Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Private Into the Maelstrom

Akkadese Maelstrom, The Maw, Abeloth’s Planet

As the woman known under many names but who now held the name of Vanessa Vantai watched her shuttle slither its way past the final black hole within their route, the sight of a world she had not seen in a great many years became visible to her. It was a world whose sights had briefly been glimpsed by herself and Aristeia Zambrano during their brief trip beyond shadows, a world where Vanessa had once been during the crisis the young Celestial known as Akala had caused. A planet once the home of the Ones - she understood them now. The knowledge of Ooradryl and his siblings still bubbled within her brain, the understanding of what the Ones were - they truly were “what the Celestials became,” as the Killik had said. The shuttle entered the atmosphere as Vanessa turned back to eye a hulking armored figure of a woman who sat uncomfortably in one of the seats behind her: one Joycelyn Zambrano Joycelyn Zambrano .

Very rarely had Vanessa worked with any of the Emperor’s children but her own. She had crossed paths with many in her time: Constantinius, Evelyn, Farah... even one or more of the various experiments that had formed the line of the Elani Zambranos made over the years. Yet sitting in the back of her shuttle was the Emperor’s most prized offspring, the one Vanessa had divined as his successor were his ambitions to one day overwhelm him. It was surprising that she had received a request from the second Darth Vornskr - such pride Kaine must have had in his spawn to give her his old title as Darth, a title Vanessa fondly remembered him acquiring as Emperor of the last Empire - to accompany her on the journey to fulfill that research which Darth Carnifex Darth Carnifex had requested of her. Already she had sacrificed her flesh and the mortal boundaries of her understanding in order to grow closer, yet neither Ooradryl nor his spawn understood the operation of the Interdimensional Gates any better than she had as a mortal. Their last interactions prior to and during the resurrection of the fallen Other Space Kaiden Other Space Kaiden had been a tad less than cordial, albeit not overtly hostile, which had raised the suspicions of Vanessa as to her purpose.

“We’re here.” The Triumvir of Power said as the shuttle finally descended onto the grass, its rear door opening and gently touching the ground below. Vanessa looked at the Sith Princess for a moment before realizing that she would be unable to move past her given her heft within the shuttle. She grabbed a satchel, additionally taking with her the sword known as Gorger for use in the event of any trouble. If there was but one thing Vanessa could do, it would be to repair something damaged upon this world, something for her own future benefit. For now, she would need to wait.

“You first.”
 
Indeed, the seat was quite uncomfortable.

At least it was for a while until she put her arms on the sides of it and forced them out until it fit her better. Even then it was not like the seats in the crafts made to her dimensions. Joycelyn had become accustomed to find furniture sized or her, particularly after her ascension to lordhood and new responsibilities within the Empire.

Yet, the discomfort only took up a part of her mind. Through discipline, she let the discomfort fade as she focused on the tasks ahead. The presence of her sithsword, laid across her lap, helped her focus as she let her mind slip deep into the Force during their travels. She saw places, shadows of people and things from distant places, of past and future. Her mind filtered through pain as the unifying factor of this reality, flitting from moment to moment as she let the Force take her, guide her. The Vahlacanthix' meditation ended when she heard a single phrase uttered.

"We're here"

Rising from her seat, she shook the numbness from her legs. The shuttle was quite small, forcing her to practically crouch.

"You first"

She shot Vanessa a look: A hint of a smile and a quizzical twist of her eyebrows. Then, the Princess pushed her way to the exit. Air and freedom of movement was welcome as she climbed out and clipped Zaudraka's sheath to her belt. She rolled her neck and stretched her back to ensure her body did not succumb to cramps should she need to move rapidly. Then, she reached out into the Force as well. She felt the planet around them, sensing with every physical and non-physical sense she could summon. It felt as though it trembled with potential, with power. Yet, quiet.

"A curious place."

Onrai Onrai
 
Upon the exit of Joycelyn Zambrano Joycelyn Zambrano from the ensconcing interior of the shuttle, Vanessa was finally able to truly make her way out of the shuttle in question and once more step foot on the surface of the world she had last been to decades before. Indeed, almost nothing had changed from her prior arrival: as she reached out, there were only a few Force signatures, one exuberantly strong while the others were very faint. Vanessa breathed in the air of the planet momentarily before eying the cross-bred princess. “Just as I remember it. We should begin with the ruins of the Ones’ village.” She pointed to a set of crumbled ruins in the distance, blackened portions of landscape mostly overgrown with a mat of glistening green grass. “There.”

As their procession to the ruins would proceed, Vanessa would take a look over a Joycelyn and raise an eyebrow. “You had a reason for wanting to come with me on this explorative trip your father requested I partake in.” She said as they reached the outer wall of the first ruined building within the overarching complex. “What is it?” She asked in a curious tone, deliberately unaggressive. Perhaps by divining the rationale for her presence here, Vanessa would be able to form a more positive relationship with her, one that could prove beneficial to the Empire upon her inevitable ascension.

Or at least less hostile.
 
Onrai Onrai

Joycelyn answered Vanessa's suggestion with a simple nod.

Vantai had been here before, had experience with the things that lived here and the ruins that remained. Joycelyn was not so foolish as to think she should wave away expertise when it served her means. So Joycelyn followed Vantai quietly, keeping an eye on the horizon and a finger on the pulse of the Force. She absorbed every detail she could, as if she was fighting the planet itself.

But Vanessa had questions.

In the spirit of efficiency, Joycelyn answered the questions as they came.

"You have been around for a long time." She touched the corner of the wall they passed and inspected the dirt that came off it by rubbing it between her fingers. "Before me, before the One Sith, back in the original Empire."

Joycelyn looked at the woman, eyes narrow, but posture not aggressive. She then looked inside some of the buildings as they passed them by, curious both of the area and the area and its potential inhabitants.

"In that time, you must have gathered up many a gift, much interesting knowledge." She looked at Vanessa again. "Consider it curiosity."

It was not the most informative answer.
 
Vanessa could not help but give a chuckle as Joycelyn Zambrano Joycelyn Zambrano recounted her age. Were she in a normal human body, Vanessa would have estimated she was several decades old - old enough to have some grey hair or to potentially succumb to the physical degradation of Dark Side corruption, requiring a bit more use of Mask or of her illusory capabilities. “Stop, you’re making me remember my age.” She said nonseriously. “In truth, you’re completely right.” She said, eying through the ruins. “I remember back when your father wasn’t even Emperor of the last Sith Empire, even before his harem of wives was formed. He was just a plucky young Knight fresh out of apprenticehood. Ambitious. Cunning. And fortunate, as the many who held the position of a emperor before him either lost their position or relinquished it over the years as he grew in prestige within the Sith. It was his leadership of the Empire, in all honesty, that encouraged my loyalty to him. A loyalty I maintain even now.” She replied as the duo traveled further through the ruins. “And should something happen to him in his endeavors, I have told him that I will do my best to prevent squabbles, warlordism, and the collapse of the Empire. Already went through that one after the Republic and Fel Empire invaded.” She sighed. “I’m not sure if you’re the type who appreciates a story, but if you are, I’ll have to tell you about the New Order sometime.”

The two women had traveled through through the ruins, nothing in particular having stood out among them. There were what appeared to be the rubble of sleeping quarters and the ruins of utility buildings, but nothing that suggested the location of the portal. However, Vanessa did theorize a means to find it. The ideal place for such a portal, per her research, was at a point equidistant between the Force Nexuses on the planet - an issue complicated by the near-removal of one such Force Nexus by Akala. Now, she was going to need to heal it.

“There.” Vanessa said, pointing to a large indentation in a hill overlooking the ruins. “The cave which should have our first key to the unlocking of this portal.”

As they would hike the hill, Vanessa pondered on the inquiries the second Darth Vornskr had made. “Yes.” She finally answered. “I have learned from the Fallanassi, from the the then-Nightmother of the Nightsisters Petra Cavataio, from many more obscure Dark Side cults, from the teachings of the Sith, and from sources best left unspoken of during my twenty year self-exile in the Unknown Regions.” She chose for now to not mention what she had learned through the interactions with primordial energy. “My knowledge is open to those who ask, but is only useful to those with the power to make use of it - yourself for example.” She indicated. “Useless for an apprentice or one who has not developed themselves.” She pondered for a moment. “If there is anything you wish to learn of, from mundane to esoteric, inquire away. I’m not going anywhere.”

Not having ambition for leadership was the reason she had few direct enemies, after all.
 
"I read about the New Order, but I would appreciate hearing your take on it once."

Empty houses, empty chambers, just ruins picked clean by age.

That was, until the cave was pointed out. It was one of those things, so small in the landscape and removed from its power, that one did not think of it until it was pointed out. Now that it was, it was deafening. Joycelyn did not take her eyes off it while they walked, though she remained perfectly aware of what happened around her.

"Offering me untold power in secret on an abandoned celestial body on a secret mission." Joycelyn chuckled at the implications.

There were still those in the galaxy who would scream at her to refuse all aid and burn the witch. However, they were not Sith. They were the very nerfs the Sith sought to prey upon.

"You are putting me on the spot" "With so much power at my fingertips, what does one choose? Furthermore, what does the choices say about the kind of Empress I will become?"

The questions were rhetorical. Joycelyn knew herself well enough that she could tell what kind of Empress she would be. Power was not her first concern, as it was not her greatest weakness, diplomacy was. Spending endless hours reading reports or listening to the musings of polished diplomats and grey legislators was the truest bane of her existence.

"And you know as well as I, no power comes without strings attached."

Onrai Onrai
 
Vanessa smiled in response to even the fraction of Joyce’s interest. “Well... without boring you, the New Order was made out of the ruins Krag had left behind. His self-destructive actions had caused the Empire to succumb to attacks by the then-Republic and the Fel Empire, if I recall correctly. At the time the Sith had a triumvir system where there were three Sith beneath the Emperor, who were responsible for administrating their oversectors. Think Moffs, but Sith.” She said as they further entered the cave. “I rallied all remaining Sith Empire forces and for a time held out as what could best be described a warlord. My original flagship, the Ablution, dates from those times.” It was the oldest vessel still in some service with the Sith, to her recollection. No other vessel was of its age or vintage.

“Of course in time, people wered drawn away from preserving the old Empire, and the remnant failed. The combined arms, vehicles, starships, and starfighters are to this day in storage, in a location only I know about. All defueled and ready to serve again in the event that we are pushed to such levels of desperation.” The darkness of the cave grew ever more encumbering as Vanessa raised her index finger on her right hand, a bright flame some three inches long emerging as a source of illumination. “An old trick from the first Dark Side cult I ever learned from.” They wouldn’t continue to walk before coming to the prize - the Font of Power.

In response to the claim of power, Vanessa chuckled. “You’re going to get it eventually. I’ve known Kaine for decades. Seen him go from a lowly Sithling to twice-Emperor and unfeeling abomination. There’s a reason I have not married him since returning - I can’t allow myself to feel for someone who is incapable of feeling love for me.” She sighed as they came to the font, completely bereft of water as it was when Akala had drained it those many years ago. “But enough about me - even in his unfeeling state, I see the way he looks at you. The way he treats you. He carries tremendous pride in you, Joycelyn. More than for any of his children in the entire galaxy. And he has faith in you - such faith that he gave you his old name as a Sith Lord. He would never do such to someone of his kin unless his opinion of them were high.”

Vanessa sat down her rucksack and opened it, revealing a pair of large canteens. She began to unscrew the cap of the first one. “It’s going to be difficult when you become Empress. I have told your father this myself - I fully expect that there will be people who believe you to be a weak ruler. Some like that Sephi Moff.” She had certainly been resting at the bit to break away last they’d talked. “And those people will try to start a war the Empire cannot afford to have in this time of conflict. The Confederacy, the New Imperials, the Silver Jedi... the Bryn’adul. All desire our destruction or subjugation, and unity is important to ensuring this does not happen.” She focused, one hand outstretched as the canteen traveled over to the fountain, inverting itself as the water ran into the stone bowl. “To not repeat the mistakes of the past.” The canteen dropped as the last of its water went into the half-filled fountain.

“I’m telling you this out of sincerity. Whether as one to teach you that which you do not know, whether as one to provide you with guidance as you take your steps into a web of unfathomable complexity, or whether merely as one who has resources and power to support you and your leadership of the Empire, you have my loyalty from when you reign to when your reign ends, however it may be.” The second canteen was unscrewed and poured into the fountain, now once more filled and circulating water, albeit Vanessa felt nothing from it. “Hmm...”

It was then that she took a robe, spattered with the marks of dried blood, and maneuvered it over to the fountain. “What is taken away should be returned, at least in part.” The robe was dipped into the font through the power of the Force, Vanessa standing well away from it. A black tear ran down the corner of her eye as she watched the blood evaporate from the fabric - the water once more gained the presence in the Force it had previously possessed, though Vanessa did note it was weaker than it had been before.

“The deed is done. The Font of Power once more has the ability to give... well, power. But we aren’t here to turn into another Abeloth or Akala. No. The most likely location for another portal is the place directly amidst the main points of light and dark on this world. Now that the Font of Power has been at least in part refilled, we can determine where the likely place the Ones left this world is.” They were a step closer to discovering another clue in the gateway, a clue that would hopefully lead to wondrous new discoveries.

Joycelyn Zambrano Joycelyn Zambrano
 
The structure of three sith under the Emperor had existed in the current Sith Empire until recently as well; specifically the triumvirs. It was illuminating to know where that that structure had last been utilised. Records from the old Empire were notoriously unreliable due to the chaos of conquests and reconquests, from Sith Empire to Mandalorian, to Primeval, Dominion, Silver Jedi, and finally back to Sith Empire. And between each conquest there were countless individuals seeking to download, copy, and corrupt the information to cover their tracks. She had, however, heard much about Krag from her family. He was not so much a leader as he was a monster to be unleashed upon the galaxy. Joycelyn knew this already before they resurrected the sith lord. But she, if any, should know that monsters had their place.

As for Vanessa's hidden caches of weapons. They were not the only ones. In the early days of the Sith Empire, similar caches had been granted from remnants of the One Sith. However, they came without a name-tag. And if, against all likelihood, this tenth Sith Empire should fall, then new caches would be stored for another re-emergence. After all, the Sith were eternal.

Joycelyn raised an eyebrow at the production of fire, then raised her thumb and two first fingers to produce a ball of flame hovering above her hand. "Kro Varian?" She had studied many forms of fireshaping in order to help reconstruct the more refined aspects of Vahla fireshaping, comparing the motions and philosophy to cryptic messages left behind from Vahla of the past.

When they came to their prize, Joycelyn's lips thinned.

The Font of Power was less than she had imagined it to be. The stories had made it seem so impressive, but this looked nothing if not spent. Then again, some things of great importance often hid within unassuming appearances. The introduction of water did littlle to change its nature in the Force, however. "He didn't give it to me, I took it." What followed did more. "My path and my choices were my own" The water thrummed with potential power, one that whispered to her in seductive tones. "That is the source of his pride: I was the one to stand up and claim it."

She would not deny that she felt the calling of the water, watching dark and transparent fluid mix together, she felt the urge to reach out and take it. Then again, the stories told her not to. Abeloth, Akala, they drew too much attention to themselves. They gained unimaginable power, yes, but they lost all sense of their limitations, all sense of scale. Then again, Joycelyn was different, was she not? She had defied expectation and limitations before. A Sith uses their emotions like a captain uses their ship. The Sith make the calls, the ship follows.

"Perhaps-" She reached out with the fire in her hand and watched as it reflected itself in the fountain's water. She stared at the reflection, then closed her eyes as her middle finger gently touched the surface of the water. She called on the Force and the prophetic powers of the goddess Vahl. Streaks of light illuminated a sudden darkness before her, scripture carved itself into existence as she saw herself suddenly removed from reality. The streaks of light began to cross, interlock, then weave like a chart. Joycelyn watched closely, tracking every movement to the best of her ability as she witnessed the silent vision of a charter. The lines converged, then she was forced to blink. Her finger hovered just over the water, smoke rising from the pool.

She slowed her breath and watched the droplet sitting on her fingertip.

Onrai Onrai
 
Joycelyn's interest in where she had learned the techniques of pyromancy from made her smile. "A bit of that, a bit of time with the Vahla, and a bit of time with cults that are no longer alive." She said. The latter was certainly true given that the particular fire cult her existence as a Darksider had relied upon was long gone. As for the Vahl... She had seen the knowledge meant to be left unknowable. She understood the effervescent presence of the original goddess Onrai and her many incarnations. How strange it was that those incarnations were still to this day venerated and worshipped by cultured immemorial.

Vanessa's eyebrows raised in response to Joyce stating she took it. Her comments about how her path was her own made Vanessa smile. "He always was a sucker for the independent and free-spirited ones. I guess that goes to his children as well." Silently she watched as Joycelyn looked down at the water, tantalized by it. She was curious - the opportunity was certainly there. Aristeia Zambrano had certainly seen it herself during their journey beyond shadows. As Joyce's finger gently dipped, a single droplet of the maleficently empowered water sat on her fingertip.

"If you feel you are ready to imbibe the power and begin the arduous journey on the path to potential godhood - not the worship by throngs of countless sheep who don't know any better, but true godhood - there will be much to learn." Insofar as being an entity as that which Vanessa had just described, the ascended Sith was still adjusting herself to the power now at her disposal. How fortunate was she that this had happened during adulthood, after the trials and tribulations had appropriately hardened her. The last thing anyone required was to engage in acts harmful to her eternal well-being - or another instance of the instability of the galaxy.

Been there, done that.

After waiting to see whether or not Joyce chose to go the extra mile and truly drink of the Font, regardless of her decision, Vanessa would lead the future Empress out of the cave. As she pointed. a bolt of energy traveled from her finger to a point equidistant between the Font and the yet-unvisited Pool of Knowledge, a large burnt mark seared upon the surface of the world in question indicating precisely where the portal was, or at least where it was supposed to be. "There." She said, observant of what had just happened. "We can either go and see whether the portal is capable of being opened - or before that, we can visit the Pool of Knowledge. Perhaps it may have something for you as the Font itself did."

Joycelyn Zambrano Joycelyn Zambrano
 
The moment came, when she had to decide if she would let the droplet fall back into the font or if she would take it for herself. Without further thought, she drank it. It was not much, but she felt immediately that the quantity of water did not matter. There was a connection to the Font that now stretched far beyond what she had thought. Joycelyn had simply thought of power to continue her Empire, but what flashed through her mind was a path to something more.

She understood why some would drain the font entirely in search of more answers, but she knew it could not tell her more.

Not yet.

"We visit the Pool." She looked at her finger, then let her fingers curl into a fist. "When I have finally found my way here, I will not squander the opportunity."

Joycelyn did not believe in Vanessa's babble of godhood. While the Epicanthix believed that her line became gods in death, she knew there were no living gods. There were beings who had great powers, but gods could not exist in this realm. If they could, then Vahl would be there. Joycelyn knew that her goddess was elsewhere, and that these waters would bring her closer.

"Show the way."

Onrai Onrai
 
The primordial entity nodded, a smile evident on her face as the duo left the cave. Queries flourished within the mind of the twice-false goddess as she considered what would happen to the nascent Empress - would she remain as she was, merely empowered by her consumption of such a droplet of purified power? Would she begin to transform, as others had, into an entity capable of desecrating the laws of reality as Akala and Abeloth once did? Or would the results perhaps be something different, something as yet unknowable to the longer-term cause of the greater galaxy(and the Zambrano family)?

Who knew?

"It took a lot to do what you just did." She said. "For what it's worth, know that I'm proud you made that decision."

As the duo left the cave they were in, the entity wrapped in human form seemed to walk linearly towards the site of the Pool, a deliberate action as she stopped nearly halfway across to seemingly scuff the surface of the world with her heel in an inconsequential manner. Within some period of time, they would reach the pool in question, Vanessa peering in and looking back at the empty void of a reflection that showcased what she truly was.

"We're here. I've never been to this place personally - only in the realm of beyond shadows, with everything a whisper of its former self." She said. "A gaze into the pool is enough to allow one to see any number of possible futures that lie ahead. Maybe all of them if you're lucky. To bathe in the pool is to begin the process of shedding your mortality, to take the first step towards a greater form of existence, the tribulations of which will be more agonizing than the worst suffering that has ever been inflicted upon you." She smiled, motioning for Joyce to take a closer look.

"Hopefully, whatever you see will help you further understand whatever your pinnacle is meant to be in this galaxy."

Joycelyn Zambrano Joycelyn Zambrano
 

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