"Rain" on Upekzar

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"It would be like the Sith to make the test pole to pole, but I don't think that will be the case," Taeli responded, stepping gingerly along the crumbling path. A few rocks jostled loose and tumbled down the sides to the ground that was slowly getting further and further down. Good thing she wasn't afraid of heights.

"If anything, the dark side energies are getting ... stronger again," Taeli continued, shuddering a bit as she could feel them twisting and twining around her. It reminded her of the past, but she was confident in who she was so there was no way these energies would tempt her, even with the whispers in her mind. "The next test is probably up ahead and since I released that rune, all of the tests are going to be active."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

There was an odd balance of sibling respect and care going on in Corvus' head. She admired her sister in so many ways. In being strong enough to turn away from the Dark. Her ability to use the information she'd learned for good - and not be tempted to fall again. To be an exemplar Jedi and the one she'd pick to be on this mission regardless of blood.

But she was also wary. This was her sister after all. She would lay down her life for anyone - but there was something special about their bond. She'd appreciated all the more since she met Braith.

But - as both of the women in her life knew - she was a Jedi. And that always overrode any other thought or concern. So she walked along with her sister, relying on a passive use of the Force and her Teräs Käsi training to warn her of any threats.

"Yes,"she said with a dead-pan face. "Let's hope the next life-or-death test is soon."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"Why do I get the feeling you just jinxed us?" Taeli laughed as they reached the narrowest part of the path they were on ... and a large gap ahead of them separated the two sides. They could try and jump it, but that might be pushing it even for two Jedi Masters.

"Well, this is a conundrum," Taeli mumbled, rubbing her chin in thought as she peered down to see sharp obalisks of obsidian poking out from below. Looking around, she sighed as she saw the small rune carved into the side of the path. The same handwriting as the first one ... so this was test number two. If you pass, the way forward clears up ... if not ... well she had a feeling the rocks they were on would suddenly and without warning give way.

"Test two, sis," she said, pressing a finger to the run and watching it spark to life.

The same Iktotchi figure appeared on the other side of the gap, black cloak billowing around her.

"Treachery is the way of the Sith, as Darth Bane taught," the illusion of Darth Cognus stated. "A treacherous path is in front of you and only the knowledge of the greatest use of treachery by our progenitor will clear the path. If you are deceived ... then you shall fall as others unworthy have done. What was the greatest act of treachery of Lord Bane?"

 

[Corvus Raaf]

The gap was in many way fortuitous. Without it, they might have wandered past the second rune. So Corvus stood ready whilst her sister did the necessary to activate it.

“Test number two,” she echoed. Wondering if they would get progressively harder. Lore she was OK with, practical tests she might struggle with.

As she thought, Cognus appeared once more. His illusion spoke and unfortunately many thoughts filled her mind. His life was full of such acts. From his duelling at the Sith Academy where he withheld his true power to taking a second Apprentice. But Corvus mused that these were less about treachery and more about necessity. He’d not forsaken the Rule of Two, he’d simply doubted Zannah’s abilities. And lulling an opponent into a false sense of security was never a bad tactic.

So the one that sprung most her her mind was the one she shared with her sister. ‘Ruusan? The thought bomb? Necessary or treacherous or both?’ She raised her eyebrows. Her perspective was a Jedi’s. Her sister would know better.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

'It has to be the thought bomb,' she thought to her sister, the illusion waiting patiently for their answer. 'It was his idea that the dark side could not survive broken up into bits in the Brotherhood so they needed to be cleansed. Everything he did when he arrived on Ruusan was both necessary and proving his own point of view that cunning was better than the tactics of Kaan.'

Taking a breath, and certain in her answer, Taeli addressed the illusion by saying, "The use of the thought bomb, combined with his use of guile in ordering the Sith fleet to engage the Jedi forces at Ruusan enough to break the blockade and thus force Kaan and his followers into a position where the thought bomb was what appeared to be the only way to victory left, was Darth Bane's greatest use of treachery and cunning."

The illusion hung there for a moment before it faded away ... and then the large gap faded away as well to reveal a whole path. She shouldn't have been surprised it was an illusion, but that was masterfully crafted that it could fool her with all her training in sorcery.

"Two down, sis," she said, trying to fight the smile on her face as they continued along.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus held her breath. The fact that they both agreed on the answer was a positive - but no guarantee of success. "So," she said as they walked. "Bane I know a lot about, but Zannah? She was less well documented. Which in a way suggests she was more successful - given their need to remain covert."

"So...how did you find out about her Holocron? I have to admit, it was a new one on me."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"Well, I first got on the trail of her holocron when I was a Sith Knight," Taeli explained as they walked. "It was just a passing mention in a book I was reading in the Sith archives, but I couldn't let the idea go. So I went with my then apprentice to Ciutric IV and we tracked down information that had been split in two and heavily encrypted. It got a little violent because the people holding the data were rivals and thought we were hired to steal it for the other."

Taking a breath, she smiled as they finally emerged onto a more stable path that was wide enough to not worry about falling far below.

"I then had to track down a key to decrypt the files, so that was when I first met Connor on Nar Shaddaa and encountered Silara's sister. She had the answer I needed and it involved going to Kashyyyk and retrieving a journal from some witches that lived there. Their leader attacked me so, killed her and ... I became that clan's queen so that was weird. But, got the answer I needed, but it took all this time to get through the puzzles of Cognus's data on where it was."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus' ears pricked up. She hadn't thought about Silara having a family. She'd buried the body somewhere safe - but hadn't considered others might have a claim on the woman. A partner? Children? Parents? She had...oddly...considered her to be a lone spirit.

In many ways Silara was part of her past now, despite Braith being her present. No longer an aspect of Corvus that she dwelt on. More a past chapter in her history. But revelations like this brought old memories back. "Was her sister like her? A Sith I mean? And did she mention Silara having other family? Actually, do you know?"

She was aware that her sister was a former Sith Lord and yet she'd never discussed Silara with her.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"I have no idea," Taeli admitted, looking out towards where a volcano was simmering in the distance. "I met the girl only once, gave her a little lesson, got what I needed and we parted ways. As far as I could tell, she was trying to prove herself to Silara ... to prove that she was worthy of being her sister by tracking down artifacts. Silara was always out to find new artifacts, such as Naga Sadow's holocron, but we never really interacted beyond passing in the night or being in the same operations."

It was true, she knew Silara more from reputation than personal interactions ... beyond the one expedition she had joined that she had led. Also, in light of Braith, Taeli wasn't even sure if she met the real Silara or her being controlled by Braith. It didn't matter much anymore, but it was a pondering question.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus put the thoughts aside. She'd spent a large portion of her recent life interacting with Silara without coming across any family, and now she was no longer alive, she suspected the subject wouldn't raise its head again.

"You know, we rarely talk about your time as a Sith. I mean, I'm not saying we have to or anything. But don't feel it's a taboo subject." And she promptly stopped walking and slapped her hand to her forehead.

"How could I have forgotten. I met a Sith. Vengeance he called himself. He said he was Melori's partner. Do you know him."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"Whatever you want to know about that time, just ask away, sis," Taeli said. It might be an uncomfortable conversation, but Corvus deserved to have any questions about Taeli's time as a Sith answered. "As for Vengeance ... very odd name there ... never met him. He probably joined after I left or was an acolyte. However ... I did see Melori recently."

Stopping on the trail, she looked out at the landscape again.

"I met with her on Ambria, try to smooth over everything that happened between us but I expected a fight ... and we didn't. She was ... lost, no purpose in her step at the time. She's still loyal to the Dark Lord, but she's a true Banite now. I at least taught her something I guess eh? I'm not sure what her goals are, but I don't think she wants to kill either of us anymore."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus chuckled. It was gallows humour. "If she doesn't want either or us dead, she's not a very good Banite. At best, maybe she just wants us dead as much as the next Jedi."

She looked around. "She's like dad in that regard you know. Not the dead Jedi bit. But he was, from my distant memory, headstrong and always crusading for something. I remember he was unwell once. Just before I left for the Academy. He was stuck in bed and mum said he was the most restless patient ever. He needed to be doing something."

She looked forwards. "I sense the Darkness building again. I suspect the next test is soon."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"I definitely inherited that trait then," Taeli chuckled. "Not the dead Jedi bit, but the whole restlessness. I always need to be working or researching something, always learning. They gave me a nickname in school about it on Lorrd, they called me Taeli "The Librarian" Rae because I was always in the library reading something or ..."

Her voice trailed off as she stiffened, the dark energies coalescing around them ... they felt different though. Stronger, more potent than Cognus's illusions had been ... something else was ahead for the next test. A footstep later and a rune on the ground flared to life, dark swirling energy surrounding them from continuing on the path.

"Now this is interesting, you passed the first two tests ... I'm surprised," a female voice said, different than Cognus. More humanoid ... oh that might not be good at all. A short figure appeared in front of them, blond hair slipping out of the raised hood. They couldn't see the face but Taeli knew ... this was an illusion of Zannah.

"Many have tried to reach my holocron, but they have ... met with failure," the figure of Zannah said, gesturing with her hand and several skeletons of past adventurers appeared. "I do so hope that you two are made of a different stock than these past Jedi and Sith."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus smiled. “Memories of dad are vague…distant. I suspect some aren’t even accurate recollections but an amalgam of thoughts over the years. But it seems we’re all driven in the Raaf family.” She smiled. “My nick-names were less flattering. Cold-fish was the most kind I suspect.”

And like her older sister, she was aware of the change around them. The Darkness that surrounded them, almost palpable.

And as Taeli recognised the form, so did Corvus — she’d researched Bane enough to recognise her…even though her life post becoming the Sith Lord was shrouded in a lot of mystery. And she held her tongue for now. Taeli was the one with direct experience of the Dark-side. Corvus for her part held off drawing on the Force and remained as calm and impassive as she always did. She may not to drawing on the Force, but she trusted it to alert her should she need to.

And the successor to Bane was going to be a real challenge — especially as succession at that time meant defeating the Master. Although there was the hint in the archives that a fragment of Bane lived on in Zannah…albeit dominated by the woman.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"You have been tested on your knowledge of guile and the value of history, but a Sith is so much more," Zannah's illusion continued to say. "Those who failed thus far have failed because they do not recognize, truly anyways, the nature of the Sith code. They sought out my power to further their own, to achieve a shortcut ... shortcuts do not exist in the path to power."

As she spoke, the illusion raised its hand and from the shadows around them, two columns of smoke spiraled out and took on humanoid forms. That was a huge problem because Taeli recognized what these things were. She had never learned the spell to summon them, but she had read about them in the Sith archives on Coruscant.

"Siqsa," she whispered, her hand going to her lightsaber. "Sith smoke demons."

"Defeat the demons and you may move onto to the next test and will prove to me that you have not taken shortcuts in your quest for power," Zannah's illusion ... was it an illusion now or was it something else? ... said and she faded away.

"Don't let them touch you sis, and whatever you do, don't get paralyzed by fear," Taeli said, her purple blades igniting. "They prey on our deepest fears."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus had heard of the smoke demons. But knowing of them, and knowing how to defend against them were entirely different things.

If there was a natural bonus she had, it was the ability to close down emotions. Fo no emotions meant no fear. So even if they could access her mind and identify what her worst fear would be, Corvus would not have the sensation of fear that a typical person would.

The key was to first not be paralysed. The demons manifested in front of them and one clearly latched on to Corvus and started to change form — becoming a facsimile of Braith in front of her eyes.

The figure looked forlorn and discarded the ring Corvus had given her. But Corvus viewed the scene impassionately. So when the image stretched out arms to embrace Corvus, she was aware of the trap.

So Corvus drew her sword, not her saber. Channelling Force Light into it, she held it aloft, the brightness almost literally burning the smoke demon in front of her that thrashed and then lunged at her.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Unlike her sister, who had grown up a Jedi and had that superb ability to shut off her emotions at the drop of a hat, Taeli had a different method for dealing with the smoke demon that was after her ... the demon that was taking on a twisted version of Connor. Glowing yellow eyes, a hateful scowl across his mouth, his hands outstretched to try and grapple her.

Unfortunately for the demon, Taeli had been a Sith Lady before and knew illusions quite well. Her logic kicked in almost immediately, pointing out that Connor couldn't possibly be here as he was busy with Silver duties. He also wouldn't have fallen to the dark side like this, there was probably only one or two ways he could possibly fall now. Still, the illusion the smoke demon was using just made her annoyed and her purple blades ignited in response.

While her sister was using her sword and Force Light, Taeli activated the spinning mode of her lightsaber and channeled Electric Judgment into the blades before launching herself forward to bring the whirling blades up like a saw straight into the smoke demon's chest ... between the hands trying to grab her. As the blades tore through, one of the only weapons able to harm the demon, it gave a horrible scream.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus stood firm and as the demon lunged she simply poured more of the Force into the sword. It radiated Force Light and the apparition couldn't cope with the purity of the source and quite literally split in two before evaporating in front of her eyes.

She reigned back on the Force, allowing the sword to still glow, and was ready to help Taeli if need be. Not that she looked as though she needed much help.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

She wasn't really paying mind to the demon that Corvus had been fighting, she was quite focused on eviscerating the one who had taken Connor's form. The green electricity that surrounded her violet blades was chewing through the demon, it's screaming finally falling silent as her lightsabers burned through it and it evaporated.

Deactivating her lightsaber, she sighed a little out of relief.

"Well that could have been really ugly," she said, clipping the lightsaber back on her belt. "I somehow don't think we're dealing with just an illusion of Zannah in this case anymore. Something summoned those smoke demons, only Sorcery can bring them into the physical plane."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded absent-mindedly. She knew of Sith Lore and some aspects of Sith Magic - but Taeli's observation was beyond her.

"It's a good thing one of us was a Sith. Well...not exactly good, but you know what I mean." Had the circumstances been less deadly, Corvus might have giggled at this point. But her face remained stoney.

"So you're saying a living Sith is responsible?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"]