Private Path of Damnation

[Darth Nefaron]

The girl's curiosity did not go unnoticed.​

While not the unearned pride that the Master's other Apprentices often wore, it was clear that young Eurydice was just as curious about her future rivals' training as much as her own. DD-421 made a careful note of that point for his Master before answering the girl's question.

“To understand that, you must understand how the boy came into the Master's service.”

The droid returned to the shutters and had them opened once again, returning what little natural light Anoat had to offer to the Apprentices' new chambers.

“Veradun was but a student of the Academy on Jutrand. It is there that the vast majority of potential Sith begin initial training and learn the necessary skills to succeed. Darth Nefaron abhors the idea of standardized training, and so the moment he saw a frightened boy watching two titans of Sith politics engage in a verbal duel, he swept in with an offer.”

The droid set about lighting the candles in the room, a task that would become simple to the girl once she learned to master her abilities. He did not mind the task; he often found comfort in repeating simple operations, and this was no different.

“Veradun may tell you many tales of your Master; he may even lie to gain your favor, but he willingly became Darth Nefaron’s student. Unfortunately, he failed to cast aside past loyalties before his arrival on Anoat.”

In the coming days, Eurydice would familiarize herself with the history of the Order and its current powerbrokers, so there was no need to elaborate on the Order of the Wonosa or its High Prophet for the time being. It would be interesting to see if she could unravel Veradun’s past without input from her Droid tutor.

“Our Master thrives on cruelty. He saw an opportunity to press the boy, and Veradun fell into the trap. He went so far as to command our Master, and you might imagine how that went.”

Once finished with the final candle, the Droid made his way to the door, but he paused before leaving the girl to explore her accommodations and await a full meal.

“The boy who went into the slave pits no longer exists. The Dark Side offers an opportunity to reinvent oneself, think on that, Lady Eurydice.”

TAG: Eurydice ​

 

[Eurydice]

Eurydice did not move as DD-421 opened the shutters. She did not move when the droid began to light the various candles placed around the room – only then did she notice they they were even there. Arranged in a manner that would complement the furniture and color scheme, too.

Was this the droid's doing? Perhaps someone had slipped an interior design protocol into his socket, or maybe it was a quirk that developed on its own. Either way, her eyes followed the sequence with which he lit the candles, lingering on the flicker of each little flame.

In the ambient lighting, she listened to DD-421's explanation of how Veradun came to be: a boy, plucked from the academy, who'd failed to give up all that Nefaron had demanded.

Eurydice did not come with those loyalties. Despite being taken forcefully from her home, she held no great love for Ukatis. There, she was a servant, forbidden from pursuing the typical paths of a young woman. Here, she was...a servant. A tortured one, too.

But, even someone as green as Eurydice could see that this was a game. While not devious by nature, perhaps she could carve out a space for herself if she learned the rules.

If.

DD-421 continued, referencing the event which lead Veradun into the slave pits. She could not imagine trying to command Darth Nefaron, at least for herself. It was laughable.

Yet, the droid's story largely matched that which Veradun had relayed to her himself – albeit, each explanation was subtly colored to lean a certain way. DD-421 framed the young Nagai as a foolish troublemaker, while Veradun had expressed his initial belief that he and Darth Nefaron would share a more honorable bond.

Again, laughable. Only, Eurydice wasn't laughing.

Like a Ukatian fairy tale, the story ended with a lesson. This time, there were no morals urging her to be good and kind and fair.

Just selfish.

Eurydice clasped her hands together, letting the long neck of her sleeves hang down. "I see," she said softly. "Thank you, DD-421, for taking the time to explain. It seems I do have much to think on."

Her words ended with a pause rather than finality. The girl swept her gaze over her chambers, still struck by how warm and inviting they were in harsh contrast to the cell where she'd been kept. Before the droid would leave, she'd reach for the nearest candle. Cupped in her hand, she stepped forward and presented it to DD-421.

"So you may light it whenever you wish."

Darth Nefaron

 

[Darth Nefaron]

As requested, the droid lit the final candle and stood in the girl's presence, his emotionless face looking down into her innocent eyes.
​

"There will come a time when you will call the darkness home. Despite your elevated emotional state, my brief study has revealed that the same ambition that my master and the boy possess burns within you. Cling to it in the coming days, Lady Eurydice, and you will never again be the damsel in distress."

With this bit of advice, DD-421 turned on his mental heel and marched toward the entrance to the girls' chambers.

"Dinner will arrive soon. I suggest you rest, your training will continue tomorrow."

​

Indeed, Eurydice's training continued under the droid seneschal's watchful gaze. She learned, she studied, and most importantly of all, she experienced pain and struggle. While nothing as dangerous as her first test had occurred, the droid continued to test her skills with the force, determining if she could wield its power without the threat of imminent death hanging over her. While her physical abilities remained at a novice level, her mind and wit were sharper than ever, and she took to the lessons of Sith history well, though that was to be expected of one of her upbringing. Still, certain tests remained if she was to prove her commitment to the Dark Side.

Several weeks had passed, and the time was fast approaching when Darth Nefaron would return to the fortress, which meant Eurydice would need to pass a final test ordered by the Dark Lord.

DD-421 looked on as Eurydice carried on with her learning, ancient texts scattered across the desk within the library. Despite himself, the droid had rather enjoyed his role as an educator to the girl, though he knew the time fast approached when she would stand at the Dark Lord's side once again and learn from him directly, one would could truly develop her potential within the force and unleash her upon the unsuspecting galaxy. Still, he had a final test to carry out, and he would see it done before the Dark Lord returned.

"Lady Eurydice, it is time for another test. But this one will be special, one that all Sith must undertake if they are to truly unlock the secrets of the Dark Side."

The droid approached the table, one of his modular grips extending and offering an ancient dagger to the girl. Despite its origin, the blade remained sharp and eager for blood.

"You will need this. Do not worry, you will not suffer any physical harm during this trial, but it remains important nonetheless. Now come, the Master eagerly awaits the results of this test, and he will return soon."

The droid once more acted as a guide as they navigated the halls of the vast fortress. Slaves and soldiers alike parted as they walked, a glimpse of the power Eurydice would one day yield for these poor wretches were utterly terrified of the newest Apprentice to their Master. Rumor of her power had already begun to spread, a power example of fear in practice, the same fear Darth Nefaron sought to spread to the entire galaxy.

After a short trek, the pair arrived at the entrance to a chamber that was entirely new to the girl. When the doors slid open before them, a stone slab was revealed, and atop it lay a human male, the upper half of his body stripped bare. It was clear he had been tortured in the days prior to ending up in this chamber, but that did not mean he was not entirely terrified.

"Power requires sacrifice. But you are to be Sith, and it will not be your own blood that is spilled."

DD-421 approached the stone slab, mechanical hands folded behind his back as he watched over the latest sacrifice to the Dark Lord.

"You will not know this man. He is but a smuggler who has made a fortune serving the Sith Order. Our Master expects you to take his life, to gut him where he lies. You might think this to be a horrid request, but you should know a bit about this man's history."

The man had been gagged, but his brown eyes jumped between the pair frantically, practically begging them to release him.

DD-421 ignored him.

"The assault on Ukatis was long in the planning, and the weapons supplied to the rebels had to be smuggled in over the course of several months. Many turned down this job out of hand, but not this one. He gleefully accepted my Master's credits and ensured that suffering and death would claim Ukatis and its people. He is part of the reason you are here, for without his aid, we could not have ensured your retrieval."

The droid fixed his gaze on the girl, his voice unemotional as ever.

"You suffer for his greed. Now he is your key to a life of power."

TAGS: Eurydice ​

 

[Eurydice]

By nature or intention, Eurydice had fallen into a routine of sorts. Her days weren't comfortable, but the pressure of her discomfort gradually began to lessen as she settled into her new normal.

Perhaps Nefaron's lack of presence had something to do with it. Still, the Sith Lord wasn't entirely gone - his will seemed to cling to every brick on Anoat, leaving the spire in shadows of fear.

Eurydice's line of through broke as DD-421 extended the knife.

With her brow furrowed in surprise and tentative concern, the Seer lifted her head. The proffered dagger, upon inspection, was rather old. That didn't dull its malevolent nature - in fact, it only served to deepen the corruption etched into the blade's razor edge. Steeped in years of darkness.

The design of the hilt was ornate, foreign.

Dangerous.

Eurydice's familiarity with daggers might've come as a passing surprise. They were used in Seer rituals, many of which toed the line between light and dark. Typically they were used to cull ingredient, but on occasion, a blood sacrifice would be needed. Nothing as grandiose as a person - a few droplets from your finger, or during harvest season, a pig or a goat.

A shuffle of papers sounded louder than it really was in the stillness of the library as she righted the tomes into a neat stack. After marking her place in the readings, of course.

Eurydice knew better than to refuse. Pale fingers wrapped around the blade's handle with dexterity that spoke of her practiced nature. Her expression remained wary.

It didn't take one gifted in future sight to tell that yet another wicked task lay before her. The chair scraped against wooden floorboards as she rose and followed her proctor. Little mind was paid to the slaves and soldiers that parted before their path, her focus utterly elsewhere.

No one had ever feared Euryidce before. Perhaps one day, she'd let her thoughts linger on the reaction she'd come to elicit.

It took their arrival into a new chamber - with a partially stripped man shackled to a stone slab - to pull her attention fully. The lacerations that cross-crossed over his bared flesh were consistent with the torture she'd known to be inflicted within these walls.

A smuggler. One who'd worked with Darth Nefaron to sow chaos on Ukatis.

Eurydice found her grip on the knife tightening. She turned the blade's handle over in her hand, a quick, small gesture that carried a faint tremor of irritation. It was stilled by the man's frantic, muffled pleas. The Seer did not drink fear like a fine vintage, but allowed it to stir her sympathies.

"And now I must kill him?"

The girl lifted her gaze to DD-421. It wasn't a challenge, not exactly. Or maybe it was. Either way, whatever she wanted to convey wasn't quite clear.

"What good will that do?"

It wasn’t good they were after.

Just a single step closer was all that it took for the man to flinch in place. The manacles around his wrists and ankles jangled sharply. Eurydice found the sound faintly sickening. Would she still feel that way in another year, she wondered? In five years? Ten?

Would she even live that long?

The Seer's head slowly tilted her focus toward the droid.

"Is what you told me true, DD-421? About his history?"

With a steady hand, she lifted the tip of the blade to the smuggler’s throat to measure his reaction. The captive would not find a gleeful woman staring back at him, but a somber ghost.

Eurydice knew that he would die. He had to. The least she could do, if he deserved it, was to give him a quick, clean death.

The only problem was, she did not know how.

With a sigh, she drew the knife away, then reached behind his head to disengage the gag.

“Plead your case.”

Darth Nefaron

 

[Darth Nefaron]

"I do not lie, Lady Eurydice. My Master has deemed it so."
​

Despite his orders, DD-421 was determined to allow the girl to handle the situation as she saw fit. Merely asking why such a thing was necessary meant she was not ready to embrace true power. Still, it was rare to find a being with so many complicated emotions processing at once, one who was consumed by fear and yet did not cower in the corner. When she removed the gag from the man's mouth, the droid approached the slab and stood ready to offer his knowledge, to contest any false statements the fool made.

"T-Thank you! Don't believe this blasted machine, he's not telling you everything!"

When DD-421 did not immediately respond, the man continued.

"Look, I did help smuggle in cargo to Ukatis, but I didn't know what they were going to do! It's a job, and a man has to support his family!"

"This man has an ex-wife and three children who live in squalor on Nar Shaddaa. The Master provided him a generous fee for his service with the expectation that he would return to them. Instead, he was found consuming alcohol and paying for the services of several escorts-"

"Lies! This damn droid only says what his Master tells him!"

Despite it all, he flailed against the chains that held him, his green eyes searching the girls for any speck of mercy or pity.

"I've made mistakes, but I'm human! You've seen this place, the monsters that live here, they are evil!"

"And you chose to work with us despite what you saw. Darth Nefaron is many things, but he has never hidden what he was. Without the greed of men like this one, he would not have been able to rip you from Ukatis, to cause endless destruction and horror."

With this, the man had little else to say. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked to the girl with a desperation that only a dead man could portray.

"Lady Eurydice, you are a Seer. Peer into this man's mind, see the vile nature of his kind, and tell me that these beings are not meant to be ruled over? To be guided by the enlighted and powerful?"

The man was made to speak again, but his mouth was swiftly covered by the metallic grip of the droid.

"Begging is only so interesting so long as it is meaningful. This one would leave this fortress today and end up in the same cantina where we found him, drunk and down to his last credit. Truly, what is worth saving here?"

TAG: Eurydice ​

 

[Eurydice]

Ukatis. The world had been her home since birth, and yet, Eurydice did not find thoughts of the little agriworld to be warming.

Had the distance and torture unraveled her mind to the point where Ukatis meant nothing…?

She longed to return, of course. To break free of this nightmare and slip back into something normal, something she knew how to navigate no matter how bleak her future had been. Eurydice had been a good Seer. She didn't ask questions. She did as she was told, often without complaint.

Ambition and greed were not rewarded among her kind - not often.

Still, she listened patiently as the man sputtered out his defense, which was swiftly corrected by DD-421. All the while, Eurydice pondered on how to weasel her way out of doing something truly foul.

Taking a life. Even one who might've deserved to die. Who was she to pass a judgement so final?

When the droid prompted the girl to see for herself, Eurydice hesitated. Not necessarily because she was afraid of the truth, but because she feared being given another reason to bend to Nefaron's will and slay this man.

Small steps pattered slowly forward. Without so so much as a word, the Seer reached out and pressed her thumb between the man's brow. Her touch was firm, surprisingly gentle, and without prejudice.

The deal had taken place aboard a ship. Which one, she couldn't tell - but the details were perhaps unimportant. The contract was signed. The man grinned.

Eurydice trawled forward, searching still.

The harsh, acrid feel of cheap liquor nearly burned her tongue. Taste, that was a new sensation for her to experience in someone's memory. Scent, too, this one of cheap perfume. Sharp, feminine laughter and bright red lips. Mascara and curves and hands-

Eurydice cut that one short as a flush rose to paint her pale cheeks.

Alone in a motel room with only moonlight for company. Shadows drifted over the man's face as he paced sharply, the neck of a bottle clenched in one hand and a communicator in the other. He slurred his words, and the sound of a woman's muffled crying emanated from the speaker.

Eurydice came back. So it was true - he'd lied, and DD-421 had spoken the truth. The droid didn't have any incentive to lie, especially as there seemed to be no shortage of scum in the galaxy.

With a wave of her hand, the gag reengaged. The Seer's grip on the knife shifted, sweat beginning to gather in her palm. This wasn't a matter of justice or revenge, but survival. Still...she'd never taken a life before. Not a human one.

Eurydice placed the knife at the edge of the stone slab. With both hands, she reached forward until her thumbs again pressed firmly to the man's brow, fingers cradling the back of his head. Slowly, the man's eyes drooped before falling to rest. His limbs relaxed, slackening in their binds, and the cadence of his breathing slowed to a whisper. His heartbeat was just a quivering thread.

Eurydice was not yet skilled enough to make a man appear dead when he was not. But by all conventional methods of measuring signs of life, his would appear to be fading.

But they would hover there, just above death. Just until she could…

"An execution does not require blood," she murmured, stepping back and turning on her heel. "I have no further need to be here. I will excuse myself."

Darth Nefaron