Grim Necessity [Content Warning]

[Darth Carnifex]

​

Night had descended upon Panatha and its people had fallen into a deep slumber as darkness enveloped the land. But there were few who could not bring themselves to rest, incapable of surrendering themselves to dreams. In the darkened hours they brooded, their minds assailed with wicked thoughts as they paced their chambers like caged animals, hungry and vindictive.

Rain pounded against the window of the master's office, the brief illumination of distant lightning casting distorted shadows across the tall chair and desk as the shadowed figure watched a transmission sent to him by his uncle, his Prince, and the closest thing he had to a brother.

"But by any means necessary, she cannot know that I am involved. I will leave this task to you, my King."

The blue-shaded image of the Goliath cut out again only for the transmission to repeat itself on a loop until, at long last, Kaine reached out with his hand to crush the device against the hard surface of his desk. In doing so he allowed the light from the lightning storm outside to illuminate his weary face, dark baggage hanging beneath his bloodshot sulfuric eyes, and his mouth was curved downward in a scowl.

He tapped a button on the comm built into his desk, paging one of his many servants within the castle to issue a single command.

"Bring me Doctor [member="Irajah Ven"]."

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah sat on the edge of the bed in the medical bay. It was late, but she was waiting for official leave to go back to her suite- she'd rather sleep there, with [member="Boo Chiyo"] in the next room, than here for another night.

She waited, quiet, turning her hands over slowly. When she's arrived back on Panatha after the kidnapping, her hands had resembled nothing more than so many shattered twigs. Of her injuries, none had compared to the damage inflicted on her hands by [member="Vrak Nashar"] in his final act. She'd done what he had wanted..... but not nearly as demure or well behaved as he would have wished. She had sobbed like a child after, great heaving breaths of pain that were so much more than a response to the physical sensation.

But they were whole again- still scarred, always, because bacta didn't help in that regard. She would always have the scars on her hands and from the electrical burns. She flexed her fingers- not even a phantom of pain remained. Other than the memories and scars, there was no trace that he had ever sought to take her profession from her.

The sound of the door sliding open brought her head up. Expecting to see one of the medics, she was surprised by the presence of one of the palace servants.

"The King requires your attendance, Doctor Ven."

Irajah stood up, nodding slowly.

"Of course."

The fact that it was simply one of the servants and not one of the Crownsguard put some of her reservations to rest. After all, being called to speak with the Lord of the Reach in the middle of the night was.... to say concerning would be woefully inadequate. But if something had been wrong, surely it would have been the guard here.

Not that she could imagine what could possibly be wrong.

As she followed the servant through Vain Hollow, she settled on that this was likely to hear from her directly exactly what had happened. She would have no problem, no hesitation, describing the red faced Sith in detail. She regretted that she didn't know his name to share with the Zambranos, but perhaps it would be enough. She grimaced, hating the taste of just how helpless she'd been. She'd taken her own revenge, in a way- his plot would ultimately come to nothing due to her own machinations. But there was a part of her that would desperately like to see his face ground to a bloody paste.

She had never been to this part of the castle before. Perhaps that was the source of the vague unease. Or maybe it was simply that Kaine Zambrano frightened her in a way that Vrak had not. So when they reached the door, she swallowed, then steeled herself.

Stepping inside, she bowed.

"Your Majesty sent for me?"

Whatever it was, it couldn't be worse than the events of the last week. That nightmare was over.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The King had risen, his back facing the entryway when [member="Irajah Ven"] was granted access to this private sanctum, and both hands were clasped behind him as he stared absently out into the darkened abyss. The remnants of the holocommunicator were where he had left them after destroying it, and every now and then some of the electronics would sparkle and spit with fragmented energy.

The air was thick with tension, the aura of foreboding hung heavy in the ungarnished chamber.

His only acknowledgement of Irajah's entry was the slight tilt of the head, only the slightest of inclinations to reveal the barest minimum of his luminous pupils. His mouth was still torn perpetually downward in a frown, and he would wring his hands anxiously ever couple seconds or so as if he was anticipating something. He beckoned to Irajah with one finger, his hands still slung around his back, to approach in response to her vocal inquiry.

But he was still uncharacteristically silent.

 

[Kuzo]

She hesitated.

For a heartbeat, the view of the room shifted, fracturing. It was disorienting, disturbing. She couldn't grasp the slightly off angle reality that veered off ahead of her in that moment. This had happened, once before on Maena... It had been at her finger tips then however. The shattered crack in reality faded almost immediately this time, so swift that she doubted, for a moment, that she had seen it at all.

The slight hitch in her step was barely noticeable however as she crossed the room slowly. She had never seen him like this. It was unsettling, almost moreso than his usual visage and presence.

His continued silence was heavy as she stepped up. Slightly behind him and on his left hand side, Irajah stopped, her hands clasped in front of her, barely aware of the nervous fidget in her fingers.

"What can I do for you, my lord?"

She spoke softly, carefully, her tone polite and respectful. There was an unspoken what troubles you just on the edge of her lips before she pulled it back. Nervous speech. Extra words. They seemed..... wrong.... in the silence.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

There was a tightness to his jawline as [member="Irajah Ven"] approached, followed by the slightest of movements that might indicate that the King was grinding his teeth against each other in intense deliberation. He unclasped his hands, his right proceeding to hang limply at his side while he hefted up his left to about chest height. His head tilted down as if he were studying his gloved hands, each finger flexing individually as the silence dragged on after the last reverberations of Irajah's question faded into oblivion among the angled walls of the chamber.

Then his hand clenched into a fist and then slowly unclenched, but it seemed in that moment that he had finally come to a decision.

And a flash of anger cut through the air like a knife, heralding the inevitable violence that was to come. He pivoted and swung his left arm outwards in a horizontal arc, the back of his hand sent on a cataclysmic trajectory right towards Irajah's head and face.

And still there was silence from the King.

 

[Kuzo]

The heavy sound of rain was clearer here, near the window. The slight spark of the broken electronics on the desk caught the corner of her vision. She glanced in that direction, frowning ever so slightly at the incongruous sight before turning her attention back to Kaine-

Only the barest trace of danger warned her. Hazel eyes widened, a sudden flash of lightening reflecting his raised fist in her eyes. She leaped back- not enough to avoid the strike entirely. Even as a glancing blow to her cheek, it sent her spinning halfway around, and scrambling backward.

King or no, she wouldn't simply stand there while he lashed out at her.

"Your Majesty, what-"

But she didn't get a chance to finish.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

In a second he was on her, his right hand thrusting out to grasp the collar of her tunic in an iron-tight grip.

His eyes burned with seething anger but his face was strangely stoic despite that, his mouth still tightly shut in a deep frown. With nightmarish ease he lifted the Doctor up by her tunic and moved to throw her against the far wall perpendicular to the entryway which closed after a simple gesture with his left hand.

The stench of hate permeated the air, waves of cold anger radiating out from the King's body as he stalked ever closer. He said nothing, not even the slightest resemblance of an explanation or even one of his trademark goads.

Only silence, only the desire to hurt.

[member="Irajah Ven"]​

 

[Kuzo]

She stared up at him, the fires of Mustafar itself burning in his eyes. It only lasted a moment, just long enough to register the fury, the hate- before she found herself airborne.

It's a nightmare.

Irajah's body slammed against the wall. She managed to get her hands under her as she fell, though she couldn't have said how. Collapsing at the base of the wall, she closed her eyes for only a moment, wincing as she scrambled to get her feet under her. Anything to not be lying on the floor, crumpled in a pile.

She looked up, feeling him more than anything else. The sound of thunder roiled through the room, but the feeling of each of his footsteps on the floor shook her far more than any the storm's growl.

"Please, your Majesty- what have I done? Whatever it is, I would undo it in a heartbeat if you would tell me what-"

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

No solace.

He thrust out his right hand, his fingers curling inward as an invisible force clamped down on [member="Irajah Ven"]'s throat like a vice. That same force seemed to envelope Irajah like a shroud, lifting her up off the ground and throwing her through the air like she was nothing but a doll in the hands of an impudent child.

Thrashed back and forth, body whipping this way and that with little heed for her health. A final gust of power would fling the doctor high into the air, possibly hitting the ceiling, with no Force to catch her or even slow her descent towards the hard floor below.

And still Kaine said nothing.

 

[Kuzo]

She knew the feeling of her breath being choked from her throat all too well. But what came after was new- and utterly terrifying. Every joint, every muscle cried out in protest. Her eyes closed tightly, jaws clacking together on her tongue hard enough to draw blood. She reached out, trying to get purchase on something, anything- Her hand slammed into the ceiling, followed by the rest of her body.

The fall was longer than it had any right to be.

Once again, she tried to get her feet under her, twisting in the air. But it wasn't enough, she was too disoriented. She fell heavily, landing awkwardly on one leg. Irajah screamed then. She felt it buckle, a snapping pop as something broke, seering fire ripping through her lower leg and ankle as she collapsed in a shuddering heap on the floor.

"Please," she could barely draw in the breath necessary to utter the shaking word. "Say something-"

She struggled to get her arms under her.

​[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

His footsteps were heavy, slow, and methodical as he approached the writhing crumbled form of [member="Irajah Ven"] after she had tumbled from the sky to hit the floor below with a gruesome snap as her leg was shattered by the impact.

He waved his hand, and Irajah tumbled across the marble floor all the way to the distant wall before another wave sent her tumbling the other way. Each atrocity he committed against her was not made to be lethal, it was as if the King intended to put her through unimaginable bodily harm without actually ending her life.

A terrifying prospect.

Finally he'd yank her back to him, and with one triumphant stomp he would bring his heavy boot down on Irajah's unbroken leg with the intention to shatter it as well.

 

[Kuzo]

Time ceased to pass in minutes or in seconds. Instead it passed by each strike, each new pain inflicted. They built up like stones in a wall, each heavier, more substantial than the last, as they created a sum far greater than their individual moments.

Irajah was a doctor- but she had never been on the receiving end of this kind of sheer brutality. It wasn't possible to keep an ongoing catalogue of the injuries piling up throughout her body. The side of her head slammed into the wall and stars exploded. Disoriented, there was no way to register the knowledge that her ribs cracking along an old set of fracture lines occurred against the opposite wall.

She hadn't even realized her eyes were closed until the movement ceased. She choked on a sob, eyes opening only to be filled with the lightening illuminated form of [member="Darth Carnifex"] looming over her. Her hands scrambled on the cold floor, shaking too hard to find any purchase there. She tried to twist onto her side, but the weight on her broken leg shot fire through her and she cried out-

That call morphed into a keening scream as her other knee shattered between his foot and the stone floor.

"P-please-"

It had taken a week for [member="Vrak Nashar"] to make her beg. Kaine accomplished it in a handful of stones piled one by one upon her body.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He extended a hand, feigning assistance, and again her body was enraptured by invisible power and hoisted high into the air. He seemed to study her there as she floated serenely, droplets of blood raining down from her myriad of injuries.

His face was still hard, still emotionless saved for his eyes which burned like coals smoldering with unfathomable hatred.

He waved his hand and she was flung towards the massive window situated behind his desk, but no matter how hard she slammed against it there was no possibility of it breaking from that small of an impact. It was build to resist far greater strain. But even as the force of the impact reverberated through [member="Irajah Ven"] she would find that the sensation of falling was brutally cut short as the King took hold of her again with his insidious power, and shoved her against the glass again and again with each strike hitting a different part of her body.

And there was still no response to her anguished pleas.

 

[Kuzo]

Eventually, it all started to blur together. Repetition made it hard to differentiate between each new pain, each new insult rained down upon her body. She tucked her chin against her chest, arms curled up as she was flung over and over into the glass. Each time, she half expected to feel it shatter beneath her, but each time, it held.

She lost track of the broken bones, it wasn't possible to keep them all in her mind and remain sane or conscious- though unconsciousness was a point she was rapidly approaching. Blood streamed from her nose, from where the bones jutted from one of her legs. Everything was a fire of agony and motion, all wrapped together in the nightmarish gaze of [member="Darth Carnifex"].

The why barely seemed to matter- her eyes were squeezed shut, simply waiting now until the when- when it would be over.... or when she would no longer be aware of it any longer.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He pulled her back and slammed her down onto the desk, scattering the lingering broken electronics and spraying blood from her various wounds in ever direction. He let her lay there for a moment, her choked sobs of pain filling the air as he neared.

Carnifex was close enough now for Irajah to reach out and touch him, if she had enough strength left in her arms to do so, but nothing could phase him at this point. The short window of retaliation had long since passed when he shattered both of her legs and rendered her incapable of fleeing her brutal torment. He could sense that she was fading from consciousness fast, and that was not something that the Dark Lord desired of her.

She had to be fully awake to realize all that was inflicted upon her.

He reached down to grasp the top of her head with his right hand, and through that connection came a flood of dark energy directly into her brain with the suddenness of getting stabbed in the heart with a syringe full of adrenaline. This mysticism that Carnifex employed would keep [member="Irajah Ven"] conscious far longer than what was normal for one being put through so much stress and agony, ensuring that she would stay awake through it all.

Then he reached down to wrap his fingers around the bicep of her left arm, and squeezed with tremendous force to shatter the humerus.

 

[Kuzo]

It took a moment to realize that everything had stopped moving. Irajah didn't know if moments or hours had passed, and couldn't have parsed out the movement of time any more, even if she had tried.

Each breath drawn was like fire coursing through her. She sobbed, unable to do anything but that. Each breath, each sob was a stab, and when the first blood bubble broke on her lips, she knew, in a certain, distant kind of fashion, that one of her ribs had probably punctured a lung. Darkness ate at the corners of her vision, warm and inviting, heavy. An escape from whatever he was going to do to her-

Her back arched, eyes widening as she sucked in a great breath. Her heart beat, a cacophonous staccato in her breast, so hard and so fast she thought that surely it would burst. She gasped, choking on blood as the shadows at the edges of her consciousness were banished once more- every nerve screaming.

Hazel eyes locked onto [member="Darth Carnifex"]. She had no idea what he'd done- but the why of it was only too clear. To keep her conscious. Aware. Awake.

She screamed when he broke her arm. With all of the other pain, she didn't think it was possible for one more insult to break through the haze. But she was wrong.

"Why are you doing this?" She whispered, voice wet with blood.

Irajah didn't expect an answer.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He twisted her arm, broken bone grinding against bone, until it was mangled and crooked. He then moved to quickly break the other, wrenching and bending it to the point that it was just as ruined as the rest of Irajah's limbs.

She was utterly at his mercy, if he had any to give.

He stared down into Irajah's eyes, his fingers caressing her cheek to smear her own blood upon the pale bruised flesh of her face. His frown only deepened as he reached down to his side and unsheathed a dagger wrought from glossy black stone with a hilt made from yellowed bone. He held it aloft in full view of Irajah, letting her eyes trace over the macabre detail and sharpness of the curved blade. He brought it down towards her chest, dipping the point beneath the fabric of her tunic before cutting it away and drawing the blade across the cleft of her breasts and down towards her stomach.

Blood welled up from the thin line carved into her flesh, staining the blade with crimson as he continued to cut small lines into her skin. Each line was deliberate, not just random sketching, but meticulous inscription that gave some clue as to whom Carnifex sought to shift the blame for this monstrous act upon. From what Irajah gave to them it was obvious that her kidnapper had been a Red Sith, an ardent practitioner of the old way, and thus Carnifex delved into his knowledge of ancient Sith runes to carve various words into her body.

By the end of it his blade was dripping with wetness, its thirst slaked with Irajah's vitality.

[member="Irajah Ven"]​

 

[Kuzo]

She had flinched when his hand touched her face- but there was no where to go. No place to retreat to. There was no force left in her body that had the ability to walk away from this nightmare. At least, not physically.

As the knife gleamed in the darkness, she looked up, eyes squeezing shut. She clenched her jaw tight, but nothing she could do could stop the broken, shattered sobs that escaped her lips. Tears tracked down from the corners of her eyes, rapidly cooling where they pooled on her hairline.

"Please....."

Unconsciousness would have been a gift.

She didn't realize when he'd finished. Irajah kept her eyes shut tightly. Her entire body quivered, shivering in pain she could no longer differentiate from the simple fact of existing.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Finally he carved a unicursal hexagram into [member="Irajah Ven"]'s forehead, the culmination of the mutilation of her physical form.

The dagger was sheathed, her blood left to dry upon its blade, and he reached down with both hands to firmly grasp either side of her head and hold her gaze upward. He then knelt to one knee, letting his forehead touch hers as the Dark Side accelerated the mending of her scars but left the rest of her body bloodied and beaten.

And then, for the very first time since the beginning of this horrific ideal, he spoke to her with a whisper.

"You will be remade..."

Then he let darkness take her.

 

[Kuzo]

She didn't know what he carved into her body. The sith runes on her torso or her forehead were unreadable lines of fire, rather than any sense of language or meaning that she could draw. She could barely find the desire to draw another breath as blood bubbled on her lips- never mind seek meaning in all of this.

Why are you doing this?

The words wouldn't come. She had no voice left to question, to beg for understanding. She stared up at him as he lowered his forehead to hers, sulfuric eyes filling her field of vision as surely as pain drown out every other potential sensation. She didn't blink, didn't move.

"You will be remade..."

I don't understand.

Darkness ate at her vision, and she didn't fight it. She had nothing left to fight with even if she had wanted to. But the night was warm and free and blessedly empty.

The last thing she saw were his eyes.

She wouldn't remember his words by the time she awoke. But she would remember his eyes for the rest of her life.

Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angelic orders?​

And even if one of them pressed me​

suddenly to his heart; I'd be consumed​

in his stronger existence. For beauty is nothing​

but the beginning of terror, which we can just barely endure,​

and we stand in awe of it as it coolly disdains ​

to destroy us.​

​

Every angel is terrifying.​

[member="Darth Carnifex"]