It Will Take More Than Poison

[Armand Temi]

Location: Sith Academy, Korriban

One of the benefits to Raknar Myles's new post as cultural advisor to the Host Lord Anja Aj’Rou was access to a Sith Master in order to cultivate his Force sensitivity and train him to rise through the ranks of The Bleeding Sun. Once the Umbaran had been assessed at a physical level by the Host Lord’s trusted advisors, he was seen to be lacking in combat skills and even simple self-defense methods. So unbeknownst to him, training him in the Force would lengthen his chances of survival within the warring ranks of the Primeval themselves and prepare him for battle elsewhere where he would be expected to be able to fight and protect the interests of his God-Empress. But in his naivity, he thought that he would be spending most of his time lounging about the Imperial Palace, so with some grumbling he acquiesed to the training.

With haste, Raknar arrived at the fabled Sith Academy to meet his new Sith Lord, Darth Veneficia. He was ushered into the Academy main hall and ordered to wait. He sat on a nearby bench and marveled at the iconic stone monument that was to remind students that they had to crush rivals along the way. Well at least Raknar was proficient in this, although his method of assassination to date had been through the use of poison and nothing physical or Force-driven.

He wasn’t sure what to expect, if his new Master would come with other apprentices, assistants or alone so he waited wordlessly, sitting still with his pale hands in his lap.

[member="Darth Venefica"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

In spite of the history and traditions Korriban held for the Sith Order, she found it to her disliking. She hated the coldness and dryness of the planet. She hated the terrain, all mountains and rock formations mixed with red sand. And she hated the predators, weak minded and predictable. She was a swamp girl through and through. She preferred the humidity and wetness of the swamps. She preferred the terrain of rotting trees, sink holes, and the quicksands. And she preferred hunting the dangerous predators of her homeworld, unlike Korriban's were far more dangerous. She missed Dagobah. So when she discovered she would have to come to this wretched place to meet her new Apprentice, she had mentally screamed.​

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Upon stepping off her shuttle, she cursed under her breath, pulled her hood over her head, and looked at the newly renovated Sith Academy. The Primeval, it seemed, spared no expense in repairing the building. She closed her eyes and inhaled the Darkside energy that not only surrounded this place but encompassed the entire planet. If this planet was more like Dagobah, she could find a small amount of appreciation for it in her heart. But since it wasn't her homeworld, that appreciation for this planet was dead.​

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"Wait here," her voice hissing orders to her guardsmen.​

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She entered the Academy, taking notice of the magnificent decorations and colour schemes. She was impressed. Darth Venefica stood in the centre of the building, her black and red flecked eyes following the movements of the other people as they went about their daily routines. She glimpsed her new Apprentice sitting on a bench but elected to make him wait. The first lesson he would learn is patience. Far to many wanted power now rather than waiting and working for it. A flaw in the teachings from other Masters was the root cause of this and like all spoiled roots, they needed to be dug up and tossed away into a pile of refuse and fed to farming animals.​

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Taking her time, she walked about the main hall looking at some of the paintings and busts, even spending time to read some of the inscriptions attached to them. She sighed when she saw the bust of one particular and ancient Sith Lord being glorified. If this was Prakaith, the capital of the Sith, she would have destroyed the marble statue without giving it a second thought. However, she was a guest here and she allowed her anger to subside before moving to her new Apprentice.​

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"Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps make you powerful...the other helps to ensure your survival," she said before walking away from him. The choice was his to follow her or simply remain seated and uneducated.​

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[member="Raknar Myles"]​

 

[Armand Temi]

Raknar felt her before he saw her. Although there were competing Force presences in the confines of the Sith Academy, hers was extremely strong. He felt her rage towards the Academy and a almost wistfulness for another place, a darker, more tangled place. Which is exactly how her Force signature read to him - tangled, unrestrained, like black branches with thorns reaching out to strangle any vestiges of the light. A deadly forest canopy which eventually blocks out the sun.

So as she approached, he immediately knew she was his new Master. She beckoned him over with barely a glance and a word of advice about knowledge versus wisdom. She wouldn’t have to worry about his knowledge – he had very little knowledge of the world outside Umbara. Was he wise? Could he be wise? Time would only tell. Raknar could be deceptive, but he never felt that he was making a wise decision as he attempted to survive a world where the odds were constantly stacked against him.

Raknar thought at first that the Sith Lord was also Umbaran but it appeared she wasn’t. He followed her dutifully and without an attempt to make conversation at first. Raknar was not a prideful man. Therefore Darth Venefica’s greatest challenge with him would most likely be his ineptitude to do anything correctly.

But eventually, following along at her heel, he said, “Mi’Lady, I have heard it once said that only a fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool. Do you have any thoughts on the matter?”

[member="Darth Venefica"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

She shot the man a sinister smile in response to his question. It appeared she had a thinker, a philosopher perhaps, as her new Apprentice. This was good. It was the Sith that prided themselves on both knowledge and wisdom that still lived to haunt the galaxy while the more, and lesser minded, brutal and shortsighted Sith that slept in unmarked tombs across the galaxy. She had watched as Sith that boasted physical strength was everything fall to Jedi blades, blasters, and even Sith blades while she had danced up through the ranks by manipulating everything and everyone around her. She could kill, if needed, without even calling to her hand the lightsaber that swung on her hip. Who needed physical strength when one had a strong will and mastery of the Darkside?​

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"A fool who thinks he is wise is born under the belief that they need to boast and demonstrate their wisdom for others to acknowledge....feeding their pride in the process," she replied. "They allow themselves to be betrayed in their thinking that by displaying their wisdom....or power...that they are snipping away any threat to themselves. In truth, jealousy and envy are powerful motivators...so much in fact that it comes down to this. 'What you possess....I want.'"​

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With a small nudge with her hands, she pushed open the door that spilled them both out onto a red sandy path. There was nothing to be gained standing inside the Academy and nothing for her Apprentice to learn inside. Training, true Sith training, took place out in the galaxy where the dangers were real. Holograms and training droids could not bestow the threat of death inside one's heart. So as they walked along the winding path, she looked at the statues that dotted the horizon, where many of the greatest Sith Lords now rested.​

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"A wise man is only a fool when he...or she...fails to see the dangers ahead," she continued, "No amount of power, knowledge, or wisdom can save them if they are to foolish to rely on it. Or see danger before it manifests into their death. A wise man...fool or not...knows the difference between when and how to use their tools in comparison to abusing it. A wise man sees the bigger picture while a foolish wise man only sees a portion of it. A wise man plans for all possible scenarios while a foolish wise man elects to deal with them as they appear. In summary, we are all foolish wise men and woman....but it's how we react to the world around us that dictates if we live or die."​

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"For example," she added stopping at the mouth leading into the Valley of the Dark Lords, "Using your knowledge of the Force to kill someone weaker than yourself that poses a threat to you is not wisdom...it's weakness. It's wisdom in turning them to your cause and using them to your own means that is knowledge...and that is true strength. And here we shall see if you are the fool that thinks them self wise....or the wise man that thinks he is a fool."​

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The duo enter the tomb of Ajunta Pall, taking care not to disturb the restless spirits that now call this place home. And it is here that her new Apprentice will come to know the true nature of the Darkside of the Force.​

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"Inside this tomb sits an hidden chamber. You will find this chamber...enter...and wait for the Darkside to test you. If you pass....you are ready. If you fail....I will spare you the embarrassment of living in failure. Now go, my Apprentice. Discover what lies underneath your surface."​

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[member="Raknar Myles"]​

 

[Armand Temi]

Raknar listened to Darth Venefica expounding upon the topic of wisdom and fools, and at first her description of a fool sounded exactly like himself in way. So much that his cheeks colored with embarrassment although she probably wouldn’t notice the way she swept along the walking path so quickly. But when she said “What you possess....I want." Raknar would be able to relate. He had spent his entire young life so far in the shadows, cursing his lower caste status and envious of those who had a better life. For years he had worked physically and mentally to change his status, carrying out activities that he was not proud of… but he had such little pride to begin with, he supposed. It wasn’t a luxury afforded to someone who had to scrape and scrounge like a stray dog finding its next meal.

As they made their way outside, Raknar was grateful that Master and Acolyte were not going to be confined to the Academy. His own schooling was not academic or pedantic at all. He had learned everything from experience, and most times, the hard way. Darth Venefica continued to talk in detail of the wise and the strong, and he did listen, but the young Umbaran was distracted by the Sith-built tomb that they entered and its foreboding aura.

He swallowed anxiously, took one last look at his raven-haired Master and wordlessly entered the Tomb. Although near the entrance, there were torches that one could light, the Umbaran didn’t need to as his racial night-vision was exceptional. Plus he would seem braver to the Sith Lord and already he longed to impress her. Waving cobwebs away at every turn, Raknar eventually made his way past an armory and found a room with hulking statues and a couple of altars. This must be the hidden chamber in Ajunta Pall, he thought. He stopped and kneeled on the ground, closing his eyes. But the neophyte he was, Raknar wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do or feel next.

[member="Darth Venefica"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Alone in a separate chamber from where her Apprentice was, she brushed away debris and skeleton remains of dead animals with her bare feet. Satisfied with the somewhat clean area in the dingy chamber, she sat down crossing her legs over one another. Slowly she fell into a meditation trance and began searching out for the dark spirits that called this tomb home. Ajunta Pall's tomb was stronger in the Darkside than the others due to his corruption from dabbling in both Sith Magick and Alchemy. ​

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Despite her distaste for Korriban itself, she did love this tomb. She had spent a month, alone, rooting out it's secrets and communing with the Force ghosts of long dead Sith; some powerful than her in life and some not so much. What she had gained by doing this was learning more about the Darkside than anyone living could have taught her. Even tomes and holocrons could only instruct so far. For her willingness to commune with them, she had formed a bond with the dead. And in turn for their wisdom, she had promised that every new Apprentice she took would be brought before them in judgment.​

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"Great spirits of the Darkside," she began in a haunting chant. "I have brought you another to test. Show him the horrors of his past and the glory of his future. Withhold nothing....let him feel the coldness of death....and feed him the knowledge to fill his voids."​

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No sooner did she end her ritual when she felt the cold presences of the long dead Sith. Through the Force, she felt them brush around and through her. Then she heard the voices speak in unison, granting her a smile, as they moved from this chamber to where her Apprentice waited.​

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"And now we shall see if you are worthy, my Apprentice," she whispered to the empty chamber.​

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[member="Raknar Myles"]​