For Will to Power

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

"Something like that, yes"

Ta'lar leaned back and picked up his datapad again, then nonchalantly ignored the rest of the world.

"Oh I will be right here."

As Alisteri approached the young man, he was just trying to shift the way it was parted from the right to the left in case it would look better. The result made him just look dishevelled and suffering from hair loss. He looked up with sudden surprise to see Alisteri and took a step back to stand at what he presumably thought a more suitable distance between them.

"My time? What do you want with it?"

His nose wrinkled a bit as he looked Alisteri over, clearly judging the less than pristine clothes. He was quickly forming opinions from what he saw and heard, correcting himself in accordance to the difference in rank. His accent was the type of accent one developed from looking down at others their entire life, where sneering was the most common form of greeting.

Suddenly self-conscious, the young man corrected his hair to its previous position and tried to look casual while wiping his palms on the back of his robe. All the while, he was giving Alisteri his most expectant stare and disapproving mouth shape.

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Ah, now it made a little bit more sense. An alien wanting to meddle with a stuck up young man, a story as old as time. Alisteri instantly decided that he would enjoy this little task a bit more, and shouldn't you always do what you love?

"I'm sorry sir, my master wanted me to fetch him a...an um...what're they called..." He trailed off, snapping his fingers as he tried to think before he spoke again. "A holocron that's it! He wanted me to get him a holocron for research." He looked pleased with himself, smiling slightly with a dumb look on his face, "Could you tell me where to find a holocron?"

He did his best to hide his internal disgust. The ditzy servant was a role that he had played most of his life, and one that only served as an infuriating reminder of his youth. He had gotten good at playing such a character, it was almost a second skin that he would have rather left to die back on Kessel.

Once this was over, he knew he was going to need to find a place to retch in peace. Preferably a dark corner that no one cared for.

Yes, that would be perfect.

Too perfect.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

The well-shaped frown dropped with the young man's chin as he was set to gaping.

"The holocrons are not to be handled by the uninitiated!"

His voice grew shrill as he yelled loud enough to summon an echo and, inevitably, a few looks from passers-by.

"I do not know who your master thinks he is, but anyone who requests to use a holocron must come here! This is not some holo rental service!"

He now tugged on his own hair so hard it explain the apparent beginning of hair loss. Nostrils flared, spit flew, eyes were wide and red with anger. One could easily assume he took this chance to vent more anger than the request was worth.

"And we certainly don't hand them out to your kind of rabble!" His quaking index finger waved toward the stair, then the exit of the temple. "Now you should leave, at once!"

Having summoned some new courage, the young man attempted to push Alisteri back.

"Shoo, cretin! Shoo!"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

The well-shaped frown dropped with the young man's chin as he was set to gaping.

"The holocrons are not to be handled by the uninitiated!"

His voice grew shrill as he yelled loud enough to summon an echo and, inevitably, a few looks from passers-by.

"I do not know who your master thinks he is, but anyone who requests to use a holocron must come here! This is not some holo rental service!"

He now tugged on his own hair so hard it explain the apparent beginning of hair loss. Nostrils flared, spit flew, eyes were wide and red with anger. One could easily assume he took this chance to vent more anger than the request was worth.

"And we certainly don't hand them out to your kind of rabble!" His quaking index finger waved toward the stair, then the exit of the temple. "Now you should leave, at once!"

Having summoned some new courage, the young man attempted to push Alisteri back.

"Shoo, cretin! Shoo!"

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Alisteri showed genuine surprise at the man's outburst, letting a mask of fear cross over his face. Hm, well this was certainly unexpected. However, it would things a bit easier. It would almost be funny if he didn't have a job to do. Almost.

He allowed himself to take half a step back, a slight quiver running over him as the young man continued his tirade. Perhaps tantrum would be the better word for it.

At the push he stumbled, his hand instinctively reaching out to grab the other man's hand. Specifically the one that held the flimsiplast note. He seeming failed however, only succeeding in knocking the note out of the man's hand as he landed on the ground; the note that Ta'lar had given him clattering on the floor next to the young man's.

"I-I'm terribly sorry sir!" He was quick to try and get up, his hands fumbling around to grasp one of the notes before he stood up and hurried away from the young man, disappearing down the stair.

"Rabble, cretin. Says the fool that can't watch someone's hands and follow a simple switch." He muttered to himself, a scowl on his face as he dusted himself off. With the young man's flimsiplast note in hand he snuck back to Ta'lar, careful as to not catch the young man's attention again.

"It's done, now you hold up your end." He presented the note to the tiss'shar with a slight smirk on his face.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

The young man was none the wiser when Alisteri snuck away.

Ta'lar, however, made a silent clap before taking the note and tucking it away in his robes with a chuckle.

"You did well. It was a little louder than I expected, but well done." another toothy grin "That simi won't know what hit him before it is too late."

Ta'lar steepled his fingers and leaned back against his own tail, looking Alisteri up and down intently. The tiss'shar finally shrugged and seemed to relax.

"So about your token" "There is a statue on the western mezzanine, standing in the furthest corner. It is the likeness of a woman holding a skull." he mimicked the motion with his hands. "At her foot is a slot that will receive your coin."

Ta'lar crossed his arms and looked in the direction of the mezzanine.

"I would not think by looking at you, but I suppose suicide appeals to all sorts." "It's supposedly painless. It just-" a snap of his fingers finished the sentence for him. "Not a drop of blood."

He looked down for a moment, then back up at Alisteri. Once more, there was either no lie in him or he was just a very good liar.

"It's a shame really, I could have use of you."

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Alisteri had a bad feeling when Ta'lar looked him up and down. He was thinking, considering something. At least the shrug meant that whatever he was thinking about, he would get a halfway honest answer. That was all that he needed in the end.

He was silent as the tiss'shar spoke, following his gaze to the mezzanine in question. At the mention of suicide however, his focus snapped back to Ta'lar. He didn't bother the slight confusion that adorned his face, nor did he attempt to ignore the chill that ran through his veins when he was assured of it's apparent painless end.

Surely this wasn't all an elaborate trap to get him out of the way right?

No, a Sith would just kill him...right?

Regardless he nodded to the tiss'shar. "Thank you."

With that simple courtesy out of the way, he left for the mezzanine. Well at the very least it would be painless, if Ta'lar hadn't deceived him. He hoped that he wasn't that gullible.

He eventually saw the statue, pausing for just one moment.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

"Nice knowing you."

Ta'lar looked down into his datapad as Alisteri moved away.

This corner of the mezzanine was absolutely deserted. A fine layer of dust lingered in corners where it had been allowed to nestle undisturbed. The alcoves had seen more use, but less so than those closer to the stairs.

At the end, in its own alcove, stood knelt a statue carved of smooth, black stone. In the feminine hands of the figure rested a yellowed skull. It was uncertain if it was real or just convincingly aged. The statue seemed for a moment to move, or as if it was about to move. When he paused, there was a moment where one could have sworn the statue had a familiar ashen face and smouldering, orange eyes, watching, unblinking.

As Ta'lar had said, there was a slot at the foot of the statue, just big enough for the disk to slip inside. There were runes subtly scribed into a circle around the slot, like scratches that went just a little deeper and cut just a little cleaner than the rest.

If he approached, he would feel a chill in the air, and in the Force. Just like when he had entered the temple, there was a bubble of silence cutting him off from the bustle of his surroundings. Inside, something whispered without sound, just too fleeting to hear without listening, just too loud not to detect.

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Alisteri grimly admired the statue for a moment, his eye twitching when he thought he noticed a resemblance to a certain figure. He shrugged it off initially and continued on towards the alcove. He wasn't that blind to the Force, he recognized the eerie cut off from the temple that surrounded him as he stopped in front of the statue. It was both physically and something else entirely.

He glanced around the mezzanine to confirm what he already knew, he was alone and inserting the disk was the only way forward.

Great.

He pulled the disk from his pocket, turning it over in his hand for a moment before he looked over the statue. He sincerely hoped that the next skull in the statue's hand wouldn't be his.

There was no more hesitation, no more thought as he kneeled down. One choice.

He slid the disk into the slot and pulled his hand back, glancing up at the statue expectantly.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

Darkness - Silence - Cold

All light vanished within the little alcove. All sound swallowed by quiet. All heat drained.

Then a dull glow, reflected off walls and vaulted ceiling. It seemed to spread out from corners and cracks to illuminate the surfaces. The dull grey walls were marked with lighter and darker spots which, at a prolonged glance, appeared to form humanoid shapes with their hands in the air. The figures formed a spiral pattern, all facing a singular point where a larger figure was apparently suspended in the air in front of a red rhombus.

"To be perfectly honest" a sweet scent wafted through the air as liquid was poured into a container somewhere behind Alisteri. "I was not sure you would make it."

"But I suppose I must give you your due. Not many are that willing to risk their life for a chance." She blew across the top of her cup, side-eyeing Alisteri "But I suppose I should be wary for your future if you so readily throw yourself into unknown rituals without researching them first." "You will love Krayiss II, I imagine."

She took a sip from her cup then put it down on the tray before rising up in her full height. Her long, slender figure stood taller than Alisteri, though seemingly more frail. She intertwined her fingers and kept them resting on her abdomen. Her hood still obscured her face, but with the current light the way the shadows clung to her seemed a little more natural.

"I assume you have questions."

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Alisteri's breath left him alongside the light, a couple of shallow breaths and a quick survey of his surroundings was enough for him to recompose himself however. He felt his eye twitch as he heard her speak, quickly turning around to face her.

At least she had some comforting words to offer him. Comforting, quote unquote.

"Well, trial and error and all that..." He muttered, still a bit shocked by the ritual that he apparently conducted. Interesting, he would have to do some research later.

He gave her a quick once over, idly noting her seemingly frailness. He seriously doubted that quality though, he had no doubt that she could snap him in half and not break a sweat while doing it. Looks were always deceiving when it came to the Sith, that was how it seemed anyway.

Not that he was surprised.

"Your assumption is correct." He nodded and spared another glance around. "How about we start with what just happened?"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

A smile spread over Darth Ophidia's blue lips again, wicked, full of secrets.

"You are not dead if that is what you mean." She cocked her head to the side. "Not yet, anyhow."

She walked towards him, every step fluid and elegant, and as certain as a serpent coiling its way through the sand.

"Rather, a part of you was transported" She grabbed in the air and seized an invisible thread that then glowed with a dull red and disintegrated. "Like a fish breaking the surface, or a comet strafing an atmosphere, glowing just for a moment before vanishing again." She looked at him expectantly, searching for a clue of understanding.

"Or perhaps you are asking about the actions that lead you here; the whole suicide statue debacle." she waved her hand as if dismissing it. "I needed to know if you were willing to do whatever it takes." Her finger then pointed at him. "And for you to be certain that you could. It is easy to fool oneself."

Her eyes narrowed as if reading him, still the same embers, unblinking in the shadow of her hood.

"What else do you want to know?"

She stopped within arms reach of Alisteri, hands returning to their position at her abdomen. The smile on her lips was small, but present and knowing.

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Ah right, death. Good, if this was the afterlife then it would've been a strange way to spend the rest of eternity. One less thing to worry about for now.

Alisteri watched her movements with slight interest. He idly wondered if all Sith had to be smooth and elegant. Goodness he hoped not, he'd never make it if that were the case.

He blinked in surprise at the thread, glancing at the space where it was even after it had disintegrated. He hoped that didn't represent him in some way. "So...you're saying that my consciousness has been temporarily displaced?" That was what he understood of it at least, although he supposed that it didn't really matter if he understood or not.

It was already done after all.

"Ah, so it was a test. I see..." Of course it was, what else would it have been?

He felt the urge to take a step back, he quickly brushed that feeling aside. "Plenty of things. First and foremost after... this," He gestured to his surroundings, "is who you are."

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

She nodded in tune with his response, the motion slow and deliberate. When he asked his question in return, she quickly turned to the left. With her right shoulder to him, she took two steps forward until she was in what appeared to be the centre of the room, once again fluent like water. She stood, facing the mural of the single figure hovering in front of the red rhombus at the centre of the spiral of other celebrating figures.

"Of course." She pointed one finger up "I have many names, depending on who calls me."

She considered naming some, but decided he would have to learn them in time. Once she had given a name, she was no longer anonymous. It was binding in its own way. Each name a new bond.

"But to you, I am Darth Ophidia."

She looked at him over her shoulder.

"Or if you wish, you may swear your fealty to me and call me Master"

Her eyes turned back to the mural, lingering on the hovering figure, then passing to one beneath. The figure beneath was different from the others by one small detail; if one looked closely, what could have been a chip in the paint is revealed to be a dagger hidden behind the figure's back.

Alisteri had already been approved for admission and training, but she was beginning to see the beginning of something greater. In fact, he had caught her curiosity already when he sailed into Bastion with a ship full of corpses.

It was a striking way to arrive.

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Alisteri's gaze followed her for a moment before drifting to the mural, giving her another glance as she spoke. Many names eh? Interesting, he idly wondered if he might achieve that someday. Perhaps.

He inclined his head slightly, as if acknowledging and cementing the name in his memory. Well at least he had a name to put to a face...well, to a figure. It was a start, he can count his victories.

Or victory in this case. For now.

"You say that like I would consider an alternative option." He did like choices, it was a nice change of pace from having no say at all. Still, he knew the path he had to take.

And this Darth Ophidia, his master he supposed, was going to be the first step on it.

"I'm just thankful I get to choose my master this time." He muttered to himself as he kneeled down, looking up at her.

"So, I have to swear fealty then?"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

"I won't presume to make your choices for you. We are not Jedi." "Though I encourage you to honour your obligation."

After a brief pause, she turned to face him again, towering over his knelt form.

"Swear on the Force and on your life that you will devote your life to my tutelage, to me, to the Dark Lord, and to the Brotherhood of the Sith."

As she spoke now, the room seemingly grew darker, smaller, the murals looking all the clearer and meaningful.

"Swear that you are my apprentice, and I your master." "And in return, I will teach you everything I know about the Force."

A pause and a knowing smile.

"I will grant you perfection."

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

A small smirk grew on his face at the Jedi remark. He had read of them too of course, and he was unimpressed. They misused the Force, in his opinion, limiting themselves for no reason at all. It was a strange ideology, but he wasn't foolish enough to ignore how...determined they seemed to be.

They were a challenge indeed.

He watched her as she spoke, although his gaze did wander around the room to observe it's changes. Fascinating.

He was ready to speak, ready to take the oath. However, one little thing tugged at the back of his mind. A shred of doubt, because he knew what he was doing.

There was a line that he was about to cross, one that he knew there was no way back from. At least, not one that resulted in his survival.

At this point, he would either die under the Sith Empire, or try and resist it and die a fool.

He was no fool.

"I swear, upon the Force and on my own life, that I shall devote my life to your tutelage, to you, to the Dark Lord, and to the Brotherhood of the Sith."

And like that, the line was crossed.

"I swear that I am your apprentice, and that you are my master."

He could feel something pull at the back of his mind as he spoke. Something slightly familiar, yet cold and powerful. It had been an inkling before, but now it was welcome.

The Dark Side of the Force would always be welcome.

"I swear to be relentless in my service, and to be ruthless as a weapon of the Sith."

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

"And I shall not forget your pledge, my apprentice."

When the deed was done, Darth Ophidia reached up to her hood and let it fall back to reveal her head and face.

She was bald, with nigh a hair on her scalp or eyebrows. Age had nestled crows feet in the outer corners of her eyes, and deepened the lines around her mouth and across her forehead. Her skin was monochromatic and of the ashen spectrum, with old, dark scars in a lichtenberg figure clawing its way up her neck and grasping the back of her head with its thousand little fingers. Old tattoos lined the sides of her head and corners of her mouth, touched up with recent paint.

If the species was known to him, it would be apparent that she was Rattataki.

"Arise, Sith."

Her words were paired with a gesture of allowance from her left hand. Her left hand now appeared to be a distinct shade darker than the right, and the skin appeared gnarled and severely scarred. Her hands then folded on her abdomen again, the right obscuring the left.

"My apprentice needs a weapon. What would you choose?" "How will my apprentice fight?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Alisteri had learned enough of the Sith to know that his expectations were hardly correct, about most anything.

He was still mildly surprise at the sight of his master's face however, nodding as if in acknowledgment or in thanks. He had never met a Rattataki before, not many of them were interested in spice mining. Not many to his knowledge at least.

The apprentice already knew that he would never forget her face, nor would he forget this moment. He pushed his excitement aside though, there were more important machinations at work.

He stood at her command, his gaze momentarily landing on her left hand before it was obscured. Interesting, that looked like a story if he had ever seen one. Not that he would mention it of course, not now anyway.

"A weapon, of course. " He thought for a moment, looking down at his own hands. Well...he was ambidextrous...

He looked back at his master, a slight smirk on his face. "May I carry two? One in each hand?"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

She knew the look when a student filed a moment away for the future. She remembered it well. Darth Ophidia had put herself at risk by showing him her face, but between master and apprentice, a little risk was necessary.

When Alisteri asked if he could have two weapons, her head cocked a little bit to the right.

Her right hand dropped to the sabre at her hip and unhooked it.

"Jar'kai. It is a difficult path, but one that can yield great reward."

She held the curved hilt horizontally in front of her with the curve pointing up and the emitter pointing left. It gave Alisteri a good view of the weapon as she activated it with a press and switch. The room was bathed in a red glow as the bloodshine blade sprung to life. However, as she activated the horizontal blade, a second one sprung to life from her left hand, where it had been concealed. The second one pointed forward, just to the right of Alisteri's hip.

"Two blades give more opportunities than one. You can confound and confuse your opponent." "But individually, your blades will be weaker than one blade held in two hands."

She twisted the blades around, making it seem like the left blade was attacking while the right one slipped into measure and stopped just short of a stab to the chest. Ophidia then swept the sabres out to either side to end the demonstration, then extinguished the two red blades.

"But these are my weapons. You will use others, and one day assemble a pair of your own."

She placed the one sabre on her hip and turned the other over in her hand, which made it somehow vanish.