braid down her shoulders. A green cloak sat positioned over elegant silver robes. She was delicate in appearance but that was all part of the deception at work, only a fool would take it at face value. There was deep control beneath that form, agility that could blind and an athletic body that could cut the life short of those who cross her path, making assumptions of someone like that? It would be the first and last thing you would ever do. The way the walked it was if she was gliding down the road towards Him, there was inherent beauty in the purposeful nature of every footfall. There was no doubt she was the Headmistress of the Temple, Caretaker of the Valley. Only one with such devotion and care would emerge alone in the face of such darkness. For every observation there was no reaction on the face of the Dark Lord as He watched her close the distance. The precautions, the state of alarm none of it concerned the Shadow Hand. If violence were the intent then the approach would've reflected such, but the opportunity for such a thing was always possible in His very form, it was death incarnate, such was the Dark Titan. His molten gaze fell heavy on the woman as her words fell in greeting.

"You must be Taiia Mataan. Your home is…remarkable. You clearly care deeply about this place." Prazutis paused, every word chosen carefully. That was perhaps worse somehow, even devoid of threats. His gaze sweeping across the flowing river. "You have nothing to fear. I have not come to reap Odessen."

Taiia Mataan​

 

[Taiia Mataan]

//: Darth Prazutis //:​

Taiia felt the weight of his gaze settle upon her like a mountain pressing against the valley itself, ancient and immense in ways few beings could truly comprehend. The Dark Side coiled around him so completely that it no longer resembled emotion or corruption alone. It felt elemental. A force of nature sharpened into thought and given purpose.

And yet, she did not recoil from it.

Her battle meditation continued to move quietly through the valley behind her, steady currents of calm threading through frightened minds while the darkness pressed against them like deep water against stone. The contrast between them could not have been more different. His presence consumed. Hers endured.

When he spoke her name, Taiia inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment, green eyes remaining fixed on the molten gaze behind the mask of the Dark Lord. "You have traveled a very long way to arrive at a place no one seeks, one could infer, knowing my name, you came seeking me," she replied calmly. There was no challenge in the words, only observation. At the mention of the valley, her gaze drifted briefly toward the converging rivers below, toward the distant rooftops of the village tucked safely behind stone walls and jungle canopy. For a moment, something softer touched her expression, subtle enough that another might have missed it entirely.

"I do care for it," she admitted quietly. "Because so many people have entrusted pieces of their lives to it, to me. I do not take the responsibility lightly." Her eyes returned to him then, steady and composed beneath the afternoon light. "Students. Families. Wanderers who needed somewhere the galaxy would stop demanding things from them for a little while. They are dear to me, and I will keep them from harm." The way she stated it was subtle, a promise that she would defend her people, but beneath that a warning.

The jungle stirred around them as wind moved through the trees, though whether it reacted to the Dark Lord or the tension hanging across the valley itself was difficult to say. When he assured her he had not come to reap Odessen, Taiia studied him silently for several long moments. Not suspiciously, nor naïvely trusting either. Simply weighing the truth of the words against the immense presence standing before her.

"I am relieved to hear that, but you mistake prudence with fear; a lamb may not fear a lion when it is sated, but a lowered guard when the lion may grow hungry is foolish," she said at last, and then, after a brief pause, the corner of her mouth softened ever so slightly. She shifted then, silver robes catching softly in the breeze as she stepped aside just enough to open the path toward the temple behind her without fully turning her back to him. Respect without carelessness. "You carry enough presence to make even the jungle nervous, my lord," Taiia said, faint warmth threading through the words despite the tension surrounding them. "It would have been irresponsible of me not to take precautions. But I assure you, the valley will remain on alert. Now, I would be a poor host if I required you to remain outside the walls."

For all the abyssal darkness surrounding him, Taiia's own presence remained remarkably unchanged. calm and grounded, not resistant in the way Jedi often were when facing the Dark Side, nor submissive in the presence of overwhelming power. She simply stood before him as though she had accepted long ago that fear alone could not guide every decision.

"If your intentions are peaceful," she continued softly, "then you are welcome here. At least long enough for tea."

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[Darth Prazutis]

Smart.

It was clear as the Headmistress continued to speak how smart she truly was, how she could swiftly think on her feet despite being surprised and show little for it. So often confidence bordered on arrogance in thinking one was infallible, but that wasn't the case here. The Eldorai spoke more without actually saying anything, and it came in how carefully her trained eyes studied His every move. Even now He could feel her searching for clarity, observing for more through acute understanding of what she was facing. Despite the approach He took here, it would've been naive to assume danger didn't shroud the Dark Lord of the Sith like a cloak. To assume an apex predator wouldn't bear its claws would be the last mistake anyone ever made, especially around the Lord of Lies. "Prudence is not fear." He said at last, His voice low and measured. "You are correct." The admission came without reluctance, and somehow that made it feel heavier. "A lamb that survives the lion does not do so by convincing itself the lion has become gentle. It survives by understanding the nature of teeth." ​

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The Dark Lord's gaze shifted past her, toward the walls, the village beyond, the hidden defenders, the students whose fear still lingered beneath the careful warmth of her meditation. It was as if His very sight could pierce through walls, and see what concealed itself within. The valley breathed around them, steadied by her will, but not blind to His presence. "You have built something rare here. Not merely a temple, or a sanctuary. A place where frightened lives have been taught to stop fleeing long enough to become whole again." His eyes returned to her. "That is not weakness." A pause. "It is leverage." The word was soft, almost conversational, but it carried the cold honesty of a knife set upon a table. Prazutis stepped forward only when she made room for Him, accepting the offered path without rushing to take advantage of it. The darkness around Him moved with Him, not as an uncontrolled tide, but as a mantle drawn close around a sovereign. He did not look like a guest, He looked like a catastrophe that had agreed, for the moment, to observe etiquette.​

"Tea, then." The faintest curve touched the corner of His mouth. "How civilized." There was almost humor there. Almost. He walked at her side rather than behind her, granting enough respect to acknowledge her as mistress of the valley, but not enough to diminish Himself within it. His gaze passed over stone, jungle, wall, and temple with the patient scrutiny of a man who had once imagined how such a place might be broken and had since decided, for reasons of His own, not to issue the command. "You are wise to keep the valley alert. I would think less of you if you did not." His voice lowered slightly. "Peace is only meaningful when it understands what waits beyond its walls." For a few steps, He said nothing more. The sound of the river filled the space between them, joined by the distant movement of the jungle and the subtle mechanical awareness of defenders trying not to seem as though they were watching a Dark Lord of the Sith walk through their home.​

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Then the Shadow Hand spoke again: "I did come seeking you." Simple but deliberate words. "Not Odessen. Not your students. Not the Mandalorians tracking me from within the trees. You." His molten gaze remained ahead for a moment before turning back towards her. "Your name was given to me." A silence fllowed, heavy enough to pull breath from the air. "Willingly." He let that word settle. "I am curious as to why. So I have come seeking understanding." ​

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Taiia Mataan​

 

[Taiia Mataan]

//: Darth Prazutis //:​

Taiia listened quietly as they walked along the road, side by side, the valley continuing around them despite the enormity of the presence moving through it. Rivers flowed between stone banks worn smooth by centuries. Students gradually returned to lessons beneath the reassuring currents of her battle meditation. Somewhere deeper within the jungle, creatures that had fled the Dark Lord's arrival slowly began to emerge again. Life endured. It always did.

When he agreed that prudence was not fear, she inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment. "Understanding the nature of teeth is certainly valuable," she replied. "Though I have often found that understanding why the lion hunts can be equally important." The observation carried no challenge. It was simply another angle from which to examine the same truth.

Her attention shifted when he spoke of the valley itself. Of the sanctuary. Of frightened people becoming whole again, then came the word leverage Taiia considered it for several moments. "I suppose that depends on who is looking." Her gaze turned to the village ahead of them with its high walls. "To some, anything precious eventually becomes leverage. A family. A nation. A faith. A temple." The corner of her mouth softened faintly. "History provides no shortage of examples."

The breeze stirred the edges of her cloak as they walked. "And yet I have always found it curious that we describe such things as weaknesses when they are often the source of our greatest strength." Her eyes returned to him. "People endure suffering because something matters to them. They sacrifice because something matters to them. Entire civilizations survive because there is something they refuse to abandon."

There was no attempt to dismiss his perspective; if anything, she appeared to be examining it. "Perhaps leverage and strength are not opposing ideas. Perhaps they are simply different descriptions of the same attachment viewed from different sides." The thought lingered between them before the conversation shifted. The next words made her attention sharpen. I did come seeking you. Not visibly enough for most to notice, but enough. Then came the explanation, but the part that stuck out followed.

Willingly.

For the first time since they had begun walking, she fell silent. Not because she was alarmed, but because she was thinking. Someone had spoken of her name to a former Sith Emperor and done so intentionally. That fact alone was far more interesting than it was concerning; a dozen possibilities surfaced immediately—old allies. Perhaps even old enemies, and in the light of the previous conversation with Allyson Locke she couldn't rule out that it was her that had mentioned Taiia. What truly interested her was not who had spoken her name; it was why.

"You have crossed a considerable distance in pursuit of understanding," she said at last. "That alone tells me whoever spoke my name, it was more than a passing mention. As a scholar, I'll commend your curiosity, as for me I am nothing special. I am a wife, a mother, and as you can see, a headmistress of an academy built to teach others a different way to understand the force." Her green eyes studied him carefully, still searching for an unspoken intent; were there one, but curiosity was a difficult thing to fake. "What understanding are you seeking, my lord?"

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