Private One Becomes Two

[Darth Xyrah]

Location: Ritual Chambers, Malsheem

​

Preparations were completed at last. Saryn's new bodies had been developed, grown and perfected over the course of the last few months, and now the time had come for him to ascend to a superior form, free of the lingering imperfections of his original body. In the vast ritual chamber located within Malsheem, center of the Kainate itself and bastion of Carnifex and Demiurge, thousands of acolytes had gathered, chanting and lending their power to what would come next. Several metallic tables sat in the middle of the ritual chamber. On two lay presently empty strand-cast bodies, one awaiting the essence of Darth Xyrah, another on hand as a spare on the off chance the essence transfer did not proceed smoothly.

Soon, the great doors of the ritual chamber opened. The newly anointed Darth stepped forth into the chamber, garbed in nought but a simple loincloth to hide his modesty. He was followed by his twin masters, the Darth Carnifex themselves, and flanked by their Crownguards, escorted with all the pomp and pageantry afforded for such an auspicious occasion such as this. To behold such mastery of the dark side his master would preform was nothing short of a blessing to the zealous acolytes gathered to bare witness.

Darth Xyrah moved to lay upon the empty table sat between the two strand-cast bodies, readying himself for what was about to occur. The twin Kaines began to chant in the ancient tongue of the Sith, joined by the thousands of acolytes gathered. Through their combined power, they slowly began drawing Saryn's essence out of his physical form, a painful experience to be sure. Saryn cried out in agony as his spirit was pulled forth from his original body, which breathed no more, quickly being lowered down into the floor where it would be retrieved and quickly put in stasis in the event the clones failed to take his spirit.

His essence was carefully guided towards one of the empty vessels. So far, all had proceeded as expected. Yet unbeknownst to the twin Kaines, a tiny portion of Saryn's essence drifted towards the other empty vessel. The rest however went into the intended body. Saryn's new eyes opened widely, as he gasped to life, much to the utter praise of the thousands gathered to bare witness, who chanted in the tongue of the ancient Sith eagerly. Saryn fell back into unconsciousness due to the ordeal. Yet as he was carried carefully back to his chambers to recover, the other clone stirred....

Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Haryx]

Location: Ritual Chambers, Malsheem

Tags:
Darth Xyrah
Darth Carnifex


As soon as Darth Xyrah's spirit was removed from his body it immediately sought a new host. In confusion and desperation it couldn't decide which direction to go, so it went both. One part of the soul went into the body that was Darth Xyrah. Another small portion went into the other, but this one was a different entity entirely.

Seemingly waiting as the new body of Saryn was taken away, the second body began to stir. A heavy gasp of air was taken in by his being. Something seemed to be wrong with it. It looked exactly the same on the outside, but it was acting strange. A hot anger radiated from it. Sith Acolytes rushed up to inspect the second clone, to see if it was healthy and aware. It was very aware. Opening blood red eyes, it moved with the speed of lightning, lashing out to grab throats and knock men to the ground. The unplanned twin then straightened out and raised it's arm to the acolytes.

A heavy blast of force lightning struck them, turning them to charred husks. The seemingly darkened clone had been yelling in confused anger the whole time. Then with the annoying attendants dead he looked at Darth Carnifex and spoke his first words.

"How dare inferiors touch me!? What happened? Something's not right."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The greatest power that the Dark Lord of the Sith possessed was not His ability to summon forth rage, but to collect it, pooling it, within a vast endless reservoir at the center of His being. From these dark waters was born cruelty and malice, the desire to corruption and destroy. With a wave of His hand, the Dark Lord could inflict untold suffering without the slightest hint of remorse; setting alight entire civilizations and condemning millions to a foul end. No misguided sense of morality informed His actions, no perverted belief in necessity or justice, only a callous zeal secured by the knowledge that He could do as He wished because the power to do so was in His grasp.

But when the Dark Lord looked upon Saryn, a creature as fair as the most immaculate flower and blessed with a disarming demeanor, that steady stream of pooling hate lessened. Not substantially, and not in any manner that could be seen by others, but just enough that the Dark Lord perceived it. It was not unlike the feeling that seized His heart whenever He looked upon any of His wives, Gunnr especially, but not as arresting or as sudden. Nonetheless, it was there.

As the Dark Lord and His Other Half walked quietly down to stand on either side of the ritual circle, they were conjoined in body and mind. Dark powers rushed out from their outstretched hands, infernal hymns spilling forth from their lips. Saryn's consciousness, his pneuma, was separated from his original vessel and begun the process of transference into the selected host vessel. However, a sliver of Saryn's pneuma was separated in transit and latched onto the nearest vessel it could find; the spare body placed besides the new host.

So when the ritual concluded and life flooded into Saryn's new body, the other body awoke with him. Its birth was baptized in violence, the death of most of the attending acolytes heralding the first breath of a new being. The two Dark Lords and their guards were unaffected, their power far too mighty to be beset by this new creature's rage. Carnifex was the one who approached, studying Saryn's red-eyed doppelgänger as the unconscious lad was taken away to recover.

"Curious, is it not? What once was one is riven in twain."

Darth Xyrah | Darth Haryx ​

 

[Darth Xyrah]

As Saryn was carried out of the ritual chamber, he suddenly stirred again, groaning as he awakened. He gestured to the acolytes who had been carrying him to hold, before steadily pushing himself back up onto his feet. He wobbled at first, growing accustomed to his new body. He felt stronger than ever, and yet, something felt....different. He shooed the acolytes away, turning to head back to the ritual chamber. Upon his arrival, he was met by an unusual sight indeed. His other clone had also awakened. He was greatly surprised by this turn of events, cautiously approaching.

"Master? What has happened? Why is the other me awake?", he said confusedly, leaning forward to examine his near identical sibling curiously. "....Oh wow, I really am pretty.", he said with a sudden smile, hoping to abate some of the confused rage he felt from his new twin. "This is...unexpected, for sure."

Darth Haryx
Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Haryx]

Location: Ritual Chambers, Malsheem

Tags:
Darth Xyrah
Darth Carnifex

The dark clone grabbed a hold of himself, rubbing his face and stretching like he'd just woken up from a nap. As he looked up he saw what he at first thought was a reflection of himself, then it walked towards him and started speaking questions. That wasn't him... but at the same time it was.

"Wait. Who's that? There must've been an error with the essence transfer. There's two of me."

Turning his head, he saw his actual reflection on the operating table. He looked exactly like the other, except, for whatever reason his hair was white and his eyes were blood red. Something definitely weird happened. He felt different inside too. Obviously his new body felt different, but his mind did too. He was angrier and less energetic than his twin. He complimented how pretty Nyras looked.

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself. In fact you look like me, so perfect. Back to the subject at hand though. We should figure out what happened here. I feel different. Like I'm a different person. I don't feel like me anymore. I believe I'm someone else." He said to the Carnifex twins and Saryn before he shouted at the surviving acolytes, who just stood there awestruck, "Can I please get some clothes!?"

In fear of a reprimand similar to the display of power they had just witnessed the acolytes snapped to command, almost running into each other in a rush to follow the order.

"Idiots..."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Quite peculiar."

Rather than waiting for the flustered attendees to scurry themselves into an early grave, Demiurge waved his hand, and green flame engulfed both Saryn and his counterpart. The fire did not emit heat, nor did it cause them any pain or discomfort. When the fire dissipated, rudimentary clothes now adorned both of the two men. There was nothing particularly outstanding about either set of clothing, being made of cotton and adorned only with minimalistic red highlights around the collar and wrists. The clothes, though completely clean, carried the smell of Nightsister magic upon them.

"Something in the ritual has gone awry, and now there are two of you. It is not like the ritual that separated us." Both Carnifex and Demiurge approached to inspect the new doppelgänger, noting the difference in appearance from the original. "When we had split, it was a violent rupture of one being into two halves. It damaged us in ways that have only recently begun to manifest," explained Carnifex, reaching out to gently lift a strand of the doppelgänger's hair before letting it fall back into place. "This is more like water transferred from one vessel into two, an unequal distribution. It is possible that we can recombine the two, but one would have to be killed to release the pneumic energy."

But then Carnifex's eyes slipped to look at Saryn, those dark globes piercing straight through the younger man. "Unless you want to keep him?"

Darth Xyrah | Darth Haryx ​

 

[Darth Xyrah]

Saryn was surprised as clothing suddenly materialized upon he and his new sibling's frames. Nightsister magic was always handy like that. He definitely needed to dabble with it sometime. He then looked horrified when his master mentioned killing his new sibling to reunite their essence with his own. "No, no! Killing him won't be necessary. I don't feel wrong or anything, and, in truth, I've always wanted a brother.", he said with a smile, gently reaching out to take his new brother's hand into his own. "Though one dilemma remains. We can't BOTH be called Saryn. We need to figure out what to call you..."

Saryn pondered, gazing at his sibling before an idea formed into his head. "A reflection of myself.....how about a reflection of my name? Nyras.", he said with a smile. "What do you think, brother?", he said happily. He seemed quite excited about the prospect of having another sibling. "Ooooh, I'll finally have someone else to take clothes shopping!", he blurted out with a happy little squee.

Darth Haryx
Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Haryx]

Location: Ritual Chambers, Malsheem

Tags:
Darth Xyrah
Darth Carnifex

The mistake copy of Saryn stood next to his twin and looked down in mild surprise as green flames engulfed the two of them before turning into some rather nice clothing. As Demiurge and Carnifex approached him the dark clone, stepped back in apprehension.

He then stood calmly and listened to their explanation of the botched ritual, even remaining calm as Carnifex touched his, hair despite his frightened instinct telling him to destroy him. It all made sense and he was fine with it, until they mentioned killing him.

"You wouldn't destroy me, would you, master?" He said mockingly, with false fear, almost as if he was challenging Carnifex, "No, you won't be killing me. I want to live... and forever." He said with dark ambition as his new "brother" took his hand and defended him.

The "reflection" pondered as well, trying to think of a good name for himself, but came up blank. Then Xyrah suggested the name "Nyras" as it was literally a reflection of his own name.

"I like it. It's ominous and different, while still being the same, like I am to you. But what of my Sith title? Hmm. A reverse of yours too, perhaps? 'Darth Haryx'!" Nyras said proudly.

He smiled at his brother's excitement and rolled his eyes in false reluctance at his offer to go clothes shopping. That's exactly what he would have suggested. In truth he was just as excited as Xyrah was to have a new brother to share his life with, but, as the manifestation of his Dark Side, Haryx wasn't as eager to show it.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"We shall see."

Though Carnifex's hand was stayed for now, He made it clear that the option was still available. A darkness that had taken hold of the room, lengthening the shadows beneath their feet, gradually abated and completely dissipated. The overwhelming sensation of dread and doom that accompanied the darkness likewise evaporated, the stranglehold of fear slipping away from around their hearts. Though it would still linger, just out of sight, just out of mind, but well within reach.

"He will be your responsibility, Saryn. If you cannot handle this responsibility, then it will be taken away from you." The Dark Lord did not mention what would happen at that point, but it could be easily surmised that it would not end well for the doppelgänger.

"Do you understand?"

Darth Xyrah | Darth Haryx ​

 

[Darth Xyrah]

Saryn solemnly nodded his head. "I'll look after him, master. I'll get him acclimated to how things work while he sifts through his memories. Or, well, our memories. But I assure you, you won't regret this. There are benefits to having two supergeniuses at once working for you.", he said with a smug smirk, hugging his brother.

"I will say though, I'm absolutely STARVING after that essence transfer. We should go and eat something. Shall we head for my chambers and order a feast worthy of nobility to munch on?", he said to Nyras with a snicker.

Darth Haryx
Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Haryx]

Tags:
Darth Xyrah
Darth Carnifex

Choosing to ignore the subtle threats and condescending tone of his former master, Nyras chose instead to listen to what his clone, "Saryn" was saying not Carnifex's antagonizing. He began to feel less like a friend to the once and future emperor and then the realization set in. In his eyes, Nyras was nothing more than a clone. Property. A slave to be abused and commanded, like a Kath hound. Even before the change, that's all he ever was. Now another realization dawned, he hated Darth Carnifex. Just because he was remade by his machines and reborn by his hands didn't mean Carnifex had the right to own him or speak like he was some expendable thing. For now it had to be tolerated, but at some point this insult would be answered for. Carnifex was still stronger, his superior and master for the time being, this wouldn't last forever. The student will inevitably become the master.

It was odd how quickly everyone jumped to putting him in a secondary position. Only minutes ago he was Saryn. Now something had gone wrong and he was considered someone else, or something. He felt diminished and belittled. Like less of a person, more like a pet or a possession. He wondered why he wasn't considered the true Saryn? He was still him, if only a part. What made his clone the "real" Saryn? Why was he so special? As if he was the original. The original Saryn fell through the floor, resting in a vat. An empty, lifeless vessel, soulless and all but dead.

Snapping back to reality and out of his head, he accepted and returned the hug his new "brother" gave to him. Nyras let go of his butter thoughts and responded to Saryn's offer of food, also snickering when he said "a feast worthy of nobility". At least someone acknowledged his worth.

"Yeah, I could go for a something good to eat. Wait. Why is it your room? I'm Saryn too." Haryx said, only half joking.

The man was still a little bitter, though he hoped it wasn't showing. As they left the room toward his former chambers he was finally alone with himself to conversate. Quite literally. It was still very strange.

"Hey. I wanted to thank you for offering to help me readjust to... This. I'm not sure who I am anymore." Nyras' voice became more solemn, "What makes you so sure who you are? Why am I not Saryn anymore? I feel like my identity's been taken from me. Now I'm nothing and no one... Are there any Acolytes left? I need to kill something."

He didn't want to hate his brother, like he did Carnifex, he wanted to understand.