Out With The Old

[Vrak Nashar]

Athiss
[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Kindness was nothing something often shown here on Athiss, in fact, it was a thing so rare that it caused suspicion when offered.

When Vrak had sent his offer to the old man the response had been exactly as he had expected. It had been curt, short, and of course urgent. The old man was eager for anything that would give him a dose of power back, anything that would allow him to walk, yet he knew that he still had enemies. There were many that would have liked to see him dead, many that would have paid handsomely to seen it done.

Vrak knew this, so it had been no surprise when the message he'd received from the old man had been half threat, half elation.

The Sith slowly wandered down the hall of his estate, servants bowing before him as he wandered.

Taheera had surprisingly not caused trouble over the last day, or so he had been told. They had delivered her a new set of clothes, brought her dinner and then breakfast in the morning. There had been no incidents, so a part of Vrak was encouraged that she would keep her part of the deal. He eventually found his way to the southern edge of the estate, the two large Massassi Guards standing in place before the silvery door.

His hand waved.

The creatures immediately took the thing, opening the door whether Taheera was ready or not.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

[SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]She spent half the night inspecting the room, every crack, nook, and cranny. She was trying to find anything that could help her: comm systems, potential weapons, clue to where she was and who this sith was. The only thing she found was something that could've been a family crest. It wasn't until late, that she'd finally managed to shower.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Body was covered in a rainbow of bruises from the scuffle that happened a day or so prior. So was her face. She refused to waste energy on healing those trivial things. And they served as a good reminder of the situation she was in.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]At least the blood was finally gone.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Breakfast sat untouched by the door as Vrak entered and for a moment it would look as though she weren't there at all. Until he noticed a small lump shift beneath the massive comforter on the large bed.[/SIZE]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Vrak wasn't here to play house maid, he had people for that. His hand raised and his fingers snapped. Almost immediately a woman stepped into the room. She was a Twi'lek, dressed in finery that one might expect of a noble, though the way she deferred to Vrak meant she was obviously a servant.

There was no hesitation from her.

She wandered over to Taheera's bed and gripped the side of the comforter, ripping off the blanket in one quick swoop. "You have half an hour."

They had a time schedule to stick to. The Old Man would not be pleased if they were late. Vrak knew that he likely had already gotten his hopes up about what possible cure he might have. The Old Man was well known for his insatiable want to be healed. He couldn't blame the man really, once he was healed it was very likely that the man would return to dominance. The Old Mans power was undeniable, there was a reason he had survived the assault.

A reason that no one had managed to kill him even while injured.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

Sleepy-eyes snapped open. Bed-head lifted and she glared at Vrak. Green fingers gingerly rubbed the sleep from her bruised face. Sitting up, she slipped free from bed, not really caring whether Vrak saw her in her undergarments or not. She began to tug on and shimmy into the robes the servants had provided.

A hand ran through chestnut-strands of hair.

"Why wait?" She stifled a yawn and wandered up to her sith captor. "Let's go now. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you get me off this planet. The sooner you won't have to deal with me anymore, so come on Red."

Was she nervous?

Frex yes. She didn't know how much she could do for this dying sith master. And she didn't know that she wanted to. But what other choice was there? Vrak would kill her but she doubted she'd actually die.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"It doesn't work that way." He said simply.

Athiss was controlled. Everything moved on a schedule, everything moved the way that it was planned. If something went out of order it would be chaos, and Vrak simply couldn't allow that. The Old Man needed to trust him, otherwise they would never make it past his security. The ancient Pureblood hadn't actually come out into public for some time, refusing to leave his estate in fear of what might come to him next. That was why Taheera was so important. She had a chance to heal him.

To change that.

"We will be seen when we want to." He told her as he wandered about the room. "And when he wants us to see him."

Explaining this world to Taheera would take all day. "Things are strict here. Not Chaotic like in the rest of your galaxy."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

Chestnut-brows lofted as she leaned back on the foot of the bed, facing off with the sith. "Oh. My galaxy now?" She gave a low, dark chuckle. There was tea on the breakfast plate by Vrak's feet. Pushing off from the bed, she knelt down close to him and straightened, clutching the mug between her green palms.

"Is this how you treat all your captured jedi?" She took a sip of the now-much-cooler tea.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"You are the first that I've captured." He'd killed another one, but he decided that for now he would leave that out. There was no need to aggravate her any further, not when he was so close to succeeding in what he needed to do.

"I am a practical man." He explained. "I could throw people into a cell, I could torture slaves and kill at my pleasure, but unlike some others I see no point in it. There's other ways to get what I want, better ways."

That wasn't to say that Vrak wouldn't kill or hurt someone.

When the opportunity was there, and the benefit was real, Vrak had absolutely no problem cutting someones throat. He wouldn't stick to cruelty for cruelties sake however, that was foolish, short sighted, and ignorant. There were better ways. That was a simple truth.

Didn't matter what perspective you took.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"I see," she spoke quietly and finished the tea, never letting her eyes leave Vrak's face. She felt like a schmuck. She should've never healed hi...never wandered over toward him in the woods. Maybe, if she got off this rock and found herself in the same situation she'd do things differently.

Then again, maybe not.

It was hard to fight the nature of a healer, even with a malevolent sith.

And what if she never got off this rock?

Hands tightened slightly around the mug. She'd have to fight her way out. Somehow. Or get a comm. Something. But while she was his captive audience...

"Have you...," she wasn't sure how to start. She didn't want to give too much away or have him start asking her questions she would never give answers to, "what are pureblood's thoughts on the Dark Lord?"

So many jedi were different in their beliefs, so she didn't assume all sith followed the dark lord or believed in its essence.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He chuckled. It wasn't a question that he had expected to hear from her, and in truth the answer was likely more difficult to explain than she might believe. The Sith were as complex as most Jedi, many believing that different ways meant different things and that each one was right or wrong. There had been much arguing over the centuries, many details that had nearly caused entire wars. Athiss had nearly torn itself about a dozen times.

"Which one?" He countered her quesiton. It was an avid response given the fact that over the past three decades there had been about half a dozen of them, none worthy in the eyes of the Purebloods of Athiss. Perhaps that would change in time, but some questions were difficult to answer.

At least without further explanation.

"Our last True Dark Lord was Vitiate." Vrak said simply. "More than ten Millenia ago."

Before Athiss had turned into a refuge. "We have served no one since then."

No one had been strong enough. No one had been able to convince them that they were worthy enough to follow. No one had been able to stop the...unique independence streak that ran through all Sith Purebloods.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"No one in particular," she hedged and listened quietly. She wandered back over to the edge of the bed and sat, eyes flickered from the Twi'lek servant and back to lobster-boy-man. Brows furrowed in thought as her gaze dipped to her nearly empty mug.

"What about...possession by the...or I guess, a past Dark Lord's spirit? Have you heard of cases like this....people hearing voices?"

Fingers played with the edge of her mug, refusing to meet his yellow-gaze.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"I have." Vrak said simply.

It was very clear that Taheera was digging for information. Why, he couldn't say, but in truth he didn't particularly care either. Vrak knew a great many things about the force, thousands upon thousands of years of compiled knowledge sat directly at his fingertips. He hadn't the strength to perform half the rituals, and the comprehension to some of the things were as of yet beyond him, but he understood most of what he had learned.

His parents had seen to that.

Of course, that didn't at all mean he would share any of this with Taheera. He was a pragmatic man, and although he enjoyed teaching his own knowledge to others to further his own goals, he didn't really see a benefit to telling Taheera...well anything at all. "Why?"

Tit for tat.

If she wanted to know something. He would want to know why.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

She set the empty mug down and finally met his eyes. Legs crossed beneath her. This is what she was afraid of, his questions. Fingers drummed lightly on her thighs.

"There was just someone I met...," asking for a friend, "she said she heard a voice and sometimes she could feel a surge of the darkside whenever the voice spoke. She thought it was the Dark Lord." The mirialan jedi laughed nervously and waved a hand through the air.

Get a hold of yourself.

"I'm sure it's nothing. She was probably just crazy." Eyes drifted to the chrono on the wall. One way or another, her fate would be sealed very soon. She would be surprised if Vrak kept his word, especially if she could heal or even make progress with this Sith Lord and what ailed him. She was too valuable of a resource to simply let walk out.

Then again, maybe he would keep to his word.

And if he didn't...she'd figure something out. She already had a few plans rolling in her mind. She just didn't want to have to use them unless completely necessary.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Entirely possibly." Vrak said simply. "Which Dark Lord?"

He repeated his quesiton from earlier.

It was important this time though, not just idle conversation. He didn't particularly care if it was her 'friend' or she herself, but this was a curiosity. Anyone that claimed to have the title of "Dark Lord" was at least somewhat powerful, that made them interesting to Vrak. So the question was, who had done it? Or rather who did her 'friend' think had done it in the first place. Power was a matter of just who was judging, as was much of everything else with the force.

"Sanity is a matter perspective." That was what many Sith believed.

There were varying degrees of insanity among the Sith, even here on Athiss. Purebloods had a natural resistance to the Darkside of the force, but after centuries, they too succumbed to madness. No one was sure if it was the darkside that did this or a natural progression of holding so much power, but even then, it could change from person to person.

Vrak had seen it in his father.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"I don't know," she spoke quietly. "She didn't say. The voice didn't tell her." Palms came up and rubbed across her face, slowly slipping away. "That's all I know."

Myrtle-ellipses drifted up through a curtain of chestnut-hair.

Maybe she wasn't losing her mind yet. It was possible that she really was hearing the dark lord, like when she essence transferred. But why? Why was it happening to her? Still, Vrak's answers were slim and vague. A prisoner couldn't really expect much else.

Hands twisted in her lap. It was clear she was nervous but whether or not it was from their conversation or what was about to come was anyone's guess.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He shrugged. "There have been many Dark Lords. Vitiate, Naga Sadow, Bane, even some in this new age."

Vrak was pretty sure that he didn't have to list them.

The most famed of recent note was the man who had lead The One Sith to victory over the Republic, the one that had been killed by his own Hands. Vrak had never seen him as...well anything more than an egotistical fool. He had sought to eliminate the Jedi, but had done so before even uniting the Sith. It had been a foolish pursuit, one that was doomed to fail from the start. He shook his head slightly and then wandered slowly around Taheera, as if inspecting her.

"It doesn't take much to reach into someone's mind." He traced a circle around the Jedi. "Not really."

Vrak couldn't do it, but there were others here who could. "Voices would not be the only indication."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

Shoulders stiffened and hands dropped away. Almost on instinct, she gathered the lightside around herself, building up a mental wall around her own mind. She wasn't an expert at it and she had no doubt someone with more experience would be able to get through her barriers.

Cautious-eyes followed Vrak from her perched position on the edge of the bed. He was circling her like a predator circled its prey.

She couldn't help the question that tumbled from her mouth next.

"What do you mean? What would be the other indications?"

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He smiled.

Vrak was almost certain now that the story of 'a friend' was a lie. He couldn't know for sure of course, but the way that she was acting, the look on her face, he was leaning towards it. Slowly he stopped in front of her, smiling down. It was difficult to hide the sense of smugness that he felt, the overbearing niche of power that he had right now. His yellow eyes fixed on her myrtle ones, his lips turning to a thin smile as he observed her reactions.

"Dreams." Simple really.

NIghtmares most would have called them really.

"Hallucinations." Beyond the voices of course, seeing things, not just hearing them. "Mood swings."

The bleeding of the spirits emotions into oneself. Vrak had seen it before on those who had absorbed SIth Spirits. The man had been strong, but not strong enough to contain the power that he had stolen from the ancient ones. A pity really, he had been a good dejarik player.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

She stared up at him. He was uncomfortably close. A look of realization, fear, and finally defiance crossed her face. She hadn't had mood swings. So that was good. Hallucinations....not really. Just the voices. But the dreams....she definitely saw something when she essence transferred.

But that was it.

Maybe she was okay after all. Maybe. But the darkness was there. It was strange because for whatever reason, the Dark Lord or whatever it was had kept her alive. She was fearful as to the why.

She was tired of feeling like a cornered animal.

"Stop looking at me like that," just as quickly, legs unfolded from beneath her and she shot to her feet, going to shove past Vrak.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Careful."

Vrak knew something now, that meant he could press a button. Purebloods were known for their manipulations. His species had quite literally built a reputation on being evil, on corruption. If one thing was true about Sith Purebloods, it was their love of having the upper hand. Vrak was no different, he played into the trope of his people just as much as anyone, perhaps even more. The look he gave Taheera was a dangerous one, but almost caring in a twisted way.

"It will get worse with time." His voice was a whispered rasp.

Before she could say anything however Vrak turned on his heel, twisting away from her and moving out the door. His cloak swept behind him and the Twi'lek Servant came up behind Taheera. The young woman looked at the Miralin expectantly, as if she were ushering her out of the room.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

Again, it took no small measure of control not to balk at his touch. Fists clenched at her sides and a breath she didn't realize she was holding left her mouth in an ushered whisssh as he stalked away from her and out of the room. She needed to leave this place as quickly as possible or she had a feeling she would be lost forever.

Taking a moment to gather herself, the stolen jedi finally stepped after the sith pureblood.

She took a moment to slow down and fall back with the twi'lek. Voice lowered enough she hoped Vrak wouldn't hear. He ignored her usually, anyway. "How did you come to work for him?"

She was curious. And her empathic skills would be able to pick up on any fear or lying from the servant.