Public Great Hunt: The First Sith Conclave [Indoors][PVE]

[Emissary of Strife]

​

The Temple grounds were rife with conflict as Sith did as Sith do - fight to the death.

However, it is not unknown for Sith to conduct their business even as wasteful slaughter falls around them. A glassy wind swept through the valley, as if ushering those who would wield tongue rather than sword this night. The Dark Side of the Force was already powerful here in the Temple, and the dramatic passions outside only served to strengthen it. A protective barrier and two great statues guarded the entrance.

Only those whose intentions aligned with the will of the Conclave, the will of this Temple, were allowed within... Though perhaps, out of amusement or curiosity, spies would go unnoticed.

The interior was somehow colder than the outside. Even the lit torches and chandeliers failed to radiate any warmth at all. The tunnels of this ruinous place were labyrinthine in nature, and yet all paths led to one end: a large chamber with obsidian seats in a round circle, and a broken altar at the center.

"Be warned - none may leave until we have achieved Covenant."​

 

[Hasuras Na-Gerra]

Though his body remained outside, present in the midst of the fight, the Vahlan Warlord projected a sliver of consciousness into the room that took his form, resembling more a ghost in the Force than anything else.

The very same technique he accused Solipsis of, but at a strength barely noticeable. If mortal body came under true threat, this ghost would fade away like vapor before sunlight.

The projected image of Gerra crossed his arms and looked around the room. Waiting.

 

[Lirka Ka]

Some would call Lirka Ka a coward. Perhaps they were not wrong - but there were many truths within this Galaxy. Among them? Well…sometimes cowards survived. And survival was a holy thing beneath the purview of the primordial darkness.

A casual retreat into the confines of the temple was the most apt calculus her mind mustered. A run of the metaphorical numbers quickly told her that it was a fool’s errand to stay out there for too long, even if pride demanded it. Too many old lords slinging whatever they could, while the possibility of success was a tantalizing thing - Lirka Ka was a monster with eyes to the future, far more than she ever did to the present. She walked, with the simple expectation that Helix would follow. It was what the “dutiful officer” did after all. There were claims to stake, the lords and their minions would brawl. While the scuttling things in the shadows would get their pick of the loot to come.

As she walked, she spoke. For Lirka Ka rarely ceased rambling.

“Ahhh, at the surface it may seem disappointing my friend.-”

Joyous. Another lesson had crammed its way into her mind.

“-but it is not. We who preach productivity may mourn these wasteful expenditures, and ponder the prospects of Sithdom unified. But we are wise, we understand the folly of such things.”

The Sith as they were? An impossible to corral thing…but what the Sith could become, unburdened by the veil? Oh it would be beauty chaos. In its own way, the rancor outside was comforting. So long as she wasn’t in the sight-lines, it was but a thing to enjoy from a far much as Helix had been. Of course - she viewed such wanton violence in a different light than mere entertainment.

She let the colony finish, a rare respite. Though it was always a farce. If Lirka Ka paused - it usually meant she was about to unleash a veritable wall of sound garbling out of her helm.

“The nature of Sith is not a thing to be discouraged, for we are the enlightened few. Whose minds reach beyond the confines of history and culture that strangles our kind. You are correct, you should not care for these grand calls for the death of the Jedi. Only one death matters, the final death. The end of all things, where we return to that darkness primordial.”

It didn’t particularly matter to Lirka how much of her mysticism that Helix believed. He listened, and that was enough for her to count him among the believers.

“And that, is the true foolishness that has festered within the culture. Domination, a Sith order that has ascended to grasp the Galaxy and destroy the hated foe is an impossibility. We must merely look towards the universal fundamentals, conflict, and suffering. The only thing we should care about, dear Marshal. Is the conflict, it does not matter against whom. There will always be Jedi, there will always be Sith - in some form or fashion.”

Perhaps she wasn’t the best attendant for a conclave of Sith domination. But she certainly was fond of the prospect of inflicting even more suffering across the Galaxy through this swell of evil.

“Suffering, and transience. One will swell, the other will suffer. In their suffering, they become transient and enter a new form. Such is life, such is the endless struggle. Perpetual war from which only the worthy survivors remain. Till the day comes.”

Two beings, at the end of the universe, throttling each other as the stars grow cold and dead. That was the phrasing she so often enjoyed to use.

Of course she did not talk idly, everything had a purpose. Even here, outside Sith Space, there was politicking to be done. In her own…helpful…way.

“Indeed, that is what I believe has befallen our associate from Anoat. He has preached destiny and finality, and in my concerns he will be consumed by it in the wake of primordial truth.”

Darth Nefaron was a poignant beast. Destructive, wide reaching. A useful being, one who easily could walk the dark path and someone she was confident had already done so unintentionally - as so many mass murdering villains did. She would loathe to see such talents wasted.

“Of course, merely food for thought. I believe there is a conclave that would greatly benefit from the presence of an unblinded perspective.”

She also needed to see who had actually made it in the temple, instead of getting caught up in the bloodbath outside.

 

[Helix]

Tags: Lirka Ka ​

Helix turned to follow Lirka, leaving the chaos behind. As much as he was enjoying the show, it wouldn't do let Ka wander the grounds unsupervised. He still had uses for her.

The Once-Sephi chattered endlessly as they went. Helix sometimes wondered what allowed her to go on so long without taking a breath. Either exceptional long capacity, or else a mechanical vocabulation system. In the end, the result was the same.

He didn't buy a lot of the more mystical aspects of Ka's philosophies, but she did at least admit that the problems he saw existed. That counted for a great deal, in these benighted times. Anyone who looked beyond the immediate here and now was worth talking to, or in Lirka's case, listening to.

Some might find the creature's prattling exhausting or infuriating in equal measure. He found it amusing, occasionally enlightening. From time to time, it was even flattering. Not many in Sith space seemed to actively seek out his company as aggressively as Lirka did. Sure, it was because he listened and tolerated her proselytization when few others would, but that was still something.

He'd long been of the belief that the Order's various fringe elements needed to stick together. Lirka and himself certainly fell within that sphere, whether he liked it or not. So he tolerated her eccentricities, humored her unusual philosophies, and otherwise gave her the respect few others would. It was simple courtesy, from one monster to another. An understanding.

Besides, when one cut through the endless fulminations of self-written scripture, she was usually right. Lirka had a way of seeing into the ugly truth of things. Today was no different.

"As ever, you're correct of course." He replied indulgently. As she was. Helix didn't much distinguish between what philosophies his enemies clung to. At the end of the day, he wanted things, and when he wanted things, he took them.

Occasionally, that prompted others to stand in his way, and from that arose conflict. That was what it all boiled down to. Whether you were strong enough to survive the endless scrabbling for resources that defined existence.

That was how Helix saw the universe, pared of all its unnecessary details. Take, or be taken from. Not an especially comforting philosophy, but he drew his own comfort from a firm belief in his own invulnerability. He'd spent many lifetimes ensuring that he could destroy anyone or anything that tried to take from him, or at the very least escape it.

"I do not believe we need worry about Nefaron's course in life. He is a survivor, like me. I know one when I see one." A sort of raspy, grinding chuckle emerged from the colony, like the stridulations of an enormous insect.

"It is stitched into his very flesh. He wears his wounds for the galaxy to see, and why should he not? A wound displayed is proof of a danger survived and overcome. A living illustration of the maxim that a man may be destroyed, yet still not defeated."

"I used to bear many such wounds when my body was still a thing of limits and defined shape. Too many to count and remember, all from my slow, painful efforts to survive. Yet here I am, watching so-called Lords butcher one another for my viewing pleasure."

"Survival is all well and good, don't get me wrong. Indeed, it's an achievement worth celebrating. Every day you're still alive, resisting the pull of the void, is no small victory. Nonetheless, if you want to truly spit in the universe's eye, you thrive. Become greater despite its attempts to beat you into the dust, and maybe beat the universe back a time or two."

He tossed his head back in the direction of the sounds of violence from outside. "Say what you will about those simple brutes in there, but they're proof I'm right. Thriving amidst the offal of their own directionless aggression. Happy as can be, one and all. Well, except the ones that lose. I'm not concerned with the happiness of proven losers."

"That's as close as you can get to getting one over on the cosmos, in my mind. Taking what you want, killing anyone who disagrees, and not ending up like him." He gestured with one bladed claw towards the blood that still coated Lirka's hands.

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Wearing: Armor
Tag: Tamsin Starfall Anet Raine Vestra Tane
Nearby: Lirka Ka Hasuras Na-Gerra Helix

Continued from here...​

"Aaaaaaaaahaaghhh!" a shrill sound echoed down the steps.

Then armored footsteps, and an eerie, fiery glow. Those screams continued in the wake of a long shadow it cast, wide pauldrons, heavy gait. Darth Anathemous looked almost bestial as she descended the stairs, the screaming, writhing worm of an assassin had finally silenced, finally stilled, as she dragged the man by his face behind her.

A face which had since turned to ash in her flaming grasp.

The Lord of Blades marched in silence, didn't look at any of them, as she approached the altar.

With one fluid, brutal motion, she swung the lifeless man behind her over her shoulder and onto the dark altar before her. Crimson splattered in a long arc, and with a sickening crunch, the now bare skull separated from that pathetic corpse, locked in her iron grip.

A blood sacrifice to this temple, from a half-witch.

"Does anyone else—" she snarled from the bottom of her lungs, hunched like an animal.

"Object to the fucking hunt?!"

​

 

[Revna Marr]

Whispers had reached Revna’s ears of a gathering of Sith, and when she learned that her own Master was to attend - she made it clear that she wished to go with Him. Now that she was free from the chains that bound her to the Kainate, she was happy to go wherever Darth Strosius went, if He so desired her company anyway. Other duties often called her elsewhere or prevented her from joining her Father on adventures, but she was free from responsibilities for this particular event.

But she wouldn’t be joining Him alone; with her were her two Apprentices - both of whom had been quietly ordered to join both her and the Lord of Wonosa Himself. It would be an opportunity for both young Sith to watch, listen, and learn. No doubt, many faces and clashing opinionated voices would arrive for this conclave, this meeting of sorts. She wanted to expose them to it all - learn the faces of their enemies, for no doubt they would be present too. She would not shelter them, though she kept an ever watchful eye on them both. Lessons taught could only get one so far…they would need to learn through exposure for many other things.

Revna Marr moved alongside Darth Strosius quietly, her dark and unadorned robes trailing her with a soft whisper, doing her damndest to hide the faint limp she bore as a result of the incomplete healing she had undergone after her rescue. It had forced the Vahla woman to change how she fought, how she moved, how she interacted with both allies and enemies alike. But she did as she always did: she adapted.

She took her seat beside her Father, casting a neutral expression to both her Apprentices that spoke for her: watch and listen and learn.

It wasn’t long until others began to show their faces, or masks, - some Sith she knew rather well, some were allies, and some others were faces she didn’t recognize or know. She kept her eye on them all, passing a neutral fiery gaze from one to another. Then, she felt something familiar stir and the Force practically screamed as a rip appeared and out through it stepped none other than the Sith Emperor himself, Darth Empyrean.

Her attention flickered immediately to the Sith Lord at her side - His absolute hatred for the Emperor and his ilk was well known - and with both Darth Carnifex and Darth Empyrean in the same space, she wondered just how powerful the temptation was for Darth Strosius to do something about it. Within her fiery eyes was a warning: Don’t do anything brash, for the love of Bogan.

Just as she thought things couldn’t get even more interesting, other Sith arrived - none of whom she knew, and didn’t really care to. But one in particular seemed to reveal his intentions almost immediately; Revna sighed softly, watching the scene unfold. True to their nature, the Sith couldn’t help but snap at one another like angry wolves over a kill.

“Well this is sure to put a dent into any discussions that were to be had.” she muttered under her breath. “I don’t know who in Bogan’s name these individuals are, I’ve never seen them be-” she paused, tilting her head as the challenge of a Kaggath was thrown around. Even Darth Empyrean was challenged by one of the newcomer Sith.

Now that was interesting. She wondered if the Dread Empress - who no doubt was in the wings, so to speak - would make an appearance for this, or even if the Sith Emperor would entertain such a challenge.

Revna turned her attention towards Darth Strosius, seeing others begin to move their way inside the Sith temple, content to leave those who wanted to fight, to do so. “Seems others are going inside the Temple to continue discussions. I’d like to be present for this, hear what is to be said, see what is to be done.”

She stepped past the robed Sith Lord, wondering if He would follow along or stay to fight with the others. Once upon a time, she might have waited and deferred to Him, as any good Apprentice would. But she was beyond that now. A chilled gust of wind fluttered her dark robes about her as she cast a glance back to her two Disciples, Lysander and Varin: “Stay if you wish, though you may learn more within the walls of the Temple, then outside of it. If you do stay, then do not get involved - unless you are directly challenged.” She pinned Varin with a rather stern and knowing look, before she moved onward. She was aware of the lust for battle that swam in the young Sith's veins; he had been practically bred for war - but some fights were not his to entertain.

Beyond her, the Temple beckoned forth - its dark radiance cold and forbidding to those who knew not the touch of the Dark Side. Revna continued onward, stepping up and beyond, feeling the cold press surround her on all sides. Within the temple, torches and chandeliers lit the way, guiding those that entered into various tunnels that all led to the same location: a chamber encircled by obsidian seats around a broken altar. Revna slipped silently into a seat, and waited for others to follow suit. Hopefully, something might come of this conclave. If not, then at least she could say she was entertained for a short while.

Direct Tags: Darth Strosius // Varin Mortifer // Lysander von Ascania ​

 

[Anet Raine]

Anet followed the Dark Lord's outraged aura. In truth, the Sith had moved faster than she dared keep up, especially with all that blood trailed behind her, and the violent screams and tormented eyes of her prey.

Yet, the dark energies of the Temple - no doubt intensified by the conflict outside - had stirred a sick pleasure inside of her. In a small, quiet way, the half-arkanian yearned to command the strength and power of her master. She began to shiver, not from the cold, no... her twin lineages made sure of that... but from the absolute rush she felt as they neared the center.

She ducked quickly and found a place near the back, far too afraid to place herself within the sights of other Sith. Even Anathemous was terrifying - part of Anet wondered if the Lord of Blades might not be so kind to her, were she annoyed by the scholar's presence.

Perhaps the chaos had distracted Vestra Tane , too, and the Dark Lord's other acolyte wouldn't heckle her so.

What have I gotten myself into...?

Anet's fear was more radiant than all the flames in the room.

Darth Anathemous | Hasuras Na-Gerra | Lirka Ka | Revna Marr | Helix

 

[Varin Mortifer]

One by one the Sith fell into the vicinity of the temple. Some already not comfortable with the idea of breathing the air of others, some itching to burst with their own pride. A disgusting thought, to know that some sith covet their own pride over allying under a common goal of Sith. To annihilate Jedi. You would think most Sith here would be frothing at the mouth.

Varin followed silently behind Lady Revna and Lord Strosius. All around him he could see the sith had gathered for a very important meeting. Already they were at each other's throats like starving animals. Varins brow furrowed as he watched everything begin to escalate. He spoke quietly, voicing his thoughts as he watched a challenge ensue.

“At this rate, the Jedi won’t have to lift a finger to kill most of the Sith off. Seems some here are already quite adept at that.”

As the drama flowed forth Varin growled to himself, tightening his fists. Opting to follow his master towards the temple. On the way up he spoke to both Lady Revna and Darth Strosius.

“An embarrassment, to know that some who are seen as leaders here treasure their pride so closely. Are egos during these meetings always so……fragile?”

He walked quietly as they made their way into the temple.

Revna Marr Darth Strosius Lysander von Ascania​

 

[Vestra Tane]

Whilst she made her way into the temple's interior, Vestra fiddled with and grumbled about the knife jammed in her arm. The Imperial assassins might have failed to do any real damage to the gathered Sith, but they'd certainly been annoying.

"Aaaaaaaaahaaghhh!" a shrill sound echoed down the steps.

Her Master seemed to agree. Good. Anathemous was normally a bit strait-laced for Vestra's tastes, so it was nice to see her cut loose a little. Although...Her nose crinkled. Burning skin was one of those smells you never really got used to, she figured.

So instead of focusing on the stench of cooking humanoid, she turned her mind otherways.

The Sith's gaze shifted, unfocused slightly, and what had previously sat comfortably in the background of her mind - the howling winds and eddies of the Force, agitated by the presence of so many Sith - now had her more-or-less undivided attention.

The Lord of Blades, she knew. Tamsin and Anet she knew well enough to single out. But everywhere around her there were new, unfamiliar vortices of emotion. If the ghosts' warning was anything to go by, they'd all be getting to know each other, anyway, and so while she lurked in the back of the temple, perhaps closer to Anet than her fellow academic would've wished, she let her mind wander among the varied and terrifying presences meandering their ways inside.

Who knew? So long as she was careful not to prod anyone too horrifying, maybe she'd figure out something useful.

TAGS: Darth Anathemous | Tamsin Starfall | Anet Raine | OPEN TO PESTERING

 

[Brooke Waters]

She wasn’t about to stay out where the fighting was biggest. The temptation of using a night spell would be too great. Brooke did have access to some of the Deep spells. But would that surely give her away?

Brooke was an unknown here. She was not a Sith. She had no titles. She could have spoke her to Kaila perhaps, before arriving. But had not. As an assassin followed her, the blonde turned to face.

Calling on the eels of the deep, electricity jumped and scattered over her stolen armor. As a swing came from the assassin, a purposely clumsy blast of lightning missed and raked over an area before finding the foe, causing him to shake and smoke.

Hearing The Darth she thought she recognized as Kaila, she turned. Did she oppose the hunt? Yes. But was she going to let that slip through her mind? No.

Darth Anathemous
Tamsin Starfall

 

[Tamsin Starfall]

Location: Desevro
Equipment: Armor | Twin Omen | Circlet of Projection | Talisman of Stars Enchained | Mind Crown
Tag: Darth Anathemous | Vestra Tane | Anet Raine | Others

It took every ounce of strength Tamsin had to fight the demon's impulse to want to fight, to want to destroy. It wanted to take over and just burn the whole damn world and everyone on it. Her steps felt like lead as she pushed herself to the temple on Kaila's command, she only looked back to watch her sister fighting off assassins.

As looked back another assassin jumped from the shadows towards her but the demon wanted blood and took whatever control it could get. Tamsin's right hand tightened as the demon took control, the fist balled up and the assassin dropped to the ground clutching their chest. The demon crushing the beating heart inside the poor pawn a voice rung in the assassin's head. "Insect, go tell your master's I am coming to destroy them." With that the grip on the chest loosened.

As Tamsin just walked by the assassin into the temple as they gasped and choked on the ground. Then the hand formed a flicking a motion and like insect hitting a fly swatter the assassin was flicked away with a force blast. Tamsin herself barely registered what had happened as she entered the temple, and the demon released its control of the arm.

She watched as Anet Raine ducked into one of the back rows just as Kaila marched in with the corpse of the Assassin she had dispatched of. She beamed with a bit of pride as Darth Anathemous asked if anyone objected. She wanted to yell out THAT'S MY SISTER but managed to hold herself back.

Her eyes looked to Vestra Tane with a nodded noting she wasn't hiding herself away. She then looked back off in the direction Anet Raine had ran off in. She slowly made her way in that direction and as she approached the poor girl, she gave a soft smile. "Darth Anathemous is a warrior and scholar." Tamsin said softly. "There is a time and place for both." Tamsin said noting the fear in Anet. "Come let's stand at our master's side and show a united front." Tamsin had never been afraid of Kaila's power she had always stood in awe of it, Kaila was the one thing she wasn't scared of. In time her sisters knew apprentices to would learn Kaila had many facets.

 

[Lirka Ka]

TAGS: Helix Darth Anathemous Tamsin Starfall Brooke Waters Vestra Tane Varin Mortifer Darth Strosius Revna Marr

Of course she was correct. Lirka Ka was too mad to ever truly be wrong unless she decided she needed to evolve her perspective. But that didn’t mean she didn’t like being reminded just how correct she was - it was one of the most endearing traits in Helix wondrous understanding of the way things were. Yet, not a boot-kissing lickspittle that offered no resistance. Truly, a marvelous specimen for her rantings and ravings. Though at the end of it all, it was the Mechanoid’s privateers that wooed the once Sephi the most, the rest was merely the glue to keep the alliance firm.

Freaks needed to stay together, after all. The menagerie of oddballs, eccentrics, wayward sorts that sought to forge a new path - so long as that path aligned with her own, of course. Lirka Ka was a jealous sort after all, perhaps it was why she delivered such distrust upon the last part of their triad. Questionable variables, the misery of an unknown aspect.

Yet did she make all the attempts she could to keep the air around her distrust casual, unconcerning. He was a beast to examine at a later date.

“But of course. Merely food for thought, if the worst is to become reality.”

She let out her own chuckle, almost as if they were friends over Caf instead of mass murderers walking their way through a dingy temple. It was a humorless thing, but it betrayed the ever so slight glimmer of glee within her words.

“Succinct as ever, dear marshal. The scar is a beautiful thing, a reminder of wrenching free from the Darkness’s grasping talons. Indeed it is our lot in life to survive, though that needs not be stated. We understand well enough that both of us are true survivors.”

It didn’t need to be said. But she said it anyway. Such was Lirka Ka. Her favorite sounds, the blade through flesh, the cracking of bone, the thunder of a turbolaser - and her own voice.

“Indeed, must we thrive. Evolve. Grow beyond what we were - so oft survival and stagnation are one and the same. The comfort of success lulling the senses, inviting in peace instead of chaos. Perhaps that is why the Sith are so good at surviving, they butcher themselves so constantly that stagnation can rarely set in for long - the worthy few like us are far too primed to cut it away.”

Another chuckle, and it sounded like this one was actually amused.

“Ah Helix, we do not need the battering of Lords and Emperors to prove we are right. The very reality we inhabit, and even those we do not, prove our justness every day.”

Her face may not have been visible, but she most certainly was grinning. In that horrid, vindictive, and sadistic way she so often did.

“And we shall see if this newest gathering of miscreants proves our rightness as well. Many a face here today, my friend. Run the calculus among this assembled mass - there is a quaint claim to stake as we I believe there shall be quite a few Jedi in the days to come where we shall take what we please from them, and kill if they disagree.”

Her slit lenses gazed over those who had come inside. Some faces, familiar. Many more were not. More variables to consider, more variables to distrust. Oh how these little get-togethers ravaged her paranoia, but it enticed the succulent call of possibility all the while.

Of course, one particularly loud face was more familiar than most. The hunched form of her could’ve-been-killer Darth Anathemous brought fond memories of D’Qar to her brain. That muddy shithole that offered a wonderful spark to realizing just how many Sith sought her demise - Lirka was almost disappointed she had not seen such a bestial thing as they clashed.

Words rang, of course Lirka had objections to their little hunt. The grandiose nature of it was amusing, but her objections would not rise to another brawl like that one outside. Nay, she would’ve been a bad perpetrator of Darkness if she were to rebuke such a call of wanton plunder and murder.

Well. There was work to be done.

Clawed metallic hands clapped together with a thundering clang, the Once Sephi bristled and stepped forward. It was time to stake claim, strategize, and see what loot they’d be able to drag up from this mess.

“Alright, my Sithly chums. The time has come to plot this grand debacle of death, so I say - what shall pledge ye’ to the death of the Jedi?”

It would be mighty hard if all they could muster was a good dozen lunatics and a handful of freighters, after all.