Memories of the Past

[Serian Loria]

It wasn’t an alien thing for him to earn his place. He hadn’t risen to the rank of Lord within the Sith by virtue, he’d had to earn it. These hundred years later and his new place within the Crusade was one he had to earn as well, which suited him just fine. Isley had given him his place so he’d be in a position of use, he hadn’t really desired to be handed it, but the man chose as he was won’t. Here it wasn’t so and it made more sense to him. His area of the library wasn’t much, especially given that while he was still healing he wasn’t even all that sure he was up to something more complicated.

Because of the small section he spent most of his time sitting, something that was going to grow aggravating. He’d have liked to at least help repair books, but that it seemed was above his station. He dealt with his growing boredom quietly, there was nothing he could do. His body might not be sound yet, but his mind was perfectly fit and while he might not have the physical strength, he had Power to make up for it. He didn’t offer to use it, he wasn’t quite sure how that would go and he didn’t want to risk causing upset.

He was grateful that the shift he took was late at night, the place was mostly empty which allowed him a chance to explore. This wasn’t unfamiliar, the rows of books, scrolls, tomes and even simply collections of papers remained unchanged. As he walked into the back, the collections here were far far older, he saw a leather bound tome that looked familiar. He walked over to it and took it down with great care, running his fingers over the, now faded, label. It was the listings of various Sith archivists, he opened it and read through the names.

The particular volume was one he had personal experience with, though the shelf it was on was merely for aiding in direction, not for any real research value. This was just one of many, but this volume only held sentiment for him because while it was faded, his name lay written. He had thought this would have been lost, so many years had gone and his former home was nothing but ruin now. Yet it seemed that though it must have traveled far and through much, as his eyes scanned the shelves before him, it seemed that the library hadn’t been lost.

The records of caretakers and the contents they oversaw was still present, though there were more tomes made, more names listed, after his absence, it brought him a measure of pride. He had worried that after he was gone there would have been no one to take the mantel and everything he’d worked so hard on for years would have fallen to decay. It seemed this was not the case. The name that was listed after his wasn’t familiar, but he suspected that was merely because in his last years he’d cared little to note those below him or of little use to him personally. It satisfied him that there was someone who had taken his place, even if the name was unimportant. His name would be of little value now, the connection between the name of the past and his name would undoubtedly never be made.

He’d never cared much about making sure his name lasted through the ages. Fame was a transient thing, like empires, eventually it all faded to dust. He saw for himself that things had been cared for and that was enough, what more could he have wanted? He walked the shelves again, picking out the tomes he’d personally touched amongst those that were new and unfamiliar. This section was devoted to the past works of the Sith and it seemed there was many more than there had been in his time. At least they hadn’t forgotten the act of making along the path of devouring destruction.

He sat down on a window sill opening a book and, for a time, he was in another place and time. This particular book was new in a set that had just been in the process of being collected. The tongue was long dead, but to his eyes it wasn’t dead at all, for in his past it had been his own and not something long long discarded.


@Soliael Devin Talith

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Serian Loria"]

Soliael stood in the center of his near infinite library. A mask covered his face as always and his hands were covered in thick leather gloves. The rest of him was draped in heavy robes and a thick coat, though his appearance hardly mattered. In his right hand he held a small book, on its spine was written a series of runic letters, the ancient Sith Language. He held it tightly, as if it held some dark secret. Beneath his mask sat a frown, there was something wrong, something he could not quite pinpoint, but most definitely something wrong.

His head twisted slightly, and he slipped the book into his pocket.

Slowly he moved forward through the massive expanse of books, scrolls, and tablets. Hundreds upon hundreds of shelves filled with texts new and old. Loud thundering bootsteps rang out through the library as the God of Knowledge sundered his way through its passages. Every few steps his head twisted, his eyes searched, and his frown deepened.

There was somebody within the library, though that was not what was bothering him. The Librarius Eternum often brought visitors, its stores of knowledge supposedly infinite and its books everlasting the place was quite the pilgrimage sight. The person within was not the issue that plagued Soliael, it was something else. A feeling of wrongness, a feeling that had plagued him for quite some time, a feeling that bugged and bothered him like a bug crawling across his skin. His frown deepened into a scowl as he turned the last corner.

He found the pilgrim, or whomever he was.

The god did not say anything to the man, instead, he observed. His eyes hidden behind a mask. Soliael doubted he would be able to hide for long, his strength in the force was immense, and he made no effort to hide the trait.

 

[Serian Loria]

Lit ruby eyes flicked to look in the direction of the strong presence. He’d heard noise before echoing in the shelved expanse, but had ignored it, but the source seemed to be the one watching him. The mask reminded him in a similar way to the one the Reviver had worn, was this another ‘god’? His attention moved to the book in his hand, the spine visible. Was this some sort of challenge? He stood up getting a better look at him, so this was indeed the God of knowledge. “If you need assistance with finding more information on the Tor’ii milord, let me know what you are looking for.”

It mattered little to him if the man accepted or not, his browsing of the shelves gave him a pretty good idea of where things were so far. There had been other tomes and even some scrolls listed, even if technically it wasn’t in the section he was supposed to be caring for. He was dressed in the robes of his chosen god, though instead of being primarily dark orange, they were black accented with orange. The cut was form fitting and old-world in style, the sleeves of the outer robe falling to his elbows whereas the under-robe’s were close fitting and went to his wrist. He wore cotton gloves, black, to match, to protect the things he was working on and or reading.

His ink black hair was cut short, his bangs swept back from his face so as not to get in his eyes. He was only a little shorter than the man, standing at six foot and he weighed one hundred and ninety pounds, just slightly less than the other man.


[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael blinked slightly.

He had known someone was in here, but he had not expected one of his disciples. Usually they shifted and shimmied about outside of the library, collecting information and hoarding knowledge to bring back to Exocron to add to the library. It was rare that one of the disciples of Neth actually stayed here to study the knowledge itself, though that was only because Soliael always gifted them with rather small tidbits through more...efficient means.

The false god noted the mans distinct garb, taking in the reverse colors, though not commenting on it. What was the point in doing so after all?

“Assistance? No, that will not be required.” He paused for a moment, thinking. Beneath his mask he smiled slightly. “Tell me.”

Pausing again Soliael approached the man, a gaze holding through his mask and bright orange eyes giving off a slight glow. “What do you know of The One Sith?”

Soliael already knew more about the organization than most, but it didn't hurt to hear the thoughts of another. Even a god needed advice at times, something that he had drilled into his disciples as much as the knowledge they received.

 

[Serian Loria]

He gave a snort, he couldn’t help feeling a bit of contempt considering his origins. “The One Sith is a splinter cult formed from the remnants of the previous Sith sect that fractured. Currently its been rather successful and is even, so rumors say, beating and eventually going to end the Republic. Whether their success is going to continue or not, I do not know, perhaps the Republic will fall. The real question I think is, if they end the Republic, will they keep growing or, like the faction before them, will they too fail and burn.”

He paid attention to the gossip and the news, while he might not grasp all the history behind it all, he still kept his ears open. “I keep a journal and write down things I hear, read or anything of note that might be useful, I can copy down what I have and give it to you if you wish?”

He wouldn’t be handing over his journal as it was written in a script he’d developed himself ages ago, but he could translate and give information that way. Sometimes those rumors actually had value he could act on and when it did he usually did well. “I would have to show you to my quarters and you’d have to wait a spell, but it won’t take me all that long.”



[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“No. Thats quite alright.” He said sounding amused.

His acolytes all knew things, and some it seemed knew everything. This was the way of serving the god of knowledge he supposed. One learned anything and everything they could get their hands on in order to please, or simply because that was their calling. Knowledge was power after all.

“What of the Republic?” He mused. “Their current state?”

Of course most people would know that, and the Disciple had already spoken of its weakened nature, but Soliael wanted to see how knowledgeable the disciple could be about things that were happening in the center of the galaxy. It was after all one of, if not the most important event currently ongoing in the galaxy.

The small smirk behind his mask told of a different motive behind his questions however.

[member="Serian Loria"]

 

[Serian Loria]

He gave the man a shrug “Running around like fowl with their heads cut off. They’ve always been rather arrogant, all empires fall and now it seems all these centuries later they are to be next. They are weak, the One Sith have proven this, if this attack fails others will line up and have their turn. I personally don’t see what all the waiting around is for, the sooner they fall the sooner the rest of the galaxy can take cuts of what was left behind. My only interest is what we’ll gather from their libraries for I assume the Crusade will be making a move as well?”

He wasn’t within the upper tier so he didn’t know what the plans were that were being laid. He didn’t expect to be told anything, but if he did all the better.

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael gave an amused smile, then shook his head.

“No. Others look towards the galactic core. They look to Coruscant or Anaxes or Alderaan to be the jewels of their Empires. They think such worlds will grant them legitimacy, wealth, esteem, power. They think that with holding the core, they hold the galaxy.” He shook his head slightly, as if he thought them all fools.

He wandered around in a circle for a moment, as if he was drawing something with his footsteps. Book cases around him shifted, piles of scrolls and books moved, the floor cleared before Soliael and before long a massive open space formed where Soliael had walked, and on the ground was a crude drawing of the galaxy, a massive spiral armed representation of where they all lived. The False God raised his hand, and snapped his finger. Star Systems began to dot the drawing, hundreds of thousands.

Soliael looked down at it, then stood where Exocron would be. “They're wrong. The galaxy is more than the core, far more. The One Sith, the Republic, the old Empire. They were all wrong. The galaxy is much more than the core. It is here in the outer rim where you find the galaxies sum. Among the people that have survived here for eons you will find strength and power. It is here that the secrets are buried, and it is here that the galaxy can be revealed.”

He subtly hinted towards the Aing-Tii, towards the ancient Sith worlds of Kaas and Korriban. To all that was hidden within the outer rim.

“The libraries and Archives of the Sith and Jedi were already stripped bare, there's no need for us to venture into the core, at least not yet.” He gave a wry smile, then turned back towards the man. “Now, what can you tell me of Exocron?”

 

[Serian Loria]

The display of power didn’t interest him much, it wasn’t an act to posture, the action had been for a purpose and one as he watched meant for convenience not dominance games. The map that sprung up around him interested him and he moved within its sphere taking it all in. He recognized the space occupied by his former faction and another called The Fringe, though he wasn’t all that familiar with it. Between the two lay the small territory claimed by Moross, all three factions occupied the Outer Rim. He moved from one spot to another, studying the chart, in his mind flashed information of what planet was what and more importantly the former Sith territories.

He didn’t know the man was hinting at these, he was just sorting the information as it popped up as it was a distraction, albeit a useful one for the moment. Eventually he stopped, one hand raising to rub the center of his forehead. His ability to retain and recall information he’d read, maps, pictures and things written, was often as much a curse as a gift. In moments like this it springing up on him without intentionally focusing brought with it an annoying minor pain. It was like getting slapped, jolting and irritating. He eventually managed to push it away and opened his eyes again moving to take a more advantageous place within the star map.

He studied the godling “I haven’t been here all that long to learn more than what was written, but it sits smack between two much larger factions within the outer rim. Considering what you just said I surmise this is intentional.”

It wasn’t really a question, though if it was answered all the better. He gazed at all the territories not impressed that this was so. Oh he knew that each faction claimed a space, but the star map only brought it in clearer view and it was still just as appalling. “Its interesting to see just how much has been taken and to see just how far the chaos and discontent spread. Though the galaxy has a wider range mapped than it used to… And I thought it was bad when there was just four vying for supremacy, even if the Jedi tried to deny that their actions were so similar to all of ours.”

He mused aloud to himself, though not exactly muttering it was clear he was voicing his thoughts and might not realize he had done so. He realized just moments after and didn’t try to recover, didn’t make excuses, merely studied the man a moment wondering if he was going to comment and not caring if he did or not. It wasn’t as if he had anything to hide, though it was irksome that he’d spoken aloud. He wasn’t even sure if the man had noticed that the map had done something with himself, though if he did and asked he’d answer readily enough. His curse-like gift would be of use to the man and that was supposed to be his place, wasn’t it?

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]