Far From The Eyes Of Gods

[Lief]

Bastion​

Stepping from the dimly lit transport onto a world as bright as Bastion strained the eyes. Taking a moment to blink away the sun spots which danced across her vision, Saeth glanced down the boarding ramp toward her silent entourage of blue-robed brothers and sisters.

Each held a spear in their gloved hands, and their eyes - the only part of them visible - drifted toward her as she descended to the ground. Her own garments were similar, though the purple of them set her apart from the others. Nothing needed to be said between them, and when she passed them by they fell in line behind her, their steps remarkably synced.

This was not a world she was familiar with. She could not feel the presence of their Gods as readily on foreign soil, and that realization caught her off guard. It did not sit comfortably with her. No doubt her brothers and sisters could feel the same strain, though none dared voice their concerns.

Instead they continued on toward the Palace; it was nothing compared to the Panathan Palace, far less intimidating, but if her King and Brother had decided to take up residence here then who was she to argue? He was chosen by the Gods, nay Deified in his own right, a God among Mortals, his words were as much from the Pantheon as hers.

It was rare that she was summoned on a day that did not involve the Council. She had his ear during times of pressing matters, when advisers were needed, but typically such things revolved around Panatha. They were so far from home right now that she doubted it was her reason for being here.

As they neared the entrance several armoured guards stepped forward, clearly intent on keeping them out, but one fierce look from Saeth had them back peddling to their stations and fear coursing through their veins. Nothing needed to be said... Nothing ever needed to be said.

Past them, too, she wandered, through the large doors which swung inward at her approach with little more than the twitching of a finger, into the airy halls beyond. Truth be told it was refreshing to be away from the murky air that lay outside.

She did not know where her Brother would be, yet she knew that if she entered the audience chamber, wherever it was, he would eventually show. Patience was a virtue she exercised, and she would wait for as long as her King commanded.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

​

​

The Palace of the Dark Lord
Ravelin, Bastion

The towering pyramidal structure that dominated the skyline of Ravelin was home to the highest echelons of the Sith Empire, specifically the Dark Lord and the various heads of the Empire's departments and administrations. The external facade was a relatively new construct, fashioned around the old and outdated Imperial Palace that had first been constructed somewhere around eight hundred and ten years ago by the Imperial Remnant. It had changed hands many times over the centuries before eventually fading into obscurity and disuse in the modern era, but as the Sith began to reinforce the former Fel capital they too took their hammers and chisels to the old palace and remade it in their image.

It was in this gargantuan edifice of vanity that [member="Saeth Zambrano"] would reunite with her brother, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Carnifex.

He waited for her in the audience chamber that preceded his own inner sanctum and war room, the only other company present were the six Crownguard that were placed throughout the room near the outer walls. Truthfully he didn't need them, but they often professed that their presence was a necessity and so he allowed them to linger out of sight. The Dark Lord himself wore a cloak of crimson armorweave and a loose black tunic and trousers, his lightsaber left behind in his office for this meeting between siblings. And when Saeth did enter, Kaine turned and flashed his sister a genuine welcoming smile before extended his arms forward for an embrace.

"Dearest sister, I have missed you."

 

[Lief]

She gave the Crownsguard as much attention as she had the Palace Guards who had lingered outside, that was to say very little indeed. One might assume that she did not even notice them there, but no doubt her brother knew better. She was astute, this particular Zambrano, and her connection to the Force was fiercely unyielding. Their presence was merely below her.

Once central inside the audience chamber she halted, while the few Adherents who were in attendance fanned out behind her, a half circle of faceless men and women who had given themselves to the Gods. Their spears remained skyward facing, yet their stance was somewhat protective of the woman in purple... Even here. It was, after all, foreign ground. The Pantheon could not hear them so well here.

During her first meeting with Kaine she had been anxious, worried for her life, yet he had been nothing but caring toward her, even in the eyes of others. Her appointment to Archimandrite had not altered that affection, and though he should have seen nothing but a servant of the Gods before him he broke the usual ties that bound the position and extended his arms out in a brotherly embrace. Called her sister.

Part of her was conflicted... But he was her King. He was a God among Men. His voice held weight to it, more so than hers, more so than the scriptures they abide by, so it was not her place to question it.

Instead she stepped forward, and completed the embrace.

"My King" she said, with a whispered voice of respect; when the time came to briefly pull back she smiled beneath her veil, and looked him in the eye. "You look well, Brother."

Behind her the Adherents did not react at all, they had become used to the familiarity between Grand Archimandrite and King. They had accepted it for what it was.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Unexpectedly, the Dark Lord wrapped both of his arms around his smaller sister and visibly lifted her off of the ground in a crushing, yet surprisingly gently (for a man of his size), bear hug that undoubtedly ruffled the Grand Archimandrite's robes and adornments. After a moment or two of the embrace, Kaine would gently lower his sister to the floor and remove his hands from around her body, taking a step back to give her some room.

"I am feeling well, sister. After fourteen long years I have finally reclaimed the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith and have begun to usher in a new golden age for the Sith."

Yet there was something else on his mind, something he was eager to speak with Saeth about. Yet first, there were some formalities to be addressed. "Would you prefer any food, drink? My servants can fetch anything you desire, Saeth, you know that." Not like she needed much reminding, she had lived within his halls before and had been on the receiving end of his splendor many times. "But, uh, how is Panatha? It feels like an eternity since I've stepped foot on its surface, since I've heard the whispers of the gods."

[member="Saeth Zambrano"]​

 

[Lief]

His crushing embrace was largely unexpected by even she who had experienced it before, and for a moment a voice in the back of her mind screamed its displeasure at being seen that way by her lessers. "There are many eyes around us, My King," she whispered, before he released her back to the ground.

If they heard her they did not show it, and she very much doubted they had heard her if truth be told, so when she was settled and balanced once again she straightened out her robes and listened to all he had to say. She wasn't in the habit of interrupting.

"This is good for the Sith, a step in the right direction; under your strong leadership they will flourish, and the Will of the Gods shall be done by your hand... In your visage." Her tone had shifted somewhat, no longer was she speaking as sister but as The Voice and Ears of the Gods, so certain was she in this path that her whole body righted itself with confidence.

"The All-Father is placing all his faith in you, My King" she confirmed, "In fact..."

With a gesture of her hand two of the Adherents stepped forth, sinking to their knees before their King. Together they held up an unseen object wrapped in a crimson cloak large enough to cover Kaine entirely and then some.

"... These were made at his behest."

Beneath the cloak - if Kaine did not unveil it then Saeth herself would - lay two newly forged hammers inlaid with runes that seemed to be alive, flowing with blood. The weapons had an ethereal aura about them, commanding a strength that could not be explained

"The Mantle of the All-Father, and a token from Udur to pave your way to glory."

He did not need these things explaining to him, of course, and she was in no way trying to belittle his knowledge... But there was power in words, and in a way by speaking such things she solidified them in the realm of man.

With a slight wave of her hand the Adherents returned to the semi-circle, leaving the God-King with his gifts, while the subject turned to more material matters. She did not care for sustenance, though she acknowledged his offer with a small nod. No, their home was what lay on her own mind.

"Panatha is suffering from your absence, My King; though the people do not feel it, and continue on in their prosperous ways, the Gods sense that you are missing. These foreign invaders who claim our land as their own, however fallicious their claim may be, are a cancerous evil. They must be removed, root and stem."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

There was the shift, nearly invisible to some but to Saeth's eldest brother it was obvious once you knew the signs. A moment ago the woman standing before him was his beloved sister, the youngest of three siblings and one who Kaine dotted on incessantly. Now before him stood the Grand Archimandrite of the Adherents, her posture tall and confident and she spoke with a surety that would unnerve even the most dedicated of zealots.

A true woman of the cloth.

And she had brought him a gift, the mere notion of doing so caused the Dark Lord's right eyebrow to rise in piqued curiosity. Two of the Adherents moved forward, both of them carrying bundles of maroon silk that held within them the gifts Saeth had mentioned. With a wave of his hand he unveiled them, and his eyes widened at the magnificence of the All-Father's hammers adorned with the ancient runes of their faith. He reached out and summoned them to his hands, taking great care to marvel at their craftsmanship and feel the latent power lurking behind their metal façade.

"They are exquisite, sister. I am humbled that the All-Father favors me so." With these he could craft monstrous things, powerful things seeped in the Dark Side of the Force. He relished at the opportunity to do so.

Then Saeth answered his earlier inquiry and a frown marred his patrician features, "My heart sits heavy in my chest, Saeth. It was a great agony to inflict upon myself to leave my beloved homeland, but compromises had to be made for the future. But no matter how far I may be from the home of the gods I will always be your King, for there can be no other as blessed as me. And one day I will return to lead our people to greatness, I can promise you that."

[member="Saeth Zambrano"]​

 

[Lief]

Gladdened was she that he approved of the gift. Udur would be pleased to see the embodiment of his hammers in the grasp of their great King, while the cloak they had been wrapped in could easily adorn his shoulders as the All-Father intended. But the gifts had left her reach, and it would be up to him to decide what he did with them. Even now she could feel the power coursing from them, and that allowed a small smile to play upon her lips beneath her shroud.

The Gods were good to those who served.

"The people shall rejoice when you bless our home with your presence once more. Streets will fill, voices shall raise in adoration, and the Gods will smile down upon us as they always have beneath your reign, My King. Until that day comes worry not, the hearts and minds of the people belong to the Faith, and we steer them away from the meddling of the outsiders. They shall not waver, of that I am certain."

It was then that the doors she had formerly entered swung inward; curiosity bade her to turn her head in the direction of the new arrival, though whomever it was she was unfamiliar with them. She could hear a secondary, smaller patter of feet behind the first, and looked back to Kaine with a raised brow of curiosity.

Just who had interrupted them?

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Lief]

Another foreign world the likes of which he did not know.

The Galaxy shifted and changed so frequently that it was difficult to keep up. Bastion, that was the name of this planet, and while he should have known it for its central position within the Empire he'd be lying if he said he'd been paying attention. His allegiance was to his Master, not the ilk who fussed beneath him, after all.

Stepping through the halls of the Palace he could not help but frown somewhat. While Kaine's absence from Panatha had been relayed to Kobe the lack of instruction had left him somewhat stumped. A boy had been sent his way, scrawny little thing, and since then he'd followed him around like a lost pup. The lad had a few bruises and scrapes from their time training, even a simple kendo left its mark, but Kobe did not know specifically what it was the boy was doing in his watch. Did his Master wish for him to formally train him?

Wasn't it a little early for that? Kobe had yet to earn his position.

Regardless they had been summoned. Just one intense look at the lad had him silent and quickly following close at hand. It wouldn't do to lose him on foreign soil, nor for him to speak out of turn. Together they entered the audience chamber, only to find it already occupied by Adherents. Strange, he'd never seen them away from Panatha.

Immediately spotting the purple robes of the Grand Archimandrite he could not help but frown. Though he wished to rebel, he instead sunk to a kneel and bowed his head.

"Master..." he began, in a respectful drawl, before looking up. "Your Holiness" he directed to the woman. He had heard tell that it was Kaine's long lost sister, but what did he know? What did anyone really know? Behind him the boy had not knelt, which only served to return the stern glare of Kobe to his face. A brief moment of audacity washed over the boys face, before he rushed forward toward Kaine.

Kobe could only watch in disbelief as the lad ran straight up to the foreboding King, and tugged on his sleeve.

"Uncle, look!" he said, lifting one arm where a very shiny bruise lay, apparently proud of his battle scars. Slowly Kobe rose from where he had knelt, still in disbelief. Uncle? He's Kaine's Nephew?

... Well kark.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"The resolve of our people is unbreakable, sister. They will weather this storm."

The Dark Lord prepared to speak further on these matters, but his speech was stymied as the grand double doors to the throne room opened with a slow creak. From the antechamber came [member="Kobe Seren"], the Dark Lord's ward and auxiliary apprentice, and his nephew Ebiah Zambrano. Both of them calmly walked up towards the duo, moving around the half-circle of Adherents with curious glances. Instinctively Kobe knelt before his master, bowing his head low in reverence to the man who had simultaneously annihilated his family and opened his eyes to the Dark Side of the Force. Ebiah amusingly did not possess the same sense of formality as the older youth did, and immediately hurried to tug at his uncle's sleeve with bursting enthusiasm.

"Uncle, look!" The boy proudly displayed the bruises that dotted his light cocoa skin, undoubtedly delivered to him during one of his training sessions with Kobe. The Dark Lord let out a boisterous laugh, something that was uncharacteristic of him in general, and reached out to ruffle the lad's hair.

"The boy will be a warrior in no time, Saeth. He has a fire burning inside him that cannot be snuffed out."

His gaze then turned towards Kobe, his eyes shining like smoldering coals as the lines of his face hardened. "I assume his training has been proceeding as planned?"

[member="Saeth Zambrano"] | [member="Kobe Seren"]​

 

[Lief]

Her eyes narrowed slightly to the site of her brother's ward, a boy who had sat quietly at their table from time to time before her ascension to this most pious position. He had the sense to kneel, and address them appropriately, though truthfully his presence was of little consequence to Saeth herself. She turned her attention back to her Brother and waited to see what was happening. Had this interruption been planned?

That was, of course, until a fleeting shadow rushed past her to tug at her brother's sleeve. For a moment she did not understand what was happening, and not even when the boy called out the word uncle did she put the pieces together. That was until Kaine looked her way and explained how strong he was becoming.

Ebiah? Can it truly be..?

With a wave of her hand she dismissed the Adherents who had remained behind from the room, and once the chamber was devoid of prying eyes she turned toward the young lad who was proudly sporting many bruises.

"The Gods have favoured me so. A strong son indeed."

He turned at that, to stare upon her with wild eyes.

"Mother?"

He squinted to look through the veil, before his eyes lit up.

"Mother!"

He jumped away from Kaine and immediately wrapped his arms around her leg. For a moment she was taken aback, she had given up all notions of family when she joined the Faith, even if her brother tested that each chance he got. But here... Here was her boy, the only son she would ever bear. She knelt before him, and wrapped him into a brief yet tight embrace.

"My, you've grown" she said, looking past Ebiah toward her brother, then back to where Kobe was now stood dumbfounded. Apparently the Master had not informed the Student of his charge, that amused her somewhat.

"Go now, back to your tutor."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Our line is strong, sister. We have overcome much and learned many things so that our progeny may endure." His eyes narrowed, old fury boiling behind molten eyes. "And we will never be like them."

There was so much hatred, so much venom poured into that last word that the Dark Lord practically spat it out like it was actually poison. Only his sister would truly understand who exactly he was referencing, a duo that had been stricken from the histories of the galaxy by his own hand and whom he vowed never to speak their names for as long as he lived.

Mother and Father.

It had been forty-five years since he had freed himself and his siblings from those fiends, rising to the challenge by using what funds he could procure and hiring mercenaries to invade and subdue his mother and father in the dead of night. They were woefully oppressive, and he knew that his youngest brother and infant sister would have been slaves to their madness so long as they still lived. For the sake of Mordecai and for the sake of Saeth he did what he needed to do, and stained his hands with Ramsey and Viktoria's blood.

Even though they were long buried he still felt a dark rage burn through him at the very thought of their putrid faces. "Our children will go on to do great things, Saeth, very great things."

[member="Saeth Zambrano"] | [member="Kobe Seren"]​

 

[Lief]

The question from his Master seemed to snap the boy from his thoughts, and he looked away from Ebiah toward the foreboding man who had raised him. He inclined his head when, with a very subtle nod finishing off the motion, and forced his curiosity back behind closed doors.

"Indeed, Master," was all he bothered to respond, a man of few words as ever. The young lad who had just finished hugging two of the more powerful figures Kobe had ever laid his eyes upon, as though they did not scare him in the slightest, hopped back over to his side, and therein stood with head held high and an almost stern, fierce expression on his face.

Still just as dumbfounded, Kobe settled a hand to the boy's shoulder to keep him in place, and looked back to his Master. Part of him worried that he was interrupting a very important family meeting, and yet he had been sent for regardless. Why? So that mother and son could have reunion without prying eyes? Perhaps.

His hand tightened just a touch on Ebiah's shoulder, enough to gain his attention, and with a tilt of his head he suggested that they leave. The boy glanced between Mother and Uncle, a ponderous look to his expression, before nodding once. Together they turned, though Kobe lingered a moment longer incase there was another reason for his presence. He did not wish to unnecessarily anger anyone.

If there was nobody to stop him, however, he would lead the boy back outside, to resume their training.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Lief]

She knew immediately who it was her Brother spoke of.

Turning her back to the newcomers almost dismissively, to show she was done with them, and settling her gaze to Kaine, she merely hummed her approval. Weak bred weak, what he had done had been for the betterment of their line, she knew that. Even their Uncle knew that, though he had nothing but foul words to speak where his nephew was concerned. The man was a craven, if nothing else. He couldn't even keep his own daughter in check, never mind any men under his control. She had loved him once, but he had given her no cause to continue such affections.

"Through strife, and adversity, greatness is forged. You must temper a blade in order for it to be of use... And the metal which initially forges it must be heated, lest it shatter under the blows it is dealt. We are nothing like them, Brother... We stood before the blows of the hammer, and came out victorious. We did not bend, we did not break."

She held her arms aloft for half a second, basking in a sudden ray of light which seemed to cast itself upon them. "The Gods favour us, in spite of our parents, you have ascended to Godhood, you hold the future of our people in your hands, and I the voice of the Allfather. Imagine, then, what our children can accomplish."

She stepped toward him, tilting her head subtly to one side as she regarded him solemnly. Now that they were alone, perhaps with the students though likely not - unless Kaine had cause for them - she reached out and ran the back of her hand against his cheek, curious to see how his expression might shift and change... Or not. She had seen him hold a steely expression of neutrality and hatred for many hours, when called for.

"You shall be victorious, Brother, in your endeavors. For the Allfather wills it."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

His expression did soften at her touch.

Around her his barriers often slipped, for he loved his sister and had gone to great lengths to care for her and her young boy. She may have been the youngest of the trio; Kaine, Mordecai, Saeth, but she was the closest in familiarity and intimacy to him.

"I have felt the Allfather's blessings in these past few months. The Empire I am building is growing stronger, hungrier, and those who stand against it have been swept aside one by one. Those heathens who dared to mingle the Light and the Dark, the Dominion? I have dashed their bodies against the stones and stained my hands with their blood as an offering to Udur, and I have heard the skies crackle and boom with his boisterous approval."

In a move on uncharacteristic affection he nuzzled his sister's hand, taking it in his own before squeezing it gently and letting it slip from his muscular fingers. "Soon the Jedi will taste the wrath of the Gods, their heresy is one that has been allowed too long to live. I will relish going to Voss." His eyes shone with unnatural intensity, a wicked smile splitting across his face as he recounted the dreams that have plagued him for many moons. "I will kill the Jedi in their robes of earth and tear down their temples of profane worship! I will rape their women, take their children as slaves and bring their broken gods back to Qocia! I swear it before you, sister! I swear it before you, Grand Archimandrite!"

He lowered himself to one knee, "I swear it before all the gods of Panatha, and as they look down in witness I swear that I will rid the galaxy of all who oppose the darkness and the gods of my ancestors."

[member="Saeth Zambrano"]​

 

[Lief]

His words held a strength of will even she had not been expecting.

It was as thought he All-Father was channeled through his being, utilizing the God-King as a vessel in the moments which followed. Her eyes lit up, and she glanced upon him with utter awe, even when he nuzzled against her touch. Even if any other had looked upon them in that moment they would not have doubted his power, they would not have dared speak a word against him.

She could feel the room trembling with each word he spoke, until he sank to his knees before the Gods and spoke his promises.

Leaning down ever so slightly she set her lips to the top of his head, where the marking which had been etched into his skin lay, and allowed them to linger there for a moment. Nothing was said between the pair for some time, before finally she smiled.

"See to it that all this is done, and more," she breathed, not shifting her form which lingered over him, "Bring glory to the All-Father and those who reside in the starry Heavens alongside him, bring glory to your name, and to the people who crave your return. One day Panatha shall be back beneath your wisdom, My Brother, and that day cannot come soon enough..."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

A smile broadened across his face as the sister whom he loved with every fiber of his being bequeathed a kiss upon the symbol of his office, the Rune of the Dark Lords etched upon his forehead. He remembered the day when he received the mark well and with striking clarity.

It was shortly after the proclamation on Othrys -- the hallowed declaration that had established the foundations of the Kaine's rule as Dark Lord of the Sith, and the catalyst for the Empire's resurgence in the Tingel Arm. He had returned to Bastion to great fanfare and jubilation, the old banners of the Ascendancy wiped away as the symbol of the New Sith Empire rose to replace them. The crowds had cheered, music had played on repeat over Ravelin's speaker system, and starfighters had flown overhead amidst the synchronous detonations of fireworks.

All had gathered to bear witness to his 'coronation'.

He had laid upon a slab of obsidian, his torso bare as the anointed Kissai poured pincerbugs onto his scarred flesh. Their venom set his nerves alight with agony. His mouth wrenched open in a monstrous scream as the circular mark of the Dark Lords gradually appeared on his forehead. At the end of it his body was shrouded in the crimson cloak of the Sith and he was proclaimed far and wide as Darth Carnifex, Dark Lord of the Sith.

He had become God-King and Dark Lord -- the pinnacle of two spheres, and with the blessing of the All-Father and the might of his lineage he would not only bring the Tingel Arm under the control of the Sith, but all the galaxy.

"One day it will all be mine, sister. Every world of every star will whisper my name in joy and in fear, and they will know the true meaning of power."

[member="Saeth Zambrano"]​